A Very British Renaissance

Extraordinary lives revealed through a handful of images - both famous and private - and by those who knew them best.

Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you've never seen before.

A British genealogy documentary series in which celebrities trace their ancestry, discovering secrets and surprises from their past.

Comedian Alexei Sayle, playwright Arnold Wesker and writer David Aaronovitch recall fascinating episodes from their communist childhood.

Benjamin Woolley presents the gripping story of Nicholas Culpeper, the 17th century radical pharmacist who took on the establishment in order to bring medicine to the masses. Culpeper lived during one of the most tumultuous periods in British history. When the country was ravaged by famine and civil war, he took part in the revolution that culminated in the execution of King Charles I. But it is Culpeper's achievements in health care that made him famous. By practicing (often illegally) as a herbalist and publishing the first English-language texts explaining how to treat common ailments, he helped to break the monopoly of a medical establishment that had abandoned the poor and needy. His book The English Physician became the most successful non-religious English book of all time, remaining in print continuously for more than 350 years.

Victorian Sensations transports us to the thrilling era of the 1890s. Dr Hannah Fry, Paul McGann, and Philippa Perry explore a decade of rapid change that still resonates today.