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The Hollywood President: America needed a hero. He knew how to play one.

Watch Reagan on BBC Select

If Trump was the reality president, Reagan was the Hollywood one.

A former B-movie actor, he was the PR president – dazzling with star power, on-screen magnetism and always staying on-script. But how did he get here?

How did Reaganomics and his impassioned anti-Communism shape world politics? This political documentary asks how did the first president who pledged to ‘make America great again’ shape the leaders that followed?

This show is not currently available on BBC Select but browse through the below titles for more Biography documentaries available to stream on BBC Select.

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A Life in Ten Pictures - Freddie Mercury

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Princess Diana: A Life After Death

How Princess Diana's tragic death and legacy changed the British monarchy forever.

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A Life In Ten Pictures: Amy Winehouse

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Hurst: The First and Only

Exploring the life of the World Cup winner and England footballing legend

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Born To Be The King

What will new British monarch King Charles III bring to the role?

Learn MoreStream Downfall of the Porn King: The Ron Jeremy Story on BBC Select

Downfall of the Porn King: The Ron Jeremy Story

The rise and fall of porn star, Ron Jeremy.

Learn MoreWatch A Life In Ten Pictures: John Lennon on BBC Select

A Life In Ten Pictures: John Lennon

Photographs help to reveal the true nature of music icon and Beatles star John Lennon.

Learn MoreWatch A Life In Ten Pictures: Muhammad Ali on BBC Select

A Life In Ten Pictures: Muhammad Ali

Ten photographs show a different side of boxer Muhammad Ali

Learn MoreSurviving the Holocaust

Surviving the Holocaust

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A Life In Ten Pictures: Elizabeth Taylor

The life of Elizabeth Taylor told through 10 pictures

Learn MoreWatch A Life In Ten Pictures: Tupac Shakur on BBC Select

A Life In Ten Pictures: Tupac Shakur

The life of Tupac Shakur told through 10 photographs

Learn MoreStream The Making of Merkel on BBC Select

The Making of Merkel

The political journey of Germany’s formidable chancellor.

Learn MoreWatch The Queen Mother on BBC Select

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The triumphs and pain that came to define the woman affectionately known as the Queen Mum.

Learn MoreWatch Calculating Ada: The Countess of Computing on BBC Select

Calculating Ada: The Countess of Computing

How did a scandalous 19th-century countess help create the modern era of computing?

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Gorbachev: The Man Who Changed the World

Cold War, Chernobyl and change. How did Mikhail Gorbachev herald a new era of politics?

Learn MoreWatch Zelensky: The Making of a President on BBC Select

Zelensky: The Making of a President

The transformation of Ukraine's President Zelensky from comic to respected world leader.

Learn MoreWatch When Louis Met ... Jimmy Savile on BBC Select

When Louis Met ... Jimmy Savile

Louis Theroux looks for a crack under the mask of now-disgraced celebrity Jimmy Savile

Learn MoreWatch When Louis Met ... Jimmy Savile on BBC Select

Louis Theroux: Jimmy Savile Revisited

Louis Theroux scrutinizes his relationship with disgraced entertainer Jimmy Savile

Learn MoreWatch Meet the Trumps: From Immigrant to President on BBC Select

Meet the Trumps: From Immigrant to President

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Learn MoreWatch Mad Dog: Inside the Secret World of Muammar Gaddafi on BBC Select

Mad Dog: Inside the Secret World of Muammar Gaddafi

Regime of terror: a horrifying portrait of Libya’s leader from the insiders who made him.

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His reputation is uncontroversial. The reality couldn’t be more different.

Learn MoreWatch In Louboutin’s Shoes on BBC Select

In Louboutin's Shoes

Sole man. Inside the fashion world of footwear designer Christian Louboutin.

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Explore Great Britain in this charming travel series

Learn MoreStream Reclaiming Amy on BBC Select

Reclaiming Amy

The friends and family of Amy Winehouse reveal the truth about the British music icon.

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Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards

What drives the legendary shoe designer and self-confessed 'cobbler' Manolo Blahnik?

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Vincent: The Full Story

What do we really know about Vincent van Gogh, arguably the world’s most famous artist?

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    Politics documentaries

    BBC Select has a broad selection of political documentaries that venture into the tangled world of politics.

    Learn MoreThatcher and Reagan Documentary

    Thatcher & Reagan

    What was the attraction between these two world leaders and how did it change history?

    Learn MoreStream Kissinger: Statesman or War Criminal? on BBC Select

    Kissinger: Statesman or War Criminal?

    Henry Kissinger: canny political operator or a despicable war criminal?

    Learn MoreWatch Oceans Apart: Art and the Pacific on BBC Select

    Oceans Apart: Art and the Pacific

    The momentous impact of the West's contact with the peoples and cultures of the Pacific.

    Learn MoreTrump The Comeback Documentary

    Trump: The Comeback?

    Could Donald Trump return to the White House in 2024?

    Learn MoreStream The Making of Merkel on BBC Select

    The Making of Merkel

    The political journey of Germany’s formidable chancellor.

    Learn MoreWatch Vladimir Putin's Russia on BBC Select

    Putin's Russia

    Votes for Vladimir. Meeting Putin’s biggest fans.

    Learn MoreWatch Meet the Trumps: From Immigrant to President on BBC Select

    Meet the Trumps: From Immigrant to President

    The remarkable true story of Donald Trump’s family history.

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    Mad Dog: Inside the Secret World of Muammar Gaddafi

    Regime of terror: a horrifying portrait of Libya’s leader from the insiders who made him.

    Learn MoreWatch Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists on BBC Select

    Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists

    Louis Theroux gets close to the extreme end of the West Bank’s Jewish settler movement.

    Learn MoreWatch Gandhi on BBC Select

    Gandhi

    His reputation is uncontroversial. The reality couldn’t be more different.

    Learn MoreWatch Louis Theroux: The Return Of America’s Most Hated Family on BBC Select

    Louis Theroux: The Return Of America’s Most Hated Family

    What happens when you’ve become the US’s most reviled family? Louis pays another visit.

    Learn MoreWatch Trump Takes on the World on BBC Select

    Trump Takes on the World

    Donald Trump's top advisers lift the lid on the critical moments of his foreign policy.

    Learn MoreWatch Louis Theroux: Life on the Edge on BBC Select

    Louis Theroux: Life on the Edge

    Celebrate a magnificent quarter-century of documentary-making in Louis Theroux: Life on the Edge

    Learn MoreAnti-vaxx protesters holding up signs

    The Anti-Vax Conspiracy

    Who is behind the international anti-Covid-vaccine movement and why are they doing it?

    Learn MoreWatch The Cult of Consiracy: QAnon documentary on BBC Select

    The Cult of Conspiracy: QAnon

    Who are QAnon and what effect are they having on US democracy?

    Learn MoreWatch The Man Putin Couldn't Kill documentary on BBC Select

    The Man Putin Couldn't Kill

    Did Putin really try to kill a political rival with a plot involving poisoned underpants?

    Learn MoreStream Barack Obama Talks to David Olusaga

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    In this revealing interview former President Barack Obama talks about his life and legacy.

    Learn MoreStream Nixon - In the Den on BBC Select

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    China: A New World Order

    President Xi Jinping’s extraordinary first years ruling China.

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    The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler: Leading Millions into the Abyss

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    American History's Biggest Fibs

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    Grayson Perry's Big American Roadtrip

    Britain’s most unpredictable artist, Grayson Perry, sits America down for its portrait.