Auntie's Secret Past

In Auntie’s Secret Past we learn of the contents of the time capsule in the Broadcasting House foundation stone, the furore over Prospero and Ariel (“maidens are said to blush”), the pithy memos of the Programme Review Board, the “surfeit of sentiment” concerns over Vera Lynn’s Sincerely Yours, why women commentators were not favoured and whether television viewers should be called ‘televiewers’ or ‘lookers’.

This programme, broadcast in 1997 to mark the BBC’s 75^th anniversary delves into the Written Archives at Caversham to bring some of the behind the scenes stories of the Corporation to life. It’s also scattered with a generous selection of Sound Archive gems.

Presented by Terry Wogan and produced by Bridget Apps, Auntie’s Secret Past went out on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday 9 November 1997.