Episode image for 16: Too Young to Vote

Duration: 1 hour

Actress Melissa Suffield plays teenage tearaway Lucy Beale in EastEnders, a character famous for her bad behaviour. But now Melissa is coming of age - she has turned 16, is paying tax and is leaving school - and thinks she wants a say in how things are run. So she hits the road to find out whether 16-year-olds should get the vote.

On her journey across Britain, Melissa meets teenage protesters, the mother of a 17-year-old soldier killed in Iraq and new citizens who have just won the right to vote. There are tears in a polling station, filming is stopped in the Houses of Parliament and Melissa visits the first country in Europe to grant all 16-year-olds the vote.

At a time when our interest in politics has never been so high and our respect for politicians has never been so low, is giving 16-year-olds the right to vote the best way to refresh democracy?

Last on

Thu 6 Aug 2009 02:45 BBC Three

  • This series was part of ...

    This series was part of ...

    A season of programmes broadcast during summer 2009, exploring what it's like to be young and growing up in Britain today.

    BBC Three: The Adult Season

  • Clip: Melissa hears some opinions

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    Melissa Suffield speaks to Sue Palmer, an expert on childhood development who thinks that young people should not vote until the age of 21, while Sarah is a mature 17 year-old who thinks that she is still not old enough to take part in the electoral process.

Credits

Presenter
Melissa Suffield
Director
Ben Steele
Producer
Ben Steele
Executive Producer
Dominic Bird

Broadcasts

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