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Babs

This is the story of Dame Barbara Windsor, the Cockney kid with a dazzling smile and talent to match. Preparing to perform in the theatre one cold evening in 1993, the cheeky, chirpy blonde Babs recounts the people and events that have shaped her life and career over fifty years from 1943 to 1993. She contemplates her lonely childhood and WWII evacuation; her decision to go from Barbara Ann Deeks to Barbara Windsor, inspired by the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II; her complicated relationship with her father; her doomed marriage to Ronnie Knight; capturing the attention of theatre director Joan Littlewood; and becoming the blonde bombshell in the Carry On films. Babs, ever the consummate professional, never lets her fans down whatever her personal anguish and steps on the stage to rapturous applause.

Babs

7.3 2017
Regan

Rough, tough and politically incorrect in the way that only the best 70's dramas can be, Regan was a pilot film for The Sweeney - one of the major television successes of the last fifty years. Featuring John Thaw as the irascible Detective Inspector Regan and Dennis Waterman as his loyal 'oppo' Detective Sergeant Carter, Regan was an immediate critical and ratings hit, resulting in four series of The Sweeney and two successful feature films. Jack Regan is a good copper, but his tough, intuitive style is becoming unfashionable in a Scotland Yard seeking a new image. When a policeman is mysteriously murdered, Regan breaks all the rules to find the killer - but he finds there are men in the Flying Squad prepared to break him.

Regan

8.7 1974
Eric & Ernie

Single drama telling the story of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise's formative years, from child stars to national treasures. 'Big head, short legs' is Eric Bartholomew's first impression of Ernie Wiseman, but their friendship endures and, encouraged by his well-meaning but determined mother Sadie, Eric became the funny man to Ernie's 'feed'. After a successful stint in children's variety, they work their way up the ladder of live performance, but after a disastrous television debut in the series Running Wild, Morecambe and Wise learn to trust their own instincts and just make people laugh.

Eric & Ernie

6.7 2011
Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People

Documentary telling the extraordinary story of Koko, the only 'talking' gorilla in the world, and her lifelong relationship with Penny Patterson. Project Koko started as a PhD project to teach sign language to a baby gorilla, but as Koko began to communicate with Penny, an intense bond formed between them. Penny has now been with Koko for over 40 years and claims Koko can reveal fresh insights into the workings of an animal's mind. Koko's unique life with Penny has been filmed every step of the way. Over 2,000 hours of footage chart the most dramatic moments - Penny's battle to keep Koko from being taken back to the zoo in which she was born, Penny's clash with academic critics who doubted her claims and the image of Koko mourning the death of her kitten.

Koko: The Gorilla Who Talks to People

7.2 2016
Gracie!

In 1939 Gracie Fields, the 'Queen of Hearts', is at the height of her success as a singer and actress and the whole nation seems to wish her a speedy recovery from cervical cancer. When World War Two breaks out, Gracie sings for the troops despite poor health, to the dismay of her fussy husband, film director Monty Banks, an Italian, born Mario Bianchi. With Italy's entry into the war Monty is in danger of being interned so Gracie consents to his moving to America whilst she tours Canada, fund-raising for the war effort. She is accused of deserting the country which made her famous and booed offstage, though she later tours battlefields as a singer. With the war over she regains popularity, performing 'Take Me To Your Heart Again' at the London Palladium. Banks dies in 1950 and, though still a successful singer, Gracie never regains her pre-war iconic status.

Gracie!

5.5 2009
A Waste of Shame: The Mystery of Shakespeare and His Sonnets

In 1609, William Shakespeare published a collection of 154 sonnets, creating what is arguably the greatest lyric sequence in English literature - and at the center of this masterpiece lies a mystery that has endured for centuries. What are the identities of “the young man” and “the dark lady” to whom all but two of the sonnets allude? This moving performance brings to life the gritty reality of Shakespeare’s England, bits of the Bard’s plays and poems, and the consummate poet and dramatist himself as it exposes these personages unseen but so keenly felt in Shakespeare’s sonnets and in his life. Rupert Graves, Tom Sturridge, Indira Varma, Anna Chancellor, and Zoë Wanamaker star. Contains mature themes and explicit language. Some content may be objectionable. Produced by the Open University.

A Waste of Shame: The Mystery of Shakespeare and His Sonnets

5.0 2005
Heroes & Villains: Napoleon

Twenty Four year-old Corsican refugee Napoleon Bonaparte is a lowly artillery captain in the French army at the siege of Toulon. Destitute and relying on his success in the new and dangerous revolutionary society, his mother and siblings become embroiled in Napoleon's struggle. The opponents are the English but the enemy are the revolutionaries authorities who seek to keep him in his place. Using his astonishing tactical mind, his sheer audacity and extraordinary military bravery, Napoleon emerges victorious and sets out on a path that would one day lead him to the throne of France.

Heroes & Villains: Napoleon

NR 2007
Starwatch

In the late 21st century, planet Earth is suffering. Deep under Stonehenge lies a giant crystal - our world's Sentinel, which regulates the conditions for life. Throughtout the universe are many such Sentinels, each relaying information in the cosmic network of stability. But the relay point for ours is malfunctioning. This will have catastrophic results, as the Sentinel loses control, creating tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes - even the ozone layer will dissipate. In the next decade, the Earth will cease to support life of any description. The Sentinel is aware of its plight, and reaches out to archaeologist Professor Caldeon, who in turn convinces former UN advisor Jason Havlin something must be done. Together they form a team who will explore both the Earth and the Universe in an array of hi-tech vehicles, battling natural disasters, and hoping against hope they can save the planet...

Starwatch

NR 1988
Grandpa's Great Escape

Many years ago, Grandpa was a World War II flying ace, but sadly he is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease. When his family can no longer look after him, he is moved to Twilight Towers, an old people's home. It soon becomes clear that Miss Dandy is running Twilight Towers for her own ulterior motives, and it is up to Grandpa and grandson Jack to make a daring escape. Failure could have the direst of consequences, but success will give Grandpa a final chance to relive his past and take to the sky once again in his beloved Spitfire.

Grandpa's Great Escape

6.1 2018
Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists

Louis Theroux spends time with a small and very committed subculture of ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers. He discovers a group of people who consider it their religious and political obligation to populate some of the most sensitive areas of the West Bank, especially those with a spiritual significance dating back to the Bible. Throughout his journey, Louis gets close to the people most involved with driving the extreme end of the Jewish settler movement - finding them warm, friendly, humorous, and deeply troubling.

Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists

6.6 2011
The Merchant of Venice

A rich merchant, Antonio is depressed for no good reason, until his good friend Bassanio comes to tell him how he's in love with Portia. Portia's father has died and left a very strange will: only the man that picks the correct casket out of three (silver, gold, and lead) can marry her. Bassanio, unfortunately, is strapped for cash with which to go wooing, and Antonio wants to help, so Antonio borrows the money from Shylock, the money-lender. But Shylock has been nursing a grudge against Antonio's insults, and makes unusual terms to the loan. And when Antonio's business fails, those terms threaten his life, and it's up to Bassanio and Portia to save him.

The Merchant of Venice

7.3 1980
The House

Set in 1884, and based on the assumption that Britain is one of the Baltic states between Russia and Latvia, making it part of Europe instead of an off-shore island. It is winter 1884. To gain access to the sea, England has declared war on Latvia and believes herself to be winning. But Russia has sided with Latvia and England is doomed. The action takes place on New Year’s Eve in a country house on the Anglo-Latvian border. The guests are a cross section of the ruling classes.

The House

5.7 1984
A Dedicated Man

Edith is a hotel waitress, single and in her mid-forties, with a major infatuation on Maurice Silcox, the hotel's head waiter. But Edith becomes distraught when she learns that Maurice has been offered a more prestigious job at a luxury hotel. Maurice explains to Edith that he can only take the position if he is married. Unaware Edith's crush, Maurice proposes. She accepts and they set up a household for business purposes only -- complete with a photograph of a make-believe son. As Edith continues to live with this charade, her obsession with Maurice and the "son" grows, leading to a shocking and disturbing outcome!

A Dedicated Man

10.0 1982
The Laughing Prisoner

A funny remake of "The Prisoner" - with a 1980's twist to it 'The Laughing Prisoner' is a remake (or homage) of (to) the Kafkaesque 1960's television show 'The Prisoner' with Patrick McGoohan in the lead role. This time it is a successful television presenter (Jools Holland) who decides to quit at the height of his stardom. He is abducted from his apartment and brought to the village, where number 2 (a young Stephen Fry) is questioning him. The whole show has a cosy 1980's feel to it, with several bands from that period performing their music.

The Laughing Prisoner

4.7 1987
Clay

Adaptation of the book by David Almond, set in 1960s Tyneside. Two 14-year-old boys team up against Mouldy, the town bully. Turning Crazy Mary s garden shed into a workshop, they discover that the sculptures they create come to life. Together they raise a golem, a creature fashioned from clay, capable of dispatching anyone, even Martin Mould. But when Mouldy winds up dead, the boys have to deal with the awful power they may have unleashed and the perils of getting what you wish for.

Clay

5.2 2008
Bomber Boys

Brothers Colin and Ewan McGregor follow up their documentary The Battle of Britain with a film exploring Bomber Command, a rarely told story from the Second World War. The film focuses primarily on the men who fought and died in the skies above occupied Europe, with numerous examples of individual heroism and extraordinary collective spirit, and Colin learns to fly the key aircraft of the campaign: the Lancaster bomber. But this is also the story of a controversy that has lasted almost 70 years. The program covers six years of wartime operations, and traces the obstacles and challenges that were overcome as the RAF developed and deployed the awesome fighting force that was Bomber Command.

Bomber Boys

8.0 2012