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.

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RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 28 DECEMBER 2019

SAT 19:00 The Sound of Movie Musicals with Neil Brand (m0001r5r)
Episode 3

In this final episode, Neil Brand asks how the movie musical survived in our modern age.

By the 1970s the whole landscape of cinema had shifted; the biggest movies were no longer feelgood romances but gritty dramas of urban life. And yet, right at this point, two directors famed for such films ventured into the world of musical film. Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York and Francis Ford Coppola’s One from The Heart were glossy, highly stylised homages to the golden age of the musical. And both failed to connect with a modern audience.

The musical would find its modern voice by adapting rather than trying to ape the classic formula of old; by being maverick and unconventional, as Neil Brand discovers when meeting Mel Brooks, creator of the unforgettable Springtime for Hitler. And he also meets Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, who argues that Ken Russell’s film of The Who’s rock opera Tommy is the best film ever made!

This recognition of the importance of pop culture, added to a 70s nostalgia for the seemingly more innocent days of the 50s, gave rise to another strain of successful movies: American Graffiti and, most memorably, Grease. It even hit the UK, as former teen star David Essex explains, with his starring role in 1974’s That’ll Be the Day.

The 1970s also saw the movie musical become much more reflective of an increasingly multicultural world, with the huge success of films such as Car Wash, with its soundtrack written by the great Motown composer Norman Whitfield. In Los Angeles, Neil meets up with the film’s director Michael Schultz to discuss how Hollywood took on soul and disco to reinvigorate the musical genre.

As we come to see where the movie musical now stands, we discover it has been as blockbusting as ever; firstly, in India, where the emergence of Bollywood has completely taken over Hindi cinema, with stars such as Shah Rukh Khan selling a film on sheer screen stardom alone - but also back in its base camp of Hollywood, where the success of both La La Land and The Greatest Showman have demonstrated that the movie musical is still a force to be reckoned with.


SAT 20:00 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m000crby)
2019: Secrets & Lies - The Hidden Power of Maths

How Can We All Win?

Dr Hannah Fry explores the limits of our control, from dangerous miscalculations to creating and spotting fake videos, and questions how far we should be going with our mathematical skills.

A gravity-defying BMX stunt kick-starts the debate around trusting the numbers, and launches us into an investigation of just how sure we can be about anything in our messy world. Together with maths comedian Matt Parker, Hannah uses flaming balloons and gigantic slices of melting cheese to get to the bottom of the guesswork used in real world calculations. A visiting drone zips through the corridors of the historic Royal Institution building, introducing the mother of all drones, a human-sized machine that delivers urgent parcels, and we welcome the team designing driverless helicopters and buying up London rooftops to prepare for the future.

But these physical challenges are just the beginning of the debate on handing control over to machines. Hannah explores whether human jurors or robots make fairer decisions, and welcomes Atima Lui, who is on a mission to design the most unbiased facial detection software in the world, which will say goodbye to the ‘fast track for white people’ at automatic passport gates. Hannah dives into the issues around privacy in our modern world, with Glow Up make-up star Tiffany Hunt making a member of the audience invisible to CCTV, while Hannah explores the truth behind cookies and anonymity online.

Finally, she delves into the world of fake news, to separate the truth from the lies. Leading deep fake creators team up with the Christmas Lectures to create a television first – a custom-made deep fake video of a child in the audience, highlighting our ability to use maths to warp reality however we please.

Hannah ultimately explores who the real winners are, in an escalating arms race of mathematical tricks.


SAT 21:00 Wisting (m000crc0)
Series 1

Episode 1

William Wisting, a widowed senior detective in the Norwegian coastal town of Larvik, leads a murder investigation in which a body is found in snow underneath a Christmas tree. The clothes on the corpse show that the person killed was an American. An FBI team is immediately flown to Larvik and an international hunt for a serial killer begins.

Meanwhile, William’s daughter Line, a journalist, investigates the lonely death of an elderly neighbour for an article. When her twin brother Thomas returns to a usually sleepy Larvik to celebrate Christmas with the family, he finds both William and Line deeply preoccupied with their investigations.


SAT 21:45 Wisting (m000crc4)
Series 1

Episode 2

With FBI agents Griffin and Bantham added to the team, the investigation is making progress, but Griffin cannot adjust to Larvik’s sleepy ways and finds some of her new colleagues unprofessional.

Meanwhile, Line thinks there’s something suspicious about the death she’s writing about, but William is convinced she’s getting ahead of herself.


SAT 22:30 Inspector Montalbano (b00g31qt)
Excursion to Tindari

A young Don Juan is found murdered in front of his apartment building and an elderly couple are reported missing after an excursion to the ancient site of Tindari. Inspector Montalbano tries to solve these two seemingly unrelated cases amid the daily complications of life at Vigata police station. But when he discovers that the couple and the murdered young man lived in the same building, his investigation stumbles onto Sicily's brutal 'New Mafia' and leads him down a path more twisted and far-reaching than any he has ever been down before.

In Italian with English subtitles.


SAT 00:25 TOTP2 (m000crc6)
TOTP2 at Christmas

Episode 6

There's a party going on with Elton John, The Goodies, Atomic Kitten, Roy Orbison, Bob Marley and Chesney Hawkes.

Also due to turn up, The Strokes, Mark Ronson, Tom Jones, Pulp and U2.


SAT 01:10 The Sound of Movie Musicals with Neil Brand (m0001r5r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 02:10 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m000crby)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 29 DECEMBER 2019

SUN 19:00 Essential Royal Ballet (m000crdc)
Katie Derham introduces highlights from the past ten years at the Royal Ballet.

Presented on location in Covent Garden at the iconic Royal Opera House, Katie weaves the history of ballet through carefully curated excerpts from the past decade of performances and goes behind the scenes to see what it takes to be a dancer in the company of the Royal Ballet as they prepare to take to the stage.

From the great classics of The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker to the exciting frontiers of contemporary dance, Katie takes us on a romp through the repertory, showcasing the diversity of the UK’s biggest ballet company.

With stunning solos, passionate pas de deux and jaw-dropping numbers for the corps de ballet, it is a chance to see your favourite dancers up close, including Carlos Acosta, Marianela Nuñez, Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae, alongside rising stars like Francesca Hayward and Matthew Ball, who will introduce their favourite ballets and share stories of their life on the stage.

The ballets featured include the classics Giselle, La Bayadere, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker while the 20th-century heritage of the Royal Ballet is explored in works by Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan. The contemporary life of the company is showcased in works by Liam Scarlett, Christopher Wheeldon and Wayne McGregor.


SUN 20:00 Flying Scotsman: Sounds from the Footplate (b087k5rf)
Another chance to enjoy the view from the driving seat of the world's most famous steam locomotive as Flying Scotsman travels the length of the Severn Valley Railway.

Special 'cab cameras' and microphones capture all the action from the footplate - this time without commentary. Viewers can appreciate the evocative sound of steam transportation as this magnificent engine attracts crowds from far and wide.

Veteran driver Roger Norfolk and fireman Ryan Green guide Scotsman on the leisurely journey through the countryside of the English midlands, from Bridgnorth in Shropshire to Kidderminster in Worcestershire. Hundreds of enthusiasts also watch and wave from platforms, bridges and surrounding fields.


SUN 21:00 Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany (m000crdf)
Series 1

Episode 1

Recently discovered home movie footage from 1936 offers a unique and novel insight into what people in Germany were thinking and experiencing. In these prewar days, Germany was on a high and the Hitler Youth seemed like fun and games, but Nazi control was soon to become an all-pervading force, militarising the nation. The rise of anti-Semitism is explicit and grotesque, shocking even though we now have the knowledge of what happens next.

The film follows an infantry division during the invasion of France, fighting their way to Dunkirk, and reveals a new perspective on what the evacuation meant for the average German soldier. On the Eastern Front, a far darker and more visceral journey across the endless Russian steppe and the almost unimaginable horrors unleashed during Operation Barbarossa is captured by a soldier.

As well as amateur movie footage, the film charts the progress of the war through the diaries of ordinary Germans, some dizzy with excitement at what Hitler had achieved, others horrified by the effect it was having on their friends and families.


SUN 22:00 The Sky at Night (m00042l2)
Guides

Comets and Asteroids

Comets and asteroids are the building blocks of the planets, relics from the early days of the solar system. They have been witnessed in our skies for millennia - tantalising, yet too small and too distant to study. However, over the course of the past 60 years, developments in astronomy and space exploration have allowed scientists to now see these tiny, mysterious worlds up close - and the Sky at Night has been there every step of the way.

Using the Sky at Night archives, Maggie Aderin-Pocock takes us on a journey in pursuit of comets and asteroids - from ancient history to the cutting edge of modern astronomy, from tales of omens seen in our skies to exhilarating space missions straight out of science fiction.

Unlike planets and moons, we only get fleeting glimpses of comets and asteroids, and it’s this rarity that makes these visitors so special. Who knows what the next one will bring us?


SUN 23:00 The Bat Man of Mexico (b046tnw3)
David Attenborough narrates the story of Rodrigo Medellin. Since he first kept vampire bats in his bathroom as a child, Rodrigo has dedicated his life to saving them. Now Mexico's most famous export, tequila, is at stake. Rodrigo's beloved lesser long-nosed bat is crucial to the liquor - pollinating the plants the drink is made from. To save both, Rodrigo must track the bats' epic migration across Mexico - braving hurricanes, snakes, Mayan tombs and seas of cockroaches. The threats are very real for not only Rodrigo and the bats, but also for anyone with a taste for tequila.


SUN 23:40 Oasis: Supersonic (b09ksl9g)
Supersonic, the award-winning feature documentary, tells the phenomenal story of iconic band Oasis - in their own words. Featuring extensive unseen archive, the film charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just three short years. This palpable, raw and moving account shines a light on one of the most genre- and generation-defining British bands that has ever existed, and features footage of new interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher, their mother and members of the band and road crew.


SUN 01:35 Britpop at the BBC (b0409s91)
In the mid-90s, Britpop stamped its presence onto the British music scene and made boys wearing eyeliner cool again. What better reason to raid the BBC archives for a rich treasure trove of the joy and the time that was Britpop?

Featuring the girls (Elastica, Sleeper) and the boys (Suede, Menswear) and many of the other bright young things that contributed to five years of Cool Britannia, Blur v Oasis and Camden being the centre of the universe. Britpop at the BBC reminds us all why we were all so proud to be British again in the 1990s.


SUN 02:35 Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany (m000crdf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 30 DECEMBER 2019

MON 19:00 Lucy Worsley's Fireworks for a Tudor Queen (b09cfwt4)
Historian Lucy Worsley teams up with artist and materials scientist Zoe Laughlin to explore the explosive science and fascinating history of fireworks, using an original pyrotechnics instruction manual, and other 400-year-old historical documents, to recreate one of the most spectacular fireworks displays from the Tudor era.

Lucy and Zoe are joined by a team of top class pyrotechnicians to replicate a mind-blowing fireworks display especially designed for Queen Elizabeth I - one of the first documented firework displays in England. Lucy pieces together clues from some of the earliest instruction manuals for making fireworks in England, as well as eyewitness accounts of the display laid on in 1575. Armed with this information, the team apply their understanding of cutting-edge pyrotechnics to recreate it in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, where it was originally staged.

Using hands-on experiments to test their designs, the team construct Tudor rockets, firework fountains and a fire-breathing dragon, as well as discovering the secrets of Elizabethan gunpowder.

Throughout the show, Lucy explores the history of the three-week extravaganza laid on by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in his final attempt to win the queen's hand in marriage - from the elaborate food the Tudor audience would have eaten, to the colours that the set might have been painted in.

She also reveals the important role fireworks had during the Tudor era - from the firework effects used on stage at the Globe Theatre to the pyrotechnical experimentation that took place at the Tower of London, the MI5 of its day.

But not all the clues can be found in England - some of the fireworks described need to be tracked down further afield. Lucy travels to Italy to recreate the mysterious Girandola - a horizontal spinning wheel of fire - whilst Zoe flies to South Korea to witness the ancient, and rather terrifying, rocket box launcher in action.

The danger and technical challenges involved in recreating 400-year-old fireworks creates a real sense of scale and event. And the detective work needed to decipher these Tudor pyrotechnic manuals, and the engineering ingenuity to recreate them, form the narrative spine of the film, culminating in a spectacular recreation of Elizabeth I's mind-blowing firework display at Kenilworth Castle.


MON 20:30 Turtle, Eagle, Cheetah: A Slow Odyssey (m0001kx4)
An Eagle's Flight

Take a flight on a summer morning with a white-tailed eagle around Scotland's west coast. A falconry-trained sea eagle wearing a specially designed on-board camera is the only way to glimpse the lives of these rare and protected species. From the high tops of Crois Bheinn on the remote Morvern Peninsula, the eagle traverses across beautiful rolling moors and glens, along craggy cliff faces and finally ventures towards the Sound of Mull. With a two-metre wingspan, it is the biggest bird around - but that doesn't stop it being challenged by noisy crows and ravens. After its long flight, the hungry eagle is finally drawn down to the coast by the promise of a fish. Flying through torrential rain, it dives at over 100mph to grab the fish from a coastal pool before being reunited with its handler.


MON 21:00 Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany (m000crf9)
Series 1

Episode 2

Christmas in Germany 1941 is an unsettling time. Food is scarce, the weather is freezing and news from the front line in Russia is causing Germans to realise the war is a very long way from over. The stage is set for the second half of the conflict.

Through the home movies and diaries of ordinary Germans, this film charts Hitler’s dreams crumbling and the moral reckoning the German people must now face. It reveals the stories of people battling to save their families from deportation to the death camps, while others endure the horrors of ever more deadly bombing raids, all set against a backdrop of propaganda and false hope pouring forth from Nazi high command.

In Russia we meet a doctor who throws himself into the firing line at every opportunity, not to win glory but to save his wife and three young children from deportation to the death camps in the east, while in Dresden a Jewish diary writer struggles to deal with ever-mounting restrictions and deportations.

We also meet some of those forced to live under German rule, including extraordinary footage of a group of Jews living in hiding just a mile from Anne Frank, and a family in Normandy enjoying a bucolic summer before they find themselves on the front line when the Allies take on the German troops on the Atlantic Wall.

The film then moves to the endgame of the war, the choices faced as the net tightened and the crazy efforts to fight to the bitter end even as all hope is gone.


MON 22:00 Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett (m000crfc)
Samuel Beckett has fascinated Adrian Dunbar since he was a young student. Now, 30 years after Beckett's death in Paris, Dunbar explores what made the man who made Waiting for Godot.


MON 23:00 Janet Baker - In Her Own Words (m00048q7)
In her first documentary for more than 35 years, the great British classical singer Dame Janet Baker talks more openly and emotionally than ever before about her career and her life today. With excerpts of her greatest stage roles (as Dido, Mary Stuart, Julius Caesar and Orpheus), as well as of her appearances in the concert hall and recording studio (works by Handel, Berlioz, Schubert, Elgar, Britten and Mahler), she looks back at the excitements and pitfalls of public performance.

She tells the film-maker John Bridcut about the traumatic loss of her elder brother when she was only ten years old, and how that experience coloured her voice and her artistry. She explains why she felt the need to retire early some thirty years ago and discusses the challenges she and her husband have to face in old age. She also gives tantalizing clues to the question her many fans often ask: does she still sing today at the age of 85?

Among the other contributors to the film are conductors Raymond Leppard, Jane Glover and André Previn (in one of his last interviews before his death in March), the singers Joyce DiDonato and Dame Felicity Lott, the opera producer John Copley, the pianist Imogen Cooper, and the actress Dame Patricia Routledge. This feature-length film is a Crux production for the BBC, following the award-winning ‘Colin Davis - in His Own Words’ in 2013. John Bridcut has also made film profiles of Herbert von Karajan, Mstislav Rostropovich, Rudolf Nureyev and Jonas Kaufmann, as well as ‘Prince, Son and Heir: Charles at 70’ for BBC One in November 2018.


MON 00:30 TOTP2 (m0001vjf)
New Year Special

Steve Wright creates the perfect new year playlist and celebrates with a plethora of performances from the last four decades. Among the featured artists are The Three Degrees, Elton John, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Europe, Blondie, The Nolans, Lionel Richie, The Bee Gees, Madonna and Kylie Minogue.


MON 01:45 Arena (b0bqt8g3)
Make Me Up!

A satirical look at the contradictory pressures faced by women today. It examines how television and social media can help us explore identity, at the same time encouraging women to conform to strict beauty ideals. Multimedia artist Rachel Maclean has created a world that is both seductive and dangerous, a place where surveillance, violence and submission are a normalised part of daily life.

Siri wakes to find herself trapped inside a brutalist candy-coloured dreamhouse. Despite the cutesy decor, the place is far from benign, and she and her fellow inmates are encouraged to compete for survival. Forced to go head to head in a series of demeaning tasks, Siri and Alexa start subverting the rules, soon revealing the sinister truth that underpins their world.


MON 02:55 Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany (m000crf9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 31 DECEMBER 2019

TUE 19:00 BBC Proms (m0007f4y)
2019

John Wilson Orchestra

Join Katie Derham for what has become one of the highlights in any Prom season. John Wilson’s virtuoso orchestra celebrates the music of one of the world's most famous film studios, Warner Brothers. The lush sounds of composers such as Max Steiner and Erich Korngold are among the many pieces played showcasing why this historic studio holds a special place in the hearts of lovers of film music.


TUE 21:15 How Auld Lang Syne Took Over the World (b03nh35t)
Dougie Vipond will take you on a trip to discover how Scotland's best-known musical export became a worldwide phenomenon. From Ayrshire to Tokyo, via New York City, we'll look at how Auld Lang Syne has been adopted around the world. With some fantastic archive and commentary from well-known faces including Alan Cumming, Sir Cliff Richard and Clare Grogan, we will find out just how Auld Lang Syne became a globe-conquering song.


TUE 22:15 Vic & Bob's Big Night Out (m000bpm8)
Series 2

Episode 1

Vic & Bob's Big Night Out returns with a bang. Judge Nutmeg dispenses punishment to an unsuspecting audience member, the Ghost Hunters are on the prowl, and Bob takes us back to the 80s with a special performance.


TUE 22:45 Vic & Bob's Big Night Out (m000bypg)
Series 2

Episode 2

A welcome return for Novelty Island, a special rendition of That's Magic as well as an appearance from Michael Portillo as you've never seen him before.


TUE 23:15 Vic & Bob's Big Night Out (m000c5ym)
Series 2

Episode 3

Vic presents Bob with a striking new wig, Vic reveals his secret to beatboxing, and the Man with the Stick returns. Sketches include the Free Runners and Frank Roddam's latest inventions.


TUE 23:45 Vic & Bob's Big Night Out (m000cf14)
Series 2

Episode 4

Mulligan and O’Hare present their album Caravan Park, and Vic reveals his latest plastic surgery enhancement. Three acts battle it out in Novelty Island while Vaun tries to lure Vic away from Bob.


TUE 00:15 Detectorists (b04jy45z)
Series 1

Episode 1

A new comedy about two friends - Andy and Lance - who go searching for their hearts' desire with a couple of metal detectors.

Following a chance encounter with a young history student, Lance and Andy embark on a journey towards the discovery of a lifetime. All they need to do is get permission from the local landowner, the mad one who is rumoured to have done away with his wife.


TUE 00:45 Detectorists (b04kzw1l)
Series 1

Episode 2

Lance and Andy haven't told anyone that they are hot on the trail of the holy grail of metal detecting - the final resting place of King Sexred of the East Saxons. But members of the rival detecting club already seem to know all about it. Who is the mole?


TUE 01:15 Detectorists (b04ld1jd)
Series 1

Episode 3

Club president Terry is keen to help Lance and Andy search the bottom paddock at Bishop's Farm, but only because he's convinced that's where Larry Bishop has buried his missing wife. Meanwhile, Lance is determined to get his ex along to hear him play at the local pub's folk music night.


TUE 01:45 Detectorists (b04m9rh2)
Series 1

Episode 4

Terry announces that he is standing down as leader of the DMDC, unleashing a bitter winner-takes-all scramble for presidential power when Andy and Lance fall out over gold. Becky and Sophie are forced to become allies in the Two Brewers pub quiz. Is this Andy's worst idea ever?


TUE 02:15 Detectorists (b04n1plq)
Series 1

Episode 5

Even though Andy, Lance, Becky and Sophie are barely talking to each other, their secrets are on the verge of being revealed. Are they all just victims of a smear campaign? And why does everyone else want to move in on Bishop's Farm?


TUE 02:45 Detectorists (b04nqrq5)
Series 1

Episode 6

A huge hole has been excavated and police are looking into it. Meanwhile, Larry Bishop's invisible dogs have disappeared without trace, and Andy and Lance now have one last chance to discover their hearts' true desire.



WEDNESDAY 01 JANUARY 2020

WED 19:00 New Year's Day Concert (m000crf5)
2020 - Highlights

Petroc Trelawny is our host for this year’s traditional start to the year with musical highlights from the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna.

This year’s concert is led for the first time by celebrated Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, guiding the Vienna Philharmonic in an array of polkas, waltzes and gallops by the Strauss family and their contemporaries.

As always, the concert will end with the ever-popular By the Beautiful Blue Danube and the foot-stamping Radetzky March.

The concert is broadcast to some 50 million viewers in over 90 countries.


WED 21:00 The Ipcress File (b0074sv0)
Spy thriller in which intelligence agent Harry Palmer is plunged into the shabby and treacherous world of counter-espionage as he uncovers a bizarre brain drain among scientists. Based on the novel by Len Deighton.


WED 22:45 Talking Pictures (b04y4dsw)
Michael Caine

A look at the life of acting legend Michael Caine, using rarely seen television interviews and classic archive clips to tell the story of one Britain's most successful actors. Narrated by Sylvia Syms.


WED 23:35 Inspector Montalbano (b01dpm3k)
The Artist's Touch

Goldsmith Alberto Larussa appears to have committed suicide by turning his wheelchair into an electric chair. But Inspector Montalbano discovers that the dead man's will, which leaves everything to his brother Giacomo, was forged. Giacomo is arrested, but he maintains that he did not kill Alberto. Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector Mimi' Augello is working on the case of a mysteriously-murdered electrician.

In Italian with English subtitles.


WED 01:10 Arena (b08rnyxq)
American Epic

The Big Bang

The first episode takes us back to 1920s America, where the growth of radio had shattered record sales. Record companies travelled rural America and recorded the music of ordinary people for the first time. The poor and oppressed were given a voice as their recordings spread from state to state.

The film introduces the early recordings of The Carter Family, the founders of modern country music, steeped in the traditions of their isolated Appalachian community. It also features Will Shade and the Memphis Jug Band, whose music told the story of street life in Memphis, and laid the foundations for modern-day rap and R'n'B.

Robert Redford narrates this meticulously researched story of a cultural revolution that changed the world.


WED 02:10 The Sky at Night (m00042l2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Sunday]



THURSDAY 02 JANUARY 2020

THU 19:00 The Sound of Music (b007bgf8)
Classic film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway musical. Irrepressible Maria begins to doubt her vocation and leaves her convent to become governess to the seven children of Captain von Trapp, a widower and retired naval officer. She soon turns the captain's orderly life upside down and instils a love of music in the children. Then the Third Reich annexes Austria...


THU 21:45 Talking Pictures (b04w7vyq)
Julie Andrews

A retrospective look at television appearances made over the years by Mary Poppins and Sound of Music star Julie Andrews, with interviews from the archive and classic clips capturing the milestones and highlights of her life and career. Narrated by Sylvia Syms.


THU 22:30 Inspector Montalbano (b00g6hqn)
Montalbano's Croquettes

As the small town of Vigata prepares for its New Year celebrations, local police inspector Salvo Montalbano is reluctantly making arrangements to travel to Paris with his girlfriend. What he would much rather do, however, is accept a dinner invitation by his cleaner Adelina, who has promised to cook rice croquettes.

A wealthy husband and wife are found dead in what appears to be a car accident, but which quickly turns into a murder investigation. As the circumstances surrounding the death of the couple grow more and more mysterious, clues point to the involvement of Adelina's son Pasquale.

In Italian with English subtitles.


THU 00:05 Jonas Kaufmann: Tenor for the Ages (b099tpby)
The German tenor Jonas Kaufmann is one of the hottest properties in the opera world. He captivates audiences with the power, emotion and beauty of his singing, the intelligence of his acting, his matinee-idol delivery, and his extraordinary range - from the heroic stage roles in Wagner to the intimate songs of Schubert on the concert platform.

For this documentary for the BBC's Opera Season, the film-maker John Bridcut has been given unique and often surprising access to Kaufmann across the last two years, observing him in rehearsal, backstage during performances, and in his off-duty moments. It is by far the most intimate and extensive portrait yet made of Kaufmann, now at the peak of his career. He was filmed behind the scenes at the Last Night of the Proms, when he was the first German to sing Rule, Britannia. His schedule was later interrupted for five months because of a vocal injury, but recently he made a triumphant return, notably in the production of Verdi's late opera, Otello, at Covent Garden.

Kaufmann is filmed working with the Royal Opera's music director, Sir Antonio Pappano, and the stage director, Keith Warner - and is involved in every aspect of the preparations. He talks freely about his earlier cancellations, about what keeps him going during a run of performances, and about the problems of being a star.

John Bridcut has previously made documentary portraits of Herbert von Karajan, Rudolf Nureyev, Mstislav Rostropovich and Sir Colin Davis (which was named Best Arts Documentary at the Grierson Awards). His clutch of composer-portraits began with the award-winning Britten's Children and continued with films on Elgar, Delius, Parry and Vaughan Williams. Last year he made the BBC One documentary for the Queen's 90th birthday, Elizabeth at 90 - A Family Tribute.


THU 01:35 Daredevils and Divas: A Night at the Circus (m0001jfn)
2018 marks the 250th anniversary of cavalryman Philip Astley’s very first circus, a spectacular horse show on the banks of the River Thames.
Legendary showman Astley’s signature 42-foot circus ring was the perfect size to perform tricks on galloping horses - and it was this innovation that heralded the birth of the modern circus. The circus ring remains the same size to this day.

To celebrate the 250th birthday of modern circus, this film showcases the very best of British circus through a series of lavishly filmed, spectacular live performances, presenting the art form on television as it’s seldom been seen before.

The stunning cast of performers is drawn from circuses across the UK, ranging from the timeless world of traditional circus Zippos to the next generation of contemporary circus students, who are pushing the art form in new directions at the National Centre for Circus Arts.

Other performers include Britain’s only fully inclusive circus, Extraordinary Bodies, the world-famous Gandini Jugglers, Tweedy the Clown of Giffords Circus, Britain’s biggest contemporary circus NoFit State, and two intrepid tightrope walkers from acclaimed circus company Cirque Bijou, attempting the first ever high-wire crossing of the River Wear in Sunderland to the delight of thousands of people lining the banks.

The film also features interviews with the circus performers and intimate behind-the-scenes footage, taking viewers beyond the spectacle to bring this fascinating, almost mythical world to life.

Daredevils and Divas: A Night at the Circus is hosted by the charismatic compere Doug Francisco of the cult circus troupe The Invisible Circus. Doug guides the viewer through the performances with a series of dynamic links, shot in the historic Hippodrome Circus ring in Great Yarmouth.

Daredevils and Divas: A Night at the Circus is a BBC Studios Production for BBC Four. It is produced and directed by Matt David. The Executive Producer for BBC Studios is Phil Dolling. It was commissioned for the BBC by Lamia Dabboussy.


THU 02:35 Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett (m000crfc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Monday]



FRIDAY 03 JANUARY 2020

FRI 19:00 A Hard Day's Night (b0074q9m)
Anarchic and offbeat 1960s story of 36 hours in the lives of The Beatles, as they travel to a TV show in London. The film uses a variety of cinematographic styles including documentary, surrealism and neorealism to create one of the milestone pictures of the decade.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m000crqz)
Big Hits 1989

As the 80s come to a close, the Top of the Pops vaults open once more to offer up the movers, shakers and chart toppers of 1989.

This compilation looks back at performances by established megastars Tina Turner and Phil Collins, all-conquering funki dreds Soul II Soul, dance queen Paula Abdul, northern soul girl Lisa Stansfield and wry vocal group The Beautiful South.

Madchester favourites Stone Roses and Happy Mondays also put in an appearance along with Stock Aitken and Waterman stalwarts Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Sonia, not forgetting Sydney Youngblood, Mike and The Mechanics, Rebel MC and Double Trouble, plus duets from strange bedfellows Marc Almond and Gene Pitney, and Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville.


FRI 21:30 Top of the Pops (m000crqx)
The Story of 1989

As the 80s concluded with Margaret Thatcher’s tenth year in power in contrast to worldwide political change, Top of the Pops provided the perfect barometer of the UK's end-of-decade uncertainty.

Top of the Pops hosted Pete Waterman’s final year of chart domination, courtesy of Jason Donovan, alongside the dawn of Madchester, a fresh front of female artists with attitude and power, an old-school duet between a 60s legend and an 80s icon, funki dreds and, yes, that pesky bunny.

Meanwhile, Radio 1’s old guard were stood down as a team of fresh-faced recruits from children’s television took up the helm of the BBC’s weekly pop warhorse, which remained torn between its sense of heritage and the emerging threat of youth TV.

The stars of the year, including Jason Donovan, Lisa Stansfield, Shaun Ryder, Chris Rea, Marc Almond, Sharleen Spiteri, Jazzie B and more, plus TOTP presenter Jenny Powell, deliver their tales of a poptastic 1989 at Television Centre as they prepare to head into the 1990s.


FRI 22:30 Soft Cell: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (m0002tc3)
2018 marked the 40th anniversary of Soft Cell, one of the most colourful and charismatic bands in the history of popular music. To celebrate this landmark, singer Marc Almond and musician Dave Ball reunited for an emotional, sold-out, farewell concert at London’s O2 Arena that September.

With unprecedented access to Marc and Dave, this film follows the build-up to that gig and provides an intimate retrospective portrait of one of our greatest bands and most iconic singers. It shows rehearsals and preparations for the O2 show and footage from the actual concert itself, woven in with period archive and music videos.

The film covers Marc’s formative years growing up in Southport and Dave’s in nearby Blackpool and how the two met as art students at Leeds Polytechnic in the late 1970s. We filmed Marc and Dave in The Fenton pub in Leeds, where they went as students, and they perform an early Soft Cell song, A Man Could Get Lost, on Dave’s original keyboards especially for the BBC Four audience at The Warehouse Club where the band did their first-ever paid gig.

Soft Cell burned brightly between 1981 and 1984, after their gritty but stunning cover version of Tainted Love became a massive hit, the best-selling single in the UK of 1981 and a number one hit in 15 other countries, including the USA. Dave plays from the master tapes of that era-defining song for us.

But Soft Cell were always more interested in using their success to subvert the mainstream than in becoming pop stars, as they tell us in relation to Marc’s groundbreaking, androgynous debut on Top of the Pops. It was the beginning of a controversial career that deliberately defied and flouted convention. Soft Cell were influenced as much by punk as by Northern Soul and Kraftwerk, and refused to be pigeonholed by anyone, bringing a punk ethos to synth-pop while busting taboos along the way. In their heyday, even while refusing to compromise on their musical vision, the pair produced numerous top ten singles and three classic albums, selling 10 million records overall.

Soft Cell’s approach was wittier and more sophisticated than the press gave them credit for. Their first album, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, saw them labelled as sleazy and perverted, when in reality it deliberately used the setting of London’s Soho to explore the social and sexual undercurrents of British society at the time. The single Bedsitter laid bare the glamour of escapism from the grim realities of Thatcher’s Britain for many, while the Soft Cell anthem, Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, was actually about a powerful man, perhaps a politician, breaking off an affair with a call-girl. The video for that album’s most controversial track, Sex Dwarf, was inspired by a real headline in the News of the World. It resulted in their management’s offices being raided by the Vice Squad and the band being criticised by the very same paper.

Soft Cell’s second album, a deliberately darker work called The Art of Falling Apart, was recorded in New York and we will see how the duo’s immersion into the underground club scene and subculture informed songs such as Heat and the single Numbers, a song that spoke about promiscuity in the gay scene and proved prophetic about the coming AIDS epidemic. Despite the prejudices of the time, it managed to reach number 25 in the UK charts.

But the pressures they felt to produce more commercial music began to take its toll on them and Marc and Dave talk candidly about how they began to drift apart and slip into the sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, with both becoming addicted to a variety of drugs. By 1983, before the recording of their album, This Last Night in Sodom, the duo had already decided to go their separate ways as otherwise, as Dave puts it, ‘one of us wasn’t going to make it’.

Even at the height of their addictions and near breakdowns, Soft Cell still produced a classic album with a harder, more industrial electric sound that has been cited as hugely influential by artists such as Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.

After their separation in 1984, we see how Marc Almond has gone on to become one of our greatest performers, selling an estimated 20 million records as a solo artist in a huge variety of styles, from mainstream pop to experimental ventures. The film includes sequences with Marc at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, exploring his love of Jacques Brel and French chansons, performing one of the Russian folk songs he loves – a genre in which he recorded two albums of music in the early 2000s - and with Jools Holland and His Rhythm & Blues Orchestra with whom he has recorded an album, A Lovely Life to Live, in 2018. We also look at Dave’s solo career with successful dance duo The Grid.

The documentary ends with the duo’s rousing performance of Say Hello, Wave Goodbye at the O2.


FRI 23:30 Smashing Hits! The 80s Pop Map of Britain and Ireland (b0b99nq0)
Series 1

Episode 1

Two 80s icons explore the distinct sounds that came out of different parts of Britain and Ireland in one of pop's golden decades.

Midge Ure, lead singer of Ultravox and one of the men behind Band Aid, and Kim Appleby, who had a string of hits with her sister Mel in the Stock, Aitken and Waterman-produced band Mel and Kim, go on a journey back in time to the 80s to figure out why certain cities produced their own diverse tunes.

It's a fascinating tale. Emerging from the ashes of punk, British and Irish music ripped up the pop rule book in the 80s and topped the charts worldwide. But there was no definitive 'British' pop sound. Innovative chart-toppers were being produced by artists hailing from all over the UK and Ireland.

In this first episode, Midge Ure and Kim Appleby explore London's new romantic movement, travel to Coventry to investigate the rise of ska and speak to some of Sheffield's electronic music pioneers.

The show features interviews with key figures, like Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet, Marco Pirroni from Adam and the Ants, Pauline Black from The Selecter, Martin Ware and Glenn Gregory from Heaven 17 and 'super-producer' Trevor Horn. But of course the star is the music - and this episode includes some of the best tunes, videos and performances from the early part of this marvellous musical decade.


FRI 00:30 Depeche Mode at the BBC (b08l6sm2)
It's 2017 and synth giants Depeche Mode are back with their 14th studio album Spirit, the band's "timeliest work yet". As the rave reviews fly in, here is a look back at the journey of one of the UK's longest-lasting and most successful bands who emerged from the UK's post-punk scene over three decades ago by featuring clips from various BBC programmes, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Synth Britannia, The OZone, Def II and The Whistle Test.

From their first appearance on Top of the Pops in 1981 and the tales of how they got there, to performing on Later...with Jools Holland in 2009, the programme shares archive testimony and recent interviews from core members Dave Gahan, Vince Clarke, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher. New Life, Just Can't Get Enough, Blasphemous Rumours and Personal Jesus are among some of the classic tracks performed.


FRI 01:30 Top of the Pops (m000crqz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


FRI 02:30 Top of the Pops (m000crqx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 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 Hard Day's Night 19:00 FRI (b0074q9m)

Arena 01:45 MON (b0bqt8g3)

Arena 01:10 WED (b08rnyxq)

BBC Proms 19:00 TUE (m0007f4y)

Britpop at the BBC 01:35 SUN (b0409s91)

Daredevils and Divas: A Night at the Circus 01:35 THU (m0001jfn)

Depeche Mode at the BBC 00:30 FRI (b08l6sm2)

Detectorists 00:15 TUE (b04jy45z)

Detectorists 00:45 TUE (b04kzw1l)

Detectorists 01:15 TUE (b04ld1jd)

Detectorists 01:45 TUE (b04m9rh2)

Detectorists 02:15 TUE (b04n1plq)

Detectorists 02:45 TUE (b04nqrq5)

Essential Royal Ballet 19:00 SUN (m000crdc)

Flying Scotsman: Sounds from the Footplate 20:00 SUN (b087k5rf)

How Auld Lang Syne Took Over the World 21:15 TUE (b03nh35t)

Inspector Montalbano 22:30 SAT (b00g31qt)

Inspector Montalbano 23:35 WED (b01dpm3k)

Inspector Montalbano 22:30 THU (b00g6hqn)

Janet Baker - In Her Own Words 23:00 MON (m00048q7)

Jonas Kaufmann: Tenor for the Ages 00:05 THU (b099tpby)

Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany 21:00 SUN (m000crdf)

Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany 02:35 SUN (m000crdf)

Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany 21:00 MON (m000crf9)

Lost Home Movies of Nazi Germany 02:55 MON (m000crf9)

Lucy Worsley's Fireworks for a Tudor Queen 19:00 MON (b09cfwt4)

New Year's Day Concert 19:00 WED (m000crf5)

Oasis: Supersonic 23:40 SUN (b09ksl9g)

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 20:00 SAT (m000crby)

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 02:10 SAT (m000crby)

Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett 22:00 MON (m000crfc)

Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett 02:35 THU (m000crfc)

Smashing Hits! The 80s Pop Map of Britain and Ireland 23:30 FRI (b0b99nq0)

Soft Cell: Say Hello, Wave Goodbye 22:30 FRI (m0002tc3)

TOTP2 00:25 SAT (m000crc6)

TOTP2 00:30 MON (m0001vjf)

Talking Pictures 22:45 WED (b04y4dsw)

Talking Pictures 21:45 THU (b04w7vyq)

The Bat Man of Mexico 23:00 SUN (b046tnw3)

The Ipcress File 21:00 WED (b0074sv0)

The Sky at Night 22:00 SUN (m00042l2)

The Sky at Night 02:10 WED (m00042l2)

The Sound of Movie Musicals with Neil Brand 19:00 SAT (m0001r5r)

The Sound of Movie Musicals with Neil Brand 01:10 SAT (m0001r5r)

The Sound of Music 19:00 THU (b007bgf8)

Top of the Pops 20:30 FRI (m000crqz)

Top of the Pops 21:30 FRI (m000crqx)

Top of the Pops 01:30 FRI (m000crqz)

Top of the Pops 02:30 FRI (m000crqx)

Turtle, Eagle, Cheetah: A Slow Odyssey 20:30 MON (m0001kx4)

Vic & Bob's Big Night Out 22:15 TUE (m000bpm8)

Vic & Bob's Big Night Out 22:45 TUE (m000bypg)

Vic & Bob's Big Night Out 23:15 TUE (m000c5ym)

Vic & Bob's Big Night Out 23:45 TUE (m000cf14)

Wisting 21:00 SAT (m000crc0)

Wisting 21:45 SAT (m000crc4)