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 28 JULY 2018

SAT 19:00 Mountain: Life at the Extreme (b094klt5)
Series 1

Himalaya

The highest mountain range on earth is home to extraordinary animals and remarkable ancient cultures. In the depths of winter, snow leopards creep into isolated mountain villages in search of food. In hidden valleys, bizarre-looking monkeys huddle for warmth in a frozen forest. Ancient Buddhist monasteries have age-old rituals creating beautiful works of art made from mountain sand, and athletes compete in the gruelling Everest marathon. Strange and exotic creatures live in the Himalaya - the chiru, with the warmest wool in the world, snakes bathing in hot springs and wild yaks competing in their annual rut.


SAT 20:00 Wonders of the Monsoon (p026glz8)
The Drought

During the part of the year that the monsoon doesn't bring rain, the winds reverse, bringing instead dry air and even drought to large parts of the region.

Fed by the previous rains, budgerigars swarm in the Australian desert. They congregate at a precious waterhole. Birds of prey try to ambush them but are mesmerised by the kaleidoscope of yellow and green.

On Borneo, one bearded pig has worked out a strategy for surviving this lean time of year. He heads straight for the beach and uses his snout to hunt for seafood. Ghost crabs burrow deep into the sand, but the pig sniffs them out and digs them up.

In the Rajasthan desert, drought-loving camels provide vital transport for its inhabitants. Pushkar hosts the world's largest camel fair early in the dry season. Amongst the attractions, nomads haggle over the price of a camel.

In Sri Lanka, now that food is hard to find, Asia's largest gathering of elephants is seen at an ancient man-made lake, where the receding waters unveil fertile areas of fresh grass.

At a nearby waterhole, the mugger crocodiles stalk the prey that is forced there to drink. But a young leopard, learning to hunt under the cover of darkness, discovers that there is no easy meal.

On the golden plains of India, blackbuck take the challenge of the drought head-on. Young bucks battle at noon to find out who is tough enough to get the territory and the females.

Finally, the monsoon winds reverse once more. They will soon bring rain again but only after the sandstorms...


SAT 21:00 Hidden (b0bc1zhn)
Series 1

Episode 8

With Iona Harris under arrest and Nia Harris safe with child support workers, all of DI Cadi John and DS Owen Vaughan's attention is focused on Dylan Harris and bringing him to justice for all the suffering that he has caused. This goal is especially personal to Cadi, who is working to atone for her father wrongly accusing Endaf Elwy of a murder that Dylan committed. Megan Ruddock realises that whilst her ordeal with Dylan is over, the journey to full recovery and acceptance of who she is a longer one. Life will never quite be the same for those affected by Dylan's actions.


SAT 22:00 The Summer of Love: How Hippies Changed the World (b08tb97c)
Series 1

Episode 1

The first episode looks at how ideas, music and lifestyles from Asia, Europe and the American left became entwined in California. It traces the roots of the hippies back to a 19th-century German sect of wandering naturalists called Lebensreform, who brought their freethinking ideas about nature to California after the Second World War. There, they merged with a growing interest in eastern mystical concepts of human nature imported to America by maverick British thinkers like Aleister Crowley and Aldous Huxley. Add to this mix a wonder drug called LSD, first developed by the CIA, and a wave of student activists and anti-war protesters agitating for revolution, and you have the astonishing story of how these forces came together to give birth to the Summer of Love in San Francisco, 1967.


SAT 23:00 Psychedelic Britannia (b06jp24b)
Documentary exploring the rise and fall of the most visionary period in British music history: five kaleidoscopic years between 1965 and 1970 when a handful of dreamers reimagined pop music.

When a generation of British R&B bands discovered LSD, conventions were questioned. From out of the bohemian underground and into the pop mainstream, the psychedelic era produced some of the most groundbreaking music ever made, pioneered by young improvising bands like Soft Machine and Pink Floyd, then quickly taken to the charts by the likes of The Beatles, Procol Harum, The Small Faces and The Moody Blues, even while being reimagined in the country by bucolic, folk-based artists like The Incredible String Band and Vashti Bunyan.

The film is narrated by Nigel Planer, with contributions and performances from artists who lived and breathed the psych revolution - Paul McCartney, Ginger Baker, Robert Wyatt, Roy Wood, The Zombies, Mike Heron, Vashti Bunyan, Joe Boyd, Gary Brooker, Arthur Brown, Kenney Jones, Barry Miles, The Pretty Things and The Moody Blues.


SAT 00:00 Gershwin's Summertime: The Song that Conquered the World (b017nf05)
An intriguing investigation into the extraordinary life of Gershwin's classic composition, Summertime. One of the most covered songs in the world, it has been recorded in almost every style of music - from jazz to opera, rock to reggae, soul to samba. Its musical adaptability is breathtaking, but Summertime also resonates on a deep emotional level. This visually and sonically engaging film explores the composition's magical properties, examining how this song has, with stealth, captured the imagination of the world.

From its complex birth in 1935 as a lullaby in Gershwin's all-black opera Porgy and Bess, this film traces the hidden history of Summertime, focusing on key recordings, including those by Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, Mahalia Jackson, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald. It reveals how musicians have projected their own dreams and desires onto the song, reimagining Summertime throughout the 20th century as a civil rights prayer, a hippie lullaby, an ode to seduction and a modern freedom song.

Back in the 1930s, Gershwin never dreamt of the global impact Summertime would have. But as this film shows, it has magically tapped into something deep inside us all - nostalgia and innocence, sadness and joy, and our intrinsic desire for freedom. Full of evocative archive footage as well as a myriad versions of Summertime - from the celebrated to the obscure - the film tells the surprising and illuminating tale behind this world-famous song.


SAT 01:00 Mick Jagger - Whistle Test Special: It's Only Rock and Roll (b0bcmmvl)
David Hepworth interviews Mick Jagger about his career with The Rolling Stones and his solo work. Includes film clips and videos spanning Jagger's career.


SAT 02:00 Mountain: Life at the Extreme (b094klt5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 03:00 Wonders of the Monsoon (p026glz8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 29 JULY 2018

SUN 19:00 BBC Proms (b0bczz8f)
2018

Shostakovich and Rachmaninov

Conductor Karina Canellakis returns with the BBC Symphony Orchestra after her triumphant 2017 Proms debut. Two 20th-century Russian masterpieces lead the bill - the exhilarating Symphonic Dances by Rachmaninov and Shostakovich's much-loved First Cello Concerto, where Canellakis is joined by another young American star, soloist Alisa Weilerstein. The evening kicks off with Beethoven's forceful Overture Coriolan, which Canellakis describes as a 'punch in the face', and a third young American, composer Andrew Norman, completes the programme with the UK premiere of his new work Spiral.


SUN 20:45 Nature's Weirdest Events (b06k4c07)
Series 2: Cutdowns

Episode 1

Documentary series exploring bizarre and extraordinary natural events. Using footage taken by eyewitnesses and first-hand accounts, presenter Chris Packham reveals how these fantastic events occur.


SUN 21:00 Archaeology: A Secret History (p0109k28)
The Search for Civilisation

Archaeologist Richard Miles shows how discoveries in the 18th and 19th centuries overturned ideas of when and where civilisation began as empires competed to literally 'own' the past.


SUN 22:00 Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (b086zd44)
Episode 3

This episode follows Henry's marriage annulment to Anne of Cleves due to non-consummation. Middle-aged Henry then marries teenager Catherine Howard two weeks later, only for her to be convicted of treason and beheaded.

Henry's last wife, Katherine Parr, is a good stepmother to his children, but her religious views differ greatly from the king's. Her book, Prayers or Meditations, is the first book to be written in English by a woman, but its popularity threatens Henry's advisors. Lucy observes as Katherine narrowly escapes being arrested for treason.

Henry dies and his son Edward VI takes the throne. Katherine remarries and gets pregnant but tragically dies a week after the baby is born.


SUN 23:00 Royal Welsh Show (b0bdg7bb)
2018

Highlights

Kate Humble and Gareth Wyn Jones present their favourite moments from the Royal Welsh Show. They look back over four action-packed days, where they met some of the thousands of visitors, farmers and their animals.


SUN 00:00 Storyville (b05n756x)
The Lost Gold of the Highlands

Twenty years ago, Garnet Frost escaped London and headed into the desolate Scottish wilderness, where, not having a map, he got lost. Trapped between a mountain and the mysterious Loch Arkaig, cold and alone, he resigned himself to dying.

But Garnet didn't die. By sheer chance, he was saved by a lone fisherman.

For the past two decades, Garnet has been haunted by a memento from his doomed trip. He believes an unusual wooden staff he found while waiting to die is actually a marker for one of history's most famous lost treasures - a spectacular fortune once owned by Bonnie Prince Charlie and lost since 1746. Now, two decades after the trip which almost killed him, Garnet is ready to return to the mysterious loch in his quest to find the gold.

What Garnet finds up there, amidst the towering landscape, changes his life forever.

The film is more than a fascinating historical insight into a lost treasure. It is a journey into the mind of a man searching for meaning, a search with which we can all empathise. This is a film about dreams, inspiration and the resonating power of hope. This is a film about all of us.


SUN 01:15 Daniil Trifonov: Piano Sensation (b052yq1c)
Portrait of pianist and composer Daniil Trifonov, who is generating the most extravagant praise from several of the world's top musicians, including Martha Argerich, Valery Gergiev and Christian Thielemann.


SUN 02:15 Archaeology: A Secret History (p0109k28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 30 JULY 2018

MON 19:00 World News Today (b0bfdkdr)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Handmade in Mexico (b09hqmcf)
Series 1

Huipil

A huipil is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three rectangular pieces of fabric which are then joined together with stitching, ribbons or fabric strips, with an opening for the head and, if the sides are sewn, openings for the arms. Tehuana dresses are crafted by Zapotec women who live in a matriarchal culture. They elaborately embroider very elegant dresses made of velvet or silk, which they wear at religious ceremonies and fiestas. These dresses were famously worn by Frida Kahlo. The huipiles originate from crafts developed to meet very utilitarian needs, but became more decorative as time went on and now they are regarded as objects of status.


MON 20:00 Italy's Invisible Cities (b0881gly)
Series 1

Naples

Using the latest 3D scanning technology, Alexander Armstrong and Dr Michael Scott uncover 2,500 years of hidden history in Naples, from its earliest Greek and Roman origins.

They explore how the volcano of Mount Vesuvius both nurtured the region and exacted a terrible price on the local population. They also delve into a labyrinth of fascinating underground spaces that helped build and sustain the city.


MON 21:00 Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain's Hidden Art History (b0bcy4kd)
Brenda Emmanus follows acclaimed artist Sonia Boyce as she leads a team preparing a new exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery highlighting artists of African and Asian descent who have helped to shape the history of British art.

Sonia and her team have spent the past three years scouring our public art archives to find out just how many works of art by artists of African and Asian descent the nation really owns. They have found nearly 2,000, but many of these pieces have rarely, if ever, been displayed before. We go into the stores to rediscover these works and, more importantly, meet the groundbreaking artists from the Windrush generation, the 60s counterculture revolution and the Black Art movement of the 80s.

Contributors include Rasheed Araeen, Lubaina Himid, Yinka Shonibare, the BLK Art Group and Althea McNish.


MON 22:00 Hear Her: Leading Lady Parts (b0bdcr9l)
This comedy short, written and directed by Jessica Swale, takes a sneak peek backstage as the cream of British acting talent step forward to audition for that dream role. They are primed to take on the role of a lifetime, that complex woman, the strong woman, a woman for today. A lady part who is more than just... lady parts.

The eclectic, award-winning cast includes Gemma Arterton Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Tom Hiddleston, Felicity Jones, Katie Leung, Stacy Martin, Wunmi Mosaku, Florence Pugh, Catherine Tate and Anthony Welsh.


MON 22:10 Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives (b0b7pb18)
Series 1

Compliance

An actress recounts her meeting with a powerful producer in a hotel room.


MON 22:25 Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives (b0b7rkk9)
Series 1

Bovril Pam

A secretary in the 1960s starts to explore her sexuality.


MON 22:45 Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives (b0b7rpjd)
Series 1

Multiples

The experience of a woman accused of killing her child, who fights to overturn her conviction.


MON 23:00 Britain and the Sea (p01k4zs9)
Adventure and Exploration

David Dimbleby sails the south west coast of England - along the coast of Devon and Cornwall - in his own sailing boat, Rocket, exploring maritime history, art and architecture as he goes. Caught up in stormy weather, he makes it to safety in the nick of time, to tell the story of Sir Francis Drake and a fantastic array of adventurers, explorers, pirates and smugglers.

It's also a chance for David to enjoy some of Britain's most beautiful coastline and turn his hand to a bit of art himself. David also gingerly submits himself to one of the oldest maritime art forms of all - the art of the tattoo.


MON 00:00 The Secret Life of Waves (b00y5jhx)
Documentary maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film, he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways, and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles. Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human beings.


MON 01:00 Scotland's First Oil Rush (b07cb31r)
Scotland witnessed the world's first true 'oil rush', when inventor James 'Paraffin' Young first refined lighting fuel from a shale rock known as torbanite in 1851. There followed more than a century of the shale oil industry, which employed thousands and whose fortunes ebbed and flowed with industrialisation and two world wars.

Presented by geologist Professor Iain Stewart, this film tells the story of shale, its lasting impact on one Scottish community - West Lothian - and the massive and unique landmarks still visible today.


MON 02:00 Visions of the Valleys (b05p706x)
Kim Howells celebrates 250 years of art in the Welsh valleys, looking at how the place became a magnet for artists drawn by its natural splendour and the spectacle of the industries that grew up there. The former MP and Labour arts minister looks at how the south Wales valleys have been portrayed by artists from the end of the 18th century to the present day.

He begins with JMW Turner, who visited the Vale of Neath in the 1790s to paint the spectacular waterfalls, but soon discovers that it was the drama of industry that attracted the next generation of painters. By the 20th century, artists became more concerned with social issues, showing the despair brought on by the Great Depression. But after the Second World War the mood changed and painters reflected the postwar optimism.

Finally, Kim looks at the current generation of artists, including Valerie Ganz and David Carpanini, who portray the after-effects of industry and the natural beauty that's returned to the valleys.


MON 03:00 Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain's Hidden Art History (b0bcy4kd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 31 JULY 2018

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b0bfdkgm)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 Handmade in Mexico (b09j2vvr)
Series 1

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life is a clay sculpture originally intended to teach Bible stories to indigenous people. Overall, the tree sculpture looks something like a candelabra, and traditionally consists of biblical images and narratives, such as Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden. Tree of Life sculpture is emblematic of Puebla State, where it began. Some modern designs - always brightly painted - sometimes include secular or fantastical imagery.


TUE 20:00 Andrew Marr's History of the World (p00xnrbj)
Original Series

Age of Empire

In this episode, Andrew Marr tells the story of the first empires which laid the foundations for the modern world.

From the Assyrians to Alexander the Great, conquerors rampaged across the Middle East and vicious wars were fought all the way from China to the Mediterranean. But this time of chaos and destruction also brought enormous progress and inspired human development. In the Middle East, the Phoenicians invented the alphabet, and one of the most powerful ideas in world history emerged: the belief in just one God. In India, the Buddha offered a radical alternative to empire building - a way of living that had no place for violence or hierarchy and was open to everyone.

Great thinkers from Socrates to Confucius proposed new ideas about how to rule more wisely and live in a better society. And in Greece, democracy was born - the greatest political experiment of all. But within just a few years, its future would be under threat from invasion by an empire in the east...


TUE 21:00 Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema (b0bd7qlk)
Series 1

Coming of Age

Mark Kermode continues his fresh and very personal look at the art of cinema by examining the techniques and conventions behind classic film genres, uncovering the ingredients that keep audiences coming back for more.

In this episode, Mark explores the genre that captures the joy and pain of growing up – the coming of age movie. It’s the most universal of all genres, the one we can all relate to from our own experience, yet it can also be the most autobiographical and personal. Film-makers across the world repeatedly return to core themes such as first love, breaking away from small town life and grown-ups who don’t understand. And wherever and whenever they’re set, these stories are vividly brought to life using techniques such as casting non-professional actors, camerawork that captures a child’s-eye view, and nostalgic pop soundtracks.

From Rebel without a Cause to Lady Bird by way of Kes, Boyz n the Hood and This Is England, Mark shows how recurring sequences like the makeover and the group singalong, and characters like the gang and mentor figure have helped create some of the most moving and resonant films in cinema.


TUE 22:00 An Education (b0116h74)
The story of a young girl's choice between Oxford and the university of life. Sixteen and gifted, Jenny is destined for Oxford. Her parents' own dreams of fulfilment are built on Jenny's success. However, her eyes are opened to a world of glamorous possibility beyond the boundaries of suburbia when she meets the considerably older, distinctly urbane, David.


TUE 23:35 Timewatch (b00785y5)
2008-2009

The Real Bonnie and Clyde

Hollywood portrayed them as the most glamorous outlaws in American history, but the reality of life on the run for Bonnie and Clyde was one of violence, hardship and danger.

With unprecedented access to gang members' memoirs, family archives and recently released police records, Timewatch takes an epic road trip through the heart of Depression-era America, in search of the true story of Bonnie and Clyde.


TUE 00:30 The Inca: Masters of the Clouds (b04xdpjy)
Foundations

Dr Jago Cooper reassesses the achievements of the Inca Empire. He begins in Peru, where evidence is still being uncovered that challenges preconceptions about its origins and significance. Venturing from the coast to the clouds, he reveals how the Inca transformed one of the most challenging landscapes in the world to ward off the worst effects of the climate, and created sophisticated systems of communication. He shows how one of many independent societies became a commanding empire - not through force, but by using subtle methods of persuasion.


TUE 01:30 Italy's Invisible Cities (b0881gly)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


TUE 02:35 Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema (b0bd7qlk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 01 AUGUST 2018

WED 19:00 World News Today (b0bfdkhp)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 Handmade in Mexico (b09jj0k2)
Series 1

Alebrijes

Alebrijes are brightly coloured, fantastical creatures, carved from copal wood and decorated in extremely detailed paintwork. Different animals and their characteristics are associated with different birth dates, and the patterns are full of symbols and meaning. Consequently, the sculpture contains often complex and personal narratives.


WED 20:00 1066: A Year to Conquer England (b08hyhm7)
Series 1

Episode 2

In this three-part drama-documentary series, Dan Snow explores the political intrigues and family betrayals between Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Normans that led to war, and the Battle of Hastings. King Harold of England has to take on two invasion forces. First, his brother Tostig attacks the south coast. He is repelled, but there is more to come. Later in the year, a vast Viking invasion force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway lands in the north of England. Harold rushes to Stamford Bridge to fight for his kingdom and for his life. Meanwhile, Duke William of Normandy is ready to invade, but storms keep his invasion fleet trapped in port.


WED 21:00 Murder in Soho: Who Killed Freddie Mills? (b0bcy56k)
Murder in Soho: Who Killed Freddie Mills? is a real-life murder mystery about the life and untimely death of a national boxing hero, who is often described as Britain’s first sporting celebrity.

Set in 1960s Soho, this film delves into the world of UK and US organised crime, with gangland figures such as the Krays, boxing, gambling, police corruption, and a string of brutal unsolved murders that would become synonymous with the name Freddie Mills.

With access to eight hours of previously unseen home movies, this is an intimate portrayal of a man who rose from the humble surroundings of the fairground boxing booth to become light-heavyweight champion of the world, and became a household name appearing in films and co-presenting the BBC music show Six-Five Special. But it all ended on the 25th July 1965, when he was found shot dead in the back seat of his car. 50 years after his death his family still challenge the coroner’s verdict of suicide. They have always maintained he was murdered.

High profile gangsters such as Eddie Richardson give first hand accounts of the criminal underworld that existed at the time, and ultimately a man comes forward who claims to have been involved in the murder of Freddie Mills. It’s a piece of testimony that could finally conclude a 50-year mystery for Freddie’s family; allowing a British boxing great to be remembered for the man he was, and his achievements in life, rather than for the single day of his death


WED 22:30 Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History (b088sznj)
Rapid Fire

In the concluding episode, Dr Sam Willis charts the evolution of weaponry in Britain from 1800 to the First World War, looking at the drive to develop ever more precise weapons, from artillery shells to rifles to the Maxim machine gun.

The pace of technological change in the 19th century was phenomenal. Sam test-fires a 'Brown Bess' musket, the infantry weapon of choice at Waterloo in 1815 and discovers that a well-trained soldier could fire up to three shots a minute. He also looks at efforts to make artillery more effective on the battlefield with the invention of spherical case shot, a new type of shell that was named after its inventor - Henry Shrapnel.

Sam finds out how accessible firearms were to the public in the early 19th century and tells the little-known story of Spencer Percival, the only British prime minister ever to be assassinated, shot at point blank range in the lobby of the House of Commons in 1812.

By the turn of the 20th century, several inventors believed that they could banish war if they invented the ultimate weapon, an instrument so horrific that no-one would dare use it. In the 1880s, Hiram Maxim, an American inventor, devised the first 'Maxim' machine guns in his workshop in Hatton Garden, London. The first rapid-fire weapon to harness the energy of its own recoil, the Maxim gun, and its successor the Vickers machine gun, could fire 600 rounds a minute and were used to devastating effect on the battlefields of the First World War.

Automatic weapons were also sought by criminal gangs, as Sam discovers when he looks back at one of the most infamous sieges of the 20th century - the Siege of Sidney Street in 1911.

The series culminates in a remarkable experiment to find out whether a bulletproof vest made of silk might have stopped a bullet fired at Archduke Franz Ferdinand. With the aid of the Royal Armouries, Sam conducts a unique experiment with assistant firearms curator Lisa Traynor to prove that a bulletproof vest owned by the archduke would have stopped a bullet fired by his assassin, Gavrilo Princip. The killing of the archduke on June 28 1914 set in motion a chain of events that led to the outbreak of the First World War.

World War I was the deadliest war of its age, with the most technologically advanced firearms and weapons of almost medieval brutality used to wage a devastating conflict. When the firing finally stopped on November 11, 1918, an estimated 17 million people had died and 20 million had been wounded. In the aftermath of World War I, we now put increasing faith in treaties, international conventions and diplomacy. Surely we could never allow such carnage to happen again?


WED 23:30 Timeshift (b053pzmd)
Series 14

Spicing Up Britain: How Eating Out Went Exotic

Timeshift looks at how postwar Britain went from a place where eating out was more of a chore than a pleasure to a nation of food adventurers, now spending up to a third of our food budget on restaurant meals. It's the story of the British palate being slowly introduced to a range of what would then have been 'exotic' cuisines by successive generations of migrants opening eateries - first Italians, then Chinese and Indians. By encouraging us to try something new - be it spaghetti, stir fry or samosa - they spiced up not just our food but our high streets and our lives.


WED 00:30 The Inca: Masters of the Clouds (b04y4q35)
Clash of Empires

In the concluding part, Dr Jago Cooper argues that it wasn't simply a clash of arms that destroyed the Inca but a clash of worldviews. He travels from Peru to the far north of Inca territory in Ecuador to reveal how the great strengths of the empire suddenly became factors in its rapid demise. The Spanish conquest of the Inca destroyed one of the most remarkable empires in the world, yet the Inca legacy leaves a great deal for modern civilisations to learn from.


WED 01:30 Shakespeare's Mother: The Secret Life of a Tudor Woman (b05279pq)
Michael Wood tells the extraordinary story of an ordinary woman in a time of revolution. Born during the reign of Henry VIII, Mary Arden is the daughter of a Warwickshire farmer, but she marries into a new life in the rising Tudor middle class in Stratford-upon-Avon. There she has eight children, three of whom die young. Her husband becomes mayor, but is bankrupted by his shady business dealings. Faced with financial ruin, religious persecution and power politics, the family is the glue that keeps them together until they are rescued by Mary's successful eldest son - William Shakespeare!


WED 02:30 1066: A Year to Conquer England (b08hyhm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



THURSDAY 02 AUGUST 2018

THU 19:00 World News Today (b0bfdkm9)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b0bdq2b5)
Simon Bates and Paul Jordan present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 6 February 1986. Featuring The Damned, Five Star, Ozzy Osbourne and Double.


THU 20:00 Australia with Simon Reeve (b021ncc4)
Episode 2

Simon travels from Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory, or Top End, across to the remote Cape York Peninsula and on to the Great Barrier Reef.

Simon sets off from Kakadu, the largest national park in the world, where the wildlife is under threat from the march of millions of poisonous cane toads. He joins a team of toad-busters catching the amphibian invaders - originally introduced to the country to kill pests.

In Robertson barracks, Simon meets Australia's best - and only - tank regiment. They will soon host 6,000 American marines - evidence of Australia's strategic importance in the Asia Pacific region.

Simon also heads out on patrol with Norforce, a unique military unit who use ancient aboriginal knowledge to help them survive in the bush. It's a case of green ant tea before bed.

On Cape York Peninsula, Simon joins scientists catching deadly box jellyfish, whose venom could prove to have great medicinal value. And on the Great Barrier Reef he dives in search of the starfish destroying coral, before flying 100 miles out into the ocean to watch as a huge tanker is expertly guided through the fragile reef.


THU 21:00 Super Senses: The Secret Power of Animals (b04fhkkl)
Sight

Our human senses are pretty incredible - but we only see, hear and smell a tiny fraction of what's out there. There is a hidden world that animals across the globe can experience.

This episode explores the extraordinary sense of sight in the animal world. We travel through the colours of the rainbow, across the spectrum of light our eyes can see - and beyond.

Presenters Helen Czerski and Patrick Aryee reveal how caribou use UV light to avoid wolves, discover how seeing in slow motion lets dragonflies make a kill in the blink of a human eye, and show how one animal can see in pitch-darkness - without using its eyes.


THU 22:00 In Search of Science (p01d56f7)
Method and Madness

Professor Brian Cox guides viewers through 350 years of British science to reveal what science really is, who the people are who practise it, and how it is inextricably linked to the past, present and future of each and every one of us.

This time, Professor Cox celebrates Britain's pivotal role in creating modern science. From performing Isaac Newton's iconic light experiment to meeting a wartime code breaker and making hydrogen explosions, Professor Cox leads the way through 300 years of British history. Along the way, he introduces the obsessive, eccentric, visionary characters who dragged science into the modern world by developing a powerful new way to investigate nature. He reveals what science really is, explores the mindset of those who practise it, and shows how science runs through the past, present and future of everyone.


THU 23:00 The Great British Year (p01dfl7j)
Original Series

Summer

Whilst the human population of Britain kicks back, summer is boom time for the animals. More sun means more food, but animals are arriving from afar to share, and competition is high. Hunters time their arrival from Africa to feast on the huge glut of flying insects, hobbies race after dragonflies, and thermal cameras reveal nightjars on a Dorset heath. Will the weather hold? One day harmful UV rays force sea urchins to cover up, the next sees thunderstorms bring out hordes of hungry snails.


THU 00:00 Top of the Pops (b0bdq2b5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:30 Scotland's Einstein: James Clerk Maxwell - The Man Who Changed the World (b06rd56j)
Professor Iain Stewart reveals the story behind the Scottish physicist who was Einstein's hero - James Clerk Maxwell. Maxwell's discoveries not only inspired Einstein, but they helped shape our modern world - allowing the development of radio, TV, mobile phones and much more.

Despite this, he is largely unknown in his native land of Scotland. Scientist Iain Stewart sets out to change that, and to celebrate the life, work and legacy of the man dubbed 'Scotland's forgotten Einstein'.


THU 01:30 Australia with Simon Reeve (b021ncc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:30 Murder in Soho: Who Killed Freddie Mills? (b0bcy56k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]



FRIDAY 03 AUGUST 2018

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b0bcy1pk)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (b0bdq3ms)
Gary Davies and Steve Wright present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 13 February 1986. Featuring Belouis Some, Whitney Houston, Su Pollard, Shakin' Stevens and Billy Ocean.


FRI 20:00 BBC Proms (b0bczkzz)
2018

Folk Prom

Traditional music for modern times as the ever-versatile BBC Concert Orchestra and conductor Stephen Bell collaborate with leading musicians in this celebration of the diverse folk scenes and songbooks of the British Isles. The Unthanks, Sam Lee, Julie Fowlis, Jarlath Henderson and ALAW perform stirring songs and driving jigs in a genre that is constantly renewing and reinvigorating itself.

From the Outer Hebrides, multi-award-winning singer Julie Fowlis is a torchbearer for her native Gaelic tradition and famously lent her crystalline vocals to the theme song of the Pixar film Brave. Her co-presenter on the Prom is Mercury-nominated singer-songwriter, nightingale whisperer, song collector and traditional music specialist Sam Lee.

The innovative, eclectic approach of Northumbria's The Unthanks has won them fans across the musical spectrum, and here the orchestral setting enhances the widescreen drama of their atmospheric epic Mount the Air. Jarlath Henderson from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland is a master of the uilleann pipes and whistles, and in 2003 was the youngest ever BBC Young Folk Musician award winner. Trio ALAW demonstrate their passion for the traditional music of Wales through unearthing and reimagining gems, and creating original tunes.

It's an exhilarating musical journey through the evolving folk traditions of our islands, where innovation and tradition intertwine.


FRI 22:00 Doris Day - Virgin Territory (b0074rwd)
Doris Day has often been dismissed as an actress and overlooked as a singer, despite career highs such as Calamity Jane and Pillow Talk. Covering her early years as a band singer, and her troubled private life, this documentary re-evaluates one of the screen's most enduring legends.


FRI 23:00 BBC Proms (b0bcybjq)
2018

Havana Meets Kingston

A Caribbean spirit pulses through this late-night Prom from the Royal Albert Hall, led by leading reggae and dancehall producer Mista Savona.

Cuban and Jamaican musicians unite onstage in an evening of roots reggae, dub, dancehall, salsa, rumba and Afro-Cuban beats, with featured vocalists including Randy Valentine, Brenda Navarette and Solis.


FRI 00:30 Top of the Pops (b0bdq3ms)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 01:00 Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC (b06ns4gf)
Smash hits from 60 years of great cover versions in performance from the BBC TV archive. Reinterpretations, tributes and acts of subversion from the British invasion to noughties X Factor finalist Alexandra Burke. Artists as varied as The Moody Blues, Soft Cell, Mariah Carey and UB40 with their 'retake' on someone else's song - ultimate chart hits that are, in some cases, perhaps even better than the original.

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


FRI 02:00 How to Make a Number One Record (b05r6q4r)
Great pop records are the soundtrack to our lives, and that is why number one hits hold a totemic place in our culture. This film goes in search of what it takes to get a number one hit single, uncovering how people have done it and the effect it had on their lives. As the exploration moves through the decades, the goal is to trace the various routes that lead to the top of the singles chart and discover the role played by art, science, chance and manipulation in reaching the pinnacle of pop.


FRI 03:00 Pierre Boulez at the BBC: Master and Maverick (b06z66l8)
Tom Service presents 40 years of great BBC archive featuring the French composer, conductor and musical icon Pierre Boulez, who died on 5th January 2016 at the age of 90. Opinionated and challenging, Boulez transformed the way that musicians and audiences all over the world think about contemporary music. With orchestras including the BBC Symphony, he rehearses and performs Debussy, Stravinsky and Bartok, as well as a selection of his own extraordinary compositions. Boulez's relationship with the BBC began in the 1960s and blossomed during his years as chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra - leaving a vivid legacy in the BBC's TV archive.




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

1066: A Year to Conquer England 20:00 WED (b08hyhm7)

1066: A Year to Conquer England 02:30 WED (b08hyhm7)

An Education 22:00 TUE (b0116h74)

Andrew Marr's History of the World 20:00 TUE (p00xnrbj)

Archaeology: A Secret History 21:00 SUN (p0109k28)

Archaeology: A Secret History 02:15 SUN (p0109k28)

Australia with Simon Reeve 20:00 THU (b021ncc4)

Australia with Simon Reeve 01:30 THU (b021ncc4)

BBC Proms 19:00 SUN (b0bczz8f)

BBC Proms 20:00 FRI (b0bczkzz)

BBC Proms 23:00 FRI (b0bcybjq)

Britain and the Sea 23:00 MON (p01k4zs9)

Daniil Trifonov: Piano Sensation 01:15 SUN (b052yq1c)

Doris Day - Virgin Territory 22:00 FRI (b0074rwd)

Gershwin's Summertime: The Song that Conquered the World 00:00 SAT (b017nf05)

Handmade in Mexico 19:30 MON (b09hqmcf)

Handmade in Mexico 19:30 TUE (b09j2vvr)

Handmade in Mexico 19:30 WED (b09jj0k2)

Hear Her: Leading Lady Parts 22:00 MON (b0bdcr9l)

Hidden 21:00 SAT (b0bc1zhn)

How to Make a Number One Record 02:00 FRI (b05r6q4r)

In Search of Science 22:00 THU (p01d56f7)

Italy's Invisible Cities 20:00 MON (b0881gly)

Italy's Invisible Cities 01:30 TUE (b0881gly)

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema 21:00 TUE (b0bd7qlk)

Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema 02:35 TUE (b0bd7qlk)

Mick Jagger - Whistle Test Special: It's Only Rock and Roll 01:00 SAT (b0bcmmvl)

Mountain: Life at the Extreme 19:00 SAT (b094klt5)

Mountain: Life at the Extreme 02:00 SAT (b094klt5)

Murder in Soho: Who Killed Freddie Mills? 21:00 WED (b0bcy56k)

Murder in Soho: Who Killed Freddie Mills? 02:30 THU (b0bcy56k)

Nature's Weirdest Events 20:45 SUN (b06k4c07)

Pierre Boulez at the BBC: Master and Maverick 03:00 FRI (b06z66l8)

Psychedelic Britannia 23:00 SAT (b06jp24b)

Royal Welsh Show 23:00 SUN (b0bdg7bb)

Scotland's Einstein: James Clerk Maxwell - The Man Who Changed the World 00:30 THU (b06rd56j)

Scotland's First Oil Rush 01:00 MON (b07cb31r)

Shakespeare's Mother: The Secret Life of a Tudor Woman 01:30 WED (b05279pq)

Six Wives with Lucy Worsley 22:00 SUN (b086zd44)

Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives 22:10 MON (b0b7pb18)

Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives 22:25 MON (b0b7rkk9)

Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives 22:45 MON (b0b7rpjd)

Storyville 00:00 SUN (b05n756x)

Super Senses: The Secret Power of Animals 21:00 THU (b04fhkkl)

Sword, Musket & Machine Gun: Britain's Armed History 22:30 WED (b088sznj)

The Great British Year 23:00 THU (p01dfl7j)

The Inca: Masters of the Clouds 00:30 TUE (b04xdpjy)

The Inca: Masters of the Clouds 00:30 WED (b04y4q35)

The Secret Life of Waves 00:00 MON (b00y5jhx)

The Summer of Love: How Hippies Changed the World 22:00 SAT (b08tb97c)

Timeshift 23:30 WED (b053pzmd)

Timewatch 23:35 TUE (b00785y5)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b0bdq2b5)

Top of the Pops 00:00 THU (b0bdq2b5)

Top of the Pops 19:30 FRI (b0bdq3ms)

Top of the Pops 00:30 FRI (b0bdq3ms)

Ultimate Cover Versions at the BBC 01:00 FRI (b06ns4gf)

Visions of the Valleys 02:00 MON (b05p706x)

Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain's Hidden Art History 21:00 MON (b0bcy4kd)

Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain's Hidden Art History 03:00 MON (b0bcy4kd)

Wonders of the Monsoon 20:00 SAT (p026glz8)

Wonders of the Monsoon 03:00 SAT (p026glz8)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b0bfdkdr)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b0bfdkgm)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b0bfdkhp)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b0bfdkm9)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b0bcy1pk)