Celebrities
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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...
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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...
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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 ...
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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?
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Tony Blair on Political Power
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was also the longest serving Labour Prime Minister, spoke to Dan about the nature of political power - within party politics, government policy and Britain's role in the world stage. He also discusses the major challenges Britain faces in a changing world ...
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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...
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The Seven Deadly Sins: With Stephen Fry
Actor, writer and legendary broadcaster Stephen Fry joins Dan to talk about the 7 Deadly Sins.
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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 ...
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The Road to Rome
The Roman Empire was one of the greatest in history. At its height it stretched from northern Britain to the Persian Gulf, its might epitomised by the effectiveness of its core military unit: the Roman legion. The aqueduct, sanitation, irrigation, medicine, education, wine, public baths – all thi...
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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...
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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...
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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.
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Sam Mendes on 1917
1917 is a new film directed by Golden Globe winning film maker Sir Sam Mendes. Set in early 1917, at the height of the First World War on the Western Front, Mendes uses the backdrop of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line as the stage for telling a story inspired by the memories of Alfred Me...
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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...
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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.
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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...
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Georgian Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll: Unbuttoning Bridgerton
1 season
The fabulous wealthy elite of Bridgerton look perfectly preened, their teeth, hair, make up, even their sex scenes are all filled with opulent glamour! But in reality a lot of people in Georgian society, including the wealthy, were dealing with a myriad of issues, from syphilis, teeth decay, secr...
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Ada Lovelace: Computing Pioneer
Regarded by many as the world's first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace was also the first to envision a world where computers could be used for more than just number crunching. She saw in them the potential to not just solve problems, but create new ideas and even produce music and poetry as we ...
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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...
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Mary, Queen of Scots - Not Just the Tudors... Lates
Mary’s biography is enormously dramatic, packed with romance, betrayal, imprisonment and violence. Unsurprisingly, it has proved irresistible to film-makers, recreating a time when two queens vied for power - Mary in Scotland and Elizabeth I in England. Their relationship was blighted with mistr...
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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...
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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...
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Shackleton: The Story of Endurance
Part 1 of 3.
Explorers called it the 'Great White Silence', an inhospitable continent of rock, ice and snow on which no human has stepped until just over 100 years ago. Girdled by an ocean packed with shifting ice and beyond that, the roughest oceans on the planet with waves as tall as apartment...