SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2022

SAT 19:00 Raiders of the Lost Past with Janina Ramirez (m000str5)
Series 2

World's First City

Janina is in Turkey, tracking a young explorer who found the world’s oldest city and rewrote the beginning of civilisation – until his discovery became engulfed in scandal.


SAT 20:00 Wild Arabia (p014y5m7)
Shifting Sands

Huge changes have swept across Arabia since the discovery of oil and the Arab relationship with nature has changed too. This is summed up by the changes to camel racing, now an ultra hi-tech sport. Arabia's animals now live alongside a very modern society, but Arabia's people are using technology to protect nature - dugongs are fitted with satellite transmitters, hunting falcons chase down radio-controlled planes, and the world's first carbon-neutral city is being built in the very heart of oil country.


SAT 21:00 Señorita 89 (p0d6rdc8)
Series 1

Ángeles

The girls try to keep up appearances. They stick to their version of what happened, corroborated by all those involved in the night's events. But the Hidalgos become suspicious.


SAT 21:55 Señorita 89 (p0d6rfk7)
Series 1

Isabel

Raúl intimidates the girls while Elena hides the tape in Hidalgo's office, Isabel vies for Iriarte's sponsorship, and Jocelyn tries to get to her sister.


SAT 22:45 To the Manor Born (b007876q)
Series 2

Tramps and Poachers

Stately sitcom. Arthur arrives as usual to help out on the Grantleigh estate, but Audrey can't give him work.


SAT 23:15 Ever Decreasing Circles (p00c1kpy)
Series 4

Episode 7

The Personnel Department at Mole Valley Valves plan to extend their office, but this threatens Martin's office space. He decides to say nothing - but events take a strange course.


SAT 23:50 The Great Game: Iran vs USA (b0b7jh9d)
In the 1998 World Cup, Iran and the USA came face to face in one of the most politically charged football matches in history. Relations between the two countries had been hostile for two decades.

Pressure on the players to prove themselves on the pitch was intense and would result in a thrilling game, watched by millions, but what isn't widely known are the stories behind the scenes: an al-Qaeda plot, the attempted sabotage of the game by an anti-Iranian government group, and an intervention by Iran's supreme leader that caused a headache for match officials.

In this film, we bring together the players, coaches, Fifa officials and the referee to hear their untold stories and emotions as they reflect on the match of their careers.


SAT 00:45 Billy Connolly: A Scot in the Arctic (p032kjf7)
'The Big Yin' embarks on a big adventure, as comedian Billy Connolly ventures from stage to ice - a frozen Arctic Ocean inhabited by ten-foot polar bears. The Scots mirth-maker is armed only with a small flimsy tent, a video camera and a BBC film crew. Not an ideal way to spend a week.


SAT 01:35 Wild Arabia (p014y5m7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


SAT 02:35 Raiders of the Lost Past with Janina Ramirez (m000str5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2022

SUN 19:00 The Magic Roundabout (b007mp70)
Four-Leaf Clover

Classic trippy animation from the Swinging Sixties. Florence and Brian help Dougal search for a four-leaf clover.


SUN 19:05 Rentaghost (m001fpr9)
Series 7

Episode 11

Children's comedy series about the misadventures of a group of incompetent ghosts. The ghosts put on a fashion show at Adam Painting's store by using magic mannequins.


SUN 19:30 Vision On (m001fprc)
Series 14

Sea and Sand

Tony draws a mermaid in the sand and collects seaweed for a picture. Pat and Sylvester rediscover the 'backwards world' through a mirror and go for a backwards trip to the sea. Later, both get into trouble when they fall into an aquarium.


SUN 20:00 Inside Classical (m001fprh)
Series 1

1Xtra’s Afrobeats Concerto

Some of the hottest Afrobeats artists join forces with the BBC Philharmonic for this special one-off concert from BBC Radio 1Xtra.

Presented by 1Xtra’s Remi Burgz, Eddie Kadi and DJ Edu, the concert will feature exclusive live performances by Nigerian singer-songwriter CKay, London-born and double Mobo nominee Maleek Berry, Kenyan singer-songwriter Nikita Kering, one of the biggest hip-hop acts on the African continent, Sarkodie, and Finesse singer-songwriter Pheelz.

This will be the first time a full orchestra in the UK has staged a dedicated concert to Afrobeats, which has seen a sharp rise in popularity, crossing over into music charts across the globe and enjoying worldwide commercial success. Filmed at the BBC Philharmonic’s recording home in Salford, and also featuring The Compozers, this first-of-its-kind concert marks 20 years of 1Xtra, the BBC’s radio network dedicated to amplifying Black music and culture.


SUN 21:00 Kanaval: A People’s History of Haiti in Six Chapters (m001fprk)
A visually arresting feature documentary, set in the present but which tells the rich story of Haiti’s past, that follows a number of carnival performers in the lead-up to, and during, the annual Jacmel Mardi Gras. The performers relate their own personal histories as well as the stories of their carnival characters, which represent moments and people from the distant, and not so distant, Haitian past. Interwoven with the interviews, testimonies and observational footage is archive material, drawn from a wide variety of sources to enhance our understanding of Haitian history and culture from the time of the indigenous Taino through to the present day. This is not the carnival of sequins and sound systems found elsewhere in the Caribbean, but a celebration of rebellion and resistance resonating through the centuries.

The lives of the indigenous Taino Indians, the Slaves’ Revolt of 1791, the establishment of Haiti as the western hemisphere’s first Black republic in 1804, the debt forced upon Haiti by the French, and more recently state corruption are all played out using drama and costume on the streets during Carnival - or ‘Kanaval’ in Haitian Kreyol. There are extravagant, many-peopled troupes that can totally overtake the streets, such as the Zel Maturin, satin-clad devils in papier-mâché masks with four-foot hinged wooden wings, which they smack together dangerously, and the Lanse Kòd, hordes of behorned, shirtless men, skin shining with an oily patina of cane spirit, syrup and charcoal, who rage through the streets, ropes in hand, before diving communally into the ocean at the end of the day. But there are also lone, idiosyncratic performers too, for whom their character and costume represent their own intensely personal spiritual visions, such as Bounda pa Bounda, who enacts a Vodou vision given to him by spirits in a dream.

Kanaval is people taking history into their own hands and moulding it into whatever they decide.


SUN 22:15 Arena (m000pr2n)
Fela Kuti: Father of Afrobeat

In 1997, over one million people gathered in Lagos for the funeral of Fela Kuti, Africa’s biggest artist, who gave the world Afrobeat, yet was also a thorn in the side of Nigeria’s military regimes - a revolutionary who fought injustice with his music and a libertine who married 27 wives in one ceremony. When he died from a disease that carried huge stigma in Africa, there was fear his legacy would die with him. Exclusive testimony reveals the multifaceted man behind the maverick performer.


SUN 23:40 Discovering... (b0bs67c1)
Series 1

Rhapsody in Blue - George Gershwin

George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (1924) is a landmark in 20th-century music. Gershwin drew upon the jazz music enveloping New York City in the 1920s to create the 'American Sound', which would inspire generations of composers in years to come.

Josie D'Arby presents the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra with pianist Marc Andre Hamelin, conducted by Thomas Dausgaard, performing the piece in full from Glasgow's City Halls.

Through conversations with the Dausgaard, Hamelin and members of the orchestra, and interviews with jazz pianist and composer Julian Joseph and broadcaster, critic and biographer David Benedict, the programme delves deep into Gershwin's swinging salute to the city that never sleeps, exploring the composer's desire to be taken seriously beyond Broadway, and the improvisational approach which drew together so many different musical influences to create this iconic and and much-loved piece of music.


SUN 00:40 Tomorrow's Worlds: The Unearthly History of Science Fiction (p026c7jt)
Invasion

Dominic Sandbrook continues his exploration of the most innovative and imaginative of all genres with a look at science fiction's fascination with aliens. But what if we don't meet aliens in space and instead they come to earth - to conquer us?

Dominic and leading writers and film-makers look at science fiction's obsession with alien invasion, from all-out assault to sinister hidden threats, and how it has reflected real-life anxieties - whether they be the challenge to Victorian imperial power of HG Wells's War of the Worlds, the Cold War-era paranoia of Invasion of the Body Snatchers or more recent concerns about racism and immigration in District 9.

And we celebrate the most famous alien invaders of all - the Daleks.

Among the contributors are David Tennant and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who), Richard Dreyfuss (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) and special effects maestros Phil Tippett (Jurassic Park) and Doug Trumbull (Close Encounters).


SUN 01:40 Scotland: Rome's Final Frontier (b01p66rv)
Were the ancient Scottish tribes too much for the Roman Empire? Or was Scotland simply not worth conquering? Archaeologist Dr Fraser Hunter looks back on three centuries of contact and conflict with Scotland’s Roman invaders. The first Tay Bridge, the first depiction of tartan and forgotten Roman camps that once held thirty-five thousand men. A story of a superpower pitted against tribesmen and warlords, and one with fascinating modern parallels.


SUN 02:40 A Very British Romance with Lucy Worsley (b06gxzkj)
Episode 1

Lucy Worsley presents a series about the 'invention' of British romance - our very own, surprisingly passionate, tradition of love.

Lucy's romp through three centuries of love's rituals begins with the Georgian age, when the rules of courtship were being rewritten. Traditionally, marriage had been as much about business as love. Now, a glamorisation of romantic love inspired women and men to make their own romantic choices - they could flirt in newly-built assembly rooms, or elope to Gretna Green as an act of romantic rebellion.

But the main force of change was the arrival of the novel - Samuel Richardson, Fanny Burney and Jane Austen didn't just map out women's changing desires, they made people seek out the feelings and emotions described in their own lives, permanently changing how the British feel.

MONDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2022

MON 19:00 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09rhtr8)
Series 3

San Francisco to Sausalito, California

Armed with his trusty Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo's rail journey through California takes him to the commercial metropolis of San Francisco. Riding through the vibrant streets by cable car, Michael finds out how 19th-century engineering overcame the challenge of scaling the city's steep hills and gets behind the scenes with the 144-year-old engines driving the cables.

In the Presidio neighbourhood, Michael discovers San Francisco's long tradition for fine printing and learns the historic hand-crafted techniques before his treasured guidebook is evaluated by the experts. Hitching a ride on a hippy 'love bus' to the heart of the gay district, Michael traces the roots of the city's LGBTQ scene back to the era of the gold rush and is invited to a fund-raising 'drag brunch'. He stops off at the marina to tuck into a local seafood speciality brought to the city by Italian immigrants. And, heading across the bay to Sausalito, he boards a schooner to hear the story of Matthew Turner, the most prolific ship builder of his time.


MON 19:30 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.


MON 20:00 What We Were Watching (m000pjdl)
Song and Dance Spectaculars

Grace Dent invites you to lose yourself on a joyful journey back through the BBC archives, celebrating the broadcaster's song and dance extravaganzas of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s – in many ways, the fantastic forerunners to Strictly Come Dancing. They were fun, family-focused and had fondue levels of cheesiness as well as a host of stars such as Cilla Black, Cliff Richard, Lulu, Twiggy and Shirley Bassey. Also featured are some of the biggest dance troupes of the time, including Pan’s People and The Young Generation, one of whose members gets special attention - a pre-Blue Peter Lesley Judd.

All the weird but usually rather wonderful musical performances that Grace has uncovered existed in a strange parallel universe to the pop charts of the time – not remotely cool, even then, but looking back the only way to describe them is ‘fabulous’.


MON 21:00 The Real Doctor Zhivago (b09djrvr)
Dr Zhivago is one of the best-known love stories of the 20th century, but the setting of the book also made it famous. It is a tale of passion and fear, set against a backdrop of revolution and violence. The film is what most people remember, but the story of the writing of the book has more twists, intrigue and bravery than many a Hollywood blockbuster.

In this documentary, Stephen Smith traces the revolutionary beginnings of this bestseller to it becoming a pawn of the CIA at the height of the Cold War. The writer of the novel, Boris Pasternak, in the words of his family, willingly committed acts of literary suicide in being true to the Russia he loved, but being honest about the Soviet regime he hated and despised. Under Stalin, writers and artists just disappeared if they did not support the party line. Many were murdered.

Writing his book for over 20 tumultuous years, Boris Pasternak knew it could result in his death. It did result in his mistress being sent to the gulag twice, but he had to have his say. This is the story of the writing of perhaps the bravest book ever published. It is the story before the film won Oscars and its author, the Nobel Prize. It is the untold story of the real Dr Zhivago - Boris Pasternak.


MON 22:00 Doctor Zhivago (m000mtmx)
Doctor and poet Yuri Zhivago is brought up in the family of Alexander Gromeko, whose daughter Tonya he eventually marries. But his true love is for the passionate and beautiful Lara, the mistress of a political opportunist. With the outbreak of the Great War, and with Moscow transformed by the Revolution, their romance is disrupted by the social upheaval surrounding them.

David Lean's Oscar-winning epic set in revolutionary Russia, based on the novel by Boris Pasternak.


MON 01:05 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09rhtr8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 01:35 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9sv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:05 What We Were Watching (m000pjdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUESDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2022

TUE 19:00 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09rhw03)
Series 3

San Francisco

Michael Portillo resumes his exhilarating tour of San Francisco to find that diversity has been at the heart of the city since the days of the gold rush, though not always harmoniously so. Following his Appleton's guide, Michael heads to Chinatown to hear of the huge contribution Chinese immigrants made to the economy, working as miners and building the transcontinental railroad. He discovers an entrepreneurial community who overcame discrimination laid down by the law, and finds that fortune favours the brave with iconic Chinese treats created in America!

Intrigued by a reference in his guidebook, Michael goes in search of lavish public baths to unpack a landmark incident in 1897 whereby an African-American sued one of the richest white men in the state. At one of the oldest private athletics clubs in America, Michael gets to grips with the sport of handball, first brought to San Francisco by Irish immigrants in the 1850s. And joining the police's Marine Unit, he heads out into the bay with a force who has been keeping the waters safe since the 1860s.


TUE 19:30 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.


TUE 20:00 To the Manor Born (b00787b0)
Series 2

The Honours List

Stately sitcom. Fearing that DeVere's plans to enlarge the fields will destroy the surrounding countryside, Audrey leads the local community's campaign to stop him.


TUE 20:30 To the Manor Born (b00787fd)
Series 2

Vive le Sport

Stately sitcom. Audrey puts her back out fetching in the firewood.


TUE 21:00 The Young Ones (p00bfqpk)
Series 1

Interesting

The boys decide to throw a party, but before long it descends into chaos. A preachy Christian turns up, Rick gets annoyed when their guests arrive early, Cinderella appears, and Vyvyan tries to impress some girls.


TUE 21:35 Timeshift (b0074sct)
Series 6

Switch Off Something: Britain and the Three-Day Week

Philip Glenister narrates a documentary about Britain and the Three-Day Week. In the winter of 1973-74, a confrontation between the big unions and the government took the country to the brink - and the government lost. Contributors include George Galloway, Tony Booth, Tony Benn and Simon Hoggart.


TUE 22:15 Tomorrow's Worlds: The Unearthly History of Science Fiction (p026c7n7)
Robots

Dominic Sandbrook continues his exploration of the most innovative and imaginative of all genres and gets to science fiction's obsession with robots.

The idea of playing God and creating artificial life has fascinated us since the earliest days of science fiction - but what if our creations turn against us?

Dominic, leading writers and film-makers follow our hopes and fears from the first halting steps of Frankenstein's monster, via the threats of Doctor Who's Cybermen and The Terminator, the provocative ideas of Blade Runner and Battlestar Galactica, to the worlds of cyberspace and the Matrix, where humanity and technology merge.

Among the interviewees are Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), actor Peter Weller (RoboCop), producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator), Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker (Star Wars), actor Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica) and novelist William Gibson.


TUE 23:15 Art on the BBC (m000frc5)
Series 1

Constable: The Rural Rebel

Often dismissed as a chocolate box painter in his day, Constable is now acknowledged to have been a revolutionary. Art historian Rose Balston explores six decades of BBC archive to discover how TV has influenced our understanding of him.

Constable pushed the boundaries of landscape painting to such an extent that he was rejected by the establishment. Perhaps just as surprisingly, he poured his love for one woman onto the canvas as no painter of landscapes had done before. This programme goes beyond cliché to discover what the BBC archive has to say about a much misunderstood English master.


TUE 00:15 How to Get Ahead (b03yfwk1)
At Renaissance Court

Writer, broadcaster and Newsnight arts correspondent Stephen Smith explores Renaissance Florence under the reign of Grand Duke Cosimo Medici. Cosimo's fledgling court prized the finer things in life and some of the greatest painters, sculptors and craftsmen in world history came to serve the Grand Duke. But successful courtiers had to have brains as well as brawn. The canniest of them looked to theorists like Niccolo Machiavelli for underhand ways to get ahead, whilst enlightened polymaths turned their minds to the heavens, and to ice cream.


TUE 01:15 Timeshift (b0074sct)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:35 today]


TUE 01:55 Horizon (b09574pc)
2017

Mars - A Traveller's Guide

The dream of sending humans to Mars is closer than ever before. In fact, many scientists think that the first person to set foot on the Red Planet is alive today. But where should the first explorers visit when they get there? Horizon has gathered the world's leading experts on Mars and asked them where they would go if they got the chance - and what would they need to survive?

Using incredible real images and data, Horizon brings these Martian landmarks to life - from vast plains to towering volcanoes, from deep valleys to hidden underground caverns. This film also shows where to land, where to live and even where to hunt for traces of extraterrestrial life.

This is the ultimate traveller's guide to Mars.


TUE 02:10 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09rhw03)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 02:40 Canal Boat Diaries (m000q9sg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]

WEDNESDAY 30 NOVEMBER 2022

WED 19:00 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09rhwd2)
Series 3

Berkeley to Yosemite

Michael Portillo's rail voyage continues through northern California, moving east in search of the state's greatest national treasures. To unearth the region's dangers deep underground, Michael visits the seismology department at UC Berkeley and hears the story of the catastrophic 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Experiencing the country's largest multidirectional shaking table in action, he learns how engineers today strive to prepare for the high risk of an earthquake.

Alighting at Stockton, Michael delves into California's pioneering agricultural technology and buckles up on a caterpillar tractor the likes of which revolutionised farming and construction equipment around the world. And following the advice of his Appleton's, Michael immerses himself in the sublime beauty of Yosemite National Park, learning about the committed 19th-century conservationists who campaigned for federal protection. He gets up close to the magnificent fauna and flora, attempts a rock climb and comes across a 'Buffalo Soldier' patrolling the wilderness.


WED 19:30 Canal Boat Diaries (m0015f6v)
Series 3

Wigan to Burnley

Narrowboater Robbie Cumming begins his 170-mile journey across the north of England and soon runs into difficulty when he encounters a problem with his craft's propeller in Wigan and runs aground in Blackburn. Nevertheless, he pushes on to navigate a true wonder of the waterways, the Burnley Embankment.


WED 20:00 Secret Life of Farm Animals (m0001jgg)
Series 1

Cows

It's summer and we follow the first 12 weeks of a Hereford calf's life as he makes friends and settles into the herd. We discover that cows are much more than mother nature's muck-spreaders, rather they are highly social animals with complex personalities. They are also brilliant problem solvers with a love of music and given freedom to roam, thanks to the matriarch, they can thrive in the wild just as their ancient ancestors did. Is it any surprise that Hamish the ram wants to be one? But it's not just about cows. We also discover that chickens use 24 different vocalisations to communicate.


WED 21:00 Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland (b0bwzw0f)
Series 1

Episode 2

In British comedy there is a line in the sand and that line is Billy Connolly. Before he found fame on an international level, British comedy was an end-of-the-pier kind of affair - but through sheer talent and force of personality, Connolly ploughed a different and deeply personal yet universal approach to comedy and in doing so he changed the face of British comedy forever.

He has been called the Beatles and Jesus of comedy by his peers and an immature 'manure mouth' by the leader of the Scottish Zion Baptist Church. So say what you like about him, but you can't deny everyone wants to know him. And that is what Made In Scotland is about - it is Billy as you have never seen him before - intimate, deeply personal and very funny.

Weaved around personal accounts and interviews from famous faces, Billy's life is revealed in all its glory - a shaggy dog story approach to his work - and one that has turned him from Billy Connolly the welder into Billy Connolly - The Big Yin.

This final instalment (featuring Eddie Izzard, Ross Noble, Micky Flanagan, AL Kennedy, Tracey Ullman, Val McDermid, Sharleen Spiteri and Eddi Reader) finds Billy back in the Scotland of his childhood, where he reveals that knitted woolly swimming trunks were not a figment of his imagination.


WED 22:00 Alison Steadman Remembers... The Singing Detective (m001fpw6)
Alison Steadman looks back at Dennis Potter’s The Singing Detective, hailed as one of the most important and influential TV dramas ever made, and once described by Stephen King as ‘television’s Citizen Kane’.

From memories of happy times working with leading man Michael Gambon, and the pride of being involved in a piece that got the whole nation talking, to the stresses of being caught up in the controversy surrounding her character’s notorious outdoor sex scene, Alison brings her unique perspective to a series she ranks amongst her favourites.


WED 22:10 The Singing Detective (b0074qxt)
Skin

Dennis Potter's classic drama serial with music. Pulp thriller writer Philip Marlow is in hospital with the skin complaint psoriasis, tormented by his past and threatened by his future. His memories, his 1930s-style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.


WED 23:20 The Singing Detective (b0074qxv)
Heat

Marlow faces his personal misery of the talking cure with the psychologist who wants to help him with his psychosomatic psoriasis and has actually read Marlow's novel. Nicola, an ambitious and demanding actress, appears in Marlow's hospital ward just as he is thinking about her. Marlow is suspicious of his former wife, and his wretched state exposes his vulnerability. Only the fact that his imagination is running riot keeps him occupied.


WED 00:30 The Singing Detective (b0074qy3)
Lovely Days

While in hospital with psoriasis, Marlow thinks back to the war when he was a little boy, and remembers seeing his mother having illicit sex in the Forest of Dean. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.


WED 01:35 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09rhwd2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 02:05 Canal Boat Diaries (m0015f6v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 02:35 Billy Connolly: Made in Scotland (b0bwzw0f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THURSDAY 01 DECEMBER 2022

THU 19:00 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09s4dcx)
Series 3

Santa Clara to Santa Cruz

Michael Portillo's thousand-mile rail journey through California continues south toward Santa Clara in the heart of Silicon Valley and ends in the surf of Santa Cruz. In a high-tech bar, where robots wait on the customers, Michael traces the origins of modern-day search engines and social media to an institution founded by a railroad baron. At tech giant Intel, Michael glimpses the future on a test drive in an autonomous car.

At San Jose, the biggest city in the valley, Michael visits Japantown to meet members of a far eastern community who settled here peacefully during the 19th century but faced hostility during the mid-20th. He is then beaten over the head and body by youngsters a third of his age as he attempts to learn the martial art of kendo. A ride aboard the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad takes Michael through groves of mammoth trees - the magnificent California Redwoods. Emerging from the forest on a second vintage railroad, Michael hits the beach and like a true beach boy, he takes to the waves - on a surfboard.


THU 19:30 Canal Boat Diaries (m0015f8k)
Series 3

Barrowford to Bingley

Narrowboater and film-maker Robbie Cumming crosses the Pennines on the picturesque Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and lends a hand to hire boaters in Gargrave, North Yorkshire. He also encounters Bingley Five Rise Locks, a wonder of the inland waterways.


THU 20:00 The Real Marigold on Tour (b09jj4wk)
Series 2

Cuba

Miriam Margoyles, Wayne Sleep, Bobby George and Jan Leeming reunite to head to the hot and vibrant city of Havana, Cuba, where life expectancy is high, food is rationed and the way to travel is in iconic 50s cars. After being wowed by the pink Cadillacs that pick them up from the airport, the group spend their first night learning to dance with the locals.

Later in the week, Wayne visits a dance troupe and realises his classical training doesn't count for much when it comes to learning Cuban dance. But much to his joy, he is invited to participate in the annual Cuban carnival. Meanwhile, Miriam struggles to adapt to life without high-speed broadband, although at least she still has gin.

Perhaps the biggest change comes for Jan, who meets a Cuban man while sea swimming. Not put off by the language barrier, the pair decide to go on a date. As the visit draws to an end and the group celebrate with their new friends, there's time to reflect on life in this fascinating and fast-changing country.


THU 21:00 The King's Speech (b0bc5spx)
Following the scandalous abdication of his brother King Edward VIII, Bertie, who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of the United Kingdom. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife Elizabeth seeks out the help of eccentric speech therapist Lionel Logue.

Based on the true story of King George VI, The King's Speech is the inspirational tale of one man's quest to find his voice.


THU 22:50 Around the World in 80 Treasures (b0078vlr)
Series 1

Mexico to America

In episode two of Dan Cruickshank's global journey to find the top 80 man-made treasures in history, we travel from the mysteries of ancient Mayan tombs to that great symbol of the modern age - the Statue of Liberty, while taking in the drama of the giant warriors at Tula and the refinement of Thomas Jefferson's elegant home in Virginia. Dan also reveals his first dark treasures of this monumental journey - the ruthlessly efficient killer, the 1851 Navy Colt – the handgun that 'won' the west for the white man – and comes face to face with the 'Controller of the Universe' in Mexico City.

Elsewhere in Mexico, deep inside the pyramids of Palenque, Dan finds the great tomb of King Pacal. Even more surprising is the early civilisation of North America at Mesa Verde, where the clifftop people created a brilliant landscape that looks like something from outer space. From there it's an extraordinary leap to the high rise drama of Manhattan and the skyscraper that changed the world.


THU 23:50 Peaky Blinders (m0015041)
Series 6

Black Day

Tommy sets off to North America, where the end of Prohibition brings new opportunities. But he faces new danger from an old adversary who is finally making his move.


THU 00:50 Peaky Blinders (m00156p5)
Series 6

Black Shirt

Tommy gets involved in a power game with fascists, freedom fighters and Boston gangsters. As the players plan to double cross him, Tommy visits an old ally in Camden.


THU 01:50 Peaky Blinders (m0015ffr)
Series 6

Gold

Faced with devastating news, Tommy goes on a quest to discover who placed a curse on his family. In Birmingham, Ada takes charge, and Arthur takes on some new recruits.


THU 02:45 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09s4dcx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

FRIDAY 02 DECEMBER 2022

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m001frnf)
Tony Dortie presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 2 December 1993 and featuring U2, Bjork, M People, East 17, Mr Blobby and Meat Loaf.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m001frnn)
Mark Franklin presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 9 December 1993 and featuring Prince, Bee Gees, Bad Boys Inc., Dina Carroll, Gabrielle, Cliff Richard and Mr Blobby.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (b06q9h8w)
Peter Powell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 2 December 1993 and featuring St Winifred's School Choir, Eddy Grant, Neil Diamond, Jona Lewie, AC/DC, The Boomtown Rats, Abba and a dance routine from Legs & Co.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (m000bypp)
Nicky Campbell and Caron Keating present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 8 December 1988 and featuring Status Quo, Angry Anderson, Phil Collins, Petula Clark, New Order, Inner City, Erasure, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, Cliff Richard and Bananarama.


FRI 21:00 Elaine Paige at the BBC (m00143hv)
Elaine Paige OBE is Britain’s biggest and most enduring star of musical theatre, enjoying success for over four decades in the West End, on Broadway, and on TV, radio and the pop charts. This selection of some of her best-loved songs and finest performances at the BBC features huge hits like Don’t Cry for Me Argentina, Memory and I Know Him So Well. There are also rarely seen archive gems from the earliest days of Elaine’s career, as well as her own unique interpretations of musical masterpieces from shows like Chess and Anything Goes, which all underline why she has stayed at the very top for as long as she has.


FRI 22:00 Elaine Paige: I'm Still Here (m00143hx)
Award-winning actress, singer, producer and broadcaster Elaine Paige has made a unique and major contribution to the development and production of the stage musical.

She has starred in more smash hit West End and Broadway musicals than anyone else of her generation: Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Billy, Evita, Cats, Chess, Anything Goes, Piaf, Sunset Boulevard, The King & I, Sweeney Todd, The Drowsy Chaperone and Follies. She has defined these musicals, set standards, and in 1995 was awarded an OBE for services to musical theatre.

Elaine Paige: I’m Still Here is a special concert that was filmed at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall, and features ‘The First Lady of British Musical Theatre’, with the 60-piece BBC Concert Orchestra.

Full of great musical moments, Elaine performs musical numbers from some of the highlights of her extraordinary career, which saw her originating the roles of Eva Perón in Evita, Grizabella in Cats and Florence in Chess. The songs featured include Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, As If We Never said Goodbye, I Know Him So Well, Memory, a specially written version of I’m Still Here by Stephen Sondheim, plus many more musical theatre favourites and a few surprises.


FRI 23:00 Evita: The Making of a Superstar (b0bt4bq6)
Suzy Klein travels deep into the world of musical theatre, and the colourful landscapes of Argentina, to discover the story of one of the West End's most celebrated characters. Intertwining the stories of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's creation with the true story of Eva Peron, she celebrates the extraordinary show in the 40th year after its creation.

Meeting musical stars including Elaine Paige, Hal Prince and Tim Rice, she hears how the show came into being, all inspired by a face on a postage stamp. She then travels to Argentina, meeting politicians, performers and Eva fans to hear how this intensely divisive figure - loved by the poor, loathed by the rich - became one of the enduring icons of our time.


FRI 00:00 Peaky Blinders (m0015p1x)
Series 6

Sapphire

Tommy establishes a connection between crime and political power that could alter the course of history. He also receives life-changing news from an unexpected source.


FRI 01:00 Peaky Blinders (m0015xjg)
Series 6

The Road to Hell

In the light of extraordinary personal revelations, Tommy takes a course of action that will change everything. Meanwhile, his enemies’ plans start to fall into place.


FRI 02:00 Peaky Blinders (m00164dc)
Series 6

Lock and Key

A war veteran who fought in the trenches, Tommy Shelby has been a gangster, an entrepreneur, a captain of industry, a spy and ultimately a Member of Parliament. In the course of this odyssey, he has taken on numerous criminal organisations, business adversaries, foreign insurgents and the British Establishment itself.

Now, in the 1930s, as the clouds of the coming storm gather, he faces the consequences of his experiences and his actions.