A Band for Britain - Season 1

First aired: 3/8/2010 3 episodes
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Episodes

1. Episode 1

Aired: 3/8/2010

Dinnington Band, from just outside Sheffield, South Yorkshire, has survived two world wars, the miners' strike and the demise of the pits. But now it's down to a handful of core members, including septuagenarians Joan and Kay, and Kay's daughters Sally, Joanne, and Penny. They are a formidable family, but they seem to be fighting a losing battle to keep Dinnington alive. Until Sue Perkins arrives... Sue leads the Dinningon die-hards on a dramatic crusade, hunting down new players, whipping them into shape, and dragging a new-look band back to the concert stage.

2. Episode 2

Aired: 3/15/2010

Sue takes the rejuvenated Dinnington Colliery Band into battle as its bedraggled players prepare to take the stage at the famous brass band competition at Hardraw Scar, North Yorkshire. This will be Dinnington's first ever appearance at Hardraw, despite both the band and the contest being over a hundred years old. But they're still a long way short of a full band, they have no cash, and they need to hire a new conductor if they are to stand a hope in hell of making the grade. Can Sue get the band fighting fit and put them back where they belong, on the competition stage?

3. Episode 3

Aired: 3/22/2010

Despite leading Dinnington Colliery Band to competition success, Sue Perkins returns to South Yorkshire to find herself at the centre of a family rift that threatens to tear the band apart. In the final programme of the series, Sue faces her toughest challenge yet: to reconcile sisters Sally and Joanne's conflicting ambitions; restore morale; and leave Dinnington with genuine hope for a long-term future. It's a dramatic finale as the band undertake their first appearance on live television, march on Westminster, and push their self-belief to the limit as they go head-to-head with Grimethorpe - one of the best brass bands in the world. At stake is not just the survival of Dinnington, but the future of brass bands all over the land.