SATURDAY 22 MARCH 2014

SAT 19:00 David Attenborough's First Life (b00vspkd)
Arrival

In fifty years of broadcasting, Sir David Attenborough has travelled the globe to document the living world in all its wonder. Now, in the landmark series, David Attenborough's First Life, he completes his journey by going back in time to the roots of the tree of life, in search of the very first animals.

Attenborough's journey begins in a forest near his childhood home in Leicester, where a fossil discovery transformed our understanding of the evolution of complex life. Travelling to the fog bound coastline of Newfoundland and the Australian outback, Attenborough unearths the earliest forms of animal life to exist on Earth.

These bizarre and wonderful creatures are brought to life with the help of cutting edge scientific technology and photorealistic visual effects. From the first animal forms that moved to the first mouths that ate, these were creatures that evolved the traits and tools that allow all animals, including ourselves, to survive to this day.


SAT 20:00 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03l7kj8)
A World Turned Upside Down

Shipwrecks are the nightmare we have forgotten - the price Britain paid for ruling the waves from an island surrounded by treacherous rocks. The result is a coastline that is home to the world's highest concentration of sunken ships. But shipwrecks also changed the course of British history, helped shape our national character and drove innovations in seafaring technology, as well as gripping our imagination.

Mutiny, murder and mayhem on the high seas as Sam Willis takes the story of shipwrecks into the Georgian age when Britain first began to rule the waves. But with maritime trade driving the whole enterprise, disasters at sea imperilled all this. As key colonies were established and new territories conquered, the great sailing ships became symbols of the power of the Georgian state - and the shipwreck was to be its Achilles' heel. By literally turning this world upside down, mutinous sailors, rebellious slaves and murderous wreckers threatened to undermine Britain's ambitions and jeopardise its imperial venture.


SAT 21:00 Inspector De Luca (b03z82zd)
Unauthorised Investigation

At the seaside resort of Riccione in 1938 the body of a young prostitute is found on a beach, not far from Mussolini's holiday residence. The local chief of police, terrified that the news may become public, attempts to draw the matter to a swift close by charging the woman's pimp with her murder, and earns praise from Il Duce in the process.

But Inspector De Luca, unconvinced that the case has been solved, continues to secretly investigate on his own. Set against the backdrop of sophisticated hotels and exclusive beach resorts in what was once considered to be the 'summer capital' of fascism, De Luca's investigation soon starts to involve aspiring politicians, high-ranking state functionaries, seductive countesses, anti-fascist journalists and some of Mussolini's own bodyguards.

In Italian with English subtitles.


SAT 22:50 The Genius of David Bowie (b01k0y0q)
A selection of some of David Bowie's best performances from the BBC archives, which also features artists who Bowie helped along the way, such as Mott the Hoople, Lulu, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed.


SAT 23:50 Lou Reed Remembered (b03m81dj)
Film tribute to Lou Reed, who died in October, which looks at the extraordinarily transgressive life and career of one of rock 'n' roll's true originals.

With the help of friends, fellow musicians, critics and those who have been inspired not only by his music but also by his famously contrary approach to almost everything, the documentary looks at how Reed not only helped to shape a generation but also helped to create a truly alternative, independent rock scene, while also providing New York with its most provocative and potent soundtrack.

With contributions from Bob Ezrin, Mick Rock, Lenny Kaye, Paul Auster, Moe Tucker, Boy George, Thurston Moore, Andrew Wylie, Victor Bockris, Holly Woodlawn, Mary Woronov and Steve Hunter.


SAT 00:50 Top of the Pops (b03ymf5y)
Peter Powell presents another edition of the weekly pop chart show, including performances from the Jam, Lene Lovich, the Cars, Violinski, Herbie Hancock and Black Lace. With dance sequences by Legs & Co.


SAT 01:30 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01jv6sd)
Disco - Ain't No Stopping Us Now

Disco was all pervasive in the mid and early 70s. And while towards the end of the decade punk stole the headlines, disco still had the high street. Everyone was into it and getting down on it at the local discotheque. Join us in a celebration of all things disco including performances by The Jacksons, Thelma Houston, Sylvester, Carl Douglas, George McCrae, Sister Sledge, McFadden and Whitehead, Eruption and Gloria Gaynor.


SAT 02:00 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03l7kj8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 03:00 David Attenborough's First Life (b00vspkd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]



SUNDAY 23 MARCH 2014

SUN 19:00 Timeshift (b01n8hl9)
Series 12

Magnificent Machines: The Golden Age of the British Sports Car

Timeshift sets its rear-view mirror to look back at the golden age of the British sports car. It's the story of how - in the grey austerity of the postwar years - iconic marques like Jaguar, Austin-Healey, MG and Triumph sparked a manufacturing frenzy that helped to democratise speed and glamour.

From the MG Midget, much loved by American GIs, through to the more affordable Austin Healey 'frog-eye' Sprite and the E-Type Jaguar, seen by many as the ultimate sports car, this is a tale of how, for a brief time, Britain was home to two-seater heaven.


SUN 20:00 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b03zcxc7)
Joanna Trollope

As she publishes her eighteenth novel, Joanna Trollope talks to Mark Lawson about creativity, divorce and the inescapable drama of domestic life. Her hugely popular novels include The Rector's Wife, The Choir and A Village Affair, which have all been adapted into major television dramas.


SUN 21:00 Martin Amis's England (b03z03rb)
Novelist Martin Amis, a fierce critic of contemporary society, examines his experience of Englishness. Richly illustrated with archive footage, he reflects on a nation barely recovered from the loss of empire. Amis brings a sharp, humorous and surprisingly affectionate touch to the exploration of sex, binge drinking, football hooliganism, the idea of fair play, multiculturalism, the royal family and the tabloid press.


SUN 22:00 Some People with Jokes (b03yfqjb)
Series 2

Some Football Managers with Jokes

Football managers old and new crack their favourite gags, as game gaffers step outside the technical area to raise laughs and cash for Sport Relief. Let's hope it's more than a game of two laughs.


SUN 22:30 You Will Be My Son (b03q087z)
Paul de Marseul runs a prestigious family wine estate with passion and flair, assisted by his hardworking son whom he cannot stand and constantly puts down. When his loyal vineyard manager's son returns to the estate, Paul sees in him his ideal son and heir.

In French with English subtitles.


SUN 00:05 Brothers in Arms (b007cblj)
They say that blood is thicker than water and this documentary puts that to the test by examining the brothers who have formed and fronted rock bands. From the Everlys to the Gallaghers via the Kinks and Spandau Ballet, it tells the stories of the bands of brothers who went from their bedrooms to become household names - often with a price to pay.

With contributions from Martin Kemp, Matt Goss, Dave Davies, Phil Everly, David Knopfler and the Campbell brothers of UB40.


SUN 01:05 Tubular Bells: The Mike Oldfield Story (b03cw8g0)
In 1973, an album was released that against all odds and expectations went to the top of the UK charts. The fact the album launched a record label that became one of the most recognisable brand names in the world (Virgin), formed the soundtrack to one of the biggest movies of the decade (The Exorcist), became the biggest selling instrumental album of all time, would eventually go on to sell over 16 million copies and was performed almost single-handedly by a 19-year-old makes the story all the more incredible. That album was Tubular Bells, and the young and painfully shy musician was Mike Oldfield.

This documentary features contributions from Sir Richard Branson, Danny Boyle, Mike's family and the original engineers of the Tubular Bells album among others. The spine of the film is an extended interview with Mike himself, where he takes us through the events that led to him writing Tubular Bells - growing up with a mother with severe mental health problems; the refuge he sought in music as a child, with talent that led to him playing in folk clubs aged 12 and signing with his sister's folk group at only 15; his frightening experience of taking LSD at 16; and finally arriving at the Manor Recording Studios as a young session musician where he gave a demo tape to a recording engineer who passed it along to young entrepreneur Richard Branson.

After the album's huge success, Mike retreated to a Hereford hilltop, shunned public life and became a recluse until he took part in a controversial therapy which changed his life.

In 2012 Mike captured the public's imagination once again when he was asked to perform at the London Olympic Opening Ceremony, where Tubular Bells was the soundtrack to 20 minutes of the one-hour ceremony.

Filmed on location at his home recording studio in Nassau, Mike also plays the multiple instruments of Tubular Bells and shows how the groundbreaking piece of music was put together.


SUN 02:05 Timeshift (b01n8hl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SUN 03:05 Martin Amis's England (b03z03rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 24 MARCH 2014

MON 19:00 World News Today (b03z018w)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b01q04ry)
Series 4

Portsmouth to Gomshall

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Victorian railway guidebook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's world remains. Michael is travelling port to port, from the centuries old naval hub of Portsmouth to the historic Grimsby docks. He feeds the crew of Britain's newest warship, discovers how the Victorians planned to repel a possible French invasion and learns that there's well-established industry where one might least expect to find it.


MON 20:00 Horizon (b00jgtl2)
2008-2009

Why Can't We Predict Earthquakes?

Last century, earthquakes killed over one million, and it is predicted that this century might see ten times as many deaths. Yet when an earthquake strikes, it always takes people by surprise.

So why hasn't science worked out how to predict when and where the next big quake is going to happen? This is the story of the men and women who chase earthquakes and try to understand this mysterious force of nature.

Journeying to China's Sichuan Province, which still lies devastated by the earthquake that struck in May 2008, as well as the notorious San Andreas fault in California, Horizon asks why science has so far fallen short of answering this fundamental question.


MON 21:00 Storyville (b03z05nr)
Shooting Bigfoot: America's Monster Hunters

Documentary looking into into the religiously obsessive, competitive and bitterly divided cult of Bigfoot hunting, as filmmaker Morgan Matthews accompanies three American Bigfoot search parties trying to capture proof of the elusive ape-like creature.

Tom Biscardi has been hunting down Bigfoot for 37 years and adopts a military approach with his 'A team' of guys armed with thermal imagers and tasers in increasingly far-out attempts to capture the beast.

Unemployed Dallas and Wayne in Ohio use more basic techniques, utilising cans of mackerel and Native American chants to lure the creature in.

Only renowned 'master tracker' Rick Dyer is intent on shooting and killing the mysterious beast as he stakes out a stretch of woods in Texas populated by homeless people, many of whom claim to have seen Bigfoot.

As truth and fact tip into malarkey, night-time hunts devolve into farcical displays of voodoo and comic stretches of the human imagination. What starts as a humorous look at perception gone off the rails, descends into a dark mystery as things get out of control during a close encounter in the woods.


MON 22:35 Timewatch (b00dtjy4)
2008-2009

Stonehenge

An investigation into a radical theory that Stonehenge, far from being a place of burial as is commonly assumed, was in fact a place of healing - a Bronze Age Lourdes. The investigation takes in forensic testing of bones excavated over the past decades and hard-won permission for the first dig in 50 years at the Henge, watched live online by millions of viewers around the world. Does the theory of the healing stones bear up to modern-day forensic science?


MON 23:30 Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures (b03yfqj8)
Feathered Dinosaurs

Professor Richard Fortey travels to north eastern China to see a fossil site known as the 'Dinosaur Pompeii' - a place that has yielded spectacular remains of feathered dinosaurs and rewritten the story of the origins of birds. Among the amazing finds he investigates are the feathered cousin of T-rex, a feathered dinosaur with strong parallels to living pandas, and some of the most remarkable flying animals that have ever lived.


MON 00:30 The Walshes (b03ybpdb)
Family Night

When Graham's landlord kicks him out, Ciara suggests that he move in with her, but his sudden insertion into the house upsets a delicate balance. Carmel becomes increasingly uneasy at the thought of the young couple sharing a bed, mere yards away. Tony develops an intellectual inferiority complex towards the book-smart new arrival. Rory finds love at his new job with an older woman. She can teach him a thing or two, but he's a very nervous student.


MON 01:00 Brushing up on... (b03yg3yl)
Series 2

British Woodlands

Danny Baker throws some archive footage into his knapsack and goes for a ramble through our green realms, encountering an X-rated mushroom along the way.


MON 01:30 Horizon (b00jgtl2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 02:30 Storyville (b03z05nr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 25 MARCH 2014

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b03z0191)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b01q05km)
Series 4

Woking to Clapham Junction

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Handbook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's world remains. Michael is travelling port to port, from the centuries-old naval hub of Portsmouth to the historic Grimsby docks. He gets close to some precious Victorian botany at Kew Gardens, tries his hand at croquet and discovers a very surprising 19th-century place of worship.


TUE 20:00 Weird Nature (b0078hk2)
Puzzling Partners

Discover a lizard that uses a scorpion as a bodyguard, a toad that sets up home with a tarantula, an animal that uses hummingbirds as an air charter, the barber that fish use, a crab that carries living fisticuffs, mutant frogs, a snake that acts as pest controller in an owl's nest, dolphins that co-operate with fishermen, a bird that guides people to honey and an odd farmyard full of strange friendships.


TUE 20:30 Secrets of Bones (b03z05zx)
Sex

Ben Garrod seeks out the big part that bones can play in reproduction. Through sexual selection, the skeleton has adapted to aid courtship, competition and even copulation. On his travels, Ben meets baseball players, drops a 10kg weight on a sheep's skull and finds out that by not having a penis bone humans are very much in the minority.


TUE 21:00 Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures (b03z05zz)
The Mammal Hothouse

Professor Richard Fortey investigates the remains of an ancient volcanic lake in Germany where stunningly well-preserved fossils of early mammals, giant insects and even perhaps our oldest known ancestor have been found.

Among the amazing finds are bats as advanced and sophisticated as anything living today, more than 50 million years later, dog-sized 'dawn' horses, the ancestor of the modern horse, and giant ants as large as hummingbirds.


TUE 22:00 The First World War (b01rp9w7)
Breaking the Deadlock

Attrition, 'lions led by donkeys', the slaughter only ceasing for a brief truce one Christmas - these are old, mistaken views of the war on the Western Front. In fact there were constant tactical evolutions, hundreds of generals died in action and some men adopted a system of 'live and let live', with countless informal local truces. The Germans tried new ideas at Verdun - 750,000 French and Germans died with little gain. After terrible failure on the Somme the British used tanks at Cambrai, but the Germans clawed back lost ground. Victory on the Western Front would go to the side that learned to consolidate success.


TUE 22:50 Grand Prix: The Killer Years (b00z8v18)
In the 60s and early 70s it was common for Grand Prix drivers to be killed while racing, often televised for millions to see. Mechanical failure, lethal track design, fire and incompetence snuffed out dozens of young drivers. They had become almost expendable as eager young wannabes queued up at the top teams' gates waiting to take their place.

This is the story of when Grand Prix was out of control.

Featuring many famous drivers, including three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart OBE, twice world champion Emerson Fittipaldi and John Surtees OBE, this exciting but shocking film explores how Grand Prix drivers grew sick of their closest friends being killed and finally took control of their destiny.

After much waste of life, the prestigious Belgian and German Grands Prix would be boycotted, with drivers insisting that safety be put first. But it would be a long and painful time before anything would change, and a lot of talented young men would be cut down in their prime.

This is their story.

'Something was terribly wrong. I loved the sport, but it was wrong. I prayed to God whether or not to continue.' - Emerson Fittipaldi

'It made me angry. The sport was way wrong.' - Sir Jackie Stewart OBE.


TUE 23:50 Timeshift (b01n8hl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


TUE 00:50 The Somme: Secret Tunnel Wars (b01skvnh)
Beneath the Somme battlefield lies one of the great secrets of the First World War, a recently-discovered network of deep tunnels thought to extend over several kilometres. This lost underground battlefield, centred on the small French village of La Boisselle in Picardy, was constructed largely by British troops between 1914 and 1916. Over 120 men died here in ongoing attempts to undermine the nearby German lines and these galleries still serve as a tomb for many of those men.

This documentary follows historian Peter Barton and a team of archaeologists as they become the first people in nearly a hundred years to enter this hidden, and still dangerous, labyrinth.

Military mines were the original weapons of shock and awe - with nowhere to hide from a mine explosion, these huge explosive charges could destroy a heavily-fortified trench in an instant. In order to get under the German lines to plant their mines, British tunnellers had to play a terrifying game of subterranean cat and mouse - constantly listening out for enemy digging and trying to intercept the German tunnels without being detected. To lose this game probably meant death.

As well uncovering the grim reality of this strange underground war, Peter discovers the story of the men who served here, including the tunnelling companies' special military units made up of ordinary civillian sewer workers and miners. He reveals their top secret mission that launched the Battle of the Somme's first day and discovers why British high command failed to capitalise on a crucial tactical advantage they had been given by the tunnellers.


TUE 01:50 Weird Nature (b0078hk2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:20 Secrets of Bones (b03z05zx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


TUE 02:50 Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures (b03z05zz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2014

WED 19:00 World News Today (b03z0196)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b01q05lp)
Series 4

London Victoria to Abbey Wood

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with his copy of Bradshaw's Handbook, he travels the length and breadth of the British Isles to see what of Bradshaw's World remains. Michael is travelling port to port, from the centuries old naval hub of Portsmouth to the historic Grimsby docks. He learns how volunteer Victorian fire fighters liked a tipple, discovers how even 19th-century sewage pumps were a celebration of design and puts in a shift at the oldest fish market in Britain.


WED 20:00 What Do Artists Do All Day? (b03z08ms)
Antony Gormley

Sir Antony Gormley is one of the world's most popular artists. His iconic Angel of the North is a universally-admired work of public art and his sculptures have been seen by millions in cities all over the world.

In this film we follow Gormley and his team in their busy Kings Cross studio, preparing a work called Tanker Field - a group of 60 enormous steel figures that are to be shown together at the Paul Klee museum in Bern. Reflecting on the ideas behind his sculptures, the collaborative nature of his studio and the excitement he still feels as new projects come together, the film offers an intimate and fascinating insight into one of the great artists of our time.


WED 20:30 Secret Knowledge (b03z08mv)
Hogarth - One Man and His Pug

To mark 250 years since William Hogarth's death, ceramics expert and self-confessed Hogarth fanatic Lars Tharp is determined to solve a mystery that has consumed his personal and professional life - the case of Hogarth's lost pug.

In this unique shaggy dog story, Tharp explains Hogarth's obsession with this most characterful of breeds and the pivotal role it played in his life and his work. A canine odyssey that only examines one of his most iconic works of art, but leads us into a world of satire, salaciousness and secrets. From harlots and rakes to the shadowy machinations of the freemasons, Tharp's ultimate goal is to lead an appeal to the nation to help him recover a rare piece of long-lost Hogarth memorabilia - a precious terracotta sculpture of his beloved pet pug.

For Tharp, this is the perfect moment in which to pay tribute to a man whom he regards as our greatest and most influential artist - and what better way to explore a man famed for his wit and humour than on the trail of his most iconic and idiosyncratic four-legged companion.


WED 21:00 Could We Survive a Mega-Tsunami? (b01s0zqv)
Starting off a kilometre high, travelling at the speed of a jet aircraft, and heading for us. It doesn't make for a good outcome. Hollywood-style graphics and real-life archive bring home an imagined near-future scenario, all based on cutting-edge science.


WED 22:00 David Attenborough's First Life (b00vspkd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


WED 23:00 Parks and Recreation (b03zh1c2)
Series 3

The Fight

When Leslie tries to get Ann a job at city hall, her lukewarm reaction causes their first ever fight. Tom invites the entire department to the Snakehole Lounge to help him promote his new alcohol, Snake Juice.


WED 23:20 Parks and Recreation (b03zh1c4)
Series 3

Road Trip

When Chris sends Leslie and Ben on a trip to Indianapolis, Leslie is afraid she won't be able to deny her feelings for him. Ron teaches a young student about his views on government. Andy has his feelings hurt by April after playing Tom's new game.


WED 23:45 The Walshes (b03ybpdb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:30 on Monday]


WED 00:15 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03l7kj8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


WED 01:15 Great British Railway Journeys (b01q05lp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 01:45 Secret Knowledge (b03z08mv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


WED 02:15 What Do Artists Do All Day? (b03z08ms)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


WED 02:45 Could We Survive a Mega-Tsunami? (b01s0zqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 27 MARCH 2014

THU 19:00 World News Today (b03z019c)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b03z2bn2)
Mike Read presents another edition of the weekly pop chart show, including performances from the Three Degrees, Rocky Sharpe & the Replays, Dana, Showaddywaddy, Kandidate and Black Lace. With dance sequences by Legs & Co.


THU 20:00 Ever Decreasing Circles (b036d6mk)
Series 2

The Psychiatrist

Martin and Ann both come to the conclusion that the other needs professional help when they meet a psychiatrist at one of Paul's parties.


THU 20:30 Brushing up on... (b03z09n7)
Series 2

Street Furniture

Danny Baker strolls into the world of bollards, benches, bins and lavatories as he explores Britain's street furniture. Expect hymns to the phone box and pillar box by way of a terrifying Belisha beacon.


THU 21:00 How to Get Ahead (b03z08mx)
At Versailles

Stephen Smith explores the flamboyant Baroque court of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Louis created the Palace of Versailles so he could surround himself with aristocrats, artists, interior designers, gardeners, wigmakers, chefs and musicians. Hordes of ambitious courtiers scrambled to get close to the king, but unseemly goings-on in the royal bedchamber reflected the quickest path to power.


THU 22:00 The Walshes (b03yzknj)
Limbo

The Walshes are getting ready to leave the house for a night out together at their favourite restaurant, but mobilising five people at the same time can prove tricky. No sooner are four of them ready to step outside than something has distracted the fifth. Rory becomes obsessed by a strange photograph and starts to question everything he has ever believed. Ciara and Graham's perfect 'never had a fight' record is tested, while Tony wrestles with something troubling that's been on his mind. With the early bird half-price menu deadline looming, the clock is ticking.


THU 22:30 Horizon (b00jgtl2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


THU 23:30 Timewatch (b00dtjy4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:35 on Monday]


THU 00:25 The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum (b01rrld8)
Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill presents a documentary following the scientific investigation that shows what life was like in the small Roman town of Herculaneum, moments before it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

Just 10 miles from Pompeii, 12 vaults tell a new story about what life was like before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. They contain the skeletons of 340 people, 10 per cent of the local population, killed by the volcano. Amongst them are the first new skeletons to be found in the area for 30 years which are now the subject of a ground-breaking scientific investigation. The finds included a toddler holding his dog, a two-year-old girl with silver earrings and a boy embracing his mother.

Those found inside the vaults were nearly all women and children. Those found outside on the shoreline were nearly all men. Why?

It is revealed that the local population went to their deaths not as in often portrayed in Pompeii's popular myth, but more like the passengers of the Titanic, where women and children were put first.

Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill takes us to meet the scientists leading the forensic project - Luca Bondioli and Luciano Fattore - and then on a tour of the town. He uncovers houses, wooden furniture (including their beds and the only surviving baby's cradle from the Roman world), and food and human waste, preserved by a layer of ash up to five times deeper than Pompeii, as well as perfectly preserved court transcripts scratched on wooden tablets telling of slaves challenging their status in the town's courts. New scientific analysis has enabled us to unearth not just what they ate, but how they ate it, it seems they had a penchant for eating fish whole including their heads, a tradition, that has survived in Herculaneum to this day.


THU 01:25 Top of the Pops (b03z2bn2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 02:00 Ever Decreasing Circles (b036d6mk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:30 The Walshes (b03yzknj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


THU 03:00 How to Get Ahead (b03z08mx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 28 MARCH 2014

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b03z019j)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Darcey Bussell Dances Hollywood (b018nwbx)
Darcey Bussell steps into the shoes of her Hollywood heroes to celebrate the enduring legacy of classic dance musicals.

In the age of Strictly Come Dancing and Streetdance 3D, Darcey, one of Britain's greatest living dancers and Hollywood musical superfan, discovers that the key to understanding where this dance-mad culture comes from lies in classic movie musicals. She takes famous dance routines from her favourite Hollywood musicals and reveals how they cast their spell, paying tribute to the legends of the art form and discovering the legacy they left.

Darcey pays homage to Fred Astaire in an interpretation of Puttin' on the Ritz, plays Ginger Rogers in a rendition of Cheek to Cheek, pays tribute to the exuberant Good Morning from Singin' in the Rain, and stars in a new routine inspired by Girl Hunt Ballet from The Band Wagon.

Darcey works with leading choreographer Kim Gavin and expert conductor John Wilson, who has painstakingly reconstructed the original scores, as she discovers how dance in the movies reached a pinnacle of perfection and reveals how the legacy of the golden age lives on.


FRI 21:00 Robert Plant: By Myself (b00vy78w)
Documentary in which Robert Plant discusses his musical journey from Stourbridge, the British blues boom, superstardom with Led Zeppelin in the 70s to 2010's Band of Joy album. He also looks at his work with the Honeydrippers and North African musicians, his reunion with Jimmy Page and his pairing with Alison Krauss.


FRI 22:00 The Genius of Bert Jansch: Folk, Blues and Beyond (b03tdd6m)
Interviews and rare archive footage weave together performances from a landmark multi-artist concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, celebrating the songs and artistry of the great folk-blues troubadour Bert Jansch.

Ralph McTell, Robert Plant, Donovan, members of Pentangle, Bernard Butler, Martin Carthy, Martin Simpson, Lisa Knapp and more pay tribute to Jansch, who died in 2011.

Robert Plant shows his vocal prowess with a powerful rendition of Go Your Way My Love, joined by Jansch collaborator Bernard Butler. Martin Simpson and Danny Thompson surprise with a version of Heartbreak Hotel, a track covered by Jansch. Ralph McTell tackles the seminal Angie and Lisa Knapp and Martin Carthy combine for Blackwaterside - Jansch's arrangement of which heavily influenced Led Zep's Black Mountain Side.

An effortlessly cool singer-songwriter and virtuoso guitarist, Bert Jansch came to prominence in the folk clubs of the mid-1960s: the concert's stage set recalls the legendary Les Cousins club in London's Soho, where he was a resident artist, and the Royal Festival Hall itself was the venue for Pentangle's first and final major gigs. Jansch galvanized a whole scene, through his solo work, as a duo with John Renbourn and with his folk-jazz supergroup Pentangle. Neil Young called him the Jimi Hendrix of the acoustic guitar, Led Zeppelin and Paul Simon were weaned on him and younger generation musicians including Beth Orton and Johnny Marr beat a path to his door. Bert Jansch's influence reached far and wide.


FRI 23:30 Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop (b00nq7q9)
Fleetwood Mac are one of the biggest-selling bands of all time and still on the road. Their story, told in their own words, is an epic tale of love and confrontation, of success and loss.

Few bands have undergone such radical musical and personal change. The band evolved from the 60s British blues boom to perfect a US West Coast sound that saw them sell 40 million copies of the album Rumours.

However, behind-the-scenes relationships were turbulent. The band went through multiple line-ups with six different lead guitarists. While working on Rumours, the two couples at the heart of the band separated, yet this heartache inspired the perfect pop record.


FRI 00:30 BBC Four Sessions (b0074pq4)
Bert Jansch

Legendary Scottish singer, songwriter and guitarist Bert Jansch performs a career retrospective concert at LSO St Luke's in East London to celebrate his 60th birthday. Guests include ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler, Ralph McTell and fellow Pentangle member Jacqui McShee.

Bert Jansch was one of the key trailblazers of the British folk scene of the 1960s. As a soloist, and then with folk-jazz outfit Pentangle, Jansch blazed a trail for an iconoclastic blend of folk, blues, jazz and original songs that has made him a hero to the likes of Neil Young and Jimmy Page. His guitar and singing style remain unique.

This concert features many of the songs that Jansch has played throughout his career, including Davy Graham's Anji, Jackson C Frank's Blues Run The Game and traditional material like Blackwaterside, together with more recent songs like Riverbank and Crimson Moon.


FRI 01:30 Robert Plant: By Myself (b00vy78w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 02:30 The Genius of Bert Jansch: Folk, Blues and Beyond (b03tdd6m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]