Reputations

Thanks to his role as Lurcio in Up Pompeii, Frankie Howerd became one of Britain's most popular and distinctive comedians. But behind the titters there were secrets - things he was desperate to keep from the public, and truths so painful he tried to keep them even from himself. The programme explores Howerd's turbulent life from his early days in south London and his efforts at serious acting through his radio stardom in the 1950s to his TV triumphs of the 60s and 70s. His closest friends and colleagues talk about his depression, his money troubles and his complex and hidden sex life. And we hear for the first time about his LSD-assisted psychotherapy and the shocking experiences it uncovered. With contributions from Jonathan Ross, Griff Rhys Jones, Eric Sykes and Ian Carmichael