To mark the centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth, Britten’s Endgame explores the composer's creativity in the face of death.  Those closest to him watched anxiously as he raced to complete his final opera, Death in Venice, in defiance of medical advice, tackling an edgy subject with many resonances in his own life.  His eventual heart operation left him incapacitated and prematurely old and frail, yet somehow he rediscovered his creative urge to produce two late masterpieces. This is a rich and poignant film about Britten’s final years, and the impact of what Peter Pears called 'an evil opera'.

Britten's Endgame

A unique celebration of the Queen's ninety years as she reaches her landmark birthday in April. Film-maker John Bridcut has been granted special access to the complete collection of Her Majesty's personal ciné films, shot by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen herself, as well as by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Much of it has never been seen publicly before. Various members of the Royal Family are filmed watching this private footage and contributing their own personal insights and their memories of the woman they know both as a member of their own close family and as queen. Among those taking part are the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent and his sister Princess Alexandra, who has never before given an interview.

Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute

After 200 years under lock and key, all the personal papers of one of our most important monarchs are for the first time seeing the light of day. In the first documentary to gain extensive access to the Royal Archives, Robert Hardman sheds fascinating new light on George III, Britain's longest reigning king. George III may be chiefly remembered for his madness, but these private documents reveal a monarch who was a political micromanager and a restless patron of science and the arts, an obsessive traveller who never left southern England yet toured the world in his mind and a man who was driven (sometimes to distraction) by his sense of duty to his family and his country.  Featuring Simon Callow and Sian Thomas as the voices of King George and Queen Charlotte.

George III: The Genius of the Mad King

Intimate behind-the-scenes documentary about the handsome German tenor Jonas Kaufmann, one of the hottest properties in the opera world, and his triumphant return after illness.

Jonas Kaufmann: Tenor for the Ages

A special documentary to mark the seventieth birthday of HRH the Prince of Wales. For this observational documentary, film-maker John Bridcut has had exclusive access to the prince over the past 12 months, both at work and behind the scenes, at home and abroad. He speaks to those who know him best, including HRH the Duchess of Cornwall and the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex. His sons discuss their upbringing and their feelings about the prince's working life.

Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70

In her first documentary for more than 35 years, the great British classical singer Dame Janet Baker talks more openly and emotionally than ever before about her career and her life today. With excerpts of her greatest stage roles (as Dido, Mary Stuart, Julius Caesar and Orpheus), as well as of her appearances in the concert hall and recording studio (works by Handel, Berlioz, Schubert, Elgar, Britten and Mahler), she looks back at the excitements and pitfalls of public performance.

Janet Baker: In Her Own Words

As Prince Charles, the longest serving heir apparent, ascends the throne as King, those who know him well, who have worked for and with him, discuss what he has achieved as Prince of Wales and what he will bring to the role as the new Monarch.

Born to be The King

Baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist James Baillieu reimagine Schubert's song cycle Winterreise in the wintry setting of an Alpine landscape at the top of a mountain pass in Switzerland - a place that emphasises the timelessness of Schubert's music

Winter Journey: Schubert's Winterreise

The latest in John Bridcut’s collection of award-winning films about British composers features the life and music of Sir Michael Tippett, who died 25 years ago in 1998.