SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2016

SAT 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jqz9)
The Red Planet, Episode 20
Captain Jet Morgan and his crew attempt to outrun the Martian Spheres in their bid to escape. 1954 sci-fi classic set in the future of 1971. Stars Andrew Faulds.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b00tmlh4)
Series 10, Send in the Clowns
Stephen Sondheim's song, Send In the Clowns, from the musical 'A Little Night Music' was written late in rehearsals for the actress Glynis Johns, playing the part of Desiree. A song of regret and anger, the part has famously been played by Judi Dench, and the song became an independent hit, sung by Judy Collins, Shirley Bassey and Barbra Striesand. Hannah Waddingham played the youngest ever Desiree in Trevor Nunn's production, and used her memories of an unhappy relationship to inspire her performance.
SAT 01:00 Richard Marsh - An Illustration of Modern Science (b007jq1h)
Convinced she'll soon be murdered, stage artiste Beauffie Buckingham wants to make her will. Thriller read by Joanna Riding.
SAT 01:30 The Foghorn: A Celebration (b00yqp5z)
Peter Curran celebrates the humble foghorn's powerful role in music, literature and film.
The foghorn was invented in 1855 by Robert Foulis, a Scotsman living in Canada who heard the low notes (but not the high notes) of his daughter's piano playing whist walking far from the family's fog-shrouded coastal cottage, thus inspiring the first steam powered fog horn. But beyond the sea, it's 'whale-like' sound has inspired artists, writers and musicians to use the foghorn both as symbol and instrument.
Peter Curran hears from foghorn composer of 'Maritime Rites' Alvin Curran, Jason Gorski, aka The Fogmaster, who used to conduct guerrilla foghorn concerts in the Bay Area of California, and takes a tour of Portland Bill lighthouse in Dorset, with keeper Larry Walker, taking the opportunity to set off an almighty Victorian foghorn. He also joins James Bond film music and future 2012 Olympic theme music composer David Arnold, who tries to digitally recreate the foghorn's cry, and Dr Harry Witchel, who analyses Peter's yearn for the sound as a child.
Producer: Sara Jane Hall.
SAT 02:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b06bhw9s)
BBC National Short Story Award 2015, Briar Road
Maxine Peake reads Briar Road, the 2015 award-winning story by Jonathan Buckley.
When their daughter goes missing, a desperate family enlist the help of a clairvoyant to shed light on her fate. Yet their encounter with this visitor puts them all under immense strain. No ordinary psychic, the unnamed narrator surveys the scene with a chillingly forensic eye for detail and an extensive back-catalogue of success stories - her 'bona fides' - to refer to. But, as she realises through a series of intense visions, this will not be a successful intervention.
John Wilson, presenting a special live edition of Radio 4's Front Row programme from the award ceremony, described the story as "a brilliantly subtle story that all hinges on the slow reveal, the accumulation of detail".
Written by Jonathan Buckley
Read by Maxine Peake
Produced by Simon Richardson.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b007vyz9)
Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street, Episode 5
Diana Griffiths's dramatisation of Winifred Holtby's tale of a woman's journey into self-fulfilment.
5/10. Muriel and her mother visit Scarborough during the War but the Germans are shelling the town. A visit from Godfrey Neale changes the course of Muriel's life.
Muriel ...... Clare Goose
Connie ...... Joanne Froggatt
Godfrey ...... James D'Arcy
Mrs Hammond ...... Brigit Forsyth
Delia Vaughan ...... Deborah McAndrew
Directed by Pauline Harris.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b017551c)
Matthew Sweet - The West End Front, Episode 5
Kenneth Cranham reads the final part of Matthew Sweet's history of the scandalous life above and below stairs in London's grand hotels during the Second World War. While bombs rain down on London's East End, life in the capital's glittering hotels carries on as usual, with the Ritz, the Dorchester, the Savoy and Claridge's transforming themselves into mini Casablancas.
Today: cabinet ministers and spies, anti-Semites and zionists, dowagers and showgirls - the weird and wonderful clientele of the Dorchester carries on regardless.
.
Reader: Kenneth Cranham
Producer: Justine Willett
Abridger: Viv Beeby.
SAT 03:00 Fyodor Dostoevsky - The Idiot (b00srvkn)
Episode 4
Nastasya and Aglaya meet to talk over their feelings for Prince Myshkin, as he begins to fear for his life. Stars Paul Rhys.
SAT 04:00 Heresy (b017mv2b)
Series 8, Episode 1
The first in a new series of the programme that dares to commit heresy. Victoria Coren and her guests have fun exposing the wrong-headedness of received wisdom and challenging knee-jerk public reaction to events.
Her guests in the first programme are comedian Mark Steel, novelist Jessica Berens and actor and national treasure, Christopher Biggins.
Christopher Biggins gets on his high pantomime horse, arguing against the assertion that Panto is an outdated art form, Mark Steel comes out in support of public displays of drunkenness and former Tatler journalist Jessica Berens explains why people are totally misguided if they think it would be nice to live in a house like Downton Abbey.
Producer: Brian King
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:30 Simon's Bug (b04g3nrc)
Episode 1
Suspecting his wife is having an affair, Simon bugs their telephone and learns much more. Stars Hwyel Bennett. From March 1989.
SAT 05:00 Dave Sheasby - One Flat Summer (b00752tb)
The Nottingham Meeting
After a big win, is Ken getting out of his depth with his new gambling friends? Stars Gerard McDermott. From September 1997.
SAT 05:30 Al Murray (b01ncl1g)
Al Murray's Judgment Day
Al Murray is joined by comedian, novelist and former Loose Woman, Jenny Éclair, to discuss her past misdemeanours.
As no-one is without sin, Jenny must confess all or fear damnation at the hands of the live studio audience. If the audience think her sins can be forgiven they will save her, but if they judge her to have gone too far, her soul will be sent into the fiery pit of Hell for eternity.
Al takes each of the Seven Deadly Sins - Pride, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Sloth, Wrath and Envy - and asks Jenny to reveal her worst instances of each, culminating in some pretty shocking revelations!
SAT 06:00 Saturday Drama (b015yf3n)
Classic Chandler, The Little Sister
A small, neat girl walks into Philip Marlowe's office. Orfamay Quest is looking for her brother Orrin. She gives Marlowe twenty dollars and lots of moral disapproval. Marlowe takes the case and finds himself drawn into the glamorous world of the Hollywood film studios. Toby Stephens plays Philip Marlowe in a landmark series bringing all Raymond Chandler's Marlowe novels to Radio 4.
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt
Directed by Claire Grove
This series brings all the Philip Marlowe novels to Radio 4's Saturday Play. The Big Sleep 1939, Farewell My Lovely 1940, The High Window 1942, The Lady in the Lake 1943, The Little Sister 1949 and The Long Goodbye 1953, and two lesser known novels, Playback 1958 and Poodle Springs, unfinished at the time of his death in 1959.
Toby Stephens is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002) and Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre (2006). In autumn 2010 Toby starred as a detective in Vexed, a three-part comedic television series for BBC Two. He also made his debut at the National Theatre as George Danton in Danton's Death.
SAT 07:30 Moral Notes (b0076090)
Demon Drink and Drugs
Simon Brett explores Victorian morality through the popular songs directed at the use of alcohol and drugs. From January 2001.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b0075qwl)
Alistair Cooke's Century
4 Extra Debut. Nick Clarke joins Alistair Cooke to listen to some gems from his career as one of Britain's best loved broadcasters. From December 1999.
SAT 09:00 I Did It My Way (b00cfmpg)
Galton and Simpson
The creators of Hancock's Half Hour and Steptoe and Son - comedy writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson chat to Peter Reed about their radio life and times. Featuring:
* Hancock's Half Hour: The Threatening Letters:
The lad is full of the joys of Spring - until the postman arrives. Stars Tony Hancock, Sid James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams. From May 1958
* The Galton & Simpson Playhouse: Clicquot et Fils:
Monsieur Clicquot plans to improve his ailing funeral parlour. Stars Richard Griffiths and Josie Lawrence. From December 1998.
* Frankie Howerd and June Whitfield 'Up Je T'aime' - duet recorded in1971
* Steptoe and Son at Buckingham Palace - 1963 recording from The Royal Variety Performance.
* Steptoe and Son: Porn Yesterday:
Harold's aghast when he sees 'What the Butler Saw'. Adapted from TV with Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett. From March 1976.
* Hancock: The Radio Ham: the Pye re-recording:
The originally BBC TV-only episode performed before an audience for an album release in 1961. Amateur radio enthusiast Tony Hancock receives a mayday call from a yachtsman in distress.
Produced by Mik Wilkojc.
SAT 12:00 Bangers and Mash (b0075gh6)
Episode 1
Nun Martina leaves her convent and lands in a catering crisis of epic proportions. Stars Catherine Harvey. From January 1999.
SAT 12:30 In the End (b007n9gk)
Episode 1
Maverick hack George Cragge fears a serial killer is on the loose. Comedy thriller with Michael Williams. From November 1999.
SAT 13:00 Just a Girl - Omnibus (b07w0lt0)
The continued adventures of Amy, a transgender pre-teen, about to start senior school. Stars Izobel Ward and Kevin Harvey.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07w0mjc)
Peter Greenaway
Film director Peter Greenaway selects Henry Hall's 'An Elephant Never Forgets' and Vivaldi's 'Bassoon Concerto in A Minor'.
SAT 14:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b00751vc)
Gillian Slovo
The South African-born playwright and novelist shares thoughts about her parents' dedication to their cause. From August 1997.
Psychiatrist Dr Anthony Clare's in depth interviews with prominent people from different walks of life.
Born in Dublin, author Anthony held a doctorate in medicine, a master's degree in philosophy and was a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. After becoming a regular on BBC Radio 4's Stop the Week in the 1980s, he became Britain's best-known psychiatrist and earned his own vehicle, In the Psychiatrist's Chair. Starting in 1982, this series ran until 2001 and also transferred to TV. Series highlights include conversations with Bob Monkhouse, Cecil Parkinson and Gerry Adams.
Anthony Clare died suddenly in Paris aged 64 in 2007.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0075qwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Saturday Drama (b015yf3n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Moral Notes (b0076090)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Yevgeny Zamyatin - We (b0076l5v)
Episode 2
OneState engineer D-503 gets increasingly infatuated by the beautiful 1-330, though he harbours suspicions. The key to his fate seems to lie in the hands of the mysterious S - but who is S? Will his fascination lead him to love or revolution?
The first great dystopian novel of the 20th century, written in secret in early Soviet Russia by Yevgeni Zamyatin.
Stars Anton Lesser as D-503, Joanna Riding as I-330, Don Warrington as R-13, Brigit Forsyth as U, Julia Rounthwaite as 0-90 and Russell Dixon as the Benefactor.
Adapted in two-parts by Sean O'Brien.
Director: Jim Poyser
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
SAT 19:00 I Did It My Way (b00cfmpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 The Lawrence Sweeney Mix (b00klk4r)
Series 1, Episode 3
Living by their wits, Josie Lawrence and Jim Sweeney's improvised sketches, driven by the audience. From March 2007.
SAT 22:30 The Secret World (b03k2bt9)
Series 4, Episode 2
Sean Connery, Griff Rhys Jones, Pam Ayres, Kirsty Young, Peter Sallis, all have one thing in common. They enjoy nothing more than coming together every week or so for a bit of bare knuckle fighting. Well, they do in the strange alternative universe that is The Secret World. The impressions show with a difference.
With Jon Culshaw, Julian Dutton, Lewis MacLeod, Jess Robinson, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07w6csd)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.
SAT 23:00 The Mary Whitehouse Experience (b045g6s9)
Series 4, Episode 9
Christmas panto season already? Oh yes it is, say Hugh Dennis, Steve Punt, Robert Newman and David Baddiel. From December 1990.
SAT 23:30 A Bit of Fry and Laurie (b048vwqx)
Episode 2
A crazy shopping spree and eating Greek in Stevenage. Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's best bits from BBC TV. From August 1984.

SUNDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2016

SUN 00:00 Yevgeny Zamyatin - We (b0076l5v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Just a Girl - Omnibus (b07w0lt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07w0mjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b00751vc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b0075qwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Saturday Drama (b015yf3n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Moral Notes (b0076090)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street Omnibus (b00fvpdw)
Episode 1
Winifred Holtby's tale of a woman's journey to independence, set in wartime Yorkshire. Stars Claire Goose and Brigit Forsyth.
SUN 07:15 The Romantic Road: On the Trail of the German Philosophers (b00lxd78)
The Early Romantic
Writer Stephen Plaice takes a journey through the German cities where the great philosophers of the 19th century lived and worked, exploring the impact that these thinkers have had on each stage of his life. Along the way, he reflects on the Germany which has been locked away behind the two World Wars, and examines our contemporary prejudices towards Germans.
Stephen revisits Marburg, where he was a student 35 years ago. He reconsiders the subjective philosophy of Fichte and of the nature philosopher Schelling, whose work he studied in the 1970s, with particular reference to Schelling's idea of the World Soul.
These thinkers provided the philosophic basis for German Romanticism. Stephen relates how, as a young man, seeing the world through the lens of Romanticism, he was in for some pretty sharp collisions with reality.
The 'magic theatre' behind the mysterious black door in the building in which he rents a room as a student turns out to be Marburg's secret gay scene. Revisiting the building nearly four decades later, he discovers it has become another cultural ghetto: a smoker's pub.
Stephen also recalls a house party in the forests near Marburg back in the early 1970s, where he had a strange encounter with a young woman who seemed to embody Schelling's idea of the World Soul. Like a character in a fairytale, she appears to have sprung from the forest itself. However, the inherent romanticism in their meeting is later tempered by the appearance of the woman's husband.
SUN 07:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b01n6rrz)
Series 5, Effervescent Members
More shop based shenanigans and over the counter philosophy, courtesy of Ramesh Mahju and his trusty sidekick Dave.
In this episode, the new sweetie craze of "Fizzy Limbs" has Fags, Mags and Bags rocking every lunchtime with rampaging kids. Local headmistress Mrs Temple (Julie T Wallace) confronts Ramesh about stocking them as she feels it's affecting the children's behaviour. But are such matter Ramesh's concern?
Join the staff of Fags, Mags and Bags in their tireless quest to bring nice-price custard creams and cans of coke with Arabic writing on them to an ungrateful nation. Ramesh Mahju has built it up over the course of 30 years, and is a firmly entrenched feature of the local area. Ramesh loves the art of the "shop".
Produced by Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 The Arthur Haynes Show (b0177539)
Arthur in his famed role as a tramp - and a school summons from the headmaster.
The comic characters of popular comedian Arthur Haynes in Johnny Speight's sketches.
After originally working with Charlie Chester on a number of series for BBC Radio, Arthur Haynes (1914-1966) became a big star on ITV in the late 1950s/early 1960s
With Nicholas Parsons and Dorothy Dampier.
Music by the Temperance Seven.
Producer: Richard Dingley
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1962.
SUN 08:30 The Jason Explanation of... (b007jq4j)
Politics
David Jason and company elect to poke fun at the Houses of Parliament.
With Sheila Steafel, Royce Mills and Chris Emmett.
Following in the footsteps of Lord Clark, Dr Bronowski and Professor Galbraith, David Jason unravels the mysteries of the universe and the meaning of life.
Scripted by Colin Bostock Smith, Andy Hamilton, Barry Pilton and Alastair Beaton.
Music by John Owen Edwards
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in September 1977.
SUN 09:00 John le Carré - The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories From My Life: Omnibus (b07w0wxm)
John le Carré recollects his writing life. Denis Healey's bold claim and lunch with Alec Guinness to discuss George Smiley.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07w0x28)
Sian Lloyd
TV presenter and meteorologist Sian Lloyd chooses 'Can Walter' by Meic Stevens and 'Something Inside So Strong' by Labi Siffre.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07w0x7h)
Women Writers, Fay Weldon
4 Extra Debut. On her second visit as castaway, the writer selects her tracks, book and luxury item. With Kirsty Young. From May 2010.
SUN 11:00 TED Radio Hour (b07w0xjc)
Series 3, The Case for Optimism
Guy Raz asks when the future is uncertain, how should we respond? Are we wired to be positive...to be optimistic?
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.
SUN 11:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0120790)
Series 2, Fireflies
19/20. The chemistry that allows the combustion of natural chemicals to generate light without heat is wonderfully harnessed by the firefly. Fireflies are insects with several species in the group; each with its own species specific code and signalling regime. In this life story David Attenborough tells of his personal experience filming the antics of fireflies and the insight this gave him into this secret world of messaging.
Written and presented by David Attenborough
Produced by Julian Hector.
SUN 12:00 The Arthur Haynes Show (b0177539)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Jason Explanation of... (b007jq4j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street Omnibus (b00fvpdw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 The Romantic Road: On the Trail of the German Philosophers (b00lxd78)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Harry Parker - Anatomy of a Soldier: Omnibus (b07w0z2c)
Captain Tom Barnes must lead his troops in Afghanistan, the scene of war, terror and stories of survival. Read by Paul Bazely.
SUN 15:45 Penelope Fitzgerald - The Prescription (b07w120p)
4 Extra Debut. A young doctor learns that there is more to the medical profession than knowledge. Read by John Moffatt.
SUN 16:00 Saturday Drama (b02x8xwn)
Fay Weldon - The Weather Girl
A new comedy drama by Fay Weldon, specially commissioned for BBC Radio 4.
Dr Pania Abbott, a clinical psychologist, is assigned to assess a young woman on remand in prison. Abigail turns out to be a startlingly untypical prisoner as she begins to reveal the background to her appalling crimes and her own troubled life.
Abigail is played by Amy Nuttall (Ethel Parks in Downton Abbey) and previously a long term star of Emmerdale.
Rachel Pickup plays Dr Abbott. She is a regular on TV and her theatre roles this year include Olivia in Twelfth Night and Persephone in Airswimming.
Jane Bertish, who plays prisoner officer Christa, was Jocasta in Oedipus at Edinburgh's Lyceum Theatre, Mother in Tales from the Vienna Woods at the National Theatre, and Carole Findlater in Mike Newell's film Dance With a Stranger.
Writing in The Guardian, Clare Clark said"Experimental in form, and vernacular in style, (Fay Weldon's) work is distinguished not only by her virtuosity as a writer but by her fearlessness, her refusal to accept orthodoxies" - and this new drama by Weldon is typically transgressive, challenging the vague certainties of our moral framework and depicting a world of selfishness, vaulting ambition and petty vengeance.
Director: Roland Jaquarello
Produced by John Taylor
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b07w12fd)
South of My Days
BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with South of My Days.
Greta Scacchi presents a portrait of the Australian poet Judith Wright, who died in 2000, after breaking new ground in celebrating the arresting beauty of the Australian landscape - and lamenting the troubled relationship between Australia's colonial settlers and its indigenous people.
Wright's daughter, friends and colleagues discuss her life and work. Kerry Fox is the reader.
Producers: Charlotte Austin and Diana Bentley.
A Whistledown Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2009.
SUN 17:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b01n6rrz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 HG Wells (b007jwgt)
A Dream of Armageddon, Episode 1
A stranger on a train reveals his secret. When he dreams, he enters a future reality of an advanced civilization descending into senseless war. Read in two-parts by Robert Bathurst.
Written in 1901, this is a disturbing vision of the future - as Wells comes uncannily close to predicting the horrors of the Second World War.
English author and political philosopher, HG Wells is recognised as one of sci-fi's founding-fathers. Within his own lifetime, he became a literary celebrity, earning praise from contemporaries such as Henry James and Joseph Conrad. His influence was wide reaching; George Orwell in particular - "The minds of all of us, and therefore the physical world, would be perceptibly different if Wells never existed." In recent years his work has enjoyed a renaissance, including Steven Spielberg's 2005 film of War Of The Worlds.
Wells died on August 13th, 1946, aged 79.
Producer: Gemma Jenkins
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2006.
SUN 18:30 Berlie Doherty - The Drowned Village (b008kl8w)
Kate returns to the village where she spent her childhood. There's a reservoir nearby which was formed by flooding a neighbouring village. She believes that on the anniversary of the death of that village, its church bell tolls and voices can be heard calling...
Stars Kate Lee as Kate, Christian Rodska as Mark, Jane Hazelgrove as Young Jane, Craig Masterson as Young Mark, David Fleeshman as Uncle Mike and Ann Rye as Miss Peters.
Script by Berlie Doherty.
Producer: Kay Patrick
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1982.
SUN 19:00 TED Radio Hour (b07w0xjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0120790)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:50 today]
SUN 20:00 John le Carré - The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories From My Life: Omnibus (b07w0wxm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07w0x28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07w0x7h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Fags, Mags and Bags (b01n6rrz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation (b01qwhx0)
Series 9, How to Exercise Power
Stand by your radios! Jeremy Hardy returns to the airwaves with a broadcast of national comic import as he asks the question "Does power come from the barrel of a gun or from a jar of onion marmalade?"
Helping him fail to find the answers will be actor and Jeremy regular Gordon Kennedy ("Absolutely", "Sherlock") and special guest Katy Brand
Welcome to "Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation", a series of debates in which Jeremy Hardy engages in a free and frank exchange of his entrenched views. Passionate, polemical, erudite and unable to sing, Jeremy returns with a new series of his show, famous for lines like -
"Kids should never be fashion slaves, especially in the Far East. My 12-year old daughter asked me for a new pair of trainers. I told her she was old enough to go out and make her own" and, "Islam is no weirder than Christianity. Both are just Judaism with the jokes taken out."
Few can forget where they were twenty years ago when they first heard "Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation". The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. The Light Entertainment department was besieged, questions were asked in the House and Jeremy Hardy himself became known as the man responsible for the funniest show on radio since Money Box Live with Paul Lewis.
Since that fateful first series, Jeremy went on to win Sony Awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
The show is a Pozzitive production, and is produced by Jeremy's long-standing accomplice, David Tyler.
Written by Jeremy Hardy
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07w6d7r)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.
SUN 23:00 Newsjack (b07v07cc)
Series 15, Episode 2
This week's stories lovingly bashed, mashed and moulded into sketches, one-liners and vox-pops written by the public. Trying to make sense of it all is our host, Nish Kumar.
This week Nish is joined by Celeste Dring, George Fouracres and Ellie White.
In this weeks episode, we listen into auditions for the new host of Great British Bake Off, explore David Cameron's legacy and take a bus trip.
Newsjack was produced by Tamara Shilham and Adnan Ahmed. The production coordinator was Beverly Tagg.
Script Editors: Grainne Maguire and Sarah Campbell
It was a BBC Radio Comedy Production.
SUN 23:30 The Skivers (b007jwrv)
Series 1, Episode 4
Fathers' Mastermind, and a new-style triathlon. Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh welcome guest Rodney Bewes. From April 1994.

MONDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2016

MON 00:00 HG Wells (b007jwgt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Berlie Doherty - The Drowned Village (b008kl8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street Omnibus (b00fvpdw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 The Romantic Road: On the Trail of the German Philosophers (b00lxd78)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Harry Parker - Anatomy of a Soldier: Omnibus (b07w0z2c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Penelope Fitzgerald - The Prescription (b07w120p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Saturday Drama (b02x8xwn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b07w12fd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Fags, Mags and Bags (b01n6rrz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Falco (b007wpf1)
The Silver Pigs, Episode 1
Rome, AD 70: Roman sleuth Marcus Didius Falco chances upon an illegal trade in precious metal (the silver pigs) after mounting a rescue from a kidnap gang.
Anton Lesser brings the popular detective to life in Lindsey Davis's witty and enthralling adventures set in the days of the Roman Empire. Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
With Felicity Jones as Sosia, Ben Crowe as Petronius, Robert Lister as Decimus, Richard Derrington as Publius and Frances Jeater as Falco's Mother.
Directed in Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
MON 06:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04n20tw)
1975-1980
The Frequency of Laughter is a six-part history of radio comedy, covering 1975-2005, presented by journalist and radio fan Grace Dent. In each episode she brings together two figures who were making significant radio comedy at the same time, and asks them about their experiences. This is a conversational history that focuses on the people who were there and the atmosphere within the BBC and the wider comedy world that allowed them to make great radio - or not.
This first edition features Graeme Garden and John Lloyd looking at radio comedy in the late 1970s. Graeme by this stage was an established figure, with his breakthrough show I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again morphing into I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue, in addition to his work presenting Week Ending and as a panellist on shows such as A Rhyme In Time. John however had only joined the BBC Radio Comedy department in 1973, but he managed to make over 500 shows, co-creating The News Quiz, The Burkiss Way and Quote Unquote as he did so, before leaving for television. Grace asks them about the atmosphere within the Radio Comedy department and within the BBC, and how ideas actually go on air; they share their memories of former Heads of Light Entertainment Radio (as it was then called) Con Mahoney and David Hatch; and they talk about the lack of women in comedy at that time.
The Frequency of Laughter is presented by Grace Dent, a journalist for The Independent, and is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
Presenter ... Grace Dent
Guest ... Graeme Garden
Guest ... John Lloyd
Interviewee ... Simon Brett
Interviewee ... Yvonne Littlewood
Producers ... Ed Morrish & Alexandra Smith.
MON 07:00 Gloomsbury (b01nbt9b)
Series 1, Trying to Avoid Unpleasantness
The gardener Vera Sackcloth Vest and her husband Henry are obliged to offer hospitality to the writer of very naughty books Mr D H Lollipop and his new flame, Venus Traduces - who formerly harboured a Sapphic passion for Vera.
The guests are accommodated in the dovecote as Henry will not have Lollipop in the house, in case the cook Mrs Gosling is exposed to impertinences. Vera is hoping that Lollipop will be able to improve her prose style, but instead he seems to take pleasure in trashing her garden and redesigning her study. Lollipop is intent on awakening Venus's blood consciousness but, alas, any educational impulse involving Venus is doomed to failure.
As Venus's passion for Lollipop begins to flag, she finds consolation with the gardener Gosling on the potting bench. Despite Henry's precautions, Mrs Gosling is exposed to Lollipop's impertinences, and the outcome is unexpected and inconvenient.
Cast:
Vera Sackcloth-Vest ..... Miriam Margolyes
Gosling, her gardener ..... Nigel Planer
Henry Mickleton ..... Jonathan Coy
Venus Traduces ..... Morwenna Banks
Mrs Gosling, Housekeeper ..... Alison Steadman
D H Lollipop ..... John Sessions
Produced by Jamie Rix
A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 07:30 Just a Minute (b07tzwhf)
Series 76, Episode 6
Nicholas Parsons and guests return for the 76th series of the panel show where participants must try to speak for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition. No repetition? That's no small order after nearly 50 years.
This week Nicholas is joined by Paul Merton, Julian Clary, Tony Hawks and Zoe Lyons and the team tackle topics such as Brighton Rock, Enid Blyton and Julian tells us about The French Connection.
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.
Produced by Matt Stronge.
It was a BBC Studios production.
MON 08:00 The Burkiss Way (b00jq7qq)
Series 3, Discover Gravity
Fred Harris, Jo Kendall, Nigel Rees and Chris Emmett refuse to mention the unsavoury Eric Pode of Croydon.
Cult sketch comedy series which originally ran from 1976 to 1980.
Scripted by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall.
Producer: John Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1977.
MON 08:30 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b007jq2v)
From 25/05/1974
Kenneth Williams and Ted Ray take on Wuthering Heights. Songs and sketches with Miriam Margolyes. From May 1974.
MON 09:00 Foul Play (b00zljzj)
Series 4, Death and Two Copies, Please
Crime writers Tim Heald and Margaret Yorke puzzle over a case of robbery gone wrong. Chaired by Simon Brett. From October 1998.
MON 09:30 In the End (b007jw4d)
Episode 2
Hack George Cragge hunts a serial killer, while the BBC tackles spin. Comedy thriller with Michael Williams. From November 1999.
MON 10:00 Classic Serial (b04bmtpk)
Honoré de Balzac - Eugenie Grandet, Episode 1
Rose Tremain's gripping dramatisation, starring Ian McKellen, of Balzac's tragic novel revolving around Grandet, an ageing vine farmer, and his innocent young daughter Eugenie.
Monsieur Grandet, who has amassed a considerable fortune, is a miser who feigns poverty and runs his household along miserably frugal lines. All changes with the arrival of Eugenie's handsome 22-year-old cousin, Charles Grandet, from Paris. Charles has brought with him a shocking letter from his father, Guillaume, who has committed suicide. He has placed his debts and the care of his son into his brother's hands. It is a fatal decision, with ruinous consequences for the whole family.
Eugenie Grandet is considered by many to be the strongest novel in Balzac's magnificent series, The Human Comedy. It pits a young naive girl against the father she has worshipped and this defiance sets us on course for the playing out of a heart-rending tragedy. Like King Lear, Grandet is a man who deeply loves the daughter who has defied him. He has no other child, no hope, no future but her. But in Balzac's 'human comedy' the tragic and the comic exist side by side and this fruitful conjunction blossoms in Rose Tremain's enthralling adaptation.
Cello and Treble Recorder: Alison Baldwin
Original Music: Lucinda Mason Brown
Produced and directed by Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b007jtk9)
A Knife for Cutting Mangoes
A tale of relationships and the insecurity that one woman feels when she replaces another. Read by Louise Jameson.
MON 11:15 Ian Curteis - Love (b00762k5)
Episode 1
4 Extra Debut. May is newly widowed, and then her friend Ferdy declares that he has always adored her. With Barbara Leigh-Hunt and Bernard Hepton.
MON 12:00 The Burkiss Way (b00jq7qq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b007jq2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Falco (b007wpf1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04n20tw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007k2cz)
Episode 1
English prejudices clash with Italian passions when a young widow is sent abroad to avoid a man's clutches. With Sian Thomas.
MON 14:15 A History of the Brain (b016w808)
A Hole in the Head
Dr Geoff Bunn's 10 part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe. From Neolithic times to the present day, Geoff journeys through the many ideas of what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions. While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In Episode 1: A Hole in the Head, the focus is on trepanation, the practice of drilling holes in the skull believing that such operations might correct physiological or spiritual problems. Trepanation reveals much about the understanding of the brain from Neolithic to recent times. The Ancient Egyptians, however, rarely trepanned, even though their Secret Book of the Physician, one of the oldest medical texts in the world, shows that they recognised how damage to the brain can paralyze limbs on opposite sides of the body. Believing the heart to be the core organ, they discarded the brain altogether at death, since it had no part to play in the afterlife.
The series is written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University. Actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes provide the voices of those who have written about the brain across the ages. Actor Hattie Morahan gives the Anatomy Lesson establishing the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the cranium and the meninges. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton. The producer is Marya Burgess.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wdsp)
Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street, Episode 6
Diana Griffiths' dramatisation of Winifred Holtby's tale of a woman's journey into self-fulfilment.
6/10. Muriel's sister Connie returns home unexpectedly with startling news.
Muriel ...... Clare Goose
Connie ...... Joanne Froggatt
Mr Hammond ...... David Fleeshman
Mrs Hammond ...... Brigit Forsyth
Bobby Collins ...... Sam Curtis
Lady Grainger ...... Daryl Fishwick
Young man ...... Steven Rostance
Directed by Pauline Harris.
MON 14:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1d3)
Episode 1
Novelist and playwright Fay Weldon reads her own honest, sometimes painful, often funny, account of a life well lived.
MON 15:00 Classic Serial (b04bmtpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Foul Play (b00zljzj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 In the End (b007jw4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Gloomsbury (b01nbt9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 Just a Minute (b07tzwhf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015flq5)
Episode 1
Young historian Robert Olmstead journeys to the mysterious shunned town of Innsmouth in New England. Read by Richard Coyle.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0076bsx)
Rabbi Lionel Blue & Stephen Russell
Rosie Boycott and her two guests, Rabbi Lionel Blue, from Radio 4's Today programme and the Barefoot Doctor (aka Stephen Russell) discuss paperbacks by Jonathan Franzen, Maria McCann and Rose Macaulay. From 2002.
'The Towers of Trebizond' by Rose Macaulay
Publisher: Flamingo
'The Corrections' by Jonathan Franzen
Publisher: Fourth Estate
'As Meat Loves Salt' by Maria McCann
Publisher: Flamingo.
MON 19:00 The Burkiss Way (b00jq7qq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b007jq2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Falco (b007wpf1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04n20tw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b007jtk9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Ian Curteis - Love (b00762k5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 Just a Minute (b07tzwhf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07wzvz9)
The best in contemporary comedy. Paul Garner chats 'Arm Wrestling with Chas and Dave' with Chas Hodges.
MON 22:30 Very Old Pretenders (b015crrf)
On Television
The last episode in the present series of Carl Gorham's culture clash comedy. With his marriage under severe strain, Andrew Merron introduces the Jacobites to the world of television. He attempts to turn the radio show he is making into a TV series and is on the verge of a deal when the executive in charge accidentally insults the scots and they attack him with his own Bafta. A depressed Merron then finds his wife has left him and hits the bottle, introducing the men to the ways of modern self -pity. The picture looks hopeless till Merron finds help from an unlikely source.
Cast:
Andrew Merron......................David Haig
Denise Merron..................Rebecca Front
Rab ....................................Jack Docherty
Macdonald........................Gordon Kennedy
David Roberts ...... Nicholas Burns
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 23:00 News Quiz Extra (b07w5nbf)
Series 18, Episode 2
Made for 4 Extra. Miles Jupp hosts the bumper bonus version of Friday's programme.
MON 23:45 Foley and McColl: The Interview (b0076cyy)
The Moroccan Striped Pig
The duo tells Parky about their strange first meeting. With Sean Foley, Hamish McColl and Michael Parkinson. From February 2003.

TUESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2016

TUE 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015flq5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0076bsx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Falco (b007wpf1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04n20tw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007k2cz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 A History of the Brain (b016w808)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wdsp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1d3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Classic Serial (b04bmtpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Foul Play (b00zljzj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 In the End (b007jw4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Gloomsbury (b01nbt9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Just a Minute (b07tzwhf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Falco (b007wpz2)
The Silver Pigs, Episode 2
Roman detective, Falco is investigating the mystery of how a stolen lead ingot containing silver came to be in the bank box of a senator's daughter. And things have taken a turn for the worse, as he's now probing a murder and - worse still - he's forced to visit a remote and dangerous outpost of the Empire - Britain.
Starring Anton Lesser as Falco, Fritha Goodey as Helena, Ben Crowe as Petronius, Robert Lister as Decimus, Richard Derrington as Publius and Ian Brooker as Hilaris.
Lindsey Davis's witty and enthralling adventure set in the days of the Roman Empire. Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed in Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
TUE 06:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04nqpcf)
1980-1985
The Frequency of Laughter is a six-part history of radio comedy, covering 1975-2005, presented by journalist and radio fan Grace Dent. In each episode she brings together two figures who were making significant radio comedy at the same time, and asks them about their experiences. This is a conversational history that focuses on the people who were there and the atmosphere within the BBC and the wider comedy world that allowed them to make great radio - or not.
This second edition features Angus Deayton and Michael Knowles looking at radio comedy in the early 1980s. Angus had been given a writer's contract by the BBC Light Entertainment Radio (as it was then) in 1980, and used the time he was afforded by that to co-create the sketch show Radio Active, in which he wrote and performed. Michael however came to radio from television; having acted in It Ain't Half Hot Mum, he was asked to adapt Dad's Army for radio in the 1970s, which he did to great success, and in 1983 he and Harold Snoad wrote the sitcom It Stick Out Half A Mile, a sort of Dad's Army sequel. Grace asks them about the atmosphere within the Radio Comedy department and within the BBC, and how they might circumvent rules on taste and decency; they share their memories of former Heads of Light Entertainment Radio (as it was then called) Bobby Jaye and Martin Fisher; and they talk about how the alternative comedy movement bypassed radio and went straight to TV - and how it felt to be left behind.
The Frequency of Laughter is presented by Grace Dent, a journalist for The Independent, and is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
Presenter ... Grace Dent
Guest ... Angus Deayton
Guest ... Michael Knowles
Interviewee ... Martin Fisher
Interviewee ... Peter Richardson
Producers ... Ed Morrish & Alexandra Smith.
TUE 07:00 Bangers and Mash (b0075gnn)
Episode 2
The catering team are desperate for new orders, a new van and a bookkeeping genius. Stars Gerard McDermott. From January 1999.
TUE 07:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07v0fv4)
Series 2, Spirituality
New series from multi-award winning Mark Watson. Assisted and impeded in equal measure by henchmen Sam Simmons and Will Adamsdale, he revives his quest to make some sort of sense of life, against the backdrop of a world, in recent times, has come to seem even more peculiar than usual.
The tenacious trio take on some of human life's central topics: family, spirituality, Scandinavia. Watson peddles his unique, high-octane stand-up while Simmons and Adamsdale chip in with interjections which include (but are not limited to) music, shopping lists, life advice, stunts, avant-garde offerings and divvy interactions.
Expect big laughs, controlled chaos and an attempt to answer the one question none of us can quite escape from - what exactly is going on?
This week, the theme is spirituality. The human spirit, or soul, can be a controversial idea. We cannot see it, yet many people insist it is there - similar to Pokemon. Is there a life beyond death and, if there is, will we like it?
Mark Watson is a multi-award winning comedian, including the inaugural If.Comedy Panel Prize 2006. He is assisted by Sam Simmons, winner of Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award 2015 and Will Adamsdale who won the the Perrier Comedy Award in 2004.
Produced by Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 08:00 Steptoe and Son (b00shdzy)
Series 1, The Bonds That Bind Us
After a win on the premium bonds, Albert starts splashing the cash and brings home a young gold digger.

Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert, Harry H Corbett as Harold and Yootha Joyce as Madge.

Following the conclusion of their hugely successful association with Tony Hancock, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in 1962. The Offer was set in a house with a yard full of junk, featuring the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold and it was the spark for a run of 8 series for TV.

Adapted for radio from Galton and Simpson's TV script by Gale Pedrick.

Produced by Bobby Jaye

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in September 1966.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007k0dt)
Off the Rails
The blundering civil servants get steamed up over a transport mix-up. Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler. From July 1976.
TUE 09:00 News Quiz Extra (b07w5nbf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Foley and McColl: The Interview (b0076cyy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 Classic Serial (b04c9xcq)
Honoré de Balzac - Eugenie Grandet, Episode 2
The final part of Rose Tremain's gripping dramatisation of Balzac's Eugenie Grandet, starring Ian McKellen as Eugenie's miserly father and Alison Pettit as his lovelorn daughter.
Monsieur Grandet, who has amassed a considerable fortune, is a miser who feigns poverty and runs his household along miserably frugal lines. All changes with the arrival of Eugenie's handsome 22-year-old cousin, Charles Grandet, from Paris. Charles has brought with him a shocking letter from his father, Guillaume, who has committed suicide. He has placed his debts and the care of his son into his brother's hands. It is a fatal decision, with ruinous consequences for the whole family.
Eugenie Grandet is considered by many to be the strongest novel in Balzac's magnificent series, The Human Comedy. It pits a young naive girl against the father she has worshipped and this defiance sets us on course for the playing out of a heart-rending tragedy. Like King Lear, Grandet is a man who deeply loves the daughter who has defied him. He has no other child, no hope, no future but her. But in Balzac's 'human comedy' the tragic and the comic exist side by side and this fruitful conjunction blossoms in Rose Tremain's enthralling adaptation.
Cello and Treble Recorder: Alison Baldwin
Original Music: Lucinda Mason Brown
Produced and directed by Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 11:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b007jtl6)
Eyes in the Dark
Galway was no ordinary Labrador. He wanted to be a sheep. And then there was that business when he died. Read by the author.
TUE 11:15 Ian Curteis - Love (b07w68gg)
Episode 2
The adventures of May and Ferdy continue, as they find a baby on their doorstep and try to help her mother. With Bernard Hepton.
TUE 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b00shdzy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007k0dt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Falco (b007wpz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04nqpcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007k2fd)
Episode 2
The romanticism of Italy has cast a spell on widowed Lilia, and she is engaged to be married. Stars Teresa Gallagher.
TUE 14:15 A History of the Brain (b016wzrd)
The Blood of the Gladiators
Dr Geoff Bunn's 10 part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In Episode 2: The Blood of The Gladiators, the focus is Ancient Greek scholarship, with Hippocrates' astonishingly prescient belief in the brain as the chief organ of control and his debunking of the myth of the 'sacred disease' with his assertion that epilepsy was the result of natural causes. Yet the belief that a cure lay in the magical properties of blood persisted for centuries.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the cerebrum and cerebellum. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wfll)
Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street, Episode 7
Diana Griffiths' dramatisation of Winifred Holtby's tale of a woman's journey into self-fulfilment.
7/10. Muriel has gone to stay with Connie in the Yorkshire Moors. Connie, desperate for Muriel's help, receives a letter and discovers the truth concerning a past lover.
Muriel ...... Clare Goose
Connie ...... Joanne Froggatt
Mrs Hammond ...... Brigit Forsyth
Mr Todd ...... Paul McCleary
Mrs Todd ...... Deborah McAndrew
Ben Todd ...... Graeme Hawley
Alice ...... Tahira Dar
Directed by Pauline Harris.
TUE 14:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1f5)
Episode 2
Novelist and playwright Fay Weldon reads her own life story. Fay recalls leaving her family and New Zealand behind. From May 1998.
TUE 15:00 Classic Serial (b04c9xcq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Counterpoint (b07w6hd9)
2006, Heat 3
Ned Sherrin hosts the music quiz featuring Ray Allen from Brighton, Helen Elsom from Cambridge and Lewis Graham from Hitchin.
TUE 16:30 Safety Catch (b00vryr6)
Series 3, What's My Motivation
Laurence Howarth's black comedy of modern morality set in the world of arms dealing. Simon decides it's time to get self-motivated and finally begins composing his electronic music. Meanwhile his mum joins the arms trade and gets a job at HS.
Simon McGrath ..... Darren Boyd
Anna Grieg ..... Joanna Page
Boris Kemal ..... Lewis Macleod
Judith McGrath ..... Sarah Smart
Angela McGrath ..... Brigit Forsyth
Madeleine Turnbull ..... Rachel Atkins
Writer ..... Laurence Howarth
Producer ..... Dawn Ellis
Simon McGrath is a generally nice chap who just happens to be an arms dealer. It's not something he planned, he just fell into it, and despite all his best intentions he just doesn't seem to be able to leave because he has to pay his mortgage like everyone else. Of course his real love is electronic music and this is just a stop gap until he finds the perfect outlet for his music - okay so the gap has lasted five years but that's not the point. Once he can get himself motivated he'll be out of there and, as his ever supportive mum says, people will always want to kill each other. So that's alright then..
This week Simon finally decides that enough is enough. His stop gap at Heathcote Sanders has turned into a 5 year stop gulf and he needs to get motivated and leave so he sits down at his electronic keyboard for the start of a new era. The trouble is that Simon realises that self-motivation isn't as easy as he'd though and to make life even more difficult his mother decides to get a job at Heathcote Sanders. As Judith eloquently puts it, to have one member of the family working in the arms trade may be regarded as misfortune, to have two looks like genetic wickedness.
TUE 17:00 Bangers and Mash (b0075gnn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07v0fv4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015gsc4)
Episode 2
Robert Olmstead explores the dark, decrepit town of Innsmouth with a growing sense of unease and terror. Read by Richard Coyle.
TUE 18:30 Lives in a Landscape (b07v01hd)
Tied to the Takeaway
The story of Ling Tsang's weekly return to the Golden Bowl Chinese takeaway in Birmingham, still run by her parents. From August 2005.
TUE 19:00 Steptoe and Son (b00shdzy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007k0dt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Falco (b007wpz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04nqpcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b007jtl6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Ian Curteis - Love (b07w68gg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07v0fv4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Dave Podmore's Cricket Night (b007jz8b)
Episode 4
After meeting Rory McGrath on TV, the legendary player is called to Buckingham Palace. Stars Chris Douglas. From May 2004.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07wwr4s)
The best in contemporary comedy. Paul Garner chats to Simon Greenall.
TUE 23:00 Clare in the Community (b00gkktk)
Series 2, Doolah's Choice
The bossy social worker sticks her oar in Helen's wedding and Megan's home birth. Starring Sally Phillips. From October 2005.
TUE 23:30 The Penny Dreadfuls Present (b00gpbcj)
The Brothers Faversham, Horatius Faversham
The tale of Victorian Britain's most decorated soldier. Swashbuckling family romp starring the comedy trio. From January 2008.

WEDNESDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 2016

WED 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015gsc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Lives in a Landscape (b07v01hd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Falco (b007wpz2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04nqpcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007k2fd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 A History of the Brain (b016wzrd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wfll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Classic Serial (b04c9xcq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Counterpoint (b07w6hd9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Safety Catch (b00vryr6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Bangers and Mash (b0075gnn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07v0fv4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Falco (b007wpsz)
The Silver Pigs, Episode 3
Probing the illegal imports of the ingots, Roman sleuth Falco has chanced upon a sinister plot to overthrow the Emperor Vespasian. And he's also discovered the identity of Helena's ex-husband: which has made him realise the pot is much closer to home than he thought.
Starring Anton Lesser as Falco, Fritha Goodey as Helena, Ben Crowe as Petronius, Robert Lister as Decimus and Jonathan Keeble as Titus.
Lindsey Davis's witty and enthralling adventure set in the days of the Roman Empire. Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed in Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
WED 06:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04p53k3)
1985-1990
The Frequency of Laughter is a six-part history of radio comedy, covering 1975-2005, presented by journalist and radio fan Grace Dent. In each episode she brings together two figures who were making significant radio comedy at the same time, and asks them about their experiences. This is a conversational history that focuses on the people who were there and the atmosphere within the BBC and the wider comedy world that allowed them to make great radio - or not.
This third edition features Hugh Dennis and Jim Eldridge looking at radio comedy in the late 1980s. Hugh first appeared on radio in this period, with shows like The Cabaret Upstairs and Live on Arrival, breaking through with Radio One's Hey Rrrradio! and the Mary Whitehouse Experience. Jim came to radio via poetry, having performed on the John Peel show, but made his name as a sitcom writer in the 70s, having a hit with Parsley Sidings. And in 1985 he launched King Street Junior, a sitcom that was to run for twenty years. Grace asks them about the atmosphere within the Radio Comedy department and within the BBC; they discuss why stand-up was a hit on Radio One; and they talk about how Oxbridge became a dirty word.
The Frequency of Laughter is presented by Grace Dent, a journalist for The Independent, and is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
Presenter ... Grace Dent
Guest ... Hugh Dennis
Guest ... Jim Eldridge
Interviewee ... Johnny Beerling
Producers ... Ed Morrish & Alexandra Smith.
WED 07:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007jzkw)
Series 2, Them and Us
Joy and consternation as Wendy is promoted at work, but Robin is suspended. Stars Kay Stonham and Simon Greenall. From May 2003.
WED 07:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b07v2mdz)
Series 7, Colchester
Mark Steel's In Town - Colchester
Colchester - The oldest recorded town in Britain
Mark Steel returns to Radio 4 for a seventh series of the award winning show that travels around the country, researching the history, heritage and culture of six towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness, and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.
"The oldest hot cross bun in the world was baked in Colchester"
In the second programme, Mark visits the Essex town of Colchester and walks through the streets where 'Emperor Claudius once rode triumphantly on the first elephant in Britain', before Boudicca burnt the place to the ground, that was. He visits 'Jumbo', the town's iconic, Victorian water tower and he delves into the history of Colchester Zoo. Mark also discovers how several nursery rhymes have their origins in Colchester and he investigates the town's rivalry with Chelmsford.
In this series Mark visits Stockport in Greater Manchester, Colchester in Essex, Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames, Lynton in North Devon and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
Written and performed by ... Mark Steel
Additional material by ... Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator ... Hayley Stirling
Producer ... Carl Cooper
This is a BBC Radio Comedy Production.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b007k2xj)
Doing a Disastrical
Will Phillips' pursuit of the new WREN in Captain Povey's office end happily ever after?
Stars Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Second Officer McCluty, Tenniel Evans as Taffy Goldstein and Michael Bates as the Padre.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1967.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k1x5)
The Television Set
Living in the only house in Railway Cuttings without a telly, the lad takes action.
Starring Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly and Kenneth Williams.
Announcer: 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 June 1955.
WED 09:00 The 99p Challenge (b007jrl7)
Series 2, Episode 6
Crazy panel show capers as Sue Perkins grills Simon Pegg, Armando Iannucci, Jack Docherty and Peter Baynham. From July 2000.
WED 09:30 Rent (b04pcxh5)
Series 2, Episode 5
After Paul's ultimatum to Ruby, a visit to a fortune teller with Maria proves surprising. With Sally Grace. From February 1995.
WED 10:00 Martyn Wade - Burn the Aeneid! (b04yf68n)
The year 19BC, and author Virgil wants his magnum opus to be destroyed after his death, which sparks an unholy row. Stars Clive Merrison.
WED 11:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b007jzwj)
I, Boadicea
The formidable queen of history speaks of the rages and battles she undertook for her people. Read by Vanessa Redgrave.
WED 11:15 Ian Curteis - Love (b07w9jx5)
Episode 3
The archdeacon is anxious to keep the church out of the newspapers. Further adventures for May and Ferdy. With Bernard Hepton.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b007k2xj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k1x5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Falco (b007wpsz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04p53k3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrw4)
Episode 3
English conventions are confounded by Italian romanticism, as Lilia tries to adapt to life as a wife. Stars Teresa Gallagher.
WED 14:15 A History of the Brain (b016x234)
The Origin of Common Sense
Dr Geoff Bunn's 10 part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In Episode 3: The Origin of Common Sense, the focus is on Ancient Rome with Galen's 'animal spirits' gently inflating the ventricles and making thought possible, and on how early Christian scholarship placed the soul in the brain's ventricles. But with the Dark Ages, it was Islamic scholars who continued to explore the brain: Al Razi studied apoplexy or stroke, while Ibn Sina proposed that thoughts travelled through the brain in a predictable sequence and identified the 'common sense' in the front ventricle.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the ventricles. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wh7k)
Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street, Episode 8
As the war comes to an end, Muriel hears news of Delia and comes to a decision. Stars Claire Goose and Deborah McAndrew.
WED 14:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1g9)
Episode 3
Reading from her autobiography, Fay Weldon is rebellious and has developed a 'reputation' for being a bad girl.
WED 15:00 Martyn Wade - Burn the Aeneid! (b04yf68n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 The 99p Challenge (b007jrl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Rent (b04pcxh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007jzkw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b07v2mdz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015h0y0)
Episode 3
Robert Olmstead listens to aged local drunk Zadok Allen, who reveals the terrifying history of the town. Read by Richard Coyle.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00hv1dw)
Ambition
4 Extra Debut. Dominic Arkwright, Terence Blacker, Tina Lamb and Shaun Bailey discuss what motivates us to try and succeed in life. From March 2009.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b007k2xj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k1x5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Falco (b007wpsz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04p53k3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b007jzwj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Ian Curteis - Love (b07w9jx5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Mark Steel's in Town (b07v2mdz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Party (b01mqq72)
Series 3, The Curry
Series 3 of the satirical comedy about a group of young idealists trying to make waves with their new political party. This week the group reconvene after their Summer break and the ambition steps up a gear. Written by Tom Basden.
Simon .... Tom Basden
Duncan .... Tim Key
Jared .... Jonny Sweet
Mel .... Anna Crilly
Phoebe .... Katy Wix
Producer .... Julia McKenzie.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07wwr8l)
The best in contemporary comedy. Paul Garner chats again to Simon Greenall.
WED 23:00 Hearing With Hegley (b018sgz6)
Series 2, Episode 1
The poet laureate of alternative comedy, John Hegley entertains with a book of verse. With Nigel Piper. From August 1998.
WED 23:15 All the World's a Globe (b007jwp2)
The Creation
The National Theatre of Brent tells the chaotic story of life on Earth. Stars Patrick Barlow and Jim Broadbent. From May 1990.
WED 23:30 Hut 33 (b00lmdjr)
Series 1, Baghdad
Two of the wartime code-breakers jump at the chance to escape Bletchley Park for Iraq. Stars Robert Bathurst. From June 2007.

THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2016

THU 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015h0y0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00hv1dw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Falco (b007wpsz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04p53k3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrw4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 A History of the Brain (b016x234)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wh7k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1g9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Martyn Wade - Burn the Aeneid! (b04yf68n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The 99p Challenge (b007jrl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Rent (b04pcxh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007jzkw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b07v2mdz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Falco (b007wpcl)
The Silver Pigs, Episode 4
Falco battles to discover who killed Sosia - and to unmask the plotters against the Emperor. He also discovers that true love can cross the boundaries of the strict Roman class structure...
Starring Anton Lesser as Falco, Fritha Goodey as Helena, Robert Lister as Decimus, Jonathan Keeble as Titus and Richard Derrington as Publius.
Lindsey Davis's witty and enthralling adventure set in the days of the Roman Empire. Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed in Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
THU 06:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04pqz6s)
1990-1995
The Frequency of Laughter is a six-part history of radio comedy, covering 1975-2005, presented by journalist and radio fan Grace Dent. In each episode she brings together two figures who were making significant radio comedy at the same time, and asks them about their experiences. This is a conversational history that focuses on the people who were there and the atmosphere within the BBC and the wider comedy world that allowed them to make great radio - or not.
This fourth edition features Richard Herring and Sarah Smith looking at radio comedy in the early 1990s, when they were both starting out in - Sarah was the producer who gave Richard his first commission. And while Richard and his double-act partner Stewart Lee made names for themselves as writers and performers, writing for On The Hour as well as their own shows such as Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World and Lee & Herring's Fist of Fun, Sarah was forging a reputation as one of the most talented producers around, not only working on Lee & Herring's output but also The League of Gentlemen and The Harpoon. Grace asks them about the atmosphere within the Radio Comedy department and the creative collaboration within it; they share their memories of former Head of Light Entertainment Radio (as it was then called) Jonathan James-Moore; and they talk about their time working on Week Ending, Radio 4's flagship topical sketch show which ran from 1970-1998.
The Frequency of Laughter is presented by Grace Dent, a journalist for The Independent, and is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
Presenter ... Grace Dent
Guest ... Richard Herring
Guest ... Sarah Smith
Interviewee ... Armando Iannucci
Interviewee ... Diane Messias
Producers ... Ed Morrish & Alexandra Smith.
THU 07:00 Bristow (b00cnhyq)
Series 1, Sun, Sea and Sabotage
The buying clerk's traditional summer plans are threatened by Chester Perry's new boy.
With Rodney Bewes as Jones, Owen Brenman as Hewitt, Dora Bryan as Mrs Purdy and Jon Glover as Fudge.
Bristow works as a buying clerk for Reginald Chester-Perry's firm. He's but a small cog in a gigantic wheel...and he knows it.
Michael Williams stars as Bristow, the buying clerk from Frank Dickens' famous newspaper cartoon strip. Syndicated internationally, it ran for 41 years in London's Evening Standard. Frank Dickens died in July 2016.
RSC talent and popular stage and TV actor, Michael Williams died in 2001
Music: John Whitehall
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1999.
THU 07:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07v2ysz)
Series 4, A Dance to the Music of Tom
Episode 4 - A Dance to the Music of Tom. Mr and Mrs Wrigglesworth attempt to bond with the new neighbours. Meanwhile, Tom receives some worrying news.
Series 4 of Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups presents another hilarious helping of down-the-line adventures from Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated Tom. Listen in on Tom's weekly phone calls home to his Mum, Dad and Gran in Sheffield and get a glimpse into the triumphs and tribulations of the Wrigglesworth clan in all its dysfunctional glory.
Starring Tom Wrigglesworth, Paul Copley, Kate Anthony, Elizabeth Bennett.
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle with additional material by Miles Jupp.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.
THU 08:00 Thirty Minutes Worth (b00r2jxk)
From 02/10/1988
Harry Worth's doctor prescribes him a sunshine holiday.
Starring Harry Worth. With Jacqueline Clarke, Charles Collingwood, Julie Higginson and Milton Johns.
Script by Vince Powell.
Producer: Mike Craig
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1988.
THU 08:30 Radio Active (b007jw18)
Series 7, God Alone Knows
The Right Reverend Reverend Wright brings you all the very latest from around the parish.
Starring Helen Atkinson Wood, Angus Deayton, Geoffrey Perkins, Philip Pope and Michael Fenton-Stevens.
Music by Philip Pope and Michael Fenton-Stevens.
Written by Angus Deayton and Geoffrey Perkins.
Producer: David Tyler
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1987.
THU 09:00 The Personality Test (b00mbl3k)
Series 1, Jennie Bond
The former BBC Royal Correspondent quizzes a panel about herself. With Sue Perkins and Robin Ince. From August 2006.
THU 09:30 The Elephant Man (b04v8qcq)
Labour Pains
Terry's bank balance is redder than a baboon's bottom, so he starts a paper round. Stars Peter Serafinowicz. From October 1996.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b01kr7qc)
The Graduate, Episode 1
It's the summer of 1963 in suburban California and Benjamin Braddock has the world at his feet. He's just graduated from university with a teaching scholarship, his dad has bought him a fancy new Italian sports car, and all the Braddocks' friends and neighbours have been invited to a house party to celebrate. There's just one problem. Benjamin refuses to leave his room. He's worried about his future. His parents are perplexed. The stalemate is broken when Ben agrees to give the wife of his father's business partner, Mrs Robinson, a lift home. She's the same age as his mother, fabulously sexy, and bent on seduction.
The Graduate has been adapted from Charles Webb's novel by Polly Thomas. Polly is a Sony award-winning director and producer of radio drama. Her theatre work includes directing for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester; and the Manchester Literature Festival launch of Margaret Atwood's new book, The Year of the Flood.
A BBC Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
THU 11:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b007k04g)
Living By the Small Print
A penny-pinching young woman with an eye for a bargain begins to realise the consequences. Read by Rebecca Front.
THU 11:15 Ian Curteis - Love (b07w9x0c)
Episode 4
Ferdy's kindness extends to a couple of burglars, in the final part of the gentle romantic drama. With Barbara Leigh Hunt.
THU 12:00 Thirty Minutes Worth (b00r2jxk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Radio Active (b007jw18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Falco (b007wpcl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04pqz6s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrwl)
Episode 4
Misery in Monteriano, as English Lilia and Italian Gino's marriage starts to deteriorate. With Sian Thomas and Tom George.
THU 14:15 A History of the Brain (b016x2k4)
Spirits in the Material World
Dr Geoff Bunn's 10 part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In Episode 4: Spirits in the Material World, the focus is on Thomas Willis, the 17th century physician after whom the 'Circle of Willis' - the circuit of arteries supplying blood to the brain - is named. Willis' Anatomy of the Brain and Nerves was a groundbreaking attempt to correlate brain anatomy with mental function. A friend of Christopher Wren, the humbly-born Willis was one of the founder members of the Royal Society. Yet his ideas were not universally accepted. The Cambridge philosopher, Henry More, considered the brain no more than 'a bowl of curds'', with no possibility that it could house reason.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the Circle of Willis and the tiny pineal gland. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wjp4)
Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street, Episode 9
Diana Griffiths's dramatisation of Winifred Holtby's tale of a woman's journey into self-fulfilment.
9/10. Muriel moves from Yorkshire to London to live with Delia. She quickly adjusts to her new life until she receives an unexpected visit.
Muriel ...... Clare Goose
Delia Vaughan ...... Deborah McAndrew
Godfrey ...... James D'Arcy
Mrs Hammond ...... Brigit Forsyth
Directed by Pauline Harris.
THU 14:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1hj)
Episode 4
Reading from her autobiography, Fay Weldon finally accepts that even bad girls need the security that comes with a wedding ring.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b01kr7qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The Personality Test (b00mbl3k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 The Elephant Man (b04v8qcq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Bristow (b00cnhyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07v2ysz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015f7b6)
Episode 4
Robert Olmstead must spend a night in Innsmouth, but the town locals ensure he doesn't get much sleep. Read by Richard Coyle.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b007xmd1)
Series 13, John Cage
4 Extra Debut. Conceptual artist Michael Craig-Martin chooses the American writer, composer and artist. With Matthew Parris. From September 2007.
THU 19:00 Thirty Minutes Worth (b00r2jxk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Radio Active (b007jw18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Falco (b007wpcl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04pqz6s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b007k04g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Ian Curteis - Love (b07w9x0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07v2ysz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Newsjack (b07wb2xn)
Series 15, Episode 3
This week's stories lovingly bashed, mashed and moulded into sketches, one-liners and hot-takes by the public. Trying to make sense of it all is host Nish Kumar.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07wwrnz)
The best in contemporary comedy. Paul Garner chats again to Simon Greenall.
THU 23:00 Wondermentalist Cabaret (b00y8vsn)
Series 1, Episode 2
2 of 4. Poet, performer, enemy of all that's difficult and upsetting, Matt Harvey presents this comedy-infused, musically-enhanced, slightly interactive poetry cabaret. Recorded in front of an audience at the Swindon Arts Centre, he's joined by the poet and musician Zena Edwards and one man house band Jerri Hart. Fellow poets AF Harrold and Kate Fox battle it out with Zena in a Dead Poets' Slam, while the audience compose their own highly flavoured poem on the subject of cheese.
Producer: Mark Smalley.
THU 23:30 As Told to Craig Brown (b00b0sh6)
Series 1, Episode 2
The satirist ponders Tuscan holidays and asks, what is the greatest fruit or vegetable? With Steve Wright. From April 2008.

FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2016

FRI 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015f7b6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b007xmd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Falco (b007wpcl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04pqz6s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 A History of the Brain (b016x2k4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wjp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1hj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b01kr7qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Personality Test (b00mbl3k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 The Elephant Man (b04v8qcq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Bristow (b00cnhyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07v2ysz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Henri Castang - Not as Far as Velma (b07wb50w)
A Landlady Goes Missing
In a Northern French town, a young widow vanishes.
Newly-promoted Commissaire Henri Castang wonders why the last name in the register of the tiny hotel she runs is that of a Jewish painter who never set foot there...?
Van der Valk creator, Nicolas Freeling's thriller stars Keith Barron as Castang, Edita Brychta as Vera, Clive Swift as Marklake, Auriol Smith as Gabrielle, Michael Kilgarriff as Goubin and Nigel Carrington as Nelson
First published in 1989, this is the 11th novel in Freeling's sixteen strong series featuring Henri Castang. The London-born author died 2003 aged 76.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Producer: Matthew Walters
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
FRI 06:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04stc5x)
1995-2000
The Frequency of Laughter is a six-part history of radio comedy, covering 1975-2005, presented by journalist and radio fan Grace Dent. In each episode she brings together two figures who were making significant radio comedy at the same time, and asks them about their experiences. This is a conversational history that focuses on the people who were there and the atmosphere within the BBC and the wider comedy world that allowed them to make great radio - or not.
This penultimate edition features producer Paul Schlesinger, who spent the late 1990s making shows such as the Sunday Format, People Like Us and Absolute Power before leaving to make television, returning in 2005 to become Head of Radio Comedy; it also features Meera Syal whose Radio 4 sketch show Goodness Gracious Me was the first British Asian comedy hit, later transferring to BBC Two. Grace asks them about the atmosphere within the Radio Comedy department and the attitude of TV Comedy department towards it; they discuss the BBC's reaction to the wide range of Black and Asian talent breaking through; and they discuss what it is about media parodies that works so well on radio.
The Frequency of Laughter is presented by Grace Dent, a journalist for The Independent, and is a BBC Radio Comedy production.
Presenter ... Grace Dent
Guest ... Paul Schlesinger
Guest ... Meera Syal
Interviewee ... Andrew Caspari
Interviewee ... Peter Fincham
Producers ... Ed Morrish & Alexandra Smith.
FRI 07:00 Dave Sheasby - One Flat Summer (b07wb9l1)
The St Leger
Unable to locate the money he liberated as a courier for 'Racecourse Rita', Ken is a wanted man. With Gerard McDermott.
FRI 07:30 Sketchorama (b01s8q18)
Series 2, Episode 2
Thom Tuck presents the pick of the new sketch groups currently performing live on the UK comedy circuit - with character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.
This is the second series, and in the second episode:
SO ON AND SO FORTH
Posh sketch boys Nick Gadd, John Sherman and Martin Allanson have been performing together since 2010. In that time they have chalked up an acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe debut and picked up a Cofilmic Comedy Film Award for best sketch in 2011.
THAT PAIR
That Pair are Kathryn Bond and Lorna Shaw, who met at Bretton Hall where they discovered their mutual love of being from Essex. After graduating with one degree each in Theatre Acting, they have worked as professional actresses ever since. They came out of the comedy closet in 2010 as a female musical comedy duo. Influenced by fellow Bretton Haller's and comedy legends The League of Gentlemen and their Nans and Grandads, they perform sketches and songs with bags of silliness.
SHEEPS
Sheeps are Daran Johnson, Alastair Roberts and Liam Williams - three erudite young chaps doing sketches, and then doing themselves reflecting on their own sketches. Sheeps are graduates of that most venerable of comedy finishing schools, Cambridge Footlights. Liam Williams was runner-up in the 2010 standup contest So You Think You're Funny?, while Daran Johnson is already a prizewinning playwright.

Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 Something to Shout About (b07wbb7d)
Series 1, Episode 12
The ad agency hires some bird-brained talent for a new campaign to promote rum.
Starring Michael Medwin as Michael, Fenella Fielding as Janet, Sheila Hancock as Shirley, Eleanor Summerfield as Maggie and Nicholas Phipps as Adrian. With Warren Mitchell and Peter Hawkins.
"A light-hearted exposé of the advertising world!". Set in a London ad agency called 'Apsley, Addis, Cohen, Barbican, Blythe, Giddy & Partners', Something To Shout About ran to 54 episodes over three series
Written by Myles Rudge and Ronnie Wolfe.
Music by The Jingle Belles and The Bernie Fenton Quartet, under the direction of Cliff Adams.
Producer: Trafford Whitelock
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in September 1960.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b00d7jxr)
The Plasticine Man
Neddie Seagoon poses as a 6,000-year-old man to resurrect his rock 'n' roll career. Stars Spike Milligan. From December 1957.
FRI 09:00 Heresy (b00sg1vh)
Series 8, Episode 2
Victoria Coren presents another edition of the show which dares to commit heresy.
Her guests this week are comedians David Baddiel and Lucy Porter and the co-presenter of daytime quiz show Pointless, Richard Osman. Together they have fun exposing the wrong-headedness of received wisdom and challenging knee-jerk public reaction to events.
Arguing against the common belief that "the economy is up the creek without a paddle", David Baddiel says we're actually sailing serenely through the recession. Lucy Porter isn't convinced that "the innocence of children is snatched away too fast these days" and wants to know when her 13 month old daughter will start paying her share of the household bills, and Richard Osman finds reasons not to mourn the passing of the News of the World.
Producer: Brian King
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 09:30 Simon's Bug (b04gn3ls)
Episode 2
Busy monitoring phone calls, Simon is learning a lot about his family. Stars Hwyel Bennett and Alison Steadman. From March 1989.
FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b01ky5h5)
The Graduate, Episode 2
Now that's he's stopped sleeping with Mrs Robinson, Benjamin has become obsessed with her daughter, Elaine. Now, at last, he understands the purpose of his life. He drives through the night to Berkeley, determined to find Elaine and marry her. Elaine, however, has other plans.
The Graduate has been adapted from Charles Webb's novel by Polly Thomas. Polly is a Sony award-winning director and producer of radio drama. Her theatre work includes directing for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, the Royal Exchange Theatre Manchester; and the Manchester Literature Festival launch of Margaret Atwood's new book, The Year of the Flood.
A BBC Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll.
FRI 11:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b0075jhm)
Inside the Whale
4 Extra Debut. A young go-getter's business-like marriage is threatened by the irresistible force of nature. Read by Oliver Ford Davies.
FRI 11:15 Michael Mears - A Slow Train to Woking (b0075wbp)
Daniel dreads the routine of his weekly visits to his dear old mother. But does he have a get-out clause? Mears plays all 28 characters in this touching comedy.
FRI 12:00 Something to Shout About (b07wbb7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b00d7jxr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Henri Castang - Not as Far as Velma (b07wb50w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04stc5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrx0)
Episode 5
The peace of Sawston is disturbed by the latest news from Italy about Lilia. With Teresa Gallagher and Tom George.
FRI 14:15 A History of the Brain (b016x4t1)
The Spark of Being
Dr Geoff Bunn's 10 part History of the Brain is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of this complex organ in our heads. From Neolithic times to the present day, he reveals the contemporary beliefs about what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
While referencing the core physiology and neuroscience, this is a cultural, not a scientific history. What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In Episode 5: The Spark of Being, the focus is on electricity and communication, within the brain and between the brain and the rest of the body. When John Walsh showed, in 1776, that an eel could generate electricity, it became possible that human consciousness also relied on sparks fizzing within the brain. Coming at a time when Benjamin Franklin - an acknowledged expert on electricity - was signing the Declaration of Independence which asserted that all men are created equal, it generated a new perspective on the workings of the brain; the old hierarchical model was discarded in favour of the doctrine of equipotentiality.
The series is entirely written and presented by Dr Geoff Bunn of Manchester Metropolitan University, with actors Paul Bhattacharjee and Jonathan Forbes providing the voices of those who have written about the brain from Ancient Egypt to the present day, and actor Hattie Morahan giving the Anatomy Lesson which establishes the part of the brain to be highlighted in each episode - in this instance the Corpus Callosum. The original, atmospheric score is supplied by composer, Barney Quinton.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b007wk84)
Winifred Holtby - The Crowded Street, Episode 10
Diana Griffiths's dramatisation of Winifred Holtby's tale of a woman's journey into self-fulfilment.
10/10. Muriel returns to Marshington in Yorkshire for the annual fete and is faced with a life-changing decision.
Muriel ...... Clare Goose
Godfrey ...... James D'Arcy
Mrs Hammond ...... Brigit Forsyth
Directed by Pauline Harris.
FRI 14:45 Auto-Da-Fay (b007k1jt)
Episode 5
Concluding her autobiography, novelist and playwright Fay has fallen in love and now adds Weldon to her many names. From May 1998.
FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b01ky5h5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Heresy (b00sg1vh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Simon's Bug (b04gn3ls)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Dave Sheasby - One Flat Summer (b07wb9l1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Sketchorama (b01s8q18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015fv26)
Episode 5
Robert Olmstead flees Innsmouth, only to discover years later a shocking secret linking him to the town. Read by Richard Coyle.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b00tpqm4)
Series 10, Ma Vlast
At the core of Czech cultural identity is this week's piece - Ma Vlast by Bedrich Smetana. Written in the late 19th century, it's a series of six symphonic poems. For a western audience the most popular and best loved is Vltava, a soundscape which conjures up vivid images of the river which runs through Prague.
Jan Kaplan is a Czech born film-maker who has lived in the UK since 1968. He describes the 'educational concerts' he had to attend as a young boy when - bored to tears - he would endure long performances of Smetana's music. However, as an adult living in exile, his experience of Czech culture was tinged with a remote sense of patriotism and he grew to appreciate his national composer. When - following the 1989 Velvet revolution - he was eventually able to return home, he witnessed one of the most famous and moving performances of Ma Vlast at Smetana Hall in 1990.
Also at that concert was musicologist, Professor Jan Smaczny, who describes his memories of that evening, and explains the history and mythology portrayed in Ma Vlast.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
FRI 19:00 Something to Shout About (b07wbb7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b00d7jxr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Henri Castang - Not as Far as Velma (b07wb50w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 The Frequency of Laughter: A History of Radio Comedy (b04stc5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Fay Weldon Stories (b0075jhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Michael Mears - A Slow Train to Woking (b0075wbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 Sketchorama (b01s8q18)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Ian D Montfort Is: Unbelievable (b01qw8kh)
Series 1, With guest Joe Swash
Ian D Montfort is a celebrity spirit medium and psychic, and star of a brand new series for Radio 2. A comedy character created by Tom Binns (the man behind hapless hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury) Ian D Montfort has been a hit at the last three Edinburgh festivals with his combination of magic and laughter.
In each radio show Ian makes contact with the celebrity 'spirit guides' secretly chosen by audience members and reveals personal stories that make them laugh-out-loud one moment and gasp in surprise the next. Each episode features a different celebrity guest who gets a 'private' reading from Ian. This episode stars former EastEnders actor and King Of The Jungle Joe Swash who has his palm read by Ian, and other guests across the series are Ruth Madoc, Angela Griffin and Hardeep Singh Kohli.
FRI 23:00 A Look Back at the Nineties (b007jqvx)
1998
Brian Perkins, Kate Robbins and Chris Barrie 'look back' at the decade that was yet to happen. Recorded in July 1993.
FRI 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07w6dpz)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Danny Robins.
FRI 23:30 The Flight of the Conchords (b007k0zr)
Suzanne
The band's future is threatened when Bret goes on a date. Stars Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. From September 2005.