BBC One's blog

The reality of how war touches all of our lives, past and present, is to be told in a week of special programmes commemorating Remembrance Sunday on BBC One Daytime.

Remembrance Week, presented by Rav Wilding (Crimewatch, Helicopter Heroes), will feature interviews with people whose incredible stories span decades and conflicts, from the Second World War through to the current Afghan conflict.

Celebrating the courage and bravery of the people involved, it will hear directly from serving and retired members of the UK Armed Forces, as well as civilians and their families. It will also reveal stories from those touched and affected by war in different and sometimes unusual ways, from miners and teachers on the home front, to those who nursed and entertained the troops on the frontline.

Each episode will include feature interviews, archive footage, personal photos, letters and diaries right through to recent conflicts such as the Falklands, Balkans and Gulf Wars.

Rav Wilding says: “Remembrance Week will not only reveal the incredible and emotive stories from individuals who have fought and are still fighting, but also be an uplifting and inspiring series about bravery, camaraderie and companionship. As an ex-soldier myself, supporting our troops is so important to me so I’m thrilled to be presenting such an important series.”

Liam Keelan, BBC Daytime Controller, who commissioned the series says: “BBC Daytime is proud to be devoting a week of special programming to mark Remembrance Day. It will be filled with stories of courage, emotion and sacrifice right through to the present day. The series reflects our commitment to bring the daytime audience more programmes which delve into social history as well as the issues they care passionately about.”

The BBC executive producer is Gerard Melling, and the 5×45′ series for BBC One Daytime is being made by Fever Media. The executive producer for Fever Media is David Mortimer.

2.30pm Monday 28 June on BBC ONE

The 2010 World Cup reaches the knockout stages as 16 teams remain in the competition, with the BBC having first pick of the round of 16 and quarter-final matches (please note, exact games shown will not be known until the group stages are complete).

Calling all entrepreneurs. Win an opportunity of a lifetime. Lord Sugar is ready to set up a new business with an initial investment worth a quarter of a million pounds

In a climate where small businesses are being encouraged to get the country’s economy back on its feet, Lord Sugar today announced a twist to the 2011 series of The Apprentice.

Next year’s successful Apprentice will no longer win a £100K job working in one of Lord Sugar’s businesses. Instead, Lord Sugar will set up a new business with an initial investment worth £250,000 – a life-changing opportunity in this time of economic hardship when re-growth and long-term commitment are the key to financial recovery.

The winner, whether a keen business rookie or someone who’s had several years of experience, will choose the type of business they want to set up – be it a digital online firm, catering company or fashion accessories line. Lord Sugar is looking for an Apprentice with the flair and drive to build a business, which he will jointly own with the winner, each taking a 50% interest. Lord Sugar will be mentoring and guiding his winning Apprentice, bringing with him over 40 years of his own business experience to help the business take its first fledgling steps.

Lord Sugar comments: “In the past years I was searching for a candidate to employ, now I am looking for a business partner. The good news is they won’t have to put any money into the new company, I will. With an injection of £250,000 of value into this start up company, this is an amazing opportunity for someone who will choose the type of business it will be. I will be looking for a person with some expertise who can demonstrate they have a good understanding of all facets of business, so as to take this venture to another level.”

With the stakes set higher than ever, Lord Sugar and his eagle-eyed advisors, Nick Hewer and Karren Brady, will be watching how the 16 eager new apprentices perform 12 challenging tasks – each striving to prove they have the commercial acumen and skill to be worthy of entering into a business with Lord Sugar as winner of The Apprentice 2011.

It’s not too late for those budding apprentices who would still like to apply to take part in the next series of BBC One’s The Apprentice Series 7 (which will broadcast in 2011). They should log onto bbc.co.uk/apprentice. The closing date for applications is 30 June 2010.

Transmission date for Series 7 is yet to be confirmed. However, Series 6 of The Apprentice will broadcast later this Autumn on BBC One.

The Apprentice is a talkbackTHAMES production for BBC One. Michele Kurland is executive producer, Mark Saben is series editor. Jo Wallace is the executive editor for the BBC.

Jo Woodcock (All The Small Things) and Becci Gemmell (Home Time) return as land girls Bea and Joyce in the new, five-part series of the award-winning Land Girls, for BBC One Daytime.

They’re joined by newcomer Seline Hizli, who plays streetwise, cockney land girl Connie Carter, who causes mayhem from the moment she arrives on the farm.

Created by Roland Moore, the highly-popular and award-winning drama returns for a second series set in the rural Forties and continues to follow the lives and loves of the land girls doing their bit for Britain in the Women’s Land Army (WLA).

Additional new faces joining the cast are Clive Wood (London’s Burning), who plays millionaire American businessman Jack Gillespie; Raquel Cassidy (Lead Balloon, Teachers) as Lady Hoxley’s sister, the fun-loving Diana Granville; and Liam Garrigan (The Pillars Of The Earth, Holby, The Chase), who plays the young and charming Rev Henry Jameson.

Other familiar faces returning for the new series include Sophie Ward as Lady Hoxley, Mark Benton as Farmer Finch, Danny Webb as Sgt Tucker, Susan Cookson and Mykola Allen as Esther and her son, Martin, and Liam Boyle as Billy Finch.

Against the backdrop of war weary Forties Britain, Land Girls is again set on the Hoxley estate – at the run-down Pasture Farm and the opulent Hoxley Manor – and several months have passed since the end of the last series.

Bea, now a farmer’s wife and mother, and land girl Joyce, are joined at Pasture Farm by new land girl Connie. As the women work hard on the land, serving their country, the drama follows them as they live out their lives in the shadow of war.

Liam Keelan, Controller of BBC Daytime, says: “It’s wonderful to have so many of our original cast returning for the second series of our award-winning drama, as well as some exciting new names, too. The first series proved to be hugely popular, pulling in audiences of more than two million with its warm, uplifting, but also compelling, story.

He adds: “The first series of Land Girls was something completely new for our viewers, as it was the first period drama commissioned and shown for the BBC One Daytime audience. This second series is part of BBC Daytime’s ongoing commitment to produce more quality original British drama, which we know our audiences love.”

Becci Gemmell plays the fiercely patriotic and eternally optimistic Joyce who, at the end of the last series, was briefly reunited with her husband, John, before he was forced to join the dangerous bomber command.

Jo Woodcock plays Bea, who is married to Billy (played by Liam Boyle). She has a six-month-old son, the result of being seduced and having a one-night stand with an American GI. Despite this, Bea and Billy are now happily married, but new arrivals in Helmstead lead to cracks appearing in their marriage.

Seline Hizli plays Connie, a feisty, opinionated, young cockney. Prone to telling tall stories, it is hard to know who the real Connie is, as she causes mayhem everywhere she goes. But, after she meets the Rev Henry Jameson (played by Liam Garrigan), will she come good in the end?

Sophie Ward plays Lady Ellen Hoxley, the lady of the manor. Widowed at the end of the last series she is coping well with bereavement, as she never had a deep love for her husband, Laurence, and is free of his secret.

Ellen now has her sister, Diana (played by Raquel Cassidy), staying with her. The two women are very different and bicker continually – within the confines of “proper” behaviour, of course.

The arrival of American businessman Jack Gillespie (played by Clive Wood) attracts attention from them both – leading to an upper-class love triangle.

Susan Cookson plays Esther Reeves and Mykola Allen plays her son, Martin. Along with the land girls, who Esther looks after, they live at Pasture Farm with Frederick Finch (played by Mark Benton). When Martin falls victim to a nasty accident, Esther is faced with a moral dilemma to save her son.

Danny Webb plays Sgt Tucker, arrested at the end of the last series for the murder of Lord Hoxley. As the case falls apart he is released, but faces the struggle of having to rebuild his life.

Land Girls is again being made by the team behind BBC Birmingham’s award-winning Doctors, and is being filmed on location in and around the West Midlands.

The executive producers are Will Trotter and John Yorke and the producer is Erika Hossington.

12.30pm Sunday 27 June on BBC ONE

Jake Humphrey presents live coverage of the European Grand Prix as the streets of Valencia host the race for the third time (Qualifying can be seen on Saturday).

Sir Terry Wogan is set to embark on a fascinating landmark journey in a brand new two-part documentary, Terry Wogan’s Ireland, for BBC One. After 40 years, one of Britain’s best loved broadcasters is going back to his homeland.

This two-part series will offer a unique insight into Sir Terry’s early years and follow him as he travels around Ireland from the south to the north. Along the way he’ll meet old friends, as he steps back into his past to explore how Ireland helped shape him. He’ll journey across a stunning landscape, through towns and villages dominated and irrevocably changed by their historic and political past. He’ll meet the people of a new Ireland and look forward to what it means to be Irish in the 21st century.

Cardiff-based Presentable will produce the two 60-minute programmes for BBC One. Terry Wogan’s Ireland will be filmed later this month in HD and will air on BBC One in 2010. It will be executive produced by Martyn Ingram and Teresa Watkins, and directed by Christopher Bruce.

Terry Wogan’s Ireland has been commissioned by Charlotte Moore, BBC Commissioning Editor for Documentaries, and is being made through BBC Cymru Wales.

Maxine Watson, BBC Commissioning Executive, says: “Terry is the perfect person to take us on this journey. He, like millions of Irish people before him, may have settled elsewhere, yet across the diaspora there remains a strong sense of Irish identity.”

Terry Wogan is currently presenting Weekend Wogan, the second series of which is on every Sunday on BBC Radio 2 between 10am-1pm. Watch programme highlights each week on bbc.co.uk/radio2.

2:15pm Wednesday 23 June on BBC ONE and BBC HD

It could be crunch time for Fabio Capello’s men as England play their final group match against Slovenia, with a place in the last 16 at stake (live coverage of the 2010 Fifa World Cup continues throughout the week as the group games enter their final stages)

12:00pm Monday 21 June on BBC ONE

John McEnroe, Sue Barker, Tim Henman and Boris Becker serve up ace coverage on the BBC as the 2010 Wimbledon Championships get under way.

For the past five weeks, 10 young candidates from across the UK have faced an education like no other as they embarked on a series of tough tasks that pushed their business skills to the limit, in BBC One’s Junior Apprentice. The tasks were challenging, demanding and tough – and there could only ever be one winner.

Seventeen-year-old A-Level student Arjun Rajyagor beat off stiff competition from nine other talented teens to land the title Junior Apprentice and access to a £25,000 fund, which will go towards kick-starting his business career. He becomes the first ever Junior Apprentice and will now continue to concentrate on his education before developing his future career.

In last Thursday’s final task, Arjun and fellow A-Level student Tim Ankers worked together on Team Instinct opposite the final two girls, Zoe Plummer and Kirsty Cleaver, who led Team Revolution.

The teams were tasked with creating their own brand of bottled water. They had to come up with a name, develop the product identity and film a TV advert complete with jingle before presenting their prototype to leading industry experts – and Lord Alan Sugar.

Tim and Arjun and their team – consisting of Emma Walker, Rhys Rosser and Adam Eliaz – developed a simple product and a straightforward brand identity in place with “A Bottle of Water”. Their confident pitch was made even stronger with their assured response to questions from the floor, impressing the experts and Lord Sugar.

Meanwhile, Zoe and Kirsty’s team – consisting of Jordan De Courcy, Hannah Cherry and Hibah Ansary – developed a brand aimed at the youth market with a stylish design, but a mixed consumer message. The experts were impressed with their presentation, but concerned that suggesting their water could be of benefit to people’s health was unjustified.

In the nail-biting final boardroom scene, Lord Sugar expressed just how blown away with their efforts he was as he told them: “The presentations that both teams put on were absolutely incredible. You are an inspiration.”

Lord Sugar told Zoe and Kirsty that he thought their TV advert “looked like a mugging on a council estate,” and Zoe responded by saying: “What’s already out there are numerous, countless bottles of simple water. We wanted to go for something bold, something fresh and something that targets a market that hasn’t already been targeted.”

He told Tim and Arjun: “The bottle of water was very simple, very defined and quite clearly I understood the concept. The marketing idea didn’t quite come off that well, the pitch wasn’t that great but the professionals were very, very, very impressed.” Arjun and Tim were keen to show Lord Sugar that they worked well as a team, with Arjun saying: “[Tim] sourced the ideas and I brought them to life – we worked well together.”

After some careful deliberation, Lord Sugar told the girls: “Ladies, your business model was flawed in the target market that you chose. On balance, I’m sorry to say that your team has lost. It’s a hard loss because I can’t stop going on about how impressed I’ve been with both of you throughout the whole of the contest. I know you’re going to be successful and I want you to go on and do what you’re good at doing.”

He went on to tell Kirsty: “You want to be a little more upfront and not so much of a busy bee behind the scenes,” and said to Zoe: “You’ve got it all, you just need to get that character right.”

The boys won the task, but Lord Sugar was left with a tough decision. After consulting Nick and Karren, he made his final verdict as he told them:

“Arjun, I’ve spoken of your apparent soft nature, your clear academic qualifications. My concerns about you adapting and trying to show that you can actually come up with that seed and spark of an idea that is needed in business.

“Tim, you started off, we were a bit concerned about you, to be honest with you. There were times when I was really tossing up in my mind if you should be on your way home.

“It’s a tough choice. And I’m not going to worry about the runner-up, because I know that the runner-up is going to succeed anyway.”

For decades a supporter of young people in business, Lord Sugar decided to give 10 of the UK’s most ambitious and driven teenagers the opportunity of a lifetime, and he wasn’t disappointed.

Over 28,000 applied, only 10 made the cut. Lord Sugar’s search for his first Junior Apprentice has come to an end.

After the final, Arjun said: “It’s been an amazing opportunity and I can’t believe I’m the first Junior Apprentice. It’s absolutely mind-blowing and it hasn’t even set in yet. Tim was the greatest opponent anybody could have ever wanted. My parents are so ecstatic and I hope I’ve done them proud. To think of the amount of opportunities this will open up for me is just amazing.”

Lord Sugar said: “Arjun has that natural business flair combined with intelligence that some people are born with – you can’t learn it. I know that Arjun is going to become the best at whatever he wants to do and I will be here for support all the way. I was so impressed with all of the candidates – they were outstanding for their age – but there had to be just one winner, and Arjun has done himself and his family proud.”

On runner-up, Tim, Lord Sugar said: “It was a very tough choice – Tim is a very bright lad whose family and friends should take great pride in seeing how well he did in such a tough contest. I know that he is going to succeed in whatever he chooses to do. Any time he wants to call me for any advice he’s genuinely more than welcome to, 24/7.”

Tim said: “It is always hard coming so close to first after such a long process, but to have been placed below such a capable candidate as Arjun makes it a lot easier. I wish him all the best for the future and intend to stay close friends with him.

“For me, now, concentrating on my A-Levels is paramount and I could also do with a good offer of employment! It was such an enjoyable experience – one which I will never forget.”

Kirsty said: “It is disappointing. I got so close but, at the end of the day, I’ve learnt so much from this experience and I’m leaving this with my head held high. It’s just amazing to think how far I have come.”

Zoe said: “I came here to prove my business mind, my business acumen, my intuition and skills and that is what I did. I may have fallen slightly short of the last hurdle here but that doesn’t mean that it’s the end of me. I’m going to keep on working and be a success in business.”

Arjun is in the process of completing his A-Levels whilst continuing to run his computer repair business from home. He has received a conditional offer to study engineering science at Oxford University and hopes to one day become his own boss of an electrical engineering company.

Arjun Rajyagor

Age: 17

Education: A-Levels in physics, maths and systems & control, AS-Level further maths

Lives: Essex

Self-confessed maths fanatic Arjun loves computers – he built his own aged 12 and now runs a repair business from his bedroom.

He says: “Always look at the end goal and find a way to get there. Do what has to be done and never allow yourself to look back in regret.”

4.00pm Sunday 13 June on BBC ONE

Jake Humphrey presents live coverage of the Canadian Grand Prix (Qualifying can be seen on Saturday)