The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Seasoned stomper Julia Bradbury dons her walking boots once again to explore her own British backyard, travelling along the country's network of canals and their accompanying towpath trails. This sees her navigating Highland glens, rolling countryside and river valleys, as well as our industrial heartlands, following these magical waterways as they cut a sedate path through some of the country's finest scenery.
Julia starts this walk in the beautiful world heritage city of Bath, where the Kennet and Avon Canal provided a 19th-century 'canal superhighway' between the country's two most important ports, Bristol and London. But only forty years later the trade along the canal was usurped by rail travel, leaving the once great waterway neglected and derelict. Julia's 20-mile walk along what is arguably the most picturesque stretch of the canal tells the story of how the waterway was restored to its former glory after it was awarded the biggest ever lottery heritage grant. The walk ends at the spectacular Caen Hill flight of locks, listed as one of the seven wonders of British waterways.
Dr Pamela Cox looks at how shopgirls threw off their staid reputation to become hip in the second half of the 20th century.
Pamela begins by discovering heroic stories of shopgirls during the London Blitz, with shopworkers rescuing evacuees and serving customers from bomb-damaged premises. She also explores how the Second World War created flexible working opportunities on the shop floor and gave rise to a new concept, the working mum.
The postwar baby boom created a massive demographic shift, producing record numbers of teenagers with a keen eye for music, film and fashion. By the 1960s, teenagers emulated the beautiful shopgirls working in trendy boutiques like Mary Quant's Bazaar in London's Kings Road. Being a shopgirl was more than just a job - they were status symbols who had become the embodiment of the brand. Shopgirls were crucial to the success of stores like Biba, where their jobs were more about modelling the clothes and hanging out rather than giving customers the hard sell.
Pamela looks at the 1970s, when the unstoppable growth of chain stores and the introduction of shopping malls signalled the death of many independent shops, and explores the impact that growing up above a shop had on the country's most famous grocer's daughter, Margaret Thatcher.
Pamela visits the supermarket where she worked on the checkouts in the 1980s and, glimpsing into the future, she considers how our shops and shopworkers will adapt to an increasingly online world.
Award-winning comedian Rich Hall explores the American dream and the dictum that came over with the very first pilgrims who set foot on Plymouth Rock - work hard and you will succeed.
With his sharp wit and acerbic insight, Rich looks at how Americans strive to achieve this dream and how it's been explored and perpetuated by politicians, industrialists, artists, writers and film-makers.
Rich also looks at the dark heart of the American dream and considers what happens when the dream turns into a nightmare, including the Great Depression of the 1930s, the boom and bust of Detroit and the modern demise of America's shrinking middle class. The land of opportunity has attracted all comers to live the American dream, and Rich Hall explains if it actually exists or if it's just a myth that's become unobtainable for Americans.
In a whistlestop tour through the history of the US presidency, journalist and author Jonathan Freedland asks what qualities make a great president and what we can learn from the likes of Theodore Roosevelt, JFK or even Richard Nixon about what it takes to make a mark in the White House.
Freedland is helped by distinguished contributors, including James Naughtie, Shirley Williams, Douglas Hurd, Simon Hoggart and Bonnie Greer, who give frank assessments of some of America's greatest presidents.
In this first episode, Prof Richard Clay explores how utopian visions begin as blueprints for fairer worlds and asks whether they can inspire real change.
Charting 500 years of utopian visions and making bold connections between exploration and science fiction - from radical 18th-century politics to online communities like Wikipedia - Richard delves into colourful stories of some of the world's greatest utopian dreamers, including Thomas More, who coined the term 'utopia', Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels, and Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek.
Richard builds a compelling argument that utopian visions have been a powerful way of criticising the present, and he identifies key values he believes the imagined better futures tend to idealise. He shows how the concept of shared ownership, a 'commons' of both land and digital space online, has fired utopian thinking, and he explores the dream of equality through the campaign for civil rights in the 1960s and through a feminist theatrical production in today's America.
Immersing himself in a terrifying '1984' survival drama in Vilnius, Lithuania, Richard also looks at the flip side, asking why dystopias are so popular today in film, TV and comic book culture. He explores whether dystopian visions have been a way to remind ourselves that hard-won gains can be lost and that we must beware of humanity's darker side if we are ever to reach a better place.
Across Britain, Germany, Lithuania and America, Richard talks about the meaning of utopia with a rich range of interviewees, including Katherine Maher, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, Star Trek actress Nichelle Nichols, explorer Belinda Kirk, football commentator John Motson and Hollywood screenwriter Frank Spotnitz.
The second episode sees mid-1980s Britain wrestling with two contradictory impulses - the rise of a strong nationalist sentiment and the emergence of an increasingly globalised world.
By the middle of the decade, Britain felt like an embattled nation, facing threats from enemies within as well as out - a nation struggling to establish an identity on the global stage, and also trying to re-establish what it means to be British. This was the period that forever marked the 80s as a decade of conflict and division. But not all those conflicts were obvious. Some were fought with bullets, others with money, some were fought in our homes, others in our heads.
This episode examines everything from the invasion of the Falkland Islands to the invasion of the home computer and the moral panic surrounding 'video nasties', from the Americanisation of our popular culture to the picket line skirmishes playing out nightly on our televisions, and from the spectre of Aids and the threat of the IRA to immigration and identity politics.
THURSDAY 05 JULY 2018
THU 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (b0b8mxs7)
Series 1
05/07/2018
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury (b011g6dw)
The Llangollen Canal
Seasoned stomper Julia Bradbury dons her walking boots once again to explore her own British backyard, travelling along the country's network of canals and their accompanying towpath trails. This sees her navigating Highland glens, rolling countryside and river valleys, as well as our industrial heartlands, following these magical waterways as they cut a sedate path through some of the country's finest scenery.
Julia's final walk takes her to north Wales, where 200 years ago the great engineer Thomas Telford had to overcome seemingly impossible challenges in order to access the valuable slate industries of Snowdonia. In doing so, he created a masterpiece of 19th-century engineering - an aqueduct 126 feet high and spanning 1,000 feet across the Vale of Llangollen. To find out why it has become a world heritage site, Julia follows the cut of the Llangollen Canal, starting at the picturesque Horseshoe Falls. Her six-mile walk takes her along the winding Dee Valley, ending on the aqueduct that Telford described as 'a stream through the skies'.
THU 20:00 The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain (b042twvq)
Episode 2
Lucy Worsley's inside story of Britain's imported German dynasty, made with extensive access to the Royal Collection, reaches the reign of George II. She shows how he had to adapt to a growing 'middling rank' in society no longer content with being downtrodden subjects. Affairs of state were being openly discussed in coffee houses, while the king and his ministers were mocked in satirical prints and theatres.
George II was an easy target - grumpy, and frequently absent in Hanover. To his British subjects he became The King Who Wasn't There. But his wife, the enlightened Caroline, popularized a medical breakthrough against smallpox. However, it was their son, Frederick Prince of Wales, who really understood this new world - he had the popular touch monarchy would need to survive into the modern era.
THU 21:00 Napoleon (b05zq7xf)
Episode 2
In 1805, when Napoleon was crowned King of Italy, he was at the height of his power - the previous year, he had been crowned Emperor of the French. This edition of the series charts the transformation of a political leader of the French to emperor and global statesman, from a son of the French Revolution to husband of the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, the most powerful, conservative, monarchist nation on earth. It features the Battle of Austerlitz, one of the greatest military encounters of the 19th century, the rise of a Napoleonic Empire - at its peak numbered over 40 million people - and the supreme meritocracy that was the Napoleonic regime, but it also the compromises that Napoleon had to make to guarantee his global power, compromises that relied upon his trusting nature, a personality trait that in later years would prove to be an Achilles heel to his power. The film is presented by British historian Andrew Roberts, and shot on location in St Helena, France, Czech Republic and Russia.
THU 22:00 Whites v Blacks: How Football Changed a Nation (b084fmgv)
On 16 May 1979, an extraordinary game of professional football took place that, if played today, would very possibly cause uproar, mass protest and a media frenzy. As part of Len Cantello's testimonial at West Bromwich Albion, an all-white team took on a side comprised solely of black players - 'whites against blacks'.
For the white team, it was nothing more than a lighthearted gimmick, but for the black players it represented so much more. It was a game they had to win. Racism was rife, and black people were far from welcome on the pitch, in the stands or in the boardroom.
In this film, presenter Adrian Chiles journeys across England to discover the truths, taboos and real meaning behind this remarkable game. He uncovers rarely seen footage and reunites players from both teams, including Ally Robertson, Tony 'Bomber' Brown, Cyrille Regis and Brendan Batson.
Today, around 30 per cent of English professionals are black. They are role models and superstars, some earning in excess of £100,000 a week. On the surface, everything seems rosy, but how far have we really come? Through encounters with stars like Ian Wright, Les Ferdinand and Dion Dublin, Adrian contrasts the attitudes and conflicts that swirled around that infamous game with the reality of being a black player in the modern era.
THU 23:00 Britain's Whale Hunters: The Untold Story (b046pb27)
The Rise
Writer Adam Nicolson is granted rare access to the ruins of the whaling stations on the remote British island of South Georgia. Amazing rarely seen archive footage and first-hand testimony from the last of Britain's whale hunters reveals what it was really like to have been a whale hunter in Antarctica, providing Europe with essential oils for soap and food. Putting our modern environmental guilt to one side, this provocative series looks at how and why whale populations were so drastically reduced in the 20th century and attempts to see whaling through the eyes of the time.
A few hundred years ago the oceans were home to millions of whales, but then we found that they were incredibly useful for everything from lighting and fashion to soap and food. Adam discovers the remarkable, forgotten tale of Britain as a major whaling nation right up to the 1960s, while exploring the incredible ruins of its largest centre on the remote British island of South Georgia.
Adam starts his journey on the west coast of Scotland, his favourite place to escape to since boyhood. It's his realisation that these waters would have once been home to many whales that has prompted him to find out about whaling. He sails up the coast to Stornoway harbour, where there's a vivid account of a traditional hunt of pilot whales.
He discovers how whaling was commercialised to supply Britain's growing cities with a vast range of products: from corsetry and umbrella stays to street lighting. But the real shift in the scale of the industry comes in the late 19th century with the inventions of Norwegian Svend Foyn. Adam joins the British whalers on a restored whale-catching ship in Norway, where they explain how grenade-tipped harpoons and steam winches revolutionised the type and number of whales that could be hunted.
With whale populations in the north becoming hunted out by the start of the 20th century, the whalers turned their attention to the Antarctic. Adam travels via the Falkland Islands to the remote and spectacular Antarctic island of South Georgia. This uninhabited British outpost very quickly became the centre of the world's whaling industry, with six whaling stations. The biggest, Leith Harbour, belonged to the world's largest whaling company at the time - Christian Salvesen from Edinburgh.
Adam explores this complete whaling town, a time capsule of Brtiain's industrial past, which was abandoned in 1965. He finds huge, asbestos-clad machinery and pieces together how whales were processed, and after hearing about the whalers' illegal hooch, discovers a hidden still in one of the bunkrooms.
The episode ends with the peak of whaling on South Georgia in the mid-1920s - over 8,000 whales were killed and processed in a year. New processes meant that whale oil could now be used to make much-needed soap and edible fats for Europe, and Salvesens were making an annual profit equivalent to £100 million in today's economy. But, thanks to a revolution in ship design, the whaling industry was about to become far bigger still.
THU 00:00 Top of the Pops (b0b8kv3f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
01:00 on Saturday]
THU 00:30 Gods and Monsters: Homer's Odyssey (b00vtwnz)
Virginia Woolf said that Homer's epic poem the Odyssey was 'alive to every tremor and gleam of existence'. Following the magical and strange adventures of warrior king Odysseus, inventor of the idea of the Trojan horse, the poem can claim to be the greatest story ever told. Now British poet Simon Armitage goes on his own Greek adventure, following in the footsteps of one of his own personal heroes. Yet Simon ponders the question of whether he even likes the guy.
THU 01:30 B is for Book (b07jlzb7)
Documentary following a group of primary schoolchildren over the course of a year as they learn to read. Some of them make a flying start, but others struggle even with the alphabet. The film takes us into their home lives, where we find that some parents are strongly aspirational, tutoring children late into the night, while others speak English as a foreign language, if at all.
As the children master the basics, they discover the magical world of stories and look with fresh eyes at the world around them. The film gives us privileged access to a profound process that all of us only ever do once in our lives.
THU 02:30 The First Georgians: The German Kings Who Made Britain (b042twvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
FRIDAY 06 JULY 2018
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b0b8mxsd)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (b0b9b1xw)
Gary Davies, Janice Long, Dixie Peach, John Peel and Steve Wright present the most popular hits of 1985, with stars in the studio and on video, first broadcast on 25 December 1985.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (b0b8rmnx)
The Story of 1986
How did the decline of the young guns of the early 80s, the advent of House, The Big Bang in the money markets and political fatigue on the Left make their mark - or not - on the nation’s most popular music show?
Paul Heaton, Mick Hucknall, Sinitta, The Communards and Swing Out Sister are among the acts that steer us through the changes impacting Britain, the music industry and the BBC’s long-serving pop powerhouse in 1986.
FRI 21:00 Top of the Pops (b0b8rmnv)
1986 - Biggest Hits
Top of the Pops Big Hits is back with a bang for the year of 1986. Pop, new wave, rock, funk and R&B are all celebrated within this 60-minute special.
The treasure troves of the BBC archives are open, so expect smoke machines, shoulder pads and perms along with studio performances from Bon Jovi, Cyndi Lauper, Cameo, The Pretenders, The Real Thing, Billy Ocean and The Communards. Other highlights include The Housemartins, Kim Wilde and The Human League plus The Cure and many more.
FRI 22:00 Smashing Hits! The 80s Pop Map of Britain and Ireland (b0b99nq0)
Series 1
Episode 1
Two 80s icons explore the distinct sounds that came out of different parts of Britain and Ireland in one of pop's golden decades.
Midge Ure, lead singer of Ultravox and one of the men behind Band Aid, and Kim Appleby, who had a string of hits with her sister Mel in the Stock, Aitken and Waterman-produced band Mel and Kim, go on a journey back in time to the 80s to figure out why certain cities produced their own diverse tunes.
It's a fascinating tale. Emerging from the ashes of punk, British and Irish music ripped up the pop rule book in the 80s and topped the charts worldwide. But there was no definitive 'British' pop sound. Innovative chart-toppers were being produced by artists hailing from all over the UK and Ireland.
In this first episode, Midge Ure and Kim Appleby explore London's new romantic movement, travel to Coventry to investigate the rise of ska and speak to some of Sheffield's electronic music pioneers.
The show features interviews with key figures, like Gary Kemp from Spandau Ballet, Marco Pirroni from Adam and the Ants, Pauline Black from The Selecter, Martin Ware and Glenn Gregory from Heaven 17 and 'super-producer' Trevor Horn. But of course the star is the music - and this episode includes some of the best tunes, videos and performances from the early part of this marvellous musical decade.
FRI 23:00 Top of the Pops (b0b9b1xw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRI 00:00 Chalkie Davies: Rock Photographer (b05xd4yv)
In the late 70s Chalkie Davies was a photographer at the New Musical Express, taking pictures of bands like Thin Lizzy, the Clash, the Sex Pistols and many more. Now, as his first major exhibition opens at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff, and showing as part of BBC Music Day, he looks back on an extraordinary life, and old friends like Elvis Costello reflect on how Chalkie's images are so enduring.
Chalkie Davies was born in Sully just outside Cardiff and his first job was as an engineer at Heathrow Airport. But he was always a keen amateur photographer and when he won a camera club competition in 1973 the door opened onto a career in rock 'n' roll.
He was allowed in to take pictures on the last night of David Bowie's legendary Ziggy Stardust tour and the results were so good he never looked back. Joining the New Musical Express in the mid-70s, he was in the right place at the right time and became a favourite amongst the punk and new wave bands including the Clash, The Specials, Squeeze and Elvis Costello.
Chalkie's pictures summed up the era and many are classics of rock and roll photography. But by the mid-80s he'd become disenchanted with the music business, where image mattered more than music. The death of his close friend Phil Lynott, leader singer of Thin Lizzy, led Chalkie to quit rock music.
For 25 years Chalkie's collection of rock images remained hidden away until an invitation from the National Museum of Wales led him to bring them out for a new generation. This documentary follows Chalkie as he prepares for the exhibition, revisits his childhood haunts and reflects on an extraordinary career.
There are contributions from many of the musicians he photographed including Elvis Costello, Chris Difford of Squeeze, songwriter Nick Lowe, the Specials mainman Jerry Dammers and punk poet John Cooper Clarke.
FRI 00:30 Top of the Pops (b0b8rmnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:30 Shirley Bassey at the BBC (b01psct4)
Forever sequinned, stylish and sassy, Dame Shirley Bassey, one of Britain's all-time great voices, turned 76 in January 2013.
She began her rise to fame as a 16-year-old singer in 1953 and 60 years on she is still going as strong as ever. Join us as we celebrate Dame Shirley's birthday and her remarkable career, taking a trip down memory lane to uncover some of her finest performances from the vaults of the BBC.
From early BBC appearances on Show of the Week, The Shirley Bassey Show, via the Royal Albert Hall, Glastonbury 2007 and right up to her recent jaw dropping show at the Electric Proms. This is a compilation of some of Dame Shirley's classic performances, taking in iconic songs such as The Performance of My Life, Goldfinger, Big Spender and Diamonds Are Forever.
Producer: Sam Bridger
FRI 02:30 Top of the Pops (b0b8rmnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]