SATURDAY 03 JANUARY 2026
SAT 19:00 Remembers... (m002pldg)
Christopher Biggins Remembers... Rentaghost
Beloved entertainer Christopher Biggins takes a nostalgic look back at his time on the classic BBC comedy Rentaghost. Sharing fond memories of the show’s quirky humour and unforgettable characters, Biggins reflects on how the series became a cult favourite and why it still holds a special place in British television history. His anecdotes promise a delightful trip down memory lane for fans of the iconic supernatural sitcom.
SAT 19:15 Rentaghost (m002pldj)
Series 7
It's Pantomime Time
Ethel Meaker can't sleep for worrying about her upcoming amateur pantomime performance. To help, McWitch gives her a potion, which makes Ethel dream of the Rentaghost team... performing a pantomime!
SAT 19:45 Remembers... (m0022nnw)
Dame Patricia Routledge Remembers... Hetty Wainthropp Investigates
Dame Patricia explains what attracted her to playing the woman who discovers an extraordinary talent for sleuthing in her sixties, cracking the case where all else fail, and why such roles are so vital in an industry that places a focus on youth over experience.
The contrasts between Hetty and Hyacinth Bucket were a huge part of the appeal, and Patricia shares her thoughts on why the sort of variety the series presented is so important to her as an actor. She also shares her affection for her fellow cast members and her disdain for the BBC bosses who presented her and Hetty with a case they never managed to solve – the mystery around why the programme was cancelled in its prime, and how they managed to break the news to her quite so incompetently.
SAT 19:50 Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (b007bd0r)
Series 1
The Bearded Lady
A drama series based on characters from the novel by David Cook. On her 60th birthday, Hetty Wainthropp decides it's time to change her life. A part-time job in a post office leads to a new career, that of a private detective. While investigating the mysterious death of an elderly lady, she uncovers a dangerous secret.
SAT 21:00 Arena (m0026d20)
From Roger Moore with Love
Friends, family and co-stars take part in this revealing and entertaining look at British icon Roger Moore and his rise to global fame. With rare home-movie footage, it follows his journey from shy London schoolboy to teenage knitwear model to global TV heartthrob, from The Saint and The Persuaders to his decade-defining role as James Bond, a part he made his own.
SAT 22:20 Escape to Athena (b00792bx)
A group of Allied prisoners of war plan to escape while excavating an archaeological site on a German-occupied Greek island. But the motley crew cannot resist the idea of taking some Greek art treasures with them.
SAT 00:15 Hetty Wainthropp Investigates (b007bd0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:50 today]
SAT 01:25 Arena (m0026d20)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
SUNDAY 04 JANUARY 2026
SUN 19:00 Winterwatch (b01q9d86)
1963: The Big Freeze
Chris Packham introduces a classic documentary from the BBC's archive, which takes a look at the worst winter of the 20th century in 1963. He also explores what we now know about how this big freeze affected Britain's wildlife, and how it would cope if we experienced another equally bad winter.
SUN 20:00 Rear Window (b0077s3z)
Voyeuristic suspense thriller about a recuperating photojournalist who spends his time watching the neighbours from the confines of his own apartment and begins to become obsessed with the belief that he has witnessed a murder.
SUN 21:50 Hitchcock at the NFT (m00226pd)
First broadcast in 1969. In his 70th year, Alfred Hitchcock came to the National Film Theatre in London to talk to fellow director Bryan Forbes and to answer questions from an audience of film enthusiasts.
With scenes from Blackmail (1929), The Lady Vanishes (1938), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963) and Torn Curtain (1966).
SUN 22:45 North by Northwest (b025ydrv)
Classic Alfred Hitchcock thriller. When advertising executive Roger Thornhill is mistaken for the mysterious Mr Kaplan by a ruthless espionage ring, he soon faces deadly peril, framed for murder. On the run, Thornhill seeks Kaplan, the one person who can verify his story.
SUN 01:00 Winterwatch (b01q9d86)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
SUN 02:00 Hitchcock at the NFT (m00226pd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:50 today]
SUN 02:55 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.
MONDAY 05 JANUARY 2026
MON 19:00 Thailand: Earth's Tropical Paradise (b087vgd6)
The Secrets of the South
Southern Thailand is the Thailand we think we all know. It is a place of both spectacular natural beauty and of wild parties, but behind this well-known image is also a place where spirituality pervades every bit of life. For the animals that live here, this is a natural wonderland.
MON 20:00 Pavlopetri: The City Beneath the Waves (b015yh6f)
Just off the southern coast of mainland Greece lies the oldest submerged city in the world. It thrived for 2,000 years during the time that saw the birth of western civilisation.
An international team of experts uses cutting-edge technology to prise age-old secrets from the complex of streets and stone buildings that lie less than five metres below the surface of the ocean. State-of-the-art CGI helps to raise the city from the seabed, revealing for the first time in 3,500 years how Pavlopetri would once have looked and operated.
Underwater archaeologist Dr Jon Henderson leads the project in collaboration with Nic Flemming, the man whose hunch led to the discovery of Pavlopetri in 1967, and a team from the Hellenic Ministry of Culture. Working alongside the archaeologists are a team from the Australian Centre for Field Robotics.
The teams scour the ocean floor, looking for artefacts. The site is littered with thousands of fragments, each providing valuable clues about the everyday lives of the people of Pavlopetri. From the buildings to the trade goods to the everyday tableware, each artefact provides a window into a forgotten world.
Together, these precious relics provide us with a window to a time when Pavlopetri would have been at its height, showing us what life was like in this distant age and revealing how this city marks the start of western civilisation.
MON 21:00 Call My Bluff (m002plvd)
Robert Robinson hosts the game of word definitions and deceptions. Joining team captains Frank Muir and Patrick Campbell are Patrick Mower, Russell Harty, Nanette Newman and Gabrielle Drake.
MON 21:30 Face the Music (m002plvg)
Joseph Cooper invites viewers to match their musical wits against Joyce Grenfell, David Attenborough and Richard Baker. With guest musician Sir Keith Faulkner.
MON 22:00 imagine... (b060fgs9)
Summer 2015
Frank Gehry: The Architect Says 'Why Can't I?'
A fascinating look at the colourful career of architect Frank Gehry, one of the world's most celebrated and famously provocative creative forces. From the iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to LA's Walt Disney Concert Hall, Gehry's buildings both intrigue and ignite.
Alan Yentob explores Gehry's remarkable journey from poor outsider in Toronto to global 'starchitect' and follows the construction of a characteristically audacious building in Sydney.
MON 23:10 Frank Gehry: Masterbuilders (m002plvj)
A profile of architect Frank Gehry, acclaimed worldwide for his audacious and distinctive buildings. First broadcast in 1993.
MON 23:55 Artsnight (b084flz2)
Series 4
The Brits Who Designed the Modern World
If there were an Olympic league table for design, Britain would be right at the top. Since the Second World War, British designers have revolutionised our homes, our workplaces, our roads and our public institutions.
In November 2016, the Design Museum opened its new £83m home in Kensington. To mark this great moment for British design, BBC Arts profiles ten great living British designers.
Arts reporter Brenda Emmanus meets and profiles our 'Top 10', to find out what inspires them to make such phenomenal objects. She reveals how designers have responded to society's evolving tastes, from the brash 60s modernism of Margaret Calvert's road signs through to the colourful technology of Rick Dickinson's ZX Spectrum. She also meets Britain's most prolific designer, Sir Kenneth Grange (Intercity 125, bus shelters, the Kenwood Chef...), as well as Andrew Ritchie, who gave the world the Brompton Bike.
And we also hear from an illustrious panel of celebrities whose lives have been transformed by British design, including Will.i.am, Jeremy Paxman, Pete Waterman, Ade Adepitan and Jenny Eclair.
MON 00:55 Ian Rankin Investigates: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (b007qyzv)
Crime writer Ian Rankin investigates The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Starting with Robert Louis Stevenson's nightmare in September 1885, Rankin traces the roots of this story, which stretches back to Stevenson's childhood. Grave-robbers, hallucinatory drugs and prostitution all play their part in the disturbing account of Henry Jekyll's double-life, as Rankin's journey takes him into the yeasty draughts and unlit closes of the city that inspired the tale - Edinburgh.
MON 01:55 Pavlopetri: The City Beneath the Waves (b015yh6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 02:55 Thailand: Earth's Tropical Paradise (b087vgd6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
TUESDAY 06 JANUARY 2026
TUE 19:00 Thailand: Earth's Tropical Paradise (b088pcls)
The Central Heartland
In central Thailand's forests, fertile plains and even city streets, nature finds a way of living alongside people. Spirituality can be found in human and animal relationships, both likely and unlikely. This bustling region is known as the nation's rice bowl - but even here, there are magical places to be found.
TUE 20:00 Yes, Prime Minister (b0074rw6)
Series 1
One of Us
The papers of a recently deceased head of MI5 show that he was, at one stage, spying for Russia. Worse still, he was investigated and cleared by an internal Civil Service Committee of Enquiry headed by Sir Humphrey Appleby.
TUE 20:30 Yes, Prime Minister (b0074rwy)
Series 2
Man Overboard
Sir Humphrey must stop Jim supporting a plan to move armed service jobs from the south to the north east to ease unemployment.
TUE 21:00 Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies (b01ktflc)
The story of D-Day has been told from the point of view of the soldiers who fought in it, the tacticians who planned it and the generals who led it. But that epic event in world history has never been told before through the perspective of the strange handful of spies who made it possible. D-Day was a great victory of arms, a tactical coup, and a moral crusade. But it was also a triumph for espionage, deceit, and thinking of the most twisted sort.
Following on from his hugely successful BBC Two documentaries, Operation Mincemeat and Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story (Agent Zigzag), writer and presenter Ben Macintyre returns to the small screen to bring to life his third best-selling book - Double Cross The True Story of the D-Day Spies. Macintyre reveals the gripping true story of five of the double agents who helped to make D-Day such a success.
TUE 22:00 Culloden (b0074sp7)
Historical documentary about the Battle of Culloden in 1746, one of the most mishandled and brutal battles ever fought in Britain.
Written and directed by Peter Watkins, it is presented as a news report from the battlefield. English soldiers and their Highland counterparts are interviewed as the film reconstructs one of the country's bloodiest battles.
TUE 23:10 The Making of Culloden (b00ml4yz)
A look at the making of the 1964 classic film Culloden.
Peter Watkins' television career was explosive and highly innovative but, tragically, short-lived. He made only two films for the BBC, Culloden in 1964 and The War Game in 1965, which the BBC subsequently banned, ending his television career.
Watkins rarely returns to Britain, and even more rarely talks to the British media. Here, he participates in a reunion with the cast and crew of Culloden and, in a frank interview, recounts the happy period making the film. He also discusses, as he sees it, the tragic decline television has taken since it was made.
TUE 23:40 Britain's Lost Waterlands: Escape to Swallows and Amazons Country (b07k18jf)
Documentary that follows presenters Dick Strawbridge and Alice Roberts as they explore the spectacular British landscapes that inspired children's author Arthur Ransome to write his series Swallows and Amazons.
The landscapes he depicted are based on three iconic British waterlands. The beauty and drama of the Lake District shaped by ancient glaciers and rich in wildlife and natural resources, the shallow man-made waterways of the Norfolk broads so crucial to farming and reed production, and the coastal estuaries and deep-water harbours of the Suffolk coastline shaped by ferocious tides and crucial to trade.
Engineer and keen sailor Dick uses vintage boats to explore the landscapes and meet people whose lives are shaped by the water, while wildlife enthusiast Alice explores the rich shorelines, interrogating the underlying geography and meeting the wildlife. Together they evoke the nostalgia of Ransome's writing and a bygone era of childhood freedom and adventure, but they also explore the economic significance of these special locations and the ways in which water was harnessed to change the course of British history.
TUE 00:40 Timeshift (b08dwxhn)
Series 16
Flights of Fancy: Pigeons and the British
Timeshift ventures inside places of sporting achievement, scientific endeavour and male obsession - the lofts of pigeon fanciers - to tell the story of a remarkable bird. As racer, messenger and even beauty pageant contestant, the humble pigeon has been a steadfast part of British life for centuries.
Pigeons have served in two world wars, flown over oceans and crossed barriers of age, class and race to take their place as man's best feathered friend. Meanwhile, pigeon fanciers have contrived to make them faster and more eye-catching, using backyard genetics to breed the perfect bird.
Popular affection for pigeons has nosedived in recent decades due to a growing distaste at what they leave behind, and legislation has seen them chased out of public spaces. But as this programme shows, dedicated British pigeon fanciers are determined to keep their pastime alive. So what does the future hold for the 21st-century pigeon?
TUE 01:40 Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies (b01ktflc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUE 02:40 Thailand: Earth's Tropical Paradise (b088pcls)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 07 JANUARY 2026
WED 19:00 Thailand: Earth's Tropical Paradise (b08bg31f)
The Mysterious North
Northern Thailand is dominated by mountains and cloaked in forest. It hides ancient creatures and surprising partnerships. To survive here, both the wildlife and people rely on maintaining the natural harmony of the mysterious north.
WED 20:00 Mysterious Origins of Insects (m001zhxz)
Insects are vital to life on our planet, yet almost 40 per cent of known species are in danger of extinction. This film explores the eye-opening realm of these creatures to better understand how they evolved.
Travelling from the rain forests of French Guiana to the Arctic Ocean, scientists are using traditional and cutting-edge techniques to examine both modern insects and the fossil record in their search for a single, common insect ancestor.
WED 21:00 Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb (b08650s6)
Documentary which follows the construction of a trailblazing 36,000-tonne steel structure to entomb the ruins of the nuclear power plant destroyed in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It films close up with the team of international engineers as they race to build the new structure before Chernobyl's original concrete sarcophagus - the hastily built structure that covers the reactor - collapses.
Built to last just 30 years, the temporary sarcophagus is now crumbling, putting the world at risk of another release of radioactive dust. Radiation levels make it impossible for workers to build the new shelter directly over the old reactor, so engineers are erecting the new megastructure - taller than the tower of Big Ben and three times heavier than the Eiffel Tower - to one side and will then face the challenge of sliding the largest object ever moved on land into place over the old reactor.
WED 22:00 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (b0074th6)
Series 1
Smiley Tracks the Mole
In his search for the mole sitting at the heart of the Circus, Smiley sets out for Oxford to visit an invaluable friend.
WED 22:45 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (b0074tjf)
Series 1
How It All Fits Together
Smiley recalls the past and his involvement with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier and Poorman, and Karla - the legendary head of Moscow Circus.
WED 23:30 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (b0074tks)
Series 1
Tinker Tailor
Smiley thinks that the time has come to call on Jim Prideaux, whose assignment to Czechoslovakia went disastrously wrong, with the mole at the heart of the Circus to blame.
WED 00:15 Mysterious Origins of Insects (m001zhxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
WED 01:15 Inside Chernobyl's Mega Tomb (b08650s6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WED 02:15 Thailand: Earth's Tropical Paradise (b08bg31f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
THURSDAY 08 JANUARY 2026
THU 19:00 Yorkshire Wolds Way (b088nwg0)
Episode 1
Adventurer Paul Rose explores the 79 miles of the Yorkshire Wolds Way, arguably Britain's least well-known national walking trail. The trail starts at the Humber Estuary and ends at the Yorkshire seaside resort of Filey. On the way, Paul takes in the views of the Yorkshire Wolds from the top of the Humber Bridge, learns to ride a penny-farthing and searches out the spots made internationally famous by the artist David Hockney.
THU 19:30 Pubs, Ponds and Power: The Story of the Village (b0bsrqm9)
Series 1
Lavenham
Archaeologist Ben Robinson explores Lavenham in Suffolk, the best-preserved medieval village in the country. In the 16th century, Lavenham was one of the wealthiest places in England, becoming rich on its woollen cloth industry, but the industry declined and the wealthy abandoned Lavenham. By the 19th century it was a place of poverty, but today it is once more a jewel of a village.
THU 20:00 The Guns of Navarone (b00pk778)
Explosive World War II action yarn in which a group of crack commandos are assembled for an apparently impossible mission.
The team, made up of Allied and Greek soldiers with specialist talents, attempt to destroy the seemingly impregnable German artillery units on the Greek island of Navarone and in turn free 2,000 British soldiers on Kiros, an island in the Aegean.
THU 22:30 The Eagle Has Landed (b00glr88)
All-action World War II adventure. On the morning of 6 November 1943, the military authorities in Berlin receive a simple message - 'The Eagle Has Landed'. In a daring kidnap attempt, a small force of crack German paratroopers are poised to snatch Winston Churchill and return with him to Germany. If they succeed in their mission, it could alter the course of the war. Who can stop them?
THU 00:40 Culloden (b0074sp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Tuesday]
THU 01:50 Britain's Lost Waterlands: Escape to Swallows and Amazons Country (b07k18jf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:40 on Tuesday]
THU 02:50 Yorkshire Wolds Way (b088nwg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
THU 03:20 Pubs, Ponds and Power: The Story of the Village (b0bsrqm9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRIDAY 09 JANUARY 2026
FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m002plnc)
Jayne Middlemiss presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 22 January 1999 and featuring Blockster, Another Level, The All Seeing I ft Tony Christie, Juliet Roberts, 3 Colours Red, Bryan Adams and Melanie C, Emmie and 911.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m002plnf)
Jayne Middlemiss presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 29 January 1999 and featuring Terrorvision, Steps, The All Seeing I ft Jarvis Cocker, TQ, Sebadoh, 911, Gay Dad and The Offspring.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (b07h0hg5)
Peter Powell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 7 January 1982 and featuring Alton Edwards, Mobiles, Shakatak, The Human League, Jon and Vangelis, Meat Loaf and Zoo.
FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m0001y8h)
Gary Davies presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 8 January 1987 and featuring Swing Out Sister, Lionel Richie, The Gap Band, The Pretenders, Paul Simon, Jackie Wilson and Genesis.
FRI 21:05 Top of the Pops (m002plnj)
David Hamilton presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 25 March 1976 and featuring Marmalade, Billy Ocean, 10cc, The Miracles, Elton John, Sheer Elegance, Hot Chocolate and Brotherhood of Man.
FRI 21:35 Top of the Pops (b00zwrn9)
Tony Blackburn presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 1 April 1976 and featuring Abba, Brotherhood of Man, The Beatles, Fox, Tarney & Spencer, John Miles, Diana Ross, Sailor and Pan's People.
FRI 22:05 Radio 2 In Concert (m0026zx9)
Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart performs live for Radio 2 In Concert at the BBC Radio Theatre.
FRI 23:05 Rod Stewart at the BBC (b03m81n5)
Compilation of Rod Stewart's finest performances at the BBC. We revisit the early 70s with The Faces performing Stay with Me and Three Button Hand Me Down on Sounds for Saturday. The BBC charted Rod's solo success over the years and there are classic performances and interviews that will make you dance, sing and pull on your heartstrings. Songs include Sailing, You're in My Heart, I Don't Want to Talk about It and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?
We also have Rod's performance from Glastonbury 2002 of the classic Handbags and Gladrags, and we dip into the Great American Songbook with his version of the Dorothy Fields classic I'm in the Mood for Love. Finally, rounding off over five decades in music is a performance from Rod's Radio 2 concert from May 2013.
FRI 00:05 Rod Stewart at the BBC: Volume 2 (m001h099)
Rod Stewart has already been honoured with one BBC celebration of his great career, but the man Elton John called Phyllis has had so many hits and is held in such affection by his army of fans that it's time for another deep dive into the TV archives.
This second collection of songs from the gravel-voiced legend brings us up to date with some of Rod’s more recent appearances and features some magic mic-stand-twirling moments from exclusive live shows. Plus rarely seen BBC performances of some of his biggest hits from over the years, including Tonight’s the Night, It’s a Heartache, Have I Told You Lately and Sailing.
FRI 01:05 Radio 2 Live (b06pf5dw)
Hyde Park Headliners
Rod Stewart Live at Hyde Park
On a sunny day in September 2015, Rod Stewart took to the stage in London's Hyde Park to bring to a close BBC Radio 2's annual Festival in a Day. In front of 50,000 people, Rod delivered not his usual stadium set but a bespoke selection of hits from his back catalogue spanning his career, including Gasoline Alley, Angel, In a Broken Dream and The Killing of Georgie (Part 1 & 2), plus Faces classics such as Ooh La La and the blues standard Rollin' and Tumblin', a number that Rod used to perform with Long John Baldry back in the day. To close the set, Rod brought on his old pal guitarist Jim Cregan to help him perform his 1978 hit I Was Only Joking.
All in all, a memorable and unique concert that is unlikely to be repeated anytime soon.
FRI 02:05 Top of the Pops (m002plnc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
FRI 02:35 Top of the Pops (m002plnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRI 03:05 Top of the Pops (b07h0hg5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]