David Farnor | On 09, Dec 2015

From a live Minecraft session with YouTuber Stampy Cat to an examination of homosexuality in Britain’s black and Asian communities, BBC iPlayer’s December line-up is as diverse as ever. We review the best bits.

TV

Horizon Tim Peake Special: How to Be an Astronaut

“It’s not very easy to become an astronaut,” quips Tim Peake two-thirds of the way through this Horizon special – and the hour-long video diary of his preparation to become Britain’s first astronaut on board the ISS proves it.

Why is he flying up there? Because the station is a vital part of humankind’s exploration of space: it’s a stepping stone to the stars, but also a place for experiments (“I don’t have to understand the science, just know how to do them”) to be carried out. Zero gravity, meanwhile, takes its physical toll on humans, so people can’t stay up there forever.

Tim’s launch will be broadcast live on the BBC with a Stargazing special on Tuesday morning at 10.30am and there is a constant sense of excitement underpinning Tim’s training. As he puts it, he didn’t even realise Britons could be astronauts. The sight of him fulfilling that dream (not to mention globe-trotting to various facilities, as countries such as Russia and America work together for something bigger than world politics) is quietly inspiring. The result is an uplifting, as well as informative, watch, even as the trials become particularly tough. Relocating his family to Houston is one challenge, but learning how to fly back to the station from open space is another: glimpses of Gravity and how things can wrong linger in the corner of your mind. Even if you miss the live launch, catching up with this on BBC iPlayer will leave your spirits blasting off.

Available until: 14th January 2016
Photo: BBC/Max Alexander – UKSA

Reggie Yates’ Extreme UK: Gay and Under Attack

Reggie Yates presents this investigation of homosexuality in Britain’s black and Asian communities – the part of society that least supports same-sex marriage. From Muslims insisting that being gay is a choice to a church attempting to exorcise someone for their sexuality, this is an eye-opening and measured portrayal of a range of views. Yates, swapping hats and coats as he mingles with the everyday Brits on the streets, emerges as a sincere and sensitive interviewer. With 1 in 10 gay people under the age of 25, this kind of topical, factual programming is exactly the kind of thing that BBC Three can do very well.

Available until: 6th January 2016

Photo: BBC/Sundog Pictures/Phill Taylor

Stampy’s Christmas Cake Caper

YouTuber Stampy Cat takes over the Royal Society of Edinburgh Christmas Lecture to answer questions about how to be a successful vlogger – and creates a special, seasonal Minecraft episode in front of the crowd. It’s a strangely passive sensation to see him play through his self-created festive adventure – The mission? Make a Christmas cake after all the cookies disappeared from Mrs. Claus’ bakery – but the crowd of kids cheering along seem perfectly happy to not be involved. The spectacle of them hanging on his every word makes for revealing watching for parents – while the Q&A and Minecraft fun will delight your kids this Christmas. It’s an iPlayer exclusive, so don’t hesitate to load it up on their tablet.

Available until: 2nd January 2016

Luther: The Journey So Far

Before Idris Elba’s detective returns to our screens, this 13-minute tour through the first three seasons of the BBC drama are the perfect way to get back up to speed.

Available until: 7th January 2016

Photo: BBC/Steffan Hill/Mikel Camara

Masterchef: The Professionals

Another cooking show? You might well shrug off Masterchef: The Professionals, but BBC Two’s spin-off, which sees pro chefs trying to impress a panel of judges, is a genuine treat, thanks to a tasty combination of Sean Pertwee’s voiceover, overly dramatic music, hammy judge reactions and – best of all – the surprising tendency for dishes to go horribly wrong. The sight of one cook attempting a sabyon in Episode 2, without even knowing what is – no, we don’t either – is one of the funniest things you’ll see on TV this year. (Missed Episode 2? Don’t worry: there are at least another 10 to watch and the series still hasn’t finished.)

Available until: 11th December (Episode 2)

Photo: BBC/Shine

This Is Tottenham

What a curious programme this is, promising at once both a warts-and-all portrait of social struggles in Tottenham, a candid look at an MP’s day-to-day life and a moving slice of human interest. At the heart of it all is David Lammy, who strolls about talking to his constituents like the world’s hippest agony aunt, managing to be simultaneously condescending, sincere, detached and engaged.

Available until: 8th January 2016

Photo: BBC/CTCV/Steffan Hill

Radio 1 Live Sessions

Annie Mac and Radio 1 bring in a bunch of bands to perform exclusive concerts in East London. Currently on offer are Coldplay and Mercury Music Prize nominee Jamie xx.

Available until: 2nd January 2016

Photo:BBC / Sarah Jeynes

Sherlock S3, E1: The Empty Hearse

Two years after falling from that rooftop, how did Sherlock do it? The opening of the BBC’s third season is as post-modern as ever, piping its script full of fan theories and sly nods, but it’s the relationship with Martin Freeman’s Watson that really proves most satisfying to have back, as the show sets in motion a character-driven trilogy of stories. The “Many Happy Returns” mini episode (7 minutes), which is available until 2nd September, is a bonus.

Available until: 10pm, 11th December

Photo: BBC/Hartswood Films

David Cup Tennis

Belgium and Great Britain go head-to-head in a historic tennis final, as Andy Murray leads the British team hoping to win the tournament for the first time since the 1930s. You’ve probably already seen the result, but that doesn’t mean you can’t relive the cracking sport on display – in fact, you even have time to do it in the Christmas holidays.

Available until: 29th December

Burt Bacharach: A Life in Song

If you’ve ever seen Burt Bacharach in concert, you’ll be all too aware that he delivers something special: crooning in his immediately recognisable rasp, he visibly enjoys not just performing the well-known classics, but reliving old times. “Memories,” he sighed, while smoking, on the Royal Festival Hall stage several years ago, to no one in particular. Now, he’s back again for a concert celebrating his career, complete with guests Alfie Boe, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Justin Hayward, Michael Kiwanuka and Joss Stone. Memories.

Available until: 28th December

Capital

The value of UK housing stock has risen £1.8 trillion in the last decade to be worth over £5 trillion. Those of us lucky to be on the property ladder are sitting on goldmines, while an entire generation is stuck living in rented property or with their parents. The BBC’s new drama, based on John Lanchester’s novel, puts us bang in the middle of it, as a diverse group of London residents find themselves harassed by postcards declaring “WE WANT WHAT YOU HAVE”. The ensemble includes Gemma Jones as a forgetful old woman, Adeel Akhtar as a kind corner shop owner and, best of all, Toby Jones as a slimy banker who slithers away to Canary Wharf every morning. As pressures pile up and the financial crisis looms, people start to interact, all sharing the same fears but separated by such huge gaps. What will win out: Capital in terms of money or Capital in terms of a London community? This is absorbingly topical stuff, filled with delicately painted portraits of believable characters. “What use is £30,000 to anybody?” splutters Jones, when he gets his disappointing bonus. You almost agree with him.

Available until: 24th December
Photo: BBC/Kudos/Hal Shinnie

Roller Derby: Skate Fast, Hit Hard

BBC Sport’s Get Inspired takes a look at Roller Derby, a sport that sees a gang of girls on roller-skates battling it out on an oval track. For those who haven’t seen Whip It!, it’s a fast, fun, physical sport – and it’s now Europe’s fastest-growing female sport. This exclusive iPlayer documentary is inspiring stuff indeed.

Available until: 19th December

Adele at the BBC

The singer has been all over the BBC to mark the launch of her album, performing songs and chatting to Graham Norton for this one-hour special. But the real gem is the additional skit above, in which she disguises as one of several Adele tribute acts.

Available until: 19th December

The Bridge: Season 3

Nordic noir fans, rejoice! One of the best Scandinavian crime dramas is back for a third run. When a Danish gender campaigner is found murdered in Malmo, Saga is assigned a new Danish colleague to help investigate.

Available until: 21st December

Photo: BBC/Filmlance International AB/Carolina Romare

Power to the People

Energy is something we take for granted. That’s the crux of this TV series and it makes for surprisingly engrossing viewing, as we see what goes on inside a Yorkshire power station and the extent to which people go to repair wind turbines. You’ll never turn on your telly to watch BBC iPlayer in the same way again. Maybe.

Available until: 17th December

Photo: BBC/Blast Films/Bakehouse Aerials

Timeshift: How Britain Won the Space Race

If The Sky at Night doesn’t give you enough of an astronomy streaming fix, Timeshift should help with this informative, engaging tale of how Bernard Lovell’s telescope was used by the Americans and Russians to track their rival spacecraft.

Available until: 11th December

Photo: BBC/Will Dohrn

On Stage: Live from Television Centre

This ambitious stunt from the BBC sees four independent theatre countries from across the UK stage live pieces of theatre at the old Television Centre. From the physical stylings of Gecko to the post-modern trickery of Richard DeDomenici, who re-enacts old TV moments (including a hilarious rendition of the Casualty theme tune), the diversity is the secret to the format’s success, which takes an inherently uneven and risky production and manages to become entertainment as much as experiment.

Available until: 15th December

Photo: BBC/Alex Brenner

Josh

After his BBC comedy pilot last year, Josh Widdicombe gets his own sitcom on BBC Three, inevitably called “Josh”. The result is as generic as it gets, from token funny flatmates to the hot girl he fancies, but there’s a nice line in awkward puns from Kate (Beattie Edmondson) that steals the show. Jack Dee’s landlord demonstrating swimming strokes on an ironing board is also something you won’t forget in a hurry. Sadly, you can’t say the same about the rest of it.

Available until: 14th December (Episode 1)

Photo: BBC/Des Willie

Tyger Takes On… How Straight Am I

BBC Three continues its series of sex-themed programming with this look at 18-year-old Tyger, who goes on a journey to discover his own sexuality and talk to a generation that a “forging a brave new world of sexual expression”. Watching his misguided preconceptions about intercourse, gender and identity slide away makes for intriguing viewing.

Available until: 12th December

Photo: BBC/Roughcut Television/Lee Baxter

David Gilmour Live at the Royal Albert Hall

David Gilmour and special guest David Bowie perform a selection of hits from Pink Floyd at The Royal Albert Hall in this exclusive concert. That’s all you need to know. You have until 14th December to watch it as many times as is humanly possible.

Available until: 14th December

Photo: BBC iPlayer

Rod Stewart Live at Hyde Park

Search “Rod Stewart” on BBC iPlayer and it’s amazing just how much he’s been on the BBC over the years, but if you’re a fan of Gasoline Alley, In a Broken Dream, Ooh La La and The Killing of George, this latest concert recording will go down a treat.

Available until: 14th December

Photo: BBC iPlayer

Tom Jones & Rob Brydon: One Big Night

This special music and comedy show for BBC Children in Need sees Tom Jones join forces with former Tom Jones impersonator Rob Brydon for silliness and singing. Jones is as classy as ever, but Brydon’s astonishing voice, coupled with his self-deprecating sense of humour (watch out for an episode of The Trip), makes for undeniably amusing viewing.

Available until: 12th December

Photo: BBC/Guy Levy

Frank Skinner On Demand with…

BBC iPlayer’s latest original series sees Frank Skinner and an array of celebrity guests discuss – yes – iPlayer. Talking through their favourite things they’ve been watching recently, the result is like a 15-minute podcast presenting highlights from the catch-up service. A bit like our weekly column, but less comprehensive and with more famous people. Worth watching just to hear them discuss iPlayer’s original feature film Fear Itself and horror movies in general.

Available until: New episodes arrive every Friday – available for 7 days

Photo: BBC iPlayer

London Spy

How do you make a spy drama stand out only a few days after SPECTRE has blown up the cinema box office? Hire Ben Whishaw. And start with a slow romance. Whishaw plays Danny, a warehouse worker who crosses paths with Alex (Ed Holcroft) one day near the HQ of MI5. Alex is good-looking, he’s quiet, he’s mysterious. And, it turns out, he’s a spy (in case the title didn’t give that away). But it’s a whole hour before we, and Danny, discover that – a lingering 60 minutes from writer Tom Rob Smith (Child 44) that ropes us in with a restrained, chilled love affair that is so well performed by our couple that any contrivances (including Jim Broadbent as conveniently placed father figure Scottie) are swiftly locked up in a box and put out of sight.

Available until: 9th December (Episode 1)

Photo: BBC/WTTV Limited

Simply Nigella

Nigella’s back and she’s lost none of her touch, flinging together ingredients with no emphasis on quantity and all of it on presentation. Mashing avocado on toast is hardly educational, but by golly, it looks good. Thai dishes and cake are better equipped to get your creative juices flowing in the kitchen, while the addition of bloopers at the end of each episode add to the glossy charm of it all.

Available until: 17th December (Episode 1)

Photo: BBC/Gary Moyes

The Great Pottery Throw Down

“My base is undulating,” says someone halfway through The Great Pottery Thrown Down – ceramics’ answer to Bake Off – and you immediately wish Mel and Sue were here. Presenter Sara Cox plays coy with the innuendo in a way that fits the milder setting of a barn full of clay, although the sight of a judge crying at how beautiful a bowl is may amuse more than move. The rest fits the successful BBC formula, with an array of contestants (from Mr. Dreadlocks And Waistcoat to Mrs. Shy, Nervous One) that should keep any avid pottery lover engaged. For non-kiln fans, it’s hard to shake the fact that cakes are better than bowls.

Available until: 16th December (Episode 1)

Photo: Love Productions / Mark Boudillon

The Hunt

David Attenborough returns to the BBC with this nature series following predators as they hunt their prey. “Frustration…” growls our narrator, as we see a cheetah’s attempted attack fail. Fantastic.

Available until: 17th December (Episode 1)

Photo: BBC/Silverback Films/Huw Cordey

Cuffs

The BBC’s new police drama is the latest in a long line-up of police dramas, each one hoping to stand out to audiences seeking their next usual suspect for a weeknight viewing. Cuffs has come up with a neat calling card: the whole thing is set in Brighton, a world away from your usual cop shows. Shots of the pier and the beach add a sense of colour and location to events – especially when contrasted with the grim activities going on there, from suicide to racist attack. Amid it all, rookie Jake (Jacob Ifan) is struggling to find his feet, not least because his dad is the police chief.

Ifan is likeable, if bland, as the stereotypical newcomer. He’s a perfect fit, though, for what initially feels like a bunch of all-too-familiar character types and tired story lines. Luckily, Ashley Walters is arresting as the veteran colleague tasked with showing Jake the gritty ropes, and Amanda Abbington adds shades of nuance to background bobby DS Jo Moffat. They do just enough to make this average boys-in-blue ensemble compelling – it’s telling that the most intriguing part of the show is one that doesn’t involve dialogue or heavy plotting, as we witness a quiet officer save the day, but refuse to make an effort to save his marriage, instead popping down to the local brothel. Detain this one for questioning and the show might yield some interesting answers.

Photo: BBC/Tiger Aspect

Available until: 11th December (Episode 3)

Detectorists

“Nostalgia conventions ain’t what they used to be…”

Is there a more quietly hilarious show in recent years than Mackenzie Crook’s Detectorists? The BBC Four BAFTA-winning show, which follows two metal detectorists in Essex, hardly sounds like a riot, but it’s a gem worth digging up in a field of louder, less valuable series. Crook plays Andy, a member of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club and long-time friend to Lance (veritable national treasure Tony Jones). Together, they share a passion for something that seems outwardly dull – and that genuine sense of friendship is what makes their uneventful existence so enthralling. Should Lance try online dating? No, comes the response, he’s going through a period of voluntary chastity. Should the group try a naked calendar to boost their profile? The withering looks the suggestion from one member gets are alone enough to make you sigh and giggle at the same time. A brasher show would emphasise the failures for awkward, bleak laughs, but Detectorists is happy to accept its characters as they are: losers. As the season starts, we see them scanning the ground inches from a treasured find from centuries before. They stroll on by, none the wiser. We never see it again.

Photo: BBC/Channel X North/Treasure Trove/Lola Entertainment

Available until: 16th December (Episode 1)

Class of ’92: Out of Their League

Buying players. Counting coins. Cleaning the toilet. It’s not easy running a fantasy football team. But if you find your weekly team selection stressful, try running a club for real: that’s what Class of ’92: Out of Their League conveys brilliantly, as we see Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville – the five Manchester lads who would endure as footballers and go on to win the Champions League, despite the sudden influx of big bucks behind-the-scenes transforming the sport in the 1990s – buy amateur team Salford City FC. It’s long way from Old Trafford, seven tiers down from the Premiere League, to be exact. And the real people they meet, on a few hundred quid a week, juggling day jobs on the side, are the stuff the beautiful game was named after.

Photo: Rachel Joseph / BBC

Available until: 13th December (Episode 1)

The Last Kingdom

This BBC historical epic will be compared by many to Game of Thrones, but its closest cousin is actually Vikings (released by Amazon Prime in the UK) – and that’s a compliment. Like Vikings, The Last Kingdom packs in a boat-load of violence, including one nasty sword-through-the-neck moment, but doesn’t skimp on the character stuff, following a smaller-scale story than HBO’s fantasy series, which gives it some emotional heft to make up for lack of sorcery and dragons.

The focus is on young Uhtred, who finds himself inheriting his father’s land and title amid the skirmish between the Danes and Saxons. That doesn’t sit too well with the others, so it’s probably for the best that he’s whisked away by the Vikings and raised as a prisoner-slash-step-son – not least because we get to spend time with Rutger Hauer as a blind poet called Ravn. Yes, really.

Hauer’s not the only impressive name to be found. Young Tom Taylor is excellent as the earnest tyke, with Alexander Dreymon convincingly carrying on his manly, determined streak as the grown-up boy, while Matthew Macfadyen steals the show with a brief, authoritative appearance. It all paves the way nicely for the arrival of Alfred the Great – and suggests that Bernard “Sharpe” Cornwell’s history of books becoming TV hits was no fluke.

Available until: 12th December (Episode 4)

Photo: BBC/Carnival Films/Kata Vermes

The Apprentice (Rap Up / Honest Subtitles)

Why do people watch The Apprentice? An hour every week with foul human beings all trying to impress each other – and, worst of all, Lord Alan Sugar? The irritating reality game show lost its initial hate-watch appeal years ago, as contestants seem to be more self-aware of the potential for small-screen celebrity than ever before. Even a trip to France for some frog-out-of-water negotiations (“After several hours, they’ve only got one cheese…”) doesn’t quite vary the formula enough. But BBC iPlayer’s exclusive content relating to the series helps make it seem fresh again. Honest Subtitles accompanying a highlights reel only spell out the things that are obvious and covered in the dialogue or narration, but Radio 1’s Matt Edmondson provides a fairly witty recap of each week’s events in rhyme form (“Rap Up”) – something that keeps you in the loop without having to spend time with these awkward, annoying people.

Photo: Boundless

Danger Mouse

The BBC once again proves a safe pair of hands for rebooting your childhood favourites, as the all-new Danger Mouse introduces cutting edge tech (goodbye, eye patch; hello, iPatch) but sticks to an old-school formula of silly voices, non-stop puns and an extremely villainous toad. The opening double-bill proves narrative isn’t the show’s strong point, but the promise of more chaos squeezed into 11-minute chunks of zany Bond parodies is enough to raise anyone’s eyebrows as high as Penfold’s.

Photo: BBC / FremantleMedia Limited

Music Box with Guy Garvey

The Elbow’s likeable frontman throws the curtains wide on a new music series exclusive to iPlayer, which sees Garvey share and discuss artists that he is most excited about. The series will run every other week for six episodes, with the first living up to its promise of introducing audiences to new music through its focus on Here We Go Magic. The exclusive premiere of the video for Falling – from their new album Be Small – is an apt coup, with Garvey providing the kind of amusing and insightful commentary that listeners to his Radio 6 Music show will be familiar with. Space for archive music from Radiohead brings diversity to the line-up, while the sub-30-minute runtime makes this an easy fit into your commute. Most impressive, though, is the BBC’s Playlister, which enables you to add tracks to a music playlist – a feature that, while not always relevant to the Beeb’s catch-up TV content, really comes into its own. Much like YouTube’s links to purchase audio from its videos, it’s the kind of innovative touch the BBC is good at – and could signal a strong future for IPlayer in the music VOD world. One day like this a fortnight will see us right.

Available until: June 2016

Photo: BBC / Dean Chalkley

Matt Berry Does…

Matt Berry proves once again that almost anything he says is funny, mostly because of the way he says it. After several excellent comedy shorts for BBC iPlayer, the IT Crowd and Garth Marenghi star now has his own series of six iPlayer short films titled “Matt Berry Does…”. Father’s Day and Summer Holidays are the kind of arbitrary topics that get the absurdist treatment from him and Bob Mortimer – there’s something undeniably hilarious about Matt Berry’s voice playing on top of screaming fish – while the latest, Matt Berry Does… Ghosts, is another testament to how effective Berry’s silliness is when distilled down to one brief, concentrated dose. Especially if you like learning about ghosts called Kenneth.

Available until: June 2016

Photo: BBC iPlayer

Comedy Feeds

The BBC’s latest season of comedy pilots has arrived and it’s a consistently hilarious batch. Highlights include warped game show spoof Funz and Gamez, complete with depressed host and a production team that breaks into their contestants’ homes to steal prizes, and sketch show People Like Us, which just might be the best ensemble sketch programme since Big Train. Elsewhere, the return of a wayward daughter from university to her rural home is a delightfully original piece of comedy in an age where many sitcoms have become bland and familiar. These feeds should come with a warning – because they’ll leave you hungry for more. (Read our full review.)

Available until: June 2016.

Photo: BBC

My Jihad

As BBC iPlayer’s Original Drama Shorts return for another season, one of 2014’s best, My Jihad, returns as a miniseries of three 15-minute films. The first introduced us to Fahmida (Anjli Mohindra) and Nazir (Hamza Jeetooa), two single Muslims who crossed paths at an unsuccessful speed-dating night. Picking up events one month later, this is a universal exploration of love in modern Britain that packs in twice as much warmth and wit as most 30-minute shows do in a whole season. (Read our full review.)

Available until: 2016

Original Drama Shorts

BBC iPlayer continues to prove a platform for new talent with its latest bunch of shorts. From a moving demonstration of isolation and connection in an online age to a darkly funny – and unpredictable – story of female love and family loyalty, this is an impressively versatile collection of stories that are more than worth spending time with. (Read our full review.)

Available until: June 2016

Clangers

“This is the Earth, our home…” begins Michael Palin at the start of each episode of The Clangers. “A tiny, wet planet, lost and alone. Lost in the vast silence of space…”

It’s not the introduction that older viewers will be used to, but it’s immediately clear that the Beeb’s updated version of Oliver Postgate’s classic has no intention of rebooting the show for modern audiences. In a year where Gerry Anderson’s equally loved series was given a CGI makeover, new characters and a different back-story, The Clangers feels like the antithesis to ITV’s Thunderbirds.

Palin’s avuncular tones are the perfect fit for The Clanger’s reassuring voice-over, which rejoices in the small details of our creatures’ lives. The result is something that feels as timeless as ever, because it doesn’t alter what made The Clangers special in the first place: its ability to present imagination as the most natural thing in the universe. (Read our full review.)

Photo: BBC/Coolabi, Smallfilms and Peter Firmin

Women Who Spit

“Your shabby, slipped-stitch mistakes make you miraculous,” spits Vanessa Kisuule in a short poem urging women to stop shrinking back and to take up space. It’s one of countless brilliant lines you’ll hear during this series of short films, which see female poets tackle topics facing young people today.

Cecilia Knapp’s explanation of why she writes is inspiring, Deanna Rodger’s look at those forced off the street is provocative, while Jemima Foxtrot’s double-performed examination of confidence and doubt is an entertaining and powerful reminder of the importance of self over surface. Each are excellent performers, leaving your tongue tripping back over syllables to savour their taste, but keep Megan Beech’s passionate cry for more women on our TV screens until last: after the previous four fantastic compositions, you’ll be hard pushed not to agree.

Important and urgent, this collection shows just how valuable BBC iPlayer can be as a platform to voices that should be heard more often.

Available until: May 2016

Photo: BBC/Thomas Caron Delion

Movies

Dracula

Hammer’s Dracula sees Lee don the cape of the iconic count, who is charming and polite to his guest, Mr. Harker, but terrifying and camp once his fangs are out. A sublime turn by the actor, supported by the typically excellent Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, Terence Fisher’s enjoyably cheesy version of Bram Stoker’s novel is one of the most faithful film adaptations, it not the definitive one.

Available until: 11.20pm, 9th December

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)

Also helmed by Terence Fisher, this marked the first colour production for Hammer and – with its tale of Victor (Peter Cushing) in prison blaming a series of deaths upon his creature (Lee) – established the studio as genre force to be reckoned with.

Available until: 12.20am, 11th December

The Lance Armstrong Story: Stop at Nothing

Hot on the wheels of the biopic in UK cinemas, Alex Holmes’ documentary follows the controversial figure of Lance Armstrong, the greatest fraud in recent cycling – and sporting – history.

Available until: 11th December

Brooklyn’s Finest

Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke star in this cop thriller.

Available until: 14th December

Easy Money

Joel Kinnaman impressed in the recent RoboCop remake, but he’s even better in Easy Money, a Scandinavian thriller about a wannabe rich kid called JW who gets sucked into Stockholm’s underbelly. The visuals are good, the pacing is fast and the title is packed with cold irony.

Available until: 14th December

Orion: The Man Who Would Be King

A mysterious singer, Orion, finds fame following the death of Elvis, as it becomes apparent that he sounds a lot like the departed King. Who was he? Did fans really believe Presley had returned? And was anonymity a price worth paying for success? This fascinating documentary, cut down to 85 minutes for the BBC’s Storyville strand, is also available to buy and rent.

Available until: 16th December

West

Christian Schwochow’s drama stars Joerdis Triebel as a mother who smuggles herself out of East Germany along with her son in 1978 – but will crossing the Wall really escape the surveillance that drove her away?

Available until: 22nd December

Cartel Land

Storyville continues its chopped-down, cherry-picked highlights of the year’s documentary line-up with this exposé of the Mexican drug war and the cartels that operate around the Mexico/US border.

Available until: 23rd December

Fear Itself

BBC iPlayer’s second original feature is the follow-up to teen documentary Beyond Clueless. Young director Charlie Shackleton and the Beeb’s streaming platform prove a scarily perfect match, the lack of constraints giving him the chance to fully embrace the experimental nature of his film essay. The documentary stitches together clips from existing horror movies to explore how and why they scare us, but instead of an explanatory voice-over critiquing and giving context, we’re given a whispered narration from an anonymous woman who is working through her own fears. Contrasting cuts and eerie echoes arise during the hypnotic 80-minute montage, quietly raising questions while offering a fresh insight into films that have, in some cases, become all too familiar. As interesting as it is creepy. (Read our full review.)

Available until: October 2016

Bitter Lake

Adam Curtis’ bizarre, surreal, brilliant provocative documentary deconstructs the media’s presentation of politics and history with a dizzying complexity and a dark sense of humour. At over two hours, it’s a daunting watch, but an important one – not least because it showcases the potential for BBC iPlayer as a platform for bold, experimental work. (Read our full review.)

Available until: 2016

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