BBC Four HD

Jazz 625 at the BBC

Jazz 625 at the BBC is a one‑hour look back at the BBC 2 jazz series from the mid‑60s, when the new 625‑line picture was the HD of its day. It brings together classic performances by Duke

TOTP: 1999

Gail Porter hosts this Top of the Pops show from 19 Nov 1999, presenting the week’s chart hits. You’ll see performances by Geri Halliwell, Travis, Ricky Martin, A1, Stereophonics, Prince and Robbie W…

TOTP: 1999

Top of the Pops (1999), hosted by Gail Porter, plays the week’s chart hits—Robbie Williams, Whitney Houston, Blur, the Wamdue Project. It also includes performances by Cliff Richard, Texas and other …

TOTP: 1981

A vintage Top of the Pops from 1981 sees Simon Bates rolling the introductions while the likes of The Polecats, UB40, Hazel O’Connor, Coast to Coast, Adam & the Ants and Kim Carnes perform their char…

TOTP: 1986

John Peel and Janice Long host a look back at 1986’s Top of the Pops, with performances from Doctor & the Medics, Robert Palmer, The Real Thing, Tears for Fears, Pete Wylie, Spitting Image and Peter …

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

The Good Old Days

Leonard Sachs hosts this nostalgic music‑hall revue filmed at the City Varieties Theatre in Leeds. The show stars Frankie Vaughan, the comedy duo Mike and Bernie Winters, soprano Maryetta Midgley and…

Dusty

Dusty is Dusty Springfield’s 1960s variety show, first aired on BBC One on 15 August 1967. She fronts the programme with guests such as Alf Garnett (played by Warren Mitchell) and the eccentric actor…

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates

Patricia Routledge plays Hetty Wainthropp, a sharp‑witted 60‑year‑old private eye who receives a call from a retirement home resident needing help. She is backed by her cheeky assistant Geoffrey (Dom…

Ghost Trail

Hamid (Adam Bessa) belongs to a covert network of Syrian refugees tracking the regime’s fugitive leaders. The thriller follows his journey to France to confront the torturer who once held him. The ca…

This Is Joan Collins

This Is Joan Collins is a feature‑length documentary. The Dynasty star narrates her own roller‑coaster life and includes archive material and never‑seen home‑movie footage. Joan’s sharp wit guides yo…

Keeping Up Appearances

A classic sitcom that follows Hyacinth Bucket—she insists it’s pronounced “Bouquet”—as she tries to out‑shine her neighbours at every turn. Patricia Routledge nails the part, with Clive Swift as her …

Sorry!

Series 6 of the BBC sitcom *Sorry!* finds Ronnie Corbett’s shy librarian Timothy Lumsden set his sights on Liz, the bridesmaid at his friend Frank’s wedding. His domineering mum Phyllis (Barbara Lott…

The Good Old Days

Leonard Sachs hosts this nostalgic music‑hall revue filmed at the City Varieties Theatre in Leeds. The show stars Frankie Vaughan, the comedy duo Mike and Bernie Winters, soprano Maryetta Midgley and…

Dusty

Dusty is Dusty Springfield’s 1960s variety show, first aired on BBC One on 15 August 1967. She fronts the programme with guests such as Alf Garnett (played by Warren Mitchell) and the eccentric actor…

Hetty Wainthropp Investigates

Patricia Routledge plays Hetty Wainthropp, a sharp‑witted 60‑year‑old private eye who receives a call from a retirement home resident needing help. She is backed by her cheeky assistant Geoffrey (Dom…

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

African Penguin: Cool Bird in a Hot Spot

David Attenborough narrates this 14‑minute wildlife slice that follows a group of young African penguins as they waddle onto Boulders Beach, in the middle of a busy Cape Town resort. The birds try to…

Top Hat

Top Hat (1935) is a Fred Astaire–Ginger Rogers musical. An American dancer staying at a London hotel falls for the girl in the room below, but she thinks he

Poems in Their Place: Thomas Hardy

Poems in Their Place follows Dr Robert Gittings as he tracks how the Dorset landscape shaped Thomas Hardy’s verses. He brings us to Sturminster Newton, where Hardy spent two happy years. It’s a short…

Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershoi

Michael Palin embarks on a European road‑trip to chase clues about the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershoi, an artist he has long admired. He travels between London, the Netherlands and Copenhagen, loo…

The Magic of Dance with Margot Fonteyn

Margot Fonteyn offers a breezy look at how King Louis XIV’s love of dancing helped birth ballet in this 58‑minute instalment of the 1979 documentary series *The Magic of Dance*. The former prima ball…

Dance Rebels: A Story of Modern Dance

A BBC documentary that follows the mavericks who reshaped dance in the 20th century – from Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham to Merce Cunningham and Pina Bausch. It contains strong language and has wo…

Michael Palin and the Mystery of Hammershoi

Michael Palin embarks on a European road‑trip to chase clues about the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershoi, an artist he has long admired. He travels between London, the Netherlands and Copenhagen, loo…

Nobody's Perfect: The Making of Some Like It Hot

Get a behind‑the‑scenes look at how Some Like It Hot was made. The American Film Institute named it the Best Comedy ever. The documentary has archive footage and interviews with the original cast and…

How to Write a Mills and Boon: Timeshift

Literary novelist Stella Duffy is tasked with writing a Mills & Boon novel for the publisher’s 100th anniversary. With help from house editors, a veteran romance writer, and a few fans, she discovers…

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

University Challenge

Two new student teams meet in the second round of the 2022/23 University Challenge, each hoping to reach the quarter‑finals. Jeremy Paxman asks the questions and keeps the pressure high as the contes…

Only Connect

Only Connect is a quiz where teams look for links between unrelated clues. Hosted by Victoria Coren Mitchell, it pits maths graduates against word lovers in connecting‑wall, sequence and missing‑vowe…

Britain's Pompeii: A Village Lost in Time

Alice Roberts joins archaeologists at the Must Farm settlement in the Cambridgeshire Fens. The site is a 3,000‑year‑old Bronze Age village, often called Britain’s Pompeii. The team uncovers tools, te…

Art of America

Art of America is a three‑part BBC Four series where art historian Andrew Graham‑Dixon tracks the story of US art from the colonial days to the late‑19th century. He starts by looking at early Purita…

American Visions

Episode two of the eight‑part series American

Leonora Carrington: The Lost Surrealist

Leonora Carrington: The Lost Surrealist is a 57‑minute documentary that follows the life of British surrealist Leonora Carrington. She spent time with Max Ernst, André Breton and Picasso in Paris bef…

This Is Joan Collins

This Is Joan Collins is a feature‑length documentary. The Dynasty star narrates her own roller‑coaster life and includes archive material and never‑seen home‑movie footage. Joan’s sharp wit guides yo…

Only Connect

Only Connect is a quiz where teams look for links between unrelated clues. Hosted by Victoria Coren Mitchell, it pits maths graduates against word lovers in connecting‑wall, sequence and missing‑vowe…

American Visions

Episode two of the eight‑part series American

Britain's Pompeii: A Village Lost in Time

Alice Roberts tags along with archaeologists who dig a Bronze Age settlement in the Fens, often called Britain’s Pompeii. The team uncovers intact meals, flawless tools and the biggest collection of …

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

University Challenge

University Challenge is the BBC’s toughest university quiz. Two student teams go head‑to‑head on a barrage of tricky questions. In this second‑round clash, Jeremy Paxman fires the questions while the…

Only Connect

Only Connect is Victoria Coren Mitchell’s brain‑teasing quiz where teams hunt for links between seemingly unrelated clues. In this episode three history buffs go up against a trio of Welshmen, so exp…

A Tribute to Carla Lane - Artsnight

Artsnight is a one‑off look at the BBC archives. It combines off‑air interviews in which Carla Lane talks about her life and the comedy dramas she wrote. You’ll also hear her son Carl share personal …

Butterflies

Butterflies is a 70s sitcom about housewife Ria Parkinson (Wendy Craig) trying to cope with a butterfly‑obsessed husband, two teenage sons who drive her mad, and a sudden, unexpected friendship with …

A History of Britain by Simon Schama

Historian Simon Schama examines the Victorian era, showing how industrialisation overhauled the economy and how women's roles began to shift. He uses Queen Victoria and her sisters as a lens to illus…

Muhammad Ali

The first instalment of this eight‑part series follows Cassius Clay as he goes from a boastful amateur to an Olympic gold‑medallist. It shows his early fights and the swagger that set him apart, thou…

Muhammad Ali

Cassius Clay is on a mission to become the youngest heavyweight champion, and the film follows his build‑up to the showdown with the supposedly unbeatable Sonny Liston. You'll see the early days of t…

Muhammad Ali

This short documentary captures Cassius Clay as he publicly joins the Nation of Islam and adopts the name Muhammad Ali. It then tracks his 1967 draft eligibility for Vietnam. The film gives a concise…

Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali looks at the period when he was barred from the ring after he refused army call‑up. The programme doesn’t shy away from the gritty language of the time, so it’s best for adults. It gives…

Only Connect

Only Connect is Victoria Coren Mitchell’s brain‑teasing quiz where teams hunt for links between seemingly unrelated clues. In this episode three history buffs go up against a trio of Welshmen, so exp…

Leonora Carrington: The Lost Surrealist

Leonora Carrington: The Lost Surrealist is a 57‑minute documentary that follows the life of British surrealist Leonora Carrington. She spent time with Max Ernst, André Breton and Picasso in Paris bef…

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

University Challenge

The second round of University Challenge returns, with two new university teams vying for a quarter‑final spot. Jeremy Paxman is still the quizmaster and asks tough questions while the students try t…

Only Connect

Only Connect is a brain‑teasing quiz where teams look for links between seemingly unrelated clues—word puzzles, picture walls, and more. Victoria Coren Mitchell hosts, and the show often pits quirky …

Little Ships: The Miracle of Dunkirk

Dan Snow narrates the story of the tiny civilian boats that rescued troops from Dunkirk in 1940, and this year 50 of the surviving craft are sailing back to France for the 70th‑anniversary tribute. H…

The Hadron Collider: In Search of the Peace Particle

The Hadron Collider: In Search of the Peace Particle is a 59‑minute documentary that digs into the human stories behind CERN's massive particle‑physics experiment. Alex Kiehl directs; Elin Rhys produ…

Too Near the Sun

Too Near the Sun, a 1966 documentary, follows the frantic race to build the first thermonuclear weapon. It mixes archival footage with interviews from the scientists, politicians and military officia…

A Very Peculiar Practice

A Very Peculiar Practice is an 80s BBC comedy drama set in the world of Lowlands University, starring Peter Davison as the brilliant but disastrous GP Stephen Daker and has the drunken dean Jock Maca…

A Very Peculiar Practice

Set in the off‑beat world of Lowlands University, A Very Peculiar Practice follows newly separated GP Stephen.

A Very Peculiar Practice

Stephen Daker (Peter Davison) gets the rug pulled from under him when Lowlands University announces a 25 % budget cut. The cut throws the health centre into chaos. The looming axe flips his already s…

The Hadron Collider: In Search of the Peace Particle

The Hadron Collider: In Search of the Peace Particle is a 59‑minute documentary that digs into the human stories behind CERN's massive particle‑physics experiment. Alex Kiehl directs; Elin Rhys produ…

Little Ships: The Miracle of Dunkirk

Dan Snow guides you through the story of the ‘little ships’ that braved the Channel during the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation. The programme is timed to the 70th‑anniversary return of 50 surviving vessels t…

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

..programmes start at 7.00pm

This is BBC Four

The schedule kicks off at 7 pm, broadcast in HD.

University Challenge

University Challenge pits two university teams against each other in a no‑holds‑barred quiz, with Amol Rajan—who succeeded Jeremy Paxman—asking the questions. This second‑round match sees two fresh s…

Only Connect

Only Connect is a brain‑teasing quiz where two teams hunt for links between odd clues—words, pictures, numbers. Victoria Coren Mitchell hosts, keeping the pace snappy and the banter dry. If you like …

The Searchers

John Wayne plays Ethan Edwards, a bitter ex‑soldier who believes the Comanche have taken his niece and sets out on a relentless hunt to rescue her. He is joined by Natalie Wood, Vera Miles and a cast…

John Wayne: The Unquiet American - Reputations

A look at the life of John Wayne and the contradictions behind his brand of heroism. The film covers his on‑screen bravery, his battle with cancer, his dodging of WWII service, his support for the Vi…

The Blues Brothers

Jake (John Belushi) and his brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) are fresh out of prison and have just days to reunite their old R&B band and save the Catholic home they grew up in. They tear through Chicago…