David Dimbleby's Secret History Of The BBC | Preview (BBC Two)

In new three-part series, David Dimbleby will trace the impact of the BBC on British life across recent decades.

As the BBC celebrates its centenary, it finds itself facing unprecedented challenges, from questioning of its funding model to fundamental shifts in broadcast technology and viewing habits.

The BBC is among Britain’s most loved and yet criticised institutions: envied around the world, and always under intense scrutiny at home.

Whether receiving praise or criticism this publicly funded institution, at the very heart of our national life, is a lightning-rod for all of Britain’s frustrations, injustices, success stories and celebrations.

He will explore the corporation's role in major moments of political and cultural change, its conflicts with governments over the years, its own public controversies and how it continues to engage with the British people and attempts to represent a diverse and changing nation.

In each episode, David will look back over key moments in the recent history of the BBC, making use of illuminating archive, long-forgotten broadcasts, first-hand testimony and oral history as well as drawing from his own personal experience within the corporation.

The series will explore what the BBC stands for in the modern world and, looking to the future, will assess the new challenges it faces.

Begins Tuesday 30th August at 9pm on BBC Two.