BBC four

Solar scientist Dr Lucie Green takes a journey back through Britain's most turbulent and dramatic weather history. She finds an 18th-century storm surge that killed over a thousand people working in open Somerset fields, a hurricane that drowned a fifth of the British Navy and winters so bitter that the country came close to total shutdown. But she also explores how our reactions to killer storms

Coverage of the concerts and special musical events that take place each summer over an eight-week period. The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts – or The Proms as they are now more popularly known – have a rich history. Originally founded at the end of the 19th century, The Proms are now a highlight of Britain's cultural calendar. Boasting internationally renowned conductors and musicians and focussin

The A303 is the road that passes Stonehenge on the way to the beaches of Devon and Cornwall. On the way, it whisks drivers through 5000 years of remarkable moments in English history. And it's the star of this film made for armchair travellers and history lovers. Writer Tom Fort drives its 92 mile length in a lovingly restored Morris Traveller. Along the way he has many adventures: he meets a form

The story of one of the most celebrated and sought-after movie composers, as told by the man himself and his closest collaborators. Across a glittering 40-year career, Hans has redefined the movie score, thrilling audiences, pioneering new techniques and introducing new generations to the drama of orchestral music. In this portrait, Hans reveals the musical secrets of his craft – how he goes about

Coverage of the concerts and special musical events that take place each summer over an eight-week period. The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts – or The Proms as they are now more popularly known – have a rich history. Originally founded at the end of the 19th century, The Proms are now a highlight of Britain's cultural calendar. Boasting internationally renowned conductors and musicians and focussin

Solar scientist Dr Lucie Green takes a journey back through Britain's most turbulent and dramatic weather history. She finds an 18th-century storm surge that killed over a thousand people working in open Somerset fields, a hurricane that drowned a fifth of the British Navy and winters so bitter that the country came close to total shutdown. But she also explores how our reactions to killer storms

The A303 is the road that passes Stonehenge on the way to the beaches of Devon and Cornwall. On the way, it whisks drivers through 5000 years of remarkable moments in English history. And it's the star of this film made for armchair travellers and history lovers. Writer Tom Fort drives its 92 mile length in a lovingly restored Morris Traveller. Along the way he has many adventures: he meets a form

Alastair Sooke unpicks the reasons behind the dazzling revolution that gave birth to classical Greek art, asking how the Greeks got so good so quickly. He travels to the beautiful Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, and to the island of Mozia to see the astonishing charioteer found there in 1979, and marvels at the athletic bodies of the warriors dragged from the seabed – the Riace Bronzes. It was

Oslo, June 2004. It's a hot summer's day when two robbers burst into the Munch Museum and force a security guard to the floor at gunpoint. They proceed to steal two of Edvard Munch's most iconic paintings, Scream and Madonna. Together, they are worth £120m. Eyewitnesses see the robbers leave the gallery in a black Audi. Police find pieces of the paintings' frames scattered on the road as they try

Alastair Sooke unpicks the reasons behind the dazzling revolution that gave birth to classical Greek art, asking how the Greeks got so good so quickly. He travels to the beautiful Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, and to the island of Mozia to see the astonishing charioteer found there in 1979, and marvels at the athletic bodies of the warriors dragged from the seabed – the Riace Bronzes. It was

Oslo, June 2004. It's a hot summer's day when two robbers burst into the Munch Museum and force a security guard to the floor at gunpoint. They proceed to steal two of Edvard Munch's most iconic paintings, Scream and Madonna. Together, they are worth £120m. Eyewitnesses see the robbers leave the gallery in a black Audi. Police find pieces of the paintings' frames scattered on the road as they try

At the home of Scottish football, Glasgow's Hampden Park stadium, Michael admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears how the "passing game" was born there. From Scotland's busiest railway station, the splendid Glasgow Central, Michael heads to the M8 motorway to see 16 lanes of traffic slicing through the city centre. At the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Michael hears how after the Secon

Broadcaster Kate Garraway goes for an invigorating walk along the edge of the Cotswolds Hills. As she passes through the patch where she first cut her teeth as a reporter, she takes time to appreciate the stunning landscapes. From the panoramic viewpoint of Painswick Beacon, Kate descends through beech woods to the village of Upton St Leonards, soaking up the sounds of nature as she goes. From the

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

Much-loved BBC comedy series following the exploits of prematurely retired, ever-grumbling security guard Victor Meldrew (Richard Wilson) and his exasperated, level-headed wife Margaret (Annette Crosbie). The series is a bitter-sweet sitcom set in suburban England, based on the maxim that idle hands make mischief. Victor is unsuited to a life of leisure but finds himself at just the wrong age to b

In the Medieval and Tudor world there was no question in peoples' minds about the order of God's creation – men ruled and women didn't. A King was a warrior who literally fought to win power then battled to keep it. Yet despite everything that stood in their way, a handful of extraordinary women did attempt to rule medieval and Tudor England. In this series historian Helen Castor explores seven qu

Sam Willis looks at the history of the castle from its first appearance with the Normans in 1066 to the longest siege on English soil at Kenilworth Castle 200 years later. The castle arrived as an instrument of invasion but soon became a weapon with which unruly barons challenged the Crown. Tintagel Castle, the place where King Arthur is said to have been conceived, is also on the itinerary. It re

Why did the entire world stand by in 1994 as nearly one million people were murdered over one hundred days of incomprehensible terror in Rwanda? American diplomats describe events on the ground and in Washington as this tragedy unfolded. What did the White House know, when did they know it and why didn't they act? The horrendous results of ignoring the genocide in Rwanda haunts the Washington deci

Three years after the civil war in Bosnia, the world looked like a very different place. The Bosnian genocide had been stopped, but Muslim separatists in the Kosovo region rekindled old conflicts that led President Clinton's White House to consider Serbian President Milošević's regime a threat to their own civilians. With post-Soviet Russia in crisis, Boris Yeltsin, the Russian president, criticis

In the Medieval and Tudor world there was no question in peoples' minds about the order of God's creation – men ruled and women didn't. A King was a warrior who literally fought to win power then battled to keep it. Yet despite everything that stood in their way, a handful of extraordinary women did attempt to rule medieval and Tudor England. In this series historian Helen Castor explores seven qu

At the home of Scottish football, Glasgow's Hampden Park stadium, Michael admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears how the "passing game" was born there. From Scotland's busiest railway station, the splendid Glasgow Central, Michael heads to the M8 motorway to see 16 lanes of traffic slicing through the city centre. At the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Michael hears how after the Secon

Michael Portillo continues his postwar Scottish railway adventure, this time from Glasgow to the capital, Edinburgh. At Pollok Country Park in Glasgow, Michael joins a women's running club, the Bellahouston Harriers, for a warm-up session. In parkland above the pits en route to Cuningar Loop, he finds Glasgow's geoenergy observatory, where the British Geological Society is researching how mine wat

Famous for waking up the nation on Radio One and his afternoon drive-time show, DJ and presenter Nick Grimshaw heads to the north east of England for a stroll through a fascinating landscape. Exploring historic areas of Warkworth and Amble in Northumberland, Nick begins his walk at first light, dipping his toes in the sea for a refreshing wake-me-up along the beach. Crossing sand dunes and an anci

Historian Dan Snow explores the greatest maritime archaeology project in British history – the Mary Rose. Using 40 years of BBC archive footage Dan charts how the Mary Rose was discovered, excavated and eventually raised, and what the latest research has revealed about this iconic ship and her crew. Dan also investigates how the Mary Rose project helped create modern underwater archaeology, examin

Professor Richard Fortey delves into the fascinating and normally-hidden kingdom of fungi. From their spectacular birth, through their secretive underground life to their final explosive death, Richard reveals a remarkable world that few of us understand or even realise exists – yet all life on Earth depends on it.In a specially-built mushroom lab, with the help of mycologist Dr Patrick Hickey and

Play for Today is a British anthology series that originally aired from 1970 to 1984. Featuring a number of original television plays and adaptations of stage plays and novels, the series produced more than three hundred episodes of high-quality drama. During its run, the show received numerous awards and nominations for superb writing and exemplary performances from the starring cast. Notable act

Historian Dan Snow explores the greatest maritime archaeology project in British history – the Mary Rose. Using 40 years of BBC archive footage Dan charts how the Mary Rose was discovered, excavated and eventually raised, and what the latest research has revealed about this iconic ship and her crew. Dan also investigates how the Mary Rose project helped create modern underwater archaeology, examin