Urban Myths
Our Urban Myths are stories that have been passed down over time and have now become part of urban folklore. But are they true? We take a slightly tongue in cheek, mischievous – and deliberately ambiguous – look at what might have happened...
Ben Palmer
Neil Webster
Neil Forsyth
Dan Zeff
Ben Edwards
Geoffrey Sax
Roger Drew
Ed Dyson
Mark Boutros
Sean Foley
David Cummings
John Hardwick
Frank Skinner
Al Campbell
Iain Forsyth
Jane Pollard
Jim O'Hanlon
Freddy Syborn
Guillem Morales
Paul Doolan
Abigail Neale-Wilson
Simon Nye
Simon Delaney
Also Directed by Ben Palmer
A 34 year old single woman, Nancy, hung-over again, exhausted by the endless fruitless set ups by her friends, traveling across London to toast another 10 years of her parent's successful happy magical marriage runs in with a 40 year old divorcee, Jack, who mistakes her for his 24 year old blind date. Nancy, deciding to go with it, happens to hop on the most chaotic yet hilarious journey of her life which neither of them will ever forget.
An undercover reporter and his former mentor join forces to solve mysteries on a Spanish island. Woody is forced to go on the run from the British authorities after being set up by his corrupt newspaper editor. Woody escapes to find the one man he can trust, his former mentor at the newspaper, Brutus. Now an expatriate living a quiet life running a bar on a Spanish island, Brutus is initially less than thrilled to see Woody. However, he soon realizes that he can profit by putting his trouble-making protege to work. Woody takes on a series of investigations on the island, running rings around the locals by using his astonishing ability to adopt a variety of guises at a moment's notice.
A sitcom from the creators of Channel 4 comedy "Bo' Selecta!" written by and starring Leigh Francis. Everyone's favourite talking bear learns to live with his new sitcom family, The Hennersons. As well as cast and celebrity cameo appearances, Leigh Francis brings to life a host of new characters, including nosey neighbour Sue Dales - a Scottish transsexual living with fellow transsexual Dave McCall - Keith Lemon, entrepreneur and lady's man, and Asian film nerd Corey Haim.
Them From That Thing is a sketch show featuring a host of Channel 4 comedy stars. The series features Blake Harrison (The Inbetweeners), Kayvan Novak (Facejacker), Sally Phillips (Smack The Pony) and Morgana Robinson (Very Important People) alongside with a host of famous faces from the world of drama. Set in the modern world where serious characters say and do very stupid things, Them From That Thing combines the look and feel of great British drama with a silly and slightly unhinged comic sensibility.
Estranged foster-brothers Stephen and Andrew vie to take over the family business following the death of their father.
Comedy Showcase is a series of one-off comedy specials featuring some of Britain's fledgling comedy talent. Its format is reminiscent of the much earlier Comedy Playhouse. The format was replaced in 2012 by 4Funnies.
A dysfunctional, wealthy mining dynasty, with an ailing patriarch and some greedy siblings. A peculiarly British take on telenovela style melodramas, played for laughs.
High school graduation just wouldn’t be complete without an un-chaperoned, uninhibited and unforgettable final holiday. At least that’s what Will, Jay, Simon and Neil think when they book a two-week stay on an exotic Greek island. As their dreams of sun-drenched days and booze-filled nights are left hopelessly unfulfilled, the lads fight their way into the party scene with hilariously humiliating results in this smash hit UK raunchy comedy.
To save his daughter's Christmas, Andrew goes on a road trip with Dev, his neighbour from hell, to buy an elusive Sparklehoof the Unicorn Princess.
A fly-on-the-wall mockumentary following the day-to-day reality of being Nigel Farage. How does a man forever in the spotlight fill his days now he has nothing to do?
Also Directed by Dan Zeff
An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales, each one taking place behind a door marked 'number 9'.
For over a decade, an ex-market stall trader from Liverpool called Eddie Braben wrote the scripts that made the nation take Morecambe and Wise to their hearts. But for Braben, it wasn't all sunshine. Beginning in 1969 with the birth of the 'golden triangle' of Eric, Ernie and Eddie, this film chronicles the grind that pushed the perfectionist Braben to the brink of exhaustion, culminating in the triumphant Christmas Day show of 1977.
In the 17th century, two witch-finders are summoned to the unassuming village of Little Happens to try an old woman.
We join Ben a year on as he is getting used to life without his beloved Gran. With the memory of their daring Crown Jewel heist still fresh in his mind, he is stunned to learn another spate of thefts are beginning to occur - with all the clues pointing to The Black Cat, better known to Ben as Granny!
A new republican prime minister strips the British monarch and her family of their money and assets, and forces them to live on a rundown council estate.
In the summer of 1995, two vulnerable teenage girls are accused of murdering their schoolteacher. For seventeen years, the two girls go their separate ways, Poppy having been charged with the murder. Fast-forward to modern day. Happily married mother Serena is now back in the same seaside town for the first time as she cares for her dying mother Rachel. Poppy is living in quite different circumstances. Having served seventeen years for a crime she still insists she didn’t commit, she has only one thing on her mind… the truth. And if she didn’t kill Marcus, then who did?
Reveals how the home life of the larger-than-life Carry On actress Hattie Jacque was blown apart by a secret sexual liaison with her handsome young driver while she was married to Dad's Army star John Le Mesurier.
Pete (David Tennant) is ready to break up with Juliet, his girlfriend of three years. When she gets home, she mistakes his words and actions for a proposal and before he can correct her mistake, their house is full of family, friends and champagne.
The Worst Week of My Life is a British comedy television series, first broadcast on BBC One between March and April 2004. A second series was aired between November and December 2005 and a three-part Christmas special, The Worst Christmas of My Life was shown during December 2006. It was written by Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni.
Three intertwined stories to celebrate the the centenary of romance publishing house Mills & Boon. The first concerns Charles Boon's tempestuous relationship with his wife Mary, and is complemented by story lines set in the 1970s and the present day.
Also Directed by Geoffrey Sax
Alex Rider thinks he is a normal school boy, until his uncle is killed. He discovers that his uncle was actually spy on a mission, when he was killed. Alex is recruited by Alan Blunt to continue the mission. He is sent to Cornwall to investigate a new computer system, which Darrius Sayle has created. He plans to give the new computer systems to every school in the country, but Mr. Blunt has other ideas and Alex must find out what it is.
A drama centered on a go-go dancer with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and begins working with a psychotherapist to uncover the mystery of the inner ghosts that haunt her.
In a tale set in the rough and tumble world of professional rodeo, an over-the-hill former champion broncobuster and a young hitchhiker develop a special friendship.
The Seventh Doctor becomes the Eighth. And on the streets of San Francisco – alongside new ally Grace Holloway - he battles the Master.
In 1931 budding author Christopher Isherwood goes to Berlin at the invitation of his friend W. H. Auden for the gay sex that abounds in the city. Whilst working as an English teacher his housemates include bewigged old queen Gerald Hamilton and would-be actress Jean Ross, who sings tunelessly in a seedy cabaret club. They and others he meets get put into his stories. After a fling with sexy rent boy Caspar he falls for street sweeper Heinz, paying medical bills for the boy's sickly mother, to the disapproval of her other son, Nazi Gerhardt. With Fascism rapidly rising Christopher returns to London with Heinz but is unable to prevent his return to Germany when his visa expires. Years later Christopher, now a successful writer, returns to Berlin for a final meeting with Heinz, now married with children.
The poignant and hilarious story of the Petersens during their vacation across Europe where the father Douglas tries to win back the love of his wife Connie and become reconciled with their son Albie.
When wealthy, recently-widowed suburban housewife, Margery (PENELOPE KEITH), and her ‘rough diamond’ of a cleaner, Gladys (JUNE BROWN), disturb a house burglar, they knock him unconscious, panic and leave him for dead, fleeing in the cleaner’s wrecked old car. What follows is a comedy of misunderstandings in which these two very different, mature ladies are led on an unfortunate series of incidents which snowballs into a crime spree. They prove to be more than a match for the unlikely pair of policemen, DI Woolley (Roger Lloyd Pack) and DS Stringer (Martin Freeman), who are left to solve the ladies disappearance and puzzling string of crimes which follow. As the police net tightens around them, the two very different, mature ladies are propelled on a shared voyage of self-discovery as skeletons fall from the closets forcing both women to reflect on their past lives.
With freshly rechristened characters and brand-new dialogue, this British TV production of Othello is a "rethinking" of Shakespeare's play, albeit still retaining the original's power and potency. The story is set in the London of the near future, a crime-ridden metropolis virtually torn apart by racial hostilities. By order of the Prime Minister, black police officer John Othello (Eamonn Walker) is promoted to Commissioner, a post dearly coveted by Othello's friend, mentor and fellow officer Ben Jago (Christopher Eccleston). Seething with jealousy, Jago contrives to discredit Othello in the eyes of the public, and to destroy John's interracial marriage to the lily-white Dessie (Keeley Hawes). Among those used as unwitting dupes to gain Jago's ends are Othello's trusted lieutenant, Michael Cass (Richard Coyle), scrupulously honest police constable Alan Roderick (Del Synnott), and Jago's own wife, Lulu (Rachael Stirling).
Robert Box asks his colleague Lorraine out for a date. They go to a restaurant where Dave Perry tries to break it as a stand-up comedian.
Bergerac is a British television show set on Jersey. Produced by the BBC in association with the Seven Network, and first screened on BBC1, it stars John Nettles as the title character Detective Sergeant Jim Bergerac, a detective in Le Bureau des Étrangers, part of the States of Jersey Police.
Also Directed by John Hardwick
Three men follow the life of one ten dollar bill.
After a car accident a woman finds herself deep in the woods with her dead stiff friend still holding her hand.
Live Aid was not only “the day rock’n’roll changed the world,” it was also the source of countless backstage music industry rumors. These are the stories of what went on behind the scenes on that unforgettable summer’s afternoon in 1985 as egos clash, hair is sprayed, double denim is completely acceptable and Bob Geldof and long-time personal assistant Marsha Hunt struggle to keep control of the most famous faces of the 80s.
Svengali tells the story of Dixie, a postman from South Wales, and a music fanatic. All his life he’s dreamed of discovering a great band and then one day, trawling through YouTube, he finds them… ‘The Premature Congratulations’. He hunts them down and offers them his management services. They are young, arrogant, sexy and utterly magnificent. Putting their demo on a cassette tape, Dixie heads out onto the streets of London…
Also Directed by Al Campbell
From Pong to Grand Theft Auto, Charlie Brooker delves into the history of videogames and pulls out a selection of its most significant titles. From Atari to Angry Birds, How Videogames Changed the World explores how interactive entertainment evolved from a penny arcade diversion into a medium that some believe is art, and shows how it is changing the way we work, communicate and, of course, play. Joined by Jonathan Ross, Dara O'Briain and gaming legends like Will Wright and John Romero, Brooker looks at how videogames have become the most progressive art form of the last 40 years. This humorous and insightful tour will surprise and entertain the uninitiated and dedicated gamers alike.
2020: A year so [insert adjective of choice here], even the creators of Black Mirror couldn't make it up… but that doesn't mean they don't have a little something to add. This comedy event that tells the story of the dreadful year that was — and perhaps still is? The documentary-style special weaves together some of the world's most (fictitious) renowned voices with real-life archival footage.
Charlie Brooker sets his caustic sights on video games. Expect acerbic comment as he looks at the various genres, how they have changed since their early conception and how the media represents games and gamers. Features interviews with Dara O Briain, sitcom scribe Graham Linehan and Rab and Ryan from Consolevania.
The Bafta-winning Stewart Lee performs his latest touring show, focusing on a bizarrely erroneous description of his work on Netflix and a mind-boggling review from Alan Bennett.
Stewart Lee is a ‘snowflake’, and in this hour from his tour, the Bafta-winning comedian illustrates how being ‘woke’ doesn’t mean having to sacrifice freedom of speech.
A woman sets out on a secret mission to honour her father, who died under mysterious circumstances when she was a young girl.
Dan is about to introduce the woman of his dreams to his family, but as they are so quirky, will everything go to plan?
Also Directed by Iain Forsyth
WHO IS GIL SCOTT-HERON? was released alongside "Nothing New", an album of stripped down acoustic versions of songs from Gil’s back catalogue, recorded with Richard Russell in New York between 2005 and 2009.
“Beyond the Pale” was written (& partially recorded) in front of a live audience, so it feels extra-strange not to be able to take it on the road at the moment. Fortunately, our friends Iain & Jane suggested a way round the problem: set up our equipment in a cave & they would film the results. We have invented a new way of playing a concert.
4AD and Jagjaguwar have collaborated on a live session that captures a truly unique Bon Iver performance, featuring Justin Vernon and Sean Carey. On recent tours fans will have become accustomed to seeing Vernon flanked by an eleven-piece band, with the swell in numbers lending a grandiose element to even his most delicate songs. Sidestepping expectations, the idea Vernon presented for this session was to provide a wildly different experience.
After discovering that John Milton is buried within London's Barbican grounds, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard reimagined his epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’ as part of Doug Aitken's Station to Station project. The piece uses the architecture and atmosphere of the Barbican to update the story, which is told in three parts.It stars siblings Florence Pugh (The Falling) and Toby Sebastian (Game of Thrones), Sean Harris (Macbeth) and features Black Flag front man Henry Rollins as the voice of God.
To mark the release of new album Eye Contact, Gang Gang Dance are the latest act to record a 4AD Session. Filmed in early April at Angelic Studios in the heart of rural England, the band convened in a purposefully built 20ft square mirrored room, encased by endless reflections of themselves.
Recording these songs live for the first time, St Vincent has performed five tracks from Strange Mercy for the tenth visual installment in the 4AD Session series. Shot at Shangri-La Studios in the heart of the Brooklyn film and photography district in Greenpoint, the session was recorded with Annie's new band, Daniel Mintseris (keys), Toko Yasuda (moog) and Matthew Johnson (drums).
Three different deaths. Three unique stories. Who is lying and who is telling the truth?
A semi-fictionalized documentary about a day in the life of Australian musician Nick Cave's persona.
Reuniting to sing together for the first time in 15 months, NYX and Gazelle Twin gathered at Grade 2 listed building, Shoreditch Town Hall to perform an abridged version of their critically acclaimed album, Deep England. Rooted in English pagan and sacred music, Deep England is an electronic-choral expansion of Gazelle Twin’s 2018 album Pastoral (Anti-Ghost Moon Ray). Here, tracks from Pastoral, an album whose political themes have only intensified since its original release, are radically reworked and presented alongside music arrangements by NYX Music Director Sian O’Gorman, Paul Giovanni and William Blake. Created in collaboration with Movement Director Imogen Knight and Sound Associate Peter Rice.
Also Directed by Jane Pollard
WHO IS GIL SCOTT-HERON? was released alongside "Nothing New", an album of stripped down acoustic versions of songs from Gil’s back catalogue, recorded with Richard Russell in New York between 2005 and 2009.
“Beyond the Pale” was written (& partially recorded) in front of a live audience, so it feels extra-strange not to be able to take it on the road at the moment. Fortunately, our friends Iain & Jane suggested a way round the problem: set up our equipment in a cave & they would film the results. We have invented a new way of playing a concert.
4AD and Jagjaguwar have collaborated on a live session that captures a truly unique Bon Iver performance, featuring Justin Vernon and Sean Carey. On recent tours fans will have become accustomed to seeing Vernon flanked by an eleven-piece band, with the swell in numbers lending a grandiose element to even his most delicate songs. Sidestepping expectations, the idea Vernon presented for this session was to provide a wildly different experience.
After discovering that John Milton is buried within London's Barbican grounds, Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard reimagined his epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’ as part of Doug Aitken's Station to Station project. The piece uses the architecture and atmosphere of the Barbican to update the story, which is told in three parts.It stars siblings Florence Pugh (The Falling) and Toby Sebastian (Game of Thrones), Sean Harris (Macbeth) and features Black Flag front man Henry Rollins as the voice of God.
To mark the release of new album Eye Contact, Gang Gang Dance are the latest act to record a 4AD Session. Filmed in early April at Angelic Studios in the heart of rural England, the band convened in a purposefully built 20ft square mirrored room, encased by endless reflections of themselves.
Recording these songs live for the first time, St Vincent has performed five tracks from Strange Mercy for the tenth visual installment in the 4AD Session series. Shot at Shangri-La Studios in the heart of the Brooklyn film and photography district in Greenpoint, the session was recorded with Annie's new band, Daniel Mintseris (keys), Toko Yasuda (moog) and Matthew Johnson (drums).
Three different deaths. Three unique stories. Who is lying and who is telling the truth?
A semi-fictionalized documentary about a day in the life of Australian musician Nick Cave's persona.
There’s a sense that time is running out. Our narrator, Simon, is like a man sinking in quicksand. He’s a man of routine. Rising, dressing, travelling to work on the DLR. Every day is the same. His sense of self is slipping away as he becomes (perhaps literally) someone else. It’s a similar story for Dr Benham, stuck in his STD clinic watching a parade of patients come and go. In his parallel story of metamorphosis he’s being spat out by his own life. He too is becoming a different person, from the feet up.
Reuniting to sing together for the first time in 15 months, NYX and Gazelle Twin gathered at Grade 2 listed building, Shoreditch Town Hall to perform an abridged version of their critically acclaimed album, Deep England. Rooted in English pagan and sacred music, Deep England is an electronic-choral expansion of Gazelle Twin’s 2018 album Pastoral (Anti-Ghost Moon Ray). Here, tracks from Pastoral, an album whose political themes have only intensified since its original release, are radically reworked and presented alongside music arrangements by NYX Music Director Sian O’Gorman, Paul Giovanni and William Blake. Created in collaboration with Movement Director Imogen Knight and Sound Associate Peter Rice.
Also Directed by Jim O'Hanlon
Hannah plays DI Jack Cloth, who is called in to investigate an apparent series of serial killings alongside his new partner, DC Anne Oldman, described as a "plucky, no-nonsense sidekick". Playing with the cliches and conventions of British police dramas, subplots include Cloth dealing with visions of his dead wife and the bisexual DC Oldman coming to grips with her feelings for both her female fiancee and Cloth.
Three people, three extraordinary stories. All lived out within a hundred London streets.
A former Marine out to punish the criminals responsible for his family's murder finds himself ensnared in a military conspiracy.
Three council contractors, a hoarder’s flat, a bloodstained floor, and an inescapable curse from beyond the grave.
Follows the story of the challenging relationship between Billie and her younger schizophrenic sister, Elizabeth Baby. After their mother dies, Billie takes responsibility by moving Baby in with her family, including her husband, their teenage son and young daughter. At first, Baby and the family work to adjust to their new living arrangement. However, after a disturbing incident involving her son and Baby, it becomes clear to Billie that she and her family are not equipped to handle Baby's illness, ultimately forcing her to make the difficult decision to do what's best for her sister and her family.
Nothing delights Emma more than meddling in the love lives of others. But when she takes protege Harriet Smith under her wing, her plans can only end in disaster...
Chasing Shadows' follows a team of special operatives who are tracking down serial killers.
Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan write and star in a comedy that follows an American man and an Irish woman who make a bloody mess as they struggle to fall in love in London.
Marcella is shocked to the core of her being when her husband Jason leaves her unexpectedly, confessing he no longer loves her. Heartbroken, Marcella returns to the Met’s Murder Squad. Ten years ago Marcella gave up her fast-tracked police career to marry and devote her life to her family. With the abrupt end to her marriage and isolated from her 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son, Marcella throws herself into work to stop herself from falling apart.
The intimate world of Saddam Hussein and his closest inner circle is in this gripping four-part drama that charts the rise and fall of one of the most significant political figures in recent history.
Also Directed by Guillem Morales
An anthology of darkly comic twisted tales, each one taking place behind a door marked 'number 9'.
In a waiting room, people exchange glances, bump into each other and become impatient with the situation before starting the dance. This film translates onto the screen the choreographed tensions between the characters, overcome by panic or madness.
When Christine brings a man home from a costume party, her life begins to unravel. Her happiness slowly turns to sorrow.
Trevor and Julia always want to make Christmas really special for their family but with money tight, it won't be easy. As each door of the advent calendar opens, everyone will have to do their bit to make Christmas happen.
With deadly intent, Nina and Professor Squires commence a battle of wits.
A group of passengers on a night train from France try to get some sleep, but the compartment quickly fills up and the possibility of sleep dwindles away. Then one of the passengers suddenly dies.
After finding a lost shoe in the street, a man becomes fixated on trying to trace its owner.
In the early 1980s in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, the depraved Morrow family lives off the beaten path and preys on young women who they kidnap from the side of the highway. There’s unrest within the family, however, as their 19-year-old son Michael tries to break free from their clutches and escape his past.
It follows Heather and Carla, who agree to meet after having not spoken in years. Over tea, Heather presents a very unexpected proposition that will change their lives forever.
The story of a woman who is slowly losing her sight whilst trying to investigate the mysterious death of her twin sister.
Also Directed by Simon Delaney
D.C. Rachel Bailey and D.C. Janet Scott have a robust and engaging friendship which enables them to draw upon each other’s strengths and investigate murders for the Manchester Metropolitan Police.
A cakemaker and her dysfunctional family live on a grimy estate. When Elaine's rock buns come out of the oven resembling the Virgin Mary, potentially miraculous consequences follow for her family and friends. Her arthritic mother Millie is suddenly able to move freely, her irresponsible son Todd falls in love, and both she and her husband Ed are offered the chance of other relationships. But miracles are not all they seem.
Six former friends reunite eight years after their houseshare ended in acrimony and recrimination. But is newly-engaged Martin playing with fire by seeing old flame Hannah?
Detective Inspector Richard Poole is transferred to Sainte Marie, an island in the Caribbean. Totally unsuited to the Caribbean way of life, Richard hates the sun, sea and sand and isn't used to the Sainte Marie style of policing. Working with the exotic Camille each week Richard investigates intricate and intriguing murders.
An upbeat 30 minute single camera comedy which follows a group of female friends united by a shared history but divided by almost everything else. Most friends meet for dinner, or at the pub, but for these four old school friends their monthly get together is in the unsettling surroundings of an intensive care unit. Siobhan is a failing TV presenter, Sarah is a rather reluctant mother of three, Pip is a pseudo bohemian and Lucy, well Lucy is in a coma. After the initial shock, the three old school friends soon realise that Lucy is in dire need of help, if only they could provide it. As Lucy becomes more aware of what is going on around her, we delve into unexpected and funny moments from her subconscious.
A Blackpool coach driver and a tour guide get caught up in a deadly comedic conspiracy when a train's passengers begin mysteriously dying one by one.