Documentaries

Inspirational and award-winning documentaries from over 25 years of groundbreaking television

See all Documentaries on 4oD
  • Gypsy Blood

    Gypsy Blood

    Gypsy Blood examines the violent culture that some gypsy and traveller fathers hand on to their children, exploring its impact on two fathers and their young sons

  • Newport Bouncers

    Bouncers

    Funny, irreverent and often surprising film following the boys of Newport's biggest security firm over a summer of booze and brotherhood

  • MotherTruckers

    MotherTruckers

    How do women lorry drivers get on with their male colleagues, juggle families, and stay feminine? This amusing film meets the new queens of the road.

4od
Order Order by A to Z Order by Date Broadcast
  1. Osama Bin Everywhere Osama Bin Everywhere

    A tour into the unexplored and hitherto unconsidered sunnier side of Islam as two explorers travel across the Muslim world to speak with people who share the name 'Osama' [S] More on Osama Bin Everywhere

  2. Good Dog! Bad Dog! Good Dog! Bad Dog!

    An examination of the issues surrounding pedigree dog breeding More on Good Dog! Bad Dog!

    Last broadcast: 14 March 2010, on

  3. Chris Petit's Content Chris Petit's 'Content'

    From the director of the cult film Radio On comes this evocative 21st century ambient road movie More on Chris Petit's 'Content'

  4. M25 London Orbital

    Chris Petit's film journeys through the stories and places hidden in and around the world's biggest bypass, the M25. More on London Orbital

  5. Alex Stobbs Alex: A Passion for Life

    Cutting Edge catches up with Alex Stobbs, the musical prodigy and cystic fibrosis sufferer originally featured in A Boy Called Alex, who is now studying music at Cambridge [S] More on Alex: A Passion for Life

  6. A publican The Red Lion

    Cutting Edge meets the people propping up the bar in some of the country's 600 Red Lion pubs, creating a unique snapshot of British drinking habits [S] More on The Red Lion

  7. The children from Generation XXL Generation XXL

    This long-term series follows seven obese children for a decade, revisiting them every two years to discover what it's like to grow up as an obese child in Britain today [S] More on Generation XXL

  8. Last of the Honeybees The Last of the Honeybees

    This film about the plight of honeybees focuses on three American apiarists whose colonies are destroyed by unknown forces More on The Last of the Honeybees

  9. Jess: Britain's Youngest Sleep Walker Jess: Britain's Youngest Sleepwalker?

    Cutting Edge reveals what life is like for a little girl whose insomnia has become more than a childhood habit. Three-year-old Jess has a condition that has baffled medical experts. [S] More on Jess: Britain's Youngest Sleepwalker?

  10. Dina Karpova The Russians Are Coming

    Sally Ashby's intriguing First Cut film lifts the lid on the exclusive world of super rich Russians who want an English public school education for their children [S] More on The Russians Are Coming

  11. The Sky Walker Daredevils

    A series of visually stunning films following some of the world's most extreme individuals, who risk their lives pushing themselves to the physical and mental limits of human capability [S] More on Daredevils

    Last broadcast: 20 October 2009, on

  12. bus_pass_bullfighter Bus Pass Bullfighter

    Filmmaker Molly Clarke follows Frank Evans, a 65-year-old British bullfighter, as he steps back into the ring, in spite of undergoing replacement knee surgery and a quadruple heart bypass. [S] More on Bus Pass Bullfighter

  13. Lester Adams Kidnapped by the Kids

    As parents everywhere struggle to balance the competing demands of work and home life, Kidnapped by the Kids finds out what would happen if, just for a while, the children were in charge [S] More on Kidnapped by the Kids

  14. Mark Oaten Tower Block of Commons

    Politicians swap their comfortable homes and move into council estates across the country, encountering first-hand the reality of residents' lives [S] More on Tower Block of Commons

    Last broadcast: 01 February 2010, on

  15. Carcass of a baby mammoth in the operating theatre Waking the Baby Mammoth

    Documentary following a team of experts as they investigate the carcass of a one-month-old baby mammoth who lived around 40,000 years ago in the hope of discovering more about the creature's life [S] More on Waking the Baby Mammoth

  16. Nadya Suleman Octomom: Me and My 14 Kids

    This exclusive Cutting Edge tells the inside story of what it's like to be Nadya Suleman - a single unemployed mother with 14 kids [S] More on Octomom: Me and My 14 Kids

  17. Young, Angry and White Young, Angry and White

    First Cut meets a teenager considering joining the BNP, and attempts to understand what makes a young person think of joining a party with such a controversial manifesto and image [S] More on Young, Angry and White

  18. Which Way Home Which Way Home

    As the USA maintains a strict policy on immigration from Mexico, the Oscar-nominated Which Way Home shows the personal side of migration through the eyes of children trying to cross the border More on Which Way Home

  19. Sleep with Me Sleep with Me

    First Cut journeys into the hidden world of the bedroom with this telling and humorous peek beneath the sheets at the bed-sharing politics of couples all over the UK [S] More on Sleep with Me

  20. Queen Elizabeth II Ten Days That Made the Queen

    This film takes a look at ten momentous and defining days in Queen Elizabeth II's life and reign [S] More on Ten Days That Made the Queen

  21. Last Party at the Palace Last Party at the Palace

    In May 1958, a longstanding aristocratic ritual came to an end as the last debutantes took their curtsies before the Queen. This evocative documentary tells the story of that final 'season'. [S] More on Last Party at the Palace

  22. Gerry Gerry's Big Decision

    Sir Gerry Robinson, one of Britain's most respected businessmen, comes to the rescue of several companies across the UK, armed with his personal cheque book [S] More on Gerry's Big Decision

  23. The Enemy Within The Enemy Within

    Innovative film drawing parallels between Anarchist attacks on Victorian London and today's radicalism, examining how feelings of oppression, persecution and anger can lead to extremism [S] More on The Enemy Within

  24. Aarathi Prasad Is It Better to Be Mixed Race?

    This documentary from the Race: Science's Last Taboo season asks is it a biological advantage to have parents of different ethnic backgrounds? [S] More on Is It Better to Be Mixed Race?

  25. Pig Business Pig Business

    Eco-campaigner Tracy Worcester investigates the intensive pig farming industry, arguing that it harms both human and environmental health More on Pig Business

    Last broadcast: 30 June 2009, on

  26. Moving to Mars Moving to Mars

    A moving, humorous film which follows two families of Burmese refugees as they start a brand new life in Sheffield More on Moving to Mars

  27. Nose job Bleach, Nip, Tuck: The White Beauty Myth

    Two documentaries from the Race: Science's Last Taboo season examine the growing trend for deracialisation surgery [S] More on Bleach, Nip, Tuck: The White Beauty Myth

  28. Rageh Omaar Race and Intelligence: Science's Last Taboo

    In this documentary from the Race: Science's Last Taboo season, Rageh Omaar explodes myths about race and IQ and reveals what he thinks are important lessons for society [S] More on Race and Intelligence: Science's Last Taboo

  29. wild_things Wild Things

    In the early 1970s, a group of idealistic young adults chose to raise their children collectively. So what happened next? This intriguing documentary goes in search of the grown-up Wild kids. [S] More on Wild Things

  30. Diamonds in an urn Ashes to Diamonds

    Filmmaker David Brindley meets families across the country who have chosen some of the most surprising, adventurous and unusual ways to say goodbye to their departed's ashes [S] More on Ashes to Diamonds

  31. Cowboys in India Cowboys in India

    The True Stories strand, which showcases the best international feature documentaries, presents Simon Chambers' travelogue in the Indian region of Orissa More on Cowboys in India

  32. Tony Robinson Decoded: Dan Brown's Lost Symbol

    Tony Robinson sets out to find the truth behind Dan Brown's blockbuster, The Lost Symbol [S] More on Decoded: Dan Brown's Lost Symbol

    Last broadcast: 26 December 2009, on

  33. Penis Envy Penis Envy

    This ground-breaking series explores all things penile. The penis is the organ most central to a man's sense of self, and the quest for penile perfection has driven some men to incredible lengths. More on Penis Envy

  34. Defamation Defamation

    In this True Stories documentary, Yoav Shamir embarks on a controversial, personal exploration to answer the question, 'What is anti-Semitism today?' More on Defamation

  35. Alex The World's Greatest Musical Prodigies

    Sixteen-year-old Alexander Prior is one of Britain's most talented and prolific young composers. Now he's bringing together some of the world's greatest young musical talent to perform his new concerto. [S] More on The World's Greatest Musical Prodigies

  36. The Trial of Amanda Knox The Trials of Amanda Knox

    Amanda Knox is currently serving 26 years in an Italian jail for the murder of her flatmate, Meredith Kercher. This True Stories documentary asks: who is the real Amanda Knox - and was she really capable of murder? More on The Trials of Amanda Knox

  37. Grey Gardens Documentary Grey Gardens Documentary

    Albert and David Maysles' film tells the true story of distressed Edith 'Big Edie' Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale, whose plight touched a nation's heart More on Grey Gardens Documentary

  38. A Smiling Farrah Fawcett Farrah Fawcett: A Life

    The life story of Farrah Fawcett, the beautiful Texan actress who became America's leading sex symbol in the 1970s. Fawcett was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and died in June 2009, More on Farrah Fawcett: A Life

  39. Farrah Fawcett Farrah's Story

    This intimate documentary, filmed by Fawcett, her family and friends, follows the final two years of the star's life as she battled bravely against bowel cancer More on Farrah's Story

  40. The Turin Shroud The Turin Shroud: The New Evidence

    This documentary sets out to reveal the story behind one of most controversial relics in Christianity as the age and authenticity of the Shroud of Turin is again open to debate More on The Turin Shroud: The New Evidence

  41. my_father_the_mercenary My Father the Mercenary

    This emotional First Cut film follows a brother and sister as they travel from England to Belgium to collect their father's remains, and to uncover the extraordinary story of who he was and how he died [S] More on My Father the Mercenary

  42. Christopher Wheeldon Strictly Bolshoi

    This intimate one-off film follows leading ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon as he becomes the first Englishman to be invited to create a new work for the prestigious Bolshoi Ballet More on Strictly Bolshoi

  43. The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

    The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures have been inspiring children and adults alike since 1825, with the express purpose of teaching science to young people More on The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

  44. Encounters at the End of the World Encounters at the End of the World

    Werner Herzog's Oscar-nominated film finds the legendary director in Antarctica, at the McMurdo Research station where he meets the scientists who inhabit a remote, magical world More on Encounters at the End of the World

  45. he Family at Christmas The Family at Christmas

    The critically acclaimed observational documentary series The Family returns for a one-off Christmas special. It's the week before Christmas and things are far from calm in the Hughes household. [S] More on The Family at Christmas

    Last broadcast: 24 December 2008, on

  46. Aaron Johnson playing John Lennon in Nowhere Boy Sam Taylor Wood's Nowhere Boy

    An in-depth look at Sam Taylor-Wood's debut feature film Nowhere Boy, which charts John Lennon's formative years, and includes interviews with cast stars Aaron Johnson and Kristin Scott Thomas [S] More on Sam Taylor Wood's Nowhere Boy

  47. Nobel Night Nobel Night

    More4 celebratest the 2009 Nobel Prizes with three documentaries: two focusing on the Literature and Peace Nobel Laureate winners, and one that features highlights on the remaining Laureates. More on Nobel Night

  48. My First Year My First Year

    A group of 11-year-olds negotiate the biggest challenge of their life so far: starting secondary school [S] More on My First Year

  49. Les Dawson Les Dawson's Lost Diaries

    Drawing on the personal diaries of the late, great comedian, this programme offers a fascinating insight into the private world of fears and disappointments of the funny man More on Les Dawson's Lost Diaries

  50. The Last American Freakshow The Last American Freak Show

    Richard Butchins' extraordinary film is a road trip with a difference, as he follows the journey of a self-described travelling Freak Show through America [S] More on The Last American Freak Show

    Last broadcast: 15 December 2009, on

Skip Channel4 main Navigation
Explore Channel4
4Beauty
Comedy
Docs
4Homes
News
See All

Channel 4 © 2012. Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of external websites.