BBC TWO ANNOUNCE AUTUMN LINE-UP

BBC TWO literally gets into the nation’s bloodstream this autumn with one of the biggest scientific experiments ever undertaken by a television company.
‘Blood Of The Vikings’, which headlines a bold and hugely ambitious £96 million television season, is a ground-breaking programme which combines archaeology and genetics for the first time to trace just how far the Vikings changed the bloodlines of modern day Britain.
A unique scientific experiment, staged by the BBC and University College London and involving DNA testing more than 2,500 people, will establish how far the people of the British Isles are descended from the Nordic invaders. Presenter Julian Richards also reveals the first hard archaeological evidence of Viking raids on the British mainland.
BBC TWO continues to get under the skin of modern day Britain with a second major documentary series which explores the psyche of killers, ‘Mind Of A Murderer’, and the highly original, contemporary drama ‘BabyFather’ takes a fresh slant on modern male relationships.
Jane Root, Controller BBC Two, said: "BBC Two is a great success story. We’re proving time and time again that it’s possible to make great, quality programmes and get big audiences. BBC Two is the only terrestrial channel to gain audience this year - and that’s against a background of an 18 per cent increase in multi-channel viewing. We’ve done it by making rewarding, sophisticated programmes that please a grown-up audience. And there are plenty of those on offer this autumn."
Two quality dramas, each telling the incredibly personal stories of men – but men nearly 60 years apart - feature in the BBC Two autumn line-up: ‘BabyFather’ and ‘Band Of Brothers’.
‘BabyFather’, adapted by Avril Russell from Patrick Augustus’s acclaimed novel, stars David Harewood, Wil Johnson, Fraser James and Don Gilet as a group of modern men coming to terms with relationships, parenthood and growing up.
‘Band Of Brothers’ is the powerful story of Easy Company, a crack US paratroop unit who served in the Second World War. Their story is brought vividly to life in this BBC/HBO co-production, based on the non-fiction best seller by historian Stephen Ambrose.
Other drama highlights include the return of the ground breaking dot.com drama attachments and a new piece from multi-award winner Dominic Savage, ‘When I Was 12’, which highlights the growing number of disaffected children taking to a life on the streets. (CD)