Talking Pictures
Talking Pictures is a TV show on BBC2. A look back at television appearances by legends of the silver screen, using archive footage to tell the story of their lives and careers. The program has been available since 2024. A total of 19 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in October 2025.
Last episode
Talking Pictures
The career of Robert Redford is examined in this exploration of the BBC archives, which includes rarely seen interviews. Narrated by Sylvia Syms.
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A retrospective look at television appearances made over the years by Mary Poppins and Sound of Music star Julie Andrews, with interviews from the archive and classic clips.
September 2025
A look back at the life and work of Sir John Hurt, one of Britain's acting greats, whose career spanned six decades and took in over 100 films.
A look back at television appearances made over the years by the Oscar-winning actor Sir John Mills, capturing the milestones of his life and career.
August 2025
Celia Imrie explores the story behind Francis Ford Coppola’s acclaimed Godfather series, featuring insights from cast members Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Coppola himself.
Celia Imrie takes a trip through the BBC archives on a forensic examination of one of cinema’s most frightening franchises, The Silence of the Lambs.
A look back at television appearances made over the years by Hollywood legend Bette Davis, capturing the milestones of her life and career. Narrated by Sylvia Syms.
Moments from interviews conducted on a range of BBC shows over the years help to tell the story of Dustin Hoffman, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, and his films.
June 2025
Celia Imrie tells the story of the 1960 epic Spartacus, starring Kirk Douglas, revealing how the film, which was then the most expensive of all time, made it onto the big screen.
May 2025
The story of the Hollywood musical, featuring interviews with stars from the genre's golden age, as well as some of the directors and songwriters who helped create them.
April 2025
Celia Imrie celebrates the cinema’s marvellous musicals, venturing back through the BBC’s archives to look at film’s most joyous and arguably enduring genre.
March 2025
A look at the life of acting legend Michael Caine, using rarely seen television interviews and classic archive clips to tell the story of one of Britain's most successful actors.
February 2025
Sylvia Syms looks at the handsome heroes, gorgeous heroines, pin-ups and bombshells who came to be known as cinema's greatest sex symbols, hearing from the stars themselves.
A retrospective look at television appearances made over the years by Jack Lemmon, capturing the milestones and highlights of his life and career.
January 2025
An examination of the life of actor Paul Newman, using rarely seen interviews from the BBC archives to tell the story of a career that made him one of Hollywood's greatest stars.
A look at the life and work of the late Richard Attenborough, with interviews and archive clips illustrating a career that has made him one of cinema's most popular figures.
December 2024
Celia Imrie unwraps a selection of the very best Christmas movies ever made and looks at why films are such an important part of the festive ritual.
Sylvia Syms presents rarely seen footage from the BBC archives that explores the life and career of one of Britain's best-loved actors, Dame Judi Dench.
Celia Imrie takes a look at some of the leading ladies who’ve proved time and again, year after year, that they are amongst the very best of British talent.