World in Action (1963–1998)

A documentary series focusing on current affairs.

Stars:

Chris Kelly, Andrew Brittain, Mike Walsh

4 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Chris Kelly	...	Himself - Narrator (37 episodes, 1979-1986)
Andrew Brittain	...	Himself - Narrator (20 episodes, 1997-1998)
Mike Walsh	...	Himself - Reporter (19 episodes, 1981-1991)
Derek Cooper	...	Himself - Narrator (17 episodes, 1963-1965)
Wilfrid Thomas	...	Himself - Narrator (17 episodes, 1963-1965)

Storyline

A documentary series focusing on current affairs.

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Plot Keywords:

current affairs | journalism

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

Granada Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While making a profile of the model Jean Shrimpton, the team ask a local crew to get shots of an event Jean was attending in the USA. The shots were to take up a couple minutes or so of the half hour programme. The local crew apparently got a bit carried away and sent back World in Action over 11 hours of film.

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Connections

Featured in The 50 Greatest Documentaries (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Private Eye"
By Laurie Johnson
(1963-1967)

User Reviews

Slow burners that affected change

A comedian once said he had cured his friend's manic depression by stopping him watch World in Action. For there on a Monday night sandwiched between a soap opera and a jolly sitcom was our conscience, a reminder that things were not quite right in the world and somebody might be suffering. Most TV shows have a routine compilation edition at the end of the year and one of World in Action's was modestly sub titled 'Sorry,nothing doing' as if to say their years output had made no difference,but this was not so, a World in Action film lingered in the mind and did affect change. Its film on lorry drivers probably pushed through the Tachograph?,its films on mental health definitely helped sweep away the old style mental institutions and the reason furniture today has a 'flame proof' label was probably due to its eye opening film of an armchair catching fire. In today's mass media,issues blow up and shine bright for a couple of weeks and then are forgotten, but in the days when TV was 'the' window on the world a World in Action issue was a slow burner that you would not forget and did eventually make difference.