Composer of the Week (9.00 am R3 and rest of week) is Henri Dutilleux, still alive at 84.
Start the Week (9.00 am R4, repeated 9.30) includes historian Catherine Hall, novelist Justin Cartwright and Africa specialist Karl Maier.
From Crocodile Dung to Electrocution (3.45 R4 and for rest of week). The history of contraception.
Earth Story (7.10 BBC2, not Wales). Part 2 of re-run geology series from 1998 has Aubrey Manning following a research submarine as it investigates an underwater mountain range in the Atlantic.
Timewatch: The Empire State Story (7.10 BBC2, Wales only). Jonathan Gili, whose last Timewatch film was the excellent Tales of the Eiffel Tower in November 1999, explores the history of another iconic structure, with archive footage, publicity films and recollections from construction workers and others. (Shown in England, Scotland and N. Ireland on Saturday.)
Watchdog Healthcheck (7.30 BBC1). Including an item on hospitals as breeding-grounds for infection.
The Mystery of Pharoah’s Obelisk (8.00 C4). Repeat film about an attempt to raise an Egyptian obelisk (Channel 4/PBS co-production).
University Challenge (8.00 BBC2). Up this week: Newnham, Cambridge, vs. Bristol.
» Animal ER (8.30 C5). More stricken animals dealt with by the Royal Veterinary College.
The Sail (8.30 R4). Repeats about HMS Victory , its history and technology. Tonight, working the fore-topsail.
Cleopatra’s Palace (9.00 C4). Film following underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio as he and his team of divers explore the underwater ruins of Alexandria.
Nature (9.00 R4). The power and importance of wind (dispersing seeds, moving insects around, spreading fungus spores, etc). With entomologist Martin Warren, Bruce Fitt of the Institite of Arable Crops Research and others.
Night Waves (9.30 R3). In the first of a nightly series on lesser-known Victorian cultural figures, Valentine Cunningham talks about Ernest Jones, Chartist leader and poet.
» The Planets – Brief Encounters (9.50 BBC2, also Thursday same time). “Rocket Men”. Dressed-up extracts from the 1999 BBC2 series The Planets .