Catch up TV
Humphrey Burton: Theatre
Director Ronald Eyre presents the first episode of Arena, the long-running arts documentary series created by Humphrey Burton when he was head of Music and Arts at the BBC.\n\nEyre looks selectively and critically at what's coming on, or doing well, in theatres and recommends his own personal 'best buy'. \n\nAlso, Kenneth Tynan talks to Laurence Olivier about Lilian Baylis, the eccentric founder of The Old Vic, and there is a film about David Hockney's sets for The Rake's Progress, on tour after its success at Glyndebourne.
Source: BBC 4
Most recent episodes of Arena
Arena
Kim Novak's Vertigo
An intimate portrait of a fiercely independent Hollywood star who left it all behind to live life on her own terms, revealing a haunting, resilient journey of art, identity and ...
16-07-2026
BBC 4
Arena
Clint Eastwood: 1. Part One: Out Of The West
Clint Eastwood recalls his tough childhood and looks back at his early career, from Rawhide to Dirty Harry and the spaghetti westerns. With contributions from Don Siegel, Sergio ...
11-06-2026
BBC 4
Arena
Clint Eastwood: 2. Part Two: American Film-maker
Arena's profile of Clint Eastwood continues with his directorial debut, Play Misty for Me, which he completed in five weeks before going on to huge success in Dirty Harry. Featu ...
11-06-2026
BBC 4
Arena
Sonny Rollins '74: Rescued!
Featuring a specially shot introduction with Jamie Cullum, Arena presents a lost treasure - Sonny Rollins performing at Ronnie Scott's in 1974. After nearly 40 years unseen, thi ...
29-05-2026
BBC 4
Arena
River
River takes its audience on a journey through space and time spanning six continents, showing rivers on a scale and from perspectives never seen before.
26-04-2026
BBC 4
Arena
Humphrey Burton: Theatre
Director Ronald Eyre presents the first episode of Arena, the long-running arts documentary series created by Humphrey Burton when he was head of Music and Arts at the BBC.\n\nE ...
08-03-2026
BBC 4
Arena
Mike Leigh: Making Plays
Dramatist Mike Leigh talks to Arena about his work and demonstrates his unique processes of building the characters of his dramas.
12-01-2026
BBC 4
Arena
The Last Soviet Citizen
Documentary that follows three decades of Soviet space culture, from the glory days of Yuri Gagarin to the saga of Sergei Krikalev, the Soviet citizen who was stranded in space ...
20-11-2025
BBC 4
Arena
The Underground
Documentary about the tube, the world's oldest underground system. Three million passengers use it every day, and over the past 150 years, it has developed its own history, alon ...
18-11-2025
BBC 4
Arena
The Private Life Of The Ford Cortina
A witty look at the history of the Ford Cortina. Alexei Sayle, John Betjeman, John McVicar and Magnus Magnusson join enthusiasts to reflect on what was, in the 1980s, Britain's ...
10-11-2025
BBC 4
Most popular episodes of Arena
Arena
Sonny Rollins '74: Rescued!
Featuring a specially shot introduction with Jamie Cullum, Arena presents a lost treasure - Sonny Rollins performing at Ronnie Scott's in 1974. After nearly 40 years unseen, thi ...
29-05-2026
BBC 4
Arena
Kim Novak's Vertigo
An intimate portrait of a fiercely independent Hollywood star who left it all behind to live life on her own terms, revealing a haunting, resilient journey of art, identity and ...
16-07-2026
BBC 4
Arena
My Name Is Celia Cruz
The queen of salsa, Celia Cruz has been the most adored and dynamic singer in Latin America for more than four decades. Since she left Cuba at the time of the 1959 revolution wi ...
20-04-2018
BBC 4
Arena
Dennis Potter
1987 edition in which Alan Yentob interviews TV dramatist Dennis Potter about his work through the years, touching on subjects such as why and how he started writing, his sense ...
02-06-2024
BBC 4
Arena
A Tall Story - How Salman Rushdie Pickled All Of India
Salman Rushdie, author of Midnight's Children, winner of the Booker Prize 1981, talks about India and the autobiographical elements in the book.
11-08-2022
BBC 4
Arena
Stanley And His Daughters
'Children of geniuses tend to have a rather hard time of it. If you're a genius you have to be a bit tough', says Unity Spencer, daughter of Stanley Spencer, one of the most imp ...
04-08-2019
BBC 4
Arena
Louise Brooks
American film actress Louise Brooks has become one of the most celebrated icons of early cinema. Her performance as unrepentant pleasure-seeker Lulu in GW Pabst's Pandora's Box ...
07-12-2023
BBC 4
Arena
Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues
Hank Williams was the greatest singer-songwriter country music has ever known. He died on a journey half-way across America to a gig he would never make, at the age of just 29. ...
22-09-2023
BBC 4
Arena
B. Catling: Where Does It All Come From?
An eye-popping insight into the extraordinary, late-flourishing career of maverick artist, teacher and performer Brian Catling RA, whose unique vision and imagination are celebr ...
09-10-2022
BBC 4
Arena
My Way
An investigation of the appeal and power of the popular song My Way, which was written by Paul Anka and was recorded by many artists, including Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, El ...
25-09-2025
BBC 4