Original version

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

BBC One London

London

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One North West

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One Oxfordshire

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

BBC One Wales

Wales

William Ivory

Matt Smith

Sam Hoare

Geoffrey Palmer

Ron Cook

James Frain

Clive Merrison

Alexandra Moen

Bert and Dickie

Drama: Biographical

Drama: Historical

Sport: Olympics

25/07/2012

BBC One - Bert and Dickie

The story of how Bert Bushnell and Dickie Burnell defied all the odds and achieved gold.

Thrown together weeks before the final of the 1948 Olympics, this is the story of how Bert Bushnell and Dickie Burnell defied all the odds and achieved gold in the double sculls.

Thrown together just five weeks before the final of the 1948 London Olympics, Bert Bushnell and Dickie Burnell defied all the odds and achieved gold in the double sculls. This is the story of how they did it - not only by pushing physical and emotional limits, but also by confronting and overcoming their vast professional and personal differences.

A boat builder's son from Wargrave, Bert Bushnell might be under six foot and slight, but he knows that he's got what it takes to represent his country in the single sculls. When he does win a place on the British team, however, he's shocked to discover that it's not in the event for which he's trained. Instead the selecting coach, Jack Beresford, has decided that Bert will partner Dickie Burnell in the double sculls. 

An Eton and Oxford educated "Blue" from a family of rowing royalty, six-foot four Dickie couldn't be more different to Bert. Unable to hide a chip on his shoulder about the upper classes, Bert is openly hostile to Dickie and their first outing on the river is a disaster - as each tries to out-scull the other. As they struggle exhausted from the water, Beresford is forced to face up to the fact that his gamble - just five weeks before the Olympic final - may have been a foolish one.

Bert and Dickie's personal battle reflects a much greater struggle as London prepares to host the Olympic Games. In 1948, just three years after the end of WW2, London is half-destroyed and its people are starving. Thus the "Austerity Olympics" were born, and the film portrays just what was achieved with a "make do and mend" post-war mentality. 

Bert and Dickie also begin to realise that they share more in common than they ever would have expected. Both have the same determination and drive and, on a personal level, both have been shaped by complex relationships with their fathers. As they realise that this is it - their big opportunity - they finally start to work together. 

Set against the backdrop of a country on its knees, Bert and Dickie is an uplifting, warm-hearted and celebratory story about how two men rose above distinctions of birth and class to become Olympic gold medallists - and how London did pull off a brilliant and triumphant Games.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Bert and Dickie

Contributors

Genres

BBC One East

About BBC One