The story of an unruly class of bright, funny history students at a Yorkshire grammar school in pursuit of an undergraduate place at Oxford or Cambridge. Bounced between their maverick English master, a young and shrewd teacher hired to up their test scores, a grossly out-numbered history teacher, and a headmaster obsessed with results, the boys attempt to pass.
In May 2024, Alan Bennett turned 90. This film celebrates the life and long career of one of Britain's best-loved playwrights. Part frank reflection on the ageing process, part remembrance of the joys of youth, Alan is aided by the films he has written and the documentaries he has presented in his quest to understand the person he has become.
Featuring compelling testimony, this is the story of 15 men and women and one life-changing year on the frontline of the most divisive conflict of a generation: the 1984 miners' strike
A star-studded documentary revealing the private man behind one of Britain’s greatest comic geniuses, using home movies and extracts from notebooks that he wanted to be burnt after his death.
Behind the singing, smiles and double denim was blood, sweat and tears. Heartthrobs from Take That to Westlife and 911 share tales of success, adoration and the flipside of fame.
Film about a family of lions living in the swamps of the Okavango delta, seen through the eyes of a cub born just before the annual flood
Jonathan Scott narrates the extraordinary story of the leopard - the one big cat that still survives across half the world while tigers, cheetahs and lions are all struggling. By following the lives of leopard mothers and their cubs in East Africa the film investigates what it is about the natural history of these cats that makes them born survivors. Perhaps the most extraordinary revelation is that leopards are living undercover on farms and even in cities across Africa and Asia.
To mark 25 years since Geri, Emma, Victoria and the Mels first exploded onto the world stage, we take a trip into the music archives to uncover the performances that every Spice Girls devotee really, really wants to see again. These are the Fab Five’s finest appearances on a range of BBC shows from over the years and includes all the favourites, from their breakout number one Wannabe through to their final release as a girl band, Headlines. Our playlist also contains a selection of the hits the girls enjoyed when they’d said ‘Goodbye’ and launched themselves as solo stars
The experiences of two young Jewish boys evacuated from Manchester to Blackpool during the Blitz.
Featuring musicians Annie Haslam, Michael Dunford, Jon Camp, John Tout, and Terry Sullivan, this classic lineup of progressive rock band Renaissance performs songs from albums Ashes are Burning, Turn of the Cards, Scheherazade and Other Stories, and Novella, including "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Can You Hear Me?" in a stripped-down rock band arrangement, at the Golders Green Hippodrome, London, for the BBC Two series, Sight and Sound In Concert.
Eighty years on, the BBC has been gathering first-hand accounts from the UK's D-Day veterans – some now more than 100 years of age. Rachel Burden traces their stories in Normandy and hears memories of the massive beach invasion and the battles that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the Second World War in Europe.
Experience the classic sci-fi film The Matrix like never before in this spectacular live show brought to life through mind-expanding dance and the latest immersive design.
Academic and activist Stuart Hall and actor and activist Maggie Steed present a rigorous deconstruction of the racism - both explicit and more insidious in its subtlety - of the British media from within.
The Ruins Of Empires is an innovative performance piece by Hip Hop Artist and writer Akala. It is an abridged version of his epic poem of the same name and is a personal interpretation of history as told through the 'knowledge seeker' performed by Akala himself. He follows the course of mans evolution, via astral travel and multiple reincarnations, in an attempt to discover the cause of the rise and fall of Empires. It is driven by a musical score by Mala and Paul Gladstone-Reid and combines innovative animation techniques and emerging technology with some of the most ground breaking creative talents in the industry, under the creative guidance of Andy Serkis and The Imaginarium.
David Attenborough narrates the intimate story of a leopard mother and her two cubs. This very special family must survive in the wilds of Botswana alongside some less-than-friendly neighbours: lions, wild dogs and hyenas. The competition for food is tough, and if they are going to make it they must learn a new skill - they must learn to fish. This is an epic family drama. With them every step of the way is local cameraman Brad Bestelink. Brad's 18-month journey following the lives of these secretive big cats offers a rare glimpse into an otherwise hidden world
Salman Rushdie speaks to Alan Yentob about the devastating knife attack he was subjected to in 2022, losing his right eye and almost his ability to write.
Following Sir Brian May over a decade-long journey to understand the crisis caused by bovine tuberculosis and his opposition to the controversial badger cull, implemented to curb the spread of the disease in cattle. It’s a story surrounded by controversy, but one little known to many - a tale of tragedy for both humans and animals.
David Scarboro, who played Mark Fowler in EastEnders (1985), fell to his death at Beachy Head in 1988. Simon, his younger brother, presents this tribute, featuring David's achievements as a young actor as well as his problems.
Chris van Tulleken takes a personal view at why ultra-processed foods are so irresistible and how they have come to dominate food culture.
A thousand years of the gossip, scandals, successes, disasters, eccentricities and cupidity that lie behind the facades of a great city.