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Raising the Bar: 100 Years of Black British Theatre and Screen

Raising the Bar: 100 Years of Black British Theatre and Screen: A Long, Hard Road

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

10/11/2015

A Long, Hard Road

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Raising the Bar: 100 Years of Black British Theatre and Screen, A Long, Hard Road

Lenny Henry examines the evolving depiction of Afro-Caribbeans on TV.

Lenny Henry examines the evolving depiction of Afro-Caribbeans on TV from Love Thy Neighbour to Desmond's. From November 2015.

In the second of ten programmes tracing a century of black British theatre and screen, Lenny Henry focuses on the evolving depiction of African Caribbean society on popular television across fifty years.

He charts the journey from the overt racism of TV sit-coms like Love Thy Neighbour (which nonetheless was a great hit amongst black Britons, simply because it was one of the few places in the 1970s where black Britain was regularly depicted on the nation's TV screens) to more sympathetic programmes like Empire Road. By the time Desmond's hair salon opened on Channel 4, with Norman Beaton and Carmen Munroe in the leading roles, a much more realistic picture of African Caribbean Britain was taking shape on British television.

Series Consultant Michael Pearce
Producer Simon Elmes.

BBC Radio 4 Extra

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Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Lenny Henry presents a series tracing a century of black British theatre and screen

Lenny Henry presents a series of programmes tracing a century of black British theatre and screen

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Raising the Bar: 100 Years of Black British Theatre and Screen

A Long, Hard Road

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