A Very British History

Last updated

A Very British History
GenreFactual
Presented by
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producerTony Parker
Producers
  • Diana Hare
  • Adam Keelan
  • Ed Barlow
  • Richard Taylor
Running time60 minutes
Production companyBBC England Productions
Original release
Network
Release10 December 2018 (2018-12-10) 
4 March 2019 (2019-03-04)

A Very British History is a British documentary television series that was broadcast on BBC Four. [1] The four-part series explores migration to Britain in the 20th century and the shift in culture in various minority communities. [1]

Contents

Production

The series was commissioned by BBC Four Channel Editor Cassian Harrison and former Factual Commissioning Editor Clare Paterson. [1]

Episodes

Series 1
TitleEpisode
Romany Gypsies1 [2] [3]
The First Black Brummies 2 [4]
The Jews of Leeds 3 [5]
Ugandan Asians 4 [6]
Series 2
TitleEpisode
The British Chinese 1
Birmingham Irish I am2
British Bangladeshis 3
Whatever Happened to the Boat People?4

Critical reception

The documentary series was praised for the engaging style of the presenters [7] alongside calls for a second series to be commissioned. The series also provided a first-hand glimpse into the racism faced by immigrants to Britain in the 20th century. [8] Additionally, it was noted that racism against minorities has not disappeared in the modern day. [9]

Broadcast

The series was originally broadcast on regional versions of BBC One.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xenophobia</span> Dislike of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange

Xenophobia is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression which is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-group and an out-group and it may manifest itself in suspicion of one group's activities by members of the other group, a desire to eliminate the presence of the group which is the target of suspicion, and fear of losing a national, ethnic, or racial identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Baddiel</span> English comedian and writer (born 1964)

David Lionel Baddiel is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, author and singer. He became known for his early work alongside Rob Newman in The Mary Whitehouse Experience and later for his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner.

The Runnymede Trust is a British race equality and civil rights think tank. It was founded by Jim Rose and Anthony Lester as an independent source for generating intelligence for a multi-ethnic Britain through research, network building, leading debate and policy engagement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Davis</span> English actress (born 1966)

Julia Charlotte L. Davis is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy Nighty Night (2004–2005) and the comedies Hunderby (2012–2015) and Camping (2016), which she also directed. Davis has been noted by critics for creating boundary-pushing black comedy that centres female anti-hero characters.

Sarah Phelps is a British television screenwriter, radio writer, playwright and television producer. She is best known for her work on EastEnders, a number of BBC serial adaptations including Agatha Christie's The Witness For the Prosecution, And Then There Were None, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse; Charles Dickens's Great Expectations and Oliver Twist; and J. K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, and work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ade Adepitan</span> British television presenter and sportsman

Adedoyin Olayiwola "Ade" Adepitan is a Nigerian-born British television presenter and wheelchair basketball player. As a presenter, he has hosted a range of travel documentaries and sports programmes for BBC television. Adepitan is a disability advocate and one of the first physically disabled television presenters in the UK, with a career of over 20 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Sebag Montefiore</span> British historian, television presenter and author

Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore is a British historian, television presenter and author of history books and novels, including Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar (2003), Jerusalem: The Biography (2011), The Romanovs 1613–1918 (2016), and The World: A Family History of Humanity (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black British people</span> British people of African descent

Black British people are a multi-ethnic group of British people of either African or Afro-Caribbean descent. The term Black British developed in the 1950s, referring to the Black British West Indian people from the former Caribbean British colonies in the West Indies sometimes referred to as the Windrush Generation and Black British people descending from Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limmy</span> Scottish comedian

Brian Limond, known as Limmy, is a Scottish comedian, author, and Twitch streamer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Marshall (investor)</span> British investor (born 1959)

Sir Paul Roderick Clucas Marshall is a British hedge fund manager and philanthropist. According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2020, he had an estimated net worth of £630 million. In 2024, he topped The Sunday Times Giving List, having donated £145.1 million over 12 months to various charities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naga Munchetty</span> British journalist and television presenter

Subha Nagalakshmi Munchetty-Chendriah, known professionally as Naga Munchetty, is an English television presenter, newsreader and journalist. She is a regular presenter on BBC Breakfast. She is also a former presenter of BBC World News and BBC Two's weekday financial affairs programme Working Lunch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Kay (writer)</span> British comedy writer, author, youtuber, comedian and former doctor (born 1980)

Adam Richard Kay is a British TV writer, author, comedian and former doctor. He is the author of the memoir This Is Going to Hurt (2017), about his time as a trainee doctor. His television writing credits include This is Going to Hurt, Crims, Mrs. Brown's Boys and Mitchell and Webb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Racism in the United Kingdom</span>

Racism has a long history in the United Kingdom and includes structural discrimination and hostile attitudes against various ethnic minorities. The extent and the targets of racism in the United Kingdom have varied over time. It has resulted in cases of discrimination, riots and racially motivated murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Shillinglaw</span> British media executive (born 1969)

Kim Danila Shillinglaw is a British media executive and non-executive director. A former controller of BBC Two and BBC Four, head of science and natural history commissioning at the BBC, and commissioner for children's entertainment at CBBC, she later became director of factual businesses at Endemol Shine. She is known for having transformed popular science on television.

<i>Noughts + Crosses</i> British television alternative history drama series (2020 & 2022)

Noughts + Crosses is a British drama television series based on the Noughts & Crosses novel series by Malorie Blackman. The series is set in an alternative history where black "Cross" people rule over white "Noughts". The first episode aired on BBC One on 5 March 2020, and the remaining episodes premiered on BBC iPlayer on the same day. In May 2021, the BBC announced that a second series had been commissioned.

Jason Blades is a British furniture restorer and television presenter. He grew up in Hackney, which in his childhood was a working class area of Inner London, and now lives in Ironbridge in Shropshire.

Jerk is a British black comedy television series starring and co-written by Tim Renkow. It centres around Tim, a man with cerebral palsy who tries to use his condition to his advantage. The character of Tim is based upon Renkow, who also has cerebral palsy. The series built upon a 2016 BBC production, A Brief History of Tim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Sewell</span> British educational consultant (born 1959)

Cleveland Anthony Sewell, Baron Sewell of Sanderstead, is a British educational consultant and founder and chair of the educational charity Generating Genius. In July 2020, Sewell was appointed chair of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities tasked with looking into race disparity in the UK. Sewell sits as a life peer in the House of Lords. He has been described as an admirer of the Black conservative scholar Thomas Sowell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halima Begum</span> British diplomat and civil rights leader

Halima Begum is chief executive of Oxfam UK. She has worked the Department for International Development, the British Council and the Runnymede Trust.

<i>Jews Dont Count</i> 2021 book by David Baddiel

Jews Don't Count: How Identity Politics Failed One Particular Identity is a book by British comedian David Baddiel. First published on 4 February 2021 by TLS Books, the book discusses the status of antisemitism a form of racism, particularly in left-wing politics. Baddiel argues that antisemitism is treated differently from other forms of racism, creating double standards and discrimination against Jews. The book covers a range of topics related to modern antisemitism and Jewish identity, including under-representation in popular media, relationships with Israel and Zionism, and the status of Jews as a minority group.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "BBC - BBC Four announces new programmes that celebrate British diversity - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  2. "BBC - A Very British History: Romany Gypsies - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  3. Times, The Sunday (10 February 2019). "What's on TV: Monday". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  4. "BBC - A Very British History - The First Black Brummies - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  5. "BBC - A Very British History: The Jews Of Leeds - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  6. "BBC - A Very British History: Ugandan Asians - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  7. Hughes, Sarah (4 March 2019). "Why BBC4's A Very British History deserves a second series". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  8. "A Very British History: The First Black Brummies - S1". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  9. Bennion, Chris (19 February 2019). "TV review: Cold Feet; A Very British History". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 10 March 2019.