Season 1 • Episode 3
LatestFollowing the sensational trials, and to the delight of the public and press, Oscar Wilde , found guilty of acts of gross indecency with various male persons, was incarcerated in Pentonville Prison in May 1895 to serve a sentence of two years' hard labour -an experience which would later produce one of his best known works, The Ballad of Reading Gaol.
In the summer of 1891, Oscar Wilde first met Lord Alfred Douglas — an encounter that will dramatically and tragically change both of their lives.
Acting
Gambon's Wilde balances epigrammatic wit with crushing vulnerability.
Production
Authentic 1890s aesthetics on what was clearly a tight budget.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This aired mere months before Section 28 banned 'promotion of homosexuality' in UK schools — making its broadcast quietly radical.
Gambon later called this his most personally meaningful role; he reportedly kept Wilde's letters on set.
GB
