On Thursday, you should tune in to what promises to be a fascinating show about The Genius of Photography (BBC Four, Thursday, 9pm). Sub-titled 1800-1914: Fixing the Shadows, the show kicks off the first part of six with some stunning photography, leading us from ancient Rome to the Great War.

The show starts with the camera obscura, travels through the photographic methods of mathematician Henry Fox Talbot and how the big impression of cameras on painter Edgar Degas. Of course, all these facts will only mean something to the enthusiast, so for the rest of us, rest assured that this will be an egrossing programme filled with beautiful images. I can’t wait to see Man Ray and W Eugene Smith’s work on my screen!