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
Secrets And Lies: Mona Best And The Beatles
BBC Radio 4
Saturday 14th June, 3pm
Mona Best was a key figure in The Beatles’ early story. Not only was she the mother of the band’s pre-Ringo Starr drummer, Pete, but the band rehearsed in her cellar, aka the Casbah Coffee Club. A drama that takes in Pete’s sacking and Mona’s relationship with The Beatles’ young roadie, Neil Aspinall.
Nasa, Nazis And The Space Race
Channel 4
Saturday 14th June, 8.35pm
In the wake of the Second World War, the Americans were concerned that German and Austrian scientists might end up working for the Soviet Union. So began Operation Paperclip, which offered new lives even to scientists with Nazi pasts. As the title here suggests, experts in rocketry were among those who benefited from this second chance.
The Gold
BBC One
Sunday 15th June, 9pm
The entertaining drama about the Brink’s-Mat heist and its aftermath continues. In the first of this week’s episodes, the police, led by Brian Boyce (Hugh Bonneville), conduct surveillance of those suspected of being in possession of stolen bullion. Continues Monday 1th June.
The Invention Of Hungary
BBC Radio 4
Monday 16th June, 11am
“Brussels is abusing its power, just as Vienna once did,” claimed Viktor Orbán, earlier this year. He was referring to 1848, when Hungarians rose up against Austria. So was Hungary’s prime minister justified in drawing this parallel between present and past, or was he playing politics? Misha Glenny and producer Miles Warde investigate.
Postwar
BBC Radio 4
Monday 16th June, 1.45pm
David Runciman’s series focusing on the 1945 election and its aftermath continues. In the first of five weekday episodes, the focus is on the role of women in determining the result. For the first time ever, women represented a majority of the electorate and a record number of female MPs were elected.
Long Lost Family: Born Without Trace
ITV1
Wednesday 18th June, 9pm
The series that helps foundlings connect with their relatives returns. First up, the team helps Simon, left in a toilet block at a mother and baby home in 1966, and Lisa, placed in another baby’s pram in 1970, to research their stories. There’s more genealogy in DNA Journey (ITV1, Thursday 19th July, 9pm), featuring Julian Clary and Jo Brand.
Romola Garai Remembers… Emma
BBC Four
Wednesday 18th June, 10pm
The actor looks back at her starring turn as Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse, a young woman determined to find suitable partners for her friends. Followed by the first two episodes of the BBC’s 2009 adaptation of Emma (10.15pm & 11.15pm), which also starred Jonny Lee Miller, Michael Gambon and Tamsin Greig.
Outrageous
U&Drama
Thursday 19th June, 9pm
The aristocratic Mitford sisters, the brightest of bright young things, both fascinated and scandalised the country. Which of course makes them the perfect subjects for Sarah Williams’ new drama. We first meet the sisters in 1931, shortly before the fateful first encounter between Diana (Joanna Vanderham) and a charismatic politician, Oswald Mosley (Joshua Sasse).
Limelight: Central Intelligence – pick of the week
BBC Radio 4
Friday 20th June, 2.15pm
Kim Cattrall returns in the drama centred on Eloise Page, one of the first employees of the CIA when it was founded in 1947. In the first of 10 new episodes, it’s 1954 and the USA becomes involved in Vietnam, where Colonel Ed Lansdale, a maverick ex-advertising executive, works on novel approaches to countering communism.
Hidden Treasures Of The National Trust
BBC Two
Friday 20th June, 9pm
Cameras head to Cornwall where, at the the grand Jacobean mansion of Lanhydrock, the ceiling of the long gallery needs extensive restoration. Elsewhere, the roof and facades of the Tudor manor of Coughton Court need expert attention. Last in the series.