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21	Pilgrimage (2020) #1354 DOCUMENTARY Main Pilgrimage (Series 3) BBC 1 hour The Road to Istanbul Episode 1 of 3 Seven well-known personalities, all with differing faiths and beliefs, put on backpacks and walking boots and, on foot and by road, set out to cover sections of the Sultans Trail - a modern-day, 2,200km pilgrimage across Eastern Europe, which starts in Vienna and ends in the historic city of Istanbul. With only 15 days to complete their pilgrimage, the group begin their adventure in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade. From here, they make their way to Bulgaria, travelling over the mountainous Balkans before arriving in Istanbul. But will this journey of a lifetime change the way they think about themselves and their beliefs? Journalist Adrian Chiles, former politician Edwina Currie, Olympian Fatima Whitbread, comedian Dom Joly, actor Pauline McLynn, broadcaster Mim Shaikh and television presenter Amar Latif live as modern-day pilgrims, staying in basic hotels and often sleeping in shared rooms. Formed just over ten years ago, the Sultans Trail retraces an ancient path taken by the Ottoman armies from late medieval times as they looked to expand their empire into Europe. From their base in Istanbul, armies made it to the city of Vienna twice before being repelled. Now, this former route of war has been turned into a path of peace, designed to promote tolerance between people of all faiths and none. In this first episode, the seven pilgrims arrive in Belgrade, Serbia, and find out for the first time who they are sharing their pilgrim adventure with. Leaving the city behind, they head into the countryside and away from the hustle and bustle. Relying on the Sultans Trail app to help guide them across Europe, Adrian, a converted Catholic, and Mim, a practising Muslim, are the first to plot their way as they look for the fortified Manasija monastery hidden in the hills. As they progress through the Serbian countryside, Amar, who has been blind since the age of 18, leads the pilgrims in the ancient tradition of scrumping. After a 5km hike, they make it to the monastery, which was fortified to protect it from the Ottoman armies. Adrian leads the group in exploring the 15th-century Orthodox Christian church. Inside, Edwina, a non-practising Orthodox Jew, and Mim discuss the existence of God. Meanwhile, outside on the ramparts of the fortress, Dom, an atheist, takes Amar, raised a Muslim, to the very top of the battlements with some nerve-racking moments! They move on and, with the sun setting, the pilgrims arrive at their overnight accommodation, a simple woodland hostel, and, in line with pilgrim tradition, bed down in shared rooms. In the morning, it becomes clear the boys have had a restless night thanks to Dom and Adrian snoring. Mim takes himself off to pray in a field near the hostel before breakfast, where Pauline, an atheist, tells the group about her upbringing as an Irish Catholic. Before they set off, the pilgrims collect their first pilgrim stamp, a record of their journey along the trail. Later that day, the group arrive in the city of Nis, where Dom and Mim explore a 16th-century mosque built during the reign of Sultan Suleiman, after whom the pilgrimage trail is named. Edwina takes Amar and Pauline to a memorial of a more recent conflict, the Crveni Krust concentration camp, a Second World War Nazi camp that held people of Jewish, Romani and Serbian origin. Here, they witness the horrors of religious and cultural persecution. After a challenging day, the group discuss the difficulties with faith and religion in the face of conflict. The next day, the pilgrims head back into rural Serbia, where Fatima, a Christian, takes the lead with the app, but the pilgrims end up lost and separated in a forest as they lose the trail, much to new hiker Mim’s annoyance. After reuniting, the pilgrims pick up the trail again and it brings them to The Church of the Virgin Mary on a special day in the Orthodox Christian calendar, the birth of the Holy Virgin Mary. The Saint’s day is celebrated with a Slava, a day-long festival that comprises of a service and meal. The pilgrims settle into the service but it is not long before Dom decides to leave. Adrian however finds the service comforting, and after it is completed, the group are invited to join the locals’ celebration meal at the priest’s top table. The experience of seeing this local community come together in the name of faith resonates with Amar, while for Mim, being surrounded by people embracing their faith gives him a new outlook on his own.
22	Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019) #1163 TV DRAMA-DOCUMENTARY Main 93mins C4. Benedict Cumberbatch and Rory Kinnear star in this profoundly timely, witty and compelling behind-the-scenes exploration of one of the biggest political earthquakes of recent times.
23	The Brexit Storm: Laura Kuenssberg’s Inside Story (2019) #1180 DOCUMENTARY Main 1 hour. BBC. Over nine tumultuous months, the BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg takes us inside every twist and turn of the most extraordinary political story of our time – Brexit. Cameras go behind the scenes to follow the political players and Laura as she reports on exceptional events. The film covers Theresa May's efforts to secure backing for her Chequers plan, cabinet resignations and backbench plots. We also see leadership challenges and historic parliamentary defeats, as well as a national campaign for a second referendum which causes splits within parties. With Westminster in crisis and Theresa May grappling to get her deal through, this film reveals the country's most influential parliamentarians as they battle to secure the future they want for Britain – in or out of the EU. This one-hour special takes the viewer into the centre of the Brexit storm in a highly charged and emotional battle for political victory.
24	The Unwanted: The Secret Windrush Files (2019) #1200 DOCUMENTARY Main 1 hour. BBC. David Olusoga opens secret government files to show how the Windrush scandal and the ‘hostile environment’ for black British immigrants has been 70 years in the making. The film features Sarah O’Connor, Anthony Bryan and Judy Griffith. Settled here legally since childhood, they were re-classified as illegal immigrants by new ‘hostile environment’ regulations. Unable to show proof of their nationality status, they lost jobs, savings and their health, facing deportation back to countries they could barely remember. David reveals how today’s scandal is rooted in the secrets of the past. The first Windrush generation were Commonwealth citizens - many of them ex-servicemen - coming to rebuild war-torn Britain. Yet even before arriving, they were seen by the Government with hostility. Civil servants and MPs warned of dire consequences if what they called a ‘coloured element’ was introduced into the UK. PM Clement Attlee even suggested diverting the Windrush passengers to east Africa - to pick peanuts. The same government was actively recruiting tens of thousands of white volunteer workers from Europe - some of them former members of Waffen-SS regiments which stood accused of war crimes on the Eastern Front - for ‘permanent settlement here with a view to their inter-marrying and complete absorption into our own working population’. The files expose how successive British governments spent the next decade trying to devise a way to prevent further Caribbean arrivals without appearing to discriminate against them. PM Winston Churchill, dissatisfied with ministers’ response to what he saw as a serious problem, kept the issue on the cabinet agenda and a special Working Party was set up to gather information to make the political case for immigration controls. Two weeks after the Queen’s coronation as head of the UK and Commonwealth, a secret race survey was undertaken and completed, looking for proof that Commonwealth immigrants were a burden on the Welfare State. Chief constables in major cities were asked if ‘the coloured community as a whole, or particular sections of it, are generally idle or poor workmen’, and if they were ‘addicted to drug-trafficking or other types of crime’. The Working Party found no evidence for the view that the ‘coloured community’ was less law-abiding or hard working than other Brits. When Harold Macmillan’s government introduced the 1962 Immigration Act, its control mechanism was the employment prospects of would-be immigrants. The files show how home secretary ‘Rab’ Butler, described the ‘great merit’ of the scheme was that it ‘can be presented as making no distinction on grounds of race or colour’, but would, in practice, ‘operate on coloured people almost exclusively’. By that time, Caribbean immigration had shrunk to a fraction of earlier levels. But, fearing further restrictions, the Windrush generation now arranged for their children to come. The ‘children of the Windrush' had full legal rights to join their parents in the UK, and many arrived with little paperwork or official record keeping. Successive governments passed new immigration and nationality legislation, often in response to perceived ‘problems’ or ‘crises’. Harold Wilson rushed through the 1968 Immigration Act, in just three days to stop arrivals of thousands of passport-holding British-Indians living in Kenya, whose businesses and livelihoods were threatened by its government. Edward Heath’s 1971 Act tried to restrict the legal definition of ‘Britishness’. It also placed the burden of proof on the claimant should their Britishness be challenged—a fateful clause for the ‘children of the Windrush’. Throughout the multiple changes to immigration and nationality law enacted up to 2014, the nationality status of the ‘children of Windrush’ remained unchanged and unchallenged. As British citizens with full legal rights to live here, they put down roots, pursued careers, raised children and grandchildren and contributed in ways great and small to the creation of modern Britain. But with the introduction of the so-called ‘hostile environment’ legislation of 2014 and 2016, their situation changed. Though they were never the intended targets of the new laws, the hostile environment machine that evolved over the decade wasn’t designed to make allowances. Suddenly required to prove their status (due to the 1971 Act), Sarah, Anthony and Judy found themselves unable to show the levels of proof demanded by the new ‘hostile environment’ regulations. All three lost their jobs for up to two years and ran up debt trying to make ends meet. Anthony was arrested twice by Immigration Officers and held for weeks in detention centres. Then a ticket was bought to deport him to Jamaica, a country hadn’t seen since he left, aged eight, in 1965. ‘They broke me in there’, Anthony says. ‘It was hard’. Judy Griffith, still struggling to repay her debts, says: ‘It makes you question the whole, what is British? What is Britishness?’
25	Charles I: Downfall of a King (2019) #1204 DOCUMENTARY Special 3x1 hour episodes. BBC. Historian Lisa Hilton discovers how, in just fifty tempestuous days, Charles I’s rule collapsed, laying the foundations for civil war, the loss of royal power and, ultimately, the king’s head. 1/3 Two Worlds Collide. While Charles I is in Edinburgh, Parliament passes a vote of no confidence in his rule. 2/3 A Nation Divided. Rumours of the Queen's involvement in the Irish rebellion worsen Charles's position. 3/3 The Final Showdown. The stakes are raised as Charles marches on Westminster.
26	Chasing the Moon (2019) #1205 DOCUMENTARY Special 6x50 min. BBC. The story of the race to the Moon, from the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 to Apollo 11, and the first man to set foot on the Moon, in 1969. 1/6 A Place Beyond the Sky (Part One). America's race to the moon begins with Soviet Russia's launch of Sputnik 1. 2/6 A Place Beyond the Sky (Part Two). How America's space exploration technology caught up with the Soviet Union's. 3/6 Earthrise (Part One). A training exercise ends in tragedy risking the future of America's entire space programme. 4/6 Earthrise (Part Two). Within two years of the Apollo 1 tragedy, America sent a manned light to the moon. 5/6 Magnificent Desolation (Part One). The space race takes a new twist as US astronauts compete to be the first man on the moon. 6/6 Magnificent Desolation (Part Two). The world gathers around its television sets to watch Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.
27	Greg Davies: Looking for Kes (2019) #1224 DOCUMENTARY Main 1 hour. BBC. Comedian, actor and ex-English teacher Greg Davies is a lifelong fan of Barry Hines's classic novel A Kestrel for a Knave, the story of Billy Casper training a kestrel as an escape from his troubled home and school life. In this documentary, Greg goes in search of the book's enduring appeal, travelling to Barnsley, where the book was set and where Ken Loach's famous adaptation, Kes, was filmed. See the film: #1400 In a series of encounters with Barry Hines's friends and family, collaborators and admirers, Greg offers a warm, funny and poignant tribute to a book that gave a unique voice to the working-class experience and, in Billy Casper, created a young rebel whose story continues to connect with readers more than 50 years after it was first published in 1968. In the fish and chip shop young Billy visits in Kes, now renamed Caspers, Greg meets Dai Bradley who played Billy Casper. Together they wonder what might have become of him. 'I think he would have kept that fighting spirit,' says Dai. 'There’s a lot of kids like him out there and the message of the book is that we need to find ways to harness that energy.' Greg also meets members of the local community in the working men's club, where Barry was a regular, and discovers how many characters in the book were inspired by the people he met there, including the notorious PE teacher. Ken Loach explains why the book provided such perfect source material for the film. 'The truth of the book shone through: the comedy, the use of language and dialect and, of course, the central image of a boy who is trapped, training a bird that flies free.' Greg visits the site where Barry Hines's brother, Richard, found his own kestrel, the encounter that inspired the character of Billy and the location used in the film. For the first time in 50 years, Richard flies a kestrel again. In the Sheffield University archives, Greg is thrilled to discover the original handwritten manuscript of A Kestrel for a Knave. There he meets Jarvis Cocker, another fan of the book, who discusses why the book meant so much to him 'That symbolism of escape was powerful for me growing up,' says Jarvis. 'The desire for escape has been a massive engine for creativity for people from working-class backgrounds. You want to make, write or sing something to help you escape.'
28	Yorkshire Walks (2019) #1226 DOCUMENTARY Main 4x30mins. BBC. Shanaz Gulzar seeks inspiration whilst walking through Yorkshire. 1/4 Leyburn to Bolton Castle. Shanaz Gulzar takes time out to indulge in Wensleydale and its wonderful vistas. 2/4 Heptonstall to Stoodley Pike. Shanaz Gulzar steps back in time walking through the historic village of Heptonstall. 3/4 Runswick Bay to Whitby. This historic coastal walk takes Shanaz along a stretch of the 109-mile Cleveland Way. 4/4 Bolton Abbey to Simon's Seat. The Bolton Abbey Estate provides the picturesque location for this Yorkshire Walk.
29	Dark Waters (2019) #1438 FILM Main Dark Waters: Directed by Todd Haynes. With Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman. A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution
30	McMafia (2018) #1078 TV DRAMA Special 8x1hour. BBC. Series 1. Alex Godman, the English-raised son of Russian mafia exiles, has spent his life trying to escape the shadow of their past, building his own legitimate business and forging a life with his girlfriend, Rebecca. But when a murder unearths his family's past, Alex is drawn into the criminal underworld where he must confront his values to protect those he loves. When tragedy strikes, Alex Godman finds himself drawn into the criminal world. 1/8 After a tragic event, Alex Godman is drawn into the murky world of global crime. 2/8 Alex becomes immersed in business in Prague after Semiyon convinces him. 3/8 A mysterious figure, who is not all he seems, reaches out to Alex. 4/8 Alex unlocks a way to attack Benny Chopra and Vadim in Mumbai. 5/8 Semiyon awakes to an awful accusation and Katya unravels a shocking secret. 6/8 Alex increases security as Vadim starts to close in on the Godman family. 7/8 Alex learns the dreadful price of his actions. 8/8 The final showdown takes place in Moscow.
31	Cunk on Britain (2018) #1104 COMEDY Main 5x30 min. BBC. 1/5 Philomena Cunk explores the Big Bang and interviews Robert Peston about British politics. 2/5 Philomena's odyssey takes her from King Henry VIII to Lord Horatio Nelson. 3/5 Philomena examines the Victorians and is joined by Chris Packham. 4/5 Philomena examines the early 20th century, with two world wars but no world cup. 5/5 The Arse End of History. In the final episode, Cunk has made it to the 21st century and Brexit.
32	The Debt Saviours (2018) #1137 DOCUMENTARY Main 1 hour. BBC 2. 5/10/18. Across Britain more than four million people have debts considered unsustainable. Responsibility for advising and helping these vulnerable people is increasingly falling to charities. One of the biggest is Christians Against Poverty (CAP), led by its charismatic founder, Dr John Kirkby CBE, pictured. In this access all areas documentary, director Phillip Wood (Chasing Dad, Rehab), follows Dr Kirkby and some of the charity’s debt coaches. CAP has more than 6,000 staff and volunteers around the country providing help to people who often face losing their homes. The film shows how the home visits often include an offer to pray with clients and asks whether the real motivation is debt relief or bringing people to Jesus, or both. One of the debt coaches featured is Gaz, who has overcome homelessness, dependency issues and losing a marriage before becoming a born-again Christian. He now works for CAP, and in the programme travels to meet donors in Jersey to help raise funds for the charity and to share with CAP’s clients the story of his road out of debt. Holly has been in debt all her young life and lives alone. She can barely afford to heat her home and is desperate for a change in circumstances. Her debt coach takes Holly under her wing as she tries to transform her life. Ronnie was on remand for over two years before he was found not guilty. When he was released from jail he found himself homeless and in debt. He now lives alone in a bedsit, suffers from mental health issues and thinks life in jail was better. His debt coach, Neil, introduces Ronnie to Christianity - but Ronnie isn’t sure what to think.
33	Black Earth Rising (2018) #1144 TV DRAMA Special With Michaela Coel, John Goodman, Noma Dumezweni, Lucian Msamati. Kate Ashby was rescued as a child from the Rwandan genocide by her renowned international lawyer adopted mother Eve. Living in London and working for barrister Michael Ennis, Kate's mother takes on a case involving an African militia leader which will upend both their lives forever. 8x1 hour episodes. BBC. 1/8 In Other News: British citizen Kate Ashby finds the shadow of her Rwandan past impossible to escape. 2/8 Looking at the Past: A shocking incident in the Hague throws Kate into a new investigation. 3/8 A Ghost in Name: Facing down personal threats, Kate works with Michael to defend Alice Munezero. 4/8 A Bowl of Cornflakes: A notorious war criminal appears in the UK, creating tensions between Kate and Michael. 5/8 The Eyes of the Devil: Alienated from Michael, Kate considers helping the Rwandans bring Ganimana to justice. 6/8 The Game's True Nature: Kate risks her life to find a key file prepared by her mother years earlier. 7/8 Double Bogey on the Ninth: As Michael works to expose a crime, Kate learns the truth about her own history. 8/8 The Forgiving Earth: Kate travels alone to Africa seeking the final truths about her personal history.
34	The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra - Benjamin Britten (2018) #1173 DOCUMENTARY-MUSIC Main 1 hour. BBC. Discovering...Series 1 Episode 2 of 4 Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1945) is one of the most frequently performed works of any British composer. It has introduced and enlivened the interest of whole generations of children in the instruments of the orchestra, in thrilling style. It is, however, much more than an instruction manual for youngsters. Now a classic of the concert hall, it is frequently performed to children and adults alike. Katie Derham presents a detailed analysis of the composition, and the story behind its creation, before it is performed in full by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with guest conductor Moritz Gnann in Cardiff’s Hoddinott Hall. Orchestra members explain to Katie how Britten drew on the past for themes and techniques, and reapplied them in a twentieth-century context to show off each instrument in captivating fashion. Through interviews and archive Katie learns how the piece was commissioned for a Ministry of Education film during a post-war Britain filled with the optimism and promise of building a new world that would provide high culture for all - a central tenet of Britten’s own approach; to write music that is ‘useful, and to the living’. The film demonstrates how Britten takes the orchestra apart, allowing each instrument its own variation on Henry Purcell’s theme of 250 years earlier. Through the performance we see how the 13 variations get to the essence of each instrument’s characteristics, showing each section of the orchestra at its individual best.
35	The Jews of Leeds (2018) #1183 DOCUMENTARY Main 1 hour. BBC. Film-maker Simon Glass explores his family history and tells the story of the Yorkshire Jews in the early 20th century. Thousands of migrants arrived by boat on the east coast of England and lived in a run-down slum area of Leeds known as the Leylands. Simon discovers stories of hardship and anti-Semitism, but also success and progress as many Jews moved out of the Leylands to the more affluent suburbs. He also travels to eastern Europe where he makes a shocking discovery about what happened to his relatives who did not migrate to Britain.
36	All Is True (2018) #1219 FILM Main Directed by Kenneth Branagh. With Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Nonso Anozie. A look at the final days in the life of renowned playwright William Shakespeare.
37	Mary Poppins Returns (2018) #1228 FILM Main Directed by Rob Marshall. With Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Mortimer. Decades after her original visit, the magical nanny returns to help the Banks siblings and Michael's children through a difficult time in their lives. Missing final section of the cast but at just under two hours makes standard definition.
38	Royal Shakespeare Company: Macbeth (2018) #1280 FILM Main Directed by Robin Lough. With Eve Hatz, Lauren Heaps, Elizabeth Kaleniuk, Aleksandra Penlington. Shakespeare's psychological thriller marks Christopher Eccleston's RSC debut and Niamh Cusack's return to the Company.
39	Art of France (2017) #976 DOCUMENTARY Main 3x1 hour. BBC. Andrew Graham Dixon takes viewers on a stunning visual journey through French art history. 1/3 Plus Ca Change. French art's development up to the arrival of Classicism and the Age of Enlightenment. 2/3 There Will Be Blood. Andrew Graham-Dixon explores how art took a dramatic turn following the French Revolution. 3/3 This Is the Modern World. France's angry young artists re-invent how to paint.
40	Sgt Pepper's Musical Revolution with Howard Goodall (2017) #1004 DOCUMENTARY-MUSIC Main 1 hour. BBC. Fifty years ago this week, on 1 June, 1967, an album was released that changed music history - The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. In this film, composer Howard Goodall explores just why this album is still seen as so innovative, so revolutionary and so influential. With the help of outtakes and studio conversations between the band, never heard before outside of Abbey Road, Howard gets under the bonnet of Sgt Pepper. He takes the music apart and reassembles it, to show us how it works - and makes surprising connections with the music of the last 1,000 years to do so. Sgt Pepper came about as a result of a watershed in The Beatles' career. In August 1966, sick of the screaming mayhem of live shows, they'd taken what was then seen as the career-ending decision to stop touring altogether. Instead, beginning that December, they immersed themselves in Abbey Road with their creative partner, producer George Martin, for an unprecedented five months. What they produced didn't need to be recreated live on stage. The Beatles took full advantage of this freedom, turning the studio from a place where a band went to capture its live sound, as quickly as possible, into an audio laboratory, a creative launch-pad. As Howard shows, they and George Martin and his team constructed the album sound by sound, layer by layer - a formula that became the norm for just about every rock act who followed. In June 1967, after what amounted to a press blackout about what they'd been up to, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was released. It was a sensation, immediately becoming the soundtrack to the Summer of Love - and one of the best-selling, most critically lauded albums of all time. It confirmed that a 'pop music' album could be an art form, not just a collection of three-minute singles. It's regularly been voted one of the most important and influential records ever released. In this film, Howard Goodall shows that it is the sheer ambition of Sgt Pepper - in its conception, composition, arrangements and innovative recording techniques - that sets it apart. Made with unprecedented access to The Beatles' pictorial archive, this is an in-depth exploration, in sound and vision, of one of the most important and far-reaching moments in recent music history.

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