Scottish history project arguably BBC Scotland’s biggest

ARGUABLY, the “single most ambitious commission that BBC Scotland has ever undertaken” was officially unveiled yesterday: television, radio and the internet all being harnessed later this year – and into next – to tell the story of Scotland’s history.

Accompanied also by a series of events, plus orchestral concerts at historic locations, the project is being put together by BBC Scotland, in conjunction with the Open University. For what will be a ten-part TV series, it is being shot on High Definition.

Beginning with the origins of Scotland and ending with the Unions of the Crowns in 1603, the first five episodes of A History of Scotland will transmit from November.

The second part, which will go out late next year, takes the story from the Covenanting movement through the Treaty of the Union right up to devolution.

Although the series will be chronological, each episode will also tackle a theme such as Scotland’s sense of identity or, latterly, its contribution to the wider world.