SATURDAY 27 DECEMBER 2025
SAT 19:00 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d2mc)
Christmas Special 1990
When Tristan discovers that the attractive new schoolmistress is part of the bell-ringing team, he decides to try his hand at campanology. Meanwhile, the brothers fall out over the treatment of an enormous wolfhound.
SAT 20:30 To the Manor Born (b0078gxn)
Series 1
The First Noel
Christmas comes but once a year. Perhaps on the Grantleigh estate, that is just as well, as Audrey is determined to carry out her responsibilities as though she still lived at the manor.
SAT 21:00 Remembers... (m002p222)
Samuel West Remembers... Prunella Scales
Actor Samuel West introduces a special night of BBC programmes that celebrate the life and work of his mother, Prunella Scales, who died aged 93 in October 2025.
Reflecting on her talents and legacy, Samuel shares his thoughts on her acclaimed career, including her unforgettable portrayal of Sybil in Fawlty Towers.
SAT 21:20 Funny Women (m002p224)
Prunella Scales
Prunella Scales looks back at her long and varied career in television and films. Featuring clips from her starring roles and contributions from colleagues, friends and family, including Timothy West, John Cleese and Jane Horrocks.
SAT 21:50 Screen One (b0074ndd)
A Question of Attribution
Film version of Alan Bennett's National Theatre hit, directed by John Schlesinger.
A witty examination of the thesis that appearances can be deceptive. Sir Anthony Blunt leads a double life - interrogations by MI5 interspersed with visits to the palace where, on one memorable occasion, he is surprised by Her Majesty.
How much does she know about him and, as the Fifth Man asks, what's she really like?
SAT 23:00 Looking for Victoria (m002p227)
Series 1
Episode 1
Drama documentary with Prunella Scales. The first episode examines Queen Victoria's traumatic childhood, coronation at 18 and marriage to her first cousin Albert.
SAT 00:00 Looking for Victoria (m002p22c)
Series 1
Episode 2
Dramatised documentary on Queen Victoria with Prunella Scales. This episode explores the queen's close bonds with John Brown and Indian servant 'the Munshi'.
SAT 00:55 The Best of Lesley Garrett Tonight (m002p21t)
Highlights from the popular soprano's series Lesley Garrett Tonight, with guests including Bryn Terfel, Darcey Bussell, Andrea Bocelli, Gary Barlow, Michael Ball and Lily Savage.
SAT 01:45 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d2mc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
SAT 03:15 To the Manor Born (b0078gxn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
SUNDAY 28 DECEMBER 2025
SUN 19:00 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m002p21h)
2025: Maggie Aderin-Pocock - Is There Life Beyond Earth?
Destination Moon
Scientists in 2025 detected the 'strongest hint yet' of biological activity outside our solar system on exoplanet K2-18b, sparking growing excitement about the real possibility of extraterrestrial life. In this series of lectures, Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock sets out on a journey to find it. In lecture 1, self-confessed ‘lunartic’ Maggie begins by exploring our fascination with our closest neighbour, the moon.
Maggie first became obsessed with the moon as a child, when she would watch it with her dad, and aged 14, she even built a telescope of her own. Four hundred years earlier, Galileo first assembled glass lenses and made a telescope, which Maggie and audience volunteers will help to recreate. He too pointed it at the moon, astonishing the world with his drawings and inspiring a raft of theories about the type of alien life that might be living there. The moon wouldn’t be confirmed as lifeless until humans actually set foot on it in 1969.
Maggie explores the history of our own species in space, joined by the UK’s latest crew of European Space Agency astronauts - Rosemary Coogan, John McFall and Meganne Cristian. From the early Apollo missions to the planned Artemis Moon landing in 2027, the astronauts join children from the audience in a series of demos that illustrate the challenges of human space travel and the reality of colonies on the moon and beyond.
Maggie uses this lunar viewpoint to look back on our own planet and ask some fundamental questions about life. Cosmic mineralogist Prof Sara Russell from the Natural History Museum studies space rocks and demonstrates what they can tell us about where life’s precursors came from and how life on earth may have got started. We then meet some of the most weird and wonderful creatures that have evolved here on our planet, like the scaly foot snails that live at hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean, at temperatures of over 350°C. What are the limits for life on another world, and what might it look like?
Finding other planets that might host life will require us to ‘see the invisible’. Maggie and her volunteers demonstrate, using UV torches and infrared cameras, how today’s modern telescopes allow us to do just that.
Finally, Maggie examines what it means to be a 'goldilocks planet' - not too hot, not too cold - just right for life. In a full audience participation demo, we question if there is another habitable world out there and what it would need to be like. What are we searching for in our quest to find an extraterrestrial species?
This is the 200th anniversary year of the Christmas Lectures. They are the most prestigious event in the Royal Institution calendar, dating from 1825, when Michael Faraday founded the series for children. They have become the world’s longest-running science television series and promise to inspire children and adults alike each year through explosive demonstrations and interactive experiments with the live theatre audience.
SUN 20:00 Planet Earth II (b087y9wf)
A World of Wonder
A compilation of the wildlife documentary series presented by David Attenborough.
A chance to enjoy the spectacular Planet Earth II, exploring wildlife dramas from across the globe. Ten years on from the groundbreaking original Planet Earth, Planet Earth II shows us life on our planet in entirely new ways. Captured in stunning ultra-high definition detail and using a whole range of new camera technology, this series brings us closer to animals than ever before and reveals new wildlife dramas for the very first time.
Planet Earth II is an immersive exploration of the world's jungles, mountains, deserts, islands, grasslands and our newest habitat - cities. As our planet continues to change, never have these wildernesses been as fragile and as a precious as they are today. The series journeys to the four corners of the globe to explore the greatest treasures of our living planet and discover the remarkable ways animals overcome the challenges of surviving in the wildest places on Earth.
SUN 21:00 One Foot in the Grave (m000qpgk)
The Wisdom of the Witch
The Meldrews have a tarot reading that prophesies disaster for Victor. Patrick and Pippa sell their home, but a house clearance crew are mistaken for their removal men. Patrick and Victor get snowed in at an old house with a jealous boyfriend and a huge spider.
SUN 22:00 Dave Allen (m0026chf)
Dave Allen looks at the English, the Irish and many other illogical aspects of life - with his own unique wit and satirical observations.
SUN 22:55 Billy Connolly: A Scot in the Arctic (p032kjf7)
'The Big Yin' embarks on a big adventure, as comedian Billy Connolly ventures from stage to ice - a frozen Arctic Ocean inhabited by ten-foot polar bears. The Scots mirth-maker is armed only with a small flimsy tent, a video camera and a BBC film crew. Not an ideal way to spend a week.
SUN 23:40 Scene by Scene (m002p21l)
Terence Stamp
Actor Terence Stamp joins Mark Cousins to talk about his life and career. Together, they watch clips from Stamp's most famous films, including Billy Budd, Far from the Madding Crowd, Poor Cow and Blue.
SUN 00:30 The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (m001qg80)
Resplendent in flamboyant ball gowns, looking down over the vast red Australian desert, three showgirls, Tick (Hugo Weaving), Adam (Guy Pearce) and Bernadette (Terence Stamp), are offered a four-week cabaret engagement in Alice Springs. The challenge is simply getting there intact, along with their battered, pink tour bus, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. It's not easy being a drag queen in the outback.
They came, they conquered, they looked fabulous!
SUN 02:10 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m002p21h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
MONDAY 29 DECEMBER 2025
MON 19:00 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m002p22s)
2025: Maggie Aderin-Pocock - Is There Life Beyond Earth?
Searching the Solar System
In this lecture, Maggie continues her journey, this time in a search for life in the rest of our solar system. From the ancient Greeks’ first observations of 'planetai' (wandering stars), she starts by tracing the evolution in our understanding of the solar system and how it came to be, before exploring its central powerhouse, the sun.
Maggie is joined by Dr Nicky Fox, Nasa’s head of science and lead scientist for the Parker Solar Probe, the first ever mission to ‘touch’ a star. Nicky demonstrates with Maggie how the processes going on inside the sun provide all the energy and raw materials for life to exist, and why, ultimately, we are all made of stardust!
Next, Maggie explores Mercury, where a day is twice as long as a year, and Venus, the hottest planet in the solar system, thanks to a runaway greenhouse effect. Is there a chance that Venus could host life in its thick atmosphere?
We next reach Mars, the current target for Elon Musk with his plans to set up a million-strong human colony. Maggie has always been keen to go herself. She explores the possibilities of living and building a human colony on the red planet. Crucially for us, Mars has also long been considered a candidate for alien life. We learn the latest findings from recent Mars Rover missions, including new data from the Perseverance Rover, which are providing evidence of a time when Mars was awash in water, with good conditions for supporting microbial life. Maggie then demonstrates how we think Mars might have lost its water and atmosphere, leaving any remaining life now buried deep underground. She brings into the theatre a working twin of the UK-built Rosalind Franklin Mars Rover, which is due to launch in 2028 and will be Europe’s first ever rover on Mars. It will drill two metres below the surface for fossilised microbes and other evidence of ancient life.
Next on the grand tour are Jupiter and Saturn, with their breathtaking images captured by recent Juno and Cassini missions. Lecture theatre demos illustrate why these gas giants themselves don’t present much hope for finding life... but, Maggie will reveal that, between them, the two planets host over 300 moons. We explore some of the most weird and wonderful that have the potential to harbour life: Europa, with a salty ocean beneath its frozen crust, and Titan, where the Huygens space probe landed, to reveal a mountainous landscape covered with liquid methane lakes. We also check on the flight of the Europa Clipper – a probe on its way to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa to search for conditions suitable for life.
There's a brief fly-by of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, where Maggie demonstrates how the planet Neptune was actually predicted using maths before it was ever seen through a telescope.
Finally, we catch up with the two Voyager space probes, which have now flown through space for almost 50 years and made it to the edge of interstellar space. Maggie plays and explains the extraordinary audio of Voyager 1 leaving the 'heliosphere', the life-giving bubble created by our sun, and venturing out beyond the boundary of our solar system.
This is the 200th anniversary year of the Christmas Lectures. They are the most prestigious event in the Royal Institution calendar, dating from 1825 when Michael Faraday founded the series for children. They have become the world’s longest-running science television series and promise to inspire children and adults alike each year, through explosive demonstrations and interactive experiments with the live theatre audience.
MON 20:00 Blue Planet II (b09l2fgr)
Oceans of Wonder
In recent years, our knowledge of life beneath the waves has been transformed. Using cutting-edge technology in this extended special we celebrate the highlights from the series. From the intense heat of the tropics to our planet's frozen poles, through to its unexplored depths, we reveal new worlds and extraordinary never-seen-before animal behaviours.
Starting in the tropical coral reefs - the most diverse ocean habitat - a tusk fish demonstrates a surprising level of ingenuity - tool use - as it uses corals as an anvil to break open clams. In the Seychelles, half a million terns nest on an island. Fledglings must eventually take to the wing, but danger lurks beneath the waves: metre-long giant trevally fish leap clear out of the water to snatch birds on the wing.
In the tropics sun heats the sea, creating rain, winds and huge storms that drive up towards higher latitudes. Here the seas change with the seasons. In spring thousands of mobula rays gather in Mexico's Sea of Cortez. At night, in a previously unseen event, tiny organisms that light up when disturbed react to their wingbeats, creating an enchanting bioluminescent firework display.
The seasonal seas are home to bountiful kelp forests. In the undersea forests of southern Africa, one resident - the common octopus- has become the ultimate escape artist. To outwit her nemesis, the pyjama shark, she uses ingenious tactics, never filmed before.
On the coast, two worlds collide. Where sea meets land, coasts are the most dynamic and challenging habitats in the ocean. The ever-changing tides create rock pools. But these temporary worlds are a battleground. Predatory starfish turn a magical garden into the stuff of nightmares.
The big blue is the world's greatest wilderness - it's a vast marine desert where there is little to eat and nowhere to hide. Sometimes there is a brief explosion of food in this marine desert, but ocean hunters must be fast to make the best of this bonanza. We witness super-pods of up to five thousand spinner dolphins racing to herd vast shoals of lanternfish, briefly caught at the surface where it is thought they spawn. New aerial footage reveals, for the first time, the spectacular feeding frenzy of 90kg tuna and dolphins smashing through the lantern fish shoals turning the sea white with foam.
The deep is perhaps the most hostile environment on Earth, at least to us - a world of crushing pressure, brutal cold and utter darkness. We have barely begun to explore it and yet it is the largest living space on our blue planet, home to strange worlds like methane volcanoes and undersea lakes of salty brine. But life adapts in ingenious ways, like the sea toad - a fish that walks instead of swims. And barrel-eye - a deep sea fish with a translucent skull so that it can see through the top of its head to make the most of any glimmer of light.
The deep is more closely connected to our own world than we ever thought possible due to giant ocean currents. We join these ocean currents as they begin their lives in Antarctica and flow from the poles to the tropics and back again, linking every ocean. Ocean currents move heat around our planet and maintain a climate favourable for life. But our ocean system, in relative equilibrium for millennia, is changing at a worrying rate.
Deep in the polar north, we meet walrus mothers and their newborn calves, searching for an ice floe to rest on; but with rising temperatures, summer sea ice is retreating- their battles to survive are becoming ever harder. As we begin to understand the true complexity of the lives of our ocean creatures so do we recognise the fragility of their home.
MON 21:00 Bob Monkhouse: The Last Stand (b086tw3q)
Summer 2003: Bob Monkhouse entertains a room full of comedians with stand-up, chat and a comedy masterclass. The night became the stuff of legend among comedians but was not transmitted until much later.
MON 22:00 imagine... (m000zhgd)
2021
Tom Stoppard: A Charmed Life
Playwright Tom Stoppard hit the ground running in the 1960s with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and there has always been a streak of melancholy beneath the sparkling surface of his work. With his play Leopoldstadt, he comes full circle and faces up to the pain and loss in his past. He tells Alan Yentob his extraordinary story.
MON 23:30 Shakespeare in Love (m000rymh)
William Shakespeare hasn't written a hit in years, and theatre owner Henslowe is counting on Shakespeare's promised comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter, to keep his wolfish creditors from the door. At the casting session, Will hears his lines spoken with great feeling by an unknown young actor, and his curiosity is fired. Soon he discovers the secret of the talented young actor and rediscovers his muse. As Shakespeare falls in love with an unattainable noblewoman, the farcical comedy transforms into the timeless tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet.
MON 01:25 Inside Classical (m001tv7c)
Series 1
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Mark Gatiss as Sherlock Holmes and Sanjeev Bhaskar as Dr Watson lead the cast in this stage adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s best-selling mystery, The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Written and composed by Neil Brand, the BBC Symphony Orchestra provide the soundtrack to accompany this chilling and gripping thriller.
With no theatrical set or props, our imagination is transported through music and drama from the stage of the Barbican Hall in London to the Baskerville Hall estate, located on a vast, desolate and even dangerous moor, to experience the mystery that surrounds the tale of a supernatural and vicious killer hound that roams the land.
MON 02:45 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m002p22s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
TUESDAY 30 DECEMBER 2025
TUE 19:00 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m002p23k)
2025: Maggie Aderin-Pocock - Is There Life Beyond Earth?
To the Stars and Beyond
In her final lecture, Maggie takes her audience beyond our solar system, deep into the Milky Way galaxy, and yet further out into the universe, where the chances of finding life out there, somewhere, seem greater than ever before.
On Christmas Day 2021, the most powerful space telescope ever created, the James Webb Space Telescope, was launched. Maggie played her own part, helping to build one of the key instruments on board, and now the JWST is sending back the most extraordinary images and is one of our key tools in the hunt for alien life. With the help of British astronaut Tim Peake, Maggie and the audience grasp the scale of JWST’s huge mirror and demonstrate the challenges of launching it into space. Tim recalls his own experiences of travelling into space ten years ago and reveals the impact on his perspective about what might be out there beyond Earth.
Tim Peake went to the International Space Station, but on our journey to hunt for life, we’re going to need to go much further than that. The next nearest star in our galaxy, Proxima Centauri, is
4.24 light years away. To get a handle on this staggering distance, Maggie calculates the speed of light and the distance of a light year using a simple microwave. She then explores what kind of spacecraft we might need to cover these kinds of distances, such as Breakthrough Starshot, which envisages using a 'solar sail' powered by a huge laser. The alternative might be an Alcubierre drive, a theoretical ship that could warp space-time to travel faster than the speed of light. As we reach further stars on our journey, Maggie introduces ESA's revolutionary Gaia spacecraft, designed to map the stars in our galaxy, which confirmed that our Milky Way has hundreds of billions of stars. Imagine if all of these stars had planets, just like our sun has!
When Carl Sagan gave his lectures in 1977, we didn't know of any planets outside our own solar system. Now we are aware of over 6,000 of these 'exoplanets' and counting. Through a series of demos, Maggie shows how astronomers use instruments like the James Webb Telescope to find and study exoplanets with techniques such as the transit method - used to detect a planet and determine its size and orbit - and spectroscopy - employed to find out whether a planet has an atmosphere and what that might be made of. Finally, spectroscopy can also be used to detect 'biosignatures' - any signs of life. We meet Cambridge professor Nikku Madhusudhan, whose team have used the JWST to uncover signs of life on exoplanet K2-18b, a planet 124 light years away, with a similar temperature to Earth. They have detected the chemical fingerprints of sulphur-containing gasses, which on Earth are only produced by living things...
As Maggie and Tim examine just how common extraterrestrial life might be, she unpacks Frank Drake’s 1961 equation, designed to calculate how many detectable extraterrestrial societies exist in our galaxy. How do the numbers change now that we know exoplanets are so common and that our galaxy has so many more stars than we thought? And then what about galaxies beyond our own? Where we once thought there were around 100 billion galaxies in our universe, Hubble's 'deep field' images have revealed at least two trillion!
Will we ever find definitive evidence of extraterrestrial life? Or even experience our own alien encounter? If we did detect an alien civilisation, what do we think it might look like, and what would we say to it? These are some of the many questions future scientists and astronomers will be grappling with, and we invite our audience of young people to contribute to that discussion. It’s up to future generations to take up the baton – to infinity and beyond.
This is the 200th anniversary year of the Christmas Lectures. They are the most prestigious event in the Royal Institution calendar, dating from 1825 when Michael Faraday founded the series for children. They have become the world’s longest-running science television series and promise to inspire children and adults alike each year, through explosive demonstrations and interactive experiments with the live theatre audience.
TUE 20:00 Seven Worlds, One Planet (m000ctbn)
Continents of Wonder
A compilation of the most spectacular moments from the series, highlighting the rich and wonderful diversity of life found on Earth's seven unique continents.
Millions of years ago, huge forces ripped apart the Earth's crust, creating seven distinct continents. Over time, each one developed its own remarkable wildlife.
We see the extraordinary variety of life found in South America and visit the largest of all continents, Asia, so big it still hides rarely seen creatures. We explore the cities of Europe, full of surprises, and the wilds of Africa, home to the greatest gatherings of animals.
Also, we travel to the searing heat of Australia, with its weird and wonderful wildlife, and witness the pioneering animals of North America that make the most of every opportunity.
Finally, we venture to the frozen wilderness of Antarctica where, on the most hostile continent of all, life manages to thrive against the odds. And we reveal how the biggest challenge faced by wildlife today is the impact of human activity on all seven of our incredible continents.
TUE 21:00 John le Carre: The Secret Centre (p091f50w)
John le Carre's name is synonymous with spies; he is the world-renowned author of thrillers such as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. His real name is David Cornwell, and he was an agent. In this documentary about spies, in fact and fiction, presented by Nigel Williams, le Carre discusses his extraordinary life.
TUE 22:00 Remembers... (m001gn4z)
Michael Jayston Remembers... Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Michael Jayston played George Smiley’s right-hand man, Peter Guillam, in the BBC’s acclaimed 1979 adaptation of John le Carre’s classic spy tale. He looks back on the experience, recalling what it was like working on what is still considered one of the best television series ever made and how he held his own alongside one of the finest acting talents of the 20th century, the great Sir Alec Guinness.
TUE 22:10 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (b0074tdz)
Series 1
Return to the Circus
Was George Smiley sacked after a scandal, or is he merely retired? When he is summoned by the cabinet watchdog for intelligence affairs, Smiley agrees to head the hunt for a secret service mole.
TUE 23:00 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (b0074tg0)
Series 1
Tarr Tells His Story
Acclaimed adaptation of John le Carre's novel. Smiley is forced to go back over some very old ground when he is told a story about spies.
TUE 23:50 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b00dwcp6)
John le Carre
John le Carre converses with Mark Lawson about his fragmented childhood, life in the diplomatic service, working with Alec Guinness and his book A Most Wanted Man. Le Carre worked as an intelligence officer in the 1970s before turning to writing full time. His personal experiences during the Cold War informed a string of best-selling espionage novels, including The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He also wrote the corporate corruption thriller The Constant Gardener, which became an Oscar-winning film.
TUE 00:50 John le Carre: The Secret Centre (p091f50w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUE 01:50 Blue Planet II (b09l2fgr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:50 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m002p23k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 31 DECEMBER 2025
WED 19:00 TOTP2 (m0001vjf)
New Year Special
Steve Wright creates the perfect new year playlist and celebrates with a plethora of performances from the last four decades. Among the featured artists are The Three Degrees, Elton John, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Europe, Blondie, The Nolans, Lionel Richie, The Bee Gees, Madonna and Kylie Minogue.
WED 20:15 Talking Pictures (m002p234)
Jaws
Celia Imrie dives into the BBC’s archives to tell the behind-the-scenes story of Steven Spielberg’s classic aquatic horror, Jaws.
It had arrived in cinemas with the warning slogan 'Don’t go in the water', but the team from the BBC’s Film 74 had already got in early, capturing the first days of shooting and filming revealing interviews with the young director, his cast and crew.
These gems are combined with later archive moments that explore the entire Jaws phenomenon and its many sequels to produce a Talking Pictures that comes with extra bite.
WED 21:00 Jaws (m002p1mb)
When a great white shark begins preying on humans off the beaches of New England, a police chief, a shark expert and a grizzled fisherman head out on a perilous journey to hunt the creature down.
WED 23:00 Jaws 2 (b007bt35)
Just when they thought it was safe to go back in the water, the beach-goers of Amity are threatened again by a giant, man-eating shark. Police chief Brody must convince the town of the danger and kill the shark.
WED 00:50 Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story (m002p1mf)
Made for the 50th anniversary of the blockbuster film that shocked and excited the world, Steven Spielberg shares an exclusive look inside the story of Jaws.
From Peter Benchley’s epic novel to Spielberg’s film, Jaws continues to influence pop culture, cinema and shark conservation. Featuring interviews with shark scientists and some of Hollywood’s most influential directors.
WED 02:15 Talking Pictures (m002p234)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:15 today]
WED 03:00 Seven Worlds, One Planet (m000ctbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
THURSDAY 01 JANUARY 2026
THU 19:00 New Year's Day Concert (m002p22w)
Highlights from Vienna 2026
Petroc Trelawny presents highlights of the traditional New Year’s Day Concert from Vienna. Watched by an audience of millions around the world, the Vienna Philharmonic start the new year in customary fashion, at the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna, bringing their message of hope, friendship and peace. Conducting for the first time is Canadian-born Yannick Nézet-Séguin, a conductor committed to rarely performed works. The waltzes, galops and polkas from the Strauss dynasty and their contemporaries will take centre stage but are heard alongside pieces being performed at the Vienna New Year's Day Concert for the very first time, including works by Josephine Weinlich and Florence Price. As always, the concert concludes with the ever-popular By the Beautiful Blue Danube and the foot-stamping Radetsky March.
THU 21:00 The Great Escape (b0078nd6)
During the Second World War, a group of Allied prisoners of war mount a daring breakout from a supposedly inescapable Nazi prison camp. Based on a true story.
THU 23:45 The Italian Job (m002hdd6)
Classic comedy caper starring Michael Caine. Just out of jail, Charlie Croker inherits a plan for a £4 million gold heist in Italy. Now he just has to overcome a few problems - like lack of money, not having a gang and the anger of the Mafia!
THU 01:20 Talking Pictures (b04y4dsw)
Michael Caine
A look at the life of acting legend Michael Caine, using rarely seen television interviews and classic archive clips to tell the story of one of Britain's most successful actors. Narrated by Sylvia Syms.
THU 02:15 Bob Monkhouse: The Last Stand (b086tw3q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
FRIDAY 02 JANUARY 2026
FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m002p239)
Jamie Theakston presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 8 January 1999 and featuring Bryan Adams and Melanie C, Honeyz, Robbie Williams, Alisha's Attic, Alda, Lighthouse Family, Spice Girls and Steps.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m002p23c)
Kate Thornton presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 15 January 1998 and featuring Honeyz, Blockster, Bryan Adams and Melanie C, Ultra, Robbie Williams, Da Click, Justin and Fatboy Slim.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (b01pznzn)
Peter Powell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 5 January 1978 and featuring Eddie and The Hot Rods, Terry Wogan, Long Tall Ernie, The Babys, Tonight, Brotherhood of Man, Julie Covington, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Wings and Legs & Co.
FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m000d26k)
Mark Goodier and Andy Crane present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 5 January 1989 and featuring Erasure, Kim Wilde, a-ha, Duran Duran, Boy Meets Girl, Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, Climie Fisher, Inner City, Neneh Cherry, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, and The Four Tops.
FRI 21:00 Top of the Pops (m002p23f)
Noel Edmonds presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 8 January 1976 and featuring Osibisa, Sailor, R&J Stone, Tony Christie, Sheer Elegance, Electric Light Orchestra, Barbara Dickson, Queen and Crispy & Company.
FRI 21:30 Top of the Pops (m002p23h)
David Hamilton presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 22 January 1976 and featuring Sailor, Barbara Dickson, Osibisa, Slik, Electric Light Orchestra, David Ruffin, Smokie, R&J Stone and Queen, and Pan's People dance to Paul Davidson.
FRI 22:00 Elvis Presley: '68 Comeback Special (m001zjgk)
In this newly remastered and extended concert recording, Elvis struts his stuff in his own charming and inimitable style, performing a massive collection of his hits including Hound Dog, All Shook Up, Heartbreak Hotel, Are You Lonesome Tonight, That’s All Right, Jailhouse Rock, Blue Suede Shoes, Don’t Be Cruel and Love Me Tender.
FRI 23:15 Sight and Sound in Concert (b0074szr)
Thin Lizzy
Classic, archive performance by Irish guitar rockers Thin Lizzy in concert at the Regal Theatre, Hitchin. The set includes Jailbreak, Cold Sweat and The Boys Are Back in Town.
FRI 23:50 In Concert (b00h6wtr)
Joan Baez: Part 1
Folk singer Joan Baez performs live at the BBC Television Theatre, London, in 1965. Songs include Rambler Gambler, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right and We Shall Overcome.
FRI 00:30 In Concert (b00hd2dg)
Joan Baez: Part 2
Folk singer Joan Baez performs live in concert at the BBC Television Theatre, London, in 1965. Songs include Silver Dagger, It Ain't Me, Babe and Isn't It Grand, Boys.
FRI 01:00 Top of the Pops (m002p239)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
FRI 01:30 Top of the Pops (b01pznzn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
FRI 02:05 Top of the Pops (m000d26k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
FRI 02:35 Top of the Pops (m002p23f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 03:05 Top of the Pops (m002p23h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:30 today]