Educating Rita

‘But if you wanna change y’ have to do it from the inside, don’t y’?’

World-weary lecturer, Frank, has never met anyone like plain-speaking hairdresser Rita - until the Open University brings them together.

Frank knows plenty. He can tell Rita that Yeats isn’t only a wine lodge, and that there’s a difference between Jane Austen and Ethel Austin. He can explain in detail why Chekhov is a comic genius.

But he doesn’t know that learning can be dangerous and addictive. As Rita grows in confidence and ability, Frank begins to fear that her desire for academic knowledge might bury the fascinating, fresh woman who has brought him back to life.