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Peter Kosminsky

Director and screenwriter Peter Kosminsky talks to John Wilson about the experiences and influences that shaped his career.

Having started out as a current affairs journalist, Peter Kosminsky made his name by telling contemporary social and political stories in the form of television drama. Warriors was about British soldiers in the peace-keeping force in Bosnia; The Government Inspector dramatised the events surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly; and The State explored the radicalisation of British Islamists. Kosminsky is also acclaimed for his television adaptations of Hilary Mantel鈥檚 Wolf Hall trilogy. He has won six Bafta awards, including one for his outstanding contribution to British television.

Peter talks to John Wilson about the huge influence of his parents. He recalls how his left-wing father and his mother, who had been a kindertransport child, shaped his interest in social justice from the perspective of the outsider, the refugee and the disenfranchised.

Seeing Ken Loach's 1975 成人论坛 television drama Days of Hope was a another turning point and revealed to the 18-year-old Kosminsky the huge emotional power of the medium of television drama. He also explains how a letter from a British soldier in response to his 1999 drama Warriors led to his acclaimed and controversial Channel 4 series The Promise, 11 years later.

11 months left to watch

29 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Interviewed Guest Peter Kosminsky
Interviewer John Wilson

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Figures from the worlds of art and culture talk about their influences and inspirations.