The WORST episodes of Channel 4 (UK) Documentaries

#1 - Boom, Bust & Bankers

Season 2019 - Episode 61 - Aired 11/19/2019

Documentary exploring the history and the workforce of Broadgate, the financial complex at the heart of the City of London, which is home to 28 international banks. The building has stood since 1985, when it formed a central element in Margaret Thatcher's efforts to redirect the British economy from manufacturing to finance. The programme examines the daily lives of those who work here, from CEOs and bankers to cleaners and security guards.

#2 - Britain's Wildest Weather

Season 2019 - Episode 71 - Aired 12/14/2019

Footage of some of the most extraordinary weather events of the year, including an avalanche in Snowdonia and the Toddbrook Reservoir incident in Derbyshire, which saw parts of nearby Whaley Bridge evacuated after flooding caused damage to the dam and it almost collapsed. Cameras also capture the sheer horror of being swept overboard by a monster wave in the middle of the night.

#3 - Adam Hills: Take His Legs

Season 2019 - Episode 70 - Aired 12/13/2019

This one-off special follows comedian and host of the award-winning The Last Leg, Adam Hills as he embarks on a personal, physical and emotional journey to live out his boyhood dream to play competitive rugby league. Take His Legs is the remarkable story of the birth of Physical Disability Rugby League (PDRL) in the UK, and the rise of the Warrington Wolves PDRL team, from open trial, to World Champions in just six months. As a die-hard rugby league fan and the driving force behind establishing the first PDRL team here in the UK, the documentary follows Adam as he and his Warrington Wolves team-mates prepare for the biggest game of their lives. Travelling to the other side of the world, the team play against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the world famous ANZ Stadium in Australia at the first ever International Club Challenge to prove themselves the best in the world – and even get the chance to meet movie star and Rabbitohs owner Russell Crowe. This is Adam’s personal journey from celebrity advocate and enthusiast to team-mate and friend to an incredible group of men, achieving something they never thought possible. The documentary also deals with mental health, PTSD, and the true impact of sport and teamwork on the emotional well-being of a team who have now formed a remarkable bond and support network for each other.

#4 - Christmas at Chatsworth House

Season 2019 - Episode 69 - Aired 12/12/2019

One-off documentary going behind the scenes of Chatsworth, one of England's most impressive stately homes, as the Duke, Duchess and their 800 staff brace themselves for an influx of 200,000 visitors over the 2019 festive season. Christmas is the most important event for the Derbyshire estate and crucial to its survival. In just five days, the house is transformed with 30 Christmas trees, 60,000 baubles, and a million fairy lights. But this year Derbyshire has been crippled by unprecedented flooding. Can family and staff rally to make this a season to be remembered?

#5 - Guy Martin's Great Escape

Season 2019 - Episode 68 - Aired 12/8/2019

Guy Martin wants to recreate the most iconic motorcycle stunt in movie history - the climax of the film The Great Escape, in which Steve McQueen's character Lieutenant Hilts steals a motorbike and attempts to jump two border fences into Switzerland. The original bike used in the film was a Triumph, and it's only right that Guy should convert and prep a modern Triumph Scrambler 1200 for his big stunt

#6 - The Space Between the Notes

Season 2019 - Episode 67 - Aired 12/4/2019

Sumantra Ghosal's documentary about two contemporary legends in Indian music: tabla genius Zakir Hussain and sitar maestro Niladri Kumar. Featuring interviews and concert highlights.

#7 - How to Save £1000 Online?

Season 2019 - Episode 66 - Aired 12/3/2019

Sabrina Grant and Helen Skelton help two families to reduce their online spending. They reveal how a simple change to buying airline tickets could reduce the cost of a family holiday by hundreds of pounds, examine the art of haggling over the internet, and explore ways to transform a wardrobe at a fraction of the normal price.

#8 - The Family Secret

Season 2019 - Episode 65 - Aired 12/3/2019

Documentary about sexual abuse within a family that has been kept a secret for 25 years. The film features access to all members of the family, and documents a meeting between the perpetrator and the victim.

#9 - Jobs from Hell: Caught on Camera

Season 2019 - Episode 64 - Aired 11/26/2019

Real-life footage - from funny to dramatic - demonstrates what can go wrong at work, from the dangers of late-night takeaways to violence in corner shops and some of the messiest jobs ever

#10 - Save My Child

Season 2019 - Episode 63 - Aired 11/26/2019

Documentary following two families trying to fund operations for their children. Six-year-old Pranav has cerebral palsy, and is determined to walk unaided - but the procedure and aftercare required will cost £100,000. In Northern Ireland, a mother tries to raise £32,000 to have the curve in her daughter's spine corrected.

#11 - Britain's Child Drug Runners

Season 2019 - Episode 60 - Aired 11/13/2019

Children as young as seven are being groomed to sell drugs for 'county lines' drugs gangs in towns and villages all over the UK. This documentary follows four young people trapped in this world.

#12 - Boeing's Killer Plane: What Went Wrong

Season 2019 - Episode 62 - Aired 11/20/2019

This documentary unravels the events that led to two Boeing 737 MAX passenger jets falling out of the sky, and investigates how the fastest-selling aircraft in Boeing's history ended in tragedy.

#13 - The World's Greatest Kids' Films

Season 2019 - Episode 72 - Aired 12/15/2019

A countdown of some of the greatest family movies ever made, from enduring classics like Mary Poppins to modern hits including Finding Nemo. Featuring contributions from actors and film-makers. Steven Spielberg reveals the original inspiration for ET, while Christopher Lloyd shares his memories of being transformed into The Addams Family's Uncle Fester and Who Framed Roger Rabbit's villainous Judge Doom. The programme also features directors Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard and David Yates discussing the secrets behind classic movie moments.

#14 - How to Halve Your Supermarket Bill

Season 2019 - Episode 59 - Aired 11/5/2019

Sabrina Grant and Anna Richardson reveal how to save a fortune on the weekly shop

#15 - How Europe Stole My Mum

Season 2019 - Episode 58 - Aired 10/31/2019

This irreverent comedy doc, presented by Kieran Hodgson, features Harry Enfield and Liza Tarbuck, and examines how Brexit came about and how we can put a divided country back together.

#16 - The World According to Putin

Season 2019 - Episode 57 - Aired 10/30/2019

A comic but ultimately alarming glimpse into the surreal world of Russian TV, from the Skripal poisoning to President Putin's hidden talent as a nightclub crooner

#17 - Warrior Women with Lupita Nyong'o

Season 2019 - Episode 56 - Aired 10/23/2019

Oscar-winning actress, author and producer Lupita Nyong'o uncovers the truth behind the women who inspired the Dora Milaje of Marvel's film Black Panther. Travelling to Benin in West Africa, Lupita reveals the stories of the real-life warrior women who fought African and European powers alike from the 17th to the 19th centuries in the Kingdom of Dahomey, centred in the modern-day country of Benin

#18 - Bill Turnbull: Staying Alive

Season 2019 - Episode 55 - Aired 10/24/2019

In 2017, journalist and TV presenter Bill Turnbull was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer shortly after filming The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer. Like many others, Bill chose to ignore the early warning signs and by the time he went to his doctor, the cancer had spread from his prostate to his bones. He then made the decision to go public in the hope of encouraging more men to get checked. This documentary follows Bill over a year as he undertakes chemotherapy, tries cannabis for medicinal purposes and adopts a healthier diet.

#19 - Charlotte Church: My Family & Me

Season 2019 - Episode 54 - Aired 10/17/2019

One-off documentary in which singer Charlotte Church explores the relationship people have with their parents by spending a week alone with her own mother and father for the first time since she was a teenager. The Churches travel to an isolated part of Devon, where they prove themselves to be an ordinary working-class family from Cardiff who just happened to have a superstar daughter. But while there is love, things at times are incredibly difficult, and it becomes apparent there is a major issue from the past that the parents and daughter have never been able to resolve

#20 - Lost Pharaohs of the Nile

Season 2019 - Episode 53 - Aired 10/13/2019

Archaeologists excavate magnificent sites - from pyramids to temples - along the Sudanese Nile Valley, to reveal the history of the ancient African superpower: the Black Pharaohs

#21 - Egypt's Lost Pyramid

Season 2019 - Episode 52 - Aired 9/29/2019

Documentary following archaeologists working on a 4,000-year-old pyramid containing a burial chamber, still apparently sealed. As light enters the tomb for the first time, the artefacts contained within reveal a gripping detective story as although there are no signs of entry, the contents have been disturbed. To solve the mystery, Egyptologists explore the nearby Black Pyramid to see how pyramid builders used every trick in the book to protect the treasures, discovering a dark and complex labyrinth of dummy tombs, false passages and stone portcullises to fool robbers.

#22 - Thomas Cook: The Rise & Fall of Britain's Oldest Travel Agent

Season 2019 - Episode 51 - Aired 10/6/2019

Documentary exploring the reasons behind the collapse of one of the world's best-known holiday brands. The company was founded in 1841, but collapsed after running into severe financial difficulties in recent years, leaving thousands of staff out of work and 150,000 holidaymakers stranded. This programme explores where the current situation leaves customers and if a similar collapse could occur again.

#23 - The Rebel Chef: My Restaurant Revolution

Season 2019 - Episode 50 - Aired 9/19/2019

Gary Usher, Britain's most controversial chef, builds an eatery out of rubble as he brings excellent affordable bistro food to working class locals on Merseyside.

#24 - Inside Cadbury: Chocolate Secrets Unwrapped

Season 2019 - Episode 49 - Aired 9/15/2019

#25 - 2012: The Maya Apocalypse

Season 2012 - Episode 80 - Aired 1/7/2012

According to the ancient Maya of Central America, we are all doomed. The countdown to the apocalypse began several thousand years ago and time is running out. The Mayan understanding of astronomy was startlingly advanced, and some of the indications found in their calendar that a cataclysmic happening will come about in December 2012 are compelling. In this film, Paul Murton travels to America to explore how the phenomenon now better known as ‘2012' has swept across the internet with hundreds of websites featuring frightening predictions - all envisaging a different take on the impending world cataclysm. Murton examines how this terror has spawned ‘survival communities' in which people hoard food supplies, learn how to defend themselves and build bunkers to see them through the impending apocalypse. To discover who the Maya really were, he visits the ruins of the ancient Maya city of El Mirador in Central America to see where the civilisation was founded and gain an insight into why they believed the world would be on the threshold of destruction in 2012 - specifically 21st December at 12pm. Murton commented, ‘This city has been at the heart of vast and thriving civilisation thousands of years ago yet today it is covered by jungle. Perhaps we should consider the possibility that our own civilisation could meet a similar fate?'