This film is part of Free

Title of error

See Help

Aids: The Last Chance (Part 2)

Government complacency is challenged in the second of a two-part This Week special on the spread of AIDS

Current affairs 1986 27 mins

Overview

Part two of This Week's investigation of AIDS and government policy sees presenter Jonathan Dimbleby grill Minister of Health Tony Newton on the potential "catastrophe". Again, the focus is on risks to the heterosexual community, though gay men - statistically at far higher risk - would already have considered the situation pretty catastrophic by 1986. With the first programme having apparently spread panic among pregnant women, this one does challenge confusing advice issued by the Chief Medical Officer, and addresses accusations that government efforts were too little, too late.

A young Sinéad O'Connor appears again in This Week's mock-up ad for 'Prophyltex' extra-strong condoms: astonishingly, even in the late 1980s a case still had to be made for outdated advertising regulations to be relaxed to allow explicit references to sexual health and safe sex practices.

Original title

Aids: The Last Chance Part 2

Featuring

Jonathan Dimbleby

Genres

Current affairs

Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Subjects

AIDS Commercials Condoms Viral diseases Human immunodeficiency virus Drug abuse Needle schemes Safe sex Sexual relations and practices Pregnancy

Watch for free

What's a Girl Like You ... What's a Girl Like You ...

Documentary 1969 52 mins Location: Vauxhall

Scintillating look at the 1960s drag renaissance, with a visit to London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern.

Watch for free

Gay Black Group Gay Black Group

Magazine and Review show 1983 25 mins Location: Bloomsbury

The Gay Black Group - reasserting culture and identity on two levels.

Watch for free

David Is Homosexual David Is Homosexual

Amateur film 1978 38 mins Location: Lewisham

A lonely gay man discovers friends, love and activism in this rediscovered educational film made by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality

Watch for free

What Am I? What Am I?

Current affairs 1980 26 mins Location: Hay-on-Wye/Y Gelli Gandryll

Transgender pioneer April Ashley appears in this moving look at the challenges faced by the trans community in 1980s Britain

Watch for free

Illegal Tender Illegal Tender

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 14 mins

Queer psychedelic portrait of a young man’s desires in an industrial wasteland

Watch for free

Facing the Sun Facing the Sun

Drama 1980 54 mins

Sao Paulo-set love triangle drama, featuring a rare TV depiction of bisexuality.

Watch for free

New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine

Short documentary 2025 4 mins

Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.

Watch for free

Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A

Inside Film 2025 30 mins

The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.