BBC Two

The latest documentary series from Louis Theroux will begin on BBC Two in early October.

Factual: The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed

Monday

BBC Two, 9pm

​In the first episode of the three-part series, Chris and Xand Van Tulleken explore the latest research into how humans grow and the dramatic changes the body goes through.

The twins uncover why humans experience childhood longer than any other creature on Earth, and look at the incredible power of breast milk.

The new titles include an interactive history series about the 20th Century, a behind-the-scenes documentary exploring the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a documentary looking at the changes in the British Army over the last year, an 80s LA drama from director John Singleton, a film about legendary artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and three special episodes of The League of Gentlemen.

The cooking series will be presented by Zoe Ball and Nadiya Hussain, as they visit kitchens around country to find the best classic family recipes.

The recipes will be judged by renowned cookery teacher Rosemary Shrager and Michelin-starred chef Giorgio Locatelli. The two judges will set challenges in both the studio kitchen and home kitchens, as they cut down the 16 teams of over eight heats, three semi-finals and one major grand final!

Monday

Ripper Street

9pm, BBC Two

Matthew Macfadyen returns for the final series of period drama Ripper Street. 

Following the shocking murder of Inspector Bennet Drake, outlaws Edmund Reid, Homer Jackson and Long Susan join forces to avenge the death of their old friend - despite being hunted by the police themselves.

BBC Two's Channel Editor Patrick Holland expressed his vision for BBC Two, which will focus on themes of reasserting the role of authorship, engaging with and becoming more relevant to the audience, and embracing all the specialisms on the channel from science, history and arts to current affairs, history, documentaries.

The new titles include a series of new documentary titles including an exploration of families living on the poverty line, a behind the headlines look at the sequence of events that caused Brexit, and the story of the horrific murder of Jo Cox MP.

“We thought it was the right time to do something big about the NHS – it was encountering lots of problems and it was being treated as a political football.

“We wanted to get over what was happening right now in the NHS and aimed for broadcast in January when the NHS often faces a winter crisis,” explained BBC Two commissioning editor Danny Horan at the event, which was held at ITV London Studios.

Gay Britannia will feature bold stories that celebrate the LGBTQ community and highlight what it means to be gay in Britain today, whilst challenging existing preconceptions and prejudices.

The season of programming will mark 50 years since The Sexual Offences Act 1967, which partially decriminalised homosexual acts that took place in private between two men over the age of 21.

Mick Ford will adapt The Boy With The Topknot, the humorous and touching memoirs of Sathnam Sanghera's childhood, growing up as a second-generation Indian in 1980’s Wolverhampton.

His book is an account of his childhood and facing up to a bunch of painful family secrets and truths in his twenties – not least that his father and sister had suffered from schizophrenia – and that he was going to defy expectations of an arranged marriage.

Describing it as having, “nail-biting twists and powerful emotional pull”, the Daily Telegraph said BBC Two’s recent timely medical documentary series Hospital “could pass as a top-drawer medical drama”.

The fledgling production company Label1 that made the stylish, six-part series has its own twist. Unusually, the firm was set up in 2015 as a “quasi-­indie” within ITV Studios. The two people behind the venture were experienced programme-makers Simon Dickson and Lorraine Charker-Phillips.