SATURDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2025

SAT 19:00 Natural World (m002b2g4)
Short Versions

Raising Sancho

The touching story of a rescued giant otter cub being raised by a Brazilian naturalist.


SAT 19:05 The Yorkshire Dales (m0003yk1)
Series 1

Wensleydale

Adventurer and explorer Paul Rose heads for Wensleydale in a three-part series about the Yorkshire Dales. He starts his journey in the small town of Hawes, where locals now run many of their own services, including the buses.

Paul checks out why cycling is so popular in the Dales and tries to get to the top of the Buttertubs Pass, which is one of Wensleydale’s most difficult routes. Along the way he meets a family of beautiful Dales dormice – and spends time with a man who looks after one of Yorkshire’s most imposing castles.


SAT 19:35 The Cult Of... (b008x368)
Sunday Night

All Creatures Great and Small

A look at the history behind cult drama All Creatures Great and Small. With its mix of stunning countryside, eccentric characters and romance, the show formed a template for Sunday night television. Interviewees including Christopher Timothy, Peter Davison, Robert Hardy, Carol Drinkwater, Lynda Bellingham, John McGlynn, producer Bill Sellars and writer Johnny Byrne reveal the struggles behind the success.


SAT 20:05 Remembers... (m00248l8)
Christopher Timothy and Peter Davison Remember... All Creatures Great and Small

Considered a classic of British television dramas, All Creatures Great and Small ran for seven series and established the template for cosy Sunday night viewing. The winning formula of James Herriot’s stories, the stunning Dales scenery and the brilliant cast proved a hit from its first appearance in 1978.

Peter Davison and Christopher Timothy look back on those days. They tell us what it was like to meet the real James Herriot, a genuine Yorkshire vet called Alf Wight, as well as the original Siegfried and Tristan Farnon.

We hear how Peter’s clumsiness with a coffee cup might have contributed to him getting the part, and how the work they did trailing real vets made the scenes more credible.

Peter and Christopher also talk about the joy they got from performing alongside an array of talented character actors and the family feeling that working on the show gave them, a warmth that transmits through the screen to the viewer to this day.


SAT 20:25 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d04x)
Series 5

A Present from Dublin

Calum welcomes the new arrivals - one that bites and one that fits Siegfried's cooking and cleaning requirements.


SAT 21:15 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d051)
Series 5

The Salt of the Earth

Siegfried is saddened by the death of a young bull terrier, half of an inseparable pair of dogs.


SAT 22:05 Evil Does Not Exist (m002k7zf)
The lives of a man and his neighbours are disrupted when a camping development is planned in their idyllic town in the Japanese countryside. In Japanese with English subtitles.


SAT 23:45 The Good Life (b007814m)
Series 4

Our Speaker Today

Barbara gets Margo out of a fix when a speaker at her society lets her down. Barbara gives a talk about self-sufficiency at Margo's women's group. It's so successful, she finds herself in great demand. Meanwhile, a shorthanded Tom accidentally lets the chickens out, and Lenin the cockerel ends up on the bus to Kingston.


SAT 00:15 Yes Minister (b0074rnd)
Series 3

The Middle-Class Rip-Off

Jim Hacker supports the sale of an art gallery, which will help fund his ailing local football club. Sir Humphrey is horrified.


SAT 00:45 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d04x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:25 today]


SAT 01:35 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d051)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:15 today]


SAT 02:25 The Yorkshire Dales (m0003yk1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:05 today]


SAT 02:55 The Cult Of... (b008x368)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:35 today]

SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 2025

SUN 19:00 Walking With... (m00111n6)
Series 1

Walking with Jim Moir

Jim Moir goes for a ‘power stroll through a strange landscape’ as he explores the shingle peninsula of Dungeness in this corner of Kent. The comic, birdwatcher and Kent resident, famous for his comedy persona Vic Reeves, takes his time exploring a quirky section of the coast – an area he has come to know well over the years.

Filming himself with a 360-degree camera, Jim walks along the shingle and sand from Littlestone down to Dungeness. He visits the concrete ruins of the Sound Mirrors and takes a trip on a steam train before arriving at the twin lighthouses of the headland.

On his journey, he meets characters who reveal hidden aspects of his surroundings - a bee collector, a worm hunter and a power station
manager all show Jim different perspectives on the area. Sunshine gives way to sea mist as he nears the end of his walk and enjoys fish and chips on the beach.


SUN 19:30 Around the World in 80 Gardens (b008yw0l)
South America: Brazil, Argentina and Chile

Monty Don visits the world's 80 most inspiring gardens. This time, he is in South America, a continent twice the size of Europe and the home of more than 50,000 endemic plant species.

In Rio de Janeiro, Monty visits the private garden of a famous Brazilian artist, Burle Marx. Also, he views the ingenious floating gardens of the Amazon and visits a crumbling estancia (ranch) in the windy Pampas. He ends his journey on the Pacific coast of Chile in a garden that sits harmoniously in its landscape.


SUN 20:30 Oak Tree: Nature's Greatest Survivor (b06fq03t)
George McGavin investigates the highly varied and dramatic life of oak tree. Part science documentary, part historical investigation, this film is a celebration of one of the most iconic trees in the British countryside. It aims to give viewers a sense of what an extraordinary species the oak is and provide an insight into how this venerable tree experiences life.

Filmed over a year, George uncovers the extraordinary transformations the oak goes through to meet the challenges of four very different seasons.

In autumn, George goes underground, digging below an oak tree to see how its roots extract precious resources from the soil. And he sees why the oak's superstrong wood made it the perfect material for building some the most famous ships in naval history, including Nelson's flagship The Victory.

In winter, George discovers the sophisticated strategies the tree uses to survive gales and bitter frosts. He finds out about the oak's vital role in architecture, showing how some very familiar sights, such as the tower of Salisbury Cathedral, are in fact giant oak structures.

In spring, George investigates how the oak procreates, spreading its pollen through the countryside. He discovers the incredibly sophisticated strategies it uses to withstand savage onslaughts from predators hellbent on eating it alive.

In summer, George uses a high-powered microscope to see the hundreds of species that regard the oak as their home. Humans too rely on the oak for their own form of 'sustenance'. Whisky gets its unique flavours from the oak wood barrels in which it's matured.


SUN 22:00 Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story (m0015xrv)
Series 1

Episode 1

At a time when debates about free speech feel increasingly polarised, we look back to 1963 when a Midlands housewife and teacher named Mary Whitehouse became the original ‘cancel culture’ warrior. Armed with just a typewriter, she began a 30-year campaign to turn back the tide of the permissive culture she saw sweeping through society with the advent of the sexual revolution.

This series revisits Whitehouse’s campaigns, from her attacks on the BBC and boycotts against films like Last Tango in Paris to conflicts with feminists and the gay liberation movement, and her contention that pornography, made mainly by men for men, was not going to lead to greater happiness for society. Whilst her views on some issues are a long way from the prevailing attitudes today, questions about the after-effects of the sexual revolution continue to resonate.

Using a vast campaigning archive housed at the University of Essex, and featuring contributions from Gyles Brandreth, Michael Grade, Beatrix Campbell, Ken Loach and Peter Bradshaw, the series hears first-hand testimony from the people who knew Mary Whitehouse, who studied her work - including author Ben Thompson - and who took her on: from activist Peter Tatchell to millionaire pornographer and current co-owner of West Ham United David Sullivan.


SUN 23:00 Banned! The Mary Whitehouse Story (m00165dd)
Series 1

Episode 2

During the 1970s, Mary's battle with permissive society is hotting up, as ideas of progress and suggestions that nothing should be censored gain currency. Nude actress and men’s magazine columnist Fiona Richmond publicly objects to Mary’s ‘bullying’ desire to standing in the way of her personal freedoms, and the then pornographer, now co-owner of West Ham FC, David Sullivan, decides to take the fight to Mary with the audacious move of calling his flagship porn magazine Whitehouse.

In her final campaigning phase, Mary gets closer to the seat of power than anyone thought possible through her relationship with Margaret Thatcher. The birth of home video and her railing against so-called ‘video nasties’ raise her profile even further. But the growth of entertainment media, culminating in the internet, overtakes anything Whitehouse can do to censor content.


SUN 00:00 Genius of the Ancient World (b066d0v5)
Confucius

In the final episode, Bettany travels to China on the trail of Confucius, a great sage of Chinese history whose ideas have fundamentally shaped the country of his birth for around 2,500 years.


SUN 01:00 The Story of Welsh Art (p097c3k8)
Series 1

Episode 3

In this final episode, Huw Stephens’s journey begins at the dawn of the 20th century with the artists who broke with tradition and depicted Wales in radical new ways. In Snowdonia, he learns how Augustus John and JD Innes led the way, obsessively painting the landscape with a freedom and vibrancy that still dazzles today. Equally bold was the output of Gwen John, whose work is in complete contrast to that of her brother Augustus. At the National Museum Wales in Cardiff, Huw discovers how she used light and tone to paint delicate and hypnotic portraits and interior scenes.

Between the wars, industrial south Wales produced some of the most powerful art of the century. Huw discovers how the work of Evan Walters and Cedric Morris is steeped in their experience of mining communities and the desperate poverty they endured. The lives of striking miners were rarely reflected in art, but Walters’s 1926 portrait of his friend William Hopkins captured his subject with dignity and honesty.

Travelling north, Huw heads out to Bardsey Island off the Llyn Peninsula, a place he first visited as a teenager. The landscape of Wales has long been a source of inspiration for artists and in the 1940s Brenda Chamberlain moved to Bardsey to immerse herself in its isolation. Inside the picturesque cottage where she lived, Huw sees her sketches of island life that she drew on the walls ‘as if they were a giant sketchbook’. At the same time, Kyffin Williams was painting the distinctive, dramatic landscapes of north Wales, establishing himself as the most popular Welsh artist of the 20th century.

Contemporary art in Wales reflects a post-devolution self-confidence that allows it to look both back and forward. In Swansea, Huw meets Daniel Trivedy and learns how his award-winning work Welsh Emergency Blanket took the patterns of traditional Welsh blankets and printed them on to the silver foil coverings given to refugees rescued from the sea. For his final stop, Huw visits Colwyn Bay where he meets internationally renowned artist Bedwyr Williams, whose work draws heavily on Welsh art history using humour and irreverence. It is a unique history, Bedwyr concludes, and one that makes him excited to be living and working in north Wales.


SUN 02:00 Around the World in 80 Gardens (b008yw0l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

MONDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2025

MON 19:00 Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age (b0074m97)
Wind, Water and Steam

Documentary series celebrating Britain's rich industrial heritage, presented by Fred Dibnah. The tour of treasured sites of industrial history begins on the old Bolton, Bury and Manchester Canal, looks at the early use of wind and water power, and traces the development of the steam engine. Fred visits a man who has built a windmill in his own back garden, and hunts for examples of early beam engines that are still functioning today.


MON 19:30 Railways: The Making of a Nation (b07x4fg9)
Time

Historian Liz McIvor explores how Britain's expanding rail network was the spark to a social revolution, starting in the 1800s and continuing through to modern times. A fast system of transportation shaped so many areas of our industrial nation - from what we eat to where we live, work and play. The railways generated economic activity but they also changed the nature of business itself. They even changed attitudes to time and how we set our clocks. Our railways may have reflected deep class divisions, but they also brought people together as never before, and helped forge a new sense of national identity.

This episode looks at how you organise a rail network in a country made up of separate local time zones and no recognised timetables. Before the railways, our country was divided and local time was proudly treasured. Clocks in the west of the country were several minutes behind those set in the east. The railways wanted the country to step to a new beat in a world of precise schedules and timetables that recognised Greenwich Mean Time. Not everyone was keen to step in line, and some complained about the new world of one single time zone and precise schedules.


MON 20:00 Britain's Lost Masterpieces (m001494m)
Series 5

Glasgow

Britain’s premier art detectives, Bendor Grosvenor and Emma Dabiri, are on the hunt to find and restore one of the nation’s great lost masterpieces. Can a mysterious painting of a beautiful society woman really be by the celebrated artist Joshua Reynolds? And which celebrity playwright will lead them from Rome to Bath to London’s Royal Academy? With a fascinating treasure hunt into the art of the Georgians and a very modern 21st-century digital restoration, the results are truly spectacular.

Bendor traces the remarkable life of Sir Joshua from humble beginnings in the West Country to reach the pinnacle of the artistic establishment, becoming the first president of the Royal Academy and the country's most respected authority on art. In Rome, Bendor explores how Reynolds developed his style, known as the Grand Manner, and visiting the home of a private collector, he looks at a little-known self-portrait by Reynolds. Bendor explains why he believes it to be the greatest self-portrait ever made by a British artist, with virtuoso brushwork and a fluidity that gives it a remarkably modern appeal. Intensely personal and sympathetic, it was painted when Reynolds was at the height of his success, wealthy enough to buy a large house in the centre of London, lavishly furnished and adapted for his own needs. Bendor is also pleased to see the picture has many similarities to the portrait of Elizabeth Linley.

Emma explores the story of the man who donated the picture, Archibald McLellan, a wealthy businessman whose passion for art saw him amass an outstanding collection, which he left to the city of Glasgow.

Reynolds's achievements culminated with his presidency of the newly created Royal Academy of the Arts, a position he made his own and which gave him an authority to promote his own opinions about painting. The suite of rooms at Somerset House in the Strand, where the academy was originally housed, have recently been restored. Bendor visits it to get a taste of the spaces that would have been familiar to Reynolds, including the Great Room, where the tradition of the Summer Exhibition was born under Sir Joshua.

At the restoration studio, the portrait itself has been subject to close scrutiny. At some point in the last few years, the surface of the painting had been coated with a thick varnish, which has now discoloured and darkened. However, Reynolds's unorthodox painting methods, often using wax instead of oil to mix his paints, mean it must undergo stringent technical analysis to ensure it is safe to clean it. It soon becomes clear it will be impossible to restore the picture, which Bendor feels will damage the prospects of a favourable verdict from the Reynolds expert, Martin Postle.

Emma investigates the brief and tragic life of the woman who has always been the accepted subject of the picture, Elizabeth Linley. A child prodigy, she became a celebrity singer performing in her hometown of Bath from the age of nine. In her teens, she was regarded as a great beauty and suffered frequent but unwelcome attention from suitors. She eloped and married the playwright and politician Richard Brindsley Sheridan, and found herself at the centre of a constitutional crisis before her tragic early death at the age of 37. Emma is puzzled to know what evidence there is that the portrait is really Elizabeth, as there have been doubts expressed in the past. When she looks at some of Reynolds's vivid and insightful portraits of female celebrities from the Georgian era, she is surprised when she uncovers the true identity of the sitter in our portrait.

To give a sense of how the portrait would look if it had been possible to clean it, and to give his case a boost, Bendor creates a three-dimensional digital facsimile using laser scanning techniques and high-resolution re-colourisation. The portrait is returned to Glasgow for the verdict to be revealed.


MON 21:00 Call My Bluff (m002k80k)
Robert Robinson presides as Frank Muir, Sue Cook and Bryan Forbes take on Arthur Marshall, Nanette Newman, Paul Eddington in a duel of words and wit.


MON 21:30 Face the Music (m002k80m)
Joseph Cooper invites viewers to match their musical wits against Arianna Stassinopoulos, Richard Baker and David Attenborough. With guest musician Erich Leinsdorf.


MON 22:00 Arena (b00plc51)
The Orson Welles Story

Episode 1

First of a two-part film profile of Orson Welles, looking at his life and career in theatre, radio and particularly film. With Jeanne Moreau, John Huston, Peter Bogdanovitch, Robert Wise, Charlton Heston, and a detailed interview with Welles himself. This part deals with his work up to Touch of Evil.


MON 23:50 Arena (b00plc6x)
The Orson Welles Story

Episode 2

Second of a two-part profile of Orson Welles, looking at films including The Trial, Chimes at Midnight, The Immortal Story and F for Fake and discussing his many unfinished projects, including The Other Side of the Wind and Don Quixote.


MON 00:45 Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age (b0074m97)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 01:15 Railways: The Making of a Nation (b07x4fg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 01:45 Face the Music (m002k80m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]


MON 02:15 Oak Tree: Nature's Greatest Survivor (b06fq03t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Sunday]

TUESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2025

TUE 19:00 Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age (b0074m9h)
Mills and Factories

Documentary series celebrating Britain's rich industrial heritage, presented by Fred Dibnah.

Fred traces the development of Britain's textile industry from the picturesque Scottish countryside of New Lanark to the urban mill town of Burnley and talks to ex-weavers about life in the mills, and meets a group of volunteers who have spent 30 years saving mill engines from the scrapheap.


TUE 19:30 Railways: The Making of a Nation (b07x4dyz)
Capitalism and Commerce

The railways stimulated great changes to the nation's economy. They also changed the way we do business, encouraging a new generation of mechanical engineers, skilled workers, managers and accountants. Originally, local railway entrepreneurs viewed trains as vehicles for shifting raw materials, stock and goods. But soon they discovered there was money to be made in transporting people.

Places such as Derby became 'railway towns'. Derby was central to the new network and home to the engineers who made and maintained locomotives and carriages. But the railway boom of the 1840s also came with a 'bust'. A new age of middle-class shareholders who invested in the railways soon discovered what goes up can also go down.

Alongside this were stories of railway rogues and dodgy dealing. However, railway companies recovered from the crash and continued to develop as complex national business organisations - capable of building great structures such as the Ribblehead Viaduct in Yorkshire and St Pancras Station in London.


TUE 20:00 The Two Ronnies Sketchbook (b00cvbpr)
Episode 6

In a television career that has spanned 98 shows, 12 series and more than 30 years in the business, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker entertained millions with their inimitable brand of comedy - from gags, sketches and unique monologues to spectacular music numbers.

First transmitted as an hour-long version a few months before Ronnie Barker's death in 2005, the Two Ronnies reunite to delve into the backstage stories behind some of their classic moments as they reveal their own personal memories from one of the most impressive comedy catalogues in mainstream entertainment.

This episode contains the popular 'fork handles' sketch.


TUE 20:30 Porridge (p00bxnvd)
Series 3

A Storm in a Teacup

Fletcher inadvertently becomes involved in the murky world of drugs.


TUE 21:00 The Many Faces Of... (b01pm6lw)
Series 2

Ronnie Barker

Programme telling the story of Ronnie Barker, a quiet, dedicated actor who might have been a bank manager but went on to become one of the country's favourite comedy stars. Ben Elton, Michael Grade, David Renwick and Josephine Tewson are among friends and colleagues who remember his genius. Famed as one half of the Two Ronnies and the likeable convict Fletcher in Porridge, he was also a prolific writer and admired actor in serious roles.


TUE 22:00 Storyville (m002k7zh)
Holding Liat

On 7 October 2023, Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband, Aviv, are kidnapped from their kibbutz as part of the Hamas-led attack on Israel. This film begins by following her parents, Yehuda and Chaya, as they attempt to secure the release of their daughter.

Yehuda initially travels to the USA to take part in a campaign for the hostages’ release, as Liat is a dual American-Israeli citizen. Yehuda's desire to advocate for peace and reconciliation quickly puts himself at odds with political forces he encounters. He is accompanied by Liat’s sister Tal, who tries to keep her father calm, and Liat’s son Netta, whose views on the conflict differ from his grandfather’s. On their return, the family try to keep up their hopes amidst conflicting information and press for their daughter to be included in efforts to secure the hostages’ release.

This is the story of a family under duress, desperate for news of their daughter and son-in-law, caught in the global news spotlight, and experiencing their own internal dilemmas about the hostage-taking and subsequent war.

Brandon Kramer’s intimate and unflinching documentary is present at all the key moments of the family’s journey and won the Documentary Film Award at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2025. It is presented here as part of BBC Storyville’s ongoing commitment to authored feature-length documentary from around the world.


TUE 23:30 Success Story: Gore Vidal (m002k7zk)
In a programme first broadcast in 1975, Gore Vidal, the enfant terrible of American letters, then living in some splendour in Italy, talks about the ironies of succeeding so spectacularly in a world that he delights in attacking.


TUE 00:00 Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age (b0074m9h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 00:30 Railways: The Making of a Nation (b07x4dyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 01:00 Britain's Lost Masterpieces (m001494m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


TUE 02:00 Genius of the Ancient World (b066d0v5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 00:00 on Sunday]

WEDNESDAY 01 OCTOBER 2025

WED 19:00 Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age (b0074m9s)
Iron and Steel

Fred traces the development of the production of iron and steel, beginning his journey at Ironbridge. Travelling throughout Britain, he concludes his journey in Sheffield, the home of steel.


WED 19:30 Railways: The Making of a Nation (b07x4f3t)
The Age of Leisure

The very idea of an excursion to distant places became popular from the 1840s onwards. People were taking day trips and seeing parts of the country they had never seen before. However, it wasn't all seaside and sand. Some excursion trains were set up to satisfy the public's demand to witness public executions. Other lines transported people to enjoy horse racing and sporting events. Thousands visited resorts, spa towns and the coast. A new wave of Victorian tourists spent their cash on holidays and visited hotels at stations and beyond. The ultimate experience was often to head to the hills and sample clean air, far away from industrial grime and pollution. Working-class northerners now had access to the Lake District. However, one particular Lakeland resident, William Wordsworth, was initially not so happy about the influx of this new type of visitor.


WED 20:00 Thatcher: A Very British Revolution (m0005br9)
Series 1

Making Margaret

In the first episode of this series charting the irresistible rise and dramatic downfall of Margaret Thatcher, her inner circle reveals how she manages to overcome her outsider status to become a prominent political figure in Britain. After a controversial policy has the press label her the 'Milk-snatcher' her political future is in jeopardy, but she survives when prime minister Edward Heath decides not to sack her.

Dismayed by Heath's stewardship of the country in the early 1970s, Thatcher challenges him for leadership of the Conservatives. As a woman from a modest social background, she appears unlike any of her colleagues, but with the help of canny political operators, she achieves the apparently impossible and defeats Heath and the party elite who backed him.

Those closest to her at the time describe how as new leader of the Conservatives she begins to support controversial policies that will shake-up the economic and political settlement that has prevailed in Britain since the second world war. She promotes free market ideas, transforming the economy and reducing trade union power.

She also adopts a new political persona, taking on the mantle of the Iron Lady given to her by the Soviet press and seeks help from advisors who change her image and her voice as she seeks the support of the British electorate.

As the 1979 election approaches, Margaret Thatcher embarks on an energetic campaign to unseat Labour and usher in a new era that will bring turbulent change and division and be dominated by the force of her personality and ideas.


WED 21:00 The Jet Stream and Us (b00909b0)
Documentary tracing how human understanding of the jet stream - a ribbon of fast moving air high in the atmosphere - has grown.

It has been responsible for bewildering effect on bomber pilots during the Second World War, turbocharging modern transatlantic flyers, the infamous 1987 hurricane and devastating floods. Scientists believe this powerful weather phenomenon is now changing its pattern of behaviour and could have an even bigger impact on our climate and the way we live our lives.

Interviewees include Sir Brian Hoskins, University of Reading and Kirsty McCabe from the BBC Weather Centre.


WED 22:00 Remembers... (m002k816)
Bhasker Patel Remembers... Brothers in Trouble

Actor Bhasker Patel looks back on his experience playing Gholam in the 1995 film Brothers in Trouble.

The film-directing debut of Udayan Prasad, based on the novel Return Journey by Abdullah Hussein, Brothers in Trouble tells the story of an all-male household of illegal Pakistani immigrants living in the Midlands and how their lives are affected when Mary, a pregnant local prostitute, moves into the house.

With impressive performances from Om Puri, Pavan Malhotra and Angeline Ball, the film is notable for its depiction of life from a uniquely Asian perspective, and here, Bhasker shares his memories of the cast and production, recalls the critical reaction at the time and reflects on how the film can be viewed today, 30 years after its original release.


WED 22:15 Screen Two (b0078rcr)
Brothers in Trouble

Moving drama about the lives of a group of illegal Pakistani immigrants living in a boarding house in 1960s England. A skilled labourer who came to England to find better employment is relegated to shovelling sheep dung in a factory, but he learns to compromise after befriending other immigrants in his boarding house. The arrival of a young white woman causes sexual and cultural tension, culminating in a bitter confrontation.


WED 23:55 Timeshift (b0105r8x)
Series 10

Crime and Punishment: The Story of Capital Punishment

Timeshift digs into the archive to trace the extraordinary story of the ultimate sanction. At the beginning of the 19th century, you could still be hanged in Britain for offences such as stealing a sheep or shooting a rabbit. Even children as young as seven were sent to the gallows. The last hanging in this country took place as recently as 1964.

By opting for a dispassionate history rather than staging the usual polarised debate, the programme breaks new ground with its fascinating attention to detail, such as the protocols of the public execution or the 'science' of hanging. With contributions from both sides of the argument, it provides an essential guide to a subject that still divides us.


WED 00:55 Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age (b0074m9s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 01:25 Railways: The Making of a Nation (b07x4f3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 01:55 The Story of Welsh Art (p097c3k8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 01:00 on Sunday]


WED 02:55 Thatcher: A Very British Revolution (m0005br9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

THURSDAY 02 OCTOBER 2025

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


THU 21:45 Talking Pictures (b04w7vyq)
Julie Andrews

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


THU 22:30 This Cultural Life (m002k80d)
Gillian Anderson

Gillian Anderson’s breakthrough television role in the sci-fi series The X-Files made her a global star in 1993, and she played cool-headed Agent Dana Scully for nearly a decade. She also starred in period dramas, including an acclaimed film adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel The House of Mirth and, on television, in Bleak House, Great Expectations and War and Peace. Her theatre credits include A Doll’s House, A Streetcar Named Desire and All About Eve, all of which saw her nominated for Olivier Awards. Gillian has won Golden Globe and Emmy Awards for The X-Files, and also for The Crown, in which she played prime minister Margaret Thatcher. More recently, she found a new generation of fans for her role as a sex therapist in the series Sex Education. Her latest film is The Salt Path, adapted from the best-selling memoir by Raynor Winn.

Gillian Anderson tells John Wilson how, after being born in Chicago, she moved with her parents to Crouch End, London, when she was five, and then to Michigan at the age of 11. After what she describes as 'rebellious' teenage years, she studied at Chicago’s DePaul University with drama teacher Ric Murphy, whom she cites as a major influence on her early acting ambitions. After a series of minor stage roles in New York, she auditioned for The X-Files, and the role of Agent Scully changed her life. She also chooses the actor Meryl Streep as a major inspiration after seeing her with Robert Redford in the 1985 romantic drama film Out of Africa. Gillian also reveals how the Serbian-born conceptual performance artist Marina Abramović has also been an influential cultural figure for her.


THU 23:00 Viceroy's House (m0007zh5)
Lord Mountbatten arrives in India to take the post of last Viceroy. He and his wife Edwina take up residence in the Viceroy's House, with its hundreds of Hindu, Sikh and Muslim Indian servants. Meanwhile, new servant Jeet Kumar arrives to begin his new work as one of Mountbatten's dressers, only to encounter a long-lost love from a difficult period in his past. With the country shrouded in civil unrest, Mountbatten is determined to oversee a peaceful transition of power, but as India's leaders squabble amongst themselves, it begins to look as though partition might be the only answer.


THU 00:40 The Jet Stream and Us (b00909b0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]


THU 01:40 Talking Pictures (b04w7vyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:45 today]


THU 02:20 The Jet Stream and Us (b00909b0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Wednesday]

FRIDAY 03 OCTOBER 2025

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m002k7yx)
Zoe Ball presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 10 July 1998 and featuring B*Witched, Matthew Marsden, The Jungle Brothers, Karen Ramirez, Destiny's Child, Mansun, Eagle-Eye Cherry and Billie.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m002k7yz)
Jamie Theakston presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 17 July 1998 and featuring Billie, Celine Dion and The Bee Gees, Pras Michel feat ODB and Mya, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Five, Mousse T feat Hot 'n' Juicy, Garbage and Another Level.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (b07c3ywt)
Mike Read presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 1 October 1981 and featuring The Tweets, Toyah, Altered Images, Gidea Park, The Creatures, Bad Manners, Dollar and Adam and the Ants, plus a dance sequence by Legs & Co.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m0015x90)
Mark Franklin and Claudia Simon present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 1 October 1992 and featuring Stereo MC's, Crowded House, Doctor Spin, Dr. Alban, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Bizarre Inc featuring Angie Brown, Status Quo and The Shamen.


FRI 21:00 Country Kings at the BBC (p028vxj4)
Classic male country singers from the BBC vaults, journeying from The Everly Brothers and Jerry Lee Lewis to Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, and featuring classic songs and performances by Glen Campbell, Charley Pride, George Hamilton IV, Kenny Rogers, Clint Black, Johnny Cash, Eric Church and more. This 50 years-plus compilation is a chronological look at country kings as featured on BBC studio shows as varied as In Concert, Wogan, The Late Show and Later with Jools Holland, plus early variety shows presented by the likes of Lulu, Harry Secombe and Shirley Abicair.


FRI 22:00 In Concert (m0025gn2)
Kenny Rogers

Country music icon Kenny Rogers stars in a television special from 1979, recorded during a visit to England. He is joined by pop-country vocal group Dave & Sugar.


FRI 22:50 Tammy (m002k7z1)
Episode 1

Country music star Tammy Wynette sings her favourite songs and introduces fellow Nashville star George Hamilton IV at The Maltings in Suffolk.


FRI 23:15 The Old Grey Whistle Test (m000vsgf)
Emmylou Harris

Innovative country legend Emmylou Harris and The Hot Band perform in a special concert recorded for The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977. The set includes Luxury Liner and Tulsa Queen as well as other old favourites.


FRI 23:55 Emmylou Harris: From a Deeper Well (m000vsg7)
Profile of veteran country singer Emmylou Harris, witnessing the heady success of her career while also discussing her late flowering of intensely personal and groundbreaking music, dealing with loss and the passing years.


FRI 00:55 In Concert (m0025gn2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 01:40 Top of the Pops (m002k7yx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


FRI 02:10 Top of the Pops (m002k7yz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 02:40 Top of the Pops (m0015x90)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]