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The Best Episodes of 40 Minutes

Every episode of 40 Minutes ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of 40 Minutes!

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40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. The documentaries could be on any possible subject, the only connection being that they last forty minutes. Some documentaries in

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    40 Minutes Season 2 Episode 12 - Package Tour
    8.8/10(5 votes)

    #1 - Package Tour

    S2:E12

    Holiday makers on a flight from Manchester to Spain, their impression of their holidays in Benidorm and their return to Manchester.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. 40 Minutes Season 6 Episode 13 - Home from the Hill
    8.4/10(37 votes)

    #2 - Home from the Hill

    S6:E13

    Documentary about Colonel Hilary Hook, formerly of the Indian cavalry and leader of extravagant safaris in Kenya. Hook returned home to England after being evicted from his home in the Kenya Hills, and is finding it hard to readjust to the English way of life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. 40 Minutes Season 7 Episode 27 - Mixed Blessings
    8.4/10(6 votes)

    #3 - Mixed Blessings

    S7:E27

    The story of a mix-up in a Nottingham nursing-home. Margaret Wheeler and Blanche Rylatt each gave birth to a baby girl on the same day. Margaret is convinced that she was given the wrong baby.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. 40 Minutes Season 9 Episode 6 - The Heart of the Angel
    8.2/10(61 votes)

    #4 - The Heart of the Angel

    S9:E6

    This film documents one day in the life of Angel station on the Northern Line of the London Underground in the days before its refurbishment. We see the ticket collectors, station manager and other staff as they cope with angry passengers, lift failures and cancelled trains.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. 40 Minutes Season 7 Episode 8 - Catch a Fallen Star
    7.9/10(10 votes)

    #5 - Catch a Fallen Star

    S7:E8

    A portrait of the once-famous British singer, dancer and film star, Jesse Matthews.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 1 - Rough Justice
    7.8/10(7 votes)

    #6 - Rough Justice

    S1:E1

    Portrait of a fractious Welsh village near Merthyr Tydfil.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of 40 Minutes

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  7. 40 Minutes Season 5 Episode 4 - Johnny Oddball
    7.4/10(9 votes)

    #7 - Johnny Oddball

    S5:E4

    10 years ago a famous documentary was made by Franc Roddam about "Mini" Cooper, a most attractive and intelligent child arsonist. Now released from a secure psychiatric institution, he hopes to make a career as a magician.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. 40 Minutes Season 6 Episode 24 - The Mighty Leek
    7.4/10(6 votes)

    #8 - The Mighty Leek

    S6:E24

    World championship competitive leek-growing in the North-East of England - with dirty deeds in the greenhouses.

    Director:John Alexander
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. 40 Minutes Season 7 Episode 25 - Separate Tables
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    #9 - Separate Tables

    S7:E25

    An old-fashioned sea-side hotel, with many retired residents, is to be refurbished. The residents must go.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. 40 Minutes Season 5 Episode 19 - The Fishing Party
    7.0/10(7 votes)

    #10 - The Fishing Party

    S5:E19

    They are four friends, rich young men - city commodity-brokers, the drinks trade. They belong to the right clubs. They hunt, shoot, play polo, make money. They had the idea of going fishing in Scotland for a few days in the autumn, to see if they could break the world record for a catch of skate. They ended up with something else. As the October weather squalls and shines, as the boat rolls on the stormy waters of the Pentland Firth, as the days pass without the big bite, so the jokes flow, the bottles are cracked, and Robert, John, Henry and Guy reveal their spirited, outspoken opinions. "Better for some to have privilege rather than nobody - let's lead from the top, not the bottom ... Many of our friends, in the City and the army, worry about the aggressive young men of the loony left...."

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. 40 Minutes Season 7 Episode 24 - My African Farm
    6.9/10(12 votes)

    #11 - My African Farm

    S7:E24

    An old white woman colonial settler staying on in up-country Kenya.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. 40 Minutes Season 4 Episode 13 - The Outcasts
    6.7/10(14 votes)

    #12 - The Outcasts

    S4:E13

    A group of 'Hell's Angels' in East Anglia.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. 40 Minutes Season 9 Episode 1 - Danger Men
    6.5/10(6 votes)

    #13 - Danger Men

    S9:E1

    Ten of the most dangerous and disruptive men in the prison system have been brought together in an experimental unit at Hull Jail. A new softly-softly regime is being tested on inmates like Fred Low, who is serving three life sentences - one for killing a fellow prisoner - and Patrick Mackay, serving five life sentences for manslaughter and robbery. 40 Minutes gained access to the unit as the prisoners started to reveal themselves to the hand-picked staff, and as conflicts began. The most serious clash was over the only woman working full time in the unit, and it involved David McAllister, serving 19 years for armed robbery and assault, who later escaped from the unit and was on the run for five days. This film tells the story of the most controversial unit in our prisons.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. 40 Minutes Season 8 Episode 11 - The Kingdom of Fun
    5.6/10(10 votes)

    #14 - The Kingdom of Fun

    S8:E11

    The largest leisure and shopping complex in Europe, the Metro Centre in Tynemouth, and its creator John Hall.

    Director:Adam Curtis
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. 40 Minutes Season 8 Episode 17 - Ghost Train
    4.8/10(7 votes)

    #15 - Ghost Train

    S8:E17

    A journey by Intercity into the world of the supernatural. Do you believe in ghosts? Helen McCormick does. She found an ancient crucifix in her cellar - and then saw a medieval monk walk past her kitchen window. Ambulanceman Ken Lobley rescued his aunt after a warning from an apparition. Nichola Thompson, aged 13, was reading, looked up, and saw her grandmother - wearing the pink shroud she'd been buried in two years earlier. Rev Jack Richardson investigates spooky Harnham Hall in Northumberland. He blesses the earthly remains of Kate Babington, who died a prisoner at Harnham in 1670. Eddie Burks, a 'clairsentient', is summoned to an RAF base to contact the ghost of an airman. Eerily, he describes how the man died and why he returns. And four nurses spend the night in 'the most haunted house in Britain' - with strange tales to tell the following morning....

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 2 - Sister Genevieve
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Sister Genevieve

    S1:E2

    Portrait of a Comprehensive School in the heart of the Falls Road, Belfast.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 3 - Hijack
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Hijack

    S1:E3

    Story of a Hijack on Independence Day 1977 in New York.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 4 - Give Us the Vote
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Give Us the Vote

    S1:E4

    Test case for inmates of mental hospital to get the vote.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 5 - Lol: A Bona Queen of Fabularity
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Lol: A Bona Queen of Fabularity

    S1:E5

    Life style of Quentin Crisp-esque 'Queen'.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 6 - Marathon Man
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Marathon Man

    S1:E6

    Attempt to beat record run from John o' Groats to Land's End.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 7 - Rocky Circus
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Rocky Circus

    S1:E7

    Gary Glitter stars in Gerry Cottle's Circus.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 8 - Gorilla G Gorilla
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Gorilla G Gorilla

    S1:E8

    Gorilla N'Pongo gives birth to Kumi in Jersey Zoo.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 9 - The Harrisons Don't Go to School
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - The Harrisons Don't Go to School

    S1:E9

    Hereford family educating children at home.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 10 - Alison
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Alison

    S1:E10

    Spastic girl's struggle to live a normal life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 11 - Sex, Drugs and the Vicar
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Sex, Drugs and the Vicar

    S1:E11

    Backstage at the News of the World.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Package Tour" is the best rated episode of "40 Minutes". It scored 8.8/10 based on 5 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/20/1983. This episode scored 0.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "Home from the Hill".