Gemma Arterton and the cast of Made in Dagenham visited by cars that inspired the story

Made in Dagenham, the new musical opening at the Adelphi Theatre next month, is based on the true story of the Ford sewing machinists strike in 1968.

The strike began when female sewing machinists at Ford's plant in Dagenham walked out over equal pay and eventually became a trigger cause of the passing of the Equal Pay Act 1970.

The women, one of whom is played by Gemma Arterton in the show, made car seat covers and as stock ran out the strike eventually resulted in a halt to all car production.

One of the cars they sewed for was for the Ford Cortina and two of the original models stopped by the Adelphi to wish the cast luck as they move into the last few weeks of rehearsals.

Scott Garnham who plays Buddy Cortina in the show posted a picture to his instagram saying: "Buddy Cortina meets his favourite lady… the 1600E #beautiful"

To find out more about Made In Dagenham and to book tickets click here.