BBC South Africa is the home of South Africa’s BBC TV channels, CBeebies, BBC Earth, BBC Brit, BBC First and BBC Lifestyle. Check the below BBC January 2020 highlights.
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BBC Earth: The World’s Deadliest Weather S3 (13×45)
Thursday 2nd January 2020 at 19:00 CAT
Nature is a tempestuous beast, capable of destruction on a level so devastating it has claimed the lives of millions… and in recent years, these extreme weather events have become more and more common. Using incredible archive and astonishing user-generated footage of some of the most extraordinary weather the planet has ever seen, we’ll relive these weather spectacles in astonishing minute by minute detail, revealing very personal stories of people who have captured the entire event on camera, and lived to tell the tale.
BBC Lifestyle: DIY SOS: The Big Build Season 30
Thursday 2nd January at 20:00
This heart-warming series returns, helping people rebuild their lives by giving them the homes they desperately need. In each episode presenter, Nick Knowles and the team issue a call to arms, recruiting friends, family and local tradespeople to help transform the homes of families across Britain. They could be living in totally unsuitable conditions following a life-changing injury or are parents who need to adapt their homes to accommodate a sick or disabled child. Each challenge climaxes in the huge, feel-good reveal to a grateful family – and there’s rarely a dry eye in the house.
BBC First: Temple (8×50)
Friday 3rd January at 21:00 CAT
Temple is the story of Daniel Milton, played by Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Shazam!, The Imitation Game), a talented and successful surgeon. Following a personal tragedy that shatters his comfortable life, Daniel partners up with a lonely yet resourceful young man named Lee to start a literal ‘underground’ clinic, situated in the vast labyrinthine network of tunnels and spaces beneath London. There Daniel treats all those who cannot, or will not, seek more legitimate means of healthcare: criminals, illegal immigrants, and the just plain weird. Of course, such a risky endeavour is not without its surprises, and Daniel and Lee are soon joined in the bunker by Anna, a guilt-ridden medical researcher, and Jamie, a young fugitive bank robber who’s in way over his head. And so, down in the bowels of the city, the good doctor must do his best to juggle this misfit team and their needs alongside those of an illegal clinic and its increasingly unpredictable clientele. But Daniel also has another mission, one close to his heart, and as he begins to push his moral boundaries as both a doctor and a man, it becomes worryingly apparent that it may actually be him and his desperate actions that finally bring the whole thing crashing down…
Starring: Mark Strong (Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Shazam!, The Imitation Game), Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones, Valkyrie), Daniel Mays (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Line of Duty). Exec Producer: Liza Marshall (Taboo, Riviera). Producer: Barney Reisz (Black Mirror, Elizabeth I). Writer: Mark ORowe (Boy A, Intermission). Directors: Luke Snellin (Wanderlust, Let it Snow), Shariff Korver (Fenix, Infiltrant), Lisa Siwe (Modus, The Bridge).
BBC Earth: North America with Simon Reeve (5×50)
Friday 3rd January 2020 at 19:00 CAT
Author and adventurer Simon Reeve embarks on another epic journey, this time across North America. He finds a vast and varied continent, with glaciers, deserts and jungles, where great wealth exists alongside punishing poverty, political divisions and human drama. Simon takes in the grand beauty of the Rockies and the rugged splendour of America’s West Coast forests. He meets Montana cowboys facing an uncertain future and the indigenous peoples of Guatemala migrating north for a better life. As Simon basks under the Mexican sun and shivers in the Arctic, he tests the temperature of a truly fascinating continent.
BBC Lifestyle: Farmer Wants a Wife Australia Season 7
Sunday 5th January at 20:00
Six new farmers travel to the stunning rural Australian setting of Hunter Valley, famed for its divine wines, to begin their search for love. Some are looking for the first time, while others are hoping for a second chance. Each farmer meets the six potential partners they have chosen and goes on five-minute speed dates with each of them, but this time each farmer then goes on a seventh speed date with a girl chosen by their family before they decide which three girls will come to the farm.
BBC Brit: The Greatest Dancer Season 1
Sunday 5th January at 17:00
The brand-new dance competition will see dancers from aged 7 and above perform any dance style they choose and compete to win £50,000 and a chance to perform on Strictly Come Dancing. Expect dramatic auditions, outstanding talent and jaw-dropping surprises as dancers give the performance of their lives.
South African ballroom star Oti Mabuse joins as a ‘dance captain’ alongside multi-platinum-selling singer Cheryl and Broadway and Glee star Matthew Morrison. In this show, it’s an audition like no other – where the audience is in control – they have the fate of the dancers in their hands.
BBC Lifestyle: Extreme Chocolate Makers S1
Monday 6th January 20:00
Narrated by Rufus Hound (Doctor Who; Big Fat Gypsy Gangster), this series unveils the work of an elite group of chocolatiers, who go all out to produce the world’s most breath-taking chocolate creations.
The talented chocolate makers that feature in the series will be designing and producing a range of ambitious, intricate and mouth-watering delights; which include a 3D chocolate map of Croatia commissioned by the Croatian Embassy, a chocolate record player complete with chocolate headphones, microphone and record collection, a 4.5ft Big Ben and even exact replicas of an endangered dung beetle for an Oxford entomologist.
BBC Brit: Top Gear –Planes Trains and Automobiles
Thursday 9th January at 20:00
Raiding the classic Top Gear archive, this unique and carefully curated collection sees Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take to the skies, railways and roads. Travelling across the globe and featuring epic challenges, the series is an eclectic mix of transportation-based Top Gear fun. From racing a vintage car and motorcycle against a classic steam engine to building their own caravan- based airship, and from rally cars racing jet-powered flying men to building their own car-based trains, this series of motoring mayhem shows Clarkson, Hammond and May at their very best.
BBC Brit: QI S18
Friday 10th January at 20:00
QI is the Rose d’Or-winning and multi-BAFTA-nominated comedy entertainment show full of quirky questions and fun facts. Hosted by Sandi Toksvig (The Great British Bake-Off), panellists are rewarded for being interesting rather than right; indeed, credit is often given for wrong answers, providing they are not dull! This extremely successful returning series has strong global appeal, and its prestige has attracted a host of international stars to join the panel: previous guests have included Jerry Springer, Teri Hatcher and Daniel Radcliffe.
BBC Brit: The Good Karma Hospital Season 3
Monday 13th January at 20:00
Actress Amrita Acharia (who was here with us at our Upfront previously), is back with her medical crew for another wonderful season of The Good Karma Hospital – a real ratings driver on BBC BRIT. Set once again on the stunning Southern Indian shores and will follow Dr Ruby’s on and off again love affair with Dr Varma, as season 2 finale had us all asking ‘what does the future hold for their relationship’? And, will Ruby forge a relationship with her long-lost father or will too much time have passed between them?
BBC Lifestyle: Jamie’s Ultimate Veg Season 1
Wednesday 15th January 20:00
Packed full of phenomenal food, award-winning chef Jamie Oliver is back with a brand-new series celebrating all things veg. In this series, Jamie’s cooking up a stunning collection of beautifully vibrant, hearty and healthy veg dishes encouraging meat-eaters and vegetarians to put vegetables front and centre! Not only that, he will seek inspiration from around the country and the globe, meeting people who inspire and excite him with new ways to hero vegetables.
BBC Brit: Live at the Apollo Season 15
Wednesday 22nd January at 20:00
The UK is home to the cream of the comedy circuit, producing home-grown superstars and attracting the funniest comedians from around the world. This long-running hit showcases the very best of that bunch – pure talents at the peak of their powers. Each instalment features an established comic who treats the crowd to a rip- roaring set, before introducing two more of the most exciting acts around. The line-up for this series is yet to be announced, but expect each show to be packed with the biggest stars in the business and the household names of the future.
BBC Lifestyle: Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back Season 2
Tuesday 28th January at 20:00
Award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay returns to BBC Lifestyle for as second series of 24 Hours To Hell and Back as he attempts to bring failing restaurants back from the brink of disaster – all in just 24 hours. As the clock ticks down, Ramsay and his team transform these restaurants with spectacular renovations, fresh new menus and hope for the future. It all builds to the end of the 24 hours when grand reopening’s of these restaurants are held for the public.
Image Courtesy: Supplied