Channel 4

The Queen

The Queen was a 2009 British drama-documentary showing Queen Elizabeth II at different points during her life. Broadcast on Channel 4 over five consecutive nights from 29 November 2009, the Queen was portrayed by a different actress in each episode. The Queen was portrayed by Emilia Fox, Samantha Bond, Susan Jameson, Barbara Flynn and Diana Quick. Katie McGrath played Princess Margaret in the first episode and Lesley Manville played Margaret Thatcher in the third episode. The series was co-funded by the American Broadcasting Company, the network which aired the series in the US. This reunited Emilia Fox and Katie McGrath who had played sisters in BBC One's Merlin.

Cast Offs

Cast Offs is a BAFTA-nominated dramedy mockumentary that follows a group of six disabled people sent to a remote British Island for a fictional reality show. The series is made up of six episodes, with each episode concentrating on one of the six characters. It follows each character for the year leading up to them being dropped off on the island and also the happenings on the island when they are left to fend for themselves.

Embarrassing Teenage Bodies

The Force

The Force was a series of three observational documentary programmes created for Channel 4 by Oxford Film and Television and Patrick Forbes, following the work of Hampshire Constabulary. The first episode follows a murder investigation after a burnt body is found, the second follows the work of a dedicated rape unit, while the third follows a case of arson/murder, nine months after the incident. The series, which was first run in 2009, was well received by critics, who said the documentary was more interesting than they had anticipated.

Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue

The celebrated hotelier Ruth Watson visits and assesses the site of a planned hotel, guest house or bed and breakfast, and offers advice and support to the new owners. Watson identifies weaknesses in the preparations of the new establishments, and then sends the new owners to various hotels in the UK to improve their skills. Watson also fronts Country House Rescue for Channel 4, which sees her turn her attention to struggling country houses and their owners. Watson has previously starred in The Hotel Inspector, a documentary series for Five of a very similar format to Ruth Watson's Hotel Rescue, but with existing struggling hotels, rather than new start-ups.

Daredevils

Escape artists, extreme-sports competitors and other risk-takers are among those spotlighted.

Alone in the Wild

Ed Wardle is dropped into the unforgiving Yukon wilderness with just basic provisions and cameras to film himself as he attempts to survive completely alone in the wild.

Derren Brown: The Events

Derren Brown: The Events features the illusionist Derren Brownin a series of four highly-complex one-hour specials, which Brown has described as "some of the most incredible feats to date." Each event has its own theme, but Derren's aim is always the same: to confuse, to confound, and, of course, to control. The show consists of a mixture of pre-recorded location pieces connected by theatre-based segments, with each of the four programs building up to a major stunt performance. The first trailer broadcast included Brown speaking in reverse but walking forwards with events around him happening forwards. Seemingly cryptic messages were also hidden in the advert such as links to a "Manchester United" website. The advert was later played forwards (although now with Brown moving in reverse), and revealed the premise of the shows. Brown explains that he will be revealing the "inner workings" of his tricks and "showing you how to get away with it."

Jamie's American Road Trip

Benefit Busters

Benefit Busters is a British documentary series, broadcast on Channel 4 during August and September 2009.

On Tour with the Queen

How The Other Half Live

How the Other Half Live is a British documentary series, broadcast on Channel 4 by the creators of the similar social benefit programme The Secret Millionaire. The show features a wealthy family providing 'sponsorship' for a family living in poverty in the UK. There have been two series broadcast so far, one in 2009 and another in 2010. The series' are six episodes long and each episode lasts roughly an hour with commercial breaks. Every episode focuses on a new pair of families. The children of the families swap DVDs and meet in person with their parents to explore their mutual lives and homes. The richer family then provide social and economic support to improve the situation for all involved, which normally includes the families meeting in person multiple times, and educational improvements for the children, as well as housing and monetary assistance.

You Have Been Watching

Notoriously foul-mouthed television critic Charlie Brooker invites three of his friends round to sit in oversized chairs, watch television, and they all take the mick out of it. Each discussion ends with one or more questions to the panel, for which points are awarded. In the final quick-fire round, there are buzzers and a suitable (ie disconcertingly jaunty) game show noise. At the end, a winner is determined, and we reckon that's enough to make it a game show.

Vertical City

Vertical City stars architecture expert Charlie Luxton as he takes a high rise hike around the world's most iconic skyscrapers, discovering the stories of power, politics and daring design that lie behind their construction.

Inside Nature's Giants

Inside Nature's Giants is a British science documentary, first broadcast in June 2009 by Channel 4. The documentary shows experts performing dissection on some of nature's largest animals, including whales and elephants. The programme is presented by Mark Evans. The series attempts to uncover the secrets of the animals examined. Mark is assisted by evolutionary biologists Richard Dawkins and Simon Watt, and comparative anatomist Joy Reidenberg. The show is currently airing on PBS in the United States and repeats are currently airing on Eden and Watch in the UK. There is an iPad application that allows you to see every animal the show have worked on close up.

Revelations: How To Find God

Every week, in small groups across the country, thousands of agnostics - complete strangers - gather to find out more about Christianity. They're on the Alpha course, the phenomenonally successful introduction to Christianity which converts the faithless into committed Christians on an industrial scale. With 100% access Jon Ronson follows one small Alpha group, documenting the whole process over its eight weeks. Will any of the members of the group convert to Christianity by the end of the course?

Undercover Boss

Undercover Boss is a British reality television series. Each episode depicts a person who has a high management position at a major business, deciding to become undercover as an entry-level employee to discover the faults in the company. The first series, consisting of two episodes was aired in 2009 followed by a second series consisting of six episodes one year later. This original series sparked the Undercover Boss franchise. Localised versions of the show format are currently being produced in the United States, Australia, Germany and Canada and soon to be in Denmark, Spain, Turkey, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands and Israel.

The World's Greatest Musical Prodigies

Alexander Prior travels around the world to find young musical prodigies to perform his own composition to an audience.

Alan Carr: Chatty Man

Alan Carr: Chatty Man is a BAFTA award-winning British comedy chat show presented by comedian Alan Carr. The show features interviews with celebrity guests, sketches, topical chat and music.

Property Snakes and Ladders

Property Ladder is the original British version of the television series Property Ladder. Hosted by Sarah Beeny, it follows the journey of amateur property developers as they set out to make a life changing profit from renovating challenging houses. The show underwent a change in format during 2004 and now features two developments per episode rather than one. In early 2009, Channel 4 announced that a new series was to be shown, starting on 9 June, it is the first to be filmed in a struggling market and has been re-titled Property Snakes and Ladders.