Rain

The rain is an essential part of being British, giving us the English lawn, the sliding tackle and endless grounds for complaint, but what do we really know about rain? The programme uncovers the true shape of a raindrop, shows how and why rain falls and tells remarkable stories of how we have adapted or succumbed to this elemental force of nature, such as James Glaisher's seven-mile hot air balloon ascent in 1862 and how Charles Macintosh invented the waterproof coat. The Victorians believed that they could master the rain and push it aside, but today climate change threatens us with rain that is wilder and more unpredictable than ever.