BBC four

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

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

In the north east of England lies a wild and remote moorland – 550 square miles of windswept heather-clad uplands and deep, sheltered valleys or dales. These are the North York Moors. Over millennia, this spectacular landscape has been shaped by the elements – by water and ice – and more recently by people. Remote farmsteads are dotted all across the high country. On Dale Head Farm, the Barracloug

In almost every age the world of dance has produced its own pioneers – leading dancers and choreographers who have experimented with new styles and new forms. Margot Fonteyn looks at the work of some of the greatest of the pioneers, from the Commedia dell'Arte in 17th-century Italy to Martha Graham in 20th century America. The programme includes a performance by Fonteyn and Baryshnikov of Fokine's

Documentary series perusing the wonders of three natural areas in Britain, the Pembrokeshire Coast, the Fens of East Anglia, and the North York Moors, with each region examined over the course of a year in its own respective episode. Dive into the emboldening beauty of each unique environment, explore the stunning wildlife that inhabits each landscape, and follow the changing of the seasons that b

Long-running general knowledge quiz that tests the intellectual powers of the brightest undergraduates in Britain. Launched in 1962 and hosted by Bamber Gascoigne, the show achieved cult status with teams from two different rival colleges pitting their wits against each other each week. The questions are as varied and as tough as they can be, and competitors risk having hard-earned points deducted

British quiz show, presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell, in which teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. Each episode features two teams of three people competing in four rounds of gameplay. Each of the four rounds involve connections but they are not obvious or easy. The four rounds are ''What is the Connection?'', ''What Comes Fourth?'', ''Connect

Join our host, Andrew Graham-Dixon, as he takes us on an exploratory journey through the history of Scandinavian art. Focusing on a major thme from each region, he delves into the stories behind each to reveal what they tell us about the culture and era of the times they were created in. Starting off in Norway, Andrew looks at the fascinating work of one of the country's most famous dark artistic

In the final episode of the series, our intrepid cultural explorers Janina Ramirez and Alistair Sooke set off on their most adventurous trip yet – to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. A former Soviet state, bordering the Caspian Sea, Baku offers a tantalising mix of the ancient and modern – at the crossroads of East meets West, on the ancient silk trading route. It is also an authoritarian state, where

Art goes to war during the first half of the 20th century: war with the old imperial order, war with convention and war with the very idea of what it means to be human. This is a story of artists grappling with the destruction, fighting back and transforming the culture of the Isles. Actress Michelle Fairley performs WB Yeats's poem Easter 1916, with its resonant phrase "a terrible beauty is born"

Various contemporary acclaimed creatives and cultural historians look back on important works of art across 1,500 years of British history, including painting, sculpture, architecture, music, design and literature. The art pieces explored offer a look at pivotal and turbulent moments of historical changes in which they were created, such as the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution or World War I.

Long-running general knowledge quiz that tests the intellectual powers of the brightest undergraduates in Britain. Launched in 1962 and hosted by Bamber Gascoigne, the show achieved cult status with teams from two different rival colleges pitting their wits against each other each week. The questions are as varied and as tough as they can be, and competitors risk having hard-earned points deducted

British quiz show, presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell, in which teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. Each episode features two teams of three people competing in four rounds of gameplay. Each of the four rounds involve connections but they are not obvious or easy. The four rounds are ''What is the Connection?'', ''What Comes Fourth?'', ''Connect

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

Simon Schama traces the steps of the empire-makers to tell the extraordinary story of how this small set of islands came to rule an empire that stretched around the globe. How did a trading enterprise based on the idea of liberty become an empire built on the enslavement of millions of Africans? How did Britain lose control of its own colony – America – yet go on to conquer India? On a journey tha