Brand to retrace war nurse's journey
Armistice show for BBC One
Jo Brand is to present a BBC One drama-documentary about a First World War nurse to mark the 90th anniversary of the Armistice.The comic will retell the story of Vera Brittain, whose wartime autobiography Testament Of Youth, published in 1933, became an instant bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic.
Brand will retrace Vera’s journey through Britain and France, drawing on her letters and memoirs to show how the war affected ordinary families.
Intercut with Brand’s journey will be dramatic reconstructions of the events in Vera’s life.
Politician Shirley Williams, who is Vera’s daughter, will also be giving her first major television interview on the subject.
The BBC says the ‘heart-rending and vivid film… captures with poignant immediacy all the confusion, hope, agony and suspense of war as told through the eyes of a young woman in love’.
It will air as part of a season 1918-2008: Ninety Years Of Remembrance running up to November 11.
Published: 6 Oct 2008
