SATURDAY 25 JANUARY 2020
SAT 00:00 Fantastic Journeys (m000dfyh)
If At First ... by Peter F Hamilton
How does multi-millionaire businessman, Marcus Orthew, always manage to stay one step ahead of the game?
Detective Inspector, David Lanson, is interviewing a suspect arrested for stalking him. During the course of this interrogation, Orthew's incredible story of his predictive powers is revealed...
Sam Dale reads Peter F Hamilton's story.
A series of fantastic journeys featuring flights of fancy, time travel, magical transporters and alternate realities.
Abridged and produced by Gemma Jenkins.
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in February 2009.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076qvj)
How Long Is a Piece of String?
Matthew Parris, Susannah Jowitt, Jasmine Birtles and David Boyle discuss the influence and importance of numbers. From March 2005.
SAT 01:00 VI Warshawski (b0089j85)
Killing Orders
Remembrance of Things Past
Chicago private eye, VI Warshawski, is not happy to be asked for help by her Aunt Rosa who hates her - and the feeling's mutual...
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as VI Warshawski.
Roger Ferrant ...... Martin Shaw
Gabriella ...... Avril Clark
Albert ...... William Hootkins
Rosa ...... Eileen Way
Father Carroll ...... Don Fellows
Father Pelly ...... Colin Stinton
Father Jablonski ...... Peter Penry-Jones
Sara Paretsky created one of the most popular female sleuths in modern crime fiction. Her heroine, VI Warshawski, is a strong female character in a male-dominated world. VI is comfortable packing heat and trailing nasty suspects but she never loses touch with her basic femininity.
Paretsky says of her Warshawski: "I was troubled by the way women were portrayed in (detective fiction) they always seemed either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likeable female private investigator".
Kathleen Turner also starred in the same role in the 1991 film 'VI Warshawski'.
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1991.
SAT 01:30 Marginalia (b046j96g)
When someone takes a pen or pencil and adds a comment, an underlining or a question mark to the pages a book - is it cause for celebration or condemnation? And if the person with pencil in hand happens to be famous, should that colour our view?
These are the questions Simon Armitage - himself a lapsed margin scribbler - wrestles with as he sets off to tell the story of marginalia.
He begins with his own books, tracing his past through the comments he made as a much younger man first embarking on the world of poetry. He sees examples from some who've become regarded as masters of the art, such as William Blake and Samuel Coleridge, and hears how an Elizabethan torturer and a 20th century dictator had a great fondness for marginalia in common.
Simon also heads to an antiquarian book fair, where he stumbles across an early volume of Dylan Thomas poetry, containing the poet's own drunken scrawl which has put the volume's price up to a handsome £8,000. Chiefly though this is a personal meditation for Armitage, bringing him into contact with a younger version of himself and reminding him of the profound power of physical books and the markings placed in them across decades and sometimes centuries.
Producer: Geoff Bird
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.
SAT 02:00 Alex Shearer - Getting a Life (b007k4br)
When a person sees their life going the other way on the back of a lorry, what can they do?
Brian Parr reads Alex Shearer’s short story.
Producer: Pauline Stone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1997.
SAT 02:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09k8r9v)
Series 1
Fair Exchange
Consumer protectors or greedy monopolists?
Paul Seabright is joined by Sheilagh Ogilvie, Professor of Economic History at Cambridge, to take a fresh look at what guilds really did for trade in medieval and early modern Europe, and lessons for trade today.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b06442qc)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater
Episode 5
Having discovered Jake's affair with Beth Conway, Mrs Armitage takes refuge with her former husband, Giles.
Helen McCrory and Paul Ready star in Penelope Mortimer's stark portrait of marriage and motherhood from 1962.
Dramatised by Georgia Fitch.
Mrs Armitage.....Helen McCrory
Jake Armitage.....Paul Ready
Doctor.....Chris Pavlo
Father.....Stephen Critchlow
Mother.....Sheila Reid
Philpot/Dinah.....Rhiannon Neads
Bob Conway.....Mark Edel-Hunt
Beth Conway.....Alex Tregear
Giles.....Sam Dale
Journalist.....Neet Mohan
Director: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
SAT 02:45 The Shepherd's Life (b05r6sx0)
Episode 5
Spring is the farmer's reward for the hard days of winter - and in this final episode, the cycle of the year begins again, as James Rebanks prepares for lambing.
The first son of a shepherd, who was himself the first son of a shepherd, James and his family have lived and worked in and around the Lake District for generations. Through his eyes we see that the Lake District is not a playground or a scenic backdrop, it's a working landscape that needs sheep and its farmers to survive.
Concluded by Bryan Dick
Written by James Rebanks
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Kirsteen Cameron
Music details:
Track: "The Nightshift"
CD: Country Escape
Label: BBC Production Music BBCPM031.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2015.
SAT 03:00 Jane Austen - Sense and Sensibility (b0381l64)
Episode 2
Elinor and Marianne are invited to stay at Mrs Jennings' house in London. But Marianne has a surprising encounter with Willoughby and complications arise for Elinor and Edward. Will the Dashwood sisters find happiness and love?
Conclusion of Jane Austen's classic novel dramatised by Helen Edmundson.
Elinor ...... Amanda Hale
Marianne ...... Olivia Hallinan
Mrs Dashwood ...... Deborah McAndrew
Colonel Brandon ...... Blake Ritson
Willoughby ...... Ben Lamb
Edward ...... Henry Devas
Sir John ...... Conrad Nelson
Lady Middleton ...... Rosina Carbone
Mrs Jennings ...... Brigit Forsyth
Nancy ...... Victoria Brazier
Lucy ...... Caitlin Thorburn
John Dashwood ...... Andonis James Anthony
Fanny ...... Lisa Brookes
Mrs Ferrars ...... Alexandra Mathie
Musician: Emily Hooker
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2013.
SAT 04:00 We've Been Here Before (b00fy1g5)
Series 2
Episode 2
Clive Anderson hosts the panel show that pokes fun at events of the past.
The topical historical satirical panel show setting out to prove that there's nothing new under, or in, The Sun.
Gyles Brandreth and Natalie Haynes battle it out against John O'Farrell and Richard Herring.
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
SAT 04:30 The Emerald Green Show (b078dlrj)
All For One
Will Emerald Green's ego be able to deal with the ambitious plans of new girl, Tanesha?
A vain, ambitious black woman dreams of becoming a chat-show queen.
Lisselle Kayla's comedy series starring Llewella Gideon as Emerald Green.
Tristram ...... Jonathan Firth
Fabio ...... Iwan Thomas
Victor ...... Dean Hill
Eunice ...... Sheila Reid
David ...... Jonathan Keeble
Tanesha ...... Jo Martin
Director: Pam Fraser Solomon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1998.
SAT 05:00 Reluctant Persuaders (b08ljxcc)
Series 2
Just Do It
The worst advertising agency team in London are unexpectedly in demand.
The marketing manager of nutrition company Protein Team enlists their services for a huge poster campaign, aimed at selling protein shakes to women.
Yet no sooner is their ad up - featuring a slender woman, and an even more slender bikini - than Hardacre's find themselves at the centre of a media storm over misogyny, body-shaming, and the evils of advertising.
Wracked with guilt and determined to make amends, Joe clashes with his older and more cynical creative director Rupert Hardacre and accounts manager Amanda, who are convinced that sex sells and all publicity is good publicity. But in an age of Twitter storms and third-wave feminism, are they behind the times?
Edward Rowett's award-winning sitcom.
Rupert Hardacre ...... Nigel Havers
Joe ...... Mathew Baynton
Amanda ...... Josie Lawrence
Jordan ...... Richard Goulding
Teddy ...... Kieran Hodgson
Laura ...... Olivia Nixon
Tube announcer ...... David Fairs
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2017.
SAT 05:30 The Skewer (m000d869)
Series 1
Episode 2
From the mind of Jon Holmes comes topical satire like you've never heard it before.
SAT 06:00 Sherlock Holmes v Dracula (b0084gr2)
The world's greatest detective pits his wits against the evil forces of the sanguinary count.
From a posthumously published memoir of Dr John Watson:
“I feel it my duty to set the record straight regarding a number of erroneous statements made recently concerning the events I am about to describe. I refer in particular to a spurious monograph by one Bram Stoker, entitled Dracula, which completely ignores the part which Sherlock Holmes played in bringing that affair to its successful conclusion.”
Sherlock Holmes …. John Moffatt
Dr Watson …. Timothy West
Count Dracula …. David March
Professor Van Helsing …. Aubrey Woods
Thomas Parker …. Michael Maloney
Mr Caffyn …. Noel Howlett
Mary Watson …. Theresa Streatfeild
Vampire …. Frances Jeater
Inspector Lestrade …. Nicholas Courtney
Mrs Barton …. Katherine Parr
Ned Bridger …. John Hollis
Dramatised and directed by Glyn Dearman from the book by Loren D Estleman.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1981.
SAT 07:30 Journeys Down My Street (b01rqndq)
The Polish Community in Bradford
Amidst all the coverage of contemporary migration to Britain, it is easy to forget the older generations of immigrants from across the world who have settled here and made Britain their home.
In this series, Mike Berlin, an urban historian from Birkbeck College, University of London, visits individual streets at the heart of such communities, to hear the stories of earlier immigrants - their arrival, their early lives and their observations on Britain today.
In this opening episode - the story of the Polish political refugees who settled in Britain in the late 1940s has been largely forgotten.
It involves invasion by both Germany and Russia and deportation to Siberia, followed by a brave share of the armed combat of World War Two. In spite of this, Stalin's influence after the war meant they had no home to return to and were excluded from the victory parades.
They tell Mike Berlin about the lives they made in Bradford, the community they built around Edmund Street, and their thoughts on a younger generation of economic immigrants, who have the one thing they craved - the choice to return home, if they wished, to Poland.
Producer: Beaty Rubens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b0729t65)
A Brief History of Disobedience
"Oh my goodness, look at that sign over there. Keep Off The Grass. Makes me wonder who put it there. Makes me wonder why I should keep off the grass. And it makes me want to go on the grass!"
American satirist Joe Queenan presents A Brief History of Disobedience, the follow up to his programmes on Blame, Shame, Anger and Irony. He travels in time from the Old Testament to Tarrytown, his home in suburban New York. He aims to discover the importance of not doing what we are told. So let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine.
With notable contributions from the archive - Gandhi, the Suffragettes, the Greenham Common Peace protestors. Our Heroes of Disobedience include Martin Luther, Geronimo, Woody Guthrie and The Doors. Plus Matthew Parris on Margaret Thatcher, Bill Finnegan on his barbarian days as a surfer and Karen Moline on writing dirty books. And finally, helpful hints about how to be usefully disobedient in everyday life.
Joe Queenan is an Emmy award winning broadcaster and writer.
Produced in Bristol by Miles Warde.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.
SAT 09:00 4 Extra Celebrates Dora Bryan (b03szf7d)
A celebration of the life of Dora Bryan, hailed as one of Britain's great all-round performers.
Journalist and writer Lynne Truss looks back on Dora's remarkable career with handpicked highlights from the BBC radio archive. Lynne is joined by Dora's friend and co-star Bernard Cribbins, BBC radio drama producer Martin Jenkins, theatre critic Benedict Nightingale and film writer Matthew Sweet.
With her unmistakable voice and scene-stealing comic timing, Dora was a regular pleasure of 1950s and 60s British cinema, playing a series of 'tarts with hearts'. But she was just at home on stage performing Pinter, belting out show tunes in Hello, Dolly! or captivating listeners from behind a microphone. And well into her 70s she was still in the West End singing, dancing and doing the splits.
The archive selection includes:
* Desert Islands Discs from 1987, when Dora was Michael Parkinson's castaway
* Jimmy Chinn's drama Perfect Timing about a struggling music hall duo all at sea on a cruise ship booking starring Dora, Bernard Cribbins and Roy Barraclough
* That Reminds Me from 2000, in which Dora recalls her stage, film and TV career
* With Great Pleasure from 2003, featuring readings from Dora's favourite books
* The Child Within, Wally K Daly's moving monologue written especially for and performed by Dora Bryan.
Dora Bryan died on 23rd July 2014 aged 91.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions and first broadcast in March 2014.
SAT 12:00 HR (b00hg6mz)
Series 1
An Appraisal
An angry senior manager has been caught verbally abusing a client. His HR officer must take him to task. Can he?
Nigel Williams’ comedy drama series charting the misfortunes of a middle-aged HR officer and his trouble-making colleague.
Peter ...... Jonathan Pryce
Sam ...... Nicholas Le Prevost
Director: Peter Cavanagh
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2009.
SAT 12:30 Round the Horne (b00lvz50)
Series 3
Episode 6
Kenneth Horne heads a Bohemian Paris romp and Julian and Sandy report on the latest bona goings on for the Daily Polari.
With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London. Announcer: Douglas Smith
Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, catchphrases and double-entendres.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1967.
SAT 13:00 A Small Town Murder (Omnibus) (m000dqkw)
This is the fourteenth and last series of Scott Cherry's "A Small Town Murder".
After many years service as a Family Liaison Officer Jackie (Meera Syal) is retiring. But she has ongoing cases - and they are not so happy about her leaving.
Cast
Jackie ..... Meera Syal
Peter ..... Matthew Marsh
Dee ..... Ayesha Antoine
Gary ..... Michael Higgs
Lorraine ..... Abigail Cruttenden
Karen ..... Nicola Stuart Hill
Hadley ..... Sarah Lambie
Ryan ..... Phil Yarrow
Steve ..... Scott Cherry
Dave ..... Alec Newman
Other parts played by the cast
Written by Scott Cherry
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05ql31l)
Meera Syal
Actor and writer, Meera Syal chooses 'Dum Maro Dum' from the film 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' and 'A Case of You' by Joni Mitchell.
SAT 14:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b0075211)
Brian Masters
Brian Masters, the award winning author of 'Killing for Company' talks about his notions of good and evil.
Psychiatrist Dr Anthony Clare's in depth interviews with prominent people from different walks of life.
Born in Dublin, author Anthony held a doctorate in medicine, a master's degree in philosophy and was a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. After becoming a regular on BBC Radio 4's Stop the Week in the 1980s, he became Britain's best-known psychiatrist and earned his own vehicle, In the Psychiatrist's Chair.
Starting in 1982, this series ran until 2001 and also transferred to TV. Series highlights include conversations with Bob Monkhouse, Cecil Parkinson and Gerry Adams.
Anthony Clare died suddenly in Paris aged 64 in 2007.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1997.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0729t65)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Sherlock Holmes v Dracula (b0084gr2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Journeys Down My Street (b01rqndq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Dan Dare (m000dqky)
Series 2
Prisoners of Space 2/3
Dan Dare, Professor Peabody and Major Stranks arrive at the XQY03 space station to rescue Digby and Spry from The Mekon.
Based on the Eagle comic strip 'Dan Dare' created in 1950 by the Reverend Marcus Morris and Frank Hampson.
Dan Dare …. Ed Stoppard
Digby …. Geoff McGivern
Professor Peabody …. Heida Reed
Sir Hubert …. Michael Cochrane
The Mekon …. Raad Rawi
Old Timer …. Robert G. Slade
Cadet ‘Flamer’ Spry …. Noof McEwan
Sondar …. Bijan Daneshmand
Treen Captain …. Alistair Lock
On-board Computer …. Dianne Weller
Original music: Imran Ahmad
Dramatised by Colin Brake from an original story by Frank Hampson.
Produced and directed by Andrew Mark Sewell.
Made by B7 Media
SAT 18:30 Weird Tales (b01nt0s0)
Series 3
Night Terrors by Lizzie Nunnery
The pressure's getting too much for clever clogs Victoria. She can't sleep at night. She has nightmares. But it's okay because they're just bad dreams.
Until one day the dreams become terrifyingly real...
Series of chilling plays for winter nights.
Dad ... Eddie Marsan
Victoria ... Katie Angelou
Laura ... Georgia Groome
Mum ... Sally Orrock
Jane ... Francine Chamberlain
Written by Lizzie Nunnery.
Producer: Helen Perry
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011.
SAT 19:00 4 Extra Celebrates Dora Bryan (b03szf7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 The Show What You Wrote (b06shz1h)
Series 3
The End
Jason Manford, Janice Connolly, Gavin Webster, Fiona Clarke and Darren Kuppan star in the themed sketch show made entirely from contributions sent in by the public.
The best ideas have been chosen from thousands of submissions from new writers resulting in a show like no other.
Aptly the series concludes with an episode themed around "The End". It features Heaven's unexpectedly strict dress code, the pitfalls of post-apocalyptic dating and someone's dying wish...
Written by: Owen Archlimb, Stefan Arif, Keith Carter, Rob Gilroy, Matt Harvey, Oliver Ley, Ciaran Murtagh and Andrew Jones, Matt Oakley, Lev Parikian, Rob Smyth, and Chris Tindall.
Script editor: Jon Hunter
Producers: Ed Morrish and Paul Sheehan
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2015.
SAT 22:30 Masala FM (b007zjm8)
Episode 4
The station's only attracting Z-list Asian celebrities, but then a top member of 'royalty' phones in...
Six-part sitcom written by Meera Syal
Starring Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nitin Sawheny, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia.
Music by Nitin Sawhney.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000dql0)
Lucy Porter 1/2
From
10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy and Arthur Smith chats to Lucy Porter.
SAT 23:00 Wondermentalist Cabaret (b00y8vsn)
Series 1
Episode 2
Poet, performer, enemy of all that's difficult and upsetting, Matt Harvey presents this comedy-infused, musically-enhanced, slightly interactive poetry cabaret.
Recorded in front of an audience at the Swindon Arts Centre, he's joined by the poet and musician Zena Edwards and one man house band Jerri Hart.
Fellow poets AF Harrold and Kate Fox battle it out with Zena in a Dead Poets' Slam, while the audience compose their own highly flavoured poem on the subject of cheese.
Producer: Mark Smalley.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.
SAT 23:30 Mark Thomas Presents (b0076vzd)
Stan Freberg
American satirist and comedian Stan Freberg performs at London's Comedy Store at the age of 79.
Stan reprises some of the routines that made him a legend in the 1950s and 60s, including "John and Marsha" and "St George and the Dragonet".
Series in which Mark Thomas introduces iconic American comedy performers.
Producer: Paul Bajoria
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2005.
SUNDAY 26 JANUARY 2020
SUN 00:00 Dan Dare (m000dqky)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:30 Weird Tales (b01nt0s0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 A Small Town Murder (Omnibus) (m000dqkw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05ql31l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b0075211)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b0729t65)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Sherlock Holmes v Dracula (b0084gr2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Journeys Down My Street (b01rqndq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater (Omnibus) (b064yjnh)
Helen McCrory and Paul Ready star in Penelope Mortimer's stark portrait of marriage and motherhood from 1962.
Mrs Armitage is encouraged by her successful screenwriter husband, Jake, to talk to a psychiatrist about her apparent compulsion to keep having children.
Omnibus of five parts dramatised by Georgia Fitch.
Mrs Armitage.....Helen McCrory
Jake Armitage.....Paul Ready
Doctor.....Chris Pavlo
Father.....Stephen Critchlow
Philpot/Dinah.....Rhiannon Neads
Bob Conway.....Mark Edel-Hunt
Beth Conway.....Alex Tregear
Giles.....Sam Dale
Journalist.....Neet Mohan
Director: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2015.
SUN 07:15 AS Byatt - Gode's Story (b007jtb6)
The tragic tale of a brash young sailor and a beautiful miller's daughter.
Sheila Mitchell reads AS Byatt’s fairy tale.
Producer: Pam Fraser Solomon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1995.
SUN 07:30 All Those Women (b06d2fxv)
Series 1
Episode 3
Hetty's old diaries turn up some uncomfortable home truths for Maggie, who sets out to challenge herself and prove things have changed.
All Those Women explores familial relationships, ageing, marriages - it's about life and love and things not turning out quite the way that you'd expected them to. Every week we join Hetty, Maggie, Jen and Emily as they struggle to resolve their own problems, and support one another.
Comedy series by Katherine Jakeways about four generations of women living under one roof.
Hetty ...... Sheila Hancock
Maggie ...... Lesley Manville
Jen ...... Sinead Matthews
Emily ...... Lucy Hutchinson
Stu ...... Chris Pavlo
Pat ...... Katherine Jakeways
Layla ...... Katie Redford
Announcement ...... George Watkins
Delivery Man ...... George Watkins
Instructor ...... George Watkins
Script editor: Richard Turner
Producer: Alexandra Smith
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2015.
SUN 08:00 Life With The Lyons (m000drfw)
Nature Boy
Ben decides that the family needs to try a simpler lifestyle.
Starring real-life American family: Ben Lyon and wife Bebe Daniels and their children, Richard Lyon and Barbara Lyon.
Mr Wimple …. Horace Percival
Florrie Wainwright …. Doris Rogers
Aggie MacDonald …. Molly Weir
Harold Heppelthwaite …. David Enders
Newsreader …. Hugh Morton
Life With the Lyons was one the BBC's most popular radio sitcoms between1950 and 1961. It was also adapted for BBC TV.
Written by Bebe Daniels, Bob Block and Ray Sonnin.
BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1953.
SUN 08:30 Harry Worth in Things Could Be Worse (b09qhsxy)
It Never Rains...
Harry goes on holiday to the seaside, but gets treated to a week of typical British weather.
Written by David McKellar and David Renwick.
Starring Harry Worth.
With John Baddeley, John Graham and Miriam Margolyes.
Producer: Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1976.
SUN 09:00 Orwell in Five Words (Omnibus) (m000drfz)
BBC documentary-maker Phil Tinline takes five words that resonate through Orwell’s work, and tests out what light they can shed on our problems today.
FASCISM
In the late 1930s, Orwell worried that bourgeois democracy was just fascism’s more civilised twin. But soon his position swung to champion democracy as the enemy of totalitarianism. Today, many worry democracy is in its greatest crisis since the 1930s. Can Orwell’s dramatic switch help us work out how to tackle it?
TRUTH
Orwell thought the very idea of objective truth was in mortal danger from the totalitarian mindset. In the era of ‘fake news’, just how widely do his fears for the future of truth apply?
BIG
Throughout the 1940s, Orwell grew alarmed at the rise of the ‘oligarchical collectivists’. Do Orwell’s anxieties have anything to tell us about today’s big tech companies?
LAW
Orwell makes clear that in Big Brother’s dictatorship, “there were no longer any laws” – because this is a regime which doesn’t distinguish between thought and deed, and where the only law is state power. We hear from a Uyghur writer who spent months in a Chinese prison about his experience of law in the world’s most powerful authoritarian state.
LOVE
After Winston Smith has been broken in the Ministry of Love, Nineteen Eighty Four ends: “He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” Phil traces the common origins of the world Orwell imagined and the ‘thought transformation’ process the Chinese government is applying in Xinjiang.
Series contributors: Abduweli Ayup, Nick Cohen, David Dwan, Maurice Glasman, Joanna Kavenna, Robert Jay Lifton, Dorian Lynskey, James Millward, Ferdinand Mount, Jean Seaton, Joanne Smith Finley, Timothy Snyder, Mihrigul Tursun
Presenter/ Producer: Phil Tinline
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b063dch4)
Malcolm and Ann – Married to the Farm
Fi Glover with a conversation between a farmer and his town-bred wife, about the total commitment to the livestock and the farm that is essential in a farming marriage. 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 (b08454qp)
Americans
Tom Hanks
From the Beatles to Richard Strauss. Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young
From 'Big' to 'Sleepless in Seattle', 'Captain Phillips' to 'Apollo 13', his long and distinguished film-making career has brought him multiple awards and many plaudits. He's the recipient of eight Emmys, one Bafta and four Golden Globes and was the youngest ever actor to be given a lifetime achievement award by the American Film institute. The voice of Woody in the 'Toy Story' films, he won the first of his two Oscars in 1993 for Philadelphia and again the following year for Forrest Gump.
His parents split up when he was 5 and he went to live with his father. By the age of 10 he'd lived in ten different houses in five different cities. He loved school and developed a passion for history which is reflected in the film he made with Steven Spielberg, 'Saving Private Ryan' and the TV mini-series 'Band of Brothers' and 'The Pacific' which he also produced.
Producer: Cathy Drysdale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.
SUN 11:00 Radiolab (m000drg1)
Series 6
I Hart K-Pop
Radiolab explores how much do you want to know about the people you idolise, and when is enough enough?
We peer back at the moment when poking into the private lives of political figures became standard practice in the American media. In 1987, Gary Hart was a young charismatic Democrat, poised to win his party’s nomination and possibly the presidency.
Then, we travel to South Korea where the first-ever paparazzi photos turned the world of K-pop upside down and introduced sort of a puzzle …
Radiolab is a Peabody-award winning show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and the human experience.
Hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich investigate a strange world.
From WNYC. First broadcast on public radio in the USA in 2016.
SUN 12:00 Life With The Lyons (m000drfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Harry Worth in Things Could Be Worse (b09qhsxy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater (Omnibus) (b064yjnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 AS Byatt - Gode's Story (b007jtb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Coming Up For Air (Omnibus) (m000drg3)
Episode 2
An overweight, married, middle-aged insurance salesman surveys his life while reflecting on the country he finds himself living in. George Orwell's novel is read by Tim McInnerny.
Written in 1939, Coming Up For Air was published just before the outbreak of the Second World War and offers premonitions of the impending conflict with images of an idyllic Thames-side Edwardian-era childhood at the same time as taking a rather dim view of capitalism and its effects on the best of rural England.
The reviews were among the best that Orwell had received for a novel. It sold 3,000 copies - a considerable improvement on the response to his previous works.
Omnibus of the last five of ten episodes abridged by Ellin Stein.
Read by Tim McInnerny
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in January 2019
SUN 15:45 Travels with Bob (b085t3q8)
5. Peterhead
Paddy O'Connell travels the country with his dog, Bob, talking to the people he meets.
In Peterhead, he's on the harbour with local trawlerman Jimmy Buchan, a man who has fishing in his blood.
The fortunes of Peterhead's fishing fleet haven't always been smooth, but the town is proud of its harbour which has never been closed by a storm.
Producer: Jo Coombs
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2016.
SUN 16:00 George R Sims - The Haverstock Hill Murder (b09qhwpq)
A desperate mother commissions renowned Victorian lady detective Dorcas Dene to save her son from the gallows - accused of the brutal murder of his wife.
Former actress, Dorcas has her work cut out to solve the case given that the victim has named her husband as the assailant with her dying breath!
Humorous, forensically logical, and a resourceful mistress of disguise, Dorcas Dene, is one of the better-drawn stars from the golden age of the English detective short story.
Written by George R Sims and dramatised by Roger Danes.
Paul Dene ...... Greg Powrie
Dorcas Dene ...... Lucy Paterson
Edith MacArthur ...... Mrs Hannaford
Inspector Swanage ...... Finlay McLean
PC Hargreaves ...... Mark McDonnell
Charles Hannaford ...... Nick Farr
Flash George ...... Terry Wale
Martha Drayson ...... Noreen Leighton
Producer: Patrick Rayner
Director: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (m000drg5)
Murmur
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive selecting 'Murmur' in which Julia Blackburn reads her poem about the death of her husband and flocks of winter starlings.
Not long after her husband died she found herself drawn to write a series of poems about his last years and his life. At the same time near their Suffolk home Julia watched the great seething and pulsing of winter starling murmurations. Without expecting it she also found that the starlings flew into her poem and began to help her make sense of her husband's death.
Her book of poems is called: Murmurations of Love, Grief and Starlings. She reads it, talks about her husband and tries to hear the sound of ten thousand starlings wheeling through the dusk of a winter's day.
Producer: Tim Dee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.
SUN 17:30 All Those Women (b06d2fxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Ghosts From The Past (m000drg7)
HS Bhabra - A Warden for All Saints
Dark forces are unleashed in this tale of revenge stalking the corridors of Oxbridge.
John Rowe stars in HS Bhabra's haunting drama.
Simon Evans …. John Rowe
James Montague …. Benjamin Whitrow
Mathew Moors …. Keith Drinkel
Lang/Voice …. David Learner
Waiter/Jack Ainsley …. Eric Allen
Lord Medway/Doctor …. Brett Usher
Leo Dart …. John Webb
Dramatised by Gerry Jones.
Director: Martin Jenkins.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1992.
SUN 18:45 The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains (b06pxt4f)
Episode 4
The dwarf and the reaver reach the cave, where something is waiting.
Chilling revenge for a terrible crime is at the heart of Neil Gaiman's multi-award-winning novelette, inspired by a Hebridean myth and originally commissioned by Sydney Opera House for the Graphic Festival with celebrated illustrator Eddie Campbell.
Reader: Bill Paterson
Writer: Neil Gaiman
Abridged and produced by Karen Rose.
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2015.
SUN 19:00 Radiolab (m000drg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 Orwell in Five Words (Omnibus) (m000drfz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b063dch4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08454qp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 All Those Women (b06d2fxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06rz9hx)
Series 3
How to Make a Killing
A neighbourly good deed lands Tom in trouble while his parents throw themselves into some evening classes.
Series 3 of the sitcom where Tom Wrigglesworth phones home for his weekly check-in with his Mum, Dad and Gran, giving listeners a glimpse into his family background and the influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and hang-ups.
Tom ...... Tom Wrigglesworth
Dad ...... Paul Copley
Mum ...... Kate Anthony
Granny ...... Elizabeth Bennett
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle with additional material by Miles Jupp
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2015.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000drg9)
Lucy Porter 2/2
From
10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy and Arthur Smith chats to Lucy Porter.
SUN 23:00 Lenny Henry's Rogues Gallery (b07cx3qd)
Series 1
Man's Red Flower
A researcher talks of her relationship with a brilliant scientist and his ground-breaking work on monkeys: experiments which yield miraculous results.
Stars Monica Dolan.
Series of comic monologues with twists-in-the-tale, written by Lenny Henry.
Producer: Sam Michell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2016.
SUN 23:15 Ivor Cutler - A Stuggy Pren (b00bxv1v)
Episode 1
Doing the Bathroom.
Succulent insights into life as it unfolds in one man's sitting room.
Humorist Ivor Cutler dispenses a concoction of songs, poetry, stories and a Stuggy Pren to his visitors: New Zealand sculptor Craig Murray-Orr and Orpington penciller Alison O'Kill.
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in May 1994.
SUN 23:30 As Told To Craig Brown (b00bbnxt)
Episode 5
The Jane Austen industry and car user manuals.
Craig Brown introduces a mixture of satire, social observation and nonsense.
Narrated by Juliet Stevenson and Steve Wright
With John Humphrys, Ronni Ancona, Jon Culshaw, Lewis MacLeod, Sally Grace, Ewan Bailey and Margaret Cabourn-Smith.
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2008.
MONDAY 27 JANUARY 2020
MON 00:00 Ghosts From The Past (m000drg7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:45 The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains (b06pxt4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:45 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater (Omnibus) (b064yjnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 AS Byatt - Gode's Story (b007jtb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Coming Up For Air (Omnibus) (m000drg3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Travels with Bob (b085t3q8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 George R Sims - The Haverstock Hill Murder (b09qhwpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (m000drg5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 All Those Women (b06d2fxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqc3)
Killing Orders
Forging Ahead
Cousin Albert has called private eye, VI Warshawski off the investigation into the forged securities at the Priory. But she doesn't give up so easily.
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as Chicago private eye, VI Warshawski.
Roger Ferrant ...... Martin Shaw
Gabriella ...... Avril Clark
Albert ...... William Hootkins
Rosa ...... Eileen Way
Father Carroll ...... Don Fellows
Uncle Stefan ...... Maurice Denham
Lotty Herschel ...... Miriam Karlin
O'Faolin ...... John Bennett
Agnes Paciorek ...... Lorelei King
Murray Ryerson ...... Kerry Shale
Sal ...... Adjoa Andoh
Derek Hatfield ...... Andrew Wincott
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1991.
MON 06:30 A House for the End of Life (b00wr7rp)
Once upon a time architects made magnificent buildings in the name of health and wellbeing. The Greeks built spas around the great theatres, the medievals made cathedrals of their hospitals and opened them to pilgrims.
Susan Marling looks at work architects are doing now to dramatically enhance small healthcare buildings - especially Maggie centres which are for cancer sufferers and hospices for people with life-shortening diseases. Many of these buildings are inspirational. They show the power of good design and beautiful gardens in lifting the human spirit and restoring to the patient a sense of dignity and individuality.
Susan speaks to leading architects Rem Koolhaus, Richard Murphy and Ian Clark. She visits the award winning St Oswald's hospice in Newcastle, and the Maggie centre by Frank Gehry in Dundee. Julia Neuberger talks about our contemporary attitude to death and ways in which architects are confronting it.
Producer: Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2010.
MON 07:00 Chambers (b007jnjc)
Series 1
The Right to Silence
Hostilities between pompous Fuller-Carp and Ruth have intensified, and a walking holiday in the Lake District with an influential judge would seem to provide the perfect break.
However, a Crimewatch obsessed hotelier, an ambiguous fax and an impending murder trial conspire to turn the weekend into a nightmare which even the allure of the hotel's Nick Ross Carvery cannot redeem.
Clive Coleman’s sitcom about the questionable practices of a group of barristers.
John Fuller Carp ...... John Bird
Hilary Tripping ...... James Fleet
Ruth Quirke ...... Lesley Sharp
Vince ...... Jonathan Kydd
Austin Weave ...... Jonathan Kydd
Other parts ...... Peter Serafinowcz
Producer Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1996.
MON 07:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m000djbg)
Series 23
Episode 4
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Sally Phillips, Tony Hawks, Holly Walsh and Henning Wehn are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as ferrets, words, Elvis and education.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 08:00 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (b04tvnxl)
Series 1
Doctor's Horoscope
The dear ladies attempt to cheer up their injured housekeeper Maude.
Starring Dame Hilda Bracket and her lifelong companion Dr Evadne Hinge.
The dear ladies reside in the Suffolk village of Stackton Tressel. This was the genteel setting for three Radio 4 series between 1977 and 1979, with further spin-off seasons on Radio 2 until 1990. In the early 1980s, they expanded over to BBC TV with the series Dear Ladies.
Dame Hilda Bracket ...... George Logan
Dr Evadne Hinge ...... Patrick Fyffe
Maude ...... Daphne Heard
Doctor Matthews ...... Jonathan Howell
Scripted by Mike Craig, Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell.
Produced at BBC Manchester by James Casey.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1977.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007jq5q)
Series 3
The Deadly Attachment
As the Walmington-on-Sea platoon attempt to guard a German U-boat crew, their captain starts making a list.
The comic exploits of a Second World War Home Guard platoon
Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's TV scripts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.
Captain Mainwaring …. Arthur Lowe
Sergeant Wilson …. John Le Mesurier
Corporal Jones …. Clive Dunn
Private Frazer …. John Laurie
Private Pike …. Ian Lavender
Private Godfrey …. Arnold Ridley
Private Walker …. Larry Martyn
Vicar …. Frank Williams
Captain Muller …. Philip Madoc
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1976.
MON 09:00 Just a Minute (b01mw08x)
Series 64
Episode 8
Nicholas Parsons challenges another panel to talk for 60 seconds without hesitation, repetition or deviation.
Panellists: Jenny Eclair, Tony Hawks, Kevin Eldon and Alun Cochrane.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2012.
MON 09:30 Semi Circles (b007jtyy)
Series 2
A Lack of Moral Fibre
Christmas is coming and Ben is getting fat, but will going on a fibre diet with Helen raise his spirits?
The improving story of life and improving times in an improving neighbourhood.
Starring Paula Wilcox as Helen and David Wood as Ben
Written by Simon Brett
Helen ...... Paula Wilcox
Ben ...... David Wood
Mrs Kelly ...... Pay Heywood
Alastair ...... Tony Millan
Neil ...... Nick Wilton
Britt ...... Rosalind Adams
Blythe ...... Bryan Coleman
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1982
MON 10:00 The Real George Orwell (b01pz4cy)
Homage to Catalonia
Episode 1
In 1936 Eric and Eileen Blair were making ends meet by running a small village shop in Wallington and growing vegetables. Eric had recently sent 'The Road to Wigan Pier' to Victor Gollancz, hoping it would be published. But then news came from Spain that Franco's Nationalists had risen up against the elected Republican government.
In the first of a two-part autobiographical account, Eric decides to go to Spain - not just to record the struggle but to fight the Fascists. Unusually tall, and with size 12 feet, he immediately stood out amongst the locals. He joined a badly organised and ill equipped militia, armed with dud bombs and rusty guns.
It was a decision that would nearly cost him his life, and produce one of the most vivid accounts of the Spanish Civil War.
Adapted by Mike Walker.
Eric Blair ...... Joseph Millson
Eileen Blair ...... Lyndsey Marshal
Georges Kopp ...... Ewan Bailey
Spanish volunteer ...... Javier Marzan
Jack Hywel ...... John
Henry Miller ...... Richard Laing
John McNair ...... John McAndrew
Benjamin ...... Jon Lolis
Idris ...... Ben McGregor
Tom Gallagher ...... Gareth Pierce
Fascist soldier ...... Asier Newman
Director: Kate McAll
A BBC/Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2013.
MON 11:00 TED Radio Hour (m000dpz5)
Series 6
Hidden Potential
Guy Raz explores why some are overlooked despite their potential – how can that begin to change?
TED speakers explore stories of inspirational leadership, and what makes some movements more successful than others.
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.
First broadcast in the USA on National Public Radio in 2018.
MON 11:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00z62ns)
Series 2
Foreign Fare
We sometimes forget that vegetables that we see as common-place today in all their varieties have wild origins.
The potato for example is a name given to a tuber that both comes from Africa and South America - and the history of their discovery and export into our European markets can be traced by examining how those first explorers named the plants.
Sir David Attenborough traces the discovery of some common vegetables to their wild beginnings - and the fascinating natural history of their use as food.
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.
MON 12:00 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (b04tvnxl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jq5q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
MON 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqc3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
MON 13:30 A House for the End of Life (b00wr7rp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Short Works (m000dpz8)
Susmita Bhattacharya - Table Manners
Good Golly Miss Molly
While Mouli’s parrot has often mimicked her, he has never before impersonated her late husband.
Five tales of home and migration from the Table Manners collection by Susmita Bhattacharya.
Susmita Bhattacharya was born in Mumbai. She teaches contemporary fiction at Winchester University and also facilitates the Mayflower Young Writers workshops, a SO:Write project based in Southampton. Her first story for radio, ‘Summer Learning’ (2015), was followed by the creative non-fiction piece, ‘My Chemo Brain’ in 2017. Her first novel, The Normal State Of Mind, was published in 2015. Her collection of stories, Table Manners, was published in 2018.
Writer: Susmita Bhattacharya
Reader: Chetna Pandya
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra
MON 14:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09kxsdv)
Series 1
The Black Death
As it advanced across Europe in the mid-14th century, the Black Death wiped out as many as half of the communities it affected. And yet, in its wake, there was a major resurgence in European trade, with long-lasting effects. Why?
Paul Seabright explores the connections between trade and disease.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.
MON 14:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3rs)
Ladies of Letters Go Global
Episode 1
Irene and Vera are back and this time they're going global.
Determined to escape the aftermath of their respective Christmases from Hell, first Vera nabs a package to Ibiza, then Irene sets out to rescue her friend when she falls prey to the charms of Gaston the seductive Gascon.
Irene ...... Prunella Scales
Vera ...... Patricia Routledge
The up and down relationship of two mature ladies shared via their barbed correspondence.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Havman.
Producer: Claudine Toutoungi
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2006.
MON 14:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qlhj7)
Essays and Journalism
A Hanging
Although most famous for his novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four, George Orwell was also a prolific essayist and journalist.
A selection of Orwell's non-fiction writing begins with the powerful essay, A Hanging, Orwell's account of an execution that he attended while serving in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma during the 1920's:
'It is curious, but til that moment I had never realised what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man.'
Reader: Clive Merrison
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
MON 15:00 The Real George Orwell (b01pz4cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Just a Minute (b01mw08x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Semi Circles (b007jtyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Chambers (b007jnjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
MON 17:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m000djbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b00dyb0m)
Series 1
Mind the Gaps
The bizarre adventures of Edna Turner in London's parallel city of Undone.
Series one of Ben Moor's comic sci-fi saga.
Edna ...... Sarah Solemani
Billy/Carlo ...... Duncan Wisbey
Marlboro /Bouncer ...... Dan Antopolski
Tankerton ...... Ben Moor
Producer: Colin Anderson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in March 2006.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b00lgj3c)
Clive Swift and Indarjit Singh
Kate Mosse and her guests - actor, Clive Swift and journalist, Indarjit Singh - discuss paperbacks by Angus Wilson, Rajaa Alsanea and Patwant Singh & Jyoti M Rai.
The Wrong Set and Other Stories by Angus Wilson
Publisher: Faber
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
Publisher: Penguin
Empire of the Sikhs: The Life and Times of Maharaja Ranjit Singh by Patwant Singh and Jyoti M Rai
Publisher: Peter Owen
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.
MON 19:00 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (b04tvnxl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007jq5q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
MON 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqc3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
MON 20:30 A House for the End of Life (b00wr7rp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
MON 21:00 TED Radio Hour (m000dpz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
MON 21:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00z62ns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:50 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m000djbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
MON 22:30 On the Hour (b007lzwz)
Series 2
Episode 5
Ireland hits the headlines as the programme ransacks the archives to celebrate its 33rd birthday.
All the news as it happens, if it happens from the BBC's urgent and incisive news overview.
Savagely satirical award-winning comedy starring Chris Morris.
With Steve Coogan, David Schneider, Rebecca Front, Patrick Marber and Doon Mackichan.
Written by Chris Morris, Armando Iannucci, Richard Herring, Steven Wells, Andrew Glover, David Quantick, Stewart Lee and Patrick Marber.
Producer: Armando lannucci
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1992
MON 23:00 The News Quiz Extra (m000dpzl)
Series 28
Episode 3
Nish and the team discuss the big stories from the week's news including Davos, Bezos, HS2, the Labour Leadership race, and emotional support animals. Joining him to discuss all these topics are comedians Kerry Godliman, Angela Barnes, Justin Moorhouse and journalist from The Spectator Isabel Hardman.
The Producer is Sam Michell and the News Quiz Extra is a BBC Studios Production.
MON 23:45 Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science (b00zt22n)
Series 1
Episode 4
Helen Keen's off-beat but true account of the history of space flight.
With Peter Serafinowicz and Susy Kane.
* Will humanity ever make it to the stars?
* Time travel, parallel universes and faster than light travel.
* Have aliens ever made it here? If so, were they tempted to use their vastly superior intelligence to really clean up in pub quizzes?
Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.
TUESDAY 28 JANUARY 2020
TUE 00:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b00dyb0m)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b00lgj3c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqc3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 A House for the End of Life (b00wr7rp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Short Works (m000dpz8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09kxsdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3rs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qlhj7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 The Real George Orwell (b01pz4cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b01mw08x)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Semi Circles (b007jtyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Chambers (b007jnjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m000djbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqcj)
Killing Orders
Acid Test
VI Warshawski's best friend Agnes Paciorek has been murdered, but is there a connection with her investigation at the Priory and the anonymous phone calls?
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as Chicago private eye, VI Warshawski.
Roger Ferrant ...... Martin Shaw
Lotty Herschel ...... Miriam Karlin
Bobby Mallory ...... William Hootkins
O'Faolin ...... John Bennett
Gabriella ...... Avril Clark
Alicia ...... Lorelei King
Mrs Paciorek ...... Helen Horton
Father Pelly ...... Colin Stinton
Phil Stuart ...... Milligan
Murray Ryerson ...... Kerry Shale
Regina ...... Adjoa Andoh
Dr Paciorek ...... Norman Jones
Phyllis Lording ...... Theresa Streatfield
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1991.
TUE 06:30 A Needle Pulling Thread (b04p7xls)
A tapestry of fascinating stories about the place of the sewing needle in our lives.
Sara Parker looks at what this powerful but tiny metal tool means to us at home and at work - in times of sadness and of joy.
The needle gives women the capacity to clothe their family or start a business. For the prisoner, embroidering a cushion in his cell provides both a way to earn a living and also a link with the outside world. To the mother who lost her son in Afghanistan, it offers a way for her family to come to terms with their grief through teddy bears made from his uniform. While for the World War One soldier, who learned to sew recuperating from injuries sustained in the Battle of the Somme, it gave a profession as a tailor.
As many of us lose the practical skills which our grandparents and parents took for granted, there is a revival of interest in all kinds of sewing. Some make quilts or cushions for those in need of comfort or for charity. Others want to sew for themselves - such as the 60-year old Blues musician determined to learn how to stitch his own unique waistcoat, or the teenager's act of defiance making a denim quilt after her mother forbade her to wear jeans.
New technology matches the increasing sophistication of sewing machines - such as the QR code cross-stitched into the margin of a quilt linking to the maker's blog, or shared online tutorials. While a sinister story from the National Archives in Kew reveals how Porton Down wanted to develop the sewing needle as a poison dart at the end of the Second World War.
Producer: Sara Parker
A White Pebble Media production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2014.
TUE 07:00 HR (b00hls1b)
Series 1
An Away-Day
Senior manager Peter and his HR officer Sam hate team away-days, but equally fear performing badly and putting their jobs at risk.
But is it a good idea to practise bonding skills while inebriated?
Nigel Williams’ comedy drama series charting the misfortunes of a middle-aged HR officer and his trouble-making colleague.
Peter ...... Jonathan Pryce
Sam ...... Nicholas Le Prevost
Director: Peter Cavanagh
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2009.
TUE 07:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0bgg1q1)
Series 8
Lenzie Has Fallen
The hit series returns for an eighth 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 and Bags sees a return of all the shop regular characters, and some guest appearances along the way, from the likes of Moray Hunter, Lorraine McIntosh & Mina Amwar.
In this episode, Mrs Birkett raises suspicions about the source of a lurgy outbreak in Lenzie and starts to point an accusing finger at Hilly.
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.
TUE 08:00 The Goon Show (b007mwv5)
The Spanish Suitcase
Neddie Seagoon's brave act lands him in prison, and a jewel thief is on the loose.
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Peter Eton
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1954.
TUE 08:30 Round the Horne (b00mbl7s)
Series 3
Episode 10
Kenneth Horne probes nocturnal doings in 'Gaslight, Son of Flicker', while Julian and Sandy turn bona film producers
With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London. Announcer: Douglas Smith
Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, catchphrases and double-entendres.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1967.
TUE 09:00 The News Quiz Extra (m000dpzl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science (b00zt22n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 The Real George Orwell (b01qdr2w)
Homage to Catalonia
Episode 2
The fighting at the front is deadlocked. Freezing temperatures, ancient guns and dud ammunition only add to their woes.
The conclusion of Eric Blair's autobiographical account of the Spanish Civil War adapted by Mike Walker.
Eric's spirits are cheered by a visit from his wife, Eileen, but when they take the train to Barcelona they find the atmosphere changed. Last time there were no class divisions, no masters and servants, only comrades.
Now the waiters are calling their customers 'Sir' again. To add to the confusion the different factions of the Left are all fighting each other. Then Georges Kopp is arrested and imprisoned; others are tortured. The Blairs begin to realise they are in terrible danger and must flee for their lives.
Eric Blair ...... Joseph Millson
Eileen Blair ...... Lyndsey Marshal
Georges Kopp ...... Ewan Bailey
Spanish volunteer ...... Javier Marzan
Jack Hywel ...... John
Henry Miller ...... Richard Laing
John McNair ...... John McAndrew
Benjamin ...... Jon Lolis
Idris ...... Ben McGregor
Tom Gallagher ...... Gareth Pierce
Fascist militiaman ...... Asier Newman
Director: Kate McAll
A BBC/Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2013.
TUE 11:00 Jellyfish (b06d29c0)
Fine Day
A troubled relationship dissolves to the strains of Pucinni.
Read by award-winning writer Janice Galloway from her 2015 collection.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2015.
TUE 11:15 Drama (b051vr32)
Nick Perry - The Transfer
It's
5am on Monday 2 February and football's transfer window closes in 18 hours.
Danny Provisor is a football agent negotiating a last-ditch deal to bring Serbian prospect Slavko Ilich to the UK, but a call to his girlfriend Frankie reveals that Slavko hasn't returned home from a night out. Fending off phone calls from suspicious reporters and an increasingly irate Chief Executive, Danny searches for Slavko knowing that this deal will not only rescue his career, but also provide security for his family.
With BBC Radio 5 Live counting down the hours the pressure begins to build, and the deal and Danny's world start to collapse.
Written by Nick Perry.
Danny Provisor ...... David Schofield
Jonathan Provisor ...... Daniel Abelson
Keith ...... Daniel Abelson
Frankie ...... Rachel Austin
Samira ...... Rachel Austin
Steve Lucas ...... Simon Armstrong
Graham Parsons ...... Simon Armstrong
Barman ...... Simon Armstrong
Peter Gray ...... Chris Donnelly
Mr Agnihotri ...... Chris Donnelly
Lewis ...... David Hounslow
Stanislav Illich ...... Velibor Topic
Slavko Illich ...... Mirza Koluder
As Himself ...... Ian Dennis
Producer: Toby Field
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015,
TUE 12:00 The Goon Show (b007mwv5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 Round the Horne (b00mbl7s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqcj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 A Needle Pulling Thread (b04p7xls)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Short Works (m000dqsr)
Susmita Bhattacharya - Table Manners
Dusk Over Atlantic Wharf
Lata - from Mumbai and newly-wed - must adjust to her new life in Cardiff.
Five tales of home and migration from the Table Manners collection by Susmita Bhattacharya.
Susmita Bhattacharya was born in Mumbai. She teaches contemporary fiction at Winchester University and also facilitates the Mayflower Young Writers workshops, a SO:Write project based in Southampton. Her first story for radio, ‘Summer Learning’ (2015), was followed by the creative non-fiction piece, ‘My Chemo Brain’ in 2017. Her first novel, The Normal State Of Mind, was published in 2015. Her collection of stories, Table Manners, was published in 2018.
Writer: Susmita Bhattacharya
Reader: Aysha Kala
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra
TUE 14:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09l066j)
Series 1
When Cultures Collide
When Captain Cook arrived in New Zealand waters in 1769, his sailors and the Maori who met them began to trade almost immediately. When two civilizations meet, trade has a major role to play - for good and for bad.
Paul Seabright investigates the cultural impact of trade. And, in a story from China, he hears how the social consequences of trade contacts made many centuries ago can still be seen today.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.
TUE 14:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3sq)
Ladies of Letters Go Global
Episode 2
Irene is forced into casual labour when she arrives in Ibiza to find she’s inherited her absent friend's debts.
Meanwhile Vera’s escaped Gaston's clutches in a beetroot truck heading for Trieste, when she falls in with Roman, a charismatic Transylvanian with a hatred of garlic.
Irene ...... Prunella Scales
Vera ...... Patricia Routledge
The up and down relationship of two mature ladies shared via their barbed correspondence.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Havman.
Producer: Claudine Toutoungi
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2006.
TUE 14:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qm3yt)
Essays and Journalism
Confessions of a Book Reviewer
A selection of familiar and unfamiliar non-fiction pieces by the author of Animal Farm.
Confessions of a Book Reviewer attempts to tell the terrible truth about writing reviews for a living while one of Orwell's As I Please columns tackles the oddities of the English language.
Reader: Clive Merrison
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
TUE 15:00 The Real George Orwell (b01qdr2w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Jest a Minute (b0133g72)
Series 1
Episode 5
Justin Moorhouse, Sarah Millican, Chris Corcoran and Jeff Green star in Rhod Gilbert's comedy quiz. From September 2006.
TUE 16:30 Odd Balls (b00760d2)
Jack Acorn: Disputed Inheritance
When Fred Melthorpe inherits an estate from his estranged father, he also inherits Jack Acorn, the general factotum.
But Jack's not all he seems so unpleasant discoveries are set to be made.
The last of four character based comedies by Don Howarth.
Jack Acorn ...... John Webb
Fred Melthorpe ...... Stephen Tomlin
Joey ...... Alex Trinder
Mrs Simcock ...... Pauline Jefferson
Director: Julie Beckett
Producer: Sue Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.
TUE 17:00 HR (b00hls1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0bgg1q1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b007jxgx)
Series 1
Unappreciated
Edna Turner meets a man, makes a friend and learns more about the bizarre parallel city of Undone.
Ben Moor's comic sci-fi saga.
Edna ...... Sarah Solemani
Tankerton ...... Ben Moor
Billy/Carlo ...... Duncan Wisbey
Grant ...... Tim Key
Kate ...... Montserrat Lombard
Producer: Colin Anderson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in October 2006.
TUE 18:30 Pioneers (b013n554)
Series 2
James Goodfellow
Pioneer, James Goodfellow tells Clare English about his invention of the cash machine and the global impact it had on the banking industry.
James also patented the Personal Identification Number (PIN) technology which is still fundamentally the basis for modern day cash withdrawals.
Producer: Philip Sime
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 2011.
TUE 19:00 The Goon Show (b007mwv5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Round the Horne (b00mbl7s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqcj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 A Needle Pulling Thread (b04p7xls)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Jellyfish (b06d29c0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Drama (b051vr32)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0bgg1q1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Sketchorama (b066wfny)
Series 4
Episode 4
Aunty Donna, Gein's Family Gift Shop and Beasts.
Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups from the Fringe at the 2015 Edinburgh Festival.
Every show spotlights three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.
There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves.
Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2015.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000dqst)
Rob Delaney 1/3
The Comedy Club has two hours of the best comedy and Jessica Fostekew chats to Rob Delaney.
TUE 23:00 Vent (b01glrp7)
Series 3
The Stand-In
Ben vows to do something alone but buying an envelope at the post office is not that easy.
Dark sitcom about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind.
Written by Nigel Smith.
Ben ...... Neil Pearson
Mary ...... Fiona Allen
Mum ...... Josie Lawrence
Blitz ...... Leslie Ash
Nurse ...... Jo Martin
Derek ...... Stephen Frost
Marley ...... Spencer Brown
Bea ...... Scarlett Milburn-Smith
Lorraine ...... Tessa Nicholson
Mr Shah ...... Bruce Alexander
Martin ...... Nigel Hastings
Boy ...... Lizzy Watts
Assistants ...... Kate Layden, Tara Lynch Coppers, Tom Price & Abigail Burdess
Director: Nigel Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.
TUE 23:30 A Look Back at the Nineties (b007jqvx)
1998
The Queen makes a decision, England's shocker, and The Archers go on strike.
Recorded in 1993, Brian Perkins, Kate Robbins and Jack Dee 'look back' at 1998, a year that was yet to happen.
A satirical review set on New Year's Eve 1999 - the Sony Gold award-winning comedy recalls the events from 1995 to 1999.
Predicted by 'Spitting Image' writers Mark Burton, John O'Farrell and Pete Sinclair.
Producer: Caroline Leddy
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1993.
WEDNESDAY 29 JANUARY 2020
WED 00:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b007jxgx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Pioneers (b013n554)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqcj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 A Needle Pulling Thread (b04p7xls)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Short Works (m000dqsr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09l066j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3sq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qm3yt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 The Real George Orwell (b01qdr2w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Jest a Minute (b0133g72)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Odd Balls (b00760d2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 HR (b00hls1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b0bgg1q1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqct)
Killing Orders
The Fire Next Time
The private eye is convinced Agnes's murder is linked to a covert takeover bid for Ajax insurance, but can she prove it?
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as Chicago private eye, VI Warshawski.
Roger Ferrant ...... Martin Shaw
Gabriella ...... Avril Clark
Father Carroll ...... Don Fellows
Rosa ...... Eileen Way
Barbara Paciorek ...... Lorelei King
Mrs Paciorek ...... Helen Horton
Bobby Mallory ...... William Hootkins
O'Faolin ...... John Bennett
Murray Ryerson ...... Kerry Shale
Father Pelly ...... Colin Stinton
Father Jablonski ...... Peter Penry-Jones
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1991.
WED 06:30 The Wheels of Power (b010y0sf)
Ben Wright speaks to the best-informed people in politics: ministerial car drivers. And he hears some extraordinary behind-the-wheel tales from these previously discreet public servants.
Ministerial car drivers have become almost legendary, appearing as wise Whitehall sages in everything from ministers' memoirs to Yes, Minister! They have never spoken for themselves: until now. In this programme, Ben speaks to former drivers and reveals what the official history of the Government Car Service - long hidden within Whitehall and only released after a Freedom of Information request - contains.
The drivers discuss the dramatic changes to the service over the years, and take us behind closed (car) doors at some of the most memorable moments in modern political history.
Producer: Giles Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
WED 07:00 The Change (b0076cp6)
Series 2
Episode 1
George is trying to persuade Carol to let him move back in but she’s having none of it. All she wants is a new haircut - and a new life.
Lynda Bellingham and Chris Ellison star as troubled hormonal wife Carol whose husband George revealed he's a transvestite - and she's kicked him out.
Sitcom by Gavin Petrie and Jan Etherington.
Carol ...... Lynda Bellingham
George ...... Chris Ellison
Violet ...... Sylvia Syms
Maureen ...... Maureen Beattie
Dave ...... Mark Powley
Ken ...... James Vaughan
Jerry ...... Barnaby Kay
Sonia ...... Emma Kennedy
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2003.
WED 07:30 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (m000dgyy)
Series 2
Chelsea Norris and Jack Carroll
Joe Lycett returns to explore the nation's weird and wonderful obsessions by getting to know a selection of famous and not so famous guests, recorded in Manchester. Joining Joe on the sofa this week, BBC Manchester presenter Chelsea Norris shares her love of boxing, whilst comedian Jack Carroll reveals his obsession with the TV show ‘The Sopranos’. Joe also welcomes members of the public to share their secret passions, as well as this week's VOP (very obsessed person), Alex Bidolak, who through his love of Lego became an official Master Model Builder.
Joe Lycett's Obsessions was written and performed by Joe Lycett, with material from James Kettle and additional material from Catherine Brinkworth and Kat Sadler. The production coordinator was Damilola Mabadeje. The producer was Suzy Grant and it was a BBC Studios Audio production.
WED 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k456)
Series 3
The Test Match
MCC chairman Sid makes the lad cricket captain for England, but places his bet on Australia to win!
Starring Tony Hancock.
With Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1956.
WED 08:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00j0hbp)
Series 2
Episode 7
A forgetful actor, a grave digger's wedding - and people who use lots of words but say very little.
A sequential entertainment for radio starring Ronnie Barker.
With Terence Brady, Pauline Yates and John Graham.
Pianist: Gordon Langford.
Written by Tony Bilbow and Mike Fentiman, Guy Boas, Terence Brady, David Climie, John Graham, Charles Griffin, Kevin Paul and Harold Arkthorp, Allan Scott and Chris Bryant, Peter Spence and Gerald Wiley.
Producer John Fawcett-Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1972.
WED 09:00 The Rest is History (b078wsdl)
Series 2
Episode 5
Frank Skinner loves history, but just doesn't know much of it. So he's devised a comedy discussion show in order to find out more about it.
Along with his historian in residence, Professor Kate Williams, Frank is joined by Miles Jupp and Zoe Lyons, who discuss King Arthur, Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon and Josephine, and Sir Walter Raleigh.
Producers: Mark Augustyn and Justin Pollard
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2016.
WED 09:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
Series 1
The Little Grey Man
The ups and downs of a second class writer
First of two comedy drama series written by Ronald Hayman.
Woodhouse ...... Tim Pigott-Smith
Gila ...... Zoe Wanamaker
Seamus ...... Stephen Rea
Wilhelmina ...... Susie Bran
Henrietta Masterson ...... Miriam Karlin
Hamish McVomitory ...... Bill Wallis
Gila’s Dad ...... Benjamin Whitrow
Gila’s Mum ...... Joan Matheson
With Eva Stuart, Susan Sheridan and Shaun Prendergast as Creative Writing Class members.
Music by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Director: Piers Plowright
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in September 1989.
WED 10:00 George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four (b01qhd0y)
Episode 1
Winston Smith works for the Ministry of Truth. Sick and separated from his wife, he lives alone in a one-room flat in Victory Mansions in London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal.
When Winston finds love, he discovers that life does not have to be dull and deadening, and awakens to new possibilities.
One of the most influential novels of the 20th century, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four was first published in 1949. Dramatised by Jonathan Holloway.
Winston Smith...Christopher Eccleston
Julia...Pippa Nixon
O'Brien...Tim Pigott-Smith
Parsons...Kim Wall
Charrington ...Robert Blythe
Syme ...Sam Alexander
Prostitute...Susie Riddell
With Christine Absalom, Don Gilet, Joe Sims and Joshua Swinney
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2013.
WED 11:00 Isy Suttie's Guide to Love and Romance (m000dqx6)
1. First Loves and Valentines
Comedian Isy Suttie gets in the mood for Valentine's Day using her unique brand of humour to share her lessons in life and love.
Suttie has often observed other people's love lives and regularly intervened, changing the action dramatically - for better or worse. Discussing 'all things love' in the 21st century with friends, gathering fresh contributions and introducing extracts from The Listening Project she builds a hilarious and often moving account of amour and desire.
With friends, her partner Elis James and the radio archive, Suttie relates real life anecdotes from her own, often disastrous, love life.
Features: ‘Valentine’s Day’ by John Osborne [2013]
Producer: Stephen Garner
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2018.
WED 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k456)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00j0hbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
WED 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqct)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
WED 13:30 The Wheels of Power (b010y0sf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Short Works (m000dqx9)
Susmita Bhattacharya - Table Manners
Letters Home
In Cardiff, Hassan practises his English by writing letters to his wife in Bangladesh.
Five tales of home and migration from the Table Manners collection by Susmita Bhattacharya.
Susmita Bhattacharya was born in Mumbai. She teaches contemporary fiction at Winchester University and also facilitates the Mayflower Young Writers workshops, a SO:Write project based in Southampton. Her first story for radio, ‘Summer Learning’ (2015), was followed by the creative non-fiction piece, ‘My Chemo Brain’ in 2017. Her first novel, The Normal State Of Mind, was published in 2015. Her collection of stories, Table Manners, was published in 2018.
Writer: Susmita Bhattacharya
Reader: Hareet Deol
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra
WED 14:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09l0cby)
Series 1
The Box
If there's one innovation that deserves a chapter to itself in the modern history of trade, it's the shipping container.
Paul Seabright explores the story of the humble metal box, how it took years for it to become the shape it is today, and why it has had such an impact.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.
WED 14:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3tn)
Ladies of Letters Go Global
Episode 3
Howard is no help in rescuing Vera, so Irene, after breaking out of her Ibizan jail, implores Brian to help.
But when Brian catches up with Vera in Moscow, Vera's enraging remarks about her new-found intimacy with Irene's son-in-law urge Irene to write an anonymous letter she may regret...
Irene ...... Prunella Scales
Vera ...... Patricia Routledge
Howard ...... Christopher Kelham
The up and down relationship of two mature ladies shared via their barbed correspondence.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Havman.
Producer: Claudine Toutoungi
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2006.
WED 14:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qm6kr)
Essays and Journalism
My Country Right or Left
A selection of familiar and unfamiliar non-fiction pieces by the author of Animal Farm.
In My Country Right or Left, Orwell attempts to reconcile his strong patriotic feelings with his left wing views.
Reader: Clive Merrison
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
WED 15:00 George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four (b01qhd0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
WED 16:00 The Rest is History (b078wsdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 17:00 The Change (b0076cp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (m000dgyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b007jxh5)
Series 1
Unrivalled
Edna Turner's been given the secret of the parallel city of Undone, but her friendship with Kate and her loyalty to Tankerton are both tested by her crush on the lovely Grant...
Ben Moor's comic sci-fi saga.
Edna ...... Sarah Solemani
Tankerton ...... Ben Moor
Carlo ...... Duncan Wisbey
Grant ...... Tim Key
Kate ...... Montserrat Lombard
Jemima ...... Emma Kennedy
Producer: Colin Anderson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in October 2006.
Producer: Colin Anderson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2006.
WED 18:30 The Palace of Laughter (b007k2sh)
Series 2
Dublin Gaiety Theatre
Geoffrey Wheeler crosses the water to Dublin to discover more about the city's famous Gaiety Theatre.
One of the finest venues on the Variety circuit, it played host to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1971, when theatre-goers and television audiences shared in its centenary celebrations.
With extracts from some of the musical shows for which the Gaiety is renowned, and comedy from stars past and present, including Jack Benny.
Series visiting variety theatres around the United Kingdom.
Producer: Libby Cross
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2003.
WED 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k456)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00j0hbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
WED 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqct)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
WED 20:30 The Wheels of Power (b010y0sf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Isy Suttie's Guide to Love and Romance (m000dqx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
WED 22:00 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (m000dgyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better (b00k3n96)
Series 1
Greed/Gluttony
Welsh comedian Mark Watson sets out on his quest to free us from the seven deadly sins via stand-up comedy.
The first subjects are greed and gluttony and Tim Key and Tim Minchin provide sketches, songs and distractions.
Producer: Katie Marsden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2007.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000dqxc)
Rob Delaney 2/3
The Comedy Club has two hours of the best comedy and Jessica Fostekew chats to Rob Delaney.
WED 23:00 Brian Gulliver's Travels (b01m5n7s)
Series 2
Gravinia and Plumpf
Brian Gulliver, a seasoned presenter of travel documentaries, finds himself in a hospital's secure unit after claiming to have experienced a succession of bizarre adventures.
More memories as Brian relives his adventures in Gravinia, a land where the military are revered above everything.
Brian Gulliver ..... Neil Pearson
Rachel Gulliver..... Mariah Gale
Fillick ..... Marcus Brigstocke
Chaplain ..... Adrian Scarborough
Guest ..... Tracy Wiles
Host..... Patrick Brennan
Stegga ..... Barunka O'Shaughnessy
Barista..... Harry Livingstone
Dragit ..... Nick Mohammed
Glugas Hold ..... Dan Tetsell
Producer: Steven Canny
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.
WED 23:30 Absolute Power (b007jr82)
Series 1
Episode 6
What better way to increase the nation's feelgood factor than for England to win a major sporting trophy?
An impossible task Prentiss and McCabe?
Mark Tavener's comedy about the machiavellian doctors of PR spin with contacts at the highest level of government.
Starring Stephen Fry as Charles Prentiss and John Bird as Martin McCabe.
With:
Siobhan Hayes
Tony Gardner
Simon Greenall
Beth Chalmers
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2000.
THURSDAY 30 JANUARY 2020
THU 00:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b007jxh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 The Palace of Laughter (b007k2sh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqct)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 The Wheels of Power (b010y0sf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Short Works (m000dqx9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09l0cby)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3tn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qm6kr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four (b01qhd0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Rest is History (b078wsdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Change (b0076cp6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (m000dgyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqd4)
Killing Orders
Dinner Date
First an acid attack, then her flat burns down: the anonymous menacing phone caller will go to any lengths to get VI Warshawski to quit.
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as Chicago private eye, VI Warshawski.
Roger Ferrant ...... Martin Shaw
Uncle Stefan ...... Maurice Denham
Lotty Herschel ...... Miriam Karlin
O'Faolin ...... John Bennett
Gabriella ...... Avril Clark
Father Carroll ...... Don Fellows
Barbara Paciorek ...... Lorelei King
Bobby Mallory ...... William Hootkins
Murray Ryerson ...... Kerry Shale
Rosa ...... Eileen Way
Sal ...... Adjoa Andoh
Derek Hatfield ...... Andrew Wincott
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1991.
THU 06:30 Howard's Way (b0460zmd)
On the eve of the 2014 World Cup, football-daft Peter White follows England's only sure bet when it comes to making it through the qualifying stages.
Howard Webb, a miner's son from Rotherham, is one of the world's most respected referees, and already has taken charge of some of the most prestigious international matches around the world. But Howard Webb is far more than just a ref, and usually a reserved man, he's been giving Peter a rare insight into his other faces.
A policeman by profession, he still patrols the streets of his native South Yorkshire, but his involvement in his community goes far deeper. For some years now he has mentored troubled children in the area, using football and his reputation in the game as a way of giving them a sense of direction, and an understanding of how discipline can be used to get results.
He's set up clubs across the schools in Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham. Over 700 children are involved- girls as well as boys- and as Howard sorts out the footballing Prima Donnas in Brazil, these youngsters will compete in their own championships back in Yorkshire. Howard is particularly proud to be bringing together youngsters from Eastern Europe and Pakistan in a bid to ease tensions between the two groups.
Youngsters who've been heading for trouble talk about the satisfaction they've been getting out of the game; one or two have even been catching the eye of local clubs as potential signings. Howard talks with warmth and enthusiasm about the satisfaction he gets from doing this work, whilst preparing and acclimatising for what could be the highlight of his already illustrious career-refereeing the world cup final.
Producer: Sue Mitchell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.
THU 07:00 Millport (b0075sxz)
Series 1
The Storm
A pensioner mysteriously disappears from the town of Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae, off the west coast of Scotland.
Bittersweet comedy written by and starring Lynn Ferguson as 30-something barmaid Irene Bruce, who hankers after a better life on the mainland.
Irene ...... Lynn Ferguson
Moira/Agnes ...... Janet Brown
Alberto/Robert/Bob ...... Lewis McLeod
Ena/Bunty/Betty ...... Gabriel Quigley
Doogie ...... Matt Costello
DJ ...... Robert Paterson
Producer: Lucy Bacon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2000.
THU 07:30 Elephant in the Room (m0006sfd)
Episode 4
Sarah Millican hosts a new panel show using surveys to discover who is the most Average Jolene, and who is the most Maverick Matilda. This week's sparkling panel features Lucy Beaumont, Annabel Giles, Evelyn Mok and Toby Hadoke.
Surveys on subjects including childhood, daily rituals and favourite cheese are the basis for Sarah's questions to the panellists, discovering who is the closest to, and furthest from, the average. Surprising quirks, hilarious insights and unexpected anecdotes are revealed along the way.
The winner will be the most average. But joint winner will be the most different, the furthest from the norm.
A little bit like a dinner party, but one where you know all of the spoons.
A Chopsy production for BBC Radio 4
THU 08:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b05t2xmw)
From 03/08/1975
The King of Knotty Ash delves into the world of crime - and a butcher trades his wares for song and dance.
Starring Ken Dodd.
With Jo Manning Wilson, Miriam Margolyes, Talfryn Thomas, John Graham and Michael McClain.
Devised and written by Ken Dodd with Dave Dutton, Denis Berson, Terry Ravenscroft, Philip Mike Brennan, Maurice Bird, Kenneth Rock and Macollm Cameron.
Doddy's Diddy Orchestra conducted by Geoff Alderson.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in August 1975.
THU 08:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00sg1gl)
Series 3
Episode 10
Delving into the dark side - to explore the unexplainable.
More quick-fire sketches, terrible puns, humorous songs and parodies.
Stars Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by John Esmonde & Bob Larbey, Peter Vincent & David McKellar, David Hatch, Eric Idle and Bill Oddie.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue 'Cambridge Circus', ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Music and songs by Dave Lee, Bill Oddie and Leon Cohen.
Producer: Humphrey Barclay
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in May 1966.
THU 09:00 The Write Stuff (m000drtb)
Series 4
Graham Greene
James Walton’s literary quiz with Sebastian Faulks, John Walsh, Jonathan Myerson and Jane Thynne.
Author of the week: Graham Greene
Reader: Becky Hindley
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2001.
THU 09:30 Capital Gains (b007rq8b)
Series 1
Capital Return
Home at last, how will Julius Hutch come to terms with the bank that made him rich? Can he set himself up to live happily ever after?
Peter Jones stars as Julius Hutch.
Written by Collin Johnson.
Julius Hutch ...... Peter Jones
Pauline Tone ...... Celestine Randall
Sexton Lewis ...... Jeffrey Wickham
Peter Fang ...... Peter Whitman
News Reader ...... Collin Johnson
Kate ...... Justine Midda
Producer: Andy Jordan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1995.
THU 10:00 George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four (b01qldly)
Episode 2
Dramatised by Jonathan Holloway
Winston Smith has found love and comfort with Julia, and now they are determined to join the Brotherhood, a secret, counter-revolutionary organisation pledged to destroy The Party. But for The Party's enemies, deep in the Ministry of Love, there is the threat of Room 101.
Directed by Jeremy Mortimer.
THU 11:00 Imagining Chekhov (b070hxsd)
Woman With A Little Pug by Alison MacLeod
A set of three stories, commissioned specially for Radio 4. Alison MacLeod explores the life and work of one of the finest short story writers of them all - Anton Pavlovich Chekhov.
In this playful reworking of Chekhov’s classic tale ‘The Lady With A Little Dog’, a philanderer encounters a woman in a Brighton hotel. But they can’t help thinking they’ve met each other somewhere before.
Alison MacLeod lives in Brighton. She was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award in 2011 and her stories Solo, A Capella and In Praise Of Radical Fish have featured in previous Radio 4 series. Her works include The Changeling and The Wave Theory of Angels. Her novel, Unexploded, was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize and was broadcast as Book At Bedtime. Alison is Professor of Contemporary Fiction at the University of Chichester.
Reader: Peter Firth
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in February 2016.
THU 11:15 William Stanton - Three Chickens (b08wdqzk)
On a magic island in Brazil, Englishman William Marlow is seduced by tales of witchcraft.
In a story about three chickens, he finds uncanny and uncomfortable echoes of a life he thought he had left behind him...
Anton Lesser stars in William Stanton’s drama.
William ...... Anton Lesser
Maris ...... Valerie Braddell
Nina ...... Suzanna Hamilton
Andre ...... David Thorpe
Camilla ...... Alison Pettitt
White Witch ...... Richenda Carey
Fisherman ...... Terence Edmond
Nurse ...... Jasmine Hyde
Director: Ned Chaillet
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2000.
THU 12:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b05t2xmw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 12:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00sg1gl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqd4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Howard's Way (b0460zmd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Short Works (m000drtd)
Susmita Bhattacharya - Table Manners
In The Lap Of The Gods
At a Christian camp in India, two women explore more than religion.
Five tales of home and migration from the Table Manners collection by Susmita Bhattacharya.
Susmita Bhattacharya was born in Mumbai. She teaches contemporary fiction at Winchester University and also facilitates the Mayflower Young Writers workshops, a SO:Write project based in Southampton. Her first story for radio, ‘Summer Learning’ (2015), was followed by the creative non-fiction piece, ‘My Chemo Brain’ in 2017. Her first novel, The Normal State Of Mind, was published in 2015. Her collection of stories, Table Manners, was published in 2018.
Writer: Susmita Bhattacharya
Reader: Amber Rose Revah
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra
THU 14:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09l1yh0)
Series 1
Slavery
The exchange of human beings for work or sex or other forms of enslavement has been a feature of human society throughout history.
Paul Seabright looks at the part slavery has played in the industrialisation of the western world, and in the lives of countless unsuspecting people who were captured and transported as a result of trading activity on the other side of the globe.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.
THU 14:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3vh)
Ladies of Letters Go Global
Episode 4
Irene’s kept on the move by her island-hopping employees so can’t prevent Lesley sending Christopher, Irene's treasured only son, out to Moscow to bring back Vera.
When Vera explains that she and Christopher are to go on a dangerous mission for MI6, Irene takes the desperate steps of appealing to Nellie Thoroughgood, Chris's adoptive mother, for help
Irene ...... Prunella Scales
Vera ...... Patricia Routledge
Nellie Thoroughgood ...... Susan Jameson
The up and down relationship of two mature ladies shared via their barbed correspondence.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Havman.
Producer: Claudine Toutoungi
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2006.
THU 14:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qmbsf)
Essays and Journalism
Pleasure Spots
A selection of Orwell's non-fiction.
The author's thoughts on the post-war prospects for the English tourist trade, taken from a 1944 edition of Orwell's regular Tribune column, "As I Please". Before that, an essay written in 1946 from the same publication : Pleasure Spots, which takes as its subject the precursors of today's theme parks - horribly artificial places from which the natural world has been excluded.
Reader: Clive Merrison
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
THU 15:00 George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four (b01qldly)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The Write Stuff (m000drtb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Capital Gains (b007rq8b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Millport (b0075sxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Elephant in the Room (m0006sfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b007jxh9)
Series 1
Unfamiliar
Genuinely faceless bureaucrats threaten to run London, as Edna Turner's mum arrives
Ben Moor's comic sci-fi saga.
Edna ...... Sarah Solemani
Tankerton ...... Ben Moor
Carlo ...... Duncan Wisbey
Grant ...... Tim Key
Kate ...... Montserrat Lombard
Jemima ...... Emma Kennedy
Producer: Colin Anderson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in October 2006.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b041xdgm)
Series 33
Deborah Moggach on Arnold Bennett
Novelist and screenwriter, Deborah Moggach, nominates the Potteries writer Arnold Bennett, whose work she thinks has been wrongly overlooked, as he was considered as being too popular.
Moggach believes that because he was a working writer who earned his living writing both serious and light fiction, he was not taken seriously until after his death in 1931, despite his books being hugely popular during his lifetime. Bennett wrote many novels including ‘Anna of the Five Towns’ and ‘The Old Wives Tale’.
As a journalist, Bennett also wrote self-help and lifestyle articles for magazines including 'How to Bathe a Baby Part One' and 'Do Rich Women Quarrel More Frequently Than Poor?'
Gyles Brandreth has been a lifelong Bennett fan and believes him to be one of the greatest writers of the 20th century who deserves to be rediscovered.
Presenter: Matthew Parris.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
THU 19:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b05t2xmw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 19:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00sg1gl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqd4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Howard's Way (b0460zmd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Imagining Chekhov (b070hxsd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
THU 21:15 William Stanton - Three Chickens (b08wdqzk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Elephant in the Room (m0006sfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Listen Against (b008crj0)
Series 1
Episode 3
The show that prises the back off your radio, fiddles around with the programmes inside and then puts it all back together the wrong way round.
Alice Arnold and Jon Holmes take liberties with Laurie Taylor, BBC Radio 1Xtra and Melvyn Bragg
The brain-child of writer, comic and broadcaster Jon Holmes.
Producer: Bill Dare and Jon Holmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2007.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000drtg)
Rob Delaney 3/3
The Comedy Club has two hours of the best comedy and Jessica Fostekew chats to Rob Delaney.
THU 23:00 The Skivers (b007jpsp)
Series 1
Leslie Phillips
Lecturer Leslie Phillips guest stars in Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh's skilful sketch show.
From the people who brought you ‘And Now in Colour’.
Written and performed by Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh.
With Peter Bradshaw and Mel Giedroyc
Producer: Jon Naismith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1994.
THU 23:30 Delve Special (b00t3xrt)
Series 1
The Shifton Scandal
Why did a Government Minister support the plan to build London's Third Airport 20 miles north east of Birmingham?
David Lander now attempts to answer that question by examining in detail the sex scandal which rocked the government and caused a sensation in 1982.
Studio production by Stephen Fry, Moray Watson, Jan Ravens and Jack Klaff.
With Brenda Bleythn, Mark Arden, Tony Robinson, Stephen Frost and Felicity Montague.
Dramatic reconstruction by Peter Wear, Phil Nice, Hilda Schroder, Brett Usher and Colin Starkey.
Researched and compiled by Tony Sarchet.
Editor: Paul Mayhew-Archer.
Delve Special ran for four series from 1984 to 1987 and later transferred to TV as: This is David Lander.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1984.
FRIDAY 31 JANUARY 2020
FRI 00:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b007jxh9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b041xdgm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqd4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Howard's Way (b0460zmd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Short Works (m000drtd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09l1yh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3vh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qmbsf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four (b01qldly)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Write Stuff (m000drtb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Capital Gains (b007rq8b)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Millport (b0075sxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Elephant in the Room (m0006sfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqdy)
Killing Orders
No One Is Lucky Forever
Phone threats and an acid attacker - can VI Warshawski halt the Corpus Christi takeover of Ajax and finally prove who murdered Agnes?
Conclusion of Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as Chicago private eye, VI Warshawski.
Roger Ferrant ...... Martin Shaw
Uncle Stefan ...... Maurice Denham
O'Faolin ...... John Bennett
Gabriella ...... Avril Clark
Lotty Herschel ...... Miriam Karlin
Mrs Paciorek ...... Helen Horton
Father Carroll ...... Don Fellows
Walter Novick ...... Colin McFarlane
Murray Ryerson ...... Kerry Shale
Rosa ...... Eileen Way
Father Pelly ...... Colin Stinton
Dr Paciorek ...... Norman Jones
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1991.
FRI 06:30 Jules Verne's Volcano (b0106tjp)
12 months after Iceland's ash cloud grounded global air transport, leading sound recordist Chris Watson reveals the secrets of one of Iceland's more literary but no less famous volcanoes.
A boyhood Jules Verne fan, Chris will retrace the steps of Professor and Axel Lidenbrock from Reykjavik to his favourite place in the world - Snaefellsjokull - the glacier that contains the passage to the Centre of the Earth in Verne's 1864 seminal work of science-fiction.
Along the way he'll encounter communities affected by the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajokull, talking to people who live within this geologically charged environment and meeting artists and musicians who have been inspired by their volcanic landscape.
Tying in with Verne's theme of geographical exploration, to reach Snaefellsjokull - known to locals simply as Jules Verne's Volcano - Chris will travel through one of Iceland's most beautiful National Parks and will use his extraordinary recording techniques to reveal the natural sounds of this unique environment. The sounds of bubbling mud pools and sulphurous springs mirroring Jules Verne's deep connection to the physical world.
Revealing interviews with leading figures from Iceland's vibrant arts scene: including the keyboardist of Sigur Ros and best-selling Icelandic author Andri Snaer Magnason will combine with Chris's recordings as he creates his own sonic adventure in the shadow of Jules Verne's novel and Iceland's volcanoes.
Producer: Rose de Larrabeiti
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2011.
FRI 07:00 Reluctant Persuaders (b08md98w)
Series 2
Give a Man a Fish
The worst advertising agency team in London are on the lookout for a charity prepared to accept their work.
While Joe is determined to do some good in the world, Amanda and Hardacre are more interested in winning prestige and awards with a buzzy new charity campaign.
As Joe and Teddy head out into the streets and soup kitchens of London, looking for the ground level stories that make a good campaign, Amanda and Hardacre spend an evening at a fundraiser organised by Hardacre's old brother in arms Bill Lessing.
But where's he been for the last ten years? And what exactly does his charity do?
Edward Rowett's award-winning sitcom.
Rupert Hardacre ...... Nigel Havers
Joe ...... Mathew Baynton
Amanda ...... Josie Lawrence
Jordan ...... Richard Goulding
Teddy ...... Kieran Hodgson
Bill Lessing ...... Mark Evans
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2017.
FRI 07:30 The Skewer (m000dgz4)
Series 1
Episode 3
From the mind of Jon Holmes comes topical satire like you've never heard it before.
FRI 08:00 The Burkiss Way (b007js9k)
Series 4
Avoid Like the Plague the Burkiss Way
The Grim Reaper arrives, keen to spread the Red Death.
Starring Fred Harris, Jo Kendall, Nigel Rees and Chris Emmett.
Cult sketch comedy series which originally ran from 1976 to 1980.
Written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1979.
FRI 08:30 The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b007ynfd)
Series 1
Episode 4
It's a dog's life for shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel when a Pekingese goes missing.
Recreation of the Marx Brothers' lost shows charting the adventures of shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel and his assistant, Emmanuel Ravelli. Originally broadcast with sponsors on America's NBC radio network in the 1930s. The scripts were rediscovered in 1988.
Groucho Marx as Waldorf T Flywheel ...... Michael Roberts
Chico Marx as Emmanuel Ravellias ...... Frank Lazarus
With Lorelei King and Graham Hoadly.
Written by Nat Perrin and Athur Sheekman. Adapted by Mark Brisenden.
Music arranged and conducted by David Firman.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1990.
FRI 09:00 We've Been Here Before (b00fz84k)
Series 2
Episode 3
Clive Anderson hosts the panel show that pokes fun at events of the past.
The topical historical satirical panel show setting out to prove that there's nothing new under, or in, The Sun.
Mark Steel and David Quantick battle it out against John O'Farrell and Chris Addison.
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
FRI 09:30 Dry Slopes (b00ln0q8)
Series 1
The Lost Boys
Angus Dry has no job, no friends and lives at home with his mum. She has an international business career and a string of lovers. He feels very sorry for her.
In this opening episode of Nick Ball’s sitcom, Angus tries to recapture the joys of childhood.
Angus Dry ...... Nick Ball
Mum ...... Louisa Rix
With Robert Harley, Toby Longworth and Julie Gibbs.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1995.
FRI 10:00 Drama (b06sf10d)
The Bed-Sitting Room
Three years since the nuclear misunderstanding which led to the third world war ("and it's no idle boast when I remind you that this was the shortest world war on record... two minutes twenty eight seconds... including the signing of the Peace Treaty which is now on sale at Her Majesty's Stationery Office with a free T-shirt") survivors gather together on the former-streets of London.
In amongst the rubble, Captain Kak and his fiancee Penelope find Lord Fortnum, who is convinced he's turning into a bed-sitting room. With property prices what they are, Kak should be on to a good thing.
This atmospheric, surrealist play was originally written by John Antrobus and Spike Milligan.
Adapted by John Antrobus and Paul Merton.
Captain Kak ...... Paul Merton
Lord Fortnum ...... Derek Jacobi
Mate ...... Bernard Cribbins
Penelope ...... Catherine Tate
The BBC ...... Corrie Corfield
Mrs Ethel Skroake ...... Suki Webster
The Vicar ...... John Antrobus
Captain ...... Sean Baker
Seaman ...... Richard Pepple
Music and FX by Jerry Peal.
Director: Sam Michell.
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2015.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m000dryc)
Presenters recommend their favourite podcasts and speak to the people who make them.
FRI 12:00 The Burkiss Way (b007js9k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b007ynfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqdy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Jules Verne's Volcano (b0106tjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Short Works (m000dryf)
Susmita Bhattacharya - Table Manners
Mango Season
A woman makes a discovery about her extraordinary great-grandmother’s past.
Five tales of home and migration from the Table Manners collection by Susmita Bhattacharya.
Susmita Bhattacharya was born in Mumbai. She teaches contemporary fiction at Winchester University and also facilitates the Mayflower Young Writers workshops, a SO:Write project based in Southampton. Her first story for radio, ‘Summer Learning’ (2015), was followed by the creative non-fiction piece, ‘My Chemo Brain’ in 2017. Her first novel, The Normal State Of Mind, was published in 2015. Her collection of stories, Table Manners, was published in 2018.
Writer: Susmita Bhattacharya
Reader: Aysha Kala
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra
FRI 14:15 Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade (b09l234p)
Series 1
Age of Anxiety
The latest backlash against globalisation is nothing new.
Paul Seabright looks at how opening yourself up to trade with others not only creates opportunities, but can make you anxious about being dependent on the outside world.
Producer: Chris Ledgard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.
FRI 14:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3wb)
Ladies of Letters Go Global
Episode 5
Vera and Christopher undertake a life-threatening undercover operation for MI6.
With no-one else to turn to, Irene combines forces with the ex-pat couple employing her to get Vera and Christopher air-lifted out of the diamond mine in which they have been billeted.
Irene ...... Prunella Scales
Vera ...... Patricia Routledge
Brian ...... Ewan Bailey
The up and down relationship of two mature ladies shared via their barbed correspondence.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Havman.
Producer: Claudine Toutoungi
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2006.
FRI 14:45 The Real George Orwell (b01qnt5r)
Essays and Journalism
As I Please
In this final selection of pieces, Orwell explores gullibility in modern society, ridicules the absurdities of the New Year's Honours List, and recalls a minor incident from his youth which helped to form his socialist outlook.
Reader: Clive Merrison
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
FRI 15:00 Drama (b06sf10d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 We've Been Here Before (b00fz84k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Dry Slopes (b00ln0q8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Reluctant Persuaders (b08md98w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 The Skewer (m000dgz4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b007jxhj)
Series 1
Unravelled
Things go from strange to stranger for Edna, Tankerton and both the Carlos...
Conclusion of series one of Ben Moor's comic sci-fi saga.
Edna ...... Sarah Solemani
Tankerton ...... Ben Moor
Carlo ...... Duncan Wisbey
Grant ...... Tim Key
Producer: Colin Anderson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in October 2006.
FRI 18:30 Off the Page (b0076qyv)
Lost Opportunities
Matthew Parris chews over the one that got away with writers Patrick Neate, Ros Taylor and Zinovy Zinik. From March 2005.
FRI 19:00 The Burkiss Way (b007js9k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b007ynfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jqdy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Jules Verne's Volcano (b0106tjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m000dryc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 The Skewer (m000dgz4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 The Harpoon (b09kcwcy)
Winter Special
Stoke up the fire and decant the brandy for a bumper 'winter' issue of the Empire's favourite magazine.
Performed by Alistair McGowan, Peter Baynham, Susie Brann, Mary Elliot-Nelson and Julian Dutton.
Written by Julian Dutton and Peter Baynham.
Producer: Sarah Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1991.
FRI 23:00 Innes Own World (b0178mxy)
Episode 2
A radio programme that takes you inside Neil Innes's head and doesn't let you out for half an hour.
Featuring "The Breakfast Things", Neil's own version of The Today Programme, broadcast from his kitchen table.
Script Editor: John Dowie
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2003.
FRI 23:30 The Maltby Collection (b00crj7g)
Series 1
Episode 3
Rod and Julian are competing for Prunella's affections.
Both suitors seek help from the head of security, Des, in executing their own grand romantic gesture.
Geoffrey Palmer and Julian Rhind-Tutt star in David Nobbs’ sitcom about a small museum of paintings and sculpture.
Rod Millet ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Walter Brindle ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Prunella Edgecumbe ...... Rachel Atkins
Julian Crumb-Loosely ...... Ben Willbond
Des Wainwright ...... Michael Smiley
Eva Tattle ...... Julia Deakin
Wilf Arbuthnot ...... Geoff McGivern
Stelios Constantinopolis ...... Chris Pavlo
Andrea Marshall ...... Barunka O'Shaughnessy
Shop Assistant ...... Jasmine Callan
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2007.
LIST OF THIS WEEK'S PROGRAMMES
(Note: the times link back to the details; the pids link to the BBC page, including iPlayer)
15 Minute Drama
02:30 SAT (b06442qc)
4 Extra Celebrates Dora Bryan
09:00 SAT (b03szf7d)
4 Extra Celebrates Dora Bryan
19:00 SAT (b03szf7d)
A Good Read
18:30 MON (b00lgj3c)
A Good Read
00:30 TUE (b00lgj3c)
A House for the End of Life
06:30 MON (b00wr7rp)
A House for the End of Life
13:30 MON (b00wr7rp)
A House for the End of Life
20:30 MON (b00wr7rp)
A House for the End of Life
01:30 TUE (b00wr7rp)
A Look Back at the Nineties
23:30 TUE (b007jqvx)
A Needle Pulling Thread
06:30 TUE (b04p7xls)
A Needle Pulling Thread
13:30 TUE (b04p7xls)
A Needle Pulling Thread
20:30 TUE (b04p7xls)
A Needle Pulling Thread
01:30 WED (b04p7xls)
A Small Town Murder (Omnibus)
13:00 SAT (m000dqkw)
A Small Town Murder (Omnibus)
01:00 SUN (m000dqkw)
AS Byatt - Gode's Story
07:15 SUN (b007jtb6)
AS Byatt - Gode's Story
14:15 SUN (b007jtb6)
AS Byatt - Gode's Story
02:15 MON (b007jtb6)
Absolute Power
23:30 WED (b007jr82)
Alex Shearer - Getting a Life
02:00 SAT (b007k4br)
All Those Women
07:30 SUN (b06d2fxv)
All Those Women
17:30 SUN (b06d2fxv)
All Those Women
22:00 SUN (b06d2fxv)
All Those Women
05:30 MON (b06d2fxv)
Archive on 4
08:00 SAT (b0729t65)
Archive on 4
15:00 SAT (b0729t65)
Archive on 4
03:00 SUN (b0729t65)
As Told To Craig Brown
23:30 SUN (b00bbnxt)
Ben Moor - Undone
18:00 MON (b00dyb0m)
Ben Moor - Undone
00:00 TUE (b00dyb0m)
Ben Moor - Undone
18:00 TUE (b007jxgx)
Ben Moor - Undone
00:00 WED (b007jxgx)
Ben Moor - Undone
18:00 WED (b007jxh5)
Ben Moor - Undone
00:00 THU (b007jxh5)
Ben Moor - Undone
18:00 THU (b007jxh9)
Ben Moor - Undone
00:00 FRI (b007jxh9)
Ben Moor - Undone
18:00 FRI (b007jxhj)
Brian Gulliver's Travels
23:00 WED (b01m5n7s)
Capital Gains
09:30 THU (b007rq8b)
Capital Gains
16:30 THU (b007rq8b)
Capital Gains
04:30 FRI (b007rq8b)
Chambers
07:00 MON (b007jnjc)
Chambers
17:00 MON (b007jnjc)
Chambers
05:00 TUE (b007jnjc)
Coming Up For Air (Omnibus)
14:30 SUN (m000drg3)
Coming Up For Air (Omnibus)
02:30 MON (m000drg3)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
02:15 SAT (b09k8r9v)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
14:15 MON (b09kxsdv)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
02:15 TUE (b09kxsdv)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
14:15 TUE (b09l066j)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
02:15 WED (b09l066j)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
14:15 WED (b09l0cby)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
02:15 THU (b09l0cby)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
14:15 THU (b09l1yh0)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
02:15 FRI (b09l1yh0)
Conflict and Co-operation: A History of Trade
14:15 FRI (b09l234p)
Dad's Army
08:30 MON (b007jq5q)
Dad's Army
12:30 MON (b007jq5q)
Dad's Army
19:30 MON (b007jq5q)
Dan Dare
18:00 SAT (m000dqky)
Dan Dare
00:00 SUN (m000dqky)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
11:50 MON (b00z62ns)
David Attenborough's Life Stories
21:50 MON (b00z62ns)
Delve Special
23:30 THU (b00t3xrt)
Desert Island Discs Revisited
10:15 SUN (b08454qp)
Desert Island Discs Revisited
21:15 SUN (b08454qp)
Drama
11:15 TUE (b051vr32)
Drama
21:15 TUE (b051vr32)
Drama
10:00 FRI (b06sf10d)
Drama
15:00 FRI (b06sf10d)
Dry Slopes
09:30 FRI (b00ln0q8)
Dry Slopes
16:30 FRI (b00ln0q8)
Elephant in the Room
07:30 THU (m0006sfd)
Elephant in the Room
17:30 THU (m0006sfd)
Elephant in the Room
22:00 THU (m0006sfd)
Elephant in the Room
05:30 FRI (m0006sfd)
Fags, Mags and Bags
07:30 TUE (b0bgg1q1)
Fags, Mags and Bags
17:30 TUE (b0bgg1q1)
Fags, Mags and Bags
22:00 TUE (b0bgg1q1)
Fags, Mags and Bags
05:30 WED (b0bgg1q1)
Fantastic Journeys
00:00 SAT (m000dfyh)
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
10:00 WED (b01qhd0y)
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
15:00 WED (b01qhd0y)
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
03:00 THU (b01qhd0y)
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
10:00 THU (b01qldly)
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
15:00 THU (b01qldly)
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four
03:00 FRI (b01qldly)
George R Sims - The Haverstock Hill Murder
16:00 SUN (b09qhwpq)
George R Sims - The Haverstock Hill Murder
04:00 MON (b09qhwpq)
Ghosts From The Past
18:00 SUN (m000drg7)
Ghosts From The Past
00:00 MON (m000drg7)
Great Lives
18:30 THU (b041xdgm)
Great Lives
00:30 FRI (b041xdgm)
HR
12:00 SAT (b00hg6mz)
HR
07:00 TUE (b00hls1b)
HR
17:00 TUE (b00hls1b)
HR
05:00 WED (b00hls1b)
Hancock's Half Hour
08:00 WED (b007k456)
Hancock's Half Hour
12:00 WED (b007k456)
Hancock's Half Hour
19:00 WED (b007k456)
Harry Worth in Things Could Be Worse
08:30 SUN (b09qhsxy)
Harry Worth in Things Could Be Worse
12:30 SUN (b09qhsxy)
Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science
23:45 MON (b00zt22n)
Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science
09:45 TUE (b00zt22n)
Howard's Way
06:30 THU (b0460zmd)
Howard's Way
13:30 THU (b0460zmd)
Howard's Way
20:30 THU (b0460zmd)
Howard's Way
01:30 FRI (b0460zmd)
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
08:30 THU (b00sg1gl)
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
12:30 THU (b00sg1gl)
I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again
19:30 THU (b00sg1gl)
Imagining Chekhov
11:00 THU (b070hxsd)
Imagining Chekhov
21:00 THU (b070hxsd)
In the Psychiatrist's Chair
14:15 SAT (b0075211)
In the Psychiatrist's Chair
02:15 SUN (b0075211)
Inheritance Tracks
14:10 SAT (b05ql31l)
Inheritance Tracks
02:10 SUN (b05ql31l)
Innes Own World
23:00 FRI (b0178mxy)
Isy Suttie's Guide to Love and Romance
11:00 WED (m000dqx6)
Isy Suttie's Guide to Love and Romance
21:00 WED (m000dqx6)
Ivor Cutler - A Stuggy Pren
23:15 SUN (b00bxv1v)
Jane Austen - Sense and Sensibility
03:00 SAT (b0381l64)
Jellyfish
11:00 TUE (b06d29c0)
Jellyfish
21:00 TUE (b06d29c0)
Jest a Minute
16:00 TUE (b0133g72)
Jest a Minute
04:00 WED (b0133g72)
Joe Lycett's Obsessions
07:30 WED (m000dgyy)
Joe Lycett's Obsessions
17:30 WED (m000dgyy)
Joe Lycett's Obsessions
22:00 WED (m000dgyy)
Joe Lycett's Obsessions
05:30 THU (m000dgyy)
Journeys Down My Street
07:30 SAT (b01rqndq)
Journeys Down My Street
17:30 SAT (b01rqndq)
Journeys Down My Street
05:30 SUN (b01rqndq)
Jules Verne's Volcano
06:30 FRI (b0106tjp)
Jules Verne's Volcano
13:30 FRI (b0106tjp)
Jules Verne's Volcano
20:30 FRI (b0106tjp)
Just a Minute
09:00 MON (b01mw08x)
Just a Minute
16:00 MON (b01mw08x)
Just a Minute
04:00 TUE (b01mw08x)
Ladies of Letters
14:30 MON (b007k3rs)
Ladies of Letters
02:30 TUE (b007k3rs)
Ladies of Letters
14:30 TUE (b007k3sq)
Ladies of Letters
02:30 WED (b007k3sq)
Ladies of Letters
14:30 WED (b007k3tn)
Ladies of Letters
02:30 THU (b007k3tn)
Ladies of Letters
14:30 THU (b007k3vh)
Ladies of Letters
02:30 FRI (b007k3vh)
Ladies of Letters
14:30 FRI (b007k3wb)
Lenny Henry's Rogues Gallery
23:00 SUN (b07cx3qd)
Life With The Lyons
08:00 SUN (m000drfw)
Life With The Lyons
12:00 SUN (m000drfw)
Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead
08:30 WED (b00j0hbp)
Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead
12:30 WED (b00j0hbp)
Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead
19:30 WED (b00j0hbp)
Listen Against
22:30 THU (b008crj0)
Marginalia
01:30 SAT (b046j96g)
Mark Thomas Presents
23:30 SAT (b0076vzd)
Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better
22:30 WED (b00k3n96)
Masala FM
22:30 SAT (b007zjm8)
Millport
07:00 THU (b0075sxz)
Millport
17:00 THU (b0075sxz)
Millport
05:00 FRI (b0075sxz)
Odd Balls
16:30 TUE (b00760d2)
Odd Balls
04:30 WED (b00760d2)
Off the Page
00:30 SAT (b0076qvj)
Off the Page
18:30 FRI (b0076qyv)
On the Hour
22:30 MON (b007lzwz)
Orwell in Five Words (Omnibus)
09:00 SUN (m000drfz)
Orwell in Five Words (Omnibus)
20:00 SUN (m000drfz)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater (Omnibus)
06:00 SUN (b064yjnh)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater (Omnibus)
13:00 SUN (b064yjnh)
Penelope Mortimer - The Pumpkin Eater (Omnibus)
01:00 MON (b064yjnh)
Pioneers
18:30 TUE (b013n554)
Pioneers
00:30 WED (b013n554)
Podcast Radio Hour
11:00 FRI (m000dryc)
Podcast Radio Hour
21:00 FRI (m000dryc)
Poetry Extra
17:00 SUN (m000drg5)
Poetry Extra
05:00 MON (m000drg5)
Radiolab
11:00 SUN (m000drg1)
Radiolab
19:00 SUN (m000drg1)
Reluctant Persuaders
05:00 SAT (b08ljxcc)
Reluctant Persuaders
07:00 FRI (b08md98w)
Reluctant Persuaders
17:00 FRI (b08md98w)
Round the Horne
12:30 SAT (b00lvz50)
Round the Horne
08:30 TUE (b00mbl7s)
Round the Horne
12:30 TUE (b00mbl7s)
Round the Horne
19:30 TUE (b00mbl7s)
Semi Circles
09:30 MON (b007jtyy)
Semi Circles
16:30 MON (b007jtyy)
Semi Circles
04:30 TUE (b007jtyy)
Sherlock Holmes v Dracula
06:00 SAT (b0084gr2)
Sherlock Holmes v Dracula
16:00 SAT (b0084gr2)
Sherlock Holmes v Dracula
04:00 SUN (b0084gr2)
Short Works
14:00 MON (m000dpz8)
Short Works
02:00 TUE (m000dpz8)
Short Works
14:00 TUE (m000dqsr)
Short Works
02:00 WED (m000dqsr)
Short Works
14:00 WED (m000dqx9)
Short Works
02:00 THU (m000dqx9)
Short Works
14:00 THU (m000drtd)
Short Works
02:00 FRI (m000drtd)
Short Works
14:00 FRI (m000dryf)
Sketchorama
22:30 TUE (b066wfny)
Such Rotten Luck
09:30 WED (b01nm0f2)
Such Rotten Luck
16:30 WED (b01nm0f2)
Such Rotten Luck
04:30 THU (b01nm0f2)
TED Radio Hour
11:00 MON (m000dpz5)
TED Radio Hour
21:00 MON (m000dpz5)
The Burkiss Way
08:00 FRI (b007js9k)
The Burkiss Way
12:00 FRI (b007js9k)
The Burkiss Way
19:00 FRI (b007js9k)
The Change
07:00 WED (b0076cp6)
The Change
17:00 WED (b0076cp6)
The Change
05:00 THU (b0076cp6)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 SAT (m000dql0)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 SUN (m000drg9)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 TUE (m000dqst)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 WED (m000dqxc)
The Comedy Club Interviews
22:55 THU (m000drtg)
The Emerald Green Show
04:30 SAT (b078dlrj)
The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket
08:00 MON (b04tvnxl)
The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket
12:00 MON (b04tvnxl)
The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket
19:00 MON (b04tvnxl)
The Goon Show
08:00 TUE (b007mwv5)
The Goon Show
12:00 TUE (b007mwv5)
The Goon Show
19:00 TUE (b007mwv5)
The Harpoon
22:30 FRI (b09kcwcy)
The Ken Dodd Show
08:00 THU (b05t2xmw)
The Ken Dodd Show
12:00 THU (b05t2xmw)
The Ken Dodd Show
19:00 THU (b05t2xmw)
The Listening Project
10:10 SUN (b063dch4)
The Listening Project
21:10 SUN (b063dch4)
The Maltby Collection
23:30 FRI (b00crj7g)
The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel
08:30 FRI (b007ynfd)
The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel
12:30 FRI (b007ynfd)
The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel
19:30 FRI (b007ynfd)
The News Quiz Extra
23:00 MON (m000dpzl)
The News Quiz Extra
09:00 TUE (m000dpzl)
The Palace of Laughter
18:30 WED (b007k2sh)
The Palace of Laughter
00:30 THU (b007k2sh)
The Real George Orwell
10:00 MON (b01pz4cy)
The Real George Orwell
14:45 MON (b01qlhj7)
The Real George Orwell
15:00 MON (b01pz4cy)
The Real George Orwell
02:45 TUE (b01qlhj7)
The Real George Orwell
03:00 TUE (b01pz4cy)
The Real George Orwell
10:00 TUE (b01qdr2w)
The Real George Orwell
14:45 TUE (b01qm3yt)
The Real George Orwell
15:00 TUE (b01qdr2w)
The Real George Orwell
02:45 WED (b01qm3yt)
The Real George Orwell
03:00 WED (b01qdr2w)
The Real George Orwell
14:45 WED (b01qm6kr)
The Real George Orwell
02:45 THU (b01qm6kr)
The Real George Orwell
14:45 THU (b01qmbsf)
The Real George Orwell
02:45 FRI (b01qmbsf)
The Real George Orwell
14:45 FRI (b01qnt5r)
The Rest is History
09:00 WED (b078wsdl)
The Rest is History
16:00 WED (b078wsdl)
The Rest is History
04:00 THU (b078wsdl)
The Shepherd's Life
02:45 SAT (b05r6sx0)
The Show What You Wrote
22:00 SAT (b06shz1h)
The Skewer
05:30 SAT (m000d869)
The Skewer
07:30 FRI (m000dgz4)
The Skewer
17:30 FRI (m000dgz4)
The Skewer
22:00 FRI (m000dgz4)
The Skivers
23:00 THU (b007jpsp)
The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains
18:45 SUN (b06pxt4f)
The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains
00:45 MON (b06pxt4f)
The Unbelievable Truth
07:30 MON (m000djbg)
The Unbelievable Truth
17:30 MON (m000djbg)
The Unbelievable Truth
22:00 MON (m000djbg)
The Unbelievable Truth
05:30 TUE (m000djbg)
The Wheels of Power
06:30 WED (b010y0sf)
The Wheels of Power
13:30 WED (b010y0sf)
The Wheels of Power
20:30 WED (b010y0sf)
The Wheels of Power
01:30 THU (b010y0sf)
The Write Stuff
09:00 THU (m000drtb)
The Write Stuff
16:00 THU (m000drtb)
The Write Stuff
04:00 FRI (m000drtb)
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups
22:30 SUN (b06rz9hx)
Travels with Bob
15:45 SUN (b085t3q8)
Travels with Bob
03:45 MON (b085t3q8)
VI Warshawski
01:00 SAT (b0089j85)
VI Warshawski
06:00 MON (b007jqc3)
VI Warshawski
13:00 MON (b007jqc3)
VI Warshawski
20:00 MON (b007jqc3)
VI Warshawski
01:00 TUE (b007jqc3)
VI Warshawski
06:00 TUE (b007jqcj)
VI Warshawski
13:00 TUE (b007jqcj)
VI Warshawski
20:00 TUE (b007jqcj)
VI Warshawski
01:00 WED (b007jqcj)
VI Warshawski
06:00 WED (b007jqct)
VI Warshawski
13:00 WED (b007jqct)
VI Warshawski
20:00 WED (b007jqct)
VI Warshawski
01:00 THU (b007jqct)
VI Warshawski
06:00 THU (b007jqd4)
VI Warshawski
13:00 THU (b007jqd4)
VI Warshawski
20:00 THU (b007jqd4)
VI Warshawski
01:00 FRI (b007jqd4)
VI Warshawski
06:00 FRI (b007jqdy)
VI Warshawski
13:00 FRI (b007jqdy)
VI Warshawski
20:00 FRI (b007jqdy)
Vent
23:00 TUE (b01glrp7)
We've Been Here Before
04:00 SAT (b00fy1g5)
We've Been Here Before
09:00 FRI (b00fz84k)
We've Been Here Before
16:00 FRI (b00fz84k)
Weird Tales
18:30 SAT (b01nt0s0)
Weird Tales
00:30 SUN (b01nt0s0)
William Stanton - Three Chickens
11:15 THU (b08wdqzk)
William Stanton - Three Chickens
21:15 THU (b08wdqzk)
Wondermentalist Cabaret
23:00 SAT (b00y8vsn)