Why "The Lady in The Van" so $pecial?

1. THE STORY

It tells the true story of Mary Shepherd, an elderly woman who lived in a dilapidated van on Bennett's driveway in London for 15 years.

The Lady in the Van - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2. THE ACTRESS

Maggie Smith is Professor Minerva McGonagall.

3. BEDFORD

Bedford Vehicles, usually shortened to just Bedford, was a brand of vehicle produced by Vauxhall Motors, which established in 1930. The brand was retired in 1991.

4. WRITER'S POINT OF VIEW (DIARY)

"No one knew her well,” said Alan Bennett of the lady who lived for 15 years in a van outside his house. “Even I didn’t know her well. But I knew what she was like.”

5. STAGE

The Lady in the Van (1999).

6. RADIO

A radio play of the same title was broadcast on 21 February 2009 on BBC Radio 4, with actress Maggie Smith reprising her role of Miss Shepherd and Alan Bennett playing himself.

7. MISS SHEPHERD

Miss Shepherd: stubborn, humourless, cantankerous, ungrateful and extremely smelly, an odour that Bennett describes in the film as “predominantly wet wool and onions, which she eats raw, combined with urine and damp newspaper”.