40 Minutes — Season 4

Nov 198440m

Gigolos and the different types.

Nov 198440m

About the medium Doris Stokes.

Nov 198440m

Grendon prison in Buckinghamshire, Britain's only voluntary psychiatric prison.

Nov 198440m

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor in self-imposed exile.

Nov 198440m

The history of lavatories.

Dec 198440m

Young male prostitutes in Manchester and Birmingham.

Dec 198440m

The mental asylum in Choroszcz in Poland where patients work in the community.

Dec 198440m

The Animal Medical Centre in New York.

Jan 198540m

Britain forty years ago, contrasted with present day Britain.

Jan 1985

Accents and dialects provoke strong prejudices and reactions. In a 40 Minutes film that examines why this should be, broadcaster Janet Street-Porter, Radio 4 announcer Susan Rae and actor Peter Bowles are among those who have suffered because of the way they speak. Meet the Queen's English Society, which keeps a candle burning for the purity of the spoken word, and the Devon Dialect Society, which has very different ideas about how vowels should sound. Eavesdrop on an elocution class, hear from Scottish schoolchildren whose accents might affect their job prospects, and go behind the scenes at the BBC Pronunciation Unit and the northern auditions for the Speaking Clock. See how fashions have changed over the years, and how trends are likely to develop in the future as we enter a world of talking robots and computers.

Jan 198540m

The group 'Fascinating Aida' and the making of their first pop record.

Jan 198540m

The problems of putting on a show in the old style of pier entertainments at Cromer, Norfolk.

Feb 198540m

A group of 'Hell's Angels' in East Anglia.

Feb 198540m

A film for St Valentine's Day.

Feb 198540m

Old Victorian mental hospitals are being closed down and the former patients face problems.

Feb 198540m

A local Council has a compulsory purchase order on the home of two elderly men.

Mar 198540m

The first film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.

Mar 198540m

The second film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.

Mar 198540m

The third film in a trilogy which examines the Eternal Triangle.

Mar 198540m

Plymouth, the area near the docks.

Apr 198540m

The story of a woman who took her baby to hospital where he was found to have several fractures. She denied having caused the injuries but he was taken from her care.

Apr 198540m

The effects of government cuts leading to the closure of a ward in Guy's Children's Hospital.

Apr 198540m

Animals used in advertising.

May 198540m

The biennial festival of humour in Bulgaria. Can humour cross national boundaries?

May 198540m

The story of a family whose daughter is handicapped because of a drug taken by her mother during pregnancy. The American drug company claims the drug is safe.