BBC Four

Your monthly journey through the fascinating world of space and astronomy with the latest thinking on what's out there in space and what you can see in the night sky.

BBC Young Musician (Young Musician of the Year) first appeared on our TV screens in 1978. The brainchild of BBC producers Humphrey Burton, Walter Todds and Roy Tipping, the biennial competition has developed an enviable reputation for finding superstar musicians including Nicola Benedetti, Mark Simpson and Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures are a series of lectures on a single topic, which have been held at the Royal Institution in London each year since 1825. The lectures present scientific subjects to a general audience, including young people, in an informative and entertaining manner. Michael Faraday initiated the first Christmas Lecture series in 1825. This came at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. Faraday presented a total of nineteen series in all.

The lives of two eccentric metal detectorists, who spend their days plodding along ploughed tracks and open fields, hoping to disturb the tedium by unearthing the fortune of a lifetime.

In a series of authored films, some of our most engaging experts reveal their favourite hidden objects, forgotten places and artistic passions.

Set in the corridors of power and spin, the Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.

The Late Edition was a British television programme broadcast on BBC Four. It took the form of a topical chat show in the vein of The Daily Show, presented by comedian Marcus Brigstocke. Each episode typically features comical news commentary from Brigstocke, satirical interviews with fictional political figures played by Steve Furst, 'Andre Vincent investigates' and two "real" interviews. In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Brigstocke performed a special version of the show at the Edinburgh Fringe called The Early Edition with Andre Vincent.

Newswipe with Charlie Brooker was a British news review programme broadcast on BBC Four written and presented by Charlie Brooker. It is similar to Brooker's Screenwipe series which is also shown on BBC Four. A first series of six episodes ran between 25 March 2009 and 29 April 2009. A second series began on 19 January 2010 and concluded on 23 February 2010.

Creative performance readings of iconic British novels.

The BBC's orchestras are joined by world-renowned singers and musicians at some of the UK's most beautiful concert halls, performing the best in contemporary and classical music.

Charlie Brooker's acerbic take on recent TV contains reviews of current shows, as well as stories and commentary on how television is produced.

Days That Shook the World is a British documentary television series that premiered on BBC Two on 17 September 2003. The programme features various milestones throughout history. It has been broadcast on the BBC, Discovery Channel UK, The History Channel and Viasat History. The series was also released on DVD by the Polish edition of Newsweek in 2007.

Michael Parkinson reflects on the most memorable subjects of his interviews from the 1970s and 1980s.

Comedy drama that shines a light on the day-to-day life of a family looking after their severely learning disabled girl, Rosie.

The fiendishly difficult quiz show in which two teams of three contestants have to find the connection between seemingly unrelated clues, where patience and lateral thinking are as vital as knowledge.

The World's Greatest Classical Music Festival. The BBC Proms is a classical music festival held every summer at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and in recent years has explored an innovative series of Proms around the UK with concerts in all four nations. Its aim: to bring the best in classical music to the widest possible audience, which remains true to founder-conductor Henry Wood’s original vision in 1895. Whether you are a classical connoisseur or think classical music isn’t for you, there is something for everyone in the eight-week stretch of concerts.

Take a gentle walk as familiar faces explore landscapes in Yorkshire and Cumbria in this series of immersive and intimate documentaries.

I've Never Seen Star Wars is a comedy chat show broadcast on BBC Four and BBC Two, first broadcast on 12 March 2009. Created and produced by Bill Dare and hosted by Marcus Brigstocke for the 2009 episodes & Jo Brand for the 2011 special episode, each episode features a celebrity guest trying out new experiences. Based on the original radio version broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the title comes from the fact that Dare has never seen the Star Wars films. An eight part series was recorded in March 2009, with guests including John Humphrys, Esther Rantzen, Rory McGrath and Hugh Dennis. A new host, Jo Brand, presented a December 2011 episode.

Party Animals presents Westminster from the ground up – the young researchers and advisors shouldering huge responsibility in a frantic, high-stakes world. It's no wonder their personal lives are so messy. Sons of an ex-Labour MP, Scott and Danny Foster have politics in their blood.

Brian Pern is an ageing rock star and former front-man of ground breaking progressive rock group Thotch. Like many artists of his age, rather than make new music, he spends more time trying to save the planet (including his campaign to teach gorillas how to Skype). Now, the BBC have asked him to front a major new documentary where he presents his guide to The Life Of Rock from prehistoric man to the present day.