BBC four

The story revolves around Hyacinth Bucket, a housewife from a lower class whose only aim in life is to impress others with her etiquette and social skills and climb the social ladder. She is terrified that her background will be revealed one day, and goes above and beyond to hide it. She insists her inharmonious surname is pronounced Bouquet. All her attempts as a rule lead to awkward comic situations, and the truth is revealed. (Senderinfo).

Timothy Lumsden is a 40-something librarian, still living with his parents and under the thumb of his domineering mother Phyllis. Although Timothy has sporadic attempts at standing up for himself and abandoning his home in order to lead an independent life, all his attempts prove futile as his mother always stands in the way. It might be that the only force strong enough to break Timothy's bond with his mother is love, entering Timothy's life despite all. (Senderinfo).

A look back at the life of the Oscar-winning actor Sir Anthony Hopkins. In interviews conducted with the BBC over the course of his career we see him discuss his approach to acting, his hell-raising years and the famous films and roles that helped make him a star including Remains of the Day, Shadowlands, Nixon and, of course, The Silence of the Lambs, in which he first portrayed his most celebrated character, Dr Hannibal Lecter. (Senderinfo).

Revisit some of Dusty Springfield's most memorable hits with a compilation of her performances for BBC between 1961 and 1995. Go through her extensive discography, including folk songs with which she debuted on the music scene and her synth-pop collaborations with the Pet Shop Boys. Dance along to the melodies of You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, If You Go Away, What Have I Done to Deserve This?, and more. (Senderinfo).

Historian Bettany Hughes embarks on an expedition to India, Greece and China on the trail of three giants of ancient philosophy: Buddha, Socrates and Confucius. All three physically travelled great distances philosophising as they went and drawing conclusions from their journeys. With Bettany as our guide, she gets under the skin of these three great minds and shines a light on the overlooked significance of the 5th century BC in shaping modern thought across the world. In this first episode, Bettany investigates the revolutionary ideas of the Buddha. (Senderinfo).

As Hetty Wainthropp (Patricia Routledge) reaches retirement age at 60 and faces an uncertain future financially, she decides that the life of a pensioner is not for her and opens a detective agency instead. Armed only with her no-nonsense Lancashire attitude and her notebook, she embarks on a series of criminal investigations. Aided by her teenage sidekick and reformed thief, Geoffrey, and her devoted husband, Robert, she always manages to solve the mystery by the end of the episode. The show focuses more on clue gathering and tracking down suspects rather than on any blood and gore but is all the better for that. We also follow the development of a rather unconventional family unit agter Geoffrey moves into the Wainthropp's spare room. (Senderinfo).

This special episode brings together highlights from the series. From hidden forests and turbulent coasts to vast unexplored deserts. We begin in the oldest desert on earth – the Namib, in south western Africa. A pair of ostriches raise their family in the searing heat to keep them safe from predators – but time is ticking as the chicks begin to hatch. Outside the egg, the newborns won't survive long in these temperatures, but not all the clutch hatch at once. For the whole brood to survive, the parents need to time their departure perfectly, but they are forced to make the difficult decision to leave behind unhatched eggs. As the family depart, one more newborn emerges, and the lone chick wanders the vast desert calling for its family. Away from the tropics, in the cold waters off North America, the sun fuels forests of giant kelp. It is a dangerous place for young horn sharks as giant sea bass and large sharks patrol looking for prey. The real danger, however, is buried beneath. A little horn shark unwittingly stumbles into an ambush set by an angel shark. With a lightning strike, it is swallowed whole, but it is not over yet – the little horn shark has a secret weapon. From kelp forests to rainforests, animals must develop remarkable strategies to survive, and, in the Amazon jungle, alien-like treehoppers form surprising alliances to keep their young safe and fight off deadly assassin bugs. Here, it pays to work together. In the open grasslands of Africa, hunters are driven to new heights to gain the advantage. Leopards are the most adaptable of big cats, and a handful of special individuals have learned to hunt by hiding and leaping from treetops – some higher than the roof of a two-storey house. Their lives depend on them getting this unique game of hide-and-seek right, and when they do, their prey doesn't see them coming. Freshwater is the lifeblood of all life on earth, and the stage for extraordinary animal dramas. In Botswana, nestled amongst flowering water lilies, newly hatched lily trotter chicks learn a vital lesson – how to 'walk on water'. Their oversized feet, almost double the length of their body, make for a wobbly start, and their dedicated father will do whatever it takes to keep them safe during the most vulnerable stage of their lives. South Africa's Robberg Peninsula is a treacherous place to start life. Thousands of Cape fur seals are squeezed onto a small ledge. A clumsy yearling pup escapes to the water, and once immersed, the youngster is nimble and graceful. In recent years, this coast has been home to unprecedented numbers of great white sharks, and to protect themselves, the seal colony do something extraordinary. They band together to see off the world's most notorious predator. Many animals must now rise to a new challenge – living alongside us. Some are meeting this challenge head-on and thriving. In Bali, long-tailed macaques have learned to steal tourists' most valued items, and then use them to barter with temple staff for their favourite food. The older, wiser males simply won't give you back your phone unless they get just what they want. A lucky few can succeed in a human world, but our impact now extends to even the most remote corners of our planet. On the tiny Raine Island, tens of thousands of female green turtles come ashore to nest, but many are stranded by the ebbing tide. The island is on borrowed time. This, the world's largest green turtle rookery, may soon disappear beneath the waves. (Senderinfo).

Michael Palin presents a profile of the television career of David Attenborough, from controller of BBC Two to his wildlife programmes such as Life on Earth and The Blue Planet. (Senderinfo).

Celebrated British naturalist Sir David Attenborough examines the diversity and origins of "Life on Earth." The film work is outstanding and the camera teams have employed techniques which remain ground-breaking to this day. The series focuses on the story of how life emerged from simple cells to the plants and animals that are abundant on every continent. Pioneering filming techniques capture birds in mid-flight, rarely observed mammals with their young in underground burrows, and never-before-seen footage of a mother frog incubating its young in her mouth before spitting them out. (Senderinfo).

Natural World is a series of wildlife programs that are centred around the Animal Kingdom and its habitats, and tell detailed stories about animals. Each episode is informative and brings a whole new perspective on animals in the most extraordinary places in the world. It is the longest-running documentary in its genre on British television, broadcast since its inception in 1983. (Senderinfo).