Last lines from a stage giant

The last interview given by Sir John Gielgud will be one of the highlights for British theatre aficionados this autumn.

The last interview given by Sir John Gielgud will be one of the highlights for British theatre aficionados this autumn.

Sir John, who died in May aged 96, was interviewed by Sir Richard Eyre, the former director of the National Theatre, for BBC 2's first history of 20th-century theatre. The series - Changing Stages - will be presented by Sir Richard, who said Gielgud had been on great form and was prepared to talk freely about the 20th-century giants of the theatre he had known. In the interview, Gielgud talks about his friendship with Laurence Olivier. At one point he says: "I had a feeling that he rather thought I was showing off, which indeed I was."

Changing Stages will also include interviews with contemporary playwrights, from Harold Pinter to Arthur Miller.