A Very British History - Episode Guide

Writer Damian Le Bas explores how Gypsy people in the 1960s were forced to abandon their nomadic way of life for a more settled existence.

Poet Sue Brown looks at what life was like in the postwar years for Birmingham's Caribbean community as they asked questions about their own identity and place in British society.

Film-maker Simon Glass explores his family history and tells the story of the Yorkshire Jews in the early 20th century.

Meera Sodha tells the story of the 1972 refugee crisis when thousands of Asian people arrived in Britain after being expelled from Uganda by dictator Idi Amin.

Musician Angela Moran looks at the history of Birmingham's Irish residents, talking to local people and presenting rare archive footage. She discovers the impact that the 1974 pub bombings had on the community, many of whom felt the need to disguise their heritage, and recalls her own experiences of growing up in the 1990s, when being Irish became fashionable.

British-born Chinese vlogger Shu Lin explores the history of the Chinese community in the UK from the 1950s through to the present day.

Aminul Hoque came to Britain in 1980 as a three year-old, from the young nation of Bangladesh.

He explores why thousands of families settled here in the 1970s and 80s, and how they faced hardships and racism while building a new life in Britain.

Drawing on rich film archive from the period, meeting those who settled in London and Luton, and through his own experiences growing up in East London, Aminul tells the stories of Bengalis who worked hard, fought racism and made their homes here over the course of two key decades.

As his children grow up in the UK, Aminul wants them to know about their own Bangladeshi roots. He takes the family back to where he and his dad came from, his home village in Sylhet province. Now it's up to his kids to decide if they want to keep the links with their homeland - but as British Bangladeshis.

Therapist Rachel Nguyen tells the story of the Vietnamese Boat People who came to Britain in the 70s and 80s. British-born Rachel, whose parents fled post-war Vietnam, discovers how a new community came to exist in Britain when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher eventually agreed to take in 10,000 Vietnamese refugees. Scattered around the country following a controversial ‘dispersal policy', the new community became almost invisible – even to this day many in the UK might not realise Britain has a Vietnamese community. Through meeting people who lived through these events and by accessing rare archive footage and government papers, Rachel learns more about the community she was brought up in and the country into which her parents and the other Boat People arrived. Whilst they faced huge difficulties, there was also kindness from local people. She goes on to explore how life in Britain has changed for Vietnamese people of her generation.