Celebrating Lenny’s roots
BBC2, 9pm
WHEN Sir Lenny Henry was a kid, he clearly remembers being lined up with his siblings and their mother telling them in no uncertain terms to “integrate”.
He grew up in Dudley with Jamaican parents, in a “very, very Caribbean household”. And his mum desperately wanted them to fit in.
But Lenny says: “Everything we did was Jamaican. The way we talked, what we ate, the music we played – all Jamaican.”
In this joyous celebration of British-Caribbean life, Lenny questions what this integration actually meant. Did they have to sacrifice their Caribbean culture?
And how much of this culture has Britain absorbed?
A host of famous faces from art, music, entertainment, TV and theatre come together as Lenny gathers some friends who have “been there, done that and literally made the sauce” – he’s talking, of course, about celebrity chef Levi Roots.
This documentary sweeps through the decades, taking in how British-Caribbeans innovated in all walks of life, including the worlds of comedy, music and sport.
Lenny says: “Caribbeans didn’t just integrate. Not only have we moved this country’s cultural needle, we’ve managed to break the thing right off.”
This is not another historical tour – it is a film that is funny, frank and full of big personalities.
Over two episodes guests including Jazzie B, Floella Benjamin, David Harewood, Judi Love, Trevor Nelson, Billy Ocean, Andi Oliver and Benjamin Zephaniah share their stories and experiences.
In part one, Lenny looks at the explosion of culture by the post-war arrivals, from calypso and ska music to stories of activisim and resilience.