Perspectives Episode Rating Graph

Twenties and thirties New York produced the best songs ever written according to presenter and journalist Nicky Campbell. In this film he journeys to Manhattan to explore his lifelong musical passion for the golden age of song-writing when the music of packed Broadway theatres fused with the sounds of Harlem’s raunchy jazz clubs.

Actor Warwick Davis explores the miraculous survival story of the Ovitz family - ten Jewish brothers and sisters from Romania, seven of whom were born with dwarfism. Their musical group The Lilliput Troupe toured Eastern Europe during the 1930s and 1940s, managing to elude Nazi persecution of Jews until 1944 when they were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. The family underwent horrific experiments but lived to see the liberation of Auschwitz, spending several months returning to their home on foot. Warwick heads to the small Transylvania village where the five sisters and two brothers were born, their incredible yet poignant story prompting him to reflect on his own experiences as a dwarf actor and entertainer.

Len Goodman is a man who has dedicated his life to dance, and in this film he is travelling across America to explore the extraordinary life, and the imaginative mind of his greatest hero, Fred Astaire. From his daughter to his dance partner, Len leaves no stone untouched as he discovers more about how and why this man became one of the greatest dancers of all time.

Having had a fascination with the world of magic since he was a boy, Alan Davies explores the extraordinary life of illusionist and stunt performer, Harry Houdini, the man who against the odds became one of the most successful entertainers in the world.