BBC four

From the Staffordshire Hills to the Humber Estuary, spirited explorer Tom Fort embarks on a 170 mile journey down Britain's third longest river – the Trent. Beginning on foot, he soon transfers to his own custom-built punt, "The Trent Otter" and rows many miles downstream. Along the way he encounters the power stations that generate much of the nation's electricity; veterans of the catastrophic fl

Hidden away in the most easterly part of the British Isles are the Fens of East Anglia, a landscape of big skies and distant horizons, wild wetlands and fertile farmland. Water has always been the driving force here – its ebb and flow has shaped the Fens for thousands of years. The ancient wetlands covered hundreds of square miles and overflowed with wildlife. Today, well over 90% has gone, draine

Two-part series in which Richard E Grant follows in the footsteps of artists who have lived, loved and painted on France's glorious Cote d'Azur. Revealing the intertwined relationship between modern art and the development of the French Riviera as an international tourist haven, Grant explores how impressionist painters Cezanne, Monet and Renoir first discovered the region in the 19th century, whe

David Ireland's Cyprus Avenue is a multi-award-winning play and production starring Stephen Rea and directed by Vicky Featherstone. Originally co-produced at the Royal Court Theatre and Abbey Theatre, the critically acclaimed production toured to Belfast and the Public Theater in New York. This adaptation mixes live capture of performance from the Royal Court Theatre stage with location shooting i

When a music score is uncovered deep within the storerooms of the Louvre, musical historians scramble to realise the potential of this piece of papyrus. The text's grammatical features give us a clue to the composer's identity: Carcinus, an author cited by Aristotle in his Rhetoric. His name is engraved on a wall in the Parthenon, and the story of his life offers an insight into the history of Gre

Dr Helen Czerski examines the extraordinary messages sound waves carry and how they help us understand the world around us. Visiting a hidden location buried beneath the hills of Scotland, Helen experiences some of the most extreme acoustics in the world. Here she learns just how much information can be carried by sound. She discovers how sound has driven the evolution of truly incredible biologic

Hidden away in the most easterly part of the British Isles are the Fens of East Anglia, a landscape of big skies and distant horizons, wild wetlands and fertile farmland. Water has always been the driving force here – its ebb and flow has shaped the Fens for thousands of years. The ancient wetlands covered hundreds of square miles and overflowed with wildlife. Today, well over 90% has gone, draine

Every year, spectacular seasons transform our planet. As they sweep across the world, they drive all life on Earth, bringing huge opportunities and great challenges to everything. This programme, narrated by Andrew Scott, celebrates the glorious nature of summer on Earth and the extraordinary ways animals and plants rise to the challenges it brings. With the sun shining and the flowers blooming, t

Bendor Grosvenor and Emma Dabiri travel to the grand Georgian mansion of Tatton Park in Cheshire, where Bendor has spotted a mysterious portrait of a 16th-century physician in its collection. Initially he wonders if the work might be by mannerist painter Parmigianino, but once the restoration is underway, and after examining other works by the Renaissance master, he is forced to abandon this idea

Japanese contemporary artist, Yayoi Kusama's work pushed boundaries that often alienated her from her peers and those in power in the art world. Kusama was an underdog with everything stacked against her – the trauma of growing up in Japan during World War II; life in a dysfunctional family that discouraged her creative ambitions; sexism and racism in the art establishment and mental illness. Kusa

"Sculpture has changed more in the last 100 years," says Alastair Sooke, "than in the previous 30,000." The third and last episode of the series tells the dramatic story of a century of innovation, scandal, shock and creativity. It begins with the moment at the turn of the 20th century, when young sculptors ceased visiting the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum and looked instead at the "primitiv

Archaeologist and historian Richard Miles explores the roots of one of the most profound innovations in the human story – civilisation – in the first episode of an epic series that runs from the creation of the first cities in Mesopotamia some 6,000 years ago, to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Starting in Uruk, the 'mother of all cities', in southern Iraq, Richard travels to Syria, Egyp

Bendor Grosvenor and Emma Dabiri travel to the grand Georgian mansion of Tatton Park in Cheshire, where Bendor has spotted a mysterious portrait of a 16th-century physician in its collection. Initially he wonders if the work might be by mannerist painter Parmigianino, but once the restoration is underway, and after examining other works by the Renaissance master, he is forced to abandon this idea

Like clockwork, our planet spins on its axis, orbiting its annual route around the giant star without which we would cease to exist. As our planet traverses this year-long journey, our distance from the sun produces the four seasons that drastically alter Earth's landscapes and wildlife habits. In this four-part documentary series we explore the seasons in their full glory, showcasing the changes

This is the story of the men who built our canals – the navigators or 'navvies'. They represented an "army" of hard physical men who were capable of enduring tough labour for long hours. Many roved the countryside looking for work and a better deal. They gained a reputation as troublesome outsiders, fond of drinking and living a life of ungodly debauchery. But who were they? Unreliable heathens an

Paul Rose has an adrenaline overdose on his way to Coniston in the latest episode of his Lake District journey. He starts by entering a retro-cycling event on a penny farthing, before joining the mountain bikers of Grizedale Forest. Paul also relives the final moments of Donald Campbell in his attempt to break the world water-speed record on Coniston Water. He ends his trek with a spot of rock cli

A gentle sitcom set in the fictional village of Grantleigh, and the aristocratic family seat of the fforbes-Hamilitons. The widow of the deceased Lord of the Manor is Audrey, who inherits the Grantleigh Manor, which has been in her family for hundreds of years. But her husband's debts have left the estate bankrupt and Audrey has no option but to sell up. The new Lord of the Manor is Richard DeVere

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

Timeshift tells the story of how Britain's phone network was built. Incredibly, there was once a time when phones weren't pocket-sized wireless devices, but bulky objects wired into our homes and workplaces. Over the course of 100 years, engineers rolled out a communications network that joined up Britain – a web of more than 70 million miles of wire. Telephones were agents of commercial and socia

This is the story of the men who built our canals – the navigators or 'navvies'. They represented an "army" of hard physical men who were capable of enduring tough labour for long hours. Many roved the countryside looking for work and a better deal. They gained a reputation as troublesome outsiders, fond of drinking and living a life of ungodly debauchery. But who were they? Unreliable heathens an

Paul Rose has an adrenaline overdose on his way to Coniston in the latest episode of his Lake District journey. He starts by entering a retro-cycling event on a penny farthing, before joining the mountain bikers of Grizedale Forest. Paul also relives the final moments of Donald Campbell in his attempt to break the world water-speed record on Coniston Water. He ends his trek with a spot of rock cli

Liz McIvor explores the heritage of our canal network. After years of decline in the postwar period much of the network was eventually restored. Once places of labour and industry, they became places of leisure and tranquillity. The newly renovated canals were increasingly popular for boating holidaymakers. Liz visits the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales and travels to Birmingham where canals have b

Remote Eskdale is the final destination in explorer Paul Rose's trek through the Lake District. This corner of the western Lakes is off the normal tourist track but it boasts England's highest mountain. Before heading for the tough Lakeland summit of Scafell Pike, Paul meets the folk who run one of the country's most scenic railways, he has a close encounter with a vulture, and gets to grips with

In 2017, a routine archaeological dig was taking place on the site of a proposed housing development in the village of Fenstanton in the Cambridgeshire Fens. When human remains were found alongside a variety of Roman artefacts, none of the team at Albion Archaeology saw anything out of the ordinary. But once the bones were washed back at HQ, something highly unusual was uncovered: a nail through t

Over your lifetime you undergo an extraordinary change – no other animal on earth goes through such a dramatic metamorphosis. In this programme, Chris and Xand van Tulleken explore the latest understanding of how we all grow. They uncover the reason our childhood is longer than any other creature on Earth and reveal the communities of microbes – our microbiome – that we cultivate throughout our li