Churchill: When Britain Said No

Just weeks after VE day, Britain's great war leader Winston Churchill found himself in another battle - to be elected prime minister. He was confident of victory - a just reward for his leadership of the country through the dark days of World War II - but what happened next many still can't understand.

In one of the greatest election defeats of all time, Churchill was humiliated at the polls, his Conservative party almost annihilated. Why did his countrymen turn so vehemently on their great British bulldog? Was the rejection of Churchill a disgraceful mark of ingratitude or the most mature electoral decision ever made by a democracy?

With surprising revelations from first-hand witnesses, as well as historians including Sir Max Hastings, Juliet Gardiner, Anthony Beevor and writer Dave Douglass, this programme looks at his controversial legacy, and debates the weaknesses as well as the strengths of the man.