• Air date: 03 Jul '12 12 episodes
      Imagine is a wide ranging arts series first broadcast on BBC One in 2003, hosted and executive produced by Alan Yentob. Each series usually consists of 4 to 7 episodes, each on a different topic. Episodes have been directed by, among others, Geoff Wonfor, Lucy Blakstead, Roger Parsons and Zoë Silver.
  • List of Episodes (12)
    • 1. Vivian Maier: Who Took Nanny's Pictures?

      25 Jun '13
      The incredible story of a mysterious nanny who died in 2009 leaving behind a secret hoard - thousands of stunning photographs. Never seen in her lifetime, they were found by chance in a Chicago storage locker and auctioned off cheaply. Now Vivian Maier has gone viral, and her magical pictures sell for thousands of dollars. Vivian was a tough street photographer, a secret poet of suburbia. In life, she was a recluse, a hoarder, spinning tall tales about her French roots. Presented by Alan Yentob
    • 2. McCullin

      02 Jul '13
      imagine... presents McCullin, a powerful documentary portrait of legendary British war photographer and photojournalist Don McCullin. Told through a series of searingly honest and often graphic interviews, McCullin recounts a life lived in the theatre of war - from his first assignment with the violent teenage gangs on his home turf of Finsbury Park, to capturing international conflicts of the past 50 years. The film lays bare McCullin's disgust for the destruction of human life, juxtaposed with
    • 3. Rod Stewart: Can't Stop Me Now

      09 Jul '13
      From beatnik to mod, from folkie to disco tart, from glam rocker to, most recently, crooner of American standards, Rod Stewart has had a remarkable musical journey. Alan Yentob visits Rod at his homes in Beverly Hills and Essex and talks to his friends and family, including all eight children aged from two years old to 50. Featuring rare archival footage of Rod when he was barely out of his teens and living above his parents' north London sweetshop, lmagine examines an entertaining career across
    • 4. Woody Allen: A Documentary - Part One

      23 Jul '13
      imagine... presents Robert B Weide's intimate two-part study of the multi-Oscar winning New York auteur. In this first part, Woody Allen talks candidly about his childhood in Brooklyn, his early fame as a stand-up in New York City and his first forays into screenwriting and filmmaking. He discusses his prolific body of work, which includes some of the most memorable cinematic moments of all time. With unprecedented access to the director, Weide reveals the man behind the trademark glasses.
    • 5. Woody Allen: A Documentary - Part Two

      24 Jul '13
      imagine... presents the second part of Robert B Weide's intimate profile of Woody Allen. The New York writer, director and actor doesn't shy away from discussing his sometimes controversial relationships with the leading ladies in his life, or the hits and misses of an unparalleled body of work spanning five decades of filmmaking. Contributors including Martin Scorsese, Diane Keaton, Scarlett Johansson and John Cusack join Allen's family of filmmakers for a unique insight into one of the most
    • 6. Zaha Hadid: Who Dares Wins

      30 Jul '13
      Alan Yentob profiles the most successful female architect there has ever been, Zaha Hadid, who has designed buildings around the globe - everywhere from Austria to Azerbaijan.
    • 7. Jimi Hendrix: Hear My Train A Comin'

      29 Oct '13
      In just four years, Jimi Hendrix revolutionised the music scene with his transcendent sound and explosive stage presence. A peacock, poet and perfectionist, he was a true original, who restlessly pushed his musical gifts to their extremes. imagine... tells the story of how this shy, former private in the 101st Airborne became the greatest rock guitarist of all time, using never-before-seen performance footage, home movies and family letters. With contributions from the Hendrix family, Sir Paul
    • 8. Edmund de Waal: Make Pots or Die

      05 Nov '13
      Edmund de Waal is the bestselling author of The Hare With The Amber Eyes, a family memoir that captured the hearts of millions. But he isn't just a writer; from the age of five he has been making thousands and thousands of pots. After 45 years, he is exhibiting his work for the first time in America and researching his next book, a globe-spanning journey through porcelain. imagine... follows Edmund over a remarkable year.
    • 9. Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy

      12 Nov '13
      For generations of Jewish songwriters, the bright lights of Broadway have been a catalyst for transformation. New York's musical theatres offered a chance for those who had fled persecution and oppression to make it big in America. On Broadway, the idea of outsiders beating the odds could be dramatised in a uniquely American art form, with melodies derived from Jewish prayers inspiring catchy new songs that tens of millions around the world would come to embrace. imagine... looks at the unique
    • 10. Turning the Art World Inside Out

      19 Nov '13
      After the huge success of recent shows in Venice, London and Paris, interest in Outsider Art has never been higher. But what exactly is it? How do we define it? And who are its gurus and leading lights? Alan Yentob explores this captivating, compelling and magical alternative art universe. Why in 2013 is Outsider Art finally being feted by the art establishment, and what took it so long? imagine... embarks on a worldwide journey to meet some visionary creators, and their equally obsessive
    • 11. Hitler, the Tiger and Me

      26 Nov '13
      Imagine tells the extraordinary story of Judith Kerr, creator of some of our best-loved children's books; including Mog and The Tiger Who Came to Tea. Born in Berlin, at the age of nine she was forced to flee Germany as her father, a writer, was an outspoken opponent of the Nazis. Her children's novel 'When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit' tells their story and is now a set text in German schools. In memory of Judith Kerr, who died earlier this year, we look back to Judith’s 90th Birthday in 2013 as
    • 12. Who's Afraid of Machiavelli?

      03 Dec '13
      With performances from Peter Capaldi, imagine... marks the 500th anniversary of Machiavelli's notorious book The Prince. Famous for lines like 'It is better to be feared than loved', The Prince has been a manual for tyrants from Napoleon to Stalin. But how relevant is The Prince today, and who are the 21st century Machiavellians? Alan Yentob talks to contributors including Colonel Tim Collins, who kept a copy of The Prince with him in Iraq; plus Hilary Devey, Alastair Campbell and Game of