New Elizabethans With Andrew Marr

BBC2, 9pm Completing his survey of the influential figures who have shaped Britain throughout the Queen’s reign, in this final episode Andrew Marr (right) concentrates on the changing industrial landscape.

It’s a bittersweet story, as the traditional economic powerhouses of coal-mining and shipbuilding fell into decline, but new entrepreneurs were ready to step into the gap with fresh technology and ideas.

Christopher Cockerell came up with the hovercraft, but Marr reveals how British bureaucracy often stopped us reaping the benefits of inventions. Sir Clive Sinclair led global sales for home computers before US giants seized the market.

Meanwhile, the UK was becoming a powerhouse on the pop scene, with Dusty Springfield joining the ‘British invasion’ of the American charts. ★★★★☆