Tom Brook's 50 Years with the BBC

For Talking Movies presenter Tom Brook, April 2026 marks a momentous milestone. It will be the 50th anniversary of Tom joining the BBC as a trainee news journalist. Over the decades from London, Berlin and mostly New York, he has reported on culture and cinema in thousands of stories and programmes broadcast on the BBC. Tom has interviewed countless leading figures in cinema from early pioneers like Bette Davis and Jimmy Cagney up to contemporary star names, including Timothee Chalamet, Meryl Streep and Lady Gaga. Tom has also met US presidents and UK prime ministers and leaders in global culture from Bollywood to LA.

In a special edition of Talking Movies, he looks back at his career and the actors and film-makers he has encountered over 50 years. He reflects on how the film industry has changed over the last five decades and how, in very tumultuous times, he believes cinema is more relevant and useful to our lives than ever before.