SATURDAY 01 JUNE 2024

SAT 19:00 How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (b044jl70)
Mountains

Ray Mears looks at how the landscapes of America's three great mountain ranges - the Appalachians, the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada - challenged the westward push of the early pioneers.

As Ray travels through each landscape he discovers how their awe-inspiring geography, extreme weather, wild animals and ecology presented both great opportunities and great challenges for the native Indians, mountain men, fur traders, wagon trains and gold miners of the Wild West.

Ray begins his westward journey in the Appalachians where he explores how their timbered slopes fuelled the lumber industry and provided the fuel and building material for the emerging nation. Native Appalachian Barbara Woodall and lumberjack Joe Currie share their family history with him, and he gets to grips with the rare 'hellbender' salamander.

Further west, in the high jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Ray goes mule trekking with modern-day mountain man Stu Sorenson and he has close encounters with beaver, elk and black bear.

Finally, in the desert mountains of the Sierra Nevada, he explores the tragic story of the Donner Party wagon train whose members allegedly turned to cannibalism to survive. His journey ends as he pans for gold with modern day gold prospector John Gurney, and explores the boom and bust story of ghost town, Bodie.


SAT 20:00 D-Day: The Last Heroes (b02xdncc)
Original Series

Episode 2

The concluding part of historian Dan Snow's documentary series tells the powerful and heroic stories of those who risked their lives on the beaches of Normandy to save the world from Nazi Germany.


SAT 21:00 Lie with Me (m001zypt)
Successful novelist Stéphane Belcourt returns to his provincial hometown at the invitation of the local cognac makers, who are celebrating their bicentennial. There, he meets Lucas, a young marketing executive for the company who turns out to be the son of his first love, Thomas.

In French with English subtitles


SAT 22:30 This Cultural Life (m001zyp4)
Juliette Binoche

Actor Juliette Binoche talks to John Wilson about the formative influences that shaped her career.


SAT 23:05 The Truth (m00109x3)
The daughter of a famous French actress visits her mother from America, troubled by the star’s memoir being far from truthful. Joining her on set, while she is filming the role of an aged child whose mother never grows old, offers a surreal parallel to their simmering resentments.

In French and English with subtitles.


SAT 00:45 My Hero (b01rlxcd)
Miranda Hart on Eric Morecambe

Miranda Hart explores the life of her comedy idol, Eric Morecambe. She visits the places he performed, meets the people who knew him and shares Morecambe and Wise performances that influenced her own work. Featuring rare footage and much-loved Morecambe and Wise gems, her journey takes her across Britain, from deepest Wales to meets comedy legend Eddie Braben; to the Essex studio of the artist who painted Eric at the height of his fame.


SAT 01:45 How the Wild West Was Won with Ray Mears (b044jl70)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

SUNDAY 02 JUNE 2024

SUN 19:00 Dame Vera Lynn at the BBC (m000p9s5)
In 2020, we said a sad farewell to Dame Vera Lynn. In a special programme, the BBC celebrates the ‘Forces Sweetheart’ with a look back through the archives at some of her favourite performances and biggest hits.

As well as the many classic songs that helped unify the nation throughout World War II, this retrospective captures a side of Dame Vera that many have forgotten about, with upbeat song-and-dance performances from her 1970s series The Vera Lynn Show, which saw her covering many popular tunes of the 60s and 70s.

We see her joining forces with a selection of fellow stars like Harry Secombe and Des O’Connor, there’s a special duet with the legendary Bing Crosby, and an unforgettable guest appearance on the Morecambe and Wise Show. And of course, there are performances of the wartime favourites she made her own: The White Cliffs of Dover and We’ll Meet Again.


SUN 20:00 Just Barbara (m001zynt)
Barbara Woodhouse, in conversation with Joan Bakewell, reveals some of the highlights of her life.


SUN 21:10 Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way (m001zynw)
Come When Called

Barbara Woodhouse demonstrates the most vital exercise of all, which should preferably be taught at an early age before a dog becomes too interested in scents and other dogs. Barbara's training method involves a firm command in the right tone of voice and warm, welcoming praise.


SUN 21:35 Training Dogs the Woodhouse Way (m001zynz)
The Advance, Stand, Sit and Down

Barbara Woodhouse demonstrates an emergency exercise where the dog is required to stop instantly in the stand, sit or down position. Correct tone of voice plays a vital part.


SUN 22:00 Helen Mirren Remembers… Blue Remembered Hills (m001zyp1)
Dame Helen Mirren looks back on her role in Dennis Potter’s seminal 1979 TV drama Blue Remembered Hills, one of the best-known episodes of the BBC’s much-admired Play for Today series.

The drama famously featured adult actors taking on the roles of seven-year-old children as they explore, play and fight during a day of adventure in the Forest of Dean, where Potter himself spent time as a boy.

The unusual casting was a deliberate choice of Potter’s that aimed to challenge conventional ideas around the innocence of childhood, and here Dame Helen describes how they prepared for the roles, the effect that playing children had on the group and why it still remains one of the productions that she is most proud of.


SUN 22:15 Play for Today (b0074qxq)
Series 9

Blue Remembered Hills

Dennis Potter's play of lost youth and innocence begins with the adult cast playing children's games in a lyrical summer landscape. But soon the games of hide-and-seek and war take on a sinister aspect as the children's behaviour begins to mirror the violence and callousness of the grown-up world.


SUN 23:25 Arena (b01bpccn)
Dennis Potter

1987 edition in which Alan Yentob interviews TV dramatist Dennis Potter about his work through the years, touching on subjects such as why and how he started writing, his sense of being different as a child, the insularity of his past in Forest of Dean, starting at the BBC in 1959 and a failed attempt at going into politics.


SUN 00:30 Drama out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today (m000ng9w)
Play for Today was a series of single dramas broadcast by the BBC between 1970 and 1984. These were years of crisis, a time when the consensus politics of Britain’s postwar world had begun to unravel. Industrial relations, education and the health service faced fundamental challenges, the country was struggling with the end of empire, and the personal had become increasingly political.

Play for Today reflected and responded to all of this and more in 300 dramas, shown in primetime on BBC One to audiences numbered in millions. Many of the best actors, writers and directors of the time contributed to the series, with some of the best-remembered broadcasts being Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party, Dennis Potter’s Blue Remembered Hills and the strange fantasy, Penda’s Fen, written by Alan Rudkin and directed by Alan Clarke.

The series was contemporary, often controversial and occasionally censored. But it was also immensely varied, showcasing social realism with comedy, costume drama with fantasy, and personal visions with state-of-the-nation overviews. It was mischievous, critical and challenging, and unafraid to tackle taboos.

Marking the fiftieth anniversary of the first Play for Today in October 1970, this film is a celebration of the series, told by a number of its producers, directors and writers. It explores the origins of the series, its achievements and its controversies. Presenting a rich range of often surprising extracts from the archive, the film features interviews with, among others, producers Kenith Trodd, Margaret Matheson and Richard Eyre, film-makers Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, and writer and director David Hare.


SUN 02:00 This Cultural Life (m001zyp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 on Saturday]


SUN 02:30 Dame Vera Lynn at the BBC (m000p9s5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

MONDAY 03 JUNE 2024

MON 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m0002fl0)
Series 10

Blackburn to Manchester

Michael Portillo continues his rail tour of Britain’s industrial northwest, steered by his early nineteenth century Bradshaw’s guide.

In Blackburn, he catches a rare glimpse of Edwardian life on celluloid and marvels at how factory workers and schoolchildren alike were drawn to seek fame on film.

Continuing east to Nelson, Michael braves the enemy camp to have a pint of tea with the socialist working classes in Britain’s last Clarion House. Way out of his comfort zone, he is heartened by their warm welcome.

Taking his rail campaign south, Michael reaches a magnificently renovated mid-19th century Manchester Victoria station, from where he heads to the Manchester Art Gallery to investigate reports of an outrage in 1913.

Michael discovers the former home, now a museum and women’s centre, of the radical family that advocated such outrages, the Pankhursts. He hears from the curator what motivated Emmeline and her daughters, Christabel and Sylvia and learns how they made themselves heard.


MON 19:30 War Walks (b0074mbh)
Series 2

Dunkirk

Professor Richard Holmes walks the French beaches and breakwaters from which thousands of British troops escaped capture in May 1940. German tanks had overwhelmed British and French troops and were poised to seize the British Expeditionary Force.


MON 20:00 Britain's Lost Masterpieces (b07yqgl3)
Series 1

Belfast

Bendor and Jacky visit the Ulster Museum to investigate what have long been disregarded as low-value copies of works by Flemish artist Peter Breughel the Younger. They also visit the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, in which a controversial painting once slashed with a knife is now kept in a room away from public view. The subject is believed to be William III and the pope - these two characters in one picture would be guaranteed to rouse the passions on both sides of the sectarian divide. But has the painting been a case of mistaken identity? Bendor and Jacky investigate.


MON 21:00 Vasa: The Ghost Ship (m001zyvm)
The Vasa, one of the most majestic galleons ever to put to sea, sank 18 minutes after leaving Stockholm harbour on her maiden voyage in 1628.

The loss of the Vasa was a major setback for Sweden’s ambitions to become a power in the Baltic during a turbulent period of European history. Three centuries later, in 1961, the wreck of the Vasa was raised. Remarkably well-preserved by the mud and water in the Baltic Sea, she is a 17th-century time machine.

Following the work of archaeologists, divers and historians, Vasa: The Ghost Ship plunges into Stockholm harbour to make new discoveries and reveal more about the lives of those who built, sailed and died on one of the most powerfully armed warships of her time.


MON 22:00 D-Day: The Untold Story - Journeys to the Bottom of the Sea (m001zyv8)
D-Day was the most decisive battle of the Second World War, yet things went badly wrong on Omaha Beach, and over 2,000 men lost their lives. It could have been very different if a secret weapon designed especially for the invasion had made it to the beach. This special one-off edition of Journeys to the Bottom of the Sea employs dramatic reconstructions to show what really happened.


MON 23:00 Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies (b01ktflc)
The story of D-Day has been told from the point of view of the soldiers who fought in it, the tacticians who planned it and the generals who led it. But that epic event in world history has never been told before through the perspective of the strange handful of spies who made it possible. D-Day was a great victory of arms, a tactical coup, and a moral crusade. But it was also a triumph for espionage, deceit, and thinking of the most twisted sort.

Following on from his hugely successful BBC Two documentaries, Operation Mincemeat and Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story (Agent Zigzag), writer and presenter Ben Macintyre returns to the small screen to bring to life his third best-selling book - Double Cross The True Story of the D-Day Spies. Macintyre reveals the gripping true story of five of the double agents who helped to make D-day such a success.


MON 00:00 D-Day: The Last Heroes (b02xdncc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Saturday]


MON 01:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m0002fl0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 01:30 War Walks (b0074mbh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:00 Britain's Lost Masterpieces (b07yqgl3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUESDAY 04 JUNE 2024

TUE 19:00 Horizon (b08ry9l9)
2017

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 it in the future.


TUE 19:15 War Walks (b0074mbn)
Series 2

Blitz

One night and one image encapsulate the London Blitz - December 29th 1940, the night of the second great fire of London when St Paul's rose in its glory above the smoke and flames. Richard Holmes traces the night's events, from the sector control room where the incoming raiders were plotted through to the efforts of the firemen to save St Paul's.


TUE 19:45 Wendy Craig Remembers… Butterflies (m001zyvw)
Carla Lane’s Butterflies was one of the best-loved sitcoms of the 1970s, following the life of frustrated housewife Ria, living in a male-dominated household with her husband Ben and two sons, Adam and Russell, and tempted by the potential excitement of an affair with successful businessman Leonard.

Wendy Craig starred as Ria, and here she looks back fondly on her experiences working with Carla Lane and the cast, the response from male viewers to the possibility that Ria might commit adultery, and how she became television’s most notoriously dreadful cook, yet still managed to publish a best-selling cookbook.


TUE 20:00 Butterflies (p00hm21b)
Series 1

When Ria Met Leonard

Ria has enough to cope with: there is her husband Ben, who has his own hang-ups and her sons Adam and Russell, who are the cause of most of them. Then suddenly there's Leonard.


TUE 20:30 Not in Front of the Children (m001zyvy)
Episode of the 1960s sitcom starring Wendy Craig and Ronald Hines. The removal of the Corner family to their new home in the country is not without incident.


TUE 21:00 Rigs of Nigg (m000yybp)
It is the early 70s, and oil has been discovered in the North Sea. The UK needs rigs and needs them fast. Their search for a location to build the platforms settles on the sleepy Highland bay of Nigg on the Cromarty Firth, and a way of life is changed for ever.

Rigs of Nigg is the story of how over 5,000 men, sought locally and from across the globe, came together to create structures previously thought to be unbuildable and to withstand elements considered unsurvivable. But the biggest impact was on Nigg and the surrounding villages. Farm work was no longer the mainstay, jobs in the Nigg yard paid four times as much and nothing would be the same again. Heady days of tough work and hard living set some up for life but also took their toll on many.


TUE 22:00 Storyville (m001zyw0)
Against the Tide

Indian fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh are Kolis, the ancient indigenous fishing community of Bombay.

Rakesh has inherited a boat and the knowledge of catching fish from his father. Like a typical Koli fisherman, he casts his nets in the creeks and shallow waters of the sea. His catch is small, and so is his income, but he somehow manages to sustain his family of his mother, his wife and their small baby.

Rakesh’s best friend, Ganesh, is from a wealthier Koli family. He obtained a degree in finance from Scotland and returned to Bombay to run a commercial fishing boat with a crew. With bigger players using illegal fluorescent lights to catch bigger hauls deep-sea fishing, Ganesh is finding it hard to maintain his middle-class lifestyle and status, so he borrows money to buy florescent lights and a bigger crew, and they go on a risk-it-all deep-sea fishing trip. Meanwhile, Rakesh’s baby son becomes ill, and he ends up having to sell his father’s boat to pay for the treatment.

This intimate, beautifully shot observational documentary follows Ganesh as he risks his family’s wealth while Rakesh tries to help his son and buy a new boat so he can return to his ancient way of fishing. Above all, the film is a beautiful portrait of an unlikely friendship, forged in the reality of overfishing, new technology and their indigenous traditional ways of life.


TUE 23:35 Aquarela (m000z2cy)
A cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water that provides a visceral wake-up call for humankind that we are no match for the sheer force and capricious will of earth’s most precious element.

From the precarious frozen waters of Russia’s Lake Baikal to Miami in the throes of Hurricane Irma to Venezuela’s mighty Angel Falls, water’s many personalities are captured in startling cinematic clarity.


TUE 01:00 Vasa: The Ghost Ship (m001zyvm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Monday]


TUE 02:00 War Walks (b0074mbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 today]


TUE 02:30 Timewatch (b008p88c)
2007-2008

Bloody Omaha

History series. Researchers and historians are still arguing about why Omaha Beach was the hardest beach to capture in the D-Day landings. Presenter Richard Hammond analyses the latest theories with Dr Simon Trew of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst.

WEDNESDAY 05 JUNE 2024

WED 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m0002fmn)
Series 10

Manchester to Elsecar

Armed with his early 20th-century Bradshaw’s Guide, Michael Portillo continues his journey from Warrington to the Potteries in Stoke-on-Trent.

In Manchester, at the magnificent Heaton Park, Michael discovers one of the first open-air concerts was held here in 1909 by an opera fan, William Grimshaw, who entertained 40,000 people to the music of opera superstar Enrico Caruso on a gramophone.

In Oldham, Michael discovers the battle fought by one of Britain’s most distinguished statesmen to be elected as the town’s member of Parliament. And he uncovers the rough tactics of the election campaign.

In Edale, in the beautiful Peak District, Michael joins ramblers in walking country. He learns that, at the time of his guide, landowners did not countenance intrusion, and he hears how a Sheffield socialist spearheaded a mass trespassing revolt to open up the countryside to working people.

Michael picks up the trail of King George V and Queen Mary, who visited the vast and Yorkshire estate of Wentworth Woodhouse in 1913. Home to one of the wealthiest dynasties in Britain, the Earls Fitzwilliam, their fortune was built on coal. He then discovers a carefully planned royal charm offensive designed to win the affection and trust of the working classes at a time of severe industrial unrest.

Michael follows the royal party’s footsteps to Lord Fitzwilliam’s mining village and colliery, where the family’s private railway line, which later connected the estate’s iron and coal works, still runs. He takes a trip and is permitted to operate the locomotive.


WED 19:30 Cornwall's Red River (m0014zrj)
Poet John Wedgwood Clarke explores the Red River in Cornwall, a watercourse barely more than a stream that has been heavily polluted by centuries of tin mining. Now, this powerful symbol of Cornish identity, home to some very rare, beautiful and resilient species, is slowly showing signs of coming back to life.

Extracts from John's poem, Red River at the A30 Culvert, reveal his mixed thoughts about the river's toxic legacy, but as he meets both those with a connection with the river's industrial past and who care for it today, he finds new hope for its future.


WED 20:00 Full Circle with Michael Palin (p00wh90y)
Vietnam and the Philippines

Michael Palin visits Hanoi, takes a sampan on the Perfume River, witnesses psychic surgery, travels to the Cu Chi tunnels, judges a beauty contest but fails to see the Banaue rice terraces.


WED 20:50 Michael Palin: The Art of Travel (m001kr81)
Series 1

Southern Railway

Michael Palin embarks on an imaginary romantic assignation to Paris aboard the Golden Arrow. Promoting its new-fangled electrification through a series of colourful posters, the Southern Railway provides him with a gateway to sunshine.


WED 21:00 The Jet Stream and Us (b00909b0)
Documentary tracing how human understanding of the jet stream - a ribbon of fast moving air high in the atmosphere - has grown.

It has been responsible for bewildering effect on bomber pilots during the Second World War, turbocharging modern transatlantic flyers, the infamous 1987 hurricane and devastating floods. Scientists believe this powerful weather phenomenon is now changing its pattern of behaviour and could have an even bigger impact on our climate and the way we live our lives.

Interviewees include Sir Brian Hoskins, University of Reading and Kirsty McCabe from the BBC Weather Centre.


WED 22:00 Roy Clarke Remembers... A Foreign Field (m001zyty)
Writer Roy Clarke is the man responsible for some of the BBC’s longest running and most popular sitcoms: Open All Hours, Keeping Up Appearances and Last of the Summer Wine. Despite the success of those series, the piece he’s proudest of is A Foreign Field, a one-off drama telling the story of war veterans returning to the beaches of France, remembering not just fallen comrades, but also their romantic escapades back in the day.

Here Roy tells the story of how A Foreign Field came to life, the role that the great Sir Alec Guinness played in getting the drama off the ground and his feelings on seeing one of his scripts being performed by a cast of film icons - not just Sir Alec, but also French screen legend Jeanne Moreau and one of the greats of Hollywood’s golden age, Lauren Bacall.


WED 22:15 Screen One (b00ntqq5)
Series 5

A Foreign Field

Nostalgic comic drama in which Cyril and Amos, two veterans of the Normandy landings, return to France to visit the grave of their wartime buddy. They encounter Waldo, an American on a similar mission, and the meeting sparks memories of an old girlfriend from the past. With the mysterious American lady Lisa in their wake, Cyril and Waldo decide to try and track her down.


WED 23:45 Parkinson: The Interviews (m001zyv0)
Series 3

Alec Guinness

Michael Parkinson pays tribute to the man who became one of the world's finest actors and one of Hollywood's best loved stars. In highlights from this interview, Alec Guinness talks about actors James Dean and Grace Kelly, playwright Alan Bennett and poet TS Eliot.


WED 00:25 Talking Pictures (b01sk3qd)
Alec Guinness

A retrospective look at television appearances made over the years by Oscar-winning actor Alec Guinness, capturing the milestones and highlights of his life and career. Narrated by Sylvia Syms.


WED 01:10 Great British Railway Journeys (m0002fmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 01:40 Just Barbara (m001zynt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 on Sunday]


WED 02:45 The Jet Stream and Us (b00909b0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THURSDAY 06 JUNE 2024

THU 19:00 Great British Railway Journeys (m0002fpx)
Series 10

Maltby to Hinckley

Michael Portillo continues his tour of Britain’s industrial heartlands guided by his early 20th-century Bradshaw’s. Michael heads for Maltby, where he is caught up with the thrill of the chase as he investigates the high-octane sport of whippet racing. He learns how this 'poor man’s sport' grew during the 19th century in the mining towns of the north and retains its appeal today.
From Derby, Michael heads for nearby Kedleston Hall, built for the Curzon family in 1765 and home to the first Marquess, Lord Curzon, Viceroy of India, at the turn of the 20th century. Michael learns of Curzon’s passion for architecture and art, and discovers how he protected Britain’s heritage.
Michael’s taste buds are sorely tested in Burton-on-Trent, where he endeavours to understand the appeal of a dark Edwardian spread which is loved – and hated – all over Britain. Even an arch fan may fail to get him to acquire the taste.
On arrival at Hinckley station, Michael is whisked by motorbike to the Triumph factory, where he discovers how these iconic vehicles were developed at the beginning of the 20th century. The first motorcycle to be built, in 1902, and a world-famous 1960s motorbike are housed here.


THU 19:30 The Science of D-Day (b045gr8m)
In June 1944, one of the greatest amphibious assaults in history was launched from the south coast of England. Within a matter of hours, 7,000 vessels had landed 156,000 troops on the beaches of Normandy. It was a manoeuvre that changed the course of the war and tested innovations in science and engineering for the first time.

In this programme, engineer Rob Bell looks at the nuts and bolts which made such a staggering invasion possible - from giant troop-carrying gliders to tanks that could drive on water - and how necessity really did become the mother of invention. Like all new inventions, not all of them worked and resulted in devastating consequences. We find out why. This is the science of D-Day.


THU 20:00 Bletchley Park: Codebreaking's Forgotten Genius (b069gxz7)
Gordon Welchman was one of the original elite codebreakers crucial to the allies defeating the Nazis in World War II. He is the forgotten genius of Bletchley Park.

Filmed extensively at Bletchley Park, the centre for codebreaking operations during World War II, this documentary features the abandoned buildings where thousands of people worked tirelessly trying to crack the codes; Hut 6, where Welchman pioneered his groundbreaking work; and the machines that Welchman helped design.

Post-war, Welchman moved to the United States to be at the nerve centre of the computer revolution. He was employed by the Mitre Corporation, a US defence contractor, and engaged in top secret work. Recently released top secret documents reveal that the case of Gordon Welchman reached the desk of the British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, which then led to questions being asked in the House of Commons after Welchman's death.

Welchman's legacy continues to this day as Professor John Naughton and former CIA analyst Cynthia Storer reveal how Welchman's pioneering work in the field of traffic analysis led directly to the modern secret surveillance state, and particularly the use of metadata - as revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden.


THU 21:00 Four Weddings and a Funeral (m001zxf0)
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.


THU 22:55 A Life on Screen (m000crhm)
Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant tells the story behind his success, after being honoured with the Best Actor award at the Baftas for his performance in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

With an outstanding career in film and television, this special delves into the archives to showcase some of Hugh’s incredible work and includes an in-depth interview with the man himself. From his early days starting out in comedy troupe The Jockeys of Norfolk to his breakthrough role as Charles in Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hugh Grant has become one of Britain’s best-loved film stars.

Since then, Hugh Grant has gone from strength to strength with box office hits including Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually, Notting Hill, About a Boy, Two Weeks Notice, Paddington 2 and Florence Foster Jenkins. Most recently, he has turned his talents to television in the critically acclaimed BBC drama A Very English Scandal, playing notorious politician Jeremy Thorpe.

The film also includes interviews from those who have helped shape Hugh’s glittering career, such as Andie MacDowell, Richard Curtis, Sandra Bullock, Colin Firth and Nicholas Hoult.


THU 23:55 D-Day: The Untold Story - Journeys to the Bottom of the Sea (m001zyv8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Monday]


THU 00:55 Great British Railway Journeys (m0002fpx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


THU 01:25 The Science of D-Day (b045gr8m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:55 Bletchley Park: Codebreaking's Forgotten Genius (b069gxz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:55 A Life on Screen (m000crhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:55 today]

FRIDAY 07 JUNE 2024

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m001zyvf)
MN8 presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 14 March 1996 and featuring Mark Morrison, Gabrielle, The Beatles, Technohead, Peter Andre, Robert Miles, Gary Numan, Bis and Take That.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m001zyvh)
Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 21 March 1996 and featuring Shed Seven, Oasis, Madonna, Menswear, Lionel Richie, Celine Dion, Garbage, Kaliphz Feat. Prince Naseem and Take That.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m000qzmj)
Mark Goodier presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 7 June 1990 and featuring Pop Will Eat Itself, Don Pablo's Animals and Elton John.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (b08k50f2)
John Peel and David Jensen present the pop chart show, first broadcast on 8 June 1983. Studio guests include Twisted Sister, The Imposter, Shakatak, Big Country and The Police.


FRI 21:00 Disco at the BBC (b01cqt74)
Volume One

A foot-stomping return to the BBC vaults of Top of the Pops, The Old Grey Whistle Test and Later with Jools as the programme spins itself to a time when disco ruled the floor, the airwaves and our minds. The visual floorfillers include classics from luminaries such as Chic, Labelle and Rose Royce to glitter ball surprises by The Village People.


FRI 22:00 Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution (m001tkyf)
Series 1

Rock the Boat

In 1970s, in the aftermath of the Stonewall Riots, a sense of liberation fuelled a new sound from New York. In their quest for a safe space to meet – free from discrimination and violence – New York’s gay, black and minority ethnic communities started coming together in apartments and basement bars to dance. It was the beginning of a new kind of music and a pioneering dance floor culture that would sweep the world and change dance music forever.


FRI 23:00 Gloria Gaynor in Concert (m001tkyt)
Gloria Gaynor, one of America's most celebrated recording artists, makes a rare television appearance in another concert recorded specially for BBC television at the International Music Festival in Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre. She performs all her previous chart successes, including the million-seller I Will Survive.


FRI 23:45 TOTP2 (b01js1hp)
Donna Summer

Mark Radcliffe introduces this archive tribute to the Queen of Disco, who died in 2012. As a singer, Donna Summer had many strings to her bow as this compilation shows. Including footage from her first performances on Top of the Pops with I Remember Yesterday and Winter Melody in 1977, to her last studio performance on Later with Jools Holland in 2004, as well as promo video of some key hits like I Feel Love and Enough is Enough.


FRI 00:15 Later... with Jools Holland (m001zyvk)
Floorfillers

Jools presents a compilation show featuring floorfillers.


FRI 01:15 Top of the Pops (m001zyvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


FRI 01:45 Top of the Pops (m001zyvh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 02:15 Top of the Pops (m000qzmj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


FRI 02:45 Top of the Pops (b08k50f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]