Award for documentary informed by student’s research
Thursday 3 November 2022
A St Catharine’s postgraduate student was a consultant throughout the development of a historical documentary that just scooped the award for ‘Best History Programme in the Documentary and Specialist Factual Categories’ at the Royal Television Society Scotland Awards, 2022.
Malik Al Nasir, a History PhD candidate, drew upon the historical research and contacts that he had accumulated over many years to inform ‘Mark Walters: In The Footsteps of Andrew Watson’, which was broadcast by BBC Scotland in May 2021 and again in October 2022 for Black History Month. The documentary is available to watch on BBC iPlayer until 13 November 2022. Production happened during the early part of both the pandemic and Malik’s PhD at St Catharine’s, with remote working on the pitch and script, and social distancing protocols during filming. He explains:
“I was initially approached by the team at 14th Floor Productions in Glasgow in 2020 because they were interested in a BBC programme from 2003 about a black footballer, called ‘Andrew Watson - Scotland's Lost Captain’. I explained that this earlier programme contained multiple errors about his personal history and that research had moved on significantly in the intervening years. To put the story straight, I signed on to support the commissioning of a new documentary as a consultant through each stage of development and had the pleasure of being interviewed by former Liverpool, Rangers and England player Mark Walters for the final film.”
Malik Al Nasir, PhD Candidate (Credit: Peter Chin)
Malik, who changed his name from Mark Watson when he became a Muslim in 1992, has found the project especially meaningful for personal reasons. While flawed, the 2003 BBC programme is responsible for him first discovering that Andrew Watson, the world’s first Black international football player, was his ancestral cousin. Watson was first rediscovered by Ged O’Brian, founder of the Scottish Football Museum, who contributed images to that documentary from Scottish Football Association’s annuals from the Victorian period. Research showed that Andrew Watson competed at an elite level in the 19th century and captained the Scottish national football team during the 1880s, including a 6-1 win over England in 1881 at the Oval.
“Looking at pictures and early photographs of Andrew Watson was uncanny. He looked identical to me. I thought: ‘We’ve got the same family name, we come from the same place in Demerara in British Guiana (Now republic of Guyana), we have to be related’. And sure enough, we were!”
Andrew Watson, seated centre, with the Scottish national football team in 1881. Credit: Scottish Football Museum
Mark Walters and Malik Al Nasir at Andrew Watson’s grave during filming for the documentary
The Royal Television Society (Scotland) award was announced at a special ceremony in Glasgow on 30 October 2022. A trophy was collected by retired footballer Mark Walters, who presented the documentary on behalf of 14th Floor Productions, commissioned by BBC Scotland.
In part due to the documentary, there is now growing recognition of Andrew Watson. As recently as 18 October 2022, Google chose to celebrate him, by displaying a special Doodle for UK users, which was created for the occasion by artist Selom Sunu. Malik reflects:
“Having spent so long investigating Watsons life, it was an honour to help the film producers present his story accurately and in the wider context of the slavery and colonialism that his Scottish fathers’ family were at the heart of. The reception to the documentary has been fantastic and Andrew Watson is finally getting the acclaim he has long deserved. It is also important to show the nuances of history, and this is at the heart of my PhD research at Cambridge into the mercantile exploits of Watson’s wider family and indeed my own.”
Mark Walters collects the trophy for Best History Programme at the Royal Television Society Scotland Awards
Google Doodle from 18 October 2022 by Selom Senu
Further award news for Malik Al Nasir
The College reported earlier this year that Malik had been working with a steering group of marginalised young people on the ‘Colonial Legacies of the Liverpool Sandbach Family’ project at The Walker Art Gallery, which seeks to address the erasure of colonial history in sculptures displayed by the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool. The project was singled out as a finalist for the Museum Association’s Museums Change Lives Awards 2022, which recognises and celebrates outstanding practice by UK museums delivering social impact. Read our original story about this project. You can follow Malik on Twitter or Instagram @malikandtheogs
