The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on BBC 4 Contact

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



SATURDAY 05 NOVEMBER 2016

SAT 19:00 Timeshift (b00dzzdc)
Series 8

Last Days of Steam

The surprising story of how Britain entered a new age of steam railways after the Second World War and why it quickly came to an end.

After the war, the largely destroyed railways of Europe were rebuilt to carry more modern diesel and electric trains. Britain, however, chose to build thousands of brand new steam locomotives. Did we stay with steam because coal was seen as the most reliable power source, or were the railways run by men who couldn't bear to let go of their beloved steam trains?

The new British locomotives were designed to stay in service well into the 1970s, but in some cases they were taken off the railways and scrapped within just five years. When Dr Richard Beeching took over British Railways in the 1960s the writing was on the wall, and in 1968 the last steam passenger train blew its whistle.

But while steam use declined, steam enthusiasm grew. As many steam engines lay rusting in scrapyards around Britain, enthusiasts raised funds to buy, restore and return them to their former glory. In 2008, the first brand new steam locomotive to be built in Britain in nearly 50 years rolled off the line, proving our enduring love of these machines.


SAT 20:00 The Incredible Human Journey (b00kwdgp)
Australia

There are seven billion humans on Earth, spread across the whole planet. Scientific evidence suggests that most of us can trace our origins to one tiny group of people who left Africa around 70,000 years ago. In this five-part series, Dr Alice Roberts follows the archaeological and genetic footprints of our ancient ancestors to find out how their journeys transformed our species into the humans we are today, and how Homo sapiens came to dominate the planet.

Alice looks at our ancestors' seemingly impossible journey to Australia. Miraculously preserved footprints and very old human fossils buried in the outback suggest a mystery: that humans reached Australia almost before anywhere else. How could they have travelled so far from Africa, crossing the open sea on the way, and do it thousands of years before they made it to Europe?

The evidence trail is faint and difficult to pick up, but Alice takes on the challenge. In India, new discoveries among the debris of a super volcano hint that our species started the journey much earlier than previously thought, while in Malaysia, genetics points to an ancient trail still detectable in the DNA of tribes today.

Alice travels deep into the Asian rainforests in search of the first cavemen of Borneo and tests out a Stone Age raft to see whether sea travel would have been possible thousands of years ago, before coming to a powerful conclusion.


SAT 21:00 The Code (b0824czp)
Series 2

Episode 5

When a desperate attempt to save a life is rejected out of hand, revenge is vowed. Jesse is torn between genuine care for Roth and the need to disarm the digital time bomb that is waiting to explode.


SAT 22:00 The Code (b0824czr)
Series 2

Episode 6

Roth is ready to show the world what it feels like to be brutalised and powerless to stop it. With his shocking plan set in motion, Jesse must answer the question once and for all - whether violent means can deliver peaceful ends.


SAT 22:55 Elvis: That's Alright Mama 60 Years On (b04c3l7g)
Actor and musician Sam Palladio hosts a musical tribute to Elvis Presley, 60 years to the day from when he recorded his first single, That's All Right, at Sun Studio in Memphis on 5 July 1954. Sam traces Elvis's story from childhood poverty in Mississippi, where he had to make do with a broom for a guitar, to the moment when, by accident, he ended up recording the song that changed the history of popular music. There are performances of the finest Elvis tracks from the likes of soul legend Candi Staton, LA duo The Pierces and country star Laura Bell Bundy.


SAT 23:55 ...Sings Elvis (b00pqcg3)
2011 marked the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth and was celebrated by a host of performances by artists covering the King's classic songs culled from the BBC archives.

Some of Britain's biggest stars were introduced to rock n roll as teenagers via their idol Elvis, and Cliff Richard, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones and John Cale all pay their tribute. The original songwriters of some of Elvis's greatest hits perform their own versions of classic tracks, including Carl Perkins singing Blue Suede Shoes and Mac Davis doing In the Ghetto.

Other artists paying homage from across five decades include The Deep River Boys, the Stylistics, Boy George, Alison Moyet, Pet Shop Boys and Robbie Williams. There will be jumpsuits, pelvic thrusts, brilliant tunes ... and Glen Campbell's Elvis impersonation.


SAT 00:55 Top of the Pops (b08200c8)
Simon Bates presents the weekly chart show, first broadcast on 22 July 1982. Includes appearances from The Belle Stars, Madness, Bananarama, The Brat, Trio, Junior, The Stranglers, Dollar and Irene Cara. Also includes a dance performance from Zoo.


SAT 01:30 Top of the Pops (b08202lx)
Mike Read presents the weekly pop chart show, first broadcast on 29 July 1982. Includes appearances from Dexys Midnight Runners, Hot Chocolate, The Firm, David Essex, Yazoo, Paul McCartney, Irene Cara and Cliff Richard. Also includes a dance performance from Zoo.


SAT 02:05 Elvis: That's Alright Mama 60 Years On (b04c3l7g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:55 today]


SAT 03:05 Sounds of the Sixties (b0074qbf)
Original Series

1964-66: The Beat Room

Things get cool and serious in the archive rock show as it highlights the BBC's cutting-edge pop programme The Beat Room amongst others, with great performances from John Lee Hooker, The Pretty Things and Tom Jones.



SUNDAY 06 NOVEMBER 2016

SUN 19:00 Canals: The Making of a Nation (b06828hz)
Capitalism

Liz McIvor tells the story of 'canal mania' - a boom period of frenzied activity that helped develop Britain's modern financial economy, now centred in London. The canal capitalists made money by investing and speculating in the new inland waterways used to carry fuel and goods around the country. Many of the investors were part of an emerging middle class. The Grand Junction Canal - built to improve the connection between London and the Midlands - was one of the new routes, and eventually proved to be a good investment for shareholders. However, not all canals were profitable. The new investors discovered that investment capitalism was a system that created winners and losers.


SUN 19:30 Books That Made Britain (b0801p2b)
London: City of Strangers

Suggs delves into his favourite pieces of fiction that tell the story of being a stranger in the capital. From Oliver Twist to Sam Selvon's Lonely Londoner, he explores the novels that have been written through the eyes of newcomers as they make the city their home.


SUN 20:00 Perfect Pianists at the BBC (b0729r6r)
David Owen Norris takes us on a journey through 60 years of BBC archive to showcase some of the greatest names in the history of the piano. From the groundbreaking BBC studio recitals of Benno Moiseiwitsch, Solomon and Myra Hess in the 1950s, through the legendary concerts of Vladimir Horowitz and Arthur Rubinstein, to more recent performances, including Alfred Brendel, Mitsuko Uchida and Stephen Hough, David celebrates some of the greatest players in a pianistic tradition which goes back to Franz Liszt in the 19th century. Filmed at the Cobbe Collection, Hatchlands Park.


SUN 21:00 Storyville (b0828kwn)
Weiner - Sexts, Scandals and Politics

Documentary about American politician Anthony Weiner, renowned for scandals relating to sexting. Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after his sexting exploits were made public. He attempted a political comeback by running for mayor of New York City, but his ambitions were thwarted once more as he was forced to admit to fresh allegations. The programme also traces the personal cost to Weiner, his family and campaign team and the unrelenting media scrutiny on him.


SUN 22:30 John Berger: The Art of Looking (b082qynq)
Art, politics and motorcycles - on the occasion of his 90th birthday, this is an intimate portrait of the late writer and art critic whose groundbreaking work on seeing has shaped our understanding of the concept for over five decades. The film explores how paintings become narratives and stories turn into images, and rarely does anybody demonstrate this as poignantly as Berger.

Berger lived and worked for decades in a small mountain village in the French Alps, where the nearness to nature, the world of the peasants and his motorcycle, which for him deals so much with presence, inspired his drawing and writing.

The film introduces Berger's art of looking with theatre wizard Simon McBurney, film director Michael Dibb, visual artist John Christie, cartoonist Selçuk Demiral and photographer Jean Mohr, as well as two of his children - film critic Katya Berger and the painter Yves Berger.

The prelude and starting point is Berger's mind-boggling experience of restored vision following a successful cataract removal surgery. There, in the cusp of his clouding eyesight, Berger re-discovers the irredeemable wonder of seeing.

Realised as a portrait in works and collaborations, this creative documentary takes a different approach to biography, with Berger leading in his favourite role of the storyteller.


SUN 23:25 Nature's Wonderlands: Islands of Evolution (b06yjm68)
Hawaii: A New Eden

Three-part series in which Professor Richard Fortey investigates why islands are natural laboratories of evolution and meets some of the unique and remarkable species that live on them. Examining some of the crucial influences on natural selection that are normally overlooked - like geology, geography, isolation and time - the series reveals that there is much more to evolution than 'survival of the fittest'. Charting the lifecycle of islands - from their birth and colonisation to the flowering of evolutionary creativity that often accompanies their maturity, and what happens when an island grows old and nears its end - Fortey encounters wild lemurs in the rainforest of Madagascar, acid-resistant shrimps in the rock pools of Hawaii, and giant wolf spiders in Madeira as he searches for the hidden rules of island evolution.

In the first episode, Fortey is on Hawaii to investigate how life colonises a newly born island. According to some estimates, Hawaii has been successfully colonised by only one new species every 35,000 years due to its remote location - yet the Hawaiian Islands teem with a great diversity of life. In search of the evolutionary secrets of how one species becomes many, Fortey encounters beautiful honeycreeper birds whose evolution rivals that of Darwin's famous finches; carnivorous caterpillars who now can't eat leaves, and giant silversword plants that thrive in parched volcanic soil at 10,000 feet.


SUN 00:25 Natural World (b014hl48)
2011-2012

Animal House

Sir David Attenborough tells the stories of the world's best animal architects. There are house-proud bower birds, who only find a mate if they decorate their homes perfectly. There are hornets, who build electric central heating systems, and the star-nosed mole, whose house is designed so well that worms, his favourite meal, literally drop in for dinner. From larders to nurseries and from high-rises to subway systems, Attenborough shows that the animal architects have designed it long before humans.


SUN 01:25 Horizon (b014kj65)
2011-2012

Are You Good or Evil?

What makes us good or evil? It's a simple but deeply unsettling question. One that scientists are now starting to answer.

Horizon meets the researchers who have studied some of the most terrifying people behind bars - psychopathic killers.

But there was a shock in store for one of these scientists, Professor Jim Fallon, when he discovered that he had the profile of a psychopath. And the reason he didn't turn out to be a killer holds important lessons for all of us.

We meet the scientist who believes he has found the 'moral molecule' and the man who is using this new understanding to rewrite our ideas of crime and punishment.


SUN 02:25 Storyville (b0828kwn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



MONDAY 07 NOVEMBER 2016

MON 19:00 World News Today (b082094g)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


MON 19:30 Grand Tours of Scotland (b01868hs)
Series 2

In Search of Sunshine

Long before the era of cheap flights and package holidays on the 'Costa del Sunburn', most Scots spent their summer holidays by the Scottish seaside. In the last episode of Grand Tours, presenter Paul Murton goes in search of Scottish sunshine. To capture the holiday spirit and to chase the sun, Paul's travelling by Morris Minor and is following a route up the east coast from Carnoustie to Aberdeen.


MON 20:00 It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Rock 'n' Roll at the BBC (b063m6wy)
A celebration of rock 'n' roll in the shape of a compilation of classic artists and songs, featuring the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion and Dick Dale who all featured in the Rock 'n' Roll America series, alongside songs that celebrate rock 'n roll itself from artists such as Tom Petty (Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll), Joan Jett (I Love Rock 'n' Roll) and Oasis (Rock 'n' Roll Star).


MON 21:00 Rich Hall's Presidential Grudge Match (b0828lpl)
An examination of the sordid machinations involved in becoming president of the United States. Rich Hall looks back at some of the dirtiest and nastiest presidential campaigns of the past, proving that the 2016 race to the White House is not the first time the contest has got personal.


MON 22:30 Storyville (b076nqjb)
Being Evel Knievel

An enjoyable look at the first globally famous stunt performer, exploring the charisma and showmanship at the heart of Evel Knievel's improbable success. Knievel made a career out of ridiculous stunts and rose to fame with multiple television appearances of his daredevil stunts that captured the public's imagination throughout the late 1960s and 70s.

With fantastic archive, the film takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride from his early motorcycle stunts, through to his attempt to be fired across Snake River Canyon, to his time in jail for brutally assaulting his business partner.

The darker side of Knievel's larger-than-life persona also emerges, especially among those who knew him best. Friends, family and business colleagues paint a complex portrait of a man who preferred to be seen as a self-styled myth. His love of alcohol, womanising, and temper were all eclipsed by an obsession with insane stunts bordering on a death wish.


MON 00:00 The First World War (b01rp9w7)
Breaking the Deadlock

Attrition, 'lions led by donkeys', the slaughter only ceasing for a brief truce one Christmas - these are old, mistaken views of the war on the Western Front. In fact there were constant tactical evolutions, hundreds of generals died in action and some men adopted a system of 'live and let live', with countless informal local truces. The Germans tried new ideas at Verdun - 750,000 French and Germans died with little gain. After terrible failure on the Somme the British used tanks at Cambrai, but the Germans clawed back lost ground. Victory on the Western Front would go to the side that learned to consolidate success.


MON 00:55 Dan Cruickshank's Adventures in Architecture (b009z619)
Paradise

Historian and writer Dan Cruickshank celebrates the creative force of architecture as he explores the world's greatest cities, buildings and monuments. Dan looks at buildings that evoke the image of heaven across religions and cultures, travelling to Egypt's Sinai desert, China's Hanging Temple, and Turkey's Suleymaniye Mosque, a building that evokes the gates of paradise. Finally Dan loses himself in the boisterous holy town of Sri Ranganthaswamy, a place sacred to the Hindu religion.


MON 01:55 Rich Hall's Presidential Grudge Match (b0828lpl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



TUESDAY 08 NOVEMBER 2016

TUE 19:00 World News Today (b082095b)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


TUE 19:30 World War I at Home (b045gjw5)
Cadburys at War

Brothers Laurence and Egbert Cadbury saw plenty of action during the First World War, but only one of them was a fighter. Former world champion boxer Richie Woodhall investigates the untold story of the chocolate king's sons, a tale full of conflict and conscience.


TUE 20:00 Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency (b014b7d2)
Developing the Regency Brand

In this second episode, Lucy Worsley looks at Britain in the wake of Waterloo - and asks how this new, triumphant nation wanted to be seen and how it set about celebrating itself in its architecture and design. Again, the Regent led the way. As he grew fatter, barely able to climb stairs or walk about, architecture became his chief creative outlet - and nowhere more so than in the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. At the start of his reign as Regent, this had been an elegant neoclassical villa, but working with the architect John Nash, George transformed it after 1815 into the most outrageous of palaces. In it, Lucy discovers more about the Regent's tastes, and finds out what he and his chef had in common.

But while the Regent was building away, what were his people doing? Lucy finds out why Waterloo Bridge became the official memorial to Britain's victory, and how it became an obsession for the painter John Constable. She also explores the powerful influence of the Elgin Marbles, purchased for the British Museum in 1816. These broken statues caused a revolution in Regency ideas and taste, and helped to spread the Greek revival in architecture across the British Isles - even if some buildings, like Edinburgh's very own Parthenon, didn't quite get finished.

So who was behind the Regency 'look'? Lucy finds out more about one of the most influential architects of the age, exploring Sir John Soane's strange architectural ideas and discovering some of his more unexpected legacies. But even if, to our eyes, Soane's ideas may be more exciting, it was his rival John Nash who really defined Regency style - and worked with the Regent himself.

At Windsor Castle, Lucy finds remnants of the Regent's lost palace, Carlton House. These were spaces where, increasingly, luxurious informality in design went hand-in-hand with racy lifestyles. In the Regent's world of gilding and pink velvet, anything went. The richest in society indulged in courtesans and soft furnishings in equal measure. And since one dance summed up this new moral climate, Lucy takes the opportunity to learn the then outrageously sexy waltz.

Not that everyone was living this way. Lucy goes in search of her heroine Jane Austen, who dedicated her novel Emma to the Prince Regent. Lucy discovers that Jane put a few political messages into her novels - particularly when it came to the relationship between architecture and upper class morals. She even wrote part of a novel on property speculation.

And for Lucy, speculation is at the heart of Regency architecture. Across Britain, it gave us the quintessential Regency look - the stucco terraces, the black ironwork and white columns. The newest spa town of the Regency - Leamington Spa - is a classic example. But for the most spectacular development of all, Lucy returns to London and the most ambitious project of the Regency - Regent Street. Backed by a Regent who thought it would 'eclipse Napoleon' and a government eager to cash in by developing farmland at Regent's Park, it is perhaps the most visible monument to Regency ambition. As Lucy walks its length, the street reveals itself to be at the heart of the Regency ideal and a telling expression of the Regent himself.


TUE 21:00 A Timewatch Guide (b082md33)
Series 3

Crime and Punishment

From the death penalty, to laws against homosexuality, Britain's criminal justice system has undergone momentous change in the last 70 years.

In this Timewatch guide to Crime and Punishment, presenter Gabriel Weston examines how television has played a crucial role in documenting these seismic shifts in British law and policing.

Looking back through the Timewatch back catalogue of documentaries and a host of BBC archive rarities, Gabriel discovers how historians and filmmakers have not only chronicled these profound changes in law but also managed to shape public opinion.

By highlighting miscarriages of justice, like that of the wrongful imprisonment of the Birmingham Six, or by shining a spotlight on other issues of corruption and damning flaws in police procedures, Gabriel finds that television actually became a powerful agent for change.


TUE 22:00 The Secret History of Our Streets (b01jt9bv)
Series 1

Deptford High Street

In 1886 Charles Booth embarked on an ambitious plan to visit every one of London's streets to record the social conditions of residents. His project took him 17 years.

Once he had finished he had constructed a groundbreaking series of maps which recorded the social class and standing of inhabitants. These maps transformed the way Victorians felt about their capital city.

This series takes six archetypal London streets as they are now, discovering how they have fared since Booth's day.

Booth colour-coded each street, from yellow for the 'servant keeping classes', down to black for the 'vicious and semi-criminal'. With the aid of maps the series explores why certain streets have been transformed from desperate slums to become some of the most desirable and valuable property in the UK, whilst others have barely changed.

This landmark series features residents past and present, exploring how what happened on the street in the last 125 years continues to shape the lives of those who live there now.

In Booth's time, Deptford High Street was 'the Oxford Street of south London'. Today, marooned amid 1970s housing blocks, it is one of the poorest shopping streets in London.

Featuring compelling accounts from residents, including one family which has been trading on the high street for 250 years, the film tells the story of transformation and endurance as the people themselves tell the history of their own past and the street they lived in. Through these deeply personal accounts of huge extended families living together in a single street, the bigger story of slum clearance and the unravelling of the old ways of life emerge - a change which shaped the lives of tens of millions of British families all over the country.


TUE 23:00 India's Frontier Railways (b0555xgw)
The Maitree Express

Filmed during the holy month of Ramadan, this is a journey from India into Bangladesh on a train that reunites the region of Bengal. Partitioned in 1947, Bengal was divided in half, creating East Pakistan - a satellite state ruled by Pakistan. It was an unwelcome occupation. In 1971, they fought a war of independence and East Pakistan became the People's Republic of Bangladesh. 37 years later, the first train ran between India and Bangladesh - the Maitree Express. Maitree means friendship.

It takes 12 hours to make the 392km journey from Kolkata to Dhaka, and staffing on the train is almost the same on both sides of the border. They speak the same language, share a history and all love fish.

Amirul, once a freedom fighter in the war of independence, now plays announcements and religious tapes on the Maitree. Aalo supports his family by selling chocolates on the train, but has a problem with the 30-degree heat. Sixteen-year-old Abdullah ran away from home and a madrasa. Now he sells papers on Dhaka's trains and platforms, hoping for a brighter future. Gautam Bannerjee is a guard on the Maitree and a respected astrologer. Can his calculations foretell the future? Urmi Rahman, a writer, was born in Bangladesh, married an Indian and lives in Kolkata, but she is very clear about her identity. Krishendu Basu is happy with his life. Not only a guard, he is also a tabla player, photographer and self-confessed foodie. But music is his passion.

These stories of people who work, travel or depend on the Maitree Express take us on a journey through history, sharing their hopes, needs and desires - on India's frontier railways.


TUE 00:00 Precision: The Measure of All Things (b033664m)
Heat, Light and Electricity

From lightning bolts and watt engines to electromagnetic waves and single electrons, Professor Marcus du Sautoy continues his journey into the world of measurement as he reveals how we came to measure and harness the power of heat, light and electricity. It's a journey that has involved the greatest minds in science and, today, is getting down to the very building blocks of atoms.


TUE 01:00 Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency (b014b7d2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


TUE 02:00 Timeshift (b037w38s)
Series 13

A Day at the Zoo

Using unique home movie footage, this is the story of how zoos captured the imagination of the British - from the first 'scientific zoological garden' in Regent's Park to Gerald Durrell's 'conservation ark', which became Jersey Zoo. It's a nostalgic tale of show-stopping animals - such as the original Jumbo the elephant and Bristol Zoo's Alfred the gorilla - as well as bold innovations like the make-believe mountains of London Zoo and Dudley's animal enclosures without bars. No wonder, despite modern concerns about keeping animals captive, a day at the zoo remains one of Britain's most popular family days out.


TUE 03:00 A Timewatch Guide (b082md33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



WEDNESDAY 09 NOVEMBER 2016

WED 19:00 US Elections (b082095m)
2016

BBC News Special

The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


WED 19:30 World War I at Home (b04gkn55)
Royal Victoria Hospital

Shocking stories of the World War I Hampshire hospital doctors who faked footage on cures for shellshock. Author Philip Hoare examines the evidence and reveals some other real-life human tragedies at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley.


WED 20:00 A Timewatch Guide (b06z59g7)
Series 2

Stonehenge

Using 70 years of BBC history archive film, Professor Alice Roberts uncovers how the iconic ancient monument of Stonehenge has been interpreted, argued over and debated by some of Britain's leading historians and archaeologists. She reveals how new discoveries would discredit old theories, how astronomers and geologists became involved in the story and why, even after centuries of study, there's still no definitive answer to the mystery of Stonehenge.


WED 21:00 Frank Skinner on George Formby (b016fpz0)
George Formby was a huge star of stage and film. In his heyday he was as big as The Beatles, earning vast sums of money on stage and starring in films which broke box office records. Formby's trademark ukulele still inspires millions of dedicated fans, including comedian and performer Frank Skinner, who believes Formby was the greatest entertainer of his time.

Playing the ukulele and performing the songs that keep the Formby legend alive today, Skinner follows the music hall star's extraordinary rise to fame and fortune, explores his worldwide popularity and reveals the ruthless exploitation that surrounded his sudden and tragic death.


WED 22:00 Entertaining the Troops (b014v51p)
During World War Two an army of performers from ballerinas to magicians, contortionists to impressionists, set out to help win the war by entertaining the troops far and wide. Risking their lives they ventured into war zones, dodging explosions and performing close to enemy lines. Featuring the memories of this intrepid band of entertainers and with contributions from Dame Vera Lynn, Eric Sykes and Tony Benn, this documentary tells the remarkable story of the World War II performers and hears the memories of some of those troops who were entertained during the dark days of war.


WED 23:00 How to Be Bohemian with Victoria Coren Mitchell (b05ywvtb)
Episode 1

In the opening episode, Victoria traces the story of the first bohemians. She begins in post-revolutionary Paris, where poverty-stricken, garret-dwelling artists and writers gained a reputation for loose living, colourful clothing and wild, naked parties. They revelled in the absurd - for example, one legendarily took his pet lobster for walks in the park. Here the archetype of the bohemian was born, immortalised later in Puccini's opera La Boheme. But were they trailblazing creatives or irritating posers? And is living outrageously a necessary step towards producing great art?

Victoria goes on to explore how bohemian subculture took root in Britain through the groundbreaking art, eccentricities and bad-boy behaviour of the Pre-Raphaelites. Dante Gabriel Rossetti cultivated his image as an oddball, keeping a menagerie including a much-loved wombat. He caused a scandal when he became obsessively entangled with Janey Morris, wife of his friend, the designer William Morris. Victoria learns how bohemianism evolved into the dandy pose of aesthetes such as playwright Oscar Wilde and artist Aubrey Beardsley, whose explicit drawings intrigued and shocked the public in equal measure.

And she recounts how, most surprisingly, bohemian living found one of its greatest advocates in children's author Arthur Ransome who, long before Swallows and Amazons, wrote a whimsical traveller's guide to bohemian London.

Victoria's historical journey is given added resonance through her probing, highly entertaining encounters with a range of illuminating modern bohemians, including Stephen Fry, artists Grayson Perry and Maggi Hambling, pop star-turned-vicar and broadcaster Richard Coles, writer Will Self and drag artist Jonny Woo.


WED 00:00 Peter York's Hipster Handbook (b081v950)
Eminent social commentator Peter York seeks to understand what he sees as the modern obsession with 'the authentic'. He speaks to craftspeople and expert commentators on his journey to understand the current cultural moment. He also examines where the label of the 'hipster' has its roots and whether it is too general a term for such a broad movement. He demonstrates through his years of marketing and advertising experience that subcultures have always been absorbed and repackaged by the mainstream.

Contributors include Times deputy fashion editor Harriet Walters, the Guardian architecture critic Oliver Wainwright, and Sir John Hegarty. Peter also travels to America to look at parallels between the UK and America.


WED 01:00 The Secret History of Our Streets (b01jt9bv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Tuesday]


WED 02:00 British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash (b04jvlk2)
David Bomberg: Prophet in No Man's Land

In the years preceding 1914, David Bomberg, Walter Sickert and Paul Nash set out to paint a new world, but, as the century unfolded, found themselves working in the rubble.

David Bomberg is now recognised as the most startlingly original British painter of his generation, but died in obscurity more than half a century ago.

A Jewish immigrant from London's east end, his early modernist works pushed art to its limits. Fighting at the Somme, David Bomberg watched the world splinter and fall apart just like the works of art he had created. Bomberg spent the rest of his life searching for order in an increasingly disordered world, and his wanderings took him as far as Palestine, before he settled at the end of his life in Ronda, Spain.

When he died in 1957, embattled and in poverty, he seemed to be no more than a footnote in the history of British art. However, the works that survive David Bomberg tell their own story. Combative and iconoclastic, he remains the most elusively original British painter of the 20th century.


WED 03:00 How to Be Bohemian with Victoria Coren Mitchell (b05ywvtb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]



THURSDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2016

THU 19:00 World News Today (b082095x)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


THU 19:30 Top of the Pops (b0824cw5)
David Jensen presents the weekly pop chart show, first broadcast on 5 August 1982. Includes appearances by Madness, Junior, Brat, Belle Stars, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, Bad Manners, The Stranglers, Dexys Midnight Runners and Donna Summer, and a dance performance by Zoo.


THU 20:00 Dangerous Earth (b0824cw7)
Avalanche

Dr Helen Czerski looks at the anatomy of an avalanche. From shocking eyewitness footage from within an avalanche to detailed CT scans showing the microscopic changes that cause them, we can now capture exactly what happens as snow transforms into a deadly and unpredictable danger.


THU 20:30 Hive Minds (b0824cw9)
Series 2

Cruciverbalists v Doosras

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.


THU 21:00 No Body's Perfect with Rankin and Alison Lapper (b0824cwc)
Documentary. International fashion photographer Rankin and artist Alison Lapper explore how the explosion of digital photography, social media and selfie culture has affected people's sense of identity. Rankin and Alison challenge four individuals who all hate the camera for a variety of reasons to be photographed up-close to investigate different perceptions of self-worth, image and beauty.


THU 22:00 Wild Burma: Nature's Lost Kingdom (p01hscjy)
Episode 1

For the first time in over 50 years, a team of wildlife film-makers from the BBC's Natural History Unit and scientists from the world-renowned Smithsonian Institution has been granted access to venture deep into Burma's impenetrable jungles. Their mission is to discover whether these forests are home to iconic animals, rapidly disappearing from the rest of the world - this expedition has come not a moment too soon.

On the first leg of their journey, wildlife film-makers Gordon Buchanan and Justine Evans set out to discover whether the mountains of western Burma are home to a population of Asian elephants that could prove critical to the survival of the species. Finding elephants in a dense bamboo forest is a challenge. Notoriously grumpy, Asian elephants are likely to charge if caught unaware. It is a race against time as the world eyes up Burma's natural riches - what the team finds could change the future of Burma's wilds forever.


THU 23:00 The Incredible Human Journey (b00kwdgp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


THU 00:00 The Hidden Art of Islam (b01dczjj)
At the British Museum, a collection of artefacts from the Muslim world is on show, which tells the history of a journey to Mecca always forbidden to non-Muslims. It features a succession of examples of the rich visual language of Islamic culture past and present, artwork created to reflect the powerful experience for any Muslim making the Hajj pilgrimage to Islam's most sacred city and its most sacred building, the Ka'aba. However, an art form not usually associated with Islam is also on show, a form many believe is prohibited by Islam - portraits, depictions of human figures and whole tableaux showing pilgrims performing the most important pillar of the Muslim faith.

In this documentary, Rageh Omaar sets out to find out that if human depiction is the source of such controversy, how is it that the art displayed here shows a tradition of figurative art at the heart of Islam for century after century? He explores what forms of art are acceptable for a Muslim - and why this artistic tradition has thrived - in the hidden art of the Muslim world.


THU 01:00 Top of the Pops (b0824cw5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:35 ...Sings Elvis (b00pqcg3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:55 on Saturday]


THU 02:35 No Body's Perfect with Rankin and Alison Lapper (b0824cwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]



FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

FRI 19:00 World News Today (b0820965)
The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (b0824dd3)
John Peel presents the weekly chart show, first broadcast on 12 August 1982. Includes Toto Coelo, Yazoo, The Associates, Haysi Fantayzee, Wavelength, Fun Boy Three, Sheena Easton, Boys Town Gang and The Firm, and a dance performance by Zoo.


FRI 20:00 The Good Old Days (b0824dd5)
Leonard Sachs presents an edition of the music hall programme first broadcast on 4 March 1976. With Ken Dodd, Sheila Steafal, Valerie Masterson, Johnny Hart and members of The Players Theatre, London.


FRI 20:45 Omnibus (b00l9j6s)
Leonard Cohen - Songs from a Life

Portrait of Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and novelist Leonard Cohen, recorded in 1988. Featuring interviews, archive film and live performances from London, Paris, Athens and New York.


FRI 21:55 Pop Go the Sixties (b00cyz6x)
Series 2

Julie Felix

Pop moments from the BBC's sixties archive. A 1966 performance from the singing star of The Frost Report. Going to the Zoo calls for audience participation and the audience wind themselves up into a near-monochrome frenzy as they sway slightly in their seats and softly join in.


FRI 22:00 Roots, Reggae, Rebellion (b0824dd7)
In the 1970s, Jamaica came alive to the sounds of roots reggae. British rapper, poet and political commentator Akala tells the story of this golden period in the island's musical history, a time when a small group of musicians took songs of Rastafari, revolution and hope to the international stage.

Growing up in London, Akala's family immersed him in roots reggae from an early age so he has a very personal connection to the culture. It has informed his own songwriting, poetry and political worldview, but it's an upbringing that he now feels he's taken for granted.

In this documentary, Akala sets out to find out more about the music that has had such an impact on his life. He begins by exploring the music's origins in Jamaica, where it offered hope to ordinary people at a time when poverty, political violence and turmoil were ravaging the island. Artists like Bob Marley, Big Youth and Burning Spear began to write about suffering and salvation through Rastafari in their songs. Akala unpicks how all of this evolved.

Back in the UK, Akala reveals how the Jamaican artists and our own British roots reggae bands like Steel Pulse became a cultural lifeline for young black people who were experiencing racism and rejection in their own country. He shows how roots reggae also related to a wider audience, its revolutionary message connecting with an increasingly marginalised UK youth.


FRI 23:00 Bird on a Wire (b00w009s)
Tony Palmer's film, thought lost for almost 40 years, about Leonard Cohen's 1972 European tour, has now been pieced together from almost 3,000 fragments and restored to its former glory. A unique record of a major poet and singer/songwriter at the height of his powers.


FRI 00:50 Top of the Pops (b0824dd3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 01:25 Roots, Reggae, Rebellion (b0824dd7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 today]


FRI 02:30 Reggae at the BBC (b00ymljd)
An archive celebration of great reggae performances filmed in the BBC Studios, drawn from programmes such as The Old Grey Whistle Test, Top of the Pops and Later... with Jools Holland, and featuring the likes of Bob Marley and the Wailers, Gregory Isaacs, Desmond Dekker, Burning Spear, Althea and Donna, Dennis Brown, Buju Banton and many more.




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

...Sings Elvis 23:55 SAT (b00pqcg3)

...Sings Elvis 01:35 THU (b00pqcg3)

A Timewatch Guide 21:00 TUE (b082md33)

A Timewatch Guide 03:00 TUE (b082md33)

A Timewatch Guide 20:00 WED (b06z59g7)

Bird on a Wire 23:00 FRI (b00w009s)

Books That Made Britain 19:30 SUN (b0801p2b)

British Art at War: Bomberg, Sickert and Nash 02:00 WED (b04jvlk2)

Canals: The Making of a Nation 19:00 SUN (b06828hz)

Dan Cruickshank's Adventures in Architecture 00:55 MON (b009z619)

Dangerous Earth 20:00 THU (b0824cw7)

Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency 20:00 TUE (b014b7d2)

Elegance and Decadence: The Age of the Regency 01:00 TUE (b014b7d2)

Elvis: That's Alright Mama 60 Years On 22:55 SAT (b04c3l7g)

Elvis: That's Alright Mama 60 Years On 02:05 SAT (b04c3l7g)

Entertaining the Troops 22:00 WED (b014v51p)

Frank Skinner on George Formby 21:00 WED (b016fpz0)

Grand Tours of Scotland 19:30 MON (b01868hs)

Hive Minds 20:30 THU (b0824cw9)

Horizon 01:25 SUN (b014kj65)

How to Be Bohemian with Victoria Coren Mitchell 23:00 WED (b05ywvtb)

How to Be Bohemian with Victoria Coren Mitchell 03:00 WED (b05ywvtb)

India's Frontier Railways 23:00 TUE (b0555xgw)

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Rock 'n' Roll at the BBC 20:00 MON (b063m6wy)

John Berger: The Art of Looking 22:30 SUN (b082qynq)

Natural World 00:25 SUN (b014hl48)

Nature's Wonderlands: Islands of Evolution 23:25 SUN (b06yjm68)

No Body's Perfect with Rankin and Alison Lapper 21:00 THU (b0824cwc)

No Body's Perfect with Rankin and Alison Lapper 02:35 THU (b0824cwc)

Omnibus 20:45 FRI (b00l9j6s)

Perfect Pianists at the BBC 20:00 SUN (b0729r6r)

Peter York's Hipster Handbook 00:00 WED (b081v950)

Pop Go the Sixties 21:55 FRI (b00cyz6x)

Precision: The Measure of All Things 00:00 TUE (b033664m)

Reggae at the BBC 02:30 FRI (b00ymljd)

Rich Hall's Presidential Grudge Match 21:00 MON (b0828lpl)

Rich Hall's Presidential Grudge Match 01:55 MON (b0828lpl)

Roots, Reggae, Rebellion 22:00 FRI (b0824dd7)

Roots, Reggae, Rebellion 01:25 FRI (b0824dd7)

Sounds of the Sixties 03:05 SAT (b0074qbf)

Storyville 21:00 SUN (b0828kwn)

Storyville 02:25 SUN (b0828kwn)

Storyville 22:30 MON (b076nqjb)

The Code 21:00 SAT (b0824czp)

The Code 22:00 SAT (b0824czr)

The First World War 00:00 MON (b01rp9w7)

The Good Old Days 20:00 FRI (b0824dd5)

The Hidden Art of Islam 00:00 THU (b01dczjj)

The Incredible Human Journey 20:00 SAT (b00kwdgp)

The Incredible Human Journey 23:00 THU (b00kwdgp)

The Secret History of Our Streets 22:00 TUE (b01jt9bv)

The Secret History of Our Streets 01:00 WED (b01jt9bv)

Timeshift 19:00 SAT (b00dzzdc)

Timeshift 02:00 TUE (b037w38s)

Top of the Pops 00:55 SAT (b08200c8)

Top of the Pops 01:30 SAT (b08202lx)

Top of the Pops 19:30 THU (b0824cw5)

Top of the Pops 01:00 THU (b0824cw5)

Top of the Pops 19:30 FRI (b0824dd3)

Top of the Pops 00:50 FRI (b0824dd3)

US Elections 19:00 WED (b082095m)

Wild Burma: Nature's Lost Kingdom 22:00 THU (p01hscjy)

World News Today 19:00 MON (b082094g)

World News Today 19:00 TUE (b082095b)

World News Today 19:00 THU (b082095x)

World News Today 19:00 FRI (b0820965)

World War I at Home 19:30 TUE (b045gjw5)

World War I at Home 19:30 WED (b04gkn55)