We Are England is a regional current affairs documentary programme shown on BBC One. The programme is made by six teams around England, based in Birmingham, London, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle and Norwich. The programme airs six original half-hour documentaries each week, with each week themed around a different topic; the first theme was Mental Health. The programme replaced regional current affairs show Inside Out. A notable change was that each We Are England episode is a single half hour documentary, whereas Inside Out normally aired a collection of short-form pieces in its 30 minute slot. Another change is a cutback in the number of teams, from 11 regional hubs to six.
Broadcast Aisling O'Connor, the head of TV commissioning for BBC England, commissioned 120 episodes to be broadcast in 2022, with the first being shown on 26 January 2022 at 7:30pm. In-addition to being shown on BBC One and BBC iPlayer select episodes are also repeated on BBC News.
The first four episodes of We Are England aired on Wednesdays at 7:30pm. After the fourth Farming England, the series moved to a timeslot of 8:30pm. This move was due to the BBC's decision to schedule a new 'soap hour' over its two main channels with a regular timeslot for EastEnders on BBC One at 7.30pm.
In May 2022, the BBC announced a raft of closures, restructures and cost-cutting measures. One of these was the decision not to renew We Are England for a third series.
In July 2022, a number of documentaries from the We Are England strand (including ones featuring Bimini, Jayde Adams and Jassa Ahluwalia) were repeated on BBC Three, alongside a number of similarly formatted 30 minute documentaries. However, rather than being grouped under the We Are England or Our Lives brands, these new documentaries were now just being listed under one off titles such as Filthy Business and Queen of Trucks on the BBC iPlayer and in programme guides.
Episode list We Are England launched on 26 January 2022, airing 60 original half hour documentaries over 10 weeks. In February 2022, an episode about a cryptocurrency trader from the Bossing It theme (about young entrepreneurs) was pulled from broadcast at late notice, citing "editorial concerns". Another episode was later taken down from BBC iPlayer, Unfiltered, a BBC Cambridgeshire and East documentary originally broadcast in that region on 26 January 2022, which featured 19 year old dancer Mia and had an appearance from TV personality Vicky Pattison.
No. Title Subjects Airdate 1 Mental Health 26 January 2022''Veterans Road to Recovery'' (Manchester)"Unfiltered" (Cambridge)Nature on My Mind (Somerset)Fighting My Phobia (Coventry)Cold Swim (Tynemouth)Becoming Dad (Watford) 2 The Night Shift 2 February 2022Life Blood (London)Down at the Docks (Bristol)Night Nurses (Birmingham)Our Bin Lorry Life (Peterborough)One Night in NewcastleOne Night at the Fish Market (Grimsby) 3 Bossing It 9 February 2022Fighting for Fashion (Exeter)Steffi and the Chocolate Factory Photo Me FamousThe Container KingThe Beauty Boss 4 Farming England 16 February 2022When the Boats Come in (Falmouth)The Crisp Farmers (Hereford)My Norfolk FarmFirst Time FarmersFarming on the Spectrum (Oxfordshire)Crisis on the Farm 5 Belonging Exploring the many ways community spirit and support changes our lives. 23 February 2022The Real Vicars of DibleyOur Skate Park Life (Hastings)Our Fight Club (Middlesbrough)Our Derby Dance SchoolThe Real Phoenix Nights (Clacton)Cornwall's Last Raceway6A Place Called HomeSix personal stories highlight the complex issues we face in finding a place to call home.7 March 2022Hanging on to Home (London)Van Life (Bristol)Staying Afloat (Cambridgeshire)Homes for the Homeless (Nottingham)Students in Suburbia (Newcastle)Fighting for Our Homes (Leeds)7Sporting HeroesWe meet sporting heroes across England who are challenging the status quo.14 March 2022Swim SchoolMick Walks for EnglandMake Me a JockeyFighting for MeFootball Fat FightersBouncing Back8Made in EnglandStories that champion England’s manufacturing and craftmanship.21 March 2022The 007 Shoe FactoryMake Mine a 99Inside the Jet Engine FactoryA Very British Bike FactoryOur Northern Jacket EmpireThe Biggest Smallest Car Company9True CrimeDiscovering new evidence in unsolved murder cases in England.28 March 2022Finding Michelle BettlesWho Killed Barry Rubery?Knife AngelsWho Killed Dad?Our AdamWhy Did My Brother End Up Dead?10My HometownSix celebrities take us on a personal journey of discovery in their hometowns.4 April 2022Graft: Uncovering My RootsBimini Bon Boulash: Homecoming QueenJassa Ahluwalia: Am I English?Livvy Haydock: My HometownKema Kay: My Hometown
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