The time is 1984, the place a Northern England mining town.
The miners are on strike and the atmosphere is tense. Eleven-year old Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell), whose father and brother are participating in the strike and whose mother had died quite some time ago doesn't like the brutal boxing lessons at school. Instead, he falls for the girls' ballet lessons.
However, when his family find out about this unusual love of his, Billy is in trouble - ballet isn't the sort of thing any young boy *wants* to do when they come from the North East of course!?
However with the constant support of his ballet teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson, he keeps on training secretly while the work situation as well as the problems at home get worse.
Finally, Mrs. Wilkinson manages to get Billy an audition for the Royal Ballet School, but now he also has to open his heart to his family. Drama at it's best!
Billy Elliot is a Film programme that first aired in 2000 and has been classified a 15 certificate.
