An anthology of standalone television films from producer David Puttnam, each a distinctive take on adolescent romance and rites of passage.
This collection of films, commissioned for the launch of Channel 4, presented individual stories centered on the anxieties and discoveries of youth. The most celebrated entry, Jack Rosenthal’s P’tang, Yang, Kipperbang, followed the obsessions of a young cricket-lover, Alan Duckworth (John Albasiny), as he navigated schoolboy crushes and a fascination with kissing. Other notable stories included Experience Preferred – But Not Essential, about a student’s summer job at a Welsh seaside hotel, and Julie Welch’s Those Glory, Glory Days, a semi-autobiographical piece about a group of girls, led by Danny (Zoe Nathenson), devoted to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. The films featured a new generation of young actors alongside established names like Alison Steadman, Robert Urquhart, and Jimmy Jewel.
1st Love was a cornerstone of Channel 4’s initial programming, a clear statement of its remit to foster new British filmmaking talent. With David Puttnam as executive producer, the series had a powerful creative engine, and each film was given the resources to achieve a cinematic quality rare for television at the time. The films are remembered for their witty, empathetic, and unsentimental treatment of adolescent concerns, a clear departure from the often patronising tone of earlier youth drama. By recruiting acclaimed directors like Michael Apted and Philip Saville, Puttnam ensured a high standard of execution, making the strand a significant critical and popular success that helped define the new channel’s ambitious cultural identity.
Executive Producer: David Puttnam
