Family Confidential

8:00pm – Thursday, March 1 on ABC1

For more than 50 years, the Jacobsen name has been synonymous with Australian entertainment – from the dawn of rock ‘n’ roll to big names such as Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand, to global hits like Dirty Dancing.

But behind the glitz and glamour is the story of a working class boy from East Hills who was given the responsibility of caring for his extended family.

Kevin Jacobsen was a born entrepreneur who soon found a way to turn the family’s homespun love of music into a thriving business. He created one of Australia’s earliest and most successful rock ‘n’ roll bands around his younger brother Col, and was soon managing a string of leading artists. Over the years, the family rode the showbiz rollercoaster to success, producing bestselling shows from the Four Tenors to Bruce Springsteen and Disney on Ice. Ignoring his own young children, Kevin travelled the world, securing new acts and creating a family empire with his siblings.

But as a second generation came of age, the family that had once been the closest in Australian show business was in trouble. Kevin and Col had both brought their children into the family firm – and everyone was at loggerheads.

Perhaps no one will ever fully understand what unfolded. But Kevin and Col no longer speak, and 78-yearold Kevin is now on the outside of the extended family he led for so long.

With many court battles pending, the case may never be resolved. Meanwhile, what was once the closest sibling partnership in entertainment history has been shattered beyond repair. In its place, however, is a new relationship between Kevin and his own immediate family that may prove their salvation.

8:00pm – Thursday, February 23 on ABC1

From the moment he burst onto the stage in the 1970s, dashing corporate raider Robert Holmes � Court captured the public’s imagination with his brilliance and daring. He was the enigmatic and dazzling outsider with a romantic, hazy Rhodesian past – admired, feared and loathed in almost equal measures.

With his loyal wife Janet by his side, Robert became Australia’s first billionaire. He created a mammoth financial empire that, at the time of the 1987 stock market crash, was worth two billion dollars. But the crash nearly destroyed him. He retreated from the public eye, and set about making back his billions, something he almost achieved. But the effort literally killed him. Robert Holmes � Court dropped dead of a massive heart attack on Father’s Day 1990. He was just 53.

In a typically unpredictable move, Robert stunned the world by leaving no will. Instead, his widow Janet and their four children would have to decipher a tangled web of assets and debts – and determine who would run the family empire. Over the next twenty years, the question of what to do in Robert’s absence almost broke them apart.

In the immediate aftermath, Janet Holmes � Court scrambled to pick up the pieces. Thrust into the limelight as Australia’s richest woman, she would become one of the nation’s most admired leaders.

But it was a trickier story for her children – and her eldest and youngest sons in particular. Peter, the eldest, was a 21-year-old student at Oxford when his father died. He would find himself struggling to take the reins, with enormous shoes to fill. He’s seen the mantle passed to his youngest brother Paul, who finally is on the verge of assuming complete control of the empire his father founded.

Today, all three are still trying to figure out why Robert left things as he did.

8:00pm – Thursday, February 16 on ABC1

This is the private story of the unconventional family behind one of Australia’s most famous faces.

When Sally Butler met Ernie Dingo, it was the beginning of a unique bond that would bridge two very different cultures.

“They’ve been through so much and yet there is something that ties them inextricably together.” Liz Butler, Sally’s sister.

Against advice, the couple married – and Sally embraced her husband’s complex, extended Indigenous family. Meanwhile, Ernie defied the stereotypes to become one of Australia’s most famous celebrities.

Already a popular film and television star, he became a household name as the host of The Great Outdoors.

But Sally had a private heartache. She had been told she was unable to have children. However, fate intervened and Sally and Ernie did become the parents of two children – a son Jurra, and a daughter Wilara. But little did the couple realise the bonds in place that already connected them.

It seemed on the surface a perfect union. But just two years ago, Ernie’s celebrity came crashing down in a media storm that would cost far more than his celebrity career.

Sally and Ernie Dingo open their doors to reveal the true complexity, courage, resilience and love that bond and define a family.

8:00pm – Thursday, February 9 on ABC1

Australia’s blockbuster novelist, Bryce Courtenay, plundered his own incredible life story to create his internationally bestselling books and films. But when he put the story of his son’s tragic death into print, it scarred the family forever. Today, as Bryce Courtenay struggles to complete his next book, his family reveals the difficult and complex truths behind the larger-than-life fiction.

“He’s a great storyteller. If truth is a problem there, well whose truth?” Celeste Coucke, Bryce’s daughterin-law.

For the past twenty years, Bryce Courtenay has reigned supreme as Australia’s bestselling novelist. It’s said that every home has at least one of his books on the shelf; and every year, he writes a novel for Christmas that generates ten million dollars for the Australian publishing industry.

This is the story of a man conditioned from childhood to win, and who discovered himself in his imagination. But the journey has come at a cost.

For Bryce, a good story always comes first. His work takes precedence over everything. It means there is little time to spare for his family – and even his new bride sees little of him when he’s working. And, when he wrote about his own family’s tragedy, everyone suffered the consequences.

Nothing has stopped him – until now. In 2011, fate dealt Bryce a cruel blow. Ill health has cost him a deadline. For the first time in twenty years, there was no Bruce Courtenay blockbuster in the bookshops for Christmas, and a man for whom stories are life, faces an uncertain future.

8:00pm – Thursday, February 2 on ABC1

Family Confidential returns for its second season, inviting you into the homes of six of Australia’s most powerful and intriguing families, including The Nolls (singer Shannon and family), The Courtenays (of author Bryce Courtenay), The Dingos (actor Ernie, wife Sally), The Holmes Courts (billionaire widow Janet and sons Peter and Paul), The Jacobsens (entertainment legend Kevin) and The Casellas (founders of Australia’s wealthiest family wine company with the Yellow Tail label).

Shannon Noll, a multi-platinum recording artist, shot to fame in 2003 as the runner-up on the first series of Australian Idol. In just eight years, Shannon had ten consecutive Top Ten singles in the ARIA charts – the only artist in Australia ever to do so – and, now with sales in the millions, he’s one of Australia’s topselling performers. Yet Shannon’s success hides a family tragedy.

Shannon grew up on the family’s 100-year-old farm, in Condobolin NSW, with his two older brothers, Damian and Adam. The brothers never doubted they would inherit the farm – after all, the Nolls had been farming for five generations. They worked the land by day and entertained crowds by night, performing in their rock and roll cover band in country pubs – Shannon singing, Damian on drums and Adam on guitar.

Then a freak accident in 2001, which killed their beloved father, catapulted the Noll brothers into a series of events that would define them as men.

The brothers had a 4,500 acre farm teetering near bankruptcy, and worse, they faced a drought of biblical proportions. The pressure brought out the worst. Without their father to guide them, physical fights and bloodshed replaced the brothers’ once tight sibling relationships.

As Shannon’s career took off, he was forced to drop his brothers from his band. But in a new twist of chance Adam and Damian have found their own musical voice and have recently been discovered by the business manager of the Wiggles, who is keen to launch them as country music’s next big thing.

On Sunday Feb 12, at 6.05pm Expedition Tiger continues. After the news, at 7.30pm, is Grand Designs featuring a small property in Herefordshire. At 8.30pm, is the return of Midsomer Murders with new episodes – a show that rates very well for the ABC (read more here). Following that at 10.00pm is Dancing with the Dictators which looks at control over Burma’s media.

On Monday Feb 13, Australian Story at 8pm focused on the story of Di Gilcrist and the hit-and-run accident that took the life of her cyclist husband, Ian Humphrey. Four Corners, Media Watch and Q&A follow.

Tuesday Feb 14, at 8.30pm, is The Wild Ones: Shark Harbour which investigates the rare occurrence of sharks entering Sydney Harbour in 2009. 9.30 is Genius: Russell Howard And Hazel Irvine where celebrity chat meets inspired thinking. 10pm is Jennifer Byrne Presents: Words Aloud – a series of individual treats for lovers of books and writing.

Wednesday Feb 15 has the 20th Anniversary Specials of Absolutely Fabulous at 8pm, followed by Adam Hills In Gordon Street Tonight at 8.30. New series Outland is at 9.30pm.

Family Confidential this week, on Thursday Feb 16, looks at the story of Sally and Ernie Dingo. The Straits episode 4 is at 8.30pm, then Dragon’s Den continues at 9.30pm.

Saturday Feb 18 at 6.10pm is a revamp of the series Minder – Minder: In Vino Veritas. Accused at 8.30pm is Kenny’s Story.

It’s a week of summer finals and premieres on ABC1 with Nigella Kitchen, Outnumbered and Gareth Malone’s School for Extraordinary Boys all concluding during this week, while The Straits debuts on Thursday nights, as does Family Confidential and new series Accused on Saturday nights.

Grand Designs: Tenby. Sunday January 29, 7.30pm

This episode focusses on the restoration of the old lifeboat station in Tenby, Wales as Irishman Tim O’Donovan and his wife see an opportunity to not only convert the building into a unique home, but to rescue the historic building for the nation. Perched high on a steel peer above the sea, with only soft beech access, deliveries must be timed with the weather and tides.

Zen: Cabal. Sunday January 29, 8.30pm

A glamorous Roman detective series, based on the books by Michael Dibdin and starring Rufus Sewell. In this, episode two fo the series, Zen is assigned another case by the Ministry after the body of Umberto Ruspanti, a member of one of Rome’s most prominent aristocratic families is found underneath a bridge. Despite being directed to conclude it was suicide, Zen quickly suspects that murder has taken place. It is up to Zen to discover what really happened to Ruspanti.

Orchids: My Intersex Adventure. Sunday January 29, 10.00pm

This is the story of documentary filmmaker Phoebe Hart and her journey of both self discovery and finding others that share her condition of intersex with her. This condition means she can never menstruate, nor have children – a topic that was taboo in her childhood.

Ben Lee: Catch My Disease. Monday January 30, 9.30pm

This documentary examines the life of Ben Lee, a unique Australiamn artist who had written two solo albums of Dylan-inspired folk pop by 1995.

Nigella Kitchen: Can’t Live Without. Tuesday Janury 31, 8.00pm

In the final episode of this series, Nigella is sharing the secrets of food and flavours she just can’t live without including lemon, choclate and more.

The Wild Ones: Cane Toads – The Conquest. Tuesday January 31, 8.30pm

The South American cane toad was introduces into Australia in 1935 as an attempt to control the grey back cane beetle. Since then the toads have multiplied and become one of the nation’s greatest pests.

Gareth Malone’s Extraordinary School for Boys. Tuesday January 31, 9.55pm

Final Part 1. International award winner, Choirmaster Gareth Malone teaches in a primary school in Essex in the UK for one term. His mission is to tackle the gap between girls’ and boys’ literacy and his final task is to tackle the boys’ number one enemy – writing.

Outnumbered. Wednesday February 1, 8.00pm

Final. Outnumbered follows the daily chaos of family life with two parents and three young children locked in an unequal contest (hence the title). Containing elements of improvisation, this comedy is an honest portrayal of the well meaning parental incompetence that happens in most homes, as Mum (Claire Skinner) and Dad (Hugh Dennis) attempt to raise their kids with the minimum of emotional damage for all concerned.

Family Confidential. Thursday February 2, 8.00pm

New series. Family Confidential returns for its second season, inviting you into the homes of six of Australia’s most powerful and intriguing families, including The Nolls (singer Shannon and family), The Courtenays (of author Bryce Courtenay), The Dingos (actor Ernie, wife Sally), The Holmes à Courts (billionaire widow Janet and sons Peter and Paul), The Jacobsens (entertainment legend Kevin) and The Casellas (founders of Australia’s wealthiest family wine company with the Yellow Tail label). First episode looks at the Nolls.

The Straits. Thursday February 2, 8.30pm

New Australian Series.

Set among the turquoise waters and lethal wildlife of Australia’s Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait, The Straits is an exotic, darkly humorous crime drama.

The Montebello’s family business is transporting drugs into Australia and guns and exotic wildlife out – using ties of blood and loyalty in the Torres Strait Islands.

When Harry (Brian Cox) starts to plan his succession a power struggle is sparked between brothers Noel (Aaron Fa’Aoso), Marou (Jimi Bani), and Gary (Firass Dirani), and wife Kitty (Rena Owen) and daughter Sissi (Suzannah Bayes-Morton).

Tonight’s two-hour feature length premiere comprises:

Ep 1:-The Proposition

Harry announces his unexpected succession plan. Supported by his mother, Noel expands the family’s operations, without his father’s knowledge, by setting up a methamphetamine lab in PNG. This leads to conflict with the DC outlaw motorcycle gang and the family’s lives are threatened.

Ep 2:-The Trouble With Raskols
When a PNG raskol dies after Noel’s meth lab explodes, the dead raskol’s brother goes to the family’s home on Zey Island intent on revenge.

Gary flees to Cairns prompting Harry, Marou and Noel to go to PNG to square things with the raskols and the expat Chinese trader, Quay Lin (Sri Sacdpraseuth).

Meanwhile, Sissi starts work with the family’s accountant Paddy (Kim Gyngell) and discovers that Paddy has been embezzling money from the family for years.

And Marou’s wife Lola (Emma Lung) puts in place a plan to blackmail Gary into supporting Marou as future head of the family business.

Golf: Australian Ladies Masters 2012: Third Round. Saturday February 4, 2.00pm

ABC TV will broadcast back to back for the first time Australia’s two major golf tournaments for women – the 2012 Australian Ladies Masters (February 4 and 5) and the 2012 Women’s Australian Open (February 9,10,11 and 12).

Accused: Helen’s Story. Saturday February 4, 8.30pm

A series of six unflinching contemporary stories from acclaimed writer Jimmy McGovern that boasts a stellar cast.

McGovern, who is currently working with ABC TV on a major new series Redfern Now is also the creator of the award-winning series Cracker and The Street.

In Accused, each story is about an ordinary person who ends up in the court dock. But should these men and women be there? Are they innocent or guilty or somewhere in-between? As each hour-long episode unravels we see how these people became the accused and finally whether they walk free or go down…

In this story, teacher Helen Ryland (Juliet Stevenson) is distraught to discover her only son has been killed during his first day of work at a local factory. While her husband Frank (Peter Capaldi) is consumed by grief, she sets out to discover how the accident happened. However, when questioning of a witness and the facility’s owner proves fruitless, and the process of getting someone to accept responsibility drags on, she resorts to desperate measures.

Today, ABC TV announces its second installment – 6 x 30 mins – of the popular documentary series, Family Confidential which will begin its run on February 2 at 8pm on ABC1.  

Produced by Laurie Critchley, Family Confidential takes an intimate look into the lives of some of Australia’s high profile families and reveals the dramatic private events that have marked their extraordinary public journeys. 

The families for this second season include: the Nolls (singer Shannon and family), the Courtenays (of author Bryce Courtenay fame); the Dingos (actor Ernie, wife Sally); the Holmes a Court (billionaire widow, Janet and sons Peter and Paul); the Jacobsens (entertainment legend Kevin); and the Casellas (Australia’s wealthiest wine company, courtesy of their Yellow Tail label).

This year also marks the 10th anniversary of Laurie Critchley’s first foray into the family history format, which included: the acclaimed Dynasties series of 2002, followed by Family Fortunes in 2008, and now Family Confidential.  

Head of ABC TV’s Documentaries, Alan Erson said: “Family Confidential is a consistently strong series and I truly admire Laurie and her team who have delivered an honest and open look into the lives of many high profile Australians. This series just keeps getting better.” 

Family Confidential Executive Producer, Laurie Critchley said: “Although we’ve reached our 10th series, and helped tell more than 60 family stories, there are always surprises. Every one of our six new stories offers a new insight into the meaning and complexity of the family, and opens a fascinating inside window to our shared history. For our families, real life really is larger than fiction!

“What is so humbling is that each family has been so generous in trusting us to bring their truly extraordinary personal stories to a national audience”, she said.

8:00pm – Monday, December 27 on ABC1

Once known as one of the biggest ratbags of Australian rock’n'roll, Jimmy Barnes is now regarded as music royalty. But it hasn’t been an easy journey.

Jimmy’s battles with drugs and alcohol have taken him to the brink, almost costing him his family and his life.

He was saved by an unlikely love affair that has survived against the odds.

Jane Barnes grew up in a very different world to Jimmy’s. She spent her childhood in a traditional warm family compound in Thailand and brought her unique values to her marriage with Jimmy.

This modern Australian love story reveals one man’s courage to face his demons and his transformation and strengthening through the love and support of an extended, blended family.

Please note no preview DVD for this program is available at present.

Monday December 27, 8pm on ABC1

Jimmy Barnes is famous for living like he sings – at full throttle. Once known as one of the biggest ratbags of Australian rock ’n’ roll, he’s now regarded as music royalty. But it hasn’t been an easy journey.

Jimmy’s battles with drugs and alcohol are well known. Less known is the story of the woman and family who stood behind him during the struggle.

Jane Barnes grew up in a very different world to Jimmy’s. She spent her early years in the warm embrace of a traditional family compound in Thailand and brought her unique values to their marriage.

This is a modern Australian love story about the courage to face one’s demons, and transformation through the support of an extended, blended family.