This long-running BBC documentary series about the creative worlds of music and the arts presented such exceptional programmes as ‘The World of Coppard’ (1967) featuring three stories by A E Coppard with music by Carl Davis; Ken Russell’s ‘Dante’s Inferno’ (1967) with Oliver Reed; the famous ghost story by M R James, ‘Whistle and I’ll Come to You‘ (1968); Tony Palmer’s film of popular music, ‘All My Loving’ (1968); ‘Down These Mean Streets a Man Must Go’ (1969), a portrait of crime writer Raymond Chandler; and ‘Cracked Actor’ (1975), a profile of David Bowie during the peak of his cocaine addiction.
After being moved to BBC2, the series was eventually cancelled in January 2003 after 35 years, prompting accusations the BBC was not taking arts seriously enough as the channel became more focused on entertainment and drama.
