John Thomson

In Finnish forest, Saga and her husband Jon embark on a new chapter as parents. But Saga's joy is overshadowed by a chilling suspicion about their newborn, unbeknownst to Jon, causing a rift as she alone grapples with the disturbing truth.

A new servant embarks on an unlikely relationship with the youngest daughter of a prominent English family. Simultaneously, rivalries are spilling over in the Davenport family, led by the Lord and Lady as they also weather the epic failure of the wedding of their eldest daughter to her caddish cousin.

When successful 80s nightclub manager Tony Towers boards a magical train at Christmas, he discovers that each carriage harbours a different stage of his life and the actions he takes in one carriage directly affect his life in the next. Can Tony change his life – and the lives of the people he loves – for the better, or will he just make things worse?

This new special reveals the secrets of the long-running sitcom's extraordinary success. Helped by former cast and crew members, families of the stars no longer with us, and celebrity fans, we learn the secrets of this comedy classic and get to see previously unseen interviews and rare behind-the-scenes archive footage.

A celebration of the much-loved holiday camp sitcom, featuring classic scenes and interviews with members of cast and crew including Su Pollard, Ruth Madoc, Jeffrey Holland, Paul Shane and Jimmy Perry. The programme reveals that Butlin's, the real-life inspiration for the series, were not impressed with the show, and there are backstage secrets, such as the day several cast members nearly drowned in the swimming pool

Fifty years after her legendary brush with the wolf, an adult Red Riding Hood and her granddaughter face a new lupine problem.

Featuring a whole host of Coronation Street stars past and present, this special explores the legacy of the world's longest-running soap opera.

A refreshed version of the 2010 documentary, this 2023 programme features new interviews from celebrity fans to link in with the 25th anniversary of the sitcom.

The unique life and talent of Caroline Aherne is celebrated in a new Arena film, featuring unseen photographs and contributions from a cast of her lifelong friends, including Steve Coogan, John Thomson, Craig Cash and producer Andy Harries.

Bono estente! It's been over 25 years since quickfire sketch show classic The Fast Show first hit our screens, and what better way to celebrate its enduring success than with a two-hour extravaganza of archive clips, cast interviews and rarely seen footage?

Through previously unseen footage and clips, we reveal a very different side to the late comedian Les Dawson's public persona and discover the real Les away from the spotlight.

Jess and her husband need a new start. So when the chance to buy a rambling old house in the Suffolk countryside comes up, they leap at it. But not everyone in Suffolk is welcoming. The locals know a secret about the Maple House, and soon, Jess realises they’ve made a huge mistake. Something bad happened in that house. Something nobody wants to talk about. Something to do with the people before…

Celebrating more of the comedy magic that made The Fast Show such a success in the 90s, taking a deeper dive into the archives to unearth stories behind classic sketches.

A behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of one of the UK's most popular pub chains, shining a light on the secrets of the brand's success. The programme explores how Wetherspoons has gained ground on its rivals by being cheaper, quicker or more responsive to customer demands, and reveals some of the tactics used to keep their customers coming back, from cheap deals on food and drink to opening their doors morning, noon and night.

Wrongfully accused and on the run, a top MI6 assassin joins forces with his long-lost, football hooligan brother to save the world from a sinister plot.

Set in 1974, an authentic and uplifting tale of two friends whose horizons are opened up by the discovery of black American soul music.

The story of Len, who made a billion dollars from inventing a new toilet roll, and his 12-year-old son Joe who appears to have everything he could want but what he really needs is a friend.

The craft, creative process and complicated lives of Stand-up Comedians.

Uncle Wormsley is a grey, decaying old man with cobweb-like hair and rotten fingernails. A lone figure who keeps himself to himself, Wormsley's only friend is a monstrous crab called Crabsley, who lives in a dungeon under his house.

Thunder Racers, Infinite Finity, Rat Warriors. Junk Comics' titles have been referred to as 'the worst printed material since Mein Kampf'. Tony Leary, the nice-guy owner of Junk Comics, is gearing up for one last roll of the dice. His new superhero title, The Sodomizer, launches at the British International Comic Show, and nothing will stop Tony from making it a success. Nothing except a gang of Geordie criminals who are using a comic company to launder their dirty money. Tony is drafted by the police to identify the culprits and bring them to justice. Aided by his trusty geek sidekicks, Rick and Keith, Tony must defy the odds if he is to become a real life hero.

A look at the life of John Cooper Clarke. From his rise as a 'punk poet', through his heroin addiction, and finally to his comeback.

Alan leaves behind his comfortable existence and heads to the north to ask whether, in this once united kingdom, a 'schasm' has formed between north and south, between the haves and have-nots.

Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash discuss the creation of The Royle Family, with a look behind the scenes at the production of the show and interviews with the cast.

In celebration of the release of 63 Up, the 2019 installment of Michael Apted's groundbreaking documentary series that began in 1964, a number of British and American celebrity fans now discuss its impact on popular culture and its lasting legacy. The film also candidly explores pivotal moments of celebrities’ own lives—from school days and first loves to family and fulfilled ambitions—while tapping into changes in social history around topics such as class, education, and parenting.

Actor and comedian John Thomson looks back at the life and work of his friend and comedy colleague, the late and greatly missed Caroline Aherne. From rarely seen early routines from Caroline’s days on the Manchester stand-up circuit, through to some favourite moments from The Fast Show, Mrs Merton and The Royle Family, John is our guide as we wallow in a special selection of clips, characters and magic moments. To misquote Mrs Merton’s famous line to Debbie McGee – this is a collection that reveals exactly what it was that first attracted us to one of British television’s best-loved writers and performers.

For the first time, Bentley invite cameras behind the scenes. This documentary meets the staff and the customers as it visits the factory, the showrooms and the secretive upgrades department.

A frustrated office worker finds himself caught between the realms of his deranged imagination and the mundane reality of his everyday existence.

The hilarious and bizarre story of Frank Sidebottom, the cult British comedian in a papier mâché head, and the secretive life of Chris Sievey, the artist trapped inside.

This one-off documentary goes deep inside the Willie Wonka world of Cadbury, Britain's biggest and best-loved chocolate maker. Behind closed doors at the famous Bournville plant, a team of dedicated scientists struggle to meet the biggest challenge the company's faced for a century - to dramatically cut sugar from their Dairy Milk recipe. Meanwhile, the firm's Easter Creme Egg campaign finds Cadbury agents 'reverse shoplifting' as they hide prize-winning white eggs around the country. Elsewhere in the factory new flavours of chocolate are put into production, with wacky recipes invented by lucky members of the public.

Raymond Briggs' classic family story about smelly monsters, dangerous humans and what happens when the things that go bump in the night move in next door comes to life on Sky 1. Timothy Spall, Victoria Wood and Keeley Hawes star

The story of how 22 year old writer Tony Warren conceived, wrote and fought for the record breaking UK TV series Coronation Street.

This documentary sheds light on the background of the famous, infamous Darts Split. Many dart players like Phil Taylor, Rod Harrington, Raymond van Barneveld, Michael van Gerwen or James Wade but also the main responsible people like Olly Croft, Tommy Cox and Barry Hearn have their say.

Cheese-loving eccentric Wallace and his cunning canine pal Gromit run a business ridding the town of garden pests. Using only humane methods, which turns their home into a halfway house for evicted vermin, the pair stumble upon a mystery involving a voracious vegetarian monster that threatens to ruin the annual veggie-growing contest.

The adventures of a father and his young daughter, in their search for a long lost book that will help reunite a missing, close relative.

Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.

Big Chris leads a chorus of characters from various animated children's television shows in a medley of seven songs: 1. "Can You Feel It" 2. "Don't Stop" 3. "Jai Ho!" 4. "Tubthumping" 5. "Never Forget" 6. "Hey Jude" 7. "One Day Like This"

Leaving their hometown of Fulchester in the North of England, Sandra and Tracey head for the bright lights of London, shagging and boozing their way to fame and fortune.

At a rural railway station in Victorian England, Jim is a spunky Jack Russell Terrier who escapes his mean master at the circus, and is soon befriended by station porter Bob and lonely orphan Henry. His performing feats soon become a local attraction, and before long he's in the middle of a battle to save the local orphanage.

A group of twenty-somethings, one of whom is a single father with a precious daughter, have been unsuccessful in getting into a certain club so they can have a chance to DJ there and start a career out of it. A series of events has lumbered them with a dog napping scheme gone badly wrong, ending up with them owning a particular pooch belonging to a dog-loving local drug dealer.

A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of "Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible" featuring Steve Coogan.

In modern-day London, three men (Craig Ferguson, Jimi Mistry and David Morrissey) and three women (Olivia Williams, Jane Horrocks and Catherine McCormack) fall in and out of love and back again, to the Greek-chorus accompaniment of two cab drivers, who engage in an ongoing conversation about sex. A winning romantic comedy, Born Romantic is the second feature by British writer-director David Kane of This Year's Love fame.

Studio engineer Geoff Emerick challenges modern musicians to recreate songs from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles, to celebrate the album's 40th anniversary.

Hard-core villain Danny "The Dealer" Dempsey, awakes one morning, in his heavily secured home, to find a letter resting on his pillow. The dealer is totally bewildered how it got there, as there are no signs of an intruder or a break in. The mystery of who the letter is from (and what it contains) is something the dealer will not share, even with his closest friends or his very dear sister Sally.

An American gets a ticket for an audience participation game in London, then gets involved in a case of mistaken identity. As an international plot unravels around him, he thinks it's all part of the act.

A variety of sketches that have never been seen before. Featuring Road Rage Richard, the King and the Mid-Life Crisis Man.

Graham Young is a teenage misfit living in suburban London in the 1960s. He hates his stepmother but loves chemistry, and the two impulses unite in a wicked plot to slowly poison her. After she dies, he's found guilty and sent to a psychiatric hospital, where an idealistic doctor thinks he can be cured.

Recorded at Liverpool's Neptune theatre. Coogan appears as Paul and Pauline Calf, Duncan Thickett and Ernest Moss, alongside support from John Thomson's Bernard Right On

A look at how the Fast Show developed into one of TV's most successful series, with contributions from the creators, writers, cast and some famous fans.

Lager lout and philosopher Paul Calf records his video diary over New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Accompanied by his friends Fat Bob and Roland and his sister Pauline, he staggers through two days of drinking, fighting and failed sex, in desperate pursuit of his ex-girlfriend, Julie.

One-off late '90s comedy special from a cast full of up and coming comic actors and comedians.

Spoof video diary. Steve Coogan takes on the roles of downtrodden Paul and the vivacious blonde Pauline Calf, who finally gets herself up the aisle with the man of her dreams. Even a punch-up in the toilet can't spoil her special day.

Minicab boss Sam has his work cut out controlling a wayward bunch of drivers

Recorded live at London's Hammersmith Apollo in 1998, The Fast Show Live features all of the original cast of the highly successful sketch series (Caroline Aherne excepted) including Paul Whitehouse, Simon Day, Charlie Higson and Arabella Weir and practically all of their myriad characters and catchphrases.

A mockumentary, rockumentary featuring the spoof radio DJ's from Harry Enfield's sketch shows. Telling of their rise to fame, their influence on music history and fall from grace in a parody of real life radio presenters.

A 13 year old talented athlete struggles to come to terms with the traumas of life as she prepares for a very important athletics event.

One-off comedy drama featuring characters from award-winning BBC sketch series 'The Fast Show'. Ralph Mayhew (Charlie Higson) lives alone in a faded stately home. His only friend is Ted (Paul Whitehouse), the elderly Irish estate worker. But their way of life is under threat: Ralph must marry before his 35th birthday or lose everything. Just when it all seems hopeless, along comes Wendy (Kathy Burke). As Ralph's affection for Wendy grows, his dependence on Ted wanes. Is this the end of a beautiful friendship ? Is Wendy all that she seems ? Will Ralph go through with the marriage ? And will he save the Hall ?

The Cobblers Arms have been the best and most feared Amateur Rugby League team for the past ten years. Ex-pro Arthur bets their boss that he could train a bunch of deadbeats to defeat them in a local rugby sevens tournament. But to do so he must first get them into shape with the help of the very attractive Hazel Scott.

The Yo-yo knickered slags get the blues when randy romeo Baz marries their love rival Thelma. But it's during their disastrous honeymoon at the sinister Paradise Park that the action really turns blue!

With angels crying in the toilets all because of a jealous Angel Gabriel, it could only be the eagerly awaited performance of the Primary school nativity play - this time with a twist! The UK's finest comedy actors take the leading roles as the eight year old performers. Through the inevitable mishaps, misunderstandings, young egos, fears of failure and fallings out, the children's characters evolve into mirror images of thier parents, the nativity play's audience. You'll be drawn into the amusing and enchanting worlds and minds of young children and reminisce about your own childhood performances!

Two friends search for a quality sausage at an open air meat festival.