The Celts (2001)

The Celts were the first European people north of the Alps to rise from anonymity. This program looks at who the Celts were, where they came from and what made their culture so distinctive.

Alice Roberts and Neil Oliver discover the golden age of the "La Tène" Celtic warrior and reveal how their world extended as far as Central Turkey. But by the middle of first century BC, the Celts were under threat from an expanding Roman Empire, and the Gallic warrior Vercingetorix would challenge Julius Caesar in an epic battle that would shape the future of Europe.

The Roman army turns its attention to an island of rich resources, powerful tribes and druids and advanced military equipment - Britain. Alice Roberts and Neil Oliver tell the story of the Celts's last stand against the Roman army - a revolt led by Queen Boudicca.

The slow collapse of the Roman Empire saw the arrival of new cultures which threatened the Celts. The program claims that the British king, Vortigern, invited the Anglo Saxons into Britain to help fight the Picts but they betrayed his trust and gradually took over the island.

From the 8th century onwards the Celts were hammered by invasions by the Vikings and then the Normans. Following the Reformation in the 16th century, Celtic communities in Wales, Ireland and Brittany were marginalised in the push for political and religious unity in England and France.

The emergence, history, meaning and threats to the Celtic identity is examined. Today the struggle to define an identity continues. The degree to which modern people may view themselves as Celts is discussed, with examples of modern Celtic-inspired practices like military discipline and warfare, the Welsh Eisteddfod, modern Irish music and art, and the efforts of the Bretons and Cape Bretoners to preserve their native languages in the face of societal assimilation by their ruling nations.