The grande dame of broadcasting has, at 89, a new TV series and a book due out. Here she discusses painting, politics and swapping hot dishes with her lockdown neighbours
EPHRAIM HARDCASTLE: Does Prince Andrew s flaunting of the Grenadier Guards regimental badge while riding at Windsor mean he clings to the hope that Mummy might give him back his old job?
The BBC's adaptation of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four shocked the nation when it was first broadcast on a Sunday night in 1954. The work of the Quatermass team of Nigel Kneale (writer) and Rudolph Cartier (director), it stars Peter Cushing as Winston Smith, who rebels against Big Brother by embarking on a clandestine love affair; André Morell, meanwhile, is Room 101 torturer O'Brien. This landmark play has been one of the most wished-for classic TV releases for decades, and now it's finally here, beautifully restored by the BFI for a dual-format Blu-ray/DVD edition. The film sequences look immaculate! Extras include an informative commentary by Nigel Kneale experts Jon Dear, Toby Hadoke and Andy Murray; a featurette dispelling some of the myths about the production; a 1965 edition of Late Night Line-Up looking back at the production; and a recording of a recent lecture about Kneale's life and