Tally Ho! New Foxtel Channel BBC First Reveals Its Program Schedule

As the August 3 launch of new British-content Aussie pay-TV channel BBC First draws closer, the station has revealed its line-up and schedule of shows, and it features some pretty enticing viewing options among its ranks.

Slated as "the home of premium, original British drama – first, fast and uninterrupted on Foxtel", BBC First's launch day will commence at 9.30am with a back-to-back ten-episode marathon of the first season of The Musketeers, which stars new Doctor Who Doctor Peter Capaldi as the scheming Cardinal Richilieu, a role Tim Curry held in the 1993 Kiefer Sutherland/Charlie Sheen/Oliver Platt/Chris O'Donnell retelling of the cherished tale. The schedule for the airing of season two has not yet been released.

Extending the Who connection, former Doctor David Tennant will appear in the three-part drama The Politician's Husband, which examines themes of power and conflict at the heart of a political marriage. It starts Monday, August 4, at 8.30pm.

Because this is the BBC ("the home of six actors and 12 props"), yet another Doctor Who alumnus will pop up in one of BBC First's shows, though The Village itself - starring former (exemplary) DW villain John Simm (The Master) - is a unique and exciting prospect. A "family saga" set in a Derbyshire village, The Village aims to retell the story of 20th-century England through the refracted, enclosed perspective of the inhabitants; that is, the camera largely stays in the village, so viewers will only "find out" about historical events, changes, progress, movements etc as the central family does. Co-stars Maxine Peake and British screen vet David Ryall. Season one canvasses 1914-1920; it airs Saturdays at 8.30pm from August 9.

In addition, Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West step into history's shoes to play Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Burton And Taylor, a historical biopic flick that airs on launch day at 8.30pm.

Last, but by no means least, the eagerly awaited Peaky Blinders, starring Cillian Murphy and Sam Neill, is a post-WWI gangster epic set in Birmingham based on the real-life criminal organisation of the same name. The series originally aired in the UK in October last year, but this will be Australia's first brush with gang leader Tommy Shelby (Murphy) as we witness his attempts to consolidate power against the efforts of Neill's dogged CI Chester Campbell. Peaky Blinders starts Sunday, August 3, at 7.30pm, and continues Thursdays at 8.30pm from August 7.