SATURDAY 08 APRIL 2023

SAT 19:00 Michael Palin: The Art of Travel (m001kyrs)
Series 1

LMS

Michael Palin takes an imaginary journey to Blackpool via the LMS posters of the 1920s and 1930s.


SAT 19:10 Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (p00xb74g)
Episode 4

Michael Palin stays in Ernest Hemingway's favourite Cuban hotel and samples a few of his favourite hangouts including Bodeguita del Medio and the Floridita in old Havana. He meets 101-year-old Gregorio Fuentes, considered an Old Man of the Sea, and who sits in the sun, smoking cigars.

He peers into Hemingway's Havana house that has now become a shrine where visitors aren't allowed to tread.

Back in West America, Michael attempts to be a cowboy and partakes in some male bonding while visiting Yellowstone Park. He also visits the house in Ketchum, Idaho where Hemingway died in 1961 and where he was laid to rest.


SAT 20:00 Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime (m000nx4k)
Series 1

Episode 4

Michael revisits his fourth - and in some ways, most personal - travel series. Inspired by the apparent emptiness of the Sahara Desert as seen from a flight and by boyhood dreams of exploration, Michael sets off to find out what this ‘blank space’ contains. He is delighted and inspired by the societies he encounters there – nomads, refugees, artists. He also confronts some harsh realities – the effects of war, the migrant crisis and the rise of militant Islam. From Gibraltar, Michael looks across the Mediterranean to what is for him a mysterious land – north Africa.

Arriving in Fez, Morocco, Michael finds himself immersed in an ancient city that seems to hark back to biblical times. Then, it is across the Atlas Mountains to confront the great desert itself. Here, Michael encounters the more modern reality of this land in the Smara refugee camp, home to displaced people from western Sahara. Then he sets his sights on one of the most alluring destinations of all - Timbuktu, the city that has fascinated so many travellers down the centuries. It is a challenging trip, but Michael makes it, and while the reality of the place doesn’t quite match his image, he learns about its extraordinary history and culture.

Further on, an encounter with a tribe nearly ends in disaster when a gun goes off in Michael’s face. But another tribe, the Wodaabe, prove fascinating and friendly as Michael sees the men perform an extraordinary dance to attract a bride. And with the Touareg nomads, Michael experiences a magical trek into deep desert as part of a camel train – a journey that allows him to make friends with his guides despite the fact that they don’t speak each other’s language. Finally, Michael reflects on how his life and career have changed since then, thanks to travel.


SAT 21:00 Lost: Those Who Kill (p0f489b0)
Series 1

Episode 1

Louise Bergstein is on edge after her last homicide case. But she is determined to continue working as a criminal profiler on the force, and when a middle-aged couple are found brutally murdered outside their home, she takes the case. She assists Chief Detective Frederik Havgaard, who is convinced he knows who the killer is. But Louise's research points to a completely different person.

In Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 21:45 Lost: Those Who Kill (p0f48cp9)
Series 1

Episode 2

Louise locates Bjørn’s little sister Maria. Maria's caseworker suggests that Louise mentor the young woman, who is faced with the prospect of having her child taken away from her. Meanwhile, Bjørn is in hiding.

In Danish with English subtitles.


SAT 22:30 Nighty Night (b0074cg9)
Series 1

Episode 5

Comedy series about the owner of a suburban beauty salon who sees her husband's terminal illness as a fresh start for herself. Cath finally stands up to Jill and throws her out of their house. Jill carries on with her husband Terry's funeral, while he remains bored in the hospice. Jill persuades Glenn, her blind date, to pay for the buffet and disco at the wake.


SAT 23:00 Nighty Night (b0074cgz)
Series 1

Episode 6

Comedy series about the owner of a suburban beauty salon who sees her husband's terminal illness as a fresh start for herself. Having discovered that Glenn is wealthy, Jill moves in with him, pretending to start a new life. But her past finally catches up with her.


SAT 23:30 As Time Goes By (p0479t07)
Series 2

A Weekend Away

When both Judy and Alistair go away for the weekend, Jean tries everything to avoid spending the weekend alone with Lionel.


SAT 00:00 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077hrr)
Series 1

Stranger on a Train

Five years have passed. Bob has travelled to London to buy a wedding present and Terry has returned from Cyprus after a spell in the army. By chance, they meet on the last train home and the events of the past few years flood out.


SAT 00:30 Paris Police 1900 (p09tqlz1)
Series 1

Episode 7

Tensions run high on Rue Chabrol. Encircled by the police, Guérin is protected by the butchers of La Villette. He waits for the trap to close in on Lépine and his men so that he can take power with his nationalist and monarchist allies.

In French with English subtitles.


SAT 01:20 Paris Police 1900 (p09tqmv5)
Series 1

Episode 8

Guérin and his men remain holed up in their HQ, but inclement weather disperses their supporters in the streets. An exhausted Fiersi is caught by Puybaraud's men and is persuaded to undertake one final commission for his boss.

In French with English subtitles.


SAT 02:20 Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure (p00xb74g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:10 today]

SUNDAY 09 APRIL 2023

SUN 19:00 Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe (b007920b)
The Heart of Italy

Francesco da Mosto discovers why Rome is the Eternal City and goes head to head with Mussolini. Travelling via the fantastic water gardens of Villa d'Este and the royal seat of the Bourbon dynasty, he arrives in Naples. After an encounter with Italy's most astonishing sculpture - Sanmartino's Veiled Christ - and a lesson in Neapolitan pizza making, Francesco descends deep into the caverns of underground Naples and discovers an eerie cult of the dead.


SUN 20:00 Tenebrae: Bach to MacMillan (m001kyt7)
Celebrated British choral group Tenebrae brings its trademark passion and precision to a dramatic programme of music, contrasting Bach’s iconic motets with sacred works by Sir James MacMillan.

Renowned for their technical difficulty, Bach’s motets are pillars of the choral repertoire. However, there is some uncertainty as to the extent that motets would have been called for in normal church services, given there is evidence that the form was considered archaic. Scholars have suggested their use might have been pedagogical, a form of choral writing useful for training Bach's young singers. This could apply, in particular, to Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied (Sing unto the Lord a new song), which ends the performance and may have been composed to provide choral exercises for Bach's students at the Thomasschule. The motet's biblical text would have been well suited to that purpose with the final four-part fugue titled Alles was Odem hat (All that have voice, praise the Lord!). Maybe that’s why Bach's motets are his only vocal works that remained in the canon without interruption between his death in 1750 and the 19th-century Bach revival led by Mendelssohn. The works famously require minute attention to detail as well as a full emotional range. Here, Tenebrae performs the three best known of the set, Komm Jesu komm, (Come, Jesus, come), Jesu meine Freude (Jesus, my joy), which is the longest and most musically complex of his motets, and the joyful Singet dem Herrn (Sing unto the Lord).

Like Bach, MacMillan has written much of his music for the Church, and his settings of the Tenebrae Responsories paint a vivid picture of the events of Holy Week. The Responsories are a major work in MacMillan’s choral output, written for Cappella Nova in 2006 and first performed by them the following year at St Andrew’s in the Square, Glasgow. There are three movements, Tenebrae factae sunt, Tradiderunt me and Jesum Tradidit. Together they form a spiritually engaging and emotionally involving work which relates back in its searing intensity and some of its choral effects to Seven Last Words from the Cross (1993), one of MacMillan’s seminal earlier works. This work is also about the Crucifixion. The word Tenebrae, from which the choir takes its name, means darkness and refers to the Catholic practice of gradually extinguishing candles following readings of the Psalms in special Holy Week services.

The first movement is intensely chromatic, the second begins with three great choral outbursts of Tradiderunt me (They delivered me into the hands of the ungodly), returning at the end. They are then picked up at the start of the final movement with another three shouts of Jesum (Jesus was betrayed by the ungodly man…). The end is yet another example of MacMillan’s ability to give his audience something that will figuratively send them to their knees. A soprano solo emerges from a final impassioned choral phrase describing how Peter followed the procession to the Crucifixion from a distance to see the end, and he sings a dying soliloquy, a lament, walking off stage until he can no longer be heard. This remarkable work leaves a vivid impression in performance.

In 2021, MacMillan was asked to compose a work specifically for Tenebrae to perform alongside the Bach motets, and the result, which follows his Responsories, is a moving setting of words by Henry Vaughan, I Saw Eternity.


SUN 21:20 The Classical Collection (m001gc87)
Series 1

JS Bach

Highlight performances of Bach’s music from the BBC Television archives, featuring choral, orchestral and solo performances, including an array of legendary soloists from David Oistrakh and Yo-Yo Ma to András Schiff and Myra Hess.


SUN 22:20 imagine... (m001f0q7)
2022

Sonia Boyce: Finding Her Voice

Alan Yentob follows acclaimed artist Sonia Boyce as she prepares to make history as the first black woman to represent Great Britain at the Venice Biennale. Why does that matter? Because this historic, sprawling exhibition is widely seen as the most prestigious and influential showcase of contemporary art in the world. The pressure is on for Sonia to pull off the biggest exhibition of her career.

Her Venice Pavilion is inspired by a passion project she has been obsessed with for over 20 years. Called the ‘Devotional Collection’, it’s a massive archive of memorabilia relating to the contributions of black women in the British music industry, and Sonia is bringing many of her collected names to Venice.

This insightful and timely film charts the two months leading up to the Biennale’s opening week, and also explores Sonia’s 40-year evolution as an artist. Beginning with the large-scale pastel depictions of herself that announced the arrival of a major new talent back in the 1980s, and looking at her experiments with interactive sculptures made of hair in the 1990s, the film ends with what fascinates Sonia Boyce today: performance art created through improvisation, play and experimental
singing.

Sonia finds herself part of a wider conversation at this year’s Biennale. Her close friend and former Brixton neighbour Zineb Sedira is the first artist of Algerian heritage to represent France, and her former pupil Alberta Whittle is making history as the first black woman to represent Scotland. For the first time in its history, women artists dominate the Biennale. Could this be a moment of fundamental change not only for Sonia Boyce, but for contemporary art history?


SUN 23:25 The Capture (m00085sv)
Series 1

What Happens in Helmand

When soldier Shaun Emery’s conviction for a murder in Afghanistan is overturned due to flawed video evidence, he returns to life as a free man with his young daughter. But when damning CCTV footage from a night out in London comes to light, Shaun’s life takes a shocking turn and he must soon fight for his freedom once again. Newly promoted DI Rachel Carey is drafted in to investigate Shaun’s case, and she quickly learns that the truth can sometimes be a matter of perspective. Should she trust Shaun Emery?


SUN 00:25 The Capture (m0008cq8)
Series 1

Toy Soldier

The truth about Shaun Emery's crime isn’t as clear as it first appeared to DI Carey, as crucial CCTV evidence is redacted by a mysterious MI5 officer. This surprise development forces Carey, Flynn and Latif to scramble for more evidence. But with forensics drawing a blank on Shaun's car, Commander Hart offering little support, and weak witness statements, Carey is forced to release Shaun. After a run-in with his ex-partner Karen, who is enraged by his failure to pick up their daughter from school, Shaun is determined to prove his innocence and enlists best mate Mat to help him break into Hannah’s apartment in search of clues. Closely followed by a suspicious Carey on CCTV, and Flynn and Latif on foot, Shaun somehow manages to evade Carey’s watch, forcing her to question an even more problematic issue – the surveillance network itself.


SUN 01:20 The Capture (m0008kgv)
Series 1

Truffle Hog

The stakes intensify for Shaun as he is interrogated by inscrutable US agent Frank Napier at a covert CIA outpost in a Belgravia safe house. While Napier is trying to discover Hannah's whereabouts, Carey is simultaneously attempting and failing to locate Shaun in the Belgravia house she saw him enter on her CCTV watch.


SUN 02:20 Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime (m000nx4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]

MONDAY 10 APRIL 2023

MON 19:00 Great Asian Railway Journeys (m000f1sk)
Series 1

Bangkok to Hua Hin

Michael Portillo continues his exploration of Thailand by rail, steered by his 1913 Bradshaw’s guide. He steps into the ring under the guidance of champion trainer Master Toddy to learn Muay Thai boxing. Can he perfect the cobra-inspired right hook?

Taking his courage in both hands, Michael confronts his dread of snakes to assist in a surgical operation on a deadly venomous king cobra. He discovers the lifesaving work of Bangkok’s Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, established at the time of his guide by the royal family after the death of a young princess.

Striking south to the resort of Hua Hin, Michael learns the history of the Southern Railway and hears how royal patronage kickstarted today’s Thai tourist industry. He meets the niece of the present king, Rama X, at the Palace of Love and Hope, created by their ancestor, King Rama VI, to hear about a colourful restoration project.


MON 19:30 Canals: The Making of a Nation (b06823cv)
Geology

Liz McIvor discovers how carving up the landscape in order to build canals helped further our understanding of the earth below. The canal builders struggled with rocks. Without maps or geological surveys, construction often relied on guesswork. The Kennet and Avon had more than its fair share of problems. William Smith, a surveyor working on the connecting Somerset Coal Canal, discovered a way of ordering layers of rocks. He eventually created the first geological map of England and Wales - the so-called 'map that changed the world'.


MON 20:00 Digging for Britain (m00135s7)
Series 9

Episode 3

The show travels to the north of the UK to look at the most fascinating archaeology uncovered in the region over the course of 2021.

In North Yorkshire, a team of community volunteers are digging down beneath Richmond Castle, one of the country’s oldest and best-preserved Norman castles, and what they find tells a rich 1000-year story, from its origins as a Norman stronghold to the intimate role it played as a prison for conscientious objectors during the First World War.

On the northern tip of the Orkney Islands, our dig diary cameras are present to witness archaeologists racing to unearth rare discoveries from an endangered Neolithic tomb before it erodes into the sea.

Ten miles east of Edinburgh, a team of keen volunteers are hunting for evidence of Scotland’s oldest railway - a pioneering, horse-powered wooden track that predates the era of steam trains by nearly a century.

In the heart of the Peak District, only ten miles from Sheffield, archaeologists are using cutting-edge chemical analysis to find evidence of a rare Roman industry - lead processing. With no lead deposits in Italy, the Romans scoured their empire to track down and exploit this valuable resource, abundant in Britain.

Dr Stuart Prior embarks on some experimental archaeology to investigate how the Romans turned raw lead metal into the water pipes and plumbing of the Roman Empire, and visits the world-famous Roman baths in Somerset to see authentic Roman plumbing in action. Stuart also discovers that the Romans had a surprising use for this versatile metal, with ancient bathers inscribing messages to the gods and curses on their peers.

In Hull, archaeologists have a unique opportunity investigate an enormous cemetery from the industrial era, when the city flourished in a golden age of whaling and shipping. But discoveries of trauma and injuries to the human remains on site reveal the dangers of the emerging technologies of the Industrial Revolution.


MON 21:00 Horizon (m000hjpw)
2020

Hubble: The Wonders of Space Revealed

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of its launch, this film tells the remarkable story of how Hubble revealed the awe and wonder of our universe and how a team of daring astronauts risked their lives to keep it working.


MON 22:00 The Sky at Night (m001kytj)
The Search for Alien Life

The Sky at Night team investigate the latest science in the hunt for extraterrestrial life. Scientists have never been more obsessed with finding aliens than they are right now. And they’re using the most advanced engineering and technology to look in some pretty weird and wonderful places across the universe.

Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock visits Professor Mark Sephton at Imperial College London – one of the scientists leading on the Perseverance Rover mission to Mars. This is the first mission to bring samples of rock from another planet back to earth, and Mark shows how they use images sent from the rover to decide the best places to take the precious samples. He reveals the latest technology used to analyse the samples of Martian rock for signs of life.

April 2023 sees the launch of a major European Space Agency mission to explore habitability on Jupiter’s icy moons, with the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer aka Juice. Professor Chris Lintott meets leading scientist Professor Michele Dougherty. She reveals why frozen worlds such as Europa, Ganymede and Callisto are the next hot targets for alien life, and what this has to do with a game of squash.

Our in-house stargazing expert Pete Lawrence tells us how this month we can see Venus in a dramatic scene alongside the Hyades and Pleiades clusters. And George Dransfield is in Chile, searching for earth-like planets outside our solar system. We learn how these potentially habitable exoplanets are identified, as she carries out essential telescope maintenance in the Atacama Desert. Back in the UK, she meets Dr Sean McMahon – an astrobiologist at Edinburgh University investigating how reflected light could be used to search for life on exoplanets in the future.


MON 22:30 Endgame in Ireland (p0f9cxhb)
Series 1

Talking to Terrorists

In February 1991, Prime Minister John Major survived an IRA mortar attack. But this wasn't the only message he received from the Republican movement - while publicly the British government refused to talk to terrorists, behind the scenes covert communications began.

From 2001.


MON 23:30 A Pembrokeshire Farm (b007hzj1)
Episode 5

Griff faces some big decisions and last-minute disasters. A celebratory party is planned and the first guests are due to arrive. But will the house be finished in time?


MON 00:00 Horizon (b0bprdcn)
2018

Vitamin Pills: Miracle or Myth?

Nearly half of us take a vitamin or mineral supplement every day, but what are these pills sold on every high street actually doing? Digging deeper than the eye-catching words on the packaging, Dr Giles Yeo investigates who really needs a supplement by putting our diets to the test.


MON 01:00 The Capture (m0008s7m)
Series 1

Blind Spots

Surveillance thriller. Carey develops a theory as answers begin to reveal themselves, and Shaun finds himself trusting an enigmatic stranger who promises to lead him to the truth.


MON 01:55 The Capture (m0008zv5)
Series 1

A Pilgrim of Justice

Surrounded by the architects of his downfall, the truth behind what happened to Shaun is revealed to him in precise detail. Meanwhile, having seen the footage of Hannah entering the bus, and wholly convinced now that Shaun has been set up, Carey seeks for answers of her own and uncovers the complex conspiracy that is Correction.


MON 02:55 The Capture (m000969y)
Series 1

Correction

Carey teams up with Shaun Emery to try and expose Correction, but Napier is one step ahead. Shaun’s future, and that of the nation’s system of justice, lie with one person. Carey has a decision to make.

TUESDAY 11 APRIL 2023

TUE 19:00 Great Asian Railway Journeys (m000f1x1)
Series 1

Ho Chi Minh City to Phan Thiet

Armed with his 1913 Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo boards the Unification Railway for a thousand-mile journey from Ho Chi Minh City in the south to the northern capital, Hanoi, and finishing in the beautiful emerald seas of Halong Bay.

Michael’s Bradshaw’s unlocks for him the traumatic 20th-century history of today’s Socialist Republic of Vietnam, a former French colony.

On this leg, Michael braves the streets of Ho Chi Minh City on a motorbike, one of 8.5 million people to do so daily. He attempts the national sport, da cau, and samples the French-Vietnamese fusion food banh mi.


TUE 19:30 Canals: The Making of a Nation (b068c3zh)
Engineering

Liz McIvor tells the story of the early canal builders who struggled with the rugged terrain of England's Pennine hills. Creating a network of canals in this landscape was an uphill challenge - sometimes literally! But connecting the powerhouses of Yorkshire and Lancashire was a great prize at the time of the industrial revolution. What should the engineers do? Should they build over, under or around the hills? Who succeeded, and who struggled?


TUE 20:00 As Time Goes By (p0479t88)
Series 2

Visiting Rocky

Lionel takes Jean to Hampshire to meet his father - who has a surprise announcement to make.


TUE 20:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b0077hxx)
Series 1

Home Is the Hero

Thelma isn't happy that Terry and Bob have rekindled their friendship and she's worried that Terry will cause Bob to have second thoughts about their wedding. Terry starts to feel homesick for the army as his family don't exactly welcome him back with open arms.


TUE 21:00 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074n3l)
Series 3

The Empire of Good Intentions

Simon Schama looks at how the liberal politics and free-market economics of the British Empire in the 19th century unravelled, leading to the potato famine in Ireland and mutiny in India. By the early 20th century, nationalist movements around the globe had turned their back on the British 'workshop of the world'.


TUE 22:00 The Secret Life of Waves (b00y5jhx)
Documentary maker David Malone delves into the secrets of ocean waves. In an elegant and original film, he finds that waves are not made of water, that some waves travel sideways, and that the sound of the ocean comes not from water but from bubbles. Waves are not only beautiful but also profoundly important, and there is a surprising connection between the life cycle of waves and the life of human beings.


TUE 23:00 Restoring the Earth: The Age of Nature (m0010rky)
Series 1

Changing

We visit Bhutan, Poland, Antarctica, Australia and Indonesia to learn just how much carbon can be stored by nature. By restoring forests, mangroves, seagrass meadows, and most importantly biodiversity, we can help nature draw down the excess carbon from the atmosphere and slow climate change.

From the tropical island of Borneo to the ice sheets of Antarctica, global warming is changing our planet faster than ever before, but we’re also increasing our understanding of the potential for nature to help us manage it.


TUE 23:55 Return to Pembrokeshire Farm (b00mwx9d)
Episode 1

Griff Rhys Jones embarks on phase two of the restoration of his farm in Pembrokeshire. Having restored the main farmhouse, Griff now turns his attention to two outbuildings - the water mill and the miller's cottage. Both were built at the same time as the farmhouse - around 1820 - and both will be turned into accommodation.

The miller's cottage was used in later years as a cattle shed and is now little more than a derelict ruin. But converting the water mill into a cottage will be much more complicated and will require a planning permission. The person Griff has appointed to design the two buildings is his son George, who is training to be an architect.


TUE 00:25 Horizon (b03wcchn)
2013-2014

The Power of the Placebo

They are the miracle pills that shouldn't really work at all. Placebos come in all shapes and sizes, but they contain no active ingredient. Now they are being shown to help treat pain, depression and even alleviate some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Horizon explores why they work, and how we could all benefit from the hidden power of the placebo.


TUE 01:25 Great Asian Railway Journeys (m000f1x1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 01:55 Canals: The Making of a Nation (b068c3zh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 02:25 A History of Britain by Simon Schama (b0074n3l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 12 APRIL 2023

WED 19:00 Great Asian Railway Journeys (m000f1yp)
Series 1

Da Nang to Hoi An

Michael Portillo continues his thousand-mile journey through Vietnam aboard the Unification Railway from Ho Chi Minh City to the capital, Hanoi.

Leaving what locals still call Saigon, Michael heads to the fishing port of Phan Thiet, where he learns how to make Vietnam’s signature fish sauce.

In the Annamite Mountains west of Da Nang, Michael joins modern Vietnamese on holiday in a quirky facsimile of a medieval French village.

And in the tailoring capital of Hoi An, Michael discovers the favourite food of the region’s silkworms and sees how Cham weavers make their distinctive brocade. Can he resist a colourful new jacket?


WED 19:30 Canals: The Making of a Nation (b06828hz)
Capitalism

Liz McIvor tells the story of 'canal mania' - a boom period of frenzied activity that helped develop Britain's modern financial economy, now centred in London. The canal capitalists made money by investing and speculating in the new inland waterways used to carry fuel and goods around the country. Many of the investors were part of an emerging middle class. The Grand Junction Canal - built to improve the connection between London and the Midlands - was one of the new routes, and eventually proved to be a good investment for shareholders. However, not all canals were profitable. The new investors discovered that investment capitalism was a system that created winners and losers.


WED 20:00 Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins (m000tl60)
Series 1

Con Artists

In this episode Chris Packham reveals the intelligent cons and deceitful behaviour that animal Einsteins use to survive and prosper in the game of life - from disguising themselves to outwit predators, and kidnapping babies to save their own offspring, to reading our body language to pull off a successful robbery.

We start with the ultimate master of disguise – the octopus. Prof Roger Hanlon describes how octopus intelligence rivals that of vertebrates, with extraordinarily fast and complex decision-making that transforms their appearance faster than the blink of an eye. If camouflage doesn’t fool a predator, then an octopus can change tactics to startling them instead, switching to look like something too weird to eat.

Cheetah cubs may use a disguise of sorts too. We explore a little-known theory that a baby cheetah’s appearance may fool predators into thinking they are too feisty to tackle. Young cubs bear a remarkable resemblance to honey badgers, one of the most aggressive animals in the savannah that even lions and eagles won’t mess with.

Mimicry can attract as well as repel…. the caterpillars of alcon blue butterflies smell and sound like ant larvae to cleverly con their way into a nice, safe home for the winter. Worker ants are duped into taking the caterpillar into their colony, providing it with food and shelter until the spring.

The beloved sea otter may look like butter wouldn’t melt in its mouth, but a hungry male has no qualms about kidnapping a pup whilst its mother is foraging. He only releases his hostage in exchange for a free meal.

In Australia, the super-social white-winged chough lives in large groups with only one pair breeding and the rest helping to raise their chicks. As Dr Constanza Leon explains, chough chicks are so needy that it takes seven birds to raise one chick and if times are hard, adults will use a special display to entice young birds from rival groups to join theirs and help out with childcare.

Dolphins are renowned for their intelligence, and we learn how calculating female bottlenose dolphins mate with multiple males to protect their future calves – if each male believes he could be the father then she reduces the chance of infanticide.

The ocean is the scene of another two-faced deceit. Competition for mates can be fierce, so some male cuttlefish use cunning tricks to get a female. For giant Australian cuttlefish size is important – so small males change their appearance and put on a female disguise to sneak past larger rivals and woo a mate. Marine biologist Dr Martin Garwood discovered that another species, the mourning cuttlefish, takes it one step further – a sneaky male splits its appearance down the middle to look male on one side (to attract a female) and female on the other to fool onlooking rival males. All’s fair in love and war!

Dr Sarah Lower studies the appropriately named femme fatale firefly that has learned multiple languages to lure in unsuspecting males to an untimely death. After mating with her own species, the female firefly changes her flashes to lure in males of another species – not for mating but to eat them and so ingest valuable chemicals that protect their eggs from predators.

Finally, we discover how the much-maligned gull is actually an astute opportunist, able to read our eyeline and our body language to steal a meal when the coast is clear.

Animals use every trick in the book to get ahead – being smart, sneaky and scheming can be the recipe for success.


WED 21:00 Own the Sky: Jet Pack Dreamers (m0009dl2)
How what began as a passion for the tantalising possibilities of jetpacks became an obsession. Shot over ten years, this documentary chronicles Australian David Mayman's seemingly impossible quest to fulfil his childhood dream to build and fly the world’s first jetpack.

His ambition, which nearly cost him his life and family, culminates in an attempt to make the world's first jetpack flight around the Statue of Liberty.


WED 22:00 Elizabeth R (p036g8c9)
The Enterprise of England

Classic historical drama series. With the threat of war against Spain suddenly imminent, Elizabeth must place her faith in the strength of the navy, led by Sir Francis Drake.


WED 23:30 Elizabeth R (p036g8cf)
Sweet England's Pride

Classic historical drama series. An elderly Elizabeth instructs the Earl of Essex to quell the threat of an Irish uprising, but will she have to deal with a rebellion of her own?


WED 00:50 Great Asian Railway Journeys (m000f1yp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 01:20 Canals: The Making of a Nation (b06828hz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 01:50 imagine... (m001f0q7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:20 on Sunday]


WED 03:00 Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins (m000tl60)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

THURSDAY 13 APRIL 2023

THU 19:00 The Sky at Night (m001kytj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Monday]


THU 19:30 Great Asian Railway Journeys (m000f1xf)
Series 1

Hue to Ninh Binh

Michael Portillo continues his thousand-mile journey aboard the Unification Railway from Ho Chi Minh City in the south to the capital, Hanoi, and on to the vast northern port of Haiphong. He finishes amid the limestone islets in the turquoise waters of Halong Bay.

Steered by his 1913 Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael travels through what was French Indochina and is today the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

On this leg, Michael tours the formidable imperial city of Hue and in a village nearby, Michael meets milliner Mrs Ngo, who tries to teach him how to make the iconic conical hat, with comical results.

Back on track, Michael crosses the former Demilitarized Zone, which once separated north from south Vietnam. A ten-hour journey lies ahead but the friendliness of fellow passengers and supper on board makes up for the bunk beds and by daybreak he is in the beautiful province of Ninh Binh.

In the Red River Delta, Michael takes a boat ride to join farmer Mr Vinh, to learn how to make a Ninh Binh speciality, com chay.


THU 20:00 The Joy of Winning (b0b9zsfb)
How to have a happier life and a better world all thanks to maths, in this witty, mind-expanding guide to the science of success with Hannah Fry.

Following in the footsteps of BBC Four's award-winning maths films The Joy of Stats and The Joy of Data, this latest gleefully nerdy adventure sees mathematician Dr Hannah Fry unlock the essential strategies you'll need to get what you want - to win - more of the time. From how to bag a bargain dinner to how best to stop the kids arguing on a long car journey, maths can give you a winning strategy. And the same rules apply to the world's biggest problems - whether it's avoiding nuclear annihilation or tackling climate change.

Deploying 'The Joys of...' films' trademark mix of playful animation alongside both oddball demos and contributions from the world's biggest brains, Fry shows how this field of maths - known as game theory - is the essential key to help you get your way. She reveals ways to analyse any situation, and methods of calculating the consequences of getting what you want. Expect tips on taking advantage of what your opponents do, but also pleasing proof that cooperation might get you further than conflict. Fry also hails the 20th-century scientists like John von Neumann and John Nash who worked out the science of success. They may not be household names, but they transformed economics, politics, psychology and evolutionary biology in the process - and their work, Hannah demonstrates, could even be shown to prove the existence and advantage of goodness.

Along the way the film reveals, amongst other things, what links the rapper Ludacris, a Kentucky sheriff, a Nobel Prize winner and doping in professional cycling. And there's an irresistible chance to revisit the most excruciatingly painful and the most genius scenes ever seen on a TV game show, as Hannah unpacks the maths behind the legendary show Golden Balls and hails Nick Corrigan, the contestant whose cunning gameplay managed to break the supposedly intractable 'Prisoner's Dilemma'.

Other contributors to The Joy of Winning include European number one professional female poker player Liv Boeree, Scottish ex-pro cyclist and anti-doping campaigner (banned for two years in 2004 for doping) David Millar, Israeli game theory expert Dr Haim Shapira - who shows why it is sometimes rational to be irrational - and top evolutionary game theorist Professor Karl Sigmund from the University of Vienna.


THU 21:00 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (m001kyvd)
Classic western adventure, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford as legendary outlaws Butch and Kid.


THU 22:45 Blazing Saddles (m000x8pm)
When the citizens of Rock Ridge ask Governor Lepetomane to find a new sheriff to clean up their town, his nefarious assistant Hedley Lamarr picks Bart, a black convict, reasoning that the racist townsfolk will soon get rid of Bart and leave him free to get on with destroying Rock Ridge in secret. But Bart and his newfound friend, the Waco Kid, have other ideas and set about winning over the people of Rock Ridge and spoiling Lamarr's dastardly plans at every turn.


THU 00:15 Great Asian Railway Journeys (m000f1xf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 00:45 Digging for Britain (m00135s7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Monday]


THU 01:45 Francesco's Italy: Top to Toe (b007920b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


THU 02:45 Horizon (m000hjpw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]

FRIDAY 14 APRIL 2023

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m001kyvr)
Mark Goodier presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 7 July 1994 and featuring Gun, Two Cowboys, The B-52's, Aswad, Elton John, The Pretenders, All-4-One, Take That and Wet Wet Wet.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m001kyvt)
Simon Mayo presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 14 July 1994 and featuring Killing Joke, BlackGirl, Mariah Carey, China Black, House of Pain, The Three Tenors, Let Loose, Julian Cope and Wet Wet Wet.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m0002k6h)
Janice Long and Peter Powell present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 16 April 1987 and featuring Fine Young Cannibals, David Bowie, Herb Alpert, Five Star, Bon Jovi and Madonna.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (b01ryv79)
Tony Blackburn presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 13 April 1978 and featuring Alan Price, Dee D. Jackson, Gene Farrow, Raffaella Carrà, Child, Bonnie Tyler, Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams, Genesis, Dr. Hook, Brian and Michael and Legs & Co.


FRI 21:00 John Denver: Country Boy (b03j4cz2)
Documentary exploring the private life and public legacy of John Denver, America's original country boy. With exclusive accounts from those closest to him, the man behind the music is revealed in an intimate profile in his 70th birthday anniversary year.


FRI 22:00 An Evening with Glen Campbell (b01pyfht)
A special concert recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in 1977, where 80 musicians played new arrangements of Glen Campbell's hit songs.


FRI 23:20 Kenny Rogers: All in for The Gambler (A Farewell Concert Celebration) (m0015zm6)
An all-star concert event at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, honouring Kenny Rogers's historic 60-year career and featuring the final performance together by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, one of popular music’s most beloved duets of all time.


FRI 01:00 Later... with Jools Holland (m001kyvw)
Country

Jools takes a look back at some of the stars of the country music scene who have performed on the show over the years. Featuring the likes of Johnny Cash, who performed on the show in 1994, Emmylou Harris, who sang a duet with Steve Earle in 1995, and Willie Nelson, who came on in 2000.

There are also performances from some of the new stars of the scene, including Kacey Musgraves in 2013, Maren Morris in 2017, and country star turned pop superstar Taylor Swift, who made her debut on the show in 2009.


FRI 02:00 Country Kings at the BBC (p028vxj4)
Classic male country singers from the BBC vaults, journeying from The Everly Brothers and Jerry Lee Lewis to Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, and featuring classic songs and performances by Glen Campbell, Charley Pride, George Hamilton IV, Kenny Rogers, Clint Black, Johnny Cash, Eric Church and more. This 50 years-plus compilation is a chronological look at country kings as featured on BBC studio shows as varied as In Concert, Wogan, The Late Show and Later with Jools Holland, plus early variety shows presented by the likes of Lulu, Harry Secombe and Shirley Abicair.


FRI 03:00 Top of the Pops (b01ryv79)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]


FRI 03:30 Top of the Pops (m0002k6h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]