Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! (2006)

Directed by

Andy De Emmony

Genre

LGBT-related television series

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

1h 19m

Rating

6.3 of 10 from 30 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This BBC television play tells the story of the British comic actor Kenneth Williams using his own diary entries. It focuses on his private life and struggles behind his public persona as a comedian.

intimatepoignantcharacter-drivenbittersweetemotionalreflectiverestrainedtragicomic

What happens

Kenneth Williams: Fantabulosa! is a 2006 BBC Four television play starring Michael Sheen as the British comic actor Kenneth Williams, based on Williams' own diaries. Cheryl Campbell plays Williams's mother, Lou. Michael Sheen performed extensive research for the role, watching archive footage and reading books. He also followed the cabbage soup diet to lose 2.5 stone (35 lb; 16 kg) to play Williams. Viewing figures were 860,000 for its original airing, including timeshift, making it by far the most popular BBC Four broadcast of March 2006. Its repeat showing on 17 March 2006 garnered another 252,000 viewers. Sheen's performance won a Royal Television Society Award for Best Male Actor, and the play also won two BAFTA nominations (best single play and best actor, Michael Sheen). It was released on DVD as Fantabulosa! – The Kenneth Williams Story in October 2009, and has been rebroadcast several times in the UK since its original airing. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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