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: BBC RADIO 4 Extra
Unofficial Weekly Listings for BBC Radio 4 Extra — supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
"Philip, what happened on that train..?"
Philip Brooks is quietly reading at home, but a knock on his front door may change his life forever...
Ted Willis's puzzling tale stars Hugh Burden as Philip Brooks, Mary Miller as Ann Brooks and Adrian Egan as Detective Sergeant Syms.
Producer: David Johnston
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in May 1979.
Can a sceptical academic resist the challenge of reading a book that curses anyone that dares open it?
Read by Moultrie Kelsall.
William Croft Dickinson introduces his stories of the supernatural set in Scotland.
Producer: John Gray
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in October 1961.
To celebrate Bookclub's 20th anniversary, the programme has invited guest authors to choose a highlight from the extensive Bookclub archive. In this edition Turkish writer Elif Shafak has chosen the second ever edition of Bookclub, Toni Morrison talking about Beloved.
Elif Shafak recalls her appearance on Bookclub to talk about her own book, The Forty Rules of Love. She explains how much she enjoyed the experience because authors rarely have a chance to talk about one piece of work in an intimate setting with readers. She also explains why she thinks women read books differently to men and praises Morrison's portrayal of strong women in Beloved and why the book means so much to her as a writer.
Toni Morrison is the grand-daughter of a slave from Alabama and all her writing career has been fascinated by what slavery was and how its traces flow down the generations. She won the Pulitzer prize for Beloved and thirty years on, having lost none of its power to shock, Beloved stares unflinchingly into the abyss of racism. It's the story of Sethe who murders her own daughter in preference to being recaptured as slaves.
The novel transforms history into a poetic chronicle of slavery and its terrible, unending aftermath. Bookclub asks Toni Morrison the question all readers want to hear, is Beloved flesh and blood, or is she in the imagination of the characters who have lived through the terrible events?
Produced by Olivia Seligman
First broadcast on Radio 4 in 1998
Bookclub at 20 is produced for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Belinda Naylor.
After Delia Dewar implicates him, an angry mob turns on Jimmy Morton. Meanwhile Steve Gardiner discovers his friend's war actions.
Edward Boyd's six-part serial thriller stars Teddy Johnson as Steve Gardiner, Jimmy Logan as Jimmy Morton, Effie Morrison as Delia Dewar, Douglas Murchie as Romily Foster, Leonard Maguire as Wilfred Morton, Moultrie R. Kelsall as Detective Inspector Gordon, Hannah Gordon as Lindy Marshall, Eileen McCallum as Diana Wheeler-Sproat, John Young as PC McKenzie, Leonard Maguire as Wilfred Morton and Michael Elder as Mr Dunnsmiur.
Produced in Glasgow by Eddie Fraser.
First broadcast in 1954 on the BBC Home Service in Scotland.
A peek inside the world of the doll's house, by those who had one as a child.
It's the classic little girl's favourite toy and in this programme we hear about the influence the doll's house has had on the imagination of now grown up women and the occasional man, as well as the hobby of doll's houses for adults.
For the children's writer and illustrator, Lauren Child, the first doll's house she saw was made by her friend's mother from a cupboard. It inspired her to make her own which she still is working on today. Many of the textiles which form the back-drop of her successful Charlie and Lola series originated as either wallpapers or fabrics from the doll's house she made in her youth. For her, the doll's house is an environment which you can control. In fact, it's one of the first occasions you get in your childhood to manipulate an environment and make up your own stories.
It's also an area of craftsmanship where Britain leads the world. Whilst it may seem curious, some of the best examples of miniature building and carving are present in the cottage industries of doll's house furniture makers. We hear from some of the best UK miniature artisans who are as well known in the doll's house world of the States, Japan and the rest of Europe as they are in Britain.
Looking at doll's houses from the 18th and 19th centuries in the Museum of Childhood, we hear that when they were built they were rarely intended as children's toys, but as hobbies for the ladies of the house. Queen Mary's dolls house is discussed complete with miniature family portraits of her family and her arrangement of what she thought the domestic home might look like.
And we hear from the increasing number of women who are keeping the miniaturists in business as the vogue for dolls houses for adults grows.
Producer and Presenter: Sarah Taylor.
Can John and Kismine escape as Percy's hidden family estate falls under attack? Concluded by Garrick Hagon.
The mountain bike arrives from California and coincides with a new fashion for fitness and concerns for the environment. Bikes are back in fashion for work and pleasure
Presenter: Martin Ellis
Producer: Simon Evans
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
By James Payne
Eight years ago an avalanche took the children of Roscoille. But now Cormick's daughter, Flora, has returned. Or has she? As the police arrive on Roscoille and Cormick is taken into custody, another discovery on the icy slopes of Aonach Hourn sets up a dramatic climax to the story.
The final episode in a dark five part mystery, about a community struggling to deal with profound loss.
A BBC Cymru Wales Production
Directed by James Robinson.
When Peter Stothard, former editor of The Times and now editor of the Times Literary Supplement, finds himself in Alexandria in the winter of 2010 after his flight to South Africa has been cancelled, he sets out to explore a nation on the brink of revolution.
Accompanied by two native Egyptians, Mohammed and Socratis, whose eagerness to spend time with him is never really explained, Stothard traces his lifelong interest in the history of Cleopatra, and his repeated failure to write the book about her that he has started so many times.
Melancholy and sometimes humorous, Alexandria filters the life of a classics scholar turned journalist through the prism of Cleopatra's turbulent history - while all around the author, the cracks begin to appear in Hosni Mubarak's own empire.
Episode 5 (of 5):
The author recalls seeing Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 film Cleopatra. In the meantime the Arab Spring begins.
Read by Kenneth Cranham
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
The third omnibus of Season 13, A Woman's Place, set in Folkestone, in the week, in 1918, when the greatest German offensive began.
Cast
Dorothea Winwood ..... Rachel Shelley
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Bill Macknade ..... Ben Crowe
Adeline Lumley ..... Helen Schlesinger
Jessie Moore ..... Lucy Hutchinson
Sophie Beckwith ..... Abbie Andrews
Esme Macknade ..... Katie Angelou
Isabel Graham ..... Keely Beresford
Gabriel Graham ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Otto Marx ..... Paul Chahidi
Dolly Clout ..... Elaine Claxton
Alice Macknade ..... Claire-Louise Cordwell
Mrs Edkins ..... Rachel Davies
Oscar Hendrickx ..... Pierre Elliott
William McGowan ..... Rupert Holliday-Evans
Jeanie Jones ..... Kerry Gooderson
Adam Wilson ..... Billy Kennedy
Rev. Walter Hamilton ..... Joseph Kloska
Jack Wilson ..... Ashley Kumar
Elizabeth Chance ..... Kika Markham
Rev. Ralph Winwood ..... Nicholas Murchie
Olive Hargreaves ..... Rhiannon Neads
Dilys Walker ..... Ellie Piercy
Mr Snook ..... Carl Prekopp
Florrie Wilson ..... Claire Rushbrook
Rev. Alec Poole ..... Tom Stuart
Dennis Monk ..... Sam Swann
Charles Summer ..... Rufus Wright
Peter Lumley ..... Beatrice White
Written by Katie Hims
Story-led by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
Graeme Garden hosts the comic debating game with Marcus Brigstocke, Steve Punt, Stuart Maconie and Jenny Eclair. From June 2001.
John Fuller-Carp, head of chambers, enjoys conning students. Ruth tries to avoid the question, and Vince acts Jewish. All in a day's work for the barristers of Forecourt Buildings.
Series 3 of Clive Coleman's sitcom set in perhaps the country's least spectacular set of chambers.
Stars John Bird, James Fleet, Sarah Lancashire, Jonathan Kydd, Rebecca Front and Ben Crowe.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1999.
Sarah wants a third child. Richard suggests a holiday might be more fun.
Six-part comedy series about the Stubbs family - cartoonist Richard, therapist Sarah and their daughters - Kate, aged 16 and three-year-old Amy who has Down's Syndrome.
Written by Son and father team, Andy and Eric Merriman - inspired by Andy's own four-year-old daughter, Sarah. Eric famously wrote legendary BBC comedy series 'Beyond Our Ken'.
Starring Peter Davison as Richard, Samantha Bond as Sarah, Claire Russell as Kate, Sarah Merriman as Amy, Heather Jones as Emma, Lorelei King as Joni, Philip Pope as George, Simon Treves as Eddy, Daniel Merriman as Daniel, Alison Pettit as Mary, John Barnes as the Saxophonist and Bill Pertwee as Uncle Chuckles.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1996.
Ashley Blaker, Britain's only ultra-Orthodox stand up comedian, presents an insider's view of his religion, specially created for BBC Radio 4. It's a whistle-stop tour of Jewish life and, in particular, a very rare glimpse into the normally inaccessible world of strict Orthodox Judaism.
Ashley is already a well-known name in the Jewish community, having undertaken two critically acclaimed UK tours as well as performing sell-out shows in Israel, South Africa, Canada and Off-Broadway in New York. The Jewish press has described him as "the haredi Michael McIntyre".
As well as being a popular and experienced live performer, Ashley is also a comedy writer and producer for radio and TV. He was responsible for first unleashing Little Britain on an unsuspecting nation on Radio 4. But, being a strict orthodox Jew, he is surely the only person who works in TV without actually owning one.
The Jerusalem Post recently described Ashley as "a walking contradiction".
The Times of Israel pointed out the astonishment his appearance can provoke: "The astonishment, of course, is that with Blaker, what you see is what you get: a skinny bearded man wearing a black suit and kippah, and sporting peyot and tzitzit of the strictly Orthodox community to which he now belongs. But this is not a uniform which he dons only for his interfaces with Jewish audiences. No, he wears this in his day job too."
Written and Presented by Ashley Blaker
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.
Jonathan Royal is a man rich enough to indulge his somewhat extravagant sense of the theatrical.
But when he bizarrely throws a weekend party for guests with good reasons to loathe one another, his malicious comedy quickly turns to tragedy - leaving Chief Inspector Roderick Alleyn investigating murder...
Dame Ngaio Marsh's thriller dramatised by Alan Downer.
Starring Nigel Graham as Chief Detective Inspector Roderick Alleyn, Laurence Payne as Jonathan Royal, Steven Pacey as Aubrey Mandrake, Avril Clark as Sandra Compline, Stuart Organ as William Compline, Stephen Hattersley as Nicholas Compline, Jane Leonard as Chloris Wynne, Alan Downer as Dr Francis Hart, Natasha Pyne as Mme Elise Lisse, Margaret Ward as Lady Hersey Amblington, Elaine Claxton as Troy Alleyn, Peter Tuddenham as James Bewling, Shaun Prendergast as the Rev Copeland and Brian Hewlett as Thomas.
Director: David Johnston
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
"You'd be mad to work with him again. The man's a megalomaniac."
1966-1967: Round The Horne comes on-air, making more films and show hosting on BBC TV.
The UK's much-loved comic actor and master raconteur, Kenneth Williams continues his autobiography.
Abridged in ten-parts by David H Godfrey
Producer: Pamela Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1985.
"As science and the microchip redesign the world in their image, it seems the most obsolescent piece of merchandise is man."
Technological advances in society and the humble wristwatch explained by Leonard Rossiter.
Written by Barry Pilton.
Producer: Louise Purslow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 1981.
Alec Baldwin delves into the lives of three celebrated actors, Mickey Rourke, John Turturro and Viggo Mortensen.
Award-winning actor Alec Baldwin gives the listener unique entrée into the lives of artists, policy makers and performers. Alec sidesteps the predictable by taking listeners inside the dressing rooms, apartments, and offices.
Mickey Rourke talks about how he was trying to make it as a boxer when he decided that acting might let him make a buck without getting beat up
Child of an Italian father and a second-generation Sicilian in Queens, John Turturro was expected to achieve middle-class success, but fell deep in love with acting as both a craft and a field of study.
Viggo Mortensen had a highly eccentric childhood, moving as a young boy with his Danish father to South America where his father managed chicken farms. After his parents divorced, he moved with his mother to upstate New York, and after college drove a truck and sold flowers on the street, before trying acting. It was just one more odd job, at first.
Here's the Thing has its roots in public radio. In 2009, Alec joined with producers Lu Olkowski, Trey Kay, Kathie Russo, and Emily Botein to find fresh ways to engage in conversation on the radio. The group developed the idea of a new show that at its heart would look at what makes interesting people tick and create a platform for new and emerging ideas to be presented.
From WNYC Studios, New York.
Ray Peacock is joined by Ken Dodd, Neil Innes, Lee Mack, Robin Ince, Gillian Reynolds and David Nobbs, introducing rare interviews, routines and programmes including In The Psychiatrist's Chair, Les reading his own novel, Come Back With the Wind, Marriott's Monologues, Whirligig and Listen To Les.
Producer: Laura Baron
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in Sept 2013.
Bill and Faith are late in love but new to each other - and Bill has already got himself into Faith's bad books...
Sitcom about the battles of divorcees Bill and Faith trying to forge a relationship whilst balancing the demands of his ex-wife, Liza and her teenage children, Hannah and Joe.
Series one of four inspired by the real lives of its writers, husband and wife Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie.
A TV version made by LWT for ITV appeared in 1991 and ran four series, with a spin-off series Faith in the Future.
Stars Lynda Bellingham as Faith, James Bolam as Bill, Celia Imrie as Hilary, Belinda Lang as Liza, Kelda Holmes as Hannah, Mark Denham as Joe, Moir Leslie as Grace, John Samson as Alex, Nicholas Courtney as Ray and Norman Bird as Ted.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1988.
A new school year brings campaigning teachers - and congratulations may be in order...
Created and written by Jim Eldridge, ten series of this comedy about a junior school ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.
Stars Karl Howman as Mr Sims, James Grout as the Headmaster, Margaret John as Mrs Stone, Paul Copley as Mr Long, Deirdre Costello as Mrs Patterson, Vivienne Martin as Mrs Rudd, Marlene Sidaway as Miss Lewis, Jacqueline Beatty as Miss Read, Tom Watson as Mr Holliday and Ritu Jutla as Rowena
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1998.
Gudrun and Marlas finally arrive in Constantinople and meet Marlas' influential friends. Gudrun allows herself to hope once more that a return to Iceland to rescue her daughter will become a reality. Marlas shows her round the city he loves. She's impressed by its ordered grandeur but there's talk of religious unrest on the streets.
Lucy Catherine's Viking epic of love, revenge and faith inspired by the Icelandic sagas
Gudrun ..... Kate Phillips
Freija ..... Samantha Dakin
Marlas ..... Amir El-Masry
Demetrious ..... Ryan Whittle
Bishop Arascius ..... Sean Murray
Alexandra ..... Lauren Cornelius
Nonna ..... Kerry Gooderson
Director: Gemma Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.
The TV journalist chooses Beethoven's late string quartet Opus 131 and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years.
American actress Barbara Mullen - best known as housekeeper Janet in BBC TV's Dr Finlay's Casebook - shares her delight in wildlife with Derek Jones.
Married to a wildlife film director, she explains her enthusiasm for bird-watching in her Irish homeland - and on film location in Scotland.
The Curlew and Grey Seal are among her choice of recordings from the BBC Sound Archives.
Barbara Mullen (1914 -1979).
Produced in Bristol by John Burton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1972.
"Jos, you've been hitting him with that shovel for a week...".
Back from war, Albert is suffering from amnesia.
A classic tale of struggle, power, personalities and tripe. Bill Tidy and John Junkin's family saga - based on Tidy's Daily Mirror cartoon strip (1971-1985) parodying John Galsworthy's 'The Forsyte Saga' novels.
Starring Stephanie Turner as Rebecca Fosdyke, Philip Lowrie as Josiah Fosdyke, Miriam Margolyes as Victoria Fosdyke, David Threlfall as Tom Fosdyke, Enn Reitel as Albert Fosdyke and Trevor Cooper as the Sergeant.
Other parts played by Sally Grace and Nick Maloney.
Producer: Alan Nixon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1983.
Dangerous Visions - dramas that explore contemporary takes on future dystopias. Trevor Preston's sci-fi crime thriller is set in a world beyond the law. Turner finds himself in the grasp of the criminal elite who control The Zone...and the trade in vital body parts.
Directed by Toby Swift
Trevor Preston trained at the Royal College of Art before embarking on a career in television. He wrote for many of the best dramas of the 1970s and 80s, including Ace of Wands, Callan, The Sweeney, Minder, Out and Fox, for which Trevor received a BAFTA in 1981. His film work includes Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire and the Mike Hodges directed I'll Sleep When I'm Dead with Clive Owen. Trevor has written three radio plays, the first of which, Flaw in the Motor, Dust in the Blood, was shortlisted for the Imison Award and a Mental Health in the Media Award in 2009.
Win a car or lose a finger - what will be the result of an old man's bizarre bet? Read by Terry Molloy.
Master character comedian Colin Hoult returns to BBC Radio 4 for the second series of his sinister sketch show. Enter the Carnival of Monsters, a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters, presented by the sinister Ringmaster.
A host of characters are the exhibits at the Carnival - all played by Colin himself.
Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as: Wannabe Hollywood screenwriter Andy Parker; Anna Mann - outrageous star of such forgotten silver screen hits such as 'Rogue Baker', 'Who's For Turkish Delight' and 'A Bowl For My Bottom'; and a host of other characters from acid jazz obsessives, to mask workshop coordinators.
Writers Guild Award-winner Colin Hoult is best known for his highly acclaimed starring roles in Paul Whitehouse's 'Nurse', 'Being Human', Rickey Gervais' 'Life's Too Short' and 'Derek', and 'Russell Howard's Good News', as well as his many hit shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also appeared and written for a number of Radio 4 series including 'The Headset Set' and 'Colin and Fergus' Digi-Radio'.
'Lewis Carol meets The League Of Gentlemen . A beautifully staged masterclass in character comedy' - Time Out
'Comic gold' - Metro
'Delightfully funny' - The Telegraph
Produced by Sam Bryant.
Comedian Will Smith is obsessed with 1980s detective series Bergerac, so uses an audio book of its star, John Nettles, reading the Tao, to navigate the minefield of his life, with the help of a special guest.
Will seeks justice.
With Adam Buxton, John Nettles, Matt Holness, Simon Greenall, Dan Tetsell.
Written by Will Smith and Roger Drew.
From ten until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats to Tom Basden.
The radical comedian proposes deportation for everyone born in England. From August 1995.
Fathers' Mastermind, and a new-style triathlon. Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh welcome guest Rodney Bewes. From April 1994.
Cormick lost his daughter eight years ago in an avalanche that struck the remote Highlands village of Rosscoille. But now he makes an impossible discovery - one of the missing has returned...
Omnibus of James Payne's dark five part mystery, about a community struggling to deal with profound loss.
Cormick ..... Mark Bonnar
Thomas ..... Reece Shearsmith
Nancy ..... Amy Manson
Sally ..... Eiry Thomas
Flora ..... Promise Fulstow
Jim ..... Stuart McGugan
Morna ..... Tracy Wiles
Director: James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
4 Extra Debut. When you see dancers and acrobats in your overgrown garden, is it a sign of senility or second childhood? Read by Sean Campion.
Kerry Godliman's list-based comedy series returns with a list including explaining religion to child, making soup, ham strings and laminating something. The usual mixture of sitcom, sketches, stand up and songs all make up Kerry's List.
This week also features Kerry's husband Ben (Ben Abell) coping with the death of a university friend and, in so doing, inadvertently being challenged about his faith. Kerry and Ben's two year old son, Frank, is going through some major potty training and things, inevitably, don't go as smoothly around the potty as Kerry would like. She has an incredibly frustrating experience trying to report dog mess to her local council.
Furthermore Kerry decides it's high time she gives Frank some cinematic education - but an existential Swedish classic may not necessarily be the best for the inquisitive child.
Kerry comes into contact once again with her Guilt alter-ego who challenges her on her inevitable insecurities. There's also another manic conversation with best friend Hazel (Bridget Christie).
The cast includes co-writer David Lane Pusey, Rosie Cavaliero, Lucy Briers, Nicholas Le Prevost, Dominic Frisby and Melissa Bury.
Produced by Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.
A clerical error means Ted thinks his bachelor days have returned - will he be able to cope?
Starring Ted Ray. With Kitty Bluett and Kenneth Connor.
Ray's A Laugh - the successor to ITMA - follows the comedy exploits of Ted's life at home with his 'radio' wife Kitty, as well as in a variety of jobs. It ran from 1949-1961.
Scripted by Bernard Botting and Charles Hart.
BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Producer: Leslie Bridgmont
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1959.
Jim woos June with brass band music and Eth's mum wants her to dump Ron in 'The Glums'.
Starring Professor Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley, June Whitfield, Alma Cogan and Wallace Eton.
Classic comedy scripted by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Music from The Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra with Harry Rabinowitz.
Announcer. David Dunhill
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1956.
Damian Le Bas inhabits an awkward middle ground between the non-gypsy world and his own traveller / gypsy heritage. He grew up in West Sussex in a house built by his grandfather on land the family owned, surrounded by a field that was half car-breaking business, half farmyard. Scattered bits of engines lay alongside bales of hay, brand new trucks were surrounded by geese and terriers. But twice a week they drove an hour each way to their family pitch in the market square of Petersfield where they sold flowers.
Along the way, his elders would nod towards lay-bys and verges, naming them as they passed. These were the 'atchin tans' or stopping places. His great grandmother, Nan, explained to him that they were the places where she and her family used to live in the days of wagons and bender tents. Sometimes they would stop for a few days, other times for a few years.
Damian's parents both had faith in education and, when they saw that he was bright, he applied for for a full scholarship at the nearby boarding school - Christ's Hospital - which led to ten grade A O-Levels, A Levels and theology at Oxford.
Damian was now firmly an outsider in both worlds. But having plundered the Bodleian Library for histories of gypsies, he felt the need to get out into the world and discover the topography of his ancestors. So he with his Nan's blessing he set out to visit the stopping places, sometimes alone and sometimes accompanied by his wife Candis. As we follow his journey, we also learn about the history of the gypsies and their marginalised place in society today.
Written and read by Damian Le Bas
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Jill Waters
Producer: Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2018.
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between window cleaners. Charlie's now retired but, after falling 40 feet himself, he worries about his daughter Chaz's safety on the job. He still has nightmares that he has to clean a school, proving once again that it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
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 upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
4 Extra Debut. From Heitor Villa-Lobos to Wagner, theatre critic Blanche Marvin shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From November 2012.
4 Debut Extra. Catherine Burns introduces tales of people taken by surprise by discoveries and events. True stories told live in the USA.
The world is in crisis. Evolution has gone into reverse, affecting all creatures great and small, including the next generation of humans. Fewer babies - or their mothers - are surviving to full term and, of those babies born, many have been identified as belonging to a more primitive species of human. As governments take drastic action to limit the catastrophe, there has never been a more dangerous time to be having a baby.
Cedar Songmaker is pregnant. She is the adopted daughter of Minneapolis liberals. Determined to find out as much about her baby's make up as possible, she makes contact with her birth family on the Ojibwe reservation.
Omnibus of the first five episodes of Louise Erdrich's ten-part tale.
Despite increasing levels of panic across the country, Cedar sets out to meet her birth mother for the first time.
American author, Louise Erdrich lives in Minnesota. Her novel The Round House won the National Book Award for Fiction. She's also received the Library of Congress Prize in American Fiction, the prestigious PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Achievement in American Fiction, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Reader: Cherrelle Skeete
Producer: Lisa Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2018.
The ultimate advertising stunts guide, including the creation of characters and competitions. Written and hosted by Steve Punt.
Kate, a well-heeled widow, causes a sensation in her conventional community in the late1950s when she falls for the charms of a younger man.
She attracts both the envy and pity of her family and friends as they speculate whether her new found happiness can last beyond one golden summer.
Elizabeth Taylor's love drama stars Kate Buffery as Kate.
Dermot ... Chris Garner
Aunt Ethel ...June Barrie
Charles .... Michael Fenton Stevens
Edwina ... Bonnie Hurren
Sir Alfred ....Bill Wallis
Lou .... Helen Weaver
Father Blizzard ... Paul Dodgson
Minty ... Nicole Arumugam
Tom ... Ben Tinniswood
Producer: Viv Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'The Namer of Clouds' showcasing Luke Howard.
Poet Lavinia Greenlaw composes a tribute to the amateur meteorologist who in 1802 devised the cloud classification system and inspired the Romantics.
Luke Howard, often called "the father of meteorology" was a chemist, whose ideas for cloud classification were stirred when he was a schoolboy. In his late 20s, he composed the influential 'Essay on the Modification of Clouds', which was delivered at the Askesian Society, a fortnightly London science meeting.
Howard's influence upon art and poetry is as impressive as his meteorological discoveries. His essay became the subject of poems by Goethe and Percy Bysshe Shelley and he's believed to have inspired some of John Constable's landscapes.
Before composing a new poem dedicated to Luke Howard, Lavinia goes cloud spotting in Somerset with Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society. Richard Hamblyn, Luke Howard's biographer, describes how he gave the Romantics a new scientific language and Constable expert Anne Lyles examines Luke Howard's impact on the visual arts.
Producer: Paul Smith
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2013.
A man fears for his frantic friend, who claims he's being pursued by enraged winds out to exact revenge.
Strange and chilling tales from the award-winning master of thrillers Ray Bradbury, who tops and tails these radio dramatisations in his own inimitable style.
Stars Vincent Marzello, Stuart Milligan, Liza Ross, Gerard McDermott and Carolyn Jones.
Dramatised by Brian Sibley
Producer: Adrian Bean
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
Mrs Drover nervously returns to her old London house in the Blitz to discover a letter on the hall table - a reminder of a special rendezvous she can't fully recollect.
A series of ghostly stories by women dramatised by Christopher Hawes.
Elizabeth Bowen's eerie tale stars Jenny Howe as Mrs Drover, Stephen Thorne as , Jonathan Keeble as the Soldier, Christopher Scott as Mr Drover, Maggie Steed as Elizabeth Bowen, Shirley Dixon as Mother and Stephen Thorne as Father.
Producer: Marion Nancarrow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1997.
More surprises from the Commander, as Offred reveals how the current state-of-affairs came about.
Margaret Atwood's chilling vision of future female subjugation in 21st-century America.
In an age of plummeting birth rates - the result of pollution, nuclear accidents and toxic spillages - this is the diary of a woman recruited by a totalitarian regime...
Omnibus of the last five of ten episodes. Read by Buffy Davis.
First published in 1985, Margaret Attwood's dystopian novel was abridged by Katie Campbell.
Margaret is one of Canada's best-selling writers. The Handmaid's Tale was nominated for The Booker Prize, Prometheus Award and Nebula. It won an Arthur C Clarke Award.. It's also been successfully adapted for TV.
Producer: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
The author needs a new roof, so his agent sorts him a pitch to write for TV. Stars Christopher Douglas. From January 2005.
From ten until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats to Tom Basden.
Romantic Brian is plotting to surprise the social worker on holiday. Stars Sally Phillips and Gemma Craven. From November 2005.
The Sheffield singer hosts a special edition of Countdown with Richard Whiteley. Stars Graham Fellows. From March 2000.
With locals terrorised by a homicidal maniac in the small Scottish town - can Steve Gardiner finally unravel the identity of 'The Kind Man'?
Edward Boyd's six-part serial thriller stars Teddy Johnson as Steve Gardiner,
As well as acting, the versatile performer (1920-1918) sang with his wife Pearl Carr - coming second in the 1959 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Sing Little Birdie'. Johnson was also a DJ on Radio Luxembourg and later BBC Radio 2.
With Jimmy Logan as Jimmy Morton, Leonard Maguire as Wilfred Morton, Moultrie R. Kelsall as Detective Inspector Gordon, Douglas Murchie as Romily Foster, Eric Wightman as the Porter and Hannah Gordon as Lindy Marshall.
Produced in Glasgow by Eddie Fraser.
First broadcast in 1954 on the BBC Scottish Home Service.
Chris Ledgard explores a series of previously unheard recordings of the novelist John Fowles at work during his time as the curator of Lyme Regis Museum.
The recordings, made in 1978 with some of the oldest residents of Lyme Regis, provide a fascinating record of Dorset life in the early 20th century, including fishermen recalling the sinking of HMS Formidable off Lyme in 1915.
Former colleagues talk about working with Folwes and give an insight into how his reputation amongst those who knew him well in Lyme compared to his public persona.
Old rogue Winston has something he wants to ask Nancy, while Father is making plans of his own...
Peter Tinniswood's bawdy six-part comedy serial stars Bill Wallis as Winston, Maurice Denham as Father, Shirley Dixon as Nancy, Liz Goulding as Rosie and Christian Rodska as William.
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1992.
Gyles Brandreth temporarily takes over from Nicholas Parsons as the chairman of this iconic panel game. He is joined by Paul Merton, Josie Lawrence, Sara Pascoe and Tony Hawks.
The panel have to talk on a given subject for sixty seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation. What does Paul daydream about? Can Josie tell us much about the Wild West? How much does Sara know about the Theory of Evolution and does Tony really enjoy bungee jumping? All this will be revealed and more!
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle and it was produced by Matt Stronge.
Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.
The lad takes up conjuring and is booked for Dartmoor Prison - unaware of Sid's plan.
Starring Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1956.
Shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel starts a bus tour of New York.
Recreation of the Marx Brothers' lost shows charting the adventures of shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel and his assistant, Emmanuel Ravelli. Originally broadcast with sponsors on America's NBC radio network in the 1930s. The scripts were rediscovered in 1988.
Starring Michael Roberts as Groucho Marx as Waldorf T Flywheel and Frank Lazarus as Chico Marx as Emmanuel Ravelli. With Lorelei King and Graham Hoadly.
Special guest stars Spike Milligan and Dick Vosburgh.
Written by Nat Perrin and Athur Sheekman. Adapted by Mark Brisenden.
Music arranged and conducted by David Firman.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1992.
The quotations quiz hosted by Nigel Rees.
As ever, a host of celebrities will be joining Nigel as he quizzes them on the sources of a range of quotations and asks them for the amusing sayings or citations that they have personally collected on a variety of subjects. We find out their least favourite quotes, and discover the most quotable people they have ever met.
This week Nigel is joined by veteran broadcast war reporter and former independent politician - Martin Bell; arts journalist - Viv Groskop; actor, writer and artist - Edward Petherbridge and actor, comedian and writer David Schneider.
Reader ..... Peter Jefferson.
Produced by Carl Cooper.
The toffee tin with half the company profits is missing. With only three days to go, can the two-and-a-half grand be collected in time?
Conclusion of the six-part comedy series by Katie Hims.
Stars Roger May as Juan, Catherine Harvey as Martina, Gerard McDermott as Jimmy, Jane Whittenshaw as Carol and Mark Straker as Kingsley.
Director: Catherine Horn
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1999.
The fourth omnibus of Season 13, A Woman's Place, set in Folkestone, in the week, in 1918, when footballer Walter Tull was killed in the Spring Offensive.
Cast
Alice Macknade ..... Claire-Louise Cordwell
Adeline Lumley ..... Helen Schlesinger
Marion Wardle ..... Laura Elphinstone
Ivy Monk ..... Lizzy Watts
Howard Argent ..... Gunnar Cauthery
Hermione ..... Amber Aga
Sophie Beckwith ..... Abbie Andrews
Esme Macknade ..... Katie Angelou
Ray Wardle ..... Isabel Barry
Gabriel Graham ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Edie Chadwick ..... Kathryn Beaumont
Juliet Cavendish ..... Lizzie Bourne
Constance Pettigrew ..... Phoebe Frances Brown
Hugh Cavendish ..... Pip Carter
Bill Macknade ..... Ben Crowe
Annie Fear ..... Kathleen Cranham
Sylvia Graham ..... Joanna David
Private Casey ..... Ryan Early
Hilary Pearce ..... Craige Els
Rose Allatini ..... Phoebe Fildes
Dorcas ..... Georgie Glenn
Inspector Forrester ..... Nigel Hastings
Captain Morrison ... Clive Hayward
Dicky Manchester ..... Roy Hudd
Jessie Moore ..... Lucy Hutchinson
Rev. Walter Hamilton ..... Joseph Kloska
Harry Toomer ..... Ian Masters
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Peter Lumley ..... Beatrice White
Rev. Ralph Winwood ..... Nicholas Murchie
Olive Hargreaves ..... Rhiannon Neads
Dilys Walker ..... Ellie Piercy
Marieke Argent ..... Olivia Ross
Nell Kingsley ..... Alice St Clair
Dennis Monk ..... Sam Swann
Stella Wardle ..... Oliva Wales
Fraser Chadwick ..... Edmund Wiseman
Fryn Tennyson-Jesse..... Fenella Woolgar
Written by Katie Hims
Story-led by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Ciaran Bermingham
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
Two worlds collide over a mother's birthday present for her son. Written in 1970 and read by Julia Ford and Kirsty Oswald.
Detective Superintendent Julie Enfield's night out in London's Soho is rudely interrupted by a murder above a coffee bar.
The day's takings are left untouched, so robbery is clearly not the motive...
Nick Fisher's thriller stars Imelda Staunton as DSI Julie Enfield, Geoffrey Matthews as Dad, Frances Jeater as Mary Simons, Geoffrey Whitehead as Gerry Maddox, Priyanga Elan as Woman in Club, Elizabeth Conboy as Coffee Drinker, Jonathan Keeble as David Simons, Giles Fagan as Tourist, Ben Crowe as the Waiter and Tilly Gaunt as the Woman.
Director: Richard Wortley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1999.
'Waterline' is Ross Raisin's long-awaited new novel after the success of his prize-winning debut 'God's Own Country'.
'The sun is on his face, and he spots the postie turning in through the gate... He is awake, that's obvious enough, but he has this sense of unrealness. That it's him that's not real. That's aye what it feels like. As if all these goings on around him - the sunshine, the television still quietly on, the post tummelling onto the mat - they are all part of some other life, one that he can see, but he's no a part of.'
After the death of his beloved wife Cathy, ex-Glasgow shipbuilder and union man, Mick Little, finds himself struggling. The shipyard's gone and with it his old way of life, and now his wife too. With the ties that bound him to his past suddenly loosened, he finds himself adrift. Starting out again, away from Scotland, he can leave somethings behind but not the guilt he feels over Cathy's death.
Tracing Mick's journey from his old life in Glasgow to the harsh, alien world of a hotel kitchen, and on to the rough streets of London, this is an intensely moving portrait of a life in the balance, and a story for our times.
Today: Cathy's funeral brings old family tensions to the surface, as Mick struggles to come to terms with his wife's untimely death.
'God's Own Country' was nominated for eight major awards, winning the Betty Trask and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year awards.
Reader: Alexander Morton
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett.
CLARE BALDING charts how Britain has shaped sport and sport has shaped the British.Apart from the English language itself, the invention of modern sport has been our major cultural legacy to the rest of the world.In this thirty part narrative history series with the help of the academic team from the International Centre for Sport History and Culture at De Montfort University, Clare looks at the unique and vital role sport has played, and continues to play, in our national life. As we gear up for the 2012 games, in this first programme she looks at the birth of the modern olympics movement. While it was inspired by the Greeks and revived by the French nobleman, Pierre de Coubertin, his motivation came from a provincial English public school. It was while visiting Rugby and contemplating the work of its visionary headmaster, Thomas Arnold, that de Coubertin came to the conclusion that inferior physical fitness in young Frenchmen had played a part in their defeat by the Germans in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. If they played more sport at school, he thought, the outcome might have been different. With Richard Holt and Tony Collins, Professors at the International Centre for Sport History and Culture at De Montfort University, Clare discusses what lessons can be drawn from the games since 1896, in order to achieve success when they return to us this year.
The reader is Stuart McLoughlin.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
Honor Blackman, Shelley Conn, Mariah Gale and Samantha Spiro star in Beatrice Hitchman's thrilling debut, adapted by Miranda Davies. A 1914 silent film called Petite Mort holds the key to an infamous murder trial.
1967, Paris. A young journalist, Juliette Blanc (Shelley Conn) investigates the mystery of a missing section of film from a recently rediscovered silent film print from 1914 - Petite Mort. She is contacted by an elderly woman, Adele Roux (Honor Blackman), the star of that infamous film, who seems keen to tell her story.
1913, Paris. The young Adele Roux (Mariah Gale) arrives at the gates of the Pathe film studios, determined to fulfil her ambition to become a screen actress, like her heroine 'Terpsichore' - the beautiful actress, Luce Durand (Samantha Spiro). But her path to fame is not straightforward.
Produced and directed by Emma Harding.
At seventeen, Anchee Min was spotted by one of Madame Mao's talent scouts and taken to the Shanghai Film Studio as the embodiment of a proletarian heroine.
But when Madame Mao was denounced, Min was guilty by association and labelled 'a cooked seed' - one who has no chance to sprout.
With no future in her homeland, she dares to dream of living in America. But first she has to work out how to get out of China.
Read by Chipo Chung
Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
The Fourth Doctor returns to Nest Cottage in Sussex to recuperate and fix the TARDIS, as Christmas looms. But housekeeper, Mrs Wibbsey sparks havoc when she donates some vital components to the church bring-and-buy sale...
The Time Lord had previously returned Mrs Wibbsey to the cottage, but he was unable to return her to 1932, so she's now battling to adjust to life in modern times.
Tom Baker reprises the role of the Fourth Doctor in the first of five thrilling adventures.
With Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates and Nigel Anthony as the Wizard.
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Martha Kearney and her guests - TV presenter, Penny Smith and philosopher and writer, Julian Baggini - discuss favourite books by Graham Greene, John McGahern and Jane Goodall. From 2006.
That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern
Publisher: Faber
In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall
Publisher: Phoenix Press
Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene
Publisher: Vintage.
Arthur Dent has returned home to Earth. Not time travelled but hitchhiked back in his present to the planet he was born on, the planet described in the Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy as "Mostly Harmless" and the planet which was destroyed by the Vogon Constructor Fleet seconds after he escaped with the help of his friend, the Betelgeusian Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy Researcher Ford Prefect.
In order to get to Earth, and then more specifically his home in England, Arthur has hitched rides from an Intergalactic Teaser, a lorry driver called Rob McKenna - who is, unbeknownst to himself, a Rain God - and, finally, a Saab driver called Russell whose sister Arthur has inexplicably fallen in love with. Whether or not she returns the sentiment is hard to establish because she is unconscious throughout their first meeting and, as Arthur only caught the name 'Fenny' before being dropped off at his cottage, he may have some trouble re-establishing contact.
Ford meanwhile has been researching drinks prices in a far from harmless bar on a far from harmless planet. Despite encounters with a bird which squawks the name of local contract killers and a disembodied hand with homicidal tendencies, he survives to learn from an update to his copy of the Hitchhiker's Guide that the Earth is suddenly a going concern once again. This gives him a Purpose In Life.
Meanwhile it is giving a headache to Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz , whose Constructor Fleet is recalled to Megabrantis, the administrative hub of the Galaxy, where he must explain how he has apparently broken the most fundamental of Vogon directives and failed to carry out a simple order.
The topical satirical show that mixes political vituperation with media mauling and celebrity savaging.
The series is written by Private Eye writers Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, together with Tom Coles, Ed Amsden, Sarah Campbell, Laurence Howarth, James Bugg, Laura Major, Max Davis and others.
The series stars Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.
A BBC Studios Production.
The comedian ponders whether telling the truth is always the best option. With Hattie Heyridge. From November 2005.
An aristocratic scandal erupts after Lord Peter's Wimsey's brother, the Duke of Denver, is arrested for murder...
Starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, Peter Jones as Bunter, James Villiers as the Duke of Denver, Gabriel Woolf as Inspector Parker, James Thomason as the Coroner, Maria Aitken as Lady Mary Wimsey, Nigel Lambert as Freddie Arbuthnot, Betty Cardno as Miss Cathcart, Bill Wallis as Pettigrew and Sean Arnold as Cooper.
British gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey features in a number of detective novels and short stories by English crime writer, Dorothy L Sayers. Clouds of Witness was first published in 1926.
Classy and sharp-witted, aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Bredon Wimsey was born in 1890 and educated at Eton and Oxford, before serving in the military during the First World War.
Ian Carmichael appeared as Lord Peter Wimsey for BBC Radio from 1973 to 1983, in addition to the BBC TV adaptations broadcast between 1972 and 1975.
Adapted for radio in eight episodes Peter Jones and Tania Lieven.
Producer: Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1974.
Alistair McGowan travels to Paris on the trail of his musical hero, the visionary Erik Satie - now most well-known as the composer of the Gymnopedies. Satie was famously eccentric - he replaced traditional musical directions like 'ralentando' and 'fortissimo' with instructions to the musician such as, 'While watching oneself approach' and 'like a nightingale with a toothache' and in order to save time deciding what to wear every day, he bought seven, identical, yellow, corduroy suits - one for every day of the week.
Satie's radical new approach to music was initially dismissed by the musical establishment, but he was to prove a highly influential force in the new French music of Debussy, Ravel and anticipated 20th century minimalism.
As Alistair talks to Satie biographers and musicians, he uncovers the story of Satie's one and only love affair, with the artist Suzanne Valadon. Their affair lasted only six months, but years later, after Satie's death, bundles of unsent letters to Suzanne were discovered in Satie's apartment.
Featuring interviews with Robert Orledge, Ornella Volta and Jean-Pierre Armengaud.
And at 14.15 on Monday 15th July, you can hear Alistair play Satie, in a Radio 4 Afternoon Drama, Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear, written by Alistair himself, and starring Nathaniel Parker as Claude Debussy, Imogen Stubbs as Suzanne Valadon and Kevin Eldon as the critic, Willy Gaulthier Villars.
Translations of Ornella Volta's interviews were voiced by Philippa Stanton
Produced by Emma Harding
FURTHER READING:
Satie Seen Through His Letters, edited by Ornella Volta, translated by Michael Bullock. Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd; New edition (May 1994)
Satie the Composer by Robert Orledge. Cambridge University Press (4 Dec 2008).
Jealous Faith is swamped with advice over Bill and his ex-wife Liza
Sitcom about the battles of divorcees Bill and Faith trying to forge a relationship whilst balancing the demands of his ex-wife, Liza and her teenage children, Hannah and Joe.
Series one of four inspired by the real lives of its writers, husband and wife Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie.
A TV version made by LWT for ITV appeared in 1991 and ran four series, with a spin-off series 'Faith in the Future'.
Stars Lynda Bellingham as Faith, James Bolam as Bill, Belinda Lang as Liza, Celia Imrie as Hilary, Kelda Holmes as Hannah and Mark Denham as Joe.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1988.
When a famous baker comes to the gym, Milton decides it's time to show off his nice buns.
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is "Help!". Each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. Because when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.
"Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian.
"King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times
"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily Mail
Written by Milton with James Cary (Bluestone 42, Miranda), and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show House Of Rooms), the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton," returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.
The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill (Spamalot, Mr. Selfridge) as the ever-faithful Anton, Josie Lawrence and Ben Willbond (The Thick Of It).
With music by Guy Jackson
Produced and directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
Lionel gets a surprise from Alistair, while Jean interviews a manager for the new branch of her agency.
Starring Judi Dench as Jean and Geoffrey Palmer as Lionel. With Moira Brooker as Judith and Philip Bretherton as Alistair.
A six-part adaptation by Bob Larbey of series three of his popular BBC TV sitcom. Two former lovers Jean and Lionel have been reunited unexpectedly after losing contact for 38 years.
After falling in love in the early 1950s, army officer Lionel was sent to Korea, but they lost touch after a letter he sent to her never arrived. Both assumed the other had lost interest, but their paths have crossed again on his return to England.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1999.
Tasked with a naval survey, the blundering bureaucrats plumb new depths...
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 July 1976.
Foggerty is a confirmed bachelor in search of peace and quiet, but fate has other plans in store for him in the rather large shape of Dolly Fortescue.
The first series of short stories by WS Gilbert dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.
Starring Jonathan Coy as WS Gilbert, Stephen Moore as Foggerty, Alison Steadman as Dolly, Martin Hyder as the Guard and Ian Masters as the Missionary.
Playwright and humourist, Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836-1911) is best known for his comic opera collaborations with Sir Arthur Sullivan, which first captivated audiences across the English-speaking world in the late 19th century.
Director: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
The fifth omnibus of Season 13, A Woman's Place, set in Folkestone, in the week, in 1918, when the Operation Michael came to an end.
Written by Katie Hims
Story-led by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
A night out leaves a playwright contemplating relationships and success. Written in 1972 and read by Tracy Wiles.
Alistair McGowan's witty and poignant drama about his musical hero - the visionary and eccentric French composer Erik Satie and the three key relationships in his life.
Starring Alistair McGowan as Erik Satie, Nathaniel Parker as Claude Debussy, Imogen Stubbs as Suzanne Valadon and Charlotte Page as Paulette Darty.
Satie is now most famous for his delicate and dreamlike 'Gymnopedies', but he was a man ahead of his time - turning his back on the musical conventions of his day and composing spare, 'white' pieces with strange titles, such as 'Flabby Preludes for a Dog' and 'Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear'
But he was also a complex and solitary man. McGowan's drama looks at three key figures in Satie's life - his friend and rival, Claude Debussy; his first love, the artist Suzanne Valadon and the society soprano, Paulette Darty, for whom he nurtured a long, but undeclared, devotion.
But despite the poignancy of Satie's romantic life, this is a fresh and funny portrayal of an engagingly eccentric figure - a man who saved time deciding what to wear by buying seven, identical, yellow, corduroy suits (one for every day of the week) and who, for a time, consumed only white foods in the hope of instilling that simplicity and purity into his own body and music.
All other parts played by members of the company.
Directed by Emma Harding.
'Waterline' is Ross Raisin's long-awaited new novel after the success of his prize-winning debut 'God's Own Country'.
'The sun is on his face, and he spots the postie turning in through the gate... He is awake, that's obvious enough, but he has this sense of unrealness. That it's him that's not real. That's aye what it feels like. As if all these goings on around him - the sunshine, the television still quietly on, the post tummelling onto the mat - they are all part of some other life, one that he can see, but he's no a part of.'
After the death of his beloved wife Cathy, ex-Glasgow shipbuilder and union man, Mick Little finds himself struggling. The shipyard's gone and with it his old way of life, and now his wife too. With the ties that bound him to his old life suddenly loosened, he sets about finding a new way to live. And so Mick finds himself starting again, away from Scotland, but never away from the guilt he feels over Cathy's death.
Tracing Mick's journey from his old life in Glasgow to the harsh, alien world of a hotel kitchen, and on to the rough streets of London, this is an intensely moving portrait of a life in the balance, and a story for our times.
Today: alone now after his in-laws and sons have returned home, Mick sets about getting back to normality. But nothing is normal now.
'God's Own Country' was nominated for eight major awards, winning the Betty Trask and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year awards.
Reader: Alexander Morton
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett.
CLARE BALDING explores how the British shaped sport and sport shaped Britain. If the French had played cricket, would they have prevented the revolution? Clare visits Broadhalfpenny Down in Hampshire, the original home of Hambledon Cricket Club, that's widely regarded as the birthplace of modern cricket. The origins of the game go back to the sixteenth century, it was a farm game, played on landed estates. Highly competitive aristocratic landowners, with money and time to spend, would employ men on their estates who were the best cricketers, so they could use them on their team. Cricket brought together landowners and their agricultural workers, they played together on the same pitch, in the same team - on a level playing field. Professor Richard Holt of the International Centre for Sports history and culture at De Montfort University explains that while we shouldn't confuse social mixing with social harmony, this picture of cricket as a village game, played on summer afternoon, everyone knowing their place on the field, has become the image of Englishness.
Producer: Sara Conkey.
Honor Blackman, Shelley Conn, Mariah Gale and Samantha Spiro star in Beatrice Hitchman's thrilling debut, adapted by Miranda Davies. A 1914 silent film called Petite Mort holds the key to an infamous murder trial.
1913, Paris. The young Adele Roux (Mariah Gale) attends an audition at the Pathe film studios, where she meets the charismatic producer and special effects wizard, Andre Durand (Marcus D'Amico).
In Paris in 1967, Paris, journalist Juliette Blanc (Shelley Conn) continues her interview with the enigmatic Adele Roux, now in her eighties, but once the star of silent film. Petite Mort, which was at the centre of a famous 1914 murder trial.
Produced and directed by Emma Harding.
Having secured a place to study art at an American college, Anchee Min lands in the States.
She marvels at the luxury of her first American airport but, having lied about her ability to speak English, she is terrified that immigration will turn her back before she can begin her new life.
Read by Chipo Chung
Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
John Lloyd invites guests Sarah Bakewell, Michael Welland and Simon Evans to add to the collection. From May 2010.
In the red corner, Mr Sims and in the blue - Mr Long! Seconds out as they compete for a job.
Created and written by Jim Eldridge, ten series of this comedy about a junior school ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.
Created and Jim Eldridge, ten series of this comedy about a junior school ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.
Written by Andy Rashleigh.
Stars Karl Howman as Mr Sims, James Grout as the Headmaster, Marlene Sidaway as Miss Lewis, Margaret John as Mrs Stone, Paul Copley as Mr Long, Deirdre Costello as Mrs Patterson, Vivienne Martin as Mrs Rudd, Tom Watson as Mr Holliday, Janine Wood as Kathy Jackson and Fiona Taylor as Miranda.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1998.
In Roman Britain, the Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey are mistaken for druids, and sent to kill a rival tribe's wizard.
Stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates and Nigel Anthony as the Wizard.
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Now a symbol of the city's regeneration after the Troubles, Geoffrey Wheeler meets staff and performers. With Jimmy Cricket.
Another chance to hear the comedy series inspired by every shopping channel you've ever seen and every product you've never wanted to buy.
Starring Justin Edwards, Colin Hoult, Katherine Jakeways, Ewen MacIntosh, Alex MacQueen, Greg Proops and this week's special guest, Rich Hall.
The best in contemporary comedy. Iain Lee talks to John-Luke Roberts.
As they continue their search for the Sword of Asnagar, the noble Questers are lead to a quiet town in the countryside, which they have heard may hold their prize. But they get there only to discover that it has been razed to the ground by a band of ruthless barbarians, lead by the blood-thirsty Ragnar Half-tooth (Daniel Rigby), who has taken the Sword taken as booty. In order to get it back, the Questers decide to masquerade as barbarians and enter Ragnar's camp. Can they trick Ragnar, deceive his men and get the Sword? Well...they give it a jolly good go...
Meanwhile, Kreech tells Lord Darkness that his annual regeneration is coming up and that he needs to get some sleep in order to avoid meeting the new Dawn which will send his body crumbling into dust. Problem is, getting to sleep when it really matters is easier said than done. And Lord Darkness is suddenly overcome by a nasty bout of insomnia...
Cast:
Darren Boyd as Vidar
Kevin Eldon as Dean/Kreech
Dave Lamb as Amis aka The Chosen One
Alistair McGowan as Lord Darkness
Stephen Mangan as Sam
Daniel Rigby as Ragnar Half-tooth
and
Sophie Winkleman as Penthiselea
Written by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto
Producer: Sam Michell.
The meaning of autumn and novelty dance lessons, in the spoof boys' adventure paper. Stars Alistair McGowan. From September 1991.
The Duke of Denver stands accused of the murder of Captain Dennis Cathcart.
His brother, Lord Peter Wimsey desperately hunts for remaining clues at the scene of the shooting - Riddlesdale Lodge in Yorkshire
Starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, Peter Jones as Bunter, Gabriel Woolf as Inspector Parker, Nigel Lambert as Freddie Arbuthnot, Bill Wallis as Pettigrew-Robinson, Miriam Margolyes as Mrs Hardraw and Betty Cardno as the Duchess of Denver.
British gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey features in a number of detective novels and short stories by English crime writer, Dorothy L Sayers. Clouds of Witness was first published in 1926.
Classy and sharp-witted, aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Bredon Wimsey was born in 1890 and educated at Eton and Oxford, before serving in the military during the First World War.
Ian Carmichael appeared as Lord Peter Wimsey for BBC Radio from 1973 to 1983, in addition to the BBC TV adaptations broadcast between 1972 and 1975.
Adapted for radio in eight episodes Peter Jones and Tania Lieven.
Producer: Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1974.
As Desert Island Discs celebrates 70 years this month, David Baddiel explores the mercurial life of its very first castaway, entertainer Vic Oliver.
In the early forties presenter Roy Plomley devised a series which has been a constant presence in the choppy waters of radio ever since. The very first broadcast of Desert Island Discs was recorded at the bomb-damaged Maida Vale studios, London, on 27 January 1942. Plomley's guest was Vic Oliver.
In the forties, as a comedian, musician, host and music hall act Oliver was a household name. He'd married Winston Churchill's daughter and found fame appearing on the wartime radio show "Hi Gang" while forging a successful stage career.
During those war years he'd also attracted the attention of the Nazi party who'd included his name on a list of people to be arrested in the event of a successful invasion of Britain, there are also reports that his mother and daughter perished in a concentration camp despite Oliver claiming in his 1950's autobiography that his mother was alive and well.
As David Baddiel discovers there's a whole series of these myths and contradictions about Oliver's personal life, his relationship with the Churchill family, his impact on the world of entertainment and an untold story of how he appeared to keep his Jewish background private.
With archive of Oliver in conversation and performance, contributors include; Bill Pertwee, Writer Brad Ashton, Theatre Historian Chris Woodward and trumpeter Joan Hinde.
The programme is written by Phil Collinge and produced in Salford by Stephen Garner.
All is not well in Monte Guano. Countess Rosalie has confessed she no longer loves Prince Ludovico - sending him into a terrible rage.
Can Princess Plethora save the day?
Second series of the comedy drama set in Renaissance Italy devised by Neal Anthony.
Written by Roger Danes.
Stars David Swift as Ludovico, Sian Phillips as Plethora, Graham Crowden as Francesco, Saskia Wickham as Rosalie, Nick Romero as Salvatore and Chris Kelham as Guido.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2002.
The hit series returns for a sixth series with more shop based shenanigans and over the counter philosophy, courtesy of Ramesh Mahju and his trusty sidekick Dave. Written by and starring Donald Mcleary and Sanjeev Kohli.
Set in a Scots-Asian corner shop, the award winning Fags, Mags & Bags sees a return of all the shop regular characters, and some guest appearances along the way, from the likes of Julia Deakin and Mina Anwar.
In this episode, tempers are frayed as Lovely Sue and Mrs Birkett set up competing choirs for The West of Scotland community choir-off, and Sanjay and his mate Grebo make Mrs Begg an internet star.
Join the staff of Fags, Mags and Bags in their tireless quest to bring nice-price custard creams and cans of coke with Arabic writing on them to an ungrateful nation. Ramesh Mahju has built it up over the course of over 30 years and is a firmly entrenched, friendly presence in the local area. He is joined by his shop sidekick, Dave.
Then of course there are Ramesh's sons Sanjay and Alok, both surly and not particularly keen on the old school approach to shopkeeping, but natural successors to the business. Ramesh is keen to pass all his worldly wisdom onto them - whether they like it or not!
Written by Donald Mcleary and Sanjeev Kohli
Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
The officers of HMS Troutbridge aim to make a fast buck from Lieutenant Bates' latest invention.
Stars Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Ronnie Barker as Able Seaman Johnson, Richard Caldicote as Captain Povey, Michael Bates as Lieutenant Bates, Heather Chasen as WREN Chasen/ Lady Todd Hunter-Brown and Teniel Evans as Sir Willoughby Todd Hunter-Brown.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1961.
Kenneth Horne is on the mystery trail of a giant mouse - and down the end of the pier, it's the amazing Gruntfuttock and Julian and Sandy being telepathic.
With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London. Announcer: Douglas Smith
Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, catchphrases and double-entendres.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1966.
Crime writers Frances Fyfield and Peter N Walker try to solve a medical mystery. Chaired by Simon Brett. From January 1998.
Sofa-bound TV presenters Mike and Sue discuss property, holidays and their hopes for a TV award.
Starring Robert Duncan and Jan Ravens.
With Roger Blake, Emma Kennedy and Toby Longworth.
Written by Hugh Rycroft and David Spicer from a format by Bill Dare.
Music by Mark Burton.
Producer: Aled Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1999.
The sixth omnibus of Season 13, A Woman's Place, set in Folkestone, in the week, in 1918, when Maud Allen's production of Salome was cancelled following accusations of "moral perversity" involving 47,000 English traitors.
Cast
Edie Chadwick ..... Kathryn Beaumont
Marieke Argent ..... Olivia Ross
Alice Macknade ..... Claire-Louise Cordwell
Rev. Walter Hamilton ..... Joseph Kloska
Gabriel Graham ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Sophie Beckwith ..... Abbie Andrews
Esme Macknade ..... Katie Angelou
Norman Harris ..... Sean Baker
Isabel Graham ..... Keely Beresford
Juliet Cavendish ..... Lizzie Bourne
Constance Pettigrew ..... Phoebe Frances Brown
Mickey Macknade ..... Reece Buttery
Hugh Cavendish ..... Pip Carter
Howard Argent ..... Gunnar Cauthery
Dolly Clout ..... Elaine Claxton
Annie Fear ..... Kathleen Cranham
Bill Macknade ..... Ben Crowe
Sylvia Graham ..... Joanna David
Mrs Edkins ..... Rachel Davies
Marion Wardle ..... Laura Elphinstone
Hilary Pearce ..... Craige Els
Rose Allatini ..... Phoebe Fildes
Inspector Forrester ..... Nigel Hastings
Dicky Manchester ..... Roy Hudd
Jessie Moore ..... Lucy Hutchinson
Adam Wilson ..... Billy Kennedy
Jack Wilson ..... Ashley Kumar
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Olive Hargreaves ..... Rhiannon Neads
Dilys Walker ..... Ellie Piercy
Eric Morton ..... Paul Rainbow
Emma ..... Susie Riddell
Adeline Lumley ..... Helen Schlesinger
Frankie ..... Jane Slavin
Nell Kingsley ..... Alice St Clair
Rev. Alec Poole ..... Tom Stuart
Charles Summer ..... Rufus Wright
Written by Lucy Catherine
Story-led by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Ciaran Bermingham
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
A chance encounter on a train leads a lonely woman to a romantic fantasy. Written in 1967 and read by Lucy Akhurst.
In the late 1950s Charlie was a violent and uncontrollable entrant to art school. His teacher changed the course of his life. BAFTA award-winning writer Trevor Preston's semi-autobiographical play catches up with Charlie as his mentor's death shifts everything once more.
Directed by Toby Swift
********************************
BAFTA-winning screenwriter Trevor Preston's second play for radio tells the story of Charlie who suddenly re-discovers the passion and energy of his youth. In his late sixties and with his writing career all but dried up, Charlie starts to paint again. Invigorated, he spends his free time supporting his contemporaries who have found themselves alienated and impoverished by modern life. Soon it is not just his desire to paint that is revived.
A story close to Trevor's heart, 'Small Acts of Kindness' follows his radio debut, 'Flaw in the Motor, Dust in the Blood' which starred Rory Kinnear and was shortlisted for the Richard Imison Award for 'Best First Radio Play' and for a Mental Health in the Media Award.
'Waterline' is Ross Raisin's long-awaited new novel after the success of his prize-winning debut 'God's Own Country'.
'The sun is on his face, and he spots the postie turning in through the gate... He is awake, that's obvious enough, but he has this sense of unrealness. That it's him that's not real. That's aye what it feels like. As if all these goings on around him - the sunshine, the television still quietly on, the post tummelling onto the mat - they are all part of some other life, one that he can see, but he's no a part of.'
After the death of his beloved wife Cathy, ex-Glasgow shipbuilder and union man, Mick Little finds himself struggling. The shipyard's gone and with it his old way of life, and now his wife too. With the ties that bound him to his old life suddenly loosened, he sets about finding a new way to live. And so Mick finds himself starting again, away from Scotland, but never away from the guilt he feels over Cathy's death.
Tracing Mick's journey from his old life in Glasgow to the harsh, alien world of a hotel kitchen, to the rough streets of London, this is an intensely moving portrait of a life in the balance, and a story for our times.
Today: Mick finds that his home holds too many painful memories and is haunted by the part he might have played in Cathy's death...
'God's Own Country' was nominated for eight major awards, winning the Betty Trask and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year awards.
Reader: Alexander Morton
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett.
Clare Balding explores the way the British have shaped sport and sport has shaped Britain.
An ability to box defined the 19th century alpha male. No gloves or weapons, pugilism was pure, painful and deeply patriotic.Even though prize fighting was technically illegal, it thrived under the support and protection of the aristocracy, notably Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, a son of George II. His nephew, the Prince of Wales - who later became George III was also passionate about pugilism and where royalty led, the rest followed. Dr Neil Carter of the International Centre for Sport History and culture at De Montfort University explains how the subculture of boxing was led by a group of wealthy influential backers known as 'The Fancy' a group of thrill seekers for whom gambling on a bout was part of the risk.Boxing was an underground, cultish fashion until the birth of sports journalism when Sunday newspapers, such as 'Bell's Life' and 'Weekly Dispatch' started to cover it.
Readers, Nyasha Hatendi, Brian Bowles and Stuart McLoughlin
Producer: Garth Brameld.
Honor Blackman, Shelley Conn, Mariah Gale and Samantha Spiro star in Beatrice Hitchman's thrilling debut, adapted by Miranda Davies. A 1914 silent film called Petite Mort holds the key to an infamous murder trial.
1967, Paris. Journalist Juliette Blanc (Shelley Conn) continues to interview Adele Roux (Honor Blackman), once a star of a famous silent film of 1914, Petite Mort.
1913, Paris. The young Adele Roux (Mariah Gale) is taken by surprise when her younger sister Camille turns up at her door. Her eyes still on screen greatness, Adele agrees to her lover Andre's (Marcus D'Amico) plan to install her in his house as assistant to his beautiful, but unpredictable, screen star wife - 'Terpsichore' - Luce Durand (Samantha Spiro).
Produced and directed by Emma Harding.
Anchee Min begins to learn about student culture American style - dancing to Michael Jackson, 'hanging out' at the dorm and trying to learn English by watching Sesame Street.
But the luxury of her new surroundings worries her as she struggles to pay her debt to her Aunt.
Read by Chipo Chung
Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio4.
After departing Roman Britain, the Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey travel to 1894 Paris, on the trail of painter, Toulouse-Lautrec.
Stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates and Mark Meadows as Lautrec.
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Film director, actor, screenwriter and novelist Bryan Forbes talks to Robin Ray about the music that moves him.
Recalling his life and career highlights, Bryan's selection includes the work of Puccini, John Barry and Elton John.
Producer: Emma Kingsley
Bryan Forbes CBE was born: 1926 and died 2013.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
The impression show with a difference. This week, Mary Berry from Bake Off has to deal with a baking-related dispute between Ray Winstone and Bob Hoskins. Olympic director Danny Boyle is tasked with rescuing a cat from a tree, and James Naughtie seeks counselling from poet Roger McGough.
With Jon Culshaw, Julian Dutton, Lewis MacLeod, Jess Robinson, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.
Adventuring comedian Tim FitzHigham recreates an 18th Century bet, attempting to outrun a racehorse over a hundred yard dash. Tim turns to Kriss Akabusi and his former school PE teacher for training advice.
Written by and starring Tim FitzHigham with Olivia Fitzroy and Bob Slayer. Additional material written by Jon Hunter and Paul Byrne. Produced by Colin Anderson.
Myths and mucking out at the court of King Arthur. Improvised family saga with Paul Merton and Josie Lawrence. From June 1994.
Who is the mysterious "number 10" and what connects him to the beautiful Mrs Grimethorpe?
With his brother accused of shooting Captain Dennis Cathcart, Lord Peter Wimsey continues his murder investigation, as the family barrister arrives in Yorkshire to discuss the case...
Starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, Peter Jones as Bunter, Gabriel Woolf as Inspector Parker, Maria Aitken as Lady Mary Wimsey, Brian Oulton as Sir Impey Biggs, Bill Wallis as Grimethorpe, Elizabeth Proud as Mrs Grimethorpe, David Sinclair as the Servant and Bonnie Hurren as Lucy Grimethorpe.
British gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey features in a number of detective novels and short stories by English crime writer, Dorothy L Sayers. Clouds of Witness was first published in 1926.
Ian Carmichael appeared as Lord Peter Wimsey for BBC Radio from 1973 to 1983, in addition to the BBC TV adaptations broadcast between 1972 and 1975.
Adapted for radio in eight episodes Peter Jones and Tania Lieven.
Producer: Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1974.
A light-hearted look at the New York Jewish dating scene through the eyes of presenter Tim Samuels, a London-based single Jew desperate to find the girl of his dreams.
Tim has always thought he would settle down with a nice Jewish girl in Britain, but with his single Jewish friends taking the plunge one after another and no sign of love in his life, Tim, at 33, takes decisive action. He is heading for the bright lights of New York City. He wants to find a Jewish princess with that NY get-up-and-go, someone who will get British humour - and still have lovely teeth (think Cheryl David from Curb Your Enthusiasm or comic Sarah Silverman).
He puts the word out on the NY Jewish singles circuit by way of an advert announcing that he is coming over for a week on an intense dating mission. He scrambles around for something impressive to say in the advert, before setting off for a week of power-dates. Will he find a New York girl who isn't averse to rainy weekends and watching soccer on the box?
Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the residents of a small town in Northamptonshire. The dawn of the Dickensian festival brings chaos to Wadenbrook, and Angela has something to tell Frank.
written by Katherine Jakeways
produced by Victoria Lloyd
John Biggins................................Keith
Mackenzie Crook...........................Rod
Kevin Eldon...................Jonathan / Ken
Shelia Hancock....................... Narrator
Jessica Henwick...........................Helen
Katherine Jakeways........ Esther / Jacqui
Felicity Montagu..............................Jan
Geoffrey Palmer........................Norman
Lizzie Roper..............................Angela
Penelope Wilton............................Mary
Rufus Wright................................Frank.
Frank Skinner loves history, but just doesn't know much of it. So he's devised a comedy discussion show in order to find out more about it.
Along with his historian in residence, Professor Kate Williams, Frank is joined by a selection of celebrity guests who help him navigate his way through the annals of time, picking out and chewing over the funniest, oddest, and most interesting moments in history.
The guests are Katy Brand and Pierre Novellie, who discuss Hodge - the cat belonging to Doctor Samuel Pepys, Nelson and Lady Hamilton, and the Lyme Missal.
Produced by Mark Augustyn and Justin Pollard
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
The veteran auditionee recalls how talent lurks in the unlikeliest places, or sometimes not at all. Stars Peter Jones. From July 1986.
Neddie discovers that he's the heir to a Scottish fortune, but first he must outlive the Laird. Stars Harry Secombe and Spike Milligan. From February 1956.
Peter Jones hosts the entertainment quiz about comedy as he tests a panel of experts: Ben Travers, Ray Cooney and Leslie Phillips
Funny You Should Ask ran for 8 series from 1976 to 1982.
Questions compiled by Michael Pointon.
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1981.
Will Mr Mullet and The Bishop of Norwich get too close for comfort over tea? Maud gets a computer and there's an incident on the road...
First of two series of Sue Limb's Bed and Breakfast sitcom about sisters Alison and Maud and their guests at the Abbeyfield Guest House in Norwich.
Starring Denise Coffey as Alison, Miriam Margolyes as Maud, Chris Emmett as Mr Mullett, Geoffrey Whitehead as Bernard, Nickolas Grace as Leslie and Nicholas Le Prevost as the Bishop of Norwich
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2003.
The seventh omnibus of Season 13, A Woman's Place, set in Folkestone, in the week, in 1918, when suffragist Nina Boyle claimed a 'moral triumph' after her nomination to run as an MP was rejected.
Cast
Sylvia Graham ..... Joanna David
Edie Chadwick ..... Kathryn Beaumont
Florrie Wilson ..... Claire Rushbrook
Esme Macknade ..... Katie Angelou
Alice Macknade ..... Claire-Louise Cordwell
Private Royal ..... Luke Bailey
Norman Harris ..... Sean Baker
Isabel Graham ..... Keely Beresford
Gabriel Graham ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Bill Macknade ..... Ben Crowe
Mrs Edkins ..... Rachel Davies
Recruit ..... Ryan Early
Waitress ..... Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Marion Wardle ..... Laura Elphinstone
Sergeant Smith ..... Rupert Holliday-Evans
Albert Wilson ..... Jamie Foreman
Jeanie Jones ..... Kerry Gooderson
Mr Baker ..... Clive Hayward
Jessie Moore ..... Lucy Hutchinson
Adam Wilson ..... Billy Kennedy
Jack Wilson ..... Ashley Kumar
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Sergeant Caines ..... Nicholas Murchie
Nora Thatcher ..... Chetna Pandya
Dilys Walker ..... Ellie Piercy
Lilian Pemble ..... Alex Tregear
Charles Summer ..... Rufus Wright
Peter Lumley ..... Beatrice White
Written by Lucy Catherine
Story-led by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
Kenneth reaches a new understanding on his honeymoon in foreign parts. Written in 1966 and read by Carl Prekopp.
Carly's relationship with one of her teachers gives Jane, her adoptive mother, cause for concern.
But in Carly's world, governed by the laws of physics, everything is uncertain.
Mike Walker's drama stars Claudie Blakley as Carly, Jo McInnes as Jane and Paul Rhys as Andrew.
Producer: Jeremy Mortimer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
'Waterline' is Ross Raisin's long-awaited new novel after the success of his prize-winning debut 'God's Own Country'.
'The sun is on his face, and he spots the postie turning in through the gate... He is awake, that's obvious enough, but he has this sense of unrealness. That it's him that's not real. That's aye what it feels like. As if all these goings on around him - the sunshine, the television still quietly on, the post tummelling onto the mat - they are all part of some other life, one that he can see, but he's no a part of.'
After the death of his beloved wife Cathy, ex-Glasgow shipbuilder and union man, Mick Little finds himself struggling. The shipyard's gone and with it his old way of life, and now his wife too. With the ties that bound him to his old life suddenly loosened, he sets about finding a new way to live. And so Mick finds himself starting again, heading south, away from Scotland, but never away from the guilt he feels over Cathy's death.
Tracing Mick's journey from his old life in Glasgow to the harsh, alien world of a hotel kitchen, to the rough streets of London, this is an intensely moving portrait of a life being lived all around us, and a story for our times.
Today: deciding that the only way to survive is to leave the past behind, Mick sets out for London.
'God's Own Country' was nominated for eight major awards, winning the Betty Trask and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year awards.
Reader: Alexander Morton
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett.
Clare Balding watches all sections of society gather on Epsom Downs to watch the Derby, the biggest day of the flat racing year. In her exploration of the way Britain has shaped sport and sport has shaped the British, Clare looks at the socially unifying power of the race course and the way sport and gambling have become inextricably linked. As Professor Richard Holt from the International Centre for Sport History and Culture at De Montfort University explains, the British have always loved a flutter. Gambling is in the DNA of sport. Having a bet not only gives an incentive to the thrill of sporting competitions but also pushed early sports to have clear and enforceable rules. The extravagant losses of the eighteenth century aristocracy caused a moral backlash in the Victorian era that led to a crackdown in betting legislation.
Producer: Sara Conkey.
Honor Blackman, Shelley Conn, Mariah Gale and Samantha Spiro star in Beatrice Hitchman's thrilling debut, adapted by Miranda Davies. A 1914 silent film called Petite Mort holds the key to an infamous murder trial.
1967, Paris. Journalist Juliette Blanc (Shelley Conn) continues to interview Adele Roux (Honor Blackman) about her involvement in the famous silent film, Petite Mort.
1913, Paris. Adele Roux (Mariah Gale) is now working as assistant to her screen heroine, 'Terpsichore' - Luce Durand (Samantha Spiro), but betraying her with her husband, Andre (Marcus D'Amico). But Adele's attraction to Luce grows ever stronger.
Produced and directed by Emma Harding.
Anchee Min juggles several jobs along with her university course, in order not to slip further into debt.
Increasingly isolated and homesick, she longs to see her family. But when she finally goes home for a visit, after three years away, she begins to realise how much she has changed.
Read by Chipo Chung
Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC radio 4.
In 1894 Paris, the Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey confront painter,Toulouse-Lautrec, who's suspected of being a serial killer.
Stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates and Mark Meadows as Lautrec.
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Author Beryl Bainbridge selects explorer Falcon Scott as a hidden romantic. With Humphrey Carpenter and Bob Headland.
The biographical series in which a distinguished guest chooses someone who's inspired their life. Will their hero stand up to intensive scrutiny and merit the description of having led a great life? From 2003.
Newsjack Unplugged is a brand new podcast from the same team behind the long running main show on BBC Radio 4 Extra. These exciting short form programmes will feature all the best bits including monologue, sketches plus archive sketches from past series, all delivered weekly in podcast form.
Hosted by Kiri Pritchard McLean and featuring George Fouracres
Series 19 of the main show will return to BBC 4 Extra in the autumn, and will once again be helmed by main host Angela Barnes.
A BBC Studios Production.
A dark, David Lynch-ian comedy, ideally suited for an unsettling and surreal late night listen. 'I, Regress' sees Matt Berry (The IT Crowd, Garth Marenghi's Dark Place, Snuff Box) playing a corrupt and bizarre hypnotherapist taking unsuspecting clients on twisted, misleading journeys through their subconscious.
Each episode sees the doctor dealing with a different client who has come to him for a different problem (quitting smoking, fear of water, etc). As the patient is put under hypnosis, we 'enter' their mind, and all the various situations the hypnotherapist takes them through are played out for us to hear. The result is a dream- (or nightmare-) like trip through the patient's mind, as funny as it is disturbing.
Episode 3: Ms Taffgoon (Morgana Robinson) finds her appointment with Dr Berry to cure a fear of heights takes a strange path, taking in a talking pigeon (Derek Griffiths) and an interplanetary trip. And a field.
The cast across the series include Katherine Parkinson (IT Crowd), Morgana Robinson (The Morgana Show), Simon Greenall (I'm Alan Partridge), Jack Klaff (Star Wars, For Your Eyes Only), Tara Flynn (The Impressions Show, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle), Alex Lowe (Barry From Watford, The Peter Serafinowicz Show), and Derek Griffiths (Playschool, Bod, and The Royal Exchange).
A compelling late night listen: tune in and occupy someone else's head!
Produced by Sam Bryant.
The best in contemporary comedy. Iain Lee talks to John-Luke Roberts.
Stephen K Amos is joined by comedians Wil Hodgson, Gavin Webster and Shazia Mirza to present a guide to belief and opinion.
"A wretched life made much much sadder" Volume Four, Chapter three of the Victorian comic epic by Mark Evans. After an embarrassing disaster involving a bridge and a train full of puppies and orphans Pip and Harry travel to America on the SS Massive Britain, where Pip begins a reading tour. But all is not as it seems and Mister Benevolent lures our hero into a gunfight at the "All Right I Suppose Corral"
Sir Philip ..... Richard Johnson
Young Pip Bin ..... Tom Allen
Gently Benevolent ..... Anthony Head
Harry Biscuit ..... James Bachman
Grimpunch ..... Geoffrey Whitehead
Ripely ..... Sarah Hadland
Pippa ..... Susy Kane
Writer ..... Mark Evans
Producer ..... Gareth Edwards.
There is mystery over Mary's illness, and the posh sleuth discovers more about his sister's past. Stars Ian Carmichael.
Hurtling around a tight shale-covered oval track at full throttle takes a certain sort of sporting courage. To do so at speeds of 60mph without brakes would, to most people, appear foolhardy.
In No Brakes, No Fear, the young speedway riders of Kings Lynn Stars are captured on the night of a league play-off decider, as a former Kings Lynn Star and former world champion Michael Lee recalls his successes on the track, his fall from grace off it and the continuing appeal and redemptive aspects of British speedway riding.
Producer: Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
Popular poet Pam Ayres is joined in her poetry and sketch show by Felicity Montagu and Geoffrey Whitehead as they look at the season of Spring.
This week she looks subjects such as flowers and animals in springtime, spring elections plus she has some unusual tips for spring cleaning.
Her poems this week include: I Was Standing by the Cow; Heaps of Stuff; Barking: Fleeced and the Snoring Poem.
Produced by Claire Jones.
Gaby Roslin hosts the funny, entertaining film quiz with impressions by Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona. This week, team captains John Thomson and Ellie Taylor are joined by special guests Iain Lee and Lucy Porter
Presented by Gaby Roslin
Team Captains: John Thomson and Ellie Taylor
Impressionists: Alistair McGowan and Ronni Ancona
Created by Gaby Roslin
Written by Carrie Quinlan and Barney Newman
Produced by Gordon Kennedy, Gaby Roslin and Barney Newman
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
Investigating hobbies, plus Professor Prune's Electric Trousers end up deep in the briny. Stars John Cleese. From February 1969.
Les Dawson pays tribute to a feisty barber, Cosmo Smallpiece chairs a chat show and with Les at the piano, the Ink Blots help to murder a song.
With Daphne Oxenford, Eli Woods and Colin Edwynn.
Music by Brian Fitzgerald.
Scripted and produced by James Casey.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1985.
Graeme Garden chairs the debating game with Jenny Eclair, Hugh Dennis, Stuart Maconie and Greg Proops. From June 2001.
An alluring client distracts barrister John Fuller-Carp, and Ruth babysits an electronic pet. Stars John Bird. From March 1999.
Final omnibus of Season 13, A Woman's Place, set in the week when a general strike was held in Dublin in protest against plans for Irish conscription.
Cast
Gabriel Graham ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Rev. Alec Poole ..... Tom Stuart
Dilys Walker ..... Ellie Piercy
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Isabel Graham ..... Keely Beresford
Esme Macknade ..... Katie Angelou
Norman Harris ..... Sean Baker
Edie Chadwick ..... Kathryn Beaumont
Juliet Cavendish ..... Lizzie Bourne
Howard Argent ..... Gunnar Cauthery
Alice Macknade ..... Claire-Louise Cordwell
Eleanor Tanney ..... Aimee-Ffion Edwards
Marion Wardle ..... Laura Elphinstone
Rose Allatini ..... Phoebe Fildes
Terence Wentworth ..... Jack Lowden
Rev. Ralph Winwood ..... Nicholas Murchie
Olive Hargreaves ..... Rhiannon Neads
Florrie Wilson ..... Claire Rushbrook
Nell Kingsley ..... Alice St Clair
Adeline Lumley ..... Helen Schlesinger
Dorothea Winwood ..... Rachel Shelley
Dennis Monk ..... Sam Swann
Charles Summer ..... Rufus Wright
Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
Made for 4 Extra. Luke Jones and Amanda Litherland recommend favourite podcasts, including Table Manners with Jessie Ware, and interview the singer plus her mum and co-host Lennie.
'Waterline' is Ross Raisin's long-awaited new novel after the success of his prize-winning debut 'God's Own Country'.
'The sun is on his face, and he spots the postie turning in through the gate... He is awake, that's obvious enough, but he has this sense of unrealness. That it's him that's not real. That's aye what it feels like. As if all these goings on around him - the sunshine, the television still quietly on, the post tummelling onto the mat - they are all part of some other life, one that he can see, but he's no a part of.'
After the death of his beloved wife Cathy, ex-Glasgow shipbuilder and union man, Mick Little finds himself struggling. The shipyard's gone and with it his old way of life, and now his wife too. With the ties that bound him to his old life suddenly loosened, he sets about finding a new way to live. Tracing Mick's journey from his old life in Glasgow to the harsh, alien world of a hotel kitchen, to the rough streets of London, this is an intensely moving portrait of a life being lived all around us, and a story for our times.
Today: Mick's new life down in London begins with a gruelling job in the bleak surroundings of a London airport.
'God's Own Country' was nominated for eight major awards, winning the Betty Trask and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year awards.
Reader: Alexander Morton
Abridger: Sally Marmion
Producer: Justine Willett.
The Duke of Wellington never said the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton but it could be argued that the might of the British Empire was moulded on the pitches of Rugby School.
As Clare Balding continues to chart the way the British have shaped sport and sport has shaped Britain, she visits Rugby to discover how the visionary headmaster, Thomas Arnold, ensured games lay at the heart of school life, producing men ready to rule. As the school archivist, Rusty MacLean, explains to her, on leaving, these pupils took the games they'd developed at Rugby to all parts of the globe, giving birth to numerous national sporting clubs in Africa and India, as well as developing new games like Aussie Rules and American football.
Readers, Brian Bowles, Stuart McLoughlin and Jack Firth
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
Honor Blackman, Shelley Conn, Mariah Gale and Samantha Spiro star in Beatrice Hitchman's thrilling debut, adapted by Miranda Davies. A 1914 silent film called Petite Mort holds the key to an infamous murder trial.
1967, Paris. Journalist Juliette Blanc (Shelley Conn) continues to interview Adele Roux (Honor Blackman) about her time in the Durand household in 1913 - working for the famous Pathe producer, Andre Durand and his screenstar wife, Luce - known as "Terpsichore".
1913, Paris. Adele Roux (Mariah Gale) and her mistress, Luce (Samantha Spiro) begin a dizzying affair.
Produced and directed by Emma Harding.
Still battling to gain the elusive green card, Anchee Min has nevertheless saved enough money to get on the property ladder.
She begins to live the American dream the hard way and, while labouring to keep up with the mortgage payments, she finally finds her voice.
Read by Chipo Chung
Abridged and produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
The Doctor is reunited with Captain Yates, as they search for the missing TARDIS components in 1847 Germany.
Stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, Carole Boyd as Frau Herz, Samuel West as Albert Tiermann and Jan Francis as The Ice Queen
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 2, the B-side. Having discussed the making of "Fisherman's Blues", the career changing forth album from The Waterboys (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 3rd June and available online), Mike Scott & Steve Wickham respond to questions from the audience and performs acoustic live versions of some to the tracks from the album which was released twenty five years ago.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
by Jenny Éclair
A grandmother visits an upmarket supermarket to buy her grandchildren a meal they won't forget, but the trip proves memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Produced by Sally Avens.
A brand new series starring Paul Whitehouse and Esther Coles, with Rosie Cavaliero, Simon Day, Cecilia Noble and Marcia Warren.
The series follows Elizabeth, a Community Psychiatric Nurse in her forties, into the homes of her patients (or Service Users in today's jargon). It recounts their humorous, sad and often bewildering daily interactions with the nurse, whose job is to assess their progress, dispense their medication and offer comfort and support.
Compassionate and caring, Elizabeth is aware that she cannot cure her patients, only help them manage their various conditions. She visits the following characters throughout the series:
Lorrie and Maurice: Lorrie, in her fifties, is of Caribbean descent and has schizophrenia. Lorrie's life is made tolerable by her unshakeable faith in Jesus, and Maurice, who has a crush on her and wants to do all he can to help. So much so that he ends up getting on everyone's nerves.
Billy: Billy feels safer in jail than outside, a state of affairs the nurse is trying to rectify. She is hampered by the ubiquitous presence of Billy's mate, Tony.
Graham: in his forties, is morbidly obese due to an eating disorder. Matters aren't helped by his mum 'treating' him to sugary and fatty snacks at all times.
Ray: is bipolar and a rock and roll survivor from the Sixties. It is not clear how much of his 'fame' is simply a product of his imagination.
Phyllis: in her seventies, has Alzheimer's. She is sweet, charming and exasperating. Her son Gary does his best but if he has to hear 'I danced for the Queen Mum once' one more time he will explode.
Herbert is an old school gentleman in his late Seventies. Herbert corresponds with many great literary figures unconcerned that they are, for the most part, dead.
Nurse is written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings, who have collaborated many time in the past, including on The Fast Show, Down the Line and Happiness.
Written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings with additional material from Esther Coles
Producers: Paul Whitehouse and Tilusha Ghelani
A Down the Line production for BBC Radio 4.
Listen Against: the programme that looks back at a week's worth of radio and TV that never happened, and works its way through it all, like a critical tapeworm going through a giant media dog.
Jeremy Paxman finally breaks and goes rogue, Today gets remade as a US sitcom, and listeners thoughts on the Food Programme giving recipes for cooking a Flump and spit roasting a Clanger. With special guests Jenni Murray, Richard Bacon and John Humphrys.
Presented by Alice Arnold and Jon Holmes.
Featuring: James Bachman, Stephen Critchlow, Sarah Hadland and David Schnieder.
Spoofing the Today programme, and memories of playing a club in Bolton. Songs and sketches from Neil Innes. From January 2003.