initially, mike leigh faces rejection from the bbc. having worked in theatre, he was turned down twice for the bbc s trainee director course, but he ended up being invited by the corporation in 1973 to direct a production for its highly respected play for today stand. respected play for today strand. you see, father, it s my husband. your husband? what about your husband? well? i don t love him. ken loach: i made this first play for today of the whole l series called hard labour, which starred liz smith as a cleaning lady in manchester. we filmed it up north, really in the area where i grew up in north salford. and in fact i spent the next 12 years making these various play for today films. 0h, shut up, lawrence! don t tell me to shut up! angela, coat! no, it s all right.
in your home? 0h, totally! i mean, at first most people didn t have a telly. going to a primary school in salford, every so often a kid would come in and say, hey, we ve got a telly! so that was a big deal. of course, we know there was only the bbc, it was the only channel. initially, mike leigh faced rejection from the bbc. having worked in theatre, he was turned down twice for the bbc s trainee director course, but he ended up being invited by the corporation in 1973 to direct a production for its highly respected play for today stand. you see, father, it s my husband. your husband? what about your husband? well? i don t love him. ken loach: i made this first play for today of the whole l series called hard labour, which starred liz smith
as a cleaning lady in manchester. we filmed it up north, really in the area where i grew up in north salford. and in fact i spent the next 12 years making these various play for today films. 0h, shut up, lawrence! don t tell me to shut up! angela, coat! no, it s all right. i really think- i ought to be going. that 12 years of making films at the bbc was massively important. apart from the fact that one was able to do what i m committed to do and was and still am which is to make films about real people and real people s lives. when mike leigh was directing plays for today, he believes it was a time for more openness for challenging drama. there are times i kind of feel a sense of, oh, i m not doing anything, . absolutely, but you objectively know that that s s nonsense. yes, yes. he doesn t find the bbc so welcoming nowadays. there s now such a preoccupation with ratings and with. respectability and
where he created some really impressive television films and plays in the 19705. for 50 years in his films, mike leigh, a seven time 0scar nominee, has brought audiences stories of often ordinary lives, authentically told. growing up, how aware were you of the bbc in your home? 0h, totally! i mean, at first, most people didn t have a telly. going to a primary school in salford, every so often a kid would come in and say, hey, we ve got a telly! so that was a big deal. of course, we know there was only the bbc, it was the only channel. initially, mike leigh faced rejection from the bbc. having worked in theatre, he was turned down twice for the bbc s trainee director course, but he ended up being invited by the corporation in 1973 to direct a production for its highly respected play for today strand. you see, father,
it s my husband. your husband? what about your husband? well? i don t love him. i made this first play for today of the whole series called hard labour, which starred liz smith as a cleaning lady in manchester. we filmed it up north, really in the area where i grew up in north salford. and in fact, i spent the next 12 years making various play for today films. 0h, shut up, lawrence! don t tell me to shut up! angela, coat! no, it s all right. i really think- i ought to be going. that 12 years of making films at the bbc was massively important. apart from the fact that one was able to do what i m committed to do was and still am which is to make films about real people and real people s lives. when mike leigh was directing plays for today, he believes