Programme Information – Coming soon

BBC One's flagship arts and culture series continues its run of fascinating and diverse films, presented by Alan Yentob, which aim to look at the power and effect of the arts and the people who have changed our way of looking at the world.

As he approaches the 40th anniversary of his debut at London's Covent Garden, Placido Domingo rehearses in Berlin for his first baritone role since his youth. He talks to Alan Yentob extensively about the development of the singer's voice, through lyric and dramatic tenor parts, through lower German "heldentenor" roles down into the baritone range today.

Domingo has chosen a number of roles that he considers his greatest, and Alan discusses many of them with him – from Don Jose in Carmen through Cavaradossi in Tosca, Samson in Samson et Dalilah, Lohengrin and Andrea Chenier and on to what many critics consider his crowning achievement, Verdi's Otello.

In this revealing interview, Domingo talks movingly and in detail about his reasons for singling out these particular roles and the passions which keep him pushing the boundaries – when he has already achieved more than any other operatic singer in history.

Contributors to the programme include conductors Daniel Barenhoim and Zubin Mehta, who references Domingo as "simply the greatest singer of the 20th and 21st"; Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the other two Three Tenors, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti (in archive interview).

AH

Scrabble has had a resurgence largely thanks to online culture, which has boosted sales and seen office workers "scrabbling" during work hours. In the final Imagine programme of the series, Alan Yentob travels to the home of the game, New York, where an unemployed architect invented it as a way to make a quick buck during the Great Depression of the Thirties.

However, the game didn't really take off until the Fifties when the first championships were formed. Today, the tournament scene is thriving and Alan visits the American National Scrabble Championships in Ohio and meets the people who compete. Along the way he discovers that, while the players know a huge amount of words, they rarely seem to know what they mean.

Hearing from psycholinguists about learning words and investigating what makes the best Scrabble player, Alan explores the game in its wider context. He heads to Nigeria to meet the Nigerian national team, where the game is a national sport, complete with Scrabble coach, and looks at their preparation for the next World Championships. He also meets World Reigning Scrabble Champion, representing New Zealand, the seemingly unstoppable Nigel Richards (also known as The Man Who Knows the Dictionary). But, in the lead up to the world championships in Malaysia, does he think he will reign supreme again?

AH

Adapted from Andrea Levy's best-selling, award-winning novel, BBC One's two-part drama, Small Island, starring Ruth Wilson, David Oyelowo, Naomie Harris, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ashley Walters, is an epic love story about the determined pursuit of dreams in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers.

Set against the backdrop of the Second World War in a time when landlords would put up signs that read "No Irish, no coloureds, no dogs", Small Island follows the interlocking lives of Londoner Queenie, the young Jamaican couple who become her lodgers, Gilbert and Hortense, Queenie's husband, Bernard, and the mysterious and handsome Michael.

From the heat and hustle of life in Forties Jamaica through to the devastation of London in the Blitz, Small Island is an ambitious yet personal tale that deftly touches on the weighty themes of empire, prejudice and war with a warm, uplifting generosity of spirit.

Small Island is written by Paula Milne (The Virgin Queen) and Sarah Williams (Becoming Jane, The Secret Life Of Mrs Beeton).

Ruth Wilson plays Queenie, David Oyelowo plays Gilbert, Naomie Harris plays Hortense, Benedict Cumberbatch plays Bernard and Ashley Walters plays Michael.

LH2

Sue Barker, Gary Lineker and Jake Humphrey present the prestigious awards ceremony that celebrates the sporting achievements of 2009.

Sheffield is this year's host and the biggest ever studio audience of 11,000 are present for the live event. The public decide the winner of the main Sports Personality of the Year award, making their votes during the show.

This year's sporting heroes and heroines include the likes of Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button, 10m platform diving world champion Tom Daley, Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs and Sheffield's very own Jessica Ennis, who won heptathlon gold at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin. There are also plenty of strong team contenders, including England's Ashes-winning cricketers and Ireland's Grand Slam-winning rugby union team.

All in all, there are many candidates who would make worthy successors to last year's main winner, triple Beijing Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Sir Chris Hoy.

Other awards include the Sports Unsung Hero – with nominations coming from the public – the Overseas Sports Personality of the Year and a special Lifetime Achievement award.

SB4

In a Horizon special, naturalist and BBC broadcaster, Sir David Attenborough investigates whether the world is heading into a population crisis. As Patron of the Optimum Population Trust, Sir David is keen to explore all sides of the issues facing population control.

David is well aware that the world exists in a delicate balance – Earth's natural resources are rapidly becoming outstripped by the seven billion people that depend on them for survival.

In his lengthy career, David has watched the human population more than double, from two and a half billion in 1950 to nearly seven billion today – and it is still growing. The United Nations estimates that the population will peak at nine billion in 2050.

David reflects on the profound impacts of this rapid growth, both on humans and the environment. In Mexico, the programme finds out how a megacity is coping with water shortages; while in Rwanda, the programme explores whether the country's dense population and limited resources contributed to last century's genocide.

Improvements in social policy and global co-operation also offer hope. Although coercive population control has had a dark history of enforced sterilisations, demographers and data analysts now know that where women are emancipated and literate and family planning is available, birth rates decrease. Rwanda leads the way among sub-Saharan nations in progressive family planning solutions. With the country's population set to double by 2050, the government has made population central to its agenda. So far, family planning outreach programmes seem to be working.

Yet, while much of the projected growth in human population is likely to come from the developing world, it is the lifestyle enjoyed by many in the West that has the most impact on the planet. Some experts claim that in the UK, people use as much as two and a half times their fair share of Earth's resources.

So, finally, David examines whether it's the duty of each of us to commit not only to smaller families, but also to change the way we live for the sake of all humanity – and planet Earth.

VAA

With more than half the world's population now living in cities, human beings have become an urban species. This three-part observational documentary series explores life in one of the most extreme urban environments on the planet – Lagos, Nigeria.

Considered by some to be an apocalyptic vision of the urban future, Lagos is the fastest-growing megacity in the world. These films reveal a different side to life there, focusing on the humanity, resourcefulness and compassion of the people who live and work in some of the roughest parts of town. Stylistically bold, the series is narrated by the city itself.

The programmes were filmed in the city's rubbish dump, where 5,000 people live off the waste that others have discarded; in Makoko, a floating slum where 300,000 people live on the water; and in the squatter camps on the beach, where the residents are constantly under threat of forcible eviction. But, throughout, the humour, energy and resilience of the Lagosians shines through.

KA

This winter BBC Three honours the late, great Michael Jackson in a new six-part dance series. Hosted by BBC Radio 1's Reggie Yates, the show will embark on a nationwide search, looking for amazing dancers who can move like Michael but in their own unique way, and also take on his legacy.

Aimed at finding dancers who best embody the spirit of Michael Jackson on stage, the show will include competitors from all backgrounds – individuals and group performances. The winner won't necessarily be the dancer who simply mimics Jackson's choreography, but rather someone who can move like him, creating and inventing their own iconic steps and styles to most impress the judges and viewers.

The series will open with two shows highlighting the good, the bad and brilliant auditions of the country's hopefuls, as well as interviews with some of Michael's friends and family. It will continue with three studio shows, two semi-finals, in which 16 contestants who were chosen from hundreds will have an opportunity to dance in front of the show's judging panel, including Jermaine Jackson and dance agent supremo Mark Summers, in a bid to make it into the last six and the live final. Another judge will be announced closer to transmission.

The finalists will be guided through their studio performances by multi-award-winning choreographer and dancer Lavelle Smith Junior, who worked on Michael's Bad, Dangerous and History tours, as well as numerous videos, including The Way You Make Me Feel, Black And White and Scream.

The winner will be chosen by the public and will win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform at the official tribute concert, which is due to take place in London next June and will be hosted by Jermaine and the rest of the Jackson family and will include an array of global superstars.

The final show will be a compilation of the best moments from the series.

CS

Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo stars in this single drama, which brings the life of one of the most extraordinary, controversial figures in recent history to the screen for the first time.

Mrs Mandela is a triumph, a tragedy and an unravelling love story, charting Winnie Mandela's progression from innocent country girl to politicised fighter against apartheid, from adoring wife to revolutionary firebrand.

Shot on location in and around Soweto, the film focuses on the development of the relationship between Winnie and her husband from their brief courtship in the Fifties to the aftermath of Nelson's release from prison in 1990. It is a subtle exploration of a remarkable relationship set against the backdrop of one of the greatest political struggles of the 20th century.

David Harewood stars as Nelson and David Morrissey plays the role of notorious police interrogator Theunis Swanepoel.

CD3