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Bette Midler: The Divine Miss M

Alan Yentob joins Bette Midler on a journey through the chorus lines of Broadway and the bathhouses and nightclubs of the 1970s to the very top of the film industry.

As she is about to begin a run on Broadway in Hello Dolly, imagine... revisits Miss M in New York in a programme first shown in 2014 when she was about to release her girl band-inspired album.

For five decades the woman they call the Divine Miss M has forged a path which has taken her from a pineapple-canning factory in Honolulu to becoming a Hollywood legend. Alan Yentob joins Bette Midler on a journey through the chorus lines of Broadway and the bathhouses and nightclubs of the 1970s to the very top of the film industry. Her combination of a soulful voice and the raucous wit of Mae West has made her name as an outrageous, but always captivating, all-round entertainer.

1 hour, 15 minutes

Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • Bette Midler

    Crazy People

    • Warner Music UK Limited.
  • Bette Midler

    Miss Otis Regrets

  • Bette Midler

    From a Distance

  • Bette Midler

    Come on a my house

  • Bette Midler

    Mr Sandman

  • Bette Midler

    Ukulele Lady

  • Elvis Presley

    Blue Suede Shoes

  • The Boswell Sisters

    Crazy People

  • The Boswell Sisters

    It's the Girl

  • Annette Funicello

    Pineapple Princess

  • Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

    Nowhere To Run

  • Ruby Keeler

    Forty Second Street

  • The Lovin’ Spoonful

    Summer In The City

  • Buffalo Springfield

    For What It's Worth

  • Lou Reed

    Walk on the Wild Side

  • Bessie Smith

    TÂ’aint nobodies buziness if I do

  • Bette Midler

    Drinking Again

  • Bette Midler

    Baby It's You

  • Bette Midler

    Chatanooga Choo Choo

  • Bette Midler

    Mambo Italiano

  • Bette Midler

    Do You Want To Dance

  • Aretha Franklin

    (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman

  • Bette Midler

    Chapel of Love

  • Bette Midler

    Leader of the Pack

  • Bette Midler

    Hello in there

  • Bette Midler

    I'm Beautiful

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Alan Yentob
Participant Bette Midler
Producer Samantha Peters
Director Samantha Peters
Series Editor Alan Yentob

Broadcasts

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