Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights

Joanna Lumley in the Land of the Northern Lights 2008

8.40

Comedy icon Joanna Lumley pursues a life-long dream to track down the elusive and beautiful Northern Lights. She travels North across the Arctic Circle, up through Norway and finally to Svalbard, the most northerly permanently inhabited place on Earth, where she has to cope with temperatures approaching minus 30° C. Joanna’s journey takes her from train to boat and huskysled to snowmobile as she is pulled ever northwards and finally, in a breathtaking climax to the film, Joanna gets to see with her own eyes the spectacular beauty of the Northern Lights. As seen on ABC1.

2008

Scouting for Boys

Scouting for Boys 2007

1

Lord Baden-Powell's 1908 handbook Scouting for Boys is one of the most influential and best-selling books of all time. In the 20th century, only the Bible, the Koran and the Thoughts of Chairman Mao sold more. But they had fewer jokes, no pictures and were useless at important stuff like tying knots. In this entertaining and affectionate film, Ian Hislop uncovers the story behind the book which kick-started the Scout Movement - a work which is very eccentric, very Edwardian and very English. Hislop discovers that the book is also very radical and addresses a variety of modern issues, such as citizenship, disaffected youth and social responsibility. He explores the maverick brilliance of Baden-Powell, a national celebrity after his heroism in the Boer War, and considers the book's candid focus on health and well-being.

2007

Motherland: A Genetic Journey

Motherland: A Genetic Journey 2003

1

A moving, feature-length documentary shot on three continents, and amongst the most ambitious factual programmes on the BBC in recent times. Motherland used genetics to enable members of the African diaspora to trace for the first time their African ancestry. Three Black Britons become the first people ever to uncover what Alex Haley, author of Roots, could only dream of - to "go back" to Africa and reconnect with the precise population groups from which their ancestors were separated by slavery.

2003