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40 Minutes

Season 7

1987 · 27 episodes

  1. 1. Terror

    1987-11-05 · 40m

    How three people's lives were permanently affected by the TWA plane hi-jack.

  2. 2. Girls Apart

    1987-11-12 · 40m

    Two South African school-girls, one black, one white - their contrasting attitudes and lives.

  3. 3. Love at First Sight

    1987-11-19 · 40m

    Five couples describe what happened when they first met - and the long-term consequences.

  4. 4. Poor Man's Eton

    1987-11-26 · 40m

    The only inner London Education Authority boarding school, in a Suffolk country house.

  5. 5. East Side Story

    1987-12-03 · 40m

    Two contrasting 26-year-olds in London's newly-developing Docklands.

  6. 6. The Case of Sherlock Holmes

    1987-12-10 · 40m

    Tim Piggot-Smith investigates the famous sleuth of 221b Baker Street.

  7. 7. Party Time

    1987-12-17 · 40m

    Seven entertaining parties.

  8. 8. Catch a Fallen Star

    1987-12-23 · 40m

    A portrait of the once-famous British singer, dancer and film star, Jesse Matthews.

  9. 9. Convictions

    1988-01-07 · 40m

  10. 10. If You Love Him, Let Him Go

    1988-01-14 · 40m

    Dilemmas faced by parents of mentally handicapped offspring who reach childhood and independence.

  11. 11. Jackpot

    1988-01-21 · 40m

    Three young adults addicted to gambling on fruit machines, with disastrous results.

  12. 12. Scarfe's Follies

    1988-01-28 · 40m

    Scarfe's Follies with Bob Geldof, Jane Asher, Terry Jones, Ian McKellen, Robin Bailey, Julian Glover, Marcia Warren, John Bird, John Challis, John Watts, Nellie the elephant and Ivy the camel. Gerald Scarfe records the follies of man in his cartoons. Now he wants to create his own folly. But what are follies - and why did eccentrics build them? Surrounded by high-kicking follies girls and borne by noble beasts, Scarfe sets off on a quest of discovery. He encounters a naughty vicar who built a folly garden for his gypsy girlfriend; a Welshman who burned his own son; a politician who got voters drunk; a man whose house resembles a jungle; and 'Mad Jack' Fuller, who built a steeple overnight to win a wager, and was buried in a pyramid with a bottle of port and a cold chicken. And as all the best follies contained a resident hermit, Scarfe advertises for one in the Times - with startling results.

  13. 13. Thames Wallah

    1988-02-04 · 40m

    A specialist with the Thames Water Authority attempts to clean up the Ganges.

  14. 14. Changing Places

    1988-02-11 · 40m

    Ten pupils from an independent public school (Rugby) and a state comprehensive school (Ruffwood) exchange places and lives.

  15. 15. Diary of a Frontliner

    1988-02-18 · 40m

    A self-operated video camera was set up in Peter Tilson's home to record a personal diary in his battle with AIDS.

  16. 16. Annie Doesn't Work Here Any More

    1988-02-25 · 40m

    Annie, a nurse from Manchester, leaves the NHS to set up a new life as a nurse in Los Angeles.

  17. 17. The Great North Road

    1988-03-03 · 40m

    Lucinda Lambton travels along the Great North Road, the backbone of Britain that links London to Edinburgh, discovering many weird and wonderful delights en route.

  18. 18. I, Alison...

    1988-03-10 · 40m

    The story of a remarkable young woman. It's Alison French's wedding day. She's 24 - vivacious, candid, attractive, with a warm smile and a lively sense of humour. Alison, professionally qualified as a youth worker, is marrying Mark John. What makes her wedding different is that she's an athetoid spastic - her body's never still, and she has difficulty with her speech. Seven years ago, 40 Minutes made an acclaimed film about Alison, telling of her bid to gain independence in the able-bodied world. Tonight's follow-up is a passionate love story. But in marrying the man she loves, Alison has to leave her family in Watford, set up a new home in South Wales, and adapt to being a clergyman's wife. Her heart is still set on finding an independent job. The harsh reality is that despite her skills and rare qualities, she may face rejection. But Alison doesn't give up easily...

  19. 19. Children of the Open Road

    1988-03-17 · 40m

    Catrine Clay presents the disturbing story of gypsy children abducted from their parents in clean and ordered Switzerland.

  20. 20. Five Go to Florida

    1988-03-24 · 40m

    Perhaps the last holiday for a group of children, some of whom are gravely ill. They fulfil their dream of visiting Disney World.

  21. 21. Who Will Love Billy?

    1988-04-07 · 40m

    A 13-year-old boy hopes to be adopted by Dave, a single man of 42 - but things go wrong.

  22. 22. Who Needs a Machine Gunner?

    1988-04-14 · 40m

    Long-term unemployment in rural Herefordshire.

  23. 23. Women in Black

    1988-04-21 · 40m

    Three widows at different stages of their recovery.

  24. 24. My African Farm

    1988-04-28 · 40m

    An old white woman colonial settler staying on in up-country Kenya.

  25. 25. Separate Tables

    1988-05-05 · 40m

    An old-fashioned sea-side hotel, with many retired residents, is to be refurbished. The residents must go.

  26. 26. Waiting

    1988-05-12 · 40m

    Two people are waiting on an NHS hospital waiting list - one for a minor operation, the other for a major one.

  27. 27. Mixed Blessings

    1988-05-19 · 40m

    The story of a mix-up in a Nottingham nursing-home. Margaret Wheeler and Blanche Rylatt each gave birth to a baby girl on the same day. Margaret is convinced that she was given the wrong baby.

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