SATURDAY 12 DECEMBER 2015

SAT 19:00 Empire of the Seas: How the Navy Forged the Modern World (b00qfylw)
Series 1

High Tide

In the third programme in this epic four-part series on how the Navy has shaped modern Britain, Dan Snow sheds light on the evolution of Nelson's navy in the late 18th century. It was the most powerful maritime fighting force in the world, with highly trained crews and ambitious officers. He explores the national enterprise which supported it, and explains how the empire it helped create put Britain on the path to war with France.

Through the stories of naval heroes like Captain Cook, naval administrators like Charles Middleton and of course Admiral Nelson, Snow explores the elite training, the growing naval meritocracy and the years of tough experience which created a ruthless and professional 'band of brothers'. He looks at the impact of innovations such as the copper bottoming of the navy's ships and the introduction of a new tax - income tax - to pay for the fleet.

Pushing back the boundaries of the known world, the Navy's highly trained crews and ambitious officers laid claim to a burgeoning empire, but at a huge price. By 1800, Britain had been dragged into the greatest sequence of wars the nation had ever seen.


SAT 20:00 Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues (b06rfl46)
Rogues Gallery

Few figures in British history have captured the popular imagination as much as the outlaw. From gentleman highwaymen, via swashbuckling pirates to elusive urban thieves and rogues, the brazen escapades and the flamboyance of the outlaw made them the anti-hero of their time - feared by the rich, admired by the poor and celebrated by writers and artists.

In this three-part series, historian Dr Sam Willis travels the open roads, the high seas and urban alleyways to explore Britain's 17th and 18th-century underworld of highwaymen, pirates and rogues, bringing the great age of the British outlaw vividly to life.

Sam shows that, far from being 'outsiders', outlaws were very much a product of their time, shaped by powerful national events. In each episode, he focuses not just on a particular type of outlaw, but a particular era. The series as a whole offers a chronological portrait of the changing face of crime in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the final episode, Sam looks at urban crime, fraud and corruption in the 18th century, uncovering a fascinating rogues’ gallery of charmers, fraudsters and villains. Charmers like thief and serial escaper Jack Sheppard, so notorious that almost a quarter of a million people turned up to witness his hanging. Almost as controversial in her lifetime was Mary Toft, a fraudster who managed to convince no less than King George I and his surgeon that she had given birth to rabbits, making her, perhaps, the original 'con' artist.


SAT 21:00 The Bridge (b06ndxx7)
Series 3

Episode 7

Burglars make the gruesome discovery of two new victims, which Henrik recognises reflect the title of another of Freddie Holst's artworks called Cancel Christmas. The victims were foster carers and, whilst the team await a list of their charges, Saga and Henrik receive a breakthrough lead from John's new girlfriend Tina, who has been staking out the Holst house.

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:00 The Bridge (b06ns7jp)
Series 3

Episode 8

As the Internal Affairs investigation continues over the death of Saga's mother, the pressure on her becomes intense. Saga, Henrik and John receive new leads when it becomes clear a potential suspect in the mysterious serial killings is actually a victim.

In Swedish and Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 23:00 Radio 2 In Concert (b06pk50c)
Jeff Lynne's ELO

The BBC's Radio Theatre opens its doors to an iconic band that have been making music history since the 1970s. ELO and their frontman Jeff Lynne have sold over 50 million albums worldwide and created a back catalogue of chart-topping hits that include Mr Blue Sky, Telephone Line, Livin' Thing and Strange Magic. Jeff Lynne's ELO play his classic tracks along with some new songs from their first album of new material in almost 15 years, Alone in the Universe, to an intimate crowd of fans.

Known as one of the most iconic forces in music history, ELO delivers the new album, Jeff Lynne's ELO Alone in the Universe , which will be the first new ELO music in a decade. As with ELO's previous chart-topping albums, Jeff Lynne continues to serve as ELO's producer, songwriter, arranger, lead singer and guitarist. Jeff Lynne was the creative genius behind ELO which sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, had more than 20 Top 40 Hits across the US and the UK and received countless awards and accolades. At the time of ELO's formation, Lynne had said the goal was to create modern rock and pop songs - a goal that remains true some 30 years later with the creation of this new material.


SAT 00:00 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.


SAT 01:00 Top of the Pops (b06rhpc2)
Simon Bates presents the weekly pop show. Includes performances from the Beat, St Winifred's School Choir, the Specials, Gary Numan, Robert Palmer, the Nolans and Jona Lewie, and a dance routine by Legs & Co.


SAT 01:40 Rollermania: Britain's Biggest Boy Band (b06bbct4)
In 1975, The Bay City Rollers were on the brink of global superstardom. The most successful chart act in the UK with a unique look and sound were about to become the biggest thing since the Beatles. Featuring interviews with Les McKeown and other members of the classic Bay City Roller line-up, and using previously unseen footage shot by members of the band and its entourage, this is the tale of five lads from Edinburgh who became the world's first international teen idols and turned the whole world tartan.


SAT 02:40 TOTP2 (b01cyxhs)
Boybands

Showcasing the boy band, from its origins in 60s beat groups and R&B outfits to the new wave of 80s boy bands and beyond. Defined by their vocal harmonies, synchronised dance steps and groups of men, each with 'their own distinct appeal', this compilation celebrates the best of boy bands down the ages.

From JLS to The Four Tops, The Monkees to Westlife, and Village People to Blazin' Squad, relive your teenage years with the boys that mattered most.