Documentary commissioning brief

Documentary storytelling has always been at the very heart of the BBC’s offer to iPlayer and linear audiences, and we are growing our digital reach with documentaries tailored to YouTube. Our commissions are typically narrative or character driven, where audiences engage with stories by feeling and experiencing them, reaching their own conclusions rather than being told what to think.

We’re looking for the next generation of series, limited series and single films that are relevant to broad audiences, timely in our changing world, creatively distinctive and which represent the very best of UK storytelling.

We continue to support risk taking with purpose, with films that provoke debate, challenge the status quo, move hearts and minds, and explore complex and important stories without agenda.

In this ever-evolving media landscape, it’s imperative that we are constantly innovating and we encourage you to develop new creative approaches to storytelling that can help us unlock new stories. We’re actively seeking fresh points of view and unique perspectives that have the potential to evolve the culture and specialism of documentary making – to help an idea land with audiences and reach new ones.

Most of all, we want to commission the documentaries that you are most passionate about making. What are the stories you believe need to be told now? What creative approaches, perspectives and experience can you bring to make them truly distinctive? Bring us something you wouldn’t expect the BBC to commission – we might surprise you!

Working with us

We commission creative, complex and risky programmes and we work with you to navigate the unique challenges that each project presents - from the first pitch through to broadcast and beyond.

We work closely with BBC teams in news, sport, radio, press, marketing and social - each bringing huge expertise and support. Together they can help to promote our key titles across TV, radio, BBC Sounds, online and with external outlets, to maximise the UK-wide audience.

To help elevate your work and to support ambitious storytelling and innovation we’re open and excited to partner with other broadcasters or streamers. We have recently co-produced with PBS, CNN and others, and are looking at opportunities for new projects at a variety of levels and price-points.

Ideas with strong portrayal of the nations is more important than ever as we work more closely as a united commissioning team across the UK, and we’re actively seeking new ideas from companies based in the nations and English regions.

Recent successes include multi-award winning Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland, Murder Trial, The Beauty Queen and the Catfish and Helmand: Tour of Duty.

Returnable mainstream series

These are our big, ambitious, UK access series, driven by present tense actuality that have broad audience appeal. Crucially, they each have a distinctive tone and an iPlayer-first approach to storytelling. We see these as a gold standard in documentary making and they can be a big win for producers as we commission them in volume - between four and 10 episodes in each series run.

Current returnable documentary brands include Ambulance, Forensics: The Real CSI, Murder Trial, Emergency 24/7 and Murder 24/7, which averaged almost 5 million people for episode one across its first 28 days and was the highest performing BBC factual title for 16-34 year-olds in 2026.

These are driven by real-world drama and designed to cut through on iPlayer - with accessible, immersive and relevant stories that connect to the broadest possible audience. Through these titles we’re able to enter the real lives and experiences of people across the UK and engage viewers with relevant and timely subjects such as mental health, the NHS, the human impact of crime, immigration, wealth and the cost of living. These titles have the potential to move around the country for each new series, drawing on and growing local talent throughout the production process.

We’re always looking for ways to renew and refresh these brands with new precincts and approaches. Some key things we consider for pitches in this space are:

• Access and observational filming are key, but a clearly articulated approach is as important as the access itself.
• They should have a distinctive identity and offer to viewers. Whether that’s in the multiple interwoven stories of Ambulance, the science layer of Forensics: The Real CSI, the multi-perspective narratives and multi-episode arcs of Murder 24/7, or the uniquely privileged access to courtrooms of Murder Trial.
• Titles at the more popular factual end of our slate such as Sort Your Life Out and Stacey & Joe still have authenticity, purpose and documentary sensibilities, and reach huge audiences of all ages.
• Will You Be My Friend?, coming soon, follows kids who are struggling to make friends, in a world that is increasingly disconnected, with joy, warmth and humour and is a timely reminder of the power of human connections.

To broaden our range even further, we want to find new ways into a variety of new precincts. What’s the next precinct beyond blue flashing lights and how can you bring a fresh approach and tone to it? Do you have an idea which will speak even more directly to our 16-34 year-old audiences? Something which doesn’t shy away from the complexities of modern life, but with a warm and hopeful tone?

Limited series

Limited series - or box sets - promise powerful and authentic storytelling, distinctive creative approaches and are a hugely important part of our iPlayer-led strategy, produced to keep audiences hooked from one episode to the next.

They can come in all shapes and sizes and be talent, narrative or character driven and past or present tense. We need a variety of subject areas and tones so we have something to offer everyone who comes to iPlayer. We want unique stories with bold new creative approaches that enable us to hear new voices and perspectives. This is a hugely exciting area where we can experiment and showcase creative ambition.

Examples include Once Upon a Time in Space, The Detectives, Freddie Flintoff’s Field of Dreams, Lucan and The Mother of All Cons, which saw a series average of 2.9 million viewers in its first 28 days.

What new stories or subject areas could be given a narrative box set approach? Are there uplifting stories that could work in this space or a new perspective on a well-known story that could be unlocked this way? Which stories overlap with the biggest concerns of our time to resonate with broadest possible audience?

High impact single films

Sometimes the best way to bring a huge audience to a story - without compromising on the approach - is with a single film. We usually commission these as 60 minutes, but will look at feature-length durations too, depending on the needs of the story. 

We want big, complex and important stories that have huge public interest and land with real impact.

They should feel timely and important, helping us to understand the extraordinary times in which we’re living. For example, Lover, Liar, Predator hears the intimate and raw testimony of four women coercively controlled and abused by the same man over successive decades. With a strong narrative spine, the film follows the women as they come together to testify against their abuser and finally secure a conviction.

When past historic institutional failures or injustices come to light or gain public awareness in the present, weaving the two together can help us see both the story and British life through a different lens.

Stolen Babies uncovered the full story of Britian’s forced adoption scandal through the voices of those directly affected. This feature-length documentary shone a light on one of the most significant human rights injustices of our time, meeting some of the mothers who campaigned for an apology, airing soon after they finally received it.

Although we primarily feature UK stories, when an international story is so big that it affects the lives of our audience we will always consider it. So, as settler violence increased and provoked international condemnation, Louis Theroux embedded himself in the West Bank for his feature-length documentary The Settlers, meeting prominent settlers and travelling through the territory to understand the consequences of their activity.

We are looking to innovate and take risks in our single films, so please think about bold storytelling approaches and how to enter challenging worlds and stories through an accessible and invitational entry point.

BBC Three box sets

These are often produced with shorter durations of 30-45 minutes. They explore a variety of subject areas with a range of approaches, but they’re united by a driving narrative at their core.

With access to the PSNI Cyber Crime Centre, Teen Predator/Online Killer (3x30) tells the story of the high-profile investigation into Alexander McCartney – one of the UK’s most prolific online child sex abusers. Alongside the core investigative narrative, the series features interviews with victims and people who knew McCartney who are attempting to come to terms with his crimes.

With access to Thai police, the British consulate and traveller hostels, Thailand: The Dark Side of Paradise (3x45) follows Zara McDermott as she meets young Brits on the backpacker trail, venturing beyond the golden beaches and bustling cities to discover what happens when the dream of paradise goes wrong.

Behind Bars: Sex, Bribes and Murder (2x60) begins with a viral video that shocked the nation. As journalist Mobeen Azhar sets out to discover who shared it and why, his investigation takes him deep into a hidden world of corruption, drugs, bribery and organised criminality operating in our prisons, uncovering the extreme pressures facing the entire prison system, meets the criminals getting rich from corruption, and witnesses the tragic consequences for those who dare to challenge criminality from within.

No Filter

No Filter is a new strand for iPlayer with a clear invitation to a younger audience, taking us into worlds which have deep relevance but are also exciting and provocative. The subjects need a topicality - and ideally will be turned around whilst still fresh in the audience’s minds. This could be tackling a case that's been in the news or tapping into the dangers of modern life, and have a specific access point. Films such as Matthew Perry and the Ketamine Queen and Killer Couple: Love on Trial, from our colleagues in current affairs.

They might be talent-led and explore cultural flashpoints that are gathering attention in the zeitgeist or get inside the complex layers of the online world, or they might be character-led, taking us into modern relationships or families, and helping audiences understand the forces reshaping modern life.

This is a space to experiment and innovate, and we are open to playing with form – so these films can be 30 or 40 minute singles, but they could also be a mini box set of 3 x 20, or 4 x 15 minutes, and will therefore fall under a range of tariffs.

New directors

We are committed to championing new voices, so will always consider emerging directors and look at how we and our producers can support them – in particular when taking a step up on a returning brand. Recent films by first-time directors include Grierson nominated Lover, Liar, Predator (Marta Garcia Aliaga), and Prison Break - Escape From The Maze (w/t) (Sian McIlwaine). 

We're currently evolving our strategy for developing new production talent, so please keep checking back for further information.

Please note - our strategy is constantly evolving, so do return to this page regularly for updates and opportunities.

Unscripted on iPlayer

Read about how we commission unscripted content in an iPlayer first-world, along with advice and further resources to maximise the impact of your programme on the platform.