The BBC farmed out its homework to seven celebrity advocates, each given a category—leaders, explorers, scientists, entertainers, activists, sports stars, artists/writers—and told to pick one 20th-century figure who mattered most. Over eight hour-long episodes broadcast live from The O2, they lobbied viewers with archive clips, talking-head historians and a studio audience before phonelines opened and the public voted one name through to the final. Claudia Winkleman and Nick Robinson presided over the knock-out rounds; Sir Trevor McDonald fronted the live finale on 5 February 2019.
The shortlists mixed the expected with the pointed: under Leaders, Margaret Thatcher edged out Franklin D. Roosevelt; under Scientists, Alan Turing beat Albert Einstein. Each advocate—Kathleen Turner, Chris Packham, Dermot O’Leary, Clare Balding, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Gus Casely-Hayford and Alexander Armstrong—argued their corner, but the public vote always swung towards moral symbolism over technical brilliance. When the category winners were whittled to four, Nelson Mandela triumphed over Thatcher, Churchill and Picasso, sealing the title with 35% of the final vote.
Produced by Emma Jay for 72 Films, the series recycled familiar BBC archive yet drew 1.3 million to the final, a healthy share for BBC Two on a winter night. It delivered no new scholarship, but it did give the corporation a cheap, interactive history lesson that doubled as a referendum on national values.
Production Details
BBC Two / 1 Season / 8 Episodes / 2019
Producer(s): Emma Jay
Main Cast
