Bradford 2025: BBC's plan for Bradford's UK City of Culture year including Extraordinary Portraits with Bill Bailey, Antiques Roadshow and Gardeners’ World

The BBC was deemed an official broadcast partner in June last year and it has today announced its latest wave of cultural and creative projects.

Highlights include an exhibition of paintings and sculpture from the most recent series of Extraordinary Portraits with Bill Bailey. The show, with the comedian and art lover, sees talented artists matched with inspiring individuals to create works of art which reflect modern Britain. They will be on show at the Loading Bay arts venue from March 13.

The following month will see the Radio 2 Loves Brass concert take place at St. George’s Hall on April 11, as part of Bradford 2025’s The Big Brass Blowout weekend. Listeners will be taken on a musical journey from Bond themes to Bhangra beats in the company of the Black Dyke Band, chart-topping pop legend Marti Pellow, star soprano Carly Paoli, Punjabi Roots Academy and Bradford Cathedral Choir.

Jeremy Vine will also be broadcasting his show live from Bradford that day, celebrating the city’s rich history of brass bands, rooted in the success of the district's mills and factories.

A host of CBBC events are also set to come from Bradford throughout the year including the CBeebies Bedtime Stories family celebration on April 15 and 16. There will be celebrations, too, from BBC Music Introducing, which is holding four gigs at The Underground, the first taking place on February 28.

Antiques Roadshow will be filming at Lister Park and Cartwright Hall in the summer, and this week, two BBC Radio 4 shows – Jay Rayner’s The Kitchen Cabinet and Gardeners’ Question Time - are recording programmes at the University of Bradford Stadium.

TV programmes will also feature Bradford people and projects. An episode of Gardeners’ World, for example, will focus on Wibsey community garden, an environmental charity helping people to get back on their feet, and two episodes of My Life, a documentary series featuring children with inspiring stories, will focus on people in Bradford.

One, My Life: The Fastest Boy in the World, follows Alfie, a ten-year-old who says his ADHD and autism help him focus when it comes to his passion of motorbike racing as he sets to break a new land speed world record.

The other, My Life: Me, My Horse and My Spear, features Bradford-based 11-year-old Jaleel and 15-year-old Subhaan, part of a new generation of British horse riders taking up Neza Bazi, a highly competitive sport which involves galloping at full speed using a long spear to strike wooden pegs in the ground.

The BBC said its content “celebrates the vibrant culture, rich heritage, and dynamic creativity” of Bradford. Katrina said: “It’s great to see Bradford’s character and the great people who make it shining on the local and national stage.”

Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director of Bradford 2025, UK City of Culture, added: “There’s so much more for audiences across the nation to engage with across the BBC, and we’re excited to work with the BBC to tell Bradford’s story.”