The moment a miracle baby was born and the world changed forever

It was described as one of 'the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of the 20th Century.'

For the first time ever, a baby was born via In vitro fertilization at Royal Oldham Hospital, bringing joy to her parents' lives and marking a new beginning in the world of fertility treatment.

That baby was Louise Brown. A drama has now been made about the conception of the 46-year-old, who has since gone on to have a family of her own.

Joy will come to Netflix on Friday, November 22. The drama spans the decade between 1968 and 1978, during which breakthrough medical advancements were made in the conception and birth of babies through IVF. The story is told through the perspective of Jean Purdy, a young nurse and embryologist who joined forces with scientist Robert Edwards and surgeon Patrick Steptoe to "unlock the puzzle of infertility."

Thomasin McKenzie plays nurse and embryologist Jean Purdy, Happy Valley's James Norton plays scientist Robert Edwards, and Bill Nighy plays surgeon Patrick Steptoe.

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Louise was born at Oldham General Hospital on 25 July 1978, following her conception at Dr Kershaw's Cottage Hospital in Royton, which made global news. After 12 years of research, Dr Patrick Steptoe and Dr Robert Edwards achieved this incredible scientific breakthrough.

Her parents, Lesley and John Brown had been trying for a child for nine years before turning to IVF, a treatment that was then met with scepticism and controversy. Religious leaders expressed concern about the use of artificial intervention with some raising fears that science was creating “Frankenbabies”.

In 1978, Pope John Paul I even weighed in on the religious and ethical debate but refused to condemn Louise’s parents, Lesley and John, for wanting a child. However, Louise's birth proved it was possible to fertilise an egg outside the human body and then successfully implant it back into the womb.

"There were 100 journalists outside the house blocking the way when they brought me home from Oldham General Hospital," Louise told the M.E.N in 2017.

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Despite efforts to keep their daughter out of the public eye, Lesley and John knew they couldn't protect her forever from the extraordinary circumstances surrounding her birth. Before starting school, four-year-old Louise watched a film about her birth with her parents, who helped her understand her unique place in history.

"They explained that they needed help from Patrick Steptoe and Bob Edwards to have me," said Louise. "The reason they told me was because I was about to go to school and they knew reporters would try to take pictures of me and that other children and teachers would mention it.

"I don't know if I fully understood it. I gained other information from listening to my mum and dad do interviews with the media."

As Louise grew up, she tended to shy away from the media limelight and, as an adult, only rarely gave interviews. Louise said not a day goes by without receiving a media request or hearing her name mentioned in a television or radio quiz show.

"At times when I was a teenager, I did wonder 'why me? ' 'Why was I born different? ' but everyone goes through those phases," said Louise. Adding: "Now I am quite glad it was me. I like helping people and I like help promoting IVF.

"I am just an ordinary person and don't think there is anything special about me. It is quite scary sometimes realising that there are over six million people in the world and it all started with me."

Louise met her husband, Wesley Mullinder, in 2002. The couple married in 2004 and welcomed a son two years later followed by another in 2013. Louise had made history once again as both sons were conceived naturally and without fertility treatment.

Despite her fame, Louise said she considers the true heroes of her story to be her parents and pioneers like Bob Edwards and Patrick Steptoe. Louise's parents have now passed away, but in a previous interview, she also praised the contribution of another 'hero', embryologist Jean Purdy.

Purdy, whose perspective the new Netflix drama is told, was initially hired as a lab technician by Edwards and was the first person to witness the successful cell division of the embryo that would become Louise Brown.

She co-authored 26 academic papers about IVF and helped found the Bourn Hall fertility clinic in Cambridgeshire, but is rarely mentioned in the story of IVF. Purdy died in 1985, aged 39 - while Steptoe died in 1988 aged 74, and Edwards died in 2013 aged 87.

Edwards, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2010 for the development of IVF, had previously said “there were three original pioneers in IVF not just two”.

Louise previously told the M.E.N: "Jean Purdy was, I was told by my mum, the one who saw all the cells dividing, which is now me. Without her I don’t think IVF would have taken off.

"I know Bob and Patrick used to go home to their wives and families and I think it was Jean that used to stay and make sure everything was just as it should have been."

With the new Netflix drama, Jean Purdy might get the recognition she deserves.

Joy will come to Netflix on November 22.