London/Hampshire, Tuesday 3rd March 2026 – Indie prodco Woodcut Media and distributor Woodcut International is pleased to announce a brand-new doc special The Three Kings of 1936 (1 x 90’), greenlit by 5 in the UK.
The special is scheduled to TX on 5 on Saturday 7th March, 9pm.
The Three Kings of 1936 marks the 90th anniversary of one of the most extraordinary and turbulent years in the history of the British monarchy. The film explores the whirlwind of events of 1936, starting with the shocking death of George V in January, and his son Edward VIII, the most world’s most eligible bachelor, taking the throne. Edward had a secret – he was in love with American divorcee Wallis Simpson. His abdication in December rocked the world and the monarchy. His younger brother, the shy and nervous George VI succeeded him. All this was against the backdrop of the gathering storm of war in Europe and unrest on the streets of Britain.
The documentary attempts to understand the motivations of those at the heart of the story, and to gauge the impact on the average Briton. It shows how, although traumatic, the events of 1936 gave Britain the wartime monarch it needed. The Three Kings of 1936 features documents from the archives, rarely seen photographs, alongside interviews with historians which bring the drama of the year vividly to life. Julie Montagu, the Countess of Sandwich, an American who married into the British aristocracy, gives valuable insights into how Wallis Simpson must have been baffled by the British. Celebrated actor David Suchet shows how his beloved grandfather James Jarché took a series of secret pictures of Edward and Mrs Simpson at a West End nightclub.
Woodcut Media’s Jonathan Mayo is Series Producer, alongside Executive Producer, Kate Beal. Worldwide sales are being handled by Woodcut International.
Jonathan Mayo said: ‘We tried to capture just how shocking the events of 1936 must have been. The British public were used to their monarchs reigning for decades – and then they had three in one year! Our interview with David Suchet is especially powerful – he acts out how his grandfather Jimmy took the clandestine photographs of the King – it’s a special performance just for us that makes 1936 seem very close and very real.’
About Woodcut Media:
Founded by award-winning producer Kate Beal in 2014, UK indie prodco Woodcut Media is a female-led operation with a diverse team at its core, whose main ethos is to provide an honest and trusted voice – creating programming that tells incredible human stories with creativity, authenticity, and care. As well as being one of the leading true crime doc producers in the UK, Woodcut also specialises in a broad range of standout unscripted content – factual entertainment, specialist factual, and premium/talent led programming. Titles include Confessions of a Psycho Killer, The Murder of Meredith (Amazon’s Prime Video), long-running series World’s Most Evil Killers/Britain’s Most Evil Killers (10 seasons, 200 episodes), Fiennes: Return to the Wild and Fiennes: Return to the Nile with Joseph and Sir Ranulph Fiennes (Nat Geo), Cut from a Different Cloth, Mandela, My Dad and Me, both featuring Idris Elba, and Titanic in Colour (Nat Geo) to name a few. In December 2024 Woodcut launched its first FAST channel (‘Crime Files’) in Australia. The same month Woodcut achieved B-Corp certification and also began its expansion into the digital space with the roll-out of YouTube channels under the banner The Uncut Network (True Crime Uncut, Underworld Uncut, History Uncut, Essentially Uncut).www.woodcutmedia.com
About Woodcut International:
Established in September 2020, UK based Woodcut International is the distribution division of Woodcut Media, a leading producer of a broad range of factual programming that includes True Crime, specialist factual, premium factual and factual entertainment. Woodcut International focuses on the global sales of select Woodcut Media series and specials that include new productions and library titles such as Titanic in Colour, World War II: Women on the Frontline, World’s Most Dangerous Prisoners, A Royal Guide To, (K)nox: The Rob Knox Story, Forgotten War Stories, The Killer Within, the Idris Elba led docs (Cut from a Different Cloth, Mandela, My Dad and Me), and Fukushima: Nature in the Danger Zone. www.woodcutinternational.com