Liz McIvor tells the story of the early canal builders who struggled with the rugged terrain of England's Pennine hills. Creating a network of canals in this landscape was an uphill challenge - sometimes literally! But connecting the powerhouses of Yorkshire and Lancashire was a great prize at the time of the industrial revolution. What should the engineers do? Should they build over, under or around the hills? Who succeeded, and who struggled?
Birds owe their global success to feathers - something no other animal has. They allow birds to do extraordinary things.
For the first time, a slow-motion camera captures the unique flight of the marvellous spatuletail hummingbird as he flashes long, iridescent tail feathers in the gloomy undergrowth. Aerial photography takes us into the sky with an Ethiopian lammergeier dropping bones to smash them into edible-sized bits. Thousands of pink flamingoes promenade in one of nature's greatest spectacles. The sage grouse rubs his feathers against his chest in a comic display to make popping noises that attract females. The Vogelkop bowerbird makes up for his dull colour by building an intricate structure and decorating it with colourful beetles and snails.
Michael Cockerell tells the story of how prime ministers have coped with life after Number Ten, after Tony Blair became the youngest member of the ex-PMs' club for a hundred years.
The film reveals who left office bankrupt, who did TV commercials for Cheshire cheese, who had his own chat show and who has never had a single happy day since leaving Number Ten.
Cockerell, who met the eight PMs prior to Blair, looks at what Tony planned do next and just how many millions he could make from being an ex-PM.
Birds of paradise are one of David Attenborough's lifelong passions. He was the first to film many of their beautiful and often bizarre displays, and over his lifetime he has tracked them all over the jungles of New Guinea. In this very personal film, he uncovers the remarkable story of how these 'birds from paradise' have captivated explorers, naturalists, artists, film-makers and even royalty. He explores the myths surrounding their discovery 500 years ago, the latest extraordinary behaviour captured on camera and reveals the scientific truth behind their beauty: the evolution of their spectacular appearance has in fact been driven by sex.
And in a final contemporary twist to this story of obsession and royalty, he travels to the desert of Qatar, to a state-of-the-art facility which houses the largest breeding group of these birds in the world - a sheikh's very own private collection. There he has his closest ever encounter with a greater bird of paradise and its dramatic display, reliving the experience that captivated him in the forests of New Guinea more than 50 years ago.
'For me birds of paradise are the most romantic and glamorous birds in the world. And this is a film I have wanted to make for 40 years.' - Sir David Attenborough.
In the final episode, Andrew begins with the impressionists. He plunges into one of the most wildly creative periods in the history of art, when France was changing at a rapid pace and angry young artists would reinvent how to paint, finding their muses in the bars, brothels and cabarets of belle epoque Paris and turning the world of art on its head. Monet, Degas and friends launched a febrile conversation about the role of painting in the modern world that would pave the way for just about every modern art movement of note, from the cubists to the Fauves, from the surrealists to the existentialists and from conceptual artists to the abstract expressionists.
Continuing his fascinating journey to rediscover the central role played by the Ottoman empire in Europe and the Middle East, Rageh Omaar explores the huge contrasts in the times of two very different Ottoman sultans. The famed Suleiman the Magnificent in the golden age of the 16th century and the troubled reign of Abdul Hamid II in the 19th century, when the Ottomans were dubbed 'the Sick Man of Europe'.
To find out what a Muslim world run from Europe was really like, Rageh examines the cultural legacy of the empire, as well as the physical, religious and political architecture of Ottoman rule. It reveals the backdrop to the relationship between Islam and Europe today, how the Ottomans became central in the power politics of the continent and what could have happened had they succeeded in their successive bids to seize Vienna, then a key European capital.
As the 1920s begin to roar, business is booming for the Peaky Blinders gang. Tommy Shelby starts to expand his legal and illegal operations, with an eye on the racetracks of the south. Meanwhile, an enemy from Tommy's past returns to Birmingham.
Tommy offers to help Polly by searching for her children, who long ago were taken from her. In London, Tommy risks his life by meeting enigmatic leader Alfie Solomons. Meanwhile Arthur continues to feel the devastating effects of the Great War.
Tommy hatches a plan to take control of the southern racecourses. He also meets the aristocratic May Carleton and sees an opportunity to move up in the world. Meanwhile both Major Campbell and London gangster Darby Sabini plan Tommy's downfall.
TUESDAY 23 JULY 2019
TUE 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (m00071qd)
Series 1
23/07/2019
The latest news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 Decisive Weapons (b0077c0f)
Series 1
The Harrier - Jumping Jet Flash
Untested in combat and generally derided by the British military establishment, the Harrier proved itself in the Falklands conflict when just 20 of them took on a 200-strong Argentinian air force.
TUE 20:00 Planespotting Live (m00071qg)
Series 1
Episode 1
There have never been more planes in our skies - earlier this year 9,000 of them flew over UK airspace in just one day, an all-time record. Now, BBC Four is opening up the skies to give viewers an unprecedented insight into what is flying over their heads at any one time, by joining forces with an enthusiastic band of homegrown experts: planespotters.
Live across three nights, Peter Snow, Andi Peters, Zoe Laughlin and Arthur Williams, each aviation enthusiasts in their own right, are at prime planespotting sites across the country to delve deep into the world of aviation. Their mission: to spot as many of the different types of planes in UK airspace as possible, from the common to the unusual. And they are asking the British public to help, by sending in images of their spots. We will learn about the hundreds of different models of commercial, private and military aircraft that are making their way across the skies as we go about our daily lives.
Supported by a rich mix of character-led short films, the series covers everything planespotter-related, from the teams lovingly restoring Britain's forgotten planes, to the proud owner of the UK’s biggest sick bag collection, to exploring the materials that are at the frontier of aeronautical engineering.
This is not just a show for unashamed aviation geeks, this is for anyone with a passion for travel, history and our heritage. With a mixture of archive, personal stories and remarkable tales of single-minded dedication this series is finally giving voice to, and celebrating, those whose passions are planes.
Episode One throws light on the world of long-haul flights – from the 747, now in its 50th year, to the brand new A350s, the next generation of long-haul aircraft. Our team goes on the lookout for these along with some of the most interesting cargo planes out there, notably the 'Beluga', the A300-600 ST freight plane with a unique nose not unlike the aforementioned whale.
Planespotting Live brings you a snapshot of all the planes up in the sky during the hour, providing analysis and context as we go, and revelling in this unique and wonderful world.
TUE 21:00 Revolutions: The Ideas that Changed the World (m00071qj)
Series 1
Planes
The aeroplane gave us a great superpower - the ability to fly. But how we got it is a story full of passion, danger and death. We start with a Moorish scholar jumping off a cliff 11 centuries ago, with feathers on his arms. A modern wing-suit flyer illustrates the feat.
The key to flight is to master the air. That starts even earlier with the Chinese, who invent the kite. It proves that a heavier-than-air object can fly by producing lift. Enter Leonardo da Vinci, who deduces that humans are unlikely to be able to generate the forces required to fly like a bird. So, he imagines a machine flapping its wings. Unfortunately, he never gets one to work. To find out why requires modern analysis. At MIT in California, scientists explain that we now know that the flapping of wings is only one part of flight.
It would take an obscure British nobleman to unpick the puzzle. Sir George Cayley lives near the sea in England. He wonders how seagulls glide without flapping their wings. He discovers how lift depends on the angle at which a wing is set, and not on flapping. Then, with the invention of the rubber band, Frenchman Alphonse Penaud spots its potential to drive a propeller. In 1871, he designs a remarkable toy that looks just like a modern aircraft. Next, he designs a full-size machine decades ahead of its time. Sadly, Penaud cannot fund his idea. Aged just 30, he kills himself. But Penaud’s legacy endures. In Iowa, a man buys a toy based on Penaud’s design for his two sons, Wilbur and Orville.
Meanwhile, in Germany, a young entrepreneur has begun his own experiments. Otto Lilienthal is also obsessed with gliding birds and builds his own glider. However, he crashes and dies. On hearing of Otto’s death, Wilbur and Orville Wright determine to solve the problem of flight for themselves. Inspired by the flexibility of a thin box for the inner tube of a bicycle, they invent a method for twisting the wings of a plane to maintain control. In 1902, they begin tests at Kitty Hawk. We recreate the flights using an exact replica. A year later, the brothers return with a powered aircraft using a lightweight gasoline motor, possible because of the recent boom in automobiles.
The modern aeroplane becomes a reality and, driven by the needs of World War I, progress is rapid. But now a major danger is losing orientation in cloud or fog. The answer to that lies in a machine that is already obsolete, mighty iron ship the SS Great Britain. Unfortunately, the iron hull interferes with her compass, leading her to run aground. The solution is the invention of the gyrocompass, which, when adapted in the late 1920s for use in aircraft, allows planes to fly in almost any weather. Now commercial aviation can begin, but it is still low, slow and dangerous.
In 1929, a plane crashes into Mt Taylor in Arizona, becoming the first airline disaster. A better way is needed. One man thinks the answer is higher and faster. Wiley Post is a record-breaking pioneer aviator of the 1930s. He knows that to go faster he will have to fly higher, where the air is thin and there is less bad weather. But he also knows that altitude is dangerous. Inspired by a diving suit, he creates the world’s first pressure suit, the forerunner of the space suit.
Post’s experiments show the advantages of high-altitude flight, and the modern, pressurised, high-altitude plane swiftly follows. However, propeller engines are not well suited to thin air either. The solution had already been worked out by a 21-year-old student in 1921. The problem had been finding someone to pay for it. Frank Whittle knew that a better method of propulsion would be to compress high-altitude air until it was thicker, burn fuel in this air and use the expanding gas to shoot itself backwards in a jet. This would produce a forward force at any altitude. We demonstrate the advantage this engine has using a modern-day Iron Man jet-suit. Funding is eventually found, and the jet age begins. Without any one of these revolutionaries, we might never have left the ground.
TUE 22:00 Art, Passion & Power: The Story of the Royal Collection (b09q02kn)
Series 1
Palaces and Pleasuredomes
Andrew Graham-Dixon continues his exploration of the Royal Collection, the vast collection of art and decorative objects owned by the Queen. In the third episode he has reached the age of the Romantics - the flamboyant George IV who created so much of the visual look of the modern monarchy, and Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, for whom collecting was an integral part of their happy marriage.
As Prince of Wales, George was a famously loose cannon - a spendaholic prince whose debts ballooned in tandem with the royal waistline. But as a collector, Andrew argues, George was one of the great artistic figures of the Romantic age. His tastes were very much formed by the fallout from the French Revolution; as the great French aristocratic collections were broken up, an exodus of great art flooded into London's auction rooms - and George was there to buy them. He assembled a world-class collection of Dutch and Flemish masters, including key works by Rembrandt, Cuyp and de Hooch, as well as some of the greatest examples of French furniture ever produced, which Andrew sees in the state rooms of Buckingham Palace.
George IV was a natural showman and Andrew argues that his visit to Edinburgh in 1822 helped pioneer the modern monarchy's use of spectacle. But, like Henry VIII and Charles before him, George had the sense to partner up with an artist of genius - Sir Thomas Lawrence. The result of their collaboration is seen in a series of stirring battlefield portraits that line Windsor Castle's Waterloo Chamber.
Queen Victoria is often depicted as the uptight opposite of her louche uncle, but Andrew argues that, for her, art was just as important. This was a passion that she could share with her beloved husband, Prince Albert, who believed that learning how to make art was the best way to understand it.
Andrew visits Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, still filled with their art possessions, including marble facsimiles of the arms and legs of her infant children, commissioned by Victoria herself.
Andrew argues that Albert was a natural curator; he instilled a love for collecting in his children and compiled an early 'database' of the complete works of Raphael which he kept in his new 'print room' in Windsor Castle as a tool for art historians. But it is on the streets of South Kensington ('Albertopolis') that Andrew discovers Albert's real legacy - the museums and educational institutions here are a testimony to his vision for the area, purchased with the help of profits from the Great Exhibition.
TUE 23:00 The Extraordinary Collector (b07cgmpf)
Gela - The Hollywood Entrepreneur
Gela Nash-Taylor, wife of Duran Duran bass player John Taylor and a successful businesswoman in her own right, is a committed Anglophile - so much so, she bought one of the UK's finest Tudor homes.
Gela spends a lot of time in Los Angeles, but she is back in London for a short trip when art dealer and friend Gordon Watson meets up with her to hear about her new business venture and work out what he might sell to her. Gordon takes inspiration from their meeting and goes in search of something unique that he hopes Gela may like to buy - antique jewellery. But is Gela in the mood to buy?
Also in this episode, Gordon and his team host a stand at a prestigious Chelsea art fair aimed at London's uberwealthy for one week, which costs the equivalent of a year's rent at his Chelsea shop. But will Gordon sell well at Masterpiece?
TUE 23:30 The Extraordinary Collector (b07dwwq8)
Lord Cholmondeley – The Aristocrat Collector
Lord Cholmondeley lives at Houghton Hall, in Norfolk with his young family. A descendant of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain's first prime minister, Lord Cholmondeley continues the tradition of collecting art for the main house and for the grounds of this magnificent stately home.
Gordon Watson and Lord Cholmondeley have been friends for some time, but it has been a while since Gordon visited Houghton and he is keen to see what else has been added to the collection. Visiting stately homes always gives Gordon a good excuse to think about what he might be able to add to these historical houses, and today is no exception.
Following his visit, Gordon takes a trip to Amsterdam in search of unique contemporary objects and eventually finds himself back at Sotheby's auction house in London, where life in the art world began for Gordon over 35 years ago. Will Lord Cholmondeley be keen to buy any of the objects that Gordon finds for him?
TUE 00:00 Horizon (b0761llv)
2016
The Mystery of Dark Energy
Horizon looks at dark energy - the mysterious force that is unexpectedly causing the universe's expansion to speed up.
The effects of dark energy were discovered in 1998, but physicists still don't know what it is. Worse, its very existence calls into question Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity - the cornerstone of modern physics.
The hunt for the identity of dark energy is on. Experiments on earth and in space generate data that might provide a clue, but there are also hopes that another Einstein might emerge - someone who can write a new theory explaining the mystery of the dark energy.
TUE 01:00 Peaky Blinders (b04mlypg)
Series 2
Episode 4
Tommy finds out exactly what mission Major Campbell is forcing him to undertake. Arthur spearheads a ferocious takeover of London's Eden Club. Meanwhile, Polly's son Michael is welcomed into the business and quickly experiences the dark side of the Peaky Blinders.
TUE 02:00 Peaky Blinders (b04n6zyy)
Series 2
Episode 5
Tommy is caught by surprise when his powerbase in London is obliterated. As Tommy struggles to save his family and regain the upper hand, May expresses her feelings for him, and he is paid a visit by an old friend.
TUE 03:00 Peaky Blinders (b04nyw0f)
Series 2
Episode 6
As derby day arrives, Tommy is faced with impossible decisions as he plans to strike back at his enemies and take the family business to another level. Meanwhile, Major Campbell has one final card to play - one that he is certain will bring about Tommy's demise.
WEDNESDAY 24 JULY 2019
WED 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (m00071tj)
Series 1
24/07/2019
The latest news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 Decisive Weapons (b0078dxf)
Series 1
The P-51 - Cadillac of the Skies
In 1943, the large and slow Flying Fortresses, used in the US Air Force's daylight bombing raids, were being shot out of the sky at a rate of up to 60 per day. Only one fighter plane could save them - the single-seat P51 Mustang. The P51 enabled American pilots to fly eight-hour missions - by the end of the war, it accounted for half of all German planes destroyed, either in the air or on the ground. American and German veterans recount the legend that was the Mustang.
WED 20:00 Planespotting Live (m00071tl)
Series 1
Episode 2
Peter Snow and Andi Peters present the second programme of Planespotting Live from an aeropark. They are joined by our expert pilot for their incredible knowledge of all the planes currently flying over British airspace.
Zoe Laughlin is out and about with the vintage British aircraft at the aeropark unpicking the engineering that made some of the historic planes there so vital to the future of aviation.
In this episode, our focus turns to the workhorse of the sky, the short-haul plane. Pilot Arthur Williams is at a new location with some avid planespotters ticking off as many of these flights as possible as they fly in and out of UK airspace throughout the hour.
Their mission: to spot as many of the different types of plane in UK airspace as possible, from the common to the unusual. And they are asking the British public to help, by sending in images of their spots. We also learn about the hundreds of different models of commercial, private and military aircraft that are making their way across the skies as we go about our daily lives.
WED 21:00 James May's Toy Stories (b01pmbmx)
Flight Club
In this epic Toy Stories Christmas special, James gets to the heart of the nation's childhood love affair with the model plane and sets out to achieve what seems an impossible dream: the first cross-channel flight ever achieved by an engineless, homemade supersized toy. If it survives the perilous 22-mile journey, James's classic toy glider, lovingly built from over 1,000 pieces of balsa, will smash the British distance record.
James's mission is dedicated to making the dream of flight come true for the generations of children who, like James himself, slaved for hours over balsa and glue only to see their fragile and much-loved planes smash tragically on to the unyielding concrete of reality.
During his quest, James turns Indiana Jones to unearth surprising new evidence that identifies children as the true pioneers of flight and wrestles with an underperforming glider that threatens to barely leave the ground. And what starts as a simple yet noble aim takes James in many unexpected directions - to a mysterious and barely inhabited island, to helicopters lost in the fog and missing speedboats, and what can only be described as the world's first flying coffin for gliders.
Throughout, James is beset by a series of dramatic problems requiring inspired solutions, near-disasters and breakthroughs, which culminate in a thrilling and visually stunning last throw of the dice.
Underpinned throughout by James's own infectious passion for flight, a passion he's had since he first put glue to balsa as a ten-year-old, Flight Club is an epic journey into the unexpected.
WED 22:00 Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit (b0797ysr)
Episode 1
In this first episode, Mary Beard reaches back to the myths and legends of the origins of Rome to gain an insight into the deep-rooted psyche of the people of Rome - a city born through fratricide and rape. But from the very beginning, Rome was also an asylum for outcasts and exiles and because of this, it adopted a uniquely inclusive approach towards its neighbours and defeated enemies. The expansion of the city brought territory in first in Italy and Sicily, where Rome first came head to head and eventually defeated her great rival, Carthage.
Mary then travels to Greece, where Rome adopted a complex mix of brute force and cultural cringe, and France, where she finds evidence of war methods akin to outright genocide. In typical myth-busting style, Mary argues that the period of greatest Roman expansion occurred when Rome itself was little more than a provincial backwater, a shanty town of mud and brick. The marble, monumental Rome we know came about because of imperial conquest - not the other way round. And likewise, the creation and possession of an empire transformed the politics of Rome forever, creating the conditions for one-man rule, and ending the centuries-old Roman Republic.
WED 23:00 Horizon (b0747199)
2016
The Immortalist
The gripping story of how one Russian internet millionaire is turning to cutting-edge science to try to unlock the secret of living forever.
Dmitry Itskov recently brought together some of the world's leading neuroscientists, robot builders and consciousness researchers to try to devise a system that would allow him to escape his biological destiny. Entering Dmitry's seemingly sci-fi world, Horizon investigates the real science inspiring his bold plan to upload the human mind to a computer.
There are doubters - like the major neuroscientist who tells us 'it's too stupid, it simply cannot be done'. But as we also meet the Japanese maker of Erica, one of the world's most human-like robots, who tells us the destiny of humans is to become robots to overcome the constraints of time, see how a quadriplegic Californian man is already controlling a robot arm with his thoughts, and explore the groundbreaking work of the scientist behind the world's largest neuroscience project - the $6 billion US Brain Initiative - who tells us the effort to map all the activity of the brain could be a crucial step towards mind uploading, Horizon asks if it's really so crazy to think Dmitry Itskov could succeed in his goal of bringing about immortality for all of us within 30 years.
WED 00:00 Tomorrow's Worlds: The Unearthly History of Science Fiction (p026c7jt)
Invasion
Dominic Sandbrook continues his exploration of the most innovative and imaginative of all genres with a look at science fiction's fascination with aliens. But what if we don't meet aliens in space and instead they come to earth - to conquer us?
Dominic and leading writers and film-makers look at science fiction's obsession with alien invasion, from all-out assault to sinister hidden threats, and how it has reflected real-life anxieties - whether they be the challenge to Victorian imperial power of HG Wells's War of the Worlds, the Cold War-era paranoia of Invasion of the Body Snatchers or more recent concerns about racism and immigration in District 9.
And we celebrate the most famous alien invaders of all - the Daleks.
Among the contributors are David Tennant and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), Richard Dreyfuss (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) and special effects maestros Phil Tippett (Jurassic Park) and Doug Trumbull (Close Encounters).
WED 01:00 Peaky Blinders (b079vtpm)
Series 3
Episode 1
It is Thomas Shelby's long-awaited wedding day. In the middle of the celebrations, a mysterious visitor imperils the entire Shelby family, and Tommy finds himself pulled into a web of intrigue more lethal than anything he has yet encountered.
WED 01:55 Peaky Blinders (b07bksbb)
Series 3
Episode 2
Tommy discovers the extent of the mission given to him and the extreme lengths his new paymasters are willing to go to in their quest for power.
Meanwhile his own family's activities lead to escalating danger in Birmingham.
WED 02:55 Peaky Blinders (b07cgpy2)
Series 3
Episode 3
Responding to the Italians' actions, Tommy is set on a path of deadly vengeance. Meanwhile, as he makes plans for his mission on behalf of the Russians, he realises there is a traitor in his midst.
THURSDAY 25 JULY 2019
THU 19:00 Beyond 100 Days (m00071fh)
Series 1
25/07/2019
The latest news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (m00071fk)
Gary Davies and Simon Mayo present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 7 April 1988 and featuring Taylor Dayne, Fleetwood Mac, Glen Goldsmith, Hazell Dean, Natalie Cole, AC/DC, Pebbles, Scott Fitzgerald, Pet Shop Boys and Jellybean ft Adele Bertei.
THU 20:00 Planespotting Live (m00071fm)
Series 1
Episode 3
Peter Snow and Andi Peters host the final episode of Planespotting Live from an aeropark. Tonight, we are looking at military planes, the fastest and often most innovative of them all.
Zoe Laughlin explains how some of the early military planes at the aeropark helped the RAF maintain its dominance of the skies above us. And pilot Arthur Williams is at an RAF base ready to spot an array of military planes and helicopters.
Our military pilot in the studio gives context and hidden stories behind some of these extraordinary flying machines and we conclude the country’s biggest-ever planespotting event by revealing just how many types of aircraft the British public has managed to spot.
Andi gets to join spotters watching Typhoons on training sorties, we meet the ex-BAE employee who has made models of every single plane he has worked on (all in their individual liveries) and we find out why a 60-year-old Handley Page Victor aircraft is worth a team dedicating their lives to restoring.
THU 21:00 Concorde: A Supersonic Story (b097tvt3)
The life of the most glamorous plane ever built, told by the people whose lives she touched. We uncover rare footage telling the forgotten row between the French and British governments over the name of Concorde that threatened to derail the whole project. On the eve of the opening of Bristol's multi-million-pound aerospace museum, a cast of engineers, flight technicians and frequent fliers tell the supersonic story aided by Lord Heseltine and Dame Joan Collins - and we meet the passenger who shared an intimate moment with The Rolling Stones.
Narrated by Sophie Okonedo.
THU 22:00 Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain with Simon Sebag Montefiore (b06ssjfk)
Nation
Simon explores Spain's golden age under Philip II through to the Spanish Civil War and dictatorship under Franco, from which Spain has emerged as a modern democratic monarchy.
THU 23:00 Jonathan Meades on Jargon (b09xzsbp)
In this provocative television essay, writer and broadcaster Jonathan Meades turns his forensic gaze on that modern phenomenon that drives us all up the wall - jargon. In a wide-ranging programme he dissects politics, the law, football commentary, business, the arts, tabloid-speak and management consultancy to show how jargon is used to cover up, confuse and generally keep us in the dark.
He contrasts this with the world of slang, which unlike jargon actually gets to the heart of whatever it's talking about even if it does offend along the way. With plenty of what is called 'strong language', Meades pulls no punches in slaying the dragon of jargon.
THU 00:00 The Secret History of My Family (b074cf2v)
The Manleys and the Hunts
The true story of two Victorian mothers, Lavinia and Florence, from opposite ends of the social scale - brought together by domestic violence.
One was desperate to feed her six children in 1880s London, the other came from a lavish country home and ventured into the slums to try to help a fellow mother. It's the saga of a woman from the Victorian workhouse whose descendant ends up at Eton, and of a family from the landed gentry who have thrown off the burden of their past.
THU 01:00 Peaky Blinders (b07czw04)
Series 3
Episode 4
Tommy and Tatiana play a personal and dangerous game to acquire information from one another, and Tommy finally comprehends the magnitude of Tatiana's warped ideals.
Meanwhile, Polly reveals a dark secret, with terrible consequences for Tommy.
THU 01:55 Peaky Blinders (b07dwngq)
Series 3
Episode 5
As the Russians test the Peaky Blinders, Tommy realises that he is being seriously outmanoeuvred. But he has an ace up his sleeve in the form of an enemy turned ally - if only he can control him.
THU 02:55 Peaky Blinders (b07fg86c)
Series 3
Episode 6
As Tommy prepares to commit the most audacious crime of his career, a blow is struck against him that could change everything. As he faces his worst fears, he needs his family more than ever - but who can he trust?
FRIDAY 26 JULY 2019
FRI 19:00 World News Today (m00071mh)
The latest news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 BBC Proms (m00071mm)
2019
Schumann, Schoenberg and Mozart
Join Suzy Klein at the Royal Albert Hall for an evening of musical game-changers. Omer Meir Wellber makes his Proms debut with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of Israeli composer Ben-Haim’s emotive Symphony No 1, Schoenberg’s revolutionary Five Pieces for Orchestra and Robert Schumann’s mould-breaking Symphony No 4 in D minor. They are joined by South Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son for Mozart’s fiendish Piano Concerto No 15 in B flat.
FRI 22:00 David Bowie and the Story of Ziggy Stardust (b01k0y0n)
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is arguably the most important album in the mind-blowing career of David Bowie. Released in 1972, it's the record that set the mercurial musician on course to becoming one of the best-known pop stars on the planet. In just over a year, Bowie's messianic Martian invaded the minds of the nation's youth with a killer combination of extraterrestrial rock 'n' roll and outrageous sexuality, all delivered in high-heeled boots, multicoloured dresses and extravagant make-up. In Bowie's own words, Ziggy was 'a cross between Nijinsky and Woolworths', but this unlikely culture clash worked - Ziggy turned Bowie into stardust.
This documentary tells the story of how Bowie arrived at one of the most iconic creations in the history of pop music. The songs, the hairstyles, the fashion and the theatrical stage presentation merged together to turn David Bowie into the biggest craze since the Beatles. Ziggy's instant success gave the impression that he was the perfectly planned pop star. But, as the film reveals, it had been a momentous struggle for David Bowie to hit on just the right formula that would take him to the top.
Narrated by fan Jarvis Cocker, it reveals Bowie's mission to the stars through the musicians and colleagues who helped him in his unwavering quest for fame - a musical voyage that led Bowie to doubt his true identity, eventually forcing the sudden demise of his alien alter ego, Ziggy.
Contributors include Trevor Bolder (bass player, Spiders from Mars), Woody Woodmansey (drummer, Spider from Mars), Mike Garson (Spiders' keyboardist), Suzi Ronson (Mick Ronson's widow, who gave Bowie that haircut), Ken Scott (producer), Elton John (contemporary and fan), Lindsay Kemp (Bowie's mime teacher), Leee Black Childers (worked for Mainman, Bowie's production company), Cherry Vanilla (Bowie's PA/press officer), George Underwood (Bowie's friend), Mick Rock (Ziggy's official photographer), Steve Harley, Marc Almond, Holly Johnson, Peter Hook, Jon Savage, Peter Doggett and Dylan Jones.
FRI 23:00 BBC Proms (m00071mr)
2019
Public Service Broadcasting
Cerys Matthews introduces cult London band Public Service Broadcasting who take to the Royal Albert Hall stage for their Proms debut. To mark the 50th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landings, they are joined by the Multi-Story Orchestra to perform a specially commissioned new orchestral arrangement of the band’s 2015 studio album The Race for Space.
FRI 00:10 Top of the Pops (m00071fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 on Thursday]
FRI 00:40 Peaky Blinders (b09g85kh)
Series 4
The Noose
December 1925. Tommy Shelby OBE (Cillian Murphy) has acquired unprecedented legitimacy. The former gangster is also a man alone, estranged from his family and focused only on business. But when he receives a mysterious letter on Christmas Eve, Tommy realises that the Shelbys are in danger of annihilation.
As the enemy closes in, Tommy flees his country house and returns to the only safe place he knows: Small Heath, Birmingham, the slum where he grew up. Facing a more determined and sophisticated threat than ever before, the Shelby family must find a way to put differences aside, work together, take up arms and fight for survival...
FRI 01:40 Peaky Blinders (b09gvn5j)
Series 4
Heathens
As the Shelbys come to terms with the shocking events of Christmas Day, Tommy endeavours to unite his family. Until the current threat is dealt with, their only safe place is together in Small Heath. Johnny Dogs and Charlie set about arming the locals - everyone is now a Peaky bodyguard. Tommy enlists the help of tough Romany Gypsy Aberama Gold, who wants something unusual in return.
Jessie Eden confronts Tommy about the workers' pay. She warns him that revolution is in the air, and when Tommy doesn't relent she calls his bluff. As the situation plays out, Tommy's factory manager tells him he has one more meeting - with a mysterious businessman from Paris. But what transpires is no ordinary meeting with no ordinary businessman...
FRI 02:40 Peaky Blinders (b09hc65q)
Series 4
Blackbird
The Italians launch another attack on the Peaky Blinders. Tommy realises that the Shelbys need to evolve if they are to survive, but some of the family are reluctant to part with tradition.
As the strike takes hold at the Lanchester factory, Tommy pays a personal visit to Jessie Eden, but he is outmanoeuvred when she reveals something she knows about his past.
Changretta plots to continue the vendetta in the most devastating way possible. As well as identifying an enemy of the Shelby family who could help him, Luca makes direct contact with someone at the heart of the Peaky Blinders organisation.