Imelda Staunton
Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born January 9, 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre productions in the United Kingdom.
Staunton has performed in a variety of plays and musicals in London throughout her career, winning four Laurence Olivier Awards; three for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her roles in the musicals Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and Gypsy, and one for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Play for her work in both A Chorus of Disapproval and The Corn is Green. Her other stage appearances include The Beggar's Opera, The Wizard of Oz, Uncle Vanya, Guys and Dolls, Entertaining Mr Sloane, and Good People. She has been nominated for 13 Olivier Awards.
On film, Staunton starred in Antonia and Jane; in several supporting roles in Kenneth Branagh's comedy Peter's Friends, his adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing; Ang Lee's adaptation of Sense and Sensibility; and the costume romantic comedy Shakespeare in Love. She drew critical acclaim for her performance in the title role in Mike Leigh's Vera Drake, for which she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup for Best Actress, in addition to being nominated for Best Actress by the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Awards and the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She later gained a wider audience for her portrayal as Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films The Order of the Phoenix and The Deathly Hallows - Part 1. She continued supporting roles in Nanny McPhee, reunited with Leigh in Another Year, and the film continuation of Downton Abbey. She portrayed human rights activist Hefina Headon in the historical film Pride, and starred in the British comedy Finding Your Feet. She also provided voice acting roles for the films Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, and Paddington.
On television, Staunton starred in the sitcoms Up the Garden Path and Is it Legal?. Her performance in My Family and Other Animals earned her a nomination for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress, while her roles in Return to Cranford and The Girl earned her BAFTA TV Award nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. For the latter, she was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in the final two seasons of The Crown.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 1.8479 |
| Birthday | 1956-01-09 |
| Place of Birth | Archway, London, England, UK |
| Also Known As | Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton, |
2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
7.672/20700
Returning for his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Left with n...
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
Freedom Writers
7.918/2401
A young teacher inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.
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Freedom Writers
1998
Shakespeare in Love
6.8/3190
Young William Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, 'Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter', before it's even written. When lovely noblew...
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Shakespeare in Love
1995
Sense and Sensibility
7.419/1827
The Dashwood sisters, sensible Elinor and passionate Marianne, learn that their prospects of marriage seem doomed by their family's sudden loss of for...
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Sense and Sensibility
2004
Vera Drake
7.193/397
Abortionist Vera Drake finds her beliefs and practices clash with the mores of 1950s Britain – a conflict that leads to tragedy for her family.
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Vera Drake
2005
Nanny McPhee
6.686/3206
Widower Cedric Brown hires Nanny McPhee to care for his seven rambunctious children, who have chased away all previous nannies. Taunted by Simon and h...
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Nanny McPhee
2000
Chicken Run
6.839/5380
The creators of Wallace & Gromit bring you an exciting and original story about a group of chickens determined to fly the coop–even if they can’t fly!...
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Chicken Run
1992
Peter's Friends
6.6/213
After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter invites his friends from college: married couple Roger and Mary, the lonely Maggie...
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Peter's Friends
1993
Much Ado About Nothing
6.943/802
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero and her groom-to-be, Claudio, team up with Claudio's commanding officer, Don Pedro, the week before their wedding to...
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Much Ado About Nothing
2010
Alice in Wonderland
6.639/14732
Alice, now 19 years old, returns to the whimsical world she first entered as a child and embarks on a journey to discover her true destiny.
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Alice in Wonderland
2009
Taking Woodstock
6.2/474
The story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the famed Woodstock Music and Arts Festival into the happe...
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Taking Woodstock
2020
The Far Traveller
7.5/2
When she died around 1050 AD, a littleknown Viking explorer had become the most traveled woman of the Middle Ages. She had sailed across the Atlantic...
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The Far Traveller
2010
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
7.734/20273
Harry, Ron and Hermione walk away from their last year at Hogwarts to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, putting an end to Voldemort's bid for...
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2006
Shadow Man
4.3/102
Rogue operatives within the C.I.A. smuggle a lethal virus out of the U.S. and use ex-intelligence officer Jack Foster (Seagal) as their courier. Unawa...
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Shadow Man
2007
How About You...
6.2/34
A young woman, struggling with the direction of her life, spends Christmas watching over a retirement home filled with demanding residents.
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How About You...
2006
The Wind in the Willows
5.8/9
Jailed for his reckless driving, rambunctious Mr. Toad has to escape from prison when his beloved Toad Hall comes under threat from the wily weasels,...
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The Wind in the Willows
2008
Three and Out
5.524/41
A London tube driver considers pursuing a third fatal accident to collect a huge payout.
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Three and Out
2003
Blackball
5.2/54
Blackball follows the fortunes of Cliff Starkey, a working-class fine of lawn bowls with an exceptional talent. Wanting to take on the Aussies he mana...
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Blackball
2010
Another Year
7.01/436
During a year, a very content couple approaching retirement are visited by friends and family less happy with their lives.
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Another Year
1996
Twelfth Night
6.9/93
Shakespeare's comedy of gender confusion, in which a girl disguises herself as a man to be near the count she adores, only to be pursued by the woman...
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Twelfth Night
2005
My Family and Other Animals
6.3/25
Escaping the dreary wet weather of 1930s England, an eccentric family uproot and ship themselves to the sunnier climes of the Greek island of Corfu.
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My Family and Other Animals
1992
Roots
0/0
Presentation of Arnold Wesker's play of the 1950s. A young girl returns to her family home in Norfolk, having been educated in cultural and political...
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Roots
2002
Crush
5.6/50
Three 40-something women in a small English town meet weekly for a ritual of gin, cigarettes, and sweets -- and swapped stories arguing which of them...
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Crush
2003
I'll Be There
5.3/32
A comedy about a has-been rock star (Craig Ferguson) that discovers he has a teenage daughter (Charlotte Church), from a long forgotten love affair.
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I'll Be There
2008
A Bunch of Amateurs
5.7/20
Jefferson Steel, a washed-up Hollywood action star, is desperate to revive his flagging career. When his sleazy agent signs him up for what he believe...
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A Bunch of Amateurs
1990
Yellowbacks
7/1
Britain in the very near future. In an abandoned hotel, a young female doctor and a middle-aged scientist are interrogated separately. The question th...
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Yellowbacks
2007
Guilty Hearts
5.5/15
Over the course of this drama's six separate stories, a variety of couples struggle with the infidelity, dishonesty and heartbreak that plagues their...
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Guilty Hearts
2023
Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
6.933/877
A band of fearless chickens flock together to save poultry-kind from an unsettling new threat: a nearby farm that's cooking up something suspicious.
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Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget
2011
Arthur Christmas
6.771/1623
For hundreds of years, the Claus family has delegated the title "Santa" to a chosen few of its members, which can be passed down upon retirement. Each...
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Arthur Christmas
2012
The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
6.519/1200
The enthusiastic Pirate Captain, along with his rag-tag crew, sets out to beat his bitter rivals. The chaotic adventure takes them from exotic shores...
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The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!
2001
Another Life
5.6/9
A woman is wrongly accused of murdering her husband in Edwardian London. Just before the outbreak of World War I, Edith Graydon married her boyfriend...
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Another Life
1990
Antonia and Jane
5/7
Plain Jane Hartman hates her life. She's goofy, boring and only has sex if she reads Iris Murdoch novels out loud to her loopy boyfriend. Her oldest f...
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Antonia and Jane
2024
Paddington in Peru
6.817/671
Paddington travels to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown Family in tow, a thrilling ad...
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Paddington in Peru
2011
The Awakening
6.387/1484
In post–War England, a writer and sometime-ghost hunter investigates a reported haunting at a boys boarding school.
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The Awakening
2014
Maleficent
7.086/13670
A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army th...
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Maleficent
2022
Downton Abbey: A New Era
7.195/608
The Crawley family goes on a grand journey to the south of France to uncover the mystery of the dowager countess's newly inherited villa. Meanwhile, a...
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Downton Abbey: A New Era
2006
Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
8.8/2
A documentary exploring Bill Douglas' struggle from childhood poverty to acclaimed filmmaker of Comrades and the Trilogy.
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Bill Douglas: Intent on Getting the Image
2012
The Girl
6.102/118
Director Alfred Hitchcock is revered as one of the greatest creative minds in the history of cinema. Known for his psychological thrillers, Hitchcock’...
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The Girl
2000
Rat
5.9/26
After a night of drinking Guiness at the local watering hole, an ordinary, working-class, family man in Dublin's life is turned upside-down when he wa...
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Rat
1994
Deadly Advice
4.2/6
Mother rules the house with an iron hand and has such power over her daughters that they see themselves as becoming old unmarried, maids. Jodie has fe...
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Deadly Advice
2014
Pride
7.688/1401
In 1984, a group of LGBT activists decide to raise money to support the National Union of Mineworkers during their lengthy strike. There is only one p...
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Pride
1991
They Never Slept
0/0
When plucky Corporal Pru Merriman reports to her superiors Monk and Bob for driving duty, she finds herself catapulted into the murky world of the Fre...
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They Never Slept
1990
The Englishman's Wife
0/0
A woman and her daughter are stranded in a rambling old house deep in the countryside of County Tyrone. Their economic circumstances are hopeless, but...
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The Englishman's Wife
1997
Remember Me?
4/1
A domestic farce exposes the eccentricities of a "typical" middle class, suburban family who find their lives thrown into a crisis with the unexpected...
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Remember Me?
2010
Psychoville Halloween Special
0/0
Psychoville returns with a spooktacular hour-long Halloween special. Four tales of terror unfold as location manager Phil Walker investigates the aban...
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Psychoville Halloween Special
2023
The Canterville Ghost
6.7/54
An American family moves in to the Canterville Chase, a London mansion that has been haunted by ghost Sir Simon De Canterville for 300 years.
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The Canterville Ghost
2014
Paddington
7.119/4202
A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, w...
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Paddington
2014
That Day We Sang
6.8/5
TV Film adaptation of Victoria Wood's hit musical set in Manchester in 1929 and 1969. When middle aged loners Tubby and Enid attend a reunion of the c...
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That Day We Sang
2019
A Confession As Told By ITV News
0/0
Reporter Robert Murphy looks at how the real story of the Halliwell murders unfolded on ITV News and inspired those behind the television drama titled...
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A Confession As Told By ITV News
2016
Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me
0/0
Jim Carter tells the story of Lonnie Donegan - a crucial trailblazer in the birth of pop music and modern culture who inspired Lennon and McCartney.
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Jim Carter: Lonnie Donegan and Me
2007
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
0/0
Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out was a one-off, one-hour documentary/biography about Stephen Fry released in 2007 by the BBC, celebrating Stephen Fry's fiftiet...
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Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out
2022
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
8/1
On 3 May 2022, Cameron Mackintosh invited many of Stephen Sondheim’s old friends to join him in London’s West End for a thrilling, joyously staged pro...
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Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
2003
Bright Young Things
6.2/93
During the 1930s in England, a group of young socialites dominate the national gossip with extravagant and outlandish antics. Among the group is the a...
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Bright Young Things
2013
Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
6/4
Animation telling of the adventures of Mouse, Mole, Rat and Owl. Before giving a Twelfth Night party, Mouse makes a snowmole for Mole. In a dream, Sno...
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Mouse and Mole at Christmas Time
2000
Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
6.5/6
The comedienne stars in this festive sketch show, alongside a host of celebrity guests.
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Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings
2015
Gypsy
7.8/13
Gypsy's mother Rose dreams of a life in show business for her daughters, but Louise becomes a huge burlesque star. Stage musical loosely based on the...
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Gypsy
2003
The Virgin of Liverpool
2.3/3
In Liverpool, Joanne Conlon rescues a weeping statue of the Virgin Mary from her local church's replacement plans. As her family faces financial strug...
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The Virgin of Liverpool
1993
Don't Leave Me This Way
7/1
British academics Loretta and Bridget run into Sandra, an old school friend at a book launch. Although Sandra appears to be gay and carefree, Loretta...
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Don't Leave Me This Way
1994
Mole's Christmas
4.8/4
Rat and Mole must get to Mole's home through a snowy Christmas Eve while eluding weasel pickpockets.
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Mole's Christmas
1995
Citizen X
7.172/383
Based on the true story of a Russian serial killer who, over many years, claimed victim to over 50 people. His victims were mostly under the age of 17...
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Citizen X
1992
A Masculine Ending
0/0
While English professor Loretta Lawson is attending a conference in Paris, she stays the night in the flat of a friend's acquaintance. She discovers a...
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A Masculine Ending
2012
London: The Modern Babylon
6.3/22
London: The Modern Babylon is legendary director Julien Temple's epic time-traveling voyage to the heart of his hometown.
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London: The Modern Babylon
2017
Finding Your Feet
7.011/180
When her life is turned upside down upon discovering her husband's affair, Sandra Abbott seeks refuge in London with her estranged older sister Bif. S...
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Finding Your Feet
1997
The Ugly Duckling
5.6/10
The Ugly Duckling teams up with friend Scruffy, and the lovable misfits embark on a journey that helps them realize that their differences are what ma...
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The Ugly Duckling
1987
Comrades
6.8/24
The story of "The Tolpuddle Martyrs". A group of 19th century English farm labourers who formed one of the first trade unions and started a campaign t...
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Comrades
2017
Paddington 2
7.475/2758
Paddington, now happily settled with the Browns, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy, but it is stolen.
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Paddington 2
2014
Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made
0/0
That Musical We Made is an honest and funny look at the making of a musical. Victoria Wood takes us behind the scenes of That Day We Sang, the film sh...
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Victoria Wood - That Musical We Made
2017
National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
6.2/5
In the early hours of the morning on the campus of an American college, Martha, much to her husband George’s displeasure, has invited the new professo...
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National Theatre Live: Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
2008
Clay
5.2/4
Adaptation of the book by David Almond, set in 1960s Tyneside. Two 14-year-old boys team up against Mouldy, the town bully. Turning Crazy Mary s garde...
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Clay
2017
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
7.3/95
A thrilling journey through legends, belief and folklore, this film goes behind the scenes with the British Library as they search to tell that story...
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Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
2017
National Theatre Live: Follies
8/6
New York, 1971. There’s a party on the stage of the Weismann Theatre. Tomorrow the iconic building will be demolished. Thirty years after their final...
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National Theatre Live: Follies
2019
Downton Abbey
7.134/1256
The beloved Crawleys and their intrepid staff prepare for the most important moment of their lives. A royal visit from the King and Queen of England w...
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Downton Abbey
1995
The Adventures of Mole
6/1
Mole decides it's time for an adventure! It isn't long before he discovers all the fun and thrills of the riverbank in the company of his new found fr...
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The Adventures of Mole
1982
Easy Money
0/0
At a concert Marcia picked Terry out of the crowd. So he no longer feels alone. Until he learns about her secret life and dare not tell his friends.
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Easy Money
2019
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
7.296/6450
Maleficent and her goddaughter Aurora begin to question the complex family ties that bind them as they are pulled in different directions by impending...
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Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
2017
Little Bird
9/3
A young woman seeks to expand her limited horizons, set against a backdrop of wartime London.
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Little Bird
2010
White Other
6/1
In the dead of night a troubled youth from an East London estate, Ray Marsden stalks into a hospital ward demanding to see the patient. The attendant...
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White Other
1989
The Heat of the Day
0/0
In World War II England, a woman is approached by a man claiming to work as an intelligence agent who has found out her lover is a spy. He promises to...
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The Heat of the Day
2020
Amulet
5.3/152
Tomaz, an ex-soldier now homeless in London, is offered a place to stay at a decaying house, inhabited by a young woman and her dying mother. As he st...
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Amulet
1995
The Snow Queen
6.3/23
Far away, in her vast ice palace, the Snow Queen plots to rule the world by deflecting all the sun's warmth away from Earth so that it freezes over. B...
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The Snow Queen
2012
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
0/0
In 1846, Anthony Hope sails into London with the mysterious Sweeney Todd, a once-naive barber whose life and marriage was uprooted by a corrupt justic...
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Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
1996
The Adventures of Toad
0/0
Toad's life is just one big adventure! His latest and greatest hobby is racing around the countryside in his new motor car getting into all sorts of t...
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The Adventures of Toad
2020
The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson
10/1
The programme offers unique access to Julia Donaldson, her family, her rich archives and home movies, and the remarkable cast of characters that have...
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The Gruffalo and Me: The Remarkable Julia Donaldson
2002
Ready
0/0
Naomi has known all her life that she will succumb to the same fate that has befallen her family for generations. Unlike her ancestors, who all made u...
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Ready
1995
The Pen
0/0
A man frantically searches for a pen while stuck on a train journey somewhere in Scotland.
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The Pen
2020
The Magical World of Julia Donaldson
6/1
This was of course a fitting look into the world of Julia Donaldson, whose books have kept the BBC in Christmas animations for the last few years, and...
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The Magical World of Julia Donaldson
2026
& Sons
0/0
A world-renowned but reclusive novelist, believing he is about to die, summons his estranged sons to his home. But instead of seeking forgiveness for...
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& Sons
2021
Victorian Britain on Film
8/2
Offers audiences a unique window into a bygone era when a thrilling new invention, the motion picture camera, first captures a nation on film.
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Victorian Britain on Film
1996
The Snow Queen's Revenge
5.5/12
The Snow Queen holds Ellie responsible for ruining her plans to freeze the world and sets out to seek revenge. She kidnaps Dimly the flying reindeer a...
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The Snow Queen's Revenge
1995
The Wind in the Willows
6/1
Follow Mr. Toad as he purchases a motor car, and his pals Ratty, Badger, and Mole are forced to come to his rescue after a series of misadventures, as...
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The Wind in the Willows
1999
Jack and the Beanstalk
6.6/5
In this spell-binding story brave Jack climbs the Beanstalk to the magical world of Beanland. He and his new friends Dilly (the small but fearless Bea...
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Jack and the Beanstalk
2025
National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession
0/0
Vivie Warren is a woman ahead of her time. Her mother, however, is a product of that old patriarchal order. Exploiting it has earned Mrs. Warren a for...
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National Theatre Live: Mrs. Warren's Profession
2009
Adapting Austen
0/0
Documentary on the adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' for Ang Lee's 1995 film.
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Adapting Austen
2021
Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion
0/0
Twenty-five years after their collaboration on 'Sense and Sensibility' (1995), members of the cast and crew reunite to discuss their experiences makin...
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Sense and Sensibility: 25th Anniversary Reunion
2025
Testimony
0/0
An extraordinary group of women – supported by activist organisation Justice for Magdalenes – fight to hold the Irish government accountable for abuse...
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Testimony
2007
Where Have I Been All Your Life?
0/0
Liam's innocent quest uncovers a series of dark secrets in an otherwise quiet suburban household. A BBC Comedy short film.
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