BBC ANNOUNCES D-DAY 80th ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMMING

6th June  1944 was the date of Operation Overlord, which saw tens of thousands of soldiers embark from Portsmouth to cross the Channel, establishing a foothold across the French coast in order to begin the advance to liberate northwest Europe. The BBC will mark this momentous undertaking with a range of live and historic programming from across its TV and Radio networks.

BBC Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore says “The 80th anniversary of D Day is an important moment to reflect and pay tribute to those who were involved in 1944. We have a wide range of distinctive programming that will bring people together to commemorate across the BBC, including full live coverage of events from both sides of the Channel as well as special documentaries and editions of some of our most popular programmes on television and radio.”

D-Day 80: The Allies Prepare

The D-Day 80 national commemorative event will broadcast live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 1015 until 1300 on Wednesday 5th June. Presented by Anita Rani with reporter JJ Chalmers, and with accessible commentary for the blind and partially sighted provided by Petroc Trelawny, the event will take place on the seafront in Portsmouth where, 80 years ago, the Allies departed for the beaches of Normandy. 

The event, hosted by Academy Award-winning Dame Helen Mirren, will celebrate the incredible joint work of the UK, Commonwealth and Allied troops in preparing for the largest naval, air and land operation in history.  This hugely ambitious endeavor turned the tide of World War Two.

The commemoration will pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery and achievements of our veterans and recognise the invaluable work of those on the Home Front, who helped make the invasion possible. 

D-Day 80: Tribute to The Fallen

On the evening of 5th June, the eve of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, a tribute to the fallen takes place in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Bayeux War Cemetery in Normandy and Southsea Common in Portsmouth featuring stunning lighting displays, readings and music to mark this significant moment in history.

As darkness falls, each of the 4,600 headstones of those that fell will be individually illuminated across Bayeux War Cemetery, creating a poignant modern act of commemoration.

Kirsty Young anchors the live broadcast from Bayeux Cemetery, joined by special guests, guiding viewers through this remarkable story of our nation. Petroc Trelawny provides accessible commentary for the blind and partially sighted.

D-Day 80: We Will Remember Them

On 6th June, marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the nation will come together to pay tribute to all who served in the Normandy Campaign.

Set overlooking Gold Beach at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, the event, organised by the Royal British Legion and the Ministry of Defence, will be the first-ever National Commemoration at this location, holding special significance for the D-Day veterans who are in attendance.

D-Day: The Unheard Tapes

Coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the invasion, D-Day: The Unheard Tapes relives one of the most extraordinary days in the history of modern warfare using powerful eyewitness accounts recorded with those who experienced it first-hand. The series features a trove of rare audio recordings sourced from archives around the world, bringing together British, American, German and French perspectives for the first time. Many of them have never been heard publicly before. 

Young actors, cast to resemble the interviewees at the time of the war, lip-sync the original testimony in documentary settings, to recall moments of bravery, fear, chaos and confusion, and these memories are interwoven with immersive, fragmented documentary-style dramatic recreation.

Together, they tell the story of the fateful Normandy invasion and the bloody battle that followed, in which over 100,000 people lost their lives.

The One Show

The One Show will be marking the 80th Anniversary of D-Day with an extended special on 5th June during which we’ll meet one of the few remaining D-Day veterans as he’s reunited with an original Dakota that’s been painstakingly restored.

Antiques Roadshow: D-Day

For this special edition of the Antiques Roadshow, Fiona Bruce is in Normandy in France to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings in June 1944.

Filmed in Normandy and at the D-Day Story Museum in Portsmouth, the episode features remarkable first-hand testimony from those who were there, including veteran Ken Cooke. Across five beaches, codenamed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, ‘Operation Overlord’ was the largest seaborne invasion in history – an event that would turn the tide of World War II, and lead ultimately to the defeat of Germany and victory for the Allies just under a year later, in May 1945.

Countryfile

Anita Rani and Charlotte Smith will be discovering how Dorset played an important role in in the build-up to D-Day.

They’ll be visiting Studland Beach, where in April 1944 there was a full-scale dress rehearsal for D-Day and Tyneham village, which was requisitioned by the War Office in 1943 and used to train troops.

Bargain Hunt: All About D-Day

Bargain Hunt remembers the 80th anniversary of D-Day with an episode featuring two teams of Armed Forces veterans, filmed at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthenshire. Joining experts Stephanie Connell and John Cameron are former Wren (Women's Royal Naval Service) Carolyn, former Women's Royal Air Force veteran Irene, and former RAF servicemen Dan and Mike.

Presenter Danny Sebastian meets photographer Seimon Pugh-Jones, who talks about his work providing artifacts for the sets of blockbuster films and TV series, such as Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers. Seimon also shows Danny a mobile museum that he has created, dedicated to telling the story of the Normandy landings of 1944.

BBC Newsround

For children aged seven and older, D-Day – A Newsround Special will explore the pivotal role that the Normandy landings had in securing our freedom. Two children, William and Lyra, explore their family connection to D-Day, and travel to Normandy with two veterans, Mervyn and Arthur, to bring to life the role that the wartime generation played in liberating Europe.

BBC Breakfast

BBC Breakfast will present special programmes from Portsmouth and the British Normandy Memorial across June 5th and 6th. John Maguire will travel to Northern France with some of the brave men who were there in 1944 including Ralph McClure, grandfather of ‘Line of Duty’ actor Vicky McClure. We’ll also speak to one of the oldest surviving D Day veterans Percival Chafer who is 104-years-old.

Saving Lives at Sea WWII

In this special episode commemorating the 2024 bicentenary of the RNLI, Dermot O’Leary uncovers the untold story of the institution’s heroic efforts in the Second World War. In all of its 200 years, the RNLI had never faced such an immense challenge, as its lifeboat crews were called to serve in the most perilous of conditions, ultimately saving thousands of lives.

Having spent much of his childhood on the east coast of England, Dermot is a proud ambassador of the RNLI. But even he knew precious little about this hidden history of the institution. He delves deep into some of the war’s most iconic and surprising stories from across Britain, uncovering the extraordinary role the RNLI played in the war effort.

Transmission details will be announced in due course.