Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams
- Radio documentary
- BBC Radio 4
- 2010
- 5 episodes (1 series)
Nicholas Boulton reads from Christopher Stevens's biography of Kenneth Williams, drawing from interviews and the 43 volumes of Williams's diaries. Features Nicholas Boulton.
Press clippings
Kenneth Williams's diaries caused a sensation when they were edited and published after his death, apparently revealing that behind closed doors he was a brooding character at odds with his outrageous stage and screen persona. Fortunately, Christopher Stevens has since been granted access to the complete set of Williams's diaries and papers, forging the biography Born Brilliant from this fresh material. Whereas he remains a complex figure, the book's extracts should be enough to convince anyone that there was a lot more to the real Kenneth Williams than spite and misery.
Tom Cole, Radio Times, 29th November 2010