HIGHLIGHT: Sunday Worship Sung eucharist live from Canterbury Cathedral, led by the Dean, the Very Revd David Monteith, with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s first Easter sermon in office and the specially composed Canterbury Missa brevis by Matthew King.
Easter Day, 8.10am, Radio 4
TELEVISION: Maundy Thursday 10.40pm (BBC1) Harry Clark Goes to Rome A documentary that follows the TV personality Harry Clark on a journey to Rome and the Vatican City, in search of answers about belief and identity (repeated Easter Day, BBC1, 9am)
Good Friday 10.25am (BBC2) King of Kings The 1961 Hollywood biblical epic, starring Tab Hunter as Jesus.
Holy Saturday 9.55am (BBC2) The Greatest Story Ever Told Sweeping cinematic retelling of the life of Jesus Christ, with Max von Sydow and Charlton Heston.
Easter Day 10am (BBC1) Easter Sunday Service Live from Ripon Cathedral, a sung eucharist led by the Dean, the Very Revd John Dobson. The music includes Widor’s Mass for Two Choirs. The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Revd Anna Eltringham, will preach.
11am (BBC1) Urbi et Orbi The Pope’s traditional Easter greeting and blessing from Rome.
1.30pm (BBC1) Songs of Praise Pam Rhodes joins the community of Redruth Baptist Church, in Cornwall, to raise the Carn Brea cross: a giant 30-foot structure has towered over the landscape each Holy Week since 1976.
9pm (BBC2) Pilgrimage: The road to Holy Island Seven well-known personalities of different faiths and beliefs set off on a trail across north-east England to explore the lives of early Celtic Christian saints (1/3).
RADIO: Maundy Thursday 9.45am (R4 Extra) Daily Service A spiritual reflection from the Archdeacon of York, the Ven. Liz Hassall, recorded in the Chapel of Bishopthorpe Palace, York, with the Ebor Singers.
4pm (R3) Composer of the Week: Hildegard of Bingen and Isabella Leonarda Donald Macleod explores the life and music of two nuns who were also composers; series concludes at the same time on Friday.
7.30pm (R3) Radio 3 in Concert: Easter: A seasonal journey Tenebrae join the Britten Sinfonia for Sir James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross. Recorded on 28 March in St Martin-in-the-Fields. Features, page 17
9.45pm The Essay Anna Linstrum’s scenes from the life of Hildegard of Bingen, performed by Juliet Stevenson; series concludes at the same time on Friday.
Good Friday 9.45am (R4 Extra) Daily Service A spiritual reflection from the Archbishop of York, recorded in Bishopthorpe Palace, York, with the Ebor Singers.
1pm (R3) Classical Live A performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion, in a recording made for Classical Live earlier in the week at King’s College, Cambridge, with the King’s College Choir, the BBC Singers, and the Academy of Ancient Music.
1.30pm (World Service) Heart and Soul: Grief, God and the Chatbot When Megan Garcia travelled to Rome, she met the Pope, and asked him to pray for her son Sewell, who died in 2024 at the age of 14.
3pm (R4) Good Friday Meditation: Notes on an execution Rhidian Brook reflects on the day Jesus died.
4.30pm (R4) Life Changing Emma Webber talks about the death of her son, Barnaby, in the 2023 Nottingham attacks, 34, and her campaign for an inquiry (repeat).
6-9pm (R2) Easter Reflections Canon Kate Bottley reflects on the impact of loss, but showing that there is hope, faith, and love to be found in the Easter story.
7pm (R3) Classical Live Music for Good Friday by Wagner, Poulenc, and Duruflé, from the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Bach Choir, at King’s, Cambridge.
Holy Saturday 5.45am (R4) Lent Talks In a personal reflection, inspired by the story of the Passion, the theologian and author Professor Luke Bretherton explores power and community (5/5).
10.30pm (R3) New Music Show The world première of Tansy Davies’s The Passion of Mary Magdalene, recorded in London with the Dunedin Consort.
Easter Day 5.43am (R4) Bells on Sunday From Ripon.
6.05am (R4) Heart and Soul: Leaving Isis: Is redemption possible? A former Isis recruit reflects on radicalisation, faith, regret, and redemption.
6.35am (R4) Sunrise Service The Revd Grace Thomas meets the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salford, the Rt Revd John Arnold, at the Laudato Si’ Centre, Salford.
7am (R4 Extra) Poetry Extra Daljit Nagra selects the Psalms read by Jeremy Irons (first broadcast in 2019).
12pm (R3) Private Passions Michael Berkeley talks to the award-winning Christian writer Francis Spufford.
1.30pm (R3) Music Map Sara Mohr-Pietsch explores Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture, including Shrovetide plainchant and his star student, Stravinsky.
5pm (R3) The Early Music Show Hannah French on plainchant for Easter, and compositions based on it for Easter.
6pm (R3) Choral Evensong From the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge, with music by Charles Wood and Elgar.
7.45pm (R3) Words and Music: Aspects of the Divine Readings on the transcendent and numinous.
10pm (R4) Archive on 4: Kenneth Williams: Said the actor to the bishop Extracts from the Bible, recorded by the famous actor, who was born 100 years ago, with the former Bishop of Liverpool the Rt Revd James Jones (first broadcast 2025; Features, 10 April 2025).
23.25 Organ Stops: Saving the King of Instruments A handful of devotees rescue and restore abandoned church pipe organs. The programme features a 95-year-old organist, Blanche Beer (first broadcast 2022).
Monday 7.30pm (R3) Radio 3 in Concert: Mysteries and Miracles from the Tallis Scholars Music inspired by miraculous events in the life of Jesus in works by Tallis, Victoria, Gabrieli, Judith Weir, and Arvo Pärt.
4.30pm (R4) Great Lives Beverley Knight on Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a gospel singer who was a pioneer of rock and roll.