When Kim Shillinglaw became Controller of BBC Two last year, one of her predecessors took her for a drink. Roly Keating had launched BBC Four, moved on to BBC Two and filled in as temporary boss of BBC One. In a meeting room in New Broadcasting House, Shillinglaw recalls with terrible clarity what he told her.

“He said, ‘You will find BBC Two is the toughest. Let me tell you that now. BBC Four has a lot of individual commissions but not very much money, so there’s a limit to how many things it can commission.

A trailblazing four-part documentary series on the history of women will air on BBC Two this autumn.

Charting the role of women in society over 10,000 years, The Ascent Of Woman is the first ever documentary to explore the history of women from the birth of civilisation to the contemporary era.

Focusing on the themes of freedom, oppression, inclusion and exclusion, the series aims to study the status of women and women’s rights.

The series is written and presented by Dr Amanda Foreman, the author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.

Monday

Idris Elba: No Limits

Discovery, 9pm

Drag racing, aerobatics, rally driving and land speed record attempts might seem like the perfect training ground for a would-be James Bond, but Luther star Idris Elba has denied that he will be taking that baton from Daniel Craig.

RTS Futures assembled a panel of pioneers for its sold-out event at London's Hospital Club in late April, "I made it in... digital". An enthusiastic, youthful audience was eager to learn from their experiences of working at the cutting edge of new media. It learnt, perhaps surprisingly, that television – the dancing dad at an achingly hip party – still has a big role to play in the digital age.

Michael Jackson's stellar career encapsulates much of the creative history of TV during the past 30 years. He was an innovative independent producer back in the 1980s, reinvented BBC Two in the 1990s, and went on to run Channel 4. There, he launched Queer as Folk, Ali G and Big Brother, before crossing the Atlantic to work for the legendary mogul Barry Diller.

Today, still based in New York, his career has swung full circle. Jackson is once again working as a producer.

Monday

Kevin McCloud’s Escape to the Wild

Channel 4, 9pm

The show that sees budding entrepreneurs entering the Den to pitch business ideas to the Dragons has unveiled a new line up.

This year’s new additions will join existing multi-millionaire Dragons Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones.  

An estimated £15m has been invested by the Dragons since the Den opened its doors a decade ago.

After Duncan Bannatyne, Kelly Hoppen and Piers Linney left the show, three new investors will join BBC Two’s flagship investment show.

Meet the new dragons:

Monday

What Do Artists Do All Day?: Sue Webster

BBC Four, 10pm

Buffy

The Spanish Armada, much like the Boudica's uprising against the Romans, is a pillar of British history often referred to, but rarely fully understood.

Now a new three-part docudrama, starting this Sunday on BBC Two, aims to explain just what the armada was all about, from the international tensions that led to the conflict, to the efficacy of the weapons used.

Using CGI, dramatic reconstructions and recently discovered documents, Armada: 12 Days to Save England will focus on this short but decisive period of Tudor history.