New documentary about Paul McCartney’s stolen bass announced

From BBC Media Centre, September 4, 2025:

The legacy of the BBC’s long running arts strand is unrivalled, with Martin Scorsese once noting that ‘Arena is home to some of the greatest non-fiction film making in the past nearly 40 years’.

Since its launch in 1975, Arena has redefined arts broadcasting with its intelligent, often radical and poetic approach to storytelling. With over 600 films spanning the cultural spectrum including giants of the genre Bob Dylan: No Direction Home, Rudies Come Back: The Rise and Rise of 2 Tone, Paris is Burning and African Apocalypse, as well profiling icons from Orson Welles, Mel Brooks and Louise Bourgeois, to Amy Winehouse, Nelson Mandela and Caroline Aherne.

Voted into their List of Gamechangers in the History of BBC Television, the BFI are hosting a screening of My Way and The Chelsea Hotel, two of Arena’s most beloved films on 1 October at the National Film Theatre. The event will be dedicated to Alan Yentob and Arena mainstay film editor, the late Guy Crossman.

There will also be a 50th anniversary season of Arena classics on BBC Four this Autumn, introduced by Anthony Wall, with a further 50 titles from the archive available on BBC iPlayer.

Mark Bell, Commissioning Editor, BBC Arts said: “I am so proud to have had a hand on the tiller of Arena – it is the programme that opened my teenage eyes to authored documentary filmmaking and is widely regarded as the world’s greatest creative documentary strand. It has championed art and culture in its myriad manifestations for half a century and has been home to many outstanding directors.”

The Beatle and The Bass (w/t)

For over 50 years, the disappearance of Paul McCartney’s original Höfner bass guitar has been one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most enduring mysteries. The Beatle and The Bass (w/t) tells the extraordinary story of this iconic instrument, and the fan-powered quest to find it.

Paul McCartney said: “I think anything that’s nicked, you want back, especially if it has sentimental value. It just went off into the universe and it left us thinking, where did it go? There must be an answer.“

The film is a rock ‘n’ roll detective story featuring new interviews with Paul McCartney and many others who are personally connected to the bass. From Paul’s brother Mike McCartney, friend and artist Klaus Voormann, and roadies and collaborators such as Elvis Costello, to the fans, experts and journalists behind The Lost Bass Project, their memories are by turns funny, moving and surprising that help tell a compelling story about fandom, creativity, love, loss, memory and the transformative power of music.

The Beatle and the Bass (w/t) is a Passion Pictures Production in association with Footprint Media Partnership. The director is Arthur Cary. Editor is Paul Carlin and producer is Katherine Anstey. The Executive Producers are Emily Jeal and Hamish Fergusson. Associate Producers are Scott Jones and Naomi Jones. It was commissioned for BBC Arts by Mark Bell and Suzy Klein. […]

From BBC Media Centre, September 4, 2025

From Variety, September 4, 2025:

The epic story behind Paul McCartney‘s stolen bass guitar, which was returned to him in 2024 after 51 years, will be told in a new feature-length documentary directed by Arthur Cary (“Surviving 9/11,” “The Last Survivors”).

Titled “The Beatle and the Bass,” the documentary is produced by Passion Pictures, which won this year’s BAFTA with the Sundance hit “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” for BBC Arts. Fremantle is handling global distribution.

The documentary is announced as part of BBC Arena’s 50th Anniversary alongside “Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks” (also produced by Passion Pictures) and LS Lowry’s “Lost Tapes.”

The detective story charts the saga of McCartney’s original Höfner bass guitar whose disappearance 51 years ago became one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most enduring mysteries. […]

Emily Jeal, Passion Pictures’ head of feature documentaries, said, “From its beginnings, we knew ‘The Beatle and the Bass’ was exactly the kind of distinctive, emotional and uplifting story that we love to tell.”

“Working with Arthur Cary and BBC Arena to bring the unforgettable story of Paul McCartney’s lost bass to the screen is a true privilege,” Jeal said.

Ceire Clark, Fremantle’s VP of non-scripted acquisitions, said, “This remarkable story takes us on a truly global journey, spanning decades and continents.”

“The documentary offers a fresh perspective on music history, with access to McCartney himself and those who witnessed the Beatles’ rise from the very beginning,” Clark said, adding that Fremantle was “proud to be part of a project that celebrates the enduring power of music and storytelling to connect people around the world.” […]

From Variety, September 4, 2025