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.
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 Dutch painter Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait.
Dr James Fox journeys through Japan's mountainous forests, marvels at its zen gardens and admires centuries-old bonsai, to explore the connections between Japanese culture and the natural environment. Travelling around Japan's stunning island geography, he examines how the country's two great religions, Shinto and Buddhism, helped shape a creative response to nature often very different to the West. But he also considers modern Japan's changing relationship to the natural world and travels to Naoshima Art Island to see how contemporary artists are finding new ways to engage with nature.
The second of a two-part series, in which adventurer and broadcaster Simon Reeve travels deeper into beautiful and troubled Burma.
Simon journeys up the vast Irrawaddy River to the old royal capital of Mandalay, home to an exotic market for precious jade. In Burma's mountainous highlands, he experiences the country's vibrant ethnic heritage at an extraordinary and explosive fire-balloon festival, then visits an elephant sanctuary and finds out how a growing tourism industry is helping them survive after working for decades in the logging industry.
Burma is a melting pot of different ethnic groups, and having seen first-hand the suffering of the Rohingya people on the first leg of his journey, Simon now travels secretly into one of Burma's many other conflict zones to meet a huge rebel army who have been fighting the Burmese military for decades. Simon goes on combat patrol into the jungle with the rebels and learns why they have been fighting the longest-running civil war in the world.
Professor Saul David uses the BBC archive to chart the history of the world's most destructive war, by chronicling how the story of the battle has changed. As new information has come to light, and forgotten stories are remembered, the history of World War Two evolves. The BBC has followed that evolution, and this programme examines the most important stories, and how our understanding of them has been re-defined since the war ended over 70 years ago.
On a journey through Ancient Egyptian art, Alastair Sooke picks treasures from its most opulent and glittering moment. Starting with troubling psychological portraits of tyrant king Senwosret III and ending with the golden mask of boy king Tutankhamun, Sooke also explores architectural wonders, exquisite tombs and a lost city - site of the greatest artistic revolution in Egypt's history where a new sinuous style was born under King Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti. Along the way Egyptologists and artists reveal that the golden veneer conceals a touching humanity.
We all love a good quiz. So here's a question - when did ordinary contestants turn into the pro-quizzers of today? Giving the answers are Victoria Coren Mitchell, Judith Keppel, Chris Tarrant, Mark Labbett, Nicholas Parsons and many more. Narrated by Ben Miller.
John Minton was for a time one of the most popular 20th-century British artists, more famous than his contemporaries Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. He has also been something of an obsession for actor and writer Mark Gatiss since he first saw one of his paintings as a teenager at the National Portrait Gallery. Mark Gatiss plunges back into Minton's world to celebrate his remarkable life and work, but also to find out why he remains all but forgotten.
As well as being a central figure in the postwar British neo-romantic movement, alongside the likes of Graham Sutherland and John Piper, John Minton was also one of the leading lights of Soho during the 1940s and 50s - a bohemian enclave where he felt at ease with fellow artists and models. In the only known footage of Minton, he is caught fleetingly, dancing wildly in a club, like a crazed marionette. It is a captivating, poignant glimpse of a man who was once at the very centre of this world.
He was a prolific painter of both landscapes and portraits, and as a gay man, Mark has always been particularly drawn to his sensitive depictions of striking young men. Minton too was gay but struggled with his sexuality during a highly repressive era when homosexuality was still illegal. However, as Mark discovers, it wasn't just his sexuality that plagued Minton, but his very standing as an artist and his desire to be considered first and foremost a painter rather than an illustrator, which is how he really found fame. On a balcony overlooking the same glorious view, Mark explains how Minton's vibrant jacket design for Elizabeth David's A Book of Mediterranean Food in 1950 was really what attracted people to buy it, as the author herself declared. But it was the 1948 publication of Time Was Away: A Notebook in Corsica that really established Minton, and it became something of a cult book for a new generation of illustrators. Following in his footsteps, Mark travels to Corsica and visits some of the original locations captured so vividly by Minton.
As well as discovering unseen photographs of the artist and previously unknown works by him, the film also gives Mark the chance to hear Minton's voice for the first time in a rare broadcast he made for the BBC Third Programme in 1947. The connections deepen further as Mark meets some of those who knew him well - former models such as actor Norman Bowler recall posing for Minton, and fellow artist David Tindle discusses the rivalries between Minton and his contemporaries, particularly Francis Bacon.
Drawing on all these remarkable first-hand reminiscences, Mark explores the reasons behind Minton's fall from grace and the tragic circumstances of his death at the age of just 39.
Eamonn McCabe explores how British photographers responded to the most important events of the first half of the 20th century and traces the emergence of a new genre of photography - photojournalism. His journey begins at the Daily Mirror's press plant in Watford, which broke new ground with its dynamic coverage of the siege of Sidney Street in 1911, before tracing the footsteps of pioneering female photojournalist Christina Broom and discovering how cheaper cameras enabled British soldiers to become citizen journalists during the First World War.
Eamonn is joined by Mahtab Hussain to discuss the work of Bill Brandt, who in 1937 travelled to the north of England to record landscapes and portraits of working class communities during the Great Depression. Brandt would go on to work for Picture Post, Britain's most popular news magazine, which was launched in 1938. Armed with a period roll film Leica, Eamonn goes on assignment to the fairground to recreate a famous shoot by the magazine that documented almost every aspect of mid-century life in Britain.
He also sees how photographers captured the Second World War, from the Blitz to shocking images of concentration camps; celebrates photographers who pursued the medium as an art form in its own right; learns about the printing techniques of celebrity portrait photographer Alvin Langdon Coburn; and reflects on Cecil Beaton's glamorous work for Vogue magazine.
WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH 2019
WED 19:00 The Flying Archaeologist (b01s1hnr)
The Thames: Secret War
Archaeologist Ben Robinson flies over the Thames to uncover new discoveries about World War 1. A whole network of trenches has been discovered on The Hoo peninsula. Invisible from the ground, they were recently found from aerial images of the area next to the former Chattenden Barracks.
The trenches were used for experimentation and training of soldiers and can be directly linked to trenches used in Belgium in WW1.
The trenches are just one feature revealed by the first full aerial survey of the area by English Heritage. Much of the history of this area is being recorded from the air before it is destroyed by coastal erosion and development.
WED 19:30 A Stitch in Time (b09mbb41)
Series 1
The Hedge Cutter
Fusing biography, art and the history of fashion, Amber Butchart explores the lives of historical figures through their clothes. A rare portrait of a working man.
WED 20:00 The Mekong River with Sue Perkins (b04q07wj)
Episode 2
Sue Perkins continues her epic journey up the Mekong, south east Asia's greatest river. In this second episode, Sue embarks on the most emotional leg of her journey along the Mekong. Having learnt how people are struggling to recover from the legacy of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, animal lover Sue continues through Cambodia to witness how deforestation and wildlife crime are stripping the country of it last wild places. She goes on a raid with the Wildlife Rapid Response Rescue team, in search of trafficked wild animals and bush meat. It's a disturbing experience, and Sue is thrust into the complicated and conflicting world of animal welfare and conservation versus the poverty and greed that drives the trade. She also takes part in the more positive aspect of the team's work, as they release macaques and a slow loris back into the wild. And further upstream she sees the efforts to protect the Mekong's endangered river dolphins.
But Cambodia also brings some of her happiest encounters, as Sue's ability to make friends is epitomised in her meetings with a mobile-touting hermit and the women of the Krung people. The Krung live in the remote highlands of Ratanakiri and are one of the tribes most affected by rapid deforestation. Having witnessed the devastation of the forest from the air, Sue makes a deep bond with these women, as she sees how they live from the bounty of the remaining forest and learns of their struggle to protect it.
WED 21:00 James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain (m00037sz)
Episode 2
The concluding episode of the series, introduced and narrated by model train enthusiast James May, follows Hornby’s new management team in a desperate attempt to save the company.
In this episode Ken, head of audio development, is sent on a top-secret mission to capture the sound of a steam locomotive for its potential use in a brand new model.
Simon Kohler, Hornby’s number two, tries to rejuvenate the tired Scalextric brand name with a flashy new advert, but there is a problem: with the company strapped for cash, the budget is miniscule and it will have to be made entirely with in-house staff.
Meanwhile, the company takes on its first female product designer, Caitlin Williams. Fresh out of university, Caitlin is put on the Scalextric design team and we go behind the scenes to see what it takes to produce her first car.
In the climactic finale, we see Simon take on two of his biggest rivals as Hornby’s 2019 range includes two products that have the competitors fuming, leading to a dramatic showdown.
WED 22:00 Secrets of British Animation (b0btynjg)
Documentary exploring more than a century of animation in Britain, including the creative and technical inventiveness of the UK's greatest animation pioneers.
The defining characteristic of British animation has always been ingenuity. Unable to compete with the big American studios, animators in Britain were forced to experiment, developing their own signature styles. The documentary uncovers the trade secrets of animation legends like Bob Godfrey, John Halas and Joy Batchelor, Len Lye and Bristol's world-renowned Aardman Animations.
Tracing the development of British animation from the end of the Victorian era to contemporary blockbusters, Secrets of British Animation shows the perseverance and determination that are part of the animator's mindset. Focusing on the handmade tradition of animation in the UK, the programme includes newly-remastered early films from the archive of the British Film Institute.
WED 23:00 Treasures of Ancient Egypt (p01mv1kj)
A New Dawn
Alastair Sooke concludes the epic story of Egyptian art by looking at how, despite political decline, the final era of the Egyptian Empire saw its art enjoy revival and rebirth. From the colossal statues of Rameses II that proclaimed the pharaoh's power to the final flourishes under Queen Cleopatra, Sooke discovers that the subsequent invasions by foreign rulers, from the Nubians and Alexander the Great to the Romans, produced a new hybrid art full of surprise. He also unearths a seam of astonishing satirical work, produced by ordinary men, that continues to inspire Egypt's graffiti artists today.
WED 00:00 Two Types: The Faces of Britain (b0903ppd)
We are surrounded by types, the words on signs, buses, shops and documents which guide us through our lives. Two types in particular are regarded as the faces of Britain - Johnston and Gill Sans. Their story is told by typeface expert Mark Ovenden.
WED 01:00 MAKE! Craft Britain (b09whc5t)
Series 1
Episode 1
The first episode follows two groups of novice crafters as they master the art of hooky rugmaking and traditional letterpress. Meanwhile, origami artist Sam Tsang teaches how to make something beautiful from a single sheet of paper, folding an origami lily which can then be made into LED fairy lights.
On the north east coast in Bamburgh village, world-renowned rugmaker Heather Ritchie welcomes six amateur crafters to her two-day workshop in the local cricket pavilion. She teaches them how to 'hook' their own personalised seat cushions, inspired by their favourite places.
Heather has been hooking rugs for over 30 years. She discovered rugmaking in the early 70s after moving into a cold, flagstoned cottage in the Yorkshire Dales. The hooking technique allowed her to use recycled fabrics to produce rugs that insulated her home. After getting 'hooked' on the basic technique, her functional household rugs soon developed into intricate works of art, each one capturing a memory from her past.
The workshop is attended by married couple Adam and Tracy, dentist Indra, A&E doctor Lucy and local farmers Mary and John, who bring some sheep fleece along to use in their work.
Meanwhile, in south London, wordsmith and typographer Kelvyn Smith invites five students into his print studio for a one-day masterclass in letterpress printmaking. The 350-year-old printing process is new to all of Kelvyn's students, so over the course of the day they learn how to use a composing stick, how to set type and build a form, before proofing and printing their own pieces of work.
The workshop is attended by engaged couple Ant and Bianca, gravestone engraver Neil and his carpenter son Otis, and textiles student Lorna.
Lorna initially struggles with the concept of writing 'upside down and left to right', but has a breakthrough when she's given a mirror to hold up against her work. In the end her poster - a written tribute to her dad, a poet - exceeds all hopes. 'It's come out better than I could have expected.'
Back in Bamburgh, the hooky seat cushions are ready to go on chairs, and the students take a stroll to the beach for a celebratory slice of cake and cup of tea to try them out for size.
Sheep farmer John's work really impresses teacher Heather - 'now who'd have thought a sheep farmer could make something as beautiful and artistic as that?'.
WED 02:00 Britain in Focus: A Photographic History (b08k0srb)
Series 1
Episode 3
In the final episode, Eamonn McCabe traces the story of British photography from the explosion of colour images in the late 1950s to the ongoing impact of the digital revolution.
Eamonn enters the colourful Britain of postcard producer John Hinde, whose postwar experiments with colour photography captured a new mood of optimism and leisure in the country. He sees how colour snaps began to replace black-and-white prints in the family album as cheaper cameras and new processing techniques allowed ordinary people to record the world around them in colour. Eamonn meets John Bulmer, who broke new ground by using colour for documentary photography in his striking images of the north of England for the Sunday Times colour magazine. And he finds out why Jane Bown refused to follow the trend by sticking to black and white for her striking portraits of the era's most memorable faces.
Eamonn explores how a new, independent movement in photography emerged in the 1970s, fostering talents like Peter Mitchell, who used colour photography to comment on a changing urban Britain. Eamonn sees how this new movement encouraged Fay Godwin to infuse her poetic landscapes with political and environmental concerns, and meets Birmingham-based photographer Vanley Burke, whose work chronicled the growing African-Caribbean community in Handsworth. And Eamonn joins one of today's best-known British photographers, Martin Parr, to find out how he has trained a satirical eye on modern society.
Assessing the impact of the 'big bang' of digital photography, Eamonn goes back to his roots as a sports photographer - covering boxing in the East End of London. He reflects on how technology has developed from when he started in the 1970s, with manual cameras and rolls of film, to the digital cameras of today. Eamonn then sees how the digital revolution has shaped a new generation of practitioners - in whose hands a thoroughly 21st-century British photography is being created.
WED 03:00 Secrets of British Animation (b0btynjg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
THURSDAY 14 MARCH 2019
THU 19:00 Railways: The Making of a Nation (b07x4f7s)
The New Commuters
Historian Liz McIvor explores how Britain's expanding rail network was the spark to a social revolution, starting in the 1800s and continuing through to modern times. A fast system of transportation shaped so many areas of our industrial nation - from what we eat to where we live, work and play. The railways generated economic activity but they also changed the nature of business itself. They even changed attitudes to time and how we set our clocks! Our railways may have reflected deep class divisions, but they also brought people together as never before, and helped forge a new sense of national identity.
This episode looks at the railways enabled us to live further and further from the places where we worked. Before the age of steam you would need a horse to travel long distances on land. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries our railways encouraged the development of suburbia inhabited by a new type of resident and worker - the commuter. In some cases, new places emerged on the map simply because of the railways - places like Surbiton. Liz visits London and the south east of England, our nation's largest commuter zone. The Victorian rail network was never part of a single grand plan, but emerged and evolved, line by line, over decades. For today's commuters, work is still going on to create a system that serves their needs!
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (m00037t8)
Janice Long and Simon Mayo present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 18 June 1987, and featuring Samantha Fox, Whitesnake, Tom Jones, ABC, Chris Rea, Janet Jackson, Curiosity Killed the Cat, The Firm and Broken English.
THU 20:00 The Crusades (b01b3ftw)
Holy War
Dr Thomas Asbridge presents a revelatory account of the Crusades, the 200-year war between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land.
The story of the Crusades is remembered as a tale of religious fanaticism and unspeakable violence, but now fresh research, eyewitness testimony and contemporary evidence from both the Christian and Islamic worlds shed new light on how these two great religions waged war in the name of God.
Episode one traces the epic journey of the first crusaders as they marched 3,000 miles from Europe to recapture the city of Jerusalem from Islam, enduring starvation, disease and bloodthirsty battle to reach their sacred goal, and then unleashed an appalling tide of barbaric violence upon their Muslim enemies. Yet far from being the invincible holy warriors of legend, Dr Asbridge reveals that these crusaders actually considered surrender in the midst of their titanic expedition.
THU 21:00 Britain's Tudor Treasure: A Night at Hampton Court (b04yg2hr)
Lucy Worsley and David Starkey celebrate the 500th anniversary of Britain's finest surviving Tudor building, Hampton Court. As Henry VIII's pleasure palace, Hampton Court was a showcase for royal magnificence and ceremony - and the most important event of all was the christening of Henry's long-awaited son, Prince Edward, on October 15th, 1537.
Lucy and David explore how Tudor art, architecture and ritual came together for this momentous occasion. Drawing on historical records and with the help of a team of experts, they recreate key elements of the christening ceremony - including a magnificent set-piece procession through Hampton Court involving nearly 100 people in full Tudor costume.
THU 22:00 Blackadder (b0078vmr)
Blackadder II
Bells
Classic historical comedy. The Blackadder genes resurface in Elizabethan England in the guise of Edmund, great-great-grandson of the repulsive original. Blackadder is struck by Cupid's arrow when he takes on a new servant - a girl named Bob.
THU 22:30 Blackadder (b015msyb)
Blackadder II
Head
When Edmund is appointed lord high executioner, he moves a beheading forward from Wednesday to Monday, so he and his staff can enjoy some time off. But he didn't take into account the queen's tendency to change her mind.
THU 23:00 Blackadder (b01nllvy)
Blackadder II
Potato
Historical sitcom set in Tudor England. To keep up with Sir Walter Raleigh, Edmund announces he will navigate the treacherous waters of the Cape of Good Hope.
THU 23:30 Top of the Pops (m00037t8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 00:00 Classic Albums (b07ljcxf)
The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds
This edition of the series celebrates the 50th anniversary of the release of Brian Wilson's masterpiece, The Beach Boys' album Pet Sounds. Wilson and the surviving members of The Beach Boys - Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks - guide us through the writing and recording of the landmark album that is consistently voted one of the top three most influential albums of all time.
Featuring exclusive interviews, classic archive and rare studio outtakes from the recording sessions, the film tells the story of the creation of the record that cemented The Beach Boys' reputation as a leading force to rival The Beatles, and Brian Wilson as a songwriting genius.
THU 01:00 ... Sings Motown (b05nyyv5)
Archive compilation celebrating the incredible body of work by Detroit's finest songwriting teams and artists for perhaps America's greatest ever record label, Motown.
This compilation of Motown covers spans the 1960s to the present day and features: Paul Weller and Amy Winehouse with I Heard It Through the Grapevine on Jools's Hootenanny, Roberta Flack's version of Stevie Wonder's Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer from an early edition of the OGWT, early adopter Dusty Springfield with Nowhere to Run on her 60s BBC TV show and The Flying Lizards with Barrett Strong's Money (That's What I Want) from Top of the Pops in 1979.
Of course, there are quite a few 80s hit covers from the decade that rediscovered Motown as a hitmaking machine, many of them from Top of the Pops including Kim Wilde's You Keep Me Hangin' On and Paul Young's 1983 Number 1 with Marvin Gaye's 1962 B-side, Wherever I Lay My Hat.
Then it's on into the 90s with Mercy Mercy Me from the late lamented Robert Palmer and Mariah Carey's take on The Jackson Five's I'll Be There. Plus of course, Phil Collins but, rightly or wrongly, not with You Can't Hurry Love but with his 21st-century reading of Stevie Wonder's Blame It on the Sun from Later with Jools.
THU 02:00 BBC: The Secret Files (b06455ch)
Episode 1
Penelope Keith uncovers the secrets behind some of the BBC's greatest artists and programmes as she delves into the corporation's written archives.
THU 03:00 Britain's Tudor Treasure: A Night at Hampton Court (b04yg2hr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 15 MARCH 2019
FRI 19:00 World News Today (m00038lq)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m00038ls)
Peter Powell and Simon Bates present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 25 June 1987 and featuring Chris Rea, Bruce Willis, Pet Shop Boys, Terence Trent D'Arby, Prince, Simple Minds, Cliff Richard, The Firm and John Farnham.
FRI 20:00 Irish Rock at the BBC (b0556qc9)
A whistle-stop tour of rock from over the water, taking in some of the finest Irish rock offerings from the early 70s to the present day, as captured on a variety of BBC shows from The Old Grey Whistle Test and Top of the Pops to Later... with Jools Holland.
Kicking off with Thin Lizzy's 1973 debut hit Whiskey in the Jar, the programme traces Irish rock's unfolding lineage. Performances from guitar maestro Rory Gallagher, Celtic rock godfathers Horslips and John Peel favourites The Undertones feature alongside rivals Stiff Little Fingers, with their Top of the Pops performance of Nobody's Hero, followed by post-punk U2's 1981 debut UK performance of I Will Follow from The Old Grey Whistle Test.
Then there is Sinead O'Connor's debut single performance of Mandinka, and The Pogues play the Ewan MacColl classic Dirty Old Town from 1986. Into the 90s, there is The Frank and Walters and Therapy? on Top of the Pops, along with early performances on Later... with Jools Holland from Ash and The Divine Comedy.
There is rockabilly with Imelda May's debut hit Johnny Got a Boom Boom, and then more recently Cavan's The Strypes and Hozier, whose Take Me to Church completes this hit-driven tour through Irish rock.
FRI 21:00 Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party (m00038lv)
Ardal O'Hanlon looks at what started the showband era in Ireland, the people involved, and how it came to an end in the 1980s.
FRI 22:00 Christy Moore Live: Come All You Dreamers (b00zj2m1)
One of Ireland's favourite sons and greatest live performers, folk singer and balladeer Christy Moore filmed live at Barrowland in Glasgow in 2008 with his veteran accompanist Declan Sinnott. Moore is in intimate communion with an attentive audience, playing a classic setlist that includes Missing You, Black Is The Colour, Pair of Brown Eyes, Ride On.
FRI 23:00 Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story (b01mhqnr)
In 1978 The Undertones released Teenage Kicks, one of the most perfect and enduring pop records of all time - an adolescent anthem that spoke to teenagers all over the globe. It was the first in a string of hits that created a timeless soundtrack to growing up, making the Undertones one of punk rock's most prolific and popular bands.
Unlike the anarchic ragings of The Sex Pistols or the overt politics of The Clash, The Undertones sang of mummy's boys, girls - or the lack of them - and their irritating cousin Kevin. But their gems of pop music were revolutionary nonetheless - startlingly positive protest songs that demanded a life more ordinary. Because The Undertones came from Derry, epicentre of the violent troubles that tore Northern Ireland apart during the 1970s.
Featuring interviews with band members, their friends, family, colleagues and contemporaries, alongside archive and music, this documentary is the remarkable, funny and moving story of one of Britain's favourite bands - the most improbable pop stars who emerged from one of the darkest, most violent places on the planet.
FRI 00:00 Stiff Little Fingers and U2 in Concert (m00038lx)
For Stiff Little Fingers, it was a 'home game'. Back to Belfast to play in front of the fans who had supported them from their start in punk 1978. U2, from Dublin, were already showing the polish and sophistication that has made them one of the biggest rock bands in the world.
This now historic gig, recorded in 1981 at Queen's University, Belfast, combines the sounds of SLF and U2 with the energy of an enthusiastic Irish crowd.
FRI 00:35 The Irish Rock Story: A Tale of Two Cities (b0555xv8)
Film telling the story of how rock music helped to change Ireland. The 40-year-old story of Irish rock and pop music is grounded in the very different musical traditions of the two main cities of the island, Belfast and Dublin.
This musical celebration charts the lives and careers of some of the biggest selling acts in Irish rock, punk and pop from Van Morrison and Thin Lizzy to The Undertones and U2. From the pioneers of the showbands touring in the late 50s through to the modern day, the film examines their lineage and connections and how the hardcore, rocking sound of Belfast merged with the more melodic, folky Dublin tradition to form what we now recognise as Irish rock and pop.
The film explores where these bands and musicians came from and the influence the political, social and cultural environments of the day had on them and how the music influenced those environments.
With contributions from many of the heavyweights of Irish rock and pop, including U2, Sinead O'Connor and Bob Geldof, it follows their careers as they forged an international presence and looks at how they helped change the island along the way.
FRI 01:35 Top of the Pops (m00038ls)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRI 02:05 Van Morrison at the BBC (m00038lz)
Spend an hour in the company of musical innovator Van Morrison in this vintage compilation of his most memorable BBC performances.
FRI 03:05 Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party (m00038lv)
[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)
... Sings Motown
01:00 THU (b05nyyv5)
A Stitch in Time
19:30 MON (b09l2rfv)
A Stitch in Time
03:30 MON (b09l2rfv)
A Stitch in Time
19:30 TUE (b09ll1fx)
A Stitch in Time
19:30 WED (b09mbb41)
A Timewatch Guide
22:00 TUE (b071gx2c)
Arcadia
21:00 SUN (m00038l1)
BBC: The Secret Files
02:00 THU (b06455ch)
Beyond 100 Days
19:00 MON (m00037ss)
Big Sky, Big Dreams, Big Art: Made in the USA
01:30 MON (b0b4fz5n)
Blackadder
22:00 THU (b0078vmr)
Blackadder
22:30 THU (b015msyb)
Blackadder
23:00 THU (b01nllvy)
Boy George and Culture Club: Karma to Calamity
23:40 SAT (b054v27d)
Britain in Focus: A Photographic History
02:30 MON (b08h95jk)
Britain in Focus: A Photographic History
02:00 TUE (b08hznbb)
Britain in Focus: A Photographic History
02:00 WED (b08k0srb)
Britain's Tudor Treasure: A Night at Hampton Court
21:00 THU (b04yg2hr)
Britain's Tudor Treasure: A Night at Hampton Court
03:00 THU (b04yg2hr)
Burma with Simon Reeve
21:00 TUE (b0b4dn84)
Christy Moore Live: Come All You Dreamers
22:00 FRI (b00zj2m1)
Classic Albums
00:00 THU (b07ljcxf)
Coast
20:00 MON (b0816ykw)
Duets at the BBC
00:40 SAT (b01c2xwt)
Here Comes the Summer: The Undertones Story
23:00 FRI (b01mhqnr)
How Quizzing Got Cool: TV's Brains of Britain
00:00 TUE (b084fs6s)
Hunters of the South Seas
20:00 SAT (b05s8bhw)
Irish Rock at the BBC
20:00 FRI (b0556qc9)
James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain
02:40 SAT (m00030wh)
James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain
20:00 SUN (m00030wh)
James May's Big Trouble in Model Britain
21:00 WED (m00037sz)
James May: The Reassembler
22:30 MON (b076np2b)
Letters from Baghdad
00:00 MON (b095vnm7)
MAKE! Craft Britain
01:00 WED (b09whc5t)
Mark Gatiss on John Minton: The Lost Man of British Art
01:00 TUE (b0bfnlj2)
Oak Tree: Nature's Greatest Survivor
21:00 MON (b06fq03t)
Railways: The Making of a Nation
19:00 THU (b07x4f7s)
Secrets of British Animation
22:00 WED (b0btynjg)
Secrets of British Animation
03:00 WED (b0btynjg)
Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party
21:00 FRI (m00038lv)
Showbands: How Ireland Learned to Party
03:05 FRI (m00038lv)
Sold! Inside the World's Biggest Auction House
19:00 SUN (b083s5t6)
Sold! Inside the World's Biggest Auction House
02:30 SUN (b083s5t6)
Stiff Little Fingers and U2 in Concert
00:00 FRI (m00038lx)
The Art of Japanese Life
20:00 TUE (b08v8gxj)
The Art of Japanese Life
03:00 TUE (b08v8gxj)
The Crusades
20:00 THU (b01b3ftw)
The Flying Archaeologist
19:00 TUE (b01s1czf)
The Flying Archaeologist
19:00 WED (b01s1hnr)
The Irish Rock Story: A Tale of Two Cities
00:35 FRI (b0555xv8)
The Joy of the Single
01:40 SAT (b01nzchs)
The Mekong River with Sue Perkins
20:00 WED (b04q07wj)
The New Girlfriend
22:20 SUN (m00038l3)
The Real Tom Thumb: History's Smallest Superstar
01:00 SUN (b04sms8d)
Tom Jones at the BBC
00:05 SUN (b00vz5ml)
Top of the Pops
22:40 SAT (m00030wm)
Top of the Pops
23:10 SAT (m00030wr)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (m00037t8)
Top of the Pops
23:30 THU (m00037t8)
Top of the Pops
19:30 FRI (m00038ls)
Top of the Pops
01:35 FRI (m00038ls)
Trapped
21:00 SAT (m00037r8)
Trapped
21:45 SAT (m00037rb)
Treasures of Ancient Egypt
23:00 MON (p01mv16n)
Treasures of Ancient Egypt
23:00 TUE (p01mv1cv)
Treasures of Ancient Egypt
23:00 WED (p01mv1kj)
Two Types: The Faces of Britain
00:00 WED (b0903ppd)
Van Morrison at the BBC
02:05 FRI (m00038lz)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (m00038lq)
Yellowstone: Wildest Winter to Blazing Summer
19:00 SAT (b087vjh4)