BBC Documentaries

Mini: A Life Revisited (2013x328)

: 29, 2013

1975 documentary about 11-year-old serial arsonist Michael 'Mini' Cooper, followed by Cooper and the film's director Franc Roddam in conversation with Alan Yentob in 2013. First broadcast in 1975, this provocative documentary about an 11-year-old serial arsonist shocked millions across the UK. Michael 'Mini' Cooper had already torched a church and set his family home ablaze with his violent father asleep upstairs. The film follows the angelic looking 'Mini' over a gruelling three-week period in a young offenders home in County Durham, as social workers and psychiatrists quiz and probe the charismatic and intelligent tearaway as they determine his future. Franc Roddam's film has a simplicity and directness that captivates whilst never shying away from the seriousness of the situation. Roddam would go onto find fame in Hollywood, but nearly 40 years on remains close friends with Cooper, who has spent most of his life in and out of jail, care, mental health units and halfway houses. Cooper has channelled his experiences into a revealing new book 'Mini and Me' and the programme also sees both Franc Roddam and Mini Cooper in conversation with Alan Yentob.