DocumentaryBBC Two

The Worst Episodes of 40 Minutes

Every episode of 40 Minutes ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of 40 Minutes!

Worst episode
S8E17 Ghost Train
4.87 votes
Best episode
S6E13 Home from the Hill
8.437 votes
Top season
Season 2
8.8avg
Binge time
8d 18h
323 episodes
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons14

All1234567891011121314

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
    Click to reveal
    40 Minutes Season 8 Episode 17 - Ghost Train
    4.8/10(7 votes)

    S8:E17

    A journey by Intercity into the world of the supernatural. Do you believe in ghosts? Helen McCormick does. She found an ancient crucifix in her cellar - and then saw a medieval monk walk past her kitchen window. Ambulanceman Ken Lobley rescued his aunt after a warning from an apparition. Nichola Thompson, aged 13, was reading, looked up, and saw her grandmother - wearing the pink shroud she'd been buried in two years earlier. Rev Jack Richardson investigates spooky Harnham Hall in Northumberland. He blesses the earthly remains of Kate Babington, who died a prisoner at Harnham in 1670. Eddie Burks, a 'clairsentient', is summoned to an RAF base to contact the ghost of an airman. Eerily, he describes how the man died and why he returns. And four nurses spend the night in 'the most haunted house in Britain' - with strange tales to tell the following morning....

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. 40 Minutes Season 8 Episode 11 - The Kingdom of Fun
    5.6/10(10 votes)

    S8:E11

    The largest leisure and shopping complex in Europe, the Metro Centre in Tynemouth, and its creator John Hall.

    Director:Adam Curtis
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. 40 Minutes Season 4 Episode 13 - The Outcasts
    6.7/10(14 votes)

    S4:E13

    A group of 'Hell's Angels' in East Anglia.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. 40 Minutes Season 9 Episode 1 - Danger Men
    6.5/10(6 votes)

    S9:E1

    Ten of the most dangerous and disruptive men in the prison system have been brought together in an experimental unit at Hull Jail. A new softly-softly regime is being tested on inmates like Fred Low, who is serving three life sentences - one for killing a fellow prisoner - and Patrick Mackay, serving five life sentences for manslaughter and robbery. 40 Minutes gained access to the unit as the prisoners started to reveal themselves to the hand-picked staff, and as conflicts began. The most serious clash was over the only woman working full time in the unit, and it involved David McAllister, serving 19 years for armed robbery and assault, who later escaped from the unit and was on the run for five days. This film tells the story of the most controversial unit in our prisons.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. 40 Minutes Season 7 Episode 24 - My African Farm
    6.9/10(12 votes)

    S7:E24

    An old white woman colonial settler staying on in up-country Kenya.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. 40 Minutes Season 5 Episode 19 - The Fishing Party
    7.0/10(7 votes)

    S5:E19

    They are four friends, rich young men - city commodity-brokers, the drinks trade. They belong to the right clubs. They hunt, shoot, play polo, make money. They had the idea of going fishing in Scotland for a few days in the autumn, to see if they could break the world record for a catch of skate. They ended up with something else. As the October weather squalls and shines, as the boat rolls on the stormy waters of the Pentland Firth, as the days pass without the big bite, so the jokes flow, the bottles are cracked, and Robert, John, Henry and Guy reveal their spirited, outspoken opinions. "Better for some to have privilege rather than nobody - let's lead from the top, not the bottom ... Many of our friends, in the City and the army, worry about the aggressive young men of the loony left...."

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of 40 Minutes

    READ
  7. 40 Minutes Season 6 Episode 24 - The Mighty Leek
    7.4/10(6 votes)

    S6:E24

    World championship competitive leek-growing in the North-East of England - with dirty deeds in the greenhouses.

    Director:John Alexander
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. 40 Minutes Season 7 Episode 25 - Separate Tables
    7.4/10(7 votes)

    S7:E25

    An old-fashioned sea-side hotel, with many retired residents, is to be refurbished. The residents must go.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. 40 Minutes Season 5 Episode 4 - Johnny Oddball
    7.4/10(9 votes)

    S5:E4

    10 years ago a famous documentary was made by Franc Roddam about "Mini" Cooper, a most attractive and intelligent child arsonist. Now released from a secure psychiatric institution, he hopes to make a career as a magician.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 1 - Rough Justice
    7.8/10(7 votes)

    S1:E1

    Portrait of a fractious Welsh village near Merthyr Tydfil.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. 40 Minutes Season 3 Episode 9 - 1984 Voices in a City
    8.0/10(5 votes)

    S3:E9

    Comparison between life in Orwell's novel and the reality of life in 1984.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. 40 Minutes Season 7 Episode 8 - Catch a Fallen Star
    7.9/10(10 votes)

    S7:E8

    A portrait of the once-famous British singer, dancer and film star, Jesse Matthews.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. 40 Minutes Season 7 Episode 27 - Mixed Blessings
    8.4/10(6 votes)

    S7:E27

    The story of a mix-up in a Nottingham nursing-home. Margaret Wheeler and Blanche Rylatt each gave birth to a baby girl on the same day. Margaret is convinced that she was given the wrong baby.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. 40 Minutes Season 2 Episode 12 - Package Tour
    8.8/10(5 votes)

    S2:E12

    Holiday makers on a flight from Manchester to Spain, their impression of their holidays in Benidorm and their return to Manchester.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. 40 Minutes Season 9 Episode 6 - The Heart of the Angel
    8.2/10(61 votes)

    S9:E6

    This film documents one day in the life of Angel station on the Northern Line of the London Underground in the days before its refurbishment. We see the ticket collectors, station manager and other staff as they cope with angry passengers, lift failures and cancelled trains.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. 40 Minutes Season 6 Episode 13 - Home from the Hill
    8.4/10(37 votes)

    S6:E13

    Documentary about Colonel Hilary Hook, formerly of the Indian cavalry and leader of extravagant safaris in Kenya. Hook returned home to England after being evicted from his home in the Kenya Hills, and is finding it hard to readjust to the English way of life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 2 - Sister Genevieve
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E2

    Portrait of a Comprehensive School in the heart of the Falls Road, Belfast.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 3 - Hijack
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E3

    Story of a Hijack on Independence Day 1977 in New York.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 4 - Give Us the Vote
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E4

    Test case for inmates of mental hospital to get the vote.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 5 - Lol: A Bona Queen of Fabularity
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E5

    Life style of Quentin Crisp-esque 'Queen'.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 6 - Marathon Man
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E6

    Attempt to beat record run from John o' Groats to Land's End.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 7 - Rocky Circus
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E7

    Gary Glitter stars in Gerry Cottle's Circus.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 8 - Gorilla G Gorilla
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E8

    Gorilla N'Pongo gives birth to Kumi in Jersey Zoo.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 9 - The Harrisons Don't Go to School
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E9

    Hereford family educating children at home.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. 40 Minutes Season 1 Episode 10 - Alison
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    S1:E10

    Spastic girl's struggle to live a normal life.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Worst Episodes Summary

"Ghost Train" is the worst rated episode of 40 Minutes. It scored 4.8/10 from 7 votes. Written and directed by Unknown, it aired on March 2, 1989. This episode scored 0.8 points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Kingdom of Fun".

Keep going

Browse 40 Minutes by season

If you like 40 Minutes