SATURDAY 06 AUGUST 2022
SAT 19:00 Noel's House Party (m001b0dh)
Series 1
Episode 10
An opportunity to enjoy an edition from the very first series of the classic Saturday night show. Noel Edmonds invites a host of stars from the world of entertainment, others in the public eye, and members of the audience, in the studio and at home, to join in the fun at his country house in Crinkley Bottom.
In this edition, the House Party hosts the first husband-and-wife phone-in. There's Gunge with Radio 2's Derek and Ellen Jameson. Perhaps special guest star Kathy Staff (Nora Batty from Last of the Summer Wine) will help clear up the mess! The cast of 'Allo 'Allo! sing this 'only once' in the Lyric Game, and Dennis Taylor adds a Gotcha Oscar to his trophy cabinet.
SAT 19:50 Strictly Come Dancing (m0011n4m)
Series 19
Week 8
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman host as our remaining couples bring more brand new routines to the Strictly ballroom. Every week this series, the top spot on the leaderboard has been up for grabs and the competition is fierce. This weekend our couples are not only dancing for the judges' scores and your votes at home but also for a coveted place in next week’s Musicals Special.
SAT 21:10 Blankety Blank with Terry Wogan (m001b0dq)
Series 2
Episode 16
Terry Wogan hosts the comedy quiz game, in which contestants attempt to match the missing word in a phrase with those chosen by a panel of six celebrities.
SAT 21:45 Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule (b04w7m97)
Comedian Rik Mayall died suddenly on 9 June 2014. Mayall's blend of rocket-fuelled physical comedy, surrealism, subversive satire and pompous punk wit left a body of work that spanned four decades. Mayall's characters include the Black Country's investigative nerd Kevin Turvey, Felicity Kendal-adoring student and 'People's Poet' Rik in The Young Ones, ruthless MP Alan B'Stard in The New Statesman, seedy loser Richie in Bottom, and larger-than-life characters Robin Hood and flying ace Lord Flashheart from Blackadder.
Narrated by Simon Callow, this programme salutes Rik Mayall and celebrates his part in the UK's comedy history using rare and unseen archive footage. It also features contributions from people who knew or admired him, including Michael Palin, Simon Pegg, Lenny Henry, Ben Elton, Alexei Sayle, Christopher Ryan, Tim McInnerny, Jools Holland, Ruby Wax and Greg Davies.
SAT 22:40 One on One (m001b0dw)
Terry Wogan
Series profiling famous people in showbusiness. Terry Wogan looks back at his entertainment career. Includes archive footage from Wogan, Blankety Blank and the Eurovision Song Contest.
SAT 23:20 Mark Lawson Talks To... (b01dpph9)
Terry Wogan
Mark Lawson talks to legendary broadcaster Terry Wogan about his life and 50-year career. In this thoughtful interview Terry explores his early years growing up in Ireland, recalls how the shaky beginnings of Irish television provided him with a great training ground for a career in live broadcast and talks about how, because of his gentle demeanour, he has eluded the censors more than any of his peers.
Wogan made a name for himself as a DJ for Raidió Teilifís Éireann in Ireland in the 1960s. When Irish television started up in 1962, he began his career in front of the camera, transferring across the Irish Sea in 1967 as one of the first DJs for the BBC's new station Radio 1. Loved for his genial charm and cheeky optimism, he has seduced audiences and listeners for over half a century. His stamina and ambition to be a major player in live broadcast continues well into his 70s, as the face of BBC's Children in Need and the front of his ever-popular Radio 2 show.
SAT 00:25 Ever Decreasing Circles (b036d6lp)
Series 2
Housework
Martin is left to look after the house when Ann goes into hospital. He's adamant he can cope on his own, but as it turns out, Ann was right to fret about the state of their home.
SAT 00:55 Keeping Up Appearances (b007bs5r)
Series 5
Episode 1
To the vicar's dismay, Hyacinth has volunteered to befriend a small group of senior citizens on a day at the seaside. When one of them gets too friendly, she realises she has taken on more than she can handle. Who will suffer most? The pensioners, or Hyacinth, condemned to the indignity of white-knuckle funfair rides?
SAT 01:25 The Cruise (m000xnzv)
First Night Nerves
After three days of rehearsal, the ship's new show goes on tonight. But not before an emergency dress rehearsal at which Michelle, the lead singer, tests out her ravaged voice. Meanwhile, Jane has a makeover in the ship's hairdressers, and Dale and Mary go for a romantic rafting trip in Jamaica.
SAT 01:55 Strictly Come Dancing (m0011n4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:50 today]
SUNDAY 07 AUGUST 2022
SUN 19:00 Eisteddfod (m0019wfw)
2022
Eisteddfod 2022 with Huw Stephens: Part 1
One of the biggest festivals in Europe returns after a three-year absence to celebrate the best of Welsh culture – a natural showcase for music, dance, visual arts, literature, original performances and much more.
Huw Stephens heads to the historic market town of Tregaron to bring all the highlights and stories from the National Eisteddfod of Wales and to discover how this most ancient of festivals is constantly evolving to remain a relevant cultural force.
There has been much excitement as the much-anticipated week-long festival returns to Ceredigion. It kicks off with some highly ambitious and visual opening shows to celebrate the fact that the Tregaron Eisteddfod has finally arrived!
Huw catches up with folk music legend Dafydd Iwan, whose Yma o Hyd anthem has become synonymous with the Welsh football team’s success. He also brings a flavour of the diverse selection of performances, from brass bands to classy pop performances to classical music.
Huw also visits the Lle Celf, the largest temporary modern art exhibition in Europe, where he enjoys the work of the gold medal winners in fine art, contemporary art, craft and design as well as architecture.
SUN 19:30 Eisteddfod (m001b0dm)
2022
Eisteddfod 2022 with Huw Stephens: Part 2
One of the biggest festivals in Europe has returned after a three-year absence to celebrate the best of Welsh culture – a natural showcase for music, dance, visual arts, literature, original performances and much more.
In our second visit of the week to this week-long festival, Huw Stephens heads to the historical market town of Tregaron to bring all the highlights and stories from the National Eisteddfod of Wales.
Huw will be catching up with First Minister Mark Drakeford, who is being inducted into the ancient Gorsedd of the Bards.
He’ll also be popping behind the scenes to Maes B – the Eisteddfod’s little brother – where the youth flock to hear the best Welsh contemporary music.
And Huw will also catch up with the big bands and big winners of the week – the poets, dancers, choirs, singers and soloists!
Eisteddfod 2022 with Huw Stephens will bring the best stories and performances from this truly unique event.
SUN 20:00 BBC Proms (m001b0dr)
2022
The Magic of Mozart
Mozart was a child prodigy who rejected norms and rewrote the rule book. Tonight’s concert opens with the overture from The Marriage of Figaro, an opera that changed music and challenged the social status quo.
Our performers for this Prom are also out of the ordinary. The international Mahler Chamber Orchestra's members are drawn from 20 countries. They are joined by their multi-Grammy-nominated artistic partner, Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes, who plays piano and directs the orchestra, as Mozart did, from the keyboard.
Together they explore the relationship between soloist and ensemble in the ever-popular, dark and stormy Piano Concerto No 20, and Piano Concerto No 22, in which Mozart pushes orchestral boundaries with the introduction of the then-exotic clarinet.
Join Katie Derham and guests for a lively concert of Wolfgang Amadeus.
SUN 21:35 The Joy of Mozart (b04yrj6n)
Tom Service plunges into the life and times of Mozart to try and rediscover the greatness and humanity of the living man in his moment. Mozart's prodigious output and untimely death have helped place him on a pedestal that can often blind us to the unique brilliance of his work in the context of his life and times. Tackling the sentimental tourist industry of Salzburg and the cloying reverence in which Mozart is too often held, Service visits the key cities and rooms in which Mozart lived and worked, plays some of Mozart's original instruments and scores, and gradually uncovers the brilliance and originality of his work as the 18th century turns into the early 19th.
There is the prodigious childhood when Mozart was feted as an infant phenomenon around Europe's most glittering courts, and his golden decade in Vienna in which masterpiece followed masterpiece - operas, symphonies, piano concertos, string quartets - as if this short, high-voiced man-child must have been taking dictation from some divine source, until his death at the age of just 35 in 1791.
Even more than the music, Mozart's tragic demise sets the seal on his myth. The trajectory of Mozart's life sets the template for the romantic paradigm whose throes we are still in today, which requires our creative heroes to die young to prove that they were too good for this madding world, whether it be Wolfgang Amadeus or Jimi Hendrix.
Service travels from London to Vienna and Salzberg, unpicking the living, breathing genius that was Mozart. With Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Nicola Benedetti, Paul Morley and others.
SUN 22:35 Storyville (m000pqyw)
The Hijacker Who Vanished: The Mystery of DB Cooper
A mysterious fugitive, a hijacked airplane and a daring mid-air escape. This is the extraordinary, real-life tale of one of the greatest unsolved heists in American history and a case that has taunted the FBI for decades. This documentary brings the stories of the four possible suspects to life through candid testimony, archive footage and stylised drama. Each account is gripping and highly plausible. But who is telling the truth, who is lying and, ultimately, who is DB Cooper?
SUN 00:00 The Capture (m00085sv)
Series 1
What Happens in Helmand
When soldier Shaun Emery’s conviction for a murder in Afghanistan is overturned due to flawed video evidence, he returns to life as a free man with his young daughter. But when damning CCTV footage from a night out in London comes to light, Shaun’s life takes a shocking turn and he must soon fight for his freedom once again. Newly promoted DI Rachel Carey is drafted in to investigate Shaun’s case, and she quickly learns that the truth can sometimes be a matter of perspective. Should she trust Shaun Emery?
SUN 00:55 The Capture (m0008cq8)
Series 1
Toy Soldier
The truth about Shaun Emery's crime isn’t as clear as it first appeared to DI Carey, as crucial CCTV evidence is redacted by a mysterious MI5 officer. This surprise development forces Carey, Flynn and Latif to scramble for more evidence. But with forensics drawing a blank on Shaun's car, Commander Hart offering little support, and weak witness statements, Carey is forced to release Shaun. After a run-in with his ex-partner Karen, who is enraged by his failure to pick up their daughter from school, Shaun is determined to prove his innocence and enlists best mate Mat to help him break into Hannah’s apartment in search of clues. Closely followed by a suspicious Carey on CCTV, and Flynn and Latif on foot, Shaun somehow manages to evade Carey’s watch, forcing her to question an even more problematic issue – the surveillance network itself.
SUN 01:55 The Capture (m0008kgv)
Series 1
Truffle Hog
The stakes intensify for Shaun as he is interrogated by inscrutable US agent Frank Napier at a covert CIA outpost in a Belgravia safe house. While Napier is trying to discover Hannah's whereabouts, Carey is simultaneously attempting and failing to locate Shaun in the Belgravia house she saw him enter on her CCTV watch.
MONDAY 08 AUGUST 2022
MON 19:00 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09s4kg7)
Series 3
Los Angeles
Armed with his Appleton's guide to the United States, Michael Portillo arrives in Los Angeles to delight in the 'city of dreams', from its glorious Union Station to its golden beaches and palm-lined boulevards. Like many a Hollywood hopeful before him, Michael heads for the Warner Brothers studio, founded on Sunset Boulevard at the time of his Appleton's, with dreams of stardom ahead. His role as a fearless all-action hero is assured. For the view from the top he takes the Skyslide from the 70th floor of one of LA's tallest buildings before striding out on the Walk of Fame.
At the pioneering 19th-century Union Ice company, Michael discovers how Californians have kept their cool. He sees how ice blocks of titanic proportions are made and brings Christmas to LA with a giant snowmaker. Outside the city, Michael heads for San Marino to visit The Huntington, a cultural and research centre with fine libraries, art galleries and more than a dozen botanical gardens. In the cactus garden, Michael discovers more about the founder, nephew of a railroad baron and himself a pioneer of street cars and trolleys. Michael explores the city's latest initiative to break the legendary rush hour gridlock on Los Angeles freeways - a rail link with seven new stations on the LA metro.
MON 19:30 Winter Walks (m001226k)
Series 2
Amanda Owen
The 'Yorkshire Shepherdess', Amanda Owen, explores familiar territory as she crosses hills and fields through Wensleydale and Raydale on her Winter Walk. Taking ancient routes first made by the Romans, Amanda meets fellow sheep farmers and exchanges notes on their shared occupation.
As she walks across the Dales with her 360-degree camera, she describes what life is like living and working in this landscape. She takes her time to tune in to the soft sounds and scenes of the rolling hills, finding fossils in the stones below her feet. Crossing over the Dales, she drops down to Semer Water, ending her walk on the pebble banks as the water laps at her feet.
MON 20:00 Treasures of the Indus (b069g53h)
The Other Side of the Taj Mahal
This is the story of the Indian subcontinent told through the treasures of three very different people, places and dynasties that have shaped the modern Indian world.
The Mughals created the most famous and dazzling empire that India has ever seen, from the Taj Mahal to fabulously intricate miniatures of court life.
But in the process, did they bring civilisation to India or tear it apart?
From the moment the first Mughal emperor Babur arrived from Afghanistan the debate began - were the Mughals imposing their own religion of Islam on a Hindu country, or were they open to the religion and art of the country they were conquering?
The artworks the Mughals left behind over their 200-year empire - even the very buildings which have traces of Hindu architecture as well as Muslim - clearly show how this debate played out, and Sona Datta traces how this most spectacular of all Indian civilisations also sowed the seeds of discord.
MON 21:00 Dangerous Borders: A Journey across India and Pakistan (b092154y)
Series 1
Episode 1
Journalists Babita Sharma and Adnan Sarwar are beginning their epic journey along the still-contentious border that divides India and Pakistan. Seventy years after the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan, the pair are travelling either side of the 2,000-mile border to discover the realities of the lives there. Beginning in Adipur, which started life as a refugee camp for Hindus fleeing the newly created Muslim state of Pakistan, Babita discovers a town which now intriguingly hosts the only Charlie Chaplin festival in the world. Gandhi, who was born here in Gujarat, met Chaplin in Britain in 1931, and the memory of this unlikely friendship is kept alive today by this event.
On the other side of the border, Adnan explores the cultural life of the metropolis of Karachi. Creatives are often at the forefront of social change, whether through art which questions social norms or fashion, which is creating a role for itself on the 21st-century international catwalk. Women in both countries are challenging how they have been traditionally constrained, from the women bikers who Babita meets in India to the female artist in Pakistan who asks potentially dangerous questions about female sexuality and a young woman who believes that she will win Pakistan's first gold Olympic medal for boxing.
Adnan also meets members of the Sheedis, a little-known African community who have lived on the Indian subcontinent for over 800 years and who are now fighting discrimination in Pakistan. Babita travels north into the salt flats of the Rann of Kutch, whose residents are held back by the caste system. Here, lives have barely changed since partition and there seems little will to make these people's lives better.
The journeys both end in the mighty Thar Desert, which was split between the two countries and which has been the scene of conflict as recently at 1999. Whether Indian or Pakistani, this is a virtually uncrossable border. Partition left searing scars and divided families that, 70 years later, are still not reconciled.
MON 22:00 Shark (b05wdbyk)
Episode 3
Sharks are among the most misunderstood predators on the planet, but an international team of scientists is trying to change that. Their research is revealing that sharks can be sociable and intelligent, and they could even help solve some of the toughest medical challenges of the 21st century. However, their breakthroughs come just as many sharks face extinction. Science may now be the only way to save them.
MON 23:00 The Girl Who Talked to Dolphins (b046w2n8)
Documentary telling the story of the most extraordinary experiment in the history of animal science. In the 1960s, a powerful and charismatic scientist flooded a house. He then invited a young woman to live there full-time with a dolphin. Their intention was the ultimate in animal research - they wanted to teach the dolphin to speak English. What happened next would change all their lives. For the first time those involved in the experiment reveal the secrets of the Dolphin House.
MON 00:00 The Capture (m0008s7m)
Series 1
Blind Spots
Surveillance thriller. Carey develops a theory as answers begin to reveal themselves, and Shaun finds himself trusting an enigmatic stranger who promises to lead him to the truth.
MON 00:55 The Capture (m0008zv5)
Series 1
A Pilgrim of Justice
Surrounded by the architects of his downfall, the truth behind what happened to Shaun is revealed to him in precise detail. Meanwhile, having seen the footage of Hannah entering the bus, and wholly convinced now that Shaun has been set up, Carey seeks for answers of her own and uncovers the complex conspiracy that is Correction.
MON 01:55 The Capture (m000969y)
Series 1
Correction
Carey teams up with Shaun Emery to try and expose Correction, but Napier is one step ahead. Shaun’s future, and that of the nation’s system of justice, lie with one person. Carey has a decision to make.
TUESDAY 09 AUGUST 2022
TUE 19:00 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09s4kjz)
Series 3
Los Angeles to Laguna Beach
Michael Portillo strikes oil in the suburbs of Los Angeles, contemplates his navel in the orange groves of Riverside, makes a California Roll and paints a pretty picture in Laguna Beach.
It is Mexican Independence Day and the locals are celebrating the country's hard-won independence from Spain in the early 19th century. There is dancing, singing and feasting in the streets and Michael is up for joining the party. He learns that one in two of the population of LA is Latino, mainly of Mexican descent, and hears after only a few decades, Mexico lost half its territory and California became part of the United States. Michael learns the secrets of backyard oil drilling in Los Angeles, home to the largest urban oil field in the United States. Nodding donkeys are everywhere - in residential neighbourhoods, parking lots and burger joints.
Michael sports a zesty orange jacket to visit the Citrus Variety Collection and learns the difference between a pummelo and a papeda. Alongside oil, the citrus fruit industry, he discovers, is one of the bedrocks of the state's economy. At Laguna Beach, Michael learns how artists from the east coast travelled west on the Transcontinental Railroad to found a colony of 'plein air' painters attracted by the beautiful coastline and glorious light to paint outside.
TUE 19:30 Winter Walks (m0012290)
Series 2
Alastair Campbell
The snow-covered hillsides of Ribblesdale are the setting for Alastair Campbell’s Winter Walk through the Yorkshire Dales. Fog and snow don’t deter the political veteran as he makes his way through the county he was born and raised in. Starting at a waterfall above the market town of Settle, Alastair descends into town, meeting local residents who are also out braving the weather. Twisted trees and drystone walls line his route. The steep hillsides and dramatic views remind Alastair of the humbling power of nature.
Talking about his mental health, Alastair describes the comfort he draws from being out in a landscape and how time in this space can help him focus on what’s really important in life.
TUE 20:00 Keeping Up Appearances (b007ckrt)
Series 5
Episode 2
Suburban sitcom. Hyacinth suddenly has a lot on her hands - attending the mayor's fancy dress ball and getting to know an important new neighbour.
TUE 20:30 Ever Decreasing Circles (b036d6m1)
Series 2
Snooker
Sitcom about domestic disharmony in suburbia. Martin hopes to win the local snooker tournament, but is angry when it turns out Paul has a talent for the game as well.
TUE 21:00 Seven Days in Summer: Countdown to Partition (p059jt1j)
Today India and Pakistan are home to one fifth of the world's population. They are rising powers but hostile neighbours. Their enmity can be traced back to the week of their birth, 70 years ago. On 15 August 1947, Britain would give up the Indian Empire, partitioning it in into two independent countries, India and Pakistan. This film tells the story of the seven days that led up to their independence and the last days of the British Raj.
With seven days to go, the British were yet to announce where the border would be drawn. Millions anxiously awaited their fates, unsure in what country they would find themselves come independence. By the end of the week, one of the biggest migrations in human history is under way and countless people will have lost their lives. The film moves through each dramatic day, drawing on oral histories of survivors who were eye witnesses to the complex human tragedy that unfolded. From a Muslim boy in Punjab heading north to what would become Pakistan in an attempt to escape the escalating violence to a gang leader in Calcutta - where Gandhi was desperately preaching non-violence. We tell the story of a women whose husband attempted to kill her to prevent her being raped, as well as a Hindu man saved from a Muslim gang by his own Muslim servant who risked his own life in the process.
Elsewhere, a writer sees his beloved cultured city of Lahore burn around him and hundreds of thousands lose their lives on the famed railway network as religious violence increases and spreads with each passing day. This week was marked by extreme contradictions of wild celebrations and vicious bloodshed. This film vividly retells, day by day, the unfolding events as seen through the eyes of ordinary people, caught up in an historic summer that would change the world forever.
TUE 22:00 Return to Larkinland (b06hhlyl)
Writer and critic AN Wilson revisits the life and work of one of the greatest English poets of the 20th century, Philip Larkin - a poet soon to be honoured with a place in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey.
Wilson traces Larkin's life from his childhood in Coventry, through to his student days at Oxford and then his adult years working in university libraries, whilst writing some of the best-loved and notorious poems in the English language.
Wilson, who knew Larkin in his later life, remembers memorable encounters with the poet and this personal connection helps him to reveal a complex man with a complicated, and at times tortured, private life. As part of this candid exploration into Larkin's life, Wilson confronts the allegations of racism, bigotry and misogyny that emerged following the publication of his Selected Letters and authorised biography, and which have dogged his posthumous reputation.
However, Wilson concludes that it is Larkin's poems, not his faults, that have survived. Featuring readings of his work by Larkin himself, including the greatness of The Whitsun Weddings, Arundel Tomb, Church Going and Aubade, Wilson argues that Larkin spoke for Britain between the 1950s and 1970s perhaps more than any other writer.
TUE 23:00 Philip Larkin and the Third Woman (b00wcqvb)
Former poet laureate Sir Andrew Motion discovers an unseen and unpublished poem by Philip Larkin when he returns to Hull to meet one of the poet's former lovers. Speaking for the first time about her relationship with Larkin, Betty Mackereth reveals the man behind the famous poems.
TUE 23:30 Monitor (b00drs8w)
Larkin and Betjeman - Down Cemetery Road
Philip Larkin talks to John Betjeman in 1964 about his life, his poetry and the city of Hull where he lived and worked as university librarian.
TUE 23:55 Through the Lens of Larkin (b095zds8)
A look at the life and loves of Philip Larkin, one of the 20th century's greatest British poets, seen through his photographs.
Throughout his life Larkin recorded the people and events around him and took scores of self-portraits. Poet and academic John Wedgwood Clarke looks through more than five thousand photographs found after Larkin's death and asks what they tell us about his work.
TUE 00:25 Rhyme & Reason: BBC Introducing Arts (m0008z3f)
Poet Lemn Sissay presents a selection of short, vibrant films from a new generation of artists who are inspired by poetry and the spoken word.
This is an opportunity to feel the rhyme and reason of today’s Britain as artists reflect what is important to them, from gender identity to first dates and from the labyrinth of the internet to early morning wake-up calls.
As Sissay notes, ‘When you write a poem, part of the magic is that you never know where it’s going to take you.’ Here is a chance to meet emerging artists who aren’t afraid to say what’s on their minds.
TUE 01:25 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09s4kjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
TUE 01:55 Winter Walks (m0012290)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
TUE 02:25 Seven Days in Summer: Countdown to Partition (p059jt1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
WEDNESDAY 10 AUGUST 2022
WED 19:00 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09s4kmy)
Series 3
La Jolla to San Diego
Michael Portillo is nearing the end of his thousand-mile rail journey from Reno, Nevada, to San Diego in southern California. In this final leg, clad in khaki boiler suit and sporting dark glasses, he joins the US Navy Pacific Fleet, birthplace of the elite flying academy Top Gun. Aboard the Pacific Surfliner, he arrives first in the coastal town of La Jolla, where he takes to the water in a kayak to explore the extraordinary 75-million-year-old caves.
In San Diego, he picks up the trail of the industrialist and property speculator John D Spreckels, who made the city boom in the 19th century and built a pavilion to house the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world. Michael is offered the chance to play it. Appleton's recommends a trip to a huge structure, completed in 1888, on which San Diegans have depended for water for 130 years - the
Sweetwater Dam.
WED 19:30 Winter Walks (m00122hp)
Series 2
Reverend Kate Bottley
Reverend Kate Bottley takes in the historic ruins and snow-dusted landscape of Wensleydale and Coverdale on her Winter Walk. Kate sets off on her walk as the sun rises over the ruins of Jervaulx Abbey. With a 360-degree camera in her hand, she walks along the banks of the River Cover and into the dale of the same name. Passing through woodland she meets local residents who are out braving the chilly conditions.
As she walks, Kate reflects on her faith and relationships. Her journey ends at Middleham Castle, the ruined fortress that was a childhood home of Richard III.
WED 20:00 South Pacific (b00kjjnx)
Ocean of Islands
The South Pacific islands are the most remote in the world. Their extraordinary isolation has created some of the most curious, surprising and precarious examples of life found anywhere on earth; from giant crabs that tear open coconuts, to flesh-eating caterpillars that impale their prey on dagger-like claws.
Human culture is different too. The men of Pentecost Island celebrate their annual harvest by leaping from 20-metre high scaffolds, with only forest vines to break their fall. And on the tiny island of Anuta, possibly the most remote community of people on the planet, the locals survive entirely on what they can grow and catch.
The South Pacific's innumerable islands look like pieces of paradise, but the reality of life here is sometimes very different, with waves the size of buildings, brutal tropical storms, and, in the far south, even blizzards. This is the real South Pacific.
WED 21:00 My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947 (b0916mmk)
Series 1
Episode 1
Anita Rani presents the extraordinary and emotional stories of three British families - one Muslim, one Hindu and one British colonial - who lived in India 70 years ago, at the time of Partition.
Binita Kane travels to Bangladesh to discover what happened when her Hindu father Bim had to flee his ancestral village as a young boy. Mandy Duke travels to Calcutta, scene of some of the worst partition violence, to uncover the amazing story of her grandfather Arthur Wise, who filmed there as violence broke out. And Asad Ali Syed and his grandson Sameer, two British Muslims with Pakistani heritage, journey to the Indian town of Ambala, to search for the house where Asad was born before his family were forced to flee to Pakistan.
WED 22:00 The Roads to Freedom (m001b0cl)
Series 1
Episode 10
Europe is at war, and Mathieu has been mobilised. As the German army advances across France and nears Paris, the unit Mathieu is serving with becomes increasingly demoralised.
WED 22:45 The Roads to Freedom (m001b0cq)
Series 1
Episode 11
The Germans have occupied Paris, but the expected armistice has still not been signed. Mathieu's unit is waiting in a village to surrender. Pinette hopes that they will fight.
WED 23:25 The Roads to Freedom (m001b0cs)
Series 1
Episode 12
The officers in Mathieu's unit have deserted. As they await being captured, the men decide to get drunk. Mathieu decides to join them.
WED 00:10 The Roads to Freedom (m001b0cv)
Series 1
Episode 13
A crack French regiment has taken over the village and plans to make a last stand. Mathieu and Pinette are the only soldiers in their unit prepared to join them.
WED 00:50 Great American Railroad Journeys (b09s4kmy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
WED 01:20 Winter Walks (m00122hp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
WED 01:50 South Pacific (b00kjjnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 today]
WED 02:50 My Family, Partition and Me: India 1947 (b0916mmk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 today]
THURSDAY 11 AUGUST 2022
THU 19:00 Monkman & Seagull’s Genius Adventures (m000jbc0)
Series 1
Episode 1
University Challenge legends Eric Monkman and Bobby Seagull are embarking on a genius adventure as they travel around Britain on a journey through time, exploring their favourite scientific breakthroughs from the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era, a period when scientific progress changed the world, and one that continues to influence the way we live today.
Their adventures begin with the 18th-century inventions that kick-started the Industrial Revolution and transformed our scientific understanding.
First stop is 1759 and Greenwich - home to John Harrison’s marine chronometer, the eventual winner of the £20,000 Longitude Prize. Taking to the 'high seas' in a pedalo, the duo show how this marvellous machine transformed our navigation of the oceans.
Travelling ten years on, they head to Derbyshire in 1769 and Richard Arkwright’s water frame - a spinning machine that allowed cotton textiles to be mass-produced, supersizing Britain’s economy.
Next, they get up close and personal with James Watt’s separate condenser – an unassuming invention that would be the biggest single improvement ever made to the world-transforming steam engine.
Having explored how the Industrial Revolution began, the duo then travel north to the Scottish Highlands to illustrate a momentous 1774 experiment to weigh the planet, before making a pit stop at the National Library to get their hands on the very first edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica – the book that brought accessible knowledge to the masses.
Moving on to 1774, their scientific odyssey takes them to Bowood House, Wiltshire, where they recreate Joseph Priestley’s breakthrough experiments on gases in the very room where he discovered oxygen.
Monkman and Seagull’s penultimate stop is 1784 in Oxford, where they attempt to take to the skies in homage to the 18th century’s hot air ballooning pioneers.
Finally, they head to see a breakthrough that had a profound impact on British society – the world’s first steam railway locomotive.
THU 20:00 Midnight's Children (b03n1svn)
Drama based on Salman Rushdie's novel. India, 1947: Two newborn babies are swapped in a hospital and are doomed to live each other's life in a country going through big changes.
THU 22:15 Arena (b00crqwl)
A Tall Story - How Salman Rushdie Pickled All of India
Salman Rushdie, author of Midnight's Children, winner of the Booker Prize 1981, talks about India and the autobiographical elements in the book.
THU 23:00 Barneys, Books and Bust-Ups: 50 Years of the Booker Prize (b0bntjf6)
The Man Booker Prize is the world's most distinguished literary award for English fiction. Its winners instantly acquire a level of fame and wealth which most writers can only dream of. To commemorate its fiftieth birthday, this documentary looks back over six decades of the prize, exploring how, from humble beginnings, the Booker quickly went on to revolutionise the sleepy world of literary fiction and become a central part of British cultural life.
We hear the inside story of scandal, gossip and intrigue from a host of former winners, judges and prize administrators. Over the years, the prize has changed its rules, its sponsors and its name. But it has never lost sight of its core purpose: to stimulate debate and encourage the reading of literary fiction. This is a tale of bruised egos and bickering judges and, most importantly of all, of countless brilliant books.
Contributors include Booker-winning authors Peter Carey, Penelope Lively and John Banville.
THU 00:00 What Do Artists Do All Day? (b0bg1b9b)
Raqib Shaw
Part of the Big British Asian Summer season, this profile of Raqib Shaw is the first of three new episodes of What Do Artists Do All Day?
Coveted by the world's biggest collectors, Raqib Shaw is an enigmatic art superstar. His baroque paintings, fusing pop kitsch and images from his Kashmiri homeland, have sold for millions.
A flamboyant personality, he works in an extravagant studio squeezed into an old sausage factory in Peckham, south London. He creates his art in an amazing fantasy world resembling a 21st-century version of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, with thousands of plants, waterfalls, bonsai trees and beehives. The film opens in the dramatic aftermath of a fire in the studio, and with remarkable access, offers a portrait of the art and life of Raqib Shaw.
THU 00:30 Handmade in the Pacific (b0blhnjs)
Series 1
Pou
Maori master carver Logan Okiwi Shipgood crafts a beautiful 6ft tall 'pou' statue from native New Zealand timber. With chainsaws, adzes, and around 30 chisels, Logan gradually reveals the figure of Hene Te Akiri, a Maori warrior princess, as he lovingly chips away at the wood. Inlaid with sacred shells and given a powerful facial tattoo to denote her social rank, the finished statue is finally revealed to the public.
Logan explores the deep spiritual connection between Maori carvers and the objects they create, and the significance of his home - Rotorua - in the revival of Maori art and culture in the 20th century. For Maori today, carving remains a key way of telling stories and honouring ancestors, and Logan - an internationally famous sculptor and carver - is proud to be doing his bit to keep these traditions alive.
THU 01:00 Handmade in the Pacific (b0bm6pjv)
Series 1
Kapa
Indigenous Hawaiian artist Dalani Tanahy spends weeks painstakingly beating tree bark into a sheets of cloth-like fabric. This ancient Hawaiian artform known as 'kapa' was once the staple material of the islands. But after Captain Cook introduced cotton, and the Americans overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy, kapa-making completely disappeared.
Dalani is one of a handful of dedicated practitioners who has spent her life bringing this artform back. Why? Because kapa-making has become integral to the nascent Hawaiian cultural nationalism that is taking hold in indigenous communities of Hawaii. Kapa-making has become a powerful source of pride and identity, but it's a lot of work. Trees have to be planted and tended, cut, stripped, and the bark beaten and fermented. Then sheets of bark are joined together to make a single sheet. Natural dyes and paints are printed on. And only then is the kapa ready to be worn.
Dalani takes us through the process of making a piece of kapa from start to finish, and delivers her kapa to a dancer, who plans to use this kapa as a traditional 'hula' skirt.
The film ends with an emotional performance at the Royal Palace in Honululu, Hawaii. A traditional 'hula' dance is performed, to honour Hawaii's last monarch, Queen Lilo'uokalani. Like the kapa itself, the Queen, rudely overthrown by Americans, has become a symbol of reborn Hawaiian identity.
THU 01:30 Monkman & Seagull’s Genius Adventures (m000jbc0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
THU 02:30 Dangerous Borders: A Journey across India and Pakistan (b092154y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
21:00 on Monday]
FRIDAY 12 AUGUST 2022
FRI 19:00 Top of the Pops (m001b0cb)
Mark Franklin presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 13 May 1993 and featuring Tina Turner, OMD, Shabba Ranks with Maxi Priest, Dina Carroll, Robert Plant, Inner Circle and George Michael.
FRI 19:30 Top of the Pops (m001b0cd)
Tony Dortie presents the pop chart programme, first broadcast on 21 May 1993 and featuring Saint Etienne, Felix, Luther Vandross, Charles & Eddie, Runrig, Ace of Base, Bon Jovi and UB40.
FRI 20:00 BBC Proms (m001b0cg)
2022
Yuja Wang Plays Liszt
Superstar pianist Yuja Wang returns to the BBC Proms to pay homage to the ultimate piano virtuoso, Franz Liszt, with the Hungarian composer's first sparkling concerto for the instrument.
Wielding the baton is Klaus Mäkelä as he makes his eagerly anticipated Proms debut with the Oslo Philharmonic, who also perform two sumptuous, Romantic tone poems: Sibelius's Tapiola and Richard Strauss's Ein Heldenleben.
Clive Myrie presents from the Royal Albert Hall, with special guests.
FRI 22:00 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
Between 1974 and 1982 ABBA plundered the Anglo-Saxon charts but divided critical opinion. This documentary explores how they raised the bar for pop music as a form and made us fall in love with the sound of Swedish melancholy. A saga about the soul of pop.
FRI 23:00 Agnetha: ABBA and After (b02x9zwc)
In this documentary, the BBC have exclusive access to Agnetha Faltskog, 'The Girl with the Golden Hair' as the song goes, celebrating her extraordinary singing career which began in the mid-60s when she was just 15. Within just two years, she was a singing sensation at the top of the charts in Sweden.
Along came husband Bjorn Ulvaeus and the phenomenal band ABBA that engulfed the world in the 70s, featuring Agnetha's touching voice and striking looks. Agnetha lacked confidence on stage as the global demand for the group grew and grew, while being away from her young children caused her great turmoil.
With special behind-the-scenes access to the making of her comeback album, the film follows this reluctant star - the subject of much tabloid speculation since she retreated from the stage post-ABBA - as she returns to recording aged 63. Included in the film is her first meeting with Gary Barlow, who contributes a duet to the new album.
The programme features interviews with Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Gary Barlow, Tony Blackburn, Sir Tim Rice and record producers Peter Nordahl and Jorgen Elofsson.
FRI 00:00 ABBA at the BBC (b03lyzpr)
If you fancy an hour's worth of irresistible guilty pleasures from Anni-Frid, Benny, Bjorn and Agnetha, this is the programme for you. ABBA stormed the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with their winning entry Waterloo, and this programme charts the meteoric rise of the band with some of their greatest performances at the BBC.
It begins in 1974 with their first Top of the Pops appearance, and we even get to see the band entertaining holidaymakers in Torbay in a 1975 Seaside Special. There are many classic ABBA tunes from the 1979 BBC special ABBA in Switzerland, plus their final BBC appearance on the Late Late Breakfast show in 1982.
This compilation is a must for all fans and includes great archive interviews, promos and performances of some of ABBA's classics including Waterloo, Dancing Queen, Does Your Mother Know, Thank You for the Music, SOS, Fernando, Chiquitita and many more.
FRI 01:00 Flat Pack Pop: Sweden's Music Miracle (m0002k6k)
Flat Pack Pop: Sweden’s Music Miracle charts the remarkable rise of Sweden as a global music superpower. Journalist James Ballardie explores the uniquely Swedish songwriting formula created by record producer Denniz Pop, discovering how the biggest chart hits of the last 30 years have been inspired by the myths and legends of this Land of the Midnight Sun.
In the 1990s, an elite band of unlikely entrepreneur songwriters and producers became responsible for the most dramatic revolution in music since Elvis first shook his hips. What started out as an experiment on the Stockholm underground club scene soon blossomed into an entire genre of its own. These unlikely heroes of bubblegum pop surfed the wave of the dotcom boom, launching the careers of Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Westlife and many, many more. Hundreds of millions of record sales later, today they have a combined net worth of many billions.
Featuring interviews with key Swedish songwriters, plus producers and artists including Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Ace of Base and Robyn, James’s search for the real lever-pullers behind today’s top tunes takes him from the icy streets of Stockholm to the barren plains of Kronoberg.
But why should Sweden – of all places – have become such a hotbed for hot tracks? Some say it’s the terrible weather and long months of darkness that created the perfect environment for Swedes to refine their craft. Others praise the stellar state-funded musical education programmes promoted by the socialist governments of the 60s and 70s. A Swedish love for simplistic melodies – harking back to the medieval cattle-herding calls that form the basis of Swedish folk music – is also a key weapon in the Swedish musical juggernaut’s arsenal.
Perhaps most impressive of all about Sweden’s musical miracle is the sheer duration of its success - with a streak of hits that has lasted longer than any of the classic songwriting factories that have defined pop history - from Motown and Tin Pan Alley to the Brill Building, Leiber and Stoller, and the Wall of Sound.
At its heart – Swedish pop sounds effortless and uncomplicated. In reality, it is the most intricate and precise songwriting method of any genre. These are industrial-strength melodies handcrafted to pierce the 21st century’s hubbub - in malls, stadiums, airports, casinos, gyms and the Super Bowl half-time shows.
It is the same ethos that drove IKEA and H&M to become such world-beating brands. Swedes are so successful at exporting their culture because ingrained in the Swedish mindset is a curious knack for appealing to the residents of other countries. Pulling apart the very best ideas from British and American music, and then rearranging them in a more effective and efficient way is the cornerstone of Swedish musical thinking.
As the 1990s drew to a close, the songwriting formula created by Denniz Pop made him and his followers filthy rich, a potential source of embarrassment in equality-obsessed Sweden. In accordance with Swedish ‘Jante Law’ – a social code that promotes the good of the community over the individual – Denniz and his team shunned the limelight, preferring to leave the pressures of fame to the unabashed Brits and Americans who sang their hits. But the dream could not last forever. In 1997 Denniz was diagnosed with stomach cancer. He died a year later at the age of just 35, less than two months before his greatest creation yet – Britney Spears’s Baby One More Time - hit record store shelves.
Today, the most successful of Denniz Pop’s motley band of followers is his protégé Max Martin. Max is famously modest about his mixing desk wizardry – but he is responsible for some of the most potent melodies of our time, standing third only to John Lennon and Paul McCartney when it comes to racking up US No 1 hits.
Mysterious Max has turbocharged Denniz’s songwriting formula into a theory he calls ‘Melodic Math’. It is a complex musical algorithm perfect for the digital age. Decoding the secrets of Melodic Math, James will uncover centuries-old Swedish customs and folklore hidden in the unlikely music of One Direction, Nicki Minaj and Justin Bieber.
With its huge hooks, massive drops and unmistakable sense of melancholy, the sound of Swedish pop is in fact the sound of modern pop. In Flat Pack Pop: Sweden’s Music Miracle, BBC Four will uncover how this bizarre brew of influences came to dominate our charts, without us even knowing where it came from.
FRI 02:00 Top of the Pops (m001b0cb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 today]
FRI 02:30 Top of the Pops (m001b0cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:30 today]
FRI 03:00 The Joy of ABBA (b03lyzpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
22:00 today]