The latest national and international news, exploring the day's events from a global perspective.
Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe tells the story of HMS Pickle, a boat that beat her bigger rivals back to Britain to deliver the news of Nelson's victory at Trafalgar. Show more
Using 40 years of BBC archive footage Dan Snow charts how the Mary Rose was discovered, excavated and raised, and what the latest research has revealed about the ship and her crew. Show more
Ensemble comedy drama. An opera star arrives at a performers' retirement home amidst fraught preparations for a fundraising concert. Her presence adds to the tension. Show more
What a Performance! Pioneers of Popular Entertainment
Episode 1: Music Hall
58 minutes
on BBC Four HD
Frank Skinner and Suzy Klein look at the birth of 19th-century music hall, the colourful world of its entertainers and the audiences whose lives were changed by it. Show more
Using 40 years of BBC archive footage Dan Snow charts how the Mary Rose was discovered, excavated and raised, and what the latest research has revealed about the ship and her crew. Show more
The Golden Age of Steam Railways
Episode 1: Small Is Beautiful
59 minutes
on BBC Four HDAvailable for years
Two-part series telling the remarkable story of a band of visionaries who rescued some of the little narrow gauge railways that once served Britain's industries. Show more
British POWs and their Japanese captors tell the story of what happened on the 'Death Railway' built to link Thailand to Burma in 1943, one of the worst atrocities of WWII. Show more
Timothy Walker looks at how 17th-century botanists made the connection between the growth of a plant and the energy from the sun - the process of photosynthesis. Show more
