Lucy Worsley reveals the surprising stories behind our favourite Christmas carols. From pagan rituals to religious conflicts, French dances and the First World War, carols reflect our history.
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An intriguing peddler comes to Hope Valley selling the townspeople his wares and teaching them valuable lessons about joy and giving. When the townspeople realize that the recently displaced settlers in the area will not have a proper Christmas, they come together to create a special holiday celebration — including a Nativity presentation from the schoolchildren — that will infuse everyone with the true spirit of Christmas.
Hope Valley is buzzing from the introduction of the Wishing Tree, with all the townspeople eagerly placing their wishes on its branches in the hopes they will be granted. Elizabeth wishes for Jack's return. Meanwhile, Abigail spearheads the town's first Christmas parade, featuring an energetic band, led by Bill. Abigail's newly adopted son, Cody, tries to make their first Christmas together special, connecting her past with their future. Rosemary and Lee discover the importance of Christmas traditions and treasured memories. Meanwhile, Doctor Carson Shepherd exhibits faith and resilience in trying to heal and inspire a guarded woman who has given up on the spirit of Christmas. Also, disgraced former mayor, Henry Gowen, gets a second chance at redemption.
France, 1914, during World War I. On Christmas Eve, an extraordinary event takes place in the bloody no man's land that the French and the Scots dispute with the Germans…
Exclusive access to the Four Seasons Hotel, London, in the run-up to Christmas. Expect festive photoshoots, afternoon teas, Christmas trees and sackfuls of presents.
Superstar a capella group Pentatonix is struggling to find inspiration for their annual holiday album, and the clock is ticking. To make matters worse, their well-intentioned but misguided manager mistakenly locks them in a magic mailroom. But with the help of some Disney magic, we’re soon on a whirlwind tour around the world, discovering holiday traditions and inspiration from Pentatonix fans all around the globe: from Tokyo to Grenada, Ghana to Mexico and Iceland.
Henry II and his estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, battle over the choice of an heir.
Gathering for a Christmas lunch, the film critics and writers of Discovering Film discuss the merits of 20 films from Bill Murray's star turn in Scrooged, the James Stewart classic It's a Wonderful Life, Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander, to Bruce Willis' memorable Die Hard.
In the lead-up to the festive bonanza, an exclusive look inside the chocolate-maker's inventing room, and its 'chocolate imaginarium' too. Prepare for special choc drinks and cranberry treats.
Cameras go behind the scenes at Brown's, London's oldest luxury hotel, during the Christmas season, as staff face the expectations of delivering a luxury festive stay for guests booking rooms that start at £750 a night. The hotel's elite team hosts a vibrant charity Christmas fayre, creates imaginative festive pastries, and concocts a signature holiday cocktail, all aimed at delivering the Christmas feast of a lifetime.
It’s Christmas in Alaska, but a sparsely populated state means a scarce amount of priests. From Christmas eve to Christmas day, two Dominicans traverse icy roads and harsh winds to celebrate Christmas mass for 3 remote communities in the last frontier.
The day before Christmas in 1895 George Washington Vanderbilt opened his 250-room Biltmore Estate in the breathtaking mountains of North Carolina. Today, Christmas at Biltmore is like stepping back in time, glowing with Victorian history. Embrace the rich tradition of the past and learn how holiday decorations, feasts, games and entertainment became a part of the customs of today. Join host Joan Kohn for a behind-the-scenes look at this magnificent estate and see how months of planning and preparation make Biltmore Estate an extraordinary and magical place to visit during the holiday season.
Lap up the luxury and opulence of the festive season at Switzerland's Gstaad Palace hotel, as we discover one of the most exclusive hotels in the world, where staff and management work hard to ensure their guests enjoy the ultimate 5-star festive experience. Run by third generation hotelier Andrea Scherz, whose family have owned the hotel since 1938, the hotel is one of the last in Switzerland to close between the summer season and winter. When it reopens in mid-December, with rooms costing up to £18,000 per night, the pressure is on to provide a truly first class Christmas.
In a Walt Disney Family Museum original production directed by Don Hahn, view Disney family home movies and holiday segments from Walt’s shorts and feature films as Walt’s daughter, Diane, shares her Christmas memories alongside Disney family home movies, holiday segments classic Disney films, and vintage Disneyland footage.
In 1843, despite the fact that Dickens is a successful writer, the failure of his latest book puts his career at a crossroads, until the moment when, struggling with inspiration and confronting reality with his childhood memories, a new character is born in the depths of his troubled mind; an old, lonely, embittered man, so vivid, so human, that a whole world grows around him, a story so inspiring that changed the meaning of Christmas forever.
Dame Mary Berry travels to her mother’s homeland of Scotland, where she’s joined by friends Andy Murray, Iain Stirling and Emeli Sandé to cook indulgent Christmas dishes.
Follow Dolly's desire to uplift an exhausted world's spirits by sharing the unique "mountain magic". Throughout the chaos, Dolly finds herself taking a journey guided by the mysterious appearances of her Three Wise Mountain Men.
In County Durham, England, 1984, a talented young dancer, Billy Elliot, stumbles out of the boxing ring and onto the ballet floor. He faces many trials and triumphs as he strives to conquer his family’s set ways, inner conflict, and standing on his toes in a musical that questions masculinity, gender norms and conformity.
Recreating festivities from Henry VIII's era, Lucy Worsley dresses, eats, drinks, sings and parties like it is 500 years ago - discovering long-lost traditions as well as familiar customs.
Ava, an award-winning chef at a big-city restaurant, has lost her spark. Her boss sends her out to find herself to save her menu and her job. She returns home and finds little to inspire her, but when she reunites with her childhood friend Logan, Ava has to get her head out of the clouds and her foot out of her mouth to rediscover her passion for food.
A comedy show.
Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.
The Minions fight over a delicious banana... but is that all they want?!
An archival investigation into the imperial image-making of the RAF ‘Z Unit’, which determined the destruction of human, animal and cultural life across Somaliland, as well as Africa and Asia.
Live stage recording of the stand-up comedy show, with sketches and videos of old skits from 'Mai dire Gol'.
Mariposa becomes the Royal Ambassador of Flutterfield, and is sent to bring peace between her fairy land and their rivals, the Crystal Fairies of Shimmervale. While Mariposa doesn't make a great first impression on the King, she becomes fast friends with his shy daughter, Princess Catania. However, a misunderstanding causes Mariposa to be banished from their fairy land. As Mariposa and Zee returns to Flutterfield, they encounter a dark fairy on her way to destroy Shimmervale. Mariposa rushes back and helps Princess Catania to save their fairy land and together, the two girls prove that the best way to make a friend, is to be a friend.
In a spoof of 1972's The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang pick up a hitchiking Gary Coleman. Soon after, the Mystery Machine proceeds to break down (multiple times) leaving them stranded at a haunted castle owned by David Cross.
Deloris Van Cartier is again asked to don the nun's habit to help a run-down Catholic school, presided over by Mother Superior. And if trying to reach out to a class full of uninterested students wasn't bad enough, the sisters discover that the school is due to be closed by the unscrupulous chief of a local authority.
Four comedic episodes framed within the story of a tyrannical Zen master and his two hapless disciples.
With the first anniversary of her wedding to Tarzan beckoning, Jane ponders how to make it the perfect English celebration.
An animated road-movie set across the vast and barren landscape of Australia's Nullarbor Plain.
One day, Kurapika spots a child who looks very similar to his childhood friend, Pyro. However, when he catches up to him, the boy steals Kurapika's eyes with some kind of magical power. Gon, Leorio, and Killua promise to help find who took his eyes and get them back, but Killua is having his own problems when he is forced to face his past and whether he really is worthy to have Gon as a friend.
In Berlin, Lieutenant Yartsev's infantry and Tzvetaev's battery fight their way in the U-Bahn. Captain Neustroev's company is selected to hoist the Victory Banner atop the Reichstag.
10-year-old Finn is terrified to learn his family is relocating from sunny California to Maine in the scariest house he has ever seen! Convinced that his new house is haunted, Finn sets up a series of elaborate traps to catch the “ghost” in action. Left home alone with his sister while their parents are stranded across town, Finn’s traps catch a new target – a group of thieves who have targeted Finn’s house.
In the second installment of the Death Note film franchise, Light Yagami meets a second Kira and faithful follower Misa Amane and her Shinigami named Rem. Light attempts to defeat L along with Teru Mikami (a Kira follower) and Kiyomi Takada (another Kira follower) but in the end will Light win? or will a Shinigami named Ryuk make all the difference in Light's victory or his ultimate death?
With input from actor and writer Jan Hlobil, director and cinematographer Rene Smaal presents a film in the true surrealist tradition, in the sense that only 'found' elements were used, and that it defies interpretation based on ordinary cause-and-effect time sequence.
Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey set off to Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's mother and father, the Queen and King. But not everyone is happily ever after. Shrek and the King find it difficult to get along, and there's tension in the marriage. The Fairy Godmother discovers that Fiona has married Shrek instead of her son Prince Charming and plots to destroy their marriage.
Zoinks! Get ready to shake and shiver with Scooby-Doo and the Mystery, Inc. gang as they collect clues and capture crooks as only they can! Those teenage super-sleuths have the villains on the run in four mysterious adventures. So grab your Scooby snacks, gather your courage and make like a detective because - jinkies - there's a mystery to solve. Compilation of four episodes from the Scooby-Doo franchise: Vampires, Bats, and Scaredy Cats; A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts; That's Snow Ghost; and Which Witch is Which.