Series charting Michael Palin's trek across the Sahara Desert. Michael arrives at the border of Niger and Algeria, the most desolate crossing, and then turning north Michael passes through the mountains of the Hoggar massif before pausing in the oil and gas fields of central Algeria. Then onto Libya to attend the very last reunion of the Desert Rats of Tobruk, before turning west along the north coast past deserted classical sites at Apollonia, Cyrene and Leptis Magna.
Crossing into Tunis, Michael relives the filming of The Life of Brian in Monastir, before taking the Maghreb Express to the dangerous city of Algiers, and then west to Algeria's second city, Oran.
Just along the coast is Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on Morocco's coast, where Michael talks to would-be immigrants before returning to Gibraltar. En route he learns of the terrible fate that has engulfed many Saharan people who attempt the eight-mile crossing.
Romantic comedy about a beautiful American showgirl living in London who is romanced by a visiting Prince Regent.
This screen adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play The Sleeping Prince is remarkable for bringing together two very different screen icons in Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier.
Agathe Villanova is a feminist author and electoral candidate who returns to her childhood home in the south of France in the wake of her mother's death. While rekindling her bond with younger sister Florence and sorting through her own relationship problems, Agathe agrees to take part in the filming of a documentary about her life and career. The film is produced by local filmmaker Michel in tandem with the son of Florence's Algerian housekeeper, Karim. Amidst illicit affairs, relationship failures and persistent incompetence, one little disaster piles up on top of another.
Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the country's leading actors, explores the life and work of enigmatic playwright Terence Rattigan.
Rattigan was the master of the 'well crafted play' of upper class manners and repressed sexuality and he dominated the West End theatre scene throughout the 40s and early 50s. But then, in the mid fifties 'the angry young men arrived'; a wave of young playwrights and directors who introduced a new, radical style of theatre. Rattigan's work faced a critical onslaught and he fell completely out of fashion. But now, in his centenary year his plays are enjoying a huge revival.
But Rattigan himself remains an enigmatic figure - a troubled homosexual whose polite, restrained dramas confronted the very issues - sexual frustration, failed relationships, adultery and even suicide - that he found so difficult to deal with in his own life. He had a gift for commercial theatre but yearned to be taken seriously as a playwright.
In this film Benedict re-visits his old school Harrow where Rattigan was also educated and was first inspired to write plays. He takes a trip down memory lane with one of Rattigan's closest friends (Princess Jean Galizine) and he talks to playwrights, critics and directors about what it is about Rattigan's work which we find so appealing today.
Highlights of the much lauded set by Coldplay at Worthy Farm, from June 2011.
Highlights from the set by Mumford & Sons on the Other Stage at the 2011 festival.
Concentrating on the 1970s (1969 to 1981 to be exact) and ransacking a host of BBC shows from The Old Grey Whistle Test to Sight & Sound, this compilation is designed to release the air guitarist in everyone, combining great electric guitarists like Carlos Santana, Mark Knopfler, The Edge and Peter Green with acoustic masters like John Martyn, Pentangle and Paco Pena.
MONDAY 01 AUGUST 2011
MON 19:00 World News Today (b012z5xk)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
MON 19:30 Only Connect (b00xjrr9)
Specials
University Challenge Special
Victoria Coren presents a special edition of the quiz show in which knowledge will only take you so far, as patience and lateral thinking are also vital. Undefeated champions of champions, the Crossworders, risk their reputation by confronting the awesome brainpower of the University Challengers, captained by the illustrious Alex Guttenplan.
It isn't going to be an easy ride for either team, as they try to connect Fortis shareholders with Muntadar al-Zaidi, sabateurs and Nikita Kruschchev.
MON 20:00 Camera That Changed the World (b012tnml)
The summer of 1960 was a critical moment in the history of film, when the fly-on-the-wall documentary was born. The Camera that Changed the World tells the story of the filmmakers and ingenious engineers who led this revolution by building the first hand-held cameras that followed real life as it happened. By amazing co-incidence, there were two separate groups of them - one on each side of the Atlantic.
In the US, the pioneers used their new camera to make Primary, a compelling portrait of American politics. They followed a then little known John F Kennedy as he began his long campaign for the presidency. Meanwhile, in France, another new camera was inspiring an influential experiment in documentary filmmaking. Chronique d'un Ete captures the real lives of ordinary Parisians across the summer of 1960. Both these extraordinary films smashed existing conventions as handheld cameras followed the action across public spheres into intimate and previously hidden worlds.
In The Camera that Changed the World this remarkable story is told by the pioneers themselves, some of whom, such as DA Pennebaker and Al Maysles are now filmmaking legends. Back in 1960, they were determined young revolutionaries.
MON 21:00 Great Thinkers: In Their Own Words (b012z69b)
Human, All Too Human
The 20th century was a time of unprecedented change and conflict. Violence and war spread across Europe and the world, and as new technology trumped old it became possible to harm others on a previously unimaginable scale.
In this turbulent age, a new breed of thinker emerged who would examine what drives humanity. And the advent of television gave psychologists and scientists the chance to preach their ideas to the world
This programme mines the BBC archive to hear the great minds of the 20th century in their own words - the likes of Sigmund Freud, Margaret Mead, BF Skinner, Benjamin Spock and Richard Dawkins. The film also reveals some unseen gems, such as unseen footage from Panorama of the psychologist Carl Jung discussing his torturous relationship with Professor Freud.
Featuring contributions from modern-day scientists such as evolutionary biologist Professor Armand Leroi, broadcasting legend Sir David Attenborough and psychologist Oliver James, this is a unique opportunity to hear some of the most famous thinkers of our times.
MON 22:00 Hawking (b0078pzf)
Drama relating the remarkable story of Stephen Hawking's early years as a PHD student at Cambridge, following his search for the 'beginning of time' and his courageous struggle against life-threatening illness.
MON 23:30 Horizon (b0078y7h)
2005-2006
The Hawking Paradox
Series exploring topical scientific issues examines Professor Stephen Hawking's most controversial theory and possibly his greatest mistake.
For 30 years the most famous scientist in the world defended an extraordinary idea, an idea some claimed would undermine the whole of science. It was called the information paradox and it led one opponent to dub Hawking 'the most stubborn man in the universe'. But finally Hawking had to admit that he'd been wrong all along. Now, as he nears the end of his extraordinary career, Hawking's scientific legacy is being called into question like never before.
For a year Horizon filmed behind the scenes with Hawking as he struggled to finish what many thought was going to be his last scientific paper. If he succeeded he would potentially end his career on a high, confirming his status as one of the great figures in physics. But the odds were against him, as his physical health continued to decline.
This is an extraordinary story of one man's defiance of disability and his peers. It is a story that ranges from the beginning of the universe, which Hawking explored, to the intensive care unit of Addenbrookes, where he was taken and was critically ill for three months. On his hospital bed he had an insight which he hoped would form the basis of his latest comeback.
MON 00:20 Lost Horizons: The Big Bang (b00dcbqm)
Professor Jim Al Khalili delves into over 50 years of the BBC science archive to tell the story behind the emergence of one of the greatest theories of modern science, the Big Bang.
The remarkable idea that our universe simply began from nothing has not always been accepted with the conviction it is today and, from fiercely disputed leftfield beginnings, took the best part of the 20th century to emerge as the triumphant explanation of how the universe began. Using curious horn-shaped antennas, U-2 spy planes, satellites and particle accelerators, scientists have slowly pieced together the cosmological jigsaw, and this documentary charts the overwhelming evidence for a universe created by a Big Bang.
MON 01:20 Only Connect (b00xjrr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 01:50 Camera That Changed the World (b012tnml)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 02:50 Great Thinkers: In Their Own Words (b012z69b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 02 AUGUST 2011
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b012zmv6)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 Grand Tours of Scotland (b00vjcv6)
Series 1
In Search of the Real Scotland
Paul Murton follows in the footsteps of the first tourists to Scotland. With a Victorian guidebook in his hands, he travels across the country tracing the changes that have taken place since the birth of Scottish tourism 200 years ago.
Paul boards the Jacobite steamtrain, and star of the Harry Potter movies, to make one of the worlds most famous railways journeys and goes 'in search of the real Scotland'.
For centuries, outsiders had seldom visited the beautiful landscape of the west coast, but the power of steam changed everything. Within a century, a network of railways spread across the entire country, connecting the industrial cities of the south to the mountains and glens of the north. With the trains came the tourists - all clamouring for a piece of the real Scotland.
Paul's route starts at the foot of Ben Nevis in Fort William and continues along the beautiful railway line to Mallaig and onwards to the fabled Isle of Skye.
TUE 20:00 The Story of Maths (b00f7zsk)
To Infinity and Beyond
Marcus du Sautoy concludes his investigation into the history of mathematics with a look at some of the great unsolved problems that confronted mathematicians in the 20th century.
After exploring Georg Cantor's work on infinity and Henri Poincare's work on chaos theory, he looks at how mathematics was itself thrown into chaos by the discoveries of Kurt Godel, who showed that the unknowable is an integral part of maths, and Paul Cohen, who established that there were several different sorts of mathematics in which conflicting answers to the same question were possible.
He concludes his journey by considering the great unsolved problems of mathematics today, including the Riemann Hypothesis, a conjecture about the distribution of prime numbers. A million-dollar prize and a place in the history books await anyone who can prove Riemann's theorem.
TUE 21:00 Timeshift (b012zmy7)
Series 11
All the Fun of the Fair
Timeshift explores rarely seen images from the University of Sheffield's National Fairground Archive to ride back to the origins of the fairground. From the sideshows, the freak shows and early hand-powered rides to the arrival of steam and electricity, the story of fairs is the tale of one of our first forms of popular entertainment.
The film shows how fairgrounds often provided the only entertainment to rapidly expanding industrial towns. It looks at how, from the 50s, the fairground was the site of youth rebellion, and why we are still entranced by these travelling carnivals that arrive overnight and then vanish just as mysteriously.
TUE 22:00 Viva Blackpool (b007cgr3)
One-off sequel to the musical comedy drama series Blackpool about a shady casino-owning entrepreneur. Ripley Holden attempts to get his hands on sport's most prized treasure - the real Jules Rimet World Cup trophy. Although he already has a successful business to his name, running a Vegas-style wedding chapel in Blackpool, he intends for the trophy to make him very very rich. But his plan starts to unravel when a dazzling and mysterious lady walks into his life and away with his heart.
TUE 23:30 The Great British Foreign Holiday (b00k99g2)
Mark Benton has been abroad, he knows all about it: 'The British are an island race - abroad is really abroad, not just across the border but actually over the horizon. It's far away - outlandish, exotic and scary. Frankly, we're terrified of it.'
The Brits, foreign travel and all points in between - how we got there, what we did there and how we got back.
TUE 00:30 Timeshift (b012zmy7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUE 01:30 The Story of Maths (b00f7zsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
TUE 02:30 Grand Tours of Scotland (b00vjcv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 03:00 Timeshift (b012zmy7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 03 AUGUST 2011
WED 19:00 World News Today (b012znn9)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 Top of the Pops (b0131lq1)
22/07/76
Dave Lee Travis introduces Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, David Dundas, Sheer Elegance, Johnny Wakelin and the Kinshasa Band, 5000 Volts, 1776, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Johnny Cash, Elton John and Kiki Dee and dance sequences from Ruby Flipper.
WED 20:00 Time to Remember (b00v6c8q)
A Woman's World
Newsreel footage and original 1950s Time to Remember voiceover by Joyce Grenfell and Dame Edith Evans offer an insight into the ways women's roles in society changed through the first five decades of the 20th century.
Featuring footage of suffragette protest, including Emily Davison at the 1913 Derby; working women during the First World War; Suzanne Lenglen playing tennis; and something of the fashions of the 20s and 30s.
WED 20:30 On Film (b012znnw)
Highlands on Film
From crofters, mountains and midges to hunting, whisky and the Highland Games, key archive gems from newsreel and documentary collections combine to create a portrait of the region and its people.
WED 21:00 My Resignation (b0132xlg)
Through personal testimony, this programme follows the process of resigning: from the initial crisis to taking the decision to resign and handling the timing, to the costs, consequences and legacy of the resignation.
It shows that the honourable resignation is not dead. In all walks of life people grappling with moral issues still take that decision to resign. Consultant anaesthetist Stephen Bolsin felt he could only go public after he had resigned and left the country. Former home secretary Jacqui Smith was determined to do the honourable thing and resign immediately over her expenses, but she was thwarted by a prime minister with any eye on political timing. The honourable resignations of Lord Carrington and Richard Luce were put back on track by a hostile parliament and press.
The programme charts how resignation can act as a social barometer - affairs that were once a fast route to leaving are no longer a career fullstop. Max Mosley talks frankly about how determined he was not to bow to pressure to go after revelations over his extra-marital sex.
Interviewees talk about their experiences and what they have learned. Alastair Campbell describes almost 'lamping' demonstrators outside his house. Greg Dyke can't sleep after his resignation 'deal' with the BBC governors goes wrong. Daily Star journalist Richard Peppiatt is plunged into depression after his plan to publish his resignation letter in the Guardian falls apart.
My Resignation shows that however society changes, resigning remains a personal and often traumatic journey.
WED 22:00 Nurse Jackie (b0107rj6)
Series 2
P.O. Box
In order to keep her credit card a secret, Jackie sets up a P.O. box for the credit card bills. Jackie and Coop have a 'domestic'; and Mrs Akalitus offers Eddie his old job back. Jackie becomes increasingly concerned about her daughter's behaviour.
WED 22:25 Syrian School (b00rblr1)
Marked for Life
Five-part series following a year in the life of four schools in Damascus, a high pressure crossroads in the Middle East.
For 40 years, Syria has been dominated by a single party. There's limited political freedom. But here in Damascus life seems to be slowly changing, especially for the next generation. But there is still an immense hurdle for them to cross: the dreaded Baccalaureate Examination. The whole city seems in a state of panic, from teachers to parents and pupils.
17-year-old twin sisters Farah and Rahaf are facing the exams together - success or failure will determine their futures. But their dreams are wildly different. Farah dreams of studying English and exploring the world - inspired by her Satellite TV heroine Nigella Lawson. Rahaf is more anxious - aiming for a more cautious future in engineering. We follow them from revision to results.
Meanwhile, Iraqi refugee Yusif is struggling with his education, as all his attention is focused on the visa he hopes to get that will take him away from Syria. His family is desperate to move to Canada - but can they make it out of Damascus?
In Damascus, it's exam season. And everyone's future is riding on it.
WED 23:25 Wallander (b00spg6y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Saturday]
WED 01:00 Top of the Pops (b0131lq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 01:40 Time to Remember (b00v6c8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
WED 02:10 My Resignation (b0132xlg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WED 03:10 On Film (b012znnw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
THURSDAY 04 AUGUST 2011
THU 19:00 World News Today (b012znpb)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 BBC Proms (b012znpz)
2011
Elgar's Violin Concerto
The musicians of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Singers and conductor Sir Andrew Davis present a Prom from the Royal Albert Hall. Proms favourite Tasmin Little joins for a performance of Elgar's evergreen Violin Concerto, and the concert concludes with Strauss's popular orchestral showpiece Till Eulenspiegel. Choral and orchestral music from that mischievous radical Percy Grainger rounds out what promises to be a highlight of this year's Proms season.
THU 21:30 Margaret (b00hy18h)
Drama charting Margaret Thatcher's astonishing fall from power, one of the most extraordinary stories of political assassination the world has seen. It took only eleven days for Thatcher to go from being the most powerful woman in the world to the tearful figure in the back of the car. A major tragedy in the true Shakespearean sense, in Margaret we watch a woman lose the one thing she really cares about - power - changing from leader to victim before our eyes.
12th November 1990: As Thatcher prepares for her speech at the Lord Mayor's banquet at the Guildhall, Geoffrey Howe, her quietly-spoken former foreign secretary and chancellor, pens the resignation speech that will stun the country and seal her fate. The next day Howe makes his lethal speech in the Houses of Parliament and the final ten days of Margaret Thatcher's reign begin.
THU 23:25 My Resignation (b0132xlg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:25 Timeshift (b012zmy7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
THU 01:25 On Film (b012znnw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:55 BBC Proms (b012znpz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRIDAY 05 AUGUST 2011
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b012znsm)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (b012znt4)
2011
Human Planet
Highlights of the Human Planet Prom, featuring Nitin Sawhney's evocative music for the acclaimed television series interspersed with performances by artists and ensembles from around the world.
Charles Hazlewood conducts the BBC Concert Orchestra in specially commissioned new arrangements of the Human Planet score with accompanying visuals from the series. Featuring behind-the-scenes documentary content and interviews with the artists, the concert is hosted by explorer and TV presenter Paul Rose.
Artists include: Ayarkhaan (Sakha Republic), Bibilang Shark-Calling Group (Papua New Guinea), Khusugtun (Mongolia), Rasmus Lyberth (Greenland), and Enock Mbongwe (Zambia).
FRI 20:50 A Little Later (b00g31rz)
Little Later: Legends (The Who, James Taylor, Robert Plant/Alison Krauss)
Performances from The Who, James Taylor, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss from the Later... with Jools Holland archives.
FRI 21:00 Glastonbury (b012zntg)
2011
U2
Highlights of the set by the Dublin band who finally made their debut at Worthy Farm, headlining the Pyramid Stage on the first day of this year's festival.
FRI 22:00 Glastonbury (b012zntv)
2011
Elbow
Taking to the Pyramid Stage in the year of the release of their fifth album Build A Rocket Boys! and still flush with the Mercury Prize-winning success of 2008’s The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow give a stunning celebration of One Day Like This as the sun sets over Glastonbury Tor.
FRI 23:00 U2 at the BBC (b00j7d33)
A look back at the day U2 spent at the BBC visiting Jo Whiley and performing tracks for the Live Lounge in the BBC Radio Theatre and Chris Evans' Radio 2 show, culminating in a performance on the roof of Broadcasting House.
FRI 23:30 Guitar Heroes at the BBC (b00lk48h)
Part II
A celebration of Seventies-era axe-men, acoustic virtuosos and thumping riff merchants, in a compilation of guitar-heavy performances from the BBC TV archives.
Guitar gods including Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Peter Green and Johnny Winter are joined by, among others, flamenco maestro Manitas De Plata, bottleneck bluesman Ry Cooder and straight-up rockers AC/DC and Thin Lizzy.
Everything from Fleetwood Mac's ambient masterpiece Albatross to hits like The Jam's In The City and Free's All Right Now feature along with lesser-known gems like Maid in Heaven by Be Bop Deluxe and Nils Lofgren's Keith Don't Go.
The tracks were recorded in the heyday of BBC shows such as The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops and Rock Goes to College.
FRI 00:30 Glastonbury (b012zntg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:30 Glastonbury (b012zntv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
FRI 02:30 BBC Proms (b012znt4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]