Living the Life

Last updated

Living the Life
Genre Talk
Created byRosemary Reed
Directed by Jules Williams
Presented by Charles Dance (voice only)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes27
Production
Executive producerRosemary Reed
Production location Pinewood Studios
Running time60 min
Production companyBack Door Productions
Original release
Network Sky Arts
Release6 November 2011 (2011-11-06) 
20 November 2013 (2013-11-20)

Living the Life is a British television talk show that features unmoderated conversations between two celebrities. It represents a divergence from the standard interviewer-subject talk show format. Living the Life airs on UK's Sky Arts network.

Contents

Format

The hour-long talk show provides a unique take on the genre by allowing the two guest celebrities to converse freely without an interviewer. In these conversations, the celebrities discuss how emotional experiences from their childhood, their early career, the onset of success and their subsequent journey through wealth and fame has shaped their lives. They also discuss their achievements and the effects of living life in the public eye.

The main hook of Living The Life is that, unlike the traditional interview formula, the participants, bonded by mutual accomplishment, chat to each other from a place of mutual respect and admiration and they relax into an intimate and unreserved exchange.

Production

Season 1

Living the Life is a production of Back Door Productions. Executive Producer Rosemary Reed and Director Jules Williams produce the show out of their Pinewood Studios location. The first season premiered on 6 November 2011, [1] and ran for 10 consecutive weeks. [2]

Season 1 of Living the Life was released on DVD exclusively through Tesco Entertainment. The DVD set included four bonus episodes and an accompanying behind-the-scenes book, Living the Life written by director Jules Williams. [3]

Living the Life has also been made available via UK based video on demand website Blinkbox, [4] where episodes (including the four DVD-only episodes) can be downloaded individually. [5] DVD box set.

Season 2

Living the Life returned for a second season that debuted in October 2012 on Sky Arts. [2]

Episodes

As of May 2013, Living the Life has produced 23 episodes, including four episodes available only online or on DVD. [2] [4]

Series 1

Episode Guests Original Air date
1 Stephen Fry & Bill Wyman 6 November 2011 (2011-11-06)
2 Joanna Lumley & Lord Melvyn Bragg 13 November 2011 (2011-11-13)
3 Leslie Phillips & Robin Gibb 20 November 2011 (2011-11-20)
4 Dylan Jones & George Lamb 27 November 2011 (2011-11-27)
5 Caitlin Moran & Fay Weldon 4 December 2011 (2011-12-04)
6 Brigitte Nielsen & Britt Ekland 11 December 2011 (2011-12-11)
7Sir Tim Rice & Sir Ian Botham 18 December 2011 (2011-12-18)
8Lord Sebastian Coe & Gary Newbon 8 January 2012 (2012-01-08)
9Sir Peter Blake & Ken Russell 15 January 2012 (2012-01-15)
10 Paul McGann & Charles Dance 22 January 2012 (2012-01-22)

Series 1 – Exclusive DVD Episodes

Episode Guests
1 Jeremy Clarkson & Nick Mason
2 Cilla Black & Daniel O'Donnell
3 Des O'Connor & Alan Davies
4 Howard Marks & Peter Stringfellow

Series 2

Episode Guests Original Air date
1 Nicholas Evans & James Nesbitt 30 October 2012 (2012-10-30)
2 Anna Friel & Brenda Fricker 6 November 2012 (2012-11-06)
3 Timothy West CBE & Ken Livingstone 13 November 2012 (2012-11-13)
4Dame Monica Mason DBE & Sir Derek Jacobi 20 November 2012 (2012-11-20)
5 John Hurt & Sir Alan Parker 27 November 2012 (2012-11-27)
6 Steven Berkoff & Martin Kemp 4 December 2012 (2012-12-04)
7 Des O'Connor CBE & Alan Davies 11 December 2012 (2012-12-11)
8 Mary Quant OBE & Alexandra Shulman OBE18 December 2012 (2012-12-18)
9 David Bailey & Tim Marlow 8 January 2013 (2013-01-08)

Series 3

Episode Guests Original Air date
1 Dave Stewart and Elliott Gould 2 October 2013 (2013-10-02)
2 Susan George and Robert Lindsay 9 October 2013 (2013-10-09)
3 Gareth Edwards and Matthew Rhys 16 October 2013 (2013-10-16)
4 Hans Zimmer and Derren Brown 23 October 2013 (2013-10-23)
5 Marianne Faithfull and Ian La Frenais 30 October 2013 (2013-10-30)
6 Jeffrey Archer and Sir Donald Sinden 6 November 2013 (2013-11-06)
7 Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and A. R. Rahman 15 November 2013 (2013-11-15)
8 Elaine Paige and Twiggy 20 November 2013 (2013-11-20)

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References

  1. Wightman, Catriona (11 October 2011). "Stephen Fry, Joanna Lumley for new Sky Arts celebrity interview series". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Living the Life at IMDb OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. Williams, Jules (2012). Living The Life. Tesco Entertainment. ISBN   978-0-9571170-0-6.
  4. "Living The Life / Tesco Entertainment". Back Door Productions & Management / Tesco Entertainment. Archived from the original on 22 December 2011.