What’s On BBC Four Today Monday 2 January 2023
19:00
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo continues his journey around the island of Sicily
Michael Portillo continues his journey around the island of Sicily, heading inland from Agrigento towards the picturesque but remote village of Gangi. Here, he meets a local historian and traces the story behind this notorious mafia hideout of the 1930s. Later, Michael concludes his Sicilian journey on the circular railway around Mount Etna
19:30
Winter Walks
S01E03
Simon Armitage walks the coast from Ravenscar to Robin’s Hood’s Bay
Poet laureate Simon Armitage takes a coastal walk along Yorkshire’s enchanting and historic frontier with the North Sea. Starting in Ravenscar, Simon follows a disused railway line, passing former quarries and brickworks, before walking along the beach from Boggle Hole to the picture-perfect Robin Hood’s Bay
20:00
Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream
S01E01
How Vienna became a multinational city of music, culture and ideas
Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore describes how the Habsburgs transformed Vienna into a multinational city of music, culture, art and ideas. Simon explores the Habsburgs’ rise to power and discovers more about how Vienna marked Europe’s front line in the struggle to defend both Christendom and the Catholic Church from revolutionaries who plotted to destroy them
21:00
Britain’s Lost Masterpieces
S03E01
Art experts Emma Dabiri and Dr Bendor Grosvenor travel to Tiverton in Devon
Art experts Emma Dabiri and Dr Bendor Grosvenor travel to Tiverton in Devon to investigate a small portrait of Rembrandt in the collection of a National Trust house, Knightshayes Court. The painting is thought to be a later copy of a self-portrait by Rembrandt now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, but Bendor believes it is in fact a study for the finished picture by Rembrandt himself
22:00
Michael Jayston Remembers Tinker, Tailor Soldier Spy
The actor looks back on the classic 1970s espionage drama
22:10
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
S01E01
Classic 1970s espionage drama
George Smiley’s quiet retirement from the secret service is interrupted when he is asked to undertake an undercover assignment, and discovers all is not well at the Circus. It transpires that a highly influential mole has been operating for some time. Classic 1970s espionage drama, starring Alec Guinness as John le Carre’s spymaster
23:00
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
S01E02
Smiley covers some old ground
George Smiley is told a story about spies and invited to go forwards – and backwards – over some very old ground. Second part of the classic 1970s espionage drama, starring Alec Guinness, with Michael Jayston and Hywel Bennett
23:50
Ireland to Sydney by Any Means
S01E01
Charley Boorman travels across 25 countries on different forms of transport
Charley Boorman makes his way through 25 countries, travelling by land and sea from his home in Co Wicklow to Australia on more than 100 local forms of transport. After deciding on a route that avoids the most dangerous places on Earth, he, his producer and his cameraman begin the first leg of the journey across the Irish Sea to England
00:50
Hope Street
S02E06
Sparks fly when Marlene meets an outspoken farmer who hates the police
Sparks fly when Marlene meets an outspoken farmer who hates the police, who has accused a rival of sabotaging her milking equipment. Not only does he have an alibi, but he responds with a counter accusation of dumping toxic waste. Meanwhile, a stressed-out Finn is pushed to breaking point
01:35
Great Continental Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo continues his journey around the island of Sicily
Michael Portillo continues his journey around the island of Sicily, heading inland from Agrigento towards the picturesque but remote village of Gangi. Here, he meets a local historian and traces the story behind this notorious mafia hideout of the 1930s. Later, Michael concludes his Sicilian journey on the circular railway around Mount Etna
02:05
Winter Walks
S01E03
Simon Armitage walks the coast from Ravenscar to Robin’s Hood’s Bay
Poet laureate Simon Armitage takes a coastal walk along Yorkshire’s enchanting and historic frontier with the North Sea. Starting in Ravenscar, Simon follows a disused railway line, passing former quarries and brickworks, before walking along the beach from Boggle Hole to the picture-perfect Robin Hood’s Bay
02:35
Vienna: Empire, Dynasty and Dream
S01E01
How Vienna became a multinational city of music, culture and ideas
Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore describes how the Habsburgs transformed Vienna into a multinational city of music, culture, art and ideas. Simon explores the Habsburgs’ rise to power and discovers more about how Vienna marked Europe’s front line in the struggle to defend both Christendom and the Catholic Church from revolutionaries who plotted to destroy them
03:35
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