*Condition of use: Do not alter/ crop this image. Publicity still taken in line with social distancing restrictions
The South Bank Show will make a welcome return to Sky Arts on 22 November as part of a roster of shows on the now free-to-air channel. Edited and presented by Melvyn Bragg, the South Bank Show is the longest-running Arts show on British television. In this series, Melvyn interviews four artists at the height of their powers: Gillian Anderson, Bernardine Evaristo, Benjamin Zephaniah and Simon Armitage.
Gillian Anderson, one of the most highly-regarded actors working today, joins Melvyn for the first episode of the series. On stage at the Young Vic in London, where Gillian starred as Blanche Dubois in the award-winning production of A Streetcar Named Desire' in 2014, Melvyn and Gillian explore her diverse and prolific career across theatre, film and television, and discuss a range of work including The X-Files, Sex Education and The Fall, as well as Gillian's extraordinary current performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Crown.
Author Bernardine Evaristo made history in 2019, when she became the first black woman to win the Booker Prize for her remarkable novel, Girl, Woman, Other. In the second episode of this South Bank Show series, Bernadine talks to Melvyn about her childhood and early life in South London, and the creative influences that inspired her to become both an internationally acclaimed writer and a powerful voice for equality and diversity.
Benjamin Zephaniah is a pioneer of performance poetry: in the third episode of the series, he joins Melvyn for a candid conversation about his life and work, and reveals how his troubled youth inspired him to channel his energies into poetry - and how, in his words, poetry saved his life. He also performs a selection of his poems, exclusively for the South Bank Show, and gives a unique insight into the creative process behind them. This is an intimate profile of a groundbreaking artist.
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage completes the series. In episode four, he talks to Melvyn about how his latest collection of poems Magnetic Field: The Marsden Poems provide a deeply personal perspective on his career as one of the most energetic and powerful forces in contemporary poetry. The film takes him back to his roots in West Yorkshire, and to the moors which have provided such an inspiration to him as, a kind of page which could be written upon.
Melvyn Bragg says: I'm delighted that Sky Arts is now free to air. The South Bank Show's autumn season is a quartet tailor-made to suit this occasion. Gillian Anderson is one of the most famous and versatile actors of her time; Bernardine Evaristo, the first black female writer to win the Booker Prize, is enjoying phenomenal success; Benjamin Zephaniah continues to attract audiences all over the world with his vivid performance poetry; Simon Armitage, the Poet Laureate, seems to expand that role every month. Four artists at the top of their game.
Phil Edgar-Jones, Director of Sky Arts, says: The South Bank Show continues to be the flagship show for the arts and we are delighted to share the brilliant line up of the new series on our new Freeview platform.
The South Bank Show is part of a portfolio of content on Sky Arts produced by Directors Cut Productions, which includes The South Bank Sky Arts Awards, the only awards ceremony in the world to represent the entire spectrum of the arts, and The South Bank Show Originals, featuring famous past episodes with added footage and extra interviews and contributors.
The South Bank Show airs on Sky Arts, available for everyone to watch on Freeview Channel 11 and Freesat channel 147.
For more information please contact: calum.mcgarry@premiercomms.com and georgie.rennie@premiercomms.com
TX Dates for the South Bank Show 2020 on Sky Arts and NOW TV
Episode 1 - Gillian Anderson - Sunday 22 November, 22:45
Episode 2 - Bernardine Evaristo - Sunday 29 November, 22:45
Episode 3 - Benjamin Zephaniah - Sunday 6 December, 22:45
Episode 4 - Simon Armitage - Sunday 13 December, 22:45
Episode Directors
Episode 1 - Gillian Anderson - Suzannah Wander
Episode 2 - Bernardine Evaristo - Gillian Greenwood
Episode 3 - Benjamin Zephaniah - Suzannah Wander
Episode 4 - Simon Armitage - Navin Thapar
About Sky Arts:
As the UK's only dedicated arts channel, Sky Arts exists to bring more art to more people across the UK. By throwing open the doors to make the channel free to air, we want to increase access to and participation in the arts. Offering something for everyone, whatever their passion, Sky Arts showcases the best of classical and popular music, theatre, opera, dance and the visual arts, as well as original drama and comedy.
About Sky
Sky is Europe's leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Across six countries, we connect our 24 million customers to the best entertainment, sports, news, arts and to our own award-winning original content.
Our technology, including the market leading Sky Q, connects people to everything they love - TV, music, games, online video, fitness and educational content, all in one place, easy. Our streaming service, NOW TV, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.
Building on the success of Sky Originals like Chernobyl, I Hate Suzie and Brassic, we are doubling our investment in original content by 2024 through Sky Studios. Sky News provides impartial and trustworthy journalism for free, while Sky Arts, the UK's only dedicated free-to-air arts channel, makes the arts accessible for everyone. Our new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, is expected to create over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in the UK over the first five years alone.
We believe tha
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
January 8, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), a leader in high-performance, on-s...
07/05/2026
February 9, 2024
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning pioneer i...
07/05/2026
March 20, 2024
NAB 2024, Las Vegas - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-awa...
07/05/2026
April 1, 2025
CINEMACON, APRIL 1, 2025 - Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming syste...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), an Academy and Emmy Award-winning de...
07/05/2026
June 15, 2025
Colorfront participated in the ICTA Barcelona Cinema Technology Summit on Sunday, June 15, 2025. Held at The Phenomena Experience, the event feat...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
July 1, 2025
Passion and dedication will take you places. Come with us on a short trip to the heart of India, where Annapurna Studios is living-up to the inspi...
07/05/2026
July 3, 2025
Colorfront (colorfront.com), the multi-award-winning developer of high-performance dailies/transcoding/streaming systems for motion pictures, OTT,...
07/05/2026
September 1, 2025
IBC 2025, Amsterdam - Colorfront (colorfront.com) - the Acade...
07/05/2026
April 17, 2026
LOS ANGELES - April 17, 2026 - Colorfront today announced Colorf...
07/05/2026
April 23, 2026
NAB 2026, Las Vegas - the Academy and Emmy Award-winning develop...
07/05/2026
Thursday 7 May 2026
Sky continues Sphere Abacus partnership with The Death of S...
07/05/2026
Thursday 7 May 2026
Sky Confirms Saturday Night Live UK will return this September for Series Two
Saturday Night Live UK will return for a second series, as S...
07/05/2026
Save 20% on the Sky Glass Gen 2 and Sky Glass Air TVsThursday 7 May 2026
How to watch the World Cup on Sky Glass
Tune into the World Cup on the BBC and ITV vi...
07/05/2026
Production sound mixer Dirk Sciarrotta has mixed Family Feud for 28 seasons. Thats up to 200 syndicated episodes per year, plus primetime celebrity specials - a...
07/05/2026
As audience expectations have evolved, Owen has stopped trying to hide microphones or excuse amplification. Instead, he treats sound as a fully immersive part o...
07/05/2026
Well known Irish faces pushed to the edge in new series of
Uncharted with Ray G...
07/05/2026
RT will premiere A Traveller Family, a compelling new documentary exploring the...
06/05/2026
New pricing tiers for vocal/dialogue restoration tool
NoiseWorks Audio's AI-powered vocal and dialogue processing plug-in is now available in three diff...
06/05/2026
Popular mixing & routing software overhauled
Following a recent public beta test, RME have launched the final release version of the powerful mixing and rou...
06/05/2026
New SOS Video Feature
Focusrites ISA C8X is a milestone product that brings together the companys analogue heritage and their expertise in digital audio. Yo...
06/05/2026
06 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Authorized to Resell Starlink for Businesses & ...
06/05/2026
UKTV has secured the exclusive rights to the early back catalogue of iconic Australian drama series Neighbours, following a landmark content deal with Fremantle...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky commissions feature documentary to mark 10th anniversa...
06/05/2026
Wednesday 6 May 2026
Sky and Formula 1 agree long-term partnership across UK, Ireland and Italy
Sky in the UK & Ireland to remain the home of Formula 1 until ...
06/05/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign launches nationwide, supported by new...
06/05/2026
Wuppertal May 6, 2026
Riedel Expands Leadership Structure, Appoints Marc Engro...
06/05/2026
SAN JOSE, Calif. - May 6, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced its latest broadband innovations for ANGA COM 2026, highlighting its vision for a new e...
06/05/2026
Statement from Rupert Murdoch, Chairman Emeritus, Fox Corporation on Ted Turner&...
06/05/2026
Friday 8 May on RT One and RT Player
Meet the NSPCA team caring for and protecting animals in need in this six-part series
Fly on the wall, six-part series...
*Condition of use: Do not alter/ crop this image. Publicity still taken in line with social distancing restrictions
