Empire with Michael Portillo


Genre: History


Duration: 4x60


Year of Production: 2020


Production Company: Transparent TV


Broadcaster: Channel 5


Definition: HD


A century ago Britain dominated a quarter of the planet, ruling over a staggering 400 million people, with an empire that stretched across five continents – the largest the world has ever seen. In this new series we ask, how on earth did a small island nation on the edge of Europe end up ruling the world?

From India to the Caribbean, Africa to the Australia, British colonial rule stamped its mark on every corner of the globe with extraordinary buildings that embodied the nature and awesome reach of British power. Today, many of the palaces, prisons and plantations where the intrigues of empire were played out lie crumbling, boarded up, forgotten.

Michael Portillo unlocks their doors to reveal the astonishing story of Britain’s Empire – the evolution of a superpower and a legacy that changed the world.

Series 1: 4x60 | HD | 2020