Programme Information

Friday 12 December 2008

BBC ONE Friday 12 December 2008

Dani and Max are filled with panic and despair, in this week's snow-bound episode of the children's sitcom starring Dani Harmer. It gradually dawns on the brother and sister that they will be forced to spend time in each other's company.

Trapped, the bickering siblings make frantic calls to their friends for help. Things take a turn for the worse when the electricity, gas and telephone are all cut off and the baby needs to be fed.

When Max takes control of the situation, headstrong Dani is still unable to see how he's trying to help, and all their past childhood disputes come to a head. The pair manage to resolve their differences with some fun and laughter, so when Sam and Toby turn up to rescue Dani, having struggled through the blizzard to reach her, Dani has to collude with her younger brother to make them think her rescue was not in vain. It is not long, however, before they are back to square one and the bickering continues...

Dani is played by Dani Harmer, Max by Sebastian Applewhite, Sam by Klariza Clayton and Toby by Harry Culverhouse.

VT

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Jack (Peter Losasso) makes a
deal with his dad

Jack, Granville and Eddie are on work experience, as the family drama in which three reluctant rock stars are thwarted by their meddling parents continues. Their parents want to "keep an eye on them" during their work experience, so they are all working with each other's parents.

Jack is at the law firm run by Granville's dad, Ashton. Phil, however, is appalled by the idea of raising a lawyer in his own home. He thinks Jack should concentrate on being a rock star instead.

Granville is overjoyed at the prospect of his placement at Sandy's salon, where he is convinced there will be lots of "fine ladies". And Eddie will be working with Phil, who plans for him to make his own guitar. Phil is hoping for another date with Sandy, so sending Eddie home with his fingers intact is probably a pre-requisite.

Later, Phil is horrified to find a packet of cigarettes in Jack's room. He confronts his son and makes a deal – if Jack packs in the cigarettes, he'll pack in his coffee. Unsurprisingly, Phil finds that cranberry juice just isn't the same as a good, strong coffee, and it's not long before his caffeine withdrawal starts to take effect...

Jack is played by Peter Losasso, Granville by Franz Drameh, Eddie by David Barseghian, Ashton by Colin McFarlane, Phil by Jimmy Nail and Sandy by Niky Wardley.

CS

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Mick becomes a minor celebrity for the night and Stacey and Gavin start house-hunting, as the critically acclaimed comedy, written by James Corden and Ruth Jones (and previously aired on BBC Three), continues.

Nessa visits Stacey and shows the others a thing or two at the bowling alley, but tensions between Gavin and Stacey come to a head at the end of the night, resulting in an embarrassed Nessa and Smithy taking solace in some corn on the cob.

Larry Lamb stars as Mick, Joanna Page as Stacey, Mathew Horne as Gavin, Ruth Jones as Nessa and James Corden as Smith. Alison Steadman, Rob Brydon and Melanie Walters also star.

CS

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BBC FOUR Friday 12 December 2008

The BBC Radio 3 Choir Of The Year competition reaches a climax as the remaining six choirs compete for ultimate victory at London's Royal Festival Hall.

This year has seen fierce competition between more than 200 singing groups, involving over 5,000 singers.

BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year is the UK's largest amateur choral competition and was the inspiration for BBC One's Last Choir Standing. Only Men Aloud, the winners of that competition, make a special guest appearance in this show.

The singing extravaganza, presented by Aled Jones, follows the action as the six choirs compete across four categories: Children's (majority of singers 14 and under), Youth (majority of singers 18 and under), Adult and Open (no age restrictions). Four of the six finalists will already be winners of the categories above, along with two "best of the rest" wild cards, but they'll all be competing for the British choir world's most prestigious title.

The judges are a distinguished panel of musical experts including: Howard Goodall, the Government's "music tsar" and composer of famous theme tunes including Mr Bean, Blackadder and The Vicar Of Dibley; Last Choir Standing judge Suzi Digby; eminent conductor Vasily Petrenko; multi-disciplined singer-songwriter and composer Paul Gladstone Reid; and singer, teacher and Operatunity judge Mary King.

The show also features behind-the-scenes content and profiles of all the competing finalists, plus an update of what Only Men Aloud have been up to since their spectacular win.

VB

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Marking the 20th anniversary of the death of Roy Orbison in 1988, The Big O In Britain celebrates both Orbison's extraordinary talent and his relationship with his most loyal and enduring fans – British musicians and the British public.

The Big O In Britain includes interviews with Roy's widow (and erstwhile manager), Barbara Orbison, as well as some of the greats from the world of music including Robin Gibb, Elvis Costello, Bono, Bill Wyman and Bernie Taupin.

The programme also charts Orbison's career in Britain, from sharing the bill in 1963 on a major tour with The Beatles, up to the collaboration with lifelong friend George Harrison on the Traveling Wilburys project in the late Eighties.

Harrison said at the time of the 1963 tour: "The audience was just enthralled with him. It was a very frightening thing to be behind the curtain waiting to follow Roy Orbison. He just killed them. We were in awe of him."

But his life was not without tragedy – in the space of just a few years during the Sixties, he lost both his first wife and two of his sons in terrible accidents, thus lending his trademark emotional ballads an intensely soulful quality for ever more.

Effortlessly cool and musically sophisticated, Orbison became the ultimate "musician's musician", whose legacy continues to captivate both fans of his music and performers today.

SV

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