Top History Documentaries You Can Watch on the BBC Now

There are plenty of brilliant history documentaries available on BBC iPlayer right now. From Lucy Worsley investigating the witch hunts to Josh Widdecombe discovering long-lost Tudor relatives, here are my top picks.

Lucy Worsley Investigates

Surprise, surprise, I'm a Lucy Worsely fan. Get in line! And she's back with another cracking docuseries. This time on the docket: witch hunts, the Black Death, the Princes in the Tower, and the madness of King George III. Lucy Worsely Investigates doesn't disappoint. Scrutinising witness accounts, newly discovered evidence, and modern scientific approaches, Lucy probes these infamous and brutal chapters in British history. The first episode on the Witch Hunts is easily the most powerful of the show, as Worsely holds back the tears while reflecting on the brutal treatment of countless women during the height of the hunts. While the show title suggests a quest to solve history's greatest mysteries, of course this is not really the case. There is only so much the evidence can reveal. What the show underlines is that so often there are just enough tantalising clues to pique our interest but just enough gaps to keep us in the dark. Click here to watch.

House of Maxwell

This one is bound to please true crime aficionados and history buffs alike. House of Maxwell is a three-part portrait of a family dogged by controversy, from the 1980s to present. It opens with a true crime podcaster, Scott Sharp, visiting the prison where now-convicted sex-trafficker and former socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was being held in the run-up to her trial. Scott says "50 years this family has been in a scandal. First the dad, then the brothers, now Ghislaine is on the chopping block". House of Maxwell will intrigue history enthusiasts from the get-go with the allure of archive material that has never before been made public. A window into the cutthroat world of media publishing and the shadowy echelons of the mega-rich, this documentary is equal parts riveting and horrifying. If you enjoy the show, I would also definitely recommend The Fall by John Preston, a dive into the mysterious fall of media mogul Robert Maxwell. Click here to watch.

The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family

It's another gripping three-part series on yet another scandalous family. And I must admit, I've watched this one more than once. The Boleyns chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Tudor Court's most notorious family. It's a story of love, sex and betrayal, a cautionary tale of lethal ambition. Anne Boleyn isn't the only one centre stage as her "tight-knit, cunning and power-hungry family" comes into focus; the ambitious patriarch, the brutal uncle, the naive sister and reluctant mistress of the King, and the charismatic, fearless brother. All cut fascinating figures in their own right. With dramatised segments interwoven seamlessly throughout, the production, meticulous research, and storytelling all shape a brilliantly executed documentary depicting a family unravelled by scandal. Click here to watch.

Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners

Hard-hitting. Essential. In this two-part special, Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners unravels the untold story of Britain's slave owners, revealing the pervasive extent of slave-owned wealth in our history. Despite the tragic human cost of their enterprise, slave owners were compensated to the tune of £17bn in today's money when abolition came in 1834. Records of this government payout at the National Archives uncover how slave owners weren't only to be found among the rich and wealthy, but included thousands of middle-class Brits who had never even seen a plantation. We're talking widows, clergymen and shopkeepers. Ordinary people. In this special, Olusoga reveals more about Britain's slave owners than we've ever known before. If you're also a fan of David Olusoga and want to discover more about Black British history, check out The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files and Black & British: A Forgotten History, also available on iPlayer. Click here to watch.

A House Through Time

I have one more from David Olusoga: A House Through Time. The latest series focuses on one single house in Leeds, documenting the residents who lived there from the time of its construction in the mid-1800s right through to the millennium. I absolutely love the concept behind the show, bringing everyday people with still extraordinary lives into focus. A House Through Time tells the story of Britain through the lens of one home and its inhabitants. He encounters scandals and tragedies, explores the rise and fall in fortunes, and looks at how the city and society around the house changed. These are stories that might otherwise never have been told and there is something so powerful in that. Click here to watch.

Hidden Killers: The Tudor Home

When you think of the Tudor home, the quintessentially English, timber-frame house might come to mind. But Suzannah Lipscomb encourages us to not judge a book by its cover, the Tudor house could be lethal. In a period of booming trade buffeted by slavery and expansion, newly emergent middle classes now had an appetite for luxuries and early consumer goods. But they could cost you more than just the coins in your pocket. This episode will have you wondering how people in Tudor times even made it to adulthood with quite so many hazards in the home. From exploding chimney bricks to syphilitic husbands in the bedroom, watch Suzannah Lipscomb as she weaves her way through the Tudor Home, cautioning us on what might be hiding around the corner. Click here to watch.

Who Do You Think You Are?

I'm not sure if this is a history documentary in the strictest sense but there are some amazing episodes in this latest series of Who Do You Think You Are? Opening with the comedian Josh Widdecombe, we are thrusted back in time, in a whirlwind journey through Tudor and Stuart England. Not to mention a star-studded cast list along the way. I'll say no more to avoid spoilers but if you're a bit of a Tudor nut, you need to see it! Click here to watch.