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 13 JUNE 2020

SAT 19:00 This Farming Life (b073h666)
Series 1

Episode 3

The farmers get ready for winter. On the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, ex-barrister Sandy and his fellow crofters gather in their sheep from the moor and club together to dip them in insecticide before mating time.

On the mainland in the west, Sybil and George battle to gather in their herd of cattle, who are a bit frisky after living freely on the hills for many months. Sybil, who has individual names for them all, must separate the cows from their calves before they are all sent off to lowland farms for the winter.

In central Scotland near Loch Lomond, hill farmers Bobby and Anne must also send their sheep away for the winter months, before they head off on their annual family holiday in Tenerife. East of Inverness, Martin and Mel bring their large herd of pedigree cattle into sheds for the winter, and welcome in their first new calf of the season.

Sybil and George discover an unexpected new calf, and Sandy takes his youngest sheepdog Doyal for a training session. After her holiday, Anne's back on the hills gathering sheep - but she and sheepdog Jim are both a little rusty. Martin and Mel take two promising young bulls to a show called Stars of the Future - but will the teenage bulls be in the mood to perform?


SAT 20:00 Earth's Natural Wonders (b065hhsp)
Series 1

Vast Wonders

Across our planet, there are a handful of places that truly astonish, like Mount Everest, the Grand Canyon and Victoria Falls. These wonders seem to have little in common other than - literally - taking your breath away. But they share one other thing: they pose extraordinary challenges for their inhabitants.

This landmark series combines stunning photography and compelling human drama as it reveals 12 remarkable places, and uncovers the stories of people fighting to survive - and even triumph - in Earth's natural wonders.


SAT 21:00 The Young Montalbano (b03b8pz3)
Series 1

New Year's Eve

A man is shot dead in his hotel room on New Year's Eve, so Montalbano spends his first New Year's Day in Vigata investigating a murder. The case presents several unusual conundrums, not least the fact that the victim was co-owner of the hotel.

In Italian with English subtitles.


SAT 22:50 Guys and Dolls (b0078gmw)
Lavish film version of the classic Broadway musical, based on Damon Runyon's short stories. A gambler in need of cash bets he can make any girl go to Havana with him. But his pals pick a girl at the Save a Soul Mission in need of recruiting sinners to her cause. Includes songs such as Adelaide's Lament and Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat.


SAT 01:15 This Farming Life (b073h666)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 02:15 Earth's Natural Wonders (b065hhsp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



SUNDAY 14 JUNE 2020

SUN 19:00 Natural World (b0388q39)
2013-2014

Sri Lanka: Elephant Island

Sri Lanka, the tropical island lying off the southern coast of India, is home to its own special elephants. A subspecies of the Asian elephant, they have their own unique characteristics. In this programme, award-winning wildlife cameraman Martyn Colbeck of Echo of the Elephants fame travels to Sri Lanka to try and get to know them.

Martyn has planned his arrival to coincide with the start of the monsoon, hoping it will be the best time to find and follow a newborn calf. By drawing on local knowledge, Martyn begins to unravel the complex social world of Sri Lanka's elephants - he witnesses a fight over a calf, a battle between two bulls in musk and, at an elephant sanctuary, befriends an orphaned elephant who sadly lost a leg to a snare and is facing an uncertain future.


SUN 20:00 Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart (p03q49b2)
Autumn and Winter - Against All Odds

The third part of the Highland wildlife saga narrated by Ewan McGregor.

It's a still, clear autumn day in Glen Affric in the north west Highlands. The forests are flushed with gold, but it's a shallow beauty that marks the beginning of the Highlands' longest, darkest and most overwhelming season.

Animals that can't migrate to milder climes have to be equipped to deal with an all-out assault from the weather. Reindeer, ptarmigan and mountain hare are all adapted for these arctic-like conditions, but this turns out to be one of the snowiest winters in living memory, driving the animals of the Highlands to the absolute limit.


SUN 21:00 The Sky at Night (m000k48l)
Different Planet, Different Sky

The Sky at Night team explore a changing world. Maggie Aderin-Pocock interviews astronaut Jessica Meir, who returned from 205 days on the International Space Station to a world she barely recognised. They also discuss Jessica’s experiments in micro-gravity, growing lettuce in space and the first all-female spacewalk.

Chris Lintott meets the astronomer who recently announced the discovery of the closest black hole to Earth. Pete Lawrence photographs the dark side of Venus and Lucie Green investigates whether Elon Musk’s constellation of Starlink satellites are ruining the night sky.


SUN 21:30 Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare (p089zg9d)
Macbeth

Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller. Returning home from battle, the victorious Macbeth meets three witches on the heath. Driven by their disturbing prophecies, he sets out on a path to murder.

The 2018 Royal Shakespeare Company production, directed by Polly Findlay, features Christopher Eccleston as Macbeth and Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth.


SUN 23:35 Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC (b06nsxyn)
In the first of a two-part series, the BBC delves into its archives to discover British acting greats as they take their first tentative steps on the road to success. Long before they were knighted for their services to drama, we see early appearances from Michael Caine in a rare Shakespearean role, Ben Kingsley, Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi and Michael Gambon.

Featuring unique behind-the-scenes footage alongside a wealth of classic British productions like War and Peace, the Mayor of Casterbridge and the Singing Detective, it reveals many career-defining moments from the first generation of acting talent to fully embrace television drama.


SUN 00:35 British Masters (b012rf9g)
In Search of England

The inter-war years were a period of alarming national change. With a generation of youth lost to the trenches and the cracks in the Empire growing fast, the nation's confidence was in tatters. If we were no longer a mighty Imperial power, what were we? John Nash's mesmerising visions of rural arcadia, Stanley Spencer's glimpses of everyday divinity, Alfred Munnings' prelapsarian nostalgia, Paul Nash's timeless mysticism, John Piper's crumbling ruins, even William Coldstream's blunt celebration of working-class life - all, in their own way, were attempts to answer this question. And, as a reprise of war grew ever more likely, they struggled more urgently than ever to create an image of Britain we could fight for.


SUN 01:35 A Very British Renaissance (b03zmmk5)
The Elizabethan Code

Art historian Dr James Fox continues his exploration of a Renaissance that he believes was as rich and as significant in Britain as it was in Italy and Europe. He tells the story of the painters, sculptors, poets, playwrights, composers, inventors, craftsmen and scientists who revolutionised the way we saw the world.

In this episode, he explores the Elizabethans' love of secrecy, codes and complexity, and the cultural revolution sparked by an age of discovery and exploration.


SUN 02:35 Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart (p03q49b2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



MONDAY 15 JUNE 2020

MON 19:00 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 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000k490)
Series 2

Arctic Beauty

Discover one of Bob Ross's masterpieces - a mountain set against a purple night sky overlooking a small falling river.


MON 20:00 Black and British: A Forgotten History (b082w9p9)
First Encounters

Historian David Olusoga explores the enduring relationship between Britain and people whose origins lie in Africa. From the African Romans who guarded Hadrian's Wall in the 3rd century AD to the black trumpeter of the Tudor courts, David uncovers a history that is as surprising as it is revealing.


MON 20:55 Coast (b0844rk2)
Series 8 Reversions

All at Sea 2

The coast team are all at sea as they head offshore to explore surprising stories.


MON 21:00 Art of Persia (m000k48g)
Series 1

Episode 1

Since Ayatollah Khomeini brought revolution to Iran in 1979, the country has become a byword for radical Islam. Western documentary teams are seldom given access, but broadcaster and journalist Samira Ahmed has been given a rare opportunity to discover Iran’s rich, colourful culture and extraordinary history.

In this first episode, Samira journeys to places rarely seen by western audiences to reveal how the Persian Empire was born, the mysterious writing of its early people and how Iran’s powerful kings built a vast empire that became the envy of the ancient world.


MON 22:00 Storyville (m000k492)
College Behind Bars

Episode 1

A two-part Storyville documentary that tells the inspiring story of a group of men and women in the USA struggling to earn college degrees while in prison for serious crimes.

The Bard Prison Initiative is one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programmes in the United States. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the films tackles a pressing issue - the failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for over two million Americans living behind bars.

Through the stories of the students and their families, we discover many dropped out of high school before being incarcerated and never imagined they would go to college. During four years of study, however, they become accomplished scholars, beat the Harvard debating team, reckon with their pasts and discover how truly transformative education can be.

Incarcerated men and women at Eastern and Taconic Correctional facilities are admitted to the Bard Prison Initiative. When classes begin, they discover they must meet the same high standards as students on Bard College main campus. The debate team prepares to face the University of Vermont.


MON 22:50 Storyville (m000k499)
College Behind Bars

Episode 2

A two-part Storyville documentary that tells the inspiring story of a group of men and women in the USA struggling to earn college degrees while in prison for serious crimes.

The Bard Prison Initiative is one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programmes in the United States. Shot over four years in maximum and medium security prisons in New York State, the films tackles a pressing issue - the failure to provide meaningful rehabilitation for over two million Americans living behind bars.

Through the stories of the students and their families, we discover many dropped out of high school before being incarcerated and never imagined they would go to college. During four years of study, however, they become accomplished scholars, beat the Harvard debating team, reckon with their pasts and discover how truly transformative education can be.

The debate team faces West Point and Harvard. Seniors complete their 100-paged thesis projects. Giovannie is sent to the Special Housing Unit and might not finish his project. Students at Taconic and Eastern receive their degrees at graduation.


MON 23:40 Seven Ages of Britain (b00qxyv0)
Age of Power

The story of Britain through its art and treasure.

This episode looks at the Tudors and spans from Henry VIII's accession in 1509 to the first performance of Shakespeare's Henry VIII exactly 100 years later.

David Dimbleby shows how the Tudors used art as an instrument of power and propaganda. Featuring a look at Henry VIII and the lavish, gilded tomb in Westminster Abbey he commissioned for his father; the epic Field of Cloth of Gold painting in Hampton Court made to celebrate his diplomatic triumph over the French; and the extraordinary patron-artist relationship he cultivated with Hans Holbein. Henry favoured blunt statements of power, but his daughter Elizabeth was more subtle.

Dimbleby's journey also takes in the Reformation, the wreck of the Mary Rose, John White's extraordinary watercolours of the New World, the mouthwatering Cheapside Hoard, the Spanish Armada, Henry VIII's armour and Drake's Drum.


MON 00:40 Black and British: A Forgotten History (b083bv43)
Freedom

In the second part of his four-part series, historian David Olusoga explores the business of slavery and remembers the black sailors who fought for Britain at Trafalgar.

He also celebrates a Georgian boxing superstar and the men and women who crossed continents in pursuit of freedom.


MON 01:40 Black and British: A Forgotten History (b083rb2v)
Moral Mission

In part three of this groundbreaking series, historian David Olusoga explores the Victorian moral crusade against slavery. He finds out how Queen Victoria came to have a black god-daughter, why the mill workers of Rochdale stood in solidarity with enslaved Africans in the American South, and remembers the victims of a tragedy in Jamaica.


MON 02:40 Black and British: A Forgotten History (b084ndpt)
The Homecoming

Historian David Olusoga concludes his series with the three African kings who stood up to empire, an irresistible crooner, race riots in Liverpool and the shaping of black British identity in the 20th century.



TUESDAY 16 JUNE 2020

TUE 19:00 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 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000k49r)
Series 2

Horizons West

Go on a 30-minute hike with painter Bob Ross to the south west of the United States and watch him create the beauty of fresh skies over sun-glistened mountains and a silvery mere.


TUE 20:00 Hidden Killers (b03l7nl8)
New Hidden Killers of the Victorian Home

Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to the late Victorian era when cities were expanding and mass consumerism took hold. But from the food they ate to the clothes they wore and the new products that thrilled them, the Victorians were surrounding themselves with killers. What made taking a bath and drinking milk potentially so dangerous? And how did the Victorian woman turn herself into a walking fire hazard?

The domestic horrors of home life in the 19th century and the terrible consequences are laid bare, revealing how the Victorian ideal of 'safe as houses' was far from the reality.


TUE 21:00 Timeshift (b080dvyc)
Series 16

Sailors, Ships & Stevedores: The Story of British Docks

Throughout the 20th century, Britain's docks were the heartbeat of the nation - bustling, exciting and often dangerous places where exotic goods, people and influences from across the globe ebbed and flowed and connected Britain with the wider world. Thousands of men, with jobs handed down from father to son through generations, sustained these emblems of national pride, typified by London, the hub of the British Empire.

The waterside cities within cities where they lived and worked formed the frontier of the country's postwar recovery. Communities connected to the sea grew around them, some as unique as the multicultural sailortown of Tiger Bay in Cardiff, others like Liverpool primed for a new wave of world fame thanks to the music and style being brought into the country by the city's seafarers. The 1960s heralded the arrival of new forms of technological innovation in our ports, and thanks to a simple metal box, the traditional world of dockside would be radically transformed, but not without a fierce struggle to protect the dock work that many saw as their birthright.

Today, docksides are places of cultural consumption, no longer identifiable as places that once forged Britain's global standing through goods and trade. People visit waterfronts at their leisure in bars, cafes and marinas or buy a slice of waterside living in converted warehouses and buildings built on the connection to the sea. While the business of docks has moved out of sight, over 95 per cent of national trade still passes through the container yard on ever-larger ships. However, it is still possible to glimpse the vanished dockside through the archive films and first-hand stories of those who knew it best.

Narrated by Sue Johnston.


TUE 22:00 Chasing the Moon (m0006vrn)
Series 1

Magnificent Desolation (Part Two)

Viewers from around the world watched the flickering black-and-white footage from a camera placed on the module showing Armstrong gingerly stepping down its ladder. ‘OK, I’m going to step off the ladder now,’ Armstrong said. ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ Fifteen minutes later, Aldrin followed. Transparent, ghostly images of the suited figures projected back to Earth where crowds cheered, wept and fell speechless at the awe-inspiring sight of their fellow human beings on the moon.

The mission had one remaining hurdle: the ascent stage. With only one chance to fire the lunar module’s engine to safely reach Apollo 11, tension built once more. On 24 July 1969, to the intense relief of all involved, the crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. Despite the public excitement leading up to and immediately after Apollo 11, interest in space vaporised with shocking rapidity. Kennedy’s challenge to the nation, to its scientists and to its pilots had been met - an American had walked on the moon before 1970. Rather than being a spark for further exploration, as von Braun had dreamed, the moon landing was the crowning jewel in the Cold War space race, commanding epic focus, resources and motivation.

A film By Robert Stone.

A Robert Stone Production for American Experience WGBH/PBS in association with Arte France.


TUE 22:50 Timeshift (b00p8lhp)
Series 9

How to Win at Chess

Many people know the basic rules of chess, but few can play really well. This programme offers some essential tips on how to raise our game.

British grandmasters Dan King and Ray Keene go through a special demonstration game from opening gambit to checkmate, revealing the key moves that can lead to victory. They explain the opening, middle and end games, and how to outwit an opponent with techniques such as forks, pins and skewers.

Along the way the colourful and diverse world of British chess playing is celebrated, including speed chess and chess boxing, and useful advice is offered on how not to be humiliated by a child prodigy.

Also taking part are novelist Martin Amis, writer Dominic Lawson, Britain's youngest grandmaster David Howell and under-16 champion Sheila Dines.


TUE 23:50 Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Monumental Art (b0bjj23v)
In the summer of 2018, on the Serpentine in London's Hyde Park, world-renowned artist Christo created his first public work of art in the UK. Inspired by ancient Mesopotamian tombs, the Mastaba is constructed from 7,506 painted oil barrels and weighs six hundred tonnes. It is the latest work in a career spanning half a century and stretching across the world. His work to date have included surrounding 11 islands off the Florida coast with pink polypropylene and wrapping Berlin's Reichstag and the Pont Neuf in Paris.

This programme charts the creation of the Mastaba - from the first barrels being put on the water to its final unveiling - and paints a portrait of Christo as he looks back on a life spent making provocative works of art with his wife and partner Jeanne-Claude.

Christo reveals how he funds his projects with a unique business model, and how the long, tortuous and often combative process of gaining permissions and winning people over is part of his artistic
endeavour. He also talks about his escape from the communist east and his early work in 1960s Paris.

A cast of friends, fellow artists, collectors and critics lend their voices to the documentary, including performance artist Marina Abramovic, New Yorker journalist and architectural critic Paul Goldberger, former New York major Michael Bloomberg, writer and art critic Marina Vaizey and architect Sir Norman Foster.


TUE 00:50 Looking for Rembrandt (m0004dds)
Series 1

Episode 3

Desperate for money, Rembrandt takes on commissions that even his pupils have passed by, pupils who are now getting the grand offers that once came through Rembrandt’s door. Bankruptcy proceedings hound him for years and, although Rembrandt tries various – sometimes fraudulent – ways to divert some money back into his own pocket, his creditors take his house, his copperplates and virtually all his possessions. Yet he paints a self-portrait as the prince of painters, a regal pose that belies his financial and reputational chaos.

As Rembrandt ages and enters the twilight of his career, his works take on a new painterly style. He revels in aged skin, in deformity, in humanity rather than hubris. But it is not a style favoured by all his patrons, and his most important commission in years is rejected. After his lover and his son die, and Rembrandt is left with just his paint brushes and his memories, we see the final self-portrait of a great painter who never stopped experimenting, never stopped searching. A genius still recognised four centuries after his death.


TUE 01:50 The Joy of Painting (m000k49r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 02:20 Handmade in Mexico (b09j2vvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 02:50 Art of Persia (m000k48g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]



WEDNESDAY 17 JUNE 2020

WED 19:00 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 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000k48d)
Series 2

High Chateau

American painter Bob Ross unveils a secret little loft, hidden in the woods, surrounded by evergreens and ruffled green bushes and grass.


WED 20:00 Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity (p00kjqcv)
Revelations and Revolutions

Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the electrifying story of our quest to master nature's most mysterious force - electricity. Until fairly recently, electricity was seen as a magical power, but it is now the lifeblood of the modern world and underpins every aspect of our technological advancements.

Without electricity, we would be lost. This series tells of dazzling leaps of imagination and extraordinary experiments - a story of maverick geniuses who used electricity to light our cities, to communicate across the seas and through the air, to create modern industry and to give us the digital revolution.

Electricity is not just something that creates heat and light, it connects the world through networks and broadcasting. After centuries of man's experiments with electricity, the final episode tells the story of how a new age of real understanding dawned - how we discovered electric fields and electromagnetic waves. Today we can hardly imagine life without electricity - it defines our era. As our understanding of it has increased so has our reliance upon it, and today we are on the brink of a new breakthrough, because if we can understand the secret of electrical superconductivity, we could once again transform the world.


WED 21:00 SAS: Rogue Warriors (b08g89l7)
Series 1

Episode 3

Stirling is locked away in Hitler's most secure prison - Colditz. Leadership of the SAS passes to Paddy Mayne, a man who has built his reputation on the battlefield as a warrior of the first rank, but has no interest in charming high command. In 1943, the SAS leaves the desert for Europe to enter a darker and far more complex theatre of war, led by a man who is often drunk and disorderly and prone to acts of savagery. They will face the terror of execution and the trauma of civilian casualties. And they will be the first to witness the nightmare of Belsen concentration camp.


WED 22:00 Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain with Simon Sebag Montefiore (b06s5x0t)
Reconquest

Simon uncovers the truth about Spain's hero El Cid. He also investigates the horror of the Spanish Inquisition and in the process discovers an unsettling story about one of his own ancestors.


WED 23:00 Art of Persia (m000k48g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


WED 00:00 The High Art of the Low Countries (b01rxpy1)
Daydreams and Nightmares

Following a brief period of decline, the entrepreneurial and industrious region of the Low Countries rose again to become a cultural leader in the modern age. Despite its small and almost insignificant size it produced important forward-thinking artists like van Gogh, Mondrian, Magritte and Delvaux, who changed the face of art forever.

Andrew's journey takes him to a remote beach in north west Holland that inspired Mondrian's transition to his now-renowned abstract grid paintings. Andrew digs deep into the psychology and social history of the region, exploring how the landscape of the past has informed the culture and identity of the Low Countries today and the impossibility of the Dutch drive to turn the philosophy of Mondrian's geometric order into a way of living.


WED 01:00 Pride and Prejudice (b0074rnx)
Episode 3

Elizabeth receives an astounding piece of news and Jane's sweet nature is put to the test when she hears that Bingley and his sisters have left Netherfield Park. All Mrs Bennet's hopes seem dashed. Elizabeth is forced to visit her cousin, Mr Collins, and his new wife in Kent, where she is finally introduced to the formidable Lady Catherine de Bourgh.


WED 01:55 The Joy of Painting (m000k48d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 02:20 Handmade in Mexico (b09jj0k2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 02:50 Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity (p00kjqcv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]



THURSDAY 18 JUNE 2020

THU 19:00 The Sky at Night (m000k48l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]


THU 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000k48n)
Series 2

Country Life

In this masterclass, American painter Bob Ross takes us home to the farm, a big red barn and long, rickety, wooden fence, capturing vivid childhood memories.


THU 20:00 Tess of the D'Urbervilles (b00dlpcj)
Episode 1

Four-part drama series based on the novel by Thomas Hardy.

On a fine May afternoon, the beautiful and innocent Tess Durbeyfield spies a handsome young stranger at a village dance, but he ignores her.

Forced by family hardship to seek support from her 'relatives' the D'Urbervilles, apparently an ancient lineage, she falls under the spell of her manipulative 'cousin' Alec - with shocking and lasting consequences.


THU 21:00 Tutankhamun in Colour (m000k48q)
A century after the world’s most exciting archaeological find - the tomb of Tutankhamun - we can witness the dramatic scenes of its discovery and marvel at its extraordinary treasures exactly as they were first seen - in colour.

Oxford University Egyptologist, Elizabeth Frood, is our guide to the discovery of the tomb on 4 November 1922 by British Egyptologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon. It provided much-needed good news, following the Great War and the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1919, and we have been transfixed ever since.

Colourisation provides a fantastic insight into the artefacts themselves and the context that they were found in. Many photos were taken using glass plate negatives, which have fantastic resolution and which, with colourisation, reveal detail not seen for a century.

Liz’s story begins in 1891, with an old black and white family photo of the young Carter. Colourisation brings him to life as he arrived in Egypt as a 17-year-old artist. Carter met two people who would change his life: British Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, who inspired him to be an archaeologist, and Lord Carnarvon, a keen amateur Egyptologist who hired Carter to help him.

Liz travels to Highclere Castle to meet the current Countess of Carnarvon. Carnarvon and Carter both yearned to find what nobody had ever discovered before, a pharaoh’s tomb with its treasures still intact. Carter became convinced that Tutankhamun’s tomb lay undiscovered in an ancient royal burial ground known as The Valley of the Kings, and in 1914 Carnarvon was granted a concession to start excavating there.

But the First World War intervened. Colourisation reveals a changing Egypt. Egyptians were soon pushing for independence from Britain, which claimed Egypt as a protectorate. The politics of the time were to have a profound effect on Carter and Carnarvon.

In December 1917, the meticulous Carter divided the valley up into a grid and began excavating each sector, right down to the bedrock. Colourisation reveals the astonishing scale of the operation that was required.

On 4 November 1922, a water-boy in Carter’s team, Hussein Abdul Rasoul, discovered a flight of steps descending into the bedrock. Carter broke into the tomb to discover first a rubble-filled passageway, then another sealed entrance. As Carter peered in, he declared, ‘It is wonderful.’ The extraordinary collection of objects he saw, including gilded couches, chariots, jewels, statues, and even ancient lunchboxes containing food for the afterlife, were captured in black and white by expert photographer Harry Burton. Using colourisation, we are now able to experience the scene that met their eyes, in incredible detail, almost as though it’s right in front of us.

On 16 February 1923, Carter and Carnarvon broke through into Tutankhamun’s burial chamber. A large blue and gilt shrine filled the room. Opening its doors, Carter discovered sealed doors to another three shrines, one within the next. Within these was a sarcophagus made from yellow quartzite and, within this, a nest of three coffins, also one within the next. For the first time in a century, we reveal each stage in amazing coloured detail. The outermost coffin was gilt, adorned with a garland of flowers. The middle one was inlaid with gold and coloured glass and the innermost was - incredibly - crafted from solid gold.

Finally, within this, was Tutankhamun’s mummy wearing the famous solid gold mask. Colourisation of the rather messy-looking black and white photograph reveals that his wrapped body was actually festooned with colourful jewellery.
The discovery of Tutankhamun’s body also revealed that he died very young, aged 19. This changed the way Tutankhamun was seen around the world. In Europe, the death of a young man hit a chord with so many who had lost their sons in the First World War. In his own country, Tutankhamun became a young and vibrant symbol of a powerful and independent Egypt.


THU 22:00 Ancient Invisible Cities (b0bjj97g)
Series 1

Cairo

Dr. Michael Scott uses the latest 3D scanning technology to reveal the historical secrets of Cairo and Ancient Egypt. He explores the first pyramid ever built at Saqqara and finds out how it helped inspire the Great Pyramid of Giza. The 3D scans confirm just how accurately the Great Pyramid was designed and constructed. Michael also investigates the sphinx to try to determine which pharaoh it represents.

But the history of Cairo is not only about the Ancient Egyptians. Michael goes in search of a Roman fortress hidden under a Greek Orthodox church. He also attempts to descend a 90 metre well carved in to solid bedrock beneath the Arabic citadel built by Saladin in the 12th century AD. This remarkable well was built by Crusader prisoners of war, and provided the citadel with water in times of siege.

Along the way Michael discovers that the Ancient Egyptians had built their capital, Memphis, close to where Cairo now stands on the banks of the river Nile. This evolved into a Roman fortress called Babylon. And finally the Arabs founded a city called Cairo. Today, it's the largest city in Africa.


THU 23:00 The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun (b08h99sb)
Margaret Mountford travels to Egypt's Valley of the Kings to discover the story of an unsung hero of British photography - Harry Burton, the man whose images of the Tutankhamun excavation created a global sensation in the 1920s.

As she explores the spectacular locations where Burton worked, including Tutankhamun's tomb, she investigates how his photographs inspired a craze for Egyptian designs and made the archaeologist Howard Carter an international celebrity. She discovers why Burton's images are still studied today by Egyptologists around the world. And she works with a present-day photographer, Harry Cory Wright, to find out how Burton pushed the boundaries of photographic art to create his extraordinary and influential pictures of the world's most famous archaeological discovery.


THU 00:00 Fabric of Britain (b03c2766)
The Wonder of Embroidery

The Reformation in England witnessed the destruction of the most brilliant art of the medieval age. Church paintings and stained glass - even sculpture - were destroyed throughout England in the name of religion. And yet one art survived against the odds - the art of medieval embroidery.

Portable and easily squirrelled away, English embroidery was spirited out of the country in the 16th century and many brilliant examples survive today - if slightly unappreciated and forgotten in Italian churches and museums, even the Vatican. And yet it is an art form that rivalled the very finest in medieval painting or stained glass and for 200 years was the finest embroidery in the western world. Known simply as Opus Anglicanum (English work), the work of English embroiders was desired by kings and popes throughout Christendom.

Dan Jones, Plantagenet expert and medievalist, goes in search of these fragile yet stunning survivors from the great age of embroidery - encountering a world of finery, bejewelled luxury and sacred beauty on an undreamt-of scale.


THU 01:00 Palace for the People (m000b8nn)
Documentary that showcases five of Soviet Europe’s most grandiose architectural enterprises. Created to embody the ‘collective good’, the buildings, made with courage and a bit of lunacy, were used to remind the people of the power and brighter future that awaited them.

Each building was designed to be either the tallest or the largest, or to have the biggest clock on earth or the most advanced technology of its time. Now that socialism is over, film-makers Missirkov and Bogdanov revisit five of communism’s most splendid palaces to reveal their hidden secrets through the eyes of the people who designed, built and worked in them. Featuring the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Moscow State University, the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade and the Palace of the Republic in Berlin.


THU 02:15 The Joy of Painting (m000k48n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 02:45 Tutankhamun in Colour (m000k48q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 19 JUNE 2020

FRI 19:00 Opera Italia (b00sjdmp)
Beginnings

Three-part series tracing the history of Italian opera presented by Antonio Pappano, world-renowned conductor and music director at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The series features sumptuous music, stunning Italian locations and some of the biggest names in opera as contributors.

In the first programme, Pappano takes a whistle-stop tour of the beginnings of opera, from Monteverdi to Rossini. He also looks at the works of two non-Italian composers, Handel and Mozart, both of whom were pivotal in the development of the art form. Along the way he enlists the help of some of the world's greatest singers - Juan Diego Florez, Joyce DiDonato, Danielle de Niese, Sarah Connolly and Pietro Spagnoli.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000k48t)
Bruno Brookes presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 26 October 1989 and featuring Chris Rea, Adeva and Living in a Box.


FRI 20:30 Kermode and Mayo’s Home Entertainment Service (m000jy3m)
Series 1

Episode 5

Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo help viewers navigate the wonderful, yet confusing, world of 21st-century home entertainment.

Alongside reviews of the latest films and series available to watch at home, we’ll also hear what the nation have been watching, and Simon and Mark will round up the best (and worst) of the rest of streaming culture across movies and premium television.


FRI 21:00 Top of the Pops (m000k48w)
Anthea Turner and Andy Crane present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 2 November 1989 and featuring Deborah Harry, Phil Collins and Martika.


FRI 21:30 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01glwkz)
Arthouse Glam - Get in the Swing

Performances from The Kinks, Roxy Music, Elton John, New York Dolls, Queen, Sparks, Rod Stewart and the rediscovered David Bowie performance of The Jean Genie from January 1973.

Welcome to gender-bending, boys getting in the swing and girls who would be boys and boys who would be girls in this mixed-up, shook-up 70s world.


FRI 22:00 Meat Loaf: In and out of Hell (b04xdrrb)
Since the release of the Bat Out of Hell album, Meat Loaf has possessed the kind of international status that few artists obtain. His larger-than-life persona and performances are fuelled by a passion for theatre and storytelling. This candid profile reveals the man and his music through his own testimony and from the accounts of those closest to him.

Meat Loaf's life story is one of epic proportions - he survived a childhood of domestic violence only to face years of record company rejection before eventually finding global fame. Along the way he experienced bankruptcy, health scares, bust-ups and one of the greatest comebacks of all time. All this and more is explored in the film, which features behind-the-scenes footage of his Las Vegas residency, plus plans for a new album featuring songs by Jim Steinman.

The film also revisits the Dallas of Meat Loaf's early years and includes insights from his high school friends, who reveal how Meat really got his famous moniker.

After his mother died, Meat Loaf fled Texas for the bright lights of LA. He sang in itinerant rock bands, but no-one would give him a recording contract. By 1969 he was broke and disillusioned. His break would take the form of a musical. He was offered a part in Hair, having been invited to audition whilst working as a parking attendant outside the theatre. Shortly afterwards he met Jim Steinman and the road to success really began. Yet the Hair gig was the beginning of an enduring love affair with theatre that is reflected in his singing persona today.

His first album, the now legendary Bat Out of Hell, was initially rejected by scores of record companies, yet went on to spend a staggering 485 weeks in the UK charts. The whole album is a masterwork of storytelling that Meat Loaf and Steinman worked on for four years and then battled to get heard. Meat Loaf and those who worked on the album - from Todd Rundgren to Ellen Foley - reflect on the songs, and celebrate the alchemy that resulted in such a blistering back catalogue.

When Bat Out Of Hell II was finally released 15 years after the first album, it defied industry expectations, with I'd Do Anything for Love reaching number one in 28 countries. It is considered one of the greatest comebacks in music history. More albums and hits were to follow across the '90s and '00s, alongside a varied and successful acting career. Mark Kermode examines some of the roles Meat Loaf made his own, in films as diverse as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Fight Club.

Having traversed the peaks and troughs of a career spanning the best part of 50 years, this consummate performer finally reveals what spurs him on, in this, the inside story of a bat out of hell who continues to blaze a trail into the hearts and minds of millions.


FRI 23:00 Fathers and Songs: Music for Father's Day (b02yhsb6)
Fatherhood has proved a great subject for a variety of artists - some celebratory, some conflicted, but all inspired by what dad does and doesn't do. Here's a mixture of songs that celebrate and probe the emotional complexities generated by the sometime head of the household. Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Cat Stevens, Emmylou Harris, Paul Simon, Madonna, Peter Gabriel, Mike and the Mechanics, Suggs and the Blockheads, Neil Young, James Brown, Pigbag and even Ozzy Osbourne and his daughter Kelly put in an appearance, making a cracking compilation for Father's Day.


FRI 23:55 When Pop Went Epic: The Crazy World of the Concept Album (b079s0n0)
It's possibly one of the most denigrated inventions in the history of music, the greatest signifier of rock star pomposity. Indeed, in some quarters, the very mention of it is likely to provoke sniggering derision, conjuring up images of quadruple-gatefold album sleeves, songs that go on for weeks and straggly-haired rockers prattling on about mystical lands, unicorns, goblins and dystopian futures. But - back when people actually took the time to sit down and listen to records from beginning to end - for many, nothing delivered a more rewarding experience than the concept album. And for some, it's still a format that provides rock music with its high watermark moments.

This documentary explores the history of a musical format - usually based around a structured narrative, though sometimes tied together by a loose theme - that developed to become the equivalent of rock 'n' roll theatre, often on an operatic scale. The legendary cape-wearing keyboardmeister Rick Wakeman - himself the creator of several of history's most, ahem, 'elaborate' long players - presents this insightful and playful exploration of the greatest examples of the art form.

From social commentary to collected songs of loneliness, heartache and introspection, from tales of intergalactic rock stars to anthems of isolated youth, the film takes us on a journey - examining the roots of the concept album in its various forms, unpacking some of the most ambitious - and ridiculous - projects of the past fifty years, from Woody Guthrie's Dustbowl Ballads to Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes; the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds to George Clinton's Mothership Connection; The Wall by Pink Floyd to The Flaming Lips' Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

Some of the mavericks who made the maddest and most memorable big ideas happen are here to provide their own perspectives, including Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull); Laura Marling; George Clinton; Wayne Coyne (Flaming Lips); J Willgoose Esq (Public Service Broadcasting); Fish (Marillion); Tony Asher (co-writer of lyrics on Pet Sounds); graphic artists such as Roger Dean (designer of Yes album sleeves) and Aubrey Powell of design partnership Hipgnosis (Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon and Animals, and Genesis's The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway).


FRI 00:55 Singer-Songwriters at the BBC (b016300t)
Series 2

Episode 4

The celebration of the singing songwriting troubadours of the 1960s and 70s concludes with a further trawl through the BBC archives for timeless and classic performances.

Starting things off, a 23-year-old Bob Dylan performing on the BBC's Tonight programme in 1964. On It's Lulu from 1971, 'Bisto Kid' lookalike singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, while from a concert in 1970 buddies Graham Nash and David Crosby perform Nash's Marrakesh Express. Londoner Labi Siffre makes an appearance from the archives, as does fellow English songwriter Michael Chapman.

From the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1976, Gil Scott-Heron performs alongside his band and life-long collaborator Brian Jackson, and the musician's musician Roy Harper performs One of Those Days in England with a full band on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Grammy award winner Janis Ian performs Tea and Sympathy and, to round things off, a rare sighting of Kate Bush performing on The Leo Sayer Show in 1978.


FRI 01:55 Country Music by Ken Burns (m000bypt)
Series 1

Will the Circle Be Unbroken (1968-1972)

As the Vietnam War intensified, America became more and more divided and country music was not immune. Kris Kristofferson, a former Rhodes scholar and army captain, reinvented himself as a writer whose lyricism set a new standard for country songs. And a hippie band from California, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, arrived in Nashville to create a landmark album that bridged the gap between generations.

In 1969, Johnny Cash made a triumphant return to the Ryman Auditorium, a venue that had kicked him out years earlier for breaking the footlights. To celebrate, he brought an eclectic range of guests with him from folk, pop, and jazz as well as country music.

Also profiled, the tormented early lives but uplifting careers of George Jones and Tammy Wynette, later known as 'Mr and Mrs Country Music'.


FRI 02:50 Meat Loaf: In and out of Hell (b04xdrrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]




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

A Very British Renaissance 01:35 SUN (b03zmmk5)

Ancient Invisible Cities 22:00 THU (b0bjj97g)

Art of Persia 21:00 MON (m000k48g)

Art of Persia 02:50 TUE (m000k48g)

Art of Persia 23:00 WED (m000k48g)

Black and British: A Forgotten History 20:00 MON (b082w9p9)

Black and British: A Forgotten History 00:40 MON (b083bv43)

Black and British: A Forgotten History 01:40 MON (b083rb2v)

Black and British: A Forgotten History 02:40 MON (b084ndpt)

Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain with Simon Sebag Montefiore 22:00 WED (b06s5x0t)

British Masters 00:35 SUN (b012rf9g)

Chasing the Moon 22:00 TUE (m0006vrn)

Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Monumental Art 23:50 TUE (b0bjj23v)

Coast 20:55 MON (b0844rk2)

Country Music by Ken Burns 01:55 FRI (m000bypt)

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare 21:30 SUN (p089zg9d)

Earth's Natural Wonders 20:00 SAT (b065hhsp)

Earth's Natural Wonders 02:15 SAT (b065hhsp)

Fabric of Britain 00:00 THU (b03c2766)

Fathers and Songs: Music for Father's Day 23:00 FRI (b02yhsb6)

Guys and Dolls 22:50 SAT (b0078gmw)

Handmade in Mexico 19:00 MON (b09hqmcf)

Handmade in Mexico 19:00 TUE (b09j2vvr)

Handmade in Mexico 02:20 TUE (b09j2vvr)

Handmade in Mexico 19:00 WED (b09jj0k2)

Handmade in Mexico 02:20 WED (b09jj0k2)

Hidden Killers 20:00 TUE (b03l7nl8)

Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart 20:00 SUN (p03q49b2)

Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart 02:35 SUN (p03q49b2)

Kermode and Mayo’s Home Entertainment Service 20:30 FRI (m000jy3m)

Knights of Classic Drama at the BBC 23:35 SUN (b06nsxyn)

Looking for Rembrandt 00:50 TUE (m0004dds)

Meat Loaf: In and out of Hell 22:00 FRI (b04xdrrb)

Meat Loaf: In and out of Hell 02:50 FRI (b04xdrrb)

Natural World 19:00 SUN (b0388q39)

Opera Italia 19:00 FRI (b00sjdmp)

Palace for the People 01:00 THU (m000b8nn)

Pride and Prejudice 01:00 WED (b0074rnx)

SAS: Rogue Warriors 21:00 WED (b08g89l7)

Seven Ages of Britain 23:40 MON (b00qxyv0)

Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity 20:00 WED (p00kjqcv)

Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity 02:50 WED (p00kjqcv)

Singer-Songwriters at the BBC 00:55 FRI (b016300t)

Sounds of the 70s 2 21:30 FRI (b01glwkz)

Storyville 22:00 MON (m000k492)

Storyville 22:50 MON (m000k499)

Tess of the D'Urbervilles 20:00 THU (b00dlpcj)

The High Art of the Low Countries 00:00 WED (b01rxpy1)

The Joy of Painting 19:30 MON (m000k490)

The Joy of Painting 19:30 TUE (m000k49r)

The Joy of Painting 01:50 TUE (m000k49r)

The Joy of Painting 19:30 WED (m000k48d)

The Joy of Painting 01:55 WED (m000k48d)

The Joy of Painting 19:30 THU (m000k48n)

The Joy of Painting 02:15 THU (m000k48n)

The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun 23:00 THU (b08h99sb)

The Sky at Night 21:00 SUN (m000k48l)

The Sky at Night 19:00 THU (m000k48l)

The Young Montalbano 21:00 SAT (b03b8pz3)

This Farming Life 19:00 SAT (b073h666)

This Farming Life 01:15 SAT (b073h666)

Timeshift 21:00 TUE (b080dvyc)

Timeshift 22:50 TUE (b00p8lhp)

Top of the Pops 20:00 FRI (m000k48t)

Top of the Pops 21:00 FRI (m000k48w)

Tutankhamun in Colour 21:00 THU (m000k48q)

Tutankhamun in Colour 02:45 THU (m000k48q)

When Pop Went Epic: The Crazy World of the Concept Album 23:55 FRI (b079s0n0)