Abroad Again in Britain

The Railway: Keeping Britain On Track

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.

2007

Robbie Coltrane: B-Road Britain

Robbie Coltrane has set himself a challenge to take a road trip across a Britain that we don't normally see. The route is from Scotland to the tip of Cornwall, stopping off at various locations - all on the scenic 'B' roads.

2021

The Great British Dig: History In Your Garden

Hugh Dennis and a team of expert archaeologists excavate back gardens around Britain, in an attempt to uncover the lost history buried beneath our lawns and flower beds

6.7

2022

Lucy Worsley Investigates

Lucy Worsley re-investigates some of the most dramatic chapters in British history. She uncovers forgotten witnesses, re-examines old evidence and follows new clues.

King Alfred and the Anglo Saxons

Michael Wood argues that the most important and influential British kings were a father, son and grandson who lived over a thousand years ago during the age of the Vikings.

2025

Michael Portillo's 200 Years of the Railways

Michael Portillo celebrates the modern railway’s 200th birthday, revealing the journey that changed the world.

2006

The Real Dad's Army

Using witness testimony, archive and archaeological evidence, this three-part series reveals the untold story of the preparations to defend World War Two Britain by the Home Guard.

7.3

1994

Time Team

Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on British Channel 4 from 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode featured a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining the process in layman's terms. This team of specialists changed throughout the series' run, although has consistently included professional archaeologists such as Mick Aston, Carenza Lewis, Francis Pryor and Phil Harding. The sites excavated over the show's run have ranged in date from the Palaeolithic right through to the Second World War.

Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War

Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War

The Hundred Years’ war between England and France gave us the victories of Crecy and Agincourt, and made the reputations of Edward III and Henry V. It gave France a national heroine in Joan of Arc. But, even now, the jury is out as to its causes and outcome. Was it the final swansong of a redundant knightly class whose only reason for being was to fight? Was it a battle over ever more important territory to the emerging economies of England and France? Or was it the painful birth of two distinct national identities, forged through their long and violent divorce? Dr Janina Ramirez guides us through the stories of kings, great knights, bloody battles and cultural triumphs of this momentous conflict.

2019

London: 2000 Years of History

History series telling the glorious and gory story of the city's rise to power.

Carved with Love: The Genius of British Woodwork

Series looking at the British genius for woodwork over the centuries.

Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

2009

Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain

Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain is a 2009 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers the period of British history from the death of Queen Victoria to the end of the Second World War. It was a follow-up to his 2007 series Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain.

2025

Mary at 90: A Lifetime of Cooking

Happy birthday! Mary Berry is joined by famous friends to share memories and recipes. Celebrating the joy of food, they'll revisit old favourites and discover new delicious dishes.

2010

Seven Ages of Britain

Seven Ages of Britain is a BBC television documentary series which is written and presented by David Dimbleby. The seven part series was first aired on Sunday nights at 9:00pm on BBC One starting on 31 January 2010. The series covers the history of Britain's greatest art and artefacts over the past 2000 years. Each episode covers a different period in British history. In Australia, all seven episodes aired on ABC1 each Tuesday at 8:30pm from 7 September 2010.

4.7

2025

Empire with David Olusoga

How did a small island once rule over a quarter of the world's population? This shared history still shapes us today - and billions of people are part of its story.

2017

Spying on the Royals

This 2-part documentary series reveals the truth about King Edward VIII's affair with American divorcée Wallis Simpson, and the espionage operation that accompanied the investigation.

2018

Portillo's Hidden History of Britain

Portillo's Hidden History of Britain sees former UK politician Michael Portillo investigating abandoned buildings around Britain.

2022

Trawlermen: Hunting the Catch

Following on from the earlier series 'Trawlermen', documentary series `Trawlermen: Hunting the Catch' follows fishermen around the clock as they embark on deep-sea fishing trips. From Shetland to Cornwall, and from the North Sea to the English Channel, cameras follow fisherman as they traverse 300,000 square miles of ocean. Each episode follows a different British fishing boat over the course of a single week as they battle the elements and hunt for a catch that will pay off for the skipper and the crew.

2011

A History of Celtic Britain

In four chapters, largely based on and illustrated with archaeological finds and sites, Neil Oliver explains how, as far as is known, the Iron Age Celtic tribes known as the Ancient Britains evolved and entered European civilization. Their internecine tribal phase was warlike and partitioned. Overseas contacts, especially metal trade, brought wealth and progress. Ultimately, it attracted the superior Roman empire, which would conquer and pacify Britain into a province, like Gaul shortly before, but Caesar's invasion wasn't the definitive annexation yet, that was left to emperor Claudius; even afterward some Celtic traits and even rebellions remained.

2010

Secret Britain

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

Recommended TV Shows

6.6

1988

American Experience

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

7.1

2020

History 101

Infographics and archival footage deliver bite-size history lessons on scientific breakthroughs, social movements and world-changing discoveries.

7.5

1994

Baseball

The history of the sport of baseball in America, told through archival photos, film footage, and the words of those who contributed to the game in each era. Writers, historians, players, baseball personnel, and fans review key events and the significance of the game in America's history.

7.9

1978

Top Gear

Motoring programme featuring reviews of and reports about cars of all types.

The Reluctant Traveller with Eugene Levy

7.4

2023

The Reluctant Traveller with Eugene Levy

Award-winning actor and nervous explorer Eugene Levy steps out of his comfort zone for a whirlwind tour of the world's most beautiful and intriguing destinations.

7.4

1964

Horizon

Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.

7.3

1986

American Masters

American Masters is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and others who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the United States.

7.6

2001

How It's Made

Have you ever wondered how the products you use every day are made? How It's Made leads you through the process of how everyday products, such as apple juice, skateboards, engines, contact lenses, and many more objects are manufactured.

6.6

1997

101 Dalmatians Series

After foiling Cruella DeVil's plot to make a fur coat with the puppies' skins, the Dearly Family (Roger and Anita Dearly, Nanny, Pongo, Perdita, their 15 birth puppies and 84 adopted puppies) move to a new farm home in the country. Join Pongo and Perdy's pups, brave Lucky, tubby Rolly and Cadpig the runt, together with their chicken friend Spot, as they defend their new home from Cruella DeVil (Anita's boss and now new neighbor), continually get in and out of trouble, sneak into Grutely, and have all sorts of crazy adventures around the farm. Also along for the fun is Tripod, Patch, Two-Tone, Wizzer, Dipstick, Mooch, and the rest of their barnyard friends.

7.6

2021

Welcome to Earth

Will Smith whose curiosity and wonder is positively infectious—is guided by National Geographic Explorers traveling to different corners of the world to get up close and personal with the weirdest, most unusual, dangerous and thrilling spectacles of the planet.

7.5

2009

30 for 30

30 for 30 is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This currently includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series under the ESPN Films Presents title in 2011–2012, and a series of 30 for 30 Shorts shown through the ESPN.com website. The series has also expanded to include Soccer Stories, which aired in advance of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and audio podcasts. This entry refers to the main Volumes of the series presented by ESPN

6.7

1987

Biography

Biography is a documentary television series. It was originally a half-hour filmed series produced for CBS by David Wolper from 1961 to 1964 and hosted by Mike Wallace. The A&E Network later re-ran it and has produced new episodes since 1987. The older version featured historical figures such as Helen Keller and Mark Twain, or long-dead entertainment figures such as Will Rogers or John Barrymore. The A&E series has placed the emphasis on such people as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Plácido Domingo, Freddie Mercury, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Eric Clapton, Pope John Paul II, Gene Tierney, Selena, Diego Rivera, Mao Zedong and Queen Elizabeth II, and fictional characters like The Phantom, Superman, Hamlet, Betty Boop, and Santa Claus. The program ended up profiling enough figures that in 1999, A&E spun it off into an entire network, The Biography Channel.

8.1

2005

Doctor Who Confidential

Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was 30 minutes, being extended to 45 minutes in the third. BBC Three also broadcast a cut-down edition of the programme, lasting 15 minutes, shown after the repeats on Sundays and Fridays and after the weekday evening repeats of earlier seasons.

2014

The Real History of Science Fiction

The series heads to the very frontiers of space and science to produce the definitive television history of science fiction, told through its impact on cinema, television and literature, with the help of filmmakers, writers, actors, and graphic artists. Each episode will explore one of the enduring themes of science fiction: time travel; the exploration of space; robots and artificial intelligence; and aliens.

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything

7.7

2021

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything

In a tumultuous era, 1971 was a year of musical innovation and rebirth fueled by the political and cultural upheaval of the time. Stars reached new heights, fresh talent exploded onto the scene, and boundaries expanded like never before.

6.6

2019

The World According to Jeff Goldblum

Through the prism of Jeff Goldblum's always inquisitive and highly entertaining mind, nothing is as it seems. Each episode is centered around something we all love — like sneakers or ice cream — as Jeff pulls the thread on these deceptively familiar objects and unravels a wonderful world of astonishing connections, fascinating science and history, amazing people, and a whole lot of surprising big ideas and insights.

2012

Gadget Man

Gadget Man shows the world's collection of handy gadgets throughout the ages, from today's smart devices to decades old electronics to even older mechanical devices.

6.4

2018

Eli Roth's History of Horror

An in-depth look at the history and pop cultural significance of horror films.

7.1

1999

Grand Designs

British television series which features unusual and often elaborate architectural homebuilding projects.

8.3

2022

Prehistoric Planet

Experience the wonders of our world like never before in this epic series from Jon Favreau and the producers of Planet Earth. Travel back 66 million years to when majestic dinosaurs and extraordinary creatures roamed the lands, seas, and skies.