Series 1

A look at the origins of the Young British Artists in the art schools of the mid-80s, a shocking and provocative movement which would culminate in the notorious 1997 exhibition Sensation.

In the 90s, young creatives, grouped together by advertising guru Charles Saatchi, respond provocatively to the decade's wave of optimism. The results are explosive - but is it art?

The Royal Academy’s iconoclastic Sensation is itself a sensation. 300,000 attend the show, causing protests and resignations. Meanwhile, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin reach mega-star status.