40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. The documentaries could be on any possible subject, the only connection being that they last forty minutes. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, Forty Minutes On.
Showing Season 7 of 14
Season 7
1987
No overview available.
01. Terror
1987-11-05
How three people's lives were permanently affected by the TWA plane hi-jack.
02. Girls Apart
1987-11-12
Two South African school-girls, one black, one white - their contrasting attitudes and lives.
03. Love at First Sight
1987-11-19
Five couples describe what happened when they first met - and the long-term consequences.
04. Poor Man's Eton
1987-11-26
The only inner London Education Authority boarding school, in a Suffolk country house.
05. East Side Story
1987-12-03
Two contrasting 26-year-olds in London's newly-developing Docklands.
06. The Case of Sherlock Holmes
1987-12-10
Tim Piggot-Smith investigates the famous sleuth of 221b Baker Street.
07. Party Time
1987-12-17
Seven entertaining parties.
08. Catch a Fallen Star
1987-12-23
A portrait of the once-famous British singer, dancer and film star, Jesse Matthews.
09. Convictions
1988-01-07
No overview available.
10. If You Love Him, Let Him Go
1988-01-14
Dilemmas faced by parents of mentally handicapped offspring who reach childhood and independence.
11. Jackpot
1988-01-21
Three young adults addicted to gambling on fruit machines, with disastrous results.
12. Scarfe's Follies
1988-01-28
Scarfe's Follies with Bob Geldof, Jane Asher, Terry Jones, Ian McKellen, Robin Bailey, Julian Glover, Marcia Warren, John Bird, John Challis, John Watts, Nellie the elephant and Ivy the camel. Gerald Scarfe records the follies of man in his cartoons. Now he wants to create his own folly. But what are follies - and why did eccentrics build them? Surrounded by high-kicking follies girls and borne by noble beasts, Scarfe sets off on a quest of discovery. He encounters a naughty vicar who built a folly garden for his gypsy girlfriend; a Welshman who burned his own son; a politician who got voters drunk; a man whose house resembles a jungle; and 'Mad Jack' Fuller, who built a steeple overnight to win a wager, and was buried in a pyramid with a bottle of port and a cold chicken. And as all the best follies contained a resident hermit, Scarfe advertises for one in the Times - with startling results.
13. Thames Wallah
1988-02-04
A specialist with the Thames Water Authority attempts to clean up the Ganges.
14. Changing Places
1988-02-11
Ten pupils from an independent public school (Rugby) and a state comprehensive school (Ruffwood) exchange places and lives.
15. Diary of a Frontliner
1988-02-18
A self-operated video camera was set up in Peter Tilson's home to record a personal diary in his battle with AIDS.
16. Annie Doesn't Work Here Any More
1988-02-25
Annie, a nurse from Manchester, leaves the NHS to set up a new life as a nurse in Los Angeles.
17. The Great North Road
1988-03-03
Lucinda Lambton travels along the Great North Road, the backbone of Britain that links London to Edinburgh, discovering many weird and wonderful delights en route.
18. I, Alison...
1988-03-10
The story of a remarkable young woman. It's Alison French's wedding day. She's 24 - vivacious, candid, attractive, with a warm smile and a lively sense of humour. Alison, professionally qualified as a youth worker, is marrying Mark John. What makes her wedding different is that she's an athetoid spastic - her body's never still, and she has difficulty with her speech. Seven years ago, 40 Minutes made an acclaimed film about Alison, telling of her bid to gain independence in the able-bodied world. Tonight's follow-up is a passionate love story. But in marrying the man she loves, Alison has to leave her family in Watford, set up a new home in South Wales, and adapt to being a clergyman's wife. Her heart is still set on finding an independent job. The harsh reality is that despite her skills and rare qualities, she may face rejection. But Alison doesn't give up easily...
19. Children of the Open Road
1988-03-17
Catrine Clay presents the disturbing story of gypsy children abducted from their parents in clean and ordered Switzerland.
20. Five Go to Florida
1988-03-24
Perhaps the last holiday for a group of children, some of whom are gravely ill. They fulfil their dream of visiting Disney World.
21. Who Will Love Billy?
1988-04-07
A 13-year-old boy hopes to be adopted by Dave, a single man of 42 - but things go wrong.
22. Who Needs a Machine Gunner?
1988-04-14
Long-term unemployment in rural Herefordshire.
23. Women in Black
1988-04-21
Three widows at different stages of their recovery.
24. My African Farm
1988-04-28
An old white woman colonial settler staying on in up-country Kenya.
25. Separate Tables
1988-05-05
An old-fashioned sea-side hotel, with many retired residents, is to be refurbished. The residents must go.
26. Waiting
1988-05-12
Two people are waiting on an NHS hospital waiting list - one for a minor operation, the other for a major one.
27. Mixed Blessings
1988-05-19
The story of a mix-up in a Nottingham nursing-home. Margaret Wheeler and Blanche Rylatt each gave birth to a baby girl on the same day. Margaret is convinced that she was given the wrong baby.