SATURDAY 02 MARCH 2024

SAT 19:00 Rick Stein's Long Weekends (b078djcl)
Bordeaux

Rick Stein embarks on a series of culinary long weekends in search of food excellence and brilliant recipes, heading to markets, restaurants, wineries, cafes and bars. He begins his first adventure in autumnal Bordeaux. Rick arrives just in time for ceps and the judging of a local wine contest. He hires a 2CV for an excursion to the coast, which has abundant mussels and oysters. At home he cooks a memorable dish of steak frites with bordelaise sauce.


SAT 20:00 South Pacific (b00kwdqr)
Ocean of Volcanoes

Witness the birth, growth and death of an island in the greatest ocean on earth. Millions of years are condensed into an hour revealing unforgettable images of an erupting underwater volcano; rivers of lava exploding below the waves; roads and houses buried by molten rivers of rock. From these violent beginnings emerge coral reefs of unparalleled richness, supporting large groups of grey reef sharks and giant manta rays.

The rising lands of the South Pacific have also given life to some very strange creatures, from the vampire bug that thrives in tropical snow, and the megapode, a bird that uses volcanic springs to incubate its eggs, to vast swarms of jellyfish trapped forever by a coral mountain. This is the Pacific as you've never seen it before.


SAT 21:00 Prisoner (m001w26c)
Series 1

Episode 3

Miriam is coerced into smuggling drugs into the prison. Benji continues to give Sammi insider information regarding his fellow prisoners. But the cost is high, destabilising the status quo and leading to greater unrest amongst the prison population, inmates and staff alike.

In Danish with English subtitles


SAT 22:00 Prisoner (m001w26h)
Series 1

Episode 4

Sammi helps out his snitch Benji by allowing him to phone his girlfriend, Ariana. But she admits to Sammi that she wants to end her relationship with the inmate.

Gert has made the difficult decision to move Torsten into a care home, Miriam is getting further into the snare set by drug dealer Karim, and Henrik helps with Tommy's parole application.

In Danish with English subtitles


SAT 23:00 Parkinson: The Interviews (b01hdcb3)
Series 1

Peter Cook

Michael Parkinson looks back at some of his many interviews with the comic genius that was Peter Cook.


SAT 23:40 Talking Comedy (b05qt7vl)
Pete and Dud

A look back through the archives at appearances by masters of satire Peter Cook and Dudley Moore on some of the BBC's best-loved talk shows.


SAT 00:10 To the Manor Born (b007871c)
Series 2

The Spare Room

Stately sitcom. One of Audrey's old school friends wants to pay a visit, but she is unaware of the drop in status of the former lady of the manor.


SAT 00:40 Yes, Prime Minister (b0074rxz)
Series 2

Official Secrets

Jim Hacker's predecessor is publishing his memoirs and must be cleared by the PM's office for security reasons. One chapter shows Hacker in a very bad light - but has he got grounds for refusing to publish?


SAT 01:10 Rick Stein's Long Weekends (b078djcl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 02:10 South Pacific (b00kwdqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

SUNDAY 03 MARCH 2024

SUN 19:00 Great Railway Journeys (b0074rnh)
Series 3

Crewe to Crewe with Victoria Wood

Victoria Wood makes a round trip to the north of Britain from Crewe, taking in both the east and west coasts.

Along her way, Victoria stops off at Carnforth station, location of the classic film Brief Encounter, where original film extra Elaine Maudsley talks of the film and the demise of the station.

She goes on to the North West Regional Railways service across Morecambe Bay to Barrow, and then up early the next morning for the Cumbrian Coastal line to Carlisle. At Carlisle station, Victoria encounters John Mitton, who teaches her the technique of trainspotting. She then heads over the border to Glasgow and up to Thurso, the most northerly point possible by train.

Heading south, Victoria stops off at Edinburgh, where she takes on the role of 'Vicky, Girl Reporter', examining stories that the Forth Bridge is dangerous and badly in need of repair, and onto Middlesborough, Whitby and York, where the final leg of the journey is broken by a visit to Mel Thorley's home at Adswood, Manchester, to see his collection of trains and station signs on display in the back garden.

Finally, it's back at Crewe where Victoria and the crew are refused permission to film in the station buffet.


SUN 19:55 The Read (m001x1tn)
Series 2

Frankenstein

Alex Kingston breathes life into Mary Shelley’s timeless gothic horror story.

Young, gifted scientist Victor Frankenstein unwittingly creates a monster. Written more than 200 years ago, the classic masterpiece still resonates today as a tragic romance that examines the battle between ambition and morality.


SUN 21:00 How the BBC Began (m001x1tq)
Series 1

Shooting the Rapids

The story of the BBC’s development of impartiality – starting with the General Strike of 1926, when the BBC was only three years old. In this major national crisis, John Reith, as its general manager, judged that his battle to prevent it being taken over by the government as an organ of propaganda was more important than a strict adherence to impartiality.

But 30 years later, in the Suez crisis, the BBC infuriated Downing Street by allowing the opposition equal time on the airwaves for the first time. Fifteen years further on, a controversial documentary about Harold Wilson’s shadow cabinet, entitled Yesterday’s Men, caused a rupture in relations between the Labour Party and the BBC.

The programme also describes the way Roman Catholic grievances in Northern Ireland were effectively ignored by the BBC in the years before the Troubles.

At the same time, Reith’s notion that the BBC should aim its programming 'above the heads' of the audience led to the creation of the Third Programme on radio and the fortnightly arts programme Monitor on television – which set out to make the highbrow popular.

As the BBC jealously guarded its independence from the state, some producers within the BBC struck out on their own, making programmes which were effectively outside the control of management.

Presenters and producers of those days reflect with some embarrassment on the way women were treated on and off screen – by contributors, and by top BBC executives.

Among the participants in this landmark series are Joan Bakewell, David Attenborough, Paul Fox, Denis Tuohy, Martin Bell, Tony Bilbow, Monica Sims, David Dimbleby and Humphrey Burton – and Lord Reith’s secretary, Dorothy Singer.


SUN 22:30 Frankenstein: Birth of a Monster (b007c55c)
The extraordinary story of how the 19-year-old Mary Shelley created Frankenstein, one of the world's most terrifying monsters. Daughter of Mary Woolstencraft, wife of Percy Byshe Shelley and close friend to Lord Byron, Mary Shelley's life was every bit as extraordinary as her most famous work. Dramatising the adventures, love affairs and tragedies of her young life, the film shows how her monstrous creation reflected her own extraordinary experiences.


SUN 23:30 Britain's Lost Waterlands: Escape to Swallows and Amazons Country (b07k18jf)
Documentary which follows presenters Dick Strawbridge and Alice Roberts as they explore the spectacular British landscapes that inspired children's author Arthur Ransome to write his series Swallows and Amazons.

The landscapes he depicted are based on three iconic British waterlands. The beauty and drama of the Lake District shaped by ancient glaciers and rich in wildlife and natural resources, the shallow man-made waterways of the Norfolk broads so crucial to farming and reed production, and the coastal estuaries and deep-water harbours of the Suffolk coastline shaped by ferocious tides and crucial to trade.

Engineer and keen sailor Dick uses vintage boats to explore the landscapes and meet people whose lives are shaped by the water, while wildlife enthusiast Alice explores the rich shorelines, interrogating the underlying geography and meeting the wildlife. Together they evoke the nostalgia of Ransome's writing and a bygone era of childhood freedom and adventure, but they also explore the economic significance of these special locations and the ways in which water was harnessed to change the course of British history.


SUN 00:30 The Magical World of Julia Donaldson (m000qry5)
A celebration of the life and work of one of Britain's best-selling children's authors, with unique access to Julia Donaldson, her family, her rich archives and home movies, and the remarkable cast of characters that have sprung from her imagination. Specially commissioned animated illustrations from her long-term illustrator Axel Scheffler bring Julia's biography to life, and well-known admirers and collaborators pay tribute to the woman who has created characters and stories that have become fixtures of children’s bedtime routines all around the world, as well as spawning award-winning adaptations for stage and screen.

Looking at The Gruffalo, Zog and the Flying Doctors, Princess Mirror-Belle, The Scarecrow's Wedding, Stick Man and The Paper Dolls, the programme uncovers the surprising stories behind the creation of Julia's iconic characters and what they mean to a generation of readers. It also explores why Donaldson’s books appeal to both children and adults alike – tackling serious themes of love, loss, fear and bullying in a poignant but subtle way.

Passages from Julia's much-loved books are read by Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton and James McAvoy, and contributors including David Walliams, Nadiya Hussain, Claudia Winkleman, Sophie Dahl, Victoria Coren Mitchell and Michael Rosen pay tribute to her talent.


SUN 01:30 Great Railway Journeys (b0074rnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SUN 02:25 The Read (m001x1tn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:55 today]

MONDAY 04 MARCH 2024

MON 19:00 Frozen Planet (b00zj35p)
Autumn

For the animals in the polar regions, autumn means dramatic battles and epic journeys. Time is running out - the Arctic Ocean is freezing over, and the sea ice is advancing at 2.5 miles per day around Antarctica.

Polar bears gather in large numbers on the Arctic coast as they wait for the return of the ice. Soon, tempers fray and violent sparring contests break out. Meanwhile, 2,000 beluga whales head for one special estuary, a gigantic 'whale spa', where they will thrash their snow-white bodies against the gravel and exfoliate. Inland, the tundra undergoes a dramatic transformation from green to fiery red. Here, musk ox males slam head-first into each other with the force of a 30mph car crash as they struggle to defend their harems. Frisky young caribou males play a game of 'grandma's footsteps' as they try to steal the boss's female.

Down in Antarctica, adelie penguin chicks huddle together in creches. When a parent returns from fishing, it leads its twins on a comical steeplechase - sadly there's only enough for one, so the winner gets the meal. Two months later, and the chicks are fully feathered, apart from downy mohican hairdos. They are ready to take their first swim - reluctantly though, as it seems penguins are not born with a love of water! And with good reason: a leopard seal explodes from the sea and pulls one from an ice floe, a hunting manoeuvre that has never been filmed before.

As winter approaches and everyone has left, the giant emperor penguin arrives and makes an epic trek inland to breed. The mothers soon return to the sea leaving the fathers to hold the eggs and endure the coldest winter on earth.


MON 20:00 Art of America (b017sryq)
What Lies Beneath

In the final part of his United States odyssey, Andrew Graham-Dixon feels the pulse of contemporary America. Beginning in Levittown - the first mass-produced suburb - Andrew uncovers the dark side of post-war consumerism and the role artists have played in challenging the status quo.

He visits New York's Metropolitan Museum to see the most subversive artwork of 1950s America, Jasper Johns's White Flag. Pop art defined the 1960s and Andy Warhol was its greatest artist. Andrew examines Warhol's soup can paintings, meets his former lover Billy Name and interviews one of the last great surviving pop artists, James Rosenquist.

He travels west down the open road, exploring its art, arriving in Los Angeles, an artificial dream world that has inspired the graphic style of Ed Ruscha and the city's own unique contribution to 20th century design - Googie architecture.

Back east, Andrew visits the home of one of his favourite 20th century artists, the late Philip Guston, and gets a private view of his work. He drops into the studio of Jeff Koons to learn how the enfant terrible of contemporary art continues to challenge the boundaries of American taste. Finally, he explores the impact 9/11 has had on America and how a new generation of artists, such as Matthew Day Jackson, have made sense of this tragic event.


MON 21:00 Discovering the Music of Antiquity (m001x1vb)
When a music score is uncovered deep within the storerooms of the Louvre, musical historians scramble to realise the potential of this piece of papyrus. The text's grammatical features give us a clue to the composer's identity: Carcinus, an author cited by Aristotle in his Rhetoric. His name is engraved on a wall in the Parthenon, and the story of his life offers an insight into the history of Greek musicians, who were revered like gods and welcomed across the Mediterranean to take part in competitions modelled on the Olympic Games.

The discovery of the papyrus, more specifically an ancient version of the tragedy entitled Medea, throws open a new mission by researchers to hear the music sung through modern arrangement. But to listen to the Medea as it was heard by the Greeks 2,400 years ago, it still has to be played on period instruments.

From the Greek cities of Anatolia to the Ptolemies’ Egypt, from the mythical site of Delphi to the discoveries made in Pompeii, relive this voyage along the Mediterranean coast, where archaeological excavations have unearthed instrument remains.


MON 22:00 Storyville (m0016txs)
Navalny

This Oscar-winning documentary follows Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny as he and his team unravel a plot to poison him with deadly nerve agent novichok.

In August 2020, a plane travelling from Siberia to Moscow made an emergency landing. Alexei Navalny was deathly ill. He was taken to a local Siberian hospital and eventually evacuated to Berlin. Doctors there confirmed that he had been poisoned with novichok, a nerve agent implicated in attacks on other opponents of the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin immediately cast doubt on the findings and denied any involvement.

While Navalny is recovering, he and his team uncover the plot against him, finding evidence of the Kremlin’s involvement, and prepare to go public with their findings.


MON 23:35 The Story of Welsh Art (m000st2g)
Series 1

Episode 1

Huw Stephens explores what has long been a missing piece in the cultural story of Britain and indeed Wales itself – the story of Welsh art.

Huw starts his journey on the island of Anglesey where he steps inside a prehistoric burial chamber to witness Welsh art in its earliest form. He sees an exquisite example of Bronze Age artistry in the form of a gold cape, found by chance in a field in North Wales and now one of the prize exhibits in the British Museum.

Religious art delivers some of the most powerful and physically impressive pieces, from towering Celtic crosses standing sentinel in churchyards, to the sleeping figure of Jesse, hewn out of a single piece of oak but also delicately depicted in a rare surviving example of Welsh medieval stained glass.

As artists moved their gaze beyond religion, the rise of portraiture began, with Hans Memling delivering the first known oil painting of a named Welsh person, John Donne, in the 15th century.


MON 00:35 Britain's Lost Waterlands: Escape to Swallows and Amazons Country (b07k18jf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:30 on Sunday]


MON 01:35 Frozen Planet (b00zj35p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 02:35 Art of America (b017sryq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUESDAY 05 MARCH 2024

TUE 19:00 Frozen Planet (b00zj35r)
Winter

There is no greater test for life than winter as temperatures plummet to 70 below and winds reach 200kph. Darkness and ice extend across the polar regions and only a few remarkable survivors gamble on remaining.

We join a female polar bear trekking into the Arctic mountains to give birth as the first blizzards arrive. Out on the frozen ocean, the entire world's population of spectacled eider ducks brave the winter in a giant ice hole kept open by ferocious currents. Arctic forests transform into a wonderland of frost and snow - the scene of a desperate and bloody battle between wolf and bison, but also where a remarkable alliance between raven and wolverine is made. Beneath the snow lies a magical world of winter survivors. Here, tiny voles dodge the clutches of the great grey owl, but cannot escape the ultimate under-show predator - the least weasel.

Midwinter, and a male polar bear wanders alone across the dark, empty icescape. Below the snow, polar bear cubs begin life in an icy den while fantastical auroras light the night skies above. In Antarctica, we join male emperor penguins in their darkest hour, battling to protect precious eggs from fierce polar storms. Weddell seals escape to a hidden world of jewel-coloured corals and alien-looking creatures, but frozen devastation follows as sinister ice stalactites reach down with deadly effect.

The sun finally returns, and with it come the female emperor penguins, sleek and fat, ready to deliver the first meal to their precious chick. Having survived winter, this ultimate ice family now have a head start in raising baby. The adelies flood back, and as the ice edge bustles with life, male emperor penguins can finally return to the sea.


TUE 20:00 To the Manor Born (b0078747)
Series 2

Never Be Alone

Stately sitcom. Audrey helps Richard catalogue his antique china, only to discover one piece has been mislaid.


TUE 20:30 Yes, Prime Minister (b0074rz4)
Series 2

A Diplomatic Incident

Classic political sitcom. When Jim Hacker discovers the French are planning some dirty tricks to get political advantage, the PM turns the tables on them.


TUE 21:00 The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family (p09jgk2v)
Series 1

Episode 2

Anne has grown into a real beauty. She is dazzling, and the king is caught in the glare. Her family play the long game to catch a king.


TUE 22:00 Rebuilding Notre-Dame (m000hbdq)
Inside the Great Cathedral Rescue

Documentary that goes inside what remains of the world-famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is one year since the inferno devastated the vast timber and lead roof and the 850-year-old gothic masterpiece is still perilously close to collapse. Now, we follow the men and women fighting to secure the fire-ravaged structure. Lead dust from the vaporised roof contaminates the site, the stone ceiling is crumbling and a 500-tonne melted mass of scaffolding still hangs precariously over the cathedral, triggering alarms and evacuations.

Now that the cathedral walls are supported by giant timber frames, chief architect Philippe Villeneuve urgently needs a complete picture of the damage sustained during the fire. He initiates an unprecedented collaboration between architects and scientists. Their mission is to meticulously analyse the fallen timber, stone and fractured glass to develop a decontamination and restoration plan. This unique opportunity will give a new insight into the medieval materials, techniques and people who built Notre-Dame.

Inside the cathedral, glass scientist Claudine Loisel investigates the distribution of lead contamination on the stunning stained glass, comparing samples from around the building. In the lab she develops a decontamination plan using x-ray spectroscopy and identifies micro-cracks in the glass caused by ‘thermal shock’, sustained during the fire. At York Minster in northern England, conservationists are pioneering a glass preservation method that Claudine hopes will be adopted at Notre-Dame. They are installing ventilated protective glazing, which protects the medieval stained glass from harmful UV rays and the corrosive effects of moisture.

The stone vaulting has taken the brunt of the fire and will require new limestone with the same mechanical properties for the rebuild. Stone scientist Lise Leroux hunts for the origin of the vaulting stone, voyaging into the forgotten quarries beneath Paris, which are now filled with the bones of 18th-century Parisians. She finds a limestone micro-fossil signature in the lower level of the quarry that matches samples from the vaulting stones, confirming its origin. Lise discovers Notre-Dame is built from a variety of different limestone, chosen for the various structural properties needed for the cathedral.

The complex timber framework of the roof is completely destroyed. Amazingly, timber scientist Catherine Lavier still finds markings from the medieval carpenters on the burned beams and her tree-ring analysis of the timber tells the life story of the oak used. One team of carpenters still uses medieval tools and techniques to fell and carve beams for a chateau restoration, proving the skills and timber still exist in France to rebuild Notre-Dame’s lost roof framework. A 3D scan of the geometrically complex timbers of Notre-Dame offers the team a possibility to eventually rebuild the roof in the same way, down to the last millimetre.

The data from the scientists is combined into a groundbreaking ‘digital twin’ of Notre-Dame that will help them restore and rebuild the cathedral. This 3D dynamic map gives the team a complete view of every inch of the structure, before and after the fire, allowing them to click on an individual stone to see its chemical composition, its mechanical properties and its history within Notre-Dame over time.


TUE 23:00 How to Build a Cathedral (b00b09rb)
The great cathedrals were the wonders of the medieval world - the tallest buildings since the pyramids and the showpieces of medieval Christianity. Yet they were built at a time when most of us lived in hovels. Architectural historian Jon Cannon explores who the people were that built them and how they were able to achieve such a bold vision.


TUE 00:00 Parkinson: The Interviews (b01hdcb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Saturday]


TUE 00:40 Frozen Planet (b00zj35r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 01:40 The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family (p09jgk2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


TUE 02:40 How to Build a Cathedral (b00b09rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 06 MARCH 2024

WED 19:00 Frozen Planet (b00zj39x)
The Last Frontier

The documentary series reveals the extraordinary riches and wonders of the polar regions that have kept people visiting them for thousands of years. Today, their survival relies on a combination of ancient wisdom and cutting-edge science.

Most Arctic people live in Siberia, either in cities like Norilsk - the coldest city on earth - or out on the tundra, where tribes like the Dogan survive by herding reindeer, using them to drag their homes behind them. On the coast, traditional people still hunt walrus from open boats - it is dangerous work, but one big walrus will feed a family for weeks. Settlers are drawn to the Arctic by its abundant minerals: the Danish Armed Forces maintain their claim to Greenland's mineral wealth with an epic dog-sled patrol, covering 2,000 miles through the winter. Above, the spectacular northern lights can disrupt power supplies so scientists monitor it constantly, firing rockets into it to release a cloud of glowing smoke 100 kilometres high.

In contrast, Antarctica is so remote and cold that it was only a century ago that the first people explored the continent. Captain Scott's hut still stands as a memorial to these men. Science is now the only significant human activity allowed - robot submarines are sent deep beneath the ice in search of new life forms, which may also be found in a labyrinth of ice caves high up on an active volcano. Above, colossal balloons are launched into the purest air on earth to detect cosmic rays.

At the South Pole there is a research base designed to withstand the world's most extreme winters. Cut off from the outside world for six months, the base is totally self-sufficient, even boasting a greenhouse.


WED 20:00 Cold War, Hot Jets (b03j5cf8)
Episode 2

As an 'Iron Curtain' fell across Europe, the jet bomber came to define how the Cold War was fought. Able to fly faster, higher and further than ever before, and armed with a devastating new weapon, Britain's V Force became the platform for delivering nuclear Armageddon.


WED 21:00 Rise of the Nazis (p09jglf5)
Dictators at War

Stalingrad

The Nazis have lost in Moscow. Hitler and Stalin take charge of their armies - with no-one to hold them back. In Stalin, Hitler has met his match - it's now a fight to the death.


WED 22:00 Miriam Margolyes Remembers... Cold Comfort Farm (m001x1sw)
National treasure Miriam Margolyes looks back on her role in the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of one of the much-loved jewels of 20th-century British literature, Stella Gibbons’s 1930s comic classic, Cold Comfort Farm.

Directed by John Schlesinger, who won an Oscar for Midnight Cowboy, the drama brought together an impressive ensemble cast that included Ian McKellen, Eileen Atkins, Joanna Lumley, Stephen Fry and two up-and-coming stars, Kate Beckinsale and Rufus Sewell.

Having only watched the drama for the first time recently, Miriam delivers a typically forthright assessment on how she thinks it turned out, critiques the performances of her fellow cast members and shares some fond memories of the overall filming experience.


WED 22:15 Cold Comfort Farm (m000y2f8)
Adaptation of Stella Gibbons's comic novel about an expensively educated young woman who is suddenly orphaned and goes to live with her eccentric relatives in the country. She then sets about reordering the life of the family, who have been cut off from the modern world and kept firmly in their places by her tyrannical yet terrified aunt.


WED 23:55 Play of the Month (m001x1sz)
The Ambassadors

Dramatisation of Henry James's novel. Lambert Strether comes to Europe on a difficult and delicate mission. A chance meeting on arrival with the engaging Maria Gostrey provides him with much-needed support.


WED 01:30 Frozen Planet (b00zj39x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 02:30 Rise of the Nazis (p09jglf5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THURSDAY 07 MARCH 2024

THU 19:00 Frozen Planet (b00zj39j)
On Thin Ice

David Attenborough journeys to both polar regions to investigate what rising temperatures will mean for the people and wildlife that live there, and for the rest of the planet.

David starts out at the North Pole, standing on sea ice several metres thick, but which scientists predict could be open ocean within the next few decades. The Arctic has been warming at twice the global average, and David heads out with a Norwegian team to see what this means for polar bears. He comes face to face with a tranquilised female and discovers that mothers and cubs are going hungry as the sea ice on which they hunt disappears. In Canada, Inuit hunters have seen with their own eyes what scientists have seen from space - the Arctic Ocean has lost 30% of its summer ice cover over the last 30 years. For some, the melting sea ice will allow access to trillions of dollars' worth of oil, gas and minerals. For the rest of us, it means the planet will get warmer, as sea ice is important to reflect back the sun's energy. Next, David travels to see what is happening to the ice on land. In Greenland, he follows intrepid ice scientists as they study giant waterfalls of meltwater, which are accelerating iceberg-calving events and ultimately leading to a rise in global sea levels.

Temperatures have also risen in the Antarctic - David returns to glaciers photographed by the Shackleton expedition and reveals a dramatic retreat over the past century. It is not just the ice that is changing - ice-loving adelie penguins are disappearing and more temperate gentoo penguins are moving in. Finally, we see the first ever images of the largest recent natural event on our planet - the break up of the Wilkins Ice Shelf, an ice sheet the size of Jamaica, which shattered into hundreds of icebergs in 2009.


THU 20:00 Mark Kermode's Secrets of Cinema (m0002pfq)
Oscar Winners: A Secrets of Cinema Special

As the red carpet season reaches its climax, Mark turns his keen eye and sharp wit on past winners of the most prestigious awards of all. What gave them the edge over their rivals? Mark shows that, despite their apparent differences, Oscar-winning films have more in common than you might think. Certain kinds of film recur, such as war, social justice and the all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza. But, as Mark explains, it’s not just about your choice of subject; it's how you treat it that counts.

In a special show that ranges from the earliest awards winners to the most recent victors, Mark reveals the films that laid down the template for cinematic glory, celebrates the classics that have endured and savours some of the movies’ most acclaimed performances.


THU 21:00 Green Book (m000yxc4)
New York, 1962: Italian-American nightclub bouncer Tony Lip gets taken on as a driver for acclaimed African American pianist Donald Shirley on a tour of the Deep South, where racism and segregation are still commonplace.


THU 23:00 The Third Man (b0074qmr)
Classic film noir about an American writer who visits postwar Vienna to see an old friend but is told that the latter is dead. Incredulous at the suggestion his friend was a criminal, the writer attempts to clear the dead man's name but soon finds events taking a strange turn.


THU 00:40 Frozen Planet (b00zj39j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


THU 01:40 Country Music by Ken Burns (m000bhft)
Series 1

The Rub (Beginnings-1933)

After centuries of percolating in the American South, what was first called hillbilly music began to reach more people through the new technologies of phonographs and radio. The Carter Family, with their ballads and old hymns, and Jimmie Rodgers, with his combination of blues and yodelling, became its first big stars.


THU 02:30 Country Music by Ken Burns (m000bhfy)
Series 1

Hard Times (1933-1945)

During the Great Depression and World War II, country music thrived and reached bigger audiences. Bob Wills adapted jazz's big band sound to create Texas swing, and Grand Ole Opry singer Roy Acuff became a national star. Despite a divorce between two of its members, the Carter Family carried on, turning out songs that went on to be classics. Nashville slowly became Music City and the centre of the growing country music industry.

FRIDAY 08 MARCH 2024

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m001wsmh)
Hale and Pace present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 5 October 1995 and featuring Sleeper, Smokie featuring Roy Chubby Brown, Cypress Hill, Oleta Adams, Iron Maiden, Louise, Pulp, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds featuring Kylie Minogue and Simply Red.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m001wsmk)
Nicky Campbell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 12 October 1995 and featuring PJ & Duncan, Suggs, Mariah Carey, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds featuring Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Nail, Radiohead, Def Leppard, Meat Loaf and Simply Red.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (b0bh2dnt)
Gary Davies and Dixie Peach present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 6 March 1986. Featuring Mike and the Mechanics, Kate Bush, Frank Sinatra, Tavares, Whistle, Diana Ross, and Huey Lewis and the News.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (b09qrfrq)
John Peel and Janice Long present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 7 March 1985 and featuring Shakin' Stevens, Madonna, Jermaine Jackson and Dead or Alive.


FRI 21:00 Shania Twain at the BBC (m001q217)
A collection of Shania Twain’s biggest moments from the BBC archives, including live performances, her earliest UK TV appearances from the days of her debut hit Still the One and the karaoke classics That Don’t Impress Me Much and Man! I Feel Like a Woman! So grab a hairbrush and - to quote the title of her biggest-selling album - Come on Over.


FRI 21:45 Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music (p0295qy9)
A rare chance to see Robert Elfstrom's 1969 classic film that captures the Man in Black at his peak, the first of many in a looming rollercoaster career. Fresh on the heels of his Folsom Prison album, Cash reveals the dark intensity and raw talent that made him a country music star and cultural icon.

Elfstrom got closer than any other film-maker to Cash, who is seen performing with his new bride June Carter Cash, in a rare duet with Bob Dylan and behind the scenes with friends, family and aspiring young musicians - painting an unforgettable portrait that endures beyond the singer's death in 2003.


FRI 22:45 Emmylou Harris's Ten Commandments of Country (b0081mbk)
Live performance in which Emmylou Harris presents her ten rules of what makes a great country song, personally chosen from her own extensive repertoire. Filmed in Los Angeles in an intimate venue, the show features songs with Emmylou accompanied by her blue grass band. Each track illustrates one of her ten commandments, with a short introduction to explain why it was chosen and what element of country music it best represents.


FRI 23:45 Sisters in Country: Dolly, Linda and Emmylou (b081sx50)
Documentary which explores how Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris's careers took off in the 1970s with very distinct takes on country before they ended up uniting as close harmony singers and eventually collaborated on 1987's four-million-selling debut album, Trio.

In the 60s country music was viewed by most of America as blue collar, and Dolly was country through and through. Linda Ronstadt's take on classic country helped make her the biggest female star in mid-70s America. Folkie Emmylou learned about country from mentor Gram Parsons and, after his death in 1973, she became a bandleader in her own right. It was Emmylou and Linda - the two west coast folk rockers - who voiced their mutual appreciation of Dolly, the mountain girl singer from Tennessee, when they became early students of her work.

The artists talk about uniting as harmony singers and eventually collaborating on their debut album, Trio. The album helped launch the mountain music revival that would peak with the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou. In 2012 Linda Ronstadt was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which left her unable to sing, but 2016 saw unreleased songs from their sessions compiled to create a third Trio album. This is the story of how their alliance made them pioneers in bringing different music worlds together and raising the game for women in the country tradition.

Contributors: Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Rodney Crowell, George Lucas, Peter Asher, Chris Hillman, Laura Cantrell, Robert K Oermann, John Boylan, Phil Kaufman, David Lindley, Albert Lee, Herb Pedersen, George Massenberg and Applewood Road.


FRI 00:45 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 01:45 Country Music by Ken Burns (m000bpkc)
Series 1

The Hillbilly Shakespeare (1945-1953)

As country music adapted to the cultural changes of post-war society, Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs transformed traditional string band music into something more syncopated - bluegrass.

Out of the bars and juke joints came a new sound - honky-tonk - with electric guitars and songs about drinking, cheating and heartbreak. Its biggest star was Hank Williams, a singer who wrote songs of surprising emotional depth, derived from his troubled and tragically short life.


FRI 02:35 Country Music by Ken Burns (m000bpkf)
Series 1

I Can't Stop Loving You (1953-1963)

In Memphis, the confluence of blues and hillbilly music at Sun Studios gave birth to rockabilly, the precursor of rock and roll. Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash were at the forefront.

In the recording studios of Music City, country music’s twang was replaced by something smoother - the Nashville sound. Patsy Cline became one of its biggest stars before her untimely death.