Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/30. 3 Sept 2016

Poldark
BBC One: Sun 4 Sept 2016, 21.00 – 22.00
The BBC’s hit period drama returns with Poldark facing the hangman’s noose, an eventuality that dastardly George Warleggan would like to hasten. Can Demelza intervene and convince Justice Lister that her husband has been badly treated? http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p043pcly

Victoria
ITV: Sun 4 Sept 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 3 / 8
Episode three of the historical drama finds Victoria’s uncle, Leopold, putting forward Prince Albert as a potential husband. However, Victoria’s not so sure and seems determined to reign alone. Could this be because of her strong bond with Lord Melbourne? http://www.itv.com/hub/victoria/2a4229a0002

The Matter of the North
BBC Radio 4: Mon 5 to Fri 9 Sept 2016, 9.00 & 21.30 daily. Parts 6 to 10 of 10 weekday episodes, Melvyn Bragg celebrates the history and the culture of northern England. Subjects under consideration include the industrial revolution, George Stephenson, the rise of Manchester and radical movements that sprang from the region, including Chartism: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07tczl3/broadcasts/upcoming
Previous episode podcasts: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07tczl3/episodes/downloads

Pepys: After the Fire
BBC Radio 4: Mon 5 to Fri 9 Sept 2016, 10.45 & 19.45 daily. Five weekday episodes.
Samuel Pepys diary focuses on the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1666.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07sy331

London 1666
BBC Four: Mon 5 Sept 2016, 20.30 – 21.00.
Creative company Artichoke is helping to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London with a series of arts spectacles. It features coverage of the company torching a 120m-long representation of the skyline of 17th-century London. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07v642t

Ripper Street
BBC Two: Mon 5 Sept 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 3 / 7. Some Conscience Lost.
The Victorian-era police procedural continues with Inspector Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen) back at H Division. This week he’s drawn to the case of a distressed woman who claims to have lost her child, in a story that revolves around the cruelties of the workhouse system. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b079ctc9

Illuminations: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings.
BBC Four: Tue 6 Sept 2016, 20.00 – 21.00. Repeat of 2012 series. Episode 3 of 3: Libraries Gave Us Power
In this episode, the story of the British Library’s Royal Manuscripts collection reaches its end with the last great flowering of illumination, in the magnificent courts of the Tudors. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01b4v8t

Making History
BBC Radio 4: Tue 6 Sept 2016, 15.00 – 15.30
Helen Castor is joined by Stephen Chalke and former Sussex cricket captain John Barclay to discuss the origins and rather odd structure of English (and Welsh) county cricket. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07pgvjv

The Bastard Executioner
History Channel: Tue 6 Sept 2016, 22.00 – 23.00. 6 / 10: Piss Profit/Proffidwyr Troeth
Historical drama series set in the Middle Ages. The King’s right hand visits Ventrishire on official Royal business. Milus enlists Wilkin to go on a covert mission to retrieve a valuable artifact.
http://www.history.co.uk/shows/the-bastard-executioner/episode-guide/the-bastard-executioner

Sources: Radio Times / History Extra