The BBC is to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a slate of special programming across television, radio, online and archive and reporting from BBC News.
Coverage begins with VE Day 80: The Nation Pays Tribute, a live broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer of the military procession and flypast from London presented by Sophie Raworth.
Tim Davie CBE, Director-General of the BBC, says: “VE Day stands as a powerful reminder of the courage, sacrifice, and resilience shown by so many during one of history’s darkest times. At the BBC, we are proud to bring the nation together to pay tribute to the WWII generation and ensure their legacy is remembered.”
Sophie Raworth says: “VE Day is the moment in which we can reflect on the whole war effort, not just those who fought abroad but also those who served on the Home Front. Many people still remember the day itself, the celebrations on the streets hearing the news that Germany had surrendered and the relief felt by millions that air raids were over.”
The commemorations continue with The Nation Remembers, a service of thanksgiving from Westminster Abbey, followed in the evening by A Celebration to Remember presented by Zoe Ball, featuring stories of veterans, live performances, and special guests.
Zoe Ball says: “I’m truly honoured to play a small role in the celebrations of such a momentous occasion. My dear Dad Johnny Ball was six years old on VE Day, his memories of that time are incredible. Our great grandparents, and grandparents, our families, our nation went through so much. The bravery and sacrifices of so many for our freedom, we must always remember and this will be a very special night with some magnificent performances.”
In addition on BBC One there will be special editions of BBC Breakfast, Morning Live, The One Show, Antiques Roadshow, The Repair Shop, EastEnders and Saturday Kitchen as well as Who Do You Think You Are, sharing moving personal stories, cherished items, and tributes to wartime resilience.
BBC Two’s VE Day plans include VE Day 80: We Were There, featuring personal accounts from the last surviving veterans of WWII, and Dad’s Army at the BBC, showcasing rare, classic clips of the beloved sitcom’s cast in unique, off-screen moments.
BBC Four presents a reflective season spanning May to August, exploring WWII’s major moments, from Dunkirk to Hiroshima, revisiting landmark documentaries with newly curated insights providing powerful context.
To commemorate VE Day’s 80th anniversary, BBC Radio 2 will feature a special concert on May 8th at the Alexandra Palace Theatre, hosted by Vernon Kay, with the BBC Big Band, BBC Concert Orchestra, and guest vocalists performing wartime classics, including hits by Doris Day and Vera Lynn, and a singalong of British favourites. Additionally, Vernon Kay will host a special VE Day Tea Party in Yorkshire on May 8th, while Dermot O’Leary presents Sounds of the 40s on BBC Sounds.
Other Radio coverage includes special editions of Radio 3 in Concert and Friday Night is Music Night, thrilling new drama Victory at Ambridge on Radio 4 as well as live coverage from Canada Gate and Westminster Abbey on Radio 5 Live.
BBC Children’s and Education will deliver a range of engaging content for young audiences to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Online, BBC History shares a special digital collection as part of ‘100 Voices that Made the BBC’ capturing the atmosphere of VE Day through broadcast archives and personal testimony. BBC Archive contributes a wealth of curated content, from digitised photographs and rare audio and new Radio 4 documentaries.
BBC News will mark the historic day across its content and platforms with special reports, interviews with veterans and reporting from across the UK and Europe.
BBC One
VE Day 80: The Nation Pays Tribute – Monday 5th May
The first day of the VE Day 80 celebrations starts with a live broadcast on BBC One and iPlayer of the military procession taking place in London. We will honour and pay tribute to the extraordinary bravery and achievements of our veterans and recognise the invaluable work of those on the Home Front, who celebrated Victory in Europe Day 80 years ago. The morning’s events culminate in a spectacular flypast to mark this historic anniversary.
Sophie Raworth will be presenting from St James’s Park in London, together with reporters along the route to bring all the atmosphere. Paddy O’Connell, whose father served during the Second World War will provide commentary on the event.
VE Day 80: The Nation Pays Tribute is a 1 x 210’ for BBC One and iPlayer, produced by BBC Studios Events. It was commissioned by Catherine Catton, Head of Commissioning Factual Entertainment and Events. The Creative Director is Claire Popplewell, the Executive Producers are Cheryl Ko Pearson and Catherine Stirk, the Producer is Leah Crease and the Directors are Tony Grech-Smith, Peter Jones and Simon Staffurth. The Commissioning Editor is Mark Harrison.
VE Day 80: The Nation Remembers – Thursday 8th May
The VE Day 80 celebrations continue at Westminster Abbey with a service of thanksgiving paying tribute to the service and sacrifice of the Second World War generation. Petroc Trelawny will provide commentary from inside Westminster Abbey and invited guests will share their memories.
From the BBC’s studio in St James’s Park, Sophie Raworth will be joined by special guests, talking about their experiences of the war years.
VE Day 80: The Nation Remembers is a 1 x 135’ for BBC One and iPlayer, produced by BBC Studios Events. It was commissioned by Catherine Catton, Head of Commissioning Factual Entertainment and Events. The Creative Director is Claire Popplewell, the Executive Producers are Cheryl Ko Pearson and Catherine Stirk, the Producer is Leah Crease the Directors are Tony Grech-Smith and Marcus Viner. The Commissioning Editor is Mark Harrison.
VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember – Thursday 8th May
The finale of the VE Day 80 celebrations culminates in a live concert from Horse Guards parade in London presented by Zoe Ball. Alongside the stars of stage and screen who will perform at the concert, veterans will also tell their stories of love, loss and resilience, as they share their unique experiences of VE Day when they could finally smile again. With a live orchestra, the concert will channel the spirit of what was the ultimate feel good party, and no VE Day concert would be complete without special performances of “The White Cliffs of Dover” and “We’ll Meet Again”.
Zoe Ball said: “I’m truly honoured to play a small role in the celebrations of such a momentous occasion. My dear Dad Johnny Ball was six years old on VE Day, his memories of that time are incredible. Our great grandparents, and grandparents, our families, our nation went through so much. The bravery and sacrifices of so many for our freedom, we must always remember and this will be a very special night with some magnificent performances.”
Before the concert starts, Sophie Raworth is once again live in St James’s Park in London with celebrity guests, and backstage reporters will be joined by performers taking part and veterans sharing their wartime memories.
Accessible coverage for people who are blind or partially sighted together with signed versions of all three broadcasts will be available on iPlayer / Red Button.
VE Day 80: A Celebration to Remember is a 1 x 120’ for BBC One and iPlayer, produced by BBC Studios Events. It was commissioned by Catherine Catton, Head of Commissioning Factual Entertainment and Events. The Creative Director is Claire Popplewell, the Executive Producers are Claire Horton and Catherine Stirk, the Series Producers are Rosheen Archer and Christian Fletcher and the Directors are Tony Grech-Smith and Diccon Ramsay. The Commissioning Editor is Mark Harrison.
BBC Breakfast
BBC Breakfast will have special VE programmes presented from outside Buckingham Palace on Monday 5th May with Sarah Campbell and from outside Westminster Abbey on Thursday 8th May with Charlie Stayt.
Throughout the week BBC Breakfast will be putting veterans at the heart of the coverage with interviews, stories and even a 100th birthday celebration. They will be in the Netherlands at the Dutch Liberation Parade where citizens thank the British veterans who helped secure their freedom, and join celebrations in a care home and at a street party to share the memories and join event 80 years on from that momentous day. BBC Breakfast will also take viewers inside the Tower of London for an exclusive look at its new poppy display.
Breakfast will have special VE programmes presented from outside Buckingham Palace on Monday 5th May and Westminster Abbey on Thursday 8th May.
Morning Live
Morning Live will mark VE Day with a series of special features and live moments across Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th May. On Wednesday, the show will reflect on the UK-wide lighting of landmarks the night before and share a touching surprise film celebrating a viewer born during the announcement of the war’s end, now turning 80. The team also hopes to welcome a guest from that evening’s performance at the Imperial War Museum in Salford. On Thursday, Dame Kelly Holmes presents a heartfelt film about a village for war veterans, alongside a live link to BBC Events’ coverage from Westminster and a behind-the-scenes look at concert preparations. Plans are also in place for a live report from a VE Day ceremony in Plymouth and potential collaborations with Antiques Roadshow and EastEnders. The show will close with a live performance from soprano Laura Wright before handing over to national coverage at 10:45am.
The One Show
On Monday 5th May Alex Jones and Roman Kemp host a special hour long episode of The One Show to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. The programme will bring you all you need to know about the week’s events, feature moving stories from around the UK including the moment Al Murray meets 110 year old veteran Donald, who’s also Britain’s oldest man. Plus Brian Conley goes behind the scenes at the historic Gorleston Pavilion Theatre in Norfolk where they’re gearing up for a showstopping performance to celebrate the role theatres played in boosting morale. There will also be celebrity guests who’ll share their own personal connections to VE Day. Later in the week on 8th May there’ll also a special One Big Thank You where the show will pull out all the stops to surprise a veteran.
BBC News at One
News at One will also cover the formal events to mark VE Day and hear from veterans and those who remember the momentous day
BBC News at Six and Ten
On the Bank Holiday Monday the news bulletins will be reporting on street parties around the UK. In the run-up to the day itself they’ll be running a series of interviews with veterans, and those who took part in the VE Day celebrations.
On the Thursday Jane Hill be presenting live from London as the day is marked around the UK.
Antiques Roadshow VE Special
Antiques Roadshow marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a special episode filmed in Berlin and at Bletchley Park, featuring interviews with veterans and the families of those who took part in the liberation of Europe.
Fiona Bruce travels to Berlin to visit Karlshorst, where Germany’s final surrender took place on 8th May 1945, bringing the war in Europe to an end.
The episode features interviews with a handful of people who played a part in the conflict, including RAF pilot Colin Bell (now 104) who flew 50 missions over Germany; Hazel Halter (now 100), who worked with the secret codebreakers at Bletchley Park; and Jake Jacob (now 99) who travelled from the Caribbean to join RAF groundcrew in England.
The episode also includes an interview with Hans Muncheberg (now 95), who was wounded in battle during the Germans’ last stand in Berlin and who reflects on the evils of the Nazi ideology.
Members of the public share moving stories and cherished items that provide a personal insight into the last year of the war, including a pistol taken from a German general, , model tanks from a training school and a pair of miniature clogs gifted to a British soldier who was hidden from the enemy by a Dutch family.
Mark Smith sees a collection of photos that document the arrival of British troops at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp while Adam Schoon is moved to see a yellow star worn by a Jewish prisoner, who then gifted it to the Canadian soldier who liberated them.
Repair Shop VE Special
To mark the 80th anniversary of VE-Day, the Repair Shop team are opening the barn doors to four very special items, each with an extraordinary wartime story behind them.
Horologist Steve Fletcher is honoured to welcome 101-year old Royal Navy veteran John Holloway, who brings with him a very special timepiece. As an engineer on board the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable, John was responsible for servicing the planes and installing the precisely calibrated cockpit clocks that the US pilots relied upon to carry out their missions. Left in possession of one of these clocks at the end of the war, John gifted it to his beloved wife Connie, and it remained on her bedside table for the rest of her life. But now, with the intricate mechanism no longer working, Steve and his watchmaker son Fred have a delicate and very tricky job on their hands to get it ticking again.
‘Teddy Bear Ladies’ Julie and Amanda also find themselves up against it when faced with 86-year old ‘Haisi’, a small plastic doll who accompanied her then two-year old owner Ruth on an extraordinary journey from wartime Austria to the safety of the UK. As a Jewish orphan with no passport or papers, Ruth’s future in Nazi-occupied Vienna was bleak, until she – and Haisi – were smuggled out of the country courtesy of a remarkable feat of subterfuge at Dover customs. Plastics restorer Charlotte Abbott is called in to work on Haisi’s cracked and shattered celluloid limbs; however, even with three top experts on the case, it feels like it could be touch and go for Ruth’s precious, but very fragile, lifelong companion.
Also in this VE-Day special episode, master hatter Jayesh Vaghela weaves his magic on an RAF cap with a remarkable story behind it. The cap was worn in combat by Johnny Smythe, a young man from Sierra Leone, who volunteered for action and was selected to serve as a navigator with Bomber Command. One of only sixty Black African airmen to serve in the RAF, Johnny survived being shot down over Germany and imprisonment in Stalag Luft 1, before going on to a glittering career as a senior diplomat in his native Sierra Leone. John’s son Eddy would love to see the cap restored to a presentable state, with its battle scars preserved, as a testament to his father’s many achievements.
And bookbinder Chris Shaw is left spellbound by the contents of a little autograph book, full of heartfelt and poignant messages written to a wartime nurse by her patients. Brought in to the barn by Dorothy Orr from County Antrim, the book belonged to her mother Margaret, who tended to soldiers from all over the world as they were recovering from their wounds in military hospitals across Scotland.
EastEnders
EastEnders is set to air a special episode celebrating 80 years since V.E. Day as the residents of Walford come together to mark the historic milestone in The Queen Vic.
Saturday Kitchen
Saturday Kitchen Live! will kick off the BBC’s VE day 80th Anniversary celebrations on Saturday the 3rd of May with a special episode. Matt Tebbutt will rustle up recipes to bring joy to street parties everywhere. Olly Smith will showcase drinks fit for a celebration day to toast some very special guests- VE Day Veterans from the Royal British Legion.
Who Do You Think You Are?
Actor Ross Kemp came to fame in the 1990s in EastEnders, more recently he’s travelled to some of the most dangerous places in the world as an award-winning documentary presenter. Now he is bringing his investigative skills to his own family history.
Ross starts his journey by visiting his parents. Ross’s dad was a detective, and his mum was a hairdresser; his dad always sought out the truth and his mum loved a story. Ross believes sifting fact from fiction will be the biggest challenge when it comes to his family.
With a love of adventure and travel himself, Ross discovers a 4 x great grandfather who joined the Marines as a 13-year-old drummer boy during the Napoleonic wars. Ross also wants to investigate the story that his Merchant Navy great grandfather Pop was shipwrecked. He discovers that Pop travelled the world, amazingly serving in both World Wars, as well as on luxury cruise liners in the 1920s and 30s. Finally an intriguing passenger list from 1943 leads Ross to Casablanca to find out the truth.
BBC Two
VE Day 80: We Were There – Thursday May 1st 8.00pm
As the nation marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe, the BBC has gathered first-hand accounts from our last veterans – many now more than 100 years old. Rachel Burden traces their stories through six years of conflict to the joy and celebration of VE Day in London and across the UK. She hears from former servicemen involved in the defeat of Nazi Germany and the liberation of the concentration camp at Belsen – as well as Jamaican volunteers who crossed the Atlantic to serve with British forces. Former child evacuees and the women who helped drive the war effort at home remember the moment Winston Churchill announced that Germany had surrendered and the Royal Family appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. The “We Were There” project by BBC News has captured the testimony of war veterans throughout the 80th anniversaries of the Second World War since 2019 to form an archive of their voices for future generations.
Dad’s Army at the BBC – Tuesday 6th May 7.30pm
Ever since the first episode was broadcast on the 31st of July 1968 ‘Dad’s Army’ has been one of the most familiar programmes on British television – much-loved, and broadcast repeatedly thanks to the affection it is held in by viewers of all generations. But despite its seemingly constant presence on our screens, lots of Dads’ Army moments have remained unseen inside the BBC’s archives …until now. Here, narrator Toby Jones – who himself played Captain Mainwaring in 2016’s Dad’s Army film – shares a selection of classic clips that feature everyone’s favourite Home Guard platoon in appearances that took them beyond the confines of Walmington-on-Sea. Amongst the many delights are Mainwaring dancing and sparring with Morecambe and Wise, the whole cast defending Buckingham Palace at the 1970 Royal Gala, Private Pike invading the Lulu Show, and a special song and dance tribute to Noel Coward – all must-see moments for fans of the show.
BBC Four
To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, BBC Four presents a rich and reflective season of programming running from May to August, exploring both the final days of conflict and the events that led the world into war. With a comprehensive look at key moments from Dunkirk to Hiroshima, and figures such as Churchill and Hitler, the season offers historical depth and global perspective. As part of its VE Day offering, BBC Four revisits standout titles including V.E. Day: Remembering Victory and Britain’s Greatest Generation, while iconic documentaries such as The Nazis: A Warning from History, Hiroshima, and Death Camp Treblinka: Survivor Storiesprovide powerful context. Introductions by leading historians and newly curated insights further enrich a schedule that examines how war was fought, peace was forged, and history was shaped.
BBC News Channel
The News Channel will have live coverage from around the country across the week. Christian Fraser will anchor from Buckingham Palace on Bank Holiday morning, and there will be reporters at street parties in the afternoon. Sarah Campbell will be at the Tower of London on Tuesday, as members of the public are allowed in to see the poppy installation. On Thursday 8th May, the News Channel will cover the services across the UK and events in Europe, including at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Later, there will be build-up and reaction to the concert at Horse Guards Parade. On Friday there will be rolling coverage of Victory Day in Moscow.
BBC News online and digital
BBC News will cover VE Day with a range of reporting including live pages and streams covering commemorations across the UK, a simple viewing guide, and a rich collection of video interviews with veterans and those who lived through the war, sharing their memories of VE Day.
BBC History
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, BBC History is featuring a special collection titled “VE Day” as part of its ‘100 Voices that Made the BBC’ series. This curated page offers a rich tapestry of archival audio, personal testimonies, and historical analysis, capturing the atmosphere of 8 May 1945 through the lens of BBC broadcasts and the voices of those who lived it. From the momentous announcement of victory to the spontaneous street celebrations that followed, the collection provides an intimate and reflective look at how the BBC helped shape the national experience of peace after years of war.
BBC Children’s and Education
BBC Children’s and Education will deliver a range of engaging content for young audiences to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Newsround will feature week-long coverage dedicated to VE Day, including explainers about the Second World War, and conversations between veterans, evacuees, and children in schools. Coverage will also include reports on national VE Day events, such as street parties and commemorations taking place across the country.
BBC Bitesize for Teachers will offer a curated collection of classroom resources that can be used to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day in schools. For primary schools, there is a short film that uses archive footage and eyewitness testimony to explain what VE day was and the events that led to the end of the war. For secondary schools, there is a ready-to-use framework for an assembly that includes the sights and sounds of VE Day drawn from the BBC archive. There is also a special film in which historian Shalina Patel meets social media stars Jess and Norma. Jess is Norma’s granddaughter and carer and – despite the difference in their ages – they are best friends. In the film, Norma, who was 11 years old when the war ended, shares her vivid memories of the end of the war and post-war Britain, including rationing and the warmth of communities pulling together.
BBC Archive
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, BBC Archive is delivering a rich and multifaceted offering across platforms. Radio 4 features two major commissions: a 20-part documentary series on the 1945 General Election produced by Martin Williams, based on David Runciman’s work, and The Second Map, a VJ Day documentary from Kavita Puri and Ellie House. BBC Archive has also provided curated series recommendations for BBC Four, with scheduling updates expected shortly. Additionally, both Written and Radio Archives are exploring the rerecording of lost VE Day-era scripts and bulletins. Complementing these editorial strands are curated content collections, including video and audio archives, a VE Day-themed image library, and newly digitised historic photos available via the BBC Archive Search platform.
Staff Reporter
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