Browse - Most popular shows on BBC Four

This series follows two friends who go in search of their hearts desires with metal detectors.

Stephen Mangan plays Dirk Gently in an adaptation of the novel for BBC.

When we look around our homes, sheds and garages we see an array of household objects that with one click of a button or twist of a knob will spring to life, and - most of the time - do exactly what we want them to. But how on earth do these objects work? To find out, James May (fuelled by endless cups of tea) heads into his workshop with thousands of little pieces to assemble some of our most beloved and recognisable objects from scratch to see what it actually takes to get them to work.

Quiz show in which connections must be made between apparently unconnected things, where patience and lateral thinking are as vital as knowledge. Hosted by Victoria Coren.

There She Goes is about a severely learning disabled 9-year-old girl Rosie, her dad Simon, mum Emily and brother Ben.

The 2012 London Olympics are coming! But not if this lot can help it. Jessica Hynes, Hugh Bonneville and Olivia Colman star in this BBC4 six-part mockumentary about the poor organising skills of the people behind the scenes.

Screenwipe mostly consists of reviews and opinions of other TV shows and segments showing how TV is made. Anything that airs on TV is a potential target of humour and criticism, from late-night game shows to TV news, ads, reality shows and Screenwipe itself.

This is one of the longest running programmes on television; it has been around since before the age of space travel and most of the episodes were presented by Sir Patrick Moore.

Charlie Brooker casts his cynical eyes on the week's news.

Darkly comic drama series about life on an NHS geriatric ward.

Series showcasing the best in international documentaries on BBC Four. Storyville has developed an enviable reputation since its inception more than a decade ago. Screening over 340 films, from some 70 different countries, the strand has garnered a staggering array of awards: five Oscars, 15 Griersons, three Peabodys and two International Emmys. In true, unique, Storyville style, the new series promises to deliver the strand's usual eclectic mix of compelling stories from across the globe.

Join Mark Kermode as he reveals the secrets behind classic movie genres, from romcoms to horrors, and the tricks and techniques used in film-making. Explore the fascinating world of cinema with Mark Kermode's insightful commentary and analysis. Discover the art of storytelling through film.

Historian Bettany Hughes retraces the lives of three great thinkers whose ideas shaped the modern world: Karl Marx, Frederick Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud. Born in the 19th century, they lived through a time when old certainties were breaking down. Regimes were overthrown by mass uprisings, science was undermining religious authority. Their challenge was to figure out what makes us human in a fast-evolving world.

Eight short monologues in response to the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act.

The irrepressible Mim celebrates turning 70 by writing a bucket list. Item one: dragging daughter Fran on the "mini break they never had".The mother and daughter spend a tense weekend at Miniworld, a dated theme-park which Fran had been desperate to visit 30 years ago. When Fran tries to leave, Mim reveals she's dying. Fran tries to make the effort, but new starts and openness are easier said than done.Mim is an eccentric free spirit who believes 70 is the new 40. Fran (Frog Stone) is a reserved high school history teacher in a rut. They are also mother and daughter, and their relationship is not exactly easy. When Mim reveals she is dying and wants to go on a trip to fulfil items on her bucket list, Fran feels that she has no choice but to come along for the ride. Fran and Mim have to try to come to terms with their past and their future as they tick off items on Mim's preposterous list, one by one.

The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures have been held in London annually since 1825. They serve as a forum for presenting complex scientific issues to a general audience in an informative and entertaining manner. In the mid 1820s Michael Faraday, a former Director of the Royal Institution, initiated the first Christmas Lecture series at a time when organised education for young people was scarce. He presented a total of 19 series, establishing an exciting new venture of teaching science to young people that was eventually copied by other institutions internationally.

Eight darkly comic, poignant and sometimes devastating monologues, told by writers and directors with lived experiences of poverty.

Suffrage is being introduced (politely) to the Banbury (!) Intricate Craft Circle. Comedy by and with Jessica Stevenson and Rebecca Front.

In this series, mathematician Dr Hannah Fry explores the mystery of maths. It underpins so much of our modern world that it's hard to imagine life without its technological advances, but where exactly does maths come from? Is it invented like a language or is it something discovered and part of the fabric of the universe? It's a question that some of the most eminent mathematical minds have been wrestling with. Dr Eleanor Knox from King's College London believes it's discovered, Prof Hiranya Peiris from University College London believes it's invented, while Prof Jim Gates from Brown University believes it's both, and Prof Brian Greene from Columbia University has no idea. The jury is very much divided. To investigate this question, Hannah goes head first down the fastest zip wire in the world to learn more about Newton's law of gravity, she paraglides to understand where the theory of maths and its practice application collide, and she travels to infinity and beyond to discover that some infinities are bigger than others.

Two-part documentary, introduced and narrated by model train enthusiast James May, that follows a year inside Hornby Hobbies - an iconic British toymaker on the brink of collapse. But this is no ordinary business series - this is a series about model train and plane obsessives, both inside and outside the company, all of whom desperately need the company to survive.

The Romanovs are best known to us as the Russian royal family killed by revolutionaries in 1918. But there's more to one of Europe's most powerful dynasties than a tsar who could have been King George V's twin, a "missing" princess, Anastasia, and a mysterious magical man, Rasputin. The Romanovs ruled Russia for more than three centuries, after all, and Lucy Worsley is eager to tell their extraordinary tale. From the reluctant 16-year-old Romanov boy who didn't want to be king, to Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, she documents the royal family's reign and asks how their rule affected the lives of the ordinary people who eventually tore the family's world down. Lucy tells the story of the dynasty that ruled Russia for more than three centuries, including figures such as Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, the struggle against Napoleon in 1812, and the political murders of Nicholas II and his family in 1918.

Join historian Lucy Worsley as she sets the record straight on some of the biggest lies in British royal history. Through a mix of expert analysis and on-location investigations, this documentary series will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the monarchy.

This show offers a fascinating insight into the secret history of catching murderers as it looks at two centuries of breakthroughs that have changed the course of justice. Gabriel Weston looks at some of the most absorbing, and often gruesome, stories in the forensic casebook.

Historian Bettany Hughes travels to India, Greece and China on the trail of three giants of ancient philosophy - Buddha, Socrates and Confucius.

In this investigative three-part series for BBC Four, filmmaker Gillian Pachter re-examines the Ruth Ellis case. In July 1955, Ruth was the last woman to be hanged in Britain. Her crime: the cold-blooded murder of her lover David Blakely. It is a case that shocked the nation and still fascinates today. It has its place in ushering in the defence of diminished responsibility and the eventual abolishment of capital punishment. We all think we know the story, but why, when it was seemingly such an open-and-shut case, does it still divide opinion on whether Ruth Ellis got the justice she deserved? Gillian wants to find out.