| Genre: | Drama |
| Creator: | Stephen Poliakoff |
| Director: | Stephen Poliakoff |
| Starring: | Jacqueline Bisset Angel Coulby Chiwetel Ejiofor Matthew Goode John Goodman Anthony Head Tom Hughes Janet Montgomery Wunmi Mosaku Miles Richardson Mel Smith Joanna Vanderham |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Runtime: | 360 minutes |
| Composer: | Adrian Johnston |
| Company: | Endgame Entertainment Playground Entertainment |
| Network: | BBC Two BBC HD |
Dancing on the Edge is a British television drama written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff and produced by the BBC about a black jazz band in London in the early 1930s. The series aired on BBC Two between 4 February and 10 March 2013. It was nominated for three awards at the 71st Golden Globe Awards.[1]
The series follows a black jazz band's experiences in London in the 1930s. Made up of talented musicians and managed by the compassionate yet short-tempered Wesley Holt, the band gets a booking at the Imperial Hotel, through cunning journalist Stanley Mitchell. They prove to be a hit, and become a success at the hotel. Aristocrats — and the Royal Family — ask the band to play at parties. The media rush to interview and photograph the band, who are also associated with the wealthy American businessman Walter Masterson and his enthusiastic British employee Julian. The band's success spirals, with them being offered record deals. But tragedy strikes, setting off a chain of events that may wreck the band's career.
The Louis Lester Band
Music Express magazine
The Elite
Non-elite
Filming took place on location at the Grand Hotel and Council House in Birmingham, where the hotel scenes were shot, the Black Country Living Museum was used to shoot a scene set in a mining village and Ragley Hall in Warwickshire was used as Lady Cremone's home.[3] The headquarters of Music Express are located at No. 4 Princelet Street, Spitalfields[4] and later at Somerset House. The railway scenes in the first episode were shot on the preserved Bluebell Railway. Wilton's Music Hall was used as the club. Fenton House, Hampstead, stands for the house of Donaldson. Some scenes for Donaldson's house were also shot at Upton House, Warwickshire. Kidderminster, on the Severn Valley Railway, was used as "Folkestone" in the fifth episode. Manze's Eel, Pie and Mash shop in Walthamstow also makes an appearance in that episode.