Television

Who would steal a dead body? Marc Fennell looks for answers on Stuff the British Stole

Season 2 unravels 8 twisting mysteries behind special objects to tell some big stories about colonization

Season 2 unravels 8 twisting mysteries behind special objects to tell some big stories about colonization

From Greece to Haida Gwaii, Marc Fennell unravels twisting mysteries | Stuff The British Stole

1 month ago
Duration 1:37
Season 2 looks at some special objects to tell big stories about colonization.

Museums and galleries across the UK and the world are filled with artworks, jewels and priceless objects seized during the reign of the British Empire. But how were these artifacts taken and who wants them back? The truth is often, well, complicated. 

In CBC series Stuff the British Stole, based on a chart-topping podcast by the same name, award-winning Australian journalist Marc Fennell unravels the twisting mysteries behind those objects to tell some big stories.

"I've never been involved in a show bigger than Stuff the British Stole," says Fennell, "it's a history show unlike anything else I've seen produced. It's not just taking you around the world, it's taking you back in time." 

Now he's back with a new season. Stuff the British Stole Season 2 debuts on CBC and CBC Gem on Friday, January 24. 

What stories are featured in Season 2 of Stuff The British Stole?

Watch the Season 2 trailer at the top of this story to take a sneak peek.

Legendary actor Stephen Fry joins Fennell for an investigation into the most controversial museum display in the UK: the Parthenon Marbles. Created in the 5th century BC, these breathtaking sculptures told the story of ancient Egypt.

Were the Parthenon marbles stolen — or sold to the British?

Several famous marbles (busts) on display in a row in a museum.
The Parthenon Marbles were taken by Lord Elgin and are now on display in the UK. The controversy is explored in Season 2 of Stuff the British Stole. (Wildbear, Cream and Wooden Horse)


Lord Elgin took them to England at the turn of the nineteenth century, claiming permission from the Ottoman Empire, which was occupying Greece at the time, to purchase them. 

"There are certain primal signature objects, buildings that each nation has that belong very much to the land that gave birth to them," says Fry, who has campaigned for a decade to have the sculptures returned, "And wouldn't Britain look classy for doing that? Wouldn't that be a fantastic feather in our cap, because they mean so much more to Athens than perhaps we understand."

Who would steal a dead body?

Marc stands beside of shadow of Byrne which demonstrates how tall he was.
The story of 'the Irish Giant' is explored in Season 2 of Stuff the British Stole. Charles Byrne, born in 1762 was 7 feet 5 inches tall. (Wildbear, Cream and Wooden Horse)

Charles Byrne, born in 1762, standing at approximately 7 feet, 5 inches tall was hailed as the tallest man in the world. He toured country fairs and village greens in Scotland and northern England marketing himself as 'the Irish Giant' making a small fortune as a pay-for-view human curiosity.

When he moved to London, he came to the attention of an eminent surgeon who became obsessed with his potential value as a human cadaver. But Byrne made it clear to his friends that he did not wish to become a medical exhibit and wanted to be buried at sea in an iron coffin. 

So, why are his bones on display in the London Museum? It's a larger-than-life story of betrayal, exploitation and the brutal reality of the medical industry.

Who carved this mysterious sphinx and why?

A close up of an Egypian shpinx.
A replica of an Egyptian shpinx created by a Haida master carver. This sculpture is featured in Season 2 of Stuff the British Stole. (Wildbear, Cream and Wooden Horse)

The British Museum is home to a mysterious sphinx, that looks nearly identical to those from Egypt, except that it was carved by the Haida Gwaii people living in Canada. Why did the Haida carve the sphinx and leave it an abandoned village? And how did it end up in one of the most famous museums in the world?

Season 2 of Stuff the British Stole tells 8 brand-new stories filmed in 11 countries from Kenya to Singapore. Fennell takes viewers from a shipwreck under the Aegean Sea to a robot laboratory high in the Tuscan mountain range as he uncovers hidden tales of heists, intrigue and skullduggery. Says Fennell, "It's an enormous undertaking that involves not just travel but replicas and computer-generated imagery to bring these mysteries to life."

How to watch Stuff the British Stole in Canada?

Stuff The British Stole Season 2 debuts on CBC and CBC Gem on Friday, January 24 at 8:30 p.m.

Catch up on Season 1 now.



CBC Gem is available for free as an App for iOS, tvOS, Fire TV, Android TV, Android phones and tablets, LG and Samsung Smart TVs, Roku, and Xbox One/S/X. 

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