RADIO-LISTS: BBC RADIO 4 Extra
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 4 Extra — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
SATURDAY 09 JULY 2016
SAT 00:00 Oscar Wilde (b008lz2g)
The Canterville Ghost, Episode 3
Filled with pity for the ghost of the house, Virginia agrees to help Sir Simon find peace. Read by Alistair McGowan.
SAT 00:30 Sounds Natural (b07k0ts9)
Bernard Cribbins
From the Meadow Pipit to the Red-Backed Shrike. Actor Bernard Cribbins talks to Derek Jones about his love of bird watching, fishing and the importance of conservation - aided by recordings from the BBC Sound Archive.
Producer: John Burton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1972.
SAT 01:00 Poirot (b0076tz9)
The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Episode 5
Captain Hastings and Detective Inspector Japp are bewildered by the antics of Hercule Poirot as he rushes back to Styles Court in a state of great excitement.
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot, Simon Williams as Hastings, Philip Jackson as Japp, Susan Jameson as Mary, Nichola McAuliffe as Evie, Annabelle Dowler as Cynthia and Hilda Schroder as Dorcas.
Original music composed by Tom Smail.
Dramatist: Michael Bakewell
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
SAT 01:30 Picking Round Apples (b014qxbg)
Steve Carver lives the life of a seasonal apple picker on a farm in Herefordshire.
In his previous programmes for Radio 4 'Dancing Round the Mediterranean' and 'Touring Round Torquay' , Steve immersed himself in a new line of work, living alongside co-workers and experiencing their way of life.
This year he is 'Picking Round Apples' in Herefordshire:
For a week in mid-August, Steve gave up his home comforts and moved into a small campervan parked in the corner of a field in rural Herefordshire.
Every year a small band of retired people establish a make-shift and temporary, but close community. Every day, all day, they pick apples. The money they earn boosts their pensions, and a simple and quietly sociable life is also a great draw.
However it's hard work - bad backs, scratched arms, and sore feet are the wounds that must be borne.
The retired pickers live in their motor-homes for the summer, with many over-wintering in Spain when the weather begins to cool. No such luxury (or destination) for Steve - we gave him a basic campervan, with no electrical 'hook-up'; the use of a microwave in a farm-building, which also houses the showers and loos.
He was cold at night (trekking socks a necessity in bed, even in August), he got a little sick of microwave meals, but he enjoyed meeting the other pickers, appreciating what they meant by 'getting into the zone' of apple picking: reach... pick... put in bucket... reach... pick... put in bucket... almost - as Steve said - like a form of meditation.
Join Steve to find out how he got on 'Picking Round Apples' at Tillington Fruit Farm near Ledbury in Herefordshire.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
SAT 02:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770qd)
I Would Like to Go to the Sea
By Maggie O'Farrell, abridged by Sally Marmion.
5/10. Esme returns to an old family haunt.
Read by Hannah Gordon, Frances Grey and Eleanor Bron.
SAT 02:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00sjw36)
The Habit of Schooling
Michael Morpurgo discovers the reaction to the 1870 Forster Education Act, marking the start of compulsory education for all.
SAT 02:30 AS Byatt - The Frederica Quartet (b007jstn)
Episode 30
Alexander hosts a play to raise cash for repairs and a fire at the farm has dire consequences. Stars Indira Varma.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b013n5k1)
Fire Season, Episode 5
Written by Philip Connor. Abridged by Jane Marshall.
A new relief lookout appears on the mountain but the author is unsure that he has what it takes to cope alone in the wilderness. And some smokejumpers arrive to put out a fire, which reminds the author of the famous tragedy of the Mann Gulch fire which inspired Norman Maclean's famous book.
Capturing the wonder and grandeur of this most unusual job and place, Fire Season evokes both the eerie pleasure of solitude and the majesty, might and beauty of untamed fire at its wildest. Connors' time on the peak is filled with drama - there are fires large and small; spectacular midnight lightning storms and silent mornings awakening above the clouds; surprise encounters with smokejumpers and black bears.
Read by Kerry Shale
Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 Classic Serial (b01jqb92)
Publish and Be Damn'd: The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson, Episode 2
Adapted by Ellen Dryden.
Nancy Carroll stars as Harriette Wilson - one of the most infamous and talked-about women of the early 19th century. Her lovers included aristocrats, adventurers and even the Duke of Wellington, and when they all ceased to support her after her retirement, she had a simple bargain for them - 'pay up, and I'll keep you out of my memoirs'.
A scandalous bestseller of their time, her memoirs reveal a sharp-witted, good-hearted, infinitely adaptable, madcap woman who took on the patriarchy of the time and did something close to beating them at their own game.
Having finally made contact with the mysterious Lord Ponsonby, Harriette finds there are all kinds of obstacles to their blossoming romance - including the small matter of his wife whom everyone agrees is an angel. Harriette's former lovers, the dashing Duke of Argyll and the taciturn but loyal Duke of Wellington, are never far from the picture and are soon joined by a new, passionate young admirer. The Marquis of Worcester is devoted to Harriette as only a 19 year-old can be.
Eventually Harriette is persuaded to reveal all in her memoirs - a course of action which leads Wellington to make one of the most famous remarks in the English Language.
Cast:
Harriette ...... Nancy Carroll
Ponsonby ....... Charles Edwards
Wellington ....... Barnaby Kay
Argyle ...... Blake Ritson
Fanny ....... Anna Francolini
Amy ....... Abigail Burdess
Matthew Lee ...... Jonathan Dryden Taylor
Poodle Byng/ Doctor/ Beaufort ..... Gus Brown
Porter/ Brougham ....... Jonathan Coote
Leinster ....... Andrew Mudie
Worcester ....... Nigel Thomas
Producer: Ellen Dryden
A First Writes Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:00 Whispers (b007k2sl)
Series 3, Episode 3
Gyles Brandreth chairs the scandals quiz with Anthony Holden, Lucy Moore, Dan Tetsell and John O'Farrell. From October 2005.
SAT 04:30 No Commitments (b01mhqbz)
Series 10, Time With the Family
Emily is engaged to Nick, so Roger and Victoria must absolutely meet her fiance's parents. Stars Bill Nighy. From February 2004.
SAT 05:00 Winston in Europe (b007tbrv)
Don't Gush, Nancy
Father wants to move abroad, but old rogue Winston's not his usual chipper self. Stars Maurice Denham. From March 1992.
SAT 05:30 Rumblings from the Rafters (b07hwxbk)
House Fly and Soprano Pipistrelle Bat
An annoying House Fly played by Lee Mack and a warm-hearted Soprano Pipistrelle Bat played by Pam Ferris, reveal the truth about life in a draughty old attic in a house in Amersham in the second of three very funny tales, written and introduced by Lynne Truss, with additional sound recordings by Chris Watson.
The House Fly loves life. "The best bit is the buzzing". He loves the aerobatics, dodging the flypapers in the attic and "... my favourite manoeuvre, settling on the ceiling. It is unbelievably brilliant" He loves to buzz. But he also loves, what to humans, is a disgusting way of life. He loves to walk around on filth and to poo everywhere and to spread disease "And listen, we don't mind! Not at all. It's the least we can do". He would love to spread more diseases and takes great joy in telling us just exactly how he does this ... perhaps best not to listen if you're eating!
The Soprano Pipistrelle Bat is a very different creature; a tiny bat with a huge and loving heart. She is nine years old and has given birth to a single pup each year. Her newest pup, Jethro, is her darling; "... such a lovely little face. Chestnut fur. Perfect little ears. He smells like chicken flavour crisps. Ooh, I could eat him." He is six weeks old and weaning - proudly catching insects for himself; and this is always a poignant time for this mother-bat, where pride and sadness mingle. The main concern with Jethro, she finds, is that he can't seem to grasp the idea of torpor, "Oh don't mum. Don't go torpid. It's like you're dying", but as she knows "torpor is nothing to be scared of, .. torpor is your friend".
House Fly: Lee Mack
Soprano Pipstrelle Bat: Pam Ferris
Written and introduced by Lynne Truss
Wildlife sound recordings Chris Watson
Producer Sarah Blunt.
SAT 06:00 Daphne Du Maurier - The King's General (b00p4klc)
A paralysed beauty and a reckless soldier fall in love during the English civil war. Stars Cathryn Harrison and Roger Allam.
SAT 07:30 The RSC at 50 (b01061hm)
The First Ten Years
James Naughtie explores the history of the Royal Shakespeare Company as it marks its 50th birthday and reopens its main Stratford theatre. Part 2: The First Ten Years.
In the second programme of his three-part series, James Naughtie explores how the Royal Shakespeare Company came into being in 1961 and its extraordinarily dynamic first ten years.
He speaks with the two key players - Peter Hall and Peter Brook (both now in their eighties, both still busily working in theatre) - about the stultifying 1950s theatre culture which they inherited. As Brook vividly recalls, "those old laddie codger actors just boomed away".
The two Peters discuss other aspects which were ripe for change - the need for a European-style ensemble, for training in verse-speaking, for longer and more open rehearsals, for productions which arose from a particular time rather than simply being wheeled out again and again - all RSC hallmarks which are now taken for granted. Veteran members of the company Patrick Stewart and Judi Dench recall the joys of that time, including, in Dench's case, the indiscrete joys of affairs which inevitably arose due to the geographical isolation of Stratford. Contemporary Associate Director Greg Doran explains the attraction of working in Stratford - walking daily, on his way to rehearsals, past the church where Shakespeare was baptized and buried; while Hall explains how vital it was to start up a London season if he was to succeed in turning a group of actors into a world-class company.
Meanwhile, the current Company dramaturge Jeannie O'Hare explains how productions of new works by contemporary writers - Pinter, Bond, Hare - helped re-energize the RSC, culminating in what is often seen as its aesthetic high-point - Brook's Dream in 1971 - which, in a rare interview, the great Peter Brook himself recalls for the programme.
The series as a whole features an exclusive breadth of interviews with the key players of the past half century. With the help of all five artistic directors: Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn, Terry Hands, Adrian Noble and Michael Boyd; luminaries such as Peter Brook, Cicely Berry, Greg Doran, Judi Dench, Patrick Stewart and David Tennant; and backstage artists, technicians and craftspeople, James Naughtie explores both the history of the company and the reasons why its work matters to the wider British cultural scene.
Producer: Beaty Rubens.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b03mcklz)
The Three Day Week
Forty years ago Britain was plunged into darkness as Prime Minister Edward Heath introduced a 3 day working week. Cities fell dark. Factories and schools closed. People, often wrapped in blankets, worked by candle and torchlight. At home, people boiled water to wash and children were sent to school with luminous yellow bands so they could be seen in the gloom. And Britain's three TV channels came to an abrupt end at ten thirty!
For decades, British politics was shaped, perhaps defined, by the events of the early 1970s, with the 3 day week as the centrepoint. Now it seems almost unimaginable that this could have happened in one of the world's richest countries so how did it ever get to this point? Could Heath have done anything different? Michael White of The Guardian, then a young reporter, takes us back to those extraordinary days and charts the long-term political significance of the crisis.
Producer: Jim Frank.
SAT 09:00 Garrison Keillor's Radio Show (b07kcgks)
The Last Prairie Home Companion
After 42 years on-air, Garrison Keillor hosted this final show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on July 1st 2016.
Garrison bids a bittersweet goodbye to Lake Wobegon and welcomes the Royal American Radio Acting Company, Rich Dworsky and the band, Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan, Heather Masse, Christine DiGiallonardo and some surprises.
A Prairie Home Companion is American public radio's most popular entertainment programme with four million weekly listeners on 500 plus radio stations coast to coast.
Produced by Prairie Home Productions.
SAT 11:00 Saturday Drama (b019qblm)
Stephen Wakelam - The Jinx Element
by Stephen Wakelam
Edith Wharton's private life was as dramatic as many of her novels. An encounter with a journalist was to have a seismic effect on her marriage and her work.
Directed by Sally Avens
Pullitzer prize winning author Edith Wharton had a long career, which stretched over forty years and included the publication of more than forty books, many of which have been made into films including 'The House of Mirth'. A born storyteller her novels are justly celebrated for their vivid settings, satiric wit, ironic style, and moral seriousness. Her characters are often trapped in bad relationships or confining circumstances. Her own life stands as an example of the obstacles that a woman of her time and place had to overcome to find self-realization. Stephen Wakelam's play tells the story of Edith's affair with the journalist Morton Fullerton through the eyes of her friend and fellow writer Henry James. Age 47 Edith embarked upon a relationship which made her reassess her own marriage to Teddy Wharton, a platonic relationship that did not allow her to share her intellectual and artistic interests.
Stephen Wakelam has written many successful radio plays including 'Adulteries of a Provinical Wife' about Flaubert writing Madame Bovary and 'What I Think of My Husband' about Thomas Hardy.
SAT 12:00 The Goon Show (b007jnxg)
Ill Met by Goonlight
Neddie Seagoon is sent to capture the German general who commands the island of Crete. Stars Spike Milligan. From March 1957.
SAT 12:30 Dilemma (b01747kt)
Series 1, Episode 1
Sue Perkins puts four guests through the moral and ethical wringer in this show that looks at the choices we are bombarded by in Britain today, as well as some more theoretical problems. Salad or chips? Do you buy local produce or from co-ops in Africa? Would you rather live in perfect happiness for ten years or general contentment for thirty? This is a panel show in which there are no "right" answers - but there are some deeply damning ones.
From everyday and even surreal either/or situations, to classic philosophical quandaries, Dilemma is a format to get witty, intelligent comic voices sparking off one another. The edition features comedians Dave Gorman and Richard Herring, actress and writer Rebecca Front, and journalist Dominic Lawson. They discuss such quandaries as "Would you provide an alibi to someone you hate?" and "Would you confront an elderly relative about casual racism at a family gathering?", and they debate the relative merits of Silvio Berlusconi, Vlad the Impaler, L. Ron Hubbard and Amanda Holden. The show was devised by award-winning stand-up and writer Danielle Ward (The News Quiz, Newswipe, Mock The Week).
Producer: Ed Morrish.
SAT 13:00 Roald Dahl: Served with a Twist (b07kcl7p)
Omnibus. Charles Dance tells five darkly comic tales by the master of the bizarre. Featuring The Bookseller, Poison, My Lady Love, The Surgeon and The Butler.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07kcmhg)
Simon Hopkinson
Chef and writer Simon Hopkinson chooses 'Catch a Falling Star' by Perry Como and '21st Century Schizoid Man' by King Crimson.
SAT 14:15 Sentimental Journey (b0076zp7)
Shappi Khorsandi
Arthur Smith takes Iranian comedian Shappi Khorsandi to Paris, where she went as a teenager. Her satirist father was exiled for his humour, but Shappi carries on the family tradition.
Producer: Sharon Banoff
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
SAT 14:45 Uncle Mort's North Country (b007jl6n)
Series 1, Beside the Seaside
Carter and Uncle Mort enjoy sea-air and some miserable memories. Peter Tinniswood's saga with Peter Skellern and Stephen Thorne.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b03mcklz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Daphne Du Maurier - The King's General (b00p4klc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 The RSC at 50 (b01061hm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 The Real George Orwell (b01qhd0y)
Nineteen Eighty-Four, Episode 1
Dramatised by Jonathan Holloway.
Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth. Sick and separated from his wife, he lives alone in a one-room flat in Victory Mansions in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Winston finds love, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer
The Real George Orwell
A Radio 4 journey through the labyrinth that is the life and work of George Orwell.
Of course there is no real George Orwell - it was the pen name of Eric Blair - but he was a writer and political commentator who is very hard to pin down. Ever since his early death in 1950, he has been at one and the same time the darling of some on both the left and the right of British politics - whilst being reviled by others. For all the beautiful simplicity of his writing and storytelling Orwell/Blair is a complex mass of confusions - an anti-establishment, pro-English, ex-Etonian ex-policeman and socialist, who was ardently anti-authoritarian. He was as anti-fascist as he was anti-communist, a former Spanish Civil War soldier who was anti-war but pro the Second World War, and so on and so on.
Through dramatisations of the key books, through four newly commissioned plays that explore the disjuncture between the man who was Eric Blair and the writer who was George Orwell, and through factual programming and readings, Radio 4 will take you on a journey from Burma via Catalonia, Wigan, Jura, Manor Farm along the road that led to Nineteen Eighty-Four, one of the most influential novels of the twentieth century.
SAT 19:00 Garrison Keillor's Radio Show (b07kcgks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 21:00 Saturday Drama (b019qblm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Buy Me Up TV (b009fnlx)
Episode 2
Another chance to hear the comedy series inspired by every shopping channel you've ever seen and every product you've never wanted to buy.
The series features Justin Edwards, Colin Hoult, Katherine Jakeways, Ewen MacIntosh, Alex MacQueen and Greg Proops. Tonight's special guest is Ruth Madoc.
SAT 22:30 Knowing Me, Knowing You (b007k0fl)
Episode 5
Cheesy host Alan Partridge is 'Live from Las Vegas' with a glamorous American co-host. Stars Steve Coogan. From December 1992.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07kd8fr)
From
10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Cariad Lloyd rounds off her chat about 'improv' with Pippa Evans and Rachel Parris.
SAT 23:00 I, Regress (b01s0dlz)
Series 2, Mirrors
A dark, David Lynch-ian comedy, ideally suited for an unsettling and surreal late night listen. 'I, Regress' sees Matt Berry (The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Dark Place, Snuff Box) playing a corrupt and bizarre hypnotherapist taking unsuspecting clients on twisted, misleading journeys through their subconscious.
Each episode sees the doctor dealing with a different client who has come to him for a different phobia. As the patient is put under hypnosis, we 'enter' their mind, and all the various situations the hypnotherapist takes them through are played out for us to hear. The result is a dream- (or nightmare-) like trip through the patient's mind, as funny as it is disturbing.
The cast across the series include Bob Mortimer, Daisy Haggard, Steve Furst and Tracy-Ann Oberman.
A compelling late night listen: tune in and occupy someone else's head!
Produced by Sam Bryant.
SAT 23:15 Richard Marsh (b01rlswh)
Love and Sweets, Jess
Winner of Best Scripted Comedy in the BBC Audio Awards 2014, poet and playwright Richard Marsh fuses poetry and prose to tell a heart-breaking and witty tale of losing love, falling for a seductive-looking lady called Sorrow, and learning to put himself back together.
Richard's marriage has fallen apart, and he's a broken man locked in a flat full of memories, rattling around like sweets in a bowl. Siobhan's moved out; the flat, half-full, is the emptiest thing. On the plus side, his friends cook him a lot of meals - but there's only so much consolation chicken a man can eat.
When moping at the pub, Richard meets the seductive Sorrow, who tries to stop him recovering or moving on with his life. Will she succeed, or will Richard learn to love again?
Contains some explicit language.
Written and performed by Richard Marsh
Producer: Ben Worsfield
A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 23:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b00qx43h)
Series 2, Episode 4
Mark Thomas: The Manifesto. Comedian-activist, Mark Thomas creates a People's Manifesto, taking suggestions from his studio audience and then getting them to vote for the best. The winner of each show will be enforceable by law, so pay attention.
This episode will include policies such as crushing the cars of anyone illegally parked in a disabled space; the legalisation of Viking-style funerals; and consolidating the United Kingdom's national debt into one easy-to-pay loan.
Produced by Ed Morrish.
SUNDAY 10 JULY 2016
SUN 00:00 The Real George Orwell (b01qhd0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Roald Dahl: Served with a Twist (b07kcl7p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07kcmhg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Sentimental Journey (b0076zp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 Uncle Mort's North Country (b007jl6n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b03mcklz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Daphne Du Maurier - The King's General (b00p4klc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 The RSC at 50 (b01061hm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 AS Byatt - The Frederica Quartet Omnibus (b07kt2ps)
A Whistling Woman
Frederica meets an old flame and her new TV series starts but a fire at the farm has a devastating outcome. Stars Indira Varma.
SUN 07:15 Out of Armenia (b04w0jfv)
Paris
"The last of the battlefields is the battlefield of the imagination - and that space is infinite".
Charles Emmerson continues his journey through the Armenian diaspora of Europe in Paris - Europe's largest, most culturally-vibrant and politically-radical Armenian diaspora community.
With the singing of the Armenian monk-musician Gomidas playing in the background, French-Armenian actor Simon Abkarian tells Charles the story of how his family was wiped out in Anatolia in 1915, and how Armenians have turned the pain of memory into the foundations of a new homeland in France.
As Charles is plied with pomegranate wine in the local Armenian shops of Alfortville, a Paris suburb which filled with Armenian refugees in the 1920s, we hear how French-Armenians have become more French than the French themselves - counting members of parliament, actors, musicians and the singer Charles Aznavour among their number. One of the most famous fighters of the French resistance, Missak Manouchian, was also Armenian.
On a river barge in the Seine, as a mostly Armenian band tunes up for an evening concert, we hear mixed Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish and Persian music - symbol of a younger generation of Paris Armenians opening up, and an embrace of culture as a tool of both memory and peace.
Produced by Cicely Fell
An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 07:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b01dgh8t)
Series 1, Nick Helm
Comedian Alex Horne is joined by his own 5 piece jazz band for a brand new series of music and comedy. The band will be joined by Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee guest Nick Helm, and explore the relationship between man and dog and dinosaurs and puns.
Host .... Alex Horne
Trumpet/banjo .... Joe Auckland
Saxophone/clarinet ....Mark Brown
Double Bass/Bass .... Will Collier
Drums and Percussion .... Ben Reynolds
Piano/keyboard .... Joe Stilgoe
Guest performer ....Nick Helm
Producer .... Julia McKenzie.
SUN 08:00 Ray's a Laugh (b07kwm0j)
From 30/01/1959
Will Ted be able to cope when things take a decidedly chilly turn?
Starring Ted Ray. With Kitty Bluett and Kenneth Connor.
Ray's A Laugh - the successor to ITMA - follows the comedy exploits of Ted's life at home with his 'radio' wife Kitty, as well as in a variety of jobs. It ran from 1949-1961.
Scripted by Bernard Botting and Charles Hart.
BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Producer: Leslie Bridgmont
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1959.
SUN 08:30 Meet the Huggetts (b04mc868)
All at Sea
With the factory outing looming, Joe and Ethel Huggett find themselves in a mess over money.
Stars Jack Warner as Joe, Kathleen Harrison as Ethel, Vera Day as Jane, Anthony Green as Bobby, Charles Leno as Fred Stebbings, Beatrice Varley as Mrs Stebbings and Kenneth Connor as Mr Campbell.
Popular working-class family, the Huggetts first hit the cinema screen with a series of Gainsborough films between 1947 and 1949. Their subsequent BBC radio series ran from 1953 to 1962.
Scripted by Eddie Maguire.
Producer: Peter Eton
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1954.
SUN 09:00 Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited - Omnibus (b07kwmtm)
With new access to family archive, Philip Eade revisits the life of one of our greatest novelists. Read by Nickolas Grace.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07kwnfm)
Bonnie Tyler
Singer Bonnie Tyler chooses 'A Hard Day's Night' by the Beatles and 'River Deep Mountain High' by Tina Turner.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07kwnqc)
Conductors, Antonio Pappano
4 Extra Debut. From Tony Bennett to Giacomo Puccini, conductor Anthony Pappano shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From April 2004.
SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b07kwny1)
Series 3, Snow White and the Screaming Meemies
True stories told live in the USA: Meg Bowles introduces tales about moving home, being on TV, foster care and last chances.
The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.
The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.
SUN 12:00 Ray's a Laugh (b07kwm0j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Meet the Huggetts (b04mc868)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 AS Byatt - The Frederica Quartet Omnibus (b07kt2ps)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Out of Armenia (b04w0jfv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Jessie Burton - The Muse: Omnibus (b07k8zlv)
Episode 1
1967: Odelle Bastien begins her new job as typist and meets her boss Marjorie Quick. Read by Martina Laird and Jessica Raine.
SUN 15:45 John Burnside - Finders Keepers (b07kwqst)
4 Extra Debut. The older brother knew the lost dog was quite probably dead, but the pretence of searching continues. Read by Richard Pearce.
SUN 16:00 Edith Wharton - Madame de Treymes (b0089brw)
John Durham's fight for the woman he loves sparks a confrontation with a powerful and devious French family.
Stars Anna Massey as Christiane de Treymes, Philip Voss as John Durham, Gwen Humble as Fanny de Malrive, Elizabeth Kelly as Bessie Boykin and Valerie Sarruf as the Narrator.
Adapted from Edith Wharton's novella by John Peacock.
Director: Jane Morgan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b07kwsds)
Tales from Ovid: Arachne; Midas
BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'Tales of Ovid'.
Poet Ted Hughes continues reading from his award-winning reworking of Ovid's Metamorphoses - stories of the teeming underworld and overworld of Romanised Greek myth and legend.
Featuring 'Arachne' and 'Midas', this highly praised collection won the 1997 Whitbread prize for poetry and WH Smith Literary Award.
Ted Hughes: born: 1930 and died: 1998.
Producer: Susan Roberts
First broadcast in two-parts on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
SUN 17:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b01dgh8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Simon Bovey - The Voice of God (b007jwkz)
Dreamtime Is Over
What is being built out in a remote Australian desert? And what havoc will it wreak? Stars Clare Corbett and Matthew Dyktynski.
SUN 18:30 Algernon Blackwood - The Willows (b007jvdj)
Episode 3
The companions prepare for a second night and the inevitable attack from the island's mysterious forces. Read by Roger Allam.
SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b07kwny1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 Evelyn Waugh: A Life Revisited - Omnibus (b07kwmtm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07kwnfm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07kwnqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b01dgh8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Fabulous (b00hlxwn)
Series 1, Episode 2
Faye fancies a day under her duvet, but perhaps it would be more peaceful at the office? Stars Daisy Haggard. From May 2007.
SUN 22:45 Peter Bradshaw - For One Horrible Moment (b0084ss4)
Episode 2
Memoirs of a boy growing up in the 1970s, when a girl caused excitement and self-loathing. Written and read by Peter Bradshaw.
SUN 23:00 The Secret World (b01mk55k)
Series 3, Episode 1
The impression show that imagines alternative lives for famous people. Each episode takes place over one day, with stories unfolding and overlapping from morning to night.
In this third series the team of Jon Culshaw, Lewis MacLeod, Julian Dutton, Duncan Wisbey, Margarter Cabourn-Smith, Jessica Robinson is joined by Debra Stephenson.
In this series, Professor Brian Cox finds himself the object of excessive female attention, from, amongst others, Kirsty Young and the Queen. Al Pacino reveals his alternative life as a balloon twister. Ed Miliband spends a whole day trying to get a batman costume for his son, Peter Sallis discovers a new form of energy, and President Obama becomes a pearly king.
The show is written by Bill Dare, Julian Dutton, and Duncan Wisbey.
It's produced by Bill Dare.
Episode synopsis for ep 1
In this episode, the Arch Bishop of Canterbury tries Tweeting for the first time, with disastrous results. Professor Brian Cox finds himself stalked by various women, including the Queen. Al Pacino is a balloon twister, and Princess Anne reveals her secret life as a trainspotter.
SUN 23:30 Laura Solon: Talking and Not Talking (b00773md)
Series 1, Episode 4
Perrier Award winning comedian Laura Solon continues her new sketch and character comedy series, aided by the voices of Ben Moor, Katherine Parkinson and Ben Willbond. Plus more from the China Lion, the new barn conversion couple and a return to Chingley Hall.
MONDAY 11 JULY 2016
MON 00:00 Simon Bovey - The Voice of God (b007jwkz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Algernon Blackwood - The Willows (b007jvdj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 AS Byatt - The Frederica Quartet Omnibus (b07kt2ps)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Out of Armenia (b04w0jfv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Jessie Burton - The Muse: Omnibus (b07k8zlv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 John Burnside - Finders Keepers (b07kwqst)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Edith Wharton - Madame de Treymes (b0089brw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b07kwsds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b01dgh8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036v8py)
Episode 1
Radio's dashing hero, Dick Barton is looking forward to a restful Mediterranean cruise with his faithful pal, Snowy, but an old colleague has other ideas...
The stirring 'Devil's Galop' heralds the arrival of Douglas Kelly as 'Dick Barton - Special Agent' in another thrilling tale of criminal masterminds, espionage and daring adventure.
Originally starring Noel Johnson, Duncan Carse and Gordon Davies, Dick Barton ran on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951, but sadly, very few original recordings survive.
With the original lost, this is a very authentic sounding re-recording of 'The Cabatolin Diamonds' using the original scripts and music, which was made for international distribution. Happily the audio was rediscovered in 2009, lurking in the vaults of the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, Australia.
Script by Geoffrey Webb.
Producer: Morris West
First broadcast in Australia in April 1949.
MON 06:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012llr0)
Episode 1
Crime reporter Michael Quigley's evening is ruined when a mysterious master criminal chooses his nightclub to carry out his latest escapade. Read by Danny Webb.
Who is White Face? The "Devil of Tidal Basin" - they called him. Out of the slums and filth of London slunk this marauder, dealing death and striking terror into all hearts and confounding the clearest brains of Scotland Yard.
All the ingredients of a great mystery are here - a beautiful young girl, a handsome and romantic stranger from South Africa; a keen crime-reporter from London's Fleet Street in love with the girl; the dull witted inspector of Police countered by the brilliant Superintendent from Scotland Yard.
It's a hunt to expose an arch blackmailer - bent on destroying the lives of his victims.....
Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1875-1932) was a prolific British crime writer, journalist and playwright, who wrote 175 novels - including the Four Just Men and Mr JG Reeder series - 24 plays, and countless articles in newspapers and journals. He co-created the movie monster 'King Kong', writing the film's early screenplay. Over 160 films have been made of his novels.
Edgar Wallace's novel abridged by Robin Brooks.
Producer: Clive Brill
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pacificus Productions and first broadcast in 2011.
MON 06:30 When Harry Met Sally at 20 (b00m6zpr)
4 Extra Debut. Film critic Sarah Churchwell celebrates the classic romantic film comedy with its writer, Nora Ephron. From August 2009.
MON 07:00 Charles Dickens (b00rv56t)
Sketches by Boz - Series 1, Mr Watkins Tottle
When a shy, middle-aged bachelor meets the woman of his dreams, can there really be a happy ending? Stars David Collings.
MON 07:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07j438b)
Series 65, Episode 2
The 65th series of Radio 4's multi award-winning antidote to panel games promises more homespun wireless entertainment for the young at heart. This week the programme pays a return visit to the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool. Regulars Barry Cryer, Jeremy Hardy and Tim Brooke-Taylor are once again joined on the panel by Rory Bremner with Jack Dee in the chair. At the piano - Colin Sell.
Producer - Jon Naismith.
It is a BBC Studios production.
MON 08:00 Parsley Sidings (b04dcgpq)
Series 2, The Flower Show
Station Master Horace Hepplewhite digs up trouble when he hosts the village horticultural show.
Starring Arthur Lowe as Horace, Kenneth Connor as Percy/Bradshaw/Vicar, Liz Fraser as Gloria, Ian Lavender as Bert, Bill Pertwee as Phineas Perkins and Garrard Green as the Inspector
Jim Eldridge's eponymous series is set in a sleepy railway station. The Hepplewhites have run 'Parsley Sidings' station for generations and the current Station Master, Horace, hopes that his son Bert will continue the line. Mild-mannered Ticket Clerk Bert wants to work anywhere but on the railways. His colleague, Station Announcer Gloria Simpkins, secretly loves him. Porter Percy Valentine is an archetypal wheeler-dealer and the ancient Signalman, Bradshaw, causes havoc and dispenses home-made remedies in equal measure. The 'Parsley Sidings' nemesis is Phineas Perkins, the station master of Potwhistle Halt, one stop down the line.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1973.
MON 08:30 J Kingston Platt (b01rr6y0)
Romance
The showbusiness survivor shares a touching tale of unexpected romance. Written and read by Peter Jones. From September 1993.
MON 09:00 Quote... Unquote (b039pdtd)
The quotations quiz hosted by Nigel Rees.
As ever, a host of interesting celebrities will be joining Nigel as he quizzes them on the sources of a range of quotations and asks them for the amusing sayings or citations that they have personally collected on a variety of subjects. We discover who the most quotable people they have ever met are and we're treated to their favourite four line humorous poems.
This week Nigel is joined by Woman's Hour's Jenni Murray, News presenter Matt Barbet, Children's Playwright David Wood and Journalist and writer Katharine Whitehorn.
Reader ..... Peter Jefferson.
Produced by Carl Cooper.
MON 09:30 King Street Junior (b007jnbv)
Series 7, Beside the Seaside
Staff and pupils set off on a school trip, but trouble soon erupts at their guest house. Stars James Grout. From May 1992.
MON 10:00 Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe (b007jqy3)
Episode 1
After ignoring his family's advice, the castaway ends up shipwrecked and arrives on an island. Stars Roy Marsden and Tom Bevan.
MON 11:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01pqdsc)
Mr Wrong, pt 1
Meg comes to London to buy a second-hand car, but all is not as it seems. Chilling tale read by Matilda Ziegler.
MON 11:15 Shelagh Delaney - Sweetly Sings the Donkey (b01dbytf)
A girl convalesces in post-war Blackpool with fellow invalids, nuns and the waves. Shelagh Delaney's trilogy stars Beth Squires.
MON 12:00 Parsley Sidings (b04dcgpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 J Kingston Platt (b01rr6y0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036v8py)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012llr0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
MON 13:30 When Harry Met Sally at 20 (b00m6zpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770rf)
Like Sugar in Water
Iris has rescued her newly discovered great-aunt Esme from the institution where she's been for 61 years. But only her grandmother Kitty - whose mind is now fractured with Alzheimer's - remembers the whole story of her sister's past.
Poignant story of the shameful treatment of unconventional women in the 1930s and the lengths a woman might go to, for the thing she wants most.
Hannah Gordon, Frances Grey and Eleanor Bron continue Maggie O'Farrell's highly acclaimed novel set between the conventions of 1930's Edinburgh and the freedoms of today.
Abridged by Sally Marmion
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
MON 14:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00slqvb)
What Is the Meaning of Empire Day?
Michael Morpurgo presents readings of the words of children exiled from or arrived in Britain under the British Empire.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pftbg)
A Little Twist of Dahl, Taste
A series of stories by Roald Dahl
Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.
Episode 1: Taste
Charles Dance leads the cast as the urbane Storyteller in dramatisations of five classic tales by Roald Dahl. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings.
The stories show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction. They are stylishly plotted, vividly characterised and made unforgettable by their breezy cynicism, presenting as they do, a hilariously bleak view of family life. Their satisfying conclusions invariably leave bullies, schemers, adulterers and frauds soundly punished.
In Taste, whenever Mike Schofield and Richard Pratt dine together, they play a little game. If Pratt, a conceited wine buff, can identify a rare vintage in a blind tasting, he wins a case of the wine in question. When Schofield boasts that he has acquired a wine whose obscurity renders it unguessable, Pratt suggests they increase their stakes. If he fails to identify it, he forfeits both his houses but, if he succeeds, he wins the hand of Schofield's delectable daughter in marriage. Despite the girl's protests, Schofield agrees to the wager.
Produced and Directed by David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b013xm61)
All Made Up, Episode 1
Award-winning author Janice Galloway brings all the brilliance of her fiction to bear on her memories of adolescence in small-town Scotland. Since the death of their father, Janice and her unpredictable older sister, Cora, have lived in close quarters with their downtrodden mother. But the timid child, who has survived by observing rather than acting, is about to hit adolescence.
Read by the author and abridged by Sian Preece.
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.
MON 15:00 Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe (b007jqy3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Quote... Unquote (b039pdtd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 King Street Junior (b007jnbv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Charles Dickens (b00rv56t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07j438b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x62sy)
The Testament of Jessie Lamb, Episode 1
Jane Rogers dramatises her award winning novel set in a future where an act of biological terrorism has spread a deadly virus across the world. Maternal Death Syndrome is claiming the lives of millions of women and panic is rising. As her world collapses, teenager Jessie Lamb, decides that if the human race is to survive, it's up to her.
Directed by Nadia Molinari
Dangerous Visions Season:
The adjective Ballardian refers to the writer 'JG Ballard's fearful imaginings of what the near future might be like. Even though the master creator of dystopian futures died four years ago, his vision of
what our future might become feels as relevant, satirical and as scary as ever. Radio 4's Dangerous Visions is a season of dramas that explore contemporary takes on future dystopias. Dramatisations of Ballard's seminal works, Drowned World and Concrete Island, straddle the season, and we have asked five leading radio writers - Nick Perry, Ed Harris, Michael Symmonds Roberts, Michael Butt and Philip Palmer - to imagine what life might be like in the near future if everything goes wrong -
and their Dangerous Visions form the bedrock of the series: clever, imaginative and disturbing takes on just what might happen. What happens if sleep is outlawed? If cloning becomes a matter of course, and your loved ones are capable of being cloned? If North London declares UDI on South London, which has become a wasteland? If human sacrifice becomes a part of society? We are also running a 5 part dramatisation of Jane Roger's award winning terrifying novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb, dramatised by the author.
Dangerous Visions - you will be disturbed as you see the present reflected in the glass of an uneasy future.
MON 18:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqln)
Episode 1
It's the year 1999. As the TV screens reports of a space mission, top architect Stephen Rix has a sudden vision of a building that he feels compelled to construct.
Read by David Horovitch.
Brian Appleyard's 1994 novel abridged in 10 episodes by Ed Thomason.
Producer Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b00767pt)
Huw Edwards & Lesley Chamberlain
Matthew Parris welcomes BBC newsreader, Huw Edwards and writer, Lesley Chamberlain to discuss paperbacks by Kingsley Amis, Richard Flanagan and Jonathan Smith. From 2002.
The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis
Publisher: Penguin Books
Death Of A River Guide by Richard Flanagan
Publisher: McPhee Gribble
The Learning Game by Jonathan Smith
Publisher: Abacus.
MON 19:00 Parsley Sidings (b04dcgpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 J Kingston Platt (b01rr6y0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036v8py)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012llr0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
MON 20:30 When Harry Met Sally at 20 (b00m6zpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01pqdsc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Shelagh Delaney - Sweetly Sings the Donkey (b01dbytf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07j438b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Concrete Cow (b04wjtm3)
Series 2, War
A war poet is told that the troops prefer limericks. Sketch show starring Robert Webb, Beth Chalmers and Chris Pavlo. From February 2004.
MON 23:00 Dead Ringers (b07j7nvf)
Series 16, Episode 4
It's out with Farage, Gove, Boris, Hodgson, Chris Evans and David Cameron. And in with the new: Andrea Leadsom?
MON 23:30 Elvenquest (b01qwc8m)
Series 4, The Fat Hog
The Questers find themselves seeking succour at the Fat Hog, a hostelry famed for its excellent cuisine, and run by its quixotic headchef Nigressa.
Meanwhile, Lord Darkness is having trouble with his new Ball of Infinite Vision.
Starring:
Darren Boyd as Vidar
Kevin Eldon as Dean/Kreech
Dave Lamb as Amis
Stephen Mangan as Sam
Alistair McGowan as Lord Darkness
Ingrid Oliver as Penthiselea
and
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Nigressa
Written by James Cary.
Producer: Sam Michell.
TUESDAY 12 JULY 2016
TUE 00:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x62sy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqln)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b00767pt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036v8py)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012llr0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 When Harry Met Sally at 20 (b00m6zpr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770rf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00slqvb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pftbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b013xm61)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe (b007jqy3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Quote... Unquote (b039pdtd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 King Street Junior (b007jnbv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Charles Dickens (b00rv56t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07j438b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036wtkn)
Episode 2
Hot on the trail of the smugglers, Dick Barton may have unwittingly placed his friends directly in danger...
The stirring 'Devil's Galop' heralds the arrival of Douglas Kelly as 'Dick Barton - Special Agent' in another thrilling tale of criminal masterminds, espionage and daring adventure.
Originally starring Noel Johnson, Duncan Carse and Gordon Davies, Dick Barton ran on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951, but sadly, very few original recordings survive.
With the original lost, this is a very authentic sounding re-recording of 'The Cabatolin Diamonds' using the original scripts and music, which was made for international distribution. Happily the audio was rediscovered in 2009, lurking in the vaults of the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, Australia.
Script by Geoffrey Webb.
Producer: Morris West
First broadcast in Australia in April 1949.
TUE 06:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012m9vx)
Episode 2
After musing in his surgery, Dr Marford and Sergeant Elk are soon confronted by a fresh murderous mystery. Read by Danny Webb.
TUE 06:30 The Art of Water Music (b0132p7x)
Starting with an underwater concert, Midge Ure sounds the depths of the complex relationship between music and water.
Water has fascinated classical composers, modernist musicians and contemporary sound artists alike, and in this programme Midge hears some of the extraordinary ways in which water has been represented, evoked and even used as an instrument by musicians over the centuries. It flows through an extraordinary range of pieces. Midge meets experts on water compositions by Beethoven, Wagner and Debussy and explains why Handel's Water Music is not technically speaking water music at all.
While some of the water music we know best might be classical, water continues to appeal to those working at the musical cutting edge. Midge has a go at playing a bizarre instrument called a 'waterphone' and talks to sound artist Lee Patterson as he performs a strangely hypnotic piece of 'drip music'. He also listens to recordings of the Danube by sound artist Annea Lockwood. She believes the sound of running water is itself music, raising the question of whether or not water and music are actually different at all. Water, it seems, continues to excite, mystify and intrigue, and musicians have engaged with it with whatever instruments they have had at their disposal: orchestras, pianos, and now computers.
Midge goes to meet Simon Harding who makes electronic music on his computer using the water sounds from appliances in his house, while Professor Doug James, a computer scientist at Cornell University, explains some of the science behind water's unique musicality. There is a wealth of beautiful water music already in existence as this programme shows, but water is still a vigorously flowing source of musical inspiration, even expanding our ideas of what we consider music to be.
Presenter: Midge Ure
Producer: Tom Rice
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 07:00 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04ndrcb)
Pursued by a Bear
The struggles of a Dublin theatrical costumier. The local nun's drama group offers hope. With Doreen Keogh. From September 1998.
TUE 07:30 My Teenage Diary (b07j4qx6)
Series 7, Chris Packham
Naturalist Chris Packham reads from the nature diaries he kept as a teenager, and is interviewed by Rufus Hound about his formative years - which were mostly spent up trees, looking for birds.
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 08:00 Steptoe and Son (b00rlb08)
Series 1, Sixty-Five Today
Albert's 65th birthday outing turns into a disaster for son Harold.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold.
Following the conclusion of their hugely successful association with Tony Hancock, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in 1962. The Offer was set in a house with a yard full of junk, featuring the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold and it was the spark for a run of 8 series for TV.
Adapted for radio from Galton and Simpson's TV script by Gale Pedrick.
Produced by Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1966.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b016r51w)
Torn to Shreds
The bungling duo must dispose of a 75p surplus. Easy? You would think so. Stars Deryck Guyler and Richard Murdoch. From June 1975.
TUE 09:00 Dead Ringers (b07j7nvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 King of Bath (b047ljr2)
Ars Brevis
Beau Nash tries to hides his Welsh origins to get royal approval for his cordial. Starring David Bamber. From March 1999.
TUE 10:00 Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe (b007jqyc)
Episode 2
Solitude on the desert island gives way to cannibals, mutineers, and a man called Friday. Stars Roy Marsden and Tom Bevan.
TUE 11:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01pqn8d)
Mr Wrong, part 2
After a fright on the M1, will Meg be able to sell the car that she now knows is haunted? Read by Matilda Ziegler.
TUE 11:15 Shelagh Delaney - Tell Me a Film (b01ddfy6)
Four women, who first met as convalescents, return to Blackpool as they turn 60. Shelagh Delaney's trilogy stars Barbara Marten.
TUE 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b00rlb08)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b016r51w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036wtkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012m9vx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
TUE 13:30 The Art of Water Music (b0132p7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770rz)
I'm Not Going to Get Married, to Anyone
To her family's surprise, Esme has a highly desirable suitor. Read by Hannah Gordon, Frances Grey and Eleanor Bron.
TUE 14:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00slxyd)
The Nation's Most Important Asset
Michael Morpurgo presents readings of the words of children about the effect on the 20th-century wars.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pfwhq)
A Little Twist of Dahl, The Way up to Heaven
A series of stories by Roald Dahl
Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.
Episode 2: The Way Up To Heaven
Charles Dance leads the cast as the urbane Storyteller in dramatisations of five classic tales by Roald Dahl. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings.
The stories show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction. They are stylishly plotted, vividly characterised and made unforgettable by their breezy cynicism, presenting as they do, a hilariously bleak view of family life. Their satisfying conclusions invariably leave bullies, schemers, adulterers and frauds soundly punished.
In The Way Up To Heaven, despite living in a New York mansion so vast that it requires its own elevator, the Fosters are not a happy couple. Mrs Foster has a pathological fear of being late and her husband deliberately torments her by doing everything as slowly as he can. When she accepts an invitation to visit France, he insists on taking her to the airport only to leave her waiting outside in the car. Nearly hysterical, she goes to see what's keeping him but, when she reaches the front door, she hears a particular sound and realises, if she's cunning, she need never be late again..
Produced and Directed by David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b013ptf2)
All Made Up, Episode 2
Award-winning author Janice Galloway reads extracts from her new book - a compelling account of her adolescence in 1970s Scotland. Young Janice has arrived at secondary school bearing a huge weight of expectation from her eager mother and unpredictable, violent, sister.
Read by the author and abridged by Sian Preece.
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.
TUE 15:00 Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe (b007jqyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Counterpoint (b00fl745)
2005, Semi-Final 3
Ned Sherrin's music quiz with Christopher Moore-Bridger of Oswestry, Oliver Longstaff of Harrogate and David Muir from Bristol.
TUE 16:30 King of Bath (b047ljr2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04ndrcb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 My Teenage Diary (b07j4qx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x7h15)
The Testament of Jessie Lamb, Episode 2
Jane Rogers dramatises her award winning novel. Society is splintering, apocalyptic sects with fundamentalist, ecological or anti-scientific beliefs are springing up. Panic, chaos and fear reign. When Jessie's own world begins to fall apart and her best friend Sal experiences a shocking act of violence, Jessie realises it is time to take action.
Directed by Nadia Molinari
Dangerous Visions Season:
The adjective Ballardian refers to the writer 'JG Ballard's fearful imaginings of what the near future might be like. Even though the master creator of dystopian futures died four years ago, his vision of
what our future might become feels as relevant, satirical and as scary as ever. Radio 4's Dangerous Visions is a season of dramas that explore contemporary takes on future dystopias. Dramatisations of Ballard's seminal works, Drowned World and Concrete Island, straddle the season, and we have asked five leading radio writers - Nick Perry, Ed Harris, Michael Symmonds Roberts, Michael Butt and Philip Palmer - to imagine what life might be like in the near future if everything goes wrong -
and their Dangerous Visions form the bedrock of the series: clever, imaginative and disturbing takes on just what might happen. What happens if sleep is outlawed? If cloning becomes a matter of course, and your loved ones are capable of being cloned? If North London declares UDI on South London, which has become a wasteland? If human sacrifice becomes a part of society? We are also running a 5 part dramatisation of Jane Roger's award winning terrifying novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb, dramatised by the author.
Dangerous Visions - you will be disturbed as you see the present reflected in the glass of an uneasy future.
TUE 18:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqm3)
Episode 2
Can architect Stephen Rix convince others to share in his vision of a new Gothic cathedral? Read by David Horovitch.
TUE 18:30 The Tingle Factor (b07kyd8d)
Ronald Harwood
Distinguished writer of plays and screenplays, Sir Ronald Harwood tells Robin Ray about certain moments in music which send a shiver down his spine.
Recalling his life and career highlights, including The Dresser, his selection includes Stravinsky, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong.
Producer: Andrew Mussett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
TUE 19:00 Steptoe and Son (b00rlb08)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b016r51w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036wtkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012m9vx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
TUE 20:30 The Art of Water Music (b0132p7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01pqn8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Shelagh Delaney - Tell Me a Film (b01ddfy6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b07j4qx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Bleak Expectations (b01pfy5w)
Series 5, A Loved-Up Life Potentially Totally Annihilated
Bleak Expectations
By Mark Evans
Volume 5, Chapter 6: "A Loved Up Life Potentially Totally Annihilated "
Last in the series of the Victorian comedy adventure. The inappropriately-named arbiter of all evil Mister Gently Benevolent unveils an advent calendar of evil that will culminate on Christmas day with the total destruction of the universe. Only one man can prevent the end of everything for all time. But at a terrible terrible cost. Is this the end for our hero Pip? Or is it curtains for the whole of creation? And does that mean Harry needn't get Pippa a Christmas present?
Produced by Gareth Edwards.
TUE 23:00 Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation (b016x241)
Faith
Mark Watson continues his quest to improve the world, nimbly assisted by Tim Key and Tom Basden.
As broadcast live in November 2011 - Mark invites the audience join in via tweets and messages to work out how we can all make the world a better place.
Mark asks the big questions that are crucial to our understanding of ourselves and society - in a dynamic and thought provoking new format he opens the floor to the live audience and asks them to jump into the conversation via tweets and messages to work out how we can all make the world a better place.
This week Mark looks at "Faith" - What is faith? One of the most used, and feared, words of modern times. Yet these days, it's often used derisively about religious beliefs and so on. We look at odd things done in the name of 'faith', versus the obvious merits of having faith (belief that England will eventually win World Cup, ability to ride out difficult marriages). Should we be more credulous and believe people like estate agents? Or LESS credulous and destroy our TV sets altogether in case we accidentally absorb lies?
Mark Watson is a multi-award winning comedian, including the inaugural If.Comedy Panel Prize 2006. He is assisted by Tim Key, winner of Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2009 and Tom Basden who won the If.Comedy Award for Best Newcomer 2007.
Produced by Lianne Coop.
TUE 23:30 Danny Robins Music Therapy (b00fq2t4)
Episode 3
Danny Robins harnesses the power of music to improve the world and solve listeners' problems.
Danny helps the worst five-a-side football team in the country and boosts the confidence of a listener who, at under five feet tall, feels that the world is heightist. With Isy Suttie and special musical guest Connie Fisher.
WEDNESDAY 13 JULY 2016
WED 00:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x7h15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqm3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 The Tingle Factor (b07kyd8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036wtkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012m9vx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 The Art of Water Music (b0132p7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770rz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00slxyd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pfwhq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b013ptf2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Daniel Defoe - Robinson Crusoe (b007jqyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Counterpoint (b00fl745)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 King of Bath (b047ljr2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04ndrcb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 My Teenage Diary (b07j4qx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036x996)
Episode 3
Dick and Freddie follow a suspect and engage in some surveillance - both discreet and rather more overt.
The stirring 'Devil's Galop' heralds the arrival of Douglas Kelly as 'Dick Barton - Special Agent' in another thrilling tale of criminal masterminds, espionage and daring adventure.
Originally starring Noel Johnson, Duncan Carse and Gordon Davies, Dick Barton ran on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951, but sadly, very few original recordings survive.
With the original lost, this is a very authentic sounding re-recording of 'The Cabatolin Diamonds' using the original scripts and music, which was made for international distribution. Happily the audio was rediscovered in 2009, lurking in the vaults of the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, Australia.
Script by Geoffrey Webb.
Producer: Morris West
First broadcast in Australia in April 1949.
WED 06:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012mh0j)
Episode 3
Whose death has Dr Manford witnessed? What could a lowly small-time light-fingered felon know about it? Read by Danny Webb.
WED 06:30 The Lunatic Line (b012krr9)
Episode 1
The 600-mile railway line from the Kenyan coast to Uganda became known as The Lunatic Line for the astronomical financial and human costs of construction.
Built by the British between 1895 and 1901 through hostile tribal lands and malarial swamps, it was an enormous engineering challenge. Thousands of workers died during the railway's construction, mostly from disease, although the man-eating lions of Tsavo also devoured many. Little wonder then that it was opposed as a gigantic folly.
In the first of two programmes, Ayisha Yahya looks back at the history of the railway that transformed East Africa beyond recognition.
Producer: Ruth Evans
A Ruth Evans production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 07:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007jrwc)
Series 1, The Heinrich Manoeuvre
A childless couple are unhealthily obsessed with a model village. Stars Simon Greenall and Kay Stonham. From December 2001.
WED 07:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b04wv049)
Series 6, Roy Walker
Marcus Brigstocke persuades his guests to try new experiences: things they really ought to have done by now. Some experiences are loved, some are loathed, in this show all about embracing the new.
This week, Marcus persuades Roy Walker, the comedian made famous by Catchphrase, to see his first ever Shakespeare play and banter with the audience for the first time.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b01nf2h4)
Admiral Pertwee's Fleet
There's a mix-up when Pertwee bids for some high-class scrap metal at auction - and a whole lot more arrives than he's expecting!
Stars Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Heather, Ronnie Barker as Mr Merrivale, Michael Bates as Mr Coggins and Tenniel Evans as the Nunkie.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1965.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jy6l)
The New Car
The lad thinks he should buy a car to keep up appearances, so Sid offers to help. But there's a big surprise when he takes it for a spin.
Starring Tony Hancock. With Moira Lister, Bill Kerr, Sidney James and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1954.
WED 09:00 Dilemma (b017c9pp)
Series 1, Episode 2
Sue Perkins puts four guests through the moral and ethical wringer in this show show in which there are no "right" answers - but there are some deeply damning ones.
This edition features comedians Nick Revell and Danielle Ward, journalist Grace Dent, and the lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs, Ricky Wilson. They discuss such quandaries as "Would you let an annoying colleague take credit for your work if it meant they would get a job elsewhere" and "Would you take part in a sham marriage?", and they solve some Dilemmas from the audience. The show was devised by award-winning stand-up and writer Danielle Ward (The News Quiz, Newswipe, Mock The Week).
Producer: Ed Morrish.
WED 09:30 Rent (b04fh18w)
Series 1, Episode 5
It's a full moon, Ruby is away and Paul is lovelorn. Will Maria's matchmaking succeed? Stars Patrick Barlow. From June 1993.
WED 10:00 Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native (b0076s78)
Episode 1
4 Extra Debut. While Eustacia Vye waits on Egdon Heath for her former lover Damon Wildeve, his fiancee Tamsin Yeobright has been jilted at the altar. Stars Emma Fielding.
WED 11:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01pr7s3)
Pont du Gard
Alan and Ruth's unhappy marriage is brought to crisis point on a family holiday in France. Read by Matilda Ziegler.
WED 11:15 Shelagh Delaney - Baloney Said Salome (b01ddg0q)
Four older women with a unique friendship prepare for a farewell. Shelagh Delaney's trilogy concludes. Stars Eileen O'Brien.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b01nf2h4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jy6l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036x996)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012mh0j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
WED 13:30 The Lunatic Line (b012krr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770sh)
She Wouldn't Stop Screaming
Esme's tragic fate is sealed amid the New Year celebrations in Edinburgh. Read by Hannah Gordon, Frances Grey and Eleanor Bron.
WED 14:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00sm4m2)
Cutting the Slum Mind off at the Root
Michael Morpurgo traces the making of Britain's Welfare State amid concerns for children.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pg3qr)
A Little Twist of Dahl, The Hitchhiker
A series of stories by Roald Dahl
Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.
Episode 3: The Hitchhiker
Charles Dance leads the cast as the urbane Storyteller in dramatisations of five classic tales by Roald Dahl. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings.
The stories show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction. They are stylishly plotted, vividly characterised and made unforgettable by their breezy cynicism, presenting as they do, a hilariously bleak view of family life. Their satisfying conclusions invariably leave bullies, schemers, adulterers and frauds soundly punished.
In The Hitchhiker, Andrew Pym, a successful author, is driving to London in his brand new BMW. He stops to give a hitchhiker a lift. Unwisely, he allows the man to persuade him to see if the car can go as fast as its manufacturers claim. Stopped for speeding, his details are noted down by a policeman who warns him to expect a heavy fine and sends him on his way. Blithely unconcerned at causing so much trouble, the hitchhiker starts boasting that he is engaged in a line of work that requires exceptional skills. And it's these skills that can get Andrew out of his present difficulty.
Produced and directed by David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b013xn4d)
All Made Up, Episode 3
Janice Galloway brings the brilliance of her fiction to bear on her memories of small-town adolescence. Janice's love of learning is about to be disrupted as she is thrown off the straight and narrow by a growing awareness of the opposite sex.
Read by the author and abridged by Sian Preece.
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.
WED 15:00 Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native (b0076s78)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Dilemma (b017c9pp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Rent (b04fh18w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007jrwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b04wv049)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x93cy)
The Testament of Jessie Lamb, Episode 3
Jane Rogers dramatises her award winning novel. With the death toll from Maternal Death Syndrome rising daily and the world on the brink of disaster, Jessie becomes convinced that she must take action. Her act of heroism could save the human race but will those closest to her offer their support?
Directed by Nadia Molinari
Dangerous Visions Season: The adjective Ballardian refers to the writer 'JG Ballard's fearful imaginings of what the near future might be like. Even though the master creator of dystopian futures died four years ago, his vision of what our future might become feels as relevant, satirical and as scary as ever. Radio 4's Dangerous Visions is a season of dramas that explore contemporary takes on future dystopias. Dramatisations of Ballard's seminal works, Drowned World and Concrete Island, straddle the season, and we have asked five leading radio writers - Nick Perry, Ed Harris, Michael Symmonds Roberts, Michael Butt and Philip Palmer - to imagine what life might be like in the near future if everything goes wrong - and their Dangerous Visions form the bedrock of the series: clever, imaginative and disturbing takes on just what might happen. What happens if sleep is outlawed? If cloning becomes a matter of course, and your loved ones are capable of being cloned? If North London declares UDI on South London, which has become a wasteland? If human sacrifice becomes a part of society? We are also running a 5 part dramatisation of Jane Roger's award winning terrifying novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb, dramatised by the author. Dangerous Visions - you will be disturbed as you see the present reflected in the glass of an uneasy future.
WED 18:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqmh)
Episode 3
Can architect Stephen Rix find financial backing for his plan to build a Gothic cathedral? Read by David Horovitch.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b008mb7x)
Now Wash Your Hands
Dominic Arkwright chairs the lively discussion series.
Is the current obsession with personal hygiene a good thing or are we turning ourselves into feeble creatures with no defences against the real world? Nicky Taylor gave up washing altogether for six weeks as part of a social experiment. Val Curtis is an expert on disgust and its place in the evolution of human behaviour and hygiene. Comedian Phil Hammond is a GP with scathingly frank views on the nation's health.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b01nf2h4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jy6l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036x996)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012mh0j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
WED 20:30 The Lunatic Line (b012krr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01pr7s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Shelagh Delaney - Baloney Said Salome (b01ddg0q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b04wv049)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b03yqcws)
Series 1, Books and Booksibility
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'.
King of the one-liners, Milton Jones returns BBC to Radio 4 for an amazing 10th series in a new format where he has decided to set himself up as a man who can help anyone anywhere - whether they need it or not. Because, in his own words, "No problem too problemy".
But each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. So when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.
This week, Milton Jones is asked to help out with the local book festival because the townsfolk are too distracted by their smartphones to.... Sorry, what was I saying? Sorry, just got a text.
Written by Milton with James Cary ("Bluestone 42", "Miranda") and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show "House Of Rooms") the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton," returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.
The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill ("Spamalot", "Mr. Selfridge") as the ever-faithful Anton, and Dan Tetsell ("Newsjack"), and features the one and only Josie Lawrence working with Milton for the first time.
Producer David Tyler's radio credits include Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, Cabin Pressure, Bigipedia, Another Case Of Milton Jones, Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, The Brig Society, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The 99p Challenge, The Castle, The 3rd Degree and even, going back a bit, Radio Active.
Produced and Directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07lf10s)
The best in contemporary comedy. Iain Lee talks to Jake Yapp.
WED 23:00 The Mel and Sue Thing (b0076b3z)
Episode 5
A tennis battle of the sexes, TV sleuths and more from Jane Austen's lost novella. Sketches with Giedroyc and Perkins. From October 2002.
WED 23:30 The Museum of Everything (b00gs2nj)
Series 3, Natural Science
The birds and the bees, blue plaques and the human body all on show this week. With Marcus Brigstocke. From August 2006.
THURSDAY 14 JULY 2016
THU 00:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x93cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b008mb7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036x996)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012mh0j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 The Lunatic Line (b012krr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770sh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00sm4m2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pg3qr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b013xn4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native (b0076s78)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Dilemma (b017c9pp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Rent (b04fh18w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007jrwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b04wv049)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036xz7w)
Episode 4
Freddie has made a startling acquisition, attracting more danger. Help arrives from an unexpected source.
The stirring 'Devil's Galop' heralds the arrival of Douglas Kelly as 'Dick Barton - Special Agent' in another thrilling tale of criminal masterminds, espionage and daring adventure.
Originally starring Noel Johnson, Duncan Carse and Gordon Davies, Dick Barton ran on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951, but sadly, very few original recordings survive.
With the original lost, this is a very authentic sounding re-recording of 'The Cabatolin Diamonds' using the original scripts and music, which was made for international distribution. Happily the audio was rediscovered in 2009, lurking in the vaults of the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, Australia.
Script by Geoffrey Webb.
Producer: Morris West
First broadcast in Australia in April 1949.
THU 06:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012n3rn)
Episode 4
What crime scene discovery will put pressure on Quigley? What trouble will Bateman's death bring for Janice? Read by Danny Webb.
THU 06:30 The Lunatic Line (b012qq7x)
Episode 2
The 600-mile railway line from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Uganda, built by the British between 1895 and 1901 through hostile tribal lands and malarial swamps, became known as "The Lunatic Line". Spiralling costs and massive engineering challenges were just a few of the problems facing the railway. Hundreds of Kenyan and indentured Indian labourers died during the railway's construction, mostly from disease, although the man-eating lions of Tsavo also devoured many.
Yet the railway created modern Kenya, and Nairobi hardly existed until the railway workers set up camp there just over a century ago.
Today, the old British-built railway still runs - but only just - and more as a tourist curiosity than a functioning service. Semi-privatised 25 years ago, it has suffered woefully from lack of investment, and today is but a decrepit relic of its former self.
Now Kenya has announced hugely ambitious plans to shunt its rail network into the 21st century by commissioning a new high-speed line with double-decker passenger and freight trains cruising at up to 100mph, reducing the journey time from Mombasa to Nairobi from 13 hours to three.
Ayisha Yahya travels on the existing creaking line and asks whether plans to rebuild and expand the railway network are little more than another lunatic notion? Or will they have as great an economic and social impact on the region as the Lunatic Line's original construction?
Producer: Ruth Evans
A Ruth Evans production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 07:00 All the Young Dudes (b01by441)
Series 2, Mr Soft
Helen needs to finish her ice cream project, while Joe and Maria want younger clientele. Comedy by Jim Sweeney. From October 2002.
THU 07:30 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b07j7j6f)
Episode 2
A new show from the internationally acclaimed master of the one-liner Tim Vine sees Tim interview members of his live audience as he embarks on a quest to hear the life stories of the Great British public while simultaneously showcasing his trademark mirthful wordplay and preposterous songs.
This week's show comes from the Wakefield Theatre Royal where Tim meets a secretary and sings an imaginary country song.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.
THU 08:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b008gd6j)
Series 4, The Present
It's United Potter Day and author Gerald learns that surprises can be double-edged.
The convoluted chronicle of an optimistic author starring Ian Carmichael as Gerald C Potter and Charlotte Mitchell as his wife, Diana.
With Margot Boyd, Brian Haines and Pauline Letts.
Written by Basil Boothroyd.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1981.
THU 08:30 Radio Active (b05t7gjf)
Series 6, A Thodding By-Election Special
Expect no bias as Radio Active's Chairman Norman Tonsil stands as an Independent Candidate in the Thodding By-Election.
Starring Helen Atkinson-Wood, Angus Deayton, Geoffrey Perkins, Philip Pope and Michael Fenton-Stevens.
Music by Philip Pope and Geoffrey Perkins.
Written by Angus Deayton and Geoffrey Perkins with John Canter.
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1986.
THU 09:00 Booked (b0075t3c)
Series 4, Episode 5
Ian McMillan chairs the literary quiz with Mark Thomas, Dillie Keane, Mark Radcliffe and Miles Kington. From July 1998.
THU 09:30 When the Dog Dies (b046l698)
Series 4, Twilight of the Gods
The final series of Ronnie Corbett's popular sitcom, written by Ian Davidson and Peter Vincent.
Ronnie is granddad Sandy and his old dog is Henry. If the dog dies or his lodger moves on, Sandy's children want him to downsize. He doesn't.
To help his finances, Sandy, still in the family home, took in a young couple as lodgers. But then the man left, leaving the attractive Dolores behind. Sandy's children are quite sure Dolores is a gold-digger. Meanwhile, Sandy's opinion that it would be inhuman to move Henry somewhere unfamiliar is wearing a bit thin - as is the old dog himself. But keeping the dog alive and the lodger happy are one thing, what really concerns Sandy deeply is providing a guiding hand to his whole family - advising here, prompting there, responding to any emergency callout. If he kept himself to himself, things would be a lot simpler and smoother. But a lot duller too.
Episode Six: Twilight Of The Gods
All good things must come to an end and it looks as if Sandy is going to have to do what he's spent four series avoiding - downsize. Sandy can never replace Dolores, but can he live without her? Well, he's still got Henry and he's still got hope...
Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 10:00 Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native (b0076sb8)
Episode 2
Clym Yeobright has returned home from Paris, and a contrived meeting between him and Eustacia sparks a mutual interest. Is he the man she has been dreaming of? With Adam Godley.
THU 11:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01prccs)
Whip Hand
Mrs Bracken is determined that her daughter is going to be a star, but Fern has other ideas. Read by Matilda Ziegler.
THU 11:15 Shelagh Delaney - Country Life (b01pwcyj)
Rose deals with foot and mouth disease and a moody nephew, then her film-star brother Eddie arrives. With Barbara Marten.
THU 12:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b008gd6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Radio Active (b05t7gjf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036xz7w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012n3rn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
THU 13:30 The Lunatic Line (b012qq7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770sy)
She Wouldn't Let Go of the Baby
Secrets are revealed as Kitty and Esme's memories collide. Read by Hannah Gordon, Frances Grey and Eleanor Bron.
THU 14:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00sm5xl)
They'd Some Queer Ideas at the Clinic
Michael Morpurgo discovers how behaviourists and Freudians battled over upbringing techniques for children.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pg5p0)
A Little Twist of Dahl, Edward the Conqueror
A series of stories by Roald Dahl
Dramatised by Stephen Sheridan.
Episode 4: Edward the Conqueror
Charles Dance leads the cast as the urbane Storyteller in dramatisations of five classic tales by Roald Dahl. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings.
The stories show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction. They are stylishly plotted, vividly characterised and made unforgettable by their breezy cynicism, presenting as they do, a hilariously bleak view of family life. Their satisfying conclusions invariably leave bullies, schemers, adulterers and frauds soundly punished.
In Edward the Conqueror, Louisa, a retired piano teacher, takes in a stray cat. She is astonished at how happy it seems when she plays it some Liszt. Noticing that, like Liszt, it has warts on its face, she decides that it must be the re-incarnation of the great composer. Edward, her monstrously selfish husband, resents the cat's presence and is ruthlessly dismissive of her theories on its true identity. Unabashed, Louisa announces, to Edward's acute embarrassment, that she intends to make her findings public.
Produced and directed by David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b013xn57)
All Made Up, Episode 4
Author Janice Galloway reads from her new book - a compelling memoir of her adolescence in Scotland of the 1970s. A misguided attempt to gain control over her life will set the studious young girl on a collision course with her mother.
Read by the author and abridged by Sian Preece.
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.
THU 15:00 Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native (b0076sb8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Booked (b0075t3c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 When the Dog Dies (b046l698)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 All the Young Dudes (b01by441)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b07j7j6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x97kb)
The Testament of Jessie Lamb, Episode 4
Jane Rogers dramatises her dystopian novel: winner of the Arthur C Clarke Award 2012.
Maternal Death Syndrome is spreading rapidly and Jessie's world is still in crisis. Her aunt Mandy is desperately ill, boyfriend Baz is planning drastic action and her father is adamant that Jessie should not volunteer to be a Sleeping Beauty. Can Jessie be swayed from her path?
Directed by Nadia Molinari
Dangerous Visions Season:
The adjective Ballardian refers to the writer 'JG Ballard's fearful imaginings of what the near future might be like. Even though the master creator of dystopian futures died four years ago, his vision of what our future might become feels as relevant, satirical and as scary as ever. Radio 4's Dangerous Visions is a season of dramas that explore contemporary takes on future dystopias. Dramatisations of Ballard's seminal works, Drowned World and Concrete Island, straddle the season, and we have asked five leading radio writers - Nick Perry, Ed Harris, Michael Symmonds Roberts, Michael Butt and Philip Palmer - to imagine what life might be like in the near future if everything goes wrong - and their Dangerous Visions form the bedrock of the series: clever, imaginative and disturbing takes on just what might happen. What happens if sleep is outlawed? If cloning becomes a matter of course, and your loved ones are capable of being cloned? If North London declares UDI on South London, which has become a wasteland? If human sacrifice becomes a part of society? We are also running a 5 part dramatisation of Jane Roger's award winning terrifying novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb, dramatised by the author. Dangerous Visions - you will be disturbed as you see the present reflected in the glass of an uneasy future.
THU 18:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqmx)
Episode 4
Inspired by his vision, architect Stephen Rix wants his mistress to come with him to the country. Read by David Horovitch. Episode 4 of 10.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b0077722)
Series 12, Marie Curie
Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.
4/9. BBC Science Correspondent Pallab Ghosh explains how Marie Curie achieved iconic status through her work on radioactivity and weighs up the cost she paid for her success. The studio guest is Curie biographer Sarah Dry.
THU 19:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b008gd6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Radio Active (b05t7gjf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036xz7w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012n3rn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
THU 20:30 The Lunatic Line (b012qq7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01prccs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Shelagh Delaney - Country Life (b01pwcyj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b07j7j6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 The Music Teacher (b03brt31)
Series 3, Episode 5
Richie Webb returns as multi-instrumentalist music teacher Nigel Penny.
Nigel tries to get his online music lessons up and running but finds himself hampered by an inability to speak Portuguese. Meanwhile, with the Arts Centre having been commandeered as a refuge for local flood victims, Belinda is attempting to keep four hundred wet members of the public from dripping on the carpet.
Directed by Nick Walker
Audio production by Matt Katz
Written and produced by Richie Webb
A Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 22:45 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b01snbm8)
Series 2, About Animals
EPISODE FIVE: ABOUT ANIMALS
Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing - tells the story of young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who after becoming the first in his family to graduate from University, opted not to use his architecture degree but instead to try his hand at being a full-time stand-up comedian, much to his family's annoyance who desperately want him to get a 'proper job.'
Each episode illustrates the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his disapproving family as he tries to pursue his chosen career.
The series is a mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.
Janet a.k.a. Mum is probably the kindest and most lenient of the disappointed family members. She loves Nathan, but she aint looking embarrassed for nobody!
Martin a.k.a. Dad works in the construction industry and was looking forward to his son getting a degree so the two of them could work together in the same field. But now Nathan has blown that dream out of the window.
Shirley a.k.a. Grandma cannot believe Nathan turned down architecture for comedy. How can her grandson go on stage and use foul language and filthy material... it's not the good Christian way!
So with all this going on in the household what will Nathan do? Will he be able to persist and follow his dreams? Or will he give in to his family's interference?
About Animals
It turns out Grandma's Achilles heel is a mouse! Nathan can't believe he's lost his fearless Grandma because of a mouse and is determined to catch the mouse and restore his Grandma to feisty normality.
Written by Nathan Caton and James Kettle
Additional Material by Ola and Maff Brown
Producer: Katie Tyrrell.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07lf1ft)
The best in contemporary comedy. Iain Lee talks to Jake Yapp.
THU 23:00 The Mark Steel Revolution (b00fnnz6)
The Sexual Revolution
From sweetening your breath to the Stonewall Riots, the comedian examines the politics of the bedroom. From July 1998.
THU 23:30 Polyoaks (b01p0vfg)
Series 2, Strange Dr Love
In the NHS satire by Dr. Phil Hammond and David Spicer, a general practice somewhere in Bristol is faced with challenges and opportunities in equal measure as they adjust to another 'biggest shake-up of the NHS in a lifetime'.
This week, Hugh is asked to chair a new government commission, so Polyoaks needs a locum. Practice Manager Betty, ever economic, appoints the cut-price option.
Everyone is relieved that curmudgeonly Hugh is out of the way, but Roy is suspicious of the interloper and Hugh's big political opportunity is not turning out quite the way he hoped.
Dr. Roy Thornton.....................Nigel Planer
Dr. Hugh Thornton..................Simon Greenall
TV's Dr. Jeremy........................David Westhead
Betty Crossfield.......................Jane Whittenshaw
Nurse Vera Duplessis..............Polly Frame
Mr. Devlin..................................Phil Cornwell
Dr. Derek Love..........................Darren Benedict
Mr. Oberman and Mr. Raisey......David Holt
Polyoaks is written by Dr. Phil Hammond and David Spicer
Directed by Frank Stirling
Produced by David Spicer
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
FRIDAY 15 JULY 2016
FRI 00:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x97kb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqmx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b0077722)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036xz7w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012n3rn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 The Lunatic Line (b012qq7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770sy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00sm5xl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pg5p0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b013xn57)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native (b0076sb8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Booked (b0075t3c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 When the Dog Dies (b046l698)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 All the Young Dudes (b01by441)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b07j7j6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036ybrp)
Episode 5
Jock manages to infiltrate the ground crew in a risky gambit, while Dick Barton and his chums get more than they bargained for.
The stirring 'Devil's Galop' heralds the arrival of Douglas Kelly as 'Dick Barton - Special Agent' in another thrilling tale of criminal masterminds, espionage and daring adventure.
Originally starring Noel Johnson, Duncan Carse and Gordon Davies, Dick Barton ran on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951, but sadly, very few original recordings survive.
With the original lost, this is a very authentic sounding re-recording of 'The Cabatolin Diamonds' using the original scripts and music, which was made for international distribution. Happily the audio was rediscovered in 2009, lurking in the vaults of the National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, Australia.
Script by Geoffrey Webb.
Producer: Morris West
First broadcast in Australia in April 1949.
FRI 06:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012llpk)
Episode 5
Confusion reigns. If Lorna isn't an addict, why does she seem to have a well-used syringe in her possession? Read by Danny Webb.
FRI 06:30 The I Love You Bridge (b01302s4)
A quest for the original lovers of the 'I Love You Bridge' - a fabulously incongruous message painted on a footbridge on a hollowed-out housing estate in Sheffield.
Presented by feature film maker, opera director and screenwriter, Penny Woolcock, in her first radio documentary.
Perhaps you quietly ask yourself "How do they live like this." / Then out of nowhere the answer / "I love you"/ scrawled on the highest bridge." (Rowan Blair Colver). Funny how graffiti can transform cement. How a simple love message scrawled on a bridge between two empty flanks of Brutalist flats can lift our hearts. That's what happened when somebody, somehow, leaned over the perilous edge of this narrow footbridge on Norwich Row at Park Hill flats, high above Sheffield's train station, and painted:
Clare Middleton I love you will u marry me
We call it The I Love You Bridge. It's visible for miles, from town. When we set off on this journey we don't know who wrote it or when, or even if it all went up at once. We don't know whether she said 'Yes' or what happened next. Nobody knows, not even the people who've worked on the Estate for years - caretaker, needle exchange worker, decorator, or the few (like writer, Rowan, above) who still live there; not even the local builders who are regenerating the first flank that the bridge links.
In this programme we follow up all kinds of rumours in the hope of sourcing the graffiti and its lovers.
Producer: Frances Byrnes
A Rockethouse Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 07:00 Winston in Europe (b007tzt5)
An Educated Woman
Arriving in France, the old rogue's talk of Flaubert, Baudelaire and Renoir baffles Nancy. Stars Bill Wallis. From March 1992.
FRI 07:30 Rumblings from the Rafters (b07jwt65)
Edible Dormouse and Peacock Butterfly
An Edible Dormouse played by Hugh Dennis and a Peacock Butterfly played by Amanda Abbington reveal the truth about life in an old attic in a house in Amersham in the last of three very funny tales, written and introduced by Lynne Truss, with additional sound recordings by Chris Watson.
The Edible Dormouse is no Common Dormouse. He is Russian and extremely serious-minded. He is obsessed with answering the question, "Why are we here?" both the philosophical question and the literal one. No answer satisfies him. So he has reached his own conclusion, which involves secret agents and a submarine. "I may be rare, cute-looking, and of indisputable foreign origin, but I am not stupid." He is planning a meeting with his fellow Edible Dormice to discuss their next move. He knows this won't be easy. The others think he is mad. Top of the agenda is what they should call themselves. "Imagine how it feels to be one of the only zoological species in existence whose very name says, "Have you ever thought of eating me?"
The Peacock Butterfly is youthful, intelligent, and ever so concerned with being brave and sensible about mortality. Having been born the previous year, she is re-visiting the attic before dying. "I remember when I first came in, I thought hello, this wouldn't be a bad place to pop off, when the time comes." But trying to be brave about her inevitable end is much harder than she expects, "Well, I'm sorry to say that for some completely inexplicable reason I totally lost it at the sycamore! I mean what's wrong with me? " But as she settles down to die, a sudden thought changes everything ...
Edible Dormouse: Hugh Dennis
Peacock Butterfly: Amanda Abbington
Written and introduced by Lynne Truss
Wildlife sound recordings Chris Watson
Producer Sarah Blunt.
FRI 08:00 Something to Shout About (b07l0y14)
Series 1, Episode 2
As baffled customers boycott a new orangeade drink, the advertising team must get devious.
Starring Michael Medwin as Michael, Fenella Fielding as Janet, Joan Sims as Mavis, Eleanor Summerfield as Maggie, Nicholas Phipps as Adrian, Tony Fayne as Dick and Warren Mitchell as Mr Allbright.
"A light-hearted exposé of the advertising world!". Set in a London ad agency called 'Apsley, Addis, Cohen, Barbican, Blythe, Giddy & Partners', Something To Shout About ran to 54 episodes over three series
Written by Myles Rudge with Ronnie Wolfe.
Music by The Jingle Belles and The Bernie Fenton Quartet, under the direction of Cliff Adams.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1960.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jp0s)
The Histories of Pliny the Elder
The Romans hit Britain, but Seagoon, Eccles and Bluebottle are off to Rome's Colosseum. Stars Spike Milligan. From March 1957.
FRI 09:00 Whispers (b007k358)
Series 3, Episode 4
Gyles Brandreth chairs the scandals quiz with Lucy Moore, Anthony Holden, Penny Junor and Julian Fellowes. From October 2005.
FRI 09:30 No Commitments (b01mmrh8)
Series 10, A Bride Too Far
Victoria and Emily battle it out over the wedding, while Charlotte is feeling left out. Stars Celia Imrie. From February 2004.
FRI 10:00 Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native (b0076sfh)
Episode 3
Clym and Eustacia are married, but her unhappiness and renewed passion for Wildeve threatens all of them. Stars David Calder.
FRI 11:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01ps9w4)
Child's Play
Kate is not appreciated by her husband or daughter, but receives affection from an unusual source. Read by Matilda Ziegler.
FRI 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b00sq2n7)
Shelagh Delaney - Whoopi Goldberg's Country Life
Whoopi Goldberg's Country Life is a new play by Shelagh Delaney, the award winning writer of A Taste of Honey.
Rose lives alone on a smallholding. When Poppy, her embittered ex sister in law visits for the weekend, the peace is shattered. Things get worse when they learn that Boris, Poppy's 20 year old son, has gone missing. Old wounds and grievances are aired - then Boris turns up out of the blue. His presence brings the women closer again, allowing for new hope for the future. Both Rose and Poppy sense that this could be the turning moment for all of them - until an accident on the beach affects them all.
In this witty, poignant play about parenting, rural life, and family ties, Shelagh Delaney demonstrates her skill as a leading modern dramatist of unusual choices by unusual people.
Rose...Barbara Marten
Poppy...Nicola Gardner
Boris...Tachia Newall
Pianist..Jonathan Scott
Director...Polly Thomas.
FRI 12:00 Something to Shout About (b07l0y14)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jp0s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036ybrp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012llpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
FRI 13:30 The I Love You Bridge (b01302s4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Maggie O'Farrell - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (b00770tg)
Can We Visit Kitty Today?
After 61 years, Esme knows the truth and confronts her sister, Kitty. Concluded by Hannah Gordon, Frances Grey and Eleanor Bron.
FRI 14:15 The Invention of Childhood (b00sm8nf)
Charlie Chaplin Went to France to Teach Ladies How to Dance
Michael Morpurgo discovers new forms of entertainment available for children in the first half of the 20th century.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01pgjyc)
A Little Twist of Dahl, The Neck
A series of stories by Roald Dahl
Episode 5: Neck
Charles Dance leads the cast as the urbane Storyteller in dramatisations of five classic tales by Roald Dahl. Bizarre and amusing by turns, these black comedies are justly famous for their surprise endings.
The stories show Dahl at the height of his powers as a writer of adult fiction. They are stylishly plotted, vividly characterised and made unforgettable by their breezy cynicism, presenting as they do, a hilariously bleak view of family life. Their satisfying conclusions invariably leave bullies, schemers, adulterers and frauds soundly punished.
In Neck, Sir Basil Turton, a wealthy newspaper magnate, has recently taken a young wife. Bossy and openly adulterous, the new Lady Turton is despised by Jelks, Sir Basil's butler, for her cruel treatment of his master. One morning she is openly frolicking with her latest lover in the grounds of the estate, when, for a joke, she sticks her head through a hole in one of Sir Basil's priceless Henry Moore sculptures. When she finds she is stuck, Sir Basil with Jelks' assistance, must decide on a course of action.
Produced and directed by David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b013xn65)
All Made Up, Episode 5
Award-winning author Janice Galloway reads an extract from her new memoir. Teenaged Janice is about to leave the security of Ardrossan Academy for university, a long-cherished dream of her downtrodden mother.
Read by the author and abridged by Sian Preece.
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.
FRI 15:00 Thomas Hardy - The Return of the Native (b0076sfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Whispers (b007k358)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 No Commitments (b01mmrh8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Winston in Europe (b007tzt5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Rumblings from the Rafters (b07jwt65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Dangerous Visions (b02x9f4n)
The Testament of Jessie Lamb, Episode 5
Jane Rogers won the Arthur C. Clarke Award 2012 with her novel set in a future where a deadly virus causing pregnant women to die in their millions. Jessie becomes increasingly certain that sacrificing her own life for a healthy baby is the most important thing she can do. But her plan to become a Sleeping Beauty hits an obstacle.
Directed by Nadia Molinari
Dangerous Visions Season:
The adjective Ballardian refers to the writer 'JG Ballard's fearful imaginings of what the near future might be like. Even though the master creator of dystopian futures died four years ago, his vision of
what our future might become feels as relevant, satirical and as scary as ever. Radio 4's Dangerous Visions is a season of dramas that explore contemporary takes on future dystopias. Dramatisations of Ballard's seminal works, Drowned World and Concrete Island, straddle the season, and we have asked five leading radio writers - Nick Perry, Ed Harris, Michael Symmonds Roberts, Michael Butt and Philip Palmer - to imagine what life might be like in the near future if everything goes wrong -
and their Dangerous Visions form the bedrock of the series: clever, imaginative and disturbing takes on just what might happen. What happens if sleep is outlawed? If cloning becomes a matter of course, and your loved ones are capable of being cloned? If North London declares UDI on South London, which has become a wasteland? If human sacrifice becomes a part of society? We are also running a 5 part dramatisation of Jane Roger's award winning terrifying novel The Testament of Jessie Lamb, dramatised by the author.
Dangerous Visions - you will be disturbed as you see the present reflected in the glass of an uneasy future.
FRI 18:15 Bryan Appleyard - The First Church of the New Millennium (b007jqnc)
Episode 5
As architect Stephen Rix builds his cathedral, he makes dramatic decision about his life. Read by David Horovitch.
FRI 18:30 Sounds Natural (b07l1167)
Roger Whittaker
From the Wildebeest to the Paradise Flycatcher. Singer Roger Whittaker shares his fascination for the wildlife of East Africa and Wales with Derek Jones - aided by recordings from the BBC Sound Archive.
Producer: John Burton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1973.
FRI 19:00 Something to Shout About (b07l0y14)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jp0s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b036ybrp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:15 Edgar Wallace - White Face (b012llpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]
FRI 20:30 The I Love You Bridge (b01302s4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Short Stories (b01ps9w4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b00sq2n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 The Iguanodon (b0075cpk)
Two Sausage Rolls Between the Seven of Us
A startling revelation for Sam after he survives a sinking and the pirates - again. Stars Bernard Cribbins. From December 1997.
FRI 22:30 BBC Radio New Comedy Award (b07l11ly)
2016, Heat Five - Cardiff
Ten new comedians perform in the fifth heat from The Glee Club, Cardiff.
FRI 23:30 Ross Noble Goes Global (b01cjg35)
Series 2, Adelaide
Weirdness awaits the comedian in the Australian city, with men in leotards and locals with something to hide. From May 2003.