Starring John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones

1884. Frederick Treves, an ambitious young London surgeon, is intrigued by a sideshow freak billed as 'The Elephant Man' and, after the exhibition is closed by the police, pays the owner for a private viewing. To his amazement, he finds behind the appallingly disfigured and brutalised exhibit a person, John Merrick, of an intelligent and sensitive nature, whose rehabilitation he undertakes. How Treves tries to reconcile society with Merrick is the subject of this stunning true story of courage in the most terrible circumstances, with John Hurt brilliantly portraying the trapped soul within 'The Elephant Man'.

(First showing on British television)

Feature: page 29
(Ceefax subtitles)