1h

Through 25 key moments, this programme takes a look at the highs and lows of the multi award-winning animation studio Pixar as it celebrates its 25th birthday, and discovers the secrets of how to make a Pixar movie. With unique access to Pixar HQ and the creative team, it features memorable moments from hits such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc, as well as exclusive interviews with Bil... Read more

1h

Nel Hedayat investigates the controversial world of music videos and meets the girls who dream of dancing in them. Nel spends time with girls who are on the path to success, but also learns about the dark side of an industry where dancers chasing fame can leave themselves open to financial and sexual exploitation.

1h

The life and times of the much-loved comedienne, from vaudeville showgirl to star of the Ulster stage.

1h

The extraordinary story of comedian Bob Monkhouse's life and career, told for the first time through the vast private archive of films, TV shows, letters and memorabilia that he left behind.

1h

Rankin, the UK's leading fashion photographer, reveals the rich history of Hollywood photography and how its most influential and enduring images were created. From Hollywood's golden age, epitomised by gorgeous images of screen goddesses Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich to brooding shots of Marlon Brando; from the unparalleled allure of pictures of Marilyn Monroe to iconic black and white stills ... Read more

1h

Johnny Beattie leads this celebration of one of Scotland's finest singers, the tenor Kenneth McKellar, who died early last year. McKellar's career spanned 50 years and saw him become a household name in Scotland and beyond, but behind the public persona was a quiet man who regularly spurned personal honours and accolades and shied away from the trappings of showbusiness. The programme features con... Read more

1h

Drawing from Eric and Ernie, the BBC's new film, this celebratory documentary charts the duo's early years and the hurdles they faced, whilst showing why Eric and Ernie still remain Britain's best loved double act. Featuring specially shot, behind-the-scenes footage from the film, treasured Morecambe and Wise archive and celebrity interviews, the documentary visits important landmarks in their jou... Read more

1h

Proms to mark the end of primary school are the latest pre-teen craze. And they're growing, not just in numbers, but in glitz. Pre-teen Proms tells the story of the children at two schools in the three months running up to this latest, inescapable, rite of passage. At Riverside Primary in Livingston, the teachers love the fun and glamour of the prom, while at well-heeled Mearns Primary just outsid... Read more

1h

Donnie Macsween was a schoolboy when the BBC made 'A Boy in Harris' in the 1960s. This programme looks at his life since then. An opportunity to see the original, acclaimed documentary once more. Scottish Gaelic with English subtitles.

1h

Darren was diagnosed with orophyrangeal cancer, a rare form of mouth cancer, at the age of only 31. But that wasn't the only shocking news that he had to deal with. Most oral cancers are caused by smoking or drinking, but Darren's was caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted. Darren had caught it through having oral sex. New research shows that there has been a drama... Read more

1h

In Ready, Steady, Drink Emily Atack, who plays Charlotte Hinchcliffe in The Inbetweeners, looks at the UK's culture of drinking games and whether they should be banned. Travelling the length and breadth of the country Emily investigates why young Brits like to find new and more risky ways of drinking and she asks if there is anything the government can do to stop them.

1h

The story of Charles Byrne the famous Irish Giant and some possible modern-day relatives.

1h

A tribute to the Oscar-nominated British actor Pete Postlethwaite, who died on 2 January following a lengthy illness. Includes interviews and clips with fellow actors and directors.

1h

The Campbell sisters are the best known triplets in the Hebrides. But behind the incredible story of their dramatic birth lies a tale of loss and separation, hardship and poverty, amid much laughter and tears. Scottish Gaelic with English subtitles.

1h

It's more than two years since the giant banks were bailed out with billions of pounds of tax-payers' money, yet little has been done to reform or regulate these vast institutions. The BBC's business editor Robert Peston looks at how the international regulators, a little-known and secretive committee that sits in the Swiss city of Basel, have consistently failed to curb the excesses of the giant ... Read more

1h

From the Royal Institution in London, Harvard professor Michael Sandel hosts a discussion to explore fairness in public policy and the Big Society. An audience of politicians, opinion-formers and the general public should ensure a lively and topical debate.

1h

A specially-commissioned documentary in which renowned Harvard professor Michael Sandel looks at the philosophy of justice. Is it acceptable to torture a terrorist in order to discover where a bomb has been hidden? Should wearing the burka in public be banned in Europe, if the majority of citizens disapprove? Should beggars be cleared off the streets of London? Sandel goes in search of Jerem... Read more

1h

In April 2010, Laura Hall from Bromsgrove hit the headlines for being barred from buying or drinking alcohol anywhere in England and Wales. After being expelled from school at 15, she has no qualifications and has been arrested over 40 times. Now she is determined to change. This documentary follows Laura into rehab, capturing her highs and lows as she attempts to turn her back on six years of bin... Read more

1h

This programme follows two women who on the front line of Northern Ireland's continuing abortion battle. Audrey Simpson is the director of the Family Planning Association, the only agency in NI that provides women with information on how to arrange an abortion. And every day, Bernie Smyth and fellow activists from the Precious Life pressure group are literally standing in the way of the women ente... Read more

1h

Ness is the last place in the UK where young gannets, known in Gaelic as guga, are hunted for their meat. The hunting of sea birds was outlawed in 1954 in the UK, but the community of Ness on the Isle of Lewis continues to be granted the only exemption under UK and EU law allowing them to hold the annual hunt. Every August, ten men from Ness set sail for Sula Sgeir, a desolate island far out in... Read more

1h

Set in the heart of the Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Harris is a landscape rich in culture, history and the Gaelic language. Home to some of Britain's most important wildlife, it's a naturalist's paradise. In this special programme Dougie Vipond celebrates the people who live and work on the edge of western Europe - from traditional crofters and craftspeople to those developing new skills for the f... Read more

1h

During the 40s, 50s and 60s Sister Rosetta Tharpe played a highly significant role in the creation of rock & roll, inspiring musicians like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. She may not be a household name, but this flamboyant African-American gospel singing superstar, with her spectacular virtuosity on the newly-electrified guitar, was one of the most in... Read more

1h

They arrive, they smoke, they wait - armed robbers seeking redemption, life-long thieves, addicts and anxious fathers of wayward children. Hard exteriors hide soft centres, old lives exist in young bodies - ordinary people awaiting judgement on an unlovely stretch of pavement outside a London magistrates' court. Whilst waiting for their cases to be heard they reveal their lives, and the complexit... Read more

1h

They are the UK's most powerful arbiters of justice and now, for the first time, four of the Justices of the Supreme Court talk frankly and openly about the nature of justice and how they make their decisions. The film offers a revealing glimpse of the human characters behind the judgments and explores why the Supreme Court and its members are fundamental to our democracy. The eleven men and one ... Read more

1h

Bafta-winning director Morgan Matthews's landmark film exploring the impact of teenage killings on families and communities across Britain, an emotional journey that chronicles every teenager who died as a result of violence in 2009 in the UK. Harrowing actuality filmed in the immediate aftermath combines with moving testimony from the spectrum of people affected in the wake of violent death. Film... Read more

1h

Pleasure is vital for our survival - without it we wouldn't eat or have sex, and would soon die out as a species. But how does pleasure work and what gives us the most pleasure in life? In an attempt to find out, Michael Mosley learns how the hottest chilli in the world creates euphoria in the brain, why parents have an overwhelming surge of love for their newborn child and what happens if you tu... Read more

1h

David Cameron and Nick Clegg seem made for each other: Eton and Oxford meets Westminster School and Cambridge. But does the return of public school boys to the top of our politics say something worrying about the decline of social mobility in Britain? Andrew Neil goes on a journey from the Scottish council house he grew up in to the corridors of power to ask if we will ever again see a prime mini... Read more

1h

A story of hope in a country that has none, and one that has uncomfortable lessons for the governments of the West. On 12 January 2010, Haiti was hit by a terrible quake. Hundreds of thousands dead and wounded; thousands of buildings crushed; the capital, Port au Prince, wiped out; death and disease everywhere. The disaster left Haiti and its government in ruins. Three weeks post quake, Hait... Read more

1h

Once a week pensioners Jimmy, Colette, Sean and friends blast the airwaves with their own feisty, funny and issue-driven radio show 'Afternoon Delight'. Observationally shot, this moving film takes us into the homes and hearts of a generation who struggle in an entertaining and inspiring way with issues that face many of our pensioners.

1h

The Moon is such a familiar presence in the sky that most of us take it for granted. But what if it wasn't where it is now? How would that affect life on Earth? Space scientist and lunar fanatic Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock explores our intimate relationship with the Moon. Besides orchestrating the tides, the moon dictates the length of a day, the rhythm of the seasons and the very stability of our ... Read more

1h

Documentary-maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles. Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human ... Read more

1h

Britain is a less equal society than at any time since World War One. In Who Gets the Best Jobs, Richard Bilton investigates access to the professions - and finds that the best jobs are being snapped up by an increasingly small gene pool of privileged, well-connected families. Getting a good degree matters more than ever - and those from low income families can no longer easily work their way u... Read more

1h

The catalyst to Britain's Industrial Revolution was the slave labour of orphans and destitute children. In this shocking and moving account of their exploitation and eventual emancipation, Professor Jane Humphries uses the actual words of these child workers (recorded in diaries, interviews and letters) to let them tell their own story. She also uses groundbreaking animation to bring to life a wor... Read more

1h

To most Americans Abraham Lincoln is the nation's greatest president - a political genius who won the Civil War and ended slavery. Today the cult of Lincoln has become a multi-million dollar industry, with millions of Americans visiting his memorials and thousands of books published that present him as a saint more than a politician. But does Lincoln really deserve all this adulation? 150 years... Read more

1h

Sir Peter Tapsell MP delivers a lecture on F E Smith in the State Apartments of the Palace of Westminster, from Tuesday 1 February.

1h

It can be tough working together for one goal, but the rewards more than make up for it. Set in the South Wales valleys, the drama Baker Boys follows the highs and lows of a group of bakery workers who, against all odds, manage to buy their own factory and run it as a co-operative. In this documentary, we take a journey into the past with Mark Lewis Jones, who stars in the drama, to reveal the inc... Read more

1h

Three groups use dance, food and music to explore modern India and Indian life. The films were made by the Scottish-Indian groups themselves, supported by the LAB team. LAB, or Learn At BBC Scotland, is part of the Learning Department doing workshops to pass on skills and stimulate creativity.

1h

Author Henry Hitchings explores the lives and works of Britain's radical and pioneering 18th century novelists who, in just 80 years, established all the literary genres we recognise today. It was a golden age of creativity led by Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Henry Fielding, Laurence Sterne, Fanny Burney and William Godwin, amongst others. Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, Tom Jones and Tristr... Read more

1h

A programme exploring the life and writing of navvy poet Patrick MacGill. Drawing upon a rich vein of early cinema archive and live action re-enactment shot in Ireland, Scotland and England, the film retraces MacGill's journey from itinerant labourer to man of letters. Born in 1889 into crushing poverty in Donegal in the west of Ireland, MacGill went on to become one of Ireland's most successful a... Read more

1h

In 2008, after 25-years as Ian Paisley's deputy, Peter Robinson finally got his hands on power, becoming leader of the DUP and Northern Ireland's First Minister. Less than two years later, he was facing personal and political ruin after he was alleged to have failed to alert the authorities to his wife's financial dealings with two property developers and her 19-year-old lover. Yet today, the Firs... Read more

1h

As Wales prepare to take on England at the Millennium Stadium on Friday night, Chris Corcoran takes a sideways look at this famous fixture which has generated so much passion over the years. From the games of the 80s with stripey bobble hats, Bill McLaren's commentary and supporters running on the pitch, to the professional era of today, Chris presents his personal take on growing up with the Five... Read more

1h

Tough times have hit Britain and for young people it is the hardest time to find a job since the 1980s. Greg James finds out what it's like to be young, unemployed and living with your parents when he follows graduates and school leavers chasing jobs in the worst job market in decades.

1h

Writer and broadcaster Stephen Smith uncovers the secret history of the humble fig leaf, opening a window onto 2,000 years of Western art and ethics. He tells how the work of Michelangelo, known to his contemporaries as 'the maker of pork things', fuelled the infamous 'fig leaf campaign', the greatest cover-up in art history; how Bernini turned censorship into a new form of erotica by replacing... Read more

1h

The rocksteady era of Jamaican music in the mid-to-late 1960s is considered a golden age because rocksteady's sweet, soulful vocals, romantic but often socially conscious lyrics and prominent basslines gave birth to reggae, which went on to capture the world. This documentary chronicles the coming together of rocksteady's surviving vocal stars - artists like the Tamlins, U-Roy, Ken Boothe, Lero... Read more

1h

The acclaimed BBC4 Britannia series moves into the world of British reggae. Showing how it came from Jamaica in the 1960s to influence, over the next twenty years, both British music and society, the programme includes major artists and performances from that era, including Big Youth, Max Romeo, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Jerry Dammers and the Specials, the Police, UB40, Dennis Bovell, lovers rock perf... Read more

1h

Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could soon be introduced for being gay. The gay Radio 1 DJ finds out what it's like to live in a society which persecutes people like him and meets those who are leading the hate campaign.

1h

Veteran television reporters Kate Adie, Martin Bell, Peter Taylor and Bill Neely return to Northern Ireland to revisit their coverage of the Troubles and meet with some of the people whose stories they told.

1h

In 2008, Decca Records had a worldwide smash hit with a group of Austrian monks singing Gregorian chant. Now the company is hoping to repeat their success, this time with an order of nuns. Record executives Oliver Harrop and Tom Lewis travel the world in search of the finest singing nuns, with the aim of signing them up and taking them to number one in the charts. From Ireland to the USA via Fr... Read more

1h

Jo Brand is outraged and appalled by the latest outburst of public crying. It is happening on X Factor, Who Do You Think You Are and even the politicans are at it. It would appear we are awash with tears. Jo is particularly baffled by this outpouring of weepiness as crying is something she rarely does. In this documentary, Jo decides it's time to get to the bottom of crying: why we do it, who d... Read more

1h

David Nash is one of Britain's most original and internationally recognised sculptors. In a career spanning 40 years he has created over 2,000 sculptures out of wood, many of then monumental in scale. In this film Nash gives an intimate insight into his unique collaboration with his material. From sawing and gouging to charring and planting, it reveals how he has used his profound knowledge of tre... Read more

1h

On a remarkable journey of discovery, one Armagh family trace their roots to the Great Famine, experiencing the realities of life 150 years ago and discovering two very different paths their ancestors took - one half choosing to remain behind, while the other half abandoned Armagh for a new life across the Atlantic. Through fire and ice, their struggle to survive is revealed to be a microcosm of c... Read more

1h

Wales's great artist Sir Kyffin Williams talks about four seminal turning points in the course of his life. Sir Kyffin's Welsh upbringing, viewing a 15th-century Italian fresco by Piero Della Francesca, and a 1947 realization he might be able to earn his living as a painter - these are the first three. The fourth moment was an agonizing choice between Patagonia and Venice. He had spent two exci... Read more

1h

Investigation into how two brothers set up a failed Christmas theme park in Dorset. Lapland New Forest opened for just six days and took over 1.2 million pounds.

1h

Documentary telling the unexpected story of how arguably the greatest work of English prose ever written, the King James Bible, came into being. Author Adam Nicolson reveals why the making of this powerful book shares much in common with his experience of a very different national project - the Millennium Dome. The programme also delves into recently discovered 17th century manuscripts, from th... Read more

1h

The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica, Toots Hibbert, featuring intimate new performances and interviews with Toots, rare archive from throughout his career and interviews with contemporaries and admirers including Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Jimmy Cliff, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Marcia Griffiths and Paolo Nutini. From his beginnings as a sing... Read more

1h

The Shetland Folk Festival is one of the world's most exotic events with a hard earned reputation as the festival where nobody sleeps. Celebrating its 30th birthday, a hundred folk-musicians from as far afield as New York, Mumbai and Stockholm descend on the islands for four days and 200 performances, aided by 700 volunteers. With non-stop music from before the ferry leaves Aberdeen until the m... Read more

1h

Documentary following Graham Vick, one of the leading opera directors of our times, through six months of intensive rehearsals for two radically different productions of operas by Giuseppe Verdi. From a spectacular outdoor Aida, staged on an Austrian lake, to a raw and emotionally charged version of Othello presented in a derelict Birmingham factory with the participation of more than two hundred ... Read more

1h

As Caster Semenya achieved her dream of winning the 800m World Championship in 2009, rumours of a failed gender test spread. A vicious and voyeuristic media storm erupted and Caster's triumph was turned into public humiliation. With exclusive access, this film follows the shy teenager from a remote South African village as she struggles to come to terms with what has happened and fights to return ... Read more

1h

Watercolours have always been the poor relation of oil painting. And yet the immediacy and freedom of painting in watercolours have made them the art of adventure and action - even war. It has been an art form the British have pioneered, at first celebrating the greatest landscapes of Europe and then recording the exotic beauty of the British Empire. Sheila Hancock - an ardent fan of watercolou... Read more

1h

21-year-old Dean Whitney was born in Sheffield to a British dad and Yemeni mum. He has always dreamt of travelling to Yemen to meet his extended family and get in touch with his Muslim and Yemeni identity. But will his life-changing journey become a nightmare in the country now better known for international terrorism and for officially being one of the most dangerous places on earth?

1h

It's been 50 years since nuclear submarines first came to Scotland, and more than 40 since Britain's nuclear missile fleet was stationed on the Clyde lochs. But the Trident fleet is ageing, and the decision to start work on its replacement has been delayed until 2016. With public spending under unprecedented pressure, there's a very real debate over whether we can afford the 20 billion-pound bill.... Read more

1h

Murder in the Mearns, in 1968. A young farmer is shot in his sleep - but who pulled the trigger? Scottish Gaelic with English subtitles

1h

The story of Live at Treorchy, the best-selling album that turned an unknown comedian and singer called Max Boyce into an international star, launching a career spanning 40 years and two million record sales. The album that changed Max Boyce's life also captured how Wales was changing in the early 1970s and still stands as an icon of Welsh identity four decades later. Among those describing the im... Read more

1h

In the late 50s and early 60s Arthur Haynes was ITV's highest paid comic, as popular as Tony Hancock. Paul Merton and Nicholas Parsons rediscover the genius of this forgotten comedy great.

1h

David Attenborough returns to the island of Madagascar on a very personal quest. In 1960 he visited the island to film one of his first ever wildlife series, Zoo Quest. Whilst he was there, he acquired a giant egg. It was the egg of an extinct bird known as the 'elephant bird' - the largest bird that ever lived. It has been one of his most treasured possessions ever since. Fifty years older, he ... Read more

1h

Documentary presented by Melvyn Bragg to mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. Melvyn Bragg sets out to persuade us that the King James Version has driven the making of the English speaking world over the last 400 years, often in the most unanticipated ways. He travels to historic locations in the UK and USA where the King James Bible has had a deep impact, including Gettysburg... Read more

1h

Documentary following the lives of two Amish families leaving the only world they've ever known and trying to get to grips with the modern world. The Amish travel by horse and buggy, and dress exactly as their forebears did when they first arrived in America almost 300 years ago. They have countless rules which keep them separate from the modern world, with electric lights, mobile phones, televisi... Read more

1h

A unique journey around the weird and wonderful planet that we call home. When Yuri Gagarin was blasted into space he became the first human to get a proper look at where we live. 'The Earth is blue,' he exclaimed, 'how amazing!'. Suddenly our perspective on the world had changed forever. We thought we were going to explore the universe, yet the most extraordinary thing we discovered was our ow... Read more

1h

In the 60s and early 70s it was common for Grand Prix drivers to be killed while racing, often televised for millions to see. Mechanical failure, lethal track design, fire and incompetence snuffed out dozens of young drivers. They had become almost expendable as eager young wannabes queued up at the top teams' gates waiting to take their place. This is the story of when Grand Prix was out of cont... Read more

1h

Tree surgeon-turned-filmmaker Robb Leech is an ordinary white middle-class boy from the Dorset seaside town of Weymouth. So too is his stepbrother Rich, but a little over a year ago Rich became a radical Islamist who now goes by the name of Salahuddin. He associates with jihadist fundamentalists and believes the UK should be ruled by Sharia law. In a film that took over twelve months to shoot, ... Read more

1h

Journalist and author Michael Collins presents a hard-hitting and heartwarming history of one of Britain's greatest social revolutions - council housing. At its height in the mid-1970s, council housing provided homes for over a third of the British population. From the 'homes for heroes' cottages that were built in the wake of the First World War to the much-maligned, monolithic high rises of t... Read more

1h

It's a voyage of exploration like no other - to Titan, Saturn's largest moon and thought to resemble our own early Earth. For a small team of British scientists this would be the culmination of a lifetime's endeavour - the flight alone, some 2 billion miles, would take a full seven years. This is the story of the space probe they built, the sacrifices they made and their hopes for the landing. Wou... Read more

1h

London won the bid to stage the Olympics on the basis of an extraordinary promise of a lasting legacy. With the Games less than 500 days away, leading political journalist Jon Sopel scrutinises the original pledges and asks if the legacy of the Games can really be delivered.

1h

In 2008 Stacey Dooley emerged as one of the stars of the hit BBC Three series, Blood, Sweat and T-Shirts, and has since spent the three years lifting the lid on shocking stories from the developing world. In 2010 she travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo where she examined the plight of child soldiers and journeyed to Cambodia to investigate the shocking world of underage sex traffickin... Read more

1h

Steven Hydes was abandoned in the ladies toilet at Gatwick Airport when he was just ten days old, wrapped in a blanket and with a spare babygro by his side. Dubbed 'Gatwick Gary' by the newspapers at the time, his family never came back to claim him. With no birth certificate or clue to where he had come from, Steven has spent his life not knowing a thing about his identity. Steven was adopted ... Read more

1h

Ben Fogle joins an expedition across Antarctica to find Captain Scott's Hut, frozen in time for a century. The hut was built to support Scott's 1911 attempt to be first to the South Pole, and was later abandoned together with ten thousand personal, everyday and scientific items. Ben uncovers the hut and its contents, finding new information about his hero Scott and his famously tragic expeditio... Read more

1h

In April 2011, cities across the UK will play host to huge, colourful and joyous parades as Britain's Sikh community marks the festival of Vaisakhi. This programme explores the rituals through which the festival is celebrated today, and examines how Vaisakhi's themes - tolerance, equality, humility, dignity and an active concern for others - impact the daily lives of Sikhs. With contribution... Read more

1h

Anka Bergman gave birth to her baby daughter Eva in a Nazi concentration camp. During her pregnancy, Anka witnessed the horrors of Auschwitz and endured six months of forced labour. If the Nazis found a woman was pregnant, she could be sent straight to the gas chambers. Amazingly, Anka's pregnancy went unnoticed for months. Anka eventually gave birth - on the day she arrived at an exterminat... Read more

1h

What should we do with children who commit serious crime? Following the recall of Jon Venables who, along with his friend Robert Thompson, murdered two-year-old James Bulger in Liverpool aged just ten, it's a question that many experts are asking. Retired detective Albert Kirby, the man who brought Venables and Thompson to justice, goes on a journey to find out what happened to Jon, the system ... Read more

1h

The Arabian Nights first arrived in the West 300 years ago, and ever since then its stories have entranced generations of children and seduced adults with a vision of an exotic, magical Middle East. Actor and director Richard E Grant wants to know why the book he loved as a child still has such a hold on our imagination. He travels to Paris to discover how the stories of Sinbad, Ali Baba and Al... Read more

1h

The first ever full-length film about Gustav Holst, composer and revolutionary - a man who taught himself Sanskrit; lived in a street of brothels in Algiers; cycled into the Sahara Desert; allied himself during the First World War with a 'red priest' who pinned on the door of his church 'prayers at noon for the victims of Imperial Aggression'; hated the words used to his most famous tune, I Vow to... Read more

1h

Kirsten O'Brien investigates the boom in cosmetic injections. She looks at the growing phenomenon of the young using botox and fillers, and finds out what can go wrong with the procedures. Finally, she decides whether she is ready for the needle in a bid to go wrinkle free.

1h

They have dined together through two series of Supersizers and attempted to live The Good Life. Now Giles Coren and Sue Perkins take their relationship to the next level as they prepare for their very own royal wedding.

1h

This iconic American story was written in 1900 by L Frank Baum, a Chicago businessman, journalist, chicken breeder, actor, boutique owner, Hollywood movie director and lifelong fan of all things innovative and technological. His life spanned an era of remarkable invention and achievement in America and many of these developments helped to fuel this great storyteller's imagination. His ambition ... Read more

1h

Bizet's Carmen, Puccini's Madame Butterfly, Verdi's Violetta - some of the most famous and powerful roles in opera and they are all, in different ways, fallen women. And now there's a newcomer to their ranks - Anna Nicole. The Royal Opera's latest smash hit is an operatic version of the life of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith. Antonio Pappano, music director of the Royal Opera House and ... Read more

1h

Our junk food addiction is dropping alarmingly down the age ladder, and we are now rearing a generation of fast food babies. This arresting documentary reveals babies and toddlers eating a diet of chips, burgers and kebabs, all washed down with bottles of fizzy cola. It explores the deep-seated reasons why parents resort to junk food feeding and follows three families as they desperately try and g... Read more

1h

Hundreds of years ago in faraway Iceland the Vikings began to write down dozens of stories called sagas - sweeping narratives based on real people and real events. But as Oxford University's Janina Ramirez discovers, these sagas are not just great works of art, they are also priceless historical documents which bring to life the Viking world. Dr. Ramirez travels across glaciers and through the lav... Read more

1h

The heroic tales of World War II are legendary, but Operation Crossbow is a little known story that deserves to join the hall of fame: how the Allies used 3D photos to thwart the Nazis' weapons of mass destruction before they could obliterate Britain. This film brings together the heroic Spitfire pilots who took the photographs and the brilliant minds of RAF Medmenham that made sense of the jig... Read more

1h

Most people thought that when the working traffic on canals faded away after the war, it would be the end of their story. But they were wrong. A few diehard enthusiasts and boat owners campaigned, lobbied and dug, sometimes with their bare hands, to keep the network of narrow canals open. Some of these enthusiasts filmed their campaigns and their home movies tell the story of how, in the teeth ... Read more

1h

The behind-the-scenes story of the town of Wootton Bassett, whose tributes to fallen soldiers have earned the community the first royal title awarded in over 100 years.

1h

It is possible that only one percent of the wonders of Ancient Egypt have been discovered, but now, thanks to a pioneering approach to archaeology, that is about to change. Dr Sarah Parcak uses satellites to probe beneath the sands, where she has found cities, temples and pyramids. Now, with Dallas Campbell and Liz Bonnin, she heads to Egypt to discover if these magnificent buildings are really... Read more

1h

Harold Wilson and Edward Heath are two very different men equally overlooked by history, but they were the political titans of the era in which Britain changed for ever. For ten years they faced each other in the House of Commons, and swapped in and out of Number Ten. They fought four general elections, three of which were amongst the most exciting of the century. They were deliciously differen... Read more

1h

Documentary about the painters Augustus John and James Dickson Innes who, in 1911, left London for the wild Arenig Valley in North Wales. Over three years, they created a body of work to rival the visionary landscapes of Matisse.

1h

In-depth documentary investigation into the story of a popular music that is often said to be made to be heard, but not listened to. The film looks at easy listening's architects and practitioners, its dangers and delights, and the mark it has left on modern life. From its emergence in the 50s to its heyday in the 60s, through its survival in the 70s and 80s and its revival in the 90s and beyon... Read more

1h

Documentary looking at the extraordinary changes and crazes that have happened to British gardening since the Second World War, from garden gnomes and crazy paving to Leylandii and decking. As recently as the 1960s, garden centres didn't exist and gardening was strictly for old boys in sheds, yet today it has become the height of cool. Contributors include Penelope Keith, Laurence Llewellyn ... Read more

1h

It's over 40 years since Annie Nightingale's very first show on Radio 1 - she was the station's first female DJ and is its longest-serving broadcaster. A lifelong champion of new music, first with punk, then new wave, acid house and dubstep, Annie is still at the cutting edge in her current incarnation as the 'Queen of the Breaks'. In this film Annie takes us on a counter-cultural journey throu... Read more

1h

The story of the remarkable family who tamed the wild Scottish coastline - told 200 years after the building of their first iconic lighthouse, the Bell Rock.

1h

Documentary telling the stories of some of the 3.5 million children living in poverty in the UK. It is one of the worst child poverty rates in the industrialised world, and successive governments continue to struggle to bring it into line. So who are these children, and where are they living? Under-represented, under-nourished and often under the radar, 3.5 million children should be given a voice... Read more

1h

As the Duke of Edinburgh marks his ninetieth birthday, Fiona Bruce explores the apparent contradictions in the life of Prince Philip. The longest-serving consort in British royal history began life as a prince of Greece, yet he is not actually Greek. He is regarded by many today as a crusty pillar of the establishment, yet early in the Queen's reign he was seen as a moderniser. "Get him on a... Read more

1h

Commentator Murray Walker's dramatic, excitable voice defined a golden era of Formula One and enthralled viewers across the globe. This is an intimate portrait of one the nation's treasures, and the inspiring tale of a man who, at the age of nearly 90, continues to break the mould. The documentary accompanies the indefatigable Walker as he travels to Australia for the opening F1 of the season, ... Read more

1h

In a frank and personal documentary, author Sir Terry Pratchett considers how he might choose to end his life. Diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2008, Terry wants to know whether he might be able to end his life before his disease takes over. Travelling to the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland, Terry witnesses first hand the procedures set out for assisted death, and confronts the point at which he wo... Read more

1h

400 years of art history in 90 minutes? This film takes an eclectic group of people from all walks of life, including artists, critics and academics, out into the countryside to take a look at how we have depicted our landscape in art, discovering how the genre carried British painting to its highest eminence and won a place in the nation's heart.

1h

Horticulturalist Chris Beardshaw uncovers the British contribution to the history of our most iconic fruit. He reveals the passion and dedication of Victorian gardeners who in an apples ‘golden age’ gave us more varieties than anywhere else in the world; and the remarkable ingenuity of a small group of 20th century British scientists who made one of the most significant contributions to the apple ... Read more

1h

For generations, the Kennedy family held America and the whole world in thrall. The entire clan - grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren - were part of a dynasty JFK's father had planned would last forever. But as tragedy struck again and again, the children would have to cope with death and disaster. Based on private home movies and the memoirs of the nannies who looked after them,... Read more

1h

Documentary which celebrates 125 years of Wimbledon history, featuring archive of the tournament's most memorable moments and illuminating interviews with the key players and famous fans. The memories are plentiful: the champions, the fierce rivalries, the tantrums, the British expectation, the weather, the fashions. Wimbledon is the place gladiators like Borg and McEnroe, Federer and Nadal went h... Read more

1h

Marking the 70th anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, historian Professor David Reynolds re-assesses Stalin's role in the life and death struggle between Germany and Russia in World War Two, which, he argues, was ultimately more critical for British survival than 'Our Finest Hour' in the Battle of Britain itself.

1h

Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the ancient Christian practice of preserving holy relics and the largely forgotten art form that went with it, the reliquary. Fragments of bone or fabric placed inside a bejewelled shrine, a sculpted golden head or even a life-sized silver hand were, and still are, objects of religious devotion believed to have the power to work miracles. Most precious of all, though, ... Read more

1h

In 2009, over a hundred former pupils from two Catholic prep schools in England and Tanzania were reunited via the internet. Chatting in cyberspace, they discovered they had all suffered terrible abuse at school: mental, physical and, in some cases, sexual. As young children they were frightened into silence by their abusers. Now, as men in their fifties and sixties, and strengthened by the gro... Read more

1h

The teenage search for sophistication is recalled in this bittersweet film about the people we were and the luxury items we thought would give us the keys to the kingdom.

1h

In the first of three programmes to mark ten years since the invasion of Afghanistan, key decision makers reveal the inside story of how the West was drawn ever deeper into the Afghan war. Reporter John Ware charts the history of a decade of fighting and looks at when the conflict may end.

1h

Mark Urban tells the inside story of Britain's fight for Helmand, told with unique access to the generals and frontline troops who were there.

1h

A journey through the parts of Afghanistan that don't normally feature in news coverage to meet some amazing people and see fascinating places. Lyse Doucet uses her many years experience in Afghanistan to show a different side of a country which has been at war for 30 years.

1h

Morgan Neville's full-length documentary is James Taylor and Carole King's first-hand account of the genesis and blossoming of the 1970s singer-songwriter culture in LA, focusing on the backgrounds and emerging collaboration between Taylor, King and the Troubadour, the famed West Hollywood club that nurtured a community of gifted young artists and singer-songwriters. Taylor and King first perfo... Read more

1h

Art critic Alastair Sooke tracks down the ten most expensive paintings to sell at auction, and investigates the stories behind the astronomic prices art can reach. Gaining access to the glittering world of the super-rich, Sooke discovers why the planet's richest people want to spend their millions on art. Featuring works by Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Klimt and Rubens, Sooke enters a worl... Read more

1h

Julia Bradbury heads for Iceland to embark on the toughest walk of her life. Her challenge is to walk the 60 kilometres of Iceland's most famous hiking route, a trail that just happens to end at the unpronounceable volcano that brought air traffic across Europe to a standstill in 2010 . With the help of Icelandic mountain guide Hanna, Julia faces daunting mountain climbs, red hot lava fields, free... Read more

1h

Only the most charismatic are known by just one name. Known to his adoring public simply as 'Seve', Severiano Ballesteros took the world of golf by storm and transcended the sport, with his magnetic personality and sublime skill. Presented by Gary Lineker, this heart-warming tribute celebrates Seve's life and features exclusive footage of the man himself. Handsome, flamboyant and passionate,... Read more

1h

Blue Peter gardener Chris Collins celebrates the humble and sometimes hated plants we call weeds. He discovers that there is no such thing as a weed, botanically speaking, and that in fact what we call a weed has changed again and again over the last three hundred years. Chris uncovers the story of our changing relationship with weeds - in reality, the story of the battle between wilderness and ci... Read more

1h

Sir Hubert Parry is simultaneously one of Britain's best-known and least-known composers. Jerusalem is almost a national song, regularly performed at rugby grounds, schools, Women's Institute meetings and the Last Night of the Proms, while Dear Lord and Father of Mankind is one of Britain's best-loved hymns. Everyone knows the tunes, yet hardly anyone knows much about the man who wrote them. In th... Read more

1h

Supersize Ambulance is narrated by Liz Tarbuck and follows the work of the Thames Ambulance Service's bariatric service.The use a much bigger vehicle to take obese people weighing up to 70st to hospital.

1h

It is the most remarkable comeback story in English sporting history, and it all began 30 years ago this summer. It's the story of a team, so abject they had been written off completely, led by a man so distrusted and ridiculed that he was forced to resign his post for the sake of his family. Days later that man, Ian Botham, produced a 'boys own' performance to inspire that team, England, to... Read more

1h

In the last month of the space shuttle programme, Kevin Fong is granted extraordinary access to the astronauts and ground crew as they prepare for their final mission. He is in mission control as the astronauts go through their final launch simulation, and he flies with the last shuttle commander as he undertakes his last practice landing flight. Kevin also gains privileged access to the shuttle i... Read more

1h

A unique journey around the weird and wonderful planet that we call home. When Yuri Gagarin was blasted into space he became the first human to get a proper look at where we live. 'The Earth is blue,' he exclaimed, 'how amazing!'. Suddenly our perspective on the world had changed forever. We thought we were going to explore the universe, yet the most extraordinary thing we discovered was our ow... Read more

1h

At 16, Roger Nsengiyumva has already made a name for himself as the star of the football movie Africa United. But there's something else about Roger; he was born in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and only survived thanks to the raw courage of his mother. She spent 100 days hiding her newborn baby from the murderous gangs, and then bravely escaped to Britain after seeing her husband, Roger's father, ... Read more

1h

A witty exploration of the evolution of the gentleman's suit. Alastair Sooke only owns one suit, but he is fascinated by how the matching jacket and trousers has become a uniform for men. Over the last 100 years the suit has evolved from working man's Sunday best to the casual wear of royalty. For many 'the suit' is synonymous with all that is dull. But tailor Charlie Allen, Top Man chief designe... Read more

1h

Alex Lewis knows he does not have much longer to live. Aged 21 he finds himself falling hopelessly in love and can't quite believe what's happening. Alex was first diagnosed with bone cancer shortly before his 18th birthday. After over three years of intensive treatment, he realises he is running out of options. He decides to cram as much life as possible into the time he has left. His remarkab... Read more

1h

Documentary following the story of teenager Jamie Campbell, who wants to be a drag queen. Growing up in an ex-mining village in County Durham, Jamie has already faced his fair share of difficulties after coming out as gay at 14. However, with the majority of his family and friends being supportive, he has decided that he is ready to share his passion with the world. He plans to embrace who h... Read more

1h

The unlikely story of how, between 1929 and 1945, a group of tweed-wearing radicals and pin-striped bureaucrats created the most influential movement in the history of British film. They were the British Documentary Movement and they gave Britons a taste for watching films about real life. They were an odd bunch, as one wit among them later admitted. "A documentary director must be a gentleman.... Read more

1h

The summer of 1960 was a critical moment in the history of film, when the fly-on-the-wall documentary was born. The Camera that Changed the World tells the story of the filmmakers and ingenious engineers who led this revolution by building the first hand-held cameras that followed real life as it happened. By amazing co-incidence, there were two separate groups of them - one on each side of the At... Read more

1h

Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the country's leading actors, explores the life and work of enigmatic playwright Terence Rattigan. Rattigan was the master of the 'well crafted play' of upper class manners and repressed sexuality and he dominated the West End theatre scene throughout the 40s and early 50s. But then, in the mid fifties 'the angry young men arrived'; a wave of young playwrights and d... Read more

1h

In 1728, 12-year-old James Annesley was snatched from the streets of Dublin and sold into slavery in America - the victim of a wicked uncle hell-bent on stealing his massive inheritance. Dan Cruickshank traces James's astonishing journey from the top table of 18th century society to its murky depths. The story, which helped inspire Robert Louis Stevenson's book Kidnapped, reveals some disturbing h... Read more

1h

The Emmy Award-winning story of a young woman grappling with the terrible legacy left by her Nazi father. Amon Goeth was a prominent Nazi leader and commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp. Utterly ruthless and sadistic, he murdered thousands of Jews and others during WWII. After seeing Ralph Fiennes's portrayal of him in Schindler's List, Goeth's daughter Monika began a quest to come to term... Read more

1h

A Jewish teenager and an injured soldier join a doomed plot to kill Hitler. They face almost certain death, yet luck and love shine upon them as they outwit Nazi terror and become the first couple married in post-war Berlin. Narrated by the former teenager herself and featuring the original footage shot by her sweetheart, their story would sound like a pitch for a Hollywood blockbuster were it not... Read more

1h

Simon Armitage presents the extraordinary story of the most disturbing witch trial in British history and the key role played in it by one nine-year-old girl. Jennet Device, a beggar-girl from Pendle in Lancashire, was the star witness in the trial in 1612 of her own mother, her brother, her sister and many of her neighbours and, thanks to her chilling testimony, they were all hanged.

1h

George Mallory was obsessed with becoming the first person to conquer the untouched Mount Everest. He was last seen 800 feet below the summit in 1924 as the clouds rolled in and he disappeared into legend. His death stunned the world. This documentary uses astonishing visuals to tell the intersecting stories of George Mallory, the first man to attempt a summit of Mount Everest, and Conrad A... Read more

1h

In this fascinating documentary, historian Bettany Hughes travels to the seven wonders of the Buddhist world and offers a unique insight into one of the most ancient belief systems still practised today. Buddhism began 2,500 years ago when one man had an amazing internal revelation underneath a peepul tree in India. Today it is practised by over 350 million people worldwide, with numbers contin... Read more

1h

Documentary which reveals the story of German lawyer Hans Litten's public attempt to challenge Adolf Hitler. It examines Litten's life and work, the circumstances which prompted him to take such an extraordinary risk with his own safety, and the fate that awaited him after his historic confrontation with Hitler in a Berlin courtroom. This study of courage, politics and humanity combines origina... Read more

1h

Legendary Texan outlaw comic Bill Hicks was and still is an inspiration to millions. A true product of the American dream, his rebellious and exhilarating comedy left no stone unturned and his profound observations on American life were a life-changing experience for many who saw him. The story of a son, a brother and a friend, this funny and critically-acclaimed film is told 'in the round' by th... Read more

1h

When the 33 Chilean miners emerged from underground before a worldwide audience of over a billion, they made a pact not to speak about what had happened underground. Now six of them remember the untold story of the first 17 days - when no-one outside knew if they were alive. Filming down a Chilean mine, the programme explores the nightmare of living in the dark tunnels half a mile underground, ... Read more

1h

After a summer dominated by shocking revelations about phone hacking and celebrity superinjunctions, former Heat editor Sam Delaney investigates how much we're entitled to know about the private lives of the famous - and how much they have a right to keep hidden. Do celebs deserve to have their sex lives exposed just because they are famous? And could the rest of us really be jailed for passing on... Read more

1h

Award-winning filmaker Sue Bourne goes behind the normally closed doors of the world of competitive Irish dance in a documentary telling the story of the 40th Irish Dancing World Championships. Thousands of dancers, their families and teachers from around the world descend on Glasgow for seven drama-filled days.

1h

Documentary telling the story of the long dispute between fifty Traveller families living on Dale Farm in Essex and the local council, as the bitter campaign to evict the families reaches its climax. Having spent six years filming all sides in this conflict, film-maker Richard Parry speaks to the extended clan of matriarchs Marianne McCarthy and Mimi Sheridan, who vow they will not leave Dale Farm... Read more

1h

In the first of this two-part series, Mishal Husain charts the tumultuous events earlier this year in Tunisia and Egypt as people power toppled the governing regimes. She meets some of those who led the uprisings and finds out about the role played by the internet and social media in the organisation and mobilisation of resistance movements.

1h

For more than four years the town of Wootton Bassett has quietly marked the return of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We look at what repatriations have meant to bereaved families and the town.

1h

Emily Maitlis tells the incredible story of Donald Trump, the world's most famous developer, who changed the New York skyline with his glitzy towers and made himself a multi-billionaire. With unprecedented access to Trump and his family Maitlis finds out how he did it. Trump's own lifestyle, with the glamorous wives and the private jet, is all marketing for his luxurious brand. Now the all-Americ... Read more

1h

At just two years old, Kellie O'Farrell suffered horrendous burns to her face and hands in a car fire. Now, at 22, she's leaving the security of her family and the small community in Ireland where she grew up to start a new life on her own in London. How will she cope as she tries to make new friends and live an independent life in this big beauty-obsessed city?

1h

The Clink is a restaurant with a difference. The menu may sound mouthwatering, but the paying customers at this classy establishment tuck into their crab, lobster and coq au vin knowing that most of the staff are convicted criminals. This unique and controversial rehabilitation scheme, set within the walls of HMP High Down Prison, aims to transform prisoners into fully trained chefs and waiters... Read more

1h

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, The Twins of the Twin Towers tells the previously untold story of the twins who lost their 'other half' on the day of the terrorist attacks. It features the accounts of some of the 46 twins including Zachary Fletcher, a New York City Fire Fighter who lost his fellow fire fighter and twin brother, Andre in the south tower; Gregory Hoffman, who was on the... Read more

1h

The story of how the Arab world erupted in revolution, as a new generation used the internet and social media to try to overthrow their hated leaders. In the last of this two part series, Mishal Husain meets those who spread the revolt to Libya and Bahrain, and those who are still fighting the Syrian regime.

1h

This September marks the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, one of the biggest terrorist atrocities of the 21st Century. Nineteen hijackers, all members of Al Qaeda, crashed four planes on American soil, leading to the deaths of 2,973 innocent people. This horrific event has generated a multitude of conspiracy theories that contradict the official findings of the US government's investigati... Read more

1h

In the year of the Rugby World Cup to be played on All Black territory, Eddie Butler tells the story and reassesses the impact of the victorious Lions tour in 1971, taking a journey through a rugby-mad country with staggering scenery.

1h

Terry Wogan looks at the life of writer PG Wodehouse. In exploring the extraordinarily long career of his literary hero, Terry employs rarely seen archive material and is joined by Stephen Fry, Griff Rhys Jones, Joanna Lumley and a series of expert contributors in a documentary which addresses Wodehouse's longstanding appeal.

1h

Drama-documentary in which art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the story of the greatest cultural controversy of the last 200 years. He explores the history of the Elgin Marbles, tells the dramatic story of their removal from Athens and cites the arguments for and against their return to Greece

1h

From dinosaurs to mammoths, when our ancient ancestors encountered the fossil bones of extinct prehistoric creatures, what did they think they were? Just like us, ancient peoples were fascinated by the giant bones they found in the ground. In an epic story that takes us from Ancient Greece to the American Wild West, historian Tom Holland goes on a journey of discovery to explore the fascinatin... Read more

1h

Documentary looking at how war has been dramatised on British television from the Second World War through the Falklands campaign to contemporary conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, examining the challenges - both financial and dramatic - in bringing war to the small screen.

1h

Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago and we have hardly ever found a complete skeleton. So how do we turn a pile of broken bones into a dinosaur exhibit? Dr Alice Roberts finds out how the experts put skeletons back together, with muscles, accurate postures, and even - in some cases - the correct skin colour.

1h

1h

Born and bred in Lancashire, 17-year-old Alia was coerced into marrying a stranger in Pakistan and only allowed home once pregnant. Meanwhile, Jessie is marooned in rural Bangladesh, promised to a cousin twice her age. These young women are terrified of marrying a stranger, and even more terrified of shaming their families should they dare to refuse; and if they flee they face a lifetime ostrac... Read more

1h

The Scots have a reputation as brave, ferocious warriors. Despite a troubled history with England, history shows that more of Scotland's young men sign up to fight for the crown than anywhere else in Britain. Rory Bremner, whose own father and great grandfather were distinguished Scottish soldiers, sets out to discover why rebel clansmen became loyal servants of the military establishment. H... Read more

1h

Set against the post war period of debt, austerity and rationing, the 1951 Festival of Britain showed how to carve out a bright new future through design and ingenuity, while still having fun. Told by the people who made it happen and making use of some previously unseen colour footage, this is the story of how an extraordinary event changed Britain forever.

1h

Has one of Britain's greatest artists been unfairly forgotten? Waldemar Januszczak thinks so. In this documentary, Januszczak argues that the little known 17th-century portrait painter William Dobson was the first English painter of genius. Dobson's life and times are embedded in one of the most turbulent and significant epochs of British history - the English Civil War. As official court paint... Read more

1h

Buddha in Suburbia tracks the extraordinary journey of 40 year old Lelung Rinpoche, one of Tibetan Buddhism's three principal reincarnations, as he sets out to gather the lost teachings of his faith and to attempt a return to his homeland. For the past seven years, Lelung Rinpoche has been living in Ruislip North London, in the garden shed of one of his students. He runs a dharma or teaching ce... Read more

1h

It's the tree which ate suburbia. Fifty-five million leylandii are growing in Britain, with another 300,000 planted each year. Nobody knows how high they will grow, and some botanists believe the trees have the potential to grow to the size of a giant redwood. This film meets lovers and loathers of leylandii hedges, including the naturist who loves the privacy it affords his back garden in Keig... Read more

1h

Through personal testimony, this programme follows the process of resigning: from the initial crisis to taking the decision to resign and handling the timing, to the costs, consequences and legacy of the resignation. It shows that the honourable resignation is not dead. In all walks of life people grappling with moral issues still take that decision to resign. Consultant anaesthetist Stephen Bo... Read more

1h

A decade on, and after an emotional split tore the original team in half, six of the Calendar Girls are reuniting to strip for the cameras one final time, baring all for charity once more. They joke that they'll need bigger props to pose behind, but little else has changed for the ladies of Rylstone and District WI. This is the story of how a group of normal middle aged women from the Yorkshire Da... Read more

1h

Sophie Dahl explores the extraordinary life and times of her food heroine, Mrs Beeton - the creator of the original domestic bible Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management. Through cooking original recipes from her book, investigating her childcare advice and home remedies and even throwing a full Victorian dinner party, Sophie finds out how one young woman shaped our idea of what a home really i... Read more

1h

For the first time on UK television, Transplant shows the extraordinary reality of multiple organ donation, following the organs from a single donor to the different recipients. The film shows the surgeries and the human stories on both sides, as both donor and recipients have agreed to waive the normal anonymity that exists between them. Transplant follows the complex process of donation coord... Read more

1h

From the beginnings of film-making to the triumph of Jurassic Park - the dinosaur has always been a movie star. Over 60 minutes, BBC4's Rex Appeal takes a bite out of the Cretaceous cinema and reveals the truth about T-Rex. It's a story that stretches from the charming cartoon apatosaurus Gertie (1914), to the vicious and cunning velociraptors of Spielbrerg's imagination. But it's not all te... Read more

1h

No-one has done more for the cello than Mstislav Rostropovich, or Slava as he was widely known. As well as being arguably the greatest cellist of the twentieth century, he expanded and enriched the cello repertoire by the sheer force of his artistry and his personality and composers lined up to write works for him. In this film by John Bridcut, friends, family and former pupils explore the uniq... Read more

1h

Just off the southern coast of mainland Greece lies the oldest submerged city in the world. A city that thrived for 2000 years during the time that saw the birth of Western civilisation. An international team of experts uses the latest technology to investigate the site and digitally raise it from the seabed, to reveal the secrets of Pavlopetri. Led by underwater archaeologist Dr Jon Henderson,... Read more

1h

There's only a slim chance that black and white parents will have twins of different skin colour, but as one in ten children born in the UK is now mixed race, this genetic quirk is going to become increasingly common. Twincredibles follows five sets of twins, from toddlers through to adults, to create a surprising and compelling story about the journey of mixed-race Britain. The stories of all ... Read more

1h

17-year-old Sam and 20-year-old Evan are a gay male couple - but underneath their clothes they have female bodies. What makes this story so exceptional is that they are both in the process of changing their bodies from female to male, at the same time. This film follows their gender journey and the prejudice they encounter along the way - including the humiliation and fear they suffer of having eg... Read more

1h

What is the truth about the sexes? It is a deeply-held assumption that every person is either male or female; but many people are now questioning whether this belief is correct. This compelling and sensitive documentary unlocks the stories of people born neither entirely male nor female. Conditions like these have been known as 'intersex' and shrouded in unnecessary shame and secrecy for decade... Read more

1h

In November 2010, a Chinese vase unearthed in a suburban semi in Pinner sold at auction for £43 million - a new record for a Chinese work of art. Why are Chinese vases so famous and so expensive? The answer lies in the European obsession with Chinese porcelain that began in the 16th century and by the 18th century was a full-blown craze that swept up kings, princes and the emerging middle classes ... Read more

1h

Brian Clarke is one of Britain's hidden treasures. A painter of striking large canvases and the designer of some of the most exciting stained glass in the world today, he is better known abroad - especially in Germany and Switzerland - than in his own country, and more widely recognised among critics, collectors and gallery owners than he is by the general public. In this visually striking docu... Read more

1h

In September 2011, an international group of scientists has made an astonishing claim - they have detected particles that seemed to travel faster than the speed of light. It was a claim that contradicted more than a hundred years of scientific orthodoxy. Suddenly there was talk of all kinds of bizarre concepts, from time travel to parallel universes. So what is going on? Has Einstein's famous t... Read more

1h

Documentary that reveals the secret story behind one of the greatest intellectual feats of World War II, a feat that gave birth to the digital age. In 1943, a 24-year-old maths student and a GPO engineer combined to hack into Hitler's personal super-code machine - not Enigma but an even tougher system, which he called his 'secrets writer'. Their break turned the Battle of Kursk, powered the D-day ... Read more

1h

Ice is one of the strangest, most beguiling and mesmerising substances in the world. Full of contradictions, it is transparent yet it can glow with colour, it is powerful enough to shatter rock but it can melt in the blink of an eye. It takes many shapes, from the fleeting beauty of a snowflake to the multi-million tonne vastness of a glacier and the eeriness of the ice fountains of far-flung moon... Read more

1h

Actor and aviator Martin Shaw takes to the skies to rediscover one of the most audacious and daring raids of World War II. On the morning of 18 February 1944, a squadron of RAF Mosquito bombers, flying as low as three metres over occupied France, demolished the walls of Amiens Jail in what became known as Operation Jericho. The reasons behind the controversial raid remain a mystery to this day.... Read more

1h

In May this year, US Special Forces shot and killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. Publicly Pakistan is one of America's closest allies - yet every step of the operation was kept secret from it. Filmed largely in Pakistan and Afghanistan, this two-part documentary series explores how a supposed ally stands accused by top CIA officers and Western diplomats of causing the deaths of thousands of coa... Read more

1h

Historian Dr Janina Ramirez unlocks the secrets of a centuries-old masterpiece in glass. At 78 feet in height, the famous East Window at York Minster is the largest medieval stained-glass window in the country, and it was the creative vision of a single artist - a mysterious master craftsman called John Thornton, one of the earliest named English artists.

1h

Humphrys is of a generation and a background for whom stigma acted as a break on behaviour that others might consider anti-social or even immoral. He was brought up in a working-class area of Cardiff where there were few single mothers and the only man in his street who refused to work was treated with contempt, and the veteran broadcaster’s evident bafflement over the way the post-war welfare sta... Read more

1h

Leonardo da Vinci is considered by many to be one of the greatest artists who ever lived. Yet his reputation rests on only a handful of pictures - including the world's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa. As the National Gallery in London prepares to open its doors on a remarkable exhibition of Leonardo's work, Fiona Bruce travels to Florence, Milan, Paris and Warsaw to uncover the story of this... Read more

1h

Just how did the Devil get inside our heads? And who put him there? For Halloween, award-winning comedy writer and performer Andy Hamilton (creator and star of Radio 4's acclaimed infernal comedy Old Harry's Game) explores just who the devil Satan is, where he comes from and what he's been up to all this time.

1h

Journalist Frank Gardner sets out to trace the first adventure of Tintin, the childhood hero that inspired him to travel and report from the world's hot spots. Frank follows Tintin to Moscow and discovers the influences that created the successful cartoon strip.

1h

The second film in this timely and enthralling two-part documentary series reveals how Britain and America discovered compelling evidence that Pakistan was secretly helping the Taliban and concluded they had been double-crossed. It tells the story of how under President Obama the US has waged a secret war against Pakistan. Taliban commanders tell the film makers that to this day Pakistan shelte... Read more

1h

Documentary which follows tornado researcher and weather fanatic Sam Hall on an epic road trip across the US in search of some of the planet's most violent storms. This would be a gruelling trip for the toughest of individuals, but there's an added challenge for Sam as she has a skin condition known as Epidermolysis Bullosa or EB. The layers of her skin don't stick together and so even the slighte... Read more

1h

What do you do when your child is gifted and their academic ability has overtaken yours? In a lot of ways 13-year-old Cameron Thompson is a normal teenage boy - obsessed with computer games, sporting the first hints of a moustache and a newfound interest in girls. But he is also a maths genius who is currently doing an Open University degree in applied mathematics and it is this ability that has s... Read more

1h

It is only ten years since the mixed race category was added to the census in Britain and only 40 years since laws against miscegenation were in force in 16 states of America. Yet interracial relationships have been a feature of society throughout modern history. This film, shown as part of the Mixed Race Britain season, tells the stories of prominent relationships that created huge controversy... Read more

1h

Ian Hislop presents an entertaining and provocative film about the colourful Victorian financiers whose spectacular philanthropy shows that banking wasn't always associated with greed or self-serving financial recklessness. Victorian bankers achieved wealth on a scale never envisaged by previous generations, but many of them were far from comfortable about their new-found riches, which caused t... Read more

1h

Compelling drama-documentary which tells the story of how, three years after the 7/7 attacks on London, a busy shopping centre in Bristol was the intended target of a devastating terrorist attack. However, the young man planning this attack was not your typical terrorist. Born to a middle-class, loving, Christian family, Andrew Ibrahim had a privileged upbringing and attended prestigious public sc... Read more

1h

This one hour documentary, produced by Mentorn Media for BBC Four, follows Melvyn Bragg as he travels from Oklahoma to California to examine the enduring legacy of the Nobel Prize-winning author, John Steinbeck. In novels such as The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and Cannery Row, Steinbeck gave voices to ordinary people who were battling poverty, drought and homelessness. Melvyn Bragg asses... Read more

1h

The A303 is the road that passes Stonehenge on the way to the beaches of Devon and Cornwall. On the way, it whisks drivers through 5,000 years of remarkable moments in English history. And it's the star of this film made for armchair travellers and history lovers. Writer Tom Fort drives its 92-mile length in a lovingly-restored Morris Traveller. Along the way he has many adventures - he digs up... Read more

1h

Comedian Rich Hall hits the road as he takes us on his personal journey through the road movie, which, from the earliest days of American cinema has been synonymous with American culture. With his customary wit and intelligence, Rich takes us through films such as Bonnie and Clyde, The Grapes of Wrath, Thelma and Louise, Vanishing Point, Five Easy Pieces and even The Wizard of Oz. He explores what... Read more

1h

This topical programme taps into the nation's obsession with the weather and asks whether we are heading for another 'snowmageddon' as experienced in the previous two years. Can forecasters give us warning this time around? How does the 'olde' weather lore compare with the supercomputers? And what are we doing across Britain to prepare ourselves as we head into winter? 'Will It Snow?' predic... Read more

1h

Playing the ukulele and performing songs that keep the George Formby legend alive, Frank Skinner follows the music hall star's rise to fame and explores his continuing popularity

1h

An intriguing investigation into the extraordinary life of Gershwin's classic composition, Summertime. One of the most covered songs in the world, it has been recorded in almost every style of music - from jazz to opera, rock to reggae, soul to samba. Its musical adaptability is breathtaking, but Summertime also resonates on a deep emotional level too. This visually and sonically engaging film exp... Read more

1h

Documentary telling the story of how Pan American World Airways kickstarted the Jet Age and shrank the globe. Real-life 'Pan Am girls' recall a high-life of luxury and glamour; rubbing shoulders with celebrity passengers, international romances and having to wear the now infamous girdle. Stars of the Jet Age such as Robert Vaughn and Mary Quant remember the food, fashion and girls that made them r... Read more

1h

Paul Morley investigates the lasting appeal of art's very own Pop Idol. From failed Abstract Expressionist to pioneering Pop Art hero, Roy Lichtenstein revolutionised the art world with his big, bold, brash cartoon images of American culture. Even before Andy Warhol had picked up his can of Campbell's soup, Lichtenstein was making merchandise into art and cultivating his own durable brand, turning... Read more

1h

An amazing story of a remarkable couple whose love is tested to the very edge of life. Kirstie is 21 years old, born with cystic fibrosis and has always known that her life would be short. In March 2011 she was put onto the transplant waiting list, having been told that she had end-stage lung disease and could be dead within six months. This film follows Kirstie's extraordinary experience of li... Read more

1h

Beneath the America we think we know lies a nation hidden from view - a nomadic nation, living on the roads, the rails and in the wild open spaces. In its deserts, forests, mountain ranges and on the plains, a huge population of modern nomads pursues its version of the American dream - to live free from the world of careers, mortgages and the white picket fence. When British writer Richard Gran... Read more

1h

Ever since the early 1960s, Rick Stein has been in love with the blues and years later he is fascinated by the dishes ingrained in its lyrics - fried chicken and turnip greens, catfish and black-eyed peas, and the rest. In this film, Rick pays homage to the musicians who created this music and to the great dishes of the Mississippi Delta that go hand in hand with the blues.

1h

Writer and broadcaster Stephen Smith re-envisions the story of 20th century American culture through its most iconic institution - the diner. Whether Edward Hopper's Nighthawks or the infamous encounter between Pacino and de Niro in Heat, these gleaming, gawdy shacks are at the absolute heart of the American vision. Stephen embarks on a girth-busting road journey that takes him to some of Ameri... Read more

1h

Life was an iconic weekly magazine that specialised in extraordinarily vivid photojournalism. Through its most dynamic decades, - the 40s, 50s and 60s - Life caught the spirit of America as it blossomed into a world superpower. Read by over half the country, its influence on American people was unparalleled. No other magazine in the world held the photograph in such high esteem. At Life the pictur... Read more

1h

In just seven years, Mark Zuckerberg has gone from his Harvard college dorm to running a business with 800 million users, and a possible value of $100 billion. His idea to 'make the world more open and connected' has sparked a revolution in communication, and now looks set to have a huge impact on business too. Emily Maitlis reports on life inside Facebook. Featuring a rare interview with Zucke... Read more

1h

The Royal Bank of Scotland was once a famous Scottish institution; a bank with a reputation for prudence. But in October 2008, less than a decade after Fred Goodwin took over as chief executive, it came within hours of collapsing. RBS later posted the biggest loss in UK corporate history - 24 billion pounds - which damaged the bank's reputation for financial prudence and Scotland's image as a glob... Read more

1h

Documentary telling the story of Hidcote, the most influential English garden of the 20th century and Lawrence Johnston, the enigmatic genius behind it. Hidcote was the first garden ever taken on by the National Trust, who have spent 3.5 million pounds in a major programme of restoration. As part of this facelift, the garden team have been researching Johnston's original vision and in doing so hav... Read more

1h

Adil Ray investigates the controversial subject of on-street grooming of young girls for sex by Pakistani men in the UK. He speaks to members of his own community, the police and victims of abuse. For Adil, it is a 'deeply personal journey' and he is shocked by what he discovers.

1h

Ever wondered what would happen in your own home if you were taken away, and everything inside was left to rot? The answer is revealed in this fascinating programme, which explores the strange and surprising science of decay. For two months in summer 2011, a glass box containing a typical kitchen and garden was left to rot in full public view within Edinburgh Zoo. In this resulting documentary,... Read more

1h

For over 1,200 years church bells have called the faithful to worship, helping people celebrate triumph and commemorate tragedy. But the fact that they are one of the largest and loudest musical instruments in the world is often overlooked. This is something musical innovator Charles Hazlewood wants to change - he wants to see if church bells can be used to make original music in their own righ... Read more

1h

Is it possible for professional musicians from the BBC Concert Orchestra to make beautiful sounds out of garbage? This documentary aims to find out. For the first time ever an entire orchestra of 44 instruments will be built from just scrap. The quest to build an orchestra of instruments out of rubbish is more than just a musical spectacle - in the construction of these instruments we delve into t... Read more

1h

Broadly considered a brand that inspires fervour and defines cool consumerism, Apple has become one of the biggest corporations in the world, fuelled by game-changing products that tap into modern desires. Its leader, Steve Jobs, was a long-haired college dropout with infinite ambition, and an inspirational perfectionist with a bully's temper. A man of contradictions, he fused a Californian counte... Read more

1h

Professor Brian Cox takes an audience of famous faces, scientists and members of the public on a journey through some of the most challenging concepts in physics.

1h

At 25, Ruth Ojadi had an amazing singing voice and a place to study music at university. She should have been on her way to the top. Instead, Ruth was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome and her life fell apart. The blinks and twitches her GP had put down to nerves became worse and before long she started swearing and blurting out inappropriate comments, eventually dropping out of university and lo... Read more

1h

As the M25 celebrates its 25th birthday, Sally Boazman takes a road trip to see how the motorway has changed our economy, environment and living habits. The 117-mile orbital road took more than 11 years to build. It cost £1bn, and used more than 2m tons of concrete and 3.5m tons of asphalt. The final section was opened by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in October 1986 to a huge fanfare. ... Read more

1h

Lord Ashdown, a former special forces commando, tells the story of the 'Cockleshell Heroes', who led one of the most daring and audacious commando raids of World War II. In 1942, Britain was struggling to fight back against Nazi Germany. Lacking the resources for a second front, Churchill encouraged innovative and daring new methods of combat. Enter stage left, Blondie Hasler. With a unit of... Read more

1h

James Holland presents a fresh analysis of the legendary 1943 Dam Busters raid, a low-level night mission that took 19 Lancaster bombers deep into the heart of enemy territory to destroy German dams with a brand new weapon - the bouncing bomb. Of the many extraordinary things about the Dams raid, the biggest is that it almost never happened. When finally green lit, it set off an incredible race ag... Read more

1h

Roasts of Christmas Past explores television's changing relationship with the British Christmas dinner, looking at how TV cooks like Fanny Craddock, Gary Rhodes, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson have each put their stamp on our annual feast. How hard is it to give the same old ingredients a new twist every year? Why do so many of us turn to Delia at this special time of year? And why does it hav... Read more

1h

After his furniture store went up in flames during the London riots, 80-year-old Maurice Reeve came out of retirement to lead his family business through the crisis, and he also set out to find out how a town he had always thought so safe, could descend into arson and looting.

1h

Spirograph, Fuzzy Felt, Barbie, Meccano - Robert Webb tells the story of our Christmases through the toys we played with and loved.

1h

Rosalyn Ball reports on the art of political cartooning.

1h

As a historian and unashamed fan, Professor Amanda Vickery is fascinated by how Jane Austen, an anonymous minor novelist in her lifetime, is 200 years later recognised as a unique British literary genius whose fame rivals Dickens and Shakespeare. From a convention centre in Texas to Princess Diana's family home, and from the trenches of World War I to the silver screen of Hollywood, Vickery exp... Read more

1h

Darcey Bussell steps into the shoes of her Hollywood heroes to celebrate the enduring legacy of classic dance musicals. In the age of Strictly Come Dancing and Streetdance 3D, Darcey, one of Britain's greatest living dancers and Hollywood musical superfan, discovers that the key to understanding where this dance-mad culture comes from lies in classic movie musicals. She takes famous dance routi... Read more

1h

Jane Austen is one of the most celebrated writers of all time but apart from a rough sketch by her sister Cassandra, we have very little idea what she looked like. Biographer Dr Paula Byrne thinks that is about to change. She believes she has come across a possible portrait of the author, lost to the world for nearly two centuries. Can the picture stand up to forensic analysis and scrutiny by art ... Read more

1h

David Tennant narrates a celebratory look at how an ogre with a Scottish accent single-handedly changed the face of animation. It features exclusive interviews with the creative geniuses behind the award-winning animation and the voices that brought the story to life, including Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Saunders and Shrek himself, Mike Myers.

1h

Looking at the marriage of Charles Dickens through the eyes of his wife Catherine, Sue Perkins exposes the lesser known reality of the Dickens family Christmas - very different from the heart-warming versions he presented in A Christmas Carol. In this 60-minute film for BBC Two, Sue turns her attention to the woman behind the man, revealing parallels between the female characters he created and... Read more

1h

Terry Nutkins celebrates the 175th anniversary of Bristol Zoo. In this whistle-stop tour through the zoo's fascinating history, Terry reflects on his time presenting the BBC TV series 'Animal Magic' with Johnny Morris. The programme gave voices to the animals, turning Dotty the ringtailed lemur into a household name. Over the years, the zoo has been home to some notable residents including Alfr... Read more

1h

Tess Daly takes a nostalgic look back at TV classics that have come out of the BBC in the North West over the last 50 years. She is joined by a host of stars as they recall their favourite TV moments and celebrate the distinctly northern flavour. In his last BBC TV interview before his death, Sir Jimmy Savile talks about the magical beginnings of Top of the Pops, while Stuart Hall recalls his f... Read more

1h

Joan Bakewell talks to Sir David Frost about his landmark interviews with former United States president Richard Nixon. The Nixon Interviews, first broadcast in 1977, gained record audiences and the high drama which surrounded them later became the subject of both a West End play and an Oscar-nominated film, Frost/Nixon. Sir David tells Joan Bakewell about the fight to secure the interview and ... Read more

1h

Medievalist Dr Stephen Baxter takes a fresh look at the Middle Ages through the eyes of children. At a time when half the population was under 18, he argues that although they had to grow up quickly and take on adult responsibility early, the experience of childhood could also be richly rewarding. Focusing on the three pillars of medieval society - religion, war and work - Baxter reveals how child... Read more

1h

The Camorra, the Naples mafia, is Italy's bloodiest organised crime syndicate. It has killed thousands and despite suffering many setbacks is as strong as ever. It is into drug trafficking, racketeering, business, politics, toxic waste and even the garbage disposal industry. Naples's recent waste crisis was in part blamed on the crime syndicate. Its grip on the city is far reaching.

1h

Millions of sales on both sides of the Atlantic, near bankruptcy, pills, thrills, spats, prats, successes, excesses, pick-me-ups and breakdowns - all spiralled together to create some of the most defining music of the 20th century. This is the definitive and fully-authorised documentary of the highs and lows of the UK's most inspired and dissolute independent record label - Creation Records. Ov... Read more

1h

How has the sitcom responded to the sexual revolution? From Hancock's Half Hour in the 50s, through 70s sitcoms like Up Pompeii! and Reggie Perrin to contemporary comedies like Him & Her, this documentary explores sexual frustration as an enduring sitcom theme, the changing role of women and the British love of innuendo. Why did Butterflies cause such a stir in the 80s? Did Men Behaving Badl... Read more

1h

A special tribute to Sir Jimmy Savile, the eccentric DJ who hosted the legendary Top of the Pops and Jim'll Fix It. The film includes classic footage of the man in action and interviews with close family and friends from the world of showbiz and his home city of Leeds, as well as representatives from the many charitable organisations for which he raised millions of pounds.

1h

The cliché of classic rock guitar is one of riffs, solos and noise. But write a list of great guitarists and their finest moments and a quieter, more intense playing comes to the fore. The acoustic guitar is the secret weapon in the armoury of the guitar hero, when paradoxically they get more attention by playing quietly than being loud. This documentary takes an insightful and occasionally irr... Read more

1h

This is the story of how we fell in love with regional telly. Contributors including Angela Rippon, Michael Parkinson and Martin Bell describe the excitement and sense of adventure that existed during the very early days of local TV. In the late 50s and early 60s viewers were offered a new vision of the places where they lived. ITV and the BBC took advantage of transmitter technology and battled f... Read more

1h

The sound of bells ringing is deeply rooted in British culture. Bells provide the grand soundtrack to our historic moments, call out for our celebrations and toll sadly in empathy with our grief. No important event seems complete without their colourful ringing. In this film, Richard Taylor travels the country to unravel the 1,500 years of history that have made bells such a key British sound. ... Read more