Extraordinary Portraits
Extraordinary Portraits is a TV show on BBC1. Where skills meet stories. Artists create breathtaking portraits of people with incredible personal and powerful stories - creating a picture of modern Britain. The program has been available since 2025. A total of 12 episodes have been broadcast, most recently in May 2026.
Last episode
Extraordinary Portraits
Two sisters share an extraordinary bond as one donates her womb to the other to enable her to give birth, making British medical history.
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A sub-postmistress who campaigns for justice after being wrongly jailed in the Post Office Horizon scandal tells her remarkable story.
Jordan and Cian watched their mum lose her life to a rare form of dementia, for which they also carry the gene. Just as painter Unza starts the painting, she has her own family emergency.
Bill Bailey matches wildlife sanctuary owner Lindsay with celebrity artist and animal lover Ricky Wilson. But Ricky faces an artistic dilemma.
The UK's oldest female Ironman triathlete is immortalised in paint, but should artist Caroline Pool capture Eddie's fun-loving energy or the quiet steeliness beneath the surface?
Honouring the bravery of the man who used a narwhal tusk to tackle an attacker. Can sculptor Nick capture the essence of the reluctant hero?
Series 4
Bill matches 20-year-old Millie, a campaigner challenging the stereotypes around Down’s syndrome, with Karen Turner, an award-winning, self-taught painter.
Bill Bailey challenges a young artist to paint Marva and Lionel, who have fostered almost 200 teenagers.
Comedian and art lover Bill Bailey matches former soldier and fundraiser Christian with a sculptor to create a lasting legacy.
Bill matches former England goalkeeper turned painter David James with Gill Sayell, a footballing pioneer who played in the unofficial Women’s World Cup in 1971.
Bill Bailey matches life-saving railway worker Rizwan with multimedia artist Jack Dickson to create a stunning portrait.
Bill Bailey matches a remarkable young woman with cancer, who set up her own charity, with a realist painter to create a new art work.