Timeshift Episode Rating Graph

Timeshift documentary about Ladybird books, which once informed people on such diverse subjects as how magnets work and what to look for in winter, but also helped to teach many to read.

Using the British Transport Films archive, Timeshift revisits Britain's railways during the era of public ownership in a corrective to the myth of the bad old days of rail.

The story behind the humble picture postcard, told by comic creation Nigel Walmsley. With their own language and bespoke rules, postcards were the texts and emails of their era.

Documentary lifting the veil on the taboo that is corporal punishment, revealing a history spanning religion, the justice system, sex and education.

Documentary which traces the rise and fall of a great British brand, exploring how Rover cars went from defining their eras to becoming victims of their times.

Babita Sharma traces the history of the corner shop in Britain, from its Victorian suburban origins, its crucial role serving the home front in World War Two, and its fortunes in the hands of successive waves of immigration. She and her parents visit the corner shop which was once run by them as a family, and discuss how it shaped her upbringing.

A look back at the bank holiday 'battles of the beaches', when hundreds of mods and rockers flocked to seaside resorts on scooters and motorbikes in search of thrills and spills.

Documentary which journeys back to the 1950s when the coach was king. Those who had not travelled beyond their own villages and towns were given a taste of exploration and freedom.

Michael Grade narrates the story of klezmer, from its origins in Jewish folk music performed at weddings and Bar Mitzvahs to a musical sensation enjoyed by millions worldwide.

The story behind the invention of the diesel engine in the 19th century that later became the workhorse of the 20th and 21st century.

Timeshift takes a loving and sometimes horrified look back at the iconic hairdos and 'must have' haircuts that both men and women in Britain have flirted with in the past 60 years.

Documentary which explores the lost world of coal mining and the rich social and cultural lives of those who worked in what was once Britain's most important industry.

Timeshift looks back to a time when iconic British marques like Jaguar, Austin-Healey, MG and Triumph sparked a manufacturing frenzy that helped to democratise speed and glamour.

Documentary which looks at why the most inhospitable place on the planet has exerted such a powerful hold on the imagination of explorers, scientists, writers and photographers.

Since its earliest days, television has looked to radio comedy for the 'next big thing'. Radio hits from Hancock's Half-Hour to Little Britain have become TV classics. But other long-running radio favourites have died a death on the screen. So what makes for a sure-fire transfer?

In the mid 1960s Britain went boating mad. This documentary tells the story of how an extraordinary maritime revolution that was kick-started by waterproof glues developed for bomber aircraft led to a whole generation of DIY dinghy builders, and ended in tragedy with the suicide of amateur yachtsman Donald Crowhurst.

Documentary that tells the surprising story of how Britain entered a new age of steam railways after the Second World War and why it quickly came to an end.

Documentary about the rise of the popular loaf in Britain. After the holy grail of affordable white bread was achieved, dietary experts began to trumpet the virtues of brown.

Documentary bringing the story of the coach up to date, exploring the most recent phase of Britain's love affair with four-wheeled group travel from school trips to Indian treks.

Documentary exploring how the tram liberated overcrowded cities, mapping its journey from horse-drawn carriage on rails to steam and then electric power.

Timeshift looks back to a time when British professional wrestling attracted huge TV audiences and made household names of the likes of Mick McManus, Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy.

The story of how film-makers turned the conquest of Himalayan peaks into great propaganda by Imperial Britain, Nazi Germany and superpower America from the 1920s to the 1960s.

Exploring the British experience of family cars, from the Morris Minor to the Ford Cortina, the VW Golf to the Volvo estate, school runs to family holidays.

Film which uses the University of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive to explore the history of the circus, from Billy Smart to Gerry Cottle and Archaos to Cirque du Soleil

A look at how the introduction of the penny post changed Britain, and how enthusiasm for the first stamps led to the emergence of stamp-collecting as a popular hobby.

To mark 100 years of romance publishers Mills and Boon, literary novelist Stella Duffy takes on the challenge of writing for them, a task that ends up being harder than it looks.

Timeshift looks back on nearly two centuries of British firefighting, exploring how major incidents and the evolution of equipment have helped forge the modern fire service.

Rich, distant and opulent, the jet set fascinated the public as they waved to us from airplane doorways before winging their way across the skies heading for yachts and exotic locations that the rest of us could only dream of. They were the aristocrats, the high fliers and high earners whose lives and loves fascinated us long before celebrity became a dirty word.

TV fantasies played out on our TV screens in the mid sixties, Timeshift take a look back at the wild ideas, that took centre stage.

Don Manley reveals the tricks that compilers use to bamboozle and entertain cryptic crossword solvers, while fans including Prunella Scales explain why they enjoy them.