BBC Two's blog

6.00pm Saturday 9 October on BBC TWO

Film maker Tim Samuels returns to the Scottish village of Comrie in Perthshire to ask the locals for their verdict on this year’s Man Booker shortlist – which for the past two years has differed from the judges’ official winner

5:55pm Saturday 9 October on BBC TWO

Film maker Tim Samuels returns to the Scottish village of Comrie in Perthshire to ask the locals for their verdict on this year’s Man Booker shortlist – which for the past two years has differed from the judges’ official winner

Television actor and vintage plane enthusiast Martin Shaw presents a documentary from the BBC which reveals brand new information about the RAF’s famous wartime Dambusters raid.

Dambusters Declassified can be seen on BBC Two at 8pm on Sunday 17 October.

Executive Producer Ian Cundall said: “Many people think they know the story of the Dambusters but the truth is even more extraordinary than the famous movie version of the raid.”

Martin Shaw, who holds his own private pilot’s licence and flies vintage Stearman trainers in which many wartime pilots learned to fly, can be seen in the documentary flying over the Upper Derwent Valley in the Peak District above Sheffield where 617 squadron famously practised their bomb runs before embarking on their mission to destroy dams in Germany during the Second World War.

He also navigates the entire wartime route from RAF Scampton – home to the original 617 Squadron – to the Ruhr Valley in Germany. Much of the flight takes place at the same extreme low level the Dambusters used to evade German guns and night fighters, thanks to a legal exemption from the Civil Aviation Authority.

Among the new information revealed by the programme is the Nazi project to build Hitler’s own bouncing bomb, with help from a British bomb captured intact and secret intelligence revealed by a downed Dambusters crewman.

Churchill took the threat of a revenge raid so seriously 5,000 troops were assigned to guard the Derbyshire dams serving the steelworks of Sheffield.

Shaw said: “This has been an amazing journey for me… I’ve learned so much about a story that I knew very well. So what have I learnt along the way? Well the Dambusters story and the men who made it possible. It’s not like the movie at all… oh, no in truth it’s a far more unbelievable, a far more amazing story than that.”

Shaw also hears from Margaret Masters, a wartime nurse who was the secret girlfriend of Dambusters leader Guy Gibson. She talks publicly for the first time about her relationship with a war hero whose fairytale marriage to a showgirl was exploited in the press for its propaganda value when the relationship was – she says – on the rocks.

6.40pm Sunday 3 October on BBC TWO

Motegi in Japan plays host to round 14 of the MotoGP season

8.30pm Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 October on BBC TWO

Hazel Irvine presents highlights from Celtic Manor as the 38th Ryder Cup reaches its dramatic conclusion

6.30pm Saturday 2 October on BBC TWO

Kevin McCloud presents live from the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize as this year’s winner is announced

Esteemed broadcaster Melvyn Bragg is to present a brand new series for BBC Two Daytime retelling the fascinating stories about how life in Britain used to be, through the film collections of the British Film Institute and regional film archives.

These films have now been restored and are available to be seen again for the first time in generations. Throughout the series, Melvyn Bragg will be touring the country in the UK’s only surviving vintage mobile cinema – a converted Sixties Bedford van, complete with a 22-seat, fully tiered cinema.

Commissioned by Daytime Controller, Liam Keelan, the show will be produced by BBC Entertainment Productions North. Each episode will focus on a different aspect of British life, highlighting the hardships and simple pleasures, as well as the enormous social changes that took place from the 1900s onwards.

The Reel History Of Britain will trace the descendants of those featured in the films, as they come face-to-face with their ancestors to discover how they lived their lives. Along the way viewers will see how ordinary British people worked, loved and lived in the 20th century, as seen through social documentaries, tourist information films, newsreels, and government propaganda films.

Liam Keelan, Controller of Daytime, says: “It’s fantastic to have such a highly respected broadcaster fronting this fascinating new series for BBC Two Daytime. It’s testament to the broad range of distinct programmes we are now commissioning for BBC Two from Great British Railways with Michael Portillo and Climbing Great Buildings with Dr Jonathan Foyle.”

Melvyn Bragg says: “At the turn of the last century one invention changed the way we recall our history forever – the motion camera. Thanks to Britain’s pioneering film-makers, we can still glimpse a world long gone.

“Most of this unique footage has never been seen before but now, more than one hundred years later, we can share the many secrets of this forgotten archive. I’m going to explore some of the most remarkable events of British history as captured on camera. Reaching back into the 20th century, this is an absorbing and entertaining insight into how we became who we are.”

Dominic Bird, Creative Director, BBC Entertainment North, says: “This is another important commission for Manchester entertainment and we are delighted to be working with BBC Two Daytime and Melvyn in bringing Britain’s forgotten worlds to life through compelling archive footage.”

On The Reel History Of Britain, Melvyn Bragg, travels back in time to reveal what life was really like for ordinary British people. In the 1900s documentary film-makers began to capture for the first time real stories of everyday life; over many decades, this passion for film-making grew in confidence and technical skill and produced an extraordinary and compelling authentic archive.

These films have now been carefully restored and are available to be seen again for the first time in generations. They showcase the people and places of Britain; their preoccupations, lifestyles and ambitions for the future. They reveal a forgotten Britain that has since changed forever.

The Reel History Of Britain is being made in Manchester by BBC Entertainment Production North for BBC Two Daytime – 6.30pm, 20x30mins and is being executive produced by Pam Cavannagh, Kieron Collins and Dympna Jackson is series producing. It will transmit Summer 2011.

8.00pm Thursday 23 September on BBC TWO

HRH The Prince of Wales takes Alan Titchmarsh on a tour of the beautiful Highgrove Estate to celebrate 30 years of Royal gardening there

9.00pm Wednesday 22 September on BBC TWO

The lives of three boys – Luke, Louis and Dominic – are followed as they leave home for the first time to begin boarding at Sunningdale prep school in Berkshire, as BBC Two’s School Season continues (topical drama Excluded and Unequal Opportunities With John Humphrys, in which he examines the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils, are also in the season this week)

The perennially popular Hairy Bikers are back, and they’re on a mission to find Britain’s best cooking family in a brand new BBC Two Daytime studio show The Hairy Bikers’ Cook Off.

Si King and Dave Myers will mix cooking, celebrity chat and their unique brand of entertainment in the 40-part series which goes into production on Monday 27 September at BBC Television Centre. It will transmit daily at 5.15pm on weekdays from Monday 25 October. Each episode will feature foodie challenges for two teams of families fighting for the title of Britain’s Best Cooking Family.

Si and Dave know that Britain is packed with families who are mad about cooking: they’re not professionals but they’ve got the skills and knowledge to create some amazing dishes. Above all, they love doing it as a family. Families from across the UK have signed up to take part in the exciting new show, ensuring an eclectic and wide reaching mix of contestants.

Celebrity guests will also join the Hairies for some revealing chat each day: Gavin Henson, Jo Wood, Charles Dance, Julia Bradbury and Bill Oddie are just some of the game guests confirmed to appear so far, all of whom will be cooking up a storm.

The show will be packed with great challenges for the families, from having to create their own unique family favourite dish to mastering a cooking skill that the bikers teach them and creating a simple dish in just seven minutes that families at home can cook along with and serve up by the end of each programme.

The Hairies comment: “We’re both thrilled to be back on daily teatime telly. The programme is an exciting mix of extraordinary ordinary families and celebrities who share a common bond of good food and cooking.

“It is a great combo of chat and recipes guaranteed to make you super hungry, with the chance to cook along and enjoy them with us every evening. And if that’s not enough to whet your family’s appetite, there are also some simple but foolproof kitchen techniques and secrets indispensable to top chefs and fanatical foodies alike and equally useful in your kitchen at home. We’re really looking forward to meeting some of our favourite celebrities – and rest assured we’ll be giving them a good grilling alongside the teatime chops!”

The series has been commissioned by Liam Keelan, Controller, BBC Daytime, who adds: “It’s fantastic to see the Hairy Bikers back on BBC Daytime. Dave and Si’s particular brand of humour and warmth as well as their skill in the kitchen will make this a must see for our audience.”

The 40×45 minute series is produced by BBC Entertainment in London. The Executive Producers are Alex McLeod and Carla-Maria Lawson.