The WORST episodes of BBC Documentaries
Every episode of BBC Documentaries ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of BBC Documentaries!
Documentaries produced by or for the BBC.
#1 - TV 73: The Defining Shows
Season 2007 - Episode 129 - Aired 8/4/2007
1973 was the year when television realised its potential. Elvis Presley's Aloha from Hawaii became the first show with a global audience of one billion and the arrival of large-screen colour TV sets confirmed that as a domestic fixture, the television had come of age. In this film, Mark Lawson looks back at five of the most popular programmes of the year - That's Life!, The Burke Specials, The Generation Game, The Onedin Line and Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? - to consider what their success tells us about life in Britain at this time. With contributions from the former controller of BBC One Bill Cotton, Likely Lads writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, drama producer Verity Lambert and television critic Chris Dunkley.
#2 - Gettys: The World's Richest Art Dynasty
Season 2018 - Episode 74 - Aired 4/14/2018
The story behind the world's richest art dynasty.
#3 - Living with the Brainy Bunch
Season 2018 - Episode 73 - Aired 4/12/2018
Bringing up kids and getting them through exams is far from easy. There are countless reasons why some students do well academically and others don't, but experts agree that parental influence is one of the main factors that can affect a student's performance in school. In a groundbreaking experiment, this programme will put that to the test. Chessington Community College in Greater London, like all schools, has some students who excel and others who are failing to make the grade. In an attempt to change the paths of two of their students the school have decided to embark on a radical experiment. Like many teenagers, Year 11 students Jack and Hollie struggle with results and behaviour but with their crucial GCSEs on the horizon it is time to try and change things. In order to do this they will move into the homes of two of the highest achieving pupils in their year, for half a term. Can this complete change in home environment improve things for them? Hollie moves in with Holly H, a wannabe lawyer with a clutch of A*s in her sights and a dizzying rota of extra-curricular activities. Jack goes to live with Tharush, who arrived in the UK only a year ago from Italy but is already shining at school. Tharush's work efforts are exceptional - he does at least two hours homework every night, and that is on top of extra tuition. How will Hollie and Jack cope as they have to fit into every aspect of their new families' lives, living by their strict rules and routines? As they wrestle with the early bedtimes, tough homework schedules and curfews, can this revolutionary change in family life bring about a lasting change in their results and futures?
#4 - Stafford: A Town That Found its Castle
Season 1988 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/20/1988
Michael Wood tells a story of how a small Midland town rescued one of the largest castles of medieval England. Yesterday, Stafford Castle was reopened to the public after a ten-year dig in which archaeologists have filled gaps in the castle's 900-year history and in which Stafford has learnt that the past can be an asset.
#5 - Russia: Rejecting The West?
Season 2018 - Episode 70 - Aired 3/10/2018
From the conflict in Ukraine to accusations of hacking and then sanctions, relations between Russia and the West have deteriorated dramatically under Vladimir Putin.
#6 - Reinventing the 9-5
Season 2018 - Episode 69 - Aired 3/24/2018
From the morning commute, to lunch hours, to the way people are hired and fired - the nature of work is set to change radically in the next two decades.
#7 - My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me
Season 2018 - Episode 68 - Aired 4/4/2018
Patrick Kielty was born in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and was only sixteen when his dad was murdered by paramilitary gunmen. Despite his loss, just 18 months later Patrick was taking to the stand-up stage in Belfast, forging a comedy career by telling jokes about life in what felt like a warzone. Year after year, the sectarian killings continued. Then in 1998, along with the majority of the Northern Irish population, Patrick voted in favour of the Good Friday Agreement. It meant those convicted over his dad's murder would be released from prison, but it brought a promise of peace after 30 years of conflict, with the potential to build a new society based on reconciliation. Now, on the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, Patrick wants to find out if the historic peace deal has delivered on its pledge to create a new Northern Ireland, free of the hatred that took Jack Kielty's life. Patrick returns to his home village of Dundrum, where his dad was killed, and then travels around Northern Ireland meeting other people whose lives were shattered by the Troubles. He confronts those responsible for committing acts of violence on both sides, asking why they became radicalised by the bloodshed and why some still seem to be wedded to their weapons. Patrick also meets other people caught up in the conflict, including Richard Moore, who was a ten-year-old boy on his way home from school when he was shot and blinded by a British army officer's rubber bullet. He wants to know whether it's possible for victims to be reconciled to a peaceful life alongside those who hurt them. Patrick visits the border country, exploring why Brexit has put the peace deal back in the spotlight, and meets politicians from both sides. Hearing their personal stories of how their families were also caught up in the conflict, he asks DUP leader Arlene Foster and a young Sinn Fein representative, Emma Rogan, why the power-sharing government between nationalists and uni
#8 - One of Our Dinosaurs is Moving
Season 2018 - Episode 67 - Aired 4/2/2018
The behind-the-scenes story of how Dippy the diplodocus came to Dorset on the first stop of his nationwide tour. As the nation's favourite dinosaur is squeezed into Dorset County Museum, Jon Cuthill discovers how Dippy was originally made and explores the world-famous Jurassic Coast.
#9 - BBC Young Musician: Forty Years Young
Season 2018 - Episode 66 - Aired 4/3/2018
To mark the 40th birthday of BBC Young Musician, a look back at this hugely influential competition, focusing on the soaring careers of the three finalists from 2016, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, saxophonist Jess Gillam and French horn player Ben Goldscheider. From its inception in 1978, BBC Young Musician has been a national institution and performers who've won or taken part amount to a roll call of contemporary British classical music. It's a showcase keenly watched by the music business and an appearance in the final often opens the door to a major career. Even by the high standards set by the competition, the most recent final in 2016 was very special indeed. The winner Sheku Kanneh-Mason is now Britain's most talked about young musician - he topped the classical charts with his first CD and played twice at the Bafta Awards. His co-finalists Jess Gillam and Ben Goldscheider are also making waves, Jess already featured as a soloist at the Proms and both tipped for stellar careers. This programme follows Sheku, Jess and Ben over the two years since the final, seeing how these young players, all are still in their late teens, are balancing the demands of a blossoming career with their studies at music school. The pressures faced by Sheku, Jess and Ben are nothing new and alongside telling the stories of the 2016 trio, the programme also meets many former winners and finalists. These include violinist Nicola Benedetti, winner in 2004 and now an ambassador for the competition, cellist Natalie Clein who won in 1994, percussionist Adrian Spillett, victor in 1998, violinist Jennifer Pike who triumphed aged just 12 in 2002, and pianist Martin James Bartlett the winner of the 2014 final. Also interviewed is acclaimed trumpeter Alison Balsom, now a regular presenter of BBC Young Musician, who feels that while she didn't win in 1998, still sees the competition as an important springboard for her career. The programme interviews Humphrey Burton who co-created the
#10 - Lenny Henry: The Commonwealth Kid
Season 2018 - Episode 65 - Aired 4/2/2018
In a revealing and emotional journey, Lenny Henry travels to the Caribbean to investigate his own heritage and the relationship between the Commonwealth, the Caribbean and the UK. Lenny's life would be very different without the influence of the Commonwealth. Because of it, his parents were able to move to Dudley from Jamaica in the 1950s, putting Lenny on the path to fame and fortune in the UK. Lenny examine the deep-rooted and complicated connection between the Caribbean and Great Britain and the role the Commonwealth plays in this relationship. Where did this organisation, made up of 53 countries and 2.3 billion people, come from? How can it survive its legacy of empire and slavery? Does it have any role in the 21st century? Lenny sets off on a tour into the body, mind and soul of the Caribbean, to investigate the experiences of those who live so far from the UK, but remain members of this vast and populous club. He travels back to Jamaica to investigate his own beginnings and finds out why, 60 years ago, his mother uprooted the family to travel thousands of miles to the rainy Midlands. He meets his older brother Seymour for a tour of the remote and rural plot he would have called home if the Henrys had remained on the island. He visits a lush rum plantation in an attempt to understand what life was like for his ancestors - African slaves brought to the Caribbean against their will. Lenny spends time with Commonwealth champion Rasheed Dwyer and Olympian Sashalee Forbes and hangs out at a Chronixx gig to hear what importance, if any, the Commonwealth has to Jamaicans today. In Antigua, Lenny traces the roots of why the British ended up in the Caribbean in the first place, and meets some of the ex-pats who have decided to make the Caribbean their home. Finally he travels to Barbuda to visit the island community devastated by Hurricane Irma, to hear tragic tales from survivors and consider the role the Commonwealth could play in the future around the world
#11 - The Porthole Mystery
Season 2018 - Episode 64 - Aired 3/23/2018
A cruise ship steward is sentenced to hang after an actress disappears on-board a voyage from South Africa to Southampton, but was he really guilty? Richard Latto presents fresh evidence in this fascinating cold case investigation. Hear from a key witness who didn't give her vital evidence at the 1948 trial at The Great Hall in Winchester. For the first time, see the full story of events as detailed in the extensive police file, saved by the Hampshire Policy Society from incineration. Author Antony M Brown reveals his incredible research into the death of an actress who dreamt of Hollywood, but never made it back to England.
#12 - My Turban and Me
Season 2018 - Episode 75 - Aired 4/17/2018
Documentary exploring Sikh identity in modern Britain. Actor and comedian Sanjeev Kohli goes on a heartwarming personal journey to explore the importance of wearing the Sikh turban in Britain and investigate why it is becoming more popular. Sanjeev, most famous for his role as Navid in the BBC1 comedy Still Game, comes from a proud Sikh heritage, but is the only male member of his family not to wear the turban and sees this journey as a reconnection with the Sikh community. He starts off by looking into his own family history, how his turban-wearing brothers were bullied at school, and questions whether he was right to make the decision at the age of 14 not to wear one. As a father of teenagers, Sanjeev tries find out whether attitudes towards the turban have changed over generations by meeting passionate young Sikhs in all walks of life. Over the course of his journey he discovers that, while many first-generation Punjabi immigrants wanted to try to fit in, their children and grandchildren are trying to stand out, and there is a resurgence of British Sikhs - both men and women - wearing the turban and reclaiming their identity. He also attempts to find out what lies behind this new-found enthusiasm to publicly embrace their religious identity.
#13 - Money for Nothing: The Finland Experiment
Season 2018 - Episode 63 - Aired 3/17/2018
In January 2017 Finland began a bold social experiment: the government started paying 2,000 unemployed Finns basic income.
#14 - Paul Merton Live at the Palladium
Season 1994 - Episode 7 - Aired 9/27/1994
Earlier this year comedian Paul Merton achieved a life-long ambition when he topped the bill for a season at the London Palladium. Tonight viewers have an opportunity to watch the show which ran the comedy gamut from the sardonic wit for which Merton is famous to his hilarious salute to the ice skaters Torvill and Dean, not forgetting a comic version of the pantomime Aladdin, as never seen before. Featuring Lee Simpson and Richard Vranch.
#15 - Tiredness, Tears and Tantrums: Diary of a New Mum
Season 2018 - Episode 61 - Aired 3/27/2018
People say having a baby is a magical experience - full of cuddles and lullabies. But what is the reality for most new parents when they first bring their tiny baby home? Annie Price has been through her fair share of tough times - surviving a caravan fire at four weeks old and being left with extensive scarring. Now she's about to become a mother for the first time. Annie brings her unfiltered honesty to the first six weeks of motherhood. How easy is breastfeeding really? What's the difference between baby blues and postnatal depression? And is it normal to take your baby to hospital nearly a half a dozen times in the first two weeks?! Annie meets a professional breastfeeding counsellor, learns infant first aid and visits a centre supported by Sport Relief that specifically helps mums who are experiencing postnatal illness.
#16 - Reggie Yates: Searching for Grenfell's Lost Lives
Season 2018 - Episode 60 - Aired 3/25/2018
Reggie Yates meets people whose lives have been devastated by the Grenfell fire, hoping to piece together the human stories behind some of those lost in the tragedy. With a police investigation and public inquiry examining how and why it happened, Reggie takes a step back to ask who were those people before they became victims of one of Britain's deadliest fires. Through their families and friends in the local community, Reggie learns about some of the individuals who lost their lives - a young British Moroccan, Yasin El-Wahabi, who was believed to have run back into the tower to save his family, a Filipino woman, Ligaya Moore, whose niece arrives in London to get answers about how her aunt died, a Syrian man, Mohammad Alhajali, who escaped war with his brother only to lose his life in the fire, Tony Disson, a well-known local figure whose family had lived in the area for generations, and a 12-year-old girl, Jessica Urbano Ramirez, who was one of 18 children to lose their lives. As a Londoner, and having grown up on a council estate himself, Reggie discovers that these stories aren't just the stories of individuals, they are the story of a community.
#17 - The Queen: Her Commonwealth Story
Season 2018 - Episode 59 - Aired 3/26/2018
George Alagiah explores the fascinating history of Queen Elizabeth II and the Commonwealth. He discovers how the role of heading this family of nations has affected the Queen as she grew and developed, both as a monarch and as a person. His journey starts in Tonga, one of the furthest-flung stops on the Queen's first Commonwealth tour in 1953. From there, George's Commonwealth tour takes him to Australia, Ghana, India and South Africa. In each country he discovers how the shy young Queen grew into a monarch who commands respect, exploring moments of triumph, diplomacy, challenge and political intrigue. Gathering testimony from people who have met the Queen across the years and from experts who have followed her journey, George builds a picture of how deftly the Queen has played her role as head of the Commonwealth. Her daughter Princess Anne also talks about the Queen's role as a woman in a male-dominated world.
#18 - 50 Years of Look North
Season 2018 - Episode 58 - Aired 3/25/2018
Harry Gration dips back into the archives as Look North celebrates half a century of broadcasting in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Former presenters including Judith Stamper and Sophie Raworth relive their time in front of the Look North cameras - while Harry catches up with some of the people who have made the news during the programme's 50-year history.
#19 - RAF at 100 with Ewan and Colin McGregor
Season 2018 - Episode 57 - Aired 3/25/2018
To celebrate the centenary of the Royal Air Force, Ewan and Colin McGregor take to the skies in some of the world's most iconic planes which were involved in aerial combat at every stage of the RAF's story.
#20 - Flex Lewis: Superstar Bodybuilder
Season 2018 - Episode 55 - Aired 3/19/2018
Welsh bodybuilder James 'Flex' Lewis is on a mission. The reigning Mr Olympia champion is determined to claim his sixth title in a row and equal the record of his all-time hero Arnold Schwarzenegger. Known as the Super Bowl of bodybuilding, the Mr Olympia competition in Las Vegas is the biggest event of the bodybuilding calendar. A star attraction among the competitors is Flex. With more than a million Instagram followers and a host of successful businesses, he is a huge celebrity in America. He has more than 30 national and international titles under his belt and graces covers of numerous bodybuilding magazines. By contrast, back on home soil in Wales, the fame of this Llanelli-born star has barely caused a ripple. Over several months, we follow Flex in the run-up to his sixth Mr Olympia competition. We see the punishing daily regime it takes to have a shot at winning. We join him in his bespoke Florida gym where, at his daily training sessions, he can bench up to the same weight at a grand piano. But sweat and tears in the gym alone won't cut it. Flex must also stick to the superstrict diet set by coach Neil if he has any hope of shredding every last ounce of excess fat to qualify for his weight category in Vegas. Every grain of rice is accounted for. But as the calorie intake drops, the daily routine gets harder and harder to achieve. Flex has won the 212lb weight category every year since 2012. But just weeks before his sixth Mr Olympia, Flex faces the double blow of both personal tragedy and a natural disaster that forces him from his home. Out of the blue, life throws a couple of curveballs that look certain to disrupt his dreams. It falls to the tight team around Flex and his family who travel from Wales to Vegas to pull him through. As his legions of devoted fans descend upon Vegas to watch with the competition with baited breath, will Flex make it to the finish line and take his sixth consecutive title, or will his desire to equal his hero Arnold Schwarz
#21 - The Funeral Murders
Season 2018 - Episode 54 - Aired 3/19/2018
A new documentary by acclaimed film-maker Vanessa Engle, The Funeral Murders, follows a dramatic and deadly series of events that took place at two funerals in Belfast in March 1988. Thirty years later, those who witnessed or were intimately connected to these events tell their stories. This film offers a range of perspectives - from republicans and loyalists to the security forces and family members of those who died, who share their moving stories for the first time.
#22 - The Truth About Meat
Season 2016 - Episode 429 - Aired 9/28/2016
Fresh or processed, white or red - how does meat measure up? It's been getting a lot of bad press recently with new links to cancer and heart disease. But 98 per cent of us in the UK are still meat eaters. Chris Bavin, a greengrocer by trade and a carnivore by nature, wants to know if he can keep meat in his diet and stay healthy.
#23 - Duet
Season 2018 - Episode 87 - Aired 5/6/2018
A short film, exploring the female within the world of ballet. Yasmine Naghdi and Beatriz Stix-Brunell - two of the Royal Ballet's brightest young stars - discuss and perform an all-female pas de deux, showcasing not just grace and beauty but strength, athleticism and power.
#24 - The Private Life of the Royal Academy
Season 2018 - Episode 93 - Aired 5/12/2018
Shot over five years, leading to its 250th anniversary this film is an intimate portrait of one of Britain's most enduring cultural institutions. With unique access, the documentary illuminates the inner workings of the Royal Academy of Arts and reveals how it embraces the challenge of balancing tradition and innovation.
#25 - I Want to be a Doctor
Season 1947 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/3/1947
At present many young men and women want to be doctors - far more than the medical schools can take. This programme shows what happens to the student who does gain admittance, and attempts to outline the tradition of medical teaching describing the legacy of knowledge that is handed from generation to generation. Only a few of the many great names can be remembered. Among them are Joseph Lister, Louis Pasteur, Edward Jenner, John Hunter, Laennec, Ambroise Pare, Vesalius, Galen, and Hippocrates. A documentary programme for television.Written and produced by Michael Barry. Among those taking part are - Basil Dawson, Milton Rosmer, Andrew Osborn, Jeannette Tregarthen, Una Venning, H. G. Stoker, Ronald Long, Stafford Byrne, Richard Shayne, Paul Martin, Morris Sweden, John Warner, Norman Webb, Merelina Watts, Richard Pearson, Marguerite Young, John Gatrell, Adrian Waller, Victor Platt, Hugh Paddick, Frederick Davies, Sheila Raynor, and Stuart Latham. The narrator is Andre van Gyseghem. Acknowledgments are due to: Dr. Douglas Guthrie, f.e. c.s.Ed... f.r.s.e.; Dr. Ronald MacKeith. D.M., Oxford, M.R.C.P., and the Scientific Film Society; the Dean of the Medical College and the Governors and Staff of St. Bartholomew's Hospital; and the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, for help and guidance in the preparation of this programme.