Spring at Jimmy’s Farm
A unique look into Jimmy Doherty’s Suffolk farm as spring bursts into life, from the safety of our homes during these unique times we’re living in.
Rebel Tongue
Writer Alistair Heather sets out on a mission to reclaim the Scots language. For decades, his fellow-Scots speakers have been mocked, their language oppressed by educators, politicians and broadcasters. One famous report claimed that ‘Scots is not the language of educated people anywhere’.
Alistair visits the Scottish Parliament to discover Scots prose and poetry hewn into the exterior decoration of the building, but scarcely a word on the interior. Yet Scots was once the tongue of most lowland Scots, of the Royal Court and great poetry. Alistair claims that the demise of the language is due to the departure to London of Scotland’s King James VI, to the received pronunciation of the BBC, and to generations of teachers insisting their pupils speak ‘proper English’.
Somehow, the Scots language survived all that. It is now one of Scotland’s three official languages, with English and Gaelic. The 2011 census indicated that one and a half million people claimed to speak Scots, making it the largest minority language in Britain. But still it is ignored. Scots receives only a fraction of the government money spent on Gaelic.
Alistair travels across Scotland, meeting activists determined to breathe new life into this ancient tongue. He sees Scots taught to enthusiastic pupils in Borders schools and hears the poetry of North East Doric recited by the local MSP. In Glasgow, writer Chris McQueer and comedian Janey Godley take pleasure in reclaiming the Scots dialect of our largest city.
In Rebel Tongue, Alistair tells the history of the language and argues that Scots is fighting back after decades of ignorance and oppression.
Kirstie: Keep Crafting and Carry On
Kirstie Allsopp shows us more crafts and skills to help us navigate these unique times.
Scotland – Contains Strong Language
Schooled in Fife, coming of age in a rock ’n’ roll band, then finding her forte was directing temperamental actors, Cora Bissett is no stranger to theatrical Scottish swearing. So who better to present a celebration of Caledonian cursing?
This documentary sees Cora sing, swear and scrutinise why Scotland swears so well. Cora begins with the first hurdle – how does one discuss swear words on the BBC? Aunty Beeb is the institution that has been historically priggish about language – always bleeping words and apologising for those that slipped through. So Cora runs a list past BBC Scotland’s head of editorial standards to see what she can get away with.
She then joins a sociolinguistics class at Glasgow University to understand why swearing offends – are the words the problem, the context, the speakers or the meaning? Next up is a visit to the Scottish National Library in Edinburgh to see William Dunbar’s epic poem The Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedie, which contains the first recorded use of the F-word.
Cora takes a bleep-and-you’ll-miss-it tour of swearing in the past three centuries, from the Reformation to the early days of Scottish broadcasting, up to more recent times, where she reveals how comedian Billy Connolly got around the censors with his concert LPs. Pastor Jack Glass labelled Billy ‘manure mouth’, but folk loved Billy’s comedy and his albums were hugely successful.
When James Kelman won the Booker prize in 1994, his novel had over 4,000 F-words. We re-examine the controversy and reaction of the literary establishment in London, who called Kelman a ‘literary savage’.
In more recent times, social media has become the stage for Scottish swearing, and at last a linguist can analyse everyday speech. It turns out that the majority of swear words are not used in an insulting context but are just part of the salty way we speak.
Limmy’s Homemade Show
Before Limmy made it onto BBC Scotland with Limmy’s Show, he became known through his own rough-and-ready funny homemade videos.
When Limmy’s Show stopped, Limmy took to Vine and YouTube, racking up millions of views for videos made on nothing more than his phone. Limmy’s Homemade Show takes the DIY style of his homemade videos – the cast of one, the staying at home and losing his marbles, the going out and about and speaking his mind – and puts it on TV.
In this episode, Limmy is thankful to be on TV and worries about what it would be like if he ever had to go back to having a real job. He spots something terrifying in his mirror that he accidentally recorded on his camera, something he claims actually happened and isn’t at all special effects. And he gives advice to all budding DJs about how to work a crowd, advice that might result in being hit by a flying bottle.
Horizon 2020: Coronavirus Special – Part 1
In just over 100 days, a new coronavirus has taken an unprepared world by storm, infiltrating every corner of the globe, sending entire nations into lockdown, killing thousands and infecting countless more. Across the world, governments are scrambling to react, hospitals are struggling to cope and an increasingly anxious public are starting to panic.
The world’s media is awash with data, information and misinformation. But what are the facts? What is COVID-19 and why is this strain of coronavirus so dangerous? What happens in our bodies when the virus attacks? How does this compare to previous pandemics? What do all the the numbers really mean, and how can data modelling help us look for an exit strategy?
This programme investigates the scientific facts and figures behind the biggest public health crisis in living memory, and explores the latest research from the frontline of the medical and scientific fightback.
Socially Distant with Susan Calman
Comedy show with Susan Calman.
Ready Steady Cook
Rylan Clark-Neal puts the next generation of chefs through their culinary paces.
Age of the Image
Documentary series in which art historian James Fox explores how the power of images has transformed the modern world. James starts at the beginning of the 20th century, when an explosion of scientific and technological advances created radical new ways of looking at the world.
Royal History’s Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley
Documentary series in which Lucy Worsley dispels the myths behind some of the key moments in British royal history.
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