Secret History returns with powerful, one-off documentaries that shed new light on intriguing stories from the past. The subjects range from the contemporary to the ancient, but each is a fresh, challenging investigation of a powerful historical subject.

This year's programmes are...

Brighton Bomb
Takes us step by step through the IRA's attempt to assassinate Margaret Thatcher.

Read our article by Richard English, author of a recent history of the IRA, on what might have happened if the bomb had succeeded in killing Margaret Thatcher – and if there had been no bomb at all.

Hitler of the Andes
Identifies declassified documents in the FBI archives that reveal for the first time the American authorities’ belief that Hitler escaped to Argentina.

The fates of dictators are ripe fodder for myth-makers and conspiracy theorists. Peter Millson looks at what happened to a selection of tyrants, ranging from Hitler to Idi Amin.

Costa Del Crime
Gives the inside story of how British criminals colonised the south of Spain and created Britain’s current drug trade.

The Affair
Brings to light the raw, personal testimonies of people who broke society’s rules about fidelity.

See our chronology of the changes in the law to do with marriage and divorce.

The Strangest Viking 
Unearths archaeological evidence that may shatter all our beliefs about Viking warriors.

We take a look at the life of this Viking king via a tour of the places where he lived, fought and ruled.

The Nazi Officer's Wife
Tells the story of one Jewish woman's survival in the midst of the Nazi war machine.

An extract from the book by Edith Hahn Beer and Susan Dworkin, on which the programme is based.

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