Meera Syal concludes her novel about an Asian girl coping with the mix of British and Punjabi cultures in the Black Country.
Actor and writer, Meera Syal chooses 'Dum Maro Dum' from the film 'Hare Rama Hare Krishna' and 'A Case of You' by Joni Mitchell.
In the 1980s, Roger Law of Spitting Image went to Stoke-on-Trent to get some novelty Margaret Thatcher teapots made. Now Roger returns to meet up with the craftsmen who helped him get a handle on Mrs T.
After a week in Stoke-on-Trent, Roger reads the tea leaves to see what the future holds for the city of six towns.
Beauty is caught between a warring couple, which is a good distraction from her disastrous crush on worship leader Wayne.
Comedy by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson.
Beauty Olonga works as a carer for the Featherdown Agency and sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to achieve their goals in the land of semi-skimmed milk.
See Britain through her eyes - its overheated houses, its disappointing church services and its over-fondness for cauliflower cheese.
Beauty ...... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Nancy Snow ...... Rosemary Leach
Miss Macleod ...... Anne Reid
Worship Leader Wayne ...... Javone Prince
Sally ...... Felicity Montagu
Karen ...... Nicola Sanderson
Mrs Gupte ...... Indira Joshi
Anil ...... Paul Sharma
Mrs Daly/Choir Member ...... Nicola Sanderson
Music by The West End Gospel Choir.
A clerical outing to a dwindling community parish causes chaos.
Starring Robertson Hare as the Archdeacon, William Mervyn as the Bishop, Jonathan Cecil as Bishop's Chaplain - the Reverend Mervyn Noote and John Barron as the Dean. With Doris Hare, George Woodbridge, Betty Baskcomb and Neil McDermott.
The ecclesiastical sitcom started life as a TV pilot in Comedy Playhouse, ahead of a run on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. Selected scripts were revised and re-recorded for radio.
Written and adapted by husband-and-wife team, Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps.
Producer: David Hatch.
Daughter Barbara Lyon is in love with singer Ronnie Harris, and father Ben is not happy.
Starring real-life American family: Ben Lyon and his wife Bebe Daniels and their children, Richard and Barbara.
With Doris Rogers as Florrie, Molly Weir as Aggie, Horace Percival as Mr Wimple, Hugh David, Richard Bellaers, Bob Block and Ronnie Harris as himself.
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 Ronnie Hanbury.
BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Robert Macfarlane visits some inspiring places, to meet the people and 'collect' the words that evoke the area.
He recalls happy days at Walnut Tree Farm, Suffolk, home to a famous swimmer of moats and ponds, lakes and rivers. Readers Tobias Menzies and the author.
Abridged for radio by Penny Leicester.
Singer and DJ Cerys Matthews chooses Snooks Eaglin's 'I'm a Country Boy' and Hozier's 'Take Me to Church'.
Brahms, Britten and Hallelujah. Theatre director Sir Trevor Nunn shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From January 2003.
Much-loved cricket commentator Brian Johnston performs his hilarious one-man show in front of a sell-out audience at London's Richmond Theatre.
Recorded on the 21st November 1993, he sparks gales of laughter with anecdotes about his early life at Oxford, in the Guards and his BBC career, including behind-the-scenes tales of 'In Town Tonight', 'Down Your Way' and 'Test Match Special'. Talking about fellow broadcasters like John Snagge, John Arlott and Fred Trueman, Brian reveals many of their gaffes and mistakes, plus his very own 'Leg Over' incident, when he and Jonathan Agnew had a fit of the giggles.
Sadly this was to be Brian's final recording. Ten days later he suffered a major heart attack and died aged 81 on 5th January 1994. The Prime Minister, John Major, said: 'Summers will never be the same.'
Brian Johnston had always wanted to go on the stage but after Eton and Oxford he was persuaded to join the family coffee business in the City. During the war, he served in the Grenadier Guards, then joined the BBC Outside Broadcasts Department in 1946. For the next 48 years he commentated on everything from the funeral of King George VI to the annual Boat Race. He became the first BBC Cricket Correspondent and also presented 733 editions of 'Down Your Way' for the BBC Home Service and Radio 4.
Brian's eldest son Barry Johnston introduces this programme and also produced the original concert recording.
Made for 4 Extra. A woman reads a news story about the deaths of three people and knows deep down that she is to blame. Read by Susan Jameson.
Stacey Aumonier's life as a stage performer, 'society entertainer', World War One private and draughtsman all contributed to his unrivalled reputation as a short-story writer in the 1920's.
Nobel Prize winner and Forsyte Saga author John Galsworthy described Stacy Aumonier as "one of the best short-story writers of all time." Other famous admirers included Alfred Hitchcock, who had several of his stories adapted for television, and James Hilton, author of Goodbye, Mr Chips, who once said of Aumonier: "I think his very best works ought to be included in any anthology of the best short stories ever written."
However since his untimely death at the age of 51, Aumonier has been rather forgotten. This is particularly ironic considering Galsworthy's belief - expressed in his foreword to a posthumously published collection of short stories - that Aumonier would, through his writing, "outlive nearly all the writers of his day."
Sadly, this did not happen. Yet the recently published collection of Aumonier's Extremely Entertaining Short Stories has certainly helped bring this overlooked talent to a new audience. Aumonier's stories are not only hilarious, full of wit and genuine warmth for his subjects, but also beautifully constructed insights into the various absurdities of human behaviour; be it in the drawing rooms of London high society or the trenches of World War I.
'The Brown Wallet' read by Mark Heap.
Mark Heap has appeared widely across television, radio and film; he recently appeared on TV as Thomas Brown in the returning BBC series 'Lark Rise to Candleford'. His acclaimed comedic performances include 'Spaced', 'Green Wing' and BBC series 'The Great Outdoors'
'The Brown Wallet' by Stacy Aumonier was abridged by Neville Teller and read by Mark Heap. It was recorded in Belfast and the Producer/Director was Laura Conway.
'A Source Of Irritation' read by Mark Addy.
Mark Addy has worked extensively in film, television and on stage. His many credits include 'The Full Monty', 'Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1983' and the upcoming HBO television series 'Game of Thrones'.
'A Source of Irritation' by Stacy Aumonier was abridged by Neville Teller and read by Mark Addy. It was recorded in Belfast and the Producer/Director was Michael Shannon.
Mathew Horne's many television credits include 'The Catherine Tate Show', 'Teachers' and '20 Things to Do before You're Thirty'. Mathew is best known to many for his portrayal of Gavin in the hit BBC series 'Gavin and Stacey'.
'The Room by Stacy Aumonier was abridged by Neville Teller and read by Mathew Horne. It was recorded in Belfast and the Producer/Director was Laura Conway.
A glamorous invitation to a grand party at Hampton - home of the fabulously wealthy Montdores and their beautiful daughter Polly - brings Fanny into the world of the 1920s aristocracy - and in and out of love when the temperature drops...
Published in 1949, Nancy Mitford's novel dramatised by Claire Luckham.
Stars Amanda Root as Fanny, Barbara Jefford as Lady Montdore, Teresa Gallagher as Polly, Jenny Howe as Veronica, Jon Strickland as Uncle Davey, Patience Tomlinson as Aunt Emily, Tessa Worsley as Aunt Sadie, Ioan Meredith as Uncle Matthew, Stephen Critchlow as Boy Dougdale, Sarah-Jane Holm as Jassy, Tilly Gaunt as Victoria, William Hope as Cedric and Tom Beard as Alfred.
In the aftermath of a nuclear war, a deadly radioactive cloud is moving slowly towards Australia. Stars Claudia Harrison.
Sitcom by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith about an ageing rock star and his search for fulfilment.
Trillionnaire rocker Dave Mabbutt and his personal assistant Dom come to blows over the one thing money can't buy.
Dave Mabbutt ...... Mark Williams
Dom ...... Russell Tovey.
Made for 4 Extra. This week's stories bashed, mashed and moulded into sketches, one-liners and vox-pops by the public. Trying to make sense of it all is our host, Nish Kumar.
The writer Jon Ronson asks are we more ourselves or less ourselves when we are alone? He confronts David Quantick, who Jon noticed avoiding him in the street one day.
Father Ted writer Graham Linehan reveals the moment he was ignored. We also talk to Yoshiro Nakamatsu, the world's most prolific inventor about the moment he invents - alone and under water. Finally we hear of the British man who was jailed in Japan and wasn't allowed to speak to anyone in his daily life for nearly 3 years.
MONDAY 06 APRIL 2015
MON 00:00 Nevil Shute - On the Beach (b0120ykk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Meera Syal - Anita and Me Omnibus (b00fyp9l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05ql31l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:10 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Whatever Happened to the Teapots? (b00nt9c7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Molly McGrann - The Ladies of the House (b05pr3rn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Afternoon Reading (b00zf4j3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Nancy Mitford - Love in a Cold Climate (b007jp62)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Beauty of Britain (b00n4zgv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Paul Temple (b007jrcx)
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair
3. Mr Carl Lathom
Despite an attempt on his life, debonair detective Paul Temple remains hot on the trail of the elusive 'Alex'.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Inspector Crane …. Haydn Jones
Wilfred Davis …. Basil Jones
Dr Kohima’s Maid …. Ann Murray
Carl Lathom …. Simon Lack
Mrs Trevelyan …. Barbara Mitchell
Ricky Henderson …. Frank Henderson
Dr Kohima …. Rolf Lefebvre
Webb/Shaw …. Ronald Herdman
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
MON 06:30 The House That Jazz Built (b00p315y)
Celebrating 50 years of Ronnie Scott's, Paul Merton looks back at the origins of Ronnie Scott's, Britain's most famous jazz venue, and examines its impact in the world of music.
Ever since his trips in the late-1940s to the jazz clubs of New York's 52nd Street, Ronnie Scott dreamt of opening his own London venue. His vision came true when the first Ronnie Scott's club opened on Gerrard Street, Soho, in 1959.
The initial plan was purely to provide a base for British jazz musicians to jam. However, the club quickly developed a reputation for featuring the best in modern jazz and soon provided a platform for the world's greatest jazz musicians. It became a Mecca for jazz music fans and a popular hang-out for politicians, comedians and actors.
In 1965 it relocated a short distance to Frith Street, where it remains one of the world's most celebrated jazz rooms, complete with its own studio and record label.
Recorded on location at Ronnie Scott's, the programme features interviews with leading jazz artists Salena Jones, Ian Shaw, Jay Phelps and James Pearson, and features music and archive from personalities associated with the venue during its 50-year history.
MON 07:00 Know Your Place (b019dvsb)
Sisterly Feelings
Cleaner Elsie is facing eviction. Can caretaker Ramsay save the day?
Ramsay Potts is the jobsworth caretaker at a crumbling Edwardian block of flats, pursued by the over-amorous cleaner Elsie.
Starring Roy Dotrlce as Ramsay and Patricia Hayes as Elspeth Spurgeon.
Sitcom written by Andrew Palmer and Nell Brennan.
With Avis Bunnage, Jon Glover and James Taylor.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in July 1983.
MON 07:30 Just a Minute (b05nt9bf)
Series 71
Episode 8
After an incredibly successful debut earlier in this series, David Tennant is back on the show, joining Julian Clary, Stephen Fry and Paul Merton.
But will he manage to speak for an entire minute this time..? Subjects include "To Be or Not to Be" and "My Dog's Got No Nose".
Nicholas Parsons rules over BBC Radio 4's classic panel game in which the contestants are challenged to speak on a given subject for a minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation.
MON 08:00 Dad's Army (b007k48l)
Series 1
Something Nasty in the Vault
An unexploded bomb lands Captain Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson in a jam.
The comic exploits of a Second World War Home Guard platoon in Walmington-on-Sea.
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 Godfrey …. Arnold Ridley
Private Frazer …. John Laurie
Private Pike …. Ian Lavender
Major Smith …. Jack Watson
Captain Rodrigues …. Alan Tilvern
Announcer …. John Snagge
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in April 1974.
MON 08:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kkdkm)
From 06/05/1984
From Moscow to the mudflats of Muk Muk via a grand stately home.
Michael Bentine stars in the ultimate one man show written and performed by the host.
Producer: Jamie Rix
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in May 1984.
MON 09:00 The Write Stuff (b01by9l4)
Series 15
Jackie Collins
Author of the Week this episode is million-selling author and steadfast purveyor of "bonkbusters", Jackie Collins.
Team captains Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh are joined by journalist, Jane Thynne, and creator of the DI Thorne novels, Mark Billingham as they attempt to answer questions based on her life and work.
For the finale of the show, the teams are asked to imagine Jackie Collins' version of a literary classic, such as Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre.
MON 09:30 The Brig Society (b037jbtz)
Series 1
Railway
Uh-oh - Marcus Brigstocke has been put in charge of a thing! Each week, Marcus finds he's volunteered to be in charge of a big old thing - a hospital, the railways, British Fashion, a prison - and each week he starts out by thinking "Well, it can't be that difficult, surely?" and ends up with "Oh - turns out it's utterly difficult and complicated. Who knew...?"
This week, Marcus has been given his own railway franchise to run. Please note, this programme may be running late; change at Tiverton Parkway for The Archers
Travelling with him in the Noisy Coach are Rufus Jones ("Hunderby", "Holy Flying Circus"), William Andrews ("Sorry I've Got No Head") and Margaret Cabourn-Smith ("Miranda")
The show is a Pozzitive production, and is produced by Marcus's long-standing accomplice, David Tyler who also produces Marcus appearances as the inimitable as Giles Wemmbley Hogg. David's other radio credits include Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, Cabin Pressure, Another Case Of Milton Jones, Kevin Eldon Will See You Now, Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, The Castle, he 3rd Degree, The 99p Challenge, My First Planet, Radio Active & Bigipedia. His TV credits include Paul Merton - The Series, Spitting Image, Absolutely, The Paul Calf Video Diary, Three Fights Two Weddings & A Funeral, Coogan's Run, The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon and exec producing Victoria Wood's Dinner Ladies.
Written by Marcus Brigstocke, Jeremy Salsby, Toby Davies, Nick Doody, Steve Punt & Tom Neenan
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 10:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00grysh)
Boy and Girl
While Mr Tulliver plans a fine education for Tom, Maggie learns of a disaster concerning rabbits left in her care.
George Eliot's most popular and widely read novel, first published in 1860.
Starring Michael Fitzgerald and Terry Molloy
Dramatised in five-parts by Michelene Wandor.
Philip ...... Michael Fitzgerald
Mr Tulliver ...... Terry Molloy
Young Maggie ...... Hilary Martin
Tom ...... Richard Pearce
Mrs Tulliver ...... Tina Gray
Mrs Glegg ...... Joyce Gibbs
Mr Glegg ...... Geoff Serle
Mr Dean ...... Michael Kilgarriff
Mrs Dean ...... Hedli Niklaus
Lucy ...... Melissa Katsoulis
Mrs Pullet ...... Heather Barrett
Mrs Moss ...... Sunny Ormonde
Bob ...... Paul Downing
Mr Pullet/Mr Moss/Mr Riley ...... Brian Miller
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Philip Martin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1991.
MON 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b01292vc)
Three for My Baby
Harold Lloyd Is Not the Man of My Dreams
These stories take their cue from the Johnny Mercer classic 'One For My Baby' - made famous by Fred Astaire, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and especially Frank Sinatra. Each of these specially-commissioned pieces tell of a 'brief episode' of the kind the song alludes to but doesn't describe. In other words, these are stories about doomed love: affairs that turned sour, were thwarted by circumstance or were never, ever, going to work.
Harold Lloyd Is Not The Man Of My Dreams by Morven Crumlish
She met Walter on the day she was supposed to fall in love. But Walter had no inkling of the conflicting emotions that could be aroused by silent comedians ...
Morven Crumlish's stories have been published and broadcast widely, and she also contributes to the Guardian. Her work has featured in three previous Sweet Talk productions for BBC Radio 4. 'Loulou and Barbie and the Seven Deadly Sins' appeared in Curly Tales 2 (2005); Dilemmas of Modern Martyrs - five of her stories - in 2008; and most recently 'A Good Impression' (Platform 3, 2010). Morven lives in Edinburgh.
Reader: Morven Christie
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet talk production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:15 Nick Warburton - A Soldier's Debt (b00b0hkx)
A missing recording of Macbeth creates a tie between three people in war-torn West Africa. Powerful drama starring Amanda Root.
MON 12:00 Dad's Army (b007k48l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kkdkm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Paul Temple (b007jrcx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
MON 13:30 The House That Jazz Built (b00p315y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt577)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 1
When Beatrice hears that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she leaves her job in New York and returns home to London on the first available flight. Having already lost her little brother, who died of Cystic Fibrosis as a child, Bee cannot bear the thought of losing her sister. When she tells the police that Tess had been getting nuisance calls, and that she was pregnant by a lecturer at her college who hadn't wanted her to have the baby, the police decide to do a reconstruction of Tess's last known movements.
This is Rosamund Lupton's first novel, a tense psychological thriller that explores the powerful bond between sisters that endures beyond death. The abridger is Lauris Morgan Griffiths and the reader is Hattie Morahan.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
MON 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00rql6f)
Humphry Repton
Laurence explores changing ideas about the countryside, starting with early 19th-century landscape designer Humphrey Repton.
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 Book of the Week (b00rzrsn)
Michael Chabon - Manhood for Amateurs
Episode 1
Jason Butler Harner reads from Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon's moving, warm and witty memoir about life as a husband, father and son.
In exploring what it means to be a man today, Chabon reflects on the personal and family history that haunts him even as it's being written every day. At the centre of a large and complex family, and with four young children, Chabon evokes memories of his childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce and of moments of painful adolescent comedy.
In this first episode an encounter in a supermarket leads him to remember his own father and considers the changing nature of fatherhood today. Why is it that, even as a father completely involved in the day-to-day lives of his children, so much less expected of him than of his wife?
Michael Chabon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels including The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union. He has been described by the Guardian as 'a spectacular writer' and by the New York Times as 'one of his generation's most eloquent voices'.
Jason Butler Harner has starred in films such as The Changeling with Angelina Jolie, as well as numerous TV series including Law and Order and John Adams. An accomplished stage actor, he has just appeared on the London stage in Serenading Louie at the Donmar Warehouse.
Producer: Jane Greenwood. This is a Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00grysh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
MON 16:00 The Write Stuff (b01by9l4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Happy Tuesdays (b00tdm88)
Antiquity
Antiquity is a lively audience sitcom about the staff of an antiques shop in the fictional town of Newby-On-Wye.
Sassy, cutting, clever, perceptive and in desperate need of a job, Faye Chambers is new to the team. She joins Rupert Bull, an old school bounder and cad who has somehow managed to survive into the 21st Century, and Toby Atkins, his useless but enthusiastic assistant manager.
Rupert won the shop in a poker competition many years ago, and sees it as little more than a way to make a fast buck. In this pilot episode, the immeasurably lovely local shop-owner Mr Richards has a set of priceless Faberge eggs that need restoring.
Rupert Bull -------------------------------------------- Tim McInnerny
Toby ----------------------------------------------------- William Andrews
Faye ----------------------------------------------------- Nadia Kamil
Mr Richards ------------------------------------------- Andrew Sachs
Chicken Seller --------------------------------------- David Reed
Amulet Seller ----------------------------------------- Christine Kavanagh
John-Luke Roberts and Gareth Gwynn have written for a wide variety of Radio 4 shows including The News Quiz, The Now Show, Listen Against, Laura Solon - Talking And Not Talking, Laurence And Gus - Hearts And Minds and many more. Gareth Gwynn was a finalist in the BBC New Talent contest "Show Me The Funny" in 2007 and won the Channel 4 Talent award for radio comedy. John-Luke Roberts wrote and performed the Radio 7 series Spats ("more entertaining than the whole of Live Earth... lovely, peculiar stuff" - The Guardian). He currently has a play in development with the Hampstead Theatre.
MON 17:00 A Whole New Ball Game (b00cmypt)
Series 1
The Final Supper
It's Frewitt Cup Final day. A day of destiny for the Patterson family and Father Benedict.
Will there be tears of joy at the end of it? Or a weeping and a gnashing of teeth?
A six-part black comedy by Martin Davies
Stars Desmond Barrit as Father Benedict, Brenda Blethyn as Mrs Patterson, Paul Parris as Robert Patterson, Charlotte Coleman as Barbara Patterson, Martino Lazzeri as Guy Entwhistle, Mark Straker as Andy, Claire Skinner as Janet and Gordon Reid as Mr Plant.
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1993.
MON 17:30 Know Your Place (b019dvsb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
MON 18:00 Doctor Who (b01hy35y)
A Thousand Tiny Wings
Episode 1
1950s Kenya: The Mau Mau uprising. A disparate group of women lie low in a remote house in the jungle, waiting for a resolution or for rescue. Among these British imperialists is Elizabeth Klein, a refugee from a timeline that no longer exists - thanks to the Doctor.
Reunited, the Doctor and Klein are forced to set aside their differences by terrifying circumstances. People are dying in this remote place. One by one. And there's something out there, in the jungle, accompanied only by the flutter of a thousand tiny wings...
Starring Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor, Tracey Childs as Elizabeth Klein, Ann Bell as Mrs Sylvia O'Donnell and Abigail McKern as Mrs Denise Waterford.
Written by Andy Lane.
Directed by Lisa Bowerman.
Made by Big Finish.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0075md9)
Pippa Greenwood and Phill Jupitus
Gardener Pippa Greenwood and comedian Phill Jupitus discuss their three favourite paperbacks with Sarah LeFanu. From 1999.
84 Charing Cross Road - by Helene Hanff
Published by Warner
The Liar - by Stephen Fry
Published by Arrow
The Joy Luck Club - by Amy Tan
Published by Minerva.
MON 19:00 Dad's Army (b007k48l)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
MON 19:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kkdkm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Paul Temple (b007jrcx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
MON 20:30 The House That Jazz Built (b00p315y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b01292vc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Nick Warburton - A Soldier's Debt (b00b0hkx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
MON 22:00 Just a Minute (b05nt9bf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
MON 22:30 The Brig Society (b037jbtz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
MON 23:00 The News Quiz Extra (b05ps82f)
Series 13
Episode 7
A satirical review of the week's news, chaired by Sandi Toksvig. Holly Walsh, Mark Steel and Romesh Ranganathan join regular panellist Jeremy Hardy.
MON 23:45 Elastic Planet (b0089jhr)
The Shape
Drugged electricity and artificial icebergs.
Oliver Postgate narrates a stream of bizarre coincidences in Ben Moor’s cosmic comedy of connections.
With Johnny Ball, Henry Cooper, Kerry Shale, Dan Strauss, Michael Troughton, Neil Mullarkey, Siriol Jenkins, Jamie Owen and Alan Dedicoat.
Producer: Jon Naismith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995
TUESDAY 07 APRIL 2015
TUE 00:00 Doctor Who (b01hy35y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0075md9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Paul Temple (b007jrcx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 The House That Jazz Built (b00p315y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt577)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00rql6f)
[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 Book of the Week (b00rzrsn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00grysh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 The Write Stuff (b01by9l4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Happy Tuesdays (b00tdm88)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 A Whole New Ball Game (b00cmypt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Know Your Place (b019dvsb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Paul Temple (b007w5cq)
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair
4. Mr 'Spider' Williams
The enigmatic 'Alex' claims another victim - but the plot thickens as the sleuth survives a car crash.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Inspector Crane …. Haydn Jones
Wilfred Davis …. Basil Jones
Carl Lathom …. Simon Lack
Ricky Henderson …. Frank Henderson
Dr Kohima …. Rolf Lefebvre
'Spider' Williams …. Alan Dudley
Frank Chester …. Ian Thompson
Phone Voice …. Leroy Lingwood
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
TUE 06:30 Garibaldi's Grand Scheme (b0088nd9)
Episode 1
Misha Glenny traces the career of Italian nationalist hero Giuseppe Garibaldi.
1/2. Born in Nice in 1807, Garibaldi became a merchant seaman, a guerrilla fighter in South America, a defeated hero of the Roman Republic and the man who liberated the south of Italy before giving up all of his powers to the north.
Misha's journey takes him to Sicily, Rome, Sardinia and Milan. Among the people he meets is Anita Garibaldi, a descendant of the General himself.
TUE 07:00 Nikolai Gogol - Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat (b00nm9sg)
Ivan Fyodorovich Shponka and His Aunt
Home from military service, Ivan finds his aunt's efforts to marry him off intolerable. With Griff Rhys Jones. From April 2002.
TUE 07:30 Ayres on the Air (b03t37cz)
Series 5
Beauty
Poet Pam Ayres presents poems, stories and sketches on the subject of beauty and, that newly-coined term, wellness.
Pam recalls meeting Phyllis Diller and finding out about 'chin brown' - and recalls buying a very unsuitable outfit having admired it on someone else
She also explains how you know when you've put on a little too much weight.
With:
Felicity Montagu
Geoffrey Whitehead as Pam's long-suffering husband 'Gordon'.
Poems include: Too Much of a Fag, Did I Turn Off My Tongs?, Had a Little Work Done, Pilates, Once I Was a Looker and So Was My Spouse, and the legendary I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth.
Sketch writers: James Bugg, Grainne McGuire, Claire Jones, Andy Wolton and Tom Neenan.
Producer: Claire Jones.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.
TUE 08:00 Round the Horne (b00j05wj)
Series 1
Episode 5
Saluting a puddings inventor - and Gruntfuttock's after a job at the BBC.
Starring Kenneth Horne. 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 1965.
TUE 08:30 The Ken Dodd Show (b05pwkxc)
From 02/05/1965
How not to fix a gas leak with Andy Mann - and The Great Train Robbery's 'unknown man' revealed.
Starring Ken Dodd.
With John Laurie, Patricia Hayes, Judith Chalmers and Wallas Eaton.
Music from Brian Poole and The Tremeloes.
Doddy's Diddy Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Lockyer.
Script by Ken Dodd and Eddie Braben.
Producer: Bill Worsley
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1965.
TUE 09:00 The News Quiz Extra (b05ps82f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Elastic Planet (b0089jhr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gs5x8)
Home and School
Maggie Tulliver has run away, but will a passion for litigation prove to be her father's undoing?
Starring Michael Fitzgerald and Terry Molloy.
George Eliot’s 19th century novel dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Philip ...... Michael Fitzgerald
Young Maggie ...... Hilary Martin
Tom ...... Richard Pearce
Mrs Tulliver ...... Tina Gray
Mr Tulliver ...... Terry Molloy
Mrs Glegg ...... Joyce Gibbs
Mr Glegg ...... Geoff Serle
Mr Dean ...... Michael Kilgarriff
Mrs Dean ...... Hedli Niklaus
Mrs Pullet ...... Heather Barrett
Mrs Moss ...... Sunny Ormonde
Bob ...... Paul Downing
Mr Pullet/Mr Moss/Mr Gore ...... Brian Miller
Young Philips ...... Sam Barriscale
Rev Stelling ...... Simon Carter
Woman ...... Susan Mansell
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Philip Martin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1991.
TUE 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b010mv4r)
Malachi Whitaker - The Crystal Fountain
Landlord of the Crystal Fountain
Martin Jarvis directs Imelda Staunton in Malachi Whitaker's moving story, written in the 1930s. Attractive red-headed teacher, Brenda Millgate, meets five jolly men on a train from King's Cross going north. What happens to her on the journey is a life-changing experience. They're very friendly and helpful. All northerners. Where have they been? Who are they? Eventually it's revealed that they're all landlords.
Brenda, unhappy in London away from her northern roots, is beguiled by their talk, their humour and their courtesy. Then one of them says something which changes her whole life.
Malachi Whitaker was a prolific writer in the 1920s and '30s, writing with great perception and care about ordinary folk, invariably setting the stories in her native Yorkshire. She became known as 'the Chekhov of the north' because of her sympathetic observation of the minutiae of human beings and their (often comic and surprising) behaviour.
Imelda Staunton biography: Oscar nominated and Bafta award-winning for her title role performance in 'Vera Drake'. She has had a long and distinguished career in the theatre, RNT and West End, performing A Man for all Seasons, Mack & Mabel, Side by Side, and Elektra. Also BBC TV Series: Cranford.
Producer/Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 11:15 Drama (b00wqbb8)
Mark Lawson - What Do You Know?
When Natasha Lonsdale, loving mother and respected businesswoman goes missing, neither her husband, her family or even her lover have any idea why. Natasha it appears had a secret life; a life which is now starting to unfold in both the newspapers and on the worldwide web with devastating results. Do any of us ever really know who any one else is - even after 20 years of marriage? Mark Lawson's, 'What do you Know?', suggests not.
Cast
DCI Parsons - Roger Allam
Natasha Lonsdale - Rebecca Saire
Barbara - Margot Leicester
Desmond - Andrew Sachs
Dan - John McAndrew
Nick - Richard Dormer
Peter - Nick Dunning
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.
TUE 12:00 Round the Horne (b00j05wj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Ken Dodd Show (b05pwkxc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Paul Temple (b007w5cq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Garibaldi's Grand Scheme (b0088nd9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt5pt)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 2
Beatrice Hemming has returned from the US because her younger sister Tess has gone missing from her home in London. The two have always been very close and the abruptness of her disappearance, without a word to her beloved sister, makes Beatrice believe something terrible must have happened to Tess. Could it have been linked to Tess's pregnancy by her college lecturer? Beatrice quickly becomes heavily involved, taking part in a police reconstruction and meeting one of Tess's new friends. Then she hears two momentous pieces of news about Tess.
The abridger is Lauris Morgan Griffiths and the reader is Hattie Morahan.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
TUE 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00rvzb9)
William Wordsworth and the Sublime Landscape
How Wordsworth expressed a sense of nature's powers in his poetry that has influenced thinking about the countryside ever since.
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 Book of the Week (b00rzrsq)
Michael Chabon - Manhood for Amateurs
Episode 2
Jason Butler Harner continues to read from Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon's moving, warm and witty memoir about life as a husband, father and son.
In exploring what it means to be a man today, Chabon reflects on the personal and family history that haunts him even as it's being written every day. At the centre of a large and complex family, and with four young children, Chabon evokes memories of his childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce and of moments of painful adolescent comedy.
Despite having very little in common, Michael Chabon formed a very close relationship with the father of his first wife. Today he reflects on the different world his father-in-law opened up for him, the joy he felt in being part of a much more stable family than his own, and the complex emotions both men felt when his marriage broke down.
Michael Chabon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels including The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union. He has been described by the Guardian as 'a spectacular writer' and by the New York Times as 'one of his generation's most eloquent voices'.
Jason Butler Harner has starred in films such as The Changeling with Angelina Jolie, as well as numerous TV series including Law and Order and John Adams. An accomplished stage actor, he has just appeared on the London stage in Serenading Louie at the Donmar Warehouse.
Producer: Jane Greenwood. This is a Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gs5x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Hidden Treasures (b05pwn3r)
Parham House
The times of Jacobean, Cromwellian and Elizabethan England as it was lived in the pre-industrial age.
Lars Tharp chairs the lighthearted Antiques Quiz from the Elizabethan splendour of Parham House in West Sussex, passed to one Robert Palmer by King Henry VIII in 1540.
With William Lorimer, Stella Beddoe, Clive Stewart-Lockhart and Henry Sandon.
Producers: Elizabeth Abrahams and Annie Bristow.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1998.
TUE 16:30 Joyce Grenfell - Hats Off (b00qs7mb)
Song of Gladness
Maureen Lipman reads more of Joyce Grenfell's poems. Introduced by Janie Hampton. Including The Bumble Bee and My Boy.
TUE 17:00 Stilgoe's Around (b007k36s)
From 23/04/1984
Vintage Stilgoe? A good year for comedy?
Richard Stilgoe muses on booze at the World Wine Fair, Bristol.
With Emma Thompson and The Cambridge Buskers
Producer: Mike Craig
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1984.
TUE 17:30 Nikolai Gogol - Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat (b00nm9sg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
TUE 18:00 Doctor Who (b01hz71f)
A Thousand Tiny Wings
Episode 2
1950s Kenya: Reunited by terrifying circumstances, the Time Lord is forced to enlist the help of Nazi scientist, Doctor Elizabeth Klein. The Doctor is also worried about Lucy.
Starring Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor, Tracey Childs as Elizabeth Klein, Ann Bell as Mrs Sylvia O'Donnell and Joannah Tincey as Lucy Watts.
Written by Andy Lane.
Directed by Lisa Bowerman.
Made by Big Finish.
TUE 18:30 Frankly Speaking (b05pwnvh)
Dr Jacob Bronowski
Dr Jacob Bronowski discusses his career as a mathematician, scientist, writer and broadcaster with Mary Stocks and John Maddox.
Recorded in January 1964, shortly before he left England to take up a new research post in California.
Launched in 1952 on the BBC Home Service, Frankly Speaking was a novel, ground breaking series. Unrehearsed and unscripted, the traditional interviewee/interviewer pairing was initially jettisoned for three interviewers firing direct questions - straight to the point.
Early critics described it as 'unkempt', 'an inquisition' and described the guest as prey being cornered, quarry being pursued - with calls to axe the unscripted interview. But the format won out and eventually won over its detractors.
Unknown or very inexperienced broadcasters were employed as interviewers, notably John Freeman, John Betjeman, Malcolm Muggeridge, Harold Hobson, Penelope Mortimer, Elizabeth Beresford and Katherine Whitehorn.
Only about 40 of the original 100 programmes survive in the BBC archive.
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in February 1964.
TUE 19:00 Round the Horne (b00j05wj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Ken Dodd Show (b05pwkxc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Paul Temple (b007w5cq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Garibaldi's Grand Scheme (b0088nd9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b010mv4r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Drama (b00wqbb8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Ayres on the Air (b03t37cz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Little Britain (b008gh5h)
Series 1
Episode 2
Back where it premiered, Matt Lucas and David Walliams' oddball TV smash hit without the cameras. From March 2001.
TUE 23:00 Strangers on Trains (b00dp2h1)
Episode 6
Series of character comedies by Nat Segnit and Stewart Wright, in which Nat talks to people sitting alone on trains.
Nat asks strange men about marriage and family.
TUE 23:15 Ivor Cutler - A Wet Handle (b00ctkty)
Episode 5
Grass seed, mud and digging ditches.
Songs, stories and poems from humourist Ivor Cutler, with Craig Murray-Orr, Alison O'Kill, Dylan Edwards and Beverley Crew.
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in June 1997.
TUE 23:30 Vent (b00tv7x3)
Series 2
I Want You
Ben's unconscious mind puts him in a compromising situation with a fellow patient at a familiar Torquay hotel of the 1970s.
He slides in and out of his coma, but every time he wakes, Mary is asleep.
Dark sitcom following the thoughts of a coma patient written by Nigel Smith.
Starring Neil Pearson as Ben Smith, Fiona Allen as Mary, Josie Lawrence as Mum and Leslie Ash as Blitzkrieg.
With Nicholas Hutchison, Jo Martin, Mark Perry, Tim Whitnall, Hils Barker and Clare Grogan.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.
WEDNESDAY 08 APRIL 2015
WED 00:00 Doctor Who (b01hz71f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Frankly Speaking (b05pwnvh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Paul Temple (b007w5cq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Garibaldi's Grand Scheme (b0088nd9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt5pt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00rvzb9)
[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 Book of the Week (b00rzrsq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gs5x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Hidden Treasures (b05pwn3r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Joyce Grenfell - Hats Off (b00qs7mb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Stilgoe's Around (b007k36s)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Nikolai Gogol - Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat (b00nm9sg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Paul Temple (b007jrk0)
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair
5. Mr Wilfred Davis
Lathom is blackmailed, and the sleuth stakes out the drop-off - where a surprising figure appears...
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Inspector Crane …. Haydn Jones
Wilfred Davis …. Basil Jones
Mrs Trevelyan …. Barbara Mitchell)
Dr Kohima …. Rolf Lefebvre
Donald Black …. Victor Lucas
Sergeant …. Anthony Viccars
Mrs Horne …. Betty Hardy
Bradley …. David Brierly
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
WED 06:30 Garibaldi's Grand Scheme (b00899f1)
Episode 2
Misha Glenny traces the career of Italian nationalist hero Giuseppe Garibaldi.
He explores the background to Garibaldi's most glorious exploit, the landing of a thousand men on Sicily and the heroic efforts that liberated all of southern Italy. On his travels, he meets former mayor of Palermo Leoluca Orlando, the man who stood up to the mafia.
WED 07:00 London Calling (b05ps2ns)
Little Willie Saves the Day
Back to the BBC's early wireless days of 1922.
The Daily Sketch says the BBC's programmes are boring. Will DG John Brown finally agree to broadcast some light entertainment, or will his peccadillo with Auntie Phyllis force him over the edge? Either way, Fred "Keep 'Em Laughing" Hicks has got an unusual new act for radio.
Written by Jimmy Perry, the man behind Dad's Army and Hi-De-Hi.
John Brown ...... Graham Crowden
Colonel Beecham ...... Jimmy Perry
Fred "Keep 'em Laughing" Hicks ...... Roy Hudd
Roger Eccles ...... Jeffrey Holland
Sergeant Lucas ...... Bill Pertwee
Roger Eccles ...... Jeffrey Holland
Miss Nightingale ...... Joanna Munro
Arthur ...... Toby Longworth
Admiral Carpenter ...... Peter Cellier
Jeffrey Stainton ...... Chris Luscombe
Bobby Bright ...... Leonard Kirby
Rex Murray ...... Logan Murray
Isabel Blair ...... Julie Gibbs
Isabel Blair ...... Julie Gibbs
Phyllis Godfrey ...... Amanda Bellamy
Music by Roy Moore.
Producer: Jo Clegg.
First broadcast nightly on BBC Radio 2 in September 1994.
WED 07:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05nvjm7)
Series 2
Episode 1
Adventuring comedian Tim FitzHigham recreates an 18th century bet.
Can he walk from London's Royal Academy to the Royal Exchange building while blindfolded in under one hour?
Written by and starring Tim FitzHigham.
Additional material by Jon Hunter and Paul Byrne.
Producer: Joe Nunnery.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b05px8vr)
Series 2
Tug-of-War
Troutbridge sails on escort duty, but Mr Phillips is assigned as the lone officer. Stars Leslie Phillips. From February 1960.
WED 08:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00thy17)
Series 4
Episode 10
British seafarers - and John Cleese in reverse.
More quick-fire sketches, terrible puns, humorous songs and parodies.
Stars Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, Eric Idle and Peter Hutchins.
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 and Bill Oddie.
Producer: Humphrey Barclay
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1966.
WED 09:00 Trivia Test Match (b007jsrv)
From 01/10/1991
Brian Johnston umpires as team captains Tim Rice and Stephen Fry battle guest panellists Willie Rushton and Rachel Heyhoe-Flint. From October 1991.
WED 09:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b007621y)
Series 2
Episode 1
Mel and Vicki battle to stay on-air despite constant interruptions from the Teenage Girls, the Goatee Beard Men's Group and various door-to-door salesmen
Special guest stars are Madonna and Roy Walker.
Variety meets sitcom meets sketch show - written and performed by Mel Hudson and Vicki Pepperdine.
With Dave Lamb, Martin Hyder and Jim North.
Additional material by Martin Hyder, Jim North, Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell.
Script editor: Graeme Garden
Music by Richard Webb.
Producers: Helen Williams and Claire Jones.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2001.
WED 10:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gsj50)
Home and Work
Mr Tulliver is offered an unlikely escape route from his troubles.
Meanwhile Philip is enamoured of Maggie...
Starring Sylvestra Le Touzel, Michael Fitzgerald and Terry Molloy.
George Eliot’s 19th century novel dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Maggie ...... Sylvestra Le Touzel
Philip ...... Michael Fitzgerald
Tom ...... Richard Pearce
Mr Tulliver ...... Terry Molloy
Mrs Tulliver ...... Tina Gray
Mrs Glegg ...... Joyce Gibbs
Mr Glegg ...... Geoff Serle
Mr Dean ...... Michael Kilgarriff
Dr Wakem ...... Roger Hume
Bob/Clerk ...... Paul Downing
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Philip Martin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1991.
WED 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b010m9t6)
Malachi Whitaker - The Crystal Fountain
Strange Music
Martin Jarvis directs Moira Quirk in Malachi Whitaker's moving short story of a young girl's visit to a dance hall on a rainy night with her friend. But why does Cora send Joyce though to the dance-floor alone. Why does she remain outside? Is she waiting for someone? Then the young man she's come to see is standing in front of her.
It's Danny Dunne, the band leader. He tells her she shouldn't have come. She tells him urgently that she wants to see him again. 'I want us to be alone again together,' she says. 'You know what I want.' He nervous, telling her he's got to be careful. But what is the real story between these two? Does Cora have a hidden agenda? And is there more to diffident Danny than there seems?
Malachi Whitaker was prolific in the 1920s and '30, writing with compassion and perception about ordinary folk, invariably setting the stories in her native Yorkshire. She became known as 'the Chekhov of the north' because of her sympathetic observation of the minutiae of human beings and their (often comic) behaviour.
Producer/Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:15 Jennie Buckman - Goodbye Moses (b0075gq8)
Moses Perkes, a Trinidadian ghost-turned-detective, embarks upon a quest to find his killers. Stars Rudolph Walker.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b05px8vr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
WED 12:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00thy17)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Paul Temple (b007jrk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Garibaldi's Grand Scheme (b00899f1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt66z)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 3
Beatrice has discovered that her little sister Tess and her unborn baby were involved in a gene trial because of their family history of Cystic Fibrosis. With Tess still missing, she gets the news that Tess had already had the baby before her disappearance, but that the child died. Bee is distraught to think that Tess hadn't told her, and her suspicions increase that there is something sinister behind Tess's disappearance. An unsettling encounter with Tess' friend Simon, who claims to have been in love with her, only heightens her anxiety, and then she hears the dreadful news that Tess has been found dead in the snow outside a toilet block in a London park. Now, Beatrice must identify her sister's body and embark on her own hunt for Tess's murderer.
The reader is Hattie Morahan and the book is abridged by Lauris Morgan Griffiths.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
WED 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00rzmkj)
The Sporting Estate
The stylist explores how field sports contributed to the idea of the country house as a seat of social and political power.
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 Book of the Week (b00rzrss)
Michael Chabon - Manhood for Amateurs
Episode 3
Jason Butler Harner continues to read from Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon's moving, warm and witty memoir about life as a husband, father and son.
In exploring what it means to be a man today, Chabon reflects on the personal and family history that haunts him even as it's being written every day. At the centre of a large and complex family, and with four young children, Chabon evokes memories of his childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce and of moments of painful adolescent comedy.
When Michael Chabon was growing up the 1970s, he and his bicycle had the freedom of the neighbourhood. He and his friends played in the woods and explored the streets and empty lots of his Maryland town. But his own children, like all their contemporaries, are driven everywhere by over-protective parents and are never seen out on the streets. Chabon reflects on why has this happened and wonders what effect it is having on children's imaginations.
Michael Chabon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels including The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union. He has been described by the Guardian as 'a spectacular writer' and by the New York Times as 'one of his generation's most eloquent voices'.
Jason Butler Harner has starred in films such as The Changeling with Angelina Jolie, as well as numerous TV series including Law and Order and John Adams. An accomplished stage actor, he has just appeared on the London stage in Serenading Louie at the Donmar Warehouse.
Producer: Jane Greenwood. This is a Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gsj50)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Trivia Test Match (b007jsrv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b007621y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 17:00 London Calling (b05ps2ns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05nvjm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Doctor Who (b01hzb12)
A Thousand Tiny Wings
Episode 3
Holed-up in a remote farmhouse in 1950s Kenya, the Time Lord and his would-be Nazi nemesis, Elizabeth Klein discover the true nature of their foe - but how should they tackle it?
Starring Sylvester McCoy as The Doctor, Tracey Childs as Elizabeth Klein, Ann Bell as Mrs Sylvia O'Donnell and Chuk Iwuji as Joshua Sembeke.
Written by Andy Lane.
Directed by Lisa Bowerman.
Made by Big Finish.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b0076mjy)
Smoking
Journalist Amanda Mitchison, novelist Maureen Freely and comic Lewis Schaffer join Matthew Parris to discuss smoking. From 2004.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b05px8vr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
WED 19:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00thy17)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Paul Temple (b007jrk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Garibaldi's Grand Scheme (b00899f1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b010m9t6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Jennie Buckman - Goodbye Moses (b0075gq8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05nvjm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Open Letters (b00y92mb)
Series 1
Utilities Companies
Through the medium of four open letters, the comedian Tom Wrigglesworth investigates the myriad examples of corporate lunacy and maddening jobsworths in modern Britain.
In this series his subjects range from traffic wardens to estate agents, with Tom recalling his own funny and ridiculous experiences as well as recounting the absurd encounters of others.
Tom finds himself bemused by the peculiar practices of utilities companies.
WED 23:00 The Maltby Collection (b00mjrxp)
Series 3
Episode 4
Interviewed 'in depth' by Cleaners' Weekly (incorporating The Scrubbers' Gazette), cleaner Eva Tattle manages to offend the entire museum in the process...
Geoffrey Palmer and Julian Rhind-Tutt star in series 3 of David Nobbs’s sitcom about a small museum of paintings and sculpture.
Rod Millet ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Walter Brindle ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Prunella Edgecumbe ...... Rachel Atkins
Susie Maltby ...... Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Julian Crumb-Loosely ...... Ben Willbond
Wilf Arbuthnot ...... Geoff McGivern
Eva Tattle ...... Juklia Deakin
Des Wainwright ...... Michael Smiley
Stelios Constantinopoulis ...... Chris Pavlo
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.
WED 23:30 The Iguanodon (b0075cpk)
Two Sausage Rolls Between the Seven of Us
A startling revelation for Sam after he survives a sinking and the pirates - again.
The passengers and crew of 'The Iganodon' are still adrift in the Woe Betides. Will they ever get back to the mainland?
Three-part comedy adventure by Paul Lucas.
Sam Varley ...... Paul Haigh
Mr Brook ...... Bernard Cribbins
Don O'Reilly ...... Dermot Crowley
Isabel ...... Rosemary Leach
The Captain ...... John Arthur
Laura ...... Sally Phillips
Harriet ...... Patsy Byrne
Other parts played by Fred Harris and Kevin Eldon.
Producer: Jo Clegg
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1997.
THURSDAY 09 APRIL 2015
THU 00:00 Doctor Who (b01hzb12)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b0076mjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Paul Temple (b007jrk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Garibaldi's Grand Scheme (b00899f1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt66z)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00rzmkj)
[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 Book of the Week (b00rzrss)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gsj50)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Trivia Test Match (b007jsrv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b007621y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 London Calling (b05ps2ns)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05nvjm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Paul Temple (b007w4dh)
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair
6. Mr Lee Brent
Mrs Trevelyan's confession doesn't ring true, so the sleuth seeks assistance from an American counterpart.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Inspector Crane …. Haydn Jones
Wilfred Davis …. Basil Jones
Mrs Trevelyan …. Barbara Mitchell
Taxi Driver …. Alan Dudley
Carl Lathom …. Simon Lack
Ricky …. Frank Henderson
Leo Brent …. Dennis Hawthorne
Flora …. Rosalind Shanks
Operator …. Ian Thompson
Jock …. Duncan McIntyre
Driver …. Nigel Clayton
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
THU 06:30 Metal at 40 (b008kjc4)
In 1968, Britain's first heavy metal bands were formed, transforming rock music around the world, forever. Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple each had their own unique sound, but shared an approach that embraced "heavy" guitar riffs, powerful lead vocals and thunderous percussion. Since then, heavy metal has flourished and diversified, spawning sub-genres such as grindcore, thrash and death metal, ever eager to embrace extreme subject matter. Horror film actor and writer Emily Booth tells the story of the loudest, darkest form of rock, with the help of many of metal's leading musicians.
Presented by Emily Booth
Produced by Bob Dickinson
THU 07:00 Potting On (b00l1pkk)
Curse of the Pharaoh
Gordon gets so addicted to a computer game that Pam has to get a dog for company.
Sitcom about a couple at odds over running a garden centre and growing older...
Written by Chris Thompson and Peter Reynolds.
Starring Pam Ayres as Pam and Geoffrey Whitehead as Gordon.
With Trevor Bannister, Karl Theobald and Alex Tregear.
Sitcom by Chris Thompson and Peter Reynolds.
Producer Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2008.
THU 07:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b03hnhjw)
Series 9
The Intern
Ed Reardon leads us through the ups and down of his week, complete with his trusty companion, Elgar, and the curmudgeonly attitude to life that he's mastered over years of failure.
This week, the council is taking a holistic approach to cost-cutting and decides that Ed's writing class needs to get paid for some of their work. When it transpires that the class feels that they are wasting their time and thinking of joining the 'Bonkers About Baking' class Ed decides to set them the task of writing 'Hedgerow Jottings' and 'Tales from the Towpath' in an attempt to earn money and become real writers. Meanwhile, when the new intern at the agency turns out to be more than he seems, Ed finds himself maintaining his non-tax paying status by becoming the oldest intern in town and sharing an office with Ping.
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis.
THU 08:00 Brothers in Law (b007jryl)
Series 1
Solicitor's Instructions
Barrister Roger Thursby takes on an elaborate drink-driving case.
Starring Richard Briers as Roger Thursby, Richard Waring as Henry Blagrove and Ann Davies as Sally Mannering.
With guest stars James Hayter as Tewkesbury and Geoffrey Sumner as the Magistrate.
Adapted for radio by Richard Waring from the BBC TV scripts.
Restored from BBC Transcription Service tapes - originally edited for sale abroad.
Published in 1955, Henry Cecil's comic legal novel Brothers in Law was adapted first for TV in 1962 by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. It provided the first regular starring role for Richard Briers, who later reprised his role of the idealistic young lawyer Roger Thursby for BBC Radio between 1970 and 1972.
Produced by David Hatch.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1970.
THU 08:30 Not in Front of the Children (b05ps3ht)
Series 1
Look for the Crystal Lining
Jennifer puts in a lot of subtle work to remind Henry of their Crystal wedding anniversary... but then realises a bit of frantic back pedalling is required...
Starring Wendy Craig and Francis Matthew.
The comedy mishaps of the Corner family - Jennifer and Henry and their three kids Trudi, Amanda and Robin.
Four series were first shown on BBC TV from 1967 to 1970. Richard Waring adapted his own scripts for this radio version, now fully restored from the original reel-to-reel tapes. Wendy Craig won a Best Actress BAFTA award for the TV version of Not in Front of the Children in 1969.
Jennifer …. Wendy Craig
Henry …. Francis Matthews
Trudi …. Roberta Tovey
Robin …. Hugo Keith-Johnston
Amanda …. Jill Riddick
Mary …. Charlotte Mitchell
Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Producer: Trafford Whitelock.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1969.
THU 09:00 It's Your Round (b01b8zw3)
Series 2
Episode 6
Angus Deayton presides over the show where the format is, there isn't one.
Instead, each of the four panellists has brought their own round for the other panellists to play. How will each round play out? And, more importantly, who will be beaten at their own game?
Featured rounds in this episode:
Alex Horne's "Font, Fighter or Fragrance" in which panellists are given a word and they must guess whether that word refers to a typographical font, the name of a Gladiator from ITV's show "Gladiators" or a "Lynx deodorant" fragrance.
Roisin Conaty's "Four Second Pitch" in which panellists have but four seconds to pitch Angus the elements of an idea for a blockbuster film and a new religion.
Paul Sinha's "World Record Recall" in which panellists have to fill in the missing details from the description of a real record from the Guinness Book of World Records.
And Rufus Hound's "Which Lady Done Say That Thing" in which panellists must guess which audience member said a certain phrase. As the title suggests.
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2012.
THU 09:30 The Sit Crom (b00m0zyl)
Thick Fog in All Areas
Tobias Thynne finds an unusual way to avoid the Devil's vegetables and all is confusion upon the heath.
Sue Limb's six-part comedy set during the English Civil War.
Sir John Firebasket ...... Joss Ackland
Lady Anne Firebasket ...... Denise Coffey
Tobias Thynne ...... Clive Merrison
Mercy, alias Melissa ...... Miriam Margoyles
Father Francis ...... Nickolas Grace
Slow Ned ...... Chris Emmett
Gazebo Fogg ...... Jack Klaff
Captain Arise Higgs ...... Alun Armstrong
Posthumous ...... Nicky Henson
Counter Tenor ...... Peter Hayward
Lettice ...... Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
THU 10:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gsr6p)
Loss and Love
Because of a long-standing feud between their families Maggie and Philip Wakem have been meeting in secret.
When Tom discovers he feels angry and betrayed.
Starring Sylvestra Le Touzel, Michael Fitzgerald and Terry Molloy.
George Eliot’s 19th century novel dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Maggie ...... Sylvestra Le Touzel
Philip ...... Michael Fitzgerald
Tom ...... Richard Pearce
Mr Tulliver ...... Terry Molloy
Mrs Tulliver ...... Tina Gray
Mr Dean ...... Michael Kilgarriff
Dr Wakem ...... Roger Hume
Bob ...... Paul Downing
Lucy Deab ...... Moir Leslie
Stephen Guest ...... Nicholas Gilbrook
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Philip Martin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1991.
THU 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b010mrz7)
Malachi Whitaker - The Crystal Fountain
Home to Waggonhouses
Martin Jarvis directs Rosalind Ayres in Malachi Whitaker's moving story, written in the 1930s. Sarah has been cycling for two hours. Where's she going? And why? She's determined to see the husband who deserted her. She has heard he is lying ill at Ebesham.
Three years ago he had come into some money and it had turned his head. Then the farm seemed too small for him. He went to look at bigger farms miles away. On one of his journeys he met an attractive widow. One day they left quietly together, and later Sarah heard that they had set up house at Ebesham. And now Sarah is riding there, where David is lying ill. But she arrives to find an unexpected situation. What she does next could probably only have come from Malachi Whitaker compassionate pen.
Malachi Whitaker was prolific in the 1920s and '30s, writing with great perception and care about ordinary folk, invariably setting the stories in her native Yorkshire. She became known as 'the Chekhov of the north' because of her sympathetic observation of the minutiae of human beings and their (often comic) behaviour.
Producer/Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 11:15 Glyn Hughes - Glorious John (b007jtm9)
A music-loving retired lecturer rekindles a childhood sweetheart in his imagination. Stars David Hargreaves and Charlie Ryan.
THU 12:00 Brothers in Law (b007jryl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Not in Front of the Children (b05ps3ht)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Paul Temple (b007w4dh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Metal at 40 (b008kjc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt671)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 4
Rosamund Lupton's first novel is a gripping psychological thriller about the bonds between two sisters. After Bee has identified the body of her sister, Tess, she returns to Tess' flat to find Emilio Codi, the lecturer who Tess said was the father of her stillborn child, trying to remove his paintings from the flat. When the post mortem results come through, the police are convinced that Tess must have taken her own life and that she had been suffering from post-natal psychosis. Bee refuses to accept the diagnosis, and remains adamant that someone must have killed her. Feeling isolated in her grief, and unable to persuade anyone to trust her instincts about Tess' death, Bee determines to find out the truth.
The reader is Hattie Morahan, the abridger Lauris Morgan Griffiths.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
THU 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s1pds)
Feargus O'Connor and the Chartist Land Plan
The legacy of O'Connor's 1842 plan for poor Britons to plough their own furrow for financial independence and social dignity.
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 Book of the Week (b00rzrsv)
Michael Chabon - Manhood for Amateurs
Episode 4
Jason Butler Harner continues to read from Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon's moving, warm and witty memoir about life as a husband, father and son.
In exploring what it means to be a man today, Chabon reflects on the personal and family history that haunts him even as it's being written every day. At the centre of a large and complex family, and with four young children, Chabon evokes memories of his childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce and of moments of painful adolescent comedy.
In today's episode, the need to put up a new towel rail leads Michael Chabon to wonder why men can never admit to being out of their depth. "This is an essential element of being a man: to flood everyone around you in a great radiant arc of bullshit, one whose source and object of greatest intensity is yourself. To behave as if you have everything firmly under control even when you have just sailed your boat over the falls."
Michael Chabon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels including The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union. He has been described by the Guardian as 'a spectacular writer' and by the New York Times as 'one of his generation's most eloquent voices'.
Jason Butler Harner has starred in films such as The Changeling with Angelina Jolie, as well as numerous TV series including Law and Order and John Adams. An accomplished stage actor, he has just appeared on the London stage in Serenading Louie at the Donmar Warehouse.
Producer: Jane Greenwood. This is a Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gsr6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
THU 16:00 It's Your Round (b01b8zw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 16:30 The Sit Crom (b00m0zyl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Anything Legal (b0084hrs)
Episode 3
Charles and George kick off their secret new business offering anything legal – but at what cost?
Starring Donald Hewlett and Michael Knowles.
‘A Tale of Two City Gents’ by Wally K Daly.
Charles …. Donald Hewlett
George …. Michael Knowles
Publican …. Douglas Blackwell
Theme music by Jim Parker.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1984.
THU 17:30 Potting On (b00l1pkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
THU 18:00 Schalken the Painter by Sheridan Le Fanu (b007jvp4)
1. The Visitor
In 17th Century Leyden, young Flemish painter Godfrey Schalken's love for his master's daughter, Rose, receives a setback when a mysterious visitor comes calling one night by the name of Vanderhausen...
An unabridged reading of Sheridan Le Fanu's supernatural tale in two episodes.
Read by Ian McDiarmid.
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) is regarded by many critics as the greatest master of the English ghost story. A product of the decaying Anglo-Irish culture of the early and mid-19th Century, he sums up in his work better than any of his contemporaries the fears and dreads that may haunt the sensitive individual.
Producer: Lawrence Jackson
Made for BBC 7 by BBC Northern Ireland.
First broadcast in June 2005.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b0076j0c)
Series 4
Ian Dury
Comedian Linda Smith nominates musician, actor and artist Ian Dury as her choice of a life well-lived. Humphrey Carpenter is in the chair, while writer, broadcaster and Dury's former manager Charlie Gillett fills in the biographical details.
THU 19:00 Brothers in Law (b007jryl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Not in Front of the Children (b05ps3ht)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Paul Temple (b007w4dh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Metal at 40 (b008kjc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b010mrz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Glyn Hughes - Glorious John (b007jtm9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Ed Reardon's Week (b03hnhjw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
THU 22:30 My Teenage Diary (b01k290n)
Series 4
Robert Webb
Another brave celebrity revisits their formative years by opening up their intimate teenage diaries, and reading them out in public for the very first time.
Rufus Hound is joined by actor Robert Webb whose hilarious and sometimes abrasive teenage diary documents the highs and lows of being seventeen - and the perils of kissing a girl at a party when you don't really fancy her.
Producer: Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b017551m)
Series 1
July 15th to 19th
Damien and his partner, Anthony, setting off for the warm embrace of the Italian countryside so that Damien can do some writing for a new book, and their builder Mr Mullaney can have space to properly fit the granite worktops that Damien's been dreaming of "from what seems like the beginning of the Jurassic era".
But there's trouble in paradise when Damien receives a call to tell him their Umbrian villa has collapsed and they will have to go somewhere else. Luckily, Damien's agent, Ian, is quick to the rescue...
More entries from the kitchen diary of cookery writer, Damien Trench - "no matter how grizzly" as he puts it "or, indeed, how gristly".
Written by and starring Miles Jupp.
The programme also features Damien's easy-to-follow recipes for:
- a perfect pasta puttanesca
- comforting Cornish Pasties
and
- something for the more experimental, "pilchards al limone".
Damien Trench ...... Miles Jupp
Anthony ...... Justin Edwards
Mr Mullaney ...... Brendan Dempsey
Ian Frobisher ...... Philip Fox
BA Lady/Helpful Student ...... Alex Tregear
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
THU 23:30 Hut 33 (b00vy861)
Series 2
Pigs n Spivs
It's 1941 and supplies are running short in Bletchley Park, centre of the Allies' codebreaking effort.
Archie reluctantly uses the services of Mrs Best's shady contact to get some extra food and Gordon is seduced by the promise of a Superman comic.
James Cary's sitcom set at Bletchley Park - the top-secret home of the Second World War codebreakers.
Charles …. Robert Bathurst
Archie …. Tom Goodman-Hill
Minka …. Olivia Colman
Mrs Best …. Lill Roughley
Gordon …. Fergus Craig
Joshua … Alex McQueen
Spiv ...... Stephen Critchlow
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2008.
FRIDAY 10 APRIL 2015
FRI 00:00 Schalken the Painter by Sheridan Le Fanu (b007jvp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b0076j0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Paul Temple (b007w4dh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Metal at 40 (b008kjc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt671)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s1pds)
[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 Book of the Week (b00rzrsv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gsr6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 It's Your Round (b01b8zw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 The Sit Crom (b00m0zyl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Anything Legal (b0084hrs)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Potting On (b00l1pkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Paul Temple (b007w2hz)
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair
7. The Girl in Brown
The debonair detective returns to Canterbury in search of 'Alex', when Leo Brent looks to be in danger.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Inspector Crane …. Haydn Jones
Wilfred Davis …. Basil Jones
Ricky …. Frank Henderson
Dr Kohima …. Roy Lefebvre
Leo Brent …. Dennis Hawthorne
Taxi Driver …. Alan Dudley
Walter …. David Brierly
Thomas …. Leroy Lingwood
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
FRI 06:30 Going to Pieces in the Box (b00p61zg)
Janet Ellis, host of the 1980s Children's BBC series Jigsaw, presents a celebration of the history and the art of the jigsaw puzzle.
More art - typically sentimental, traditional art - has made its way into more homes via the jigsaw puzzle than virtually any other medium. While it has since become the purveyor of comforting landscapes to the masses, it started life as an educational tool championed by the likes of philosopher John Locke. In 1760, London mapmaker John Spilsbury mounted one of his maps on hardboard and cut it into pieces to help children learn geography.
Janet tells the story of how, since then, it has become such a core feature of childhoods across the world. She hears how jigsaws hit their first major peak during the Great Depression, when 10 million a week were bought by families looking for cheap pastimes, and how they were used by immigration officers on Ellis Island to determine who should be allowed into the land of the free. Janet also explores how popular culture has flirted with the jigsaw, in novels and films as diverse as Mansfield Park, Citizen Kane and, most powerfully, Georges Perec's novel, Life: A User's Manual. She hears from academics and enthusiasts including Margaret Drabble, who explain the jigsaw's great allure.
Janet hears how jigsaws continue to be incredibly popular, having evolved into 3-D puzzles and of course made their way onto the internet, where no young children's games site is without one.
FRI 07:00 Rent (b00752fm)
Series 3
Episode 3
It's havoc in the Reynolds household as the preparations for the baby's naming ceremony reach a climax.
Series 3 of Lucy Flannery's award-winning sitcom about Maria and Richard Reynolds and their lodgers.
Stars Barbara Flynn as Maria, Patrick Barlow as Richard, Linda Polan as Amy, Vivienne Rochester as Ruby, Dave Lamb as Paul, Sally Grace as Mother and Chris Emmett as Father.
Producer: Liz Anstee.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1997.
FRI 07:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b01n6sjq)
Series 2
Episode 5
John Finnemore, the writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-upper in things like Miranda and Family Guy, records a second series of his hit sketch show.
The first series was described as "sparklingly clever" by The Daily Telegraph and "one of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time" by The Guardian. It featured Winnie the Pooh coming to terms with his abusive relationship with honey, how The Archers sounds to people who don't listen to the Archers and how Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde decided whose turn it was to do the washing up.
This week sees some moth-based lunacy, and a heartwarming tale of the days before health and safety. All of which is, as you'll see, "awesome".
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is written by and stars John Finnemore. It also features Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan. It is produced by Ed Morrish.
FRI 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t5xc7)
Series 3
The Greyhound Track
Sid wants the lad evicted, so he reopens a public footpath through his country mansion.
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.
FRI 08:30 Play It Cool (b05ps3hw)
Episode 2
Days out and big business inspire a plethora of comedy characters galore in fast-moving sketches.
Starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Sims and Hugh Paddick.
Films like Private's Progress and I'm All Right Jack helped make Ian Carmichael a major star of both British stage and screen. Play it Cool was his first radio comedy series promising a variety of potty and pompous situations.
Written by Eric Merriman - best known for his work on numerous series of Beyond Our Ken.
With music from Rosemary Squires, The Mike Sammes Singers and The Ken Thorne Orchestra
Produced by John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1964.
FRI 09:00 All the Way from Memphis (b00j26h0)
Series 1
Episode 2
James Walton's pop music history quiz with Andrew Collins, Tracey MacLeod, Carol Decker and David Hepworth. From December 2004.
FRI 09:30 Richard Barton: General Practitioner! (b00757wt)
Episode 3
Richard and Sally take a well-earned break in Bratov, 'the jewel behind the iron curtain', but it soon becomes apparent that they should've dissuaded Dick from joining them.
Before they can reach the hotel, he's raced off in a taxi chase, convinced someone's taken his bag. They have. But as Dick's bag contains three drip-dry shirts and a week's supply of tea-bags, and theirs contains something quite different, one can assume it's an accident. Things are looking rather dangerous...
Richard Barton ...... Robert Bathurst
Old Dick Barton ...... Moray Watson
Jock ...... Iain Cuthbertson
Young Dick Barton ...... Julian Dutton
Sally Phillips ...... Matilda Ziegler
With Carolyn Jones, Roger Blake and Tim Whitnall.
In 1946, Edward J Mason wrote the first episode of Dick Barton - Special Agent. The BBC Light Programme's hugely popular serial followed the adventures of the ex-Commando and his mates Jock Anderson and Snowy White. Despite facing a series of never-ending cliff-hangers at the hands of dastardly villains, our hero always triumphed. "With one bound Dick was free!".
Half a century later, Edward J's son Lol created Richard Barton, son of Dick, in an affectionate homage to one of BBC Radio's most enduring heroes.
Producer: Jo Clegg
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
FRI 10:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gszmm)
Loving and Losing
Despite the continuing feud between their families Philip has a plan that he believes will restore happiness to Maggie Tulliver.
Starring Michael Fitzgerald and Sylvestra Le Touzel.
The conclusion of George Eliot’s 19th century novel.
Maggie ...... Sylvestra Le Touzel
Tom ...... Richard Pearce
Philip ...... Michael Fitzgerald
Stephen ...... Nicholas Gilbrook
Mrs Tulliver ...... Tina Gray
Dr Wakem ...... Roger Hume
Bob ...... Paul Downing
Lucy Dean ...... Moir Leslie
Dr Cairn ...... Simon Carter
Pianist: Harold Rich
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Philip Martin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1991.
FRI 11:00 Stella Duffy - From the River's Mouth (b012ry00)
A cautionary tale of how the malign and sultry River Thames exacts a watery revenge. Short story read by Samantha Bond.
FRI 11:15 Drama (b00v72fk)
Swings and Roundabouts
By Dana Fainaru and James O'Neill. Comedy drama about first-time parenthood. Abi has been taken hostage - by her baby. But neither her husband nor the other shell-shocked parents in the playground seem to have noticed.
Abi ..... Lucy Liemann
David ..... Mark Bonnar
Niamh/Lucy ..... Tessa Nicholson
Eleanor ..... Tina Gray
Julie ..... Christine Kavanagh
Sam ..... Leah Brotherhead
Jordan ..... Lloyd Thomas
Peter ..... Tony Bell
Directed by Abigail le Fleming.
FRI 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t5xc7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Play It Cool (b05ps3hw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Paul Temple (b007w2hz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Going to Pieces in the Box (b00p61zg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt673)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 5
Bee's struggle to persuade the police that her sister Tess didn't commit suicide continues as she goes to meet the psychiatrist who saw Tess shortly before her death. Bee discovers that he changed his diagnosis of post-natal depression to one of psychosis, but only after he learnt of her death. But Bee's efforts to convince him that Tess wouldn't have taken her own life meet with a professional stonewall. Bee also learns, from Tess' phone bill, that Tess had tried to call her in the States fifteen times in the twenty-four hours before she died, and her guilt over Tess' death increases with the knowledge that she had failed Tess in her time of need. Spurred on by this, she visits Tess's fellow student Simon in his flat, and there makes a sinister discovery.
The abridger is Lauris Morgan Griffiths, the reader is Hattie Morahan.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
FRI 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s54j7)
Octavia Hill
How Octavia set up the National Trust, based on her belief in the importance of nature for the working class.
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 Book of the Week (b00rzrsx)
Michael Chabon - Manhood for Amateurs
Episode 5
Jason Butler Harner continues to read from Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon's moving, warm and witty memoir about life as a husband, father and son.
In exploring what it means to be a man today, Chabon reflects on the personal and family history that haunts him even as it's being written every day. At the centre of a large and complex family, and with four young children, Chabon evokes memories of his childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce and of moments of painful adolescent comedy.
In the final episode, Michael Chabon is forced to confront his teenage daughter's emerging sexuality, and his own feelings of protectiveness and helplessness towards her.
"For a while everything about my daughter's entrance into puberty, her emerging new self and the concomitant interest of boys in her, discomfited me. And the part of it that made me squirm the most was how depressingly trite my discomfort was. Was that the kind of father I had turned out to be? Standing on the front porch with my shotgun under one arm, cartoonishly interrogating my daughter's cartoonish dates?"
Michael Chabon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels including The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union. He has been described by the Guardian as 'a spectacular writer' and by the New York Times as 'one of his generation's most eloquent voices'.
Jason Butler Harner has starred in films such as The Changeling with Angelina Jolie, as well as numerous TV series including Law and Order and John Adams. An accomplished stage actor, he has just appeared on the London stage in Serenading Louie at the Donmar Warehouse.
Producer: Jane Greenwood. This is a Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gszmm)
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FRI 16:00 All the Way from Memphis (b00j26h0)
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FRI 16:30 Richard Barton: General Practitioner! (b00757wt)
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FRI 17:00 Rent (b00752fm)
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FRI 17:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b01n6sjq)
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FRI 18:00 Schalken the Painter by Sheridan Le Fanu (b007sw35)
2. The Deal
The ghoulish Vanderhausen seals his deal with Rose's uncle who is unaware that his pupil Godfrey Schalken is in love with her...
Ian McDiarmid concludes the unabridged reading of Sheridan Le Fanu's supernatural tale.
Producer: Lawrence Jackson
Made for BBC 7 by BBC Northern Ireland.
First broadcast in June 2005.
FRI 18:30 My Life in Five Songs (b00p6v33)
Series 1
Edwyn Collins
The Corries signing Sally Free and Easy and David Bowie's Conversation Piece are two of the songs Edwyn Collins has chosen as being really important to him. He talks to Phil Cunningham about the significance of these songs and the three others he's picked in My Life in 5 Songs.
FRI 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t5xc7)
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FRI 19:30 Play It Cool (b05ps3hw)
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FRI 20:00 Paul Temple (b007w2hz)
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FRI 20:30 Going to Pieces in the Box (b00p61zg)
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FRI 21:00 Stella Duffy - From the River's Mouth (b012ry00)
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FRI 21:15 Drama (b00v72fk)
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FRI 22:00 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b01n6sjq)
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07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Sarah Millican's Support Group (b0113086)
Series 2
3. 'I'm a cherry childless and proud of it'
"I'm a cherry childless and proud of it"
"I'd like to be romantic but I have a voice that makes children cry"
Sarah Millican is a life counsellor and modern-day agony aunt tackling the nation's problems head on, dishing out real advice for real people.
Assisted by her very own team of experts of the heart - man of the people local cabbie Terry, and self qualified counsellor Marion,
Sarah tackles the nation's problems head on and has a solution for everything.
Sarah ...... Sarah Millican
Marion ...... Ruth Bratt
Terry ...... Simon Daye
Jenny ...... Bridget Christie
Keith ...... Joe Wilkinson
Written by Sarah Millican.
Producer: Lianne Coop
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011
FRI 23:00 The Consultants (b007k37k)
Series 3
Episode 3
Chesney brings his daughter to work. Or does he? Cerebral sketch show with Neil Edmond and Justin Edwards. From December 2004.
FRI 23:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b01dht5l)
Series 1
About Proud Mums
Nathan's TV appearance make his family re-think. Finally, they're proud of him and are full of encouragement which does wonders for Nathan and his ego.
This is the story of young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who becomes the first in his family to graduate from University - only to opt for a career in comedy - much to his family's annoyance who want him to get a 'proper job' using his architecture degree.
Each episode shows the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his family as he pursues his career against their wishes.
A mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.
Written by: Nathan Caton. Additional material by: Ola and Maff Brown.
Nathan ..... Nathan Caton
Mum ..... Adjoa Andoh
Dad ..... Curtis Walker
Grandma ..... Mona Hammond
Script Editor: James Kettle
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.
FRI 23:45 Tina C (b01bm0q4)
Tina C's Global Depression Tour
China
Country legend Tina C challenges the Secretary for the US Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the former CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Where they have failed, she can come up with a solution to the Global Recession.
So Tina has set off on a six country tour to prove it - and her next stop is China.
Tina C ...... Christopher Green
With:
Will Hutton
Victoria Inez Hard
James Lailey
Musical arrangements by Duncan Walsh Atkins and Christopher Green
Director: Jeremy Mortimer.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2012.