Documentary
Sir David Jason explores his favourite great British inventions and discovers how and why they were first thought up


Sir David looks at the British inventors who played a vital part in the wheel's evolution, from the Penny Farthing to the Stephenson Rocket. And he drives down memory lane in a Reliant Regal Supervan.

Sir David hears about Sir George Cayley and Percy Pilcher as he looks at the British inventors who played a part in the evolution of flight.

Sir David gets behind the controls of a tank as he finds out about the British inventors who gave us some of the most extreme machines on the planet.

Sir David finds out about the invention of the incandescent light bulb as he learns about the British innovations that have transformed our homes.

Self - Presenter

Climate change is real. It’s happening now. Big policy, implemented properly and urgently, is needed to change our world … but some people are quietly doing amazing things to make our island a better place. Heated tells their stories. Heated is a new 6-part series on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player dealing with climate change.

Every time we switch on a light or boil a kettle we rely on power - but most people don't stop to think about the inventions and discoveries that allow us to live the way we do. In an exciting new four-part series for BBC Two, The Genius of Invention reveals the fascinating chain of events behind inventions that make everyday life possible.

In the series, "Wallace will take a light hearted and humorous look at the real-life inventors, contraptions, gadgets and inventions, with the silent help of Gromit. The series aims to inspire a whole new generation of innovative minds by showing them real, but mind-boggling, machines and inventions from around the world that have influenced his illustrious inventing career" (the BBC press statement). Peter Sallis reprised his role as the voice of Wallace. The filmed inserts are mostly narrated by Ashley Jensen, with one in each episode presented in-vision by Jem Stansfield. John Sparkes also voices a portion in the unseen character of archivist Goronwy.

HISTORY’s longest-running series moves to H2. Modern Marvels celebrates the ingenuity, invention and imagination found in the world around us. From commonplace items like ink and coffee to architectural masterpieces and engineering disasters, the hit series goes beyond the basics to provide insight and history into things we wonder about and that impact our lives. This series tells fascinating stories of the doers, the dreamers and sometime-schemers that create everyday items, technological breakthroughs and manmade wonders. The hit series goes deep to explore the leading edge of human inspiration and ambition.

The Secret Life of Machines is an educational television series presented by Tim Hunkin and Rex Garrod, in which the two explain the inner workings and history of common household and office machinery. According to Hunkin, the show's creator, the programme was developed from his comic strip The Rudiments of Wisdom, which he researched and drew for the Observer newspaper over a period of 14 years. Three separate groupings of the broadcast were produced and originally shown between 1988 and 1993 on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom, with the production subsequently airing on The Learning Channel and the Discovery Channel.
Follow Matt Hunter and Jeremy MacPherson as they dig up original patent designs from history’s lost inventions and build them, test them, and try to make them work. From a snow annihilator from the 1930s to a Chinese dragon rocket over 600 years old to a solar powered crematorium, Matt and Jeremy take us through the strange and entertaining world of invention.