Documentary combining a present-tense investigation in a wintery Sofia with drama reconstructions shot on Super 16mm, and a fresh telling of the notorious ‘Umbrella Murder’ of Georgi Markov in 1978.

In the closing months of World War II, defeat was looming for the Germans. The invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 -- D-Day -- opened a second Allied front, and the Allies began overtaking a host of German positions; Paris was liberated on August 25; Romania and Bulgaria surrendered in quick succession. But the Nazis did not intend to go down without a fight -- and without inflicting as much damage as possible on the Allies. To do so, they employed or planned to employ an increasingly deadly array of military weapons -- from ballistic missiles to rocket planes to, perhaps, the atomic bomb. The British, American, and Russian governments were not content to sit idly by, waiting to be slammed by the advanced technology. Covert teams of commandos and agents were sent ahead of the front lines and deep into Germany, hunting for both the weapons and the scientists and engineers who'd created them. For British and American operatives, failure was not an option. If they didn't capture the Nazi technology and scientists, agents of the burgeoning Soviet Union might -- and that could spell disaster in a post-war world already feeling the chill of the impending cold war.

Recently uncovered archive footage from the 1960s shows late explorer Edmundo Bielawski's shocking encounter with Amazon Headshrinkers. Amazonian Indians would shrink the head of an enemy to take away the power of the victim's vengeful soul. The headshrinking process was thought never to have been captured on film - until now. Author and explorer Piers Gibbon ventures deep into the Amazon rainforest in search of the location and people involved, to determine if the footage could be genuine.

Documentary about the huge and powerful Second World War German battleship Tirpitz, and the Allied hunt for it throughout the Atlantic and Arctic, making thirty-six attempts to sink it. The Tirpitz was the Third Reich's ultimate weapon - the most successful German battleship of WWII. This documentary recreates the five-year struggle to destroy Hitler's biggest battleship, with American, Canadian and British survivors and their counterparts in the Forces today.

This programme revisits the dark days of the Cold War with a startling examination of East Germany’s secret programme to feed its top female athletes with untested drugs. For decades, the communist GDR state administered harmful drugs to thousands of young women in a desperate and dangerous bid to achieve sporting excellence.

Lord Carnarvon, the great-grandson of one of the men who discovered the tomb, travels across Egypt on a quest to reexamine the life of the Boy King. With the help of archaeological discoveries, computer graphics and new historical research, he presents a portrait of Tutankhamun that challenges pre-conceived wisdom about the famous but enigmatic pharaoh.

In 1988, scientists ran a series of tests on the shroud of Turin, the Christian relic said to be the cloth in which the body of Christ was swathed after his death. The results dated the material's origins to the early 14th century, proving it to be a fake. In this documentary, historian Emily Craig examines claims that Leonardo Da Vinci was commissioned by members of a powerful Italian dynasty to produce the artefact, and used a primitive form of camera to create the image.

This programme uncovers the true story of an audacious escape from Auschwitz by two young Slovak Jews in 1944 – an event which alerted the world to the horror of the Nazi concentration camps.

JFK enjoyed a number of sexual liaisons that could have ended his political career, but his brother Bobby always managed to keep the truth from the press. This explosive documentary focuses on four women who could have ended JFK’s presidency, and the deal the brothers made with J Edgar Hoover to stay in power.

Told for the first time, the extraordinary story of how heroic nuns, the Polish Resistance and a game of chess saved one Jewish family from the Holocaust.

Historical documentary exploring a network of Nazi bunkers in Berlin. Historian Antony Beevor returns to the German capital to uncover this lost world, hidden from view since 1945.

Edward VIII is remembered as the British King who gave up the throne to marry the woman he loved: American divorcee Wallis Simpson. Declassified FBI files suggest another story that Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson were pro-German, that they maintained contact with Nazi Germany early in the war and may have leaked secrets to the enemy, and that Hitler wanted to see Edward return to England as his puppet king.

Documentary looking at the British soldiers who turned against the Allies during the Second World War to join a Waffen SS unit called the British Free Corps, brainchild of English Nazi John Amery.

A professional lip reader, aided by modern technology, reveals what Hitler is saying in the silent home movies Eva Braun took of him.

In this programme, former-tabloid editor, Kelvin Mackenzie re-examines the Ripper murders, uncovers startling documentary evidence and identifies a new set of suspects; the crooked journalists who faked evidence, printed fantasy and mislead the police investigation, all to keep the Ripper murders on their front pages.

Documentary which follows the excavation of a Bronze Age village that was destroyed by volcanic activity from Vesuvius - some 2,000 years before the famous eruption that froze Pompeii in time.

Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, sank in 1545 when its gun ports flooded during an engagement with the French. Because silt preserved the wreck, it became Britain's Pompeii - an historical moment frozen in time. Some 10,000 human bones from the 400 men on board were recovered, which are now giving up their secrets. The captain had described his crew as a bunch of unruly knaves; forensic examination of the enamel from their teeth shows that up to two thirds of these knaves were likely to have been mercenaries from southern Europe. In the chaos of battle, there may have been a language problem over “shut that bloody gun port!”

n December 1872, the merchant ship The Mary Celeste was found drifting deserted in the mid Atlantic Ocean. She was a ghost ship with no sign of her captain or the eight crew aboard, but mysteriously, her cargo of 1700 barrels of pure alcohol was intact in her hull. The mystery of her plight has stood for 135 years, baffling scientists, historians and mariners. Now a descendant of the ship's captain has a look at evidence that throws some fascinating new light on what really happened.

Documentary unravelling the mysteries of the Sphinx. Thousands of years after the Sphinx was cut from the bedrock, an investigation team lead by world-leading experts piece together its incredible story. Using groundbreaking technology and the latest historical reasearch, the team bring to life one of the most famous monuments in history, re-creating its original painted face and revealing the true story behind it.

The historical documentary series continues with this fascinating investigation into the origins of the world-famous crystal skulls. Since the 19th century, a number of lifelike quartz skulls have been discovered and displayed in museums. These relics, allegedly dating from Aztec and Mayan civilisations, are believed to have psychic powers. Now, for the first time ever, scientists are given access to the most famous skull of all, the so-called ‘Skull of Doom’.

Documentary on the mystery surrounding Marilyn Monroe's death. Many believe the Hollywood star did not commit suicide.

Criminal psychologist at New Scotland Yard Laura Richard uses modern investigation techniques to try and build a portrait of the Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper. She and other experts, including a pathologist, historian, profiler and policeman, examine the crimes and try and establish why the particular victims were chosen, and the possible motivations and reasons for the crimes.

This documentary shows how the Italian dictator drew on support at home and abroad to embark on military conflicts in Libya, Ethiopia and Spain before his catastrophic alliance with Hitler led to his eventual downfall.

Documentary that attempts to solve the mystery surrounding Tutankhamun's death. Two leading US homicide detectives apply modern investigative techniques to try to find out who killed the boy-king. Uses reconstructions shot in Egypt, and 3-D computer animation.

Documentary which tells the tale of Barnes Wallis' 'bouncing bomb' which destroyed to German dams during the Second World War. Uses reconstructions, interviews, archive footage, and a fresh assessment of the technology involved.