The Story Of Musicals BBC4, 9pm

MUSICALS aren't for everyone. Not everybody wishes to see the story of the Large Hadron Collider set to music.

But they remain a driving, force not just in the British theatre, but around the world.

This new series lifts the curtain on a tale of titanic shows, phenomenal daring, epic rivalries, prodigious talent and gargantuan fortunes, all set in just a single square mile – London's theatreland.

The first episode looks at how, from unpromising beginnings in the period after the Second World War, British musicals went on to reclaim the West End from American domination.

Highlights include the quintessentially British show The Boyfriend and its failure to conquer Broadway, the riches-to-rags story of Lionel Bart and his masterpiece Oliver!, and the extraordinary partnership of Sir Tim Rice and Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber from the moment they burst on to the scene with Jesus Christ Superstar until their final collaboration of the 1970s, Evita. Word is, though, that they're about to reunite to recount the story of the London riots through the medium of the recorder.

The Story Of Musicals features firsthand accounts of the great shows from Lloyd Webber and Rice, as well as Cameron Mackintosh, Elaine Paige, Ron Moody, Bill Kenwright, Sheila Hancock, Harold Prince, Robert Stigwood, Tommy Steele, Paul Nicholas, and Willy Russell.

The programme has been designed to coincide with the launch of the new West End musical, Coalition!