TV Programmes

TV programmes

1. Warship: Life at Sea SERIES TX: 26/11/2018 Dur: 60'00" Broadcaster: Channel 5 Production Company: Artlab Films

‘Warship: Life at Sea’ documents everyday life on board HMS Duncan, one of the most advanced warships in the world. With unprecedented access to the Royal Navy’s £1bn Destroyer, our cameras capture the most dramatic moments in the ship’s short history, over seven months in 2018. The series follows the ups and downs of life for Duncan’s crew of 280 men and women and reveals the intimate details of daily life on board including the tense days when they suddenly find themselves at the centre of some of the most sensitive military operations in recent history.

This series documents the moment the crew go face-to-face with Russian military aggression, and revels the untold story of how HMS Duncan played a vital role in the 2018 Syrian airstrikes.

2. The Secrets of the Masons SINGLE PROG. TX: 19/03/2018 Dur: 59’00” Broadcaster: BBC 2 Scotland Production Company: Matchlight

In Secrets of the Masons, cameras for the first time go behind the doors of the Grand Masonic Lodge of Scotland in Edinburgh, the home of Freemasonry, and lift the veil on the inner secrets of this normally closed world. With exclusive access to its 400 year old archive, its members around the country, and its Grand Master, who presides over 1,000 lodges and 100,000 Scottish Freemasons worldwide, we film at lodge meetings, the selection of new candidates, and the installation of Grand Masters here and in America.

This documentary explores the truth about an organisation characterised by many for funny handshakes and rolled trouser legs, and by others as a dangerous, secret society, “the hidden hand that’s shaped Scotland”. We discover famous Scots whose careers have been “helped” by being masons, including Robert Burns and leading light in the Scottish Enlightenment, James Watt.

Deputy Scottish Grandmaster Ramsay McGee, ex assistant chief constable of Northern Constabulary, remembers when, in the 1970’s, 50% of the force under him were masons. But he defends the close links between Freemasonry and the Police, “I could argue all policemen should be masons, it would make them much better men!”

In the bomb proof safes below the Grand Lodge in Edinburgh’s George Street, archivist Robert Cooper, in white gloves, finds the original minutes of the first lodge meeting in 1598. We trace how this organisation grew from stonemasons to freemasons, became enshrined in America, where 40% of Presidents have been masons, was banned by the Pope and Hitler, and “done in” ,in Robert Cooper’s words, by Dan Brown. And we ask if its lasting legacy is less its influence and more its secrecy.

3. My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me SINGLE PROG. TX: 04/04/2018 Dur: 01:02: 14 Broadcaster: BBC 1 Production Company: Dragonfly Film and Television Productions

My Dad, the Peace Deal and Me aimed to take complex, contentious subjects - the decades of conflict in Northern Ireland, the history of The Good Friday agreement, and the implications of Brexit for the peace deal - and built a documentary about them in a way that would work for a mainstream, primetime BBC1 audience.

At the heart of the film was Patrick Kielty’s personal story of his father’s murder by paramilitary gunmen – a subject he had not previously spoken about publicly in detail. By exploring how Jack Kielty’s death interlinked with the wider themes of conflict, loss, and reconciliation, Patrick brought a broad audience to a profound examination of Northern Ireland’s history. Rather than over- simplifying, his warm and even-handed approach meant the film managed to encompass radically opposed views from each side of the conflict, as well as some subtle differences of perspective amongst those who have lived through it.

4. Gangs, Drill & Prayer SINGLE PROG. TX: 14/05/2018 Dur: 42’00” Broadcaster: BBC iPlayer / 1Xtra Youtube Production Company: BBC

How young Christians are using rap & drill music to lure gang members away from streets & towards God.

We join Enrique on his extraordinary journey from south London gangster rapper, to Pastor at just 21 years old. We meet the artists whose music is reaching out to youths & inspiring change, artists like Hope Dealers, who spit holy bars over the hardest of beats, drill.

These movements, however, do not come without controversy; wearing balaclavas in church, accusations of being a cult & the large sums of money involved, have prompted some to question their holy intentions.

5. Journey In The Danger Zone: Iraq – Episode 2 SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 10/06/2018 Dur: 60’00” Broadcaster: BBC 2 Production Company: October Films Ltd.

Adnan Sarwar initially viewed his mission in Iraq as liberating the country’s people from Saddam Hussein. But when parts of the population turned against the allied forces, Adnan saw first-hand how driving Saddam from power led to more violence and ultimately the creation of ISIS. Now, with ISIS gone, he is travelling back to Iraq to discover the country afresh, beyond the headlines and wars to meet everyday people rebuilding their lives.

On a journey from Mosul to Basra, from snowy peaks to arid deserts, Adnan ventures through ancient hilltop villages, ISIS tunnels, and magnificent gorges. He experiences the danger of the mine clearing teams in Mosul, where people are returning to their homes, and joins wildlife conservationists releasing bears near one of Saddam Hussein’s old palaces. He meets pop-singers, all-female fighting units, archaeologists, oil-workers, LGBT activists and ordinary Iraqis from all walks of life.

But with sectarian violence, ISIS sleeper cells and deadly bomb attacks still a daily reality, Adnan explores whether the country can break its cycle of violence and forge a better future.

6. George Shelley: Learning To Grieve SINGLE PROG. TX: 30/09/2018 Dur: 54’00” Broadcaster: BBC 3 Production Company: BBC 3

In May 2017, the musician and presenter George Shelley tragically lost his sister in a sudden accident. Harriet Shelley was 21 and her brother's closest confidante. In his first documentary, George courageously opens up about his struggles with grief.

Having spent the last 12 months struggling to talk about his loss and to deal with it, George embarks on a series of extraordinarily candid and raw discussions with his parents and best friend in a bid to help him cope with, and better understand, the process of grieving. He opens up to them in ways he has never done before and, for the first time, also speaks to other young people who have suffered the loss of a sibling, and to others from his generation who can share advice and guidance about coping mechanisms.

Research suggests that bereavement is linked to high rates of suicide and mental health problems among young people. Bereavement is an extremely important issue because of the enormous and serious impact it has on wider society, especially with people under 30 being renowned for not talking about grief. George explores the relationship between his own grief and mental health. He spiralled into a deep depression when his sister died and discusses some of the revelations he has subsequently discovered about himself following conversations he has had with medical professionals

7. Earth's Natural Wonders: Surviving Against the Odds" (Series 2 Episode 3 of 3) SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 07/03/2018 Dur: 60’00” Broadcaster: BBC One Production Company: BBC Studios

Earth’s Natural Wonders is a spectacular celebration of our planet’s most breath-taking places: yet these places pose the most astonishing challenges to the people that call them home.

Vast mountain ranges, impenetrable rainforests, baking deserts and vast ice-worlds. In some of the world's most extraordinary natural wonders, people must push themselves to the limit in order to survive.

In the heart of the Amazon jungle, the Kamayura people believe they must perform a complex ceremony each year to appease the spirits, if the tribe is to remain in good health. In Ethiopia, new mothers risk their lives, to give their babies the best chance in life, climbing to churches built on top of towering sandstone mountains to be baptised just 40 days after giving birth.

From clearing bombs dropped in Laos during the Vietnam war, still causing injury and death over 40 years later, to collecting eggs from the sheer cliff faces of the Faroe Islands - for the people who call these extraordinary natural wonders home, survival requires skill, ingenuity and bravery.

8. Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 16/03/2018 Dur: 59’30” Broadcaster: BBC Two Production Company: CTVC Ltd.

With the appetite for established religion in rapid decline, why is walking an ancient pilgrimage undergoing a revival? An all-star cast, including Neil Morrissey, Debbie McGee and Heather Small, make a spiritual journey of a lifetime to find out.

This three-part series puts questions of faith at its heart as seven famous faces attempt the gruelling 800km medieval pilgrimage across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela and the shrine of St James the apostle.

Stripped of their everyday comforts, the group – made up of a variety of faiths and beliefs, including Christian, Atheist and Humanist – live as simple pilgrims. Staying in basic hostels and carrying everything they need on their backs, they travel through stunning landscapes and visit historic landmarks whilst exploring the religious meaning of this ancient route.

With the physical challenge proving too much for some, the group bonds over the hardships and experiences that come with such a test, and there’s both humour and personal revelations as they have the chance to contemplate their faith, or lack of it, while discovering new insights into themselves.

9. Louis Theroux: Altered States – Choosing Death SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 18/11/2018 Dur: 63’00” Broadcaster: BBC Two Production Company: BBC Studios: The Documentary Unit

In the US, there are now six states that offer the terminally ill the option of ending their lives with a prescribed cocktail of drugs.

Louis heads to California, one of the latest states to adopt this law, where residents can now take home a lethal overdose as long as they are terminally ill, of sound mind and strong enough to administer their own prescribed dose.

Here, Louis is invited into the family homes of those who want control over ending their own lives. But he discovers that when you have complete autonomy over your own death, choosing the right time is not such a simple decision.

Louis also meets a group who provide information about how to die to those who don't fit the legal criteria. With them, he meets a woman planning to end her life long before what would appear to be her natural time, raising complex moral and legal questions about how much control we should have over our own deaths.

10. Canvey The promised Island SINGLE PROG. TX: 02/01/2018 Dur: 40’00”” Broadcaster: BBC One Production Company: Spring Films

After a century, the Jewish Hassidic community of Stamford Hill North London are upping sticks and relocating 50 miles to the green marshy fields of Canvey Island Essex – recently voted ‘the most English place in Britain’. So how will the island’s somewhat isolated Christian and Agnostic community react to this mass immigration of notoriously closed community? And how will the Hassidics feel about embracing some of the alien ways of Canvey seaside life? It could all go horribly wrong, but the elders on both sides of the fence are determined that good neighbourly relations will prevail. In the build up to a joint dinner party (the first ever of its kind) Chris Fenwick, manager of rock band Dr Feelgood and an island native is joined by his Anglican priest David Tudor and Rabbi Teller to see if the invasion of Canvey Island can be a success.

11. Jesus: Countdown to Calvary SINGLE PROG. TX: 01/04/2018 Dur: 53’00”” Broadcaster: RTÉ (also PBS, ARTE, ABC, NRK, DR,RSI, History) Production Company: RTÉ

Actor and Cambridge University theology graduate, Hugh Bonneville, examines the events, characters and context of the week that changed the world - the last days of Jesus' life. He discovers a perfect storm of power-play, intrigue, religious fervour and betrayal, worthy of a political thriller.

Shot on location in Jerusalem and directed by multi award-winning director Gerry Hoban, using leading academic contributors, the latest production and post production techniques, top quality dramatic reconstruction, CGI and Hugh Bonneville's own talents and curiosity, this documentary sets out to explain why the arrival in Jerusalem of this one 1st century Nazarene healer and preacher was such a threat to the political and religious authorities of his day that, within the space of just six days, he was dead on a cross.

Against the ticking clock of a countdown to Calvary, Bonneville asks: What were Jesus' intentions, when he arrived in that powder-keg city during its most tense and febrile festival period? Who killed him? And why, in a century when the Romans executed as many as 500 people a day in the same fashion, did this one crucifixion have such lasting, global impact?

Produced by RTÉ in association with American Public Television and ARTE, the documentary aired in territories all over the world at Easter 2018.

12. Walking the Walk SINGLE PROG. TX: 06/12/2018 Dur: 51’24” Broadcaster: RTÉ One Production Company: RTÉ

In March 2018, Fr Tony Coote, a charismatic Dublin priest, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. Where some might respond to that diagnosis by withdrawing into themselves, Tony not only resolved to carry on his priestly duties for as long as possible, but announced that he would walk the length of Ireland, to raise awareness and funds for MND sufferers.

In 'Walking the Walk', director Maurice O'Brien follows his inspirational journey, as Tony leads a growing army of supporters 550km, from Letterkenny to Ballydehob.

By July, as the walk begins, Tony’s rapidly deteriorating condition means that he is already in a wheelchair. Even then, he is warned that the exertion of the walk poses a serious danger to his health, but goes ahead anyway. Aware that many MND sufferers lose their speech, Tony is determined to use his voice while he can.

Far from being a lament, the walk becomes a celebration, with Tony leading the craic. Despite becoming visibly more disabled as the journey progresses, he sticks to his determination to show that "The illness is not the person. The person has an illness. I'm still the same person.”

He discusses, unflinchingly, how his diagnosis has affected his sense of vocation and his relationship with God. He also relates how his childhood experiences of coming from a broken home shaped his priesthood and his determination to make the Church a place of inclusion and love, never harsh judgment.

Tony has raised over half a million euro for the cause – more than double his target – raising awareness of MND to new levels and contributing to medical research that seems to be nearing a breakthrough. With his speech and movement now almost entirely gone, he knows he will die shortly, but he has lit a torch of hope for others

13. Christmas at St Paul’s SINGLE PROG. TX: 24/12/2018 Dur: 59’00” Broadcaster: BBC Two Production Company: Films of Record

For the first time in its history, St Paul's has granted the BBC privileged access to film behind the scenes in the countdown to Christmas and on the big day itself. With over 45,000 visitors attending 17 magical services and events, the pressure's on for the team gearing up for cathedral's busiest time of the year.

We'll be backstage when celebrities like Michael Palin perform at the most glamorous event in the cathedral's calendar, when three huge Christmas trees gifted by the Queen and each weighing more than a tonne are hauled into place, and when 2,500 worshippers arrive for the cathedral's iconic, candle-lit Advent Procession. We'll discover the enormous logistical challenge that goes into supplying enough consecrated wine and wafers for the thousands that attend Midnight Mass and eavesdrop on the team of expert embroiderers restoring priceless Christmas vestments in the bell tower. We'll meet the 12-year-old boy hoping to sing the big Christmas solo and be with the cathedral's 30 choristers as they open their presents on Christmas Day. This is St Paul's Cathedral as you've never seen it before.

Christmas is also a period of huge spiritual significance for the cathedral. We'll see this in every one of the extraordinary services that St Paul's lays on - from the beautiful, candle-lit Advent Procession to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve - revealing through interviews with the clergy and virgers what these services mean to them personally. We'll meet the refugees from the cathedral's affiliate charity, the Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants, and Phyllis Bankale, one of the cathedral's longest-serving worshippers, who comes from Nigeria and has been visiting the cathedral since 1956. And we'll reveal the cathedral's extraordinary history, visiting Sir Christopher Wren's model of the building and exploring how the cathedral was damaged during the Blitz.

14. Death Row 2018 with Trevor McDonald SINGLE PROG. TX: 01/02/2018 Dur: 60’00” Broadcaster: ITV Production Company: Plum Pictures

Trevor McDonald returns to Indiana State Prison's death row to meet some of the condemned men he was unable to forget and the row's new arrival: a serial killer. Five years earlier Trevor came face to face with these men as they confessed to some of their unspeakable crimes. It was a life changing experience for Trevor and made him question his own personal opinions about the death penalty.

On Trevor's return he is told a new death chamber has been built and although no executions have been scheduled the state's intention is clear. On the row he meets 'cop killer' Benjamin Ritchie - five years ago he was a happily married man, but the relationship had not stood the test of time in such extreme circumstances. Tensions between the men on the row had only grown since Trevor had last been there and 'child killer' Frederick Baer is now public enemy number one. Targeted for his vicious crimes Baer tells Trevor how he believes his fellow inmates are trying to poison him and he's in constant fear for his life.

Finally Trevor is reunited with Ronald Sanford - who at 13 killed two elderly women and was sentenced to 170 years. Sanford tells Trevor how he was almost 'trained' to be a killer because of the chaotic lifestyle he had at home with his alcoholic mother.

On his final day Trevor comes face to face with the rows most infamous inmate; serial killer William Gibson - who has never given an interview before. Gibson was convicted for torturing and killing three women - including his mother's elderly best friend... in his chilling interview he confesses to Trevor that the number of murders is probably closer to 30 and killing for him is as easy as 'going out to dinner'

15. The Cross and The Crescent (Africa’s Great Civilisations) SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 05/06/2018 Dur: 55'00" Broadcaster: BBC 4 Production Company: Nutopia Ltd.

The award-winning filmmaker and academic, Henry Louis Gates Jr, travels the length and breadth of Africa to examine the continent's epic history. Viewers are taken on a sweeping 200,000-year journey of discovery, revealing the complexity, grandeur and diversity of Africa’s compelling and dramatic history.

Episode 2 ‘The Cross and the Crescent’ charts the emergence of two powerful forces of global change: Christianity and Islam. Viewers learn how pervasively ‘the Cross and the Crescent’ reshaped the landscape and people of Africa between the 1st and 12th centuries AD - and for centuries to come.

Debunking the myth that Christianity came to Africa with European colonialism, Professor Gates shows that, in the NE corner of Africa, Christianity is as ancient as anywhere in the world. In fact, some of early Christianity's most important writers and theologians were Africans of Berber descent.

But, just as Christianity was beginning to spread south beyond Egypt to Nubia, the new religion of Islam was transforming large areas of Africa through conquest and trade. By the beginning of the 8th century, Muslim rulers controlled not only Egypt, but all the former provinces of Byzantium, with a base at Tangier from which Tariq ibn Ziyad launched his attack on Spain in 711 AD. These Muslim conquests stimulated a new age of flourishing growth in commerce across the Sahara between West African and North African peoples, which lasted down to recent centuries.

“Endlessly enthralling and tremendously dramatic … Gates, straight to camera, asks: “How could any schoolchild not be taught this, about the history of the great African continent?” A bit late for me, but I listened like a kid to Gates’s tales of Africa’s great civilisations, narrated by him with the minimum of showiness and a cast of insightful and engaging experts.” Independent 3 Jul 18

16. Civilisations SERIES TX: 14/01/2018 Dur: 59’00” x 9 Broadcaster: BBC 2 Production Company: Nutopia Ltd.

Civilisations is an epic series spanning 31 countries on 6 continents, and covering more than 500 works of art. Presenters Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga explore humanity's desire to create; investigating thousands of years of visual culture and exploring the connections between art, culture and religion.

The title is a reference to Civilisation, the series written and presented by Kenneth Clark almost fifty years ago. That landmark project offered one man’s personal view of western European civilisation. In contrast, the new series features African, Asian and American as well as European cultures to explore how human creativity began and developed, how civilisations around the world influenced one another and how artists have depicted the human form, the realms of the gods and the natural world.

The three presenters bring differing opinions and different perspectives to bear on the stories they tell - their own personal take on ‘civilisations’.

For each presenter, the series also provides powerful and moving first hand encounters with art. David Olusoga travels to Nigeria to see the technique behind the Benin Bronzes which he was taken to see in the British Museum as a child. Mary Beard climbs one of the Colossi of Memnon in Egypt which she says she has waited half her life to see up close. In Japan, Simon Schama apologises for his shaking hands as he examines an image he describes as almost perfect.

For the viewer too the series is a rare treat, offering what feels like private access to countless remarkable prints, paintings, sculptures and photographs as well as astonishing architecture.

17. We are British Jews Programme 2 SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 05/09/2018 Dur: 60’00” Broadcaster: BBC Two Production Company: Lion Television

With antisemitism in the news, this timely two part series explores British Jewry’s many conflicting values and opinions through the eyes of eight British Jews who are taken on an immersive journey in the UK and in Israel, challenging their opinions on the issues that divide them.

In episode two, they’re in Israel, the country many call their homeland, visiting people from both sides of its’ divide. They visit Palestinians, starting with Fadi, who talks about life in Bethlehem behind the Separation Barrier Israel says it built to prevent attacks by Palestinians; Atta, a farmer shows how his land was bulldozed by Israel’s authorities, and Issa, a Palestinian activist, tells them about living under the restrictions imposed by Israel.

On the Israeli side, they go to Efrat, seen as an illegal settlement by the international community, but they meet a settler there who tells them why to him, it’s just a regular town. In Hebron, they meet Noam, the leader of the town's Settlers. He shows the group why he believes the Jewish people have a biblical right to the land. Later, they meet Tsipi, whose father, a prominent settler, was murdered by a Palestinian in his sleep. She explains why she thinks attacks like the one against him demonstrate the need for restrictions on Palestinians.

With their journey drawing to an end, the group head to Jerusalem, home to some of the sites most holy to Jews, Christians and Muslim. After visiting the Western Wall – one of Judaism's holiest sites, they have a moving meeting with two fathers – a Palestinian and an Israeli. Both lost young daughters to the conflict and are now working together for peace.

18. Four Days That Shook Britain SINGLE PROG. TX: 15/03/2018 Dur: 70’00” Broadcaster: ITV Production Company: Minnow Films

One year on from the first of four terror attacks which hit Britain in 2017, this 90-minute film tells the personal stories of people who were caught up in the atrocities in Westminster, Manchester Arena, around London Bridge and outside Finsbury Park Mosque.

Those involved - some speaking for the first time - relive the moments of fear and panic that unfolded after the attacks, building a vivid picture of these catastrophic and life-changing events.

19. Jesus’s Female Disciples: The New Evidence SINGLE PROG. TX: 08/04/2018 Dur: 47’00” Broadcaster: Channel 4 Production Company: Minerva Media (This programme was also entered by Channel 4)

A ground-breaking investigation into the role of women in the Jesus movement by two leading professors of Christian origins. The new evidence presented by Helen Bond and Joan Taylor was recognised by major articles in The Times and the Telegraph, was watched by 1.5 million, stirred social media interest and was warmly received by academics.

Apart from Mary and Mary Magdalene, women seem to play minor parts in the Bible. But Helen and Joan see in the Gospels glimpses of much bigger roles. In Israel and Italy they put those glimpses in context and search for new supporting archaeological evidence.

In a warehouse in Jerusalem they meet scholar Tal Ilan who sees in 1st C ossuary names clues that Mary Magdalene was an independent woman. And by the Sea of Galilee, they discuss how Mary’s nickname, the ‘Magdalene’, was also an allusion to her ‘towering’ personality. In Tiberias they discuss another formidable female disciple mentioned briefly in the gospels – Joanna, a wealthy aristocrat from Tiberias who helped fund the Jesus movement.

Joan finds in the Greek of Mark’s Gospel an intriguing passage suggesting Jesus also had 12 female disciples. Were both sets of disciples sent in pairs to heal and baptise to both sexes? In an abandoned 3rd C underground chapel honouring the disciple Salomé they find support in an inscription praising Salomé’s healing powers.

In a Naples catacomb they examine a 5th C fresco of a female bishop, fresh new evidence that women continued as leaders for centuries. But in sarcophagi in the Vatican Museum they also find evidence of women’s fall from leadership roles in the 4th C. It coincides with the reign of Emperor Constantine who imposed a masculine version of the faith. The women disciples and leaders in the early Church were erased from history…

20. Path of Blood SINGLE PROG. TX: 14/07/2018 Dur: 87’00” Broadcaster: Cinema; VOD incl Amazon, iTunes, etc; DVD Production Company: OR Media

From BAFTA®-winning director Jonathan Hacker comes a powerful cinematic documentary. Drawn from a hoard of jihadi home-movie footage captured by security services, PATH OF BLOOD reveals religious-based terrorism as no film before.

Deep in the desert, young thrill-seekers at a jihadi boot camp prepare to overthrow the Saudi government. After detonating three car-bombs at Western compounds in Riyadh, their plans unravel. Embroiled in a nail-biting game of cat-and-mouse with government forces, they resort to ever more ruthless tactics. The shocking climax of the film reveals how force alone cannot defeat fanaticism.

This is an important film. Islamist terrorism in its many guises is not going away, and the public has a false impression of who these fanatics are. They aren’t two-dimensional villains. Their actions are indisputably evil, but they are the actions of human beings like you and me—as the film reveals with disturbing subtlety.

Quilliam and the ISD, both top counter-extremism groups, worked with the film upon release, recognizing its importance as a resource for understanding how brainwashed youths (of any religion), seduced by fundamentalism and thirsty for the afterlife, can carry out acts of madness.

“An extraordinary piece of work, that goes to places not seen before.” Simon Hills, The Times

“If you want to dig beneath the headlines this is the perfect place to start.” The Evening Standard, ★★★★

“Path of Blood shows an uncomfortable humanity behind inhumane acts.” The Economist

“I’ve never seen anything like it.” Nick Cohen, The Observer

“Extraordinary. This documentary shows Al-Qaeda in a revelatory light that even Four Lions only hints at. It leaves you riveted, shocked and irrevocably changed.” Ryan Gilbey, New Statesman

“A dazzlingly revealing film.” Nigel Andrews, Financial Times ★★★★

“A potent reminder of the randomness, and casual cruelty of modern terrorism.” Leslie Felperin, The Guardian ★★★★

21. My Stolen Childhood SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 14/05/2018 Dur: 25’45” Broadcaster: BBC World (Our World and Africa Eye) Production Company: On Our Radar

“When I was 7 years old, I was trafficked to Ghana from my home in Togo and forced into a system I knew nothing about. I was labelled a trokosi, a wife of the gods.”

Thousands of women across West Africa have lost their freedom due to a practice called 'trokosi'. Girls are forced to live and work in religious shrines to atone for the sins of family members. Under the ‘collective principles’ upon which Ewe society is built, individual rights do not exist.

This is why, at the age of seven, Brigitte Sossou Perenyi was trafficked away from her family into a shrine and labelled a ‘trokosi’. She stayed there until she was adopted by an American viewer following a chance appearance in a 1997 news report. Twenty years later, Brigitte goes on a journey to understand what 'trokosi' really is and why her family gave her away.

In this 26 minute BBC documentary, Brigitte meets current trokosi women and elders who believe in the practice. She is reunited with her family and speaks to experts about the cultural background to the practice. The process of making the documentary was participatory and Brigitte was trained to narrate her own story throughout.

The documentary was broadcast as part of the BBC Africa Eye strand and a 23 minute version was broadcast on BBC Our World, with 1.2 million views on YouTube, 3.5 million on Facebook and an estimated TV audience of 70 million worldwide.

22. Painting The Holy Land- Episode Two-In Search of Mary SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 01/04/2018 Dur: 60’00” Broadcaster: BBC One Production Company: Oxford Films

Painter Lachlan Goudie traces the role of Mary through the Biblical story, with a very personal question: why is the Mother almost a by-stander in the Gospels, but so well-represented in art? Taking his easel with him, Lachlan visits the places in the Holy Land most associated with Mary including the Tomb of the Virgin Mary and the Church of the Nativity. He looks at her role in the story of the Resurrection and the last event of Easter, the Pentecost through the places Mary knew. In Nazareth and Bethlehem he revisits the Immaculate Conception and the birth of Christ. It’s a story he knows well, as told to him many times by his Catholic mother.

During this journey Lachlan will discover that Mary and the birth of her son Jesus, is a subject which does not only belong to the Christian faith. Mary is a major figure to Muslims, the only woman named in the Koran. She has also been re-imagined in the work of Islamic miniature artists, by whom she is venerated as the mother of a prophet.

Part travelogue, part spiritual quest, part artistic exploration, this series will transport the viewer visually and emotionally as Lachlan challenges himself to capture the look and feel of the Holy Land and the Bible story.

23. Exorcism: The Battle For Young Minds SINGLE PROG. TX: 23/08/2018 Dur: 41’53” Broadcaster: BBC 3 / iPlayer Production Company: Villager Films Ltd

British journalist Andrew Gold visits an internationally renowned exorcist in Buenos Aires who claims to cure the sick of their demons and battle against evil. As well as running the world’s first ‘school for exorcists’, Padre Manuel Acuña often appears alongside models and celebrities on Argentinian TV and radio. He has fostered a huge following in the poor suburbs of Buenos Aires, where he uses controversial techniques to apparent success.

With so many young and impressionable people opting for the Padre’s exorcisms over doctors and psychiatric care, Andrew explores the long term consequences of shunning medical care. Intrigued by his carefully controlled media profile and sceptical of his motives, Andrew’s investigation touches a nerve. Is the Padre hiding a darker truth? And what of his relationship with young female followers?

With bizarre interactions, violent exorcisms and one particularly tense argument, this documentary uncovers the murky truth about a cult leader.

24. Britain's Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson 'York Minster' SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 30/03/2018 Dur: 43’39” Broadcaster: Channel 5 Production Company: Elephant House Studios

In this acclaimed series for Channel 5, Sir Tony Robinson visits six of Britain’s greatest cathedrals, highlighting the incredible history that has taken place within their walls.

Unequalled in size and splendour when constructed, these buildings helped shape our island story, and continue to have a profound impact on us today. They bring our shared past to life, reflecting the changing fortunes of Britain through the ages, and bearing the scars of wars and revolutions.

The six cathedrals featured - Canterbury, York, Durham, Salisbury, Liverpool and Winchester – all have display distinct architectural features, and have different tales to tell. Some of these instantly recognisable landmarks, like York, occupy ground considered sacred for more than a thousand years. Others, such as Salisbury, have moved sites during their long life. The largest of them all – Liverpool – wasn’t finally completed until the 1970s. But they have all been at the centre of incredible stories: of rivalry and riches, of success and sacrifice, of martyrs and even murder.

Presented in his easy conversational style, Sir Tony relates these stories in a vivid and accessible manner, attracting viewers who wouldn’t normally tune into ‘religious’ programmes. Each episode was broadcast in an 8pm peak-time slot, achieving audiences of more than a million. The series has also been sold to other broadcasters around the world

25. Britain's Great Cathedrals with Tony Robinson 'Liverpool' SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 04/05/2018 Dur: 43’45” Broadcaster: Channel 5 Production Company: Elephant House Studios

In this acclaimed series for Channel 5, Sir Tony Robinson visits six of Britain’s greatest cathedrals, highlighting the incredible history that has taken place within their walls.

26. A Vicar's Life: Episodes 3 & 6 SERIES TX: 02/02/2018 Dur: 30’00” Broadcaster: BBC Two Production Company: BBC Studios, Pacific Quay Productions

In this series we follow vicars from the Diocese of Herford, and through them uncover the lives and struggles of people living in rural England. In Episode 3 new Deacon Matthew Cashmore is determined to make an impression in his new parish. He's noticed some tents in the middle of a roundabout, discovers a homeless young woman and resolves to help her find a roof over her head. In the Black Mountains, Nicholas supports a farming couple forced to sell their cattle and vacate their farm. Revd. Matthew Stafford recalls helping a troubled young man who once slept in his shed, but his most pressing issue right now is a visit from the Bishop to bless his new church roof.

In episode 6 the festive season is the busiest time for vicars in Hereford Diocese, but whilst most people are celebrating Christmas, many struggle to find ‘glad tidings of great joy’ in the depths of winter. Matthew Stafford is lending his support to a local farm helping young people with special needs. In Hereford, singing plays an important part of the worship at Ruth’s church, even for non- believers.

27. Black Genocide in Brazil (What in the World? Series) SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 16/01/2018 Dur: 40’00” Broadcaster: RTÉ One Production Company: KMF Productions

Three images dominate the entrance to the home of Fr. Jim Crowe in the district of Jardim Ângela in the city of São Paulo, Brazil: India’s Mahatma Gandhi, the now deceased Catholic Archbishop of Receife Dom Hélder Câmara (When I feed the hungry, they call me a saint. When I ask why people are hungry, they call me a Communist. We must work not just for the poor, but with the poor) and the Argentinean/Cuban Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.

Now seventy-two years old, Jim has been in Brazil for over forty years and over these oppressive and tumultuous years he has become a key national political figure as well as a priest and pastor in his community. An active member of Brazil’s Workers’ Party, a left-wing party founded in the midst of the misrule of Brazil's military dictatorship, street and protest politics is as important for him as his church-based ministry. Days before we arrived, the pipe-smoking septuagenarian entertained former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in his kitchen. Both men have worked closely together through their early involvement in the trade union movement.

For now at least the political right is in the ascendency. And this is most pronounced in the area of policing. Brazil is an inherently violent society, 56,000 people were killed in 2012, a violence that permeates all life in the country. In 2012 more than 50% of homicide victims were aged between 15 and 29 (30,000 in total), 90% were men and 77% of them were black. Rather than controlling the violence, the police fuel it. Their target for the most part: young Black men. The three Ps: pobre (poor), preto (Black), and periférical (of the periphery) are all police targets.

28. Crossing Birmingham’s Invisible Borders SINGLE PROG. TX: 02/02/2018 Dur: 30’00” Broadcaster: BBC One W Production Company: BBC Inside Out West Midlands Is there more to Muslim women than Islam, the Hijab and their stereotypical image?

Living totally separate lives just a few miles apart - it's a feature of many communities in big cities like Birmingham. But does it have to be that way? We follow a pioneering attempt to turn strangers into friends, led by a woman whose family has suffered from anti-Muslim violence.

Can she show a group of white working class women, that beneath the headscarf, they are the same?

29. Survivors, Episode 1 SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 09/01/2018 Dur: 29’00” Broadcaster: BBC One Northern Ireland Production Company: DoubleBand Films / Chistera Productions

With powerful personal testimonies this three part series features the voices of civilians injured or bereaved as a result of the Troubles.

Mary Hannon-Fletcher, Tommy Larkham, and Peter Gibson, reveal the incidents from the Troubles that changed their lives forever.

30. Christmas Celebration SINGLE PROG. TX: 24/12/2018 Dur: 59’00” Broadcaster: BBC One Scotland Production Company: Tern Television Productions Ltd.

Sandford St Martin 2019

Christmas Celebration is a pre-recorded single programme commissioned by BBC Scotland to replace network’s Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Please do not immediately dismiss it as a formulaic commission of obligation!

By mixing singing with readings, mostly contemporary meditations, the programme offers a provocative modern interpretation of the Christmas Story. It tackles the difficult subject of the slaughter of the innocents. See for example the sequence from 15.01 to 29.13 in which Tony Robinson brings the story of Herod alive, which includes a newly composed carol by Paul Mealor (Army Wives, Royal Wedding), and the subsequent meditation on the deaths of children at 32.00 to 33.48.

The sequences mostly stand alone to allow the viewers time for their own reflection, but occasional presenter appearances are designed to explain inclusively to viewers with little knowledge while at the same time respecting those who know the story.

Rather than simply observing readings intoned in a churchy manner as happens in much TV of this sort, care was taken to train and produce young voices who were distinctively directed, creating a striking televisual presentation.

The programme won a 16% share with an unusual audience profile, significantly more than Network; 80% were under 64, 34% under 44, and 55% C2DE.

31. Faith Behind Bars SINGLE PROG. TX: 14/08/2018 Dur: 38’57” Broadcaster: BBC One Production Company: Firecrest Films

With access to HMP Edinburgh, this film follows the prison chaplains as they give spiritual guidance and religious support to offenders - including those convicted of the most serious crimes. Can anyone be forgiven, regardless of what they’ve done?

32. BBC Hardtalk SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 13/08/2018 Dur: 24’35” Broadcaster: BBC World News, BBC News Production Company: BBC Hardtalk

BBC Hardtalk's Stephen Sackur speaks to Vicky Beeching, a popular Christian singer-songwriter. For decades she remained silent about being gay, not telling her own family and friends and even considered taking her own life. But in 2014 she publicly declared her homosexuality and found herself alienated from some members of her own church and the wider Christian community. Some churches who had once bought her albums and sung her songs at worship gatherings completely shunned her. Has Vicky Beeching finally found peace after years of turmoil?

33. Survivors: Disabled by the Troubles: Episode 1 - Peter Heathwood; Episode 5 - Margaret Yeaman and Jennifer McNern SERIES TX: 11/10/2018 Dur: Episode 1: 4'25" and Episode 5: 6'54" Broadcaster: BBC iPlayer Production Company: DoubleBand Films / Chistera Productions

Through powerful personal testimonies, survivors of the Troubles remember the incidents that changed their lives, and reflect on coming to terms with their disabilities.

34. Songs of Praise SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 14/01/2018 Dur: 34’00” Broadcaster: BBC One Production Company: Avanti Media & Nine Lives Media

Songs of Praise joins Her Majesty The Queen to celebrate 150 years of the Christian charity, Scripture Union.

This is the first time The Queen has appeared on Songs of Praise and the production team was also given permission to quote from one of The Queen’s Christmas speeches, which is a rare honor.

With hymns and worship songs recorded in the presence of the monarch at St Mary’s Church in Islington, presenter Katherine Jenkins reveals through the episode how one man telling Bible stories to a group of children in 1867 started a movement that has now spread to over 100 countries around the world.

With Her Majesty watching on, ‘The Artless Theatre Company’ tells the story of Scripture Union and how it began 150 years ago in a drawing room a short walk from St Mary’s, Islington and how it has evolved and adapted through the years into a charity with a worldwide mission. The current National Director of Scripture Union tells Katherine about meeting the challenge of spreading the word of Jesus to young people in the modern world. He also reflects on The Queen’s strong Christian faith.

One of the country’s most cherished modern hymn writers Bishop Timothy Dudley Smith reveals how, even in his 90s, his faith continues to inspire him to write music. And Pam Rhodes meets Douglas Gresham, the stepson of CS Lewis, to find out how the iconic author let the light of his Christian faith shine through his children’s books, especially The Chronicles of Narnia, still one of the most popular series of children’s books in the world.

35. My Faith & Me SERIES TX: 02/12/2018 Dur: 60’00” Broadcaster: BBC One Production Company: 7Wonder Productions/BBC

In this new series for the four Sundays of Advent, 4 well-loved public figures will revisit key events from their past to explore their unique relationships with religion and faith.

Each episode, we’ll follow a famous face on a personal journey as they return to places they had life- defining moments, re-engage with the people who shaped their lives and experience genuine revelations about who they are and what they believe. Fusing authored celebrity travelogue with biographical documentary, these films will see the subjects talking about their faith in unprecedented detail, offering spiritual insights that will resonate with everyone in the build up to Christmas.

June Sarpong will share how she turned to the Church following both a near fatal car accident and the death of her brother. Cherry Healey will reveal a profound belief that takes in elements from a variety of different religions. Gavin Peacock will explain how he went from scoring goals in the Premier League to preaching the Gospel in the wilds of Southern Canada. And Invictus Games host JJ Chalmers will describe how the faith he inherited from his Minister Father gave him the strength to overcome his catastrophic injury in Afghanistan.

36. Songs of Praise SINGLE EPISODE from a longer series or strand TX: 03/06/2018 Dur: 34’00” Broadcaster: BBC One Production Company: Avanti Media & Nine Lives Media

In a poignant episode, Sean Fletcher and Rev Kate Bottley hear how the Christian faith can sustain those affected by cancer.

The programme is presented from the Maggie’s centre in Oxford and Sean reveals how there are now a network of these free-to-use centres all around the UK, which specialize in supporting and caring for those diagnosed with cancer as they go through treatment. Sean reveals how this subject is particularly close to his heart following the death of his mother from cancer.

Former Blue Peter presenter Simon Thomas shares candidly how he clung onto his faith ‘by his fingertips’ following the sudden death of his young wife Gemma from leukemia. He describes how he coped with feeling angry with God, how his church is supporting him and how before she died, Gemma made him promise her he would never lose his faith.

Rev Andy Stammers recounts having an operation to remove a brain tumour while he was still awake and reciting the Lord’s Prayer. He talks about becoming a long distance cyclist has helped him deal with the threat of the tumour returning.

Kate Bottley meets Della Ogunleye, whose own experience of breast cancer drove her to offer essential support to women from ethnic minorities affected by cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Music includes In Christ Alone – chosen by Simon Thomas - Break Every Chain, God Is Love His The Care, and Keep You Here, a special song from Christian writer Stuart Townend written to reflect on the cancer diagnosis of his brother, who performs on the track, but subsequently died. This special episode of Songs of Praise received the unusually high audience appreciation index of 89 and we were given a lot of positive feedback by viewers. For example:

 Rare for me to comment on one of your programmes but I wanted to say how much I appreciated the honesty, clarity of Christian faith and testimony of those who were interviewed in today’s programme. The contemporary music also helped the integrity of the messages given by Simon and others. If Christian faith is to mean anything it has to address ‘hard’ issues and avoid the temptation to give trite answers. The programme did this brilliantly whilst bringing encouragement and hope, highlighting the kind of support available to those of all faiths and none.  A very moving portrayal on how we as Christians can face the miseries of death with less fear. I have been moved to pass it onto many friends.  This week’s Songs of Praise was really excellent. I think it is the best I have seen. It was so real, raw and honest. Can we have more like this one, based on 'topics' which are relevant to life today?! Keep up the good work! I am house bound with ME and really enjoy Songs of Praise