Why Mother’s Day was no cause to celebrate for creator of Thunderbirds

Gerry Anderson never put a matriarch in his shows because his own mother rejected him, a new documentary reveals

From Charles Dickens to Sylvia Plath to Eminen, many of the world's most creative adults had a turbulent childhood. Now Gerry Anderson, the creator of Thunderbirds and Stingray, all of whose shows have no mother character, can be added to the list.

Previously unbroadcast interviews reveal that Anderson's work lacked matriarchal figures because Anderson was so traumatised by his own relationship with his mother.