BBC Alba Documentaries

Through the 60s, 70s and 80s Muhammad Ali became a household name. He was a man driven by his ambition to be the best and went on to become one of the greatest boxers of all time, a sporting legend that to this day is loved throughout the world. This documentary takes a look at the life and times of one of the greatest sportsmen of all time, from his amateur boxing career and Olympic gold through to his legendary fights with Henry Cooper, Sonny Liston, George Foreman and Joe Frazier. Also included are archive news interviews with Ali throughout his career. Ali is now highly regarded for the skills he displayed in the ring and the values he exemplified outside of it - religious freedom, racial justice and the triumph of principle over expedience.

Documentary examining the case of Jessie King, who in 1889 was hanged in Edinburgh for the murder of her three adopted children.

Before he was hanged for murder in 1831, young Hugh Macleod was paraded through the streets of Inverness in chains, jeered by a crowd of three thousand. He was the only defendant in Scots legal history whose trial had admitted the evidence of second sight.

Documentary following five deaf patients at the Scottish Cochlear Implant Unit as they undergo treatment which will hopefully give them the ability to hear.

Thirty years ago – on April 26, 1986 – reactor four at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, spewing out massive quantities of radiation into the atmosphere. Within days the pollution had spread across Europe. Living on land contaminated with radioactivity would be a life changing ordeal for the people of Belarus. But also for the Sami reindeer herders of central Norway. And even the Gaels of the distant Hebrides. Five years ago there was a meltdown at the Fukushima reactor – and thousands of Japanese found their homes, fields and farms irradiated, just as had happened in Europe. This international documentary to be screened on BBC ALBA – filmed in Belarus, Japan, the lands of Norway’s Sami reindeer herders, and in the Outer Hebrides – poses the question: what lessons have been learned? The film reveals that a combination of science, local lore, and the commitment of ordinary men and women, has made life possible in much of the contaminated land. The filmmakers gained unique access to nuclear experts, health officials, and the farmers, reindeer herders and crofters whose lives, land and livelihoods were in jeopardy following the two nuclear disasters. We learn that five years ago, the residents of Fukushima turned to the people who entirely understood their problem when the Japanese nuclear plant was wrecked by a tsunami – the people of Belarus. For quarter of a century, Belarusians had been evolving ways to live heathy lives and bring up healthy children in areas with higher than normal levels of radiation. They had developed a culture of public education, health care, and radiation monitoring that allows them to lead relatively normal lives. The Japanese, including young mothers, visited Belarus to learn the lessons. The first advice they got was from a Belarus mother: “Don’t panic, Japanese mothers!” International co-operation proved successful in lessening the impact of the Fukushima disaster on Japan, by show

A decade on from his death, Jimmy Johnstone examines the life of a phenomenal Scottish sporting talent, telling the story of the highs and the lows of an unforgettable working class footballer, Celtic legend, husband and father who lost his life to motor neurone disease age 61.

Cathy MacDonald explores the locations, folklore and history that have inspired Diana Gabaldon's hugely successful 'Outlander'. What is the fact behind the fiction that has brought fans flocking to Scotland from across the globe? Cathy talks to Diana to find out how she became an author and asks why she decided to set her debut novel in 18th-century Scotland. Diana talks about readers' reactions across the world to the Scottish imagery in the book, her close connection with Scotland and her creative process. Cathy visits some of the places connected with the book and the television series and finds out from historical experts about the real background to the book's setting. She also looks into the Highland folklore Diana has drawn upon, from waterhorses to changelings.