A celebration of 50 years of small-screen historical drama, the genre that has brought bans in America and complaints from the Royal Family while creating massive stars in some of the most memorable and best loved series ever broadcast on PBS. The Story of the Costume Drama is wide-ranging, covering love and war, birth and death, the rich and the poor. In The Story of the Costume Drama, we take a look at how the genre has changed across the decades - from The Forsyte Saga to Upstairs Downstairs, Brideshead Revisited to I, Claudius - and will feature interviews with the stars of the series and the people behind-the-camera responsible for them, from the writers to the location managers. Featured actors include Susan Hampshire, Timothy West, Derek Jacobi, John Hurt, Anthony Andrews, Alex Kingston and Art Malik. We also speak to those involved behind the cameras including directors, screenwriters and commissioners - as well as TV critics and journalists. Narrated by Keeley Hawes.
