A round up of BBC announcements, press releases and blogs. Plus some highlights from our TV, radio and online output from the last week.
A fresh new sound to BBC Radio London’s evening shows
BBC Radio London’s evening shows have six new presenters from across London’s cultural, music, comedy and spoken word worlds from Monday 26 November 8-10pm.
BBC 100 Women 2018: Who is on the list?
The names of the trailblazing women in this year’s 100 Women List have been announced. The list celebrates inspirational women across the globe - from high profile names to unsung heroes.
Winterwatch heads to the Cairngorms for 2019
Winterwatch will return to BBC Two next year, broadcasting live from a new location in the wildest landscape of the UK - the Cairngorms National Park - which is to be the new, year-round home for The Watches.
Radio
BBC Radio 4 has announced the world premier of Alexander Mackendrick’s Mary Queen of Scots, featuring Glenda Jackson. The screenplay follows the tragic life of 16th century monarch, Mary Stuart, from exile to reign, to demise, and was developed with Jay Presson-Allen.
BBC Radio has announced its on-air highlights for the festive period including, Take That sharing memories of 30 years in the band on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music is welcoming Diane Morgan, Courtney Barnett and Zawe Ashton as the three Wise Women to the airwaves this Christmas and much more.
Drama
Based on Eugene McCabe’s modern Irish classic, Death and Nightingales - a riveting story of love, betrayal and revenge - is a three part adaptation for BBC Two hitting screens on 28 November.
Katherine Kelly and Sofie Gråbøl have joined the cast of Sally Wainwright’s forthcoming eight-part drama Gentleman Jack. Katherine plays Elizabeth Sutherland, the sister of Anne Lister’s intended wife, Ann Walker. Sofie will appear towards the end of the series as Queen Marie of Denmark.
Comedy
Iconic BBC comedy Still Game will premiere its ninth - and final - series on the new BBC Scotland channel when it launches on Sunday 24 February 2019.
Factual
Rachel Johnson and her father Stanley, singer-turned-farmer JB Gill, broadcaster Stuart Maconie and actress Shobna Gulati are among the famous faces lacing up their walking boots to explore England’s most scenic riverbanks in new one-off documentary, River Walks.
Adventurer Leon McCarron dreamed about going to the Arctic since he was a child. Now he has the chance to retrace the epic 1856 voyage of one of his great heroes, and international celebrity, Lord Dufferin, in new show Groundbreakers: Dufferin - Adventures In High Latitudes.
Entertainment
Playlisters, a brand new music quiz hosted by Rochelle and Marvin Humes, is coming to BBC One in 2019. Each week, three couples will compete for a chance to win £10,000 and all they have to do is name the song and the artist.
The final batch of tickets for BBC Sports Personality of the Year go on sale today as the BBC confirms George Ezra, Paloma Faith, The Lightning Seeds and Freya Ridings are to perform at the prestigious awards.
Children's
New Bedtime Stories are now available on the BBC Kids skill on Amazon smart speakers. Little ones can now listen to a collection of new Bedtime Stories from the likes of George Ezra and Tom Hardy on the BBC Kids skill on Amazon smart speakers.
Corporate
The BBC has launched a consultation on licence fees for older people. Currently all households with people over 75 are entitled to a free TV licence. That Government-funded scheme - which is expected to cost £745m by 2021/22 - comes to an end in June 2020.
Broadcast Highlights
- Driven: The Billy Monger Story, Sunday 18 November, BBC Three and BBC iPlayer
- School, Tuesday 20 November, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer
- Inside The Foreign Office, Thursday 22 November, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer
- David Cassidy: The Last Session, Friday 23 November, BBC Four and BBC iPlayer
- The Patch, Saturday 17 November, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
- Becoming, Monday 19 November, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
- Panjabi MC: 20 Years On…, Wednesday 21 November, BBC Asian Network and BBC Sounds
- CrowdScience: Why Can’t We All Smell The Same Things?, Friday 23 November, BBC World Service and BBC Sounds