People Who Made History
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Rise of Cleopatra
In this film three leading Egyptologists explore how Cleopatra became one of the most influential and powerful women of the ancient world.
We trace how Cleopatra's learning and intelligence enabled her to gain control of her own Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt; skilfully and ruthlessly overcoming her...
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The Polish Pilots Who Fought for Britain
In the summer of 1940 Britain fought a battle for survival against the might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. This Battle of Britain would see German air attacks on British airfields, cities, factories and docks. Brave RAF pilots intercepted these raids, but Britain was not alone. Among the RAF and Allied ...
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Captain Cook's Endeavour
Captain James Cook is one of the greatest maritime navigators in history. Born in 1728 to a Scottish father and English mother, Cook grew up in Yorkshire and soon developed a great fascination with the sea and exploration. In 1746 Cook joined the merchant shipping industry when he moved to the ne...
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Henry VIII on Film - Not Just the Tudors... Lates
Few British monarchs loom as large in the public imagination as King Henry VIII. Straddling the line between man and myth, he is best known for his infamous six marriages and his penchant for beheadings. But where does fiction meet fact? In cinema and on television, he has been portrayed by a hos...
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The Rise of Hitler
Professor Frank McDonough has just written a monumental history of the Third Reich. He is a world leading expert on the domestic side of Hitler's Germany. In this filmed podcast Dan asks Frank why and how Hitler was able to establish and sustain his rule within Germany.
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Pinches of Salt and Gold: Uncovering Mansa Musa's Story
Documentary telling the story of Mansa Musa, the famous 14th century ruler of Mali, renowned for his great wealth. Featuring Professor Amira Bennison, Boubacar Diallo, Hadrien Collet, Mauro Nobili and Madina Thiam.
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Hatshepsut: She Who Would Be King
Hatshepsut – whose name means “foremost of noblewomen” – was an exceptional figure in the history of Ancient Egypt. Only the second woman in history to assume the title of pharaoh, during her reign she oversaw the building of monumental temples, established trade connections with far away African...
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The Real Richard III
1 season
Who is Richard III? This notorious King of England reigned for only two years, but left quite a mark! Is he an unsung hero of the medieval world or a cruel, manipulative child murderer?
Join Matt Lewis to forensically dissect the evidence for and against this so-called villain. From childhood t...
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Einstein and Hawking: Masters of Our Universe
1 season
In the early 1900s, Albert Einstein developed an idea - called Relativity - that changed our understanding of reality. It explained how both space and time were flexible - and how the Universe was made of a four-dimensional fabric called space-time. This single idea gave us a new way to understan...
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Elizabeth I and II: The Golden Queens
1 season
Both were massively powerful and history-defining women. Both courted controversy as they devotedly ruled over a nation. But what similarities exist between Queen Elizabeth I and II? In this fascinating royal documentary, two of Britain's greatest monarchs are profiled, revealing what unites or d...
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Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace with Lucy Worsley
BAFTA winning historian and Joint Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley takes Dan on a tour of Kensington Palace, one of the principle royal residences since 1689. It was the childhood home of Queen Victoria who was born on the 24 May 1819. The rooms of the royal residence are bein...
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Rise of Caesar
Julius Caesar lived a dramatic life filled with battles, conspiracies and unparalleled ambition. He sits amongst the greatest military leaders of all time but what made him cross the Rubicon and march on his own city, Rome? This documentary reveals the truth behind the legend.
Historians Adrian...
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The Road to the Crown - Elizabeth I's Coronation Procession
On January 14th 1559 one of the most extraordinary royal parades of Tudor England made its way through the heart of London. It was the Coronation Procession of Queen Elizabeth I.
In this special History Hit film, made to coincide with the coronation of King Charles III, royal historian Tracy B...
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A Nation Soars: Commemorating Canada's Great War Flyers
1 season
This three-part series narrated by Dan Aykroyd explores how aviation changed the course of the First World War, including its vital part in Canada's nation-defining victory at Vimy Ridge. A Nation Soars offers a fascinating and refreshing look at Canada's part in the Great War.
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Revolutionary Russia
1 season
For three hundred years Russia was ruled by one family - the Romanovs.
But in just six short years, from 1916 to 1922 that all came crashing down as the country was transformed by a small band of dedicated Revolutionaries - The Communists - in a series of events that would shock and appall the ...
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Britain's Wild West: Discovering Hay Castle
The peaceful South Wales town of Hay-on-Wye offers few clues today of its brutal past on a violent frontier. A monument to this history can be found in Hay Castle. Once right on the border between England and Wales, it sits in a region densely packed with castles that saw border skirmishes and bi...
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Alexander the Great in Egypt
History Hit's Tristan Hughes travels to Egypt to explore its extraordinary links to one of the most famous names from antiquity, Alexander the Great. Of all the lands in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is Egypt that has the most fascinating - and enduring - connection to this ancient conqueror.
I...
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The Roman Emperors: With Mary Beard
Classicist and national treasure Mary Beard speaks to Dan about Ancient Rome and its emperors.
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Rebels: Owain Glyndŵr
In the second part of his new series, conflict analyst Professor Michael Livingston is continuing his journey across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom on the trail of some of Britain’s best known rebels.
In this episode Michael is heading to Wales to discover the astonishing story of ...
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The House of Byron
Emily Brand has written a brilliant book about the Byrons. Not just the great romantic, poet and adventurer, George Gordon Byron, but his parents and grandparents who are equally as deserving of our attention. Dan loved this opportunity to delve into 18th century British life. There are admirals,...