Explore TV Series

Archive programmes depicting British life and politics in 1959, including the issues leading the debate ahead of the General Election of October 1959.

The narrator sheds light on individuals who have won the lottery and become rich overnight. He provides insight into how their lives have been affected due to their winning.

Pay Off Your Mortgage in Two Years is a television programme first aired on BBC2 in Early 2006. Its follow-up series Did They Pay Off Their Mortgage in Two Years? began airing in January 2007. Presented by business expert René Carayol, the programme is an experiment that aims to find out if ordinary people in the United Kingdom can pay off their mortgage in two years. Various methods of mortgage acceleration are explained to help viewers succeed in paying off their mortgages early.

This mini series follows the adventures of Hector and his friends on a series of amazingly imaginative adventures on their way to school each morning.

Peter Ackroyd's documentary on the Thames to accompany his book.

The life of Vincent Van Gogh presented by Waldemar Januszczak.

How should art depict the relationship between man and God? How can art best express eternal values? Can you, and should you, portray the face of Christ? For over a thousand years these were some of the questions which taxed the minds of the greatest artists of the early West. In this three-part series, art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon sets out to unravel the mysteries of the art of the pre-perspective era. Why has this world been so frequently misunderstood and underrated? His journey takes him from the mysterious catacombs of ancient Rome to Coptic Egypt, to the Orthodox Christian world of Istanbul and then onwards to medieval Italy and France. This programme was first broadcast on BBC Four in 2007, and later repeated on BBC Two.

Nile is a 2004 BBC Television documentary that tells the history and natural history of the Nile.

A documentary series showing the beauty of Scotland's mountains.

Intimate documentary series following a year in the life of the society living in and around Gyantse, Tibet's third largest town. Through a handful of powerful and engaging characters, follow the reality of daily life for ordinary people living in an extraordinary place - one of the most mysterious and secretive communities in the world. From the hotelier struggling to attract more tourists, to the village shaman who is worried that the rain cannon will put him out of business because the farmers no longer need him to placate the gods, this is a series that fascinates on both a human and emotional level.

Showcases a series of daring raid made by various sections of the British military during World War II. The raids highlighted are "Stopping Hitler's A-Bomb", "Prison Busters", Radar Beam Raiders", "Storm at St. Nazaire", "Cockleshell Raiders" and "Arctic Commando Assaults". Each raid is analyzed, the reasons for it taking place, the planning and execution plus the results and consequences.

60 Seconds is a news programme which runs between shows on BBC Three. It broadcasts under the BBC News format and branding. The weekday presenter is Sam Naz, whereas the weekend bulletins are presented by Claudia-Liza Armah. Previous presenters include Tasmin Lucia-Khan, Andy May, Matt Cooke, James Dagwell and Nick Young.

Documentary series presented by Fred Dibnah, looking at people whose work and ingenuity helped found the prosperity and fame of the Victorian age including railway builder Robert Stephenson, ship and bridge designer Isambard Brunel and armaments industry founder William Armstrong.

Documentary series offering audiences a unique chance to glimpse an astronaut's view of spaceflight

Three part documentary series relating to the activities of the British army and security services during Northern Ireland's Troubles.

Musical acts perform short acoustic sets and offer fans self-filmed glimpses into their worlds.

Historian Bettany Hughes retraces Rome’s dramatic conquest of Britain, from the first imperial assault to the rebellions and uneasy occupation that reshaped the island. Blending archaeological evidence, expert insight, and dramatic reconstruction, the series explores how Roman power collided with native resistance and left a lasting mark on Britain’s landscape, culture, and identity.

Cooking in the Danger Zone is a documentary television series produced by the BBC and presented by Stefan Gates. In each film food writer Gates explores unusual food stories in some of the world’s more dangerous places. He uses food to explore and understand people’s culture and the challenges they face. He has eaten such obscure foods as rat in India, baby seal in the Arctic and radioactive soup in Chernobyl. Series three completed filming in October 2007 and it aired on BBC Two in March 2008.

Jimmy Doherty discovers what other farmers have achieved

Children's documentary series examining issues that affect the natural world featuring clips of animals with a common theme.

The history of the Papacy parallels the history of Western civilization itself, from the founding of the Church nearly 2,000 years ago by Peter through the end of the second Millennium and the reign of Pope John Paul II. In that time, the Church has become one of the most enduring and influential of all human institutions, outliving great empires and shaping the political and moral destinies of nations and continents. The papacy started in 30 A.D. when Jesus Christ declared that Simon Bar-Jona would be called Peter (rock). It was on that "rock" the Catholic Church was built and a legacy of 263 popes would follow St. Peter. For the first four centuries, being named the Bishop of Rome often meant exile, imprisonment, torture, or martyrdom. As Christianity gained adherents among the rich and powerful the papal seat became one of global influence.

Alexandra Tolstoy, a passionate horse-rider and adventurer, explores very different cultures around the world that all depend on and share a deep love of the horse.

Hugh's Chicken Run was a programme as part of Channel 4's 'Food Fight' series in which celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall launched the campaign to encourage more consumers to demand free range chicken. Hugh was joined on the campaign by fellow celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, who chose to highlight the issues in the more graphic Jamie's Fowl Dinners. In the series Hugh set about the highlighting the differences in standards by creating his own intensive and free range chicken farms, as well as mentoring a community project in Axminster. Hugh heralded the campaign a success when he managed to get to the point where the majority of the whole fresh chicken consumed in the town of Axminster was free range. Since then the campaign has gone countrywide with over 128,000 viewers having pledged on the campaign website to only buy free range products. The show has been linked with the large rise in free range products, as well as the drop in demand for intensively reared products during January and February 2008. A poll carried out for the RSPCA, 73% of adults claim that they now only buy birds that have "higher welfare" conditions, such as the RSPCA's freedom food scheme, free range or organic

"Mi Vida Loca" is an interactive Spanish course for beginners, created by the BBC. It consists of 22 episodes, each around 10 minutes long, which follow an intriguing adventure in Madrid and its surroundings. Through everyday situations, basic concepts of the language are taught, such as ordering in a restaurant, buying tickets and booking a hotel. Each episode includes additional learning sections with vocabulary, grammar and practical activities to reinforce the acquired knowledge.

Exploring the mysteries of history's well-known battles. Shot on location in France, Britain, North Africa and Spain.

Eddsworld is about a guy named Edd that is constantly getting himself into weird situations and hi jinks that require a puny attitude and a great "edducation". (Puns are Edd's thing.)

Dawn French interviews more than thirty of her favourite male comedians.

Celebrity chef James Martin shares his love of puddings with the nation, giving viewers the most comprehensive guide yet to desserts, puddings and cakes

Sweet Medicine is an ITV drama series from 2003 about a family doctor's surgery in the Peak District of central England. Intended as a replacement for the hit medical drama Peak Practice, it was not a success. Only one ten-episode series was made, despite moderate audience figures. Some viewers considered it too raunchy, especially for a 9:00pm broadcast. The majority of filming took place in the historic market town of Wirksworth, which made the set for the fictional Derbyshire town of Stoneford. Sweet Medicine starred Patricia Hodge as Georgina Sweet, Jason Merrells as Dr. Nicholas Sweet and Gillian Kearney as Dr. Deb Sweet.

Art of Spain is a BBC Four documentary series on Spanish art presented by Andrew Graham-Dixon. It consists of three one-hour episodes, and premiered on 31 January 2008.

Tonightly is a British comedy entertainment show presented by comedian Jason Manford. It was part of the Generation Next project on Channel 4 and was shown late evening, every weekday. The series concluded on 22 August 2008. The TNT Show, hosted by Jack Whitehall, was essentially a revamped second series of Tonightly.

The Welsh consumer show fighting for your rights.

Extreme Celebrity Detox was a reality television programme on Channel 4, the British public-service television broadcaster, in 2005. Fifteen British celebrities were sent to try a range of detox programmes, which aimed to enhance inner peace. The celebrities were split into four groups where they would try different detox programmes. The celebrities and detox they tried were:

In this unique experiment, nine 21st century volunteers subject themselves to the weight loss diets and fitness regimes of previous generations. But have they bitten off less than they can chew?

Headf**k, presented by James Hyman, features a mix of music videos, bizarre and surreal short films, as well as a feature length film each "episode".