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To accompany the launch of Your Paintings website, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ English Regions have commissioned a series of one-off arts programmes across England.

Eleven celebrities have been given unique access by the nation's museums and galleries, to scour the stores and reveal the treasure trove of paintings which help to tell the story of the shaping of Britain.

Hidden Paintings is the umbrella title to eleven separate half-hour programmes to be broadcast on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ One across England at 10.25pm on Sunday 26 June.

From charting the extraordinary lives of the Bloomsbury set, to throwing new light on the Maharajahs of Norfolk and chronicling the rise of tourism on the East coast of Yorkshire, presenters such as Dan Snow, Meera Syal and Laurence Llewellyn Bowen discover the stories behind some of the tens of thousands of paintings which are not currently on display, be that for restoration, space or financial reasons.

Project Manager, Diana Hare, says: "Eighty per cent of paintings owned by the public are not on regular display. Hidden Paintings is an opportunity for us to rediscover some of the real treasures we own. Paintings can tell us so much about our history and culture. We can use them to unlock stories about the places where we live."

The programmes are inspired by a major new arts initiative from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and the Public Catalogue Foundation, and follow the launch on Thursday 23 June of a ground-breaking art website from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ - Your Paintings - that aims to display images and data of the entire national collection of oil paintings from across the UK.

³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Head of Programming for English Regions, Craig Henderson, says: "The range and quality of publicly owned paintings on our doorstep is truly fascinating, and the paintings themselves are often in quite unusual places. We hope our Hidden Paintings films will inspire people to go and see the paintings they own across England, and discover much more via the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Your Paintings website."

The documentaries on Sunday feature the following presenters and content:

In the East Meera Syal discovers the extraordinary story of the Maharajahs of Norfolk, and reveals the hidden paintings which throw new light on their story.

In the East Midlands Dan Snow sets out to discover whether art can really sustain and inform our memories and knowledge of the past. In particular he re-traces the career of Nottingham-born artist Arthur Spooner (1873-1962) whose paintings are scattered across the region.

In the West Midlands Nick Hancock traces the history of Midlands industry, through its hidden art.

In the South Joe Crowley uncovers the mysteries surrounding a recently discovered treasure trove of paintings inspired by the Dorset countryside.

In the South West Curtis Dowling uncovers two paintings that appear to be by the legendary Cornish mariner-turned-artist Alfred Wallis – but are they genuine?

In the South East Kathryn Rayward explores the hidden art in the public collection at Charleston, her 'favourite place in the world'. Privy to the choice of what to show for the summer season, Kathryn finds out more about the Bloomsbury set, their extraordinary stories and their lasting influence by exploring the collection that is not always on display.

In the West Laurence Llewellyn Bowen tells the story of a painting that once hung on the walls of number 10 Downing Street but now held in the Tate’s Store rooms.

In the North Linda Barker will examine a hidden collection of travel posters and go on the North Yorkshire Moors steam railway to visit the East coast resorts to see how they compare with the image portrayed in the 30s posters.

In the North West Paul McGann uncovers the story of how artists in the North West painted the war, on the home front and abroad.

In the North East Ian Lavender tracks down the wartime paintings found in churches and tiny galleries across Cumbria.

And in London Hardeep Singh Kohli goes on a treasure hunt to find the paintings that prove London has been home to a wealth of different communities for centuries; and he’ll visit the streets where the first newcomers put down their roots.

JB