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 30 SEPTEMBER 2017

SAT 19:00 The Incredible Human Journey (b00kmtft)
Asia

There are seven billion humans on earth, spread across the whole planet. Scientific evidence suggests that most of us can trace our origins to one tiny group of people who left Africa around 70,000 years ago. In this five-part series, Dr Alice Roberts follows the archaeological and genetic footprints of our ancient ancestors to find out how their journeys transformed our species into the humans we are today, and how Homo sapiens came to dominate the planet.

The journey continues into Asia, the world's greatest land mass, on a quest to discover how early hunter-gatherers managed to survive in one of the most inhospitable places on earth - the Arctic region of northern Siberia. Alice meets the nomadic Evenki people, whose lives are dictated by reindeer, both wild and domesticated, and discovers that the survival techniques of this very ancient people have been passed down through generations. Alice also explores what may have occurred during human migration to produce Chinese physical characteristics, and considers a controversial claim about Chinese evolution - that the Chinese do not share the same African ancestry as other peoples.


SAT 20:00 Wild China (b00brvjx)
Shangri-La

Documentary that showcases pioneering images capturing the dazzling array of mysterious creatures that live in China's most beautiful landscapes. Beneath billowing clouds, in China's far south west, rich jungles nestle below towering peaks. Jewel-coloured birds and ancient tribes share forested valleys where wild elephants still roam. How do these forests exist? Perhaps the rugged landscape holds the key.


SAT 21:00 Black Lake (b0889rjc)
Series 1

Episode 5

Johan has grand plans for his luxury resort, but as the temperature drops to dangerous levels, he struggles to keep the hotel going without the help of Erkki. Dag decides to take matters into his own hands to make the guests leave. Hanne makes a terrifying discovery in the cellar. One of the guests goes missing.

In Swedish, Norwegian and Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 21:40 Black Lake (b0889rjf)
Series 1

Episode 6

The guests have different theories about the tragic events at the Black Lake resort. Is there an evil curse, or are they under threat from the locals? Johan breaks into the cellar.

In Swedish, Norwegian and Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:25 James May: The Reassembler (b076wf8f)
Series 1

Telephone

James tackles a 1957 Bakelite dial telephone - 211 pieces, most of them very small indeed, must be reassembled in the correct order if this telephone is ever to ring again. From the receiver with its carbon filings that enable speech to be amplified, to the electrical pulses created by the dial itself that connect the phone to the outside world, James soon discovers that every single piece of the telephone played a crucial role in revolutionising communication around the world.


SAT 22:55 James May: The Reassembler (b076wgvx)
Series 1

Electric Guitar

James concludes his quest to truly understand everyday objects by putting them back together piece by piece with an electric guitar.

147 pieces must be reassembled carefully and in the correct order, which will entail soldering, extensive use of James's precision Japanese screwdrivers and some fiddly electronics.

The electric guitar transformed the music industry and society itself and, channelling his namesake Brian, James will plug in his reassembled guitar and hope he put all the bits together correctly as he gets ready to perform one of most unexpected guitar solos of all time.


SAT 23:25 Top of the Pops (b0964pqg)
Richard Skinner and John Peel present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 9 August 1984. Featuring Tracey Ullman, Windjammer, Jeffery Osborne, Blancmange, Laura Branigan and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.


SAT 00:00 Top of the Pops (b0964py4)
Andy Peebles and Steve Wright present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 16 August 1984. Featuring Tears for Fears, Howard Jones, Black Lace, Iron Maiden, A Flock of Seagulls, Trevor Walters and George Michael.


SAT 00:30 Sammy Davis Jr: The Kid in the Middle (b04w7wgr)
Sammy Davis Jr was born to entertain. He was a human dynamo who made his debut at the age of five and by the time he was a teenager was wowing audiences across America. A gifted dancer, actor and singer, and a key member of the Rat Pack, Davis is best remembered for his unforgettable rendition of Mr Bojangles and his number one single The Candyman.

However, as a black man, making his way in the entertainment business saw him struggle to overcome racial prejudice, letter bombs and death threats. Davis fought back with his talent and in the 1960s marched alongside Dr Martin Luther King. Despite his reputation as a civil rights campaigner and one of the world's greatest entertainers, Davis remains an enigma. Those closest to him tell of a man never quite comfortable in his own skin, a workaholic and spendaholic who put his career before his family and who died leaving them millions of dollars in debt.

This documentary is Sammy Davis Jr's remarkable life story - his rise and his fall - told by those who knew him best. For the first time his family and friends including Paul Anka, Engelbert Humperdinck, Reverend Jesse Jackson and Ben Vereen share their memories - shedding new light on the legacy of one of the most gifted and loved performers in show business.


SAT 01:30 The High Art of the Low Countries (b01rsfgd)
Dream of Plenty

Andrew Graham-Dixon shows how the art of Renaissance Flanders evolved from the craft of precious tapestries within the Duchy of Burgundy into a leading painting school in its own right. Starting his journey at the magnificent altarpiece of Ghent Cathedral created by the Van Eyck brothers, Andrew explains their groundbreaking innovation in oil painting and marvels at how the colours they obtained can still remain so vibrant today.

Andrew describes how, in the early Renaissance, the most urgent preoccupation was not the advancement of learning, humanist or otherwise, but the Last Judgment. People believed they were living in the end of days; a subject popular with preachers and artists and intensely realised in swarming microscopic detail by Hieronymus Bosch.


SAT 02:30 Wild China (b00brvjx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 01 OCTOBER 2017

SUN 19:00 Wild (b00793wd)
2006-07 Shorts

Robins of Eden

A seasonal tale of how the Garden of Eden really was invaded not by a bad snake, but by one of the nation's favourite little birds. The Eden Project is an architectural wonder, a world of different habitats created in a single Cornish quarry, and probably the unlikeliest place to find the robin. So why have they set up home in one of our top tourist attractions?


SUN 19:10 Betjeman and Me: Rick Stein's Story (b00792l4)
Chef Rick Stein celebrates John Betjeman's long love affair with the English seaside holiday and his deep affection for Cornwall. He travels around the area, speaking to people who remember the poet's visits, including Cliff Snell, who founded the Betjeman Centre. The programme culminates in a seafood feast cooked by Rick for guests including Betjeman's daughter Candida.


SUN 20:00 Cornwall's Native Poet: Charles Causley (b097bcv3)
Charles Causley was one of the great poets of his generation. Born in 1917 in Launceston, north Cornwall, on the edge of Bodmin Moor, the only time he left was for active service in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. His father died when he was a boy as a result of a gas attack in the trenches of World War One and he lived the rest of his life in the same house as his mother. He knew everyone and they knew him. He devoted his life to teaching, poetry and his mum.

Charles Causley said that everything you needed to know about him was in his poetry. He wrote directly from experience about the people of Launceston and the changes in the town, both world wars, his shipmates, local history, myths, animals and God.


SUN 21:00 Men Who Sleep in Cars (b097bkd1)
'They catch Mancunia's infectious yawn, and this great city holds them in its palm.'

This drama by poet Michael Symmons Roberts follows three men in Manchester during one night in September. Written in verse, the film tells the poignant stories of Marley, Antonio and McCulloch. It is also a love song to a city - to Manchester, the backdrop to the film, whose familiar streets are difficult to leave for the departing Sarah.

Marley, Antonio and McCulloch are men whose lives have turned upside down for very different reasons. They sleep on the streets of Manchester in their vehicles, having lost all their economic and social power. They hide away in disused car parks or in industrial estates, trying to snatch sleep, listening to the radio for company. The commentary from England's first World Cup qualifying fixture, where some of the richest, most powerful men in the world of sport compete on the world stage is a stark contrast to their own situations.

As the film continues, it becomes clear how the how these three came to spend the night in their cars, and how their lives interconnect.


SUN 22:00 Child in Mind (b097bkcy)
Every year in Britain an estimated 3,000 plus children are placed into the care system.

Their mothers - who have often suffered domestic violence, sexual abuse or neglect themselves - are left behind. Vilified, isolated and ignored, they form an invisible group living on the edge of society.

This film gives them a voice for the first time, combining extraordinary documentary footage with poetry written by Simon Armitage. Set in Hull, as the city celebrates European Capital of Culture status, the film uses poetry to offer an arresting and emotionally charged portrait of the women's lives.

The women featured are all participants of a groundbreaking new scheme called Pause, which aims to break the cycle of repeat care removals. Over the course of 18 months the women work one-on-one with a dedicated Pause practitioner who helps them reclaim their lives.

"I lost my children because I was with a violent and controlling partner" says Lyndsey, an articulate and outspoken mother-of-four. When she started working with her practitioner, Lesley, she had many dark days when she wouldn't go out. Over time, they rebuilt her confidence and Lyndsey now works as a carer for the elderly and disabled. It is, it seems, a job she performs with distinction. "Lyndsey is one of the nicest, most caring people you could possibly hope to meet", says David, one of her clients.

The women's stories provide a rich palette from which poet Simon Armitage can draw. Professor of poetry at Oxford University and one of the nation's most decorated poets, he was once a probation officer for ten years, an experience that has helped him to understand the lives of those who are denied a voice. Simon wrote the poems by listening to the audio of the interviews, which helped him to write to the lexicon of each woman.

Pause was co-founded by Sophie Humphreys, who witnessed first-hand the trauma and loss caused by repeat removals. "There is a care crisis in this country. The numbers of children being put into care is going up exponentially. I've seen women who were having children numbers two and three removed and then you see them again six or seven years later and they're on to child number ten. You think - how did we end up here? Something has to change". Sophie is careful to emphasise that children are generally only removed due to a significant risk of harm and there is often a complex set of factors at work in any one child's removal, from domestic violence to addiction or homelessness.

Mel is a smiley, friendly 32-year-old who has had three children placed into care. Their pictures dominate her living room and she kisses each of the photo frames before going to bed each night. Mel no longer cares for her first daughter, largely because she stayed in a violent relationship, what she herself calls "a failure to protect". The guilt she now feels is so extreme that she took to punching herself in the face. Her Pause practitioner, Natalie, has been instrumental in helping Mel improve her self-worth and shape a different future. She now punches a punch bag.

The emotional flashpoints throughout the film often focus on contact with the women's children. Some of them see their children in supervised windows a couple of times a year. But most have only "letterbox contact", whereby a letter, carefully vetted by social services, can be sent between the birth mother and the child's guardians. If, and it is an emotionally fraught 'if', both parties on either side of the divide feel able to write at all.

We see Rachel, whose son was sent for adoption when she was seventeen years old, writing a letter to him for the first time over a decade later. "I have to be careful I don't do any spelling mistakes!" she says, "Because I want it to be special". Like Lyndsey, she was something of a recluse when she started working with her Pause practitioner. "It took twenty or so visits before I let Natalie through the door. She is very persistent!" Over the course of the programme Rachel gradually comes out of her shell and begins hosting the bingo at a local cafe.

At the end of the film, as they are transitioning out of Pause, the women look to a different future. "We're not rescuing people", says practitioner Lesley Redpath, "we're giving them a pause in their lives that allows them to focus on themselves". In a social care environment that is dominated by the needs of the child, it offers a welcome respite. "I know that I'm not ready to have more children", says Mel, "I owe it the children that I do already have to get my life in order".


SUN 23:00 Rhymes, Rock and Revolution: The Story of Performance Poetry (b06hhgxs)
Is poetry the new rock 'n' roll - or is rock 'n' roll the new poetry? This documentary explores how the edges between performance poetry and popular music have become blurred - a radical cross-pollination that began 50 years ago when Allen Ginsberg stormed the stage of the Royal Albert Hall. In the year when the Beats met The Beatles, the event turned a young generation on to verse - a revolution that shows no sign of slowing down in today's urban music and slam poetry scenes.


SUN 00:00 Acoustic at the BBC (b0141mz1)
A journey through some of the finest moments of acoustic guitar performances from the BBC archives - from Jimmy Page's television debut in 1958 to Oasis and Biffy Clyro.

Highlights include:

Neil Young - Heart of Gold
David Bowie - Starman
Oasis - Wonderwall
Donovan - Mellow Yellow
Joan Armatrading - Woncha Come on Home
Bert Jansch, Johnny Marr and Bernard Butler - The River Bank
Joni Mitchell - Chelsea Morning
Biffy Clyro - Mountains.


SUN 01:00 The High Art of the Low Countries (b01rtf47)
Boom and Bust

Andrew Graham-Dixon looks at how the seemingly peaceful countries of Holland and Belgium - famous for their tulips and windmills, mussels and chips - were in fact forged in a crucible of conflict and division. He examines how a period of economic boom driven for the first time by a burgeoning and secular middle class led to the Dutch golden age of the 17th century, creating not only the concept of oil painting itself, but the master painters Rembrandt and Vermeer combining art and commerce together as we would recognise it today.


SUN 02:00 Treasures of Ancient Greece (b05ql1sf)
The Age of Heroes

In the first episode Alastair Sooke explores the surprising roots of Greek art, beginning his journey in Crete at the palace of Knossos, legendary home of the Minotaur. He travels to Santorini to the 'Greek Pompeii', and finds gold in the fabled stronghold of Mycenae and dazzling remains from Greece's Dark Ages. Alastair discovers the beginnings of a defining spirit in Greek art, embracing mythology, a passion for symmetry, and an obsession with the human body.


SUN 03:00 Darcey's Ballerina Heroines (b03xhbn8)
As courtesans, fashion icons, political pawns and international celebrities, the great ballerinas have played a multitude of roles both on and off the stage. They have moved from the courts of kings to stages around the globe, from the highs of public adoration to the lows of injury and scandal. But few people know the full story.

British prima ballerina Darcey Bussell spent two decades at the top, performing all the great roles in the classical repertoire and becoming one of ballet's most famous faces. She explores the changing role of the ballerina.

Journeying from 18th-century France to 1950s America, she examines the challenges that her predecessors encountered, discovers the women who broke the rules and reveals what it takes to be one of the greats.

A feast for the senses, Darcey's Ballerina Heroines is an authoritative history of the best ballets and the finest ballerinas.



MONDAY 02 OCTOBER 2017

MON 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b096tkw0)
Series 1

02/10/2017

The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Race and Pace: The West Indians in East Lancashire (b097bl89)
Sir Viv Richards, Sir Wes Hall and David Lloyd recall the impact West Indian players made on the Lancashire Cricket League over the last 90 years. A story of how initial reticence and racism turned into an unlikely cricketing love affair, which has had a huge impact on both sides of the Atlantic.


MON 20:00 Ocean Giants (b013q50m)
Giant Lives

This episode explores the intimate details of the largest animals that have ever lived on our planet - the great whales. From the balmy waters of the Indian Ocean to the freezing seas of the Arctic, two daring underwater cameramen - Doug Allan, Planet Earth's polar specialist, and Didier Noirot, Cousteau's front-line cameraman - come face to face with fighting humpback whales and 200-ton feeding blue whales.

Teaming up with top whale scientists, Giant Lives discovers why southern right whales possess a pair of one-ton testicles, why the arctic bowhead can live to over 200 years old and why size truly matters in the world of whales.


MON 21:00 Tunes for Tyrants: Music and Power with Suzy Klein (b097f2gv)
Series 1

Revolution

In the first episode of this fascinating and entertaining series exploring the politics of music, Suzy Klein takes us back to the volatile years following the Russian Revolution and World War I, when music was seen as a tool to change society.

Suzy explores the gender-bending cabarets of 1920s Berlin, smashes a piano in the spirit of the Bolshevik revolution, and discovers that playing a theremin is harder than it looks. She also reveals why one orchestra decided to work without a conductor, uncovers the dark politics behind Mack the Knife and probes the satirical songs which tried to puncture the rise of the Nazis. Finally, she tells the story of the infamous Horst Wessel song, which helped bring Hitler to power.

Suzy's musical stories are richly brought to life with the help of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and its Chorus, as well as wonderful solo performers. This was a golden age for music, and its jazz, popular songs, experimental symphonies and classics like Rachmaninoff all provoke debate - what kind of culture do we want? Is music for the elite or for the people? Was this a new age of liberal freedom to be relished - or were we hurtling towards the apocalypse?

With music's incredible power to bypass our brains and get straight to our hearts, it can at once invoke the very best in us and, Suzy argues, inflame the very worst. Music lovers beware!


MON 22:00 The Vietnam War (b096v3dw)
Series 1

Hell Come to Earth (January 1964-December 1965)

With South Vietnam in chaos, hardliners in Hanoi seize the initiative and send combat troops to the South, accelerating the insurgency. Fearing Saigon's collapse, President Johnson escalates America's military commitment, authorizing sustained bombing of the North and deploying ground troops in the South.


MON 22:55 The Vietnam War (b096v3f2)
Series 1

Doubt (January 1966-June 1967)

Defying American airpower, North Vietnamese troops and materiel stream down the Ho Chi Minh Trail into the south, while Saigon struggles to 'pacify the countryside'. As an anti-war movement builds back home, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and marines discover that the war they are being asked to fight in Vietnam is nothing like their fathers' war.


MON 23:55 Cold War, Hot Jets (b03j5cf8)
Episode 2

As an 'Iron Curtain' fell across Europe, the jet bomber came to define how the Cold War was fought. Able to fly faster, higher and further than ever before, and armed with a devastating new weapon, Britain's V Force became the platform for delivering nuclear Armageddon.


MON 00:55 The Art of Gothic: Britain's Midnight Hour (b04nqpz3)
Blood for Sale: Gothic Goes Global

Gothic fantasy horror would be outstripped by real horror as the truth of mechanised warfare dawned on an innocent world in 1914. The language of Gothic would increasingly come to encapsulate the horrors of the 20th century - from Marx's analysis of 'vampiric' capitalism to Conrad's dark vision of imperialism and TS Eliot's image of The Wasteland, a Gothic narrative seemed to make more sense of the modern world more than any other.


MON 01:55 Treasures of Ancient Greece (b05qqgrr)
The Classical Revolution

Alastair Sooke unpicks the reasons behind the dazzling revolution that gave birth to classical Greek art, asking how the Greeks got so good so quickly. He travels to the beautiful Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, and to the island of Mozia to see the astonishing charioteer found there in 1979, and marvels at the athletic bodies of the warriors dragged from the seabed - the Riace Bronzes.

It was a creative explosion that covered architecture, sculpting in marble, casting in bronze, even painting on vases. Perhaps the most powerful factor was also its greatest legacy - a fascination with the naked human body.


MON 02:55 Tunes for Tyrants: Music and Power with Suzy Klein (b097f2gv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 03 OCTOBER 2017

TUE 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b096tky9)
Series 1

03/10/2017

The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 The Flying Archaeologist (b01s1ll4)
Stonehenge

Archaeologist Ben Robinson flies over Wiltshire to uncover new discoveries in the Stone Age landscape. Sites found from the air have led to exciting new evidence about Stonehenge. The discoveries help to explain why the monument is where it is, and reveal how long ago it was occupied by people.


TUE 20:00 Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream (b08651j3)
Episode 3

In the final episode, Simon Sebag Montefiore follows the Habsburgs to their dramatic demise. From his struggles with Napoleon III and Bismarck and the suicide of his son Rudolf, to the assassination of his beautiful wife Sisi, Emperor Franz Josef's empire and his family proved impossible to control.

But while the Habsburgs headed for extinction, Vienna blossomed. As the theories of Freud and the sensuality of the secession artists like Klimt and Schiele ushered in the modern age, Hitler and Stalin stalked her streets. It was here that World War I was sparked; it was here where World War II was dreamed.


TUE 21:00 Sex, Chips & Poetry: 50 Years of the Mersey Sound (b097bl8c)
Fifty years ago, Penguin published its 1967 hit pop poetry book The Mersey Sound, introducing Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri to the world, thereby securing Liverpool as the cultural centre of the UK and bringing poetry to pop audiences. With the help of famous friends and fellow writers, McGough and Patten tell the inside story of this modern classic and how they made poetry cool.


TUE 22:00 Great Continental Railway Journeys (b05n8f3n)
Series 3 - Reversions

Tula to St Petersburg - Part 1

With Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide in hand, Michael Portillo penetrates the eastern extreme of Europe to journey through the vast country of Russia.

Among the golden onion domes and icons of Tula, Michael is moved by the sound of a Russian Orthodox choir. He visits the beautiful country estate of Yasnaya Polyana, where Tolstoy wrote his masterpieces, and learns how the author's life and works were inextricably entwined with the railways.

Striking north, Michael boards the long distance train which runs from the Caspian Sea to the capital. He learns from the buffet car cooks how to prepare a supper of meat-filled dumplings - Dagestani specialities called pylmeni.

At Belorussky Station in Moscow, Michael hears how thousands of Russians journeyed to the capital in 1913 to mark the Romanov royal family's tercentenary year. At the Bolshoi Theatre, Michael performs an important role in one of Russia's most dramatic operas. A relaxing soak at the famous Sanduny Baths, however, proves anything but...

Aboard the high-speed Sapsan to St Petersburg, Michael discovers the history behind the line, once the longest double-tracked railway in the world. From the Grand Hotel, Europe, advertised in his Bradshaw's, Michael explores the beauty and history of St Petersburg, from the great Nevsky Prospekt to the magnificent Winter Palace with its Hermitage Museum, then rides the first railway ever built in Russia between the city and the Tsar's village - Tsarskoye Selo.

Back in the city again, Michael meets former Russia correspondent Martin Sixsmith to discover how the strikes, mutinies and massacres, which took place shortly before Bradshaw's 1913 guidebook was published, were to unfold and the part the railways were to play in those tumultuous events.


TUE 22:30 Rock Goes to College (b00phv9m)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Pete Drummond introduces Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in concert at Oxford Polytechnic in 1980.


TUE 23:15 Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? (b00lc71z)
Episode 2

In the 1530s, King Henry VIII was at a crossroads. In his desperation for a new wife and an heir he had broken with Rome, divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn. Isolated and vulnerable, he needed a powerful new image as head of church and state.

In the second of a two-part documentary, architectural historian Jonathan Foyle looks for clues in the king's art to glimpse what was going on inside his head as he faced his darkest days.


TUE 00:15 Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City (b018jlj0)
Judgement Day

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world. For the Jewish faith, it is the site of the western wall, the last remnant of the second Jewish temple. For Christians, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the site of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Muslims, the Al-Aqsa mosque is the third holiest sanctuary of Islam.

In the final part of his series, Simon explores how this unique city rose from a crumbling ruin after the crusades to be rebuilt as a world centre of Islamic pilgrimage. He explains how Jerusalem became the object of rivalry between the Christian nations of Europe, the focus of the longing of Jews from all over the world and, ultimately, the site of one of the world's most intractable conflicts.

Starting in the Middle Ages, Simon goes on a chronological journey to trace the revival of the city under the Mamluks and its conquest by the biggest of all the Islamic empires - the Ottomans. He examines how the distinctive national identity of the Arab population evolved under centuries of Turkish Ottoman rule and how the city came to be prized by the great powers of 19th-century Europe. The programme explores the emergence of Zionism and the growing Jewish population of the city and traces the origins of today's nationalist struggle.


TUE 01:15 Black Lake (b0889rjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Saturday]


TUE 02:00 Black Lake (b0889rjf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:40 on Saturday]


TUE 02:45 Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream (b08651j3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 04 OCTOBER 2017

WED 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b096tl0v)
Series 1

04/10/2017

The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:25 DEC Rohingya Crisis Appeal (b09b5bxx)
Michael Palin presents the Disasters Emergency Committee Rohingya crisis appeal.

You can donate by calling 0370 60 60 610 (standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply) or sending a cheque payable to DEC Rohingya Crisis Appeal to DEC Rohingya Crisis Appeal, PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA.


WED 19:30 The Flying Archaeologist (b01s1czf)
Norfolk Broads

Archaeologist Ben Robinson flies over the Broads where aerial photos have discovered a staggering 945 previously unknown ancient sites. Many are making historians rethink the history of the area.

The fate of the Roman town of Caistor St Edmund has puzzled archaeologists for decades. It's long been a mystery why the centre never became a modern town. Now archaeologists have discovered a key piece of evidence. And near Ormseby, the first proof of Bronze Age settlement in the east of England has been revealed.


WED 20:00 An Art Lovers' Guide (b08ps5rd)
Series 1

Barcelona

With sumptuous palaces, exquisite artworks and stunning architecture, every great city offers a dizzying multitude of artistic highlights. In this series, art historians Dr Janina Ramirez and Alastair Sooke take us on three cultural citybreaks, hunting for off-the-beaten-track artistic treats - and finding new ways of enjoying some very famous sights.

In this second episode, Janina Ramirez and Alastair are on a mission to get to know one of the most popular cities in the world through its art and architecture. Although Barcelona is famous for its exuberant modernista buildings, the Gothic Quarter and artistic superstars such as Picasso, Janina and Alastair are determined to discover some less well-known cultural treats. Escaping the crowds on the Ramblas, they seek out the designs of an engineer who arguably put more of a stamp on the city than its star architect, Antoni Gaudi. Alastair marvels at the Romanesque frescoes that inspired a young Miro, while Janina discovers a surprising collection of vintage fans in the Mares, one of the city's most remarkable but rarely visited museums.

With a behind-the-scenes visit to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, a session of impromptu Catalan dance and Alastair adding the finishing touches to some Barcelona street art, it is a fast-paced and colourful tour of the city's art and artists, revealing how Barcelona developed its distinctive cultural identity and how the long-running fight for independence has shaped the artistic life of the city.


WED 21:00 Britain's Lost Masterpieces (b096tyw5)
Series 2

Derby

Along with a hippo skeleton, a stuffed hedgehog and a log boat, Derby Museum has the best collection of Joseph Wright of Derby paintings in the world. Wright of Derby is one of the greatest English artists who ever lived. He painted the most astounding 'birth of science' scenes, his landscapes and portraits are exquisite and he was inspired by the Industrial Revolution.

But can our team peel back layers of modern restoration on a mysterious landscape painting stuck in the Derby vaults to reveal another hidden masterpiece by Wright of Derby? Dr Bendor Grosvenor and Emma Dabiri travel to Derby to investigate a painting which suffered industrial scale restoration in the 1970s. Can it be saved and carefully restored now? While Bendor travels to Italy to find where the landscape may have been painted, Emma investigates Derby as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution and the 'lunar-tics' of the Midlands who changed the world through science and philosophy.


WED 22:00 The Renaissance Unchained (b071gsdv)
Whips, Deaths and Madonnas

Waldemar Januszczak returns to Italy to trace the Italian Renaissance from its perceived origins with Giotto and takes a look at the importance of religious narrative in Italian art. While there were certainly a few aesthetic influences from classical art, the majority of Italian painting and sculpture in the 14th and 15th centuries was created to inspire devotion, especially in the work of Piero della Francesca, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and Fra Angelico.


WED 23:00 British Gardens in Time (b040y79r)
Stowe

Stowe, one of the most remarkable creations of Georgian England, is the birthplace of the landscape garden. Created on a vast scale with 36 temples, eight lakes and a dozen avenues, Stowe launched the career of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown and fostered a rebellion that overthrew the first British prime minister, Robert Walpole.

Rather than being a garden of flowers and shrubs, Stowe is a garden of ideas and its grottos and classical monuments spell out a furious, coded political manifesto. Stowe's creator, Viscount Cobham, dreamt of climbing to the pinnacle of political power and establishing a long-lived dynasty, but less than a century after his death, his family was to become the most scandalous bankrupts in English history.


WED 00:00 Timeshift (b082v57b)
Series 16

Penny Blacks and Twopenny Blues: How Britain Got Stuck on Stamps

Timeshift charts the evolution of the British postage stamp and examines how these sticky little labels became a national obsession. Like many of us, writer and presenter Andrew Martin collected stamps when he was young, and now he returns to that lost world to unpeel the history of iconic stamps like the Penny Black and the Blue Mauritius, study famous collectors like King George V and the enigmatic Count Phillip de Ferrary, and to meet present-day philatelists at a stamp club.


WED 01:00 Carved with Love: The Genius of British Woodwork (b01q6xrv)
The Divine Craft of Carpentry

This series about the history of British woodworking concludes by looking at the Middle Ages, a golden era. Sponsored by the monarchy and the church, carvers and carpenters created wonders that still astound us today, from the magnificent roof of Westminster Hall to the Coronation Chair, last used by Elizabeth II but created 700 years ago. The film also shows how this precious legacy was nearly destroyed during the fires of the Reformation.


WED 02:00 Britain's Lost Masterpieces (b096tyw5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


WED 03:00 An Art Lovers' Guide (b08ps5rd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



THURSDAY 05 OCTOBER 2017

THU 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b096tl37)
Series 1

05/10/2017

The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b096v0jw)
Mike Read and Tommy Vance present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 23 August 1984. Featuring Alphaville, Elton John, Break Machine, Miami Sound Machine, Tracey Ullman, Spandau Ballet, Rod Stewart and George Michael.


THU 20:00 British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley (b08d7y3n)
Series 1

The Jewel in the Crown

Lucy debunks the fibs that surround the 'jewel in the crown' of the British Empire - India. Travelling to Kolkata, she investigates how the Raj was created following a British government coup in 1858. After snatching control from the discredited East India Company, the new regime presented itself as a new kind of caring, sharing imperialism with Queen Victoria as its maternal Empress.

Tyranny, greed and exploitation were to be things of the past. From the 'Black Hole of Calcutta' to the Indian 'mutiny', from East India Company governance to crown rule, and from Queen Victoria to Empress of India, Lucy reveals how this chapter of British history is another carefully edited narrative that is full of fibs.


THU 21:00 The 80s with Dominic Sandbrook (b07p0f9y)
Under Pressure

The second episode sees mid-1980s Britain wrestling with two contradictory impulses - the rise of a strong nationalist sentiment and the emergence of an increasingly globalised world.

By the middle of the decade, Britain felt like an embattled nation, facing threats from enemies within as well as out - a nation struggling to establish an identity on the global stage, and also trying to re-establish what it means to be British. This was the period that forever marked the 80s as a decade of conflict and division. But not all those conflicts were obvious. Some were fought with bullets, others with money, some were fought in our homes, others in our heads.

This episode examines everything from the invasion of the Falkland Islands to the invasion of the home computer and the moral panic surrounding 'video nasties', from the Americanisation of our popular culture to the picket line skirmishes playing out nightly on our televisions, and from the spectre of Aids and the threat of the IRA to immigration and identity politics.


THU 22:00 Louis Theroux (b011k0xx)
Miami Mega-Jail

Part 1

In the first episode of this two-part series, Louis spends time in one of the most notorious sections of Miami County Jail: the fifth and sixth floor of 'Main Jail', where many of the most volatile inmates are incarcerated.

Held in large cage-like dwellings for up to 24 men, the inmates have developed a strange and violent jail culture. The men - who remain in the cells almost all the time and may only leave for yard time twice a week - live under the sway of a gladiatorial code. They fight each other for food, for status, and often just to pass the endless hours of confinement. Trips to the infirmary are a frequent occurrence as inmates are viciously attacked and beaten, but the guards say they are powerless to end the abuse.


THU 23:00 Louis Theroux (b011qd97)
Miami Mega-Jail

Part 2

Louis concludes his exploration into Miami Mega-jail, one of America's largest and most violent of jails, a holding pen for almost 6,000 unconvicted inmates.

Louis goes deeper into the jail system, meeting an alleged triple murderer facing a possible death sentence. He also follows a group of forty or so younger inmates who have escaped prison by pleading guilty and agreeing to attend a four-month military-style boot camp. Among them is a 14-year-old boy facing a possible ten-year sentence for armed robbery if he can't survive the boot camp's relentless and brutal training and indoctrination programme. Many will drop out and receive prison sentences, but for a handful this will be their second chance at life.


THU 00:00 Top of the Pops (b096v0jw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:35 Motown at the BBC (b00hq4qr)
To mark the 50-year anniversary of Motown in 2009, a compilation of some of the iconic record label's greatest names filmed live in the BBC studios. Visitors from Hitsville USA over the years have included Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, The Four Tops and The Jackson 5.


THU 01:35 Timeshift (b00ff170)
How to Write a Mills and Boon

What happens when a literary novelist tries to write popular romantic fiction? To mark 100 years of romance publishers Mills and Boon, literary novelist Stella Duffy takes on the challenge of writing for them.

Romantic fiction is a global phenomenon, and Mills and Boon are among the biggest names in the business. The company welcomes submissions from new authors, but as Duffy soon finds out, writing a Mills and Boon is harder than it looks.

Help is at hand from the publishers themselves, a prolific Mills and Boon author and some avid romance fans, as Duffy's quest to create the perfect romantic novel takes her from London to Italy on a journey that is both an insight into the art of romantic fiction and the joy and frustration of writing itself.


THU 02:35 British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley (b08d7y3n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



FRIDAY 06 OCTOBER 2017

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b096tl5m)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (b096v1lg)
John Peel and Janice Long present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 6 September 1984. Featuring Bucks Fizz, Spandau Ballet, Sister Sledge, Level 42, Alphaville and Stevie Wonder.


FRI 20:00 The Live Lounge Show (b0976m27)
Series 1

Jay-Z and More

Clara Amfo takes us behind the scenes of Radio 1's Live Lounge - the biggest live studio showcase in the world. Live Lounge sessions happen twice a week across the year, attracting an array of some of the biggest and best artists on the planet. In September, however, it gets turbo-charged with a performance every weekday across the whole month. We bring you the very best of the second week of performances and Live Lounge exclusive interviews.

Clara hosts Jay-Z at the BBC's legendary Maida Vale studios. They catch up between tracks to talk about his incredible career so far.

Also, there is live music from Craig David, Royal Blood, Rudimental and Lorde.

This is live performance with a twist as each artist performs their own track and a cover version. Any Live Lounge listeners will know that the cover version is usually a recently released single... but not this year! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Radio 1, the cover can be any track from the last 50 years. The final episode this series is extra special with Jay- Z paying tribute to the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park as he takes on Numb/Encore.


FRI 21:00 Nile Rodgers: How to Make It in the Music Business (b097f4bp)
Series 1

Episode 1

Nile reveals the moment when, as a teenager, he first picked up a guitar, and why he has never looked back. He tells how his musical talent led him to become a highly successful session musician before following his dream to write his own music with Bernard Edwards for Chic.

Nile tells the story of how he and Bernard, young and broke, surreptitiously sneaked into a recording studio at night to record what became Chic's first hit, Everybody Dance. Nile plays this song for us and we see him and Chic in concert playing it too - along with lots of their greatest hits.

The film uncovers the source of inspiration for many of Nile's songs - being turned away from Studio 54 led him to write Le Freak, while others, including Lost in Music, have their roots in Nile's troubled and difficult childhood, and how he hears music all the time - a subject he speaks about candidly.

Top producer Mark Ronson and Duran Duran keyboard player Nick Rhodes describe Nile's use of complex chord patterns and his unique guitar-playing style. While Kathy Sledge of Sister Sledge reveals the joyous and exacting way Nile worked with them to produce their internationally successful album We Are Family and the hit single He's the Greatest Dancer.

Throughout the film Nile demonstrates, in a series of short masterclasses, how he writes and develops his music.

Nile is an astonishing storyteller and his contributions are both searingly honest and inspiring throughout the film.


FRI 22:00 Classic Albums (b00x7chg)
Tom Petty: Damn the Torpedoes

The third album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1979, has long been regarded as a classic and demonstrates the musical and songwriting virtuosity of a great frontman and his amazing backing band. A mix of rootsy American rock 'n' roll and the best of the British invasion, of jangling Byrds guitars and Stones-like rhythms, Damn the Torpedoes was the album that took Petty into the major league and redefined American rock.

This programme tells the story behind the conception and recording of the album and how it transformed the band's career. Using interviews, musical demonstration, acoustic performance, archive footage and a return to the multi-tracks with the main protagonists, it shows how Petty, Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench, Ron Blair and Stan Lynch created their songs and sounds with the help of co-producer Jimmy Iovine and engineer Shelly Yakus. Additional comments from journalists and other producers and musicians help tell the story and put the album into its rightful place in rock history.

Recorded in secrecy at a time when the band was fighting for creative independence amidst a legal wrangle with their record company, the album is imbued with an anger and a gutsy attitude the situation had created. Many songs from the album are still played live and form an important part of Petty's body of work, including Refugee, Here Comes My Girl, Even the Losers, Shadow of a Doubt, Louisiana Rain, Century City and top ten hit Don't Do Me Like That.

Damn the Torpedoes hit number two in the US for seven weeks, initially selling over 2.5 million copies, and launched Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers onto the world stage and into superstar territory, standing as one of the great records of the late 70s and early 80s.


FRI 22:55 Rock Goes to College (b00phv9m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 on Tuesday]


FRI 23:45 Top of the Pops (b07g9rc4)
1982 - Big Hits

The Top of the Pops vaults are opened once more, this time to celebrate the mega-hits of 1982.

A new pop sound had arrived, shattering the chart domination of mainstream pop-rock, which in turn coincides with a second British invasion of the US charts. Step forward Adam Ant, Yazoo, Wham, ABC and The Associates, all breakthrough acts in a golden year for British pop.

Madness provide a little two-step with their ska revival, and Junior and Patrice Rushen's R&B tracks pack a punch. Pop-infused reggae beats are provided by Culture Club and Musical Youth, while the mods get a nod from The Jam. And did we mention Tight Fit?


FRI 00:45 Top of the Pops (b096v1lg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 01:15 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00llh2f)
Part III

Compilation of classic archive performances from the guitar gods of the late 60s and 70s. Status Quo appear playing Pictures of Matchstick Men on Top of the Pops in 1968, The Who perform Long Live Rock in the Old Grey Whistle Test studio, Dire Straits play Tunnel of Love and Lynyrd Skynyrd bring a taste of the Deep South with Sweet Home Alabama. The show also features rare performances from George Benson, Leo Kottke, Link Wray and Tom Petty.


FRI 02:15 Nile Rodgers: How to Make It in the Music Business (b097f4bp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]




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

Acoustic at the BBC 00:00 SUN (b0141mz1)

An Art Lovers' Guide 20:00 WED (b08ps5rd)

An Art Lovers' Guide 03:00 WED (b08ps5rd)

Betjeman and Me: Rick Stein's Story 19:10 SUN (b00792l4)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 MON (b096tkw0)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 TUE (b096tky9)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 WED (b096tl0v)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 THU (b096tl37)

Black Lake 21:00 SAT (b0889rjc)

Black Lake 21:40 SAT (b0889rjf)

Black Lake 01:15 TUE (b0889rjc)

Black Lake 02:00 TUE (b0889rjf)

Britain's Lost Masterpieces 21:00 WED (b096tyw5)

Britain's Lost Masterpieces 02:00 WED (b096tyw5)

British Gardens in Time 23:00 WED (b040y79r)

British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley 20:00 THU (b08d7y3n)

British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley 02:35 THU (b08d7y3n)

Carved with Love: The Genius of British Woodwork 01:00 WED (b01q6xrv)

Child in Mind 22:00 SUN (b097bkcy)

Classic Albums 22:00 FRI (b00x7chg)

Cold War, Hot Jets 23:55 MON (b03j5cf8)

Cornwall's Native Poet: Charles Causley 20:00 SUN (b097bcv3)

DEC Rohingya Crisis Appeal 19:25 WED (b09b5bxx)

Darcey's Ballerina Heroines 03:00 SUN (b03xhbn8)

Great Continental Railway Journeys 22:00 TUE (b05n8f3n)

Guitar Heroes at the BBC 01:15 FRI (b00llh2f)

Henry VIII: Patron or Plunderer? 23:15 TUE (b00lc71z)

James May: The Reassembler 22:25 SAT (b076wf8f)

James May: The Reassembler 22:55 SAT (b076wgvx)

Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City 00:15 TUE (b018jlj0)

Louis Theroux 22:00 THU (b011k0xx)

Louis Theroux 23:00 THU (b011qd97)

Men Who Sleep in Cars 21:00 SUN (b097bkd1)

Motown at the BBC 00:35 THU (b00hq4qr)

Nile Rodgers: How to Make It in the Music Business 21:00 FRI (b097f4bp)

Nile Rodgers: How to Make It in the Music Business 02:15 FRI (b097f4bp)

Ocean Giants 20:00 MON (b013q50m)

Race and Pace: The West Indians in East Lancashire 19:30 MON (b097bl89)

Rhymes, Rock and Revolution: The Story of Performance Poetry 23:00 SUN (b06hhgxs)

Rock Goes to College 22:30 TUE (b00phv9m)

Rock Goes to College 22:55 FRI (b00phv9m)

Sammy Davis Jr: The Kid in the Middle 00:30 SAT (b04w7wgr)

Sex, Chips & Poetry: 50 Years of the Mersey Sound 21:00 TUE (b097bl8c)

The 80s with Dominic Sandbrook 21:00 THU (b07p0f9y)

The Art of Gothic: Britain's Midnight Hour 00:55 MON (b04nqpz3)

The Flying Archaeologist 19:30 TUE (b01s1ll4)

The Flying Archaeologist 19:30 WED (b01s1czf)

The High Art of the Low Countries 01:30 SAT (b01rsfgd)

The High Art of the Low Countries 01:00 SUN (b01rtf47)

The Incredible Human Journey 19:00 SAT (b00kmtft)

The Live Lounge Show 20:00 FRI (b0976m27)

The Renaissance Unchained 22:00 WED (b071gsdv)

The Vietnam War 22:00 MON (b096v3dw)

The Vietnam War 22:55 MON (b096v3f2)

Timeshift 00:00 WED (b082v57b)

Timeshift 01:35 THU (b00ff170)

Top of the Pops 23:25 SAT (b0964pqg)

Top of the Pops 00:00 SAT (b0964py4)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b096v0jw)

Top of the Pops 00:00 THU (b096v0jw)

Top of the Pops 19:30 FRI (b096v1lg)

Top of the Pops 23:45 FRI (b07g9rc4)

Top of the Pops 00:45 FRI (b096v1lg)

Treasures of Ancient Greece 02:00 SUN (b05ql1sf)

Treasures of Ancient Greece 01:55 MON (b05qqgrr)

Tunes for Tyrants: Music and Power with Suzy Klein 21:00 MON (b097f2gv)

Tunes for Tyrants: Music and Power with Suzy Klein 02:55 MON (b097f2gv)

Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream 20:00 TUE (b08651j3)

Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream 02:45 TUE (b08651j3)

Wild China 20:00 SAT (b00brvjx)

Wild China 02:30 SAT (b00brvjx)

Wild 19:00 SUN (b00793wd)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b096tl5m)