SATURDAY 17 MAY 2025
SAT 19:00 Wild (b0078yps)
2005-06 Shorts
West Coast Otters
A charming portrait of two otters, a mother and daughter who are inseparable, living on the idyllic west coast of Scotland. With the young cub never more than a few feet from her mum, a very special relationship is intimately observed as the cub grows up, learning how to fish and fend for herself. As the cub faces the dangers of her first Scottish winter, Mum has to work hard to make sure that both survive.
SAT 19:10 All Creatures Great and Small (m002chjv)
Series 4
Hail Caesar!
The Herriots go in for highland dancing, and Siegfried catches fleas. The disappearance of a dead stag could be poaching, and Tricki Woo goes 'crackerdog'.
SAT 20:05 All Creatures Great and Small (m002chjx)
Series 4
Only One Woof
A sheepdog that cannot bark and a wild cat receive expert veterinary care, while attractive Mrs Derrick invites Tristan to lunch - to see her Toggenburg goat.
SAT 21:00 Families Like Ours (m002bsnj)
Series 1
Beyond All Boundaries
Most people have left Denmark. Jacob risks his entire family’s welfare in order to find Laura, who makes long-awaited contact with Elias.
In Danish with English subtitles
SAT 21:50 Families Like Ours (m002bsnl)
Series 1
A Time to Get and a Time to Lose
The situation is bleak for Elias as he tries to travel through Poland. Laura is reunited with Fanny but fears she will never see Elias again. Jacob and Amalie gamble their last money on travelling to an old friend for help.
In Danish with English subtitles
SAT 22:40 Families Like Ours (m002bsnn)
Series 1
I Make All Things New
Laura spends Christmas Eve alone, while her mother settles in to their new life in Bucharest. She misses her father, who now lives a precarious life on the outskirts of Nice. But most of all, she misses Elias, who she fears may be dead.
In Danish with English subtitles
SAT 23:35 The Many Faces of... (b018nvwc)
Series 1
Les Dawson
Les Dawson was one of Britain's all time great comedy talents, best known as a comedian but also a talented musician, writer and actor. This programme traces his career, with familiar favourite TV clips and some rare gems from the archives. Together with interviews from friends, relatives and colleagues, the programme unpicks the secrets of his enduring legacy nearly 20 years after his untimely death.
After 'discovery' on the Opportunity Knocks talent show in the 60s, he quickly became a regular face on TV, hosting comedy-led variety shows like Sez Les and The Les Dawson Show. His trademarks were short, pithy jokes, usually targeting his wife or mother in law, long verbose monologues and, perhaps most famously, piano recitals that went hilariously off key.
His reputation attracted guest appearances from some unexpected fans like John Cleese and Shirley Bassey, and he created an overweight dance troupe, The Roly Polys.
The programme shows how his career unfolded and illustrates the different facets of his comedy genius. John Cleese remembers their unlikely friendship, modern comedy stars Robert Webb and Russell Kane talk about his inspiration and Dawson's widow Tracy recalls their marriage and his joy at being a father late in life.
SAT 00:35 HARDtalk (n3csy4qg)
Colm Toibin
Stephen Sackur speaks to an Irish writer whose intense, lyrical novels have won him awards, acclaim and most importantly millions of readers around the world. Colm Toibin isn't so much a flamboyant storyteller, he's more an acute observer of character and the deepest human feelings. There are recurring themes in his work - loss, mourning, exile - which might suggest a dark, brooding presence, but how close is that to the real Colm Toibin?
SAT 01:00 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.
SAT 01:30 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.
SAT 02:00 All Creatures Great and Small (m002chjv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:10 today]
SAT 02:55 All Creatures Great and Small (m002chjx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:05 today]
SUNDAY 18 MAY 2025
SUN 19:00 Showstoppers (m002chlv)
Episode 4
Gary Wilmot hosts as guests David Essex, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Twiggy Lawson and Nigel Planer perform songs from musicals. With the BBC Concert Orchestra.
SUN 19:50 Showstoppers (m002chlx)
Episode 5
Gary Wilmot presents songs from musicals. He is joined by guests Robson and Jerome, Bob Monkhouse, Paul Nicholas and Kim Wilde. With the BBC Concert Orchestra.
SUN 20:40 Marti Webb: Tell Me on a Sunday (m001kk2q)
Filmed concert performance of the one-woman musical show written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black that stars Marti Webb as an English girl who travels to America in search of love.
SUN 21:25 Andrew Lloyd Webber at the BBC (m001kl8s)
To mark his 75th birthday, Andrew Lloyd Webber takes a nostalgic journey through the BBC archives, looking back on some of his biggest and best-loved songs.
Alongside performances from stars like Barbra Streisand, Elaine Paige, Diana Ross, Michael Ball and Michael Crawford are stories that Andrew shares from behind the scenes of his most popular works. He sheds light on how he knew Madonna would perform Evita years before she did, how the cast of Starlight Express ended up on roller skates, and how Jason Donovan and his Technicolour Dream Coat had a whole new generation falling in love with musical theatre.
SUN 22:55 imagine... (b09wwtxf)
Winter 2017/18
Andrew Lloyd Webber: Memories
Andrew Lloyd Webber has reigned over musical theatre for nearly five decades and delighted millions worldwide with hit shows like Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love and, most recently, School of Rock the Musical.
To mark his 70th year, Lloyd Webber has written an autobiography - Unmasked, a candid and confessional account of his early life and career up to the opening of Phantom. In this imagine special, Alan Yentob talks to Andrew about the book, his bohemian childhood and the memories he has chosen to reveal.
SUN 00:25 BBC Proms (m001bmmj)
2022
Cynthia Erivo: Legendary Voices at the Proms
Multi-award-winning star of stage and screen Cynthia Erivo takes the Proms by storm as she sings the great American songbook of the 1950s and 60s.
Backed by the BBC Concert Orchestra, she celebrates the legendary female voices that have shown her the way - artists such as Nina Simone, Shirley Bassey, Billie Holiday, Etta James, and Gladys Knight.
From showtunes to pop, from soul to French chanson, expect big iconic anthems of love, loss and transformation.
Andi Oliver presents from the Royal Albert Hall in London, and is joined by special guests Clarke Peters and Ayanna Witter-Johnson.
SUN 01:55 Showstoppers (m002chlv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
SUN 02:45 Showstoppers (m002chlx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:50 today]
MONDAY 19 MAY 2025
MON 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vlk7)
Series 12
Farnborough to Winchester
Michael is heading for Farnborough, Hampshire, famous today for its airshow and home to what was then the Royal Aircraft Establishment. Richard Gardner of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust tells Michael about the boffins who worked here and the inventions they came up with, such as retractable landing gear and flight-pressurised suits. Michael discovers that research here was so secret that the airfield was not marked on the map, let alone mentioned in his Bradshaw’s guide.
Michael continues west across Hampshire to Basingstoke to visit a glorious neo-Gothic stately home set in the North Wessex Downs. The magnificent Highclere Castle, seat of the Earls of Caernarvon, is perhaps best-known today as Downton Abbey. Michael meets the present Lady Carnarvon, wife of the eighth Earl, to find out more about her husband’s ancestor, a passionate Egyptologist who made a discovery that stunned the world: the tomb of Tutankhamun.
In the countryside around Highclere, Michael visits a chapel dedicated to the memory of Harry Willoughby Sandham, who died in 1919 as a result of his military service in Macedonia. 19 oil paintings by the artist Stanley Spencer fill this extraordinary and moving space. And in Ropley, there's a rendezvous with an old friend on the Mid Hants Railway, where Thomas the Tank engine is oozing steam on the Watercress Line.
MON 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b007wg5d)
Series 2
Crinkle Crags and Bowfell
Series in which Julia Bradbury explores the stunning Lake District landscape that inspired the great British fell walker and author Alfred Wainwright to produce his beautifully crafted guidebooks.
Julia faces a new physical challenge as she experiences the world of Wainwright - not one summit, but two. The Lake District's most famous walker loved to explore routes that link fell tops together, and Julia aims to find her way along the best ridge-mile in Lakeland, reaching the summits of Crinkle Crags and Bowfell, two of the biggest peaks in the area.
MON 20:00 PQ17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster (b03n3297)
Jeremy Clarkson tells the dramatic story of the Arctic convoys of the Second World War, from Russia to the freezing Arctic Ocean.
Accompanied by moving first hand testimony from the men who served on these convoys, Clarkson reveals the incredible hazards faced by members of the Merchant and Royal Navy who delivered vital war supplies via the Arctic to the Soviet Union: temperatures of minus 50 degrees, huge icebergs, colossal waves, not to mention German U-boats and the Luftwaffe. It is no wonder that Churchill described the Arctic Convoys as 'the worst journey in the world.'
Between 1941 and 1945, more than 70 convoys delivered 4 million tonnes of material to the USSR, yet one convoy in particular would come to symbolise the dangers faced by the men who served on them. Codenamed PQ17, this convoy of 35 merchant ships would be described by Churchill as one of the most melancholy naval episodes of the war.
Retracing the route of PQ17 from the Arctic to the Russian winter port of Archangel, Clarkson reveals how, on the night of July 4th 1942, this joint Anglo-American convoy became one of the biggest naval disasters of the 20th century. To make matters worse, the cause of the disaster lay not in the brutal conditions of the Arctic, or the military might of the Germans, but a misjudgement made in the corridors of the Admiralty in London.
MON 21:00 Remembers... (m002chnk)
Laurence Rees Remembers... The Nazis: A Warning from History
Laurence Rees' landmark 1997 series explored the reasons why Germany fell in thrall to the Nazis. Combining astonishing archive, storytelling and interviews with figures at the heart of Hitler’s rise to power, it tells us of the Nazi mentality and the reasons behind their beliefs. Chillingly, it looks at those who still think the Nazis were right.
Rees is an author and broadcaster, perfectly placed to look back at the series he wrote and produced. He tells us of the origins of the series - how the fall of the Berlin Wall opened possibilities for interviews with people who previously had been unreachable. He recalls the powerful moments when some of those closely associated with the horrors were challenged. And he explains how the regime rose out of chaos, both in Germany and within the Nazis themselves.
Join Laurence as he takes us behind the scenes of this award-winning series, that has resonance to this day.
MON 21:20 The Nazis: A Warning from History (b0074kmy)
Helped into Power
How was it possible that the cultured nation at the heart of Europe ever allowed Hitler to come to power?
With the help of film archive discoveries from Russia and interviews with eyewitnesses, many of whom are former members of the Nazi party and have never appeared on television before, this film reveals how the Nazi party was born and grew in support in the late 1920s, and shows just why in January 1933 Germany's President Hindenburg appointed a new popular chancellor who was openly committed to overthrowing German democracy - Adolf Hitler.
Hitler's personality was to dominate the Nazi party. But eyewitnesses have very different recollections of his effect upon them. To Nazi supporter Fridolin von Spaun 'the long gaze which he gave me convinced me completely that he was a man with honourable intentions.' But to German diplomat Herbert Richter, who saw Hitler in the 1920s, 'he wasn't quite normal. He was spooky.'
The Nazis wanted the world to believe that Hitler's rise to power was inevitable - this programme shatters that myth.
MON 22:10 Rise of the Nazis (m00084tb)
Series 1
Politics
This episode takes us into the corridors of power where Germany’s top political mastermind sees an opportunity to use the sudden popularity of the Nazis for his own ends. This sets off a chain of miscalculations, backroom deals and power grabs that will propel Hitler from the fringes of political activism into the heart of government.
Hitler wants to become absolute leader of a single-party German state - standing in his way is democracy and the rule of law. After leading a failed coup in 1923, Hitler decides on a new strategy for taking power: instead of being revolutionaries, the Nazis will become a legitimate, mainstream political party operating under the veneer of legality. Hitler aims to win power democratically and then destroy democracy from within. To achieve his goal Hitler must overcome Germany’s political elite, including Paul von Hindenburg, the president who looks down on him, and, behind the scenes, political mastermind Kurt von Schleicher, who wants to use him.
Whilst this political intrigue plays out at the highest level of government, Hitler faces another obstacle at ground level – a Jewish lawyer called Hans Litten, who is out to prove that the Nazis are far from the legal, legitimate party they claim to be.
MON 23:10 The War Lords (p009bhtp)
Winston Churchill
AJP Taylor tells the story of Winston Churchill's wartime career and analyses his character and achievements. He is controversially outspoken about some of Churchill's failings and equally frank in his assessments of Churchill's heroic successes.
MON 23:40 The War Lords (p00hvrl8)
Stalin
AJP Taylor, the renowned British historian, appraises the performance of World War II leaders, delivering his lectures to camera and without an autocue.
In this episode, Taylor evaluates Stalin's role in the conflict.
MON 00:10 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.
MON 01:10 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vlk7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
MON 01:40 Wainwright Walks (b007wg5d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 02:10 The Nazis: A Warning from History (b0074kmy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:20 today]
MON 03:00 Rise of the Nazis (m00084tb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:10 today]
TUESDAY 20 MAY 2025
TUE 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vst1)
Series 12
Saxmundham to Dedham
Armed with his 1930s Bradshaw’s guide, Michael Portillo explores East Anglia between the wars. His railway journey begins at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, where archaeologists made a staggering discovery. Laura Howarth from the National Trust walks Michael to the top of a mound in a field, where in 1939 a 27-metre-long Anglo-Saxon ship was found buried in the earth. Buried along with the ship were precious objects from across the world.
At Leiston, Michael visits the oldest children’s democracy in the world, Summerhill School, founded in 1921 by a forward-thinking Scottish educator called A.S. Neill. Today, his daughter Zoe Readhead is school principal, and she introduces Michael to the school’s ethos and some of its pupils.
In the Essex village of Dedham, Michael unearths a nasty brush between painters. East Anglian art experts explain the antipathy between traditional artist Sir Alfred Munnings and the modern art school established in the village by Cedric Morris.
Michael takes the harbour ferry from Felixstowe to Harwich to find out about the young Jewish passengers who arrived in Harwich in 1938, having fled Nazi Germany as part of the Kindertransport. Siblings Ruth Jacobs and Harry Heber, now in their 80s, were among them, and Michael is moved to hear their story.
TUE 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b007x53d)
Series 2
Helm Crag
Series in which Julia Bradbury explores the Lake District landscape that inspired the great British fell walker and author Alfred Wainwright to produce his beautifully crafted guidebooks.
Julia is in the village of Grasmere for a climb up Helm Crag, defined by the collection of rock formations at its summit - a feature that has lent it the nickname of the Lion and the Lamb. The rocks make for a summit scramble for Julia as she finds out why this was the only summit Wainwright never reached.
TUE 20:00 The Good Life (b007818c)
Series 1
The Pagan Rite
As Tom and Barbara's savings dwindle, Tom sets about earning some extra money. But he doesn't want to use it to pay boring old bills. Jerry and Margo decide the time is ripe to bring the Goods to their senses, and invite them to dinner - with Tom's ex-boss.
TUE 20:30 Yes Minister (b00783yw)
Series 1
The Economy Drive
Sitcom about a British government minister and the advisers who surround him. Jim Hacker wants to implement some cost-cutting initiatives - but Sir Humphrey does not approve.
TUE 21:00 Simon Schama's Power of Art (b00793ll)
Bernini
Documentary series in which historian Simon Schama recounts the story of eight moments of high drama in the making of eight masterpieces. He looks at how Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Ecstasy of St Thereza shows a nun in the state of orgasmic bliss and wonders how it was ever allowed.
TUE 22:00 imagine... (m000y2fv)
Summer 2003
Barbara Hepworth: Shapes out of Feelings
A profile of Barbara Hepworth, the world's first internationally celebrated woman sculptor. Born in Yorkshire in 1903, she had to fight to establish herself in a world dominated by men, and could still wield a chisel in her seventies.
TUE 22:40 Storyville (m001vvvc)
Beyond Utopia: Escape from North Korea
A suspenseful, immersive look at the lengths to which people will go to gain freedom. The film follows various individuals as they attempt to flee North Korea, one of the most oppressive places on earth and a land they grew up believing was a paradise.
At the film’s core are a mother desperate to reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind; a family of five - including small children and an elderly grandmother - embarking on a treacherous journey across the Yalu River and into the hostile mountains of China; and a South Korean Christian pastor on a mission to help them.
Leaving their homeland is fraught with danger - severe punishment if caught and possibly even execution - as well as potential exploitation by unscrupulous brokers. Family members who remain behind may also face retribution. Yet these individuals are driven to take the risk.
Gripping, visceral and urgent, Madeleine Gavin’s film embeds the viewer with these family members as they attempt their perilous escape, palpably conveying life-or-death stakes.
TUE 00:25 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vst1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
TUE 00:55 Wainwright Walks (b007x53d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 01:25 PQ17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster (b03n3297)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:25 Simon Schama's Power of Art (b00793ll)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 21 MAY 2025
WED 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vswy)
Series 12
Colchester to Chadwell Heath
Michael Portillo continues his Bradshaw’s-inspired journey through East Anglia, where he discovers the Essex origins of the BBC, joins the Women’s Land Army to pick damsons at Tiptree, and visits homes fit for heroes in Becontree.
He begins close to Colchester at Abberton Reservoir, a man-made thousand-acre body of freshwater, begun in the year of his guidebook, 1936. He discovers how it was protected during the Second World War by hundreds of mines. It’s now an important wetland habitat for ducks, swans and water birds, and Michael spots a marsh harrier.
In the village of Tiptree, Michael finds out how, as war loomed once again and men were called up to fight, women stepped up to take their places on the farm as part of a revived Women’s Land Army.
From Chelmsford, Michael heads for the chocolate box village of Writtle, where he is surprised to discover Britain’s first regular scheduled radio broadcasting station in a tiny hut. Michael is intrigued by the technology of 1919.
Next stop is Chadwell Heath in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham. A massive building programme after the First World War resulted in what was, at the time, the largest municipal housing estate in the world. Michael learns about the estate from residents past and present.
WED 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b007xnzr)
Series 2
High Street
Series in which Julia Bradbury explores the Lake District landscape that inspired the great British fell walker and author Alfred Wainwright to produce his beautifully crafted guide books.
Julia starts her walk in the quiet, mysterious valley of Mardale, where the local village was lost forever when the valley was flooded to create the Haweswater reservoir. The history continues as she climbs 2,500ft to the summit of High Street, the most well-trodden high ground in the Lakes. This was where Roman legions crossed the fells 2,000 years ago, making, quite literally, a high street.
WED 20:00 Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth (p02wnhp6)
From Heaven to Hell
In the balmy tropical Atlantic, everything from dolphins, manatees and whale sharks to sunbathing jellyfish thrive in the Caribbean's warm, sheltered waters, fringed with coral reefs and rich mangrove forests.
But extreme heat in Africa unleashes terrifying hurricanes, causing chaos across the region.
WED 21:00 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03lytyp)
Civilising the Sea
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.
The terrible toll taken by shipwrecks was such that in the winter of 1820 some 20,000 seaman lost their lives in the North Sea alone. That's 20 jumbo jets. But in the final part of his series, maritime historian Sam Willis tells the stirring story of how the Victorians were finally driven into action, finding various ingenious solutions - from rockets that could fire rescue lines aboard stricken vessels to life jackets, lifeboats and the Plimsoll Line, which outlawed overloading.
In Africa, he traces the legend of the Birkenhead Drill - the origin of 'women and children first'. Decorum even in disaster was the new Victorian way and it was conspicuously on hand to turn history's most iconic shipwreck - Titanic - into a tragic monument to British restraint.
WED 22:00 The Singing Detective (b0074qy4)
Clues
Marlow as a child visits London, but is not impressed. A film option on Marlow's novel thickens the plot. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.
WED 23:10 The Singing Detective (b0074qy7)
Pitter Patter
Marlow is getting better and the different strands of his fiction and reality begin to occupy the same time and place.
WED 00:10 The Singing Detective (b0074qy8)
Who Done It
The young Philip Marlow returns to the country railway station following his mother's death in London. Forty years on, Marlow the hospital patient still dreams about the homecoming and the frightening figure of the scarecrow that now erupts into the ward.
WED 01:25 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vswy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 01:55 Wainwright Walks (b007xnzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 02:25 Atlantic: The Wildest Ocean on Earth (p02wnhp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THURSDAY 22 MAY 2025
THU 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vsxt)
Series 12
Potters Bar to Cardington
Michael Portillo’s Bradshaw travels resume in leafy Hertfordshire, where he attempts a canoe slalom course at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, built for the London Olympics in 2012. Former competitive canoeist Sue Hornby tells Michael how British canoeists first competed at the politically-charged Berlin Games in 1936. Britain won a gold and a silver medal here at the London Olympics, and Michael’s hopes are high as he takes to the paddling lake.
Travelling north, Michael reaches Hatfield and the country estate of the queen of romance and author of 723 books, Dame Barbara Cartland. The novelist’s eldest son welcomes Michael to Camfield Place with a gift for his onward journey, 'A Train to Love'.
In Stevenage, Michael learns how, in 1935, a new enterprise boosted production of the nation’s daily loaf with a factory in the town. Allied Bakeries now produces 1.8 million loaves a week, and Michael marvels at the scale of the operation while enjoying the smell of freshly baked bread.
Crossing into Bedfordshire, Michael reaches Sandy, from which he heads for Cardington, where the level countryside is dominated by two breathtakingly vast sheds. In Hangar No 2, Michael hears the shocking story of the 'Titanic of the skies', the R101 airship, which crashed on its first long haul voyage, killing all aboard.
THU 19:30 Wainwright Walks (b007y8bp)
Series 2
Pillar
Series in which Julia Bradbury explores the Lake District landscape that inspired the great British fell walker and author Alfred Wainwright to produce his beautifully crafted guidebooks.
Julia faces more climbing than walking as she sets out on one of the most dramatic Lakeland routes. From the remote valley of Ennerdale, she starts the ascent to one of Wainwright's favourite fells - Pillar. The route takes her past cliffs, along ledges and over the Lake District's most famous crag, Pillar Rock.
THU 20:00 Ice Cold in Alex (m002cgt2)
During the German offensive in Libya in 1942, Captain Anson, commander of a motor ambulance convoy, finds himself cut off from his unit with only an old ambulance to take him back to Alexandria. His companions are two young nurses and his sergeant, Tom Pugh. As the little party sets off on the long journey, they meet Van der Poel, a South African captain who begs a lift.
THU 22:05 Malcolm X (m0024hq1)
Biographical epic about the influential and controversial black nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
THU 01:15 Great British Railway Journeys (m000vsxt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
THU 01:45 Wainwright Walks (b007y8bp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 02:15 Shipwrecks: Britain's Sunken History (b03lytyp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Wednesday]
FRIDAY 23 MAY 2025
FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m002chnn)
Jo Whiley presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 12 December 1997 and featuring Janet Jackson, The Seahorses, Robbie Williams, Sheryl Crow, Blackstreet, Five, All Saints and Teletubbies.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m002chnq)
Jayne Middlemiss presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 19 December 1997 and featuring Natalie Imbruglia, Robbie Williams, Bryan Adams, All Saints, U2, Chicken Shed, Celine Dion, Sting & The Police and Teletubbies.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (b05xx8c9)
Mike Read presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 22 May 1980 and featuring The Lambrettas, UK Subs, Michael Jackson, Jona Lewie, Karel Fialka, The Specials, Matchbox and Johnny Logan, and a dance routine from Legs & Co.
FRI 20:40 Top of the Pops (b011g8pg)
David Hamilton presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 20 May 1976 and featuring Showaddywaddy, Marmalade, Tina Charles, Robin Sarstedt, Mud, Cliff Richard, The Four Seasons, Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, The Rolling Stones and Peter Frampton.
FRI 21:20 Top of the Pops (b09sw7zx)
John Peel and Janice Long presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 9 May 1985 and featuring The Style Council, Freddie Mercury, Steve Arrington, Godley & Creme, Curtis Hairston, Bronski Beat & Marc Almond and Paul Hardcastle.
FRI 21:55 Top of the Pops (b0b5bj2g)
Peter Powell and Mike Read present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 17 October 1985. Featuring Shakin' Stevens, a-ha, Elton John, Colonel Abrams and Jennifer Rush.
FRI 22:25 Wham! at the BBC (m00263vc)
To mark 40 years since the release of their festive classic Last Christmas, Wham! icons Andrew Ridgeley, Pepsi DeMacque and Shirlie Kemp present a selection of the band’s biggest and best performances from the BBC archives.
From Young Guns Go for It to Club Tropicana and on to The Edge of Heaven and beyond, these are the hits that made Wham! one of the hottest pop groups of the 1980s and first introduced the world to the unique songwriting talents of George Michael.
FRI 23:35 Wild Boys: The Story of Duran Duran (b007bqdj)
Duran Duran came out of Birmingham and conquered the world during the 1980s. Originally a New Romantic band in full make-up and cossack pants, they rapidly became bedroom pin-ups for a generation of teenage girls.
Led by Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and John Taylor, Duran Duran dominated the British and American charts in the mid-1980s with classic singles such as Rio, Save a Prayer and Wild Boys. Pioneers of the MTV-style promo video - from the X-rated Girls on Film to Raiders of the Lost Ark spoof Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran were the 80s equivalent of The Beatles in America and outsold Spandau Ballet and Wham! in their pomp.
Sixty million records later, Le Bon and Rhodes are seen touring America with their Pop Trash project from the early 2000s. The documentary reflects on the heady heights of Duran Duran's career, the cracks in their make-up plus the effects of sex, drugs and fame on ordinary boys from working-class backgrounds.
Apart from the key Durannies - Le Bon, Rhodes and John Taylor - the programme also features celebrity interviews with Debbie Harry, Yasmin Le Bon, Duran Duran managers Paul and Michael Berrow, Claudia Schiffer, Nile Rodgers and Lou Reed.
FRI 00:25 Young Guns Go for It (b0077p22)
Series 1
Culture Club
The story of Culture Club and the passionate but doomed love affair between singer Boy George and drummer Jon Moss that provided the band's creative drive. All four members discuss the glamour, success and drug culture of the 80s, and the central relationship that was both the making and undoing of the band.
FRI 01:05 The 80s - Music’s Greatest Decade? (m00117qg)
Series 1
True Originals
Dylan Jones has written books about many musical eras - their shining stars and defining moments - but the time that fascinates him most is the 1980s. It was an exciting, explosive super-decade, in which a dazzling array of new genres emerged while video really did kill the radio star.
It was also an age of innovators and icons, of style and substance. Here, Dylan celebrates some of the stars who created the timeless legacy of the 1980s. From stellar BBC archive performances from the likes of Madonna, Depeche Mode, Sade, Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys and Tina Turner to iconic MTV-era gems from Billy Idol, Eurythmics, U2, Janet Jackson, Prince and many more.
It also features rarely seen archive television footage from the BBC vaults, including Terry Wogan interviewing Grace Jones, Bruce Springsteen on the Old Grey Whistle Test and Adam Ant performing his own stunts in a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Prince Charming video.
FRI 02:05 Top of the Pops (m002chnn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
FRI 02:35 Top of the Pops (m002chnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRI 03:05 Top of the Pops (b05xx8c9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]