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 DECEMBER 2017

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 Planet Earth II (b087y9wf)
A World of Wonder

A compilation of the wildlife documentary series presented by David Attenborough.

A chance to enjoy the spectacular Planet Earth II, exploring wildlife dramas from across the globe. Ten years on from the groundbreaking original Planet Earth, Planet Earth II shows us life on our planet in entirely new ways. Captured in stunning ultra-high definition detail and using a whole range of new camera technology, this series brings us closer to animals than ever before and reveals new wildlife dramas for the very first time.

Planet Earth II is an immersive exploration of the world's jungles, mountains, deserts, islands, grasslands and our newest habitat - cities. As our planet continues to change, never have these wildernesses been as fragile and as a precious as they are today. The series journeys to the four corners of the globe to explore the greatest treasures of our living planet and discover the remarkable ways animals overcome the challenges of surviving in the wildest places on Earth.


SAT 21:00 Spiral (b09kl71v)
Series 6

Episode 1

The detective squad must identify a murdered male torso to keep the case as Laure returns early from maternity leave. A high-profile criminal trial tempts jaded Josephine, while magistrate Roban grows distracted.

Fresh intrigues with the gripping French drama about the imperfect people upholding law and order in Paris.

In French with English subtitles.


SAT 22:00 Spiral (b09kl71x)
Series 6

Episode 2

Investigating their victim, Laure and Gilou reunite with a superior in a troubled suburb. Lawyer Josephine pushes her client to plead guilty. Roban probes a male prostitute's suspicious death.

In French with English subtitles.


SAT 23:05 A Year in the Life of a Year (b09l1cgd)
2017

Following the success of last year's parody review of 2016, Emmy Award-winning director Rhys Thomas has done the same thing again, but about a different year. And it's timely that the year he's doing it about this year is the year that has just happened, 2017. The Brian Pern creator seamlessly re-edits film and television footage from the top twelve months of 2017 to create a spoof take on the year's cultural events, entertainment smashes and other things.


SAT 23:35 Glen Campbell: The Rhinestone Cowboy (b01pwxs8)
In 2011, Glen Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and that he would be bowing out with a final album and farewell tour across Britain and America. This documentary tells Campbell's remarkable life story, from impoverished childhood in Arkansas to huge success, first as a guitarist and then as a singer, with great records like Wichita Lineman and Rhinestone Cowboy. With comments from friends and colleagues, including songwriter Jimmy Webb and Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees, it is a moving story of success, disgrace and redemption as rich as any of the storylines in Campbell's most famous songs.

The peak of Glen Campbell's career was in 1975, when he topped the charts around the world with Rhinestone Cowboy, but his musical journey to that point is fascinating. A self-taught teenage prodigy on the guitar, by his mid-twenties Campbell was one of the top session guitarists in LA, a key member of the band of session players now known as The Wrecking Crew. He played on hundreds of tracks while working for producers like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, including Daydream Believer by The Monkees, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling by The Righteous Brothers, Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra and Viva Las Vegas by Elvis Presley.

But Campbell always wanted to make it under his own name. A string of records failed to chart until, in 1967, he finally found his distinctive country pop sound with hits like Gentle on My Mind and By the Time I Get to Phoenix. The latter was written by Jimmy Webb, and together the two created a string of great records like Wichita Lineman and Galveston. Campbell pioneered country crossover and opened the way for artists like Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

By the end of the 1960s, Campbell was the fastest rising star in American pop with his own television show and a starring role in the original version of True Grit. Over the following ten years, he had more success with Rhinestone Cowboy and Southern Nights, but his private life was in turmoil. Divorce, drink and drugs saw this clean-cut all-American hero fall from grace and a tempestuous relationship with country star Tanya Tucker was front-page news.

Despite a relapse in 2003, when he was arrested for drunk driving and his police mug shot was shown around the world, the last two decades have been more settled. He remarried, started a new family and renewed his Christian faith, and was musically rediscovered by a new generation. Like his friend Johnny Cash, he released acclaimed new albums with young musicians, covering songs by contemporary artists like U2 and The Foo Fighters. Therefore the diagnosis with Alzheimer's was all the more poignant, but his dignified farewell has made him the public face of the disease in the USA.

The film includes contributions by many of Campbell's friends and colleagues, including his family in Arkansas, fellow session musicians Carol Kaye and Leon Russell, long-time friend and collaborator Jimmy Webb, former Monkee Mickey Dolenz, broadcaster Bob Harris, lyricist Don Black and country music writer Robert Oermann.


SAT 00:35 Chuck Berry in Concert (b0074rbc)
Legendary rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry performs at the BBC Television Theatre in 1972. Johnny B Goode, Roll Over Beethoven and Nadine are just some of the highlights of this concert, shown in an extended cut. This version includes, for the first time, an epic rendition of My Ding-a-Ling that carries all before it and raises innuendo to an art form.


SAT 01:35 Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered (b04n6scp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 02:35 Planet Earth II (b087y9wf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 31 DECEMBER 2017

SUN 19:00 Dancing the Nutcracker - Inside the Royal Ballet (b086kdzl)
This Christmas, step into the magical world of The Nutcracker. For the first time in many years, the Royal Ballet has given full access behind the scenes for a landmark 90-minute documentary as they prepare for this season's yuletide production.

This year's Nutcracker marks the debut of one of Britain's brightest young stars, Francesca Hayward, in one of the most famous roles in ballet (and every little girl's dream) - the Sugar Plum Fairy. Stepping into the shoes of the greatest dancers ever to grace the stage - from Darcey Bussell to Margot Fonteyn - we follow her as she prepares to dance the role that made her want to be a ballerina when she was just three years old.

The production also sees the debut of numerous young dancers across the company, from its youngest stars at the Royal Ballet School playing the roles of party children and battling mice to the final year students dancing as snowflakes on the journey to the Land of the Sweets.

With unprecedented access to the creative departments, from set designers to tutu makers, and including beautiful performance sequences, this film takes the viewer directly into the Royal Ballet during the busiest and most magical time of the year. In so doing, it reveals not just the talent of the dancers, but also the extraordinary team behind the scenes that makes The Nutcracker one of the world's most spectacular ballets.


SUN 20:30 Victoria Wood: Seen on TV (b00pl74d)
A look back at Victoria Wood's hugely successful television career. Featuring sketches, stand-up, characters and songs from her incredible repertoire as well as exclusive interviews with Victoria and friends and fans, including Dawn French, Julie Walters and Sir Roger Moore.


SUN 22:00 Detectorists (b09f2ndg)
Series 3

Episode 1

Lance's flat isn't his own any more and Andy's staying with the mother-in-law. But at least they have their old faithful permission to escape. Or do they? The dark cloud of a solar farm threatens the tranquillity.


SUN 22:30 Detectorists (b09ffxyn)
Series 3

Episode 2

Just as they're losing their farm, Lance and Andy start finding good stuff. But old enemies are sniffing around. Home lives are chaotic as usual and Lance is persuaded to try hypnotherapy for an awkward affliction. With mixed results.


SUN 23:00 Detectorists (b09g64vk)
Series 3

Episode 3

With time running out, Andy and Lance go to great (action-packed) lengths to protect their land. Away from the fields, life is no less stressful as Andy quits his job and Lance finds an unwelcome guest in the spare room. An audacious theft leaves Lance reeling.


SUN 23:30 Detectorists (b09gvm77)
Series 3

Episode 4

Lance is obsessed with finding the thief that stole his gold, which means he can ignore the melodrama going on at home. Andy's lies are catching up with him too. They decide that camping out is the safest option.


SUN 00:00 Detectorists (b09hgdx2)
Series 3

Episode 5

Andy and Lance become eco-warriors when they find their beloved oak tree is due to be felled. But a 24-hour helpline turns out to be more of a hindrance. Andy stumbles upon treasure when, for once, he wasn't even looking.


SUN 00:30 Detectorists (b09j0qcs)
Series 3

Episode 6

'There's something about karma going on' is Lance's wise observation, and there certainly seems to be something in the air. They have one last day on the farm, one last chance to pull out all the stops and find that gold. Terry's got a new gazebo. Perfect time for a rally.


SUN 01:00 Victoria Wood: Seen on TV (b00pl74d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


SUN 02:30 David Attenborough's Zoo Quest in Colour (p03qxfsg)
Thanks to a remarkable discovery in the BBC's film vaults, the best of David Attenborough's early Zoo Quest adventures can now be seen as never before, in colour, and with it the remarkable story of how this pioneering television series was made.

First broadcast in December 1954, Zoo Quest was one of the most popular television series of its time and launched the career of the young David Attenborough as a wildlife presenter. It completely changed how viewers saw the world, revealing wildlife and tribal communities that had never been filmed or even seen before.

Broadcast ten years before colour television was seen in the UK, Zoo Quest was thought to have been filmed in black and white, until now. Using this extraordinary new-found colour film, together with new behind-the-scenes stories from David Attenborough and cameraman Charles Lagus, this special showcases the very best of Zoo Quest to West Africa, Zoo Quest to Guiana and Zoo Quest for a Dragon in stunning HD colour for the very first time.



MONDAY 01 JANUARY 2018

MON 19:00 New Year's Day Concert (b09kkm5l)
2018 - Highlights

Another chance to take your place in the best seats in the house for the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna 2018. Petroc Trelawny is on hand to guide the viewer through the sparkling polkas, marches and waltzes composed by the Strauss family and their contemporaries, including all the traditional favourites.

Italian conductor Riccardo Muti takes up the baton of this hugely popular concert for the fifth time, in the spectacular setting of Vienna's Musikverein. Soloists from the Vienna State Ballet perform at Eckartsau Castle and the Court Pavillion at Hietzing Station to mark 100 years since the death of the great Austrian architect Otto Wagner.


MON 21:00 The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody (b0074d94)
The full story behind the iconic song, featuring Brian May and Roger Taylor's return to Rockfield Studios, where they re-record the guitar and drum parts and tell the story of how the song came together. Narrated by Richard E Grant, the documentary includes exclusive rare recordings of Freddie Mercury performing the song in studio, Queen's first ever TV performance and the making of the video, as well as interviews with Mercury's friends and family, The Darkness and Bjorn Ulvaeus from Abba.


MON 22:00 Queen: Rock the World (b09d5xpf)
Behind-the-scenes archive documentary following Queen's Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon as they record their sixth album News of the World and embark on a groundbreaking tour of North America.

By 1977, Queen had become a major headlining act in the UK, releasing chart-topping albums and singles as well as playing sell-out concerts in all the country's major venues. However, they were facing an increasingly hostile music press, who had a new favourite in punk and had turned against the elaborate, multi-layered recording techniques that had become the hallmark of the band's previous albums.

But an unfazed Queen had their sights set on greater things. As the band announced plans to record their next album, the expectation was it would be another production extravaganza, but Freddie, Brian, Roger and John already had other ideas. News of the World showcased them at their most raw, simple and best, returning to their roots as a live act. With a self-imposed limit on studio time and produced entirely on their own for the first time, this stripped-back album took the fans and press by surprise and demonstrated Queen's ability to transcend fashions. It was to prove a seminal moment in the band's history.

At the time, BBC music presenter Bob Harris was given exclusive and extensive access to the band to cover this period. Conducting insightful interviews with all four band members as well as filming them at work in the studio as they were planning and rehearsing their forthcoming North American tour, and then following them as they performed across the US, Bob captured a band attempting to replicate their huge domestic success on the global stage. Curiously, the documentary he set out to make was never completed, and the footage lay unused in the archive until now.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the News of the World album, the footage has now been carefully restored and revisited to compile this hour-long portrait of a group setting out to take the next step on their remarkable journey to becoming one of the biggest bands on the planet. Armed with an array of new songs, including the monster hits We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions, Queen dazzled the American audience and laid the foundations of a relationship that endures to this very day.

Coming full circle, this film is bookended by footage shot in the summer of 2017 as Brian May and Roger Taylor took Queen back to the US with Adam Lambert as lead singer. Revisiting many of the cities they had performed in 40 years previously and including many of the songs from that 1977 album, they prove that despite the tragic loss of Freddie Mercury over 25 years ago, Queen can still rock the world.


MON 23:00 Queen: The Legendary 1975 Concert (b00p4hgm)
On Christmas Eve 1975, Queen crowned a glorious year with a special concert at London's Hammersmith Odeon. The show on the final night of their triumphant UK tour was broadcast live on BBC TV and radio, and has become a legendary event in Queen's history.

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


MON 00:05 The Clash: New Year's Day '77 (b04w08p6)
Built around the earliest, until now unseen, footage of The Clash in concert, filmed by Julien Temple as they opened the infamous Roxy club in a dilapidated Covent Garden on 1 January 1977, this show takes us on a time-travelling trip back to that strange planet that was Great Britain in the late 1970s and the moment when punk emerged into the mainstream consciousness.

Featuring the voices of Joe Strummer and The Clash from the time, and intercutting the raw and visceral footage of this iconic show with telling moments from the BBC's New Year's Eve, Hogmanay and New Year's Day schedules of nearly 40 years ago, it celebrates that great enduring British custom of getting together, en masse and often substantially the worse for wear, to usher in the new year.

New Year's Day is when we collectively take the time to reflect on the year that has just gone by and ponder what the new one might hold in store for us. Unknown to the unsuspecting British public, 1977 was of course the annus mirabilis of punk. The year in which The Clash themselves took off, catching the imagination of the nation's youth. As their iconic song 1977 counts us down to midnight, we share with them and Joe Strummer, in previously unseen interviews from the time, their hopes and predictions for the 12 months ahead.


MON 01:20 The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody (b0074d94)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 02:20 Queen: Rock the World (b09d5xpf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]



TUESDAY 02 JANUARY 2018

TUE 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b09kkkd2)
Series 1

02/01/2018

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


TUE 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (b03ty8dk)
Series 2 - Reversions

Madrid to Gibraltar - Part 1

Armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo returns to his native Spain to discover what the intrepid tourists of the Belle Epoque experienced on their travels through the fading Spanish empire. Hard on their heels in Madrid, he visits the scene of a grim assassination attempt at the royal wedding of a British princess and a Spanish king.

Striking south to historic Cordoba, Michael dances with an unusual partner and enjoys all the fun of the feria. Heading further into Andalusia, Michael arrives in Seville, the city he has made his Spanish home and where, in the city's tobacco factory, he learns about a gypsy girl named Carmen.

After sipping sherry in Jerez, he traces Winston Churchill's tense diplomatic mission to Algeciras on Spain's Costa del Sol and finishes with tales of British espionage on the Rock of Gibraltar.


TUE 20:00 Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain (b00np25k)
A New Dawn

In the first of a six-part series, Andrew Marr revisits Britain at the dawn of the 20th century. He finds the country mourning the death of Queen Victoria, fighting an intractable war against the Boers in South Africa, enjoying the bawdy pleasures of music hall and worrying about the physical and moral strength of the working class.

There are stories of political intrigue between David Lloyd George and his arch-enemy Joseph Chamberlain, as well as the beginning of the struggle for women's suffrage. Plus an account of the day Mr Rolls met Mr Royce and kicked off a revolution in motoring.

With powerful archive and vivid anecdotes, Andrew gets to the heart of Edwardian Britain. He brings to life Britain's struggle to maintain its imperial power in the world in the years before the First World War.


TUE 21:00 Victoria: A Royal Love Story (b00rl81c)
Fiona Bruce traces the story of one of history's great royal love affairs: the love between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. It was a love based on a powerful physical attraction, and it grew into a marriage that set the tone for the Victorian age.

Over the 20 years they spent together, until Albert's tragic death, they gave each other a dazzling collection of paintings, sculptures and jewellery. That collection was on show - much of it for the first time - at a major exhibition in London, and it reveals a new and passionate side of the royal couple.

Fiona meets HRH Prince Charles and travels to the royal palaces that Victoria and Albert made their own, as well as the royal workshops where artworks for the exhibition are being restored, to tell the story behind a collection that is one of the wonders of the nation.


TUE 22:00 The World's Most Photographed (b0078y3p)
Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria's accession to the throne in 1837 coincided almost exactly with the invention of photography. She would be the first woman in the world to live both her private and public lives in front of the camera.

At first, photography was a private pleasure, a way of capturing images of herself and her family for their own personal amusement. But during the course of her 64-year reign, Queen Victoria began to use the camera as a political weapon. The new art of photography was a vital tool in Victoria's battle to safeguard the British throne. It was a means to quell the forces of republicanism, a way to win the affection and sympathy of her people and an opportunity to establish her as the defining symbol of British imperial power.

By the time Queen Victoria died in 1901, photography had transformed the relationship between the monarchy and the people. The private life of the monarch was more visible to more people than ever before. But Victoria still managed to take one photographic secret to the grave.


TUE 22:30 A Year in the Life of a Year (b09l1cgd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:05 on Saturday]


TUE 23:00 Tales of Winter: The Art of Snow and Ice (b01q6qj6)
Winter was not always beautiful. Until Pieter Bruegel painted Hunters in the Snow, the long bitter months had never been transformed into a thing of beauty. This documentary charts how mankind's ever changing struggle with winter has been reflected in western art throughout the ages, resulting in images that are now amongst the greatest paintings of all time. With contributions from Grayson Perry, Will Self, Don McCullin and many others, the film takes an eclectic group of people from all walks of life out into the cold to reflect on the paintings that have come to define the art of snow and ice.


TUE 00:30 Great Barrier Reef (b019851n)
Nature's Miracle

Three-part series exploring Australia's Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world and the largest living structure on our planet.

Monty Halls explores its full 2,000-kilometre length, from the wild outer reefs of the Coral Sea to the tangled mangrove and steaming rainforest on the shoreline, from large mountainous islands to tiny coral cays barely above sea level, from the dark depths of the abyss beyond the reef to colourful coral gardens of the shallows.

Along the way, he experiences the reef at its most dangerous and its most intriguing, and visits areas that have rarely been filmed, from the greatest wildlife shipwreck on earth to the mysterious seafloor of the lagoon, where freakish animals lurk under every rock.

The first film explores the complex structure of the coral reef itself and the wildlife that lives on it. So vast it is visible from space, the reef is actually built by tiny animals in partnership with microscopic plants. It is a place full of surprises that is always changing, responding to the rhythms of weather, tide, sun and moon.

Within this magical and intensely crowded world, this episode reveals how the amazing reef creatures compete and cooperate - from deadly fish-hunting snails to sharks that can walk on land, fighting corals and parrot fish that spin sleeping bags every night.

Remote cameras, cutting-edge underwater macro and digital time-lapse photography have captured many sequences which have never been filmed before, providing completely fresh perspectives on this extraordinary natural wonder.


TUE 01:30 Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain (b00np25k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:30 Tales from the Royal Wardrobe with Lucy Worsley (b048wss8)
Today, few people's clothes attract as much attention as the royal family, but this is not a modern-day Hello magazine-inspired obsession. As Dr Lucy Worsley reveals, it has always been this way. Exploring the royal wardrobes of our kings and queens over the last 400 years, Lucy shows this isn't just a public preoccupation but our monarchs' as well.

From Elizabeth I to our present Queen, Lucy believes that the royal wardrobe's significance goes way beyond the cut and colour of the clothing and that royal fashion is, and has always been, regarded as their personal statement to their people. So most monarchs have carefully choreographed every aspect of their wardrobe and, for those who have not, there have sometimes been calamitous consequences.



WEDNESDAY 03 JANUARY 2018

WED 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b09kkkd7)
Series 1

03/01/2018

Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London return to report on the events that are shaping the world.


WED 19:30 Tales from the Royal Wardrobe with Lucy Worsley (b048wss8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 02:30 on Tuesday]


WED 20:30 A Stitch in Time (b09l2rfv)
Series 1

Charles II

Fusing biography, art and the history of fashion, Amber Butchart explores the lives of historical figures through the clothes they wore. Here, she looks at Charles II.


WED 21:00 Made in Dagenham (b01rcc33)
Comedy drama charting the fight of female factory workers at the Ford Dagenham plant for equal pay. In 1968, one determined factory worker leads her colleagues out on strike in the hope of eradicating unfair working conditions and sexual discrimination.


WED 22:45 Ford's Dagenham Dream (b00j0gnm)
Documentary which tells the story of a dream of happy families on wheels that the Ford Motor Company brought from Detroit to Dagenham, then sold to Britain.

From the 1950s onwards Ford revolutionised the cars we drove, producing dream cars for the average British family. In the 60s and 70s Ford sold dreams to boy racers too, but it came at a price. The mass production of motor cars required an army of assembly line workers who did jobs that were infamous for their soul-destroying monotony.

At its peak Dagenham was producing more than 3,000 cars every day and its most popular dream car, the Cortina, sold around five million in Britain alone. But the assembly line workers had a love-hate relationship with the cars they made and for some the dream became a nightmare.

Illustrated with powerful first person testimony and rare archive, this is the story of the rise and fall of Ford's Dagenham dream.


WED 23:45 Caravans: A British Love Affair (b00hw3s0)
Documentary about the love affair between the British and their caravans, which saw the country establish the world's largest caravan manufacturer and transformed the holiday habits of generations of families.

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

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

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


WED 00:45 Great Barrier Reef (b019hd78)
Reef to Rainforest

Three-part series exploring Australia's Great Barrier Reef, one of the natural wonders of the world and the largest living structure on our planet.

Monty Halls explores its full 2,000-kilometre length, from the wild outer reefs of the Coral Sea to the tangled mangrove and steaming rainforest on the shoreline; from large mountainous islands to tiny coral cays barely above sea level; from the dark depths of the abyss beyond the reef to colourful coral gardens of the shallows.

Along the way, he experiences the reef at its most dangerous and its most intriguing, and visits areas that have rarely been filmed, from the greatest wildlife shipwreck on earth to the mysterious seafloor of the lagoon, where freakish animals lurk under every rock.

The Great Barrier Reef as a whole covers an area larger than Great Britain, but amazingly only seven per cent of it is coral reef. The rest is a variety of interconnected habitats including the world's oldest jungle, hundreds of islands, mangrove swamps, mysterious deep-water gardens, vast sand flats and meadows of sea grass - all full of amazing wildlife. A giant deep-water lagoon connects all of these, and many of the creatures that live in it are almost impossibly weird - from giant hammerhead sharks to the bizarre 'pearl fish' that lives its life up a sea cucumber's bottom.

Marine life here also exists in spectacular profusion, as on the 100-year-old shipwreck of the SS Yongala, considered to be the greatest wildlife wreck on earth. The connections between all these environments mean that not only do they depend on each other, but without them the coral reef itself would not survive.


WED 01:45 A Stitch in Time (b09l2rfv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


WED 02:15 Ford's Dagenham Dream (b00j0gnm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:45 today]



THURSDAY 04 JANUARY 2018

THU 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b09kkkdd)
Series 1

04/01/2018

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


THU 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (b03ty8jf)
Series 2 - Reversions

Madrid to Gibraltar: Part 2

Armed with his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo returns to his native Spain to discover what the intrepid tourists of the Belle Epoque experienced on their travels through the fading Spanish empire. Hard on their heels in Madrid, he visits the scene of a grim assassination attempt at the royal wedding of a British princess and a Spanish king.

Striking south to historic Cordoba, Michael dances with an unusual partner and enjoys all the fun of the feria. Heading further into Andalusia, Michael arrives in Seville, the city he has made his Spanish home, and where, in the city's tobacco factory, he learns about a gypsy girl named Carmen.

After sipping sherry in Jerez, he traces Winston Churchill's tense diplomatic mission to Algeciras on Spain's Costa del Sol and finishes with tales of British espionage on the Rock of Gibraltar.


THU 20:00 Walt Disney (b08605f7)
Episode 1

Documentary about the life and legacy of Walt Disney, featuring archival footage only recently released from the Disney vaults, alongside scenes from some of his greatest films and the sketches from which they were created.

Those who helped turn his dreams into reality - his friends, family, animators and designers - reveal the real man behind the legend. They disclose the previously unknown processes, single-mindedness and sometimes sheer unpleasantness and discrimination that lay behind his seemingly effortless masterpieces.

Through bankruptcy, strikes, great risk and more, Disney's refusal to accept failure and his determined pursuit of his creative vision produced cartoons and movies that would define an entire industry. Both an inspiring story and a cautionary tale about the price of ambition, this film offers an unprecedented look at the man who created a world and built an empire.

Part one explores Disney's early days, when he created Mickey Mouse, through to the triumph of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film.


THU 21:00 Walt Disney (b0872yqs)
Episode 2

The life and legacy of Walt Disney, featuring archival footage only recently released from the Disney vaults, alongside scenes from some of his greatest films and the sketches which created them. Those who helped turn his dreams into reality - his friends, family and his animators and designers - reveal the real man behind the legend. They disclose the previously unknown processes, single-mindedness and sometimes sheer unpleasantness and discrimination that lay behind his seemingly effortless masterpieces. Through bankruptcy, strikes, great risk and more, Disney's refusal to accept failure and his single-minded pursuit of his creative vision produced cartoons and movies that would define an entire industry. Both and inspiring story and a cautionary tale about the price of ambition, Walt Disney offers an unprecedented look at the man who created a world and built an empire.

Part two explores Disney's later years as he makes films such as Cinderella and Mary Poppins, and realises his dream project, Disneyland.


THU 22:00 Secret Life of Sue Townsend (Aged 68 ¾) (b080391j)
Sue Townsend left school at 14 with no qualifications and in her early twenties was a single mother struggling to feed her three children. A decade later, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 was a critical and commercial smash and she had become the best-selling author of her era.

Julie Walters narrates this extraordinary story of a working-class woman who achieved literary stardom through sheer talent and an irrepressible will to write. From Adrian Mole to The Queen & I, Sue Townsend's books combine a brilliantly funny writing style with often biting satire, captivating not just a nation's readers but influencing a generation of writers and performers.

A warm and witty celebration of Sue Townsend's life and writing, the story is told with the help of children from Sue's old school, her friends and family, as well as the comedy and literary stars she inspired - including Stephen Mangan, Ian Hislop, David Nicholls, Isy Suttie and Adrian Scarborough. Drawing on Sue Townsend's own archive of letters and notebooks, the film also features unseen photographs, footage and even her appointment diary, which includes poignant entries about her struggles with ill health, written in a humorous style instantly recognisable from her books.


THU 23:00 Natural World (b05sz8q8)
2015-2016

Iceland: Land of Ice and Fire

In what turns out to be an explosive year, witness Iceland through the eyes of the animals and people that have made this wild island home.

An arctic fox family must eke out a cliff-top living, an eider farmer has his hands full playing duck dad to hundreds of new arrivals and Viking horsemen prepare to saddle up for the autumn round-up. But nature's clock is ticking, and the constant volcanic threat eventually boils over with one of Iceland's biggest eruptions in more than 200 years. This land of ice and fire will not be tamed.


THU 00:00 Great Barrier Reef (b019xxhh)
Reef and Beyond

The Great Barrier Reef is vitally linked to the rest of the planet in many ways. Creatures travel for thousands of miles to visit in spectacular numbers, including tiger sharks, great whales, sea birds and the largest green turtle gathering on earth.

Alien creatures that are rarely seen, like nautilus, also rise out of the deep to visit the reef's warm waters. Weather systems travelling from across the Pacific also affect the whole reef, including mighty cyclones that bring destruction and chaos to the coral and the creatures that live on it. And it is weather patterns and climate change on a global scale that are likely to shape the future of the Great Barrier Reef and all its wildlife.


THU 01:00 Walt Disney (b08605f7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:00 Walt Disney (b0872yqs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


THU 03:00 Peaky Blinders (b09j0hxs)
Series 4

Dangerous

The Peaky Blinders are lured by the Italians into a cat-and-mouse chase on the streets of Birmingham, where it becomes clear that Tommy has met his match. Trapped in Small Heath, Tommy tries to console himself with a visit from an old flame but it soon becomes clear that he can't always get what he wants.

As his factory lies idle, Tommy confronts the possibility that the Communists might win and he will be deemed a traitor to his class. Meanwhile, Changretta prepares to spring another trap.



FRIDAY 05 JANUARY 2018

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b09kkkdk)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (b03ty8pl)
Series 2 - Reversions

Turin to Venice: Part 1

Steered by his 1913 railway guide, Michael Portillo takes the train from the former political capital of Italy, Turin, to Casanova's capital of romance, Venice.

Along the way, he recreates the famous Italian Job on an historic Fiat test track and follows fashion in Milan before investigating the early 20th-century British love affair with Lake Como in a seaplane. In Verona, Michael discovers the 'House of the Capulets', bought to attract Edwardian tourists to the scene of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He then heads over the rail bridge across the lagoon to Venice, where he finds a microcosm of pre-First World War Europe in the Venice Biennale art exhibition.


FRI 20:00 Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (b007cllb)
The Carpenters were one of the biggest selling pop artists of the 1970s, but what seemed on the surface as the perfect, wholesome brother and sister duo hid a destructive complex truth that was unknown to the world.

Featuring behind the scenes footage, interviews with brother Richard, family and friends, this documentary traces the story that ended in tragedy with sister Karen's untimely death aged just 32.


FRI 21:00 Top of the Pops (b09kt44k)
The Story of 1985

1985 sees the 'Big Four' of 80's pop - Spandau, Wham, Culture Club and the Durans - have a relatively quiet year which ushers in a new generation of pop talent. The show becomes a barometer for the state of the nation as the ambitious King and A-ha, propelled by the most expensive video of the year for Take On Me, compete for attention with passionate politicos Billy Bragg and The Style Council who, fired up by the ongoing miners' strike and continuing threat of nuclear war, give the studio audience their all with Between The Wars and Walls Come Tumbling Down.

1985 also sees electro dance hit the mainstream as Dead or Alive top the charts with You Spin Me Round, the first number one for producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, and Paul Hardcastle holds the top slot for five weeks with 19, a spoken word single made with new sampling technology and released on the 10th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war.

Meanwhile, movie tie-ins and record companies eyeing a 'housewives' market see a run of power ballads hit the charts from Jennifer Rush to Tina Turner to our very own Bonnie Tyler with Holding Out For a Hero. And back in the real world, the heroic Bob Geldof brings the pop generations together for Live Aid and Shakin' Stevens marks his 50th appearance on Top of the Pops and lands his first Christmas number one with a song he has waited a whole year to release.

Featuring original interviews with A-ha, Shakin' Stevens, The Style Council, Billy Bragg, Bonnie Tyler, Pete Waterman, Paul Hardcastle, King and Loose Ends.


FRI 22:00 Top of the Pops (b09kt44m)
1985 - Big Hits

Celebrating the big hits of 1985 with a selection of iconic Top of the Pops performances spanning the genres, from pure pop to power ballads, from Hi-NRG to hip-hop, to R&B and indie classics. Featuring Wham!, The Smiths, Kate Bush, a-ha, Eurythmics, The Cure, Dead or Alive, Bonnie Tyler, Tears for Fears, Sister Sledge, Jennifer Rush, Doug E Fresh and many more.


FRI 23:00 Radio 2 In Concert (b09kt4rp)
Tears for Fears

This show sees Tears for Fears take to the stage for another incredibly special and unique Radio 2 In Concert. After forming as synth pop duo in the early 80s, Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith achieved huge success on both sides of the Atlantic and as a result of such a huge fanbase, over 30,000 people applied to be part of the audience for this intimate gig. However, only a few hundred were lucky enough to witness the boys from Bath perform their classic hits which included Mad World, Shout, Everybody Wants to Rule the World and Sowing the Seeds of Love at the BBC's iconic Radio Theatre in the heart of London.


FRI 00:00 TOTP2 (b00sfz04)
80s Special

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


FRI 01:00 Top of the Pops (b09kt44k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


FRI 02:00 Top of the Pops (b09kt44m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 03:00 Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (b007cllb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]




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

A Stitch in Time 20:30 WED (b09l2rfv)

A Stitch in Time 01:45 WED (b09l2rfv)

A Year in the Life of a Year 23:05 SAT (b09l1cgd)

A Year in the Life of a Year 22:30 TUE (b09l1cgd)

Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain 20:00 TUE (b00np25k)

Andrew Marr's The Making of Modern Britain 01:30 TUE (b00np25k)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 TUE (b09kkkd2)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 WED (b09kkkd7)

Beyond 100 Days 19:00 THU (b09kkkdd)

Caravans: A British Love Affair 23:45 WED (b00hw3s0)

Chuck Berry in Concert 00:35 SAT (b0074rbc)

Dancing the Nutcracker - Inside the Royal Ballet 19:00 SUN (b086kdzl)

David Attenborough's Zoo Quest in Colour 02:30 SUN (p03qxfsg)

Detectorists 22:00 SUN (b09f2ndg)

Detectorists 22:30 SUN (b09ffxyn)

Detectorists 23:00 SUN (b09g64vk)

Detectorists 23:30 SUN (b09gvm77)

Detectorists 00:00 SUN (b09hgdx2)

Detectorists 00:30 SUN (b09j0qcs)

Ford's Dagenham Dream 22:45 WED (b00j0gnm)

Ford's Dagenham Dream 02:15 WED (b00j0gnm)

Glen Campbell: The Rhinestone Cowboy 23:35 SAT (b01pwxs8)

Great Barrier Reef 00:30 TUE (b019851n)

Great Barrier Reef 00:45 WED (b019hd78)

Great Barrier Reef 00:00 THU (b019xxhh)

Great Continental Railway Journeys 19:30 TUE (b03ty8dk)

Great Continental Railway Journeys 19:30 THU (b03ty8jf)

Great Continental Railway Journeys 19:30 FRI (b03ty8pl)

Made in Dagenham 21:00 WED (b01rcc33)

Natural World 23:00 THU (b05sz8q8)

New Year's Day Concert 19:00 MON (b09kkm5l)

Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story 20:00 FRI (b007cllb)

Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story 03:00 FRI (b007cllb)

Peaky Blinders 03:00 THU (b09j0hxs)

Planet Earth II 20:00 SAT (b087y9wf)

Planet Earth II 02:35 SAT (b087y9wf)

Queen: Rock the World 22:00 MON (b09d5xpf)

Queen: Rock the World 02:20 MON (b09d5xpf)

Queen: The Legendary 1975 Concert 23:00 MON (b00p4hgm)

Radio 2 In Concert 23:00 FRI (b09kt4rp)

Secret Life of Sue Townsend (Aged 68 ¾) 22:00 THU (b080391j)

Spiral 21:00 SAT (b09kl71v)

Spiral 22:00 SAT (b09kl71x)

TOTP2 00:00 FRI (b00sfz04)

Tales from the Royal Wardrobe with Lucy Worsley 02:30 TUE (b048wss8)

Tales from the Royal Wardrobe with Lucy Worsley 19:30 WED (b048wss8)

Tales of Winter: The Art of Snow and Ice 23:00 TUE (b01q6qj6)

The Clash: New Year's Day '77 00:05 MON (b04w08p6)

The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody 21:00 MON (b0074d94)

The Story of Bohemian Rhapsody 01:20 MON (b0074d94)

The World's Most Photographed 22:00 TUE (b0078y3p)

Top of the Pops 21:00 FRI (b09kt44k)

Top of the Pops 22:00 FRI (b09kt44m)

Top of the Pops 01:00 FRI (b09kt44k)

Top of the Pops 02:00 FRI (b09kt44m)

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

Tutankhamun: The Truth Uncovered 01:35 SAT (b04n6scp)

Victoria Wood: Seen on TV 20:30 SUN (b00pl74d)

Victoria Wood: Seen on TV 01:00 SUN (b00pl74d)

Victoria: A Royal Love Story 21:00 TUE (b00rl81c)

Walt Disney 20:00 THU (b08605f7)

Walt Disney 21:00 THU (b0872yqs)

Walt Disney 01:00 THU (b08605f7)

Walt Disney 02:00 THU (b0872yqs)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b09kkkdk)