The story of Queen Victoria, who came to the throne at a time of great economic turbulence and resurgent republicanism – and died 64 years later the head of the largest empire the world had ever seen, having revitalised the throne’s public image and become “grandmother of Europe”.
Stretching from the Stone Age to the year 2000, Simon Schama's Complete History of Britain does not pretend to be a definitive chronicle of the turbulent events which buffeted and shaped the British Isles. What Schama does do, however, is tell the story in vivid and gripping narrative terms, free of the fustiness of traditional academe, personalising key historical events by examining the major characters at the centre of them. Not all historians would approve of the history depicted here as shaped principally by the actions of great men and women rather than by more abstract developments, but Schama's way of telling it is a good deal more enthralling as a result.
Schama successfully gives lie to the idea that the history of Britain has been moderate and temperate, passing down the generations as stately as a galleon, taking on board sensible ideas but steering clear of sillier, revolutionary ones. Nonsense. Schama retells British history the way it was--as bloody, convulsive, precarious, hot-blooded and several times within an inch of haring off onto an entirely different course. Schama seems almost to delight in the goriness of history. Themes returned to repeatedly include the wars between the Scots and the Irish and the Catholic/Protestant conflicts--only the Irish question remains unresolved by the new millennium. As Britain becomes a constitutional monarchy, Schama talks less of Kings and Queens but of poets and idea-makers like Orwell. Still, with his pungent, direct manner and against an evocative visual and aural backdrop, Schama makes history seem as though it happened yesterday, the bloodstains not yet dry.
Adapted from Len Deighton’s 1978 alternate history novel. A British detective investigates a murder in German-occupied Britain during World War II.
A zany comedy show with Matt Lucas and David Walliams, featuring characters from all over Little Britain.
Oz Clarke and James May travel through Britain and Ireland to discover the amazing array of drinks that is on offer.
8 August 1963: Britain wakes up to news of the biggest robbery in the country’s history. A train has been hijacked and robbed, 35 miles from its arrival in central London. The country is stunned. Who could be behind it? How did they pull off such an audacious raid?
A number of the UK's most talented tattoo designers help clients transform their tattoo mistakes into works of art. It is estimated that one in six British people who opt to go under the needle later regret their decision. Outrageous artwork, inappropriate quotes or the name of an ex-partner can be chosen in haste but the results are permanent. The talented inkers meet desperate customers at a pop-up studio for their consultations. After the meeting, the client chooses whose design ideas they like best and the artist gets to work. When the session is over, the new tattoos are revealed.
A gripping eight-part series about a state-of-the-art law enforcement team whose unswerving mission is to hunt down some of Britain’s most dangerous criminals. The Interceptor delves into the adventures of a dedicated surveillance team known as the UNIT. Keeping their quarries under ultra-tight surveillance, they take us into the real world inhabited by the criminals of today. And it’s easy to recognize because it’s the same world the rest of us inhabit.
Well-known faces don their aprons in this charity special. Who has got what it takes to go all the way and compete for the Great Sport Relief Bake Off crown?
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.
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.
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.
Celebrities take a stroll in the great British outdoors with their faithful hound.
While three politicians try to reform Britain’s brutal prison system, the tabloid press publish exposés of their scandalous private lives, leaving their careers in peril.
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.
A three part series about women working in the British film industry during the 1950s.
The story of the NHS in unprecedented times.
Tony Robinson goes for a walk through some of Britain's beautiful and historic landscapes.
Documentary series revealing the inner workings of Britain's railways, introducing the track-workers, train guards, drivers, police officers and management teams determined to keep the country moving.
Summer 1958… Wearied by the ingratitude of the French and by the mediocrity of their leaders, the Liberator of France decides to go on a well-deserved holiday… Charles, rather dreamy but imperturbable, is accompanied by the ever faithful Captain Lebornec. Lebornec – devoted if sometimes flummoxed by the general’s attitude – is the ideal holiday companion and confidant. They are accompanied by Charles’ wife Yvonne, his son, and Wehrmacht, a descendant of Hitler’s dog.