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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!

The Best Episodes of 40 Minutes

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...
  1. Background image for Adventures in the Skin Trade
    8.8/10(5 votes)

    #1 - Adventures in the Skin Trade

    S9:E16

    John Pitman meets a selection of women to ascertain their views on the wearing of coats made of fur.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for Home from the Hill
    8.4/10(35 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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for The Heart of the Angel
    8.2/10(54 votes)

    #3 - 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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Rough Justice
    8.0/10(7 votes)

    #4 - Rough Justice

    S1:E1

    Portrait of a fractious Welsh village near Merthyr Tydfil.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for Catch a Fallen Star
    8.0/10(9 votes)

    #5 - Catch a Fallen Star

    S7:E8

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for Mixed Blessings
    8.0/10(6 votes)

    #6 - 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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
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  8. Background image for Johnny Oddball
    7.7/10(6 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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for The Mighty Leek
    7.2/10(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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for The Fishing Party
    7.1/10(7 votes)

    #9 - 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...."

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  11. Background image for My African Farm
    7.0/10(12 votes)

    #10 - My African Farm

    S7:E24

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for Danger Men
    6.6/10(5 votes)

    #11 - 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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for The Outcasts
    6.4/10(14 votes)

    #12 - The Outcasts

    S4:E13

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for The Great North Road
    6.4/10(5 votes)

    #13 - The Great North Road

    S7:E17

    Lucinda Lambton travels along the Great North Road, the backbone of Britain that links London to Edinburgh, discovering many weird and wonderful delights en route.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for The Kingdom of Fun
    5.6/10(5 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.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Ghost Train
    4.4/10(5 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....

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  17. Background image for Sister Genevieve
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Sister Genevieve

    S1:E2

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Hijack
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Hijack

    S1:E3

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Give Us the Vote
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Give Us the Vote

    S1:E4

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for Lol: A Bona Queen of Fabularity
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Lol: A Bona Queen of Fabularity

    S1:E5

    Life style of Quentin Crisp-esque 'Queen'.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Marathon Man
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Marathon Man

    S1:E6

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Rocky Circus
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Rocky Circus

    S1:E7

    Gary Glitter stars in Gerry Cottle's Circus.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  23. Background image for Gorilla G Gorilla
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Gorilla G Gorilla

    S1:E8

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

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for The Harrisons Don't Go to School
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #23 - The Harrisons Don't Go to School

    S1:E9

    Hereford family educating children at home.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Alison
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Alison

    S1:E10

    Spastic girl's struggle to live a normal life.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown
  26. Background image for Sex, Drugs and the Vicar
    NaN/10(0 votes)

    #25 - Sex, Drugs and the Vicar

    S1:E11

    Backstage at the News of the World.

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    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"Adventures in the Skin Trade" 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 2/22/1990. This episode scored 0.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "Home from the Hill".