PBS America TV Guide — Sunday, 19 July 2026

Documentary offering a unique window into a bygone era when a thrilling new invention, the motion picture camera, first captured a nation on film. Most of these films have been transformed by colourising them for the first time. They offer a rare portrait of a powerful and prosperous nation - and Empire - on the cusp of great change

Part one of a two-part documentary in which social historians examine surviving film footage of Britain in the early years of the 20th century. The first episode features footage of Queen Victoria's state funeral in 1901 and a bicycle parade celebrating the coronation of the new king. The programme also examines life for people employed in the mining and cotton industries, as well as how an increase in leisure time led to the the popularity of seaside resorts soaring, with Blackpool leading the way

Conclusion of the two-part documentary in which social historians examine surviving footage of Britain in the early years of the 20th century. This edition featuring clips of people celebrating the arrival of a new tram in Wigan, a football match in Burnley, and a public swimming gala in Tynemouth, and film of suffragette Emily Wilding Davison colliding with the king's horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby

Colourised footage of films from the 1930s, including thousands of people attending a homecoming parade in Hull to celebrate local hero Amy Johnson, who at just 26 years old had become the first British woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia. Plus, the Jarrow unemployment protest of 1936, led by MP Ellen Wilkinson

Colourised footage of films from the 1930s, including the abdication of King Edward VIII at a time when the nation needed stability the most and a top-secret conference between the prime minister and the Fuhrer. Plus, a fitness craze that saw women take to the great outdoors in their big knickers and blouses, and new prosperity in the south of Britain thanks to the Hoover factory