SATURDAY 29 MARCH 2025

SAT 00:00 Soul Music (b0076x76)
Series 5

Clair de lune

An exploration of Claude Debussy's music for piano, which was inspired by a poem about moonlight.

Featuring:

Sioned Williams (Harpist)
Heather Couper
Richard Langham-Smith
Erica Duggan
Elodie Lauten
Phil Cool
Philippe Cassard

Series about music that makes the hairs stand up on the back of our necks.

Producer: Karen Gregor

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2006.


SAT 00:30 Herland (b06yfhqr)
In 1915, women could neither vote, divorce nor work after marriage.

Yet in that same year, American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman envisaged a revolutionary world populated entirely by women who were intelligent, resourceful and brave.

Her great sci-fi novel Herland tells the story of three men who crash land on an island where the men have died out; women reproduce by parthenogenesis.

Until Gilman's book was published, most visions of utopia, though turning the world on its head, struggled to envisage a place where gender had changed.

Fantastical machines could be imagined alongside marvellous advances in medicine and technology, but the idea of woman functioning fully in the new utopias was too much for many to imagine.

Award-winning sci-fi writer Geoff Ryman uses Herland as a starting point to ask why it's been so hard to imagine a world where gender dissolves.

He'll be writing his own short story, avoiding the pitfalls that have skewered many before him.

The story called 'NO POINT TALKING' has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra and is available on BBC Sounds.

Contributors:

* Stephanie Saulter, author of the Evolution Trilogy
* Laurie Penny, writer and journalist
* Dr Sari Edelstein, The President of the Charlotte Perkins Gilman Society
* Sarah Le Fanu, former Senior Editor at The Women's Press
* Dr Caitríona Ní Dhúill, author of Sex and Imagined Spaces
* Sarah Hall, author of The Carhullan Army and The Wolf Border.

Original music composed by Scanner.

Producer: Nicola Swords

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2016.


SAT 01:00 Find The Lady (m000f6cv)
7. In Which Andrew Marsh Finds the Truth

Andrew Marsh finally deduces who is behind him being framed for both cheque book fraud - and murder.

Starring Noel Johnson.

Conclusion of the murder mystery thriller serial by David Ellis.

Andrew Marsh …. Noel Johnson
Joyce Marsh …. Madi Hedd
Roger Sherwin …. Douglas Blackwell
Peter Lloyd …. Michael Deacon
Detective Sergeant Rankin …. Henry Stamper
Detective Inspector Adams …. John Bentley
Alf Jenkins …. Brian Haines
Judy Randall …. Eva Haddon

Producer: Betty Davies.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1969.


SAT 01:30 Limelight (p09h4wvx)
The System: Series 1

Level 6: Judgement Day Question Mark.

A witty and propulsive six-part thriller about a group of young radicals and the hunt for their leader. Starring Siena Kelly, Jack Rowan and Iain de Caestecker.

Written by Ben Lewis.

The Past: Alex’s story comes into focus.
The Present: Maya goes in search of Jake, hoping together they can stop the System before things get totally out of control. But can they? And who’s really in charge?

Alex … Iain de Caestecker
Maya … Siena Kelly
Coyote…Divian Ladwa
Beau…Matthew Needham
DI Cohen / Jess …Chloe Pirrie
Jake …Jack Rowan

Original music and sound design by Danny Krass
Featuring tracks from Equiknoxx music collective

A BBC Scotland Production directed by Kirsty Williams

With thanks to Dr Joel Busher at the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, University of Coventry.


SAT 02:00 Bodgers, Banks and Sparkes (m002987t)
Death and Disease

The sketch show comedy gang focus on death and disease.

Featuring the ever popular 'Disease of the Week'

'Peritonitis' -'What is it?' 'Where to get it' 'How to spell it'

Starring The Bodgers:
Moray Hunter
Johnny NoName
Gordon Kennedy
Peter Baike
Morwenna Banks
John Sparkes

Many of the team that would go on to create the celebrated late 1980s Channel 4 TV comedy, Absolutely.

Music by Pete Baikie and The Jim Baikie Big Band.

Written by Moray Hunter, John Docherty, Morwenna Banks and John Sparkes.

Producer: Alan Nixon

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1986.


SAT 02:30 The Ken Dodd Show (m002987w)
From 27/10/1963

The King of Knotty Ash is joined by Steptoe and Son's Wilfrid Brambell.

Starring Ken Dodd.

Recovered episode safely back in the BBC archive.

Sketch show comedy.

With:

John Laurie
Patricia Hayes
Judith Chalmers
Percy Edwards
Peter Hudson
Wallas Eaton

Music: BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet

Written by Ken Dodd and Eddie Braben.

Producer: Bill Worsley

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1963.


SAT 03:00 Shush! (b08r1wd8)
Series 2

A Fairy-Tale Ending

When family come to call, Snoo runs into problems with a grape and Alice has to learn a tricky manoeuvre.

Meet Alice - a former child prodigy who won a place at Oxford aged 9 but, because Daddy went too, she never needed to have any friends. She's scared of everything. Everything that is except libraries and Snoo - a slightly confused individual with a have-a-go attitude to life, marriage, haircuts and reality. Snoo loves books, and fully intends to read one, one day.

And forever popping into the library is Dr Cadogan - celebrity doctor to the stars and a man with his finger in every pie. Charming, indiscreet and quite possibly wanted by Interpol, if you want a discrete nip and tuck and then photos of it accidentally left on the photocopier, Dr Cadogan is your man.

Their happy life is interrupted by the arrival of Simon Nielson, a man with a mission - a mission to close down inefficient libraries. Fortunately, he hates his mission. What he really wants to do is once - just once - get even with his inexhaustible supply of high-achieving brothers.

Alice ...... Rebecca Front
Snoo ...... Morwenna Banks
Dr Cadogan ...... Michael Fenton Stevens
Simon Nielson ...... Ben Willbond

Written by Morwenna Banks and Rebecca Front
Based on an idea developed with Armando Iannucci

Produced by David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017.


SAT 03:30 Iris by John Bayley (b007jzl1)
5. Sailing into the Darkness

John reflects on his wife's inner world after the onset of the disease.

John Bayley concludes the story of how his novelist wife, Iris Murdoch, progressively developed Alzheimer's disease.

Acclaimed memoir offering a glimpse into her world.

Abridged by Alison Joseph.

Read by Oliver Ford Davies.

Producer: Jocelyn Boxall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1999.


SAT 03:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvxl)
10. Waterloo

1815, the Battle of Waterloo. As George and Rawdon fight, Becky and Amelia wait for news.

Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.

Written by William Makepeace Thackeray.

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.

Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Amelia …. Katy Cavanagh
Jos Sedley .... Toby Jones
Rawdon Crawley …. Ray Coulthard
Ensign Stubble .... Stephen Hogan
Peggy O'Dowd …. Monica Dolan

Director Claire Grove

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.


SAT 04:00 The Motion Show (b0075wj0)
Series 2

Episode 1

This house would rather walk?

I’d rather work for William Hague than Tony Blair?

This house prefers girl babies over boy babies?

Dr Phil Hammond watches over proceedings in the quirky debating game.

With:

Gyles Brandreth
Tony Hawks
Jo Caulfield
Arthur Smith

Producer: Adam Bromley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.


SAT 04:30 1835 (b0125lgl)
All at Sea

Aristocrat Belport and his servant Ned are called up to serve in the navy aboard the HMS Fortunate.

Fortunate by name, a magnet for French cannons by nature...

Comic saga of an aristocrat and his servant who struggle to find things to do in the mid-1830s.

Belport ...... Paul Rider
Ned ...... Jason Done
Black Pete ...... Roy Barraclough
Collins ...... Simon Greenall
Tony Nelson ...... Jonathan Keeble

Written and directed at BBC Manchester by Jim Poyser.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.


SAT 05:00 Marriage by Susan Ferrier (m001nn0n)
3. Union 1815

Will Mary Douglas finally find happiness?

And what will happen with the MacLaughan estate?

Starring Meg Fraser and Fiona Francis.

Conclusion of Susan Ferrier's comedic novel, first published in 1818.

Dramatised by Patricia Hannah.

Mary .... Meg Fraser
Lady Emily .... Fiona Francis
Charles Lennox .... Dougal Lee
Lady Juliana .... Vivienne Dixon
Adelaide .... Harley Loudon
Aunt Jacky/Mrs Lennox .... Ann Scott-Jones
Aunt Grizzy .... Rose McBain
Aunt Nicky .... Eliza Langland
Lady MacLaughlan .... Alison Peebles
Sir Sampson MacLaughlan .... Crawford Logan
Archie Douglas .... Simon Tait
Lord Lindor .... Gregor Powrie
Mrs Douglas .... Ali Walton
Duke of Altamont .... Raymond Ross
Other parts played by members of the cast.

Directed at BBC Edinburgh by Patrick Rayner.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1996


SAT 06:00 Three Time Plays by JB Priestley (b04hbyf4)
3. I Have Been Here Before

A group of people are thrown together by chance when they decide to stay at a remote Yorkshire inn.

They soon discover that they're so inter-dependent that a decision taken by any one of them is likely to have a profound effect on the lives of the others...

Have they lived through the experience before?

Is there a chance to make different decisions this time?

A stage play written by JB Priestley in 1937.

Starring Lesley Nichol, George A Cooper and Geoffrey Banks.

The last of the author’s collection of ‘Time Plays’ - inspired by the concept of whatever happens has already taken place many times over and will do so again...

Sally Pratt .... Lesley Nichol
Sam Shipley .... George A. Cooper
Dr Gortler .... Geoffrey Banks
Walter Ormund .... Ronald Baddiley
Janet Ormund .... Susan Tracy
Oliver Ferrant ... Alan Rothwell

Director: Alfred Bradley.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1984.


SAT 07:30 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Omnibus) (m0029h2l)
Episode 1

In peaceful Coopers Chase, a luxury retirement village in the Kentish Weald, four residents meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.

Highly accomplished in their pre-retirement professions - psychiatrist, nurse, political firebrand and, probably, international spy - they are eminently qualified for the job.

But when a brutal killing takes place on their doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing 80 but they still run rings round the local police.

They persuade local policewoman PC Donna De Freitas to join them when she visits Coopers Chase to give a talk on safety for the elderly. She soon realises the cosy talk she has planned isn't going to cut it with this rather feisty and wily group of seniors. But they do need her help.

Built on the grounds of a former rectory, the village is on the verge of being developed by its wealthy owner, but before he goes ahead he must sack his long-term partner. He’s worried that he won’t take the news well…

Drug gangs, high finance and lemon drizzle all loom large in Richard Osman’s compelling, funny and endearing crime thriller.

Omnibus of the first five of ten parts abridged by Sara Davies.

Read by Haydn Gwynne.

Music by Tom Constantine.

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2021.


SAT 08:45 The Best of English (m00067d1)
6. Onwards and Upwards

Arthur English shares the last of his reminisces about his life and career in showbusiness.

He recalls ghosts, his TV and film roles and concludes by reviving the stand up character from his past.

In conversation with Michael Pointon before a studio audience.

Arthur is best remembered as Mr Harman in BBC TV’s long-running sitcom 'Are You Being Served?' and as Slugger in Yorkshire TV's 'Follyfoot' shown on ITV.

Producer: Edward Taylor

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1988.


SAT 09:00 Mind Your Own Business! (b00954qd)
She'll Have to Go

Chief Executive and accountant Russell Farrow tackles business partner and tycoon Jimmy Bright over his number of women workers.

Starring Bernard Cribbins and Frank Thornton.

Six-part sitcom written by Andrew Palmer.

Jimmy Bright ...... Bernard Cribbins
Russell Farrow ...... Frank Thornton
Nan Forbes ...... Annette Crosbie
Sue Plant ...... Annee Blott
With Paul B Davies

Producer: Edward Taylor

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1987.


SAT 09:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001f92)
From 28/5/1959

Kenneth Horne’s plumber sends him round the u-bend and ‘Hornerama’ hails communications.

A madcap mix of sketches and songs written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took

Starring:

Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Williams
Hugh Paddick
Betty Marsden
Bill Pertwee

Music from Pat Lancaster, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.

Announcer: Douglas Smith

Beyond Our Ken hit the airwaves in 1958 and ran to 1964 – featuring regulars like Arthur Fallowfield, Cecil Snaith and Rodney and Charles.

The precursor to ‘Round The Horne’ – sadly only 15 shows survive from the original run of 21 episodes in Series 2. Audio restored using both home and overseas (BBC Transcription Service) recordings.

Producer: Jacques Brown

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1959.


SAT 10:00 Conversation Extra (m0029h2p)
Christopher and His Kind

“I didn't sit there watching all those people. I was up to the neck in their affairs and often gravely compromised by them. I always sounded kind of aloof, because I wasn't writing about myself. Well, now I am.”

Christopher Isherwood reflects on the formative experiences of his life and how he used them in his novels.

In the week he published his autobiography ‘Christopher and His Kind’, the author chats to Paul Bailey.

Christopher's 1939 novel, ‘Goodbye Berlin’, based on his experiences living in Jazz Age Germany, inspired the 1951 stage play ‘I Am a Camera’, and the musical and film, ‘Cabaret’.

He died aged 81 in 1986.

One of a series of classic in depth, long-form interviews unearthed by 4 Extra from tapes deep in the BBC archives.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 1977.


SAT 10:40 The Essay (b08n243w)
Late Style

Paul Bailey

The novelist Paul Bailey discusses writing in his ninth decade.

What does it mean to be creatively active for long enough to have a late style?

'Do not let me hear of the wisdom of old men', TS Eliot says, 'but rather of their folly'. Late Beethoven stared human extinction in the face and composed music of stark clarified beauty; late Rubens painted with a looser more sensuous brush stroke - was he remembering the flesh of his younger life or was his arthritis affecting his grip?

Late style for writer might include a maturation of style, a relaxing into the wisdom of age and experience, but it might also mean struggling to hold onto your gifts, and writing through illness and through grief.

Producer: Tim Dee

First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2017.


SAT 11:00 Three Time Plays by JB Priestley (b04hbyf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 12:30 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Omnibus) (m0029h2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SAT 13:45 The Best of English (m00067d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]


SAT 14:00 Mind Your Own Business! (b00954qd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 14:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001f92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


SAT 15:00 Conversation Extra (m0029h2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


SAT 15:40 The Essay (b08n243w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:40 today]


SAT 16:00 Doctor Who (m001g1ny)
The War Doctor

1. The Innocent

As the Daleks mass their time fleet for a final assault on Gallifrey, something ancient is waiting for them at Omega One. And a sacrifice must be made.

Arch-manipulator and Time Lord strategist, Cardinal Ollistra receives shock news of the Doctor’s death.

Meanwhile, on the planet Keska, a parochial war has returned to plague a peaceful civilisation after decades of tranquillity.

But how can such a war have any connection with the great Time War which, at any one moment in the whole of eternity, could threaten to tear the universe apart?

If only the Doctor were still alive...

John Hurt reprises his role as The War Doctor, first seen on BBC TV in ‘The Name of the Doctor’ in 2013.

The War Doctor …. John Hurt
Cardinal Ollistra …. Jacqueline Pearce
Rejoice …. Lucy Briggs-Owen
Garv .... John Banks
Veklin …. Beth Chalmers
Arverton …. Barnaby Edwards
Bennus …. Kieran Hodgson
The Daleks …. Nicholas Briggs.

Original music written by Howard Carter.

Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs.

Artwork by Tom Webster

A Big Finish Production.


SAT 17:00 Three Time Plays by JB Priestley (b04hbyf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 18:30 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Omnibus) (m0029h2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SAT 19:45 The Best of English (m00067d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]


SAT 20:00 Mind Your Own Business! (b00954qd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 20:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001f92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


SAT 21:00 Conversation Extra (m0029h2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


SAT 21:40 The Essay (b08n243w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:40 today]


SAT 22:00 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b096hcz6)
Series 2

Abergavenny

Tim Vine travels the length and breadth of this fair land to uncover the best stories of the Great British public.

And of course he takes every possible opportunity to tell a ridiculous joke and sing a preposterous song along the way.

Tim parks his Chat Show wagon in Wales at the Borough Theatre in Abergavenny.

Dramatic events come in the form of an anecdote about a haunted hotel and a warship trying to do a three-point turn.

Producer: Richard Morris

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2017.


SAT 22:30 Start/Stop (b03bsb9c)
Series 1

5. Two Parties

Three couples sail off into the sunset. And sink.

Jack Docherty’s sitcom about love, marriage and despair.

With their marriages in various states of disrepair - two parties provide a particular challenge.

Starring:

Couple 1:

Barney ...... Jack Docherty
Cathy ...... Kerry Godliman

Couple 2:

Evan ...... John Thomson
Fiona ...... Fiona Allen

Couple 3:

David ...... Charlie Higson
Alice ...... Katherine Parkinso

Producer: Steven Canny

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2013.


SAT 22:55 The Celebrity Voicemail Show (b06bp5tt)
Series 1

Benedict Cumberbatch

Kayvan Novak imagines what it might be like to hear the answerphone messages of the rich and famous.

He's starting with the voicemail of 'Sherlock' star Benedict Cumberbatch.

An entirely fictitious comedy show.

Written, improvised and starring Kayvan Novak.

Producer: Matt Stronge

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2015.


SAT 23:10 Armstrong and Miller (b00t1bct)
Episode 1

Time management plus some special detectives.

Sketches and songs with Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong in their first series for radio.

With:

Samuel West
Tony Gardiner

Written by Ben Miller, Alexander Armstrong and Tony Gardiner.

Producer: Gareth Edwards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1998.


SAT 23:25 The Simon Day Show (b01jxtf2)
Series 2

Tony Becton

Simon Day and his characters welcome you back to The Mallard, a small provincial theatre somewhere in the UK.

Each week one of Simon's comic characters come to perform, while the staff struggle with rivalries, self-doubt and the new owner's vision for the theatre's future.

This time, reformed violent offender Tony Becton returns to the theatre with stories of his rehabilitation and new life in a park.

Written by Simon Day.

Tony Becton ...... Simon Day
Emanuel Akinyemi ...... Felix Dexter
Pat Bennet ...... Morwenna Banks
Ron Bone / Wozak ...... Simon Greenall

Producer: Colin Anderson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.


SAT 23:55 Doctor Who (m001g1ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 today]

SUNDAY 30 MARCH 2025

SUN 02:00 Three Time Plays by JB Priestley (b04hbyf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]


SUN 03:30 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Omnibus) (m0029h2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]


SUN 04:45 The Best of English (m00067d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]


SUN 05:00 Mind Your Own Business! (b00954qd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday]


SUN 05:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001f92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0029glf)
TV's History Castaways

Simon Schama

Historian Simon Schama is castaway by Sue Lawley.

Books such as The Embarrassment of Riches, Landscape and Memory and Citizens have won Simon Schama countless awards and critical acclaim.

He's taking a break from his latest project - the BBC TV series A History of Britain - to chat to Sue and choose eight tracks for his desert island.

DISC ONE: Cole Porter - You're The Top
DISC TWO: Jascha Heifetz - Johann Sebastian Bach’s Sonata No. 3 in E major - 1st movement
DISC THREE: The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want
DISC FOUR: Stuart Burrows and the Orchestra of Royal Opera House - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Ah, here they are! (from Eugene Onegin)
DISC FIVE: Bob Dylan - Simple Twist of Fate
DISC SIX: Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
DISC SEVEN: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir George Solti - Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major: The Great
DISC EIGHT: Quartetto Italiano - Ludwig van Beethoven’s String Quartet No.14 in C sharp minor, Op. 131

CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sir George Solti - Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 9 in C major: The Great
BOOK CHOICE: The Leopard - Giuseppe di Lampedusa
LUXURY CHOICE: Bethsheba by Rembrandt

Producer: Miranda Birch

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2001.


SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00pfkw3)
Series 1

Giant Birds

Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa, is the largest continental island in the world.

As Sir David reveals, it's also where the largest egg known to have existed was laid, and the bird that laid it was also a giant.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

Producer: Julian Hector

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2009


SUN 07:00 Poetry Extra (m0029glh)
Four Seasons - Poems for the Spring Equinox

Poet Daljit Nagra celebrates Spring as he revisits the BBC's poetry archive and selects Four Seasons - Poems for the Spring Equinox.

Originally broadcast across the BBC Radio 4 schedule, this compilation programme includes:

* Siobhan Redmond reading A Little Madness In the Spring by Emily Dickinson
* Simon Russell Beale reading A Blackbird Singing by RS Thomas
* Richard Harrington reading In Praise of Spring by Linda Gregg
* Tanya Moodie reading May by Kerry Hardie
* Anton Lesser reading Sixty by Philip Booth

Producer: Maggie Ayre

First broadcast across BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.


SUN 07:30 Iris by John Bayley (Omnibus) (m0029glk)
John Bayley tells the story of how his novelist wife, Iris Murdoch, progressively developed Alzheimer's disease.

Acclaimed memoir offering a glimpse into her world begins with her love of swimming.

Omnibus of five parts abridged by Alison Joseph.

Read by Oliver Ford Davies.

Producer: Jocelyn Boxall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1999.


SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0029glm)
Eve Myles

Double BAFTA Cymru winning Welsh actor Eve Myles picks ‘Pearl’s A Singer’ by Elkie Brooks and ‘Faith’s Song’ by Amy Wadge.


SUN 08:50 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Omnibus) (b008p53p)
Episode 2

Ambitious Becky abandons marriage plans for a job as a governess. Luckily, this brings new marriage prospects.

Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period

Written by William Makepeace Thackeray

Omnibus of episodes 6 to 10 of twenty.

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt

Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Miss Crawley ..... Margaret Tyzack
William Dobbin .... Tom Smith
Miss Briggs .... Kate Buffery
Auctioneer .... Jon Glover
Sir Pitt Crawley .... Trevor Peacock
Rawdon Crawley .... Ray Coulthard
Amelia .... Katy Cavanagh
George Osborne ... Nicholas Boulton
John Osborne .... Geoffrey Whitehead
Mr Sedley .... Ian Masters
Pitt .... Jon Glover
Peggy O'Dowd .... Monica Dolan
Jos Sedley .... Toby Jones
Ensign Stubble .... Stephen Hogan
Peggy O'Dowd .... Monica Dolan

Director Claire Grove

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2004.


SUN 10:00 Just Fancy (m0029glp)
From 23/07/1954

Two lots of love intrigue and a day-trip to France goes wrong.

Series of gently humorous sketches written by and starring Eric Barker.

With:

Eric’s wife - Pearl Hackney
Deryck Guyler
Charlotte Mitchell
Kenneth Connor

Music directed by Peter Akister

Just Fancy ran for 11 years.

Producer: Charles Maxwell

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1954.


SUN 10:30 Take It From Here (b0129500)
From 04/02/1954

Pa Glum tries to relieve Eth's cold and a look at Marriage USA-style.

Long-running classic comedy written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.

Starring:

Professor Jimmy Edwards
Dick Bentley
June Whitfield
Alma Cogan
Wallas Eaton
Herbert Mostyn – a bit-part persona adopted, when necessary, by both Frank and Denis.

Music from The Keynotes and the Augmented BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.

Producer: Charles Maxwell

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1954.


SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0029glf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00pfkw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]


SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m0029glh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


SUN 12:30 Iris by John Bayley (Omnibus) (m0029glk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0029glm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]


SUN 13:50 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Omnibus) (b008p53p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


SUN 15:00 Just Fancy (m0029glp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


SUN 15:30 Take It From Here (b0129500)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]


SUN 16:00 Fear on 4 (b0088l6z)
Series 1

The Speciality of The House

When Mr Costain is introduced to Sbirro's Restaurant, he very quickly becomes addicted to the very special food on offer.

The yearning for it, however, can bring about a terrible fate.

The Man in Black sets the scene

Another nerve-tingler from Fear on 4.

Starring Timothy West and Edward de Souza.

Written by Stanley Ellin.

Dramatised by Colin Haydn Evans

Laffler ...... Timothy West
Sbirro ...... David March
Costain ...... Paul Gregory
Markus ...... Tim Reynolds
The Man in Black ...... Edward de Souza

Director: Gerry Jones

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1988.


SUN 16:30 The Dog by Ivan Turgenev (m0029glt)
"Do you seriously maintain that something supernatural has happened to you? Something inconsistent with the laws of nature...?"

Set in 1860s Russia, the conversation after one dinner turns to the supernatural.

A former Hussar shares a strange tale of a canine haunting and its ghostly consequences...

Ivan Turgenev’s classic short story is adapted by Peter Fozzard

Starring Timothy West.

From the translation by Constance Garnett.

The Hussar .... Timothy West
Guest .... Marcus Campbell
Civil servant .... Nigel Graham
Filka .... Peter Craze
Neighbour .... Malcolm Reid
The Lady/The Housekeeper .... Carole Boyd

Other parts played by members of the cast.

Producer: Peter Novis
Director: Ian Cotterell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1976.


SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0029glf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00pfkw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]


SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m0029glh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


SUN 18:30 Iris by John Bayley (Omnibus) (m0029glk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0029glm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]


SUN 19:50 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Omnibus) (b008p53p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]


SUN 21:00 Just Fancy (m0029glp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


SUN 21:30 Take It From Here (b0129500)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]


SUN 22:00 Elvenquest (b00wqfnn)
Series 2

Episode 6

The noble band of Questers are in a pub and within touching distance of getting their hands on the Sword of Asnagar.

Lord Darkness still has a few tricks up his sleeve and he's not about to let the possibility of eternal dominion over Lower Earth slip through his fingers without pulling out all the stops.

Will the Questers be strong enough to handle the immense power of the Sword? Or, as ever with these things, will they be tempted over to the Dark Side...?

Fantasy-based sitcom set in Lower Earth written by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto.

Sam …. Stephen Mangan
Lord Darkness …. Alistair McGowan
Dean/Kreech …. Kevin Eldon
Vidar …. Darren Boyd
Amis ‘The Chosen One’ …. Dave Lamb
Penthiselea …. Sophie Winkleman

Producer: Sam Michell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.


SUN 22:30 Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters (b036vtc2)
Series 1

Episode 2

Enter the Carnival of Monsters, a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters.

Presented by the sinister Ringmaster.

Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as:

* Thwor - the mighty (but Leeds-based) god of Thwunder
* Andy Parker - Nottingham-born martial arts and transformers enthusiast
* Anna Mann - outrageous star of forgotten silver screen hits like 'Rogue Baker', 'Who's For Turkish Delight' and 'A Bowl For My Bottom'.

Producer: Sam Bryant.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.


SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0029s2s)
Simon Blackwell 1/4

From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats to the award-winning comedy writer Simon Blackwell.


SUN 23:00 Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation (b017mv2v)
Tolerance

Mark Watson continues his quest to improve the world.

As broadcast live in November 2011 - he invites the audience join in via tweets and messages to work out how we can all make the world a better place.

He's nimbly assisted by:

Tim Key
Tom Basden.

This time Mark looks at "Tolerance".

Religious tolerance, moral tolerance, not striking the person next to you on the bus because they haven't worked out you can send a text without your phone beeping every time you press a key.

It's important to tolerate others' faults, their little quirks, and their massive despicable crimes. But can tolerance make us into doormats, allowing evil to thrive? Probably. Shame, that.

Producer: Lianne Coop

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.


SUN 23:30 Safety Catch (b0184tdb)
Series 2

There Will Be Paint

Simon decides it's about time he and his colleagues prove they understand the true horrors of war by getting out there and actually fighting.

So it is that team Heathcote Sanders go paintballing.

Okay, so it's not quite the same as fighting in an actual war, but you can't expect Simon to take part in one of those - I mean, people actually die in those things.

Will he manage to find the hero inside himself?

Starring Darren Boyd.

Laurence Howarth’s black comedy of modern morality.

Simon is essentially a nice man who also happens to be an arms dealer.

Simon McGrath ....... Darren Boyd
Anna Grieg ....... Joanna Page
Boris Kemal ....... Lewis Macleod
Judith McGrath ....... Sarah Smart
Angela McGrath ....... Brigit Forsyth
Madeleine Turnbull ....... Rachel Atkins
Roger/Dave ....... Philip Fox
Guide ....... Gus Brown

Producer: Dawn Ellis

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2009.

MONDAY 31 MARCH 2025

MON 00:00 Fear on 4 (b0088l6z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


MON 00:30 The Dog by Ivan Turgenev (m0029glt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Sunday]


MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0029glf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]


MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00pfkw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]


MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m0029glh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]


MON 02:30 Iris by John Bayley (Omnibus) (m0029glk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]


MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0029glm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]


MON 03:50 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Omnibus) (b008p53p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]


MON 05:00 Just Fancy (m0029glp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]


MON 05:30 Take It From Here (b0129500)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]


MON 06:00 Whodunnits (b01073s1)
Hercule Poirot - Peril at End House

Episode 1

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot is on holiday in Cornwall when a bullet lands at his feet at the Majestic Hotel...

Agatha Christie's whodunnit starring John Moffatt.

From the book first published in 1932.

Dramatised in five parts by Michael Bakewell

Hercule Poirot …. John Moffatt
Captain Hastings …. Simon Williams
Nick Buckley …. Gemma Saunders
Frederica Rice …. Suzanna Hamilton
George Challenger …. Andrew Wincott

Director: Enyd Williams

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2000


MON 06:30 Paul Temple (b0368fwf)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair

1. With the Compliments of Mr Gregory

The daughter of an eminent physician disappears after a night out at the Alpine Club.

Starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson.

From 1938 to 1968, Francis Durbridge's incomparably suave amateur detective and his glamorous wife solved case after baffling case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. It starred Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury.

Sadly, only half of Temple's adventures survive. However - starting in 2006, BBC Radio 4 began to bring the lost serials back to life.

Using the original scripts and incidental music, and recorded using vintage microphones and sound effects, the production of Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery aimed to sound as much as like the 1947 original had the recording survived.

The popular recreation was soon followed by more revivals - including this one originally heard in 1946 and proved especially challenging.

As well as the tapes not being kept, the scripts for episodes 1, 2 and 6 had vanished.

This new production was only possible thanks to our colleague in Norwegian radio who found a complete set of scripts in a cupboard in Oslo!!

Paul and Steve come to the aid of a baffled Scotland Yard in pursuit of a deadly and mysterious criminal mastermind...

Written in ten parts by Francis Durbridge.

Paul Temple ...... Crawford Logan
Steve ...... Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham ...... Gareth Thomas
Inspector Vosper ...... Michael Mackenzie
Edward Day ...... Nick Underwood
Peter Davos ...... Richard Greenwood
Charlie ...... Greg Powrie
Kay Wiseman ...... Meg Fraser

Producer: Patrick Rayner

Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.

Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013


MON 07:00 Second Holmes (b015frk0)
2. The Case of the Maltese Pearls

The grandsons of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson probe the mysterious theft of a necklace.

Starring Peter Egan and Jeremy Nicholas.

Six light-hearted adventures by Grant Eustace.

Stamford Holmes …. Peter Egan
Dr Watson …. Jeremy Nicholas
Charles Mapleton …. Alex Jennings
Jane Mapleton …. Kathryn Hurlbutt
Neville Clarke …. Edward Cast
Katrin …. Wendy Murray

Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1983.


MON 07:30 Steptoe and Son (b00rlb08)
Series 1

65 Today

Albert Steptoe's 65th birthday outing turns into a disaster for his son Harold.

Starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett.

Classic sitcom about the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold.

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

Albert ...... Wilfrid Brambell
Harold ...... Harry H Corbett

With:

Ian Burford
David Charlesworth

The 1962 BBC TV comedy pilot 'The Offer' sparked a run of 8 series.

Adapted for BBC radio from the BBC TV script by Gale Pedrick.

Producer: Bobby Jaye

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1966.


MON 08:00 On the Rocks (b03k2gqn)
Series 1

Omens

Old Grace is convinced that strange things have started to happen since the new telegraph machine was installed.

It's 1937 on St. Martin's - a remote island of the Isles of Scilly.

Islanders are resisting the attempts of the Penzance GPO man to modernise the post office - around which their world revolves.

Written by Christopher William Hill.

Frank Gunwallow ...... Joseph Kloska
Mary ...... Bec Applebee
Grace ...... Christine Absalom
Tommy ...... Stuart Fox
Ben ...... Alex Palmer
Len ...... Ed Gaughan
Tregarthan ...... Peter Marinker
Morwenna ...... Alex Tregear
Pender ...... Christopher William Hill

Sound by Jenni Burnett, Anne Bunting and Graham Harper.

Diirector: Mary Peate

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.


MON 08:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pff0)
1. Early Life

Toussaint Louverture summed up the inhumanity of slavery in its systematic tendency:

‘to tear away the son from his mother, the brother from his sister, the father from his son’.

Sudhir Hazareesingh looks at what little is known of Toussaint's early life, his progress to coachman and his education by the Jesuits.

As an intelligent man who could read, it is likely he was key in shaping the strategy of the slave uprising in 1791.

But he was also a man of mystery and very little is documented about his life. He spread misinformation about himself and had a complex extended family with possibly 16 children.

Toussaint was a tactical leader and, after the uprising, he took time to consolidate his military position and as a rebel leader declared;

‘I was the first to favour a cause that I have always upheld ...what we have begun, I will finish’.

Abridged in five parts by Libby Spurrier.

Read by Adrian Lester

Producer: Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2020.


MON 08:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvxx)
11. The Inheritance

Amelia is coming to terms with some grim news from the battlefield at Waterloo and Becky is getting bored in Brighton.

Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.

Written by William Makepeace Thackeray

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt

Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Amelia …. Katy Cavanagh
Miss Briggs .... Kate Buffery
William Dobbin .... Tom Smith
Miss Crawley ..... Margaret Tyzack
Pitt .... Jon Glover
John Osborne .... Geoffrey Whitehead
with Stephen Fry as the narrator

Director Marc Beeby

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2004.


MON 09:00 One Person Found This Helpful (m00298hx)
Series 2

4. The Gresham v Chopmaster

Frank & guests Ian Smith, Lou Sanders, Chloe Petts and Marcus Brigstocke discover how to poke an egg, sleep with a fish and fill a hamper with pâté.

This is the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day – shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad & the baffling.

Everyone has an online life, and when the great British public put pen to keyboard to leave a review, they almost always write something hilarious. And our all-star panel have to work out just what they were reviewing – and maybe contribute a few reviews of their own... and more... So if you’re the person who went on Trip Advisor to review Ben Nevis as “Very steep and too high”, this show salutes you!


Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche

Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans with the producer David Tyler

A Pozzitive Production for BBC Radio 4


MON 09:30 Why Why Why? (m000qjyz)
1. Should I stay or should I go?

Comedian Phill Jupitus searches for the answers to questions posed by songs.

A 1981 hit by The Clash provokes a discussion about decision making with expert Joseph Bikart.

Joseph wrote a book entitled The Art of Decision Making: How we Move from Indecision to Smart Choices.

From his years of research and practice in decision-making, he offers Phill advice - from philosopher Aristotle to business tycoon Warren Buffet - about how to become better at making decisions.

Producer: Rosie Boulton

A Must Try Softer production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.


MON 09:45 Daily Service (m0029gml)
Jesus' Disciples 2 - Philip and Nathanael

A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.

Theme: Jesus' Disciples 2 - Philip and Nathanael
Presenter: Angel Morgan
Reading: John 1:43-51

Music:
Let me see Jesus - Matt Redman
I have decided to follow Jesus - Tommy Walker
How Great is Our God & Lord I lift your name- Volney Morgan & New Ye


MON 10:00 The Tingle Factor (b07d7yr3)
Alan Ayckbourn

Playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn talks to Robin Ray about the music which stirs his emotions.

In between his music choices, Alan remembers his musical father, recounts some of his successes and flops - and how he became the owner of a special cat.

Recorded in Scarborough.

Producer: Andrew Mussett

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1992.


MON 10:30 James Bond: Licence to Kilt (b06j628c)
If you think about Scotland and James Bond you'll inevitably think about Sean Connery.

But exactly how Scottish is the character of 007?

In this exploration of the special agent's Scottish roots, we've assembled a team of experts to delve into Bond's literary birth and explore the life and the characters who inspired his creator, Ian Fleming.

They include biographers, historians, adventurers and even Ian's own nephew Fergus Fleming who has a tale to tell surrounding the retired armourer in Glasgow who went on to inspire Fleming to invent Bond's faithful boffin 'Q'.

You'll hear about the Bond family tree, the so-called 'Connery Effect' on the character and about a legacy, which continues both in print and on screen some 60 years later.

We'll take you on a journey from the Jute mills of Dundee to the high society of Mayfair.

From the battlefields of World War II to the sun kissed beaches of Jamaica and from the Hollywood hills all the way back to the Highlands

And we'll answer the question, how Scottish is James Bond?

Producer: David Flynn

First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in October 2015.


MON 11:00 Whodunnits (b01073s1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


MON 11:30 Paul Temple (b0368fwf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


MON 12:00 Second Holmes (b015frk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


MON 12:30 Steptoe and Son (b00rlb08)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


MON 13:00 On the Rocks (b03k2gqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


MON 13:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pff0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


MON 13:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]


MON 14:00 Listomania (b09yhgks)
Series 1

Episode 2

From the magnificent to the mundane.

From the humble 'to do' list to the bucket list and many more...

Susan Calman hosts the series exploring the world of the lists.

With:

Joe Lycett
Celia Pacquola
Holly Walsh
Lloyd Langford

Written by James Kettle and Gráinne Maguire with Max Davis and Gabby Hutchinson Crouch.

Producers: Sam Bryant and Adnan Ahmed

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 2015.


MON 14:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029gmn)
The First Men in the Moon by HG Wells

July 1900: as a result of discovering a substance that defies gravity. Cavor, an idealistic man of science, finds himself with Bedford, a likeable young opportunist, in a sphere heading for the moon....

Starring Hywel Bennett and William Rushton.

HG Wells' futuristic fantasy novel about space travel and alien life, first published in 1901.

Dramatised by Terry James.

Bedford .... Hywel Bennett
Cavor .... William Rushton
Wendigee .... David March
Phi-oo .... Paul Rosebury
Grand Lunar .... Stephen Garlick
Spargus .... Malcolm Gerard
Quaid .... David McAlister
Two chaps on the beach .... Haydn Wood and David Bradshawe

Director: Glyn Dearman

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1981.

*****
'The First Men in the Moon’ is part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's Hidden Treasures collection of selected titles returned to the BBC by various collectors.

Our warm thanks go to the Radio Circle.


MON 16:00 The Tingle Factor (b07d7yr3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


MON 16:30 James Bond: Licence to Kilt (b06j628c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]


MON 17:00 Whodunnits (b01073s1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


MON 17:30 Paul Temple (b0368fwf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


MON 18:00 Second Holmes (b015frk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


MON 18:30 Steptoe and Son (b00rlb08)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


MON 19:00 On the Rocks (b03k2gqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


MON 19:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pff0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


MON 19:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]


MON 20:00 Listomania (b09yhgks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]


MON 20:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029gmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]


MON 22:00 One Person Found This Helpful (m00298hx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 22:30 Big Problems with Helen Keen (b05xh31b)
Series 1

Death

The biggest problem of them all - death.

From praying for life-everlasting to uploading our minds into a giant cloud of data - is there anything at all we can do to avoid it?

Comedy series that explores the triumphs and disasters of human ingenuity.

Helen Keen looks at the biggest problems that have faced our species since the dawn of time, and describes humanity's incredible and sometimes absurd solutions.

Co-starring:

Peter Serafinowicz
Susy Kane

Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill

Producer: Gareth Edwards

A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2015.


MON 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0029s2v)
Simon Blackwell 2/4

From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats again to the award-winning comedy writer Simon Blackwell.


MON 23:00 The Naked Week (m00297f0)
Series 2

Performing, Potholes and Paddington

The Naked Week team are back to place satirical news-tariffs on current events with a mix of correspondents, guests and, occasionally, live animals.

This week we Spring (Statement) into action with a timely tune for - and by - Rachel Reeves, explore a pothole that's opened up in the programme, and accidentally get added to Radio 4's Group Chat.

From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes and host Andrew Hunter Murray comes The Naked Week, a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at.

With award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers a topical news-nude straight to your ears.

Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
Sarah Dempster
Jason Hazeley

Investigations Team:
Cat Neilan
Louis Mian
Freya Shaw
Matt Brown

Guests: Ania Magliano, Bethany Reeves, with music by The Naked Week Wind Section.

Production Team: Laura Grimshaw, Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, Katie Sayer, Phoebe Butler.

Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes

An unusual production for BBC Radio 4


MON 23:30 Old Harry's Game (b007jmbj)
Series 3

A Four Letter Word

A new arrival in Hell persuades Satan to re-shoot 'Casablanca' - with a mutant alien.

Andy Hamilton’s devilishly funny sitcom set in Hell.

Satan …. Andy Hamilton
The Professor …. James Grout
Thomas …. Jimmy Mulville
Scumspawn …. Robert Duncan

Other characters played by:

Felicity Montagu
Philip Pope
Nick Revell
Michael Fenton Stevens

Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1999.

TUESDAY 01 APRIL 2025

TUE 00:00 The Tingle Factor (b07d7yr3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]


TUE 00:30 James Bond: Licence to Kilt (b06j628c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]


TUE 01:00 Whodunnits (b01073s1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]


TUE 01:30 Paul Temple (b0368fwf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]


TUE 02:00 Second Holmes (b015frk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]


TUE 02:30 Steptoe and Son (b00rlb08)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]


TUE 03:00 On the Rocks (b03k2gqn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]


TUE 03:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pff0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]


TUE 03:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]


TUE 04:00 Listomania (b09yhgks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]


TUE 04:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029gmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]


TUE 06:00 Whodunnits (b0107wtp)
Hercule Poirot - Peril at End House

Episode 2

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings attend Maggie Buckley's dinner party and make a startling discovery.

Agatha Christie's whodunnit stars John Moffatt.

Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.

Hercule Poirot …. John Moffatt
Captain Hastings …. Simon Williams
Nick Buckley …. Gemma Saunders
Frederica Rice …. Suzanna Hamilton
Mr Croft …. Terence Edmond
Mrs Croft …. Richenda Carey
Charles Vyse …. Stephen Critchlow
Maggie Buckley …. Elizabeth Conboy
Jimmy Lazarus …. Sean Arnold

Director: Enyd Williams

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2000.


TUE 06:30 Paul Temple (b036kscn)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair

2. Introducing Sir Donald Murdo

Mystery shrouds the death of Barbara Wallace and Mildred Dawson.

What exactly is the link with the mysterious Mr Gregory..?

Paul and Steve take a walk to a lonely clifftop cottage.

Another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest sleuth and his glamorous wife.

Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson stars in Francis Durbridge's rebooted 1946 mystery thriller.

The original series wasn't saved in the BBC archive and scripts for episodes 1, 2 and 6 were lost.

Luckily our colleague in Norwegian radio discovered a complete set of scripts in Oslo!

So using the original incidental music, sound effects and vintage microphones - all ten parts of Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair have been recreated.

Paul Temple …. Crawford Logan
Steve …. Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham …. Gareth Thomas
Inspector Vosper …. Michael MacKenzie
Kay Wiseman …. Meg Fraser
Peter Davos …. Richard Greenwood
Edward Day …. Nick Underwood
Sir Donald …. Simon Donaldson

Producer: Patrick Rayner

Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.

Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.


TUE 07:00 Girlies (b08s3sy2)
Series 2

Episode 4

As tragedy strikes, can the five feisty, foxy, fighting females try to forgive and forget?

The ups and downs of five 30-something Asian women living in South West London.

Conclusion of the comedy serial written by Sudha Bhuchar and Shaheen Khan.

Vinny ... Bharti Patel
Tula ... Zita Sattar
Dan ... Roger Liddle
Marianne/Nurse ... Alice Arnold
Alia ... Sophie Levy
Sara ... Nyla Levy
Jabeen ... Shaheen Khan
Sonal ... Sudha Bhuchar
Samina ... Sakuntala Ramanee
Masi ... Charubala Chokshi
Ali ... Burt Caesar
Salim ... Shiv Grewal
Jo ... Cal McCrystal
Jade ... Holly McGoldrick
Amber ... Lannah McAdam
Karan ... Christopher Trenfield

Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Kristine Landon-Smith.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1998.


TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b009kmns)
Series 7

The Flea

Neddie Seagoon is Samuel Pepys - and he's facing trouble from a flea called Francoise.

Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens.

Starring:

Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan

First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.

With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.

Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.

Announcer: Wallace Greenslade

Producer: Pat Dixon

First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1956.


TUE 08:00 Fags, Mags and Bags (m0014qcy)
Series 10

4. Florence Flouncingtons who lives in Flouncingtons Quadrant on the Flouncingtons Estate

Sanjay causes a bit of gossip amongst the Lenzidens as he helps his best mate Grebo with a secret mission.

More shop based shenanigans and over the counter philosophy, courtesy of Ramesh Mahju and his trusty sidekick Dave.

Set in a Scots-Asian corner shop, the staff continue their tireless quest to bring nice-price custard creams and cans of coke with Arabic writing on them to an ungrateful nation. Ramesh Mahju has built it up over the course of over 30 years and is a firmly entrenched, friendly presence in the local area.

Written by and starring Donald Mcleary and Sanjeev Kohli.

Ramesh ...... Sanjeev Kohli
Dave ...... Donald Mcleary
Sanjay ...... Omar Raza
Alok ...... Susheel Kumar
Bishop Briggs ...... Michael Redmond
Malcolm ...... Mina Anwar
Nathan Laser ...... Gavin Mitchell
Grebo ...... Manjot Sumal

Producer: Gus Beattie for Gusman Productions

A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2022.


TUE 08:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pffp)
2. Military Leader

Following the 1791 Saint Domingue uprising, Toussaint Louverture shows himself to be a highly focussed military leader.

He's not afraid either to discipline his troops or to take part in fierce battle. Yet he's also a man of great compassion in line with his Christian faith.

On 1 April 1796, the Republican French governor Étienne Laveaux organised a grand ceremony to mark Toussaint Louverture becoming his deputy.

Toussaint was saluted as ‘the saviour of legitimate authority’, and for the first time publicly likened to Spartacus.

Written by Sudhir Hazareesingh

Abridged by Libby Spurrier

Read by Adrian Lester

Producer: Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2020.


TUE 08:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvy2)
12. Plans

Becky has plans to deal with her uncertain financial future.

Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.

Written by William Makepeace Thackeray.

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.

Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Hester …. Helen Longworth
Sir Pitt Crawley .... Trevor Peacock
Pitt .... Jon Glover
Lord Steyn …. David Calder
with Stephen Fry as the narrator

Director Marc Beeby

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2004.


TUE 09:00 Heresy (m00298pf)
Series 13

Episode 6

Victoria Coren Mitchell is joined by a panel which challenges established ideas. Laura Smyth, Ignacio Lopez and Sally Phillips discuss school, spa holidays and following our passions.

Heresy is written and presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell with additional material from Dan Gaster and Charlie Skelton
Produced by Victoria Coren Mitchell and Daisy Knight
Series created by David Baddiel

Sound Design - David Thomas
Broadcast Assistant - Jenny Recaldin

An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4


TUE 09:30 Why Why Why? (m000qjg5)
2. What time is love?

Phill Jupitus searches for the answers to questions posed by songs.

A 1988 trance music hit for The KLF provokes a discussion about circadian rhythms with Professor Russell Foster.

Professor Russell is Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Director of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute at Oxford University.

Producer: Rosie Boulton

A Must Try Softer production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.


TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m0029gnh)
Jesus' Disciples 2 - Simon the Zealot & James (son of Alphaeus)

A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.

Theme: Jesus' Disciples 2 - Simon the Zealot & James (son of Alphaeus)
Presenter: Andy Fishburne
Reading: Matthew 10:1-8

Music:
The King of Love My Shepherd Is - Daily Service Singers
Heal me Lord - Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir
Christ Has Set Me Free - Rend Collective


TUE 10:00 A Good Read (m0000npm)
Grace Dent and Sian Harries

Journalist Grace Dent and comedy writer Sian Harries join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Max Porter, Lissa Evans and Barbara Pym.

Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
Publisher: Faber

Crooked Heart by Lissa Evans
Publisher: Black Swan

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Publisher: Virago

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2018.


TUE 10:30 Ali: Me, My Family and Muhammad Ali (b00rd3wb)
When Deirdre Pascall went with her broadcaster father to the Savoy Hotel in March 1976, she was dreaming of getting a glimpse of her childhood hero, the World Champion boxer Muhammad Ali.

Little did she know that once Ali had seen her, she would be swept up and spend much of the press conference for the launch of Ali's autobiography 'The Greatest' sitting on the great man's knee.

Surrounded by the great and good of the British press with photographers crammed into the room she remembers the Champ asking her who he was. "You're the greatest" was her reply to his evident delight.

But the next day there were no pictures of her in the newspapers. They chose to stick with the shot of Ali and his book. Perhaps in the London of 1976 a little black girl wasn't felt to be a particularly British image?

Since then Deirdre has wondered much about that day.

So she's going in search of the memories and in particular in search of a photograph of her meeting.

But she also asks her father and her father's generation what they made of Ali's trips to the UK back then. He was already a superstar to most British people by that time, even if some of them found his abrasive language and powerful Islamic rhetoric disturbing. As a boxer he had no equals.

But how important a figure was he to black Britons who had their own struggles and challenges, often very different from the ones that Ali represented back in the States?

Of course the reason for her trip to the Savoy in the first place was so that her father could get an interview with Ali for his BBC radio show 'Black Londoners'. Deirdre listens again to that recording in which a far more quietly spoken Ali talks to his British brothers.

This isn't the showman who appeared on the Parkinson show, although his humour is there. This was an Ali listening and learning and probing and we'll hear it during the programme.

There are other issues for Deirdre as well.

How does she feel now about her hero's stance on the place of women, on integration, on religion? And why is that Savoy meeting with a boxer so important to a woman who went on to train as a classical pianist?

Producer: Tom Alban

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.


TUE 11:00 Whodunnits (b0107wtp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


TUE 11:30 Paul Temple (b036kscn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


TUE 12:00 Girlies (b08s3sy2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b009kmns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


TUE 13:00 Fags, Mags and Bags (m0014qcy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


TUE 13:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pffp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


TUE 13:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvy2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]


TUE 14:00 Booked (b0075m92)
Series 3

Episode 6

The dons from The Godfather contact memories of mother love and take an anger management course.

Meanwhile Barbara Cartland's Love Lifts the Curse gets a new beginning and ending.

From the Ilkley Literature Festival in West Yorkshire.

Barnsley poet Ian McMillan chairs the irreverent literary game.

Outrageous parody, biting wit and bizarre couplings from:

Mark Thomas
Dillie Keane
Roger McGough
Rory Motion

Producer: Marc Jobst

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1997.


TUE 14:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029gnk)
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Winston Smith sets out to rebel against the omnipresent political state, known as Big Brother.

Stars Patrick Troughton and Sylvia Syms.

George Orwell’s cautionary dystopian novel, first published in 1949.

Dramatised by Eric Ewens.

Winston Smith .... Patrick Troughton
Julia Brown .... Sylvia Syms
O'Brien .... John Collin
Charrington .... Hector Ross
Goldstein .... Cyril Shaps
TV Announcer .... Michael McClain
Parsons .... John Dearth
Mrs Parsons .... Cecile Chevreau
Old Man .... Norman Wynne
Syme .... Allan McClelland
Jane Parsons .... Elizabeth Proud
Peter Parsons .... Brian Hewlett
Gwenda/Waitress .... Mary Wimbush
Martin/Ampleforth .... Gordon Faith

Director: John Gibson

First broadcast as the Sunday Play on BBC Home Service in October 1965.

*****
'Nineteen Eighty-Four' is part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's Hidden Treasures collection of selected titles returned to the BBC by various collectors.

Our warm thanks go to the Radio Circle.


TUE 16:00 A Good Read (m0000npm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


TUE 16:30 Ali: Me, My Family and Muhammad Ali (b00rd3wb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]


TUE 17:00 Whodunnits (b0107wtp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


TUE 17:30 Paul Temple (b036kscn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


TUE 18:00 Girlies (b08s3sy2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b009kmns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


TUE 19:00 Fags, Mags and Bags (m0014qcy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


TUE 19:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pffp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


TUE 19:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvy2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]


TUE 20:00 Booked (b0075m92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]


TUE 20:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029gnk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]


TUE 22:00 Heresy (m00298pf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:30 The Penny Dreadfuls (b00gpbcz)
More Brothers Faversham

Perceus and Lucius Faversham

The story of Victorian Britain's great twin industrialists, Perceus and Lucius.

The comedy trio share another tale in their swashbuckling family romp.

Written by and starring The Penny Dreadfuls:

Humphrey Ker
David Reed
Thom Tuck

With:

Miles Jupp
Ingrid Oliver

Script edited by Richard Turner.

Producer: Julia McKenzie

Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2008.


TUE 23:00 The Mark Steel Solution (b007jms1)
Series 1

No-One Should Live in the Same Family for More Than One Year

Radical proposals to change our lives for the better - a family and relations revolution.

Written by Mark Steel and Pete Sinclair, who also perform with the help of Maria McErlane.

Give him 30 minutes and Mark will convince you of anything in the series that aims to prove that the ridiculous really is very sensible indeed.

Producer: Turan Ali

First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in October 1992.


TUE 23:30 Ivo Graham's Obsessions (b0bclvy3)
Joe Lycett's Obsessions - Series 1

Angela Barnes and Adam Kay

Joe Lycett explores the nation's weird and wonderful obsessions by getting to know a selection of famous and not so famous guests.

Joining Joe on the sofa this week, comedian Angela Barnes and author and performer Adam Kay.

Joe also welcomes members of the public to share their secret passions.

Written and performed by Joe Lycett.

With material from James Kettle and additional material from Laura Major and Mike Shepherd.

Producer: Suzy Grant

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2018.

WEDNESDAY 02 APRIL 2025

WED 00:00 A Good Read (m0000npm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]


WED 00:30 Ali: Me, My Family and Muhammad Ali (b00rd3wb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]


WED 01:00 Whodunnits (b0107wtp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]


WED 01:30 Paul Temple (b036kscn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]


WED 02:00 Girlies (b08s3sy2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]


WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b009kmns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]


WED 03:00 Fags, Mags and Bags (m0014qcy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]


WED 03:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pffp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]


WED 03:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvy2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]


WED 04:00 Booked (b0075m92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]


WED 04:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029gnk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]


WED 06:00 Whodunnits (b01084hc)
Hercule Poirot - Peril at End House

Episode 3

Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot discovers the identity of the body.

Then he turns his attention to some old letters...

Agatha Christie's whodunnit stars John Moffatt.

Dramatisted by Michael Bakewell.

Hercule Poirot …. John Moffatt
Captain Hasting …. Simon Williams
Nick Buckley …. Gemma Saunders
Frederica Rice …. Suzanna Hamilton
Ellen …. Hilda Schroder
George Challenger …. Andrew Wincott
Police Inspector …. David Thorpe

Director: Enyd Williams

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2000.


WED 06:30 Paul Temple (b036vvqy)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair

3. The Madrid

Barbara Wallace and Mildred Dawson are still missing.

Steve takes an eventful taxi ride to a louche London nightclub in Mayfair.

Another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest sleuth and his glamorous wife.

Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson stars in Francis Durbridge's rebooted 1946 mystery thriller.

The original series wasn't saved in the BBC archive and scripts for episodes 1, 2 and 6 were lost.

Luckily our colleague in Norwegian radio discovered a complete set of scripts in Oslo!

So using the original incidental music, sound effects and vintage microphones - all ten parts of Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair have been recreated.

Paul Temple …. Crawford Logan
Steve …. Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes …. Gareth Thomas
Inspector Vosper …. Michael MacKenzie
Sir Donald …. Simon Donaldson
Zola …. Greg Powrie
Peter Davos …. Richard Greenwood
Edward Day …. Nick Underwood
Coral Slater …. Francesca Dymond

Producer: Patrick Rayner

Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.

Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.


WED 07:00 Nineteen Ninety-Four (b013plyd)
Freedom Is Choice

"The Sellingfield Project: 'We'll take care of you alright!' "

Sub-Officer Edward Wilson probes a mysterious incident in Cumbria.

Starring Robert Lindsay.

Futuristic sitcom by Richard Turner and William Osborne with a nod to George Orwell.

Edward ...... Robert Lindsay
Sophie ...... Siobhan Redmond
Charles ...... Paul Shearer

With Pam Ferris, Richard Turner, Mark Knox and David Goodland.

Producer: Nick Symons

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1985.


WED 07:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007lrqy)
Series 4

The New Secretary

The Lad's plan to hire help is thwarted by the very scary Grizelda Pugh.

Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's classic comedy about the life and times of Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock.

Starring Tony Hancock.

With:

Sidney James
Bill Kerr
Kenneth Williams
Hattie Jacques

Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.

Music recorded by the BBC Augmented Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.

Producer: Dennis Main Wilson

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1956.


WED 08:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (m000b5l5)
Series 5

Back on the Chain Gang

Tom seeks some medical advice while Mum fights the good fight on behalf of Sheffield's trees.

Listen in on Tom's weekly phone calls home to his mum, dad and gran in Sheffield and get a glimpse into the triumphs and tribulations of the Wrigglesworth clan in all its dysfunctional glory.

Tom ...... Tom Wrigglesworth
Dad ...... Paul Copley
Mum ...... Kate Anthony
Granny ...... Elizabeth Bennett

Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle.

With additional material by Miles Jupp

Producer: Richard Morris

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2019.


WED 08:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pgkc)
3. Authority

It's 1798 and Napoleon sends his French Directory agent, Gabriel de Hedouville, to reduce Toussaint's power in the colony of Saint-Domingue.

Strategies are deployed by both men and, despite official affirmation on both sides, it is clear their relationship is cold.

Toussaint draws on his powers of diplomacy and his contacts, appointing key supporters as surveyors, priests and gendarmes.

The combination of his faith in God and his creative solutions to social problems make him a formidable match for Hedouville.

As Toussaint negotiates successfully with the British Government, Hedouville is humiliated and driven out of the colony.

In the London Gazette, Toussaint is described as ‘a negro born to vindicate the claims of his species, and to show that the character of man is independent of exterior colour’.

Written by Sudhir Hazareesingh

Abridged by Libby Spurrier

Read by Adrian Lester

Producer: Celia de Wolff

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2020.


WED 08:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvy5)
13. Tactics

Becky and Rawdon make a tactical visit to see some relatives - and Becky finds a new companion.

Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.

Written by William Makepeace Thackeray

Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt

Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Lady Jane …. Jemma Churchill
Miss Briggs .... Kate Buffery
Rawdon Crawley …. Ray Coulthard
Pitt .... Jon Glover
Lord Steyne …. David Calder
with Stephen Fry as the narrator

Director Marc Beeby

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2004.


WED 09:00 Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar (m0028xy3)
Series 5

4. Unsweet Charity

Alexei Sayle, the godfather of alternative comedy, delivers his inimitable blend of stand-up, philosophy and memoir as he welcomes made-up customers to buy illusory snacks in his imaginary sandwich bar

In this last episode of the current series, Alexei reflects on the nature of charity, our ultimate life quests and a strange house plant that refused to die.

Written and performed by Alexei Sayle

Producer - Richard Morris
Production Co-ordinator - Jodie Charman

A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4


WED 09:30 Why Why Why? (m000qknf)
3. Are you lonesome tonight?

Phill Jupitus searches for the answers to questions posed by songs.

A song made a hit by Elvis Presley in 1960 provokes a discussion on the connection between loneliness and night time.

Phil chats to Samaritan volunteer Sue Peart and Louise Arseneault, Professor of Developmental Psychology at Kings College, London.

Producer: Rosie Boulton

A Must Try Softer production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.


WED 09:45 Daily Service (m0029gnc)
Jesus' Disciples 2 - Thomas

A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.

Theme: Jesus' Disciples 2 - Thomas
Presenter: Becky Silver
Reading: John 20:24-29

Music:
Who You Say I Am - Hillsong Instrumentals
Blessed Assurance - Eilidh Patterson
I Will Be a Child of Peace (Elaine Hagenberg) - Laura Wright & Daily Service Singers


WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (b00hh46x)
Island Dreams

Poet Gwyneth Lewis explores the idea of the island and island life, and the ways in which it continues to capture the British imagination.

She uses drama, talks and documentary from the BBC audio archive to illustrate its appeal

Expect everything from reality TV programmes to Desert Island Discs and the Shipping Forecast.

She also cites the many instances of island settings in classic literature, including Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Peter Pan and Lord of the Flies.

Including contributions from:

* Literary critic, Dame Gillian Beer
* Historian, Robert Colls
* A group of people who tried to set up an island utopia in the 1960s
* The very last man to leave the island of St Kilda in the Outer Hebrides

Producer: Faith Lawrence

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2009.


WED 11:00 Whodunnits (b01084hc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


WED 11:30 Paul Temple (b036vvqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


WED 12:00 Nineteen Ninety-Four (b013plyd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007lrqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


WED 13:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (m000b5l5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


WED 13:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pgkc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


WED 13:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvy5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]


WED 14:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b08yrs0f)
Series 11

Episode 1

Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his new curator Romesh Ranganathan welcome:

* A high-powered media executive persuaded by Joan Rivers to become a stand-up comedian, Cally Beaton
* Comedy actor from the Bridget Jones movies, Smack The Pony, I'm Alan Partridge, Green Wing and Miranda, Sally Phillips
* Consultant in cellular pathology at Peterborough City Hospital and Royal College of Pathologists president, Suzy Lishman

The Museum's Guest Committee offer as exhibits the entire population of the Netherlands; Richard III's foot bones; and a knitted tea-cosy to cover the entire Museum.

Researched by Anne Miller of QI & Mike Turner.

Producers: Richard Turner & James Harkin.

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2017.


WED 14:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029gnf)
Blockbuster by Stephen Barlay

A demand is addressed to the British Government:

Hand over a million pounds or the East End of London will be destroyed.

In the Thames Estuary, the wreck of the Richard Montgomery still contains thousands of tons of fragmentation bombs in her hold.

How serious is the blackmailer's threat to detonate them?

And who can he be?

Superintendent Bucken is asked to investigate - perhaps on account of his reputation for unorthodox methods.

Or maybe it's for more sinister reasons...

Starring Brian Cox

Adapted for radio from his own novel, Blockbuster, by Stephen Barlay.

Superintendent Bucken .... Brian Cox
Sergeant Walsh .... Malcolm Hayes
Cutter-Smith .... Haydn Jones
Rattray .... Peter Woodthorpe
Maxine .... Frances Jeater
Colonel Wade .... Ian Lindsay
Winnie Cutter-Smith .... Hilda Hriseman
Sarah .... Lolly Cockerell
MacDougal .... Philip Fox
Commander Allerton .... Allan McClelland
Carron .... John Rye
Linley …. Michael Goldie
Care Hire Receptionist …. Lisa Flanagan
Sergeant Patel .... Sam Dastor
River Police Sergeant .... Jo Dunlop
Woman Police Constable …. Shirley Dickson
Other Policemen .... David Gillies and Edward Halstead
All other characters played by members of the cast.

Director: Michael Hefferman

First broadcast in Saturday-Night Theatre on BBC Radio 4 in August 1979.

*****
'Blockbuster’ is part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's Hidden Treasures collection of selected titles returned to the BBC by various collectors.

Our warm thanks go to the Radio Circle.


WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (b00hh46x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


WED 17:00 Whodunnits (b01084hc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


WED 17:30 Paul Temple (b036vvqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


WED 18:00 Nineteen Ninety-Four (b013plyd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


WED 18:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007lrqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


WED 19:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (m000b5l5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


WED 19:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000pgkc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


WED 19:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvy5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]


WED 20:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b08yrs0f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]


WED 20:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029gnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]


WED 22:00 Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar (m0028xy3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b01ckgh4)
Series 1

About Moving Out

Nathan decides it's time to leave home.

But, can he find somewhere to live and will his mother allow him to leave?

This is the story of young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who becomes the first in his family to graduate from University - only to opt for a career in comedy - much to his family's annoyance who want him to get a 'proper job' using his architecture degree.

Each episode shows the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his family as he pursues his career against their wishes.

A mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.

Written by: Nathan Caton

Additional material by: Ola and Maff Brown.

Nathan ..... Nathan Caton
Grandma ..... Mona Hammond
Mum ..... Adjoa Andoh
Dad ..... Curtis Walker
Reverend Williams ..... Don Gilet
James ..... Ola

Script Editor: James Kettle

Producer: Katie Tyrrell.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2012.


WED 22:45 Self-Storage (b00fbd1k)
Series 2

Episode 2

Judy arranges a date for Dave inside the storage unit.

What could go wrong?

Stars Reece Shearsmith and Mark Heap.

Sitcom written by Tom Collinson about a man living in a storage unit.

Dave ...... Reece Shearsmith
Geoff ...... Mark Heap
Ron ...... Tom Goodman-Hill
Judy ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Sarah ...... Susan Earl
Sioux ...... Helen Longworth

Producer: Ed Morrish

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2008.


WED 23:00 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b00s7dw0)
Series 2

Episode 4

More comedy, music and entertainment direct from Arthur Smith's flat in south London.

With his guests:

Nine Below Zero
Phill Jupitus
Josh Widdecombe
Marlon Davies

Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2010


WED 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0029s35)
Simon Blackwell 3/4

From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats to Simon Blackwell about The Thick of It.


WED 23:30 Masala FM (b007jz5q)
Episode 5

When the station's boss gets religion, the on-air result proves to be far from heavenly.

Asian radio station sitcom written by Meera Syal.

Starring:

Sanjeev Bhaskar
Nitin Sawhney
Meera Syal
Nina Wadia

Music by Nitin Sawhney.

Producer: Liz Anstee

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1996.