´óÏó´«Ã½

MIXED RACE SEASON

Mixed-race Britain is put under the spotlight this autumn in a collection of revealing new programmes. With a mix of drama and documentaries, the season provides a window into the varied lives of mixed-race people living in the UK and helps us understand what the increase in mixed-race people means for the way we live in Britain today.

Mixed Britannia

George Alagiah explores the remarkable and untold story of Britain's mixed-race community in a new three-part series uncovering a tale of illicit love, tragedy and triumph.

With previously unseen material and unheard testimony, charting events from the turn of the 20th century to the present day, George examines the social factors that have influenced the shape of today's mixed-race Britain. He discovers the love between merchant seamen and liberated female workers; how the British eugenics movement physically examined mixed-race children in the name of science; how pioneering white couples adopted mixed-race babies; and how Britain's mixed-race population exploded with the arrival of people from all over the globe – making it one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the UK.

Shirley Bassey – A Very British Diva

This intimate and revealing drama tells the extraordinary life story of Dame Shirley Bassey, one of Britain's national treasures and one of the world's most successful divas. But her rise from poverty to international stardom is no ordinary rags to riches story. Set against the backdrop of mixed-race Britain from the Thirties to the Sixties, this is a story of love, loss and ambition.

Mixed Race

This documentary explores the historical and contemporary social, sexual and political attitudes to race mixing. From the strict application of "anti-miscegenation" laws in the USA and South Africa to the emergence of Mestizo cultures in the colonies of South America, the programme examines the complex history of interracial relationships around the world.

Twincredibles

Twincredibles tells the surprising story of "two-tone" twins. There's only a one in a million chance that black and white parents will have twins of different skin colour, but with the number of interracial relationships increasing, so too are the number of cases. The film captures the effects this genetic phenomenon has had on the personal and professional lives of five sets of twins.

CD

LZ: Mixed Britannia

Mixed Britannia and Mixed Race: ´óÏó´«Ã½ Productions

Shirley Bassey – A Very British Diva: A Digital Cinema Media production

Twincredibles: A Blast Films production

Reverse Missionary

Reverse Missionary follows three young Christian missionaries from Malawi, India and Jamaica as they travel to different parts of Britain, in a new three-part series.

Reversing the paths taken by three 19th-century British missionaries who exported Christianity around the world, they arrive in 21st-century Britain to discover the historical roots of their faith and pursue their own missionary agenda in the UK.

While they stay in Britain the modern-day missionaries engage in their own missionary work. But as the visitors learn more about life in an increasingly secular Britain they have to contemplate some of the social issues that the church grapples with today.

Front Desk

A Twenty Twenty production

Damned If They Do

Damned If They Do follows on from the 2004 documentary Someone To Watch Over Me, which revealed the pressures on the system responsible for safeguarding vulnerable children in inner-city Bristol. The series explores the problems that exist in society that lead to the neglect and abuse of children, most often by their own families. It also throws light on why there is a perpetual recruitment crisis in social work, and the difficulties social workers face in everyday life.

JL

´óÏó´«Ã½ Productions

Your Money And How They Spend It

In this year of spending cuts, the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s Political Editor Nick Robinson examines in this two-part series how our politicians raise money and why they spend it in the way they do. He asks who gets the most from government and who gets the least, and he challenges our assumptions on what's fair – asking the rich whether they pay too little in tax, and those on benefits whether they get too much.

The films reveal the history of how we came to love public spending – and resent footing the bill. And, drawing on his experience in the front seat of contemporary political events, Nick exposes the behind-the-scenes drama as today's politicians wrestle with their central challenge: how to balance the resentment people feel about an increasing tax bill against the frustration that emerges when the public spending they cherish is cut.

LZ

A ´óÏó´«Ã½ Current Affairs production

Towns With Nicholas Crane

We live in one of the most urbanised countries on Earth. By 2030 a staggering 92 per cent of us will be living in urban centres. For most people, that conjures up the bright lights and big opportunities of our great cities. But there is another way to live the urban life. Smaller than a city; more intimate; much greener; more surprising: the forgotten world of the town.

In this beautifully crafted series, produced in partnership with The Open University, geographer and adventurer Nicholas Crane explores four iconic British towns: Scarborough, a survivor perched on the edge of Yorkshire; Ludlow on the Welsh border, the perfect English country town; Perth, gateway to the Scottish highlands and a town that wants to be a city; and Totnes in Devon, birthplace of a new vision for the future. In each he uncovers the secrets of their survival; the reasons for their enduring appeal; and what they can teach people today about living the urban dream.

Front Desk

A Tern Television production

Britain's Got Class

Class remains a British obsession. But what exactly does it mean – and how much does it matter in the 21st century? Is the nation still divided into the traditional upper, middle and lower classes – or do we now have a new class system, structured in an entirely different way?

The Great British Class Survey, a nationwide interactive survey designed by leading academics in conjunction with ´óÏó´«Ã½ Lab UK, examines what class means in Britain today. Since January more than 140,000 people across the country have taken part, and this hour-long special programme looks at what the results mean, exploring the true make-up of Britain and its social groups, using the findings of the largest study of its kind ever conducted in the UK.

Lively, surprising and provocative, Britain's Got Class is unmissable for anyone who wants to understand modern Britain – and their place in it.

In a separate one-off programme following Britain's Got Class on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two, a more comic interpretation of the survey findings will be provided.

LZ

´óÏó´«Ã½ Productions

Wonderland

Observational documentary series Wonderland returns to seek out the people and places that offer a glimpse of today's Britain usually hidden from view.

Opportunity Knocked For Me explores the lives of the entertainment show winners of 25 years ago, and looks at how they and their relationships have been affected by the shock and triumph of the limelight.

Propellerheads follows micro-light enthusiasts as they take to the wing for the three day Round Britain Rally; and The Church Of Free Weddings tells the stories of the only church in Britain where everything – even the wedding dresses – is free.

KS3

´óÏó´«Ã½ Productions

Propellerheads: A Walker George Films production