| Perspectives | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Documentary series |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 29 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes (including adverts) |
| Production company | (see below) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 24 April 2011 – 18 October 2016 |
Perspectives is a current British television arts documentary series for ITV. The show began airing on 24 April 2011 and aired its fifth series in 2015.
Each hour long programme sees well-known celebrities (who have included Ian McKellen, David Walliams, Sheila Hancock and Paul O'Grady) travel to various parts of the world to explore more about a person who has inspired them. They're not all people, some can be books such as Griff Rhys Jones whose chosen subject was the novel The Wind in the Willows.
The first series of the show was announced on 31 March 2011 and began airing on 24 April 2011, starting with Ian McKellen: Looking for Lowry.[1]
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 April 2011 | Ian McKellen | Looking for Lowry |
| 2 | 1 May 2011 | Andrew Lloyd Webber | A Passion for the Pre-Raphaelites |
| 3 | 8 May 2011 | Robson Green | The Pitmen Painters |
| 4 | 15 May 2011 | Hugh Laurie | Down by the River |
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 March 2012 | David Suchet | People I Have Shot |
| 2 | 1 April 2012 | Lenny Henry | Finding Shakespeare |
| 3 | 8 April 2012 | John Sergeant | Sergeant on Spike |
| 4 | 22 April 2012 | David Walliams | The Genius of Dahl |
| 5 | 29 April 2012 | Griff Rhys Jones | Wind in the Willows |
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 March 2013 | David Suchet | The Mystery of Agatha Christie | Testimony Films |
| 2 | 24 March 2013 | Warwick Davis | The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz | Chameleon Television |
| 3 | 31 March 2013 | Sheila Hancock | The Brilliant Brontë Sisters | Blakeway North |
| 4 | 7 April 2013 | Michael Portillo | Portillo on Picasso | Plum Pictures |
| 5 | 14 April 2013 | Paul O'Grady | Gypsy Rose Lee - The Queen of Burlesque | Olga TV |
| 6 | 21 April 2013 | Jonathan Ross | Alfred Hitchcock - Made in Britain | Hot Sauce TV |
| 7 | 5 May 2013 | Hugh Laurie | Copper Bottom Blues | Plum Pictures |
A fourth series of Perspectives was announced on 13 February 2014 and began airing on 20 April 2014, starting with Alan Davies: The Magic of Houdini.[2]
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 April 2014 | Alan Davies | The Magic of Houdini | What Larks! |
| 2 | 27 April 2014 | Gary Kemp | Kick Out the Jams | Snapper TV |
| 3 | 4 May 2014 | Will Young | The Man In The Hat: Rene Magritte with Will Young | Blakeway North |
| 4 | 11 May 2014[3] | Emeli Sande | Emeli Sande on Frida Kahlo | Blakeway North |
| 5 | 18 May 2014[4] | Alfie Boe | Freddie Mercury Saved My Life | Brook Lapping |
| 6 | 25 May 2014[5] | Bruce Forsyth | Bruce Forsyth on Sammy Davis Junior | Rain Media Entertainment |
A fifth series of Perspectives began airing on 19 April 2015 starting with: "Michael Jackson's Thriller with Ashley Banjo"
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 April 2015[6] | Ashley Banjo | Michael Jackson's Thriller | Blakeway North |
| 2 | 26 April 2015[7] | Len Goodman | For The Love of Fred Astaire | Potato |
| 3 | 3 May 2015[8] | Rick Wakeman | Vivaldi’s Four Seasons | The Interesting Film Company |
| 4 | 10 May 2015[9] | Terry Jones | In Charlie Chaplin's Footsteps | Wild Pictures |
| 5 | 17 May 2015[10] | Nicky Campbell | The Great American Love Song | Wingspan Productions |
| 6 | 24 May 2015[11] | Eddie Redmayne | War Art | Foxtrot Films |
Series 6 began airing on 18 October 2016.
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 October 2016 | David Harewood | In the Shadow of Mary Seacole | TBA |
