The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on BBC 4 Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2011

SAT 19:00 Nature's Great Events (b00j4c6b)
The Great Flood

The great flood in the Okavango turns 4,000 square miles of arid plains into a beautiful wetland. Elephant mothers guide their families on an epic trek across the harsh Kalahari Desert towards it, siphoning fresh water from stagnant pools and facing hungry lions. Hippos battle for territory, as the magical water draws in thousands of buffalo and birds, and vast clouds of dragonflies. Will the young elephant calves survive to reach this grassland paradise?

The experienced mother elephants time their arrival at the delta to coincide with the lush grass produced by the great flood. In a TV first, the programme shows the way they use their trunks to siphon clean water from the surface layers of a stagnant pool, while avoiding stirring up the muddy sediment on the bottom with their feet.

Bull hippos also converge on prime territories formed by the rising floodwater. Two big bulls do bloody battle, at times being lifted out of the water by their rival.

Lechwe swamp deer, zebras, giraffes, crocodiles and numerous fish and thousands of birds arrive in the delta. And, in a phenomenon never before filmed in the Okavango, thousands of dragonflies appear - seemingly from nowhere - within minutes of the flood arrival, mating and laying eggs.

As the flood finally reaches its peak, elephants and buffalo, near the end of their epic trek across the desert, face the final gauntlet of a hungry pride of lions.

In a heartrending sequence, a baby elephant is brought down by a lion in broad daylight.

The diary section - Mission Impassible - shows how the versatility and persistence of cameraman Mike Holding results is some amazing sequences of the flood advancing.


SAT 20:00 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00zs817)
Episode 3

The final episode offers a raw and revealing insight into English National Ballet, one of the world's premier ballet companies, at the climax of one of its most demanding years. From injury and pain to success and elation, the series exposes the storm behind the calm of big ballet productions.

Wayne Eagling has a highly demanding job as the artistic director of English National Ballet, looking after the 64 dancers that produce eight ballets a year. He has also decided to put his neck on the line by creating his first full length ballet for the company - The Nutcracker. As the company's crucial and lucrative Christmas production, there is no room for error and Wayne must complete the two hour ballet on an extremely tight schedule.

The film follows the creative processes of a choreographer under pressure and a new production fighting against time. With an important audience of critics, donors and government officials expected on opening night, the show must be finished. But with rehearsals running late and severe snow disrupting the making of the sets, it seems the dancers, costume-makers and technical staff are all fighting for stage time right up until the curtain rises.


SAT 21:00 The Killing (b00zwlfg)
Series 1

Episode 19

The hunt for a missing suspect takes an unexpected turn, while the odds well and truly stack up against Sarah. Amidst a new influx of revelations, Troels and Bremer battle it out in a dramatic live TV debate. But back at the Town Hall, Troels no longer knows who to trust. Theis and Pernille are preparing to move into their new house, but something turns out to be very wrong.


SAT 22:00 The Killing (b00zwlfj)
Series 1

Episode 20

Having been taken off the case, and yet more determined than ever, will Sarah succeed in nailing Nanna's murderer? At the Town Hall, Troels is on a downward spiral, until he is given some game-changing information. At the Birk-Larssen home, Pernille and Theis invite friends and family to hold a birthday party for Anton, but the evening takes a dark and unexpected turn.


SAT 23:05 Twenty Twelve (b00zs80d)
Series 1

Episode 2

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.

A visiting group of dignitaries from Rio (Olympic hosts in 2016) is in London for the week. For Head of Deliverance Ian Fletcher and his team the mission is simple. All they have to do is to meet the Brazilian delegation and take them by coach to the Olympic Stadium where they will meet Head of LOCOG, Lord Sebastian Coe. What can possibly go wrong?

As it turns out, just about everything: from language difficulties through satellite navigation issues to burst water mains and phantom punctures. For the team it's a lesson in the importance of staying positive and focused even when you are literally travelling in completely the wrong direction.


SAT 23:35 Women in Love (b00zpdvr)
Episode 1

Adaptation of DH Lawrence's classic novels The Rainbow and Women in Love, focusing on the lives of two sisters, Ursula and Gudrun Brangwen, as they struggle with love, passion and commitment in the build up to the First World War.


SAT 02:05 New York Rock at the BBC (b007mwcf)
From the streets of New York City to the studios of the BBC comes the cream of the New York rock scene, including classic archive performances from The Ramones, New York Dolls, Television, Blondie, Lou Reed and many more.


SAT 03:05 Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet (b00zs817)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 04:05 Twenty Twelve (b00zs80d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:05 today]



SUNDAY 27 MARCH 2011

SUN 19:00 Still Folk Dancing... After All These Years (b00wgrtr)
Young Northumbrian folk-singing siblings Rachel and Becky Unthank take a journey around England from spring to autumn 2010 to experience its living folk dance traditions in action. They lead us through the back gardens and narrow streets of towns and villages from Newcastle to Penzance to discover the most surprising of dances, ceremonies, rituals and festivities that mark the turning of the seasons and the passing of the year.

On their journey the Unthanks learn about the evolving history of the dances, whether connected to the land and the cycles of fertility or to working customs and practices in industrial towns. The girls talk to local historians and visit Cecil Sharp House to explore the dances' 20th century revival and codification through archivist Sharp and others, and we get to enjoy extraordinary film archive of the dances through the decades which show that although the people have changed, the dances have often remained remarkably constant.

Rachel and Becky grew up clog dancing in their native Northumberland and now get to observe and try other English dances, including travellers' step dancing in Suffolk, horn dancing with huge antlers in Staffordshire and stick dancing in Oxfordshire. This curious but vibrant world of local dances flies in the face of modernisation, and sometimes of ridicule, to keep the traditions and the steps alive.


SUN 20:00 Formula One's 60th Anniversary: Plus Ça Change (b00zwmh2)
The 60th anniversary of Formula 1 is celebrated by a unique gathering of eighteen world champions at the season-opening Grand Prix of 2010. Bahrain's ultra-modern desert circuit is a world away from the post-war austerity of F1's first ever race at Silverstone in 1950 and yet, as legends such as Jackie Stewart, Michael Schumacher, Nigel Mansell and Lewis Hamilton share their racing experiences, it seems that some things never change.


SUN 21:00 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.


SUN 22:00 The Banishment (b00zxq3z)
After receiving an unexpected visit from his mysteriously injured brother Mark, father-of-two Alex decides to take his family back to the country home of his childhood. But once there, Alex's wife Vera confesses that she is pregnant again - and that the child is not his. Agony ensues as Alex attempts to figure out how best to react.


SUN 00:25 Opera's Fallen Women (b00zpdwq)
Bizet's Carmen, Puccini's Madame Butterfly, Verdi's Violetta - some of the most famous and powerful roles in opera and they are all, in different ways, fallen women.

And now there's a newcomer to their ranks - Anna Nicole. The Royal Opera's latest smash hit is an operatic version of the life of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith. Antonio Pappano, music director of the Royal Opera House and conductor of Anna Nicole, delves into the world of opera's fallen women and discovers how for centuries composers and librettists have used female characters in opera to explore and challenge society's attitudes and prejudices.


SUN 00:55 Originals (b0074rrd)
Tammy Wynette - 'Til I Can Make it on my Own

Profile of the late country legend, including performances of many of Tammy's greatest songs. Contributors include husbands George Jones and George Richey, Elvis Costello, Allison Moorer, Bill Drummond of the KLF and actress Anna Chancellor.


SUN 01:55 TOTP2 (b0088q0h)
Country Jukebox

Steve Wright presents an hour of country tunes. There are classics from Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson, Glen Campbell, Billie Jo Spears and Crystal Gayle, and massive hits from the Mavericks, Shania Twain, Lonestar, the Dixie Chicks and LeAnn Rimes. Plus, new material from Keith Urban and Rascall Flatts and an exclusive look at the latest video from The Eagles.


SUN 02:55 Grand Prix: The Killer Years (b00z8v18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 28 MARCH 2011

MON 19:00 World News Today (b00zwndv)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 The Way We Travelled (b0074tbz)
The Way We Travelled

Last in a three-part series of documentaries on how holiday and travel programmes have changed the British public's attitude to other countries and cultures over the years. The rise of independent travel programmes such as Rough Guide is featured, along with the more intrepid likes of Michael Palin and Benedict Allen.


MON 20:30 The Beauty of Diagrams (b00w57gr)
Copernicus

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

When Polish priest and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus developed his extraordinary theory of a sun-centred universe 500 years ago, he was flying in the face of both science and religion. Mankind had believed for thousands of years that the earth was at the centre of the cosmos, and to disagree was to risk derision and accusations of heresy.

For decades he was too afraid to publish, but the arrival of a young German scientist gave Copernicus courage, and his book and its extraordinary diagram were published in 1543, when he was on his deathbed. His image of the heliocentric universe changed forever our understanding of the Cosmos, and of our place in it.


MON 21:00 Everything and Nothing (b00zwndy)
Nothing

Two-part documentary which deals with two of the deepest questions there are - what is everything, and what is nothing?

In two epic, surreal and mind-expanding films, Professor Jim Al-Khalili searches for an answer to these questions as he explores the true size and shape of the universe and delves into the amazing science behind apparent nothingness.

The second part, Nothing, explores science at the very limits of human perception, where we now understand the deepest mysteries of the universe lie. Jim sets out to answer one very simple question - what is nothing? His journey ends with perhaps the most profound insight about reality that humanity has ever made. Everything came from nothing. The quantum world of the supersmall shaped the vast universe we inhabit today, and Jim can prove it.


MON 22:00 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.


MON 22:30 Lead Balloon (b00ftkx2)
Series 3

Fax

Sitcom about ex-celebrity comedian Rick Spleen.

Rick is a guest on a much-loved radio panel show and manages to get the worst score of all time. He encounters more problems when his e-mail crashes and he's forced to find someone who still has a fax machine.

Meanwhile, Rick's daughter Sam forms a band with her boyfriend Ben. Rick objects to their loud rehearsals, but when it looks like the imaginatively-named 'Ben and Sam' will achieve success through exposure on YouTube, he changes his tune.


MON 23:00 Anna Nicole from the Royal Opera House (b00zpdyb)
The television premiere of the hit opera based on the life of the young American Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, who was thrust into the global media spotlight when she married an octogenarian billionaire, became a reality TV star and, after a drug overdose, died tragically early.

Composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and librettist Richard Thomas have created a darkly comic work for the Royal Opera which satirises celebrity and consumer culture. Eva-Maria Westbroek sings the challenging and complex title role, and the two central men in her life, her billionaire husband and her lawyer, are sung by Alan Oke and Gerald Finley. Musical director Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House.


MON 01:10 Twenty Twelve (b00zwnf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


MON 01:40 The Way We Travelled (b0074tbz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:35 Everything and Nothing (b00zwndy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 03:35 Twenty Twelve (b00zwnf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



TUESDAY 29 MARCH 2011

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00zwnr6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters (b00d298z)
Jimmy Doherty travels to Nepal to meet an ancient group of people who risk their lives to farm their local honey.

A keen beekeeper with a passion for honey, Jimmy has always been blown away by the sheer variety of flavours, appreciating a good honey like others enjoy a fine wine. So when he heard about an ancient group of people in Nepal who are willing to risk their lives to taste their local honey, he knew he wanted to share the experience.

As a 'honey hunter' Jimmy must scale a massive cliff to reach the home of more than two million bees and dangle 200 feet up to get their honey. If successful, the reward is not only to learn more about these amazing bees, but also to taste one of nature's finest bounties - beautiful wild honey.


TUE 20:30 The Yorkshire Dales on Film (b00tnvnq)
Using moving images from across the decades, this documentary goes on a short trip to one of the most beautiful parts of the UK, the Yorkshire Dales. Encompassing newsreels, documentaries and home movies, these rarely-seen archive gems come together to reveal all aspects of life in the Dales, from sheep farming to cheese making, railway lines to dry stone walls and hill runners to potholing.


TUE 21:00 Sex and the Sitcom (b00zwnt0)
How has the sitcom responded to the sexual revolution?

From Hancock's Half Hour in the 50s, through 70s sitcoms like Up Pompeii! and Reggie Perrin to contemporary comedies like Him & Her, this documentary explores sexual frustration as an enduring sitcom theme, the changing role of women and the British love of innuendo.

Why did Butterflies cause such a stir in the 80s? Did Men Behaving Badly really capture the sexual politics of the 90s? And how did the permissive society affect Terry and June?

The film looks at the changing language of sitcom, contrasts British comedy with its more liberal American counterpart, and asks whether the modern sitcom recognises any taboos at all.

Contributors include sitcom stars Leslie Phillips, Lesley Joseph, Wendy Craig, and writers David Nobbs, Simon Nye and Jonathan Harvey.


TUE 22:00 Hattie (b00xllyq)
Ruth Jones takes on the role of the larger-than-life Carry On actress Hattie Jacques, revealing how her home life was blown apart by a secret sexual liaison with her handsome young driver while she was married to Dad's Army star John Le Mesurier.


TUE 23:25 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zs840)
Behind the Black Door

Michael Cockerell reveals what life has really been like over the years in 10 Downing Street. Insiders talk candidly about the constant battles and the tragicomic events behind the famous black door. The film shows what an unlikely place No.10 is to run a government from.


TUE 00:25 Sex and the Sitcom (b00zwnt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 01:25 Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters (b00d298z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 02:25 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zs840)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:25 today]


TUE 03:25 Sex and the Sitcom (b00zwnt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 30 MARCH 2011

WED 19:00 World News Today (b00zwny5)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00sftd3)
Freud Museum

The Freud Museum in Hampstead, London is where the father of psychoanalysis lived his final year after escaping the Nazis in Austria. Sigmund Freud managed to smuggle out all his possessions, including the famous couch where his patients lay. This iconic piece of furniture is now a shrine to therapists and Freud fans from all over the world.

But despite its gravitas this small museum is struggling to stay relevant. In recent years Freud's thinking has fallen out of fashion and theories like Penis Envy and the Oedipus Complex have been discredited by many in the psychology world. Now the museum is appointing a new director with the mission to make Freud less elitist and more appealing to ordinary people.

One of the first things the museum does is to hold a dating evening. A number of games are created for the night, based on Freud's obsession with human sexuality. Another activity seizes on Freud's groundbreaking theory of dream interpretation, with scholar Ivan Ward getting partygoers together to discuss their dreams with one another.

But the process of making change is slow because no one can agree. Everyone has an opinion on how best to serve Freud, including the caretaker Alex who has lived at the museum since its beginning.


WED 20:30 Time to Remember (b00vjm5x)
The Royal Families

The fortunes and fates of the European royal dynasties during the first half of the 20th century are traced through footage from a variety of episodes of the 1950s newsreel series Time to Remember. Narrator Lesley Sharp links sequences showing an era of war, revolution, assassination and abdication.

Includes footage of Queen Victoria at her diamond jubilee celebrations; Victoria's funeral; Edward VII out hunting; Tsar Nicholas II of Russia; Victor Emmanuel of Italy; Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany; Franz Josef of Austria in Sarajevo; George V's coronation, silver jubilee and funeral; King Albert of Belgium; the future Edward VIII walking in Tokyo with the future Emperor Hirohito; King Alexander of Yugoslavia being assassinated in Marseilles in 1934; King Boris of Bulgaria; Edward VIII's 1936 abdication statement; George VI's coronation; and Queen Elizabeth II as a child.


WED 21:00 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zwny7)
The Network

Michael Cockerell reveals what really happens in the hidden power houses of Whitehall, the cabinet minister's private office. These are where political advisers have bloody battles with civil servants for the hearts and minds of their ministers, from where gaffes are averted and plots hatched. Mixing rare archive with candid interviews, the programme tells the story of what goes on within this most influential of secret networks.


WED 22:00 Kidult (b00zwny9)
Cuban Punch-Up: The Boys who Fought for Castro

Documentary which follows the stories of three young hopefuls through eight dramatic months of training and education as they prepare for the biggest event of their lives so far, Cuba's National Boxing Championship for Under-12s. But during the season, crisis strikes - Fidel Castro is taken ill and all of Cuba's Olympic boxing champions defect to the USA. As the championship draws closer, the Cuba that the boys have been taught to believe in is at a historic crossroads.


WED 23:00 The Killing (b00zwlfg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


WED 00:00 The Killing (b00zwlfj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Saturday]


WED 01:05 Time to Remember (b00vjm5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


WED 01:35 Behind the Scenes at the Museum (b00sftd3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 02:35 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zwny7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


WED 03:35 Kidult (b00zwny9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



THURSDAY 31 MARCH 2011

THU 19:00 World News Today (b00zwp15)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 On Hannibal's Trail (b00tg2jh)
Hannibal the Great

History and travel series in which three Australian brothers - Danny, Ben and Sam Wood - set out cycling on the trail of Hannibal, the Carthaginian warrior who marched from Spain to Rome at the head of an invading army accompanied by elephants.

With the Alps behind them, the brothers cycle through northern Italy from the fertile Valley of Trebbia, where Hannibal first defeated the Romans on their home turf, to the rolling hills of Tuscany. They continue on through thick marshes before arriving at Cannae, site of the bloodiest battle in ancient history. On the way, the Woods meet a winemaker called Hannibal, attempt to make a pizza in Naples and have a close shave in Trani.


THU 20:00 My New Best Friend (b00byhrf)
London

Three-part documentary series about the importance and nature of friendship among children, told from their point of view. Four London children make the transition from their familiar primary schools to the grown-up world of an inner-city secondary school. The two boys, Demian and Azad, are best friends from the start, while girls Semra and Katriye are twin sisters. Playground politics and rivalries come to affect all of them profoundly.


THU 21:00 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.


THU 22:30 Omnibus (b0074kgk)
Elizabeth Taylor - England's Other Elizabeth

Profile drawn from Elizabeth Taylor's visit to Britain in 2000, during which she received her damehood from the Queen. Hollywood's last great star talks for the first time in years about her career, her life and the challenges of the future.

From her early days as a child star in Lassie Come Home and National Velvet to becoming the century's biggest star of all - in Cleopatra - her life, her loves and her work have all been lived to an intensity no other star can match.

Joined by Shirley MacLaine, Rod Steiger and Angela Lansbury, Taylor remembers the glory days of working with Richard Burton, Montgomery Clift, Rock Hudson, James Dean and Paul Newman, how filming never stopped regardless of what life threw at her, the pain and pleasure of two Oscars - one for a film she can hardly bear to remember - and, not least, the feelings she has for Britain, where she was born and how it was her English accent that launched her on the way to stardom at the very beginning.


THU 23:25 Everything and Nothing (b00zwndy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


THU 00:25 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zwny7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


THU 01:25 Women in Love (b00zwp18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 03:00 The Secret World of Whitehall (b00zwny7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]



FRIDAY 01 APRIL 2011

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00zwrn3)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Sacred Music (b009lvpl)
Series 1

Palestrina and the Popes

Documentary series in which actor and former chorister Simon Russell Beale explores the flowering of Western sacred music.

He uncovers the links between the papal intrigues of Renaissance Rome and the music of the enigmatic Palestrina, whose work is considered by many to be unsurpassed in its spiritual perfection. The art and architecture of the Italian High Renaissance are accompanied by a performance from the award-winning choir The Sixteen, conducted by founder Harry Christophers.


FRI 20:30 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.


FRI 22:00 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.


FRI 22:50 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.


FRI 23:20 Top of the Pops: The True Story (b007bs5w)
Jamie Theakston presents the history of Britain's best-loved music show, spanning four decades of great music and including archive footage of classic performances and backstage antics. As well as interviews with former presenters, such as Jimmy Savile and John Peel, there are also contributions from artists who have appeared on the show, including Pan's People, Robin Gibb, Noddy Holder, Blondie, Holly Johnson, Suggs, Noel Gallagher, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams.


FRI 00:20 When the Stranglers Met Roland Rat (b007m4wt)
Documentary which goes in search of the colliding worlds of pop and kids' TV, including the embarrassing moments, strange kids and bizarre incidents that illuminated the many facets of the genre. With interviews from past programme makers, presenters, pop stars and record company executives, including Sarah Greene, Mike Read, Stephen Gately, Tommy Boyd, Searchers and Emma Forbes.


FRI 01:20 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


FRI 02:50 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 03:40 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:50 today]




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet 20:00 SAT (b00zs817)

Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with English National Ballet 03:05 SAT (b00zs817)

Anna Nicole from the Royal Opera House 23:00 MON (b00zpdyb)

Behind the Scenes at the Museum 19:30 WED (b00sftd3)

Behind the Scenes at the Museum 01:35 WED (b00sftd3)

Everything and Nothing 21:00 MON (b00zwndy)

Everything and Nothing 02:35 MON (b00zwndy)

Everything and Nothing 23:25 THU (b00zwndy)

Formula One's 60th Anniversary: Plus Ça Change 20:00 SUN (b00zwmh2)

Grand Prix: The Killer Years 21:00 SUN (b00z8v18)

Grand Prix: The Killer Years 02:55 SUN (b00z8v18)

Hattie 22:00 TUE (b00xllyq)

Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters 19:30 TUE (b00d298z)

Jimmy and the Wild Honey Hunters 01:25 TUE (b00d298z)

Kidult 22:00 WED (b00zwny9)

Kidult 03:35 WED (b00zwny9)

Lead Balloon 22:30 MON (b00ftkx2)

My New Best Friend 20:00 THU (b00byhrf)

Nature's Great Events 19:00 SAT (b00j4c6b)

New York Rock at the BBC 02:05 SAT (b007mwcf)

Omnibus 22:30 THU (b0074kgk)

On Hannibal's Trail 19:30 THU (b00tg2jh)

Opera's Fallen Women 00:25 SUN (b00zpdwq)

Originals 00:55 SUN (b0074rrd)

Sacred Music 19:30 FRI (b009lvpl)

Sex and the Sitcom 21:00 TUE (b00zwnt0)

Sex and the Sitcom 00:25 TUE (b00zwnt0)

Sex and the Sitcom 03:25 TUE (b00zwnt0)

Still Folk Dancing... After All These Years 19:00 SUN (b00wgrtr)

TOTP2 01:55 SUN (b0088q0h)

The Banishment 22:00 SUN (b00zxq3z)

The Beauty of Diagrams 20:30 MON (b00w57gr)

The Killing 21:00 SAT (b00zwlfg)

The Killing 22:00 SAT (b00zwlfj)

The Killing 23:00 WED (b00zwlfg)

The Killing 00:00 WED (b00zwlfj)

The Secret World of Whitehall 23:25 TUE (b00zs840)

The Secret World of Whitehall 02:25 TUE (b00zs840)

The Secret World of Whitehall 21:00 WED (b00zwny7)

The Secret World of Whitehall 02:35 WED (b00zwny7)

The Secret World of Whitehall 00:25 THU (b00zwny7)

The Secret World of Whitehall 03:00 THU (b00zwny7)

The Way We Travelled 19:30 MON (b0074tbz)

The Way We Travelled 01:40 MON (b0074tbz)

The Yorkshire Dales on Film 20:30 TUE (b00tnvnq)

Time to Remember 20:30 WED (b00vjm5x)

Time to Remember 01:05 WED (b00vjm5x)

Top of the Pops: The True Story 23:20 FRI (b007bs5w)

Top of the Pops 20:30 FRI (b00zwrn5)

Top of the Pops 22:00 FRI (b00zwrn7)

Top of the Pops 22:50 FRI (b00zwrn9)

Top of the Pops 01:20 FRI (b00zwrn5)

Top of the Pops 02:50 FRI (b00zwrn7)

Top of the Pops 03:40 FRI (b00zwrn9)

Twenty Twelve 23:05 SAT (b00zs80d)

Twenty Twelve 04:05 SAT (b00zs80d)

Twenty Twelve 22:00 MON (b00zwnf0)

Twenty Twelve 01:10 MON (b00zwnf0)

Twenty Twelve 03:35 MON (b00zwnf0)

When the Stranglers Met Roland Rat 00:20 FRI (b007m4wt)

Women in Love 23:35 SAT (b00zpdvr)

Women in Love 21:00 THU (b00zwp18)

Women in Love 01:25 THU (b00zwp18)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b00zwndv)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b00zwnr6)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b00zwny5)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b00zwp15)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b00zwrn3)