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 07 OCTOBER 2017

SAT 00:00 John Wyndham - Trouble with Lichen (b007k3r3)
Episode 4

Biochemist Diana Brackley's attempts to conceal the true source of the antigerone are finally overcome. Read by Joanna Tope.


SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b05s2x2k)
Series 20, First Cut Is the Deepest

Long before it was a worldwide hit for Rod Stewart, the Cat Stevens song 'First Cut is the Deepest' made a name for the former Ike and Tina Turner backing singer, PP Arnold. In an interview for Soul Music she describes the emotional connection she felt to the lyrics, having emerged from an abusive marriage shortly before recording it.

Also contributing to the programme is the song's original producer, Mike Hurst. He describes how he achieved the huge 'wall of sound' production using double drums, a huge string section, and a harp instead of a guitar to play the signature riff at the the start of the track.

There are many personal stories associated with the track: Carsten Knauff recalls a childhood sweetheart - his first true love - and explains why the Cat Stevens' version brings back bitter-sweet memories for him.

Rosemarie Purdy saw PP Arnold give an extraordinary live rendition at a club in Portsmouth in 1967. Never before had she seen such a heartfelt, emotionally charged performance. It's something she's never forgotten.

The Sheryl Crow version reminds Rachel Batson of a very difficult phase in her life; it's a song she says reflects her own faith journey.

And former Radio Caroline DJ, Keith Hampshire, describes the circumstances that led to him having a No.1 hit with the song in Canada. It was the first time 'First Cut' reached No.1 anywhere in the world.

Producer: Karen Gregor.


SAT 01:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s5l3b)
Series 3, Murder of a Shy Girl

Reclusive Joan is found dead, but Brook and Tully wonder how solitary her life really was.

Starring Ray Brooks as Detective Sergeant Brook, Stephen Garlick as Detective Constable Tully and Stephen Yardley as Chief Inspector Roach.

More tough stories of crime and detection in London written by Robert Barr.

Robert Barr also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly. He was also a prize-winning TV producer.

Producer: Martin Fisher

First broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 2 in July 1984.


SAT 01:30 Train Tracks (b00m69ws)

Pianist and broadcaster Simon Townley samples the many different ways in which trains and railways have inspired composers and songwriters and what it is about this particular form of travel that makes it so influential.

They may be a shadow of their former infrastructural selves, but railways still hold a curiously affectionate place in our national life. Nowhere is this more true than in the world of music, where chuffing, whistling, steaming and clackety-clacking have been the inspiration for hundreds of songs. Simon has never described himself as a railway enthusiast, but he has always had an ear for the things that inspire composers and songwriters.

He explores the rhythms, themes and metaphorical uses of the train in music, from Honneger's Pacific 231 to American blues tracks such as Love in Vain and Freight Train Blues.

Country and western star Laura Cantrell, music professor Alan Moore and composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett contribute their thoughts on this mass transit system which has provided such a rich seam of inspiration over the last 200 years.


SAT 02:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yb61d)
Episode 5

Unable to get published in Zurich, Papa travels to Paris. Judith Kerr's semi-autobiographical story. Read by Rosemary Leach.


SAT 02:15 Redesigning the Human Body (b00pn48p)
The Skin We're In

Len Fisher confronts his reflection, and dreams about what he could do to make his skin more appealing.


SAT 02:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007nfd7)
Episode 5

As a midsummer night draws to an end, some life-changing events await Richardson. Stars Tim Pigott-Smith and Juliet Aubrey.


SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b01nf3nd)
Nancy: The Story of Lady Astor, Episode 5

Written by Adrian Fort.

Final extract from a new biography of Nancy Astor, detailing the fascinating life of the first woman to take a seat in the British Parliament.

Reader: Anna Maxwell Martin.

Abridger: Alison Joseph.

Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.


SAT 03:00 Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles (b007rpxy)
Episode 3

Set to wed clergyman's son Angel Clare, Tess is torn over whether to reveal her past. Stars Claire Rushbrook and Keith Barron.


SAT 04:00 The Motion Show (b0075rt1)
Series 1, Episode 4

Dr Phil Hammond chairs the debating game with John O'Farrell, Mark Maier, Maria McErlane and Miles Kington. From November 1998.


SAT 04:30 After Henry (b007k1rb)
Series 1, The Spectre at the Feast

Widow Sarah is wary of matchmakers - and her mother Eleanor's interference.

Simon Brett's comedy about three generations of women - struggling to cope after the death of Sarah's GP husband - who never quite manage to see eye to eye.

Starring Prunella Scales as Sarah, Joan Sanderson as Eleanor, Benjamin Whitrow as Russell, Gerry Cowper as Clare and Mark Kingston as Chris.

Four radio series were made, but instead of then moving to BBC TV - Thames Television produced 'After Henry' for the ITV network.

Producer: Pete Atkin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1985.


SAT 05:00 Hazelbeach (b00853kb)
Series 1, Horse-Racing

Ronnie organises a trip to the races and Nick makes a startling discovery about the true nature of friendship.

Caroline and David Stafford's comedy stars Jamie Forman as Ronnie, Paul Bazely as Nick, Tracy Wiles as Chloe, John Dougall as James, Simon Treves as Harry.

Producer: Marc Beeby

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.


SAT 05:30 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (b096gspx)
Series 2, Case #96 - Community Disservice

A second series featuring acclaimed double-act Max and Ivan as incompetent private detectives for hire. Joanna Lumley guest stars.

The detectives investigate a series of mysterious thefts which threaten the very future of Nunhead Community Centre. Assisted by the permanently tired caretaker Gerry, they track the chief suspect, washed-up former B-Movie actress Lavinia Moncrief and eventually have to go undercover to infiltrate her bizarre acting classes. Also featuring bell ringers, hypnotism and a mutant komodo dragon.

Written by and Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez
Developed by John Stanley Productions
Produced by Ben Walker
A Retort production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 06:00 Anthony Berkeley - The Poisoned Chocolate Case (b097lnkn)

A woman has died from eating poisoned chocolates intended for somebody else...

Can the amateur brains of Roger Sheringham's Crime Circle solve this intriguing crime that's stumped Scotland Yard over the past year?

Stars Neil Stacy as Roger Sheringham, Hilda Schroder as Mrs Fielder-Flamming, Conrad Phillips as Sir Charles Wildman, Victor Winding as Moresby, Michael Bilton as Chitterwick, Geoffrey Collins as Bradley, Jane Wenham as Alicia, William Eedle as Lockwood, Mark Straker as Bendix, Clive Panto as Sir Eustace, Eileen Tully as Mrs Bendix and Deborah Cranston Marguerite.

Director: Brian Miller

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1984.


SAT 07:30 Britain in a Box (b01k9lc2)
Series 5, Pop Idol

Paul Jackson returns with a new series of the show that not only celebrates classic television programmes, but also uses them as a window on a particular period in our cultural and social history.

Over the next three days he'll be exploring the innovation of 'Vision On' and assessing the legacy of 'Grandstand', but he kicks off with a programme that re-wrote the rules for talent shows, saved a network and conquered the world.

1. Pop Idol - began life as an idea captured on a scrap of paper... went on to make global superstars of some of its participants... and now generates over one and a half billion dollars a season in advertising income in the US alone. With the help of those who sold and who bought the original UK shows, those who fronted it and those who appeared on it, Paul Jackson traces its step-by-step development.

Those appearing include producers Alan Boyd and Richard Holloway, commissioners Claudia Rosencrantz and David Liddiment, presenters Ant and Dec, winner Michelle McManus and commentators Mike Smith and Nina Myskow.

Producer: Paul Kobrak.


SAT 08:00 An Hour With... (b00ssn7d)
Brian Blessed

Actor and author Brian Blessed looks back at his stage and TV career and describes his extraordinary attempt to follow in the footsteps of his childhood hero George Leigh Mallory and climb Mount Everest wearing 1920s clothes.

In 1990, aged 53, Brian recreated the legendary expedition of Mallory and Irvine, who disappeared near the summit of Mount Everest in 1924, for the award-winning documentary film 'Galahad of Everest'.

Recorded on tour in November 1996, Brian also tells hilarious anecdotes about his roles in the TV show 'Z Cars', the musical 'Cats', and the film 'Flash Gordon', and recalls his experiences working with actors such as John Gielgud, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, John Hurt and others.


SAT 09:00 Last Post for Men of Letters (b097lpnp)

Russell Davies unearths from the radio and television archives the voices of men and women who were, for many years, a staple of the broadcasting diet. Some, but by no means all, have university pedigree but all have a breath-taking breadth of learning and the facility to deliver it, albeit to an audience who were prepared to give them time and were, it would appear, happy to be dazzled by learning. Russell's examples from the Men and Women of letters trove is gathered round his very personal association with John Gross, of whom he writes:

'In 1969 an author in his early thirties published his first book. The Rise and Fall of the Man of Letters won the Duff Cooper prize, delighted the reading public, introduced them to the name of John Gross, and marked the beginning of what would be an illustrious and fascinating literary career. It ended with his death on 10 January 2011, a great sorrow for the many people who loved and admired John.
No doubt I read at the time, but had forgotten until coming across it again, since I quite lack his total recall, something he wrote here in 1983, an entertaining review of a biography of Sir George Lewis, the famous and immensely influential Victorian solicitor whose clients included the Prince of Wales. In an aside, Gross gently wondered why the biographer hadn't mentioned that Lewis 'appears by name in Conan Doyle's "The Illustrious Client" - a pretty broad clue to the client's identity'. Yes, he had read everything, high and low.
Since his death, I've thought often about John, and reread him. The breadth of his reading and his memory made him the perfect anthologist, and he edited half a dozen Oxford Books of ..., from Aphorisms to Parodies. He also wrote three books of his own, and I wish he had written more. Shylock is a learned and highly original study of that singularly problematic character and his play, while A Double Thread is a beautiful short memoir of Gross's London childhood, 'double' because both English and Jewish. But I now see that the defining point came with his brilliant first book.
Although he and Kingsley Amis were disparate personalities, to say the least, Gross would have shared Amis's contempt for anything which 'makes a statement', and his disdain for the idea of 'importance'. But I believe that The Rise and Fall is a truly important book. It wasn't just an item on Gross's list of publications, it was part of his own story, and it made a statement of its own: a repudiation of the attempted monopoly of literary criticism by 'the university' and the larger academic appropriation of our common culture.

Producer: Tom Alban.


SAT 12:00 Counterpoint (b00775l1)
Series 21, 2007 - Heat 1

4 Extra Debut. Edward Seckerson asks music questions of Chris Gibson of Blackpool, Carolyn Pritchett of Nottingham and Sheffield's Chris Wade.


SAT 12:30 Bristow (b007tdnn)
Series 3, Of Moles and Men

The office rebel returns with some inside information which must surely lead to promotion.

Michael Williams stars as Bristow, the buying clerk from Frank Dickens' famous newspaper cartoon strip. Syndicated internationally, it ran for 41 years in London's Evening Standard.

With Rodney Bewes as Jones, Dora Bryan as Mrs Purdy, Owen Brenman as Hewitt, Liz Frazer as Gert, Joan Sims as Daisy, Katy Odey as Miss Sunman, Jon Glover as Fudge, David Battley as Fred Stokes, Carol Starks as Miss Glockling and Jane Booker as Teacher.

Music: John Whitehall

Producer: Neil Cargill

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.


SAT 13:00 Lucy Catherine - Gudrun: Omnibus (b097lr1s)

A young woman in 11th century Iceland wants to rebuild her family and win back the trust of her husband. Stars Kate Philips.


SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b097ltm2)
Don Letts

DJ and film-maker Don Letts chooses Augustus Pablo's 'King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown' and 'Do You Realise' by the Flaming Lips.


SAT 14:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kfr4)
Series 2, The Fire Service College

Pam visits the 'university for firefighters' in Moreton-in-Marsh, delivering fire and rescue training internationally.

Poet and raconteuse, Pam Ayres is back on the open road, visiting nine more places in Britain to hear tales from the people who live there.

Producer: Jill Marshall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2001.


SAT 14:45 Peter Tinniswood (b007jqvq)
Tales From the Brigadier, Carry On Goering

The Commodore's gardener is arousing suspicion. Can the Brigadier uncover his murky past?

All the way from Witney Scrotum, more reminiscences from the crusty old brigadier.

Starring Richard Wilson.

Written by Peter Tinniswood.

Producer: Pete Atkin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.


SAT 15:00 An Hour With... (b00ssn7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


SAT 16:00 Anthony Berkeley - The Poisoned Chocolate Case (b097lnkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 17:30 Britain in a Box (b01k9lc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SAT 18:00 The Twilight Zone (b00hl8lx)
Series 2, Free Dirt

Stingy Luther Aorta rubs his hands with glee when he acquires some free soil from a cemetery to grow his vegetables. But there's a price he has to pay...

Charles Beaumont's TV script adapted for radio by Dennis Etchison

Starring Eric Bogosian, Meg Thalken, Roderick Peeples, Linda Reiter, David Darlow, Elizabeth Ledo, Roger Mueller, Ambre Lake, Jeff Lupetin, Doug James, Karen Olsen, Carl Amari and Dana Boker.

Stacy Keach (best known here as US TV detective Mike Hammer) takes Serling's original TV role as narrator.

Created by Rod Serling, cult sci-fi and horror series 'The Twilight Zone' was first broadcast in the USA on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and electrified the new medium of television.

Armed with a licence from CBS and the Serling estate, Carl Amari's slick adaptions are based on the original TV scripts - adapted from 2002 as a 40-minute radio drama series, with a full cast, music and sound effects.

Produced and directed by Carl Amari for the Falcon Picture Group.


SAT 18:40 James Follett - The Silent Vulcan (b007jsq6)
Episode 4

David issues a warning to the women who are still hiding out, but does Vikki know more than she's letting on?

After a UFO crash landed, the Sussex town of Pentworth has been cut off by a mysterious invisible and impenetrable wall - and tensions are rising.

'The Silent Vulcan' is the final book in James Follett's sci-fi trilogy of the same name.

Read by Nigel Anthony.

Abridged by Miranda Davis.

Producer: Elizabeth Allard.

Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2004.


SAT 19:00 Last Post for Men of Letters (b097lpnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 22:00 The Mark Steel Lecture (b007jlwr)
Series 2, Aristotle

The radical comedian profiles the Greek philosopher, who he thinks was hard done by. From March 2001.


SAT 22:30 The Jason Byrne Show (b01ghlh2)
Series 2, Animals

The award-winning funny man muses on all beasts, including humans. With Laurence Howarth and Daisy Haggard. From August 2009.


SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b097ltzn)
Rodney Slater and Michael Livesley

The best in comtemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Rodney Slater and Michael Livesley about Bonzos and Parrots.


SAT 23:00 Sabotage (b007jwv4)
Series 1, Episode 1

Mark Talbot hosts Sabotage's exciting comedy night with top performers: Aisling Bea, Mike Wozniak, Ben Mellor, James Acaster and Liam Williams at London's historic Hoxton Hall in Hackney.

Producer: Anna Silver.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Hat Trick Productions.

First broadcast in November 2013.



SUNDAY 08 OCTOBER 2017

SUN 00:00 The Twilight Zone (b00hl8lx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]


SUN 00:40 James Follett - The Silent Vulcan (b007jsq6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:40 on Saturday]


SUN 01:00 Lucy Catherine - Gudrun: Omnibus (b097lr1s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]


SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b097ltm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]


SUN 02:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kfr4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]


SUN 02:45 Peter Tinniswood (b007jqvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]


SUN 03:00 An Hour With... (b00ssn7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]


SUN 04:00 Anthony Berkeley - The Poisoned Chocolate Case (b097lnkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]


SUN 05:30 Britain in a Box (b01k9lc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 HE Bates - Love for Lydia Omnibus (b007jvl9)
Episode 1

Winter has come to Evensford. As the first snowflakes of 1931 settle, Lydia Aspen has come to live with her two aunts.

Richardson, a young reporter on the local paper, watches as the shy heiress passes by in a Daimler. His editor tells him "go and get the story"...

Stars Tim Pigott-Smith as Older Richardson, Jordan Frieda as Richardson, Juliet Aubrey as Lydia, Margaret Tyzack as Miss Bertie, Angela Thorne as Miss Juliana, Philip Fox as Bretherton and Jamie Bamber as Tom.

HE Bates's semi-autobiographical novel (published in 1952) dramatised by Vivienne Allen.

Director: Tracey Neale

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.


SUN 07:10 Inheritance Tracks (b097m0y3)
Miranda Richardson

Actress Miranda Richardson chooses 'The Ying Tong' song by the Goons and 'A Meeting by the River' by Ry Cooder and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.


SUN 07:15 Gillian Tindall - The 40th Step (b097lx33)

4 Extra Debut. A young man retraces Buchan's 'The Thirty Nine Steps' with his uncle but it doesn't turn out the way he expects. Ready by Tom Bevan.


SUN 07:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00hd80x)
Series 4, Documentary

To further his career as a top celebrity, Arthur manages to persuade Geoffrey away from his duties at the church hall, to help make a documentary about Arthur himself to sell to the BBC! A visit to an old haunt proves intriguing - could the management have changed hands?

Everyday life with Count Arthur Strong is, as always, an enlightening experience! We again follow the one time Variety Star as he uncompromisingly fulfils his daily list of engagements.

Stars Steve Delaney, Alastair Kerr, David Mounfield and Mel Giedroyc.

Produced by John Leonard and Mark Radcliffe.
A Komedia Entertainment & Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 08:00 Life With the Lyons (b014qxmm)
Dial Special Branch

Sinister foreign agents and a case of mistaken identity sparks more Lyon family discombobulation.

Starring real-life American family: Ben Lyon and his wife Bebe Daniels and their children, Barbara and Richard.

With Doris Rogers as Florrie, Molly Weir as Aggie, Hugh Morton, Wilfred Babbage and Charles Hawtrey.

Life With the Lyons was one the BBC's most popular radio sitcoms between1950 and 1961. It was also adapted for BBC TV.

Written by Bebe Daniels, Bob Block and Ronnie Hanbury.

BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.

Producer: Tom Ronald

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1958.


SUN 08:30 A Life of Bliss (b04dmnc5)
United They Stay

Shy bachelor David Bliss fears the worst when a replacement manager pressurises him to chase an invoice.

Stars George Cole as David Bliss, Diana Churchill as Anne Fellows, Colin Gordon as Tony Fellows and Percy Edwards as 'Psyche' the Dog.

Part of a run of 6 episodes from Godfrey Harrison's sitcom about shy, bumbling bachelor David Alexander Bliss. Beginning in 1953, it ran for six series of 118 episodes concluding in 1969 - but very few survive in the BBC archive. (A TV series was made in 1969). For the first 7 episodes, David Tomlinson played David, but the rest starred the future star of The St Trinian's films, destined to find great fame as the dodgy Arthur Daley in ITV's Minder - the late George Cole.

Producer: Leslie Bridgmont

First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in February 1959.


SUN 09:00 Martin Amis - The Rub of Time: Omnibus (b097lxrt)

A new collection rounds up Martin Amis's non-fiction pieces from 1986 to 2016. Themes include Kinglsey and smoking roll-ups.


SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b04vqxyx)
Eifion and Berwyn - Community Matters

Fi Glover introduces two men who both put a lot into the thriving community of Llansannan in North Wales. For them a town holds no attraction, but village life has everything.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Marya Burgess.


SUN 10:15 World Book Club (b097lz55)
Elizabeth Gilbert - Eat, Pray, Love

American writer Elizabeth Gilbert talks to Harriett Gilbert about her phenomenally successful novel 'Eat, Pray, Love'.

On a self-confessed 'search for everything', Eat, Pray, Love charts the year in which Elizabeth Gilbert, aged 34, left behind her unfulfilling marriage, a volatile fling and life as she knew it, to embark on a spiritual voyage of discovery.

The memoir brings together humour, eccentricity and honesty as the author documents the trials and triumphs of her travels through Italy, India and Indonesia in search of pleasure, peace and personal growth.

With meditations on the culinary delights of Rome, spiritual development in an Indian ashram and passionate lovers in Bali, the enduring appeal of this bestselling memoir has drawn readers from all around the world as the author struggles to break free from the pressures of modern life and to find a deeper meaning and happiness.

First broadcast on the BBC World Service in January 2016.


SUN 11:05 Radiolab (b097lzd4)
Series 2, To See or Not to See

Radiolab asks should the last moments of life be captured, seen, and shared? With Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich.

Radiolab is a Peabody-award winning show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and the human experience.

First broadcast on public radio in the USA.


SUN 12:00 Life With the Lyons (b014qxmm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


SUN 12:30 A Life of Bliss (b04dmnc5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


SUN 13:00 HE Bates - Love for Lydia Omnibus (b007jvl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SUN 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b097m0y3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:10 today]


SUN 14:15 Gillian Tindall - The 40th Step (b097lx33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]


SUN 14:30 Sue Townsend - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 (b097m45s)
Episode 2

Omnibus edition. Class 4D go on a school trip to the British Museum. Adrian has his tonsils out. Read by Harry McEntire.


SUN 15:45 What Is a Story? (b061017p)
It's All Absolutely True

Marina Warner - in the company of leading contemporary writers - looks at the world of contemporary fiction. In each programme, she considers a story and story writing from a different angle.

Marina is the Chair of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 and the series draws on the expertise of this year's International Booker judging panel, the views of the shortlisted writers, as well as other key literary talent.

Marina speaks with writers as diverse as Julian Barnes, Michelle Roberts, Fanny Howe, Marlene van Niekerk, Alain Mabanckou, Lydia Davis, Edwin Frank, Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang, Daniel Medin, Nadeem Aslam and Laszlo Krasznahorkai.

There are questions around the boundaries between fact and fiction which Marina believes are central to any consideration of storytelling, since readers' pleasure depends so much on trust built up between the storyteller or writer and the audience.

Over ten episodes, there are discussions on the reasons for writing, writers as witnesses and political interaction.

In episode three Marina considers whether, "It's all Absolutely True"

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


SUN 16:00 Saturday Drama (b00pn34n)
AL Kennedy - Confessions of a Medium

Starring Bill Nighy as Thomson and Robert Glenister as Mr. Parker. A gothic, shadowy, and darkly comic drama about illusion, delusion and desire. Based on a true story in 1870's London. Mr. Parker is a sincere and kind man in search of a higher meaning to life. He has moved from conventional religion to séances and spiritualism. He believes he's met his saviour in the guise of Mr. Thomson - a charming, erudite, and utterly mesmerising medium, but unbeknown to Parker, Thomson is a complete and utter fake.

DIRECTED BY PAULINE HARRIS
BBC DRAMA NORTH
BILLING ENDS.


SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b097m4k3)
The Lady of Shalott

Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive choosing Adventures in Poetry - The Lady of Shalott.

Peggy Reynolds explores the lasting impact of the poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson.

The time and land of Camelot, a cursed lady must weave in a tower, but never look from the window. But when Sir Lancelot passes by, singing "tirra lira" by the river, she can bear it no longer - the Lady of Shalott wants to see.

Why is this much loved, much recited, much sung poem still intriguing people: historians, painters, weavers and American indie pop singers?

Featuring songs by Rufus Wainwright and an archive reading of the poem by Dame Peggy Ashcroft from 1967.

Producer: Tim Dee

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.


SUN 17:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00hd80x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SUN 18:00 Susan Hill - The Woman in Black (b007jz83)
The Nursery and a Child

As thick fog descends, the ghostly encounters continue for solicitor Arthur Kipps when he returns to the eerie isolated house of the reclusive Mrs Drablow...

Susan Hill's chilling ghost story dramatised in four parts by Jon Strickland.

Stars Robert Glenister as Young Kipps, John Woodvine as Old Kipps, Paula Tilbrook as Esme, Stuart Richman as Bentley, Diane Whitley as Mrs Daily and Rod Arthur as Samuel Daily.

Music composed by Derek Pearce.

Directed at BBC Manchester by Chris Wallis

First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in 1993.


SUN 18:30 Alan Garner - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (b097m5fm)
Episode 4

Can Susan and Colin escape their pursuers and return the Weirdstone to the wizard Cadellin?

Alan Garner's fantasy novel dramatised in 4 parts by David Wade.

Stars Robin Bailey as Cadellin/Grinmer, Andrea Murphy as Susan, Mark Kingston as Colin, James Tomlinson as Gowther/Narrator, Patsy Byrne as Bess, George Parsons as Fenodyree and Rosalind Knight as Selina.

Directed at BBC Manchester by Caroline Smith

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.


SUN 19:00 Radiolab (b097lzd4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:05 today]


SUN 19:55 Martin Amis - The Rub of Time: Omnibus (b097lxrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b04vqxyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]


SUN 21:15 World Book Club (b097lz55)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]


SUN 22:00 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00hd80x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SUN 22:30 Think the Unthinkable (b007jm4p)
Series 1, London Transport

With London's transport system in a shambles, the consultants ride to the rescue. Stars Emma Kennedy. From November 2001.


SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b097m5yt)
Rodney Slater and Michael Livesley

The best in comtemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Rodney Slater and Michael Livesley about Bonzos and Parrots.


SUN 23:00 Newsjack (b096vkqj)
Series 17, Episode 4

BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical sketch show Newsjack returns with host Angela Barnes.

Irreverent and satirical, Newsjack is the scrapbook sketch show written entirely by the Great British public, and then bought to life by a revolving cast of sketch performers.

Cast: Luke Kempner, Celeste Dring and Kiell Smith Bynoe.

The programme continues to be a showcase for new comedy writing: anyone can submit material (sketches and one-line jokes) - these can be submitted every week of the six week run.

Details for submitting material can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kvs8r

Producers: Adnan Ahmed and Suzy Grant
Production Co-Ordinator: Nick Coupe
Script Editors: Liam Bierne and Max Davis

BBC Studios Production.


SUN 23:30 Pick Ups (b00n911g)
Series 2, The Angel of Death

Sitcom by Ian Kershaw, set around a Manchester taxi company.

Mike ...... Paul Loughran
Lind ...... Lesley Sharp
Dave ...... Phil Rowson
Rebel ..... Parvez Qadir
Carol-Ann ...... Anne Hornby.



MONDAY 09 OCTOBER 2017

MON 00:00 Susan Hill - The Woman in Black (b007jz83)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]


MON 00:30 Alan Garner - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen (b097m5fm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]


MON 01:00 HE Bates - Love for Lydia Omnibus (b007jvl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]


MON 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b097m0y3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:10 on Sunday]


MON 02:15 Gillian Tindall - The 40th Step (b097lx33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]


MON 02:30 Sue Townsend - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 (b097m45s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]


MON 03:45 What Is a Story? (b061017p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]


MON 04:00 Saturday Drama (b00pn34n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]


MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b097m4k3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]


MON 05:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00hd80x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]


MON 06:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s647t)
Series 3, Rough Justice

A harrowing attack on a child means uncomfortable questions about justice. Meanwhile, who robs the robbers?

Starring Ray Brooks as Detective Sergeant Brook, Stephen Garlick as Detective Constable Tully and Stephen Yardley as Chief Inspector Roach.

More tough stories of crime and detection in London written by Robert Barr.

Robert Barr also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly. He was also a prize-winning TV producer.

Producer: Martin Fisher

First broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 2 in August 1984.


MON 06:30 Bach's Choir (b01cvpz7)

Stephen Evans traces the 800 year history of the the boys choir of St Thomas' Church Leipzig, from the days of J S Bach through Mendelssohn, the war years and communism.

St Thomas' is a remarkable choir. One of the oldest in Europe it was traditionally formed from the less privileged children of the area and developed a unique sound and technical excellence that J S Bach exploited to the full in his 20 years as its music master. Since then the choir has treasured the musical traditions of its early years and defended the elite musical education of the boys and the performance of Bach's works as he would have heard them, surviving the Nazi years and atheist communism too.


MON 07:00 Says on the Tin (b00h62pp)
Face Cream

Comedy by Christopher William Hill.

Eliott and Esther are on the brink of admitting their attraction when a young actress with a father fixation fixes on Eliott.

Eliott Thurber ...... Michael Brandon
Esther Finn ...... Samantha Bond
Hannah Walker ...... Pippa Haywood
Pippa Walker ...... Manjeet Mann
Zadie ...... Joannah Tincey
Baz ...... Inam Mirza
Max ...... Robert Lonsdale
Rutter ...... Stephen Critchlow
Angelique ...... Donnla Hughes

Other parts played by Janice Acquah, Jill Cardo, Jonathan Tafler and Gunnar Cauthery.


MON 07:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b096h777)
Series 19, Episode 1

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.

Richard Osman, Arthur Smith, Lou Sanders and Phil Wang are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as dolphins, cows, Arnold Schwarzenegger and students.

Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 08:00 Hello Cheeky (b007jnx4)
From 14/04/1973

What do you get when you fall in love? And bizarre events at Crewe Junction.

Pun-tastic fast-moving comedy sketch series written by and starring John Junkin, Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor.

With musical accompaniment from the Denis King Trio.

Producer: David Hatch

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1973.


MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007jq0r)
Series 3, Round and Round Went the Big Wheel

The Walmington-on-Sea platoon take action when a new High Explosive Attack Device goes haywire.

Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, John Laurie as Private Frazer, Ian Lavender as Private Pike, Arnold Ridley as Godfrey, Larry Martyn as Private Walker, John Barron as Colonel Pearce and Michael Knowles as Captain Stewart.

Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's TV scripts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.

Producer: John Dyas

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1976.


MON 09:00 Just a Minute (b00rb1xp)
Series 56, Episode 11

Nicholas Parsons chairs the devious word game. With Paul Merton, Jenny Eclair, Pam Ayres and Gyles Brandreth. From March 2010.


MON 09:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b016r51y)
Series 2, Dr Chaotica and the Rise of the Atomic Man-Bees

Comedy series by Christopher William Hill, set in 1962.

A BBC producer struggles to make a radio soap set in the unimaginably futuristic world of 2008.

Suspicious deaths provoke mixed reactions.

Nigel Lavery ...... Peter Bowles
Sylvia Hann ...... Cheryl Campbell
Godfrey Winnard ..... John Fortune
Sir Angus McNairn ...... Gary Waldhorn
Hugo Kellerman ...... Joseph Kloska
Douglas Bennings ...... Jon Glover
Keith Wood ...... Sam Pamphilon
Mrs Tinkler ...... Rachel Atkins
Graham Tinkler ...... Lloyd Thomas
Delivery Boy ...... Alex Lamipekun.


MON 10:00 Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles (b007rsyv)
Episode 4

Rejected Tess hopes that husband Angel will forgive her, but then she meets the father of her child. Stars Claire Rushbrook.


MON 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b0081ck7)
Alan Howard Reads, On Dover Beach

The popular veteran actor reads specially commissioned short stories.

Matthew Arnold engages in animated internal debate with himself about his poem On Dover Beach and its place in history.

By Tom Stoppard.


MON 11:15 Peter Gibbs - Making Way (b097xt18)

After 38 years of loyal service to the firm, Albert Buxton's redundancy feels all the more painful when one of his own family is involved in the decision that's sparked his obsolescence...

Peter Gibbs' family drama stars Brian Blessed as Albert, Doris Buxton as Ysanne Churchman, Paul Copley as Derek, Colin Skipp as Terry, Diana Davies as Mag, Robert Brown as Bob Birley, Allan Cuthbertson as JW, Stephen Hancock as Ted, Nick Dunning as Alistair and Roger Hume as Wally Henshaw.

Producer: Vanessa Whitburn

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978.


MON 12:00 Hello Cheeky (b007jnx4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jq0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


MON 13:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s647t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


MON 13:30 Bach's Choir (b01cvpz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


MON 14:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yb61g)
Episode 6

In order to be published, Anna's father transfers to Paris. Read by Rosemary Leach.

First published in 1971, Judith's semi-autobiographical story tells the story of nine year-old Jewish girl Anna and her family's attempt to escape from the Nazis - passing through Switzerland and France - before arriving in England in 1936.

Judith wrote it for her son to explain her own story of her family fleeing Nazi Germany. Her father was a drama critic and a distinguished writer whose books were burned by the Nazis.

Kerr found herself a fairly willing refugee, seeing her long travels as a great adventure. A view her parents went to great pains to confirm, often hiding their own personal and professional privations and struggles from their young children.

Abridged by Elizabeth Bradbury and produced by Peter Hutchings.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in 1991.


MON 14:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b008vl2x)
The Legless Women of Creswell Craggs

Archaeologist Dr George Nash explores five of Western Europe's most remarkable rock art sites.

His journey begins with extinct animals and strange female forms in Church Hole Cave in Derbyshire. Who created this prehistoric graffiti, and why?

Producer: Chris Eldon Lee
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 14:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007jvlf)
Episode 6

After the death of his friend, Richardson cuts himself off from the group and their familiar surroundings. But while out walking one day he comes across a figure he recognises.

Stars Tim Pigott-Smith as Older Richardson, Jordan Frieda as Richardson, Juliet Aubrey as Lydia, Jamie Bamber as Tom. Clare Corbett as Nancy and Tom Mannion as McKechnie.

HE Bates's semi-autobiographical novel (published in 1952) dramatised by Vivienne Allen.

Director: Tracey Neale

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.


MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b01nkwxf)
Tombstone, Episode 1

"I call this book Tombstone. It is a tombstone for my father who died of hunger in 1959, for the 36 million Chinese who also died of hunger, for the system that caused their death and perhaps for myself for writing this book."

Yang Jishen's book is banned in China. It is a passionate and angry account of one of the 20th century's most shocking man-made disasters. Based on an array of new sources and personal testimonies and written by someone who was a Communist Party insider with remarkable access to official archives, Tombstone is as significant and powerful a work as Solzhenitsyn's The Gulag Archipelago.

Read by David Yip.

Produced and abridged by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 15:00 Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles (b007rsyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


MON 16:00 Just a Minute (b00rb1xp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


MON 16:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b016r51y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


MON 17:00 Says on the Tin (b00h62pp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


MON 17:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b096h777)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


MON 18:00 John Wyndham - Trouble with Lichen (b007k3xm)
Episode 5

The secret of long life is out, but with a reticent boss, Diana must face intense media pressure alone. Read by Joanna Tope.


MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0076pdl)
Mike Harding & Professor Susan Greenfield

Sue MacGregor and her guests - musician, writer and comic, Mike Harding and scientist, Professor Susan Greenfield - discuss favourite paperbacks by Winifred Watson, Sebastian Haffner and Eric Newby. From 2004.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day by Winifred Watson
Publisher: Persephone Books

Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner
Publisher: Phoenix

A Short Walk in The Hindu Kush by Eric Newby
Publisher: Picador.


MON 19:00 Hello Cheeky (b007jnx4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007jq0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


MON 20:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s647t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


MON 20:30 Bach's Choir (b01cvpz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


MON 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b0081ck7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]


MON 21:15 Peter Gibbs - Making Way (b097xt18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]


MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b096h777)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


MON 22:30 Steven Appleby's Normal Life (b00slvww)
Series 2, Normal Time

The cartoonist claims dinosaurs mastered the 3Rs - reading, writing and riding bicycles. Stars Paul McCrink. From February 2003.


MON 22:45 Earls of the Court (b00r0yt2)
The Eklov Experience

Comedy drama series by Will Adamsdale and Stewart Wright about two Australians down on their luck in London.

Now living with his girlfriend, Johnno is steadying himself for a couples' day out. But his sofa-crashing best mate Lloydie has other plans

Lloydie ...... Stewart Wright
Johnno ...... Will Adamsdale
Nadine ...... Keely Beresford
Security ...... Rufus Wright

Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.


MON 23:00 News Quiz Extra (b097xwmn)
Series 21, Episode 5

Made for 4 Extra. Miles Jupp chairs a satirical review of the week's news in an extended version of Friday's programme.


MON 23:45 Ivor Cutler - Cutler the Lax (b040hrx4)
Episode 3

The Scottish humorist samples the archives and also enjoys some Marabut music and a jolly Japanese ditty. From August 1991.



TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER 2017

TUE 00:00 John Wyndham - Trouble with Lichen (b007k3xm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]


TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0076pdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]


TUE 01:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s647t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]


TUE 01:30 Bach's Choir (b01cvpz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]


TUE 02:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yb61g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]


TUE 02:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b008vl2x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]


TUE 02:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007jvlf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]


TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b01nkwxf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]


TUE 03:00 Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles (b007rsyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]


TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00rb1xp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]


TUE 04:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b016r51y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]


TUE 05:00 Says on the Tin (b00h62pp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]


TUE 05:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b096h777)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]


TUE 06:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s697j)
Series 3, A Well Planned Job

Tully is rather taken with a new informant who might help them catch Steve Mason. Can she be trusted though?

Starring Ray Brooks as Detective Sergeant Brook, Stephen Garlick as Detective Constable Tully and Stephen Yardley as Chief Inspector Roach.

More tough stories of crime and detection in London written by Robert Barr.

Robert Barr also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly. He was also a prize-winning TV producer.

Producer: Martin Fisher

First broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 2 in August 1984.


TUE 06:30 Sitting for Fay (b00lb6q7)

Christine Finn discovers a rich seam of literary life in photographer Fay Godwin's work.

Best known for her later landscape work, Godwin spent the 1970s and 80s taking portraits of some of the leading figures of the literary scene. Many iconic book-jacket images were taken by her, including a sultry Ted Hughes with that lock of hair falling over his face, Philip Larkin and the rubber plant, Seamus Heaney and the tree, Desmond Morris in a safari suit, a pensive Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Keith Waterhouse slumped in a basket chair and Salman Rushdie with a hookah.

Christine gained access to Godwin's home and studio as it was being prepared for sale, and with Godwin's friend, photographic historian Roger Taylor, examined the archive. It shows that many of Godwin's later collaborations on books of landscapes - most notably with Ted Hughes, but also with Richard Ingrams and Philip Larkin - were born in the portrait sittings and the relationships that grew out of them.

The programme also hears from poet Alan Brownjohn about the experience of sitting for Fay, and examines an archive of prints, contact sheets and letters from her sitters, held in the British Library since her death in 2005, with photo critic and editor Sue Steward.


TUE 07:00 One Foot in the Grave (b007jmxg)
Alive and Buried

Grumpy Victor Meldrew arrives at work to learn that he's no longer employed and is set to be replaced by a box. With time passing very slowly in his enforced retirement, Victor gripes about newsreaders and worries about becoming a lavatory junkie.

Starring Richard Wilson as Victor, Annette Crosbie as Margaret, Doreen Mantle as Mrs Warboys. With Owen Brenman and Jeffrey Holland.

Adapted for radio by David Renwick from this TV script.

Producer: Diane Messias

First broadcast in January 1995 on BBC Radio 2.


TUE 07:30 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b096hcz6)
Series 2, Abergavenny

Tim Vine has been travelling the length and breadth of this fair land to not only uncover the best stories of the Great British public but also to take every possible opportunity to tell a ridiculous joke and sing a preposterous song along the way.

In episode 4 Tim is in Wales at the Borough Theatre in Abergavenny. Dramatic events come in the form of an anecdote about a haunted hotel and a warship trying to do a three-point turn.

Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.


TUE 08:00 Listen to Les (b007wlfp)
From 14/03/1982

Les Dawson with Noah's story, and Cosmo's guide to the study of moths and butterflies - plus another piano sing-along.

With Daphne Oxenford and Colin Edwynn.

Music by Brian Fitzgerald.

Scripted and produced by James Casey.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1982.


TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b011vmdc)
Just the Ticket

The Ministry for General Assistance organises a national lottery - no thanks to the bumbling bureaucrats.

A weekly tribute to all those who work in government departments.

Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler. With Norma Ronald, Ronald Baddiley and John Graham.

Written by Edward Taylor and John Graham.

'The Men from the Ministry' ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977. Deryck Guyler replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966. Sadly many episodes didn't survive in the archive, however the BBC's Transcription Service re-recorded 14 shows in 1980 - never broadcast in the UK, until the arrival of BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Producer: Edward Taylor

First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in September 1971.


TUE 09:00 News Quiz Extra (b097xwmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]


TUE 09:45 Ivor Cutler - Cutler the Lax (b040hrx4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]


TUE 10:00 Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing (b014tvng)
Episode 1

Mary Turner is found murdered on the veranda of her farmstead, her houseboy having confessed to the crime. But he seems to have no motive...

A powerful exploration of racial politics in 1940s Rhodesia.

Nobel Prize winning author, Doris Lessing's first novel dramatised in two-parts by Tina Pepler.

Stars Alison Pettit as Mary Turner 1, Tracy-Ann Oberman as Mary Turner 2, Miles Anderson as Charlie Slatter, Estelle Kohler as Pheobe Slatter, Andrew Wincott as Dick Turner, Tom George as Tony Marston, Don McCorkindale as Denham, Nicholas Beveney as Moses, Kennedy Makambira as Joseph, Jess Philogene as Samson, Janine Esser as Susan and Suzanna Hamilton as Monica.

Director: Marion Nancarrow

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.


TUE 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b00826cs)
Alan Howard Reads, Marriage Lines

The popular veteran actor reads specially commissioned short stories.

A return visit to the island of Barra brings back memories of decades past, holidays and young love.

By Julian Barnes.


TUE 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01phj10)
John Dryden - The Reluctant Spy, Episode 1

As the world waits to see what democracy will bring to Egypt, Nigel Lindsay plays hard-up Coptic art expert who becomes embroiled in (what appears to be) corporate espionage when approached by seductive Canadian student Tara to deliver a letter - for money - to a prominent Egyptian politician. But nothing in this tense three-parter from writer/director John Dryden is quite what it appears to be.

Casting - Toby Whale
Production Manager - Russell Owen
Script Editor - Mike Walker
Sound design - Steve Bond
Music - Sacha Puttnam

Written and directed by: John Dryden
A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4
www.goldhawk.eu

Writer/Director - John Dryden
This is John's forth trilogy for Radio 4, after SEVERED THREADS, PANDEMIC (winner of this year's Writers' Guild award for Best Radio Drama) and A TOKYO MURDER. He recently directed and co-wrote with journalist Owen Bennett-Jones the documentary/drama BLASPHEMY AND THE GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB.


TUE 12:00 Listen to Les (b007wlfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b011vmdc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


TUE 13:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s697j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


TUE 13:30 Sitting for Fay (b00lb6q7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


TUE 14:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yc1rb)
Episode 7

Having fled Germany, Anna and her family settle in Paris. Judith Kerr's semi-autobiographical story. Read by Rosemary Leach.


TUE 14:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b008wv2c)
Graffiti Gorge

Archaeologist George Nash explores five of Western Europe's most remarkable rock art sites.

Today he risks his neck in Northern Portugal's Coa Valley to see Iron Age carvings of beasts and warriors. But why are they engraved directly on top of earlier art in such dangerous places? And what drives modern day graffiti artists to risk their lives to the same end?

Producer: Chris Eldon Lee
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 14:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007jvlh)
Episode 7

Richardson decides he has to move on. Tom is happy, but storm clouds are gathering. Stars Tim Pigott-Smith and Juliet Aubrey.


TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b01nnf6t)
Tombstone, Episode 2

When Yang Jishen's father died of starvation he thought it was just a personal tragedy but then he discovered his experience had been repeated in families throughout China. His research reveals what he calls "a tragedy unprecedented in world history, when tens of millions of people starved to death during a period of normal climate patterns and with no wars or epidemics."

Read by David Yip

Produced and abridged by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 15:00 Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing (b014tvng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


TUE 16:00 It's Not What You Know (b036v9hd)
Series 2, Episode 2

Frank Skinner, Grace Dent and Jonathan Agnew each nominate someone they know well to answer a series of questions and they than have to second guess how they answered.

Host Miles Jupp tests Frank on how well he knows his friend and radio co-host Emily Dean, Grace her best friend, the Times columnist Caitlin Moran, and Jonathan his wife's best friend Anne Davies.

What is Frank's favourite drink? Who is Grace's favourite writer? And what would Jonathan do if he wasn't a cricket commentator?

All answers and more will be revealed.

Producer - Sam Michell.


TUE 16:30 Ballylenon (b00fz0g7)
Series 2, Episode 1

Already divided over the proposed demolition of an 18th-century court house to make way for the Swilly Arms' car park, the town's Development Association seems set for open confrontation.

Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal, in 1954, before the days of mass tourism and proper plumbing in every home.

Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.

Starring TP McKenna as Phonsie Doherty, Margaret D'Arcy as Muriel McConkey, Stella McCusker as Vera McConkey, Aine McCartney as Vivienne Boal, John Hewitt as Guard Gallagher and Gerard McSorley as Stumpy Bonnar, Charlie Bonnar as Packy McGoldrick and Ciara McKeown as Josie Doherty.

Music arranged and performed by Stephanie Hughes.

Director: Eoin O'Callaghan

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.


TUE 17:00 One Foot in the Grave (b007jmxg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


TUE 17:30 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b096hcz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


TUE 18:00 The Darker Side of the Border (b00cb1ts)
The Captain of the Polestar

As a Dundee whaling ship becomes trapped in the Artic, strange cries sound across the ice at night and a figure is glimpsed on the floes.

Is it the Captain's lost love come to reclaim him?

Series of 3 Scottish 19th century tales of terror and mystery.

Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and dramatised by Marty Ross.

Stars Alec Heggie as Craigie, James Bryce as Milne, Nick Underwood as Doctor, John Buick as Williamson and Brian Pettifer as McLeod.

Producer: Bruce Young

First broadcast on BBC Radio in 2003.


TUE 18:30 That Reminds Me (b007jnps)
Series 2, Dora Bryan

From ENSA to Hello Dolly, the veteran actress reminisces about her stage, film and television career. From October 2000.


TUE 19:00 Listen to Les (b007wlfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b011vmdc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


TUE 20:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s697j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


TUE 20:30 Sitting for Fay (b00lb6q7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


TUE 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b00826cs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]


TUE 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01phj10)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]


TUE 22:00 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b096hcz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


TUE 22:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05qgm0y)
Series 2, Episode 3

Adventuring comedian Tim FitzHigham recreates another bizarre bet from history. Can he cook a pudding underneath ten feet of water?


TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09915xx)
Kiri Pritchard-McLean 1/2

The best in contemporary comedy. Jessica Fostekew chats to Kiri Pritchard-McLean.


TUE 23:00 Alun Cochrane's Fun House (b01rvpvf)
The Bathroom

Comedian Alun Cochrane has a 25 year mortgage which he can only pay off by being funny. In this series he takes us on a room by room, stand up tour of his house.

He has a fridge that beeps at him when he doesn't move quickly enough and a fire alarm he can't reach. His relationship with his house is a complicated one.

A hoarder of funny and original observations on everyday life, Alun invites us to help him de-clutter his mind and tidy his ideas into one of those bags that you hoover all the air out of and keep under your bed. This show will help Alun and his house work through their relationship issues and prevent a separation that Alun can ill afford; at least not until the market picks up anyway.

Starring ... Alun Cochrane and Gavin Osborn

Written by ... Alun Cochrane and Andy Wolton

Produced by ... Carl Cooper.


TUE 23:30 The Shuttleworths (b007jmn5)
Series 1, One Foot in the Gravy

Sheffield singer John Shuttleworth must cope while wife Mary is visiting Auntie Janet. Stars Graham Fellows. From March 1994.


TUE 23:45 Hamish and Dougal: You'll Have Had Your Tea (b007706g)
Series 3, Look Who's Stalking

Mrs Naughtie is being pursued. Could the Laird possibly be to blame? Stars Barry Cryer, with Jeremy Hardy. From September 2006.



WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2017

WED 00:00 The Darker Side of the Border (b00cb1ts)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]


WED 00:30 That Reminds Me (b007jnps)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]


WED 01:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s697j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]


WED 01:30 Sitting for Fay (b00lb6q7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]


WED 02:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yc1rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]


WED 02:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b008wv2c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]


WED 02:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007jvlh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]


WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b01nnf6t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]


WED 03:00 Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing (b014tvng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]


WED 04:00 It's Not What You Know (b036v9hd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]


WED 04:30 Ballylenon (b00fz0g7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]


WED 05:00 One Foot in the Grave (b007jmxg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]


WED 05:30 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b096hcz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]


WED 06:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s8pyv)
Series 3, Death at the Weekend

The sad death of three teenagers is soon overshadowed when an escaped prisoner strikes closer to home.

Starring Ray Brooks as Detective Sergeant Brook, Stephen Garlick as Detective Constable Tully and Stephen Yardley as Chief Inspector Roach.

More tough stories of crime and detection in London written by Robert Barr.

Robert Barr also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly. He was also a prize-winning TV producer.

Producer: Martin Fisher

First broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 2 in August 1984.


WED 06:30 Salt City (b00f7z1s)

Allan Beswick visits the last working inland salt mine left in Britain, 500 feet below the plains of Cheshire. He goes underground to investigate the unexpected things that reside down there, in huge empty caverns that are now being used to store archive materials.


WED 07:00 Electric Ink (b01jyq9c)
Series 2, Episode 3

by Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson.

A comic satire set in the struggling world of newspapers. Maddox takes a moral stance with disastrous results.

Maddox ..... John Sessions
Oliver ..... Alex Jennings
Freddy ..... Stephen Wight
Carol ..... Polly Frame
Masha ..... Debbie Chazen
With Joanna Monro, Sean Baker
Adeel Akhtar,Henry Devas
and Sam Dale
Producer ..... Sally Avens

Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson's satire is set in the world of modern newspapers.

A group of dysfunctional journalists attempt to cover major news stories at the same time as grappling with the demands of working in a multi-platform environment, watching circulation figures plummet and the recession causing half the workforce to be laid off.

At the heart of the comedy is the relationship between Maddox Bradley, a journalist who mourns the day of proper investigative journalism, and Freddy, the online editor who will regurgitate a press release quite happily and call it a story. But they have a grudging respect for the each other as Freddy helps Maddox stay afloat in the world of Twitter, Facebook and podcasting and Maddox shows Freddy how to sniff out the real story. Both are at the mercy of Oliver, the pragmatic Editor more concerned with keeping his job, and Carol, the news editor who believes that circulation will increase if they run pieces on Big Mac eating orang-utans and 'intelligent' skunks rather than Maddox's moral crusading diatribes. And only Masha, the Russian head of online communities, who wants to give away all their content because that is true democracy, knows Freddy's secret; that he's a posh boy from Eton rather than a hypercool kid from the street; well that's what Freddy thinks anyway.


WED 07:30 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b0848sqq)
Series 2, Episode 3

John Shuttleworth invites celebrated pop stars to his Sheffield home to perform one of their own songs and also, more importantly, one of his.

This week it's Nick Heyward from Haircut 100.

Ken is very excited as he's heard that Nick has had a spiritual awakening and he's keen to learn how he can have one of his own. John feels that Ken is being silly wearing a kaftan and beads, but Ken is convinced that Nick can help him and ignores John.

Also, Mary is not happy with the smell of the josticks that Ken has lit so he's ejected by John while Nick wins Mary over with his rendition of Can't Go Back To Savoury Now.

In Top Tips on the Telephone, John learns from Tony Christie about coping with Eurovision failure!

Written and Performed by Graham Fellows with special guests Nick Heyward and Tony Christie.
Produced by Dawn Ellis
A Chic Ken production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b007k1gj)
Series 1, The Whittlesea Carnival

While the crew are running tours of HMS Troutbridge for the public, scheming Pertwee tries to recover some dumped rum!

Starring Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Dennis Price as Number One, Richard Caldicot as Commander Povey, Ronnie Barker as AS Johnson, Heather Chasen as Heather, Michael Bates as the Mayor and Tenniel Evans as the Admiral.

The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series on BBC Radio between 1959 and 1976.

Scripted by Lawrie Wyman.

Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1959.


WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b009l7jt)
Series 6, The Waxwork

The lad is set to be immortalised in wax, but it's not quite how he'd envisaged.

Starring Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr and Warren Mitchell.

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.

Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.

Producer: Tom Ronald

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1959.


WED 09:00 Say the Word (b00764j5)
Episode 1

4 Extra Debut. Frank Delaney's language panel game for Sandi Toksvig, Tommy Pearson, Laura Wright and Christopher Matthew. From Devon in 2001.


WED 09:30 Winston (b007m660)
Series 1, Whacko Jolly Dee

The wily village poacher and handyman's plans for a life of bliss with Nancy hit a snag.

Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy serial stars Bill Wallis as Winston, Maurice Denham as Father, Shirley Dixon as Nancy, Liz Goulding as Rosie and Christian Rodska as William.

Directed at BBC Bristol by Shaun MacLoughlin.

First broadcast on BBC Radio in May 1989.


WED 10:00 Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing (b014ts01)
Episode 2

Mary's troubled relationship with houseboy Moses comes to a violent end. Stars Alison Petit and Tracy-Ann Oberman.


WED 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b00826ct)
Alan Howard Reads, The Tipping Point

The popular veteran actor reads specially commissioned short stories.

A car journey and a CD of Schubert Lieder offer an English academic the opportunity to reflect on the painful conclusion to a love affair with a German environmentalist.

By Helen Simpson.


WED 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01phktq)
John Dryden - The Reluctant Spy, Episode 2

Part 2 of John Dryden's original thriller set in present-day Egypt.

Nigel Lindsay plays hard-up Coptic art expert Duncan Kavanagh who, through greed and lust has been drawn into a world of espionage and unwittingly brought about the death of his good friend, the Palestinian Dr Zacoutte.

The enigmatic Tara, who claims to be a student from Canada, appears to be using Duncan. But Duncan is not as innocent as he seems to be - his past is about to catch up with him.

Casting: Toby Whale
Production Manager: Russell Owen
Script Editor: Mike Walker
Sound design: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Puttnam.

Written, produced and directed by: John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4

John Dryden
This is John's forth trilogy for Radio 4, after SEVERED THREADS, PANDEMIC (winner of this year's Writers' Guild award for Best Radio Drama) and A TOKYO MURDER. He recently directed and co-wrote with journalist Owen Bennett-Jones the documentary/drama BLASPHEMY AND THE GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB.


WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b007k1gj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b009l7jt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


WED 13:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s8pyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


WED 13:30 Salt City (b00f7z1s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


WED 14:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yc1rf)
Episode 8

The children settle in Paris, but begin to miss Berlin. Judith Kerr's semi-autobiographical story. Read by Rosemary Leach.


WED 14:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b008yn1c)
Irish Illusions

Archaeologist George Nash explores five of Western Europe's most remarkable rock art sites.

George visits County Meath in Ireland where strange patterns adorn the walls of the Fourknocks Passage Grave. What do the patterns mean?

George finds himself being stared at by a very odd cartoon-like face inside a 5000-year-old Irish tomb. It's a very early example of what we now call "graffiti" - and around it are hypnotic patterns of concentric circles, horizontal zigzags and strings of diamond shapes. Strangely similar carvings occur in Wales, Brittany and the Iberian peninsular. So who created them? What do they all mean? And who was copying who in Neolithic times?

George teams up with the modern-day Muslim graffiti artist Mohammed Ali to study these patterns for their spiritual significance, which may just lie in the fact that they are not as perfect as they seem. And he considers the possibility that Stone Age Man may well have been 'stoned' when he created them.

Producer: Chris Eldon Lee
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 14:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007jvln)
Episode 8

When Richardson finally returns home, a startling discovery awaits him. Stars Tim Pigott-Smith and Juliet Aubrey.


WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b01nnf8t)
Tombstone, Episode 3

Henan is a rural province north of Shanghai. Xinyang prefecture was the region's main producer of grain and yet the Chinese famine hit hardest in that lush region and one out of every eight residents starved to death. Yang Jishen has spoken to some of the survivors.

Read by David Yip

Produced and abridged by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 15:00 Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing (b014ts01)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


WED 16:00 Say the Word (b00764j5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 16:30 Winston (b007m660)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


WED 17:00 Electric Ink (b01jyq9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


WED 17:30 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b0848sqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


WED 18:00 The Darker Side of the Border (b00cft28)
Olalla

During the Peninsular War in Spain a wounded Scottish soldier is sent to stay in a remote house in the hills. The soldier falls in love with the daughter of the house, but the family harbour a terrible secret...

Series of 3 Scottish 19th century tales of terror and mystery.

Written by Robert Louis Stevenson and dramatised by Marty Ross.

Stars Paul Blair as Alec, Roxanna Pope as Olalla, Richard Conlon as Felipe, Carol Ann Crawford as Senora, Richard Greenwood as Carrido and Simon Tait as the Padre.

Producer: Bruce Young

First broadcast on BBC Radio in 2003.


WED 18:30 Musical Genes (b00dyknm)
Series 1, Phil Cunningham

Phil Cunningham: In search of the true story, Tom Morton meets the brother of the late Scottish folk music legend John Cunningham. From October 2008.


WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b007k1gj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b009l7jt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


WED 20:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s8pyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


WED 20:30 Salt City (b00f7z1s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


WED 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b00826ct)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]


WED 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01phktq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]


WED 22:00 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b0848sqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


WED 22:30 The Harpoon (b00cgsrm)
Series 3, Episode 1

A special wartime edition of the nostalgic spoof of boys' adventure story papers. With Alistair McGowan. From February 1994.


WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b099179s)
Kiri Pritchard-McLean 2/2

The best in contemporary comedy. Jessica Fostekew chats to Kiri Pritchard-McLean.


WED 23:00 Spotlight Tonight with Nish Kumar (b09794sl)
Series 2, Episode 4

We all like to think we know about the news and yet, whilst jokes about Donald Trump's tiny hands are all well and good, do you still have that nagging suspicion there's important things going on beneath the headlines you'd like to know about? Well, help is at hand! Nish Kumar is here to cast his spotlight on the week's most talked about news items, taking an in-depth look at the biggest stories from the past seven days as well as scrutinising the bigger issues of the moment.

Starring Nish Kumar with Sarah Campbell.

Written by Sarah Campbell, Max Davis, Gabby Hutchinson-Crouch, Nish Kumar, and Tom Neenan.

It was produced by Matt Stronge and was a BBC Studios Production.


WED 23:30 At Home With The Snails (b007k3hb)
Series 2, Episode 2

George and Beverly feign death so he can write a book about their children's reactions. Stars Geoffrey Palmer. From July 2002.



THURSDAY 12 OCTOBER 2017

THU 00:00 The Darker Side of the Border (b00cft28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]


THU 00:30 Musical Genes (b00dyknm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]


THU 01:00 Robert Barr - Detective (b01s8pyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]


THU 01:30 Salt City (b00f7z1s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]


THU 02:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yc1rf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]


THU 02:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b008yn1c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]


THU 02:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007jvln)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]


THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b01nnf8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]


THU 03:00 Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing (b014ts01)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]


THU 04:00 Say the Word (b00764j5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]


THU 04:30 Winston (b007m660)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]


THU 05:00 Electric Ink (b01jyq9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]


THU 05:30 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b0848sqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]


THU 06:00 Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn (b007jzsh)
Episode 1

When a lorry crashes into a stationary car, it seems like a straightforward accident.

But suspicions are soon aroused, as Inspector Maigret is unwittingly drawn into an investigation for murder...

Read by Nicholas Le Prevost.

Inspector Jules Maigret is one of the world's best known fictional detective. Created by Georges Simenon, the pipe-smoking, gruff French Detective has inspired countless TV series and feature films. Although most of Simenon's work is available in English, it was originally written in French.

Directed at BBC Manchester by Carrie Rooney.

Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2005.


THU 06:30 HV Morton: Travelling into the Light (b01mqr4t)

As John McCarthy retraces one of the journeys of H.V. Morton he presents a revealing portrait of this influential travel writer.

Witty, erudite and engaging, H.V. Morton was Britain's first truly popular travel writer.

His success was assured when he covered the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1923. His book In Search of England, published four years later, launched a bestselling series and set a benchmark for all travel writers.

Using In Search of England as a reference, McCarthy recreates Morton's journey around Devon and explores the changes to the landscape over the past eighty years.

On his travels he uncovers two Mortons. The book's narrator is a welcoming, cheerful man who rolls along the roads of England in a two-seater car to compose his skilfully-crafted considerations; and then there's the writer Harry Morton, a more complex individual whose literary achievements mask a complicated private life.

McCarthy's journey, echoing the pages of chapter six of In Search of England, takes him around Dartmoor, Widecombe and finally Clovelly. As he absorbs the areas he visited himself as a child he reflects on the influence of Morton and brings into the light the darker corners of the life of this pioneering travel writer.


THU 07:00 A Certain Age (b007662k)
The Mother

Mrs Phipps is a vain woman sharing disapproval of her daughter Sasha and her new boyfriend.

Read by Siobhan Redmond.

A series of six monologues written by Lynne Truss. Six women have reached their 40-something years, and each has a very different, and sometimes surprising, story to tell.

Producer: Dawn Ellis

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.


THU 07:30 My Teenage Diary (b096jb23)
Ian Rankin Special

Ian Rankin reads from his teenage diaries, and talks to host Rufus Hound about life growing up as a wannabe writer and punk rocker in Fife in the 1970s.

A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 08:00 Stop Messing About! (b00s9f4p)
Series 2, Episode 12

Snow White gets saucy - and cinema as never seen before.

Starring Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Joan Sims and announcer, Douglas Smith.

After the unexpected death of Kenneth Horne in 1969, plans for the next series of Round The Horne were axed. Instead - using an old catchphrase of Kenneth Williams as a series title - Kenneth joined Hugh Paddick to continue the comedy tradition and was also reunited with his "Carry On" film co-star Joan Sims.

Written by Myles Rudge, David Cumming and Derek Collyer.

With the Max Harris Group.

Producer: John Simmonds

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in June 1970.


THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b012bz13)
The Booted Gorilla (Found?)

A trap must be laid on an African jungle safari, and Bluebottle gets a surprise. Stars Peter Sellers. From November 1954.


THU 09:00 Counterpoint (b00775wc)
Series 21, 2007 - Heat 2

Edward Seckerson's music quiz with Slough's Barbara Crawford, Sean Gilligan from Willesden and Adam Harvey of Bury St Edmunds.


THU 09:30 Bristow (b007v1dg)
Series 3, The Good, the Bad and the Temporary

There's a new girl in town, and Bristow knows his office isn't big enough for the two of them.

Michael Williams stars as Bristow, the buying clerk from Frank Dickens' famous newspaper cartoon strip. Syndicated internationally, it ran for 41 years in London's Evening Standard.

With Rodney Bewes as Jones, Dora Bryan as Mrs Purdy, Owen Brenman as Hewitt, Leslie Phillips as Perkins, Katy Odey as Miss Sunman, Jon Glover as Fudge, Simon Schatzberger as Postboy, David Battley as Stokes and Jackie Neglia as Sylvana.

Music: John Whitehall

Producer: Neil Cargill

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.


THU 10:00 The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries (b0192tvr)
Dover Goes to Pott

The leading Yorkshire businessman wants justice to be done and has asked for the best detective London can offer...instead he gets Chief Inspector Dover from Scotland Yard.

Set in the 1960s, Joyce Porter's comedy thriller is dramatised by Paul Mendelson.

Stars Kenneth Cranham as Chief Inspector Dover, Carla Simpson as Mildred Denny, Nicola Wainwright as Avril, Andy Harrison as John Perking, Liza Sadovy as Mrs Withycombe, Stuart McQuarrie as Sergeant McGregor, Paul Copley as Daniel Wibbley and Carolyn Pickles as Mrs Carruthers.

Dramatised by Paul Mendelson.

Director: David Ian Neville

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.


THU 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b00826cv)
Alan Howard Reads, The Family Friend

By Marina Warner. Egypt 1901, some English army officers indulge in fox-hunting. Read by popular veteran actor Alan Howard.


THU 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01phm1z)
John Dryden - The Reluctant Spy, Episode 3

The final part of John Dryden's thriller set against the political upheavals in Egypt.

Things are spiralling out of control for Duncan who has attracted the attentions of the Egyptian authorities investigating the disappearance of a university student.

Caught between his love for his daughter, his increasing infatuation with the mysterious Tara, and a desperate need to escape his past, Duncan navigates his way through a complex web of secrets and misinformation that threaten to destroy him, as a new Egypt struggles to realign itself in the world.

Casting: Toby Whale
Production Manager: Russell Owen
Script Editor: Mike Walker
Sound design: Steve Bond
Music: Sacha Puttnam

Written, produced and directed by John Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4

John Dryden

This is John's forth trilogy for Radio 4, after SEVERED THREADS, PANDEMIC (winner of this year's Writers' Guild award for Best Radio Drama) and A TOKYO MURDER. He recently directed and co-wrote with journalist Owen Bennett-Jones the documentary/drama BLASPHEMY AND THE GOVERNOR OF PUNJAB.


THU 12:00 Stop Messing About! (b00s9f4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b012bz13)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


THU 13:00 Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn (b007jzsh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


THU 13:30 HV Morton: Travelling into the Light (b01mqr4t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


THU 14:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yj0bs)
Episode 9

In Paris, Anna's family is affected by the Depression. Judith Kerr's semi-autobiographical story. Read by Rosemary Leach.


THU 14:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b0090g5r)
The Master of Paspardo

Archaeologist George Nash explores five of Western Europe's most remarkable rock art sites.

George visits the prehistoric art of northern Italy's Val Camonica. Carved into the rock is one of the world's first maps, images of some of Europe's earliest houses and scores of Iron Age warriors. He asks if these fighting figures could be the work of just one artist.

Producer: Chris Eldon Lee
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 14:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007qgdn)
Episode 9

Visiting Lydia in the sanatorium, Richardson catches up on events with Blackie. Stars Tim Pigott-Smith and Juliet Aubrey.


THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b01nnfbp)
Tombstone, Episode 4

While the Chinese peasants starved the county cadres focused on meeting grain procurement quotas and blamed any shortfalls on 'right deviationist thinking'.

The punishment was to undergo self-criticism sessions and many suffered severe and often fatal beatings. Meanwhile there was a wholesale cover-up of the true size of the disaster.

Read by David Yip.

Produced and abridged by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 15:00 The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries (b0192tvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


THU 16:00 Counterpoint (b00775wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 16:30 Bristow (b007v1dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


THU 17:00 A Certain Age (b007662k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


THU 17:30 My Teenage Diary (b096jb23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


THU 18:00 The Darker Side of the Border (b00ck4fs)
The Brownie of the Black Haggs

Lady Wheelhope has a reputation as a violent mistress to those under her power. Yet when desire for a mysterious servant overwhelms her, it's her own soul she yields to terrible risk...

Series of 3 Scottish 19th Century tales of terror and mystery.

Written by James Hogg and dramatised by Marty Ross.

Stars Irene MacDougall as Lady Wheelhope, Paul Young as The Laird, James Chisholm as Merodach, Mary Riggans as Bessie, James Bryce as Wattie and Alec Heggie as Adam.

Producer: Bruce Young

First broadcast on BBC Radio in 2003.


THU 18:30 Great Lives (b00pxn11)
Series 20, Picasso

Matthew Parris presents the biographical series in which his guests choose someone who has inspired their lives.

Photographer David Bailey first saw Picasso's work in Look magazine in the 1950s - it was a revelation to him. He discusses the founder of Cubism's work and the enigma of the man himself, and their influence on him.


THU 19:00 Stop Messing About! (b00s9f4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b012bz13)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


THU 20:00 Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn (b007jzsh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


THU 20:30 HV Morton: Travelling into the Light (b01mqr4t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


THU 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b00826cv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]


THU 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01phm1z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]


THU 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b096jb23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


THU 22:30 Newsjack (b097yrzg)
Series 17, Episode 5

BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical sketch show Newsjack returns with host Angela Barnes.

Irreverent and satirical, Newsjack is the scrapbook sketch show written entirely by the Great British public, and then bought to life by a revolving cast of sketch performers.

Cast: Daniel Barker, Emma Sidi and Joe Barnes

The programme continues to be a showcase for new comedy writing: anyone can submit material (sketches and one-line jokes) - these can be submitted every week of the six week run.

Details for submitting material can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kvs8r

Producers: Adnan Ahmed and Suzy Grant
Production Co-Ordinator: Nick Coupe
Script Editors - Ed Amsden and Tom Coles

BBC Studios Production.


THU 23:00 The Big Booth (b007jryj)
Series 2: The Big Booth Too, Episode 6

Boothby Graffoe traces a joke through the ages and tries to find a Brighton B&B. With Mariella Frostrup. From March 2001.


THU 23:30 Small Scenes (b03fb925)
Series 1, Episode 2

Symphonious sketch series with Daniel Rigby, Mike Wozniak, Sara Pascoe and Henry Paker. This week, we listen in as a pair of long-lost brothers meet for the first time. Elsewhere, a moth runs amok on a submarine and we also meet the world's most literal voiceover artist.

Small Scenes is written by the cast and Benjamin Partridge, with additional material from Jon Lynes and Dan O'Donohue.

Produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer.



FRIDAY 13 OCTOBER 2017

FRI 00:00 The Darker Side of the Border (b00ck4fs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]


FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b00pxn11)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]


FRI 01:00 Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn (b007jzsh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]


FRI 01:30 HV Morton: Travelling into the Light (b01mqr4t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]


FRI 02:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yj0bs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]


FRI 02:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b0090g5r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]


FRI 02:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007qgdn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]


FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b01nnfbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]


FRI 03:00 The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries (b0192tvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]


FRI 04:00 Counterpoint (b00775wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]


FRI 04:30 Bristow (b007v1dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]


FRI 05:00 A Certain Age (b007662k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]


FRI 05:30 My Teenage Diary (b096jb23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]


FRI 06:00 Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn (b007jztr)
Episode 2

After discovering a body in the boot of an exhumed car, Inspector Maigret is beginning to piece together the evidence...

Concluded by Nicholas Le Prevost.

Inspector Jules Maigret is one of the world's best known fictional detective. Created by Georges Simenon, the pipe-smoking, gruff French Detective has inspired countless TV series and feature films. Although most of Simenon's work is available in English, it was originally written in French.

Directed at BBC Manchester by Carrie Rooney.

Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2005.


FRI 06:30 Ken Clarke's Jazz Greats (b0076jyq)

4 Extra Debut. Born in abject poverty and killed in a car crash aged 43, Bessie Smith forged a new jazz sound. Ken Clarke and George Melly pay tribute. From January 2004.


FRI 07:00 Hazelbeach (b0088nnw)
Series 1, Gardening

Ronnie has a devious idea to get Nick's ex-girlfriend back. What could possibly go wrong?

Caroline and David Stafford's comedy stars Jamie Forman as Ronnie, Paul Bazely as Nick, Tracy Wiles as Chloe, John Dougall as James and Simon Treves as Harry.

Producer: Marc Beeby

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2007.


FRI 07:30 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (b0978868)
Series 2, Case #47 - Crime Writing Doesn't Pay

Incompetent private detectives Max and Ivan are contacted by the very dull white goods instruction manual writer Robert R. Roberts (guest star Jason Watkins), who wants them to investigate a series of copycat crimes based on the erotic crime fiction novels he writes under the pseudonym Scarlett Melange.

Their investigation takes them to the Peckam Flower and Vegetable show, where they fear the life of head judge Joaquin Zamorano is in considerable danger. Along the way, they meet the one person on earth who might be more boring than Robert R. Roberts - his wife Roberta.

Cast:
Max..............................................Max Olesker
Ivan...........................................Ivan Gonzalez
Robert R. Roberts
aka Scarlett Melange...................Jason Watkins
Roberta Roberts/
Voice of the Audiobook.................Lolly Adefope
Narrator /
Malcolm McMichaelmas...............Lewis MacLeod
Joaquin Zamarano /
Impish Nutter..................................David Reed

Written by and Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez
Developed by John Stanley Productions
Produced by Ben Walker
A Retort production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tln6g)
Series 4, Episode 11

The team poke fun at TV sitcoms with the launch of 'For Better and for Worse And Son'.

More quick-fire sketches, terrible puns, humorous songs and parodies.

Stars Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.

Written by Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.

Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue 'Cambridge Circus', ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.

Music and songs by Dave Lee and Bill Oddie.

Producer: Humphrey Barclay

First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1966.


FRI 08:30 Brothers in Law (b05p9vwd)
Series 1, Without Due Care

Barrister Roger Thursby defends an accident-prone artist.

Starring Richard Briers as Roger Thursby, Richard Waring as Henry Blagrove and Ann Davies as Sally Mannering.

With guest star Jon Pertwee as Ford O'Hara.

Adapted for radio by Richard Waring from the BBC TV scripts.

Restored from BBC Transcription Service tapes - originally edited for sale abroad.

Published in 1955, Henry Cecil's comic legal novel Brothers in Law was adapted first for TV in 1962 by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. It provided the first regular starring role for Richard Briers, who later reprised his role of the idealistic young lawyer Roger Thursby for BBC Radio between 1970 and 1972.

Produced by David Hatch.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1970.


FRI 09:00 The Motion Show (b0075ryv)
Series 1, Episode 5

Dr Phil Hammond chairs the debating game with Clive Coleman, Rhona Cameron, Niall Ashdown and John Maloney. From November 1998.


FRI 09:30 After Henry (b007k204)
Series 1, Going Away

Sarah's keen to book a holiday, but can't get away from her family.

Simon Brett's comedy about three generations of women - struggling to cope after the death of Sarah's GP husband - who never quite manage to see eye to eye.

Starring Prunella Scales as Sarah, Joan Sanderson as Eleanor, Benjamin Whitrow as Russell, Gerry Cowper as Clare and Mary Maddox as Alison.

Four radio series were made, but instead of then moving to BBC TV - Thames Television produced 'After Henry' for the ITV network.

Producer: Pete Atkin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1985.


FRI 10:00 The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries (b0192y98)
Dover and the Claret Tappers

When one of their own gets kidnapped, there's a sense of jubilation at Scotland Yard.

Not what you might expect, but then the victim is Inspector Dover, and he's not quite the detective England expects. Is this the start of something more sinister?

Set in 1976, Joyce Porter's comedy thriller is dramatised by Paul Mendelson.

Stars Kenneth Cranham as Chief Inspector Dover, Stuart McQuarrie as Sergeant McGregor, Crawford Logan as Commander Brockhurst, Nick Underwood as Inspector Horton, Liza Sadovy as Mrs Withycombe, Carla Simpson as Mildred Denny, Carolyn Pickles as Mrs Carruthers, Andy Harrison as John Perking, Paul Copley as Daniel Wibbley, Nicola Wainwright as Avril, Terry Wale as Gallagher, Laura Smales as Mary Jones, Lucy Paterson as Lesley Whittaker and Joanna Tope as Noreen.

Dramatised by Paul Mendelson.

Director: David Ian Neville

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.


FRI 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b00826cw)
Alan Howard Reads, The Sentence

By Nina Raine. A judge looks back on his childhood and a story that he told his children. Read by Alan Howard.


FRI 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b0387tmr)
Mark Burgess - Joan and the Baron

Bordeaux, late 1970's: a Frenchman in his seventies; an Englishwoman in her sixties.

He is a poet, a translator of Elizabethan verse, a racing driver, yachtsman, wine maker, theatre and film producer and, at one time, the most notorious womaniser in Paris. He is also a Rothschild.
She is from Stockwell in London, born to an unmarried mother who disapproved of books and reading. But after a convent school education as a scholarship girl and another scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art she became one of the most influential directors of the twentieth century, creating the Theatre Workshop in Stratford East and earning the sobriquet 'the Mother of Modern Theatre'. She is Joan Littlewood.

Following the recent deaths of their respective partners, Baron Philippe seems to be moving on with his life while Joan declares she has no wish to. She shut-down emotionally at the point of her beloved Gerry Raffles' death and has no desire to return to her famous theatre in Stratford East or ever to direct again. The Baron extends an invitation to his Mouton estate.

Joan and the Baron explores the growth of friendship between this unlikely pair, after a chance meeting in Vienne.

Written by Mark Burgess

Director: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tln6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


FRI 12:30 Brothers in Law (b05p9vwd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


FRI 13:00 Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn (b007jztr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


FRI 13:30 Ken Clarke's Jazz Greats (b0076jyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


FRI 14:00 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (b00yzj5s)
Episode 10

The family have sad news from Berlin but hope from England. Judith Kerr's semi-autobiographical story. Read by Rosemary Leach.


FRI 14:15 The Drawings on the Wall (b0091xzh)
Architecture of Death

Archaeologist George Nash explores five of Western Europe's most remarkable rock art sites.

George and fellow archaeologist Adam Stanford document the Neolithic carvings at Barclodiad y Gawres on Anglesey and make a tantalising discovery on the mainland. But what does all this prehistoric graffiti mean?

Producer: Chris Eldon Lee
A Culture Wise production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:30 HE Bates - Love for Lydia (b007q99p)
Episode 10

As he and Blackie help her recovery, Richardson must face up to what love for Lydia really means. Stars Tim Pigott-Smith.


FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b01nnfgk)
Tombstone, Episode 5

Mao's support of the system of communal kitchens exacerbates China's famine disaster. As the peasants give up their allotments and their livestock, they have no means of saving themselves when the kitchens run out of food and close down.

Read by David Yip.

Produced and abridged by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:00 The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries (b0192y98)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]


FRI 16:00 The Motion Show (b0075ryv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


FRI 16:30 After Henry (b007k204)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]


FRI 17:00 Hazelbeach (b0088nnw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]


FRI 17:30 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (b0978868)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


FRI 18:00 Arthur C Clarke Stories (b008h44x)
The Parasite

A man starts having terrifying dreams in which he's plagued by a monstrous creature.

Yet - although hideously repellent - the parasite seems strangely familiar to him...

First published in 1953, Arthur C Clarke's tale is read by Nicholas Boulton.

Arthur C Clarke, along with Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, are known as Science-Fiction's "Big Three". Their work was key to the 1950s and 60s being recognised as the genre's Golden Age.

Abridged and produced by Gemma Jenkins

Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2007.


FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b05stg0l)
Series 20, Scarborough Fair

"Tomorrow we're going in search of a song and in search of a dream of England which has travelled right around the world" - Will Parsons

No one can be sure of the true origins of the song Scarborough Fair. It's a melody of mystery, of voices of old, of ancient days. It's travelled through land and time, drawing singers and listeners in where ever they maybe.

For Will Parsons and Guy Hayward it's a song that has inspired a pilgrimage through a landscape that is embodied in the lyrics. Setting off from Whitby Abbey, they journey to Scarborough on foot, sensing the song as they go, learning to sing it, interpreting it in a new way just as thousands of traditional singers have done throughout time.

This too is the landscape of Martin Carthy, the 'father of folk' who has made his home along the Yorkshire coast. It was from this legendary singer that Paul Simon first learnt Scarborough Fair, creating a version that came to represent a generation continuing its journey far and wide, weaving its spell in many different guises, never truly being pinned down.

Decades on Harpist Claire Jones recorded a version of her own. Arranged by her husband, the composer Chris Marshall, hers is a very personal journey through unexpected illness to recovery. Whilst for Mike Masheder it is a song that brings memories of his wife Sally, who approached the journey of life with love and equanimity.

"It can change or stay the same. And the more it changes, the more it stays the same" - Martin Carthy

Produced by Nicola Humphries
With expert contribution from Sandra Kerr, musician and lecturer at Newcastle University School of Arts and Culture.


FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tln6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


FRI 19:30 Brothers in Law (b05p9vwd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]


FRI 20:00 Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn (b007jztr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


FRI 20:30 Ken Clarke's Jazz Greats (b0076jyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]


FRI 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b00826cw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]


FRI 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b0387tmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]


FRI 22:00 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (b0978868)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


FRI 22:30 Bleak Expectations (b00ctlhp)
Series 2, A Happy Life, Cruelly Re-kippered

By Mark Evans
Volume Two, Chapter the First: a Happy Life, Cruelly Re-kippered

The further remarkable adventures of Pip Bin, inventor of the bin, as he struggles against the cruel plotting of his evil guardian Mr Gently Benevolent, recently returned from the dead, in this epic comedy in the style of Charles Dickens after far too much gin. In the opening instalment this week listeners are invited to bask in the kindness of St Lovely's school, with its classes of double Definitely-Not-Latin and its School Cakery. But what is that sinister presence lurking with a very large number of horses? Could it be that Mister Benevolent has plans to steal the school?.

Sir Philip...........................Richard Johnson
Mr Benevolent.......................Anthony Head
Sternbeater...................Geoffrey Whitehead
Young Pip..................................Tom Allen
Harry Biscuit......................James Bachman
Lily.....................................Sarah Hadland
Mr Parsimonious...............Laurence Howarth
Pippa........................................Susy Kane
Sundry boys..............................Mark Evans

Produced by Gareth Edwards.


FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09b1f69)
Simon Day 1/2

The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith talks to Simon Day.


FRI 23:00 Absolute Power (b007jqw0)
Series 1, Episode 1

Spin doctors Prentiss and McCabe are skint. Mark Tavener's political comedy with Stephen Fry and John Bird. From January 2000.


FRI 23:30 World of Pub (b00cm91k)
Series 2, Episode 3

Dodgy Phil hatches a sporting scheme to improve the fortunes of Barry and Garry's bar.

Tony Roche 's four-part comedy starring John Thomson as Dodgy Phil, Phil Cornwell as Barry, Alistair McGowan as Garry, Debra Stephenson, Kim Wall and Tony Roche.

Special effects: Carl Phillips and Nick Romero.

Music: Bill Bailey

Producer: Jane Berthoud

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1999.




LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)

A Certain Age 07:00 THU (b007662k)

A Certain Age 17:00 THU (b007662k)

A Certain Age 05:00 FRI (b007662k)

A Good Read 18:30 MON (b0076pdl)

A Good Read 00:30 TUE (b0076pdl)

A Life of Bliss 08:30 SUN (b04dmnc5)

A Life of Bliss 12:30 SUN (b04dmnc5)

Absolute Power 23:00 FRI (b007jqw0)

After Henry 04:30 SAT (b007k1rb)

After Henry 09:30 FRI (b007k204)

After Henry 16:30 FRI (b007k204)

Afternoon Drama 11:15 TUE (b01phj10)

Afternoon Drama 21:15 TUE (b01phj10)

Afternoon Drama 11:15 WED (b01phktq)

Afternoon Drama 21:15 WED (b01phktq)

Afternoon Drama 11:15 THU (b01phm1z)

Afternoon Drama 21:15 THU (b01phm1z)

Afternoon Drama 11:15 FRI (b0387tmr)

Afternoon Drama 21:15 FRI (b0387tmr)

Afternoon Reading 11:00 MON (b0081ck7)

Afternoon Reading 21:00 MON (b0081ck7)

Afternoon Reading 11:00 TUE (b00826cs)

Afternoon Reading 21:00 TUE (b00826cs)

Afternoon Reading 11:00 WED (b00826ct)

Afternoon Reading 21:00 WED (b00826ct)

Afternoon Reading 11:00 THU (b00826cv)

Afternoon Reading 21:00 THU (b00826cv)

Afternoon Reading 11:00 FRI (b00826cw)

Afternoon Reading 21:00 FRI (b00826cw)

Alan Garner - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen 18:30 SUN (b097m5fm)

Alan Garner - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen 00:30 MON (b097m5fm)

Alun Cochrane's Fun House 23:00 TUE (b01rvpvf)

An Hour With... 08:00 SAT (b00ssn7d)

An Hour With... 15:00 SAT (b00ssn7d)

An Hour With... 03:00 SUN (b00ssn7d)

Anthony Berkeley - The Poisoned Chocolate Case 06:00 SAT (b097lnkn)

Anthony Berkeley - The Poisoned Chocolate Case 16:00 SAT (b097lnkn)

Anthony Berkeley - The Poisoned Chocolate Case 04:00 SUN (b097lnkn)

Arthur C Clarke Stories 18:00 FRI (b008h44x)

At Home With The Snails 23:30 WED (b007k3hb)

Bach's Choir 06:30 MON (b01cvpz7)

Bach's Choir 13:30 MON (b01cvpz7)

Bach's Choir 20:30 MON (b01cvpz7)

Bach's Choir 01:30 TUE (b01cvpz7)

Ballylenon 16:30 TUE (b00fz0g7)

Ballylenon 04:30 WED (b00fz0g7)

Bleak Expectations 22:30 FRI (b00ctlhp)

Book of the Week 02:45 SAT (b01nf3nd)

Book of the Week 14:45 MON (b01nkwxf)

Book of the Week 02:45 TUE (b01nkwxf)

Book of the Week 14:45 TUE (b01nnf6t)

Book of the Week 02:45 WED (b01nnf6t)

Book of the Week 14:45 WED (b01nnf8t)

Book of the Week 02:45 THU (b01nnf8t)

Book of the Week 14:45 THU (b01nnfbp)

Book of the Week 02:45 FRI (b01nnfbp)

Book of the Week 14:45 FRI (b01nnfgk)

Bristow 12:30 SAT (b007tdnn)

Bristow 09:30 THU (b007v1dg)

Bristow 16:30 THU (b007v1dg)

Bristow 04:30 FRI (b007v1dg)

Britain in a Box 07:30 SAT (b01k9lc2)

Britain in a Box 17:30 SAT (b01k9lc2)

Britain in a Box 05:30 SUN (b01k9lc2)

Brothers in Law 08:30 FRI (b05p9vwd)

Brothers in Law 12:30 FRI (b05p9vwd)

Brothers in Law 19:30 FRI (b05p9vwd)

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! 07:30 SUN (b00hd80x)

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! 17:30 SUN (b00hd80x)

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! 22:00 SUN (b00hd80x)

Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! 05:30 MON (b00hd80x)

Counterpoint 12:00 SAT (b00775l1)

Counterpoint 09:00 THU (b00775wc)

Counterpoint 16:00 THU (b00775wc)

Counterpoint 04:00 FRI (b00775wc)

Dad's Army 08:30 MON (b007jq0r)

Dad's Army 12:30 MON (b007jq0r)

Dad's Army 19:30 MON (b007jq0r)

Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing 10:00 TUE (b014tvng)

Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing 15:00 TUE (b014tvng)

Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing 03:00 WED (b014tvng)

Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing 10:00 WED (b014ts01)

Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing 15:00 WED (b014ts01)

Doris Lessing - The Grass Is Singing 03:00 THU (b014ts01)

Earls of the Court 22:45 MON (b00r0yt2)

Electric Ink 07:00 WED (b01jyq9c)

Electric Ink 17:00 WED (b01jyq9c)

Electric Ink 05:00 THU (b01jyq9c)

Gillian Tindall - The 40th Step 07:15 SUN (b097lx33)

Gillian Tindall - The 40th Step 14:15 SUN (b097lx33)

Gillian Tindall - The 40th Step 02:15 MON (b097lx33)

Great Lives 18:30 THU (b00pxn11)

Great Lives 00:30 FRI (b00pxn11)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia Omnibus 06:00 SUN (b007jvl9)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia Omnibus 13:00 SUN (b007jvl9)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia Omnibus 01:00 MON (b007jvl9)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 02:30 SAT (b007nfd7)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 14:30 MON (b007jvlf)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 02:30 TUE (b007jvlf)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 14:30 TUE (b007jvlh)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 02:30 WED (b007jvlh)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 14:30 WED (b007jvln)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 02:30 THU (b007jvln)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 14:30 THU (b007qgdn)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 02:30 FRI (b007qgdn)

HE Bates - Love for Lydia 14:30 FRI (b007q99p)

HV Morton: Travelling into the Light 06:30 THU (b01mqr4t)

HV Morton: Travelling into the Light 13:30 THU (b01mqr4t)

HV Morton: Travelling into the Light 20:30 THU (b01mqr4t)

HV Morton: Travelling into the Light 01:30 FRI (b01mqr4t)

Hamish and Dougal: You'll Have Had Your Tea 23:45 TUE (b007706g)

Hancock's Half Hour 08:30 WED (b009l7jt)

Hancock's Half Hour 12:30 WED (b009l7jt)

Hancock's Half Hour 19:30 WED (b009l7jt)

Hazelbeach 05:00 SAT (b00853kb)

Hazelbeach 07:00 FRI (b0088nnw)

Hazelbeach 17:00 FRI (b0088nnw)

Hello Cheeky 08:00 MON (b007jnx4)

Hello Cheeky 12:00 MON (b007jnx4)

Hello Cheeky 19:00 MON (b007jnx4)

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again 08:00 FRI (b00tln6g)

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again 12:00 FRI (b00tln6g)

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again 19:00 FRI (b00tln6g)

Inheritance Tracks 14:10 SAT (b097ltm2)

Inheritance Tracks 02:10 SUN (b097ltm2)

Inheritance Tracks 07:10 SUN (b097m0y3)

Inheritance Tracks 14:10 SUN (b097m0y3)

Inheritance Tracks 02:10 MON (b097m0y3)

It's Not What You Know 16:00 TUE (b036v9hd)

It's Not What You Know 04:00 WED (b036v9hd)

Ivor Cutler - Cutler the Lax 23:45 MON (b040hrx4)

Ivor Cutler - Cutler the Lax 09:45 TUE (b040hrx4)

James Follett - The Silent Vulcan 18:40 SAT (b007jsq6)

James Follett - The Silent Vulcan 00:40 SUN (b007jsq6)

John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music 07:30 WED (b0848sqq)

John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music 17:30 WED (b0848sqq)

John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music 22:00 WED (b0848sqq)

John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music 05:30 THU (b0848sqq)

John Wyndham - Trouble with Lichen 00:00 SAT (b007k3r3)

John Wyndham - Trouble with Lichen 18:00 MON (b007k3xm)

John Wyndham - Trouble with Lichen 00:00 TUE (b007k3xm)

Just a Minute 09:00 MON (b00rb1xp)

Just a Minute 16:00 MON (b00rb1xp)

Just a Minute 04:00 TUE (b00rb1xp)

Ken Clarke's Jazz Greats 06:30 FRI (b0076jyq)

Ken Clarke's Jazz Greats 13:30 FRI (b0076jyq)

Ken Clarke's Jazz Greats 20:30 FRI (b0076jyq)

Last Post for Men of Letters 09:00 SAT (b097lpnp)

Last Post for Men of Letters 19:00 SAT (b097lpnp)

Life With the Lyons 08:00 SUN (b014qxmm)

Life With the Lyons 12:00 SUN (b014qxmm)

Listen to Les 08:00 TUE (b007wlfp)

Listen to Les 12:00 TUE (b007wlfp)

Listen to Les 19:00 TUE (b007wlfp)

Lucy Catherine - Gudrun: Omnibus 13:00 SAT (b097lr1s)

Lucy Catherine - Gudrun: Omnibus 01:00 SUN (b097lr1s)

Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn 06:00 THU (b007jzsh)

Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn 13:00 THU (b007jzsh)

Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn 20:00 THU (b007jzsh)

Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn 01:00 FRI (b007jzsh)

Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn 06:00 FRI (b007jztr)

Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn 13:00 FRI (b007jztr)

Maigret: The Drowned Men's Inn 20:00 FRI (b007jztr)

Martin Amis - The Rub of Time: Omnibus 09:00 SUN (b097lxrt)

Martin Amis - The Rub of Time: Omnibus 19:55 SUN (b097lxrt)

Musical Genes 18:30 WED (b00dyknm)

Musical Genes 00:30 THU (b00dyknm)

My Teenage Diary 07:30 THU (b096jb23)

My Teenage Diary 17:30 THU (b096jb23)

My Teenage Diary 22:00 THU (b096jb23)

My Teenage Diary 05:30 FRI (b096jb23)

News Quiz Extra 23:00 MON (b097xwmn)

News Quiz Extra 09:00 TUE (b097xwmn)

Newsjack 23:00 SUN (b096vkqj)

Newsjack 22:30 THU (b097yrzg)

One Foot in the Grave 07:00 TUE (b007jmxg)

One Foot in the Grave 17:00 TUE (b007jmxg)

One Foot in the Grave 05:00 WED (b007jmxg)

Pam Ayres' Open Road 14:15 SAT (b007kfr4)

Pam Ayres' Open Road 02:15 SUN (b007kfr4)

Peter Gibbs - Making Way 11:15 MON (b097xt18)

Peter Gibbs - Making Way 21:15 MON (b097xt18)

Peter Tinniswood 14:45 SAT (b007jqvq)

Peter Tinniswood 02:45 SUN (b007jqvq)

Pick Ups 23:30 SUN (b00n911g)

Poetry Extra 17:00 SUN (b097m4k3)

Poetry Extra 05:00 MON (b097m4k3)

Radiolab 11:05 SUN (b097lzd4)

Radiolab 19:00 SUN (b097lzd4)

Redesigning the Human Body 02:15 SAT (b00pn48p)

Robert Barr - Detective 01:00 SAT (b01s5l3b)

Robert Barr - Detective 06:00 MON (b01s647t)

Robert Barr - Detective 13:00 MON (b01s647t)

Robert Barr - Detective 20:00 MON (b01s647t)

Robert Barr - Detective 01:00 TUE (b01s647t)

Robert Barr - Detective 06:00 TUE (b01s697j)

Robert Barr - Detective 13:00 TUE (b01s697j)

Robert Barr - Detective 20:00 TUE (b01s697j)

Robert Barr - Detective 01:00 WED (b01s697j)

Robert Barr - Detective 06:00 WED (b01s8pyv)

Robert Barr - Detective 13:00 WED (b01s8pyv)

Robert Barr - Detective 20:00 WED (b01s8pyv)

Robert Barr - Detective 01:00 THU (b01s8pyv)

Sabotage 23:00 SAT (b007jwv4)

Salt City 06:30 WED (b00f7z1s)

Salt City 13:30 WED (b00f7z1s)

Salt City 20:30 WED (b00f7z1s)

Salt City 01:30 THU (b00f7z1s)

Saturday Drama 16:00 SUN (b00pn34n)

Saturday Drama 04:00 MON (b00pn34n)

Say the Word 09:00 WED (b00764j5)

Say the Word 16:00 WED (b00764j5)

Say the Word 04:00 THU (b00764j5)

Says on the Tin 07:00 MON (b00h62pp)

Says on the Tin 17:00 MON (b00h62pp)

Says on the Tin 05:00 TUE (b00h62pp)

Sitting for Fay 06:30 TUE (b00lb6q7)

Sitting for Fay 13:30 TUE (b00lb6q7)

Sitting for Fay 20:30 TUE (b00lb6q7)

Sitting for Fay 01:30 WED (b00lb6q7)

Small Scenes 23:30 THU (b03fb925)

Soul Music 00:30 SAT (b05s2x2k)

Soul Music 18:30 FRI (b05stg0l)

Spotlight Tonight with Nish Kumar 23:00 WED (b09794sl)

Steven Appleby's Normal Life 22:30 MON (b00slvww)

Stop Messing About! 08:00 THU (b00s9f4p)

Stop Messing About! 12:00 THU (b00s9f4p)

Stop Messing About! 19:00 THU (b00s9f4p)

Sue Townsend - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 14:30 SUN (b097m45s)

Sue Townsend - The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13 3/4 02:30 MON (b097m45s)

Susan Hill - The Woman in Black 18:00 SUN (b007jz83)

Susan Hill - The Woman in Black 00:00 MON (b007jz83)

That Reminds Me 18:30 TUE (b007jnps)

That Reminds Me 00:30 WED (b007jnps)

The Big Booth 23:00 THU (b007jryj)

The Casebook of Max and Ivan 05:30 SAT (b096gspx)

The Casebook of Max and Ivan 07:30 FRI (b0978868)

The Casebook of Max and Ivan 17:30 FRI (b0978868)

The Casebook of Max and Ivan 22:00 FRI (b0978868)

The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries 10:00 THU (b0192tvr)

The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries 15:00 THU (b0192tvr)

The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries 03:00 FRI (b0192tvr)

The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries 10:00 FRI (b0192y98)

The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries 15:00 FRI (b0192y98)

The Comedy Club Interviews 22:55 SAT (b097ltzn)

The Comedy Club Interviews 22:55 SUN (b097m5yt)

The Comedy Club Interviews 22:55 TUE (b09915xx)

The Comedy Club Interviews 22:55 WED (b099179s)

The Comedy Club Interviews 22:55 FRI (b09b1f69)

The Darker Side of the Border 18:00 TUE (b00cb1ts)

The Darker Side of the Border 00:00 WED (b00cb1ts)

The Darker Side of the Border 18:00 WED (b00cft28)

The Darker Side of the Border 00:00 THU (b00cft28)

The Darker Side of the Border 18:00 THU (b00ck4fs)

The Darker Side of the Border 00:00 FRI (b00ck4fs)

The Drawings on the Wall 14:15 MON (b008vl2x)

The Drawings on the Wall 02:15 TUE (b008vl2x)

The Drawings on the Wall 14:15 TUE (b008wv2c)

The Drawings on the Wall 02:15 WED (b008wv2c)

The Drawings on the Wall 14:15 WED (b008yn1c)

The Drawings on the Wall 02:15 THU (b008yn1c)

The Drawings on the Wall 14:15 THU (b0090g5r)

The Drawings on the Wall 02:15 FRI (b0090g5r)

The Drawings on the Wall 14:15 FRI (b0091xzh)

The Goon Show 08:30 THU (b012bz13)

The Goon Show 12:30 THU (b012bz13)

The Goon Show 19:30 THU (b012bz13)

The Harpoon 22:30 WED (b00cgsrm)

The Jason Byrne Show 22:30 SAT (b01ghlh2)

The Listening Project 10:10 SUN (b04vqxyx)

The Listening Project 21:10 SUN (b04vqxyx)

The Mark Steel Lecture 22:00 SAT (b007jlwr)

The Men From the Ministry 08:30 TUE (b011vmdc)

The Men From the Ministry 12:30 TUE (b011vmdc)

The Men From the Ministry 19:30 TUE (b011vmdc)

The Motion Show 04:00 SAT (b0075rt1)

The Motion Show 09:00 FRI (b0075ryv)

The Motion Show 16:00 FRI (b0075ryv)

The Navy Lark 08:00 WED (b007k1gj)

The Navy Lark 12:00 WED (b007k1gj)

The Navy Lark 19:00 WED (b007k1gj)

The Shuttleworths 23:30 TUE (b007jmn5)

The Tim Vine Chat Show 07:30 TUE (b096hcz6)

The Tim Vine Chat Show 17:30 TUE (b096hcz6)

The Tim Vine Chat Show 22:00 TUE (b096hcz6)

The Tim Vine Chat Show 05:30 WED (b096hcz6)

The Twilight Zone 18:00 SAT (b00hl8lx)

The Twilight Zone 00:00 SUN (b00hl8lx)

The Unbelievable Truth 07:30 MON (b096h777)

The Unbelievable Truth 17:30 MON (b096h777)

The Unbelievable Truth 22:00 MON (b096h777)

The Unbelievable Truth 05:30 TUE (b096h777)

Think the Unthinkable 22:30 SUN (b007jm4p)

Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles 03:00 SAT (b007rpxy)

Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles 10:00 MON (b007rsyv)

Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles 15:00 MON (b007rsyv)

Thomas Hardy - Tess of the D'Urbervilles 03:00 TUE (b007rsyv)

Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler 22:30 TUE (b05qgm0y)

Tomorrow, Today! 09:30 MON (b016r51y)

Tomorrow, Today! 16:30 MON (b016r51y)

Tomorrow, Today! 04:30 TUE (b016r51y)

Train Tracks 01:30 SAT (b00m69ws)

What Is a Story? 15:45 SUN (b061017p)

What Is a Story? 03:45 MON (b061017p)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 02:00 SAT (b00yb61d)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 14:00 MON (b00yb61g)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 02:00 TUE (b00yb61g)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 14:00 TUE (b00yc1rb)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 02:00 WED (b00yc1rb)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 14:00 WED (b00yc1rf)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 02:00 THU (b00yc1rf)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 14:00 THU (b00yj0bs)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 02:00 FRI (b00yj0bs)

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit 14:00 FRI (b00yzj5s)

Winston 09:30 WED (b007m660)

Winston 16:30 WED (b007m660)

Winston 04:30 THU (b007m660)

World Book Club 10:15 SUN (b097lz55)

World Book Club 21:15 SUN (b097lz55)

World of Pub 23:30 FRI (b00cm91k)