TV Guide Yesterday Thursday

In 1930, recovering from a personal crisis, Agatha Christie fell in love with and married Max Mallowan. This relationship, and the security it brought, saw Agatha enter the most prolific and successful chapter of her career. This would be the period in which Agatha penned some of her most famous and enduring bestsellers, including Murder on the Orient Express. Lucy follows in Agatha's footsteps to discover the roots of these works and explores how, in later life, Agatha achieved global celebrity - but remained very much the anonymous observer, hiding in plain sight

Michael Portillo travels though Cumbria, setting sail in a small craft on Lake Windermere with a lifelong devotee of Arthur Ransome's children's books Swallows and Amazons. At Barrow-in-Furness, Michael investigates the mountains of scrap left behind as iron ore was turned into ships, trains and railway tracks, and discovers researchers are exploring how slagbanks could contribute to reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Michael Portillo embarks on the last leg of his railway journey around the north-west coast of England, visiting the childhood home of William Wordsworth in Cockermouth, Cumbria, and ending in Maryport, where the Solway Firth marks the border between England and Scotland

Michael Portillo joins the hunt for dark matter in the deepest mine in Britain in Boulby, North Yorkshire, then visits Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge, which offers high views over the Tees estuary and the Cleveland Hills. At Saltholme, Michael joins the RSPB in a hide to observe a visiting bird of prey

In January 1942 the German army lost the battle for Moscow and a furious Hitler sacked or side-lined his leading generals and appointed himself commander-in-chief of the army. He decided on a bold new plan, focusing his forces on seizing the Soviet oil fields and taking the fuel to supply his own troops. Stalin unveiled his own plan to drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union by launching a huge offensive from Leningrad to the Black Sea. Georgy Zhukov warned him that the Red Army was in no shape to attack, but Stalin banished the former chief of the general staff to the front and took control

Fiona Bruce presents the show from Salford's MediaCityUK, and meets Blue Peter presenters past and present to discuss the contents of the time capsules buried on the show. Among the items brought in to be valued are a drawing by LS Lowry on the back of a restaurant bill, an 18th-century puzzle jug, and a collection of Second World War badges

Fiona Bruce presents a second visit to Eltham Palace, and explores the art deco wing that was built in the 1930s. Items brought in to be valued include a pair of duelling pistols with a story to tell, two rare Fijian war clubs, and a panel of stained glass from the Houses of Parliament which was broken during the Blitz

In January 1942 the German army lost the battle for Moscow and a furious Hitler sacked or side-lined his leading generals and appointed himself commander-in-chief of the army. He decided on a bold new plan, focusing his forces on seizing the Soviet oil fields and taking the fuel to supply his own troops. Stalin unveiled his own plan to drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union by launching a huge offensive from Leningrad to the Black Sea. Georgy Zhukov warned him that the Red Army was in no shape to attack, but Stalin banished the former chief of the general staff to the front and took control

Lucy explores how American history has been mythologised and manipulated by generations of politicians, writers and protesters. She begins by examining the American Revolution - a David-and-Goliath battle of men with high ideals taking on the might of the British Empire. But how much of America's founding story is based on fact?