Albert Finney

Cold Lazarus is a four-part British television drama written by Dennis Potter with the knowledge that he was dying of cancer of the pancreas.

It forms the second half of a pair with the television serial Karaoke. The two serials were filmed as a single production by the same team; both were directed by Renny Rye and feature Albert Finney as the writer Daniel Feeld. The plays were unique in being co-productions between the BBC and Channel 4, something Potter had expressly requested before his death. The show was first aired on Channel 4 in 1996 on Sunday evenings, with a repeat on BBC1 the following day.

Parts of Karaoke and Cold Lazarus were filmed in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, which is where Dennis Potter was born and raised, and children from local schools including St. Briavels Parochial Primary School starred in the film as extras in flashbacks.

As a result of the BBC and Channel 4 collaboration on these works, the copyright and further usage rights have remained unclear. However, both are available to watch online via the Channel 4 website, and Virgin Media’s on demand service. Both Karaoke and Cold Lazarus were released on DVD from Acorn Media in September 2010.