Brits Who Made The Modern World

Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history, its narrative-led storytelling offering a richly immersive and varied window onto the past.

Every time we switch on a light or boil a kettle we rely on power - but most people don't stop to think about the inventions and discoveries that allow us to live the way we do. In an exciting new four-part series for BBC Two, The Genius of Invention reveals the fascinating chain of events behind inventions that make everyday life possible.

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.

Guy Martin celebrates the workers of the Industrial Revolution by getting stuck into six of the country's biggest restoration projects, bringing some of the 19th century's most impressive engineering achievements back to life.

Exceptional Engineering

Power: Engineering Energy and Speed

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

HISTORY’s longest-running series moves to H2. Modern Marvels celebrates the ingenuity, invention and imagination found in the world around us. From commonplace items like ink and coffee to architectural masterpieces and engineering disasters, the hit series goes beyond the basics to provide insight and history into things we wonder about and that impact our lives. This series tells fascinating stories of the doers, the dreamers and sometime-schemers that create everyday items, technological breakthroughs and manmade wonders. The hit series goes deep to explore the leading edge of human inspiration and ambition.

Extreme Engineering covers major construction projects from all around the world. Some are futuristic projects that may never be done, others are projects that are on there way to completion.

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.

The true story of the battle to build the world's first supersonic airliner. A tale of genius, Cold War espionage, and an whole new kind of jet plane.

In a "nation of middle-class" the IIT dream involves clearing the world's toughest public exam for guaranteed lifelong success. Life is not an exam though. It's a hustle, one that nobody trains them for. The result? Eternal tumult.

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.

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

MythBusters is a science entertainment television program created and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The show's hosts, special effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, use elements of the scientific method to test the validity of rumors, myths, movie scenes, adages, Internet videos, and news stories.

Jonathan Meades gives a personal perspective of British history.

This is your chance to reach out and touch the past! Just as a forensic anthropologist analyses bones, and a historian deciphers ancient texts, we now have the technology to "read" the buildings, ruins and landscapes where history was made. The series, presented by Dallas Campbell, teams Steve Burrows (pictured), the brains behind the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, with a team of pioneering laser scanning experts from the Centre for Advanced Spatial Technologies to unlock the secrets of the world’s greatest engineering and cultural achievements. Locations include the Colosseum, Petra, Machu Picchu, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Pyramids and Jerusalem.

It is 2014 and the machines have not taken over…yet. The newest, most technologically advanced series from H2™, Rise of the Machines, reveals how the inventions behind the world’s most extreme machines have enabled them to evolve beyond humanity’s wildest imagination. This visually stunning series uses mind-blowing CGI animations to reveal the extraordinary engineering at the heart of the world’s most extreme machines. From the world’s biggest mega truck to the world’s fastest train to a revolutionary heavy lift ship, ground breaking CGI animation explodes the machines apart to reveal the ingenious inventions hidden under their skin that enables the teams who drive, fly and sail them to be at the top of their game. This series takes us inside these machines in close up detail and explores what helps these elite ships, trucks, trains and aircrafts rise above all others.

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.

Bridging the Expanse