SATURDAY 28 MARCH 2020

SAT 00:00 Wally K Daly (b007k406)
The Silent Scream

Episode 3

As the alien takeover deadline approaches, can humanity fend off enemies from without and within?

Wally K. Daly's sequel to 'Before the Screaming Begins'.

CAST:

Tom Harris …. James Laurenson
A.P. Smith …. Donald Hewlett
Prime Minister …. Colin Douglas
Silkin …. Peter Wickham
Sally Harris …. Hannah Gordon
Opposition MP/Colonel …. Peter Williams
Andy …. Elizabeth Lindsay
Gloria/Cabinet Minister …. Brenda Kaye
Second Pilot/PC …. Gregory de Polnay
Alien Controller/Cabinet Minister …. Manning Wilson
Second Boy …. Tim Bentinck
First Girl …. Alison Draper

Audio from Wally K. Daly's own collection and reversioned into three parts by BBC Radio 4 Extra

Producer: Martin Jenkins

First broadcast as a ninety-minute Saturday Night Drama on BBC Radio 4 in 1979.


SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076tj9)
The Book By Its Cover

Matthew Parris, Robert Elms, James Delingpole and Joolz Denby discuss whether ‘apparel oft proclaims the man’. From 2005.


SAT 01:00 Stand By For West (m000gn3w)
Inspector West at Home

Crisis for a Copper

Roger West is suspended from duty and hires Pep Morgan to help prove that he’s been framed.

Chief Inspector Roger West is the creation of John Creasey, who authored more than 40 Roger West novels between 1942 and 1973.

Much like Paul Temple, West - “Scotland Yard’s youngest, smartest chief inspector” - has a long-suffering wife who also gets involved with the action. A total of six novels were adapted for radio by Maurice Travers.

Chief Inspector Roger West… Patrick Allen
Janet West… Sarah Lawson
Mark Lessing… Edward de Souza
Pep Morgan... Harry Landis
Pickerell… Robert James
Detective Inspector Bob Cornish… Frederick Treves
Assistant Commissioner Sir Guy Chatsworth… Maurice Hedley
Mrs Fleming… Margaret Robertson

Producer: John Fawcett Wilson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 1968.


SAT 01:30 The Lunatic Line (b012qq7x)
Episode 2

The 600-mile railway line from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Uganda, built by the British between 1895 and 1901 through hostile tribal lands and malarial swamps, became known as "The Lunatic Line". Spiralling costs and massive engineering challenges were just a few of the problems facing the railway. Hundreds of Kenyan and indentured Indian labourers died during the railway's construction, mostly from disease, although the man-eating lions of Tsavo also devoured many.

Yet the railway created modern Kenya, and Nairobi hardly existed until the railway workers set up camp there just over a century ago.

Today, the old British-built railway still runs - but only just - and more as a tourist curiosity than a functioning service. Semi-privatised 25 years ago, it has suffered woefully from lack of investment, and today is but a decrepit relic of its former self.

Now Kenya has announced hugely ambitious plans to shunt its rail network into the 21st century by commissioning a new high-speed line with double-decker passenger and freight trains cruising at up to 100mph, reducing the journey time from Mombasa to Nairobi from 13 hours to three.

Ayisha Yahya travels on the existing creaking line and asks whether plans to rebuild and expand the railway network are little more than another lunatic notion? Or will they have as great an economic and social impact on the region as the Lunatic Line's original construction?

Producer: Ruth Evans
A Ruth Evans production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.


SAT 02:00 Tessa Hadley - The Past (b06b3pp5)
Episode 10

Today Finding the lost and living without love as Sian Thomas reads the final, tender part of Tessa Hadley's new novel, a beautifully observed portrait of a family and the change wrought by time across the generations.

Three middle-aged sisters and a brother meet up in their grandparents' old house for three long, hot summer weeks. Under the idyllic surface, there are immediate tensions. Secrets, misunderstandings and passion play out as the characters shift and reappraise and a way of life - bourgeois, literate, ritualised - winds down to its inevitable end.

While the siblings circle each other, and the adolescents approach each other, the children watch and come to their own conclusions.

Tessa Hadley is one of Britain's finest writers, an acute observer of character, time and place and the most published short story writer in the New Yorker in recent years.

The reader is Sian Thomas
The abridger is Sally Marmion
The producer is Di Speirs


SAT 02:15 The Robber Barons (b07z7bwf)
JP Morgan

In the 19th century, so-called 'Robber Barons' - men like Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan - seized the great new opportunities thrown up by the United States' Industrial Revolution.

The Robber Barons built vast businesses, and helped forged a radically new country - the basis of the America we know today. But did they sow the seeds of amazing progress, or did they steal the American Dream? Historian Adam Smith tells their stories and confronts their legacy.

In this episode, Adam explores how New York banker J.P. Morgan used ruthless pressure not to win in the free market but to end 'ruinous' competition.

Morgan strong-armed rival railroad companies into agreeing not to compete.

He bought out Andrew Carnegie's steel empire, in the great such deal in history, to forge the huge corporation US Steel.

And he did the same in the fields of electricity, farming and telecommunications, creating General Electric, International Harvester and AT&T to close down competition through consolidated companies.

And then in 1907 he played a crucial role in stopping the American economy collapsing.

And in this final episode, Adam takes a walk down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, to explore how the Robber Barons have shaped our world. They helped to create crucial aspects of our world, which we now take for granted - such as vast corporations and paid employment, cheap travel and technology and huge gaps between rich and poor.

But is their legacy really more about the ruthless dynamic innovation of the free market, or big companies cosily closing down competition?

With: TJ Stiles, Joanna Cohen, Steve Fraser

PRODUCER: PHIL TINLINE


SAT 02:30 AS Byatt - The Frederica Quartet (b007jsmm)
Still Life, Part 7/7

Daniel becomes disillusioned with home and the church, and there is some disturbing news for Stephanie.

CAST:

Older Frederica …. Rosemary Leach
Bill …. Geoffrey Whitehead
Alexander …. Adam Kotz
Stephanie …. Helen Longworth
Marcus …. Carl Prekopp
Clemency …. Sandra Clark
Gideon …. Stephen Critchlow
Daniel …. Sean Dooley
William …. Tom Glenister

Written by A.S. Byatt and dramatised by John Harvey.

Producer: Mary Peate.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.


SAT 02:45 Barry Cryer - You Won't Believe This But (b007jv0f)
Episode 5

Charting his path to fame, comedy legend Barry Cryer recalls his big writing break - thanks to a famous female impersonator.


SAT 03:00 Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Idiot (b00srvkn)
Episode 4

Nastasya and Aglaya meet to talk over their feelings for Prince Myshkin - as he begins to fear for his life. Stars Paul Rhys.


SAT 04:00 Funny You Should Ask (b0b6q46w)
From 10/03/1981

Peter Jones hosts the entertainment quiz about comedy as he tests a panel of experts: Arthur English, Roy Hudd and Sandy Powell.

Funny You Should Ask ran for 8 series from 1976 to 1982.

Questions compiled by Michael Pointon.

Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1981.


SAT 04:30 The Adventures of John and Tony (b007k11n)
A Tale of Two Tenting

The two friends head off on a surreal camping trip, with Herman Hessian - a dog made out of an old potato sack.

The first of four comic journeys written by John Hegley in which John and his best mate Tony search for happiness, love, the meaning of life ... and glasses.

Starring John Hegley, Simon Munnery, Terry Malloy, Sunny Ormonde and John Korne.

Original music by Nigel Piper.

Director: Anne Edyvean

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1999.


SAT 05:00 Bad Salsa (b049y3mp)
Series 1

All Change

After treatment for Ovarian and breast cancer Chippy, is mad Jill is sad and Terri is definitely dangerous to know! The road back after cancer treatment can be tricky and full of obstacles. In Bad Salsa, two middle aged women and their younger friend seek to regain their zest for life and love by learning to dance at Bad Salsa, the club where everyone knows your name but no-one knows your prognosis!

Depictions of people with cancer on TV and radio too often follow a standard format; there is the diagnosis, the depression the chemo, then the false recovery followed by the tragic death.

Bad Salsa tries to paint a picture at once more hopeful and more in line with survival rates which have improved immensely over the past twenty years. For many, 'living with cancer' is now their day to day challenge. The characters in the series have finished their treatment and are in the process of finding their way back to normal life or at least finding a "new normal." As in the real world, the challenges of everyday life go on for our characters; like us they have boring marriages, distracting crushes, troublesome children, difficult workmates and infuriating parents, but unlike us their brush with mortality has given them a new perspective. The fun and excitement of the series is in watching them decide to preserve the pre-cancer status quo or in Terri's words, to say "sod it all" and "go for it!"

The series follows the women as they embrace the world of salsa whilst they adjust to life after cancer.

Writer ..... Kay Stonham
Producer ..... Alison Vernon-Smith.


SAT 05:30 Reluctant Persuaders (m0000xrp)
Series 3

The Appliance of Science

Hardacre’s ad agency are pitching to the University of Oxfordshire, an online-only institution dedicated to internet learning. Their efforts are complicated by the arrival at the agency of Elgin Hardacre (James Northcote), hired by his father (Nigel Havers) as a copywriter – despite having no relevant skills or experience.

While Hardacre shows no interest in his son and Amanda (Josie Lawrence) dismisses him as an idiot and resolves to fire him by the end of the week, Joe (Mathew Baynton) and Teddy (Rasmus Hardiker) take pity on Elgin and take him under their wing. In the process, they discover that however bad Hardacre might be as a boss, he’s infinitely worse as a father – and Elgin in turn reveals some peculiar beliefs.

Cast:
Hardacre....................................Nigel Havers
Joe...............................................Mathew Baynton
Amanda.....................................Josie Lawrence
Teddy.........................................Rasmus Hardiker
Laura..........................................Olivia Nixon
Elgin...........................................James Northcote

An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4


SAT 06:00 Agatha Christie (b007jwwc)
The Pale Horse

Can death be brought about by remote control? Historian Mark Easterbrooke discovers that witchcraft and black magic can induce a terrifying series of events.

First published in 1961, Agatha Christie's classic thriller dramatised by Michael Bakewell.

Stars Jeremy Clyde as Mark Easterbrooke, Stephanie Cole as Ariadne Oliver, Terence Alexander as Mr Venables, Mary Wimbush as Thyrza Grey, Hilda Schroder as Bella, Stephen Hodson as Jim Corrigan, Jonathan Adams as Inspector Lejeune and Federay Holmes as Ginger.

Jill Graham as Sybil, Jillie Meers as Rhoda Despard and John Evitts as Colonel Despard, John Fleming as Zachariah Osborne, John Baddeley as Bradley, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Hermia, Philip Anthony as Rev. Calthrop and John Church as Soames-White.

Matthew Morgan as Ardingly, Teresa Gallagher as Poppy and Keith Drinkel as Father Gorman, David Thorpe as Mike, Mike Hudson as Eileen Brandon, Melinda Walker as Mrs Tuckerton, Diana Payan as Mrs Coppins, Sandra James Young as Mrs Davis and Kate Binchy as Mrs Gerahty.

Originally aired to celebrate the 50th anniversary of BBC Radio 4's Saturday Night Theatre.

Director: Enyd Williams

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.


SAT 07:30 Recycled Radio (b05413rw)
Series 3

Recycled: Bohemia

Welcome to the chopped up, looped up, sped up world of Recycled Radio, introduced by cartoonist Gerald Scarfe. Follow him down down the rabbit hole as we delve into the archives in search of bohemia, with a small "b".

Way back when, in the darkest depths of November 2014, David Hockney said something on Radio 4's Today programme: "That's what's gone now, bohemia's gone..."
Expect profound reflections on the nature of Jeremy Paxman's beard, hear Jeffrey Bernard exploring the nature of the advertising executive, picture Ed Balls playing the piano, and is that Andrew Marr contemplating the size of Virginia Woolf's bed?

What has any of this got to do with bohemia? What has bohemia got to do with anything else?

Recycled Radio might explain.

Producer: Polly Weston

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.


SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b0765dy0)
Optimism - Our Enemy

Journalist Bryan Appleyard presents a polemic that tilts at the current cult of optimism, of positive thinking and the relentlessly upbeat mantras of corporations.

Optimism is trumpeted in books, from the walls of yoga studios, the podiums of leadership conferences and in political life, especially in the United States. The optimistic cast of mind is key, apparently, to marital success, health and progress at work.

Pessimism is stigmatised. But if we could only dump our current and historical imperative to look on the bright side of life, Bryan argues, we'd all be a lot happier.

We weren't always so positive. Bryan points to post-war Britain, when we embraced a pessimism, a philosophy of endurance and amiably black humour. This was reflected in our cinema which, contrary to many Hollywood movies, embarked on a dark celebration of the fragilities exposed by the war, with films such as Brief Encounter.

We hear from the philosophers Roger Scruton and John Gray on the pleasures of pessimism. Writer Barbara Ehrenreich traces the origins of the American positive thinking industry from Norman Vincent Peale's sermons to multimillion-selling books such as Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People and Rhonda Byrne's The Secret. Psychologist Tali Sharot explains how optimism and pessimism drive our economy and Dragons' Den's Deborah Meaden reveals the dangers of blind optimism in business.

Bryan, a committed pessimist, also considers how learning to be more optimistic could enhance his life. He meets sales, marketing and personal growth strategist Bruce King for a class in positive thinking.

With archive including Noel Coward, Tony Blair, Peter Cook and Frank Muir.

Producer: Paul Smith
A Just Radio production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.


SAT 09:00 Hoax! (b08l65dp)
In this April fool’s day special, comedian Jake Yapp delves into the archives to celebrate the history of hoaxing and presents a unique insight into the development and psychology of the art of this form of deception.

Featuring memorable and entertaining extracts along with full BBC radio programmes Jake unearths some lesser known treasures and interviews comedians Jocelyn Jee Esien and Alex Lowe about their experiences.

Chris Powell is on hand to explain the psychology behind the hoax and prankster Steve Penk reveals the joy he gets from making wind-up phone calls.

Programmes include:

* The April Fool Story
Anna Ford explores the history of All Fool's Day in this country and abroad.

* Radio Anarchists
Ned Sherrin tells the story of Coyle and Sharpe

* Mary Toft’s Rabbit Tale:
A radio drama based on a true story from 1726 about a woman who convinced her doctors she was giving birth to rabbits

* Down the Line
We join DJ Gary Bellamy for an uncompromising, live phone-in show

Producer: Stephen Garner

Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in April 2017


SAT 12:00 Listomania (b0b1xqns)
Series 1

Episode 6

Susan Calman hosts the series exploring the world of the list - from the magnificent to the mundane - from the humble 'to do' list to the bucket list and many more...

With Sara Cox, Elis James, Isy Suttie and Gary Delaney.

Written by James Kettle and Juliet Meyers with Max Davis

Producer: Jane Berthoud and Adnan Ahmed.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2015.


SAT 12:30 Frankie Howerd (m000gmk7)
Series 2

Episode 1

Frankie Howerd is commissioned by ‘steam radio’ to serialise his memoirs.

Ably assisted by June Whitfield, Bob Todd, Geoffrey Beevers and John Samson, Francis titters and teeters through his eventful life and illustrious career, from soup to nuts. Ooh! No! Missus…

Written by David McKellar and David Nobbs.

Producer: David Hatch.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in June 1973.


SAT 13:00 Absent (Omnibus) (b05126qf)
Tony, a self-employed electrician from Liverpool, has no idea that his wife of eleven years has had enough of him and wants him out of her and their children's lives for good.

Tony ...... Craige Els
Clare ...... Gillian Kearney
Nick ...... Robert Hitchmough
Aggy ...... Annabelle Dowler
Josh ...... Alfie Davies
Sean ...... Carl Prekopp

By Mark Davies Markham.

Directed by Claire Grove.


SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m000gt1g)
Ainsley Harriott

Chef Ainsley Harriott chooses Be My Life's Companion by the Mills Brothers and I Want a Little Sugar in my Bowl by Nina Simone.


SAT 14:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kfmk)
Series 2

Wigan

Pam visits a Lancashire cotton mill, a mint ball factory and meets the residents of a greyhound rescue centre.

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

Photograph by Laurence Watts.

Producer: Jill Marshall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 2001.


SAT 14:45 Uncle Mort's South Country (b007rj8j)
Series 1

A Night on the Town

It's Carter's first look at Soho exotic dancers, but not Uncle Mort's.

Uncle Mort …. Stephen Thorne
Carter Brandon …. Sam Kelly
The Nice Woman …. Liz Goulding
Door Keeper …. Christopher Good
Narrator …. Christian Rodska

Written by Peter Tinniswood.

Producer: Pete Atkin

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.


SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0765dy0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]


SAT 16:00 Agatha Christie (b007jwwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 17:30 Recycled Radio (b05413rw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SAT 18:00 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (b007jm46)
The Secondary Phase

Fit The Ninth

The Vogons make an unwelcome return, Zaphod holds a séance, and Arthur's quest for tea paralyses the ship.

Starring Peter Jones as The Book, Simon Jones as Arthur Dent, Geoffrey McGivern as Ford Prefect, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, David Tate as Eddie, Stephen Moore as Marvin, Leueen Willoughby as the Nutrimat Machine, Bill Wallis as the Vogon Captain and Richard Goolden as Zaphod Beeblebrox IV.

The original scripts by Douglas Adams (1952-2001) went on to spawn a series of novels, a feature film, at least three stage shows, a TV series, a computer game, a collection of comic books - and various towels.

Radiophonic sound and music by Paddy Kingsland.

Producer: Geoffrey Perkins

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1978.


SAT 18:30 The Price of Fear (b007jn3p)
The Family Album

Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale of faceless commuter Arthur, who proves to be a formidable adversary as danger strikes.

Stars Maurice Denham as Arthur Goodby, Liz Fraser as Rose Goodby, James Kerry as Harry, Aubrey Morris as Mr Martin and Anthony Newlands as The Coroner.

Scripted by William Ingram.

Producer: John Dyas

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1983.


SAT 19:00 Hoax! (b08l65dp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 22:00 The Lee Mack Show (b00bbnvy)
Series 1

Tony Hadley

Tony Hadley joins the quick-fire comic for stand-up, sketches and music. With Angela McHale and Trevor Crook. From March 2005.


SAT 22:30 Paul Sinha's Citizenship Test (b037vlck)
Episode 1

Paul Sinha is proudly British. He also loves a quiz. So you would have thought that the UK Citizenship Test, which newcomers to this country must pass to become citizens, would have been right up his street. But the questions in the 2012 and 2013 Home Office guides seem either bizarrely easy - "Where is Welsh most widely spoken?" - or infuriatingly vague - "What happened in the First World War?".

So Paul has created his own test, to better reflect the things that aspiring migrants should understand before they can call themselves British. In episode one he deals with the history syllabus, looking at what we know about the most important legal document in our history; the Patron Saints of the Home Nations; provides a guide to our twenty most important cities; and points out a historical error in the official guide. He also tests the studio audience on their knowledge, with those that answer incorrectly being deported.

The series intertwines the sort of comedy Paul has become known for on The Now Show, The News Quiz, and Fighting Talk, as well as his own Radio 4 shows The Sinha Test and The Sinha Games, and the command of facts and figures he demonstrates on the ITV quiz show The Chase.

Written and performed by Paul Sinha.
Producer: Ed Morrish.


SAT 23:00 Buy Me Up TV (b0094k0g)
Episode 1

Another chance to hear Buy Me Up TV.

Every shopping channel you've ever seen and every product you've never wanted.

Featuring Justin Edwards, Colin Hoult, Katherine Jakeways, Ewen Macintosh, Alex MacQueen and Greg Proops. With special guest Eamonn Holmes.


SAT 23:30 4 at the Store (b007jqg1)
Series 1

Episode 3

Stand-up at London's Comedy Store with host Simon Bligh, Rhona Cameron, Omid Djalili and Steve Gribbin. From December 1998.