Empire's Children
''Empire's Children'' is a 2007 six-part history documentary narrated by Richard Armitage and created by Channel 4. Each episode follows a British celebrity as they trace their family history across the British Empire. The celebrities featured included actress Diana Rigg, director Adrian Lester, actress Shobna Gulati, actor Chris Bisson, comedian Jenny Eclair, and politician David Steel. The show was produced by Wall to Wall and Illumina. Release The premiere of the first episode was watched by 1.9 million viewers and the final episode reached 1.1 million. A companion book for the documentary was published in 2007 called ''Empire’s Children: Trace Your Family History Across the World''. Reception According to one academic, the show can be viewed through the lens of the rise in genealogy subject media during the 2000s. ''Empire's Children'' was the winner of the Y Design award's "community award" category at the London Design Festival London Design Festival is a city ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Richard Armitage (actor)
Richard Crispin Armitage (; born 22 August 1971) is an English actor. He received recognition in the UK with his first leading role as John Thornton in the British television programme '' North & South'' (2004). His role as dwarf king and leader Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson's film trilogy adaptation of ''The Hobbit'' brought him international recognition. Other notable roles include John Proctor in Yaël Farber's stage production of Arthur Miller's ''The Crucible'', Francis Dolarhyde in the American TV series ''Hannibal'', Lucas North in the British TV drama '' Spooks'', John Porter in the British TV drama '' Strike Back'', Daniel Miller in the EPIX spy series '' Berlin Station'' and Guy of Gisborne in the British TV drama ''Robin Hood''. He voiced Trevor Belmont in the Netflix adaptation of ''Castlevania''. In 2020, he played the lead role in the Netflix miniseries '' The Stranger''. After graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), Armitage ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series ''The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969); Olenna Tyrell in ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–2017); and the title role in ''Medea'' in the West End in 1993 followed by Broadway a year later. Rigg made her professional stage debut in 1957 in '' The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1959. She made her Broadway debut in ''Abelard & Heloise'' in 1971. Her role as Emma Peel made her a sex symbol. For her role in ''Medea'', both in London and New York, she won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She was made a CBE in 1988 and a Dame in 1994 for services to drama. Rigg appeared in numerous TV series and films, playing Helena in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1968); Lady Holiday in '' The Great Muppet C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adrian Lester
Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the London stage. Early life Lester was born in Birmingham, the son of Jamaican immigrants, Monica, a medical secretary, and Reginald, a manager for a contract cleaning company. From the age of nine, Lester sang as a boy treble in the choir of St Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham. At 14, he began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre. After leaving Archbishop Masterson RC School, he attended Joseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College for one year, before completing three years of training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Career Theatre Lester received an Ian Charleson Award commendation and a Time Out Award for his 1991 performance as Rosalind in Cheek by Jowl's all-male production of ''As You Like It''. In 1993, he played Anth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shobna Gulati
Shobna Gulati (born 7 August 1966)www.shobnagulati.co.uk Shobna Gulati official website is an English actress and presenter. Gulati is known for her roles as Anita in '' dinnerladies'', and Sunita Alahan in the '''' from 2001 to 2013. From 2013 to 2014, Gulati appeared as a panellist on the lunchtime talk show '' [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chris Bisson
Christopher Paul Bisson (born 21 July 1975) is an English actor, known for portraying the roles of Vikram Desai in ''Coronation Street'' (1999–2002), Kash Karib in '' Shameless'' (2004–2007, 2009), and Jai Sharma in ''Emmerdale'' (2009–present). Television Bisson first appeared on television as J.J. in ''Children's Ward'' in 1990. He went on to appear in ''Prime Suspect'', ''Holby City'' and as Vikram Desai in ''Coronation Street''. Then as 'Saleem Khan' in the 1999 film ''East Is East''. Kash Karib in '' Shameless'' and Jai Sharma in ''Emmerdale''. He appeared in ''Perfect Day: The Wedding'' (2005), ''Perfect Day: The Funeral'' (2006; Channel 5) and the feature film ''Stepdad'' (filmed in February 2007). He participated in the Channel 4 documentary ''Empire's Children'' (2007). Bisson appeared in the Valentine's Day 2009 episode of '' Casualty'', and on the last series of '' Hotel Babylon''. He returned to make a one-off appearance in ''Shameless'' in April 2009, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jenny Eclair
Jenny Eclair (born Jenny Clare Hargreaves; 16 March 1960) is an English comedian, novelist, and actress, best known for her roles in '' Grumpy Old Women'' between 2004 and 2007 and in '' Loose Women'' in 2011 and 2012. Early life Eclair was born to English parents in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where her father, Derek Hargreaves, MBE, a major in the British Army, who was serving in the Royal Marines, Parachute Regiment, Green Howards, Trucial Oman Scouts and BRIXMIS, had been posted in 1952. Eclair returned to England when she was two years old, and she started her education at Queen Mary school (now AKS Lytham, after two separate mergers) in Lytham St Annes. She is said to have adopted the alternative surname Eclair (later her stage name) in her teens, when she was at a disco in Blackpool and pretended to be French. She studied at the Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama (now Manchester Metropolitan University) and joined a cabaret group variously referred to as Kathy Lacr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Steel
David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leader of the Liberal Party, from 1976 to 1988. His tenure spanned the duration of the alliance with the Social Democratic Party, which began in 1981 and concluded with the formation of the Liberal Democrats in 1988. Steel served as a Member of the UK Parliament for 32 years, from 1965 to 1997, and as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2003, during which time he was the parliament's Presiding Officer. He was a member of the House of Lords as a life peer from 1997 to 2020. Steel resigned from the House of Lords after the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse accused him of an "abdication of responsibility" over his failure to investigate allegations of child sex abuse against Liberal MP, Cyril Smith. Early life a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in the United Kingdom. At the time, the only other channels were the television licence, licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and a single commercial broadcasting network ITV (TV network), ITV. The network's headquarters are based in London and Leeds, with creative hubs in Glasgow and Bristol. It is publicly owned and advertising-funded; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), the station is now owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation, a public corporation of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which was established in 1990 and came into operation in 1993. Until 2010, Channel 4 did not broadcast in Wales, but many of its programmes were re-broadcast ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered , of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as " the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Genealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. The results are often displayed in charts or written as narratives. The field of family history is broader than genealogy, and covers not just lineage but also family and community history and biography. The record of genealogical work may be presented as a "genealogy", a "family history", or a " family tree". In the narrow sense, a "genealogy" or a "family tree" traces the descendants of one person, whereas a "family history" traces the ancestors of one person, but the terms are often used interchangeably. A family history may include additional biographical information, family traditions, and the like. The pursuit of family history and origins tends to be shaped by several motives, including the desire ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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London Design Festival
London Design Festival is a citywide design event that takes place over nine days every September across London. It was conceived by Sir John Sorrell and Ben Evans CBE in 2003 and celebrated its 20th edition in September 2022. In an article by Wallpaper, the festive chairman Sir John Sorrell stated, "We consciously founded the London Design Festival to be public spirited. Over the last 20 years, the Festival has had incredible depth of penetration and success in bringing people together and distilling new ideas.". About ThFestivalis made up of over 400 events and exhibitions staged by over 300 partner organisations across the design spectrum and from around the world. The Festival also commissions and curates its own program of Landmark Projects, Projects at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Special Commissions throughout the city. The Festival annually attracts a direct audience of over 600,000 visitors from over 75 countries. On average over 2,000 design businesses partic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen regional and national centres in the UK, as well as a branch in the Republic of Ireland. History The group was formed as the Television Society on 7 September 1927, a time when television was still in its experimental stage. Regular high-definition (then defined as at least 200 lines) broadcasts did not even begin for another nine years until the BBC began its transmissions from Alexandra Palace in 1936. In addition to serving as a forum for scientists and engineers, the society published regular newsletters charting the development of the new medium. These documents now form important historical records of the early history of television broadcasting. The society was granted its Royal title in 1966. The Prince of Wales became patron ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |