Channel 5 celebrate the life of Diana Dors

It’s the legendary ‘blonde bombshell’ as our Best on the Box choice for Saturday, September 24th.

Had she lived she’d have been Dame Diana Dors, there is little to argue about that, as one of Britain’s most famous women on the silver screen Diana lived in the public spotlight, and therefore much of her life was shared with her millions of fans.

Diana’s private life was as well-known to the public as her career, given that she married three times and enjoyed numerous affairs. The bad behaviour of her first husband, Dennis Hamilton, wrecked her chances of major Hollywood stardom and led to the couple being kicked out of Tinseltown.

In a bid to recoup money that Hamilton stole from her, allegedly at gunpoint, she sold the story of his steamy sex parties to a tabloid newspaper for £35,000. In turn, the Archbishop of Canterbury denounced her as a ‘wayward hussy’.

This documentary charts the highs and lows of Diana’s career, presenting her finest moments on screen alongside contributions from her surviving family, friends, fans and co-stars. We get to know the real Diana Dors and celebrate all that she achieved, from her big break with Sir David Lean in 1948, as part of the cast of Oliver Twist, to her final film, Steaming, released posthumously in 1985. Between those, she hosted her own television chat show, lead the cast of a sitcom, released music albums and also made a camp cameo in a pop music video…

Diana Dors: Britain’s Blonde Bombshell, Channel 5, 9.10 pm