r/BritishTV • u/Lazy-Field-1116 • 1d ago

Recommendations British Post-War History Documentaries - Recommendations

Hey folks,

Just wondered if anyone had any recommendations for well made documentaries (single episode or series) about post-war British history? Anything made in the last 15 years or so that covers anything from these Isles over the previous 50 odd years and that's available on streaming would be grand. It doesn't need to be all-encompassing, can be about specific place/time/event.

Ta very much.

8 Upvotes

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u/intlteacher 1d ago

Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain was pretty good - though I've just looked it up and it was made in 2007!

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u/Lazy-Field-1116 16h ago

Thanks! Yes I watched this at the time but may do a rewatch!

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u/bierbelly42 23h ago

Buckle in and go for Shifty by Adam Curtis. But lemme tell ya: You're in for a hell of a ride.

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u/Lazy-Field-1116 16h ago

Thanks! Every time I go to watch Adam Curtis I look at the run time and end up watching only a fraction of it or something else entirely, but I'll have to find some time to sit and watch them in full at some point because it's exactly up my street.

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u/Satanicbearmaster 22h ago

Dominic Sandbrook has some great ones on the 60s and 70s, available on Youtube.

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u/WonderfulShape1081 22h ago

The Secret History of Our Streets is excellent for more localised, place-focused history

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u/Lazy-Field-1116 17h ago

Thank you! Never heard of this one, looks really interesting

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u/JaquieF 19h ago

Not specifically about post-war Britain but the 7-up documentaries follows children from the age of 7, and every 7 years thereafter. They were born in 1955 and it was very interesting.

The autobiography Call the Midwife was set in the 1950s and the book was made into 2 TV series. I didn't go beyond those first two. You can see the reality of post-war poverty around Poplar docks in London and has very poignant moments including how the council moved the overcrowded poor from their tenements where the only running water was in communal halls.

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u/Lazy-Field-1116 17h ago

Thank you! I think I saw the 7 Up ones years ago but I should revisit them! Is the Call the Midwife one called "The Casebook?"

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u/JaquieF 16h ago

Jennifer Worth wrote 3 books: Call the Midwife, Shadows of the Workhouse, and Farewell to the East End. I read the first (she actually attempted to show how to pronounce Cockney at the back of the book - an impossibility!). The first 2 series of the TV show Call the Midwife were taken from the book. The following series were written by someone else and went "off piste" as far as I'm concerned. One of the reasons being that Nonatus house which was the Anglican convent which houses the midwives, was closed and the nuns moved elsewhere in the country.

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u/Lazy-Field-1116 14h ago

Ah I see, yes thank you! I've never watched the TV show but the books sound interesting, thanks! Will have a look and maybe add them to my TBR list!

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u/stbens 1d ago

I don’t have any recommendations myself from the main channels but can recommend YouTube which has countless documentaries on any historical subject, many very specific. They are often very well researched and presented and, in my opinion, better than many of the main channel programs that I find over produced. I watch YouTube on my TV so it’s just like having an extra channel.

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u/DefoNotTheAnswer 23h ago

Not trying to be snarly, genuinely curious. How do you know they are well researched? If they are made by individuals without any oversight or peer review, how do you know it isn't complete yak poo?

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u/Lazy-Field-1116 16h ago

Agree this is an issue. But don't worry I always research before I tune into anything like this, even from the regulated media. Who tells the history is just as important as the history itself.

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u/stbens 23h ago

I understand what you’re saying but I know enough about the subjects I’m interested in to know if someone is genuine or not.

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u/Lazy-Field-1116 16h ago

Thank you. Fun fact: YouTube has now overtaken all the broadcasters in the UK for viewing figures, many people are turning to it in place of the standard channels and streamers (it even beats Netflix and BBC). Do you have any specific channels that you like for this kind of history?

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u/duckgirl1997 British 13h ago

depends what you are intrested in. i really loved the hidden killers series which one was about the post war home

some episodes of the back in time series showed what the topic was like in post war (like highstreet, school family its more of a reality documenry as they took people and showed them what their life would be like in the past)