The Hidden Wilds of the Motorway, BBC Four review - mysteries and marvels of the M25

★★★ THE HIDDEN WILDS OF THE MOTORWAY, BBC FOUR Mysteries and marvels of the M25

Naturalist Helen Macdonald takes an imaginative journey around London's orbital motorway

The nightmarishness of the M25 motorway is well known, especially if you get stuck on the Heathrow section on a wet Sunday night, but as she perambulated around the motorway’s circumference for this idiosyncratic BBC Four documentary, naturalist Helen Macdonald showed us how skilfully nature deals with man-made monstrosities.

New Music Lockdown 12: Glastonbury Festival Special

NEW MUSIC LOCKDOWN 12 Glastonbury Festival special

Check out the wealth of online happenings that make up Glastonbury 2020

This morning at 9.00 AM would be when Worthy Farm opened its gates to the hedonistic hordes. The weather is scorchio and Glastonbury 50 would have been such a party. Instead, that will all be Glastonbury 2021. So right now, those who love their annual Pilton pilgrimage need to get inventive: the festival and the BBC have laid on a feast of allsorts. It’s about to kick off. Let’s get amongst it…

Unprecedented, BBC Four review - perspectives on the pandemic

★★★★ UNPRECEDENTED, BBC FOUR Perspectives on the pandemic

Playwrights find different ways to approach an unfathomable crisis

This short series of new dramas (on BBC Four) by a group of leading playwrights was commissioned by Headlong and Century Films, a week before the virus lockdown was announced on 23 March, and represents an artistic first response to a situation nobody can fully comprehend.

'If they had been any closer my face would have misted up': filming 'Men at the Barre'

FILMING 'MEN AT THE BARRE' Director Richard Macer on his exclusive access to the Royal Ballet's male stars

The director Richard Macer had exclusive access to the male stars of the Royal Ballet. He describes what he discovered

“That’s Marcelino Sambé, he’s wonderful,” said the artistic administrator of the Royal Ballet as I followed her down one of the many corridors that weave throughout the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. “He’s a newly promoted Principal, a very special talent indeed!” I looked over my shoulder at the figure disappearing through some doors.

Arena: The Changin' Times of Ike White, BBC Four review - musical mystery becomes personal

The 'true' stories of an almost-star

The most obvious comparison for The Changin’ Times of Ike White (BBC Four) is 2012’s Searching for Sugar Man, with its story of a potential star having vanished into thin air at the brink of fame and fortune. The documentary began in the usual way of music biopics, with talking heads listening rapturously to the musician in question, then archive footage.

Wise Children, BBC online review – beautifully bizarre

★★★ WISE CHILDREN, BBC Emma Rice’s version of Angela Carter’s last novel is a celebration of alternative families

Emma Rice’s version of Angela Carter’s last novel is a celebration of alternative families

Reviewing theatre now means reviewing film. Knowing that Emma Rice’s Old Vic 2018 production of Wise Children, her typically rambunctious version of Angela Carter’s last novel, published in 1991, has been recorded by The Space immediately raises expectations of high quality. After all, this company specializes in digitally bringing good art to wider audiences.

The Art Mysteries, BBC Four review - secrets and symbols of Van Gogh's famous self-portrait

★★★★ THE ART MYSTERIES, BBC FOUR Secrets and symbols of Van Gogh's famous self-portrait

Waldemar Januszczak throws a different light on a masterpiece

Presenter Waldemar Januszczak suffers from something very like Robert Peston Syndrome, which makes him bellow at the camera and distort words as if they’re chewing gum he’s peeling off the sole of his shoe. Nonetheless he has a knack for finding fresh and revealing angles on art history, as he aims to do in this new series.

Royal History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley, BBC Four review - is this version more valid than anyone else's?

★★★ ROYAL HISTORY'S BIGGEST FIBS WITH LUCY WORSLEY, BBC FOUR Is this version more valid than anybody else's?

Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell are spun in the pop-history blender

Perhaps somebody at BBC Four has had a quiet word with Lucy Worsley, because in this first of a new three-part series she did hardly did any of her usual irritating dressing up. There had to be a bit, though.

Classic Albums: Tears for Fears, Songs From The Big Chair, BBC Four review - anatomy of an anthem

★★★ TEARS FOR FEARS, SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR, BBC FOUR Classic Albums documentary hits the right notes, mostly

Latest BBC Classic Albums documentary hits the right notes, mostly

Roland Orzabal, co-founder and lead guitarist of Tears for Fears, laughs to himself often during this documentary — the latest in the BBC’s often-excellent, always-forensic Classic Albums series. “I agree, I agree, it sounds great,” says Orzabal. He’s listening to “Shout,” the band’s 1984 Billboard No. 1 hit.