What’s On BBC Four Today Wednesday 25 January 2023
A full run down of everything airing on BBC Four today.
19:00
Great British Railway Journeys
S10E09
Michael Portillo journeys from Glasgow to Cumbrae
19:30
The Joy of Painting
S01E09
Bob Ross paints a mountain stream
20:00
Michael Palin’s New Europe
S01E03
Transdniester, Moldova and Romania
The explorer travels to the wilder reaches of south-eastern Europe, visiting Transdniester and meeting journalist Tatiana Tibuleac in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. Crossing into the north of Romania, Michael marvels at the glories of the Byzantine painted churches of Moldovita and joins lumberjacks in the Vaser Valley
21:00
The Beginning and End of the Universe
S01E02
Professor Jim Al-Khalili considers how the universe will end
Professor Jim Al-Khalili attempts to discover how the universe will end, with a bang or a whimper? He also encounters a mysterious and enigmatic force that promises to change physics for ever
22:00
Angelou on Burns
US writer Maya Angelou goes on a pilgrimage to Burns Country in Scotland
In a documentary originally broadcast in 1995, African-American writer Maya Angelou goes on a pilgrimage to Burns Country in Scotland. She is welcomed to Ayrshire by a group of Burnsians who hold a party in her honour to celebrate Rabbie Burns’s genius. They sing his songs and read his poems, and then Angelou, in return, performs one of her own works
22:50
Beyond Burns
Jackie Kay explores the lives of some extraordinary, and often overlooked, Scottish poets
Robert Burns is beloved in Scotland and the world over, with good reason. But here, Scots Makar Jackie Kay looks to some of the other extraordinary, and often overlooked, poets that Scotland has produced, including Robert Fergusson, Margaret Tait, Liz Lochhead and Norman MacCaig. She also meets writers including Val McDermid, James Robertson and Hannah Lavery to learn more about the overlooked poets and hear some of their stunning works
23:50
Catching Britain’s Killers: The Crimes That Changed Us
S01E03
How a 1970s miscarriage of justice led to new method of police interrogation
The crime documentary reveals how a 1970s miscarriage of justice, involving three teenage boys, led to a new method of police interrogation and investigation. When the body of Maxwell Confait was found in south London, three local boys confessed to arson and murder and were consequently convicted, despite retracting their statements and protesting their innocence. However, each of their convictions were eventually overturned, which shone a light on dangerous police practices that pressured the boys to confess to a crime they did not commit
00:50
Great British Railway Journeys
S10E09
Michael Portillo journeys from Glasgow to Cumbrae
01:20
The Joy of Painting
S01E09
Bob Ross paints a mountain stream
01:50
The Beginning and End of the Universe
S01E02
Professor Jim Al-Khalili considers how the universe will end
Professor Jim Al-Khalili attempts to discover how the universe will end, with a bang or a whimper? He also encounters a mysterious and enigmatic force that promises to change physics for ever
02:50
The Lost Libraries of Timbuktu
The literary tradition of the city in Mali
Aminatta Forna presents a documentary examining the literary tradition of Timbuktu in Mali, where hundreds of thousands of manuscripts have come to light in recent years. From the 13th to the 16th centuries, the city was a renowned seat of learning, and its black African scholars were revered throughout the Islamic world
03:50
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