The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Dickson Mbi is at a critical breakthrough point in his career as he transitions from his street dance roots to the contemporary dance limelight. This film follows Dickson as he wins the UK heat of the international street dance competition Keep on Dancing (KOD), with his 'popping' team Fiya House. But this is nothing compared to the challenge that now faces him as he starts to choreograph and perform his first contemporary dance solo under the watchful eyes of Akram Khan's producer, Farooq Chaudhry. At this crucial point in his career Dickson now has to push his mental and physical abilities beyond what he thinks is possible.
Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal are live from Lisbon in Portugal for the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest. As 19 acts will be battle it out, UK viewers have the opportunity to vote for their favourite. The UK's entry, SuRie, also joins Scott and Rylan to discuss all things Eurovision.
Dallas Campbell delves into the Horizon archive to discover how our ideas about dinosaurs have changed over the past 40 years. From realising that lumbering swamp dwellers were really agile warm blooded killers, astonishing new finds, controversial theories and breakthrough technology have enabled scientists to rethink how they lived and solve the mystery of their disappearance. And they can even reveal whether dinosaurs might still be with us today.
Timeshift charts the evolution of the British postage stamp and examines how these sticky little labels became a national obsession. Like many of us, writer and presenter Andrew Martin collected stamps when he was young, and now he returns to that lost world to unpeel the history of iconic stamps like the Penny Black and the Blue Mauritius, study famous collectors like King George V and the enigmatic Count Phillip de Ferrary, and to meet present-day philatelists at a stamp club.
Engineer Jem Stansfield investigates how the crash test dummy has become an icon for safety. For 65 years he has been crashed, smashed and impaled, evolving from a simple military mannequin into a highly sophisticated measuring tool. Jem meets a whole range of dummies from the past, present and future at crash laboratories in Sweden, the UK and US to discover how their evolution has mirrored car safety improvements.
An affectionate look at a unique feat of engineering which makes you laugh, gasp and wince all at once.
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.
Mike Read and Tommy Vance present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 8 December 1983. Featuring Thompson Twins, Billy Joel, Tears for Fears, Howard Jones, Culture Club and The Flying Pickets.
WEDNESDAY 09 MAY 2018
WED 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b0b22m02)
Series 1
09/05/2018
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 Danceworks (b0b2m14k)
Series 1
Choreographing History
Experimental and highly original, Shobana Jeyasingh is a female choreographer in a male-dominated world. Her tenaciousness has resulted in her dance company surviving for over thirty years, a rare achievement in the dance world.
This film follows the research and development phase of her new work exploring a viral attack. The piece, called Contagion, will evoke the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which killed over 50 million people, through dance. This film gives a unique insight into a choreographer's artistic process and their sources of inspiration as Shobana researches the pandemic and attempts to translate what she finds into movement as she workshops with dancers on the stage.
As part of this process Shobana meets Professor John Oxford, one of the world leading authorities on the Spanish flu, who shares with Shobana a lung sample of a British victim of the 1918 outbreak. Shobana also visits Professor Wendy Barclay, chair of influenza virology at Imperial College London. Professor Barclay has spent many years trying to learn everything she can about the way flu viruses behave and now leads a team of scientists based at her London laboratories. She shares with Shobana how flu viruses act at a microscopic level.
WED 20:00 George III - The Genius of The Mad King (b08cwqx3)
After 200 years under lock and key, all the personal papers of one of our most important monarchs are seeing the light of day for the first time. In the first documentary to gain extensive access to the Royal Archives, Robert Hardman sheds fascinating new light on George III, Britain's longest-reigning king.
George III may be chiefly remembered for his madness, but these private documents reveal a monarch who was a political micromanager and a restless patron of science and the arts, an obsessive traveller who never left southern England yet toured the world in his mind and a man who was driven (sometimes to distraction) by his sense of duty to his family and his country.
Featuring Simon Callow and Sian Thomas as the voices of King George and Queen Charlotte.
WED 21:00 Elizabeth I's Secret Agents (b09fb54t)
Series 1
Episode 3
Elizabeth I is dead and King James of Scotland travels south to take the throne at the invitation of Robert Cecil. Meanwhile, John Gerard, a Catholic priest who has dedicated his life to the destruction of the Protestant state that developed in Elizabeth's England, has escaped and made contact with a splinter cell in the Catholic underground containing an extremist called Guy Fawkes, who has a plan to blow up parliament with the king inside.
Cecil hears about the gunpowder plot, but is unaware of when and how they will strike, and his investigation is hampered as he's also trying to manage King James, who has a wildly ambitious idea of unifying Scotland and England in a new kingdom of Great Britain.
WED 22:00 Vive la Revolution! Joan Bakewell on May '68 (b0b2lz6r)
In 1968 Joan Bakewell was one of the few female TV presenters, fronting the BBC's Late Night Line-Up and addressing daily the most pressing issues of the time. In this film she looks back at the events that led to what for many became the defining event of that extraordinarily turbulent year - the protests in France in May.
While the rest of the world was in turmoil, with the Vietnam War causing increasing dissent, the Civil Rights movement growing in intensity and young people finding new ways of expressing themselves, as 1968 began it seemed to France's president, General de Gaulle, that his country was immune to the kind of protest sweeping the rest of the world.
De Gaulle had been back in power for ten years. Although France had enjoyed economic stability under his leadership, he presided over an old-fashioned and paternalistic regime that offered little opportunity for young voices to be heard. With increasing numbers of young people attending authoritarian outmoded and crowded universities, tensions were mounting. When young student Daniel Cohn Bendit confronted a government minister visiting his university at Nanterre to ask for rights for male and female students to cohabit it was the beginning of a chain of events that quickly escalated. Within just two months France had all but closed down as students occupied universities and took to the streets, joined by workers with their own grievances who declared a general strike.
Using archive from the period, Bakewell looks at some of the ideas that fuelled the protests - from the Situationist philosophy that inspired the iconic posters and slogans, to the widespread opposition to the Vietnam War. She looks at the legacy of the events in France, asking whether perhaps the most lasting change to have come out of that extraordinary year was the feminist movement, as taking inspiration from the young French who took to the streets that year, women found renewed confidence to challenge authority.
WED 23:00 Timeshift (b044yw1d)
Series 14
Mods, Rockers and Bank Holiday Mayhem
A trip back to the days when 'style wars' were just that - violent confrontations about the clothes you wore. Spring 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the bank holiday 'battles of the beaches', when hundreds of mods and rockers flocked to seaside resorts on scooters and motorbikes in search of thrills and spills.
Timeshift tells the story of how this led to violence, arrests and widespread concern about the state of British youth. But mods and rockers had more in common than was first obvious - they were the first generation of baby boomers to reach their teenage years at a time when greater prosperity and wider freedoms were transforming what it meant to be young.
WED 00:00 Tankies: Tank Heroes of World War II (b01pvbds)
Episode 1
The Second World War was the ultimate conflict of the machine age, and the tank was its iconic symbol. The 'tankies' who fought inside had experience of much of the conflict from the fall of France to the deserts of Africa, from the invasion of Italy to D-Day, and on to the final victory in Germany.
In this two-part series, historian, BBC diplomatic editor and former officer in the Royal Tank Regiment, Mark Urban tells the story of six remarkable men from one armoured unit - the Fifth Royal Tank Regiment, also known as the Filthy Fifth.
Using first-hand testimony from the last surviving veterans alongside previously unseen letters and diaries, Mark brings the story of an extraordinary 'band of brothers' to life, in visceral detail. At the same time he analyses the evolution of tank production in Britain and illustrates how we fell far behind our German enemies in both technology and tactics, relying instead on dogged determination and a relentless drive to victory, whatever the costs.
In part one, Mark begins his journey in northern France, introducing our band of brothers in the midst of the fall of France and the retreat to Dunkirk. Characters such as 'rookie' tank driver Gerry Solomon join veterans, themselves still only in their twenties, such as and Jake Wardrop and Harry Finlayson.
Mark then follows in the tankies' footsteps across the deserts of North Africa. Here he looks at the game-changing tank battles of Sidi Rezegh, Alam Halfa and, of course, the battle that changed the course of the Second World War - Alamein. He then takes us back to England where the tankies expect a well-earned rest, instead they are confronted with the news that as battle-hardened troops they must fight again, this time on the beaches of Normandy.
With spectacular archive footage, including rarely seen colour footage, it brings to life the Second World War from a unique point of view.
WED 01:00 Top of the Pops (b08qkzst)
Simon Bates and Janice Long present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 15 December 1983. Featuring Status Quo, UB40, Slade, The Pretenders, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, and The Flying Pickets.
WED 01:30 Top of the Pops (b08rc663)
John Peel and David Jensen present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 22 December 1983. Artists include Slade, Culture Club, Paul McCartney, Dennis Waterman & George Cole, Billy Joel, Howard Jones and The Flying Pickets.
WED 02:05 Danceworks (b0b2m14k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 02:35 Vive la Revolution! Joan Bakewell on May '68 (b0b2lz6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
THURSDAY 10 MAY 2018
THU 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b0b22m0f)
Series 1
10/05/2018
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Danceworks (b0b2m2y5)
Series 1
Prejudice and Passion
Daring, audacious and funny, based in the north of England, Carlos Pons Guerra creates darkly humorous, highly theatrical and vigorously physical work that often explores questions of gender and sexual identity. This film finds Carlos rehearsing dancers in preparation for O! Maria, a very Spanish tale of ham and bondage.
This is the most important performance of the work to date at one of London's major theatres, but Carlos isn't satisfied. He now wants to bring his avant-garde style and preoccupations to a broader audience. He is choreographing a new children's production at the Birmingham Rep, which tells a true story of two male penguins raising a baby penguin. This is about using dance to set an agenda - can Carlos channel the fight for acceptance that has defined him into the mainstream? For Carlos the show is deeply personal. He struggled hugely with homophobia as a child and as a young adult wanting to dance. What will his toughest critics - his parents - make of his new work?
THU 20:00 Eurovision Song Contest (b0b2r32h)
2018
Semi-Final Two
Scott Mills and Rylan Clark-Neal return for the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, live from Lisbon in Portugal. Eighteen acts take to the stage, but only ten will make it through to the grand final on Saturday. Who will win those final ten places?
THU 22:15 Timeshift (b06csy8c)
Series 15
The Engine that Powers the World
The surprising story of the hidden powerhouse behind the globalised world, the diesel engine, a 19th-century invention that has become indispensable to the 21st century. It's a tortoise-versus-hare tale in which the diesel engine races the petrol engine in a competition to replace ageing steam technology, a race eventually won hands down by diesel.
Splendidly, car enthusiast presenter Mark Evans gets excitedly hands-on with some of the many applications of Mr Diesel's - yes, there was one - original creation, from vintage submarines and tractors to locomotive trains and container ships. You'll never feel the same about that humble old diesel family car again.
THU 23:15 The Magic of Mushrooms (b041m6fh)
Professor Richard Fortey delves into the fascinating and normally hidden kingdom of fungi. From their spectacular birth, through their secretive underground life to their final explosive death, Richard reveals a remarkable world that few of us understand or even realise exists - yet all life on earth depends on it.
In a specially built mushroom lab, with the help of mycologist Dr Patrick Hickey and some state-of-the-art technology, Richard brings to life the secret world of mushrooms as never seen before and reveals the spectacular abilities of fungi to break down waste and sustain new plant life, keeping our planet alive.
Beyond the lab, Richard travels across Britain and beyond to show us the biggest, fastest and most deadly organisms on the planet - all of them fungi. He reveals their almost magical powers that have world-changing potential - opening up new frontiers in science, medicine and technology.
THU 00:15 Tankies: Tank Heroes of World War II (b01pzv78)
Episode 2
In the last of this two-part series, historian and former tank commander Mark Urban continues the story of six remarkable men from the Fifth Royal Tank Regiment in World War II.
Surviving veterans and previously unseen letters and diaries relate in visceral detail how an extraordinary 'band of brothers' fought throughout the war.
This episode picks up the story with the regiment's triumphant return from north Africa and victory at Alamein. Expecting a well-earned rest, instead they are joined by new recruits and re-equipped with brand new British-made Cromwell Tanks in preparation for D-Day - the invasion of Europe.
Fighting in the hedgerows in northern France is a shock to the men of the Fifth Tanks, who were used to fighting in the wide-open spaces of the desert. German soldiers lie in ambush behind hedgerows with hand-held anti-tank weapons. Veteran Gerry Solomon, one of the most experienced tank commanders, tells how his tank is knocked out and he is wounded.
The new Cromwell tank proves no match against the German Tiger tank. At the battle of Villers Bocage, a single Tiger brings the advance of the whole British Army to a standstill. But it meets its match when it comes up against another new British tank - the Sherman Firefly.
Veterans describe how for two months they fought a battle of attrition, losing hundreds of tanks in the British Army's biggest ever tank battle, but keeping the German tanks fighting in the British sector so the Americans could break out of their sector into open countryside beyond.
The Fifth Tanks advance rapidly, the first to liberate Ghent in Belgium. Pushing on into Germany just days before the end of the war, some of the regiment's most experienced veterans, who had been fighting since the beginning, are tragically killed.
THU 01:15 Timeshift (b068fvln)
Series 15
The Trains That Time Forgot: Britain's Lost Railway Journeys
Timeshift journeys back to a lost era of rail travel, when trains had names, character and style. Once the pride of the railway companies that ran them, the named train is now largely consigned to railway history.
Writer and presenter Andrew Martin asks why we once named trains and why we don't do so anymore. He embarks on three railway journeys around Britain, following the routes of three of the most famous named trains - the Flying Scotsman, the Cornish Riviera Express and the Brighton Belle. We reflect on travel during the golden age of railways - when the journey itself was as important as reaching your destination - and compare those same journeys with the passenger experience today.
THU 02:15 Danceworks (b0b2m2y5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 02:45 The Mystery of Van Gogh's Ear (b07nswft)
It is one of the greatest and bloodiest mysteries in art: what happened on the December night in 1888 when Vincent van Gogh took a blade to his own ear?
Jeremy Paxman joins art sleuth Bernadette Murphy on her amazing quest to discover the truth - what exactly did the artist do, why did he do it and who was the unknown girl he is said to have handed his severed ear to, her real identity kept secret by her family for over a century? It is an event that defines van Gogh, who created his greatest masterpieces including the Sunflowers at the same moment as suffering mental torture, but what are the real facts?
This revealing detective story travels from Vincent's home in the south of France to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and uncovers key evidence hidden in a Californian library that has created an art-world sensation, as we finally solve the mystery of Van Gogh's ear.
FRIDAY 11 MAY 2018
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b0b22m0l)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Young Musician (b0b23fm0)
2018
Semi-Final
The search for the next BBC Young Musician reaches its penultimate stage as the category winners from strings, percussion, woodwind, brass and keyboards compete for three places in Sunday's grand final. Josie D'Arby is joined by acclaimed violinist Nicola Benedetti, BBC Young Musician Winner in 2004, and world-famous trumpeter Alison Balsom, artistic director of the Cheltenham Festival, who won the Brass Category in 1998.
The category winners competing in the semi-final are: Matthew Brett, a 17-year-old percussionist from Cheshire, Maxim Calver, 18, who plays the cello and studies at Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey, and Robert Burton, an 18-year-old saxophonist who is a first-year student at the Royal Academy of Music. They will be joined by the winners of the brass and keyboard category finals.
On the jury are conductor Jessica Cottis, chief executive of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Gavin Reid, and the chair of the Young Musician 2018 Juries, composer, performer and writer, Kerry Andrew.
BBC Young Musician has been showcasing the very best British classical music talent for the past 40 years. Tonight's five semi-finalists are competing for just three places in Sunday's grand final at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, to play a full concerto with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mark Wigglesworth. One will be named BBC Young Musician 2018.
FRI 21:00 Eurovision at 60 (b05vsm0d)
Hosts and competitors tell the behind-the-scenes story of 60 years of Eurovision, the greatest and maddest song contest on earth.
FRI 22:30 Latin Music USA (b00qvm3y)
The Latin Explosion
The last in a four-part series revealing the deep musical and social impact of Latin music in the USA looks at how Latin pop was born in Miami, created by Cuban immigrants fleeing Fidel Castro, and how it has impacted on the worlds of music, business, fashion and media across the Americas and the world.
In the 1980s, Gloria Estefan and husband Emilio moulded a crossover pop sound which exploded out of Miami into every city in the States. From TV shows like Miami Vice to the movie Scarface and the corporate influences that embrace Shakira, Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez, Latin pop reflects a new-found power and confidence for a community that has found its place in mainstream USA.
Featuring Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Gloria Estefan and the stars of Reggaeton.
FRI 23:30 Arena (b0b1v53c)
Jana Bokova's Havana
1990 documentary. Havana has a dilapidated ruined beauty - decaying grandeur alongside squalor with a string atmosphere of Africa and Old Spain. Despite the political turmoil of Cuba's last 30 years, its people remain among the most imaginative and fascinating in the world. Under the dictatorship of Castro, Cuba has become a highly regulated state to say the least. Director Jana Bokova persuaded the citizens of Havana to talk about their lives, their city and Cuba, despite their anxieties and fears about opening up to a foreign film crew. The film goes beneath the skin of this legendary city, particularly through its extraordinarily rich music which enables the people to express their true attitudes and feelings. It also visits Little Havana in Miami, 90 miles away, home to some of the one million exiles to have left Cuba in the last 30 years.
FRI 01:15 Eurovision at 60 (b05vsm0d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 02:45 Latin Music USA (b00qvm3y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:30 today]