John Phillips GOLDEN Globe-winning actress Sally Hawkins will star in one of two films mapping out the fascinating history of Ford Dagenham. Hawkins, 32, who won the award for her role in Mike Leigh comedy Happy-Go-Lucky, will lead in the �5 million comedy We Want Sex

John Phillips

GOLDEN Globe-winning actress Sally Hawkins will star in one of two films mapping out the fascinating history of Ford Dagenham.

Hawkins, 32, who won the award for her role in Mike Leigh comedy Happy-Go-Lucky, will lead in the �5 million comedy We Want Sex centering on Ford female workers' fight for equal pay in 1968.

And a one-hour TV documentary will reveal the agony of car-making at Dagenham and a love affair with sleek and fast Ford models that brought the American Dream to Britain.

Ford's Dagenham Dream will chart car making between the 1920s and '80s and include testimonies of racing drivers like Anita Taylor, designers and Dagenham workers.

It will be shown on BBC4 at 9pm tomorrow (Wednesday).

Director Steve Humphries told the Recorder: "Ford helped put the nation on wheels with its fast, sexy cars like the Zephyr, the Cortina and the Capri that were pure rock 'n' roll and hugely appealing to the younger generation.

"We reveal the joy of driving a classic Ford in its heyday as well as the agony of making cars on the Dagenham production line."

We Want Sex, focusing on a strike of 850 Ford workers protesting against sexual discrimination, is due to be shot in May or June.