Series synopsis
Inside the Tower of London is a documentary television series that premiered on 5 on October 23, 2018. It stars Jason Watkins.
At 950 years old, the Tower of London is one of the oldest landmarks in Britain and has had many famous residents over the centuries, from Guy Fawkes to the Kray twins. But the only people who live in the ancient stronghold these days are the 37 ‘Yeoman Warders’ – or Beefeaters – who guard the walls and look after the three million visitors who walk through the gates every year.
Premise
At 950 years old, the Tower of London is one of the oldest landmarks in Britain and has had many famous residents over the centuries, from Guy Fawkes to the Kray twins. But the only people who live in the ancient stronghold these days are the 37 ‘Yeoman Warders’ – or Beefeaters – who guard the walls and look after the three million visitors who walk through the gates every year.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
- Jason Watkins as Narrator
Episodes
This series spans 10 seasons with 58 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 0 | 8 | November 11, 2020 | April 29, 2026 |
| Season 1 | 4 | October 23, 2018 | November 13, 2018 |
| Season 2 | 8 | August 20, 2019 | October 22, 2019 |
| Season 3 | 4 | October 14, 2020 | November 4, 2020 |
| Season 4 | 6 | November 11, 2021 | December 23, 2021 |
| Season 5 | 7 | October 27, 2022 | December 15, 2022 |
| Season 6 | 6 | November 2, 2023 | December 7, 2023 |
| Season 7 | 4 | November 21, 2024 | December 18, 2024 |
| Season 8 | 6 | October 30, 2025 | December 4, 2025 |
| Season 9 | 5 | May 20, 2026 | June 17, 2026 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 2 |
The Tower of London: Unlocked - The Tower at War Highlights of past episodes. The 20th century saw the most executions in the Tower's history, all German spies captured in the two world wars. Suffragette Leonora Cohen took aim at the Crown Jewels. The Tower acts as a site of remembrance. |
November 11, 2020 |
| 3 |
The Tower of London: Unlocked - Secrets of the Beefeaters Compilation focusing on the men and women who guard the Tower, known as the Beefeaters, revealing how they live and work inside the UK's most famous fortress, and what goes on behind the scenes away from the tours and tourists. |
January 20, 2021 |
| 4 |
The Tower of London: Unlocked - The Royal Prison Special compilation exploring the Tower of London's reputation as the most terrifying prison in the country, looking back at stories of some of its most famed inmates and their daring escapes. |
January 27, 2021 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Medieval Tower The Beefeaters, the first 400 years and royal connections. |
October 23, 2018 |
| 2 |
The Tudor Tower The Chief Curator reveals the history of Anne Boleyn. |
October 30, 2018 |
| 3 |
The Tower at War Examining the execution of German spies captured in the two world wars. There's a profile of suffragette Leonora Cohen, who took aim at the crown jewels to publicize her cause. Plus, a look back to 2014, when the Tower hosted a display of nearly 900,000 ceramic poppies in the moat for Remembrance Day. And cameras follow Scott, a new recruit for the Beefeaters. |
November 6, 2018 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Raven chicks are born in the tower for the first time in 30 years - but only one of the newborn birds can stay, and ravenmaster Chris faces the tough decision of choosing one to keep and finding suitable homes for all the others. The tower director prepares to retire after 15 years, and takes a moment to enjoy his final gun salute, while AJ Clarke, only the second woman to join the Yeoman warders, embarks on a fitness regime that soon leaves her in need of a new uniform. Plus, a look at the story of the time the future Queen Elizabeth I was imprisoned in the tower for plotting to overthrow her sister, Queen Mary. |
August 20, 2019 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 The chief yeoman warder oversees the tower's celebration of the end of the First World War, and special preparations are made for the tower director's retirement party, involving a military band and a unique farewell as he leaves the tower for the last time. Newly hatched raven George is introduced to the rest of the birds, not all of whom take kindly to newcomers, and historian Tracy Borman unearths the story of Roger Casement, who was executed for treason for supporting Irish independence during the First World War. |
August 27, 2019 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 The new tower director starts work on the same day that Donald Trump visits London, while curator Eleri Lynn goes in search of a recently rediscovered royal treasure - the last surviving dress made for Elizabeth I, which has turned up in a small village church in Herefordshire. Plus, a look at the golden armour of Charles I and the ultimate fate of Henry VIII's imperial crown. |
September 3, 2019 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 In February 2020, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall visit the Tower to celebrate the Yeoman Warders' anniversary, the first time Prince Charles has visited the Tower in over a decade. Meanwhile, the business of researching the Tower's history goes on for Chief Curator, Tracy Borman, as she digs into the tragic story of Henry VIII's fifth wife, Catherine Howard. |
October 14, 2020 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 As the country goes into lockdown in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, the Tower is forced to close its gates for the first time since the Second World War. As the weeks turn into months, cameras follow the small team of Yeoman Warders locked within the tower, keeping this great fortress running in isolation. |
October 21, 2020 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 The tower staff prepares to reopen to paying visitors after lockdown results in the longest closure in 75 years, beginning with a special ceremonial lowering of the drawbridge. The ravenmaster makes sure his birds are ready to interact with members of the public after months in isolation, while the chief curator oversees the launch of a gruesome new attraction commemorating the executions on Tower Hill. |
October 28, 2020 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 The return of the documentary that goes behind the scenes at one of the nation's most historic and best-loved attractions. The tower's oldest raven goes missing and ravenmaster Chris Skaife must come to terms with the fact it might have gone for ever, while in April a special gun salute is organised to mark the death of Prince Philip. |
November 11, 2021 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Two baby ravens have joined the Tower's resident colony. One of them, Edgar, is called after the horror writer Edgar Allan Poe, but his sister still needs a name. It will be chosen by public vote and Ravenmaster Chris is on tenterhooks waiting to find out the result. Cameras also focus on Tower Governor Brigadier Andrew Jackson and Chief Yeoman Warder Pete McGowran. They are rehearsing a new ceremony celebrating the Tower re-opening its gates to visitors after the covid lockdown. |
November 18, 2021 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 It is June and staff at the Tower are bringing out the big guns to celebrate the anniversary of the Queen's coronation in 1953. A massive 62-gun salute is planned on the Wharf, but with his boss, the Chief Yeoman Warder, away, new Yeoman Gaoler Rob Fuller is in charge for the first time. Three 4,000lb guns and thousands of visitors to contend with mean the pressure's on Rob to get it right. |
November 25, 2021 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 Return of the documentary going behind the scenes at the castle. As autumn arrives, the royal bodyguard of Yeoman Warders come together to commemorate one of the saddest moments in the Tower's history, the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, before announcing the formal proclamation of King Charles III. |
October 27, 2022 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 The Tower is continuing work on its most ambitious installation ever, the transformation of the moat into a huge floral display to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. |
November 3, 2022 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Ravenmaster Chris Skaife is keeping a close eye on the Tower's ravens, who are taking advantage of their popularity to steal visitors' lunches. |
November 10, 2022 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 It's March 2023, and the Tower prepares for the crowning of a new monarch. |
November 2, 2023 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 It's spring, and the Tower is now just weeks away from one the most important events in its 1000-year history – the crowning of a new monarch. Staff have been working hard to prepare for the new era, but one thing is yet to change – the Beefeaters' iconic uniforms. These world-famous uniforms still bear the royal monogram of the late Queen Elizabeth II, known as a cypher, and they must be updated to represent King Charles III. |
November 9, 2023 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 It's May 2023 and the Tower is preparing for the crowning of a new monarch. Among those featured is AJ, the first female Yeoman Warder to take part in a royal coronation. Plus, curator Charles Farris examines one of the most famous events in Tudor history - the coronation of Queen Anne Boleyn. |
November 16, 2023 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 A year on from the coronation of King Charles and it’s all change at the Tower as we meeting the new Chief Yeoman Warder and Yeoman Gaoler, and much loved Ravenmaster Chris steps down. |
November 21, 2024 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 A 700-year-old tradition, The Constable's Dues at the Tower, features marines, boats, and a helicopter - but rehearsals don't go to plan. The Chief Curator uncovers Tudor-era graffiti. |
November 28, 2024 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Unpredictable weather proves a challenge as busy staff prep a gun salute a year after the King's coronation. Plus, the Tale of one of the most audacious prison escapes from the tower. |
December 11, 2024 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 The Tower is back with its busiest year yet, marking D-Day with a huge celebration, revealing why Sir Walter Raleigh was locked up and saying goodbye to its much-loved Deputy Governor. |
October 30, 2025 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 The Tower prepares an ambitious display to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE day, with almost 30,000 ceramic poppies cascading from the top of the White Tower. It's no small feat! |
November 6, 2025 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 Chief Historian Tracy Borman uncovers a 400-year-old Tudor secret that could rewrite history, while Ravenmaster Barney Chandler cares for two new baby ravens at the Tower. |
November 13, 2025 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Episode 1 A behind-the-scenes look at the castle and exploring its years of history. Tracy Borman and Kate Clements investigate what happened behind closed doors at the supposedly private executions of Queens of England Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard and Lady Jane Grey. After two years at the helm, Chief Yeoman Warder Rob Fuller and his right-hand man Gaoler Clive Towell announce that they both plan to retire. |
May 20, 2026 |
| 2 |
Episode 2 Curator Kate Clements presents evidence about the final moments of the last man executed at the Tower of London - German spy Josef Jakobs. She shares where in the Tower Josef was put to death and the story of how this German family man-turned-spy found himself in front of a firing squad. At the Middle Tower, the entire front entrance has been closed for a massive renovation project. |
May 27, 2026 |
| 3 |
Episode 3 - The Krays Special Curator Alfred Hawkins joins human bone specialist James Langthorn to learn more about the skeletons of two people who were buried at the Tower 800 years ago. The remains were found by archaeologists excavating outside the Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, and have been identified as a woman and a small child. Also, Gaoler John Donnell explores the astonishing story of the Kray twins' imprisonment and repeated escapes from the Tower. |
June 3, 2026 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | 5 |
|---|---|
| First aired | October 23, 2018 |
| Last aired | December 4, 2025 |
| Runtime | 45 minutes |
| Status | continue |
| Schedule | Wednesday at 20:00:00 |