An Interior Life

A meditation on love, loss and loneliness in south London, An Interior Life tells the story of Bernard, an 86-year-old gay man who has been alone since the death of his long term partner.

Best Documentary: Gold2010 Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition

2010 / Laurence Grissell / BBC Radio 4, UK

A meditation on love, loss and loneliness in south London, An Interior Life tells the story of Bernard, an 86-year-old gay man who has been alone since the death of his long term partner.

Bernard charts his life story and inner struggle to accept his homosexuality during a time when sex between men was illegal. He speaks movingly of the lost loves of his life, but just as Bernard's loneliness starts to overwhelm him, a ring on the doorbell signals the start of a new chapter in this octogenarian's life.

An Interior Life won the Best Documentary: Gold Award in the 2010 Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition. The story was produced in 2009 by Laurence Grissell with mixing engineer Richard Hannaford, executive producer Simon Elmes, editor Rob Ketteridge and coach Lisbeth Jessen (produced in association with the EBU Masterschool), for BBC Radio 4.


produced by

Laurence Grissell

Laurence Grissell started his career in BBC local radio after completing a politics degree.


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