Here is our guide to the best BBC documentaries available on BBC iPlayer, including how many episodes there are of each series and how you can watch them wherever you are in the world.  

There is something for everyone on iPlayer, from gripping crime documentaries to nature and travel which provide the ultimate escapism. 

By Claire Crick

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.

This three-part series tells the story of some of the world’s most famous art thefts, among them the stealing of Edvard Munch's The Scream. It opens with a thrilling account of how two Turner paintings on loan from London to Frankfurt were swiped. Among those interviewed in the series are the police who chase the thieves, security personnel impacted by the robberies and art directors from the museums desperate to get their precious paintings back.

Cricket lovers will love the Edge which tells the amazing story of how the England team rose from nowhere to be the top team in the world. 

The stars talk candidly and amusingly about what it took to get them to be a world-beating side. Among those who share their memories are Kevin Pietersen, Sir Alastair Cook, James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn.

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?

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."

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. 

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. 

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. 

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 anyone, 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. 

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.

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.