Made in Britain

Walking Through History

Tony Robinson goes for a walk through some of Britain's beautiful and historic landscapes.

2021

The Great British Dig: History In Your Garden

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

2007

Robbie Coltrane: B-Road Britain

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.

8.4

2023

The Mega-Brands That Built America

The innovations, failures and incredible achievements of some of the most successful businesses in history, from megastores like Costco and Walmart to shipping giants like FedEx and UPS, that forever changed the way Americans live.

2001

How It's Made

Have you ever wondered how the products you use every day are made? How It's Made leads you through the process of how everyday products, such as apple juice, skateboards, engines, contact lenses, and many more objects are manufactured.

9.0

The Railway: Keeping Britain On Track

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.

2006

The Real Dad's Army

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.

6.6

Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention

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.

Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

2019

Breakthrough: The Ideas That Changed the World

Take a mind-blowing journey through human history, told through six iconic objects that modern people take for granted, and see how science, invention and technology built on one another to change everything.

Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School

6.7

2015

Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School

In a unique experiment, five teachers from China take over the education of fifty teenagers in a Hampshire school to see whether the high-ranking Chinese education system can teach us a lesson.

8.0

2018

Portillo's Hidden History of Britain

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

7.0

Secret Britain

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

7.0

Great British Garden Revival

Britain’s rich horticultural history is being lost. More and more front and back gardens are paved over - for development, for parking spaces, or because families don’t have the time or inclination to manage these spaces. The trend for easy-to-maintain lawns, patios and paving has also led to a decline in traditional gardens full of flowers, plants and trees to the extent that some of our most iconic flora and fauna have all but disappeared. Step forward the BBC’s most-loved gardening experts, who are determined to turn us back into a green-fingered nation once again.

1987

Secret Society

A politically charged mini-series researched and written by Duncan Campbell which saw dramatic Special Branch raids on BBC Scotland. An entire production office was loaded into transit vans and confiscated by the police. + One: 'The Secret Constitution' about secret Cabinet committees that amount to a secret decision making system at the highest levels of power in the United Kingdom. + Two: 'In Time of Crisis' about secret preparations for war that began in 1982 within every NATO country. This programme revealed what Britain would do. + Three: 'A Gap In Our Defences' about bungling defence manufacturers and incompetent military planners who have botched every new radar system that Britain has installed since World War II. + Four: 'We're All Data Now' about the Data Protection Act. + Five: 'Association of Chief Police Officers' and how Government policy and actions are determined in the fields of law and order. + Six: 'Communications' with particular reference to Zircon spy satellites ...

6.5

The Genius of Invention

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.

8.3

1988

The Secret Life of Machines

The Secret Life of Machines is an educational television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery. According to Hunkin, the show's creator, the programme was developed from his comic strip The Rudiments of Wisdom, which he researched and drew for the Observer newspaper over a period of 14 years. Three separate groupings of the broadcast were produced and originally shown between 1988 and 1993 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, with the production subsequently airing on The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel.

4.7

2014

Secrets of Britain

The enormous popularity of recent British dramas such as Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge, and Sherlock, has led to vast interest in the real-life stories and history of the icons of Great Britain. Each episode of this series visits a famous British building or institution to explore its past and present, meeting a wide range of experts and historians along the way.

2014

Britain's Bloodiest Dynasty

Acclaimed historian Dan Jones tells the story of the dynasty who ruled England and much of France during the Middle Ages. More shocking, brutal and exhilarating than Game of Thrones, these events actually happened.

1993

Modern Marvels

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.

8.0

2021

Faster! Humanity's Quest to Save Time

Explores the scientific, social, economic and environmental consequences of supposedly time-saving inventions, ideas and objects. Throughout a lifetime, the minutes that are actually lost or saved can add up to days, weeks, months or even years.

Recommended TV Shows

2001

How It's Made

2021

Marvel's Hit-Monkey

After a high-profile political assassination goes sideways, an injured hitman hides out amongst a tribe of snow monkeys in the mountains of Japan.

5.9

2009

The Day of the Triffids

After an unusual meteor shower leaves most of the human population blind, a merchant navy officer must find a way to conquer tall, aggressive plants which are feeding on people and animals.

7.4

1964

Horizon

Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.

6.5

1968

The Champions

After a plane carrying three Agents crashes in the Himalayas, they are rescued by an advanced civilisation secretly living in Tibet who grant them enhanced versions of the ordinary five senses, and intellectual and physical abilities.

7.5

1982

Voyagers!

A member of a league of time travelers and a boy travel through time repairing errors in world history.

Transformers: Prime

Roll out with Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and the rest of the heroic Autobots as they battle the evil Decepticons. Now that big bad Megatron has returned with a mysterious and dangerous element, Team Prime must prepare for an epic battle.

1983

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

An elite team of soldiers thwart the evil Cobra organization's desire for world domination at every turn, cleverly stopping them from controlling the weather, creating unstoppable weapons, and genetically engineering super-warriors.

2005

Doctor Who Confidential

Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was 30 minutes, being extended to 45 minutes in the third. BBC Three also broadcast a cut-down edition of the programme, lasting 15 minutes, shown after the repeats on Sundays and Fridays and after the weekday evening repeats of earlier seasons.

1993

Modern Marvels

8.5

Sym-Bionic Titan

Three beings from the planet Galaluna crash-land on Earth while attempting to escape their war-torn world.

2016

The Lion Guard

Simba's son, Kion, assembles a group of animals to protect the Pride Lands, known as the Lion Guard.

1984

MTV Video Music Awards

An annual award ceremony presented by MTV to honor the best in the music video medium.

7.7

1961

The Avengers

A quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners. Jonathan Steed - an urbane, proper gentleman spy - teams with various assistants throughout the series' run, including Dr. David Keel, Cathy Gale, Emma Peel and Tara King, to repeatedly save the world from diabolical schemes plotted by equally diabolical evil-doers (among them robots and man-eating monsters).

6.7

1988

American Experience

TV's most-watched history series brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

1994

Gargoyles

In Scotland, 994 A.D. Goliath and his clan of gargoyles defend a medieval castle. In present day, David Xanatos buys the castle and moves it to New York City. When the castle is attacked the gargoyles are awakened from a 1000 year curse.

6.6

2000

Clifford the Big Red Dog

The adventures of a larger-than-life red dog on Bridwell Island.

7.0

2012

Gadget Man

Gadget Man shows the world's collection of handy gadgets throughout the ages, from today's smart devices to decades old electronics to even older mechanical devices.

7.1

2007

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Yo Gabba Gabba! is an American children's television show that airs on the Nick Jr. cable network in the United States and the Nick Jr. networks in the United Kingdom & Ireland, Italy, France and Australia as well as Treehouse TV network in Canada and RTE2 on RTÉjr in Ireland. The show stars five costumed toys-come-to-life and their friend DJ Lance Rock, who explore a single topic in each episode through songs and short storylines in the half-hour program while teaching children life and social skills. It also encourages viewers to move along with and dance with the characters in the program. The show is noted for its indie-culture guest stars and bands, and for drawing visual inspiration from 8-bit video games and H. R. Pufnstuff.

6.9

2022

Sherwood

Old grudges, new rivalries. A tangled web of murder and revenge spirals in a fractured Nottinghamshire mining community. Powerful drama with Lesley Manville and David Morrissey.