Imagine... Lenny Henry. Image shows from L to R: Lenny Henry, Alan Yentob

Key details

Genre
Documentary
Broadcast
2020
Channel
BBC One
Episodes
1
Features
Alan Yentob, Lenny Henry, Shirley Simon, Paul Gilroy, Paul Henry, Sharon Henry, Seymour Henry, Greg Stokes and more
Directors
Alex Harding
Producers
Alan Yentob, Alex Harding and Tanya Hudson
Company

Alan Yentob follows one of our best loved performers as he releases his first autobiography charting his early years in show-business.

In this revealing and poignant film Sir Lenny Henry meets up with his closest friends, family and colleagues to remember his sudden rise to fame aged 16 on TV talent show, New Faces, which catapulted him from a working-class kid from Dudley to one of Britain's most celebrated black performers.

Imagine... also remembers Lenny's other early breakthrough roles on Tiswas and Three Of A Kind as well as five troubling years as the only black performer in The Black & White Minstrel show.

Alongside his early achievements, Lenny also discusses his recent career reinvention as a serious actor of stage and screen and his work as a political activist campaigning for greater diversity in the entertainment and broadcasting industry.

Additional details

Also known as
  • Lenny Henry: Young, Gifted And Black
Production
Location
Camera set-up
Single camera
Picture
Colour

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Thursday 2nd January 2020 at 11pm on BBC One
Episode length
75 minutes
Most recent repeats
  • Wednesday 20th October 2021 at 1:25am on BBC4
  • Tuesday 19th October 2021 at 9:00pm on BBC4
  • Monday 12th October 2020 at 11:15pm on BBC1