Mar18-Mar24

China: Triumph and Turmoil 
Channel 4 8:00pm-9:00pm (1 hour ) Mon 19 Mar
Season 1 Episode 2 of 3
Niall Ferguson examines how China is able to live under a communist system of government, while maintaining a thriving capitalist economy. He travels from Beijing to the birthplace of Chairman Mao at Shaoshan to discover why the former leader is revered, despite claims that he orchestrated a succession of revolutions that killed more people than Hitler and Stalin combined, and tracks down survivors of his leadership

Horizon: The Truth About Fat 
BBC2 London 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Tue 20 Mar
Surgeon Gabriel Weston explores why so many people are piling on the pounds - and learns about new ways to fight the flab. She discovers the hidden hormones that control appetite and sees the latest surgery that fundamentally changes what a patient wants to eat - by altering how their brains work

WikiLeaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower 
BBC2 London 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Wed 21 Mar
Part one of two. Richard Bilton speaks to leading members of the US Government about the impact of the publication of more than 250,000 diplomatic messages or cables on the WikiLeaks website, founded by Australian internet activist Julian Assange. Bilton examines what the cables reveal about America's dealings with deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and the decisions made by diplomats over the repatriation of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay

Gambling Addiction & Me: The Real Hustler 
BBC3 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Wed 21 Mar
Documentary in which Alexis Conran sets out to understand why some people view gambling as a pleasurable pastime, while for others it is a compulsion that can lead to ruin. He talks to members of his family about his father's obsession with betting, which led to his incarceration, and travels round Britain and to Athens and Las Vegas to meet addicts and experts on the subject

11th - 17th March

China: Triumph and Turmoil 
Channel 4 8:00pm-9:00pm (1 hour ) Mon 12 MarSeason 1 Episode 1 of 3
New series. Niall Ferguson examines China's rapid rise as a global financial superpower, exploring how its communist government has maintained relative stability despite relying on a largely capitalist economy. He begins by looking at how the country's vast apparatus of state often requires subjugating individual freedom for the greater good

Horizon: Out of Control? 
BBC2 London 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Tue 13 MaPeople assume they are in control of their lives, deciding what they want and when they want it - but scientists now claim this is simply an illusion. Experiments reveal that what a person does and what they think can be very different, with the unconscious mind often influencing the decisions they make, from what they eat to who they fall in love with. Horizon reveals to what extent people really do control their own destiny

Rights Gone Wrong? 
BBC2 London 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Wed 14 MarAndrew Neil investigates human rights, in light of the controversy over the inability to deport radical cleric Abu Qatada and the banning of prayers before council meetings. He uses his inside knowledge of the corridors of power to ask whether human rights laws are equitable and searches for a way Britain can regain public support for a justice system that many feel lacks common sense

4th-10th March

Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey 
BBC2 London 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Sun 4 Mar
Season 1 Episode 1 of 3
New series. Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski examine the Earth's annual trip around the sun to show the effect it has on the planet, including its influence on the weather and the tides. The first episode covers the period from July to the winter solstice in December, with Helen leaping from an aeroplane and Kate briefly becoming the fastest driver in the world to demonstrate the consequences of the orbit on Earth's inhabitants

 Storyville: Knuckle - Bare Fist Fighting (2011) 
BBC4 10:00pm-11:30pm (1 hour 30 minutes) Mon 5 Mar
Premiere. Documentary examining the secretive world of bare-knuckle boxing among Ireland's travellers over the course of 12 years. The film focuses on a long-running feud between two rival families, and a series of brutal bouts that takes place between members of the two clans

Dirk Gently 
BBC4 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Mon 5 Mar
Season 1 Episode 1 of 3
New series. Comedy drama based on Douglas Adams' novels about a self-styled holistic detective who specialises in discovering improbable solutions to baffling mysteries.

Horizon: Solar Storms - The Threat to Planet Earth 
BBC2 London 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Tue 6 Mar
Scientists predict this year will see a fit of violent activity on the sun which will propel billions of tonnes of superheated gas and pulses of energy towards Earth. In 1989 one of these solar storms, which has the power to close down modern technology, cut off the power to the Canadian city of Quebec. Horizon meets the weathermen as they try to predict what's coming and organisations like the National Grid as they prepare for the cosmic tempest

19th-25th February

Horizon: Can We Make a Star on Earth?
BBC4 8:00pm-9:00pm (1 hour ) Thu 23 Feb
Despite decades of dedicated work, nuclear fusion researchers have been unable to produce electricity capable of supplying a national grid. This documentary witnesses experimental physicist Brian Cox embark on a global tour to discover whether nuclear fusion is a feasible energy source for the future. On his journey he visits a bomb-testing facility in America, and enters the reaction chamber of South Korea's K-Star - a complex that may hold the key to progress in the field of fusion research

12th-19th Feb

BBC1 London 8:30pm-9:00pm (30 minutes) Mon 13 Feb
Poor America - Panorama
Hilary Andersson meets the school pupils going hungry in the world's richest country, after statistics reveal 1.5 million American children are now homeless. She explores  the Las Vegas storm drains some youngsters now call home, and the tented communities springing up across the country, as she tries to discover what happened to Barack  Obama's vision for the United States

Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War
BBC4 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Thu 16 Feb
Season 1 Episode 3 of 3
Raising Arms Historian Saul David investigates the administrative and financial challenges faced by generals trying to properly equip their troops for battle, as he  concludes his analysis of the logistical factors that can make a crucial difference in military campaigns. Last in the series

10 O'Clock Live Channel 4 10:00pm-10:55pm (55 minutes) Wed 15 Feb
Season 2 Episode 2 of 10
Satirical current affairs show, with David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr, Charlie Brooker and Lauren Laverne. They are joined by guests from the worlds of politics, science and
culture for debates, interviews, topical comedy, investigations and opinion pieces

29Jan-4Feb

Putin, Russia & the West 
BBC2 London 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Thu 2 Feb
Season 1 Episode 3 of 4
War An insight into the 2008 armed conflict between Russia and Georgia over the South Ossetia region. The countries' respective presidents at the time, Dmitry Medvedev and Mikheil Saakashvili, recall the intense behind-the-scenes negotiations that led up to the war, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy's efforts to broker a ceasefire. In Washington, DC, former Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice describe how they considered the consequences of offering military support to their Georgian allies

Bullets, Boots and Bandages: How to Really Win at War 
BBC4 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Thu 2 Feb
Season 1 Episode 1 of 3
Staying Alive New series. Historian Saul David explores how decisions made in offices and backrooms have influenced the outcomes of military conflicts, and explains why planning and logistics often make the difference between victory and defeat. He begins by investigating the importance of properly feeding and housing armies

22-28th January

A Century of Fatherhood 
BBC4 8:00pm-9:00pm (1 hour ) Mon 23 Jan
The Good Father Testimony, archive footage and historical research are used to investigate the important and often misunderstood role of the British father over the past 100 years. The opening programme explores the popular myth of the tyrannical Victorian-style father, and reveals these individuals were often devoted parents who took their job as provider and protector of their family seriously
 
Putin, Russia & the West 
BBC2 London 9:00pm-10:00pm (1 hour ) Thu 26 Jan
Season 1 Episode 2 of 4
Democracy Threatens Former Ukraine president Leonid Kuchma tells the inside story of his country's 2004 elections and admits to being Putin's ally. The programme explores how Russian-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych was declared the winner at the expense of his opponent Viktor Yushchenko, sparking the Orange Revolution. Plus, Kremlin officials of the time tell how they clamped down on human rights groups and critics of Putin to ensure that those events did not bring about a similar uprising in Russia