About this season
40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. The documentaries could be on any possible subject, the only connection being that they last forty minutes. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, Forty Minutes On.
Episodes (29)
1. Rough Justice
Aired 1 October 1981 • 40 min
Portrait of a fractious Welsh village near Merthyr Tydfil.
2. Sister Genevieve
Aired 8 October 1981 • 40 min
Portrait of a Comprehensive School in the heart of the Falls Road, Belfast.
3. Hijack
Aired 15 October 1981 • 40 min
Story of a Hijack on Independence Day 1977 in New York.
4. Give Us the Vote
Aired 22 October 1981 • 40 min
Test case for inmates of mental hospital to get the vote.
5. Lol: A Bona Queen of Fabularity
Aired 29 October 1981 • 40 min
Life style of Quentin Crisp-esque 'Queen'.
6. Marathon Man
Aired 5 November 1981 • 40 min
Attempt to beat record run from John o' Groats to Land's End.
7. Rocky Circus
Aired 12 November 1981 • 40 min
Gary Glitter stars in Gerry Cottle's Circus.
8. Gorilla G Gorilla
Aired 19 November 1981 • 40 min
Gorilla N'Pongo gives birth to Kumi in Jersey Zoo.
9. The Harrisons Don't Go to School
Aired 26 November 1981 • 40 min
Hereford family educating children at home.
10. Alison
Aired 3 December 1981 • 40 min
Spastic girl's struggle to live a normal life.
11. Sex, Drugs and the Vicar
Aired 10 December 1981
Backstage at the News of the World.
12. Children's Parties
Aired 17 December 1981 • 40 min
An anthology of various children's parties.
13. The Great Cover-up
Aired 14 January 1982 • 40 min
The bald facts revealed: What men will do to counter hair loss.
14. Brighton or Bust
Aired 21 January 1982 • 40 min
The London to Brighton vintage car rally.
15. The Last Resort
Aired 28 January 1982 • 40 min
Glenthorne high security prison for youngsters.
16. The George Formby Story
Aired 4 February 1982 • 40 min
Biopic of renowned comedian and ukulelist.
17. Burgled
Aired 11 February 1982 • 40 min
Burglary - Britain's fastest growing industry.
18. Bomber and Brendan
Aired 18 February 1982 • 40 min
Sheffield's Herol 'Bomber' Graham and Brendan Ingle his trainer in bid for boxing glory.
19. Mutiny
Aired 25 February 1982 • 40 min
1943 Mutiny of British soldiers in Salerno.
20. Saved in the Nick of Time
Aired 4 March 1982 • 40 min
Artefacts saved from demolished buildings.
21. Birth Reborn
Aired 11 March 1982 • 40 min
Michel Odent and 'natural' childbirth at his clinic in Pithiviers France
22. Hunt Saboteurs
Aired 18 March 1982 • 40 min
Cameras follow shock troops of anti-hunt demonstrators disrupting hunt.
23. Heart Transplant
Aired 25 March 1982 • 40 min
Magdi Yacoub and his surgical team at work at Harefield Hospital.
24. Heart Transplant: 2 - A Fight for Life
Aired 1 April 1982 • 40 min
25. Heart Transplant: 3
Aired 8 April 1982 • 40 min
26. Heart Transplant: 4 - Bruce Anderson, New Heart
Aired 15 April 1982 • 40 min
27. Heart Transplant: 5 - Recovery
Aired 22 April 1982 • 40 min
28. Heart Transplant: 6 - A Matter of Life and Death
Aired 29 April 1982 • 40 min
29. Heart Transplant: 7
Aired 6 May 1982 • 40 min