Fred Dibnah continues his tour of Britain's great building feats with a look at our places of work.
In Chatham he visits one of our oldest dockyards, while at Armley Mills in Leeds he discovers an early form of fireproofing.
His journey takes him from a 1,000-year-old tithe barn in Sussex, where he tries his hand at thatching, to the symbol of modern architecture, the Lloyd's building.
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.
In this 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.
This episode features a real Bob Ross classic – the majestic, snow-covered mountain, rolling foothills, leafy trees, bushes and a serene lake.
Neil Oliver explores how the Viking Age finally ended, tracing the Norse voyages of discovery, the first Danish kings, and the Christian conversions that opened the door to European high society. He also uncovers the truth about England's King Canute - he was not an arrogant leader who thought he could hold back the waves, but the Viking ruler of an entire empire of the north and an early adopter of European standardisation.
Neil Oliver presents a drama-documentary revealing the divided loyalties of the clans during the 1745 rebellion. When Bonnie Prince Charlie arrives in Scotland to regain the crown of his ancestors the clans are called upon to rise in armed revolt for him. Many do, and they invade England. But others oppose him and join the British side to fight against the rebels. Some though play a cunning double game, pretending to be loyal to the British whilst secretly raising clansmen for the prince…
Female workers at a textile factory clash with their own union in Colin Welland's story of a strike.
WEDNESDAY 04 NOVEMBER 2020
WED 19:00 Fred Dibnah's Magnificent Monuments (b0074mcv)
Bridges and Tunnels
Fred Dibnah looks at some of the great achievements in civil engineering, from the earliest wrought iron suspension bridge to the Channel Tunnel.
WED 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000hqmj)
Series 1
Ocean Breeze
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.
In this 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.
In this programme, Bob Ross paints an awesome cloudy sky set against a turbulent sea of crashing waves.
WED 20:00 New York: America's Busiest City (b07tl6yv)
Episode 1
The first part of this three-part series revealing the astonishing daily systems that allow America's biggest and busiest city to function. Anita Rani, Ade Adepitan, Ant Anstead and Dan Snow are in New York. From their base at Grand Central Terminal, they reveal the behind-the-scenes operations responsible for keeping the world's biggest railway terminal running to schedule.
In this opening episode, Anita, Ade and Ant try commuting New York style, joining 5.5 million commuters on the iconic Staten Island ferry, the subway and citibikes - the latest addition to the transport network.
Ant heads ten storeys down to visit the USA's biggest transport project, the East Side Access, and gets a privileged first glimpse of the new station beneath Grand Central. Ade takes a ride in a yellow cab and discovers that a taxi licence can cost up to $1 million. And today, this business model is under threat from taxi apps like Uber.
Dan Snow heads to Times Square, New York's most-visited place, to discover how the 230 LED advertising hoardings are maintained.
And we reveal the secret world of lost property at the terminal, where 3,000 items, from phones to seven-foot long canoes, are handed in every month.
WED 21:00 The Disordered Eye (m000p35k)
Disabled artist and film-maker Richard Butchins challenges the importance of good vision in making great art. He suggests that visual impairments have contributed positively to its creation. We take the things we see for granted and assume that what we look at is actually what it is. What is it that we are actually seeing, if vision is all just electrical impulses sent to our brains and then turned into images of reality by our minds? Richard questions whether we need good eyesight to make great art at all.
Examining the work of Monet and Degas, Richard discovers surprising revelations about the effect of impaired vision on many painters of the last 150 years and beyond. Michael Marmor, emeritus professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University, explains how Degas and Monet used their disabilities in a positive and clever way. Georgina Kleege, professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, shares her thoughts on blindness and art as someone who lost their sight as a child. And Anil Seth, professor of neuroscience at the University of Sussex, explains how we see with our brains and not our eyes.
Richard also meets contemporary artists Keith Salmon, Sally Booth and the family of the late Sargy Mann, along with sculptor Aaron McPeake and cyborg artist Neil Harbisson, all of whom use their disabilities in a positive and clever way. Richard looks at art and visual impairment but argues that any kind of disability changes our perception of the world, whether we want it to or not, and that a disability can both alter and add a fresh dimension to an artist’s work. Perhaps it is about time we reassessed our perspective on vision loss and disability in general.
WED 22:00 CripTales (m000p35m)
Series 1
Thunderbox
It's 1968 and Sue is in the toilet at a pop festival. Abortion, which has just been legalised, provides a moment of liberation. But for wheelchair user Sue, it also throws up difficult questions about her body and her beliefs. A whirlwind romance has left her pregnant. What should she do now?
CripTales is a six-part series of fictional monologues, based on factual research and the lived experience of disabled people spanning British history since 1970. Funny, inventive, dramatic and sexy, each monologue places disabled voices, absent from TV drama for so long, at the centre of the stage.
WED 22:15 CripTales (m000p35r)
Series 1
Hamish
It’s 1981. Hamish’s parents have been fundraising to buy him a new wheelchair. Crucially, it is a self-operated vehicle and a chance for independence. Pushed everywhere by carers before this, Hamish heads for the woods to find sexual pleasure. But he hasn’t counted on such rough terrain.
CripTales is a six-part series of fictional monologues, based on factual research and the lived experience of disabled people spanning British history since 1970. Funny, inventive, dramatic and sexy, each monologue places disabled voices, absent from TV drama for so long, at the centre of the stage.
WED 22:30 Eugenics: Science's Greatest Scandal (m0008zc5)
Series 1
Episode 1
Science journalist Angela Saini and disability rights activist Adam Pearson, reveal that eugenics - the controversial idea that was a driving force behind the Nazi death camps - originated in the upper echelons of the British scientific community.
The presenters uncover how shocking eugenic beliefs permeated the British establishment and intelligentsia; supporters included figures such as Winston Churchill and Marie Stopes. They see how eugenics influenced the Mental Deficiency Act of 1913, which resulted in thousands of disabled people being locked up for decades. Eugenics shaped immigration law, education policy and even town planning. The documentary uncovers disturbing links between British universities and German race scientists in the first half of the 20th century, and investigates how eugenics fed into the racist ideologies of Nazi Germany.
WED 23:30 Storyville (b08f1bw3)
Notes on Blindness
This Bafta-nominated film is a moving and inspiring account of loss, rebirth and renewal - and the discovery of 'a world beyond sight'. In 1983, after decades of steady deterioration, John Hull, a professor at the University of Birmingham, became totally blind. To help him make sense of the upheaval in his life, he began documenting his experiences on audio cassette. Over three years he recorded over sixteen hours of material.
This beautifully crafted documentary takes John's original recordings as the template for the film, incorporating lip-syncing by actors in evocative reconstructions. The technique allows the viewer to immerse themselves in John's world as he comes to terms with his deteriorating sight, and learns to experience the world in different ways. As John explains about his redemptive journey: 'I knew that if I didn't understand blindness, it would destroy me.'
A Storyville documentary that is available in two versions, with audio description or with a heightened soundtrack.
This audio-described version is read by Stephen Mangan and aims to provide blind and partially sighted audiences with an alternative to the standard AD track.
The heightened soundtrack uses more original narration from John and Marilyn, with extra sound design and music, to guide the audience through the story of how John coped with his sight loss.
WED 00:50 The Joy of Painting (m000hqmj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 01:20 Fred Dibnah's Magnificent Monuments (b0074mcv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 01:50 CripTales (m000p35m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
WED 02:05 CripTales (m000p35r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:15 today]
WED 02:20 The Disordered Eye (m000p35k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2020
THU 19:00 Fred Dibnah's Magnificent Monuments (b0074md3)
Pleasure Palaces
Steeplejack Fred Dibnah tours Britain admiring some of its engineering marvels.
This edition focuses on structures that have been built for arts, leisure and entertainment purposes, including the Globe Theatre, the Victoria and Albert Museum and Blackpool Tower.
THU 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000hqpg)
Series 1
Golden Sunset
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.
In this 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.
In this programme from the series, Bob Ross devises a painting from scratch that contrasts a frozen pond and snowdrifts with a warm, rich sky and late-autumn foliage.
THU 20:00 The Band Wagon (m000p33w)
Musical. Hollywood star Tony Hunter has not made a movie for three years. But, with persuasion from his old friends, he agrees to take the lead in a new Broadway show.
THU 21:50 A Little Later (b00cgp2f)
Paul McCartney
A classic appearance from Paul McCartney on Later... with Jools Holland.
THU 22:00 CripTales (m000p38n)
Series 1
Paper Knickers
Jackie is in a hospital bed. She is facing a decision about whether to have her leg amputated. As she thinks through her options, she explores her feelings for someone she has recently met, who seems interested in her. Will she have a chance of pursuing her romance with only one leg? A bold, witty exploration of what it is to be an amputee.
CripTales is a six-part series of fictional monologues, based on factual research and the lived experience of disabled people spanning British history since 1970. Funny, inventive, dramatic and sexy, each monologue places disabled voices, absent from TV drama for so long, at the centre of the stage.
THU 22:15 CripTales (m000p38s)
Series 1
The Shed
A children’s writer finds herself falling in love with Keira, her next-door neighbour. But Ellie, her carer, does not approve of the relationship. She starts to subtly block and subvert the romance, with dangerous consequences. A chilling tale exploring the power that a carer can exert over a wheelchair user's life.
CripTales is a six-part series of fictional monologues, based on factual research and the lived experience of disabled people spanning British history since 1970. Funny, inventive, dramatic and sexy, each monologue places disabled voices, absent from TV drama for so long, at the centre of the stage.
THU 22:30 Eugenics: Science's Greatest Scandal (m00095jf)
Series 1
Episode 2
Science journalist Angela Saini and disability rights activist Adam Pearson uncover the shocking story of eugenics, the controversial idea that the human race can be improved by selective breeding. It is commonly thought that eugenics disappeared after the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust, but the presenters discover how eugenic practices, such as the sterilisation of the poor, continued on a global scale for many more years. The presenters meet the victims of this ideology, including a woman who was sterilised.
Angela and Adam also ask if eugenic-style attitudes towards the poor and disabled continue to shape today’s society, and explore if breakthroughs in medicine, such as screening and gene editing, will combine with prejudice against the disabled to bring a form of eugenics back. They weigh the undoubted benefits of modern medicine with the possibility of their misuse in the name of human enhancement. They look into the story of the first attempts to edit the genomes of humans in China and explore the latest science on the issue of what’s more important—nature or nurture.
THU 23:30 Blood of the Clans (m000m3pr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Tuesday]
THU 00:30 The Disordered Eye (m000p35k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Screengrabbed: BBC Introducing Arts (m000bt4t)
Janina Ramirez presents a screengrab of inspiring, thoughtful and beautiful stories from emerging and established film-makers and artists with their interpretations of life’s big topics.
How do you know you’re in love? What does it mean to be British? Illustrator and performer Jessie Cave and visual artist Sarah Maple are just two of those who give their refreshing take on some of the urgent issues facing us today. Expect drama, comedy, music and some mayhem.
THU 02:30 The Joy of Painting (m000hqpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 03:00 CripTales (m000p38n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
THU 03:15 CripTales (m000p38s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:15 today]
FRIDAY 06 NOVEMBER 2020
FRI 19:00 The Sound of Movie Musicals with Neil Brand (m0001r5r)
Episode 3
In this final episode, Neil Brand asks how the movie musical survived in our modern age.
By the 1970s the whole landscape of cinema had shifted; the biggest movies were no longer feelgood romances but gritty dramas of urban life. And yet, right at this point, two directors famed for such films ventured into the world of musical film. Martin Scorsese’s New York, New York and Francis Ford Coppola’s One from The Heart were glossy, highly stylised homages to the golden age of the musical. And both failed to connect with a modern audience.
The musical would find its modern voice by adapting rather than trying to ape the classic formula of old; by being maverick and unconventional, as Neil Brand discovers when meeting Mel Brooks, creator of the unforgettable Springtime for Hitler. And he also meets Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, who argues that Ken Russell’s film of The Who’s rock opera Tommy is the best film ever made!
This recognition of the importance of pop culture, added to a 70s nostalgia for the seemingly more innocent days of the 50s, gave rise to another strain of successful movies: American Graffiti and, most memorably, Grease. It even hit the UK, as former teen star David Essex explains, with his starring role in 1974’s That’ll Be the Day.
The 1970s also saw the movie musical become much more reflective of an increasingly multicultural world, with the huge success of films such as Car Wash, with its soundtrack written by the great Motown composer Norman Whitfield. In Los Angeles, Neil meets up with the film’s director Michael Schultz to discuss how Hollywood took on soul and disco to reinvigorate the musical genre.
As we come to see where the movie musical now stands, we discover it has been as blockbusting as ever; firstly, in India, where the emergence of Bollywood has completely taken over Hindi cinema, with stars such as Shah Rukh Khan selling a film on sheer screen stardom alone - but also back in its base camp of Hollywood, where the success of both La La Land and The Greatest Showman have demonstrated that the movie musical is still a force to be reckoned with.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000p3bl)
Jakki Brambles presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 1 March 1990 and featuring Shakin Stevens, Electribe 101 and Michael Bolton.
FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m000p3bp)
Bruno Brookes presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 8 March 1990 and featuring Bros, Guru Josh and Marc Almond.
FRI 21:00 Punk and New Wave Years with Annie Nightingale (m000p3br)
Annie Nightingale led the way as Radio 1's first female DJ and introduced a generation to exciting new sounds as the face of the Old Great Whistle Test from 1978. Back then, punk was hard to find on mainstream television and Annie sought to build a platform for young people to have their say.
In this programme, Annie opens up the archive to select some of the finest and most intriguing moments from this era. Covering punk, post-punk and new wave, Annie has chosen to explore a movement in music that became the soundtrack to a generation.
The programme includes The Damned’s set-smashing performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test and the Sex Pistols' anarchic trip on the Thames. It also features powerful live performances from Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Gang of Four, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Tubeway Army, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Soft Cell, The Selecter, Joy Division and the Au Pairs. In addition, there are gems from The New York Dolls, The Fall, Blondie, Pete Shelley, The Police, Devo, X-Ray Spex, Klaus Nomi, Laurie Anderson and many more.
Annie is full of great anecdotes and her wealth of knowledge drives a compelling narrative in a programme that features rare footage and many stellar acts who graced the Old Grey Whistle Test studio during Annie’s reign.
FRI 22:00 More Punk and New Wave Compiled by Annie Nightingale (m000p3bt)
Annie Nightingale, Radio 1's first female DJ, has compiled a stellar playlist of some of the finest punk and new wave moments from the 70s and early 80s.
This handpicked compilation features rare archive footage from The Slits, The Raincoats and Rhoda Dakar, as well as fantastic concert footage from Blondie and The Clash. Sprinkled throughout are live studio performances from The Old Grey Whistle Test, including a haunting performance of Ghosts by Japan, a classic Ramones clip and a rare John Foxx offering. The Teardrop Explodes and Tom Tom Club also feature, as do Adam Ant and Siouxsie Sioux.
Annie’s eclectic picks ensure a highly entertaining mix of popular punk and new wave favourites interwoven with some forgotten archive gems.
FRI 23:00 Annie Nightingale: Bird on the Wireless (b011mb8d)
It's over 40 years since Annie Nightingale's very first show on Radio 1 - she was the station's first female DJ and is its longest-serving broadcaster. A lifelong champion of new music, first with punk, then new wave, acid house and dubstep, Annie is still at the cutting edge in her current incarnation as the 'Queen of the Breaks'.
In this film Annie takes us on a counter-cultural journey through the events, people and sounds that have inspired her career. Full of insightful anecdotes about her sonic adventures and the numerous pop-cultural shifts that have helped shape her idiosyncratic outlook and tastes, the film features exclusive contributions from some of the many artists Annie has worked with and admired, including Sir Paul McCartney and Mick Jones of The Clash. We also hear from the new generation of artists who confirm that she's an icon of the British music scene.
FRI 00:00 The Old Grey Whistle Test (b011pxlv)
Police in the East
Documentary-style film of the Police's tour of Japan, Hong Kong, India, Egypt and Greece in 1980. Anne Nightingale accompanies the band and interviews its members during the tour. Includes concert footage and behind-the-scenes sequences of the band.
FRI 00:55 Punk and New Wave Years with Annie Nightingale (m000p3br)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:55 More Punk and New Wave Compiled by Annie Nightingale (m000p3bt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
FRI 02:55 The Sound of Movie Musicals with Neil Brand (m0001r5r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]