Icons - Leaders The 20th Century was a time of extraordinary change. One hundred years of progress ...which shaped not only the society of the day, but generations to come. A century of seismic shifts, that saw countless breakthroughs and innovations, which would impact our world in ways never seen before. Behind this progress were incredible individuals who chose to defy convention, and in doing so changed the world forever. The life’s work of these Icons represent benchmarks now set for humanity – from scien
Icons - Sports Clare Balding examine the achievements of four of the 20th century's most influenti...al sports stars. Clare will be assessing the legacies of Pele, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King and Tanni Grey Thompson. Each of them transcended their sport, and had an impact on the century far beyond their professional record. As the 20th century began, sport largely belonged to those who could afford leisure time, and was often an amateur pursuit. By the year 2000, sport provided some of the most watched moments
Icons - Explorers The second in the ICONS series, Explorers is an hour-long documentary charting the ...story of Exploration in the 20th Century. Passionate about the subject since he was a child, tonight’s episode sees Dermot O’Leary examine the achievements and legacies of four of the Century’s greatest explorers. 20th Century exploration began with flag planting in the name of empire, and over the decades, improvements in technology saw explorers take on greater and greater challenges – pursuing prizes fr
Icons - Scientists This episode sees naturalist Chris Packham, who has spent his career studying the w...orld around us, assess the lives of the 20th century’s greatest scientists. Chris will examine the lives of Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Alan Turing and Tu You You. He’ll explore some of their most famous discoveries - as well as the lesser known human stories behind them - so often overshadowed by the scale and impact of their work. In the 20th Century, advancements in science saw life expectancy double; the