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Stephen Poliakoff Remembers Perfect Strangers

Inspired by a similar incident in Stephen Poliakoff’s life, Perfect Strangers tells the tale of a family reunion, a gathering of the disparate clans of a family long separated. It focuses on Daniel, the son of the family’s ‘black sheep’, following him as the doors into his past and that of his family are opened by the stories he discovers. \n\nWritten just a few years before Who Do You Think You Are? hit our screens, it explores the increasing interest in genealogy; the ability the internet gave us to investigate our past; and the power of family trees, archives, photos and the secrets they contain. \n\nStephen tells us of the amazing cast: Lyndsay Duncan, Matthew MacFadyen, in his first leading role, and Michael Gambon. He reveals how he persuaded Michael not to go and shoot a cameo in a Mel Smith film on the first day of filming and talks of unexpectedly getting the free run of Claridge’s as a location and accidentally running into Margaret Thatcher mid-filming. He also explains the background to the stories: family bravery in the Holocaust, a taxi driver telling him an extraordinary World War II evacuee tale, and his own wish to explore and talk about the struggles of mental health.\n\nPerfect Strangers is an ambitious and vital piece. Listen as Stephen gives an insight into the making of this landmark BBC drama.

Source: BBC 4