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DANIEL FARSON’S GUIDE TO BRITAIN
VOLUME 1

Before there was Louis Theroux there was Daniel Farson

Released on BFI Blu-ray/DVD (Dual Format Edition) on 16 February 2026

The second BFI home entertainment release from the Associated-Rediffusion television archive, DANIEL FARSON’S GUIDE TO BRITAIN VOLUME 1, a 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD Dual Format Edition available from 16 February, features the brash, bohemian and boozy, bon vivant ITV reporter and presenter Daniel Farson.

Farson became a larger-than-life fixture of Soho in the 1950s, socialising with the likes of artist Francis Bacon and photographer John Deakin. But he was also a groundbreaking investigative journalist, reshaping approaches to screen reportage with the many dynamic television films he presented for Associated-Rediffusion in the late 1950s and early 1960s, finding widespread fame and acclaim along the way.

In VOLUME 1, join the intrepid investigator – who paved the way for later programme makers of the Louis Theroux school – as he takes a look at subjects ranging from Soho striptease, alien visitations and the Cavern Club in the afterglow of the Beatles, to witchcraft, the cult of celebrity and much more. All but one of the programmes have not previously been released on any home entertainment format. Special features include newly recorded audio commentaries on selected programmes by a variety of contributors.

THE PROGRAMMES

• Out of Step: Witchcraft (1957)
• Out of Step: Other Worlds Are Watching Us (1957)
• Keeping in Step: The Wedding (1958)
• Keeping in Step: Stock Exchange (1958)
• This Week: Soho Striptease (1958)
• This Week: Robert Graves (Production Material) (1957)
• People in Trouble: Mixed Marriages (1958)
• Success Story: Shelagh Delaney (1959)
• Success Story: Maurice Woodruff (1959)
• Success Story: Hank Janson (1959)
• Pursuit of Happiness: People Apart (1960)
• Celebrity: Cliff Richard (1959)
• Farson’s Guide to the British: Cats (1959)
• Beat City (1963)

Special features

• Newly remastered in 2K and presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
• Newly recorded audio commentaries on selected programmes by writer and publisher Mark Pilkington and the BFI’s Vic Pratt, Milo Holmes, Chantelle Boyea, Dick Fiddy, Dr Elinor Groom, Lisa Kerrigan and William Fowler
• Beat City image gallery
• **First pressing only** Illustrated booklet featuring new writing by the BFI’s William Fowler, Vic Pratt, Lisa Kerrigan and Milo Holmes, plus a new essay by Nic Wassell on the creation of the Associated-Rediffusion logo

Product details

RRP: £24.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1559 / 15
UK / 1957-1963 / black and white / 215 minutes / English language with optional descriptive subtitles original aspect ratio 1.33:1 / BD50: 1080p, 25fps, LPCM 2.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit) DVD9 x 2: PAL, 25fps, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio (48kHz/16-bit)

7 September: DANIEL FARSON’S GUIDE TO BRITAIN: VOLUME 2 on Blu-ray & DVD (Dual Format Edition)

DANIEL FARSON’S GUIDE TO BRITAIN VOLUME 2 provides a second collection of innovative, important, eccentric, odd and outstanding work that the intrepid TV reporter created for Associated Rediffusion in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Farson's eclectic talent is reflected in an abundant array of hugely enjoyable, fascinating films on all manner of matters topical to a post-war Britain undergoing complex, seismic social change.