Documentaries
Documentaries is a documentary on BBC1. Marcus du Sautoy demystifies the hidden world of algorithms, revealing where these 2,000-year-old problem-solvers came from, how they work and what they have achieved. The program has been available since 2025. A total of 203 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in March 2026.
Last episode
Documentaries
World War II drama relating the Battle of Britain through the eyes of the operations room of a Kent fighter station during the summer of 1940.
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New
Volume One
Compilation of hits by artists virtually unheard of again, including Peter Sarstedt, Trio, Phyllis Nelson and The New Radicals, which explores the one-hit wonder phenomenon.
New
Volume Three
Another celebration of the artists who lit up the charts exactly once before slipping mysteriously out of view. Featuring Jennifer Paige's sunlit classic Crush and Jimmy the Hoover's Tantalise.
New
Volume Two
A look into the darkest corners of the BBC’s music archives for a reminder of the one-hit wonder, with songs by the likes of The La's, The Mock Turtles, Joan Jett and Kim Carnes.
February 2026
Jason Mohammad and guests bring you all the goals, latest news, analysis, reaction and interviews from the afternoon’s biggest football matches.
Stereophonics perform some of their biggest hits, plus tracks from their 2019 UK number one album Kind, in a special Radio 2 In Concert presented by Fearne Cotton.
Action adventure. A rookie FBI agent infiltrates the Californian surfing scene in order to catch a gang of bank robbers who disguise themselves as former US presidents.
1:00:00Laughs with the shameless youths of Runcorn. When Gaz finds Donna's toothbrush in his flat, he realises he has to stop her 'merging'.
Performances of Bond theme tunes from the BBC archive, featuring Tina Turner, Dame Shirley Bassey, Matt Monro, Fun Lovin' Criminals, Adele, Sheena Easton, Garbage and a-ha.
Comedy drama based on the true story of 12 Yorkshire ladies who find a compelling way to raise money for charity: a nude calendar. Stars Helen Mirren and Julie Walters.
1:00:00Michael Parkinson looks back at his 1974 interview with Richard Burton. Parkinson persuaded him to talk candidly about his career, love life and drink problems.
1:00:00Rick Stein explores the food of Shanghai - Shanghai is one of the biggest cities in the world and is rapidly expanding, but has it hung on to its culinary roots?
Jason Mohammad and guests bring you all the goals, latest news, analysis, reaction and interviews from the afternoon’s biggest football matches.
Wartime drama. Despatched to destroy the Nazis' latest battleship, the British submarine Sea Tiger finds herself short of fuel and food, a long way from home.
Performances by legendary female soul singers including Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight, Randy Crawford, Angie Stone, Mary J Blige, Beyonce and many more.
40:00
In this compilation of clips from five of his eight appearances on Parkinson, Kenneth Williams gives vent to his dislike of theatre critics.
Jason Mohammad and guests bring you all the stories, drama, reaction and live goals from the afternoon’s FA Cup fourth-round ties.
Film exploring Kate Bush's career and music, from 1978's Wuthering Heights to her 2011 album 50 Words for Snow, through the testimony of collaborators and those she has inspired.
Kate Bush performs songs such as Wuthering Heights, Babooshka and Running up That Hill on BBC TV shows, alongside other intriguing and lesser-known material in the BBC studios.
Documentary which maintains that the real pioneers of space exploration were the Soviet cosmonauts, telling the story of how the Russians led us into the space age.