Ian McKellen to star as LS Lowry in documentary revealing trove of unheard tapes

Exclusive: Tapes reveal artist reminiscing about his life in interviews recorded at home in last four years of his life

Fifteen years ago, Sir Ian McKellen was among the leading arts figures who criticised the Tate for not showing its collection of paintings by LS Lowry in its London galleries and questioned whether the “matchstick men painter” had been sidelined as too northern and provincial.

Now, 50 years after Lowry’s death, McKellen is to star in a BBC documentary that will reveal a trove of previously unheard audio tapes recorded with Lowry in the 1970s during his final four years of life.