Television Time: BBC Shows – September 2021

This month, BBC Earth bring audiences on an excursion into uncharted territories around the world, beginning with Eden: Untamed Planet. Narrated by the talented, award-winning actress Helena Bonham Carter, this six-part series features Earth’s last remaining lands unscathed by human interference and the resulting rare biodiversity that flourishes there – all while surviving the rapid changes in today’s environment. In Where the Wild Men Are with Ben Fogle Sr8, the adventurous explorer returns with another series, travelling to remote and inhospitable parts of the world to meet more people who have embraced a life without modern-day influences. Exploring the different landscapes, Fogle uncovers how they have become one with nature, the reasons behind their lifestyle changes, and more. On BBC Lifestyle, get to know Cornwall on a more intimate level through Rick Stein’s Cornwall, where the English restaurateur and celebrity chef tours around England’s southwestern county to discover its history, culture, and cuisines. Returning this September is Bake Off- The Professionals Series 4, where pastry chefs, from high-end luxury hotels to small supermarkets around Britain, battle it out to be crowned the top patisserie team in the country. Coming soon is The North Water, where disgraced ex-army surgeon Patrick Summer (played by Jack O’Connell) tries to escape his past by signing up for an ill-fated whaling journey in the Arctic as the ship’s doctor, leaving him and his crew stranded while facing the wrath of brutish killer Henry Drax (played by Colin Farrell). Tchéky Karyo returns to the small screens as Julien Baptiste this month on BBC First with Baptiste Series 2, following the retired detective as he navigates around the seedy parts of Budapest to solve the mystery behind British Ambassador Emma Chambers’ (played by Fiona Shaw) family’s disappearance during a ski holiday in the mountains.

BBC Earth

Eden: Untamed Planet

Premieres Friday, 17th September at 8.05pm, on StarHub channel 407 and BBC Player

Travel to the far corners of the planet and discover the secrets of Earth’s few remaining untouched lands, all brimming with life. From the Namib Desert to Patagonia, only a handful of places on Earth can claim to be largely unchanged. Isolated from the rest of the world, these places have been protected from the most damaging effects of human interference. Delicately balanced, species-rich, unique ecosystems. In these lands, life exists as nature intended. This series embarks on a breath-taking journey to Earth’s last Eden. It visits incredible landscapes and reveals thrilling new behaviour from the world’s most iconic animals. As the heavy tread of humans falls ever closer to these beautiful and fragile lands, now is the time to reveal their captivating stories.

Arctic Drift: A Year In The Ice

Premieres Friday, 23rd September at 9.55pm, on StarHub channel 407 and BBC Player

The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on the planet, and sea ice in the summer covers just half the area it did 40 years ago. Experts now believe an ice-free Arctic would have disastrous consequences for the rest of the planet –causing sea levels to rise and scrambling our weather, leading to brutal heatwaves, shock cold spells and catastrophic storms. It’s no longer just about steady global warming – these are rapid, volatile changes to the world we know.

Where the Wild Men Are with Ben Fogle

Premieres Monday, 6th September at 9.55pm, on StarHub channel 407 and BBC Player

Explorer Ben Fogle meets more people who’ve turned their back on the rat-race and set up home in some of the most remote and inhospitable parts of the world.

BBC Lifestyle

Rick Stein’s Cornwall

Premieres Monday, 6th September at 7.30pm, on StarHub channel 432 and BBC Player

In this series, Rick Stein reveals the Cornwall that he knows and loves, championing the food, history, music, art and culture of the county many locals argue should be a country in its own right.

Bake Off- The Professionals Series 4

Premieres Wednesday, 29th September at 7:30pm, on StarHub channel 432 and BBC Player

Liam Charles and Tom Allen host the toughest Bake Off on TV, as teams of pastry chefs from top hotels, restaurants and small businesses compete to be crowned best patisserie team in Britain.

Cbeebies

My World Kitchen S4

Premieres Monday to Friday, 2nd September at 8.40pm, on StarHub channel 303 and BBC Player

Talented young cooks take over the kitchen and celebrate their heritage by cooking some very special recipes. We find out where these dishes and ingredients come from along the way.

Garden Tales

Premieres Monday to Friday, 24th September at 6.15pm, on StarHub channel 303 and BBC Player

Prepare to get hooked on this innovative animal soap opera that connects pre-school children to the natural world through entertaining stories and cute, funny animals. Each beautiful episode helps young viewers learn something new, encouraging them to discover and explore new environments. Stories include a little duckling who gets lost while learning to swim, a badger whose taste for adventure gets him into trouble, a pill millipede with a flair for tap dancing, and a family of owlets – belonging to the rarely shown little owl species – playing hide and seek.

Swashbuckle Series 5

Premieres Monday to Friday, 20th September at 8:15pm, on StarHub channel 303 and BBC Player

All aboard for adventure with the return of the swashbuckling game show that pits teams of youngsters against pesky pirate foes in fun physical challenges. The Bafta-winning series is set in the Scarlet Squid, a colourful shipwreck housing a soft play obstacle course on multiple levels with rigging, nets, buoys to swing on, baskets of sea creatures and giant slides. Under the watchful eye of Gem and her parrot Squawk, the young swashbucklers compete against the mischievous pirates and their strict leader Captain to retrieve stolen jewels hidden throughout the ship. This entertaining show is peppered with comedy sketches and, for Series 5, there’s a fresh look to favourite games and some exciting new challenges.

BBC First

The North Water

Premieres Saturday, 11^th September 2021 at 8am (Weekly Express from UK telecast on 10th September) on BBC First on StarHub channel 502 and BBC Player.

A thrilling tale of struggle and survival on an ill-fated Arctic whaling expedition. Hoping to escape the horrors of his past, disgraced ex-army surgeon Patrick Sumner signs up as the ship’s doctor on an ill-fated Arctic whaling expedition. Soon he’s confronted by a new horror, the brutish killer Henry Drax. When Sumner and his crew mates are left stranded on the merciless Arctic wasteland, he discovers just how far he’s prepared to go against the savagery of nature and man.

Baptiste Series 2

Premieres Friday, 24th September, on StarHub channel 502 and BBC Player

The series returns with retired detective Julien Baptiste (Tchéky Karyo) as he delves into Budapest’s corrupt underworld to find a British Ambassador’s family who goes missing on a skiing holiday in the Hungarian mountains. Ambassador Emma Chambers, played by Fiona Shaw, is a character who is thrust into the crosshairs of Baptiste’s most complex case to date, as the detective navigates an untrustworthy Hungarian police force and international media interest as he hunts for her husband and two sons.