BBC Arts documentary featuring Queen Camilla announced

A new BBC Arts documentary featuring Queen Camilla has been announced.

The details were revealed today at the Queen’s Reading Room Festival, which returned to Chatsworth. A panel on the power of book clubs, led by novelist Ann Cleeves, discussed the documentary. Anna spoke to Ian Kirby, who contributed to the documentary about his own experience of finding community and hope through reading.

The documentary The Book That Changed My Life will air on BBC Two and iPlayer on 14 October, subject to confirmation.

The new documentary coincides with the National Year of Reading 2026 and will see Queen Camilla explore the “transformative power of reading, meeting four remarkable people whose lives have been changed by books at moments when they most needed them. Warm, emotional, and full of hope, the film explores how reading can lift us, open our minds and, sometimes, change the course of a life.”

Speaking in the documentary, Ian says: “That is the beauty of a book. It can give you experiences you’ve never experienced, but they can also be an inspiration. Just listening to an audiobook, walking through [the woods], with lovely people. My confidence is back, and I’ve made new friends, and it’s all through the joy of reading.”

Ian is a member of Reading Ramblers, which combines audiobooks with guided walks through Chopwell Wood.

Ian is now a member of the Reading Ramblers, which combines reading and audiobooks with guided walks through Chopwell Wood.

The Book That Changed My Life (1×60′) is a Blink Films production for BBC Two and iPlayer, produced in partnership with The Open University and in collaboration with The Queen’s Reading Room. It was commissioned for BBC Arts by Suzy Klein, and the Commissioning Editor is Amanda Goodman. The executive producer for Blink Films is Dan Chambers, and the Director is Toby Trackman – Director of the Royal Television Society’s award-winning BBC Arts film, The Last Musician of Auschwitz.