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Secrets of the Museum

Documentaries

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

Unique arts series venturing behind the scenes at the V&A.

From fine art to fads and fashions, revealing the design treasures tucked away in the V&A museum's vast collection - and the experts preserving priceless objects for the future.

Series 3

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Until 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales (analogue) was known simply as BBC Two Wales. BBC Two Wales (digital) was BBC 2W. From 03/01/2009 BBC Two Wales schedules on both analogue and digital became identical

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Alistair Pegg

Sacha Baveystock

Paula Fasht

Paul Golding

Jonny Ashton

Ed Venner

Harry Pick

Secrets of the Museum: Series 3: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC Two - Secrets of the Museum, Series 3, Episode 1

A Beatrix Potter drawing leads to a new find, and Tommy Cooper’s magic tricks reveal all.

Behind the scenes at the V&A, a Beatrix Potter drawing leads to a new discovery, Tommy Cooper’s magic tricks are revealed, and a giant portrait by artist Kehinde Wiley arrives.

Inside every museum is a hidden world, and now cameras are returning to the V&A, going behind the scenes to parts of the Victoria and Albert Museum never seen before.

Curator Annemarie prepares a major new exhibition on Beatrix Potter. The V&A holds the world’s largest collection of the author’s sketches, illustrations and writings, and now Annemarie is hoping the exhibition will highlight Potter’s special relationship with the natural world.

Curator Simon has also been scouring the stores – looking for special props and costumes from stage and screen to loan out to a new museum of showbusiness history, called Showtown, due to open in Blackpool in 2023. He’s found an original magic trick prop used many times by much-loved magician and comedian Tommy Cooper. 

Meanwhile curator Catherine is taking delivery of one of the museum’s newest acquisitions – an eight foot tall painting by African-American artist Kehinde Wiley. The painting is a portrait of a 35-year-old woman from Dalston in east London, Melissa Thompson. Wiley has painted sitters from Spike Lee to Barack Obama, but his new work sees ordinary people captured in poses of power and majesty. Catherine goes to meet Melissa at Ridley Road market in Dalston to learn what it was like to be painted by Wiley. 

Secrets of the Museum: Series 3

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Behind the scenes at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

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