India, 1886: Adored by all, but the attraction of Venus is only skin-deep as one unlucky captain discovers. Stars Alex Jennings.
For many years, art critic Brian Sewell was a devoted fan of Stock Car Racing. In this programme, he explores his passion for these battered beasts of the race track, as he visits the Wimbledon Stadium for a night at the races.
Stock car racing was brought to Britain in 1954 by 'Digger' Pugh who'd first seen it in America. The idea was to take everyday road cars and race them on the track. Unlike other forms of racing, contact between cars was allowed, making it a hugely popular spectator sport. During Stock Car racing's golden era in the Fifties and Sixties, races attracted huge crowds to stadia up and down the country. These days, Stock Car racing still has a devoted following.
In this programme, Brian Sewell gets to the bottom of his passion, a passion which celebrates speed, exhaust fumes, driving skill and pure throbbing horse power. He meets Pete Tucker, one of the last surviving drivers to drive in the first British Stock Car races, and talks to the people involved in Stock Car racing today.
Brian speaks to Pete Tucker who drove in the first ever British Stock Car races; Janice Bell, daughter of Digger Pugh, the man who brought stock car racing to Britain; George Heath a driver of Banger cars; Paul Hugget, writer for Stock Car magazine Wheelspin.
Michael gets a circus obsession and Nigel has an odd encounter. Stars Raymond Coulthard and Adam Godley. From September 2005.
Episode 6, 'A Christmas Not Special'. A ring of the doorbell interrupts an already unconventional Wrigglesworth family Christmas.
Series 3 of the sitcom where Tom Wrigglesworth phones home for his weekly check-in with his Mum, Dad and Gran, giving listeners a glimpse into his family background and the influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and hang-ups.
Episode 6 "A Christmas Not Special": The Wrigglesworths receive a Christmas visitor while Tom struggles to get home in time for dinner.
Starring Tom Wrigglesworth, Paul Copley, Kate Anthony, Elizabeth Bennett and Chris Pavlo.
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle with additional material by Miles Jupp
Desperate to escape his mother-in-law, can Captain Povey rely on the crew of HMS Troutbridge to assist?
Stars Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Ronnie Barker as Commander Bell, Richard Caldicote as Captain Povey, Ronnie Barker as Commander Bell, Tenniel Evans as Taffy Goldstein, Janet Brown as Mrs Crump and Lawrie Wyman as the Inspector.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue ‘Cambridge Circus’, ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Ned Sherrin hosts the first semi-final with David Hunt of London, Lancashire's Sue McCombie and Andrew Taylor from Cambridge.
The further adventures of Mr Justice Cocklecarrot, Captain Foulenough, Dr Strabismus (whom God preserve) of Utrecht and Big White Carstairs.
Richard Ingrams, John Wells, John Sessions and Patricia Routledge recreate the world of the JB Morton.
Running in the Daily Express from 1924 to 1975 – JB Morton’s surreally comic ‘Beachcomber’ column paved the way for a great deal of modern humour.
1947: In 'Actor's Alibi' struggling writer Dan Holliday's ad for inspirational adventure backfires.
Stars Alan Ladd as Dan Holliday. With Sylvia Picker as secretary Suzy and Edmund MacDonald as Police Lieutenant Kling.
Former hack turned freelance thriller writer Dan needs to generate ideas, so places a classified ad in the paper: "Adventure wanted - will go anywhere, do anything - Box 13." Played by Hollywood film star Alan Ladd (1913-1964), he's the very image of a perpetually rent-owing, down-at-heel luckless gumshoe wannabe.
Renowned for being only 5 foot 5 inches or so tall, actor Alan Ladd's tough California childhood gave way to small roles in theatre, film and radio before silver-screen success. His films included: This Gun For Hire, Duel of Champions, The Carpetbaggers, One Foot in Hell, The Deep Six and The Proud Rebel.
Box 13 is a syndicated 52-part series created by Alan Ladd's company, Mayfair Productions. The series premiered on December 31st 1947 on New York radio station WOR.
Excerpts from the Queen of the Crime's personal tapes dictating her autobiography for her typist - before she made any amendments for publication.
Completed in 1965, the book was first published in the UK in1977, the year after her death.
Introduced by Agatha Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard who discovered her tapes.
Hercule Poirot has discovered the murder victim has a "past" - and is convinced that the murderer is still aboard the train.
Hercule Poirot ...... John Moffatt
Monsieur Bouc ...... Andre Maranne
Pierre Michel ...... Frank Windsor
Princess Dragmiroff ...... Sian Phillips
Miss Ohlsson ...... Kate Binchy
Count Andrenyi ...... David Thorpe
Countess Andrenyi ...... Siriol Jenkins
Colonel Arbuthnot ...... Stephen Hodson
Hardman ...... John Church
In Diana Athill's story, An Unavoidable Delay, first published in 1962, Rose is travelling home from her holiday in Lubjiana when she encounters Paul and events take an unexpected turn.
The short stories collected in Midsummer Night in the Workhouse represent the start of Diana Athill's writing career. In the preface to the selection she says: 'I can remember in detail being hit by my first story one January morning in 1958. Until that moment I had been hand-maiden, as editor, to other people's writing, without ever dreaming of myself as a writer.' Each of her stories draws on her own personal experiences and her keen observations of others.
Diana Athill was born in 1917. In 1946 she joined Andre Deutsch and went on to become one of the country's leading editors in a career spanning fifty years. She has also published six volumes of memoirs and a novel.
Mea Allan (1909-1982) was the first woman war correspondent to be permanently accredited to the British Forces and the first woman news editor in Fleet Street. During the Second World War she kept up a remarkable correspondence with her mentor May Chalmers which gives a picture of daily life in the Blitz and on the home front in London and Scotland.
Felicity Goodall's play opens with Mea looking back over her life and friendship with May, beginning with her arrival in Fleet Street in December 1938.
Stars Siobhan Redmond as Mea Allan, Brigit Forsyth as May Chalmers and Steven Deproost as Archie.
Second of a trilogy of plays examining the lives and writing of three pioneering women journalists.
Salieri wrestles with his conscience over seducing Mozart's wife. Read by F Murray Abraham. Adapted from the stage play.
Juliet Gardiner continues her look back into the History of the Future with the apocalyptic visions of Divine Judgement in the Book of Revelation.
There is some dispute about its authorship but it is generally believed that the Revelations of Jesus Christ were communicated to a mystic, John, while in exile on the island of Patmos off the coast of Turkey. John wrote them down around AD 95 and some interpret the Book of Revelation as unveiling events that will take place in the future, when Satan will be cast out and the Second Coming will bring about paradise on earth, others see it as an allegory of the struggle between good and evil.
Juliet views the Douse Manuscript, a dazzling 15th century illuminated Book of Revelation from a period when there was a flowering of interest in this vision of future, with its images of beasts, fires and plagues. Why did the Book's predictions become so pertinent at this particular time? Was this connected to anxieties and political aspirations of the Crusades? Juliet speaks to Professor of Early Modern ideas, Justin Champion.
Becky and Rawdon make a tactical visit to relatives, and Becky finds a new companion. With Stephen Fry and Emma Fielding.
Broadcaster, writer and musician, Miles Kington continues his account of an endearingly eccentric childhood.
Andrew journeys to Morocco with the sinister Duncan Mylne, where a shock awaits him...
By acclaimed storyteller Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the mysterious tale of a cat with nine lives. And a relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.
The scene - an isolated cottage on the coast on a stormy evening. Inside, Alec a recently bereaved widower and his dog. To pass the time Alec explores the contents of a folder of documents emailed to him by an acquaintance at the library where he used to work. What he discovers is an extraordinary story that will change his life forever.
Winterton's folder reveals more of Roger's extraordinary story. But the mystery surrounding Jo's disappearance deepens.
Author Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot is one of her most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels.
Professor Jeffrey Richards delves into the casebook of the fastidious Belgian sleuth with a genius for lateral thinking.
With Annette Crosbie as Edith, Robert Duncan as Scumspawn, Jimmy Mulville as Thomas.
Beauty Oolonga struggles with an irascible gentleman and the Featherdown office struggle with Social Services' new pilot scheme for elder care.
This means assessment exercises are based on the battle principles of General von Moltke of the Prussian Army...'
Beauty's adventures continue as the Featherdown Agency sends her to provide care for the elderly.
Beauty’s Zimbabwean Shona background has taught her to respect age. She sees Britain at its best and its worst
Beauty ..... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Derek ..... Oscar James
Nicole/Topaz/Tiffany ..... Morwenna Banks
Karen ..... Nicola Sanderson
Sally ..... Felicity Montagu
Nat investigates the story behind Laurel Miller's iconic photograph 'Crazy Bird', the image that captures the moment when ex-con Horace Wiggerley drove across the opening arms of the 23rd Street bridge in New York City. Featuring contributions from Lucian Msamati, Alibe Parsons, Peter Marinker, Ewan Bailey, Sally Orrock, Sean Baker and Lloyd Thomas.
Writers ..... James Lever and Nat Segnit.
Producers ..... Steven Canny and Sasha Yevtushenko.
THURSDAY 31 DECEMBER 2015
THU 00:00 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nm20n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 Book at Bedtime (b03xcdnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 The Radio Detectives (b007jp9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Kipling in Love (b06svtfc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Stock Car Sewell (b00tjvxc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus (b00shrwn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 The History of the Future (b01mk71l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair (b007jvy5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Someone Like Me by Miles Kington (b00dpg1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Mystery Theater (b06swkvc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:25 Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words (b06t1b2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:25 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 Hercule Poirot (b007yrng)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Counterpoint (b06swkv9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Beachcomber... By the Way (b007jv6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Brothers (b00nn2hg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06s9l5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Kipling in Love (b06sx2f5)
The Courting of Dinah Shadd
India, 1880: Sergeant Terence Mulvaney is a dark horse, reflecting on his military and personal ups and downs. Stars Jack Klaff.
THU 06:30 Brian Friel Season (b01r55mw)
Self Portrait
The playwright gives a rare insight into his personal past, musing on the facts and fictions of his life. From 1971.
THU 06:50 Inheritance Tracks (b0106vf7)
Colm Toibin
The writer inherits 'I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marbled Halls' sung by Joan Sutherland, and passes on Bob Dylan's 'I Threw It All Away'.
THU 07:00 Hazelbeach (b0082dtq)
Series 1
Wine
Returning to England, Nick's life descends into surreal chaos when he discovers the mysterious Ronnie Hazelbeach living in the house owned by his late Dad...
Caroline and David Stafford's first of three comedy series starring Jamie Forman as Ronnie Hazelbeach.
Ronnie ...... Jamie Foreman
Nick ...... Paul Bazely
Chloe ...... Tracy Wiles
James ...... John Dougall
Producer: Marc Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.
THU 07:30 Tina C (b06s9s02)
Tina C: Herstory
Episode 4
Country music legend Tina C brings us right up to date with a (slightly) festive look at where she is today.
Bob Harris quizzes her about her ambitions for the future, and a live country band take us through some of her biggest hits.
Written and performed by Christopher Green.
Additional voices: Susan Jameson & Leo Wan.
The Band: Duncan Walsh-Atkins, Phil Hardisty, Mark Wraith.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
THU 08:00 Steptoe and Son (b007k1r0)
Series 4
And Afterwards At
It's a big day for Harold. He's set to tie the knot! But Albert's not convinced.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett.
Following the conclusion of their hugely successful association with Tony Hancock, writers Galton & Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in 1962.
The Offer featured the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and son Harold - and was the spark for a run of eight series on TV.
Albert ...... Wilfrid Brambell
Harold ...... Harry H Corbett
With Pat Coombes, Patricia Hayes, Margot Boyd, Edward Kelsey, Sheila Grant, Martin Friend and Katherine Parr.
Written for TV and adapted for radio by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1972.
THU 08:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jx9k)
Series 1
The Birthday Present
Busy writing his new crime novel, Gerald doesn't want to be disturbed - but Diana has other ideas...
The convoluted chronicle of an optimistic author written by Basil Boothroyd.
Starring Ian Carmichael as Gerald C Potter and Charlotte Mitchell as his wife and more successful writer, Diana.
With Michael McClain
The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter ran from 1976 to 1981
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1976.
THU 09:00 Genius (b00802hh)
Series 3
Rob Newman
Hi-tech hitching to brushes with fingernails.
Dave Gorman asks comedian Rob Newman to select the public's best loopy idea.
Award-winning comedian Dave Gorman and a celebrity guest chew over the ridiculous, unworkable but sometimes genius inventions, schemes and policies of the public.
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.
THU 09:30 No Commitments (b007jnyh)
Series 7
A Family Lunch
A Family Lunch: Victoria's hopes for a happy birthday celebration are soon dashed. Stars Angela Thorne and Bill Nighy. From February 2001.
THU 10:00 Mystery Theater (b06sx543)
Jeff Regan, Investigator: It All Comes Back to Me Now
1950: Jeff gets caught up in a case of missing memories. Could a mystery woman carrying a pistol be a murderer?
Starring Paul Dubov as Jeff Regan and Frank Nelson as Anthony Lyon.
Jeff Regan is a fully registered official private investigator working for the Los Angeles-based International Detective Bureau. Unlike some of his radio contemporaries, Jeff gets the job done through diligence and tenacity - rather than gun-toting fisticuffs.
The series debuted on CBS in the US 1948 starring Jack 'Dragnet' Webb. After he left the role on radio, Jeff was played by Frank Graham and finally Paul Dubov (1918-1979) who appeared in many Hollywood films as a support actor, rather than playing the leading man.
Jeff Regan, Investigator came off-air in 1950.
4 Extra's MYSTERY THEATER showcases American radio's golden years of the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers, often re-enacting film roles.
THU 10:25 Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words (b06t23wl)
The Taxman
Excerpts from the Queen of the Crime's personal tapes dictating her autobiography for her typist - before she made any amendments for publication.
Completed in 1965, the book was first published in the UK in 1977, the year after her death.
Introduced by Agatha Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard who discovered her tapes.
Producer: Peter Reed.
THU 10:30 Hercule Poirot (b007ys7n)
Murder on the Orient Express
Episode 4
Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot discovers that someone aboard the train is lying to him.
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot.
Hercule Poirot ...... John Moffatt
Monsieur Bouc ...... Andre Maranne
Dr Constantine ...... Peter Polycarpou
Mrs Hubbard ...... Sylvia Syms
Miss Debenham ...... Francesca Annis
Foscarelli ...... Frank Coda
Fraulein Schmidt ...... Linda Polan
Count Andrenyi ...... David Thorpe
Countess Andrenyi ...... Siriol Jenkins
Miss Ohlsson ...... Kate Binchy
Pianist: Michael Haslam
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Director Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1992.
THU 11:00 A Dalmatian Trilogy (b018wb97)
The Lompic Cape
Episode 1 (of 3): The Lompic Cape by James Hopkin
An eccentric writer-explorer leads his bemused amanuensis over the island. But on the rocks, in the sea and in the old town, the two men see very different things.
James Hopkin has lived and travelled widely in Europe, including time spent on the Dalmatian islands off the coast of Croatia. These three specially-commissioned stories explore the history and landscape of the area, as well as providing a colourful journey for the senses.
Hopkin gained a First Class honours degree in English and Philosophy in Manchester, then a Distinction in his MA on modern fiction, followed by a British Academy Award for his PhD. In September 2002, he won an Arts Council short story competition with 'Even the Crows Say Krakow'.
His novel Winter Under Water (2007) was an assured and critically-acclaimed debut marking the arrival of a major new writer. He published a small collection of stories in 2008, along with the paperback of Winter Under Water.
James Hopkin's A Georgian Trilogy, also produced by Sweet Talk, was broadcast in 2010.
Reader: Alan Cox
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 11:15 Sirens of Fleet Street (b01dvzm8)
Miss Thingummybob
Emille Peacocke (1882-1964) - daughter of a well-respected Northern newspaper family - takes Edwardian Fleet Street by storm, as she refuses to take no for an answer in her quest to become a real journalist.
Her subjects range from Suffragettes to Archbishops, trousseaux to the Telegraph, as she makes her mark as the first woman journalist on the Daily Express.
The final play in a trilogy examining the lives and writing of three pioneering women journalists.
Janys Chambers' dramatised account stars Kathryn Hunt as Emilie, Melissa Sinden as Mary McArthur, Sarah Parks as Lady Lytton, Morgan George as Herbert Peacocke, Russell Dixon as Ralph D Blumenfield, Alice French as Young Emilie, James Nickerson as Randal Charlton and Geoffrey Banks as Arnold Bennett.
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
THU 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b007k1r0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jx9k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Kipling in Love (b06sx2f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Brian Friel Season (b01r55mw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 13:50 Inheritance Tracks (b0106vf7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:50 today]
THU 14:00 Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus (b00sjp2n)
Episode 4
Will Salieri finally take his revenge on Mozart? Or is his quarrel really with God? Read by F Murray Abraham.
THU 14:15 The History of the Future (b01mk92q)
Nostradamus
Juliet Gardiner continues her History of the Future with a look into the world of the most famous futurologist of them all, Nostradamus. Nostradamus's name is synonymous with prediction and his poetic quatrains have not been out of print since they were first published in France in 1555.
The prophesies were an instant bestseller all across Europe and struck a chord in London too. Widespread fear in France of invasion by the Ottoman Empire made his prophesies with their reference to the Anti-Christ seem urgent and people were drawn to the predictions for clues to how to act in a war-torn present. Five hundred years later people still consult the almanacs of Nostradamus and find in its pages predictions that seem to have foreseen major current events, the most famous of which was the attack on the World Trade Centre on 9/11.
The prophesies are enigmatic, poetically vague and ripe for interpretation, but what is striking is that Nostradamus's words can represent the anxieties of the time in which they were written, and ours today. Juliet speaks to Nostradamus experts Peter Lemesurier and Mario Reading.
Produced by Victoria Shepherd
A Juniper Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair (b007jvy8)
Episode 14
A cash crisis forces Amelia to make a terrible decision about little Georgie's future. With Stephen Fry and Emma Fielding.
THU 14:45 Someone Like Me by Miles Kington (b00dpnwr)
Episode 4
A Sherlock Holmes game unearths some awkward family evidence.
Broadcaster, writer and musician, Miles Kington continues his account of an endearingly eccentric childhood.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Producer: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2005
THU 15:00 Mystery Theater (b06sx543)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
THU 15:25 Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words (b06t23wl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:25 today]
THU 15:30 Hercule Poirot (b007ys7n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 today]
THU 16:00 Genius (b00802hh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 16:30 No Commitments (b007jnyh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Hazelbeach (b0082dtq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Tina C (b06s9s02)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nm5jd)
The Sheik
Returning to Scotland, Andrew becomes increasingly dependent on Mylne's support.
Jonathan Aycliffe's chilling novel abridged in ten parts by Rosemary Goring.
Read by Robert Paterson
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 1997.
THU 18:15 Book at Bedtime (b03xcgm0)
Lynne Truss - Cat Out of Hell
Episode 4
By acclaimed storyteller Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the mysterious tale of a cat with nine lives. And a relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.
The scene - an isolated cottage on the coast on a stormy evening. Inside, Alec a recently bereaved widower and his dog. To pass the time Alec explores the contents of a folder of documents emailed to him by an acquaintance at the library where he used to work. What he discovers is an extraordinary story that will change his life forever.
Episode 4:
Wiggy's sister Jo and her dog Jeremy are still missing. Suspicion falls on Wiggy himself.
Reader: Mike Grady
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 18:30 Women of Mystery - Queen of Crime (b06sx8b4)
4 Extra Debut. Why was the genteel Agatha Christie so good at writing murder stories? With Jessica Mann and biographer Janet Morgan. From December 1982.
THU 19:00 Steptoe and Son (b007k1r0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jx9k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Kipling in Love (b06sx2f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Brian Friel Season (b01r55mw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 20:50 Inheritance Tracks (b0106vf7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:50 today]
THU 21:00 A Dalmatian Trilogy (b018wb97)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Sirens of Fleet Street (b01dvzm8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Tina C (b06s9s02)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
THU 22:30 The Secret World (b0125n5t)
Series 2
Episode 1
From Al Pacino to Keith Harris and Orville, Jon Culshaw and friends probe the private lives of the famous. From July 2010.
THU 23:00 Bleak Expectations (b00nyy8s)
Series 3
An Evil Life Sort of Explained
Pip Bin, Harry Biscuit and Gently Benevolent find themselves trapped in the vast emptiness of space.
As their doom looks increasingly inevitable, Mr Benevolent finally explains just why it is that he is so very very evil.
Mark Evans's epic Victorian comedy in the style of Charles Dickens.
Sir Philip ...... Richard Johnson
Young Pip Bin ...... Tom Allen
Gently Benevolent ...... Anthony Head
Lovely Benevolent ...... Jane Asher
Harry Biscuit ...... James Bachman
Hardthrasher/Sternbeater/Wackwallop ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Miss Christmasham ...... Sarah Hadland
Miss Sweetly Delightful ...... Raquel Cassidy.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009
THU 23:30 Hamish and Dougal: You'll Have Had Your Tea (b008kl37)
Hogmanay Special
Hamish and Dougal find themselves celebrating Hogmanay with a busload of celebrities after they get stuck in a snowdrift on its way to the BBC's Hogmanay Cavalcade in Edinburgh.
Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden star as the two elderly Scotsmen famed for their appearances on BBC Radio’s I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Mrs Naughtie ...... Alison Steadman
The Laird ...... Jeremy Hardy
Humphrey Lyttelton ...... Butler
Tim Brooke-Taylor ...... Himself
Sandi Wedge ...... Sandi Toksvig
James ...... James Naughtie
Pianist Colin Sell
Producer: Jon Naismith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2004.
FRIDAY 01 JANUARY 2016
FRI 00:00 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nm5jd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:15 Book at Bedtime (b03xcgm0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Women of Mystery - Queen of Crime (b06sx8b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Kipling in Love (b06sx2f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Brian Friel Season (b01r55mw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:50 Inheritance Tracks (b0106vf7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:50 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus (b00sjp2n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 The History of the Future (b01mk92q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair (b007jvy8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Someone Like Me by Miles Kington (b00dpnwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Mystery Theater (b06sx543)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:25 Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words (b06t23wl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:25 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 Hercule Poirot (b007ys7n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Genius (b00802hh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 No Commitments (b007jnyh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Hazelbeach (b0082dtq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Tina C (b06s9s02)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Kipling in Love (b06sx9sy)
In the Pride of His Youth
London, 1880: Marrying Bella dashes Dicky's dream of a career in India. What can he do when offered a post? Stars Samuel West.
FRI 06:30 The Marx Brothers in Britain (b00sp198)
Author and historian Glenn Mitchell profiles the fascinating visits to Britain of legendary comedy team The Marx Brothers.
The Marx Brothers; Groucho, Harpo, Chico and (for a while) Zeppo, inspired a generation of comedians, not least in Britain via The Goon Show and, by extension, Monty Python's Flying Circus. Although Britons knew the Marxes essentially from their American films, they worked in the UK on several remarkable occasions, the first of which pre-dates their movie career.
Featuring actor Michael Roberts, famous for playing Groucho on the UK radio series Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel and using archive and new contributions from people that met and worked with them this programme recreates and explores the eventful visits of the brothers.
Beginning with their first in 1922, with an ensemble that included future 'boop-oop-a-doop' girl Helen Kane, the opening night at the London Coliseum saw them the target of flying pennies. With the act not working they reverted to an earlier sketch, moving to the Alhambra for the third week prior to appearances in Bristol and Manchester where elsewhere on the bill was a young Sandy Powell.
By the time of their next visit, in 1931, the Marxes had gone from vaudeville to being the biggest attraction in Broadway musical-comedy. Two of their shows had been filmed - The Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers - and had done sufficient business in the UK for impresario C.B. Cochran to invite them to star at the Palace, London.
Audiences were thrilled and the Marxes enjoyed their second stay in London, even when Harpo and Chico, drawn into a protracted card game in an unheated flat, found themselves burning the furniture to keep warm! The journey back saw Groucho and family strip-searched at US Customs when Groucho put down his occupation as 'smuggler'.
In 1947, Chico accepted a solo engagement at the London Casino. He returned to Britain in January 1949 for an extensive variety tour, joined briefly by Harpo for a four-week engagement at the London Palladium in June. In a dockside interview - to be heard in the programme - Chico is asked about the Italian accent he used when in character and claims that, after seeing what they'd done to Mussolini, he'd become Greek!
Chico's final UK visit was in 1959 for two BBC appearances, one of which, Showtime hosted by David Nixon.
There will also be interview material from Groucho's various trips to Great Britain between 1954 and 1971. Some of his activities were professional - such as a British TV version of his quiz show You Bet Your Life - while others were purely social, notably his celebrated meeting with T.S. Eliot.
Contributors include actor Ron Moody, Theatre historian Chris Woodward and Marxist fan Peter Dixon.
FRI 07:00 1834 (b01137b8)
What Century Are You Living In?
Jason Slater is a 21st-century English teacher from Cheadle Hulme who wakes in 19th-century Macclesfield.
In Jim Poyser's riotous comedy of transportation and delight, Jason discovers he's now Tarquin, third son of Lord Belport with a faithful valet, Ned who can't explain what's happened.
He's also acquired a suspicious brother, Henry; a spurned ex-girlfriend, Millicent, now going out with Henry; and an over excited Luddite-cum-cauliflower farmer.
Jason Slater ...... Michael Begley
Ned ...... Joe Caffrey
Hoskins ...... Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belport ...... Mark Chatterton
Henry ...... James Nickerson
Luddite ...... Toby Hadoke
Millicent ...... Julia Rounthwaite
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
FRI 07:30 Stop/Start (b01jhjsh)
by Jack Docherty
A new sitcom about love, marriage and putting up with each other. Stop/Start follows three couples as they do their best to get on with their lives. When things get tricky, the characters are able to stop the action, explain themselves to the audience and start it all up again.
Barney ..... Jack Docherty
Cathy ..... Kerry Godliman
Fiona ..... Fiona Allen
David ..... Charlie Higson
Evan ..... Steve Edge
Alice ..... Katherine Parkinson
Producer ..... Steven Canny
Jack Docherty
Jack has a fantastic record of making stand-out comedy. He first performed at the 1980 Edinburgh Festival Fringe with the comedy sketch group The Bodgers and went on to write for radio and television including: Spitting Image, Alas Smith and Jones, Vic Reeves Big Night Out, Absolutely, The Lenny Henry Show, Max Headroom, Weekending, The News Huddlines and a ton of other things.
He has also made guest appearances in The Comic Strip Presents, Sardines, Atletico Partick, The Morwenna Banks Show, Monarch of the Glen, Welcome to Strathmuir, Red Dwarf V and The Old Guys. He has also featured in the Radio 4 comedies Baggage and Mordrin MacDonald - 21st Century Wizard and has appeared on various comedy panel shows including Have I Got News For You and It's Only TV But I Like It.
FRI 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b008v13d)
Series 5
The Sleepless Night
The lad tries to get a good night's sleep, but everybody else keeps him awake.
Starring Tony Hancock.
With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in June 1958.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jmyg)
Series 6
The Greenslade Story
The amazing story of the rise and fall of BBC Home Service radio announcer Wallace Greenslade.
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan.
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: Peter Eton
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1955.
FRI 09:00 The 3rd Degree (b01d0qth)
Series 2
University of East Anglia
Coming this week from the University of East Anglia, "The 3rd Degree" is a funny, lively and dynamic quiz show aimed at cultivating the next generation of Radio 4 listeners whilst delighting the current ones. It's recorded on location at a different University each week, and it pits three Undergraduates against three of their Professors in a genuinely original and fresh take on an academic quiz. Being a Radio 4 programme, it of course meets the most stringent standards of academic rigour - but with lots of facts and jokes thrown in for good measure.
Together with host Steve Punt, the show tours the (sometimes posh, sometimes murky, but always welcoming!) Union buildings, cafes and lecture halls of six universities across the UK.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds and the 'Highbrow & Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and Lady Gaga... In addition, the Head-to-Head rounds, in which students take on their Professors in their own subjects, were particularly lively, and offered plenty of scope for mild embarrassment on both sides...
The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list...
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 09:30 Mind Your Own Business! (b009xyw7)
The Premature Berth
Head of finance Russell Farrow insists on the strictest economy. So tycoon Jimmy Bright must keep quiet about the firm’s £2,000,000 yacht.
But you can't keep anything quiet with Mum around...
Bernard Cribbins and Frank Thornton star in Andrew Palmer’s sitcom
Jimmy Bright ...... Bernard Cribbins
Russell Farrow ...... Frank Thornton
Nan Forbes ...... Annette Crosbie
Sue Plant ...... Annee Blott
Griselda Bright ...... Patricia Hayes
Written by Andrew Palmer.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1988.
FRI 10:00 Mystery Theater (b06sxbwk)
Sorry, Wrong Number: Agnes Moorehead
1943: Agnes Moorehead stars as the neurotic, bedridden Mrs Elbert Stevenson who overhears a murder being plotted via crossed phone wires.
It proved so popular that between 1947 and 1960, Moorehead freshly performed her "one-woman show" on CBS radio eight times, including versions for the East and West coasts - and always used her original script. However, the lead role in the 1948 movie version of Sorry, Wrong Number went to Barbara Stanwyck.
The film roles of Hollywood actress Agnes Moorehead (1900-1974) included Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons and Show Boat. She also starred as Endora in the long-running US TV sitcom 'Bewitched' for ABC.
Written by Lucille Fletcher, the May 25th 1943 broadcast of Sorry, Wrong Number was deemed to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the American Library of Congress and chosen for the National Recording Preservation Board. Orson Welles once called it "the single greatest radio script ever written."
Sound-effects by Bernie Surrey.
Producer: William Spier
Moorehead was a regular performer in CBS Radio's Suspense series which ran in the USA from 1942 to 1962.
4 Extra's MYSTERY THEATER showcases American radio's golden years of the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers, often re-enacting film roles.
FRI 10:25 Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words (b06t3wh4)
Unambitious
Excerpts from the Queen of the Crime's personal tapes dictating her autobiography for her typist - before she made any amendments for publication.
Completed in 1965, the book was first published in the UK in 1977, the year after her death.
Introduced by Agatha Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard who discovered her tapes.
Producer: Peter Reed.
FRI 10:30 Hercule Poirot (b007ytww)
Murder on the Orient Express
Episode 5
Time is against Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot as he battles to unmask the murderer aboard the Orient Express.
John Moffatt stars as Hercule Poirot in the conclusion of Agatha Christie's whodunit.
Hercule Poirot ...... John Moffatt
Monsieur Bouc ...... Andre Maranne
Dr Constantine ...... Peter Polycarpou
Masterman ...... Desmond Llewelyn
Pierre Michel ...... Frank Windsor
Princess Dragmiroff ...... Sian Phillips
Mrs Hubbard ...... Sylvia Syms
Miss Debenham ...... Francesca Annis
Count Andrenyi ...... David Thorpe
Countess Andrenyi ...... Siriol Jenkins
Colonel Arbuthnot ...... Stephen Hodson
Foscarelli ...... Frank Coda
Miss Ohlsson ...... Kate Binchy
MacQueen ...... James Telfer
Fraulein Schmidt ...... Linda Polan
Music composed and played by Michael Haslam
From the book published in 1934 and dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Director Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1993.
FRI 11:00 A Dalmatian Trilogy (b01946ws)
Dalmatian Muse
Episode 2 (of 3): Dalmatian Muse by James Hopkin
Danko lives in a secluded bay on the island. There is a strip of coast-line which he claims represents the whole of life: the island's illegal dumping site; then, further along, an eco-village of simple living and great food and wine; and finally, on the sea itself, the rusting guns of the old military occupation. At night he takes Polyanna out on his boat in search of phosphorescence.
James Hopkin has lived and travelled widely in Europe, including time spent on the Dalmatian islands off the coast of Croatia. These three specially-commissioned stories explore the history and landscape of the area, as well as providing a colourful journey for the senses.
Hopkin gained a First Class honours degree in English and Philosophy in Manchester, then a Distinction in his MA on modern fiction, followed by a British Academy Award for his PhD. In September 2002, he won an Arts Council short story competition with 'Even the Crows Say Krakow'.
His novel Winter Under Water (2007) was an assured and critically-acclaimed debut marking the arrival of a major new writer. He published a small collection of stories in 2008, along with the paperback of Winter Under Water.
James Hopkin's A Georgian Trilogy, also produced by Sweet Talk, was broadcast in 2010.
Reader: Raquel Cassidy
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:15 Neil Brand - Righteous Brothers (b0076cxn)
Harmony is the joyful noise that Brother Caradoc wishes to offer to the Lord, and he dreams of taking his fellow monks to a higher musical plane with him.
But if plainsong is the rule, is he inspired by God - or sent by the Tempter?
Neil Brand's drama stars Tom George as Brother Caradoc, Ioan Meredith as Brother Esmonde, Clive Swift as Methuselah, Peter Kenny as Brother Alyn, David Timson as the Precentor, John Woodvine as the Abbot and Carolyn as Lady Emma.
Director: Ned Chaillet
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
FRI 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b008v13d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jmyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Kipling in Love (b06sx9sy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Marx Brothers in Britain (b00sp198)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus (b00sjr7d)
Episode 5
Salieri is seething when Mozart writes an Italian opera, so he plots to stop it. Read by F Murray Abraham.
FRI 14:15 The History of the Future (b01mkzgw)
Leonardo da Vinci
Juliet Gardiner continues her History of the Future with a look at the designs of Renaissance Man Leonardo da Vinci. Juliet views his designs for warfare which seem to prefigure the modern tank and helicopter, and tries to understand how the culture of 15th century Florence with its political and religious turmoil as well as artistic flowering spoke to Leonardo's vision of the future. Many of Leonardo's inventions were astonishingly ahead of their time, but he is also a man firmly of his time, a time in which God, and the Revelation of the judgement of the Apocalypse depicted on the roof of the Baptistry would determine the end times for all. Juliet speaks to Evelyn Welch and Martin Kemp.
Produced by Victoria Shepherd
A Juniper Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair (b007jvyc)
Episode 15
Becky is delighted to be presented at court, but Rawdon is not happy. With Stephen Fry, Emma Fielding and Stephen Wyatt.
FRI 14:45 Someone Like Me by Miles Kington (b00dpspz)
Episode 5
A shock at the age of 18 from his sausage-loving father...
Broadcaster, writer and musician, Miles Kington continues his account of an endearingly eccentric childhood.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Producer: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2005
FRI 15:00 Mystery Theater (b06sxbwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
FRI 15:25 Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words (b06t3wh4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:25 today]
FRI 15:30 Hercule Poirot (b007ytww)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 today]
FRI 16:00 The 3rd Degree (b01d0qth)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Mind Your Own Business! (b009xyw7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 1834 (b01137b8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Stop/Start (b01jhjsh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nmjxb)
Voices
"I reached the door and ran outside, but the voices would not leave me..."
Andrew witnesses a mysterious ceremony in a former church and meets with his friend's widow.
Jonathan Aycliffe's chilling novel abridged in ten parts by Rosemary Goring.
Read by Robert Paterson
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 1997.
FRI 18:15 Book at Bedtime (b03xchr6)
Lynne Truss - Cat Out of Hell
Episode 5
By acclaimed storyteller Lynne Truss, author of the bestselling Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the mysterious tale of a cat with nine lives. And a relationship as ancient as time itself and just as powerful.
The scene - an isolated cottage on the coast on a stormy evening. Inside, Alec a recently bereaved widower and his dog. To pass the time Alec explores the contents of a folder of documents emailed to him by an acquaintance at the library where he used to work. What he discovers is an extraordinary story that will change his life forever.
Episode 5:
Whilst Alec waits for Winterton to call, he decides to return to the British Library for the first time since Mary's death. But a terrible shock awaits him.
Reader: Mike Grady
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b0076bpw)
Series 3
Somewhere
A hit from West Side Story, that yearns for a better world, has come to have special significance for many - from Mary Wilson of the Supremes who found it a fitting tribute to Martin Luther King, to the mother who sings it at the end of long frustrating days with her beloved autistic son.
Plus, Stephen Sondheim and his daughter discuss writing the lyric and the relatively bad critical response to it.
Series about music that makes the hairs stand up on the back of our necks.
Taking part:
Mary Dhonau
Peter Dhonau
Nina Bernstein
Humphrey Burton
Stephen Sondheim
Steve Nallon
Clive Snelling
Adrienne Snelling
Graham Clarke
Mary Wilson
Producer: Lucy Lunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2002.
FRI 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b008v13d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jmyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Kipling in Love (b06sx9sy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Brian Friel Season (b01r55mt)
Translations
A new production of Brian Friel's masterpiece about language and power.
It's the summer of 1833. In a hedge-school in Donegal, the schoolmaster's prodigal son is about to return from Dublin. With him are two army officers. Their aim is to create a map of the area, and, in the process, replace the Irish place names with English equivalents. It's an act with unexpected and violent consequences.
Thirty years ago playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea founded the Field Day Theatre Company in Northern Ireland. A company that aimed to provide a 'fifth province' in which Ireland's political and social troubles could be explored and re-imagined. Translations was its first production and became an instant classic. To mark its anniversary, BBC Radio 4 has commissioned a new production, specially adapted for radio by Michael Duke.
Cast:
Yolland.....Samuel Barnett
Lancey......Mark Bazeley
Doalty......John Paul Connolly
Jimmy Jack......Dermot Crowley
Sarah........Roisin Gallagher
Manus......David Ireland
Bridget.....Aoife McMahon
Hugh........Gerard McSorley
Owen......Eugene O'Hare
Maire......Eileen Walsh
Director: Kirsty Williams.
FRI 22:00 Stop/Start (b01jhjsh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World (b007r4mj)
Series 1
Death and the Afterlife
The sci-fi star and inventor explains life's big mysteries. Stars Richard Herring, Stewart Lee and Tom Baker. From October 1992.
FRI 23:00 The Gobetweenies (b01kt6qy)
Series 2
Episode 3
Mark Bonnar and Sarah Alexander star in Marcella Evaristi's comedy of shared parenting.
Mimi and Joe are determined to be the best kind of divorced parents, supportive and as good as any traditional set up. Mimi has even salvaged her ex's best suit from the charity shop where it was meanly dumped by Joe's most recent ex-wife. But Joe keeps getting misdirected post from the fetish shop across the road and Mimi cannot keep her prying fingers away from a big fat intriguing parcel.
Meanwhile their daughter Lucy has discovered an ethical way of eating that does not involve putting Quorn in her mouth - because her hero Mark Zuckerberg has said eating meat is not immoral if you catch your own dinner. So Lucy is going to steal a chicken. From a back garden in Highgate. It's a brilliant plan, especially since she has told her brother Tom he is saving the chicken bound for a battery farm.
But what are all those funny handcuffs doing on her dad's sitting room floor?
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:30 Shappi Talk (b00wsr2x)
Series 2
Politics
Shappi Khorsandi looks at a variety of subjects close to her Iranian heart - including History, Addiction and, in this programme, Politics.
Shappi reveals her thoughts on Margaret Thatcher, how Anne Frank got her into politics and that, while other parents took their children to the zoo, she was taken to Speakers' Corner.
She'll be joined by writer and satirist John O'Farrell to discuss how humour and politics are intertwined. Stand-up comedian Ian Stone offers his take on the world of politics and there's a witty song from Duncan Oakley.
Producer: Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
1834
07:00 FRI (b01137b8)
1834
17:00 FRI (b01137b8)
A Cause for Caroling
02:15 SAT (b03lsdg6)
A Dalmatian Trilogy
11:00 THU (b018wb97)
A Dalmatian Trilogy
21:00 THU (b018wb97)
A Dalmatian Trilogy
11:00 FRI (b01946ws)
A Good Read
18:30 MON (b06st1m9)
A Good Read
00:30 TUE (b06st1m9)
A Life of Bliss
08:30 SUN (b0499n3t)
A Life of Bliss
12:30 SUN (b0499n3t)
A Look Back at the Future
23:30 SUN (b01s259p)
A Snow Garden and Other Stories - Omnibus
14:30 SUN (b06ss60f)
A Snow Garden and Other Stories - Omnibus
02:30 MON (b06ss60f)
Act Your Age
16:00 TUE (b00fn0vg)
Act Your Age
04:00 WED (b00fn0vg)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
07:25 SAT (b06srxqc)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
17:25 SAT (b06srxqc)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
05:25 SUN (b06srxqc)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
10:10 SUN (b06ss5jg)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
21:10 SUN (b06ss5jg)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
10:25 MON (b06sssg0)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
15:25 MON (b06sssg0)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
03:25 TUE (b06sssg0)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
10:25 TUE (b06stv20)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
15:25 TUE (b06stv20)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
03:25 WED (b06stv20)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
10:25 WED (b06t1b2l)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
15:25 WED (b06t1b2l)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
03:25 THU (b06t1b2l)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
10:25 THU (b06t23wl)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
15:25 THU (b06t23wl)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
03:25 FRI (b06t23wl)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
10:25 FRI (b06t3wh4)
Agatha Christie - Speaking Her Own Words
15:25 FRI (b06t3wh4)
Agatha Christie
01:00 SAT (b007k0bk)
Alex Jones - River's Up
11:15 MON (b0076ytc)
And June Whitfield
02:45 SAT (b007jvfk)
Anthony Trollope - Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage
03:30 SAT (b00pfkw1)
Beachcomber... By the Way
09:30 WED (b007jv6b)
Beachcomber... By the Way
16:30 WED (b007jv6b)
Beachcomber... By the Way
04:30 THU (b007jv6b)
Beautiful Dreamers
23:30 WED (b00vy0pn)
Beauty of Britain
23:00 WED (b010t6yh)
Bleak Expectations
23:00 THU (b00nyy8s)
Book at Bedtime
18:15 MON (b03wpfcd)
Book at Bedtime
00:15 TUE (b03wpfcd)
Book at Bedtime
18:15 TUE (b03xcd4c)
Book at Bedtime
00:15 WED (b03xcd4c)
Book at Bedtime
18:15 WED (b03xcdnj)
Book at Bedtime
00:15 THU (b03xcdnj)
Book at Bedtime
18:15 THU (b03xcgm0)
Book at Bedtime
00:15 FRI (b03xcgm0)
Book at Bedtime
18:15 FRI (b03xchr6)
Brian Friel Season
06:30 THU (b01r55mw)
Brian Friel Season
13:30 THU (b01r55mw)
Brian Friel Season
20:30 THU (b01r55mw)
Brian Friel Season
01:30 FRI (b01r55mw)
Brian Friel Season
20:30 FRI (b01r55mt)
Bringing Holly from the Bongs
01:30 SAT (b06sqkhl)
Brothers in Law
08:30 MON (b007jrhv)
Brothers in Law
12:30 MON (b007jrhv)
Brothers in Law
19:30 MON (b007jrhv)
Cabin Pressure
22:30 MON (b01qdzc4)
Capital Gains
09:30 TUE (b00snlx2)
Capital Gains
16:30 TUE (b00snlx2)
Capital Gains
04:30 WED (b00snlx2)
Classic Serial
18:00 SAT (b01npb18)
Classic Serial
00:00 SUN (b01npb18)
Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!
09:00 SAT (b011tsc5)
Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show!
19:00 SAT (b011tsc5)
Counterpoint
09:00 WED (b06swkv9)
Counterpoint
16:00 WED (b06swkv9)
Counterpoint
04:00 THU (b06swkv9)
Dad's Army
08:00 MON (b007jqbr)
Dad's Army
12:00 MON (b007jqbr)
Dad's Army
19:00 MON (b007jqbr)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
14:05 SAT (b00n5w39)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
02:05 SUN (b00n5w39)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
11:50 SUN (b00n5w39)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
19:50 SUN (b00n5w39)
Dead Ringers
23:00 MON (b06scz91)
Dead Ringers
09:00 TUE (b06scz91)
Desert Island Discs Revisited
10:15 SUN (b06ss5jj)
Desert Island Discs Revisited
21:15 SUN (b06ss5jj)
Don't Make Me Laugh
07:30 TUE (b06s9d20)
Don't Make Me Laugh
17:30 TUE (b06s9d20)
Don't Make Me Laugh
22:00 TUE (b06s9d20)
Don't Make Me Laugh
05:30 WED (b06s9d20)
Ed Reardon's Week
07:30 SUN (b00qbv2p)
Ed Reardon's Week
17:30 SUN (b00qbv2p)
Ed Reardon's Week
22:00 SUN (b00qbv2p)
Ed Reardon's Week
05:30 MON (b00qbv2p)
Fear on 4
18:00 SUN (b00c84nd)
Fear on 4
00:00 MON (b00c84nd)
Genius
09:00 THU (b00802hh)
Genius
16:00 THU (b00802hh)
Genius
04:00 FRI (b00802hh)
HR
07:00 TUE (b01cw7kn)
HR
17:00 TUE (b01cw7kn)
HR
05:00 WED (b01cw7kn)
Hamish and Dougal: You'll Have Had Your Tea
23:30 THU (b008kl37)
Hancock's Half Hour
08:00 FRI (b008v13d)
Hancock's Half Hour
12:00 FRI (b008v13d)
Hancock's Half Hour
19:00 FRI (b008v13d)
Hazelbeach
07:00 THU (b0082dtq)
Hazelbeach
17:00 THU (b0082dtq)
Hazelbeach
05:00 FRI (b0082dtq)
Hercule Poirot
06:00 SAT (b008hsvg)
Hercule Poirot
16:00 SAT (b008hsvg)
Hercule Poirot
04:00 SUN (b008hsvg)
Hercule Poirot
16:00 SUN (b06ss65l)
Hercule Poirot
04:00 MON (b06ss65l)
Hercule Poirot
10:30 MON (b007yn6z)
Hercule Poirot
15:30 MON (b007yn6z)
Hercule Poirot
03:30 TUE (b007yn6z)
Hercule Poirot
10:30 TUE (b007yp1g)
Hercule Poirot
15:30 TUE (b007yp1g)
Hercule Poirot
03:30 WED (b007yp1g)
Hercule Poirot
10:30 WED (b007yrng)
Hercule Poirot
15:30 WED (b007yrng)
Hercule Poirot
03:30 THU (b007yrng)
Hercule Poirot
10:30 THU (b007ys7n)
Hercule Poirot
15:30 THU (b007ys7n)
Hercule Poirot
03:30 FRI (b007ys7n)
Hercule Poirot
10:30 FRI (b007ytww)
Hercule Poirot
15:30 FRI (b007ytww)
I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General - Omnibus
13:00 SAT (b06srwzt)
I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General - Omnibus
01:00 SUN (b06srwzt)
I Think I've Got a Problem
23:00 SUN (b007ynmg)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
07:30 MON (b06s8bpy)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
17:30 MON (b06s8bpy)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
22:00 MON (b06s8bpy)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
05:30 TUE (b06s8bpy)
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
08:30 WED (b011301y)
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
12:30 WED (b011301y)
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
19:30 WED (b011301y)
In the Psychiatrist's Chair
14:15 SAT (b06srxx3)
In the Psychiatrist's Chair
02:15 SUN (b06srxx3)
Inheritance Tracks
07:25 SUN (b06myczx)
Inheritance Tracks
14:25 SUN (b06myczx)
Inheritance Tracks
02:25 MON (b06myczx)
Inheritance Tracks
06:50 THU (b0106vf7)
Inheritance Tracks
13:50 THU (b0106vf7)
Inheritance Tracks
20:50 THU (b0106vf7)
Inheritance Tracks
01:50 FRI (b0106vf7)
Irish Micks and Legends
22:00 SAT (b01ntgxf)
James Last - Non Stop Party People
06:30 TUE (b00vsvcy)
James Last - Non Stop Party People
13:30 TUE (b00vsvcy)
James Last - Non Stop Party People
20:30 TUE (b00vsvcy)
James Last - Non Stop Party People
01:30 WED (b00vsvcy)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
18:00 MON (b01nlwzy)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
00:00 TUE (b01nlwzy)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
18:00 TUE (b01nm0f0)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
00:00 WED (b01nm0f0)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
18:00 WED (b01nm20n)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
00:00 THU (b01nm20n)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
18:00 THU (b01nm5jd)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
00:00 FRI (b01nm5jd)
Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix
18:00 FRI (b01nmjxb)
King Street Junior
09:30 MON (b007jmgt)
King Street Junior
16:30 MON (b007jmgt)
King Street Junior
04:30 TUE (b007jmgt)
Kipling in Love
06:00 MON (b06ssm4h)
Kipling in Love
13:00 MON (b06ssm4h)
Kipling in Love
20:00 MON (b06ssm4h)
Kipling in Love
01:00 TUE (b06ssm4h)
Kipling in Love
06:00 TUE (b06strdn)
Kipling in Love
13:00 TUE (b06strdn)
Kipling in Love
20:00 TUE (b06strdn)
Kipling in Love
01:00 WED (b06strdn)
Kipling in Love
06:00 WED (b06svtfc)
Kipling in Love
13:00 WED (b06svtfc)
Kipling in Love
20:00 WED (b06svtfc)
Kipling in Love
01:00 THU (b06svtfc)
Kipling in Love
06:00 THU (b06sx2f5)
Kipling in Love
13:00 THU (b06sx2f5)
Kipling in Love
20:00 THU (b06sx2f5)
Kipling in Love
01:00 FRI (b06sx2f5)
Kipling in Love
06:00 FRI (b06sx9sy)
Kipling in Love
13:00 FRI (b06sx9sy)
Kipling in Love
20:00 FRI (b06sx9sy)
Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World
22:30 FRI (b007r4mj)
Lynne Reid Banks - Who Shall I Run To?
15:45 SUN (b01295yh)
Lynne Reid Banks - Who Shall I Run To?
03:45 MON (b01295yh)
MR James
00:00 SAT (b06sqq9z)
Marguerite Patten's Century of British Cooking
07:30 SAT (b06srv27)
Marguerite Patten's Century of British Cooking
17:30 SAT (b06srv27)
Marguerite Patten's Century of British Cooking
05:30 SUN (b06srv27)
Meeting Myself Coming Back
08:00 SAT (b01k1ls1)
Meeting Myself Coming Back
15:00 SAT (b01k1ls1)
Meeting Myself Coming Back
03:00 SUN (b01k1ls1)
Midsummer Night in the Workhouse
11:00 MON (b015ykx1)
Midsummer Night in the Workhouse
11:00 TUE (b0167vmx)
Midsummer Night in the Workhouse
21:00 TUE (b0167vmx)
Midsummer Night in the Workhouse
11:00 WED (b016kj76)
Midsummer Night in the Workhouse
21:00 WED (b016kj76)
Mind Your Own Business!
04:30 SAT (b009sczf)
Mind Your Own Business!
09:30 FRI (b009xyw7)
Mind Your Own Business!
16:30 FRI (b009xyw7)
Mission Improbable
22:15 SAT (b01p7by4)
Mordrin McDonald: 21st Century Wizard
22:30 SAT (b00xw1th)
My Teenage Diary
22:30 SUN (b039q5ff)
Mystery Theater
03:00 SAT (b06sqp09)
Mystery Theater
10:00 MON (b06sspfb)
Mystery Theater
15:00 MON (b06sspfb)
Mystery Theater
03:00 TUE (b06sspfb)
Mystery Theater
10:00 TUE (b06sttwn)
Mystery Theater
15:00 TUE (b06sttwn)
Mystery Theater
03:00 WED (b06sttwn)
Mystery Theater
10:00 WED (b06swkvc)
Mystery Theater
15:00 WED (b06swkvc)
Mystery Theater
03:00 THU (b06swkvc)
Mystery Theater
10:00 THU (b06sx543)
Mystery Theater
15:00 THU (b06sx543)
Mystery Theater
03:00 FRI (b06sx543)
Mystery Theater
10:00 FRI (b06sxbwk)
Mystery Theater
15:00 FRI (b06sxbwk)
Neil Brand - Righteous Brothers
11:15 FRI (b0076cxn)
No Commitments
09:30 THU (b007jnyh)
No Commitments
16:30 THU (b007jnyh)
No Commitments
04:30 FRI (b007jnyh)
Old Harry's Game
22:30 WED (b00wr9vv)
Opening Nights: Oliver
06:30 MON (b00768h5)
Opening Nights: Oliver
13:30 MON (b00768h5)
Opening Nights: Oliver
20:30 MON (b00768h5)
Opening Nights: Oliver
01:30 TUE (b00768h5)
Pick of the Year
21:00 MON (b06sg2mk)
Poetry Extra
17:00 SUN (b06ss6gv)
Poetry Extra
05:00 MON (b06ss6gv)
Quote... Unquote
09:00 MON (b012fbw4)
Quote... Unquote
16:00 MON (b012fbw4)
Quote... Unquote
04:00 TUE (b012fbw4)
Round the Horne
08:00 TUE (b00mw69c)
Round the Horne
12:00 TUE (b00mw69c)
Round the Horne
19:00 TUE (b00mw69c)
Shappi Talk
23:30 FRI (b00wsr2x)
Sir Henry at Rawlinson End
23:15 TUE (b00s8lgd)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
14:00 MON (b00shhrl)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
02:00 TUE (b00shhrl)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
14:00 TUE (b00shl8h)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
02:00 WED (b00shl8h)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
14:00 WED (b00shrwn)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
02:00 THU (b00shrwn)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
14:00 THU (b00sjp2n)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
02:00 FRI (b00sjp2n)
Sir Peter Shaffer - Amadeus
14:00 FRI (b00sjr7d)
Sirens of Fleet Street
11:15 TUE (b01dtsgz)
Sirens of Fleet Street
21:15 TUE (b01dtsgz)
Sirens of Fleet Street
11:15 WED (b01dvvt3)
Sirens of Fleet Street
21:15 WED (b01dvvt3)
Sirens of Fleet Street
11:15 THU (b01dvzm8)
Sirens of Fleet Street
21:15 THU (b01dvzm8)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
14:45 MON (b00dp3qs)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
02:45 TUE (b00dp3qs)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
14:45 TUE (b00dp6f6)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
02:45 WED (b00dp6f6)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
14:45 WED (b00dpg1d)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
02:45 THU (b00dpg1d)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
14:45 THU (b00dpnwr)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
02:45 FRI (b00dpnwr)
Someone Like Me by Miles Kington
14:45 FRI (b00dpspz)
Son of Cliche
23:30 SAT (b00p1jb9)
Soul Music
00:30 SAT (b0075zst)
Soul Music
18:30 FRI (b0076bpw)
Steptoe and Son
08:00 THU (b007k1r0)
Steptoe and Son
12:00 THU (b007k1r0)
Steptoe and Son
19:00 THU (b007k1r0)
Steven Appleby's Normal Life
22:45 SAT (b007jqqw)
Stock Car Sewell
06:30 WED (b00tjvxc)
Stock Car Sewell
13:30 WED (b00tjvxc)
Stock Car Sewell
20:30 WED (b00tjvxc)
Stock Car Sewell
01:30 THU (b00tjvxc)
Stop/Start
07:30 FRI (b01jhjsh)
Stop/Start
17:30 FRI (b01jhjsh)
Stop/Start
22:00 FRI (b01jhjsh)
Susan Hill - The Woman in Black
18:30 SUN (b007jls5)
Susan Hill - The Woman in Black
00:30 MON (b007jls5)
The 3rd Degree
09:00 FRI (b01d0qth)
The 3rd Degree
16:00 FRI (b01d0qth)
The 99p Challenge
04:00 SAT (b06sqn7w)
The Al Read Show
08:00 SUN (b008zdfh)
The Al Read Show
12:00 SUN (b008zdfh)
The Ape That Got Lucky
22:30 TUE (b0081sw3)
The Brothers
07:00 WED (b00nn2hg)
The Brothers
17:00 WED (b00nn2hg)
The Brothers
05:00 THU (b00nn2hg)
The Gobetweenies
23:00 FRI (b01kt6qy)
The Goon Show
08:30 FRI (b007jmyg)
The Goon Show
12:30 FRI (b007jmyg)
The Goon Show
19:30 FRI (b007jmyg)
The History of the Future
14:15 MON (b01mhx6v)
The History of the Future
02:15 TUE (b01mhx6v)
The History of the Future
14:15 TUE (b01mk2hl)
The History of the Future
02:15 WED (b01mk2hl)
The History of the Future
14:15 WED (b01mk71l)
The History of the Future
02:15 THU (b01mk71l)
The History of the Future
14:15 THU (b01mk92q)
The History of the Future
02:15 FRI (b01mk92q)
The History of the Future
14:15 FRI (b01mkzgw)
The Jason Byrne Show
23:00 SAT (b01p2s1y)
The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees - Omnibus
09:00 SUN (b06ss5jd)
The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees - Omnibus
20:00 SUN (b06ss5jd)
The Marx Brothers in Britain
06:30 FRI (b00sp198)
The Marx Brothers in Britain
13:30 FRI (b00sp198)
The Men from the Ministry
08:30 TUE (b007jw7r)
The Men from the Ministry
12:30 TUE (b007jw7r)
The Men from the Ministry
19:30 TUE (b007jw7r)
The Moth Radio Hour
11:00 SUN (b06ss5s6)
The Moth Radio Hour
19:00 SUN (b06ss5s6)
The Mysterious Dame Agatha
18:30 TUE (b06stvfg)
The Mysterious Dame Agatha
00:30 WED (b06stvfg)
The Navy Lark
08:00 WED (b013r1vy)
The Navy Lark
12:00 WED (b013r1vy)
The Navy Lark
19:00 WED (b013r1vy)
The Penny Dreadfuls
12:00 SAT (b008vt7r)
The Radio Detectives
18:30 WED (b007jp9j)
The Radio Detectives
00:30 THU (b007jp9j)
The Right Time
07:00 MON (b00cb3bx)
The Right Time
17:00 MON (b00cb3bx)
The Right Time
05:00 TUE (b00cb3bx)
The Secret World
22:30 THU (b0125n5t)
The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter
08:30 THU (b007jx9k)
The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter
12:30 THU (b007jx9k)
The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter
19:30 THU (b007jx9k)
Think the Unthinkable
23:30 TUE (b007jm43)
Tina C
07:30 THU (b06s9s02)
Tina C
17:30 THU (b06s9s02)
Tina C
22:00 THU (b06s9s02)
Tina C
05:30 FRI (b06s9s02)
Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road
02:00 SAT (b007k0bq)
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups
07:30 WED (b06s9l5c)
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups
17:30 WED (b06s9l5c)
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups
22:00 WED (b06s9l5c)
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups
05:30 THU (b06s9l5c)
Twenty Players
23:00 TUE (b06stvjl)
Unbuilt Britain
07:15 SUN (b01l0g3p)
Unbuilt Britain
14:15 SUN (b01l0g3p)
Unbuilt Britain
02:15 MON (b01l0g3p)
Weak at the Top
23:30 MON (b00tjnmq)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair Omnibus
06:00 SUN (b008p53p)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair Omnibus
13:00 SUN (b008p53p)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair Omnibus
01:00 MON (b008p53p)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
02:30 SAT (b007jvxl)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
14:30 MON (b007jvxx)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
02:30 TUE (b007jvxx)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
14:30 TUE (b007jvy2)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
02:30 WED (b007jvy2)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
14:30 WED (b007jvy5)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
02:30 THU (b007jvy5)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
14:30 THU (b007jvy8)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
02:30 FRI (b007jvy8)
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
14:30 FRI (b007jvyc)
Women of Mystery - Queen of Crime
18:30 THU (b06sx8b4)
Women of Mystery - Queen of Crime
00:30 FRI (b06sx8b4)