BBC four

There are very few famous personalities who have not sat on the interview couch with veteran broadcaster Michael Parkinson, for an in-depth conversation exploring their childhoods, early career starts and professional successes and occasional failures. World leaders, top sports people, filmmakers, legendary actors, political campaigners, business chiefs and famous musicians have shared stories and

The story revolves around Hyacinth Bucket, a housewife from a lower class whose only aim in life is to impress others with her etiquette and social skills and climb the social ladder. She is terrified that her background will be revealed one day, and goes above and beyond to hide it. She insists her inharmonious surname is pronounced Bouquet. All her attempts as a rule lead to awkward comic situat

Timothy Lumsden is a 40-something librarian, still living with his parents and under the thumb of his domineering mother Phyllis. Although Timothy has sporadic attempts at standing up for himself and abandoning his home in order to lead an independent life, all his attempts prove futile as his mother always stands in the way. It might be that the only force strong enough to break Timothy's bond wi

As Hetty Wainthropp (Patricia Routledge) reaches retirement age at 60 and faces an uncertain future financially, she decides that the life of a pensioner is not for her and opens a detective agency instead. Armed only with her no-nonsense Lancashire attitude and her notebook, she embarks on a series of criminal investigations. Aided by her teenage sidekick and reformed thief, Geoffrey, and her dev

Wildlife documentary featuring the fascinating lives of Britain's beautiful butterflies filmed in exquisite detail, and also a celebration of their enduring appeal to the British people. Butterfly-costumed carnival-goers dance at Notting Hill, street artist Nick Walker uses their image to brighten bare city walls, burlesque dancer Vicky Butterfly recreates butterfly dances, and women reveal their

"Timewatch" is a series of first-class documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. The series tackles events ranging from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, to the origin of skeletal remains recovered in a garden in Roman York, to the break-up of possibly the World's most famous pop band; The Beatles. Every programme contains in-depth analysis of the topic and seeks to ans

Join mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe as he focuses on change and what we can learn from how animals adapt to changes in the world around them. Why is a chameleon's ability to alter its appearance crucial to its survival and what lessons are there from understanding how elephants grieve? Learning to be mindful can help us cope with life's stresses, and Andy shows how focusing on the sights and s

"Timewatch" is a series of first-class documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. The series tackles events ranging from the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, to the origin of skeletal remains recovered in a garden in Roman York, to the break-up of possibly the World's most famous pop band; The Beatles. Every programme contains in-depth analysis of the topic and seeks to ans

South America – the most species-rich continent on earth. From the bone-dry deserts of the Atacama, where penguins weave their way through a minefield of snapping sea lions, to the lush cloud forests of the Andes, where Andean bears scale 30-metre trees in search of elusive fruits, South America is full of the unusual and ingenious. In the far south of the continent, predators prowl the jagged Pat

In a visual treat taking in Egypt's greatest historical sites, Alastair Sooke tells the story of ancient Egyptian art through 30 extraordinary masterpieces. Tracing the origins of Egypt's unique visual style, he treks across the Sahara and travels the Nile to find the rarely seen art of its earliest peoples. Exploring how this civilisation's art reflected its religion, he looks anew at the Great P

Very few people would have recognised the name Rose Wylie until this remarkable artist was in her mid 70s. Youthful, playful and unpredictable at the age of 83, this is an artist in her prime. Her unlikely subjects are drawn from the world around her – from footballers like Wayne Rooney, the gory brilliance of Quentin Tarantino films, memories of her childhood in the London Blitz, to the stuff of

In the concluding episode of the series, James explores how the art of the last hundred years reflects how we swapped nature for progress in the first half of the 20th century before rediscovering its beauty in the decades following the Second World War, and how today's artists are re-imagining our future relationship with nature. The film begins in the first decades of the 20th century, an era of

South America – the most species-rich continent on earth. From the bone-dry deserts of the Atacama, where penguins weave their way through a minefield of snapping sea lions, to the lush cloud forests of the Andes, where Andean bears scale 30-metre trees in search of elusive fruits, South America is full of the unusual and ingenious. In the far south of the continent, predators prowl the jagged Pat

In a visual treat taking in Egypt's greatest historical sites, Alastair Sooke tells the story of ancient Egyptian art through 30 extraordinary masterpieces. Tracing the origins of Egypt's unique visual style, he treks across the Sahara and travels the Nile to find the rarely seen art of its earliest peoples. Exploring how this civilisation's art reflected its religion, he looks anew at the Great P

Another chance to join Fred Dibnah as he celebrates Britain's great building and engineering feats, from prehistoric stone circles to the Humber Bridge. Fred travels around Britain to discover how some of our great buildings were constructed. Along the way, he meets the craftsmen who are preserving these buildings for future generations. In the programme, Fred considers the development of castles

Julia Bradbury follows in the footsteps of legendary guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright by walking across the whole of northern England from the west to the east coast. This was Wainwright's last great venture and has become his greatest legacy – a beautifully simple proposition, linking three national parks that lie between the Irish and the North Sea. 36 years after its creation, Julia is off th

The story revolves around Hyacinth Bucket, a housewife from a lower class whose only aim in life is to impress others with her etiquette and social skills and climb the social ladder. She is terrified that her background will be revealed one day, and goes above and beyond to hide it. She insists her inharmonious surname is pronounced Bouquet. All her attempts as a rule lead to awkward comic situat

Timothy Lumsden is a 40-something librarian, still living with his parents and under the thumb of his domineering mother Phyllis. Although Timothy has sporadic attempts at standing up for himself and abandoning his home in order to lead an independent life, all his attempts prove futile as his mother always stands in the way. It might be that the only force strong enough to break Timothy's bond wi

The British history series continues with the story of Edward I – known by many as the villainous king in the Hollywood film Braveheart – who tried to force English rule on Scotland and Wales, but found the resultant slaughter only served to inspire bold declarations of independence. When the king was eventually forced to listen to the parliament of his own people, England would also learn what it

This is the story of one of the most extraordinary and audacious experiments in the history of science, which a visionary neuroscientist called John Lilly embarked on in the 1960s. His ambition was to build a communications bridge between humans and a little studied species of big-brained marine mammals called Tursiops Truncata or the bottlenose dolphin. Lilly's realization that dolphins were exce

Another chance to join Fred Dibnah as he celebrates Britain's great building and engineering feats, from prehistoric stone circles to the Humber Bridge. Fred travels around Britain to discover how some of our great buildings were constructed. Along the way, he meets the craftsmen who are preserving these buildings for future generations. In the programme, Fred considers the development of castles

Julia Bradbury follows in the footsteps of legendary guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright by walking across the whole of northern England from the west to the east coast. This was Wainwright's last great venture and has become his greatest legacy – a beautifully simple proposition, linking three national parks that lie between the Irish and the North Sea. 36 years after its creation, Julia is off th

Fred Dibnah tours across Britain in this fascinating documentary series to examine the country's most spectacular marvels of engineering. Each episode in the six-part series follows Fred as he unravels the history behind a respective monument or structure, detailing each projects development and the innovative minds that brought them to life. A compelling examination of some of Britain's grandest

Julia Bradbury follows in the footsteps of legendary guidebook writer Alfred Wainwright by walking across the whole of northern England from the west to the east coast . This was Wainwright's last great venture and has become his greatest legacy – a beautifully simple proposition, linking three national parks that lie between the Irish and the North Sea. 36 years after its creation, Julia is off,

In the concluding episode of the series, Jim encounters ever larger cosmic structures to reveal the latest breakthroughs in our understanding of the universe. For example, there's the heliosphere, a vast cloud of solar plasma that surrounds and protects the solar system. Its unique physics help us understand why life is possible. Larger still, Jim comes face to face with our galactic home the Milk

What is it about the British and the Corner shop? The corner shop has always been there for us, it's a British institution. It was on the frontline of what was happening in society from the 40s to the noughties. It saved our bacon during WW2 and it also became a rite of passage for new immigrants. Journalist Babita Sharma, herself the daughter of shopkeepers, explores the growing and shifting fort