• TV, FILM & RADIO
THE LATEST DOCUMENTARIES, BLOCKBUSTERS AND PERIOD DRAMAS
ONE TO WATCH
A new beginning
Coronation coverage / multiple channels, Saturday 6 May
The Coronation of King Charles III will be many different things to many different people. Many will be enthralled by the pageantry and sense of occasion on the day itself, Saturday 6 May. Others will simply relish a cheeky extra bank holiday. But whatever your thoughts, this is a solemn and historic occasion, a kind of formal and public acknowledgement that Britain, along with several Commonwealth nations, has a new head of state and defender of the faith.
The BBC is often at its best on such occasions, able to draw on a combination of its expertise and institutional knowledge that encompasses, for instance, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, one of last century’s TV landmarks. ITV and Sky will likely also offer extensive coverage.
So what can we look expect on and around the big day? There will of course be live coverage of the Coronation Service from Westminster Abbey, with BBC coverage inclusive to all audiences. On Sunday 7 May, the BBC will offer coverage of the Coronation Concert from the grounds of Windsor Castle. With 20,000 people attending what’s being called the Coronation Party, this will be the first time the castle’s private grounds have ever hosted a celebration on such a scale.
At the time BBC History Revealed Magazine went to press, details of Coronation-themed programming were still sketchy, but one show we are sure will be in the schedules is Stitching for Britain (BBC One, May). Presented by Patrick Grant, seriously dapper judge of The Great British Sewing Bee, the show takes viewers behind the scenes at Kashket & Partners and Firmin & Sons.
The Coronation connection is that Kashket & Partners are master tailors specialising in uniforms, while Firmin & Sons are the metalworkers whose job is to turn out shiny new buttons with the letters ‘CR’ stamped on them. In the run-up to the Coronation, both of these deeply traditional businesses are every bit as busy as you might expect.
For more about the history of coronations, TAP HERE
TV
She’s uncertain if she likes him…
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story / Netflix, streaming from Thursday 4 May
On 8 September 1761, within six hours of arriving at St James’s Palace in London from Germany, Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was elevated to the very pinnacle of British society through her marriage to King George III. The couple’s wedding day was also the first day they ever met.
How much of this precise story has made its way into Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story was difficult to gauge as BBC History Revealed went to press, but we’d suspect not too much. Then again, strict historical accuracy has never exactly been key to Bridgerton’s success. Rather, the world of the ton has become a worldwide hit via a combination of high production values, intricately calibrated plots and diverse casting, which combine to give Bridgerton such a different vibe to other period dramas.
This much we do know. The prequel will relate how the young Charlotte (India Ria Amarteifio) and George (Corey Mylchreest) fall in love. Footage released last year showed Charlotte trying to make a getaway by climbing over a garden wall rather than meet the monarch, so we can presumably expect a few hitches as the two get to know each other.
The show, scripted by Bridgerton head honcho Shonda Rhimes, will also look at the backstory of Lady Danbury (played as a younger woman by Arsema Thomas), the Duke of Hastings’ mentor in the first season of Bridgerton, and promises to explain just how she and Charlotte came to be so close.
Meantime, a third season of Bridgerton is in production. It’s been strongly hinted that it will focus on the relationship between Penelope Featherington, aka gossip writer Lady Whistledown (Nicola Coughlan), and Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton).
To learn more about the court of King George III and Queen Charlotte, TAP HERE
RADIO
Theatrical thinking
Taking Issue with Shakespeare / BBC Radio 4, Monday 17 April
It’s 400 years since the First Folio, which collected together the plays of William Shakespeare, was first published. Without it, many of his works might have been lost forever.
A new weekday series marks this anniversary by asking whether the Bard’s work can help resolve today’s problems and, in turn, whether discussing questions in this way offers fresh insights into the plays.
Each of the shows features Emma Smith, professor of Shakespeare Studies at Oxford, in conversation with a public figure. In an episode with Michael Gove, King Lear acts as a starting point for a discussion about levelling up, while Hamlet serves as a gateway for Will Self to ponder toxic masculinity. Gordon Brown and Shriti Vadera (on populism and Julius Caesar), Fiona Shaw (on moving from city to country and As You Like It) and Mercy Muroki (on monarchy and Richard II) also feature.
TV
Conserved for the nation
Hidden Treasures of the National Trust / BBC Two, May
The sheer scale of the National Trust is boggling. With more than 5.3 million members and 10,000 staff, it is responsible for the care and conservation of more than 500 historic properties, gardens and nature reserves, 250,000 hectares of farmland and close to 780 miles of coastline – “for everyone, for ever” as the charity itself puts it.
How best to understand the work of such a huge organisation? One approach is to focus in, to search for stories that reveal wider themes, and that’s precisely the approach taken in this new series from the team that went behind the scenes at the V&A to make Secrets of the Museum.
As with its predecessor, there’s a chance to peek over the shoulders of experts and conservators as they work to preserve the past for future generations. This time around, too, viewers also meet some of the volunteers so essential to keeping the National Trust running on a day-to-day basis. Each episode has a different regional focus.
As for the properties and objects on view, their range says much about why the National Trust’s work is about far more than preserving country houses. In 1995, for example, the National Trust bought 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton, south Liverpool. Not only was this former council house one of the childhood homes of Paul McCartney, but it’s been called “the birthplace of the Beatles” because it was here the band wrote and rehearsed their earliest songs.
Most importantly, what’s the story behind brick-pattern wallpaper at the house?
TV
Destiny is (still) all
The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die / Netflix, streaming from Friday 14 April
When The Last Kingdom reached its conclusion last year after five seasons, it’s safe to say there was a certain amount of disgruntlement amongst fans. This was because some were unhappy that events in the latter novels of Bernard Cornwell’s bestselling series weren’t going to make it to the screen.
Or so it seemed until Netflix announced Seven Kings Must Die, a feature-length sequel that begins with Lord Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Alexander Dreymon) enjoying – mild spoilers ahead – acomparatively quiet life as ruler of Northumbria. After a century of conflict between England’s inhabitants and Nordic invaders, peace is threatening to break out. Although Uhtred has yet to pledge his lands to the throne, England is tantalisingly close to being united.
At which point, exit King Edward, whose death pits his two potential heirs, Æthelstan (Harry Gilby) and Ælfweard (Ewan Horrocks), against each other. Uhtred’s instinct is to side with his former ward and protégé, Æthelstan, but it soon becomes clear the young prince is receiving questionable advice.
If all that weren’t tricky enough, there’s a new threat in the form of a Danish warrior-king, Anlaf, who is hoping to sow further discord in what’s already a fractious country. Not for the first time, Uhtred is caught between two worlds.
RADIO
Deadly duo
An Eye for a Killing / BBC Radio 4, Friday 28 April
The crimes of William Burke and William Hare made them infamous. Here were two men who, through 1828, committed multiple murders and sold the bodies of their unfortunate victims for dissection by Edinburgh’s anatomists.
But for all the duo’s notoriety, much of their story is poorly understood. This docudrama series should help bring clarity as it offers expert perspectives on such questions as why only Burke was convicted and hanged. The series draws extensively on the archives and sheds new light not just on the killers, but those they preyed upon, too.