Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London report on the events that are shaping our world.
Armed with his Bradshaw's, Michael Portillo continues his journey from Derby to Lindisfarne. Beginning in Boston in the flatlands of Lincolnshire, Michael explores the connection between the town and its American namesake.
At Southwell, he discovers the origins of a favourite Victorian apple and learns how to make apple pie. In Menston, Michael visits an imposing institution built to provide asylum for those suffering from mental illness and learns how volunteers care for its once-derelict chapel and graveyard.
At Wakefield, Michael manages to board one of Britain's least frequent services and finds out what led to the birth of the parliamentary train. Along the way, he meets a former locomotive engineer who offers him the chance to drive a steam engine.
Infection can take over the entire human body, and if our immune systems aren't strong enough we will die - in fact, infectious disease has regularly wiped out millions of people across the planet. Dr Michael Mosley explores our earliest attempts to tackle infection and reveals the moment we began to harness the power of microbes to fight back. This is the story of how scientists, chemists and doctors helped us win the battle, from Louis Pasteur to Howard Florey, and how a small team of dedicated men and women wiped out one of mankind's deadliest diseases - smallpox.
Lucy Worsley explores the different houses in which Jane Austen lived and stayed, to discover just how much they shaped Jane's life and novels.
On a journey that takes her across England, Lucy visits properties that still exist, from grand stately homes to seaside holiday apartments, and brings to life those that have disappeared. The result is a revealing insight into one of the world's best-loved authors.
As good as any Dickens novel, this is the triumphant and tragic story of the greatest architectural dynasty of the 19th century. Dan Cruickshank charts the rise of Sir George Gilbert Scott to the very heights of success, the fall of his son George Junior and the rise again of his grandson Giles. It is a story of architects bent on a mission to rebuild Britain. From the Romantic heights of the Midland Hotel at St Pancras station to the modern image of Bankside power station (now Tate Modern), this is the story of a family that shaped the Victorian age and left a giant legacy.
A film that looks at the genius of JMW Turner in a new light. There is more to Turner than his sublime landscapes - he also painted machines, science, technology and industry. Turner's life spans the Industrial Revolution, he witnessed it as it unfolded, and he painted it. In the process he created a whole new kind of art. The programme examines nine key Turner paintings and shows how we should rethink them in the light of the scientific and Industrial Revolution. Includes interviews with historian Simon Schama and artist Tracey Emin.
Dan Cruickshank charts the arrival of a new style of palace that borrowed from ancient Rome and beyond, as the kings and queens of Britain demanded that architecture proclaim their right to rule, and even their divinity. From London's Banqueting House to the birth of Buckingham Palace via Kensington, Kew and a new wing at Hampton Court, the palace became like a bejewelled casket to house the monarch. But disaster was around the corner and Britain learned that a palace could transform into a prison overnight.
From pirates' hoards and shipwrecked booty to dazzling gems to precious metals, we lust after treasure, fight over it and go to the ends of the earth to find it - our planet is a treasure chest just waiting to be opened. In this series, Ellie Harrison and Dallas Campbell journey around the globe on the ultimate treasure hunt.
They scratch the surface of our planet to uncover its most extraordinary riches - from mountains of gold to the most valuable gemstones in the world and the largest natural treasure ever found.
In this episode, Ellie ventures down one of the deepest gold mines in the world in search of the gleaming metal that was once thought to be the skin of the gods and the sweat of the sun. Dallas free-dives for lustrous pearls in the waters around north west Australia and, using one of the largest treasure-hunting machines, he seeks out diamonds from the bottom of the ocean.
Dallas and Ellie reveal how you could make your fortune on the beach. Lumps of ambergris can wash up on almost any shoreline in the world. Although it starts life in a sperm whale's stomach, it ends up as a costly raw ingredient in the most expensive perfumes.
And while Dallas tries his hand at opal mining in one of the most hostile places on earth, Ellie discovers how one of the largest and most unusual treasures ever uncovered has helped us solve a 67-million-year-old puzzle.
WEDNESDAY 21 JUNE 2017
WED 19:00 100 Days+ (b08vktpg)
Series 1
21/06/2017
Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London report on the events that are shaping our world.
WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b050mbzt)
Series 6
Hessle to York
Steered by his Bradshaw's guide, Michael Portillo continues his journey from the heart of the East Midlands to Northumberland's Holy Island.
He begins in Hessle, on the north bank of the River Humber, in the shadow of the magnificent Humber Bridge, where he learns about the technology that made it possible. In Kingston upon Hull, Michael meets his friend and sparring partner, local MP Alan Johnson, who tells him about another famous son of his city, William Wilberforce.
In Scarborough, Michael's handbook directs him to the castle, where the founder of the Quaker movement was once imprisoned. His last stop of the day is York, where Michael learns what made the ancient capital a centre for the sweet-making industry.
WED 20:00 Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies (b03b45h4)
The Big Score
In a series celebrating the art of the cinema soundtrack, Neil Brand explores the work of the great movie composers and demonstrates their techniques. Neil begins by looking at how the classic orchestral film score emerged and why it's still going strong today.
Neil traces how in the 1930s, European-born composers such as Max Steiner and Erich Wolfgang Korngold brought their Viennese training to play in stirring, romantic scores for Hollywood masterpieces like King Kong and The Adventures of Robin Hood. But it took a home-grown American talent, Bernard Herrmann, to bring a darker, more modern sound to some of cinema's finest films, with his scores for Citizen Kane, Psycho and Taxi Driver.
Among those Neil meets are leading film-makers and composers who discuss their work, including Martin Scorsese and Hans Zimmer, composer of blockbusters like Gladiator and Inception.
WED 21:00 Burton and Taylor (p01c8jm8)
Drama telling the story of Hollywood's most glamorous couple, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who acted together for the last time in Noel Coward's Private Lives in 1983.
When Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton met on the set of Cleopatra, the attraction was immediate. The public were enthralled by their illicit romance, two tempestuous marriages, frequent break-ups and extravagant reunions. They were the original fabulous stars, conspicuous in their consumption of clothes, houses, yachts, diamonds, and, more damagingly, alcohol.
In 1976 Richard and Elizabeth divorced for the second time. They both married other people and it seemed that the romance of the century might truly be over. Then, in 1982, they both separated and were free again. In 1983, Richard and Elizabeth had one final reunion on the stage when they spent seven months touring with Noel Coward's Private Lives. During the tour public speculation grew about the possibility of another marriage, but in private old frictions played out once again. Speculation about another reunion ended when Richard Burton married his fiancée Sally Hay halfway through the run.
This is the story of the first celebrity 'it' couple. Beyond alcohol, pills and the trappings of fame, was love the ultimate crutch that allowed them to escape the realities of their extraordinary lives? Funny, glamorous, tempestuous and dripping with diamonds, this is the last battle of the Burtons.
WED 22:25 Parkinson: The Interviews (b01h22vh)
Series 1
Richard Burton
Michael Parkinson looks back at his unique interview with talented and troubled film star Richard Burton. Back in 1974, Burton was battling against alcoholism and had spent six weeks in hospital for treatment prior to the interview. Parkinson persuaded him to talk candidly about his career, love life and drink problems.
WED 23:00 Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways (b01qh3z3)
Episode 3
Over just 50 years, Britain's railways grew from a handful of small lines carrying coal to the biggest industry in the strongest nation on the planet. A nation had built the railways and now those railways would build a nation, influencing working conditions for its employees, proving a valuable export across the globe and even changing warfare.
Yet the story of railways up until the beginning of the Second World War concerned who they really belonged to - the private rail companies who were obsessed with profit, the public who rode them, or the government, who needed them at times of crisis but was reluctant to regulate.
WED 00:00 Fair Cop: A Century of British Policewomen (b0555wj7)
With 2015 marking the 100th anniversary of the first British policewoman being given the power of arrest, this film takes us through the remarkable history of 100 years of Britain's female police force. It explores the individual careers and ambitions of women police officers who, through their bravery and guile, were determined to succeed in a profession that never wanted them. It's a story of class, drive and sheer guts, entwined with a darker side of sexism, snobbery, intimidation and betrayal.
Includes interviews with former policewomen who pushed boundaries in the profession such as Sislin Fay Allen, Britain's first black policewoman, Cressida Dick, Britain's highest-ever-ranking policewoman, Alison Halford, who brought a high-profile sex discrimination charge against the police, and Jackie Malton, who provided the model for Prime Suspect's Jane Tennison. These interviews are combined with fascinating facts and illuminating stories from expert historians and current serving officers who have made their careers in the specialist areas of the mounted police and firearms units.
This is a story about ingenuity and determination as well as law and order. A Fair Cop is a hidden history of our society, depicting a battle of the sexes that masked a battle for power.
WED 01:30 Scotland's Home Movies (b065gxgj)
Narrated by Richard Madden, this film is a nostalgic look at how home movie-making in Scotland became a cultural phenomenon. Featuring fascinating and poignant cine films and the makers and stars of the movies themselves, we look back to some of the very first examples of Scottish home movies from the 1920s.
Whilst cinema itself was still in its infancy, the idea of making movies for yourself wasn't far behind. But early cine cameras were hand-cranked, mechanical and cumbersome. They were also expensive, too expensive for all but the wealthiest. By the 40s and 50s, after the horrors of World War II, home movie-making really took off, capturing the austerity of the 40s and the prosperity of the 50s. Cheaper cameras meant that Scotland's middle classes were now also able to capture their lives on film.
By the 60s there was a sense that anything was possible. It was a truly dynamic period in British history. Revolutions in youth culture, music and fashion transformed the look and feel of the country. Home movie-making became a cultural phenomenon, with people from all walks of life taking up the hobby.
WED 02:30 The Genius of Turner: Painting the Industrial Revolution (b01s50kn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 on Tuesday]
THURSDAY 22 JUNE 2017
THU 19:00 100 Days+ (b08vktps)
Series 1
22/06/2017
Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London report on the events that are shaping our world.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b08vxkqb)
Simon Bates and Peter Powell present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 19 January 1984. Featuring Whitesnake, Big Country, Fiction Factory, China Crisis, Gloria Gaynor, John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
THU 20:00 Ireland's Treasures Uncovered (b070w5kh)
The story of the iconic Irish artefacts that have helped to shape and create modern Ireland, both north and south.
The programme reveals the surprising tales behind treasures such as the Tara Brooch, the Broighter Hoard, the Waterford Charter Roll and others, revealing new stories behind the artefacts that we thought we knew. It also reveals the most recent astounding finds that are adding to the list of Ireland's Treasures.
Using key access to Ireland's two largest museums, in Belfast and Dublin, the programme brings together archaeologists and curators who have spent their lives working to understand the true context for these emblematic treasures.
THU 21:00 Japan: Earth's Enchanted Islands (p02n9v9x)
The Southwest Islands
In the far south west of Japan, there is a chain of islands stretching towards the tropics - a place where all life is influenced by the power of the sea, and where volcanoes and typhoons are forces to be reckoned with.
The journey begins at an island at the top of the chain and travels south, revealing unexpected stories of isolation, unique wildlife and unsolved mysteries.
THU 22:00 Horizon (b08tj2zr)
2017
Antarctica - Ice Station Rescue
Britain's state-of-the-art Antarctic research base Halley VI is in trouble. Built on the Brunt Ice Shelf, it sits atop a massive slab of ice that extends far beyond the Antarctic shoreline. But the ice is breaking apart and just 6km from the station is a ginormous crevasse, which threatens to separate Halley from the rest of the continent, setting the £28 million base adrift on a massive iceberg.
So Halley needs to move. But this is probably the toughest moving job on earth, and the team of 90 who have been tasked with the mission aren't just architectural or engineering experts. They are plumbers, mechanics and farmers from across the UK and beyond - ordinary men and women on an extraordinary adventure. Their practical skills will be what makes or breaks this move. The rescue mission has one thing in its favour: Halley was built on giant skis that mean it can be moved - in theory. But no-one has actually done it before. Embedded with the team, BBC film-maker Natalie Hewit spent three months living on the ice, following these everyday heroes as they battle in the most extreme environment on earth to move this vital polar research station.
THU 23:00 Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World (b0546d5q)
Episode 3
As we entered the 21st century, the world was guzzling oil, coal and gas like never before. Despite fears of 'peak oil', Professor Iain Stewart discovers that while huge technological advances are helping extend the life of existing oilfields, new unconventional oil and gas supplies like shale gas and tar sands are extending the hydrocarbon age well into the 21st century.
Given there's plenty of fossil fuels still in the ground, the spectre of climate change has forced many to ask can we really afford to burn what's left? In this concluding episode, Iain Stewart argues we face a stark choice.
Do we continue feed our addiction - suck Planet Oil dry - and risk catastrophic climate change, or do we go hell for leather for alternative energy sources, such as nuclear and renewables, to make the transition from our fossil fuel past to a low-carbon future. In which case, how do we make that shift?
THU 00:00 Top of the Pops (b08vxkqb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 00:35 Peter York's Hipster Handbook (b081v950)
Eminent social commentator Peter York seeks to understand what he sees as the modern obsession with 'the authentic'. He speaks to craftspeople and expert commentators on his journey to understand the current cultural moment. He also examines where the label of the 'hipster' has its roots and whether it is too general a term for such a broad movement. He demonstrates through his years of marketing and advertising experience that subcultures have always been absorbed and repackaged by the mainstream.
Contributors include Times deputy fashion editor Harriet Walters, the Guardian architecture critic Oliver Wainwright, and Sir John Hegarty. Peter also travels to America to look at parallels between the UK and America.
THU 01:35 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.
THU 02:35 Japan: Earth's Enchanted Islands (p02n9v9x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 23 JUNE 2017
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b08vpr8b)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Glastonbury (b08vxlq3)
2017
The Pretenders
Mark Radcliffe and Alice Levine open up proceedings for this year's Glastonbury Festival of Performing Arts with highlights from the set by classic rock band The Pretenders, who opened up the Other Stage line-up earlier today.
FRI 20:00 Glastonbury (b08w2cx7)
2017
Kris Kristofferson and Royal Blood
Mark Radcliffe and Alice Levine introduce highlights from two contrasting artists performing on the Pyramid Stage on day one of the Glastonbury Festival. Starting off with Glastonbury debutant, legendary US singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, who performs some of his classic hits. Kris is followed by Brighton riff-tastic duo Royal Blood, who are fast becoming festival favourites following the success of their debut back in 2014, and no doubt more and bigger success is on the cards with the release of their much anticipated second album How Did We Get So Dark.
FRI 21:00 Glastonbury (b08w2cx9)
2017
Elbow
Lauren Laverne introduces some very special guests from a performance at the Park Stage at this year's festival.
FRI 22:00 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01glwkz)
Arthouse Glam - Get in the Swing
Performances from The Kinks, Roxy Music, Elton John, New York Dolls, Queen, Sparks, Rod Stewart and the rediscovered David Bowie performance of The Jean Genie from January 1973.
Welcome to gender-bending, boys getting in the swing and girls who would be boys and boys who would be girls in this mixed-up, shook-up 70s world.
FRI 22:30 Glastonbury (b08w2cxc)
2017
Dizzee Rascal
Hit maker and crowd favourite, east London's Dizzee Rascal takes to the stage as the Friday night headliner on the West Holts Stage.
FRI 23:45 Play it Loud: The Story of the Marshall Amp (b04c3l7j)
One iconic black box has probably more than anything else come to define the sound of rock - the Marshall amplifier. It has been, quite literally, behind some of the greatest names in modern music.
It all started in 1962 when drum shop owner Jim Marshall discovered the distinctive growl that gave the electric guitar an exciting new voice. Music got a whole lot louder as young musicians like Clapton, Townshend and Hendrix adopted the revolutionary 'Marshall Sound'. The electric guitar now spoke for a new generation and the genre of rock was born.
Soon Marshall stacks and walls were an essential backdrop of rock 'n' roll. The excesses of rock machismo were gloriously lampooned in the 1984 movie This is Spinal Tap. In an extraordinary piece of reverse irony, it was this comic exposure that rescued the company from financial meltdown.
With contributions from rock legends like Pete Townshend, Lemmy and Slash, plus an interview with the 'Father of Loud' Jim Marshall, this documentary cruises down the rock ages with all the dials set to 'eleven'.
FRI 00:45 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00dzzv2)
Part I
Concentrating on the 1970s (1969 to 1981 to be exact) and ransacking a host of BBC shows from The Old Grey Whistle Test to Sight & Sound, this compilation is designed to release the air guitarist in everyone, combining great electric guitarists like Carlos Santana, Mark Knopfler, The Edge and Peter Green with acoustic masters like John Martyn, Pentangle and Paco Pena.
FRI 01:45 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00lk48h)
Part II
A celebration of Seventies-era axe-men, acoustic virtuosos and thumping riff merchants, in a compilation of guitar-heavy performances from the BBC TV archives.
Guitar gods including Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Peter Green and Johnny Winter are joined by, among others, flamenco maestro Manitas De Plata, bottleneck bluesman Ry Cooder and straight-up rockers AC/DC and Thin Lizzy.
Everything from Fleetwood Mac's ambient masterpiece Albatross to hits like The Jam's In The City and Free's All Right Now feature along with lesser-known gems like Maid in Heaven by Be Bop Deluxe and Nils Lofgren's Keith Don't Go.
The tracks were recorded in the heyday of BBC shows such as The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops and Rock Goes to College.
FRI 02:45 Play it Loud: The Story of the Marshall Amp (b04c3l7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:45 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
100 Days+
19:00 MON (b08vktp2)
100 Days+
19:00 TUE (b08vktp7)
100 Days+
19:00 WED (b08vktpg)
100 Days+
19:00 THU (b08vktps)
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
19:30 SAT (b08vl781)
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
19:30 SUN (b08vl9gs)
Britain and the Sea
20:00 MON (p01k4zs9)
Britain and the Sea
00:00 MON (p01k4zs9)
Buddy Holly: Rave On
23:00 SUN (b08q8f1n)
Burton and Taylor
21:00 WED (p01c8jm8)
Cardinal
21:00 SAT (b08ftdw6)
Cardinal
21:45 SAT (b08glcy9)
Dan Cruickshank and the Family that Built Gothic Britain
22:00 TUE (b04m3ljr)
Dan Cruickshank and the Family that Built Gothic Britain
03:00 TUE (b04m3ljr)
David Attenborough's Zoo Quest in Colour
22:30 MON (p03qxfsg)
David Bowie and the Story of Ziggy Stardust
02:10 SAT (b01k0y0n)
Doris Day - Virgin Territory
22:00 SUN (b0074rwd)
Fair Cop: A Century of British Policewomen
00:00 WED (b0555wj7)
Glastonbury
19:30 FRI (b08vxlq3)
Glastonbury
20:00 FRI (b08w2cx7)
Glastonbury
21:00 FRI (b08w2cx9)
Glastonbury
22:30 FRI (b08w2cxc)
Great British Railway Journeys
19:30 MON (b050m9wg)
Great British Railway Journeys
19:30 TUE (b050m8ht)
Great British Railway Journeys
19:30 WED (b050mbzt)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
00:45 FRI (b00dzzv2)
Guitar Heroes at the BBC
01:45 FRI (b00lk48h)
Handmade in Japan
22:00 MON (p054mclh)
Handmade in Japan
02:00 MON (p054mclh)
Horizon
00:00 SUN (b00nslc4)
Horizon
22:00 THU (b08tj2zr)
Ireland's Treasures Uncovered
20:00 THU (b070w5kh)
Jane Austen: Behind Closed Doors
21:00 TUE (b08sqxk1)
Japan: Earth's Enchanted Islands
21:00 THU (p02n9v9x)
Japan: Earth's Enchanted Islands
02:35 THU (p02n9v9x)
Lemmy: In His Own Words
00:20 SAT (p03fvg7y)
Lemmy: In His Own Words
03:10 SAT (p03fvg7y)
Lemmy: The Movie
22:25 SAT (b012p5vv)
Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways
23:00 WED (b01qh3z3)
Majesty and Mortar: Britain's Great Palaces
00:00 TUE (b047pdzg)
Metal Britannia
00:40 SAT (b00r600m)
Nicola Benedetti's Indian Serenade
19:00 SAT (b043ncnz)
Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines
20:00 TUE (b03ccs7k)
Pain, Pus and Poison: The Search for Modern Medicines
02:00 TUE (b03ccs7k)
Parkinson: The Interviews
22:25 WED (b01h22vh)
Peter York's Hipster Handbook
00:35 THU (b081v950)
Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World
23:00 THU (b0546d5q)
Play it Loud: The Story of the Marshall Amp
23:45 FRI (b04c3l7j)
Play it Loud: The Story of the Marshall Amp
02:45 FRI (b04c3l7j)
Scotland's Home Movies
01:30 WED (b065gxgj)
Secret Knowledge
19:00 SUN (b05wps6k)
Sir John Dankworth at the BBC
01:00 MON (b00tp21y)
Sound of Cinema: The Music That Made the Movies
20:00 WED (b03b45h4)
Sounds of the 70s 2
22:00 FRI (b01glwkz)
The Art of Japanese Life
21:00 MON (p054md5m)
The Art of Japanese Life
02:30 MON (p054md5m)
The Genius of Turner: Painting the Industrial Revolution
23:00 TUE (b01s50kn)
The Genius of Turner: Painting the Industrial Revolution
02:30 WED (b01s50kn)
The Magic of Mushrooms
02:00 SUN (b041m6fh)
The Treasure Hunters
01:00 TUE (b040r3bv)
Timeshift
03:00 SUN (b04z23k9)
Timeshift
01:35 THU (b019327k)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (b08vxkqb)
Top of the Pops
00:00 THU (b08vxkqb)
Voyager: To the Final Frontier
01:00 SUN (b01nj48v)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b08vpr8b)