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Season 2009
2009x69
Thatcher and the Scots
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 01, 2009
Is Margaret Thatcher the mother of the Scottish Parliament? BBC World Affairs Correspondent Allan Little looks back at the tumultuous Thatcher years, and assesses the effect they had on Scotland.
2009x47
Prog Rock Britannia: An Observation in Three Movements
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 02, 2009
Documentary about progressive music and the generation of bands that were involved, from the international success stories of Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson and Jethro Tull to the .. show full overview
2009x155
Morecambe and Wise: The Show What Paul Merton Did
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 02, 2009
This episode has no summary.
2009x151
Mike Oldfield: Tubular Bells
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 06, 2009
Live Performance from 1974
2009x100
Blast!
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 07, 2009
Documentary which follows the story of Mark Devlin and his team of scientists as they try to figure out how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary new telescope under a .. show full overview
2009x76
Seven Photographs that Changed Fashion
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 14, 2009
Fashion photographer Rankin recreates seven of his favourite images as he takes a journey through a brief history of the fashion photograph. By re-staging iconic images by Cecil Beaton, .. show full overview
2009x5
All the Young Dudes: Pop and Fashion
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 15, 2009
Writer Paul Morley takes a journey back through time to revisit his own adventures and misadventures in fashion and meets the pop stars who he feels are responsible for the way he looks now.
2009x182
Obama: His Story
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 19, 2009
BBC correspondent Clive Myrie traces the life story of America's first black president. From Obama's broken home childhood in Hawaii, through his political awakening in the rough .. show full overview
2009x144
Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 23, 2009
Documentary which joins former hobo and festival favourite bluesman Seasick Steve on a trip back to his old stomping grounds in America's Deep South. Filmed in Mississippi and Tennessee, .. show full overview
2009x13
1929: The Great Crash
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 24, 2009
A documentary exploring the causes of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Over six terrifying, desperate days in October 1929, shares crashed by a third on the New York Stock Exchange. More .. show full overview
2009x180
Robert Burns: The People's Poet
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 25, 2009
Writer Andrew O'Hagan asks what made Robert Burns one of the world's favourite poets, as Scotland celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of its most famous sons. He travels .. show full overview
2009x10
What Darwin Didn't Know
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 26, 2009
Documentary which tells the story of evolution theory since Darwin postulated it in 1859 in 'On the Origin of Species'. The theory of evolution by natural selection is now scientific .. show full overview
2009x58
Attenborough Explores... Our Fragile World
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 27, 2009
An exclusive TV premiere, Attenborough Explores... Our Fragile World, a documentary looking at the impact of climate change in the UK. Our planet is the hottest it has been since .. show full overview
2009x185
Catching Britain's Biggest Thieves
Episode overview
Air date
Jan 27, 2009
Steeped in cunning, guile and forensic knowledge, the notorious Johnson Gang ran rings around the law as they stole from some of England's grandest stately homes. It eventually took five .. show full overview
2009x1
Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 01, 2009
In this programme, David Attenborough asks three key questions: how, and why, did Darwin come up with his theory of evolution? Why do we think he was right? And why is it more important .. show full overview
2009x74
Darwin's Struggle: The Evolution of the Origin of Species
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 02, 2009
Documentary telling the little-known story of how Darwin came to write his great masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, a book which explains the wonderful variety of the natural world .. show full overview
2009x183
Terry Pratchett: Living with Alzheimer's, Part 1
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 04, 2009
Determined to prevent it if he possibly can, Terry Pratchett took a personal journey through the science and the reality of what it's like to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's. This two part .. show full overview
2009x184
Terry Pratchett: Living with Alzheimer's, Part 2
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 04, 2009
Determined to prevent it if he possibly can, Terry Pratchett took a personal journey through the science and the reality of what it's like to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's. This two part .. show full overview
2009x193 Season finale
It's Time to Go Nationwide
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 05, 2009
Documentary looking at Nationwide, Britain's first truly regional TV programme, which ran on BBC in the early evenings from 1969 to 1983. Featuring contributions from many of those .. show full overview
2009x103
Why Reading Matters
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 09, 2009
Science writer Rita Carter tells the story of how modern neuroscience has revealed that reading, something most of us take for granted, unlocks remarkable powers. Carter explains how the .. show full overview
2009x162
How Reading Made Us Modern
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 11, 2009
English literature professor John Mullan explores the dramatic increase in reading which took place in 18th-century Britain, as it went from being the preserve of the rich to the .. show full overview
2009x49
The Lost Libraries of Timbuktu
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 12, 2009
Aminatta Forna tells the story of legendary Timbuktu and its long hidden legacy of hundreds of thousands of ancient manuscripts. With its university founded around the same time as .. show full overview
2009x85
Iran and Britain
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 14, 2009
Documentary in which writer and journalist Christopher de Bellaigue explores the fraught but often surprisingly intimate history of Britain's relations with Iran, and asks why Iranians .. show full overview
2009x8
Trouble in Amish Paradise
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 18, 2009
An extraordinary insight into the secretive world of the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. When two radical Amish men, Ephraim and Jesse Stoltzfus, start to question .. show full overview
2009x60
The Joy of Motoring
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 18, 2009
Tristram Hunt shows how motoring has gone from allowing us to explore the beautiful English countryside to the present day of speed cameras, congestion charges and environmental issues. .. show full overview
2009x169
A Poet Goes North
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 18, 2009
In 1968, John Betjeman, the poet and architectural critic, was asked by the BBC to make a television programme about Leeds. The film was never broadcast, but now, 40 years on, extracts are being shown by Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
2009x56
Penelope Keith and the Fast Lady
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 19, 2009
Penelope Keith tells the story of Edwardian 'it girl' and motoring pioneer Dorothy Levitt. She retraces Levitt's 1905 journey from London to Liverpool in a De Dion motor car, with the .. show full overview
2009x20
Caravans: A British Love Affair
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 25, 2009
Documentary about the love affair between the British and their caravans, which saw the country establish the world's largest caravan manufacturer and transformed the holiday habits of .. show full overview
2009x54
Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock
Episode overview
Air date
Feb 28, 2009
Paul Merton continues his love affair with silent cinema in an exploration of Alfred Hitchcock's British films. Before Hitchcock became the master of suspense, he made all kinds of .. show full overview
2009x50
Ford's Dagenham Dream
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 04, 2009
Documentary which tells the story of the British love affair with the American dream cars made at Ford in Dagenham in the 1960s and 70s. Ford helped put the nation on wheels with its .. show full overview
2009x53
The Maharajas' Motor Car: The Story of Rolls-Royce in India
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 08, 2009
Documentary telling the story of Rolls-Royce in India through the fortunes of India's princes.
2009x114
Deborah 13: Servant of God
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 10, 2009
Documentary about 13-year-old Deborah Drapper, who, unlike other British teens has never heard of Britney Spears or Victoria Beckham. She has been brought up in a deeply Christian family .. show full overview
2009x165
My Strike
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 10, 2009
Documentary looking at how going on strike became almost a rite of passage at one time.
2009x98
The Car Show
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 11, 2009
Documentary which explores the ways that cars have been presented on television in the motoring programmes that have tapped into our collective subconscious. It looks at the classic .. show full overview
2009x135
The History of the Future: Cars
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 12, 2009
Phill Jupitus looks at how we thought the car of the future was going to turn out and finds out why it didn't happen that way, focusing on the classic era of the 1950s and 60s, a time .. show full overview
2009x7
In Search of Wabi Sabi with Marcel Theroux
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 13, 2009
British novelist Marcel Theroux is fascinated by Wabi Sabi, a theory of Japanese aesthetics in which imperfection and transience are the touchstone of beauty. The Japanese say that if .. show full overview
2009x120
Do It Yourself: The Story of Rough Trade
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 13, 2009
The Rough Trade story begins more than thirty years ago on 20th February 1976. Britain was in the grip of an IRA bombing campaign; a future prime minister was beginning to make her mark .. show full overview
2009x9
I, Samurai
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 15, 2009
Andrew Graham-Dixon takes a journey into the art and soul of the Samurai, who ruled Japan for 700 years and were much more than mere warriors.
2009x2
The Lost World of Tibet
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 16, 2009
Dan Cruickshank presents a documentary revealing the story of the Dalai Lama, his secret Himalayan kingdom and the story of his exile, using eyewitness accounts from Tibetans including .. show full overview
2009x72
18 Pregnant Mothers
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 17, 2009
Documentary looking at events in Gloucester, Massachusetts, when an unusually large number of teenage girls turned up for pregnancy tests at the clinic of a school. Within hours the news .. show full overview
2009x101
When Wales Shook the World
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 17, 2009
In a special programme showing on St. David's Day, we celebrate the awesome beauty of some of Wales' iconic engineering achievements, structures which help define the landscape of .. show full overview
2009x158
Tom Driberg and Me: a Personal Portrait by William G Stewart
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 19, 2009
TV producer and presenter William G Stewart investigates the allegation that journalist and prominent MP Tom Driberg, who died in 1976, was a KGB spy. Stewart was Driberg's secretary .. show full overview
2009x136
John Martyn: Johnny Too Bad
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 20, 2009
BBC FOUR pays tribute to musical maverick John Martyn, who died at the age of 60 on 29th January 2009, with an intimate documentary portrait originally transmitted in 1994. This honest .. show full overview
2009x3
Fish! A Japanese Obsession
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 23, 2009
Charles Rangeley Wilson, author, journalist and BBC 2's Accidental Angler, travels to Japan to explore the Japanese people's passionate relationship to fish.
2009x6
Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 23, 2009
Cleopatra - the most famous woman in history. We know her as a great queen, a beautiful lover and a political schemer. For 2,000 years almost all evidence of her has disappeared - until .. show full overview
2009x181
Gary: Young, Psychic and Possessed
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 24, 2009
Twenty-year-old Gary Mannion calls himself Britain's youngest psychic surgeon, channelling a spirit from the dead to operate on the sick. He is a rising star in the world of spiritual .. show full overview
2009x65
India's Hospital Train
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 26, 2009
The story of a special train, the Lifeline Express. It is known as the Magic Train. With two state-of-the-art operating theatres, recovery rooms, offices and accommodation, each project .. show full overview
2009x94
Oil Spill: The Exxon Valdez Disaster
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 26, 2009
Just after midnight on Good Friday 1989, the giant supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound to create one of the biggest man-made ecological .. show full overview
2009x122
1959 The Year That Changed Jazz
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 27, 2009
1959 was the seismic year jazz broke away from complex bebop music to new forms, allowing soloists unprecedented freedom to explore and express. It was also a pivotal year for America: .. show full overview
2009x126
A Parliamentary Coup
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 29, 2009
Thirty years on from the no confidence vote that brought down the 1979 Labour Government, Carolyn Quinn tells the story of one of the most dramatic nights in Westminster history.
2009x189
How Britain Got the Gardening Bug
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 29, 2009
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 .. show full overview
2009x119
Japan: A Story of Love and Hate
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 30, 2009
Naoki 56, had it all in Japan's bubble economy days: he ran a business with 70 staff, drove a brand new BMW, and lived in a 6 bedroom house. But when Japan's economy crashed in the early .. show full overview
2009x11
Did Darwin Kill God?
Episode overview
Air date
Mar 31, 2009
There are some who believe that Darwin's theory of evolution has weakened religion, fuelled in part by Richard Dawkins' publishing phenomenon The God Delusion. Conor Cunningham argues .. show full overview
2009x112
Rick Stein and the Japanese Ambassador
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 02, 2009
When the Japanese ambassador saw Rick Stein preparing sushi on a boat off Cornwall, he was not impressed. However, this sparked off an idea where Rick would go on a voyage of discovery .. show full overview
2009x192
David Lean in Close-Up with Jonathan Ross
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 02, 2009
Jonathan Ross takes a look into the life and times of one of the greatest film directors of our time, David Lean.
2009x171
André Previn: All the Right Notes
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 05, 2009
To mark Previn's 80th birthday, this profile of the celebrated pianist, conductor and composer follows his long journey from escaping Nazi Germany to the studios of Hollywood and fame.
2009x157
The Kindertransport Story
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 06, 2009
Lord Richard Attenborough makes a moving and very personal contribution to The Kindertransport Story, to mark the 70th anniversary of the unique British rescue mission to save nearly .. show full overview
2009x92
Jackie Stewart: The Flying Scot
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 11, 2009
Sir Jackie Stewart is one of Britain's all time great sporting personalities - winner of three Formula 1 world championships and 27 grand prix, and ranked as one of the ten greatest .. show full overview
2009x51
Dorset Days: A Year in the Life of Longhorn Jim
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 16, 2009
Documentary about Falklands War veteran and ex-firefighter Jim Armstrong, who is now a farmer in Dorset. The film follows Jim through 2007 as he helps to raise a herd of traditional .. show full overview
2009x124
The Narnia Code
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 16, 2009
Documentary examining claims that CS Lewis's Narnia Chronicles contain a hidden meaning. CS Lewis wrote the Narnia Chronicles over 50 years ago, yet they are more popular today than .. show full overview
2009x64
Let's Get Lost
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 18, 2009
Whether in his golden youth or premature old age, legendary jazz trumpeter Chet Baker's musical virtuosity always shone through. In this frank and revealing documentary made a year .. show full overview
2009x109
Jim Clark: The Quiet Champion
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 18, 2009
Portrait of Jim Clark, one of the most talented and intriguing characters of the 1960s. From unlikely beginnings on a farm in Scotland, the introverted and media-shy Clark emerged to .. show full overview
2009x131
The Thatcher Generation
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 21, 2009
A personal history of the Thatcher years and their legacy, told through the stories of three Welsh children born the year Margaret Thatcher came to power. Thirty years on, this film .. show full overview
2009x23
Who Killed The Honey Bee?
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 23, 2009
Bees are dying in their millions. It is an ecological crisis that threatens to bring global agriculture to a standstill. Introduced by Martha Kearney, this documentary explores the .. show full overview
2009x61
Cruickshank on Kew: The Garden That Changed the World
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 28, 2009
As the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew prepare to celebrate their 250th anniversary, Dan Cruickshank unearths some of the surprising stories that shaped the famous gardens. His travels take .. show full overview
2009x142
Desperately Hungry Housewives
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 28, 2009
Anorexia and bulimia were once more commonly associated with teenage girls but are now on the increase among older women. This film goes into the seemingly perfect world of four .. show full overview
2009x190 Season finale
Calendar Girls: 10 Years On
Episode overview
Air date
Apr 29, 2009
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 .. show full overview
2009x84
Blues Britannia: Can Blue Men Sing the Whites?
Episode overview
Air date
May 01, 2009
Documentary telling the story of what happened to blues music on its journey from the southern states of America to the heart of British pop and rock culture, providing an in-depth look .. show full overview
2009x15
Cloudspotting
Episode overview
Air date
May 03, 2009
Documentary bringing to life Gavin Pretor-Pinney's international bestseller, The Cloudspotter's Guide, which draws on science, meteorology and mythology for a magical journey through the .. show full overview
2009x12
Claire Richards - My Big Fat Wedding
Episode overview
Air date
May 05, 2009
An estimated 70 per cent of women try to lose weight before they get married and Claire Richards, one fifth of superstar pop group Steps, is no exception.
2009x52
Six Degrees of Separation
Episode overview
Air date
May 05, 2009
Documentary unfolding the science behind the idea of six degrees of separation. Originally thought to be an urban myth, it now appears that anyone on the planet can be connected in just .. show full overview
2009x59
Youth Hostelling: The First 100 Years
Episode overview
Air date
May 07, 2009
Nation on Film documentary telling the story of youth hostelling, which was founded in 1909 in Germany and was established in Britain in 1930, through fascinating archive films .. show full overview
2009x127
Peter Green: Man of the World
Episode overview
Air date
May 08, 2009
If Peter Green had only written Black Magic Woman, his name would still have a place in blues rock history forever. His three short years leading Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac saw the band .. show full overview
2009x104
10 Things You Need to Know About Sleep
Episode overview
Air date
May 12, 2009
Do you get enough sleep? Many of us don't. 10 Things You Need to Know About Sleep reveals the science behind why so many find it difficult to nod off, and offers practical tips on the .. show full overview
2009x133
Cobra Ferrari Wars
Episode overview
Air date
May 16, 2009
The date is 1959. The place is Le Mans racing circuit, France. A little known Texan racing driver, Carrol Shelby, wins the most prestigious event in motor racing at his first attempt and .. show full overview
2009x137
Ian Hislop's Changing of the Bard
Episode overview
Air date
May 16, 2009
an Hislop takes an amused look at one of the most peculiar offices in the British establishment, that of Poet Laureate. Its 341-year history produces a gloriously eccentric picture of .. show full overview
2009x166
The Addictions of Sin: WH Auden in His Own Words
Episode overview
Air date
May 17, 2009
To commemorate the centenary of the birth of one of Britain's most influential and best-loved poets, this film combines dramatisations of telling events in the life of WH Auden with .. show full overview
2009x167
Tell Me the Truth about Love
Episode overview
Air date
May 17, 2009
Documentary film looking at the poetry of W H Auden, revealing how it came not just from inspiration but from a rigorous scientific analysis of love itself. When he died in 1973, he left .. show full overview
2009x173
The Great British Wedding
Episode overview
Air date
May 19, 2009
Mark Benton narrates a step-by-step guide to how the Brits tie the knot. From the stag do to the table plan, from the rings to the first dance, this is a look at how the Brits just about .. show full overview
2009x116
Fighting Passions
Episode overview
Air date
May 24, 2009
Documentary featuring interviews with soldiers on the act that defines them: killing. For civilians, it is a crime. For soldiers, it is a job. Soldiers who have done it usually do not .. show full overview
2009x14
Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor: The Link
Episode overview
Air date
May 26, 2009
We explore the story behind the discovery of an early primate fossil, Darwinius masillae, nicknamed Ida, in a shale quarry in Germany. The fossil is believed to be around 47 million .. show full overview
2009x90
Abdication: A Very British Coup
Episode overview
Air date
May 26, 2009
Documentary which sheds new light on the greatest crisis to rock the British monarchy in centuries - the abdication of King Edward VIII. Usually, it has been presented as the only .. show full overview
2009x174
The Great British Foreign Holiday
Episode overview
Air date
May 26, 2009
Mark Benton has been abroad, he knows all about it: 'The British are an island race - abroad is really abroad, not just across the border but actually over the horizon. It's far away - .. show full overview
2009x42
10 Things You Need to Know About Losing Weight
Episode overview
Air date
May 27, 2009
Every year millions of people in Britain try to lose weight, and most fail. We are constantly bombarded with advice about dieting and the latest slimming fads. But what really works? In .. show full overview
2009x172
Armando Iannucci in Milton's Heaven and Hell
Episode overview
Air date
May 27, 2009
Milton is often considered too difficult and obscure for today's reader, but to Armando Iannucci Paradise Lost is a thrilling work of creative genius that we ignore at our peril. In .. show full overview
2009x68
Michael Wood on Beowulf
Episode overview
Air date
May 28, 2009
Historian Michael Wood returns to his first great love, the Anglo-Saxon world, to reveal the origins of our literary heritage. Focusing on Beowulf and drawing on other Anglo-Saxon classics, he traces the birth of English poetry back to the Dark Ages.
2009x82
Tourettes: I Swear I Can't Help It
Episode overview
Air date
May 28, 2009
In 1988, teenager John Davidson featured in a BBC documentary about Tourettes. At that time, few people had even heard of Tourettes Syndrome, let alone knew anything about the .. show full overview
2009x186
Meet the British
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 02, 2009
From semi-naked women to prize-winning goats, this documentary examines the weird and wonderful ways the Government has tried to promote Britain's image abroad.
2009x70
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 04, 2009
Poet Simon Armitage goes on the trail of one of the jewels in the crown of British poetry, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written about 600 years ago by an unknown author. The poem has .. show full overview
2009x134
A World of Pain: Meera Syal on Self-Harm
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 04, 2009
In this moving and sometimes disturbing film, actress and writer Meera Syal meets young people who self-harm to find out why they do it, and how parents like herself can avoid it happening to their own children.
2009x62
Keep on Running: 50 years of Island Records
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 05, 2009
Damian Lewis-narrated documentary telling the colourful story of Island Records, the Jamaican-founded record label built by maverick boss Chris Blackwell which celebrated its 50th .. show full overview
2009x111
The Designed World
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 05, 2009
An insight into the world of design through 12 stories, shot across a range of countries, ranging from product design to world class feats of engineering and design projects which have a social impact.
2009x130
Manet: the Man Who Invented Modern Art
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2009
Manet is one of the main candidates for the title of the most important artist there has been. As the reluctant father of Impressionism, and the painter of Dejeuner sur l'herbe, he can .. show full overview
2009x179
Alex James - Cocaine Diaries
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 13, 2009
Colombia now accounts for 62% of the world's cocaine production, estimated to be worth US$70 billion worldwide. In this very personal documentary, former cocaine addict Alex James, .. show full overview
2009x16
James May at the Edge of Space
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 21, 2009
Fulfilling a life long dream to be an astronaut, May was given the opportunity to fly to the edge of space in a Lockheed U-2 spy plane. To do this he first had to spend three days .. show full overview
2009x17
James May on the Moon
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 21, 2009
In this programme James May commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landings. The show saw May interviewing Apollo moonwalkers Harrison Schmitt, Alan Bean, and Charlie .. show full overview
2009x141
Mendelssohn, the Nazis and Me
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 26, 2009
Felix Mendelssohn was a passionate Christian. He was also born a Jew. This film, marking the 200th anniversary of his birth, tells the extraordinary story of what happened, generations .. show full overview
2009x110
Lee Miller: A Crazy Way of Seeing
Episode overview
Air date
Jun 27, 2009
Glamorous, talented and decidedly unconventional, Lee Miller led one of the most fascinating lives of the 20th century. A model for Vogue in 1920s New York, pupil and lover of Man Ray in .. show full overview
2009x4
Can I Get High Legally?
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 02, 2009
Documentary in which George Lamb dives into the world of legal party pills and herbal highs. Legal highs are sold openly and legally in shops across the UK and on the internet. There .. show full overview
2009x118
Being Neil Armstrong
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 05, 2009
It has been said that ten thousand years from now, only one name will still be remembered - that of Neil Armstrong. But in the four decades since he first set foot on the moon, Armstrong .. show full overview
2009x154
Man On The Moon
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 05, 2009
Documentary telling the story of the US space programme, from the early days of the space race with the Soviet Union to the first moon landing in 1969. Includes interviews with .. show full overview
2009x149
Space Dogs
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 06, 2009
In the years after the second world war, in preparation for sending the first man into orbit, the Soviets began sending dogs into space. Featuring unique archival footage, including .. show full overview
2009x153
Apollo Wives
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 06, 2009
Ten extraordinary women, all in their seventies, come to Arizona for a special reunion. They are each different but have one thing in common - each was married to an Apollo astronaut. .. show full overview
2009x79
40 Years On The Moon
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 09, 2009
Professor Brian Cox takes a look through nearly 50 years of BBC archive at the story of man's relationship with the moon. From the BBC's space fanatic James Burke testing out the .. show full overview
2009x145
Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 11, 2009
The watchwords of the French Revolution were liberty, equality and fraternity. Maximilien Robespierre believed in them passionately. He was an idealist and a lover of humanity. But .. show full overview
2009x88
Liz Smith's Summer Cruise
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 12, 2009
Award-winning 87-year-old actress Liz Smith does the one thing she has never managed to achieve in her life - go on a proper holiday. Liz, known and loved by millions as Nana in The .. show full overview
2009x139
Space Dogs
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 12, 2009
In the years after the second world war, in preparation for sending the first man into orbit, the Soviets began sending dogs into space. Featuring unique archival footage, including .. show full overview
2009x18
What's Really in Our Food?
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 14, 2009
Can we trust the food we eat? Reporters Tom Heap and Simon Boazman set off on a mission to find out, revealing the tricks of food labelling and uncovering the world of food fraud.
2009x93
Versailles: The Dream of a King
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 18, 2009
The film recreates the life and loves of France's most famous king, Louis XIV. Dubbed the Sun King by his admiring court, Louis conquered half of Europe, conducted dozens of love affairs .. show full overview
2009x19
One Small Step - The Australian Story in the Apollo 11 Mission
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 20, 2009
On July 20th 1969, the ‘Great Southern Land’ of Australia had just twelve and a half million inhabitants and was known more for its kangaroos then its space program. But at the moment .. show full overview
2009x146
China's Capitalist Revolution
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 25, 2009
When Chairman Mao died in 1976, he left China in chaos and poverty. He was succeeded by Deng Xiaoping, who overturned Maoism and taught the Chinese to love capitalism, creating special .. show full overview
2009x75
Britain's Most Embarrassing Parents
Episode overview
Air date
Jul 27, 2009
Kirsten O'Brien takes a warm-hearted and irreverent tour of Britain's Most Embarrassing Parents. We get a peek into the lives of ten families across the UK and hear first-hand from .. show full overview
2009x102
Sir Bobby Robson a Tribute
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 01, 2009
Gary Lineker presents a special tribute to the late Sir Bobby Robson. Recorded in 2003, the former England player and manager talks about his life, from humble beginnings as the son of a .. show full overview
2009x143
The Story of the Open University
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 01, 2009
Happy Birthday OU - 40 Years of the Open University In 1969 change was in the air. Man stepped on the moon and Britain launched a revolutionary new kind of university, one where the .. show full overview
2009x71
16: Too Young to Vote
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 04, 2009
Actress Melissa Suffield plays teenage tearaway Lucy Beale in EastEnders, a character famous for her bad behaviour. But now Melissa is coming of age - she has turned 16, is paying tax .. show full overview
2009x77
The City Addicted to Crystal Meth
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 09, 2009
Central Valley, California, is home to some of the most impoverished rural towns in America, where crystal meth addiction is prolific. In Fresno, Louis finds a community ravaged by this .. show full overview
2009x86
The Autistic Me
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 11, 2009
Most young adults take their freedoms for granted - they can choose their friends, stay out late, learn to drive and decide what they want to do as a career. But for people growing up on .. show full overview
2009x138
Robert Hooke: Victim of Genius
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 13, 2009
The untold story of how a giant of science was erased from history by the jealous rival who owed him more than most - Isaac Newton. A drama revealing the extraordinary, prolific, bizarre .. show full overview
2009x108
World Freerun Championships
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 15, 2009
Coverage of the 2009 Barclaycard World Freerun Championship from London's Trafalgar Square, presented by Reggie Yates and Kirsten O'Brien. The best athletes in the world compete at the .. show full overview
2009x57
100 Years of Girl Guides
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 16, 2009
In September 2009, the Girl Guides celebrated their centenary. With a membership of over 600,000, nearly half the female population of Britain has been involved with the Brownies and .. show full overview
2009x176
Superfly
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 20, 2009
Documentary using specialist photography and 3D animation to show how the common fruit fly has been crucial to a hundred years of genetic research.
2009x188
Rocketman
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 21, 2009
Using archival footage, this film explores the American space program, from the Mercury program through Gemini program through the return to space after the Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster.
2009x35
The Rules of Film Noir
Episode overview
Air date
Aug 22, 2009
Bogey, Bacall and Mitchum play it tough as Matthew Sweet celebrates the hardboiled world of noir movies.
2009x34
A Portrait of Scotland
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 07, 2009
Peter Capaldi reveals a flair for presenting in this new documentary looking at the art of Scotland, as it reflects the changing face of the nation as part of BBC Four's This is Scotland .. show full overview
2009x63
Balmoral
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 13, 2009
Documentary telling the story of Balmoral, the Royal Family's most private residence. For over 150 years this Scottish castle has been home to royal traditions of picnics, stag hunting .. show full overview
2009x113
What is Beauty?
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 14, 2009
Documentary in which artist and writer Matthew Collings explores the concept of beauty in art. Is beauty only in the eye of the beholder, or is there something more universal we can say about it?
2009x25
How a Choir Works
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 15, 2009
Choirmaster Gareth Malone joins forces with the BBC Singers to explore the styles and techniques that create a choir. He finds out why there are four sections, what is polyphony, what .. show full overview
2009x27
Montezuma
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 19, 2009
Dan Snow travels to Mexico to investigate the history, character and legacy of Montezuma, the last great ruler of the Aztecs of central America. He uncovers the extraordinary story of .. show full overview
2009x67
Munro: Mountain Man
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 20, 2009
Little more than 100 years ago, Scottish mountains standing at more than 3,000 feet were virtually unknown. Today they are familiar terrain to many thousands of climbers, thanks to .. show full overview
2009x32
A Necessary Evil?
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 21, 2009
The untold story of two infamous labourers, Burke and Hare, who embarked upon a year-long killing spree in Edinburgh during the 19th century to provide corpses for the most famous .. show full overview
2009x21
A Farewell to Floyd
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 26, 2009
Top chefs and celebrities pay tribute to one of the most original broadcasters of his generation, Keith Floyd. Rick Stein, Marco Pierre White and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are among .. show full overview
2009x22
Upgrade Me
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 28, 2009
Poet and gadget lover Simon Armitage explores people's obsession with upgrading to the latest technological gadgetry. Upgrade culture drives millions to purchase the latest phones, .. show full overview
2009x31
Richard Wilson - Two Feet in the Grave
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 29, 2009
At 72, actor Richard Wilson - who famously died himself as Victor Meldrew - wonders why, when it's life's one certainty, people have such difficulty discussing death. In that .. show full overview
2009x148
The Terrible Price
Episode overview
Air date
Sep 30, 2009
Documentary looking at one of Britain's worst mining disasters, in 1934 in Gresford, when 265 men were killed. Eye witness accounts and archive footage tell a story of sadness, courage, cover-ups and lies.
2009x170
Elvis in Porthcawl
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 01, 2009
Elvis is alive and well and in Porthcawl - at least at the Elvis Porthcawl Festival. This programme tracks some of the performers as they pay tribute to the King, and looks at how this .. show full overview
2009x175
Monty Python: Almost The Truth - The BBC Lawyer's Cut
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 03, 2009
To commemorate the 'Ruby Jubilee' of Monty Python, this film takes us on a journey telling the story of the Pythons from start to finish. Starting with the very humble beginnings of how .. show full overview
2009x24
The Life And Death Of A Mobile Phone
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 05, 2009
Through the life cycle of one mobile phone, this documentary investigates the million and one ways in which the mobile has made itself indispensable to modern life. One in every two .. show full overview
2009x194 Season finale
Brian Cox's Jute Journey
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 05, 2009
Documentary journey into actor Brian Cox's past, and on to Kolkata in the footsteps of the Dundee jute workers who left to seek their fortunes in India.
2009x156
Blitz: The Bombing of Coventry
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 06, 2009
On 14th November 1940, the Luftwaffe launched the most devastating bombing raid so far on Britain. The target was Coventry, deep in the heart of England. In a 12-hour blitz, the .. show full overview
2009x28
Podfather
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 12, 2009
Documentary telling the story of silicon chip inventor Robert Noyce, godfather of today's digital world. Re-living the heady days of Silicon Valley's seminal start-ups, the film tells .. show full overview
2009x26
Synth Britannia
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 16, 2009
Documentary following a generation of post-punk musicians who took the synthesiser from the experimental fringes to the centre of the pop stage. In the late 1970s, small pockets of .. show full overview
2009x164
Synth Britannia at the BBC
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 16, 2009
With the Moogs turned up to 11, a 1970s and 80s journey through the BBC's synthpop archives from Roxy Music and Tubeway Army to New Order and Sparks.
2009x66
Swimming to Scotland: Crossing Hell's Mouth
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 18, 2009
The story of Frank Chalmers, an open water swimmer setting off on the challenge of his life. Having successfully swum the English Channel, Frank has been training for over a year in preparation for his toughest swim yet - to cross the Pentland Firth.
2009x125
Troubled Young Minds
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 19, 2009
One in four people have a mental illness at some point in their lives. No-one likes to think it could happen to them, or someone close to them. David Tennant narrates a documentary showing what living with mental illness is like.
2009x159
Show Me the Mummy: The Face of Takabuti
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 19, 2009
In 1835 the mummified remains of Takabuti were unwrapped in Belfast. Now for the first time in thousands of years, her true face is revealed. In October 2006, the Ulster Museum closed .. show full overview
2009x121
The Real Cabaret
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 20, 2009
Few musicals can claim to capture the mood of a historical period as well as the 1972 classic Cabaret. In this documentary, actor Alan Cumming explores the truths behind the fiction. .. show full overview
2009x187
A Tale of Two Britains
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 21, 2009
An alternative vision of Britain during the 1930s, challenging the commonly held perception that the period was defined by unemployment, gloom and recession.
2009x29
Krautrock: The Rebirth of Germany
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 23, 2009
Documentary which looks at how a radical generation of musicians created a new German musical identity out of the cultural ruins of war. Between 1968 and 1977 bands like Neu!, Can, .. show full overview
2009x33
Watching The Dead
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 24, 2009
Documentary which explores television's fascination with forensics, revisiting classic shows like Quincy and Marius Goring's The Expert and looking at the appeal of contemporary dramas .. show full overview
2009x147
The World's Greatest Money Maker: Evan Davis meets Warren Buffett
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 26, 2009
Warren Buffett is the greatest investor of all time. His decisions about buying shares and companies have beaten the stock market year after year and made him the richest person in the .. show full overview
2009x38
Ghosts in the Machine
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 27, 2009
Documentary charting the history of the supernatural on British television, and how ghosts have been portrayed on the small screen. From Hamlet to Most Haunted, the apparitions have .. show full overview
2009x161
Make Me White
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 27, 2009
Skin lightening is big business. The market for cosmetics to lighten darker skin is now reported to be worth millions of pounds; Anita Rani (presenter of Watchdog and The One Show) is on .. show full overview
2009x81
High Flyers: How Britain Took to the Air
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 28, 2009
A documentary celebrating the golden age of air travel, when in the 1920s and 1930s Britain ruled the skies, and style and glamour were a passport to adventure.
2009x128
Burning Down the House
Episode overview
Air date
Oct 31, 2009
To mark the 175th anniversary of the destruction of the Palace of Westminster by fire, Mark D'Arcy looks back at the disaster and its aftermath.
2009x78
Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 01, 2009
Fleetwood Mac, one of the biggest-selling bands of all time, are back on the road again. Their story, told in their own words, is an epic tale of love and confrontation, of success and .. show full overview
2009x80
JLB, The Man Who Saw the Future
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 02, 2009
In 1926 John Logie Baird became the first man in history to give a successful public demonstration of television. During WWII, with the help of one assistant, a part-time glassblower and .. show full overview
2009x168
Black Widow Granny
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 03, 2009
In the autumn of 2008, Al Gentry from Albemarle, North Carolina, achieved his goal of 22 years hard work - he had Betty Neumar arrested for the murder of his brother Harold who was .. show full overview
2009x95
The Secret Life of the Berlin Wall
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 07, 2009
The Berlin Wall was the ugly, concrete obstacle that for more than a generation (from 1961 to 1989) split the city and divided its families. Hundreds of people, mainly young, were killed .. show full overview
2009x83
The Children Who Fought Hitler
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 08, 2009
Documentary telling the forgotten story of a heroic battle fought by the children of the British Memorial School to help liberate Europe from the Nazis. The school served a unique .. show full overview
2009x132
Alexander Armstrong's Very British Holiday
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 08, 2009
Alexander Armstrong travels the country to explore the state of the great British holiday. It is widely acknowledged that 2009 is a bumper year for the UK tourist industry. With the .. show full overview
2009x96
Wild Boys - The Story of Duran Duran
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 13, 2009
Duran Duran came out of Birmingham and conquered the world during the 1980s. Originally a New Romantic band in full make-up and cossack pants, they rapidly became bedroom pinups for .. show full overview
2009x37
What is Beauty?
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 14, 2009
Documentary in which artist and writer Matthew Collings explores the concept of beauty in art. Is beauty only in the eye of the beholder, or is there something more universal we can say .. show full overview
2009x115
To Mars by A-Bomb: The Secret History Of Project Orion
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 15, 2009
Documentary telling the amazing true story of a top secret US government-backed attempt to build a spaceship the size of an ocean liner and send it to Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, propelled .. show full overview
2009x36
The Art on Your Wall with Sue Perkins
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 16, 2009
Sue Perkins charts the changes in British taste towards domestic art by delving into the stories of contemporary bestsellers, charting the history of post-war prints and aiming to see .. show full overview
2009x30
The Fastest Steam Car in the World
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 18, 2009
An eccentric team of British engineers attempts to break the longest standing land speed record in the world in a steam-powered car built in a shed in Hampshire. Driven by .. show full overview
2009x105
Where Is Modern Art Now?
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 18, 2009
Art historian explores the state of British art in 2009 and asks whether a new era in art is dawning and whether there is a reason to be optimistic.
2009x106
Ugly Beauty
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 21, 2009
Has beauty disappeared from modern art? Several influential modern thinkers insist that it has. Art critic Waldemar Januszczak fiercely disagrees, believing that great art is as interested in beauty as ever.
2009x91
Amazing Gracie: The Gracie Fields Story
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 23, 2009
A look at the legacy of actress, singer and comedienne Gracie Fields who, during her lifetime, was a national institution. Through interviews and some previously unseen archive footage, .. show full overview
2009x41
Johnny Cash: The Story of Folsom Prison
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 27, 2009
Documentary which explores the most important day in the career of the legendary Johnny Cash. Cash's concert at Folsom State Prison in California in January 1968 touched a raw nerve .. show full overview
2009x55
The Real Merlin and Arthur
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 28, 2009
Stars of the hit drama series Merlin, Colin Morgan and Bradley James, set off across Wales to explore the country's centuries-old connections to the legend of King Arthur and his wizard .. show full overview
2009x107
Why Beauty Matters
Episode overview
Air date
Nov 28, 2009
Philosopher Roger Scruton presents a provocative essay on the importance of beauty in the arts and in our lives.
2009x44
Delia's Classic Christmas
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 01, 2009
For the first time since 1990, Delia returns to television screens at Christmas time to unveil a celebration feast packed with indulgent, scrumptious recipes.
2009x40
The Man Behind Masquerade
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 02, 2009
In 1979, artist Kit Williams turned Britain into a giant treasure map, promising a golden hare, buried in the earth, to the first person who solved the riddle of his book Masquerade. The .. show full overview
2009x163
Scotland's Conspiracy Files
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 02, 2009
In 1979 Scotland went to the polls to vote on the Scottish Devolution Referendum Bill to define her place in the United Kingdom. Thirty years later Scotland's first minister is proposing .. show full overview
2009x39
Being Alan Bennett
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 05, 2009
To mark his 75th year, a rare glimpse into the life and work of Alan Bennett, one of the UK's best-loved writers. Given exclusive access to the key moments in his year, including .. show full overview
2009x73
Alesha Dixon: Who's Your Daddy?
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 08, 2009
Singer and Strictly Come Dancing star Alesha Dixon investigates the potential fallout of not knowing who your father is. Alesha talks to children and experts as she examines both the .. show full overview
2009x43
Hot Planet
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 09, 2009
Professors Iain Stewart and Professor Kathy Sykes take a timely look at global warming ahead of the Copenhagen summit, exploring the world's leading climate scientists' vision of the planet's future.
2009x99
For Art's Sake - The Story of Ballets Russes
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 11, 2009
Celebrating the achievements of Ballets Russes under Diaghilev's guidance and their continuing influence on dance, art and music today. The English National Ballet perform extracts .. show full overview
2009x117
The Beatles on Record
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 12, 2009
In 1962 an unknown group from Liverpool entered Abbey Road Studios to record their debut single. During the next eight years they created what is arguably regarded as the greatest .. show full overview
2009x87
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Lolita?
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 13, 2009
Documentary following writer and broadcaster Stephen Smith on the trail of Vladimir Nabokov, the elusive man behind the controversial novel and 1962 film, Lolita. The journey takes him .. show full overview
2009x191 Season finale
Cardigans at Christmas
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 20, 2009
A feast of old chestnuts from the glory days of Christmases past with this look at the rise and demise of the Christmas light-entertainment spectacular. From Christmas Night with the .. show full overview
2009x160
Victoria Wood Seen on TV
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 21, 2009
A look back at Victoria Wood's hugely successful television career. Featuring sketches, stand-up, characters and songs from her incredible repertoire as well as exclusive interviews with .. show full overview
2009x152
John Mortimer - A Life in Words
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 22, 2009
Documentary examining the thoughts and observations of writer, raconteur and national treasure, Sir John Mortimer. He enjoyed a successful career as a QC before becoming a full-time .. show full overview
2009x123
The Story of Slapstick
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 26, 2009
Slapstick comedy special narrated by Miranda Hart, charting the highs and lows of physical comedy and examining the audience's love of visual humour. Featuring pies and pratfalls from .. show full overview
2009x89
The Pixar Story
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 27, 2009
Documentary about the pioneering computer animation studio Pixar, featuring contributions from the studio's bosses and a host of actors who have lent their voices to their creations, .. show full overview
2009x97
Steve Coogan - The Inside Story
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 27, 2009
An unconventional look at the best of Steve Coogan's television work and character comedy. With classic archive moments and some rarely seen early appearances, this one-hour special .. show full overview
2009x177
Orson Welles over Europe
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 27, 2009
When Orson Welles went into self-imposed exile in Europe, he first found stardom with The Third Man and then immersed himself in challenging films, television, theatre and bullfighting. Simon Callow trails the complex actor-director.
2009x178
Orson Welles over Europe
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 27, 2009
When Orson Welles went into self-imposed exile in Europe, he first found stardom with The Third Man and then immersed himself in challenging films, television, theatre and bullfighting. Simon Callow trails the complex actor-director.
2009x45
Not Again: Not the Nine O'Clock News
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 28, 2009
The story behind Not The Nine O'Clock News, which launched the careers of its key performers Rowan Atkinson, Mel Smith, Griff Rhys Jones and Pamela Stephenson.
2009x129
A Song of Crotal and White An-diugh
Episode overview
Air date
Dec 28, 2009
Updating the impression of life on the Isle of Lewis given by the MacDonald Sisters. First broadcast in 1969.

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