BBC - Sex, Lies and Love Bites: The Agony Aunt Story (2015) 720p HDTV x264-BARGE

In this fascinating portrait of our social history, agony aunt and psychotherapist Philippa Perry examines our relationship with the advice column. Tracing the story of British agony aunts from the 17th century to the present day, Philippa finds that advice columnists have long been the hidden authors of society’s rules of behaviour. Laying bare these ever-changing codes of conduct, the programme uncovers the most common and revealing problems addressed over the past 300 years. Delving into magazine and newspaper archives, Philippa meets social historians to learn how the earliest problem pages made for irresistible reading. From courtship confessions to the bizarre intricacies of Victorian etiquette, Philippa puts historical questions to modern-day agony uncle Graham Norton, as she finds that many problems advice columnists grapple with are timeless.