Imelda Staunton

A world-renowned but reclusive novelist, believing he is about to die, summons his estranged sons to his home. But instead of seeking forgiveness for their shattered family, he tells them a wild and unbelievable secret that could rewrite their past.

An extraordinary group of women – supported by activist organisation Justice for Magdalenes – fight to hold the Irish government accountable for abuses in the Magdalene Laundries, Mother and Baby Homes, and the forced separation of families, which takes them all the way to the United Nations.

Vivie Warren is a woman ahead of her time. Her mother, however, is a product of that old patriarchal order. Exploiting it has earned Mrs. Warren a fortune – but at what cost?

Paddington travels to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown Family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and up to the mountain peaks of Peru.

A band of fearless chickens flock together to save poultry-kind from an unsettling new threat: a nearby farm that's cooking up something suspicious.

An American family moves in to the Canterville Chase, a London mansion that has been haunted by ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.

On 3 May 2022, Cameron Mackintosh invited many of Stephen Sondheim’s old friends to join him in London’s West End for a thrilling, joyously staged production. He had specially devised it to celebrate Sondheim’s extraordinary talents as a composer and lyricist. Featuring an all-star cast including Michael Ball, Helena Bonham Carter, Rob Brydon, Petula Clark, Anna-Jane Casey, Rosalie Craig, Janie Dee, Judi Dench, Daniel Evans, Maria Friedman, Haydn Gwynne, Bonnie Langford, Damian Lewis and Julia McKenzie.

The Crawley family goes on a grand journey to the south of France to uncover the mystery of the dowager countess's newly inherited villa. Meanwhile, a Hollywood director seeks to film his latest production at Downton.

Offers audiences a unique window into a bygone era when a thrilling new invention, the motion picture camera, first captures a nation on film.

Twenty-five years after their collaboration on 'Sense and Sensibility' (1995), members of the cast and crew reunite to discuss their experiences making the film.

The programme offers unique access to Julia Donaldson, her family, her rich archives and home movies, and the remarkable cast of characters that have sprung from her imagination. Specially commissioned animations from Julia's long-term illustrator Axel Scheffler bring her biography to life. With contributions from well-known admirers and collaborators, this is a tribute to the woman who has created the characters and stories that have become a fixture of children’s bedtime routines all around the world and spawned multi-award-winning adaptations for stage and screen. Looking at her works, the programme uncovers the surprising stories behind how Julia's iconic characters were created and what they mean to a generation of readers. It also explores why Donaldson’s books appeal to both children and adults alike – tackling serious themes of love, loss, fear and bullying in a poignant but subtle way.

This was of course a fitting look into the world of Julia Donaldson, whose books have kept the BBC in Christmas animations for the last few years, and will probably do so for years to come.

Tomaz, an ex-soldier now homeless in London, is offered a place to stay at a decaying house, inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother. As he starts to fall for Magda, Tomaz cannot ignore his suspicion that something insidious might also be living alongside them.

When she died around 1050 AD, a littleknown Viking explorer had become the most traveled woman of the Middle Ages. She had sailed across the Atlantic Ocean eight times and her travels extended from Iceland to Greenland, North America, Scandinavia, the British Isles, through Europe, and all the way to the Vatican in Rome. She was rescued by Leif Erikson from the shipwreck that earned him the nickname Leif the Lucky. Her name was Gudrídur Thorbjarnardóttir, aka the Far Traveller.

Maleficent and her goddaughter Aurora begin to question the complex family ties that bind them as they are pulled in different directions by impending nuptials, unexpected allies, and dark new forces at play.

Reporter Robert Murphy looks at how the real story of the Halliwell murders unfolded on ITV News and inspired those behind the television drama titled "A Confession".

The beloved Crawleys and their intrepid staff prepare for the most important moment of their lives. A royal visit from the King and Queen of England will unleash scandal, romance and intrigue that will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance.

When her life is turned upside down upon discovering her husband's affair, Sandra Abbott seeks refuge in London with her estranged older sister Bif. She begins to find her feet again after letting Bif drag her along to a community dance class.

New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre. Tomorrow the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs and lie about themselves.

Paddington, now happily settled with the Browns, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy, but it is stolen.

A thrilling journey through legends, belief and folklore, this film goes behind the scenes with the British Library as they search to tell that story through objects in their collection, in an ambitious new exhibition: Harry Potter: A History Of Magic. J.K. Rowling, who is lending unseen manuscripts, drawings and drafts from her private archives (which will sit alongside treasures from the British Library, as well as original drafts and drawings from Jim Kay) talks about some of the personal items she has lent to the exhibition and gives new insight into her writing, looking at some of the objects from the exhibition that have fired her imagination.

In the early hours of the morning on the campus of an American college, Martha, much to her husband George’s displeasure, has invited the new professor and his wife to their home for some after-party drinks. As the alcohol flows and dawn approaches, the young couple are drawn into George and Martha’s toxic games until the evening reaches its climax in a moment of devastating truth-telling.

A young woman seeks to expand her limited horizons, set against a backdrop of wartime London.

Jim Carter tells the story of Lonnie Donegan - a crucial trailblazer in the birth of pop music and modern culture who inspired Lennon and McCartney.

Gypsy's mother Rose dreams of a life in show business for her daughters, but Louise becomes a huge burlesque star. Stage musical loosely based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee.

Featurette on the true story that inspired "Pride" (2014). On Pride (2014) DVD.

TV Film adaptation of Victoria Wood's hit musical set in Manchester in 1929 and 1969. When middle aged loners Tubby and Enid attend a reunion of the choir in which they sang as children, the music evokes powerful memories, leading them to realise they still have a chance to find happiness.

That Musical We Made is an honest and funny look at the making of a musical. Victoria Wood takes us behind the scenes of That Day We Sang, the film she wrote and directed, and also looks at the real events which inspired her story. She goes back to Manchester to find out about the original choir of the 1920s, and the children who sang on the record of Nymphs and Shepherds. And in between unpeeling the history and sharing the fun of the shoot, she tries to work out how a piece of writing can evolve. Victoria unpicks the process in an attempt to understand how what started as a straightforward account of a day in the life of a children's choir in 1929 ended up as a middle-aged love story about the power of music to reconnect lonely people and give them a second chance to fall in love.

A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.

In 1984, a group of LGBT activists decide to raise money to support the National Union of Mineworkers during their lengthy strike. There is only one problem: the Union seems embarrassed to receive their support.

A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. She rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her heart into stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading King's successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and to Maleficent's true happiness as well.

Animation telling of the adventures of Mouse, Mole, Rat and Owl. Before giving a Twelfth Night party, Mouse makes a snowmole for Mole. In a dream, Snowmole takes him to a land where his every wish is granted. But dreams can become nightmares and wishes can sometimes backfire!

Director Alfred Hitchcock is revered as one of the greatest creative minds in the history of cinema. Known for his psychological thrillers, Hitchcock’s leading ladies were cool, beautiful and preferably blonde. One such actress was Tippi Hedren, an unknown fashion model given her big break when Hitchcock’s wife saw her on a TV commercial. Brought to Universal Studios, Hedren was shocked when the director, at the peak of his career, quickly cast her to star in his next feature, 1963’s The Birds. Little did Hedren know that as ambitious and terrifying as the production would be to shoot, the most daunting aspect of the film ended up coming from behind the camera.

London: The Modern Babylon is legendary director Julien Temple's epic time-traveling voyage to the heart of his hometown.

The enthusiastic Pirate Captain, along with his rag-tag crew, sets out to beat his bitter rivals. The chaotic adventure takes them from exotic shores to Victorian London, and from a haplessly smitten scientist to a diabolical queen.

In 1846, Anthony Hope sails into London with the mysterious Sweeney Todd, a once-naive barber whose life and marriage was uprooted by a corrupt justice system. Todd confides in Nellie Lovett, the owner of a local meat pie shop, and the two become partners, as Todd swears revenge on those that have wronged him and decides to take up his old profession.

For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each Christmas, Santa and his vast army of highly trained elves produce gifts and distribute them around the world in a one-night high-tech operation. However, when one of 600 million children to receive a gift from Santa on Christmas Eve is missed, it is deemed ‘acceptable’ to all but one—Arthur Claus, the current Santa’s misfit son deemed ineligible for the title, who executes an unauthorised rookie mission to get the last present halfway around the globe before dawn on Christmas morning.

In post–War England, a writer and sometime-ghost hunter investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.

Harry, Ron and Hermione walk away from their last year at Hogwarts to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, putting an end to Voldemort's bid for immortality. But with Harry's beloved Dumbledore dead and Voldemort's unscrupulous Death Eaters on the loose, the world is more dangerous than ever.

In the dead of night a troubled youth from an East London estate, Ray Marsden stalks into a hospital ward demanding to see the patient. The attendant Nurse, Lynne McDermott is sceptical about Ray's motives but gradually uncovers the truth about his violent past and in so doing makes a startling discovery that will change both of their lives forever.

During a year, a very content couple approaching retirement are visited by friends and family less happy with their lives.

Psychoville returns with a spooktacular hour-long Halloween special. Four tales of terror unfold as location manager Phil Walker investigates the abandoned ruins of Ravenhill Psychiatric hospital. Does the ghost of evil governess Edwina Kenchington still walk the empty corridors? What other horrors lie within these crumbling walls?

Alice, now 19 years old, returns to the whimsical world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny.

The story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the happening that it was. When Elliot hears that a neighboring town has pulled the permit on a hippie music festival, he calls the producers thinking he could drum up some much-needed business for his parents' run-down motel. Three weeks later, half a million people are on their way to his neighbor’s farm in White Lake, New York, and Elliot finds himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life–and American culture–forever.

Documentary on the adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' for Ang Lee's 1995 film.

Jefferson Steel, a washed-up Hollywood action star, is desperate to revive his flagging career. When his sleazy agent signs him up for what he believes is a high-profile Royal Shakespeare Company production of King Lear at Stratford upon Avon, Steel thinks he has finally landed the plum role he has been waiting for. However, he soon discovers that he has been tricked into joining an amateur dramatics group for a charity production.

A London tube driver considers pursuing a third fatal accident to collect a huge payout.

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.

Liam's innocent quest uncovers a series of dark secrets in an otherwise quiet suburban household. A BBC Comedy short film.

A young woman, struggling with the direction of her life, spends Christmas watching over a retirement home filled with demanding residents.

Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out was a one-off, one-hour documentary/biography about Stephen Fry released in 2007 by the BBC, celebrating Stephen Fry's fiftieth birthday.

Over the course of this drama's six separate stories, a variety of couples struggle with the infidelity, dishonesty and heartbreak that plagues their varied pasts. In overcoming their challenges, these diverse individuals embrace a brighter future.

When a new professor's methods leave Hogwarts unprepared to fight the rising tide of evil, Harry teaches students how to defend against the dark arts.

A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

Jailed for his reckless driving, rambunctious Mr. Toad has to escape from prison when his beloved Toad Hall comes under threat from the wily weasels, who plan to build a dog food factory on the very meadow sold to them by Toad himself.

Rogue operatives within the C.I.A. smuggle a lethal virus out of the U.S. and use ex-intelligence officer Jack Foster (Seagal) as their courier. Unaware of the plot he's involved in, Jack takes his daughter on a trip to Europe, where she's kidnapped by a mysterious foreign agent. Now to save her and take down her kidnappers, Jack must blast his way into the shadowy world of international espionage, where enemies lurk at every corner and friends can turn on you in an instant!

A documentary exploring Bill Douglas' struggle from childhood poverty to acclaimed filmmaker of Comrades and the Trilogy.

Escaping the dreary wet weather of 1930s England, an eccentric family uproot and ship themselves to the sunnier climes of the Greek island of Corfu.

Widower Cedric Brown hires Nanny McPhee to care for his seven rambunctious children, who have chased away all previous nannies. Taunted by Simon and his siblings, Nanny McPhee uses mystical powers to instill discipline. And when the children's great-aunt and benefactor, Lady Adelaide Stitch, threatens to separate the kids, the family pulls together under the guidance of Nanny McPhee.

Abortionist Vera Drake finds her beliefs and practices clash with the mores of 1950s Britain – a conflict that leads to tragedy for her family.

During the 1930s in England, a group of young socialites dominate the national gossip with extravagant and outlandish antics. Among the group is the aspiring novelist Adam Fenwick-Symes, who is attempting to raise enough money to marry fellow member Nina Blount. However, after customs officials confiscate his first manuscript, Fenwick-Symes must recover from the financial setback and figure out new ways to earn money for a wedding.

A has-been rock star that discovers he has a teenage daughter from a long forgotten love affair.

Blackball follows the fortunes of Cliff Starkey, a working-class fine of lawn bowls with an exceptional talent. Wanting to take on the Aussies he manages to become regional champion, only to get banned. Sports agent Rich Schwartz picks him up and makes him so popular the Bowls Committee deem to lift the ban. Now the question is whether he can regain his form and his friends to beat the Aussies.

In Liverpool, Joanne Conlon rescues a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary from her local church's replacement plans. As her family faces financial struggles and newfound success, the statue's tears return, turning their lives upside down and drawing crowds from near and far to witness the miraculous phenomenon.

Three 40-something women in a small English town meet weekly for a ritual of gin, cigarettes, and sweets -- and swapped stories arguing which of them has the most pathetic love life. Kate is headmistress at the local school; her best friends are the town's police chief and a cynical, thrice-divorced doctor.

Naomi has known all her life that she will succumb to the same fate that has befallen her family for generations. Unlike her ancestors, who all made unmitigated fools of themselves trying to avoid the curse, Naomi has accepted her destiny and tells herself that she is ready.

A woman is wrongly accused of murdering her husband in Edwardian London. Just before the outbreak of World War I, Edith Graydon married her boyfriend Percy Thomson. He survives the war but theirs is not a happy marriage. She doesn't really love him and he feels it every day. He's also possessive and their daily life is a constant battle. She meets and falls in love with Frederick Bywaters, her sister's one-time boyfriend. They have a long affair and her desperate attempts to get either a formal separation of divorce from her husband falls on deaf ears. They are at their wits end and Bywaters decides to do something about it. On a dark evening when Edith is walking with her husband, Bywaters stabs him to death. Edith is charged with murder along with Bywaters and both are found guilty. She claims her innocence right up until the day they are both executed by hanging in 1923. Based on a true story.

The comedienne stars in this festive sketch show, alongside a host of celebrity guests.

After a night of drinking Guiness at the local watering hole, an ordinary, working-class, family man in Dublin's life is turned upside-down when he wakes up as a rat.

The creators of Wallace & Gromit bring you an exciting and original story about a group of chickens determined to fly the coop–even if they can’t fly! It’s hardly poultry in motion when Rocky attempts to teach Ginger and her feathered friends to fly…but, with teamwork, determination and a little bit o’ cluck, the fearless flock plots one last attempt in a spectacular bid for freedom.

In this spell-binding story brave Jack climbs the Beanstalk to the magical world of Beanland. He and his new friends Dilly (the small but fearless Bean girl) and Ambrose (the nervous donkey) are drawn into all sorts of exciting adventures as they attempt to rid the Beanland of the wicked Giant. This exciting and beautifully animated re-telling of the classic tale is filled with fun, humour and wonderful music to delight children of all ages time and time again.

Young William Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, 'Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter', before it's even written. When lovely noblewoman Viola de Lesseps auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love — and Shakespeare's play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship intensifies, the comedy soon transforms into tragedy.

The Ugly Duckling teams up with friend Scruffy, and the lovable misfits embark on a journey that helps them realize that their differences are what make them special.

A domestic farce exposes the eccentricities of a "typical" middle class, suburban family who find their lives thrown into a crisis with the unexpected arrival of one of the wife's old flames.

Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman he loves.

Toad's life is just one big adventure! His latest and greatest hobby is racing around the countryside in his new motor car getting into all sorts of trouble. Meanwhile, his wonderful home, Toad Hall, has been taken over by the wicked weasels and ferrets. It's now up to Toad and his riverbank friends to embark on the biggest adventure of all - the Great Battle of Toad Hall!

The Snow Queen holds Ellie responsible for ruining her plans to freeze the world and sets out to seek revenge. She kidnaps Dimly the flying reindeer and once again Ellie and her friend Peeps the Sparrow are forced to travel, this time to the South Pole, where the Snow Queen and her Trolls have taken up residence.

Follow Mr. Toad as he purchases a motor car, and his pals Ratty, Badger, and Mole are forced to come to his rescue after a series of misadventures, as well as a brush with the law.

Mole decides it's time for an adventure! It isn't long before he discovers all the fun and thrills of the riverbank in the company of his new found friend, Rat.

The Dashwood sisters, sensible Elinor and passionate Marianne, learn that their prospects of marriage seem doomed by their family's sudden loss of fortune. After Henry Dashwood dies unexpectedly, his estate must pass on by law to his son. These circumstances leave Mr. Dashwood's wife and daughters without a home and with barely enough money to live on. As Elinor and Marianne struggle to find romantic fulfillment in a society obsessed with financial and social status, they must learn to mix sense with sensibility in their dealings with both money and men.

A man frantically searches for a pen while stuck on a train journey somewhere in Scotland.

Based on the true story of a Russian serial killer who, over many years, claimed victim to over 50 people. His victims were mostly under the age of 17. In what was then a communists state, the police investigations were hampered by bureaucracy, incompetence and those in power. The story is told from the viewpoint of the detective in charge of the case.

Far away, in her vast ice palace, the Snow Queen plots to rule the world by deflecting all the sun's warmth away from Earth so that it freezes over. But her mirror breaks, and on her mission to find all the missing pieces, she kidnaps Tom, who has part of the mirror in his body. Can his sister Ellie save Tom, and stop the evil Queen from achieving global dominance?

Rat and Mole must get to Mole's home through a snowy Christmas Eve while eluding weasel pickpockets.

Mother rules the house with an iron hand and has such power over her daughters that they see themselves as becoming old unmarried, maids. Jodie has feelings for the local doctor, a man much older than her, for which her mother strongly disapproves. Beth finds a relationship with a male stripper in Bristol, but sees nothing in the future with Mother around. While both girls would like to be rid of Mother, nothing happens until Jodie sees images of H. R. Armstrong, the man who put the town on the map by dispatching his un-loving wife

British academics Loretta and Bridget run into Sandra, an old school friend at a book launch. Although Sandra appears to be gay and carefree, Loretta notices an undercurrent of tension while Sandra stays with her for a few days. Loretta is saddened to learn her friend was killed in a car accident, and comforts Sandra's estranged husband Tom, her daughter Lizzie, and emotionally disturbed son Felix. While doing so she becomes to believe the accident may not be what it seems, spurred on by the information a local policeman provides her.

In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding officer, Don Pedro, the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick and Beatrice -- a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John plots to ruin the wedding.

Presentation of Arnold Wesker's play of the 1950s. A young girl returns to her family home in Norfolk, having been educated in cultural and political matters by her boyfriend Ronnie. Through trying to pass on what she has learned, she discovers her own voice and views.

After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter invites his friends from college: married couple Roger and Mary, the lonely Maggie, fashionable Sarah, and writer Andrew, who brings his American TV star wife, Carol. Sarah's new boyfriend, Brian, also attends. It has been 10 years since college, and they find their lives are very different.

While English professor Loretta Lawson is attending a conference in Paris, she stays the night in the flat of a friend's acquaintance. She discovers a sleeping man in one of the bedrooms, and the next morning finds the man gone, but the bed soaked with blood. Returning to Cambridge, she begins to suspect her friend's acquaintance, and others on the staff of the college, are involved with the missing (murdered?) man, and decides to investigate for herself.

When plucky Corporal Pru Merriman reports to her superiors Monk and Bob for driving duty, she finds herself catapulted into the murky world of the French Resistance.

Britain in the very near future. In an abandoned hotel, a young female doctor and a middle-aged scientist are interrogated separately. The question they are both asked is 'Where is Martin Pitt?'

Plain Jane Hartman hates her life. She's goofy, boring and only has sex if she reads Iris Murdoch novels out loud to her loopy boyfriend. Her oldest friend Antonia McGill knows about everything. She orders the right food; she can complain and get results. She's beautiful and has a brilliant career. Is it any wonder that they hate each other's guts?

A woman and her daughter are stranded in a rambling old house deep in the countryside of County Tyrone. Their economic circumstances are hopeless, but it is friends and former business associates who pose the greatest threat to their happiness.

In World War II England, a woman is approached by a man claiming to work as an intelligence agent who has found out her lover is a spy. He promises to not arrest him if she'll have a relationship with him.

The story of "The Tolpuddle Martyrs". A group of 19th century English farm labourers who formed one of the first trade unions and started a campaign to receive fair wages.

At a concert Marcia picked Terry out of the crowd. So he no longer feels alone. Until he learns about her secret life and dare not tell his friends.