BBC Knowledge (BBC4)

James Geary and guests discuss topical issues

Fifth instalment of a six-part series tracing British art from 1066 to the modern day. Andrew Graham-Dixon describes the Victorian artist’s attitude to the changes in 19th-century Britain - scientific, technological and social. Featuring Pugin’s Gothic Revival masterpiece - the church of St Giles, Staffordshire - and one of the Victorian great works of art that wasn’t on canvas - the Forth Bridge

Series of archaeology shorts. Blacksmith Hector Cole tries to replicate a sword found in a Saxon grave in Suffolk, using only techniques available 1,300 years ago

Documentary series investigating the impact of the Vikings in Britain. Modern scientific analysis on skeletons found more than 20 years ago reveals astonishing new information about the final battle in 1066 between the Viking warlord Harald Hardrada and the English King Harold – a clash which marked the end of the Viking age in the British Isles. Plus a look at the final results of the nationwide genetic survey.

Presented by award-winning journalist George Alagiah

Literary debate programme hosted by Kate Mosse. The Cheltenham Festival of Literature is the setting for this edition, which features guest authors Victoria Glendinning, Nigel Nicolson and Michael Holroyd in discussion with an audience of readers

John Simpson investigates Iraq’s dictatorial leader, cited by America as the leading member of a Middle-Eastern ‘axis of evil’

Documentary investigating how the famous Iron Bridge was erected at such a great height over the River Severn in 1779. Using 18th-century engineering methods, a team of experts attempts to build a replica section of the bridge at half-scale

Documentary investigating the success of Christianity among Britain’s black population. While church-going is falling rapidly overall, it is rising in African and African-Caribbean communities. This programme looks at how the racism of the 50s and 60s led to segregation of church worship and at how different the black Christian experience is from that of white Britons

Stuart Maconie’s guide to the latest DVD releases. Richard Jobson discusses Brian Singer’s first two films, ‘Public Access’ and ‘The Usual Suspects’; journalist Lesley Thomas celebrates 70s classic ‘The Wicker Man’; and Peter Capaldi considers three of director Jean Pierre Jeunet’s repertoire ‘Delicatessen’, ‘City of Lost Children’ and ‘Amelie’