91Èȱ¬ One Autumn 2007
Drama
Cranford
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Dame Judi Dench, Francesca Annis, Dame Eileen Atkins,
Sir Michael Gambon, Philip Glenister, Lesley Manville, Julia
McKenzie, Imelda Staunton and Greg Wise star in Cranford, a new landmark period drama created by Sue
Birtwistle and Susie Conklin, and written by Heidi Thomas.
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Based on three Elizabeth Gaskell novels, this witty and
tender story follows the small absurdities and major
tragedies in the lives of the people of Cranford during one
extraordinary year.
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Cranford in the 1840s is a small Cheshire market town on
the cusp of change. The railway is pushing relentlessly
towards the town from Manchester, bringing fears of
migrant workers and the breakdown of law and order.
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The
arrival of a handsome new doctor, Frank Harrison (Simon
Woods), from London causes a stir – not only because of
his revolutionary medical methods, but also because of
the effect he has on many female hearts in the town.
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Judi Dench plays Miss Matty Jenkyns, whose hopes and
rebellious spirit were crushed when, as a young woman,
she was forced to give up Mr Holbrook (Michael Gambon),
the man she loved.
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The cast includes Claudie Blakley, John Bowe, Andrew
Buchan, Jim Carter, Lisa Dillon, Emma Fielding, Deborah
Findlay, Barbara Flynn, Selina Griffiths, Alex Jennings, Dean
Lennox Kelly, Joe McFadden, Alistair Petrie, Julia Sawalha,
Finty Williams, Alex Etel and newcomer Kimberley Nixon.
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Please note: This programme was originally billed in the 91Èȱ¬ One Autumn 2007 press pack as Cranford Chronicles.
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AF
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Miss Austen Regrets
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Based on her life and letters, Miss Austen Regrets tells the story of Jane Austen's
final years.
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When asked by her young niece, Fanny, to help vet potential husbands, Jane finds herself
re-examining her own romantic life.
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As she approaches 40 years of age, Jane appears happily unmarried and, to her niece,
she seems an expert on love. Protected by her wit, Jane presents a front as dazzling as
many of her novels' young heroines, but events conspire to potentially expose Jane's
principled theories on love and marriage as ill-judged.
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A chance re-acquaintance with a former suitor sees Jane lose her composure, and, when
she meets her brother's dashing young physician, her passions are ignited.
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Then, when her family faces financial ruin, it becomes apparent that all could have been
very different had Jane accepted a marriage proposal from a wealthy landowner...
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RB
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Oliver Twist
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The inimitable Timothy Spall stars as Fagin, with Tom Hardy
as Bill Sikes, in the gripping tale of Oliver Twist, adapted by
Sarah Phelps, one of Britain's most dynamic stage and
television writers (EastEnders).
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Oliver's life starts inauspiciously. The son of an unmarried
mother who dies shortly after his birth, Oliver's closest
family are the workhouse board and their plans for his
future don't stretch far beyond starving him to death with
pitiful rations of gruel. However, after a courageous
rebellion when he asks for more, Oliver is cast out and
forced to make his own way in the world.
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On arriving in London, he meets the Artful Dodger and is
drawn into the dark and murky underworld of Fagin and his
gang. Thrilling adventures involving the brutal Sikes,
beautiful Nancy and mysterious Mr Monks bring Oliver
perilously close to death, but hope appears in the form of
a benefactor with links to Oliver's past...
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AF
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The Street
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Jimmy McGovern's Bafta and RTS award-winning series
The Street returns for a second series.
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Timothy Spall reprises his role as taxi driver Eddie, leading
a new cast which boasts many of Britain's finest television,
film and theatre actors, as well as talented newcomers.
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David Thewlis (Naked) plays identical twins, Joe and Harry,
with Bronagh Gallagher (Holy Cross) as Joe's wife and June
Watson (Strictly Confidential) as the twins' mother.
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Mark Benton (City Lights) is Wayne, beleaguered postman
and loving dad, with newcomer Michael Taylor (Mischief
Nights) as his friend, Damien. Dean Andrews (Life On
Mars) and Claire Hackett (William And Mary) also feature
in this episode.
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Gina McKee (Tsunami: The Aftermath) and Lorraine
Ashbourne (True Dare Kiss) star as sisters whose love for
their sons blinds them to the truth.
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Vincent Regan (Troy) and Julia Ford (All About George) play
a husband and wife whose marriage is rocked by Tom (Will
Mellor, Sorted).
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Toby Kebbell, who earned rave reviews at Cannes Film
Festival for his role in Anton Corbijn's film Control, plays
the leading role of Paul in the final story of the series – a
compelling tale celebrating the redemptive power of love.
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CD
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Silent Witness
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The award-winning Silent Witness returns with more
diverse and challenging mysteries for Dr Nikki Alexander
(Emilia Fox), Dr Harry Cunningham (Tom Ward) and
Professor Leo Dalton (William Gaminara) to unravel.
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To a forensic pathologist, every body tells a story – who
they were, how they lived and, most importantly, how they
died. From blood spatter patterns to stomach contents,
maggots to facial reconstruction, anything on a body or at
a crime scene could be the key to unlocking the story that
lies behind it.
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With a guest cast that includes Julian Glover, Natasha
Little and Hugo Speer, this riveting series gets off to an
explosive start as an RAF helicopter crashes, impacting on
the MoD which is already struggling with the demands of
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Elsewhere, Leo searches for the identity of a child whose
dismembered torso suggests he was the victim of a ritual
sacrifice, and Nikki is forced to revisit an emotive and
controversial past case when a notorious female murderer
is, herself, murdered.
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ACA
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Coming Down The MountainÌý |
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Coming Down The Mountain
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Coming Down The Mountain is award-winning novelist Mark Haddon's (The
Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time) first TV drama, and bears his
distinctive and powerful simplicity of style. This original, funny and
thought-provoking film looks at the unusual relationship between
two brothers.
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Teenager David (Nicholas Hoult, Skins, About A Boy) has fallen in love for the
first time and life couldn't be better. The only fly in the ointment is his
17-year-old brother, Ben, who has Down's syndrome.
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The family's world revolves around Ben's needs, while David's are unwittingly
neglected by their parents.
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And, when they decide to move the family from
London to "the back of beyond" for the sake of Ben's education, David loses
his love, friends and school.
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His antipathy towards Ben grows and grows to
the point where he decides to push him off a mountain and get rid of him
once and for all...
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Ben is played by Tommy Jessop, and Neil Dudgeon and Julia Ford play Ben
and David's parents.
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DG
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Joe's Palace
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Sir Michael Gambon leads a commanding cast in award-winning auteur Stephen Poliakoff's
exhilarating new film.
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In Joe's Palace, Poliakoff explores the relationship between two central characters: Elliot
(Michael Gambon) and Joe (Danny Lee Wynter), through whose eyes the story is told.
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Elliot, a reclusive billionaire, has inherited a beautiful, dormant mansion and its mysteries
from his late father. Joe is the teenage son of a cleaner, who takes care of the grand
house.
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Rupert Penry-Jones, Kelly Reilly and Rebecca Hall also star in this contemporary
film about loneliness and loss, in which an emotionally devastating climax finally reveals
the sins of the father.
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Stephen Poliakoff has also written and directed Capturing Mary, which stars Dame Maggie
Smith and can be seen on 91Èȱ¬ Two.
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CD
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Waterloo Road
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Following the death of drama teacher Izzie Redpath (Jill
Halfpenny), Waterloo Road is under the media spotlight as
it opens its doors for a new term. Head teacher Jack
Rimmer (Jason Merrells) is on a mission to embrace
"inclusion" at the school. However, some pupils seem to
be more "included" than others, much to the annoyance of
new deputy head Eddie Lawson (Neil Morrissey).
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As well as a host of new pupils, there are also some fresh
faces in the staff room. New drama teacher Matt Wilding
(Chris Geere) plans to grab the headlines with the school's
first musical, and work-shy Grantly (Philip Martin Brown) is
delighted to have rookie Jasmine Koreshi (Shabana
Bakhsh) to foist his dirty work upon.
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Meanwhile, Tom (Jason Done) has his hands full playing
single dad to two teenage girls and when caring-but-inept
Steph Haydock (Denise Welch) is promoted to head of
pastoral care, it can only spell trouble...
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SM2
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Spooks
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Critically acclaimed spy drama Spooks is back and MI5's Section D
grapples with more explosive and original storylines than ever before.
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Growing mistrust between the British, American and Iranian governments
culminates in a series of high-risk operations at home, pushing the Section
to its very limits.
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As Iran's race to become a nuclear power impacts on
British and American security, the distinction between friend and foe
becomes ever-more blurred.
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Harry and his team start to question exactly
whose agenda they're working to and who they can trust – both on and off
the Grid.
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Meanwhile, the electric atmosphere between Adam and Ros comes to a
head, but things are complicated further by Adam's ongoing and
dangerous affair with a key asset inside the Iranian Embassy.
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Harry gains a new friend on the Grid when he recruits old MI5
colleague Connie (Gemma Jones) as desk officer. Clever, and with plenty
of old-school tricks up her sleeve, she might just be able to fill the void
left by Ruth's departure.
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Rupert Penry-Jones, Hermione Norris and Peter Firth return to head up
Section D as officers Adam, Ros and Harry. Raza Jaffrey, Miranda Raison
and Hugh Simon also return as Zaf, Jo and Malcolm. Guest stars include
Matthew Marsh and Robert Glenister.
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PPR
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Fairy Tales
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Four classic fairy tales, made popular by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault, are re-invigorated by contemporary writers...
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Billy Goat
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Jeremy Dyson (co-creator of Funland and The League Of Gentlemen) adapts
The Three Billy Goats Gruff, telling the story of a boy band who are
successful locally, but crave pastures new. However, there's one major
stumbling block – their manager is a troll who's got them locked into a
watertight contract.
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Billy Goat stars Bernard Hill, Paul Nicholls, Mathew Horne and Sarah Smart.
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GJ
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Cinderella
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In Cinderella, Richard Pinto and Anil Gupta (Goodness Gracious Me) ask
who was really responsible for the evolution of the human race. Set
inside a bustling university, this delightful tale features the charismatic
Professor Prince, who believes that men are the reason we are all here,
and the cleaner, Cindy, who is determined to prove him wrong.
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James Nesbitt and Maxine Peake star as Professor Prince and Cindy,
with Mona Hammond as Alice.
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SH
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The Empress's New Clothes
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Debbie Horsfield (Making Out, creator of Cutting It) adapts The Emperor's
New Clothes. Just as the fairy-tale Emperor defines himself through his fine
clothes, Debbie's heroine, a fading soap star, is an uncompromising slave to
fashion. Before her on-screen character is killed off, she wears a truly scary
dress to an awards ceremony to boost her profile...
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SH
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Rapunzel
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Ed Roe's (Smack The Pony, Teachers, No Angels) version of Rapunzel is
set in the world of tennis. It tells the story of a failing male tennis player
who dresses as a woman to try to win a Grand Slam final. When he
falls in love with the beautiful reigning champion, however, his plans
go awry.
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MO
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Robin Hood
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Jonas Armstrong is back as Britain's best-loved outlaw, as
Dominic Minghella's Robin Hood returns for a bigger,
bolder second series.
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In their ongoing battle to rid Nottingham of poverty, the
gang encounters a labyrinthine strongroom full of deadly
traps, faces a medieval version of Robocop and even
prevents a 12th-century attempt at ethnic cleansing.
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Meanwhile, the Sheriff (captivatingly played by Keith Allen)
is in the final stages of a devastating plot to kill King
Richard the minute he returns from the Holy Land. As he
rallies mercenaries and stockpiles weapons, the Sheriff
still has his eye on Robin Hood, whom he also wants dead
– once and for all.
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Even worse for Robin, there's a spy in the camp: a traitor
collaborating with Gisborne, who's set on thwarting Robin's
missions from within.
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The returning cast includes Lucy Griffiths as the bold and
beautiful Marian, Richard Armitage as the Sheriff's sadistic
but redeemable lieutenant, Sir Guy of Gisborne, and – in
their all-new base camp in the forest – Sam Troughton as
Much, Gordon Kennedy as Little John, Joe Armstong as
Allan A Dale and Harry Lloyd as Will Scarlett.
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MO
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Murphy's Law
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James Nesbitt makes a gripping return as undercover cop
Tommy Murphy in Murphy's Law.
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When two trusted undercover officers – posing as a couple
on a caravan site – go missing, Murphy is forced back into
the field to discover what has happened to them.
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By infiltrating a sadistic gang of sex traders, he enters a
dangerous world of human trafficking and drug dealing.
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Did the undercover officers draw too close in this menacing
world? And, as Murphy manoeuvres himself into the very
heart of the organisation, can he find them before going
too far himself?
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IJ