About this season
Documentary series which ranges widely over Britain's social and cultural history, its narrative-led storytelling offering a richly immersive and varied window onto the past.
Episodes (5)
1. Bridging the Gap: How the Severn Bridge Was Built
Aired 19 October 2016 • 60 min
A look at the engineering behind the construction of the Severn Bridge, and the impact the bridge had on communities on either side of the river.
2. Sailors, Ships and Stevedores: The Story of British Docks
Aired 26 October 2016 • 60 min
How Britain's docks in cities like Liverpool, London and Cardiff were commercial portals and gateways for the arrival of sounds, styles and cultures.
3. Penny Blacks & Twopenny Blues: How Britain Got Stuck on Stamps
Aired 14 November 2016 • 60 min
A look at how the introduction of the penny post changed Britain, and how enthusiasm for the first stamps led to the emergence of stamp-collecting as a popular hobby.
4. Booze, Beans & Bhajis: The Story of the Corner Shop
Aired 19 December 2016 • 60 min
Babita Sharma traces the history of the corner shop in Britain, from its Victorian suburban origins, its crucial role serving the home front in World War Two, and its fortunes in the hands of successive waves of immigration. She and her parents visit the corner shop which was once run by them as a family, and discuss how it shaped her upbringing.
5. Flights of Fancy: Pigeons and the British
Aired 7 February 2017 • 60 min
Timeshift ventures inside places of sporting achievement, scientific endeavour and male obsession - the lofts of pigeon fanciers - to tell the story of a remarkable bird.