| Genre: | Documentary series |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 6 |
| Num Episodes: | 29 |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes (including adverts) |
| Company: | (see below) |
| Network: | ITV |
Perspectives is a current British television arts documentary series for ITV. The show began airing on 24 April 2011 and aired its fifth series in 2015.
Each hour long programme sees well-known celebrities (who have included Ian McKellen, David Walliams, Sheila Hancock and Paul O'Grady) travel to various parts of the world to explore more about a person who has inspired them. They're not all people, some can be books such as Griff Rhys Jones whose chosen subject was the novel The Wind in the Willows.
The first series of the show was announced on 31 March 2011 and began airing on 24 April 2011, starting with Ian McKellen: Looking for Lowry.[1]
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 April 2011 | Looking for Lowry | |
| 2 | 1 May 2011 | A Passion for the Pre-Raphaelites | |
| 3 | 8 May 2011 | The Pitmen Painters | |
| 4 | 15 May 2011 | Down by the River | |
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 March 2012 | People I Have Shot | |
| 2 | 1 April 2012 | Finding Shakespeare | |
| 3 | 8 April 2012 | Sergeant on Spike | |
| 4 | 22 April 2012 | The Genius of Dahl | |
| 5 | 29 April 2012 | Wind in the Willows | |
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 March 2013 | The Mystery of Agatha Christie | Testimony Films | |
| 2 | 24 March 2013 | The Seven Dwarfs of Auschwitz | Chameleon Television | |
| 3 | 31 March 2013 | The Brilliant Brontë Sisters | Blakeway North | |
| 4 | 7 April 2013 | Portillo on Picasso | Plum Pictures | |
| 5 | 14 April 2013 | Gypsy Rose Lee - The Queen of Burlesque | Olga TV | |
| 6 | 21 April 2013 | Alfred Hitchcock - Made in Britain | Hot Sauce TV | |
| 7 | 5 May 2013 | Copper Bottom Blues | Plum Pictures | |
A fourth series of Perspectives was announced on 13 February 2014 and began airing on 20 April 2014, starting with Alan Davies: The Magic of Houdini.[2]
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 April 2014 | The Magic of Houdini | What Larks! | |
| 2 | 27 April 2014 | Kick Out the Jams | Snapper TV | |
| 3 | 4 May 2014 | The Man In The Hat: Rene Magritte with Will Young | Blakeway North | |
| 4 | 11 May 2014[3] | Emeli Sande on Frida Kahlo | Blakeway North | |
| 5 | 18 May 2014[4] | Freddie Mercury Saved My Life | Brook Lapping | |
| 6 | 25 May 2014[5] | Bruce Forsyth on Sammy Davis Junior | Rain Media Entertainment | |
A fifth series of Perspectives began airing on 19 April 2015 starting with: "Michael Jackson's Thriller with Ashley Banjo"
| Episode | Airdate | Presenter | Title | Production Company |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 April 2015[6] | Michael Jackson's Thriller | Blakeway North | |
| 2 | 26 April 2015[7] | For The Love of Fred Astaire | Potato | |
| 3 | 3 May 2015[8] | Vivaldi’s Four Seasons | The Interesting Film Company | |
| 4 | 10 May 2015[9] | In Charlie Chaplin's Footsteps | Wild Pictures | |
| 5 | 17 May 2015[10] | The Great American Love Song | Wingspan Productions | |
| 6 | 24 May 2015[11] | War Art | Foxtrot Films | |
Series 6 began airing on 18 October 2016.