Reel History of Britain — Season 1, Episode 5: The Roaring Twenties
Documentary • 30 min • 1 season, 20 episodes • ★ 6.0/10
Episode synopsis
At Cliveden House in Berkshire, Melvyn looks back to the Roaring Twenties to discover how the other half lived, when a group of bright young people created Britain's first modern cult of celebrity. The tragic story of Britain's original 'it girl', Elizabeth Ponsonby, is told by her niece Elizabeth. The current Lord Astor returns to his ancestral home to give a guided tour. And Martin Blaber explains what life was like below stairs for Cliveden's renowned head butler, his uncle, Edwin Lee.
About Reel History of Britain
Reel History of Britain is a 20 part series being shown on BBC Two, presented by Melvyn Bragg and about the history of modern Britain; through the eyes of people who were there. It was shown from 5–30 September 2011. The programme is a social history documentary, charting the course of the twentieth century through archive film, plus interviews and recollections of key events that have taken place in the last one-hundred years, since the advent of moving film. In each episode, Bragg goes to a different place in the UK and shows people film in a 1950s Ministry of Technology mobile cinema, then gauges their reactions and captures them on film.