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 07 NOVEMBER 2015

SAT 19:00 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.


SAT 20:00 Lost Kingdoms of Central America (b04kzrg0)
The Place Where Time Began

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

His quest takes him 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 the final episode, Jago explores the ancient civilisation of Teotihuacan that exploded into a position of dominance in the ancient Americas almost 2,000 years ago. For hundreds of years this great city state was the biggest in the New World. Its rulers built monumental pyramids and temples and then went on to build a vast empire that was maintained through force. Yet the identity of the people who led this civilisation remains a mystery.


SAT 21:00 Arne Dahl (b05n8n77)
Series 2

Afterquake: Part One

Stockholm is rocked by an explosion on an underground train. When A Unit begin investigating, they uncover a fascist gang with ties to far-right groups all across Europe and its leader becomes their prime suspect. Kerstin is struggling to come to terms with the death of Bengt and her working relationship with Paul suffers as a result.

In Swedish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:00 Arne Dahl (b05p3fjd)
Series 2

Afterquake: Part Two

In their search for the bombers of an underground train, 'A' Unit have uncovered a fascist gang with links to terrorists across Europe. But as their net tightens around the suspects, another survivor emerges from a hiding place in the tunnel with information that will take the investigation in surprising new directions.

In Swedish with English subtitles.


SAT 23:00 Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC (b06ns4gf)
Smash hits from 60 years of great cover versions in performance from the BBC TV archive. Reinterpretations, tributes and acts of subversion from the British invasion to noughties X Factor finalist Alexandra Burke. Artists as varied as The Moody Blues, Soft Cell, Mariah Carey and UB40 with their 'retake' on someone else's song - ultimate chart hits that are, in some cases, perhaps even better than the original.

Arguably The Beatles, alongside Bob Dylan and The Beach Boys, introduced the notion of 'originality' and self-generating artists writing their songs into the pop lexicon in the 60s. One of the most fascinating consequences of this has been the 'original' cover version, a reinterpretation of someone else's song that has transformed it into pop gold with a shift of rhythm, intent and context. The pop cover has proved a remarkably imaginative and durable form and this compilation tracks this pop alchemy at its finest and most intriguing.


SAT 00:00 Better than the Original: The Joy of the Cover Version (b06n9q8y)
Documentary which celebrates the role of the cover version in the pop canon and investigates what it takes to reinvent someone else's song as a smash.

Through ten carefully chosen cover versions that whisk us from the British Invasion to a noughties X Factor final, this film journeys over five decades to track how artists as varied as The Moody Blues, Soft Cell, Puff Daddy and Alexandra Burke have scored number ones with their retake on someone else's song. Each of the ten classic cover versions has its own particular tale, tied not only into its musical and cultural context but also the personal testimony of the artists, producers and songwriters whose lives were changed in the process.

Narrated by Meera Syal, it explores the stories behind such iconic hits as House of the Rising Sun, Respect, Tainted Love, I'll Be Missing You and Hallelujah, with contributors including John Cale, Gloria Jones, Marc Almond, Rick Rubin, Faith Evans and British singer-songwriter Nerina Pallot.

The cover version has always been a staple of the pop charts. Yet it's often been viewed as the poor relation of writing your own songs. This film challenges and overturns that misconception by celebrating an exciting, underrated musical form that has the power to make or break an artist's career. Whether as tribute, reinterpretation or as an act of subversion, the extraordinary alchemy involved in covering a record can create a new, defining version - in some cases, even more original than the original.


SAT 01:00 ... Sings Dylan II (b06nszhz)
A feast of cover versions of Bob Dylan songs from the BBC archives, with classic tracks old and new and some surprises from the 1960s to the present.

From the essential folk queen Joan Baez to punk princess Siouxsie and the Banshees, from The Hollies to Adele, taking in the likes of Julie Felix, Richie Havens, Bryan Ferry and KT Tunstall along the way, the programme reflects Dylan's long career of writing extraordinary songs and the fascination of other artists with them.

Peter, Paul and Mary's sublime The Times They Are A-Changin' rubs shoulders with the close harmony of Cliff Richard and The Nolan Sisters' smooth interpretation of the protest classic Blowin' in the Wind. The Blues Band's energetic 1980s updating of Maggie's Farm contrasts with Tom Jones's powerful rootsy What Good Am I?

A treat for the Dylan fan and the Dylan novice alike.


SAT 02:00 Top of the Pops (b06n9q3f)
Simon Bates presents the iconic pop show. Includes appearances from Iron Maiden, David Bowie, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Liquid Gold, Spandau Ballet, ABBA and Blondie. Plus a performance from Legs & Co, and special guests Dr Hook and Stu Francis.


SAT 02:35 Lost Kingdoms of Central America (b04kzrg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 08 NOVEMBER 2015

SUN 19:00 Natural World (b03fq319)
2013-2014

Killer Whales: Beneath the Surface

The killer whale was long feared as a sea monster until, in May 1964, one was brought into captivity for the first time. This spawned a journey of discovery into the killer whale's true nature.

It quickly became clear these were not mindless killers - they were, in fact, highly intelligent social creatures. Today, our understanding is deepening still further and the latest revelations are among the most sensational - not only will these top predators 'adopt' and care for injured and abandoned orphans, but it seems there's no longer just the 'killer whale'.


SUN 20:00 Dames of Classic Drama at the BBC (b06nxrv3)
Today, they are at the centre of British cultural life and among our greatest exports - the acting dames, an exclusive club of stage and screen greats who were honoured for their services to drama. But, lurking in the BBC archives - from long before their talents were recognised by royal decree - we find the early work and some career defining moments of Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg and Helen Mirren. David Tennant narrates the story of our dames of classic drama, from a golden age of British television drama.


SUN 21:00 In Conversation (b06nxrv1)
Antony Sher and Greg Doran in Conversation with Sue MacGregor

Sue MacGregor talks to Antony Sher and Greg Doran about their stage work together and their shared passion for Shakespeare. Over the last two decades the actor and director have collaborated on ten shows including Macbeth, Henry IV pts 1 and 2 and Death of a Salesman. In 2016 Doran will direct Sher in King Lear for the RSC, the company Doran runs. This is a rare chance to be in the audience for an intimate insight into a professional and personal partnership that is probably unique in British theatre.


SUN 22:00 The Sky at Night (b06p1b3m)
Second Earth?

As we close in on the discovery of the 2,000th planet outside our solar system, or exoplanet, the Sky at Night investigates the techniques that are revealing so much about these alien worlds. The programme asks if we are really any closer to finding another world like our own - a second Earth.


SUN 22:30 Horizon (b00vv0w8)
2010-2011

Asteroids - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Famed for their ability to inflict Armageddon from outer space, asteroids are now revealing the secrets of how they are responsible for both life and death on our planet.

Armed with an array of powerful telescopes, scientists are finding up to 3,000 new asteroids every night. And some are heading our way.

But astronomers have discovered that it's not the giant rocks that are the greatest danger - it's the small asteroids that pose a more immediate threat to Earth.

Researchers have explained the photon propulsion that send these rocks across space, and have discovered that some asteroids are carrying a mysterious cargo of frost and ice across the solar system that could have helped start life on Earth.


SUN 23:30 Horizon (b01d99vb)
2011-2012

Solar Storms - The Threat to Planet Earth

There is a new kind of weather to worry about and it comes from our nearest star.

Scientists are expecting a fit of violent activity on the sun, which will propel billions of tonnes of superheated gas and pulses of energy towards our planet. They have the power to close down our modern technological civilisation - in 1989, a solar storm cut off the power to the Canadian city of Quebec.

Horizon meets the space weathermen who are trying to predict what is coming our way, and organisations like the National Grid, who are preparing for the impending solar storms.


SUN 00:30 ... Sings Dylan (b0074rpk)
A look through the archives at some of the many artists who have come into BBC studios to sing their versions of Bob Dylan songs. Featured performers include Peter, Paul and Mary, Lulu, the Byrds, Joan Baez, Eric Clapton, Madeleine Peyroux, Bryan Ferry, UB40, Julie Felix, Manfred Mann, the Brian Auger Trinity and Pops Staples.


SUN 01:10 James May at the Edge of Space (b00lc5ph)
James May always wanted to be an astronaut. Now, 40 years after the first Apollo landings, he gets a chance to fly to the edge of space in a U2 spy plane. But first he has to undergo three gruelling days of training with the US Air Force and learn to use a space suit to stay alive in air so thin it can kill in an instant. He discovers that during the flight there are only two people higher than him, and they are both real astronauts on the International Space Station.


SUN 01:40 Madness in the Desert: Paris to Dakar (b01r1cnw)
Documentary telling the story of the world's craziest race.

In 1977, French motorcyclist Thierry Sabine was in serious trouble, lost in the Libyan desert and dying from thirst. Whilst most men would weep and think back over their lives, Thierry thought about coming back - to do a rally across the Sahara Desert. The 9,000km Paris-Dakar rally was born.

The rally became a beacon for eccentric adventurers battling the terrain in customised vehicles, seduced by the romance of the desert and the extreme challenge. It soon became a victim of its own rapid success. Caught up in controversy and with over 60 deaths, in 2008 this incredible event was brought to an end in Africa by terrorism.

Featuring winners Cyril Neveu, Hubert Auriol, Jean-Louis Schlesser, Ari Vatanen, Stephane Peterhansel, Martine de Cortanze, former participant Sir Mark Thatcher and many more, this is the story of the biggest motorsport event the world has ever seen and one of the greatest challenges of human endeavour ever conceived, told by those who took part.

How the west took on a landscape of incredible beauty and scale. And lost.


SUN 02:40 In Conversation (b06nxrv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 09 NOVEMBER 2015

MON 19:00 World News Today (b06nxn5p)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 An Island Parish (b05tyrm1)
Series 9 - Falklands

Nature's Bounty

Summer is drawing to a close, and vet Steve Pointing is busy inspecting the foreign fishing vessels that are arriving in Stanley to get their permits to go and fish for the famous South Atlantic squid. Back at his surgery, a new patient has arrived. Cedric the gentoo penguin has been mauled by a sea lion, and if he doesn't heal quickly he's in danger of being left behind by his friends, who at this time of year are heading out to sea to feed. Meanwhile, the Rev Richard and his wife Jen are heading out to Bluff Cove to indulge in a famous Falklands pastime - diddle dee berry picking, which they're going to use to make jam. And it's stiff upper lips all round as the islanders bid farewell to a popular figure. After four years, governor Nigel Haywood is leaving them and heading off to retirement.


MON 20:00 The Secret Life of Books (b06nxssd)
Series 2

Cider with Rosie

Best-selling chronicler of modern country life, Joanna Trollope traces the roots of her favourite book Cider with Rosie to uncover how Laurie Lee blended fact and fiction in his wistful elegy to a disappeared rural world - and reflect on why a book with such dark, hard-edged undercurrents continues to have such a popular appeal.


MON 20:30 The Quizeum (b06nxssg)
Series 2

Episode 2

At the Jewish Museum in London, founded in 1932 to tell the story of the 1,000-year history of the Jews in Britain, the experts being put to the test are: historian specialising in European and Chinese ceramics Lars Tharp, historian and broadcaster Kate Williams, writer Simon Sebag Montefiore, and art historian Jacky Klein.


MON 21:00 The Last Days of Anne Boleyn (p015vhp1)
Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous and controversial women in British history. In 1536, she became the first queen in Britain's history to be executed. The brutal speed of her downfall and the astonishing nature of the charges against her - treason, adultery, even incest - make her story shocking even to this day.

Yet whilst we know how Anne died, the story of why she had to go and who authored her violent end has been the subject of fiery debate across six centuries. In a radical new approach to televised history, a stellar cast of writers and historians, including Hilary Mantel, David Starkey, Philippa Gregory and others, battle out the story of her last days and give their own unique interpretations of her destruction.


MON 22:00 Storyville (b06pf46l)
Dreamcatcher: Surviving Chicago's Streets

From award-winning British film-maker Kim Longinotto comes a deeply moving film which explores the work of former prostitute Brenda Myers-Powell as she helps vulnerable women escape the dangers on the streets of Chicago.

By day, Brenda counsels incarcerated prostitutes and schoolgirls at risk. By night, she drives the streets with her colleague, offering support to women enduring a lifestyle she knows only too well. Brenda is living proof that these women can change their lives and this intense, powerful documentary offers a non-judgemental eye on the day-to-day workings of the Dreamcatcher Foundation.

A deserved winner at the 2015 Sundance Film festival, the documentary shows Brenda as an empathetic, charismatic and inspirational real-life character, who connects the viewer with a patchwork of personal stories from some of the most at-risk people within society.


MON 23:40 Lost Kingdoms of Central America (b04kzrg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 00:40 Wild Weather with Richard Hammond (b04tqghf)
Original Series

Wind: The Invisible Force

Richard Hammond investigates how wind actually starts. He visits one of the windiest places on the planet, walks into the centre of a man-made tornado and creates a 10-metre high whirlwind - made of fire!

Along the way he is part of a world first when he joins up with American meteorologist Reed Timmer and a bizarre vehicle known as the Dominator III. Their aim is to succeed in doing what no one has ever done before, fire a probe into a tornado to measure its speed where it is at its fastest - right next to the ground. As Reed explains, 'near the base of the tornado is one of the biggest mysteries of tornado science and it's also the most important to understand because those are the wind speeds... that cause all the destruction'. To put that right, Reed and his team take The Dominator into the middle of a real live tornado and attempt to fire a probe into the very heart of it.

Richard also visits one of the few places on the planet capable of duplicating a real-life tornado. The Wind Engineering, Energy and Environment Research Institute (or WindEEE for short) in Ontario in Canada hadn't even opened its doors when Richard asked them to take part in an experiment. The $23 million facility is one of the the world's first hexagonal wind tunnels. As Richard says, 'I've got goosebumps. And that's not just because it's cold in here!'

Richard braves the winds and temperatures of -50 degrees Fahrenheit to take a trip outside on top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. On April 12th 1934, that station measured one of the highest wind speeds ever measured on land - 231 mph.


MON 01:40 How It Works (b01fkc5n)
Metal

Professor Mark Miodownik travels to Israel to trace the history of our love affair with gleaming, lustrous metal. He learns how we first extracted glinting copper from dull rock and used it to shape our world and reveals how our eternal quest for lighter, stronger metals led us to forge hard, sharp steel from malleable iron and to create complex alloys in order to conquer the skies.

He investigates metals at the atomic level to reveal mysterious properties such as why they get stronger when they are hit, and he discovers how metal crystals can be grown to survive inside one of our most extreme environments - the jet engine.


MON 02:40 The Quizeum (b06nxssg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


MON 03:10 Britain on Film (b01nrmwp)
Series 1

A Woman's Place

In 1959 Britain's biggest cinema company, the Rank Organisation, decided to replace its newsreels with a series of short, quirky, topical documentaries that examined all aspects of life in Britain. For the next ten years, Look at Life chronicled - on high-grade 35mm colour film - the changing face of British society, industry and culture.

Britain on Film draws upon the 500 films in this unique archive to offer illuminating and often surprising insights into what became a pivotal decade in modern British history. The opening episode reveals how Look at Life reflected the radical shifts in the position of women in British society, and shows how the country adapted to the new demands and expectations of women at home and in the workplace and at play.



TUESDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2015

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b06nxn6g)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 On Stage (b06nsb44)
At the Exeter Northcott

A new artistic director tries to turn around the fortunes of Exeter's Northcott Theatre in the face of financial pressures and falling audiences. Maureen Lipman narrates.


TUE 20:00 At Home with the Georgians (b00wmxww)
A Woman's Touch

The British obsession with beautifying our homes is not a new phenomenon - it began with a vengeance in the Georgian era. In this second programme of the series historian Amanda Vickery - on a journey from stately home to pauper's attic - reveals how 'taste' became the buzzword of the age 300 years ago and gave women a new outlet for their creativity, raising their status in the home as a consequence. But with it came new anxieties about getting it right.


TUE 21:00 Billy Elliot (b007wv29)
Coming-of-age drama about a young boy from a north east mining village who is sent for boxing lessons but joins ballet classes instead, for reasons he cannot explain to himself, let alone ones that his widower father would understand. He is encouraged by his dance teacher, but her ambition for him brings about a family crisis in the Elliot house.


TUE 22:45 Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession (b00s77pc)
Spirit of the Age

In a series about the extraordinary stories behind maps, Professor Jerry Brotton shows how maps can reveal the fears, obsessions and prejudices of their age.

Religious passion inspires beautiful medieval maps of the world, showing the way to heaven, the pilgrims' route to Jerusalem and monstrous children who eat their parents. But by the Victorian era society is obsessed with race, poverty and disease. Royal cartographer James Wyld's world map awards each country a mark from one to five, depending on how 'civilised' he deems each nation to be. And a map made to help Jewish immigrants in the East End inadvertently fuels anti-semitism.

'Map wars' break out in the 1970s when left-wing journalist Arno Peters claims that the world map shown in most atlases was a lie that short-changed the developing world. In Zurich, Brotton talks to Google Earth about the cutting edge of cartography and at Worldmapper he sees how social problems such as infant mortality and HIV are strikingly portrayed on computer-generated maps that bend the world out of shape and reflect the spirit of our age.


TUE 23:45 The Last Days of Anne Boleyn (p015vhp1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


TUE 00:45 Natural World (b03fq319)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


TUE 01:45 The Secret Life of Elephants (b00gtgd2)
Episode 1

First in a series of three programmes revealing the emotional and dramatic lives of elephants in Kenya's Samburu reserve.

As the day begins, there is great excitement in one elephant family when a new baby, named Breeze, is born. But her first few weeks look set to be the most dangerous of her life. Meanwhile, elephant experts Iain and Saba Douglas-Hamilton face the huge challenge of fitting a radio collar to a three-tonne female elephant with an entire herd looking out for her. Breeze faces her first big test, crossing a river, and the research team investigate when one of their best-known bull elephants is found dead in suspicious circumstances.

Back in the reserve, a young calf becomes injured and cannot keep up with his herd. His mother sticks with him, but will he survive without the support of a family? There is further tragedy when a matriarch dies. In unique footage, a herd of elephants visit her body, and appear to mourn her death.


TUE 02:45 Hidcote: A Garden for All Seasons (b011s3pw)
Documentary telling the story of Hidcote - the most influential English garden of the 20th century - and Lawrence Johnston, the enigmatic genius behind it. Hidcote was the first garden ever taken on by the National Trust, who spent 3.5 million pounds in a major programme of restoration. This included researching Johnston's original vision, which in turn uncovered the compelling story of how Johnston created such an iconic garden.

Until recently, little was known about the secretive and self-taught Johnston. He kept few, if any, records on Hidcote's construction, but current head gardener Glyn Jones made it a personal mission to discover as much about the man as possible to reveal how, in the early 20th century, Johnston set about creating a garden that has inspired designers all over the world.



WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2015

WED 19:00 World News Today (b06nxn6m)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 On Stage (b06ns5qf)
Soho

Soho, perhaps the world's most artistic creative square mile, is facing major changes. As the property developers descend, we go behind the curtain of Soho's theatreland and ask what impact this will have on the area's bohemian spirit.


WED 20:00 Timeshift (b00dzzdc)
Series 8

Last Days of Steam

The surprising story of how Britain entered a new age of steam railways after the Second World War and why it quickly came to an end.

After the war, the largely destroyed railways of Europe were rebuilt to carry more modern diesel and electric trains. Britain, however, chose to build thousands of brand new steam locomotives. Did we stay with steam because coal was seen as the most reliable power source, or were the railways run by men who couldn't bear to let go of their beloved steam trains?

The new British locomotives were designed to stay in service well into the 1970s, but in some cases they were taken off the railways and scrapped within just five years. When Dr Richard Beeching took over British Railways in the 1960s the writing was on the wall, and in 1968 the last steam passenger train blew its whistle.

But while steam use declined, steam enthusiasm grew. As many steam engines lay rusting in scrapyards around Britain, enthusiasts raised funds to buy, restore and return them to their former glory. In 2008, the first brand new steam locomotive to be built in Britain in nearly 50 years rolled off the line, proving our enduring love of these machines.


WED 21:00 Colour: The Spectrum of Science (b06nxwld)
Colours of Life

We live in a world ablaze with colour. Rainbows and rainforests, oceans and humanity, earth is the most colourful place we know of. But the colours we see are far more complex and fascinating than they appear. In this series, Dr Helen Czerski uncovers what colour is, how it works, and how it has written the story of our planet - from the colours that transformed a dull ball of rock into a vivid jewel to the colours that life has used to survive and thrive. But the story doesn't end there - there are also the colours that we can't see, the ones that lie beyond the rainbow. Each one has a fascinating story to tell.

The raw, early Earth had plenty of colour, but that was nothing compared with what was going to come next. That canvas was about to be painted with a vast new palette - and the source of those colours was life. Green is the colour of the natural world and yet it's the one colour that plants have evolved not to use.

The huge diversity of human skin tones tells the story of how humanity spread and ultimately conquered the planet. But the true masters of colour turn out to be some of the smallest and most elusive. Helen travels to the Great Smokey Mountains of Tennessee during the one week in the year when fireflies light up the night sky with their colourful mating display. And she reveals the marine animals that hide from the world by changing the colour of their skin.


WED 22:00 Wild Weather with Richard Hammond (b04v5lng)
Original Series

Water: The Shape Shifter

Richard Hammond investigates the crucial role water plays. Without water there would be almost no weather: no rain, no snow, no hail, no clouds. So Richard goes in pursuit of water in all its forms. He tries to weigh a cloud, finds out how rain could crush a car, and gets involved in starting an avalanche.

Along the way, he tries to find out why clouds float by building his own cloud with the aid of a cattle trough, some humidifiers and atmospheric scientist Dr Jim McQuaid. But will their cloud float in the air like a real cloud?

He also drops in on renowned hail scientist Charles Knight in his lab in Boulder, Colorado, to discover that there is far more to hail than meets the eye. In a scientific first, and with the help of Jim Stratton and Craig Zehrung from Purdue University, Richard sets about firing ice and hail at a board to find out which does the most damage.

Finally, in conjunction with the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos, Richard joins Walter Steinkogler as he starts an avalanche in an attempt to find out how something as delicate and fragile as a snowflake can travel at extraordinary speeds of up to 250mph on the ground.


WED 23:00 Storyville (b048wq0z)
The Lance Armstrong Story - Stop at Nothing

Documentary telling the intimate but explosive story about the man behind the greatest fraud in recent sporting history, a portrait of a man who stopped at nothing in pursuit of money, fame and success.

It reveals how Lance Armstrong duped the world with his story of a miraculous recovery from cancer to become a sporting icon and a beacon of hope for cancer sufferers around the world. The film maps how Armstrong's cheating and bullying became more extreme and how a few brave souls fought back, until eventually their voices were heard.

Director Alex Holmes tracks down some of his former friends and team members who reveal how his cheating was the centre of a grand conspiracy in which Armstrong and his backers sought to steal the Tour de France. Friends and fellow riders were brought into a dirty pact that no-one could betray, lest the horrifying extent of complicity be revealed. But the former friends whose lives he destroyed would prove to be his nemesis, and help uncover one of the dirtiest scandals in sports history.


WED 00:40 Horizon (b01d99vb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:30 on Sunday]


WED 01:40 Dinosaurs, Myths and Monsters (b014lsgb)
From dinosaurs to mammoths, when our ancient ancestors encountered the fossil bones of extinct prehistoric creatures, what did they think they were? Just like us, ancient peoples were fascinated by the giant bones they found in the ground.

In an epic story that takes us from Ancient Greece to the American Wild West, historian Tom Holland goes on a journey of discovery to explore the fascinating ways in which our ancestors sought to explain the remains of dinosaurs and other giant prehistoric creatures, and how bones and fossils have shaped and affected human culture.

In Classical Greece, petrified bones were exhibited in temples as the remains of a long-lost race of colossal heroes. Chinese tales of dragons may well have had their origins in the great fossil beds of the Gobi desert. In the Middle Ages, Christians believed that mysterious bones found in rock were the remains of giants drowned in Noah's Flood.

But far from always being wrong, Tom learns that ancient explanations and myths about large fossilsed bones often contained remarkable paleontological insights long before modern science explained the truth about dinosaurs. Tom encounters a medieval sculpture that is the first known reconstruction of a monster from a fossil, and learns about the Native Americans stories, told for generations, which contained clues that led bone hunters to some of the greatest dinosaur finds of the nineteenth century.

This documentary is an alternative history of dinosaurs - the neglected story of how mythic imagination and scientific inquiry have met over millennia to give meaning to the dry bones of prehistory. Today, as our interest in dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures continues unabated, it turns out we are not so far away from the awe and curiosity of our ancient ancestors.


WED 02:40 Colour: The Spectrum of Science (b06nxwld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2015

THU 19:00 World News Today (b06nxn6x)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 The Sky at Night (b06p1b3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Sunday]


THU 20:00 Digging for Britain (b052vcbd)
Series 3

North

Professor Alice Roberts and archaeologist Matt Williams present 2014's most outstanding archaeology from the north of Britain.

Sitting in the heart of the Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site, the Ness of Brodgar houses a 5,000-year-old temple at the heart of a sacred landscape, built out of stone over hundreds of years.

We catch the unearthing of a Roman altar dedicated to Jupiter that was originally carved in the 2nd century, when Maryport was part of the coastal defences linked to Hadrian's Wall.

11,000 years ago, Flixton in Yorkshire was an island used by our very earliest ancestors, and it has preserved vital clues about their world and the wild horses they hunted and ate.

In Ardnamurchan, a 5,000-year-old cemetery - housing burials from the Bronze and Iron Ages... and an intact Viking boat burial.

A Tudor-era aristocrat's feasting hall is revealed... and how one night the revelry came to a very abrupt end.

One of the richest hoards of Pictish treasure ever found reveals the metalworking secrets of the mysterious tribes who ruled Dark Ages Scotland.


THU 21:00 Natural World (b01lb4vn)
2012-2013

Tiger Island

Jungle tigers are turning into man-eaters in the exotic island of Sumatra. Now a maverick millionaire is catching the killers and releasing them on his land. Is this madness, or could it save them from extinction?


THU 22:00 Detectorists (b06nxyd8)
Series 2

Episode 3

Russell and Hugh embark on their mission to recover the mayor's chain of office from the car park in Barnfather Woods, while Sophie proves she's still very bad at spying. Both Becky and Lance have something important to tell Andy.


THU 22:30 Brian Pern (b04wtgwc)
Brian Pern: A Life in Rock

Episode 3

The final episode of the series follows Brian Pern as he records a charity Christmas record in aid of bipolar polar bears. Brian's health problems come to a head when he discovers that he has invested millions in an aggressive tax avoidance scheme and the HMRC want their money back. This isn't going to be a merry Christmas.


THU 23:00 Sean Connery: In His Own Words (b0674mg5)
Featuring archive interviews with Sean Connery from over 50 years in the business. Friends, actors and directors including Robert Carlyle, Dougray Scott, Laurence Fishburne, Terry Gilliam and George Lucas pay tribute to Scotland's greatest movie star.


THU 00:00 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.


THU 01:00 Detectorists (b06nxyd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


THU 01:30 Brian Pern (b04wtgwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]


THU 02:00 Sean Connery: In His Own Words (b0674mg5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]


THU 03:00 Timeshift (b019327k)
Series 11

The Smoking Years

Timeshift reveals the story of the creature that is 'the smoker'. How did this species arrive on our shores? Why did it become so sexy - and so dominant in our lives? Was there really a time when everywhere people could be found shrouded in a thick blue cloud?

Enlisting the help of Barry Cryer, Stuart Maconie and others, The Smoking Years tells the unnatural history of a quite remarkable - and now threatened - creature. Warning: smoke-filled nostalgia may damage your health.



FRIDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2015

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b06nxn74)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01hz75h)
Guilty Pleasures - Love Will Keep Us Together

An unashamed celebration of the instantly recognisable classics from the decade of love. A half hour of 'Our Tune' anthems and the soundtrack to many a love affair and wedding party, including performances from The Carpenters, Bread, Charles Aznavour, John Denver, 10cc, Bellamy Brothers, Exile, Captain and Tennille, and Dr Hook.


FRI 20:00 Pappano's Classical Voices (b061f4gb)
Tenor

Series in which conductor Sir Antonio Pappano (music director of the Royal Opera House since 2002) explores the great roles and the greatest singers of the last hundred years through the prism of the main classical voice types - soprano, tenor, mezzo-soprano, baritone and bass. Through discussion, demonstrations and workshops, Pappano explores every aspect of the art of great singing.

The tenor is opera's glamour boy, the king of the high Cs, the leading man. Whether the tragic hero or the young romantic lead, whether dramatic or lyric, the tenor usually gets the girl, even if they rarely live happily ever after. Antonio examines the techniques behind the bravura performances, featuring great tenors such as Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti, Franco Corelli, Fritz Wunderlich, Jon Vickers, Peter Pears and Mario Lanza.

With contributions from leading tenors of today - Jonas Kaufmann, Juan Diego Florez and Jose Carreras - and a voice lesson from Thomas Allen, Antonio seeks out the tricks of the trade. How does a tenor 'colour' his voice? Why do his high notes provoke an animal response in audiences? How does he sing from bottom to top of his two-octave range without seeming to change gear? Why did the tenor only come centre stage in the 1830s? Why is Enrico Caruso still regarded as the greatest and most influential tenor ever? And what does it do to your nerves to sing a high C?


FRI 21:00 Top of the Pops (b018zv8d)
1977 - Big Hits

The celebration of Top of the Pops 1977 continues with a selection of outstanding complete archive performances from Britain's silver jubilee year. 1977 was dominated by funk and punk, with Heatwave's Boogie Nights and The Stranglers' No More Heroes in the top ten. Classic top of the charts hits included Baccara's Yes Sir, I Can Boogie and Angelo by Brotherhood of Man. Some of the enduring heroes to take to the stage that year were David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Queen and Elvis Costello, with rare studio performances from The Jacksons and Bob Marley & The Wailers.


FRI 22:00 Radio 2 Live (b06pf5dw)
Hyde Park Headliners

Rod Stewart Live at Hyde Park

On a sunny day in September 2015, Rod Stewart took to the stage in London's Hyde Park to bring to a close BBC Radio 2's annual Festival in a Day. In front of 50,000 people, Rod delivered not his usual stadium set but a bespoke selection of hits from his back catalogue spanning his career, including Gasoline Alley, Angel, In a Broken Dream and The Killing of Georgie (Part 1 & 2), plus Faces classics such as Ooh La La and the blues standard Rollin' and Tumblin', a number that Rod used to perform with Long John Baldry back in the day. To close the set, Rod brought on his old pal guitarist Jim Cregan to help him perform his 1978 hit I Was Only Joking.

All in all, a memorable and unique concert that is unlikely to be repeated anytime soon.


FRI 23:00 imagine... (b036yl2v)
Summer 2013

Rod Stewart: Can't Stop Me Now

From beatnik to mod, from folkie to disco tart, from glam rocker to, most recently, crooner of American standards, Rod Stewart has had a remarkable musical journey. Alan Yentob visits Rod at his homes in Beverly Hills and Essex and talks to his friends and family, including all eight children aged from two years old to 50.

Featuring rare archival footage of Rod when he was barely out of his teens and living above his parents' north London sweetshop, Imagine examines an entertaining career across five musical decades.


FRI 00:25 Top of the Pops (b018zv8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 01:25 Radio 2 Live (b06pf5dw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 02:25 imagine... (b036yl2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]




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

... Sings Dylan II 01:00 SAT (b06nszhz)

... Sings Dylan 00:30 SUN (b0074rpk)

An Island Parish 19:30 MON (b05tyrm1)

Arne Dahl 21:00 SAT (b05n8n77)

Arne Dahl 22:00 SAT (b05p3fjd)

At Home with the Georgians 20:00 TUE (b00wmxww)

Better than the Original: The Joy of the Cover Version 00:00 SAT (b06n9q8y)

Billy Elliot 21:00 TUE (b007wv29)

Brian Pern 22:30 THU (b04wtgwc)

Brian Pern 01:30 THU (b04wtgwc)

Britain on Film 03:10 MON (b01nrmwp)

Colour: The Spectrum of Science 21:00 WED (b06nxwld)

Colour: The Spectrum of Science 02:40 WED (b06nxwld)

Dames of Classic Drama at the BBC 20:00 SUN (b06nxrv3)

Detectorists 22:00 THU (b06nxyd8)

Detectorists 01:00 THU (b06nxyd8)

Digging for Britain 20:00 THU (b052vcbd)

Dinosaurs, Myths and Monsters 01:40 WED (b014lsgb)

Hidcote: A Garden for All Seasons 02:45 TUE (b011s3pw)

Horizon 22:30 SUN (b00vv0w8)

Horizon 23:30 SUN (b01d99vb)

Horizon 00:40 WED (b01d99vb)

How It Works 01:40 MON (b01fkc5n)

In Conversation 21:00 SUN (b06nxrv1)

In Conversation 02:40 SUN (b06nxrv1)

James May at the Edge of Space 01:10 SUN (b00lc5ph)

Lost Kingdoms of Central America 20:00 SAT (b04kzrg0)

Lost Kingdoms of Central America 02:35 SAT (b04kzrg0)

Lost Kingdoms of Central America 23:40 MON (b04kzrg0)

Madness in the Desert: Paris to Dakar 01:40 SUN (b01r1cnw)

Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession 22:45 TUE (b00s77pc)

Natural World 19:00 SUN (b03fq319)

Natural World 00:45 TUE (b03fq319)

Natural World 21:00 THU (b01lb4vn)

On Stage 19:30 TUE (b06nsb44)

On Stage 19:30 WED (b06ns5qf)

Pappano's Classical Voices 20:00 FRI (b061f4gb)

Radio 2 Live 22:00 FRI (b06pf5dw)

Radio 2 Live 01:25 FRI (b06pf5dw)

Sean Connery: In His Own Words 23:00 THU (b0674mg5)

Sean Connery: In His Own Words 02:00 THU (b0674mg5)

Sounds of the 70s 2 19:30 FRI (b01hz75h)

Storyville 22:00 MON (b06pf46l)

Storyville 23:00 WED (b048wq0z)

The Last Days of Anne Boleyn 21:00 MON (p015vhp1)

The Last Days of Anne Boleyn 23:45 TUE (p015vhp1)

The Quizeum 20:30 MON (b06nxssg)

The Quizeum 02:40 MON (b06nxssg)

The Secret Life of Books 20:00 MON (b06nxssd)

The Secret Life of Elephants 01:45 TUE (b00gtgd2)

The Sky at Night 22:00 SUN (b06p1b3m)

The Sky at Night 19:30 THU (b06p1b3m)

Timeshift 20:00 WED (b00dzzdc)

Timeshift 00:00 THU (b03fv7sl)

Timeshift 03:00 THU (b019327k)

Top of the Pops 02:00 SAT (b06n9q3f)

Top of the Pops 21:00 FRI (b018zv8d)

Top of the Pops 00:25 FRI (b018zv8d)

Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered 19:00 SAT (b04n6scp)

Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC 23:00 SAT (b06ns4gf)

Wild Weather with Richard Hammond 00:40 MON (b04tqghf)

Wild Weather with Richard Hammond 22:00 WED (b04v5lng)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b06nxn5p)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b06nxn6g)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b06nxn6m)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b06nxn6x)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b06nxn74)

imagine... 23:00 FRI (b036yl2v)

imagine... 02:25 FRI (b036yl2v)