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BBC Two's The Culture Show is to take a new enhanced role on the channel, Janice Hadlow, Controller BBC Two, announced at the channel's spring/summer 2009 launch.

From July, the programme will be extended to 50 minutes, and will move to a 7.00pm weekday slot, with a later repeat on Saturday evenings. The longer duration will give the programme a greater opportunity to embrace culture across the nation; the first two programmes in the series will come from the Manchester International Festival, with three further programmes later in the summer featuring the best of the Edinburgh International Festival.

The weekly programme will be able to cover a greater range and variety of subjects, adding to the channel's topical coverage of the arts. Alongside the magazine show, there will also be six hour-long documentaries, made by The Culture Show team, and offering a more in-depth, authored perspective on contemporary arts and culture.

In addition, from 2010, production of Newsnight Review moves to Glasgow, as a result of the BBC's Network Supply Review. After the transfer, the programme will be produced by the Arts team in Scotland, who also produce The Culture Show.

The heart of the new programme will remain intelligent conversation on contemporary culture, but it will extend its remit beyond pure review to offer the opportunity to cover a wider landscape of arts, culture and ideas. Current Newsnight Review presenters Kirsty Wark and Martha Kearney will remain in the chair.

Janice Hadlow says: "The Culture Show has a huge part to play in delivering confident, intelligent and contemporary arts coverage to BBC Two. It has done a wonderful job in attracting the interest of younger viewers; now I hope it can expand its appeal, and play an even more visible and impactful role in the heart of the BBC Two schedules.

"The extended weekly magazine show will allow it to increase its range; the hour-long films will offer more authority and sometimes too, more surprise in its coverage; and the expanded remit of the late night talk programme represents a real commitment to the value of unashamed intelligent conversation on television. Bringing together all these elements as part of The Culture Show family will both unify much of the channel's contemporary arts coverage, and allow it to act as a catalyst for inspiration and talent."

Janice continues: "Elsewhere on the channel, BBC Two's spring and summer schedule is full of big ideas and big adventures, encounters with modern life and a touch of the unexpected.

"It's a season that's bursting with culture, with poetry at its heart. BBC Two leads a pan-BBC Poetry Season inviting all of us to let a little poetry in to our lives."

Poetry and Music

Griff Rhys Jones launches the Poetry Season on BBC Two with a passionate plea about Why Poetry Matters – how verse has the power to move and why everybody needs it. My Life In Verse With... explores the rich terrain of poetry from Milton to Shakespeare through the eyes of Malorie Blackman, Shelia Hancock, Cerys Mathews and Robert Webb; the works of two great British poets are explored in Armando Iannucci On Milton and Simon Schama's John Donne; and Off By Heart follows primary school children across the country as they take part in a nationwide recitation competition, culminating in a grand final, compered by Jeremy Paxman.

In a spin-off from last year's Maestro series on BBC Two, and in collaboration with the BBC Proms, Classic Goldie sees the drum 'n' bass pioneer commissioned to write a seven-minute composition to be performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra at the BBC Proms, reflecting the theme of evolution.

BBC Two also continues its commitment to the Proms throughout the summer with primetime broadcasts on Saturdays for the duration of the eight-week festival.

In a major series The Birth Of British Music, Charles Hazlewood explores the development of British music through the lives and music of Henry Purcell, George Frideric Handel, Joseph Haydn and Felix Mendelssohn. Marking significant anniversaries for each of these composers, this series reveals how classical music became a key component of British national identity between 1650 and 1850.

Big Ideas, Big Adventures

BBC Two continues to bring big ideas to the screen in a range of subjects throughout the summer.

Through science the channel takes viewers on an Incredible Human Journey, with Dr Alice Roberts traversing the globe to tell the story of how humans came to populate every corner of the world. Alice pieces together precious fragments of bone, stone and new DNA evidence to discover how we are all related to one tiny group of people who left Africa to conquer the world.

James May takes a giant leap into space history to discover the stories of the heroes behind the first moon landing in James May On The Moon. Part of a season of programming on BBC Two and BBC Four to celebrate this auspicious historical event 40 years ago, James trains for three days with the United States Air Force before travelling to the edge of space in a U2 spy plane.

In a two-part documentary, NASA – Triumph And Tragedy takes a look behind the scenes, examining the agency's achievements and humankind's race to understand the universe with insightful interviews and access to forgotten footage.

Continuing the space theme, Defying Gravity, BBC Two's epic new adventure-drama set in the future follows the exploits of eight astronauts from five countries. They undertake a mysterious six-year international space mission through the solar system, and discover that their real assignment is not what they thought.

In On Thin Ice, James Cracknell and Ben Fogle undertake another huge and perilous feat of endurance with a 470-mile race to the geographic South Pole, the first since Scott's and Amundsen's fateful attempt nearly 100 years ago.

Through drama, award-winning writer Terry Cafolla (Holy Cross) charts the effects of George Best's meteoric rise to stardom on himself, his family and most significantly of all, his mother.

Starring Tom Payne (Waterloo Road) as George and Michelle Fairley (The Others, The Street) as his mother, Ann, Best: His Mother's Son is the story of Britain's first footballing superstar and those who loved him. It will be aired with the support of Headroom, the BBC's mental health initiative.

Modern Life

BBC Two also tackles the tough issues in modern life. The Price Of Life features remarkable access to NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence), the body that conducts the process by which the NHS decides which drug treatments it can afford to offer to patients. How do doctors choose which patients should be the winners – and which should be the losers? Award-winning documentary maker Adam Wishart (Monkeys, Rats And Me) follows the people responsible for making these incredibly difficult decisions.

In A World Of Pain: Meera Syal On Self Harm, the author, actress and mother looks at the issue of rising levels of self harm in the UK. Meeting victims, Meera learns about the complicated issues that can lead to a person taking such drastic action and asks how parents can protect their children from it.

Recession Britain

Elsewhere, reflecting the effect the recession is having on modern society, BBC Two will be exploring the issues and offering some practical solutions for coping.

Freefall is a drama tackling the extraordinary financial crisis head-on. Written and directed by multiple-BAFTA winner Dominic Savage and starring Aidan Gillen, Dominic Cooper, Joseph Mawle, Alfie Allen and Sarah Harding, the film dives into the events that have caused turmoil in so many people's lives.

A Money Programme series, Recession Britain, examines why the recession is fundamentally changing Britain, with five of BBC Two's leading presenters telling the stories and looking to the future. Mary Portas looks at the high street, Newsnight's Paul Mason examines employment, Sir Gerry Robinson tackles manufacturing and the motor industry and Greg Wallace examines how the recession affects the purchase and consumption of food (one other to come).

In Property Watch, Kate Silverton, Justin Rowlatt and Andrew Verity reveal how the changing tides of the property market are affecting lives and the nation's obsession with bricks and mortar.

With more people turning to home improvement rather than moving house, designers Jamie Anley and Phil Nutley are on a mission to inspire viewers to think differently about their homes and transform their interiors in Brand New Home.

Economy Gastronomy is the cook's answer to the credit crunch. Top chefs and restaurateurs Allegra McEvedy and Paul Merrett show households how they can slash their food bills but still eat well, using good-quality produce.

The Unexpected

Finally, BBC Two continues to surprise with the unexpected and a raft of new comedy this spring/summer.

Krod Mandoon And The Flaming Sword Of Fire is set in the darkest days of the Marconian Empire, starring Sean Maguire as Krod Mandoon, the last great hope in the struggle against the evil ruler, Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas). Viewers can also access more content by pressing the Red Button.

Having created the kind of northern town that nightmares are made of, The League Of Gentlemen's Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton return to BBC Two with a spine-tingling, jaw-dropping, thrilling comedy serial, Psychoville. Joining them in Psychoville is a rich mix of talent, including Dawn French, Eileen Atkins and Nicholas Le Prevost, plus there's an expanded Psychoville experience online, written by the show's creators.

Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson bring their controversial phone-in host Gary Bellamy to BBC Two. As with the Radio 4 show, Down The Line will be performed in a semi-improvised style with Bellamy taking to the road each week in his "Bellamymobile", eager to meet the great British public (played by the cast) to discuss everything from immigration and religion to class and culture.

Taking The Flak is a comedy-drama about how journalists in war zones live in a state of perpetual danger, not just from the bombs, but from disease, dysentery, bedbugs, bugged beds, their colleagues, their competitors... and their loved ones.

Plus, BAFTA award-winning That Mitchell And Webb Look is back for a third series with a host of new characters.

Other highlights this spring/summer include:

The Supersizers Eat, with Giles Coren and Sue Perkins, exploring six further eras of gluttony, gastronomy and gorgeous food.

Terror! Robespierre And The French Revolution, a 90-minute film about Robespierre's defence of state terror.

Gandhi: His Life And Legacy, a definitive and in-depth series about the political and spiritual leader who led the fight for Indian independence.

South Pacific, the ultimate portrait of life in the world's largest ocean.

Springwatch 2009, with new presenters Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games, who join Simon King and Kate Humble for a three-week celebration of UK wildlife.

John Ware examining the Death Of Respect in Britain today.

The Trouble With Working Women, which looks at the issues facing working women today, who are still paid on average 17% less than men.

Mary Queen Of Charity Shops which sees the welcome return of Mary Portas taking on her toughest challenge yet – turning around the fortunes of Britain's charity shops.

LD