Top 100 UK Documentaries in 2020: The Land & Country theme comforts viewers in a troubled year

This week’s post covers the UK’s highest-rated documentary and unscripted programs for the year in which COVID struck.

My ratings snapshot for 2020 is comprised of:

The Top 50 in the combined Documentary and Lifestyle / Hobbies categories.
My Takeaways.
Then #51-100.

The challenging landscape

The wonderfully inventive UK Factual industry is enduring the triple disruptions of:

COVID, bringing a drop in ad revenues and disruptions to the production pipeline.
The meteoric rise of Netflix with its $17-20 billion to spend on all genres worldwide, plus competition from other streaming platforms.
And a reactionary government that is deeply hostile to the BBC.

For the broadcasters, this dramatic shift translates into a shrinking and ageing audience, senior executive turnover, and waves of budget cuts.

I’m watching closely to see if this pressure cooker of negativity:

Drains the creative energy out of the UK broadcast community, OR
Inspire wonderful new ideas for singles, series and formats, as in past decades.

Scroll down for the Top 50…

Notes on the Data

The ‘000 P4+’ column refers to viewers 4 years and older in thousands.
Share refers to the program’s share of television sets in use at that time.
The data refers to highest single episode in a series.
The categories come from BARB, and titles are sometimes incomplete.
Ratings for Netflix and other streamers are not available.

UK Broadcast Audience
Documentary & Hobbies Category
Top 50 2020

	Channel	Program	‘000 P4+	Share
1	BBC 1	Antiques Roadshow	7,846	29.0
2	BBC 1	The Repair Shop	6,885	28.9
3	BBC 1	Countryfile	6,883	34.4
4	ITV	Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad	5,799	27.0
5	BBC 1	Top Gear	5,770	26.7
6	ITV	Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace	5,657	24.6
7	BBC 1	Who Do You Think You Are?	5,274	23.1
8	BBC 1	Ambulance	4,946	24.8
9	ITV	Anne: The Princess Royal at 70	4,904	23.9
10	ITV	Bradley Walsh: Happy 60th Birthday	4,848	20.6
11	ITV	The Real ‘Des’: The Dennis Nilsen Story	4,735	24.1
12	ITV	Welcome to HMP Belmarsh with Ross Kemp	4,457	18.3
13	BBC 1	Extinction: The Facts	4,374	22.4
14	ITV	The Virtual Grand National	4,280	27.4
15	BBC 1	Dame Vera Lynn: We’ll Meet Again	4,256	25.5
16	BBC 1	Primates	4,211	16.8
17	BBC 1	Garden Rescue	4,190	21.5
18	BBC 2	Inside Monaco: Playground of the Rich	4,178	17.8
19	BBC 1	DIY SOS	4,160	19.9
20	BBC 1	Planet Earth: A Celebration	4,109	21.7
21	BBC 1	Eat Well for Less?	4,029	18.7
22	BBC 1	Blue Planet Revisited	3,942	23.2
23	BBC 1	Sue Perkins: Along the US-Mexican Border	3,913	18.6
24	BBC 1	Reported Missing	3,872	20.8
25	ITV	Cilla: The Lost Tapes	3,844	17.7
26	CH4	24 Hours in Police Custody	3,824	14.6
27	BBC 2	A House Through Time	3,816	17.5
28	ITV	Absolutely India: Mancs in Mumbai	3,807	17.0
29	ITV	Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs	3,801	17.7
30	BBC 2	Gardeners’ World	3,798	16.1
31	ITV	Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport	3,774	19.2
32	ITV	Paul O’Grady’s Great British Escape	3,751	17.3
33	ITV	The Diana Interview: Revenge of a Princess	3,749	16.0
34	ITV	Paul O’Grady for the Love of Dogs	3,679	19.6
35	BBC 2	Cornwall with Simon Reeve	3,565	14.5
36	ITV	Long Lost Family: What Happened Next	3,546	15.4
37	BBC 1	A Tribute to Dame Vera Lynn	3,522	19.9
38	Channel 5	Our Yorkshire Farm	3,507	17.6
39	ITV	The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury	3,501	16.9
40	ITV	Long Lost Family Born Without a Trace	3,497	17.6
41	CH4	Escape to the Chateau	3,440	17.4
42	ITV	Rose West, Myra Hindley: Their Untold Story	3,431	16.2
43	CH4	Murder in the Outback	3,421	16.6
44	ITV	Prince William: A Planet for Us All	3,418	18.0
45	BBC 1	My Family, The Holocaust and Me	3,413	14.9
46	BBC 1	True North	3,382	17.0
47	ITV	Madeleine McCann: The Hunt for the Prime Suspect	3,363	18.0
48	ITV	Joanna Lumley’s Hidden Caribbean: Havana to Haiti	3,341	14.7
49	BBC 1	Easy Ways to Live Well	3,326	15.7
50	ITV	Britain’s Best Walks with Julia Bradbury	3,325	19.3

TAKEAWAYS

Land & Country

The hit breakthrough of the COVID year is the folksy, sentimental Repair Shop (#2) in which damaged family treasures are brought back to life by accomplished craftspeople.
The series is led by the relatable and expert host, furniture restorer Jay Blades.
Antiques Roadshow returns to #1, and Countryfile rides at #3 — a trifecta that confirms the British audience’s appetite for nostalgia in a hard time.
The Channel 5 hit Our Yorkshire Farm (#38) is one of many British nostalgia and rustic travel shows found further down the list.

Natural History / Pets

The Natural History genre is led by David Attenborough’s challenging Extinction The Hard Facts (#13).
Otherwise the genre relies mainly on visits to the archive (Primates, #16), and to strong franchises, notably Blue Planet Revisited (#22), Springwatch (#62) and Spy in the Wild (#73.)
ITV’s long-running Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs (#29) leads in the Pets category.

History

A House Through Time (#27) is a standout for BBC2, and ticks the “homey” COVID mood of the year.
Another History notable at #69 is Captain Tom’s War. I was saddened to read today that this inspiring hero had passed away of COVID complications at 100.
Darker stories from the past are less prominent.

Talent Tops Crime

Great British crimes and criminals are on the list, but are less present than in previous years: There’s enough dark and edgy outside already.
The Top 50 is more populated with comfortable and often loveable talent of today and yesterday.
See: Bradley Walsh, Cilla, Vera Lynn, Attenborough, Paul O’Grady, Nigella, and many more.
Crime meets Talent in Welcome to HMP Belmarsh (#12), where the relatable Ross Kemp leads us inside a notorious maximum security prison.
C4’s Murder in the Outback (#43) somewhat bucks the trend by delivering death in an exotic destination.

Royals

The Windsor family becomes more present as the year progresses, maybe because HRH Andrew‘s troubles faded a bit
There were fewer royal births, baptisms, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and funerals that could be covered in COVID.
That said, Princess Anne’s 70th Birthday ranks #9 (who knew so many cared!).
The Diana Interview: Revenge of a Princess (#33) received a boost from The Crown / Diana In Her Own Words on Netflix.
Prince William follows the Attenborough path in A Planet For Us All (#44), and tests a football / mental health genre blend (#97).

COVID

The pandemic makes rare appearances on the list (Surviving The Virus: My brother and Me #77), perhaps because Britain’s COVID tragedy is well-covered by Current Affairs producers.
Looking outside the Factual category, The Queen’s Covid Address attracted more than 14 million viewers and an astounding 45.8 share.

Those are my Takeaways for the moment. I glossed over so much. LMK if you disagree.

Final thought: Tens of thousands of new and repeated Factual programs are offered to UK viewers each year. Making it to the Top 100 is no mean feat!

Here are #51-100:

UK Broadcast Audience
Documentary & Hobbies Category
Top 51-100 1H 2020

	Channel	Program	‘000	Share
51	ITV	The Savoy	3,319	15.3
52	BBC 1	Sir David Jason at 80	3,293	20.3
53	ITV	Tyson Fury: The Gypsy King	3,178	14.1
54	ITV	St David’s: Britain’s Smallest City	3,170	12.2
55	BBC 2	Nigella’s Cook, Eat, Repeat	3,165	15.3
56	ITV	Love Your Garden	3,164	15.8
57	BBC 1	RHS Chelsea Flower Show	3,157	21.8
58	BBC 2	Inside the Factory	3,146	13.0
59	(Error)
60	BBC 1	Idris Elba Meets Paul McCartney	3,121	18.0
61	ITV	John Bishop’s Great Whale Rescue	3,115	14.3
62	BBC 2	Springwatch	2,971	16.2
63	ITV	Griff’s Great Australian Adventure	2,969	15.4
64	CH4	Lose a Stone in 21 Days with Michael Mosley	2,953	14.1
65	BBC 1	Our Lives	2,948	15.0
66	ITV	Grow Your Own at Home with Alan Titchmarsh	2,945	15.2
67	BBC 2	Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing	2,943	12.5
68	ITV	Manhunt: the Raoul Moat Story	2,909	13.1
69	ITV	Captain Tom’s War	2,876	14.4
70	BBC 1	The Truth About…	2,870	15.5
71	ITV	Joanna Lumley’s Unseen Adventures	2,869	13.5
72	BBC 1	Rio and Kate: Becoming a Stepfamily	2,868	12.8
73	BBC 1	Spy in the Wild	2,862	11.3
74	ITV	Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime	2,857	13.0
75	ITV	The Millennium Dome Heist with Ross Kemp	2,831	12.8
76	ITV	Des O’Connor: The Ultimate Entertainer	2,828	13.8
77	BBC 1	Surviving the Virus: My Brother & Me	2,827	13.6
78	BBC 1	Blue Planet II	2,814	18.2
79	BBC 2	Murder 24/7	2,808	10.8
80	ITV	Harbour Cops	2,805	14.2
81	ITV	Death Row’s Women with Susanna Reid	2,793	13.3
82	ITV	For the Love of Britain	2,732	14.8
83	ITV	Britain’s Busiest Motorway	2,709	14.2
84	CH4	Barrymore: The Body in the Pool	2,708	14.0
85	BBC 1	Bargain Hunt	2,695	29.1
86	ITV	Ross Kemp: On the NH5 Frontline	2,665	12.6
87	ITV	Inside the Crown: Secrets of the Royals	2,659	10.5
88	CH4	24 Hours in the A&E	2,653	12.2
89	ITV	Long Lost Family	2,623	12.9
90	ITV	Rock on, Tommy: The Bobby Ball Story	2,612	14.0
91	ITV	The Metro: A Rail Life Story	2,612	13.9
92	ITV	The Station: Trouble on the Tracks	2,606	11.7
93	BBC 2	Back in Time for the Corner Shop	2,600	12.7
94	ITV	The Village	2,560	12.2
95	CH4	Devon and Cornwall	2,552	12.5
96	ITV	Ross Kemp: Living with…	2,548	14.3
97	BBC 1	Football, Prince William and Our Mental Health	2,509	14.7
98	ITV	London Zoo: An Extraordinary Year	2,505	12.8
99	CH4	Location, Location, Location	2,503	10.7
100	Channel 5	The Great Plague	2,482	8.8