Britain's Great War: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Opening the World War One commemoration season on the BBC and produced in partnership with the Open University, this landmark new documentary series Britain's Great War, presented by Jeremy Paxman, explores how Britain and the lives of British people were transformed by the Great War. There had never been a war like it. It was the first ‘total war' and it blew apart the certainties on which British society rested. Focusing on extraordinary personal stories to illuminate often cataclysmic events, each episode charts a different stage of the war: from initial optimism; to frustration; to the exhausted, poignant celebration of victory. It was the first war in British history in which men were conscripted to fight, civilians had their homes bombed, and every family feared a knock on the door bringing terrible news. Governments took for themselves powers they would never have imagined.

Series details

• Title: Britain's Great War
• Format: Documentary
• Language: English
• Genres: War, History
• Premiere date: 2014-01-27
• Final broadcast date listed: 2014-02-17
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: BBC One
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 2428

Cast and credited roles

• Jeremy Paxman — Presenter

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2014-01-27; final listed air date 2014-02-17; episode order: 4.

Source and licence

Adapted from Britain's Great War on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.