This preview picks out some of the highlights for thecoming months on BBC ONE NI, BBC TWO NI andBBC Radio Ulster/Foyle. It shows a real range ofprogrammes for audiences in Northern Ireland andsignificant contributions from here for the networkchannels such as Battlefield Britain, the NaturalHistory of the British Isles, The Culture Showand Messiah III. It also gives a full line-up of our newSaturday schedule on BBC Radio Ulster with TheSaturday Magazine and The John Daly RadioShow joining regular favourites Your Place and Mine,Gardeners' Corner and On Your Behalf.

In the last year, BBC NI has won five out of the six RTSregional categories, worldwide acclaim for the dramaHoly Cross and Radio Foyle was named as SonyStation of the Year.

BBC Radio Ulster/ Foyle reached record levels oflistening for the first part of this year, coinciding withour most ambitious project ever in Northern Ireland,BBC Music Live.

I would like to thank all our programme makers,presenters and, most importantly, the viewers andlisteners in Northern Ireland.

I hope you enjoy our new programmes for the autumnand winter.

Peter Johnston,

Head Of Broadcasting for BBC Northern Ireland

The Saturday Magazine

When Saturday morning comes,many of us look forward topouring a big cup of coffee andsnuggling up on the sofa with theSaturday supplements hoping tofind a good feature to read.

BBC Radio Ulster’s new TheSaturday Magazineprogramme is set to add morechoice into the mix. Lively,entertaining and informative, thishour-and-a-half long programme -the only one of its kind inNorthern Ireland - will bringhigh-quality content with aweekend touch to the airwaves.Presented by John Toal, TheSaturday Magazine will begiving listeners the best inlifestyle and leisure, includingfeatures on health, travel, education,fashion, cooking, entertainmentand shopping. John Toal and ourcontributors will be out and aboutmeeting people in the gym, in thecafé, and on the road while ateam of columnists will give theirtake on issues that excite them.

Listeners can also get involved inThe Saturday Magazine byphoning, texting or e-mailing their‘letters’ to the show, to give theirthoughts on the items featuredor to share what they do at theweekend. The SaturdayMagazine can be enjoyed on thesofa, while you’re doing thegardening or housework andeven on the road.

Saturday favouritesYour Place and Mine scans thecountry to bring listeners anintriguing mix of people, placesand fascinating stories. InGardeners’ Corner, CherrieMcIlwaine and guests visit gardensin Northern Ireland, gettingtopical advice for those green-fingered listeners. Linda McAuleyand her panel of experts giveNorthern Ireland’s consumers avoice in On Your Behalf.Listeners can get the Best OfTalkback, as David Dunseithrewinds the spools to find theweek’s best debates anddiscussions and Mark Devenportwill look at the most pressingpolitical issues in Inside Politics.

Adam Coates brings all the lateston the weekend matches andgames in Sportsound, beforeBBC Radio Ulster makes way foran eclectic evening of music withBrian Mullen’s Cashclar, RalphMcLean’s McLean’s Countryand Colum Sand’s Folk Club.

BBC Radio Ulster will present anexciting series of half-hourprogrammes each Saturday, thefirst of which is the newlandmark eight-part seriesEighty Listening Years,presented by John Bennett. BBCRadio Ulster, 92.4-95.4FM.

The John Daly Radio ShowThere’s no business like showbusiness and when itcomes to the world of glitz and glamour, there’s nobetter man to keep you informed than John Daly.

Joining the Saturday line-up on BBC Radio Ulsterwith a new weekly show, John Daly will bequenching the nation’s insatiable thirst for all thingsentertainment with his new lunch-time show.

John is no stranger to getting up close andpersonal with the stars and for his BBC RadioUlster Show - produced by John’s own radioproduction company OJO-John will not onlycontinue his tradition of chatting to the bignames in entertainment, he will be playingsome top music and analysing anddissecting the week’s juiciestcelebrity gossip to find outwhat’s fact and what’s fiction.As if all this wasn’t enough,John will also be predictingwhat’s going to be hit andmiss in the worlds of musicand movies before takinga look at the week’ssportingevents.

CENTURY FARM Imagine life without supermarkets, television,radio, cars, e-mail, mobile phones and all moderncomforts, turning your back on it all to step backin time.

That’s exactly what one Northern Ireland familyhas done, rising to the challenge, in a major newsix-part documentary series Century Farm,made for BBC ONE Northern Ireland by HotShot Films.

The McGraths from Glengormley quite literallyleft 2004 behind, swapping all their homecomforts for six weeks of rural life over thesummer. Changing their modern clothes forturn-of-the-20th century clothing, six membersof the closely knit family went back in time livingthe life of a family in rural Ireland of 1904.

They lived this truly 1904 lifestyle in Coshkib, aperiod farmhouse originally built deep in theheart of the Glens of Antrim, now one of theworking exhibits at the Ulster Folk andTransport Museum at Cultra, outside Holywood,County Down. Coshkib was closed to the publicduring filming.

The McGrath family is made up of father John,mother Marie, daughter Fionnola (12), sons Paul(18), Conor (17) and Neal (13).

Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week theMcGraths totally immersed themselves in 1904rural farm life, experiencing life struggling tomake ends meet, learning how to care for farmanimals, gathering in the hay, making all their ownfood (without a supermarket in sight) and evenusing bicarbonate of soda on their fingers toclean their teeth.

Over the course of six weeks, viewers can followtheir ups and downs as they come to terms withthis dramatic life change, while learning moreabout what life was really like 100 years ago.

Poker playerHow would you feel if yourlivelihood depended on the turnof a card? Would you be preparedto gamble everything for a chanceof winning the jackpot? A newBBC ONE Northern Irelanddocumentary follows a Belfast manwho does just that - professionalpoker player Mike Magee.

The documentary follows Mike,who now lives in London, as hehas one final attempt at winningthe big one - the World PokerChampionships in Las Vegas - thePoker Olympics.

The McGrath family is made up of fatherJohn, mother Marie, daughter Fionnola (12),sons Paul (18), Conor (17) and Neal (13).

Store WarsBuilt in 1907, Austins departmentstore has been serving shoppersin the north west for almost a century.

Ireland’s first department store isnow facing intense competition asUK multinational, Debenhams,opens a new multi-million poundstore within walking distance ofThe Diamond.

Store Wars is a new four-partBBC ONE Northern Irelandseries following the staff and thebusiness during a decisive year inthe life of one of the city’s best-known landmarks as it battles toexist against the odds.

Staying in the NW, a new six-partseries looks at the role of thePSNI in the Foyle DistrictCommand area. Derry CityBeat is an observationaldocumentary series on BBC ONENorthern Ireland followingofficers from the local policestations as they deal with a rangeof issues.

MotorMouthMotorMouth takes up thechallenge of helping NorthernIrish drivers hook up with theirperfect cars.

Presenters Conor Grimes andAlan McKee represent the twosides of every car buyer - thestyle-loving devil and thepractical, value for money angel.

Conor has a subscription toauto-trader and carries picturesof his favourite machines aroundin his wallet, while Alan is acountry man with a love for a bargain.

Each week, they review threecars each before recommendingtheir favoured choice, given thepunter’s tastes and needs.

From housewives to barristers,from boy racers to companyexecutives, MotorMouth will help make that driving decisionthat little bit easier.

Bits of BelfastFormer Northern IrelandInternational footballer GerryArmstrong returns to his nativedistrict in Belfast, the Falls Road.Gerry left the Falls area of WestBelfast when he was only 21years old, for the bright lights oftop flight football.

In the programme, he traces hischildhood and teenage roots, un-covering the rich cultural,political and sporting traditionsthat flow through the veins ofthis historic area. 30 years oftroubles have been captured onthe famous wall murals, and Bitsof Belfast uncovers the manwho has painted most of them.

Gerry also goes underground, toa place where both Catholic andProtestant people shelteredtogether during the Blitz, as wellas discovering the story of theOrangeman now described as anIrish Patriot. Finally, Gerry has akick-about with some of his oldmates, not only from the1982World Cup Squad, but the GaelicFootball players from his formerclub, St Johns.

Fish out of WaterThis season sees the return of thepopular series Fish out ofWater to BBC Northern Ireland.

This year’s ‘fish’ include a BBC NIWeather presenter swapping witha dog warden, a drag queen with ademolition expert and a top fashionmodel with a pest control officer.With often hilarious results, findout how they survive in their newenvironments on BBC ONE NI.

SRL BBC Northern Ireland’s IrishLanguage television series, SRL,returns for a ten-week run thisautumn.

Presenters Céara Ní Choinn andMichelle Nic Grianna aretogether again and as the closefriends open the series byjumping out of an aircraft, theyare glad to be side by side.

Music features strongly in SRL,with acts such as Cara Dillon,John Spillane, Donal Lunny aswell as up-and-comingperformers like ‘Mill a h-UileRud’, a Scottish Gaelic Punk bankfrom Seattle.

SRL has a video diary for young people and ‘postcards’from the USA, where natives ofcities such as New York, SanFrancisco, Chicago and Bostonshow the places tourists don’tusually see. None of the guideswere born in Ireland, yet all canspeak fluent Irish.

SRL Presenters Céara Ní Choinn andMichelle Nic Grianna

Nolan LiveStephen Nolan returns to BBCONE NI with his no-holds-barred discussion programmeNolan Live.

Now extended to one hour, thisweekly live topical programmewill once again give viewers thechance to air their views on themost up-to-date debates byphoning, texting or e-mailing theprogramme.

The new series of Nolan Livewill be looking at the biggestand most contentious issues ofthe day, sourcing the besthuman interest features and seestraight-talking Nolan gettingthe truth from his guests in aseries of in depth interviews.

If it’s important and needs to betalked about, you’ll see it onNolan Live.

Stephen Nolan can also beheard from 9am-10.30am onweekday mornings BBC RadioUlster in The Stephen Nolan Show.

Battlefield Britain - TheBattle of the Boyne

“Over 300 years ago, this river,which cuts through the heart ofIreland, ran red with blood. Itwas the scene of a notoriousbattle which has deeper andmore violent echoes than anyother battle in the history ofthe British Isles. Together withmy son Dan, I’ve come toIreland to piece together thechain of events that arecelebrated by some with

enormous fervour every year.”(Peter Snow)

The UK is a country that’s beenforged by centuries of warfare.Using ground-breaking graphics tore-create the epic scale of war,father and son team Peter andDan Snow tell the story of eightbattles that have shaped thecountry we live in including theBattle of the Boyne.

Natural history enthusiast Alan Titchmarsh turns landscape detectiveto unravel the epic story of the evolution of the British Isles in thisnew, eight-part series and reveals secrets hidden in the landscape sinceancient times. In a first for the BBC, each one-hour programmefeatures unique 10-minute regional opt-out films. In Northern Ireland,Darryl Grimason explores the story of this island’s past and lookstowards its future, from high on the cliffs of the North Antrim coastto deep within the limestone caves of Fermanagh. As he climbs thesheer cliffs of Murlough Bay, he discovers all the ages of this island, fromdesert sands and jungles to tropical seas lost beneath massive lava flows.

During the series, Darryl uncovers a landscape shaped by fire and ice,axe and plough. He finds the dolachan, the surviving ancestor ofIreland’s unique Ice Age fish; clambers through ancient oak forests;unearths the remains of prehistoric farms; and discovers the richhabitats left by the industrial age.

This series, made by the BBC’s Natural History Unit in Bristol, presents the first complete picture of the extraordinary geographical,natural and human history of the British Isles. Alan Titchmarshencourages viewers to get outdoors to explore the countryside andlearn about the natural wonders on their doorstep.

Exciting extra elements to complement the television programmesinclude the innovative website Walks Through Time - guided walks in each region allowing viewers to explore the marvels of their own area, accessed through bbc.co.uk/nature. A huge range of public spin-off events will also be staged country-wide by museums andwildlife organisations.

BBC NEWSLINEBBC Northern Ireland’s flagshipnews service, BBC Newslinecontinues to bring in-depthcoverage of news, sport andweather from around NorthernIreland. The new season will seemore BBC Newsline SpecialReports - a detailed investigationof everyday issues affecting localpeople - which in the past haveincluded the morning-after pillscandal, teenage suicide andunderage drinking. The BBCNewsline team will continue tobring live, on-the-spot reportsfrom across Northern Ireland andacross the globe focusing on theissues that matter to people here.

British Isles: A NATURAL HISTORY

Dirty WorkIn Dirty Work, Eamonn Holmeslifts the dustbin lid on the jobsyou’d rather not do. It’s a smellyold job, it’ll turn your stomach butsomeone’s got to do it! He donshis overalls and rubber gloves andjoins Belfast’s binmen on theirweekly rounds. Dirty Work alsolets you meet the house clearanceteams and the sewer squads.

Shot over eight months, DirtyWork looks at the people who, day and daily, have to dealwith dirt and grime acrossNorthern Ireland.

MESSIAH IIIcomes to BBC ONE

Be scared, very scared…Ken Stott returns as thecerebral DCI Red Metcalfe inthe third Messiah two-partfilm, The Promise.

In The Promise, Red fights his ownconscience as he tries to stop akiller turn a London hospital intoa graveyard of pain. As he and histeam battle to protect theinnocent, a grotesque twist of fatethreatens to tear them apart.

Neil Dudgeon returns as DI DuncanWarren and Frances Grey reprisesher role as DS Kate Beauchamp.

American actress, MichelleForbes, also returns to play Red’swife, Susan Metcalfe, in a poignantstory of love and loss. The castalso features: Liam Cunningham,Michael Maloney, CatherineRussell, Sam Troughton and Clare Holman.

BBC Proms In The Park A feast of fabulous music is guaranteed withthe return, for the third year, of the hugelypopular Proms In The Park. Headliningthis year’s outdoor event are the Belfast-bornflautist James Galway, Jeanne Galway, Bangor-born baritone Bruno Caproni and violinistCora Venus Lunny from Dublin with theUlster Orchestra and the Ulster Youth Choir.

Presented by Noel Thompson and recordedby Landseer Productions for BBC NorthernIreland, on Saturday, September 11, to bescreened later this year.

The John Daly Show John Daly takes to the roads of NorthernIreland this autumn in the new series ofThe John Daly Show.

The king of chat returns to our screens,celebrating the best in local talent as wellas bringing stars from the internationalworld of showbiz to towns acrossNorthern Ireland.

Plenty of music, craic and celebrity chatis guaranteed.

The Fair Days of Summer Gerry Anderson and ChristineBleakley introduce us to thewonderful world of the communityfestival. This series aims to tell thestory of four summer festivals -Fiddler’s Green at Rostrevor, TheMary of Dungloe Festival in Donegal,The Lady of the Lake Festival inIrvinestown, County Fermanaghand Portaferry Gala Week.

The Fairs Days of Summer isa complete, structured andentertaining narrative of a uniquecommunity ‘happening’. Each half-hour factual entertainmentdocumentary will tell the story ofhow a local community makes afestival happen. Meet thepersonalities and the performerswho drive each festival, finding outhow they deal with the trials andtriumphs that go with the territory.

Along the way Gerry and Christinewill use their own unique style ofpresentation to help us tell thestory in each programme.

Gerry is also back with a newseries of the RTS award-winningAnderson In…, taking anotherlook at the fascinating careers,pastimes and hobbies of NorthernIreland people.

Give My Head Peace

Northern Ireland’s most famousdysfunctional family are back onlocal screens this Autumn. Now inits 10th series, viewers of GiveMy Head Peace have beenfollowing the fortunes of Ma, Da,Cal, Uncle Andy and the rest ofthe gang since 1998. This new 10-part series uncovers yet morehidden secrets about the madcapgang, including Ma’s (Olivia Nash)former dalliance into the world ofmusic as a member of a 60’sMotown band and Uncle Andy’s(Marty Reid) job as a children’stelevison presenter.

Jason Byrne Hates

Perrier-nominated Irish funny manJason Byrne unleashes hisexplosive sense of humour for thenew BBC Northern Irelandproduction, Jason Byrne Hates.

Turbo-charged Byrne is sure tocrank up the chuckle metre as hepokes fun at some of his dislikes,such as sports, fruit and vegetables,animals, men, women and magic.

This rib-tickling new series isdirected by BAFTA-winner PatiMarr who, in the past, has leanther talents to such hit programmesas Dead Ringers, The Royle Familyand The Dave Gorman Collection,and is produced by RTS winnerJackie Hamilton, who haspreviously worked on Give MyHead Peace and PK Tonight.

Also from BBC NI’s Comedy Unitthis Winter will be Ad Fads,presented by Northern Irelandcomic Colin Murphy. Colin takes alook at Northern Ireland TVcommercials through the decades,cheekily poking fun at the uniqueNorn’ Irish way of selling.

The Folks on the HillThe Folks on the Hill are backon TV with a new series, bringingsome of our best known politicalfigures back to a computer-generated existence.

The fifteen-minute satirical sketchshows combine the latest computergraphics with the writing andperforming talents of localimpressionist Sean Crummey.

On Eagle’s Wing: The Documentary

BBC Northern Ireland presents an innovative documentary film, OnEagle’s Wing, telling the story of the Scots-Irish, the 18th centuryPresbyterian immigrants from Ulster to whom many millions ofAmericans can trace their roots.

The 50-minute programme fuses traditional documentary elements,such as expert historical opinion, with music and dance from the stageshow recorded at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. The film tells thestory of the Scots-Irish, examining their experiences in the 1700s assettlers, frontiersmen and revolutionaries fighting for Americanindependence from an English king and their lasting contribution toimportant aspects of life in today’s United States.

Director Moore Sinnerton and his crew filmed in Scotland, Ireland andthe United States. Starting on the banks of the Delaware, theyfollowed in the footsteps of the Scots-Irish along the Great Wagonroad across Pennsylvania, south through the Shenandoah Valley, anddown the Appalachian Mountains deep into the Carolinas, Kentuckyand Tennessee.

On Eagle’s Wing - a Straight Forward production - will bebroadcast on BBC ONE Northern Ireland and on PBS in the UnitedStates. As well as the documentary BBC Northern Ireland will alsobroadcast John Anderson’s stage sensation On Eagle’s Wing,recorded at the Odyssey Arena.

Hard Spell takes word play to anotherlevel when it invites kids aged between

11-14 to become Britain’s best young speller and show

off their spelling skillson television in front of the whole

country. Spelling will never have been socompelling in this nail biting event whereaddictive spelling tests will become just asmuch fun to watch as they are to play alongwith at home.

Presenter Eamonn Holmes says “Thesekids are like spelling athletes and I’m there to congratulate them when they cross the finish line or give them a pat on the back ifthey don’t.”

Viewers can watch the hopes, nerves andexcitement of children across the UK as

they spell their way to the top of the class.Each school’s best young speller will go

through to a regional heat in Octoberand hopefully onto the final in London.The TV cameras will be there to

follow the stories of them and theirfamilies as they journey from the carefree classroom to a nerve-wrackinggrand finale.

First StopNorthern Ireland’s number onegig-guide and entertainmentprogramme returns to localscreens on BBC ONE NorthernIreland this autumn.

First Stop, the fast-paced‘what’s on?’ show will return forits fourth series, providing theessential guide to going-out inNorthern Ireland, with presentersChristine Bleakley and RalphMcLean keeping their fingers onthe pulse.

The Culture ShowBBC Two presents a brand-newprogramme dedicated to UK artsand culture.

Sophisticated, intelligent andsurprising, The Culture Showdelves deep into the big culturalissues and events of the day, witha mix of investigative journalismand reviews.

Celebrating and critiquing therange and diversity of artsthroughout the UK, TheCulture Show uses some of thenation’s most passionate andopinionated voices to reach intothe heart of UK cultural life.

Season TicketAll the best in local sportingaction will be rounded-up in anew magazine style programme.Each week, Season Ticket willfeature all the action from a rangeof sports.

The new series will also keepsports fans up-to-date on all thelatest news and hear from thosemaking the sports headlines inNorthern Ireland.