Sculpture to grace BBC Four's new season

Alastair Sooke will present The Story of British Sculpture

Two new programmes devoted to sculpture and a fresh adaptation of two DH Lawrence classics are among the line-up for BBC Four's winter schedule.

The channel will tell the Story of British Sculpture, while actor David Thewlis has his head modelled by three different artists.

Lawrence's Women In Love and The Rainbow will be told as one story.

The Royal Opera House's production about the life of late glamour model Anna Nicole Smith will also be shown.

Bumbling detective

A film version of a production of Macbeth starring Sir Patrick Stewart is also in the newly-announced schedules.

Dirk Gently, the bumbling detective creation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy author Douglas Adams, will come alive on the screen for the first time in a mystery that stems from his attempted rescue of a cat from an old lady's house.

Previously announced dramas based on the origins of Coronation Street and the life of Carry On star Hattie Jacques are also due to air over the autumn and winter period.

EastEnders actress Jessie Wallace takes on the role of fiery soap siren Pat Phoenix, while Gavin and Stacey's Ruth Jones plays larger-than-life comic legend Jacques.

Other fine arts series due to be aired include the art of Cornwall and Germany, which were made following the success of programmes about Russia and Italy.