The BEST episodes of BBC Documentaries season 2024
Every episode of BBC Documentaries season 2024, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of BBC Documentaries season 2024!
Documentaries produced by or for the BBC.
#1 - Hunt for the Oldest DNA
Season 2024 - Episode 198 - Aired 12/11/2024
For decades, scientists have tried to unlock the secrets of ancient DNA. But life’s genetic blueprint is incredibly fragile, and researchers have struggled to find genetic material in fossils that has survived for millions of years. Then, one maverick scientist had the controversial idea of looking for DNA not in fossils or frozen ancient tissue – but in the soil. This film follows the scientists deciphering the oldest DNA ever found and revealing for the first time the genes of long-extinct creatures that once thrived in warm, lush Arctic landscapes.
#2 - Bombing Brighton: The Plot To Kill Thatcher
Season 2024 - Episode 156 - Aired 10/8/2024
A look at the Brighton bombing of 1984, featuring a revealing, in-depth interview with Patrick McGee and new testimony from many of those affected.
#3 - Mary Beard Remembers... Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit
Season 2024 - Episode 176 - Aired 11/11/2024
Professor Mary Beard is known for her explorations of the ancient world, but here looks back on her more recent past, and the making of her acclaimed four-part 2016 series Ultimate Rome.
#4 - Edward Mirzoeff Remembers... 40 Minutes
Season 2024 - Episode 152 - Aired 10/6/2024
Edward Mirzoeff looks back on his time at the helm of one of the most innovative and exciting strands of documentary film-making ever to appear on British television.
#5 - Lena Zavaroni: The Forgotten Child Star
Season 2024 - Episode 153 - Aired 10/6/2024
A powerful story of a singing sensation, soon better known as Britain’s first high-profile anorexic. A tale of raw talent, parental love and the brutal machinery of fame.
#6 - Simon Schama Remembers... Landscape and Memory
Season 2024 - Episode 154 - Aired 10/7/2024
Sir Simon Schama looks back on his first foray into TV presenting, the 1995 BBC series Landscape and Memory, which examined the relationship between nature and art.
#7 - Angela Rippon Remembers… Top Gear
Season 2024 - Episode 159 - Aired 10/12/2024
Angela Rippon shares her memories of her time working as the main host of the very first series of Top Gear.
#8 - Angela Rippon Remembers... Come Dancing
Season 2024 - Episode 158 - Aired 10/12/2024
Angela Rippon looks back on the days when her profession and her passion came together perfectly, through her hosting role on the BBC’s long-running dance series Come Dancing.
#9 - Sally Magnusson: Alzheimers, a Cure & Me
Season 2024 - Episode 160 - Aired 10/13/2024
Sally Magnusson and her family cared for their mother for many years before her death from dementia. Will she get it too? Does she really want to know?
#10 - Kirsty MacColl at the BBC
Season 2024 - Episode 151 - Aired 10/5/2024
Described by Bono as 'the Noel Coward of our generation,’ the singer and songwriter Kirsty MacColl would have turned 65 this year had her life not been tragically cut short in December 2000. Signed at the age of just 19 after being the backing singer for a failed punk band, Kirsty went on to write and record songs that spanned genres, including rockabilly, pop and South American. She had hits like A New England and Days and sang a key part in one of the nation’s favourite Christmas songs, Fairytale of New York. Respected by those who worked alongside her like Billy Bragg, Johnny Marr, Jools Holland and many others, she has left a legacy that is still valued today. This programmes brings together performances that highlight the wit and intelligence of this unique performer.
#11 - The Man Who Definitely Didn’t Steal Hollywood
Season 2024 - Episode 162 - Aired 10/18/2024
Who is the mysterious former waiter with a billion dollars in his pocket? The inside story of a scandal that rocked Hollywood.
#12 - Mick Jackson Remembers... Threads
Season 2024 - Episode 157 - Aired 10/9/2024
Director and producer Mick Jackson looks back to 1984 and shares the story behind the creation of the BBC’s apocalyptic drama Threads.
#13 - Rugby on Trial
Season 2024 - Episode 139 - Aired 9/9/2024
Hundreds of former rugby players are lining up to say head injuries have destroyed their lives. The players are accusing the sport’s governing bodies of failing to look after their welfare after the sport went professional. Many of them have been left suffering from long term brain conditions such as dementia, motor neurone disease and Parkinson’s. In this programme, Joe Crowley investigates whether enough has been done to protect players from the devastating impacts of concussions and repeated knocks to the head and whether parents can be sure their children will be safe playing rugby at school. As a group legal case gathers momentum, the rugby authorities tell us they will defend the allegations vigorously and explain how they have taken steps to improve player welfare in the modern era, using the best available science.
#14 - Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison Remember... All Creatures Great and Small
Season 2024 - Episode 163 - Aired 10/19/2024
Actors Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison share their memories of working on the popular BBC drama series All Creatures Great and Small.
#15 - Joan Bakewell Remembers... Nelson Mandela in Heart of the Matter
Season 2024 - Episode 165 - Aired 10/20/2024
Joan Bakewell looks back on what she describes as the greatest moment of her career, her scoop interview with Nelson Mandela as he left prison in 1990.
#16 - Joan Bakewell Remembers... Marcel Duchamp in Light Night Line-Up
Season 2024 - Episode 164 - Aired 10/20/2024
Joan Bakewell looks back on her interview with legendary French artist and sculptor Marcel Duchamp, just months before his death in 1968.
#17 - Trump: The Criminal Conspiracy Case
Season 2024 - Episode 167 - Aired 10/23/2024
Having narrowly lost the state of Georgia by 11,780 votes, this documentary follows Donald Trump’s increasingly audacious attempts to allegedly overturn the result of the 2020 US Election and how they led to his arrest and impending criminal trial.
#18 - Peter McDougall Remembers... The Elephants' Graveyard
Season 2024 - Episode 166 - Aired 10/23/2024
Playwright Peter McDougall looks back at his bittersweet Play for Today from 1976, which starred Billy Connolly.
#19 - Al Pacino: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Season 2024 - Episode 169 - Aired 10/25/2024
Screen legend and Oscar winner Al Pacino looks back on his extraordinary life and career, and shares the stories behind some of his biggest films
#20 - Life and Death in Gaza
Season 2024 - Episode 161 - Aired 10/15/2024
A film made by four Palestinians living through extraordinary times. Filming from the first days of the war, Khalid, Aya, Adam and Aseel document their own lives as they endure bombing raids, multiple evacuations, family separations and reunions, deaths, and even the birth of a new life amidst the chaos.
#21 - Trump Shooting: Back to the Scene
Season 2024 - Episode 155 - Aired 10/7/2024
Donald Trump and his supporters return to Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman attempted to assassinate the former US president at a rally in July 2024. Gary O’Donoghue was reporting at the rally when the presidential candidate came under fire. Nearly three months after the shooting, he revisits the community to explore the aftermath of what happened, speaking to some of the witnesses he interviewed on the day, and examines the significance of the Republican nominee's return to the city.
#22 - Helmand: Tour of Duty
Season 2024 - Episode 171 - Aired 10/30/2024
Ten soldiers from the Welsh Guards share their untold stories from the frontline of the war in Afghanistan during the bloodiest summer for the British armed forces in a century.
#23 - Gemma Arterton Remembers... Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Season 2024 - Episode 170 - Aired 10/30/2024
David Nicholl’s 2008 adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles provided Gemma Arterton with her first lead role on television. She joined a cast of young talent, including Eddie Redmayne and Jodie Whitaker, as well as established names like Anna Massey and Kenneth Cranham.
#24 - Christopher Eccleston Remembers... Jude
Season 2024 - Episode 172 - Aired 10/31/2024
Christopher Eccleston looks back on the 1996 film version of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel, remembering his time working with Kate Winslet, on the cusp of stardom, and director Michael Winterbottom.
#25 - Joan Bakewell Remembers... Bette Davis at the NFT
Season 2024 - Episode 168 - Aired 10/24/2024
Joan Bakewell looks back fondly on her evening spent with the legendary screen actor Bette Davis in 1972. Joan was in awe of such an icon of the golden age of cinema but was careful not to let that put her off the job at hand. She talks about how they bonded backstage, and how Bette made a wonderful interviewee - kind, warm, interesting and totally delighted to speak to an audience of her fans.