Clifford Kershaw

Writer and Director Mike Leigh discusses the techniques used to create his plays.

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Mr and Mrs Cooper are staying at a boarding-house in the seaside resort of Morecambe with their small children, Colin and Jennifer. Mr Cooper has just been made redundant, but the family are trying to keep this a secret from the other guests. Also staying at the hotel are Keith and Jo, a young couple on their honeymoon, and an older couple, Mr and Mrs Thornton. Waking early one morning, Colin amuses himself by dangling one of his sister's sandals out of the window on a piece of string. The sandal accidentally lands on a flat roof just outside the window of the honeymooning couple, and his father's now straitened financial circumstances mean Colin has to get it back, by fair means or foul.

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Scorpion Tales is a British anthology that aired on ITV in 1978, featuring one-off, hour-long plays with twist endings. Produced by ATV, the programme was similar in format to other thriller anthologies like Thriller and Sapphire & Steel. Each episode presented a self-contained story, often with a sinister or surprising conclusion, and starred actors such as Trevor Howard, David Robb, and Anthony Bate.

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Second theatrical spin-off from the popular 1970's police series. Regan and Carter head a Flying Squad investigation into a series of bank raids by a team of well-armed villains who are flying in from the continent.

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Eric Olthwaite is so boring that his family all leave home to escape him. Then one day he is accidentally caught up in a bank robbery and discovers that the robber shares his interests in shovels, black pudding and rainfall so they team up to make daring raids to steal rainfall records. As a result Eric becomes famous and is considered interesting again, so much so that he is made the mayor of Denley Moor.

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1972: striking miners converge on London's power stations. Among them, the huge, dignified figure of Joshua.

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Trevor is an extremely shy undertaker's assistant. He always tags along with his good friend Ronnie, when he goes to the pub with his girlfriend Sandra. Sandra introduces Trevor to her more forward friend Linda. Linda has a difficult time getting Trevor to go out with her, but she finally gets him to go to a disco; he won't dance, so Linda dances with Ronnie.

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Based on James Herriot's books about life as a 1930s veterinarian in Yorkshire, John Alderson plays the kindly doctor who ministers to animals in this enjoyable family film. Sequel to the 1975 film All Creatures Great and Small.

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Following the death of the sitting Labour Party Member of Parliament, Bill Brand is selected as Labour candidate for a Lancashire textile constituency.

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One hot June day, three friends decide there is nothing they would like to do more than to get away from London. A boating holiday with lots of fresh air and exercise would be just the very thing, or so their doctors tell them. So, after debating the merits of hotel or camp beds and what to pack, they set off on their voyage - a trip up the Thames from Henley to Oxford - but very quickly find themselves ill-equipped for the trials of riverbank life.

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Man of leisure Sir Richard receives notification that his Uncle has died, bequeathing him his stately country manor and all its lands. On his return to England he immediately sets about taking stock of all legal matters concerning his new property, but during these dealings Sir Richard seems to be more than a little distracted, he hears strange noises from the ash tree outside his bedroom window.

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Days of Hope is a BBC television drama serial produced in 1975. The series dealt with the lives of a working-class family from the turmoils of the First World War in 1916 to the General Strike in 1926. It was written by Jim Allen, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach.

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Two women, looking for amusement on their afternoons off, visit a drinking club.

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Alan Bleasdale’s television debut, this beautifully observed drama stars Alison Steadman as a woman having a passionate tryst with the boy next door while her husband is at work.

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A married couple, after a life time of work and bringing up a family, retire and awaken to the fast changing world around them, the habitual nature of their relationship, and what they have left.

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Mr Mockler and Mrs Acland have never met, but gradually Mrs Acland 's ghosts begin to take over Mr Mockler 's life.

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Jack Regan, an unethical officer of the Flying Squad, uses unorthodox methods to pursue criminals with the help of his partner, George Carter.

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A young man journeys from a difficult childhood to maturity, exploring social injustice, personal development, and the complexities of human relationships. A co-production with Time-Life Television Productions, the miniseries was first broadcast on BBC 1 in weekly parts from 1 December 1974 to 5 January 1975. It is the earliest BBC adaptation to exist in its entirety; the 1956 adaptation is completely lost, whilst only four of the 1966 adaptation's eight episodes are known to exist.

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A lonely, elderly lady strikes up a friendship with a driving instructor.

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A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

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During Wakes Week in the Potteries, the factory is deserted except for three electricians on an emergency maintenance job.

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A quiet and put-upon house cleaner breaks her silence.

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Unencumbered by wives, jobs or any other responsibilities, three senior citizens who've never really grown up explore their world in the Yorkshire Dales. They spend their days speculating about their fellow townsfolk and thinking up adventures not usually favored by the elderly. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse in 1973. The show ran for 295 episodes until 2010. It is the longest running comedy Britain has produced and the longest running sitcom in the world.

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A strand of annual British short television adaptations of classic ghost stories, referencing the oral tradition of telling supernatural tales at Christmas. First broadcast on BBC One from 1971 to 1978, and revived in 2005 on BBC Four.

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