• 36
    watchers
  • 89
    plays
  • 112
    collected
  • 2020-12-03T21:00:00Z on BBC Two
  • 42m
  • 2h 6m (3 episodes)
  • United Kingdom
  • English
  • Documentary
Andrew Marr looks back at the extraordinary change of the Queen's reign, selecting a diverse and fascinating range of ‘New Elizabethans' who helped shape the nation we have become.

3 episodes

Series Premiere

2020-12-03T21:00:00Z

1x01 Building a New Society

Series Premiere

1x01 Building a New Society

  • 2020-12-03T21:00:00Z42m

Andrew Marr examines the way in which Britain went from a rigid, class-obsessed society in the 1950s toward a more liberal, inclusive, egalitarian society in the latter part of the Queen's reign.

2020-12-10T21:00:00Z

1x02 A Brave New World

1x02 A Brave New World

  • 2020-12-10T21:00:00Z42m

The second programme in the series looks at the way in which a colourful collection of New Elizabethans have sought to come to terms with Britain’s decline as a world power since 1952, to project British values and influence abroad, and to ensure Britain’s ongoing relevance at a time when so much seems to be slipping away. How have we coped with the loss of empire, American cultural and political hegemony, and the rise of a consolidated European superstate? These are issues that the British have wrestled with since the Queen ascended the throne in 1952, and which continue to divide and occupy us to this day.

Season Finale

2020-12-17T21:00:00Z

1x03 Made in Britain

Season Finale

1x03 Made in Britain

  • 2020-12-17T21:00:00Z42m

In the final episode, Andrew looks at one of the greatest challenges faced by modern Elizabethans: the loss of Britain’s manufacturing heartlands and the surprising impact it has had on the state of the nation. To tell this story, he selects a rich cast of characters who have – in his estimation – responded to the challenges and found ingenious ways of adapting to the changing industrial landscape.

When the Queen ascended the throne in 1952, the country she inherited could still be defined by its manufacturing bases: Sheffield steel, Cornish tin, Welsh coal and Clyde-built ships. Britain in 1952 was, after all, still one of the workshops of the world, if no longer the primary one. Manufacturing accounted for a third of everything that Britain produced, and employed around four in ten of all British workers. Britain turned out a quarter of the entire world's manufacturing exports. But over the next 40 years, all that would change.

Loading...