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The Hour

Series 1

Episode 1

Duration: 1 hour

First broadcast: on BBC HDLatest broadcast: on BBC HD

1956. At Alexandra Palace reporters and best friends Bel Rowley and Freddie Lyon are finishing another long day working on the BBC newsreels. Fed up with constantly overlooking the issues of the day in favour of royal engagements and sporting triumphs both yearn for bigger, bolder stories and a freedom to dictate their own agenda. But on this particular occasion both are hopeful. Clarence Fendley is assembling a team for new weekly current affairs programme The Hour at Lime Grove and there's a sense that Bel and Freddie may just be about to get the break they need...

Freddie finds himself reporting from a young debutante's engagement party and realises she is a childhood friend. There he is drawn into a murky world of subterfuge, intimidation and political scheming. It is a story which will lead him from a suspicious murder and a coded message, into the private dealings of the ruling elite and ultimately to a conspiracy which has the potential to shatter the society around him.

Freddie needs freedom to pursue his story and it seems that freedom will only be realised by joining the team of The Hour. Clarence has assembled a talented team around him. New front man Hector Madden brings a charismatic edge. Entitled and self-assured, Hector's immediate spark with Bel triggers friction between he and Freddie and the tempestuous love-triangle which emerges drives their ambition and fuels the aspirations of The Hour.

The team of The Hour seek the bigger stories and with the looming crisis in Suez they soon find themselves at the heart of a fierce political struggle between the government and the BBC which will dominate their decisions and test their resolve. Show less

Contributors

Freddie Lyon:
Ben Whishaw
Bel Rowley:
Romola Garai
Hector Madden:
Dominic West
Clarence Fendley:
Anton Lesser
Lix Storm:
Anna Chancellor
Angus McCain:
Julian Rhind-Tutt
Isaac Wengrow:
Joshua McGuire
Sissy Cooper:
Lisa Greenwood
Thomas Kish:
Burn Gorman
Douglas Owen:
John Bowe
Marnie Madden:
Oona Chaplin
Malcolm Lyon:
Robert Demeger
Wallace Sherwin:
Ken Bones
Professor Beckett:
Nicholas Woodeson
Adam Le Ray:
Andrew Scott
Ruth Elms:
Vanessa Kirby
Peter Darrall:
Jamie Parker
George Hemmings:
Jason Watkins
Floor Manager Ron:
Paul Chahidi
Newsagent:
Colin Spaull
Newsreader Johnny:
Nick Caldecott
Police Officer Charlie:
Andy Gathergood
Cloakroom Girl:
Amie Francis
Writer:
Abi Morgan
Director:
Coky Giedroyc

Genres

About this data

This data is drawn from the data stream that informs BBC's iPlayer and Sounds. The information shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was/is subject to change and may not be accurate. More