Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain continues with the famous steeplejack investigating one of the greatest feats of royal engineering - the constuction of the great chain of castles on the coast of north Wales. Travelling to Harlech, Caernarfon and Beaumaris, Fred reveals the building techniques and revolutionary defensive features that helped Edward I subdue the rebellious Welsh. Fred also charts the achievements of the king's architect Master James of St Georges, a Frenchman who revolutionised castle design in England.
American painter Bob Ross offers soothing words of encouragement to viewers and painting hobbyists in an enormously popular series that has captivated audiences worldwide since 1982. Ross is a cult figure, with nearly two million Facebook followers and 3,000 instructors globally. His soothing, nurturing personality is therapy for the weary, and his respect for nature and wildlife helps heighten environmental awareness.
In this series, Ross demonstrates his unique painting technique, which eliminates the need for each layer of paint to dry. In real time, he creates tranquil scenes taken from nature, including his trademark ‘happy’ clouds, cascading waterfalls, snow-covered forests, serene lakes and distant mountain summits.
Many of Bob’s faithful viewers are not painters at all. They are relaxing and unwinding with Bob’s gentle manner and encouraging words, captivated by the magic taking place on the canvas.
Bob Ross creates another work of art in his series of 30-minute masterpieces, a warm summer idyll complete with a clear blue sky, shady trees and the perfect spot for a swim.
Classic political sitcom. Jim Hacker considers cancelling the Trident programme after discovering some interesting facts about the UK's defence system.
Hacker prepares to make his first broadcast as prime minister, announcing his grand new defence policy, but finds it is not so easy to speak on camera.
In the first episode of this series charting the irresistible rise and dramatic downfall of Margaret Thatcher, her inner circle reveals how Margaret Thatcher manages to overcome her outsider status to become a prominent political figure in Britain. After a controversial policy has the press label her the 'Milk-snatcher' her political future is in jeopardy but she survives when prime minister Edward Heath decides not to sack her.
Dismayed by his stewardship of the country in the early 1970s Mrs Thatcher challenges Heath for leadership of the Conservatives. As a woman from a modest social background she appears unlike any of her colleagues but with the help of canny political operators she achieves the apparently impossible and defeats Heath and the party elite who backed him.
Those closest to her at the time describe how as new leader of the Conservatives she begins to support controversial policies that will shake-up the economic and political settlement that has prevailed in Britain since the second world war. She promotes free market ideas, transforming the economy and reducing trade union power.
She also adopts a new political persona taking on the mantle of the 'Iron Lady' given to her by the Soviet press and seeks help from advisors who change her image and her voice as she seeks the support of the British electorate.
As the 1979 election approaches Margaret Thatcher embarks on an energetic campaign to unseat Labour and usher in a new era that will bring turbulent change and division and be dominated by the force of her personality and ideas.
Classic early 1980s drama about a Merseyside tarmac gang away on a contract on Teesside. Without the boss there's a chance for some local diversion with the natives while keeping up the spirit of free enterprise, preferably on the firm's time.
WEDNESDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2020
WED 19:00 Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain (b0074n9m)
The Age of the Carpenter
In his mission to uncover the craft and engineering skills that helped to build Britain, Fred looks to the Middle Ages and the transformation of an Englishman's castle into his home.
Carpenters were the great engineers of this time, and Fred visits Stokesey Castle, the oldest moated and fortified house in England, to scale the walls and examine the technique of 'jettying' - making the bedroom a bit bigger. Fred also discovers how massive arched timber roofs were constructed.
At Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire, Fred explores one of the finest examples of timber-framed architecture in England and demonstrates how carpenters of the 15th and 16th century actually constructed these chocolate-box buildings. Fred's journey ends at Harvington Hall near Kidderminster, home to some of finest priest holes in the country, devised by master carpenter Nicholas Owen during the reign of Elizabeth I.
WED 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000j44x)
Series 1
Oval Barn
American painter Bob Ross offers soothing words of encouragement to viewers and painting hobbyists in an enormously popular series that has captivated audiences worldwide since 1982. Ross is a cult figure, with nearly two million Facebook followers and 3,000 instructors globally. His soothing, nurturing personality is therapy for the weary, and his respect for nature and wildlife helps heighten environmental awareness.
In this series, Ross demonstrates his unique painting technique, which eliminates the need for each layer of paint to dry. In real time, he creates tranquil scenes taken from nature, including his trademark ‘happy’ clouds, cascading waterfalls, snow-covered forests, serene lakes and distant mountain summits.
Many of Bob’s faithful viewers are not painters at all. They are relaxing and unwinding with Bob’s gentle manner and encouraging words, captivated by the magic taking place on the canvas.
In this segment from the series, Bob paints a happy little winterscape in the shape of an oval, complete with an inviting, cozy barn and lacy bushes.
WED 20:00 New York: America's Busiest City (b07w10gz)
Episode 3
The final part of this three-part series, exploring what it is like to live in America's biggest and busiest city. Anita Rani, Ade Adepitan, Ant Anstead and Dan Snow are in New York. From their base in Central Park, they reveal the hidden systems and organisational miracles that keep the world's busiest urban park clean and green. They meet the behind-the-scenes team who look after all 843 acres.
Ade heads to Harlem and meets residents who are benefiting and suffering at the hands of gentrification. The price of a townhouse here has gone from $50,000 to over $4 million in 30 years. Ant is at Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan, where an entirely new district is being built on top of a functioning rail depot. It is an innovative building solution to the island's lack of land. Dan Snow is in Coney Island discovering that television, air conditioning and extreme weather almost killed off this historic amusement zone. And we head to a multi-million dollar penthouse apartment in the company of estate agent Paula Del Nunzio, who holds the record for selling New York's most expensive house - a cool $53 million investment.
WED 21:00 True North (m000pdjz)
Series 13
The Disability Paradox
This new film explores fundamental questions about what makes us happy and how we can improve the quality of our life. Non-disabled people often take a sympathetic, even pitying view of those who are disabled. Disability can be associated with failure, dependency and weakness. There is an assumption that disabled people are therefore unhappy, miserable and even depressed. Scientific research, however, suggests that this couldn’t be further from the truth - disabled people consistently report a good or excellent quality of life, despite the perception of non-disabled people that their lives must be difficult and unhappy. It’s called the 'disability paradox'.
38-year-old film-maker Chris Lynch has osteogenesis imperfecta and has used a wheelchair since the age of ten. In this film, he interrogates this research, reflecting on his own experiences and examining if the disability paradox applies to him. On this very personal journey, he meets others living with various impairments to learn more about their experiences - are they as happy as the research suggests? Can you truly be happy if you are disabled?
Chris ultimately wants to look at quality of life and explores how this relates to body image, health and social norms. He meets Professors Havi Carel and Paul Dolan, who explain some of the scientific research about what make us happy and provide some insights into how each of us could improve our own happiness.
WED 22:00 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (b01sd320)
Neither troubled relationships nor childhood polio hold singer-songwriter Ian Dury back from his burning urge to make music on his terms, despite the cost to those close to him.
Stylish biopic of the influential singer-songwriter.
WED 23:50 Artificial Things (p074k74f)
In this award-winning dance film, director Sophie Fiennes collaborates with choreographer Lucy Bennett to reimagine Stopgap Dance Company's stage production Artificial Things.
Filmed on location in a derelict suburban shopping mall and featuring an ensemble of disabled and non-disabled dancers, the piece explores human interdependence, strength and vulnerability.
Dancers Amy Butler, Laura Jones, Chris Pavia, David Willdridge and David Toole, who sadly passed away in October, devised the stage production and appear in the film.
WED 00:15 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.
WED 01:10 The Joy of Painting (m000j44x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 01:40 Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain (b0074n9m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 02:10 True North (m000pdjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2020
THU 19:00 Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain (b0074n9q)
Scottish Style
Fred Dibnah is on a mission to uncover and explain the construction skills that went into the building of Britain, and in this episode he travels to Scotland to demonstrate the engineering and design skills that shaped Scottish baronial style.
At Glamis Castle, Fred demonstrates how a simple sandstone tower house was transformed 400 years ago into a great house with more than a passing resemblance to a fairy-tale castle, with the help of stonemasons from Aberdeen and plasterers from Italy.
The House of Dun near Montrose is one of the finest country houses to be designed by William Adam, and Fred gets stuck into some ornamental plasterwork at a specialist manufacturer's. But it was Adam's son Robert who made such an impact on house building that he had an architectural style named after him, and to demonstrate his achievement Fred travels to Culzean Castle on the Ayrshire coast.
THU 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000j45p)
Series 1
Lakeside Path
American painter Bob Ross offers soothing words of encouragement to viewers and painting hobbyists in an enormously popular series that has captivated audiences worldwide since 1982. Ross is a cult figure, with nearly two million Facebook followers and 3,000 instructors globally. His soothing, nurturing personality is therapy for the weary, and his respect for nature and wildlife helps heighten environmental awareness.
In this series, Ross demonstrates his unique painting technique, which eliminates the need for each layer of paint to dry. In real time, he creates tranquil scenes taken from nature, including his trademark ‘happy’ clouds, cascading waterfalls, snow-covered forests, serene lakes and distant mountain summits.
Many of Bob’s faithful viewers are not painters at all. They are relaxing and unwinding with Bob’s gentle manner and encouraging words, captivated by the magic taking place on the canvas.
In this episode, a misty background of evergreens and a cheerful blue sky give Bob Ross the perfect setting for a lovely birch tree painting.
THU 20:00 Easter Parade (b0078bmx)
Star performer Don Hewes hires Hannah Brown as his new dance partner to prove to his former partner that he can make a star of anyone.
Classic musical, with Irving Berlin's score including the songs Easter Parade and We're a Couple of Swells.
THU 21:40 Puttin' on the Ritz: The Genius of Fred Astaire (b00787wm)
A short compilation of clips from Fred Astaire's days at the RKO studio, where he formed an unforgettable partnership with Ginger Rogers.
THU 22:00 Country Music Awards (m000pjdh)
2020
Bob Harris introduces highlights of the 54th annual CMA Awards from Music City Center in Nashville. Hosted by Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker with live music from the biggest stars of country music, including Luke Combs, Maren Morris and Florida Georgia Line.
THU 23:00 Country at the BBC (b017zqwb)
Grab your partner by the hand - the BBC have raided their archive and brought to light glittering performances by country artists over the last four decades.
Star appearances include Tammy Wynette, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash and, of course, Dolly Parton. All the greats have performed for the BBC at some point - on entertainment shows, in concert and at the BBC studios. Some of the rhinestones revealed are Charley Pride's Crystal Chandeliers from the Lulu Show, Emmylou Harris singing Together Again on the Old Grey Whistle Test and Billie Jo Spears's Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad from the Val Doonican Music Show.
We're brought up to date with modern country hits by kd lang, Garth Brooks, Alison Krauss and Taylor Swift, plus a special unbroadcasted performance from Later...with Jools Holland by Willie Nelson.
THU 00:30 Country Queens at the BBC (p028vwnv)
Classic female country stars in action on a variety of BBC studio shows and featuring Bobbie Gentry, Anne Murray, Emmylou Harris, Tammy Wynette, Billie Jo Spears, Crystal Gayle, Taylor Swift, Lucinda Williams with Mary Chapin Carpenter and more. A chronological celebration of country queens at the BBC whether on Top of the Pops, OGWT, Later with Jools Holland, Parkinson or their own entertainment specials.
THU 01:30 The Joy of Painting (m000j45p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 02:00 Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain (b0074n9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
THU 02:30 How to Build a Cathedral (b00b09rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:30 on Monday]
FRIDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2020
FRI 19:00 What We Were Watching (m000pjdl)
Song and Dance Spectaculars
Grace Dent invites you to lose yourself on a joyful journey back through the BBC archives, celebrating the broadcaster's song and dance extravaganzas of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s – in many ways, the fantastic forerunners to Strictly Come Dancing. They were fun, family-focused and had fondue levels of cheesiness as well as a host of stars such as Cilla Black, Cliff Richard, Lulu, Twiggy and Shirley Bassey. Also featured are some of the biggest dance troupes of the time, including Pan’s People and The Young Generation, one of whose members gets special attention - a pre-Blue Peter Lesley Judd.
All the weird but usually rather wonderful musical performances that Grace has uncovered existed in a strange parallel universe to the pop charts of the time – not remotely cool, even then, but looking back the only way to describe them is ‘fabulous’.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000pjdn)
Nicky Campbell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 29 March 1990 and featuring Bizz Nizz, Candy Flip and Jam Tronik.
FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m000pjdq)
Anthea Turner presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 5 April 1990 and featuring Jason Donovan, They Might Be Giants and Happy Mondays.
FRI 21:00 Jazz 625 (m000pjds)
The British Jazz Explosion
The biggest names in the current, buzzing UK jazz scene play live in a special edition of this iconic BBC jazz TV show. Sons of Kemet, Nubya Garcia, Kokoroko, Poppy Ajudha, Matthew Halsall, Moses Boyd and Exodus and Ezra Collective all contribute to an incredible line-up. The show, hosted by drummer Moses Boyd and 1Xtra presenter Jamz Supernova, also includes short films exploring the roots of the current UK jazz scene.
Jazz 625 originally ran on BBC TV in the mid-1960s and featured some of the greatest legends of that era. Stars like Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Cleo Laine and Art Blakey helped create TV shows that today are regarded as jazz gold. The show returned for a special edition in 2019 with an all-star cast playing classic jazz from the 60s.
But jazz is very much a music of the now and never has that been more apparent than over the last few years when a new generation of UK jazz players have taken the global music stage by storm. Bands like Sons of Kemet and Ezra Collective have won over music lovers of all kinds the world over. This is music that returns to the roots of jazz - making people dance and sing as well as listen and think.
In this special one-off edition of Jazz 625, the very biggest stars of the current UK jazz explosion bring their joyous music to the Jazz 625 studio. Along the way, they also share stories of the special places and communities that helped their music develop. The film explores the importance of passing on jazz’s musical traditions from generation to generation and takes a deeper look at the spiritual music of the Manchester jazz scene. And there is room for some classic archive from the Jazz 625 vaults.
FRI 22:30 Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool (m000ggdf)
Miles Davis - horn player, bandleader, innovator. Elegant, intellectual, vain. Callous, conflicted, controversial. Magnificent, mercurial. Genius. The very embodiment of cool. The man with a sound so beautiful it could break your heart.
The central theme of Miles Davis's life was his restless determination to break boundaries and live life on his own terms. It made him a star. It also made him incredibly difficult to live with for the people who loved him most. Again and again, in music and in life, Miles broke with convention - and when he thought his work came to represent a new convention, he changed it again. Miles's bold disregard for tradition, his clarity of vision, his relentless drive and constant thirst for new experiences made him an inspiring collaborator to fellow musicians and a cultural icon to generations of listeners. It made him an innovator in music - from bebop to cool jazz, modern quintets, orchestral music, jazz fusion, rock ‘n’ roll and even hip-hop.
Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, studio outtakes and rare photos, this film tells the story of a truly singular talent and unpacks the music and the myth of the man behind the horn.
FRI 00:25 Ronnie’s: Ronnie Scott and His World-Famous Jazz Club (m000pjcm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Sunday]
FRI 02:10 Country Music Awards (m000pjdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Thursday]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
21st-Century Mythologies with Richard Clay
00:25 SUN (m000p9t7)
Artificial Things
23:50 WED (p074k74f)
Britain's Lost Masterpieces
20:00 MON (b096m6nx)
Britain's Lost Masterpieces
01:30 MON (b096m6nx)
Country Music Awards
22:00 THU (m000pjdh)
Country Music Awards
02:10 FRI (m000pjdh)
Country Queens at the BBC
00:30 THU (p028vwnv)
Country at the BBC
23:00 THU (b017zqwb)
DNA
21:00 SAT (m000pjbh)
DNA
21:40 SAT (m000pjbk)
DNA
23:45 TUE (m000pjbh)
DNA
00:25 TUE (m000pjbk)
Easter Parade
20:00 THU (b0078bmx)
Ella Fitzgerald at Ronnie Scott's
22:45 SUN (m000pjcp)
Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe
19:00 SAT (b00791vw)
Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe
02:10 SAT (b00791vw)
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
19:00 MON (b0074n9f)
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
01:00 MON (b0074n9f)
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
19:00 TUE (b0074n9j)
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
01:35 TUE (b0074n9j)
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
19:00 WED (b0074n9m)
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
01:40 WED (b0074n9m)
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
19:00 THU (b0074n9q)
Fred Dibnah's Building of Britain
02:00 THU (b0074n9q)
Full Circle with Michael Palin
20:00 SAT (p00xb89c)
Full Circle with Michael Palin
01:20 SAT (p00xb89c)
How to Build a Cathedral
23:30 MON (b00b09rb)
How to Build a Cathedral
02:30 THU (b00b09rb)
Jazz 625
21:00 FRI (m000pjds)
Jazz Horns Gold
23:25 SUN (b01sg8fl)
John Berger: The Art of Looking
00:15 WED (b082qynq)
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
22:30 FRI (m000ggdf)
Natural World
19:00 SUN (m00041pn)
Natural World
02:25 SUN (m00041pn)
New York: America's Busiest City
20:00 WED (b07w10gz)
Play For Today
22:00 TUE (b00tw1jz)
Puttin' on the Ritz: The Genius of Fred Astaire
21:40 THU (b00787wm)
Rebuilding Notre-Dame: Inside the Great Cathedral Rescue
22:30 MON (m000hbdq)
Rebuilding Notre-Dame: Inside the Great Cathedral Rescue
02:30 MON (m000hbdq)
Ronnie’s: Ronnie Scott and His World-Famous Jazz Club
21:00 SUN (m000pjcm)
Ronnie’s: Ronnie Scott and His World-Famous Jazz Club
00:25 FRI (m000pjcm)
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
22:00 WED (b01sd320)
Storyville
21:00 MON (m000pjc9)
Thatcher: A Very British Revolution
21:00 TUE (m0005br9)
Thatcher: A Very British Revolution
02:10 TUE (m0005br9)
The Bridge
23:20 SAT (b09m8hmh)
The Bridge
00:20 SAT (b09lsd37)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 MON (m000hy13)
The Joy of Painting
00:30 MON (m000hy13)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 TUE (m000hy1g)
The Joy of Painting
01:05 TUE (m000hy1g)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 WED (m000j44x)
The Joy of Painting
01:10 WED (m000j44x)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 THU (m000j45p)
The Joy of Painting
01:30 THU (m000j45p)
Top of the Pops
22:20 SAT (m000p9v2)
Top of the Pops
22:50 SAT (m000p9v4)
Top of the Pops
20:00 FRI (m000pjdn)
Top of the Pops
20:30 FRI (m000pjdq)
True North
21:00 WED (m000pdjz)
True North
02:10 WED (m000pdjz)
What We Were Watching
19:00 FRI (m000pjdl)
Yes, Prime Minister
20:00 TUE (b03bx1vh)
Yes, Prime Minister
20:30 TUE (b03sblbn)
imagine...
20:00 SUN (m000pjck)
imagine...
01:25 SUN (m000pjck)