TV
FACTUAL PROGRAMMES
Mind Of A Murderer uses the latest research in brain science and brain chemistry to find out what makes people kill. Compelling and sometimes disturbing, the series uses real-life murder cases and the work of leading neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and biochemists to explore recent thinking on the causes of violence. It also considers how murderers can best be treated and managed.
In David Hockney - Secret Knowledge the UK’s most celebrated painter turns TV presenter for an Omnibus special. He demonstrates his own astonishing discovery that cameras were in use by artists 400 years before the birth of photography: the inventors of photography merely replaced the canvas with photosensitive paper. Hockney illustrates his theory with great works by da Vinci, Caravaggio, Van Eyck and Bellini.
And in Battlefields eminent historian and brilliant storyteller Professor Richard Holmes brings military history to colourful life as he personally explores what ordinary servicemen had to face in four major military campaigns. By following in their footsteps in Egypt, Holland, Italy and Germany, he learns what they had to contend with, not only from the enemy but also from the terrain and the climate. He produces a clear analysis of four turning points in World War II: El Alamein, Monte Cassino, Arnhem and Bomber Command’s campaign against civilian Germany.
Other factual highlights for autumn include the return of Louis Theroux, who has close – and topical - encounters with Chris Eubank, Anne Widdecombe and Neil and Christine Hamilton; The Secret Life of the Office reveals how people really behave at work; Adam Hart-Davis finds out What The Victorians Did For Us; Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen charts the history of Taste; Wild Africa showcases the wildlife of the ancient continent; and the BBC’s flagship religion and ethics strand Everyman moves to BBC TWO in a peak time slot.
DRAMA
BabyFather, adapted by Avril Russell from Patrick Augustus’s acclaimed novel, stars David Harewood, Wil Johnson, Fraser James and Don Gilet as a group of modern men coming to terms with relationships, parenthood and growing up. "It’s immediate, sexy, emotional and bang at the heart of the Britain we all now live in," says Jane Root. Holby City star Angela Griffin also features and Alrick Riley, whose previous credits include The Cops, directs the series.
Band Of Brothers is the powerful story of Easy Company, a crack US paratroop unit who served in the Second World War. Their story is brought vividly to life in this BBC/HBO co-production, based on the non-fiction best seller by historian Stephen Ambrose. This sweeping true-life saga has an impeccable pedigree - Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are executive producers, and Damian Lewis, David Schwimmer, Dexter Fletcher and Donnie Wahlberg star. Jane Root says, "I was one of the first people at the BBC to see the Band Of Brothers scripts and am thrilled it’s going to have its first transmission on the channel, with a narrative repeat on BBC ONE. It’s a brave and complex piece and, given our reputation for history, is perfect for the BBC TWO audience. It also nicely complements Battlefields."
Other drama highlights include the return of the ground breaking dot.com drama attachments and a new piece from multi-award winner Dominic Savage, When I Was 12, which highlights the growing number of disaffected children taking to a life on the streets.
ENTERTAINMENT
Fans of the small comic masterpiece Marion & Geoff and its ever-optimistic star, mini-cab driver Keith, will witness the fateful barbecue when Keith finally realised the nature of the relationship between his wife, Marion, and her work ‘colleague’, Geoff, in A Small Summer Party. A Small Summer Party takes away Keith’s rose tinted spectacles and replaces them with a camcorder view of the day his life - and his marriage - fell apart. Rob Brydon is Keith and Steve Coogan plays Geoff, seen for the first time on screen.
In his first project since signing exclusively with the BBC, the multi-talented Johnny Vaughan makes his TV comedy writing and acting debut in ’orrible, playing Paul Clark, part time minicab driver and full time fantasist. A bit part player in the seedy underworld of London, Paul dreams of wealth and respect and thinks of himself as ‘The Don’. In reality he still lives with his mum, has only one friend, and all his schemes go wrong. Co-written with Ed Allen, ’orrible brings the low life into sharp focus, decorates it with cheap jewellery and tops it off with a baseball cap.
The critically acclaimed and Silver Rose of Montreux winning comedy Coupling returns to BBC TWO this autumn for a new series. Written and produced by the husband and wife team Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue, Coupling stars Jack Davenport, Sarah Alexander, Richard Coyle, Kate Isitt, Ben Miles and Gina Bellman as six friends making their way across the minefield of love and relationships
Other entertainment highlights include Mr Charity, starring Stephen Tompkinson as the world’s least charitable man, who unfortunately happens to run a charity shop. The successful I nostalgia strand continues with I Kung Fu and BBC TWO premieres the first ever martial arts game show, Masters Of Combat, made by the creators of the phenomenal Robot Wars.
LEISURE PROGRAMMES
"We were the first to understand that leisure, and programmes about it, were at the heart of aspirational modern Britain, but it’s important to keep moving the genre on to make sure the viewers are constantly getting something different and interesting," says Jane Root.
The channel that introduced Two Fat Ladies to TV viewers now brings them two thin ones in What Not To Wear. Fashionistas Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine set to work on members of the public who have been nominated for their unfortunate dress sense by their friends. Not backwards in coming forwards, Trinny and Susannah have the guts to speak the unpalatable truth to transform fashion ugly ducklings into stylish swans.
Would Like To Meet is a very BBC TWO take on dating as each week Lowri Turner and her team attempt to change the lives of people who are unlucky in love, homing in on body language, styling, confidence and communication skills.
Other leisure highlights include the return of audience cookery favourites Jamie Oliver and Ainsley Harriott.
Mind Of A Murderer uses the latest research in brain science and brain chemistry to find out what makes people kill. Compelling and sometimes disturbing, the series uses real-life murder cases and the work of leading neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and biochemists to explore recent thinking on the causes of violence. It also considers how murderers can best be treated and managed.
In David Hockney - Secret Knowledge the UK’s most celebrated painter turns TV presenter for an Omnibus special. He demonstrates his own astonishing discovery that cameras were in use by artists 400 years before the birth of photography: the inventors of photography merely replaced the canvas with photosensitive paper. Hockney illustrates his theory with great works by da Vinci, Caravaggio, Van Eyck and Bellini.
And in Battlefields eminent historian and brilliant storyteller Professor Richard Holmes brings military history to colourful life as he personally explores what ordinary servicemen had to face in four major military campaigns. By following in their footsteps in Egypt, Holland, Italy and Germany, he learns what they had to contend with, not only from the enemy but also from the terrain and the climate. He produces a clear analysis of four turning points in World War II: El Alamein, Monte Cassino, Arnhem and Bomber Command’s campaign against civilian Germany.
Other factual highlights for autumn include the return of Louis Theroux, who has close – and topical - encounters with Chris Eubank, Anne Widdecombe and Neil and Christine Hamilton; The Secret Life of the Office reveals how people really behave at work; Adam Hart-Davis finds out What The Victorians Did For Us; Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen charts the history of Taste; Wild Africa showcases the wildlife of the ancient continent; and the BBC’s flagship religion and ethics strand Everyman moves to BBC TWO in a peak time slot.
DRAMA
BabyFather, adapted by Avril Russell from Patrick Augustus’s acclaimed novel, stars David Harewood, Wil Johnson, Fraser James and Don Gilet as a group of modern men coming to terms with relationships, parenthood and growing up. "It’s immediate, sexy, emotional and bang at the heart of the Britain we all now live in," says Jane Root. Holby City star Angela Griffin also features and Alrick Riley, whose previous credits include The Cops, directs the series.
Band Of Brothers is the powerful story of Easy Company, a crack US paratroop unit who served in the Second World War. Their story is brought vividly to life in this BBC/HBO co-production, based on the non-fiction best seller by historian Stephen Ambrose. This sweeping true-life saga has an impeccable pedigree - Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are executive producers, and Damian Lewis, David Schwimmer, Dexter Fletcher and Donnie Wahlberg star. Jane Root says, "I was one of the first people at the BBC to see the Band Of Brothers scripts and am thrilled it’s going to have its first transmission on the channel, with a narrative repeat on BBC ONE. It’s a brave and complex piece and, given our reputation for history, is perfect for the BBC TWO audience. It also nicely complements Battlefields."
Other drama highlights include the return of the ground breaking dot.com drama attachments and a new piece from multi-award winner Dominic Savage, When I Was 12, which highlights the growing number of disaffected children taking to a life on the streets.
ENTERTAINMENT
Fans of the small comic masterpiece Marion & Geoff and its ever-optimistic star, mini-cab driver Keith, will witness the fateful barbecue when Keith finally realised the nature of the relationship between his wife, Marion, and her work ‘colleague’, Geoff, in A Small Summer Party. A Small Summer Party takes away Keith’s rose tinted spectacles and replaces them with a camcorder view of the day his life - and his marriage - fell apart. Rob Brydon is Keith and Steve Coogan plays Geoff, seen for the first time on screen.
In his first project since signing exclusively with the BBC, the multi-talented Johnny Vaughan makes his TV comedy writing and acting debut in ’orrible, playing Paul Clark, part time minicab driver and full time fantasist. A bit part player in the seedy underworld of London, Paul dreams of wealth and respect and thinks of himself as ‘The Don’. In reality he still lives with his mum, has only one friend, and all his schemes go wrong. Co-written with Ed Allen, ’orrible brings the low life into sharp focus, decorates it with cheap jewellery and tops it off with a baseball cap.
The critically acclaimed and Silver Rose of Montreux winning comedy Coupling returns to BBC TWO this autumn for a new series. Written and produced by the husband and wife team Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue, Coupling stars Jack Davenport, Sarah Alexander, Richard Coyle, Kate Isitt, Ben Miles and Gina Bellman as six friends making their way across the minefield of love and relationships
Other entertainment highlights include Mr Charity, starring Stephen Tompkinson as the world’s least charitable man, who unfortunately happens to run a charity shop. The successful I nostalgia strand continues with I Kung Fu and BBC TWO premieres the first ever martial arts game show, Masters Of Combat, made by the creators of the phenomenal Robot Wars.
LEISURE PROGRAMMES
"We were the first to understand that leisure, and programmes about it, were at the heart of aspirational modern Britain, but it’s important to keep moving the genre on to make sure the viewers are constantly getting something different and interesting," says Jane Root.
The channel that introduced Two Fat Ladies to TV viewers now brings them two thin ones in What Not To Wear. Fashionistas Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine set to work on members of the public who have been nominated for their unfortunate dress sense by their friends. Not backwards in coming forwards, Trinny and Susannah have the guts to speak the unpalatable truth to transform fashion ugly ducklings into stylish swans.
Would Like To Meet is a very BBC TWO take on dating as each week Lowri Turner and her team attempt to change the lives of people who are unlucky in love, homing in on body language, styling, confidence and communication skills.
Other leisure highlights include the return of audience cookery favourites Jamie Oliver and Ainsley Harriott.
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