Gravedigger Johnny Kingdom presents a look at the wildlife of the moors and woodlands of Exmoor, meeting local characters and capturing rare footage of red deer, Exmoor ponies, fox cubs, wild boar and a whole variety of birdlife. It's mid-autumn and the time of the red deer's mating season, and Johnny has some unfinished business with one particular old stag he once got too close to. Johnny's friend Tony Thorne is on hand to diagnose a problem with Johnny's big toe.
Documentary series following Griff Rhys Jones as he restores his 200-year-old farmhouse in Pembrokeshire. As Griff's restoration drama continues, nature decides to intervene.
Coverage of the evening session of day 11 at the 2022 World Snooker Championship.
Robinson Crusoe, the hero of the first ever novel published in English, in 1719, was a slave trader. Right from its inception, as this programme investigates, the English novel was closely bound up with the dynamics of colonialism and marched along, in lock step, to the British Empire’s rise, decline and fall. Slavery, which predated the empire, but was an inescapable part of it, is the subject of two famous American novels more than a century apart - Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Toni Morrison’s Beloved. The legacy of slavery is also at the heart of one of the most famous novels of all, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and its 'prequel', written a century later - Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea.
The British Empire was often taken as a given – even God-given - and widely celebrated. In the novels of some writers, though, it was questioned more deeply – such as Rudyard Kipling’s famous espionage yarn Kim. Fifty years later, a very different type of spy, James Bond, fought to keep the empire going when it had in truth already gone. By then a new voice had emerged - that of writers from the newly independent former British colonies, like Nigeria’s Chinua Achebe. At the same time, immigrants from the Caribbean were coming to the UK in search of a warm welcome and a better life. Their mixed experiences began to be told in the Trinidadian Samuel Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners, published in 1956. The twin evils of racism and slavery come full circle in recent works like the former Children’s Laureate Malorie Blackman’s series Noughts and Crosses and the 2016 Man Booker prize winner The Sellout, a savage comedy by Paul Beatty – in which a present-day African-American Los Angeleno keeps a slave.
Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison is America's first lady of literature. Her books encompass black American history but live and breathe in the present, rich in vivid characters, haunted by ghosts. Born poor in Ohio in 1931, she now lives in New York.
In a film first shown in 2015, she tells Alan Yentob how her father hated whites so much he wouldn't let them in the house. Her masterpiece, Beloved, shows the horrors of slavery perhaps better than any other artwork. She talks as she writes - with warmth and wit. Contributors include Angela Davis (whose biography she edited) and singer Jessye Norman.
Journalist and novelist Bidisha was fascinated by Bronte's Jane Eyre as a teenager, but re-reading the story as an adult left her feeling uncomfortable. What Bronte had to say about sex and race was darker and more disturbing than she remembered.
For the young Bidisha, Jane Eyre's perilous, but ultimately liberating, passage into adulthood showed that a young woman could find happiness without compromising her principles. Jane got to have it all. Or did she?
Revisiting this classic Victorian novel 17 years on, Bidisha sees her erstwhile role model, and the society which spawned her, through very different eyes. Is Jane Eyre really the spirited, independent woman Bidisha admired as a young reader? Is the supposedly dashing Mr Rochester little more than a bully and an abuser? What does the characterisation of Bertha, the mad creole woman in Rochester's attic tell us about Bronte's colonial attitudes?
To better understand her sometime heroine and to search for clues, Bidisha travels to the Bronte's family home in Yorkshire and visits the British Library to examine Bronte's original manuscript and uncover intimate letters written by Charlotte Bronte to a married professor, believed by many to be the man who inspired the character of the abusive Rochester.
Bringing a fresh and critical eye to this classic work, Bidisha reassesses one of literature's most memorable heroines.
America's high country is the land of grizzly bears and giant trees, of frigid winters and scorching summers, of tough ranchers and gold-rush fever. From the Rockies to the Sierra Nevada, survival demands endurance and know-how. From parasitic plants to thieving black bears, tenacious pikas and battling bison, it's in the high country that the west gets really wild.
Martha enjoys the English countryside at its best, offers her honey to the public at a village fair and finally succeeds in harvesting the true wildflower honey she set out to achieve.
At the height of summer the owners of the meadow have invited the public to an open day to celebrate this unique bit of countryside. The pressure is on Martha to get the honey ready in time. With such a late spring the meadow flowers are late opening and the bees are still foraging on a neighbouring farmer's crops when the day arrives.
Martha visits Cornwall's Tregothnan Estate to discover the secret of the highly-prized manuka honey and returns to Suffolk with plans for a final harvest of wildflower honey. By now the meadow is in its prime. When Martha sends her honey to be tested it is proved to be true wildflower honey. It only remains to prepare the bees for the winter and reflect on a rewarding and fascinating season of beekeeping.
WEDNESDAY 27 APRIL 2022
WED 19:00 Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor (b00793lj)
Series 1
The Round-Up
Gravedigger Johnny Kingdom presents a look at the wildlife of the moors and woodlands of Exmoor. The Exmoor pony is one of England's rarest breeds and Johnny is busy filming the pony round-up. It happens in October every year and things get very lively as the herd's owners, the Milton family, try to separate the mares and foals from the stallions. Johnny also heads off to see the salmon jumping.
WED 19:30 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzfy)
Episode 3
As summer arrives, the farmhouse is stripped down to its bare essentials. Meanwhile Griff takes a tour of the local rock scene with geologist Sid Howells.
WED 20:00 Snooker: World Championship (m0016snw)
2022
Day 12: Evening Session
Coverage of the evening session of day 12 at the 2022 World Snooker Championship.
WED 21:00 England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey (b09lv17g)
Series 1
Episode 1
In this first episode, Helen Castor reveals an incendiary document, written in Edward's spidery handwriting on his deathbed, which cuts his sister Mary out of the line of succession and leaves the throne to his cousin Jane. It forms the basis of a constitutional crisis that dragged the country to the edge of civil war.
But was it Edward's idea? Or was the boy king manipulated by sinister forces behind the throne? Fearing a return to Catholicism, a cabal of rich and powerful men led by the Duke of Northumberland - the 'Wicked Duke' - covered up the king's death for several days and staged a coup, placing Lady Jane Grey on the throne without even telling her.
Within a day of Jane being told she is to be queen, she is entering the Tower of London, whilst Mary goes on the run to avoid capture and plan her revenge.
WED 22:00 Rebuilding Notre-Dame (m000hbdq)
Inside the Great Cathedral Rescue
Documentary that goes inside what remains of the world-famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is one year since the inferno devastated the vast timber and lead roof and the 850-year-old gothic masterpiece is still perilously close to collapse. Now, we follow the men and women fighting to secure the fire-ravaged structure. Lead dust from the vaporised roof contaminates the site, the stone ceiling is crumbling and a 500-tonne melted mass of scaffolding still hangs precariously over the cathedral, triggering alarms and evacuations.
Now that the cathedral walls are supported by giant timber frames, chief architect Philippe Villeneuve urgently needs a complete picture of the damage sustained during the fire. He initiates an unprecedented collaboration between architects and scientists. Their mission is to meticulously analyse the fallen timber, stone and fractured glass to develop a decontamination and restoration plan. This unique opportunity will give a new insight into the medieval materials, techniques and people who built Notre-Dame.
Inside the cathedral, glass scientist Claudine Loisel investigates the distribution of lead contamination on the stunning stained glass, comparing samples from around the building. In the lab she develops a decontamination plan using x-ray spectroscopy and identifies micro-cracks in the glass caused by ‘thermal shock’, sustained during the fire. At York Minster in northern England, conservationists are pioneering a glass preservation method that Claudine hopes will be adopted at Notre-Dame. They are installing ventilated protective glazing, which protects the medieval stained glass from harmful UV rays and the corrosive effects of moisture.
The stone vaulting has taken the brunt of the fire and will require new limestone with the same mechanical properties for the rebuild. Stone scientist Lise Leroux hunts for the origin of the vaulting stone, voyaging into the forgotten quarries beneath Paris, which are now filled with the bones of 18th-century Parisians. She finds a limestone micro-fossil signature in the lower level of the quarry that matches samples from the vaulting stones, confirming its origin. Lise discovers Notre-Dame is built from a variety of different limestone, chosen for the various structural properties needed for the cathedral.
The complex timber framework of the roof is completely destroyed. Amazingly, timber scientist Catherine Lavier still finds markings from the medieval carpenters on the burned beams and her tree-ring analysis of the timber tells the life story of the oak used. One team of carpenters still uses medieval tools and techniques to fell and carve beams for a chateau restoration, proving the skills and timber still exist in France to rebuild Notre-Dame’s lost roof framework. A 3D scan of the geometrically complex timbers of Notre-Dame offers the team a possibility to eventually rebuild the roof in the same way, down to the last millimetre.
The data from the scientists is combined into a groundbreaking ‘digital twin’ of Notre-Dame that will help them restore and rebuild the cathedral. This 3D dynamic map gives the team a complete view of every inch of the structure, before and after the fire, allowing them to click on an individual stone to see its chemical composition, its mechanical properties and its history within Notre-Dame over time.
WED 23:00 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.
WED 00:00 Ireland to Sydney by Any Means (b00f2f40)
Episode 6
Tension fills the air as the team's waterlogged cargo boat begins to sink; they are on their way to Borneo to help with a Unicef vaccination project. With the boat out of action they have to find another way.
Three hundred miles of lush rainforest later, Charley and the Unicef team arrive with the vaccines in a village up the Pawan River, deep in the heart of Kalimantan on Borneo. Having missed the one ferry that would take them to Bali, the team have no choice but to double back and fly to their destination.
From Bali, Charley embarks upon a series of boat journeys navigating his way across the Indonesian archipelago. From speedboats to hand built traditional phinisi boats and hugely overcrowded ferries, he makes his way to Kupang.
After a turbulent five-day crossing from Kupang on board a handmade boat, Charley and the team are delighted to finally hit the shores of Australia - the end of the journey is in sight!
Despite being on the right continent, there is a huge distance to cover across the outback. The team decide to take the most direct route to Sydney over the Snowy Mountains, but are thwarted by bad weather. Charley tests out all sorts of weird and wonderful forms of transport from campervans to camels and road graders to road trains. On the last leg into Sydney, Charley leads an epic biker convoy over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. The trip that started life on the back of a boarding pass, that charted a journey from Ireland to Sydney using over a 100 means of transport in 102 days, is complete.
WED 01:00 The Beauty of Books (b00z1z0d)
Paperback Writer
The paperback book democratized reading in the 20th century, and printing directly onto the covers became a way of selling a book in the mass market.
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell was a book written in and for this era, emerging as a paperback in 1954. Its changing cover design reflects each decades approach to selling the book to new readers: from its classic 50s Penguin cover to the latest design from Jon Gray, they are signs of our times.
As an example of how cover design has become art, the iconic 'cog eye' design by David Pelham of Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange has permeated society since the first paperback of 1972.
Bringing the story of the book up to the 21st century, the arrival of electronic readers has sent traditional publishing into a tailspin. The paperback and its cover design has been replaced by the concept of mass storage and electronic pages. As this new technology gains new fans the paper book comes under renewed scrutiny. Whether society accommodates both ways of disseminating knowledge in the future depends on our continued devotion to good writing, editing and design.
WED 01:30 Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor (b00793lj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 02:00 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzfy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 02:30 England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey (b09lv17g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 28 APRIL 2022
THU 19:00 Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor (b00793pl)
Series 1
When Johnny Met Tommy
Gravedigger Johnny Kingdom presents a look at the wildlife of the moors and woodlands of Exmoor. Winter has arrived early and with it a chance to film wildlife in the snow, but Johnny's plans are interrupted by a neighbour who brings him an injured buzzard to look after. He immediately gets to work but the buzzard, which he names Tommy, won't eat. Johnny is also keen to find out what happened to one of the Exmoor foals after the round up.
THU 19:30 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzg9)
Episode 4
Building work on Griff's farm moves to the inside of the house. At last, things are being built up instead of knocked down. But as the deadline looms, tempers begin to fray.
THU 20:00 Snooker: World Championship (m0016sp4)
2022
Day 13: Evening Session
Coverage of the evening session of day 13 at the 2022 World Snooker Championship.
THU 21:00 Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (b007870c)
A family forced to quit their expensive New York apartment court disaster as they try to fulfil their dream of owning their own house in the country. A sharp estate agent sells them an ancient dilapidated place in Connecticut, which horrified surveyors insist is only fit for demolition.
THU 22:30 The Outlaw (b00zp6cd)
Unconventional western about the life of outlaw Billy the Kid, including his partnership with Doc Holliday and clashes with lawman Pat Garrett. Stars Jane Russell and Jack Buetel.
THU 00:25 Wild West - America's Great Frontier (b080ywyx)
Restless Shores
From the mysterious Sea of Cortez to the wild and elemental Pacific Ocean, powerful earth forces shape the coastline of the wild west. These restless shores are a magnet for life; visited by the greatest of all animals, the blue whale, and by strange fish that come ashore on the full moon to spawn in their thousands. Fog-shrouded headlands nurture massive coastal redwoods and swollen-nosed lizards eke out a living on remote desert islands.
THU 01:25 Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor (b00793pl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
THU 01:55 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
THU 02:25 Brothers in Dance: Anthony and Kel Matsena (m0016smb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:20 on Sunday]
FRIDAY 29 APRIL 2022
FRI 19:00 Johnny Mathis (m0016spj)
From 1974, Johnny Mathis in concert with the Alan Peters Orchestra, recorded at the Apollo Centre, Glasgow.
FRI 19:45 Pop Go the Sixties (b00rgd4h)
Series 1
The Who, The Kinks, The Shadows and The Tremeloes
More classic pop moments from the BBC's sixties archive featuring The Who, The Kinks, The Shadows and The Tremeloes.
FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m0016spl)
Tony Dortie presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 5 November 1992 and featuring The Rolling Stones, Little Angels, The Shamen, The Rockingbirds, Arrested Development, INXS and Boyz II Men.
FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m0016spn)
Mark Franklin presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 12 November 1992 and featuring En Vogue, The Supremes, Michael Bolton, Vanessa Paradis, Undercover, Jason Donovan, Charles & Eddie, Neil Diamond and Boyz II Men.
FRI 21:00 The Carpenters: A World of Music (b00cjn9c)
Karen and Richard Carpenter concluded their 1976 British tour with this specially-recorded programme. Songs include There's A Kind of Hush, I Need to be in Love, Close to You, Strike up the Band, Top of the World, Only Yesterday, I Won't Last a Day Without You, Hurting Each Other, Superstar, Goodbye to Love, We've Only Just Begun and Yesterday Once More.
FRI 21:50 The Everly Brothers: Harmonies from Heaven (b077x1fh)
Documentary which celebrates, over the period covering the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 60s, the phenomenon of The Everly Brothers, arguably the greatest harmony duo the world has witnessed, who directly influenced the greatest and most successful bands of the 60s and 70s - The Beatles, The Stones, The Beach Boys and Simon & Garfunkel to name but a few.
Don and Phil Everly's love of music began as children, encouraged by their father Ike. Little Donnie and Baby Boy Phil sang on Ike's early morning radio shows in Iowa.
After leaving school, the brothers moved to Nashville where, under the wing of Ike Everly's friend, the highly talented musician Chet Atkins, Don and Phil signed with Cadence Records. They exploded onto the music scene in 1957 with Bye Bye Love, written by Boudleaux and Felice Bryant.
After Bye Bye Love came other hits, notably Wake Up Little Susie, followed by the worldwide smash hit All I Have to Do Is Dream and a long string of other great songs which also became hits.
By 1960, however, the brothers were lured away from Cadence to Warner Bros with a $1,000,000 contract. Their biggest hit followed, the self-penned Cathy's Clown, which sold 8 million copies. Remaining at Warner Bros for most of the 60s, they had further success with Walk Right Back, So Sad and the King/Greenfield-penned track Crying in the Rain.
FRI 22:50 Arena (b03txrsz)
The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert
In the autumn of 1983, the Everly Brothers played their legendary reunion concerts in London. Of all the venues in the world, they chose the Royal Albert Hall because they had treasured memories of playing there with their father Ike, a guitar virtuoso in his own right.
All London was there and it was such an event that the filming was fed live into the BBC 9 O'Clock News. After their acrimonious split, which had lasted ten years, Arena's cameras proved that they and their unique, beautiful sound were as magical as ever.
First broadcast at Christmas 1983.
FRI 00:05 The Old Grey Whistle Test (m0010zj5)
The Kinks
From 1977, Bob Harris introduces The Kinks in concert at the BBC TV Theatre in London's Shepherd's Bush, including a warm-up number not featured in the original broadcast.
FRI 00:50 Top of the Pops (m0016spl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
FRI 01:20 Top of the Pops (m0016spn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 today]
FRI 01:50 The Carpenters: A World of Music (b00cjn9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
FRI 02:40 Johnny Mathis (m0016spj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
A History of Ancient Britain
19:00 SAT (b00ysr2l)
A History of Ancient Britain
02:15 SAT (b00ysr2l)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
19:30 MON (b007hzf0)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
01:50 MON (b007hzf0)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
19:30 TUE (b007hzfj)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
01:35 TUE (b007hzfj)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
19:30 WED (b007hzfy)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
02:00 WED (b007hzfy)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
19:30 THU (b007hzg9)
A Pembrokeshire Farm
01:55 THU (b007hzg9)
Arena
22:50 FRI (b03txrsz)
BBC Young Dancer
19:00 SUN (m0016sm8)
BBC Young Dancer
02:20 SUN (m0016sm8)
Brian Cox's Adventures in Space and Time
21:00 MON (m000x2sy)
Brian Cox's Adventures in Space and Time
02:20 MON (m000x2sy)
Brothers in Dance: Anthony and Kel Matsena
22:20 SUN (m0016smb)
Brothers in Dance: Anthony and Kel Matsena
02:25 THU (m0016smb)
Darcey Bussell: Dancing to Happiness
23:20 SUN (b0btt5n1)
David Stratton’s Stories of Australian Cinema
01:20 SUN (m000jb62)
England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey
21:00 WED (b09lv17g)
England's Forgotten Queen: The Life and Death of Lady Jane Grey
02:30 WED (b09lv17g)
Hidden Wales with Will Millard
22:00 SAT (m0001jfv)
Hidden
21:00 SAT (p0btbtzg)
Ireland to Sydney by Any Means
23:00 WED (b00dykzw)
Ireland to Sydney by Any Means
00:00 WED (b00f2f40)
Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor
19:00 MON (b00793d7)
Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor
01:20 MON (b00793d7)
Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor
19:00 TUE (b00793h9)
Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor
01:05 TUE (b00793h9)
Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor
19:00 WED (b00793lj)
Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor
01:30 WED (b00793lj)
Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor
19:00 THU (b00793pl)
Johnny Kingdom: A Year on Exmoor
01:25 THU (b00793pl)
Johnny Mathis
19:00 FRI (m0016spj)
Johnny Mathis
02:40 FRI (m0016spj)
Missions
22:00 MON (p0bwsx23)
Missions
22:30 MON (p0bwsx43)
Missions
22:55 MON (p0bwsxcx)
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House
21:00 THU (b007870c)
Novels That Shaped Our World
21:00 TUE (m000bhgt)
Novels That Shaped Our World
02:05 TUE (m000bhgt)
Pop Go the Sixties
19:45 FRI (b00rgd4h)
Rebuilding Notre-Dame
22:00 WED (m000hbdq)
Rick Stein's Long Weekends
20:00 SAT (b07bpc4c)
Rick Stein's Long Weekends
01:15 SAT (b07bpc4c)
Snooker: World Championship
20:00 MON (m0016snt)
Snooker: World Championship
20:00 TUE (m0016snf)
Snooker: World Championship
20:00 WED (m0016snw)
Snooker: World Championship
20:00 THU (m0016sp4)
The Beauty of Books
01:00 WED (b00z1z0d)
The Carpenters: A World of Music
21:00 FRI (b00cjn9c)
The Carpenters: A World of Music
01:50 FRI (b00cjn9c)
The Everly Brothers: Harmonies from Heaven
21:50 FRI (b077x1fh)
The Many Faces of...
23:45 SAT (b018nvwc)
The Old Grey Whistle Test
00:05 FRI (m0010zj5)
The Outlaw
22:30 THU (b00zp6cd)
The Royal Ballet: Swan Lake
20:00 SUN (m0001qzc)
The Secret Life of Books
23:05 TUE (p025zl7d)
The Wonder of Bees with Martha Kearney
00:45 SAT (p01t6p8s)
The Wonder of Bees with Martha Kearney
00:20 SUN (p01t6p94)
The Wonder of Bees with Martha Kearney
00:50 SUN (p01t6pgg)
The Wonder of Bees with Martha Kearney
00:35 TUE (p01t6pjf)
Timeshift
23:20 MON (b06pm5vf)
Top of the Pops
20:00 FRI (m0016spl)
Top of the Pops
20:30 FRI (m0016spn)
Top of the Pops
00:50 FRI (m0016spl)
Top of the Pops
01:20 FRI (m0016spn)
Wild West - America's Great Frontier
00:20 MON (b07zc4gg)
Wild West - America's Great Frontier
23:35 TUE (b07zvr81)
Wild West - America's Great Frontier
00:25 THU (b080ywyx)
Wogan: The Best Of
23:00 SAT (b05p6ckc)
imagine...
22:00 TUE (b062mp6k)