A Passion for Churches

Historian Diarmaid MacCulloch explores both what it means to be English and what has shaped English identity, from the Dark Ages, through the Reformation to modern times.

What's life like when you have enough children to field your own football team?

Four kings from the House of Stuart sat on the English throne from 1603 to 1688. It was a time of great religious struggle and political instability. The Gunpowder Plot nearly wiped out King James I. The Thirty Years War broke out on the continent. A civil war erupted which led to the public beheading of King Charles I and the birth of a commonwealth headed by Oliver Cromwell. London was ravaged by the plague and the Great Fire of London. Throughout this series we look at the reign of the Stuarts through the powerful Wynn family at Gwydir Castle in North Wales, one of the best time capsules from that era. The story of the Wynn family reflects the turbulent history of this Stuart era. They had close connections with this new royal house and their status would rise and fall with the successes and failures of Stuart rule.

Dan Snow explores the political intrigues and family betrayals between the Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Normans that led to war.

The stories of patients at the Royal Victoria Infirmary and the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle, Queen's Hospital in Romford, east London, and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

Travelogue of England, Ireland and Wales, presented by Billy Connolly, including clips from his stand-up performances.

Behind the scenes of one of the most arduous basic military training programmes in the world. Each episode focuses on a cross-section of trainees that are either struggling or excelling at the physical and mental challenges the training presents.

The 2023 English FA Cup final will be played on June 3rd between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium. Host CHOI explores London and Manchester to gather popular tourist information and experience the local football fever. London is a blend of modern and retro, where CHOI visits a thousand-year-old market, quirky museums, and samples unique coffee, along with a peek into houseboats. In Manchester, she experiences daring rooftop climbing and enjoys shooting and riding four-wheel motorcycles. Finally, she visits Old Trafford stadium to witness the majestic glory of Manchester United.

Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn turn back the clock to run Manor Farm in Hampshire exactly as it would have been during World War II.

Warwick Davis is joined by his family for this new series about holidaying in Great Britain. As a keen ‘staycationer’, Warwick loves nothing more than spending time in Britain rather than travelling abroad, however his family don’t feel quite the same way. Over six episodes, Warwick and his wife Sam, kids Annabelle and Harrison and dog Sherlock explore the British Isles investigating what makes a quintessential British holiday. Warwick also tries to convince them of the benefits of holidaying near home. The Davis family visit some of Britain’s most famous holiday spots, camping, caravanning or staying in their campervan. As well as showing some of the great destinations the UK has to offer, the series is also an amusing insight into how families behave on holiday.

The landmark documentary series that captures real life drama at its most intense, following police detectives around the clock as they investigate major crimes.

Presented by criminologist Professor David Wilson, this series focuses on the cases of seven notorious, cold-blooded psychopathic killers. Professor Wilson walks in their footsteps, living and breathing their movements and speaking to those closest to them as he tries to get inside their twisted minds.

Documentary series covering a year in the life of Canterbury Cathedral.

In this blend of historical drama and original source material, the story of this decisive year is remagined, not from the saddles of kings and conquerors, but through the eyes of the ordinary men who fought on their behalf.

Mad Mike Whiddett is addicted to building cars and his latest passion is converting a Lamborghini Huracan into a drift supercar. Will he have it ready for the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed?

Three-part documentary about the sinking of the Spanish Armada, featuring dramatic reconstructions and information gleaned from recently recovered documents. Dan Snow takes to the sea to tell the story of how England came within a whisker of disaster in summer 1588.

An epic story about the rebirth of one of England’s most historic clubs, Burnley FC under the ownership of a charismatic group of American owners and the leadership of Vincent Kompany in a season of footballing evolution.

Edwardian Farm is an historical documentary TV series in twelve parts, first shown on BBC Two from November 2010 to January 2011. It depicts a group of historians trying to run a farm like it was done during the Edwardian era. It was made for the BBC by independent production company Lion Television and filmed at Morwellham Quay, an historic quay in Devon. The farming team was historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn. The series was devised and produced by David Upshal and directed by Stuart Elliott. The series is a development from two previous series Victorian Farm and Victorian Pharmacy which were among BBC Two's biggest hits of 2009 and 2010, garnering audiences of up to 3.8 million per episode. The series was followed by Wartime Farm in September 2012, featuring the same team but this time in Hampshire on Manor Farm, living a full calendar year as wartime farmers. An associated book by Goodman, Langlands, and Ginn, also titled Edwardian Farm, was published in 2010 by BBC Books. The series was also published on DVD, available in various regional formats.

Insight into the London, West Midlands and North West of England ambulance services, from the highly-pressurised control room to the crews on the streets. Ambulance provides an honest 360-degree snapshot of the daily dilemmas and pressures.

Historian Ruth Goodman and archaeologists Peter Ginn and Tom Pinfold turn the clock back 500 years to the early Tudor period to become tenant farmers on monastery land.