Documentary
Lucy Worsley, chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, explores how the physical and mental health of our past monarchs has shaped the history of the nation.


Lucy looks back to the monarchs who were reigning in the Tudor and Stuart dynasties.

Lucy takes a look at the medical histories of the later Stuarts, from the exile of James II and the succession of William and Mary to the beginnning of a new dynasty, the Hanoverians.

Lucy concludes her investigation into the medical histories of the royal family by taking a look at Queen Victoria and her descendants.

Self - Presenter

In this four-part documentary series, leading Hollywood actors undertake a fascinating journey into their family's past by re-tracing the footsteps of their grandparents during World War Two. We follow the moving, personal stories of Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Carey Mulligan as they travel to historic locations, from the beaches of Dunkirk to prisoner of war camps in Asia, to learn about the war their grandparents experienced. All of the actors have unanswered questions about the scars war left on their grandparents, and in each episode one of the actors explore how six years changed the lives of their family and the world forever while learning about the life and death decisions that their grandparents faced.

Seven Ages of Britain is a BBC television documentary series which is written and presented by David Dimbleby. The seven part series was first aired on Sunday nights at 9:00pm on BBC One starting on 31 January 2010. The series covers the history of Britain's greatest art and artefacts over the past 2000 years. Each episode covers a different period in British history. In Australia, all seven episodes aired on ABC1 each Tuesday at 8:30pm from 7 September 2010.

Dr Clare Jackson tells the story of The Stuarts in Exile and sheds new light on the political, military and cultural threat the Jacobite's posed to the embryonic British state. Although the '15' ultimately failed, it crystallised the stark choice facing those living in early 18th-century Britain. Are you for the Stuarts or are you for Hanoverian's?

In four chapters, largely based on and illustrated with archaeological finds and sites, Neil Oliver explains how, as far as is known, the Iron Age Celtic tribes known as the Ancient Britains evolved and entered European civilization. Their internecine tribal phase was warlike and partitioned. Overseas contacts, especially metal trade, brought wealth and progress. Ultimately, it attracted the superior Roman empire, which would conquer and pacify Britain into a province, like Gaul shortly before, but Caesar's invasion wasn't the definitive annexation yet, that was left to emperor Claudius; even afterward some Celtic traits and even rebellions remained.

On the edge of London stands Hampton Court, one of Britain's biggest palaces and most popular tourist spots, attracting almost a million visitors every year. Spanning 750 acres of grounds, it boasts 1,300 rooms and 23 courtyards...along with a host of secrets and historic stories. This two-part special provides an exclusive and intimate look at life inside the court today for the people keeping Henry VIII's world alive in the modern age, and also explores what life was like in the palace where the private world of the Tudors began.

Dr Xand Van Tulleken and Raksha Dave investigate the Great Smog of 1952 - the deadliest environmental disaster ever recorded and one of the world's worst peacetime catastrophes. Lasting just over four days, the Great Smog plunged London into a terrifyingly murky gloom - the acrid pollution seeping into homes, leaving Londoners gasping for breath, shutting down transport and emergency services, and overwhelming hospitals and undertakers alike.