SATURDAY 01 MARCH 2025

SAT 19:00 Hidden Wales: Last Chance to Save (m0014zsh)
Writer and adventurer Will Millard returns with more of Wales’s hidden wonders as he explores some of the country’s forgotten historic buildings.

In Wales, we are in danger of losing vital pieces of history that tell us who we once were. Beautiful buildings that are architectural gems but also some of the most endangered in the UK. These extraordinary structures, which can give us vital insights into how we once used to live, are in danger of disappearing forever.

From extravagant mansions to a 500-year-old farmhouse, crumbling chapels to a massive military fort, and from spectacular industrial sites to a stunning 19th-century theatre, Will travels the length and breadth of Wales to find some of our most vulnerable old buildings, telling their incredible histories and meeting the passionate individuals who are trying to rescue them before it is too late.


SAT 20:00 Timeshift (b0803m60)
Series 16

Bridging the Gap: How the Severn Bridge Was Built

2016 saw the 50th anniversary of the Severn Bridge, which completed the motorway link between England and Wales. Timeshift tells the inside story of the design and construction of 'the most perfect suspension bridge in the world', and how its unique slimline structure arose by accident.


SAT 21:00 The One That Got Away (m00283yd)
Series 1

Episode 1

The discovery of a nurse, dead in the woods, has similarities with an apparently solved historic case from 12 years ago, the Heart Knot murders. Amid fears of a copycat killer, DI Ffion Lloyd is called back to lead the investigation, troubling local cop DS Rick Sheldon. Rick and Ffion worked the historic case together, but they were also once engaged. Could this be a domestic murder or something darker?


SAT 21:50 The One That Got Away (m00283yf)
Series 1

Episode 2

As a manhunt grips the town, Anna’s revelation about the past haunts Ffion. A thrilling chase ends with a capture, and the team celebrate a great result - it’s like old times for Rick and Ffion. But Ffion clashes bitterly with her sister when evidence emerges that seems to link her to the crime. Could they have got this wrong? Could the killer still be out there?


SAT 22:40 Parkinson: The Interviews (b01h22vh)
Series 1

Richard Burton

Michael Parkinson looks back at his unique interview with talented and troubled film star Richard Burton. Back in 1974, Burton was battling against alcoholism and had spent six weeks in hospital for treatment prior to the interview. Parkinson persuaded him to talk candidly about his career, love life and drink problems.


SAT 23:20 Welsh Greats (b00j092z)
Series 2

Harry Secombe

Aled Jones presents the funny, warm and moving life story of comedian and singer Harry Secombe, a down-to-earth Swansea lad who became one of the nation's best-loved entertainers.

From The Goons to Highway, from Pickwick to Songs of Praise, he 'ruled the world' with a giggle and a song. But Harry's good humour gave no hint of the serious challenges he had faced, from the brutality of war to life-threatening illness.

Featuring Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan, the programme reminds us of Harry's natural warmth, his faith and his infectious humour.


SAT 23:50 Going Straight (p00xb66c)
Going, Going, Gone

As hotel porter, Fletch recognises an unscrupulous guest, Worm Wellings, and suspects he may be planning an insurance scam.


SAT 00:20 Steptoe and Son (p00h1gt6)
Series 7

Divided We Stand

Classic comedy with the rag-and-bone team. When the arguments become just too much for Harold, he decides to take drastic measures to get some peace from Albert.


SAT 00:50 Harry H Corbett: Acting in the Sixties (m0028dy8)
Harry H Corbett talks to Clive Goodwin in a programme that first aired in 1967 from a series in which leading young actors discussed their start in the profession, the parts that brought them success and their views on acting. Featuring excerpts from Steptoe and Son and the film Rattle of a Simple Man. Introduced by Peter Black.


SAT 01:35 Hidden Wales: Last Chance to Save (m0014zsh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SAT 02:35 Timeshift (b0803m60)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

SUNDAY 02 MARCH 2025

SUN 19:00 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.


SUN 20:00 Amazon with Bruce Parry (b00f0ytw)
Episode 4

Bruce Parry reaches the halfway point of his epic journey in the vast nature reserve of Mamiraua, home to the Amazon's most iconic species. He lives with the Ribeirinho, the river people, and hunts for the Amazon's biggest fish, the pirarucu.


SUN 21:00 St David’s Day: Calan in Concert (m0028nyc)
For nearly 20 years, folk group Calan have been thrilling audiences all over the world with their unique take on Welsh traditional music. From Malaysia to the USA, the band have amassed a loyal following of fans with their modern versioning of traditional folk songs, combining foot-tapping rhythms with catchy melodies and some electrifying playing.

In this special concert for St David’s Day, the band are joined by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under the baton of Grant Llewelyn, reviving a musical collaboration first heard in 2020. This rare combination brings an added dynamic to modern folk music, delivering a unique musical experience.

Special guest is singer-songwriter and Welsh triple harp Cerys Hafana, who represented Wales at the Womex world music expo in Manchester in 2024 and is a rising star on the UK folk music scene.

Presented by Mirain Iwerydd, and recorded in an informal setting in front of an invited audience, this is a musical treat not to be missed, and is the last chance to see these gifted musicians play together as Calan before they go their separate ways later this year.


SUN 22:00 Other Voices: Cardigan with Huw Stephens (m0026hxs)
Huw Stephens presents highlights from the Other Voices festival in Cardigan.

Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield takes to the stage at the eclectic Other Voices festival in Cardigan, singing not just some of the band’s most well-known tracks in a rare solo acoustic set but also performing in Welsh for the very first time.

Also performing are Nadine Shah, Charlotte Day Wilson, Victory Ray, Bill Ryder-Jones, Welsh Music Prize winner Georgia Ruth and, with a debut album tipped as one of 2024’s best, Fabiana Palladino.

John Peel session favourites Melys, who formed in Betws-y-coed back in 1997, return to the stage, and there is a look at the festival’s ‘music trail’, which showcases a wealth of emerging talent in venues all across the town.

The Bethania Chapel echoes to the remarkable voice of Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, straight from the heart of the Irish tradition, and there is a rare chance to hear acclaimed Welsh musician Lleuwen Steffan’s unique celebration of the lost traditional hymns of Wales. Her voice harmonises with archive recordings and added electro beats to produce something fresh and compelling.


SUN 23:00 BBC Proms (b08z2x60)
2017

Malcolm Sargent Revisited

Nicknamed 'Flash Harry', Sir Malcolm Sargent was the chief conductor of the Proms for two decades, bringing the concerts to TV audiences for the first time. Marking the 50th anniversary of his death, conductor Sir Andrew Davis, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and sensational young pianist Beatrice Rana recreate Sargent's 500th Prom from 1966. Alongside Schumann and Berlioz, there's a feast of English music, including works by Elgar and Holst, culminating in Britten's much-loved Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra.


SUN 01:10 This Cultural Life (m0028dz3)
Nile Rodgers

Nile Rodgers is one of the most successful and influential figures in popular music. As a songwriter, producer and arranger, he has enjoyed a 50-year career with his bands Chic and Sister Sledge, and collaborations with artists, including Diana Ross, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Madonna, Daft Punk and Beyoncé.

Bringing his Fender Stratocaster guitar to the studio, Nile tells John Wilson how the instrument, nicknamed The Hitmaker, has been the bedrock of almost every record that he worked on.

He discusses his bohemian upbringing in 1950s New York with his mother and stepfather, who were both drug users. He chooses as one of his most important influences his jazz guitar tutor Ted Dunbar, who taught him not only about musical technique but also how to appreciate the artistry of a hit tune. 'It speaks to the souls of a million strangers' he was told.

Nile reminisces about his musical partner Bernard Edwards, with whom he set up the Chic Organisation after the pair first met on the club circuit playing with cover bands. He discusses their songwriting techniques and the importance of what they called ‘deep hidden meaning’ in lyrics. He also reflects on the untimely death of Edwards in 1996, shortly after he played a gig with Nile in Tokyo, and why he continues to pay musical tribute to his friend in his globally touring stage show, which includes the songs of Chic and other artists they worked with.


SUN 01:40 Parkinson: The Interviews (b01h22vh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:40 on Saturday]


SUN 02:20 Amazon with Bruce Parry (b00f0ytw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

MONDAY 03 MARCH 2025

MON 19:00 Climbing Great Buildings (b00tr8nd)
Layer Marney Tower

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day, to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of how our architecture and construction have developed over 1000 years.

The next step in Jonathan's journey takes him to Layer Marney Tower, a Tudor skyscraper nestled in the countryside near Colchester in Essex.

With unprecedented access to Layer Marney, Jonathan, aided by top climber Lucy Creamer, scales the building to reveal the innovations of the Tudor builders and craftsmen. On his adventure, Jonathan scales the highest and most majestic Tudor gatehouse in Britain to investigate why brick, an art form that died out with the Roman Empire, suddenly became the must-have building material for Tudor nobles. As he climbs all over the building, he walks a tightrope between the beams of a 500-year-old roof to investigate how Layer Marney's history is literally carved into the building. He also exposes the cunning Tudor tricks of the trade that make the house appear even more opulent than it actually is and reveals the connection between parmesan cheese and the beautifully ornate terracotta carvings that adorn the building.


MON 19:30 Who Do You Think You Are? USA (m0028nzm)
America Ferrera

Actress America Ferrera searches for a connection to the father she barely knew and discovers a great-grandfather who left an enduring mark on Honduran history. Embarking on a journey to Honduras to research her father's roots and rekindle a connection to him, she uncovers the fascinating details of her paternal great-grandfather, an army general who led numerous revolts against Honduran leaders to fight for people's rights.


MON 20:00 The Romantics and Us with Simon Schama (m000mmgx)
Series 1

The Chambers of the Mind

With contributions from Tobias Menzies, Peter Doherty, Piotr Anderszewski and Sir David Attenborough, Simon tells the story of how the romantics - fuelled by the failures of the French Revolution and horrors of the industrial revolution - retreated from the tragic uproar of public life to take a journey into their own minds. Here, long before the invention of modern psychology, they discovered the subconscious, something that would have a profound effect on our modern world.

The film starts with the story of one of France’s most celebrated novelists and poets, Victor Hugo. After falling foul of the French emperor, Louis Napoleon, Hugo fled to the island of Guernsey. Here, he created some of the most haunting images of the romantic age, thousands of drawings plucked from his restless, melancholy mind.

Long before Sigmund Freud and the invention of modern psychoanalysis, it is often forgotten that it was the romantics who became the first intrepid explorers of the deepest, darkest corners of the human mind. At the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Simon traces the origins of this revolution to the prints of Giambattista Piranesi. His series of Imaginary Prisons are the first images of the inner visions of the mind, and they have had a long-lasting influence in our modern world - not least in modern cinema.

Among those inspired by Piranesi's images was poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and, later, one of his disciples, journalist, writer and wannabe-poet Thomas de Quincey. Both of them used opium to open up ‘the apocalypse of the world within’. Simon tells the story of how both artists changed the way we think about the human mind.

Simon then looks at how the romantics changed the way we think about madness. In their craving for deeper experiences, very few romantics - at one stage or other - didn’t think they were going mad.

One, however, found a way to avoid the fate of so many his colleagues and friends: William Wordsworth. He was equally interested in the mapping and exploration of his own mind, but he also realised that it was by attaching it to something bigger that he could escape the irrational forces of darkness and self-obsession that threatened to overwhelm him. Meeting Sir David Attenborough, who also reads lines from Tintern Abbey and Wordsworth’s The Tables Turned, Simon asks whether we need to heed the lessons of the romantics before it is too late.


MON 21:00 Leonardo (b0078rw5)
The Secret Life of the Mona Lisa

She has her own bodyguards and lives in Paris in a humidified, air-conditioned box protected by triplex bullet proof glass. Despite this, she is visited by six million tourists every year. She is Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Alan Yentob tells the story of how the Mona Lisa came to be the most famous work of art in the world. It's a tale full of notoriety, glamour and intrigue as the Mona Lisa is abducted, vandalised and exploited across the centuries.

With the help of leading scholars and original research, Alan also finally solves the central mystery of the Mona Lisa - who she is and why she is smiling.


MON 22:00 Pauline Boty: I Am the Sixties (m0028nyw)
The first TV documentary about pop art sensation Pauline Boty, tracking the artist’s original contribution to British art, her feminism and her unique take on the nascent celebrity culture of the 1960s.

Ahead of her time in so many ways, Boty’s story ends with her tragic early death at 28 in 1966 and the subsequent revival of interest in her work in the last decade.

Packed full of original photographs and art work, the film calls on an array of family, friends, art critics and famous fans to lead us through the Boty story. Contributors include pop art titan Sir Peter Blake, comedian and artist Jim Moir, critic Kate Bryan, best friend and print designer Natalie Gibson MBE, pop singers Corrine Drewery and Tanita Tikaram and TV presenter Ronnie Archer Morgan.


MON 23:00 Monitor (b00drs8y)
Pop Goes the Easel

Ken Russell's stylish and playful 1962 film on the young British artists of the day who were pioneering the pop art movement features the works of four friends and colleagues.

Peter Blake explores his passion for pop icons, Peter Phillips is featured with his cool companions, Derek Boshier voices his concerns with the American influence on British life and culture, and Pauline Boty, Britain's great female pop art painter who was to die only four years later, performs in a short dramatic dream piece.


MON 23:45 Lee Miller: A Life on the Front Line (m000hy2p)
When Lee Miller returned to New York from Europe in October 1932, newspaper reporters were waiting to greet her as her ship docked. Disembarking in a smart beret and fur-collared coat, she smiled for the journalist from the New York World-Telegram. When he referred to her as 'one of the most photographed girls in Manhattan', she retorted, 'I'd rather take a picture than be one.'

Lee Miller is one of the most remarkable female icons of the 20th century. A model turned photographer turned war reporter, Miller chose to live her life by her own rules.

This film celebrates a subject who defied anyone who tried to pin her down, put her on a pedestal or pigeonhole her in any way. It tells the story of a trailblazer, often at odds with the morality of the day, who refused to be subjugated by the dominant male figures around her.


MON 00:45 Climbing Great Buildings (b00tr8nd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 01:15 Who Do You Think You Are? USA (m0028nzm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 01:45 Leonardo (b0078rw5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]


MON 02:45 The Romantics and Us with Simon Schama (m000mmgx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

TUESDAY 04 MARCH 2025

TUE 19:00 Climbing Great Buildings (b00tv92l)
Burghley House

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day, to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of how our architecture and construction has developed over 1000 years.

The next step in Jonathan's journey takes him to Burghley House in Lincolnshire. Built to impress Queen Elizabeth I on her many trips around the country, Burghley is the finest example of an Elizabethan house in Britain.

With unprecedented access to Burghley, Jonathan, aided by champion climber Lucy Creamer, climbs the building, to reveal the innovations of the Elizabethan builders and craftsmen. On his adventures, Jonathan scales up to the roof of Burghley to reveal a unique playground of hidden ornate sculpture, where royalty and ambassadors were entertained. He also zips 80 feet across the central courtyard to decipher the scores of mysterious symbols that adorn the building, and scales over a hundred feet to come face-to-face with a one-handed clock. Finally, Jonathan reveals why, although the house was built to accommodate Elizabeth I and her court, she never even set eyes on it.


TUE 19:30 Who Do You Think You Are? USA (m0028nyr)
Liv Tyler

Actress Liv Tyler unravels the mystery of her father Steven Tyler’s maternal family line, uncovering ancestors who took part in famous American battles. She also learns the shocking truths that will change the way she sees herself, and her family, forever.


TUE 20:00 Going Straight (p00xb690)
Going off the Rails

Fletch feels frustrated that his ex-wife's partner is paying for his daughter's wedding. So he is tempted when someone offers to pay him to be a lookout for a burglary.


TUE 20:30 As Time Goes By (p0479wdb)
Series 2

The Book Signing

It’s the day of Lionel’s book launch, and Alistair has a new publicity stunt prepared in case sales start flagging.


TUE 21:00 Royal History’s Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley (m000fj9c)
Series 1

The Reformation

Lucy Worsley discovers how the history of the English Reformation has been manipulated and mythologised by generations of politicians and writers. It’s usually portrayed as a lusty royal soap opera. But Lucy reveals that it was about far more than just a randy king in pursuit of a younger wife and a long-awaited male heir.

Henry’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon, a Catholic, created a religious and political schism between England and Europe that can be still be felt in Britain today. It also laid the foundations for our modern constitution and economic power as an empire.

But this fundamental shift in our cultural, political and economic fortunes wasn’t driven by Henry VIII’s Protestant zeal. Lucy begins by demolishing one of the founding myths about the English Reformation: far from being a ready ally of Martin Luther’s Protestant revolution, Henry remained a Catholic to his death. It was his wife Anne Boleyn and his fixer Thomas Cromwell who championed the Protestant cause.


TUE 22:00 Storyville (m0028nyt)
The Covid Queue at Pavilion 6

A humorous and humane snapshot of life in a Covid-19 vaccine centre. Five years after the world first locked down to limit the spread of the virus, this film serves as collective therapy for the post-Covid era.

The documentary was filmed in Croatia, where at the time, the government was still chasing down supplies of hard-to-get-hold-of vaccines. The queues of people waiting for them stretch endlessly along streets, with a tapestry of personalities amongst them - from the stern ‘gatekeeper’ of the line to elderly women deliberating their vaccine preferences. This is a reminder of a unique moment in time - one shared by people across the globe.


TUE 23:10 Toxic Town: The Corby Poisonings (m000gp8s)
The untold story of Britain’s worst foetal poisoning scandal since thalidomide, when a group of ordinary mothers took on the establishment and won. Set in a post-industrial Northamptonshire town, the Corby Litigation Case was a landmark one with worldwide legal and medical ramifications - the first time ever that a court has recognised a link between airborne toxins and foetal development damage.

At the heart of the story is a group of young mothers with children with hand and feet deformities fighting hard for answers, a ruthless local council and a tenacious human rights lawyer who took on a near-impossible ten-year battle.

In the 1990s, a Sunday Times journalist discovered two mothers who had recently each given birth to children with identical birth defects. A steelworks had been at the heart of Corby for decades, but in 1980 it shut down, plunging the town into dire unemployment. A few years later, with a hefty European grant, Corby Borough Council embarked on the biggest land reclamation project in Europe, redeveloping the land where the steelworks had stood. Suspecting a link to toxic waste - buried underneath the ground whilst the steelworks was in operation - the journalist discovered more children, all with the same deformities. The Sunday Times published an article pointing the finger at the council, and the story blew up in Corby. As the story spread, more families came forward. The mothers formed a group and sought legal advice, determined to find answers.

A Watford solicitor, Des Collins, discovered the story and approached the mothers. He won their trust and took on the case. Under pressure from these accusations, the council produced a study which indicated there was no evidence of a cluster of deformities. But Des was unconvinced by their results. He consulted one of the UK’s leading paediatric epidemiologists, Professor Louise Parker, who analysed the data and determined that the council’s report was wrong. Professor Parker carried out her own study, which revealed that the rate of birth defects in Corby was far higher than elsewhere.

While battling the case, each of the families also battled the stigmas and misunderstandings that came with the children’s conditions. The mothers travelled up and down to a specialist hospital in Leeds, where a surgeon carried out several complicated surgeries on the children, grafting toes onto their hands so that they would have a grip to use.

Convinced he had a strong argument, Des and his expert team began to build a case against the council, attempting to convince a judge of a hypothesis that had never before been proven in a court of law. The whole case rested on expert scientific evidence - could scientists prove that toxic particles from the reclamation project had been ingested by the mothers and poisoned their unborn children? It would be one of the most difficult cases of Des’s career. Meanwhile, the children at the heart of the case navigated life with these birth defects, some being badly bullied in school.

The next hurdle was to prove that airborne toxins had the potential to be transported miles through the air and be inhaled by the mothers during pregnancy. Des enlisted expert engineer Professor Tony Cox, who carried out exhaustive research and discovered that these particles could travel miles, meaning that the mothers could certainly have ingested them. The council’s report produced conflicting evidence - that the toxic dust could only travel a few hundred meters. Tony was confused - the council report had been carried out by some of the best engineers in the industry. Perhaps he had made a grave mistake? But at the last minute, Tony discovered a study which confirmed he was right.

The final task was to prove that, once ingested, one or more of these toxins could cause the limb malformations that the children had. Dr David Penman, an expert in fetal medicine, determined that the most likely culprit was the heavy metal cadmium, a by-product of steel-making. But nobody had ever studied the effects of cadmium on pregnant women. Dr Penman did know that cigarettes and certain fertilisers contain cadmium, so he delved into studies on smokers and agricultural workers, and the results brought up the exact limb malformations that were present in many of the mothers. It was a breakthrough.

Ten years after the mothers’ battle began, the case went to court. Eminent barrister David Wilby QC was instructed on behalf of the mothers. The whole case rested on the science put forward by the expert witnesses. In July 2009, the judge ruled that the council had ignored all of their professional advice and acted illegally in the way that it moved and disposed of the toxic waste from the British Steel site. Not only that, but he agreed that the mothers had proven for the first time in history that there is a link between toxic substances released into the air and children born with birth defects.


TUE 00:10 Pauline Boty: I Am the Sixties (m0028nyw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Monday]


TUE 01:10 Climbing Great Buildings (b00tv92l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 01:40 Who Do You Think You Are? USA (m0028nyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 02:10 Royal History’s Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley (m000fj9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 05 MARCH 2025

WED 19:00 Climbing Great Buildings (b00tv973)
St Paul's Cathedral

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day, to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of how our architecture and construction has developed over 1000 years.

The next step on Jonathan's journey celebrating Britain's architecture takes him to St Paul's Cathedral in London. If one structure captures the spirit of London, this is it. Beautifully crafted and designed by the great Sir Christopher Wren, it is simply stunning in its stature, with its iconic dome that has dominated London's skyline for over 300 years.

With unprecedented access to secret parts of St Paul's, Jonathan, aided by champion climber Lucy Creamer, climbs over 300 feet to investigate the innovations and tricks of the trade that architectural illusionist Christopher Wren employed to create this magnificent cathedral. He tests the limits of his courage to abseil over 220 feet straight down the centre of the dome from the cupola to get a completely unique view of St Paul's. He reveals how not everything at St Paul's is at it seems, as he uncovers the magic behind the greatest of Wren's architectural tricks, the dome.


WED 19:30 Who Do You Think You Are? USA (m0028nzf)
Jennifer Grey

Jennifer Grey finds out much more about the grandfather she thought she knew as she uncovers how he survived adversity to become a beacon of his community. She also discovers a great-grandmother whose devastating tragedy stopped her from making it to America.


WED 20:00 Himalaya with Michael Palin (b0074qsf)
Bhutan to Bay of Bengal

In Bhutan, Palin finds himself back in the land of yaks for a last look at the high Himalaya. Trekking to Chomolhari base camp he meets a nomad with a penchant for yak songs before heading down to Paro to witness the Buddhist festival or Tsechu. In a bar in Thimphu, he discusses reincarnation and the pursuit of happiness with Benji and Khendum, two of the king's cousins, and en route to Bangladesh is taken by Benji to see the rare black-neck cranes.

On his journey south through Bangladesh, Michael visits the ship-breaking beaches of Chittagong and grid-locked Dhaka. He meets a man who made a fortune in Birmingham in the poultry business, and a woman who lends money only to women. On a 1920s paddle steamer he is serenaded with the words of Bengal's Shakespeare, and he completes his epic Himalayan journey aboard a fishing boat that carries him out into the Bay of Bengal and a westering sun.


WED 21:00 Being Bridget Jones (m000qrx4)
Marking 25 years since the creation of the Bridget Jones character for a column in The Independent newspaper, author Helen Fielding opens up her personal archive for the very first time to tell the story of how Bridget Jones’s Diary came to be.

We meet Helen’s friends and family who inspired many of the characters and interview the stars of the hugely successful film adaptations, Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth.

Other contributors include Andrew Marr, Candice Carty-Williams, Jess Phillips, Richard Curtis, Cherie Blair and Germaine Greer.


WED 22:00 The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story (b09vpgr7)
Series 1

Episode 1

In April 1955 Ruth Ellis shot her lover David Blakely dead. It's a case that shocked the nation, and it still fascinates today. It has its place in ushering in the defence of diminished responsibility and the eventual abolishment of capital punishment. We all think we know the story, but why, when it was seemingly such an open-and-shut case, does it still divide opinion on whether Ruth Ellis got the justice she deserved? Film-maker Gillian Pachter wants to find out. The result is a fresh investigation with fascinating true-crime twists and turns that also shines a unique light on attitudes to class, gender and sex in 1950s London.

In this first episode, Gillian takes a forensic look at the police investigation launched just after Ruth's arrest. Gillian is all too aware of the femme fatale persona that has stuck with Ruth since 1955. She wants to build Ruth Ellis back up from the evidence, and this means looking carefully at the police documentation from the time. Gillian begins with Ruth's first statement where she confesses to the crime but intriguingly states that she's 'confused'.

As Gillian follows the course of the investigation, she uncovers some worrying assumptions, problematic omissions and missed opportunities. There's a key witness who was never questioned by the police - Ruth's 10-year-old-son Andre, who tragically took his own life in the 1980s. He left behind an audio cassette that features a recorded conversation where Andre shares his thoughts on his mother's case. Gillian uses this to piece together what the boy knew. Then there's the murder weapon - one of thousands of guns that flooded Britain during the war. Gillian traces its provenance and it leads her to a shocking conclusion.

Experts in policing shed new light on the involvement of a possible accomplice and Gillian tracks down those who met Ruth and David. A picture begins to build of their relationship and lifestyle and it's a unique snapshot of the complex world of post-war Britain that made and then broke Ruth Ellis.


WED 23:00 Play of the Week (m0028nzh)
Fairies

Touching period drama by Geoffrey Case from 1978.

'I'd stake my reputation on it. These photographs are not faked.' But how could photographs, taken on a simple camera by two Yorkshire village girls, have momentous implications for man's understanding of the world?


WED 00:05 Monitor (b00drs8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]


WED 00:50 Climbing Great Buildings (b00tv973)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 01:20 Who Do You Think You Are? USA (m0028nzf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 01:50 Lee Miller: A Life on the Front Line (m000hy2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]


WED 02:50 Himalaya with Michael Palin (b0074qsf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]

THURSDAY 06 MARCH 2025

THU 19:00 Climbing Great Buildings (b00tv99n)
Blenheim Palace

Dr Jonathan Foyle, architectural historian and novice climber, scales Britain's most iconic structures, from the Normans to the present day, to reveal the buildings' secrets and tell the story of how our architecture and construction have developed over 1,000 years.

The next step of Jonathan's journey celebrating British architecture takes him to the epitome of the English stately home - Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Built in the early 1700s as a reward for the Duke of Marlborough's defeat of King Louis XIV of France, it's one of the finest examples of English Baroque buildings in the country.

With unprecedented access to Blenheim Palace, aided by champion climber Lucy Creamer, Jonathan scales the building to investigate the innovations and techniques used to construct it and to decipher the stories and propaganda carved all over the building. He climbs over 100 feet to reveal the story of how a bawdy playwright, a brave general and his strong-willed wife combined and clashed to create this most audacious masterpiece. He zips across the courtyard to see how the duke's epic victory is celebrated in stone through flamboyant and satirical sculpture, and he dangles precariously inside the Great Hall trying not to break the lamps, worth 250,000 pounds, to get a view of the spectacular hand-painted ceiling.


THU 19:30 Who Do You Think You Are? USA (b01qxwqs)
Martin Sheen

Hollywood legend Martin Sheen explores both sides of his European ancestry. He starts his journey in Ireland, where his mother was born and raised. Martin knows that his uncle Michael was a member of the Irish Republican Army fighting the British in the War of Independence, but he is curious to find out more about Michael's involvement in the Irish Civil War. It turns out that Michael is not the only freedom fighter in Martin's family tree.

On the trail of his paternal Spanish ancestors, Martin heads to Madrid, where he learns that his uncle Matias was imprisoned under General Franco's fascist regime. Digging deeper into his Spanish roots, Martin is able to trace back to the 1700s and uncovers a story that he never would have expected.


THU 20:00 Timeshift (b04c36md)
Series 14

Killer Storms and Cruel Winters: The History of Extreme Weather

If you think Britain has recently been on the end of some of the worst floods and storms ever experienced, think again. So says solar scientist Dr Lucie Green, as she takes a journey back through our most turbulent and dramatic weather history.

She finds an 18th-century storm surge that killed over a thousand people working in open Somerset fields, a hurricane that drowned a fifth of the British Navy and winters so bitter that the country came close to total shutdown. But she also explores how our reactions to killer storms and cruel winters helped forge a weather science that today allows us to predict - and protect ourselves from - the worst extremes.


THU 21:00 In the Loop (b00rf174)
When British Secretary of State for International Development Simon Foster accidentally backs military action on TV, he suddenly has a lot of friends in Washington DC.

If Simon and his entourage of one can get in with the right DC people, and if they can stop the PM's chief spin doctor Malcolm Tucker rigging the vote at the UN, then maybe they can halt the war.


THU 22:40 The Death of Stalin (m000qrrc)
Moscow, 1953. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin is suddenly taken ill and dies. Immediately, members of the council of ministers scramble for power against one another.


THU 00:20 Climbing Great Buildings (b00tv99n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


THU 00:50 Who Do You Think You Are? USA (b01qxwqs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


THU 01:20 Timeshift (b04c36md)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


THU 02:20 The Ruth Ellis Files: A Very British Crime Story (b09vpgr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Wednesday]

FRIDAY 07 MARCH 2025

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m0028nyg)
Jo Whiley presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 13 June 1997 and featuring Rosie Gaines, Wet Wet Wet, En Vogue, Skunk Anansie, Eternal feat Bebe Winans, Jon Bon Jovi, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Hanson.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m0028nyj)
Jayne Middlemiss presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 20 June 1997 and featuring Lisa Stansfield, Supergrass, Eternal feat Bebe Winans, The Charlatans, Michael Jackson, Blur, Pet Shop Boys, Del Amitri, Finley Quaye and Hanson.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m00029mk)
Janice Long and Gary Davies present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 5 March 1987. Featuring performances by The Christians, a-ha, Erasure, Mel and Kim, Jackie Wilson, Freddie Mercury, Boy George, Al Jarreau, Ben E King and Percy Sledge.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (b03xcbrp)
Kid Jensen presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 9 March 1979 and featuring Inner Circle, Elvis Costello, Buzzcocks, Dennis Brown, Late Show, The Real Thing, Cliff Richard, The Dooleys, Motörhead and Leyton Buzzards. With dance sequences by Legs & Co.


FRI 21:05 Depeche Mode at the BBC (b08l6sm2)
A look back, from 2017, at the journey of one of the UK's longest-lasting and most successful bands. Featuring clips from various BBC programmes, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Synth Britannia, The OZone, Def II and The Whistle Test.

From their first appearance on Top of the Pops in 1981 and the tales of how they got there, to performing on Later... with Jools Holland in 2009, the programme shares archive testimony and recent interviews from core members Dave Gahan, Vince Clarke, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher. New Life, Just Can't Get Enough, Blasphemous Rumours and Personal Jesus are among some of the classic tracks performed.


FRI 22:05 6 Music Festival (b08ljxpb)
2017

Depeche Mode

With the release of their album Spirit, Depeche Mode return to the stage for BBC Radio 6 Music Festival, before they embark on a world tour.

Depeche Mode, who formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, had not played at the 2,000-capacity Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow for more than 30 years, when they performed as part of their Some Great Reward tour. Now, back at the historic Barrowland, their amazing return as part of 6 Music Festival is captured.


FRI 23:05 Radio 2 In Concert (m001nj1p)
Tears for Fears

Jo Whiley welcomes an intimate audience to the BBC Radio Theatre as synth pop greats Tears for Fears celebrate their reunion following a sold-out summer arena tour, highlighted by their triumphant UK return in front of 65,000-plus fans as special guests of The Killers during British Summer Time Festival at Hyde Park.

The duo from Bath, consisting of Roland Orzabal (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Curt Smith (vocals, bass, keyboards), play hits from their back catalogue, including Shout and Everybody Wants to Rule the World.


FRI 23:35 Synth Britannia at the BBC (b00n93c6)
A journey through the BBC's synthpop archives from Roxy Music and Tubeway Army to New Order and Sparks. Turn your Moogs up to 11 as we take a trip back into the 70s and 80s!


FRI 00:35 Sparks: 6 Music Festival (m001nd67)
In an exclusive performance for 6 Music Festival 2017 at 02 Academy Glasgow, Sparks premiere songs from their album Hippopotamus and play hits from throughout their career.


FRI 01:40 Top of the Pops (m0028nyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


FRI 02:10 Top of the Pops (m0028nyj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 02:40 Top of the Pops (m00029mk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


FRI 03:10 Top of the Pops (b03xcbrp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]