SATURDAY 23 JULY 2016

SAT 19:00 The Search for the Lost Manuscript: Julian of Norwich (b07l6bd0)
Medieval art historian Dr Janina Ramirez tells the incredible story of a book hidden for centuries in the shadows of history, the first book ever written in English by a woman, Julian of Norwich, in 1373.

Revelations of Divine Love dared to present an alternative vision of man's relationship with God, a theology fundamentally at odds with the church of Julian's time. The book was suppressed for 500 years. It re-emerged in the 20th century as an iconic text for the women's movement and was acknowledged as a literary masterpiece.

Janina follows the trail of the lost manuscript, travelling from Norwich to Cambrai in northern France to discover how the book survived and the brave women who championed it.


SAT 20:00 Who Were the Greeks? (b036pxqk)
Episode 2

Classicist Dr Michael Scott explores the legacies of the ancient Greeks, what they have given us today, and asks why these legacies have lasted through time.

Democracy, art, architecture, philosophy, science, sport, theatre - all can be traced back to ancient Greece. Travelling across the ancient Greek world, from Athens to Olympia, Macedon, Turkey and Sicily, Michael discovers why the ancient Greeks were so successful, why their culture and way of life spread across continents and through time and why they still have such a powerful hold over our imaginations today.


SAT 21:00 Beck (b07lxrz2)
The Weak Link

A teenage girl is found by her parents brutally raped and murdered in the woods. It's now up to Beck and his team to catch the criminal.

In Swedish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:30 Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (b06tkbvh)
Series 1 Compilations

Part 2

An up-close and personal examination of the life, music and career of the legendary entertainer. In 1971, Frank Sinatra sang his legendary 'retirement concert' in Los Angeles, featuring music which was said to reflect his own life. Told in his own words from hours of archived interviews, along with commentary from those closest to him, this definitive series weaves the legendary songs he chose with comments from friends and family, as well as never-before-seen footage from home movies and concert performances.


SAT 00:35 Gershwin's Summertime: The Song that Conquered the World (b017nf05)
An intriguing investigation into the extraordinary life of Gershwin's classic composition, Summertime. One of the most covered songs in the world, it has been recorded in almost every style of music - from jazz to opera, rock to reggae, soul to samba. Its musical adaptability is breathtaking, but Summertime also resonates on a deep emotional level. This visually and sonically engaging film explores the composition's magical properties, examining how this song has, with stealth, captured the imagination of the world.

From its complex birth in 1935 as a lullaby in Gershwin's all-black opera Porgy and Bess, this film traces the hidden history of Summertime, focusing on key recordings, including those by Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Mahalia Jackson, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald. It reveals how musicians have projected their own dreams and desires onto the song, reimagining Summertime throughout the 20th century as a civil rights prayer, a hippie lullaby, an ode to seduction and a modern freedom song.

Back in the 1930s, Gershwin never dreamt of the global impact Summertime would have. But as this film shows, it has magically tapped into something deep inside us all - nostalgia and innocence, sadness and joy, and our intrinsic desire for freedom. Full of evocative archive footage as well as a myriad versions of Summertime - from the celebrated to the obscure - the film tells the surprising and illuminating tale behind this world-famous song.


SAT 01:35 ... Sings Bond (b01p97hr)
The BBC archive uncovers performances of some of the finest Bond theme tunes from its top secret vaults and pays a TV tribute to a classic British icon.

Prepare to be shaken and stirred by Tina Turner and her GoldenEye, Dame Shirley Bassey with her Diamonds, Tom Jones rampaging with Thunderball, Matt Monro romancing in Russia, The Fun Lovin' Criminals taking all the time in the world, Adele's sky-high contribution to 007 and much more from Sheena Easton, Garbage, A-ha and others, from all manner of BBC shows.

Sit back and marvel at our selection of the greatest Bond songs in history - a tuxedo and a dry vodka martini is optional.


SAT 02:35 Top of the Pops (b07ll9rl)
David Jensen presents the pop chart show, first broadcast on 4 March 1982. Includes appearances by Toni Basil, Tight Fit, Gary Numan, ABC, Jets, Madness and Zoo.



SUNDAY 24 JULY 2016

SUN 19:00 BBC Proms (b07m43p8)
2016

A Child of Our Time

Michael Tippett's secular oratorio A Child of Our Time is his most widely performed work. It is an impassioned protest against persecution and tyranny with an overriding message of peace. Renowned British baritone and composer Roderick Williams takes a look at the story behind A Child of Our Time and introduces conductor Mark Wigglesworth, the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales and soloists Tamara Wilson (soprano), Susan Bickley (mezzo-soprano), Peter Hoare (tenor) and James Creswell (bass).

In 1938, a young Polish Jew, whose parents were deported by the Nazis, shot a German diplomat in Paris. The Nazis seized on the assassination to rile Hitler's supporters into an anti-Semitic frenzy. Tippett shared the public horror at the events that followed and in 1939, began writing a musical protest, a work that expressed deep rage at the unprecedented crimes being committed by the Nazi regime, and despair at man's ability to commit acts of inhumanity.


SUN 20:30 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01glwkz)
Arthouse Glam - Get in the Swing

Performances from The Kinks, Roxy Music, Elton John, New York Dolls, Queen, Sparks, Rod Stewart and the rediscovered David Bowie performance of The Jean Genie from January 1973.

Welcome to gender-bending, boys getting in the swing and girls who would be boys and boys who would be girls in this mixed-up, shook-up 70s world.


SUN 21:00 Classic Albums (b07ljcxf)
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds

This edition of the series celebrates the 50th anniversary of the release of Brian Wilson's masterpiece, The Beach Boys' album Pet Sounds. Wilson and the surviving members of The Beach Boys - Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks - guide us through the writing and recording of the landmark album that is consistently voted one of the top three most influential albums of all time.

Featuring exclusive interviews, classic archive and rare studio outtakes from the recording sessions, the film tells the story of the creation of the record that cemented The Beach Boys' reputation as a leading force to rival The Beatles, and Brian Wilson as a songwriting genius.


SUN 22:00 Arena (b07ltm21)
1966 - 50 Years Ago Today

Based on Jon Savage's book 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded, Arena marks the year pop music and popular culture ripped up the rule book in articulate, instinctive and radical new ways.

This was the year of Jonathan Miller's Alice in Wonderland, Morgan - A Suitable Case for Treatment, and the year that Strawberry Fields Forever was recorded. Television was still in black and white, but the world outside was bursting with colour and controversy. In America, in London, in Amsterdam, in Paris, revolutionary ideas slow-cooking since the late 1950s reached boiling point. In popular culture and the mass media, 1966 was a year of restless experimentation and the search for new forms of expression - particularly in pop music.

Written by Savage and director Paul Tickell, Arena's film takes viewers back to that moment in a vivid celebration of the music, films and TV that shaped the 1960s.


SUN 23:00 Definitely Dusty (b00780bt)
Documentary looking at the life and work of soul and pop diva Dusty Springfield, singer of such classics as You Don't Have to Say You Love Me and Son of a Preacher Man, who was equally famous for her trademark panda eyes and blonde beehive.

Using archive footage and interviews shot in the UK and the US, it charts her progress from plain Catholic schoolgirl to glamorous star and ventures behind the extravagant image to reveal a complex and vulnerable character.

Featuring interviews with fellow musicians from a career spanning four decades, including Elton John, Burt Bacharach, Neil Tennant, Lulu and Martha Reeves.

Dusty's protective inner circle of friends have never spoken about her on camera before. Pat Rhodes, Dusty's personal secretary for her entire solo career, her manager Vicky Wickham, ardent fan-turned-backing singer Simon Bell and others talk about the highs and lows of the woman they knew and loved.


SUN 00:00 The Secret Life of Waves (b00y5jhx)
Documentary maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film, he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways, and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles. Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human beings.


SUN 01:00 Yellowstone (b00jc6p6)
Winter

Series following the fortunes of America's wildlife icons in Yellowstone, the most extensive thermal area on Earth.

In winter, Yellowstone is frozen solid - locked in snow as deep as a house for over six months. Whether you hunt for meat, live off stored body fat or whether you simply hibernate, you need to take every advantage, however slight, to save precious energy - then you might just make it through the winter to enjoy the green grass and balmy days of spring.

As we follow the grip of winter over the course of six freezing months, we chart the fortunes of Yellowstone's wildlife in a finely balanced fight to survive. Bison use their massively powerful heads to dig through some of the deepest snow in America to reach the grass beneath. A red fox listens out for mice scurrying six feet beneath the snow before diving headfirst into the drift to snap up its prey, while otters slide through Yellowstone's winter wonderland to find any remaining open water where they can fish. All the while, as the herds of elk and bison are gradually weakened by the cold, one animal gets stronger - the wolf.

But all is not as it first seems - there are larger powers at work. Whether a wolf, a bison or an elk makes it through is intimately linked to Yellowstone's greatest secret. Sleeping beneath the ice and snow-covered surface is one of the world's largest volcanoes. In an extraordinary twist of nature, everything from the freezing winter cold to the creation of a snowstorm is determined by the power of Yellowstone's volcanic heart.


SUN 02:00 Classic Albums (b07ljcxf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


SUN 03:00 Arena (b07ltm21)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



MONDAY 25 JULY 2016

MON 19:00 World News Today (b07ltdh8)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 The Wonder of Animals (b04jy2rz)
Crocodiles

Chris Packham explores what lies beneath a crocodile's hard exterior to discover the secret to its 250-million-year history. It may look like a relic from a prehistoric world, but the crocodile boasts one of the most sophisticated physiologies on the planet. By following all stages of a crocodile hunt, from the warm-up to the ambush and the kill, Chris reveals how their extraordinary circulatory system enables them to hold their breath underwater for over an hour, how exceptionally sensitive skin detects their prey through water from over 20m away and how antibacterial blood means they can feast on anthrax-ridden meat.


MON 20:00 Timeshift (b053pxdr)
Series 14

The Nation's Railway: The Golden Age of British Rail

Timeshift revisits Britain's railways during the era of public ownership. For all its bad reputation today, the old British Rail boldly transformed a decayed, war-torn Victorian transport network into a system fit for the 20th century. With an eye firmly on the future, steam made way for diesel and electric, new modern stations like Euston were built, and Britain's first high-speed trains introduced.

Made with unique access to the British Transport Films archive, this is a warm corrective to the myth of the bad old days of rail, but even it can't hide from the horror that was a British Rail sandwich.


MON 21:00 Norman Wisdom: His Story (b00vhmqq)
From street urchin to knight of the realm - the story of Norman Wisdom, who used to be one of the biggest film stars in the UK, portraying a man who rarely stepped out of character in public, and whose highly individual comic style hid the private tragedy of his early life.

The actor's life story is told through the people who knew him well - his son and daughter Nick and Jacqui Wisdom, his daughter-in-law Kim, film director Stephen Frears, actors Ricky Tomlinson, Leslie Phillips and Honor Blackman, and singer Dame Vera Lynn.


MON 22:00 The Real White Queen and Her Rivals (b0377vl5)
Episode 1

Philippa Gregory reveals the true stories of three remarkable women who lived through the treason and bloodshed of the dynastic conflict we call the Wars of the Roses. Gregory argues that it is impossible to understand this volatile and pivotal moment in English history without understanding the women at the heart of the family feuds that tore the nobility apart. They are as vital as any of the kings and nobles that conventional history concentrates upon. This was a battle between kin not countries, and the loyalties, rebellions, plots and betrayals of these women were decisive in shaping the history of England.

The White Queen is Elizabeth Woodville, a beautiful commoner who enchanted a king and became the first truly English woman to sit on the throne. Gregory recounts in extraordinary detail how Woodville saw her family murdered, her children endangered and she was labelled a witch, but survived and thrived in the midst of war and conspiracy. She carried the banner of the House of York through this turbulent era.

Gregory also brings to vivid life the rivals of White Queen. Margaret Beaufort was a stalwart of the House of Lancaster, the child bride who devoted her life to the cause of her son Henry Tudor. She conspired and schemed against anyone who would deny him his destiny. Gregory captures a woman driven by religious piety and power politics who survives terrible hardship.

Anne Neville was the privileged daughter of the most powerful noble in the land, the Earl of Warwick. As a young woman, Anne is sucked into the great power struggles of the period and sees her life transformed from one of gilded luxury into one of terrible danger. Gregory describes how Anne becomes a crucial figure in the dynastic alliances that changed the nation's history.


MON 23:00 The Joy of Data (b07lk6tj)
A witty and mind-expanding exploration of data, with mathematician Dr Hannah Fry. This high-tech romp reveals what data is and how it is captured, stored, shared and made sense of. Fry tells the story of the engineers of the data age, people most of us have never heard of despite the fact they brought about a technological and philosophical revolution.

For Hannah, the joy of data is all about spotting patterns. Hannah sees data as the essential bridge between two universes - the tangible, messy world that we see and the clean, ordered world of maths, where everything can be captured beautifully with equations.

The film reveals the connection between Scrabble scores and online movie streaming, explains why a herd of dairy cows are wearing pedometers, and uncovers the network map of Wikipedia. What's the mystery link between marmalade and One Direction?

The film hails the contribution of Claude Shannon, the mathematician and electrical engineer who, in an attempt to solve the problem of noisy telephone lines, devised a way to digitise all information. Shannon singlehandedly launched the 'information age'. Meanwhile, Britain's National Physical Laboratory hosts a race between its young apprentices in order to demonstrate how and why data moves quickly around modern data networks. It's all thanks to the brilliant technique first invented there in the 1960s by Welshman Donald Davies - packet switching.

But what of the future? Should we be worried by the pace of change and what our own data could be used for? Ultimately, Fry concludes, data has empowered all of us. We must have machines at our side if we're to find patterns in the modern-day data deluge. But, Fry believes, regardless of AI and machine learning, it will always take us to find the meaning in them.


MON 00:00 A History of Art in Three Colours (b01lcz2s)
Blue

Dr James Fox explores how, in the hands of artists, the colours gold, blue and white have stirred emotions, changed behaviour and even altered the course of history.

When, in the Middle Ages, the precious blue stone lapis lazuli arrived in Europe from the east, blue became the most exotic and mysterious of colours. And it was artists who used it to offer us tantalising glimpses of other worlds beyond our own.


MON 01:00 Who Were the Greeks? (b036pxqk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 02:00 Norman Wisdom: His Story (b00vhmqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 03:00 Rude Britannia (b00ssrsg)
Presents Bawdy Songs and Lewd Photographs

A popular culture of rudeness managed to survive and even thrive in the long era of Victorian values, from the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837 until the 1950s. The arrival of photography in the Victorian age sparked a moral panic, as rude and saucy images became available to anyone who had the money to buy them.

Current-day performers recreate the acts of celebrated rude music hall stars such as Champagne Charlie and Marie Lloyd, and there is a look at the satirical and rude world of one of Britain's first comic book icons, boozy anti-hero Ally Sloper. The documentary shows how a 20th-century seaside culture of rudeness emerged, with peepshows on the pier - the Mutoscopes - and the picture postcard art of Donald McGill.



TUESDAY 26 JULY 2016

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b07ltdk9)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 The Wonder of Animals (b04kzvxq)
Dolphins

Chris Packham explores the success of the most widespread of marine mammals, the dolphin. Contrary to their amiable reputation, they are in fact ruthless predators. They hunt using a combination of specialised anatomy and complex communication, requiring a big brain.

Chris explains the inner workings of dolphin echolocation, reveals how a pod uses body movements to communicate the location of food and explores the strategies used by orcas during a hunt.


TUE 20:00 Sacred Wonders of Britain (b03pr5cm)
Episode 2

Neil is in search of Bronze and Iron Age sites that were sacred to ancient Britons, with water seen not just as a source of life, but also of reverence.

At Flag Fen near Peterborough he discovers a vast ancient causeway built across the fens, with sacred objects placed among its timbers. At Maiden Castle's hill fort in Dorset he unearths evidence of macabre human sacrifices to ward off evil spirits.

Neil travels to Anglesey, where swords, precious artefacts and even a slave chain were ritually deposited. It was home of the druids. Neil learns about their bizarre rituals and dark reputation and how the Romans viewed them as dangerous religious extremists.

Moving on to Bath and its sacred spring, Neil discovers an early version of the habit of throwing coins into water. Once here the Romans recognised the old gods but also brought their own too, making Bath one of the most sacred sites in Roman Britain.

Finally Neil goes to Lullingstone's Roman villa in Kent. Deep in the cellar he finds wall paintings of pagan water deities, while upstairs there are covert messages hidden in the mosaic floor, finally leading to the arrival of Christianity that swept away the old religions, changing Britain forever.


TUE 21:00 Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered (b04n6scp)
What killed King Tutankhamun? Ever since his spectacular tomb was discovered, the boy king has been the most famous pharaoh of all ancient Egypt. But his mysterious death, at just 19 years old, has never been explained.

Dallas Campbell reports on new scientific research being carried out on his fragile remains in an attempt to get to the truth. Using CT scan data, the programme creates the first scientifically accurate image of the king's corpse. DNA analysis uncovers a secret about Tutankhamun's family background, and the genetic trail of clues leads to a new theory to explain his death.

This is an epic detective story that uncovers the extraordinary truth of the boy behind the golden mask.


TUE 22:00 Inside Claridge's (b01phq2c)
Episode 3

It is mid-summer madness at Claridge's, and it appears the whole world is coming through its doors.

Thirty delegations from around the world are arriving for the Olympics. The red carpet is rolled out five times a day for heads of state, and Noma - ranked the world's number one restaurant - is setting up as a pop-up in the ballroom. With the kitchen stuffed with hay and wood sorrel, Claridge's chefs are faced with turning their back on the traditional fare to provide Nordic foraged food to thousands of guests who have paid £195 per head to sample - among other delights - live ants.

Bill and Laura fly in from Atlanta for the wedding of their dreams, and Stephen the butler prepares a suite for one of the hotel's most regular guests by bringing his furniture, hat boxes and 20 suits out of storage, all for one night's stay.


TUE 23:00 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.


TUE 00:00 Sacred Wonders of Britain (b03pr5cm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 01:00 A History of Art in Three Colours (b01lcz2s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:00 on Monday]


TUE 02:00 Inside Claridge's (b01phq2c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


TUE 03:00 Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered (b04n6scp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2016

WED 19:00 World News Today (b07ltdlv)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 The Wonder of Animals (b04lcyzw)
Bats

Bats have colonised remote corners of the planet to become one of most widespread mammals on earth. Chris Packham explores their incredible anatomy, physiology and senses to understand what enables them to thrive in some surprising places.

Tiny hairs on their wings give them a detailed air-flow map during flight, heat sensors on the nose of vampire bats means they can sense the most blood-rich areas of a prey's body and iron oxide particles in the bat brain may act as a compass allowing them to find the most direct route back to the roost.


WED 20:00 Yellowstone (b00jrh7r)
Summer

As the spring melts the winter snow, the full extent of Yellowstone is gradually revealed. Now, from the surrounding lowlands herds of elk, pronghorn and bison return from their winter feeding grounds to take advantage of America's richest natural grasslands - right in the heart of Yellowstone. In only a few weeks, a brutally harsh deep freeze has been transformed into a flower-decked nursery perfect for the year's newborn animals. There is also a new cast of characters that emerge bleary-eyed from hibernation as grizzly bears begin to teach their young the secrets of survival in Yellowstone - how to hunt fish in the still-frozen rivers and, as the season progresses, when to move out through valleys and grasslands into summer forests and up into Yellowstone's alpine peaks. In this spectacular wilderness, over 10,000ft high, they slide and scrabble, hunting millions of tiny moths buried under rocks on the barren slopes.

But summer here is fickle - even on Midsummer's Day, winter can descend from the surrounding mountains bringing punishing snows to fragile flower meadows. August is the only month in the year when it does not snow, but then, just as it seems the easy living of summer has finally arrived, it is brought to an abrupt end as fires sweep through the forest, laying Yellowstone to waste.

Yellowstone is the most geothermally active place on earth. There are 10,000 boiling springs, bubbling mudpots and fumeroles there, and more geysers than in all the rest of the world put together. For some, nature's fountains are more than just a marvel, they are an obsession. 'Geyser Gazers' have seen them all and can even imitate them.


WED 21:00 Masters of the Pacific Coast: The Tribes of the American Northwest (b07m772h)
Arrival

Two-part documentary in which archaeologist Dr Jago Cooper explores the extraordinary and resilient culture of the American north west, revealing one the most inspiring stories in human history.

1,400 miles of rugged, windswept and rocky coastline in what is now the Alaskan panhandle, British Columbia and Washington state have been home to hundreds of distinct communities for over 10,000 years. Theirs is the longest continuing culture to be found anywhere in the Americas. They mastered a tough environment to create unique and complex communities that have redefined how human societies develop. They produced art infused with meaning that ranks alongside any other major civilisation on earth. And they were very nearly wiped out - by foreign disease, oppression and theft of their lands. But a deep connection to the environment lies at the heart of their endurance and, unlike many indigenous cultures annihilated following European contact, their culture sustains and has much to offer the rest of the world today.

Jago sees how a complex society developed without agriculture. The answer lies in the extraordinary way in which the people understood and mastered their environment, which in turn is reflected in their identity and social structures. He reveals the hidden significance in totem poles, canoes and intricate textiles, arguing that the peoples of the north west coast achieved the highest levels of cultural achievement.


WED 22:00 Ocean Giants (b01452jz)
Voices of the Sea

Whales and dolphins are nature's supreme vocalists, with a repertoire to put an opera singer to shame. The mighty sperm whale produces deafening clicks in its blowhole which it uses to locate giant squid two miles down in the ocean abyss, while migrating narwhals use similar sounds to pinpoint vital breathing holes in Arctic ice floes.

The pink boto dolphin creates bat-like ultrasonic clicks to 'see with sound' and to catch fish in the murky waters of the Amazon River, and also uses whistles and chirps for social conversations.

Killer whales in the North Sea use wolf-like howls to round up the herring shoals which they feed on, and they and other dolphins also use percussive tail slaps and splashing leaps to signal to each other. One group of bottlenose dolphins in Brazil has even learned to communicate with fishermen in a unique partnership.

But the most famous and mysterious voice of all surely belongs to male humpback whales, whose haunting operatic performances may last several hours and seem to be about singing purely for the sheer pleasure of making music.


WED 23:00 Burma, My Father and the Forgotten Army (b036x83s)
Apart from a few fragmentary stories, Griff Rhys Jones's father never talked about his war. Yet as a medical officer to a West African division he travelled 15,000 miles from Wales to Ghana and the jungles of Burma. He and his men were part of an army of a million raised in Africa and Asia to fight the Japanese. To understand their story Griff travels first to Ghana and then, accompanied by 90-year-old veteran Joshua, he goes to jungles of Burma. It is known as the forgotten war, but Griff discovers how it transformed these West Africans from children of the British Empire into masters of their own destiny.


WED 00:00 The Real White Queen and Her Rivals (b0377vl5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Monday]


WED 01:00 Timeshift (b053pxdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


WED 02:00 The Toilet: An Unspoken History (b01kxyhd)
We each spend three years of our lives on the toilet, but how happy are we talking about this essential part of our lives? This film challenges that mindset by uncovering its role in our culture and exploring the social history of the toilet in Britain and abroad - as well as exploring many of our cultural toilet taboos.

Starting in Merida, Spain, with some of the earliest surviving Roman toilets, we journey around the world - from the UK to China, Japan and Bangladesh - visiting toilets, ranging from the historically significant to the beautiful, from the functional and sometimes not-so-functional to the downright bizarre.

Leading our journey is Everyman figure, Welsh poet and presenter Ifor ap Glyn, who has a passionate interest in the toilet, its history and how it has evolved over the centuries, right up to the development of the current design. Finally, there's a glimpse of the future and a possible solution to the global sanitation issues we now face.


WED 03:00 Masters of the Pacific Coast: The Tribes of the American Northwest (b07m772h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 28 JULY 2016

THU 19:00 World News Today (b07ltdm9)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b07m7wpq)
Simon Bates presents the chart show programme, first broadcast on 11 March 1982. Includes performances from Bow Wow Wow, Fun Boy Three & Bananarama, Depeche Mode, Julio Iglesias, Haircut 100, the Associates, Adrian Gurvitz and Tight Fit.


THU 20:00 Masters of the Pacific Coast: The Tribes of the American Northwest (b07m772h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


THU 21:00 Roger Bannister: Everest on the Track (b07lxs4s)
On 6 May 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. He was the epitome of Britain's disappearing scholar-athlete ideal.

The lunchtime-trained runner, immersed in his medical school studies, injected a booster shot into Britain's flagging but still flickering morale. This documentary is as much an historical study of Britain's search for something to erase the woes of the Second World War as it is a fresh look at the story of the quest for the first four-minute mile, previously deemed physically impossible. The story is told by Sir Roger himself, his rival John Landy, Seb Coe and the late Chris Chataway - Bannister's friend and pacesetter - among many others.


THU 22:00 imagine... (b07l24qp)
Summer 2016

One Night in 2012

Alan Yentob tells the story of London's Olympic Opening Ceremony, as seen through the eyes of its artistic director Danny Boyle, his creative team and just some of the thousands of volunteers who worked to make it happen. The documentary relates how they united in the face of a cynical nation and produced a warm-up act like no other.


THU 23:40 Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (b06tkbvh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 on Saturday]


THU 01:40 Top of the Pops (b07m7wpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 02:15 Playing Beethoven's Fifth (b07dprl0)
Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique perform the world's most iconic piece of classical music, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.

Bringing out all the revolutionary fervour that Gardiner believes underpins the work and performing on period instruments of Beethoven's day, this performance brings us an authentic re-imagination of the sounds Beethoven's original audiences would have heard.

Shot on location in St John's Smith Square, the performance looks and sounds stunning.

Ahead of the performance, Gardiner and the principals of the orchestra discuss the issues in trying to breathe new life into such a famous piece and how their period instruments transform the symphony's sound.


THU 03:00 Roger Bannister: Everest on the Track (b07lxs4s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 29 JULY 2016

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b07ltdmg)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b07m4954)
2016

Haitink Conducts Mahler

The great conductor Bernard Haitink marks the 50th anniversary year of his first appearance at the Proms with Mahler's 3rd symphony. One of the most powerful and expansive musical visions of nature ever created, this is Mahler's personal hymn to the natural world. The London Symphony Orchestra is joined by the mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, the women's voices of the London Symphony Chorus and the Tiffin Boys' Choir. As Mahler himself declared, "nature in its totality rings and resounds". Presented from the Royal Albert Hall by Suzy Klein.


FRI 21:25 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074sk2)
Episode 3

Musical memories from the BBC archives. This edition concentrates on the soul and funk artists who found success in the British charts of the 1980s, with performances from Kool and the Gang, The Pointer Sisters, Grace Jones, Cameo, Bobby Womack, Sade, Alexander O'Neal and Whitney Houston.


FRI 22:00 Sounds of the Sixties (b008pfhf)
Reversions

1964-6 The Beat Room

Featuring vintage performances from Tom Jones, the Kinks and the Moody Blues.


FRI 22:05 Sounds of the Sixties (b009x6kv)
Reversions

The Folk Revival

Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen feature in this folk tinged episode of 60s archive.


FRI 22:15 BBC Proms (b07m4956)
2016

David Bowie

A celebration and reinterpretation of the music of the late David Bowie with the Berlin-based musicians' collective Stargaze and its artistic director André de Ridder. They are joined by guest singers and collaborators including Marc Almond, Laura Mvula, John Cale, Paul Buchanan, Conor O'Brien, Amanda Palmer and countertenor Phillippe Jaroussky, and with arrangements from Jherek Bischoff, David Lang, Anna Meredith, Greg Saunier, Josephine Stephenson and Michael Van der Aa. This rare collaboration promises to deliver a unique re-imagining of the Bowie catalogue with fresh interpretations of his classic works.


FRI 00:20 David Bowie: Five Years (b0214tj1)
An intimate portrait of five key years in David Bowie's career. Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved, from Ziggy Stardust to the soul star of Young Americans and the 'Thin White Duke'. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let's Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, this film investigates how Bowie became an icon of our times.


FRI 01:50 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.


FRI 02:50 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074sk2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:25 today]


FRI 03:20 Sounds of the Eighties (b0074sll)
Episode 4

Another in the series of 1980s pop archive shows highlights those bands that swayed on the spot, compulsory for the synthesiser bands that dominated the decade. Doing the standing still are Depeche Mode (featuring Vince Clarke), The Human League, Yazoo (featuring Vince Clarke), Soft Cell, New Order, Bronski Beat, Pet Shop Boys and Erasure (featuring Vince Clarke).