BBC Four TV Guide — Wednesday, 22 July 2026

Examining how Muslim separatists in the Kosovo region rekindled old conflicts that led President Clinton's White House to consider Serbian President Milosevic's regime a threat to their own civilians. Plus, a look at how the Russian President Boris Yeltsin opposed Western intervention against their old allies in the Balkans, as well as when he was forced to resign, leaving a young Vladimir Putin to take his place

Helen Castor explores the role of queens in medieval and Tudor England, analysing how they evolved from being the wives of kings to powerful figures in their own right - but faced great struggles to impose their authority in a male-dominated society. She begins by recalling the life of Matilda, the daughter of Henry I, who waged war against her cousin Stephen in the mid-12th-century in a bid to be recognised as her father's rightful successor. The historian also charts the turbulent life of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the wife of Henry II, who played a major role in governing England during the latter half of the 12th century

The broadcaster walks through the Cotswolds and describes the joy and solace that nature brings as she takes in the inspiring views of Gloucestershire. From the panoramic viewpoint of Painswick Beacon, Kate descends through beech woods to the village of Upton St Leonards, soaking up the sounds of nature as she goes

Michael Portillo's Scottish travels bring him to Glasgow's Hampden Park Stadium, the home of Scottish football, where he admires the oldest football trophy in the world and hears about the birth of the 'passing game'. He also learns about the development of the M8 motorway in the 1960s and visits Kelvingrove Art Gallery, set up by war artist Joan Eardley amid the tenements of Townhead. He finishes this leg in the modernist new town of Cumbernauld, hearing about the utopian ideals that shaped its design and architecture