Synopsis

Get up close to artists, writers, actors, comedians and poets – and discover both what fires their imaginations and the forces that have shaped their extraordinary lives.

First Air Date: 2024-09-02

Last Air Date: 2025-11-18

Number of Seasons: 2

Number of Episodes: 10

Networks: BBC One

Top Cast

Billy Connolly as Self
Alison Lapper as Self
Jilly Cooper as Self
Jackie Kay as Self
Hanif Kureishi as Self
Frederick Forsyth as Self
Tom Jones as Self
Val McDermid as Self
Cornelia Parker as Self
Yinka Shonibare as Self

Seasons

None (2024)

Get up close to artists, writers, actors, comedians and poets.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Billy Connolly (2024-09-02)

An astonishingly intimate self-portrait. With unflinching honesty and brilliant humour, Sir Billy looks back on his triumphs and failings as an entertainer, husband and father.
Ep. 2: Alison Lapper (2024-09-09)

Alison Lapper – an artist, a muse, a mother – explores her life through art and archive in this visually rich and emotionally intimate documentary as she emerges from the most difficult period of her life after the loss of her son Parys.
Ep. 3: Hanif Kureishi (2024-09-16)

Hanif Kureishi explores his life and career using personal archive footage and his films to reveal a portrait of a man who is as honest, challenging and witty as his work.
Ep. 4: Jackie Kay (2024-09-23)

One of Britian’s most loved poets, Jackie Kay, on how her powerful work draws from her life’s journey, considering race, gender and identity with tenderness and humour.
Ep. 5: Jilly Cooper (2024-09-30)

Best-selling novelist and journalist Dame Jilly Cooper candidly reflects on her life and work, and how it has held up a mirror to our sex lives, class obsessions and relationships.