Siân Phillips (born Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Glamorgan, Wales) is a Welsh actress, author and singer.
Phillips was the daughter of Sally (née Thomas), a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman. She is a Welsh-speaker and in the first volume of her autobiography, "Private Faces", she notes that she spoke only Welsh for much of her childhood, learning English by listening to the radio.
She attended Pontardawe Grammar School and later read English and Philosophy at University College Cardiff, graduating in 1955. She entered RADA in LOndon, England with a scholarship in September 1955, the same year as Diana Rigg and Glenda Jackson. She went on to win the prestigious Bancroft Gold Medal for Hedda Gabler and was offered work in Hollywood when she left RADA. While still a student she was offered three film contracts, entailing her to work for an extended period of time in the United States; but she declined, preferring to work on stage instead.
Stones are at once the most foundational and the most overlooked parts of our lifeworld. When a retired nature documentary narrator passes a kidney stone, she decides to tell one more story about this forgotten world of stone . A hypnotic essay film asking ...
Watch NowAcclaimed actress Dame Siân Phillips is still working at 90. The star of I, Claudius speaks openly about her marriage to Peter O'Toole and reflects on her life and glittering career. ...
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Reflecting Peter O'Toole's theatrical legacy, this feature documentary is structured into four acts, each introduced by a quote about O'Toole that encapsulates his life during a specific period. ...
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On 3 May 2022, Cameron Mackintosh invited many of Stephen Sondheim's old friends to join him in London's West End for a thrilling, joyously staged production. He had specially devised it to celebrate Sondheim's extraordinary talents as a composer and lyric ...
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A community is sleeping. If you listen closely, you can hear their dreams. The retired sea captain yearning for his lost love. The landlady living in terror of her guests. A father who can no longer access his memories. A son in search of redemption. ...
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The inspiring true story of Dream Alliance, an unlikely race horse bred by small town bartender, Jan Vokes. With very little money and no experience, Jan convinces her neighbors to chip in their meager earnings to help raise Dream and compete with the raci ...
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The radical new take on Dickens' classic seeks both to exhume the original story's gritty commentary on social inequality and the corrupting influence of greed, and to breathe new life into the lyricism of the original text by setting its scenes to extraor ...
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A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him. ...
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An African country teeters on the edge of civil war. A society prepares to drive out its colonial present and claim an independent future. Racial tensions boil over. Tshembe, returned home from England for his father's funeral, finds himself in the eye of ...
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Eleanor and Isabelle meet again, sixty years after their relationship break up... ...
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A contemporary love story about Peter, a Freudian psychiatrist married to the Finnish Mika, David, a young British gay who lives in Banyoles, addicted to the Grinder, and Coco Lamour, a French actress from Paris. ...
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An insight into the life of the world's most famous male dancer, Rudolf Nureyev. ...
Watch NowTo mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of the NHS, acclaimed poet Owen Sheers takes us on a journey that weaves the extraordinary story of the birthing of Nye Bevan's vision of free healthcare for all people with personal stories of the NHS in British s ...
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Anna Maria Dalí is four years younger than her brother Salvador and they love each other. Both enjoy the great progressive atmosphere of republican Spain, fraternizing with great creators, García Lorca, Buñuel. ...
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Based on the life of my late mother-in-law, Erica Thomas, "Voyageuse" is a mix of romance, science and conspiracy theory drawn directly from her journals and a vast archive of personal film and photographs. ...
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Mohawk archaeologist Baptiste Asigny engages in a search for his ancestors following a tragic terrain slump in the Percival Molson Stadium. ...
Watch NowA film poem to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, written by Owen Sheers and performed by a stellar cast of Wales's best-known acting talent, including Michael Sheen, Jonathan Pryce, Sian Phillips, Eve Myles and Iwan Rheon, with some ...
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An all star cast unite to perform a distinctive BBC Wales Television adaptation of Dylan Thomas's radio play, presented in collaboration with National Theatre Wales, to mark the centenary of Dylan Thomas' birth. The plot reveals the innermost thoughts of ...
Watch NowFrom its early years until the present day, London has provided powerful, emotional inspiration to artists. This documentary evokes the city as seen by painters, photographers, film-makers and writers through the ages; the perspectives of Dickens, Hogarth, ...
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Lovesong intricately weaves the story of a couple in the first stages of their life together with the same couple as they approach the end of this story. A delicate mix of storytelling and physical theatre, this production was captured by Digital Theatre l ...
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Documentary about the painters Augustus John and James Dickson Innes who, in 1911, left London for the wild Arenig Valley in North Wales. Over three years, they created a body of work to rival the visionary landscapes of Matisse. ...
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Boasting an amazing selection of the most watched, most influential and most highly acclaimed programmes ever made, The 50 Greatest Television Dramas presents a long overdue assessment of the rich heritage television drama has to offer. Channel 4 invited o ...
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London's Dupayne Museum is in danger of closing since one of the trustees feels that the money expended on preserving the past could be better spent addressing the problems of living people. One of the museum's collections concerns murders committed betwee ...
Watch NowA search for the poetic soul of Wales - a feature documentary which explores poetic responses, historical & contemporary, to the issues of social & cultural survival; and celebrates this enduring 2500 year poetic experience. ...
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This program is an overview of the life and career of Joseph Stalin. It concentrates on describing and attempting to explain the origins of the policy of "terror" instigated by Stalin as leader of the USSR. There are interviews with surviving family membe ...
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The cast and crew of I, Claudius (1976) discuss the making of the series. ...
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A televised pantomime of Cinderella featuring various celebrities. ...
Watch NowAn adaptation of Samuel Beckett's short play from 1965. Three women meet on a bench; they reminisce about their old school days and whisper terrible secrets. ...
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18th-century England and Ireland viewed through the eyes of four beautiful high-born sisters - Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, great-granddaughters of a king, daughters of a cabinet minister, and wives of politicians and peers. ...
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A modern adaptation of the classic children's story 'Alice through the Looking Glass', which continued on from the popular 'Alice in Wonderland' story. This time Alice is played by the mother, who falls asleep while reading the the bedtime story to her dau ...
Watch NowDetective Cooper investigates the bizarre circumstances surrounding the murder of Matilda who was found dead in her bath wearing the Scold's Bridle. ...
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"House of America" is a 1997 film directed by Marc Evans. The film, set in a depressed Welsh mining town, centres on a dysfunctional family unit of brothers Boyo and Sid, their sister Gwenny and their controlling mother. The film tackles issues such as Wel ...
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Told through the eyes of Mowzer, a cat, this tale -- based on a Cornish legend -- follows brave Tom Bawcock as he makes his way towards the treacherous sea conditions to bring food back to the village. Luckily, his faithful cat sings a lullaby to the Great ...
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The Borrowers are small, fifteen-centimeter-high humans, who live in the English hinterland. They live out their lives in mouse-hole sized nooks in human houses, and survive by "borrowing" all they need from the house and its inhabitants. This series follo ...
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In 19th century New York high society, a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin. ...
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Gwyn can feel danger coming in the wind. Somehow he knows the warnings have to do with the broken toy horse that holds the evil spirit of a prince who lived long ago. When Gwyn discovers that the prince's dark soul has escaped from the horse and is seeking ...
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Lily Whitmore is the heir to a crumbling factory that she's determined to restore to its former glory. Unfortunately, Lily must instead turn her attention to the conniving Lionel Filmore who's determined to marry into the family no matter what. ...
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Young magician Gywn and his friend Nia have been warned to stay away from Emlyn Llewelyn, the strange boy who claims his mother lives on the moon. And yet, a mysterious magic continues to draw them to him. But why? It's up to Gwyn and Nia to solve the myst ...
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A thorough and intelligently summarized history of the Soviet Union, from the socio-political origins for the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 to the near end of Mikhail Gorbachev's government, immediately prior to the downfall of "real communism" and ...
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An angry father sets out to get revenge for the death of his daughter in a toxic waste accident. ...
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Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. The lover, Valmont, bets that he can seduce her, even though she is an honorable woman. If he wins, he can have his lover to do as he wil ...
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How did ancient Egyptians build the Great Pyramid at Giza, joining two million blocks of heavy stone with amazing precision? Who were the leaders who built these enormous structures, and what did these tombs signify? Host David Macaulay explores the histo ...
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On his ninth birthday, young Gwyn (Osian Roberts), who lives on a remote hill farm in Wales, receives five strange gifts from his grandmother (Siân Phillips): a piece of seaweed, a yellow scarf, a tin whistle, a metal brooch and a small broken horse. Gwyn ...
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The army of the Marauders, led by King Terak and the witch Charal, attack the Ewoks village, killing Cindel's family. Cindel and the Ewok Wicket escape and meet Teek in the forest, a naughty and very fast animal. Teek takes them to a house in which an old ...
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In Victorian England, two grave robbers supply a wealthy doctor with bodies to research anatomy on, but greed causes them to look for a more simple way to get the job done. ...
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In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert ...
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Wealthy Alexander Moore and working-class Jerry Crowe are childhood friends and in 1914 find themselves in the same Army unit - Alex as an officer and Jerry as a private. They still remain close, however, until Jerry is court-martialed for desertion, and A ...
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To win the right to marry his love, the beautiful princess Andromeda, and fulfil his destiny, half-God-half-mortal Perseus must complete various tasks including taming Pegasus, capturing Medusa's head and battling the feared Kraken. ...
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Murder victims are being found with the hearts cut out. A police detective is assigned to find and stop the killer. Originally an episode of British horror anthology TV series, Hammer House of Horror, that later received a feature release in the United Sta ...
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A ballet dancer struggles with his homosexuality and the increasing allure of a young ballerina who seeks to draw him away from his domineering lover. ...
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Captain Shotover, a retired seafarer, is reluctantly hosting a weekend house party for his two daughters and their bohemian friends. As they indulge in dangerous flirtations, will anyone notice their drift to destruction? ...
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1889: young Bernard Shaw falls under the spell of actress Janet Achurch. An important and highly charged relationship develops. ...
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Lee Remick stars as Jennie Jerome, born in the United States in 1845, who eventually became Lady Randolph Churchill, and gave birth to Sir Winston Churchill in this seven-part, seven-hour biographical mini-series. ...
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The delightful if peculiar story of a day in the life of a small, Welsh fishing village called "Llareggub" in which we meet a host of curious characters (and ghosts) through the 'eyes' of Blind Captain Cat. ...
Watch NowThe title character is a married provincial schoolmaster and a notorious philanderer. He is a russian Don Juan except that he himself doesn't seek to seduce; the women around him simply find him irresistibly attractive, and he is only too happy to go along ...
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Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at a forgotten mission station near the mouth of the Orinoco, and begins to plot his vengeance. He wishes to ...
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Academy Award-honoree Peter O'Toole stars in this musical classic about a prim English schoolmaster who learns to show his compassion through the help of an outgoing showgirl. O'Toole, who received his fourth Oscar-nomination for this performance, is joine ...
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Swinging London in the 1960's. Deals with the affection of a middle-aged man for a very young woman, resulting in a mutually parasitic relationship. ...
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A two-hander, set in a fictional Northern city, featuring Keith Barron as a taxi driver and Sian Phillips as the customer he takes to a strip club in the city. ...
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The first English broadcast of Eh, Joe? which aired on BBC2 on July 4th, 1966 with Jack MacGowran, for whom the play was specifically written, playing Joe and Siân Phillips as Voice. Directed by Alan Gibson with Beckett in attendance. ...
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In Dublin circa 1911, John Cassidy (Rod Taylor), an impoverished idealist, whose ambitions are restricted by the demands of looking after his family, journeys through the social injustices of Dublin life, involving himself with the rowdy tramway-men strike ...
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Thomas Becket, Henry II's longtime advisor, finds his friendship with the debauched king corroding when he is unwillingly appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to gain absolute loyalty from the Church. ...
Watch NowThe third act of George Bernard Shaw's philosophical comedy Man and Superman. This dream episode depicts a lively debate between Don Juan, the Devil, Juan's former lover Dona Ana, and her father, the commander, who was murdered by Don Juan in a duel while ...
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The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied ...
Watch NowA community is sleeping. If you listen closely, you can hear their dreams. The retired sea captain yearning for his lost love. The landlady living in terror of her guests. A father who can no longer access his memories. A son in search of redemption. ...
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