Ancient Invisible Cities
Explores the hidden secrets of three of the most fascinating cities of the ancient world: Cairo, Athens and Istanbul. 3D scans allow us to view the architectural jewels of these cities as they've never been seen before.
Casts & Crew
Darius Arya
Michael Scott
Also Directed by Colin Murray
The Royal Bank of Scotland was once a famous Scottish institution; a bank with a reputation for prudence. But in October 2008, less than a decade after Fred Goodwin took over as chief executive, it came within hours of collapsing. RBS later posted the biggest loss in UK corporate history - 24 billion pounds - which damaged the bank's reputation for financial prudence and Scotland's image as a global financial centre. Using previously unbroadcast footage of the bank's top executives and interviews with bank insiders, this documentary tells the compelling story of a national catastrophe.
Writer Andrew O'Hagan asks what made Robert Burns one of the world's favourite poets, as Scotland celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of its most famous sons. He travels through the landscape of modern Scotland in a poetic journey to the places that inspired Burns and to discover the story of his wild and dramatic life.
Andrew Graham-Dixon investigates the story of the 20th century's greatest art forger, Han van Meegeren, who made millions during World War II selling fake Vermeers in Nazi-occupied Holland.
With Trident renewed for another generation, A Very British Deterrent tells the story of the remarkable events, eye-watering costs, power relationships and secret deals done half a century ago to secure Britain's very first submarine-launched nuclear missiles.
Also Directed by Andrew Thompson
Short-listed as one of the 15 best documentaries of the year, Mugabe And The White African is the story of one family's astonishing bravery as they fight to protect their property, their livelihood and their country. Mike Campbell is one of the few white farmers left in Zimbabwe since its leader, Robert Mugabe, enacted his disastrous land redistribution program. Once the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe has since spiraled into chaos, the economy decimated as farms given to Mugabe cronies are run into ruin. After enduring years of intimidation and threats, Campbell decides to take action. Unable to call upon help from his country's authorities, he challenges Mugabe before an international court.
Also Directed by Renny Bartlett
A glimpse at the life of legendary Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein.
Isaac Newton - brilliant rational mathematician or master of the occult? This innovative biography reveals Newton as both a hermit and a tyrant, a heretic and an alchemist. Magical images mix with actors and experts to bring alive Britain's greatest scientific genius in his own words.
Documentary about the sinking of the Britannic during the First World War, examining how she ultimately came to suffer the same fate as her sister ship, the Titanic. The Titanic sank in April 1912, and her sister ship, the Britannic, ultimately suffered the fate, sinking in 1916 due to an explosion caused by an underwater mine. In the wake of the Titanic disaster, Britannic was re-engineered to be even stronger. And yet she sank in just 55 minutes - three times faster than Titanic. It's one of Britain's greatest untold disaster stories. Now on the 100th anniversary, presenters Kate Humble and Andy Torbet piece together exactly what happened in those 55 minutes. While Andy makes a dangerous dive to the wreck, Kate speaks to descendants of the survivors. The characters she uncovers include Violet 'Miss Unsinkable' Jessops, who survived both Titanic and Britannic, Captain 'Iceberg Charlie' Bartlett and lookout Archie Jewell, who miraculously survived while those around him died.
Michael Scott takes us on an extraordinary journey to uncover the hidden and invisible treasures of Istanbul.
A dramatisation based on the exchange of letters between Mary Queen of Scots and her cousin Elizabeth I, detailing the hatred and obsession in their bitter rivalry. Expert historians examine and interpret the royals' motives for the animosity that lasted more than two decades, and which threatened to tear apart the reigning monarch and her kingdom
Russia, 1917. After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II Romanov, the struggle for power confronts allies, enemies, factions and ideas; a ruthless battle between democracy and authoritarianism that will end with the takeover of the government by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.
The explosion at Chernobyl was ten times worse than the Hiroshima bomb and was due to a combination of human error and imperfect technology. An account of the sixty critical minutes prior to the explosion of the nuclear power plant on the night of April 26, 1986.