We Are England - Season 1

We Are England - Season 1

First aired: 1/26/2022 61 episodes

We Are England was a regional current affairs documentary programme shown on BBC One. The programme was made by six teams around England, based in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle and Norwich. It explored the issues people cared about, as told by them from across the country. It replaced the long running BBC programme "Inside Out".

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Episodes

Episode 1

1. Becoming Dad

Aired: 1/26/2022

Mental Health: One in ten dads in the UK struggles with post-natal depression, yet it often goes unacknowledged. This film follows Elliott Rae's campaign to get more mental health support for Dads.

2. Cold Swim - Tynemouth

Aired: 1/26/2022

Mental Health: Cold water swimmer Jacqui inspires two new recruits with personal life challenges to join her tribe and feel the benefits. Can the sea turn the tide and improve their mental health?

3. Fighting My Phobia - Coventry

Aired: 1/26/2022

Mental Health: Young dad Rob has grappled with social phobia his entire life, now he’s going into the boxing ring to fight in front of hundreds of people. Follow his inspirational journey.

4. Nature on My Mind – Somerset

Aired: 1/26/2022

Mental Health: A group of key workers and veterans with mental health problems sleep under the stars and learn bushcraft skills as they explore the healing power of the great outdoors.

5. Unfiltered - Cambridge

Aired: 1/26/2022

Mental Health: Caroline Flack’s former performing arts school puts mental health in the spotlight as dancer Mia, and TV star Vicky Pattison reveal the struggles thousands of young women face.

6. Veterans Road to Recovery

Aired: 1/26/2022

Mental Health: Ex-soldier Darren supports other veterans struggling with life on civvy street. He retrains them as HGV drivers, helping them overcome challenges both on and off the road.

7. Down at the Docks

Aired: 2/2/2022

The Night Shift: Bristol Port Company brings in huge cargo ships from around the world 24 hours a day. We meet the team working through the night making sure they're unloaded safely and on time.

8. Life Blood

Aired: 2/2/2022

The Night Shift: Blood donation fell with Covid-19, now the NHS is on its biggest blood drive ever. And one NHS staffer is inspired to give even more than blood to a stranger - her kidney.

9. Night Nurses - Birmingham

Aired: 2/2/2022

The Night Shift: When the rest of the world is sound asleep, the nurses battle to keep their patients alive. We follow them on a night shift at one of Birmingham's busiest intensive care units.

10. One Night at the Fish Market - Grimsby

Aired: 2/2/2022

The Night Shift: A night shift at Grimsby Fish Market where the race is on to get the catch ready to sell. The team are part of the two-million-strong workforce in England who regularly work nights.

11. One Night in Newcastle

Aired: 2/2/2022

The Night Shift: The street pastors are a group of Christian volunteers who give up their free time to help the poor, the sick and the intoxicated during Friday and Saturday nights in Newcastle

12. Our Bin Lorry Life

Aired: 2/2/2022

The Night Shift: What actually happens to our waste once it's gone in the bin? This film goes behind the scenes with the men and women who collect, sort and sell our rubbish.

13. Fighting for Fashion

Aired: 2/9/2022

Bossing It: Like most black entrepreneurs, Kalkidan was refused a loan to start her business. Today her brand is a big success and she now has a new idea to 'revolutionise' retail.

14. Photo Me Famous

Aired: 2/9/2022

Bossing It: Conor has photographed everyone from Calvin Harris to David Attenborough. As he prepares to work again after the pandemic, he revisits the people who gave him his big break.

15. Steffi and the Chocolate Factory

Aired: 2/9/2022

Bossing It: Steffi sells her handmade chocolate on social media. When Joe Wicks gave her a shout out, her business trebled. Can she keep up with demand and build her dream factory?

16. The Beauty Boss

Aired: 2/9/2022

Bossing It: Ama went into the pandemic unemployed. A year later, her new wellness business had made its first million. Can she keep it growing amid mounting challenges?

17. The Container King

Aired: 2/9/2022

Bossing It: Jake left school with two GCSEs but now runs a growing cargo business. He's going back to school to share his story of success against the odds.

18. Crisis on the Farm

Aired: 2/16/2022

Farming England: Last winter the pig industry faced a crisis like no other. Labour shortages created a backlog of animals on farms - we follow farmers in Yorkshire as they try to avoid a cull.

19. Farming on the Spectrum - Oxfordshire

Aired: 2/16/2022

Farming England: Thirty years ago, an Oxfordshire cattle farm invited a group of autistic children through its gates. Now it's a haven for people on the autism spectrum. But can it keep thriving?

20. First Time Farmers

Aired: 2/16/2022

Farming England: Jenny and Lenny have put every penny of their life savings into a new Cumbrian farm at a time when agriculture is at a crossroads. With a young family to support, can they make it pay?

21. My Norfolk Farm

Aired: 2/16/2022

Farming England: Young farmer Izzi comes up with new ways to make money and keep her family farm going in a post-Brexit world.

22. The Crisp Farmers - Hereford

Aired: 2/16/2022

Farming England: Mark and Sean are farmers whose background is growing and selling potatoes. Together, they're making their own environmentally friendly crisps, but the investment is proving costly.

23. When the Boats Come In

Aired: 2/16/2022

Farming England: The oystermen of the River Fal estuary have been knocked sideways by Brexit. With their future under threat they must battle to save their precarious way of life.

24. Cornwall's Last Raceway

Aired: 2/23/2022

Belonging: It's race day at the United Downs stock car track. But beyond the rivalries on the circuit, a bigger battle is being fought by a passionate community trying to save their raceway.

25. Our Derby Dance School

Aired: 2/23/2022

Belonging: Nadia opened a dance studio in Derby 20 years ago, not realising that it would become a refuge and safe haven for youths. The studio helps many students overcome social and mental health issues

26. Our Fight Club - Middlesbrough

Aired: 2/23/2022

Belonging: Nathan runs a mixed martial arts academy in Middlesbrough. He believes the training he offers to people from disadvantaged backgrounds gives them confidence to face life head on

27. Our Skate Park Life

Aired: 2/23/2022

Belonging: Riders in Hastings prepare for one of England's top BMX competitions. Will their captain, Stu, be able to take the heat and take his team to victory?

28. The Real Phoenix Nights

Aired: 2/23/2022

Belonging: John has run the Clacton Railway Working Men's Club for decades. It's a local institution. Now, supported by his two daughters, he tries to modernise.

29. The Real Vicars of Dibley

Aired: 2/23/2022

Belonging: Leah and Sarah are trainee vicars in the north of England. How will they settle into their new parishes as they prepare for their first services since being ordained?

30. Fighting for our Homes

Aired: 3/7/2022

A Place Called Home: Neighbours on a Leeds housing estate fight to keep their community together. They are faced with eviction from their privately rented homes, that have stood since the 1950s.

31. Hanging on to Home

Aired: 3/7/2022

A Place Called Home: Yacob owns his home on an estate, but the council wants to knock it down and build a new development. Now they're the last family left in the block, fighting to save their home.

32. Homes for the Homeless - Nottingham

Aired: 3/7/2022

A Place Called Home: A Nottingham charity are putting homeless people into their own properties. But adjusting to living in a house is harder than it seems.

33. Staying Afloat

Aired: 3/7/2022

A Place Called Home: Jess can't get on the property ladder, so she's bought a 30 foot boat. Will life on England's waterways work out for her?

34. Students in Suburbia - Newcastle

Aired: 3/7/2022

A Place Called Home: Once a quiet residential suburb on the outskirts of Newcastle, Jesmond is being taken over by students and anti-social behaviour is on the rise. But residents are fighting back.

35. Van Life

Aired: 3/7/2022

A Place Called Home: Van Life follows the people escaping soaring living costs by living in vehicles on the streets of Bristol as they navigate the difficulties that come with living kerbside.

36. Bouncing Back

Aired: 3/14/2022

Sporting Heroes: Underdog wheelchair basketball team the Bath Romans take on one of the best squads in the country. But with many new and inexperienced players, do they stand a chance?

37. Fighting for Me

Aired: 3/14/2022

Sporting Heroes: Portsmouth boxer Ebonie gets back in the ring after a relationship that knocked her confidence, and starts living her sporting dreams again.

38. Football Fat Fighters

Aired: 3/14/2022

Sporting Heroes: Three overweight Carlisle men take to the football pitch. Their goal is to shed the lockdown pounds and feel better about their bodies. Can they put it in the back of the net?

39. Make Me a Jockey

Aired: 3/14/2022

Sporting Heroes: Young horse riders from under-represented communities take the reins to pursue their dreams of being top jockeys at a new academy inspired by Magnolia Cup winner, Khadijah Mellah.

40. Mick Walks For England

Aired: 3/14/2022

Sporting Heroes: A man from Liverpool walks 2,500 miles around Britain in a pair of swimming trunks to give back to the charities who helped him through his battle with addiction and homelessness.

41. Swim School

Aired: 3/14/2022

Sporting Heroes: Swim tutor Annalize is determined to get more people from the black community to enjoy swimming and be safer in the water.

42. A Very British Bike Factory

Aired: 3/21/2022

Made in England: Can apprentices learning the traditional welding technique of brazing stand the heat as they join an iconic folding bike company during a period of unprecedented demand?

43. Inside the Jet Engine Factory - Derby

Aired: 3/21/2022

Made in England: After a year when the pandemic brought the aviation industry to a standstill, Derby's famous Rolls-Royce factory is investing in technology and people for the future.

44. Make Mine a 99 - Crewe

Aired: 3/21/2022

Made in England: We meet the people behind a family-run ice cream van factory, seeing how they hand-build the vans and how they're innovating to deal with tough economic conditions in the industry.

45. Our Northern Jacket Empire

Aired: 3/21/2022

Made in England: Waxed jackets have been handmade in a north east factory for over 100 years. We meet the workers keeping these traditional skills alive and bringing old jackets back to life.

46. The 007 Shoe Factory

Aired: 3/21/2022

Made in England: It's one of England's last family-run traditional shoemakers and it has just dressed James Bond. But can it survive the trainer trend?

47. The Biggest Smallest Car Company

Aired: 3/21/2022

Made in England: We meet the workers behind the two Mini factories that run 24/7, producing nearly 1,000 cars a day

48. Finding Michelle Bettles

Aired: 3/28/2022

True Crime: Michelle disappeared from Norwich's red light district. Her body was discovered two days later. Twenty years on, her killer hasn't been found. Now, her father retraces her steps.

49. Knife Angels

Aired: 3/28/2022

True Crime: With stabbings on the rise, Barney Green, a vascular surgeon in Middlesbrough, and the Madgin family from Wallsend, who lost their daughter Samantha to knife crime, band together.

50. Our Adam

Aired: 3/28/2022

True Crime: Four years ago, Adam Ellison was killed on a night out. We follow his family as they continue to raise awareness about his case in the hope that they can finally get justice.

51. Who Killed Barry Rubery

Aired: 3/28/2022

True Crime: On 28 April 2010, 68-year-old grandfather Barry Rubery returned home from an evening out at a Masonic dinner, where he was subjected to a violent and sustained attack.

52. Who Killed Dad

Aired: 3/28/2022

True Crime: On April 22, 1986, Peter Thurgood and Lindy Benstead were found dead near their car just off the A3 in Rake, Hampshire, near the Sussex border.

53. Why Did My Brother End Up Dead?

Aired: 3/28/2022

True Crime: In 2001, Damean Vernon was found dead by his mother near a Birmingham canal. He was frozen, half naked, with multiple superficial cuts and abrasions around his body.

54. Bimini Bon Boulash: Homecoming Queen

Aired: 4/4/2022

My Home Town: Celebrity drag queen Bimini Bon Boulash returns to their childhood hometown of Great Yarmouth on a nostalgic journey, exploring a story of success and self-discovery.

55. Graft: Uncovering My Roots

Aired: 4/4/2022

My Home Town: MOBO-winning rap artist Graft has seen a rapid rise to fame after winning the Rap Game. Now he's embarking on a new journey to trace his ancestral roots whilst developing as an artist.

56. Jassa Ahluwalia: Am I English?

Aired: 4/4/2022

My Home Town: Jassa Ahluwalia has mixed Indian and English heritage, and he looks white. He goes on a journey to explore his identity to try and answer his question: am I English?

57. Jayde Adams: Coming Home

Aired: 4/4/2022

My Home Town: Jayde Adams has made a name for herself in comedy, but what's the secret of her success? She goes back to her hometown of Bristol to find out.

58. Kema Kay: My Hometown

Aired: 4/4/2022

My Home Town: Kema Kay takes a journey through his hometown of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, looking at the way in which immigration and race impacted his identity and his sense of home.

59. Livvy Haydock: My Hometown

Aired: 4/4/2022

My Home Town: Investigative journalist Livvy Haydock reveals how her past led her to chase down violent criminals.

60. The Crypto-Millionaire

Aired: 2/9/2022

Broadcast cancelled at last minute. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/feb/10/bbc-cryptocurrency-documentary-pulled-from-air-at-last-minute

61. Bodyworks Dance School - Cambridge

Aired: 2/16/2022

Broadcast cancelled. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/feb/14/bbc-pulls-another-episode-of-we-are-england-current-affairs-show