40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994. The documentaries could be on any possible subject, the only connection being that they last forty minutes. Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, Forty Minutes On.
Nov 5, 1987 - 40m
How three people's lives were permanently affected by the TWA plane hi-jack.
Nov 12, 1987 - 40m
Two South African school-girls, one black, one white - their contrasting attitudes and lives.
Nov 19, 1987 - 40m
Five couples describe what happened when they first met - and the long-term consequences.
Nov 26, 1987 - 40m
The only inner London Education Authority boarding school, in a Suffolk country house.
Dec 3, 1987 - 40m
Two contrasting 26-year-olds in London's newly-developing Docklands.
Dec 10, 1987 - 40m
Tim Piggot-Smith investigates the famous sleuth of 221b Baker Street.
Dec 17, 1987 - 40m
Seven entertaining parties.
Dec 23, 1987 - 40m
A portrait of the once-famous British singer, dancer and film star, Jesse Matthews.
Jan 7, 1988 - 40m
No overview available.
Jan 14, 1988 - 40m
Dilemmas faced by parents of mentally handicapped offspring who reach childhood and independence.
Jan 21, 1988 - 40m
Three young adults addicted to gambling on fruit machines, with disastrous results.
Jan 28, 1988 - 40m
Scarfe's Follies with Bob Geldof, Jane Asher, Terry Jones, Ian McKellen, Robin Bailey, Julian Glover, Marcia Warren, John Bird, John Challis, John Watts, Nellie the elephant and Ivy the camel. Gerald Scarfe records the follies of man in his cartoons. Now he wants to create his own folly. But what are follies - and why did eccentrics build them? Surrounded by high-kicking follies girls and borne by noble beasts, Scarfe sets off on a quest of discovery. He encounters a naughty vicar who built a folly garden for his gypsy girlfriend; a Welshman who burned his own son; a politician who got voters drunk; a man whose house resembles a jungle; and 'Mad Jack' Fuller, who built a steeple overnight to win a wager, and was buried in a pyramid with a bottle of port and a cold chicken. And as all the best follies contained a resident hermit, Scarfe advertises for one in the Times - with startling results.
Feb 4, 1988 - 40m
A specialist with the Thames Water Authority attempts to clean up the Ganges.
Feb 11, 1988 - 40m
Ten pupils from an independent public school (Rugby) and a state comprehensive school (Ruffwood) exchange places and lives.
Feb 18, 1988 - 40m
A self-operated video camera was set up in Peter Tilson's home to record a personal diary in his battle with AIDS.
Feb 25, 1988 - 40m
Annie, a nurse from Manchester, leaves the NHS to set up a new life as a nurse in Los Angeles.
Mar 3, 1988 - 40m
Lucinda Lambton travels along the Great North Road, the backbone of Britain that links London to Edinburgh, discovering many weird and wonderful delights en route.
Mar 10, 1988 - 40m
The story of a remarkable young woman. It's Alison French's wedding day. She's 24 - vivacious, candid, attractive, with a warm smile and a lively sense of humour. Alison, professionally qualified as a youth worker, is marrying Mark John. What makes her wedding different is that she's an athetoid spastic - her body's never still, and she has difficulty with her speech. Seven years ago, 40 Minutes made an acclaimed film about Alison, telling of her bid to gain independence in the able-bodied world. Tonight's follow-up is a passionate love story. But in marrying the man she loves, Alison has to leave her family in Watford, set up a new home in South Wales, and adapt to being a clergyman's wife. Her heart is still set on finding an independent job. The harsh reality is that despite her skills and rare qualities, she may face rejection. But Alison doesn't give up easily...
Mar 17, 1988 - 40m
Catrine Clay presents the disturbing story of gypsy children abducted from their parents in clean and ordered Switzerland.
Mar 24, 1988 - 40m
Perhaps the last holiday for a group of children, some of whom are gravely ill. They fulfil their dream of visiting Disney World.
Apr 7, 1988 - 40m
A 13-year-old boy hopes to be adopted by Dave, a single man of 42 - but things go wrong.
Apr 14, 1988 - 40m
Long-term unemployment in rural Herefordshire.
Apr 21, 1988 - 40m
Three widows at different stages of their recovery.
Apr 28, 1988 - 40m
An old white woman colonial settler staying on in up-country Kenya.
May 5, 1988 - 40m
An old-fashioned sea-side hotel, with many retired residents, is to be refurbished. The residents must go.
May 12, 1988 - 40m
Two people are waiting on an NHS hospital waiting list - one for a minor operation, the other for a major one.
May 19, 1988 - 40m
The story of a mix-up in a Nottingham nursing-home. Margaret Wheeler and Blanche Rylatt each gave birth to a baby girl on the same day. Margaret is convinced that she was given the wrong baby.
