SATURDAY 01 FEBRUARY 2020

SAT 00:00 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.


SAT 00:30 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.


SAT 01:00 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.


SAT 01:30 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.


SAT 02:00 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


SAT 02:15 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.


SAT 02:30 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.


SAT 02:45 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.


SAT 03:00 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.


SAT 04:00 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.


SAT 04:30 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.


SAT 05:00 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.


SAT 05:30 The Skewer (m000dgz4)
Series 1

Episode 3

From the mind of Jon Holmes comes topical satire like you've never heard it before.


SAT 06:00 Drama (b078mc9p)
John Osborne - Look Back in Anger

Richard Wilson directs this dramatisation starring David Tennant as Jimmy Porter.

Premiering in 1956, John Osborne's classic play that launched the Angry Young Man movement has lost none of its bite and still disturbs and questions in equal measure.

Jimmy Porter...............David Tennant
Alison..........................Nancy Carroll
Cliff.............................Daniel Evans
Helena.........................Claire Price
Colonel........................Sir Ian McKellen

Director: Richard Wilson

Producer: Clive Brill

A Brill production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2016.


SAT 07:30 Journeys Down My Street (b01rvnws)
Home Away From Home - The Somalis of Bute Street, Cardiff

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 episode, Mike meets the Somalis of Bute Street, Cardiff.

At the end of the 19th century many working on the steam ships of the British Empire was an attractive career choice for seamen from Somaliland. Many came to Cardiff, found work in the docks heaving the coal that powered those ships, and the first settled in Butetown in 1890.

A vibrant community grew, centred on the docks and the mosque. But the last coal was shipped out in the 1960s, Cardiff docks are not what they were and Butetown has been redeveloped - and work is scarce.

The older generation of Somalis has, in recent years, been joined by new immigrants, refugees from their war-torn homeland. Their experiences and expectations are very different, as 'De Gabay' recently made clear. This was a day-long production with National Theatre Wales, in which young poets from the Somali community performed all around Butetown.

The Somalis whose families have lived in Butetown for a century, and more recent arrivals tell their stories, too.

Producer: Julian May

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2013.


SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b05nk3r0)
Lern Yerself Scouse

Writer Paul Farley cooks a pot of Scouse for a party of eminent Liverpudlians to explore the complex flavours and disputed origins of the Scouse accent.

In the company of Willy Russell, Gillian Reynolds, Michael Angelis and Roger McGough, Paul explores a rich archive of Scouse voices, charting some of the recent mutations in the accent.

Producer: Emma Harding

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2015.


SAT 09:00 Do Tell Them Pike: Arthur Lowe on the Radio (b06chqrb)
The radio legacy of iconic British comedy actor Arthur Lowe – best loved as Dad's Army's very own Captain Mainwaring.

Arthur's friend, and Dad's Army co-star, Ian Lavender (Private Pike) is our guide over 3 hours:

* Desert Island Discs - Arthur Lowe:

Lost to the BBC archives, but saved by a listener's off air recording, Arthur Lowe's castaway choices heard for the first time since 1970. Arthur tells Roy Plomley about his childhood, his early acting days whilst serving in the Second World War, his time on ITV's Coronation Street, and his joy at being part of the BBC's Dad's Army team – then in its relative infancy.

* Dad's Army:

Ian chooses his favourite episode about the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon from the many radio adaptations.

* Billy's Last Stand:

From 1965, Arthur stars in a startling drama, the first play from Barry Hines (who later wrote the novel 'A Kestrel For A Knave' - filmed by Ken Loach as 'Kes') In this darkly comic tale, Arthur Lowe plays casual labourer Billy who becomes the target of the schemes of parasitic Darkly, played by 'The Men From The Ministry' star, Ronald Baddiley. First heard on the BBC Third Programme.

* With Great Pleasure:

Not heard since 1976, Arthur Lowe's own choice of favourite readings and sketches. Helped by Martin Jarvis, hear Arthur's take on one of his favourite writers, PG Woodhouse, as he plays the ultimate British butler, Jeeves.

Arthur Lowe died aged 66 on 15th April 1982.

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Peter McHugh.

First broadcast in September 2015


SAT 12:00 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.


SAT 12:30 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.


SAT 13:00 Riot Girls (m000dzpb)
Trumpet (Omnibus)

When celebrated jazz trumpeter Joss Moody dies, his adopted son Colman makes an extraordinary discovery - the man he adored as his father was, in fact, a woman.

Adjoa Andoh, Enyi Okoronkwo and Maureen Beattie star in Tanika Gupta's dramatisation of Jackie Kay's fiercely pioneering novel.

Omnibus of the fourth season of provocative writing by women, Riot Girls, offers no-holds barred dramas that explore themes of gender identity, lesbian relationships and the intersections between the feminist and LGBTQ+ movements.

Older Millie.....Maureen Beattie
Colman.....Enyi Okoronkwo
Joss.....Adjoa Andoh
Younger Millie.....Sinead MacInnes
Sophie.....Scarlett Courtney
Big Red.....Neil McCaul
Mrs Mason.....Heather Craney
Mrs Moore.....Jessica Turner
May.....Tracy Wiles
Young Joss.....Lucy Reynolds
Other parts played by Adam Courting and Ian Conningham

Music by Clifford Brown, with additional trumpet by Peter Ringrose

Directed by Emma Harding

First broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in January 2019.


SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m000dzpd)
Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl creator and children's author Eoin Colfer chooses ‘Whatever You Want’ by Status Quo and ‘All I Want Is You’ by U2.


SAT 14:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b00751nr)
Professor Norman Stone

Author Professor Norman Stone tells Anthony Clare about his loathing for Oxford University and admiration of Margaret Thatcher.

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 (b05nk3r0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


SAT 16:00 Drama (b078mc9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 17:30 Journeys Down My Street (b01rvnws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SAT 18:00 Dan Dare (m000dzpg)
Series 2

Prisoners of Space 3/3

Despite being imprisoned in his own impregnable cell, The Mekon throws down one last challenge to Dan Dare. Stars Ed Stoppard.

Dan Dare …. Ed Stoppard
Digby …. Geoff McGivern
Professor Peabody …. Heida Reed
Sir Hubert …. Michael Cochrane
The Mekon …. Raad Rawi
Major Stranks …. 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 Sally Warboyes - Wishing Well (b0075vj3)
When Sarah’s car breaks own on the motorway, she soon regrets asking Grace and Kenneth for shelter...

Rosemary Leach stars in a chilling tale by Sally Warboyes.

Grace ...... Rosemary Leach
Sarah ...... Kate Buffery
Kenneth ...... Norman Bird
Man ...... Alan Barker
Policeman ...... Robert Portal

Director: Cherry Cookson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1991.


SAT 19:00 Do Tell Them Pike: Arthur Lowe on the Radio (b06chqrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 22:00 Josh Howie's Losing It (b07pgwp0)
Series 1

The Announcement

Stand-up comic Josh comes to terms with the impending birth of his first child.

Josh and his wife Monique attend a family funeral where Josh manages to fall out with everyone and spectacularly fails to keep the news of the pregnancy under wraps.

Sitcom starring Josh Howie and Pippa Evans.

Written by Josh Howie.

With Spencer Brown, Carol Dance, Stella Duffy, Kerry Godliman, Steve Jameson and Peter Walsingham.

Producer: Ashley Blaker

A Black Hat production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2016.


SAT 22:30 Masala FM (b007jz5q)
Episode 5

When the Asian radio station's boss gets religion, the on-air result is far from heavenly.

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 October 1996.


SAT 23:00 Wondermentalist Cabaret (b00yj96p)
Series 1

Episode 3

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 Royal Seven Stars in Totnes, South Devon, he's joined by the poet Murray Lachlan Young and one man house band Jerri Hart.

Fellow poets Liv Torc and Nathan Filer battle it out with Murray in a Dead Poets' Slam, while the audience compose their own poem on the subject of gerbils.

Producer: Mark Smalley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.


SAT 23:30 Mark Thomas Presents (b0076w2p)
The Firesign Theatre

The Firesign Theatre make their first British appearance for many years at the London Comedy Store.

Since the mid 1960s, The Firesign Theatre has been one of the best kept secrets in American comedy. A four-man comedy troupe with shades of Monty Python and The Goons, they grew out of a free-form radio show in California. They went on to produce a series of comedy albums which became cult favourites, in which they combined satire with parodies of popular culture and classic drama.

Expect political comment, a virtuoso range of comic voices, and plenty of verbal ingenuity.

Series in which Mark Thomas introduces iconic American comedy performers.

Producer: Paul Bajoria

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2005.