All Seasons

Season 1

  • S01E01 How Britain Got Moving

    • September 1, 2018
    • Channel 5

    Michael reveals how Victorian engineers revolutionised public transport, with the inventions of the omnibus, the modern-day bicycle and the London Underground.

  • S01E02 Saving the Nation's Health

    • September 8, 2018
    • Channel 5

    Michael reveals how Victorians created the sewer system, providing fresh, clean water for all. The revolution began in Liverpool, which suffered the highest mortality rates in the country. But it took the Great Stink of 1858 to convince Parliament to create a sewer system for the capital.

  • S01E03 The Making of the Modern Home

    • September 15, 2018
    • Channel 5

    Michael begins his journey by exploring the massive explosion in house-building in the early Victorian period. He reveals how Victorians introduced gas power to the home, transforming the kitchen, lighting, heating and even home entertainment.

  • S01E04 The Birth of the Machines

    • September 22, 2018
    • Channel 5

    Michael Buerk looks at the creation of mass manufacturing, which meant that goods could be produced at a rate that had never been seen before. In Manchester, he learns how engineer George Stephenson created the first intercity railway, so that cotton could be transported quickly and cheaply from Liverpool docks to Manchester's mills. Michael also discovers how the sewing machine - newly created in 1851 - created the rag trade, and visits what was probably the first shopping mall in the UK, the Burlington Arcade in London.

Season 2

  • S02E01 The Railway Revolution

    • January 4, 2020
    • Channel 5

    Michael Buerk returns with more stories of how Britain was transformed during the Victorian era, beginning by looking at the development of the railway network during the era. Michael hops on board an original Victorian locomotive at Tanfield Railway and discovers the role this former coal track played in the development of the national railway. He also learns about Isambard Kingdom Brunel's bid to secure Bristol's future, and his creation of the fastest engine in the world.

  • S02E02 Britannia Rules the Waves

    • January 11, 2020
    • Channel 5

    Michael Buerk learns how the Victorians built the biggest, fastest, most technologically advanced ships in the world, which helped the nation to dominate the high seas. In Portsmouth, he boards Queen Victoria's flagship HMS Warrior to reveal surprising construction secrets and the ways the ship kept the peace in international waters, before following in Brunel's footsteps aboard his luxury steamer SS Great Britain.

  • S02E03 Bridging the Nation

    • January 18, 2020
    • Channel 5

    Michael Buerk looks at the building of bridges around the nation during the era, visiting Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol to reveal the secret construction masterpiece that lay hidden in the structure's core for more than a century. He also discovers how the Tay Bridge disaster led to huge leaps in technology and how a new metal emerged as the bridgemaker's building block of choice.

  • S02E04 The Great British Holiday

    • January 25, 2020
    • Channel 5

    Michael Buerk discovers how the Victorians spent their leisure time, heading to Blackpool to learn how the seaside mini-break was transformed from a perk of the wealthy to a British institution. He steps onto one of the town's famous piers to learn how, thanks to architect and civil engineer Eugenius Birch, these humble loading aids became entertainment hubs. Michael also hears how a rivalry between two showbusiness giants resulted in some of the area's most glorious architecture and how the advent of electricity fuelled the town's tourist industry, via its world famous illuminations.

  • S02E05 How Britain Healed The World

    • September 8, 2020
    • SBS

    Michael Buerk discovers how bold Victorian experiments and Cathedrals of Medicine built Britain and revolutionised the medical world.

  • S02E06 The Birth Of Law And Order

    • September 8, 2020
    • SBS

    Michael Buerk discovers how the Victorians instituted a revolution in law and order, created the first modern Police force and built the prisons Britain still relies on to house criminals today.

  • S02E07 The Great Stink

    • September 15, 2020
    • SBS

    Michael discovers how Britain's first Super Sewer cleaned up the capital and inspired a fresh water revolution that would change the lives of millions of Victorians.

  • S02E08 The Culture Revolution

    • September 21, 2020
    • SBS

    Michael Buerk discovers how the Victorians took on the world of exploration and adventure, and brought it home to Britain for everyone to share.

Additional Specials

  • SPECIAL 0x1 10 Ways the Victorians Changed Britain

    • May 16, 2020
    • Channel 5

    Michael Buerk narrates a documentary looking at landmark concepts and structures from the Victorian era that transformed the nation, examining sewers, bridges and trains, including London's underground. The programme also looks at advancements in hospitals and surgery, the ships that changed trading pathways for ever, and holidays.