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BBC News
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
BBC underscores its commitment to science with exciting year of content across TV, radio and online in 2025
The BBC's Director-General Tim Davie has underscored the BBC's commitment to science at a special event held at the Royal Institution which showcased the BBC's unrivalled breadth and range of world class content across television, radio and online. This year marks a big year for science across the BBC - iconic series, Walking with Dinosaurs returns to BBC One after 25 years; a new five-part series about Human evolution, presented by Ella Al-Shamahi, launches on BBC Two; the award-winning Inside Our Minds, presented by Chris Packham, returns; Horrible Science the brilliant new series for children with curriculum linked education resources lands on CBBC; and Radio 4 and Sounds celebrate the 200th edition of The Infinite Monkey Cage - amongst many other new titles. BBC Science in numbers: 169 million – the number of hours viewers spent watching science content on the BBC in 2024, compared to only 15 million on the streamers. 83% - the percentage of science TV content on UK PSBs that the BBC is responsible for. 35 million – how many people BBC Science TV reached in 2024, which equates to 54% of the UK population – and many millions more via our audio and online content. Number 1 – BBC News is the most popular platform for those who use websites and apps to access science content. Over 270 hours of original science content across the next year on BBC Radio 4 20m – that's the number of unique visitors across all of BBC Bitesize Science content. New television commissions announced for BBC iPlayer and BBC Two include a three-part series presented by Professor Hannah Fry, AI Confidential, exploring the front line of the AI revolution; a new film from comedian and reigning Strictly champion Chris McCausland, Seeing into the Future, investigating the future of technology and what it might hold for him personally; and a Horizon special, Confessions of a Brain Surgeon, with Henry Marsh, one of Britain's top brain surgeons. In addition, Confessions of a Steroid Gang on BBC Three and iPlayer tells a shocking cautionary tale of illegal steroid production and the dark side of self-improvement. On BBC Radio 4, anthropologist and academic, Alice Roberts reveals the process of decay in all its grisly gory in What Remains; and materials scientist Mark Miodownik examines the intricate interplay of everyday pollutants within the human body in Toxic! In addition, two new episodes of Archive on 4 tell the story of the International Space Station and celebrate 80 years of the telescope at Jodrell Bank. BBC Children's and Education also confirmed that Horrible Science has been commissioned for a second series for CBBC and BBC iPlayer, combining more laugh out loud comedy with awesome and gruesome science facts and curriculum linked educational resources. There are also a bumper crop of new shows on CBeebies to inspire learning about plants and imaginative play with nature, including What's in Your Plant Pot and I Can Grow It. This follows other recent highlights for younger viewers, such as the recent launch of Operation Ouch series 13, and series 3 of Get Set Galactic. Tim Davie says: 'The BBC serves as a unique destination for distinctive, high-quality science news and programming. It's key to the value we provide audiences and fundamental to our role in telling the stories that are shaping our world and beyond – particularly in such polarised times awash with misinformation. 'As the home to the very best science storytellers and broadcasters, we're making exciting and innovative programming right across the BBC that won't be found anywhere else. 'We have an incredible range of shows to look forward to, so I want to take this moment to celebrate the contribution the BBC makes to UK science and reaffirm our commitment to it remaining at the heart of our offer for many years to come.' EDA New commissions announced: AI Confidential with Hannah Fry (w/t) Professor Hannah Fry investigates extraordinary tales from the front lines of the AI revolution in this brand new 3 x 60 series for BBC iPlayer and BBC Two. Artificial intelligence has already begun transforming our lives at break-neck speed – and it's caused some incredible and sometimes shocking true-life stories as a result. Broadcaster and mathematician Prof Hannah Fry is going to meet the people whose lives have been impacted by this technology in huge ways – from falling in love with an AI chatbot, to life and death decisions made by robots, to the people whose lives have been upended by Silicon Valley corporations. Taking a deep-dive into some of the most extraordinary human stories emerging from the world of AI, meeting key individuals whose lives have been transformed by this new technology for better or for worse, and investigating everything from 'grief tech' to driverless cars, this hugely entertaining and deeply enlightening new series will see Hannah grapple with some of the most important questions of our time, through some of the most thrilling untold stories of recent years. AI Confidential has been commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Tom Coveney. The Series Director is Harriet Bird, who previously made Hannah's Grierson award-winning documentary, Making Sense of Cancer', and the Series Producer is Vikki Miller. It is Executive Produced by Charlie Russell and Dov Freedman for Curious Films. It is co-produced by The Open University. Chris McCausland: Seeing into the Future Comedian and reigning Strictly Champion Chris McCausland is on a mission to discover the future of technology, and what it might hold for him personally, in a new 1 x 60 documentary for BBC Two and iPlayer. He can crack jokes, he can dance, he has hosted his own TV shows … but his real passion is technology. Chris has a condition called retinitis pigmentosa which led him to gradually lose his sight from birth. By his early twenties, he was blind. It is this that has led Chris to his unique relationship with technology. Whereas for sighted people, innovations such as the iPhone and voice interactive smart assistants are nice things to have, for Chris, they have been life changing. Chris is a tech junkie. He studied software engineering at university and can't wait to get his hands on the next generation of mind-blowing devices. From robots and driverless cars to AI and the future of smart glasses, he's champing at the bit to find out what the future holds. In this personal and funny documentary, Chris will be travelling the UK and heading over to Silicon Valley to explore how cutting-edge technology could transform his life yet again. Chris says: 'I've always been a tech nerd, and now I can't wait to finally get to count this indulgence as work. I'm going to love trying out the latest gadgets and gismos before anybody else can. I'm also going to try and make friends with some robots, because it probably won't be long until they're in charge of us all.' Chris McCausland: Seeing into the Future (1x60) was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Tom Coveney. It is being made by Open Mike Productions where the Executive Producers are Andrew Beint, Andrew Thistlewood and Rory Wheeler. The film is co-produced by The Open University. Horizon Horizon: Confessions of a Brain Surgeon A new 1 x 60 Horizon special for BBC Two and iPlayer in which one of the UK's most pioneering surgeons talks candidly about some of his most difficult cases. Henry Marsh was one of Britain's top brain surgeons, operating on thousands of patients over a 40-year career. After retiring, Henry received his own life-threatening diagnosis – advanced prostate cancer. This shift from doctor to patient has given Henry a new perspective on life and death, and also his ground-breaking career. Now, as he awaits his own medical results, Henry is facing his past, to learn lessons that he can pass on to the next generation of surgeons. As he grapples with the cases of patients who died in his care, a chance encounter leads to a meeting with a family who have blamed Henry for the death of their son for almost three decades. He also explores the impact his work had on those closest to him, revealing the huge emotional and personal challenges of a job where every day came with life and death decisions. Having pioneered a controversial technique to remove tumours from patients' brains whilst they were still awake, Henry admits how easy it was to become arrogant as a brain surgeon. Looking back, he can see there were times when he thought he was a surgical 'superhero' but now stresses the importance of recognising and sharing your own mistakes. Featuring unseen personal archive from throughout Henry's life and career, this film also sees Henry travelling the world to talk to trainee surgeons, who he hopes to help by being honest about his own experiences. Horizon: Confessions of a Brain Surgeon (1x60) was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual and the BBC Commissioning Editor is Tom Coveney. It is being made by Curious Films where the Executive Producer Dov Freedman and the Co-Directors are Harriet Bird and Charlie Russell. Confessions of a Steroid Gang Confessions of a Steroid Gang tells the cautionary tale of how a father and son from a small town in North Wales built one of the UK's biggest underground steroid empires – shipping illegal muscle-building drugs to gym-goers across the globe – before being apprehended by the police. The series explores how the two men were drawn into a world of performance-enhancing drugs and how they began producing, marketing and distributing illegal steroids around the UK. What began as a small-time scheme in a garden shed morphs into a lucrative operation involving Chinese imports, a home lab, fake websites and shady distribution networks. However, as their empire peaks, cracks begin to show and the police, following leads from seized parcels and suspicious transactions, close in. Including testimony from steroid users, experts and those affected by the culture, the series shows how image-obsessed social media, testosterone supplements and a booming black market collided and highlights the health risks of unregulated steroid use and addiction. With exclusive testimony from those inside the gang and those who brought it down, the series explores issues of identity, masculinity, and the dark side of self-improvement. Confessions of a Steroid Gang a 3 x 30 min for BBC Three, BBC One Wales and iPlayer, was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual, Nasfim Haque, Head of Content, BBC Three and Nick Andrews, Head of Commissioning, BBC Cymru Wales. It is being made by Double Act where it is being Executive Produced by Larry Walford and Series Directed by Rory Jackson. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Denise Mather. BBC Radio 4 What Remains What stories can your body tell, long after you've breathed your last? The process of decay – dramatic, gruesome, spectacular, humbling – can give us some of the most profound insights into life. In this series, anthropologist, academic, TV presenter and author of 'Crypt' Alice Roberts follows the process in all its grisly glory, and learns about life, death and forensics along the way. Across 10 chronological episodes we follow from the first moments after death, to thousands of years post mortem: the first 3 minutes, 24 hours, 3 days, a week, two weeks, 6 months, a year, 100 years, 1000 years, the end of time We discover the bacteria blooming in the guts, and what they tell us about our last moments. We'll observe the dramatic changes in the cells and blood across the first week, and the clues they give about cause of death. We'll learn about what happens when exceptional circumstances appear to stop time, like the 600-year old 'wet mummies' of China, whose watery, anoxic graves stopped decomposition in its tracks, leaving eerily recent-looking bodies. And we'll find out why disembodied, mis-matched feet keep washing up under the Golden Gate bridge… Crucially, each episode will be constructed around a real life case study. A detective story, unfolding slowly, in which forensic anthropology has revealed what we couldn't have known otherwise. Some will be crimes, but not all. Some are recent investigations, some involve mummified or skeletonised remains, all are fascinating. Produced by Emily Knight Editor Martin Smith Commissioned by Daniel Clarke Toxic! Through a mixture of interviews and chemical experimentation in real-life scenarios – Toxic! will explore the intricate interplay of everyday pollutants within the human body and their potential impact on our health guided by experts in the field. The three part series, presented by materials scientist Mark Miodownik, will unravel the complexities of chemical safety regulations, shedding light on the challenges of ensuring that these wonderful products are also truly safe for human health and the environment and ask if the system is fit for purpose. This series will show how whilst chemical science has rapidly evolved over the past few decades giving us wonder products, our safety regime hasn't kept pace. Might the rise in cancers in young people have some correlation with increased chemical exposure or the growing male infertility rates Or asthma or eczema? Pulling apart the cause and effect is tricky when these products are so ubiquitous in modern day life – but if we don't try and do the work or have a precautionary principal, we risk continuing down a path that is hard to return form. We perhaps also risk the growth in conspiracy theories that thrive on pseudoscience and confuse correlation with causation. The series will explore the latest science that is trying to measure the impact of these products on our health. We will see first-hand how our bodies contain many of the chemicals we know to be harmful to human health and others we are just unsure about. Through live experimentation in Mark's Institute of Making as well as other cutting edge science facilities across the UK we will be putting these chemicals through their paces. But, there is reason for optimism. Equipped with newfound awareness, we'll explore practical steps to minimize our exposure to harmful chemicals, empowering listeners to push back on conspiracy theories that have no basis in fact, and make informed choices for a healthier life. Producers: Melanie Brown and Geraldine Fitzgerald Exec Producer: Alexandra Feachem BBC Studios Audio Production. Archive on 4 Archive on 4: Out of this World (w/t) The size of a football pitch, weighing over 400 tonnes and orbiting 250 miles above our planet, The International Space Station is one of humanity's greatest ever technological achievements. Built by 15 different nations, in an unforgiving environment where temperatures oscillate from a blood boiling 121°C to a deadly minus 157°C, this is our species' space colony. Every day since November 2nd, 2000, it has given humans a permanent presence in space. It is emblematic of what humanity can achieve when we all pull in the same direction. But behind the solar arrays, pressurized modules and robotic arms lies an unlikely story of suspicion, one-upmanship and above all the shifting sands of political tensions and alliances. Using radio communications from space missions, presidential addresses and news headlines, Out of This World builds up the inside story of how and why the ISS came to fruition. Mixed with eyewitness testimony and expert analysis, this programme reveals how the ISS's roots lay in the 1980s, and the depths of the Cold War, where space was a key battleground. We explore why the collapse of the Soviet Union created an opportunity for both East and West; how a prefab in Moscow was a secret weapon in the ISS's enduring success; why the first USS capsules were actually built by the Russians; how China was barred from joining the collaboration; and why Putin increasingly used the ISS as a bargaining chip. Now, as tensions once more build between East and West, we ask what is the future for the ISS and international co-operation in space. Is the ISS a blueprint for the future, or is it a fleeting bright spot which is unlikely to be repeated? Archive on 4: Jodrell Bank at 80 (w/t) An episode celebrating 80 years of the telescope at Jodrell Bank, and in particular the role of its founder, Sir Bernard Lovell. Hannah Peel knows Jodrell Bank well: she has performed underneath the massive telescope in the Cheshire countryside and is fascinated by space. It has inspired her work in the past. For Radio 4 Hannah will come back to Jodrell and learn about Sir Bernard, uncover his tapes tracking the Russians for GCHQ and find out so much more about this eccentric British polymath who loved cricket and playing the organ in his local church as much as his ground-breaking work in the field of astronomy. She will gather field recordings and archive exploring Jodrell's foundations and its place in British cultural history, as a location for Doctor Who, a canvas for Brian Eno and a backdrop for New Order – while Joy Division used a postcard bought at Jodrell Bank for the front cover of their single Transmission. The stories and sounds she gathers on her journey will form the elements of a new composition celebrating this much-loved landmark, which helped to kickstart radio astronomy after World War II and is still at the global forefront of this field. Horrible Science series 2 Laugh-out-loud comedy sketch series and educational resource Horrible Science, brought to you by the award-winning team behind Horrible Histories, will return for series 2. Created with the unique 'Horrible' DNA of gruesome comedy combined with mind-bending scientific facts, silly songs and hilarious parodies, Horrible Science will continue to explore the awesome and gruesome science of the past, present and future. Similar to series one, there will be episodes linked to the KS2 National Curriculum, exploring topics such as the human body and living world, alongside a space special episode and delving into the world of AI. Horrible Science will be made by Lion Television, part of All3Media, the team behind the beloved, multi award-winning Horrible Histories TV show, which has celebrated its 15th anniversary. The second series is commissioned by Patricia Hidalgo, Director of BBC Children's and Education and Sarah Muller, Senior Head of Commissioning 7+ with Melissa Hardinge, Senior Commissioning Editor. Horrible Science is inspired by the bestselling and award-winning Horrible Science book series written by Nick Arnold, illustrated by Tony De Saulles, and published by Scholastic, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026. Prepare to laugh and learn with Horrible Science launching on the BBC in May 2025
The Independent
14-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Tech secretary asks ChatGPT for policy advice
The minister responsible for artificial intelligence (AI) turned to ChatGPT for policy advice, it has emerged. Science and tech secretary Peter Kyle asked the AI chatbot why small businesses in the UK were slow to adopt the technology, records show. Mr Kyle also asked the software which podcasts he could appear on to reach the widest audience possible, and for definitions of terms such as 'quantum' and 'digital inclusion'. Records obtained under freedom of information laws by the New Scientist magazine show Mr Kyle asked ChatGPT: 'I'm secretary of state for science, innovation and technology in the United Kingdom. What would be the best podcasts for me to appear on to reach a wide audience that's appropriate for my ministerial responsibilities?' The chatbot suggested The Infinite Monkey Cage and The Naked Scientists based on their number of listeners. It comes after a January interview with Mr Kyle in which he said he often uses ChatGPT 'to try and understand the broader context where an innovation came from, the people who developed it, the organisations behind them'. He told PoliticsHome: 'ChatGPT is fantastically good, and where there are things that you really struggle to understand in depth, ChatGPT can be a very good tutor for it.' Sir Keir Starmer recently set out plans to 'mainline AI into the veins' of the British state, saying it offers a 'unique chance' to boost growth and raise living standards. On Thursday the PM said it could help the government unlock £45 billion in efficiency savings, replacing or streamlining the work of civil servants. He said: 'AI is a golden opportunity. You will already be thinking about how you use it in your work. 'That's an opportunity we are determined to seize. So we are going to get the best of best on AI working across government. I'm going to send teams into every government department with a clear mission from me to make the state more innovative and efficient.' Responding to Mr Kyle's question about why businesses have been slow to adopt the technology, ChatGPT cited factors such as 'limited awareness and understanding', 'regulatory and ethical concerns' and 'lack of government or institutional support'. 'While the UK government has launched initiatives to encourage AI adoption, many [small and medium businesses] are unaware of these programs or find them difficult to navigate,' it said. 'Limited access to funding or incentives to de-risk AI investment can also deter adoption.'
Telegraph
13-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Science Secretary uses ChatGPT to come up with policy advice
The Science Secretary has used ChatGPT to come up with policy advice and tips for which podcasts he should appear on, records have shown. Peter Kyle, the Cabinet minister with responsibility for artificial intelligence, asked the chatbot why small businesses in the UK have been slow to adopt the technology. He also requested suggestions for the 'best podcasts' he could appear on to reach a 'wide audience', as well as definitions for terms such as 'digital inclusion'. The records were obtained by The New Scientist magazine under the freedom of information Act, in what is thought to be the first time the legislation has been applied to ministers' use of chatbots. Sir Keir Starmer has actively encouraged the use of AI in Whitehall, saying he is 'determined to seize' the 'golden opportunity' offered by the technology. Civil servants have been told to abide by the mantra that 'no person's substantive time should be spent on a task where digital or AI can do it better, quicker and to the same high quality and standard'. The records show how the technology is being used at ministerial level, with Mr Kyle drawing on ChatGPT for advice in his role as Science Secretary. He has previously said he uses the chatbot to learn on the job, telling Politics Home it can be a 'very good tutor' when 'there are things that you really struggle to understand in depth'. The records show that Mr Kyle asked ChatGPT to explain why small and medium British businesses have been slow to adopt AI. In response, it sent him a list of 10 possible hindrances, including 'limited awareness and understanding', 'regulatory and ethical concerns' and 'lack of government or institutional support'. 'While the UK Government has launched initiatives to encourage AI adoption, many [small and medium businesses] are unaware of these programs or find them difficult to navigate,' it said. 'Limited access to funding or incentives to de-risk AI investment can also deter adoption.' It also warned that compliance with data protection laws such as GDPR 'can be a significant hurdle'. On another occasion, Mr Kyle asked ChatGPT to brainstorm media opportunities, writing: 'I'm Secretary of State for science, innovation and technology in the United Kingdom. 'What would be the best podcasts for me to appear on to reach a wide audience that's appropriate for my ministerial responsibilities?' The chatbot suggested The Infinite Monkey Cage, a science comedy series on BBC Radio 4, and The Naked Scientists, another popular show. The Science Secretary also asked ChatGPT to define a series of terms relevant to his role, including 'antimatter', 'quantum' and 'digital inclusion'. A spokesman for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology told The New Scientist: 'As the Cabinet Minister responsible for AI, the Secretary of State does make use of this technology. 'This does not substitute comprehensive advice he routinely receives from officials. 'The Government is using AI as a labour-saving tool – supported by clear guidance on how to quickly and safely make use of the technology.'
