SATURDAY 10 MAY 2025

SAT 19:00 Wild (b0078zg5)
2005-06 Shorts

Water Voles

Documentary presenting an intimate portrait of one of Britain's most charming wild animals, following a family of water voles living on a canal in Derbyshire though a typical year.

The picturesque Cromford canal used to serve the region's cotton mills. Now, having been deserted, it serves as a perfect water vole paradise. For these hyperactive little mammals, a year is nearly a lifetime. They spend their lives in a frenzy of activity, swimming, feeding and breeding - the latter most necessary, since water voles are becoming a rarity these days.


SAT 19:10 All Creatures Great and Small (m002c5fd)
Series 4

The Bull with the Bowler Hat

While James is concerned about possible professional incompetence, Tristan tries to convince Mr Hartley of the virtues of artificial insemination - helped by Siegfried, who only succeeds in enraging the bull!


SAT 20:05 All Creatures Great and Small (m002c5fg)
Series 4

The Pig Man Cometh

Smallholder Lionel Brough has a motley collection of stock, but when an inheritance allows him to go in for pig keeping in a big way, James diagnoses a case of swine fever.


SAT 21:00 Families Like Ours (m002brfm)
Series 1

The Angel's Watch

The nation gathers for a church service to mark the official dismantling of the state of Denmark. Peter takes a group of angry workers who want their pay to Henrik’s estate, where Nikolaj and Henrik fight back, with grave consequences.

In Danish with English subtitles


SAT 21:50 Families Like Ours (m002brgg)
Series 1

Farewell, Denmark

It is the day of Fanny’s departure. This is goodbye. Laura tries to put on a brave face but is crushed and embarks on a dangerous journey. Danilo comes by the estate, looking for his missing, newlywed son. Nikolaj and Henrik are overwhelmed by the dawning realisation of the consequences of their actions.

In Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:40 Parkinson (m00204x1)
Barbara Woodhouse, Diana Rigg and Dirk Bogarde

Michael Parkinson is joined by Barbara Woodhouse, Diana Rigg and Dirk Bogarde.


SAT 23:45 This Cultural Life (m002bx12)
Abi Morgan

Screenwriter and playwright Abi Morgan has worked across a diverse array of themes and genres for more than 25 years. She wrote the television series The Split, a domestic drama involving divorce lawyers, and created the psychological Netflix series Eric. Her other television credits include Sex Traffic, for which she won a BAFTA for Best Drama Serial in 2005, and The Hour, the television news drama which earned her an Emmy Award in 2012. Her film credits include The Iron Lady, which starred Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher; historical drama Suffragette; and Shame, co-written with the director Steve McQueen. Her recent book This Is Not a Pity Memoir recounts her husband’s recovery after serious illness, and her own treatment for cancer.

Abi Morgan tells John Wilson about her childhood in a theatrical family; her father was the director Gareth Morgan, and her mother is the actor Pat England. She chooses the author, screenwriter and director Nora Ephron as an important influence, and particularly the film Heartburn, which Ephron adapted from her semi-autobiographical divorce novel. Abi also recalls the work of television screenwriter Kay Mellor, whose series Band of Gold and Playing the Field also influenced her own writing. She describes how seeing an exhibition of the work of artist Cornelia Parker, including her installation Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View, inspired some of Abi’s early theatre work, including her plays Splendour and The Mistress Contract.


SAT 00:15 The Good Life (b00784vj)
Series 1

Pig's Lib

The Goods' garden is now well under way and Tom is managing to barter reasonably successfully. Margo is horrified when she hears of Tom and Barbara's decision to keep pigs in the garden and enlists the help of the local residents' association in an effort to scupper the plan.


SAT 00:40 Yes Minister (b007830r)
Series 1

Open Government

First episode of the acclaimed sitcom about an apparently clueless British government minister and the advisers who surround him.

When Jim Hacker's party wins the general election, he is summoned to the prime minister's office to discover that he is to be the new minister for administrative affairs.


SAT 01:10 All Creatures Great and Small (m002c5fd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:10 today]


SAT 02:05 All Creatures Great and Small (m002c5fg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:05 today]


SAT 03:00 Africa Turns the Page: The Novels That Shaped a Continent (m000mf8x)
Africa has become a superpower in the world of the novel. Shortlists for the world’s major literary prizes are packed with African authors, while novelists like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie have become international celebrities. But how did Africa become such a hotbed of literary talent? In this fascinating and insightful film, Nigerian-born presenter and historian David Olusoga explores the incredible story of the African novel.

From the 1950s, as African nations fought for independence, writers such as Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Wole Soyinka became the conscience of a continent – often paying a personal price for speaking out against both colonialism and corruption. In their wake, the African novel was to spread around the world - writers of the African diaspora such as Buchi Emecheta and Ben Okri created masterpieces from their adopted home of the United Kingdom. These novelists wrote books that are funny, witty and often tragic. They achieved something that stretched beyond the world of literature – transforming the image of Africa itself.

The programme features interviews with some of the most pre-eminent novelists working today. We hear from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Aminatta Forna and 2019 Booker winner Bernardine Evaristo. The documentary features extraordinary archive of the key novelists and insightful contributions from leading figures whose lives were touched by their writing, including dramatist Kwame Kwei-Armah and MPs Diane Abbott and Kwasi Kwarteng.

SUNDAY 11 MAY 2025

SUN 19:00 Showstoppers (m002c5fs)
Episode 3

Gary Wilmot hosts as Sarah Lancashire, Elaine Paige, Courtney Pine and Nigel Planer appear in a special programme featuring songs from West End and Broadway shows. With the BBC Concert Orchestra under the direction of Michael Reed.


SUN 19:50 Elaine Paige: 60 Years on Stage (m002c5fv)
A celebration of Elaine Paige's 60-year career in show business.


SUN 20:50 Remembers... (m002c5fx)
Elaine Paige Remembers... A Night on the Town

Elaine Paige looks back on A Night on the Town – a musical extravaganza from the early 1980s, filmed with a mostly American cast of singers and dancers, such as Ann Reinking, Hinton Battle, Frank Gorshin and the wonderful Eartha Kitt.

Elaine recalls being drawn to the production, as it featured so many songs from writers she most admires – Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Noel Coward. She had to play several parts, as each musical number had its own vignette, which allowed her to play a very loud and broad hat check girl from the 1930s, a dame from the Deep South and a Russian countess – much to the delight of fellow actor Lewis Collins, with whom she had great fun on set.


SUN 21:05 A Night on the Town (m002c5fz)
Musical spectacular, first broadcast in 1983, showcasing the work of Irving Berlin, Noel Coward, George Gershwin and Cole Porter. Ann Reinking and Lewis Collins sing and dance their way through the bright lights of Berlin, London, New York, New Orleans and Paris, meeting Elaine Paige, Eartha Kitt and Frank Gorshin along the way.

Alexander Faris conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra.


SUN 22:50 Elaine Paige at the BBC (m00143hv)
Elaine Paige OBE is Britain’s biggest and most enduring star of musical theatre, enjoying success for over four decades in the West End, on Broadway, and on TV, radio and the pop charts. This selection of some of her best-loved songs and finest performances at the BBC features huge hits like Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, Memory and I Know Him So Well. There are also rarely seen archive gems from the earliest days of Elaine’s career, as well as her own unique interpretations of musical masterpieces from shows like Chess and Anything Goes, which all underline why she has stayed at the very top for as long as she has.


SUN 23:50 Elaine Paige: I'm Still Here (m00143hx)
Award-winning actress, singer, producer and broadcaster Elaine Paige has made a unique and major contribution to the development and production of the stage musical.

She has starred in more smash hit West End and Broadway musicals than anyone else of her generation: Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Billy, Evita, Cats, Chess, Anything Goes, Piaf, Sunset Boulevard, The King & I, Sweeney Todd, The Drowsy Chaperone and Follies. She has defined these musicals, set standards, and in 1995 was awarded an OBE for services to musical theatre.

Elaine Paige: I’m Still Here is a special concert that was filmed at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, and features ‘The First Lady of British Musical Theatre’, with the 60-piece BBC Concert Orchestra.

Full of great musical moments, Elaine performs musical numbers from some of the highlights of her extraordinary career, which saw her originating the roles of Eva Perón in Evita, Grizabella in Cats and Florence in Chess. The songs featured include Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, As If We Never said Goodbye, I Know Him So Well, Memory, a specially written version of I’m Still Here by Stephen Sondheim, plus many more musical theatre favourites and a few surprises.


SUN 00:50 Showstoppers (m002c5fs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SUN 01:40 Elaine Paige: 60 Years on Stage (m002c5fv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:50 today]


SUN 02:40 Elaine Paige at the BBC (m00143hv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:50 today]

MONDAY 12 MAY 2025

MON 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vlh5)
Series 12

Oxford to Abingdon

Michael Portillo strikes out on another series of railway journeys, this time through Britain between the world wars, armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide.

He begins with a tour of the Home Counties and beyond, starting in the city of dreaming spires, Oxford, where in 1921 women were awarded degrees for the first time. At Somerville College, Michael finds out about a pioneering crystallographer, Dorothy Hodgkin, the only British woman to win a Nobel prize for chemistry.

Soaking up the glorious sights of the city, Michael is tempted by a fashion trend that reached its height during the interwar period: Oxford bags. At Walters & Co, founded in 1925, he finds just the ticket.

At Garsington Manor, on the outskirts of the city, Michael discovers the risqué activities of a social set centred on the house's owner, Lady Ottoline Morrell, and famous artists and writers of the Bloomsbury Group. Tales of bohemian behaviour, nude frolicking and revelry in the beautiful manorial gardens turned heads as Britain buckled down in the face of impending war with Germany.

Next stop is Culham, en route for Abingdon, where from 1929 the iconic British sports car, the MG, was built. Michael hears about the origins of one of the nation’s best-loved marques and joins the proud owner of a 1938 MG VA for a spin.


MON 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b0074tkq)
Series 1

Scafell Pike

Julia Bradbury faces the ultimate Wainwright challenge of Scafell Pike. England's highest peak marks the climax of Julia's journey to explore the work, passion and the legacy of Alfred Wainwright, a man who has inspired millions with his illustrated guides to the Lake District. Before tackling the 3,000ft ascent, Julia seeks advice from celebrated fell runner and local sheep farmer, Jos Naylor. Then it's just a case of getting herself and her film crew to the roof of England before darkness falls.


MON 20:00 The Culture Show (b00ttbnb)
The Art of World War II: A Culture Show Special

To mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, the Culture Show presents a special on the art of World War II. Despite being locked into a life-or-death struggle, wartime Britain saw an extraordinary explosion of art. From portraits to posters, cartoons to huge canvases, art was suddenly everywhere. Among the works were some of the most intense and immediate creations of the 20th century.

Presenter Alastair Sooke explores the often overlooked history of Britain's wartime renaissance. He meets the Blitz survivors, factory workers and Land Girls who became the subject of iconic paintings and talks to contemporary war artists about the challenges of creating art in conflict zones. Travelling from the shipyards of the Clyde to the concentration camps of northern Germany Alastair discovers how art bore witness, rising above propaganda to create an enduring, deeply humane record of the 'People's War' and laying the groundwork for our own understanding of what art should be and do.


MON 21:00 A Timewatch Guide (b071gx2c)
Series 2

World War II

Professor Saul David uses the BBC archive to chart the history of the world's most destructive war, by chronicling how the story of the battle has changed. As new information has come to light, and forgotten stories are remembered, the history of World War II evolves. The BBC has followed that evolution, and this programme examines the most important stories, and how our understanding of them has been redefined since the war ended.


MON 22:00 The Sky at Night (m002c5dz)
Secrets of the Red Planet

Could life have once thrived on Mars? What mysterious force is moving large boulders across its dusty surface today? And will a return trip to our neighbouring planet ever be possible? In this exciting episode, we're blasting off to uncover what the latest research is revealing about the Red Planet.

It's been 60 years since Mariner 4 sent back the very first images of another world from space. Since then, a fleet of orbiters and rovers have been exploring Mars, uncovering a dramatic history that may not be so different from our own planet Earth.

In the water-rich landscapes of Scotland, Maggie Aderin-Pocock meets Lonneke Roelofs from Utrecht University, who’s been investigating the puzzling movement of enormous Martian boulders. On Earth, such motion would usually be connected with water - but on Mars, something entirely unexpected is at play. And in studying it, scientists have discovered a brand new geological phenomenon.

Maggie also visits the University of St Andrews to meet Dr Claire Cousins, who is looking at ancient Scottish rocks to help future Mars rovers identify and analyse similar formations - ones that might contain microscopic evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet.

While Maggie has journeyed north, Chris Lintott is on a virtual field trip to Mars itself with Professor Sanjeev Gupta at the Data Observatory at Imperial College London. Dr Gupta takes us on a tour with NASA’s Perseverance rover, and the incredible insights the modern rovers are providing about Mars’s history and surface today.

Meanwhile, guest presenter Dr Mekhi Dhesi talks with Dr James Lambert from Pulsar Fusion about the current propulsion options used for space travel. They discuss a possible alternative approach that could reduce travel times and costs, making a mission to Mars, and back again, one step closer. Return missions to Mars could deliver samples from the Martian surface back to Earth laboratories for in-depth analysis and maybe even permit human travel to Mars one day.

Pete Lawrence is at the Milton Keynes Astronomical Society to talk us through Mars observations and what other cosmic wonders to look out for in the lighter summer night skies.

Take a trip with us to discover the secrets of the Red Planet and how we are getting closer and closer to discovering evidence of life on Mars.


MON 22:30 Remembers... (m002c5f1)
Andrew Roberts Remembers... AJP Taylor's The War Lords

AJP Taylor was rightly renowned as one of Britain’s finest historians, combining his academic work at Oxford with a successful career as author and broadcaster. Taylor established a reputation as one of the first television historians, noted for his ‘lecture’ style, programmes he made with no notes, covering subjects such as the Russian Revolution, the First World War and warlords.

Historian Andrew Roberts looks back on Taylor's 1976 series The War Lords, in which he examines the lives and motives of the key leaders in the Second World War. Find out why Mussolini’s rise to power came despite an obvious laziness; why Churchill believed the Battle of Britain was as much a key moment in history as the Battle of Trafalgar; and that coincidentally, Mussolini, Churchill and Stalin were all published authors - Stalin’s book being particularly boring!


MON 22:45 The War Lords (p00hvrjt)
Mussolini

AJP Taylor describes the careers of the 'war lords' who dominated the Second World War. This episode looks at Mussolini.


MON 23:15 The War Lords (p009lcrs)
Hitler

The renowned and respected historian AJP Taylor analyses the career of Adolf Hitler - from the birth of his political career to his suicide in 1945 - in this series about the war lords of World War II.


MON 23:45 Making Their Mark: Six Artists on Drawing (p02t7k03)
Maggi Hambling

A good drawing consists of the right mark in the right place according to Maggi Hambling, who compares her regular life-drawing sessions to a musician practising scales. She sees the validity of art as dependent on the ability of the artist to be moved by a subject and to respond to it as directly as possible. 'Drawing from life', she says, 'is the most direct thing an artist does'. (1990)


MON 00:15 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vlh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 00:45 Wainwright Walks (b0074tkq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 01:15 The Culture Show (b00ttbnb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


MON 02:15 A Timewatch Guide (b071gx2c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

TUESDAY 13 MAY 2025

TUE 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vljb)
Series 12

Stoke Mandeville to Beaconsfield

Michael Portillo continues his travels through England's Home Counties at Stoke Mandeville in Buckinghamshire, where he discovers the legacy of a German Jewish doctor who fled the Nazis to settle in Britain. Dr Ludwig Guttman’s pioneering treatment for spinal injuries sustained on the battlefields of World War II eventually led to what we know today as the Paralympics. European wheelchair basketball silver medallist Ella Beaumont invites Michael to train with her in a wheelchair.

Michael heads through the Chiltern Hills to Princes Risborough, where an infamous motor sports event took place until it was banned in 1925. Michael joins local petrolheads who have recently revived the Kop Hill climb, now with 21st-century health and safety. Michael braves the ascent in a side car.

In one of the most densely wooded areas of England, Michael discovers a beautiful factory that has produced design classics since its foundation in 1920. The grandson of the company’s Italian founder tells Michael about the origins and success of the Ercol brand, and Michael finds out how the furniture is crafted today.

Beaconsfield beckons to Michael’s delight, as he revisits his much-loved childhood haunt, Bekonscot Model Village. With this miniature world frozen in time in the 1930s, he could wish for no better guide than his 1936 Bradshaw’s.


TUE 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b007vlhx)
Series 2

Helvellyn

Julia Bradbury presents a series of classic walks and climbs in the Lake District. Armed with Wainwright's famous Pictorial Guides, Julia is setting out on some of the biggest and most popular fell walks in the country. Through sunshine and rain, Julia explores the stunning landscape that inspired the late Alfred Wainwright to produce his beautifully crafted guide books.

Nobody can call themselves a true fell walker until England's most popular mountain has been conquered. Julia Bradbury sets off to reach the summit of Helvellyn via the Lake District's most talked-about ridge - Striding Edge. And just like legendary fell walker Alfred Wainwright, Julia discovers herself reaching the Edge for the very first time, just as the cloud and the rain descend.


TUE 20:00 The Good Life (p00bz9ww)
Series 1

The Thing in the Cellar

Sitcom. To practise self-sufficiency successfully, every resource must be utilised - even animal dung - so Tom decides to build a generator.


TUE 20:30 Yes Minister (b007831f)
Series 1

The Official Visit

Sitcom about a British government minister and the advisers who surround him. When Hacker recognises a visiting head of an African nation as someone he knew from his student days, he does his best to offload some British-made oil rigging gear on him.


TUE 21:00 Remembers... (m002c5fj)
Simon Schama Remembers... The Power of Art

Sir Simon Schama looks back on his 2006 series The Power of Art, which examined the works of eight artists and explored the question 'How powerful is art, can it change your life?'.

It was a forensic study not of an artist’s life but of a moment in that life. A piece of work that was an unexpected triumph or a catastrophe. A look at the world in which that work was created and going back in time to explore what lead the artist to that moment.

We find out why the series settled on a ‘no men with beards’ policy, every part played by established actors, including Andy Serkis and Allan Corduner. We see Simon’s joy in remembering his young self, discovering the power of Mark Rothko. We hear about the freedom they had to film some of the world’s finest artworks, given free rein in the Palazzo Borghese for Bernini for example. As Simon Schama explains, 'art has dreadful manners, it’s there to make us see the world in a different way.'


TUE 21:20 Simon Schama's Power of Art (b00793hc)
Caravaggio

Simon Schama recounts the story of eight moments of high drama in the making of eight masterpieces. How Caravaggio changed the way artists portrayed religious icons.


TUE 22:20 Storyville (b06nxdtr)
Lockerbie: My Brother's Bomber

For some 25 years, Ken Dornstein has been haunted by the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland - a terrorist act that killed 270 people, including his older brother David. Only one person was ever convicted of the plot - who else was involved remains an open case.

In this emotional and suspenseful documentary, Dornstein sets out to find the men responsible for one of the worst attacks on Americans before 9/11. From the ruins and chaos of post-Gaddafi Libya, Dornstein hunts for clues to the identities and whereabouts of the suspects, who he tracks for almost five years across the Middle East and Europe. He encounters new witnesses and unearths fresh evidence that brings him closer to the truth about what really happened.

This is a rare, real-life spy thriller, but also a meditation on loss, love, revenge and the nature of obsession.


TUE 23:50 Living with Lockerbie (p01lhxhk)
On 21st December 1988, a bomb exploded on board Pan Am Flight 103 above Lockerbie. Two hundred and seventy people on the plane and on the ground were killed.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the deadliest act of terrorism in British history, Glenn Campbell explores the profound impact this enduring tragedy has had on some victims' relatives on both sides of the Atlantic, and on witnesses, emergency responders and investigators.


TUE 00:50 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vljb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 01:20 Wainwright Walks (b007vlhx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 01:50 Making Their Mark: Six Artists on Drawing (p02t7k03)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]


TUE 02:20 Simon Schama's Power of Art (b00793hc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:20 today]

WEDNESDAY 14 MAY 2025

WED 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vlmh)
Series 12

West Ruislip to Windsor

Michael Portillo heads for leafy Hatch End, where he investigates an illustrator whose work was so popular in the 1920s and 30s that his name entered the English dictionary. William Heath Robinson’s great-nephew talks Michael through some of the mad contraptions the artist used to satirise technology.

Michael’s next stop is Slough, where after World War I, three businessmen established a world first: an out-of-town trading estate with rail connections, power, water and premises. Today, 350 businesses operate from there, and its success has been replicated across the world. Michael meets one long-standing customer, Mars, who have been manufacturing their chocolate bars in Slough since 1932.

Close by, in Stoke Poges, Michael visits a very different 1930s landmark, a unique and beautiful memorial garden comprising woodlands, rockeries and fountains. The Head Gardener enlists Michael’s help to plant a yew tree.

From Slough, Michael makes tracks along the short branch line, which serves two towns, Windsor and Eton Central. At Windsor, Michael surveys the great walls of the castle, chief residence of the British monarch and the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. He looks back at the tumultuous events within those walls, when in 1936, King Edward VIII renounced the throne to marry an American divorcee.


WED 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b007vyqb)
Series 2

Catbells

Series in which Julia Bradbury explores the work of the great British fell walker and author, Alfred Wainwright. The beautiful outline of Catbells is familiar to all who visit Derwent Water and the Lakeland town of Keswick.

By boat and by foot, Julia sets out to discover the secrets of a classic fell climb for all the family. The famous views are rich in history; where visitors walk today, miners once trod, when Catbells produced minerals more valuable than gold.


WED 20:00 Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth (p02wnhfh)
Mountains of the Deep

In the vast South Atlantic, huge pods of dolphins, massive penguin colonies and the largest gathering of marine mammals on earth pack chains of extraordinary islands, created by powerful volcanic forces far below them. Nutrient-rich upwellings create profusions of life in some areas, whilst extreme isolation and abyssal depths host a world of bizarre creatures in others.


WED 21:00 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03l7kj8)
A World Turned Upside Down

Shipwrecks are the nightmare we have forgotten - the price Britain paid for ruling the waves from an island surrounded by treacherous rocks. The result is a coastline that is home to the world's highest concentration of sunken ships. But shipwrecks also changed the course of British history, helped shape our national character and drove innovations in seafaring technology, as well as gripping our imagination.

Mutiny, murder and mayhem on the high seas as Sam Willis takes the story of shipwrecks into the Georgian age when Britain first began to rule the waves. But with maritime trade driving the whole enterprise, disasters at sea imperilled all this. As key colonies were established and new territories conquered, the great sailing ships became symbols of the power of the Georgian state - and the shipwreck was to be its Achilles' heel. By literally turning this world upside down, mutinous sailors, rebellious slaves and murderous wreckers threatened to undermine Britain's ambitions and jeopardise its imperial venture.


WED 22:00 Remembers... (m001fpw6)
Alison Steadman Remembers... The Singing Detective

Alison Steadman looks back at Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective, hailed as one of the most important and influential TV dramas ever made, and once described by Stephen King as ‘television’s Citizen Kane’.

From memories of happy times working with leading man Michael Gambon, and the pride of being involved in a piece that got the whole nation talking, to the stresses of being caught up in the controversy surrounding her character’s notorious outdoor sex scene, Alison brings her unique perspective to a series she ranks amongst her favourites.


WED 22:10 The Singing Detective (b0074qxt)
Skin

Dennis Potter's classic drama serial with music. Pulp thriller writer Philip Marlow is in hospital with the skin complaint psoriasis, tormented by his past and threatened by his future. His memories, his 1930s-style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.


WED 23:20 The Singing Detective (b0074qxv)
Heat

Marlow faces his personal misery of the talking cure with the psychologist who wants to help him with his psychosomatic psoriasis and has actually read Marlow's novel. Nicola, an ambitious and demanding actress, appears in Marlow's hospital ward just as he is thinking about her. Marlow is suspicious of his former wife, and his wretched state exposes his vulnerability. Only the fact that his imagination is running riot keeps him occupied.


WED 00:30 The Singing Detective (b0074qy3)
Lovely Days

While in hospital with psoriasis, Marlow thinks back to the war when he was a little boy, and remembers seeing his mother having illicit sex in the Forest of Dean. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.


WED 01:35 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vlmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 02:05 Wainwright Walks (b007vyqb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 02:35 Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth (p02wnhfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

THURSDAY 15 MAY 2025

THU 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vlpk)
Series 12

Guildford to Aldershot

Michael Portillo resumes his tour of the Home Counties in the picturesque and historic county town of Guildford. His 1936 Bradshaw’s guide commends its 'fine old castle keep' and guildhall but makes no mention of its hilltop cathedral. Michael meets head guide Janet Matthews to discover the origins of the first Anglican cathedral to be built on a new site in the south of England since the Reformation – begun in 1936. He finds splendid architecture and modern materials have combined to produce a gloriously open building full of space and light. Michael climbs its 160 foot tower for a panoramic view of Surrey.

Michael’s next stop is Chilworth, from which he follows his guide to Newlands Corner on the slopes of the North Downs. At this popular beauty spot, the famous crime writer Agatha Christie disappeared, sparking a massive search and a tabloid frenzy. A Christie biographer pieces the puzzle together for Michael.

Heading west across the county, Michael reaches the Georgian market town of Farnham with its 12th-century castle, once home to the bishops of Winchester. Intrigued by his Bradshaw’s reference to a famous Farnham painter, WH Allen, Michael joins the artist’s great-great-niece in the castle’s splendid gardens to learn more about him. A kind Farnham artist encourages Michael to commit the castle to canvas in his own way.

After a luxurious night at the castle, Michael crosses into Hampshire to reach Aldershot. At the home of the British Army, he hears how in the years leading up to the World War II, the town began to receive conscripts for military training.


THU 19:30 Brooklyn (b06vyf02)
When Eilis is given an opportunity to emigrate to New York, she jumps at the chance for a better life, even if it means leaving her family and home. Desperately homesick at first, Eilis soon finds romance in Brooklyn, but when a family emergency forces her back to Ireland, she finds herself torn between her personal freedom and family responsibilities.


THU 21:10 imagine... (b04tm5gt)
Winter 2014

Colm Toibin: His Mother's Son

In this thoughtful, lyrical film, imagine talks to the acclaimed and curiously divided Irish writer Colm Toibin. Loud and affable in person, Toibin writes sombre stories of grief and quiet heartbreak, repeatedly returning to the dark narrative of his own childhood and the complicated relationships between mothers and sons.

With Fiona Shaw, Anne Enright and Nick Hornby.


THU 22:15 In the Heights (m00226r9)
A New York neighbourhood’s residents face challenges as shopkeeper Usnavi saves up for a dream, student Nina struggles under the weight of expectations, and designer Vanessa seeks inspiration, all in the midst of a heatwave.


THU 00:30 The Sky at Night (m002c5dz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Monday]


THU 01:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vlpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


THU 01:30 imagine... (b04tm5gt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:10 today]


THU 02:35 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03l7kj8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]

FRIDAY 16 MAY 2025

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m002c5fm)
Mark Lamarr presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 28 November 1997 and featuring Louise, Robert Miles feat. Kathy Sledge, Mary J Blige, Steven Houghton, Teletubbies, All Saints, Errol Brown and various artists performing the Children in Need charity single Perfect Day.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m002c5fq)
Jayne Middlemiss presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 5 May 1997 and featuring M-People, Kylie Minogue, The Verve, Todd Terry, Paul Weller, Gala, Boyzone and various artists performing the Children in Need charity single Perfect Day.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000gg2n)
Anthea Turner and Mark Goodier present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 18 May 1989 and featuring Shakin' Stevens, Deacon Blue and Neneh Cherry.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (b092scmr)
Simon Bates and Peter Powell present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 17 May 1984. Includes appearances from Break Machine, Deniece Williams, Marillion, Hazell Dean, Womack & Womack, Ultravox, Duran Duran and Kenny Loggins.


FRI 21:00 Top of the Pops (b0b6v7pv)
Janice Long and Paul Jordan present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 21 November 1985 and featuring Madness, Wham, Dee C Lee, Lionel Richie, Doug E Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew, Feargal Sharkey and Midge Ure.


FRI 21:30 Top of the Pops (b09yng6q)
Steve Wright and Gary Davies present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 22 August 1985. Featuring The Cars, Baltimora, Kate Bush, Princess and Madonna.


FRI 22:00 Kate Bush at the BBC (b04f86xk)
Between 1978 and 1994, Kate Bush appeared on a variety of BBC programmes, including Saturday Night at the Mill, Ask Aspel, the Leo Sayer Show, Wogan and Top of the Pops. This compilation showcases her performances of hit songs such as Wuthering Heights, Babooshka, Running up That Hill and Hounds of Love, alongside other intriguing and lesser-known material in the BBC studios.


FRI 23:00 Radio 2 Live (m0008k88)
Hyde Park Headliners

Pet Shop Boys: Live in Hyde Park

Live coverage of Pet Shop Boys’ headline set at Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park. Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe are the most successful duo in UK music history. Having achieved 42 top 30 singles in the UK since 1985, there is no shortage of hits for them to choose from as they play their only UK gig of the year in front of more than 40,000 festivalgoers. Keep an eye out for a mystery guest artist.


FRI 00:10 The 80s - Music’s Greatest Decade? (m00110rn)
Series 1

With Dylan Jones

Eighties music is often dismissed as a joke - all drum machines and big hair. But - as acclaimed author Dylan Jones argues in this film – the 1980s should be looked on as the most creative, radical and innovative decade in pop.

This was the decade when the world-conquering genres of rap, hip-hop and modern dance music were launched, while guitar-driven indie flourished in a constellation of scenes spread out across the UK that sowed the seeds of Britpop. And a technological revolution was changing how music was made, filling the charts with a starburst of innovative records.

Meanwhile, the launch of MTV turned pop into a visual medium, allowing artists as varied as U2 and Eurythmics to take charge of how they presented themselves.

Featuring interviews with Nile Rodgers, Bananarama, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, Mark Ronson, Trevor Horn and Soul II Soul’s Jazzie B.


FRI 01:10 Young Guns Go for It (b0077pc6)
Series 1

Bananarama

In the aftermath of the punk era, three girls decided on a career in pop music - they called themselves Bananarama and became one of the most successful British girl groups ever. Original members Siobhan Fahey, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, plus Pete Waterman, Malcolm McLaren and Terry Hall reflect on how the girls became stars and how they almost lost their friendships in the process.


FRI 01:40 Top of the Pops (m002c5fm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


FRI 02:10 Top of the Pops (m002c5fq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 02:40 Top of the Pops (m000gg2n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


FRI 03:10 Top of the Pops (b092scmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]