Sheila Hancock

Six women. Six rooms. Six confrontations with the past. Shot in East London, Second Skin is a devastating meditation on society’s obsession with a woman’s age.

This celebratory special showcases appearances by the revered comedian, featuring material previously unseen by British audiences, including tour-de-force performances on US TV.

Sheila Hancock stars as Ellie; a woman gathering her strength on the morning of the hardest day of her life. Unwaveringly, she prepares to perform her last act of love. As she navigates her feelings and the very practical considerations of getting this done, she finds that another big decision is to be made.

To try and overcome a lifetime of bitterness and resentment, 83-year-old Edie decides that it is never too late. After packing an old camping bag, she leaves her life behind and embarks on an adventure she never got to have... climbing the imposing Mount Suilven in Scotland.

Based on Jo Brand's critically acclaimed novel of the same name, The More You Ignore Me is a warm, comedy drama focusing on the life of an unconventional family in 1980s rural England. The film focuses on Gina, a young mother, whose efforts to be a loving mother and wife are undermined by her declining mental health. Things deteriorate when she develops an obsession with the local weatherman, which leads to an admission to the nearby psychiatric hospital. Over the years, as she grows up, her daughter Alice struggles to relate to her heavily medicated mum, and causes chaos when she comes up with a plan to reconnect with her, which divides the family forever and leads to a moving climax. Set to the songs of The Smiths, The More You Ignore Me provides a sometimes stark, yet comical insight into life within this quirky household, whilst addressing mental health issues and their impact on the family.

Two women, recovering from personal tragedy, take a boat trip through the Scottish Highlands. After a run in with the locals, their relaxing break soon descends into a hellish ordeal.

Set against the backdrop of a beautiful garden in the heart of London, this contemporary fairy tale revolves around the unlikely friendship between a reclusive young woman and a cantankerous old widower. Bella Brown is a beautifully quirky young woman who dreams of writing and illustrating a successful children’s book. After she is forced by her landlord to deal with her neglected garden or face eviction, she meets her match, nemesis, and unlikely mentor in Alfie Stephenson, a grumpy, loveless, old man who lives next door who happens to be an amazing horticulturalist.

A surprisingly candid behind-the-scenes account of the career of Ken Loach, one of Britain’s most celebrated and controversial filmmakers, as he prepares to release his final major film I, Daniel Blake.

Recently released from prison, French chef Jacques pursues an obsession -- to leave his past behind and work for the great British chef Victor Ellwood. He knows Victor had an affair with his mother and may even be his dad. Working for iron-fisted Victor is back-breaking, but his existence is softened by the presence of a curious girl living in the downstairs flat. As he falls in love with her, he realises she not only has an aversion to restaurants, but food of all kinds. Is her eating disorder a force too resilient for anything, even love to cure?

Actress and writer Sheila Hancock has long been fascinated by the life and works of the Brontë sisters. In this programme, she searches for an answer to a puzzling question: “How did three spinsters who spent most of their lives in a remote parsonage on the edge of the moors come to write books so shocking, erotic, profoundly moving and quite wonderful?.” Sheila embarks on a journey that starts in the Yorkshire village of Haworth and the brutal moors that inspired Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, moves on to Brussels, where Charlotte Brontë developed the writing style that made Jane Eyre an enduring masterpiece, and ends in Scarborough, the last resting place of Anne Brontë.