Stephen Smith explores the extraordinary life and work of the virtuoso jeweller Carl Faberge. He talks to HRH Prince Michael of Kent about Faberge items in the Royal Collection and to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who spent $100 million acquiring nine exquisite Faberge eggs. The bejewelled trinkets Faberge made for the last tsars of Russia in the twilight of their rule have become some of the most sought-after treasures in the world, sometimes worth millions.
Smith follows in Faberge's footsteps, from the legendary Green Vaults in Dresden to the palaces of the tsars and the corridors of the Kremlin museum, as he discovers how this fin-de-siecle genius transformed his father's modest business into the world's most famous supplier of luxury items.
In a television career that has spanned 98 shows, 12 series and more than 30 years in the business, Ronnie Corbett and Ronnie Barker entertained millions with their inimitable brand of comedy - from gags, sketches and unique monologues to spectacular music numbers.
The Two Ronnies Sketchbook reunites the comedy legends in a rare opportunity to see them back together behind their famous desk giving us an invaluable insight into the backstage stories behind some of their classic moments as they reveal their own personal memories from one of the most impressive comedy catalogues in mainstream entertainment. They also make us, and each other, laugh with their observations whilst delighting the studio audience with their trademark news lines. Contemporary music guests help, as Ronnie Corbett says, 'break up our nonsense on either side'. They are joined by Alison Moyet. Great chemistry, great music and great fun.
The unedited takes and studio rushes from some famous and not-so-famous sketches from the classic comedy show, The Two Ronnies.
A laughter-filled look back at the Two Ronnies' appearances over the years on a selection of the BBC's best-loved talk shows, showcasing the magic that happens when conversation and classic comedy collide.
Tony Clark's marriage begins to fall apart as he investigates a complaint of sexual harassment by a WPC against a black sergeant.
When DCI Tony Clark follows up an allegation of police brutality after an old man claims to have seen a prostitute attacked, an influential officer obstructs his inquiry. With the whiff of promotion in the air, Clark is determined to get to the facts, whatever the cost.
Sgt Maureen Connell needs all the help she can get after he cover is blown while investigating a hostile police station. DCI Tony Clarke, caught up in murder case, has other things on his mind.
Award-winning British choir Tenebrae, under the direction of Nigel Short, is one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles, renowned for its passion and precision. Normally before Easter, Tenebrae would be preparing for one of its busiest periods in the musical calendar. But as the world finds itself engulfed in one of the biggest health emergencies of modern history, Tenebrae, like many other artistic groups, has been forced to cancel its busy Easter season. Around the world, audiences are unable to attend and hear live music.
In this performance, filmed exclusively for BBC Music, Tenebrae once again breaks new ground in a programme of music for Easter, with all 20 of its singers filmed and recorded separately as they isolate themselves in their own homes. Under the direction of Nigel Short conducting via video link, Tenebrae sings a concert for Easter, including Gregorio Allegri's stunning Miserere, at a time when the world has never needed the medicine of music more.
Tenebrae's repertoire for this specially filmed performance includes the following:
MONDAY 05 APRIL 2021
MON 19:00 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9v8)
Series 2
Ellesmere Port to Audlem
Life on board a narrowboat with Robbie Cumming. Robbie battles his way through blanket weed on the Shropshire Union Canal and discovers industrial secrets in Audlem, Cheshire.
MON 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000txym)
Series 4
Valley View
American painter Bob Ross creates a cold day warmed by daylight's radiance, as he paints a quiet mountain masterpiece with a beautiful lake in a glen that will leave you rested and at peace with the world.
Bob 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.
Across the 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.
MON 20:00 Fake or Fortune? (b0bgtg9h)
Series 7
Toulouse-Lautrec
Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould head to France to take on a testing challenge - can they reverse an art world decision which one owner refuses to accept?
Two sketchbooks found in a garden shed in St Emilion were given to a teenage boy, Alain, by his grandmother back in 1965. Although she never revealed where they came from, they were thought to be the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, the aristocratic artist born in 1864 known for his atmospheric depictions of Parisian nightlife.
Alain waited 50 years before he decided to present the sketches to the French committee responsible for authenticating the work of Toulouse-Lautrec. Unfortunately, the committee did not accept them as the work of Toulouse-Lautrec and stated they were the work of another artist - Rene Princeteau - meaning they are worth just a few thousand pounds instead of many hundreds of thousands.
For Fiona and Philip, this is on one of their toughest investigations - if they are to prove the sketches are by Toulouse-Lautrec, they must not only discredit them as the work of Rene Princeteau but also persuade a respected committee to change their mind.
The sketchbooks are brimming with drawings - beautiful and characterful images of women, horses, sailors, soldiers and dogs. If they are the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, they are not the kind of images for which is he best known. Some of the pages are dated 1880, which would mean they are the work of the teenage Toulouse-Lautrec, and little is known about this period of his work.
In their quest, the team journey to the beautiful town of Albi in southern France, where Toulouse-Lautrec was born, and visit the grand family home, Chateau du Bosc, where the artist spent much of his youth. With so little evidence to go on, Fiona and Philip scour the rooms for clues that might link the life of Toulouse-Lautrec to drawings in Alain's sketchbooks.
Technical analysis is also vital, but Fiona and Philip are still piecing together their scientific evidence when the Toulouse-Lautrec committee announces that it's meeting - soon. It's a deadline they can't miss, but can they put together a compelling case in time?
MON 21:00 The $50 Million Art Swindle (m0008rt3)
This feature-length documentary for Arena by acclaimed director Vanessa Engle tells the remarkable story of a charlatan art dealer who swindled over $50 million from the art establishment before going on the run. Michel Cohen, a popular and charming New York art dealer was originally from France. A high school drop-out from a poor background, Cohen was a self-invented man who went on to become a rich and successful art dealer, with homes in Malibu and New York. Throughout the 1990s, he sold paintings by artists such as Picasso, Monet and Chagall to America’s wealthiest elite. Cohen was living the high life until he began trading recklessly in the stock market and ran up considerable debts. In an attempt to recoup his losses, he swindled private collectors, auction houses and other art dealers out of more than $50 million. When his swindles were discovered, he fled the USA with his wife and two small children and went on the run. In 2003, he was found by Interpol in Brazil and was imprisoned in Rio de Janeiro, but seven months later, whilst awaiting extradition to the USA, he escaped from prison and vanished off the face of the earth. Sixteen years later, filmmaker Vanessa Engle has managed to track him down and persuade him to tell his extraordinary story - a highly entertaining crime caper that is also a rich exploration of greed, motive and morality.
MON 22:30 Art of France (b08d7qlq)
Series 1
There Will Be Blood
Andrew Graham-Dixon explores how art in France took a dramatic turn following the French Revolution that ushered in a bold new world. From the execution of King Louis XVI and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte - a figure who simultaneously repelled and inspired artists of his time - through to the rise of Romanticism and an art of seduction, sex and high drama, Andrew explores artists including Jacques-Louis David - whose art appeared on the barricades and in the streets - as well as the work of Delacroix, Ingres and the tragic but brilliant Theodore Gericault.
MON 23:30 Timeshift (b044yw1d)
Series 14
Mods, Rockers and Bank Holiday Mayhem
A trip back to the days when 'style wars' were just that - violent confrontations about the clothes you wore. Spring 2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the bank holiday 'battles of the beaches', when hundreds of mods and rockers flocked to seaside resorts on scooters and motorbikes in search of thrills and spills.
Timeshift tells the story of how this led to violence, arrests and widespread concern about the state of British youth. But mods and rockers had more in common than was first obvious - they were the first generation of baby boomers to reach their teenage years at a time when greater prosperity and wider freedoms were transforming what it meant to be young.
MON 00:30 The Joy of Painting (m000txym)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 01:00 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9v8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
MON 01:30 Fake or Fortune? (b0bgtg9h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 02:30 Art of France (b08d7qlq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:30 today]
TUESDAY 06 APRIL 2021
TUE 19:00 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9z0)
Series 2
Market Drayton to Stourport-on-Severn
Life on England’s waterways with Robbie Cumming. Robbie gets stuck in the mud in Woodseaves Cutting and explores the charming canal-side village of Kinver in Staffordshire.
TUE 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000ty0r)
Series 4
Tranquil Dawn
Join painter Bob Ross as he captures a warm winter morning and the freshness of a new day still not quite awake, with its surroundings undisturbed by nature’s little creatures.
TUE 20:00 Yes, Minister (b007835p)
Series 1
Jobs for the Boys
A PFI is in trouble, and Sir Humphrey must rescue it without publicity.
TUE 20:30 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (p00x9rf2)
Series 1
Episode 7
Reggie attends his own memorial service in disguise and re-enters Elizabeth's life as an old friend of Reggie, Martin Wellbourne. Elizabeth and Martin get on so well that they decide to marry.
TUE 21:00 Catching Britain's Killers: The Crimes That Changed Us (m0009dz2)
Series 1
Double Jeopardy
Beginning in 1989, this episode tells the story of a murder in Billingham in Teesside that would lead to one mother challenging an 800-year-old law.
In November 1989, Julie Hogg, a young single mother, disappeared without word, leaving her parents and young son distraught. Three months later her body was found and a suspect arrested. Weaving together interviews with Julie’s mother Ann and Julie’s son Kevin, as well as friends, journalists, police officers and leading politicians, the programme tells the story of how the failure to convict her daughter’s killer led Ann Ming to overturn the law on double jeopardy.
After a jury failed to convict her daughter’s murderer, Billy Dunlop, Ann fearlessly took on the political and legal establishments in a campaign to overturn the ancient law of double jeopardy. Ann knew that unless the law was reformed, Dunlop could never face a re-trial. After years of tireless campaigning, Ann finally succeeded and in 2006 Dunlop was tried again and became the first person to be convicted under the newly reformed double jeopardy law.
As this episode traces the twists and turns of Ann’s campaign, the story of other cases that benefited from the legal changes are also explored, from Gary Dobson and Clifford Norris, the killers of Stephen Lawrence, who were convicted in 2012, to the killer of Surjit Chokkar, finally convicted 18 years after his murder.
Exploring the ripples of one single case, the programme explores how one mother’s determination to get justice for her daughter would lead to an historic change in the law that has benefited other families who had also seen the killers of their loved ones walk free.
TUE 22:00 Timeshift (b0105r8x)
Series 10
Crime and Punishment - The Story of Capital Punishment
Timeshift digs into the archive to trace the extraordinary story of the ultimate sanction. At the beginning of the 19th century you could still be hanged in Britain for offences such as stealing a sheep or shooting a rabbit. Even children as young as seven were sent to the gallows. The last hanging in this country took place as recently as 1964.
By opting for a dispassionate history rather than staging the usual polarised debate, the programme breaks new ground with its fascinating attention to detail, such as the protocols of the public execution or the 'science' of hanging. With contributions from both sides of the argument, it provides an essential guide to a subject that still divides us.
TUE 23:00 Lights Up (m000ty0t)
Half Breed
A new drama written by Natasha Marshall adapted from the play of the same name. It is a semi-autobiographical, coming-of-age drama about finding your voice.
Half Breed tells the story of Jazmin, a young woman who lives in a small village in the west country, with a burning desire to escape its small-minded atmosphere and move to the city to become an actress.
Jazmin is the only mixed-race woman in her village and experiences racism on a regular basis, normalised by her friendship group. By confronting the bullies, she breaks free of the claustrophobic atmosphere of her home town.
TUE 00:00 Storyville (b091gw89)
Out of Thin Air: Murder in Iceland
In 1974, two men vanished several months apart. Iceland, with a population of just over 200,000, was a close, tight-knit community where everyone knew everyone, but the police got nowhere: there were no bodies, no witnesses and no forensic evidence. Then six suspects were arrested and confessed to the murders, many facing long, harsh sentences. It seemed like justice had been done, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Forty years later, this notorious murder case was reopened when new evidence brought into question everything that had gone before. It became clear that the suspects had very quickly lost trust in their memories and were confused about their involvement in the crimes they had confessed to. The extreme police interrogation techniques were brought under intense scrutiny.
This tense, psychological thriller tells the true story of the biggest-ever criminal investigation in Iceland's history, exploring one of the most shocking miscarriages of justice Europe has ever witnessed.
TUE 01:25 The Joy of Painting (m000ty0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 01:55 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9z0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
TUE 02:25 Catching Britain's Killers: The Crimes That Changed Us (m0009dz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 07 APRIL 2021
WED 19:00 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9sv)
Series 2
Stourport Basins to Kingswood Junction
The real side of boat life with Robbie Cumming. Robbie navigates the mighty River Severn and takes an unexpected bath as he takes a tumble at the Tardebigge lock flight in Worcestershire.
WED 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000ty07)
Series 4
Royal Majesty
Travel with Bob Ross to a secluded waterfall, deep in the mountains, standing tall and proud, as he paints a magnificent scene that instils comfort and joy.
WED 20:00 A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley (p01fv0kh)
Detection Most Ingenious
Lucy Worsley explores how real-life crime, science and the emerging art of detection had an influence on the popular culture of homicide during the Victorian Age.
WED 21:00 Dark Son: The Hunt for a Serial Killer (b0c062xj)
It is the biggest unsolved serial murder case in British criminal history - the so-called 'Jack the Stripper' murders took place in Swinging Sixties London.
Six women lost their lives to a killer who was never caught. Criminologist Professor David Wilson leads an investigation to unmask the killer, who claimed more victims than even his notorious Victorian namesake, Jack the Ripper.
Professor Wilson and his investigative team - which includes former detective Jackie Malton and forensic psychologist Professor Mike Berry - begin their hunt for the killer not in London, but 150 miles away in Abertillery, South Wales. In 1921, the Welsh mining town was devastated by the double murder of two schoolgirls when eight-year-old Freda Brunell and 11-year-old Florence Little were killed just weeks apart by a local boy, 15-year-old Harold Jones, who the Abertillery residents still refer to as their 'Dark Son'.
Those murders - especially the sadistic nature of their deaths and the treatment of the bodies afterwards - have eerie parallels with the 'Jack the Stripper' murders. Could Harold Jones the boy killer really have matured in later life into a serial killer?
To test this theory, the team revisit the scenes of the murders in west London. They use contemporary policing techniques such as geographical and offender profiling to see if the crimes of Jones the boy can be measured against those of Jack the Stripper. And from the outset, it becomes apparent there are many chilling similarities.
WED 22:30 Lights Up (m000ty09)
Sitting
No programme information found
WED 23:30 How to Make (m000gwzd)
Series 1
The Trainer
Zoe Laughlin, designer, maker and materials engineer, is fascinated by the science and technology hidden within the everyday objects we take for granted. In this series, she dismantles and dissects three classic items to understand the wonders of form, function and material that go into making them, before building her own truly bespoke versions, step by step.
In this episode, Zoe takes on the trainer - a much-loved modern classic that's a marvel of engineering and design. Setting out in search of inspiration, she meets some of the UK's leading trainer designers and manufacturers, as well as the young inventors working on mind-blowing sustainable creations such as material made by bacteria and self-deodorising fabrics.
Zoe also goes behind the scenes at Britain's largest footwear factory, where high-speed injection-moulding processes turn out a shoe every nine seconds. And she meets one of the country's pre-eminent trainer historians, Thomas Turner, to find out how our favourite everyday footwear would be nothing without car tyres. All before building her own bespoke trainers. In Zoe's own words, ‘they are mad, but they're mine - and that makes them special!’
WED 00:30 The Joy of Painting (m000ty07)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 01:00 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9sv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 01:30 Timeshift (b0105r8x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley (p01fv0kh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
THURSDAY 08 APRIL 2021
THU 19:00 Wild (b008pxly)
2007-08 Shorts
Avocets - Born Survivors
Nature documentary about the avocet, one of the UK's most strikingly beautiful wading birds. Every spring, the avocets delight us with their magical courtship dances. But few know that behind this elegant exterior lies a turbulent history.
THU 19:10 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9sg)
Series 2
Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham
The reality of life afloat with Robbie Cumming. On the last leg of his journey across England, Robbie crosses an epic aqueduct near Stratford-upon-Avon and gets stuck in a lock in central Birmingham.
THU 19:40 The Joy of Painting (m000txyx)
Series 4
Serenity
Join Bob Ross as he recreates a favourite escape – a rippling brook passing through the forest, breaking the silence of a misty morning.
THU 20:10 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d2pj)
Series 1
Sleeping Partners
Richard Carmody, a superior student, accompanies James on his rounds to learn, but it becomes clear that there is very little that he doesn't know.
THU 21:00 The Elephant Man (m000hrgj)
In 1884, an ambitious young surgeon is intrigued by a sideshow freak billed as the Elephant Man. He finds, behind the disfigured exhibit, an intelligent person whose rehabilitation he undertakes.
THU 23:00 Face to Face (m000txz0)
Anthony Hopkins
Jeremy Isaacs comes face to face with actor Anthony Hopkins, who talks about preparing for roles, his stormy relationships with directors and his personal life.
THU 23:40 Around the World in 80 Treasures (b0078w84)
Series 1
Turkey to Germany
In the penultimate stage of Dan Cruickshank’s gargantuan journey around the world, we find the intrepid explorer floating above Turkey in a hot air balloon! Below lie miles of a subterranean city where across the centuries peoples hid from warring factions from the east and west. Once in the caves - dark and sinister as they are - Dan uncovers an ingenious means of defence before stumbling on the weirdest treasure of his trip - a cavern full of golden locks - of hair! It reminds him he needs a haircut - possibly the least wise decision of his trip. Recovered from his singeing experience over supper in downtown Istanbul, the mother of all domes at Hagia Sophia raises his spirits as he climbs to the very top.
In Russia's St Petersburg, Dan casts himself in the guise of Peter the Great, who planned an imperial city from a simple shack before heading north toward the Arctic Circle and the remote Monastery of Solovki, where Russia's epic and often violent history has left its mark. Even now it is one of the bleakest places he has encountered so far.
Poland is a destination with personal echoes - as he reveals, he grew up there - a visit to the local salt mine with its miraculous salt carvings - beautifully detailed figures carved by the miners as altar pieces to petition God for their safety - transports him back to his lost childhood. Shadows of 20th-century history crowd in as Dan lands in Berlin where he determines he must salvage something from the wreckage of Nazi Germany. His choice: a chair and a beetle.
THU 00:40 The Joy of Painting (m000txyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:40 today]
THU 01:10 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9sg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:10 today]
THU 01:40 The $50 Million Art Swindle (m0008rt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
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 Murder with Lucy Worsley
20:00 WED (p01fv0kh)
A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley
02:30 WED (p01fv0kh)
All Creatures Great and Small
20:10 THU (p031d2pj)
Around the World in 80 Treasures
23:40 THU (b0078w84)
Art of France
22:30 MON (b08d7qlq)
Art of France
02:30 MON (b08d7qlq)
Between the Lines
22:00 SUN (m000txxs)
Between the Lines
22:50 SUN (m000txxv)
Between the Lines
23:40 SUN (m000txxx)
Canal Boat Diaries
19:00 MON (m000q9v8)
Canal Boat Diaries
01:00 MON (m000q9v8)
Canal Boat Diaries
19:00 TUE (m000q9z0)
Canal Boat Diaries
01:55 TUE (m000q9z0)
Canal Boat Diaries
19:00 WED (m000q9sv)
Canal Boat Diaries
01:00 WED (m000q9sv)
Canal Boat Diaries
19:10 THU (m000q9sg)
Canal Boat Diaries
01:10 THU (m000q9sg)
Catching Britain's Killers: The Crimes That Changed Us
21:00 TUE (m0009dz2)
Catching Britain's Killers: The Crimes That Changed Us
02:25 TUE (m0009dz2)
Dark Son: The Hunt for a Serial Killer
21:00 WED (b0c062xj)
Face to Face
23:00 THU (m000txz0)
Fake or Fortune?
20:00 MON (b0bgtg9h)
Fake or Fortune?
01:30 MON (b0bgtg9h)
How to Make
23:30 WED (m000gwzd)
Italy's Invisible Cities
22:50 SAT (b0881gly)
Lights Up
23:00 TUE (m000ty0t)
Lights Up
22:30 WED (m000ty09)
Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise
19:00 SAT (b06dpmyr)
Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise
01:35 SAT (b06dpmyr)
Sacred Songs - The Secrets of Our Hearts
00:35 SUN (m000hb4m)
Storyville
23:50 SAT (m000tpzn)
Storyville
00:00 TUE (b091gw89)
Talking Comedy
21:30 SUN (b05qygtw)
The $50 Million Art Swindle
21:00 MON (m0008rt3)
The $50 Million Art Swindle
01:40 THU (m0008rt3)
The Elephant Man
21:00 THU (m000hrgj)
The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
20:30 TUE (p00x9rf2)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 MON (m000txym)
The Joy of Painting
00:30 MON (m000txym)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 TUE (m000ty0r)
The Joy of Painting
01:25 TUE (m000ty0r)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 WED (m000ty07)
The Joy of Painting
00:30 WED (m000ty07)
The Joy of Painting
19:40 THU (m000txyx)
The Joy of Painting
00:40 THU (m000txyx)
The Two Ronnies Sketchbook
20:00 SUN (b007cb55)
The Two Ronnies Sketchbook
01:05 SUN (b007cb55)
The Two Ronnies: The Studio Recordings
21:00 SUN (b00wyj3x)
The Two Ronnies: The Studio Recordings
02:05 SUN (b00wyj3x)
The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge
19:00 SUN (b0336tf3)
The World's Most Beautiful Eggs: The Genius of Carl Faberge
02:35 SUN (b0336tf3)
The Young Montalbano
21:00 SAT (b06vn81l)
Timeshift
23:30 MON (b044yw1d)
Timeshift
22:00 TUE (b0105r8x)
Timeshift
01:30 WED (b0105r8x)
Voyages of Discovery
20:00 SAT (b0074t5l)
Voyages of Discovery
02:35 SAT (b0074t5l)
Wild
19:00 THU (b008pxly)
Yes, Minister
20:00 TUE (b007835p)