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Private Notes
For many Londoners, the summer is a chance to escape the noise and bustle of the capital in search of relaxation and sun overseas, but as the Brits hit the beaches, London becomes the top destination for super-rich Arab tourists and their supercars.
Swapping the searing heat of their homes in the Middle East for the cool of the UK, increasing numbers of super-rich Arabs are packing their bags and cars for their annual vacation in the capital.
Million-pound Bugatti Veyrons and extravagant Koenigsegg supercars have become a common sight on the streets of London but it has divided the opinion of the residents.
Sharon Horgan says 'everyone knows what they want from a wedding - drunk by noon, quick go on a bridesmaid, chocolate fountain - but what do we want from a marriage?'
Marriage is a serious, lifelong commitment but nobody tells you how to do it. Sharon gatecrashes six very different marriages and a wedding in a bid to open up the private world of husbands and wives.
Sharon meets six different couples to explore the essence of a lifelong and happy marriage. She wants to find out how they've made it work and what she can learn about marriage from their relationships.
Sharon spends time with tantric sex teachers Kavida and Roland who think there's no reason why marriage should get in the way of a 'mind-blowing sex life'. Everything they do together is sexy, whether it's shopping, walking or even drinking tea.
Chris and Norma have a 32-year age gap in their marriage; he was 18 when he was bewitched by 50-year-old Norma on holiday. Lydia and Andrew have swapped roles; she's the alpha female and he's the house husband.
Steven and Shelly saved their marriage by the 'elimination of feminism in their relationship' and now run a marriage website. Louella's husband isn't interested in sex but tolerates her having a lover so they can stay happily married.
Finally, Sharon meets Chas and Diane and Jo and Graham - two couples who've lived together in the same house for 23 years. Diane and Jo are identical twins and their four children have been raised as siblings. The couples share everything, except for their bedrooms and each other's partners...
Twenty years after his death, this documentary reveals never-before-seen footage of one of Britain's most popular comedy stars: Frankie Howerd.
Alongside clips from his classic shows, the programme unveils previously unreleased professional and personal archive film and audio.
From pilots and home movie footage to unseen interviews and material from his live stand up show, the show shines a light on the highs and lows of comedy legend Frankie's remarkable career.
The film also lifts the lid on Frankie's vast collection of personal correspondence. From Sir Laurence Olivier and Paul McCartney to Howerd's many fans, everyone wrote to Frankie, and Frankie always took the time to write back.
The film features a range of contributors, including some of the comedian's most famous fans, such as Sir Bruce Forsyth and Barry Cryer.
The programme also hears from the people who were closest to him, such as his former agents, collaborators and writers, including Ray Galton, Alan Simpson and Clive Anderson.
This enlightening film tracks down people across the UK who have made some of the most extraordinary faux-pas on Facebook and other social media in the past few years.
The programme discovers how sharing too much information online can have disastrous consequences, and reveals how these people's lives have been affected in the aftermath of their online 'fails'.
From the friends arrested on terror charges at a US airport after a joke tweet, to the McDonald's employee who went to jail after hacking an international superstar's Facebook page, and the model arrested in her pyjamas when police burst into her home investigating a suspicion that she was harassing a celebrity, the film demonstrates why everyone should be aware that you can never be sure who is watching, reading and sharing your social media timeline.
When a skeleton was reported found under a Leicester council car park in September 2012, the news broke around the world. Could it be the remains, lost for 500 years, of England's most infamous king? The tests to prove this theory have been carried out in secrecy but, in this programme, a team allowed to follow the scientists tells the story of the hunt for Richard III, unveils a new facial reconstruction made from the skull and reveals the results of the final tests that should establish the body's true identity.
From bionic arms and legs to artificial organs, science is beginning to catch up with science fiction in the race to replace body parts with man-made alternatives.
How to Build a Bionic Man follows psychologist Bertolt Meyer, who has a bionic hand himself, as he meets scientists working at the cutting edge of research to find out just how far this new technology can go.
Meanwhile, a team of roboticists create a complete 'bionic man' for the first time, using nearly $1 million-worth of state-of-the-art limbs and organs - the products of billions of dollars of research - borrowed from some of the world's leading laboratories and manufacturers.
The bionic man is being built by leading UK roboticists Richard Walker and Matthew Godden from Shadow Robot. Made with the support of the Wellcome Trust, it will be displayed at London's Science Museum from 7 February.
In the two centuries since Mary Shelley's Dr Frankenstein brought his 'monster' to life, the subject has fascinated science fiction in books, comics, film and TV.
From Star Wars' Darth Vader to Robocop, and from Dr Who's Cybermen to Blade Runner's replicants, most stories focus on the potentially dire consequences of 'playing God'.
Now, thanks to research on advanced prosthetic arms and legs, as well as artificial eyes, hearts and lungs - and even hybrids between computer chips and living brains - scientists can finally replace body parts and even improve on human abilities.
While Bertolt's search shows just how far science has come, it also asks questions about what it means to be human and where this technology could lead in the future.
In 2012 roads became rivers, rivers swelled to raging torrents and green fields turned into vast, spreading lakes. It was the year Britain flooded.
The relentless and unprecedented levels of rainfall had little respite; it was England's wettest year since records began. Yet 2012 had started so well.
After months so dry that garden hosepipes were banned, the drought broke and the rain started to fall, making April the wettest month ever known in Britain.
The weather got worse: more than twice the average rainfall in June created the wettest summer in a century, and 2012 became officially the second wettest year ever recorded in the UK.
This documentary reveals how a combination of meteorological and geological factors created the year of the flood.
Taking to the air with weather experts and diving into Britain's sewage system and saturated underground aquifers, the programme explains why the floods occurred and shows how devastating they can be.
It's not just the overflowing content of your local river that can be hazardous to health, but also the pollutants pouring upwards from drains and sewers.
With dramatic eye-witness accounts of the worst of the country's floods, moving human stories and expert interviews with meteorologists, geologists and climate scientists, this film reveals exactly what happened in the year Britain flooded.
While he was embedded with the US army in Afghanistan, British humanitarian photographer Giles Duley stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device).
The explosion left him with horrific injuries and, ultimately, as a triple amputee.
A year and a half after sustaining injuries that left him hovering between life and death for months, he kept the promise he made to himself on the day of the incident: to return to Afghanistan to complete his work documenting the impact of the invasion on civilians, and now focusing on the wounded who have sustained injuries similar to his.
This film documents Giles's courageous return to Afghanistan as he undertakes his first major photographic assignment since the explosion, in the country where he very nearly lost his life.
In Britain, chicken used to be a luxury. We used to eat the equivalent of just one a year. Now we slaughter over three and half million a day - and eat more of it than any other meat. How and where we eat chicken has changed and our high streets are changing with it. There are now over 2100 chicken shops in the UK in a fast-food market worth over £4 billion per year.
Roosters Spot is an up and coming franchise in the increasingly competitive market of fried chicken. Exploring the phenomenal rise in public affection for everything fried chicken through a single shop in south London, this Cutting Edge documentary offers a unique and intriguing insight into contemporary London life.
A 'mini-rig' of fixed cameras provides unprecedented access to Roosters Spot's flagship store on south London's party-strip, Clapham High Street. Flooded with regulars in the week and revellers on the weekend, it's a space that feels unpredictable at times and life-affirming at others.
This is the story of the rise and fall of the De Havilland Comet - the world's first passenger jet airliner. At the height of World War II, a secret committee of visionary British scientists set about designing a revolutionary new aircraft that would launch a new era in aviation.
When it came into service in May 1952, the revolutionary Comet was an instant hit with passengers. But then, in the space of just four months in early 1954, two Comet aircraft blew up in mid-air, killing all the passengers and crew. The catastrophic loss of these aircraft was as sudden as it was mysterious and the future of passenger jet aviation hung in the balance.
On the direct order of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a British team of leading aviation experts was assembled to discover what went wrong, and as part of the process of solving the mystery, they wrote the rulebook of modern air crash investigation, with many of their pioneering techniques still being used today.
A special follow-up to the programme that broadcast exclusive access to the research into the remains of Richard III found underneath a Leicester car park.
The research confirmed that the remains were his, and helped build a picture of what he looked like.
Using unseen footage of the dig and tests, and fresh interviews with the lead scientists, this programme reveals multiple new dimensions to the hunt for England's long-lost king.
The project involved dozens of specialists, in the fields of archaeology, osteology, history, forensic pathology, genealogy and DNA analysis.
The programme pieces together the critical steps in the archaeological excavation, explaining how the Greyfriars Church was uncovered and detailing the painstaking exhumation of Richard's grave from the first indications of human remains to the exposure of the body's twisted spine.
In the university's labs, the programme follows the scientists as they examine the skeleton to unlock the lost king's story, revealing its clues to his diet and social status, and to the diseases he endured.
The film reveals how the DNA match with Richard III was made.
Perhaps the most harrowing stage of the project was the minute forensic examination of the cause of death. Piecing together CT scans and microscopic analysis, the team identified the major injuries that Richard suffered in the last moments of his life and shortly afterwards.
A couple of weeks ago, a meteorite bigger than a double decker bus crashed into Earth at 40,000 miles an hour. This film shows previously unseen footage of what happened as the meteor hit Russia. Astrophysicists explain what it was and whether it will happen again.
We also hear of NASA’s plans to deal with the worst case scenarios and what can be done to defend our planet from space debris.
No one knows why the Hindenburg airship crashed in 1937. Now, a team of experts build three scale models to establish which of the leading theories was most likely to have caused the crash.
Ancient bodies lie buried beneath Stonehenge, but what can they tell us about Britain's greatest prehistoric monument? One man has found vital clues to this ancient puzzle.
Britain is a nation of dog-lovers, with nearly a quarter of all households owning at least one dog. For some people, 'man's best friend' is a way of life.
This documentary uncovers what it takes to breed, train and show a Crufts-worthy canine. The programme follows an eclectic, passionate and competitive mix of dog-owners to a variety of competitions around the country in the run up to Crufts.
In May 1940, Britain was at a moment of great peril. Winston Churchill had just become Prime Minister and was facing the prospect of a Nazi invasion. But it wasn't just Hitler that concerned him.
There was also the threat from Britain's own fascist sympathisers: the so-called 'fifth column' that could undermine Britain's war effort from within.
Within a few days of Churchill becoming Prime Minister, MI5 swooped on addresses in central London. The targets were members of a secretive organisation called The Right Club, an extreme pro-Nazi society led by an aristocrat and MP in Churchill's own party, Archibald Ramsay.
Ramsay's Right Club wanted to bring down the government and forge an alliance with Hitler. When they stumbled across stolen secret documents that could discredit Churchill and prevent America from entering the war, they knew they'd hit the jackpot.
What they didn't know was that one of Britain's most brilliant spy-masters, Maxwell Knight, was setting a trap for them. If he was successful his move against Ramsay's Right Club would enable him to round up over 1000 of Britain's Nazi sympathisers and eliminate the enemy within.
The compelling cloak-and-dagger story of how Churchill and MI5 hunted down The Right Club reveals a little-known aspect of war-time Britain: a murky world of fascist aristocrats, disaffected foreign nationals and spies.
Many people have heard of dogging but very few know what goes on in this secretive world.
This intimate and compelling True Stories film provides an insight into why men and women engage in or watch sexual activity in front of strangers in public areas, under the cover of darkness.
Interviews with doggers begin in the 'real world' as their day draws to a close and they discuss their normal lives.
A radical film about a radical woman.
Martin Durkin's controversial thesis is that Margaret Thatcher was a working class revolutionary.
She believed that capitalism was in the interests of ordinary people, not the toffs. Many ordinary people agreed.
And that is why the left hated her so much - Margaret Thatcher stole the working class.
This feature-length film includes interviews with the David Cameron, Norman Tebbit, Nigel Lawson, Cecil Parkinson, Neil Kinnock, Bernard Ingham and many others close to Mrs Thatcher.
Nick Hewer leaves his comfort zone to attempt a near-impossible adventure, taking on punishing heat, potholed dirt tracks, basic mechanics and corruption.
He's towing a one-and-a-half-tonne industrial saw and generator 5000 miles to Sierra Leone. He wants to present the saw to James, a street kid he met three years earlier on a visit to Freetown with his charity Hope and Homes for Children.
James was trained as a carpenter by the charity and Nick was taken with his creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. Now Nick wants to give James the saw and generator to kick-start a fledgling business.
It's an adventure that lurches from one crisis to another: the vandalism of Nick's donated Land Cruiser in Morocco; the threat of kidnapping in the Western Sahara; the near-destruction of the trailer axles on sand roads in Guinea.
When he finally reaches James, the 19-year-old is touched by Nick's charitable act.
But the reality of owning a set of massive machines in one of the world's poorest countries gives rise to questions about the wisdom of Nick's philanthropy.
Will the saw help James or put him in danger? Can the business really be a success in Freetown? And, above all, can a personal intervention like this be any more effective than giving money to one of the big charities?
Jon Snow provides a personal recollection of Baroness Thatcher: the woman, the leader, the icon, the hate figure; the biggest British political figure of Jon's lifetime.
Mrs Thatcher's rise to leader of the Conservative Party and then the country as Britain's first female Prime Minister spans the same period as Jon's own early career as a successful young television reporter and then newsreader.
In 1979 Jon was a young reporter working for ITN. And amazingly on 4 May he was actually given the job of reporting Mrs Thatcher's arrival in Downing Street for the first time - live.
What he didn't know at the time was that he would be following Mrs Thatcher around the world on and off for the next eleven and a half years.
From the election trail to Europe, from Washington to Casablanca, she dominated his reporting life, and the lives of everyone who lived through her reign.
This is not an obituary and it is certainly not a review of Mrs Thatcher's legacy. It's more personal than that. It is Jon's own recollection of intersecting with the most powerful woman most of us had ever known.
On the morning of Monday 10 September 1923, a mysterious woman in black, known as 'the Princess Fahmy Bey', was escorted to the dock of London's central criminal court to face a charge of murder.
Two months before at the Savoy Hotel, the princess had shot dead her husband, an Egyptian prince, with three bullets, in cold blood.
Six years before, she'd had a secret affair with another prince: the future Edward VIII. Back then the Princess Fahmy Bey had been plain Marguerite - or Maggie - Meller, a high-class courtesan in First World War Paris.
As Maggie Meller went on trial for her life, this reckless episode from Edward's past threatened to expose the heir to the British and imperial throne to disgrace.
Behind the trial lies a long-buried story of royal infatuation and royal scandal. Edward's affair with Maggie Meller finally exploded in a toxic cocktail of sex, blackmail and murder.
New evidence, unearthed over a decade of investigation by the historian Andrew Rose, points to it ending in an establishment cover-up to protect the reputation of the future king and save his first, secret mistress from the gallows.
Sex is everywhere. But what if something stood in the way of your experiencing a fulfilling sex life? There are over 10 million people living with disabilities in the UK and 85% of them are sexually active.
This sensitive and honest documentary takes a candid look at the sex lives of four disabled individuals, from the recently paralysed Karl, who is coming to terms with life without an erection, to Pete, who has cerebral palsy.
Pete's hoist helps him into every conceivable sexual position and he has ambitions to be the UK's first disabled porn star.
Leah, a 24-year-old woman with brittle bone disease, won't let her body's limitations get in the way of an adventurous sex life.
Twenty-six-year-old John has learning difficulties and he and his mother have taken the momentous decision to hire an escort to help him lose his virginity.
The film also follows Laura Lee, an escort who specialises in working with men with disabilities. She is immensely proud of what she does and sees herself as providing a unique and necessary service to men who might struggle to have an ordinary sexual relationship.
Presented by Dr Dawn Harper, Fat Family Tree uses cutting-edge genetics to decode the genes of an overweight family for whom all other attempts to shed the pounds have failed.
Discovering how the family's genes have put them at risk of excessive weight gain is the first step to devising a diet to help them beat their genes.
Based on the latest science, the programme's 'gene-busting' diet also promises failsafe diet tips that could help all of us lose weight.
The McConnon family from Stevenage have all spent their lives battling with their weight and failed time and time again to shed the pounds.
Like lots of people they believe their family history of obesity could be down to their genes. Mum Tina and her daughters Lisa and Karen are all desperate to lose weight.
All three take a unique DNA test to find out if the genes they have inherited could help explain their weight problems.
Can they change their weight and their future by identifying exactly how their diet and lifestyle clash with their genetic burden, and making the changes to lose weight successfully for the first time?
On 4 June1913 Emily Wilding Davison stepped into the path of the King's horse at the Derby and was fatally injured.
Astonishingly, the terrible moment was captured on three newsreel cameras. The footage of a well-dressed Edwardian woman being killed by racehorses travelling at 35 miles an hour remains deeply shocking.
But though the act itself was captured in horrific detail, a century on, mystery and argument surround the story behind it: what exactly Emily Davison intended to do on the track that day; and what drove her to take such reckless action in the first place.
Clare Balding and a team of forensic experts have analysed the footage frame by frame, re-examined the evidence and, astonishingly, believe they may have made new discoveries that will change our view of what really happened on that fateful summer day.
Clare uncovers the story of Emily herself and finds out how a middle-class governess from a genteel family became a radical activist.
And she explores the hidden history of the militant wing of the votes for women campaign to which Emily belonged, revealing stories of terrible police brutality, forced feeding of hunger strikers, the early use of surveillance tactics that persist to this day and women prepared to use any means necessary to advance their cause.
The untold story of Edward VIII's campaign to protect Africa's wildlife, prompted when he was Prince of Wales by the slaughter of elephants, rhinos and big cats he witnessed on safari.
Clive is 45, an IT engineer, and still a virgin - though not through choice.
Clive is intimidated by the thought of physical intimacy and finds it hard to chat to women, let alone sleep with them.
Rosie is 29 and dreams of marriage and children of her own one day. But she can't bear to be touched by, or touch, men. Rosie thinks guys smell a bit weird, 'a cross between aftershave and ham.'
Clive and Rosie attend a radical two-week course of sex therapy in the US.
Clive works with Cheryl, 68, the doyenne of sex surrogates, whose life story is told in the Oscar-nominated film The Sessions. She estimates she's slept with about 850 men, and that's not including her husbands.
Rosie's surrogate partner is 55-year old Gary, an ex-professional tennis player turned counsellor, who faces a mighty challenge as Rosie tells him that she doesn't fancy him.
Can these highly skilled sex surrogates help Clive and Rosie in their quest to go all the way?
We all like to think of ourselves as individuals, making up our own minds what to do and when to do it. But this eye-opening new documentary, presented by Jimmy Doherty, reveals new evidence that suggests that in many ways we actually think and move like members of a herd of animals. We each leave behind us a vast 'data trail' every time we travel, use our phone or credit card, search or buy online, use social media or visit a supermarket. The documentary reveals how, by analysing and unlocking this mountain of data, scientists can monitor, predict and even manipulate our actions with amazing precision.
Male stripping is booming in the UK. Every weekend in most major cities, women are paying to see men get naked.
The Dreamboys is the biggest male stripping agency of them all and ex-stripper David Richards is in charge. He claims to know what women want, and is prepared to do whatever it takes to give it to them.
David is on the search for some 'fresh meat' to join his London troupe and meets the men that come forward to auditions. Who are they, why are they doing it and what impact is it having on their life?
Like never before, this First Cut film lifts the lid on this exotic world of sex, fantasy and temptation and shines a light on the private lives of the men whose job it is to bare all.
First Cut is the critically acclaimed, eclectic documentary strand that showcases distinctive new films by up and coming directors.
One in three British women own a vibrator, but many are designed by men. Now, a group of eight ordinary women are going to work with Ann Summers to create a sex toy made by women for women. They're a diverse group, including 69-year-old grandma Margaret, a twentysomething virgin and a middle aged divorcee who has never achieved an orgasm. One thing unites them, that they think there's a gap in the market and they are determined to fill it. Filmed over a course of a year, this is the story of how a group of regular ladies turned their fantasies into reality and reveals what women really want in the bedroom. Designing a sex toy is a labour of love. The women road test toys that are currently on the market and one brave mum even does the weekly shop at the same time. They turn to the contents of their kitchen cupboards to create models of their dream sex toy. This determined group of women know what they want, but can Ann Summers get it onto the shelves in time for Valentine's Day?
This film follows members of Victim Support's National Homicide Team as they work closely with families who have been bereaved by murder or manslaughter.
We are taken behind the headlines to observe the extraordinary strength needed to fight, survive and heal the traumatic events of a murder, seen through the eyes of the murder workers.
Afghan Army Girls provides an unprecedented insight into life as a young woman in war-torn Afghanistan, following three very different female army recruits, Zeinab, Samiya and Homa.
These women are trailblazers of their time. They face stigma and shame for joining up, but are determined to better themselves while maintaining their country's strict traditions.
They face recriminations from their extended family for working outside their home, or even worse, coming into contact with men. There's a rumour that the Taliban has put a price on their heads.
But Zeinab, Samiya and Homa know this is a time to make history, and those with the best grades will have an opportunity to join the air force, where some of the training takes place abroad.
This film follows the women through the highs and lows of their six-month basic training course.
Zeinab, who's 21, is trying to escape an arranged marriage after a failed love affair. Her fiance doesn't know she's in the army.
Homa, 25, is a single mother trying to create a better life for her son. As an unmarried woman with a child, her marital prospects are already slim, and joining the army isn't helping. She struggles physically but she wants to make it into the air force to honour the memory of her dead sister.
Samiya's parents made her join the army, and she hates it. She was brought up as a boy. In the practice of Bacha Posh, families without sons often raise their daughters as boys until they reach puberty.
Samiya is now 22 but maintains her boyishness, with which come some very conservative ideas about the role of women, which clash with the progressive career she now has.
The film also follows them home to meet their families who talk frankly about war, marriage, religion, domestic violence, family, honour, love and, above all, what it's like to be a woman in modern Afghanistan.
Scientologists at War examines the independent Scientology movement and the high level defectors who have publicly renounced their membership from the Church of Scientology.
Marty Rathbun is one of the most senior defectors in Scientology's history. As the former Inspector General of Ethics in the organisation that was created by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, Rathbun worked closely with its leader, David Miscavige, and celebrity follower Tom Cruise.
The film provides a rare insider view of the Church of Scientology.
t's one of the most memorable unsolved crimes from 2012. A British family from a quiet suburban village on a caravanning holiday near Annecy in the French Alps, gunned down in broad daylight. Miraculously, the family's two young daughters survived.
The investigation into the apparently motiveless killings of three members of the Al-Hilli family and French cyclist Sylvan Mollier has involved British, French, Swiss, Swedish and Spanish agencies.
But with no obvious motives behind the killings, conspiracy theories and speculation have run riot, linking the victims with religious extremism, espionage and secret services.
There are rumours of secret Swiss bank accounts, inheritance disputes, French heiresses and bloody family feuds.
Eight months after the killings, there are no suspects, there have been no arrests and the investigation appears to have stalled.
This programme goes behind the headlines and puts the speculation to the test.
It features the only interview with the hiker who saw the crime scene and helped raise the alarm. A French journalist reveals that he has had sight of a confidential police report about the forensics of the crime scene.
The programme features an exclusive interview with a close friend of the Al-Hilli family and his extraordinary email exchange with his friend Saad Al-Hilli. And Dario Zanni, the Swiss prosecutor, is interviewed for the first time about the case.
A film about one of Britain's strangest phone helplines - Anomalous Mind Management Abductee Contactee Helpline, or AMMACH, the 999 for people who believe they have been victims of alien abduction.
The film follows some of the 100 members who use the helpline, including Simon, a town councillor who believes that in addition to his earthbound wife he has a family of alien children with an alien lover.
There's also Chantelle, a housewife who's been abducted thousands of times and wants her encounters to stop.
Marie is an accountant who believes that her DNA has been altered and that she may be part alien.
These ordinary people all share the extraordinary belief that they have had alien encounters, and have contacted AMMACH in a bid to understand why these strange other worldly experiences are happening to them.
With increasingly open attitudes to sexuality, for women, in particular, interest in same-sex relationships and 'bi-curiosity' are becoming more acceptable.
This documentary explores the stories of three women as they come to terms with changes in their sexuality and questions whether our new-found sexual freedoms make intimate relationships any easier.
Dating coach Hayley Quinn, who's 26, began to explore her own sexuality, prompted by her first partner's open attitude to sex and relationships. Now she dates men and women, often at the same time.
A recent partner holds a special place in heart however, and she meets him halfway across the world, but still takes her girlfriend with her. Hayley's approach to sexuality brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'complicated love life', but is she happier?
Jill is 57 and has been in a relationship with her husband for 25 years. She is about to leave him to embark on a new life, and she's not looking for a new man.
Her children, who are 23 and 19, have only recently been told about her changing sexuality as Jill's more pressing concerns are about leaving the family home and the life she knew.
Thirty-year-old Sophie has had two significant relationships: the first with a man and the next, unexpectedly, with a woman. Sophie had always thought of herself as straight; having a same-sex relationship raised complications and didn't prove as liberating as she had hoped.
Although the relationship ended, Sophie is still working through her feelings and is not sure if she will ever be 'out and proud'.
Sharon Horgan meets six women who have gone through midlife crises to find out what happened, and how they coped or even transformed themselves. Can any of these women's experiences make Sharon feel better about approaching middle age?
A documentary presented by former-professional rugby league player and star of the award-winning Make Bradford British, Rashid Khan. Rashid travels across the country, exploring the physical, logistical and spiritual preparations for the Holy month of Ramadan.
After three years of negotiation, the Scottish High Court gave permission for this extraordinary and unique access - to film the case of a man accused of murdering his wife. For the first time ever, remotely-operated cameras have been placed inside a British criminal court to capture a murder trial in its entirety for this brand new feature-length documentary.
Nat Fraser was first brought to trial in 2003 for the murder of his wife – he was found guilty. But Fraser argued that the trial was a miscarriage of justice and challenged the verdict in the highest courts in the land. Eventually, after years of protesting his innocence, the conviction was quashed in 2011. In April 2012, Nat Fraser was sent back to the High Court in Edinburgh for a fresh trial, 14 years after his wife’s disappearance.
Exploring the story behind some of the late princess’ most unforgettable looks through the couture dresses that went to auction in what was the biggest ever UK sale of her clothes.
With exclusive access to Kerry Taylor Auctions, this 60 minute film examines how Diana’s style evolved, the statement that was made by each outfit choice and why these particular dresses were so key throughout her time in the spotlight.
This powerful docudrama tells the story of one of World War II's last secrets.
British intelligence undertook an audacious operation to listen in on the private conversations of 10,000 German prisoners of war without their ever knowing they were being overheard.
The prisoners' unguarded reminiscences and unintentional confessions have only just come to light, and prove how closely the German army were involved in the atrocities of the Holocaust.
Paralympics presenter, former Royal Marines commando and pilot Arthur Williams presents this love letter to the Second World War aeroplane he believes history has unjustly forgotten. While the names Spitfire, Lancaster and Hurricane have passed into legend, the De Havilland Mosquito languishes in relative obscurity. But for Arthur, the `Wooden Wonder' is the plane that saved Britain. Here he meets the men who flew it, tells its extraordinary story and travels to Virginia Beach in the US to see if he can take to the skies in the world's only remaining flying Mosquito
he second of the programmes about the perils of social media. What happens when a troll goes too far, when private photos end up where they shouldn't, or when one young boy finds himself in a truck load of trouble?
Social media sites have become an integral part of our online existence. Many of us have multiple accounts over a variety of networks, and this documentary was aimed at those who don’t realise that the world is watching. Far from the fails of brands and big labels that we covered in our 2012 round up, this show concentrated on individuals and how their lives had been changed (for the worse) by the way they used sites like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter
Award-winning musician Björk and legendary broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough have admired each other's work for years but this is the first time they have discussed their mutual love of music and the natural world on screen.
In this remarkable documentary, Björk explores our unique relationship with music and discovers how technology might transform the way we engage with it in the future.
At the heart of the film is Biophilia, Björk's cutting-edge music project that explores where nature, music and technology meet. David Attenborough explains how music exists in the natural world and speaks about his own passion for music.
Author and professor of neurology and psychiatry Oliver Sacks explains the extraordinary and beneficial effects music has on our brains and explains why performing and engaging with music is something all of us should take more seriously.
The cliché of classic rock guitar is one of riffs, solos and noise. But write a list of great guitarists and their finest moments and a quieter, more intense playing comes to the fore. The acoustic guitar is the secret weapon in the armoury of the guitar hero, when paradoxically they get more attention by playing quietly than being loud.
This documentary takes an insightful and occasionally irreverent look at the love affair between rock and the humble acoustic guitar. Exploring a much less celebrated, yet crucial part of the rock musician's arsenal, contributors including Johnny Marr, Keith Richards, Ray Davies, James Dean Bradfield, Biffy Clyro, Joan Armatrading, Donovan and Roger McGuinn discuss why an instrument favoured by medieval minstrels and singing nuns is as important to rock 'n' roll as the drums, bass and its noisy sister, the electric guita
London is burning. German bombs are decimating British homes and the dead lie in heaps. But this Blitz has nothing to do with World War II.
This little-known story of a terror bombing campaign on the capital took place during the First World War.
For 18 months the carnage was delivered by a machine straight from the pages of science fiction.
The Zeppelin, the biggest flying machine ever to have existed, delivered a deadly payload straight to the heart of a nation and, for a time, there was nothing the British could do to stop them.
This new kind of terror campaign rewrote the rules of war. For the first time in history, innocent civilians were bombed in their homes in a ruthless attempt to break a nation's morale.
The first aerial bombing campaign in history is also the story of the engineering arms race between Germany and Britain.
Engineer Dr Hugh Hunt investigates the technical challenges that each side had to overcome in their war in the air.
Much of the detail about what happened a century ago has been lost to history, so there are plenty of outstanding engineering mysteries about the Zeppelin story for Hugh to get his teeth into: mysteries that can only be solved by doing practical experiments.
He attempts to find out why it was so difficult for British guns to bring down Zeppelins: a surprising problem given that the airships were filled with flammable hydrogen gas.
He tests genuine First World War Zepp-busting munitions and reverse engineers World War I bombs to find out exactly how these technologies worked.
The material that held the gas in a Zeppelin was made of cow gut, so Hugh runs a series of grisly experiments to find out how the Germans managed to turn narrow tubes of cow intestines into enormous balloons.
And he is amazed to learn that the special flaming bullet that helped end the reign of the Zeppelin was invented by his great uncle Jim.
Attack of the Zeppelins is an explosive mix of investigative engineering an
When the twin towers collapsed almost everyone underneath them was killed. But two men were trapped, buried alive, 30 feet deep, under the rubble pile. As fires raged around them, the official rescue effort had been suspended, and they thought they were going to die. Until they heard a voice shouting “US Marine Corps – can anybody hear me.” This man then climbed down and saved them. Incredibly he then disappeared without a trace. His identity remained a mystery…
Directed by British filmmaker Steve Humphries, for the first time 9/11: Lost Hero reveals the full and extraordinary true story of modest hero, Jason Thomas: a law student and former member of the US Marine Corps who after witnessing the attack on the first tower, put on his old uniform and drove 30 miles to Ground Zero to save lives. Not wanting any notoriety – or his wife finding out that he had risked his life – Jason vanished from the scene quickly after his heroic mission. It was only years later when he was watching TV when he saw a trailer for a Hollywood movie called World Trade Centre, did he realise his story had not gone unnoticed. Except for one crucial detail…the actor playing him was white – and Jason is black.
Intersecting remarkable unseen footage of Jason running towards the scene with the personal testimonies of those he saved, Steve Humphries’ latest documentary provides a new and in-depth insight in to one of 9/11’s most extraordinary rescues and the man that made it possible.
When the twin towers collapsed almost everyone underneath them was killed. But two men were trapped, buried alive, 30 feet deep, under the rubble pile. As fires raged around them, the official rescue effort had been suspended, and they thought they were going to die. Until they heard a voice shouting “US Marine Corps – can anybody hear me.” This man then climbed down and saved them. Incredibly he then disappeared without a trace. His identity remained a mystery…
Directed by British filmmaker Steve Humphries, for the first time 9/11: Lost Hero reveals the full and extraordinary true story of modest hero, Jason Thomas: a law student and former member of the US Marine Corps who after witnessing the attack on the first tower, put on his old uniform and drove 30 miles to Ground Zero to save lives. Not wanting any notoriety – or his wife finding out that he had risked his life – Jason vanished from the scene quickly after his heroic mission. It was only years later when he was watching TV when he saw a trailer for a Hollywood movie called World Trade Centre, did he realise his story had not gone unnoticed. Except for one crucial detail…the actor playing him was white – and Jason is black.
Intersecting remarkable unseen footage of Jason running towards the scene with the personal testimonies of those he saved, Steve Humphries’ latest documentary provides a new and in-depth insight in to one of 9/11’s most extraordinary rescues and the man that made it possible.
This film tells the real and terrifying story of British hostages trapped by Al Qaeda in an Algerian gas plant in January 2013. As the horrific events unfolded over four
days in the full glare of the world's media, the Algerian Special Forces stormed the site in an effort to end the crisis, leaving over 37 foreign hostages dead including
a number from Britain. This is the story from the perspective of those that lived through it: the hostages that survived and their families. The film combines interviews and research with dramatic reconstruction of key events during the four day siege, which was punctuated by gun battles and daring tales of escape and bravery. The film also raises many unanswered questions, such as how did a convoy of terrorists travel
to and gain control of the facility undetected? And who was ultimately responsible for the safety of its workers?
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/siege-in-the-sahara
Marcus Robinson has been filming, photographing and painting at the World Trade Center site since 2006. One of his specialties is time-lapse photography; with 13 35mm cameras permanently running, his material shows vast buildings grow to tower over the city in a single shot. This is a story of epic architecture and engineering, but it is also a film that gives a voice to the construction workers, from the site managers to those who dug the foundations and the legendary iron workers who assemble the steel frame of the buildings, walking across open girders hundreds of feet in the air.
The story of Wicca, from Dorset nudist colonies to witches casting spells to ward off Hitler, tabloid hysteria and appearances on Panorama
The extraordinary story of Britain's fastest-growing religious group - the modern pagan witchcraft of Wicca - and of its creator, an eccentric Englishman called Gerald Gardner.
Historian and leading expert in Pagan studies Professor Ronald Hutton explores Gardner's story and experiences first-hand Wicca's growing influence throughout Britain today.
Born of a nudist colony in 1930s Dorset, Wicca rapidly grew from a small New Forest coven to a worldwide religion in the space of just 70 years.
It's a journey that takes in tales of naked witches casting spells to ward off Hitler, tabloid hysteria about human sacrifices and Gerald Gardner himself appearing on Panorama.
Nelson famously signalled the Battle of Trafalgar with the words: 'England expects that every man will do his duty'. But of the 18,000 sailors fighting for King and Country, 1,400 were not British, with 25 different nationalities in all press-ganged into serving the British King. By analysing the records of warship HMS Bellerophon, this fresh and action-packed account of the famous day reveals their fascinating story.
Documentary evidence proves the Navy recruited hundreds of black sailors, many of them ex-slaves from the West Indies and America. For many, the Royal Navy was the world's first equal opportunities employer, offering freedom, equal pay, and the chance for life-changing promotion.
This film pays tribute to the diverse nationalities that sailed on 21 October 1805, united not by patriotism, but by a unique opportunity for performance-related pay. The Admiralty promised every man at Trafalgar - irrespective of race, creed or colour - a fair share of any captured enemy ships. If they defeated the entire Combined Fleet, even the humblest sailor might become the equivalent of a millionaire.
Between these brave foreigners and a potential fortune, stood the bloodiest battle in naval history, a great storm and the mortal danger of fire, drowning or shipwreck.
This film tells the real and terrifying story of British hostages trapped by Al Qaeda in an Algerian gas plant in January 2013.
As the horrific events unfolded over four days in the full glare of the world's media, Algerian Special Forces stormed the site in an effort to end the crisis, leaving over 37 foreign hostages dead including a number from Britain.
This is the story from the perspective of those that lived through it: the hostages that survived and their families. The film combines interviews and research with dramatic reconstruction of key events during the four day siege, which was punctuated by gun battles and daring tales of escape and bravery.
The film also raises many unanswered questions, such as how did a convoy of terrorists travel to and gain control of the facility undetected? And who was ultimately responsible for the safety of its workers?
In 1973, an album was released that against all odds and expectations went to the top of the UK charts. The fact the album launched a record label that became one of the most recognisable brand names in the world (Virgin), formed the soundtrack to one of the biggest movies of the decade (The Exorcist), became the biggest selling instrumental album of all time, would eventually go on to sell over 16 million copies and was performed almost single-handedly by a 19-year-old makes the story all the more incredible. That album was Tubular Bells, and the young and painfully shy musician was Mike Oldfield.
This documentary features contributions from Sir Richard Branson, Danny Boyle, Mike's family and the original engineers of the Tubular Bells album among others. The spine of the film is an extended interview with Mike himself, where he takes us through the events that led to him writing Tubular Bells - growing up with a mother with severe mental health problems; the refuge he sought in music as a child, with talent that led to him playing in folk clubs aged 12 and signing with his sister's folk group at only 15; his frightening experience of taking LSD at 16; and finally arriving at the Manor Recording Studios as a young session musician where he gave a demo tape to a recording engineer who passed it along to young entrepreneur Richard Branson.
After the album's huge success, Mike retreated to a Hereford hilltop, shunned public life and became a recluse until he took part in a controversial therapy which changed his life.
In 2012 Mike captured the public's imagination once again when he was asked to perform at the London Olympic Opening Ceremony, where Tubular Bells was the soundtrack to 20 minutes of the one-hour ceremony.
Filmed on location at his home recording studio in Nassau, Mike also plays the multiple instruments of Tubular Bells and shows how the groundbreaking piece of music was put together.
Three British porn obsessives visit LA, where they meet their favourite adult movie stars, but also witness the darker side of the porn industry
Mark Evans examines what it takes to win the Grand National, drawing on new technology and analysis of horse anatomy to reveal the biological basis of success.
In 1973, an album was released that against all odds and expectations went to the top of the UK charts. The fact the album launched a record label that became one of the most recognisable brand names in the world (Virgin), formed the soundtrack to one of the biggest movies of the decade (The Exorcist), became the biggest selling instrumental album of all time, would eventually go on to sell over 16 million copies and was performed almost single-handedly by a 19-year-old makes the story all the more incredible. That album was Tubular Bells, and the young and painfully shy musician was Mike Oldfield.
This documentary features contributions from Sir Richard Branson, Danny Boyle, Mike's family and the original engineers of the Tubular Bells album among others. The spine of the film is an extended interview with Mike himself, where he takes us through the events that led to him writing Tubular Bells - growing up with a mother with severe mental health problems; the refuge he sought in music as a child, with talent that led to him playing in folk clubs aged 12 and signing with his sister's folk group at only 15; his frightening experience of taking LSD at 16; and finally arriving at the Manor Recording Studios as a young session musician where he gave a demo tape to a recording engineer who passed it along to young entrepreneur Richard Branson.
After the album's huge success, Mike retreated to a Hereford hilltop, shunned public life and became a recluse until he took part in a controversial therapy which changed his life.
In 2012 Mike captured the public's imagination once again when he was asked to perform at the London Olympic Opening Ceremony, where Tubular Bells was the soundtrack to 20 minutes of the one-hour ceremony.
Filmed on location at his home recording studio in Nassau, Mike also plays the multiple instruments of Tubular Bells and shows how the groundbreaking piece of music was put together.
A passionate, exuberant exploration of the complex world of Female Genital Mutilation.
Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, is when a girl's genitals are either partially or totally removed for non-medical reasons.
This passionate and exuberant documentary explores the complex world of FGM, how it could be your neighbour, your colleague or the girl on the bus next to you who could be either at risk or suffering the consequences.
The Cruel Cut examines the cultural and societal pressures, and how it continues despite being illegal in the UK - there have been no prosecutions although it was made illegal in 1985.
The documentary follows Leyla's campaign as she and a group of survivors attempt to take their cause to the very top of the government.
Our lives have radically changed in the last 50 years and so have those of our dogs. Man's best friend is spending more and more time home alone.
Using hidden cameras and a ground-breaking new study from the world's leading dog scientists, this documentary reveals what our dogs get up to while we're out.
Footage from dozens of homes shows sleepy, active, howling and fretful dogs. Infrared cameras reveal what's happening inside Bruno the boxer/ Rottweiler cross's head, while a dog vocalisation expert analyses Max the Alsatian's howling to understand what he's trying to communicate.
Mark Evans, former chief vet at the RSPCA, investigates what it all means for the 21st-century dog owner. He discovers whether new technology allowing dogs to make phone calls and watch TV is the key to keeping our canine companions happy in the modern British home.
A passionate, exuberant exploration of the complex world of Female Genital Mutilation.
Female Genital Mutilation, or FGM, is when a girl's genitals are either partially or totally removed for non-medical reasons.
This passionate and exuberant documentary explores the complex world of FGM, how it could be your neighbour, your colleague or the girl on the bus next to you who could be either at risk or suffering the consequences.
The Cruel Cut examines the cultural and societal pressures, and how it continues despite being illegal in the UK - there have been no prosecutions although it was made illegal in 1985.
The documentary follows Leyla's campaign as she and a group of survivors attempt to take their cause to the very top of the government.
Psychopaths are a ruthless breed who lie, manipulate and sometimes murder with no hint of conscience of remorse. One per cent of the population are classified as psychopathic. There may be one in your office. There could be one on your street. They are all around us, often in positions of power. Psychopath Night unravels the mystery of this minority, with the help of leading experts. The programme goes inside the minds of psychopaths, finds out how to spot a psychopath, and meets real psychopathic killers. The programme also gets to know some familiar faces who are high on the psychopathic scale, including a star of the England football team. There's also a countdown of the top ten movie psychopaths, as selected by experts, including a real-life Clarice Starling who uses Hollywood movies to teach her FBI trainees about psychopaths and how to handle them. Psychopath Night reveals everything you ever wanted to know about psychopaths, and perhaps a few things you didn't.
In March 2011, a young British pilot David Simpson was arrested for mass murder in Africa. The terrifying ordeal that followed was the subject of international headlines for months.
In a documentary exclusive, True Stories tells the story of David Simpson’s African mis-adventure. Using exclusive material David shot while in jail and under house arrest, interviews with his family and employers, family archive and dramatic reconstruction, the film pieces together the mystery surrounding the massacre of 13 gold miners, and how a 24-year-old from Yorkshire ended up accused of their murder.
Jamie Oliver celebrates the lazy winter days at the end of the year. With Christmas over, this is the perfect time to kick back, spend some quality time with the family and friends, and cook up some amazing dishes.
Filmed at his Essex home, Jamie takes a walk through his perfect winter wind-down foods, including some stress-free, big hitting winter warmers like oozy cheesy pasta and simple one-pot wonders like bloody Mary beef.
Jamie also brings back some stand-out treats such as his breakfast waffles with epic hot chocolate and festive fiesta tacos.
And with New Year's Eve on the horizon, Jamie runs through his top ideas for party meals, from build-your-own posh pork kebabs to a Keralan fish curry.
Sarah Beeny and her family investigate how festive celebrations in Britain have changed in the past 200 years as they delve into the history of Georgian, Victorian, wartime and present-day conventions.
Sarah, husband Graham and their four children take on the challenge of harnessing the best bits of Christmas past as they don historical costumes and experience the reality of bygone festive frolics, finding out what the festive season meant both in their own stately home and across the country.
While making Georgian garlands and discovering the first ever Christmas card, the show explores some of the oldest festive traditions and their historical contexts.
Psychopaths are a ruthless breed who lie, manipulate and sometimes murder with no hint of conscience of remorse. One per cent of the population are classified as psychopathic. There may be one in your office. There could be one on your street. They are all around us, often in positions of power. Psychopath Night unravels the mystery of this minority, with the help of leading experts. The programme goes inside the minds of psychopaths, finds out how to spot a psychopath, and meets real psychopathic killers. The programme also gets to know some familiar faces who are high on the psychopathic scale, including a star of the England football team. There's also a countdown of the top ten movie psychopaths, as selected by experts, including a real-life Clarice Starling who uses Hollywood movies to teach her FBI trainees about psychopaths and how to handle them. Psychopath Night reveals everything you ever wanted to know about psychopaths, and perhaps a few things you didn't.
The Cuban Missile Crisis comprised the thirteen most dangerous days in the history of mankind. Blow by blow, through stunning high-quality archive, this landmark film takes us inside the war rooms as a stray U-2 spy plane, a drunken telegram and a trigger-happy general all put the world within minutes of a nuclear holocaust. Told through the characters of Kennedy, Castro & Krushchev, this is a tense thriller full of lessons for humanity, as we continue to grapple with the dangers of living in a nuclear world.
A powerful and moving feature-length drama-documentary telling the story of five major storms that battered the UK throughout 2012. Told by the people who survived them, it combines archive footage with dramatic reconstruction and satellite images, to piece together the life of the storms, how they were formed, what made them unique and the impact they had on our islands. Each of the storms in the programme carries a deadly threat, from hurricane force winds to ferocious seas, intense rainfall, Arctic temperatures and flash flooding. Intimate interviews with those who lived through the storms and those who lost loved ones reveal how the weather took on a volatile 'personality' in 2012, which made it such an erratic and deadly year The UK's position on our planet forms the battleground for cold and warm weather fronts to collide producing storms. No wonder the weather is a very British obsession. And it is a force that shouldn't be underestimated..
Jamie Oliver celebrates the lazy winter days at the end of the year. With Christmas over, this is the perfect time to kick back, spend some quality time with the family and friends, and cook up some amazing dishes.
Filmed at his Essex home, Jamie takes a walk through his perfect winter wind-down foods, including some stress-free, big hitting winter warmers like oozy cheesy pasta and simple one-pot wonders like bloody Mary beef.
Jamie also brings back some stand-out treats such as his breakfast waffles with epic hot chocolate and festive fiesta tacos.
And with New Year's Eve on the horizon, Jamie runs through his top ideas for party meals, from build-your-own posh pork kebabs to a Keralan fish curry.
In April 2010, in the small town of Enchanted Hills in Indiana, USA, 12-year-old Paul Gingerich helped his friend, 15-year-old Colt Lundy, shoot and kill Colt's stepfather.
The shocking murder of Phillip Danner was carried out by two middle-class boys with no prior criminal records. The story has gripped and baffled America.
With unprecedented access to both boys, their families, and the ongoing court case, this True Stories film offers an extraordinary insight into the crime and its aftermath, as the key players give poignant and candid interviews telling their side of the story.
After plotting the crime in the local playground after school, Paul and Colt shot Phillip multiple times, with his own guns. They then stole his car, fled the scene and were picked up by the police 200 miles away. To date, there is no known motive for the crime.
In spite of their ages, both Paul and Colt were tried and sentenced as adults, and were each sentenced to serve 30 years. At 12, Paul is one of the youngest children in American history to be waived to adult court.
Colt was sent straight to maximum security adult prison and will be transferred to the adult wing when he turns 18.
Paul's family launched an appeal for him to be retried as a juvenile, meaning he could avoid being sent to adult prison and remain in a juvenile facility.
Chopin's Ballade Number One is an extraordinary piece of piano music. This moving film tells the story of how the Ballade has transformed the lives of two young pianists.
Chopin's Ballade Number 1 is less than 10 minutes long but has become one of the most iconic and influential pieces in piano repertoire. It is considered extremely challenging, demanding extraordinary feats of dexterity, control, speed, memory and power. It's also an internet sensation with more than 2000 versions on YouTube alone. One by the legendary Vladimir Horowitz has received over 3.5 million hits.
Before this programme, pianist James Rhodes discusses memory techniques and the enduring appeal of classical music with Benedict Cumberbatch. Afterwards, Rhodes and Derren Brown talk about performance nerves and learning to play the piano.
This hour-long documentary, directed by BAFTA and Emmy award-winning director James Kent, meets Japanese teenager Momoka and Scottish music student Paul Murray to explore how Chopin’s extraordinary Ballade Number 1 transforms the lives of ordinary people and illustrates how classical music still penetrates contemporary life in unexpected and powerful ways.
It introduces Momoka, a 15-year-old pianist from Sendai, Japan, whose community was decimated by the 2011 tsunami and earthquakes. For Momoka, the Ballade embodies the anguish and rebellion she feels but doesn’t allow to surface.
For 22-year-old Paul from Glasgow, the piece is life-changing. Paul grew up in Bellshill, a poor, working class suburb of Glasgow. He first played piano at 15, and it opened up a whole new world for him. During his first term at uni Paul was diagnosed with a brain tumour and then MS, which both eventually caused him to lose the ability to walk and to play with his right hand. Waiting in his hospital bed in between operations over three months, he played the Ballade again and again on the iPod his dad Stephen had given him. It was that single piece’s emotional pul
Documentary offering an intimate glimpse into the life of legendary actor Leslie Phillips, whose 75-year career has covered every medium and even embraced Twitter
A look back at the rise and fall of anarchic 80s television music show The Tube as former presenters, performers and fans raid the programme's archives.
Hawking is the extraordinary story of the planet's most famous living scientist, told for the first time in his own words and by those closest to him. Made with unique access to Hawking's private life, this is an intimate and moving journey into Stephen's world, both past and present. An inspirational portrait of an iconic figure, Hawking relates his incredible personal journey from boyhood under-achiever, to PhD genius, to being diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease and given just two years to live. Despite the constant threat of death, Hawking manages to make many remarkable scientific discoveries and rises to fame and super-stardom. Hawking - a remarkable man, and a remarkable movie.
The discovery of China's Terracotta Army in 1974 revealed just a fraction of this extraordinary treasure. This documentary has exclusive access to the latest discoveries.
How to Be a Billionaire meets some of the world's wealthiest and most successful individuals, finding out about their lives, their lifestyle, their dreams for the future and how they have achieved their success.
They also reveal the revolutionary new projects they are now devoting their time and resources to.
Today, ultra-wealthy individuals are funding projects that range from the search for immortality to scoping out exciting new pastures to mine, including the moon.
The documentary features the people behind these projects, including Russian businessman Dmitry Itskov, who is driving a worldwide project in the search for immortality, Indian entrepreneur Naveen Jain, who runs his own space programme, and British social media entrepreneur Michael Birch.
Chopin's Ballade Number One is an extraordinary piece of piano music. This moving film tells the story of how the Ballade has transformed the lives of two young pianists.
Chopin's Ballade Number 1 is less than 10 minutes long but has become one of the most iconic and influential pieces in piano repertoire. It is considered extremely challenging, demanding extraordinary feats of dexterity, control, speed, memory and power. It's also an internet sensation with more than 2000 versions on YouTube alone. One by the legendary Vladimir Horowitz has received over 3.5 million hits.
Before this programme, pianist James Rhodes discusses memory techniques and the enduring appeal of classical music with Benedict Cumberbatch. Afterwards, Rhodes and Derren Brown talk about performance nerves and learning to play the piano.
This hour-long documentary, directed by BAFTA and Emmy award-winning director James Kent, meets Japanese teenager Momoka and Scottish music student Paul Murray to explore how Chopin’s extraordinary Ballade Number 1 transforms the lives of ordinary people and illustrates how classical music still penetrates contemporary life in unexpected and powerful ways.
It introduces Momoka, a 15-year-old pianist from Sendai, Japan, whose community was decimated by the 2011 tsunami and earthquakes. For Momoka, the Ballade embodies the anguish and rebellion she feels but doesn’t allow to surface.
For 22-year-old Paul from Glasgow, the piece is life-changing. Paul grew up in Bellshill, a poor, working class suburb of Glasgow. He first played piano at 15, and it opened up a whole new world for him. During his first term at uni Paul was diagnosed with a brain tumour and then MS, which both eventually caused him to lose the ability to walk and to play with his right hand. Waiting in his hospital bed in between operations over three months, he played the Ballade again and again on the iPod his dad Stephen had given him. It was that single piece’s emotional pul
Documentary offering an intimate glimpse into the life of legendary actor Leslie Phillips, whose 75-year career has covered every medium and even embraced Twitter
A look back at the rise and fall of anarchic 80s television music show The Tube as former presenters, performers and fans raid the programme's archives.
Hawking is the extraordinary story of the planet's most famous living scientist, told for the first time in his own words and by those closest to him. Made with unique access to Hawking's private life, this is an intimate and moving journey into Stephen's world, both past and present. An inspirational portrait of an iconic figure, Hawking relates his incredible personal journey from boyhood under-achiever, to PhD genius, to being diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease and given just two years to live. Despite the constant threat of death, Hawking manages to make many remarkable scientific discoveries and rises to fame and super-stardom. Hawking - a remarkable man, and a remarkable movie.
The discovery of China's Terracotta Army in 1974 revealed just a fraction of this extraordinary treasure. This documentary has exclusive access to the latest discoveries.
Why Am I Still Single – where two 30 somethings swap lives to work out why they are both on their own.
Meet the fans who are dedicated to One Direction. With extreme communication on Twitter, and fantasies of secret relationships between band members, are we entering a new phase of idolatry?
Feature-length 'What-If' drama exploring the effects of a devastating cyber-attack on Britain's national electricity grid
How to Be a Billionaire meets some of the world's wealthiest and most successful individuals, finding out about their lives, their lifestyle, their dreams for the future and how they have achieved their success.
They also reveal the revolutionary new projects they are now devoting their time and resources to.
Today, ultra-wealthy individuals are funding projects that range from the search for immortality to scoping out exciting new pastures to mine, including the moon.
The documentary features the people behind these projects, including Russian businessman Dmitry Itskov, who is driving a worldwide project in the search for immortality, Indian entrepreneur Naveen Jain, who runs his own space programme, and British social media entrepreneur Michael Birch.
