Archive On 4 - Sellers In The Attic

ARCHIVE ON 4 - SELLERS IN THE ATTIC (320kbs-m4a/130mb/57mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 8th September 2025

Comedy writer and historian Glenn Mitchell examines rare and lesser-known recordings of Peter Sellers, presenting a deep insight into the life of the comic legend.

After Peter Sellers died in July 1980, the initial rush of glowing eulogies swiftly made way for often highly condemnatory accounts of his personality and behaviour. Some of these are, admittedly, accurate, others take incidents in isolation without regard for context. Other instances are based on inaccuracies and misassumptions.

There was more perspective among subsequent chronicles but the trend continued to portray Sellers's personal life as one with few, if any, redeeming features.

As regards his work, many accounts have concentrated on the obvious aspects - the 'Panther' films, 'Dr Strangelove' and 'The Goon Show' - but Peter Sellers left far more than that.

The writer and presenter of this programme, Glenn Mitchell, collected Sellers material from an early age. In this personal take on the subject, he chronicles Sellers' career in parallel with his own lifelong interest in the actor's work.

The programme, originally made to mark the 30th anniversary of Sellers death, also explores the softer, compassionate side to the actor's nature, the aspect of the man which once led to him talking a complete stranger - who was perched on a high bridge - out of committing suicide.

Among Mitchell's personal finds is a private recording Sellers made for a television producer whose daughter lost her sight. The recording, not broadcast prior to this documentary, reveals a remarkable and malleable side to his personality, catching him at a very relaxed moment in his life contrasting with his often cited volatile nature.

Mitchell's focus is on the lesser-known Sellers material he has amassed, including home-movie prints, soundtracks, rare interviews and out-takes. The programme also features written archives from his first BBC TV and Radio auditions, and gems like his 1970 performance of the macabre music-hall monologue 'The Ballad of Sam Hall', recorded at Wilton's in East London.

Producer: Stephen Garner

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.