Sar 23rd April
Visual Arts
Perspectives: Looking for Lowry
Sunday 24 April
10:15pm - 11:15pm
ITV
Ian McKellen presents an exploration of LS Lowry, whose paintings of northern urban life are particularly loved for his trademark `matchstick men' figures. He discovers works by the artist that have never been exhibited, and examines them for possible clues to Lowry's personality. The documentary also features Noel Gallagher, who claims the artist does not receive the recognition he deserves, while Jeffrey Archer explains how he came to be a Lowry collector.
The Private Life of a Masterpiece: The Taking of Christ
Monday 25 April
8:20am - 9:20am
RTE1
Sam West narrates the story of Caravaggio's painting The Taking of Christ, a masterpiece whose whereabouts remained unknown for about 200 years. In 1990 it was recognised at the residence of the Society of Jesus in Dublin and is now housed in the National Gallery of Ireland.
Treasure of the Bogs
Tuesday 26 April
11:15pm - 12:15am
RTE1
Documentary shedding light on the discovery of the Faddan More Psalter, an early medieval book of psalms that was found in north Tipperary, and revealed possible links between the fledgling Chuch in Ireland and Coptic traditions more commonly associated with the Middle East.
A Conversation with Gregory Peck
Friday 29 April
7:05am - 8:30am
BBC2 Northern Ireland
Documentary recording a public appearance by the movie icon at a Virginia theatre where he performed in the 1940s. His discussion of his life and career with the audience is intercut with archive interviews, home movie footage and clips from some of his greatest films.
Culture
Words and Music
Sunday 24 April
10:15pm - 11:30pm
BBC Radio 3
Law and Order
Andrew Buchan (Garrow's Law) and Josette Simon (Casualty, Silent Witness) read poetry and prose on the theme of law and order. They begin with crime, including excerpts from Eliot's Macavity the Mystery Cat, Dickens' Oliver Twist and the work of PD James, followed by the appearance of the police - both the uniformed variety and the private detective. Courtroom proceedings are represented by Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mocking Bird and Portia from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Finally sentence is carried out, highwayman Dick Turpin is hanged and Oscar Wilde languishes in Reading Gaol writing his famous ballad. Also featured are writers Seamus Heaney, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stieg Larsson, Roger McGough, Carol Ann Duffy and Dostoevsky. The texts are interwoven with music by Janácek, Hamish MacCunn, Gilbert and Sullivan, Prokofiev and Henry Mancini.
Edgelands
Monday 25 April – Friday 29th
9:45am - 10:00am
BBC Radio 4
1/5
Written and read by poets Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts, who explore the unusual beauty of the borders between cities and the countryside, visiting the post-industrial landscapes of ruined warehouses, retail parks, sewage works and power stations. In the first edition, they examine a car breaker's yard and a vandalised bridge.
Arena: Produced by George Martin
Monday 25 April
9:00pm - 10:30pm
BBC2 Northern Ireland
Profile of the record producer, who early in his career worked on songs including Nellie the Elephant and Goodness Gracious Me, by Peter Sellers and Sophia Loren, before moving on to the Beatles and other artists. With contributions by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Cilla Black, Michael Palin and Rolf Harris, as well as George Martin's family.
Gods and Monsters: Homer's Odyssey
Wednesday 27 April
12:20am - 1:20am
BBC Four
Poet Simon Armitage follows in the footsteps of Homer to explore his work the Odyssey. The piece of Greek literature, which Virginia Woolf quoted as being `alive to every tremor and gleam of existence', follows the magical and strange adventures of warrior king Odysseus.
Secrets of the Arabian Nights
Wednesday 27 April
10:00pm - 11:00pm
BBC Four
Actor Richard E Grant explores the popularity of the folk tales, which have captured the imaginations of children and adults all over the world. He travels to Paris to discover how the stories of Sinbad, Ali Baba and Aladdin were first brought to the West by Antoine Galland in the early 18th century, before visiting Cairo to uncover the medieval Islamic world that created them.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - The True Story
Thursday 28 April
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC Four
Documentary exploring the career of L Frank Baum, the author and film director whose desire to write an American fairy tale resulted in the creation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Material from Baum's family archives tells the story of his life, while still photographs and clips provide an insight into the film adaptations of the book.
Psychology / Society
John O'Donohue: Anam Cara
Saturday 23 April
8:45pm - 9:45pm
TG4
Profile of the writer and philosopher John O'Donohue, the author of a number of works on Celtic spirituality. Filmed in his native landscape of the Burren and Conamara, he explains his belief in an ancient tradition of the sanctity of the natural world and his approach to the human experience of life and death.
Something Understood
Sunday 24 April
6:05am - 6:35am
BBC Radio 4
Everything Has Its Place
Felicity Finch reflects on people's need for order in their lives and surroundings, exploring the idea that comfort can be drawn from neatness - but also considering how rigidity can stifle individuality. Emma Fielding and Jonathan Keeble read passages by Carol Shields, Robert Herrick and Daniel Abse, with music by Radiohead, Mozart and Jacques Brel.
Secret Life of the Classroom
Monday 25 April
3:05am - 4:00am
Channel 4
One-off documentary following a reception class in Bath, as the four and five-year-old children spend their first months in education. For many, school will offer their first steps away from their parents, and the programme offers an insight into how the pupils react in the playground, away from adults.
Leaving Home at 8
Monday 25 April
4:00am - 4:55am
Channel 4
Cutting Edge follows four eight-year-old girls as they embark on their first year at boarding school, exploring the effect on the children and their families as they begin their new lives and seek to overcome the pain of separation.
The Essay
Monday 25 April – Friday 29th
11:00pm - 11:15pm
BBC Radio 3
The Father Instinct
1/5
In the first of five programmes, theatre director and writer Lou Stein explores the connections between fatherhood and artistic creativity. Drawing on classical archetypes of paternity, he offers a view of ancient and contemporary expectations of the father.
All in the Mind
Tuesday 26 April
9:00pm - 9:30pm
BBC Radio 4
2/8
Claudia Hammond hears from American neuroscientist James Fallon, whose research into neuroanatomy has uncovered a disturbing secret in his own genetic structure. Scans revealed his brain bears similarities to those of psychopaths and killers he had previously studied, and further genetic tests revealed he possesses a version of the `warrior gene', which studies suggest strongly correlates with a disposition for violent behaviour.
Science / Nature
Carl Sagan: A Personal Voyage
Saturday 23 April
8:00pm - 9:00pm
BBC Radio 4
Brian Cox presents a tribute to Cosmos presenter and astronomer Carl Sagan, who is often thought to have been the greatest influence over the popularisation of science. Over 600 million people worldwide watched the 1980s television programme.
The Gene Code
Monday 25 April
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC4
Unlocking the Code
2/2
Part two of two. Dr Adam Rutherford examines the consequences of decoding the entire human genome. The film explores how DN
The Cell
Thursday 28 April
10:45pm - 11:45pm
BBC4
The Hidden Kingdom
1/3
Dr Adam Rutherford examines 350 years of scientific research about biological cells, and how centuries of scientific and religious dogma were overturned by the discovery of the microscopic building blocks from which every living thing on Earth is made.
History
A History of Christianity
Sunday 24 April
7:00pm - 8:00pm
BBC Four
The First Christianity
1/6
Diarmaid MacCulloch explores the origins and meanings of Christianity, beginning his journey at the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, a site that holds important clues to the birth of the faith. The professor also travels to Istanbul, where he examines a debate that erupted in the fourth century about the true nature of Jesus, and to Syria, where he challenges the notion of a clash of civilisations between Christianity and Islam.
Delphi: The Bellybutton of the Ancient World
Tuesday 26 April
11:20pm - 12:20am
BBC Four
Cambridge University's Michael Scott examines what happened at the ancient Greek oracle at Delphi, and how it developed a reputation for being a gateway into the supernatural and a source of political conflict. Now popular with tourists, the site served as a strong force throughout history.
At Home with the Georgians
Wednesday 27 April
7:30pm - 8:30pm
BBC Four
Safe as Houses
3/3
Historian Amanda Vickery reveals how the 18th-century home was constantly under threat from theft, fire, divorce, poverty, illness and death. Using intimate diaries and Old Bailey records, she explores the chaos of Georgian houses, bursting with extended families and servants, and learns how they set about making their dwellings. Last in the series.
Petworth House - The Big Spring Clean
Wednesday 27 April
8:30pm - 9:00pm
BBC Four
Natural Beauty
3/6,
Andrew Graham-Dixon discovers an ingenious approach to caring for wood carvings, tackles Turner with a vacuum cleaner and sets sail across an 18th-century water feature. He also meets a world authority on dust.
If Walls Could Talk: The History of the Home
Wednesday 27 April
9:00pm - 10:00pm
BBC Four
The Bedroom
3/4
Chief curator of the Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley examines the bedroom, a space that started out as a communal area but is now the most private in the house. She spends the night in a Tudor farmhouse and re-creates a bedtime `bundling' ritual, before being publicly dressed as Queen Caroline in Hampton Court and experiencing the glamour of the 1930s boudoir.
Versailles: The Dream of a King
Wednesday 27 April
11:50pm - 12:50am
BBC HD
Docu-drama recreating the life of Louis XIV, France's famous `Sun King', who conducted dozens of love affairs, hosted lavish entertainments, and built the spectacular palace at Versailles. Filmed in the building's staterooms, bedrooms and gardens, and using interviews with the world's leading experts, the programme invokes the spirit and vitality of the flamboyant monarch's reign. Samuel Theis stars. Narrated by Cherie Lunghi.
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