Secrets of Britain

The enormous popularity of recent British dramas such as Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, and Sherlock, has led to vast interest in the real-life stories and history of the icons of Great Britain. Each episode of this series visits a famous British building or institution to explore its past and present, meeting a wide range of experts and historians along the way.

Great British Garden Revival

Britain’s rich horticultural history is being lost. More and more front and back gardens are paved over - for development, for parking spaces, or because families don’t have the time or inclination to manage these spaces. The trend for easy-to-maintain lawns, patios and paving has also led to a decline in traditional gardens full of flowers, plants and trees to the extent that some of our most iconic flora and fauna have all but disappeared. Step forward the BBC’s most-loved gardening experts, who are determined to turn us back into a green-fingered nation once again.

Ça vaut le coût

In-depth reports, test benches, buying guides, decoding of trends, news briefs and informative capsules. All done by a team of seasoned reporters on the lookout for consumer issues, both big and small.

Bienvenue chez les cheaps

Follows five spendthrift protagonists, each with a different personality, in order to unveil their tricks for saving pennies on the dollar.

Secret Britain

Exploring the hidden corners of the UK in search of the best the countryside has to offer.

Secret Society

A politically charged mini-series researched and written by Duncan Campbell which saw dramatic Special Branch raids on BBC Scotland. An entire production office was loaded into transit vans and confiscated by the police. + One: 'The Secret Constitution' about secret Cabinet committees that amount to a secret decision making system at the highest levels of power in the United Kingdom. + Two: 'In Time of Crisis' about secret preparations for war that began in 1982 within every NATO country. This programme revealed what Britain would do. + Three: 'A Gap In Our Defences' about bungling defence manufacturers and incompetent military planners who have botched every new radar system that Britain has installed since World War II. + Four: 'We're All Data Now' about the Data Protection Act. + Five: 'Association of Chief Police Officers' and how Government policy and actions are determined in the fields of law and order. + Six: 'Communications' with particular reference to Zircon spy satellites ...

Fifties Features - The Women behind the Pictures

A three part series about women working in the British film industry during the 1950s.

Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School

In a unique experiment, five teachers from China take over the education of fifty teenagers in a Hampshire school to see whether the high-ranking Chinese education system can teach us a lesson.

A1: Britain's Longest Road

Following the men and women who work around the clock on Britain's longest and most iconic road, ensuring the traffic keeps moving and the public is kept safe.

Hospital

The story of the NHS in unprecedented times.

Important Thing is Love (1971)

"It's queer, it's kinky" - the average man on the street might find lesbianism strange, but for the women interviewed in this surprisingly nuanced TV documentary, it's just an ordinary part of their lives. The women - butch, femme and everything in between - articulately discuss their lives, experiences and struggles with everyday discrimination, busting the myths that homosexuality is a disease and that gay women are doomed to loneliness. Among the interviewees are Esme Langley (speaking outside in woolly hat and coat), founder of the Minorities Research Group, Charlotte Wolff, a psychotherapist and sexologist whose 1971 book Love Between Women offered some of the first serious research into lesbianism, and Doreen Cordell, a social worker with the Albany Trust, a charity providing counselling and support to the LGBT community.

The Royal House of Windsor

Drawing on newly available evidence, this epic series explores the Windsor dynasty's gripping family saga, providing fresh insights into how our royal family have survived four generations of crisis.

A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley

Lucy Worsley delves into the history of romance to uncover the forces shaping our very British happily ever after and how our feelings have been affected by social, political and cultural ideas.

Britain At War In Colour

Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain

Fred Dibnah reveals the genius, the vision and the sheer bloody graft that went into creating some of Britain's greatest national monuments. All six episodes look at Britain's architectural heritage. In 'Mighty Cathedrals' Fred examines the innovations in building techniques which allowed the Normans to build some of the nation's most remarkable cathedrals. 'The Art of Castle Building' has Fred take a look at the castles of the North Wales coastline. 'The Age of the Carpenter' sees Fred learn all about the way that carpenters have used their skills to transform medieval castles into homes. In 'Scottish Style' Fred visits Glamis Castle and learns about the Scottish Baronial Style. 'Building the Canals' has Fred visit Bolton and learn about the construction of the first canals. Finally, 'Victorian Splendour' sees Fred looking at the achievements of architects in the 19th century and discovering the story behind the building of the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben.

Inside Windsor Castle

A look at life in Windsor Castle over the last 80 years, including the tragedies, triumphs, romances and scandals of the Royal Family.

Walking Through History

Tony Robinson goes for a walk through some of Britain's beautiful and historic landscapes.

Britain's Biggest Warship

HMS Queen Elizabeth is the largest and most advanced warship ever constructed in Britain. As she embarks on gruelling sea trials we see ship and crew pushed to breaking point.

Oz & James Drink to Britain

Oz Clarke and James May travel through Britain and Ireland to discover the amazing array of drinks that is on offer.

Coast

The nation's love affair with the coast will be reawakened for this entertaining and ambitious exploration of the entire UK coastline. Every part of the 9,000-mile coast is covered to explore how we've shaped it - and how it shapes us. Hosted by a team of history and geography experts who investigate everything from life on a nuclear submarine; rebuilding the Titanic using computer images; the story behind the first Butlins holiday camp; and the birth of the Severn Bore. Discover the curious, sometimes dysfunctional, relationship between the British and the seas.