B4

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

SATURDAY 02 MAY 2015

SAT 19:00 Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures (b01b4wmr)
The Great Dying

It is estimated that 99 per cent of species have become extinct, and there have been times when life's hold on earth has been so precarious it has seemed to hang on by a thread.

This series focuses on the survivors, the old-timers whose biographies stretch back millions of years, and who show how it is possible to survive a mass extinction event which wipes out nearly all of their neighbours. The Natural History Museum's Professor Richard Fortey discovers what allows the very few to carry on going - perhaps not forever, but certainly far beyond the life expectancy of normal species. What makes a survivor when all around drop like flies?

In the opening episode, Professor Fortey focuses on 'the great dying' - a series of cataclysms over a million-year period 250 million years ago.

SAT 20:00 Wild China (b00c5n6g)
Land of the Panda

China's heartland is the centre of a 5,000-year-old civilization and is home to the giant panda, the golden snub-nosed monkey and the golden takin. China faces environmental problems, but the relationship the Chinese have with their environment is deep and extraordinary. We will understand what this means for the future of China.

SAT 21:00 Inspector Montalbano (b03gtfbd)
A Voice in the Night

A supermarket controlled by a Mafia family is robbed, setting off a chain of events in which the Mafia's political links start to transpire. Montalbano finds himself having to conduct his investigation using even more unconventional methods and this time he does something he's never done before.

In Italian with English subtitles.

SAT 22:45 Len Goodman's Big Band Bonanza (b04w7zlm)
Len Goodman investigates the rise and fall of British big band music and charts its recent revival. Before the war, popular jazz and dance band music enjoyed universal appeal, capable of reaching out to people across the generations.

Len spent many of his early days listening, and of course dancing, to the music of Ted Heath, Glenn Miller and Joe Loss. He has an enormous affection for the days when swing was king and top of the pile were the big bands. Len returns to some of his old stamping grounds and discovers why we continue to love this bold and brassy art form.

The film looks at how the bands survived, and indeed thrived, in the years after the war. Eventually, though, the world around them moved on. The rise of teenager culture, rock 'n' roll, pop and other forms of jazz, blues and folk meant big bands were struggling to compete in a crowded market, one that catered for an incredibly diverse range of musical tastes.

Today we've come full circle. The big bands are enjoying something of a revival, and once again have universal appeal. Bands live on in towns and cities across the UK. Artists such as Robbie Williams have also introduced a new generation to the sound of swing and popular big band jazz. And, as Len says: 'Everyone seems to have an affection for it - and, you know what - when I hear Glenn Miller's music drifting lazily through the air, I can really understand why...'.

SAT 23:45 Top of the Pops (b05syx5c)
Simon Bates presents chart hits of the week, with performances from the Undertones, Sky, David Essex, Dr Hook, Saxon, Judas Priest, the Bodysnatchers, the Buggles and the Detroit Spinners, and a dance sequence by Legs & Co.

SAT 00:15 Chas & Dave: Last Orders (b01nkdsv)
Documentary which highlights cockney duo Chas & Dave's rich, unsung pedigree in the music world and a career spanning 50 years, almost the entire history of UK pop. They played with everyone from Jerry Lee Lewis to Gene Vincent, toured with The Beatles, opened for Led Zeppelin at Knebworth - and yet are known mainly just for their cheery singalongs and novelty records about snooker and Spurs.

The film also looks at the pair's place among the great musical commentators on London life - and in particular the influence of music hall on their songs and lyrics.

The film crew followed Chas & Dave on their final tour, having called it a day after the death of Dave's wife, and blends live concert footage with archive backstory, including some astonishing early performances and duets with the likes of Eric Clapton. Among the experts and zealous fans talking about their love of the duo are Pete Doherty, Jools Holland and Phill Jupitus. Narrated by Arthur Smith.

SAT 01:15 Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures (b01b4wmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

SAT 02:15 Wild China (b00c5n6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

SUNDAY 03 MAY 2015

SUN 19:00 10 Things You Didn't Know About... (b008pr87)
Tsunamis

Iain Stewart journeys across the oceans to explore the most powerful giant waves in history, with ten remarkable stories about tsunamis.

These massive waves can be taller than the biggest skyscraper, travel at the speed of a jet plane and when they reach land, rear up and turn into a terrifying wall of water that destroys everything in its path. These unstoppable, uncontrollable forces of nature caused the ruin of an entire ancient civilization, may have played a small part in the demise of the dinosaurs, and in World War II were used as a weapon. Yet astonishingly, two men who surfed the tallest wave in history - half a kilometre high - survived.

SUN 20:00 National Gallery: A Film by Frederick Wiseman (b05tc5ss)
Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman goes behind the scenes at the National Gallery in a journey to the heart of a museum inhabited by masterpieces of Western art from the Middle Ages to the 19th century.

This three-hour epic has no voiceover, no score and no added sound effects. The nearest thing to music is the drone of the polishing machines at dawn. In a richly detailed, beautifully nuanced portrait of the gallery's working life, we are guided gently from board meeting to retouching workshop, from gallery floor, to seminar room, from the difficult financial decisions facing the charity's executives to visitors' awed appreciation of the exhibitions.

Combining a vivid sense of how vast the gallery's many activities are with an eye for droll observational detail, the film reveals how the gallery works and its relations with its staff, public and paintings.

SUN 22:55 imagine... (b036yl2v)
Summer 2013

Rod Stewart: Can't Stop Me Now

From beatnik to mod, from folkie to disco tart, from glam rocker to, most recently, crooner of American standards, Rod Stewart has had a remarkable musical journey. Alan Yentob visits Rod at his homes in Beverly Hills and Essex and talks to his friends and family, including all eight children aged from two years old to 50.

Featuring rare archival footage of Rod when he was barely out of his teens and living above his parents' north London sweetshop, Imagine examines an entertaining career across five musical decades.

SUN 00:20 Rod Stewart at the BBC (b03m81n5)
Compilation of Rod Stewart's finest performances at the BBC. We revisit the early 70s with The Faces performing Stay with Me and Three Button Hand Me Down on Sounds for Saturday. The BBC charted Rod's solo success over the years and there are classic performances and interviews that will make you dance, sing and pull on your heartstrings. Songs include Sailing, You're in My Heart, I Don't Want to Talk about It and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?

We also have Rod's performance from Glastonbury 2002 of the classic Handbags and Gladrags, and we dip into the Great American Songbook with his version of the Dorothy Fields classic I'm in the Mood for Love. Finally, rounding off over five decades in music is a performance from Rod's Radio 2 concert from May 2013.

SUN 01:20 BBC Young Dancer (b05sj63x)
2015

South Asian Final

The BBC turns the spotlight on the UK's best young dancers with a nationwide talent search to find the first BBC Young Dancer. Dancers aged 16-20 were invited to enter one of four categories - ballet, contemporary, hip hop and South Asian dance.

The third category final sees five South Asian dancers perform two solos and a duet for a place in the Grand Final at Sadler's Wells on 9th May.

With an introduction to the two forms of South Asian dance represented in the final (Kathak and Bharatanatyam), and behind-the-scenes access to mentors' workshops and rehearsals, we see the dancers prepare for their performances at the Riverfront Arts Centre in Newport.

They face a panel of distinguished judges - Padmashri Pratap Pawar, a leading exponent of Kathak dance, and teacher of many students, including Akram Khan; Mira Balchandran Gokul, teacher, performer and co-artistic director of SANKALPAM, a national touring dance company; and, judging across all four categories, Kenneth Tharp, chief executive of The Place, a leading centre for contemporary dance.

Finalists are: Lakshmi Ranjan, Jaina Modasia, Sivani Balachandran, Vidya Patel, Anaya Bolar.

SUN 02:20 10 Things You Didn't Know About... (b008pr87)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

MONDAY 04 MAY 2015

MON 19:00 World News Today (b05t6x3m)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

MON 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.

MON 20:00 Dawn Chorus: The Sounds of Spring (b05ttkx2)
The birdsong of sunrise in all its uninterrupted glory, free from the voiceover and music of traditional television.

With the first glimmers of sunlight, the birds of Britain's woodland, heathland and parkland burst into song. This is an opportunity to sit back and enjoy a portrait of three very different habitats and the natural splendour of their distinctive chorus.

MON 21:00 Handmade (b05tpv83)
Glass

The first episode in the Handmade series, part of BBC Four Goes Slow, is a filmed portrait of the making of a simple glass jug.

Filmed in real time and without voiceover or music, the focus is entirely on the craft process, an absorbing, repetitive process of blowing and rolling as glass designer Michael Ruh delicately teases and manipulates the molten glass into shape.

Ruh is a designer of contemporary glass objects, but the method by which he creates them is essentially ancient.

Glass is heated in a crucible until it becomes liquid. Ruh's task, shared with his assistant, is to keep the glass hot and in constant motion as he breathes into it and gradually shapes the expanding globe into the form of a jug.

MON 21:30 Handmade (b05tpw1j)
Metal

As part of BBC Four Goes Slow, this programme follows the forging of a steel knife. From the slow stoking of the fire to the hammering, welding and etching of the metal, the film is an absorbing portrait of the complex processes behind the making of the knife.

Forged in a spectacular industrial space, bladesmith Owen Bush uses a combination of modern and traditional techniques, some of which date to ancient times.

The most time-consuming element of the process is the shaping and blending of a sandwich of steels into a blade which, after polishing, is placed in a bath of acids, revealing an intricate pattern - a technique used by the Vikings and Saxons.

The bold style of the film-making, making use of long, static shots and with no music or commentary, allows the viewer to simply enjoy watching the painstaking and highly skilled craftsmanship.

MON 22:00 A Timewatch Guide (b051h0gy)
Series 1

The Mary Rose

Historian Dan Snow explores the greatest maritime archaeology project in British history - the Mary Rose. Using 40 years of BBC archive footage Dan charts how the Mary Rose was discovered, excavated and eventually raised, and what the latest research has revealed about this iconic ship and her crew. Dan also investigates how the Mary Rose project helped create modern underwater archaeology, examining the techniques, challenges and triumphs of the divers and archaeologists involved.

MON 23:00 The Last Days of Anne Boleyn (p015vhp1)
Anne Boleyn is one of the most famous and controversial women in British history. In 1536, she became the first queen in Britain's history to be executed. The brutal speed of her downfall and the astonishing nature of the charges against her - treason, adultery, even incest - make her story shocking even to this day.

Yet whilst we know how Anne died, the story of why she had to go and who authored her violent end has been the subject of fiery debate across six centuries. In a radical new approach to televised history, a stellar cast of writers and historians, including Hilary Mantel, David Starkey, Philippa Gregory and others, battle out the story of her last days and give their own unique interpretations of her destruction.

MON 00:00 Ray Mears Goes Walkabout (b00byd8v)
The Bushtucker Man

Ray Mears makes a journey across Queensland with bushtucker man Les Hiddins. They both share a love of the wilderness and have learnt much of what they know from indigenous people. Each of them has already left his mark on the world of bushcraft and now they get to work together for the first time.

MON 01:00 Handmade (b05tpv83)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

MON 01:30 Handmade (b05tpw1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]

MON 02:00 A Timewatch Guide (b051h0gy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

MON 03:00 Dawn Chorus: The Sounds of Spring (b05ttkx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUESDAY 05 MAY 2015

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b05t6x3s)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

TUE 19:30 Britain's Best Drives (b00hq4fb)
North Yorkshire Moors

Actor Richard Wilson takes a journey into the past, following routes raved about in motoring guides of mid-20th century.

In a classic Morris Minor Traveller, he drives from Scarborough to Whitby via the Yorkshire moors. On the way, he learns about the rise and fall of the British seaside resorts, takes a toll road through the Dalby Forest and checks out the mythical roadside wonder that is the Hole of Horecum.

He finds out how the village of Goathland now lives a double life, and ends up with a carload of goths on their way to visit Whitby Abbey.

TUE 20:00 All Aboard! The Canal Trip (b05t7kc1)
A two-hour, real-time canal boat journey down one of Britain's most historic waterways, the Kennet and Avon Canal, from Top Lock in Bath to the Dundas Aqueduct. Using an uninterrupted single shot, the film is a rich and absorbing antidote to the frenetic pace and white noise of modern life.

Taking in the images and sounds of the British countryside, underpinned by the natural soundscape of water lapping, surrounding birdsong and the noise of the chugging engine, this is a chance to spot wildlife and glimpse life on the towpath while being lulled by the comforting rhythm of a bygone era.

Along the journey, graphics and archive stills embedded into the passing landscape deliver salient facts about the canal and its social history.

TUE 22:00 A Timewatch Guide (b052vcbg)
Series 1

Roman Britain

Using years of BBC history archive film, Dr Alice Roberts explores how our views and understanding of Roman Britain have changed and evolved over the decades.

Along the way she investigates a diverse range of subjects from the Roman invasion, through Hadrian's Wall, the Vindolanda tablets and the eventual collapse of Roman rule. Drawing on the work of archaeologists and historians throughout the decades, Alice uncovers how and why our views of this much-loved period of our history have forever been in flux.

TUE 23:00 Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover-Up in History (b00ydp38)
Writer and broadcaster Stephen Smith uncovers the secret history of the humble fig leaf, opening a window onto 2,000 years of western art and ethics.

He tells how the work of Michelangelo, known to his contemporaries as 'the maker of pork things', fuelled the infamous 'fig leaf campaign', the greatest cover-up in art history, how Bernini turned censorship into a new form of erotica by replacing the fig leaf with the slipping gauze, and how the ingenious machinations of Rodin brought nudity back to the public eye.

In telling this story, Smith turns many of our deepest prejudices upside down, showing how the Victorians had a far more sophisticated and mature attitude to sexuality than we do today. He ends with an impassioned plea for the widespread return of the fig leaf to redeem modern art from cheap sensation and innuendo.

TUE 00:00 Rude Britannia (b00ssrsg)
Presents Bawdy Songs and Lewd Photographs

A popular culture of rudeness managed to survive and even thrive in the long era of Victorian values, from the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1837 until the 1950s. The arrival of photography in the Victorian age sparked a moral panic, as rude and saucy images became available to anyone who had the money to buy them.

Current-day performers recreate the acts of celebrated rude music hall stars such as Champagne Charlie and Marie Lloyd, and there is a look at the satirical and rude world of one of Britain's first comic book icons, boozy anti-hero Ally Sloper. The documentary shows how a 20th-century seaside culture of rudeness emerged, with peepshows on the pier - the Mutoscopes - and the picture postcard art of Donald McGill.

TUE 01:00 All Aboard! The Canal Trip (b05t7kc1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUE 03:00 A Timewatch Guide (b052vcbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 06 MAY 2015

WED 19:00 World News Today (b05t6x3y)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

WED 19:30 Britain's Best Drives (b00hw3yp)
North Wales

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

Richard takes the wheel of Ford Zodiac to drive the circular route from Caernarfon that loops through some of Snowdonia's most sensational scenery.

He gets a Welsh lesson at Caernarfon Castle, learns the significance of the Dinorwic slate quarry, drives the Llanberis Pass, meets 71-year-old human fly Eric Jones and takes a trip down memory lane at a former Butlins holiday camp.

WED 20:00 Handmade (b05tpx1l)
Wood

As part of BBC Four Goes Slow, this programme follows the slow and painstaking process of making a classic Windsor chair.

A beautifully simple object, it is in fact anything but. Filmed over five days, the film reveals the complex, time-consuming processes involved in creating the chair, made by Jim Steele in his Warwickshire workshop.

This traditional design features woods chosen for their different qualities - ash, elm and hard-to-source yew.

Jim makes just 12 such chairs each year, using traditional techniques and aided by few modern tools. There are just two screws in the finished chair. From the steam bending of the back to the turning of spindles, the carving of the seat to the planing of the arms, it's a remarkable process to observe.

The bold style of the film, making use of long, static shots with no music or commentary allows the viewer to admire in exquisite detail the painstaking craftsmanship.

WED 20:30 The Quizeum (b05t9tlr)
Series 1

Episode 7

At the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge - the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge - the experts being put to the test are historian specialising in European and Chinese ceramics Lars Tharp, art and cultural historian Dr Janina Ramirez, art and architecture historian Dr Ayla Lepine and mathematician professor Marcus du Sautoy.

WED 21:00 Sappho: Love & Life on Lesbos with Margaret Mountford (b05tc6w7)
With a PhD in papyrology, Margaret Mountford goes in search of the truth behind the legend of Sappho, the most controversial writer of the ancient world and the first authentic woman's voice in western history.

The sensational discovery of a lost papyrus containing the words to songs unheard for 1,700 years sends Margaret on a journey of exploration.

From the fragmentary documents, ruined temple architecture and surviving oriental jewellery, the programme conjures the real world of the woman, whose erotic writings gave us the words 'sapphic' and 'lesbian', after the island of Lesbos the place of her birth.

Was she indeed the first lesbian, a priestess, prostitute, a stern schoolmistress or an aristocratic lady of leisure as readers over the centuries have variously alleged. Plus how each generation's view of the archetypal liberated woman of letters tells us as much about us and our fears and concerns as it does about her.

WED 22:00 A Timewatch Guide (b052775d)
Series 1

Cleopatra

Using the BBC film archives, historian Vanessa Collinridge explores how our view of Cleopatra has changed and evolved over the years - from Roman propaganda, through Shakespeare's role in casting her as a doomed romantic heroine, to her portrayal in the golden age of Hollywood.

Along the way Vanessa investigates Cleopatra's relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony, her role as a politician, whether she should be seen as a murderer, and her tragic end. Drawing on the views of academic experts, BBC documentaries and drama, Vanessa charts how, throughout history, Cleopatra's image has been subject to myth, cliche and propaganda.

WED 23:00 The Man who Discovered Egypt (b01f13f4)
Documentary about English Egyptologist Flinders Petrie, the pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology. Ancient Egypt was vandalised by tomb raiders and treasure hunters until this Victorian adventurer took them on. Most people have never heard of him, but this maverick undertook a scientific survey of the pyramids, discovered the oldest portraits in the world, unearthed Egypt's prehistoric roots - and in the process invented modern field archaeology, giving meaning to a whole civilisation.

WED 00:00 10 Things You Didn't Know About... (b008pr87)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]

WED 01:00 Handmade (b05tpx1l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

WED 01:30 The Quizeum (b05t9tlr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]

WED 02:00 A Timewatch Guide (b052775d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

WED 03:00 Sappho: Love & Life on Lesbos with Margaret Mountford (b05tc6w7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THURSDAY 07 MAY 2015

THU 19:00 World News Today (b05t6x44)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b05t9wfw)
Steve Wright presents chart hits of the week, with performances from Smokie, Paul McCartney, the Cure, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Sky, Sad Cafe, Cockney Rejects, Bad Manners, David Essex, the Undertones, Johnny Logan, Blondie, and a dance sequence by Legs & Co.

THU 20:00 Wild China (b00c5n6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]

THU 21:00 The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler (b01p2pgd)
Episode 2

Adolf Hitler seemed an unlikely leader - fuelled by anger, incapable of forming normal human relationships and unwilling to debate political issues. Such was the depth of his hatred that he would become a war criminal arguably without precedent in history.

Yet this strange character was once loved by millions. How was this possible, and what role did Hitler's alleged 'charisma' play in his success?

With the help of testimony from those who lived through these times, film archive - including colour home movies - and specially shot documentary footage, this film reveals how Hitler managed to lead the German people to war in 1939 and orchestrate the dramatic German victory over the French in 1940.

This is the second episode in a three-part series written and produced by Laurence Rees, who won a BAFTA for his previous series Nazis: A Warning from History and a Grierson award for his Auschwitz: the Nazis and the 'Final Solution'.

THU 22:00 Doubt (b01bbv34)
Powerful drama. Sister Beauvier, the stern headmistress of a Catholic school in 1960s New York, suspects popular pastor Father Flynn of an inappropriate relationship with a young black pupil. Flynn is outraged at the suggestion, but cannot prove her wrong, while Sister Beauvier is determined to keep pressing for the truth.

THU 23:35 Caravans: A British Love Affair (b00hw3s0)
Documentary about the love affair between the British and their caravans, which saw the country establish the world's largest caravan manufacturer and transformed the holiday habits of generations of families.

In telling the intriguing story of caravanning in Britain from the 1950s through to the present day, the film reveals how caravans were once the plaything of a privileged minority, but after World War II became a firm favourite with almost a quarter of British holidaymakers.

It explores how changes in caravanning across the years reflect wider changes in British society, in particular the increased availability of cars during the 1950s and 60s, but also the improved roads network and changing attitudes towards holidaymaking and leisure time.

Enthusiasts and contributors include Dorrie van Lachterop from the West Midlands and Christine Fagg from Hertfordshire, remarkable and adventurous women who started touring alone in their caravans during the 1950s.

THU 00:35 Top of the Pops (b05t9wfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

THU 01:20 The Last Days of Anne Boleyn (p015vhp1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]

THU 02:20 The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler (b01p2pgd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRIDAY 08 MAY 2015

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b05t6x49)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

FRI 19:30 The Geordie Symphony School (b05nv3bl)
The amazing story of how music is transforming children's lives in one of the north east's poorest areas.

FRI 20:00 BBC Young Dancer (b05tb26d)
2015

Ballet Final

The BBC turns the spotlight on the UK's best young dancers with a nationwide talent search to find the first BBC Young Dancer. Dancers aged 16-20 were invited to enter one of four categories - ballet, contemporary, hip hop and South Asian dance.

Five talented ballet dancers compete in the last of the category finals, hoping to win a place on the main stage in the grand final at Sadler's Wells.

Mentors are enlisted to help the finalists prepare two contrasting solos and a pas de deux, and there's behind-the-scenes to their preparations in workshops and rehearsals in the run up to the performance at the Riverfront Arts Centre, Newport.

They face a panel of distinguished judges - Dominic Antonucci, ballet master at Birmingham Royal Ballet, Christopher Hampson, artistic director of Scottish Ballet, and judging across all four categories, Kenneth Tharp, chief executive of The Place, a leading centre for contemporary dance.

The ballet category finalists are: Paris Fitzpatrick, Jenny Hackwell, Sayaka Ishibashi, Hamish Scott and Archie Sullivan.

FRI 21:00 The Joy of the Guitar Riff (b049mtxw)
The guitar riff is the DNA of rock 'n' roll, a double helix of repetitive simplicity and fiendish complexity on which its history has been built. From Chuck Berry through to The White Stripes, this documentary traces the ebb and flow of the guitar riff over the last 60 years of popular music. With riffs and stories from an all-star cast including Brian May, Dave Davies, Hank Marvin, Joan Jett, Nile Rodgers, Tony Iommi, Robert Fripp, Johnny Marr, Nancy Wilson, Kevin Shields, Ryan Jarman, Tom Morello and many more. Narrated by Lauren Laverne.

FRI 22:00 Great Guitar Riffs at the BBC (b049mtxy)
Compilation of BBC performances featuring some of the best axe men and women in rock 'n' roll, from Hendrix to The Kinks, Cream to AC/DC, The Smiths to Rage Against the Machine and Radiohead to Foo Fighters. Whether it is The Shadows playing FBI on Crackerjack, Jeff Beck with The Yardbirds, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream's Sunshine of Your Love from their final gig, Pixies on the Late Show, AC/DC on Top of the Pops or Fools Gold from The Stone Roses, this compilation is a celebration of rock 'n' roll guitar complete with riffs, fingerstylin', wah-wah pedals and Marshall amps.

FRI 23:00 Arena (b00q9xqk)
Brian Eno - Another Green World

Brian Eno first starred as the feather-crested electronic keyboard genius of Roxy Music forty years ago. Since then he has been hailed as a pioneer, with his revolutionary experiments in ambient music and audio visual art and as featured producer on benchmark albums by David Bowie, Talking Heads, U2 and Coldplay.

Eno has given Arena unprecedented access to observe him working in his studio and talking with friends and colleagues. The master of reinvention engages with fellow influential minds, including Richard Dawkins, Malcolm Gladwell, David Whittaker and Steve Lillywhite, in a series of conversations on science, art, systems analysis, producing and cybernetics.

FRI 00:00 The Joy of the Guitar Riff (b049mtxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRI 01:00 Great Guitar Riffs at the BBC (b049mtxy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

FRI 02:00 Arena (b00q9xqk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]

FRI 03:00 BBC Young Dancer (b05tb26d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

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

10 Things You Didn't Know About... 19:00 SUN (b008pr87)

10 Things You Didn't Know About... 02:20 SUN (b008pr87)

10 Things You Didn't Know About... 00:00 WED (b008pr87)

A Timewatch Guide 22:00 MON (b051h0gy)

A Timewatch Guide 02:00 MON (b051h0gy)

A Timewatch Guide 22:00 TUE (b052vcbg)

A Timewatch Guide 03:00 TUE (b052vcbg)

A Timewatch Guide 22:00 WED (b052775d)

A Timewatch Guide 02:00 WED (b052775d)

All Aboard! The Canal Trip 20:00 TUE (b05t7kc1)

All Aboard! The Canal Trip 01:00 TUE (b05t7kc1)

Arena 23:00 FRI (b00q9xqk)

Arena 02:00 FRI (b00q9xqk)

BBC Young Dancer 01:20 SUN (b05sj63x)

BBC Young Dancer 20:00 FRI (b05tb26d)

BBC Young Dancer 03:00 FRI (b05tb26d)

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

Britain's Best Drives 19:30 TUE (b00hq4fb)

Britain's Best Drives 19:30 WED (b00hw3yp)

Caravans: A British Love Affair 23:35 THU (b00hw3s0)

Chas & Dave: Last Orders 00:15 SAT (b01nkdsv)

Dawn Chorus: The Sounds of Spring 20:00 MON (b05ttkx2)

Dawn Chorus: The Sounds of Spring 03:00 MON (b05ttkx2)

Doubt 22:00 THU (b01bbv34)

Fig Leaf: The Biggest Cover-Up in History 23:00 TUE (b00ydp38)

Great Guitar Riffs at the BBC 22:00 FRI (b049mtxy)

Great Guitar Riffs at the BBC 01:00 FRI (b049mtxy)

Handmade 21:00 MON (b05tpv83)

Handmade 21:30 MON (b05tpw1j)

Handmade 01:00 MON (b05tpv83)

Handmade 01:30 MON (b05tpw1j)

Handmade 20:00 WED (b05tpx1l)

Handmade 01:00 WED (b05tpx1l)

Inspector Montalbano 21:00 SAT (b03gtfbd)

Len Goodman's Big Band Bonanza 22:45 SAT (b04w7zlm)

National Gallery: A Film by Frederick Wiseman 20:00 SUN (b05tc5ss)

Ray Mears Goes Walkabout 00:00 MON (b00byd8v)

Rod Stewart at the BBC 00:20 SUN (b03m81n5)

Rude Britannia 00:00 TUE (b00ssrsg)

Sappho: Love & Life on Lesbos with Margaret Mountford 21:00 WED (b05tc6w7)

Sappho: Love & Life on Lesbos with Margaret Mountford 03:00 WED (b05tc6w7)

Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures 19:00 SAT (b01b4wmr)

Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures 01:15 SAT (b01b4wmr)

The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler 21:00 THU (b01p2pgd)

The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler 02:20 THU (b01p2pgd)

The Geordie Symphony School 19:30 FRI (b05nv3bl)

The Joy of the Guitar Riff 21:00 FRI (b049mtxw)

The Joy of the Guitar Riff 00:00 FRI (b049mtxw)

The Last Days of Anne Boleyn 23:00 MON (p015vhp1)

The Last Days of Anne Boleyn 01:20 THU (p015vhp1)

The Man who Discovered Egypt 23:00 WED (b01f13f4)

The Quizeum 20:30 WED (b05t9tlr)

The Quizeum 01:30 WED (b05t9tlr)

Top of the Pops 23:45 SAT (b05syx5c)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b05t9wfw)

Top of the Pops 00:35 THU (b05t9wfw)

Wild China 20:00 SAT (b00c5n6g)

Wild China 02:15 SAT (b00c5n6g)

Wild China 20:00 THU (b00c5n6g)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b05t6x3m)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b05t6x3s)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b05t6x3y)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b05t6x44)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b05t6x49)

imagine... 22:55 SUN (b036yl2v)