SATURDAY 20 APRIL 2019
SAT 00:00 Alex Barr - Futures (b099b3x4)
Torn between his wife and mistress, Conrad seeks the help of a fortune-teller, who prophesies far more than he bargained for...
Stars Mark Buffrey as Conrad, Jenny Funnell as Miriam, Mia Soteriou as Doreen, John Telfer as Singer, Brian Gear as Quack, Rex Holdsworth and Hubert Tucker as the Vendors and Laurence Payne as Stranger.
Directed at BBC Bristol by Brian Miller
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 on 1984.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076g7d)
America
Matthew Parris invites writers Toby Young, Emma Richler and Tamsin Oglesby to consider the oddness of the United States of America.
In each programme, Matthew Parris introduces a group of writers of fact and fiction: new talent and established names. In the context of a discussion of one of the ideas and pre-occupations of our times, each presents a piece on this week's topic.
The best new writing and the freshest conversation from 2003.
SAT 01:00 Stand By For West (m000461y)
Battle for Inspector West
Explosion in Red
It’s a bad day for Scotland Yard, and Inspector Roger West. Just what is the arch-villain up to?
Chief Inspector Roger West is of the creation of noted crime writer, John Creasey, who authored over 600 novels, using over 20 pseudonyms. More than 40 Roger West novels were written between 1942 and 1973 with the basis for this first series, first published in 1948.
Much like Paul Temple, West - “Scotland Yard’s youngest, smartest chief inspector” - has a long-suffering wife who also gets involved with the action. A total of six novels were adapted for radio by Maurice Travers.
Patrick Allen … Chief Inspector Roger West
Sarah Lawson … Janet West
Hamilton Dyce … Sir Guy Chatworth
Eva Stuart … Julieta
Francis de Wolff … Carosian
Trevor Bannister … Detective Sergeant Hubert Gill
Harry Webster … Superintendent Mulloon
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on the Light Programme in 1967.
SAT 01:30 Crossing the Bay (b01qw8m5)
In a walk across the dangerous sands of Morecambe Bay, poet Paul Farley collapses time and journeys into the shifting geography of this most indeterminate of English places.
Morecambe Bay is a vast coming together of five rivers and cuts into the coastline of NW England like a miniature, fractal Irish Sea. Seen from the Lancashire shoreline, however, it seems vast, a silvery sheet of mudflats and saltwater. But the Bay is famously treacherous - everybody knows how the incoming tide can travel 'faster than a horse can run', and the quicksands here have claimed many lives.
It is possible to cross the Bay on foot, at low tide, if it allows you. Weather systems here are very volatile and Paul is thrown off course a number of times by the Bay's tempestuous nature. He finally strikes out with the indispensable help of the Sand Pilot Cedric Robinson. Cedric is a locally appointed Queen's Guide to the Sands, a role that has existed here for centuries. He has been guiding people across the sands - Moses-like with a staff - since 1963. Monks used to guide travellers across the bay at low water. Today Cedric leads groups of several hundred modern pilgrims, raising money for charity.
Accompanied by an adventurer, a marine biologist and a literary geographer Paul ventures out and attempts to chart the history of this uncertain landscape: it's geology and ecology, its religious associations and its human tragedies. This modern day poet decyphers the same sands that struck fear into Romantic poet William Wordsworth who crossed them 200 years ago.
Producer: Neil McCarthy
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
SAT 02:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004623)
Episode 5
As Rebecca lives her might-have-been life, childhood sweethearts are reunited.
Anne Tyler's novel abridged in ten parts by Doreen Estall.
Read by Liza Ross.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
SAT 02:15 The Test of Time (b00mfhx1)
Mesopotamian Wound Healing
Professor Gus McGrouther finds striking parallels between his wound healing research in Manchester and the earliest methods recorded on Mesopotamian clay tablets.
Five scientists look back to their ancient forebears and examine how much of that early knowledge still stands the test of time.
Producer: Erika Wright
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009
SAT 02:30 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767k6)
Episode 10
It's the day of the election, and there's a showdown with Andrea and Philip's wife, Kate.
Conclusion of Stan Barstow's gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960s, dramatised by his partner Diana Griffiths.
Tom...........David Calder
Norma.............Sharon Duce
Andrea..............Deborah McAndrew
Philip................Robert Glenister
Nick........Ben Crompton
Bess............Daryl Ffishwick
Kate..............Jo-Anne Knowles
Shirley...........Ruth Herbert
Inspector Bradley..........Geoff Hinsliff
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b042lmss)
Eleanor Marx: A Life
Love and Betrayal
Rachel Holmes's new book is the engaging and informative life story of the remarkable daughter of Karl Marx. Today, the poignant conclusion finds Eleanor betrayed and humiliated by the man she loves.
Read by Tracy-Ann Oberman
Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
SAT 03:00 Drama (b008gzlm)
Witness: Five Plays from the Gospel of Luke
Beginnings
While the disciples are paralysed by Jesus? death, Mary ponders the mystery of his birth.
Over the Easter season, Nick Warburton's five plays reimagine Jesus' story through the eyes of those who witnessed it.
Jesus.......................Tom Goodman-Hill
Peter.......................Peter Firth
Mary.......................Penelope Wilton
Magdalene.......................Lorraine Ashbourne
Angel.......................Julian Bleach
Simeon.......................David de Keyser
Joanna.......................Rachel Atkins
Joseph of Arimathea.......................Ben Onwukwe
Young Mary.......................Laura Molyneux
Cleopas.......................Sam Pamphilon
Music by David Pickvance.
Director: Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
SAT 03:45 Witness: Behind Luke's Story (b008h01h)
Episode 5
Ernie Rea finds out how much of the Christmas story we owe to Luke's gospel. From 2007.
SAT 04:00 Hidden Treasures (b0546cwh)
Harewood House
Undiscovered treasures and porcelain posers.
Enthusiasts and experts come together at Harewood House in West Yorkshire, which is crammed with a fine collection of Chippendale furniture
Lars Tharp chairs the light-hearted Antiques Quiz with Philippa Glanville and Henry Sandon.
Producer: Annie Bristow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
SAT 04:30 Safety Catch (b00vryr6)
Series 3
What's My Motivation
Simon decides it's finally time to get self-motivated and starts composing his electronic music, self-motivation isn't as easy as he'd thought.
Take life even more difficult his mother decides to get a job at Heathcote Sanders.
As Judith eloquently puts it, to have one member of the family working in the arms trade may be regarded as misfortune, to have two looks like genetic wickedness.
Laurence Howarth's black comedy of modern morality set in the world of arms dealing.
Simon McGrath ..... Darren Boyd
Anna Grieg ..... Joanna Page
Boris Kemal ..... Lewis Macleod
Judith McGrath ..... Sarah Smart
Angela McGrath ..... Brigit Forsyth
Madeleine Turnbull ..... Rachel Atkins
Simon McGrath is a generally nice chap who just happens to be an arms dealer. It's not something he planned, he just fell into it, and despite all his best intentions he just doesn't seem to be able to leave because he has to pay his mortgage like everyone else. Of course his real love is electronic music and this is just a stop gap until he finds the perfect outlet for his music - okay so the gap has lasted five years but that's not the point. Once he can get himself motivated he'll be out of there and, as his ever supportive mum says, people will always want to kill each other. So that's alright then.
Producer ..... Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
SAT 05:00 The Elephant Man (b04vf6rt)
Age Concern
With the big three-o looming, zookeeper Terry is desperate to recapture his youth.
Debbie Barham's eight-part sitcom about the life of an elephant zoo keeper.
Starring Peter Serafinowicz as Terry Lyon, Chris Emmet as Leonard, Richard Pearce as Adam and Joanna Monro as Stephanie.
Producer: Richard Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1996.
SAT 05:30 Rumblings from the Rafters (b07hwxbk)
House Fly and Soprano Pipistrelle Bat
An annoying House Fly played by Lee Mack and a warm-hearted Soprano Pipistrelle Bat played by Pam Ferris, reveal the truth about life in a draughty old attic in a house in Amersham in the second of three very funny tales, written and introduced by Lynne Truss, with additional sound recordings by Chris Watson.
The House Fly loves life. "The best bit is the buzzing". He loves the aerobatics, dodging the flypapers in the attic and "... my favourite manoeuvre, settling on the ceiling. It is unbelievably brilliant" He loves to buzz. But he also loves, what to humans, is a disgusting way of life. He loves to walk around on filth and to poo everywhere and to spread disease "And listen, we don't mind! Not at all. It's the least we can do". He would love to spread more diseases and takes great joy in telling us just exactly how he does this ... perhaps best not to listen if you're eating!
The Soprano Pipistrelle Bat is a very different creature; a tiny bat with a huge and loving heart. She is nine years old and has given birth to a single pup each year. Her newest pup, Jethro, is her darling; "... such a lovely little face. Chestnut fur. Perfect little ears. He smells like chicken flavour crisps. Ooh, I could eat him." He is six weeks old and weaning - proudly catching insects for himself; and this is always a poignant time for this mother-bat, where pride and sadness mingle. The main concern with Jethro, she finds, is that he can't seem to grasp the idea of torpor, "Oh don't mum. Don't go torpid. It's like you're dying", but as she knows "torpor is nothing to be scared of, .. torpor is your friend".
House Fly: Lee Mack
Soprano Pipstrelle Bat: Pam Ferris
Written and introduced by Lynne Truss
Wildlife sound recordings Chris Watson
Producer Sarah Blunt.
SAT 06:00 Hercule Poirot (b009z4c6)
Death in the Clouds
Hercule Poirot investigates a murder high in the sky.
On a flight from Le Bourget to Croydon, on which the Belgian sleuth is an apprehensive passenger, a woman is found dead.
A doctor on board is inclined to put it down to a wasp-sting, but Poirot suspects it's a case of murder...
First published in 1935, Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule.
Philip Jackson ..... Chief Inspector Japp
Geoffrey Whitehead ..... Monsieur Fournier
Murray Melvin ..... Daniel Clancy
Teresa Gallagher ..... Jane Grey
Carolyn Jones ..... Lady Horbury
Ben Crowe ..... Norman Gale
Andrew Harrison ..... Jean Dupont
Bruce Purchase ..... Dr Bryant
Liza Sadovy ..... Elise Grandier
Priyanga Elan ..... Anne Richards
Steven Critchlow ..... Airline Steward
Dramatist: Michael Bakewell
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
SAT 07:30 The Gambaccini Years (b038ynyz)
Episode 4
2013 marked his 40th anniversary in British broadcasting, since his arrival at Radio 1 in 1973 from American college radio and Rolling Stone magazine.
In a series of special shows, recorded with an audience, Paul and invited guests look back, with extracts from some of his all-time favourite interviews. The programmes cover interviews with his pop music heroes, as well as with major figures from the world of theatre, cinema and comedy, conducted during his time as a presenter and interviewer on arts programmes such as Kaleidoscope.
Guests in this edition include Jude Kelly of London's South Bank Centre and Tim Marlow of The White Cube Gallery. Paul recalls favourite interviews he has conducted with personal heroes such as Dave Brubeck, Stephen Sondheim and Bob Newhart.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b0456t45)
Sentimental Journey
Gyles Brandreth (who's related to George R. Sims, the author of 'Christmas Day in the Workhouse') surveys the history of sentimentality from Charles Dickens to Princess Diana and from Agincourt to the internet - and wonders whether to sneer or cheer.
Tear-jerking contributors from the archives include Beverley Nichols, Godfrey Winn, Patience Strong and Hughie Greene. New readings are by Simon Russell Beale and Jenny Seagrove, who contribute their own opinions about the sentimentality of Shakespeare and Noel Coward.
Producer: Peter Everett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
SAT 09:00 The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh (b08mj8hq)
Comedy in the 21st Century
Instead of guest Comedy Controllers, choosing their comedy favourites, it is now the turn of those who, in their own ways, have to take the blame for many of the shows often featured on Radio 4 Extra. Between them, Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville have well over a 150 years of gut-busting, side-aching woofers, gags and - let's be honest - the occasional horrific mistimed silence.
In front of an audience in the iconic Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House - the home of British Radio comedy - they reveal why they do it and what it was (and is) that made them laugh.
Programme 4. Comedy in the 21st Century - The Real Comedy Controllers argue whether broadcast comedy has run out of ideas... and asks where do we go for laughs today. Episodes featured include:
Over The Garden Wall
Norman Evans plays toothless Lancastrian housewife Fanny Fairbottom, later inspiring Les Dawson's homage Ada. From October 1948.
Down The Line
Hosted by the legendary Gary Bellamy, starring Rhys Thomas, Amelia Bullmore, Simon Day, Felix Dexter, Charlie Higson and Paul Whitehouse. With special guests Adil Ray and Arabella Weir. First broadcast in February 2011.
Museum of Curiosity
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Sarah Millican welcome the singer, photographic playboy and failed accountant Ken Dodd; Dr Hannah Fry who took up mathematical modelling to get to grips with dating; and Greg Jenner who checks the historical accuracy of over 1,200 songs and sketches that make up Horrible Histories. First broadcast in January 2016,
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
The long-running, self-styled antidote to panel games. The Sony Award winning, 30th Anniversary edition. First broadcast in April 2002.
Series Producers: Paul Kobrak and Dixi Stewart
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SAT 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jph6)
Series 6
The Gourmet
The lad thinks he's a connoisseur of food, so Sid enters him in an eating competition.
Starring Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Warren Mitchell and Hugh Morton.
Guest star: BBC sports commentator, Ray Glendenning.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1959.
SAT 12:30 Shush! (b06b36w6)
Series 1
Top Shelf
Alice and Snoo have to resort to some rather unconventional means to get people into the library. A very low shelf, a book about zombies, a hosepipe ban and some hummingbirds bring the public flocking in.
Meet Alice, a former child prodigy who won a place at Oxford aged 9 but, because Daddy went too, she never needed to have any friends. She's scared of everything - everything that is, except libraries and Snoo, a slightly confused individual, with a have-a-go attitude to life, marriage, haircuts and reality. Snoo loves books, and fully intends to read one one day.
And forever popping into the library is Dr. Cadogan, celebrity doctor to the stars and a man with his finger in every pie. Charming, indiscreet and quite possibly wanted by Interpol, if you want a discrete nip and tuck and then photos of it accidentally left on the photocopier, Dr Cadogan is your man.
Their happy life is interrupted by the arrival of Simon Nielson, a man with a mission, a mission to close down inefficient libraries. Fortunately, he hates his mission. What he really wants to do is once, just once, get even with his inexhaustible supply of high-achieving brothers.
Written by Morwenna Banks, Rebecca Front and Arthur Mathews
Based on an idea developed with Armando Iannucci
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for the BBC.
SAT 13:00 AJ Cronin - The Citadel (Omnibus) (m0004fw4)
Series 5
Dr. Denny's feelings for Christine have deepened. Meanwhile Dr. Manson, oblivious to it all, is fighting hard to create a new chest clinic.
Drama series about medical life in the 1920's.
Dr. Manson ..... George Blagden
Dr. Denny ..... Julian Lewis Jones
Christine ...... Catrin Stewart
Dr. Hope ..... Seamus O'Neill
Mrs. Wynne Evans ..... Kate Coogan
Omnibus written by Christopher Reason
Directed by Pauline Harris
Produced by Gary Brown and Pauline Harris
First broadcast in five-parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m0004fw6)
Shakin' Stevens
4 Extra Debut. The singer chooses ’Brother Can You Spare A Dime’ by Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance and ‘We'll Meet Again’ by Johnny Cash.
SAT 14:15 With Great Pleasure (b007w103)
Zeinab Badawi
TV presenter Zeinab Badawi presents her selection of favourite pieces of writing, ranging from Virgil to The Tale of Custard the Dragon, in the company of Saffron Burrows and Jim Findley.
Produced by Christine Hall.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
SAT 14:45 The (Almost) Accidental Adventures of Bell and Todd (m0004fw9)
A Whale of a Time
Bell and Todd are all at sea - and then a whale called George appears.
Fed up narrating the lives of two men bickering on an allotment, mischievous Diana has thrown Bell and Todd into a mad and a mysterious world of her own devising.
June Whitfield stars as Diana in John Eggleston's six-part comedy adventure series.
With Matthew Bell as Bell and Toby Longworth as Todd
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1997.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0456t45)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Hercule Poirot (b009z4c6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 The Gambaccini Years (b038ynyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Bryony Lavery - 272 Attempts (b0076mn4)
An isolated house. The discovery of children's graves. A large number of tagged children in the house. Award- winning playwright Bryony Lavery explores of the world of genetics.
Starring Malcolm Sinclair as Patrick Lear, Penelope Wilton as Helen Lear, Adjoa Andoh as Chisobe Oylele and Deborah Findlay as Dr Serkassie.
Director Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
SAT 19:00 The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh (b08mj8hq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Chain Reaction (b01m6crv)
Series 8
Caitlin Moran talks to Jennifer Saunders
The interviewee on the previous show, Caitlin Moran returns to interview her comedy hero, Jennifer Saunders. They talk shoes, Bananarama and women in comedy.
Talk tag show where the guest is the next interviewer.
Producer: Carl Cooper
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2012.
SAT 22:30 Revolting People (b00fj2br)
Series 2
Even More Trying Times
Samuel's emporium faces competition from a new super-emporium and Mary climbs into bed with Captain Brimshaw.
Comedy set just before the American Revolution.
Written by Andy Hamilton and Jay Tarses.
Stars Jay Tarses as Samuel Oliphant, Andy Hamilton as Sergeant McGurk, James Fleet as Captain Brimshaw, Jan Ravens as Mary, Hugh Dennis as Ezekiel Spriggs, Penelope Nice as Cora Oliphant, Tony Maudsley as Joshua Oliphant, Susie Blake as Elizabeth Oliphant, Selina Griffiths as Agnes and Michael Fenton-Stevens as Isaac.
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2001.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0004g1c)
Deborah Frances-White 2/2
From
10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Angela Barnes chats to Deborah Frances-White about The Guilty Feminist Live.
SAT 23:00 Beauty of Britain (b010t6yh)
Series 2
Mission Command
Series 2 of this Radio 4 comedy follows Beauty's continuing adventures among the cauliflower-cheese eating population as the Featherdown Agency sends her to provide care for those who need it - and occasionally some who don't, but all of whom have relatives with guilty consciences. Beauty sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to live the dream in Britain. Until she gets the nod from God about which sector of the economy would most benefit from her entrepreneurial skills Beauty will carry on grating the Extra Mature Cathedral City, running the assisted baths and trying to understand the British character.
The series breaks the embarrassed silence about what happens to us when we get old and start to lose our faculties. Beauty sees Britain at its best, its worst and also sometimes without its clothes on running the wrong way down the M6 with a toy dog shouting 'Come on!'
Beauty of Britain is a narrative comedy written by Christopher Douglas (of Ed Reardon fame) and Nicola Sanderson.
Episode 5 'Mission Command'
Beauty Oolonga, a Southern African care worker, shares her quirky view of Britain. Beauty struggles with an irascible gentleman and the Featherdown office struggle with Social Services' new pilot scheme for elder care in which the 'Assessment exercises are based on the battle principles of General von Moltke of the Prussian Army.'
Beauty ..... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Derek ..... Oscar James
Nicole/Topaz/Tiffany ..... Morwenna Banks
Karen ..... Nicola Sanderson
Sally ..... Felicity Montagu
Olivia/PhD Student .....Vicki Pepperdine
The music for the series was performed by The West End Gospel Choir.
Written by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson
The producer is Tilusha Ghelani.
SAT 23:30 Justin Moorhouse - The Big Am I (b00h34d9)
About to become a dad for a second time, Manchester's Justin Moorhouse has a nagging doubt he may not have got it right the first time round. Mixing stand-up and sketches and aided by a great comedy cast, Justin asks himself a big question - am I a good dad? Written and performed by Justin Moorhouse with additional material by Jim Poyser. Also featuring John Thomson, Steve Edge and Janice Connolly.
Produced by Ben Walker.
SUNDAY 21 APRIL 2019
SUN 00:00 Bryony Lavery - 272 Attempts (b0076mn4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 AJ Cronin - The Citadel (Omnibus) (m0004fw4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (m0004fw6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 With Great Pleasure (b007w103)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 The (Almost) Accidental Adventures of Bell and Todd (m0004fw9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b0456t45)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Hercule Poirot (b009z4c6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 The Gambaccini Years (b038ynyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus) (b06zz96v)
Episode 2
Local elections are imminent. Tom plans for Norma's future, whilst Andrea's future is very much threatened.
A gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960s, dramatised by Stan Barstow's partner Diana Griffiths.
Andrea...............Deborah Mcandrew
Philip..................Robert Glenister
David Calder..................Tom
Jo-Anne Knowles.........Kate
Sharon Duce...............Norma
Ruth Herbert..............Shirley
Ben Crompton...........Nick
Omnibus of the last five of ten parts
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SUN 07:15 Shena Mackay - Shalimar (m0004fwd)
An old theatrical landlady has some dramatic secrets of her own - including the origins of her crazy, yellow dog.
Annette Crosbie reads Shena Mackay’s short story.
Director: Julia Butt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
SUN 07:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b06ycr4z)
Series 2
Milton's Motors
When Milton opens up a car repair shop, he finds he's on a collision course with a notorious local villain. Meanwhile, a mysterious tin of travel sweets comes to a sticky end.
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'. Because each week, Milton, and his trusty assistant Anton (played by Milton regular, Tom Goodman-Hill) 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.
With music by Guy Jackson.
Produced and directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 Home to Roost (m0004fwg)
Series 1
Home to Roost
Mr Wheeler battles to adapt to a life of leisure after 40 years of work.
Molly Sugden and Deryck Guyler play crusty old married couple, Olive and William Wheeler, who refer to each other in the arcane ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ terminology. After forty years of work in the same office, he has recently retired and is trying to adapt to his new life of leisure. She, on the other hand, is trying to adapt to having her husband under her feet all day, for the first time in their marriage.
Deryck Guyler … Mr Wheeler
Molly Sugden … Mrs Wheeler
Norman Rossington … Jack Bailey
Writer: Anne Jones
Producers: Richard Maddock and Peter Titheradge.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1974.
SUN 08:30 We're in Business (b07qfwm0)
The Newspaper Business
Can Dudley and Harry make a go of it in the newspaper business?
Stars Peter Jones as Dudley, Harry Worth as Harry and Beryl Reid as Lady Crabbe. With Dick Emery.
Peter Jones is small-time businessman, Dudley Grosvenor who’s always out to make a fast buck - usually at the expense of his side-kick, Harry Worth.
Written by Marty Feldman, Barry Took and Peter Jones.
A selection of surviving episodes from two series broadcast between 1959-1960.
Producer: Charles Maxwell.
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in May 1960.
SUN 09:00 Michael Tippett: The Biography (Omnibus) (m0004fwm)
The music of the British composer Michael Tippett - including the oratorio A Child of Our Time, five operas, and four symphonies - is among the most visionary of the 20th century, but little has been written about his extraordinary life. In this new, first complete biography, arts writer and broadcaster Oliver Soden weaves a century-spanning narrative of epic scope and insight.
Soden has been given unprecedented access to unpublished letters and manuscripts, and has recorded interviews with Tippett’s friends and colleagues. He paints a portrait of a powerful intellect and infectious personality - charming, with a consuming interest in other people, stubborn and great fun.
But he also uncovers the sorrows and secrets that Tippett stowed away beneath his cheerfulness, not least the darker reaches of some tempestuous and often tragic love affairs that sometimes blurred the lines between the professional and the personal.
Tippett’s was a long, exciting life - and woven through it all is his amazing, varied music, as beautiful as it is challenging, and the eclectic supporting cast of his friends, colleagues and lovers. His was truly a life of the 20th century - but one that can also shine a light on the 21st.
Abridged by Elizabeth Burke
Produced by Pippa Vaughan
Read by Oliver Soden featuring Derek Jacobi, Nicholas Boulton and Ivor Minchin Berry.
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in five parts in 2019.
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b06spjr1)
Saph and Milly – Agents of Burlesque
Fi Glover with a conversation between friends for whom burlesque has provided a confidence-building outlet for creativity, and an opportunity to prove that a walrus act can be sexy. Another in the series that proves 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 learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0004fwp)
Chefs and Cooks
Anna del Conte
From Bing Crosby to Placido Domingo. Cookery writer Anna del Conte shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From November 2010.
SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b091vwfj)
Series 5
Sword Fight, Hip-Hop, Amnesia, Berlin
True stories told live in in the USA: Catherine Burns introduces tales about heartbreak, fading glory and bearing witness.
The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.
The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.
SUN 11:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00pf4x9)
Series 1
Platypus
Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.
Along the soft, muddy river banks of New South Wales, the female duck-billed platypus makes a burrow to raise her family. Not only is this the strangest of creatures, it is also one of the most tricky to film.
SUN 12:00 Home to Roost (m0004fwg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 We're in Business (b07qfwm0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus) (b06zz96v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Shena Mackay - Shalimar (m0004fwd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Adrian Mole and The Weapons of Mass Destruction (Omnibus) (m0004fwr)
Episode 1
Adrian’s diary restarts in 2002 with the Iraq War looming. He is 34 and single again. A young woman comes into the bookshop where he works and requests an unusual book.
Adrian is 34, working in a bookshop in Leicester and about to become the proud owner of a trendy loft apartment. His single status is about to change too, putting further strain on his already stretched finances. As war looms, Adrian is unwavering in his support for Prime Minister Tony Blair and military action, even though his eldest son Glenn is facing deployment to the Gulf.
The fifth book in our series of readings from Adrian’s diaries, written by Sue Townsend.
Sue Townsend was born in Leicester in 1946. She left school at 15 and was a single parent with three young children by the age of 23. Like Adrian, she wrote in secret for many years, and acknowledged that they often shared the same views - Adrian "C’est moi," she once said.
First published in 1989, Adrian Mole’s diaries were instant bestsellers and Adrian, the remarkably resilient underdog, quickly became a national treasure. While recording the experiences of one individual and showcasing Sue's fearless and razor sharp wit, the diaries also illustrate how socio-political matters of the time affected the lives of ordinary people.
Copyright Siegfried Sassoon by kind permission of the Estate of George Sassoon
Omnibus read by Harry McEntire
Abridger: Sara Davies
Producer: Alexa Moore
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in ten parts in 2019.
SUN 15:45 The Animals' VC (m0004fwv)
The Cat Among The Pigeons
Alongside the 32 messenger pigeons awarded the PDSA’s Dickin Medal for devotion to duty during wartime sits just one cat.
Simon was the captain's cat on-board HMS Amethyst and in 1949 he became caught up in what was to become known as the "Yangtze Incident" in China.
Dylan Winter finds out how, during the 100 days when the ship was held captive, Simon ensured himself a place in history and his medal.
Producer: Sheena Duncan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
SUN 16:00 Sharon Oakes - The Haunt of Swans (m0004fwx)
A recently widowed young woman retreats to a remote part of Scotland to get away from everything. She finds herself caring for an injured Whooper swan and at the same time falling in love.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (m0004fwz)
Time for Verse - Poets Laureate: Ben Jonson and Colley Cibber
With the imminent announcement of a new Poet Laureate in 2019, poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive selecting Time for Verse Poets Laureate: Ben Jonson and Colley Cibber.
Sean Street presents two programmes about past Poet Laureates - one the first, and the other, arguably, the worst.
Produced by Margaret Bradley.
Readers - Martin Jarvis and David Goodland.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1987.
SUN 17:20 Ivor Meets Craig (b07296j8)
'An artist is a sick person'. Ivor Cutler talks neighbours and art to New Zealand born-sculptor Craig Murray-Orr. From June 1993.
SUN 17:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b06ycr4z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Night Terrace (m0004fx1)
Series 1
Moving House
Anastasia Black bought “Night Terrace”, a terrace house in suburban Melbourne, looking for a quiet retirement from her old life of saving the world.
But Anastasia’s plans are interrupted when Eddie Jones turns up on her doorstep to sell her a new energy plan, and Night Terrace travels through time and space to Tranquillos, an alien leisure planet under siege...
Sci-fi comedy starring Neighbours’ Jackie Woodburne, with guest-stars Cal Wilson and Toby Truslove.
Jackie Woodburne ..... Anastasia Black
Ben McKenzie ... Eddie Jones
Petra Elliott .... "Sue"
Toby Truslove ..... Vraxnol
Cal Wilson ..... Vraxnol
Dave Lamb ..... Vraxnol
Amanda Buckley..... Vraxnol
Lee Zachariah .... Vraxnol
Cate Wolfe ..... Human Commander
Additional Voices: Nicholas Briggs, John Richards, Virginia Gay, Kevin Powe, Michael Ward, Andrew Hansen, David Ashton and Karen Pickering
Producers: Ben McKenzie / John Richards
Made by Splendid Chaps Productions.
SUN 18:25 Grimm's Fairy Tales (m0004fx5)
The Flounder
The fisherman and his wife are close to destitution, until the day when he releases a flounder who pleads for his life on the grounds that he’s really an enchanted prince.
When the fisherman's wife realises that the flounder may grant any wish, the fun really begins...
Drawn from Grimm's Fairy Tales by Peter Redgrove.
Starring Geoffrey Matthews as the Fisherman and Judy Cornwell as his wife.
With Robin Ardra and Phillip Manikum.
Directed at BBC Bristol by Brian Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 1987.
SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b091vwfj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
SUN 19:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00pf4x9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:50 today]
SUN 20:00 Michael Tippett: The Biography (Omnibus) (m0004fwm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b06spjr1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0004fwp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b06ycr4z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Rob Newman (b06j5qr3)
Robert Newman's Entirely Accurate Encyclopaedia of Evolution
Episode 2
Rob Newman returns with a witty, fact-packed series mixing stand-up and sketches, challenging notions of Survival of the Fittest and The Selfish Gene with a new theory that's equal parts enlightening and hilarious.
Rob is our guide on a journey through a unique audio A-Z of nature that takes in everything from altruistic amoebae and dancing squid to Richard Dawkins wrestling naked with a postal worker.
Piecing these fragments together allows Rob to correct some major distortions of Darwinism, as well as rejig the theory of natural selection in the light of what we now know about epigenetics, mirror neurons and the Flintstones.
Written by Rob Newman
Starring Claire Price, with Jenni Murray as the voice of the Encyclopaedia.
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producer: Richard Wilson
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
SUN 22:55 Comedy Club Extra (m0004gxv)
Ones To Watch... Sophie Duker
BBC Radio 4 Extra’s Comedy Club meets up-and-coming comedian and comedy writer Sophie Duker.
SUN 23:00 Cabin Pressure (b00lyvz7)
Series 2
Kuala Lumpur
A week on stand-by at the airfield gives Arthur an opportunity to brush up on his stewarding skills, while Douglas seems to have disappeared. And why is everyone terrified of Dirk the groundsman...?
Starring Stephanie Cole as Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, Roger Allam as 1st Officer Douglas Richardson, Benedict Cumberbatch as Captain Martin Crieff, John Finnmore as Arthur Shappey, Paul Putner as Dave and Roger Morlidge as George.
Producer: David Tyler
Made for BBC Radio 4 by Pozzitive productions.
First broadcast in August 2009.
SUN 23:30 The Penny Dreadfuls Present (b00gpbcv)
More Brothers Faversham
Maximillian Faversham
The story of Victorian Britain's greatest horror writer.
The comedy trio's swashbuckling family romp.
Written by and starring Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck.
With Miles Jupp and Ingrid Oliver.
Script edited by Richard Turner.
Producer: Julia McKenzie
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2008.
MONDAY 22 APRIL 2019
MON 00:00 Night Terrace (m0004fx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:25 Grimm's Fairy Tales (m0004fx5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:25 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus) (b06zz96v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Shena Mackay - Shalimar (m0004fwd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Adrian Mole and The Weapons of Mass Destruction (Omnibus) (m0004fwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 The Animals' VC (m0004fwv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Sharon Oakes - The Haunt of Swans (m0004fwx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (m0004fwz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:20 Ivor Meets Craig (b07296j8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:20 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b06ycr4z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Stand By For West (m0004fx7)
Battle for Inspector West
Mastermind at Midnight
Carosian’s plans finally become evident, but he’s not the only mastermind behind the criminal enterprise.
Chief Inspector Roger West is of the creation of noted crime writer John Creasey, who authored over six hundred novels, using over twenty pseudonyms. More than forty Roger West novels were written between 1942 and 1973 with the basis for this first series, ‘Battle for Inspector West’, being published in 1948.
Much like Paul Temple, West - “Scotland Yard’s youngest, smartest chief inspector” - has a long-suffering wife who also gets involved with the action. A total of six novels were adapted for radio by Maurice Travers.
Patrick Allen … Chief Inspector Roger West
Sarah Lawson … Janet West
Philip Bond … Michael Grant
Denise Buckley … Christine Grant
Hamilton Dyce … Sir Guy Chatworth
Eva Stuart … Julieta
Francis de Wolff … Carosian
Trevor Bannister … Detective Sergeant Hubert Gill
Preston Lockwood – Arthur Morley
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on the Light Programme in 1967.
MON 06:30 Jamaica: The Harder They Come (b03f9cvg)
Influence
Writer Chris Salewicz's two-part exploration of the cult film 'The Harder They Come' as he considers its legacy. He meets the film's stars and those who have been touched by this classic of modern cinema and its soundtrack.
Released in British cinemas in 1973, The Harder They Come is the rite of passage story of Ivan, a young singer trying to break into the music industry. Portrayed by the ever-smiling Jimmy Cliff, the film contains great music and unforgettable scenes of sun-bleached Jamaica. Yet there is a dark heart to the film. Despite his considerable vocal talents, Ivan goes astray and becomes tragically entwined in the criminal underworld.
For British cinema-goers it was their first insight into Kingston's seductive ghetto life, with a far-reaching influence on fashion and music. Before Bob Marley, it was The Harder They Come which launched reggae culture onto the world stage.
Contributors include Jimmy Cliff, discussing real-life gunman, Ryegin, who terrorised Kingston in 1948 and became the inspiration for the lead role. Chappy St Juste, cameraman on the film recalls shooting some memorable scenes, and Sally Henzell, widow of director Perry Henzel, talks about the film's premiere at Kingston's Carib cinema where 40,000 people tried to get in to the 1500 seater auditorium. Carl Bradshaw, who plays Jose, gives us a tour of the film's locations and author Matthew Parker contextualises Jamaica's history as a violent slave outpost "bathed in blood".
Producer: Simon Poole
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2013.
MON 07:00 Bad Salsa (b06wf7lq)
Series 2
Jumping the Shark
Marco's sister arrives and is not impressed by his new girlfriend - Camille. Jill is still trying to decide whether to have reconstruction while Tim lives the high-life on a photo shoot and Chippy thinks she can save her budding relationship with a lie.
Series two of the sitcom about three women who meet during cancer treatment and start going to salsa class together to maintain their friendship. As they adjust to life after cancer they realise that they've all changed.
The series is not about cancer, but about life after cancer, how you cope the changes in your outlook, your desires and your expectations. It's also about how other people cope with the change in you.
Written by Kay Stonham
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.
MON 07:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m00047tp)
Series 22
Episode 3
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Lou Sanders, Frankie Boyle, Henning Wehn and Lucy Porter are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as Germany, babies, trousers and beards.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jpl8)
Series 6
The Elopement
With Bill suffering heartache, can The Lad and Sid smooth the path to true love?
Starring Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Lillian Grasson, Wilfred Babbage, Fraser Kerr and Lee Crutchley.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1959.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007js9w)
Series 1
A Stripe for Frazer
When Captain Mainwaring promotes Private Frazer, his new powers go to his head...
Six years after legendary sitcom Dad's Army started on BBC TV, these specially adapted radio versions began recording with the original cast.
Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, James Beck as Private Walker, Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey, Ian Lavender as Private Pike, John Laurie as Private Frazer, Michael Knowles as Captain Bailey, Geoffrey Lumsden as Colonel Square and John Snagge as the announcer.
Adapted from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's original BBC TV scripts by Michael Knowles and Harold Snoad.
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1974.
MON 09:00 Just a Minute (b01d0rj5)
Series 62
Episode 6
Nicholas Parsons challenges Paul Merton, Liza Tarbuck, Josie Lawrence and Kit Hesketh-Harvey to talk for 60 seconds without hesitation, repitition or deviation. From March 2012.
MON 09:30 Snap (b012yvf2)
Series 3
Episode 4
Doug wonders if he can rely on his ex-wife Molly for help during his mum's convalescence. Stars Paul Venables. From August 2005.
MON 10:00 War and Peace (b04w82wc)
Episode 1
The fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic War.
A dynamic fresh dramatisation by Timberlake Wertenbaker of Leo Tolstoy's epic - from the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokonsky.
Starring Lesley Manville, John Hurt, Alun Armstrong and Harriet Walter.
There's a lively dinner party at the Rostov family home and Anna Mikhailovna Dubretskoy is in battle with Prince Vassily over the will and inheritance of the wealthy Count Bezukhov. It seems Pierre, his illegitimate son, may inherit the Count's vast fortune. Meanwhile, Andrei's decision to join the army causes tension between him and his pregnant wife, Lise.
The story moves between their past and present as Pierre, Natasha, Marya and Nikolai talk to their children about the events that shaped their lives and the lives of every Russian who lived through these troubled times.
War and Peace reflects the panorama of life at every level of Russian society in this period. The longest of 19th-century novels, it's an epic story in which historical, social, ethical and religious issues are explored on a scale never before attempted in fiction.
Paterson Joseph ...... Pierre Bezuhkov
Lesley Manville ...... Countess Rostov
John Hurt ...... Prince Bolkonsky
Alun Armstrong ...... Count Rostov
Phoebe Fox ...... Natasha Rostov
Sam Reid ...... Nikolai Rostov
Tamzin Merchant ...... Sonya Rostov
Stephen Campbell Moore ...... Andrei Bolkonsky
Natasha Little ...... Marya Bolkonsky
Roger Allam ...... General Kutuzov
Harriet Walter ...... Mikhailovna Drubetskoy
Director: Celia de Wolff
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
MON 11:00 TED Radio Hour (m0004fxc)
Series 5
Spoken and Unspoken
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.
Guy Raz explores how words and methods of communication affect us, more than you might expect.
First broadcast in the USA on National Public Radio in 2013.
MON 11:50 Inheritance Tracks (b08kbdjm)
Tom Fletcher
Singer-songwriter Tom Fletcher of McFly chooses 'Kids Wanna Rock' by Bryan Adams and 'I Get Around' by The Beach Boys.
MON 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jpl8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007js9w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Stand By For West (m0004fx7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Jamaica: The Harder They Come (b03f9cvg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fxf)
Episode 6
A new grandchild, an apology and a chance to start over.
Anne Tyler's novel abridged in ten parts by Doreen Estall.
Read by Liza Ross.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
MON 14:15 Team Spirit (b0092bys)
Episode 1
Claudia Hammond looks at the psychology of team dynamics.
By talking to academics and visiting teams across the UK she finds out what makes them tick.
She begins with members of the London Air Ambulance Service, who daily deal with life and death.
Producer: Michelle Martin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
MON 14:30 44 Scotland Street (b051rjpk)
44 Scotland Street: The Blue Spode Tea Cup
Episode 1
Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town is the setting for the quirky tales and ‘goings-on’ adapted by Alexander McCall Smith from his worldwide bestselling series of books.
Portrait painter, Angus Lordie, is a frequent visitor to Domenica Macdonald, the anthropologist and longest-term resident of 44 Scotland Street.
Will their friendship blossom and will she ever let his dog Cyril into her flat? Domenica’s thoughts are elsewhere, sensing trouble with the return of her neighbour Antonia who has been living in Glasgow of all places! Is Domenica’s ‘property’ safe with Antonia back in town?
Meanwhile in the flat below lives Bertie, aged six, a prodigy and victim of his excessively pushy mother, Irene. Bertie wants the life of an ordinary six-year-old boy, but instead he has psychotherapy, yoga and Italian conversation lessons. He also wants to know why his new baby brother, Ulysses, looks remarkably like his psychotherapist, Dr Fairbairn.
DOMENICA..……….....CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
ANGUS LORDIE....……..…..CRAWFORD LOGAN
IRENE………….........……............EMMA CURRIE
BERTIE………………...…………….….SIMON KERR
STUART...........….....DAVID JACKSON YOUNG
ANTONIA....................………ANITA VETTESSE
Director: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b007yplf)
Rudolf Nureyev: The Life
My Vagabond Soul
The celebrated dancer, born on a train in Siberia in 1938, grew up in poverty before studying ballet and scrambling to the top at the Kirov Ballet.
Read by Jamie Glover
Abridged in five parts by Miranda Davies.
Producer: Amber Barnfather
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
MON 15:00 War and Peace (b04w82wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Just a Minute (b01d0rj5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Snap (b012yvf2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Bad Salsa (b06wf7lq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
MON 17:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m00047tp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
MON 18:00 J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius (b00cyg6x)
Episode 1
As Oxford student John Maltravers plays ancient violin music, a hidden cupboard is revealed in his rooms. Read by Joanna David.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b008xf48)
Robin Lustig and Tom Butler
Kate Mosse and her guests - broadcaster, Robin Lustig and retired Bishop, Tom Butler - discuss favourite books byThomas Hardy, Patrick Neate and Paul Davies.
Thomas Hardy: The Time-torn Man by Claire Tomalin
Publisher: Penguin
Twelve Bar Blues by Patrick Neate
Publisher: Penguin
The Goldilocks Enigma by Paul Davies
Publisher: Penguin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
MON 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jpl8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007js9w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Stand By For West (m0004fx7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Jamaica: The Harder They Come (b03f9cvg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
MON 21:00 TED Radio Hour (m0004fxc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
MON 21:50 Inheritance Tracks (b08kbdjm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:50 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m00047tp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Gloomsbury (b05zlg6p)
Series 3
Tired of London
Henry finally gives up his job at the Foreign Office and embarks on a career as a writer. He lands a job as London Diary writer for the Evening Standard, a publication loathed by Vera because it maligned her when reporting on her elopement with Venus.
But Henry has writer's block and can't think of a single thing to write. He asks Vera to do it for him. She refuses, but does offer to accompany him up to London to see Ginny and Lionel Fox in the hope that something on the trip will inspire him.
Lionel and Ginny are having their own problems - Ginny feels trapped by the city and wants to escape to the country. Lionel suggests to Henry that they go to London Zoo as this has always been a source of inspiration to him. There, Ginny reflects on how the animals in their cages resemble the way she feels about her current situation and, when Henry pounces on the idea as a splendid subject for his article in the Evening Standard, Ginny throws a fit. She accuses him of plagiarism and storms out.
Vera and Henry are sitting in the cafe alone when the Prince of Wales happens to turn up with one of his mistresses and starts to flirt with Vera. Jealousy inspires Henry, but it takes Vera to save his reputation as a fledgling writer.
Produced by Jamie Rix
A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:00 The News Quiz Extra (m0004fxl)
Series 26
Episode 2
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Miles Jupp
MON 23:45 Hearing With Hegley (b0075ryg)
Series 3
Episode 2
The Luton laureate entertains a class of schoolchildren and gets fitted for one of the town's famous hats. From February 2000.
TUESDAY 23 APRIL 2019
TUE 00:00 J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius (b00cyg6x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b008xf48)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Stand By For West (m0004fx7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Jamaica: The Harder They Come (b03f9cvg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fxf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Team Spirit (b0092bys)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 44 Scotland Street (b051rjpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b007yplf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 War and Peace (b04w82wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b01d0rj5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Snap (b012yvf2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Bad Salsa (b06wf7lq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m00047tp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1vx)
The Curious Case of the Curs'd Quayside
The Elizabethan playwright gets a job, hires a servant and inherits a mystery. Ged Parsons adventure starring Dominic Jephcott.
TUE 06:30 Jamaica: The Harder They Come (b03g9rh2)
Legacy
Writer Chris Salewicz revisits Jamaica 40 years since the premiere of the cult film The Harder They Come and talks to the musicians who were directly inspired into a life of crime by the film.
In the second and final part of his investigation, Chris asks why so many Jamaican musicians have associations with criminality, how Kingston's gun culture began and when politicians carved up downtown Kingston. Former Met Police officer Mark Shields and community worker Pastor Bobby Wilmott of Trenchtown talk about the reality of everyday life there.
Back in Britain, Chris examines the legacy of Jamaica's music and culture on today's youth in the form of reggae's cultural descendant, Bass Culture, which to many eyes glorifies the 'Badman' archetype portrayed in The Harder They Come. Grime MC Flowdan, reggae singer Tappa Zukie, Jimmy Cliff, and black music historian Mykaell Riley all contribute.
Producer: Simon Poole
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2013.
TUE 07:00 Second Thoughts (b00ljz6c)
Series 4
Old Problem
Bill is on the receiving end of a birthday surprise he doesn't want.
Meanwhile Dennis's attempts to capture the glamorous Liza backfire.
Sitcom about the battles of married life for ex-divorcees Bill and Faith, whilst balancing the demands of his ex-wife, Liza and Faith's teenage children.
Stars James Bolam as Bill, Lynda Bellingham as Faith, Belinda Lang as Liza, Julia Sawalha as Hannah, Mark Denham as Joe, Geoffrey Whitehead as Richard, Brian Bowles as Dennis and Peter Gunn as Chris.
Series three 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 for four series, with a spin-off 'Faith in the Future'.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1992.
TUE 07:30 My Teenage Diary (b07hfwrm)
Series 7
Samira Ahmed
The journalist Samira Ahmed reads from her teenage diaries and is interviewed about her childhood in 1980s London when she was obsessed with school work, Dallas and learning to drive.
TUE 08:00 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b007jprd)
From 20/04/1974
From medicine to the ballet. Kenneth Williams and Ted Ray cross their comedy swords.
Characters, songs and sketches with Miriam Margolyes and Nigel Rees
Music by Neil Innes.
Script by Michael Wale and Joe Steeples.
Producer: Simon Brett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1974.
TUE 08:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b007jrt7)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Terry is not keen to meet any of Bob's snobbish friends.
Starring James Bolam as Terry Collier, Rodney Bewes as Bob Ferris and Brigit Forsyth as Thelma Chambers.
With Sheila Fearn, Olive Milbourne, Julian Holloway and Gretta Gouriet.
Created and scripted for BBC TV by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Adapted for radio by Patrick Tilley.
Producer: John Browell
Originally lost from the archive, the audio was recovered in a BBC Treasure Hunt.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1975.
TUE 09:00 The News Quiz Extra (m0004fxl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Hearing With Hegley (b0075ryg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 War and Peace (b04w82wf)
Episode 2
Having inherited his father's fortune, Pierre becomes the new Count Bezukhov and the richest man in Russia. Prince Vassily's charming daughter, Helene, captures Pierre's attention and before long they are married. But will it be a happy match?
Meanwhile, Princess Marya is being wooed by Helen's wily brother, Anatole, while war dominates for others - Prince Andrei is building a respectful relationship with General Kutuzov and courageously speaks out to Prince Bagration in defence of Captain Tushin while Nikolai is wounded at Shoengraben. The Battle of Austerlitz is imminent.
A dynamic fresh dramatisation by Timberlake Wertenbaker of Leo Tolstoy's epic - from the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokonsky - follows the fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic War. Starring Lesley Manville, John Hurt, Alun Armstrong and Harriet Walter.
The story moves between their past and present as Pierre, Natasha, Marya and Nikolai talk to their children about the events that shaped their lives and the lives of every Russian who lived through these troubled times.
War and Peace reflects the panorama of life at every level of Russian society in this period. The longest of 19th-century novels, it's an epic story in which historical, social, ethical and religious issues are explored on a scale never before attempted in fiction.
Alex Shiels … Sergei Rostov
Ben Crowe … Mikhail Mitrich
Charlotte Emmerson … Helen Kuragin
Daniel Flynn … Regimental Commander
David Calder … Prince Vassily Kuragin
David Collings … Shinshin
Ella Dale … Masha Bezukhov
Ferdinand Kingsley … Anatole Kuragin
Harriet Walter … Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskoy
Hazel Ellerby … Julia's mother
Jed Vine … Petya Rostov
Joanna David … Annette Scherer
Joel Msccormack … Boris Drubetskoy
John Hurt … Prince Bolkonsky
Jonathan Slinger … Captain Denisov
Kathleen Keaney … Liza Rostov
Miss Nelly Harker … Lise Bolkonsky
Alun Armstrong … Count Rostov
Emerald O'Hanrahan … Julia Karagan
Lesley Manville … Countess Rostov
Natasha Little … Marya Bolkonsky
Paterson Joseph … Pierre Bezuhkov
Phoebe Fox … Natasha Rostov
Pip Donaghy … Colonel of the House
Roger Allam … General Kutuzov
Roger May … Prince Bagration
Sam Blatchford … Andrusha Rostov
Sam Dale … Alpatych
Sam Reid … Nikolai Rostov
Sarah Badel … Maria Demitrievna
Serena Evans … Catiche
Stanley Toyne … Mitya Rostov
Stephen Campbell Moore … Andrei Bolkonsky
Tamzin Merchant … Sonya Rostov
Tom Glenister … Nikolenka Bolkonsky
Director: Celia de Wolff
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
TUE 11:00 Telling Tales (m0004fxn)
Simon Garfield
Simon Garfield joins us for a look at letters and a love story that unfolded during the Second World War.
On September 5th 1943, Chris Barker, a Signalman stationed in Libya decided to write to a former work colleague, Bessie Moore, back in London. The unexpected warmth of Bessie's reply changed their lives forever.
Chris and Bessie's love letters first appeared in Simon Garfield's book To The Letter. They have since been shared with audiences as part of Letters Live and published in their own book, My Dear Bessie.
This episode includes the 2015 Radio 4 dramatisation of these letters, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Louise Brealey. Plus further insights into the lives of Chris and Bessie.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
TUE 12:00 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b007jprd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b007jrt7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1vx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Jamaica: The Harder They Come (b03g9rh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fxq)
Episode 7
Guess who is coming to dinner as Rebecca turns the clock back!
Anne Tyler's novel abridged in ten parts by Doreen Estall.
Read by Liza Ross.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
TUE 14:15 Team Spirit (b009jf96)
Episode 2
The Jockey Morris Men deploy team dynamics to dance around Birmingham's city centre. Presented by Claudia Hammond. From March 2008.
TUE 14:30 44 Scotland Street (b051s0fk)
44 Scotland Street: The Blue Spode Tea Cup
Episode 2
There’s trouble in New Town Edinburgh when a dog begins a nipping spree, a neighbour starts nicking cups, and plans for Bertie’s Saturday are put on hold when baby Ulysses causes confusion.
Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town is the setting for the quirky tales and ‘goings-on’ adapted by Alexander McCall Smith from his worldwide bestselling series of books.
Portrait painter, Angus Lordie, is a frequent visitor to Domenica Macdonald, the anthropologist and longest-term resident of 44 Scotland Street.
Will their friendship blossom and will she ever let his dog Cyril into her flat? Domenica’s thoughts are elsewhere, sensing trouble with the return of her neighbour Antonia who has been living in Glasgow of all places! Is Domenica’s ‘property’ safe with Antonia back in town?
Meanwhile in the flat below lives Bertie, aged six, a prodigy and victim of his excessively pushy mother, Irene. Bertie wants the life of an ordinary six-year-old boy, but instead he has psychotherapy, yoga and Italian conversation lessons. He also wants to know why his new baby brother, Ulysses, looks remarkably like his psychotherapist, Dr Fairbairn.
ANGUS LORDIE....……..…..CRAWFORD LOGAN
DOMENICA..……….....CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
BIG LOU....................………ANITA VETTESSE
IRENE………….........……............EMMA CURRIE
BERTIE………………...…………….….SIMON KERR
STUART...........….....DAVID JACKSON YOUNG
Director: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b007ypl9)
Rudolf Nureyev: The Life
Six Steps Exactly
On tour in Paris, celebrated dancer Rudolf Nureyev walks up to two policemen and freedom in the West.
Read by Jamie Glover.
Abridged by Miranda Davies.
Producer: Amber Barnfather
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
TUE 15:00 War and Peace (b04w82wf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Genius (b008jdzb)
Series 2
Sid Waddell
Perforated bread and counselling with a twist.
Dave Gorman asks Darts commentator Sid Waddell to choose the public's best loopy idea.
Award-winning comedian Dave Gorman and a celebrity guest chew over the ridiculous, unworkable but sometimes genius inventions, schemes and policies of the public.
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2006.
TUE 16:30 Up the Garden Path (b008g7p2)
Series 3
Over-Drawn, Over-Sexed and Over-Optimistic
It's crunch time for Izzy, with Bill, Michael and Razors all vying for her attention.
Imelda Staunton stars as Isabelle 'Izzy' Comyn.
With Mike Grady as Dick, Marty Cruickshank as Maria, Nicholas Le Prevost as Michael, Rene Zagger as Razors, Sion Probert as Gwyn and Neil McCaul as Bill.
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30-something teacher Izzy has a predilection for inappropriate men.
A six-part radio sequel first adapted from Sue Limb’s 1984 novel. The last of three series which ran from 1987 to 1993. Granada also adapted the series for ITV.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
TUE 17:00 Second Thoughts (b00ljz6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 My Teenage Diary (b07hfwrm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius (b00cymj5)
Episode 2
Hiding his discovery, John outwardly woos Constance, but starts falling under Adrian's sinister spell. Read by Joanna David.
TUE 18:30 The Radio Detectives (b007jpf1)
Series 3
The Genius of Gideon Fell
Professor Jeffrey Richards profiles John Dickson Carr's archetypal English eccentric, played by Sir Donald Sinden.
TUE 19:00 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b007jprd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b007jrt7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1vx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Jamaica: The Harder They Come (b03g9rh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Telling Tales (m0004fxn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
TUE 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b07hfwrm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (b05s307h)
Series 1
Haunted Bookshop
Max and Ivan are private detectives for whom no case is too small....Sorry, for whom no fee is too small. Reece Shearsmith joins them as they investigate ghoulish goings-on in a condemned bookshop.
Driven by their love of truth, justice (and the need to pay off their terrifying landlord, Malcolm McMichaelmas), they take on crimes that no-one else would consider. In this case, they investigate a ghostly apparition that might save a condemned bookshop.
Max and Ivan - comedians and actors Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez - are a critically acclaimed, award-winning double act who have quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting comedy duos on the circuit. Over the course of the series they are dropped into new worlds, and have to use their skills to penetrate deep into each community. If that means Ivan dressing up as a 14 year old German girl, so be it!
Cast:
Max................Max Olesker
Ivan...............Ivan Gonzalez
Elliott..............Reece Shearsmith
Malcolm..........Lewis MacLeod
Pat Cooper....David Reed
Luna..............Jessica Ransom
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
A John Stanley production for BBC Radio 4.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 2015.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0004mv4)
Paul Mayhew-Archer 1/2
From
10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Rob Deering chats to Paul Mayhew-Archer.
TUE 23:00 Son of Cliche (b00p84qh)
Austin Dernoid
David Coleman is the special guest (is it really?), plus Captain Invisible and lesser-known plays by William Shakespeare.
Sketch comedy with Chris Barrie, Nick Maloney and Nick Wilton.
Written by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor.
Producer: Alan Nixon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1984.
TUE 23:30 Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme (b01c7s27)
Series 1
Family
In the first of a new series, Tim Key grapples with the idea of 'family' via his narrative poem: The Godfather. Musical accompaniment is provided by Tom Basden.
Written and presented by Tim Key
With Tom Basden
Produced by James Robinson.
TUE 23:45 Jigsaw (b01qmbk2)
Series 1
Mousetrap
Stand-up comedians Dan Antopolski, Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema combine their talents to piece together a rapid-fire and surreal sketch show.
Produced by Colin Anderson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
WEDNESDAY 24 APRIL 2019
WED 00:00 J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius (b00cymj5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 The Radio Detectives (b007jpf1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1vx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Jamaica: The Harder They Come (b03g9rh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Team Spirit (b009jf96)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 44 Scotland Street (b051s0fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b007ypl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 War and Peace (b04w82wf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Genius (b008jdzb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Up the Garden Path (b008g7p2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Second Thoughts (b00ljz6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 My Teenage Diary (b07hfwrm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1x8)
The Turbulent Tale of the Troubl'd Tragedy
The Elizabethan spy wonders why an unknown patron would fund the worst play ever written. Stars Dominic Jephcott and Roy Hudd.
WED 06:30 Shimmer and Dazzle: Seeing What Bridget Riley Sees (b00vxzns)
To coincide with the celebratory exhibition of Bridget Riley's work at the National Gallery, Louisa Buck explores the work of Britain's leading abstract artist, exploring how she works with light and colour and the character of forms to produce an exquisite shimmering and geometrical dazzling, that conspire to create what is her signature - the restless movement - in her painting.
Riley's urge to be an artist came from the pleasure of 'sight' which she developed formally at art school and her exploration of the colour and geometry of the 19th century French painter, Seurat, a 'Pointillist' whose colour theories caused the painting surface to bristle with energy and movement. Riley took on the challenge of developing his vision, and turned to abstraction, recognising that figuration could distract from the visual experience of movement - which might reside in 'the eye's mind', the title of a book of her writing and interviews.
Riley is one of the most respected artists in Britain and one of the few contemporary painters with a truly international reputation. Her distinguished career encompasses fifty years of uncompromising and remarkable innovation.
She came to critical attention with the famous black and white paintings that she made in the early 60s. Her work was included in a landmark exhibition, The Responsive Eye at The Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1965 which established her as an artist of the first order. This position was endorsed by Riley's representation of Britain at the Venice Biennale in 1968 when she became the first British contemporary painter to win the International Prize for painting.
Producer: Kate Bland
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 07:00 The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII (b0076j87)
Episode 5
Henry's VIII 5th wife Catherine Howard was an ambitious girl - one with a reputation and a duchess as her adviser.
An unreliable history, created and written in six parts by Barry Grossman.
Starring Jonathan Coy as Henry VIII, Milton Jones as Thomas Cromwell, Alfred Burke as the Chronicler, Helen Longworth as Catherine Howard, Marcia Warren as Duchess Agnes, Geoffrey McGivern as William of Winchelsea and Gyuri Sarossi as Simon of Southwark.
Music by Jim Parker.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
WED 07:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0952b1r)
Series 7
Begrudging a Crunchie
The hit series returns for a seventh 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 Sean Biggerstaff, Mina Anwar, Greg McHugh and Simon Greenall.
In the final episode of the series, Malcolm surprises Ramesh by announcing she wants to become a Foster carer.
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!
Producer: Gus Beattie for Gusman Productions
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b01s69v9)
Series 8
Float-a-Peddling Their Way Through
HMS Troutbridge is Med-bound, but Pertwee's plans don't hold water. Stars Jon Pertwee and Ronnie Barker. From September 1966.
WED 08:30 Not in Front of the Children (b08lxyfx)
Series 2
Home From Home
Jennifer's mission to save the plants back at their old house doesn't take root...
Starring Wendy Craig as Jennifer Corner, Francis Matthews as Henry Corner, Charlotte Mitchell as Mary, Roberta Tovey as Trudi, Jill Riddick as Amanda, Aline Waites as Mrs Weston, Richard Waring as Peter Harrison and June Liversidge as Marilyn.
The second series of comedy mishaps of the Corner family: Jennifer and Henry and their three children Trudi, Amanda and Robin. Not in Front of the Children originally ran for four series from 1967 to 1970 on BBC TV. Richard Waring adapted his own scripts for this radio version, now fully restored from the original reel-to-reel tapes.
Wendy Craig won a Best Actress BAFTA award for the TV version of Not in Front of the Children in 1969. This was the first of several housewife roles that Wendy Craig was to play on television. Later series included And Mother Makes Three/Five and Butterflies.
Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Producer: Trafford Whitelock.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1970.
WED 09:00 Counterpoint (b00bbwp2)
Series 22
2008 Heat 9
Paul Gambaccini chairs the general knowledge music quiz, covering the whole musical spectrum from the classics to jazz, stage and film music, rock and pop.
Three contestants battle it out: Stephen Banks from Bristol, Michael Barrell from Eastbourne, and William Cole from Winchester.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
WED 09:30 Be Prepared (b0076t37)
Survival
Recently separated from his wife and with a teenage son, Miles Rummings sets out to fulfil his dream of running a scout troop.
Family and friends don't quite share his enthusiasm, but nevertheless four misfits attempt to venture where no scout has ventured before...
Stars Kim Wall as Miles, Emma Amos as Dawn, Barnaby Power as Steve, Louis Dunsford as Jason and Gerard McDermott as the Farmer.
Producer: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2005.
WED 10:00 War and Peace (b04w82wh)
Episode 3
Napoleon maps out his strategic plan against the Russians at Austerlitz. General Kutuzov and Andrei are both wounded in the battle and Andrei's family don't know if he is alive. Meanwhile, Pierre challenges Dolokhov to a duel over Helene - he suspects them of being lovers - and Pierre and Helene argue, but she refuses to separate. Denisov and Nikolai return to the Rostov home while at Bald Hills, Lise is in childbirth but will she and Andrei ever see each again?
A dynamic fresh dramatisation by Timberlake Wertenbaker of Leo Tolstoy's epic - from the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokonsky - follows the fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic War. Starring Lesley Manville, John Hurt, Alun Armstrong and Harriet Walter.
The story moves between their past and present as Pierre, Natasha, Marya and Nikolai talk to their children about the events that shaped their lives and the lives of every Russian who lived through these troubled times.
War and Peace reflects the panorama of life at every level of Russian society in this period. The longest of 19th-century novels, it's an epic story in which historical, social, ethical and religious issues are explored on a scale never before attempted in fiction.
Alex Shiels … Sergei Rostov
Ben Crowe … Mikhail Mitrich
Charlotte Emmerson … Helene Kuragin
Daniel Flynn … Regimental Commander
David Calder … Prince Vassily Kuragin
David Collings … Shinshin
Ella Dale … Masha Bezukhov
Ferdinand Kingsley … Anatole Kuragin
Harriet Walter … Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskoy
Hazel Ellerby … Julia's mother
Jed Vine … Petya Rostov
Joanna David … Annette Scherer
Joel Maccormack … Boris Drubetskoy
John Hurt … Prince Bolkonsky
Jonathan Slinger … Captain Denisov
Kathleen Keaney … Liza Rostov
Nelly Harker … Lise Bolkonsky
Alun Armstrong … Count Rostov
Emerald O'Hanrahan … Julia Karagan
Lesley Manville … Countess Rostov
Natasha Little … Marya Bolkonsky
Paterson Joseph … Pierre Bezuhkov
Phoebe Fox … Natasha Rostov
Pip Donaghy … Colonel of the Hussars
Roger Allam … General Kutuzov
Roger May … Prince Bagration
Sam Blatchford … Andrusha Rostov
Sam Dale … Alpatych
Sam Reid … Nikolai Rostov
Sarah Badel … Maria Demitrievna
Serena Evans … Catiche
Stanley Toyne … Mitya Rostov
Stephen Campbell Moore … Andrei Bolkonsky
Tamzin Merchant … Sonya Rostov
Tom Glenister … Nikolenka Bolkonsky
Director: Celia de Wolff
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
WED 11:00 Step Back In Time - with Rylan Clark-Neal (m0004fxx)
2001 - Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Ellis-Bextor boards Rylan's time machine for a journey back to 2001.
They travel through classic pop, iconic tv moments, era-defining technology and fashion faux pas, with unexpected revelations, a surprise caller and plenty of laughs along the way. It's 2001 all over again!
Executive Producer: Daniel Clark-Neal
Producer: Oliver Morris
Assistant Producer: Simona Rata
Composer: Pascal Wyse
Production Manager: Sara Butler.
A Harbar 8 production for BBC Sounds
WED 11:30 Short Cuts (b07zyhq0)
Series 10
Wild Youth
Falling in love, losing yourself and vicious sibling rivalries - Josie Long presents tales of wild youth. We hear the writer Joe Dunthorne and his sister Leah try to unpick old family scars and a story of attempted teen rebellion from Mae Martin.
Rivals
Featuring Joe and Leah Dunthorne
Wild Youth
Featuring Mae Martin
Julius and Moses
Featuring Julius Matovu and Moses Walumsimbi
Produced by Andrea Rangecroft
Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b01s69v9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Not in Front of the Children (b08lxyfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
WED 13:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Shimmer and Dazzle: Seeing What Bridget Riley Sees (b00vxzns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fxz)
Episode 8
It's time to meet the children.
Anne Tyler's novel abridged in ten parts by Doreen Estall.
Read by Liza Ross.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
WED 14:15 Team Spirit (b009mr7v)
Episode 3
A research group in the Antarctic implement initiation rites to help with bonding. Presented by Claudia Hammond. From April 2008.
WED 14:30 44 Scotland Street (b051s3fz)
44 Scotland Street: The Blue Spode Tea Cup
Episode 3
Friendship is put to the test when Domenica asks Angus to accompany her on a secret and possibly illegal mission. Bertie’s mother’s parenting skills are under scrutiny when she comes face to face with the Social Work Department.
Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town is the setting for the quirky tales and ‘goings-on’ adapted by Alexander McCall Smith from his worldwide bestselling series of books.
Portrait painter, Angus Lordie, is a frequent visitor to Domenica Macdonald, the anthropologist and longest-term resident of 44 Scotland Street.
Will their friendship blossom and will she ever let his dog Cyril into her flat? Domenica’s thoughts are elsewhere, sensing trouble with the return of her neighbour Antonia who has been living in Glasgow of all places! Is Domenica’s ‘property’ safe with Antonia back in town?
Meanwhile in the flat below lives Bertie, aged six, a prodigy and victim of his excessively pushy mother, Irene. Bertie wants the life of an ordinary six-year-old boy, but instead he has psychotherapy, yoga and Italian conversation lessons. He also wants to know why his new baby brother, Ulysses, looks remarkably like his psychotherapist, Dr Fairbairn.
ANGUS LORDIE....……..…..CRAWFORD LOGAN
DOMENICA..……….....CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
ANTONIA/BIG LOU......………ANITA VETTESSE
IRENE………….........……............EMMA CURRIE
BERTIE………………...……....….….SIMON KERR
MARKUS.............................MATTHEW ZAJAC
SOCIAL WORKER.....................MOLLY INNES
Director: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b007yplb)
Rudolf Nureyev: The Life
We Became One Body, One Soul
Director Ninette de Valois pairs Rudolf Nureyev with Margot Fonteyn.
Read by Jamie Glover.
Abridged by Miranda Davies.
Producer: Amber Barnfather
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
WED 15:00 War and Peace (b04w82wh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Counterpoint (b00bbwp2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Be Prepared (b0076t37)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 17:00 The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII (b0076j87)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0952b1r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
WED 18:00 J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius (b00cywfd)
Episode 3
Absent in Italy, John sends a letter summoning Sophia to Naples, where she learns a terrible secret. Read by Joanna David.
Written in 1895 by J Meade Falkner, this brilliant novella from the author of the smuggling classic 'Moonfleet' is by turns enchanting and terrifying.
Set in the 1840s, it follows John Maltravers, a well-to-do student at Oxford whose innocent love of music is destined to lead him under a malevolent influence.
Abridger: Doreen Estall
Producer: Lawrence Jackson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2008.
WED 18:30 That Reminds Me (b007jmv2)
Series 1
Nicholas Parsons
TV and radio host Nicholas Parsons reminisces as he entertains an audience.
Featuring tales of his career up to the start of chairing Radio 4’s 'Just a Minute' and as quizmaster for Anglia TV’s 'Sale of the Century'.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1999.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b01s69v9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Not in Front of the Children (b08lxyfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
WED 20:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Shimmer and Dazzle: Seeing What Bridget Riley Sees (b00vxzns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Step Back In Time - with Rylan Clark-Neal (m0004fxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
WED 21:30 Short Cuts (b07zyhq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 today]
WED 22:00 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0952b1r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
WED 22:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b0075t8y)
Series 1
Episode 3
Being a 'breatharian' sparks disaster for host Mel.
Variety meets sitcom meets sketch show - written and performed by Mel Hudson and Vicki Pepperdine.
With Martin Hyder, Keith Wickham and Jim North.
Script editor: Graeme Garden
Producers: Claire Jones and Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2000.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0004qqy)
Paul Mayhew-Archer 2/2
From
10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Rob Deering chats to Paul Mayhew-Archer.
WED 23:00 And Now in Colour (b007wqf1)
Series 1
Salisbury Plain
The sketch show team take their audience on Territorial Army manoeuvres – and a surprise Book at Bedtime.
Precision comedy written and performed by Tim Firth, Tim de Jongh, Michael Rutger and William Vandyck.
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1990
WED 23:30 Delve Special (b007jn2h)
Series 4
Resurrection of St Jerome
Intrepid reporter David Lander probes the extravagant lifestyle of Caribbean despot Felipe Delnazo and his wife Isabella.
Written by Tony Sarchet.
Starring Stephen Fry as David Lander.
With Brenda Blethyn, Robert Bathurst, Andrew Sachs, Philip Pope and Mark Arden.
Producer: Paul Mayhew Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1987.
THURSDAY 25 APRIL 2019
THU 00:00 J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius (b00cywfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 That Reminds Me (b007jmv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Shimmer and Dazzle: Seeing What Bridget Riley Sees (b00vxzns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Team Spirit (b009mr7v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 44 Scotland Street (b051s3fz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b007yplb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 War and Peace (b04w82wh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Counterpoint (b00bbwp2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Be Prepared (b0076t37)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII (b0076j87)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0952b1r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1yk)
The Perplex'd Plot of the Perilous Plague
As London is ravaged by an epidemic, the playwright spy is on the case of a double-crossing. Stars Dominic Jephcott.
THU 06:30 The Sound of Magnolias (b00n5404)
Writer Irma Kurtz travels to Paris and Madrid to investigate the period just before the war when blind Spanish composer Rodrigo composed his famous Concerto de Aranjuez. She goes to the gardens of Aranjuez with his only daughter, Cecelia, and talks to guitarist Pepe Romero about the music's lasting impact.
THU 07:00 Shush! (b06c48pr)
Series 1
Mobile Library
An intruder, an ice-cream van and Daniel Barenboim make life difficult for Snoo and Alice as Simon constructs a deadly cornflakes-based trap.
Meet Alice, a former child prodigy who won a place at Oxford aged 9 but, because Daddy went too, she never needed to have any friends. She's scared of everything - everything that is, except libraries and Snoo, a slightly confused individual, with a have-a-go attitude to life, marriage, haircuts and reality. Snoo loves books, and fully intends to read one one day.
And forever popping into the library is Dr. Cadogan, celebrity doctor to the stars and a man with his finger in every pie. Charming, indiscreet and quite possibly wanted by Interpol, if you want a discrete nip and tuck and then photos of it accidentally left on the photocopier, Dr Cadogan is your man.
Their happy life is interrupted by the arrival of Simon Nielson, a man with a mission, a mission to close down inefficient libraries. Fortunately, he hates his mission. What he really wants to do is once, just once, get even with his inexhaustible supply of high-achieving brothers.
Written by Morwenna Banks and Rebecca Front
Based on an idea developed with Armando Iannucci
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
THU 07:30 Meet David Sedaris (m00046sq)
Series 7
Episode 3
The globetrotting, trash-picking, aisle-rolling storyteller is back with more words of wit and wisdom.
With his sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America’s pre-eminent humour writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves him a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.
This week, he reads The Silent Treatment and more diary extracts.
David Sedaris's first book, Barrel Fever (1994) which included The SantaLand Diaries, was a critical and commercial success, as were his follow-up efforts, Naked (1997), Holidays on Ice (1997) and Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000). He became known for his bitingly funny recollections of his youth, family life and travels, making semi-celebrities out of his parents and siblings.
David has been nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. His latest international best-selling book is a collection of stories entitled Calypso. A feature film adaptation of his story C.O.G. was released after a premier at the Sundance Film Festival (2013). He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker and has been a appearing on BBC Radio 4 since 1996.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
THU 08:00 Something to Shout About (m0004fy3)
Series 2
Episode 17
To promote a posh store’s Bridal Week event, the agency organises a live TV wedding.
Confusion over a Russian guest means that Janet has to step into the limelight.
"A light-hearted exposé of the advertising world!". Set in a London ad agency called 'Apsley, Addis, Cohen, Barbican, Blythe, Giddy & Partners'.
Starring Michael Medwin as Michael, Fenella Fielding as Janet, Joan Sims as Mavis, Eleanor Summerfield as Maggie and Nicholas Phipps as Adrian. Other parts by Warren Mitchell.
Series two (of three) written by Myles Rudge with Ronnie Wolfe.
Producer: Eric Miller
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1961.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jq80)
The Million Pound Penny
Two tales for the price of one - The Sockjelly Murder and the story of Ned The Miser! With Peter Sellers. From November 1958.
THU 09:00 Booked (b007544j)
Series 1
Episode 5
The Dong with the luminous nose honks hooters with Cyrano de Bergerac, and Obelix encounters the mighty Goliath. Sniff versus biff?
Mark Thomas, Roger McGough, Dillie Keane and Miles Kington deliver their wicked thoughts in the irreverent literary game.
Chaired by Ian McMillan.
Producer: Marc Jobst
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1995.
THU 09:30 Bristow (b00cnhyq)
Series 1
Sun, Sea and Sabotage
The buying clerk's traditional summer plans are threatened by Chester Perry's new boy.
With Rodney Bewes as Jones, Owen Brenman as Hewitt, Dora Bryan as Mrs Purdy and Jon Glover as Fudge.
Bristow works as a buying clerk for Reginald Chester-Perry's firm. He's but a small cog in a gigantic wheel...and he knows it.
Michael Williams stars as Bristow, the buying clerk from Frank Dickens' famous newspaper cartoon strip. Syndicated internationally, it ran for 41 years in London's Evening Standard. Frank Dickens died in July 2016.
RSC talent and popular stage and TV actor, Michael Williams died in 2001
Music: John Whitehall
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1999.
THU 10:00 War and Peace (b04w82wl)
Episode 4
Pierre meets a wise stranger, Bazdeev, and becomes a Freemason. Natasha catches the eye of Captain Denisov who rashly proposes – Countess Rostov sets him straight. Nikolai confesses his huge gambling debts to his father, Count Rostov, and vows never to gamble again. General Denisov vows never to propose again.
Following Lise's death, Pierre visits Bald Hills to try and console a broken Andrei and siblings Andrei and Marya draw close when Andrei's young son, Nikolenka, is dangerously ill. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Denisov takes drastic action to feed his starving troops but the consequences are harsh. And following a business visit to Count Rostov, Andrei encounters Natasha Rostov and is enchanted – he wants to live again.
A dynamic fresh dramatisation by Timberlake Wertenbaker of Leo Tolstoy's epic - from the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokonsky - follows the fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic War. Starring Lesley Manville, John Hurt, Alun Armstrong and Harriet Walter.
The story moves between their past and present as Pierre, Natasha, Marya and Nikolai talk to their children about the events that shaped their lives and the lives of every Russian who lived through these troubled times.
War and Peace reflects the panorama of life at every level of Russian society in this period. The longest of 19th-century novels, it's an epic story in which historical, social, ethical and religious issues are explored on a scale never before attempted in fiction.
Alex Shiels … Sergei Rostov
Ben Crowe … Mikhail Mitrich
Charlotte Emmerson … Helene Kuragin
Daniel Flynn … Regimental Commander
David Calder … Prince Vassily Kuragin
David Collings … Shinshin
Ella Dale … Masha Bezukhov
Ferdinand Kingsley … Anatole Kuragin
Harriet Walter … Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskoy
Hazel Ellerby … Julia's mother
Jed Vine … Petya Rostov
Joanna David … Annette Scherer
Joel Maccormack … Boris Drubetskoy
John Hurt … Prince Bolkonsky
Jonathan Slinger … Captain Denisov
Kathleen Keaney … Liza Rostov
Nelly Harker … Lise Bolkonsky
Alun Armstrong … Count Rostov
Emerald O'Hanrahan … Julia Karagan
Lesley Manville … Countess Rostov
Natasha Little … Marya Bolkonsky
Paterson Joseph … Pierre Bezuhkov
Phoebe Fox … Natasha Rostov
Pip Donaghy … Colonel of the Hussars
Roger Allam … General Kutuzov
Roger May … Prince Bagration
Sam Blatchford … Andrusha Rostov
Sam Dale … Alpatych
Sam Reid … Nikolai Rostov
Sarah Badel … Maria Demitrievna
Serena Evans … Catiche
Stanley Toyne … Mitya Rostov
Stephen Campbell Moore … Andrei Bolkonsky
Tamzin Merchant … Sonya Rostov
Tom Glenister … Nikolenka Bolkonsky
Director: Celia de Wolff
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
THU 11:00 Julia Stoneham - Lap of the Gods (b07djzwm)
What will a couple find when, on a sailing trip off the Turkish coast, they drop anchor in a quiet cove? Read by June Barrie. From June 1997.
THU 11:15 Sally Griffiths - The Right Call (b041yr8t)
Following a sudden move to Swansea, Jo and Adrian are forced to reassess their relationship with their teenage daughter, Lexie.
Trying to appear normal under immense pressure begins to take its toll.
Sally Griffiths's gripping drama about keeping secrets in a tight-knit family.
Jo .... Anastasia Hille
Adrian .... Michael Bertenshaw
Lexie .... Tamsin Topolski
Mair .... Eiry Thomas
Becky .... Carys Eleri
Director: Gemma Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
THU 12:00 Something to Shout About (m0004fy3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jq80)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 13:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1yk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 13:30 The Sound of Magnolias (b00n5404)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fy6)
Episode 9
Rebecca has a chance to start over.
Anne Tyler's novel abridged in ten parts by Doreen Estall.
Read by Liza Ross.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
THU 14:15 Team Spirit (b009q4wr)
Episode 4
A girls' football squad in Bishop's Lydeard has learnt how to work as a unit. Presented by Claudia Hammond. From April 2008.
THU 14:30 44 Scotland Street (b051vlpk)
44 Scotland Street: The Blue Spode Tea Cup
Episode 4
There are gender issues with Ulysses – Bertie thinks his baby brother looks like a girl. And with Cyril the dog in prison, Angus needs help to free the New Town canine!
Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town is the setting for the quirky tales and ‘goings-on’ adapted by Alexander McCall Smith from his worldwide bestselling series of books.
Portrait painter, Angus Lordie, is a frequent visitor to Domenica Macdonald, the anthropologist and longest-term resident of 44 Scotland Street.
Will their friendship blossom and will she ever let his dog Cyril into her flat? Domenica’s thoughts are elsewhere, sensing trouble with the return of her neighbour Antonia who has been living in Glasgow of all places! Is Domenica’s ‘property’ safe with Antonia back in town?
Meanwhile in the flat below lives Bertie, aged six, a prodigy and victim of his excessively pushy mother, Irene. Bertie wants the life of an ordinary six-year-old boy, but instead he has psychotherapy, yoga and Italian conversation lessons. He also wants to know why his new baby brother, Ulysses, looks remarkably like his psychotherapist, Dr Fairbairn.
ANGUS LORDIE....……..…..CRAWFORD LOGAN
DOMENICA..……….....CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
IRENE………….........……............EMMA CURRIE
BERTIE………………...……....….….SIMON KERR
LAWYER.............................MATTHEW ZAJAC
SOCIAL WORKER.....................MOLLY INNES
Director: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b007yplc)
Rudolf Nureyev: The Life
The Purest and the Dirtiest
Rudolf Nureyev creates a dark, complicated ballet based on a poem by Lord Byron.
Read by Jamie Glover
Abridged by Miranda Davies.
Producer: Amber Barnfather
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
THU 15:00 War and Peace (b04w82wl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Booked (b007544j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Bristow (b00cnhyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Shush! (b06c48pr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Meet David Sedaris (m00046sq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
THU 18:00 J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius (b00cz5rg)
Episode 4
As John returns from Italy, his friend Gaskell tries to penetrate how he fell under Adrian's malign spell. Concluded by Joanna David.
Written in 1895 by J Meade Falkner, this brilliant novella from the author of the smuggling classic 'Moonfleet' is by turns enchanting and terrifying.
Set in the 1840s, it follows John Maltravers, a well-to-do student at Oxford whose innocent love of music is destined to lead him under a malevolent influence.
Abridger: Doreen Estall
Producer: Lawrence Jackson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2008.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b01pp5vb)
Series 29
John Stuart Mill
Max Mosley nominates the philosopher and proponent of personal liberty, John Stuart Mill, as his great life. With presenter Matthew Parris and biographer Richard Reeves.
Max Mosley trained as a barrister and was an amateur racing driver before becoming involved in the professional sport, latterly as president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The youngest son of Sir Oswald Mosley, former leader of the British Union of Fascists, and Diana Mitford, his family name made a career in politics impossible. His choice of Mill as a great life is a result of his recent experiences of suing the News of the World for invasion of privacy, and giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. He says that both sides of the debate used Mill's work on liberty to justify their arguments.
Until summer 2012 Richard Reeves was Nick Clegg's Director of Strategy, and before that, head of the think-tank 'Demos'. His biography, 'John Stuart Mill - Victorian Firebrand', depicts Mill as a passionate man of action: a philosopher, radical MP and reformer who profoundly shaped Victorian society and continues to illuminate our own.
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
THU 19:00 Something to Shout About (m0004fy3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jq80)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 20:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1yk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 20:30 The Sound of Magnolias (b00n5404)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Julia Stoneham - Lap of the Gods (b07djzwm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Sally Griffiths - The Right Call (b041yr8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Meet David Sedaris (m00046sq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Newsjack (m0004fyb)
Newsjack Unplugged, Series 3
Episode 6
Short-form show from the same team behind the long running Newsjack show on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
THU 22:45 The Pin (b06kgbgd)
Series 1
Episode 2
Join Alex and Ben in their weird twist on the double-act sketch show. Strap in for a 15 minute delve in to a world of oddness performed in front of a live studio audience.
The Pin are an award-winning comedy duo, and legends of Edinburgh festival. They deconstruct the sketch form, in a show that exists somewhere between razor-sharp smartness and utterly joyous silliness.
After a sold-out run in Edinburgh, and a string of hilarious performances across BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC 3, Channel 4, and Comedy Central, this is The Pin's debut solo show for Radio 4. Join them as they celebrate, make, collapse and rebuild their jokes, each other, and probably the radio too.
For fans of Adam and Joe, Vic and Bob, and Fist of Fun - a show of absurd offerings from two loveable idiots.
Produced by Sam Bryant.
First broadcast in Radio 4 in 2015.
THU 23:00 Alan Parker's 59 Minutes of Truth (b00yjvx4)
Episode 2
The urban warrior's comedy-music mix includes a how-to guide to seeing gigs for free.
More undeniable truths to a nation crying out for direction and guidance.
Written by and starring Simon Munnery.
With Peter Serafinowicz and Mandy Knight.
Producer: Aled Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in February 1995.
FRIDAY 26 APRIL 2019
FRI 00:00 J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius (b00cz5rg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b01pp5vb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1yk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 The Sound of Magnolias (b00n5404)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fy6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Team Spirit (b009q4wr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 44 Scotland Street (b051vlpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b007yplc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 War and Peace (b04w82wl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Booked (b007544j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Bristow (b00cnhyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Shush! (b06c48pr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Meet David Sedaris (m00046sq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1zv)
The Murky Mystery of Murder at St Mark's
The eloquent Elizabethan spy goes to Cambridge, where professors are dropping like flies. Stars Dominic Jephcott.
FRI 06:30 Magic People and Places (b00t4qk4)
Magic is constantly changing, with performers creating bigger and better tricks to impress us. Times have changed since a magician produced a startled rabbit out of top hat with a puff of smoke. Today we expect more, and the modern magician apparently does the impossible before our eyes. But spare a thought for where the trick came from. How did the magic get there?
Presenter John Sugar does not reveal any trade secrets - like how to saw a woman in half, or the best way to float in the air - but we do hear how the sale of magic has changed, with the impact of the internet and the way conventions are developing new environments for its promotion and sale. The programme also hears about the leading magic shops and studios of 60 years ago, revealing the characters who created the magic.
Today, magic revolves around the internet and magic conventions. The key gathering is in Blackpool in late February. The programme visits the 58th Magic Convention, attended by 3500 magicians. We speak to the organizers and the performers, and soak up the atmosphere.
Discover more about the way magic is brought and sold in this engaging programme which celebrates the innovators, demonstrators, characters and studios who make sure magic continues to touch all our lives.
Made for BBC Radio 4 by Sugar Productions and first broadcast in 2010.
FRI 07:00 The Elephant Man (b04wjsk0)
Early Closing Day
What will become of the animals, and staff, when the zoo goes up for sale?
Debbie Barham's eight-part sitcom about the life of an elephant zoo keeper.
Starring Peter Serafinowicz as Terry Lyon, Chris Emmet as Leonard, Richard Pearce as Adam, Joanna Monro as Stephanie, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Maureen, Geoff McGivern as George, Wayne Forester as Mr Bull and Debra Stephenson as the Secretary.
Producer: Richard Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1996.
FRI 07:30 Rumblings from the Rafters (b07jwt65)
Edible Dormouse and Peacock Butterfly
An Edible Dormouse played by Hugh Dennis and a Peacock Butterfly played by Amanda Abbington reveal the truth about life in an old attic in a house in Amersham in the last of three very funny tales, written and introduced by Lynne Truss, with additional sound recordings by Chris Watson.
The Edible Dormouse is no Common Dormouse. He is Russian and extremely serious-minded. He is obsessed with answering the question, "Why are we here?" both the philosophical question and the literal one. No answer satisfies him. So he has reached his own conclusion, which involves secret agents and a submarine. "I may be rare, cute-looking, and of indisputable foreign origin, but I am not stupid." He is planning a meeting with his fellow Edible Dormice to discuss their next move. He knows this won't be easy. The others think he is mad. Top of the agenda is what they should call themselves. "Imagine how it feels to be one of the only zoological species in existence whose very name says, "Have you ever thought of eating me?"
The Peacock Butterfly is youthful, intelligent, and ever so concerned with being brave and sensible about mortality. Having been born the previous year, she is re-visiting the attic before dying. "I remember when I first came in, I thought hello, this wouldn't be a bad place to pop off, when the time comes." But trying to be brave about her inevitable end is much harder than she expects, "Well, I'm sorry to say that for some completely inexplicable reason I totally lost it at the sycamore! I mean what's wrong with me? " But as she settles down to die, a sudden thought changes everything ...
Edible Dormouse: Hugh Dennis
Peacock Butterfly: Amanda Abbington
Written and introduced by Lynne Truss
Wildlife sound recordings Chris Watson
Producer Sarah Blunt.
FRI 08:00 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kn7yv)
From 13/05/1984
From tackling Britain's recession to Film Extra of the Century.
Michael Bentine stars in the ultimate one man show written and performed by the host.
Producer: Jamie Rix
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in May 1984.
FRI 08:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jlws)
Series 3
Death in the Family
Distraught Harold must break some sad news to his father, Albert.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold.
Following the conclusion of their hugely successful association with Tony Hancock, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in 1962. The Offer was set in a house with a yard full of junk, featuring the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold and it was the spark for a run of 8 series for TV.
Adapted for radio from Galton and Simpson's TV script by Gale Pedrick.
Produced by Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1971.
FRI 09:00 Hidden Treasures (b054z4kp)
Petworth House
A reclining marble sculpture, a very peculiar chair, and some weird and wonderful objects from the kitchen.
Lars Tharp chairs the light-hearted Antiques Quiz from the North Gallery of Petworth House in West Sussex crammed with works of Turner, William Blake, Reynolds and Gainsborough.
With Eric Knowles, Clive Farahar and Hilary Kay.
Producer: Annie Bristow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
FRI 09:30 Safety Catch (b00vy3st)
Series 3
Uncomfortably Numb
Laurence Howarth's black comedy of modern morality set in the world of arms dealing.
Simon McGrath is a generally nice chap who just happens to be an arms dealer. It's not something he planned, he just fell into it, and despite all his best intentions he just doesn't seem to be able to leave because he has to pay his mortgage like everyone else. Of course his real love is electronic music and this is just a stop gap until he finds the perfect outlet for his music - okay so the gap has lasted five years but that's not the point. Once he can get himself motivated he'll be out of there and, as his ever supportive mum says, people will always want to kill each other. So that's alright then......
This week Simon is appalled that his boss thinks it's inappropriate for him to empathise with the world's persecuted and oppressed and stop worrying, but when his family generally agree that worrying gets you nowhere he sets out to give himself compassion fatigue so that he can he can stop worrying and not feel guilty about all the bloodshed in the world. Unfortunately his new outlook doesn't seem to change Anna's parents view of him when they come to visit.
Cast:
Simon McGrath ..... Darren Boyd
Anna Grieg ..... Joanna Page
Boris Kemal ..... Lewis Macleod
Judith McGrath ..... Sarah Smart
Angela McGrath ..... Brigit Forsyth
Madeleine Turnbull ..... Rachel Atkins
Glenys ..... Di Botcher
Hugh ..... Mike Hayward
Written by Laurence Howarth
Produced By Dawn Ellis.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
FRI 10:00 War and Peace (b04w89tp)
Episode 5
There is much excitement as the Rostov family is invited to the Emperor's New Year's Eve Ball where Andrei meets Natasha Rostov for the first time. The two of them fall deeply in love, but are the rumours of his proposal to her true? And how will Andrei's domineering father, Prince Bolkonsky, react to the news?
Pierre, still a freemason, is growing increasingly distant from Helene. Meanwhile the Rostov family is in an increasingly dire financial position and Countess Rostov is desperate for Nikolai to marry Julia Karagin whose wealth could save them. But Nikolai and his penniless cousin Sonya love each other and are determined to marry.
A dynamic fresh dramatisation by Timberlake Wertenbaker of Leo Tolstoy's epic - from the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokonsky - follows the fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic War. Starring Lesley Manville, John Hurt, Alun Armstrong and Harriet Walter.
The story moves between their past and present as Pierre, Natasha, Marya and Nikolai talk to their children about the events that shaped their lives and the lives of every Russian who lived through these troubled times.
War and Peace reflects the panorama of life at every level of Russian society in this period. The longest of 19th-century novels, it's an epic story in which historical, social, ethical and religious issues are explored on a scale never before attempted in fiction.
Alex Shiels … Sergei Rostov
Ben Crowe … Mikhail Mitrich
Charlotte Emmerson … Helene Kuragin
Daniel Flynn … Regimental Commander
David Calder … Prince Vassily Kuragin
David Collings … Shinshin
Ella Dale … Masha Bezukhov
Ferdinand Kingsley … Anatole Kuragin
Harriet Walter … Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskoy
Hazel Ellerby … Julia's mother
Jed Vine … Petya Rostov
Joanna David … Annette Scherer
Joel Maccormack … Boris Drubetskoy
John Hurt … Prince Bolkonsky
Jonathan Slinger … Captain Denisov
Kathleen Keaney … Liza Rostov
Nelly Harker … Lise Bolkonsky
Alun Armstrong … Count Rostov
Emerald O'Hanrahan … Julia Karagan
Lesley Manville … Countess Rostov
Natasha Little … Marya Bolkonsky
Paterson Joseph … Pierre Bezuhkov
Phoebe Fox … Natasha Rostov
Pip Donaghy … Colonel of the Hussars
Roger Allam … General Kutuzov
Roger May … Prince Bagration
Sam Blatchford … Andrusha Rostov
Sam Dale … Alpatych
Sam Reid … Nikolai Rostov
Sarah Badel … Maria Demitrievna
Serena Evans … Catiche
Stanley Toyne … Mitya Rostov
Stephen Campbell Moore … Andrei Bolkonsky
Tamzin Merchant … Sonya Rostov
Tom Glenister … Nikolenka Bolkonsky
Director: Celia de Wolff
Executive Producer: Peter Hoare
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m0004fyf)
Caroline Crampton: The Lonely Palette and Flash Forward
Amanda Litherland is joined by Caroline Crampton to recommend great podcasts.
This week, they recommend two independent podcasts and speak to their creators.
The Lonely Palette is an art history podcast by Tamar Avishai. In each episode Tamar focuses on one work of art and looks into the movement, the social context, the anecdotes, and anything and everything else that will make it as exciting to you as it is to her.
Flash Forward is a podcast about the future by Rose Eveleth. Each episode takes on a possible (or not so possible) future scenario — everything from the existence of artificial wombs, to what would happen if space pirates dragged a second moon to Earth.
FRI 12:00 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kn7yv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jlws)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1zv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Magic People and Places (b00t4qk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups (m0004fyh)
Episode 10
Poppy celebrates his 100th birthday with a party whilst Rebecca reflects on just what is our real life? Read by Liza Ross.
FRI 14:15 Team Spirit (b009twr3)
Episode 5
It takes a 65-strong backstage team to put on the West End musical Dirty Dancing. Presented by Claudia Hammond. From April 2008.
FRI 14:30 44 Scotland Street (b051vyx3)
44 Scotland Street: The Blue Spode Tea Cup
Episode 5
Angus is summoned to the Police Station and fears the worst, while for Domenica sorry seems to be the hardest word.
Edinburgh’s Georgian New Town is the setting for the quirky tales and ‘goings-on’ adapted by Alexander McCall Smith from his worldwide bestselling series of books.
Portrait painter, Angus Lordie, is a frequent visitor to Domenica Macdonald, the anthropologist and longest-term resident of 44 Scotland Street.
Will their friendship blossom and will she ever let his dog Cyril into her flat? Domenica’s thoughts are elsewhere, sensing trouble with the return of her neighbour Antonia who has been living in Glasgow of all places! Is Domenica’s ‘property’ safe with Antonia back in town?
Meanwhile in the flat below lives Bertie, aged six, a prodigy and victim of his excessively pushy mother, Irene. Bertie wants the life of an ordinary six-year-old boy, but instead he has psychotherapy, yoga and Italian conversation lessons. He also wants to know why his new baby brother, Ulysses, looks remarkably like his psychotherapist, Dr Fairbairn.
DOMENICA..……….....CAROL ANN CRAWFORD
ANGUS LORDIE....……..…..CRAWFORD LOGAN
STUART...........….....DAVID JACKSON YOUNG
ANTONIA/BIG LOU......………ANITA VETTESSE
BERTIE………………...…………….….SIMON KERR
Director: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b007ypld)
Rudolf Nureyev: The Life
Preparation for My Solitude
Despite his failing health, Rudolf Nureyev continues to perform and choreograph.
Read by Jamie Glover
Abridged by Miranda Davies.
Producer: Amber Barnfather
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
FRI 15:00 War and Peace (b04w89tp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Hidden Treasures (b054z4kp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Safety Catch (b00vy3st)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 The Elephant Man (b04wjsk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Rumblings from the Rafters (b07jwt65)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Jerome K Jerome - The Dancing Partner (b08tj7rs)
“All I ask of a partner is that he shall hold me firmly, take me round steadily, and not get tired before I do.”
When a group of young women complain about a lack of dance partners, a toymaker gets creative...
Jerome K Jerome's eerie tale adapted by Michael and Mollie Hardwick.
Starring James Hayter as Papa Geibel, Rolf Lefebvre as Brendl, Sheila Grant as Trudi, Shirley Cooklin as Olga, Peter Pratt as Colonel Lens, Malcolm Hayes as Hans / Fritz, Patricia Clapton as Irma, Anthony Hall as Hoffmeier, Austin Trevor as Wensel and Allan McClelland as MacShaugnasay.
Special effects by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Music arranged and conducted by Denya Barlow.
Signature tune by Ron Grainer.
Producer: Charles Lefeaux
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in January 1963.
FRI 18:30 Off the Page (b0076gbx)
Drugs
Matthew Parris joins writers Martin Booth, Zoe Lewis and Susie Boyt to ponder the pros and cons of highs and lows. From August 2003.
In each programme, Matthew Parris introduces a group of writers of fact and fiction: new talent and established names. In the context of a discussion of one of the ideas and pre-occupations of our times, each presents a piece on this week's topic.
The best new writing and the freshest conversation from 2003.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
FRI 19:00 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kn7yv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jlws)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1zv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Magic People and Places (b00t4qk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m0004fyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 It's a Fair Cop (b049z7xh)
Series 1
Episode 3
Alfie Moore invites his audience to be police officers for one night as he takes them though a scenario based on a real-life case and asks them 'What would you have done?'
Presented and written by Alfie Moore
Script editor, Will Ing
Producer, Alison Vernon-Smith.
FRI 22:30 Andrew Lawrence: How Did We End Up Like This? (b01ntjq3)
Health and Medicine
Sketches, stand-up and song in a comic exploration of health. With Andrew Lawrence and Sara Pascoe. From November 2012.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0004qrb)
Stephen Buchanan
From
10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy and Jake Yapp chats to BBC Introducing Radio 4 Comedy Award winner Stephen Buchanan.
FRI 23:00 John Finnemore's Double Acts (b06kh27w)
Series 1
Red-Handed
Joel comes home early from work one day to find an unexpected visitor in the shape of Henry.
John Bird and Lawry Lewin star in the third of six two-handers written by Cabin Pressure's John Finnemore.
Written by John Finnemore
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
FRI 23:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05pnw2q)
Series 2
Episode 2
Adventuring comedian Tim FitzHigham recreates a 19th-century bet.
Can his pig (Gwladys) cross a bridge quicker than a waterman can row the width of the river beneath?
Producer: Joe Nunnery.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
44 Scotland Street
14:30 MON (b051rjpk)
44 Scotland Street
02:30 TUE (b051rjpk)
44 Scotland Street
14:30 TUE (b051s0fk)
44 Scotland Street
02:30 WED (b051s0fk)
44 Scotland Street
14:30 WED (b051s3fz)
44 Scotland Street
02:30 THU (b051s3fz)
44 Scotland Street
14:30 THU (b051vlpk)
44 Scotland Street
02:30 FRI (b051vlpk)
44 Scotland Street
14:30 FRI (b051vyx3)
A Good Read
18:30 MON (b008xf48)
A Good Read
00:30 TUE (b008xf48)
AJ Cronin - The Citadel (Omnibus)
13:00 SAT (m0004fw4)
AJ Cronin - The Citadel (Omnibus)
01:00 SUN (m0004fw4)
Adrian Mole and The Weapons of Mass Destruction (Omnibus)
14:30 SUN (m0004fwr)
Adrian Mole and The Weapons of Mass Destruction (Omnibus)
02:30 MON (m0004fwr)
Alan Parker's 59 Minutes of Truth
23:00 THU (b00yjvx4)
Alex Barr - Futures
00:00 SAT (b099b3x4)
And Now in Colour
23:00 WED (b007wqf1)
Andrew Lawrence: How Did We End Up Like This?
22:30 FRI (b01ntjq3)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
02:00 SAT (m0004623)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
14:00 MON (m0004fxf)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
02:00 TUE (m0004fxf)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
14:00 TUE (m0004fxq)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
02:00 WED (m0004fxq)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
14:00 WED (m0004fxz)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
02:00 THU (m0004fxz)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
14:00 THU (m0004fy6)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
02:00 FRI (m0004fy6)
Anne Tyler - Back When We Were Grownups
14:00 FRI (m0004fyh)
Archive on 4
08:00 SAT (b0456t45)
Archive on 4
15:00 SAT (b0456t45)
Archive on 4
03:00 SUN (b0456t45)
Bad Salsa
07:00 MON (b06wf7lq)
Bad Salsa
17:00 MON (b06wf7lq)
Bad Salsa
05:00 TUE (b06wf7lq)
Be Prepared
09:30 WED (b0076t37)
Be Prepared
16:30 WED (b0076t37)
Be Prepared
04:30 THU (b0076t37)
Beauty of Britain
23:00 SAT (b010t6yh)
Book of the Week
02:45 SAT (b042lmss)
Book of the Week
14:45 MON (b007yplf)
Book of the Week
02:45 TUE (b007yplf)
Book of the Week
14:45 TUE (b007ypl9)
Book of the Week
02:45 WED (b007ypl9)
Book of the Week
14:45 WED (b007yplb)
Book of the Week
02:45 THU (b007yplb)
Book of the Week
14:45 THU (b007yplc)
Book of the Week
02:45 FRI (b007yplc)
Book of the Week
14:45 FRI (b007ypld)
Booked
09:00 THU (b007544j)
Booked
16:00 THU (b007544j)
Booked
04:00 FRI (b007544j)
Bristow
09:30 THU (b00cnhyq)
Bristow
16:30 THU (b00cnhyq)
Bristow
04:30 FRI (b00cnhyq)
Bryony Lavery - 272 Attempts
18:00 SAT (b0076mn4)
Bryony Lavery - 272 Attempts
00:00 SUN (b0076mn4)
Cabin Pressure
23:00 SUN (b00lyvz7)
Chain Reaction
22:00 SAT (b01m6crv)
Comedy Club Extra
22:55 SUN (m0004gxv)
Counterpoint
09:00 WED (b00bbwp2)
Counterpoint
16:00 WED (b00bbwp2)
Counterpoint
04:00 THU (b00bbwp2)
Crossing the Bay
01:30 SAT (b01qw8m5)
Dad's Army
08:30 MON (b007js9w)
Dad's Army
12:30 MON (b007js9w)
Dad's Army
19:30 MON (b007js9w)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
11:50 SUN (b00pf4x9)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
19:50 SUN (b00pf4x9)
Delve Special
23:30 WED (b007jn2h)
Desert Island Discs Revisited
10:15 SUN (m0004fwp)
Desert Island Discs Revisited
21:15 SUN (m0004fwp)
Drama
03:00 SAT (b008gzlm)
Fags, Mags and Bags
07:30 WED (b0952b1r)
Fags, Mags and Bags
17:30 WED (b0952b1r)
Fags, Mags and Bags
22:00 WED (b0952b1r)
Fags, Mags and Bags
05:30 THU (b0952b1r)
Genius
16:00 TUE (b008jdzb)
Genius
04:00 WED (b008jdzb)
Gloomsbury
22:30 MON (b05zlg6p)
Great Lives
18:30 THU (b01pp5vb)
Great Lives
00:30 FRI (b01pp5vb)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
18:25 SUN (m0004fx5)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
00:25 MON (m0004fx5)
Hancock's Half Hour
12:00 SAT (b007jph6)
Hancock's Half Hour
08:00 MON (b007jpl8)
Hancock's Half Hour
12:00 MON (b007jpl8)
Hancock's Half Hour
19:00 MON (b007jpl8)
Hearing With Hegley
23:45 MON (b0075ryg)
Hearing With Hegley
09:45 TUE (b0075ryg)
Hercule Poirot
06:00 SAT (b009z4c6)
Hercule Poirot
16:00 SAT (b009z4c6)
Hercule Poirot
04:00 SUN (b009z4c6)
Hidden Treasures
04:00 SAT (b0546cwh)
Hidden Treasures
09:00 FRI (b054z4kp)
Hidden Treasures
16:00 FRI (b054z4kp)
Home to Roost
08:00 SUN (m0004fwg)
Home to Roost
12:00 SUN (m0004fwg)
Inheritance Tracks
14:10 SAT (m0004fw6)
Inheritance Tracks
02:10 SUN (m0004fw6)
Inheritance Tracks
11:50 MON (b08kbdjm)
Inheritance Tracks
21:50 MON (b08kbdjm)
It's a Fair Cop
22:00 FRI (b049z7xh)
Ivor Meets Craig
17:20 SUN (b07296j8)
Ivor Meets Craig
05:20 MON (b07296j8)
J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius
18:00 MON (b00cyg6x)
J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius
00:00 TUE (b00cyg6x)
J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius
18:00 TUE (b00cymj5)
J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius
00:00 WED (b00cymj5)
J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius
18:00 WED (b00cywfd)
J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius
00:00 THU (b00cywfd)
J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius
18:00 THU (b00cz5rg)
J Meade Falkner - The Lost Stradivarius
00:00 FRI (b00cz5rg)
Jamaica: The Harder They Come
06:30 MON (b03f9cvg)
Jamaica: The Harder They Come
13:30 MON (b03f9cvg)
Jamaica: The Harder They Come
20:30 MON (b03f9cvg)
Jamaica: The Harder They Come
01:30 TUE (b03f9cvg)
Jamaica: The Harder They Come
06:30 TUE (b03g9rh2)
Jamaica: The Harder They Come
13:30 TUE (b03g9rh2)
Jamaica: The Harder They Come
20:30 TUE (b03g9rh2)
Jamaica: The Harder They Come
01:30 WED (b03g9rh2)
Jerome K Jerome - The Dancing Partner
18:00 FRI (b08tj7rs)
Jigsaw
23:45 TUE (b01qmbk2)
John Finnemore's Double Acts
23:00 FRI (b06kh27w)
Julia Stoneham - Lap of the Gods
11:00 THU (b07djzwm)
Julia Stoneham - Lap of the Gods
21:00 THU (b07djzwm)
Just a Minute
09:00 MON (b01d0rj5)
Just a Minute
16:00 MON (b01d0rj5)
Just a Minute
04:00 TUE (b01d0rj5)
Justin Moorhouse - The Big Am I
23:30 SAT (b00h34d9)
Magic People and Places
06:30 FRI (b00t4qk4)
Magic People and Places
13:30 FRI (b00t4qk4)
Magic People and Places
20:30 FRI (b00t4qk4)
Meet David Sedaris
07:30 THU (m00046sq)
Meet David Sedaris
17:30 THU (m00046sq)
Meet David Sedaris
22:00 THU (m00046sq)
Meet David Sedaris
05:30 FRI (m00046sq)
Michael Tippett: The Biography (Omnibus)
09:00 SUN (m0004fwm)
Michael Tippett: The Biography (Omnibus)
20:00 SUN (m0004fwm)
My Teenage Diary
07:30 TUE (b07hfwrm)
My Teenage Diary
17:30 TUE (b07hfwrm)
My Teenage Diary
22:00 TUE (b07hfwrm)
My Teenage Diary
05:30 WED (b07hfwrm)
Newsjack
22:30 THU (m0004fyb)
Night Terrace
18:00 SUN (m0004fx1)
Night Terrace
00:00 MON (m0004fx1)
Not in Front of the Children
08:30 WED (b08lxyfx)
Not in Front of the Children
12:30 WED (b08lxyfx)
Not in Front of the Children
19:30 WED (b08lxyfx)
Off the Page
00:30 SAT (b0076g7d)
Off the Page
18:30 FRI (b0076gbx)
Podcast Radio Hour
11:00 FRI (m0004fyf)
Podcast Radio Hour
21:00 FRI (m0004fyf)
Poetry Extra
17:00 SUN (m0004fwz)
Poetry Extra
05:00 MON (m0004fwz)
Revolting People
22:30 SAT (b00fj2br)
Rob Newman
22:30 SUN (b06j5qr3)
Rumblings from the Rafters
05:30 SAT (b07hwxbk)
Rumblings from the Rafters
07:30 FRI (b07jwt65)
Rumblings from the Rafters
17:30 FRI (b07jwt65)
Safety Catch
04:30 SAT (b00vryr6)
Safety Catch
09:30 FRI (b00vy3st)
Safety Catch
16:30 FRI (b00vy3st)
Sally Griffiths - The Right Call
11:15 THU (b041yr8t)
Sally Griffiths - The Right Call
21:15 THU (b041yr8t)
Second Thoughts
07:00 TUE (b00ljz6c)
Second Thoughts
17:00 TUE (b00ljz6c)
Second Thoughts
05:00 WED (b00ljz6c)
Sharon Oakes - The Haunt of Swans
16:00 SUN (m0004fwx)
Sharon Oakes - The Haunt of Swans
04:00 MON (m0004fwx)
Shena Mackay - Shalimar
07:15 SUN (m0004fwd)
Shena Mackay - Shalimar
14:15 SUN (m0004fwd)
Shena Mackay - Shalimar
02:15 MON (m0004fwd)
Shimmer and Dazzle: Seeing What Bridget Riley Sees
06:30 WED (b00vxzns)
Shimmer and Dazzle: Seeing What Bridget Riley Sees
13:30 WED (b00vxzns)
Shimmer and Dazzle: Seeing What Bridget Riley Sees
20:30 WED (b00vxzns)
Shimmer and Dazzle: Seeing What Bridget Riley Sees
01:30 THU (b00vxzns)
Short Cuts
11:30 WED (b07zyhq0)
Short Cuts
21:30 WED (b07zyhq0)
Shush!
12:30 SAT (b06b36w6)
Shush!
07:00 THU (b06c48pr)
Shush!
17:00 THU (b06c48pr)
Shush!
05:00 FRI (b06c48pr)
Snap
09:30 MON (b012yvf2)
Snap
16:30 MON (b012yvf2)
Snap
04:30 TUE (b012yvf2)
Something to Shout About
08:00 THU (m0004fy3)
Something to Shout About
12:00 THU (m0004fy3)
Something to Shout About
19:00 THU (m0004fy3)
Son of Cliche
23:00 TUE (b00p84qh)
Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus)
06:00 SUN (b06zz96v)
Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus)
13:00 SUN (b06zz96v)
Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus)
01:00 MON (b06zz96v)
Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm
02:30 SAT (b00767k6)
Stand By For West
01:00 SAT (m000461y)
Stand By For West
06:00 MON (m0004fx7)
Stand By For West
13:00 MON (m0004fx7)
Stand By For West
20:00 MON (m0004fx7)
Stand By For West
01:00 TUE (m0004fx7)
Step Back In Time - with Rylan Clark-Neal
11:00 WED (m0004fxx)
Step Back In Time - with Rylan Clark-Neal
21:00 WED (m0004fxx)
Steptoe and Son
08:30 FRI (b007jlws)
Steptoe and Son
12:30 FRI (b007jlws)
Steptoe and Son
19:30 FRI (b007jlws)
TED Radio Hour
11:00 MON (m0004fxc)
TED Radio Hour
21:00 MON (m0004fxc)
Team Spirit
14:15 MON (b0092bys)
Team Spirit
02:15 TUE (b0092bys)
Team Spirit
14:15 TUE (b009jf96)
Team Spirit
02:15 WED (b009jf96)
Team Spirit
14:15 WED (b009mr7v)
Team Spirit
02:15 THU (b009mr7v)
Team Spirit
14:15 THU (b009q4wr)
Team Spirit
02:15 FRI (b009q4wr)
Team Spirit
14:15 FRI (b009twr3)
Telling Tales
11:00 TUE (m0004fxn)
Telling Tales
21:00 TUE (m0004fxn)
Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones!
07:30 SUN (b06ycr4z)
Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones!
17:30 SUN (b06ycr4z)
Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones!
22:00 SUN (b06ycr4z)
Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones!
05:30 MON (b06ycr4z)
That Reminds Me
18:30 WED (b007jmv2)
That Reminds Me
00:30 THU (b007jmv2)
The (Almost) Accidental Adventures of Bell and Todd
14:45 SAT (m0004fw9)
The (Almost) Accidental Adventures of Bell and Todd
02:45 SUN (m0004fw9)
The Animals' VC
15:45 SUN (m0004fwv)
The Animals' VC
03:45 MON (m0004fwv)
The Betty Witherspoon Show
08:00 TUE (b007jprd)
The Betty Witherspoon Show
12:00 TUE (b007jprd)
The Betty Witherspoon Show
19:00 TUE (b007jprd)
The Casebook of Max and Ivan
22:30 TUE (b05s307h)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
06:00 TUE (b007k1vx)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
13:00 TUE (b007k1vx)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
20:00 TUE (b007k1vx)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
01:00 WED (b007k1vx)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
06:00 WED (b007k1x8)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
13:00 WED (b007k1x8)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
20:00 WED (b007k1x8)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
01:00 THU (b007k1x8)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
06:00 THU (b007k1yk)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
13:00 THU (b007k1yk)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
20:00 THU (b007k1yk)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
01:00 FRI (b007k1yk)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
06:00 FRI (b007k1zv)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
13:00 FRI (b007k1zv)
The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries
20:00 FRI (b007k1zv)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 SAT (m0004g1c)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 TUE (m0004mv4)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 WED (m0004qqy)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 FRI (m0004qrb)
The Elephant Man
05:00 SAT (b04vf6rt)
The Elephant Man
07:00 FRI (b04wjsk0)
The Elephant Man
17:00 FRI (b04wjsk0)
The Gambaccini Years
07:30 SAT (b038ynyz)
The Gambaccini Years
17:30 SAT (b038ynyz)
The Gambaccini Years
05:30 SUN (b038ynyz)
The Goon Show
08:30 THU (b007jq80)
The Goon Show
12:30 THU (b007jq80)
The Goon Show
19:30 THU (b007jq80)
The Hudson and Pepperdine Show
22:30 WED (b0075t8y)
The Listening Project
10:10 SUN (b06spjr1)
The Listening Project
21:10 SUN (b06spjr1)
The Michael Bentine Show
08:00 FRI (b00kn7yv)
The Michael Bentine Show
12:00 FRI (b00kn7yv)
The Michael Bentine Show
19:00 FRI (b00kn7yv)
The Moth Radio Hour
11:00 SUN (b091vwfj)
The Moth Radio Hour
19:00 SUN (b091vwfj)
The Navy Lark
08:00 WED (b01s69v9)
The Navy Lark
12:00 WED (b01s69v9)
The Navy Lark
19:00 WED (b01s69v9)
The News Quiz Extra
23:00 MON (m0004fxl)
The News Quiz Extra
09:00 TUE (m0004fxl)
The Penny Dreadfuls Present
23:30 SUN (b00gpbcv)
The Pin
22:45 THU (b06kgbgd)
The Radio Detectives
18:30 TUE (b007jpf1)
The Radio Detectives
00:30 WED (b007jpf1)
The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh
09:00 SAT (b08mj8hq)
The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh
19:00 SAT (b08mj8hq)
The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII
07:00 WED (b0076j87)
The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII
17:00 WED (b0076j87)
The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII
05:00 THU (b0076j87)
The Sound of Magnolias
06:30 THU (b00n5404)
The Sound of Magnolias
13:30 THU (b00n5404)
The Sound of Magnolias
20:30 THU (b00n5404)
The Sound of Magnolias
01:30 FRI (b00n5404)
The Test of Time
02:15 SAT (b00mfhx1)
The Unbelievable Truth
07:30 MON (m00047tp)
The Unbelievable Truth
17:30 MON (m00047tp)
The Unbelievable Truth
22:00 MON (m00047tp)
The Unbelievable Truth
05:30 TUE (m00047tp)
Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler
23:30 FRI (b05pnw2q)
Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme
23:30 TUE (b01c7s27)
Up the Garden Path
16:30 TUE (b008g7p2)
Up the Garden Path
04:30 WED (b008g7p2)
War and Peace
10:00 MON (b04w82wc)
War and Peace
15:00 MON (b04w82wc)
War and Peace
03:00 TUE (b04w82wc)
War and Peace
10:00 TUE (b04w82wf)
War and Peace
15:00 TUE (b04w82wf)
War and Peace
03:00 WED (b04w82wf)
War and Peace
10:00 WED (b04w82wh)
War and Peace
15:00 WED (b04w82wh)
War and Peace
03:00 THU (b04w82wh)
War and Peace
10:00 THU (b04w82wl)
War and Peace
15:00 THU (b04w82wl)
War and Peace
03:00 FRI (b04w82wl)
War and Peace
10:00 FRI (b04w89tp)
War and Peace
15:00 FRI (b04w89tp)
We're in Business
08:30 SUN (b07qfwm0)
We're in Business
12:30 SUN (b07qfwm0)
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
08:30 TUE (b007jrt7)
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
12:30 TUE (b007jrt7)
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
19:30 TUE (b007jrt7)
With Great Pleasure
14:15 SAT (b007w103)
With Great Pleasure
02:15 SUN (b007w103)
Witness: Behind Luke's Story
03:45 SAT (b008h01h)