Aids: The Unheard Tapes

Original version

Simulcast of network BBC Two in high definition.

BBC Two HD

Documentaries

Factual

Factual: Real Life Stories

Innovative series featuring interviews recorded at the height of the Aids crisis.

Real stories, real voices. The Aids crisis as never told before, by those who survived - and those who did not. Frank, intimate accounts from the heart of a devastating epidemic.

Series 1

BBC Two England

England

Simulcast of BBC Two Northern Ireland in high definition

BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

Simulcast of BBC Two Wales in high definition

BBC Two Wales HD

Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

BBC Two Wales

BBC Two Northern Ireland

Russell Tovey

Morgana Pugh

Aids: The Unheard Tapes: Series 1: Lazarus

Lazarus

BBC Two - Aids: The Unheard Tapes, Series 1, Lazarus

Deaths from Aids continue to climb before miracle drugs are finally found.

Hopes of a cure are raised and ruined as Aids continues to decimate the gay community. Finally, a miracle may be on the horizon, leaving many to face an unexpected future.

In a blaze of hope, the first drug to be believed to prolong the lives of those with HIV infections is hailed as a potential ‘miracle cure’. Trials get underway, and hopes are high. But soon, severe and debilitating side effects begin to show themselves, and many of those participating in the trials become desperately sick. The results of the failed AZT trials are released in 1993 and provoke backlash against both drug companies and, sometimes, the doctors and nurses caring for Aids patients.

Many in the gay and HIV communities begin to take further action for themselves, and a wave of revolutionary activism and direct action builds momentum. Complementary therapies and quack cures are tried as those living with HIV longer-term attempt to stave off an Aids-defining diagnosis.

As infections rise further outside the gay community, women are significantly affected and turn to the now-established community groups for help. Stigma and fear are still deeply ingrained in the way the public reacts to the virus.

The stories of men including John, Jeremy and Tony, recorded at the time, bring these experiences to life. Their real voices are lip-synced by actors, giving first-hand insight into what they lived through. They blaze a trail through self-care and activism, finding agency and helping others to find their voices. Ultimately, they begin to face the inevitability of their decline and deaths.

Peak deaths are reached, and hospitals and hospices have to work together to cope with the number of patients who need palliative care. Behind the scenes, trials have been taking place with combinations of different drugs, although each is eventually resisted by the evolving virus that is HIV.

In 1995, a final element called a protease inhibitor is developed, and completes the drug combination that finally proves successful in managing HIV. A treatment has been discovered, against all the odds, for those who can access it. In Britain’s hospitals, patients responding well to these new medications experience the 'Lazarus effect’, leaving their hospital beds to face unexpected futures.

Aids: The Unheard Tapes: Series 1

BBC Two

Knowledge, drama, comedy and the arts for a broad adult audience.

BBC Two is a lively channel of depth and substance, carrying a range of knowledge-building programming complemented by great drama, comedy and arts.

Innovative series featuring interviews recorded at the height of the Aids crisis in 80s and 90s Britain, lip-synced by actors, telling the story of HIV and Aids in their own words.

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Aids: The Unheard Tapes

Series 1

Lazarus

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