Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 288,621 playable programmes from the BBC

Civilisations

Series 1

Episode 8: The Cult of Progress

Duration: 59 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Documentary. David Olusoga explores the artistic reaction to imperialism in the 19th century. Show more

Contributors

Presenter:
David Olusoga
Executive Producer:
Denys Blakeway
Executive Producer:
Michael Jackson
Series Producer:
Melanie Fall
Director:
Ian Leese
Associate Producer:
Ewan Roxburgh
Production Company:
Nutopia

Civilisations

Series 1

Episode 9: The Vital Spark

Duration: 59 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Documentary. Simon Schama explores the fate of art in the machine- and profit-driven world, looking at the rise of art as a tradeable commodity. Show more

Contributors

Presenter:
Simon Schama
Executive Producer:
Denys Blakeway
Executive Producer:
Michael Jackson
Series Producer:
Melanie Fall
Director:
Tim Niel
Assistant Producer:
Helena Hunt
Production Company:
Nutopia

Climbing Great Buildings

Episode 1: Durham Cathedral

Duration: 28 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Dr Jonathan Foyle scales Britain's most iconic structures to reveal the buildings' secrets. His journey begins in the north east of England at Durham Cathedral. Show more

Contributors

Presenter:
Jonathan Foyle
Presenter:
Jonathan Foyle
Participant:
Lucy Creamer
Participant:
Lucy Creamer
Camera Operator:
Ian Burton
Camera Operator:
Ian Burton
Series Producer:
Adam Barry
Series Producer:
Adam Barry
Executive Producer:
Emma Read
Executive Producer:
Emma Read

Duration: 58 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 6 hours, 21 minutes

Tom Holland explores how our ancestors sought to explain the remains of dinosaurs and other giant prehistoric creatures, and how bones and fossils have affected human culture. Show more

Duration: 1 hour, 30 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Archaeological documentary. Having used satellites to discover cities, temples and pyramids beneath the sands, Dr Sarah Parcak heads to Egypt to find out if they are really there. Show more

Egyptian Journeys with Dan Cruickshank

Episode 5: Pharaoh's Wives

Duration: 30 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Dan Cruickshank explores stories from ancient Egypt. He delves into the dark side of the court of Ramesses III, tracing the conspiracy that spread through his harem. Show more

Egyptian Journeys with Dan Cruickshank

Episode 6: The Death of Ancient Egypt

Duration: 29 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Dan Cruickshank explores stories from ancient Egypt. Dan traces the key events that marked the decline in the fortunes of the ancient Egyptians. Show more

Duration: 59 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Lucy looks at the beginning of the Romanovs' reign, from Mikhail to Peter the Great, the tsar determined to modernise Russia at the end of the 17th century. Show more

Contributors

Presenter:
Lucy Worsley
Director:
John Das
Series Producer:
John Das
Executive Producer:
Michael Poole

Duration: 59 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

The story of the dynasty that ruled Russia for more than three centuries. Lucy examines the reign of Catherine the Great and the conflict with Napoleonic France. Show more

Contributors

Presenter:
Lucy Worsley
Director:
John Das
Series Producer:
John Das
Executive Producer:
Michael Poole

Duration: 59 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Lucy investigates how the Romanov family's grip on Russia unravelled in their final century, with the years 1825-1918 being bloody and traumatic. Show more

Firebombers

Series 1

Episode 1

Duration: 58 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 2 days

It's 1979, and four holiday homes in Wales are torched in one night. It’s the beginning of an arson campaign. The story of Meibion Glyndwr told by those who were there. Show more

Contributors

Narrator:
Mali Harries
Director:
James Hale
Producer:
James Hale
Executive Producer:
Steffan Morgan
Executive Producer:
Steve Robinson

Firebombers

Series 1

Episode 2

Duration: 58 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 2 days

It's 1986, and the arson group have ramped up their attacks, taking the firebombing campaign over the border into England. The government enlist the help of MI5 to catch those responsible.

Contributors

Narrator:
Mali Harries
Executive Producer:
Steffan Morgan
Executive Producer:
Steve Robinson

Great Railway Journeys

Series 2

Clive Anderson: Hong Kong to Ulaan Baatar

Duration: 1 hour

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Clive Anderson takes to the railways where he meets a nomadic tribe, visits Buddhist caves, experiences the Mongolian Stock Exchange, and ends up on the Trans-Siberian Express.

Great Railway Journeys

Series 2

Rian Malan: Cape Town to The Lost City

Duration: 54 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Author and anti-apartheid campaigner Rian Milan travels across South Africa and wrestles with its troubled past, taking in Durban, Johannesburg and the Lost City.

Who Do You Think You Are?

Series 14

Episode 7: Fearne Cotton

Duration: 58 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 10 months

Celebrity genealogy series. Fearne Cotton learns about her Welsh great-grandfather who worked down a coal mine at 13 and ended up as a chemist. Show more

Who Do You Think You Are?

Series 14

Episode 8: Noel Clarke

Duration: 59 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 10 months

Celebrity genealogy series. Actor and film-maker Noel Clarke visits the Caribbean to learn more about his family. Show more

Villages by the Sea

Series 4

Greyabbey

Duration: 28 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Ben Robinson unearths the past of Greyabbey, a village on Northern Ireland’s beautiful Strangford Lough, and discovers the history of its moneymaking kelp industry. Show more

Contributors

Presenter:
Ben Robinson
Producer:
George Boyle
Series Editor:
Zoe Thorman
Executive Producer:
Pam Cavannagh
Executive Producer:
Dympna Jackson
Production Company:
Purple Productions

Villages by the Sea

Series 4

Johnshaven

Duration: 29 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for years

Ben Robinson travels to Johnshaven, a once-important Scottish fishing village that diversified into the flax and jute trade when its skilled sailors were press-ganged into the Royal Navy. Show more

Contributors

Presenter:
Ben Robinson
Producer:
Kirsty Seager
Series Editor:
Zoe Thorman
Executive Producer:
Pam Cavannagh
Executive Producer:
Dympna Jackson
Production Company:
Purple Productions

Duration: 46 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 7 months

Michael Palin follows Ernest Hemingway's footsteps across Europe, Africa and America. He starts in Spain for Pamplona's bull run, Valencia's bullfighting and a Kenyan safari.

Duration: 50 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 7 months

Michael Palin starts in Chicago, before visiting a Michigan summer cottage where Hemingway fished. In Paris, Michael drives round the Arc de Triomphe in a tank. Show more

Duration: 49 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 7 months

Michael Palin visits Key West, the southernmost city in the USA, to celebrate Hemingway's 100th birthday. He also visits the Murchison Falls in Uganda, and Venice. Show more

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 2

Douglas to Port Erin

Duration: 29 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 12 days

Michael Portillo embarks on another railway adventure across and beyond the United Kingdom, beginning on the self-governing Isle of Man – a paradise for rail lovers. Show more

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 2

Liverpool to Blackpool

Duration: 28 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 25 days

From the Isle of Man, Michael Portillo crosses the Irish Sea, bound for the mighty port of Liverpool and its historic waterfront. Show more

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 2

Morecambe to Grange-over-Sands

Duration: 29 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 12 days

Michael Portillo continues his rail journey, learning to make potted shrimp at Morecambe Bay, helping clip the topiaries at Levens Hall and visiting Cartmel's 12th-century priory. Show more

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 2

Ulverston to Ravenglass

Duration: 28 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 12 days

Michael Portillo is in Cumbria, enjoying one of the most spectacular coastal railway journeys in Britain. He takes to the lake in Ulverston and hikes up Black Combe. Show more

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 2

St Bees to Maryport

Duration: 29 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 17 days

On the last leg of his railway journey around the north west coast of England, Michael meets a lifelong fan of Alfred Wainwright’s famous guidebooks. Show more

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 2

Middlesbrough to Boulby

Duration: 28 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 17 days

Michael's journey propels him in search of the unknown universe in Boulby, North Yorkshire, as he joins the hunt for dark matter in the deepest mine in Britain. Show more

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 2

Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay

Duration: 28 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 17 days

Michael Portillo travels from Whitby, where he explores the port’s shipbuilding and seafaring heritage, to Robin Hood's Bay, a former smuggling haven. Show more

Great Coastal Railway Journeys

Series 2

Scarborough to Bridlington

Duration: 29 minutes

on BBC History Channel

Available for 17 days

Michael Portillo is in the seaside resort of Scarborough to explore one of the greatest royal fortresses in England. Show more

BBC History Channel

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