Barking is hosting a celebration of women in film on Friday, featuring speakers involved in Beauty and the Beast, The Crown, Broadchurch and Guerilla.

The Women in TV and Film networking event takes place on Friday April 21 at the Broadway Theatre.

It was organised by Joelle David, a TV drama writer and assistant director who worked on Guerrilla.

She said: “It’s no coincidence we are holding this event in Barking, my home town, as this area has a history of empowered women.

“But I am not looking to just celebrate the past, this is about the future of women in TV and film and especially women from east London.

“By bringing in more east London women, especially from working class backgrounds and ethnic minorities, it will being a new dimension to storylines and enrich the industry.”

Speakers include BAFTA-winning Broadchurch star Georgina Campbell, Lucy Bevan who was the casting director for Beauty and the Beast, and Suzanne Mackie, the producer of Netflix’s The Crown.

Council leader Darren Rodwell said: “This event encapsulates all that is good about our past and future.

“Barking and Dagenham was home to leading women’s rights activists including Mary Wollstonecraft and of course the Fords workers who fought for equal pay.

“But we are also about the future of film in London with our plans to become the capital’s answer to Hollywood and build our very own Made In Dagenham studios.”

For more information and tickets, see the Broadway Theatre website.