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The Best Episodes of imagine…

Every episode of imagine… ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of imagine…!

Binge this in 9d 21h•Peaking at 8.0/10

The biggest names from the world of art, film, music, literature and dance. Alan Yentob gets close up with those shaping today's cultural world.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    imagine… Season 16 Episode 2 - Dame Shirley Bassey: The Girl From Tiger Bay
    8.0/10(1 votes)

    #1 - Dame Shirley Bassey: The Girl From Tiger Bay

    S16:E2

    Alan Yentob gains an insight into the creative world of Dame Shirley Bassey in a programme first shown in 2009. After a triumphant Glastonbury appearance and a major illness at the age of 72, Dame Shirley tentatively re-enters the ring to confront her life in song. Some of the best contemporary songwriters, including Gary Barlow, the Pet Shop Boys, Manic Street Preachers, Rufus Wainwright, Richard Hawley and KT Tunstall, along with James Bond composer John Barry and lyricist Don Black, have interpreted her life through song for an album produced by David Arnold. The songs frame and explore the myth of Shirley Bassey, the girl from Tiger Bay, and the voice and the desire are not found wanting. A backstory profiling Shirley, complete with archive of her greatest performances, tells the story of what makes her the living legend that she is today.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. imagine… Season 1 Episode 1 - The Saatchi Phenomenon
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #2 - The Saatchi Phenomenon

    S1:E1

    Alan Yentob presents a new seven-part series looking at the power and effect of the arts and their main protagonists. The elusive and intriguing Charles Saatchi has been hugely instrumental in shaping contemporary British art. As he launches his new gallery in London's former County Hall, this behind-the-scenes look reveals Saatchi's hands-on involvement in the collection's presentation, helped by partner Nigella Lawson.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. imagine… Season 1 Episode 2 - Barbara Hepworth: Shapes Out of Feelings
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #3 - Barbara Hepworth: Shapes Out of Feelings

    S1:E2

    A profile of Barbara Hepworth, the world's first internationally celebrated woman sculptor. Born in Yorkshire in 1903, she had to fight to establish herself in a world dominated by men, and could still wield a chisel in her seventies.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. imagine… Season 1 Episode 3 - The Hip Hop Generation
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #4 - The Hip Hop Generation

    S1:E3

    More than just a musical genre, hip-hop has become a global youth culture. But why does the voice of young black America resonate equally with British teenagers from city high-rises and suburban semis? Alan Yentob embarks on a journey of discovery, encountering both young UK rappers and big US stars.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. imagine… Season 1 Episode 4 - Stella's Story
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - Stella's Story

    S1:E4

    Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss and Vogue's Anna Wintour contribute to the tale of Stella McCartney's rise from student at St Martins to her big break into the fashion elite. Footage shot by McCartney and dating back to 1985, alongside interviews and archive material, help paint this portrait of the designer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. imagine… Season 1 Episode 5 - Carlos Acosta: The Reluctant Ballet Dancer
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Carlos Acosta: The Reluctant Ballet Dancer

    S1:E5

    Alan Yentob tells the inspirational story of Carlos Acosta, the gifted dancer who made the leap from the backstreets of Havana to become the first black principal dancer at the Royal Ballet. The film follows Acosta over six months as he embarks on the biggest challenge of his life - producing and choreographing his own show based on his upbringing in Cuba.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of imagine…

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  7. imagine… Season 1 Episode 6 - The Potrait of Omai
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - The Potrait of Omai

    S1:E6

    Alan Yentob tells the story of Joshua Reynolds’ portrait of Britain’s first non-white celebrity, Omai, which the Tate Gallery is fighting to keep in Britain. One of the artist’s greatest works, and the first ever grand portrait of a non-white subject, the picture captures the image of a man who became an overnight sensation in 18th-century London after being plucked from obscurity in Tahiti.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. imagine… Season 1 Episode 7 - Sir John Mortimer: Owning Up at 80
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Sir John Mortimer: Owning Up at 80

    S1:E7

    In the year that the barrister turned bestselling author turns 80, Alan Yentob talks to family and friends about the man widely regarded as a passionate political campaigner, wit, bon viveur and legendary lothario.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. imagine… Season 2 Episode 1 - The Voice of Bryn Terfel
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - The Voice of Bryn Terfel

    S2:E1

    The internationally acclaimed Welsh bass baritone talks to Alan Yentob as the arts strand returns for a new, six-part run. As well as learning more about the technical aspects of Terfel's voice, Yentob watches him perform at the opera - but is he prepared to duet with the maestro?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. imagine… Season 2 Episode 2 - A Very Funny Business
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - A Very Funny Business

    S2:E2

    A look at the process of remaking hit British sitcoms into mediocre US sitcoms.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. imagine… Season 2 Episode 3 - Entertaining Mr Soane
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Entertaining Mr Soane

    S2:E3

    Born in 1753, Sir John Soane was the first great innovator of British architecture. Though only one of his creations remains intact, his influence resonates to this day. Alan Yentob’s arts strand continues with this drama-documentary - starring Corin Redgrave as Soane and Sam West as his student Wightwick - which tells the remarkable story of Soane's life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. imagine… Season 2 Episode 4 - The World According to Parr
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - The World According to Parr

    S2:E4

    Martin Parr is widely considered to be the most influential photographer of his generation. His work portrays the British way of life in all its idiosyncratic detail - Women’s Institutes, bird-watching, and fish and chips - iconic images that make up a retrospective exhibition currently on a world tour. Alan Yentob takes Parr back to his suburban past to reveal the root of his inspiration.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. imagine… Season 2 Episode 5 - From Pencils to Pixels
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - From Pencils to Pixels

    S2:E5

    The success of computer-created films such as Finding Nemo and Shrek has led to another “Golden Age” of animation. But does it spell the end for pencil-drawn animation? Toy Story’s John Lasseter and Wallace and Gromit creator Nick Park are among those voicing their opinions.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. imagine… Season 2 Episode 6 - An A-Z of the OED
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - An A-Z of the OED

    S2:E6

    From the height of the British Empire right up to the digital age, Alan Yentob investigates the bizarre history of the Oxford English Dictionary, helped by poet Benjamin Zephaniah and author Julian Barnes.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. imagine… Season 3 Episode 1 - The Mysterious Mr Hopper
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - The Mysterious Mr Hopper

    S3:E1

    The mid 20th-century realist Edward Hopper’s enigmatic depictions of everyday Americana are celebrated for their ambivalence, dealing in not only the prosaic but also existentialist themes of loneliness and alienation - yet despite their popularity, surprisingly little is known about the artist's private life. For the first in a new run of the arts documentary strand, Alan Yentob travels to America to meet biographer Gail Levin and explore his love of cinema, the landscape of Cape Cod, and his complex relationship with wife and muse Jo.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. imagine… Season 3 Episode 2 - Sitting for Lucian Freud
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Sitting for Lucian Freud

    S3:E2

    Now in his 80s, British artist Lucian Freud has always been at pains to preserve his privacy. Reasoning that the next best thing to interviewing the artist would be to talk to those with whom he has isolated himself day and night, director Jake Auerbach spent two years filming the often famous subjects of Freud's portraits - and gained an intimate insight into one of Britain's greatest living painters.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. imagine… Season 3 Episode 3 - Saint John Coltrane
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Saint John Coltrane

    S3:E3

    Forty years on from the release of the landmark album A Love Supreme, Alan Yentob charts the life of hugely influential jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Lol Lovett’s film looks at how his improvisational technique impacted not only on jazz but also on other art forms - his innovations have been felt in performance art and even in contemporary dance music - and shows how his profound spirituality entered into every area of his life and work.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. imagine… Season 3 Episode 4 - Dirty But Clean Pierre
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Dirty But Clean Pierre

    S3:E4

    With Vernon God Little, his 2003 Booker Prize-winning debut novel, writer and self-confessed conman DBC Pierre, aka Australian-born Peter Finlay, became the most controversial character to win the award. Alan Yentob joins the enigmatic novelist on a road trip across Texas and Mexico, exploring locations central to the book and the house where Pierre grew up, in a bid to find out the truth behind the bizarre stories of serial mendacity and drug addiction.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. imagine… Season 3 Episode 5 - Unsuitable for Children?
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Unsuitable for Children?

    S3:E5

    Is modern children's fiction a dangerously influential portrayal of a degraded culture or an instruction manual for life in the 21st century Along with contributions from authors including Salman Rushdie, Alan Yentob analyses the aptness of material that covers sex, drug taking, racial murder and the death of God.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. imagine… Season 3 Episode 6 - The Smoking Diaries
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - The Smoking Diaries

    S3:E6

    Playwright and author Simon Gray 's recent autobiography offers a turbulent mixture of memoir and anecdote and charts his addictions to smoking and alcohol. To mark its publication and the opening of his latest play The Old Masters, Alan Yentob presents a rare insight into the 50-year career of one of Britain's foremost dramatists.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. imagine… Season 4 Episode 1 - Arthur Miller - Finishing the Picture
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Arthur Miller - Finishing the Picture

    S4:E1

    The American playwright’s Death of a Salesman and The Crucible were hailed as classics. But his arraignment during the 1950s communist witch-hunts and his marriage to Marilyn Monroe also made headline news. The arts series returns with Miller, now 89, talking to Alan Yentob about his life and career, and also about his latest play, which documents the making of Monroe's last film.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. imagine… Season 4 Episode 2 - Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson’s Smile
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson’s Smile

    S4:E2

    In 1966 Brian Wilson, the creative hub of the Beach Boys, embarked on an ambitious project - an attempt to record the greatest pop album ever. Instead, Wilson descended into a breakdown that lasted for over 30 years. Now, with the record Smile finally on release, the troubled genius talks about the origins of the madness and majesty in his music.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. imagine… Season 4 Episode 3 - Bruce Nauman: the Godfather of Modem Art
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Bruce Nauman: the Godfather of Modem Art

    S4:E3

    A profile of the US contemporary artist whose sound installation is currently transforming the vast space of Tate Modern's Turbine Hall. The normally publicity-shy Nauman talks in detail about his oeuvre, while fellow artists Damien Hirst, Douglas Gordon and Tony Oursler offer their opinions of his work.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. imagine… Season 4 Episode 4 - Brando
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Brando

    S4:E4

    The brooding, raw and groundbreaking performances Marlon Brando gave in such films as A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront and The Godfather gave the actor an iconic status, despite his lifelong disdain for acting. Alan Yentob talks to Martin Scorsese , Francis Ford Coppola and Bernardo Bertolucci - as well as the Adler family of New York, with whom he was long associated - to piece together a portrait of a highly complex man.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. imagine… Season 4 Episode 5 - Tony Pappano - a Year at the Opera
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Tony Pappano - a Year at the Opera

    S4:E5

    Will the staging of Wagner’s Ring Cycle provide a fitting climax to Antonio Pappano’s critically acclaimed first year as music director of the Royal Opera House? Alan Yentob follows the Italian conductor as he works on the opera and his many other projects, and charts Pappano’s distinguished musical career.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Dame Shirley Bassey: The Girl From Tiger Bay" is the best rated episode of "imagine…". It scored 8/10 based on 1 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/24/2009. This episode scored 8.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Saatchi Phenomenon".