SATURDAY 02 APRIL 2011

SAT 19:00 Nature's Great Events (b00j8g9g)
The Great Feast

Every summer in the seas off Alaska humpback whales, sea lions and killer whales depend on an explosion of plant life - the plankton bloom. It transforms these seas into the richest on earth. But will these animals survive to enjoy the great feast?

The summer sun sparks the growth of phytoplankton, microscopic floating plants which can bloom in such vast numbers that they eclipse even the Amazon rainforest in sheer abundance of plant life. Remarkably, it is these minute plants that are the basis of all life here.

But both whales and sea lions have obstacles to overcome before they can enjoy the feast. Humpback whales migrate 3,000 miles from Hawaii, and during their three-month voyage, lose a third of their body weight. In a heartrending scene, a mother sea lion loses her pup in a violent summer storm, while another dramatic sequence shows a group of killer whales working together to kill a huge male sea lion.

In late summer, the plankton bloom is at its height. Vast shoals of herring gather to feed on it, diving birds round the fish up into a bait ball and then a humpback whale roars in to scoop up the entire ball of herring in one huge mouthful.

When a dozen whales work together, they employ the ultimate method of co-operative fishing - bubble net feeding. One whale blows a ring of bubbles to engulf the fish and then they charge in as one. Filmed from the surface, underwater and, for the first time, from the air, we reveal how these giant hunters can catch a tonne of fish every day.

In Swallowed By a Whale, cameramen Shane Moore and David Reichert were filming bait balls when a 30-tonne whale roared past, within feet of them, swallowing the entire bait ball.


SAT 20:00 Al Murray's German Adventure (b00wbl9x)
Episode 1

Making fun of the Germans has had 'Pub Landlord' comedian Al Murray's audiences laughing in the aisles, but behind the scenes Murray is a serious historian with a fascination for the real Germany.

In this two-part documentary, Al sets out to discover the truth behind the wartime jokes and banter that still plague all things German. In a breathtaking journey through one of Germany's coldest winters, he discovers a country of warm and welcoming people and two centuries of stunning arts and culture.

From Bach to Bauhaus and the Brothers Grimm, Al falls in love with the true historical, natural and cultural beauty of this much-maligned land.


SAT 21:00 Spiral (b01075w0)
Series 3: The Butcher of La Villette

Episode 1

When the body of a young woman is found murdered and mutilated, police captain Laure Berthaud seizes the opportunity to redeem a tarnished reputation and leads her squad on the hunt for the sadistic killer. Meanwhile, Judge Roban's investigation into the case of a child being bitten by a dog might turn out to have broader implications, and even public prosecutor Pierre Clement is not immune from the resulting pressure.


SAT 21:55 Spiral (b01083xt)
Series 3: The Butcher of La Villette

Episode 2

With a second girl reported missing, police take in another suspect. Given a troubling track record, it is essential that Laure Berthaud keeps her team under control, but how easy will that be when her own grip is starting to slip? Public prosecutor Pierre Clement pays the price for refusing to cave in to pressure from above, Judge Roban's investigation into possible curruption also causes discomfort in high places and ambitious barrister Josephine Karlsson also finds herself the target of an act of vengeance.


SAT 22:50 Twenty Twelve (b00zwnf0)
Series 1

Episode 3

Comedy series following the personal and professional challenges faced by those responsible for delivering the biggest show on earth, as the Olympic Deliverance team try to get through to the end of the day, the end of the week and the end of the year without all the wheels falling off at once.

It's another challenging week for Head of Deliverance, Ian Fletcher, and his team. Roman remains of potentially national significance have been discovered on the site of the aquatics centre, forcing them to contemplate radical last-minute modifications to the design of the building. It's a matter of asking the tough questions. What would happen if they made the diving pool shallower? Will it matter if athletes have to go through the cafeteria to get from the changing rooms to the pool?

Head of Brand, Siobhan Sharpe, has decided that the 2012 games should have their own unique audio logo. Head of Infrastructure Graham Hitchins is grappling with the sensitive issue of civil aviation flight paths during the period of the games, and Head of Sustainability Kay Hope is faced with recording her own video blog at the Olympic site itself.


SAT 23:20 Women in Love (b00zwp18)
Episode 2

Adaptation of DH Lawrence's classic novels The Rainbow and Women in Love, focusing on the lives of two sisters, Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen and their developing relationships with two friends, Rupert Birkin and Gerald Crich, in the aftermath of the First World War.


SAT 00:50 The Real Cabaret (b00nf012)
Few musicals can claim to capture the mood of a historical period as well as the 1972 classic Cabaret.

Liza Minnelli's unforgettable portrayal of singer Sally Bowles and the film's stylish recreation of the era have become defining images of Weimar Berlin.

In this documentary, actor Alan Cumming explores the truths behind the fiction. He meets many of those closely involved with the original film, including Liza Minnelli, and talks to cabaret artists, among them acclaimed performer Ute Lemper.

Alan explores the origins of the Cabaret story in the writings of Christopher Isherwood and uncovers the story of the real life Sally Bowles, a woman very different from her fictional counterpart.

He talks to the composer of Cabaret about the inspiration for the film's most famous songs and discovers the stories of the original composers and performers, among them Marlene Dietrich. Finally, Alan reveals the tragic fate of many of the cabaret artists at the hands of the Nazis.

The documentary pays tribute to the magic of the original film and explores the fascinating and often shocking reality of the people and stories that inspired it.


SAT 01:50 Al Murray's German Adventure (b00wbl9x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 02:50 Nature's Great Events (b00j8g9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 03 APRIL 2011

SUN 19:00 Come Clog Dancing: Treasures of English Folk Dance (b00wmy5q)
At the height of the industrial revolution in the last decades of the 19th century there was a dance, now rarely seen, that resounded through the collieries and pit villages of the north east of England - the clog dance.

For conductor and musician Charles Hazlewood, clog dance has become an obsession and he plans to put it firmly back on the map by staging a mass flashmob clog dance.

Helped by a team of local enthusiasts led by expert clog dancer Laura Connolly, Charles recruits and trains 140 men and women from across the north east, and one sunny Saturday in a busy square in central Newcastle they ambush the public with a six-minute performance.

Along the way, Charles delves into the history of this fascinating folk dance, learns and performs a few steps himself, and meets and works with some of the key characters keeping this ancient dance alive.


SUN 20:00 The Eiger: Wall of Death (b00tlwj3)
A history of one of the world's most challenging mountains, the Eiger, and its infamous north face. The film gets to the heart of one of Europe's most notorious peaks, exploring its character and its impact on the people who climb it and live in its awesome shadow.


SUN 21:00 Timeshift (b0103nm4)
Series 11

Retrial by TV: The Rise and Fall of Rough Justice

It is almost exactly 30 years since the BBC's Rough Justice team began investigating miscarriages of justice. The programme can claim to have achieved the overturning of the convictions of 18 people in 13 separate cases, continuing sporadically for over 25 years until it was finally axed in November 2007.

Timeshift looks at the creation of this extraordinary series and reveals what a shock to the system it was. Featuring contributions from many of those involved, it asks how it was that a television programme took it upon itself to question one of the oldest judicial systems in the world.

This documentary is also an opportunity to look at how much television and journalism have changed since Rough Justice was first commissioned. The programme's makers were hired with an open-ended brief that would be almost impossible to repeat today. It may only be thirty years ago, but this is a glimpse into a bygone era.


SUN 22:00 The Highest Court in the Land: Justice Makers (b00xz0s5)
They are the UK's most powerful arbiters of justice and now, for the first time, four of the Justices of the Supreme Court talk frankly and openly about the nature of justice and how they make their decisions. The film offers a revealing glimpse of the human characters behind the judgments and explores why the Supreme Court and its members are fundamental to our democracy.

The 11 men and one woman who make up the UK Supreme Court have the last say on the most controversial and difficult cases in the land. What they decide binds every citizen. But are their rulings always fair, do their feelings ever get in the way of their judgments and are they always right?

In the first 14 months of the court they have ruled on MPs' expenses, which led to David Chaytor's prosecution, changed the status of pre-nuptial agreements and battled with the government over control orders and the Human Rights Act.

They explain what happens when they cannot agree and there is a divided judgment, and how they avoid letting their personal feelings effect their interpretation of the law. And they face up to the difficult issue of diversity; there is only one woman on the court, and she is the only Justice who went to a non-fee-paying school.


SUN 23:00 Eyewitness (b00s6b06)
Episode 1

Ten people are secretly filmed as they witness what they believe to be a real crime - a knife attack in a Manchester pub. But when they are later interviewed by the police, their memories are radically different to each other's and to what really happened.

In an extraordinary experiment with the Greater Manchester Police, the problem of eyewitness recollection is dramatically brought into focus, as are the remarkable techniques used by the modern police to counter our unreliable memories. Narrated by Philip Glenister.


SUN 00:00 Timeshift (b0103nm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


SUN 01:00 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn7)
The Story of 1976

The nation grew up with Top of the Pops and it was always a talking point, but 35 years ago a particular kind of Top of the Pops programme and tone held sway. This documentary explores Top of the Pops in 1976 - as a barometer of the state of pop and light entertainment TV.

It celebrates the power of the programme and observes British society of the mid 70s, British TV and the British pop scene. In 1976, glam was over and nothing had replaced it - the charts belonged to Showaddywaddy, Brotherhood of Man and the Wurzels, all to be found on Top of the Pops hosted by the Radio 1 DJs. If you wanted rock you looked to the Old Grey Whistle Test, while outside the charts a new scene was rumbling.

Contributors include Tony Blackburn, David 'Diddy' Hamilton, Paul Morley, Toyah Willcox, Showaddywaddy, Brotherhood of Man, the Wurzels and Dave Haslam.


SUN 01:50 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn5)
1964 to 1975 - Big Hits

1964 saw the birth of a very British institution. Spanning over four decades, Top of the Pops has produced many classic moments in pop culture.

Digging deep within the darkest depths of the BBC's archive, this compilation offers some memorable performances from 1964 through to 1975 from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Status Quo, Procol Harum, Stevie Wonder, Queen and The Kinks, and opens the vintage vaults to rare performances from Stealers Wheel, Julie Driscoll, Peter Sarstedt and The Seekers.

So sit back and witness once again where music met television.


SUN 03:20 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn9)
Classic Top of the Pops performances from 1976, featuring Abba, the Brotherhood of Man, the Beatles, Fox, Tarney & Spencer, John Miles, Diana Ross, Sailor and Pan's People.



MONDAY 04 APRIL 2011

MON 19:00 World News Today (b0103pn8)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 The Sky at Night (b07lpfd7)
Double Star Party

Sir Patrick Moore joins an unlikely star party in the heart of London, where enthusiastic astronomers are cutting through the light pollution to see the planets and stars. Dr Chris Lintott also drops in on another star party - the 88th birthday celebrations for the nation's most famous astronomer.


MON 20:00 Justice (b00z1z41)
The Good Citizen

The sixth of Michael Sandel's famous lectures on the philosophy of justice looks at the Greek philosopher Aristotle and the rules of golf.

Aristotle believed that the purpose of politics was to promote and cultivate the virtue of a country's citizenry. He argued that those citizens who contribute most to the purpose of the community are the ones who should be most rewarded. But how do we really know the purpose of a community, or a practice?

All this leads to a contemporary debate about golf and the case of Casey Martin, a disabled golfer who sued the PGA after it declined his request to use a golf cart on the PGA Tour.

What really is the purpose of golf and is a player's ability to walk the course essential to the game?


MON 20:30 The Beauty of Diagrams (b00wbn7y)
Newton's Prism

Series in which mathematician Marcus du Sautoy explores the stories behind some of the world's most familiar scientific diagrams.

In the mid-1660s, Isaac Newton bought a pair of prisms at a fair near Cambridge, which were to be the basis of a series of experiments that would unlock a secret that had occupied scientists for centuries - the nature of light itself.

To explain what he had done, Newton created a diagram. It is called The Crucial Experiment and is a pivotal image in scientific history, a graphic moment when the ancient world was overturned by modern science. Newton demonstrated that white light is not pure, but made up of a number of different colours, the colours of the rainbow.

Newton's ideas transformed our knowledge of what we see and how we see, and the prism and its refracted colours became a captivating image. From fibre-optics to the cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album, Newton's work went on to influence centuries of science and art.


MON 21:00 Timeshift (b0103pnb)
Series 10

Crime and Punishment - The Story of Corporal Punishment

Timeshift lifts the veil on the taboo that is corporal punishment. What it reveals is a fascinating history spanning religion, the justice system, sex and education. Today it is a subject that is almost impossible to discuss in public, but it's not that long since corporal punishment was a routine part of life. Surprising and enlightening, the programme invites us to leave our preconceptions at the door so that we may better understand how corporal punishment came to be so important for so long.


MON 22:00 Twenty Twelve (b0103pnd)
Series 1

Episode 4

Comedy series following the personal and professional challenges faced by those responsible for delivering the biggest show on earth, as the Olympic Deliverance team try to get through to the end of the day, the end of the week and the end of the year without all the wheels falling off at once.

Dave Wellbeck is an ex-athlete, double Olympic silver medallist and, in theory, a natural choice as brand ambassador for Raising the Bar, a scheme to get young people inspired by Olympic ideals. He is hard-working, conscientious and loyal, but the truth is that he has about as much charisma as a dimmer switch and his busy schedule of presentations in schools around the country is having the effect of switching young people off in their thousands. Ian and Siobhan have different views on how to deal with the problem.

Head of Sustainability Kay Hope is forced to stand her ground in the light of the discovery that there might not, after all, be enough wind to power the much-vaunted Olympic Park wind turbine.


MON 22:30 Lead Balloon (b00fyvp0)
Series 3

Karma

Sitcom about ex-celebrity comedian Rick Spleen.

A near-death experience makes Rick a changed man. From now on, he plans to embrace the positive and see only the good in people. His new attitude annoys Marty, who predicts it won't last, but Rick even manages to forgive Magda for selling some of his prized possessions at a car-boot sale. Then, when he lands the title role in a major TV drama, it looks like fate has rewarded him.

Meanwhile, life isn't all roses for Ben and Sam - they've finally decided to split up.


MON 23:00 Eyewitness (b00s8yl1)
Episode 2

In the second programme of this series we discover how difficult it is for witnesses to identify suspects.

When bystanders get caught up in a bungled armed robbery and one of them is kidnapped, what effect do weapons and fear have on their memories? High tech eye tracker cameras allow us to compare what witnesses remember from the crime with what they actually saw. The difference between recall and recognition is illustrated by witnesses who can't describe suspects they clearly saw, yet recognise suspects they can't describe.

Narrated By Phillip Glenister.


MON 00:00 Justice (b00z1z41)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 00:30 Outside the Court (b00y5j3s)
They arrive, they smoke, they wait - armed robbers seeking redemption, life-long thieves, addicts and anxious fathers of wayward children. Hard exteriors hide soft centres, old lives exist in young bodies - ordinary people awaiting judgement on an unlovely stretch of pavement outside a London magistrates' court.

Whilst waiting for their cases to be heard they reveal their lives, and the complexities of the human soul are laid bare. Tense and intimate conversations with the filmmaker illuminate stories that the magistrates hear daily.

Director Marc Isaacs spent three months outside Highbury Magistrates Court and, in doing so, demonstrates how the eye of the camera has the ability to delve much deeper into character and motivation than the eye of the law. Consequently, the more we get to know the characters in this film, the harder it is to make easy judgements. Whilst the court must judge, the filmmaker need not.


MON 01:30 Twenty Twelve (b0103pnd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 02:00 The Beauty of Diagrams (b00wbn7y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 02:30 Timeshift (b0103pnb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 03:30 Twenty Twelve (b0103pnd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



TUESDAY 05 APRIL 2011

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b0103pp7)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Cloudspotting (b00k99th)
Documentary bringing to life Gavin Pretor-Pinney's international bestseller, The Cloudspotter's Guide, which draws on science, meteorology and mythology for a magical journey through the world of clouds.

Presented by the obsessive and excitable Pretor-Pinney, it is no dry treatise on the science of nephology but a playful trip through the varied beauty and distinctive personalities of the ten principal cloud types.

From the ethereal cirrus to the terrifying cumulonimbus, the film tells the story of the short but eventful life of clouds and their importance to our planet. Find out how immense quantities of water can stay up in the sky for so long and how lightning and thunder are created.

Aided by his worldwide network of Cloudspotters, Pretor-Pinney also sets out to prove the existence of a new type of cloud, which results in him presenting his findings to a panel of top scientists.

Featuring stunning images filmed by the world's most experienced aerial cameraman, the film is designed to inspire, inform and challenge those who have ever wondered about the heavens above.


TUE 21:00 Timeshift (b0105r8x)
Series 10

Crime and Punishment - The Story of Capital Punishment

Timeshift digs into the archive to trace the extraordinary story of the ultimate sanction. At the beginning of the 19th century you could still be hanged in Britain for offences such as stealing a sheep or shooting a rabbit. Even children as young as seven were sent to the gallows. The last hanging in this country took place as recently as 1964.

By opting for a dispassionate history rather than staging the usual polarised debate, the programme breaks new ground with its fascinating attention to detail, such as the protocols of the public execution or the 'science' of hanging. With contributions from both sides of the argument, it provides an essential guide to a subject that still divides us.


TUE 22:00 Storyville (b0103pp9)
China's Bleak House

Thousands of poor Chinese workers wait years to petition against injustices suffered in their home districts with the court of the plaintiffs in Beijing - often the last resort for those seeking redress for dismissals, land confiscations, beatings and arrests.

Filmed over a decade, director Zhao Liang gives an insight into the shared disenchantment of those who search for justice from a system that pays little to no significance to their individual suffering.


TUE 23:25 Eyewitness (b00scdmw)
Episode 3

Having many witnesses to a crime helps the police piece together the facts. But what happens when the only witness is also the victim? Stephanie Slater was blindfolded during her kidnap but her attacker was caught because police interviewers were able to help her recall the sounds and smells she experienced during her ordeal.

But memory can be easily contaminated. Jennifer Thompson-Cannino identified an innocent man as her rapist. He spent 11 years in jail.

Now, British police use cutting-edge techniques designed to collect uncontaminated eyewitness testimony so that they can secure a safe conviction, as in the case of Louise Aird, whose home was broken into during a £2 million art theft.


TUE 00:25 Timeshift (b0103nm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


TUE 01:30 Timeshift (b0105r8x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 02:30 Storyville (b0103pp9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 06 APRIL 2011

WED 19:00 World News Today (b0103pq0)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00sjm1w)
National Waterways Museum

Series in which acclaimed filmmaker Richard Macer visits three different museums struggling to connect with a modern audience.

The National Waterways Museum at Ellesmere Port marks the birthplace of the industrial revolution when canals were built to transport goods to emerging cities like Liverpool and Manchester. A financial crisis has left the museum with a reputation for sunken boats, and unless the situation improves dramatically some of the country's oldest barges and narrowboats might have to be sold off or even destroyed.

The museum's many volunteers are angry and believe its dire predicament is the result of mismanagement, so a new director is being brought on board with the task of saving it. In just a short while Stuart Gillis makes a big impression and the staff and volunteers begin to see him as a saviour. But will Stuart be able to live up to such high expectations?


WED 20:30 Time to Remember (b00vnfgr)
Nations at Play

Lesley Sharp narrates as original newsreel and 1950s voiceover are used to illustrate how Britons spent their leisure time during the first half of the 20th century. Includes footage of Henley regattas, frolics at the seaside, the Victorian fairground, horse riding in Hyde Park, Royal Ascot in 1919, Deauville in the 20s and the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.


WED 21:00 Storyville (b0103pq2)
Innocent! Paco & the Struggle for Justice

As a tropical storm beats down on the Philippine island of Cebu, two sisters leave work but never make it home. That same night, hundreds of miles away on a different island, 19-year-old Paco Larranaga is at a party in Manila, surrounded by dozens of reliable witnesses.

The missing women, Marijoy, 23, and Jacqueline Chiong, 21, are pretty and innocent Chinese-Filipinos from a working class community. Paco, accused of their rapes and murders, comes from a prominent political family. An awkward adolescent with a past of petty offences, he is easily cast in the role of privileged thug by the hysterical media frenzy that surrounds the case.

Populated by flamboyantly corrupt public officials, drug dealers, cops on the take and journalists both in thrall to and taking a lonely stance against the system, the documentary is a compelling account of the decade-long struggle to convict or free Paco.


WED 22:30 Kidult: Beautiful Young Minds (b0084b18)
As part of the Kidult season, this documentary tells the story of some of the brightest mathematical brains of a generation. Each year, exceptionally gifted teenagers from over 90 countries compete for medals at the International Mathematical Olympiad. The film follows a group of brilliant teenagers as they battle it out to become the chosen six selected to represent the UK.

Many youngsters see maths as an ordeal, but for these teenagers it's a passion they are completely devoted to. We also hear how, for some, their extraordinary talent has left them ostracised at school. At just 15, Jonathan is the youngest contender in the group. A rocket-building enthusiast, he has already broken several UK distance records. However, Jonathan's academic gifts and scientific interests have led to him being bullied for being 'geeky'.

Some members of the group are on the autistic spectrum, and find social and confidence issues affect their everyday lives. 17-year-old Daniel has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, but recognises that 'it's good to be different'. Apart from mathematics, the most important thing in Daniel's life is his girlfriend Zhu Yan. The couple met when Daniel spent three months travelling around China, during which time he taught himself fluent Mandarin. He is desperate to win a medal at the Olympiad and we follow his progress as he gears up for the competition and brings Zhu Yan back from China to his family home in York with the intention of marrying her.

As the competition day draws closer and minds and emotions are pushed to the limit, the film shows these young geniuses in their element, enjoying the subject they love and ultimately being celebrated as they deserve.


WED 00:00 Spiral (b01075w0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


WED 00:55 Spiral (b01083xt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:55 on Saturday]


WED 01:50 Time to Remember (b00vnfgr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


WED 02:20 Storyville (b0103pq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 07 APRIL 2011

THU 19:00 World News Today (b0103qly)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b01076jz)
Classic Top of the Pops from April 1976, as Noel Edmonds introduces performances from Abba, Hot Chocolate, the Brotherhood of Man, Sheer Elegance, Paul Nicholas, Linda Lewis, the Four Seasons, Frankie Valli, 10CC and the Bay City Rollers.


THU 20:10 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 01:00 on Sunday]


THU 21:00 Fanny Hill (b0084lg1)
Episode 1

Andrew Davies's two-part adaptation of John Cleland's infamous, classic 18th-century novel, Fanny Hill.

After losing her parents to smallpox, Fanny travels to London where, employed by local madam Mrs Brown, her virtue is tested by the lascivious Mr Crofts. Eloping with her true love Charles, Fanny basks in happy domesticity. But when Charles' father, the same Mr Crofts, meets his son's fiancee he banishes Charles to the West Indies to leave Fanny alone with spiralling debts.


THU 22:00 Rubicon (b01040lz)
Gone in the Teeth

Will Travers, an experienced analyst at a federal intelligence agency, is working on various Middle Eastern projects when he discovers a pattern in several daily newspaper crossword puzzles. He is intrigued, but told by his boss to concentrate on other matters. When his boss is killed in a freak accident, Will begins to suspect that the two events are somehow connected.


THU 22:45 Justice: Fairness and the Big Society (b00xyzg7)
From the Royal Institution in London, Harvard professor Michael Sandel hosts a discussion to explore fairness in public policy and the Big Society. An audience of politicians, opinion-formers and the general public should ensure a lively and topical debate.


THU 23:45 Fanny Hill (b0084lg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 00:45 Top of the Pops (b01076jz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:25 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 01:00 on Sunday]


THU 02:15 The Sky at Night (b07lpfd7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 on Monday]


THU 02:45 Fanny Hill (b0084lg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 08 APRIL 2011

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b01040q0)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Opera Italia (b00sjdmp)
Beginnings

Three-part series tracing the history of Italian opera presented by Antonio Pappano, world-renowned conductor and music director at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The series features sumptuous music, stunning Italian locations and some of the biggest names in opera as contributors.

In the first programme, Pappano takes a whistle-stop tour of the beginnings of opera, from Monteverdi to Rossini. He also looks at the works of two non-Italian composers, Handel and Mozart, both of whom were pivotal in the development of the art form. Along the way he enlists the help of some of the world's greatest singers - Juan Diego Florez, Joyce DiDonato, Danielle de Niese, Sarah Connolly and Pietro Spagnoli.


FRI 20:30 Transatlantic Sessions (b0084lmp)
Series 3

Episode 6

Folk musicians come together in what have been called 'the greatest backporch shows ever'. Features Cara Dillon with Paul Brady, Darrell Scott, Aly Bain, Jerry Douglas, Michael McGoldrick, Donal Lunny and Bruce Molsky.


FRI 21:00 Neil Diamond: Solitary Man (b00vzzst)
A 60-minute documentary including an interview and exclusive location filming with Neil Diamond in New York and Los Angeles. Robbie Robertson, Jeff Barry, Mickey Dolenz and other contributors track Neil from his childhood in Brooklyn to his early days in the Brill Building, his nascent solo career and superstardom in the early 70s, the lean years of the 80s, his career reboot via Rick Rubin in the noughties and his Glastonbury success.


FRI 22:00 Electric Proms (b00vzzsw)
2010

Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond in concert from London's Roundhouse with his six-piece band performing tracks from his 2010 album Dreams, which explores the 60s and 70s songs he loves, and reinventing his classics. This is Neil Diamond stripped down with strings in his most intimate performance for years.


FRI 23:00 ...Sings Neil Diamond (b00vzzsy)
A compilation from the BBC archive of performances featuring songs written by, or associated with, Neil Diamond. Featuring Lulu, UB40, Vince Hill, Robert Wyatt, Gladys Knight, Urge Overkill, Lena Zavaroni, The Hollies and a duet by Neil Diamond and Shirley Bassey.


FRI 23:30 Legends (b00tr86l)
Herb Alpert, Tijuana Brass and Other Delights

This is the story of deals on the beach, accidental pop stars, friendship, comebacks, multimillion dollar deals and new discoveries - the story of musician, producer, record industry mogul and artist, Herb Alpert.

Herb is probably best known as the trumpet player who created the Tijuana Brass and sold America, and the world, the sound of Mexico. Or the crooner that made the ladies swoon when he sang This Guy's in Love With You. From his first job working with soul legend Sam Cooke to creating A&M Records, Alpert's life reads like a wonderful story of dreams come true. This profile follows him today and platforms his music and artwork as he exhibits his sculptures for Hollywood's art elite. Contributors include Lou Adler, Quincy Jones, Richard Carpenter, Sting, Jam & Lewis and Stephen Fry.


FRI 00:30 Neil Diamond: Solitary Man (b00vzzst)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 01:30 Electric Proms (b00vzzsw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 02:35 ...Sings Neil Diamond (b00vzzsy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]


FRI 03:05 Legends (b00tr86l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:30 today]