See more from the star-studded celebration – Shakespeare Live! At the RSC, BBC Two

...and showed us that even the royals let their parents bury them in the sand on holiday

See the royal family’s home videos – Elizabeth at 90 – a Family Tribute, BBC One

Matt LeBlanc learns why car doors should not be taken for granted

Watch him burn some desert rubber – Preview: Top Gear, BBC Two

When Katie Hopkins disses your hair colour

See how Angela Scanlon got on with the tabloid queen – Angela Scanlon’s Close Encounters, BBC Three

And finally - being on the moon away didn’t stop Tim Peake from running the London Marathon, harnessed to a treadmill in the International Space Station

See Tim launching the 2016 race – London Marathon 2016 Highlights, BBC Sport

And if you want to see what actor Tyger Drew-Honey picks out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

Find out how Michael embarrasses Geri  – Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, BBC One

We don’t think Dawn O’Porter will be hiring Angela Scanlon as her stylist any time soon…

See what happened when Angela met Dawn – Angela Scanlon’s Close Encounters, BBC Three

When an 18-year-old slips a goal of pure class straight past you… 

Watch Marcus Rashford’s worldy against West Ham – The FA Cup, BBC One

Meet Pat, who has lovingly looked after almost 8,000 babies and counting 

See inside the UK's only private maternity hospital – Five Star Babies: Inside Portland Hospital, BBC Two

And finally… these schoolgirls’ reactions when they realise celebrity Nick Jonas is driving them home…

Find out why their school trip was taken over – The School Run, BBC Radio 1

And if you want to see what Michael Ball picks out on BBC iPlayer this week you can watch Frank Skinner On Demand With...

1. It’s the perfect excuse to stay relaxing on the sofa

If you’re a telly fan, hours upon hours of coverage of any event – from Wimbledon to Springwatch – is an utter joy. You become emotionally engaged, engrossed in all the rivalries, and really get behind the underdog. Remember unlucky-in-love Spineless Si? And if you’re really jammy, a tactical frame will drag on into the early hours of the morning. Who needs sleep?

2. You’ll pick up the lingo, like: “Where’s the cue ball going?!”

Like football’s trope, "no easy games" and – a personal favourite from cricket - "corridor of uncertainty", there are certain phrases in snooker that regularly pop up in the commentary. And none has gained more notoriety than the excitable cry (usually by John Virgo) of: "Where’s the cue ball going?!"

The wonderful thing about this question is that the answer is always: 'Towards the pocket, that’s why you’re asking'. Look out for it.

3. You’ll witness old-school showmanship

It’s easy to think – in a world so reliant on sponsorship deals – that athletes are so careful about what they say there are no characters in sport anymore. Enter Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Known as The Rocket for a reason (he holds the record for the fastest-ever maximum break), he can play right or left-handed, once briefly played in his socks, and almost snapped in his cue in frustration earlier this year. He’s also probably the most talented player of all time, and is the most exciting to watch since Hurricane Higgins.

Ronnie’s currently taking a break from competitive snooker, so why not check out that lightning 147 while we await his return? And keep an eye out for Judd Trump, another exciting (and already hugely successful) player who has a nickname to rival Ronnie’s: The Juddernaut.

4. All the cool kids watch it

Just like darts, snooker has gained unlikely hipster status over the past few years, meaning celebs have flocked to watch their favourite cue ball wizards live – and we can spend the breaks in play trying to spot them in the audience.

Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno is a big fan, Richard Osman is too, and with Sheffield being the home of snooker's World Championships, you always have a chance of spotting Pulp's Jarvis Cocker…

5. Hazel Irvine knows everything about sport. EVERYTHING.

There are some sports presenters you just feel safe with, and Hazel Irvine is one of them. From golf's famous fairways to the Olympics, Hazel is always at the Beeb’s biggest sporting events – stats and insights close at hand – and she certainly leads the way when it comes to snooker.

Take note of what she says, and you too can pretend to know your stuff, and not just secretly find the thwack-thwack of snooker balls strangely calming (even though it really is).

Masters Snooker continues on Thursday, 14 January at 1pm on BBC Two. The coverage will be available on BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

The Rack Pack is available from Sunday, 17 January at 9pm on BBC iPlayer. 

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Anyone can apply to be an Honorary Steward. However, there is a waiting list and our Stewards come from a wide variety of backgrounds and experience. Some may have worked for other groups like The London Fire Brigade and we have also have had a number who were volunteers at the 2012, which really helps as they understand what this type of role involves. We also have a team of student day and night stewards who are very keen to be part of the Stewarding team and may well be with us for three or four years.

This isn't my full-time job - I run a retail business! So I, like most of the other stewards, take off two weeks of the year to work at the Championships. A lot of people are retired. A lot of people have jobs and just take two week’s holiday.

I've worked here for 15 years. I took over from the previous chief steward back in 2013, and he’d been a steward for 34 years. Once you start doing stewarding you tend to stay for quite a long time!

Because a lot of people have done it for years and love coming to Wimbledon and love the queuing experience, they will turn up very well prepared. People come with their packed lunches and their picnic bags, and with magazines and music to listen to and that type of thing. You can have quite a long wait.

People are usually pretty well informed about what to expect, but we have people from around the world who’ve never been in the queue before and find it amazing that people stand in a line for a good few hours before they get into the ground – but the end result is pretty good!

You’re always going to get a little bit of boisterous behaviour in the queue. Generally speaking though, the Wimbledon crowd is a very well behaved crowd, and we don’t get too many problems. We don’t want people who have been drinking in the queue – so we have to monitor that and politely enforce it.

You do get a few rowdy fans though. They’re usually absolutely fine, you just have to remind them that there are other people there as well that they’ve got to behave around - and generally speaking, once you’ve spoken to someone they’re usually pretty good.

You do get some characters at Wimbledon! They come back year in year out. They’re sometimes wearing something strange. We used to have a chap – we used to call him ‘toaster man’ – he used to have a hat with a toaster on the top of it.

Wimbledon is very unique compared to any other tennis tournament or sporting event. A lot of people including me pinch themselves when they go into the ground. I think it’s a combination of the way it’s run, and its history. It’s just a very special place to be involved with. I think everybody who works there knows that, and that’s why you get that very special team spirit; because they’re there to make sure everyone coming to Wimbledon is going to have a great day.

My three tips to Very British Queuing Etiquette:

1. Arrive early. No question. Otherwise you might not get in.
2. Make sure you come with plenty of water, because you can have a long wait.
3. Come prepared for the British weather. Make sure you check out the weather forecast!

Wimbledon continues until Sunday, 12 July on BBC One, BBC Two and Red Button. Matches will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

I played against Mia at the FIFA All-Stars in 1999, just before the World Cup. At the time she was one of the biggest sporting superstars in America, male or female. She was a Nike-sponsored athlete and even had a doll made after her, which was pretty amazing at that time.

I remember when we all walked out, they announced her name and the crowd just went crazy. It was a bit of an eye-opener for me, as a 19 year old going over there a bit in awe. But she was lovely. Really down-to-earth, and really encouraging to young players, and that always stuck with me. That’s what you want from an experienced player. I hope that now – me being the experienced player – I’m doing a similar sort of thing, helping the youngsters come through.

2. Katie Chapman – Chelsea FC and England International

Katie’s in the limelight at the minute, as she’s just been called back to the England squad – she missed a few World Cups due to having kids. She’s a great player, had done fantastic in World Cups previously – but she just felt that she couldn’t both be with her kids and play football at that point.

I didn’t actually realise how much goes in to having children and training full-time until I did an interview with Katie recently for the Women’s Football Show. She trains every morning for Chelsea. She lives an hour away from the training ground, and she’s got to get her three kids ready and out of the house beforehand. Every time I’ve played with her for England, she’s so mentally strong, no matter what game you’re playing. She always expects high standards in training, in matches. She’s the sort of player that you want in your team.

3. Christie Rampone - Sky Blue FC and US International

This is Christie’s fifth World Cup and she’s 39 years old. It still gives me hope. She’s my role model to keep going! She’s not showed any signs of slowing down. You’re watching her play, and she’s still as good as she was in 1999 [when she won the World Cup with the USA].

She is the ultimate professional. She knows exactly what she needs to do so that she’s 100% fit for the game. She’s also a mum with two kids. And I think it would be good to play with someone like that – I like playing with winners and people that work hard and play hard.

4. Birgit Prinz – German International (retired)

Birgit is a prolific goal scorer, and played most of her career at Frankfurt. She’s just an absolute powerhouse. I remember a game we played against her, and at the time we had two quick centre-halves and I remember her bursting through and it was like they were running in quicksand. They just couldn’t keep up with her!

When we played in the Euros in 2001, we stayed in the same hotel as the German national team. We all knew Prinz as this strong player that took no prisoners on the pitch, but when she came down with a few of the players she was holding a little teddy bear that she carried around for luck. We couldn’t believe it!

5. Marta – FC Rosengärd and Brazilian International

Marta is probably the best female footballer I’ve ever seen play. She can do things with a football that most players can only dream of. I can imagine her playing in a men’s team and not being pushed off the ball. She’ll play in a massive game and be the star player and she’s definitely someone to watch out for in the World Cup.

She’s won FIFA World Player of the Year five times – that just shows what calibre of player she is. She’s also quite funny, she likes to play tricks and jokes on people, but as soon as the game’s on she’s serious and focussed. She’s still got a few more World Cups in her too.

Sue Smith is an England football player and commentator for the BBC's Women's World Cup coverage.

The Women's World Cup begins on Saturday 6 June at 10.35pm on BBC Three and continues until Sunday 5 July on BBC Two, BBC Three and Red Button. Each episode will be available in BBC iPlayer for 30 days after broadcast on TV.

Images are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

It all began because of my cousin Shirley in the summer of 1970.

I was 29 years old when she introduced me to Sam Leitch, the new editor on Match Of The Day.

Sam told me that the programme was going to get a facelift and needed new music too.

He suggested I ‘do’ something for submission. I eagerly jumped at the opportunity and asked if there was a brief.

Sam looked at me with that Sam Leitch twinkle in his eye and replied simply, “Something good, Barry.”

I felt like I had just been asked to find the Holy Grail.

It had to be a melodic tune, something very simple and easy to remember.

It had to be lively with a good rhythm and make one want to tap one’s foot to it.

It had to be able to stir one’s feelings, make one feel happy, and most importantly it had to sound fresh every time one heard it played, so that one would know instantly, that’s Match Of The Day.

It was a formidable task. I started working on the demo.

Sometimes a musical idea would pop into my head and at other times I got inspiration by playing my guitar.

Strangely enough, the first thing that popped into my head was the short fanfare at the end of the piece.

Those fanfare harmonies give the music a gladiator feel, akin to entering the ancient games arena in Rome with all its expectations.

I scored the arrangement to include trumpets and used an electronic keyboard called a clavioline for the string sounds.

Then I prepared to record the demo.

I called in my friend, Stuart Vincent, who was a drummer and he played the drums and tambourine.

I played the bass, rhythm and lead guitar, banjo and clavioline.

Finally, I brought in a trumpeter and he played all the trumpet parts I needed.

It was all recorded on my multi-track recorder and then mixed down to a mono master demo.

Of course, I didn’t have all the sophisticated equipment of today, but it achieved the result I was looking for.

Over the years, the tune has been played at weddings, funerals, school assemblies, sung as a hymn, and used in TV comedy shows.

But for me, the memory of the original theme produced in my basement recording studio all those years ago will remain with me forever.

Barry Stoller composed the theme tune to Match Of The Day.
Match Of The Day At 50 is on Friday, 22 August at 10.35pm on BBC One and BBC One HD. For further programmes times please see the upcoming broadcasts page.

More on Match Of The Day At 50
BBC Sport: Match Of The Day At 50: Presenters through the years
BBC Sport: Match Of The Day: 50 years of broadcasting celebration
BBC Sport: Match Of The Day At 50: The commentators
BBC Sport: Barry Davies returns to Match Of The Day commentary box
BBC News: Match Of The Day tops TV theme music league
BBC Ariel: Editor on working for Match Of The Day
Daily Mail: Golden Years: Match Of The Day at 50 in pictures
The Telegraph: John Motson on 50 years of Match Of The Day
The Guardian: Match Of The Day's funniest moments
About the BBC blog: Match Of The Day at 50: A reflection by Barry Davies

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

It's a BBC Two documentary filmed over a year of Susie's racing life, including her testing for the Williams Formula 1 team.

She knew that I wasn’t out to do some exposé on women in motorsport; instead I was aiming to tell her story.

Susie can be quite a guarded person so at times it was difficult as when she was dealing with some of the low points leading up to her Formula 1 test, she obviously didn't want a camera crew around documenting her tough times.

It was my natural instinct to step in as a brother and try to make things better, but as a director I had to stand back and leave things in the hands of her team.

At the end of the day there is little I could do to help as this level of racing is much higher than anything I have experienced.
 
When Susie ventured out in her Formula 1 car for the first time, I was nervous and that made it tough to concentrate on directing my film crew.

I think the crew could sense that tensions were high, but they understood how I was feeling on a personal level. There was a lot of pressure on her that day as she wanted to make a good impression and I could see that Susie was anxious.
 
All motorsport teams are uneasy having film crews around. They are competing at a very high level and don't want anything sensitive getting out that might give the other teams an advantage, but as Susie's brother I was given a level of trust that not many other filmmakers would have been granted.

The film explores Susie's highs and lows, at times there were more low points than high points, but we don't shy away from that.

Susie was open and honest throughout filming – like when she qualified poorly at Brands Hatch. 

We filmed her afterwards and you could see the raw emotion in her disappointment, which isn't typically what you would see with a racing driving driver facing the media. Normally their public persona is very different from their private.

Many people have the perception that motorsport is glamorous, but behind the scenes it is actually incredibly tough –  like the intense hours Susie spends in the gym training and how careful she has to be with everything she eats.

As a female driver, Susie is faced with the usual clichés about her role within the sport. You'll hear her opinion on having to drive a pink car as a marketing stunt, but she never lets these things deter her.

Susie races because it's in her blood and I hope this documentary will give viewers insight to the dedication it takes (and disappointments you have to cope with) to achieve your dream.

David Stoddart is the director of Driven: The Fastest Woman In The World.

Driven: The Fastest Woman In The World is on BBC Two and BBC Two HD at different times across the UK, starting with BBC Two Wales at 4.30pm on Sunday, 14 April. For all programme times please see the broadcasts page. It was first broadcast in Scotland on Sunday, 24 March.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

The brief for the series was very explicit - to make five films which drew exclusively on the BBC's own archive to show what the world of F1 was like before the contemporary era.

The first challenge was to mine the BBC archive, and we soon found that many of these films were in a very poor condition and hadn't been viewed for decades. At the same time as the World Championships started, the BBC was also entering a new phase of broadcasting.

It became clear that there was a wealth of fascinating material, not just of Grand Prix races but of all aspects of motoring and at a time when Britain as a society was changing rapidly.

One of the stars of the first episode wasn't a driver, but the BBC’s own motoring correspondent, former Spitfire fighter pilot Raymond Baxter.

I felt strongly that the series should be made without any narrator and that characters like Baxter would tell their own story in their own words.

There were two major influences for this style: the recent cinema documentary about Ayrton Senna and the BBC's own The Rock'n'Roll Years.

I felt the archive could talk directly to you, the audience, and we would use only short captions where necessary. I wanted you to be totally immersed in the world of the archive.

Some of the archive is shocking - I will never forget watching the footage of British driver David Purley trying in vain to save Roger Williamson from his burning car at the Dutch Grand Prix in 1973. And then learning that he himself had died in a flying accident a decade later, after retiring from motor racing.

With the exception of making documentaries about World War II, I don’t think I have ever worked on a series where so many of the main characters died.

The contemporary era is relatively safe, indeed no driver has been killed on the track since Senna in 1994, but in the 1950s and 1960s several drivers a year were killed, including many of the world champions we feature like Mike Hawthorn and Jim Clark.

But the footage also revealed a lost world of charming and eccentric characters who injected great humour into broadcasting. Many of them featured in Wheelbase, the BBC's first motoring programme and the forerunner of Top Gear.

The Wheelbase presenters helped cement the sport's glamorous appeal with numerous reports from the south of France where its presenters reported from the Monte Carlo Rally and Monaco Grand Prix, but also took in the local vineyards and restaurants.

Through the 1960s and 1970s they covered international races from across Europe, South America and Africa and in the days before many Britons holidayed abroad, these reports offered a glimpse of the exotic.

To help us present this old material in a fresh and stylish way we worked with the graphic design house, BDH. We edited the films at their studio and incorporated their graphics as we cut the material. They created the opening title sequence and the whole graphic look of the series.

As much of the film was mute (the sound had been lost many years ago) we also plundered the BBC's radio archive for material from interviews and race commentaries.

I wanted music to be a driving force and we put together a soundtrack from the period, consisting not only of pop hits of the day by artists like Little Richard and Link Wray but from film scores by composers like John Barry.

We wanted to use the BBC archive to take the audience into a disappeared world before Formula 1 became the big business it is today.

Everyone who worked on the series has their favourite piece of archive – and although it's a tough call I would probably choose the footage of Stirling Moss winning the 1955 Mille Miglia - it perfectly captures what the series is about - the excitement and glamour of a British driver racing to victory through the beautiful and unspoilt countryside of what was then far-off, impossibly sexy Italy.

Francis Welch is the producer of episodes one, three and four of Motor Racing At The BBC: That Petrol Emotion.

Motor Racing At The BBC: That Petrol Emotion continues on Mondays at 8.30pm on BBC Four. For further programme times please see the episode guide.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

So naturally I seized the chance to make Boxing At The Movies: Kings Of The Ring, a documentary that tells the story of the boxing film from the earliest days of the motion picture through the hardscrabble 30s, the noir 50s, on into the present day.

Given my age, my first big-screen experience would come with a definitively 80s flavour – Rocky III, with Sylvester Stallone's much-loved hero facing brutal challenger Clubber Lang.

But while I would see more critically admired fight films in years to come, I still remember the jolt it sent through the shabby cinema, the charge of emotion and adrenalin every boxing movie has in its make-up.

Three decades later, I found myself filming at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, at the foot of what are known around the world after their use by Stallone as the Rocky Steps.

Even at dusk the nearby statue of his most famous character had drawn a queue of visitors eager to have their picture taken with it, kids, grandparents and groups of muscle-bound dudes all hoisting their arms aloft besides the bronze Italian Stallion.

But for all Rocky's adoration, if the boxing film has a spiritual home, it's not Philadelphia – but 100 miles north in New York.

There, the cast of the boxing movie story includes gangsters, cinematic pioneers, political radicals, and everyone from Mike Tyson to Stanley Kubrick. And of course Martin Scorsese, creator of the peerless Raging Bull.

To make our documentary, director Angus McIntyre and I criss-crossed Manhattan from Harlem to the Lower East Side – and just as every writer, fighter or filmmaker we talked to wanted to discuss Scorsese's masterpiece, so everywhere we went, someone claimed a moment from it had been filmed where we stood.

An elderly attendant in a cramped parking lot swore blind to us that a major scene had been shot right there on the tarmac, though he seemed uncertain as to which.

Re-watching the movie for the umpteenth time that night in my hotel room, I confess I couldn't find it either.

Maybe I should look again – with a film this good, the search would never be a chore. And for old times' sake I might just look out Rocky III as well.

Danny Leigh is the presenter of Boxing At The Movies: Kings Of The Ring.

Boxing At The Movies: Kings Of The Ring is on BBC Four at 9pm on Sunday, 3 March. For further programme times, please see the upcoming broadcasts page.

Dr Guttmann (Eddie Marsan) begins to introduce changes at the hospital

I had known of Dr Guttmann ever since playing wheelchair basketball at the Guttmann Centre (now Stoke Mandeville Stadium) as a child.

The Best Of Men tells the story of how Dr Guttmann's work rehabilitating World War II soldiers led to the creation of the Paralympics.

I received the phone call to say I had got the part on my birthday and remember thinking it was like a little present from my Nan who I know is my guardian angel.

Jeremy is so far removed from any other character I have played. He has suffered a spinal injury in the war and is in a pretty bad way.

With the help of Dr Guttmann he recovers and we see him go from strength to strength. He develops a strong bond with Neil (Ben Owen Jones), the wounded soldier in the bed next to him.

As a disabled actor I rarely get a chance to do period dramas so this was a very special project for me.

Looking at the cast list of Eddie Marsan, Rob Brydon and Naimh Cusack I was just honoured to be part of it.

William (George MacKay) and Wynne (Rob Brydon) playing wheelchair hockey

We filmed for three weeks in Bristol and were all staying at the hotel together.

Strangely Nina Toussaint-White and Lacey Turner who I had filmed EastEnders with were also in our hotel for another production, along with all the contestants of Deal or No Deal, it was a really happening party hotel.

We all developed a very special bond having dinner together every night. Rob making us laugh, Eddie and Naimh telling us amazing anecdotes and my fellow actors George MacKay, Ben Owen Jones and I loving every moment.

On set our bond created a lovely atmosphere and that helped as some scenes were emotionally very hard to get through.

Tim Whitby's one of the coolest directors I have ever worked with and he smiled all the way through, his enthusiasm was infectious.

Jeremy is a quiet character and he is pretty out of it for the first part of the film, slowly he comes round.

Dr Guttmann, Jeremy (David Proud), Sister Edwards (Naimh Cusack) and Will

For a few scenes I had to pretend to be asleep and did actually fall asleep during one take, Tim woke me up and complimented me on being a method actor.

I thought that was bad until in the next scene Ben did exactly the same but started to snore, I was trying to nudge him and quietly say "Dude, wake up!" but it didn't work.

Of all the things I have worked on I am most proud of this, I've made some lifelong friends and helped to tell the story of a man whose legacy allowed me to be born into a world where being an actor is possible.

Eddie Marsan plays Dr Guttmann and he's mesmerising to watch and so down to earth, he has such respect for other actors and such a passion for his craft.

His speech about "I will not shield you from the realities of life" made me cry when we filmed it and makes me cry when I watch it.

That's all disabled people want, it's all I have ever wanted, the chance to face the same struggles as everyone else, to be equal, to be The Best Of Men.

More on The Best Of Men
Lucy Gannon on writing The Best Of Men on the BBC Writersroom blog.
Ludwig Guttmann, the doctor who invented the Paralympics on the BBC Ouch blog.

David Proud is an actor in The Best Of Men.

The Best Of Men is on Thursday, 16 August at 9pm on BBC Two and BBC HD. For further programme times, please see the episode guide.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Dickie (Sam Hoare) and Bert (Matt Smith) have an unsuccessful first meeting

It was five weeks after meeting for the first time and at first the match between Bert and Dickie was far from made in heaven.

I'd become aware of their story having read Hampton's magnificent book about the 1948 Games in London, The Austerity Olympics.

Then I was fortunate enough to talk to Bert Bushnell at his home near Henley shortly before he died.

In fact the 1948 Games was stuffed full of potential film ideas, not least because it happened at such a peculiar time in history.

In the aftermath of carnage and chaos there seemed to be a particular determination to let sport act as a glue to piece nations and people back together again, which led to many stirring narratives I could have explored.

But having met Bert, having had a run out on the river courtesy of the local university eight (let's just say seven of them weren't sick) and having realised the unique potential which Bert and Dickie's story had to draw out all that was wonderful about the British stiff upper lip 'make do and mend' approach to life and to demonstrate the iniquities of a country which was still perfectly happy to countenance terrible class bigotry and social exclusion, I knew that there could only really be one place for me to focus my attention.

Clearly much of the drama came from the fact that Bert and Dickie were so different socially.

One Eton and Oxford-educated, Captain of Boats and a University Blue, the other a grammar school boy from Wargrave of much more modest upbringing.

Actors Matt Smith and Sam Hoare discuss their characters

Though Bert's mother had been an opera singer (a theme explored sub-textually in the music I chose for many of the later scenes) nevertheless, these differences were very real at the time.

However, the British are (rather magnificently in my opinion) terribly good at seeing the other point of view and as they both started to appreciate the potential which lay on the 'other side of the fence' they made a terrific team.

It was not just their characters, nor the fractured social panoply which they demonstrated that intrigued me about this story, but the wider world beyond rowing.

The ability of the country to stage the Games was staggering.

It was done with no government financial support, with few resources and with a populous still reeling from war.

And yet the Games happened. Magnificently so, because of some remarkable individuals like Lord Burghley and Lord Aberdare who feature in the film and because of the nation's ability to dust itself down and get on with it.

Bert and Dickie

Even when presented with Olympic etching and Olympic poetry (which were on the first Olympics list and revived in London because they were cheap!) the country flocked to support the events.

And this was the thing for me: the spirit of the Games.

What I have tried to demonstrate in Bert & Dickie is that the people of 1948 really understood that the Olympics was all about an attitude of mind: a desire to come forward and to be involved, to compete and to watch, to strive and to enjoy.

And as long as that effort was made in a heartfelt way then money did not have to be showered upon the event for it to be a success.

And as we prepare to stage a Games now, amidst dreadful unemployment, social deprivation and fiscal meltdown, it would do us all good to remember that spirit.

William Ivory is the writer of Bert & Dickie.

Bert & Dickie is on Wednesday, 25 July at 8.30pm on BBC One and BBC One HD.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Clarke Carlisle

I expected to hear some differing experiences to my own but not really anything to challenge my personal beliefs around the issue.

In making the documentary I asked my Dad for the first time about his experience of football culture in the 70s and 80s.

The emotions it brought up on camera took us both by surprise.

"Kicked, punched, head-butted, stamped on", and that was ON the pitch. My Dad could barely bring himself to recall the details of events OFF the pitch.

He kept going back every week, to the terraces and to the pitch, because he loves football, but I'm not sure I would've been the same.

Maybe it's because of the different eras. Dad was used to the abuse and prejudice in daily life so it wasn't unusual for him. Why should it be any different at the football?

Despite our shared passion for football Dad decided never to take me to a game when I was a kid. He didn't want me to be in that atmosphere in the stands.

I've grown up in a different time and if I encountered now any of what he experienced then I'd be horrified.

I often wonder if I'd love the game as much if I had known Dad's story. The truth is that I probably would.

Once the conversation got going we went on to talk about how much he wanted to be a footballer, what it would've meant. Of how Viv Anderson playing for England was a real "wow" moment, not just for him but for the black man in England.

Clarke talks to his dad about his experiences of racism on the pitch

So when we reflected on what it meant to us for me to pull on an England shirt we both broke down! The realisation of a dream for father and son.

Dad consciously sheltered me from what he knew was out there, he'd experienced it first-hand. I appreciate him doing that because it gave me the freedom to pursue goals without pre-conceived fears of 'potential' barriers.

I will do the same for my kids too. I don't want to burden them with what 'might' be a problem in life. I want to empower them. I want them to believe that they can achieve anything if they work hard enough, not program them to see barriers.

Making this film has helped me to see football's problem: it's made up of humans.

Football is no different to society. It's comprised of young men from local estates up and down the country.

Football is not the elixir to cure society's ills, if things need to change then we all have to change them.

Football can, however, lead the way by setting an example that is watched by hundreds of millions of people across all ages, faiths and cultures on a weekly basis.

Its influence is unparalleled.

Clarke Carlisle is the presenter of Is Football Racist?

Is Football Racist? is on Monday, 16 July at 9pm on BBC Three. For further programme times, please see the episode guide.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

Sebastian Coe makes Olympic history at the 1984 Games

Thirty years ago Brits were the undisputed kings of middle distance running, so I was really excited when I was asked to produce a documentary about the history of this great race for the new BBC Two series Faster, Higher, Stronger.

Kenyan athletics legend Kipchoge Keino is so right when he says in the film that the 1500m is about more than just a test of supreme fitness.

Over three and three quarter laps of the track, this race requires the most demanding combination of talents - the stamina of a marathon runner, the explosive pace of a sprinter, the mentality to win and the tactical acumen to outwit your opponents.

That's why the 'metric mile' has been described as the Blue Riband event since the modern Games began in 1896.

Although the 1500m provided British athletics with a golden era, what surprised me while making this film was that for over 80 years it had attracted the most innovative and exceptional runners from unexpected corners of the world.

Inspired by the natural landscapes in which they trained, a small number of elite champions from different historical eras had transformed this extraordinary race.

I wanted this story to be told by the people who made it so my first challenge was to track down these athletes.

And what I quickly found was that I was making a film not about racing around a track but about the varied and rugged terrains these great Olympians pounded to plot their victories.

Olympic 1500m winner Paavo Nurmi

In the lake district of Finland I found 1972 Olympic champion Pekka Vasala, who told me about the first great 1500m runner, a Finnish athlete named Paavo Nurmi.

He devised the first systematic training regime in the 1920s. It was Nurmi who paved the way for today's champions by 'interval training' in the hills and forests that surrounded him.

In order to bring Nurmi's story to life I set about planning a reconstruction of his training methods.

Pekka introduced me to a young Finnish athlete Riku Marttinen (who plans to compete in the 2016 Olympics) and I sourced some period clothes in Helsinki.

I then showed Marttinen Nurmi's distinctive running style from old film reels and obtained an authentic 1920s stopwatch for him to carry, just as Nurmi had done in order to improve his running times.

I also brought my own running kit and attached a camera to my head to film Nurmi's perspective as he ran through the woods.

The shocking part of filming for me was in Kenya when I ran with the headcam at high altitude. Although I thought I was relatively fit it felt like my heart would explode.

The cameraman (who was filming from a jeep) found it very funny when a group of local schoolchildren first ran after me and then easily overtook me!

You'll see in the film Kipchoge Keino (who won Gold at the 1968 Olympics) discuss how training at high altitude improves endurance.

His hometown of Eldoret in the Rift Valley is situated over 7,000ft above sea level and has produced more Olympic champions than any other place in the world.

After filming sportspeople in Finland, Kenya, Morocco, Australia and the USA I came back to the UK.

Producer/director Francis Welch with Sebastian Coe

Here I got to speak to Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog) and two-time Olympic champion.

We talked about the far-flung places I had visited and he explained how the environment around his hometown of Sheffield had inspired him.

It was in the Peak District that he followed an arduous regime of speed endurance under the guidance of his father and coach Peter Coe.

As we talked I was struck by his in-depth knowledge about the tradition of this race.

He explained how each of the great champions I had filmed with had, in their own unique way, raised the level of performance through history and why he feels that come the London Olympics this summer the 1500m will again be the event to watch.

Francis Welch is the producer and director of Faster, Higher, Stronger.

Faster, Higher, Stronger starts on Monday, 9 July at 7pm on BBC Two and BBC HD. For further programme times, please see the episode guide.

Roger Mosey, the BBC's director of London 2012, has written about Olympics programmes on his blog: BBC's sport programmes move to the fore.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

I've always been really scared of water - especially deep water. I arrived in Birmingham from Nigeria when I was eight, and by that point most people in my year group were in their pyjamas grabbing weights from the bottom of the pool.

I was the kid with the fluorescent armbands on both my arms AND legs.

The thought of putting my face in the water completely petrified me. It just seemed so unnatural and, for some reason, I felt every time I was in water I would drown.

I have noticed that the black community in general tend to have very few role models for swimming. The one I can remember was Eric the Eel's valiant efforts at the 2000 Olympics.

I've heard many stories as to why 'we' as a community don't swim - heavy bones, not wanting to get our hair wet, the list goes on.

The training sessions of just over 10 weeks were immense and I am so surprised at the amount of progress I made.

I was hypnotised as part of the process to help make me comfortable in the water.

I've learnt to believe that what the mind believes the body achieves, and that the negative thoughts in my head were simply untrue.

With all this in mind and a mile-long swim behind me (at the Big Splash launch in Salford Quays) it was time to set out on the biggest challenge of my life.

Andy Akinwolere after his record-breaking swim

It took two days to get out to Palau. From the moment we arrived I just wanted to get the swim over and done with.

Chatting to the locals only heightened my anxieties, with tales of squid, sharks and choppy weather conditions.

At that point I was close to turning my back on this challenge, but it was impossible. We had flown half way across the world to do this and there was a possibility I could be the first person on this earth to swim in the location.

I was told that the five-mile swim would be harder than a marathon. That thought kept playing in my mind.

My fears moved away from the depth I was about to face, and more on whether I had enough in me to cover the distance.

I woke up in the morning to a world covered in water. The reality of my challenge had truly set in.

As the cameras were getting into position I took a quiet moment to myself and chanted "You are going to do this" several times.

I looked out into the ocean, jumped in and never looked back.

The big swim itself was daunting. If I had thought of the depth, the potential of coming across creatures in the sea or even the distance there is no way I could have done it.

I was doing this for people who could not swim - they were my constant motivation to keep going.

The swim was made harder by the fact that I was not allowed to touch the boat. I had to feed whilst treading water.

Three hours 30 minutes later, and with an aching leg and a mouth full of saltwater, I heard the air horn to signify the end of my swim.

It was gruelling and more painful than I could have imagined, but I am so glad I did it.

I'm now the world record holder for the deepest recorded location in an open water swim and for being the first person to swim across the deepest part of the Palau trench.

I really hope people can look at what I did and give swimming a go too.

Andy Akinwolere is a Blue Peter presenter.

Andy's Big Splash: Blue Peter Special is on Monday, 20 June on BBC Two at 4.30pm.

Find out more on The Big Splash website.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.

But, sat in the slightly warmer edit suite a month later, I was almost glad of the extremes we faced. It gave the film a hard-foughtness I really liked.

It was a cold, hard and difficult shoot and it shows on the faces of the cast - but it works.

The people they are portraying were tough and heroic and their story so remarkable, so emotional, and so inspiring. If it had been too easy it wouldn't have felt right.

United and the story of the Busby Babes and the Munich air crash is sacred ground to many. And, more than any film I've ever done, I felt the responsibility to do the best job possible.

We were dealing not just with real people but legends in every sense, and I wanted to honour and celebrate the lives and achievements of those involved, so every decision had to be carefully considered.

Thankfully, with the incredible cast and crew we'd assembled, we were able to attempt to be as true to the real story as possible, but it's a constant consideration.

For example, we know the exact fabric that was used on the seats of the plane - so in our film this is correct.

But what people exactly said and did is impossible to be definitive about.

Yes, there are plenty of personal accounts and testimony, and we have studied them forensically, but they differ greatly, even between two people sat next to each other, because human memory is personal, subjective and unreliable.

So Chris Chibnall, our brilliant writer, had to find a way through that was truthful and balanced but also worked in its own right as a film. And he did so magnificently.

Also, in making a drama rather than a documentary, we had to make editorial choices.

We never intended this film to be the definitive story of the Babes and the crash - that would be impossible.

For me, drama works best when it focuses on one or two people. So our film is only one story, one aspect.

We could have told 50 other stories, focused on 50 different people. And they all would have been as valid.

But we chose, at the beginning of the project, to focus on the stories of Jimmy Murphy and Bobby Charlton, which means many people associated with the club and the crash don't appear or feature in the film.

That's not because they weren't as important, or because we didn't research our facts, but because in this one film we can only tell one story.

I kept getting asked if we cast actors who could play football?

But although it's a film about a football club, we consciously avoided most 'actual' football.

Not that our cast weren't quite tasty with a ball. Some were, in fact, very good players, but the football is not really the point.

This is the story of a team, a band of brothers, who experience a tragedy and then attempt to survive. In a sense they could have been soldiers, miners, or any group or family.

United is a human story of how, in the face of terrible loss, the human spirit endures. And we were blessed with a quite extraordinary cast to deliver this.

In David Tennant and Jack O'Connell I don't think we could have asked for two finer leads, ably supported by all the other cast.

I sat and watched the film alone in a cinema yesterday and I wept again - it still gets me every time, and trust me I've seen it hundreds of times.

Every time I cry at just how sad and shocking the events we are portraying were and how incredible it was and how big an impact it had not just on those involved, but the whole country.

As one fan I spoke to said, It was the Diana of its day, in an era not given over to false sentiment or emotion.

So I'm very pleased with the film, but more relieved that it is the vision we wanted to portray.

Others will no doubt pick holes and have their opinions - but my intention in making this film was to be as truthful as possible to the facts, and to honour the people by making the best film possible, to be enjoyed and remembered.

Everyone involved in the film gave 110% (to borrow a footballing cliché) and worked tirelessly to achieve this, sometimes in the most difficult conditions.

I thank you all and salute your genius - I truly believe it was worth all the effort.

I hope United will be seen by millions of people (fingers crossed) so everyone will know of the incredible Busby Babes, their amazing achievements and their memory will live on.

Back on set, the good news is the diggers have managed to clear the penalty area - the bad news is it has started snowing again.

James Strong is the director of United.

United is on BBC Two on Sunday, 24 April at 9pm.

As a companion piece to United, BBC Two will be showing a documentary, Sir Bobby Charlton: Football Icon on Thursday, 28 April at 9pm.

John Motson has written an overview of Sir Bobby Charlton's career for Inside Sport.

Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.