Lesley Garrett tells the fascinating story of operatic comedienne Joan Turner, whose turbulent lifestyle brought success and failure in equal measure.

Joan was a larger-than-life star who enjoyed a successful stage and television career in the Sixties and Seventies. She was born in Belfast in 1922 and made her debut at the Finsbury Empire as a singing comedienne. Joan could perform pop or opera with her soprano voice, impersonate Judy Garland and Bette Davis, and then change to stand-up.

In her early career she worked with The Crazy Gang, appeared at many Royal events, recorded for Pye Records and became the highest-earning female singer in Britain. After touring all the major music halls she was considered a "female Harry Secombe". In the States she was billed as The Wacky Warbler.

By the late Nineties, Joan had been reduced to the status of a bag lady walking the streets of Las Vegas and Los Angeles searching for work. This downturn in her life and career was a result of a long-term battle with gambling and alcoholism. A few film and television roles saw a short revival in her fortunes but her last live comeback attempt ended in a drunken shambles. She spent her final years in sheltered accommodation in Surrey.

The programme features interviews with actor Harry Dickman, variety entertainer Roy Hudd and Joan's daughter Susanna Page.