SATURDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2021

SAT 00:00 The Blue Lenses by Daphne du Maurier (b007k4rp)
2. Survival

Afer discovering she's able to see things that others can't, Marda West fears for her survival in this dangerous new world.

The conclusion of Daphne du Maurier's fantasy thriller exploring the darker aspects of human nature.

Read by Emma Fielding.

Produced and abridged by Gemma Jenkins.

Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2007.


SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0124pp5)
Always On

Mobile phones, laptops and tablet computers give us the opportunity to be constantly deluged by information wherever we are in the world.

And if we have one of these devices and don't turn it off then we can be reached, wherever we are.

But - as Dominic Arkwright asks - is this development in our lives a good thing?

With Financial Times Slow Lane columnist Harry Eyres and Guardian digital media correspondent Jemima Kiss.

Plus the best selling author William Powers who's written a guide book on how to live wisely and happily in a connected world.

Producer Paul Dodgson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.


SAT 01:00 The Price of Silence (m000zs3k)
4. On Your Own

Maxon finds out the truth about Drusilla Kowalski.

Meanwhile, Joseph Kowalski goes missing. And Ellsberg warns Maxon he's in grave danger.

Starring Ian Hendry and Toby Robins.

Stephen Barlay's Cold War nuclear thriller.

Maxon …… Ian Hendry
Jacqueline …… Toby Robins
Ellsberg …… George Coulouris
Kowalski …… Carl Duering
Locke …… Alan Tilvern
Papa Mike …… Errol MacKinnon
President …… Bob Sherman
Gloucester …… Nigel Graham
Chuck …… Bruce Boa

Director: Peter King.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1983.


SAT 01:30 Julie Enfield Investigates (b010nwbj)
Leaves of the Dead

4. Pyramids In The Spider

Rendered unconscious, detective superintendent Julie Enfield has been injected with a deadly drug.

Are Lawrence Evans and her dad in a position to help?

Imelda Staunton stars as Julie Enfield.

Conclusion of Nick Fisher’s atmospheric thriller.

Julie Enfield ...... Imelda Staunton
Dad ...... Geoffrey Matthews
Lawrence Evans ...... Ross Livingstone
Stephen Arnold ...... Alex Lowe
Amanda Thorne ...... Janet Maw
Melanie Sharp ...... Colleen Prendergast
Dorothy ...... Shirley Dixon
Phil Carter ...... Christopher Scott
Arthur Morton ...... Stephen Thorne
Richard Baker ...... Ioan Meredith
Sal ...... Tracy-Ann Oberman
Terry Faulkner ...... Hugh Dickson

Producer: Richard Wortley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1997.


SAT 02:00 Into the Water by Paula Hawkins (b08p1t6s)
Episode 5

New evidence prompts DI Townsend and DS Morgan to take another look at the apparent suicide of Katie Whittaker and exactly what Nel Abbott knew about her death...

Author of 'The Girl on the Train' - Paula Hawkins' addictive novel of psychological suspense.

Jules ...... Sian Brooke
Lena ...... Lily Loveless
Mark ...... Arthur Darvill
Erin ...... Sarah Ridgeway

Abridged by Doreen Estall

Producer: Gemma McMullan

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2017.


SAT 02:15 Ben Lewis - House Rules (b0b5xh1r)
Series 1

Episode 5

A funny real-time drama set around a kitchen table at the weekly meetings of a 21st century family who are not even managing to 'just about manage'.

Amelia is 14. She's been through a divorce before. She really doesn't want to go through it again. But her blended family is threatening to unblend. So she draws on her experience as assistant chairperson of the Key Stage 3 debating society and initiates weekly family meetings for truth, reconciliation, grievance airing and the seeking of practical solutions.

It's time for the family's weekly meetings. But the chair herself hasn't turned up.

Written by Ben Lewis.

Nicole ... Rosie Cavaliero
Amelia ... Cleo Demetriou
Jan ... Deborah Findlay
Sean... Jonathan Forbes
Callum ... Elliot Speller-Gillott

Director: Kirsty Williams.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2018.


SAT 02:30 Mark Morris: The Wild Card of Dance (b047c31b)
A portrait of one of the most fascinating figures in dance.

Flamboyant, theatrical, loud, choreographer Mark Morris is also a thoughtful, considered self-taught scholar of music.

And it's his extraordinary musicality that earned him, from the beginning, a reputation with musicians. The likes of Yo Yo Ma and Emmanuel Ax have sought him out as a collaborator.

We accompany dance professor Stephanie Jordan to Sadler's Wells during Morris' visit to London, with exclusive access to his rehearsals, watching him direct his company in two new works. We also speak to two of his most experienced dancers in Dresden, and tour his famous dance headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

Interviewing New York critics Joan Acocella and Alastair Macaulay, as well as Mark Morris himself, we build up a profile of a brilliantly talented and visionary choreographer. And discover why he places such value on music (Baroque in particular), how his distinctive style of choreography has evolved, and aims for his company.

Producer: Isabel Sutton

A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2014.


SAT 03:00 Anthony Burgess - Inside Mr Enderby (m0009srr)
Episode 2

Trapped into marriage, will Enderby lose his poetic gift and become simple Hogg the Gardener instead?

Conclusion of the classic 1960s acerbic comedy by Anthony Burgess.

Enderby, mediocre poet sans pareil bursts onto an unsuspecting world, scattering bread crumbs and bad verse.

Enderby .... Philip Glenister
Vesta .... Valerie Edmond
Rawcliffe .... Russell Dixon
Drunk .... David Fleeshman
Stepmother ...... Ann Rye
Doctor .... Malcolm Raebum

Dramatised by Jim Poyser.

Director: Polly Thomas

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.


SAT 04:00 The Food Quiz (b0076tc6)
Series 3

From 24/08/2005

Journalist and food critic, Jay Rayner puts four gastronomes through their culinary paces.

Stephen Fry, Elisabeth Luard, Cyrus Todiwala and Clarissa Dickson Wright get set for a good grilling.

Can they fathom the principal ingredient of mock turtle soup, the identity of the first TV chef and how a dried fish came to be known as Bombay duck?

Producer: Dixi Stewart

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2005.


SAT 04:30 Clare in the Community (b0089j0c)
Series 1

Babysitter

Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.

When her colleague, Helen, has a date for the first time in 8 years, Clare gets roped into looking after her 16 year old delinquent son, Gareth, for the evening. Gareth proves to be better at helping Clare with her problems than dealing with his own, and after an awkward start they become friends.

There's a surprise for Clare when Brian gets home from the pub.

A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.

Clare continually struggles to control both her professional and private life

In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.

Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden.

Starring Sally Phillips and Alex Lowe.

Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ..... Alex Lowe

With:

Richard Lumsden
Gemma Craven
Ellen Thomas
Nina Conti
Paul Chequer
Emily Wachter

Produced by Katie Tyrell.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2004.


SAT 05:00 It's Jocelyn (b08hpf79)
Series 2

Family

Jocelyn talks about family, a spiritual medium goes over to the other side and the doctors receptionist shows her true feelings for 'big bad Don'.

More sketches and stand-up from the wonderful mind of Jocelyn Jee Esien.

With Paul Whitehouse as a cockney funeral director.

Plus the vocal talents of:

Ninia Benjamin
Curtis Walker
Dee Kaate
Gavi Chera
Karen Bartke

Producer: Suzy Grant

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2017.


SAT 05:30 Henry Normal: A Normal... (m000sj8s)
Communication

"Shove up National Treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal"
Simon O'Hagan - Radio Times

The seventh instalment in this acclaimed, occasional series in which acclaimed, occasional writer Henry Normal tackles those subjects so big only radio can possibly contain them. So far Henry has covered ‘Family’, ‘Life’, ‘Love’, ‘Imagination’, ‘Nature’ and ‘The Universe’; in this new episode he explores ‘Communication’, recorded with a virtual audience.

Through poetry, stories, jokes and quotes Henry will be looking at the way ‘how’ we communicate colours ‘what’ we communicate and exploring ‘why’ we communicate in the first place.

Henry Normal is a multi-award winning writer, producer and poet. Co-writer of award winning TV programmes such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Coogan’s Run and Paul Calf, and producer of, amongst many others, Oscar-Nominated Philomena, Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge.

He’s published eight collections of poetry including his most recent ‘The Beauty Within Shadow’. Plus his memoir written with Angela Pell ‘A Normal Family’ everyday adventure with our autistic son.

Praise for previous episodes in this series:

"It's a rare and lovely thing: half an hour of radio that stops you short, gently demands your attention and then wipes your tears away while you have to have a little sit down"

"It's a real treat to hear a seasoned professional like Henry taking command of this evening comedy spot to deliver a show that's idiosyncratic and effortlessly funny"

"Not heard anything that jumps from hilarious to moving in such an intelligent, subtle way as Henry Normal's show"

Written and performed by Henry Normal
Production Coordinator - Beverly Tagg
Produced by Carl Cooper

This was a BBC Studios production.


SAT 06:00 Miss Marple (b007jvht)
The Body in the Library

Dolly Bantry, mistress of Gossington Hall, is enjoying a pleasant doze when suddenly her dreams take a strange turn.

The housemaid Mary is telling her there's a body in the library. As she wakes up, it turns out to be true. But who is the strange young blonde woman sprawled on the library floor?

Enter St Mary Mead's famous resident sleuth...

Agatha Christie's whodunit starring June Whitfield.

First published in 1942 whodunit and dramatised by Michael Bakewell.

Miss Jane Marple .... June Whitfield
Colonel Melchett …. Richard Todd
Dolly Bantry …. Pauline Jameson
Colonel Bantry …. Jack Watling
Sir Henry Clithering …. Graham Crowden
Conway Jefferson …. John Hartley
Inspector Slack …. John Baddeley
Adelaide Jefferson …. Priyanga Elan
Mark Gaskell …. Harry Myers
George Bartlett …. Ben Crowe
Josie Turner …. Elizabeth Conboy
Basil Blake …. Giles Fagan
Dinah Lee …. Tilly Gaunt
Florence Small …. Eleanor Hodson

Director: Enyd Williams

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1999.


SAT 07:30 Great Lives (b08q5x7l)
Series 42

Sue Cameron on Emma of Normandy

Twice Queen of England and mother of two kings, but have you heard of Emma of Normandy?

Doyenne of Whitehall and Westminster journalists, Sue Cameron names William the Conqueror's aunt as her great life.

Matthew Parris explores the time 1,000 years ago when England was emerging as a new nation in the decades before the Norman invasion, when the country's Anglo Saxon rulers were beset with Viking invasions. Emma, herself of French Viking descent, was pitched into a maelstrom of war and politics, when she crossed the channel as a teenage bride in 1002.

Joined by medieval historian Vanessa King of Goldsmiths, University of London, Sue and Matthew conjure the fortunes of a woman who emerged as a key powerbroker and kingmaker. Emma bestrode early English court politics for half a century during her life, and for years afterwards. Married first to Aethelred, the Saxon king, she was promptly summoned to marry his successor after his death in 1016, the Danish king of England, Canute, who's alleged to have ordered the waves to cease.

Sue Cameron imagines what it must have been like for Emma in the midst of these turbulent times, trying to protect the sons she had with both kings, while advancing their position at court.

Producer: Mark Smalley

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2017.


SAT 08:00 The Motion Show (m00076b9)
Series 5

Episode 1

From banning wasps to arts subsidies.

Graeme Garden hosts the comedy debating show.

With;

Gyles Brandreth
Steve Punt
Garry Bushell
Gina Yashere

Producer: Jane Berthoud

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2002.


SAT 08:30 Snap (m00051v9)
Series 3

Episode 5

Doug and Molly’s attempts to rekindle their romance after divorcing are hampered by his mum who’s convalescing after tripping over. Molly is not impressed...

CAST:

Molly …. Rebecca Lacey
Doug …. Paul Venables
Kaz …. Soumaya Keynes
Ryan …. Jessie Sullivan
Annie …. Marlene Sidaway
Dawn …. Robin Weaver
Raymond …. Jonathan Tafler

Written by Paul Mendelson.

Producer: David Ian Neville

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2005.


SAT 09:00 Radio Soaps (b007jpk5)
Tim Bentinck - aka the dependable David Archer in The Archers – brings you all the dramas in the history of BBC radio soaps.

Brace yourself to re-live the all daily goings on from serials past and present:

MRS DALE’S DIARY:

This serial ran for 21 years based on the daily diary of doctor’s wife Mary with husband Jim and children, Bob and Gwen. Starring Ellis Powell.

* The first episode. The Dales are preparing to move to Parkwood Hill. [05/01/1948 BBC Light Programme]

* JFK has been elected US President as Great Aunt Hester arrives from Canada with some strange sounding visitors... [01/11/1960 BBC Light Programme]

WAGGONER'S WALK:

This replaced Mrs Dale' Diary on BBC Radio 2's tackling some tough storylines, It was axed in 1980

* The first episode. 60s London is still swinging with three women sharing a flat in Hampstead. [28/04/1969 BBC Radio 2]

* 8 years later. Lyn has managed to marry and divorce her first husband and is on number two. Sister Tracy married an American and has a child. [21/02/1977]

CITIZENS:

BBC Radio 4's soap opera charting the lives of the residents of Limerick Road in the fictional London suburb of Ditcham. 388 episodes of went out twice a week until 1991.

* The first episode. Hear why the critics at the time weren't too impressed. [27/10/1987 BBC Radio 4]

* 4 years on and the end is nigh for the residents of Ditcham with shock news of a kidnapping.

WESTWAY:

This was the BBC World Service's very own soap, set in a health centre, which ran for 8 years, and was branded as "a slice of contemporary London life". It was later re-run on BBC 7.

* Dr Sampson is the matriarch and heart of Westway Health Centre. Her husband has died - and his funeral plan is unconventional [21/08/1999 BBC World Service]

THE ARCHERS:

The essential drama from the heart of the country. The world's longest running soap opera began in 1951 on the BBC Home Service and is still going strong on BBC Radio 4.

The first episode was scheduled to detract from the opening of Associated-Rediffusion, as ITV was launched in London.

* The classic melodramatic episode, where Grace Archer - recently married to Phil – gets trapped in a stable fire. Will she survive? [23/09/1955 BBC Home Service]

* It’s back to Brian's early days of marriage to Jennifer and a blonde siren called Eva, who was their German au pair. [14/05/1978 BBC Radio 4]

Producer: Jayne Gibson

Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in September 2003.


SAT 12:00 The Gatsby Factor (b01s8qxh)
Recorded on both sides of the Atlantic - Sarah Churchwell explores the enduring popularity of The Great Gatsby as a novel and as a source of inspiration for film and stage adaptations.

Back in 2011, it became a 'major motion picture' for the fourth time in its life - in a version by Baz Luhrmann.

In Britain, academic and broadcaster Sue visits the Northern Ballet and Wilton's Music Hall in London - both with versions of Gatsby

While in New York, she hears about the locations for the novel - the extreme wealth of north shore Long Island where Gatsby has his mansion, and the contrasting 'valley of ashes' where the poorer characters live.

Featuring luminaries at the New York Times who consider why this novel, more than any other, has burned it way into American consciousness.

How was Scott Fitzgerald in this the slimmest of novels, and with Gatsby the vaguest of protagonists, able to crack 'the kernal of the American fable'?

Producer: Susan Marling

A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2013.


SAT 12:30 The Great Gatsby Letters (b01130n7)
F Scott Fitzgerald tells his editor Maxwell Perkins about his hopes and fears for his new novel - The Great Gatsby.

A selection of the lively correspondence that describes the story in making. as the author travelled the south Mediterranean at the time, with his wife Zelda.

Read by William Hope.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.


SAT 13:00 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (m0010144)
Episode 1

F Scott Fitzgerald's great American novel of the Jazz Age and the elusive dream of self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby.

Meet narrator Nick Carraway - an educated, but lost veteran of the Great War who enters the dazzling, seemingly rarefied high society of Long Island.

So begins the story of nihilistic abandon, moral questioning and aspiration.

The first of two-parts read by Kyle Soller.

Producer: Julian Wilkinson


SAT 15:55 Inheritance Tracks (b08fnp4g)
Lindsey Davis

Historical novelist Lindsey Davis, author of the 'Falco' series of crime stories, chooses the storm scene from Beethoven's 'Pastoral Symphony' and 'I'm Still Here' by Millicent Martin.

First broadcast during Saturday Live on BBC R4 in August 2013.


SAT 16:00 Miss Marple (b007jvht)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]


SAT 17:30 Great Lives (b08q5x7l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


SAT 18:00 The Prisoner (m0001stk)
Series 1

1. The Chimes of Big Ben - Part 1/2

A new prisoner, Nadia, arrives in The Village. She is strong-minded, independent, and refuses to become Number 8. Number 6 becomes convinced that she’s his ticket out of The Village...

The original seventeen episode TV series of The Prisoner created intrigue and controversy in equal measure when it first aired in the UK in 1967. In a taut psychological spy thriller the main character, dehumanised as ‘Number 6’, has committed no crime, save for having resigned from some unspecified branch of the British Secret Service. His prison is a heavily guarded coastal village.

Under constant surveillance, Number 6 can trust no-one and relentlessly works to establish who his captors are, a seemingly impossible task when the most senior figure he encounters – Number 2 – changes frequently.

Number 6 …. Mark Elstob
Number 2 …. Michael Cochrane
Nadia/Number 8 …. Kristina Buikaite
The Village Voice …. Helen Goldwyn
Danvers …. Barnaby Edwards
The Conductor …. Nicholas Briggs

Other parts played by members of the cast.

Music: Jamie Robertson

Script Editor: Jamie Anderson

Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs.

A Big Finish Production - based on the classic ITV series.


SAT 18:40 Spirit of the House by Fay Weldon (b08f16hz)
Christine fears for baby Emmy who’s looked after by the cool Jenny.

No-one is interested in her suspicions - even when they confirm Jenny's fictitious past.

Anna Massey reads Fay Weldon’s weird tale.

Producer: Duncan Minshull

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1988.


SAT 19:00 Radio Soaps (b007jpk5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


SAT 22:00 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b01d51th)
Series 1

With David O'Doherty

Comedian Alex Horne and his 5 piece band give us a latin lesson as they ponder the language that unifies us all.

Guest comedian David O Doherty takes us for a noisy ride in the 'quiet carriage'.

The Band:

Trumpet/banjo .... Joe Auckland
Saxophone/clarinet ....Mark Brown
Double Bass/Bass .... Will Collier
Drums and Percussion .... Ben Reynolds
Piano/keyboard .... Joe Stilgoe

Special guest: David O'Doherty

Producer: Julia McKenzie

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.


SAT 22:30 Elvenquest (b01r5lnp)
Series 4

The Bard

The Questers find themselves in possession of the magical Dagger of Razzak-Dar, which kills anyone it touches, and realise this might be a golden opportunity to use it on Lord Darkness. The problem is, Lord Darkness' castle is impenetrable.

Luckily, Lord Darkness is looking for a new bard to soothe his nerves, so decides to hold a talent contest so throws open the doors of his castle to welcome applicants.

If only one of the Questers had any musical or acting experience.

Enter Penthiselea, stage left...

Vidar ...... Darren Boyd
Dean/Kreech ...... Kevin Eldon
Amis/The Vet/Grunter ...... Dave Lamb
Sam ...... Stephen Mangan
Lord Darkness ...... Alistair McGowan
Penthiselea ...... Ingrid Oliver

Written by James Cary

ProduceR: Sam Michell.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2013.


SAT 23:00 The Curried Goat Show (b007k484)
Episode 2

'Cop Night' - and superstitions.

Sketch-bonanza written by and starring Dan Gaster, Will Ing and Ben Silburn.

With special guest: Nerys Hughes

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1998.


SAT 23:30 Daphne Sounds Expensive (b07m7vzj)
Series 1

Murder

The gang must solve a mysterious murder on the Yorkshire Moors, for the conclusion of series 1.

Join critically-acclaimed sketch trio, Daphne, as they pull out all the stops in a dazzling array of peculiar characters, whacky scenarios, dodgy remarks, curious observations, minor altercations and major peacemaking - served on a bed of catchy little numbers with a live nine-piece band.

Written by and starring: Jason Forbes, Phil Wang & George Fouracres

Featuring Sir Willard White & David Elms

Original music composed by Jeff Carpenter

Orchestrator: Simon Nathan

Musical Director: Freddie Tapner

Piano: Jeff Carpenter
Drums: Ben Hartley
Bass: Rob Grist
Percussion: Ben Burton
Trumpet: Michael Maddocks
Tenor Sax: Greg Sterland
Trombone: Elliot Pooley
Violin: Hannah Bell
Cello: Nick Squires

Production Coordinator: Hayley Sterling
Producer: Matt Stronge

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2016.