B4

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

SATURDAY 03 OCTOBER 2015

SAT 19:00 Three Men (b00wymvj)
Three Men Go to Scotland

Episode 1

Griff Rhys Jones, Rory McGrath and Dara O Briain head to the Hebrides for another adventure on the high seas, sailing around some of the prettiest and most remote seascapes in the British Isles. Since none of the three men in a boat have any particular connection to Scotland, they decide to use the 16th-century travels of dictionary writer Dr Johnson and his biographer James Boswell as inspiration.

In particular Rory is inspired by Boswell's record of everything he drank, and decides to try and visit as many distilleries as possible. Their journey takes them across the Western Isles, to the isles of Jura, Mull, Skye and finally Harris, where they hope to catch the last week of the wild salmon fly fishing season.

Their first boat turns out to have wings, as they catch the Seaplane from Glasgow to the end of the Crinan Canal. It's here that Vic 32 awaits, one of the last surviving coal-fired steam puffers. Their first task is to light the boiler and wait for it to get to temperature. In the meantime they decide to have a go at the Kilmore Highland Games, which means getting kitted out in full Highland attire. Dara takes on the ladies' hammer-throwing champion and Griff takes part in a rowing race.

The Puffer then takes them to the start of a West Highland Week race, one of Scotland's biggest yachting events. The boys take control of a William Fife yacht built in 1910, competing alongside 100 other yachts. But after a near pile-up at the first buoy, the race result is protested by several yachts.

SAT 20:00 The Search for Alfred the Great (b03sbp73)
Neil Oliver is given exclusive access to a team of historians and scientists investigating the final resting place of Alfred the Great. Alfred's bones have been moved so many times over the centuries that many people concluded that they were lost forever. Following a trail that goes back over 1,000 years, the team wants to unravel the mystery of Alfred's remains. Travelling from Winchester to Rome, Neil also tells the extraordinary story of Alfred's life - in the 9th century, he became one of England's most important kings by fighting off the Vikings, uniting the Anglo-Saxon people and launching a cultural renaissance. This was the man who forged a united language and identity, and laid the foundations of the English nation.

The film investigates the equally extraordinary story of what happened to Alfred's remains after his death in 899. They have been exhumed and reburied on a number of occasions since his original brief burial in the Anglo-Saxon Old Minster in Winchester. The Saxons, the Normans, Henry VIII's religious reformers, 18th-century convicts, Victorian romantics and 20th-century archaeologists have all played a part in the story of Alfred's grave.

Neil joins the team as they exhume the contents of an unmarked grave, piece the bones together and have them dated. With the discovery of some unexpected new evidence, the film reveals the extraordinary outcome of an important investigation.

SAT 21:00 Beck (b06gxv0m)
The Invasion

The bodies of two men are found buried in the woods and, despite persistent attempts, they cannot be identified. When another man is murdered the police discover new evidence which they believe links the murders to an Islamist terrorist cell.

In Swedish with English subtitles.

SAT 22:30 Biggest Band Break Ups and Make Ups (b05q472d)
Mark Radcliffe presents a look at the highs and lows of band life - the creative tension that produces great music and the pressures that come with success and fame, and pull most bands apart. Radcliffe lifts the lid on the main reasons why bands break up and the secrets of bands that manage to stay together.

SAT 23:30 Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie (b06f17bk)
The DIY Movement

The story of British indie over three musically diverse episodes. Much more than a genre of music, it is a spirit, an attitude and an ethos.

In the 1970s, the music industry was controlled by the major record labels, and the notion of releasing a record independently seemed like an impossible dream. At a time when even The Sex Pistols were on a major label, the true act of rebellion was would be to do it yourself.

It took an independent release from Buzzcocks in 1976 with the Spiral Scratch EP to begin a change in the game. The initial pressing of 1,000 copies was funded by family and friends and sold out immediately. The notion of independently releasing your own music was compelling, and it became a call to action.

Independent record labels began to pop up all over the UK, each one with its own subculture and sound - from Factory in Manchester to Zoo in Liverpool, Postcard in Glasgow and London labels such as Mute, Beggars Banquet and Rough Trade. They were founded by people with no business experience, just a passion for music and a commitment to helping others achieve creative autonomy. These labels were cutting, releasing and distributing the music themselves. Bedsits became offices and basements became studios. This was DIY, and it felt like a countercultural movement set against all that the mainstream had to offer.

These labels were pivotal in getting the new sounds to a generation hungry for change. Queues of hopeful bands waited to drop off demo tapes, and the first wave of indie bands emerged from the newly formed labels. It was a fantastically creative, if somewhat hand-to-mouth time, yet bands also had the freedom to make all the decisions about their image and musical direction themselves. Pioneering music from bands such as Joy Division, Throbbing Gristle, Echo and the Bunnymen, Orange Juice and Aztec Camera is featured in this episode.

These new indie sounds offered a defiantly oppositional stance to prevailing trends in popular culture. With new music exploding out of cities everywhere, it was indie label founder Iain McNay, from Cherry Red, who had the idea for an indie chart - its music spoke to a generation of kids who did not identify with the mainstream sounds on the radio.

SAT 00:30 Top of the Pops (b06f16q6)
Mike Read presents hits of the week. Guests include Split Enz, Diana Ross, Ottawan, Shalamar, Linx and the Police. Also features special guests Russ Abbot and Leo Sayer, as well as a dance sequence by Legs and Co and the weekly chart rundown.

SAT 01:05 A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley (p01fv16l)
The Golden Age

Lucy Worsley explores the Edwardian era and the golden age of detective fiction between the wars - the time of Dr Crippen, Agatha Christie and the films of Alfred Hitchcock.

SAT 02:05 Joy Division (b0543ytw)
On June 4 1976, four young men from ruined, post-industrial Manchester went to see a Sex Pistols show at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall. Inspired by the gig that is now credited with igniting the Manchester music scene, they formed what was to become one of the world's most influential bands, Joy Division.

Over 30 years later, despite a tragedy that was to cut them off in their prime, they are enjoying a larger audience and more influence than ever before, with a profound legacy that resonates fiercely in today's heavily manufactured pop culture.

Featuring the unprecedented participation of all the surviving band members, this film examines the band's story through never-before-seen live performance footage, personal photos, period films and newly discovered audiotapes.

A fresh visual account of a unique time and place, this is the untold story of how four men transcended economic and cultural barriers to produce an enduring musical legacy, at a time of great social and political change.

SUNDAY 04 OCTOBER 2015

SUN 19:00 The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum (b01rrld8)
Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill presents a documentary following the scientific investigation that shows what life was like in the small Roman town of Herculaneum, moments before it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption.

Just 10 miles from Pompeii, 12 vaults tell a new story about what life was like before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. They contain the skeletons of 340 people, 10 per cent of the local population, killed by the volcano. Amongst them are the first new skeletons to be found in the area for 30 years which are now the subject of a ground-breaking scientific investigation. The finds included a toddler holding his dog, a two-year-old girl with silver earrings and a boy embracing his mother.

Those found inside the vaults were nearly all women and children. Those found outside on the shoreline were nearly all men. Why?

It is revealed that the local population went to their deaths not as in often portrayed in Pompeii's popular myth, but more like the passengers of the Titanic, where women and children were put first.

Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill takes us to meet the scientists leading the forensic project - Luca Bondioli and Luciano Fattore - and then on a tour of the town. He uncovers houses, wooden furniture (including their beds and the only surviving baby's cradle from the Roman world), and food and human waste, preserved by a layer of ash up to five times deeper than Pompeii, as well as perfectly preserved court transcripts scratched on wooden tablets telling of slaves challenging their status in the town's courts. New scientific analysis has enabled us to unearth not just what they ate, but how they ate it, it seems they had a penchant for eating fish whole including their heads, a tradition, that has survived in Herculaneum to this day.

SUN 20:00 Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice (b01fkcdr)
Professor Alice Roberts reveals the natural history of the most famous of ice age animals - the woolly mammoth. Mammoths have transfixed humans since the depths of the last ice age, when their herds roamed across what is now Europe and Asia. Although these curious members of the elephant family have been extinct for thousands of years, scientists can now paint an incredibly detailed picture of their lives thanks to whole carcasses that have been beautifully preserved in the Siberian permafrost.

Alice meets the scientists who are using the latest genetic, chemical and molecular tests to reveal the adaptations that allowed mammoths to evolve from their origins in the tropics to surviving the extremes of Siberia. And in a dramatic end to the film, she helps unveil a brand new woolly mammoth carcass that may shed new light on our own ancestors' role in their extinction.

SUN 21:00 Rome's Lost Empire (b01pc063)
Dan Snow uses satellite technology to reveal the secrets of the Roman Empire. Together with space archaeologist Sarah Parcak, Dan sets out to identify and then track down lost cities, amphitheatres and forts in an adventure that sees him travel through some of the most spectacular parts of the vast empire. Cutting-edge technology and traditional archaeology help build a better understanding of how Rome held such a large empire together for so long.

SUN 22:30 TOTP2 (b00747qb)
John Lennon Special

Steve Wright presents a mixture of pop nostalgia and music, celebrating the late John Lennon.

SUN 23:00 Jazz Piano Gold (b01cc76p)
A real treat for anyone who loves listening to the tinkling of the jazz piano, with classics from Count Basie, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Abdullah Ibrahim, Stan Tracey and Jacques Loussier to Duke Ellington, Return to Forever and Herbie Hancock. The performances are culled from cult classic programmes such as Jazz 625, Show of the Week, Late Night Line Up, Love You Madly, Birdland, The Late Show and Later... with Jools Holland, and date from 1964 to 2009. Be it bebop, swing or contemporary, Jazz Piano Gold is a must for all jazz piano fans.

SUN 00:00 BBC Four Sessions (b0074r91)
Georgie Fame - The Birth of Cool

Filmed at St Luke's LSO in London for BBC Four, this session takes us on a musical, archival and anecdotal journey through Georgie Fame's career and the 1960s Soho scene which so epitomised the burgeoning British rhythm and blues movement and the blossoming of Georgie's career.

Performing with Georgie are some original members of the Blue Flames, British trumpet impresario Guy Barker plus Georgie's sons James and Tristan. Georgie will also be joined by his old friends from the scene and regular Flamingo Club performer Zoot Money, trumpet player Eddie Thornton and trombone player Rico Rodriguez. Famous soul and RnB session musician and former front woman of Blue Mink, Madeline Bell, will also joining Georgie on a couple of numbers. As Georgie takes us through stunning performances of classic such as Yeh Yeh, Getaway and Flamingo Allnighter, he intersperses his performances with stories that include some of the audience members - such as Geno Washington and the DJ at 1960s Roaring 20s Club, Count Suckle.

The Georgie Fame story started in 1943 when one Clive Powell was born in Leigh, Lancashire. Clive - or Georgie as he was to become - became aware of music through his father and the local church choir. Georgie took to blowing a harmonica and soon mastered the piano by ear, unaided by any tuition or guidance. After a meeting with the pop impresario Larry Parnes in early 1960s London, Georgie became one of Larry's stable of young stars along with Billy Fury, Vince Eager and Marty Wilde. Parnes employed Georgie as a sideman for his own groups and visiting American artists such as Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran. After a enjoying a residency at the Flamingo Club in Wardour Street with his band the Blue Flames and introducing the stars of young 60s London such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to the joys of rhythm and blues, Georgie enjoyed his first number 1 hit with Yeh Yeh in January 1965.

SUN 01:00 Bought with Love: The Secret History of British Art Collections (b037nhb9)
The Age of the Individual

Helen Rosslyn explores how collecting reached its maturity in the 19th century when unprecedented wealth from Britain's booming economy encouraged enlightened, philanthropic industrialists to spend their fortunes on art, and in many cases then donate their collections to the nation.

With different taste from the British aristocracy who had dominated collecting to this point, a new breed of art buyer enriched Britain's cultural story by acquiring adventurous and often avant-garde work. Helen looks at the influence of pharmaceutical magnate Thomas Holloway, the Rothschild banking dynasty and the Welsh Davies sisters.

SUN 02:00 TOTP2 (b00747qb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 today]

SUN 02:30 A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley (p01fv16l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 01:05 on Saturday]

MONDAY 05 OCTOBER 2015

MON 19:00 World News Today (b06g521p)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

MON 19:30 Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury (b010v7kx)
The Caledonian Canal

Seasoned stomper Julia Bradbury dons her walking boots once again and this time she is exploring 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 kicks off her tour with a visit to the Scottish Highlands. Against the stunning backdrop of Ben Nevis, her walk starts near Fort William where she embarks on her eight-mile trip along the Caledonian Canal, the majestic waterway that cuts through beautiful mountain country and is regarded as one of the most ambitious canals of its time. Julia's journey tells the story of one of the greatest canal engineers, Thomas Telford, whose ambition was to create not only an engineering marvel, but also badly needed jobs and wealth for the Highlands. Two hundred years on, it is now one of the most popular walking trails in the country.

MON 20:00 Legends of the Deep: Deep Sea Sharks (b06237md)
Groundbreaking documentary which follows a Japanese-led team of scientists as they attempt to shed light on the mysterious world of deep sea sharks.

Only 50 specimens of the newly discovered 'megamouth' have ever been sighted. Over four years, scientists and film crews voyaged in midget submarines into the depths of Suruga Bay and Sagami Bay to film them. Prehistoric 'living fossil' sharks such as bluntnose sixgill sharks, goblin sharks and frilled sharks also lurk in the depths.

As part of the investigation, a sperm whale carcass was placed at the bottom of the sea to attract these sharks, which were then studied and observed from the submersible vessels. Revealing in detail the previously unknown behaviour of deep sea sharks, the film unravels another of the intriguing mysteries of our planet's biodiversity.

MON 21:00 The Great British Year (p01db15t)
Original Series

Winter

Starting on New Year's Day, Britain is in the grip of winter. Time-lapses show a magical country shrouded in frost and mist swirling in hollows. Water becomes the enemy as it freezes, and the wildlife must cope. Red squirrels resort to subterfuge, and kites track a farmer ploughing to get at the worms beneath the frost. As winter fades, adders bask in the sun and the woodland floor erupts with snowdrops. On a lake in Wiltshire, new hope is captured in the evocative dance of the great crested grebe.

MON 22:00 Storyville (b062xfv0)
Circus Elephant Rampage

The gripping and emotionally-charged story of Tyke, a circus elephant who went on a rampage in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1994, killed her trainer in front of thousands of spectators and died in a hail of gunfire.

Her break for freedom - filmed from start to tragic end - traumatised a city and ignited a global battle over the use of animals in the entertainment industry. Looking at what made Tyke snap, the film goes back to meet the people who knew her and were affected by her death - former trainers and handlers, circus industry insiders, witnesses to her rampage, and animal rights activists for whom Tyke became a global rallying cry.

Tyke is the central protagonist in this tragic but redemptive tale that combines trauma, outrage, insight and compassion. This moving documentary raises fundamental questions about our deep and mysterious connection to other species.

MON 23:00 Brick by Brick: Rebuilding Our Past (b01flvwz)
Episode 1

Dan Cruickshank and Charlie Luxton uncover the incredible hidden stories behind historic buildings as they are dismantled brick by brick, and meticulously resurrected in new locations.

Every year thousands of ordinary buildings are demolished, smashed down to make way for the new, but some are so special they are snatched from the bulldozers and carefully dismantled. When a new home can be found for them, they are lovingly and painstakingly rebuilt. These are not grand buildings, but everyday buildings that give an extraordinary insight into the lives of the people who lived and worked in them. Deep within their fabric are preserved astonishing stories about how we lived and worked.

Architectural designer Charlie Luxton explores how these vast and hugely complex jigsaw puzzles are pieced back together, trying his hand at the array of ancient crafts required. Meanwhile, architectural historian Dan Cruickshank investigates the buildings' history, proving that even seemingly humble buildings have incredible stories to tell.

In this episode Dan and Charlie follow the reconstruction of one of Britain's earliest aviation buildings: Claude Grahame-White's watchtower. Graham-White was a heroic pioneer of early aviation and his watchtower was the nerve centre of the vast aircraft factory he built to supply warplanes for World War I.

MON 00:00 How to Build a Cathedral (b00b09rb)
The great cathedrals were the wonders of the medieval world - the tallest buildings since the pyramids and the showpieces of medieval Christianity. Yet they were built at a time when most of us lived in hovels. Architectural historian Jon Cannon explores who the people were that built them and how they were able to achieve such a bold vision.

MON 00:55 Rome's Lost Empire (b01pc063)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Sunday]

MON 02:25 The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum (b01rrld8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]

TUESDAY 06 OCTOBER 2015

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b06g5224)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

TUE 19:30 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.

TUE 20:00 Canals: The Making of a Nation (b06822p8)
Heritage

Liz McIvor explores the heritage of our canal network. After years of decline in the postwar period much of the network was eventually restored. Once places of labour and industry, they became places of leisure and tranquillity. The newly renovated canals were increasingly popular for boating holidaymakers. Liz visits the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales and travels to Birmingham where canals have become catalysts for property development and urban regeneration. Canals offer so many benefits today. Perhaps, Liz suggests, it is time to construct a few more?

TUE 20:30 Hive Minds (b06gwr27)
Series 1

Pascallywags v Trivium

Fiona Bruce presents the quiz show where players not only have to know the answers, but have to find them hidden in a hive of letters. It tests players' general knowledge and mental agility, as they battle against one another and race against the clock to find the answers.

Pascallywags play Trivium for the Hive Minds series trophy.

TUE 21:00 Alan Johnson: The Post Office and Me (b06g5g5f)
Alan Johnson MP (and former postman) tells the story of 500 years of the Royal Mail, and discovers how the humble British postal system changed the course of British history. Alan started out as a postman in London when he was 18, in 1968. He would eventually rise to become general secretary of the Communication Workers Union before being elected as an MP. So the post office changed his life, and set him on the path to parliament.

In this film, he explores the rich history of this great institution, and reveals how it has been a force for progress in British society. The British post office led the world in creating a cheap, accessible mail system. This was the first true revolution in mass communication, and it changed society.

With the invention of the stamp - the famous Penny Black - in 1840, ordinary people could suddenly afford to write to each other. Businesses thrived thanks to mail order. And the volumes of mail skyrocketed - creating a postal system that would at its peak employ 250,000 people.

To tell this story - and to find out how the Royal Mail is adapting to the 21st century - Alan travels back in time to his old rounds, and into the future at a giant automated sorting office. He is given an exclusive tour of the Queen's private stamp collection to see the most precious Penny Blacks in the world. He takes a ride on a Travelling Post Office - one of the mail-sorting trains that used to criss-cross the nation through the night and that were immortalised in the film Night Mail.

He ventures beneath the streets of London to see the remains of the Royal Mail's secret underground railway, and he meets some 21st-century postmen and women to find out how the job has changed since he was doing it back in the 1960s.

Alan loved being a postman. But in the age of email, is there a future for the post?

TUE 22:00 Close to the Edge (b06h1dyr)
Series 1

Episode 1

Scripted documentary series following a group of friends in their 60s, 70s and 80s based in Bournemouth.

Mixing elements of story-telling techniques from drama and documentary in a bold new form, the series explores the full range of issues faced by people over 65. With the cast devising and improvising many of the scenes themselves, the series captures the romance and real-life drama of their everyday lives - the business entrepreneur, a comedian dating again for the first time in 40 years, and a political activist are just some of the real-life characters living their life to the full.

This frank, funny and warm series follows the diverse group of friends grappling with the issues that face us all - finding love, re-starting your career, friendships and rivalries - as well as frankly exploring the challenges of getting older - coping with illness, feelings of loneliness and preparing for the end that will eventually greet us all.

In this episode, fledging businesswoman Babs plans a networking event, but her outspoken 'frenemy 'Chris threatens to derail it. Meanwhile, John is on the hunt for a lady after spending the last six years alone.

TUE 22:30 Close to the Edge (b06h81cb)
Series 1

Episode 2

Scripted documentary series following a group of friends in their 60s, 70s and 80s based in Bournemouth.

Mixing elements of story-telling techniques from drama and documentary in a bold new form, the series explores the full range of issues faced by people over 65. With the cast devising and improvising many of the scenes themselves, the series captures the romance and real-life drama of their everyday lives - the business entrepreneur, a comedian dating again for the first time in 40 years, and a political activist are just some of the real-life characters living their life to the full.

This frank, funny and warm series follows the diverse group of friends grappling with the issues that face us all - finding love, re-starting your career, friendships and rivalries - as well as frankly exploring the challenges of getting older - coping with illness, feelings of loneliness and preparing for the end that will eventually greet us all.

Vanessa hosts a dinner party, but her past catches up with her. John takes Dee on a date she won't forget, whilst Simon and Monty strike up a friendship over music.

TUE 23:00 imagine... (b012b42j)
Summer 2011

The Man Who Forgot How to Read and Other Stories

Presenter Alan Yentob meets clinical neurologist and author Dr Oliver Sacks to investigate the myriad ways we experience the visual world and the strange things that can happen when our mind fails to understand what our eyes see. In the course of this investigation, Yentob tells the life story of Dr Oliver Sacks, the man who would become one of the world's most famous scientists.

Alan delves into this world by going to meet several of the case studies from Sacks latest book, The Mind's Eye.

He meets Stereo Sue, neurobiologist Sue Barry, who always saw the world as a flat 2D image until she suddenly acquired stereoscopic 3D vision in her late forties; Canadian crime writer Howard Engel, the man who forgot how to read, who remarkably continues to write despite a stroke that destroyed his reading ability; Chuck Close, the renowned portrait artist, who cannot recognise or remember faces and Danny Delcambre, an extraordinary and spirited man who, although having a condition which means he was born deaf and is gradually going blind, lives life to the full and uses close-up photography to record the world around him.

Often overlapping with these case studies is Sacks' own story. Here, doctor and patient combine as he talks about his childhood, his own struggle with face blindness, and the loss he felt when eye cancer recently destroyed his 3D vision.

TUE 23:55 The Mystery of Murder: A Horizon Guide (b0555v7v)
There are about 600 murders each year in the UK. So, what drives people to kill? Are some people born to kill or are they driven to it by circumstances?

Michael Mosley delves into the BBC archives to chart scientists' progress as they probed the mind of the murderer to try to understand why people kill, and to find out whether by understanding murder we can prevent it.

TUE 00:55 Canals: The Making of a Nation (b06822p8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUE 01:25 Hive Minds (b06gwr27)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]

TUE 01:55 Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice (b01fkcdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Sunday]

TUE 02:55 Alan Johnson: The Post Office and Me (b06g5g5f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 07 OCTOBER 2015

WED 19:00 World News Today (b06g522d)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

WED 19:30 Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury (b0110ghh)
The Worcester and Birmingham 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. Julia navigates Highland glens, rolling countryside and river valleys, as well as our industrial heartlands, and follows these magical waterways as they cut a sedate path through some of the country's finest scenery.

Julia starts this walk in Birmingham, which surprisingly boasts more miles of canal than Venice. But her mission isn't to seek out gondolas or ice cream - it's to discover how the city, through its canal network, became the centre of the Industrial Revolution. It's also the start of Julia's two-day walk along the historic and picturesque Worcester and Birmingham Canal, which cuts a 30-mile path through to the River Severn. The highlight of the canal is a dramatic two-mile flight of 30 locks which lower the canal by 220 feet. Negotiating this flight of locks is considered to be a rite of passage by boaters, and it's definitely one for the tick list for walkers.

WED 20:00 Unnatural Histories (b011s4k0)
Serengeti

More than anywhere, the Serengeti is synonymous with wilderness and has even come to represent Africa. But the story of the Serengeti is just as much about humans as it is about wildlife. Right from the origin of our species in Africa, humans have been profoundly shaping this unique wilderness - hunters and pastoralists with cattle and fire, ivory traders and big game hunters, conservationists, scientists, film-makers and even tourists have all played a part in shaping the Serengeti.

Probably most powerful of all was a tiny microbe unknowingly brought to Africa by a small Italian expeditionary force - Rinderpest, a deadly virus that swept through the continent decimating cattle and wildlife alike and forever changing the face of the wild. The Serengeti is far from timeless, it is forever changing - and wherever there is change, the influence of Homo sapiens is not far behind.

WED 21:00 Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World (p02gzf9k)
Episode 1

From the moment we first drilled for oil, we opened a Pandora's box that changed the world forever. It transformed the way we lived our lives, spawned foreign wars and turned a simple natural resource into the most powerful political weapon the world has ever known. But when exactly did geology turn into such a high-stakes game?

In this series, Professor Iain Stewart visits the places that gave birth to the earth's oil riches, discovers the people who fought over its control and supply, and explores how our insatiable thirst for oil is changing the very planet on which we depend.

It's a journey that will help us answer a fundamental question - how did we become so addicted to oil in little more than one human lifetime?

WED 22:00 The Great British Year (p01db15t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]

WED 23:00 Oak Tree: Nature's Greatest Survivor (b06fq03t)
George McGavin investigates the highly varied and dramatic life of oak tree. Part science documentary, part historical investigation, this film is a celebration of one of the most iconic trees in the British countryside. It aims to give viewers a sense of what an extraordinary species the oak is and provide an insight into how this venerable tree experiences life.

Filmed over a year, George uncovers the extraordinary transformations the oak goes through to meet the challenges of four very different seasons.

In autumn, George goes underground, digging below an oak tree to see how its roots extract precious resources from the soil. And he sees why the oak's superstrong wood made it the perfect material for building some the most famous ships in naval history, including Nelson's flagship The Victory.

In winter, George discovers the sophisticated strategies the tree uses to survive gales and bitter frosts. He finds out about the oak's vital role in architecture, showing how some very familiar sights, such as the tower of Salisbury Cathedral, are in fact giant oak structures.

In spring, George investigates how the oak procreates, spreading its pollen through the countryside. He discovers the incredibly sophisticated strategies it uses to withstand savage onslaughts from predators hellbent on eating it alive.

In summer, George uses a high-powered microscope to see the hundreds of species that regard the oak as their home. Humans too rely on the oak for their own form of 'sustenance'. Whisky gets its unique flavours from the oak wood barrels in which it's matured.

WED 00:30 Unnatural Histories (b011s4k0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

WED 01:30 imagine... (b012b42j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Tuesday]

WED 02:25 Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World (p02gzf9k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THURSDAY 08 OCTOBER 2015

THU 19:00 World News Today (b06g522q)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b06gxxkv)
Peter Powell introduces the pop chart programme, including performances from Status Quo, Diana Ross, OMD, Black Slate, the Nolans, Linx, Gilbert O'Sullivan, and the Police. Includes chart rundown and a performance by Legs & Co. Also features a guest apperance from Dennis Waterman & Paul Jones.

THU 20:00 Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War (p00yjy5r)
Trouble in the Family: 1337-1360

Dr Janina Ramirez explores the fallout of the longest and bloodiest divorce in history, when little England dared to take on the superpower France.

Edward III rips up the medieval rule book and crushes the flower of French knighthood at the Battle of Crecy with his low-born archers. His son, the Black Prince, conducts a campaign of terror, helping to bring France to her knees.

THU 21:00 A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley (b06gxzkj)
Episode 1

Lucy Worsley presents a series about the 'invention' of British romance - our very own, surprisingly passionate, tradition of love.

Lucy's romp through three centuries of love's rituals begins with the Georgian age, when the rules of courtship were being rewritten. Traditionally, marriage had been as much about business as love. Now, a glamorisation of romantic love inspired women and men to make their own romantic choices - they could flirt in newly-built assembly rooms, or elope to Gretna Green as an act of romantic rebellion.

But the main force of change was the arrival of the novel - Samuel Richardson, Fanny Burney and Jane Austen didn't just map out women's changing desires, they made people seek out the feelings and emotions described in their own lives, permanently changing how the British feel.

THU 22:00 Servants: The True Story of Life Below Stairs (b01n3fkf)
Knowing Your Place

Dr Pamela Cox looks at the grand houses of the Victorian ruling elite - large country estates dependent on an army of staff toiling away below stairs.

The Victorians ushered in a new ideal of servitude - where loyal, selfless servants were depersonalised stereotypes with standardised uniforms, hairstyles and even generic names denoting position. In the immaculately preserved rooms of Erddig in North Wales, portraits of servants like loyal housekeeper Mrs Webster hint at an affectionate relationship between family and servants, but the reality for most was quite different.

In other stately homes, hidden passages kept servants separate from the family. Anonymity, invisibility and segregation were a crucial part of their gruelling job - and the strict servant hierarchy even kept them segregated from each other.

THU 23:00 Detectorists (b04n1plq)
Series 1

Episode 5

Even though Andy, Lance, Becky and Sophie are barely talking to each other, their secrets are on the verge of being revealed. Are they all just victims of a smear campaign? And why does everyone else want to move in on Bishop's Farm?

THU 23:30 Detectorists (b04nqrq5)
Series 1

Episode 6

A huge hole has been excavated and police are looking into it. Meanwhile, Larry Bishop's invisible dogs have disappeared without trace, and Andy and Lance now have one last chance to discover their hearts' true desire.

THU 00:00 Three Men (b00wymvj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]

THU 01:00 Top of the Pops (b06gxxkv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

THU 01:40 Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War (p00yjy5r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

THU 02:40 A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley (b06gxzkj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRIDAY 09 OCTOBER 2015

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b06g5232)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.

FRI 19:30 Dame Fanny Waterman: A Lifetime in Music (b01nlms7)
As a renowned teacher and founder and chair of the Leeds International Piano Competition, Dame Fanny Waterman is one of the most influential figures in British music. At the tender age of 92, she remains as energetic as ever, teaching children as young as six and in demand all over the world as a mentor and jury member.

In this candid conversation with Petroc Trelawney, Waterman sheds light on her humble beginnings in Leeds as the daughter of a Russian emigre jeweller. Her life was transformed when she heard Rachmaninov perform at Leeds Town Hall in the 1920s - and her love affair with the piano has lasted eight decades. As a concert pianist, highlights included a Proms performance during the Second World War with Sir Henry Wood at the Royal Albert Hall, before returning to her home city of Leeds with husband Geoffrey de Kaiser to become a piano teacher. However, being known as the 'local piano teacher' was never enough and with the help of her lifelong friend, local aristocrat Marion Harewood, they set up the first Leeds International Piano Competition in 1963.

Fifty years on Dame Fanny remains the mastermind behind 'The Leeds', a competition regarded as the most coveted prize in the piano world and having first showcased such talents as Radu Lupu, Murray Perahia, Andras Schiff and Noriko Ogawa. Outspoken, passionate and still full of vitality, Waterman shares her views on teaching, the great pianists of the past and present, music and love. When asked if she would ever retire from her hectic schedule this remarkable nonagenarian simply replies 'No, never!'.

FRI 20:00 Andre Previn at the BBC (b06gxxxh)
Charismatic conductor and composer Andre Previn looks back at some of his greatest television moments, from thrilling performances of orchestral favourites by Mozart and Berlioz to his classic comedy encounter with Morecambe and Wise.

FRI 21:00 Tales from the Tour Bus: Rock 'n' Roll on the Road (b05rjc9c)
Rock legend and tour bus aficionado Rick Wakeman takes us on a time-travelling trip through the decades in this first-hand account of rockers on the road from the late 1950s to the 80s and beyond.

It's an often bumpy and sometimes sleepless ride down the A roads and motorways of the UK during the golden age of rock 'n' roll touring - a secret history of transport cafes, transit vans, B&Bs, sleepless roadies and of loved ones left at home or, on one occasion, by the roadside. And it's also a secret history of audiences both good and bad, and the gigs themselves - from the early variety package to the head clubs, the stadiums and the pubs.

This is life in the British fast lane as told by Rick and the bands themselves, a film about the very lifeblood of the rock 'n' roll wagon train. With members of Dr Feelgood, Suzi Quatro, The Shadows, The Pretty Things, Fairport Convention, Happy Mondays, Aswad, Girlschool, The Damned and many more.

FRI 22:00 Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie (b06gxxxk)
The Alternative 80s

Episode two explores a time when the independent labels transformed from cottage industries into real businesses that could compete with the majors. It examines the evolution of 'indie' - a guitar-based genre of music with its own sound, fashion and culture.

Independent record labels provided a platform for some of Britain's most groundbreaking artists at this time, including The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Smiths, who would burst onto the scene in 1983 staging a mainstream intervention and starting a small revolution.

In the midst of shiny 80s sounds and shoulder-padded fashion, indie was anti-image and anti-flamboyance. Through many of the indie bands in this period, everyday life was repackaged in melody and poetic lyrics. It's not hard to see why a generation of youth, disaffected from the times they were living in, sought refuge in the poetic haze of early indie. The bands were accessible too, and aspiring music journalists could meet their favourite indie stars at the small and intimate gigs where they performed.

The programme concludes in the late 80s with the Madchester scene, as alternative music crossed over into the mainstream chart. This breakthrough was inspired by a merging of indie rock and the burgeoning acid house culture, and it was led by a new crop of bands such as The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays.

The series is presented by BBC Radio 6 Music's Mark Radcliffe and this episode features exclusive interviews with performers including James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers, New Order's Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, Shaun Ryder, Suede's Bernard Butler, The KLF's Bill Drummond, Stuart Murdoch of Belle and Sebastian, Cocteau Twins' Simon Raymonde, The Jesus and Mary Chain's Jim Reid, and Talulah Gosh's Amelia Fletcher.

It also includes interviews with a number of influential music industry figures such as former Happy Mondays manager Nathan McGough, Pete Waterman, Factory Records' designer Peter Saville and journalists Alexis Petridis and Sian Pattenden.

FRI 23:00 Indie Classics at the BBC (b06g5jfp)
A look back through the archives at some of the classic tunes from the world of indie music through the 80s and early 90s, including the likes of Joy Division, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, Primal Scream and many more.

FRI 00:00 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 01:00 Tales from the Tour Bus: Rock 'n' Roll on the Road (b05rjc9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRI 02:00 Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie (b06gxxxk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]

FRI 03:00 Indie Classics at the BBC (b06g5jfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]

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

A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley 01:05 SAT (p01fv16l)

A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley 02:30 SUN (p01fv16l)

A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley 21:00 THU (b06gxzkj)

A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley 02:40 THU (b06gxzkj)

Alan Johnson: The Post Office and Me 21:00 TUE (b06g5g5f)

Alan Johnson: The Post Office and Me 02:55 TUE (b06g5g5f)

Andre Previn at the BBC 20:00 FRI (b06gxxxh)

BBC Four Sessions 00:00 SUN (b0074r91)

Beck 21:00 SAT (b06gxv0m)

Biggest Band Break Ups and Make Ups 22:30 SAT (b05q472d)

Bought with Love: The Secret History of British Art Collections 01:00 SUN (b037nhb9)

Brick by Brick: Rebuilding Our Past 23:00 MON (b01flvwz)

Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury 19:30 MON (b010v7kx)

Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury 19:30 TUE (b01173hc)

Canal Walks with Julia Bradbury 19:30 WED (b0110ghh)

Canals: The Making of a Nation 20:00 TUE (b06822p8)

Canals: The Making of a Nation 00:55 TUE (b06822p8)

Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War 20:00 THU (p00yjy5r)

Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War 01:40 THU (p00yjy5r)

Close to the Edge 22:00 TUE (b06h1dyr)

Close to the Edge 22:30 TUE (b06h81cb)

Dame Fanny Waterman: A Lifetime in Music 19:30 FRI (b01nlms7)

Detectorists 23:00 THU (b04n1plq)

Detectorists 23:30 THU (b04nqrq5)

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

Hive Minds 20:30 TUE (b06gwr27)

Hive Minds 01:25 TUE (b06gwr27)

How to Build a Cathedral 00:00 MON (b00b09rb)

Indie Classics at the BBC 23:00 FRI (b06g5jfp)

Indie Classics at the BBC 03:00 FRI (b06g5jfp)

Jazz Piano Gold 23:00 SUN (b01cc76p)

Joy Division 02:05 SAT (b0543ytw)

Legends of the Deep: Deep Sea Sharks 20:00 MON (b06237md)

Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie 23:30 SAT (b06f17bk)

Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie 22:00 FRI (b06gxxxk)

Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie 02:00 FRI (b06gxxxk)

Oak Tree: Nature's Greatest Survivor 23:00 WED (b06fq03t)

Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World 21:00 WED (p02gzf9k)

Planet Oil: The Treasure That Conquered the World 02:25 WED (p02gzf9k)

Rome's Lost Empire 21:00 SUN (b01pc063)

Rome's Lost Empire 00:55 MON (b01pc063)

Servants: The True Story of Life Below Stairs 22:00 THU (b01n3fkf)

Storyville 22:00 MON (b062xfv0)

TOTP2 22:30 SUN (b00747qb)

TOTP2 02:00 SUN (b00747qb)

Tales from the Tour Bus: Rock 'n' Roll on the Road 21:00 FRI (b05rjc9c)

Tales from the Tour Bus: Rock 'n' Roll on the Road 01:00 FRI (b05rjc9c)

The Great British Year 21:00 MON (p01db15t)

The Great British Year 22:00 WED (p01db15t)

The Mystery of Murder: A Horizon Guide 23:55 TUE (b0555v7v)

The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum 19:00 SUN (b01rrld8)

The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum 02:25 MON (b01rrld8)

The Search for Alfred the Great 20:00 SAT (b03sbp73)

Three Men 19:00 SAT (b00wymvj)

Three Men 00:00 THU (b00wymvj)

Top of the Pops 00:30 SAT (b06f16q6)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b06gxxkv)

Top of the Pops 01:00 THU (b06gxxkv)

Unnatural Histories 20:00 WED (b011s4k0)

Unnatural Histories 00:30 WED (b011s4k0)

Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice 20:00 SUN (b01fkcdr)

Woolly Mammoth: Secrets from the Ice 01:55 TUE (b01fkcdr)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b06g521p)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b06g5224)

World News Today 19:00 WED (b06g522d)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b06g522q)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b06g5232)

imagine... 23:00 TUE (b012b42j)

imagine... 01:30 WED (b012b42j)