Brideshead Revisited 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 45 on the BBC survey The Big Read. In 2005, it was chosen by "Time" magazine as one of the one hundred best English-language novels from 1923 to the present. In 2009, "Newsweek" magazine listed it as one of the 100 best books of world literature. In 1981 "Brideshead Revisited" was adapted as an 11-episode TV serial, produced by Granada Television and aired on ITV, starring Jeremy Irons as Charles Ryder and Anthony Andrews as Lord Sebastian Flyte. The bulk of the serial was
Charles Denton (television and film producer) later controller of programming. Not long after joining ATV he began the "Pilger" series which ran for five series between 1974 and 1977. John Pilger recalled: ""Pilger" was Charles' idea ... It was he who encouraged me to stand in front of the camera and say 'I'." Denton came under extreme political and diplomatic pressure from both the British and Saudi governments both before and after ATV part-financed and produced the drama-documentary "Death of a Princess" shown on 9 April 1980. The British ambassador to Saudi Arabia was requested to leave the country, and remained away from his post for