Programme Information

L-R: Danny (Taylor Fawcett), Katy (Lucinda Dryzek), Rosie, Maddy (Caroline Quentin), Jim (Neil Dudgeon) and Ted (Patrick Nolan)

Maddy has what she thinks is a neighbourly chat with her neighbour (a lawyer) and finds she has been charged for the pleasure, as the comedy starring Caroline Quentin and Neil Dudgeon as multi-tasking mother Maddy and stoical father Jim Riley continues.

Meanwhile, Jim discovers he has an ardent admirer...

Life Of Riley also features Richard Lumsden and Heather Craney as neighbours Mr and Mrs Weaver, and Lucinda Dryzek as Katy, Taylor Fawcett as Danny and Patrick Nolan as Ted, the Riley children.

JP

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MasterChef Ep 12/15

Wednesday 20 April

9.00-10.00pm BBC ONE and BBC ONE HD

• www.bbc.co.uk/food

Gregg Wallace (left) and John Torode pile yet more pressure on the would-be MasterChefs

MasterChef's last four amateur cooks are pushed to the extreme edges of modern culinary invention as they battle for a place in the final three.

Judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace send the contestants to Madrid to learn from Paco Roncero, a master in the art of molecular gastronomy and prodigy of the most influential chef of his time, Ferran Adria of elBulli. It's the first time amateurs have ever set foot in Paco's kitchen, Casino de Madrid, and it's a steep and scientific learning curve. The amateurs must don their goggles as they battle with new processes such as spherification and using liquid nitrogen in order to prepare four of Paco's signature dishes for the master himself. With dishes like Paco's carbonara on the menu – a reconstructed egg and bacon cream shell on consommé noodles – the cooks must hold their nerve if they are to pull off these feats of execution.

Then it's back to London, where the four experiment with their own food for some of the greatest scientific minds of the Royal Society – including one Nobel Prize winner. With all the contestants playing with smoke, fire and culinary mirrors, it's a rocky three-and-a-half hours in the kitchen as they prepare a four-course dinner with a scientific slant. Each contestant is responsible for one course and is out to impress with the skills they have picked up in Madrid. The pressure is immense as not only are they testing methods and ideas for the first time, but their trickery also has to taste great to win over their formidable scientific guests.

The journey culminates in one last challenge in the studio to decide which three cooks will make this year's MasterChef Finals, and who will be leaving the competition. The tension is palpable as they push themselves to the limit in two hours to prepare one show-stopping dish for John and Gregg and struggle to hold their position in the competition for the last time. Any mistake could be terminal and end their culinary dream.

MasterChef is simulcast in HD on BBC One HD on Freesat channel 108, Freeview channel 50, Sky channel 143 and Virgin Media channel 108.

BC

The sinister Dr Curlew (Richard E Grant)

William has taken the family business from strength to strength, as Lucinda Coxon's ambitious and bold adaptation of The Crimson Petal And The White by Michel Faber, directed by Marc Munden, continues.

But William's increasingly hectic schedule means that he is too busy to keep going back and forth to Sugar's house in Marylebone. In light of this, William invites Sugar to become governess to his neglected daughter, Sophie.

Thrilled with the news, Sugar arrives at the Rackhams' to discover Agnes is much worse. By chance, Sugar comes into possession of her diaries, which provide an enlightening insight into Agnes's mind.

The sinister Dr Curlew decides that Agnes must be permanently sedated and threatens to have her put into an asylum. After another particularly bad episode, William reluctantly agrees with the doctor and arrangements are made for Agnes to be restrained and taken away.

Sugar – again assuming the role of Agnes's guardian angel – smuggles her out of the house and provides her with money and instructions which allow her to escape to the "convent of health" she has always dreamed of. In her fragile state, it remains to be seen how far Agnes will get.

Meanwhile, Mrs Fox has made a miraculously recovery, but is inconsolable over Henry's fate.

William Rackham is played by Chris O'Dowd, Sugar by Romola Garai, Agnes Rackham by Amanda Hale, Dr Curlew by Richard E Grant and Mrs Fox by Shirley Henderson.

The Crimson Petal And The White is the first in a series of new dramas that reflect the major new investment for drama on BBC Two. This year marks the rebirth of drama on the channel with a range of truly original pieces that all signal this confident new direction.

RN

Dr Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator for the Royal Historic Palaces, continues her exploration of the history of the British home through four rooms. Journeying through 800 years of domestic history, Lucy reveals how Britain's homes have evolved into what they are today – and how people's relationship with them has changed over time.

The focus of the second programme is a room that didn't even exist inside many British homes until 50 years ago: the bathroom. Beginning with medieval bath houses and London Bridge's communal loos, Lucy tracks how the nation's attitude to washing has changed over the centuries and the development of what is now considered the most essential room in the house. She finds out how piped water got to Britain's homes and investigates the "Crapper" myth at Stoke's Toilet Museum.

This revealing series could change the way viewers look at their homes for ever. Featuring interviews with a range of specialist historians, curators and history experts, Lucy examines ever-shifting attitudes to privacy, class, cleanliness and technology.

This spring, BBC Four is exploring the fascinating history of the British home with a collection of revealing documentaries. Also included in the History Of The Home season are: Big Spring Clean and The Great Estate.

CD4