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: Do You Speak English?
BBC Radio 4
Saturday 11th January, 8pm
The BBC has a long history in teaching people around the world to speak English via the World Service, soft power in action. In the 1960s, actors Brian McDermott and Anne Lawson, known to listeners Walter and Connie, were central to this work. Josephine McDermott, Brian’s daughter, traces the history of Auntie’s linguistic-educational efforts.
Between The Ears: Vincent Van Gogh In Brixton
BBC Radio 3
Sunday 12th January, 7.15pm
In the 1920s, Vincent van Gogh took lodgings at a south London boys’ school. For years, it was unclear exactly where he stayed, until in the 1970s postman Paul Chalcroft used census records to find the precise address. This documentary both tells the story of Chalcroft’s discovery and re-creates the soundscape of interwar south London.
Drama On 3: Gatsby In Harlem – pick of the week
BBC Radio 3
Sunday 12th January, 8pm
Writer Roy Williams relocates F Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age classic from Long Island to Manhattan and sets the plot against the backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance. A starry cast of Black British actors includes Ncuti Gatwa, the current Dr Who, as Gatsby. Part one of two.
SAS Rogue Heroes
BBC One
Sunday 12th January, 9pm
Sergeant Reg Seekings (Theo Barklem-Briggs) lies at the centre of tonight’s episode of the Second World War drama. He’s a man traumatised by what he’s seen and done as he and his colleagues fight on the front line. Will a burgeoning friendship provide solace?
7/7: The London Bombings
BBC Two
Sunday 12th January, 9pm
Episode three of the series tracing events in the capital 20 years ago chronicles the official investigation into what happened. This took place even as further attacks were being planned. The series also chronicles the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian man mistakenly identified as a potential terrorist. Concludes tomorrow.
Digging For Britain
BBC Two
Tuesday 14th January, 8pm
Alice Roberts travels to County Durham, where she meets a team hunting for relics dating from the time of Oliver Cromwell. In Wednesday’s episode, Roberts learns how researchers at the site of a proposed housing development have been unearthing a Roman villa. The series concludes on Thursday.
Simon Schama’s Story Of Us
BBC Two
Wednesday 15th January, 9pm
As Britain has lost its empire, how have artists sought to redefine the country’s place in the world? Helping Simon Schama to answer this question are the broadcaster Clive Myrie and Jerry Dammers of The Specials. A show that takes in the Suez crisis, Windrush and Enoch Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech.
In Our Time
BBC Radio 4
Thursday 16th January, 9am
Melvyn Bragg returns to chair 11 new episodes of the highbrow discussion series. First up, the subject is the battle of Valmy, which took place on 20 September 1792 and saw French revolutionary forces prevent the Prussian army from marching on Paris and restoring the monarchy.
Britain’s Great Cathedrals: To The Glory Of God
Channel 5
Thursday 16th January, 9pm
The Reverend Pat Allerton embarks on a two-part pilgrimage to see Britain’s most spectacular cathedrals and to reveal some of their secrets. He begins at St Paul’s, where he learns how Sir Christopher faced huge opposition from traditionalists to the idea of a domed building.
1066: Lucy Worsley Investigates
BBC Two
Friday 17th January, 9pm
The defeat of King Harold on 14 October 1066 was a pivotal moment in British, and in particular English, history. But what happened in the wake of the Norman victory at the battle of Hastings? Lucy Worsley traces how William the Conqueror consolidated his hold over England, an often brutal process.
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