If you're looking for a great BBC documentary to watch on iPlayer, you're going to be spoiled for choice, because there's plenty of non-fiction content to enjoy on the BBC's streaming service.
iPlayer has something for everyone, and our list reflects that, with crime, sport, nature and celebrity documentaries all represented.
If you want something fictional, we've also got a guide for the best BBC dramas, but this list below focuses on the best BBC documentaries.
What are the best BBC documentaries available to watch online on iPlayer right now?
Ambulance
Ambulance is a BAFTA-winning documentary series that follows NHS first responders, giving viewers an insight into what happens after each 999 call is made and sheds light on the important work the emergency services do.
Each series follows a different ambulance service from across the country as they go about their daily shifts. There are plenty of challenges that each team face from queues of incidents to call handlers under pressure to prioritise cases.
The series has everything you might expect from reports of road traffic and workplace accidents to the more bizarre such as unexploded bombs that have the responders springing into action and working alongside the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and the bomb squad to ensure people's safety.
Number of seasons: 12
Episodes: 72
Average episode length: 60 minutes
Sarah Everard: The Search For Justice
Sarah Everard: The Search For Justice focuses on the devastating murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard in March 2021.
The programme, which was two and a half years in the making, highlights the Met's investigation into the crime that saw Sarah abducted off the streets of London by a serving Metropolitan Police Officer, Wayne Couzens, as she walked home from a friend's house. It will also look at the impact her murder had on the nation and how this terrible crime came to even happen.
The production team behind the documentary worked in close contact with Sarah’s parents in the hope that the documentary would bring increased focus on women’s safety and abuse of power by police and other positions of authority.
Viewers see the crime unfold through astonishing CCTV and police body-cam footage, media coverage and archived police interviews with Couzens upon his arrest and in police custody, along with interviews from the Senior Investigating Officer from Sarah's case, the Prosecuting Barrister and Sarah’s local MP, many of whom are speaking on camera for the first time.
Number of seasons: 1
Episodes: 1
Average episode length: 60 minutes
Louis Theroux Interviews
Louis Theroux Interviews sees Louis spend time with some of the most recognizable faces in the country from Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench and platinum-selling rapper Stormzy to global popstar Rita Ora and heavyweight boxer and former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua. The stars let Louis into their homes, giving him exclusive access to poke about their lives, so expect anything and everything to be covered in their conversations.
Louis Theroux's Forbidden America is another of Louis's documentaries also worth watching. The three-part series sees him return to the USA to explore the impact of the internet and social media on some of the most controversial corners of American society.
Number of seasons: 2
Episodes: 12
Average episode length: 44 minutes
Panorama
Panorama is an investigative documentary series revealing the truth about the stories that matter, bringing viewers everything they need to know about current affairs and more. Each episode focuses on a different topic, with experts offering insights into ongoing investigations and worldwide issues, ranging from the latest Post Office scandal and Britain's crumbling schools to Alzheimer's and Madeleine McCann. Whatever your interests, Panorama has something for everyone.
Number of seasons: 1
Episodes: 40
Average episode length: 29 - 58 minutes
Frozen Planet II
The six-part series follows on from the original award-winning 2011 documentary Frozen Planet, also available to watch, and sees veteran broadcaster Sir David Attenborough explore the challenges faced in each region due to extreme temperatures and the increasingly worrying impact of climate change.
Four years in the making, the series explores many of the snow-bound landscapes that cover a fifth of our planet, from the Arctic and the Antarctic to icy mountains, forests, oceans and even deserts. Cutting-edge technology including drones, HD camera traps and time-lapse cameras have been used to capture footage of a range of spectacular animals that live there.
Number of seasons: 2
Episodes: 13 across the two seasons
Average episode length: 58 minutes
The Rescue
The Rescue tells the unimaginable story that transfixed the world in 2018 – the daring rescue of 12 boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand. This film shines a light on the high-risk world of cave diving, the astounding courage and compassion of the rescuers who put their lives on the line to rescue the children, and the shared humanity of an international community that united to save everyone trapped.
Number of seasons: 1
Episodes: 1
Average episode length: 101 minutes
Pep Guardiola: Chasing Perfection
This documentary gives an insight into the Manchester City manager's relentless pursuit of perfection, bringing viewers fascinating interviews with Pep's inner circle, including his right-hand man Txiki Begiristain. The one-off documentary uncovers his journey from a small town in Catalonia to the awe-inspiring Camp Nou and the importance of his pivotal relationship with managerial guru Johan Cruyff.
Spanish World Cup winner Carles Puyol lifts the lid on Guardiola’s innovative approach to managing Barcelona’s first team while Phil Foden and Kyle Walker bring to life Guardiola’s relentless work ethic. Also, former Oasis singer Noel Gallagher reflects on how Pep took the club from a fourth-place finish to a 100-point title-winning season in the space of the year.
Number of seasons: 1
Episodes: 1
Average episode length: 62 minutes
A Perfect Planet
Sir David Attenborough hits the jackpot once again with this visually stunning series about our perfect planet — Earth. The TV legend reminds us why his shows have become so iconic over the decades as he reveals how humans are changing the world so rapidly that it is affecting earth's weather, oceans and the living world.
We meet rescued orphaned elephants in Kenya, join ocean patrols off the coast of Gabon fighting to save endangered sharks, and witness wildlife teams saving animals in the shrinking forests of the Amazon — but can we find a way to use natural energy from wind, sun and waves to replace the CO2 emissions that humans are endangering our world with?
Number of seasons: 1
Episodes: 5
Average episode length: 58 minutes
Reclaiming Amy
Reclaiming Amy is a follow-up to the 2015 documentary, Amy, which was about the life and death of singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse. Although Amy was well-received by critics and even won an Academy Award, Amy Winehouse's father Mitch was critical of the original doc, calling it "preposterous".
Ten years after Amy Winehouse's death in 2011, Reclaiming Amy, first screened in 2021, offered her friends and family the opportunity to present their sides of the story. It's an emotional documentary that presents fresh insights and new stories from Amy's parents.
Amy's mother, Janis said: "After she died, her dad and I were accused of failing Amy. But the friends and family who knew her best and were with her until the end have a different story to tell. We want to celebrate Amy as the complex, incredible woman that she was."
Number of seasons: 1
Episodes: 1
Episode length: 60 minutes
Who Do You Think You Are?
Discover family secrets, shocking surprises and heartbreaking revelations as some of the most famous faces in showbiz trace their family trees. Who Do You Think You Are? has become a much-loved show on British TV, having aired on the BBC since 2004.
The most recent series, season 19, featured among others Death in Paradise star Ralf Little, Richard Osman and Matt Lucas.
Be warned, Who Do You Think You Are? will not only have you hooked, it will also have you researching your own family tree in no time.
Number of seasons: 20
Episodes: 50
Average episode length: 58 minutes
Forensics: The Real CSI
This fascinating documentary, which is not for the faint-hearted, sees multiple cameras following serious crime investigations in real time, revealing how the most cutting-edge forensic science can help solve the most disturbing of crimes.
Episode one of the second series sees a husband ringing 999 telling the operator that he has killed his wife. As he is found covered in blood outside his home and arrested, the crime scene coordinator and her team get to work to find forensic clues that could prove crucial in the investigation.
Number of seasons: 3
Episodes: 9
Average episode length: 60 minutes
Katie Price: Harvey and Me
Whether you're a fan of Katie Price or not, we challenge you not to be moved by this deeply personal film about Katie and her disabled son, Harvey. The mother and son open up about their personal highs and lows as Harvey turns 18, and while becoming an adult is an exciting milestone, for Harvey it also brings a daunting uncertainty as the care he received as a child is about to change.
Harvey, who was born with septic optic dysplasia, a rare disorder that affects brain function, hormones and vision and affects one in 10,000 births, also has a long list of medical and behavioral conditions, making his future unpredictable.
Watch Katie and her son face the challenge of exploring further education colleges and meeting other families with disabled young adults, while we get to see a very different side to the Katie we have got to know through the tabloids.
A second installment of the documentary called Katie Price: What Harvey Did Next follows Harvey as he starts college. Harvey, who is disabled, is about to move three hours away from home and will have to adjust to life apart from his family. Katie must face what it means to ‘let go’ of her oldest child. How will the Price family cope with the seismic change this next chapter will bring?
Number of seasons: 2
Episodes: 2
Average episode length: 60 minutes each
Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency
In this deeply personal one-off documentary, Capital Radio DJ and TV presenter Roman Kemp tackles the growing mental health and suicide crisis among young men. He confronts the loss of his close friend Joe, meets with other young men who've lost friends in the same way and attempts to figure out why so many young men find it difficult to open up about their emotions.
Roman goes back over his memories of his life with his best mate "Producer Joe" and opens up to viewers and his own family about managing his own mental health with medication. Along the way, he also meets with NHS and police workers and mental health support workers about their work from across the UK to see how they're tackling the problem.
It’s not an easy watch, but Roman Kemp: Our Silent Emergency is an eye-opening look that attempts to break the stigma around men's mental health.
Number of seasons: 1
Episodes: 1
Episode Length: 58 minutes.
Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power
This one-off documentary follows Little Mix band member Leigh-Anne Pinnock as she confronts her experience being the only Black member of the girl group, and of her experience working in the music industry as a Black artist.
Following on from former bandmate Jesy Nelson’s documentary about online abuse, Leigh-Anne explores how she’s always felt she’s been made to feel different to the rest of her group. She talks candidly about how supportive the rest of the girls have been and hopes that the documentary will inspire others to be part of the change.
In the programme, Leigh-Anne also met with other Black female singers like Alexandra Burke, who revealed she was encouraged to undergo skin-lightening treatment at the start of her career.
Episodes: 1
Episode Length: 59 minutes
How to watch the best BBC documentaries anywhere in the world
There's an easy way to watch BBC documentaries if you're going to be away from home, and it's called a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN lets you get around the usual frustrating digital barriers by changing your IP address, meaning you can watch your favorite TV shows even if you're going to be away from home.
Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which lets you change your IP address on whichever device you want to watch your new favorite show on. ExpressVPN is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our colleagues at TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at ExpressVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
