Joyce Hatto drama, BBC1, 23rd December 2012

[Nick Armstrong]

Don't think this has been mentioned yet - well worth seeing amid the tinsel, I would have thought. Francesca Annis as Joyce H, and a number of other very good actors.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pm5m5

I make no apology for trotting out again one of the best limericks ever

The critics' acclaim for Joyce Hatto
Had reached an impossible plateau;
Her falling from grace
Was clearly a case
Of her spouse over-egging the gateau.

[Pabmusic]

[COLOR="#0000FF"]... Francesca Annis as Joyce H, and a number of other very good actors...

Well, it's said to be Francesca Annis, but in reality the voice is dubbed and what you see is CGI.

[Mary Chambers]

That's a very good limerick! I didn't know it.

Like just about every other thing I want to see/hear over Christmas, it's on at a time when I won't be able to watch, so I'll have to watch it later.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I followed Hattogate with interest as it unfolded. There was an interesting documentary about it a few years ago.

[ostuni]

Well, it's said to be Francesca Annis, but in reality the voice is dubbed and what you see is CGI.

I can imagine why the piano playing is faked, but why the voice? F Annis is still alive, isn't she?!

[Sir Velo]

We've all seen these drama docs. Forgive me if I remain sceptical as to how close to the truth this one will get. Somehow I get the feeling from the advance publicity that there will be bucketloads of sentimentality ("one man doing it for the love of his life whose career was cruelly cut short".etc ad nauseam..pass the tissues...) Francesca Annis is not someone who comes to mind when casting Joyce Hatto; had they gone for Patricia Routledge, then maybe.

[vinteuil]

Tinsel

.. ah, Gretel's more flamboyant brother!

[credit : I'm Sorry I Haven't an Original Idea in My Head ]

[Mary Chambers]

Her husband is still alive, so I imagine it will be somewhat limited by that.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Her husband is still alive, so I imagine it will be somewhat limited by that.

I doubt whether he's in a very strong position to say anything, under the circumstances.

[Mandryka]

'Writer: Victoria Wood'

My interest has declined.....

[Pabmusic]

I can imagine why the piano playing is faked, but why the voice? F Annis is still alive, isn't she?!

I'm sorry, ostuni, it was a (not very good) humorous comment on the passing off of recordings as being by one pianist when they were actually by another.

[ostuni]

Ah, yes - I was being too literal-minded!

[Mandryka]

Well! Wasn't that a pleasant surprise!

Expecting a soapy-sudsy soft focus love story, I was prepared for not very much.....in the event, it turned out to be genuinely moving.

Great performances from the senior Hatto and Coupes (a second piano-related role for Alfred Molina) but splendid work too from the younger ones: Rory Kinnear is proving himself to be the kind of actor who can play anyone. Maime McCoy was unknown to me but was likewise excellent (and very attractive).

I was amused, rather than offended, by all the references to influential 'shirt-lifters'. :)

[antongould]

Yes I found it a very pleasant surprise. Did one of the fakes really "win" Building A Library?

[Mandryka]

Yes I found it a very pleasant surprise. Did one of the fakes really "win" Building A Library?

That bit didn't ring true, as the critic sounded fictitious.