Brits Who Made The Modern World

Comedian Lenny Henry sets out on a journey to discover what makes us laugh and what role humour plays in our lives

Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison get behind the wheel of the 1936-designed Morgan 4/4 and set out on a series of road trips along some of Britain's most beautiful vintage roads. Taking inspiration from old travel guides of the day and travelling the most iconic sights of the regions, they experience the thrills of the era when Britain first fell in love with the motor car and when the open road was a gateway to adventure and exploration.

Everyone knows the pit stops from Formula 1 races: choreographed and rehearsed to perfection - each team member is a cog in an unbelievably complex machine. But let’s put things into perspective: pit stops during races are one thing, but they can’t hold a wrench up to the mega pit stops this show´s got for you. Mega Pit Stops documents how stressful the fight against the clock is when a cruise ship descends to the pit stop or one of the fastest trains in the world has to be completely overhauled in just ten days.

Timothy Spall and his wife Shane are back on board their beloved barge the Princess Matilda as they conclude their trip around the British coast.

David Dimbleby takes to his wooden sailing boat to explore Britain's rich maritime heritage.

Clare Balding embarks on a pedal-powered odyssey across Britain to rediscover the magical world of 1950s cycling

In a landmark history series, Jeremy Paxman describes how the First World War transformed the lives of the British people, and helped shape modern Britain.

Actor Julie Walters rides upon the UK's most beautiful coastal railways.

Hugh Dennis and Julia Bradbury's adventures in four stunning British landscapes. No matter where we are, the rocky upheavals of Britain's epic past are still with us, and still drive how we live.

Extraordinary structures, buildings and machines around the world have been transformed from their original function into something completely different. Experts reveal how.

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.

In the series, "Wallace will take a light hearted and humorous look at the real-life inventors, contraptions, gadgets and inventions, with the silent help of Gromit. The series aims to inspire a whole new generation of innovative minds by showing them real, but mind-boggling, machines and inventions from around the world that have influenced his illustrious inventing career" (the BBC press statement). Peter Sallis reprised his role as the voice of Wallace. The filmed inserts are mostly narrated by Ashley Jensen, with one in each episode presented in-vision by Jem Stansfield. John Sparkes also voices a portion in the unseen character of archivist Goronwy.

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

An element of truth | Science and engineering videos Veritasium is a channel of science and engineering videos featuring experiments, expert interviews, cool demos, and discussions with the public about everything science.

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.

Swapping spatulas for spanners, the Hairy Bikers restore amazing relics of Britain's past.

The fascinating and dramatic stories behind some of the grandest designs never built.

Britain's iconic and 'secretive' engineering companies reveal how they build the world's most amazing machines. The first part of the series "How to build a nuclear submarine" a documentary following the construction of the Astute nuclear submarine. The second part of the series "How to build a jumbo jet engine", the story of the thousands of people who design, build and test engines at Rolls-Royce’s manufacturing plants in Derby and across the UK, making Rolls-Royce a central part of life for the people of places like Derby. The third and final part of the series "How to build Britain's secret engineers" when the documentary team follows workers at a leading British company on a global journey, as they reveal a handful of their secretive projects including getting Chinook helicopters ready for front line service.

Submarines today are highly complex machines crammed with technology and weapons. As impressive as their construction is, as terrifying is their destructive power. Hardly any other weapon triggers as many emotions as the submarine. It strikes from ambush and can use nuclear missiles to drag the whole world into the abyss. Submarines originated from a completely non-military idea, namely to be able to view the world under water. But the interest in the military use of submarines soon prevailed.

Jonathan Meades gives a personal perspective of British history.