B4

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

SATURDAY 20 JUNE 2020

SAT 19:00 This Farming Life (b074b1kl)
Series 1

Episode 4

It's early winter and, although the weather is getting colder and darker, it's a time of year that brings new life on the farms.

In the east of Scotland, Martin's sheds are full of pregnant cows - and there are two expectant mothers he's particularly concerned about.

In central Scotland near Loch Lomond, Anne and Bobby must gather in their remaining sheep from the mountains with very little daylight - and when a heavy mist comes down, Anne worries for Bobby's safety on his trial bike.

On the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, the weather is fierce when the vet arrives to do an annual blood test on Sandy's Highland cattle in a force 11 storm.

On the mainland in the west, Sybil nearly gets carried away when she and George head to market to buy rams to breed with their ewes.

Martin's cows go into labour - and while one birth goes well, the other goes badly wrong and Martin is forced to take drastic measures to save the calf's life.

SAT 20:00 Earth's Natural Wonders (b09rbtsb)
Series 2

Surviving the Extreme

Earth's Natural Wonders are parts of the natural world that nature has carved on such a scale, that they beggar belief - vast mountain ranges, impenetrable rainforests and dazzling tropical islands. Places where nature is visible at its most primal, most powerful, and most extraordinarily beautiful. Survival for human beings can be an incredible challenge.

The Natural Wonders are epic in scale: often rugged, possessing an awe-inspiring beauty. But the factors that create these stunning landscapes, can also present enormous challenges for the people who call them home. The extremes of nature encountered in many of Earth's natural wonders, can threaten human survival, or make human lives extraordinarily demanding. Yet human beings have devised remarkable ways to survive and even thrive in many of these places. Now these Natural Wonders are undergo all sorts of changes, and human survival techniques must also evolve

In the high Himalaya, yak-herder Thokmay Lowa and his small group steer his herd through one of the region's extreme mountain passes. For several months of the year, these herders live isolated lives away from their families, before returning in spring to the summer pastures. Their journey is fraught with hazards, as the terrain they must cross is highly treacherous. With baby yaks being born later than usual this year, some are only a day old when they must tackle the pass.

In the Canadian Arctic, traditional Inuit communities still forage for much of their food. 63-year-old Minnie Nappaaluk and her granddaughter Eva embark on one of the most hazardous expeditions for food - the mussel harvest. Winters here are so extreme the surface of the sea freezes, and when the spring tides go out, the sea ice is suspended above the seabed. Just as Inuit women have done for centuries, Minnie and Eva cut a hole through the sea ice and venture below this shifting, dangerous ice-layer to collect their bounty.

Some Natural Wonders are threatened as never before - nowhere more so than the Brazilian Amazon. In the Mato Grosso, as a result of deforestation, the region's microclimate has changed. Now fires rage out of control in the dry season. Not only do these destroy wild habitats - they also threaten the very existence of the indigenous peoples still living traditional lives in the rainforest. Now, one project aims to tackle these blazes by teaching indigenous peoples how to effectively fight the fires. It's a daunting and dangerous task, but the continuance of their traditional way of life depends upon it.

In the blistering Australian Outback, cattle ranching requires a lot of space. The only way to efficiently round up the herds on these vast farms is through the use of helicopter cowboys like Chris Weyand. It's a dangerous job - he must fly low and slowly over difficult terrain, and every year some pilots are killed. But thanks to the efforts of people like Chris, farming on this scale in the Outback is now possible.

Deep in the Siberian interior, survival is tough. But climate change is opening up a new niche for the human inhabitants of this region - mammoth tusk collection. The tusks have been locked in the Siberian Permafrost for thousands of years, but as the climate changes and the permafrost starts to melt more each summer, it is giving up this unexpected bounty. These tusks are made of ivory, and can sell for thousands of dollars. It is a controversial activity - conservationists argue that it encourages the ivory trade. But for now at least this is a legal pursuit.

SAT 21:00 The Young Montalbano (b03bltm0)
Series 1

Back to Basics

Just as he's starting to settle into his new job, Montalbano is surprised, and somewhat irked, by the unexpected arrival of the new deputy inspector Mimi' Augello. The two soon find that their personalities are as alike as chalk and cheese. Together, they investigate the kidnapping of a young child and make the acquaintance of beautiful Genoese architect Livia Burlando. A rivalry immediately ensues for the girl's attentions.

In Italian with English subtitles.

SAT 22:50 Philomena (b03ttndm)
Drama recounting the true story of Philomena Lee, a Catholic woman who gives birth out of wedlock in 1950s Ireland. Abandoned by her family, she is forced to live in an abbey, where the nuns sell her infant child for adoption. Philomena keeps her secret for 50 years before eventually enlisting the help of jaded journalist Martin Sixsmith in tracking down her estranged son.

SAT 00:20 Top of the Pops (m000k48t)
Bruno Brookes presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 26 October 1989 and featuring Chris Rea, Adeva and Living in a Box.

SAT 00:50 Top of the Pops (m000k48w)
Anthea Turner and Andy Crane present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 2 November 1989 and featuring Deborah Harry, Phil Collins and Martika.

SAT 01:20 This Farming Life (b074b1kl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

SAT 02:20 Earth's Natural Wonders (b09rbtsb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

SUNDAY 21 JUNE 2020

SUN 19:00 Who Do You Think You Are? (m0007fjj)
Series 16

Jack and Michael Whitehall

In a first for the series, father-and-son comedy double-act Jack and Michael Whitehall join forces to investigate their family tree. They discover the tragedy that left Jack’s great grandfather (Michael’s grandfather) an orphan. And tracing their line back to Wales in the 1830s, they find out about a Tory ancestor's role in opposing the Chartist movement for wider voting rights.

SUN 20:00 Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart (p03q49v7)
Highlanders

The final part of the landmark wildlife series narrated by Ewan McGregor.

The Highlands may appear a wild and unforgiving place, but for millennia people have lived alongside wild animals here, sharing the same weather, seasons and landscapes.

For many years, the impact of humans on the landscape has been damaging, with forests cut down, seas warming and many iconic species like the wolf and bear vanishing.

But now things are changing and people are working to put back what we've lost. Humans are finding ways of protecting the Highlands' precious ospreys, eagles, red kites, seabirds and dolphins. Never before has so much work been done to restore the wild Highlands to its full glory.

SUN 21:00 Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare (p089zf8r)
Hamlet

Sent by the ghost of his father to avenge his brutal death, Hamlet’s mission to expose the truth is a perilous journey of madness, murder and lost love. What will ultimately become of a young man sent to kill?

Paapa Essiedu plays Hamlet in Simon Godwin’s critically acclaimed 2016 Royal Shakespeare Company production.

SUN 00:00 Windrush: Movement of the People (m0002pkp)
Phoenix Dance Theatre performs Sharon Watson’s Windrush: Movement of the People, a contemporary dance work exploring the narrative of the arrival of SS Empire Windrush that brought the first Caribbean migrants to the UK.

The work is a lively celebration of the rise of multicultural Britain and features an uplifting soundtrack, which draws on calypso, jazz, gospel and reggae, with original music created by Christella Litras. Set and costume design is by Eleanor Bull.

Commended by audiences and critics since its premiere at Leeds Playhouse in 2018, Phoenix Dance Theatre’s production has toured UK venues to sold-out auditoriums and festivals. This production was supported by The Space and was filmed at Production Park in December 2018.

SUN 00:55 A Very British Renaissance (b0406bmk)
Whose Renaissance?

Art historian Dr James Fox continues his exploration of a Renaissance that he believes was as rich and as significant in Britain as it was in Italy and Europe. He tells the story of the painters, poets, playwrights, composers, inventors, craftsmen and scientists who revolutionised the way we saw the world.

In the final episode, he explores how the tension between two cultures - one courtly, classical and European, the other home-grown, innovative and vital - helped bring the country to civil war.

SUN 01:55 EastEnders 2009 (b009pd3b)
Frank has the last laugh as Peggy and Pat clash over his funeral arrangements. But which faces from the past will make it to pay their last respects?

The classic episodes that marked Whitney’s arrival to E20. From arguments with Bianca, friendships with the Brannings and her increasingly tumultuous love life that all began back in 2008 – re-live her story from the start.

SUN 02:25 EastEnders 2009 (b009pdx9)
Out on the street, Bianca struggles to find a home for her kids. Meanwhile, Pat is suspicious about the motives of some of her funeral guests and Chelsea's quest reaches an unexpected conclusion.

SUN 02:55 EastEnders 2009 (b009pfy1)
Bianca is pushed to extremes trying to protect her kids. And as Frank's family gather to hear his final wishes, Pat makes a life changing decision.

MONDAY 22 JUNE 2020

MON 19:00 Civilisations Stories (b0b19v6v)
Series 1

The Remains of Slavery

Civilisations 'The Remains of Slavery' is presented by Bristol's Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers - whose ancestors were taken as slaves from west Africa to the Caribbean. Like the landmark series which has been running on BBC2, the history is told through objects and architecture - but in this West Country addition, they are all found in and around Bath and Bristol. The documentary reveals that while Bristol was responsible for the business end of the slave trade, Georgian Bath boomed on the back of the profits made from it. Throughout the programme we visit landmark sites, including Dyrham Park, home to the Blackamoor statues, the Saltford Mill, where guinea kettles were made and exchanged for slaves, the Henbury slave grave, Beckford Tower and many more. Presenter Miles Chambers talks with experts of the West Country slave trade and explores the artefacts that keep the history alive.

MON 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000kbty)
Series 2

Western Expanse

Bob Ross creates another masterpiece of powerful clouds, rolling hills and winding river waters using only his special painting knife.

MON 20:00 Black and British: A Forgotten History (b083bv43)
Freedom

In the second part of his four-part series, historian David Olusoga explores the business of slavery and remembers the black sailors who fought for Britain at Trafalgar.

He also celebrates a Georgian boxing superstar and the men and women who crossed continents in pursuit of freedom.

MON 21:00 Art of Persia (m000kbnz)
Series 1

Episode 2

Broadcaster and journalist Samira Ahmed takes viewers on a remarkable journey to places rarely seen, as she travels through Iran, telling the story of a complex and fascinating people, their culture and their history.

Samira gives a remarkable account of the clash between two powerful civilisations and explains how Iran preserved its distinctive language and culture despite the Arab conquest of Persia in AD651. From Zoroastrian fire temples to the fabled bazaars of Aladdin and an ancient magical storybook that became Iran’s national myth, this second episode in the series reveals how the country has proudly held onto its Persian identity, art and literature to this day.

MON 22:00 Storyville (b071gr5h)
The Black Panthers

The first feature-length documentary to explore the Black Panther party, its culture and political awakening for black people. Master documentarian Stanley Nelson weaves a treasure of rare archival footage with the voices of the people who were there - police, FBI informants, journalists, white supporters and detractors, and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party and those who left it. An essential history, it is a vibrant chronicle of this pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.

Change was coming to America and the faultlines were no longer ignorable - cities were burning, Vietnam was exploding and disputes raged over equality and civil rights. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would, for a short time, put itself at the vanguard of a revolutionary culture that sought to drastically transform the system. This fascinating documentary tracks its rise and the painful lessons wrought when a movement derails.

MON 23:45 Seven Ages of Britain (b00r9qv5)
Age of Revolution

In the 17th century, the people of Britain learned to question everything. The result was the Civil War, in which everyone, including artists, had to take sides. Out of it came a reinvented monarchy, a scientific revolution and, ultimately, the great cathedral of St Paul's. Highlights include the courtly portraits of Rubens, Van Dyck and Peter Lely, and the fabulous creations of the Royal Society.

The programme includes: Charles I's execution shirt and painting of Charles with his head sewn back on (Museum of London); Rubens's Apotheosis of James I (Banqueting House); Van Dyck portraits (Tate Britain); Puritan tracts; Civil War re-enactment; Verney family tomb (Claydon House); Thomason Collection (British Library); portraits of Cromwell (National Portrait Gallery); Grinling Gibbons's golden statue of Charles I (Royal Hospital Chelsea); Peter Lely's Windsor Beauties (Hampton Court); Royal Observatory (Greenwich); Hooke's microscope and Micrographia (Science Museum); Wren's plan for London; and St Paul's Cathedral.

MON 00:45 The Road to Palmyra (b0b2gjpl)
Documentary which follows historian Dan Cruickshank and photographer Don McCullin into the heart of war-torn Syria, on a dangerous mission to document the cultural destruction wrought by so-called Islamic State, and understand what it means to the people of the nation.

Their final destination is the ancient city of Palmyra, to find out what remains of the ruins. For Dan and Don, these stones represent the very soul of Syria, and for Syrians and the world, the debate about what to do with them is about to begin. For both men, it is a return journey to a place with which they have long been obsessed. But to get there, they have to travel through a country that is still in the grip of war.

MON 01:45 The Joy of Painting (m000kbty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

MON 02:15 Art of Persia (m000kbnz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

TUESDAY 23 JUNE 2020

TUE 19:00 Books That Made Britain (b0801nh5)
East Anglia: The Scene of the Crime

PD James, Nicci French and many other top crime writers have used East Anglia as a setting for their books. Martha Kearney investigates why this unique landscape has caught the imagination of so many authors.

TUE 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000kbv1)
Series 2

Blaze of Colour

An evening sky sets, giving way to a perfect glow - watch a black canvas burst into life under the magic brushes of Bob Ross.

TUE 20:00 Hidden Killers (b03lyv9x)
The Edwardian Home

The dawn of the 20th century and the reign of a new king ushered in an era of fresh inventions and innovations that transformed the way we lived. Electricity, refrigeration and a whole host of different materials promised to make life at home brighter, easier and more convenient. But a lack of understanding of the potential hazards meant that they frequently led to terrible accidents, horrendous injuries and even death.

Dr Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to an age when asbestos socks and radioactive toothpaste were welcomed into British homes. She reveals how their lethal qualities were discovered and why some of us are still living with the consequences of our Edwardian forebears' enthusiasm for untried and untested products.

TUE 21:00 Ancient Invisible Cities (b0bk67wc)
Series 1

Athens

Michael Scott uses the latest 3D-scanning technology to reveal the historical secrets of ancient Athens and tell the story of how this remarkable city created the world's first democracy two and a half thousand years ago. He begins his journey on the Acropolis, where, in the late 6th century BC, the people of Athens overthrew a tyrant and set up the world's first democracy. There, he investigates a mysterious, asymmetrical temple called the Erechtheion that sits in the shadow of the world famous Parthenon. Decoding the stories from ancient Greek mythology that were built into this temple, he reveals it to be one of the most important buildings of Ancient Athens.
Michael journeys into the landscape surrounding Athens, to the area of Laurion, 50 miles to the south of the city. He explores inside one of the ancient silver mines that dot this landscape, where an army of slaves once worked in silver production, toiling inside the labyrinth of tunnels, digging silver ore by hand for the good of the city above. He discovers a network of tunnels and galleries barely high enough to crawl through. He reveals that here, in the 480s, the miners hit upon a seam of silver that proved a massive boost to Athens's new democracy. He discovers how democratic Athenians voted on what to do with this money and instead of distributing it among the citizens, decided to invest it in a fleet of warships just in time to tackle a massive invasion force from Persia.
Michael takes a ferry to the island of Salamis, to investigate a harbour where the Greek fleet - including the new Athenian warships - gathered to prepare to take on the Persians. The battle that followed, the Battle of Salamis is considered by many scholars to be one of the most important battles of the Ancient world. Athens and its allies faced a force said to be three times their size and had Athens been defeated, its young, precarious democracy could have been lost to history. He tells the story of the battle and discusses new archaeological remains that date from that time.

TUE 22:00 Against the Law (p057nmkt)
2017 sees the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalised homosexual acts in England and Wales between adult males, in private. While it would take several decades before homosexuals would reach anything like full equality in this country, this legislation marks the beginning of this journey.

But the dramatic events that led to this Act took place over ten years before and are at the heart of Against the Law, a powerful factual drama starring Daniel Mays and Mark Gatiss. Mays plays Peter Wildeblood, a thoughtful and private gay journalist whose lover, under pressure from the authorities, turned Queen's evidence against him in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s - the infamous Montagu Trial. Wildeblood and his friends, Lord Montagu and Michael Pitt-Rivers, were found guilty of homosexual offences and jailed. But the public thought the trial unfair and forced a reluctant government to set up a committee to investigate whether homosexuality should be legalised. The committee was led by Sir John Wolfenden. With his career in tatters and his private life painfully exposed, Peter Wildeblood began his sentence a broken man, but he emerged from Wormwood Scrubs a year later determined to do all he could to change the way these draconian laws against homosexuality impacted the lives of men like him. He was the only openly gay man to testify before the Wolfenden committee about the brutal reality of being gay in this country at that time. In 1957 the committee recommended that the laws be changed. It would take a further ten years before these recommendations became law.

Woven through this powerful drama is testimony from a chorus of men who lived through those dark days, when homosexuals were routinely imprisoned or forced to undergo chemical aversion therapy in an attempt to cure them of their 'condition'. There is also testimony from a retired police officer whose job it was to enforce these laws and a former psychiatric nurse who administered the so-called cures. All these accounts amplify the themes of the drama and help to immerse us in the reality of a dark chapter in our recent past, a past still within the reach of living memory.

TUE 23:25 Prejudice and Pride: The People's History of LGBTQ Britain (p0578x02)
Series 1

Episode 1

Every so often the world changes beyond your wildest dreams. In 1967, the Sexual Offences Act partially decriminalised homosexuality, offering lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people the opportunity to start living openly for the first time.

Presented by Stephen K Amos and Susan Calman, this unique series features LGBTQ people from across the UK as they share the objects that have helped define their lives during 50 transformative years.

In episode one, these crowdsourced treasures range from a rare collection of the first openly gay magazine (featuring a virtually unknown young singer called David Bowie) to letters from worried parents trying to understand their newly 'out' daughters and sons.

Over 20 incredible years, 1967-1987, we meet the fearless revolutionaries of the Gay Liberation Front, a transgender pioneer who almost caused a strike and a woman who faced losing her children when she came out as a lesbian. By the early 1980s, LGBTQ people were starting to build a community, which would be tested to the limit when Aids loomed.

This is the story of ordinary people in extraordinary times - told through their cherished possessions - charting the joys and heartbreaks of just being true to yourself.

Prejudice and Pride: The People's History of LGBTQ Britain is part of Gay Britannia, a season of programming produced in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.

TUE 00:25 Brighton: 50 Years of Gay (m0007f44)
2017 marked the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, which legalised male homosexuality. Broadcaster and gay rights activist Simon Fanshawe examines this landmark change in the law and reveals the extraordinary story of the fight for equality through the colourful history of his hometown of Brighton.

TUE 00:55 Cleopatra and Me: In Search of a Lost Queen (m0004vy4)
Was Cleopatra a seductress or a great politician?

Shakespeare scholar Dr Islam Issa grew up in Birmingham with his Egyptian-born parents. As a child he was taught Cleopatra was a great politician, who turned her capital, Alexandria, into a global seat of learning and made Egypt one of the most powerful countries on the planet. But as a teenager, he realised she had a very different reputation in Britain - either a tragic Shakespearian heroine or a seductress, portrayed by screen sirens like Elizabeth Taylor.

In this programme, Dr Issa sets out to discover the story behind these two, very different, Cleopatras.

TUE 01:25 Books That Made Britain (b0801nh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

TUE 01:55 The Joy of Painting (m000kbv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

TUE 02:25 Ancient Invisible Cities (b0bk67wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 24 JUNE 2020

WED 19:00 Books That Made Britain (b0801pg0)
Bristol Sin City

Book lover and Radio 1 presenter Gemma Cairney is joined by three authors to explore Bristol, the city that inspired their writing. Books include Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, Melvin Burgess's Junk, Where's My Money by Mike Manson and A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory - well-known works of fiction based on the city's seafaring, slave-trading and contraband past.

WED 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000kbnr)
Series 2

Winter Cabin

In this 30-minute masterclass, Bob Ross gently places a magical little wooden shanty upon a bed of soft snow in the middle of a cold, wintry forest.

WED 20:00 Genius of the Ancient World (b064jf28)
Buddha

Historian Bettany Hughes embarks on an expedition to India, Greece and China on the trail of three giants of ancient philosophy: Buddha, Socrates and Confucius. All three physically travelled great distances philosophising as they went and drawing conclusions from their journeys. With Bettany as our guide, she gets under the skin of these three great minds and shines a light on the overlooked significance of the 5th century BC in shaping modern thought across the world. In this first episode, Bettany investigates the revolutionary ideas of the Buddha.

WED 21:00 Storyville (m000kbnw)
Scandalous! The Tabloid that Changed America

Sex! Gossip! Scandal! Over the course of 60 years, the National Enquirer became the most infamous tabloid in America, pumping out salacious stories, stretching the limits of journalism, blurring the lines between truth and fiction and changing the cultural landscape forever.

With outrageous anecdotes and biting wit, Scandalous traces the newspaper’s aggressive and cut-throat style of journalism across some of the biggest stories of our times - the deaths of Elvis and Princess Diana, the OJ Simpson trial and the Clinton impeachment saga. To satiate their readers’ obsession with the rich and famous, the newspaper poached veteran reporters from the British tabloid scene and allegedly used payoffs and blackmail to get its scoops.

Using rare archive footage, Scandalous is the story of how one American tabloid newspaper’s clear-sighted grasp of its readers’ darkest curiosities garnered massive profits, influence in powerful places and a central role in Trump's presidency.

WED 22:35 Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain with Simon Sebag Montefiore (b06ssjfk)
Nation

Simon explores Spain's golden age under Philip II through to the Spanish Civil War and dictatorship under Franco, from which Spain has emerged as a modern democratic monarchy.

WED 23:35 Prejudice and Pride: The People's History of LGBTQ Britain (b08zn99q)
Series 1

Episode 2

Every so often the world changes beyond your wildest dreams. In 1967 the Sexual Offences Act partially decriminalised homosexuality, offering lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people the opportunity to start living openly for the first time.

Presented by Stephen K Amos and Susan Calman, this unique series features LGBTQ people from across the UK as they share the objects that helped define their lives during 50 transformative years.

In episode two, these crowdsourced artefacts include a copy of the controversial schoolbook Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin, naval discharge papers and even a pair of Ugg boots.

We meet the nun-impersonating freedom fighters the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the writer behind TV's steamiest lesbian kiss and a Muslim man who set up an LGBT support group for Southeast Asians.

Ranging from 1987 to 2017, this was an era when public acceptance of homosexuality overtook the government's - a time when many celebrities came out and stood up for LGBTQ rights. But it is also the story of ordinary people in extraordinary times - told through their treasured possessions - charting the joys and heartbreaks of just being true to yourself.

Prejudice and Pride: The People's History of LGBTQ Britain is part of Gay Britannia, a season of programming produced in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act.

WED 00:35 Books That Made Britain (b0801pg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

WED 01:05 The Joy of Painting (m000kbnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

WED 01:35 Pride and Prejudice (b0074rny)
Episode 4

Rejected by Elizabeth, Darcy returns to Rosings Park and writes to her, revealing the truth about Wickham's character.

WED 02:30 Genius of the Ancient World (b064jf28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

THURSDAY 25 JUNE 2020

THU 19:00 Books That Made Britain (b0801pf9)
Cornish Coast

Chris Packham travels the length of the stunning Cornish coastline to tell the story behind five classic books set there, including Poldark and Daphne Du Maurier's Frenchman's Creek.

THU 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000kbns)
Series 2

Secluded Lake

With brush in hand, Bob Ross leads you on a summertime nature walk, uncovering the beauty of leafy trees and a pond.

THU 20:00 Tess of the D'Urbervilles (b00dn8kb)
Episode 2

Second in the four-part drama series based on the novel by Thomas Hardy. Tess returns home in confusion and shame after being seduced by her manipulative 'cousin' Alec D'Urberville.

Her baby, whom she christens Sorrow, is a sickly child, but Tess finds work on a dairy farm where she meets the handsome Angel Clare again. Can he offer her the love and deliverance she craves?

THU 21:00 Boy George's 1970s: Save Me from Suburbia (b07z7y5v)
British popstar Boy George recalls, revisits and assesses how the 1970s moulded the person and artist he has become. This is his musical, social and sexual coming of age, when he discovered the power of his own sexuality before setting about turning that persona into a popstar. Set against a backdrop of social discord, disenfranchisement and sexual repression, the 70s was also conversely the decade that revelled in colour and creative chaos, giving the world glam rock, disco and punk, and the young George O'Dowd was at the birth of them all. The documentary includes contributions from contemporaries like Martin Degville (Sigue Sigue Sputnik), Andy Polaris (Animal Nightlife), DJ Princess Julia and popstar Marilyn.

Boy George says: 'I think of the 70s as being this glorious decade where I discovered who I was and discovered all these amazing things - punk rock, electro music, fashion, all of that. And yeah of course there was that dark side to the 70s, the rubbish, the strikes, the poverty, and I'd get chased and confronted for the way I looked. But I was a teenager. I didn't have any time for misery. I was just having a great time with my friends.'.

THU 22:00 Glastonbury (b0079290)
2020

Julien Temple's Glastonbury

Broadcaster and film fan Edith Bowman introduces Julien Temple's acclaimed film celebrating and documenting the history of the Glastonbury Festival. Featuring footage captured from 35 years of the festival, including performances by David Bowie, Radiohead, Morrissey, Coldplay amongst many others, the film brilliantly captures the essence of this unique three-day rollercoaster ride of music, madness and mud! It's the next best thing to being there!

THU 00:15 Art of Persia (m000kbnz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]

THU 01:15 Books That Made Britain (b0801pf9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

THU 01:45 The Joy of Painting (m000kbns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

THU 02:15 Boy George's 1970s: Save Me from Suburbia (b07z7y5v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

FRIDAY 26 JUNE 2020

FRI 19:00 Opera Italia (b00sm18t)
Viva Verdi

Three-part series tracing the history of Italian opera presented by Antonio Pappano, conductor and music director at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The series features sumptuous music, stunning Italian locations and some of the biggest names in opera as contributors.

The second episode focuses on Verdi, whose operas are central to Pappano's conducting repertoire and the backbone of the international opera scene. It shows how Verdi's music was influenced by composers such as Bellini and particularly Donizetti, whose gothic masterpiece Lucia di Lammermoor is explored with the help of soprano Diana Damrau.

Pappano looks at six of Verdi's most famous works - Nabucco, Rigoletto, Don Carlo, Otello, Falstaff and La Traviata, the last of which Pappano rehearses and conducts at the Royal Opera House with the starry cast of Renee Fleming, Joseph Calleja and Thomas Hampson.

Pappano travels to Le Roncole in northern Italy where Verdi was born amidst a turbulent political environment, and politics became a major influence on Verdi's operas in later life. He conducts Va Pensiero from Nabucco at a vast open-air concert in Naples, a chorus which was to become a powerful symbol of political unity for the Italian people.

FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000kbp4)
Nicky Campbell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 9 November 1989 and featuring Janet Jackson, Electribe 101 and Lisa Stansfield.

FRI 20:30 Kermode and Mayo’s Home Entertainment Service (m000kbp6)
Series 1

Episode 6

Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo help viewers navigate the wonderful, yet confusing, world of 21st-century home entertainment.

Alongside reviews of the latest films and series available to watch at home, we’ll also hear what the nation have been watching, and Simon and Mark will round up the best (and worst) of the rest of streaming culture across movies and premium television.

FRI 21:00 Glastonbury (b012zntv)
2011

Elbow

Taking to the Pyramid Stage in the year of the release of their fifth album Build A Rocket Boys! and still flush with the Mercury Prize-winning success of 2008’s The Seldom Seen Kid, Elbow give a stunning celebration of One Day Like This as the sun sets over Glastonbury Tor.

FRI 22:00 Glastonbury (m000kbpb)
2003

Arthur Lee and Love: Forever Changes

Arthur Lee and Love's show on the Other Stage at the 2003 Glastonbury Festival.

FRI 23:00 Glastonbury (m000kbpd)
2020

Glastonbury Backstage Acoustics

The first of three compilations of the many impromptu, stripped-down performances that have graced the BBC Two presentation tent since coverage began back in 1997. Pop stars, legendary acts and breakthrough artists have all been featured over the years, giving audiences the chance to see artists from stages the cameras don’t always cover.

FRI 23:30 Glastonbury (m000kbpg)
2008

Jay-Z

Another chance to watch Jay-Z’s legendary headline slot from Glastonbury 2008. Opening with a tongue-in-cheek performance of Wonderwall, he blew the house down with a set packed full of his best-loved hits, including 99 Problems and Show Me What You Got.

FRI 00:40 The Summer of Love: How Hippies Changed the World (b08tb97c)
Series 1

Episode 1

The first episode looks at how ideas, music and lifestyles from Asia, Europe and the American left became entwined in California. It traces the roots of the hippies back to a 19th-century German sect of wandering naturalists called Lebensreform, who brought their freethinking ideas about nature to California after the Second World War. There, they merged with a growing interest in eastern mystical concepts of human nature imported to America by maverick British thinkers like Aleister Crowley and Aldous Huxley. Add to this mix a wonder drug called LSD, first developed by the CIA, and a wave of student activists and anti-war protesters agitating for revolution, and you have the astonishing story of how these forces came together to give birth to the Summer of Love in San Francisco, 1967.

FRI 01:40 Country Music by Ken Burns (m000c5yc)
Series 1

Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way? (1973-1983)

The 1970s and early 1980s saw country music entering a vibrant era of new voices and attitudes. Dolly Parton made the crossover to mainstream success and became the most famous woman in country music. In 1980 she achieved an entirely new level of national stardom when she joined Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in the hit Hollywood movie Nine to Five.

While George Jones and Tammy Wynette seemed to live out their songs’ tragic lyrics, Hank Williams Jr emerged from his father’s shadow. He performed Hank Williams Sr’s music when he was just eight years old, debuted on the Opry at the age of 11 singing Lovesick Blues and recorded an album of his father’s hits at 14. But as soon as he turned 18, he dropped his mother as a manager.

FRI 02:30 Opera Italia (b00sm18t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 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 Renaissance 00:55 SUN (b0406bmk)

Against the Law 22:00 TUE (p057nmkt)

Ancient Invisible Cities 21:00 TUE (b0bk67wc)

Ancient Invisible Cities 02:25 TUE (b0bk67wc)

Art of Persia 21:00 MON (m000kbnz)

Art of Persia 02:15 MON (m000kbnz)

Art of Persia 00:15 THU (m000kbnz)

Black and British: A Forgotten History 20:00 MON (b083bv43)

Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain with Simon Sebag Montefiore 22:35 WED (b06ssjfk)

Books That Made Britain 19:00 TUE (b0801nh5)

Books That Made Britain 01:25 TUE (b0801nh5)

Books That Made Britain 19:00 WED (b0801pg0)

Books That Made Britain 00:35 WED (b0801pg0)

Books That Made Britain 19:00 THU (b0801pf9)

Books That Made Britain 01:15 THU (b0801pf9)

Boy George's 1970s: Save Me from Suburbia 21:00 THU (b07z7y5v)

Boy George's 1970s: Save Me from Suburbia 02:15 THU (b07z7y5v)

Brighton: 50 Years of Gay 00:25 TUE (m0007f44)

Civilisations Stories 19:00 MON (b0b19v6v)

Cleopatra and Me: In Search of a Lost Queen 00:55 TUE (m0004vy4)

Country Music by Ken Burns 01:40 FRI (m000c5yc)

Culture in Quarantine: Shakespeare 21:00 SUN (p089zf8r)

Earth's Natural Wonders 20:00 SAT (b09rbtsb)

Earth's Natural Wonders 02:20 SAT (b09rbtsb)

EastEnders 2009 01:55 SUN (b009pd3b)

EastEnders 2009 02:25 SUN (b009pdx9)

EastEnders 2009 02:55 SUN (b009pfy1)

Genius of the Ancient World 20:00 WED (b064jf28)

Genius of the Ancient World 02:30 WED (b064jf28)

Glastonbury 22:00 THU (b0079290)

Glastonbury 21:00 FRI (b012zntv)

Glastonbury 22:00 FRI (m000kbpb)

Glastonbury 23:00 FRI (m000kbpd)

Glastonbury 23:30 FRI (m000kbpg)

Hidden Killers 20:00 TUE (b03lyv9x)

Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart 20:00 SUN (p03q49v7)

Kermode and Mayo’s Home Entertainment Service 20:30 FRI (m000kbp6)

Opera Italia 19:00 FRI (b00sm18t)

Opera Italia 02:30 FRI (b00sm18t)

Philomena 22:50 SAT (b03ttndm)

Prejudice and Pride: The People's History of LGBTQ Britain 23:25 TUE (p0578x02)

Prejudice and Pride: The People's History of LGBTQ Britain 23:35 WED (b08zn99q)

Pride and Prejudice 01:35 WED (b0074rny)

Seven Ages of Britain 23:45 MON (b00r9qv5)

Storyville 22:00 MON (b071gr5h)

Storyville 21:00 WED (m000kbnw)

Tess of the D'Urbervilles 20:00 THU (b00dn8kb)

The Joy of Painting 19:30 MON (m000kbty)

The Joy of Painting 01:45 MON (m000kbty)

The Joy of Painting 19:30 TUE (m000kbv1)

The Joy of Painting 01:55 TUE (m000kbv1)

The Joy of Painting 19:30 WED (m000kbnr)

The Joy of Painting 01:05 WED (m000kbnr)

The Joy of Painting 19:30 THU (m000kbns)

The Joy of Painting 01:45 THU (m000kbns)

The Road to Palmyra 00:45 MON (b0b2gjpl)

The Summer of Love: How Hippies Changed the World 00:40 FRI (b08tb97c)

The Young Montalbano 21:00 SAT (b03bltm0)

This Farming Life 19:00 SAT (b074b1kl)

This Farming Life 01:20 SAT (b074b1kl)

Top of the Pops 00:20 SAT (m000k48t)

Top of the Pops 00:50 SAT (m000k48w)

Top of the Pops 20:00 FRI (m000kbp4)

Who Do You Think You Are? 19:00 SUN (m0007fjj)

Windrush: Movement of the People 00:00 SUN (m0002pkp)