The King’s High Street: Inside St James’

The film Fire Over London is about the operation of the London Fire Brigade. In an office's switchboard room we see one of the hideous T&N green and ivory telephones supplied by General Telephone Systems. Another shot deep in the bowels of St Paul's Cathedral gives a glimpse of a two-tone grey ATE 'Coffin Phone' as used on Communications Systems private exchange systems.

A filmmaker sets out to discover the life of Joyce Vincent, who died in her bedsit in North London in 2003. Her body wasn't discovered for three years, and newspaper reports offered few details of her life - not even a photograph.

Since the 1970s, lesbians from around the world have been drawn to the island of Lesvos, the birthplace of the ancient Greek poet Sappho. When they find paradise in a local village and carve out their own queer lesbian community, tensions simmer with the local residents. With both groups claiming ownership of lesbian identity, filmmaker Tzeli Hadjidimitriou—a native and lesbian herself—is caught in the middle and chronicles 40+ years of love, community, conflict, and what it means to feel accepted.

Bora Bora is the most popular destination in French Polynesia, certainly because of its lagoon, considered the most beautiful lagoon in the world. In this context, the islet could have sunk under concrete and pollution, and the reef could have been irreparably impacted. However, thanks to the will of a handful of inhabitants including the mayor of the island, Bora Bora is today a model of sustainable development, with water treatment technologies that are 15 years ahead of France, programs to rebuild corals and protect wildlife, educational actions and the rehabilitation of Polynesian traditions such as “rahui” and the establishment of a monitoring network using new technologies. All of this makes the island a veritable open-air laboratory that shows the way for all tropical coastal environments around the world.

Wallis Simpson is one of the most reviled women of the 20th century. It was to marry this twice-divorced American that King Edward VIII of England renounced the throne in 1936, after less than a year on the throne. Born in Pennsylvania in 1896, Wallis, orphaned of her father, grew up in precarious conditions, and very early on relied on marriage to advance socially. But her matrimonial choices were far from always happy. From 1935 onwards, her affair with Crown Prince Edward opened the doors to "a shimmering new world", but it also made her the target of numerous rumors and public animosity.

Twiggy takes a comprehensive look at the life story of UK model and cultural icon Twiggy, real name Lesley Lawson, whose career kickstarted in the 1960s. It features interviews with Twiggy and her husband Leigh Lawson, as well as commentary from Erin O’Connor, Paul McCartney, Lulu, Poppy Delavigne, Brooke Shields, Pattie Boyd and Zandra Rhodes.

Gimme Green is a humorous look at the American obsession with the residential lawn and the effects it has on our environment, our wallets and our outlook on life. From the limitless subdivisions of Florida to sod farms in the arid southwest, Gimme Green peers behind the curtain of the $40-billion industry that fuels our nation's largest irrigated crop-the lawn.

The history of arguably the most famous shop in the world, which has been based on Brompton Road in London for more than 175 years, employs more than 6,000 people and still welcomes 15 million customers every year. This documentary tells the story of the people behind the department store, including Robin Harrod, the great-great-grandson of the store's founder, and culminates with the recent allegations against former chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed

Documentary about British artist Andrew Logan as he attempts to put on the 2009 edition of his Alternative Miss World. The film also presents a history of the contest (which has run eccentrically since 1972) which was set up firstly as an excuse to have a good party, but has grown into a celebration of alternative lifestyles and sexualities. The documentary mixes archive footage, animated inserts, with talking head interviews and a fly-on-the-wall look at the organisation of the 2009 event

A princess so tragically taken in the prime of her life. Follow the fascinated tale of Princess Diana… The peoples Princess.

When Diana had her iconic wedding, she was just 20 years old. Ten years later, she had become a world-famous public figure beloved across the world for her friendly, informal approach to regular people.

The following Summer after her divorce from Prince Charles, Diana, Princess of Wales, began dating Dodi Al-Fayed. The relationship between the two is shrouded in mystery. Was she falling in love or was it all for show?

Lady Diana Spencer was one half of the highest-profile courtship the British royal family had seen. Her evening gowns defined a generation. Princess Diana remains an inspiration globally for her powerful image and chic and classic elegance.

The world saw a perfect marriage following a fairytale romance but the reality behind palace doors was a life full of rivalry and loneliness. Princess Diana was a new kind of royal, thrust into the spotlight into a position of influence and scrutiny.

Stamford Hill in North London is home to a community of 30,000 Hasidic Jews. Aiming to preserve a way of life they had in eighteenth century Poland and living strictly according to over 600 Biblical commandments brings them into conflict with modern life. They have embraced one aspect fully though, the Volvo Estate car.

Chief curator of historic royal palaces Lucy Worsley provides an exclusive tour of London’s most extraordinary palaces: the Tower of London, Hampton Court, and Kensington Palace.

Can a single building impact the career of an architect, the image of a global company and even the skyline of a big city? Just a month and a day after the disastrous attack on the World Trade Center in New York, the first steel beam of a new tower is erected in London. One question is on everybody’s mind: is it the right decision to build a new iconic tower in the midst of London’s financial district, on a site that has already been bombed before? The 40-storey steel and glass tower sparks further controversy. Norman Foster, one of Britain’s most visionary architects, calls his design for the new Swiss Re London headquarters ‘radial – socially, technically, architecturally and spatially’. In fact, its size and shape are so radical that it is almost immediately nicknamed ‘the erotic gherkin’. Will the Gherkin become the landmark they all dream of?

Cap D'Agde is a popular summer resort town in France. A large section of the town is clothing-optional, and thousands of tourists flock there every year for the opportunity to spend their days naked--not only on the beach or in the pool, but in the shopping area also. Our tour guides, Alison Brown and Wendy Cooper, show off the town's attractions and interview a number of visitors and locals to find out what they most enjoy about vacationing in the nude.

Mary Berry visits Harewood House in Yorkshire as it prepares for Christmas on a grand scale, and demonstrates how to make delicious recipes inspired by festive dishes of the past.

A documentary special that provides a rare view into the real Charles behind the headlines… told in his own words.