-
Dynasties: Families that Changed the World
1 season
This documentary explores powerful families in different spheres of influence that have had an impact either directly or indirectly on the lives of others. How and why did they attain and maintain these positions over generations?
-
Philip: Prince, Husband, Father
When he died just weeks before his 100th birthday, the country celebrated Prince Philip's devotion to duty and to the Queen as friends and family paid tribute to his many accomplishments.
But, as the Queen also said, Prince Philip didn’t “take easily to compliments.’ This film, as far as possib...
-
Gwrych Castle: Catastrophe to Celebrity
Over November and December 2020, Gwrych Castle in North Wales is to become the most famous castle in the UK. It is in this castle that I'm a Celebrity is being filmed. But there is so much more to Gwrych than simply hosting the 20th series of I'm a Celebrity. The Castle's history is fascinating, ...
-
History Under the Hammer: Lost Mark I Blueprints
Auctioneer Paul Laidlaw provides a tour of Laidlaw's Militaria collection in Carlisle, which is home to the only known surviving blueprint of the British Mark I Tank.
-
Queens on Screen: Victims, Villains, or Rebels?
Join Amy and Johanna as they delve into the world of cinematic queens. Examining how Mary Queen of Scots and Christina of Sweden are portrayed in film, Johanna and Amy will explore how these depictions affect modern popular perceptions of these royal women. Perhaps the most tense early modern rel...
-
Unruly: A History of England's Kings and Queens with David Mitchell
Who was the worst King and Queen of England? What made a King or Queen successful?
To coincide with the US release of his new book, 'Unruly: A History of England's King and Queens', comedian and author David Mitchell, sits down with historian Dan Snow to explore how England's monarchs, while act...
-
Band of Brothers Scene Reviews: With John Orloff
Screenwriter John Orloff, who wrote Episode 2 ("Day of Days") and 9 ("Why We Fight") of the hit TV series Band of Brothers on HBO, reviews some of his favourite scenes from the series.
From Lt. Speirs' valiant run across enemy lines and back, to Easy Company's discovery of a satellite concentrat...
-
Ray Mears, The Bow: The History of Archery
1 season
The oldest known evidence of the use of the bow comes from South Africa, where microliths, believed to be arrowheads dating from around 70,000 years ago, have been found.
Evidence of humans' use of the bow can be found all over the world, from cave art in Algeria that shows a man shooting a slig...
-
Endurance: Rediscovered
It was one of the last great lost shipwrecks of history - Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance. But now, incredibly, it has been rediscovered - over a century after it sank beneath the ice in freezing Antarctic waters.
Organised by the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, the expedition to locate the...
-
Buffalo Bill: The Man Behind the Legend
Buffalo Bill was America’s first celebrity… and the most famous man in the world at the turn of the 20th century.
He was a former scout, soldier, Buffalo hunter…but what he’s most known for of course, is his showmanship. He vied with PT Barnum for the title of greatest showman on earth.
At the ...
-
Great Excavations! Digging Charles Dickens' Workhouse with Sir Tony Robinson
Sir Tony Robinson comes to History Hit to present a special film about a remarkable excavation in central London, the workhouse that inspired Charles Dickens to write his famous novel, “Oliver Twist”.
In the middle of the capital, archaeologists are digging deep to find out more about the lives ...
-
The Real Peaky Blinders
19th century Birmingham was famous for its industrial might, but particular parts of it were also renowned for a more infamous reason: its gangs. Dan headed up to Birmingham to meet bestselling author and celebrity local historian Carl Chinn to learn the true history behind Birmingham's most noto...
-
The Incredible Story of William J. Bankes - Adventurer, Collector, Spy
Tristan Hughes follows in the adventurous footsteps of William John Bankes. From the deserts of Egypt to the elaborate interiors of Kingston Lacy, he explores the incredible achievements of this 19th century daredevil.
Bankes was the Georgian Indiana Jones - an adventurer, collector and spy, cha...
-
Emmeline Pankhurst: The Making of a Militant
This documentary takes a rare look at Emmeline Pankhurst’s personal story.
Emmeline Pankhurst led an army of women onto the streets of Britain – the likes of which has never been seen before or since. Fearsome, fearless and ready to fight to the death for her political beliefs she is remembered a... -
A Very Animated Cold War
From 1945 to 1989, after the capitulation of Nazi Germany, two rival ideologies, communism and capitalism, faced each other in a merciless battle.
On one side of the Iron Curtain and on the other, throughout the Cold War, the USSR and the United States sought to shape children’s imaginations thr...
-
They Shall Not Grow Old: In Conversation with Peter Jackson
They Shall Not Grow Old is a remarkable new documentary made by Peter Jackson. The Oscar-winning director has restored and colourised World War One footage from the Imperial War Museum, adding a soundtrack with original audio and transforming the entire project into 3D. In doing so, he has create...
-
Alan Turing: The Pride of Manchester
A special film exploring the life and legacy of Alan Turing - genius pioneer of modern computing. With Alan's nephew Sir Dermot Turing and exclusive access to unseen family records, we investigate lesser known aspects of his incredible work. This story is rooted in the City of Manchester, home t...
-
Art Detective at Harry Potter: A History of Magic
Janina Ramirez escapes to a world of magic as she gets a special tour of the new Harry Potter exhibiton at the British Library.
-
Horrible Histories with Terry Deary
Terry Deary, one of the most effective communicators of history ever, spoke to Dan about how Horrible Histories came about, his remarkable publishing career and what sparked his interest in the past.
-
Ancient Britain: With Ray Mears
1 season
Britain is an island where history is well and truly part of the landscape and an island where human feet have walked for a million years. We are constantly making groundbreaking archaeological discoveries that are helping us to better understand the way in which our distant ancestors lived.
Joi...
-
The Pursuit of Endurance: On the Shoulders of Shackleton
In the heart of the Antarctic, nine adventurers are about to live an extraordinary story. They come from very different backgrounds, but one thing brings them together: a passion for adventure and testing the limits.
Their goal: to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest legends of the go...
-
Dinner With Dickens
‘Heaped up on the floor, to form a kind of throne, were turkeys, geese, game, poultry, brawn, great joints of meat, sucking-pigs, long wreaths of sausages, mince-pies, plum-puddings, barrels of oysters, red-hot chestnuts, cherry-cheeked apples, juicy oranges, luscious pears, immense twelfth-cakes...
-
The Peaky Blinders: A History
Who were the real Peaky Blinders? Did they really exist? Carl Chinn reveals the true story of the notorious gangs that roamed Birmingham's streets during the city's industrial heyday.