Britain's Greatest Invention

Welcome to one of the most amazing locations in the country.

These are the Science Museum stores, eight giant hangars packed full

of our nation's most cherished inventions, from Roman

Objects both big and small that have defined this great

The tens of thousands of objects here are normally

locked away from view, but we have exclusive permission

to go behind these doors for a special purpose.

To reveal the marvellous items hidden inside and ask you to decide

from this collection, what is Britain's

Before we start, our thoughts are with the victims, the families and

all of those who have been affected by the London Fire. We want to

welcome you inside the science Museum stores. It is filled with

ground-breaking and priceless inventions. Out of almost 40,000

objects, the curators have hand-picked the seven they feel have

had the biggest impact on our lives today. It is these seven that will

be championed by seven celebrities, with the winner being honoured in

the Science Museum. This is the first time we have celebrated these

everyday objects, and it is up to you to help us decide which is

Britain's greatest. Sir Trevor McDonald will be

exploring the vast power of a key British invention

to control our minds. I hope it does not complicate my

watching television! Nick Knowles will be getting up

close and personal with a British reinvention that has

built our modern world. David Harewood will be witnessing

first-hand the power of a home-grown Angela Scanlon will be exploring how

we've all become addicts Giles Coren will see how

a Brit invented a device that changed everything,

from how tall we are Angela Rippon will reveal

the invention that has probably And Len Goodman will be going full

speed ahead on an antique invention Tonight is a celebration of

invention, a rare chance to see these items up close and personal,

and we want everybody watching to get involved, by logging onto the

website. You can sign in and register to vote for free. Voting

opens later in the show. We also want you to tweet along with us.

Now to the first of these great inventions being championed

A broadcasting legend who thinks he can convince

you to give it your vote, please welcome Trevor McDonald.

Standing at the heart of our living rooms is the most powerful invention

ever created. It is one that we might be inclined to take the

granted, but it has transformed the world, changed our preoccupations

and our perceptions as people. We will spend a decade of our lives

watching it, whether from the comfort of our sofa or increasingly

on demand -- on the move. Right now, you are under its spell. It is, of

course, television. When I talk about television, I am of course

talking about its content, which would not exist without this magic

little box. The unique power of television and its ability to bring

the world to us, I remember watching Neil Armstrong take his first steps

on the moon. What was amazing was not only the fact we had gone to

another part of the universe, but that I was able to sit in my home in

Trinidad and watch those pictures live. Etched in our collective

memories, a bank of iconic television moments that have shaped

the world and our view of it. Yet perhaps the most world changing

image of all remains largely unknown. This is the first TV

picture ever seen by the public in 1926, thanks to an unlikely

inventor, John Logie Baird. He was not an orthodox pioneer of crafting

his first television out of a biscuit tin, darning needles and

other bits of scrap. After several more years he created a mechanical

television that scanned an image and transmitted them to a receiver which

we played them. Success, but rival British company Marconi were hot on

his tail, and soon after produced a faster electronic model. Both wanted

to be chosen by the BBC for the world's first television service

from Alexandra Palace. John Logie Baird's grandson is showing me where

the competition took place. This is where the television service began,

in November second 1936. That evening, John Logie Baird and yet my

transmitted their pictures in succession, from neighbouring

studios. His mechanical system may have been the world's first to

broadcast, but EMI's electronic system was more efficient, therefore

victorious. Is your grandfather heartbroken of these

disappointments? He was at the Opening Ceremony for the Alexandra

Palace, but he was not invited to go onto the stage, it was important

Government people and executives, and he sat in the rank-and-file. He

was angry and disgusted, and he thought his work was not recognised.

He must have been sought. He was sad, but the reality was he knew he

had put television on the map, and it is true of a lot of inventions,

the person who does it first does not necessarily reap the rewards of.

He might have missed his crowning moment but his legacy remains a

global hit. Today, one channel has exploded into many more, and there

are over 1000 in the UK alone. You could not watch most of them without

this sky-high landmark, London's BT Tower. 95% of Britain's TV passes

through here, as it is distributed from the broadcaster to your home.

Looking at these screens, what strikes you is the sheer volume of

television, the good, the bad and the downright indifferent. Every one

bunch -- everyone of us watches three and a half hours every day,

which must affect us all, so it begs the question, what is all this TV

doing to us? I have come to the University of

London to meet Professor Barry Smith, a sensory scientist who can

measure the emotional impact of television's content on its viewer.

Welcome. You are going to tell me or I don't know! I will tell you about

your reaction to it. Once I am wired up, he will show meets who evocative

clips. I hope this does not complicate my watching television!

We are now coming to the last moments of Apollo 13, the best thing

we can do now is just to listen and hope. There they are! All three

shoot out. That is wonderful. It is interesting that the memory does not

stop you having an emotional response. When we were looking at

your muscle that controls your smile, it is beautiful, spontaneous

smiles that happen throughout that clip. It is so wonderful to watch

something that eventually comes out well in the end. In Ethiopia, 7

million people are threatened by starvation.

This place is the closest thing to hell on earth. Death is all around.

A child and adult dies every 20 minutes. Relief agencies do what

they can, Save The Children are caring for more than 7000 babies.

Tremendously affecting scenes. It is an example of, it seems to me, how

television can make people act. And it made them act. This is what

mattered. It is one of the most powerful ways in which television

has been a force for good. Yes. Surely television is the most

magical creation of all, what other invention gets so under your skin

that it can affect social change, with millions shared experiences and

be a force for good? From 24 hour news to box sets, exporting events

to natural disasters, television has given us more memories, emotions,

opinions and decisions than anything else. Television is undoubtedly the

greatest invention of all, because other inventions can change the

world. Television can change you. That is really powerful stuff. This

is a real celebration of petition ingenuity, how important is it that

the people at home engage with it? This country has always had a great

tradition of adventure's inventions. It will pass to the coming

generations, they must be aware of it, of the tradition, and that is

why they should get involved with what is happening tonight. You have

been on the television for many decades, I have grown up watching

you. What standout moment has there been? One of the most standout

moments for the release of Nelson Mandela after 27 years. The world

saw him and those pictures everywhere, they had not seen him

before. I have the chance to talk to him about the own promising

political situation in South Africa at the time. I thought it could not

work, nothing could work, and he said what I thought Foster is

brutally important, and is a lesson for all politicians, he said, once

you are prepared to talk seriously, and to compromise, everything is

possible. All solutions are possible. I think it is a great

message for the world. It is a fantastic message.

If you want to vote for television, all the numbers

Calls will cost 15p plus any network access charge.

You can vote for your favourite invention when voting

You can also sign in and register to vote online for free

Please do not call until then, as your vote won't count.

Now, I believe that Hannah has been discovering an unexpected effect

They are a complete treasure trove of amazing objects, you have some

horse drawn carriages, you have a car, and this is a hydrofoil that

was built by a chap called Brian. You have satellite, autopsy tables

and enormous objects like this one. Hiding behind the corner, we have

Jessica, who works with the collection. What is this? This

printing press was used in London to print millions of editions of the

Daily Mail and the London Evening Standard. It is one example of the

Science Museum's Strawberry collection. These are not just

objects, they are our shared history, they were made and used and

they changed our lives. This place is a Time Capsule of ingenuity, full

of things we are preserving for generations. I am going to be behind

the scenes this evening, trying to have a look at as many objects as we

feasibly can, and uncovering the secrets of the collection.

Now, stick with us, because still to come,

we have Angela Rippon pitching for a great invention

that has kept you alive, and David Harewood becoming

a real-life superhero to convince you to vote

But first, who better to tell the story of an invention

that combines power, grace and speed than Len Goodman?

This invention catapulted Britain into the modern world. If you're the

industrial rather and today it powers your entire life. 80% of the

world's electricity is generated by it, and without it, we would all

still be living in the dark ages. You don't have to be a genius to

know that my invention is the steam engine. And I am not just talking

about fabulous old locomotives like this. There are so many things,

ships went faster, mining went deeper, tens of thousands of

factories worked on steam, and steam puts the great in Great Britain, I

love it. For the last 300 years world has

been powered by steam engines of all shapes and sizes, all of them

British to the core. The first man to crack it was, Sudbury in 1698. He

created an invention that would harness steam to power a machine,

the steam engine was born. His invention was a revelation, using

steam to power pumping engines, taking industry from being animal

driven to new heights of power. Over the next 200 years a string of

British engineers improved upon his original design. One of these

evolutions affected us profoundly as a nation.

Built in 1904, these waterworks and used the steam engine to pump 16

million litres of water a day out of the ground and up to the purifier.

So it -- so effective, it continued pumping until the 1960s. Welcome to

the steamed giants. This is a giant, it is a massive thing. They left the

water from two Wells, about 270 feet deep. The engines do two things,

pick the water up from deep underground and offer treatment.

There is a set of pumps under the floor, pushed out into the pipe and

sent 500 feet into the air to the reservoir which is about six miles

away. Really? So clean water was available for everybody and soap

with things like cholera and typhoid and hepatitis, caused by dirty

water, that would clear it. What has the advent of this machinery done

for us as a nation? Clean water supply has been the number one human

endeavour for thousands of years and this is the thing that Britain

exported all over the world, this technology cures disease. And it

increases the life expectancy and it grows the population so it gives us

an economy and trading power as a nation. And this is the magic word,

this is powered by steam. It is indeed. What is it that is so lovely

about it? It whispers like a heartbeat and it has got a nice

little pumping sound. It is so great. Yes! I love it! You could

dance to it, it has got a rhythm to it. I'd f coming in! It is just

great. -- I feel a f coming in. As well as killing disease and powering

us as a nation, the steam engine impact does not end there. I know

what you are thinking, oh, yes, steam trains and all that, 150 years

old, it is a relic. I tell you what, it is not. Everything around us is

reliant on steam. Yes! The television. The iPhone. The internet

is powered by steam. 80% of the world's electricity is generated by

the ultimate form of steam engine, the steam turbine. Developed in 1884

by Charles Parsons, this turns steam power into rotational energy rather

than piston power. Today, they are used in almost every fuel power

station in the world, big, small, nuclear, coal, they rely on the

descendant of the humble steam engine to create electricity. This

is a biomass facility, one Britain's newest power stations, where they

generate steam wood. Plant manager Patrick is showing B round. Can I do

anything mechanically? Can I touch things? Press a button? Please do

not! I will not touch anything, hold my arm and we will do it, come in!

180 lorries of waste arrived here each week before being burnt in a

giant incinerator. This heats up water to produce enough steam to

power 50,000 homes across Britain. Shot up!

This is great! Can I hold that? This is fantastic! You can feel it even

true here. Once the steam reaches 460 degrees,

it is sense to a turbine. This is the turbine.

This is where the steam comes in. Within this casing, the superheated

steam continuously turns a set of blades which spin a dynamo to create

a lecturer city. Without steam and without this, you

would not have an electric light bulb. You could have a light bulb,

but it would not be shining! It will not be working. Without the

steam engine, the world would be a darker place. The descendants of

this amazing British invention are as important today as when it was

first invented centuries ago. We have so much to thank the

extraordinary multitalented steam engine for. It illuminates our

cities, it gives us clean water. The thing is, this has to be our

greatest invention. It is not just the power behind a load of

machinery. It is the power behind our entire civilisation itself.

APPLAUSE. I love it! There is a real romance

about steam. Their risk, there is this romance, I know it is a

throwback to the bygone times. This has got bottoms and things. What is

it all about? It has got the romance of the past. And when you think

about power stations, they are 80% driven by steam and we would not

have the electric light bulb, you would not be able to put anything in

because there would be no electricity. You have all that

glorious joy of the past and also, you have got the wonders of the

future. Steam, I am telling cute... I love all these inventions, they

are all great. But this is the daddy! You have got to say, steam,

it is British, we feel great! I'm going to stand to attention and

salute steam. A kind of get the impression Len likes steam!

If the steam engine is your favourite, then

all the information you need to vote is on the screen now.

Voting will open once all our inventions have been showcased.

Please don't call until then, as your vote won't count.

But for now, please give it up for Len Goodman!

Britain has always been a nation of inventors and 66 years ago, there

was a huge event called the Festival of Britain which celebrated our

inventing past and our inventing future. Festival was held in

London's South Bank and two main areas, the Dome of discovery

celebrating science and engineering within the largest aluminium

structure in the world, and the pleasure garden, argue lead the

world's first theme park which showed how invention could bring joy

and happiness. Oliver is a curator at the Science Museum and you can

tell us more about the festival. In 1951, the Festival of Britain was

held celebrating British science technology, architecture, design and

the Arts. After six long years of post-war austerity, this was a

chance for Britain to let its head down and celebrate what we do best,

creativity, ingenuity and inventiveness. As part of tonight's

show, the BBC is teaming up with the Science Museum to track down objects

from this event and we want you help. So what kind of things you

looking for? It is really important to preserve a record of this

fantastic event. We looking for objects may be that were in the

Festival science exhibition. And also, memories photographs even. So

rummage through your attic and your garden shed and dust in your

photograph album and e-mail this address. With your memories and

objects and we will share them later.

It is a great cause. Come on, guys, let's get some answers. There will

be something in the loft. Our next invention which is so integral to

our lives today. It's that time for our next

invention, and one that is so key I know I rely on it,

that nomophobia. Yes, that's a genuine word,

it is the fear of being without it. Here to explain more,

it's Angela Scanlon. APPLAUSE. My invention can create

governments and topple them. It can remake entire industries. Conjuring

a $60 billion company like Gruber from nothing. And it has in changed

how our species communicates. This is the mobile phone. And invention

so successful, it outnumbers humans on planet Earth. Put simply, the

mobile phone is the most desired invention of our lifetime and

without it, we would be completely lost. I am of course talking about

the mobile in its latest and greatest incarnation. The

smartphone. A miraculous device now deeply embedded in our lives. Owners

swipe and pinch them hundreds of times a day and use them to replace

an astonishing range of real devices. Landlines of course and

also cameras and clocks, maps, torches, the radio, money and not to

mention the computer. Because mobiles now outsell computers by 4-1

and Drive the majority of global internet traffic. I know what you're

thinking, the mobile phone is not just a British invention, and it is

not just American or Japanese. In fact, its existence is due to the

great minds from a host of countries. But the most brilliant

and most decisive contribution came from writ issued inventors. --

British. What with the amazing minds that came together to create this

mobile miracle? The modern mobile is built on the principles of three

Great British inventions, the telephone invented by Scotsman

Alexander Graham Bell, the computer device big Graham Babbage and the

web created by Tim Berners-Lee. The final ingredient is less well known.

Designed in 1985 by Cambridge's Acorn Computers, the tiny AM

processor. It's ultra low power consumption made this perfect for

portable battery-powered phones. Today, it its offspring are in 98%

of mobile devices, putting the world at our fingertips. What other nugget

of joy can possess so much information and make life so easy?

Thank you! By being a pocket sized, the mobile

is the first truly personal computer. With us whenever we need

it. This one little device is thousands

of times more powerful than all of the computers used to send man to

the moon in the 1960s. Get your head around that! Is having

the power of the supercomputer in our hands a good thing? Helping me

find out is Doctor Elizabeth Britain from the Science Museum, an expert

in the mobile phone's impact on society.

We always have it on us and we take for granted the possibilities. There

is a real power in that device to do good and not just spend time

chatting. Yes, we see a teenager down the street and assume they are

chatting to their brand about something shallow but actually, they

could be doing all sorts of interesting things. Encouraging

people to go and vote, they could be involved in local activism and

engaging with the news around them. The mobile phone is a tool for good

and bad in equal measure and it is how we choose to use it.

Millions use it to try and change the world. It was central to the

Arab Spring of 2011, allowing campaigners to organise and

publicise demonstrations that brought down governments. It enabled

a reality TV star to talk directly to his bands and become the most

powerful man on Earth. How has it changed the way we associate with

previously untouchable people in the public eye? Previously, we might

have seen interviews with politicians or celebrities in

magazines and newspapers and now there is a more immediate

relationship. We can tweet them and followed them in social media, there

is more accountability and a flattened hierarchy. It feels like

the mobile phone has almost made the world shrink. For better and for

worse we have a much more intimate and closer and more immediate sense

of communication with our friends and loved ones and it can sometimes

feel inescapable. I am sure you know about Irish mothers!

For all the mobile's world changing power, this is the bestselling

gadget of all time because it makes our everyday lives easier.

Performing challenges that a couple of years ago would have sounded like

science fiction. One of the most mind blowing things

about this technology is it is making everybody multilingual. At

least, that is the idea. OK, so, apparently, this place

serves scraps. Thanks to the mobile, I can choose with confidence from

any menu in the world. But could the mobile also satisfied -- satisfy a

deeper anger? Neuroscientist Colin Blakemore things this improves our

personal relationships. Think of middle-aged people or young

people, they will get old, so think of the potential they will have to

stay in touch, tell people when they have a problem. What about the

intimacy of relationships? The word itself means being physical, very

close, but what matters about that in the past boss that it was easy to

communicate with someone, exchange ideas quickly and easily. The phone

gets bad press, but it feels unfounded. Lots of new technology

has got bad press in the early days, look at the way people reacted to

books. A lot of people were very suspicious about the danger of

people having access to knowledge, and the concern we would lose our

memories if we did not have to remember chunks of material by

Vogue. These concerns were expressed in the early days of printing, but

where would the world be without books? By putting the power of a

supercomputer in our pocket, the mobile phone has changed our world"

time. The change will keep coming, from holographic displays to health

apps, augmented reality to educating our kids. There is even talk of

phones using artificial intelligence to become mobile friends. This has

got to be the greatest invention, because this tiny device is changing

us faster and more profoundly than anything in human history.

They all have one! How many people go on a steam train or a jet engine?

Everybody has a mobile phone, it is ingenious and accessible. But is it

really British? It is not strictly British, but the components within

it that have tended from this delicious brick into the

supercomputer that we carry with us, absolutely British. What did we do

before the phone? The mobile phone and the smartphone has

revolutionised the way we work, we communicate, we live. It has

completely changed everything, we are more productive, more connected,

we can book a train on the toilet if we so choose. We can do whatever we

want in the shortest time possible, and it has made us appreciate each

other more, because we feel completely connected. She gives a

good argument for the mobile phone, and if it is your favourite, the

number is on your screen, but voting will not open until later in the

show. Do not call yet. Straight on to our next supersonic invention.

Please welcome David Harewood. I want to tell you about the

greatest British invention of all. An incredible piece of engineering,

synergy of power, metal and physics that has had the astonishing effect

of shrinking the world. It has opened the door to adventure and

incredible memories, and now it is keeping up to a million people up in

the air. Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seat belts, it is the

jet engine. The scale and consequences of this invention of

revolutionary. Britain led the world into the jet age, powering the

nation to new heights, sending the Royal Air Force supersonic and

transforming journey times across oceans from weak spicy two hours by

air. Frank Whittle wanted to find a way

to fly faster than the preceding plane, whose speed was

He created the machine that used a turbine to create jet in and to push

planes faster than ever before. Permanently altering the way we

journey around the planet. Today, there is one British company that

has pushed this invention to new boundaries. before, this place is

the beating heart of jet development, and it is the perfect

setting to show off this fantastic invention. Look at this. Rolls-Royce

are not just known for cars, they were pioneers in creating the jet

engine, and to this day lead the way. The head engineer Simon Byrne

is introducing me to their latest creation. Look at the size of that!

That is enormous. This engine is the Trent X WB engine. It strands -- it

stands for extra wide body, it goes on this aircraft which seat 370

passengers of. It can keep the aircraft in the F or 19 hours.

Straight hours? Yes. It will fly for 25 years of. Give me the basic

principles of what happens to get this thing up in the air. The pilot

moves forward the throttle, the fan will accelerate and go faster, draw

and in, huge amounts of air, and it gets squeezed and compressed. We

sprayed the jewel in, ignite it, the fuel burns at a high temperature and

exits. It is the effect of the fuel, the energy you are putting in, it

accelerates the fan, and it provides a huge amount of thrust. Each one of

those blades, 90 tonnes of falls on each one. Engineers have been

working on this for years. Tested to within an inch of its life. During

development, we tested it for four years, it went through nearly 15,000

team elected flights to make sure it was secure and reliable. Within the

rigorous testing period, these British made engines are pushed to

their limits in specially designed locations. Tests include firing up

the engine in -40 degrees, putting 38,000 bars through severe

crosswinds and spring 30,000 gallons of water straight into the engine.

All to make sure this method of travel remains the safest on earth.

The vast power of the jet engine has driven everything from land speed

cars to military aircraft. But the world truly changed when multiple

engines were combined in one aircraft to allow us all to take

flight. Us Brits are an inventive bunch, not only did we create the

jet engine, we also created the jetliner. It put together multiple

jet engines into one craft, able to take larger numbers of passengers

and dizzying heights and speeds. The power of the jet engine was now open

to us all. Good to see you. Tell me a bit about the first experience,

what it would have been like on the first jet airliner. It would have

been completely different from what anybody had encountered before.

Let's look at what people were used to. Everything was basically

resulting from a World War II bomber or a transport aircraft or something

like that. This was completely different, jet engines, it could fly

higher than anything else, faster, it was smooth, quiet, no vibration,

it was absolute luxury. People have never seen the like before, it was

completely revolutionary. As well as transforming the way we travelled,

it also increased our appetite for foreign climes. Everybody wanted to

fly jets, it was not long before it became accessible, with the rise of

the package holiday industry, people were flying on jet aircraft. Today

it is something like 3.8 billion passenger journeys every year. It is

not just people that are transported. 35% of the world's

trade by value is thrown -- flown on a jet aircraft. A phenomenal figure

for world trade, all carried by jet aircraft. Since its birth, the jet

engine has propelled many more British innovations, the spectacular

Airbus, the supersonic Concorde. Britain has ruled this guys for

decades. Today, the jet flies that a 7 billion kilometres each year, the

equivalent of 120 trips to Mars. It has transformed our taste buds, open

our eyes to countless cultures and made explorers of millions of us. It

has quite literally brought humankind closer together.

It makes you think, what did we do before the jet engine? When my

father came to England from Barbados, it took him six weeks, but

we can do it now in six, seven hours. What is the future? Perhaps

the future of jet proportion would be personal jet travel, jet cars. It

is funny you say that, because we spent some time outside with Jet

Man. Would you be Jet Man? I would fly home in that tonight. This guy

was outside this evening. Crazy. Would you do that? I would go home

in it tonight. Imagine the commute to work, it would be awesome. The

noise was staggering, it was fantastic to see. It is exciting.

What is great is we still innovating, the jet engine is a

British design, a British man who has taken it to another level, so we

are still innovating and leading the pack. It is exciting. The jet

engine, if it is your favourite, the number is on the screen, voting will

not open until the last invention is shown. From jets to propellers.

You will find another first everywhere you look.

This wonderful creation behind me is the only

What makes this extra special is that it was the Rolling Stones'

Just imagine the stories that happened in there.

And round here is a balloon gondola designed and used by a crazy chap

called Auguste Piccard in 1932 to study the upper

The scientists noticed a leak on the way up and had to plug it with

Vaseline and bits of cotton. They don't make scientists like that any

more. Next, somebody who believes to be a

Julie great invention, you have got to stay cool. Welcome journalist

Giles Coren. There is one invention and of us

could live without, or most all of you have one. It is the unsung hero

of the modern world, and globally we have 100 million a year. As ever

strong critic, I think the key to comfort, happiness and pleasure lies

in food and drink. In the things we take for granted. Of all these

things, we have one extraordinary invention to thank, a lump of

technology that lurks in the corner of pretty much every house, bar,

restaurant and pub in the country. Without it, there would have noble

and honours, no flowers on Mother's Day. It is the fridge. In my 1970s

home, the fridge was basically king of the house, everything went in

there, including bread, potatoes, my mum kept her fags in there. You

opened your fridge around 20 times a day, and it has impacted your life

immeasurably. Where did it come from? It was not until very recently

that I learned that the history of the fridge begins with the printing

press, and possibly the only truly useful thing a journalist has ever

done. The hack was a Glaswegian called James Harrison, and one

evening he was watching the press being leaned with sulphuric ether.

He noticed an extraordinary thing. When the ether evaporated, the metal

became freezing cold, and he realised in that moment that if he

could replicate the process time after time, he would have a machine

that could keep anything cold. With the discovery that evaporation calls

by absorbing energy and extracting heat, the patented an airtight

system which replicated this and the fridge was born. Following huge

industrial uptake, the Manufacturing of domestic fridges was in full

swing by the 1930s. Three decades on, the fridge's continued

popularity had a surprising impact. The 1960s were a time of radical

change, thanks in no small part to the fridge. At the end of the decade

the majority of British households had one, and this revolution brought

with it an unexpected result. The liberation of women. I am eating a

world leading authority on feminist history. Can you give me a picture

of what a woman's life was like before the advent of the

refrigerator? You would return home and prepare food and you would have

to do that every day because you cannot store leftovers safely for

long periods of time before you get the fridge. The fridge was marketed

as a revolutionary time-saving apply and miraculous preserver of food. No

one could foresee its unexpected social effect. The fridge does not

strike me as a very likely image of liberation, how does it work? The

way they reconfigure women's time, to allow women to do other things

with their time including going out to work. Women are making parts for

fridges as well. They were involved in the production? Yes, the

production of Hoovers, fridges and other sorts of new technologies

coming into the home. She looks over the moon! She looks thrilled, I

think I would be thrilled if I had a fridge like that! From that moment,

women's employment rovers -- rose 5% every decade thanks in part humble

invention. As well as this unexpectedly

liberating side-effect, the power of refrigeration has had a profound

impact on the way we eat. Its capacity to preserve means it is

crucial in the global food industry. And it keeps the supermarket

distribution centre alive. This 8.5 acre fridge in Peterboro transports

2 million cases of food to 200 stores every week. I'm wondering if

the fridge has even transformed us as a species. Sarah, I would like to

make a case in my championing of refrigeration and fridges to say the

fresh food it has given us enabled us to fulfil our potential as

humans, is that possible? Yes, nutrition has changed dramatically

and the fridge is a big part of that. By 1900, Britain gets half of

food from overseas and a large proportion is meat and Derry produce

and it is the increase in meat and Derry that has affected stature. 160

centimetres shorter on average. So if I go back to the height I am now,

if I go back in time, I will be ten centimetres greater than the

average. It improves cognitive production. So there you have it, it

gave us better nutrition and we are taller, smarter and stronger. The

magic of the fridge does not end there, it is essential for the

transportation of life-saving vaccines, it makes sperm banks

possible extending human fertility. The large hadron Collider is used to

uncover the secrets of the origins of the universe and by keeping seed

banks and freezers, we may be safeguarding the food supply of the

human race itself. That is some invention!

APPLAUSE. Straightaway, I think it is one of those inventions that goes

under the radar. It does not like it does not have a whistle you can poll

and get excited, you cannot take a selfie and you cannot watch liberty

Love Island. Who does not have one? Everybody! It has changed our lives

in the way that other inventions could not imagine. The poor people

like you and me, we lived in rubbish before this, rotten food,

compromised food. In the winter, it was dried food and tinned food, only

the rich could have fresh fruit and vegetables and meat and Derry, it is

democratised as and made it possible for people like you and me at the

bottom of the food chain to grow up healthy, it has changed everything.

That is a compelling argument for the fridge.

then all the information you need to vote is on the screen now.

Voting will open once all our inventions have been shown.

Please don't call until then, as your vote won't count.

For now, please say thanks to Giles Coren.

Now from something called to the Cold War. For every nice and crazy

invention they have here, they also have other much more sinister

objects. Like this guy here. It is called blue steel and it is

effectively a nuclear bomb. Until 1970, this nuclear missile is how

Britain would still live its nuclear devices, until it was replaced by

this guy here which some of you may recognise as an image of the Cold

War. This is the Polaris missile. These sections would break of as it

entered into space. But, that is a big driver of innovation because if

it was not for the navigation system that was designed for this missile,

you would not have GPS today. Without our next invention, some

people would not be alive today. But includes our next gas, please

welcome Angela Rippon! This invention is a magic bullet. It

has made childbirth 35 times safer. It has saved 200 million lives.

Without it, you would probably be dead. It is antibiotics. I am

advocating antibiotics because of the immense impact they have had on

everybody. You, me, and in my case, I developed tubercle is as when I

was six. Without antibiotics, I would not be here now -- tubercle

says. Antibiotics are quite simply bacteria killers. Launching up the

microbes that cause deadly infectious diseases like cholera,

typhoid and TB. You may think this wonder drug more discovery than

invention but let me convince you otherwise. The story begins in 1928

when scientist Alexander Fleming forgot to clean up a petri dish full

of bacteria. A week later, he noticed some Mold had grown up

killing the bacteria. Fleming had accidentally discovered penicillin

but he had little clue what to do with his freak fined or how to

reproduce it. The real piece of inventive genius took place ten

years later, here in Oxford. Behind this dork is the original laboratory

of the pioneering Oxford scientist Howard Florey and it was in here

that a team of brilliant minds turned microbes -- three's

unexpected discovery into a miracle cure. This is the room where

antibiotics were truly invented, at the dawn of the Second World War.

The team invented a way to purify the mold juice by combining it with

ether and alkalines that drew away the harmful elements, creating an

antibiotic pure enough for humans to take. Scientist and historian Doctor

Eric Sidebottom was a pupil of the men involved.

Clearly if it was going to do any good to the masses, it had to be

mass-produced. Were they able to develop penicillin here in Great

Britain? Yes, to some extent. Florey was always worried he could not

persuade the British pharmaceutical industry to get involved. They were

already committed to the war effort. So Florey made this difficult

decision to take the problem to America. And the Americans did help.

They increased production very considerably and they found a better

strain penicillin in a local melon in the market. They also managed to

get it growing in a huge suspension tank, in a big tank. And in Oxford,

we had grown it in bed pans. Penicillin soon arrived on the

battlefront and in 1943, it proved itself as a wonder drug, saving

soldiers from the worst war wounds, as well as treating other ailments.

Also, there is a funny offshoot of that story. Some army doctor

discovered that penicillin was also extremely good and effective at

treating gonorrhoea. That posed a moral dilemma because they did not

have enough penicillin to treat everyone. Do you treat the badly

injured, the honourable soldiers, or the rather naughty boys who have got

self-inflicted clap? The rumour is the decision went to Churchill and

Churchill said this most valuable new substance must be used for the

best war interests, which meant treating the guys with clap because

they could be back on the front line within days.

Since the discovery of penicillin, more than 100 new antibiotics have

been created. Each capable of fighting a host of bacterial

infections. In Britain, 34 million are prescribed each year. But there

is a problem. The trouble is, the more antibiotics

we take, the more the bacteria are becoming resistant to them. It is

why we are told we could be on the verge of a superbug endemic. And

there would be nothing our wonder drug could do to stop it.

Antibiotics are under threat. But salvation may again lie with a team

of British scientists, working to invent a brand-new antibiotic using

South American ants. They live in underground nests. For food, they

grow a fungus garden made from rotting leaves and flowers. To keep

their food clean, they use an antibiotic to kill any germs.

Sometimes you get a contaminant and the ants need to get rid of that or

it will destroy their food source. So what is it you have discovered

about what they are doing that is so exciting? What has been found is

that the worker ants have a bacteria they grow on their backs and this

bacteria has very powerful antimicrobial properties. When the

ants discover a contaminant in their fungus garden, they can smear some

of this bacteria onto the unwanted bacteria and kill it off. So by

isolating that bacteria in their backs, this has the potential to

control all sorts of problems we now face. For instance? It can control

MRSA. Are we looking at something that could give us the first new

antibiotic in the best part of 40 years? Quite possibly. And it opens

up a lot of new avenues for research.

Antibiotics are one of the greatest medical advancements in human

history. They have saved bacteria ravaged populations and they have

enabled our world leading NHS to perform life-saving miracles. This

wonder drug may be under threat, but thanks to ground-breaking research,

this British invention will hopefully continue to save lives for

generations to come. APPLAUSE. Power. . It makes you wonder, what

with -- what did we do before antibiotics? Before penicillin, all

the diseases and illnesses could kill you, but so could pricking your

finger in a Rose Thorn and having a small paper cut, anything that

enabled the skin to open so bacteria could get inside meant you could get

sepsis, blood poisoning, which would kill you because your body had no

defence against it. As we head in the film, women were still suffering

and dying in childbirth in the 1940s. Then penicillin came along

and did a wonderful things on the battlefields of Europe and we

suddenly have a wonder drug. It is very easy to say I think this is the

greatest invention because it is lovely to travel the world in a jet

engine and to watch the TV and have a Mobile Telephone Service to keep

your food clean and healthy in the fridge, but you cannot enjoy those

things if you are dead! And antibiotics have been keeping the

world alive and they will go on keeping everybody a life which means

we can go on enjoying not just these inventions, but also, the invention

is yet to come from the generations that will live in the future.

Antibiotics is the saviour of the human race, it is the greatest! You

cannot argue with that! Where do we go? If antibiotics is your greatest

invention, the information it you need is on the screen now. But do

not call yet because your vote will not count. Our last invention now

and probably one you have not even thought about even though it is all

around us. Please welcome television presenter

Nick Knowles. My invention is an unsung hero.

Ubiquitous, but overlooked. And loved, but steadfast in its service

to everybody. Many would argue man's best friend is the dog, and would

give humanity's best friend is all around us. It is strong, dependable

and always there to supporters, welcome to the wonderful world of

concrete. Concrete is the building block of our civilisation. This

stuff built our schools and our hospitals and all of our major

infrastructure. Tunnels and railways, bridges and flood

defences, docks and airports, power stations and even sewers. Some 70%

of the world live in concrete homes and most of the rest of us have

concrete foundations. Is the most used man-made material on earth.

Where did it all start? Some of you might think it is the Romans, but

that is only half of the story. Concrete as we know it, the stuff

that build our world, is a British invention. To unravel it, I am

eating a leading expert. This civil engineer. I recognise it, I have

used bags of it in my time building, it is made all over the world, so

what makes concrete British? A key component is this material that we

see here. It is a composite material, it is made combining

cement, a key ingredient, with water, sand and gravel. When you mix

them together, the water engages with the cement as a binder of hand

the sand and gravel, and that is what gives concrete its structure

and integrity. Cement is the magic ingredient, and cement is at the

centre of the British story. Very much so. This all-important concrete

clue, cement, is what makes modern concrete a British invention. Before

the Brits got involved, the Romans had used a form of ancient concrete,

gravel bound together with volcanic ash useful come only if you have a

volcano next door. Fast forward to the 19th century, Leeds, home to a

builder called Joseph Aspdin, who wanted to mass concrete, but he

would need a new concrete clue. The Romans had volcanic ash, we do not

have volcanoes, but we do have clay and we do have limestone, and what

Joseph Aspdin did in 1824 was to develop a process in which the

limestone, which you see here, was ground into a very fine powder, and

mixed with clay, which was also very finely ground, and he heated them up

to a high temperature. The end result is cement. Joseph Aspdin

patented his miracle binding agent, calling it portland cement because

it looked like fashionable portland stone. This was the moment when

concrete as we know it was born. Almost immediately concrete use took

off, enabling construction on a previously unimaginable scale. From

building the London Underground to lining the Panama Canal, today

concrete is still made with portland cement and is used more than ever.

Here comes your delivery. It is just turning up. That will be doing two

of the piles. To show what makes it so special, I have come to west

London. This building site is part of an extraordinary ?4.2 billion

project, the construction of a super sewer beneath the capital. Running

this site is this man. How big is the tunnel when you stand in it?

Three double-decker is, 7.2m diameter. 40 kilometres long.

Difficult to imagine using any other kind of material. This is all to

keep raw sewage out of the Thames? Yes. Every year overflow sewers dump

up to 40 million tonnes of untreated sewage into the Thames. This super

sewer will intercept these overflows and send them for treatment in east

London. All bills with 1.8 million tonnes of concrete, moulded, sprayed

and poured into every shape imaginable. It is the fact it is so

fluid that makes it such a miracle. It is so adaptable as well, one

minute it is liquid, then it is a strong building block. It will take

the shape of whatever you want it to be. This one project is a massive

example of how important concrete is in modern civilisation. It is part

of the tunnels, it is part of the shafts, it is part of the support

for the gas and electric. It is going to be diverted sewage away

from the rivers, it is making a healthier environment, where we can

all live happily and longer. Without it, we would not have the society in

which we live. It would not exist. It was Britain that made modern

concrete, and concrete that has made modern Britain. It has transformed

our cities and what the building block of the welfare state, used in

just about every hospital and school built since 1945. It is the basic

material for all of our major infrastructure, power stations,

roads, railways, airports, the lot. This grey liquid magic has also

improved life for billions around the globe. Concrete form any means

wealth, latrines and safe, clean housing. We know it has made a

difference to the world, but it could also make difference to just

one person. I was in Nairobi, building a shack for a chap who

lived his whole 70 years on dirt floors in the slums. All he wanted

was a concrete floor, so me and a couple of colleagues mixed up

concrete and laid one for him. You would have thought we had given him

Buckingham Palace, because he knew he would be free from disease,

healthy, and safe. That is what concrete can do for people.

If you want to vote for concrete, the number is on the screen, but

don't vote just yet, voting opens shortly. If you people said that it

is a bit boring. On the face of it, it is, the romantic choice will be

steam or the jet engine, the junk people will be the phone, but it is

critical. It is great to have a jet plane, but where would you landed if

you do not have a concrete runway? Trains are lovely, but you can only

make tunnels and bridges with concrete. Angela gave a great

performance on antibiotics, but because we take our sewers

underground, we take the disease away. Before we had the sewers,

people were dying, the sewers would be running down the middle of the

street. You can take any of these inventions, even the electric ones,

where -- how did you make hydroelectric dams? Concrete. Take

all of the materials used and put them in one pile, and the concrete

pile will force it massively. He has a good point about concrete. You

have heard all seven inventions, it is over to you, Hannah.

Here's all the details you need to vote for your favourite.

Calls will cost 15p plus your network access charge,

or you can go online to register for free at bbc.co.uk/invention.

Please do not vote if you are watching on demand.

I hope this does not complicate my watching television! I think it is

one of the most powerful ways in which television has been a force

for good. You do not have to be a genius to

know that my invention is the steam engine. It has got a rhythm to it. I

feel a Foxtrot coming on! What other nugget of joy can possess

so much information and make life so easy? This tiny device is changing

is faster than anything in human history.

I want to tell you about the greatest British invention of all.

The jet has radically changed my life, without it my world would be

completely different. We have one extraordinary invention

to thank that lurks in the corner of every house in the country. It is

essential for the safe transportation of life-saving

vaccines, it makes sperm banks possible, extending human fertility.

That is some invention. This intervention is a piece of

incredible medical magic. I am advocating antibiotics because of

the immense impact they have had on all of us, you, me.

This one project is a massive example of how important concrete is

in modern civilisation. Without this material, we would not have the

society in which we live, it just would not exist.

Earlier, we ask you to come forward with your memories, your photographs

and your object from the Festival of Britain. A nationwide event that

celebrated British innovation 66 years ago. We have had a fantastic

response. Roger from London has sent in this photo of his late mother

standing in front of the skyline, this was the most iconic image of

the festival, and a clever piece of engineering which was up without any

visible means of support. We also have this wonderful piece of footage

from Dave in Scotland, which shows the miniature railway which took 3.5

million people around the Festival. The man who created it, Roland

Emmerich, went on to design a car I loved in my childhood, Chitty Chitty

Bang Bang. We also have Clive, who sent in this photo of his dad

operating a Marconi camera at the Festival. Here on stage, I am joined

by this expert and enthusiasts of the Festival, Tim. What have you

brought? This is a badge made to give to every single visitor of the

Festival, almost 8.5 million were made. There should be a queue of

those kicking about? In some drawers and attics and around, absolutely.

What is this? This is a wonderful lithograph of the inside the den of

discovery, adjacent to the Skylon. It was there to showcase all of the

great wonders the British inventors and scientists and engineers had

created. And a colour picture here, is that a map of the site? Yes, the

Festival Gardens at Battersea, which was a more whimsical site, rather

than it being technology and invention. A brilliant place for

all. I reckon a lot of people will have visited and remembered it, but

I heard a rumour that Walt Disney also went to the Festival. That is

what the tale says there is a claim, but it seems later Disneyland looks

rather similar in certain ways. I think that means we can claim credit

for Disneyland. I am pretty sure that is how it works! This

demonstrates the vastness of the games logo. This was the Festival

star you saw on almost every piece of memorabilia, it was everywhere,

and everyone got in on the act, sherry decanters, shot glasses, door

knockers. Now, a reminder of who to vote for.

This incredible Time Capsule is fuelled by donations, and amongst

all of the objects, there is something that would my eye. It is

this incredible prosthetic arm. We know it was made from a pianist,

because they are designed to span an octave, and the fingers are padded,

they did not make a sound. When the subject was donated, it came with a

note that said the pianist played in the Royal Albert Hall in 1906, but

we do not know anything else about its owner or how it was used. The

question is, do you know about the story behind this object? The

science Museum are desperate to find out who it belonged to. Do get in

touch. To bring a unique perspective, and on the future of

British innovation, I am joined by a lady with a British invented bionic

arm. Quite a strong handshake! How are you moving it? It is operated by

two sensors in the socket, one on the right-hand which does open, and

one on the left which does close. I am pressing it with the muscles in

my arm. It is really easy to take off. It is handy, because I was

charging it earlier. You charge it up at night time? Yes, mobile phone

and prosthetic hand. What does this allow you to do that

you were not able to do before? Really simple things in my

day-to-day life like if I am peeling a banana, I can hold the banana in

my hand and I can peel it with my left hand so I don't have to cut

chip to my body which ends up in a bit of a mess! Not ideal. You were

the first person in Britain to get this and it is a British invention.

Yes, it was made in Leeds. A chance encounter, I was approached in the

street by the inventor. Amazing. Donations are the lifeblood of this

place and people are driven to donate all manner of objects

including this wonderful prosthetic and that means given the donations

here, I think I know where and is. To be fair, I cannot help but be

drawn to this huge wall of bikes and these stunning cars because I am a

petrol head. This is my corner and this was the world's first rival is,

in 1960 although that only applied on the M4 because buried beneath

nine miles of tarmac was a cable to guide it up to 80 mph like a

real-life Scalextric. And the rumour has it that cable is still there.

And there is this beautiful machine here which is an electric vehicle

from 1897. 70 exist roads in London acting as taxis, and they were known

as the hummingbird. And they had charging points all over London. As

with a lot of the items here, they will also gifted to the museum. And

tonight, we are able to see a very special gift revealed to the public

for the very first time. What have you got in this box? This has been

to Everest and back. This is the first time it will be on public

show. They do not look like much, but these are really important to

the vital effort of going up and down. They are used in experiments

of expired air. So climbers know how the altitude is affecting their

bodies. This belonged to somebody who donated materials to us today.

This stuff has been at the summit of Everest? Yes, and back again. How

has this affected future climbers of Everest? Work was done in the field,

so they trusted his data and his experience so they could conquer

more and more peaks over time. Straight to the shoes. These really,

really smell. I can smell them from here! It is the robber. You can

smell the robber. They are a lot lighter than the previous shoes

maimed of leather and reindeer skin and they have been to Everest and

back so they will smell. Where have these things been? We were really

fortunate to have the family contact buzz and say what we like to take

these into the collection? We suggest straightaway, it is a

fantastic story to tell. Is it important people donate this stuff?

Yes, Pugh is an unknown story in the conquering of Everest and without

this stuff, we could not tell the story for future generations. It is

fantastic and this stuff is amazing, thank you very much. We will keep

talking about trousers. How cold does Everest get? It is absolutely

freezing. More than the human body can tolerate. They are padded with

nylon and they are waterproof. I love the sip you can see. It is

absolutely cold so Griffith Pugh was interested in how the cold climate

affected the body and he went on many expeditions to look at

Antarctica as well. I have been in cold environments and I went to -40

last year in Mongolia, so I know what modern-day clothing looks like

and it is not dissimilar. It looks like a duvet stitch together. That

is probably what they started as. What sort of experience would it

have been for the guys back in the day using this equipment? A really

challenging experience, but filled with adventure and that strive to be

the first to conquer Everest. It is amazing. How does it feel as a

British person that we do it in Britain? Amazing, to be in the

presence of these objects and to know I am part of a massive team

that helps to look after them and tell that story, it is a privilege I

could never have imagined. How does the museum rely on these donations?

When we get things donated either public, we think about the stories

they tell. And sometimes we actively go out and we ask for things we

think will be important in the future. It has been absolutely

fantastic and a real privilege to see the stuff here. That is it, over

to you, Hannah. Well, in about five seconds, the

voting lines are now closed so please do not call because your vote

will not be counted and you may still be charged. This is a reminder

of the seven inventions in the running.

APPLAUSE. Fantastic evening! Trevor, straight

to you. Without your intervention, none of this would have happened.

That is exactly the point. I think it has a broader significance. It

has brought us as a world closer together. We do live in the

globalised vision, the globalised world now, and that is because of

television. Angela, is it really important we celebrate British

invention? Absolutely essential because I think throughout history

in Britain, we have produced some of the greatest scientists and greatest

minds, and greatest inventions. But we are also a very self-deprecating

nation and do not always get out and say, look how great we are and what

we did! You did tonight! You did! Some underhand cards played tonight.

He pulled out the Nelson Mandela vote. And he has pulled out of the

women's right vote! We are a brilliant nation of inventors and we

should celebrate that. Well you are sparring off, would any of you

change your invention? Yes, I wanted the corkscrew! There would not let

me have it. APPLAUSE. OK. So the corkscrew gets

the vote. Would you change your inventions? I am really glad I got

to the jet because I think it is the only one that Britain is still at

the cutting edge, still leading the world. In innovating. You cannot

campaign while they are still voting. I'm just saying! The vote is

over, guys. May I just say they are all fantastic inventions! Yes, every

one of them. It was one of the most competitive green rooms I have ever

been in! Everybody undermining everybody else, it was ridiculous.

You said the mean stuff about the jet engine and they were throwing

objects. We can travel the world in it, which we do. It is a compelling

argument, but not of these matter if they are dead! Argument that! During

the films, I asked each of you, who'd you think would win. None of

you when stock it is a split vote. Very top. Obviously, concrete would

win... I am pulling the trump card, if it does not win, it is obviously,

if it does not win, it is obviously Mac if I comes second, I am the

winner. That is popular at the moment. It is clear you guys have

taken seriously and you have backed your inventions. What you think this

facility? Fantastic! That deserves a round of APPLAUSE.

APPLAUSE. I am told is now, Hannah, this is the moment we were waiting

for, this is the boat. -- this is the boat. In this concrete facility!

Antibiotics. APPLAUSE.

What is that about? Unbelievable! Well done! Well done.

Angela, before I go to you, Nick, what swung it for antibiotics? Being

dead and not being able to enjoy anything. The most underhand

pitching I have ever seen on a television programme. Sorry, bad

losers. Is that seriously, antibiotics keep the world alight.

Since they were tested out on the battlefields in the Second World War

in 1943, 200 million people's lives have been saved. Think what that

means. Without that, there would be no Australia, Norway, France,

Britain. Seriously! It is absolutely revolutionising the health of the

world. And the things we are able to do as a result. Look at the amazing

things we can do now as we sit -- as we said in the film, the NHS, those

wonderful things and we are all alive and able to enjoy these other

wonderful inventions. What it shows is how inventive the British have

been, we have invented the best sport and engineering, were just a

very creative nation. If you are going to lose to something, lose to

the best. Our stunning celebrities, guys!

APPLAUSE. But it does not end here. The

Science Museum are hosting a very special evening later this summer

and an exhibition on antibiotics later in November. And you can see

all of these inventions and our winner antibiotics will be

celebrated in pride of place. Thousands of people will be there

and you can be there too, just go to the website. To find out more. And

to learn more about the inventions, followed the link is to the Open

University. It has been a real privilege to

spend time inside these stores and wonderful to discover so much about

the objects that have changed our lives, sometimes without even

knowing it. Thank you to our celebrities and to

this studio audience. From this hangar at Daisy Elizabeth Gandy,

good night. Good night.