How did a film, presented by a dubious producer based in London and purporting to show an autopsy being performed on a dead alien, come to convince large parts of the UFO-hungry public that it was authentic?

History's Greatest Hoaxes

Alien Autopsy

According to folklore a large sea monster lurks in depth of Loch Ness in Scotland. Over the years, grainy photographs and inconclusive video footage has emerged to keep the legend alive. Is it a clever hoax or the real thing?

Loch Ness

In the 1980's, one of the most extraordinary discoveries of the 20th century was made – the personal diary of none other than Adolf Hitler. It caused a sensation.

Hitler's Diaries

Orson Welles's infamous broadcast adaption of the HG Wells story on Halloween 1938 sent America into a tailspin as millions became convinced that Earth really was being invaded by aliens from Mars.

War of the Worlds

This is one of the great hoax-or-not hoax stories; the best-selling book by Henry Charrierre, which told of his life on the Penal colony island of French Guiana was 'exposed' as a novel, not a biography, by Gerrard de Villiers in 1970.

Papillon

The endless quest to conclusively connect man with the ape seemed to have come to an end in the year 1912 with the discovery of a skull and jawbone in a quarry near the small village of Piltdown in Sussex.

Piltdown Man

Pluto

The world loves a good hoax, and for years, certain men, women and sometimes entire organisations have gone out of their way to trick people into believing things weren't quite the way they seemed. A number of them were very successful.

War of the Worlds

Full Episodes

Season 1, 6 episodes