A DOCUMENTARY that featured a Tyne Valley woman is up for a prestigious award.

Hexham’s Vicki Dillon was one of nine Parkinson’s Disease sufferers to feature in The Parkinson’s Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure on BBC 2 earlier this year.

Vicki was one of the first six people in the world to undergo a radical new treatment that saw a protein called glial cell derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) administered directly to the brain.

From 2012, Vicki was followed by film-maker Jemima Harrison, whose production company Passionate Productions created the documentary.

Now, the two-part film has been shortlisted for a Grierson Award. Vicki hopes that the nomination will lead to increased exposure for the documentary and the treatment.

Despite the fact that Vicki and many other participants showed vast improvements, assessments showed that there was not enough difference between the active treatment group and those who received placebo.

There are now calls for a new trial with a higher dose of the protein.

Vicki said: “I’m delighted that this documentary has been nominated for such a prestigious award.

“It means new exposure for what was such a life-changing treatment for me and many others.

“Without another trial GDNF will be shelved as yet another failure. This must not happen.

“I have everything crossed and my hope has been renewed.”

Established in 1972, the awards are named for the Scottish documentary filmmaker John Grierson (1898 – 1972), who is widely regarded as the father of the documentary genre.

The Parkinson’s Drug Trial: A Miracle Cure has been nominated in the Best Science Documentary category.

Also nominated in the category include Allistair Campbell’s Depression and Me and Climate Change: The Facts.