News – BBC Four to invest in cultural programming

A programme mix that will include new drama, world cinema, literature and cultural debate is to be launched as part of the BBC’s free-to-air digital channel BBC Four, due to launch next month. Roly Keating, Controller for Digital Channels, described the programming as “British television’s boldest new investment in cultural programming for a generation.”  Programmes due for transmission in the early months include a new series Brit Art: The Unofficial History; a documentary on Michael Landy: the Man Who Destroyed Everything; Township Opera, the story of opera in Cape Town; and Peter Brook’s television version of Hamlet.