Ted Hughes

Programme Outline

The location is mostly in and around Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, where Hughes grew up. Hughes reads the poems but does not appear. He died a few weeks after the programme was completed.

Poem 1: 'Wind'

Poem 2: 'The Warm and the Cold'

Poem 3: 'Work and Play'

Poem 4: 'Hawk Roosting'

Simon Armitage, a friend of Hughes and admirer of his poetry, and a fellow West Yorkshireman, introduces the programme. Ted Hughes is not fond of the camera, and in the programme we only hear his voice reading the poems and talking about them. The first sequence reminds us of Hughes's early life in the Calder Valley, and in particular his camping expeditions with his older brother. The actors who play the young Ted Hughes and his brother are played by two boys from Calder High School in Mytholmroyd. Armitage introduces the characteristic landscape of the West Yorkshire industrial valleys and Pennine moors, and we hear the poem 'Wind' read over images from the Hardcastle Crags area of Hebden Bridge.

After talking about 'Wind', we see the town of Hebden Bridge in its moorland setting, with actors walking through and out of the town. The poem 'The Warm and the Cold' is read over footage of winter landscapes, and we then see boys from the Art Department at Queen Elizabeth School, Barnet, talking about the poem and their own artwork inspired by it. Hughes introduces the poem 'Work and Play' as we see actors fishing at Gibson Mill near Hebden. Armitage talks about the poem. A final sequence with the actors leads into the poem 'Hawk Roosting', read over specially shot footage of a hawk from the North Yorkshire Falconry Centre in the hills near Settle. Gavin, a young falconer from the Centre, comments on the poem, and Armitage gives us his view of it.