B4

RADIO-LISTS: BBC FOUR
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC 4 — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/

SATURDAY 14 MARCH 2009

SAT 19:00 Wild (b00jd9yx)
Scotland

Otters, Puffins and Seals

Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan explores his native Mull and some of the nearby islands, filming otters, deer, puffins, seals and a minke whale.

SAT 19:15 The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (b009nm0k)
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

Adapted from the Alexander McCall Smith novel, this is a poignant and amusing story chronicling the adventures of Precious Ramotswe, the traditionally built, eminently sensible and wise proprietor of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana.

As a child, her father teaches Precious a great love for Botswana and the skills necessary to make a fine detective. After his death, Precious sets up her agency. It is a risky endeavour, but with the help of her quirky secretary, Mma Makutsi, she soon finds her services much in demand.

Precious investigates cases, helps people solve problems in their lives and soon finds a special friendship blossoming with JLB Matekoni, the highly respectable and slightly shy owner of Speedy Motors.

SAT 21:00 Rough Trade at the BBC (b00j4dx7)
Since 1978, indie label Rough Trade has been backing ground-breaking artists of every sensibility. From the post-punk girls who sound like they've been overheard singing to themselves at a bus stop, to the raw rock'n'roll of the Strokes and the Libertines, this compilation of BBC performances draws together some of the music that has made Rough Trade the institution it is.

Includes the Smiths, Robert Wyatt, Violent Femmes, Pulp and Antony and the Johnsons.

SAT 22:00 Do it Yourself: The Story of Rough Trade (b00j4dx5)
The Rough Trade story begins more than thirty years ago on 20th February 1976. Britain was in the grip of an IRA bombing campaign; a future prime minister was beginning to make her mark on a middle England in which punk was yet to run amok; and a young Cambridge graduate called Geoff Travis opened a new shop at 202 Kensington Park Road, just off Ladbroke Grove in west London. The Rough Trade shop sold obscure and challenging records by bands like American art-rockers Pere Ubu, offering an alternative to the middle-of-the-road rock music that dominated the music business.

In January 1977, when a record by Manchester punk band Buzzcocks appeared in the shop, Rough Trade found itself in the right place at the right time to make an impact far beyond that of a neighbourhood music store. When Spiral Scratch was released in 1977, the idea of putting out a single without the support of an established record company was incredible. But Rough Trade was to become the headquarters of a revolt against this corporate monopoly - it was stocking records by bands inspired by the idea that they could do it themselves.

But selling a few independent records over the counter was not going to change the world. Early independent labels had to hand over their distribution to the likes of EMI or CBS. But one man at Rough Trade challenged that monopoly. Richard Scott joined Rough Trade in 1977 and became the architect of a grand scheme that was nothing short of revolutionary: independent nationwide distribution.

The shop could now offer experimental musicians the chance to sell records nationwide and so it was inevitable that Rough Trade became a record label in its own right. In 1978 the Rough Trade label was born and by the end of the year it had released a dozen singles by an eclectic mix of post-punk artists and become not just an alternative ideological force, but genuine competitors in the commercial music world.

SAT 23:30 Kikujiro (b0074r1h)
Japanese road movie following the fortunes of a brash and opportunistic gangster who has been entrusted to deliver a young boy to the mother he has never met.

En route, the unlikely pair encounter a series of strange characters and come to develop a better understanding of what has been missing from their lives.

SAT 01:25 Rough Trade at the BBC (b00j4dx7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

SAT 02:30 Do it Yourself: The Story of Rough Trade (b00j4dx5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

SUNDAY 15 MARCH 2009

SUN 19:00 Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's (b00j4d3g)
Episode 1

Three-part series exploring the Baroque tradition in many of its key locations. Starting in Italy and following the spread of the wildfire across Europe and beyond, art critic Waldemar Januszczak takes a tour of the best examples of Baroque to be found, and tells the best stories behind those works.

This first episode begins at St Peter's in Rome, and details the birth of the Baroque tradition as it burst forth in Italy. This programme features outstanding high definition footage of St Peter's Basilica, as well as other gems of the Italian Baroque.

SUN 20:00 Sissinghurst (b00j8b9t)
Episode 7

Documentary series about the attempts of writer Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah Raven to bring farming back into the heart of the estate and garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, their historic home which is owned by the National Trust and was moulded into its present form by Nicolson's grandmother Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson back in the 1930s.

It is July, and the monthly food group meeting is a heated one as Sarah believes the restaurant staff are still not adopting her recipe ideas, while head chef Steve and consultant chef Peter lock horns.

Adam makes some intriguing discoveries for his book about Elizabethan Sissinghurst and sets about dowsing to reconstruct the once-grand estate's outer courtyards. He can't wait for the final jigsaw of his puzzle to be complete - the arrival of the farmer - but suddenly learns that he has pulled out and the dream of bringing a proper working farm back to Sissinghurst is seemingly quashed overnight.

SUN 20:30 Sissinghurst (b00jclx2)
Episode 8

Documentary series about the attempts of writer Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah Raven to bring farming back into the heart of the estate and garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, their historic home which is owned by the National Trust and was moulded into its present form by Nicolson's grandmother Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson back in the 1930s.

Fiona Reynolds, director-general of the National Trust, comes to Sissinghurst to respond to Adam's concerns about the future of the farm project.

Sarah's menu pleases the punters in the restaurant, but head chef Steve is still reluctant to give her credit.

Adam and his sister Juliet relive Vita's last days as she contracted cancer and died, leaving husband Harold devastated.

The garden closes for the winter and Adam surprises Sarah with a trip in a hot air balloon. They look down on Sissinghurst and wonder if the changes they envisaged have been achieved and whether they can continue to live at Sissinghurst.

Whatever the outcome and whatever the upheavals, the beauties of Sissinghurst will continue to delight visitors for years to come.

SUN 21:00 I, Samurai (b0074s2x)
Andrew Graham-Dixon takes a journey into the art and soul of the Samurai, who ruled Japan for 700 years and were much more than mere warriors.

Unhappy with military rule alone, the Samurai built up around them a sophisticated artistic and religious culture the likes of which the world will never see again. To understand them, Andrew must follow the all-consuming lifestyle of a Samurai and immerse himself in the art, rituals and practices of this warrior cult.

After a bizarre try-out in South London with modern practitioners of Kendo, the ancient Samurai art of sword combat, Andrew travels to Japan. There he witnesses the creation of a Samurai sword by one of the few remaining swordmakers alive.

He visits one of the most stunning gardens ever created, made of nothing but rock and gravel, to understand the soul of these warriors. He gets high on green tea, tipsy with geisha and tries to buy a Samurai sword and armour, only to be told it will cost him 30,000 pounds.

The journey culminates in Andrew achieving his dream to be like a Samurai with the help of one of Japan's biggest Samurai film studios.

SUN 22:00 Malaria: Return to Fever Road (b00j8b9w)
Documentary highlighting man's interminable fight against malaria, a disease which kills millions every year and which is continuing to worsen.

Filmed on three continents over eighteen months, it delivers an up-to-date account of the global malaria situation from the perspectives of a few heroic individuals, each fighting their own very different battles against the disease.

The film reveals the harsh realities of malaria within a rural Kenyan village community, telling the story of Peter Kombo, chief of Kiagware village in the Kisii highlands, as he battles through the malaria season.

Many of his villagers, particularly the young, are dangerously sick, and Chief Kombo struggles to get more help for them from the local authorities, without success. Unable to afford transport to their district hospital, the people of Kiagware turn instead to local herbalists and to untrained doctors for treatment.

These quacks can wrongly prescribe western drugs, sometimes with fatal consequences, so Chief Kombo is faced with a deadly dilemma - to stop them treating altogether and leave his people no hope at all, or allow them to continue and risk more deaths.

The desperate case of the Mauti family highlights just how difficult Chief Kombo's task is. Touched by their plight, he borrows money to pay for their son Walter to be taken to hospital. It comes just in time, as one more day without treatment could have cost Walter's life. But as Chief Kombo points out, he cannot pay for everyone in the village, and not long after Walter returns from hospital he has malaria again.

This 2009 update includes a brief report of the changes in the village and attitudes to malaria as a direct result of the transmission in the UK of the original film.

SUN 23:25 In the Shadow of Fujisan (b00j8b9y)
See No Evil

1980s three-part documentary series looking at the role of wild animals in Japanese life, art and religion. From the earliest times, the Japanese monkey has been a potent symbol, but will it still have a place in the Japan of the future?

SUN 00:10 Sissinghurst (b00j8b9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

SUN 00:40 Sissinghurst (b00jclx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]

SUN 01:10 Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's (b00j4d3g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

SUN 02:10 Malaria: Return to Fever Road (b00j8b9w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

MONDAY 16 MARCH 2009

MON 19:00 World News Today (b00j8bk5)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

MON 19:30 Legends (b0074t16)
Alma Cogan - Fabulous

Profile of Alma Cogan, the tailor's daughter who was a bestselling 1950s star and TV light entertainment pioneer. With Bruce Forsyth, Maureen Lipman and Andrew Loog Oldham.

MON 20:30 The Book Quiz (b00j8bk9)
Series 3

Episode 7

Kirsty Wark presents the literary panel game, as crime novelist Jake Arnott and chick-lit writer Wendy Holden do battle against broadcaster Joan Bakewell and author of the Young Bond novels Charlie Higson.

MON 21:00 In Search of Wabi Sabi with Marcel Theroux (b00j8bkc)
Full Length

British novelist Marcel Theroux is fascinated by Wabi Sabi, a theory of Japanese aesthetics in which imperfection and transience are the touchstone of beauty.

The Japanese say that if you can understand Wabi Sabi, you will understand Japan and the Japanese. Yet at the same time they have immense difficulty in explaining the concept themselves, so Marcel travels across Japan, from Tokyo to Kyoto and then on to the mountains of Fukui, trying to unravel the meaning of this baffling concept that is at the heart of what makes the Japanese tick.

It is a challenging, funny and ultimately moving journey that starts under the bright neon lights and craziness of Tokyo and ends in an austere Zen Temple in the snowy foothills of Japan's eastern mountains.

MON 22:30 Ping Pong (b0074s3h)
Japanese comedy drama about two high school friends whose differing attitudes to the fierce world of competitive table tennis cause problems for their coach and each other.

MON 00:25 In Search of Wabi Sabi with Marcel Theroux (b00j8bkc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

MON 01:55 BBC Proms (b00dczws)
2008

Prom 71: Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Charles Hazlewood introduces a welcome return to the Royal Albert Hall for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with its new principal conductor Bernard Haitink. They perform the UK premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage's Chicago Remains, followed by Mahler's emotional 6th Symphony.

TUESDAY 17 MARCH 2009

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b00j8bn2)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

TUE 19:30 Coal House (b00f3dlm)
Coal House at War

Episode 6

Three Welsh families give up their 21st-century creature comforts and travel back in time to 1944 to face the hardships of life during the Second World War. Tensions run high when the workers turn up late to the mine and munitions factory. Whilst their bonuses are under threat, wartime shortages take a grip and the families battle to cope without electricity.

TUE 20:00 What Darwin Didn't Know (b00h6sbt)
Documentary which tells the story of evolution theory since Darwin postulated it in 1859 in 'On the Origin of Species'.

The theory of evolution by natural selection is now scientific orthodoxy, but when it was unveiled it caused a storm of controversy, from fellow scientists as well as religious people. They criticised it for being short on evidence and long on assertion and Darwin, being the honest scientist that he was, agreed with them. He knew that his theory was riddled with 'difficulties', but he entrusted future generations to complete his work and prove the essential truth of his vision, which is what scientists have been doing for the past 150 years.

Evolutionary biologist Professor Armand Marie Leroi charts the scientific endeavour that brought about the triumphant renaissance of Darwin's theory. He argues that, with the new science of evolutionary developmental biology (evo devo), it may be possible to take that theory to a new level - to do more than explain what has evolved in the past, and start to predict what might evolve in the future.

TUE 21:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b00j4dg0)
Series 1

Clive Anderson

Marcus Brigstocke hosts a chat show in which he invites someone to try five new cultural experiences, things they have always avoided, from playing bingo to reading Proust. Journalist and broadcaster Clive Anderson is Marcus's guest.

TUE 22:00 Mad Men (b00j8bqv)
Series 2

Maidenform

Drama series which takes an unflinching look at the world of advertising in 1960s New York. Don and Duck try to bury the hatchet and Peggy attempts to join in on the execs' after-hours meetings at a strip joint. Duck's family turn up at the office, while Don and Bobbie continue to get involved.

TUE 22:45 Party Animals (b007967n)
Series 1

Episode 7

Drama series based around the young political researchers and advisers in the corridors of Westminster. Danny urges Jo to seek counselling for her escalating drink problem. Ashika uses a picture of Scott's dad to promote herself and boost her campaign. Danny suggests Kirsty for a new research job for an MP. Unbeknown to Kirsty the job is not available to her, but she will stop at nothing to climb the political ladder, even if it means sleeping her way to the top.

TUE 23:35 Party Animals (b00796dn)
Series 1

Episode 8

Drama series based around the young political researchers and advisers in the corridors of Westminster.

Jo Porter has to perform well in the opposition debate otherwise her career is over. When her husband does a kiss and tell in a tabloid paper, it looks like her fate is sealed. Danny and Kirsty have to get her back on track in time.

Danny is devastated when Kirsty admits to sleeping with a potential employer for a research post. When she realises he has no intention of giving her the job she looks to Danny for support but finds that this is too much for Danny.

As the Sedley by election hots up, so does the relationship between Ashika and Scott. However, when Scott receives a CD containing photos of Ashika and James Northcote he is torn. Trying to protect their father's former constituency from being run by a Tory, Danny tries to emotionally blackmail Scott into releasing the pictures. Is blood thicker than water?

TUE 00:25 The Maharajas' Motor Car: The Story of Rolls-Royce in India (b00j4c2s)
Documentary telling the story of Rolls-Royce in India through the fortunes of India's princes.

Combining newly shot high-definition sequences, archive film and photographs, this film follows the princes from the zenith of British imperial power in the early 1900s through to their decline in the aftermath of independence in 1947.

Contributors include: HH Shriji Arvind Singh, the Maharana of Udaipur; Manvendra Barwani, Rana of Barwani; Pranlal Bhogilal, India's foremost Rolls-Royce collector, and Sharada Dwivedi, writer and cultural commentator.

TUE 01:20 BBC Proms (b00cwg8y)
2008

Prom 17: World Music Celebration Programme 1

In the first of two programmes, the Proms welcomes for the first time the winners of the Radio 3 Awards for World Music, reflecting a kaleidoscopic range of cultural traditions. Music includes Cape Verdean songs from newcomer Mayra Andrade, Malian lute music from Bassekou Kouyate and flamenco fusion from Son de la Frontera. Presented by Verity Sharp.

TUE 02:50 The Book Quiz (b00j8bk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 on Monday]

TUE 03:20 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b00j4dg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]

WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH 2009

WED 19:00 World News Today (b00j8bwh)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

WED 19:30 Britain's Best Drives (b00j4dfr)
Lake District

Actor Richard Wilson takes a journey into the past, following routes raved about in motoring guides of 50 years ago.

Richard drives a sporty, convertible Triumph TR3A around some of the Lake District's most famous roads. He gets the lowdown on the area from author and resident Hunter Davies, takes on a notorious road, celebrates his birthday at one of Britain's highest pubs, and learns how climate change is affecting this delicate landscape.

WED 20:00 Britain's Best Drives (b00j6sjc)
Richard Wilson Learns to Drive

In preparation for a motor journey around Britain, Richard Wilson is put through his paces as he learns how to use a gear stick again, having driven only automatics for the past 30 years.

He drives classic cars, goes off-road, experiences the thrills and spills of the skidpan and gets a lesson in driving high performance cars from five-time Le Mans winner Derek Bell.

WED 20:30 History of the Future: Cars (b00j4dfw)
Phill Jupitus looks at how we thought the car of the future was going to turn out and finds out why it didn't happen that way, focusing on the classic era of the 50s and 60s, a time when they hadn't quite yet worked out how to make cars fly and instead just made them look like they could.

In his quest to trace the dream car of his childhood, Phill visits the places where the future of motoring seemed to have arrived and learns about the visionaries who let their imaginations rove in the heroic days before marketing and 'sustainability' domesticated the car into the homogenous transports we see today.

The documentary is shot on location in Detroit's Henry Ford Museum and GM Heritage Centre, and the Science Museum in London, and has interviews with Jonathan Glancey and Sir Clive Sinclair.

WED 21:00 Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's (b00j8bwk)
Episode 2

Three-part series exploring the Baroque tradition in many of its key locations. Starting in Italy and following the spread of the wildfire across Europe and beyond, art critic Waldemar Januszczak takes us on a tour of the best examples of Baroque to be found, and tells the best stories behind those works.

He follows Baroque to its dark heart in Spain, focusing on the route of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and featuring star painters Velasquez, Caravaggio and Zurburan. He then carries on through Belgium and Holland to discover such celebrities as Rubens and Vermeer.

WED 22:00 All Our Working Lives (b00j4cwb)
Series 1

Cutting Coal

Coal had powered Britain's industrial rise, with her mills and furnaces, railways and steamships depending on it. In the peak years a million men laboured in the mines, many in poor and dangerous working conditions like those contributor Dick Martin found when he began as pit boy aged 14.

Miners and managers tell of the poor conditions, insecurity and technical backwardness that helped the case for nationalisation in 1947. But the new NCB over-estimated the future need for coal. After massive post-war modernistaion programme, too much coal was being brought up by too many miners, and with the cutbacks came more conflict.

WED 23:00 My Strike (b00j4cwd)
Documentary looking at how going on strike became almost a rite of passage in earlier times, as the likes of Lord Tebbit, Greg Dyke, Peter Snow, Eddie Shah and Anne Scargill recall just what their strike meant to them.

WED 00:00 From A to B: Tales of Modern Motoring (b00j8cph)
Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

A series about the British and their cars.

This episode looks at family motoring, complete with day-trips, children's car games, squabbles and sing-alongs. Achieving consensus within the family over which car to buy has never been more difficult, with children as young as five now volunteering expert advice.

Six families reveal how their cars embody their dreams or fears for the future.

WED 00:45 Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's (b00j8bwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WED 01:50 Britain's Best Drives (b00j4dfr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

WED 02:20 History of the Future: Cars (b00j4dfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]

WED 02:50 Britain's Best Drives (b00j6sjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

WED 03:20 Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's (b00j8bwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THURSDAY 19 MARCH 2009

THU 19:00 World News Today (b00j8cpk)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

THU 19:40 Natural World (b00792dg)
2006-2007

Satoyama: Japan's Secret Watergarden

In the heart of rural Japan lies Satoyama, a landscape of lakes and rivers home to an incredible variety of fish, water birds, snakes and dragonflies. This poetic documentary follows 83-year-old fisherman Sangoro Tanaka, who lives according to an ancient way of life that has much to teach the world about sustainable living.

THU 20:30 Britain's Best Drives (b00j8cpm)
The Wye Valley and Forest of Dean

Actor Richard Wilson takes a journey into the past, following routes raved about in motoring guides of 50 years ago.

Using an Austin Cambridge to explore an area that claims to be the birthplace of British tourism, Richard learns about life before the Severn Bridge, finds out why thousands of tourists flocked to the Wye Valley in search of the 'picturesque' and discovers how ancient customs are still practised in the medieval Forest of Dean, with his trip culminating at a renowned viewpoint.

THU 21:00 Tom Driberg and Me: A Personal Portrait by William G Stewart (b00j8cpp)
TV producer and presenter William G Stewart investigates the allegation that journalist and prominent MP Tom Driberg, who died in 1976, was a KGB spy.

Stewart was Driberg's secretary in the 1960s and goes in search of the man he thought he knew well, talking to some of his surviving friends and colleagues and to experts in the murky world of spying.

It is a journey that encompasses public schools, Oxford, luxurious country houses, the back streets of the East End of London, left-wing labour politics and the seedy bohemia of postwar Britain.

Among others Evelyn Waugh, John Betjeman, Edith Sitwell, Guy Burgess and Nye Bevan all feature in Tom Driberg's incredible life, a colourful one that included astonishing sexual risk-taking, but above all Stewart wants to discover if his former boss betrayed his friends and his country.

THU 22:00 Michael Smith's Drivetime (b00j8cpr)
Freedom

Novelist and raconteur Michael Smith explores Britain's modern obsession with cars and driving, as well as seeking to understand the effects it has on our daily lives. Whilst travelling to all corners of the UK, he questions why we love them and what they say about us.

Smith travels north of the border and finally, after weeks of bondage in the complex networks of traffic-jammed England, he finds a road to truly fall in love with. With this love, a sense of the road and its purpose and function become clear and we see a most unlikely of converts to the divinity of the A82.

THU 22:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b00j8cpt)
Series 1

John Humphrys

Marcus Brigstocke hosts a chat show in which he invites someone to step out of their comfort zone and try five new cultural experiences, from playing bingo to reading Proust. Journalist and broadcaster John Humphrys is Marcus's guest in this edition.

THU 23:00 Tom Driberg and Me: A Personal Portrait by William G Stewart (b00j8cpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THU 00:00 Michael Smith's Drivetime (b00j8cpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

THU 00:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b00j8cpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]

THU 01:00 BBC Proms (b00czhht)
2008

Prom 17: World Music Celebration Programme 2

Verity Sharp introduces the second part of this year's world music concert, featuring more from the winners of the Radio 3 Awards for World Music including Justin Adams's desert blues and Sa Ding Ding's Chinese electronica.

THU 02:30 Britain's Best Drives (b00j8cpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]

THU 03:00 Tom Driberg and Me: A Personal Portrait by William G Stewart (b00j8cpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THU 04:00 Michael Smith's Drivetime (b00j8cpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

FRIDAY 20 MARCH 2009

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b00j8d0s)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

FRI 19:30 Once a Soldier (b00j8d0v)
Series 1

Girls Allowed

Documentary charting the arrival of the first female veterans to join the ranks of the Chelsea Pensioners, which has been an all-male institution for over three centuries. Eighty-five-year-old anti-aircraft gunner Dorothy Hughes and 82-year-old warrant officer Winifred Phillips are the newcomers, but are the 320 old boys ready for such a dramatic change?

FRI 20:00 Handel's Water Music (b0074sn9)
A recreation of the spectacular premiere of Handel's Water Music when, in 1717, King George I sailed down the River Thames accompanied by a band of musicians.

In a mix of documentary and performance, musicians, designers, historians and river experts converge to struggle with wigs, boats and tides and portray the sensational political story behind one of London's most memorable concerts.

FRI 21:00 Sissinghurst (b00hvvg9)
Episode 1

Documentary series about the attempts of writer Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah Raven to bring farming back into the heart of the estate and garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, their historic home which is owned by the National Trust and was moulded into its present form by Nicolson's grandmother Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson back in the 1930s.

Adam and Sarah have big ideas about how to change the management of the place, to regain a sense of its authentic atmosphere and rural life, but they are under no illusions as to the amount of control they will have.

An important aspect of the plan is to enable the farm to provide fresh produce that will be served in the National Trust restaurant. Finally, after some 50 meetings they get the green light, but for Sarah, acting as consultant on the restaurant, things don't go as smoothly as she'd hoped.

Meanwhile Adam is halfway through researching his latest book - a history of Sissinghurst. He introduces us to the rich cultural milieu of his grandmother Vita who, aside from creating the most influential garden of the 20th century, had affairs with 45 other women.

FRI 21:30 Sissinghurst (b00hyjld)
Episode 2

Documentary series about the attempts of writer Adam Nicolson and his wife Sarah Raven to bring farming back into the heart of the estate and garden at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, their historic home which is owned by the National Trust and was moulded into its present form by Nicolson's grandmother Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson back in the 1930s.

The property manager at Sissinghurst wants Adam to come up with a plan to change the area at the front of the house. Adam seizes the opportunity to alter first impressions of Sissinghurst so that it looks more like a farm than just another visitor attraction. It's a watershed moment, the first time the National Trust have asked him for any input and things seem to be moving in the right direction.

For Sarah, though, there is increasing resistance from the restaurant staff, in particular head chef Steve who is feeling uneasy about having a consultant in his kitchen.

Adam and his sister Juliet trace their grandmother Vita's aristocratic roots and return to her impressive ancestral home of Knole in Kent.

Sissinghurst opens its gates to hordes of loyal pilgrims eager to worship at the shrine of Vita on the first day of the garden-opening season.

FRI 22:00 John Martyn: Johnny Too Bad (b0074q8g)
BBC FOUR pays tribute to musical maverick John Martyn, who died at the age of 60 on 29th January 2009, with an intimate documentary portrait originally transmitted in 1994. This honest and often blackly hilarious film shows Martyn at home in Ireland, during the lead-up to and aftermath of an operation to have one of his legs amputated below the knee.

Contributors include sometime collaborator and buddy Phil Collins, the late Robert Palmer, Ralph McTell, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, fellow hellraiser bassist Danny Thompson, John's ex-wife Beverley Martyn and younger generation fan Beth Orton.

We see a man incapable of compromising his creative vision, from his folk club roots in the Sixties, through a career of continuous musical experimentation. Along the way there is a surreal roll-call of accidents and incidents, including a collision with a cow.

FRI 23:00 The Old Grey Whistle Test (b0074q8l)
John Martyn In Concert

Bob Harris introduces John Martyn in concert at the collegiate theatre, University College London. It's just Martyn, a bottle of beer, his guitar and Echoplex in a trademark jazzy folk-rock concert recorded in 1978. Songs include Couldn't Love You More, Small Hours and May You Never.

FRI 23:30 Mad Men (b00j8bqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Tuesday]

FRI 00:20 Once a Soldier (b00j8d0v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

FRI 00:50 The Old Grey Whistle Test (b0074q8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]

FRI 01:20 John Martyn: Johnny Too Bad (b0074q8g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

FRI 02:20 Handel's Water Music (b0074sn9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

FRI 03:20 Sissinghurst (b00hvvg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRI 03:50 Sissinghurst (b00hyjld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]

LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

All Our Working Lives 22:00 WED (b00j4cwb)

BBC Proms 01:55 MON (b00dczws)

BBC Proms 01:20 TUE (b00cwg8y)

BBC Proms 01:00 THU (b00czhht)

Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's 19:00 SUN (b00j4d3g)

Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's 01:10 SUN (b00j4d3g)

Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's 21:00 WED (b00j8bwk)

Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's 00:45 WED (b00j8bwk)

Baroque! - From St Peter's to St Paul's 03:20 WED (b00j8bwk)

Britain's Best Drives 19:30 WED (b00j4dfr)

Britain's Best Drives 20:00 WED (b00j6sjc)

Britain's Best Drives 01:50 WED (b00j4dfr)

Britain's Best Drives 02:50 WED (b00j6sjc)

Britain's Best Drives 20:30 THU (b00j8cpm)

Britain's Best Drives 02:30 THU (b00j8cpm)

Coal House 19:30 TUE (b00f3dlm)

Do it Yourself: The Story of Rough Trade 22:00 SAT (b00j4dx5)

Do it Yourself: The Story of Rough Trade 02:30 SAT (b00j4dx5)

From A to B: Tales of Modern Motoring 00:00 WED (b00j8cph)

Handel's Water Music 20:00 FRI (b0074sn9)

Handel's Water Music 02:20 FRI (b0074sn9)

History of the Future: Cars 20:30 WED (b00j4dfw)

History of the Future: Cars 02:20 WED (b00j4dfw)

I've Never Seen Star Wars 21:30 TUE (b00j4dg0)

I've Never Seen Star Wars 03:20 TUE (b00j4dg0)

I've Never Seen Star Wars 22:30 THU (b00j8cpt)

I've Never Seen Star Wars 00:30 THU (b00j8cpt)

I, Samurai 21:00 SUN (b0074s2x)

In Search of Wabi Sabi with Marcel Theroux 21:00 MON (b00j8bkc)

In Search of Wabi Sabi with Marcel Theroux 00:25 MON (b00j8bkc)

In the Shadow of Fujisan 23:25 SUN (b00j8b9y)

John Martyn: Johnny Too Bad 22:00 FRI (b0074q8g)

John Martyn: Johnny Too Bad 01:20 FRI (b0074q8g)

Kikujiro 23:30 SAT (b0074r1h)

Legends 19:30 MON (b0074t16)

Mad Men 22:00 TUE (b00j8bqv)

Mad Men 23:30 FRI (b00j8bqv)

Malaria: Return to Fever Road 22:00 SUN (b00j8b9w)

Malaria: Return to Fever Road 02:10 SUN (b00j8b9w)

Michael Smith's Drivetime 22:00 THU (b00j8cpr)

Michael Smith's Drivetime 00:00 THU (b00j8cpr)

Michael Smith's Drivetime 04:00 THU (b00j8cpr)

My Strike 23:00 WED (b00j4cwd)

Natural World 19:40 THU (b00792dg)

Once a Soldier 19:30 FRI (b00j8d0v)

Once a Soldier 00:20 FRI (b00j8d0v)

Party Animals 22:45 TUE (b007967n)

Party Animals 23:35 TUE (b00796dn)

Ping Pong 22:30 MON (b0074s3h)

Rough Trade at the BBC 21:00 SAT (b00j4dx7)

Rough Trade at the BBC 01:25 SAT (b00j4dx7)

Sissinghurst 20:00 SUN (b00j8b9t)

Sissinghurst 20:30 SUN (b00jclx2)

Sissinghurst 00:10 SUN (b00j8b9t)

Sissinghurst 00:40 SUN (b00jclx2)

Sissinghurst 21:00 FRI (b00hvvg9)

Sissinghurst 21:30 FRI (b00hyjld)

Sissinghurst 03:20 FRI (b00hvvg9)

Sissinghurst 03:50 FRI (b00hyjld)

The Book Quiz 20:30 MON (b00j8bk9)

The Book Quiz 02:50 TUE (b00j8bk9)

The Maharajas' Motor Car: The Story of Rolls-Royce in India 00:25 TUE (b00j4c2s)

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 19:15 SAT (b009nm0k)

The Old Grey Whistle Test 23:00 FRI (b0074q8l)

The Old Grey Whistle Test 00:50 FRI (b0074q8l)

Tom Driberg and Me: A Personal Portrait by William G Stewart 21:00 THU (b00j8cpp)

Tom Driberg and Me: A Personal Portrait by William G Stewart 23:00 THU (b00j8cpp)

Tom Driberg and Me: A Personal Portrait by William G Stewart 03:00 THU (b00j8cpp)

What Darwin Didn't Know 20:00 TUE (b00h6sbt)

Wild 19:00 SAT (b00jd9yx)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b00j8bk5)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b00j8bn2)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b00j8bwh)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b00j8cpk)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b00j8d0s)