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 27 SEPTEMBER 2014

SAT 19:00 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.


SAT 20:00 Hidden Killers (b03lyv9x)
The Edwardian Home

The dawn of the 20th century and the reign of a new king ushered in an era of fresh inventions and innovations that transformed the way we lived. Electricity, refrigeration and a whole host of different materials promised to make life at home brighter, easier and more convenient. But a lack of understanding of the potential hazards meant that they frequently led to terrible accidents, horrendous injuries and even death.

Dr Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to an age when asbestos socks and radioactive toothpaste were welcomed into British homes. She reveals how their lethal qualities were discovered and why some of us are still living with the consequences of our Edwardian forebears' enthusiasm for untried and untested products.


SAT 21:00 Crimes of Passion (b04k7jp4)
Dangerous Dreams

Puck has managed to get a job working for the eccentric Nobel Literature Prize laureate Andreas Hallman. Hallman is charming and genial, but also a neurotic tyrant. He forces his wife, his three grown children and a daughter-in-law to live in seclusion together, separated from the rest of the world. One night, after the daughter-in-law's birthday dinner, Hallman's eldest and favourite son dies. The question is whether the son, who was frail and sickly, died of natural causes or not.

In Swedish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:30 Top of the Pops (b04j8w5s)
Weekly pop chart programme presented by Peter Powell with performances by Randy Vanwarmer, Madness, Boney M, the Ruts, the Crusaders, ELO, Bill Lovelady, Roxy Music and Cliff Richard and dance sequences by Legs & Co.


SAT 23:10 Young Guns Go for It (b00shyg4)
Series 1

The Human League

Members past and present talk about the three distinct groups that have existed under the banner of the Human League, the Sheffield synthesiser band that enjoyed huge commercial success.


SAT 23:40 Young Guns Go for It (b0077pc6)
Series 1

Bananarama

In the aftermath of the punk era, three girls decided on a career in pop music - they called themselves Bananarama and became one of the most successful British girl groups ever. Original members Siobhan Fahey, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, plus Pete Waterman, Malcolm McLaren and Terry Hall reflect on how the girls became stars and how they almost lost their friendships in the process.


SAT 00:10 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.


SAT 01:10 Yellowstone (b00jrh7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 02:10 Young Guns Go for It (b0077p22)
Series 1

Culture Club

The story of Culture Club and the passionate but doomed love affair between singer Boy George and drummer Jon Moss that provided the band's creative drive. All four members discuss the glamour, success and drug culture of the 80s, and the central relationship that was both the making and undoing of the band.


SAT 02:50 Hidden Killers (b03lyv9x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2014

SUN 19:00 The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge (b0336tf3)
Stephen Smith explores the extraordinary life and work of the virtuoso jeweller Carl Faberge. He talks to HRH Prince Michael of Kent about Faberge items in the Royal Collection and to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who spent $100 million acquiring nine exquisite Faberge eggs. The bejewelled trinkets Faberge made for the last tsars of Russia in the twilight of their rule have become some of the most sought-after treasures in the world, sometimes worth millions.

Smith follows in Faberge's footsteps, from the legendary Green Vaults in Dresden to the palaces of the tsars and the corridors of the Kremlin museum, as he discovers how this fin-de-siecle genius transformed his father's modest business into the world's most famous supplier of luxury items.


SUN 20:00 Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities (b03lyyrc)
Episode 3

Simon discovers surprises in Istanbul as it rose to become the imperial capital and Islam's most powerful city. Visiting the great mosques and palaces built by the Ottoman emperors, he tells the stories behind them - of royal concubines, murderous bodyguards and sultans both the powerful and the depraved. He shows how the Christians, Muslims and Jews of the city once co-existed before the waves of nationalist rebellions brought the Ottoman empire to its knees. In the 20th century the ancient capital was once more transformed by the new secular vision of Ataturk.


SUN 21:00 British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash (b04jvlk2)
David Bomberg: Prophet in No Man's Land

In the years preceding 1914, David Bomberg, Walter Sickert and Paul Nash set out to paint a new world, but, as the century unfolded, found themselves working in the rubble.

David Bomberg is now recognised as the most startlingly original British painter of his generation, but died in obscurity more than half a century ago.

A Jewish immigrant from London's east end, his early modernist works pushed art to its limits. Fighting at the Somme, David Bomberg watched the world splinter and fall apart just like the works of art he had created. Bomberg spent the rest of his life searching for order in an increasingly disordered world, and his wanderings took him as far as Palestine, before he settled at the end of his life in Ronda, Spain.

When he died in 1957, embattled and in poverty, he seemed to be no more than a footnote in the history of British art. However, the works that survive David Bomberg tell their own story. Combative and iconoclastic, he remains the most elusively original British painter of the 20th century.


SUN 22:00 The Body (b041tmzh)
A night security guard runs in terror from a morgue and is hit by a car, and when the police arrive, they discover that a body is missing from the morgue. The body is that of a murdered woman, Mayka Villaverde, killed by her husband Alex so that he could be with his young girlfriend. When Alex is called in for questioning, he starts receiving messages from beyond the grave.

Has Mayka outwitted him and come back to exact her vengeance?

In Spanish with English subtitles.


SUN 23:45 Queen: The Legendary 1975 Concert (b00p4hgm)
On Christmas Eve 1975, Queen crowned a glorious year with a special concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The show on the final night of their triumphant UK tour was broadcast live on BBC TV and radio, and has become a legendary event in Queen's history.

Featuring stunning renditions of early hits Keep Yourself Alive, Liar and Now I'm Here alongside Brian May's epic guitar showcase Brighton Rock, a rip-roaring version of the then new Bohemian Rhapsody and the crowd-pleasing Rock 'n' Roll Medley, this hour-long concert shows Queen at an early peak and poised to conquer the world.


SUN 00:30 Storyville (b0074nrj)
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

Classic rock film documenting David Bowie's last public appearance as his androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust. This memorable final concert at the Hammersmith Odeon was filmed by DA Pennebaker, famous for such 1960s rock documentaries as Don't Look Back and Monterey Pop. The 17 songs performed include Changes, Time and Suffragette City.


SUN 02:00 TOTP2 (b007897x)
70s Special

A 'then and now' special featuring a number of 1970s artistes as they were in 2002. As well as archive footage, the show also includes previously unseen performances by Donny Osmond, David Cassidy, Page and Plant and Alice Cooper.


SUN 02:45 British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash (b04jvlk2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2014

MON 19:00 World News Today (b04jv8q4)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00psx88)
Series 1

Liverpool to Eccles

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed the public, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

His journey takes him coast to coast, from Liverpool to Scarborough, beginning on the world's first passenger railway line. On the first leg, Michael learns to speak Scouse in Liverpool, finds out about the first railway fatality and explores the origins of the Eccles cake.


MON 20:00 British Gardens in Time (b041m5bq)
Biddulph Grange

Biddulph Grange, the best-surviving Victorian garden in the country, takes the visitor on a whistlestop journey around the world from China to Egypt in a series of gardens connected by tunnels and subterranean passageways.

Biddulph was created at the height of the British Empire by James Bateman, the son of a wealthy industrialist. Bateman was fascinated by botany and the emerging technologies of the Victorian era, filling his garden with rare specimens tracked down by the Victorian plant hunters laid out to designs that purported to come from around the world but were actually inspired by the Great Exhibition and painted plates from the Potteries.

But Bateman's fascination for all things new would come into conflict with his deeply held religious beliefs, leading him into open conflict with Darwin, financial ruin and the eventual loss of his beloved garden.


MON 21:00 Lost Kingdoms of Central America (b04jvpqj)
Between Oceans and Empires

Dr Jago Cooper explores the rise and fall of the forgotten civilisations of Central America.

His quest takes him from from the crystal blue seas of the Caribbean to the New World's most impressive pyramids, flying over the smoking volcanoes of Costa Rica and travelling deep underground in the caves of central Mexico.

He travels in the footsteps of these peoples to reveal their secrets and unearth the astonishing cultures that flourished amongst some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world.

In this episode, Jago explores the forgotten people of ancient Costa Rica, who built a series of spectacular settlements amongst the rivers and volcanoes of Central America and whose enigmatic legacy - including hundreds of mysterious, giant stone spheres - is only now being unravelled by archaeologists.


MON 22:00 Storyville (b04jvpqm)
Arms Dealer: The Notorious Mr Bout

Storyville follows Viktor Bout, Russian entrepreneur, arms smuggler and, strangest of all, amateur film-maker. Until three days prior to his 2008 arrest on charges of conspiring to kill Americans, Bout kept his camcorder running. He documented a life spent in the grey areas of the arms industry, crossing the line morally, if not legally, many times over before he was eventually undone by a post-9/11 crackdown. Dubbed by some the Merchant of Death and portrayed by Nicolas Cage in Hollywood's Lord of War, Viktor Bout gained notoriety as the world's most famous arms dealer.

With unprecedented access to Bout's home movies and US surveillance material gathered during the sting operation to bring him down, this film is a portrait of a garrulous, adventurous individual, intent on exploiting the murky loopholes of the arms industry. Interviews with his wife, family and former business partners describe moments both comical and harrowing in a career which ended in a 25-year prison sentence.


MON 23:25 I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra (b016fmxs)
Edward Burra (1905-76) was one of the most elusive British artists of the 20th century. Long underrated, his reputation has been suddenly rehabilitated, with the first major retrospective of his work for 25 years taking place in 2011 and record-breaking prices being paid for his work at auction.

In this film, the first serious documentary about Edward Burra made for television, leading art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the remarkable story of his life.

Crippled by a rare form of arthritis from an early age, Burra placed art at the centre of his life from his teenage years onwards. Although his illness meant that he would predominantly only be able to work in the physically undemanding medium of watercolour, he created unexpectedly monumental images peopled by the men and women who fascinated him.

The follows Burra from his native town of Rye to the jazz clubs of prohibition-era New York, to the war-torn landscapes of the Spanish Civil War and back to England during the Blitz. It shows how Burra's increasingly disturbing and surreal work deepened and matured as he experienced at first hand some of the most tragic events of the century. Through letters and interviews with those who knew him, it paints an entertaining portrait of a true English eccentric.


MON 00:25 New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s (b0177bjb)
Prince: A Purple Reign

Film which explores how Prince - showman, artist, enigma - revolutionised the perception of black music in the 1980s with worldwide hits such as 1999, Kiss, Raspberry Beret and Alphabet Street. He became a global sensation with the release of the Oscar-winning, semi-autobiographical movie Purple Rain in 1984, embarking on an incredible journey of musical self-discovery that continued right up to his passing in April 2016, aged 57.

From the psychedelic Around the World in a Day to his masterpiece album Sign O' the Times and experiments with hip-hop and jazz, Prince was one of most ambitious and prolific songwriters of his generation. He tested the boundaries of taste and decency with explicit sexual lyrics and stage shows during his early career, and in the 1990s fought for ownership of his name and control of his music, played out in a public battle with his former label, Warner. Highly regarded as one of the most flamboyant live performers ever, Prince was a controversial and famously elusive creative force.

Contributors include Revolution guitarist Dez Dickerson, Paisley Park label president Alan Leeds, hip-hop legend Chuck D and Prince 'Mastermind' and UK soul star Beverley Knight.


MON 01:25 The Wonder of Animals (b04j8ttk)
Great Apes

Chris Packham explores the evolution of the great ape's brain to reveal how different parts have been adapted over time by its anatomy, ingenuity and sociability, culminating in one of the most complex brains on the planet. Chris examines how the ability to use two hands asymmetrically sets the great ape apart from other tool-using animals and how social living is linked to the evolution of the amygdala in both humans and our ape cousins. New research reveals how bonobos' peace-loving reputation may have developed through a similar domestication process to that undergone by our pet dogs.


MON 01:55 British Gardens in Time (b041m5bq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 02:55 Lost Kingdoms of Central America (b04jvpqj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2014

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b04jv8qc)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00psyq3)
Series 1

Manchester to Bury

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

While travelling coast to coast from Liverpool to Scarborough, Michael visits Manchester to find out more about George Bradshaw himself. He also gets fitted for a trilby in Denton and learns how the railways helped to create a national institution - fish and chips.


TUE 20:00 World War I at Home (b045gjql)
The Equine Army

Saul David follows the story of hundreds of thousands of animals prepared in the West Country for the frontline. From cavalry horses to mules, he rediscovers the lost camps set up to train the animals, what life in them was like and the changes they made to society as a whole.


TUE 20:30 The Secret Life of Books (p025zl7d)
Series 1

Jane Eyre

Journalist and novelist Bidisha was fascinated by Bronte's Jane Eyre as a teenager, but re-reading the story as an adult left her feeling uncomfortable. What Bronte had to say about sex and race was darker and more disturbing than she remembered.

For the young Bidisha, Jane Eyre's perilous, but ultimately liberating, passage into adulthood showed that a young woman could find happiness without compromising her principles. Jane got to have it all. Or did she?

Revisiting this classic Victorian novel 17 years on, Bidisha sees her erstwhile role model, and the society which spawned her, through very different eyes. Is Jane Eyre really the spirited, independent woman Bidisha admired as a young reader? Is the supposedly dashing Mr Rochester little more than a bully and an abuser? What does the characterisation of Bertha, the mad creole woman in Rochester's attic tell us about Bronte's colonial attitudes?

To better understand her sometime heroine and to search for clues, Bidisha travels to the Bronte's family home in Yorkshire and visits the British Library to examine Bronte's original manuscript and uncover intimate letters written by Charlotte Bronte to a married professor, believed by many to be the man who inspired the character of the abusive Rochester.

Bringing a fresh and critical eye to this classic work, Bidisha reassesses one of literature's most memorable heroines.


TUE 21:00 Timewatch (b00jcgpm)
2008-2009

Captain Cook: The Man Behind the Legend

In the late 18th century, Captain James Cook led three great voyages of discovery which pushed the borders of the British Empire to the ends of the earth. In just over a decade, his ability as a navigator and chartmaker would add one-third to the map of the known world. For many he was the greatest explorer in history, but for others he was a ruthless conqueror.

While the exploits of Captain Cook are well documented, much less is known about James Cook the man. Presenter Vanessa Collingridge sets out on her own voyage of discovery - travelling in his footsteps to uncover the forces that drove him to success, and ultimately to his own death.


TUE 22:00 Timeshift (b03fv7sl)
Series 13

Full Throttle: The Glory Days of British Motorbikes

Timeshift returns with an exploration of the British love of fast, daring and sometimes reckless motorbike riding during a period when home-grown machines were the envy of the world. From TE Lawrence in the 1920 to the 'ton-up boys' and rockers of the 1950s, motorbikes represented unparalleled style and excitement, as British riders indulged their passion for brands like Brough Superior, Norton and Triumph.

But it wasn't all thrills and spills - the motorbike played a key role during World War II and it was army surplus bikes that introduced many to the joy and freedom of motorcycling in the 50s, a period now regarded as a golden age. With its obsession with speed and the rocker lifestyle, it attracted more than its fair share of social disapproval and conflict.

Narrated by John Hannah.


TUE 23:00 Yellowstone (b00jrh7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


TUE 00:00 Natural World (b01k784h)
2011-2012

The Unnatural History of London

Seals, parakeets and even pelicans that eat pigeons have all made London their home. That's as well as badgers, foxes, scorpions, and pigeons that ride the tube. But even more wonderful are the people who love the exotic wildlife of our capital, from Billingsgate fish porters and Indian chefs to 'Crayfish Bob', who scours London's canals for Turkish invaders. This is a warm-hearted portrait of the world's greenest capital city and the Londoners who love its secret wildlife.


TUE 01:00 Otis Redding: Soul Ambassador (b020tphg)
Documentary about the legendary soul singer Otis Redding, following him from childhood and marriage to the Memphis studios and segregated southern clubs where he honed his unique stage act and voice. Through unseen home movies, the film reveals how Otis's 1967 tour of Britain dramatically changed his life and music. After bringing soul to Europe, he returned to conquer America, first with the 'love crowd' at the Monterey Festival and then with Dock of the Bay, which topped the charts only after his death at just 26.

Includes rare and unseen performances, intimate interviews with Otis's wife and daughter and with original band members Steve Cropper and Booker T Jones. Also featured are British fans whose lives were changed by seeing him, among them Rod Stewart, Tom Jones and Bryan Ferry.


TUE 02:00 World War I at Home (b045gjql)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:30 The Secret Life of Books (p025zl7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


TUE 03:00 Timewatch (b00jcgpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 01 OCTOBER 2014

WED 19:00 World News Today (b04jv8ql)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00psz43)
Series 1

Todmorden to York

Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. In a series of four epic journeys, Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains. His first journey is from Liverpool to Scarborough.

Michael travels back in time on the Embsay and Bolton Abbey Steam Railway, finds out about the latest Roman discoveries in York and takes to the air in the Network Rail helicopter.


WED 20:00 Britain on Film (b036f8nw)
Series 2

Messing About in Boats

Throughout the 1960s, the short film series Look at Life captured almost every aspect of British society and culture, but its producers had a special fascination for one aspect in particular - our inordinate fondness for boats. This episode examines the films that documented a period that saw a raft of British sailors seeking endurance world records; boatmen and women striving to halt the decline of our rivers and canals; and high tension on the high seas, as disputes over fishing rights prompted the government to send gunboats to escort our trawlers.


WED 20:30 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.


WED 21:00 Oh You Pretty Things: The Story of Music and Fashion (b04jy2s1)
Image

Just how did Britain become the place where the best music goes with the most eye-catching styles? Lauren Laverne narrates a series about the love affair between our music and fashion, looking at how musicians and designers came up with the coolest and craziest looks and how we emulated our idols.

British pop and rock is our great gift to the world, at the heart of the irrepressible creative brilliance of Britain. But it has never just been about the music. Across the decades we have unleashed a uniquely British talent for fusing the best sounds with stunning style and fashion to dazzling effect.

The final episode in the series takes us into the 1980s - the decade when, thanks to the music video, image became everything. From Dexys Midnight Runners in their austere work wear and dungarees, through the flamboyant new romantics of London's Blitz club, the anti-fashion statements of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark to the band with the image that typified the decade - Duran Duran. The episode ends, as the decade did, with the emerging popularity of urban street wear led by Jazzie B and Soul II Soul.

But this isn't just a story of brilliant musicians and maverick designers, it's a story that touches us all because at some point in our lives, we've all delved into the great dressing-up box and joined the pageant that is British music and fashion.


WED 22:00 TOTP2 (b00slpb6)
Duran Duran Special

Mark Radcliffe takes us on a memorable look back at some classic Duran Duran Top of the Pops performances.


WED 22:30 Worried About the Boy (b00sh5lt)
Boy George has made more than a few headlines, but the years before his Top of the Pops debut in 1982 are less well-known. Living in a squat, attending the Blitz Club, falling in and out of love - Worried About the Boy is a compassionate portrait of a much-loved icon.


WED 00:00 British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash (b04jvlk2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


WED 01:00 Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities (b03lyyrc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Sunday]


WED 02:00 Britain on Film (b036f8nw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


WED 02:30 The Wonder of Animals (b04jy2rz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


WED 03:00 Oh You Pretty Things: The Story of Music and Fashion (b04jy2s1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 02 OCTOBER 2014

THU 19:00 World News Today (b04jv8qr)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b04jy45x)
Weekly pop chart programme presented by Mike Read with performances by the Starjets, the Jags, Kate Bush, Madness, the Bellamy Brothers, the Tourists, the Police, Sad Cafe, Rainbow and Gary Numan and dance sequences by Legs & Co.


THU 20:00 Caravans: A British Love Affair (b00hw3s0)
Documentary about the love affair between the British and their caravans, which saw the country establish the world's largest caravan manufacturer and transformed the holiday habits of generations of families.

In telling the intriguing story of caravanning in Britain from the 1950s through to the present day, the film reveals how caravans were once the plaything of a privileged minority, but after World War II became a firm favourite with almost a quarter of British holidaymakers.

It explores how changes in caravanning across the years reflect wider changes in British society, in particular the increased availability of cars during the 1950s and 60s, but also the improved roads network and changing attitudes towards holidaymaking and leisure time.

Enthusiasts and contributors include Dorrie van Lachterop from the West Midlands and Christine Fagg from Hertfordshire, remarkable and adventurous women who started touring alone in their caravans during the 1950s.


THU 21:00 Voyager: To the Final Frontier (b01nj48v)
This is the story of the most extraordinary journey in human exploration, the Voyager space mission. In 1977 two unmanned spacecraft were launched by NASA, heading for distant worlds. It would be the first time any man-made object would ever visit the farthest planets of the solar system - Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. On the way the Voyagers would be bombarded by space dust, fried by radiation and discover many of the remarkable wonders of the solar system.

Now, at the end of 2012, 35 years and 11 billion miles later, they are leaving the area of the sun's influence. As they journey out into the galaxy beyond they carry a message from Earth, a golden record bolted to the side of each craft describing our civilisation in case of discovery by another. This is the definitive account of the most intrepid explorers in Earth's history.


THU 22:00 Detectorists (b04jy45z)
Series 1

Episode 1

A new comedy about two friends - Andy and Lance - who go searching for their hearts' desire with a couple of metal detectors.

Following a chance encounter with a young history student, Lance and Andy embark on a journey towards the discovery of a lifetime. All they need to do is get permission from the local landowner, the mad one who is rumoured to have done away with his wife.


THU 22:30 Lost Kingdoms of Central America (b04jvpqj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


THU 23:30 British Gardens in Time (b041m5bq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


THU 00:30 Top of the Pops (b04jy45x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:00 Young Guns Go for It (b00shyg4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:10 on Saturday]


THU 01:30 Detectorists (b04jy45z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


THU 02:00 World War I at Home (b045gjql)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Tuesday]


THU 02:30 The Secret Life of Books (p025zl7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Tuesday]


THU 03:00 Caravans: A British Love Affair (b00hw3s0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



FRIDAY 03 OCTOBER 2014

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b04jv8qz)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b03q050s)
Chamber Music

tenThing

Petroc Trelawny introduces highlights from a series of BBC Proms chamber music concerts at Cadogan Hall in London. Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth and her all-female ten-piece brass ensemble tenThing perform a virtuosic programme of tangos, habaneras and marches from Piazzolla, Bizet and Grieg, plus a selection from Kurt Weill's Threepenny Opera.


FRI 20:00 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03b965y)
Pop Goes the Soundtrack

Composer Neil Brand explores how, in the second half of the 20th century, composers and film-makers embraced jazz, pop and rock to bring fresh energy and relevance to film scores.

He shows how in the 1960s, films as diverse as the James Bond movies, spaghetti westerns and Disney's musicals drew on the talents of pop arrangers and composers like John Barry, Ennio Morricone and the Sherman Brothers to create unforgettable soundtracks. But the role of the film composer would subsequently be challenged by directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, who showed that a soundtrack consisting of carefully chosen pop songs could be as effective as a specially written one.

Neil's journey sees him meet leading film-makers and composers including Martin Scorsese and composers Richard Sherman (Mary Poppins, The Jungle Book), Lalo Schifrin (Bullitt) and David Arnold (Casino Royale).


FRI 21:00 Wild Boys: The Story of Duran Duran (b007bqdj)
Duran Duran came out of Birmingham and conquered the world during the 1980s. Originally a New Romantic band in full make-up and cossack pants, they rapidly became bedroom pin-ups for a generation of teenage girls.

Led by Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor, Duran Duran dominated the British and American charts in the mid-1980s with classic singles such as Rio, Save a Prayer and Wild Boys. Pioneers of the MTV-style promo video - from the X-rated Girls on Film to Raiders of the Lost Ark spoof Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran were the 80s equivalent of The Beatles in America and outsold Spandau Ballet and Wham! in their pomp.

Sixty million records later, Le Bon and Rhodes are seen touring America with their Pop Trash project from the early 2000s. The documentary reflects on the heady heights of Duran Duran's career, the cracks in their make-up plus the effects of sex, drugs and fame on ordinary boys from working-class backgrounds.

Apart from the key Durannies - Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor - the programme also features celebrity interviews with Debbie Harry, Yasmin Le Bon, Duran Duran managers Paul and Michael Berrow, Claudia Schiffer, Nile Rodgers and Lou Reed.


FRI 21:50 TOTP2 (b00sfz04)
80s Special

Mark Radcliffe presents a look back at some of the most memorable Top of the Pops performances from the 80s including Adam Ant, Kylie and Jason, Culture Club, Bucks Fizz, Yazz, Duran Duran and Wham!


FRI 22:50 The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill (b04dzswb)
Documentary exploring Kate Bush's career and music, from January 1978's Wuthering Heights to her 2011 album 50 Words for Snow, through the testimony of some of her key collaborators and those she has inspired.

Contributors include the guitarist who discovered her (Pink Floyd's David Gilmour), the choreographer who taught her to dance (Lindsay Kemp) and the musician who she said 'opened her doors' (Peter Gabriel), as well as her engineer and ex-partner (Del Palmer) and several other collaborators (Elton John, Stephen Fry and Nigel Kennedy).

Also exploring their abiding fascination with Kate are fans (John Lydon, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui) and musicians who have been influenced by her (St Vincent's Annie Clark, Natasha Khan (aka Bat for Lashes), Tori Amos, Outkast's Big Boi, Guy Garvey and Tricky), as well as writers and comedians who admire her (Jo Brand, Steve Coogan and Neil Gaiman).


FRI 23:50 Kate Bush at the BBC (b04f86xk)
Between 1978 and 1994, Kate Bush appeared on a variety of BBC programmes, including Saturday Night at the Mill, Ask Aspel, the Leo Sayer Show, Wogan and Top of the Pops. This compilation showcases her performances of hit songs such as Wuthering Heights, Babooshka, Running up That Hill and Hounds of Love, alongside other intriguing and lesser-known material in the BBC studios.


FRI 00:50 Oh You Pretty Things: The Story of Music and Fashion (b04jy2s1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


FRI 01:50 Wild Boys: The Story of Duran Duran (b007bqdj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 02:40 TOTP2 (b00sfz04)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:50 today]




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

BBC Proms 19:30 FRI (b03q050s)

Britain on Film 20:00 WED (b036f8nw)

Britain on Film 02:00 WED (b036f8nw)

British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash 21:00 SUN (b04jvlk2)

British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash 02:45 SUN (b04jvlk2)

British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash 00:00 WED (b04jvlk2)

British Gardens in Time 20:00 MON (b041m5bq)

British Gardens in Time 01:55 MON (b041m5bq)

British Gardens in Time 23:30 THU (b041m5bq)

Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities 20:00 SUN (b03lyyrc)

Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities 01:00 WED (b03lyyrc)

Caravans: A British Love Affair 20:00 THU (b00hw3s0)

Caravans: A British Love Affair 03:00 THU (b00hw3s0)

Crimes of Passion 21:00 SAT (b04k7jp4)

Detectorists 22:00 THU (b04jy45z)

Detectorists 01:30 THU (b04jy45z)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 MON (b00psx88)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 TUE (b00psyq3)

Great British Railway Journeys 19:30 WED (b00psz43)

Hidden Killers 20:00 SAT (b03lyv9x)

Hidden Killers 02:50 SAT (b03lyv9x)

Horizon 00:10 SAT (b00jgtl2)

I Never Tell Anybody Anything: The Life and Art of Edward Burra 23:25 MON (b016fmxs)

Kate Bush at the BBC 23:50 FRI (b04f86xk)

Lost Kingdoms of Central America 21:00 MON (b04jvpqj)

Lost Kingdoms of Central America 02:55 MON (b04jvpqj)

Lost Kingdoms of Central America 22:30 THU (b04jvpqj)

Natural World 00:00 TUE (b01k784h)

New Power Generation: Black Music Legends of the 1980s 00:25 MON (b0177bjb)

Oh You Pretty Things: The Story of Music and Fashion 21:00 WED (b04jy2s1)

Oh You Pretty Things: The Story of Music and Fashion 03:00 WED (b04jy2s1)

Oh You Pretty Things: The Story of Music and Fashion 00:50 FRI (b04jy2s1)

Otis Redding: Soul Ambassador 01:00 TUE (b020tphg)

Queen: The Legendary 1975 Concert 23:45 SUN (b00p4hgm)

Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies 20:00 FRI (b03b965y)

Storyville 00:30 SUN (b0074nrj)

Storyville 22:00 MON (b04jvpqm)

TOTP2 02:00 SUN (b007897x)

TOTP2 22:00 WED (b00slpb6)

TOTP2 21:50 FRI (b00sfz04)

TOTP2 02:40 FRI (b00sfz04)

The Body 22:00 SUN (b041tmzh)

The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill 22:50 FRI (b04dzswb)

The Secret Life of Books 20:30 TUE (p025zl7d)

The Secret Life of Books 02:30 TUE (p025zl7d)

The Secret Life of Books 02:30 THU (p025zl7d)

The Wonder of Animals 01:25 MON (b04j8ttk)

The Wonder of Animals 20:30 WED (b04jy2rz)

The Wonder of Animals 02:30 WED (b04jy2rz)

The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge 19:00 SUN (b0336tf3)

Timeshift 22:00 TUE (b03fv7sl)

Timewatch 21:00 TUE (b00jcgpm)

Timewatch 03:00 TUE (b00jcgpm)

Top of the Pops 22:30 SAT (b04j8w5s)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b04jy45x)

Top of the Pops 00:30 THU (b04jy45x)

Voyager: To the Final Frontier 21:00 THU (b01nj48v)

Wild Boys: The Story of Duran Duran 21:00 FRI (b007bqdj)

Wild Boys: The Story of Duran Duran 01:50 FRI (b007bqdj)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b04jv8q4)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b04jv8qc)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b04jv8ql)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b04jv8qr)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b04jv8qz)

World War I at Home 20:00 TUE (b045gjql)

World War I at Home 02:00 TUE (b045gjql)

World War I at Home 02:00 THU (b045gjql)

Worried About the Boy 22:30 WED (b00sh5lt)

Yellowstone 19:00 SAT (b00jrh7r)

Yellowstone 01:10 SAT (b00jrh7r)

Yellowstone 23:00 TUE (b00jrh7r)

Young Guns Go for It 23:10 SAT (b00shyg4)

Young Guns Go for It 23:40 SAT (b0077pc6)

Young Guns Go for It 02:10 SAT (b0077p22)

Young Guns Go for It 01:00 THU (b00shyg4)