Should playwright Terence Rattigan, who died in 1977, be remembered as a middle-brow crowd-pleaser or an understated genius?
For decades he was derided as the former, his reputation shot down by the angry young men of the late 1950s, but the centenary of his birth this year has seen quite a comeback. With successful revivals everywhere, critics and audiences have fallen back in love with his work. Here Benedict Cumberbatch (star of the National Theatre's 2010 revival of After the Dance) retells his extraordinary story.
It's simply but evocatively done, with fascinating snapshots of the postwar theatrical world and the debonair playwright's social circle - of whom we meet a few. We also see glimpses of a new film of The Deep Blue Sea that's in production and hear from David Hare, who reckons that Rattigan's plays are all about "the impossibility of escaping who you are".
About this programme
Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch celebrates the work of Terence Rattigan, author of plays including The Browning Version and The Deep Blue Sea. The actor challenges the belief that Rattigan's dramas are too safe and conventional, and explores the ways in which his views of 20th-century society can still resonate strongly with contemporary audiences. He also discovers the issues the writer confronted in his plays were often ones he struggled to deal with in his own life.
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. They drank quite much I remember but had to study very hard as well. 
