Michael Portillo uncovers the forgotten events concealed by famous moments in history.

History is complicated, and to make sense of it, we construct a narrative, editing and shaping the past to form a coherent story. But in doing so, there is much we leave out, leading to gaps in our collective memory. In this series, broadcaster and former politician Michael Portillo revisits some of history's best-known moments to fill in some of these gaps, rediscovering forgotten events that augment our understanding and shift our perspective.

Reappraising milestones such as the Spanish Armada, the French Revolution, the First World War and the Great Depression, he probes our selective amnesia, asking what we have mythologised, and what we've ignored. Was Alfred the Great really a bold English hero, or an Anglo-Saxon spin doctor? Why is Georgian England remembered for its elegant architecture and regency refinement when this period of history was full of riots and political strife? And could the Bengal famine of 1943, a horrific event in British India that cost at least 1.5 million lives, have been avoided?

Talking to leading historians and experts, Portillo peels back the layers of history to uncover the uncomfortable truths and murky, ambiguous stories behind iconic events such as the 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688, the struggle for Indian independence and the Boston Tea Party. He also reveals a Suffragette plot to assassinate Herbert Asquith; shows how a disastrous attempt at overseas colonisation led to the 1707 Act of Union merging England and Scotland; and takes a look at the real losers of the Battle of Trafalgar—the Spanish.

Not revisionist, but restorative, this fascinating series challenges the orthodox view of history without glossing over its complexities, presenting a surprising, thought-provoking re-evaluation of our past and reminding us that the events we choose to remember are not always those that are the most significant.

Production credits

Presented by Michael Portillo

Produced by Julia Adamson, Tom Alban, Marya Burgess, Joanne Cayford, James Cook, James Crawford, Neil George, Laurence Grissell, Julia Johnson, Roger Mahony, Neil McCarthy, Paula McGinley and Philip Sellars

Consultant: Chris Williams of the Open University

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:

Series 1

The Battle of Mers-el-Kebir - 16 May 2005

The Spanish Armada - 23 May 2005

The French Revolution - 6 June 2005

Series 2

Jack the Ripper - 27 November 2006

The First World War - 4 December 2006

The 1945 Labour Government - 11 December 2006

Series 3

On Suffragettes - 24 December 2007

The Darien Scheme - 31 December 2007

The Bengal Famine - 7 January 2008

The Battle of Trafalgar - 14 January 2008

Series 4

The League of Nations - 15 December 2008

Alfred the Great - 22 December 2008

Series 5

Chamberlain and 'Peace for our Time' 1938 - 14 December 2009

The Hanseatic League - 21 December 2009

The Glorious Revolution - 28 December 2009

Series 6

King Harold - 15 November 2010

The Violent Side of Indian Independence - 29 November 2010

The Great Depression in the USA - 6 December 2010

Series 7

The Real Boston Tea Party, 1773 - 13 November 2011

Police Strike - 20 November 2011

The English Armada - 4 December 2011

Series 8

The Georgian Façade - 11 June 2012