The Importance of Being Oscar

A star studded account of Oscar Wilde’s glittering and controversial career before his trial and tragic fall from grace. Highlights from Wilde’s brilliant comedies such as The Importance of Being Earnest and stories such as The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Canterville Ghost are performed by a cast including Freddie Fox, Claire Skinner, Anna Chancellor and James Fleet. Wilde enthusiasts and experts including Stephen Fry , Wilde’s grandson Merlin Holland, and his latest biographers provide revelatory accounts of how his own life informed his work. His Irish roots, his early career, his marriage and the importance of women as well as men in his life all combine in a complex and compelling characterisation and celebration that adds flesh to the bones of a man who is too often caricatured.

BBC Two