The story of a year in the life of Bodnant Garden in north Wales. With visitor numbers in decline, those who live and work at the National Trust property are on a mission to transform this spectacular garden. Head gardener Troy Scott Smith and his manager Michael McLaren are spending two million pounds on a revamp, with the aim of creating one of the top ten gardens in the world.
The Vienna Philharmonic’s annual Summer Night Concert takes place in the unique ambience of the Schoenbrunn Palace Gardens in Vienna. Postponed from May, the 2020 concert is conducted by Russian maestro Valery Gergiev and features one of the world’s great operatic singers, German tenor Jonas Kaufmann.
Adopting the theme of love, the concert features arias by Jules Massenet, Emmerich Kalman and Giacomo Puccini. The Summer Night Concert is shown in more than 80 countries worldwide.
Actor and writer Michael Palin takes up the challenge to emulate the adventures of Phileas Fogg and circumnavigate the globe, travelling by land and sea. The intrepid traveller sets off from London's Reform Club for Venice.
Actor and writer Michael Palin emulates Phileas Fogg's global circumnavigation. Disaster strikes when Michael misses his connection at the Saudi port of Jeddah, which means that by the time he reaches Bombay, he is likely to be at least seven days behind his fictional rival.
Neil Oliver recounts the story of the 1773 highland migrants who left Scotland to settle in Nova Scotia. He uncovers their terrifying journey on a filthy disease-ridden ship - the Hector. Neil describes how the migrants were deceived by speculators and goes on to meet their descendants. For some in Nova Scotia, the Hector has become little short of a Canadian 'Mayflower'.
Little more than 100 years ago, Scottish mountains standing at more than 3,000 feet were virtually unknown. Today they are familiar terrain to many thousands of climbers, thanks to Victorian adventurer Hugh Munro's determination to list the high peaks which now define the highlands and islands of Scotland.
This documentary tells the story of the magnificent peaks that bear his name and the people who have been possessed by them.
The birth of this obsession - now known as Munrobagging - is a twisting tale of intrigue, which presenter Nicholas Crane unravels high on the ridges and pinnacles of some of Scotland's most spectacular mountains.
Whitney's hiding something and Bianca is determined to get to the bottom of it. Jase struggles to get a job, leaving him in the path of temptation. Roxy must choose between Sean and Ronnie.
Bianca realises where Whitney's money has come from, but will she do the right thing? Dawn is feeling the strain of being skint until Jase turns up with a solution. Billy pitches a business plan to Ian.
A killer spider is on the loose in Walford. Dawn is torn over whether to accept Jase's money. Ronnie's attempts to move on with her life are short-lived when Max plants a seed of revenge.
Ronnie is down but not yet beaten, while Dawn is in the money and determined to rub it in her neighbours' faces. Mo's attempt to capitalise on Charlie's spider bite has terrible consequences for Billy.
For a river that conjures up images of pyramids and pharaohs, the Nile turns out to be a truly surprising river that changes at every twist and turn of its journey. As its flows into increasingly arid latitudes on its journey north it becomes an evermore vital lifeline for animals and people, but only if they can conquer the challenges that this ever-changing river throws at them. The Nile's story begins in a spectacular, tropical mountain range - the Rwenzoris. Streams plunge from these snowy peaks creating wetlands on the plains below. Here they create a mobile water garden of papyrus reeds, home to one of the world's strangest birds- a shoebill stork. Though beautiful, clumps of reeds break up and float around creating a challenging environment for would-be fishermen. A stork's best way of finding prey is to form a rather strange alliance - wily shoebills follow hippos whose great bulk opens up fishing channels for them.
The Nile's headwaters create huge lakes in the equatorial heart of Africa - everything here is on a vast scale, especially Lake Victoria which is the size of Ireland. Here vast swarms of lakeflies sweep across its waters on a biblical scale, providing an unexpected feast for local people who trap the insects to make 'fly burgers'. It is not just Lake Victoria's immense size which makes it so dramatic. The vast lake has only a single exit channel of ferocious white water - the aptly named White Nile. People come from around the globe to tackle the rapids here which are some of the most powerful and infamous in the world. A local heroine, Amina Tayona (a mum from a nearby village) is brave enough to ride them. Amina has learnt to kayak on these treacherous rapids - and now competes against international athletes.
The next stage of the Nile's great journey are the wild Savannah lands of Uganda and the awesome spectacle of one the world's most powerful waterfalls, Murchison Falls. Here, valiant crocodile mothers try to defend their nest against hungry predators. Even though they are such fearsome predators - crocodiles have a weakness which other animals exploit. Watch as cunning Nile monitor lizards try to outwit an increasingly desperate Nile crocodile mother who faces a terrible dilemma. Further downstream is the setting for one of the episode's most surprising stories. Filmed for the first time using the latest camera-trap technology, cameras reveal strange goings-on at the abandoned country home of infamous and exiled dictator, Idi Amin. Its ruins are attracting new, wild guests. Many of Africa's big predators make their home here today.
In South Sudan, the Nile river slows and spreads out transforming into a huge wetland - the Sudd (Arabic for barrier). Half of its water is lost due to evaporation here and this is before the river embarks on its epic crossing of the Sahara - a desert the size of China. Every year, the dwindling Nile receives a massive, timely injection of water far to the east. In the Ethiopian highlands, the Nile's greatest tributary - the Blue Nile - is swelled by the wet season creating some of the most turbulent and dramatic seasonal waterfalls on Earth and forming a spectacular gorge which is nearly as deep as the Grand Canyon.
The Blue Nile is a river revered and used in a variety of incredible ways - from mass baptism ceremonies in the ancient Ethiopian city of Gondar to colonies of cheeky weaver birds who use the riverbank's reeds to build intricate nests. The Blue Nile replenishes the main Nile channel at the Sudanese capital city of Khartoum, the two become one and embark on the epic crossing of the Sahara. The miracle of the Nile is that it has allowed great civilisations to thrive in a desolate and arid region - today and throughout history. From the exotic city of Cairo, to the glories of ancient Egypt, breathtaking photography reveals the extent of the Nile's power to transport water from one part of world and deliver it to another, building and supporting life.
MONDAY 05 OCTOBER 2020
MON 19:00 A Garden in Snowdonia (b00kt718)
Bodnant Blooming
A year in the life of the spectacular Bodnant Garden in north Wales. Head Gardener Troy Scott Smith and his team give Bodnant a facelift. Supervisor Adam Salvin brings a beautiful Italianate terrace back to its former glory, Dave Larter shares his passion for giant lilies and the world famous Laburnum Arch is in full bloom.
MON 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000n7fh)
Series 3
Autumn Glory
Bob Ross paints a landscape with a faraway mountain, snuggled in bright green trees and bushes, and mirrored in glistening waters.
American painter Bob Ross offers soothing words of encouragement to viewers and painting hobbyists in an enormously popular series that has captivated audiences worldwide since 1982. Ross is a cult figure, with nearly two million Facebook followers and 3,000 instructors globally. His soothing, nurturing personality is therapy for the weary, and his respect for nature and wildlife helps heighten environmental awareness.
Across the series, Ross demonstrates his unique painting technique, which eliminates the need for each layer of paint to dry. In real time, he creates tranquil scenes taken from nature, including his trademark ‘happy’ clouds, cascading waterfalls, snow-covered forests, serene lakes and distant mountain summits.
Many of Bob’s faithful viewers are not painters at all. They are relaxing and unwinding with Bob’s gentle manner and encouraging words, captivated by the magic taking place on the canvas.
MON 20:00 Fake or Fortune? (b063cy0z)
Series 4
A Mystery Old Master
A beautiful church in the heart of the Lancastrian countryside has for over 200 years been home to a possible 16th-century Italian old master. But it is also at the centre of an unusual mystery. The congregation have contacted Fake or Fortune? to help solve a riddle which has been puzzling everyone. Who painted this huge picture, and just how did it find its way into a church once patronised by the famous Bronte sisters?
Philip is immediately struck by the imposing painting, which depicts one of the most dramatic scenes from the New Testament, the aftermath of the crucifixion of Christ. He has a hunch it might date from the Italian Renaissance, which would make it the oldest picture ever investigated on Fake or Fortune?
But to prove his theory will require a series of scientific tests to look beneath the layers of dirt and grime to see if any clues to the artist's identity can be revealed.
The trail leads Fiona and Philip on a surprising and colourful journey to Italy, where Philip wants to inspect pictures by the great Old Masters Titian and Tintoretto. Fiona uncovers a secret history of stolen paintings and meets an Italian scholar who may have a significant lead in the case.
Back in the UK, Bendor is looking into a local aristocrat who the congregation believe donated the painting and discovers some family secrets which may shed new light on how the painting arrived in the church over two centuries ago.
But the British art market will take some convincing that an artist can be officially attributed to the picture, and this will require a hugely ambitious restoration project. By fully cleaning the picture, can Fake or Fortune? prove beyond doubt the identity of the painter?
MON 21:00 The Secret History of Writing (m000n7fk)
Series 1
Changing the Script
The written word is so important in everyday life that there can be few more radical acts than forcing an entire nation to learn a new script. Yet that is what happened in Turkey in 1928 when the founder of the modern Turkish nation, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, decreed that the Arabic script, which had been used to write the Turkish language for more than six centuries, would be replaced by the letters of the Latin alphabet.
His motivation lay in events that happened in Europe in the 15th century, at the beginning of the modern age, when society was transformed by the invention of the printing press. Because the shape of the letters of the Latin alphabet made them easier to print than other scripts, printing took off in Europe in a way it did not elsewhere. The resulting explosion in information led to scientific and industrial revolutions that, by the early 20th century, had taken Europe to unprecedented levels of wealth and power, giving European nations the means to dominate the globe.
This link between the Latin alphabet and the rise of western industrial society resulted in leaders in other parts of the world seeing the western script as the key to modernity. Could adopting the Latin alphabet be a shortcut to mass literacy and a modern society? Certainly, by switching from Arabic to Latin letters, it was possible to write Turkish phonetically, making it easier to learn to read and write, and so tackle the disastrously low levels of literacy in the country.
But alongside the practical motivation for the change, Mustafa Kemal also had a political one. Arabic was the script of the Koran, and when he banned the use of the Arabic alphabet, it was an attempt to alter the trajectory of Turkish history away from its Islamic past towards the kind of secular, technological society that was being created in Europe.
Indeed, in the 1920s, the Latin alphabet, with its promise of modernity, was on the march into central Asia, where most of the Islamic states had been absorbed by the expanding Russian Empire. Under the tsars, the languages of the region continued, however, to be written in the Arabic script.
But in 1917, the Russian Empire collapsed, and power was seized by the Communist Party. Its leader, Lenin, was determined to modernise and secularise the new Soviet Union. So, in 1929, the Soviet Union decreed the change to Latin letters in central Asia. But Lenin’s successor, Joseph Stalin, was determined to strengthen Moscow’s control and he did so by means of another script reform. In 1940, he replaced the Latin alphabet with the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.
Cyrillic remained the script of central Asia for five decades. But in 1991, the Soviet Union fell apart and central Asian states like Uzbekistan became independent nations. Uzbeks now had a new political identity, and there was no stronger way to signal this change than to change the script yet again. Out went Cyrillic and back came the Latin alphabet.
No country has changed its script more often in such a relatively short period as Uzbekistan. But through all these dizzying changes there has been one constant: the pull of the Latin alphabet as a means of connecting with the wider world and as a symbol of a nation that embraces modernity.
In China too, the Communist Party under Chairman Mao made a determined effort to replace the ancient Chinese pictographic script with a phonetic system based on Latin letters. But, since so much of Chinese culture and history is embodied in the characters of the Chinese writing system, this attempt ultimately failed. However, today’s technology threatens to do what even Chairman Mao could not: persuade the Chinese people to embrace the use of Latin letters.
The native script of computers is a simple binary code of ones and zeros, but in order to facilitate human interaction with computers, American computer scientists developed Ascii, the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, which allows communication with computers using human language, written in Latin letters.
This universal standard meant, for many decades, that using a computer demanded that you use the Latin alphabet, and this is how most Chinese people interact with their computers and smart phones, using a Latin-based phonetic script called Pinyin. As a result, even highly educated Chinese are losing the ability to write using Chinese characters.
Could what is happening in China be the future of writing everywhere? With new ways of creating text becoming ever more popular, will there soon be any need to learn to write by hand at all? That said, there has always been more to script than language. For 5,000 years, scripts themselves have been repositories of cultural and religious identities that cannot easily be put into words. This is the hidden power, and value, of script. For, each time we pick up a pen, we express who we are in every letter we write.
MON 22:00 The Culture Show (b016xm70)
2011/2012
Sir Terence Conran on Culture
In tribute to the late British designer Sir Terence Conran, a repeat of a programme first shown in 2011.
Alan Yentob talks to his hero Sir Terence Conran, perhaps one of Britain’s greatest designers, about the revolutionary transformation he made to British life and style. A designer, retailer and restaurateur, Conran pioneered a new way of life that he wanted to be available to all with his vision of ‘easy living’.
They discuss the work he contributed to the Festival of Britain in the 1950s, and his vision of a new way of living which he cemented with the opening of the high street shop Habitat in 1964, giving us stylish design for the everyday, from kitchen utensils to furniture.
MON 22:10 Artsnight (b084flz2)
Series 4
The Brits Who Designed the Modern World
If there were an Olympic league table for design, Britain would be right at the top. Since the Second World War, British designers have revolutionised our homes, our workplaces, our roads and our public institutions.
In November 2016, the Design Museum opened its new £83m home in Kensington. To mark this great moment for British design, BBC Arts profiles ten great living British designers.
Arts reporter Brenda Emmanus meets and profiles our 'Top 10', to find out what inspires them to make such phenomenal objects. She reveals how designers have responded to society's evolving tastes, from the brash 60s modernism of Margaret Calvert's road signs through to the colourful technology of Rick Dickinson's ZX Spectrum. She also meets Britain's most prolific designer, Sir Kenneth Grange (Intercity 125, bus shelters, the Kenwood Chef...), as well as Andrew Ritchie, who gave the world the Brompton Bike.
And we also hear from an illustrious panel of celebrities whose lives have been transformed by British design, including Will.i.am, Jeremy Paxman, Pete Waterman, Ade Adepitan and Jenny Eclair.
MON 23:10 Pedalling Dreams: The Raleigh Story (b08j8mvl)
For the last 150 years, Britain has been a nation of bike lovers. And for much of that time, one make has been associated with quality, innovation and Britishness - Raleigh bikes.
Born in the back streets of Nottingham in 1888, Raleigh grew to become the biggest bicycle manufacturer in the world. For over a century, the company was known for its simple and practical bikes, built to last a lifetime. For generations, its designs were thought second to none, enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Now, with wonderful personal testimony and rare and previously unseen archive film, this documentary tells the extraordinary tale of the ups and downs of Raleigh bikes - a beautifully illustrated story full of remarkable characters, epic adventures and memorable bikes.
Meet the people who rode and raced them, the workers who built them and the dealers who sold them. Find out how cycling saved the life of Raleigh's founder, discover the technological advances behind the company's success and join Raleigh bike riders who recall epic adventures far and wide.
Along the way, the programme takes viewers on a journey back to cycling's golden age - rediscover the thrill of learning to ride your first bike and find out what went on inside the Raleigh factory, where the company's craftsmen produced some of Britain's most iconic bikes.
Finally, the documentary reveals what went wrong at Raleigh - the battles it had with its rivals, the controversy behind the design of the Chopper and the effect the closure of its factories had on its loyal workers. This is the extraordinary untold story of the rise and fall of Raleigh bikes.
MON 00:10 Fake or Fortune? (b063cy0z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 01:10 The Joy of Painting (m000n7fh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 01:40 A Garden in Snowdonia (b00kn777)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:10 The Secret History of Writing (m000n7fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 06 OCTOBER 2020
TUE 19:00 A Garden in Snowdonia (b00l1npm)
Bodnant at Risk
A year in the life of Bodnant Garden in north Wales. Head gardener Troy Scott Smith struggles to preserve one of the largest collection of rhododendrons in the country. With many rare and ageing plants, and a growing threat from 'sudden oak disease', Bodnant faces some tough challenges.
TUE 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000n7fp)
Series 3
Meadow Stream
Bob Ross paints a beautiful summer scene, with a rushing little rivulet flowing through the luscious greenery of a cabin landscape.
American painter Bob Ross offers soothing words of encouragement to viewers and painting hobbyists in an enormously popular series that has captivated audiences worldwide since 1982. Ross is a cult figure, with nearly two million Facebook followers and 3,000 instructors globally. His soothing, nurturing personality is therapy for the weary, and his respect for nature and wildlife helps heighten environmental awareness.
Across the series, Ross demonstrates his unique painting technique, which eliminates the need for each layer of paint to dry. In real time, he creates tranquil scenes taken from nature, including his trademark ‘happy’ clouds, cascading waterfalls, snow-covered forests, serene lakes and distant mountain summits.
Many of Bob’s faithful viewers are not painters at all. They are relaxing and unwinding with Bob’s gentle manner and encouraging words, captivated by the magic taking place on the canvas.
TUE 20:00 Earth's Great Rivers (b0bwqpbj)
Series 1
Mississippi
It is an unexpected and contrasting journey through America's iconic and varied landscapes as the Mississippi flows from source to mouth. The Mississippi's greatest surprise is its incredible reach. Its fingers stretch into nearly half of the USA, collecting water from 31 states. More than any other, this one river has helped unite the many and varied parts of America. The Mississippi's longest tributary begins life in the depths of winter, in the towering Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and Montana. Billions of tonnes of water, ultimately destined to flow south are trapped as ice and snow. Here, its headwaters are a draw for the world's top ice climbers, who celebrate winter with daring climbs up towering frozen waterfalls - surely the most dangerous and spectacular winter faces of the ice-bound Mississippi.
In this frozen wilderness, a handful of tenacious coyotes have learned to fish, in one remarkable Mississippi headwater kept flowing by the steaming geysers of Yellowstone National Park. In the bone-chilling water, the coyotes stand stock still for hours, risking severe hypothermia in the hope of pouncing on a fish. Spring in the Upper Mississippi in Minnesota, arrives on the wings of tens of thousands of white pelicans who bring the river to life. Both comical and beautiful, their crowded flotillas put on balletic, synchronised fishing displays. On the other side of the continent in crystal-clear Appalachian Mountain streams, some devious parents employ the creepiest childcare strategy on earth. Freshwater mussels produce bizarre growths which mimic small fish. These lifelike lures even have false eyes and dance, imitating real fish. Their purpose is to act as living bait, tricking larger predatory fish into attacking them. Once bitten, a cloud of blood-sucking baby mussels clamp onto the unwitting fish's gills. After several weeks of feeding on their victim's body fluids, they drop off and disperse. These sneaky mussels provide their babies with food and transport to different parts of the river. It is a macabre underwater puppet show, made all the more weird as the puppet master (the parent mussel) is blind and has no idea what a fish looks like.
But the spring thaw also means extra work for busy beavers - safe in their cosy lodges all winter, they must now venture out to repair the damage that the rushing meltwater has done to their precious dams. As the river flows south through the central US, it becomes a vital transport link. Special cameras take us on a time-travelling journey down the busiest section of the river. A gigantic boat zooms hundreds of miles downriver in seconds, flashing through night and day. This is the industrial heart of the river. Even here, the river still hosts incredible wildlife spectacles. Each Independence Day, millions of mayflies gather in swarms so large they can be seen on weather radar.
As it flows into the south, it spreads and slows, feeding the largest swamp in the US - the fertile, mysterious Atchafalaya. Over 2,000 square miles of wetlands, where alligators still rule. This is one of the richest and most diverse wilderness regions of the states, - a melting pot where racoons and beavers mix with tropical specialties like roseate spoonbills and emerald-green anole lizards. These back waters are the fabled spirit of the Mississippi made famous by Mark Twain and the Blues. As the massive river nears the ocean, it passes cities that have grown up along its banks - like New Orleans. Here 60 miles of docks make it the largest port in the western hemisphere where goods brought down the Mississippi are transferred to huge ocean going ships.
At the end of its 3,500-mile journey, the Mississippi eventually creates one of the biggest river deltas on the planet. But today this delta is under threat. Damming and controls along the river's length are preventing the Mississippi's natural flood cycles - it can no longer replace land that the ocean washes away. This remarkable delta is home to millions of migrant birds and protects vast areas inland from hurricane surges. Its preservation is key to both the people and the wildlife here. The delta is a landscape built by the river from cornfields in Iowa, mountaisides in the Rockies and sediment from Tennessee streams - all collected and deposited by one huge river which unites and defines one great nation.
TUE 21:00 Australia with Simon Reeve (b02vfpp2)
Episode 3
Simon travels down the east coast to the magnificent cities of Sydney and Melbourne in the final part of his journey.
First, he visits Surfers Paradise near the city of Gold Coast, the Las Vegas of Australia. Behind the sun and surf, this area has become the country's organised crime capital. Police are cracking down on outlaw motorcycle clubs, accused of being criminal gangs. Simon meets the most notorious and feared biker group in Australia to hear their side of the story.
In the wealthy east coast suburbs, he has a different kind of encounter, joining a vet and his team who rescue and treat injured koalas - thousands of which are killed each year by cars and pet dogs.
Arriving in Sydney, Simon discovers a city of huge cultural diversity closely linked to its booming Asian neighbours, India and China. One in ten Aussies are now of Asian origin. Simon gauges Australia's attitude to immigration and meets the country's first Muslim ladies Aussie rules football team.
On the very last stretch of the journey, he takes to the air to witness the devastating and deadly bush fires ripping through the country, before reaching his final destination, Melbourne, just in time to celebrate Australia Day.
TUE 22:00 Inside Cinema (m000n7fr)
Black History Month
Jordan Peele
Documentary that explores the work of Jordan Peele, an era-defining horror auteur, incisive social critic and influential media mogul. Peele, who started out as a comedian with sketch show Key & Peele, captured the zeitgeist with his Oscar-winning horror Get Out, a film that showcased his deft balance of horror, comedy and social commentary. Peele is also an executive producer on TV shows ranging from a revamped Twilight Zone to Lovecraft Country.
In this profile documentary, Inside Cinema traces Peele’s career as a comedian, film-maker and producer, in both film and television, and explores how a lifelong love for the horror genre has informed his inimitable style.
2017's Get Out may have been Peele's directorial debut, but it showcased perfectly his expert combination of classic genre thrills and smart political satire, tackling post-racial liberalism head-on, while finding the space where comedy becomes scary and horror becomes funny. His 2019 follow-up, the doppelganger horror Us, mined one of horror fiction’s most fertile conventions, the deep-rooted Freudian fear of a figure that looks just like you but isn’t, and centred on an elastic, elusive metaphor that struck right at the heart of American society.
Written and narrated by Ellen E Jones, film, TV writer and columnist for The Guardian, the documentary argues that while Peele is a modern master of horror, comedy and social commentary, the true power of his films rises from an awareness of genre and audience expectations.
TUE 22:15 Inside Cinema (m000n7fv)
Black History Month
Ava DuVernay
Documentary that explores the work of a film director of groundbreaking firsts. Ava DuVernay is the first black woman to win Best Director at Sundance, for her romantic drama Middle of Nowhere, the first black woman to direct a $100-million budget film, the youth fantasy drama A Wrinkle in Time, and the first black woman to direct a film Oscar-nominated for Best Picture - Selma, the first major feature film about Martin Luther King Jr.
In this short documentary profile, Inside Cinema takes a look at the career of an extraordinary woman who, from picking up her first camera at the age of 32 and directing her first feature, hip-hop documentary This Is the Life, has consistently laid the groundwork for what would become her brand of putting black women first.
The programme is written and narrated by Corrina Antrobus, a film writer, podcaster and founder of The Bechdel Test Fest, a celebration of films that present women in a positive and dynamic light. She explores DuVernay’s journey to becoming the most powerful black woman in the film industry.
Middle of Nowhere marked the first time DuVernay worked with David Oyelowo, a professional relationship that saw the director-actor pairing progress to Selma, DuVernay’s historical drama charting the 1960s right-to-vote marches to Selma, Alabama, led by Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Released just as Eric Garner and Michael Brown’s deaths galvanised the Black Lives Matter movement, DuVernay titled the film Selma as a dedication to those who joined Dr King on the marches.
After Selma came DuVernay’s feature-length documentary, 13th, which showed how prison works as a modern-day labour industry and aimed to dismantle the racist foundations in film culture laid down by so-called godfather of film DW Griffith.
DuVernay was given a budget of $100 million for the Disney fantasy adventure A Wrinkle in Time, the most she, or any black woman, had enjoyed at the time the film was made. The film helped create balance for young black girls who rarely get to be the hero in children’s adventures, strategically centring on a young black girl throughout.
DuVernay’s next project, a four-part drama series, When They See Us, tackled the case of the Central Park Five, using an infamous miscarriage of justice as an extreme example to expose all the wider facets of a biased criminal justice system.
The film also argues that the very fact that Ava DuVernay is the first black woman to break so many glass ceilings is both an indictment of an industry that has kept artists like her at a distance and a cause for celebration as we look to the future for the next DuVernay.
TUE 22:30 TV's Black Renaissance: Reggie Yates in Hollywood (m0006w08)
Revolutionary change is shaking up the TV industry in Hollywood. A wave of hit shows like Atlanta, Dear White People and Insecure, all with majority African-American casts, are pioneering a new frankness about race and identity.
This film follows Reggie Yates to LA and into this ferociously creative and hugely aspirational new world as he meets leading African-American actors such as Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, True Detective) and Stranger Things star Caleb Mclaughlin, and writers and showrunners from Lena Waithe (Master of None and The Chi) to Justin Simien (Dear White People).
Through entertaining encounters with some of the most exciting talent working in the entertainment industry, Reggie tackles the big questions in Trump’s America that the work coming out of this black renaissance addresses, and he explores his own experiences of working in front of, and behind, the camera.
TUE 23:30 Mystery Road (m000n7f7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Saturday]
TUE 00:25 Mystery Road (m000n7f9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:55 on Saturday]
TUE 01:20 The Joy of Painting (m000n7fp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 01:45 A Garden in Snowdonia (b00kt718)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Australia with Simon Reeve (b02vfpp2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 07 OCTOBER 2020
WED 19:00 A Garden in Snowdonia (b00l5w3w)
Bodnant on Show
A year in the life of Bodnant Garden in north Wales. Ann Smith, the visitor services manager, implements an ambitious programme of summer events to attract more visitors. Troy Scott Smith is concerned that his beautiful grounds could be ruined by crowds.
WED 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000n7g2)
Series 3
Rolling Hills
Bob Ross captures the graceful and uncommon qualities of distant sloping hills and a peaceful nearby lake.
American painter Bob Ross offers soothing words of encouragement to viewers and painting hobbyists in an enormously popular series that has captivated audiences worldwide since 1982. Ross is a cult figure, with nearly two million Facebook followers and 3,000 instructors globally. His soothing, nurturing personality is therapy for the weary, and his respect for nature and wildlife helps heighten environmental awareness.
Across the series, Ross demonstrates his unique painting technique, which eliminates the need for each layer of paint to dry. In real time, he creates tranquil scenes taken from nature, including his trademark ‘happy’ clouds, cascading waterfalls, snow-covered forests, serene lakes and distant mountain summits.
Many of Bob’s faithful viewers are not painters at all. They are relaxing and unwinding with Bob’s gentle manner and encouraging words, captivated by the magic taking place on the canvas.
WED 20:00 Castles: Britain's Fortified History (b04t6n19)
Instruments of Invasion
Sam Willis looks at the history of the castle from its first appearance with the Normans in 1066 to the longest siege on English soil at Kenilworth Castle 200 years later. The castle arrived as an instrument of invasion but soon became a weapon with which unruly barons challenged the Crown. Tintagel Castle, the place where King Arthur is said to have been conceived, is also on the itinerary. It remains one of the most evocative of castles to this day, drawing visitors from around the world with its tales of myth and legend.
WED 21:00 The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History (b0bgpc2f)
In a unique science experiment, Dr George McGavin and Dr Zoe Laughlin chronicle the history of rubbish and explore how what we throw away tells us about the way we live our lives. With unprecedented access to one of the UK's largest landfill sites, the team of experts spend three days carrying out tests all over the site, revealing the secret world of rubbish. They also carry out three other 'archaeological' digs into historic landfills to chart the evolution of our throwaway society. Ultimately, their quest is to discover whether the items we throw away today have any value for tomorrow's world.
WED 22:30 Filthy Cities (b01076qv)
Medieval London
Historian Dan Snow gets down and dirty in medieval grime to discover the hard way how the London we know was forged in the filth of the 14th century.
State-of-the-art CGI reveals London's streets as they were 700 years ago, and Dan steps into the shoes of a medieval Londoner - wooden platforms designed to help him rise above the disgusting mess underfoot. He spends the night as a medieval muck-raker shifting a staggering six tonnes of excrement, and has a go at medieval butchery to find out what the authorities were up against.
He also examines the remains of a plague victim to discover how a catastrophic epidemic would help a new and cleaner London emerge from the muck of the past.
WED 23:30 The Secret History of Writing (m000n7fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
WED 00:30 Searching for Sam: Adrian Dunbar on Samuel Beckett (m000crfc)
Samuel Beckett has fascinated Adrian Dunbar since he was a young student. Now, 30 years after Beckett's death in Paris, Dunbar explores what made the man who made Waiting for Godot.
WED 01:30 The Joy of Painting (m000n7g2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 02:00 A Garden in Snowdonia (b00l1npm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Castles: Britain's Fortified History (b04t6n19)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THURSDAY 08 OCTOBER 2020
THU 19:00 A Garden in Snowdonia (b00l965g)
Bodnant Risen
A year in the life of Bodnant Garden in North Wales. The garden is under a carpet of snow and closed to the public. Head gardener Troy Scott Smith plans a winter garden to attract more visitors. A 300-year-old oak tree is dying and a plague of moles wreak havoc as the team prepares to open for the new season.
THU 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000n7hg)
Series 3
Frozen Solitude
A snowy mountain range, an ice-covered lake and a lost little cabin combine to create a wintry testimony to Bob Ross’s artistic magic.
American painter Bob Ross offers soothing words of encouragement to viewers and painting hobbyists in an enormously popular series that has captivated audiences worldwide since 1982. Ross is a cult figure, with nearly two million Facebook followers and 3,000 instructors globally. His soothing, nurturing personality is therapy for the weary, and his respect for nature and wildlife helps heighten environmental awareness.
Across the series, Ross demonstrates his unique painting technique, which eliminates the need for each layer of paint to dry. In real time, he creates tranquil scenes taken from nature, including his trademark ‘happy’ clouds, cascading waterfalls, snow-covered forests, serene lakes and distant mountain summits.
Many of Bob’s faithful viewers are not painters at all. They are relaxing and unwinding with Bob’s gentle manner and encouraging words, captivated by the magic taking place on the canvas.
THU 20:00 The Searchers (m000n7c3)
Classic John Ford western. Believing the Comanche have abducted his young niece, embittered Ethan Edwards sets out to save her, accompanied by hot-headed Martin. But their long quest takes its toll.
THU 21:55 How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (b044jl70)
Mountains
Ray Mears looks at how the landscapes of America's three great mountain ranges - the Appalachians, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada - challenged the westward push of the early pioneers.
As Ray travels through each landscape he discovers how their awe-inspiring geography, extreme weather, wild animals and ecology presented both great opportunities and great challenges for the native Indians, mountain men, fur traders, wagon trains and gold miners of the Wild West.
Ray begins his westward journey in the Appalachians where he explores how their timbered slopes fuelled the lumber industry and provided the fuel and building material for the emerging nation. Native Appalachian Barbara Woodall and lumberjack Joe Currie share their family history with him, and he gets to grips with the rare 'hellbender' salamander.
Further west, in the high jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Ray goes mule trekking with modern-day mountain man Stu Sorenson and he has close encounters with beaver, elk and black bear.
Finally, in the desert mountains of the Sierra Nevada, he explores the tragic story of the Donner Party wagon train whose members allegedly turned to cannibalism to survive. His journey ends as he pans for gold with modern day gold prospector John Gurney, and explores the boom and bust story of ghost town, Bodie.
THU 22:55 Classic Albums (m000f8xc)
Tears for Fears: Songs from the Big Chair
Documentary that explores the creation of the second album by Tears for Fears. Songs from the Big Chair took the gothic synth-pop foundations of the band and combined them with arena-ready anthems, leading to critical acclaim and three international hit singles, Mothers Talk, Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World.
This documentary, made with the full cooperation of the band, explores how the album was recorded and how the band left their indelible imprint on new wave music.
THU 23:55 David Stratton’s Stories of Australian Cinema (m000jb62)
Series 1
Episode 3
Much-loved film critic David Stratton tells the fascinating story of Australian cinema, focusing in on the films that capture this idiosyncratic nation with drama, emotion and humour.
David played a pivotal role supporting film-makers and helping them to find audiences both locally and abroad. He rose to fame co-hosting a movie review show with Margaret Pomeranz, which the nation religiously tuned in to for almost 30 years.
In this episode, all kinds of families are given a voice, including The Castle’s nuclear, if unorthodox family, a family of faith in The Devil’s Playground, Romper Stomper’s frightening neo-Nazis, and crime families such as those depicted in Ned Kelly and Animal Kingdom.
The series takes us on a thrilling journey across Australian cinema's most moving moments and unforgettable scenes and into the heart of the stories portrayed on the big screen that helped shape a nation’s idea of itself.
THU 00:55 The Joy of Painting (m000n7hg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 01:25 A Garden in Snowdonia (b00l5w3w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:55 The Beach: Isolation in Paradise (m000n7fc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:50 on Saturday]
THU 02:20 The Beach: Isolation in Paradise (m000n7ff)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:15 on Saturday]
THU 02:50 How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (b044jl70)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:55 today]
FRIDAY 09 OCTOBER 2020
FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m000n7g4)
Gary Davies presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 4 January 1990 and featuring The Quireboys, Sonia and Latino Rave.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m000nfp1)
Simon Mayo presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 11 January 1990 and featuring Deacon Blue, New Kids on the Block and The Mission.
FRI 20:00 A Hard Day's Night (b0074q9m)
Anarchic and offbeat 1960s story of 36 hours in the lives of The Beatles, as they travel to a TV show in London. The film uses a variety of cinematographic styles including documentary, surrealism and neorealism to create one of the milestone pictures of the decade.
FRI 21:30 TOTP2 (b00747qb)
John Lennon Special
Steve Wright presents a mixture of pop nostalgia and music, celebrating the late John Lennon.
FRI 22:00 imagine... (b012mjpz)
Summer 2011
Lennon: The New York Years
Alan Yentob introduces Michael Epstein's film uncovering John Lennon and Yoko Ono's move to New York City, as Lennon sought to escape the mayhem of the Beatles era and focus on his family and private life. It was in New York that Lennon created some of his most famous work, writing most of his songs in his apartment at The Dakota on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Revealing the tumultuous life of one of the world's most famous couples as they adjusted to life in the Big Apple, the film charts the ups and downs of their creative and personal lives - including their battle against the immigration services, and Lennon's infamous "lost weekend".
Michael Epstein's documentary also features never-before-heard studio recordings from the Double Fantasy sessions, and never-before-seen outtakes from Lennon in concert and his home movies.
The film includes exclusive interviews with Yoko Ono and with artists who worked closely with Lennon during this period, including Elton John and photographer Bob Gruen.
FRI 23:20 The Beatles: Made on Merseyside (m0003lx8)
They defined music and popular culture like no other band ever will. But how did The Beatles make the journey from Merseyside teenagers to international pop stars in the 1960s? The Beatles: Made on Merseyside recounts how American rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm and blues dragged post-war Liverpool into one of the most vibrant music cities ever with the Mersey Sound.
Featuring unique archive and revealing interviews from those involved in the early years of The Beatles in Liverpool and Hamburg, we discover the story of The Beatles’ previous band formations and why it took so long for them to achieve success. From school bands to colleges, Hamburg to The Cavern Club, The Beatles moved from skiffle to rock ‘n’ roll before creating their unique sound.
FRI 00:45 ... Sings the Beatles (b00ml7p5)
Recorded for the 40th anniversary of Abbey Road, The Beatles' final album, a journey through the classic and curious covers in the BBC archives.
Featuring Sandie Shaw singing a sassy Day Tripper, Shirley Bassey belting out Something, a close-harmony Carpenters cover of Help!, Joe Cocker's chart-topping With a Little Help from My Friends, Oasis reinventing the Walrus and a little Lady Madonna from Macca himself.
Plus a few 'magical' moments from Candy Flip, The Korean Kittens and Su Pollard.
FRI 01:45 Smashing Hits! The 80s Pop Map of Britain and Ireland (b0bbyy1w)
Series 1
Episode 3
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 third and final episode, Midge and Kim visit London and Manchester, the two cities that did battle with each other for musical pre-eminence as 80s music turned towards the new sounds of dance.
Star interviewees include Denise Pearson from Five Star, Soul II Soul's Jazzie B, Mark Moore of S'Express, Shaun Ryder from The Happy Mondays and Peter Hook of New Order.
It's a tale of how studio technology changed music, with British bands putting their own unique spin on dance to produce contrasting northern and southern sounds.
FRI 02:45 Sounds of the Sixties (b0074qc9)
Original Series
1968-69: The Swinging Sixties
Ten-part series featuring rock, pop and R'n'B performances from the BBC archives, this time looking at the height of the hippie era. Featuring the music of Manfred Mann, Herman's Hermits, Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger, the Alan Price Set, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and the Rolling Stones.
FRI 03:15 TOTP2 (b00747qb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:30 today]