A portrait of Stanley Baxter, Scotland’s most dazzling TV star of the 1970s and ’80s, whose groundbreaking sketches and lavish specials made him a household name. Behind the fame, Baxter lived a hidden double life as a gay man in a hostile era, balancing public brilliance with private secrecy. Made shortly before his death, the film draws on personal archives and recordings to reveal the man behind the legend.
To mark the 25th anniversary since the first transmission of Blackadder in 1983, the iconic cast of the much-loved sitcom appear together in a documentary for the first time. The show includes an exclusive in-depth interview with Edmund Blackadder himself, Rowan Atkinson - the first time he has agreed to be interviewed about his experience making the show.
Viva Zapatero! is a 2005 documentary by Sabina Guzzanti telling her side of the story regarding the conflict with Silvio Berlusconi over a late-night TV political satire show broadcast on RAI-3. The show, RAIot (a play on the name of the Italian state public TV: RAI, and the English word riot), lampooned prime minister Berlusconi. Since it wasn't considered a satirical show, but a political one, it was cancelled after the first episode.
A series of sketches taken from the recently-unearthed Morecambe & Wise tape that contained footage which had not been seen for 50 years, and was believed to have been lost forever. The newly discovered half-hour show featured a series of gag-packed routines involving stage curtains, ventriloquism and a daring sketch in which Eric eavesdrops on a newly wedded couple in the flat next door. Now, contributors including Jonathan Ross, Ben Miller and Eddie Izzard look back at this rare slice of classic comedy once again.
Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.
A tribute to Kenny Everett broadcast after his death from AIDS in 1995. Comprising of many of his classic sketches from his 1980s BBC TV series, this tribute also features recollections from those who knew him.
Comedy legend Stanley Baxter returns from retirement and returns to the Christmas schedules with a trawl through the very best of his classic sketches and routines, his memories of making the shows, plus some brand new material, including his contemporary take on the Queen's Christmas Message to the Commonwealth.
A nostalgic look back at City Lights, the iconic Scottish sitcom that captured the spirit of 1980s Scotland, featuring the writer, cast and the famous faces it inspired
Sir David Frost traces the development of the sketch show over the last fifty years, from variety theatre to primetime television.
A celebration of the life and times of the actor Gerard Kelly, with contributions from his friends and colleagues. Gerard's career spanned nearly 40 years starting in 1973 at the age of fourteen, moved on to the hapless Willie Melvin in City Lights and culminated with the fabulous, outrageous Bunny in Extras. Among those appearing will be Richard Wilson, David Hayman, Les Dennis, Andy Gray, Jonathan Watson and Elaine C Smith.
Celebrating the extraordinary career of entertainer Stanley Baxter, whose shows captivated huge audiences for twenty years before the cost of his epics priced him off our screens. Tracing his origins to Scotland's variety and review stages.
Documentary in which the late impressionist's daughters get to the truth about their father's rise to fame and record-breaking success, and his sudden exit from public life. Features Mike Yarwood, Claire Yarwood, Charlotte Yarwood, Michael Crawford, Rory Bremner and more.
A history of the British television comedy double act Morecambe & Wise to coincide with the BBC drama about their early lives.
A documentary showcasing the shows of Channel 4 on it's 25th Anniversary.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Viewers also picked
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Viewers also picked
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
Viewers also picked
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
Viewers also picked
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Viewers also picked
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Viewers also picked
Constructed from over 500 hours of never-before-seen footage, this documentary centers on the personal life and career of the controversial football player Diego Maradona who played for SSC Napoli and Argentina in the 1980s.
Viewers also picked
RETURN tells the story of a retired Green Beret who embarks on a healing journey from Montana to Vietnam. There he retraces his steps, shares his wartime experiences with his son, treats his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and seeks out the mountain tribespeople he once lived with and fought alongside as a Special Forces officer.
Viewers also picked
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Viewers also picked
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Viewers also picked
Ethan Hunt and team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity — which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe — with the world's governments and a mysterious ghost from Hunt's past on their trail. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever.
Against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel's First Family is forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, while defending Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer.
Ethan Hunt and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the world's fate at stake and dark forces from Ethan's past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan must consider that nothing can matter more than his mission—not even the lives of those he cares about most.
Shaun lives a supremely uneventful life, which revolves around his girlfriend, his mother, and, above all, his local pub. This gentle routine is threatened when the dead return to life and make strenuous attempts to snack on ordinary Londoners.
Cheese-loving eccentric Wallace and his cunning canine pal Gromit run a business ridding the town of garden pests. Using only humane methods, which turns their home into a halfway house for evicted vermin, the pair stumble upon a mystery involving a voracious vegetarian monster that threatens to ruin the annual veggie-growing contest.
Christopher Robin, the boy who had countless adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood, has grown up and lost his way. Now it’s up to his spirited and loveable stuffed animals, Winnie The Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and the rest of the gang, to rekindle their friendship and remind him of endless days of childlike wonder and make-believe, when doing nothing was the very best something.
A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages and, as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
England, early 18th century. The close relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill is threatened by the arrival of Sarah's cousin, Abigail Hill, resulting in a bitter rivalry between the two cousins to be the Queen's favourite.
Mere seconds before the Earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
Chris, a former tennis pro, takes a job as an instructor and befriends his wealthy young student, Tom. After being introduced to his family, Chris is soon engaged to Tom's sister, Chloe. Despite the professional and financial advantages that this relationship affords him, Chris becomes obsessed with Tom's fiancee, American actress Nola.
A Chicago detective travels to Scotland after an emerging serial killer’s crimes match those that he investigated five years earlier, one of which was the crime scene of his murdered girlfriend.
Princess Yum Yum falls in love with Tack and saves him from being executed. Later, when the protective orbs of the palace get stolen, Tack and Yum Yum set out to find them and save the kingdom.
In 1970s Glasgow, an unlikely friendship develops between a bereaved 11-year-old lad and the local bully.
A former burglar trying to go straight joins a rehabilitation scheme using much the same methods as AA. Through the process, he takes work as a department store Santa, where the endless parade of goods and money, not to mention the pretty young shop hands have him like a moth to a flame in no time flat.
While posters urge austerity and vigilance in wartime Britain, 'Joey Boy' Thompson has never had it better. In a cellar beneath his East London fish shop, a gambling club thrives – and austerity provides a nice black-market sideline. But the dolce vita crumbles when police arrive in a lightning raid, and offer Joey and his fellow reprobates a stark choice: sign up for active service, or face another stint inside. Thus the lads find themselves heading off to Italy, determined to make the best of it...
When Dexter Munro and his new wife Juliet get married, they decide to escape Juliet's meddling father by buying a rundown cottage and doing it up themselves. But when the cottage proves to be more ramshackle than they thought, and the scale of the repairs needed far out of their budget, the newlyweds are forced into calling on Juliet's father after all. Before long he's employed incompetent builder Josh Wicks, and the situation goes from bad to worse.
Bing Crosby and his family spend Christmas at the estate of a distant relative in England.
British comedy legend Victoria Wood entertains a star-studded audience including Julie Walters, Judi Dench and Dawn French in this 1988 special. Watch her crack jokes, play the piano and answer light-hearted questions.
Sir Ernest Pease is a self-important scientist sent undercover on a bombing mission to monitor the effectiveness of his latest invention, a new-fangled radar. When the plane is attacked, he parachutes to safety — only to be sent to a POW camp, where he takes on the alias of Lieutenant Farrow. There, the somewhat happy-go-lucky bunch of Brits suspect their acerbic new fellow prisoner of being a spy, and all sorts of culture clashes and misunderstandings ensue.
After the criticisms of the 1987 show’s disproportionate focus on music - and the financial disaster of its music-only Festival Of Youth weekend concert in 1988, Amnesty returned to the original formula that had been so successful in the 1976-1981 era with a primary focus on comedy. Pat Duffy was dropped from organising any further benefit events for Amnesty and for the 1989 show, Amnesty hired producer Judith Holder.
The Home Secretary has his eye on the Prime Minister's job. But an experiment in the way the prisons are run leads to embarrassment - and escaped murderers! The fore runner of Crossing The Floor
Jack Docherty brings together a jam-packed cast of comedians, actors and famous faces for a riotous celebration of Scotland's most valuable export – its sense of humour. Scotland is a small nation with a big funny bone. It's known the world over for self-deprecation, quick-witted patter and deadpan asides. But what makes it so funny? To find out the answer, this programme delves deep into the BBC Scotland archives to find a century’s worth of classic characters, catchphrases and comedy clips.
A naïve Scottish civil servant must learn how to drive a Bentley to impress his girlfriend's tycoon father.
A portrait of gambling obsession
BBC Scotland documentary catching up with and celebrating the life of legendary Scottish comedian Stanley Baxter as he returns to Glasgow for his 75th Birthday.
The cast of BBC2's hit comedy series have taken to the stage of Aberdeen's Capitol Theatre on the final night of their triumphant nationwide tour. Now the scene is set for the usual Rab blend of vitriolic comedy. String-vested superslob Rab C. Nesbitt faces a frosty reception from his family when he finally staggers home from the World Cup, several months later spurned by delinquent sons and driven out of the house by his exasperated spouse, he finds himself reluctantly sharing a squalid bedsit with his wholesome and equally estranged pal, Jamesie. ‘I Married the wrong woman’ laments the rueful Rob rekindling memories of his first true love. A sweet schoolgirl called Isobel Niddrie.
Kenny gives us his rendition of Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol, "with apologies to C. Dickens, Esquire"
Rory Bremner looks back at the life and career of Mike Yarwood, master of the imitation game and one of the BBC's most successful stars of the 1970s and 80s.
