Wednesday 24 Sep 2014
A Hundred Years Of Us concludes today, bringing to an end Michael Aspel's retrospective of the past century of life in Britain, from 1911 to 2011. Today, he is joined by Paul Ross, who recalls the new modern housing estates of the Sixties and Seventies, which transformed the urban landscape of bombed-out Britain.
Ninety-four-year-old Betty Croft recalls the hardships of living in London during the Blitz, the post-war years, sharing a few cramped rented rooms with multiple family members and when she moved into the brand-new Lansbury housing estate in Poplar, East London.
Viewers can hear the remarkable story of Kaylee Davidson who, in 1987, became the first baby in Britain to survive a heart transplant. Her mother, Carol, and heart surgeon, Dr Christopher McGregor, share the drama and emotional turmoil that surrounded Kaylee's illness and operation at the delicate age of just four months. Now 23, Kaylee shares her own feelings and memories of her unique story.
Phil Tuffnel also faces his final 1911 jobs challenge, as he knuckles down to try his hand at shoemaking – an industry which employed more than 200,000 in 1911. The programme pays a final visit to the Tarrant family of Sheffield, who have living members on each census dating back to 1911. Today, they recall the great celebrations which marked the millennium in Sheffield and meet the younger member of the family – Holly – who will take the Tarrant family into the next century.
EB
The identity of the body hidden behind the attic wall is revealed, as the new five-part drama for BBC One Daytime that moves between the lives, loves and lies of two generations of the same family who live at 32 Brinkburn Street in 1931 and 2011 concludes.
In 1931, Sid bids farewell to the family at Brinkburn Street over breakfast, hinting that he might see some of them before too long. Meanwhile, Walter, wracked with guilt, tries to keep the body hidden in the coal cellar, but is soon discovered by Gracie, and then Elizabeth.
Gracie's dreams of escape with Sid come crashing down as the reality of what Walter's done hits home. She meets Sid in the park and tells him she can't go with him as Walter needs her. A devastated Sid gives Gracie the tickets in case she changes her mind.
Returning home, Gracie gives one of the tickets to Violet as a chance for her daughter to start a new life in America.
Ensuring they're alone, Walter, Gracie and Elizabeth hide the body in the attic and begin the fragile road to recovery and becoming a family once more.
In 2011, Nick panics about Poppy's safety, but she is soon brought home by Michael. Rather than thanking Michael, Nick turns on him and a full-scale row ensues. Nick attempts to leave but is talked round by Ellie, who also persuades him to have a heart-to-heart with Poppy.
After helping Joy by offering her a way back home to Nigeria, Frank makes two big announcements: he's giving Ellie the lease to the house and he's moving into a care home. Ellie objects, but Frank is having none of it. Ellie can't believe her IVF dream is on again.
With everyone reconciled, Poppy persuades the family to let her have the attic room and is eager to decorate. As Nick's hammer crashes through the attic wall, the body within is ready to reveal its mysteries...
In 1931, Sid is played by Ciaran McMenamin, Walter by Jack Deam, Gracie by Rebecca Callard, Elizabeth by Maggie Steed and Violet by Amy Tickle. In 2011, Nick is played by Joe Dixon, Poppy by Tisha Merry, Michael by Adam Bolton, Frank by David Ross, Ellie by Eva Pope and Joy by Wumni Mosaku.
32 Brinkburn Street is simulcast in HD on BBC One HD on Freesat channel 108, Freeview channel 50, Sky channel 143 and Virgin Media channel 108.
SD2
Roxy goes looking for Ronnie, while Michael has a business proposition for Tanya to consider, in the week's final visit to Albert Square.
Masood, meanwhile, discovers some unwelcome information about Afia and Yusef plays the Good Samaritan and helps out Ashley.
Elsewhere, Carol and Dot clash over Dot's care.
Roxy is played by Rita Simons, Ronnie by Samantha Womack, Michael by Steve John Shepherd, Tanya by Jo Joyner, Masood by Nitin Ganatra, Afia by Meryl Fernandes, Yusef by Ace Bhatti, Ashley by Colin Mace, Carol by Lindsey Coulson and Dot by June Brown.
EastEnders is simulcast in HD on BBC One HD on Freesat channel 108, Freeview channel 50, Sky channel 143 and Virgin Media channel 108.
AB3
Kirsty Young explores the faster and less secure working environment we live in today, as the series exploring the post-war British workplace concludes. These are years characterised by work as an all-consuming experience as attitudes change. This is the age in which many certainties about working life are banished and many are forced to adjust to a life of stressful and contractual insecurity. It is also the era when work has been transformed from a mass experience into an increasingly individualised one where conflicts are resolved in tribunals rather than on picket lines.
Kirsty looks at how insecurity at work has combined with new technologies and our personal ambitions to make work consume a greater share of lives, intruding on the time we used to have for personal and family life.
While working hours fell consistently from the post-war years, from approximately 1990 they began to increase.
Kirsty also tracks how management styles change, moving from the hard-nosed business toughness of the Eighties to a more touchy-feely approach. Management becomes a friend and everyone aspires to the corporate values of their employer, often with unintentionally hilarious results. This managerial attempt at being matey was captured in excruciating style in The Office.
While David Brent offers the nightmare, for many women Ally McBeal offers the role model. Between 1992 and 2005, the number of women working a 48-hour, or above, week increased by 52 per cent. Women can thrive in the 21st-century workplace by working as long and as hard as they like.
The programme also tracks the transformative power of technology in these years and its impact on the culture of British work. Technological competence becomes essential across the whole economy. For some it is a liberating tool that frees them to express their creativity, but for others technology is a trap that means they can never escape the pressures of work.
FS
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