Michael Portillo walks through history while Britain awkwardly avoids eye contact with its past.
Season 1 • Episode 2
LatestMichael Portillo charts the War of Independence in Ireland, following the journey from the Peace Conference in Versailles to the historic ceasefire in 1921.
Direction
Portillo's walking-while-talking mastery.
Production
Stunning locations that witnessed actual history.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Portillo's own Spanish Republican heritage gives him unusual empathy for revolutionary underdogs — rare in British political presenters.
The 'Hawks and Doves' framing deliberately echoes Vietnam-era American discourse, inviting uncomfortable comparisons between British and U.S. imperial decline.
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