Centuries before the world's oceans became a global trade highway, Chinese seafarers set sail to faraway lands to exchange commodities. Now, Historian Sam Willis retraces the golden era of maritime trade to uncover a legacy that culminated in one of the greatest armadas of all time, and discover parallels between the world then and now.
Chloe Ayling is working with BBC Studios to tell her story after she was abducted in Italy in 2017, having traveled to Milan for a photo shoot. She was freed unharmed after six days.The series, working titled Kidnapped, will follow her ordeal from the kidnap to her resilience in captivity, and the subsequent court case that put her captors in jail.Ayling’s experience dominated the headlines in the UK and Ayling was accused of staging the abduction to raise her profile, despite the conviction of her assailants.