0:00:00 > 0:00:06This programme contains very strong language
0:00:06 > 0:00:12This programme contains some scenes of a sexual nature
0:00:26 > 0:00:29MUSIC: "First Day Of School" - Philip Glass
0:00:59 > 0:01:03'People have always trusted me with their secrets.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06'But who do I trust with mine?'
0:01:07 > 0:01:09'You.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10'Only you.'
0:01:41 > 0:01:44'The first day of a new term.'
0:01:46 > 0:01:49'Here come the local pubescent proles.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52'The future plumbers and shop assistants
0:01:52 > 0:01:55'and doubtless the odd terrorist, too.'
0:01:58 > 0:02:02'In the old days, we confiscated cigarettes and wank mags,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06'now it's knives and crack cocaine.'
0:02:07 > 0:02:10'And they call it progress.'
0:02:10 > 0:02:13HUBBUB
0:02:19 > 0:02:241517, Martin Luther nails his 95 points to a church door
0:02:24 > 0:02:28in Wittenberg. BELL SOUNDS
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Before we begin, for those of you who haven't delivered your reports,
0:02:46 > 0:02:50please lob in my general direction. Thank you, Bill. Thank you, Marilyn.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52- Thank you, John. Thank you. - DOOR OPENS
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Ah, has everyone met our new art teacher? Sheba Hart.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59- Hello.- I've asked Sheba to sit in on this meeting.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03As you all know, I regard the arts as absolutely essential
0:03:03 > 0:03:07to our policy of reform through nurture. Thank you, Chris.
0:03:07 > 0:03:11Very good. Thank you, Sue! I say, that's a big one, isn't it?
0:03:11 > 0:03:15- I'll be up till the crack of dawn! - LAUGHS
0:03:15 > 0:03:18Anyone else not handed in their homework?
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Thank you. Lovely.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26Barbara?
0:03:33 > 0:03:38This is your report... on the history department?
0:03:38 > 0:03:39On its entire workings
0:03:39 > 0:03:41and your general thoughts for its future development?
0:03:41 > 0:03:45You'll find it's quite thorough, headmaster.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49"The history department functions much as one would expect
0:03:49 > 0:03:51"for a school of this stature and intake.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55"Examination results have been consistent for 30 years,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57"below the national average
0:03:57 > 0:04:00"but above the level of catastrophe.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03"Recommendation - no change necessary."
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Took me most of the summer to write it(!)
0:04:11 > 0:04:15'Hard to read the wispy novice.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18'Is she a sphinx or simply stupid?'
0:04:18 > 0:04:22All right, off you go, please, give me the phone.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25'Artfully dishevelled today.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28'The tweedy tramp coat is an abhorrence,
0:04:28 > 0:04:31'it seems to say, "I'm just like you."
0:04:31 > 0:04:33'But, clearly, she's not.'
0:04:34 > 0:04:37'A fey person, I suspect.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39'Fey.'
0:04:40 > 0:04:43FOOTBALLERS CALL TO EACH OTHER
0:04:49 > 0:04:50Put your shirt on!
0:04:50 > 0:04:54- I got the winner, Miss. - Glory be(!) Shirt!
0:04:57 > 0:05:01'She has certainly rippled the waters of our stagnant pond.
0:05:01 > 0:05:07'They flock to her. Even limp little Brian had a go.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10- 'Oh, the horror.' - Hiya!
0:05:10 > 0:05:14- Oh, hello.- That's a lovely blouse. - What?! Oh!
0:05:14 > 0:05:20'And Fatty Hodge has pounced on her. A dubious double act -
0:05:20 > 0:05:23'the blonde and the pig in knickers.'
0:05:23 > 0:05:26I just passed the art studio, it's like Lord Of The Flies.
0:05:26 > 0:05:27Have they gone for her?
0:05:27 > 0:05:30They tore her posters down. There's a paint fight.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33They're chanting "Get your tits out for the lads."
0:05:33 > 0:05:35- Girls, too. It's carnage. - How was madam?
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Completely lost it.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40- "Stop it, you fucking bastards!" - You should have stepped in.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43You don't want to patronise the little lady. She'll be OK.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47- Next year, she'll be headmistress. - Christ, would you shut up!
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Sorry, sorry.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Char anyone? Babs?
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Milk, no sugar.
0:05:54 > 0:05:57- Sweet enough? - Evidently.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- SNIGGERS - Didn't her father invent inflation?
0:06:00 > 0:06:04- You what?- Wasn't he that academic, Donald...whatsit?
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Economics bloke - invented the word "inflation"?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Oh yeah, I know who you mean.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13I think you'll find that Mrs Hart's father was Professor Ronald Taylor.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16He didn't invent inflation.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21He devised a theory about inflation and consumer expectation.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31SHOUTING ABOVE THE HUBBUB
0:06:36 > 0:06:38PUPILS CHANT: Fight! Fight! Fight!
0:06:38 > 0:06:39Stop it immediately!
0:06:39 > 0:06:42CHANTING CONTINUES
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Now, stop it!
0:06:48 > 0:06:50And get off him!
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Enough!
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Outside! Now!
0:07:03 > 0:07:05- You're a wanker.- Fuck off!
0:07:05 > 0:07:08Absolute silence! Absolute!
0:07:13 > 0:07:16Why were they fighting, Mrs Hart?
0:07:16 > 0:07:18The motive was unclear.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Davis, I know, you're a little thug.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- Who might you be? - Steven Connolly, Miss.- What?
0:07:23 > 0:07:24- Steven Connolly, Miss.- Year?
0:07:24 > 0:07:29- Year 10, Miss. - You're the naked footballer.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Why were you fighting? It's a perfectly simple question.
0:07:33 > 0:07:34Dunno, Miss.
0:07:34 > 0:07:36You don't know? One minute you're an inert lump,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39the next you're trying to castrate a fellow pupil.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- Nothing occurred between these two states?- No, Miss.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46IMITATES HIS IRISH ACCENT: Don't play the hero with me, Connolly.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Yes! Brain, mouth, speak.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54He was saying stuff about Miss. It was bang out of order.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58- What did you say? - I never said nothing, Miss.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02"I didn't say ANYTHING". What did you say? Come on!
0:08:02 > 0:08:05He said she's a tart. He said he gave her one up the arse.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Do you, indeed? Odious boy. Apologise at once.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13- Sorry, Miss. - Deputy head in the morning.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Get back inside, both of you.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Little towers of testosterone, you'll soon get used to them.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26Thank you so much.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31I better... I'm sorry we haven't met properly, have we? I'm Sheba Hart.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36Barbara Covett. SHEBA LAUGHS NERVOUSLY
0:08:36 > 0:08:41'Her voice is pure, as if her mouth were empty and clean.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44'As if she'd never had a filling.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47'The complexion of a white peach.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49'One can almost see her veins.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54'Her trendy politics are similarly transparent.'
0:08:54 > 0:08:57We serve them best if we teach them to read, write and add.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00'They don't need to know about the basket weavers of Chile.'
0:09:00 > 0:09:03- Barbara's keen on the basics.- But when you started, didn't you want
0:09:03 > 0:09:06to give them a REAL education, to help them overcome
0:09:06 > 0:09:09the poverty of their backgrounds.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10Yes, of course.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14But one soon learns that teaching is crowd control.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16Come here!
0:09:16 > 0:09:19We're a branch of the social services.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22- Put that back, you!- Get off!
0:09:24 > 0:09:28Console yourself with the gems, that's when it's satisfying.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Then you can make a real difference.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32The rest is just cattle prod and pray.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37'I can see why others are beguiled by her.'
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Oh, hello.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42'But I wonder if she possesses the requisite heft.'
0:09:42 > 0:09:46- Do you fancy a coffee?- Yeah. - Sheba!
0:09:46 > 0:09:49- RINGTONE - Sorry, I...
0:09:49 > 0:09:50- Sheba! - Year 11s, they're a nightmare.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- Sue! Do you want to join us for a quick coffee?- Great!
0:09:53 > 0:10:00- I've got a bit of an announcement. - Your leaving St George's?- No.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Oh, you're pregnant?
0:10:05 > 0:10:10That's fantastic! Oh, congratulations!
0:10:10 > 0:10:14- When are you due?- June 7th. - A summer baby, how lovely.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18I can't believe that nobody's noticed. I'm 14 weeks!
0:10:18 > 0:10:21- Didn't you see how chunky I'm getting?- Didn't like to say.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- Where are you having it? - Homerton. Really nice there.
0:10:24 > 0:10:30Lovely, friendly nurses. I'm going to find out at the next scan...
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Do you want to come to lunch on Sunday?
0:10:34 > 0:10:38- Where? - To mine, to our house.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44- Won't you be with the family? - Oh yes, but you're very welcome.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47It's no big deal, I'll just do a lasagne or something.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50I adore lasagne!
0:10:50 > 0:10:52'Bliss!
0:10:52 > 0:10:57'A merry flag on the Arctic wilderness of my calendar.
0:10:57 > 0:11:04'One must make an effort when one receives an invitation.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06'The art of it is seeming not to.'
0:11:11 > 0:11:15'Lasagne tends to disagree with my bowels.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18'I'll ask for a small portion.'
0:11:42 > 0:11:47- Oh, I think I've got the wrong house. - No, you're bang on.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48I'm Richard, Come in.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50Sorry, I thought, um...
0:11:50 > 0:11:54That I'd be 20 years younger and twice as handsome!
0:11:54 > 0:11:56- Bash! - The kitchen's on fire!
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Sorry if you were out there long, the bell's knackered.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- Hi, Barbara. - Hello!
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Oh, what a splendid room.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Er, what can I get you? We're semi-pro drinkers here! You name it.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12I would like a dry sherry, please.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16Erm, I think we might have some apricot brandy knocking around.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19- Erm, dry white wine. - Done. Have a seat.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31- You must be Polly. I'm Barbara. - Hi, Barbara.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39- Are you going somewhere? - Excuse me?
0:12:39 > 0:12:45- You're all poshed up. - Oh, er, I have an appointment.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47Er, later. Er, in town.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54- Have you always lived here? - Mum inherited it.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58- It's her little joke.- I only married her for the property. Morning(!)
0:13:00 > 0:13:05- Did Pete go? He was welcome to stay. - He's not really into lunch.
0:13:07 > 0:13:11- Cheers. - Mmm.
0:13:11 > 0:13:15- Are you interested in wine? - Only the drinking part. Are you?
0:13:15 > 0:13:19Well, I spent a portion of the summer on the Amalfi coast...
0:13:19 > 0:13:21- SHOUTING - Here's trouble.
0:13:21 > 0:13:26- ..and I...- No-no-no. Easy! Easy! - LAUGHTER
0:13:26 > 0:13:32'I'd anticipated a suave, young lawyer and two perfect poppets.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34'Not so.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37'She's married some crumbling patriarch.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38'He's nearly as old as me.
0:13:38 > 0:13:43'And then there's the daughter, the pocket princess.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46'And finally, a somewhat tiresome court jester.'
0:13:46 > 0:13:48Ah, lovely, thank you.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- I'm going to be a wizard. - Oh, is that when you're grown up?
0:13:55 > 0:13:58No, he's just been cast in his school play.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00- Oh!- I'm going to wear a cape!
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Amongst next month's cultural highlights,
0:14:03 > 0:14:08I greatly look forward to Benjamin Hart in the key role of the wizard!
0:14:08 > 0:14:11Indeed, I find myself beside myself with anticipation.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13'A rogue image swam through me.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17'Hubby's pruny, old mouth pursed at Sheba's breast.'
0:14:17 > 0:14:21MUSIC: "Funky Kingston" - Toots And The Maytals
0:14:24 > 0:14:27'After lunch, a rather mortifying family tradition.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31'They do things differently in bourgeois Bohemia.'
0:14:31 > 0:14:33# Give it to me
0:14:33 > 0:14:37# I want you to believe every word I say
0:14:37 > 0:14:41# I want you to believe everything I do
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Oh! Thank you.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47# And I got to find some way to make it
0:14:47 > 0:14:49# Music is what I've got baby
0:14:49 > 0:14:52- Come on, come on.- No!
0:14:52 > 0:14:54# Shake it, shake it, baby
0:14:54 > 0:14:57# Oh yeah Yeah
0:14:57 > 0:14:59#Na na na
0:14:59 > 0:15:03- # Na na na na... - MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:15:03 > 0:15:06# Na na na na Oh yeah
0:15:06 > 0:15:12# Na na na Na-na na na na na
0:15:14 > 0:15:18# Come on Funky, funky, funky #
0:15:18 > 0:15:20- Ready? - Watch out!
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Yes!
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Took me away for our anniversary. It was years ago.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29- When we came back, it was here.- Ah! - As if by magic.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31Ah!
0:15:31 > 0:15:35It was supposed to be my studio.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38It's more of a refuge, really.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40A room of one's own.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45LAUGHS Is this you?
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Mmm. It was.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Oh! I love these. Such vibrant colours.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Take one. Take two. Have the lot, actually.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- I couldn't possibly. - Honestly, no one else wants them.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04I'll treasure them.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09Must be exhausting, running a family and teaching as well.
0:16:09 > 0:16:12I can't wait for term to end.
0:16:12 > 0:16:16Roll on Christmas and a month of sod all.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23I shouldn't have kidded myself I could teach.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28It's just that I spent the last ten years looking after Ben,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31and I was desperate to get out and do something,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and finally we get him into this great local school
0:16:34 > 0:16:35and I am free to work and...
0:16:35 > 0:16:40- You're going to be a terrific teacher.- Thanks.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45But I'm bloody hopeless and everyone knows it.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49Children are feral. Don't let them sense your anxiety.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53How do you cope?
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Oh, I'm just a battleaxe.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Not popular but they respect me.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Well, you're popular with me.
0:17:00 > 0:17:04It's strange, but I can talk to you.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06'She spoke of her vile mother.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10'Her grief over the death of her father.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14'The glory days when Richard scooped her up
0:17:14 > 0:17:16'and then jettisoned wife and children
0:17:16 > 0:17:20'for what she called "a non-stop fuckfest."
0:17:20 > 0:17:23'It's a peculiar trait of the privileged -
0:17:23 > 0:17:26'immediate incautious intimacy.
0:17:26 > 0:17:31'But Sheba went well beyond the tendencies of her class.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34'She was utterly candid.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38'A novice, confessing to the mother superior.'
0:17:38 > 0:17:43Do you know, marriage and kids, I mean it's wonderful, but...
0:17:43 > 0:17:46..it doesn't give you meaning.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51It gives you an imperative, but it doesn't help you...
0:17:51 > 0:17:55My father always used to say, you know, on the Tube, "Mind the gap!"
0:17:55 > 0:17:56Um...
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Um, I don't know, it's just...
0:18:00 > 0:18:06the distance between life as you dream it...
0:18:06 > 0:18:08and life as it is.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14I know exactly what you mean.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25'A gold-star day.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28'I always knew we'd be friends.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32'Our mutual reserve inhibited us, but now it is manifest.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36'A spiritual recognition.'
0:18:36 > 0:18:39At the end of this year, many of you will enjoy Christmas...
0:18:39 > 0:18:42' "S" and I share the ability
0:18:42 > 0:18:46'to see through the quotidian awfulness of things.'
0:18:49 > 0:18:53'In a different, better age, we would be ladies of leisure,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56'lunching together, visiting galleries, travelling,
0:18:57 > 0:19:02'putting the world to rights. We would be...companions.'
0:19:09 > 0:19:12# Christ by highest Heaven adored
0:19:12 > 0:19:16# Christ the everlasting Lord
0:19:16 > 0:19:18# Late in time behold him come
0:19:18 > 0:19:22# Offspring off the virgin's womb...
0:19:22 > 0:19:26It's taken. I'm saving it for Sheba. Sorry.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29# ..the incarnate Deity
0:19:29 > 0:19:32# As man with man to dwell
0:19:32 > 0:19:35# Jesus, Emmanuel
0:19:35 > 0:19:38# Hark the herald angels sing
0:19:38 > 0:19:39# Glory to... #
0:19:39 > 0:19:43MUSIC: "Discovery" - Philip Glass
0:19:43 > 0:19:46HE WHISPERS
0:20:33 > 0:20:35ENTHUSIASTIC APPLAUSE
0:20:36 > 0:20:39Very good! Well done!
0:20:55 > 0:20:58CHILDREN CHANT: # Hark the herald angels sing
0:20:58 > 0:21:01# Glory to the newborn King
0:21:01 > 0:21:03# Hark the herald angels sing
0:21:03 > 0:21:06# Glory to the newborn King
0:21:06 > 0:21:08# Hark the herald angels sing
0:21:08 > 0:21:12# Glory to the newborn King. #
0:21:34 > 0:21:37BIRDSONG
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Darling, put it in the car.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- Pop it in the car, sweetheart. - PHONE RINGS
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Hello!
0:21:49 > 0:21:53I need to speak to you about Steven Connolly.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56- Who? - Let's not, shall we?
0:21:56 > 0:22:01Doubtless you're aware you committed a criminal offence.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03I'll be with you at five.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09(Let's go to the pub, OK?)
0:22:12 > 0:22:13When - when will you tell them?
0:22:13 > 0:22:19I need to know the circumstances. You must inform me of everything.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Actually, you were there when I first saw him.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28I think you gave him a telling off.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31I gave him a slight ticking off.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34He dedicated his goal to me.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37It amused me. Nothing more.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43A few days later, he came to see me.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47- Miss, would you look at me drawings, please.- I'll look at them in class.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- You do art, don't you? - I'm not allowed, I'm special needs,
0:22:51 > 0:22:54I've got to do extra reading instead.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Did you do these at home?
0:23:04 > 0:23:06These are good.
0:23:08 > 0:23:09You can draw.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16If we pull strings for one child, the whole system will unravel.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19But he's talented! He's actually found something he believes in.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21They're all talented.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25You found your "gem", as Sue would say.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29I said that I would teach him after school, but only if he felt like it.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33- It's the job, isn't it? - Within specified hours and a specified curriculum.
0:23:33 > 0:23:38Barbara, he came every day for two weeks.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Yes, I was flattered.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45And more than that, I was excited to find someone who wanted to learn.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49He imagined a sort of helicopter 500 years ago.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51It does your brain in.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Surely must have suspected his motives?
0:23:55 > 0:23:59I sensed he had a little crush on me, but so what?
0:23:59 > 0:24:00It was innocent.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06- That's so much better. You've got that knuckle.- I've nailed it.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12- Do that again, Miss. - Don't be silly! Off you go.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15What are you having for tea, Miss?
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I don't know, I'll buy something on the way home.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21- Are you a good cook? - Not really.- You suck?
0:24:25 > 0:24:26Go home, Steven.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- Well, that's when you should have stopped it.- I did.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44I told him I wouldn't teach him any more.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47He refused to accept it, he just kept coming back.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50Miss!
0:24:52 > 0:25:00'It began to feel like our secret and secrets can be seductive.'
0:25:09 > 0:25:13- Do you wanna come for a walk? - Absolutely not.
0:25:13 > 0:25:17- I'm going home to my family, as should you.- Miss!
0:25:22 > 0:25:26My dad's got the sack. He's been taking it out on me.
0:25:26 > 0:25:27'His father had been hitting him,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30'he didn't want to tell his mum because she was ill.'
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Does your mother know?
0:25:33 > 0:25:34'Kidney disease.'
0:25:34 > 0:25:36It's taken months for an operation.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38'He was so vulnerable.'
0:25:38 > 0:25:41- If he does it again, you tell me.- Thanks, Miss.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47You're beautiful, Miss. You don't know how beautiful you are.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58I hadn't been pursued like this for years.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03I knew it was wrong and immoral and completely ridiculous,
0:26:03 > 0:26:09but, I don't know, I just allowed it to happen.
0:26:09 > 0:26:10The boy is 15!
0:26:12 > 0:26:16- But he's quite mature for his age. - "But" is not a helpful word here.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20This is going to sound sick.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25But something in me felt...entitled.
0:26:25 > 0:26:30I've been good all my adult life, I've been a decent wife,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33a dutiful mother, coping with Ben.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37This voice inside me kept saying, "Why shouldn't you be bad?"
0:26:37 > 0:26:41"Why shouldn't you transgress? You've earned the right."
0:26:41 > 0:26:45I said get out. The rest of you get on with your work, please.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49- HUBBUB THROUGHOUT - Hurry up!
0:26:56 > 0:26:58TELEVISION PLAYS
0:27:00 > 0:27:02BEN LAUGHS
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Sue phoned. OK if I meet her for a drink?
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Sure, I'll put bugalugs to bed.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37Evening, Miss.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Make yourself comfortable.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14It's incredibly important we keep this secret.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20- Does anyone know you're here? - No.
0:28:24 > 0:28:30Miss, I'm no genius. But I ain't a dickhead.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34I won't tell no one. You can trust me.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40We'd both get into terrible trouble.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54TRAIN RUMBLES BY
0:29:02 > 0:29:05It was easy.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10Like having another drink when you know you know you shouldn't.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Can I smoke, Miss?
0:29:15 > 0:29:20You can do what you want. Enough of this "Miss".
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Were you a model once?
0:29:32 > 0:29:36Well, you should've been. You're well fit.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40- Gosh, but don't I know it! - You're into The Streets?!
0:29:40 > 0:29:43Well, my daughter is.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47Is she the same age as me?
0:29:47 > 0:29:50None of your beeswax.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57Well, anyway, the point is, you're fit.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03- Well, so are you. - Do you reckon?
0:30:03 > 0:30:07My sister thinks I look like a bollock with measles.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12You've done my brain in.
0:30:12 > 0:30:14HE LAUGHS QUIETLY
0:30:20 > 0:30:22SHE SIGHS
0:30:40 > 0:30:42- Want to do it again? - SHE LAUGHS
0:30:44 > 0:30:46- What? - SHE LAUGHS
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Yes.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52I want to do it again. (I want to do it again.)
0:30:59 > 0:31:02The day we met,
0:31:02 > 0:31:04it had already begun?
0:31:05 > 0:31:07Yes.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Deputy head in the morning.
0:31:10 > 0:31:15Noble sentiment, Connolly, next time words, not fists.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Get inside, both of you.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20'And you had further relations that day?'
0:31:22 > 0:31:23We went to the art room.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26I'm glad I was such an aphrodisiac. I was trying to help you.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28You did.
0:31:28 > 0:31:32I'm incredibly grateful, you've been such a good friend.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36Not reciprocated, it seems.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43I desperately wanted to confess to you.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45But how could I?
0:31:45 > 0:31:51Barbara. It would have put you in an impossible situation.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55I so wish I had.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58You would have made me see sense.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03'And then I realised my fury had blinded me.
0:32:03 > 0:32:07'There was a magnificent opportunity here.'
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Can we go inside? I'm absolutely freezing.
0:32:12 > 0:32:13'With stealth,
0:32:13 > 0:32:20'I might secure the prize long-term - forever in my debt.
0:32:20 > 0:32:26'I could gain everything by doing nothing.'
0:32:28 > 0:32:30Look.
0:32:31 > 0:32:36I know you have to tell them, you know the head, the school.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39All I ask is that you wait till the New Year.
0:32:41 > 0:32:43Please, I'm begging you,
0:32:43 > 0:32:49- please let me have this Christmas with my family.- Oh, you poor thing.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51You got yourself into a state.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55I'm not going to report you.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59I want to help you, to support you through this.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06You're not...not going to tell?
0:33:08 > 0:33:12- You won't tell anyone? - Who would it benefit?
0:33:12 > 0:33:16Not you, or the boy, certainly not the school.
0:33:16 > 0:33:20No, this is a private matter and we must keep it so.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24- Yes. - SOBS
0:33:29 > 0:33:33- Maybe I should resign.- Oh no! That might alert suspicion.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36No, you must stay at school but the affair must end.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Your solemn promise.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45I can't help you if you don't promise.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48I promise.
0:33:50 > 0:33:54So you'll tell him straight after Christmas?
0:33:54 > 0:33:57- It's all for the best. - I know.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01Thank you SO much, you've been SO brilliant.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03You tell me when it's done.
0:34:08 > 0:34:09Oh! You never said.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Standard issue for spinsters. SHEBA LAUGHS
0:34:13 > 0:34:16She's been off her food, I've been worried about her.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19There's a terrific vet up the road, he was great with Ben's rabbit.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Got many people coming tomorrow?
0:34:22 > 0:34:27- Mmm. My lot, Richard's lot - including first wife.- Oh.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30- And your mother?- Oh yes.
0:34:30 > 0:34:35- Well, happy Christmas.- Yeah, you too, thank you so much.
0:34:36 > 0:34:37Courage, mon brave!
0:34:37 > 0:34:42'And bon voyage to her little leprechaun.'
0:34:44 > 0:34:48'Sheba and I share a deep understanding now.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55'No one can violate our magnificent complicity.'
0:34:55 > 0:34:59No, no, no. Wait till tomorrow! Stop!
0:34:59 > 0:35:02- THEY LAUGH - You've been gone ages.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06Barbara was...some school thing.
0:35:06 > 0:35:08How's his nibs?
0:35:08 > 0:35:11Still awake. He's madly excited. I said he could stay up for you.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14And Polly?
0:35:14 > 0:35:21Depressed. Er, Pete phoned, they had a row.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23And he's not coming tomorrow.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26You think it's bad news?
0:35:26 > 0:35:29Well, these older men can be very dodgy!
0:35:31 > 0:35:32LAUGHS
0:35:43 > 0:35:45KNOCK AT DOOR DOOR OPENS
0:35:46 > 0:35:48Did Daddy tell you?
0:35:50 > 0:35:55- SOBS - He's going to bin me. I know it.
0:35:55 > 0:36:00You're lovely darling, he's clever enough to appreciate it.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03I'm fat as fuck, Mum.
0:36:04 > 0:36:07He'll be back.
0:36:07 > 0:36:09- SOBS - I can't live without him.
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Oh.
0:36:13 > 0:36:17'Her fetish for the boy was simply her snobbery manifested.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19'He's working class and he likes art,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23'as if he were a monkey who'd just strolled out of the rainforest
0:36:23 > 0:36:26'and asked for a gin and tonic.'
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Have you heard from that friend of yours, Barbara?
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Bar, wakey, wakey!
0:36:38 > 0:36:41- Lorraine was asking if you'd heard from that nice friend of yours.- Who?
0:36:41 > 0:36:43Jennifer Dodd.
0:36:44 > 0:36:48Oh, she left the school.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51She's teaching in a primary at Stoke.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55There's a chap apparently, I heard they're engaged.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02- LOUD HUBBUB - But it's true, it would be insane.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06- Is the most ridiculous time for him to sell.- That's what I said.
0:37:06 > 0:37:10- ALL TALKING - ..you should give me a ring.
0:37:10 > 0:37:14It's absolute madness for him,. I am happy to speak to him...
0:37:14 > 0:37:18..a parent or something, I am nothing of the kind.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21Can we have gravy, darling?
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Why can't we just have it delivered?
0:37:25 > 0:37:28MOBILE PHONE BEEPS
0:37:31 > 0:37:34- With the market where it is... - SCREAMS PLAYFULLY
0:37:50 > 0:37:52This is what she's like. >
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Ever since Ronald died she's drifted inexorably. >
0:37:56 > 0:38:00You see her father was an exceptional man, exceptional.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03Bathsheba's a loner, I'm afraid.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06She's beautiful, thank God, and it got her through,
0:38:06 > 0:38:10but it's not quite the same as possessing substance.
0:38:18 > 0:38:20Happy Christmas.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23What are you doing here? Everyone's inside.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Aren't you going to open it?
0:38:30 > 0:38:34It's made of real fake gold!
0:38:36 > 0:38:38Thank you.
0:38:38 > 0:38:40What's up? I haven't heard from you.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46I can't see you any more.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Sorry.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53I just can't. It's over.
0:38:53 > 0:38:54Why?
0:38:54 > 0:38:58- RICHARD:- Bash! Bash!
0:38:58 > 0:39:03- She's not here! - DROPS BIN BAG
0:39:03 > 0:39:05DOOR SHUTS
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Was that your dad?
0:39:09 > 0:39:12No, it's an uncle.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16Do you wanna end it?
0:39:16 > 0:39:18Please don't look at me like that.
0:39:18 > 0:39:22- Have you gone off me?- No!
0:39:22 > 0:39:23You should go.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Please! Don't make...
0:39:26 > 0:39:28Just go.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53- POLLY LAUGHS - What colour are they?- Is it Pete?
0:40:05 > 0:40:08SHE SOBS
0:40:17 > 0:40:20'I long to phone "S", but it's late.'
0:40:22 > 0:40:27'Poor girl. All alone with her awful family.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31'Our lives are acutely similar in so many respects.'
0:40:32 > 0:40:34Sis!
0:40:37 > 0:40:42Writing the old diary? I can't imagine how you keep at it.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45- LAUGHS - I'd have nothing to say.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48- CAT MEWS - Ah!
0:40:51 > 0:40:56You know you're welcome whenever you want, not just once a year.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01It's just that I'm rather busy at the moment.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04Racy London life!
0:41:04 > 0:41:06I'm glad it's so full.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11I'm sorry about Jennifer, she was lovely.
0:41:15 > 0:41:20Is there anyone else? Someone else who's special?
0:41:20 > 0:41:26- I don't know what you mean. - I didn't mean to pry.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31SHEBA MOANS
0:41:45 > 0:41:48- Belated Christmas present. - Thank you.
0:41:52 > 0:41:56Oh my word! Asprey.
0:42:09 > 0:42:10How is she?
0:42:14 > 0:42:16You are the most wonderful friend.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34Any good?
0:42:36 > 0:42:38It's a masterpiece.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42Don't they teach you anything?
0:42:55 > 0:42:57I used to worship her.
0:43:06 > 0:43:08- Take it off. - What's it for?
0:43:08 > 0:43:13- Just take it off, please, erm, I'm still making it.- Yeah, but why?
0:43:15 > 0:43:18- I-it's for my son. - But he's 12, isn't he?
0:43:18 > 0:43:19He's got Down's syndrome.
0:43:24 > 0:43:26You never said.
0:43:29 > 0:43:30Sorry.
0:43:31 > 0:43:33Sorry.
0:43:45 > 0:43:46CAT RETCHES
0:43:46 > 0:43:48Oh!
0:43:48 > 0:43:50Oh!
0:43:50 > 0:43:56- I'm sure, she's had a very happy life.- Oh yes, she has. Thank you.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00We could make her feel more comfortable for the next few weeks,
0:44:00 > 0:44:04but it will be weeks rather than months.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06You've had a terrible shock.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Where's Richard? I don't want to disturb your weekend.
0:44:11 > 0:44:16- It's fine, everyone's out. - MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:44:18 > 0:44:21Can they treat her?
0:44:21 > 0:44:23He says it's just a matter of weeks.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27SHE SOBS She's only a pet.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31Oh no! I cried for weeks when our dog died. Weeks.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33One does get so attached.
0:44:44 > 0:44:49- I should leave you in peace. - Yeah.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01I like that top, it suits you.
0:45:01 > 0:45:04- Oh, thanks. - MOBILE BEEPS
0:45:07 > 0:45:12When I was at school, if one of us had had some bad news
0:45:12 > 0:45:16or was a bit down,
0:45:16 > 0:45:18we used to stroke each other.
0:45:18 > 0:45:23You know, someone would do one arm, and someone else the other.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28It's a wonderful sensation. Did you do that at your school?
0:45:28 > 0:45:31No.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34It's incredibly relaxing.
0:45:34 > 0:45:38For the giver and the receiver.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46- Close your eyes.- Oh!
0:45:46 > 0:45:48No really, it doesn't work if you don't.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28- (There's a good girl.) - I think that's enough.
0:46:28 > 0:46:33- Close your eyes.- Look, I really think that's enough, Barbara.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43There's someone in your garden!
0:46:43 > 0:46:44He came over the wall.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48It's probably the neighbour's boy - lost his football.
0:46:48 > 0:46:53- He's going into the summer house. Call the police!- It's the kid from next door, forget it.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:46:59 > 0:47:00"Where are you?"
0:47:00 > 0:47:04"I've been dreaming about your hot, sweet cunt all morning."
0:47:04 > 0:47:06"Hello."
0:47:07 > 0:47:09"Hello."
0:47:09 > 0:47:10Richard's on his way home.
0:47:10 > 0:47:16No, I can't. I can't. I'll call you. Barbara! Barbara! I'm sorry!
0:47:16 > 0:47:19I'm so sorry! Bar!
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Please, I tried, honestly. I just couldn't.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25I risked everything for you and in return you humiliate me.
0:47:25 > 0:47:30I didn't mean to upset you. I need your help more than ever. Don't go like this!
0:47:30 > 0:47:34- You promised to end it, why didn't you?- Because I...- What?
0:47:34 > 0:47:35You're in love?
0:47:35 > 0:47:39And the child, do you imagine he reciprocates your soppy feelings?
0:47:39 > 0:47:42I dare say he's fascinated by the neurotic
0:47:42 > 0:47:46compulsions of a middle-class lady with marital problems.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49- Bar!- There's nothing crueller than the adolescent boy. I know them.
0:47:49 > 0:47:54Once he's had his fill, he'll discard you like a rag. You're not young!
0:47:54 > 0:47:57I say this to help you, end it now.
0:47:58 > 0:48:03- Yes...yes, I'm thinking. - Don't think, do. Do, do, do, do!
0:48:03 > 0:48:06Or shall I just sit here doing my nails till your husband returns?
0:48:06 > 0:48:09- No, I'll do it. - What are you waiting for?
0:48:24 > 0:48:25RINGS DOORBELL
0:48:31 > 0:48:36Mr Connolly, I'm Mrs Hart - from St George's.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40Steven's not in trouble, I just need to talk to him about an art project.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44- Come in, come in.- Thank you. - He's just upstairs.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51It's very good of you to give him the extra lessons.
0:48:51 > 0:48:55It's the first on the left, it's probably best to knock!
0:49:03 > 0:49:04So that's your vicious father?
0:49:04 > 0:49:06You wanted a sob story, I gave it to you.
0:49:06 > 0:49:09- Made you feel like Bob Geldof. - You lied to me!
0:49:09 > 0:49:12Ooh, sorry, Miss! What? Would you prefer I lived in a shithole?
0:49:12 > 0:49:16- And your mother?- I think she's going to pull through(!)
0:49:16 > 0:49:19What do you want? What are you doing here?
0:49:22 > 0:49:24They're going to expel me now!
0:49:24 > 0:49:28- No, they won't. I'll get the blame if she tells.- As if she won't!
0:49:30 > 0:49:33- She likes me, she might not. - Likes you how? Like that?
0:49:33 > 0:49:35You're giving her one an' all?
0:49:35 > 0:49:37Why are you being so cruel?
0:49:37 > 0:49:39Why, Steven?
0:49:41 > 0:49:42I really like you.
0:49:42 > 0:49:46You're a nice person and you've been cool, and it's been great. OK?
0:49:46 > 0:49:51It was supposed to be fun, and now it's a serious thing.
0:49:53 > 0:49:55Whatever shit you're working out,
0:49:55 > 0:49:59you know, your husband, your kid, you.
0:49:59 > 0:50:04I don't know. I can't help you.
0:50:54 > 0:50:59'As my mother would have said, "The boy done her like a kipper." '
0:51:01 > 0:51:05'She has nowhere to turn but trusty, old Bar.'
0:51:12 > 0:51:16'She mopes and mourns for her pubescent paramour.'
0:51:18 > 0:51:22'But she knows my interventions have saved her life.'
0:51:24 > 0:51:26'And she is sweetly grateful.'
0:51:27 > 0:51:31'Her betrayal hurt me more than I dare show,
0:51:31 > 0:51:36'but I will forgive her, and heal myself in private.'
0:51:37 > 0:51:39'She's worth it, this one.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42'She's the one I've waited for.'
0:51:45 > 0:51:50'She's beginning to understand that her dalliance with Master Connolly
0:51:50 > 0:51:53'was a consequence of her dead marriage. It's a sham,
0:51:53 > 0:51:57'fuelled only by the memory of former glories.'
0:51:59 > 0:52:02'Whereas we are going through the fire,
0:52:02 > 0:52:07'forging our friendship with a stronger bond each day.'
0:52:08 > 0:52:14'In fact, we are now entering a delicate, new phase.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18'We are silently and stealthily
0:52:18 > 0:52:24'negotiating the terms of a life lived together.
0:52:24 > 0:52:30'Now, more than ever, we are bound by the secrets we share.'
0:52:32 > 0:52:35'I'm invited to drop in on them this summer,
0:52:35 > 0:52:38'at their house in the Dordogne.'
0:52:40 > 0:52:42'I might just do that.'
0:52:47 > 0:52:52I once sat here discussing Elgar for three hours.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54God, who with?
0:52:54 > 0:52:57Just a friend, Jennifer.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59This was our haunt.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04We were quite chummy for a while,
0:53:04 > 0:53:10- but, poor thing, she suffered from a terrible depression.- Oh.
0:53:10 > 0:53:14I tried to help but she rather unravelled.
0:53:14 > 0:53:19- She became alarmingly deluded. - Did she go to hospital?
0:53:19 > 0:53:22No. No, she got a job in Stoke.
0:53:22 > 0:53:28- When was this?- Last summer. But I feel I should have done more.
0:53:28 > 0:53:30I'm sure she knows you did your best.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36- You're such a sensitive person. - One conceals it, of course.
0:53:40 > 0:53:44People languish for years with partners
0:53:44 > 0:53:48- who are clearly from another planet. - Mmm.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51We want so much to believe that we've found our other.
0:53:51 > 0:53:57It takes courage to recognise the real as opposed to the convenient.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04When I was young, I had such a vision of myself.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08I dreamt I'd be someone to be reckoned with,
0:54:08 > 0:54:09you know, in the world.
0:54:11 > 0:54:14But one learns one's scale.
0:54:17 > 0:54:24- Hmm.- I've such a dread of ending my days alone.- Yes. We all...
0:54:24 > 0:54:29But recently, I've allowed myself to think that I may not be...
0:54:32 > 0:54:34Am I wrong?
0:54:37 > 0:54:40No!
0:54:52 > 0:54:55- Do you want to stay?- Yes.
0:54:55 > 0:55:00Sometimes people find it comforting to see them at peace.
0:55:00 > 0:55:04Would you like to come back, in 20 minutes, to say goodbye?
0:55:04 > 0:55:06SHE SOBS
0:55:13 > 0:55:15Have you got your seatbelt on, darling?
0:55:15 > 0:55:19- Oh, no, what the fuck? - Oh God, not her!- Shut up!
0:55:19 > 0:55:24- Mum, don't get out of the car! - Is it Portia? Oh no!
0:55:26 > 0:55:29I've got to go back to the vet's after it is done.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33- Will you come with me, I just can't on my own?- Of course, I would,
0:55:33 > 0:55:36- it's just that Ben's doing his play at his school.- Play?
0:55:36 > 0:55:39- We're all going, we're a bit late actually.- Hurry up, Mum!
0:55:39 > 0:55:40Someone has died!
0:55:40 > 0:55:45- I know, and it's terribly sad.- Mum!
0:55:45 > 0:55:48- You owe me this.- Come on! - RICHARD:- Ben, you make her vanish.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51- Use your wand or something! - He's doing a show,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54- for the first time in his life. - That's your choice, is it?
0:55:54 > 0:55:58- CAR HORN - Why not come? You'd be very welcome.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00I thought you understood what friendship means.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05But he's my child, he's my son. He's just a little boy.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08Don't play the good mother with me.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10Excuse me, what's going on? Is this some kind of coven?
0:56:10 > 0:56:14- I can explain. Would you like me to? - Bar's had bad news about her cat.
0:56:14 > 0:56:18My condolences. Poor pussy(!) Now, can I have my wife back, please.
0:56:18 > 0:56:20- I don't like your tone. - Why is she always here?
0:56:20 > 0:56:23What kind of fucking spell has she cast on you?
0:56:23 > 0:56:26- BEN SHOUTS - Ben is getting stressed. He's going to blow!
0:56:26 > 0:56:28For God's sake, get in the bloody car!
0:56:28 > 0:56:30Give me a minute, will you? I can handle this.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34Oh, I'm to be handled am I, like toxic waste?
0:56:34 > 0:56:37You see me on sufferance, I'm an imposition to be tolerated?
0:56:37 > 0:56:40No, of course not. I love our time together.
0:56:40 > 0:56:41I'm you're good, good friend.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43Then stay with me.
0:56:43 > 0:56:44- CAR HORN - I would if I could.
0:56:44 > 0:56:48I am desperately sorry about Portia but you can see I have to go.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52Think very carefully, madam. Be aware of the consequences.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56- Please don't make this any more than it is.- Stay with me!
0:56:56 > 0:56:58CAR HORN I don't know what I'll do.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01- Come on, let's go! - Look, I'll call you, I promise.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09'They always let you down, in the end.
0:57:09 > 0:57:13'Jennifer said I was too intense.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16'Meaning what, exactly? That I'm loyal in my friendships?'
0:57:18 > 0:57:21'That I will go to the ends of the Earth for someone I admire?'
0:57:21 > 0:57:24- Shazam! - APPLAUSE
0:57:24 > 0:57:26RICHARD CHEERS
0:57:34 > 0:57:36DOORBELL
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Not disturbing you, am I?
0:57:51 > 0:57:57It's just, er, I need to talk to you about Mrs Hart.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02- Sheba.- Ah.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05It's a bit delicate. Can I come in?
0:58:19 > 0:58:21- Tea? - Oh, lovely, thanks.
0:58:25 > 0:58:27You haven't got a biscuit?
0:58:34 > 0:58:35Cheers.
0:58:38 > 0:58:39Would you like me to take your hat?
0:58:39 > 0:58:44Ah! Been up the Lane, White Hart Lane, home of the mighty Spurs.
0:58:44 > 0:58:47- Were you victorious? - 3-0. Jermain Defoe. Get in there!
0:58:50 > 0:58:53My father was a supporter of Charlton Athletic.
0:58:53 > 0:58:58It never seemed to give him any pleasure.
0:58:58 > 0:59:01- Where's the moggy? - She's dead.
0:59:03 > 0:59:05Oh, dear.
0:59:05 > 0:59:07My condolences.
0:59:11 > 0:59:16- Oh, is this not a good time? - It's a very good time.
0:59:27 > 0:59:29Mrs Hart?
0:59:29 > 0:59:33Yeah. Erm, it's just...
0:59:33 > 0:59:36Anything you tell me will be in strictest confidence.
0:59:38 > 0:59:42The thing is, I was wondering if she's, um,
0:59:42 > 0:59:46ever mentioned me.
0:59:47 > 0:59:49Does she ever mention me?
0:59:50 > 0:59:52Let me think.
0:59:52 > 0:59:53No, never.
0:59:53 > 0:59:58Actually, yes. She mentioned you had invested in a new shirt.
0:59:58 > 1:00:02- I think it was last term. - Lashed out on Nicole Farhi.
1:00:03 > 1:00:06Thing is, over the last few months,
1:00:06 > 1:00:09well, ever since I met her, really, I've...
1:00:09 > 1:00:11Brian, are you in love?
1:00:14 > 1:00:18- I've been a bit bloody obvious, haven't I?- Utterly clandestine.
1:00:19 > 1:00:21So she mentioned this shirt, then?
1:00:21 > 1:00:23You do know she's married?
1:00:23 > 1:00:26Yes, but she's quite flirty and you never know with people, do you?
1:00:26 > 1:00:29Indeed you don't.
1:00:29 > 1:00:32I wouldn't want to make a move if I'm just going to get knocked back,
1:00:32 > 1:00:35what with staff politics and the head being such a stickler.
1:00:35 > 1:00:40- You have to be really careful with these things.- It's a minefield.
1:00:40 > 1:00:46So would... I mean, do you think you could have a word with her
1:00:46 > 1:00:50and just suss the lie of the land?
1:00:50 > 1:00:54You'd like me to ask Mrs Hart
1:00:54 > 1:00:57if she's inclined to commit adultery with you?
1:01:00 > 1:01:06I don't want you to suffer more than is necessary, no one should.
1:01:06 > 1:01:09I couldn't possibly speak for Mrs Hart, but
1:01:09 > 1:01:13instinct tells me you might not be her type.
1:01:15 > 1:01:20- She's got a type, then?- It's no reflection on your attractiveness.
1:01:22 > 1:01:27But my impression is that her preference is for the younger man.
1:01:30 > 1:01:32Surprisingly young.
1:01:33 > 1:01:34Boys, I'm told.
1:01:34 > 1:01:38Naturally, she doesn't discuss any of this with me,
1:01:38 > 1:01:43but I've been hearing rather alarming rumours about one in particular,
1:01:43 > 1:01:48playground gossip, staff-room whispers and so on.
1:01:48 > 1:01:53You might know the boy in question.
1:01:53 > 1:01:56Erm...
1:01:56 > 1:01:58Steven Connolly.
1:01:59 > 1:02:00Year 10?
1:02:02 > 1:02:05I think the kettle's boiled.
1:02:06 > 1:02:10'You say the words and it's done. Easy.'
1:02:15 > 1:02:18'Judas had the grace to hang himself.
1:02:18 > 1:02:23'But only according to Matthew, the most sentimental of the apostles.'
1:02:25 > 1:02:28'Is this the last night of our old life?'
1:02:30 > 1:02:34'I wonder how long my messenger will take.'
1:02:39 > 1:02:43'People like Sheba think they know what it is to be lonely.
1:02:43 > 1:02:49'But of the drip, drip of long-haul, no-end-in-sight solitude,
1:02:49 > 1:02:51'they know nothing.
1:02:51 > 1:02:54'What it's like to construct an entire weekend
1:02:54 > 1:02:56'around a visit to the laundrette.
1:02:56 > 1:03:00'Or to be so chronically untouched,
1:03:00 > 1:03:04'that the accidental brush of a bus conductor's hand
1:03:04 > 1:03:06'sends a jilt of longing
1:03:06 > 1:03:08'straight to your groin.
1:03:08 > 1:03:15'Of this, Sheba and her like have no clue.'
1:03:15 > 1:03:20PHONE RINGS
1:03:20 > 1:03:22ANSWERPHONE BEEPS
1:03:22 > 1:03:28"Bar, I'm SO sorry about today. It was an impossible situation."
1:03:28 > 1:03:32"Richard's really sorry, too. Poor you."
1:03:32 > 1:03:35"Look, why don't you come for supper?"
1:03:36 > 1:03:39Actually, I write quite quickly,
1:03:39 > 1:03:41It's the thinking that takes an eternity.
1:03:41 > 1:03:43But you're never satisfied,
1:03:43 > 1:03:46when your lecturing, you long for time to write
1:03:46 > 1:03:50and when you've got it, you yearn to be back with your students.
1:03:53 > 1:03:57- More coffee anyone? - I'll have a slug, please.
1:03:57 > 1:03:59Barbara?
1:04:01 > 1:04:02Er, no, thank you.
1:04:06 > 1:04:08LOUD KNOCKING
1:04:10 > 1:04:14KNOCKING RESUMES
1:04:16 > 1:04:21KNOCKING
1:04:21 > 1:04:23- Yes?- Are you her husband? - What? Whose?
1:04:23 > 1:04:28- Don't you dick with me, mister. Don't dick me around. Where is she?- I don't...
1:04:28 > 1:04:31Tell her Steven Conolly's mother wants to see her right now!
1:04:31 > 1:04:34- Excuse me!- Get...
1:04:34 > 1:04:35- Slut! - Argh!
1:04:37 > 1:04:40- How could you?!- Maggie! - How could you?!- Maggie!
1:04:40 > 1:04:43He's only a child! My wee boy is a child!
1:04:43 > 1:04:47- What the hell is going on? - Ask her what's going on. Ask her!
1:04:49 > 1:04:53- Bitch! Bitch! - Maggie! Come on, leave them!
1:04:54 > 1:04:57- Bitch! - Leave them alone, Maggie!
1:05:00 > 1:05:02Leave them alone, hey?
1:05:02 > 1:05:04There's nothing for us here.
1:05:21 > 1:05:23It happened, it just happened.
1:05:23 > 1:05:27Things don't. People make things happen!
1:05:27 > 1:05:30Do you think you're the only one who's wanted someone who's young?
1:05:30 > 1:05:34Everyone... Everyone thinks about it, but they deal with it!
1:05:34 > 1:05:38'By the time I took my seat in the gods,
1:05:38 > 1:05:41'the opera was well into its final act.'
1:05:41 > 1:05:44- You're his teacher! - And you were mine!
1:05:44 > 1:05:48- I'm not trying to justify it. - THEY BOTH SHOUT
1:05:48 > 1:05:51It's totally different, you were 20!
1:05:51 > 1:05:54Well, he's 16 in May, he's not some innocent.
1:05:54 > 1:05:58Of course he's innocent, he's fucking 15!
1:05:58 > 1:06:00Are you insane?
1:06:00 > 1:06:03If you meant to destroy us, why not do it with an adult?
1:06:03 > 1:06:07- That's the convention. It's worked for centuries.- It wasn't about us.
1:06:07 > 1:06:11- Why?- I just wanted him.
1:06:11 > 1:06:15- WHY?- I DON'T KNOW!
1:06:15 > 1:06:16Well, find out!
1:06:16 > 1:06:19MUSIC: "It's Your Choice" - Philip Glass
1:06:44 > 1:06:47'My guilt is tempered with relief.'
1:06:48 > 1:06:51'She assumes the boy cracked and told his mother all.'
1:06:52 > 1:06:55'Who am I to disabuse her?'
1:06:55 > 1:06:59Brian! Brian! Brian!
1:06:59 > 1:07:01Brian, do stop a minute, please!
1:07:01 > 1:07:04Today, St George's School is a solemn place.
1:07:04 > 1:07:06A source close to the school has indicated that
1:07:06 > 1:07:10another member of staff may have known of the relationship.
1:07:10 > 1:07:14This is categorically denied by the local authority.
1:07:14 > 1:07:16I've told you, Headmaster, had I known anything,
1:07:16 > 1:07:20I would have informed you immediately. My loyalty's to the school.
1:07:20 > 1:07:23- Brian thinks you've known for months.- Oh, Brian thinks!
1:07:23 > 1:07:26- And Sue Hodge.- Will you be running through the entire staffroom?
1:07:26 > 1:07:29If you knew and turned a blind eye, you have enabled a crime.
1:07:29 > 1:07:33- I didn't, so I haven't. Your point? - You're due to retire next year.
1:07:33 > 1:07:36It would benefit everyone if you go early, with immediate effect.
1:07:36 > 1:07:39So it's a witch-hunt. Salem comes to Islington!
1:07:39 > 1:07:42The stress of the job, radical ideas in teaching not to your taste.
1:07:42 > 1:07:47I've got a radical idea, your school, your disaster, why don't you resign?
1:07:47 > 1:07:49Because I am not the confidant of a criminal!
1:07:49 > 1:07:53Now, tell me about your friendship with Mrs Hart.
1:07:53 > 1:07:55I think you'll find that a close friendship
1:07:55 > 1:07:58between two consenting adults is perfectly legal,
1:07:58 > 1:07:59even under your regime.
1:07:59 > 1:08:01My record here is beyond reproach.
1:08:01 > 1:08:04The majority of staff regard me as a moral guardian.
1:08:04 > 1:08:08I've just spoken to an ex-member of our staff,
1:08:08 > 1:08:10another of your "close friends" -
1:08:10 > 1:08:12Jennifer Dodd.
1:08:14 > 1:08:17As you are aware, Jennifer became unwell.
1:08:17 > 1:08:19That's why she had to leave the school.
1:08:19 > 1:08:24- Jennifer threatened you with a restraining order, didn't she? - That's nonsense!
1:08:25 > 1:08:27A fax from her solicitor -
1:08:27 > 1:08:30she didn't want you within 500 yards of her
1:08:30 > 1:08:32BY LAW!
1:08:32 > 1:08:33You call that a friendship?
1:08:33 > 1:08:38She told me that you sent her fiance a wreath.
1:08:39 > 1:08:44Now, we wouldn't want all this to come out, would we?
1:08:45 > 1:08:49A lifetime of dedicated service ending in shame and humiliation.
1:08:51 > 1:08:54It's your choice, Barbara.
1:08:55 > 1:08:59WHISPERING
1:09:12 > 1:09:13RETCHES
1:09:46 > 1:09:48Ah!
1:09:49 > 1:09:51BANGING ON DOOR
1:09:57 > 1:09:58BREATHES DEEPLY
1:09:58 > 1:10:01'He knows it was me. Does she know, too?'
1:10:03 > 1:10:04'More than I can bear.
1:10:04 > 1:10:07'Is that why she's not returned my calls?'
1:10:18 > 1:10:19TELEPHONE RINGS
1:10:19 > 1:10:22- SHOUTING AND HUBBUB - When's she coming out?
1:10:22 > 1:10:27Barbara! Barbara! Have you spoken to Sheba Hart yet?
1:10:29 > 1:10:31When's she coming out?
1:10:31 > 1:10:34Tell us why you're friends with a paedophile!
1:10:34 > 1:10:36Did you teach the boy at all?
1:10:36 > 1:10:38Barbara! Barbara!
1:10:38 > 1:10:41Barbara, how has Sheba's husband taken all this?
1:10:41 > 1:10:44Barbarians.
1:10:46 > 1:10:48Sorry about your job.
1:10:48 > 1:10:50You see, the headmaster thought I knew.
1:10:50 > 1:10:54- Did you?- No!
1:10:56 > 1:11:00- Where is she? - In her lair.
1:11:04 > 1:11:08- Your boyfriend is younger than mine! - He's not my boyfriend.
1:11:08 > 1:11:10You slept with a child!
1:11:13 > 1:11:18Oh, Jesus wept! The spectre at the feast.
1:11:18 > 1:11:20- Watch your tongue, madam. - Frigging freak!
1:11:24 > 1:11:26Oh, there, there.
1:11:29 > 1:11:31Thanks for coming.
1:11:33 > 1:11:35I'm so sorry about school.
1:11:37 > 1:11:39Was he... thank you.
1:11:39 > 1:11:40Was he awful to you?
1:11:47 > 1:11:53Listen, you could say no, I completely understand,
1:11:53 > 1:11:56but Richard, he needs time alone.
1:11:56 > 1:11:58He's asked me to leave.
1:11:58 > 1:12:01Can I come and stay with you, just for a few days?
1:12:05 > 1:12:07You're welcome for as long as you like.
1:12:16 > 1:12:20- PRESS PACK SHOUT FROM OUTSIDE - When's she coming out?!
1:12:25 > 1:12:26When's she coming out?!
1:12:26 > 1:12:27Is Ben at school?
1:12:32 > 1:12:36- Does he know what's happening? - It's REALLY none of your business.
1:12:36 > 1:12:38DOOR OPENS UPSTAIRS
1:12:38 > 1:12:41- PRESS PACK:- What about the kids?
1:12:51 > 1:12:53- PRESS PACK SHOUT:- Barbara! - There she is!
1:13:00 > 1:13:04I knew who you were when we met.
1:13:04 > 1:13:07You were young.
1:13:07 > 1:13:10I knew it might get tough, but I was prepared.
1:13:13 > 1:13:15You're a good mother.
1:13:15 > 1:13:18But at times you've been a fucking lousy wife.
1:13:18 > 1:13:23Why didn't you come to me? You could have told me how lonely you were.
1:13:23 > 1:13:25You never trusted me to help you.
1:13:25 > 1:13:31I'm not saying I was so fucking fabulous, but I was here.
1:13:40 > 1:13:44- PRESS PACK SHOUT: - There she is! There she is! Sheba!
1:13:48 > 1:13:53'This last month has been the most delicious time of my life.'
1:13:56 > 1:13:59'Of course, we've had our ups and downs.
1:13:59 > 1:14:05'The pressure is intense when two women share their lives.
1:14:05 > 1:14:10'But, oh, what marvellous intensity it is.'
1:14:15 > 1:14:17- It's the crone! - LAUGHTER
1:14:17 > 1:14:20PRESS SHOUT QUESTIONS
1:14:20 > 1:14:23Barbara, is Sheba coming out?
1:14:25 > 1:14:29'Circumstances are not always ideal.
1:14:31 > 1:14:34'The swinish press,
1:14:34 > 1:14:39'the stringent bail terms, meetings with lawyers, and so on.
1:14:39 > 1:14:43'But all things considered, we're coping admirably.
1:14:43 > 1:14:47'In fact, gold stars abundant.'
1:14:49 > 1:14:54'The cuckold permits her to see their children once a week.
1:14:54 > 1:15:00'There are usually tears and fits of teenage tantrums, too.
1:15:00 > 1:15:06'In time, she'll recognise she's just not the mothering kind.
1:15:06 > 1:15:09'And then Barbara will be there to comfort her -
1:15:09 > 1:15:14'nurse, beloved friend and wise counsel.'
1:16:37 > 1:16:39- PRESS:- Barbara, were you pushed or did you jump?
1:16:39 > 1:16:41If you jumped, was it into a dyke(?)
1:16:41 > 1:16:44Is Sheba still alive? What have you done with her?
1:16:44 > 1:16:46How's the family coping, Barbara?
1:16:46 > 1:16:49Barbara! Barbara! Barbara!
1:16:51 > 1:16:53Sheba?
1:17:04 > 1:17:07What you say about me,
1:17:07 > 1:17:12about Richard...
1:17:12 > 1:17:16You're not fit to shine his shoes.
1:17:17 > 1:17:21And Ben and Polly,
1:17:21 > 1:17:24that I'd be happier without them!
1:17:29 > 1:17:30Why did you do it?
1:17:32 > 1:17:35Because I didn't help you collect your cat?
1:17:35 > 1:17:38- You cost me my family. - Take some responsibility.
1:17:38 > 1:17:43I gave you exactly what you wanted.
1:17:43 > 1:17:46- You'd still be stuck in that marriage without me.- What?!
1:17:46 > 1:17:49- You can't accept it, yet.- You think I wanted to be here with you?!
1:17:49 > 1:17:51You need me, I'm you friend.
1:17:51 > 1:17:54You've put me in prison, I could get two years!
1:17:54 > 1:17:57They'll fly by, I'll visit you every week.
1:17:57 > 1:17:59We've so much life to live together.
1:17:59 > 1:18:03You think this is a love affair, a relationship?!
1:18:03 > 1:18:05What? Sticky gold stars
1:18:05 > 1:18:09- and a strand of my hair and a receipt from Pizza Express?- No, no.
1:18:09 > 1:18:11It's a flat in the Archway Road
1:18:11 > 1:18:14and you think you're Virginia frigging Woolf!
1:18:14 > 1:18:15Where did you get my hair?
1:18:15 > 1:18:19Did you pluck it from the bath with special fucking tweezers?
1:18:19 > 1:18:21It's rude to read a diary! It's private!
1:18:21 > 1:18:24We're not companions, we're not friends. You don't even like me!
1:18:24 > 1:18:28That's not true, I only have tender feelings for you, only love. No!
1:18:28 > 1:18:31You're barking, fucking mad. You don't know how to love.
1:18:31 > 1:18:33You've never, your whole life...
1:18:33 > 1:18:36Me, Jennifer Dodd,
1:18:36 > 1:18:38you're nothing but waste and disappointment!
1:18:38 > 1:18:41You bitter old virgin!
1:18:41 > 1:18:42You're lonely for a reason.
1:18:42 > 1:18:45They loathed you at school, all of them.
1:18:45 > 1:18:47I was the idiot who bothered,
1:18:47 > 1:18:49but only because nobody told me you're a fucking vampire!
1:18:49 > 1:18:53So what is it, Bar? You want to roll around the floor like lovers?
1:18:53 > 1:18:54You want to fuck me, Barbara?
1:18:54 > 1:18:58- Please don't diminish our... - Our what? What?!
1:18:58 > 1:19:01Give it back! I know you.
1:19:01 > 1:19:04Selfish and vain, you think you have a divine right.
1:19:04 > 1:19:07You don't belong in the world, you belong here!
1:19:07 > 1:19:08You big baby!
1:19:08 > 1:19:11SHOUTING FROM THE PRESS PACK
1:19:11 > 1:19:13Here I a-a-a-m!
1:19:16 > 1:19:20Here I a-a-a-a-m!
1:19:57 > 1:20:01We never invited you to the fucking Dordogne.
1:20:04 > 1:20:07I'm sorry. But you specifically said if I happened to be in France,
1:20:07 > 1:20:09I should drop in.
1:20:09 > 1:20:11We didn't mean it!
1:20:12 > 1:20:14Well, fine.
1:20:14 > 1:20:17I won't come, then.
1:20:19 > 1:20:22I asked you to lunch because I liked you.
1:20:22 > 1:20:25I would have been your FRIEND.
1:20:33 > 1:20:35I need more than a friend.
1:22:48 > 1:22:50I knew her.
1:22:50 > 1:22:51Sorry?
1:22:51 > 1:22:56- I knew her. - Really?!- Mmm.
1:22:56 > 1:23:01- We taught at the same school. - God. What was she like?
1:23:02 > 1:23:05A bit...
1:23:05 > 1:23:06chilly.
1:23:08 > 1:23:11A touch furtive.
1:23:12 > 1:23:15A sort of absent person.
1:23:15 > 1:23:19Oh, but I didn't know her well. May I?
1:23:26 > 1:23:29- Do you still teach? - No, no.
1:23:29 > 1:23:31Retired.
1:23:31 > 1:23:34LAUGHS Thank goodness.
1:23:34 > 1:23:37LAUGHS You...
1:23:37 > 1:23:39- Oh! - LAUGHS
1:23:39 > 1:23:41Here.
1:23:41 > 1:23:43Thanks.
1:23:48 > 1:23:50- I love it here. - Mmm.
1:23:50 > 1:23:53Spectacular at dusk.
1:23:59 > 1:24:02I'm Barbara.
1:24:07 > 1:24:09Annabel.
1:24:13 > 1:24:17I wonder, Annabel, do you like music?
1:24:17 > 1:24:19Oh. Yes.
1:24:19 > 1:24:24- I've got tickets for Handel's Water Music at the Albert Hall.- Oh.
1:24:24 > 1:24:27On Saturday - you could bring a friend, if there's someone.
1:24:27 > 1:24:29Oh no, there isn't.
1:24:29 > 1:24:31Well, there we are.
1:25:24 > 1:25:28Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
1:25:28 > 1:25:33E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk