THEGAYUK

Tag: BBC 2

All the latest breaking news on the UK broadcaster BBC 2. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on BBC 2.

  • When does American Crime Story: Versace start in the UK and on what channel?

    The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story has a broadcast date for the UK and a channel.

    When does American Crime Story: Versace start in the UK and on what channel?

    BBC 2 has been confirmed as the broadcaster for The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, the story behind the murder of world-famous designer Gianni Versace.

    The air date of the first episode is the 28th Feb on BBC 2.

    Following the Bafta award-winning The People Vs OJ Simpson, the hugely successful series returns to BBC Two with The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.

    Episode one: The Man Who Would Be Vogue

    Written by Tom Rob Smith (London Spy), the nine-part drama profiles the cross-country path of destruction that culminated in the murder of an international fashion icon.

    July 15, 1997: Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) is shot by Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss, pictured) on the steps of Versace’s Miami villa. As the killer flees, the media descends and the world reacts.

    1990: An enthusiastic Andrew – who changes identities and opinions depending on who he’s talking to – contrives an introduction to Versace at an exclusive San Francisco nightclub, and wrangles a date to an opera which has been costumed by the famed designer.

    Also starring Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace, and Ricky Martin as Versace’s partner Antonio D’Amico.

    Episode one is directed by Ryan Murphy and the series is executive produced by Ryan Murphy, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk and Tom Rob Smith.

     

    The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story start on BBC 2 28th Feb 2018 at 9PM

  • Louis Theroux’s new documentary looks harrowing

    Trust Theroux to get right to the nub of the problem

    Louis Theroux's new documentary looks harrowing
    America has a love affair with prescription painkillers, which has led to a widespread dependency on opiates, but following a crackdown on over-prescription, two million Americans are finding new ways to feed their habit.
    With the pills now becoming increasingly expensive and scarce on the black market, vast numbers of Americans have turned to the cheaper and stronger opiate: heroin. The drug now claims more lives in the US than either car accidents or gun crime. And, for the first time in over two decades, life expectancy in the US is declining – largely attributed to the rise in fatal heroin overdoses.

    In Huntington, West Virginia, Louis Theroux embeds himself in an Appalachian community that is being devastated and stretched to its limits by widespread heroin use. With one in ten babies in the city born dependent on opiates and a fatal overdose rate 13 times the national average, this is the epicentre of the most deadly drug epidemic in US history.

    Louis spends time with the user community caught in the vice-like grip of drug misuse and follows the emergency services struggling to cope with multiple overdoses each day.

    Louis Theroux: Dark States – Heroin Town BBC Two on 8 October at 9pm

     

  • Brilliant… Then we’re all good then… W1A makes a return

    The brilliant comedy, W1A has returned for the third series – and we’re loving it.

    It turns out that there was film in the camera after all, therefore W1A is set to return to BBC Two for a third series of the award-winning comedy written and directed by John Morton.

    This is the year in which the BBC’s Royal Charter is up for renewal. The charter renewal process gives the BBC an opportunity to question everything it does and ask the question whether there is any point to doing any of it anymore. At the heart of this process is the charter renewal group, chaired by Head of Values Ian Fletcher (played by Hugh Bonneville).

    Working alongside Ian in order to help him reset the dial for everyone in the corporation and shine a new light on that dial, or at least shine the old light but with a new bulb so nobody can be in any doubt where the dial is or have any excuse for not being able to read what it says are Anna Rampton, Director of Better (played by Sarah Parish); Simon Harwood, Director of Strategic Governance (played by Jason Watkins); Siobhan Sharpe, Joint CEO of FUN Media (played by Jessica Hynes); David Wilkes, Commissioning Editor Primetime Factuality (played by Rufus Jones); Izzy Gould, Development Executive (played by Ophelia Lovibond); Will Humphries, Assistant to Ian Fletcher (played by Hugh Skinner); Lucy Freeman, Head of Inclusivity (played by Nina Sosanya); Neil Read, Current Head of News and Current Affairs (played by David Westhead) and Tracey Pritchard, Senior Communications Officer (played by Monica Dolan).

    W1A is on Monday nights, 10 PM on BBC 2

  • Dr Javid takes a look to see what happens when you raise children gender free

    In a bold experiment, Dr Javid is taking a class of school children and raising them gender free in a brand new show for BBC 2.

    Dr Javid takes a look to see what happens when you raise children gender free

    The BBC is set to broadcast a programme which aims to see if kids can go gender free.

    Is the way we treat boys and girls the real reason we haven’t achieved equality between men and women?

    In this bold, engaging and provocative experiment, Doctor Javid Abdelmoneim aims to find out whether stripping away the pink and blue will change the way this class of seven-year-olds think.

    Being gender neutral

    Taking over one Year 3 class from Lanesend primary school in the Isle of Wight, Doctor Javid aims to remove all differences in the way boys and girls are treated to see if, after six weeks of gender neutral treatment, he can even out the gaps in their achievement across a range of important psychological measures from self-confidence to spatial awareness.

    Who is Doctor Javid?

    As a doctor, he knows there are basic biological differences between the sexes, but he believes our biology can’t fully explain why men and women’s life chances – from pay, to careers are still so unequal in the UK. Even a quick shopping trip reveals just how much childhood has changed since Dr. Javid was growing up, with a tsunami of pink and blue clothes and toys aimed at different genders. A visit to Professor Gina Rippon at Aston University, one of the UK’s leading experts in brain imaging and neuroscience, reveals there is no such thing as a male or female brain type and instead the brain is a plastic organ, shaped and moulded by experiences, in which childhood is key.

    Shocked by the children’s own polarised opinions on how boys and girls should live their lives, Doctor Javid commissions Dr Stella Mavroveli from the Psychometric Lab at University College London to assess between boys and girls behaviour and psychological traits from confidence to self-esteem, empathy and social skills. Upset by the results, Dr Javid sets out a series of interventions both in class and at home, to tackle these differences. Will Doctor Javid’s gender neutral mission produce meaningful change when he later repeats his tests at the end of term?

    There are two episodes in this series, episode 1 will broadcast tonight at 9 PM the second programme will air on the 23rd August, both will be broadcast on BBC 2

    No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? is produced by Outline Productions for BBC Two

     

  • BBC to air bold experiment to see if kids can go gender-free

    The BBC is set to broadcast a programme which aims to see if kids can go gender free.

    Is the way we treat boys and girls the real reason we haven’t achieved equality between men and women?

    In this bold, engaging and provocative experiment, Doctor Javid Abdelmoneim aims to find out whether stripping away the pink and blue will change the way this class of seven-year-olds think.

    Being gender neutral

    Taking over one Year 3 class from Lanesend primary school in the Isle of Wight, Doctor Javid aims to remove all differences in the way boys and girls are treated to see if, after six weeks of gender neutral treatment, he can even out the gaps in their achievement across a range of important psychological measures from self-confidence to spatial awareness.

    As a doctor, he knows there are basic biological differences between the sexes, but he believes our biology can’t fully explain why men and women’s life chances – from pay, to careers are still so unequal in the UK. Even a quick shopping trip reveals just how much childhood has changed since Dr. Javid was growing up, with a tsunami of pink and blue clothes and toys aimed at different genders. A visit to Professor Gina Rippon at Aston University, one of the UK’s leading experts in brain imaging and neuroscience, reveals there is no such thing as a male or female brain type and instead the brain is a plastic organ, shaped and moulded by experiences, in which childhood is key.

    Shocked by the children’s own polarised opinions on how boys and girls should live their lives, Doctor Javid commissions Dr Stella Mavroveli from the Psychometric Lab at University College London to assess between boys and girls behaviour and psychological traits from confidence to self-esteem, empathy and social skills. Upset by the results, Dr Javid sets out a series of interventions both in class and at home, to tackle these differences. Will Doctor Javid’s gender neutral mission produce meaningful change when he later repeats his tests at the end of term?

    There are two episodes in this series, episode 1 will broadcast on Wednesday 16th August and the second will air on the 23rd August. Times to be confirmed, both will be broadcast on BBC 2

    No More Boys And Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free? is produced by Outline Productions for BBC Two

     

  • What times is Against The Law on BBC 2 and what is it about?

    To mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, BBC 2 will be broadcasting Against The Law tonight.

    What times is Against The Law on BBC 2 and what is it about?

    As part of their “Gay Britannia” season, the BBC will be broadcasting one of their flagship productions, Against The Law.

    Daniel Mays (Line Of Duty, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Public Enemies) stars in BBC Two’s powerful factual drama as Peter Wildeblood, a thoughtful and private gay journalist whose lover Eddie McNally (played by newcomer to television, Richard Gadd), under pressure from the authorities, turned Queen’s evidence against him in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s – the infamous Montagu Trial.

    When does Against The Law air on BBC 2?

    BBC 2 will be broadcasting the show tonight from 9 PM. The show is 1 hour and 20 minutes and will be available to stream from the BBC iPlayer after the broadcast.

    What is Against The Law about?

    More than ten years before the partial decriminalisation of homosexual acts in 1967, Peter Wildeblood, and his friends Lord Montagu (Mark Edel-Hunt) and Michael Pitt-Rivers, were found guilty of homosexual offences and jailed.

    With his career in tatters and his private life painfully exposed, Wildeblood began his sentence a broken man, but he emerged from Wormwood Scrubs a year later determined to do all he could to change the way these draconian laws against homosexuality impacted on the lives of men like him.

    The drama also features Mark Gatiss (Taboo, Sherlock) as Wildeblood’s prison psychiatrist, Doctor Landers and Charlie Creed-Miles (Ripper Street, Peaky Blinders) as Superintendent Jones.

    Woven through this powerful drama is real-life testimony from a chorus of men who lived through those dark days, when homosexuals were routinely imprisoned or forced to undergo chemical aversion therapy in an attempt to cure them of their “condition”. There is also testimony from a retired police officer whose job it was to enforce these laws, and a former psychiatric nurse who administered the so-called cures. All of these accounts serve to amplify the themes of the drama and help to immerse us in the reality of a dark chapter in our recent past, a past still within the reach of living memory.

    Who stars in Against The Law?

    The show stars Sherlock’s Mark Gatiss, as well as Charlie Creed-Miles who starred in Ripper Street. The show also has Daniel Mays and Richard Gadd.

     

  • Ryan Murphy is bringing Bette and Joan to BBC 2

    Ryan Murphy is bringing the iconic Bette Davis and Joan Crawford to the small screen.

    BBC Two has acquired Feud: Bette and Joan, Ryan Murphy’s eight-part series about the legendary rivalry between Hollywood icons Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. The series was acquired from 20th Century Fox Television Distribution and will air on BBC Two later in 2017.

    Starring Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford and Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis, Feud: Bette and Joan‘s stellar cast also features Catherine Zeta-Jones as Olivia de Havilland and Kathy Bates as Joan Blondell. The four Academy Award winners are joined by Judy Davis as Hollywood gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, Alfred Molina as director and producer Robert Aldrich, Stanley Tucci as Warner Bros. studio head Jack L. Warner, Jackie Hoffman as Mamacita, Crawford’s housekeeper, and Alison Wright as Pauline, Aldrich’s assistant. The series also stars Dominic Burgess as Crawford and Davis’ co-star Victor Buono, Sarah Paulson as Geraldine Page, and Kiernan Shipka as Bette Davis’ daughter, B.D.

    Beginning with Davis and Crawford’s collaboration on What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and continuing long after the cameras stopped rolling, Feud: Bette and Joan explores with great style and wit how the two stars endured ageism, sexism and misogyny while struggling to hang on to success and fame in the twilight of their careers.

    Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two, says,

    “Drama on BBC Two has to stand out for its authorship, unique vision and exceptional craft so I am delighted that Ryan Murphy’s brilliantly realised series Feud: Bette and Joan is coming to the channel. It features some wonderful performances, a flawless recreation of period and a delicious unravelling of a personal drama that had a massive impact on modern cinema. Feud is a real treat.”

    Sue Deeks, BBC Head of Programme Acquisition, says,

    “BBC Two viewers will relish this critically-acclaimed portrayal of Old Hollywood and a famously combustible yet poignant relationship – it is a zesty cocktail of glamour, wit and grit.”

    David Smyth, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution (TCFTVD) said,

    “Feud: Bette and Joan is a whip-smart series with fantastic performances by two of today’s greatest performers, which we’re sure will captivate and delight audiences. BBC Two is the perfect home for our next series from creator Ryan Murphy, whose The People vs O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, just won the BAFTA after airing last year on BBC Two.”

    Ryan Murphy serves as Executive Producer along with Executive Producers Tim Minear, Alexis Martin Woodall and Dede Gardner of Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment. The series is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and distributed by 20th Century Fox Television Distribution.

  • Gay Britannia to rule the airwaves as BBC announces a raft of LGBT programming

    The BBC have announced that they are to broadcast a season of programming to mark the 50 years since homosexuality was partially decriminalised in the UK.

    CREDIT: BBC

    Led by programming on BBC Two and Four, with other content across BBC radio and online, the Gay Britannia season will feature bold and provocative stories, celebrating the LGBTQ community as well as challenging existing preconceptions and prejudices. The season will also cast a fresh light on the history of gay Britain, as well as highlighting just what it means to be gay in Britain today. Contributors announced today include Andrew Scott, Val McDermid, Olly Alexander, Sandi Toksvig, Susan Calman, Stephen K Amos, and Simon Callow.

    On BBC Two, the season ranges from the compelling dramas Against the Law, starring Daniel Mays as journalist Peter Wildeblood who was found guilty of homosexuality in the 1950s in the explosive Montagu Trial and the first screen drama from best-selling British novelist Patrick Gale: Man in an Orange Shirt starring Vanessa Redgrave to important and timely documentaries such as Is It Safe to be Gay in the UK? which uses testimony and found footage to explore the rise of attacks on lesbian, gay and transgender people.

    What Gay Did for Art celebrates the contribution lesbian and gay people have made to popular culture, the visual arts, literature, theatre and film on BBC Two whilst Prejudice and Pride: The People’s History of LGBTQ Britain, presented by Susan Calman and Stephen K Amos on BBC Four, reveals the precious mementos and memorabilia that have the changed the lives of LGBTQ people over the last 50 years. Also on BBC Four, Gluck charts the modern British history of female homosexuality and its representation in culture, literature, fashion and art through the untold story of the celebrated artist Gluck who defied the gender and sexuality definitions of her time; and Mark Gatiss offers his and other writers’ responses to the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act in Queers.

    On BBC Three, Olly Alexander, lead singer of Years and Years and a powerful voice on LGBTQ rights, explores why the gay community is more vulnerable to mental health issues, as he opens up about his own long-term battles with depression in Olly Alexander: Growing Up Gay.

    Highlights on BBC Radio include Val McDermid presenting Queer Britain on Radio 4, exploring the many ways that the LGBTQ community was accepted, tolerated, despised and ostracised and how this was reflected across culture, society and politics. On Radio 2, a two-part series will celebrate out and proud LGBTQ performers who utilised their sexuality to push boundaries, defining the sound of their generation. On Radio 3, the drama Victim will trace the bravery behind the 1961 film of the same name that was the first English language film to use the word ‘homosexual’.

    Patrick Holland, BBC Two Channel Controller, says

    “This is a rich and compelling set of programmes that challenge us all. From the heart-breaking testimony of the men who lived through the years before partial decriminalisation in Against the Law and Patrick Gale’s intensely personal Man in an Orange Shirt to a documentary revealing the experience of people facing discrimination in the UK today, this season is a powerful examination of how far we have come whilst also exploring how much further we have to travel.”

  • TV | imagine… Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures, BBC 2

    Imagine… Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures

    Programme Length: 105 mins

    Broadcaster: BBC 2

    Broadcast Date: TBC

    imagine… presents Look at the Pictures, an unflinching and uncompromising portrait of one of the 20th century’s most controversial photographers: Robert Mapplethorpe, directed by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey. His images elevated photography to fine art and pushed social boundaries to create a body of work which includes frank depictions of nudity, sexuality and fetishism and still lives and flowers, but not without controversy. His iconic and unmistakable photographs of 1970’s New York’s underground gay scene were frank and unmediated depictions of a lifestyle at the time deplored by many Americans. In 1989, on the floor of Congress, Senator Jesse Helms implored America to “Look at the pictures,” while denouncing Mapplethorpe’s art. Since his death in 1989 from AIDS, Mapplethorpe’s work has remained as provocative as ever. Look at the Pictures delves deeply into Mapplethorpe’s life and work to reveal the man and images which ignited a culture war that rages to this day.

  • TV | Is It Safe To Be Gay In The UK?

    Is It Safe To Be Gay In The UK?

     

    Programme Length: 60 minutes

    Broadcaster: BBC 2

    Broadcast Date: TBC

    In the three months after Brexit, an LGBT anti-violence charity reported a 147% rise in homophobic attacks. In this very timely documentary, BBC 2 explores some of the stories behind the headlines from the lesbian, gay and transgender people who have been attacked as well as the perpetrators, using testimony and found footage, to ask why this rise occurred?

  • TV | What Gay Did For Art, BBC 2

    What Gay Did For Art

    Programme Length: 60 mins

    Broadcaster: BBC 2

    Broadcast date: TBC

    This film invites a stellar cast of interviewees from across the arts to reflect on the contribution of lesbian and gay people to British cultural life since the decriminalisation of male homosexuality 50 years ago.

    Ranging broadly across popular culture, the visual arts, literature, theatre and film, the programme celebrates how the British arts, before 1967 and since, have been a haven to those growing up creative and gay.

    The film considers how artists’ sexuality might have shaped their art, often giving it a unique outsider’s perspective on British life, and a sometimes subversive sense of wit and style. Artists produced sophisticated work that excited audiences with its “otherness”, bringing new types of characters to television and film, gender ambiguity to pop music, and glimpses of bohemia in the visual arts.  These have remained driving forces for British art to this day. But the film also asks whether growing acceptance has been to some extent a double-edged sword for artists themselves. Has homosexuality’s move towards the mainstream made the exploration of queer themes less urgent and less interesting? Now that there’s a wide range of gay lifestyles on show in British culture, the question of how much an artist’s sexuality really matters to their art has become inescapable.