±«Óãtv

Introduction - Sex and Sauce: ±«Óãtv FOUR reveals the nation's surprising tastes from The Lost Decade, 1945 to 1955

This autumn ±«Óãtv FOUR reveals what the nation enjoyed in the bedroom – and the dining room – in the post-war years.

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As part of a ±«Óãtv FOUR season this autumn, The Lost Decade explores the years 1945 to 1955, a decade whose legacy still impacts on our lives today.

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Throughout October, this season of original programmes explores this watershed period, one of hardship but also great vitality, radicalism and reform.

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Little Kinsey reveals the findings of an extraordinary and far-reaching survey for which the Mass Observation Project interviewed several thousand men and women about their sexual attitudes and behaviour - and most answered the intrusive intimate questions without any shame or embarrassment.

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The results were deemed so outrageous that the study was buried in an archive at the University of Sussex.

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The survey reveals that:

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One in four men admitted to having sex with prostitutes.

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One in five women said they'd had an extra-marital affair.

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One in five men said they'd had a homosexual experience.

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Women confessed to widespread disappointment or even disgust at sex with their husbands.

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One woman said: "My husband accused me of being cold, but knew little of the passionate longing I experienced. If only he made love to me instead of using me like a chamber pot."

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Announcing details of The Lost Decade and other highlights of the ±«Óãtv FOUR Autumn season, Channel Controller Janice Hadlow says: "The years from 1945 to 1955 are so often overlooked in the history of this country.

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"Amidst the rubble and the rationing, some momentous changes and events were taking place and shaping our modern society.

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"Little Kinsey gives a truly vivid and surprising account of this nation's attitude to sex long before the British Isles could ever be thought to encourage a permissive society."

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Other documentaries in the season explore the many aspects of life in Britain during these years.

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The Bad Food Guide lifts the lid on the British diet of the post-war years and reveals how the first edition of The Good Food Guide wasn't as reliable as its title might suggest.

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The Lost Decade goes from HP sauce to seaside sauce as Censored at the Seaside explores the bawdy humour of Donald McGill's holiday postcards.

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Clement Attlee's radical reform programme, the 1948 Olympics, bohemian Soho, writers John Wyndham and Dennis Wheatley, and Britain's obsession with the humble banana all feature in other new documentaries for the season.

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A new drama at the centre of the season is the powerful Our Hidden Lives, adapted from Simon Garfield's bestselling book based on the real diaries of four ordinary people who lived through the uncertain years following the Second World War.

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Our Hidden Lives stars Sarah Parish, Ian McDiarmid, Richard Briers and Lesley Sharp.

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Janice Hadlow says of the season: "As my first major season commission I'm particularly thrilled by the scale and diversity of the programmes within The Lost Decade; the genre commissioners and programme makers were really excited by the concept and their enthusiasm shines through.

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"The Lost Decade and the channel's Autumn season as a whole typifies ±«Óãtv FOUR's bold, grown-up style in approaching subjects from surprising, intelligent and entertaining perspectives."

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Other programme highlights this Autumn on ±«Óãtv FOUR include:

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Shakespeare's Happy Endings. A comic genealogy of rewritten Shakespeare, penned, presented and performed by Patrick Barlow.

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A Waste Of Shame. An intense drama written by William Boyd about the passionate and destructive love triangle that consumed Shakespeare and inspired his Sonnets.

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The Thick Of It. Armando Iannucci's biting satire on British politics makes an eagerly-awaited return for a second series.

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Bob Dylan season. A season of new and archive films explore the life and work of this music legend, accompanying Martin Scorsese's two-part Arena film for ±«Óãtv TWO, No Direction ±«Óãtv – Bob Dylan.

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Afghanistan – The No. 1 Ladies' Driving School. Journalist and documentary maker Sean Langan returns to Afghanistan to witness the changes taking place following the end of the Taliban's power, including the first ever 'Ladies' and Gentlemen's Driving Course' in Kabul.

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Notes to Editors

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Viewing figures

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The week commencing 22 August 2005 (week 34) saw the channel gain its best-ever week in terms of viewing figures. Weekly reach was 11.8 per cent or 4.4 million, with share at 0.9 per cent.

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Within ±«Óãtv FOUR's transmission hours, the channel was the seventh best performing multichannel across the week, across all genres (behind ITV2, ±«Óãtv THREE, Sky One, E4, UKTV Gold and ITV3).

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August 2005 (BARB weeks 31-34) has been the channel's strongest month since launch, averaging over 10 per cent weekly reach and 0.68 per cent share, up over +40 per cent on its 2004 average.

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±«Óãtv FOUR has continued to grow steadily across 2005, with reach, share and average volume all up significantly year-on-year. It consistently outperforms all other niche multichannels.

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In terms of millions of viewers, in 2005 so far three-minute weekly reach is up +30 per cent to 3.2 million people on the same weeks in 2004, and average volume is up +38 per cent.

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