BBC Pop Music Television to explore David Bowie’s Berlin years as never before with Bowie in Berlin

01 October 2025 - Press release

 

BBC Two and BBC iPlayer will celebrate David Bowie in autumn 2026 with Bowie in Berlin (w/t, 1 x 90”), a documentary marking the 50th anniversary of Bowie’s arrival in the German capital.

A Mindhouse / Blackstar Films co-production, with Executive Producers Louis Theroux and Mandy Chang, and directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Francis Whately (David Bowie: Finding Fame, David Bowie: The Last Five Years, David Bowie: Five Years), Bowie in Berlin (w/t) tells the story of a Bowie you’ve never seen, by exploring one of the most important periods of his life - when he turned his back on fame and success and disappeared from sight into the streets of Cold War Berlin, from 1976-1978.

Nearly 10 years after his death in 2016, the artist formerly known as Ziggy Stardust has become an idol of our age, and yet away from the fans and celebrities lining up to pay their homage, the reality of Bowie as a shy, introspective and vulnerable man, who often found fame intolerable, is largely forgotten. This film will change that.

Whately tells the story of Bowie’s Berlin years in Bowie’s own words, as well as the words of four remarkable women who shared his life during this time – Bowie’s Berlin muses, Clare Shenstone, Romy Haag, Sarah-Rena Hine and Sydne Rome. Each of these extraordinary women have their own unique insight into the singer’s life, art and character, providing a secret history of Bowie’s time in the city. These women saw a Bowie that nobody else saw, and all gave him something different, helping his regeneration into an artist who no longer needed to hide behind characters, but was happy to perform as himself – David Robert Jones.

Jonathan Rothery, Head of BBC Popular Music TV says: “I’m very proud to be bringing audiences such a unique film from Francis Whately, Louis Theroux and Mandy Chang. Through the voices of those who were closest to David Bowie during this transformative period of his life, and through the words of the man himself, Bowie in Berlin will shed new light on one of the most important artists in musical history.”

Louis Theroux, Executive Producer for Mindhouse says: “This is a dream project. Francis’s three previous Bowie films are the gold standard for Bowie film-making and indeed for docs about music in general. To have his artistry focused on the Berlin years - using the lens of the women in Bowie's life - is a perfect match of director and material. There’s a wonderful unity of time and place to Bowie’s period in Berlin. He hit bottom, but he also found himself making some of his most personal music, then relaunched himself for the first time without a mask, as himself. So, Berlin is the crucible for his incredible regeneration and everything that came afterwards.”

Bowie in Berlin (w/t) is a Mindhouse / Blackstar Films co-production for BBC Pop Music TV and BBC Two. It was commissioned TV by Jonathan Rothery, Head of BBC Popular Music TV. The Commissioning Editor for BBC Popular Music TV is Rachel Davies. The Executive Producers are Louis Theroux and Mandy Chang and the director is Francis Whately.

For more David Bowie programming on the BBC, audiences can find Francis Whately’s Bowie in Berlin audio documentary on BBC Sounds (first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2024, as part of the station’s Archive on 4 strand). Also on BBC Sounds is the BBC Radio 6 Music podcast, Music Uncovered, David Bowie: Changeling, hosted by Kate Moss, which explores David Bowie’s artistic evolution between 1970-1975, as well as Kate’s interview with 6 Music’s Nick Grimshaw(weekdays, 7-10am) about the podcast and her friendship with Bowie.