History TV and radio in the UK: what's on our screens this week?
Can't decide which shows to watch or listen to this week? Here are the latest history radio and TV programmes airing in the UK that you won't want to miss
The Newsreader
BBC Two
Thursday 11th September, 9pm
The Australian drama returns for a third and final series. Set in 1989 and featuring plots set against the backdrop of major news stories, it finds TV journalists Helen Orville and Dale Jennings reaching new heights of fame. Continues on Friday (9pm) and the first two series are available via BBC iPlayer for those who want to catch up.
You’re Dead To Me
BBC Radio 4
Saturday 13th September, 10am
Dr Lucy Worsley and the actor Sally Phillips join Greg Jenner to discuss the life of Jane Austen. Expect a show that takes in Austen’s early life as a clergyman’s daughter, the books the novelist read as a teenager and her closest relationships, both familial and romantic.
Britain’s Railway Empire In Colour
Channel 4
Saturday 13th September, 8pm
Marking the 200th anniversary of the September day in 1825 when Locomotion No1 pulled a passenger train on the Stockton and Darlington line, this atmospheric two-parter uses colourised footage to tell the story of how Britain gave railways to the world. Subjects under discussion include the revolutionary nature of the locomotives built in Britain.
Archive On 4: Nine Votes That Count
BBC Radio 4
Saturday 13th September, 8pm
Mark Damazer looks back at the history of the US Supreme Court and the role it has played under different presidents. It’s a trawl through the archives that takes in Franklin D Roosevelt’s 1930s attempt to change the balance of the court, and the Warren Court’s rulings on civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Yafa Cherry Orchard
BBC Radio 4
Sunday 14th September, 3pm
Hassan Abdulrazzak’s two-part drama relocates Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece to Palestine in 1948, like early 20th-century Russia a society on the cusp of change. At the centre of events lies Selma (Lara Sawalha), who fetches up at her ancestral home as the British leave and Israel is being founded.
Rob And Rylan’s Passage To India – pick of the week
BBC Two
Sunday 14th September, 9pm
In a three-part follow-up to their hugely popular Grand Tour, Robert Rinder and Rylan Clark follow in the footsteps of EM Forster. Their tour of India begins in Delhi. Here, highlights include a visit to Chandni Chowk, one of the city’s oldest and busiest street markets, and taking in a spectacular precursor to the Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb.
King And Conqueror
BBC One
Sunday 14th September, 9.15pm
Episode five of the bromantic historical drama finds Harold Godwinson (James Norton) and Edith (Emily Beecham) putting themselves in harm’s way as they try to bargain with William of Normandy (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Meantime, things get increasingly difficult for Harold’s siblings.
Book Of The Week: The Finest Hotel In Kabul
BBC Radio 4
Monday 15th September, 11.45am
Over five weekday episodes, the BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet reads from her book telling the story of modern Afghanistan via the stories of staff at Kabul’s Inter-Continental Hotel. The first instalment takes us back to 1971, when the hotel was synonymous with luxury and sophistication.
Kevin Costner’s The West
Sky History
Monday 15th September, 1pm & 9pm
Teaming up with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Hollywood star Kevin Costner explores the often violent history of the American West. First up, we’re in Ohio in the 1790s, a time and place of huge conflict between settlers and indigenous Americans.
Great Lives
BBC Radio 4
Monday 15th September, 3pm
Never a man to make a mainstream choice, the comedian Stewart Lee selects Derek Bailey (1930–2005) as someone who lived an extraordinary life. For the uninitiated, Bailey was an avant-garde jazz guitarist whose work was synonymous with improvisation. Host Matthew Parris isn’t so sure about the quality of Bailey’s uncompromising music.
Michael Portillo’s 200 Years Of The Railways
BBC Two
Tuesday 16th September, 8pm
The week’s second offering devoted to railway history finds Michael Portillo back on the tracks. In the first episode of a two-parter, his focus is on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and themes include its role in proving how railways could be commercially viable.