SATURDAY 22 MARCH 2025

SAT 19:00 The Flying Gardener (m0029cbj)
Series 4

Cornwall - Short

Chris Beardshaw flies to Cornwall to help a school create a tropical paradise in its backyard. On the way, he takes a dip in the ocean in search of plants that have washed in from South America.


SAT 19:15 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d2v3)
Series 3

If Wishes Were Horses

Wesley Binks is the bane of Darrowby with petty thieving, but when his dog contracts distemper, he turns over a new leaf and resolves to work hard to pay for treatment.


SAT 20:10 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d2v7)
Series 3

Pig in the Middle

James and Helen decide to celebrate their anniversary, Tristan wants to take his new girlfriend out, and Siegfried wishes to date Mrs Egerton - all on the same evening.


SAT 21:00 One Fine Morning (m0029cbn)
Working as a freelance interpreter, single mother Sandra lives with her eight-year-old daughter in Paris. As she comes to terms with the painful deterioration of her father, who is suffering from a rare form of dementia, she runs into Clement, an old friend, and they embark on an affair.

In French with English subtitles


SAT 22:50 Wogan (m0029cbq)
Gene Hackman, Erno Rubik, Frankie Howerd

Terry Wogan's chat show guests are actor Gene Hackman, designer Erno Rubik, comedian Frankie Howerd and the UK's tallest landlord and his wife. With music from Jermaine Stewart.


SAT 23:30 Hancock's Half Hour (p032khzk)
Lord Byron Lived Here

Hancock’s house is falling down. Hancock and Sid need to prove someone famous lived there for the National Trust to stump up the cash for renovations.


SAT 00:00 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (p00x9qth)
Series 1

Episode 3

While Elizabeth is away, Reggie asks Joan, his secretary, to come over for a business meeting, but he actually intends to start an affair with her. A stream of visitors causes his plan to go awry.


SAT 00:30 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d2v3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:15 today]


SAT 01:20 All Creatures Great and Small (p031d2v7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:10 today]


SAT 02:15 Dangerous Earth (b084n7z1)
Tornado

Dr Helen Czerski peers into the heart of the storm to find out how advances in technology are giving new insight into tornadoes - the fastest winds on the planet. From the breathtaking footage that capture the extreme weather events that produce them, to the latest experiments investigating their incredible destructive power, Helen discovers how our increasing understanding of the subtle changes deep within a storm is improving our ability to predict when and where these devastating beasts will strike.


SAT 02:45 Natural World (b05sz8q8)
2015-2016

Iceland: Land of Ice and Fire

In what turns out to be an explosive year, witness Iceland through the eyes of the animals and people that have made this wild island home.

An arctic fox family must eke out a cliff-top living, an eider farmer has his hands full playing duck dad to hundreds of new arrivals and Viking horsemen prepare to saddle up for the autumn round-up. But nature's clock is ticking, and the constant volcanic threat eventually boils over with one of Iceland's biggest eruptions in more than 200 years. This land of ice and fire will not be tamed.

SUNDAY 23 MARCH 2025

SUN 19:00 Musicals: The Greatest Show (p093mxcb)
Recorded at the London Palladium and hosted by Sheridan Smith, this joyous celebration of musical theatre is packed with showstoppers from the West End’s biggest productions, performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and guests including Elaine Paige, Michael Ball, Amanda Holden, Nicole Scherzinger, Josh Groban and Lea Salonga.

Idina Menzel and Elaine Paige reveal the Top 10 songs from musicals, as voted for by BBC Radio 2 listeners, and there’s even a special performance from Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s next big show, Cinderella.


SUN 20:20 Wogan (m0029cgg)
Wogan on Follies

Terry Wogan is joined by singing duo Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson, who sing Rain on the Roof, composer Stephen Sondheim and actresses Julia McKenzie, Diana Rigg and Dolores Gray.


SUN 21:00 Sondheim on Broadway: Follies - Four Days in New York (m0029cgj)
Documentary that follows four hectic days of rehearsal for a celebrated 1985 concert performance from Lincoln Center of Stephen Sondheim's musical Follies. Including highlights from the show featuring principal performers Lee Remick, George Hearn, Barbara Cook and Mandy Patinkin.


SUN 22:35 Sondheim at the BBC (m0012txl)
A celebration of the work of one of the great songwriters and lyricists, Stephen Sondheim, who passed away in November 2021 at the age of 91. A giant of musical theatre, Sondheim first found international fame in 1957 as the lyricist for Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story and would inspire generations from that moment on.

This selection includes some of Sondheim’s finest songs, broadcast on the BBC over a period of 60 years, with performances from a cast of his friends and fans that features some of the biggest names of stage and screen, including Shirley Bassey, Sammy Davis Jr, Michael Ball and Liza Minnelli.


SUN 00:05 Talking Pictures (b06998n4)
Musicals

In this episode, Talking Pictures tells the story of the Hollywood musical, using interviews with stars from the genre's golden age, as well as some of the directors and songwriters who helped create them.

Among the big names remembering their experiences are Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Julie Andrews, Rex Harrison, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland - and the films under discussion include some of the best-loved in cinema history: Singin' in the Rain, On the Town, My Fair Lady, Funny Girl and The Sound of Music.


SUN 00:50 Musicals: The Greatest Show (p093mxcb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


SUN 02:10 Sondheim on Broadway: Follies - Four Days in New York (m0029cgj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

MONDAY 24 MARCH 2025

MON 19:00 Just Another Day (p00rzw65)
Series 2

Tower of London

First transmitted in 1985, John Pitman presents a profile of a day in the Tower of London. Twelve thousand tourists visit the Tower every day, guided by the famous 'beefeaters' - ex-soldiers who describe the venue's sometimes gruesome history.


MON 19:30 This Is Your Life (p00fstmx)
Peter Ustinov

Michael Aspel takes a look at Sir Peter Ustinov's life and career with the help of his family, friends and colleagues.


MON 20:15 Arena (b0080tp3)
Desert Island Discs

Arena celebrates Roy Plomley's Desert Island Discs with the help of many famous castaways, including Frankie Howerd, Russell Harty, Trevor Brooking, the Lord Mayor of London, Professor JK Galbraith and Arthur Askey. The special guest for the 40th anniversary programme was Paul McCartney, who was also a fan of the show.

First transmitted in 1982.


MON 21:00 An Audience with Ken Dodd (b008m3kb)
Ken Dodd entertains a celebrity audience to celebrate 40 years in show business. Guests include Frank Carson, Paul Daniels, Warren Mitchell, Kevin Whately and Coronation Street stars Liz Dawn, Bryan Mosely and Peter Baldwin. First transmitted in 1994.


MON 22:05 Arena (b0074prh)
Ken Dodd's Happiness

A tribute to Liverpudlian comic Ken Dodd, in which he discusses his career and the influences of his comedy style.

Features film clips of his early performances and footage of him on tour in more recent times.


MON 23:05 The Good Old Days (b0754tsp)
Leonard Sachs presents an edition of the old-time music hall programme, filmed in 1977 from the stage of the City Varieties Theatre, Leeds. With Ken Dodd, Beatrice Aston, John Bouchier, Bill Drysdale, Christine Cartwright and members of the Players' Theatre, London.


MON 23:50 Face to Face (p00nxtrr)
Revival

Ken Dodd

First transmitted in 1995, a special edition of The Late Show sees comedian Ken Dodd talking to Jeremy Isaacs about his career and unique approach to comedy. In this rare television interview, Dodd shares stories of his humble beginnings in 1930s Liverpool, his big break in 1965 at the London Palladium and his performance to the royal household at Windsor Castle. He also talks about his fears, regrets and philosophy of life.


MON 00:30 Ken Dodd's Liverpool Walkabout (m001lstt)
A tour of Liverpool with comedian Ken Dodd, lifelong resident of Knotty Ash.


MON 00:40 Wogan (m0029cbq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:50 on Saturday]


MON 01:20 Just Another Day (p00rzw65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


MON 01:50 This Is Your Life (p00fstmx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


MON 02:35 Arena (b0074prh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:05 today]

TUESDAY 25 MARCH 2025

TUE 19:00 Just Another Day (m0029cfw)
Series 1

The Seaside

Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex is a traditional little seaside town. It's got a sandy beach and a pier and not much else. But despite the age of the jet and the cheap package tour, Walton's population still doubles during the season.

This film reflects a typical day at the seaside with the visitors who have been coming here for years and the people whose job it is to entertain them and keep them happy.

It begins early in the morning when Eileen Fowler, the 'First Lady of Keep Fit', can be found on the beach, still practising what she started preaching back in the 50s. She first visited there as a child in 1921 and returned to retire.

We meet the Punch and Judy man, the family who run a Wild West show at the back of the car park, and Brian and Charlie, resident entertainers, who love doing the season 'because we get just as much enjoyment here as we would at the Palladium or Las Vegas'.


TUE 19:30 This Is Your Life (b00xyf0n)
Hattie Jacques

Eamonn Andrews hosts the nostalgic chat show with a look into Hattie Jacques's life and career, with contributions from John Le Mesurier, Eric Sykes, Leslie Phillips, Shirley Eaton, Leonard Sachs and Bernard Miles. (1963)


TUE 20:00 Hancock's Half Hour (p032khz9)
The Oak Tree

The council decide to cut down the tree in Hancock’s garden. Hancock is appalled and takes his protest all the way to 10 Downing Street.


TUE 20:30 The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (p00x9qzn)
Series 1

Episode 4

Reggie's revolt against the normality of his life is becoming brazen. While Elizabeth is away, he gives a dinner party without any food.


TUE 21:00 Lucy Worsley Investigates (p0bvhk3w)
Series 1

The Witch Hunts

We all think we know what we mean by a witch, but behind the cliches of pointy hats and broomsticks lies a terrifying history that’s been largely forgotten. Four hundred years ago, thousands of ordinary people, the vast majority of them women, were hunted down, tortured and killed in witch hunts across Scotland and England. Lucy Worsley investigates what lay behind these horrifying events.

She begins her investigation in North Berwick, a seaside town not far from Edinburgh, where the witch-hunting craze began. The story goes that, in 1590, a coven of witches gathered here to cast a spell to try to kill the King of Scotland, James VI. Using an account from the time called Newes from Scotland and other first-hand sources, Lucy uncovers a web of political intrigue that led to a woman called Agnes Sampson, a faith healer and midwife, being investigated. She was accused of witchcraft and interrogated at Holyrood Castle by King James himself before being tortured and executed.

Agnes was caught in a perfect storm: hardline Protestant reformers wanting to make Scotland devout, a king out to prove himself a righteous leader, and a new ideology which claimed the Devil was actively recruiting women as witches. Under torture, Agnes gave the names of her supposed accomplices, some 59 other innocent people, resulting in the first successful large-scale witch hunt in Scotland. Its brutal success made it the model for trials rolled out across Scotland and England for the next hundred years.


TUE 22:00 This Cultural Life (m0029cg0)
Salman Rushdie

One of the world’s greatest novelists, Salman Rushdie has won many prestigious international literary awards and was knighted for services to literature in 2007. He won the Booker Prize in 1981 for Midnight’s Children, a novel that was also twice voted as the best of all-time Booker winners. In 1989, Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini declared that Rushdie’s fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, was blasphemous and pronounced a death sentence against its author. For over a decade, Rushdie lived in hiding with close security, a period of his life that he wrote about in the 2012 memoir Joseph Anton. His most recent book, Knife, details the horrific stabbing he survived in 2022.

Talking to John Wilson, Salman Rushdie recalls his childhood in Bombay and the folk tales and religious fables he grew up with. He chooses Indian independence and partition in 1947 as one of the defining moments of his creative life, a period that formed the historical backdrop to Midnight’s Children. He discusses how, having first moved to England as a schoolboy and then to New York after the fatwa, the subject of migration has recurred throughout much of his work, including The Satanic Verses. Rushdie also explains how 'surrealism, fabulism and mythical storytelling' are such an influence on his work, with particular reference to his 1999 novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet, which was inspired by the ancient Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. As Rushdie says, 'truth in art can be arrived at through many doors'.


TUE 22:30 11 Minutes: America’s Deadliest Mass Shooting (p0fjgwdj)
Series 1

Episode 3

At overwhelmed local hospitals, doctors concentrate resources on treating the wounded most likely to survive. The lobby of the Tropicana Hotel looks like a disaster zone strewn with concertgoers seeking shelter. Country music superstar Jason Aldean, his wife and band members are hunkered down in a tour bus now full of bullet holes. As officials seeks answers, the FBI joins the investigation.


TUE 23:15 11 Minutes: America’s Deadliest Mass Shooting (p0fjgx47)
Series 1

Episode 4

Country music artist Dee Jay Silver reunites with his infant son, who was in a hotel room with his babysitter on the same floor as the shooter. Many survivors are still searching for closure. For some, the bond they formed that night with strangers is a silver lining, restoring their faith in humanity. For others, activism is a way to channel their grief.


TUE 23:55 Arena (b0080tp3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:15 on Monday]


TUE 00:50 Just Another Day (m0029cfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


TUE 01:20 This Is Your Life (b00xyf0n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


TUE 01:50 The Good Old Days (b0754tsp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:05 on Monday]


TUE 02:35 Lucy Worsley Investigates (p0bvhk3w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

WEDNESDAY 26 MARCH 2025

WED 19:00 Just Another Day (p00s1mq1)
Series 2

Soho

First transmitted in 1985, John Pitman talks to people who live and work in Soho, once known as London's 'crooked square mile'.

John meets Alfredo the doorman, who happens to have sung with Frank Sinatra, and Beryl the queen of sound effects, as she struggles to unzip a banana. He also hears a 1721 Stradivarius being cracked open and sympathises with retired wrestling master of ceremonies Frankie, who complains the girls just aren't what they used to be!


WED 19:30 This Is Your Life (m0029cfr)
Tom Baker

Michael Aspel's unsuspecting guest is Tom Baker, who is reunited with friends, family and colleagues, who help tell the story of his life from childhood in Liverpool, National Service, drama school and working as an actor on stage, film and in television.


WED 20:00 Britain's Lost Masterpieces (b096m6nx)
Series 2

Glasgow

Pollok House is a country house right in the middle of a Glasgow city park, bordered on one side by the M77 and on the other side by the south side of Glasgow. It is owned by Glasgow City Council and looked after by the National Trust for Scotland. It truly is a house for the people, surrounded by the people. As well as an excellent tea room, Pollok has an impressive collection of Spanish art, the legacy of the man who once owned the house, Sir William Stirling-Maxwell. Unfortunately, some of Pollok's treasures have been placed in storage due to a leaking roof and urgent renovations. But could one of these displaced pictures be a priceless work, lost for centuries, hiding north of the border? It would be international news if it was.

Dr Bendor Grosvenor and Emma Dabiri travel to Glasgow to investigate a long-lost picture of one of the most famous gay men in history, possibly painted by one of the most famous artists in history. The subject of the painting is none other than George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who was the gay lover of James VI of Scotland (James I of England). But how did he end up in Glasgow? While Bendor squares up to a rival portrait in Florence which claims to be the real Buckingham portrait, Emma finds that William Stirling-Maxwell had a secret family in Jamaica and that sugar and tobacco built Glasgow long before shipbuilding was its major industry.


WED 21:00 Brian Cox's Jute Journey (b00n5pvr)
Hollywood actor Brian Cox is a son of Dundee. The city is the big constant of his life. He grew up amid the clatter of the jute mills, where both his parents began their working lives.

The jute trade, making hessian from India's 'golden' fibre, dominated Dundee for over a century, linking it with Kolkata. It is now fast becoming a memory. Documentary journey into Brian Cox's past, and on to Kolkata in the footsteps of the Dundee jute workers who left to seek their fortunes in India.


WED 22:00 The Railway Station Man (p0c3zsnz)
Painter Helen Cuffe has fled to Donegal with her young son Jack after the killing of her husband in Northern Ireland. She lives in isolation until she meets a mysterious, disabled American, who is obsessed with restoring an abandoned railway station. Romance blossoms, but then a group of so-called freedom fighters decides to store arms in the railway station - and enlists the help of Helen's son.


WED 23:35 Tuesday Documentary (p041byzm)
The Jumbo Jet

In just four months, the world's first jumbo jet goes into regular service over the Atlantic. Already, 200 have been ordered by the world's airlines. Each is designed to carry nearly 500 passengers. The jumbo has been called a 'pilot's dream.' But will it also be an airport's nightmare?

By next year, half a dozen of the giants may be queuing at peak hours to disgorge their passengers at London Airport. Round the world, airports face their biggest jam in history. Jumbo jets will revolutionise airport design. But they may also speed up other travel developments, with far-reaching effects on the design and peace of our cities. (1969)


WED 00:25 Just Another Day (p00s1mq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


WED 00:55 This Is Your Life (m0029cfr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


WED 01:25 Britain's Lost Masterpieces (b096m6nx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


WED 02:25 Brian Cox's Jute Journey (b00n5pvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 today]

THURSDAY 27 MARCH 2025

THU 19:00 Frozen Planet II (m001c24c)
Series 1

Frozen Worlds

Journeying from pole to pole, we reveal the surprising frozen worlds that exist across the planet and the remarkable animals that make them their home.

We begin our journey in the far south, in the most hostile place on earth, the frozen continent of Antarctica. After being raised on the ice in winter, emperor penguin chicks find themselves abandoned by their parents in spring. To survive, they must find their own way across the treacherous sea ice to the rich waters of the Southern Ocean.

The waters surrounding Antarctica may be the richest of all, but they are also home to an exceptionally sophisticated predator, the killer whale. To reach their favoured prey, Weddell seals, a family of killer whales have learnt to generate their own waves, washing the seals off their ice floes. It’s a technique that has been passed down over generations and is coordinated by the family matriarch, who can be over 100 years old.

Leaving Antarctica and travelling north, we discover frozen habitats that are created by altitude. The greatest of these is the Himalaya, the tallest mountain range on earth, which contains so much ice and snow it is known as the third pole. In the shadow of the Himalaya lies a vast frozen grassy plain that is home to the fluffiest cat in the world, Pallas’s cat. It may have extremely dense fur, but if it’s to survive the Mongolian winter, it needs to catch lots of gerbils and voles. Easier said than done when you only have short legs and paws that are sensitive to the cold.

North of the Great Steppe lies the boreal forest, which encircles the continents of North America, Europe and Asia, and remains frozen for six months of the year. Prowling these forests in the far east of Russia is the Siberian tiger, the largest cat in the world. In winter, it is on the lookout for black bears hibernating in caves, a high-risk strategy that only a cat of this size would attempt.

Above the boreal forest, we cross into the Arctic Circle, where conditions become so extreme that trees can no longer grow. This is the tundra. Living here are relics of the last ice age, musk ox. In spring, their calves face a far greater danger than the cold, grizzly bears. Encounters can be brutal, but if just a few calves survive the gauntlet, the herd’s future is secure.

To the north of the tundra is the Arctic Ocean, the only ocean that can completely freeze over. Living here is one of the most peculiar animals on earth, the hooded seal. Males have extraordinary inflatable noses, producing a bright red balloon out of their left nostrils. One male hopes this will make him irresistible.

All of the frozen habitats share one thing in common: the threat posed by today’s climate change. Travelling to the island of Greenland, home to the largest body of ice in the northern hemisphere, we witness how global warming is melting its ice cap at faster rates than ever before, with profound consequences for global sea levels. Lastly, we visit the Arctic’s most iconic resident, the polar bear, as a mother bear struggles to provide for her cubs in a world of shrinking sea ice.


THU 20:00 Farewell My Lovely (b008mh2l)
Film noir classic adapted from Raymond Chandler's novel of the same name.

Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, embroiling the hard-boiled gumshoe in a plot which involves blackmail, murder, drugs and double cross.


THU 21:30 The Great Detectives (m0029cgw)
The Simple Art of Philip Marlowe

Nigel Williams visits the 'mean streets' immortalised by Raymond Chandler to trace the origins of his gun-toting private eye Philip Marlowe.


THU 22:20 The Big Sleep (m001tvn4)
Los Angeles private detective Philip Marlowe is called to the mansion of General Sternwood, where he is hired to deal with a series of debts which his wayward daughter Carmen owes to bookseller Arthur Geiger. But as Marlowe gets himself deeper and deeper into this complex case, he finds himself at the centre of a story of murder and blackmail.


THU 00:10 This Cultural Life (m0029cg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:00 on Tuesday]


THU 00:40 11 Minutes: America’s Deadliest Mass Shooting (p0fjgwdj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:30 on Tuesday]


THU 01:25 11 Minutes: America’s Deadliest Mass Shooting (p0fjgx47)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:15 on Tuesday]


THU 02:05 The Great Detectives (m0029cgw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:30 today]


THU 02:55 Frozen Planet II (m001c24c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]

FRIDAY 28 MARCH 2025

FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m0029cfh)
Zoe Ball and Jayne Middlemiss present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 5 September 1997 and featuring Mariah Carey, Ocean Colour Scene, Ginuwine, All Saints, Hanson, Will Smith and George Michael.


FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m0029cfk)
Mark Lamarr presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 12 September 1997 and featuring Hanson, Cast, Tina Moore, Finley Quaye, Kavana, N-Tyce, Mariah Carey and The Verve.


FRI 20:00 Top of the Pops (m0013vgg)
Mark Franklin and Claudia Simon present the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 26 March 1992 and featuring Erasure, Annie Lennox, Vanessa Williams and Soul II Soul, Right Said Fred, Def Leppard, Shakespears Sister, The Cure, Hammer, Wet Wet Wet and Manic Street Preachers.


FRI 20:30 Top of the Pops (b07pqttq)
Peter Powell presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 25 March 1982 and featuring Altered Images, Julio Iglesias, Bucks Fizz, Foster & Allen, The Boomtown Rats, The Nolans, Killing Joke, Pluto, Chas & Dave and Goombay Dance Band.


FRI 21:10 Diana Ross at the BBC (m001xqzj)
Prepare for a musical chain reaction with an hour lit up by one shining moment after another in this celebration of the best BBC performances from soul legend Diana Ross.

From The Supremes to some of her most supreme solo hits, this collection from the archives underlines exactly why Ms Ross has been one of the biggest and most enduring names in music. With songs like Baby Love, I’m Still Waiting and Why Do Fools Fall in Love? from Diana’s visits to the BBC on programmes like Top of the Pops, Wogan and the National Lottery show, this is a must for all fans that promises to leave them Upside Down and enjoying a massive Love Hangover.


FRI 22:10 Diana Ross: Live at the Royal Albert Hall 1973 (m001xqzl)
An evening with one of America's greatest stars during her 1973 European tour at the Royal Albert Hall.


FRI 23:10 When Motown Came to Britain (m001gqgp)
In 1965, some of Motown’s brightest new stars, including The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Martha and the Vandellas, and Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, arrived in London for a tour that would change the face of British music history.

At that time, pop music fans in the UK were unlikely to hear black music on mainstream radio, and names like Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson still meant nothing to most British people.

But thousands of miles away from where these exciting new sounds were being recorded in Detroit, a small group of dedicated British music fans had stumbled across the songs and began championing its artists.

This is the story of how, by doing so, they paved the way for the first Motown tour of Britain, changing the country’s popular culture forever and helping propel the Motown artists to international stardom.


FRI 00:10 Sings Motown (b05nyyv5)
Archive compilation celebrating the incredible body of work by Detroit's finest songwriting teams and artists for perhaps America's greatest ever record label, Motown.

This compilation of Motown covers spans the 1960s to the present day and features: Paul Weller and Amy Winehouse with I Heard It Through the Grapevine on Jools's Hootenanny, Roberta Flack's version of Stevie Wonder's Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer from an early edition of the OGWT, early adopter Dusty Springfield with Nowhere to Run on her 60s BBC TV show and The Flying Lizards with Barrett Strong's Money (That's What I Want) from Top of the Pops in 1979.

Of course, there are quite a few 80s hit covers from the decade that rediscovered Motown as a hitmaking machine, many of them from Top of the Pops including Kim Wilde's You Keep Me Hangin' On and Paul Young's 1983 Number 1 with Marvin Gaye's 1962 B-side, Wherever I Lay My Hat.

Then it's on into the 90s with Mercy Mercy Me from the late lamented Robert Palmer and Mariah Carey's take on The Jackson Five's I'll Be There. Plus of course, Phil Collins but, rightly or wrongly, not with You Can't Hurry Love but with his 21st-century reading of Stevie Wonder's Blame It on the Sun from Later with Jools.


FRI 01:10 Top of the Pops (m0029cfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 today]


FRI 01:40 Top of the Pops (m0029cfk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:30 today]


FRI 02:10 Top of the Pops (m0013vgg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:00 today]


FRI 02:40 Top of the Pops (b07pqttq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 20:30 today]