SATURDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2012
SAT 19:00 Human Planet (b00rrd7r)
Arctic - Life in the Deep Freeze
The Arctic is the harshest environment on Earth - little food grows, it's dark for months on end and temperatures stay well below freezing for much of the year. Yet four million people manage to survive here. This film tells the remarkable stories of extraordinary people who make their homes in nature's deep freeze.
In springtime, Amos and Karl-Frederik set out across the sea ice with their dogs to catch a real-life sea monster - a Greenland shark. Inuit mussel-gatherers venture underneath the sea ice at low tide for a perilous race against time as they gather their food.
The children of Churchill, Manitoba, set out on the most dangerous trick or treating Halloween in the world, risking coming face-to-face with deadly polar bears on the streets of their town. Who will get the tastiest snack?
SAT 20:00 Horizon (b013pnv4)
2011-2012
Seeing Stars
Around the world, a new generation of astronomers are hunting for the most mysterious objects in the universe. Young stars, black holes, even other forms of life.
They have created a dazzling new set of supertelescopes that promise to rewrite the story of the heavens.
This film follows the men and women who are pushing the limits of science and engineering in some of the most extreme environments on earth. But most strikingly of all, no-one really knows what they will find out there.
SAT 21:00 Inspector Montalbano (b01n5w9b)
The Wings of the Sphynx
The naked body of a young woman is discovered on a beach near Vigata. The girl was shot in the face, her identity is unknown and the only clue police have to go on is a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder. Montalbano sets to work trying to establish the girl's identity and investigates possible links between the murder victim and a local charity with connections to the church. Meanwhile, his relationship with Livia continues to suffer as a result of his poor work/life balance.
In Italian with English subtitles.
SAT 22:50 Story of Light Entertainment (b00792f0)
All Round Entertainers
Straight from the Victorian music halls with their traditional mix of song, dance and comic skit came the tradition of the all round entertainer - an artiste who could 'do it all'. But despite this incredible mix of skills and after ruling the world of light entertainment for years, their chief mode of employment was to become hosts of variety shows, game shows, quizzes and competitions. And whilst an obvious waste of their talents, it did provide huge fame and money, as game shows quickly became the biggest hits on TV.
But the all round entertainers are the masters of reinvention - from Bruce Forsyth to Michael Barrymore and Bob Monkhouse to Cilla Black, they adapted their skills to keep their place at the top of the slippery showbiz ladder, even as reality TV took hold of the schedules and fame rather than talent became a passport to TV stardom.
But becoming a jack of all trades brings its own problems, and unappreciated talents, fragile egos and a craving for attention have forever blighted the world of the all rounder.
Stars featured include Bruce Forsyth, Jimmy Tarbuck, Cilla Black, Brian Conley, Joe Pasquale, Lionel Blair, Una Stubbs, Michael Grade and many more.
SAT 00:20 Top of the Pops (b01n1tsd)
25/08/77
Noel Edmonds looks at the weekly pop chart from 1977 and introduces Eddie and the Hot Rods, the Boomtown Rats, Thin Lizzy, the Adverts, Page Three, Deniece Williams, Space, the Floaters and a Legs & Co dance sequence.
SAT 00:50 Love and Marriage: A 20th Century Romance (b01n1tbz)
To Love and Obey
This three-part series follows the ups and downs of marriage in Britain from the 1900s to the present day using the deeply moving personal stories of couples and their children, from all walks of life.
In the 1960s and 70s the traditional ideals of marriage were questioned as never before. These were decades of greater affluence, optimism and experimentation, in which rebellious youth was in the vanguard of a cultural revolution. One of the archetypal feminist rebels of this period was Rosie Boycott and the co-founder of Spare Rib describes why she once rejected marriage and how she lived the 'sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll' lifestyle to the point of self-destruction. The sexual experimentation of the period is captured by Anne Geraghty and Martin Gerrish, who joined the Orange People and lived in free love communes, but ended up marrying each other.
Divorce was on the increase during the 1960s and 70s, made possible by divorce law reform. Convent girl Maureen Flanagan married an Irish navvy who resented her career as a model, and when she became the Sun's first Page Three girl their marriage was over. Debutante Fiona McCarthy escaped the upper-class marriage she loathed after meeting and falling in love with Sheffield silversmith David Mellor - and marrying him.
Yet despite the increase in divorce, marriage was very popular and the majority of marriages remained quite conventional. In the so-called Swinging Sixties there were still many virgin brides like Alan and Judith Kettly, who tell the moving story of their courtship, while black Labour peer Rosalind Howells describes her successful mixed-race marriage.
SAT 01:50 Human Planet (b00rrd7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
SAT 02:50 Horizon (b013pnv4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
SUNDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2012
SUN 19:00 Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury (b01173hc)
The Kennet and Avon Canal
Seasoned stomper Julia Bradbury dons her walking boots once again to explore her own British backyard, travelling along the country's network of canals and their accompanying towpath trails. This sees her navigating Highland glens, rolling countryside and river valleys, as well as our industrial heartlands, following these magical waterways as they cut a sedate path through some of the country's finest scenery.
Julia starts this walk in the beautiful world heritage city of Bath, where the Kennet and Avon Canal provided a 19th-century 'canal superhighway' between the country's two most important ports, Bristol and London. But only forty years later the trade along the canal was usurped by rail travel, leaving the once great waterway neglected and derelict. Julia's 20-mile walk along what is arguably the most picturesque stretch of the canal tells the story of how the waterway was restored to its former glory after it was awarded the biggest ever lottery heritage grant. The walk ends at the spectacular Caen Hill flight of locks, listed as one of the seven wonders of British waterways.
SUN 19:30 Story of Light Entertainment (b00792h4)
Radio Stars
In the 1930s and 1940s the biggest names in entertainment were the stars of the radio and over 60 years later it is still home to some of the biggest names around. But why does radio still appeal to TV stars like Jonathan Ross, Chris Evans, Michael Parkinson, Ricky Gervais and Terry Wogan? Maybe it's because radio is the real hotbed of ideas that television feeds off.
This episode shows why the old-fashioned wireless has survived and flourished in the face of competition from television. It looks at what radio entertainers have given to TV over the decades and at the talent from TV that has invigorated radio. We discover how radio can be as ruthless and unforgiving as anywhere else in the entertainment world and the truth about those who got burned along the way.
Featuring interviews with Terry Wogan, Jimmy Savile, Tony Blackburn, Dave Lee Travis, David Jacobs, Pete Murray, Matthew Bannister, Annie Nightingale and many more.
SUN 21:00 Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop (b00nq7q9)
Fleetwood Mac are one of the biggest-selling bands of all time and still on the road. Their story, told in their own words, is an epic tale of love and confrontation, of success and loss.
Few bands have undergone such radical musical and personal change. The band evolved from the 60s British blues boom to perfect a US West Coast sound that saw them sell 40 million copies of the album Rumours.
However, behind-the-scenes relationships were turbulent. The band went through multiple line-ups with six different lead guitarists. While working on Rumours, the two couples at the heart of the band separated, yet this heartache inspired the perfect pop record.
SUN 22:00 The Maid (b014s533)
Award-winning drama about Raquel, a maid who has worked for the same affluent family in Chile for 23 years. She's more or less family, but when it is suggested she hire someone else to help her look after the large house and family, Raquel has to fight to hold on to her position while battling increasingly delicate health. But the arrival of one maid, Lucy, helps her discover herself.
In Spanish with English subtitles.
SUN 23:30 Room at the Top (b0103qm0)
Episode 1
Leaving working class Dufton behind him, Joe Lampton arrives in the affluent mill town of Warley with two things on his mind - money and sex. He takes lodgings at The Top, where the rich folk live, and starts mixing with a better class of female at the local amateur dramatic society. He is soon dating Susan Brown, the daughter of the richest man in Warley. But his plan to marry into the wealthy middle classes is threatened by his feelings for Alice Aisgill, a woman who is not only ten years older than him, but also married.
SUN 00:30 Room at the Top (b0109hhx)
Episode 2
Joe is busy cutting a swathe through Warley society and is playing with the affections of two women - Susan Brown, the daughter of the richest man in Warley, and Alice Aisgill, a married older woman. But Joe is making enemies as well as friends. Escaping the prying eyes of Susan's spies, Joe takes Alice on an illicit holiday to the coast. In a cottage by the sea, they dare to dream. Back in Warley, Joe realises that he is going to have to choose between Alice and Susan. Which will he choose - money or love?
SUN 01:30 British Passions on Film (b01n1tbv)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Throughout the 20th century, archive films and newsreel footage has chronicled Britain's enduring fascination with the nation's most important modes of mass passenger transport. This film shows how Britons responded to advances in transport technologies and the emergence of new automobiles, rail services and aircraft designs - each of which held out the possibility of travel to new, exciting and previously inaccessible destinations.
Featuring contributions from the cultural critic Jonathan Glancey and the transport historian Christian Wolmar, it celebrates the contribution that these different forms of transport made to the collective imagination of the nation, and shows how such developments as jet aircraft and the Channel tunnel opened up new horizons for successive generations of British people.
SUN 02:00 ... 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.
MONDAY 01 OCTOBER 2012
MON 19:00 World News Today (b01n3rwh)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
MON 19:30 Tales from the National Parks (b016psp6)
The Peak District
The national parks are Britain's most treasured landscapes, but they are increasingly becoming battlefields. They were designated 60 years ago as places for everyone, but is that still the case? In this series, the award-winning film-maker Richard Macer spent a year amid conflicts in three different parks, on a journey to discover who they are really for.
In each park the stories are very different, but there is something that unites them all - fiercely divided communities who are prepared to fight in order to preserve their right to enjoy the countryside. For each film Macer has secured access to the National Park Authority - an organisation which looks after the landscapes and decides upon planning matters. In all these stories the park authorities have a key role to play in trying to find amicable solutions to the problems which confront them.
A war is breaking out in the charming villages of the Peak District, with walkers, horseriders and residents angry at 4x4 drivers and trailbikers motoring up and down the green lanes for pleasure. So an 80-year-old retired primary school teacher decides to launch a campaign to get the motorists banned from a lane in her village of Great Longstone. Over the next few months the campaign snowballs, and more and more villages decide they've had enough of the off-roaders on their lanes.
Macer filmed for over a year in the Peak District and was granted exclusive access to the inner workings of how the park is run. Will the Peak District Park Authority bow down to public pressure or will it side with the off-roaders?
MON 20:30 Only Connect (b01n3vq7)
Series 6
Wintonians v Quitters
Three friends from Winchester pit their wits against a team who have all recently quit smoking, competing to draw together the connections between things which, at first glance, seem utterly random. So join Victoria Coren if you want to know what connects Estee Lauder, Frida Kahlo, Dorothy Parker and Elizabeth Taylor.
MON 21:00 Timeshift (b01n3vq9)
Series 12
Health before the NHS: A Medical Revolution
The Robert Winston-narrated mini-series concludes with the story of hospitals. At the beginning of the 20th century these were forbidding places very much to be avoided - a last resort for the destitute rather than places you would go to get better. Using unique archive footage from an era when infectious disease was virtually untreatable and powerful first-hand accounts from patients, doctors and nurses, the programme explores the extraordinary transformation of the hospital from Victorian workhouse to modern centre of medicine.
MON 22:00 A303: Highway to the Sun (b0116ly6)
The A303 is the road that passes Stonehenge on the way to the beaches of Devon and Cornwall. On the way, it whisks drivers through 5,000 years of remarkable moments in British history. And it is the star of this film made for armchair travellers and history lovers.
Writer Tom Fort drives its 92-mile length in a lovingly restored Morris Traveller. Along the way he has many adventures - he digs up the 1960s master plan for the A303's dreams of superhighway status, meets up with a Neolithic traveller who knew the road like the back of his hand, gets to know a section of the Roman 303, uncovers a medieval murder mystery and discovers what lies at the end of the Highway to the Sun.
MON 23:00 The Shock of the New (b0074qh1)
The View from the Edge
Robert Hughes grapples with the artists who made visual art from the crags and vistas of their internal world - the Expressionists, including Van Gogh, De Kooning, Pollock and beyond.
MON 00:00 Only Connect (b01n3vq7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
MON 00:30 The Maid (b014s533)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Timeshift (b01n3vq9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 02 OCTOBER 2012
TUE 19:00 World News Today (b01n3rwt)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
TUE 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00y47jt)
Series 2
Canterbury to Margate
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain, as his journey goes through Kent, from London Bridge around the scenic south coast to Hastings.
Michael finds out how Canterbury Cathedral was saved during the Baedeker raids of World War II, goes whelk fishing in Whitstable and explores the origins of a seaside swim in Margate.
TUE 20:00 Lost Cities of the Ancients (b00792tn)
The Vanished Capital of the Pharoah
This episode looks at the legendary lost city of Piramesse. This magnificent ancient capital was built 3,000 years ago by the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses the Great, but long ago the whole city disappeared. When it was rediscovered by early archaeologists, it opened up a bizarre puzzle - when Piramesse was finally found it was in the wrong place, somewhere Ramesses the Great could not possibly have built it.
Recreating the stories of both the early archaeologists and the ancient Egyptians, the film enters a lost world, recounting the strange tale of the quest for Piramesse and following the intriguing detective work of modern archaeologists Manfred Bietak and Edgar Pusch as they solve the baffling mystery of how this great lost city could vanish, only to reappear thousands of years later in the wrong place.
TUE 21:00 Love and Marriage: A 20th Century Romance (b01n3wkx)
To Have and to Hold
The effects of the sexual revolution, the empowerment of women and the growth of a global consumer society based on individual choice were only fully played out in the last decades of the 20th century, when the divorce rate increased to an all-time high of one in three marriages.
This final episode explores how marriage has adapted to these pressures by looking at the ups and downs of five couples whose relationships personify modern marriage. It looks at the mixed-race marriage of Mo and Ann Chaudry and their rags-to-riches journey which resulted in a millionaire lifestyle and a happy family. Kate and Harry Benson had a glamorous Lady Di-style wedding but their marriage almost followed suit, nearly ending in divorce. They both became marriage guidance counsellors and Harry now heads up the new Marriage Foundation.
Rock stars Toyah Wilcox and Robert Fripp reveal their romantic love story, their ups and downs and how they have kept their 25-year marriage strong. Jimmy Warne, a former Tyneside shipbuilder and trade union leader, recounts how he became a house husband with his second wife Lynn, a career woman with whom he has two young daughters. Vicar David Robertson reveals how he coped after his wife walked out on him and his four children, and how he found new love with Gill, meeting her through a Christian dating agency.
TUE 22:00 Lilyhammer (b01n3wkz)
The Midwife
Frank rather reluctantly agrees to accompany Sigrid when she attends her first antenatal examination at the hospital. However, his short fuse explodes when he discovers that the assigned midwife is a man. Geir is suspended from duty for his over-zealous tackling of a potential terrorist threat and his sympathetic boss treats him to an overseas trip to Memphis.
TUE 22:45 The Man Who Sculpted Hares: Barry Flanagan, A Life (b01mytts)
World-renowned, shamanistic artist Barry Flanagan was one of the world's foremost figurative sculptors, with his work exhibited in streetscapes such as Park Avenue in New York, the Champs Elysées in Paris and O'Connell Street in Dublin. His trademark hare sculptures marked him out as an innovator and he once described himself as an English-speaking itinerant European sculptor.
In this documentary, one-man filmmaker Peter Bach embarks on a personal journey by making a vow to Flanagan, who at the time is wrestling with motor neurone disease on the island of Ibiza, that he will travel the world and bring back footage of strangers by his public works and film the artist watching them as he wrestles with his disease.
This journey of discovery takes us across Europe and the United States and is a celebration and homage to Flanagan's work.
TUE 23:45 Lost Cities of the Ancients (b00792tn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
TUE 00:45 Inspector Montalbano (b01n5w9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Saturday]
TUE 02:35 Love and Marriage: A 20th Century Romance (b01n3wkx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 03 OCTOBER 2012
WED 19:00 World News Today (b01n3rxf)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
WED 19:30 Great British Railway Journeys (b00y47ts)
Series 2
Sandwich to Folkestone
Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us and what remains of Bradshaw's Britain, as his journey goes through Kent, from London Bridge around the scenic south coast to Hastings.
Michael explores a secret port that ran the first train ferries to France carrying vital supplies during World War I, visits Walmer Castle, the home of the Duke of Wellington, and discovers how the Victorians initiated the building of the Channel Tunnel.
WED 20:00 Top of the Pops (b01nbtlz)
11/10/73
Kenny Everett looks at the weekly pop chart from 1973 and introduces the Electric Light Orchestra, Elton John, Michael Ward, Status Quo, Pan's People, Engelbert Humperdinck, Slade and Limmie & the Family Cookin'.
WED 20:30 The Best of Kenny Everett's Television Shows (b01n7m2m)
Episode 1
Classic moments from the five series which Kenny Everett made for the BBC. Stand by for laughs from unforgettable characters Cupid Stunt, Sid Snot, Gizzard Puke and others.
WED 21:00 Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story (p00xzvlw)
Told with the help of some of his most famous comic characters including Cupid Stunt and Quentin Pose, the story of pioneering radio DJ and television star Kenny Everett's against-the-odds struggle to achieve both personal and professional fulfilment, as seen through the decade-and-a-half prism of his marriage to Lee Middleton.
WED 22:30 Meet Kenny Everett: 1973 (b01nfg61)
In a rare piece of BBC archive from 1973, the outrageous Kenny Everett gives a quirky tour of the Top of the Pops studio and answers children's questions about his taste in pop music, his radio show and killing Tony Blackburn.
WED 22:40 The Best of Kenny Everett's Television Shows (b01n7mdr)
Episode 2
Classic moments brought to the screen by Kenny Everett's stable of wacky characters, including Sid Snot, Cupid Stunt and Marcel Wave. Guest appearances by Joanna Lumley, Billy Connolly and Janet Street-Porter.
WED 23:10 Human Planet (b00rrd7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
WED 00:10 Tales from the National Parks (b016psp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 on Monday]
WED 01:10 The Best of Kenny Everett's Television Shows (b01n7m2m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
WED 01:40 Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story (p00xzvlw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WED 03:05 The Best of Kenny Everett's Television Shows (b01n7mdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:40 today]
THURSDAY 04 OCTOBER 2012
THU 19:00 World News Today (b01n3ryf)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b01n3xlj)
01/09/77
Tony Blackburn looks at the weekly pop chart from 1977 and introduces Hudson Ford, Elvis Costello, Joe Dolan, David Essex, Steve Gibbons Band, Elkie Brooks, the Dooleys, Nazareth, Yvonne Elliman, the Jacksons, Mink de Ville, Candi Staton and a Legs & Co dance sequence.
THU 20:00 Explosions: How We Shook the World (b00v9kb3)
Engineer Jem Stansfield is used to creating explosions, but in this programme he uncovers the story of how we have learnt to control them and harness their power for our own means.
From recreating a rather dramatic ancient Chinese alchemy accident to splitting an atom in his own home-built replica of a 1930s piece of equipment, Jem reveals how explosives work and how we have used their power throughout history. He goes underground to show how gunpowder was used in the mines of Cornwall, recreates the first test of guncotton in a quarry with dramatic results and visits a modern high explosives factory with a noble history.
Ground-breaking high speed photography makes for some startling revelations at every step of the way.
THU 21:00 Norman Wisdom: His Story (b00vhmqq)
From street urchin to knight of the realm - the story of Norman Wisdom, who used to be one of the biggest film stars in the UK, portraying a man who rarely stepped out of character in public, and whose highly individual comic style hid the private tragedy of his early life.
The actor's life story is told through the people who knew him well - his son and daughter Nick and Jacqui Wisdom, his daughter-in-law Kim, film director Stephen Frears, actors Ricky Tomlinson, Leslie Phillips and Honor Blackman, and singer Dame Vera Lynn.
THU 22:00 Nazis: A Warning from History (b0074kmy)
Helped into Power
How was it possible that the cultured nation at the heart of Europe ever allowed Hitler to come to power?
With the help of film archive discoveries from Russia and interviews with eye witnesses, many of whom are former members of the Nazi party and have never appeared on television before, this film reveals how the Nazi party was born and grew in support in the late 1920s, and shows just why in January 1933 Germany's President Hindenburg appointed a new popular chancellor who was openly committed to overthrowing Germany democracy - Adolf Hitler.
Hitler's personality was to dominate the Nazi party. But eyewitnesses have very different recollections of his effect upon them. To Nazi supporter Fridolin von Spaun 'the long gaze which he gave me convinced me completely that he was a man with honourable intentions.' But to German diplomat Herbert Richter, who saw Hitler in the 1920s, 'he wasn't quite normal. He was spooky.'
The Nazis wanted the world to believe that Hitler's rise to power was inevitable - this programme shatters that myth.
THU 22:50 Lilyhammer (b01n3wkz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Tuesday]
THU 23:35 Timeshift (b01n3vq9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
THU 00:35 Explosions: How We Shook the World (b00v9kb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THU 01:35 Top of the Pops (b01n3xlj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 02:20 Norman Wisdom: His Story (b00vhmqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRIDAY 05 OCTOBER 2012
FRI 19:00 World News Today (b01n3ryv)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
FRI 19:30 Leeds International Piano Competition (b01n3yf2)
2012 - The Finalists' Story
Episode 3
Suzy Klein presents the third of six programmes showcasing the best young pianists from around the world, as they reach the climactic final stages of 'The Leeds'. This time it's the turn of Australian finalist Jayson Gillham to step into the spotlight at Leeds Town Hall.
Suzy introduces his performance of Beethoven's perennially popular Piano Concerto No 5 (The Emperor). Regular guest experts, pianists Noriko Ogawa and Tom Poster, are on hand to give their insights and opinions before and after he takes the stage with the Halle Orchestra and conductor Sir Mark Elder, and Suzy explores the fascinating family history of the mechanical musical marvel that is the modern grand piano.
FRI 20:30 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01h7pzm)
Troubadours – Peaceful Easy Feeling
In the early 70s as the UK got to grips with the new coinage and decimalisation and braced itself for strike after strike, a group of young troubadours were hanging out in Laurel Canyon and the environs of California USA having a ball and creating music that would define a generation. It's time to kick back and relax and enjoy performances from Crosby and Nash, Neil Young, America, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Carole King, The Eagles, and Seals and Crofts.
FRI 21:00 Mr Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO (b01n3yf4)
Documentary which gets to the heart of who Jeff Lynne is and how he has had such a tremendous musical influence on our world. The story is told by the British artist himself and such distinguished collaborators and friends of Jeff as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Tom Petty, Joe Walsh, Olivia and Dhani Harrison, Barbara Orbison and Eric Idle.
The film reveals that Lynne is a true man of music, for whom the recording studio is his greatest instrument. With access to Lynne in his studio above LA, this is an intimate account of a great British pop classicist who has ploughed a unique furrow since starting out on the Birmingham Beat scene in the early 60s, moving from the Idle Race to the multimillion-selling ELO in the 70s and then, with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and George Harrison, as a key member of the Traveling Wilburys.
FRI 22:00 ELO Live at Wembley 1978 (b0074smf)
Captured live at London's Wembley Arena in 1978, this space-age show will live forever in rock history as, quite literally, out of this world - featuring a pioneering laser display, the first of its kind that set a precedent for subsequent rock shows. Songs include Standing in the Rain, Night in the City, Turn to Stone, Tightrope, Telephone Line, Rockaria, Wild West Hero, Show Down, Sweet Talkin' Woman, Mr Blue Sky, Ma Ma Ma Belle, Livin' Thing and Roll Over Beethoven.
FRI 23:00 Rock Family Trees (b0074smh)
Series 1
The Birmingham Beat
Series exploring the dramas that lie behind some of the best-known bands. Birmingham has produced some of the most successful British pop groups of the last three decades, including the Move, ELO and Wizzard. This programme follows the careers of musicians such as Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Denny Laine and Bev Bevan through their various bands and successes.
Based on the book by music journalist Pete Frame.
FRI 23:50 Jeff Lynne Acoustic: Live from Bungalow Palace (b01n709z)
An intimate half-hour of Jeff Lynne and long-time collaborator Richard Tandy on piano, playing acoustic versions of many of Jeff's greatest songs including such ELO hits as Evil Woman, Telephone Line and Showdown. Filmed in Lynne's LA studio.
FRI 00:20 Mr Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO (b01n3yf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 01:20 ELO Live at Wembley 1978 (b0074smf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
FRI 02:20 Rock Family Trees (b0074smh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 today]
FRI 03:10 Sounds of the 70s 2 (b01h7pzm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
... Sings The Beatles
02:00 SUN (b00ml7p5)
A303: Highway to the Sun
22:00 MON (b0116ly6)
Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story
21:00 WED (p00xzvlw)
Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story
01:40 WED (p00xzvlw)
British Passions on Film
01:30 SUN (b01n1tbv)
Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury
19:00 SUN (b01173hc)
ELO Live at Wembley 1978
22:00 FRI (b0074smf)
ELO Live at Wembley 1978
01:20 FRI (b0074smf)
Explosions: How We Shook the World
20:00 THU (b00v9kb3)
Explosions: How We Shook the World
00:35 THU (b00v9kb3)
Fleetwood Mac: Don't Stop
21:00 SUN (b00nq7q9)
Great British Railway Journeys
19:30 TUE (b00y47jt)
Great British Railway Journeys
19:30 WED (b00y47ts)
Horizon
20:00 SAT (b013pnv4)
Horizon
02:50 SAT (b013pnv4)
Human Planet
19:00 SAT (b00rrd7r)
Human Planet
01:50 SAT (b00rrd7r)
Human Planet
23:10 WED (b00rrd7r)
Inspector Montalbano
21:00 SAT (b01n5w9b)
Inspector Montalbano
00:45 TUE (b01n5w9b)
Jeff Lynne Acoustic: Live from Bungalow Palace
23:50 FRI (b01n709z)
Leeds International Piano Competition
19:30 FRI (b01n3yf2)
Lilyhammer
22:00 TUE (b01n3wkz)
Lilyhammer
22:50 THU (b01n3wkz)
Lost Cities of the Ancients
20:00 TUE (b00792tn)
Lost Cities of the Ancients
23:45 TUE (b00792tn)
Love and Marriage: A 20th Century Romance
00:50 SAT (b01n1tbz)
Love and Marriage: A 20th Century Romance
21:00 TUE (b01n3wkx)
Love and Marriage: A 20th Century Romance
02:35 TUE (b01n3wkx)
Meet Kenny Everett: 1973
22:30 WED (b01nfg61)
Mr Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO
21:00 FRI (b01n3yf4)
Mr Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne and ELO
00:20 FRI (b01n3yf4)
Nazis: A Warning from History
22:00 THU (b0074kmy)
Norman Wisdom: His Story
21:00 THU (b00vhmqq)
Norman Wisdom: His Story
02:20 THU (b00vhmqq)
Only Connect
20:30 MON (b01n3vq7)
Only Connect
00:00 MON (b01n3vq7)
Rock Family Trees
23:00 FRI (b0074smh)
Rock Family Trees
02:20 FRI (b0074smh)
Room at the Top
23:30 SUN (b0103qm0)
Room at the Top
00:30 SUN (b0109hhx)
Sounds of the 70s 2
20:30 FRI (b01h7pzm)
Sounds of the 70s 2
03:10 FRI (b01h7pzm)
Story of Light Entertainment
22:50 SAT (b00792f0)
Story of Light Entertainment
19:30 SUN (b00792h4)
Tales from the National Parks
19:30 MON (b016psp6)
Tales from the National Parks
00:10 WED (b016psp6)
The Best of Kenny Everett's Television Shows
20:30 WED (b01n7m2m)
The Best of Kenny Everett's Television Shows
22:40 WED (b01n7mdr)
The Best of Kenny Everett's Television Shows
01:10 WED (b01n7m2m)
The Best of Kenny Everett's Television Shows
03:05 WED (b01n7mdr)
The Maid
22:00 SUN (b014s533)
The Maid
00:30 MON (b014s533)
The Man Who Sculpted Hares: Barry Flanagan, A Life
22:45 TUE (b01mytts)
The Shock of the New
23:00 MON (b0074qh1)
Timeshift
21:00 MON (b01n3vq9)
Timeshift
02:00 MON (b01n3vq9)
Timeshift
23:35 THU (b01n3vq9)
Top of the Pops
00:20 SAT (b01n1tsd)
Top of the Pops
20:00 WED (b01nbtlz)
Top of the Pops
19:30 THU (b01n3xlj)
Top of the Pops
01:35 THU (b01n3xlj)
World News Today
19:00 MON (b01n3rwh)
World News Today
19:00 TUE (b01n3rwt)
World News Today
19:00 WED (b01n3rxf)
World News Today
19:00 THU (b01n3ryf)
World News Today
19:00 FRI (b01n3ryv)