BBC Factual has expanded its slate with renewals and new commissions, including Emergency 24/7 from Expectation.
The new six-part series for BBC One and BBC iPlayer follows patients and staff at Southmead Hospital, a major trauma center in Bristol. Expectation’s Murder 24/7 was BBC Two’s joint-highest rating series during 2025, with a new season underway, this time for BBC One. BBC Studios is the worldwide distribution partner for Emergency 24/7.
Colin Barr, creative director, factual, at Expectation, added: “The success of Murder 24/7 with viewers made us realise that we could use the same dynamic and immersive style to deliver forensic storytelling in a different world: the world of an emergency department. We’re thrilled to be extending the 24/7 brand together with the BBC, and hope that Emergency 24/7 grips and informs audiences in the same way that Murder 24/7 did.”
KEO Films (Once Upon A Time in Northern Ireland, Once Upon A Time in Space) is making Once Upon A Time in America, a five-part series for BBC Two and iPlayer. Director James Bluemel said: “I’m really excited by the opportunity to understand our increasingly polarised world, and it’s clear that America is setting the tone for many other Western democracies. Exploring this story through a Once Upon a Time lens is undoubtedly challenging—but it will also be profoundly revealing and rewarding.”
Minnow Films is at work on Children of the Blitz. EP Morgan Matthews said: “Recording the experiences of some of the last survivors of the Blitz across the U.K. is a true privilege. Their combined testimony invites us to reflect on the reality of living through the most devastating aerial bombing campaign the U.K. has ever endured, and on how that experience has shaped not only their lives, but also the physical geography of our cities and our psychological sense of what it means to be British.”
Fiona Campbell, interim director for unscripted, said: “I’m delighted to announce this range of upcoming documentaries and series—showing both the day-to-day reality of life in Britain, and the bigger picture view of how the past influences our lives today. Murder 24/7 has proved to be a hit with the viewers, so I am so pleased to be broadening the scope of this observational storytelling with the commission of extending the brand with Emergency 24/7. Once Upon a Time... is a series which is consistently perceptive and enlightening, and I’m delighted that James Bluemel is turning his distinctive and clear-eyed approach to America. Minnow Films will delve into the British psyche, offering fascinating insight into one of Britain’s most defining characteristics with their look at Children of the Blitz.”
