The BBC has announced that it has a sustainable plan for the future of the BBC Singers, in association with The VOCES8 Foundation.
The threat to reduce the staff of the three English orchestras by 20% has not been lifted, but it is being reconsidered.
See the BBC press release here.

Radio-Lists Home Now on 4Extra Contact

RADIO-LISTS: BBC RADIO 4 Extra
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 4 Extra — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/



SATURDAY 06 AUGUST 2016

SAT 00:00 James Follett - Earthsearch (b007jp2r)
Earthsearch II, Earthvoice

The crew of spaceship Challenger's search is over, but Earth is not how they left it. Stars Sean Arnold and Amanda Murray.

SAT 00:30 Sounds Natural (b07mvx97)
Harry Secombe

From the Hyena to the Mountain Gorilla. Star of The Goon Show, actor and singer Harry Secombe talks to Derek Jones about his love of wildlife photography and travel - aided by recordings from the BBC Sound Archive.

Producer: John Burton.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1976.

SAT 01:00 Dick Barton - Special Agent: The Cabatolin Diamonds (b037xng7)
Episode 20

As romance blossoms between two of Dick Barton's friends, they finally confront their main target in Bristol.

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.

SAT 01:15 Albert Campion - Traitor's Purse (b015qqx9)
Episode 10

With his memory restored, Campion races against time to foil the counterfeit plot set to ruin the economy. Roger Allam reads Margery Allingham's mystery.

SAT 01:30 How Dolly Got Rotherham Reading (b012ql5c)
Dolly Parton grew up in poverty in rural East Tennessee, where children only attended school if there was no work to be done on the farm. She came to regard good literacy skills as one of the key passports to enhanced life chances and in 1995 she launched the 'Imagination Library'. The idea was quite simple. All children in the area were sent one book a month from birth until five years. In 2007 she took South Yorkshire by surprise when she turned up in Rotherham - not a city used to celebrity visits. But what happened next? Did her library capture the imagination of Rotherham's children? We follow up to ask whether it was just a flash in the pan or a serious project.

Travelling to Dollywood for an Imagination Library conference, Sarfraz Manzoor meets people from all over the world who have signed up for the literacy project. From Alaskan children in remote communities to young readers in Nottingham, Sarfraz finds that Dolly's influence is global.

Sarfraz will meet Dolly Parton in Dollywood to talk about her life and work. We'll hear from those who knew her as a child and understand the motivations for this charitable work she undertakes with such passion.
It will be a journey to the glamorous heart of country music, but one which reveals much more about one of the world's best loved country singers. Dolly Parton in her own words and in her own personal world of the Imagination Library.

SAT 02:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x5v)
Episode 5

Intense emotions are stirred when Ronit and Esti are left alone together at long last. Read by Sara Kestelman and Tracy-Ann Oberman.

SAT 02:15 Sport and the British (b01bmq2s)
Exporting Football

Clare Balding charts how Britain spread the passion for football around the world. She particularly looks at South America where the game is central to their way of life. The FIFA World Cup has been staged 19 times and on 9 of those occasions, it has been won by either Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay.

Professor Tony Mason from De Montfort University explains that unlike cricket and rugby which was spread by soldiers, civil servants and settlers in British colonies, football took a different route. It was taken around the world by those who had made Britain the greatest trading nation in the world, by managers, engineers and teachers.

Readers, Nyasha Hatendi, Sean Baker and Jane Lawrence
Producer: Garth Brameld.

SAT 02:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m1tfr)
Deceit

William is attracted to the Directrice of the girls' school, but all is not as it seems. Stars Paul Venables and Rachel Joyce.

SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b0157984)
One on One, Episode 5

Life is made up of individuals meeting one another. Often it is the most fleeting of these encounters that, in the fullness of time, turn out to be the most noteworthy.

Salvador Dali sketches Sigmund Freud. 39 Elsworthy Road, London NW3 July 19th 1938
Sigmund Freud analyses Gustav Mahler. Leiden, Holland August 1910

Ingenious in its construction, witty in its narration, panoramic in its breadth, 'One on One' offers a delightful series of snapshots of the 20th century.

Readers: Eleanor Bron and Toby Stephens

Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company Production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b075thh3)
4-8 April 1916

In the week in 1916 when a Zeppelin raid dropped bombs on the North East coast, old feuds are reignited in Ashburton.

Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole

Story-led by Richard Monks
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews

SECRET SHAKESPEARE - Did you spot them?
A quote is hidden in each episode of 2016. If you discover one, tweet it using #BBCHomeFront.

SAT 04:00 The 3rd Degree (b01rg1gt)
Series 3, Anglia Ruskin University

A lively and funny quiz show, hosted by Steve Punt, where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.

Coming this week from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, the specialist subjects are Film Studies, Social Work and Graphic Design and the questions range from gherkins and Gummi Bears to David Cronenberg and Delacroix, via Morris Dancing and Beyoncé.

The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds, and the 'Highbrow and Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction.

The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list.

The host Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show, is also someone who delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. He has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, on subjects as varied as "The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen" and "Getting The Gongs" (an investigation into awards ceremonies), as well as a comedy for Radio 4's Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called "The Genuine Particle".

Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 04:30 Kathmandu or Bust (b07mfggz)
Dover and Out

4 Extra Debut. A bumpy ride ahead for five travellers, an old truck and a leader who has never been to Asia. Stars David Haig. From June 1996.

SAT 05:00 Winston in Europe (b007wfy8)
Questions and Answers

The old rogue has something he wants to ask Nancy, but Father has his own plans. Stars Maurice Denham. From April 1992.

SAT 05:30 A Normal Family (b07m4wyh)
After twenty years away from poetry, during which he co-wrote The Royle Family and produced Gavin & Stacey, amongst others, Henry Normal returns to Radio 4 for a comic and poetic look at his family life.

A Normal Family is centred around Henry's son, Johnny, who was diagnosed with "mildly severe" autism. Through stand-up and poetry, Henry explores what this means for Johnny, for himself, and for his wife, Angela.

Recorded in front of a live audience in Henry's hometown of Brighton, the show paints just one portrait of life with autism; there are many versions of it, and this is Johnny's.

Henry Normal is a multi-award winning writer, producer and poet. He starred in Channel 4's Packet of Three with Jenny Éclair and Frank Skinner, co-wrote The Royle Family and The Mrs Merton Show, and founded Baby Cow productions with Steve Coogan, which produced Gavin & Stacy, The Trip and Camping. He has published several volumes of poetry, including The Dream Ticket, Nude Modelling for the Afterlife and Staring Directly at the Eclipse. His last Radio 4 series was 1997's Encyclopaedia Poetica.

Written and performed by ... Henry Normal
Produced by ... Ed Morrish
A BBC Studios Production.

SAT 06:00 Oscar Wilde (b007jr48)
A Woman of No Importance

At a country house party, Mrs Arbuthnot's long-concealed secret comes back to haunt her.

Oscar Wilde's audacious social comedy stars Diana Rigg as Mrs Arbuthnot, Martin Jarvis as Lord Illingworth, Annette Crosbie as Lady Hunstanton and Sir Michael Hordern as Sir Charles Crawford.

Violin: Alexander Balanescu.

Adapted and directed by Adrian Bean.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.

SAT 07:30 Electric Ride (b00sqfsr)
Episode 1

Peter Curran is going on a bold, 4500 mile, trans-European journey in an electric car for BBC Radio 4.

En route, he will talk to all the major European carmakers to find out how close they are to getting their electric cars out on the road. He'll visit cities which are wiring up charging stations and ask politicians what they're doing to promote the electric cause.

Stopping off at manufacturing plants and research centres, Peter will hope that hotels and restaurants from Portugal to Norway allow him to plug the car in, and that the battery lasts long enough to get across Swiss mountains and the coastal plain of Andalusia.

By the end of the series he will have built up an impression of the state of electric car manufacturing and policy across the continent. His goal is to return to the UK in time to join the Brighton to London ECO-Rally, departing on July 7th.

Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b01944rf)
John Arlott: Cricket's Radical Voice

It is not an exercise in nostalgia about a man universally considered to be the greatest cricket commentator and 'the voice of an English summer' it is an exploration of Arlott as a political figure both inside and outside the world of cricket.

John Arlott's politics can best be summed up as those of a radical liberal, and he twice stood unsuccessfully as a parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Party. But he would have found obedience to the party whip difficult, and he rarely adopted a party political stance during the many years that he appeared on the panel of the BBC Home Service's Any Questions. He appeared with such people as Richard Man, Michael Foot and a young Margaret Thatcher; and he attacked the political orthodoxies of both left and right. He always championed the 'common man' against the power or money or privilege.

His political bravery was most obvious within the deeply conservative world of English cricket. He challenged its leaders prejudices on both race and class. He was responsible for bringing Basil D'Oliveira to England, and we broadcast - for the first time - the correspondence between the two men in 1960. He refused to commentate when white South African teams came, and he was centrally involved in the Stop The Tour campaign in 1970. We interview Peter Hain about Arlott's influence. He also supported the Professional Cricketers Association - the players' trade union - and said that being elected its first President was the greatest honour ever shown him.

The programme uses archive from the BBC and beyond. Written and presented by Mark Whitaker.

Producer: Mark Whitaker
A Square Dog Radio production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 09:00 Lloyd Webber & Rice - Jesus Christ Superstar (b07mqkng)
The world-renowned rock opera that propelled Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber into the musicals firmament.

Jesus Christ Superstar began life as a 1970 concept album before making its Broadway debut in 1971, transferring to London's West End a year later and hitting the big screen in 1973. Originally banned by the BBC for being "sacrilegious", this all-star cast production was recorded for BBC Radio 2 in 1996.

Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) stars as Jesus with Roger Daltrey (The Who) as Judas, Frances Ruffelle as Mary Magdalene, Julian Clary as King Herod, John Barr as Simon, Jeff Shankley as Pilate, Bogdan Kominowski as Annas and Gary Martin as Caiaphas

Sung all the way through, this timeless and powerful work explores the final days of Christ as seen through the eyes of Judas Iscariot.

With the Stephen Hill Singers and the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by Michael Reed

Producer John Langridge

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1996.

SAT 10:40 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0076m21)
Sir Tim Rice

4 Extra Debut. From David Essex to the King's College Choir, lyricist Tim Rice shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From June 2004.

SAT 11:25 Musical Legends (b0139466)
Roger Daltrey

The Who's legendary lead singer Roger Daltrey joins Tom Morton for an in depth interview about his life and career to date. From fighting against bullying at school to fighting with his fellow band members over drug use. In this very open and frank account Daltrey talks about his passion for singing and performing, his move from music to film and the on going feelings of loss over the deaths of band members Keith Moon and John Entwistle.

SAT 11:55 Inheritance Tracks (b05wcwsk)
Julian Clary

Camp comic Julian Clary chooses Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture and 'If Love Were All' by Noel Coward, as sung by Ian Shaw.

SAT 12:00 A Whole New Ball Game (b00ftg1r)
Series 2, And Pigs Can Fry

The footie team's new strip causes controversy. Will they be ready for the new season? Stars Brenda Blethyn.

SAT 12:30 The Little World of Don Camillo (b00t1bnm)
Series 1, Episode 1

Alun Armstrong stars as Giovanni Guareschi's Italian village priest. The communist mayor wants his child baptised. From March 2001.

SAT 13:00 Lou Ramsden - Tinsel Girl (b07mqknn)
Series 2 Omnibus

Uplifting comedy drama on the life, loves and misadventures of wheelchair user Maz. Starring and inspired by Cherylee Houston.

SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07mqmjr)
Nicky Clarke

Hair stylist Nicky Clarke chose 'Starman' by David Bowie and 'Beautiful Boy' by John Lennon.

SAT 14:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b007510p)
Ann Widdecombe

The former MP opens up to Dr Anthony Clare about religion, being single and her clash with Michael Howard. From July 1997.

Psychiatrist Dr Anthony Clare's in depth interviews with prominent people from different walks of life.

Born in Dublin, author Anthony held a doctorate in medicine, a master's degree in philosophy and was a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. After becoming a regular on BBC Radio 4's Stop the Week in the 1980s, he became Britain's best-known psychiatrist and earned his own vehicle, In the Psychiatrist's Chair. Starting in 1982, this series ran until 2001 and also transferred to TV. Series highlights include conversations with Bob Monkhouse, Cecil Parkinson and Gerry Adams.

Anthony Clare died suddenly in Paris aged 64 in 2007.

SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b01944rf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

SAT 16:00 Oscar Wilde (b007jr48)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

SAT 17:30 Electric Ride (b00sqfsr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

SAT 18:00 The Scarifyers (b008jf2y)
The Thirteen Hallows, Episode 1

When a haunted chess set causes consternation at the British Chess Championships, and a horse magically materialises in Kettering Agricultural Museum, MI:13 are called to investigate.

Harry Crow and Professor Dunning follow the trail of inexplicable happenings to South Wales, and an unlikely plot to resurrect Britain's greatest-ever hero.

The Scarifyers follows the exploits of 1930s ghost-story writer Professor Dunning and retired policeman Harry Crow, who together investigate weird mysteries under the auspices of top-secret government department MI:13.

Stars David Warner as Harry Crow, Terry Molloy as Professor Dunning, David Benson as Alexander Caulfield-Browne, Margaret Cabourn-Smith as Jenny Cracker/Lady Miriam Gore and Ewan Bailey as Commander Savage.

Written by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris

Music by Edwin Sykes

A Bafflegab Production.

SAT 18:30 Terry Pratchett (b010ns71)
Night Watch, Episode 1

Discworld comes to radio! Captain Sam Vimes confronts his past in a rather direct manner. Stars Ben Onwukwe and Philip Jackson.

SAT 19:00 Lynne Truss: Pick of the Archive (b0528nk7)
Writer and broadcaster Lynne Truss introduces her favourite programmes from the BBC archive - from 1960s quizzes and classic comedy dramas to Tom Stoppard and Garrison Keillor.

Over 3 hours, Lynne's handpicked highlights include:

We Interrupt the Programme: a BBC Radio 4 documentary celebrating the American comedy duo Bob and Ray from 2004. With a 40 year partnership, Bob and Ray were the first to parody radio and TV with spoofs that often outlasted the original. If you've never heard the 'slow-talkers of America', this is not to be missed.

Many a Slip: an episode of the long-running BBC radio panel show from the 1960s.

Albert's Bridge by Tom Stoppard: the timeless, surreal and philosophical radio drama featuring a 27-year-old John Hurt in the title role.

The Wordsmiths of Gorsemere: comedy drama that still makes Lynne laugh nearly 30 years after it was made - Sue Limb's parody of the lives of the Romantic poets, starring Simon Callow, Geoffrey Whitehead and Denise Coffey.

Lake Wobegon: Garrison Keillor performing his classic storytelling monologue, a report from the writer's fictitious hometown.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.

SAT 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b01462bb)
Series 3, Janet Street-Porter

My Teenage Diary returns with four more brave celebrities ready to revisit their formative years by opening up their intimate teenage diaries, and reading them out in public for the very first time. Comedian Rufus Hound is joined by writer and editor Janet Street-Porter who revisits her heady teen years at the heart of swinging 60's Soho.

Producer: Harriet Jaine
A Talkback Production for BBC Radio 4.

SAT 22:30 Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive (b007ym28)
Series 1, Episode 4

The funny man's radio drop-in centre tackles the thorny issues of TV weather and the election. With Dave Gorman. From June 2005.

SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07n929t)
From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats to Matt Tedford, the man behind Margaret Thatcher: Queen of Gameshows.

SAT 23:00 The Mary Whitehouse Experience (b044w48c)
Series 4, Episode 4

Hugh Dennis, Steve Punt, Robert Newman and David Baddiel tackle swearing and enmity for famous Nigels. From November 1990.

SAT 23:30 2525 (b03ph1bv)
Episode 4

In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive... then it may sound something like this. Set 511 years in the future, 2525 invites you to hear more snippets of our future from talking toilets to the church devoted to the worship of The Beatles.

Written by Colin Birch, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, Jane Lamacraft, Alex Lowe, Paul Putner, Tim Perry, John Luke Roberts and Eddie Robson

Produced by Ashley Blaker
A John Stanley production for BBC Radio 4.


SUNDAY 07 AUGUST 2016

SUN 00:00 The Scarifyers (b008jf2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]

SUN 00:30 Terry Pratchett (b010ns71)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Saturday]

SUN 01:00 Lou Ramsden - Tinsel Girl (b07mqknn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]

SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07mqmjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]

SUN 02:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b007510p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]

SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b01944rf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]

SUN 04:00 Oscar Wilde (b007jr48)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]

SUN 05:30 Electric Ride (b00sqfsr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]

SUN 06:00 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m4vxd)
Omnibus, Part 1

A young man escapes a dreary clerkship in industrial Yorkshire by taking a job as a teacher in Belgium. Stars Paul Venables.

SUN 07:15 A Dark History of British Gardening (b07n22xs)
Escapism

4 Extra Debut. Writer Jenny Uglow reflects on our garden weaknesses, the tendency for escapism from the Victorians to 1960s hippies.

SUN 07:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01r0fv7)
Series 1, Taking Overs

Katrina Lyons was only visiting Cresdon Green, the village where she grew up, to borrow some money from her parents. But when she tried to head back to London, it turned out alien beings known as the Geonin had lowered a force field around the village and were refusing to let anyone in or out.

Unfortunately almost everyone in the village is too cowardly, apathetic, polite or stupid to stand up to this alien menace, so Katrina has no choice but to start the resistance movement herself. In the cricket pavilion.

EPISODE ONE: Taking Overs.

The force field around the village is keeping out all the rain, so the villagers can no longer moan about the weather. Uljabaan realises this means they're moaning about him instead. Whilst he tries to construct a device to simulate rain inside the force field, Uljabaan distracts the village with a cricket match - aliens versus humans, with Richard captaining the humans. Katrina sees an opportunity to sabotage Uljabaan's computer - if she can keep the match going long enough.

Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully is written by Eddie Robson (That Mitchell and Webb Sound, Newsjack), and stars Hattie Morahan (Outnumbered, Critic's Circle & Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actress'), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing, The Hour), Jan Francis (Just Good Friends, Emmerdale), Peter Davison (A Very Peculiar Practice, Dr Who), Hannah Murray (Skins, Game of Thrones), and John-Luke Roberts (Spats, BBC Three Live At The Fringe).

SUN 08:00 We're in Business (b007jydz)
The Gorilla

When Dudley breaks the Major's stuffed gorilla, he, Harry and Miss Boot seek a replacement.

Stars Peter Jones as Dudley, Harry Worth as Harry and Irene Handl as Miss Jubilee Boot. With Dick Emery, Hugh Paddick and Paddy Edwards.

Peter Jones is small-time businessman, Dudley Grosvenor who's always out to make a fast buck - usually at the expense of his side-kick, Harry Worth.

Written by Marty Feldman, Barry Took and Peter Jones.

A selection of surviving episodes from two series broadcast between 1959-1960.

Producer: Charles Maxwell.

First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in March 1960.

SUN 08:30 Meet the Huggetts (b00ns2m9)
What Unusual Wallpaper

The poor Huggett family are suffering in a summer heat wave.

Stars Jack Warner as Joe, Kathleen Harrison as Ethel, George Howell as Bobby, Marion Collins as Jane, Charles Leno as Fred Stebbings and Kenneth Connor as Mr Cross/The Insurance Man/The Postman/The Decorator.

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: Jacques Brown

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in September 1957.

SUN 09:00 Paul Morley - The Age of Bowie: Omnibus (b07mqt7j)
Paul Morley reads his account of David Bowie's life and legacy - a performer who constantly reinvented himself and his music.

SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07mqvkn)
Pixie Lott

Singer Pixie Lott chooses 'Love Come Down' by Evelyn Champagne King and 'Something Inside So Strong' by Labi Siffre.

SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07mqvkq)
Olympians, Sir Bradley Wiggins

4 Extra Debut. From David Bowie to Oasis, Olympic cyclist Bradley Wiggins shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From May 2015.

SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b07mqvks)
Series 3, Antidepressants, Anthony Hopkins and Iran

True stories told live in the USA: Rachel Dratch introduces stories about anxiety, acting under pressure and returning home

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 We're in Business (b007jydz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

SUN 12:30 Meet the Huggetts (b00ns2m9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

SUN 13:00 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m4vxd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

SUN 14:15 A Dark History of British Gardening (b07n22xs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]

SUN 14:30 Reading Europe: Italy - The Parrots Omnibus (b07mqxy4)
Italy - The Parrots

In Italy three authors fight for their country's greatest honour. Read by Sam Rix, Anthony Head and Oliver Ford Davies.

SUN 15:45 Ruth Rendell Stories (b07mqxy6)
Weeds

4 Extra Debut. At a country charity event, the discovery of a poppy in an immaculate garden has horrifying consequences. Read by David Holt.

SUN 16:00 Saturday Drama (b00g8n5s)
Melissa Murray - Theremin

Theremin by Melissa Murray

Leon Theremin, gifted inventor and reluctant spy, is forced to find a way to bug the US Embassy in London. Now he has to save himself and his former lover from both the CIA and the KGB.

Theremin: Tom Hollander
Alex: Kate Ashfield
Olga: Ania Sowinski
Will: Trystan Gravelle
Sergei/Ambassador: Stephen Critchlow
Boss: Malcolm Tierney
Ambassador's wife/Waitress: Janice Acquah
Bart: Jonathan Tafler
News seller/Man 2: Chris Pavlo
Bellboy/Man 1: Dan Starkey

Directed by Marc Beeby.

SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b07mqxy8)
Contemporary American Poets - Charles Simic and Louise Gluck

BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with Postscript: Contemporary American Poets.

Louise Gluck and Serbian born, Charles Simic, both winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, read a selection of their work. First heard on BBC Radio 3 in 1999.

Plus Daljit selects an interview with Charles Simic by Ian MacMillan from Radio 3's The Verb in 2009.

Produced for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Sarah Wade.

SUN 17:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01r0fv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

SUN 18:00 The Price of Fear (b01s7w2d)
The Specialty of the House

Prince of terror Vincent Price recounts a culinary tale which leaves a bitter taste.

Co-starring Hugh Burden, Francis de Wolfe, William Sleigh and Vernon Joyner.

Written by Stanley Ellin and dramatised by Barry Campbell.

Producer: John Dyas

First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 1974.

SUN 18:30 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (b007jm03)
Primary Phase, Fit the Second

Arthur Dent is - so far - the only survivor from Earth, demolished to make way for a by-pass. He survived thanks to his friend, Ford Prefect (who hails not from Guildford, but somewhere near Betelgeuse), a writer for the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, "the most successful book ever to have come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor". Both are now at the mercy of the Vogon Captain, and even worse, powerless in the face of his poetry. The only thing which can save them now is an unlikely coincidence or two - and it may lead to an encounter with a certain bipolar automaton.

The global multi-media success story that is "Hitchhiker's" started life as a Radio 4 series in March 1978. The original scripts by the late Douglas Adams then went on to spawn a series of novels, a feature film, at least three stage shows, a TV series, a computer game, a collection of comic books - and various towels.

The Guide helpfully informs us that the most obscene expletive in the Galaxy is "Belgium".

Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge and died in 2001 at the age of 49. He suffered a fatal heart attack after working out at his gym in California.

The answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything is 42.

With Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey and Stephen Moore. Produced by the late Geoffrey Perkins.

SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b07mqvks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]

SUN 20:00 Paul Morley - The Age of Bowie: Omnibus (b07mqt7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07mqvkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]

SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07mqvkq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]

SUN 22:00 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01r0fv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

SUN 22:30 Fabulous (b00j6jkj)
Series 1, Episode 6

Faye causes havoc when she decides to gatecrash her boss's wedding. Stars Daisy Haggard and Adam Buxton. From June 2007.

SUN 22:45 Crème de la Crime (b007yvm3)
Series 1, The Bells and St Clement

Michael Feydeau and David Pershore review the curious case of a fallen monk. Stars Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. From October 2001.

SUN 23:00 Think the Unthinkable (b01mm3ch)
Series 4, Eurotank

The bumbling management consultants try to salvage the reputation of the MoD. Stars Marcus Brigstocke. From September 2005.

SUN 23:30 The Young Postmen (b00ftk3n)
It's a Dog's Life

The eager trio whizz up to Jupiter and perform a musical. Ben Miller and Alistair McGowan's surreal comedy. From December 1992.


MONDAY 08 AUGUST 2016

MON 00:00 The Price of Fear (b01s7w2d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]

MON 00:30 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (b007jm03)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]

MON 01:00 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m4vxd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]

MON 02:15 A Dark History of British Gardening (b07n22xs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]

MON 02:30 Reading Europe: Italy - The Parrots Omnibus (b07mqxy4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]

MON 03:45 Ruth Rendell Stories (b07mqxy6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]

MON 04:00 Saturday Drama (b00g8n5s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]

MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b07mqxy8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]

MON 05:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01r0fv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]

MON 06:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07mzk9g)
Mr Simmons' Profession

PC Lee's asked to keep an eye on Notting Dale's mysterious new resident and the local underworld is curious. Read by Toby Jones.

In 1909 Edgar Wallace wrote a series of 24 short stories featuring street-wise London police-constable, PC Lee. Wallace himself features in some, with PC Lee recounting his adventures as a bobby on the beat in and around the district of Notting Dale. Toby Jones brings this wonderful, little-known character to life for BBC Radio 4 Extra in 10 charming and witty tales.

THE AUTHOR:

Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace was born on 1st April 1875 to actress Polly Richards. At nine days old, he was adopted by a Billingsgate fish porter. Aged 11, he began his working life on Fleet Street selling newspapers at Ludgate Circus. He was to become a prolific writer. Wallace wrote numerous best-selling novels - including the Four Just Men and Mr JG Reeder series - and many plays, poetry and non-fiction. Specialising in the crime genre, PC Lee was his first venture into the world of the short story.

THE READER:

Actor Toby Jones' list of film credits includes: Tale of Tales, Dad's Army, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Hunger Games, Frost/Nixon, My Week with Marilyn and the Harry Potter series. TV roles include: The Secret Agent, Capital, The Detectorists, Marvel's Agent Carter, Marvellous, The Girl, Dr Who, The Old Curiosity Shop and The Way We Live Now.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Greenlit Productions.

MON 06:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dhhpn)
Craven: Series 2, Episode 1

Series 2 of Amelia Bullmore's Police Drama 'Craven', starring Maxine Peake as Sue Craven returns to Radio 4.

As impending cuts threaten the staff of the Greater Manchester Police Murder Investigation Team, a case involving dangerous dogs and legal drugs piques DCI Craven's interest.

Her boss, DCI Price (James Quinn) warns Craven to concentrate on the bigger stories that might just save the staff, but Craven has other plans and dog loving Terry Bird, (David Crellin) puts old grievances aside to take on the case.

Craven is determined to prove that the dog bite murder of a homeless man, is part of a new wave of organised crime and the 'legal' drugs on sale at the Pet Shop is somehow linked. Her Boss DI Price has other plans and with DS Watende Robinson afraid of dogs, bending the rules won't be easy.

Producer: Justine Potter
A Red production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 06:30 Supermarket Symphony (b01293bv)
Nina Perry's composed feature 'Supermarket Symphony' reveals the beauty, musicality and personal stories found in supermarkets over a day. Specially composed music and the sounds of the supermarket are interwoven with some of the human encounters to be discovered along with the weekly shop.

Amongst stories and rituals of shoppers and supermarket workers, we hear from Michael, a theatrical cheese counter assistant, who now in his 70's reveals his many past lives, and the happiness he finds serving people with cheese; Father Pat, a priest who enjoys the chance to connect with his local community whilst wheeling his trolley down the aisles and Julie who works on the tills, and has a gift for turning a frown into laughter.

Produced by Nina Perry
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 07:00 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00vgb3v)
Series 2, Charity

It's Jesters' Relief Week, but must Cornish smuggler Tamsyn raise funds for Devonians? Stars Sheridan Smith. From May 2004.

MON 07:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07m5dz2)
Series 65, Episode 6

Back for a second week at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend-on-Sea, regulars Barry Cryer and Sandi Toksvig are joined on the panel by Miles Jupp and Richard Osman with Jack Dee in the chair. Piano accompaniment is provided by Colin Sell.

Producer - Jon Naismith.

It is a BBC Studios production.

MON 08:00 Parsley Sidings (b007jpb9)
Series 2, A Bird in the Hand

A 'rare' gull is spotted during a station spring-clean at Parsley Sidings, causing chaos on the line.

Starring Arthur Lowe as Horace, Kenneth Connor as Valentine/ Bradshaw/Editor, Liz Fraser as Gloria, Ian Lavender as Bert and John Baddeley as the train driver.

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 (b01s9hds)
The Scriptwriter's Revenge

Jacko spins a sad yarn of overwhelming revenge with a tinge of praise, in the last episode. Written and read by Peter Jones.

MON 09:00 The Write Stuff (b00vhgjw)
Series 14, The Beats

Once again the team captains are joined by special guests - poet and musician, Ian McMillan and broadcaster, writer and journalist, Francis Wheen - as they set out to solve yet more book-based brainteasers, set to them by Write Stuff chairman, James Walton.

As ever, there is an "Author of the Week" whose life and work provides a focus for the show. This time, however, there isn't just one author for the teams to examine, but three, as they look into the lives and work of Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg - or "The Beats" as they were known.

For the pastiches at the end of the show the teams must imagine a nursery rhyme or fairy tale as a member of "The Beats" might have written it...

Producer: Sam Michell.

MON 09:30 A Whole New Ball Game (b00fwqbl)
Series 2, Scouting for Boys

West Bromwich offer Robert a trial, but Father Benedict doesn't want to lose him. Stars Brenda Blethyn. From October 1994.

MON 10:00 Owen Holder - Alice's Friend (b04hkk1m)
84-year-old Alice employs Len as her chauffeur, sparking resentment among their families. Stars Joyce Carey and Harold Goodwin.

MON 11:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00ckcqk)
Faith and Hope Go Shopping

Bored with daily life, two friends plan to escape Meadowbank Old People's Home. Short story read by June Whitfield.

MON 11:15 Nick Warburton - Turning the Hut (b007k1f8)
When Jimmy asks Clara to teach him to read, an unlikely friendship develops, forged through fear. Stars Jim Sturgess.

MON 12:00 Parsley Sidings (b007jpb9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

MON 12:30 J Kingston Platt (b01s9hds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

MON 13:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07mzk9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

MON 13:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dhhpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

MON 13:30 Supermarket Symphony (b01293bv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

MON 14:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x6z)
Episode 6

Dovid tries to comfort his distraught mother, and recalls suspicions of the past. Read by Sara Kestelman and Tracy-Ann Oberman.

MON 14:15 Sport and the British (b01bwfyd)
Rugby's Great Split

As Clare Balding continues to explore the unique relationship Britain has had with sport, in today's programme she tells a tale of lies, witch hunts, bigotry and the north/south divide.This isn't the story of a battle-torn country, but of a civil-war within a sport with rugby becoming a symbol of class division and splitting in two.
From the home of The Wigan Wanderers, Professor Tony Collins of The International Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University explains the birth of Ruby League.
It happened in the late 19th century, a clash between those who could afford to be gentlemen amateurs and those who couldn't. This story goes to the heart of how important class was and is in Britain, it illustrates that sport is just as capable of dividing people as uniting them.
It also shows that sport isn't just a leisure activity - it's about who you play with and how you play.
Readers, Brian Bowles, Stuart McLoughlin and Sean Baker
Producer : Sara Conkey.

MON 14:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m52xf)
Frances

William Crimsworth has a talented new pupil who tries to warn him about the school. Charlotte Bronte dramatisation stars Paul Venables and Niamh Cusack.

MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b0150m8f)
John Cooper - The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I, Episode 1

Written by John Cooper. Abridged by Libby Spurrier.

Elizabeth I came to the throne at a time of insecurity and unrest. Rivals threatened her reign; England was a Protestant island, isolated in a sea of Catholic countries. Spain plotted an invasion, but Elizabeth's Secretary, Francis Walsingham, was prepared to do whatever it took to protect her and the reformed religion to which he was devoted.

As a young man he had witnessed the massacres in Paris on St Bartholomew's Day, when French Protestants were attacked by Catholic mobs. He was determined to save England from a similar fate.

Walsingham ran a network of agents in England and Europe who provided him with information about invasions or assassination plots. He recruited likely young men and 'turned' others. He encouraged Elizabeth to make war against the Catholic Irish rebels, with extreme brutality, and oversaw the execution of Mary Queen of Scots.
The Queen's Agent is a story of secret agents, cryptic codes and ingenious plots, set in a turbulent period of England's history. It is also the story of a man devoted to his queen, sacrificing his every waking hour to save the threatened English state.

Reader: Hugh Bonneville

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.

MON 15:00 Owen Holder - Alice's Friend (b04hkk1m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]

MON 16:00 The Write Stuff (b00vhgjw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

MON 16:30 A Whole New Ball Game (b00fwqbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]

MON 17:00 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00vgb3v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]

MON 17:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07m5dz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

MON 18:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007k4lg)
The Seeds of Creation

Ralph Exon - working for an international fertiliser corporation - has created a new strain of plant: a mutation which he hopes will bring relief to the famine-ridden countries of the world.

It's an innocent-looking plant. But in that plant, known as the Exon strain, there also lurks the Destruction Factor...

Stars T P McKenna as Max Flinders, Paul Copley as Howard Rogers, Rosalind Adams as Denise Exon, Clifford Rose as Ralph Exon, Peter Wickham as Balfour, Rod Beacham as Garrard, Bruce Beeby as Ted Downes and Joan Matheson as Kathy Downes.

Producer: David Spencer

First broadcast as 2 x 90 minute plays on BBC Radio 4 in 1978.

MON 18:30 A Good Read (b007694d)
Mia Soteriou & Stacey Kent

Actress and composer Mia Soteriou and award winning Jazz singer Stacey Kent join Rosie Boycott to talk about three of their favourite paperbacks by Nancy Mitford, John Irving and Peter Ackroyd. From 2002.

The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford
Publisher: Penguin

A Widow for One Year by John Irving
Publisher: Black Swan

Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroyd
Publisher: Vintage.

MON 19:00 Parsley Sidings (b007jpb9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

MON 19:30 J Kingston Platt (b01s9hds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

MON 20:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07mzk9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

MON 20:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dhhpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

MON 20:30 Supermarket Symphony (b01293bv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

MON 21:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00ckcqk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]

MON 21:15 Nick Warburton - Turning the Hut (b007k1f8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]

MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07m5dz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

MON 22:30 That Mitchell and Webb Sound (b00mk7rn)
Series 4, Episode 4

A visit to Britain's only sanctuary for balloon animals. Stars David Mitchell and Robert Webb. From September 2009.

MON 23:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b07m7z16)
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Noel Fielding welcome the freewheeling superstar Geordie comedian Ross Noble; science journalist and rainforest ecologist Dr Mike Shanahan; and the famous, renowned, celebrated, prominent and popular lexicographer from Countdown, Susie Dent.

This week, the Museum's Guest Committee appreciate the significance of figs; the joys of long-distance football; and thoughts of an 18th Century spy.

The show was researched by Mike Turner and Anne Miller of QI.

The producers were Richard Turner and James Harkin.

MON 23:30 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b00ryl05)
Series 2, Episode 1

The first in the new series in which Arthur Smith invites the audience into his Balham flat for comedy, music and entertainment. Guests are John Hegley, Barbara Nice, Andrew Lawrence and Scouting For Girls
Producer Alison Vernon-Smith.


TUESDAY 09 AUGUST 2016

TUE 00:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007k4lg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]

TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b007694d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]

TUE 01:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07mzk9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]

TUE 01:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dhhpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 on Monday]

TUE 01:30 Supermarket Symphony (b01293bv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]

TUE 02:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x6z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]

TUE 02:15 Sport and the British (b01bwfyd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]

TUE 02:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m52xf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]

TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b0150m8f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]

TUE 03:00 Owen Holder - Alice's Friend (b04hkk1m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]

TUE 04:00 The Write Stuff (b00vhgjw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]

TUE 04:30 A Whole New Ball Game (b00fwqbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]

TUE 05:00 Elephants to Catch Eels (b00vgb3v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]

TUE 05:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b07m5dz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]

TUE 06:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n292l)
A Man of Note

PC Lee muses on the value of education and how young Albert's life changed dramatically as a result. Read by Toby Jones.

In 1909 Edgar Wallace wrote a series of 24 short stories featuring a street-wise London police-constable, PC Lee. Wallace himself features in some, with PC Lee recounting his adventures as a bobby on the beat in and around the district of Notting Dale. Toby Jones brings this wonderful, little-known character to life for BBC Radio 4 Extra in 10 charming and witty tales.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Greenlit Productions.

TUE 06:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq3t8)
Craven: Series 2, Episode 2

Series 2 of Amelia Bullmore's returning Police Drama 'Craven' starring Maxine Peake as Sue Craven continues on Radio 4.

Impending cuts continue to threaten the staff of the Greater Manchester Police Murder Investigation Team, and a case involving dangerous dogs and legal drugs causes friction as Sue Craven believes it is the key to a much bigger crime Her boss, DCI Price (James Quinn) warns Craven to concentrate on the bigger stories that might just save the staff, but Craven has other plans and dog loving Terry Bird, (David Crellin) puts old grievances aside to take on the case.

Craven is determined to prove that the dog bite murder of a homeless man, is part of a new wave of organised crime and the 'legal' drugs on sale at the Pet Shop is somehow linked. Her Boss DI Price has other plans.
DS Watende Robinson refuses to admit to the rest of the team that he is afraid of dogs and is distracted at work by the impending birth of his first baby. But DS Terry Bird has him sussed.

Producer: Justine Potter
A Red production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 06:30 Roger's Rabbits (b016k6xl)
In his spare time, satirist Roger Law used to breed rabbits, but sadly none of them ever came up to the exacting standards of the British Rabbit Council. Now he's determined to find out the secret of breeding the perfect English rabbit.

A portrait of this bunny underworld is long overdue. Roger will be looking at his favourite, the Old English Spot, one of the country's oldest breeds. A drawing of the perfect English Rabbit was made by Victorian artist Robert Wippell circa 1838. To breed pedigree Old English for exhibition, their spots must accord with Wippell's drawing as closely as possible. The judges mark the spots to a total of 100 points. Unfortunately some judges like small spots, others large ones. Famous breeder of English rabbits, Fred Haslam, commented on the process, "Only he who attempts the absurd is capable of achieving the impossible." The perfect English Rabbit is yet to be born.

Roger will be visiting Thirsk in Yorkshire and Sandringham in Norfolk to talk to the best breeders. He'll find out what drives someone to set up hutches for a mind boggling 100 rabbits in their back garden, and how some people live, breathe and dream rabbits. The ultimate dream is the ultimate rabbit: a perfect English Spot.
But is it really possible? Roger burrows into the facts.

TUE 07:00 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04stqd5)
The Movie

A US film company needs old uniforms from Dublin's theatrical costumiers. With David Kelly and Pauline McLynn. From October 1998.

TUE 07:30 The Missing Hancocks (b04pc7w2)
The Breakfast Cereal

Between 1954 and 1959, BBC Radio recorded 102 episodes of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's comedy classic Hancock's Half Hour. The first modern sitcom, it made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Galton and Simpson on one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history. But 20 episodes of the show are missing from the BBC archives, and have not been heard since their original transmission nearly sixty years ago. Now, five of those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre, featuring a stellar cast led by Kevin McNally as The Lad Himself.

Tonight's episode: The Breakfast Cereal. 'Tony changes his breakfast routine in search of that Zing, Pep and Get Up and Go feeling, and ends up in court.

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic score newly recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the show stars Kevin McNally, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin Sebastian and Susy Kane. The Breakfast Cereal was last broadcast in April 1956.

Produced by Ed Morrish and Neil Pearson.

TUE 08:00 Steptoe and Son (b00s3cgj)
Series 1, The Diploma

Harold drops a bombshell by quitting the rag and bone business for a new career as a TV repair man.

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 August 1966.

TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b017gzgl)
All Change

Struggling with the new metric system, will the dopey duo measure up in fancy new jobs? Stars Deryck Guyler. From July 1975.

TUE 09:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b07m7z16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]

TUE 09:30 Chambers (b007jttl)
Series 1, QC at Any Cost

Hellbent on becoming QC no matter what, John Fuller-Carp employs anyone who can help him. Stars John Bird. From April 1996.

TUE 10:00 Classic Serial (b00772ff)
Leo Tolstoy - Resurrection, Episode 1

1/2. Resurrection

Robert Forrest's dramatisation of Leo Tolstoy's last major work.

Katerina Maslova is a young prostitute on trial for the murder of one of her clients. Serving on the jury, Prince Dmitri recognises the young woman as the girl he seduced many years before. Believing himself partly responsible for her predicament, he embarks upon a complex legal attempt to reverse the sentence passed upon her.

Katerina Maslova ...... Katherine Igoe
Dmitri Nikhloydov ...... Richard Dillane
Lydia Menshova ...... Vivienne Dixon
Vera Bogovskaya ...... Joanna Tope
Princess Marya ...... Lesley Hart
Anatoly Krylstov/Rizin ...... Joe Arkley
Gudz/Makar Dyerkin ...... John Buick

Directed by Lu Kemp.

TUE 11:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00ckz8b)
Last Train to Dog Town

Author Neil K is stranded with the talkative characters of his unfinished Western story. Short story read by Jack Davenport.

TUE 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b00lpl8t)
Machado de Assis - A Second Life

Comic drama by Adam Beeson, adapted from a short story by the 19th-century Brazilian writer Machado de Assis. Anxious to avoid all the mistakes in his life, a man appeals to Heaven to allow him to be born again with 'experience'. But in his second life this precious knowledge proves no use at all.

Father Caldos ...... John Bett
Jose Maria ...... Richard Conlon
Dona Clemencia ...... Lucy Paterson
Lucas ...... John Macaulay
Prophet Job ...... Mark McDonnell

Other parts played by the cast.

Directed by Bruce Young.

TUE 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b00s3cgj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b017gzgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

TUE 13:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n292l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

TUE 13:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq3t8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

TUE 13:30 Roger's Rabbits (b016k6xl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

TUE 14:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x7g)
Episode 7

In the short time Ronit has been back, the community has already closed ranks. Read by Sara Kestelman and Tracy-Ann Oberman.

TUE 14:15 Sport and the British (b01bwmwd)
Tennis and Golf in Suburbia

Clare Balding continues to explore the history of sport in Britain and in today's programme visits one of the oldest tennis clubs in the country in Leamington Spa. In Victorian Britain, lawn tennis took off thanks to the growing numbers of a whole new strata of society - the middle class. Living in suburbia with clean air, space and leisure time, tennis and golf became increasingly popular pastimes. There were 250 clubs in the Lawn Tennis Association by 1900 rising to 3000 by the 1930's and 5000 by the 50's. The middle class had grasped hold of a sport that seemed perfectly designed for polite society. It didn't involve getting dirty or even particularly sweaty and the same could be said for golf. Clare also visits Kenilworth Golf Club where Professor Richard Holt of the International Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University explains that these clubs were as much about social division as they were about inclusion.
Readers, Nyasha Hatendi and Sean Baker
Producer: Sara Conkey.

TUE 14:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m570x)
Loss

William spurns Mademoiselle's advances, and Frances disappears from class. Stars Paul Venables, Rachel Joyce and Roger May.

TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b015b3wc)
John Cooper - The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I, Episode 2

Written by John Cooper. Abridged by Libby Spurrier.

Walsingham, principal secretary and spymaster to Elizabeth I, is focussed on a royal wedding, to settle the question of succession and the threat from Catholic dissidents.

The Queen's Agent is a story of secret agents, cryptic codes and ingenious plots, set in a turbulent period of England's history. It is also the story of a man devoted to his queen, sacrificing his every waking hour to save the threatened English state.

Reader: Hugh Bonneville

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.

TUE 15:00 Classic Serial (b00772ff)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]

TUE 16:00 Jest a Minute (b01789l0)
Series 2, Episode 3

Lucy Porter, Milton Jones, Lloyd Langford and Chris Corcoran in Rhod Gilbert's comedy quiz from Cardiff. From December 2008.

TUE 16:30 Chambers (b007jttl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]

TUE 17:00 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04stqd5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]

TUE 17:30 The Missing Hancocks (b04pc7w2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

TUE 18:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007k4mr)
The Devil's Harvest

As fires erupt, why is Ralph Exon's new plant strain mutation growing so rapidly? Stars Paul Copley and TP McKenna.

TUE 18:30 Lives in a Landscape (b0076snh)
A Fondness for Rats

4 Extra Debut. Members of The Ancient and Honorable Society of Ratters leave London for Yorkshire to experience a real rat hunt. From July 2005.

TUE 19:00 Steptoe and Son (b00s3cgj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b017gzgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

TUE 20:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n292l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

TUE 20:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq3t8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

TUE 20:30 Roger's Rabbits (b016k6xl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

TUE 21:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00ckz8b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]

TUE 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b00lpl8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]

TUE 22:00 The Missing Hancocks (b04pc7w2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

TUE 22:30 The Maltby Collection (b00crj7j)
Series 1, Episode 4

Museum director Walter Brindle has important news and love is in the air for some staff. Stars Geoffrey Palmer. From July 2007.

TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07p0x1t)
The best in contemporary comedy. Cariad Lloyd chats to comedian and improviser Andrew Hunter Murray.

TUE 23:00 Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation (b017x0wb)
Episode 6

Mark Watson continues his quest to improve the world, nimbly assisted by Tim Key and Tom Basden and with the additional help of the listening audience as we broadcast live and invite them to join in.

Mark will be asking 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.

Quite a few years ago Matt Damon and Robin Williams went Good Will Hunting. Now Mark and co finish the job by finding it, as the final edition of the series takes on a festive aspect. What is goodwill? How we can incorporate it into our lives? Is it better than ill-will? (SPOILER: it is). All this plus the moderate level of Christmas merriment suitable for early December.

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 the If.Comedy Award for Best Newcomer 2007.

TUE 23:30 Delve Special (b00t3xrt)
Series 1, The Shifton Scandal, part 3

In his town demolition expose, David Lander examines the link to a government sex scandal. Stephen Fry stars as the spoof investigative journalist. From August 1984.


WEDNESDAY 10 AUGUST 2016

WED 00:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007k4mr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]

WED 00:30 Lives in a Landscape (b0076snh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]

WED 01:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n292l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]

WED 01:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq3t8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 on Tuesday]

WED 01:30 Roger's Rabbits (b016k6xl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]

WED 02:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x7g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]

WED 02:15 Sport and the British (b01bwmwd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]

WED 02:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m570x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]

WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b015b3wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]

WED 03:00 Classic Serial (b00772ff)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]

WED 04:00 Jest a Minute (b01789l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]

WED 04:30 Chambers (b007jttl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]

WED 05:00 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04stqd5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]

WED 05:30 The Missing Hancocks (b04pc7w2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]

WED 06:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n2t40)
How He Lost His Moustache

When a notorious local criminal's wife asks for help, PC Lee decides to take matters into his own hands. Read by Toby Jones.

In 1909 Edgar Wallace wrote a series of 24 short stories featuring a street-wise London police-constable, PC Lee. Wallace himself features in some, with PC Lee recounting his adventures as a bobby on the beat in and around the district of Notting Dale. Toby Jones brings this wonderful, little-known character to life for BBC Radio 4 Extra in 10 charming and witty tales.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Greenlit Productions.

WED 06:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq3xp)
Craven: Series 2, Episode 3

Series 2 of Amelia Bullmore's returning Police Drama 'Craven' starring Maxine Peake as Sue Craven continues on Radio 4.

Impending cuts continue to threaten the staff of the Greater Manchester Police Murder Investigation Team, and a case involving dangerous dogs and legal drugs causes friction as Sue Craven believes it is the key to a much bigger crime Her boss, DCI Price (James Quinn) warns Craven to concentrate on the bigger stories that might just save the staff, but Craven has other plans and dog loving Terry Bird, (David Crellin) puts old grievances aside to take on the case.

Craven is determined to prove that the dog bite murder of a homeless man, is part of a new wave of organised crime and the 'legal' drugs on sale at a local Pet Shop are somehow linked. Her Boss DI Price has other plans.

When one of Adams mates dies of a 'legal' drugs overdose, it is clear that the problem is wide spread and a local Pet Shop selling pond cleaner is not all it seems. Craven's 'regular irregular' lover, Macca (Jack Deam) helps out.

Producer: Justine Potter
A Red production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 06:30 Fighting the Power of Pink (b010y39d)
Any parents of a little girl will tell you that they are strangely drawn to the colour pink. But is it in their genes or is it all down to culture? Kat Arney investigates, talking to parents, scientists, and the toy industry. She discovers that while women are more drawn than men to reddish shades of blue, boys and girls don't seem to develop different preferences until they are over the age of two. But long before then, they have very different preferences for toys. So maybe we all just like different colours because we like the things that come in those colours. Or maybe women really do prefer pink because in the distant past they needed to be able to see red berries against green leaves, while men needed to see brown bison against a blue sky?
Producer Jolyon Jenkins.

WED 07:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076b38)
Series 2, Episode 1

4 Extra Debut. Will Pete and Cassie's friendship survive new romantic interests? Stars Debra Stephenson and David Lamb. From October 2002.

WED 07:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b05108h0)
Series 6, Dame Kelly Holmes

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.

Dame Kelly Holmes, a self-confessed chocoholic, tries her first deep fried Mars bar, but will she try the chocolate covered scorpion? And to conquer her fear of drowning, she tries hypnotherapy.

WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b015frjy)
The Hovercraft Training Course

The senior officers of HMS Troutbridge inflict havoc all over the South Downs.

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 Commander Ward, Michael Bates as the policeman and Tenniel Evans as the Admiral.

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 September 1965.

WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jzps)
A House on the Cliff

The lad's after a new home, but is it really the best idea to get Sid to build it?

Starring Tony Hancock, Moira Lister, Bill Kerr and Sidney James.

Special guests: Brian Johnston and Raymond Baxter.

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

Theme and incidental music composed 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 January 1955.

WED 09:00 Dilemma (b01888wg)
Series 1, Episode 6

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 Zoe Lyons and Phill Jupitus, author Simon Garfield and the actor and writer Humphrey Ker. This week the guests are dealt quandaries involving swapped babies, one-night stands, and biochip crime prevention. They also solve some dilemmas the audience have brought along.

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 Hobby Bobbies (b03775g0)
Series 1, Dangerous Posters

New sitcom where Britain's longest serving PCSO and Britain's laziest make quite a pairing.

Written by Dave Lamb (voice of Come Dine With Me) and starring Richie Webb (Horrible Histories), Nick Walker and Noddy Holder (yes - that Noddy Holder).

This week, the useless officers' crackdown on fly posting leads to the disappearance of "Daddy Warbucks" and the sight of Bernie in a bright red wig.

Writer: Dave Lamb

Producer: Steve Doherty

A Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 10:00 Classic Serial (b00772m2)
Leo Tolstoy - Resurrection, Episode 2

Resurrection

Robert Forrest's dramatisation of Leo Tolstoy's last major work.

2/2. Prince Dmitri follows the young prostitute Katerina Maslova to Siberia. Having been unable to reverse the sentence for murder served in error upon her, he proposes marriage in the hope of redeeming the wrongs he did to her as a girl.

But he finds his proposal contested by a fellow prisoner Simonson, a man who has already made all the sacrifices in life that Prince Dmitri only threatens to make.

Katerina Maslova ...... Katherine Igoe
Dmitri Nikhloydov ...... Richard Dillane
Lydia Menshova ...... Vivienne Dixon
Vera Bogovskaya ...... Joanna Tope
Princess Marya ...... Lesley Hart
Anatoly Krylstov ...... Joe Arkley
Nabatov/Ivan ...... Phil McKee
Simonson ...... Tom Brooke
Old Man ...... Finlay Welsh

Directed by Lu Kemp.

WED 11:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00cl7lx)
Gastronomicon

Disobeying rules for a silver wedding anniversary recipe book sparks unexpected consequences. Short story read by Lynda Baron.

WED 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b0184vhg)
Mike Walker - Beyond Borders

Written by Mike Walker.

1950, much of Europe still lies in ruins from the Second World War. Germany is crushed and the Allies are divided about allowing the country to rebuild in the face of a growing Soviet threat.

Jean Monnet is charged with planning the reconstruction of France. Appalled by the devastation of two world wars, he is a highly efficient technocrat and a thinker who knows how to influence politicians. For years he has believed in European collaboration to secure a peaceful and prosperous future. Monnet's vision is for a radical realignment of Europe, not by one nation asserting itself over another, but by negotiation, integration and ultimately, through political and economic unification.

Monnet knows he has to move swiftly. Within days the Allies will decide the future of Germany at a conference in London. He gathers a small group in his cottage outside Paris to thrash out a revolutionary plan to bring the coal and steel industries of France and Germany together. Working with the Foreign Minister, Robert Schuman, Monnet plots how far to press his idea. His grand vision of unification remains in the background - the focus is on the practicalities of getting the two nations on board.

Monnet's team produces 9 drafts, arguing intensely about what can be achieved and how it should be implemented. With a radical plan agreed, Schuman dispatches a secret envoy to the German Chancellor, Konrad Adenauer to bring him on board.

When on 9th May Schuman outlines the plan that bears his name and leads to the formation of the European Coal and Steel Community, many in the room are taken aback at its boldness, but few predict how the Schuman Declaration will become the founding document for the European Union, and a catalyst for those pursuing Monnet's vision of a United States of Europe.

Producer: Richard Clemmow
A Perfectly Normal production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b015frjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jzps)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

WED 13:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n2t40)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

WED 13:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq3xp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

WED 13:30 Fighting the Power of Pink (b010y39d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

WED 14:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x7z)
Episode 8

Ronit wrestles with past betrayals, and Dovid takes on a mantle he doesn't want. Read by Sara Kestelman and Tracy-Ann Oberman.

WED 14:15 Sport and the British (b01by7c8)
Fighting Back

Clare Balding looks at the relationship between boxing and Britain's ethnic minorities.Through the centuries, immigrants have had to literally fight for recognition in Britain and that means with their fists.
As Clare continues to explore how sport made Britain and Britain made sport, she visits the Lynn Boxing Club in South London.Founded in 1892, it's the oldest continuing amateur boxing club in the country. It was around the time that bare knuckle boxing was starting to decline and amateur boxing, with gloves, took over. As Professor Tony Collins from the International Centre for Sports History and Culture at De Montfort University explains, the history of Boxing is intertwined with the history of black immigrants and the struggle of Jewish sportsmen to find acceptance.
Readers, Brian Bowles and Stuart McLoughlin
Producer: Garth Brameld.

Producer Lucy Lunt,Sara Conkey,Garth Brameld.

WED 14:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m5qlj)
Turmoil

William realises he loves Frances, so he sets out to find her. Charlotte Bronte dramatisation with Paul Venables, Niamh Cusack and Rachel Joyce.

WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b015b3yt)
John Cooper - The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I, Episode 3

Written by John Cooper. Abridged by Libby Spurrier.

England faces the threat of invasion from overseas and a potential Catholic rebellion. Walsingham is dealing with intelligence pouring into his office from his network of spies.

The Queen's Agent is a story of secret agents, cryptic codes and ingenious plots, set in a turbulent period of England's history. It is also the story of a man devoted to his queen, sacrificing his every waking hour to save the threatened English state.

Reader: Hugh Bonneville

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.

WED 15:00 Classic Serial (b00772m2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]

WED 16:00 Dilemma (b01888wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

WED 16:30 Hobby Bobbies (b03775g0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]

WED 17:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076b38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]

WED 17:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b05108h0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

WED 18:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007k4ny)
The Wings of Azreal

Inventor Ralph Exon's colleague Max Flinders speculates on the plant strain's potency. Stars TP McKenna and Clifford Rose.

WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00cm9p8)
Fifty Ways to Leave your Lover

Dominic Arkwright chairs the lively discussion series.

Studio guests are Catherine Townsend, author of the Sleeping Around column in the Independent, the Telegraph's music critic Neil McCormick and Australian novelist Kathy Lette, author of How to Kill Your Husband and Other Handy Household Hints. They discuss all aspects of relationship heartache and liberation.

WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b015frjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jzps)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

WED 20:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n2t40)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

WED 20:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq3xp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

WED 20:30 Fighting the Power of Pink (b010y39d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

WED 21:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00cl7lx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]

WED 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b0184vhg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]

WED 22:00 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b05108h0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

WED 22:30 The Castle (b01jjtn3)
Series 4, Boogie Knights

Hie ye to The Castle, a rollicking sitcom set way back then, starring James Fleet ("The Vicar Of Dibley"), Neil Dudgeon ("Life Of Riley"), Martha Howe-Douglas ("Horrible Histories") & Ingrid Oliver ("Watson & Oliver")

The wedding of the decade is almost ruined by 200 tents and an over-excited woodpecker. Plus Henry, Duncan and De Warenne gatecrash a rather special Hen Night

Written by Kim Fuller & Paul Alexander
Music by Guy Jackson
Produced and directed by David Tyler.

WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07p0xfz)
The best in contemporary comedy. Cariad Lloyd chats again to comedian and improviser Andrew Hunter Murray.

WED 23:00 Cowards (b00fm5s8)
Series 2, Episode 3

Sketch show with a comic slant on human frailties. With Tom Basden, Stefan Golaszewski and Tim Key. From November 2008.

WED 23:30 The Museum of Everything (b00hlcw5)
Series 3, Transport

Lady Bagshot claims on the insurance, and the model railway club hits the buffers. Stars Marcus Brigstocke. From August 2006.


THURSDAY 11 AUGUST 2016

THU 00:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007k4ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]

THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00cm9p8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]

THU 01:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n2t40)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]

THU 01:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq3xp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 on Wednesday]

THU 01:30 Fighting the Power of Pink (b010y39d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]

THU 02:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x7z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]

THU 02:15 Sport and the British (b01by7c8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]

THU 02:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m5qlj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]

THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b015b3yt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]

THU 03:00 Classic Serial (b00772m2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]

THU 04:00 Dilemma (b01888wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]

THU 04:30 Hobby Bobbies (b03775g0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]

THU 05:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076b38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]

THU 05:30 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b05108h0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]

THU 06:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n337d)
Sergeant Run-A-Mile

"The best friends policemen have are policemen. The worst enemies are policemen too." A tale of comeuppance. Read by Toby Jones.

In 1909 Edgar Wallace wrote a series of 24 short stories featuring a street-wise London police-constable, PC Lee. Wallace himself features in some, with PC Lee recounting his adventures as a bobby on the beat in and around the district of Notting Dale. Toby Jones brings this wonderful, little-known character to life for BBC Radio 4 Extra in 10 charming and witty tales.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Greenlit Productions.

THU 06:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq51g)
Craven: Series 2, Episode 4

Series 2 of Amelia Bullmore's retuning Police Drama 'Craven' starring Maxine Peake as Sue Craven continues on Radio 4.

Craven is determined to prove that the dog bite murder of a homeless man, is part of a new wave of organised crime and the 'legal' drugs on sale at the Pet Shop is somehow linked. Her Boss DI Price has other plans.
When one of Adams mates dies of a 'legal' drugs overdose it is clear that the problem is wide spread and a local Pet Shop selling pond cleaner is not all it seems.
Craven's 'regular irregular' lover, Macca (Jack Deam) helps out.

As Watende Robinson's wife goes into labour with their first baby, a break, takes the team to a farm in Denshaw where shocking activities and an abandoned child hint at a much bigger crime.

Producer: Justine Potter
A Red production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 06:30 Vines on the Front Line (b00x97hw)
" The message from a glass of Lebanese wine should be tolerance and openness between civilizations. It's more than fermented grape juice." Ramzi Ghosn, Massaya Wines.

For Radio 4, the BBC's Middle East Editor, Jeremy Bowen, takes time out from reporting conflicts to give vinophiles a new perspective on an ancient story. Lebanon is not a place you naturally associate with winemaking.

It is a Middle Eastern country nestled between Arab neighbours whose religion forbids them to drink alcohol. It is also a country that has been scarred by war, from the 15-year civil war from 1975-1990, to the recent Israeli-Lebanon conflict in 2006.

But Lebanon is also an ancient civilisation, a country of merchants and traders - its history dating back to Noah, the first winemaker in the Bible. Fittingly the Temple of Bacchus, an impressive tribute to the God of wine, is situated amongst the ruins of Balbek, in the Bekaa Valley, a region these days better known for Hezbollah than hedonism. But the temple, like Lebanese wine, has survived centuries of war and the winemakers of the Bekka are optimistic wine will outlive war.

Sharing stories with the wine makers who, in defiance and dedication to their craft, continue to grow their vines so close to the frontline, Jeremy delves into the cultural and ethnic mosaic of this unstable but extraordinary country.

Producer: Gemma Newby
An All Out Production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 07:00 The Little World of Don Camillo (b00t3twl)
Series 1, Episode 2

With no cash for a community centre, the priest turns detective over the mayor's plans. Stars Alun Armstrong. From March 2001.

THU 07:30 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07m7rmh)
Series 3, Marriage

Simon Evans' comedy lecture on four of the big life stages that mark our journey through life and how economics is part of every one of those stages, whether we like it or not.

As always, he is joined by Financial Times columnist and presenter of Radio 4's 'More or Less', economist Tim Harford, and by financial guru and editor of Money Week, Merryn Somerset Webb.

This week Simon looks at Marriage. Is it all romance and flowers and living in harmony? Or is it in fact the most commercial of transactions, riddled with economic calculations from beginning to end. And talking of the end, what are the economic effects of divorce on the ex-happy couple?

Also on stage are Andy and Sophie who are preparing for their wedding. Simon mercilessly picks apart their every decision - from an economics point of view of course.

Special guest is Dr Maria Sironi who talks about her research paper Happiness, Housework and Gender Inequality in Europe.

Presenter: Simon Evans, with Tim Harford and Merryn Somerset Webb
Special guest: Dr Maria Sironi
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge and Andy Wolton.
Producer: Claire Jones.

THU 08:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b008m7bz)
Series 4, The Outing

Author Gerald is surprised over his wife Charlotte's enthusiasm for a day trip.

The convoluted chronicle of an optimistic author starring Ian Carmichael as Gerald C Potter and Charlotte Mitchell as his wife, Diana.

With John Church.

Written by Basil Boothroyd.

Producer: Bobby Jaye

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1981.

THU 08:30 Radio Active (b007jvwx)
Series 6, Radio Active Goes to the Movies

The team visits Nice only to discover that it doesn't have a film festival after all.

Starring Helen Atkinson-Wood, Angus Deayton, Geoffrey Perkins, Philip Pope and Michael Fenton-Stevens.

Music by Steve Brown and Philip Pope.

Written by Angus Deayton and Geoffrey Perkins with Michael Fenton-Stevens.

Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1986.

THU 09:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b019f8by)
Series 8, Episode 4

David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents. Lee Mack, Jack Dee, Rufus Hound and Graeme Garden are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as: Nuts, Boy Scouts, The Circus and Florence Nightingale.

The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 09:30 Tanika Gupta - Pankhiraj (b07n36t8)
Homeward Bound

Will an unexpected event bring Nishith and Sripurna closer together?

Tanika Gupta's four-part comedy stars Meera Syal as Malati, Vinny Dhillon as Rehana, Souad Faress as Sripurna, Charubala Chokshi as Dida, Geoffrey Beevers as Geoffrey and Bhasker Patel as Nishith.

Director: Michelle Matherson Frederick

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1996.

THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b016kj6w)
Elizabeth Bowen - The Heat of the Day, Episode 1

Adapted by Tristram Powell and Honor Borwick.

Elizabeth Bowen's wartime novel of betrayal adapted from a screenplay by Harold Pinter. Part love story, part spy thriller, in which the beautiful Stella's allegiances are tested.

Stella discovers that her lover, Robert, who works for British Intelligence, is suspected of selling classified information to the enemy. Harrison, the man who has tracked Robert down, wants Stella herself as the price for his silence. Caught between these two men, not sure whom to believe, Stella finds her world crumbling as she learns how little we can truly know of those around us.

First published in 1949, The Heat of the Day was Bowen's most successful novel. In it she draws heavily on her affair with Charles Ritchie, a Canadian diplomat, to whom the book is dedicated. The tortuous nature of their affair is reflected in the doubts and uncertainties of Stella's relationship with Robert. Robert and Stella share the same ages (and age difference) as Bowen and Ritchie.

Bowen's preoccupation with the cracks below the surface and the psychology of hurt and betrayal is echoed in Harold Pinter's work. Pinter's style and Bowen's dialogue find a perfect marriage in this adaptation.

Directed by Tristram Powell

Cast:
Screenwriter ..... Henry Goodman
Harrison ..... Matthew Marsh
Stella ...... Anna Chancellor
Robert ..... Tom Goodman-Hill
Louie/ Anne ...... Teresa Gallagher
Roderick ...... Daniel Weyman
Ernestine ...... Honeysuckle Weeks
Mrs Kelway/ Mrs Tringsby ...... Tina Gray
Cousin Francis/ Blythe ...... Nigel Anthony
Nettie ....... Gemma Jones
Peter ...... Ben Baker

Producer: Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 11:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00cl6vd)
The Ugly Sister

A Cinderella pantomime character wonders if her own Prince Charming is in the audience. Short story read by Lesley Sharp.

THU 11:15 Alan Plater - Only a Matter of Time (b0075h2s)
When time was standardised in the 19th century, not everyone was convinced by the idea. Stars James Bolam and Alan David.

THU 12:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b008m7bz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

THU 12:30 Radio Active (b007jvwx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

THU 13:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n337d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

THU 13:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq51g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

THU 13:30 Vines on the Front Line (b00x97hw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

THU 14:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x8h)
Episode 9

Dovid recovers, while Ronit is forced to confront memories of her father in a new light. Read by Sara Kestelman and Tracy-Ann Oberman.

THU 14:15 Sport and the British (b01by8n7)
Women Between the Wars

Clare Balding discovers how working women finally got their sporting chance, through the leisure activities offered by many major employers, at the turn of the twentieth century.The number of female workers in factories, large retailers and service industries was growing hugely and the employers decided to provide them with sports facilities and equipment. Clare visits Bournville, home of Cadbury's, who, like the Lyons company, famous for their tea shops, or Boots in Nottingham, gave access to all their employees to tennis courts, hockey fields, football pitches, lacrosse fields and athletics equipment. She talks to Fiona Skillen from the University of Central Lancashire about the women's football teams of that period, like the Dick Kerr Ladies, that had the power to attract crowds of over twenty thousand spectators but were later banned by the Football Association.
Readers, Jane Lawrence and Sean Baker
Producer: Lucy Lunt.

THU 14:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m5tkq)
Joy and Sorrow

Happy news for William and Frances, but the orphan worries for their future. Charlotte Bronte dramatisation stars Paul Venables and Claire Price.

THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b015b430)
John Cooper - The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I, Episode 4

Written by John Cooper. Abridged by Libby Spurrier.

Walsingham searches for proof that Mary Queen of Scots is guilty of treason against Queen Elizabeth I, and encourages the new wave of exploration to America and the New World.

The Queen's Agent is a story of secret agents, cryptic codes and ingenious plots, set in a turbulent period of England's history. It is also the story of a man devoted to his queen, sacrificing his every waking hour to save the threatened English state.

Reader: Hugh Bonneville

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.

THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b016kj6w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]

THU 16:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b019f8by)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

THU 16:30 Tanika Gupta - Pankhiraj (b07n36t8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]

THU 17:00 The Little World of Don Camillo (b00t3twl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]

THU 17:30 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07m7rmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

THU 18:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007jpbg)
Birdstrike

Having already sparked a plane crash, the deadly Exon plant strain's advance continues. Stars TP McKenna and Paul Copley.

THU 18:30 Great Lives (b007gyxx)
Series 12, Claude McKay

4 Extra Debut. Theatre director Yvonne Brewster chooses poet, and key figure of 1920s Harlem, Claude McKay. With Matthew Parris. From May 2007.

THU 19:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b008m7bz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

THU 19:30 Radio Active (b007jvwx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

THU 20:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n337d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

THU 20:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq51g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

THU 20:30 Vines on the Front Line (b00x97hw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

THU 21:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00cl6vd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]

THU 21:15 Alan Plater - Only a Matter of Time (b0075h2s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]

THU 22:00 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07m7rmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

THU 22:30 Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World (b007jtn5)
Series 2, The Human Body

The sci-fi star probes cloning and what to do with our waste. With Richard Herring, Stewart Lee and Tom Baker. From July 1993.

THU 23:00 The Mark Steel Revolution (b00g1zs8)
The Theory of Evolution

The radical comedian reassesses Darwin's description of the development of life. With Carla Mendonca. From August 1998.

THU 23:30 The Shuttleworths (b007jtpn)
Series 3, Ping Pong Pangs

Sheffield singer John Shuttleworth tackles a testing table tennis trauma. Stars Graham Fellows. From October 1997.

THU 23:45 The In Crowd (b0085jgt)
Series 1, Episode 2

Sketch show from Manchester's Comedy Store with Robin Ince, Helen Moon, Smug Roberts and Kate Ward. From August 2001.


FRIDAY 12 AUGUST 2016

FRI 00:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007jpbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]

FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b007gyxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]

FRI 01:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n337d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]

FRI 01:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq51g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 on Thursday]

FRI 01:30 Vines on the Front Line (b00x97hw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]

FRI 02:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x8h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]

FRI 02:15 Sport and the British (b01by8n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]

FRI 02:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m5tkq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]

FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b015b430)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]

FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b016kj6w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]

FRI 04:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b019f8by)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]

FRI 04:30 Tanika Gupta - Pankhiraj (b07n36t8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]

FRI 05:00 The Little World of Don Camillo (b00t3twl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]

FRI 05:30 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07m7rmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]

FRI 06:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n39g9)
The Snatchers

When Mr Simmy's electric thief-catcher fails to stop him losing his stock, PC Lee has an ingenious solution. Read by Toby Jones.

In 1909 Edgar Wallace wrote a series of 24 short stories featuring a street-wise London police-constable, PC Lee. Wallace himself features in some, with PC Lee recounting his adventures as a bobby on the beat in and around the district of Notting Dale. Toby Jones brings this wonderful, little-known character to life for BBC Radio 4 Extra in 10 charming and witty tales.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Greenlit Productions.

FRI 06:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq55j)
Craven: Series 2, Episode 5

Series 2 of Amelia Bullmore's retuning Police Drama 'Craven' starring Maxine Peake as Sue Craven concludes on Radio 4.

Craven is determined to prove that the dog bite murder of a homeless man, is part of a new wave of organised crime and the 'legal' drugs on sale at the Pet Shop is somehow linked. Her Boss DI Price has other plans.

When one of Adams mates dies of a 'legal' drugs overdose it is clear that the problem is wide spread and a local Pet Shop selling pond cleaner is not all it seems. Craven's 'regular irregular' lover, Macca (Jack Deam) helps out.

As Watende Robinson's wife goes into labour with their first baby, a break, takes the team to a farm in Denshaw where shocking activities and an abandoned child hint at a much bigger crime with big fish Tony Lau at its heart.

But it is the pack mentality of the women on the drug addled estate that brings the investigation to an end. We finish series two as the axe falls on the job of one member of the team.

Producer: Justine Potter
A Red production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 06:30 Sore Fingers (b011jvys)
It's like Billy Bunter with banjos. The unmistakeable sound of Appalachia in Stow on the Wold: Bluegrass enthusiasts pack up their banjos and fiddles for a week of fast and furious music which has become a fixture on the international Bluegrass calendar.

Bluegrass is a relatively recent form of American folk music - made popular in the 30s and 40s by Bill Monroe. The music has its roots in the folk music of Ireland, Scotland and England - taken over with the early settlers and fused with other American influences. But it's made a return journey back across the Atlantic with burgeoning interest here in American Bluegrass and Old Time music. Every year since 1996 a Summer School and convention for Bluegrass enthusiasts - called Sore Fingers - takes place during the Easter vacation at Kingham Hill school in the Cotswolds. As the pupils depart for the holiday a new set of students arrives - some with moustaches, all with an instrument and, for five days, the Oxfordshire playing fields and quads echo to the sound of Kentucky. The instruments include banjo, fiddle, mandolin, Dobro and guitar. It's called Sore Fingers for a reason: the students and the tutors play all day and late into the night.
The talent is prodigious - the fastest picking you're likely to hear this side of Pike County. Amongst the tutors are world class players flown in from America - including banjo player Tony Trischka, flat picker Jim Hurst and Dobro virtuoso Mike Witcher. Amongst the students there are grizzly beards from Doncaster who've been flat picking and claw hammering for fifty years, alongside teenage virtuosos - including 16 year old Edward Bennett from Cornwall, winner of the Clifftop, West Virginia Banjo competition. This programme eavesdrops on a week at Sore Fingers talking to the players about their lives outside and inside the Bluegrass camp: we hear about the history of the music, its revival in England and dip in to some of the classroom sessions. We hear from the Scouse sheet metal worker who gave it all up to make banjos; the couple who met in the fiddle tutor group and who've been together ever since and the carer sent to Sore Fingers by the council for a respite break who keeps coming back. All this and some fine, uplifting music.

FRI 07:00 Winston in Europe (b007wvf0)
Finis

On the family's whistle-stop tour of Europe, Father shows them where he married Mother. Stars Maurice Denham. From April 1992.

FRI 07:30 Sketchorama (b06172dj)
Series 4, Episode 1

Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit in a new series of BBC Radio 4's sketch act showcase. Each week the show spotlights three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.

There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves offering a truly distinctive show for Radio 4.

Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 08:00 Something to Shout About (b07n3bxh)
Series 1, Episode 6

A new recruit unsettles the cosy daily routine at the advertising agency.

Starring Michael Medwin as Michael, Fenella Fielding as Janet, Joan Sims as Mavis, Eleanor Summerfield as Maggie and Nicholas Phipps as Adrian.

With Warren Mitchell and Graham Stark.

"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 and 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 August 1960.

FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jp6c)
The Great Regent's Park Swim

Neddie Seagoon ends up splashing about when he visits a German scientist. Stars Harry Secombe. From October 1957.

FRI 09:00 The 3rd Degree (b01rl5rg)
Series 3, University of Exeter

A lively and funny quiz show, hosted by Steve Punt, where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.

Coming this week from the University of Exeter, the specialist subjects are Psychology, Philosophy and Biosciences, and the questions range from whistling sailors and George Orwell to Pythagoras and guano.

The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds, and the 'Highbrow and Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction.

The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list.

The host Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show, is also someone who delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. He has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, on subjects as varied as "The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen" and "Getting The Gongs" (an investigation into awards ceremonies), as well as a comedy for Radio 4's Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called "The Genuine Particle".

Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 09:30 Kathmandu or Bust (b07n3djw)
Gut Reaction

On the expedition to Kathmandu, the five travellers hit Europe but mutiny is in the air. Stars David Haig. From June 1996.

FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b016w0nc)
Elizabeth Bowen - The Heat of the Day, Episode 2

Elizabeth Bowen's wartime novel of betrayal adapted from a screenplay by Harold Pinter. Part love story, part spy thriller, in which the beautiful Stella's allegiances are tested.

Stella has discovered that her lover, Robert, who works for British Intelligence, is suspected of selling classified information to the enemy. Harrison, the man who has tracked Robert down, wants Stella herself as the price for his silence. Caught between these two men, not sure whom to believe, Stella finds her world crumbling as she learns how little we can truly know of those around us.

First published in 1949, The Heat of the Day was Bowen's most successful novel. In it she draws heavily on her affair with Charles Ritchie, a Canadian diplomat, to whom the book is dedicated. The tortuous nature of their affair is reflected in the doubts and uncertainties of Stella's relationship with Robert. Robert and Stella share the same ages (and age difference) as Bowen and Ritchie.

Bowen's preoccupation with the cracks below the surface and the psychology of hurt and betrayal is echoed in Harold Pinter's work. Pinter's style and Bowen's dialogue find a perfect marriage in this adaptation.

The Heat of the Day is directed by Tristram Powell and adapted for radio by Tristram Powell and Honor Borwick.

Cast:
Screenwriter ..... Henry Goodman
Harrison ..... Matthew Marsh
Stella ...... Anna Chancellor
Robert ...... Tom Goodman-Hill
Louie/ Anne/ Mary/Waitress ...... Teresa Gallagher
Roderick ...... Daniel Weyman
Ernestine ...... Honeysuckle Weeks
Mrs Kelway ...... Tina Gray
Donovan ...... Nigel Anthony

Producer: Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey Production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 11:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00cl32x)
Fule's Gold

After 40 years teaching creative writing, sneaky Mr Fisher discovers a masterpiece. Short story read by Stephen Moore.

FRI 11:15 Alan Plater - Time Added On for Injuries (b007qw0x)
Passengers on a train uncover the story that linked their families 150 years ago. Stars James Bolam and Alan David.

FRI 12:00 Something to Shout About (b07n3bxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jp6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

FRI 13:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n39g9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

FRI 13:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq55j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

FRI 13:30 Sore Fingers (b011jvys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

FRI 14:00 Naomi Alderman - Disobedience (b0076x92)
Episode 10

A very special address to the synagogue provides both closure and a new beginning. Concluded by Sara Kestelman and Tracy-Ann Oberman.

FRI 14:15 Sport and the British (b01by9lb)
A Bit of a Flutter

Clare Balding looks at the role gambling has played in our relationship with sport as she continues her exploration into how Britain made sport and sport made Britain.
Betting has played a crucial role in the way games developed, it gave incentive to competition which in turn necessitated clear rules. Establishing who's won and who's lost is crucial but who managed to have a flutter and where was a matter riven with class distinctions as Clare discovers.
Reader, Sean Baker
Producer: Sara Conkey.

FRI 14:30 Charlotte Bronte - The Professor (b00m5wdp)
Victor

Married at last to the woman he loves, William plans a happy future with Frances. Charlotte Bronte dramatisation with Paul Venables and Claire Price.

FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b015b44t)
John Cooper - The Queen's Agent: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I, Episode 5

Written by John Cooper. Abridged by Libby Spurrier

Through his network of spies, Walsingham prepares the country for the defeat of the Spanish Armada. It would be the last triumph of his career.

The Queen's Agent is a story of secret agents, cryptic codes and ingenious plots, set in a turbulent period of England's history. It is also the story of a man devoted to his queen, sacrificing his every waking hour to save the threatened English state.

Reader: Hugh Bonneville

Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.

FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b016w0nc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]

FRI 16:00 The 3rd Degree (b01rl5rg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]

FRI 16:30 Kathmandu or Bust (b07n3djw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]

FRI 17:00 Winston in Europe (b007wvf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]

FRI 17:30 Sketchorama (b06172dj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

FRI 18:00 James Follett - The Destruction Factor (b007jpbx)
Search and Destroy

Despite the national emergency, landowners try to profit from the deadly Exon strain. Stars TP McKenna and Rosalind Adams.

FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b00qvlff)
Series 9, Praise My Soul

Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.

Based on Psalm 103, this hymn was written by Henry Francis Lyte, who also penned Abide With Me, and is most asssociated with the tune by John Goss - even though the two men never met.

Their hymn has become one of the most popular for weddings, and was used at those of the Queen and Prince Philip and Charles and Camilla. Increasingly it is also used at funerals, and the widow of DC Stephen Oake, killed while on duty during an anti-terrorist raid, explains why it's so important to her and her family. It's also the perfect tune for teaching young choristers to sight read music, although these days they often misplace the comma in the line, 'Father like, he tends and spares us'.

FRI 19:00 Something to Shout About (b07n3bxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]

FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jp6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]

FRI 20:00 Vintage Crime: Edgar Wallace - PC Lee stories (b07n39g9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]

FRI 20:15 15 Minute Drama (b01dq55j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:15 today]

FRI 20:30 Sore Fingers (b011jvys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]

FRI 21:00 Joanne Harris - Jigs and Reels (b00cl32x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]

FRI 21:15 Alan Plater - Time Added On for Injuries (b007qw0x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]

FRI 22:00 Sketchorama (b06172dj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]

FRI 22:30 Absolute Power (b0192y9d)
Series 4, Episode 3

Revenge is a gourmet dish best served cold when Martin deceives Charles. Stars Stephen Fry and John Bird. From February 2004.

FRI 23:00 BBC Radio New Comedy Award (b07n3fyy)
2016, Semi-final 1

Mark Watson hosts the first semi-final from the Edinburgh Festival with judges Marcus Brigstocke, Tom Allen, and Julia Mackenzie.

FRI 23:45 Spats (b007jzp6)
Mankind v Nature

Luke Roberts tackles the big arguments and solves them using light entertainment. From December 2006.