AMERICAN EXPERIENCE presents another in its acclaimed Presidents series -- a profile of George HW Bush.

Overshadowed by Reagan before him and Clinton after him -- not to mention the controversy caused by his son George W Bush -- the memory of America's 41st president is rather faded and tarnished by the economic turmoil and high unemployment that marred his later years in office, together with his reneging on a pledge to introduce 'no new taxes'. It is difficult, therefore, to remember that at one point, having overseen the reunification of Germany and its inclusion in Nato, and waging a successful war in Iraq, he enjoyed a then record 89 per cent approval rate.

His sometimes bumbling and lacklustre performance also belied a man of great political experience, including as ambassador to the UN, Chief Liaison Officer to China and head of the CIA, and a gallant war record as a naval pilot in WWII.

This in-depth portrait, premiering over four consecutive nights, shows the strengths and weaknesses of the man, and features interviews with many who know him, including Barbara Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and Mikhail Gorbachev.