Modern Britain

04: Sea Change | Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World

Dan Snow looks at how the 19th-century Navy used gunboat diplomacy to push British interests furthe...

S2E3: Burning Belief | The Battle for Britain's Soul

The emergence of secularism in the 20th century presented the Church with an unprecedented test and provoked a critical ...

Postwar: E20: What if? | Politically

What would Britain have been like if Winston Churchill had won the 1945 general election?

Postwar: E19: Post-postwar | Politically

When did the postwar period end?

Postwar: E18: Churchill: Lion in Winter | Politically

What happened to Winston Churchill in the years after the 1945 general election?

Postwar: E16: The Result | Politically

The immediate result of the general election was silence: a three-week hiatus.

3: Made in Britain | New Elizabethans with Andrew Marr

During the Queen's long reign, Britain's heavy industries have faced devastating decline. Andrew Marr picks the 'New E...

2: A Brave New World | New Elizabethans with Andrew Marr

Andrew Marr explores how Britain since 1952 has coped with the loss of empire, America's cultural and political hege...

6: The South: Dreams of Tomorrow | How We Built Britain

David Dimbleby's journey through Britain's architecture concludes with a look at how 20th-century developments change...

20th Century Wrap: 3: 1930s: What Depression? | History File

This programme covers the 30's and the extent of the depression. Contemporay film-makers recorded a vivid pictu...

1: Building a New Society | New Elizabethans with Andrew Marr

Andrew Marr examines the way in which Britain went from a rigid, class-obsessed society in the 1950s toward a m...

3: Flood at Winchester | Cathedral

Documentary drama series that reconstructs events that shaped the building of Britain's cathedrals.Winchester Cathedral faced destruction ...

9: Churchill | Great Britons (2002)

In the final documentary of the series, MP Mo Mowlam argues for Winston Churchill as the greatest Briton, portraying him as an inspiratio...

4: The Winner Takes It All 77-79 | The 70s

Dominic Sandbrook looks at the final years of the decade, marked by concerns that appear startlingly current.

2: Doomwatch 73-74 | The 70s

Dominic Sandbrook looks at the impact of a fast-changing world on British life and the effects of the oil price hike of the 70s.

2: Churchill | Secrets of Leadership

Andrew Roberts reveals many of Churchill's weaknesses as a subordinate in charge of the Royal Navy, and the great strengths they became ...

7: 1982 Falklands | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields

Peter and Dan Snow tell the story of how the British fought back to regain control of the Falkland Islands ...

2: Under Pressure | The 80s with Dominic Sandbrook

Dominic Sandbrook looks at a dynamic decade. By the mid-80s, Britain felt like an embattled nation, struggling to establis...

1: The Sound of the Crowd | The 80s with Dominic Sandbrook

Dominic Sandbrook takes a look at a dynamic decade. This episode looks at how the early 80s saw new forces of choi...

13: Tough Old Gut | The World at War

Churchill described Italy as the 'soft underbelly of the crocodile', thinking the Allies could cut through it to reach Germany. However,...

The Battle for Brixton

April 1981: unprecedented violence erupts on south London streets, as thousands of local residents fight a pitched battle with the capital's police in...

05: George's Last Ride | Boys from the Blackstuff

After his operation, George Malone walks out of hospital in his pyjamas. Chrissie, Loggo and George's sons return him, but ...

04: Yosser's Story | Boys from the Blackstuff

After his wife leaves him, Yosser Hughes struggles to hold his family together. But with no work and the police and social serv...

03: Shop Thy Neighbour | Boys from the Blackstuff

Chrissie and his wife Angie are driven to despair by money problems and hounding by the Department of Employment investigat...

02: Moonlighter | Boys from the Blackstuff

Dixie Dean, working at night in the port as a security guard, is strongarmed into accepting bribes for allowing the removal of goo...

01: Jobs for the Boys | Boys from the Blackstuff

Drama series about life in recession-hit Britain in the Thatcher era. Chrissie, Dixie, Yosser, Loggo and George sign on befo...

Episode 2 | Slavery: Scotland's Hidden Shame

David Hayman presents the second of a two-part documentary exploring Scotland's role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Episode 1 | Slavery: Scotland's Hidden Shame

David Hayman presents the first of a two-part documentary exploring Scotland's role in the transatlantic slave trade.

02: Black Britons 2 | Primary History

The history of black people in Britain, from the abolition of the slave trade to the end of World War II. Education for seven- to 11-ye...

Episode 2 | Lenny Henry's Caribbean Britain

Lenny looks back on his coming of age and explores how he and other second and third-generation British-born Caribbean kids began...

Episode 1 | Lenny Henry's Caribbean Britain

Lenny Henry is joined by a host of famous faces as he celebrates his Caribbean-British heritage and explores how his culture has ...

1: 1910-1939 | George Alagiah: Mixed Britannia

A history of Britain's mixed-race community. George Alagiah tells how Britain escaped laws preventing interracial marriage and...

1: Arrival | Windrush

Series tracing the changes to British national life brought about by the first major influx of people from the Caribbean in 1948. The initial warm rece...

2: Intolerance | Windrush

The 1959 Notting Hill riots and the first racial killing.

3: A New Generation | Windrush

Focusing on the education of black children, their search for an identity through their music and lifestyle, and the tragedy of the New Cross ...

4: A British Story | Windrush

The 1990s saw the emergence of a new black British identity, with black peers in the House of Lords and black celebrities in sport, entertainme...

Black Power: A British Story of Resistance

An examination of the Black Power movement in the late 1960s in the UK, surveying both the individuals and the cultural forces tha...

The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files

How black immigrants who made Britain their home came face to face with the government's 'hostile environment'. David Olusoga exposes...

The Toxteth Riots | A House Through Time

In July 1981 riots broke out in Liverpool, following longstanding tensions between police and the black community. David Olusoga inv...

5: Education | Small Axe

When 12-year-old Kingsley is transferred to a special-needs school, a group of West Indian women uncover an unofficial segregation policy preventing...

Episode 1 | Benefits Britain 1949

Benefits claimants volunteer to live by the rules of the first year of the welfare state. This first episode asks how the state should supp...

S2E4: Endgame | The Battle for Britain's Soul

Angels over battlefields, the birth of the welfare state, US evangelism and a revolution in sexual freedom are all factors in t...

Postwar: E11: Homes for Heroes | Politically

In the end, the election was fought and decided over two main issues: demobilisation and housing.

Postwar: E9: Churchill's 'Gestapo' Broadcast | Politically

Winston Churchill's first election broadcast in 1945 might be remembered as his greatest gaffe.

Postwar: E8: Healthcare for All | Politically

The war changed many things, and access to healthcare was one of them.

Postwar: E7: The Labour Manifesto | Politically

Uniquely in modern British history, the 1945 Labour Manifesto was a genuine bestseller.

Postwar: E6: Appealing to Women | Politically

How did the election reflect the dramatically changed working lives of women?

Postwar: E5: The Soldiers' Election | Politically

During the 1945 election, there were still almost five million servicemen and women.

Postwar: E4: Public Opinion | Politically

How could politicians know what voters were thinking in 1945?

Postwar: E3: The Beveridge Report | Politically

William Beveridge's plan was an answer to the question of what we were fighting for.

Postwar: E2: Mr Churchill and Mr Attlee | Politically

With the war in Europe at an end, Churchill and Attlee became fierce election rivals.

Postwar: 1: The Rejection | Politically

David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age. Why did Winston Churchill find himself so decisively r...

Modern British History | GCSE Bitesize Revision

Exam revision programme focusing on the Liberal reforms, women's suffrage, the Home Front, the General Strike, the Depression...

Welfare State In Action | Panorama

A look at Britain's social services, including interviews with Professor Peter Townsend and Anthony Crosland.

The NHS: A Difficult Beginning

The story of the birth of the NHS, revealing how close its opponents came to defeating it and why the some of the fiercest opposition came fro...

Post-war Britain - the development of the National Health Service (NHS) | Exploring the Past: Post War Britain

Kirsty investigates how the newly formed NHS saved the life of...

Exploring the Past: Post War Britain

Six young people trace their family histories to find out what life was like in post-war Britain, discovering how society has changed.

2: Evacuation | Dunkirk (2004)

To evacuate the thousands at Dunkirk, the Admiralty requisitions small boats, while the Navy races to lift as many as it can.

01: Retreat | Dunkirk (2004)

The Allies are in retreat, but the Navy can only pick up a few soldiers and Churchill is advised to make peace to save the rest.

02: 1910s | Further Back in Time for Dinner

The Robshaw family travel back to the 1910s - a decade of feast and famine. Rochelle struggles to feed the family as supplies run...

06: Episode 6 | Further Back in Time for Dinner

In the final episode, the family and Debbie reflect on their time travels, discovering that much of what they experienced in ...

05: 1940s | Further Back in Time for Dinner

In their final decade of time travel, the Robshaws enter the 1940s and experience a decade overshadowed by war and entirely fuell...

04: 1930s | Further Back in Time for Dinner

The Robshaw family discover a surprising decade of progress and optimism as they journey through the 30s. Their larder is now stu...

03: 1920s | Further Back in Time for Dinner

The Robshaws experience a thoroughly modern decade as they enter the 20s. They get a taste of the age's racy reputation as they h...

01: 1900s | Further Back in Time for Dinner

The Robshaw family travel back in time to the turn of the 20th century, to discover how the food we ate and the way we ate it hel...

02: The Blitz | Landmarks

In April 1940, the phoney war ended and the real war began. What did the Battle of Britain and the Blitz mean to people at home? St Mark's schoolch...

01: The Evacuees | Landmarks

Former evacuees reminisce and pupils of St Marks School reinact evacuation day and visit a war memorial, including an explanation of the war's h...

At War: Omnibus 1 | Coal House

Three Welsh families time travel back to 1944. This programme features the highs and lows of the first week for the Griffithses, the Paiseys a...

S2E6 | Hidden Wales with Will Millard

Will Millard discovers the hidden history of World War Two by exploring forgotten, secret and usually inaccessible locations that give ...

Postwar: E5: The Soldiers' Election | Politically

During the 1945 election, there were still almost five million servicemen and women.

Postwar: E4: Public Opinion | Politically

How could politicians know what voters were thinking in 1945?

Postwar: E2: Mr Churchill and Mr Attlee | Politically

With the war in Europe at an end, Churchill and Attlee became fierce election rivals.

Episode 3 | 1940s House

Reality show where a contemporary family are placed in a house for a number of months in an attempt to live under the conditions experienced in warti...

Episode 1 | 1940s House

Reality show where a contemporary family are placed in a house for a number of months in an attempt to live under the conditions experienced in warti...

Episode 2 | 1940s House

Reality show where a contemporary family are placed in a house for a number of months in an attempt to live under the conditions experienced in warti...

Series 2 | World on Fire

The war reaches the sands of the Egyptian desert, while bombs fall on Manchester, and Harry introduces an explosive force into Robina's household, l...

Postwar: 1: The Rejection | Politically

David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age. Why did Winston Churchill find himself so decisively r...

7: Women's Liberation | 1900s House

The arrival of the maid has given Joyce the freedom to investigate the history of the suffragette movement. But the more she learns about...

20th Century Wrap: 2: 1910s: Why Didn't Suffragettes Win the Vote? | History File

This programme investigates the Suffragette movement.

6: Sylvia Pankhurst | Shoulder to Shoulder

1914: War is declared, and women still do not have the vote.

5: Outrage | Shoulder to Shoulder

The campaign grows. Suffragettes destroy property, and Emily Wilding Davison becomes a martyr to the cause.

4: Christabel Pankhurst | Shoulder to Shoulder

Black Friday - 18 November 1910. A violent struggle in Parliament Square between suffragettes and police. But why don't the po...

1: The Pankhurts | Shoulder to Shoulder

1898: Dr and Mrs Pankhurst and their four children are living comfortably in Manchester. However, in that year an event occurs which ...

Suffragette City | A History of the World

It was the campaign that changed the lives of British women forever. Actress Sheila Hancock is given unprecedented access to the Mu...

Episode 2 | Suffragettes Forever! The Story of Women and Power

Documentary series presented by Amanda Vickery. During Victoria's reign extraordinary women gradually changed ...

Episode 3 | Suffragettes Forever! The Story of Women and Power

Documentary series presented by Amanda Vickery. Vickery explores how the Edwardian suffragette movement became...

Episode 1 | Suffragettes Forever! The Story of Women and Power

Documentary series presented by Amanda Vickery exploring the origins of the suffragette movement, beginning wi...

5: Activists | Icons

Exploring the achievements of the greatest figures of the 20th century. Examining the lives of Emmeline Pankhurst, Mahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller and Mart...

Suffragettes with Lucy Worsley

Documentary, presented by Lucy Worsley, which uses dramatised testimony to tell the story of a group of working-class women conducting a dange...

Artefact: Nellie Dean's Letter | Michael Wood's Story of England

Michael Wood learns about Suffragette Nellie Taylor and her experiences during a London window-smashing camp...

S9E3: Protesting with Pankhurst | Horrible Histories

Protests about inequality or environmental damage are common today, but how have people protested in the past? Emmeline ...

The Suffragettes' (Song) | Horrible Histories

Emily Pankhurst and Millicent Fawcett sing about their involvement in getting the right to vote for women.

Suffragettes: Battling for Votes

When women were battling to win the vote, Parliament was on the front line. Rosalyn Ball looks back at the Suffragettes' campaign.

Clare Balding's Secrets of a Suffragette

In 1913 Suffragette Emily Davison stepped into the path of the King's horse at the Derby. Clare Balding examines the story of Emily,...