Channel 5 has commissioned ITN Productions to produce a new three-part documentary series with broadcaster and writer Michael Palin, as he visits Iraq for the first time.
The commission is the follow-up to the critically acclaimed 2018, Michael Palin in North Korea, which reached 4.5m viewers and was nominated for two BAFTAs. Working with the same crew as in North Korea this new series promises an extraordinary view of a place, nearly 20 years after The Iraq War. A place we have really only seen via news reports. This will be the real Iraq.
The 3 60 series, Michael Palin: Into Iraq, follows Michael as he embarks on a 1000-mile odyssey, following the course of the great Tigris river from its source in eastern Turkey to the Persian Gulf. Most of his journey will be through Iraq and Michael will visit Mosul and Erbil, before following the river to Tikrit. He then moves on to Baghdad, exploring bustling city life and the Green Zone. As he heads further south Michael sees the legendary sites of Babylon and Ur before completing his journey on the coast of Iraq.
During his travels Michael is driven by the urge to meet the people of this vast but young and troubled country, as well as discovering a huge variety of breath-taking landscapes, and extraordinary historic sights and cultures. He experiences what life is like for the 40 million people who live in Iraq today and explores its ancient history as Mesopotamia, the cradle of civilisation.
His journey, which starts at Lake Hazar in eastern Turkey, includes visits to Kurdistan where he spends a day in the mountain village of Akre for the Kurdish New Roz celebrations, a chaotic festival of torchlit processions, fireworks and gunfire; a visit to Tikrit, where he uncovers the truth about the terrible Speicher massacre, before moving on to Babylon to explore Saddam Hussein's palace that towers over the ancient city. He then heads on to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, into the Green Zone created after the war and discovers the joys of life in the bustling old city before visiting the famous Ziggurat of Ur.
Security concerns were paramount during the trip, (there's not a press flack jacket in sight) with Michael and his team needing to negotiate bureaucratic borders, endless military checkpoints and access intelligence on the ground to navigate volatile areas and the reported presence of ISIS.
Michael Palin said: I've never visited Iraq and it's not the easiest country to work in, which is why we chose it as the focus for this series. Scarred by conflict, Iraq is also the birthplace of civilisation. Our story is one of survival, of a nation pulled back from the brink. We wanted to show how a country so long associated with war and violence is dealing with a fragile peace.
The journey was an eye-opener, a succession of new experiences, new places and new people to meet, a fascinating adventure in a land where past, present and future are unlike anywhere else I've ever been. It was a pleasure and a privilege to be back on the road.
Guy Davies, Channel 5 Factual Commissioning Editor (VP) Non scripted UK Originals Channel 5 / Paramount+, said: I'm thrilled to be working with Michael again and with the same ITN Productions
team on another ground-breaking journey. It's 20 years early next year since the Iraq War started, and that is so often how the region is defined. Michael's journey goes much deeper, and what a guide to have!
Will Smith, Head of Factual, ITN Productions, added: Michael has a unique and rare ability to translate the, often complex, history of a country in his documentaries. Iraq is a fascinating region with deep British connections, once the cradle of civilization and now one of the most misunderstood places on earth.
To follow Michael once again as he embarks on a journey he has long wanted to make, unlocking an understanding of the country as we have never seen before, will make for a fascinating and engaging series.
The series is due to air later this year and is produced by ITN Productions. It will be directed by Neil Ferguson, production manager is Jess Jacobs and the executive producer is Will Smith
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
Channel 5 has commissioned ITN Productions to produce a new three-part documentary series with broadcaster and writer Michael Palin, as he visits Iraq for the first time.
