Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Darwin: My Ancestor with Ruth Padel – starts Tuesday 27 January, 9.30-9.45am, for four weeks

In a uniquely personal touch for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Darwin season, Charles Darwin's great-great-grand-daughter, the writer Ruth Padel, embarks on a quest to explore four aspects underlying her ancestor's genius.

In this series Ruth looks at Darwin the man and attempts to unravel some of the thoughts and emotions which shaped him. It is her very personal journey to discover more about her ancestor.

Each programme takes one central theme and uses interviews from a wide range of experts, readings from Darwin's letters and diaries, recordings made on locations at Darwin's Down House home and music to evoke a portrait in sound and script.

Contributors include the palaeontologist Richard Fortey, the English scholar Gillian Beer, Darwin's biographer Janet Browne, the former Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, and the Darwin biographer and his great-great-grandson Randal Keynes.

In the series Ruth explores how his sense of wonder developed, his life as a family man, how he was affected by the death of his mother and daughter and how he became a successful writer.

Ruth Padel is a prize-winning British poet, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and Zoological Society of London and currently Resident Poet at Somerset House. She has published seven collections of poetry; her non-fiction includes I'm A Man, about rock music and Greek myth, two much-loved books on reading modern poetry and a highly acclaimed nature book, Tigers In Red Weather. Her awards include First Prize in the National Poetry Competition, a Cholmeley Award from the Society of Authors and an Arts Council of England Writers' Award.

The Darwinian Sistine Chapel – Monday 23 February, 11.00-11.30am

The ceiling of the Natural History Museum will soon boast a work of art, created by Tanya Kovats, inspired by and reflecting the theories of Charles Darwin.

To gain inspiration, Tanya travelled across South America in Darwin's footsteps and, to achieve her artistic vision, she went in search of a 200-year-old oak tree which she eventually found in Longleat Forest.

The museum ran a competition inviting artists to suggest concepts which would reflect Darwin's work. This programme follows the winner, Tanya, as she turns her idea into a reality.