The Great Escape

Kicking off an evening of programmes entitled Top Gear Night In, in which Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond present a selection of programmes designed especially for fans of the motoring show. Allied prisoners held in a maximum-security detention camp during World War Two plan an ingenious mass breakout. Classic PoW drama, with a star-studded cast including screen veterans Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Coburn, Donald Pleasence, James Garner and Charles Bronson, and featuring a memorable theme tune still to be heard at many a football match. Bronson proved invaluable during production - having been a miner before turning to acting he was well-placed to advise director John Sturges on how best to move the earth during the tunnel-digging sequences