The Story of the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

ITV Playhouse is a British comedy-drama TV series that ran from 1967 to 1983, which featured contributions from playwrights such as Dennis Potter, Rhys Adrian and Alan Sharp. The series began in black and white, but was later shot in colour and was produced by various companies for the ITV network, a format that would inspire Dramarama. Actors appearing in the series included Leslie Anderson, Gwen Nelson, Ricky Alleyne, Pat Heywood, Michael Elphick, Ian Hendry, Edward Woodward, Margaret Lockwood, Jessie Matthews and Lloyd Peters.

In a near-future 1980s, England is under autocratic rule by a government that uses a paramilitary force known as The Guardians to maintain control, while a fragmented resistance group tries to provoke the state into revealing its true brutality.

Edna O’Brien is interviewed by Russell Harty about her writing and her relationship with Ireland, as explored in her latest non-fiction book Mother Ireland.

Ex-colleagues reflect on the comic genius and sometimes difficult character of Tony Hancock.