SATURDAY 24 DECEMBER 2022

SAT 19:00 The Two Ronnies: The Studio Recordings (b00wyj3x)
The unedited takes and studio rushes from some famous and not-so-famous sketches from the classic comedy show, The Two Ronnies.


SAT 19:30 Christmas with Val Doonican (b04vkb37)
From 1986, Val Doonican performs with seasonal music and guest appearances from newsreader Jan Leeming, virtuoso percussionist Evelyn Glennie, snooker star Dennis Taylor and the Arts Educational School Choir.


SAT 20:10 The Classical Collection (m001gmv1)
Series 1

Christmas

Enjoy a festive ride through seven decades of Christmas music broadcast on BBC Television. Including seasonal classics by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi and Berlioz, Rudolph Nureyev dancing Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, carols both old and new from Benjamin Britten to the King’s Singers and much more.


SAT 21:10 Organ Stops: Saving the King of Instruments (m001gmv3)
Narrated by organ enthusiast Huw Edwards, Organ Stops follows a handful of eccentric devotees rescuing and restoring abandoned pipe organs from closing churches. As Martin Renshaw trawls churches for hidden gems in the form of precious instruments, he meets people like 95-year-old organist Blanche Beer, whose long life has been shaped by music and community.

In a Durham church, a wonderful organ is discovered that becomes the redemptive story at the heart of the film. The organ is saved and lovingly restored, becoming the musical heart of a vibrant church in London.

A poignant documentary about loss and rebirth, and the role music plays in our lives.


SAT 22:10 Their Finest (m0008595)
1940, London, the Blitz. With the country's morale at stake, Catrin, an untried screenwriter from Ebbw Vale, and a makeshift cast and crew work under fire to make a film to lift the nation's spirits - and inspire America to join the war. Leading the cast is the self-absorbed actor Ambrose Hilliard, who is persuaded to coach the handsome young American hero who has been 'parachuted' into the acting profession - but that will only be when the script is produced.

Acclaimed period drama from BBC Films.


SAT 00:00 The Last Igloo (m000cr9s)
Documentary that follows a lone Inuit as he hunts, fishes and constructs an igloo. It tells the story of skills that are disappearing and of how climate change is affecting the lives of Greenland's indigenous people.

With its focus on the ingenious craft of igloo building before it becomes too late to record it, this is a meditative and poetic sensory immersion in a landscape of ice and snow, an elegy to a world that is melting away.


SAT 01:30 What We Were Watching (m0001qys)
Christmas 1988

Grace Dent looks at the television shows that Britain’s viewers were watching over the Christmas period of 1988, focusing on that week’s TV schedules to explore how TV offerings change over the festive season, and how the nation’s viewing expectations have changed over three decades.

It’s an experience that sees Grace reviewing all the top drama, comedy and music programmes that we slumped down to watch after the turkey and trimmings - whilst wondering why that year’s issue of Christmas Radio Times remains the UK’s biggest-selling magazine and marvelling at how many of the big names from 30 years ago remain familiar faces today.

Amongst the shows and moments coming under scrutiny is the year’s biggest comedy, Bread, in which the Boswell family take a riotous trip to Rome; Dirty Den’s prison experiences in a typically cheery Christmas EastEnders, Noel Edmonds making TV history with a live link up in space, Philip Schofield amidst Christmas chaos on Going Live!, Bruce Forsyth and Ronnie Corbett teaming up for a dream double act, and that year’s other dream couple – Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, fresh from Neighbours and over here for a battle with Cliff Richard for that year’s Christmas number one spot. Other musical highlights include Bros’ take on Silent Night and Elaine Paige’s unmissable Christmassy version of Queen’s Radio Ga Ga.


SAT 02:30 Christmas with Val Doonican (b04vkb37)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


SAT 03:10 Some People with Jokes (b04w80p3)
Some Santas with Jokes

Father Christmases from across Britain take time out of their busy schedules to share their favourite jokes and get the whole nation going 'ho-ho-ho!'.

SUNDAY 25 DECEMBER 2022

SUN 19:00 A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story (m001gmwp)
Mark Gatiss stars as Jacob Marley in his own theatrical retelling of Dickens’s classic winter ghost story, with Nicholas Farrell as Scrooge. Directed for the stage by Adam Penford, this powerful tale of life, love, loss and redemption is as relevant today as when it was first published in 1843. Filled with Dickensian, spine-tingling special effects, prepare to be frightened and delighted in equal measure as you enter the supernatural Victorian world of A Christmas Carol.

It’s a cold Christmas Eve and mean-spirited miser Ebenezer Scrooge has an unexpected visit from the spirit of his former business partner Jacob Marley. Bound in chains as punishment for a lifetime of greed, the unearthly figure explains it isn’t too late for Scrooge to change his miserly ways in order to escape the same fate, but first he’ll have to face three more eerie encounters…


SUN 20:45 A Musical Family Christmas with the Kanneh-Masons (m0012xq1)
A look at Christmas with the talented Kanneh-Mason family, seven brothers and sisters who are taking the classical music world by storm. Coming home to Nottingham to celebrate, their unique seasonal celebration is an exciting fusion of family traditions from the UK, Sierra Leone and the Caribbean. They perform their favourite festive music such as Mary’s Boy Child, We Three Kings, Santa Baby, Sugar Plum Fairy and In the Bleak Midwinter, as well as versions of Bob Marley’s Who the Cap Fit, Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and Eric Whitacre’s The Seal Lullaby.


SUN 21:45 The Classical Collection (m001gmwr)
Series 1

Sheku Kanneh-Mason

After winning BBC Young Musician in 2016, cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason became an overnight sensation. This collection showcases his extraordinary journey from teenage virtuoso to a leading light of the classical music world and features performances with orchestras and ensembles as well as with the wider Kanneh-Mason family.


SUN 22:45 Victoria Wood: The Secret List (m000qrym)
Series 1

Episode 1

The first of two programmes featuring more than 20 sketches handpicked by Victoria Wood from her first solo series, As Seen on TV.

Back in 2009, Victoria wrote a list of her favourite moments from her seminal 80s series, intending to use it as a compilation show of self-selected best bits. The list remained locked away in her personal office until now. It features familiar favourites and often overlooked gems, but as these two programmes explore, the chosen sketches serve as a prediction of what was to come in an unparalleled career that crossed just about every genre of stage and screen.

This first programme includes contributions from Russell T Davies, Ken Loach and playwright Winsome Pinnock, who dissect Victoria’s groundbreaking early work, why it is still regarded as a watershed moment in British television and the impact it has had on writers since. Meanwhile, Jane Wymark and Joan Armatrading provide an insight into the private side of their friend.

Rare and unseen material from Victoria’s personal collection, including an early university project, rehearsal tapes, notebooks and photos, completes this examination into the work of one of Britain’s most prolific artists.


SUN 23:45 Victoria Wood: The Secret List (m000qsj1)
Series 1

Episode 2

An opportunity to see again sketches handpicked by Victoria Wood exclusively from her seminal sketch show As Seen on TV. The list of her favourite sketches was never aired or mentioned, instead sitting among her personal papers, which after her death in 2016 were boxed up and archived.

This tribute continues to unveil Victoria’s favourite moments and is chock-full of indelible sketches, including Shoe Shop, Two Soups and Acorn Antiques, plus matchless comic big belters At the Chippy and, of course, The Ballad of Barry and Freda aka Let’s Do It.

Acclaimed writers Abby Morgan and Winsome Pinnock discuss why Victoria’s comedy subverted outdated preconceptions about women, ageing and other ‘unmentionables’. Ken Loach and Russell T Davies dissect Victoria’s unrivalled use of language. Meanwhile, superfans celebrate a body of work that continues to resonate and inspire.


SUN 00:45 dinnerladies (p09yj3rt)
Series 2

Christmas

It's nearly Christmas and all is not well in the canteen. Bren thinks she has blown it with Tony, and Petula's hopes of a family Christmas are thwarted.


SUN 01:20 The Two Ronnies: The Studio Recordings (b00wyj3x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 01:50 Top of the Pops (b086trr9)
Christmas Hits

The Top of the Pops Christmas Hits compilation is made up of hits down the years, mostly performed on those classic episodes of Christmas Top of the Pops in a seasonal studio. We include songs that reached the charts in December, from Ian Dury and the Blockheads to Madness, East 17 and Coldplay.

There are hits that made the enviable Christmas Number 1 spot from the likes of The Human League and Pet Shop Boys, songs that were pipped to the post and perennial Christmas classics from Slade, Mud and Frankie Goes to Hollywood to name but three. We also have a special rediscovered rare performance opening the programme from the psychedelic era Rolling Stones from 1967 and not broadcast for over 40 years. Christmas Top of the Pops adorns the studio in tinsel to give a perfect playlist for any festive party.

MONDAY 26 DECEMBER 2022

MON 19:00 Winter Walks (m000qfw1)
Series 1

Rev Richard Coles

The North York Moors provide a picturesque setting for Reverend Richard Coles on a winter walk through this historic landscape. Departing from the iconic Sutton Bank with its panoramic views, Richard takes the viewer across countryside shaped by centuries of change marked by conflict, mining and religion.

Armed with his handheld 360-degree camera, Richard finds inspiration in the sights and sounds of his walk. Along the way, he shares his
personal reflections.

Finishing at Rievaulx Abbey, Richard guides the viewer around the ruins with thoughtful comment. This was once the site of one of England’s most powerful Cistercian monasteries. Richard ends his journey talking of the need for silent contemplation.

Filmed in February 2020 before Covid restrictions were introduced.


MON 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (m000x2lf)
Series 7 (Shortened Versions)

Episode 4

Arriving in Paris at the Champs de Mars station, Michael takes in an epic view of the city from the top of the Arc de Triomphe before heading for Montparnasse, where wildly creative artists and writers of the 1920s and 1930s spawned new art movements. In one of the area’s elegant cafes, Michael learns about dada and the avant garde during the Crazy Years after the First World War.

Backstage at the legendary Folies Bergere, Michael asks the 'enfant terrible' of fashion, Jean Paul Gaultier, about his homage to the black American dancer, Josephine Baker, and goes backstage to meet the stars of the show.

East of Paris, in Champagne country, Michael finishes his journey in style with a tour of the cellars at Domaine Pommery and a glass of fizz with the owner.


MON 20:00 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m001gmt0)
2022: Dame Sue Black

Dead Body

Professor Sue Black has been dubbed the ‘corpse whisperer’ for her role in deciphering the messages hidden within a dead body. In this first lecture in the Royal Institution’s 2022 Christmas series, she is joined by Silent Witness’s Emilia Fox to reveal the secrets of forensic science.

Sue shows how the stories of our lives are hidden in the very fabric of our bodies by examining an archaeological skeleton, using techniques she uses in modern-day forensic investigations. She gradually builds up its identity until a pile of old bones once again becomes a real person. She explains how extraordinary clues in our bones can reveal everything from our age and our sex to our diets and our ancestry – there’s even a bone in our ear that can reveal where our mother lived while she was pregnant.

Professor Black’s investigations into the trauma marks visible in the 1,000-year-old skeleton’s bones reveal where this person died, and how they died. In the process, she tells this individual’s extraordinary life story and sheds light on one of the darkest days in English history.

The Christmas Lectures date back to 1825 when Michael Faraday founded the lectures for children at the Royal Institution. They are the world’s longest running science television series, which today use demonstrations and interactive experiments with the live theatre audience.

With insights from forensic investigations into serious crimes and war zones.


MON 21:00 Robbie Coltrane at the BBC (m001gmt3)
A look back at the life and career of Robbie Coltrane, one of Britain’s best-loved stars and a giant of both the big and the small screen. His death earlier this year was one of the big shocks of 2022. Here, Celia Imrie narrates an affectionate tribute to one of Scotland’s favourite sons, telling his story through a selection of interviews and special moments from his appearances on BBC shows over the decades.

This retrospective is a reminder of how Robbie first grabbed audiences’ attention as an exciting new comedy star in the 1980s, and the transition he made in the 1990s into cinema success and international stardom with roles in some of the movie world’s biggest blockbuster franchises.


MON 21:50 Richard Wilson Remembers... Tutti Frutti (m001gmt5)
It’s a trip down rock 'n' roll’s memory lane for Richard Wilson as he recalls his role as manager of The Majestics in John Byrne’s 1987 acclaimed TV drama series Tutti Frutti. When it first hit our television screens, the series was instantly hailed as a modern classic that thrust many of its cast into the mainstream and transformed the career of leading man – and Majestics frontman – the late, great Robbie Coltrane.

Here, Richard looks back on his own experience on the series, recalls what it was like being part of the Tutti Frutti success story, and remembers of course what it was like working alongside Robbie on a programme they both loved.


MON 22:00 Tutti Frutti (m0003413)
Series 1

The Boy Can’t Help It

Ageing rock 'n' roll band The Majestics are about to hit the big time after 25 years of footslogging around small-scale Scottish venues.


MON 23:00 Tutti Frutti (p00zw5ks)
Series 1

On the Road Again

The band are put out when they learn they are not top of the bill. Vince announces that his girlfriend is pregnant, which displeases his wife.


MON 00:00 The Sky at Night (b06t3wst)
The Real Star of Bethlehem: A Christmas Special

Astronomers have been fascinated by the idea of the Star of Bethlehem for centuries. Did it exist? And if so, what was it?

The list of candidates includes some of the most exciting objects in the night sky - supernovae, comets, meteors and unusual alignments of the giant planets.

In this surprising and entertaining Christmas special the Sky at Night team go in search of the potential causes of the Star of Bethlehem.

The team explore the possibilities, investigating the nature of the phenomena and digging through the historical records including Babylonian clay tablets and ancient Chinese manuscripts, to reconstruct events in the night sky 2,000 years ago.

Maggie Aderin-Pocock goes hunting for supernovae using the most powerful laser in Britain, and discovers that these mighty explosions caused by the death of stars can shine brighter than the moon in our sky.

Chris Lintott reconstructs the night sky over Jerusalem at the time of Jesus's birth, discovering a once-in-a-millennium conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter that was first suggested as a cause of the star by the great astronomer Johannes Kepler in 1604.

Armed with his telescope, Pete Lawrence searches out the features of the night sky we can observe today that may provide clues to the origin of the Star of Bethlehem.

Professor Alan Fitzsimmons explains why the sudden appearance of a comet in the night sky has always been seen as an omen of great events on Earth.

Dallas Campbell goes in search of the historical and archaeological records that can shed light on the identity of the star. Finding Babylonian tablets in the vaults of the British Museum and ancient Chinese texts that record all the unusual events in the night sky 2,000 years ago, including a bright new star that appeared for 70 days in the year 5BC.


MON 01:00 Hope Street (p0ddgcm4)
Series 2

Episode 4

When a car is pulled from Port Devine Harbour, the whole town searches for a missing mother. Meanwhile, Al kisses someone he shouldn’t.


MON 01:45 Winter Walks (m000qfw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 02:15 Great Continental Railway Journeys (m000x2lf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:45 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m001gmt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUESDAY 27 DECEMBER 2022

TUE 19:00 Winter Walks (m0012290)
Series 2

Alastair Campbell

The snow-covered hillsides of Ribblesdale are the setting for Alastair Campbell’s Winter Walk through the Yorkshire Dales. Fog and snow don’t deter the political veteran as he makes his way through the county he was born and raised in. Starting at a waterfall above the market town of Settle, Alastair descends into town, meeting local residents who are also out braving the weather. Twisted trees and drystone walls line his route. The steep hillsides and dramatic views remind Alastair of the humbling power of nature.

Talking about his mental health, Alastair describes the comfort he draws from being out in a landscape and how time in this space can help him focus on what’s really important in life.


TUE 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (m000x2m7)
Series 7 (Shortened Versions)

Episode 5

Michael embarks on a rail journey through Germany, steered by a Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide published in 1936.

His unique window on Europe between the world wars takes him through a tumultuous period in German history, when the nation’s first democracy and its vibrant culture of art, design and decadence were swept away by fascism, nationalism and the increasing likelihood of war.

In a vast stadium in Berlin, Michael hears how new rail lines were constructed to transport crowds of spectators to the Nazi Olympic Games in 1936. Michael learns how a planned boycott by the United States and other European nations failed and how the success of a black American athlete undermined the Nazi ideology of Aryan superiority.

At the Museum of Modern Art in Berlin’s Kreuzberg, Michael sees how a leading artist of the era, Georg Grosz, warned of the rise of fascism in a haunting self-portrait. Michael goes to the movies in Potsdam and discovers the success of the Babelsberg Studios, where directors such as Fritz Lang and stars such as Marlene Dietrich worked.


TUE 20:00 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m001gmzy)
2022: Dame Sue Black

Missing Body

Professor Sue Black investigates a Christmas murder mystery to show how serious crimes are solved when there isn't a body.

Sue is joined by an expert team including leading police specialists, forensic scientists and an award-winning dog. Assisting them, the audience help to unravel the mystery, using the latest forensic cameras, fingerprint techniques and DNA analysis. Remarkable soil analysis shows how a suspicious pair of muddy boots can be traced back to the most precise location.

With insights into real serious crime investigations, Sue and her team draw on all their experience to solve the mysterious case.


TUE 21:00 One Foot in the Grave (p00d70c7)
Who's Listening?

Victor bemoans the commercialism of Christmas and ponders whether it ever had a deeper, spiritual meaning. He decides to help the vicar feed the homeless on Christmas Day, but it's not quite the uplifting experience he'd hoped for because they end up being held hostage by a gun-toting man.


TUE 22:00 Tutti Frutti (p00zw5lw)
Series 1

Gin a Body, Dig a Body

The BBC is making a documentary on the death of Big Jazz, and Danny decides to get involved. The others resent the amount of attention that he is getting.


TUE 23:00 Tutti Frutti (m0003nrg)
Series 1

Don't You Rock Me Daddy-O

A blast from the past puts the wind up the Majestics drummer when he and Danny ride the Radio Buckie airwaves, Noreen throws in the towel and it is left to Suzi to blow up in a storm. Is this a dagger I see before me?


TUE 00:00 The Classical Collection (m001gn00)
Series 1

Nature

The natural world has always been a powerful inspiration to composers. From vast forests and tiny fish to wild storms and epic seascapes, this programme takes us on an evocative journey through some of the best-loved musical responses to our living planet.


TUE 01:00 Hope Street (p0ddgh54)
Series 2

Episode 5

As the police officers fight to secure a grieving daughter’s birthright, Al does something truly terrible to save his daughter’s skin.


TUE 01:45 Winter Walks (m0012290)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 02:15 Great Continental Railway Journeys (m000x2m7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 02:45 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m001gmzy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 28 DECEMBER 2022

WED 19:00 Winter Walks (m000qzmy)
Series 1

Sayeeda Warsi

Accompanied by the gentle soundscape of the great outdoors, Yorkshire peer Sayeeda Warsi takes time out from her political life to seek peace and calm in the Dales.

On her ramble through Wharfedale, the former government minister meets villagers in Kettlewell, a farmer preparing for lambing and a long-distance fell runner.

Sayeeda discovers an other-worldly hidden landscape. Filming herself and everything around her on a 360-degree camera, she wanders through beautiful countryside and finds inspiration along the way.


WED 19:30 Great Continental Railway Journeys (m000x9vw)
Series 7 (Shortened Versions)

Episode 6

Michael Portillo continues his journey through Germany, guided by his 1936 Bradshaw’s Continental Railway Guide.

At the birthplace of Germany’s first democracy, Weimar, Michael investigates the beginning of Bauhaus design and visits the movement’s first building, a family house encapsulating a vision of how people might live in the 20th century.

Travelling with author Julia Boyd to Nuremberg, Michael discovers that despite the First World War and the Third Reich, Britons and Americans loved Germany and German culture in the 1930s. Michael hears how one British tourist above all was welcomed by Hitler to Germany, the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII.

In the medieval Bavarian city of Nuremberg, Michael visits the monumental buildings and parade grounds, which were the stage for vast Nazi rallies to publicise the regime around the world and arouse popular support at home. He finishes in Stuttgart, where an ambitious engineering project is underway that will integrate the city into a high-speed train route connecting Paris with Bratislava.

Michael bags a ride in a high performance Porsche to the manufacturer’s Stuttgart headquarters and discovers that, in the 1930s, the founder designed an affordable car for mass production – the Beetle.


WED 20:00 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m001gmxq)
2022: Dame Sue Black

Living Body

The final lecture in the series begins with a ‘heist’. A jewel thief steals a precious man-made diamond from the Royal Institution’s collection. Can forensic evidence conclusively identify and convict the criminal responsible?

To find out, the Royal Institution’s lecture theatre is transformed into a courtroom and the audience acts as jury on the case, with a special guest king’s counsel invited to defend the suspect. Forensic evidence is based on probability; it can never be 100 per cent certain. So, how convincing does the evidence need to be for the court of the Royal Institution’s own jury to reach a guilty verdict?

Includes insights from real criminal investigations.


WED 21:00 PQ17: An Arctic Convoy Disaster (b03n3297)
Jeremy Clarkson tells the dramatic story of the Arctic convoys of the Second World War, from Russia to the freezing Arctic Ocean.

Accompanied by moving first hand testimony from the men who served on these convoys, Clarkson reveals the incredible hazards faced by members of the Merchant and Royal Navy who delivered vital war supplies via the Arctic to the Soviet Union: temperatures of minus 50 degrees, huge icebergs, colossal waves, not to mention German U-boats and the Luftwaffe. It is no wonder that Churchill described the Arctic Convoys as 'the worst journey in the world.'

Between 1941 and 1945, more than 70 convoys delivered 4 million tonnes of material to the USSR, yet one convoy in partiuclar would come to symbolise the dangers faced by the men who served on them. Codenamed PQ17, this convoy of 35 merchant ships would be described by Churchill as one of the most melancholy naval episodes of the war.

Retracing the route of PQ17 from the Arctic to the Russian winter port of Archangel, Clarkson reveals how, on the night of July 4th 1942, this joint Anglo-American convoy became one of the biggest naval disasters of the 20th century. To make matters worse, the cause of the disaster lay not in the brutal conditions of the Arctic, or the military might of the Germans, but a misjudgement made in the corridors of the Admiralty in London.


WED 22:00 The Real T Rex with Chris Packham (b09ksl99)
Chris Packham goes on an investigative journey into the mysteries of planet Earth's super predator - Tyrannosaurus rex. The latest groundbreaking palaeontological discoveries combined with studies of modern animals are redefining this iconic dinosaur. Tackling everything from the way he looked, moved, socialised - even down to his terrifying roar - Chris strips away Hollywood myths to uncover the amazing truth, and utilizing the latest CGI wizardry, he rebuilds the most authentic T rex ever seen from the bones up.

Chris's journey begins in the badlands of Montana, where he has the chance to touch a T rex fossil still emerging from the 65-million-year-old rocks. From here he travels to Berlin to visit Tristan, a T rex skeleton recently excavated from the badlands. These bare bones pose more questions and Chris decides his challenge is to rebuild Tristan with CGI, using the latest discoveries to fill in the gaps. He visits palaeontologist Greg Erikson in Alabama, who is exploring the power of T rex's jaws by comparing them to what we can gauge from modern alligators.

Chris learns that although T rex bore similarities to reptiles, his musculature shows him to be more like a bird. He then takes a prehistoric paddle in the rivers of Dino-State Park in Texas, where exposed dinosaur footprints form long trackways that are the passion of dino-paw expert Glen Kuban. His findings lead Chris to compare T rex with modern flightless birds in an effort to work out just how fast he could move. With the help of palaeontologist and biomechanics expert John Hutchinson, he discovers that the huge tail was not a drag but the source of T rex's locomotive power - but that there were limits which we learn when they put a virtual Tristan on a treadmill.

Chris visits Larry Witmer in Ohio, who has used CT scanners to look into a fossilized skull and find the precise shape of T rex's brain. From this, he has identified supersized sensory zones - proving that he is a great hunter - but also an inner ear that indicates he was designed to hear ultra-low frequency infrasounds. Taking this lead, Chris goes to a sound studio in Berlin with palaeontologist Julia Clarke to experiment with recreating the surprising true roar of T rex.

In order to add the final look to Tristan, Julia Clarke, who has scoured microscopic samples of dinosaur skin for evidence of coloration, helps Chris find a palette based on melanin, as seen in modern birds of prey. Just before Tristan is finished, Chris takes one more trip to Alberta, Canada, where he meets palaeontologist Phil Currie, who suggests on the evidence of a recent fossil find that T rex may have been social predators, living in prides like African lions. Finally, Chris sets Tristan free and in a scene Chris has imagined his whole life, he finally gets to go nose to nose with an animal he has longed to meet.


WED 23:00 Tutti Frutti (p00zw5r8)
Series 1

Love Hurts

The Majestics attempt to make a new record. Danny finds out the truth about Suzie's husband.


WED 00:00 Tutti Frutti (p00zw5fx)
Series 1

A Wop-Boppa Loo-Bop a Wop-Bam Boom

The Glasgow Pavilion, climax of the Silver Jubilee Tour. But all is not well. Danny gets in the ring with Suzi, there's more about the TV show and Diver develops a taste for vodka.


WED 01:10 Winter Walks (m000qzmy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 01:40 Great Continental Railway Journeys (m000x9vw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 02:10 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures (m001gmxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

THURSDAY 29 DECEMBER 2022

THU 19:00 Horizon (b08ry9l9)
2018

Volcanoes of the Solar System

Volcanoes have long helped shape the Earth. But what is less well known is that there are volcanoes on other planets and moons that are even more extraordinary than those on our own home planet. Horizon follows an international team of volcanologists in Iceland as they draw fascinating parallels between the volcanoes on Earth and those elsewhere in the solar system. Through the team's research, we discover that the largest volcano in the solar system - Olympus Mons on Mars - has been formed in a similar way to those of Iceland, how a small moon of Jupiter - Io - has the most violent eruptions anywhere, and that a moon of Saturn called Enceladus erupts icy geysers from a hidden ocean. Computer graphics combined with original Nasa material reveal the spectacular sights of these amazing volcanoes.

Along the way, we learn that volcanoes are not just a destructive force, but have been essential to the formation of atmospheres and even life. And through these volcanoes of the solar system, scientists have discovered far more about our own planet - what it was like when Earth first formed, and even what will happen to our planet in the future.


THU 19:15 Great Continental Railway Journeys (m000x9rn)
Series 7 (Shortened Versions)

Episode 7

Michael Portillo’s 1936 Bradshaw’s Continental Railways Guide brings him to the Italian 'treasure island' of Sicily, full of natural beauty and 'scenery of the greatest charm'. But the interwar guidebook also tells him that the head of government in Italy is the fascist leader Signor Benito Mussolini.

On a railway journey from the capital, Palermo, through the ancient town of Agrigento and the port of Siracusa, to Europe’s largest volcano, Mount Etna, Michael explores Sicilian life under the dictatorship.

In Palermo, Michael takes in the art and architecture of the Futurists and feasts on spaghetti and sardines in the city’s Ballaro market. In the Capo district, he learns how the island’s distinctive puppets are made and is enchanted to meet one carrying a Bradshaw.

Among the spectacular ancient Greek and Roman temples of Agrigento, Michael hears of the passionate ten-year search by a British archaeologist at the time of his guide for a long-lost ancient Greek theatre.

The drama of the interwar period comes to life in front of Michael’s eyes as he joins six characters in search of an author at the Teatro Pirandello.


THU 19:45 Ken Dodd: How Tickled We Were (b0bwdjxg)
For over six decades, Sir Ken Dodd was one of Britain's favourite entertainers - a comedian whose surreal world of tickling sticks, jam butty mines and Diddymen kept generations of audiences entertained, from his professional debut in 1954 to his final curtain call in December 2017. In Sir Ken's own words and with testimony from friends, family and colleagues who knew him best, this revealing documentary film tells the story of his incredible life and long career, which included a record-breaking run at The London Palladium in the 1960s, numerous television series and specials, countless summer seasons and variety shows, a string of hit records and a touring one-man show that continued right into his ninetieth year.

Sir Ken's wife Lady Anne talks about his love of being on stage and their life spent together in Knotty Ash, and his friends and peers discuss his unique and enduring relationship with the British public. In addition to rarely seen archive of Sir Ken's work on stage and television, the programme features home movies and family photography from his own personal archive. Featured interviewees include Dara O Briain, Ricky Tomlinson, Alex Horne, Jimmy Tarbuck, Stephanie Cole, Roy Hudd, Joe Pasquale, Ian St John, Roger McGough, Bishop James Jones and Claire Sweeney. Craig Charles narrates.


THU 21:00 Chariots of Fire (m001gn1j)
Oscar-winning drama. Two rival British runners push themselves to the limit in their quest to make the 1924 British Olympic team, but neither is prepared to compromise on his priniciples.


THU 23:00 The Magnificent Seven (m000crzp)
After the latest raid by bandits, the villagers in a small settlement in Mexico band together to hire a group of disparate gunfighters to protect them.

Classic Western.


THU 01:05 BBC Proms (m001c1kd)
2022

Unmissable Moments

Take a whistlestop tour through the very best music from the 2022 Proms season in this one-off special. Eight weeks of world-class concerts become just 100 minutes of standout performances from the countless musicians who graced the Royal Albert Hall stage this summer.

The show is packed with tunes we know and love, with something for everyone. Emotional highlights include Elgar’s sublime Nimrod, the Proms’ tribute to the late, great Aretha Franklin, and a spine-tingling performance of the Ukrainian national anthem by the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra.

Along the way, expect favourites like Handel’s majestic Zadok the Priest, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Beethoven’s epic Ode to Joy and Dukas’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

There’s also fireworks from international soloists Yuja Wang, Kian Soltani, and Nicola Benedetti, as well as numbers from the first ever Gaming Prom and international superstar Cynthia Erivo’s Proms debut performance.

An ensemble of this year’s Proms presenters bring us this celebration of the greatest classical music festival in the world.


THU 02:45 Great Continental Railway Journeys (m000x9rn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 today]

FRIDAY 30 DECEMBER 2022

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (b09hm54f)
Lenny Henry presents a review of all of the hits from 1984, first broadcast on 27 December 1984. Includes Spandau Ballet, Neil, Ultravox, Shakin' Stevens, Bronski Beat, Bananarama, Flying Pickets, Black Lace, Slade, Chaka Khan, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, Joe Fagin and Stevie Wonder.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000l9th)
Review of the 80s

Mike Read and Paul Gambaccini present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 28 December 1989 and featuring Kim Wilde, Aswad and Band Aid.


FRI 21:00 Chuck Berry in Concert (m001gn1l)
Legendary rock 'n' roller Chuck Berry performs at the BBC Television Theatre in 1972. Johnny B Goode, Roll Over Beethoven and Nadine are just some of the highlights of this concert, shown in an extended cut. This version includes, for the first time, an epic rendition of My Ding-a-Ling that carries all before it and raises innuendo to an art form.


FRI 22:20 Tom Jones's 1950s: The Decade That Made Me (b0788qph)
In this personal journey through his formative years in south Wales in the 1950s, Tom Jones takes us on a trip through the decade of his childhood and adolescence, the years that shaped his ambition, his talent and his tastes and that witnessed an explosion of popular culture and the sweeping aside of the old order.

Television, the movies, the radio and - most importantly - the music of the first rock 'n' roll years give us a unique insight into both the country and the decade that would shape Tom's talent and, in the 60s, make him a star. Tom Jones's 1950s in Pontypridd are told first hand by the man himself as he travels back to his birthplace.

Tom's take on the decade is amplified and explored by a Greek chorus of contributors who share their account of their 50s. Joan Bakewell, Katherine Whitehorn and Michele Hanson share their experiences both as women and from differing class backgrounds, historians Alwyn Turner, Martin Johnes, Francis Beckett and Tony Russell draw the social and political landscape of a rapidly changing decade, while musicians Bruce Welch, Clem Cattini, Marty Wilde and Tom McGuinness talk of how that decade began their musical journeys and changed their lives forever, all illustrated by a rich seam of archive that captures a decade we mostly saw in black and white.

The result is a rich mix of humour, confession and reflection - all brought to life by Tom Jones himself, our guide through the lives and times of a young generation struggling to find its own voice.


FRI 23:20 It's Only Rock 'n' Roll: Rock 'n' Roll at the BBC (b063m6wy)
A celebration of rock 'n' roll in the shape of a compilation of classic artists and songs, featuring the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion and Dick Dale who all featured in the Rock 'n' Roll America series, alongside songs that celebrate rock 'n roll itself from artists such as Tom Petty (Anything That's Rock 'n' Roll), Joan Jett (I Love Rock 'n' Roll) and Oasis (Rock 'n' Roll Star).


FRI 00:20 Country Music by Ken Burns (m000cf2d)
Series 1

Don't Get Above Your Raisin' (1984-1996)

As country music’s popularity rocketed, the genre questioned whether it could stay true to its roots. The success of ‘New Traditionalists’ like Reba McEntire and the Judds suggested it could.

Garth Brooks overcame rejection and exploded onto the scene. And after being left behind by his label, Johnny Cash returned to a studio with just his guitar and his unforgettable voice to record albums that sold millions of copies and earnt him the respect of the industry he helped to create. Meanwhile, Rosanne Cash came out of the shadow of her father to start her own music career.


FRI 01:10 Top of the Pops (b09hm54f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


FRI 02:10 Top of the Pops (m000l9th)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]