BBC Two

Despite being one of the world’s oldest games, chess is far from being forgotten. From 2020’s The Queen’s Gambit spiking sales of chess boards and books, to the chess.com app being the most downloaded in February 2023, new players across the globe continue to find love for the 1500-year-old game.

Now Chess Masters will bring together 12 amateur players from across the UK to compete in heats and knock-out rounds.

His career spanned roles at the BBC, Rank Taylor Hobson, DigiVision and De Montfort University, where he shared his love for technology and innovation.

Alan became a member of the Society in 1964, and served as a committee member for the East Midlands, and Nottingham and East Midlands centres, contributing significantly to the field of television and broadcasting.

Ranganathan first began his misadventures when his producers challenged him to step out of his holiday comfort zone back in 2018, where he travelled to Haiti. Through three series of The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, he has travelled to some of the most naturally beautiful, but sometimes misunderstood places including Bosnia, Zimbabwe and Columbia.

Elizabeth Taylor is known for many things – for being the highest paid actress of the 1960s, for her eight marriages to seven men, and her addictions. Taylor is often seen as the ‘blueprint’ for modern celebrity, as the gossip and scandal surrounding her dating life changed the relationship between film stars and the general public.

In the new documentary boxset, BBC Arts aims to tell the lesser-known aspects of Taylor’s life, including her acting process, her business acumen, and her longstanding activism for HIV and AIDS.

As the BBC's political editor from 2015 to 2022, Kuenssberg held a ringside seat for the Brexit referendum, the pandemic, and all the resignations, elections and prorogations the UK has seen throughout the years.

This new series will see her take a look back at the toxicity of the period, both in public and behind the political scenes, and offer her own reflections.

Myrie has been holidaying in Italy for over 30 years, but this 15-part series will allow him to dive deeper into the country.

Travelling through cities, coast and countryside, Myrie will immerse himself in Italian culture, swapping health tips with locals in a hot spring in Lazio, competing in the Tiramisu World Cup and singing in a Capri nightclub.

From The Likely Lads to Men Behaving Badly, British comedy has long mined male friendship for its comic potential. In 2014, BBC Four’s Detectorists delivered a new and unexpected take on the relationship between a couple of blokes. It upended what used to be a pretty macho world to give audiences something completely different.

The general knowledge knockout competition sees players pit their answers against each other in a test of confidence. 

Four players play solo and battle rounds, answering questions by picking from a board of six rankable answers.

If they decide to play it safe, they can earn £100 for each answer that beats another on the same board.

However, if they think they have picked the best possible answer they can press their unbeatable button.

If they are correct they win £1,000, but if they are wrong they win nothing.

The programme will meet artists who create work across different disciplines and delve into why they love their craft so much. 

Lycett meets artists who have submitted their work to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2022, which is the largest open entry art competition.

Lycett is known for his comedic exploits, but in 2018 submitted a small sculpture called 'Chris' to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.    

Judges loved 'Chris', who was made out of clay and a tub of Pringles, and was displayed in the 2018 show.