It is full steam ahead for historians Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn as they bring back to life the golden age of steam and explore how the Victorian railways created modern Britain.
In this episode, the team head to the South Devon Railway to explore the life of the branch line before the Beeching cuts of the 1960s. Ruth hand-milks a local breed of cow and discovers how the railways came to the rescue when a deadly disease wiped out almost the entire stock of London cattle.
After undergoing an eyesight test, Victorian-style, Peter joins the footplate crew on the South Devon line. But it is not all plain sailing when it comes to driving the milk train through the night. We meet Dave Knowling, a steam-engine driver of 63 years' experience, who shows Peter how it is done and why it is so important to keep one eye closed when shovelling coal. Working on the Victorian railways was dangerous - 500 lost their lives and 16,000 were injured in one year alone. Ruth discovers those who lost a limb on the Great Western Railway were catered for by a special prosthetic limbs workshop.
Alex and Peter take a trip to Strathspey Railway and find out about one of Scotland's most lucrative exports, while at the Gwili Line, Ruth finds out why a young, Welsh entrepreneur became the first person to introduce mail order catalogues - thanks to the railways.
Leaving Everest Base Camp Michael Palin takes the high road to Lhasa to see for himself what the Chinese have done to Tibet. From the Potala Palace to the great monasteries of Tashilunpo and Sera he sees that religion is once again tolerated, while at the same time the old Tibetan centre of the city is being torn down and replaced with modern Chinese shopping malls and nightclubs.
Following the pilgrims to the holy Namtso Lake he finally gets warm in an Olympic sized hotspring before learning how to milk a yak with a nomad family with whom he travels to the summer horse festival in Yushu.
As Vigata celebrates St George’s Day, an elderly man, born locally, returns to Sicily after having lived in America for many years. On the same day a diary dating from WWII is discovered hidden in an old bunker. Inspector Montalbano is entrusted with the dark secrets revealed in the diary and starts to research the time around which it was written. But during his investigation, a 90-year-old businessman is found murdered in his own home. Montalbano starts to think that the events cannot possibly be unrelated.
Film-maker Warwick Thornton’s international success has come at a personal cost. He has reached a crossroad in his life and something has to change.
He has chosen to try giving up life in the fast lane for a while to go it alone, on an isolated beach in Western Australia, one of the most beautiful yet brutal environments in the world, to see if the experience can transform and heal his life.
Film-maker Warwick Thornton’s international success has come at a personal cost. He has reached a crossroad in his life and something has to change.
He has chosen to try giving up life in the fast lane for a while to go it alone, on an isolated beach in Western Australia, one of the most beautiful yet brutal environments in the world, to see if the experience can transform and heal his life.
Nicky Campbell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 23 August 1990 and featuring The Human League, Tina Turner and Cliff Richard.
Mark Goodier presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 30 August 1990 and featuring Aswad, Sonia and Betty Boo.
Mark Radcliffe presents a look back at some of the most memorable Top of the Pops performances from the 80s including Adam Ant, Kylie and Jason, Culture Club, Bucks Fizz, Yazz, Duran Duran and Wham!
SUNDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2021
SUN 19:00 The Many Faces of... (b00pk7ny)
June Whitfield
June Whitfield worked alongside the greats Arthur Askey, Tony Hancock, Frankie Howerd, Ronnie Barker, Benny Hill, Bob Monkhouse, Terry Scott and Jennifer Saunders.
In this film June tells her own story, from her early days in the West End working with Noel Coward, her ill-fated Broadway debut, and with the help of rarely seen archive, impeccable comedy performances on radio and TV.
June reveals that a lack of confidence about her looks caused her to play it for laughs. She also offers insights into her onscreen relationship with Terry Scott and the secret behind her success.
SUN 20:00 Ireland to Sydney By Any Means (b00dykzw)
Episode 5
Now in far flung Vietnam, Charley joins thousands of local bikers on a Minsk motorcycle rally, and makes his way over to Halong Bay to see the beauty of the Thousand Islands and meet traditional pearl makers. However, it is not long before this peaceful excursion takes a turn for the worse - nerves are quickly on edge as the team, now onboard a very small speedboat on rough seas, are pounded by the water. A wave kills the small engine just as the boat swings in towards the rocks, but the team's loud screaming alerts a nearby fishing boat, who luckily manages to pull them out of danger just in time.
Charley gets back on track behind the wheel of a US military jeep to visit some of the most significant places from the Vietnam War, such as Vinh Moc and its infamous underground tunnel network, built by the villagers to escape the devastation.
In Laos and Cambodia, Charley experiences the wonders of the Mekong River on board a powerful rocket boat. Enjoying the largest waterfalls in South East Asia and then dirt biking his way around the countryside, he finally marvels at the 11th century ruins of Angkor Wat.
Traveling south through Thailand and Malaysia, Charley tries out an unfamiliar form of transport to cross to Singapore - wakeboarding. Successfully across and now on Nikoi Island, Charley is to board a small cargo boat that looks well beyond its sell-by-date. After some pre-departure prayers with the crew, it's not long before they are far out at sea and the second bout of boating bad luck strikes - the boat has sprung a leak, and is rapidly taking in water.
SUN 21:00 Darcey Bussell: Looking for Margot (b0868lnk)
Margot Fonteyn has inspired generations of ballerinas. She was beautiful, brilliant, talented and never put a foot wrong on stage. Her late flowering partnering with a much younger man, Rudolf Nureyev, created the most dazzling ballet partnership in history.
And yet behind the scenes, as Darcey Bussell discovers, Margot's life was marked by tragedy and disappointment. She barely knew her father and was dominated by her well-meaning, yet fiercely ambitious, mother. She couldn't find love and never had children. And when she finally did marry, to a man she loved from afar for many years, he turned out to be very different from what she expected: a hero to his people, but not always to his wife.
Darcey goes behind the scenes at the Royal Opera House and the Royal Ballet, and travels from London to New York and Panama looking for Margot. She finds how Margot lost out in love, got drawn into a failed foreign revolution, danced on for far too long and died alone and in poverty, miles from home. Along the way, Darcey speaks to many people who have not spoken out before about Margot. In the end, Darcey learns that by following her heart, Margot did find a kind of happiness, even though it came at a very high price.
SUN 22:00 Margot (b00p510x)
Drama based on events in the life of ballerina Dame Margot Fonteyn. At the beginning of the 1960s, Fonteyn faces retirement from her career as a prima ballerina and a crisis in her marriage to Panamanian 'politician' Tito de Arias. When the much younger Rudolf Nureyev arrives on the scene, he transforms Margot's professional and personal life in a partnership celebrated around the world. But when Tito is shot and paralysed, the dancer faces an agonising choice about her future.
SUN 23:25 Marguerite and Armand (b00p510z)
Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev star in a television performance of Sir Frederick Ashton's ballet Marguerite and Armand, which was inspired by Dumas's tragic love story La Dame aux Camelias.
Designed by Sir Cecil Beaton, the ballet's music comes from Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor. Marguerite and Armand is performed by the partnership for which it was created and is introduced by Dame Margot Fonteyn.
SUN 00:00 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.
SUN 01:00 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.
SUN 02:00 The Many Faces of... (b00pk7ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
SUN 03:00 Ireland to Sydney By Any Means (b00dykzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MONDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2021
MON 19:00 Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone (b00792fx)
Men of Steel
Fred's heroes were the great engineers of the Victorian age. In this programme, we show Fred's great interest in their work and his belief in the values of hard work and enterprise that drove them on and led us to a greater appreciation of their significance and achievements.
MON 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.
MON 20:00 Fake or Fortune? (b092sh3q)
Series 6
Constable
The team try to find out whether a beautiful English landscape is a work of national importance - a lost masterpiece by John Constable and quite possibly an alternative view of his greatest work, The Hay Wain. Now owned by a British businessman, the painting appears to have all the hallmarks of Constable's sketches - his more impressionistic, preparatory works. If genuine, it could be worth at least £2 million.
There are few more iconic paintings in British art than Constable's The Hay Wain. A picture with a direct link to this milestone in British art would be the holy grail for any collector or museum and the picture appears to depict the very same scene, Willy Lott's cottage on the banks of the River Stour.
The trouble is, Constable is one of the most faked artists of the 19th century, and the painting has a chequered past. Thirty years ago, several top Constable experts decided that it was not an authentic work. It is a particularly personal case for Philip Mould, who briefly owned the painting in the past but had to let it slip through his fingers after he failed in his attempts to prove its authenticity.
Now scientific analysis techniques have moved on and neglected records can be searched more deeply online, can the latest advances and deep research into the picture's provenance turn up enough evidence to prove that it is a genuine work by John Constable?
MON 21:00 Storyville (m000sl86)
Into the Storm: Surfing to Survive
After finding a broken surfboard on his local beach, Jhonny Guerrero, a teenager from one of Peru’s toughest barrios, sets his heart on becoming a professional surfer. With his father in prison for armed robbery and a mother struggling to feed and clothe his younger brother, the sea is his escape.
When Jhonny is spotted by Peru’s most successful surf champion, Sofia Mulanovich, he is taken under her wing and given a chance to succeed. Yet the pressure to do so weighs hard. Without his dad around, the lure of his friends and the risks of life in the barrios threaten to jeopardise everything he has worked for. When he’s injured outside a nightclub in a drive-by shooting, Jhonny is forced to decide once and for all which path to take.
MON 22:25 Timewatch (b0078w1y)
2004-2005
The Killer Wave of 1607
At
9am on 20 January 1607, a massive wave devastated the counties of the Bristol Channel. It came without warning, sweeping all before it. The flooding stretched inland as far as the Glastonbury Tor. Two hundred square miles of Somerset, Devon, Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire were inundated. Up to 2,000 people died. Yet for 400 years, the killer wave of 1607 has been forgotten. Timewatch relives the terror and the human tragedy of 1607 and follows the research of two scientists who are increasingly convinced that the wave was not simply a freak storm but a tsunami.
MON 23:15 Titian – Behind Closed Doors (m000h3g5)
In the winter of 1550, the most famous painter in Europe came face to face with a prince who was soon to become the most powerful man on earth. What emerged from this encounter between Prince Philip of Spain and the Renaissance master Titian is seen as one of the most extraordinary commissions in all of art history. Given almost total creative freedom and limitless time, Titian returned a series of six extraordinary masterpieces and reinvented painting in the process.
Taken from scenes in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, each painting is more daring than the last, revelling in all facets of human desire, sex and the consequences of love. Dispersed over the centuries, these six paintings have not been seen together for over 450 years, and it has long been a dream of art lovers to reunite them just as Titian had intended.
But no sooner has the National Gallery in London pulled off this seemingly impossible exhibition than Titian’s master works are once again denied the public gaze. Amid the pandemic that is sweeping the globe, gallery director Gabriele Finaldi has taken the unprecedented step of closing gallery doors, uncertain as to when or if the pictures can ever be seen together again.
BBC cameras access the exhibition for one time only in order bring this groundbreaking exhibition to screens across Britain and beyond.
Not only are these paintings lovingly filmed and presented, but they are brought to life with expert testimony unravelling how these masterpieces came into being, what they meant in their own time and how we can still take meaning from them today.
Gabriele Finaldi has also granted his first broadcast interview, in which he describes the enormity of bringing these paintings together and the agonising decision he had to make in locking them up behind closed doors.
MON 00:15 The Secret Life of Waves (b00y5jhx)
Documentary maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film, he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways, and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles. Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human beings.
MON 01:15 The Joy of Painting (m000kbnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 01:45 Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone (b00792fx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
MON 02:15 Fake or Fortune? (b092sh3q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
TUESDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2021
TUE 19:00 Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone (b00792jc)
The Victorian Gentleman
Fred Dibnah was, by his own admission, a man born out of his time. His era should have been the 19th century. It is the age he admired and the time he would have liked to have lived and worked. This shows how Fred's love for the Victorian age led us to a greater appreciation and understanding of the engineering, architectural and decorative skills of the age.
TUE 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.
TUE 20:00 Yes, Minister (b007830r)
Series 1
Open Government
First episode of the acclaimed sitcom about an apparently clueless British government minister and the advisers who surround him.
When Jim Hacker's party wins the general election, he is summoned to the prime minister's office to discover that he is to be the new minister for administrative affairs.
TUE 20:30 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (b0077xfg)
Series 1
Episode 1
When Reginald Perrin set out for work on Tuesday morning, he had no intention of calling his mother-in-law a hippopotamus. But he did, and from then on everything began to change.
TUE 21:00 British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves (b07vxlnl)
Documentary celebrating the British sitcom and taking a look at the social and political context from which our favourite sitcoms grew. We enjoy a trip through the comedy archive in the company of the people who made some of the very best British sitcoms. From The Likely Lads to I'm Alan Partridge, we find out the inspiration behind some of the most-loved characters and how they reflect the times they were living in.
Narrated by Rebecca Front, with commentary and insider knowledge from Steve Coogan, Richard Curtis, Beryl Vertue, James Corden, Jack Dee and top writing team Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.
TUE 22:00 Arena (b0074qw2)
Remember the Secret Policeman's Ball?
A celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Secret Policeman's Ball in aid of Amnesty International. Many of Britain's finest comedians, including John Cleese, Sir Bob Geldof, Alan Bennett, Jennifer Saunders, Stephen Fry, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Ruby Wax, Lenny Henry, Sting, Phil Collins and Rowan Atkinson are reunited in a reflection of the changes in British comedy over the last quarter of a century. The film examines the event, with interviews and recollections of the original stars alongside classic comedy moments.
TUE 23:15 Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence (b08cwq3v)
Francis Bacon was the loudest, rudest, drunkest, most sought-after British artist of the 20th century. Twenty-five years after his death, his canvases regularly exceed £40 million at auction. Bacon's appeal is rooted in his notoriety - a candid image he presented of himself as Roaring Boy, Lord of Misrule and Conveyor of Artistic Violence. This was true enough, but only part of the truth. He carefully cultivated the facade, protecting the complex and haunted man behind the myth. In this unique, compelling film, those who knew him speak freely, some for the first time, to reveal the many mysteries of Francis Bacon.
TUE 00:35 The Joy of Painting (m000kbns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 01:05 Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone (b00792jc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
TUE 01:35 British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves (b07vxlnl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUE 02:35 Darcey Bussell: Looking for Margot (b0868lnk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Sunday]
WEDNESDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2021
WED 19:00 Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone (b00792ln)
Preserving Our Past
Combining unseen footage with highlights from his programmes over the years, this series looks at the many sides of Fred Dibnah - engineer, steeplejack, artist, craftsman, steam enthusiast and inventor - and celebrates his contribution to our knowledge and appreciation of Britain's architectural, industrial and engineering heritage.
Fred is often associated with the iconic footage of the demolition of Britain's old industrial chimneys, but in truth this was the job he liked the least. What he really liked was restoring engines and chimneys, and one of his greatest triumphs was his steam traction engine, lovingly restored over 27 years and two marriages.
Fred also had a great appreciation for the scores of volunteers and workers up and down the country who dedicate their lives to preserving our past.
WED 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000kjj0)
Series 2
Evergreens at Sunset
Using a different technique or two, American painter Bob Ross creates a fascinating scene. Watch the sun drop below the horizon, just behind the shadow of trees.
WED 20:00 Hidden Killers (b050d700)
The Tudor Home
Dr Suzannah Lipscomb takes us back to Tudor times in search of the household killers of the era.
It was a great age of exploration and science where adventurers returned from the New World with exotic goods previously unknown in Europe. An era in which the newly emergent middle classes had, for the first time, money for luxuries and early consumer goods, many of which contained hidden dangers.
The period also saw a radical evolution in the very idea of 'home'. For the likes of Tudor merchants, their houses became multi-room structures instead of the single-room habitations that had been the norm (aristocracy excepted). This forced the homebuilders of the day to engineer radical new design solutions and technologies, some of which were lethal.
Suzannah discovers that in Tudor houses the threat of a grisly, unpleasant death was never far away in a world (and a home) still mired in the grime and filth of the medieval period - and she shows how we still live with the legacy of some of these killers today.
WED 21:00 Elizabeth R (p036g8bw)
The Marriage Game
Classic historical drama series. The unmarried young queen is encouraged to find a suitable husband so that she can produce an heir, but she finds that very few suitors interest her.
WED 22:30 Lucy Worsley's Fireworks for a Tudor Queen (b09cfwt4)
Historian Lucy Worsley teams up with artist and materials scientist Zoe Laughlin to explore the explosive science and fascinating history of fireworks, using an original pyrotechnics instruction manual, and other 400-year-old historical documents, to recreate one of the most spectacular fireworks displays from the Tudor era.
Lucy and Zoe are joined by a team of top class pyrotechnicians to replicate a mind-blowing fireworks display especially designed for Queen Elizabeth I - one of the first documented firework displays in England. Lucy pieces together clues from some of the earliest instruction manuals for making fireworks in England, as well as eyewitness accounts of the display laid on in 1575. Armed with this information, the team apply their understanding of cutting-edge pyrotechnics to recreate it in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle, Warwickshire, where it was originally staged.
Using hands-on experiments to test their designs, the team construct Tudor rockets, firework fountains and a fire-breathing dragon, as well as discovering the secrets of Elizabethan gunpowder.
Throughout the show, Lucy explores the history of the three-week extravaganza laid on by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in his final attempt to win the queen's hand in marriage - from the elaborate food the Tudor audience would have eaten, to the colours that the set might have been painted in.
She also reveals the important role fireworks had during the Tudor era - from the firework effects used on stage at the Globe Theatre to the pyrotechnical experimentation that took place at the Tower of London, the MI5 of its day.
But not all the clues can be found in England - some of the fireworks described need to be tracked down further afield. Lucy travels to Italy to recreate the mysterious Girandola - a horizontal spinning wheel of fire - whilst Zoe flies to South Korea to witness the ancient, and rather terrifying, rocket box launcher in action.
The danger and technical challenges involved in recreating 400-year-old fireworks creates a real sense of scale and event. And the detective work needed to decipher these Tudor pyrotechnic manuals, and the engineering ingenuity to recreate them, form the narrative spine of the film, culminating in a spectacular recreation of Elizabeth I's mind-blowing firework display at Kenilworth Castle.
WED 00:00 Storyville (m000sl86)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
WED 01:25 The Joy of Painting (m000kjj0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 01:55 Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone (b00792ln)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 02:25 Hidden Killers (b050d700)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THURSDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2021
THU 19:00 Coast (b04sn7cy)
Series 5 Reversions
Denmark
Coast explores the strong bonds Britain has with its neighbour across the North Sea, Denmark.
THU 19:10 Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone (b00792nz)
All Steamed Up
Series which looks at the many sides of Fred Dibnah - engineer, steeplejack, artist, craftsman, steam enthusiast and inventor - and celebrates his contribution to our knowledge and appreciation of Britain's architectural, industrial and engineering heritage. From a very young age, Fred had a passion for steam-powered engines and machinery and he spent a large part of his life studying their construction and history.
THU 19:40 The Joy of Painting (m000kjm7)
Series 2
Mountain Cabin
American painter Bob Ross captures the innocence of a cottage by the side of a stream by creating a giant mountain standing majestically in the distance.
THU 20:10 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d2n0)
Series 1
Calf Love
Siegfried wins a major victory and Tristan has to deal with pigs in more ways than one. James discovers that he has a rival.
THU 21:00 Educating Rita (b007vyhh)
Moving comedy drama based on Willy Russell's hit stage play about a hairdresser who dreams of rising above her drab urban existence through the power of education. For better or worse, she chooses drunken lecturer Frank Bryant as her tutor. Julie Walters gained an Oscar nomination for her film debut.
THU 22:50 In Conversation (b05y3nhw)
Julie Walters in Conversation with Richard E Grant
Julie Walters has been one of Britain's best-loved actresses since her award-winning big screen debut in Educating Rita. Her film career has since ranged from the song and dance of Mamma Mia! to the tragicomedy of Calendar Girls via a long-running role in the Harry Potter series. In this exclusive and revealing conversation, recorded in front of a live audience at the BFI Southbank, Julie discusses her movie career with Richard E Grant, who directed her in his own feature debut Wah-Wah.
THU 23:50 Around the World in 80 Treasures (b0078vpz)
Series 1
Australia to Cambodia
Giant termite mounds, edible juicy ants and erotic cave paintings are the treasures Dan Cruickshank unearths in the outback. In Dan's view, even the brilliance of Sydney Harbour can't rival the artefacts of ancient Australia.
Dan then moves on to Indonesia and meets the Torajan people of Sulawesi for whom, with their elaborate funerals and continued contact with loved ones after they have died, the line between life and death is very different to that in the west.
Dan's excitement is palpable as he visits the highlight of his trip so far - the temples of Angkor Wat and the 12th-century city of Angkor Thom in Cambodia. A golden elephant is Dan's final prize in Thailand - another wonder of the ancient world.
Dan's visit to Indonesia and Thailand was made before the devastation wrought by the Indian Ocean tsunami and earthquake in 2004.
THU 00:50 The Joy of Painting (m000kjm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:40 today]
THU 01:20 Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone (b00792nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:10 today]
THU 01:50 Lucy Worsley's Fireworks for a Tudor Queen (b09cfwt4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:30 on Wednesday]
FRIDAY 26 FEBRUARY 2021
FRI 19:00 Katherine Jenkins at 40 (m000klky)
Katherine Jenkins celebrates her 40th birthday. Since the girl from Neath burst onto the music scene in 2003, she has had 13 number one albums, making her one of the world’s best-selling classical singers. Now Katherine looks back over some of her career highlights, talks about hitting the big screen in her first feature film, and reveals some behind-the-scenes secrets. Even lockdown hasn’t stopped Katherine from singing: with weekly Facebook concerts personally entertaining her fans, and a very special performance for VE Day in an empty Royal Albert Hall in London, it certainly has not been a quiet time for Katherine. With archive clips of performances through the years, the film also includes a first broadcast of a very special tribute from Katherine to all NHS and key workers.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000sl88)
Jakki Brambles presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 6 September 1990 and featuring Adamski, Mariah Carey and The Farm.
FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m000sl8b)
Gary Davies presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 13 September 1990 and featuring Sonia, Maria McKee and INXS.
FRI 21:00 St David's Day at the BBC (m000sl8d)
To celebrate St David’s Day, this trip through the BBC’s music archives features a selection of tracks from some of the most important and innovative Welsh artists of the past few decades.
The programme includes performances by Manic Street Preachers, Catatonia, Super Furry Animals, Marina and the Diamonds, Stereophonics, Feeder, Shakin’ Stevens, Bonnie Tyler, Dame Shirley Bassey and Sir Tom Jones.
FRI 22:00 Tom Jones's 1950s: The Decade That Made Me (b0788qph)
In this personal journey through his formative years in south Wales in the 1950s, Tom Jones takes us on a trip through the decade of his childhood and adolescence, the years that shaped his ambition, his talent and his tastes and that witnessed an explosion of popular culture and the sweeping aside of the old order.
Television, the movies, the radio and - most importantly - the music of the first rock 'n' roll years give us a unique insight into both the country and the decade that would shape Tom's talent and, in the 60s, make him a star. Tom Jones's 1950s in Pontypridd are told first hand by the man himself as he travels back to his birthplace.
Tom's take on the decade is amplified and explored by a Greek chorus of contributors who share their account of their 50s. Joan Bakewell, Katherine Whitehorn and Michele Hanson share their experiences both as women and from differing class backgrounds, historians Alwyn Turner, Martin Johnes, Francis Beckett and Tony Russell draw the social and political landscape of a rapidly changing decade, while musicians Bruce Welch, Clem Cattini, Marty Wilde and Tom McGuinness talk of how that decade began their musical journeys and changed their lives forever, all illustrated by a rich seam of archive that captures a decade we mostly saw in black and white.
The result is a rich mix of humour, confession and reflection - all brought to life by Tom Jones himself, our guide through the lives and times of a young generation struggling to find its own voice.
FRI 23:00 Electric Proms (b00nn7vx)
2009
Dame Shirley Bassey
Trevor Nelson and Edith Bowman present highlights of Dame Shirley Bassey's special performance for the BBC Electric Proms from London's Roundhouse.
The British icon performs a set packed with classic tracks like Big Spender and Goldfinger and the premieres of songs from her album The Performance, produced by Bond composer David Arnold.
In her first major show after Glastonbury 2007, and her only live show in 2009, Dame Shirley is joined on stage by the BBC Concert Orchestra, with guest appearances by album collaborators David Arnold, James Dean Bradfield from Manic Street Preachers, singer-songwriter Tom Baxter and Sheffield crooner Richard Hawley.
FRI 23:55 Radio 2 In Concert (m000b89p)
Stereophonics
The hugely popular and successful Welsh rockers, Stereophonics, return to Radio 2 In Concert for the first time since 2013.
Introduced by Fearne Cotton, the band perform an intimate concert of tracks from their 2019 UK number one album Kind alongside songs from their much-loved back catalogue including Dakota, Have a Nice Day and Mr Writer.
FRI 01:00 Soul & Beyond with Corinne Bailey Rae and Trevor Nelson (b0bqtf55)
DJ Trevor Nelson and singer-songwriter Corinne Bailey Rae present their ultimate soundtrack in an hour of classic and contemporary soul and R&B gems. As they watch their selection, they reveal the reasons behind their choices. From childhood favourites such as The Jackson 5 and Gladys Knight to inspirational tracks from Prince, Mary J Blige, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, this is a playlist to satisfy any soul fan.
FRI 02:00 Tom Jones's 1950s: The Decade That Made Me (b0788qph)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
All Creatures Great and Small
20:10 THU (p031d2n0)
Arena
22:00 TUE (b0074qw2)
Around the World in 80 Treasures
23:50 THU (b0078vpz)
British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
21:00 TUE (b07vxlnl)
British Sitcom: 60 Years of Laughing at Ourselves
01:35 TUE (b07vxlnl)
Coast
19:00 THU (b04sn7cy)
Darcey Bussell: Looking for Margot
21:00 SUN (b0868lnk)
Darcey Bussell: Looking for Margot
02:35 TUE (b0868lnk)
Educating Rita
21:00 THU (b007vyhh)
Electric Proms
23:00 FRI (b00nn7vx)
Elizabeth R
21:00 WED (p036g8bw)
Fake or Fortune?
20:00 MON (b092sh3q)
Fake or Fortune?
02:15 MON (b092sh3q)
Francis Bacon: A Brush with Violence
23:15 TUE (b08cwq3v)
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone
19:00 MON (b00792fx)
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone
01:45 MON (b00792fx)
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone
19:00 TUE (b00792jc)
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone
01:05 TUE (b00792jc)
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone
19:00 WED (b00792ln)
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone
01:55 WED (b00792ln)
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone
19:10 THU (b00792nz)
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone
01:20 THU (b00792nz)
Full Steam Ahead
19:00 SAT (b07pkfg5)
Full Steam Ahead
02:50 SAT (b07pkfg5)
Hidden Killers
20:00 WED (b050d700)
Hidden Killers
02:25 WED (b050d700)
Himalaya with Michael Palin
20:00 SAT (b0074qqv)
Himalaya with Michael Palin
01:50 SAT (b0074qqv)
In Conversation
22:50 THU (b05y3nhw)
Inspector Montalbano
21:00 SAT (m0005wqw)
Ireland to Sydney By Any Means
20:00 SUN (b00dykzw)
Ireland to Sydney By Any Means
03:00 SUN (b00dykzw)
Katherine Jenkins at 40
19:00 FRI (m000klky)
Lucy Worsley's Fireworks for a Tudor Queen
22:30 WED (b09cfwt4)
Lucy Worsley's Fireworks for a Tudor Queen
01:50 THU (b09cfwt4)
Margot
22:00 SUN (b00p510x)
Marguerite and Armand
23:25 SUN (b00p510z)
Prejudice and Pride: The People's History of LGBTQ Britain
00:00 SUN (p0578x02)
Prejudice and Pride: The People's History of LGBTQ Britain
01:00 SUN (b08zn99q)
Radio 2 In Concert
23:55 FRI (m000b89p)
Soul & Beyond with Corinne Bailey Rae and Trevor Nelson
01:00 FRI (b0bqtf55)
St David's Day at the BBC
21:00 FRI (m000sl8d)
Storyville
21:00 MON (m000sl86)
Storyville
00:00 WED (m000sl86)
TOTP2
00:50 SAT (b00sfz04)
The Beach: Isolation in Paradise
22:50 SAT (m000n7fc)
The Beach: Isolation in Paradise
23:20 SAT (m000n7ff)
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
20:30 TUE (b0077xfg)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 MON (m000kbnr)
The Joy of Painting
01:15 MON (m000kbnr)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 TUE (m000kbns)
The Joy of Painting
00:35 TUE (m000kbns)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 WED (m000kjj0)
The Joy of Painting
01:25 WED (m000kjj0)
The Joy of Painting
19:40 THU (m000kjm7)
The Joy of Painting
00:50 THU (m000kjm7)
The Many Faces of...
19:00 SUN (b00pk7ny)
The Many Faces of...
02:00 SUN (b00pk7ny)
The Secret Life of Waves
00:15 MON (b00y5jhx)
Timewatch
22:25 MON (b0078w1y)
Titian – Behind Closed Doors
23:15 MON (m000h3g5)
Tom Jones's 1950s: The Decade That Made Me
22:00 FRI (b0788qph)
Tom Jones's 1950s: The Decade That Made Me
02:00 FRI (b0788qph)
Top of the Pops
23:50 SAT (m000scfy)
Top of the Pops
00:20 SAT (m000scg0)
Top of the Pops
20:00 FRI (m000sl88)
Top of the Pops
20:30 FRI (m000sl8b)
Yes, Minister
20:00 TUE (b007830r)