If modern Britain lives in a terrace house and loves a cottage, it cannot make its mind up about the high-rise flat. Is the skyscraper a blot on the landscape, or the answer to the national housing crisis?
For Dan Cruickshank, the idea of living high above the city streets really is the future once again. 21st-century London is the site of an extraordinary building boom. Hundreds of residential high-rise towers are being built at record speed, many hugely controversial, as private developers cotton on to what social housing idealists realised 60 years ago.
Dan is in Bow in east London, charting the extraordinary history of one estate - the Lincoln. Designed in 1960 for the London County Council by a young idealistic architect, the 19-storey Lincoln was once the tallest residential building in London. Inside every flat were the latest space-age gadgets - a lift, a shower and a fitted kitchen. But the dream turned sour. The Lincoln became notorious for drugs and violence. There was even a brutal murder. It was the same all over Britain - the flat was a byword for deprivation and social exclusion. But then, just as everything looked lost, the Lincoln was saved and with, perhaps, the hopes of an entire generation for that most precious of things - a home. For Dan, as perhaps for Britain, 'the only way is up'.
An enthralling series exploring how the BBC fought not only Hitler but also the British government to become the institution it is today. Hailed and derided in equal measure, the BBC in 1939 had yet to seal its reputation. With the advent of war, the corporation found itself thrust into a battle against the Nazis and the machinations of the British government. This series examines how the conflict transformed the BBC, what impact its broadcasts had at home and abroad, and uncovers the battles that raged with the government over its independence - out of which was forged the template for the modern BBC.
Wholly unprepared for what was the world's first broadcast war, the BBC fended off complete government takeover and emerged a trusted global news source, transmitting in 47 languages. Using a wealth of preserved recordings and previously unseen documents, Jonathan Dimbleby uncovers the compelling story of how the BBC went into battle against Hitler and Whitehall's ministers, and its part in the social revolution the war provoked. He also considers the voices of the BBC at war - many of whom became household names but would never have been allowed near a microphone in different circumstances.
From an early Nazi propaganda coup that forced the BBC into action and how fears of a crisis in morale at home led to class barriers being swept away on the airwaves to how determination and technical improvisation enabled broadcasting from the heart of the war zone, BBC at War reveals how World War II was the making of the BBC - and nearly its breaking.
In this programme, Jonathan Dimbleby looks at how the BBC prepared to report from the front line during World War II.
Still suffering from the injuries inflicted by an attacker who burned down his home, DCI Mathias and his colleague DI Rhys are informed that the body of a well-respected preacher has been found in his chapel.
Andy Peebles and Janice Long present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 20 October 1983. Featuring David Grant, Rocksteady Crew, Howard Jones, Freeez, Elton John, Depeche Mode, Men Without Hats and Culture Club.
Peter Powell and Mike Read present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 3 November 1983. Featuring ABC, Donna Summer, Elton John, Status Quo, Madness, Shakin' Stevens and Billy Joel.
A feature-length documentary about one of the most successful British bands in rock music, reuniting Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett to tell their story. The film recounts their extraordinary musical story, exploring the songwriting and the emotional highs and lows. It features previously unseen archive material and rare footage from across their entire career.
Top of the Pops 2 dips into the archives to explore both classic collective hits and smash solo singles spanning 20 early years of Genesis history. From the art-rock Gabriel era of flamboyant theatrics and quirky costumes to their eighties evolution into pop superstars, Genesis are both influential experimentalists and a chart-smashing behemoth.
With solo numbers from Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and Mike + The Mechanics, this is an eclectic two-sided playlist featuring everything from I Can't Dance to I Know What I Like, No Self Control to In the Air Tonight, and Many Too Many to The Living Years. So Turn It On Again and tune in, from prog to pop, Genesis to Revelation, the hits are here on TOTP2.
Compilation of some of the greatest names and British bands in what they still dare to call prog rock, filmed live in the BBC studios in the early 1970s. Expect to see stadium names like Yes, Genesis and Emerson, Lake and Palmer alongside much-loved bands of the era including Caravan, Family, Atomic Rooster and more.
Some heavy rhythms, including UB40's Food for Thought, Aswad's African Children, The Beat's Hands Off She's Mine, Run DMC's You Be Illin', Public Enemy's Miuzi Weighs a Ton and Neneh Cherry's Buffalo Stance.
SUNDAY 07 MAY 2017
SUN 19:00 The Birth of British Music (b00kntl1)
Handel - The Conquering Hero
In the second of four programmes, conductor Charles Hazlewood explores the glorious music of Handel, who made his home in Britain and became a celebrity and national icon in the process.
Millions across the world heard Handel's 'Zadok the Priest' when Elizabeth II was crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey in 1953, but he was immensely popular in his own lifetime too, as his memorial in Westminster Abbey shows. World-renowed soloists Danielle de Niese and Ian Bostridge join Charles Hazlewood's ensemble, Army of Generals, in some of the best-loved music in our history.
Also included in this programme is an unusual take on John Gay's 'The Beggar's Opera', the 18th-century smash hit that poked fun at Handel's world. Charles invites comedian Phill Jupitus to take a new approach to the music along with acclaimed folk singers Rachel and Becky Unthank, guitarist Adrian Utley from Portishead, and distinguished jazz drummer Martin France.
The Foundling Hospital Museum and Handel's birthplace in Halle are two of the many places Charles visits to explore the stories behind this fascinating composer who has had such a profound influence on our cultural heritage.
SUN 20:00 The Secret Life of the Motorway (b007xmbm)
The Honeymoon Period
The second episode in this evocative series about Britain's motorways explores how they have transformed where we live, work and play in Britain over the last 50 years. From unbelievably glamorous early service stations to contemporary shopping centres with the infrastructure of a small town, this enthralling film is a journey through the wonderful, and the weird, places motorways have taken us. Contributors include seminal planner Sir Peter Hall, author Will Self, caravanners, hitchhikers and commuters, all on our eagerness to accelerate down the slip road, and the social changes that have followed.
SUN 21:00 Betroffenheit from Sadler's Wells (b08q8dv1)
Created by Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young, the award-winning Betroffenheit is a boundary-stretching hybrid between theatre and dance that explores the psychological states of trauma, grief and addiction. The title of the piece is a German word that simply translated means shock, bewilderment, dismay and is based on Young's own experience - his teenage daughter, niece and nephew died in a fire whilst on a family holiday in 2009.
Combining tap, salsa, spoken word, song and puppetry with Pite's emotionally charged choreography, Betroffenheit is an ambitious yet witty and tender-hearted exploration of disconnection, isolation and what it means to come to terms with such a tragedy. Described as both raw and riveting, this genre-busting dance-theatre hybrid was the dance critics' top pick of 2016, and won the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production. Jonathon Young was also deservedly awarded Outstanding Performance in Modern Dance at the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards. Betroffenheit was recorded during its sold-out performances at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London in April 2017.
SUN 22:50 Seven Ages of Starlight (p00yb434)
This is the epic story of the stars, and how discovering their tale has transformed our own understanding of the universe.
Once we thought the sun and stars were gods and giants. Now we know, in a way, our instincts were right. The stars do all have their own characters, histories and role in the cosmos. Not least, they played a vital part in creating us.
There are old, bloated red giants, capable of gobbling up planets in their orbit, explosive deaths - supernovae - that forge the building blocks of life and black holes, the most mysterious stellar tombstones. And, of course, stars in their prime, like our own sun.
Leading astronomers reveal how the grandest drama on tonight is the one playing above our heads.
SUN 00:20 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.
SUN 01:20 The BBC at War (b060h43j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:20 Britain's Nuclear Secrets: Inside Sellafield (b065x080)
Lying on the remote north west coast of England is one of the most secret places in the country - Sellafield, the most controversial nuclear facility in Britain. Now, Sellafield are letting nuclear physicist Professor Jim Al-Khalili and the television cameras in to discover the real story. Inside, Jim encounters some of the most dangerous substances on earth, reveals the nature of radiation and even attempts to split the atom. He sees inside a nuclear reactor, glimpses one of the rarest elements in the world - radioactive plutonium - and even subjects living tissue to deadly radiation. Ultimately, the film reveals Britain's attempts - past, present and future - to harness the almost limitless power of the atom.
MONDAY 08 MAY 2017
MON 19:00 100 Days+ (b08prmvf)
Series 1
08/05/2017
Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London report on the events that are shaping our world.
MON 19:30 Handmade on the Silk Road (b079cgml)
The Weaver
The Uyghur community in north west China have been making atlas silk for thousands of years. Mattursun Islam and his family are continuing the tradition, using a combination of handmade techniques and mechanised looms. From designing the patterns to colouring, dyeing and weaving the thread, this film follows each stage in absorbing detail. We also get an engaging glimpse into how their family and working life are closely connected. With rival companies often copying his designs, Mattursan is proud of his reputation. But he and his wife also enjoy a good-natured rivalry over who really runs things.
MON 20:00 Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story of Agriculture (b00jwcb1)
Milk
Documentary series looking at the history of 20th-century farming in Britain opens by focusing on milk.
In the early years of the century, 150,000 dairy farmers milked by hand and sold milk door to door. By the end of the century, the 15,000 that were left were breeding cows that increased yields by 400 per cent and milk was sold through supermarkets.
This episode features the home movies and stories of two dairy farmers who survived to tell the story of how and why the revolution happened.
MON 21:00 An Art Lovers' Guide (b08ps5rd)
Series 1
Barcelona
With sumptuous palaces, exquisite artworks and stunning architecture, every great city offers a dizzying multitude of artistic highlights. In this series, art historians Dr Janina Ramirez and Alastair Sooke take us on three cultural citybreaks, hunting for off-the-beaten-track artistic treats - and finding new ways of enjoying some very famous sights.
In this second episode, Janina Ramirez and Alastair are on a mission to get to know one of the most popular cities in the world through its art and architecture. Although Barcelona is famous for its exuberant modernista buildings, the Gothic Quarter and artistic superstars such as Picasso, Janina and Alastair are determined to discover some less well-known cultural treats. Escaping the crowds on the Ramblas, they seek out the designs of an engineer who arguably put more of a stamp on the city than its star architect, Antoni Gaudi. Alastair marvels at the Romanesque frescoes that inspired a young Miro, while Janina discovers a surprising collection of vintage fans in the Mares, one of the city's most remarkable but rarely visited museums.
With a behind-the-scenes visit to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, a session of impromptu Catalan dance and Alastair adding the finishing touches to some Barcelona street art, it is a fast-paced and colourful tour of the city's art and artists, revealing how Barcelona developed its distinctive cultural identity and how the long-running fight for independence has shaped the artistic life of the city.
MON 22:00 The Incredible Story of Marie Antoinette's Watch with Nicholas Parsons (b07xtbhr)
Nicholas Parsons, Just a Minute host and stalwart of the entertainment world, explores his life-long enthusiasm for clocks when he goes in search of the most valuable and famous watch in the world.
The so-called Marie Antoinette, once the target of one of the biggest museum heists in history, was the masterpiece made by 18th-century genius Nicholas Breguet for that doomed queen.
Tracing the enthralling story of Breguet's rise to fame, Parsons visits Paris and Versailles, and the vaults of today's multimillion-pound Breguet business. Exploring the innovative and dazzling work of the master watchmaker, Parsons unravels the mystery behind the creation of his most precious and most brilliant work.
Parsons then heads to Israel to discover how, in the 1980s, the world's most expensive watch was stolen in a daring heist and went missing for over 20 years.
Revealing a little-known side of one of our favourite TV and radio hosts, the film offers a glimpse into Parsons's own private clock collection while also telling an enthralling tale of scientific invention, doomed decadence and daring robbery.
MON 23:00 Michael Palin's Quest for Artemisia (b06t3w73)
Curious about a powerful but violent painting that caught his eye, Michael Palin sets off on a quest to discover the astonishing story of the forgotten female artist who painted it over 400 years ago. Travelling to Italy in search of Artemisia Gentileschi's tale, Michael encounters her work in Florence, Rome and Naples.
Michael unearths not only her paintings but a complex life which included her rape as a teenager and the ensuing indignity of a full trial, her life as a working mother and her ultimate success against all odds as one of the greatest painters of the Baroque age who transformed the way women were depicted in art and who was sought after in many courts across 17th-century Europe.
MON 00:00 Harlots, Housewives and Heroines: A 17th Century History for Girls (b01jcc8b)
Act Two: At Home
Dr Lucy Worsley, historian and Chief Curator of Historic Royal Palaces, explores the ordinary as well as the extraordinary lives of women in the home. This was an age when respectable women were defined by their marital status as maids, wives or widows. If they fell outside these categories they were in danger of being labelled whores or, at worst, witches.
While history has left many women voiceless over the centuries, Lucy discovers that in the Restoration a surprising number of women were beginning to question their roles in relationship to their husbands, their position in the home, their attitudes to sex and, most importantly, the expectation to produce children.
Meeting a host of experts and experiencing what life was like behind closed doors, Lucy explores whether their lives changed for better or worse during the second half of the 17th century.
MON 01:00 Botany: A Blooming History (b011wz4q)
Photosynthesis
The air we breathe, and all the food we eat, is created from water, sunlight, carbon dioxide and a few minerals. That's it, nothing else. It sounds simple, but this process is one of the most fascinating and complicated in all of science. Without it there could be no life on earth. It's that important.
For centuries people believed that plants grew by eating soil. In the 17th century, pioneer botanists began to make the connection between the growth of a plant and the energy from the sun. They discovered how plants use water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce sugars - how, in fact, a plant grows.
The process of photosynthesis is still at the heart of scientific research today. Universities across the world are working hard to replicate in the lab what plants do with ruthless efficiency. Their goal is to produce a clean, limitless fuel and if they get it right it will change all our lives.
MON 02:00 The Secret Life of the Motorway (b007xmbm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Sunday]
MON 03:00 An Art Lovers' Guide (b08ps5rd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 09 MAY 2017
TUE 19:00 100 Days+ (b08prmvl)
Series 1
09/05/2017
As President Trump takes office, Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London report on the events that are shaping our world.
TUE 19:30 Handmade on the Silk Road (b079zyb8)
The Wood Carver
Shavkat Jumanijozov has been working with wood for over 30 years. In his workshop in Khiva in Uzbekistan, he makes doors, chests and impressive wooden columns. Trained by the grandson of a famous 19th-century carver, Shavkat is a proud master of his craft and oversees a team of brothers, sons and nephews, passing on his expertise to the next generation.
In this beautifully filmed portrait of a traditional craftsman at work, we follow the painstaking carving of a wooden pillar, from the first cuts into the wood to its sanding, shaping and varnishing, each stage captured in absorbing detail.
TUE 20:00 Eurovision Song Contest (b08ps7yx)
2017
Semi-Final One
Mel Giedroyc and Scott Mills are live from Kyiv in Ukraine for the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest. Eighteen acts will be battling it out and tonight the UK viewers have the opportunity to vote for their favourite. The UK's entry Lucie Jones also joins Scott and Mel to discuss all things Eurovision.
TUE 22:15 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
Between 1974 and 1982 ABBA plundered the Anglo-Saxon charts but divided critical opinion. This documentary explores how they raised the bar for pop music as a form and made us fall in love with the sound of Swedish melancholy. A saga about the soul of pop.
TUE 23:15 Rome's Lost Empire (b01pc063)
Dan Snow uses satellite technology to reveal the secrets of the Roman Empire. Together with space archaeologist Sarah Parcak, Dan sets out to identify and then track down lost cities, amphitheatres and forts in an adventure that sees him travel through some of the most spectacular parts of the vast empire. Cutting-edge technology and traditional archaeology help build a better understanding of how Rome held such a large empire together for so long.
TUE 00:45 Natural World (b01qsfk7)
2012-2013
Giant Otters of the Amazon
Diablo the giant otter lives in a lake in the jungles of Peru, with his unruly family of six cubs. Even at the tender age of six months, they need to learn how to survive in this dangerous paradise. Their dad teaches them to swim and eventually to catch piranha for themselves, but they must also learn to stay away from the neighbours from hell - the giant caiman. These large members of the crocodile family are a real threat to the giant otter family and Diablo must go to extraordinary lengths to try to protect his cubs.
Renowned cameraman and otter specialist Charlie Hamilton-James returns to the place he first filmed Diablo 13 years ago. Following the family over several months, sometimes in very difficult conditions, he discovers how perilous a home this is for the cubs and watches them develop under the careful guidance of their father. He also films remarkable scenes of the giant otters fighting caimans.
TUE 01:45 The Story of Scottish Art (b06kq6nz)
Episode 3
Artist Lachlan Goudie explores how, at the turn of the 19th century, Scotland's artists challenged the traditions they had inherited and, embracing new ways of seeing and painting from the Continent, revolutionised Scottish art.
From the Glasgow Boys' intimate rural realism, to Arthur Melville's brilliantly experimental watercolours; from Hill House, Charles Rennie Mackintosh's 'total work of art', to JD Fergusson's pioneering Scottish modernism, this generation transformed the way we saw Scotland's landscape and identity.
TUE 02:45 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:15 today]
WEDNESDAY 10 MAY 2017
WED 19:00 100 Days+ (b08prmvw)
Series 1
10/05/2017
As President Trump takes office, Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London report on the events that are shaping our world.
WED 19:30 Handmade on the Silk Road (b07blsjw)
The Potter
The desert city of Meybod in southern Iran is famous for its ceramics and Abdol Reza Aghaei's family have been potters there for generations. This beautifully observed film follows Abdol and his father making a simple decorated water jug. Competing with cheap Chinese imports, they sometimes struggle to make a living, but share a dedication to keeping their traditions alive. And with Abdol's father teasing his son about who makes the best pots, the film also offers a touching, intimate portrait of two master craftsmen at work.
WED 20:00 Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain (p01cyrf9)
Glass Houses
Using her investigative skills to uncover long-forgotten and abandoned plans, architectural investigator Dr Olivia Horsfall Turner explores the fascinating and dramatic stories behind some of the grandest designs that were never built.
Technology has always been a driving force behind new ideas. Olivia explores how architects and designers have been inspired by the exciting possibilities presented by new technology to produce groundbreaking and controversial urban plans.
In 1855, visionary designer Sir Joseph Paxton proposed an ambitious plan to build a fantastic, futuristic ten-mile glass girdle circling the centre of London. It had only recently become possible to produce large sheets of cheap but strong plate glass and Paxton was inspired by its potential. With this exciting new technology at his fingertips, Paxton believed he could create a bright and pollution-free environment for Londoners as well as solve the capital's terrible congestion problems.
His spectacular glass 'Great Victorian Way' would connect the city to the West End, link rich and poor areas and cross the Thames three times. Contained in this magnificent glass structure were shops, houses, hotels, a pedestrian walkway, a road for carriages and eight lines of elevated pneumatic railway.
There was huge support for Paxton's scheme and Parliament passed a bill sanctioning construction, but the Great Victorian Way was never built. The 'Great Stink' took hold of London in 1858, spreading a cholera epidemic and so sanitation became the city's most pressing priority. Instead of creating a spectacular crystal boulevard the money was spent on a very different type of technology - the building of London's sewerage system.
A century later, London's congestion problems remained unsolved with the motor car having taken over roads designed for horse and carriage. In 1961, the architect Geoffrey Jellicoe proposed a solution directly inspired by Joseph Paxton's use of glass, in his radical new urban scheme for the green belt around London. Jellicoe took Paxton's idea of transforming the transport infrastructure even further, proposing a 'glass city' in which all cars would drive along rooftops, freeing the ground below for pedestrians.
With both these groundbreaking designs, Paxton and Jellicoe were seeking to harness technology to create bright and light cities, free of pollution and congestion, and utilising the most progressive forms of transport of the day.
Contributors include: Brett Steele, Eric Kuhne, Kate Colquhoun, Isobel Armstrong, Theodora Wayte, Lord Norman Foster, Charlie Burke, David Martlew, John Minnis, Hal Moggridge, Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe and Kathryn Moore.
WED 21:00 Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity (p00kjqcv)
Revelations and Revolutions
Professor Jim Al-Khalili tells the electrifying story of our quest to master nature's most mysterious force - electricity. Until fairly recently, electricity was seen as a magical power, but it is now the lifeblood of the modern world and underpins every aspect of our technological advancements.
Without electricity, we would be lost. This series tells of dazzling leaps of imagination and extraordinary experiments - a story of maverick geniuses who used electricity to light our cities, to communicate across the seas and through the air, to create modern industry and to give us the digital revolution.
Electricity is not just something that creates heat and light, it connects the world through networks and broadcasting. After centuries of man's experiments with electricity, the final episode tells the story of how a new age of real understanding dawned - how we discovered electric fields and electromagnetic waves. Today we can hardly imagine life without electricity - it defines our era. As our understanding of it has increased so has our reliance upon it, and today we are on the brink of a new breakthrough, because if we can understand the secret of electrical superconductivity, we could once again transform the world.
WED 22:00 Genius of the Modern World (b07ht3cd)
Freud
Bettany Hughes travels to Vienna on the trail of Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis. Freud's influence surrounds us. In our vocabulary - repression, penis envy, the Freudian slip - and in the freedom we take for granted, to talk openly about our deepest feelings and insecurities.
A pioneer in the study of the human mind, Freud's psychoanalytic methods addressed emotional issues, seldom even discussed in the 19th century. Talking to his patients inspired his radical understanding of the unconscious mind, as a repository of hidden repressed emotions and irrational primal desires.
WED 23:00 Timeshift (b00xf6xk)
Series 10
The Modern Age of the Coach
Documentary which brings the story of the coach up to date, as it explores the most recent phase of Britain's love affair with group travel on four wheels - from school trips and football away-days to touring with bands and 'magic bus' overland treks to India.
The establishment of the National Coach Company may have standardised the livery and the experience of mainstream coach travel in the 1970s, but a multitude of alternative offerings meant the coach retained its hold on the public imagination, with even striking miners and New Age travellers getting in on a very British act.
WED 00:00 Metalworks! (b01hr877)
The Blacksmith's Tale
In a story where progress meets creative invention, this film looks at how the blacksmith created items in wrought and cast iron that both served and embellished society. From the earliest ornate hinges and doors to magnificent baroque gates and mass-produced street furniture, it reveals the mastery of metalworkers such as Jean Tijou, Robert Bakewell and John Tresilian, the designs of Robert Adam and George Gilbert Scott, and the mass marketers of the Victorian age such as the Saracen foundry.
Treasures are drawn from all corners of the UK in a celebration of the best of British decorative ironwork.
WED 01:00 Mud, Sweat and Tractors: The Story of Agriculture (b00jwcb1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Monday]
WED 02:00 Timeshift (b01p96ly)
Series 12
When Wrestling was Golden: Grapples, Grunts and Grannies
Timeshift turns back the clock to a time when villains wore silver capes, grannies swooned at the sight of bulky men in latex and the most masculine man in the country was called Shirley. In its heyday, British professional wrestling attracted huge TV audiences and made household names of generations of wrestlers from Mick McManus and Jackie 'Mr TV' Pallo to Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy. With contributions from inside the world of wrestling and surprising fans such as artist Peter Blake, this is an affectionate and lively portrait of a lost era of simpler pleasures, both in and out of the ring.
WED 03:00 Shock and Awe: The Story of Electricity (p00kjqcv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 11 MAY 2017
THU 19:00 100 Days+ (b08prmwk)
Series 1
11/05/2017
As President Trump takes office, Katty Kay in Washington and Christian Fraser in London report on the events that are shaping our world.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b08q2w97)
David Jensen and John Peel present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 10 November 1983. Features Musical Youth, Adam Ant, Eurythmics, Limahl, The Cure and Billy Joel.
THU 20:00 Eurovision Song Contest (b08psb6f)
2017
Semi-Final Two
Mel Giedroyc and Scott Mills return for the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, live from Kyiv in Ukraine. Eighteen acts will take to the stage, but only ten will make it through to the Grand Final on Saturday. Who will win those final 10 places?
THU 22:15 ABBA at the BBC (b03lyzpr)
If you fancy an hour's worth of irresistible guilty pleasures from Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjorn and Agnetha, this is the programme for you. ABBA stormed the 1974 Eurovision song contest with their winning entry Waterloo, and this programme charts the meteoric rise of the band with some of their greatest performances at the BBC.
It begins in 1974 with their first Top of the Pops appearance, and we even get to see the band entertaining holidaymakers in Torbay in a 1975 Seaside Special. There are many classic ABBA tunes from the 1979 BBC special ABBA in Switzerland, plus their final BBC appearance on the Late Late Breakfast show in 1982.
This compilation is a must for all fans and includes great archive interviews, promos and performances of some of ABBA's classics including Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, Thank You for the Music, SOS, Fernando, Chiquitita and many more.
THU 23:15 From Andy Pandy to Zebedee: The Golden Age of Children's Television (b06t3mhm)
Nigel Planer narrates the story of the struggle to make programmes for children in the days before everything went digital.
THU 00:15 Top of the Pops (b08q2w97)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 00:50 Prog at the BBC (b00g8tfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
02:05 on Saturday]
THU 01:50 ABBA at the BBC (b03lyzpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:15 today]
THU 02:50 Dreaming the Impossible: Unbuilt Britain (p01cyrf9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Wednesday]
FRIDAY 12 MAY 2017
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b08prmwv)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (b08q2wc7)
Simon Bates and Richard Skinner present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 24 November 1983. Featuring Paul Young, Tina Turner, The Smiths, Marilyn, Simple Minds, The Style Council and Billy Joel.
FRI 20:00 The Good Old Days (b08psbgt)
Leonard Sachs chairs the old-time music hall programme, first broadcast on 11 January 1979. With guests Frankie Vaughan, Lennie Bennett, Jerry Stevens, Barbara Law, Ray C Davies, Tudor Davies and Les Thuranos.
FRI 20:50 Sounds of the Seventies (b08q7byy)
Shorts
Gladys Knight, Bill Withers and Aretha Franklin
Three more portions of 70s soul from the BBC archives. Gladys Knight and the Pips perform Help Me Make It Through the Night, Bill Withers sings Ain't No Sunshine and Aretha Franklin sings Don't Play That Song.
FRI 21:00 It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Rock 'n' Roll at the BBC (b063m6wy)
A celebration of rock 'n' roll in the shape of a compilation of classic artists and songs, featuring the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion and Dick Dale who all featured in the Rock 'n' Roll America series, alongside songs that celebrate rock 'n roll itself from artists such as Tom Petty (Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll), Joan Jett (I Love Rock 'n' Roll) and Oasis (Rock 'n' Roll Star).
FRI 22:00 Buddy Holly: Rave On (b08q8f1n)
He was lanky, he wore glasses and he sang as if permanently battling hiccups. Aesthetically, Buddy Holly might have been the most unlikely looking rock 'n' roll star of the 50s. But he was, after Elvis Presley, unquestionably the most influential.
It was an all-too-brief career that lasted barely 18 months from That'll Be The Day topping the Billboard charts to the plane crash in February 1959 in Iowa that took Holly's life. That day was immortalised in Don McLean's 1971 song American Pie, and has become known as 'the day the music died'.
This film tells the story of Buddy Holly's tragically short life and career through interviews with those who knew him and worked with him. This combined with contributions from music fans paints a picture of an artist who changed music. Rock 'n' roll started with Elvis, but pop music started with Buddy Holly and The Crickets.
In an age of solo stars, Holly also led the first recognisable 'pop' group, The Crickets, who in name alone inspired The Beatles. As a songwriter, he revolutionised rock 'n' roll by introducing dynamic new rhythms and unpredictable melodies beyond its traditional blues roots. In his songs, written and recorded in the late 50s, we can already hear the beat group sound of the 60s and beyond.
Buddy Holly's story remains one of the most dramatic tales in rock 'n' roll, one which nearly 60 years after his breakthrough hit That'll Be The Day, deserves to be told again for a new generation. His life was tragically short. His legacy is triumphantly infinite.
FRI 23:00 Kings of Rock and Roll (b007c95q)
A journey back to the 1950s for a look at the wildest pop music of all time in a film that tells the stories of Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly, giants from an era when pop music really was mad, bad and dangerous to know.
The programme features the artists themselves, alongside people like Bill Haley's original Comets, The Crickets, Buddy Holly's widow Maria Elena, Jerry Lee Lewis's former wife Myra Gail and his sister, Chuck Berry's son and many more, including June Juanico, Elvis's first serious girlfriend.
Other contributors include Tom Jones, Jamie Callum, Paul McCartney, Cliff Richard, Joe Brown, Marty Wilde, Green Day, Minnie Driver, Jack White of The White Stripes, The Mavericks, Jools Holland, Hank Marvin, Fontella Bass, John Waters and more.
Elvis's pelvis was just the start. Who had to change the lyrics to their biggest hit because the originals were too obscene? Who married their 13-year-old cousin? Who used lard to get their hair just right? And what happened on the day the music died?
FRI 00:00 Top of the Pops (b08q2wc7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRI 00:35 It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Rock 'n' Roll at the BBC (b063m6wy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:35 Buddy Holly: Rave On (b08q8f1n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
FRI 02:35 Kings of Rock and Roll (b007c95q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 today]