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
Archive On 4: From Our Own Correspondent At 70
BBC Radio 4
Saturday 6th December, 8pm
For seven decades, From Our Own Correspondent has brought reflections on life abroad and analysis of foreign affairs to radio audiences. Excuse enough to gather Kate Adie, Jeremy Bowen, Lyse Doucet and Steve Rosenberg to discuss the role of foreign correspondent. Recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre. Hosted by Anna Foster.
Sandi Toksvig’s Great Riviera Rail Trip
Channel 4
Saturday 6th December, 8.05pm
The comedian and broadcaster continues her travels along the Riviera by visiting Cannes and Grasse, the latter a world centre for perfume. On the Antibes peninsula, she sups a cocktail at the hotel where F Scott Fitzgerald lived in the 1920s, a sojourn that helped inspire his final completed novel, Tender Is The Night (1934).
Apollo 1: Destination Moon – pick of the week
Channel 4
Sunday 7th December, 9.30pm
The first three astronauts selected to fly an Apollo mission were Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee. However, following a horrific fire, Apollo 1 never left the ground. A feature-length documentary that both salutes the men’s bravery and analyses how an avoidable tragedy changed how Nasa approached manned spaceflight.
Book Of The Week: Upon A White Horse
BBC Radio 4
Monday 8th December, 11.45am
The latest book from journalist Peter Ross is a travelogue taking in the ancient monuments that litter the British Isles. The first of five weekday readings takes listeners to Stonehenge at midwinter. Later episodes take in the Uffington White Horse, bog bodies, a festival in the Shetlands and a sense of “absence” at Hadrian’s Wall. Read by Andy Clark.
Civilisations: Rise And Fall
BBC Two
Monday 8th December, 9pm
There are good reasons to suppose the Aztec civilisation should have been strong enough to resist contact with rapacious Hernán Cortés and his conquistadors in 1519. So why did Moctezuma II so quickly and catastrophically lose control of his empire? As the latest episode of Civilisations recounts, royal complacency, a restive population and disease all played a part.
The Essay: Scotland In Song
BBC Radio 3
Monday 8th December, 9.45pm
Over five weekday episodes, poet Kenneth Stevens profiles five Scottish composers, each of whom worked in a different tradition. He begins with Robert Carver (1485–1570), a mysterious figure about whom little definitive seems to be known. Stevens also gives talks on Tobias Hume (c1579–1645), Sophia Dusk (1775–1831), Marjory Kennedy-Fraser (1857–1930) and Hamish MacCann (1868–1916).
What’s The Monarchy For?
BBC One
Tuesday 9th December, 9pm
Are the royals worth their price tag? It’s a “slightly indelicate” question posed by David Dimbleby as he considers how the Windsors have accrued huge amounts of personal wealth – to the extent Charles III may become the first royal billionaire. Those offering their thoughts include George Osborne, former chancellor of the exchequer.
Sally Wainwright Remembers… To Walk Invisible
BBC4
Wednesday 10th December, 10pm
The writer and director, famed for such shows as Last Tango In Halifax, Happy Valley and Riot Women, looks back at her 2016 drama about the Brontë sisters. Followed by a welcome re-run for the feature-length To Walk Invisible (10.15pm), which recounts how Charlotte, Emily and Anne saw writing in part as a way to escape a bleak situation.
The Documentary: Steel From Shipwrecks
BBC World Service
Thursday 11th December, 12.05pm
Why have parts of historic shipwrecks been disappearing in recent years? One reason may be to recover pre-atomic era steel. Such steel is free of radioactive elements and used in manufacturing specialist equipment such as MRI scanners. Materials scientist Anna Ploszajski dives into a murky business that may involve the plundering of underwater war graves.
The Food Programme
BBC Radio 4
Friday 12th December, 11am
Food historian Doctor Annie Gray is not a fan of turkey at Christmas. Are there other options? Yes, she explains, in part by heading to Bath to discover what people ate in the Regency era. Gray also cooks traditional mince pies, made using minced meat.