New Science Programming for BBC Two, BBC Four

LONDON: BBC Two and BBC Four have ordered a slew of science series, including one with Brian Cox and another with Eddie Izzard.

Headed to BBC Two is Human Universe, which explores different aspects of life on Earth with Professor Brian Cox. There is also Castles in the Sky, a factual drama about the invention of radar; Into the Wildfire, a two-part special event focused on the lifecycle of bushfires; The Trial, which follows Parkinson's Disease patients participating in a clinical trial; and Cloud Lab, at atmospheric experiment featuring the world's largest airship.

Janice Hadlow, controller for BBC Two, said: "Science has enjoyed an incredible resurgence on BBC Two in recent years, with 2.8m watching Brian Cox's last series, Wonders of Life, the first episode of Trust Me, I'm a Doctor attracting over 3 million viewers and 4.9 million watching the Horizon special, Secret Life of the Cat. BBC Four also has a thriving slate of science content, with recent highlights including Light and Dark, Pain, Pus and Poison and Pop! The Science of Bubbles.

"Looking ahead, I'm delighted to be announcing such a strong and varied mix of new commissions, from a major series asking some of the biggest questions we can ask, to a factual drama telling the poignant and little known story of the invention of radar."

Eddie Izzard, who stars in Castles in the Sky, commented: "I feel very privileged to be playing the role of Robert Watson-Watt. Hopefully our production will allow him, along with Arnold 'Skip' Wilkins and their team, to finally take their places in the pantheon of British greats of World War II, as the inventors of RADAR."

Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC's head of commissioning, science and natural history, noted: "We're committed to finding ever more ambitious ways to bring science alive to our viewers, as demonstrated by the sheer creative range of what we are announcing today, from landmark series and ground-breaking science journalism to drama with leading actors and distinctive television events."

Among the titles slated for broadcast on BBC Four is Infested, which watches as Michael Mosley infects himself with various parasites to observe their effects on humans. Other productions include Dissected: The Incredible Human Hand and Dissected: The Incredible Human Foot; Secret of Bones, a six-parter that examines different skeletons in the Animal Kingdom; Hormones, which explores the chemicals that control our bodies; Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures, a three-part program spotlighting fossil sites around the globe; and Sleepover at the Zoo, which looks at the sleep patterns of animals.

Cassian Harrison, editor for BBC Four, added: "In this season I want us to lay bare what an eccentric, surprising and bizarre place the human body really is—from the trampolines of fat that are hidden in our every heel, to the microscopic creatures that have evolved to live in bliss in our hair, to the chemical potions that can turn us from lover to murderer in seconds—this is the human body seen as a landscape as diverse and thrilling as that of an entire planet."