Provocative two-part documentary in which Dan Snow blows the lid on the traditional Anglo-centric view of history and reveals how the Irish saved Britain from cultural oblivion during the Dark Ages.
He follows in the footsteps of Ireland's earliest missionaries as they venture through treacherous barbarian territory to bring literacy and technology to the future nations of Scotland and England.
A journey through the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, from Tallinn in the north via Riga to Vilnius in the south. Michael Palin tells the story of how the three tiny nations shook themselves free of their neighbour and oppressor, the Soviet Union, reshaping their lives and reclaiming their cultures, which had been forced underground but didn't die.
Michael attends a session of hirudotherapy (leech treatment), a session of fire-walking and a frolic with revellers at the pagan festival of Jaani, crowned in a chaplet of oak-leaves. In an impromptu experiment on the streets of Vilnius, he learns why Lithuanians are known as the 'singing nation'.
The documentary ends in Kaliningrad, which was once East Prussia. Kaliningrad is a relic of World War II and one of Europe's oddities - a region of Russia surrounded by Poland and Lithuania. It is City Day, a celebration of the 60 years since the region was renamed, and whatever the politics, Michael is determined to enjoy himself before sailing around the Baltic coast to Poland.
Salvo requests a transfer to Genoa so that he can be closer to Livia, but it's clear that the prospect of leaving his beloved Sicily is a tough one. Meanwhile, a Milanese barmaid who had been living in Vigata goes missing, and the investigation must navigate the many speculations about the young woman's promiscuous sex life. Montalbano divides his time between trying to find the missing girl and investigating a bout of unusual burglaries, in which the victims report the theft of bafflingly small amounts of money.
Sherlock has his mind palace, Morse his music - every detective has an edge. For most, it's forensic science. This three-part series provides a rare and fascinating insight into the secret history of catching murderers, charting two centuries of the breakthroughs that have changed the course of justice. Surgeon and writer Gabriel Weston explores this rich history through some of the most absorbing, and often gruesome, stories in the forensic casebook - and looks ahead to how forensics will continue to solve the murders of the future.
Where there's a murder there's usually a weapon. It's a key piece of evidence that can hold all the clues needed to catch the killer and shine a light into the mind of the murderer. In this final episode, Gabriel investigates the forensic advances that have elevated the murder weapon from its role of mere evidence to that of key witness.
Arsenic, the undetectable weapon of choice in the 19th century, was exposed as the murder weapon with one simple chemical test, and distinctive marks left on a victim's skull led detectives to the murder weapon and the killer.
Gabriel also looks to the future and the latest advances in forensics. Scientists have developed 3D laser scanning that can be used to reconstruct the exact sequence of events at the scene of a gun crime and decipher whether a shooting was murder or self-defence. Gabriel also investigates the pioneering chemistry that can now determine where in the world someone has spent time based on just a few strands of their hair.
Sarah and Jan are convinced that there is a link between Nanna's murder and an unsolved case from 15 years earlier. It is now a race against time to nail the evidence. Pernille and Theis are puzzled as they realise the case is far from closed. Troels is counting on winning the election and is willing to put everything on the line.
Sarah and Jan check out an abandoned warehouse to look for evidence, but something unexpected happens. Meanwhile, a prime suspect disappears. Troels is struggling to get back into the political arena, but is contacted by a journalist whose attempts to dig up dirt are not entirely unsuccessful. Theis and Pernille are trying to move on and prepare to take their sons to see the new house.
The hunt for a missing suspect takes an unexpected turn, while the odds well and truly stack up against Sarah. Amidst a new influx of revelations, Troels and Bremer battle it out in a dramatic live TV debate. But back at the Town Hall, Troels no longer knows who to trust. Theis and Pernille are preparing to move into their new house, but something turns out to be very wrong.
Having been taken off the case, and yet more determined than ever, will Sarah succeed in nailing Nanna's murderer? At the Town Hall, Troels is on a downward spiral, until he is given some game-changing information. At the Birk-Larssen home, Pernille and Theis invite friends and family to hold a birthday party for Anton, but the evening takes a dark and unexpected turn.
SUNDAY 06 JUNE 2021
SUN 19:00 The Turn of the Screw (m000wvmq)
A film of the opera The Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten. A young governess arrives at an old house in the country to look after two orphans. What unfolds is a chilling tale as she experiences strange ghostly encounters with some of the previous occupants of the house and finds herself engaged in a battle to protect the children’s souls from evil.
Myfanwy Piper’s libretto of Henry James’s famous short story leaves much to our imagination and Britten’s score is haunting, terrifying and brilliant.
Shot on location at Wilton's Music Hall, London, the whole space of the venue, not just the stage, is used to tell the story.
SUN 20:55 Benjamin Britten on Camera (b03j42wt)
Documentary exploring the dynamic relationship that developed between British composer Benjamin Britten and the BBC as they worked together to broadcast modern classical music further and wider. Through this collaboration, Britten's music reached television audiences, from elaborately staged studio operas, intimate duets featuring his partner Peter Pears, to the massive Proms performance of his War Requiem. The programme features interviews with Britten's collaborators and singers as well as those working behind the scenes including Michael Crawford, David Attenborough, Humphrey Burton and soprano April Cantelo. James Naughtie narrates.
SUN 21:55 The Chopin Etudes (m000wvms)
Etude in C minor, Op 25 No 12
Outstanding pianist Freddy Kempf performs Chopin's Etude in C minor, Op 25 No 12, at the Chateau de Neuville near Paris.
SUN 22:00 African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power (m000m2dn)
Series 1
Senegal
In Senegal, a French-speaking nation of 15 million people in the far west of Africa, Afua Hirsch discovers a country with a cultural influence far beyond its size, with dynamic film, fashion and hip-hop scenes that have fed off historic power struggles and culture clashes, both between ancient empires and against French colonisers. She traces the story of Leopold Senghor, a poet who became the father of Senegalese independence and redefined what Africa is. She explores cities with exuberant murals and street culture that respond to the past, and she meets internationally acclaimed choreographer Germaine Acogny, griot musician Diabel Cissokho and hip-hop legend DJ Awadi.
SUN 23:00 Searching for Shergar (b0b623r9)
The story of one of the world's most valuable racehorses, Shergar, who disappeared in 1983 at the height of the Troubles. Thirty-five years on, Alison Millar sets out to see if changed times will help her unearth the secrets of this famous mystery.
SUN 00:00 Ocean Giants (b013q50m)
Giant Lives
This episode explores the intimate details of the largest animals that have ever lived on our planet - the great whales. From the balmy waters of the Indian Ocean to the freezing seas of the Arctic, two daring underwater cameramen - Doug Allan, Planet Earth's polar specialist, and Didier Noirot, Cousteau's front-line cameraman - come face to face with fighting humpback whales and 200-ton feeding blue whales.
Teaming up with top whale scientists, Giant Lives discovers why southern right whales possess a pair of one-ton testicles, why the arctic bowhead can live to over 200 years old and why size truly matters in the world of whales.
SUN 01:00 What Do Artists Do All Day? (b08j8jj1)
Dougie Wallace
Photographer Dougie Wallace's eye-catching images capture life on the streets of Knightsbridge and Chelsea in all its blinged-up glory - from women dripping in diamonds and designer shopping bags, to men cruising around in gold-plated Lamborghinis.
This film follows Wallace as he finishes Harrodsburg, an acclaimed photography series documenting the super-rich in one of the UK's most wealthy and exclusive postcodes.
The recent winner of a Magnum Award for his work, Dougie's images are bold, confrontational and divisive. But he is unrepentant about his methods and his message: "I'm just showing what's happening, just shining a wee bit of a torch on things, you know? Don't shoot the messenger."
Told at breakneck speed, the film is a rip-roaring, hilarious and provocative portrait one of the world's top street photographers.
SUN 01:30 Benjamin Britten on Camera (b03j42wt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:55 today]
SUN 02:30 Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain (b09jggy5)
Series 1
Episode 4
During the Blitz, over 450,000 bombs dropped on Britain and every bomb has its own story. This series examines the specific effect of four bombs, from their initial impact on individual lives, right through to their wider consequences for the Second World War, and all the way to the present day. Each episode begins with a single bomb in a single street in a single place - London, Hull, Clydebank and Bristol. Across the series, incredible personal testimony, gut-wrenching memoirs and the meticulous records kept at the time provide a visceral and terrifying account of the Blitz that directly connects with the human experience of the bombs. As survivors and relatives attest, these bombs touched the lives of everyone and created a legacy we all still live with today.
This episode looks at the deadly impact of an incendiary bomb that sets fire to St Peter's Church in the historic heart of Bristol. Before November 1940, the Castle Street area was full of shops, businesses and homes all served by St Peter's. But on the night of Sunday 24 November 1940, the German bomber aircraft came.
That evening, Geoffrey Serle and his father had been attending church when the raid began, and almost 80 years later, he recounts the terror and their desperate attempt to find shelter amongst the chaos. Bill Hares was a tobacconist in nearby Merchant Street and the film explores his carefully preserved account of that November night when Bristol's firefighters simply couldn't cope. Bev Reynolds also tells his father's story - he was a police driver who tried to help the firefighting effort. Following the bomb, Castle Street's residents and workers took in the dreadful damage the Luftwaffe had done. One local photo journalist stepped in to take pictures of the devastation, telling a human story of the bombs that many at the time would never see thanks to government censorship.
MONDAY 07 JUNE 2021
MON 19:00 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzj1)
Episode 5
Griff faces some big decisions and last-minute disasters. A celebratory party is planned and the first guests are due to arrive. But will the house be finished in time?
MON 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000wvl9)
Series 4
Crimson Tide
Bob Ross paints a breathtakingly beautiful seascape on black canvas, complete with fierce skies, a jagged cliff and raging ocean waves.
MON 20:00 Fake or Fortune? (b01mxxzg)
Series 2
Degas and the Little Dancer
Inheriting a work of art by one of the great Impressionist masters should be a joy, but for Patrick Rice it was a mixed blessing. His small oil painting depicting a ballet dancer on stage has always been thought to be a work by Edgar Hilaire Degas. Unfortunately, since the 1970s, experts have not agreed. The painting, which could be worth around half-a-million pounds if it is a Degas, is currently worth £200. In a last ditch attempt to discover the truth, Patrick and his son Jonathan ask Fiona Bruce and Philip Mould to handle the case.
Although bought as a Degas from a reputable London dealer in 1945 by Patrick's father, the painting, titled Danseuse Bleue et Contrebasses, failed to make the official record of Degas, the catalogue raisonne. As far as auction houses and experts are concerned, if it's not in the catalogue then it's not by Degas, and cannot be sold as such. Fiona and Philip follow the painting back through time to try to prove that it was created by one of France's greatest painters. It is a journey that takes them to Paris, Hamburg and Berlin. Could the picture be a fake created, like many others, amidst the chaos of World War Two? Or will the scholars responsible for authentification bring Patrick and his family life-changing news?
MON 21:00 Great British Photography Challenge (m000wvlc)
Series 1
Episode 3
The search for an exciting new name in British photography continues. This week sees the six photographers challenged to capture the character of flowers in rural Herefordshire and the adrenalin of urban free running, and impress Rankin with a brand advertising assignment. The pressure is on!
MON 22:00 Lee Miller - A Life on the Front Line (m000hy2p)
When Lee Miller returned to New York from Europe in October 1932, newspaper reporters were waiting to greet her as her ship docked. Disembarking in a smart beret and fur-collared coat, she smiled for the journalist from the New York World-Telegram. When he referred to her as 'one of the most photographed girls in Manhattan', she retorted, 'I'd rather take a picture than be one.'
Lee Miller is one of the most remarkable female icons of the 20th century. A model turned photographer turned war reporter, Miller chose to live her life by her own rules.
This film celebrates a subject who defied anyone who tried to pin her down, put her on a pedestal or pigeonhole her in any way. It tells the story of a trailblazer, often at odds with the morality of the day, who refused to be subjugated by the dominant male figures around her.
MON 23:00 Britain in Focus: A Photographic History (b08hznbb)
Series 1
Episode 2
Eamonn McCabe explores how British photographers responded to the most important events of the first half of the 20th century and traces the emergence of a new genre of photography - photojournalism. His journey begins at the Daily Mirror's press plant in Watford, which broke new ground with its dynamic coverage of the siege of Sidney Street in 1911, before tracing the footsteps of pioneering female photojournalist Christina Broom and discovering how cheaper cameras enabled British soldiers to become citizen journalists during the First World War.
Eamonn is joined by Mahtab Hussain to discuss the work of Bill Brandt, who in 1937 travelled to the north of England to record landscapes and portraits of working class communities during the Great Depression. Brandt would go on to work for Picture Post, Britain's most popular news magazine, which was launched in 1938. Armed with a period roll film Leica, Eamonn goes on assignment to the fairground to recreate a famous shoot by the magazine that documented almost every aspect of mid-century life in Britain.
He also sees how photographers captured the Second World War, from the Blitz to shocking images of concentration camps; celebrates photographers who pursued the medium as an art form in its own right; learns about the printing techniques of celebrity portrait photographer Alvin Langdon Coburn; and reflects on Cecil Beaton's glamorous work for Vogue magazine.
MON 00:00 Ocean Giants (b013wpxz)
Deep Thinkers
Humans have long wondered if the universe may harbour other intelligent life forms. But perhaps we need look no further than our oceans?
Whales and dolphins, like humans, have large brains, are quick to learn new behaviours and use a wide range of sounds to communicate with others in their society. But how close are their minds to ours? In the Bahamas, Professor Denise Herzing believes she is very close to an answer, theorising that she will be able to hold a conversation with wild dolphins in their own language within five years.
In Western Australia, dolphins rely on their versatile and inventive brains to survive in a marine desert. In Alaska, humpback whales gather into alliances in which individuals pool their specialised talents to increase their hunting success. We discover how young spotted dolphins learn their individual names and the social etiquette of their pod, and how being curious about new objects leads Caribbean bottlenose dolphins to self-awareness and even to self-obsession. Finally, the film shows a remarkable group of Mexican grey whales, who seem able to empathize with humans and may even have a concept of forgiveness.
MON 01:00 The Joy of Painting (m000wvl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
MON 01:30 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzj1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
MON 02:00 Fake or Fortune? (b01mxxzg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
MON 03:00 Great British Photography Challenge (m000wvlc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
TUESDAY 08 JUNE 2021
TUE 19:00 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00mwx9d)
Episode 1
Griff Rhys Jones embarks on phase two of the restoration of his farm in Pembrokeshire. Having restored the main farmhouse, Griff now turns his attention to two outbuildings - the water mill and the miller's cottage. Both were built at the same time as the farmhouse - around 1820 - and both will be turned into accommodation.
The miller's cottage was used in later years as a cattle shed and is now little more than a derelict ruin. But converting the water mill into a cottage will be much more complicated and will require a planning permission. The person Griff has appointed to design the two buildings is his son George, who is training to be an architect.
TUE 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000wvnh)
Series 4
Grey Mountain
Bob Ross teams up with Mother Nature to paint an awesome sky hovering over snow-covered mountains and glass-like reflections.
TUE 20:00 Yes, Minister (b00784dk)
Series 2
The Devil You Know
Classic political sitcom. The minister is upset by rumours of a cabinet reshuffle and decides to take drastic action to keep his post.
TUE 20:30 To the Manor Born (b007862s)
Series 1
The Summer Hunt Ball
The summer ball for the local hunt is coming up, but with the change in ownership at Grantleigh, there's some confusion over who should arrange the event of the season.
TUE 21:00 Ian Hislop's Olden Days (b0426kjz)
Green Imagined Land
Ian Hislop explores the rural olden days - an idealised vision of the countryside - in this concluding film of his series exploring Britain's obsession with the past.
Despite an overwhelmingly urban existence over the last 150 years, the British have increasingly looked to the supposedly timeless, unchanging countryside. It has inspired some of Britain's greatest writers and painters, and been just as influential in popular culture. It's no accident, Ian believes, that one of the most successful First World War recruitment posters used in British cities was of thatched cottages and rolling hills - with its slogan 'Isn't this worth fighting for?'.
Ian begins by looking at the emergence of a rural fantasia in the hugely popular, excessively sentimental works of the Victorian watercolourist Myles Birket Foster. He discovers how the musician Cecil Sharp kickstarted the revival of folk music and dance in the early 20th century and how morris dancing was used to rehabilitate soldiers on the Western Front.
Between the wars, swathes of the English countryside were built over, including Sarehole, a village just outside Birmingham and childhood home to JRR Tolkien. Tolkien immortalised the struggle between a rural arcadia (the Shire) and an industrial dystopia (Mordor) in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
After 1945, Britain briefly turned its back on the rural olden days and looked to the future. Even the countryside had to be modernised, so the BBC created The Archers to promote the latest agricultural techniques. But as Archers actress Tamsin Greig tells Ian, it is now most loved for celebrating the things - like a sense of community - we feel we have lost.
Loss, Ian shows, dominates Britain's relationship with the countryside. Philip Larkin's 1972 poem Going, Going suggests our fears for its demise actually reflect our own sense of mortality. It is a theme Ian considers in Larkin's Hull and in his own childhood haven, the Sussex Downs.
To conclude, Ian reflects on the irony that some of Britain's most cherished landmarks from the olden days were once reviled. Victorian critic John Ruskin led a fierce campaign to halt the construction of the Headstone Viaduct in Monsal Dale. Today it is one of the highlights of the Peak District. Might we, Ian wonders, one day make heritage attractions of wind farms and fracking sites?
TUE 22:00 Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer (m000wvm5)
Series 1
Behaviour
This episode considers how, during a health crisis, the readiness of communities to engage with – and act upon – advice can have a significant impact on the spread of disease.
The simple act of handwashing to preserve hygiene, which began in a Viennese maternity ward and was also advocated by Florence Nightingale, saved millions of lives. Social distancing, face masks and lockdowns were used to combat the Spanish flu over 100 years ago, with varying degrees of success, while grassroots campaigning on ‘safe behaviour’ was vital in the early days of the HIV epidemic and the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone.
For public bodies, getting the message right is a key factor in helping to shift behaviour and save lives.
TUE 22:55 Horizon (b08w61hc)
2018
Ten Things You Need to Know about the Future
This episode looks at the issues that will change the way we live our lives in the future. Rather than relying on the minds of science fiction writers, mathematician Hannah Fry delves into the data we have today to provide an evidence-based vision of tomorrow. With the help of the BBC's science experts - and a few surprise guests - Hannah investigates the questions the British public want answered about the future.
Hannah tries to discover whether we could ever live forever or if there will ever be a cure for cancer. She finds out how research into the human brain may one day help with mental health, and if it is possible to ever ditch fossil fuels. Hannah and her guests also discover the future of transport - and when, if ever, we really will see flying cars. She discovers whether a robot will take your job or if, as some believe, we will all one day actually become cyborgs. The programme predicts what the weather will be like and discovers if we are on the verge of another mass extinction. Hannah's tenth prediction is something she - and Horizon - are confident will definitely happen, and that is to expect the unexpected!
TUE 23:55 Ocean Giants (b01452jz)
Voices of the Sea
Whales and dolphins are nature's supreme vocalists, with a repertoire to put an opera singer to shame. The mighty sperm whale produces deafening clicks in its blowhole which it uses to locate giant squid two miles down in the ocean abyss, while migrating narwhals use similar sounds to pinpoint vital breathing holes in Arctic ice floes.
The pink boto dolphin creates bat-like ultrasonic clicks to 'see with sound' and to catch fish in the murky waters of the Amazon River, and also uses whistles and chirps for social conversations.
Killer whales in the North Sea use wolf-like howls to round up the herring shoals which they feed on, and they and other dolphins also use percussive tail slaps and splashing leaps to signal to each other. One group of bottlenose dolphins in Brazil has even learned to communicate with fishermen in a unique partnership.
But the most famous and mysterious voice of all surely belongs to male humpback whales, whose haunting operatic performances may last several hours and seem to be about singing purely for the sheer pleasure of making music.
TUE 00:55 The Joy of Painting (m000wvnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 01:25 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00mwx9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
TUE 01:55 Motherland (m000w173)
Series 3
Episode 1
No programme information found
TUE 02:25 Ian Hislop's Olden Days (b0426kjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 09 JUNE 2021
WED 19:00 Curtain-Up on Coventry (m000wvnn)
Coventry's streets are transformed into a giant stage as it finally gets to celebrate the start of a Covid-delayed year as UK City of Culture 2021.
WED 19:30 The Joy of Painting (m000wvnq)
Series 4
Wayside Pond
In a densely covered spot, hidden far from the nearest roadway, lies a softly nestled, quiet little pond. Bob Ross invites you to take a peek.
WED 20:00 Skies Above Britain (b07w196d)
London Skies
The job with the highest pressure at NATS is keeping everyone safe entering or leaving London's airspace, one of the busiest patches of sky in the world. Up to four thousand people can be in the hands of just one controller at any one time. Tom and Tim, two of the thousands who aspire to be the next generation of air traffic controllers, are beginning the rigorous three-year course.
Captain Fegus Rak is a pilot for Norwegian Air who must get his plane rapidly turned around and airborne for his twice-daily round trips to Europe. Amateur pilot Lizzie dreams of becoming a commercial pilot and at Elstree airfield, she prepares for her first solo flight.
But for some, the growth in air traffic is too much. Martin Barraud, resident of a once-quiet village in Kent, is leading a campaign to stop the narrowing of flight paths and increased noise overhead. Activist Sheila and protest group Plane Stupid use direct action to raise awareness of the environmental cost of flying but face a possible jail sentence for taking part in a sit in on Heathrow's runway.
WED 21:00 Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain (m000wvm3)
In November 1940, German bombers destroyed much of the city centre of Coventry and reduced the city’s medieval cathedral to rubble. Just 22 years later, in May 1962, a new cathedral designed by Basil Spence was consecrated on the site. Built in a bold modern style, incorporating the ruins of the old cathedral and adorned with a wealth of modern artworks, Coventry Cathedral is recognised today as one of Britain ‘s greatest postwar buildings.
Using a wealth of rarely seen archive film, together with voices from yesterday and today, the film tells the story of the new cathedral and of the times in which it was created.
WED 22:15 Arena (m000b8nj)
Everything Is Connected - George Eliot's Life
Contemporary artist Gillian Wearing celebrates the legacy of Victorian novelist George Eliot.
Just as Eliot’s novel Middlemarch explored the lives of ordinary men and women, this experimental film is made up of a diverse cast of people from different backgrounds and features Jason Isaacs and Sheila Atim as the narrators.
WED 23:15 Great British Photography Challenge (m000wvlc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
WED 00:15 The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun (b08h99sb)
Margaret Mountford travels to Egypt's Valley of the Kings to discover the story of an unsung hero of British photography - Harry Burton, the man whose images of the Tutankhamun excavation created a global sensation in the 1920s.
As she explores the spectacular locations where Burton worked, including Tutankhamun's tomb, she investigates how his photographs inspired a craze for Egyptian designs and made the archaeologist Howard Carter an international celebrity. She discovers why Burton's images are still studied today by Egyptologists around the world. And she works with a present-day photographer, Harry Cory Wright, to find out how Burton pushed the boundaries of photographic art to create his extraordinary and influential pictures of the world's most famous archaeological discovery.
WED 01:15 The Joy of Painting (m000wvnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 01:45 Curtain-Up on Coventry (m000wvnn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 02:15 Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain (m000wvm3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 10 JUNE 2021
THU 19:00 Athletics: Diamond League (m000wvm1)
2021
Florence
Live coverage from Florence, where the Rome leg of the 2021 Diamond League is taking place. With the Olympics little more than a month away, some of the world’s top athletes will be in Tuscany to test out their form as well as accrue valuable points in the race to be crowned Diamond League champion.
Colombia’s Olympic triple jump gold medallist Caterine Ibarguen will be among those competing, and there’s a clash of champions in the long jump, where reigning world outdoor champion Malaika Mihambo faces current world indoor champion Ivana Spanovic, who also won Olympic bronze in Rio in 2016.
THU 21:00 A Town Like Alice (b01kby79)
During the Japanese advance in Malaya, a group of civilians is taken prisoner and forced to embark on a gruelling trek through the jungle.
THU 23:00 Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain (m000wvm3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 How to Build a Cathedral (b00b09rb)
The great cathedrals were the wonders of the medieval world - the tallest buildings since the pyramids and the showpieces of medieval Christianity. Yet they were built at a time when most of us lived in hovels. Architectural historian Jon Cannon explores who the people were that built them and how they were able to achieve such a bold vision.
THU 01:15 Architects of the Divine: The First Gothic Age (b04mq9x6)
Medieval historian Dr Janina Ramirez looks back to a time when British craftsmen and their patrons created a new form of architecture. The art and architecture of France would dominate England for much of the medieval age. Yet British stonemasons and builders would make Gothic architecture their own, inventing a national style for the first time - Perpendicular Gothic - and giving Britain a patriotic backdrop to suit its new ambitions of chivalry and power. From a grand debut at Gloucester Cathedral to commemorate a murdered king to its final glorious flowering at King's College Chapel in Cambridge, the Perpendicular age was Britain's finest.
THU 02:15 Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer (m000wvm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 on Tuesday]
FRIDAY 11 JUNE 2021
FRI 19:00 Singer-Songwriters at the BBC (b00v4kdy)
Series 1
Episode 2
Compilation which unlocks the BBC vaults to explore the burgeoning singer-songwriter genre that exploded at the dawn of the 1970s and became one of the defining styles of that decade.
Featuring Peter Sarstedt, Carole King, Jim Croce, Bridget St John, Cat Stevens, Judy Collins, Randy Newman, John Sebastian, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Al Stewart, Kevin Coyne, Billy Joel, Tim Hardin and Paul Simon.
Programme sources include the Old Grey Whistle Test, In Concert, Top of the Pops, Sounds for Saturday, the Bobbie Gentry Show and One in Ten.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000wvlx)
Gary Davies presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 14 February 1991 and featuring Nomad, 808 State and Praise.
FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m000wvlz)
Mark Goodier presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 21 February 1991 and featuring Xpansions, Kenny Thomas and Chris Rea.
FRI 21:00 Radio 2 In Concert (b0bqtf57)
Boy George and Culture Club
Recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre in London in 2018, Boy George and Culture Club are one of the most representative and influential bands of the 1980s and have sold over 150 million records worldwide. Winners of numerous awards, they rose to fame in the early 1980s with an illustrious music career now spanning four decades.
In this special and intimate show, expect some of their classic tunes such as Karma Chameleon and Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? as well as songs from 2018's Life, their first studio album since Don't Mind If I Do, which came out in 1999.
FRI 22:00 Boy George and Culture Club: Karma to Calamity (b054v27d)
In the early 1980s, Culture Club was one of the biggest bands in the world, selling 150 million records worldwide. Formed in London, the band was comprised of Boy George on vocals, Mikey Craig on bass, Roy Hay on guitar and keyboards and Jon Moss on drums. As well as their UK success, the band was huge in the USA - notching up ten top 40 hits. Being part of Band Aid cemented them as stalwarts of the 80s, a band that broke down barriers and left a huge legacy for the stars that came later, before they disbanded in 1986.
However, they are a band with a past as colourful as their music. George had a secret affair with his drummer Jon Moss and when they acrimoniously split, the band fell apart and George descended into heroin addiction. Over the years there have been numerous failed attempts to reunite the band.
In 2014 Culture Club decided to come back together to record a new album and embark on a UK and US tour. Director Mike Nicholls has unique access, following the band as they first meet in George's London home to write new material. However, it's not long before creative differences and tensions from their past begin to emerge. Faultlines develop further when the band travel to Spain to record the new album, spending two weeks working and living together in a remote recording studio.
As the band return to London to prepare for the tour, they suffer a Twitter mauling after their first big public performance on Strictly Come Dancing. Relations are even more strained when George and the band sign to separate managers and a sudden illness threatens the whole reunion.
The film looks at the band's troubled past, examining the themes of success, fame and ego, and reveals the personalities behind one of the most iconic bands of all time.
FRI 23:00 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.'.
FRI 00:00 Huey Morgan's Latin Music Adventure (m000kqqf)
Series 1
Cuba
Continuing his journey through Latin America, Huey arrives in Cuba to explore a country at a moment of reinvention. Cuba plays a unique part in the story of Latin American music - after the communist revolution of 1959, the country effectively closed its doors to the sights and sounds of the rest of the world.
From this point, Cuban music evolved in isolation from the other Latin-speaking countries, with traditional forms placed at the heart of their sound. The rhythms and melodies of Cuba’s people have captured the hearts of fans all around the world, and now that the government is gradually relaxing restrictions, more music is being released from Cuba than ever before.
Huey sets off from the capital Havana to explore the rich musical legacy of the island as well as getting a taste of things to come. Rumba is the foundation that Cuban music is built upon so Huey decides to check out the local scene and learn a little of how sex appeal is a crucial part of that beat.
But it isn’t all about hot dance moves - music is a central part of the Cuban education system, where kids get eight hours of free music tuition every week. Huey heads to one of Cuba’s many conservatoires to see a group of children rehearsing and meets up with one famous graduate, percussionist and singer Brenda Navarrette. Another musician making authentically Cuban music, but with a modern perspective, is Roberto Fonseca, the young pianist who got his break playing with Buena Vista Social Club and is now taking his own music around the world.
Huey discovers that one of the biggest challenges for musicians in Cuba today is not having access to the internet - across Havana you see groups of people clustered around government-designated ‘hot spots’ trying to get online - but what they find once they are on there is heavily censored. But Huey has heard about an ingenious solution. El Paquete (the Package) is a physical pirate internet, a drive containing all the latest films, music and news that is delivered by hand to users once a week. Huey joins one of the delivery guys to see what new music people are listening to! This mix of the old and the new is where Cuba is at its best, and the musicians are keen not to lose sight of what makes them unique.
Huey ends his journey by checking out Cimafunk at the Havana World Music festival. It’s clear that change is already here, but the sound of Cuba’s past is the sound of its future too.
FRI 01:00 Latin Music: A Session with (m000kqqh)
Series 1
Daymé Arocena
Daymé Arocena is an award-winning, classically trained Cuban musician, singer and composer. Here she performs music inspired by her Afro-Cuban heritage, including tracks from Cubafonía, the album that catapulted her onto the global stage.
FRI 01:30 Top of the Pops (m000wvlx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
FRI 02:00 Top of the Pops (m000wvlz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
FRI 02:30 Boy George and Culture Club: Karma to Calamity (b054v27d)
[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)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
19:00 MON (b007hzj1)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
01:30 MON (b007hzj1)
A Town Like Alice
21:00 THU (b01kby79)
African Renaissance: When Art Meets Power
22:00 SUN (m000m2dn)
Architects of the Divine: The First Gothic Age
01:15 THU (b04mq9x6)
Arena
22:15 WED (m000b8nj)
Athletics: Diamond League
19:00 THU (m000wvm1)
Benjamin Britten on Camera
20:55 SUN (b03j42wt)
Benjamin Britten on Camera
01:30 SUN (b03j42wt)
Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain
02:30 SUN (b09jggy5)
Boy George and Culture Club: Karma to Calamity
22:00 FRI (b054v27d)
Boy George and Culture Club: Karma to Calamity
02:30 FRI (b054v27d)
Boy George's 1970s: Save Me from Suburbia
23:00 FRI (b07z7y5v)
Britain in Focus: A Photographic History
23:00 MON (b08hznbb)
Catching History's Criminals: The Forensics Story
22:45 SAT (p02l4q38)
Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain
21:00 WED (m000wvm3)
Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain
02:15 WED (m000wvm3)
Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain
23:00 THU (m000wvm3)
Curtain-Up on Coventry
19:00 WED (m000wvnn)
Curtain-Up on Coventry
01:45 WED (m000wvnn)
Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
22:00 TUE (m000wvm5)
Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer
02:15 THU (m000wvm5)
Fake or Fortune?
20:00 MON (b01mxxzg)
Fake or Fortune?
02:00 MON (b01mxxzg)
Great British Photography Challenge
21:00 MON (m000wvlc)
Great British Photography Challenge
03:00 MON (m000wvlc)
Great British Photography Challenge
23:15 WED (m000wvlc)
Horizon
22:55 TUE (b08w61hc)
How the Celts Saved Britain
19:00 SAT (b00ktrby)
How to Build a Cathedral
00:15 THU (b00b09rb)
Huey Morgan's Latin Music Adventure
00:00 FRI (m000kqqf)
Ian Hislop's Olden Days
21:00 TUE (b0426kjz)
Ian Hislop's Olden Days
02:25 TUE (b0426kjz)
Latin Music: A Session with
01:00 FRI (m000kqqh)
Lee Miller - A Life on the Front Line
22:00 MON (m000hy2p)
Michael Palin's New Europe
20:00 SAT (b0082h5q)
Motherland
01:55 TUE (m000w173)
Ocean Giants
00:00 SUN (b013q50m)
Ocean Giants
00:00 MON (b013wpxz)
Ocean Giants
23:55 TUE (b01452jz)
Radio 2 In Concert
21:00 FRI (b0bqtf57)
Return to Pembrokeshire Farm
19:00 TUE (b00mwx9d)
Return to Pembrokeshire Farm
01:25 TUE (b00mwx9d)
Searching for Shergar
23:00 SUN (b0b623r9)
Singer-Songwriters at the BBC
19:00 FRI (b00v4kdy)
Skies Above Britain
20:00 WED (b07w196d)
The Chopin Etudes
21:55 SUN (m000wvms)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 MON (m000wvl9)
The Joy of Painting
01:00 MON (m000wvl9)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 TUE (m000wvnh)
The Joy of Painting
00:55 TUE (m000wvnh)
The Joy of Painting
19:30 WED (m000wvnq)
The Joy of Painting
01:15 WED (m000wvnq)
The Killing
23:45 SAT (b00ztf3s)
The Killing
00:45 SAT (b00zth0c)
The Killing
01:45 SAT (b00zwlfg)
The Killing
02:45 SAT (b00zwlfj)
The Man Who Shot Tutankhamun
00:15 WED (b08h99sb)
The Turn of the Screw
19:00 SUN (m000wvmq)
The Young Montalbano
21:00 SAT (b06zdgfg)
To the Manor Born
20:30 TUE (b007862s)
Top of the Pops
20:00 FRI (m000wvlx)
Top of the Pops
20:30 FRI (m000wvlz)
Top of the Pops
01:30 FRI (m000wvlx)
Top of the Pops
02:00 FRI (m000wvlz)
What Do Artists Do All Day?
01:00 SUN (b08j8jj1)
Yes, Minister
20:00 TUE (b00784dk)