BBC Two has secured unprecedented access to Barack Obama’s White House for a new four-part series from acclaimed documentary maker, Norma Percy.

The documentary, Obama, will tell the inside story of the US president’s greatest successes and failures.

The programmes will look at how he brought America out of the Great Recession, his reform of America’s healthcare system, secret nuclear negotiations with Iran and how he has so far failed to pass gun control laws.

Barack Obama at the White House
Barack Obama at the White House (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Obama is one of a wide range of new programmes across drama, comedy and factual announced by Kim Shillinglaw, controller of BBC Two and BBC Four at the Edinburgh Television Festival.

She said: “I want BBC Two to be part of the national conversation, tackling contemporary issues in lively and intelligent ways.”

Other highlights include a new adaptation of China Mieville’s acclaimed fantasy thriller, The City & the City, from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas writer Tony Grisoni, and a new comedy about the making of Dad’s Army.

Dad's Army
Dad’s Army (Andrew Harnik/AP)

The dramatised story will tell how Jimmy Perry and David Croft overcame BBC management scepticism to get the much-loved Second World War sitcom on air.

It will depict Perry and Croft’s writing partnership, casting woes, personal clashes and production difficulties.

The cast confirmed so far includes Friday Night Dinner’s Paul Ritter as Jimmy Perry, Fortitude’s Richard Dormer as David Croft, comedian John Sessions as Arthur Lowe, A Room With A View’s Julian Sands as John Le Mesurier, EastEnders’ Shane Richie as Bill Pertwee, comedian Kevin Bishop as James Beck and Bridget Jones’s Diary’s Sally Phillips as Ann Croft.