SATURDAY 24 DECEMBER 2016

SAT 00:00 Doctor Who (b0864fk0)
Demon Quest, A Shard of Ice 1/2
The Doctor is reunited with Captain Yates, as they search for the missing TARDIS components in 1847 Germany.
Stars Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, Carole Boyd as Frau Herz, Samuel West as Albert Tiermann and Jan Francis as The Ice Queen
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b03m79cq)
Series 17, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Soul Music tells the story of the song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and talks to people for whom it has special meaning.
'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas', was first performed by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical Meet Me In St Louis', for the now famous scene in which Garland and her seven year old sister, played by Margaret O'Brien are downcast about the prospect of moving away from their beloved home.
Garland asked the composer, Hugh Martin to modify his original lyric, explaining it to be too depressing for her to sing, or the audience to hear.
Martin's collaborator and friend, John Fricke, explains the importance this song had for the composer and the joy he experienced in hearing it covered by every major artist since, from Frank Sinatra to Chrissie Hynde, Punk band Fear to Cold Play, Rod Stewart to James Taylor.
It's clear that the song's enduring power lies in a beautiful melody with a melancholic feel that sums up our emotional ambivalence to the Christmas season. We hear from those who have a special connection to the song.
Producer Lucy Lunt.
SAT 01:00 Johan Theorin - The Darkest Room (b01bl2mf)
Episode 5
As a harsh blizzard descends, Tilda must face a desperate gun battle.
Johan Theorin's supernatural thriller concluded by Nigel Cooke.
Winner of the Crime Writer's Association International Dagger 2010.
Producer: Clive Brill
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Brill Productions and first broadcast in 2012.
SAT 01:30 Crib City (b0076pnq)
Susannah Clapp investigates Naples's claim to be the home of the Christmas crib. The Italian city has been making miniature model holy stables for centuries with great craftsmanship and the tradition has continued to the present day. She visits the great churches of the city where spectacular cribs are on show and mingles with Christmas shoppers down the city centre street of crib makers to explore the survival of this true folk art.
SAT 02:00 Rhys Davies Competition Winners (b01pf5v0)
Supper
Supper by Linda Ruhemann. It's Christmas Eve and a woman begins to decorate a very empty house. The kids have left home and she's facing the prospect of her first Christmas alone. However, she's expecting an unusual guest for supper: Her ex-husband. Runner-up in the Welsh short story contest.
Read by Sharon Morgan
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
SAT 02:15 Disneyfied (b007656w)
Jungle Book
Phill Jupitus claims it is the greatest movie ever made. But did Disney make real monkeys disappointing by comparison? From November 2001.
SAT 02:30 Charles Dickens (b00x544m)
A House to Let, Episode 5
The derelict house finally reveals its sad secrets, but Trottle is determined to make it a happy ending. Stars Marcia Warren.
SAT 02:45 Nabokov's Christmas (b01pfy5p)
by Vladimir Nabokov.
An intensely moving short story about a father mourning the death of his son. On Christmas Eve, a grieving father moves around the family home gathering together some of his son's effects. This leads him to discover things that he did not know about his beloved son and also to find something among his belongings that will renew his will to live.
Vladimir Nabokov was born in St. Petersburg in 1899, the eldest son of an aristocratic family. Nabokov is arguably most famous for his 1955 novel LOLITA.

Read by Robert Glenister.
Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane.
SAT 03:00 Mystery Theater (b063jjxt)
Lifeboat: Tallulah Bankhead
Legendary hard-living actress Tallulah Bankhead reprises her role as Constance 'Connie' Porter in Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 film Lifeboat for this NBC radio adaptation.
Introduced by Alfred Hitchcock.
July 1943: Connie is a glamorous foreign correspondent aboard a lifeboat alone in the middle of the Atlantic, after the freighter ship SS Argo was torpedoed by a Nazi submarine. She soon rescues John Kovak from the ship's engine room (Jeff Chandler) and sparks fly between the couple as they pick up other survivors - including a Nazi seaman from the enemy U-boat.
Presented by NBC's Screen Directors' Playhouse on November 16th 1950, the film's director Alfred Hitchcock briefly explains how he made the movie - based on a story by John Steinbeck.
Adapted for radio by Jack Ruben
Announcer: Jimmy Wallington
Produced by Howard Wiley and directed by Bill Cairn.
First broadcast in the USA on NBC in 1950.
SAT 03:50 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b063jkdz)
Tallulah Bankhead
Hollywood star Tallulah Bankhead speaks frankly to Roy Plomley about how hopeless she'd be on a desert island. Revealing how very lazy she is, Tallulah recalls some of her many performances on stage in London.
The only surviving extract from the first broadcast in December 1964.
SAT 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03dfl0b)
Series 6, Herring, Lippincott, Clemente
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Humphrey Ker welcome the art historian and former director of the Greenwich Observatory Dr Kristin Lippincott; comedian, chat show host and blogger Richard Herring and animal locomotion expert Dr Christofer Clemente. Topics for illumination include Time, inspiration, writer's block, sticky ants' feet, Russia's Greatest Love Machine lizards doing wheelies and the most controversial moustache in history.
The show was researched by James Harkin, Molly Oldfield and Stevyn Colgan of QI.
The producers were Richard Turner and Dan Schreiber.
SAT 04:30 The Phenomenon Squad (b0864fjy)
Episode 5
Brabazon's cops prepare to greet an alien craft due to land on Salisbury Plain. Stars Roy Kinnear and Simon Cadell. From October 1987.
SAT 05:00 Second Thoughts (b007jzst)
The Fight Before Christmas
Faith's children and Bill's ex-wife threaten her dream of a perfect festive lunch.
A festive edition of the popular sitcom about the lives of two middle-aged divorcees, starring Lynda Bellingham as Faith and James Bolam as Bill.
With Julia Sawalha as Hannah, Belinda Lang as Liza and Mark Denham as Joe.
Four series of 'Second Thoughts' were made for the BBC (1988-1992) before it transferred to ITV using the adapted radio scripts.
Written by: Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1992.
SAT 05:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b08579m6)
Series 8, The Scam
As Christmas approaches and Arthur attempts to engineer his Christmas scotch from Secret Santa, he bumps into an old friend from his Army Days. Will Arthur be persuaded to be involved in an investment scheme?
All false starts and nervous fumbling badly covered up by a delicate sheen of bravado and self-assurance, an expert in everything from the world of entertainment to the origin of the species, everyday life with Arthur is an enlightening, sometimes frustrating, never dull experience.
Count Arthur Strong is supported in the Christmas special by his Radio Repertory Company (like the RSC only better) - Alastair Kerr, Dave Mounfield and Mel Giedroyc.
Steve Delaney has been performing as Count Arthur Strong since the late 90s. In the last 15 years the character has evolved from Edinburgh cult to a mainstay of BBC comedy, with seven series on BBC Radio 4, and a TV sitcom that has stepped from BBC2 to BBC1 and will return for a third series in 2017.
A Komedia Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 King Lear on Boxing Day (b007728h)
On Boxing Day 1606, the entertainment offered to King James I and his guests at Whitehall Palace was a new play by William Shakespeare - King Lear.
Four hundred years on, Francine Stock and a studio full of guests, including actors Fiona Shaw and Oliver Ford Davis; scholars Jonathan Bate, Richard Dutton, Brett Dolman and Tiffany Stern; food historian Ivan Day and musicians Passamezzo (along with some distinguished contributors from the BBC Archives), bring to life every aspect of that momentous opening night.
SAT 07:30 Letters to Father Christmas (b00765hw)
Carole Boyd explores the tradition of writing letters to Father Christmas, featuring some by Dickens and Tolkien. From December 2001.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b0076ppm)
Sing Christmas
On Christmas Day 1957, the BBC made a ground-breaking hour-long live broadcast, transmitting Christmas songs from around the British Isles. Texan folklorist and broadcaster Alan Lomax was the host.
The broadcast was a mixture of ancient carols, folk songs, calypso, West African music, dixieland, skiffle, children's carols and glees. Singers across the country contributed live performances, with Lomax sitting at the centre of the web in a Birmingham studio. It was thrilling, innovative and daring.
This musical time capsule gathers the memories of those involved to recapture the flavour of this pioneering BBC broadcast.
Producer: Jolyon Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
SAT 09:00 The Meow Show With Ed Reardon And Elgar (b0868bq0)
The 12 year-olds at Radio 4 Extra thought it would be a wheeze to hire Ed Reardon for a 3-hour showcase of programmes about cats from the BBC radio archives, on the condition that his feline companion Elgar joins him as co-presenter.
And so Radio's favourite curmudgeon bundles Elgar into his basket and hops on the train from Berkhamsted to Broadcasting House. Between complaints about the paucity of hospitality (apart from a luxury pouch for puss) Ed and Elgar paw through the cat back catalogue to discover some kitty treats:
* In Spoken Cat Sian Phillips meets the people learning cat language so that they can communicate with their moggies.
* Dawn French reads The Cat Lover by Lynne Truss.
* Beryl Reid reveals how the Post Office put pussycats on the payroll in A Shilling a Week and All the Mice You Can Eat.
* In City Cat Fergus Keeling finds out how Felis Domesticus copes with the urban rat race.
* Dylan Winter hears about a whiskered winner of the PDSA Dickin Medal, a cat called Simon who kept up morale during the 100 day Yangtze Incident, in The Animals VC: The Cat Among the Pigeons.
* A vintage edition of Ed Reardon's Week finds Elgar going AWOL.
* And a moving story set on Christmas Eve, The Mousehole Cat, finds an old moggy helping his human to feed a starving Cornish village.
Along the way Ed dangles snippets of poetry and a serenade from Si Si the famous singing cat.
The disgruntled fare-dodger also tries to get tips on publishing success from Tom Cox, the author of four books about his cats and the owner of several feline social media sensations. And the cat-loving comedian Susan Calman has a clandestine consultation with Elgar.
Presented by Christopher Douglas.
Written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds
Produced by Moy McGowan.
SAT 12:00 Victoria Wood As NOT Seen on TV (b0868bq4)
With rare BBC radio clips of the much-loved entertainer, Maxine Peake remembers her friend and Dinnerladies TV co-star, Victoria Wood.
Victoria Wood (1953-2016) was a comedian, writer, actor and singer who lit up our TV screens and packed theatres across the country. She was also a regular on BBC Radio. Over five decades on the wireless, she featured in a range of programmes that opened a window on her work and her life.
After trawling the archives, actress Maxine Peake showcases some rarely-heard gems that tell Victoria Wood's story, in her own words and music - the shy schoolgirl who became a comedy superstar.
Produced by James Alexander for BBC General News Service.
First broadcast on BBC Local Radio and BBC Radio 4 Extra in December 2016.
SAT 13:00 Northanger Abbey Omnibus (b0868bq6)
Episode 1
Entering society, Catherine imagines danger in every encounter with comic results. Gothic novel satire with Miriam Margolyes.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0868cjq)
Paddy Ashdown
Former MP and diplomat Paddy Ashdown chooses 'The Parting Glass' by The Dubliners and 'Beim Schlafengehen' by Richard Strauss.
SAT 14:15 Down Your Way (b0868cjs)
Malcolm Bradbury in Beverley
Academic and novelist, Malcolm Bradbury returns to the East Riding of Yorkshire to take a tour of the town where he first taught - Beverley.
A celebrated teacher of creative writing, Malcolm Bradbury is best known for his 1975 novel, The History Man, that satirised life on the modern university campus.
Down Your Way was one of the BBC's longest-running radio series - starting on the BBC Home Service in 1946 and ending its run on BBC Radio 4 in 1992. Using a variety of hosts, including Richard Dimbleby and Brian Johnston, the programme toured villages, towns and cities across the UK. At the height of its success in the 1950s, the series was attracting 10 million listeners a week.
Malcolm Bradbury was born in 1932. In 2000, he was knighted for his services to literature, and died in November that year, aged 68.
Producer: Kate Whitehead
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0076ppm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 King Lear on Boxing Day (b007728h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Letters to Father Christmas (b00765hw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Anton Chekov - A Dreadful Night (b0868d54)
4 Extra Debut. Returning home from a seance one Chistmas Eve, Ivan Spektroff is horrified by what is waiting for him. Read by Alex McCowen.
SAT 18:15 Harry Towb - A Candle for Casey (b0076jdw)
An elderly Jewish man is haunted by his old Irish pal who wants his help to get into Heaven.
Veteran Irish actor, Harry Towb's delicious Christmas ghost story stars Henry Goodman as Israelovitch, David Kelly as Casey, Suzanne Bertish as Bessie, Joyce Springer as Rachel and Harry Towb himself as Mr Price
Director: Tanya Nash
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
SAT 19:00 The Meow Show With Ed Reardon And Elgar (b0868bq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b01l7wtr)
Series 4, Julia Donaldson
Another brave celebrity revisits their formative years by opening up their intimate teenage diaries, and reading them out in public for the very first time.

This week, comedian Rufus Hound is joined by the author of The Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson. Donaldson's diaries are a vivid account of her obsession with Mick Jagger and the lengths she went to in order to meet the elusive Rolling Stone.


Producer: Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 22:30 Revolting People (b007jrx3)
Series 1, Even More Storm Clouds
Samuel's crooked brother lures Joshua into fighting the 'Cockney Monster'. 1770 America sitcom stars Andy Hamilton. From February 2000.
SAT 23:00 The Mary Whitehouse Experience (b007jpq5)
From 17/02/1990
Nice or nastiness? What is embarrassing? Stars David Baddiel, Rob Newman, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. From February 1990.
SAT 23:30 4 at the Store (b007jw7y)
Series 2, Episode 1
Simon Bligh hosts a Christmas flavoured stand-up comedy show, with Luke Ponte, Mitch Benn and Ian Moore. From December 2001.

SUNDAY 25 DECEMBER 2016

SUN 00:00 Anton Chekov - A Dreadful Night (b0868d54)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:15 Harry Towb - A Candle for Casey (b0076jdw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Northanger Abbey Omnibus (b0868bq6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Down Your Way (b0868cjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:55 Inheritance Tracks (b0868cjq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b0076ppm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 King Lear on Boxing Day (b007728h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Letters to Father Christmas (b00765hw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Charles Dickens (b00x8c60)
A House to Let, Omnibus
Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell's tale of a woman worried about a derelict house. Stars Marcia Warren. Omnibus edition.
SUN 07:15 Completely Crackers (b00pd389)
Episode 2
Linda Smith concludes her panoramic investigation with a visit to the World Cracker Pulling extravaganza. From December 2001.
SUN 07:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b06sbpn3)
Christmas 2015
Christmas creeps up on Arthur, leaving him little time to plan his festive arrangements.
Count Arthur Strong - one time Variety Star, now sole proprietor and owner of Doncaster's Academy of Performance - is a show business legend, raconteur, and lecturer extraordinaire. In this one off episode, the sudden arrival of Christmas ("We've only just celebrated Easter!") surprises Arthur. Could the lack of seasonal planning possibly see Arthur miss out on his Turkey?
All false starts and nervous fumbling badly covered up by a delicate sheen of bravado and self-assurance, and an expert in everything from the world of entertainment to the origin of the species, everyday life with Arthur is an enlightening, sometimes frustrating, never dull experience.
Count Arthur Strong is supported in the Christmas special by his Radio Repertory Company (like the RSC only better) - Alastair Kerr, Dave Mounfield and Mel Giedroyc.
Steve Delaney has been performing as Count Arthur Strong since the late 90s. In the last fifteen years the character has stepped from Edinburgh cult to mainstay of BBC Comedy, with seven series on BBC Radio 4, and a TV sitcom that has stepped from BBC2 to BBC1 and will return for a third series in 2016.
A Komedia Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 Take It From Here (b01dhkjr)
From 21/05/1958
A warring pantomime horse trots on in 'Ali Baba and the Nine Thieves', while Ron's love for Eth is tested on a night out in 'The Glums'.

Starring Professor Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley and June Whitfield.
Music from Wallace Eaton and the Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Scripted by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1958.
SUN 08:30 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b0868hh6)
Christmas Radio Show
Legendary comic duo, Eric and Ern are swapping gifts and Ann Hamilton gets invited over for Christmas dinner - with mistletoe!
Plus a song from Vince Hill.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Christmas Day 1977.
SUN 09:00 Madeleine Bunting - Love of Country: Omnibus (b0868l0q)
A journey into the history and landscapes of the Hebrides and how these islands have shaped Britain. Read by Doon Mackichan.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0868l0t)
Alexandra Shulman
Vogue's editor Alexandra Shulman chooses 'Ladies who Lunch' by Elaine Stritch and Stevie Wonder's 'Blowin' in the Wind'.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0868l0w)
Absent Friends, Victoria Wood
From The Doobie Brothers to Tom Waits, comedy star Victoria Wood makes her castaway choices. With Kirsty Young. From December 2007.
SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b08581mx)
Series 4, All about Moms: Babies, Bees, Concerts and Contacts
True stories told live in the USA: Catherine Burns introduces stories about motherhood, from the challenges to the joys.
The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.
The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.
SUN 11:55 Just So Stories (b047lk7w)
Series 2, The Sing Song of Old Man Kangaroo
Samuel West reads Kipling's fantastical tale of the kangaroo who was chased all over Australia by a dingo and found his hop.
SUN 12:00 Take It From Here (b01dhkjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b0868hh6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Charles Dickens (b00x8c60)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Completely Crackers (b00pd389)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 The Story of Alice (b05qzg61)
Omnibus. Lewis Carroll began his fairy-tale about Alice on an 1862 river trip. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst probes the complex history.
SUN 15:45 John Burnside - A Snowman on the Old Perth Road (b0075f09)
4 Extra Debut. 'I couldn't help thinking later that I was to blame.' A childhood prank leaves lifelong scars. Read by John Gordon Sinclair.
SUN 16:00 Saturday Drama (b01hw3zk)
David Spicer - Kind Hearts and Coronets: Like Father, Like Daughter
Natalie Walter is pursuing a title and Alistair McGowan plays the seven members of a family standing in her way in a sequel to the famous Edwardian comedy by Roy Horniman.
The action of this new radio sequel to a classic comedy takes place some years after the death of the 10th Earl of Chalfont, a man who has systematically murdered his family in order to inherit his title. The twentieth century rolls on and even against a backdrop of international conflict and revolution,an Earldom is still not to be sniffed at apparently. It is rather to be fought for by fair means and foul. There are at least eight claimants to the Chalfont title, all of them ruthless. The Gascoyne family is a big one, its sense of entitlement enormous, its appetite for violence impressive and the family resemblance at times uncanny. A fresh modern take on a great comic plot, this Saturday Play draws both on the Edwardian novel 'Israel Rank' by Roy Horniman for inspiration. David Spicer's entirely new version of this brilliantly simple story has something to offer both those who know the original and those who come to it for the first time.
Written by David Spicer
Producer: Frank Stirling
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b087bfks)
Paul Durcan - Christmas Day 3/3
BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with Paul Durcan's Christmas Day.
Paul continues reading from hi book-length poem that sets out a funny, sweetly sad and often irreverent vision of Christmas.
After Christmas lunch, Paul returns to his empty home, and his thoughts range across his life.
First broadcast on Radio 3 in December 1997.
SUN 17:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b06sbpn3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Flora Robson in Christmas Meeting (b0868pcd)
"If one's always been part of a family, the first Christmas alone is rather terrible".
Stars Flora Robson as Janet Lindsay, Mary O'Farrell as Mrs Carter and Barry Justice as Francis Randel.
Rosemary Timperley's story adapted by Michael and Mollie Hardwick
Dame Flora Robson, DBE was born in 1902 and died in 1984.
Producer: Charles Lefeaux
First broadcast in Mystery Playhouse on the BBC Home Service in December 1963.
SUN 18:15 Jerome K Jerome - After Supper Ghost Stories (b0868pcg)
Christmas Eve, 1891 and in Laburnum Grove, Tooting, Uncle John's whisky-punch and Aunt Maria's toasted lobsters are not the only frights on the menu...
Stars Dinsdale Landen as the narrator, Geoffrey Matthews as Uncle John, Linda Polan as Aunt Maria, Roger Hammond as Mr Coombes, Jonathan Tafler as Teddy Biffles, David Holt as Mr Scrubbles and
John Baddeley as Ghost of a Sinful Man.
Jerome K Jerome's ghostly tale adapted by Paul Wetherby.
Pianist: Neil Brand
Director: David Blount
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b08581mx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:55 Just So Stories (b047lk7w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:55 today]
SUN 20:00 Madeleine Bunting - Love of Country: Omnibus (b0868l0q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0868l0t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0868l0w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b06sbpn3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Innes Own World (b0170r0p)
Episode 1
Famed for The Rutles and The Bonzo Dog Band, Neil Innes ruminates wryly on the nature of civilisation. From January 2003.
SUN 23:00 Cabin Pressure (b00cb5k4)
Series 1, Abu Dhabi
Sitcom about the pilots of a tiny charter airline for whom no job is too small and many jobs are too difficult.
The town of Bristol, a cat and a thermostat combine to present Martin with a career-breaking crisis.
Carolyn Knapp-Shappey ...... Stephanie Cole
First Officer Douglas Richardson ...... Roger Allam
Capt Martin Crieff ...... Benedict Cumberbatch
Arthur Shappey ...... John Finnemore
ATC Fitton ...... Ewen MacIntosh
Written by John Finnemore.
SUN 23:30 Old Harry's Game (b007jzzh)
Christmas Special 2002, The Roll of the Dice
The saintly Hope Fraser's arrival in Hell sparks confusion, as Satan embarks on an epic quest - and encounters Queen Victoria, Harpo Marx and a highly intelligent bluebottle.
Andy Hamilton's two-part festive special from Hell.
Starring Andy Hamilton as Satan, James Grout as The Professor, Jimmy Mulville as Thomas, Robert Duncan as Scumspawn and Claire Skinner as Hope. With Philip Pope, Felicity Montagu and Michael Fenton Stevens.
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2002.

MONDAY 26 DECEMBER 2016

MON 00:00 Flora Robson in Christmas Meeting (b0868pcd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:15 Jerome K Jerome - After Supper Ghost Stories (b0868pcg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Charles Dickens (b00x8c60)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Completely Crackers (b00pd389)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 The Story of Alice (b05qzg61)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 John Burnside - A Snowman on the Old Perth Road (b0075f09)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Saturday Drama (b01hw3zk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b087bfks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b06sbpn3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01pftbl)
Rick Comes to Stay
Wisha, wisha, wisha.
Playfulness, soundscape and oddity above the rustling leaves of Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree.
In the centre of the Enchanted Wood is the Faraway Tree. Home to Moonface, Silky and Saucepan Man; its upper branches stretch into cloud-hosted dimensions of strange and magical lands.
In this two-part abridged adaptation of Enid Blyton's classic children's tale, BBC Radio 4 swoops voices from the world of entertainment into the mystical lands above.
Featuring Johnny Vegas as Moonface, Nigel Planer as Saucepan and Lucy Beaumont (Winner of the BBC's New Comedy Awards 2012) as Silky.
Episode 1 of 2: Rick Comes to Stay
Cast:
Narrator..............................Ronni Ancona
Rick...................................Billy Kennedy
Joe.....................................Alex Clarke
Frannie...............................Nell Tiger Free
Beth...................................Tess Fontaine
Moonface............................Johnny Vegas
Silky...................................Lucy Beaumont
Saucepan............................Nigel Planer
Mother.................................Joanna Hall
Angry Pixie..........................Wayne Forester
Written by Enid Blyton
Adapted for radio by Andrew Lynch
Music composed and arranged by Phase Music
Directed by Johnny Vegas
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 06:30 Beatles Christmas (b018g6ws)
Show business enjoys a cosy relationship with Christmas and as we hear The Fab Four responded with a wealth of festive fan club recordings, appeared in panto and (later) their Boxing Day TV film 'Magic Mystery Tour'. 'Beatle Christmas' hears the best of their rare Christmas message recordings revealing a refreshing sense of fun that helped set the Fab Four apart.
Presenter Alexei Sayle explores how their fan club messages were recorded with comments from the man who wrote the scripts Beatles publicist Tony Barrow. The fan club recordings are featured and reflect the changing stages of the Beatles career and creativity. The programme also reveals the Beatles played two seasons in panto and we hear what was going on back stage . Christmas 1963 saw The Beatles taking to the stage for 16 shows across the seasonal period and it's surprising they took to wearing pantomime costume so well.
The Beatles did a second spell in panto this time playing 21 shows in London Christmas 64 and the programme has comments from supporting acts, singer Elkie Brooks and Barron Knights guitarist Peter Langford. Time is also devoted to the group's Boxing Day broadcast on BBC 1 for their 'Magical Mystery Tour' film and we hears how the movie was made and scheduled for festive family viewing with comments from the film's editor Roy Benson.
Presenter Alexei Sayle takes us on a remarkable musical journey through the Christmas recordings of The Beatles.
Producer: John Sugar
A Sugar Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 07:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076hft)
Series 3, Que Sera Sera
Back from America, Jenny is after Pete. Cassie is burying her head. Who will live happily ever after? Stars Dave Lamb. From October 2003.
MON 07:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08578tr)
Series 66, Episode 6
Back for a second week at the Theatre Royal in Bath, regulars Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Jeremy Hardy and Miles Jupp with Jack Dee in the chair. Piano accompaniment is provided by Colin Sell. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production.
MON 08:00 Thank You, Mrs Fothergill (b0868wsf)
'Alice Foster, This Is Your Life!'
There's a surprise in store for chairman, Alice at the Annual General Meeting of the Ladies' Evening Guild, in the northern English town of Cloughbottom.
Keith Parry's sitcom about the comic mishaps of the Cloughbottom Ladies' Evening Guild.
Starring Sheila Hancock as Alice Foster, Pat Coombs as Phyllis Middleton, Avis Bunnage as Mrs Fothergill and Clovissa Newcombe as Ethel and Peggy.
Produced in Manchester by Bob Oliver Rogers.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1978.
MON 08:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jq15)
The Fancy Dress Parade
Frambourne-on-Sea's pier restoration fund-raising costume party is going well, until Pike brings a piano.
A seaside saga of pier perpetuation starring John Le Mesurier as Arthur Wilson, Ian Lavender as Frank Pike, Bill Pertwee as Bert Hodges and Vivienne Martin as Miss Perkins.
After a pilot episode was made in 1981, Arthur Lowe sadly died. So this 13-part series was revamped to feature the Dad's Army characters played by Pertwee and Lavender instead. The series was later adapted for ITV by Yorkshire TV.
Written by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles, based on the characters originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1984.
MON 09:00 Just a Minute (b00pxk23)
Series 56, Episode 3
Nicholas Parsons chairs the devious word game, recorded at Derby University. The panellists are Josie Lawrence, Justin Moorhouse, Tony Hawks and Dave Gorman. Subjects include how to spot a mature student and three ways to pay back your student loan.
MON 09:30 The Change (b0076czk)
Series 2, Episode 4
Maureen becomes embroiled in George's secretive lifestyle. Stars Lynda Bellingham and Chris Ellison. From February 2003.
MON 10:00 Mystery Theater (b0868wrj)
The Adventures of Ellery Queen: One Diamond
If murder is the fever, who has the cure? Stars Hugh Marlowe as Ellery Queen, "the celebrated fighter of crime".
With ABC's special guest star, Peggy Lee playing armchair detective.
After first appearing in print, 'The Adventures of Ellery Queen' ran on American radio from 1939 to 1948 on CBS, NBC, back to CBS, back to NBC and finally ABC. In each episode, a celebrity would try to solve the dramatised mystery.
Chantuese Peggy Lee's 60-year career garnered her many awards and spanned many genres. Jazz classics like 'Fever' remain her trademark. Peggy Lee was born in 1920 and died in 2002.
One of a series of selected shows from the golden days of American radio in the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers - often re-enacting their famous film roles.
First broadcast on ABC Radio in the USA in 1948.
MON 10:30 Soul Music (b0076b92)
Series 3, Fever
Legendary singer Peggy Lee's daughter Nicki Foster talks about her mother's life and her unforgettable hit record. From November 2002.
MON 11:00 Morven Crumlish - Murals (b01p7hdj)
Pomegranate
These three stories by Morven Crumlish, commissioned specially for Radio 4, are inspired by the work of the artist Phoebe Anna Traquair.
Traquair (1852-1936) was born in County Dublin and, in the 1870s, moved to Edinburgh where she would later become a prominent figure in the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement.
Probably her best-known works are the vibrantly-coloured murals in what was formerly the Catholic Apostolic Church in Broughton Street, Edinburgh which Traquair took eight years to complete (1893-1901). When the church fell out of ecclesiastical use, the murals suffered badly through neglect but, following the formation of the Mansfield Traquair Trust, a major restoration was undertaken, completed in 2005.
While art is at the core of all three fictions, Murals also mirrors the evolution of a similar building: from church, to brickyard, to present-day use for visitors and as a venue for events.
1/3. Pomegranate
"With such an enormous task sometimes artistry had to be abandoned in favour of completion." At the top of her ladder, painting her mural, an artist is adding detail to the robes of a priest: "a pomegranate and a bell. And a pomegranate and a bell ..."
Morven Crumlish's stories have been broadcast widely, and she also contributes to the Guardian. Her work has featured in four previous Sweet Talk productions for BBC Radio 4, including Dilemmas of Modern Martyrs - five of her stories - in 2008; and most recently 'Harold Lloyd Is Not The Man Of My Dreams' (Three For My Baby, 2011).
Morven lives in Edinburgh.
Reader: Gillian Kearney
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b03m7p9z)
Enid Bagnold - National Velvet, Episode 1
Fourteen year old Velvet is mad about horses. She knows 'there are pleasures earlier than love. Earlier than love, nearer heaven' in the form of horses.
When she wins a piebald horse in a raffle, she recognises he's something special. He can easily clear five-foot fences, and he'll do anything for her. Soon, she and butcher's assistant Mi have their sights set on the biggest race in England. But how can a girl in 1930s England get near Aintree?
Peter Flannery rescues National Velvet from Hollywood, returning 14 year old Velvet to her Sussex butcher's family in the 1930s. A welcome return for Enid Bagnold's strange, inventive fairytale about a young amateur girl rider who takes an untrained horse over the stiffest course in the world and wins.
Sound design: Eloise Whitmore
Author: Enid Bagnold
Dramatised by Peter Flannery
Director/Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer: Polly Thomas
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 12:00 Thank You, Mrs Fothergill (b0868wsf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jq15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01pftbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Beatles Christmas (b018g6ws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Dashiell Hammett - Nightmare Town (b00sqf68)
Episode 1
From the pen of one of America's best known crime writers, Dashiell Hammett, comes the sharp-edged Steve Threefall.
Arriving in desert boomtown, Izzard - Threefall finds that all is not what it seems
Read by Stuart Milligan.
Abridged into four parts by Neville Teller.
Producer: Liz Allard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
MON 14:15 The Good Samaritan (b00mk6dn)
Hassan's Story
1.Hassan's story. When a group of Jewish commuters were attacked on the New York subway, a slightly built accountancy student decided it was time to act.
Producer John Byrne.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fnxcb)
Julian Fellowes - Snobs, Episode 1
Satire on English snobbery, adapted from his own novel by Julian Fellowes.
On a visit to the local stately home, middle-class estate agent Edith meets Charles, the extremely eligible Earl.
Narrator ...... Nicholas Farrell
Edith ...... Sophie Roberts
Charles ...... Hugh Bonneville
Lady Uckfield ...... Celia Imrie
Lord Uckfield ...... Richard Mitchley
Isabel ...... Sophie Thompson
David/Eric ...... Rupert Vansittart
Caroline ...... Caroline Harker
Simon ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Bella ...... Bernice Stegers
Singer ...... David Benson.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b01jqd3l)
Dear Lupin, Episode 1
The late Sunday Times Racing Correspondent Roger Mortimer wrote to his wayward son Charlie over a period of twenty five years. The correspondence was sometimes touching, often hilarious and always generous. Charlie is publishing this collection as a tribute to a father who never gave up on him despite his frequent disasters and general inability to live up to expectations.
'Initially there were hopes that I would get my house colours at Eton and become an officer in the Coldstream Guards. Ultimately my dad merely hoped that I would avoid "being taken away in a Black Maria" ... As he predicted it is only in later life that I have come to fully appreciate the affection and wisdom imparted by him to me.'
Read by David Horovitch and Nicky Henson.
Abridged and Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Mystery Theater (b0868wrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 15:30 Soul Music (b0076b92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 16:00 Just a Minute (b00pxk23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 The Change (b0076czk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076hft)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08578tr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Doctor Who (b086932t)
Demon Quest, A Shard of Ice 2/2
The Doctor and Captain Yates are in 1874 Germany and are confronted by another manifestation of The Demon.
Tom Baker reprises the role of the Fourth Doctor in a series of thrilling adventures.
With Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, Carole Boyd as Frau Herz, Samuel West as Albert Tiermann and Jan Francis as The Ice Queen

Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0076dtn)
Aminatta Forna & Tim Healey
Rosie Boycott and her guests - author, Aminatta Forna and writer and broadcaster, Tim Healey - discuss favourite books by Laura Blumenfeld, Pascal Khoo Thwe and Arthur Japin. From 2003.
The Two Hearts of Kwasi Boachi by Arthur Japin
Publisher: Vintage
From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwee
Publisher: HarperCollins
Revenge by Laura Blumenfeld
Publisher: Picador.
MON 19:00 Thank You, Mrs Fothergill (b0868wsf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jq15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01pftbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Beatles Christmas (b018g6ws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Morven Crumlish - Murals (b01p7hdj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b03m7p9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08578tr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 The Lee Mack Show (b00bbnvy)
Tony Hadley
Tony Hadley joins the quick-fire comic for stand-up, sketches and music. With Angela McHale and Trevor Crook. From March 2005.
MON 23:00 Dead Ringers (b085bg02)
Series 17, Episode 1
It's rumoured that Adele may attempt to sing a happy song, but there's no certainty she'll succeed. Listen out for light-hearted Christmassy versions of your favourite shows from Crimewatch to The Fall.
PRODUCED AND CREATED BY
Bill Dare
A BBC Studios production.
MON 23:30 Will Smith Presents the Tao of Bergerac (b007wh7j)
Episode 4
Comedian Will Smith is obsessed with 1980s detective series Bergerac, so uses an audio book of its star, John Nettles, reading the Tao, to navigate the minefield of his life with the help of a special guest.
Will wonders how he can defend his machismo when he is scared of his builders.
With Ewan Bailey, John Nettles, Dan Tetsell, Roger Drew and Rachel Bavidge.

TUESDAY 27 DECEMBER 2016

TUE 00:00 Doctor Who (b086932t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0076dtn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01pftbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Beatles Christmas (b018g6ws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Dashiell Hammett - Nightmare Town (b00sqf68)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 The Good Samaritan (b00mk6dn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fnxcb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b01jqd3l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Mystery Theater (b0868wrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 Soul Music (b0076b92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00pxk23)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 The Change (b0076czk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076hft)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08578tr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01phf4m)
Up the Tree Again
Wisha, wisha, wisha.
Playfulness, soundscape and oddity above the rustling leaves of Enid Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree.
In the centre of the Enchanted Wood is the Faraway Tree. Home to Moonface, Silky and Saucepan Man, its upper branches stretch into cloud-hosted dimensions of strange and magical lands.
In this two-part abridged adaptation of Enid Blyton's classic children's tale, BBC Radio 4 swoops voices from the world of entertainment into the mystical lands above.
Featuring Johnny Vegas, as Moonface, Nigel Planer as Saucepan and Lucy Beaumont (Winner of the BBC's New Comedy Awards 2012) as Silky.
Episode 2 of 2: Up The Tree Again
Narrator........................Ronni Ancona
Rick.............................Billy Kennedy
Joe...............................Alex Clarke
Frannie.........................Nell Tiger Free
Beth.............................Tess Fontaine
Moonface......................Johnny Vegas
Silky.............................Lucy Beaumont
Saucepan......................Nigel Planer
Mother...........................Joanna Hall
Mr Changeabout.............Wayne Forester
Additional voices: Joanna Hall and Wayne Forrester
Written by Enid Blyton
Adapted for Radio by Andrew Lynch
Music composed and arranged by Phase Music
Directed by Johnny Vegas
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 06:30 Oh Yes I Am (b00765dx)
4 Extra Debut. Why does pantomime still attract the Christmas crowds? Oh yes it does. Mark Ravenhill's history, with Jim Davidson. From December 2001.
TUE 07:00 Dave Sheasby - Sharing Fatman (b0075kyg)
Episode 6
Will the syndicate sell Mr Fatman? Dreams come true at Ascot, and romance blooms. Stars Gerard McDermott. From June 1999.
TUE 07:30 Clare in the Community (b08587nz)
Series 11, You Take the High Road
It's the social work event of the year and Clare Barker is giving the keynote speech; it's the biggest moment of her career. Provided she can actually get there for it. Back at home Brian and Nali have been taken in by Ray after a barbecue got out of hand. His housekeeping leaves a bit to be desired as far as Nali's concerned.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Each week we join Clare in her continued struggle to control both her professional and private life In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Producer Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios production.
TUE 08:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jlt3)
Series 3, Cuckoo in the Nest
Harold Steptoe is shocked to meet his older half-brother from Australia.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold. With Kenneth J Warren as Arthur.
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 April 1971.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b018741f)
Boots
When the men have to find 5,000 boots, No 1's writing proves problematic. With Norma Ronald. Re-recorded in April 1980.
TUE 09:00 Dead Ringers (b085bg02)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Instant Sunshine (b00pf59k)
Seasonably Together Again
Festive fun from the singing quartet of David Barlow, Peter Christie, Miles Kington and Alan Maryon-Davis. From December 1985.
TUE 10:00 Mystery Theater (b086944k)
The Radio Theater: Hostages
Whilst being sued for divorce, a paranoid policeman sees an opportunity to get even with his estranged wife - when she's taken hostage during a failed bank raid...
Vincent Price is the host of the 1979 "revival", originally sponsored in America by retail chain, Sears, aiming to recapture the flavour of radio dramas of the 1940s and 50s.
Stars Virginia Gregg, Shepard Menken and Vic Perrin.
Written by Ken Gerard.
Produced and directed by Fletcher Markle
One of a series of selected shows from the golden days of American radio in the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers - often re-enacting their famous film roles.
First broadcast on CBS Radio in the USA in 1979.
TUE 10:40 Mystery Theater (b086961k)
The Third Man: Voodoo
Con artist Harry Lime recalls a low point when he arrived in Haiti.
Starring Orson Welles as Harry Lime.
The films of Orson Welles, such as 'Citizen Kane', 'The Magnificent Ambersons' and 'Touch of Evil' guaranteed his place in the pantheon of silver-screen heroes.
In the celebrated 1949 film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel 'The Third Man', Harry Lime is introduce as one of cinema's most notorious anti-heroes. Sought in post-war Vienna by pulp writer Holly Martins [Joseph Cotton] and British Army Major Calloway [Trevor Howard], Lime manages to steal the show despite being absent for much of it!
This radio prequel to the film, 'The Lives of Harry Lime' earned Welles even more acclaim. His distinctive tones had already served him well as the radio voice of 'The Shadow' between 1937 and 1938, where he portrayed the crusader with distinctly questionable means of thwarting crime.
Stripped of the film cameras, the character of Harry Lime is not ameliorated for this radio outing. He's an out and out rogue. Lime made it to the airwaves thanks to another Harry - Harry Alan Towers, with whom Welles collaborated on 'The Black Museum'. Like its eponymous anti-hero, this series travelled widely, being syndicated across the USA and on Radio Luxembourg.
The music is by Anton Karas, the zither man.
Producer: Harry Alan Towers
Syndicated series made in the UK by Towers of London and first broadcast in the USA in 1951.
TUE 11:00 Morven Crumlish - Murals (b01pcwqs)
Banana Bread
These three stories by Morven Crumlish, commissioned specially for Radio 4, are inspired by the work of the artist Phoebe Anna Traquair.
Traquair (1852-1936) was born in County Dublin and, in the 1870s, moved to Edinburgh where she would later become a prominent figure in the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement.
Probably her best-known works are the vibrantly-coloured murals in what was formerly the Catholic Apostolic Church in Broughton Street, Edinburgh which Traquair took eight years to complete (1893-1901). When the church fell out of ecclesiastical use, the murals suffered badly through neglect but, following the formation of the Mansfield Traquair Trust, a major restoration was undertaken, completed in 2005.
While art is at the core of all three fictions, Murals also mirrors the evolution of a similar building: from church, to brickyard, to present-day use for visitors and as a venue for events.
2/3. Banana Bread
The building has fallen into disuse as a church and is now a warehouse for bricks. A builder uncovers some of the neglected murals and relives the life and death of his lost son.
Morven Crumlish's stories have been broadcast widely, and she also contributes to the Guardian. Her work has featured in four previous Sweet Talk productions for BBC Radio 4, including Dilemmas of Modern Martyrs - five of her stories - in 2008; and most recently 'Harold Lloyd Is Not The Man Of My Dreams' (Three For My Baby, 2011). Morven lives in Edinburgh.
Reader: Mark Bonnar
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b03mtfrl)
Enid Bagnold - National Velvet, Episode 2
Fourteen year old Velvet is mad about horses. She knows 'there are pleasures earlier than love. Earlier than love, nearer heaven' in the form of horses.
When she wins a piebald horse in a raffle, she recognises he's something special. He can easily clear five-foot fences, and he'll do anything for her. Soon, she and butcher's assistant Mi have their sights set on the biggest race in England. But how can a girl in 1930s England get near Aintree?
Peter Flannery rescues National Velvet from Hollywood, returning 14 year old Velvet to her Sussex butcher's family in the 1930s. A welcome return for Enid Bagnold's strange, inventive fairytale about a young amateur girl rider who takes an untrained horse over the stiffest course in the world and wins.
Author: Enid Bagnold
Dramatised by Peter Flannery
Director/Producer: Melanie Harris
Executive Producer: Polly Thomas
A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jlt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b018741f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01phf4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Oh Yes I Am (b00765dx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Dashiell Hammett - Nightmare Town (b00sqf6b)
Episode 2
A hostile reception sends Steve Threefall into the arms of Nova Vallance, but what is she afraid of? Read by Stuart Milligan.
TUE 14:15 The Good Samaritan (b00mr234)
Sylvia's Story
2. Sylvia's story
After serving just two days of her prison sentence for failing to pay her full council tax, pensioner Sylvia Hardy had her protest ruined when an anonymous benefactor paid her arrears and she was released.
Producer John Byrne.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fnxj1)
Julian Fellowes - Snobs, Episode 2
Satire on English snobbery, adapted from his own novel by Julian Fellowes.
News of Edith and Charles's romance hits the gossip columns but Lady Uckfield and the rest of Edith's aristocratic soon-to-be in-laws are not impressed.
Narrator ...... Nicholas Farrell
Edith ...... Sophie Roberts
Charles ...... Hugh Bonneville
Lady Uckfield ...... Celia Imrie
Lord Uckfield ...... Richard Mitchley
Isabel ...... Sophie Thompson
David/Eric ...... Rupert Vansittart
Caroline ...... Caroline Harker
Simon ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Bella ...... Bernice Stegers
Singer ...... David Benson.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b01jrs27)
Dear Lupin, Episode 2
To his father's surprise, Charlie has made an impetuous decision to join the Coldstream Guards as a squaddie. But true to form, he regrets it almost immediately. And his father writes him encouraging letters about his own days in the army, not always glorious, and relates the usual tales from home. "In the Hyperion Bar a blonde lady stood me a large Irish whiskey which I naturally accepted ... It would be interesting and doubtless humiliating too, to discover who she thought I really was."
Read by David Horovitch and Nicky Henson
Abridged and Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 Mystery Theater (b086944k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 15:40 Mystery Theater (b086961k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:40 today]
TUE 16:00 Trivia Test Match (b007jsrv)
From 01/10/1991
Brian Johnston umpires as team captains Tim Rice and Stephen Fry battle guest panellists Willie Rushton and Rachel Heyhoe-Flint. From October 1991.
TUE 16:30 Flying the Flag (b00f34fk)
Series 4, The Pretenders
Ambassador Mackenzie faces an aristocratic revival in the Federated People's Republic. Stars Dinsdale Landen. From July 1992.
TUE 17:00 Dave Sheasby - Sharing Fatman (b0075kyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Clare in the Community (b08587nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Doctor Who (b086961m)
Demon Quest, Starfall 1/2
The Doctor, Yates and Mrs Wibbsey are in 1976 New York to establish why their images are on a comic book cover.
Stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, Trevor White as Buddy, Laurel Lefkow as Alice and Lorelei King as Mimsy Loyne.
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
TUE 18:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007js75)
Series 1, Frank Randle
Mark Radcliffe tells the story of the bad lad of showbiz. He was 'a gargoyle, a grotesque, and the funniest man alive'.
TUE 19:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jlt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b018741f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01phf4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Oh Yes I Am (b00765dx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Morven Crumlish - Murals (b01pcwqs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b03mtfrl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Clare in the Community (b08587nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 What to Do If You're Not Like Everybody Else (b00tjqzx)
Series 1, Personal Appearance
What lengths do we need to go to "look good"? Do we really need to communicate with our fellow men? How important is it to work? Or to have a relationship?
What To Do If You're Not Like Everybody Else is a four part mini-series of short comedic monologues on BBC Radio 4 written and performed by the stand-up comedian Andrew Lawrence, taking a light-hearted look at various aspects of conventional living and the pressure we feel to conform to social norms and ideals.
Each episode is fifteen minutes long and was recorded in front of an audience, the first two episodes at South London comedy club 'Up The Creek', the final two recorded at the Edinburgh Comedy Festival.
This first episode examines the effort we all put into our personal appearance and the pressure we feel to look good.
TUE 22:45 Date With Fate (b008y7g7)
A Damp Fib
Surveyor's clerk Simon tries hard to cover up a huge white lie. Stars Charles Gray and Alex Lowe. From February 1996.
TUE 23:00 Trodd en Bratt Say 'Well Done You' (b046ny8j)
Series 1, Episode 1
Nominated for Best Comedy in the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2015, Trodd en Bratt Say 'Well Done You' is a comedy sketch show written and performed by Ruth Bratt and Lucy Trodd, stars of Radio 4's Showstoppers.

What happens when you put together jaded (sorry, 'experienced') comedy circuit veteran Ruth Bratt (Derek, People Just Do Nothing, Quick Cuts, Ministry of Curious Stuff, Mongrels) and 'serious circuit' enthusiast Lucy Trodd (famous for her fruit impressions)?

This week Ruth gets to perform her favourite sketch featuring eight different Kens - she just has to get Lucy to understand it. Meanwhile the 1940's divas who run a lighthouse can't work out whose turn it is to switch on the light; and on Wetumpka's public access radio station, Thandie is trying to find her clumsy and slightly terrifying daughter Lily-Rose-May a date.

Written and performed by Ruth Bratt and Lucy Trodd

Supporting cast: Adam Meggido and Oliver Senton

Script Editor: Jon Hunter

Composer: Duncan Walsh Atkins

Producer: Ben Worsfield

A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:30 The In Crowd (b00shkc5)
Series 3, Episode 3
Sketch show from Manchester's Comedy Store with Robin Ince, Helen Moon, Smug Roberts and Kate Ward. From August 2002.

WEDNESDAY 28 DECEMBER 2016

WED 00:00 Doctor Who (b086961m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007js75)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Enid Blyton - The Magic Faraway Tree (b01phf4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Oh Yes I Am (b00765dx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Dashiell Hammett - Nightmare Town (b00sqf6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 The Good Samaritan (b00mr234)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fnxj1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b01jrs27)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Mystery Theater (b086944k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:40 Mystery Theater (b086961k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:40 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Trivia Test Match (b007jsrv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Flying the Flag (b00f34fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Dave Sheasby - Sharing Fatman (b0075kyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Clare in the Community (b08587nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Nikolai Gogol - The Government Inspector (b00fvg6c)
Episode 1
A VIP visitor to a village is soon the target of love and gossip.
A two-part adaptation by Rene Basilico of Gogol's classic comedy - a picture of municipal 'sleaze' and corruption in 19th century Russia.
Stars Julian Rhind-Tutt as Khlestakov, Trevor Peacock as Osip, Bill Wallis as The Mayor and David Gant as The Judge.
Music by Max Harris.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
WED 06:30 Wilson, Keppel and Several Bettys (b017528q)
Barbara Windsor tells the story of the popular variety act Wilson, Keppel and Betty.
Wilson, Keppel and Betty formed one of the greatest eccentric dance acts of all time. Their names are so familiar and yet amazingly their fascinating story has never been told on radio before. As with many tales of the stars of music hall and variety, it is one which is shrouded in contradictions and myth.
The programme includes new research into their early days as a duo in Australia and America - and reveals how the act was catapulted to stardom when Wilson and Keppel met Betty.
Liverpudlian Jack Wilson and Irishman Joe Keppel were doleful, gangling, moustachioed and skinny-legged. They wore parodies of Eastern dress, usually a fez and a short nightshirt, revealing their scrawny legs. The third member was the glamorous Betty - who over the years was played by several different women.
They performed a side-splitting sand dance based on poses familiar from Egyptian tomb art, with Betty as the central seductress. Their complete seriousness added to the hilarity.
From the early 1930's the trio became an established feature of British variety shows and were chosen for several Royal Variety Performances. Because the act was visual and hence instantly understandable to anyone, they received many offers from Europe.
In 1938 it was reported that whilst performing at the Berlin Wintergarden they upset Goebbels who was disgusted at the display of bare legs, calling them 'bad for the morals of Nazi Youth'. Mussolini, however, is said to have loved the act.
Contributors include Bill Pertwee, Mark Colleano, Jean Kent, Georgy Jamieson and relatives of the trio.
WED 07:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b013plyb)
Series 3, Arrivederci Coma
Wendy visits Robin in hospital and opens the door on a whole new life. Stars Kay Stonham and Martin Trenaman. From July 2004.
WED 07:30 Women Talking About Cars (b0858nvh)
Germaine Greer
Victoria Coren Mitchell interviews famous women about their life and the cars they have known. This week Germaine Greer talks about the journeys she has been on and the cars she has travelled in, including her first Mini, a series of Triumphs, and Australia's own car, the mighty Holden.
Car descriptions read by Josette Simon.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b01857zf)
Operation Recovery
Trouble afloat as the crew of HMS Troutbridge try to locate an American warhead.
Stars Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Commanding Officer, Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Rita, Tenniel Evans as LS Goldsein 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 June 1971.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007lrqy)
The New Secretary
The lad's plan to hire help is thwarted by the very scary Grizelda Pugh.
Starring Tony Hancock, Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques.
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 November 1956.
WED 09:00 Heresy (b02qr6wd)
Series 9, Episode 5
Victoria Coren Mitchell presents another edition of the show which dares to commit heresy .
Her guests this week are comedians Miles Jupp, Sue Perkins and television presenter Richard Osman.

Producers: Victoria Coren Mitchell and Daisy Knight
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 09:30 The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (b00brb8n)
The Demon Cobbler of Greek Street
The spoof sleuth probes a shoe clue connection in two mystery murders. Stars Roy Hudd and June Whitfield. From February 1999.
WED 10:00 Mystery Theater (b08697lt)
Dimension X: The Martian Chronicles
Ohio, January, 1999: Humanity's encounter with the citizens of the Red Planet sparks serious repercussions for both sides.
Stars Ian Martin and Jan Miner.
Ray Bradbury's space thriller 'The Martian Chronicles' is now considered a sci-fi classic, from a decade when it was a relatively new literary event. As much about life on Earth as it is about matters extra-terrestrial, Bradbury's dramatised novel charts a series of encounters between the first colonists to arrive on Mars and their gentle, telepathic natives.
One of a series of selected shows from the golden days of American radio in the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers - often re-enacting their famous film roles.
Music: Alfred Buhrman
Adapted by Ernest Kinoy.
Director: Jack Kuney
First broadcast on NBC Radio in the USA in 1950.
WED 10:30 Mystery Theater (b061y3z7)
Rocky Fortune: Frank Sinatra, part 1
Selected shows from the golden days of American radio in the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers, often re-enacting film roles.
Frank Sinatra portrayed job-seeking drifter Rocky Fortune for NBC for 25 episodes during an album-recording hiatus that ended with the release of the legendary 'Songs for Young Lovers' in 1954.
In this episode, as a lowly 'Oyster Shucker', Rocky's taken on at the Fifty Fathoms Clam House. He inadvertently gets involved with a pearl smuggling scam, but will he get the girl - sassy Iris?
Cast includes: Jack Nessel, Lynne Allen and Jack Kruschen.
Directed by Andrew C Love.
Announcer: Eddy King.
First broadcast in the USA on NBC (National Broadcasting Company) in 1953.
WED 11:00 Morven Crumlish - Murals (b01pgll7)
A Bowl of Cherries
These three stories by Morven Crumlish - commissioned specially for Radio 4 - are inspired by the work of the artist Phoebe Anna Traquair. Traquair (1852-1936) was born in County Dublin and in the 1870s moved to Edinburgh, where she would later become a prominent figure in the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement.
Probably her best-known works are the vibrantly-coloured murals in what was formerly the Catholic Apostolic Church in Broughton Street, Edinburgh, which Traquair took eight years to complete (1893-1901). When the church fell out of ecclesiastical use, the murals suffered badly through neglect, but following the formation of the Mansfield Traquair Trust, a major restoration was undertaken, completed in 2005.
While art is at the core of all three fictions, Murals also mirrors the evolution of a similar building: from church, to brickyard, to present-day use for visitors and as a venue for events."
3/3. A Bowl Of Cherries
An events manager, organising a christening party at the former church, is beset by crises. One is professional - there's a dead dog in the basement. But the other is more existential.
Morven Crumlish's stories have been broadcast widely, and she also contributes to the Guardian. Her work has featured in four previous Sweet Talk productions for BBC Radio 4, including Dilemmas of Modern Martyrs - five of her stories - in 2008; and most recently 'Harold Lloyd Is Not The Man Of My Dreams' (Three For My Baby, 2011).
Morven lives in Edinburgh.
Reader: Ashley Jensen
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:15 Alex Ferguson - My Uncle Freddie (b007jw69)
Heart's Ache, Heart's Ease
10 year old Lecky and his Uncle Freddie rescue the Prince of Wales from the Tyne. Is he the true prince? Will the course of history change in the North East?
The first of Alex Ferguson's hilarious and heart-warming trilogy is a passionate evocation of a 1930s childhood in Jarrow.
Stars Shaun Prendergast as Uncle Freddie, Colin Maclachlan as Our Dad, Alex Ferguson as Alex and Janine Birkett as Aunt Bella.
Producer: Melanie Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b01857zf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007lrqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Nikolai Gogol - The Government Inspector (b00fvg6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Wilson, Keppel and Several Bettys (b017528q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Dashiell Hammett - Nightmare Town (b00ssnqz)
Episode 3
As Steve Threefall ponders the wrongdoings of desert boomtown Izzard, events take a sinister turn. Read by Stuart Milligan.
WED 14:15 The Good Samaritan (b00mw5n5)
The Butterfields' Story
3. The Butterfield's Story.
Jane and Ashley Butterfield used to organise railway tours of India. Distressed by the sight of children living rough near railway lines, they set up their own charity to run a home for girls on the outskirts of Delhi.
Producer John Byrne.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fnxk0)
Julian Fellowes - Snobs, Episode 3
Satire on English snobbery, adapted from his own novel by Julian Fellowes.
3/5. Edith's privileged yet dull new existence is shaken up when a film crew arrives at Broughton Hall, among which is the handsome Simon Russell.
Narrator ...... Nicholas Farrell
Edith ...... Sophie Roberts
Charles ...... Hugh Bonneville
Lady Uckfield ...... Celia Imrie
Lord Uckfield ...... Richard Mitchley
Isabel ...... Sophie Thompson
David/Eric ...... Rupert Vansittart
Caroline ...... Caroline Harker
Simon ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Bella ...... Bernice Stegers
Singer ...... David Benson.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b01jt0ny)
Dear Lupin, Episode 3
More correspondence from a father to his wayward son: "Dear Charles, I suppose writing a serious letter to you is about as effective as trying to kick a 30 ton block of concrete in bedroom slippers, but I'm a glutton for punishment as far as you are concerned."
Read by David Horovitch and Nicky Henson
Abridged and Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Mystery Theater (b08697lt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 15:30 Mystery Theater (b061y3z7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
WED 16:00 Heresy (b02qr6wd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (b00brb8n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b013plyb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Women Talking About Cars (b0858nvh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Doctor Who (b08698yy)
Demon Quest, Starfall 2/2
With help from New York's newest superheroine, the Fourth Doctor confronts the latest manifestation of The Demon.
Stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates, Trevor White as Buddy, Laurel Lefkow as Alice and Lorelei King as Mimsy Loyne.
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00ny8fz)
Last Orders
4 Extra Debut. Dominic Arkwright quizzes Ian Marchant, Simon Fanshawe and Melissa Cole about the future of the public house. From November 2009.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b01857zf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007lrqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Nikolai Gogol - The Government Inspector (b00fvg6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Wilson, Keppel and Several Bettys (b017528q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Morven Crumlish - Murals (b01pgll7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Alex Ferguson - My Uncle Freddie (b007jw69)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Women Talking About Cars (b0858nvh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Meet David Sedaris (b01n60m2)
Series 3, Author Author; Front Row Centre with Thaddeus Bristol
The multi-award winning American essayist brings more of his wit and charm to BBC Radio 4 with a series of audience readings.
This week David gives his observations of life as an author on tour in "Author, Author", makes a satirical swipe at critics in "Front Row Centre with Thaddeus Bristol", and reads some extracts from his diaries.

Producer: Steve Doherty
A Boom Pictures Cymru production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 Life: An Idiot's Guide (b0436hkz)
Series 3, Multiculturalism
Comedian, Stephen K Amos is joined by Stephen Grant, Nish Kumar and Andrew Maxwell to compile an idiot's guide to multiculturalism.
WED 23:30 Hut 33 (b00wfwyl)
Series 2, Getting Heavy
Bottom of Bletchley Park's league, the codebreakers set out to prove themselves. Stars Robert Bathurst. From June 2008.

THURSDAY 29 DECEMBER 2016

THU 00:00 Doctor Who (b08698yy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00ny8fz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Nikolai Gogol - The Government Inspector (b00fvg6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Wilson, Keppel and Several Bettys (b017528q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Dashiell Hammett - Nightmare Town (b00ssnqz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 The Good Samaritan (b00mw5n5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fnxk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b01jt0ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Mystery Theater (b08697lt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 Mystery Theater (b061y3z7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Heresy (b02qr6wd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (b00brb8n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b013plyb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Women Talking About Cars (b0858nvh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Nikolai Gogol - The Government Inspector (b00fvg6f)
Episode 2
The "Inspector" becomes plied with cash and love.

A two-part adaptation by Rene Basilico of Gogol's classic comedy - a picture of municipal 'sleaze' and corruption in 19th century Russia.

Stars Julian Rhind-Tutt as Khlestakov, Trevor Peacock as Osip, Bill Wallis as The Mayor and David Gant as The Judge.

Music by Max Harris.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
THU 06:30 When Hollywood Met Halifax (b010r7bw)
Liza Tarbuck discovers how Jayne Mansfield sprinkled Hollywood glamour on the northern club circuit during the last turbulent year of her life. Jayne Mansfield's story is a story of our times - the celebrity whose life unravelled. In 1967, the year she was to die in a tragic road accident at 34, she packed up her furs and embarked on a little known tour of English northern clubs.
Her unique act of breathy ballads and risque lap dancing routines astonished her audiences more used to it's-the-way-I-tell-'em comedians and inoffensive covers bands. At the time Mansfield was spiralling into alcoholism and her life was imploding - realities she kept hidden from her English fans. The programme traces how the once glittering star of the Girl Can't Help It and Too Hot to Handle was forced to get out on the road as her movie career faded.
Producer: Paula McGinley.
THU 07:00 Mark Tavener - In the Red (b007jzh9)
Episode 1
London is plagued by a series of bizarre murders of bank managers.
Hot on the trail of the killer are an old-style Chief Police Inspector and BBC Radio's anarchic crime correspondent, George Cragge.
A blackly humorous murder mystery set in the world of City finance, the BBC and political parties. Dramatised in seven-parts by Mark Tavener and Peter Baynham from Mark Tavener's novel.
Starring Michael Williams as George Cragge, Stephen Moore as Geoffrey Crichton-Potter, Julian Rhind-Tutt as Henry and Barry Foster as Frank Jefferson
Music by Tony McAnaney.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
THU 07:30 A Beginner's Guide to India (b085b73n)
Youth
India is the second most populous nation in the world (1.2 billion people), and British-Indian is the largest ethnic minority in the United Kingdom (1.4 million people). So after Radio 4 broadcast A Beginner's Guide To Pakistan last year, it feels only right to broadcast A Beginner's Guide To India as without India there wouldn't even be a Pakistan.
Our guide will be Aditi Mittal, a Mumbai-based comic who has already appeared on The Now Show and on The Asian Network's Big Comedy Night. The Times of India listed her as one of the top ten comedians in India; Forbes Magazine India put her in their 30 Under 30, ranging across every sphere of life from science to law to sport to theatre to comedy - and she's written articles for everyone from The Financial Times to Grazia. Radio 4 has brought her to the UK to perform A Beginner's Guide To India because she, like all Indians, loves the British - the last time they got some, they kept them for 200 years.
Aditi is young in a country with more history than most; she's a woman in a country that sees street harassment as 'Eve teasing'; she's an Anglophone because of the legacy of the British Empire, but India was independent before her parents were born; she's an atheist in a country that has given the world four major religions and also one actual God (Sachin Tendulkar).
Episode 2: Youth.
Speaking as someone who lives in one of the oldest cultures on the planet, Aditi looks at the challenges facing India's youth - of whom India has more (350m) than any other country in the world, from education to jobs to body image - including the booming industry of skin-lightening cream.
A Beginner's Guide To India will look at an undoubtedly significant and increasingly important country from a point of view that is rarely heard, performed by the most exciting stand-up comedian India has generated. As with A Beginner's Guide To Pakistan ("Stylishly cynical, brutally newsy, bitingly funny, this is political stand-up done with gusto", The Sunday Telegraph) it is informative, educational and entertaining, broadening the range of voices in Radio 4 comedy.
Written and performed by ... Aditi Mittal
The Voice of the Guide ... Ritula Shah
Production Coordinator ... Tamara Shilham
Produced by ... Ed Morrish
A BBC Studios Production.
THU 08:00 Stop Messing About! (b00b8w6q)
Series 1, Episode 3
Meet Varda Marvello the Mind Reader - and the tale of a little bee.
Starring Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Joan Sims and announcer, Douglas Smith.
After the unexpected death of Kenneth Horne in 1969, plans for the next series of Round The Horne were axed. Instead - using an old catchphrase of Kenneth Williams as a series title - Kenneth joined Hugh Paddick to continue the comedy tradition and was also reunited with his "Carry On" film co-star Joan Sims.
Written by Johnnie Mortimer, Brian Cooke and Myles Rudge
With the Max Harris Group.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1969.
THU 08:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00k3myf)
From 15/04/1984
From his own father to a huge hairy mountain gorilla, it's the ultimate one-man show, written by the host. From April 1984.
THU 09:00 The Personality Test (b007rlx5)
Series 3, Janet Street-Porter
Comedy quiz presented by a new guest host every week. All the questions are about the host.
Janet Street-Porter takes the chair, with panellists Sue Perkins, Lucy Porter, Nick Doody and Will Smith.
THU 09:30 Taking It up the Octave (b0869g9z)
Episode 2
Blackmail and throat nodules plague the cast of Opera Sunderland's production of Carmen. With Simon Butteriss. From June 1997.
THU 10:00 Mystery Theater (b0869gb4)
The Shadow: Sabotage with Orson Welles
Mysterious explosions aboard ships at sea are blamed on sabotage. Intrepid crime fighter, Lamont Cranston sets off to investigate the shipyard where the ships are built on Sag Island...
Broadcast across America from 1937-1954, a young Orson Welles originated and played the role of "wealthy young man about town" Lamont Cranston until 1938.
With Agnes Moorehead as Margot Lane.
Dramatised from the printed stories.
One of a series of selected shows from the golden days of American radio in the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers - often re-enacting their famous film roles.
First broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System in the USA in 1938.
THU 10:30 Mystery Theater (b0869gb6)
The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe: Stamped for Murder
NBC radio's orchid-loving gourmand detective genius chases a fraudulent treasure map.
Stars Sydney Greenstreet as Nero Wolfe and Wally Maher as Archie Goodwin.
British actor, Sydney Greenstreet's stage career didn't give way to cinema roles until he reached his sixties, when his co-stars included Peter Lorre and Humphrey Bogart.
The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe ran from 1950-1951.
Wolfe originated in Rex Stout's books and two films were made, but the author disapproved and the character didn't stray into vision again until the late 1970s.
Written by Alfred Bester.
Director: J Donald Wilson
Producer: Edwin Fadiman
One of a series of selected shows from the golden days of American radio in the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers - often re-enacting their famous film roles.
First broadcast on NBC Radio in the USA in 1950.
THU 11:00 Short Stories by John McGahern (b00p1hnx)
Swallows
A young Dublin surveyor meets a country policeman and their life choices are ruthlessly compared. Read by Sean McGinley.
THU 11:15 Alex Ferguson - My Uncle Freddie (b007jw6c)
A Time of Deep Affliction
Lecky's pursuit of a butcher's daughter threatens his scholarship chances. 1930s Jarrow childhood trilogy with Gareth Brown.
THU 12:00 Stop Messing About! (b00b8w6q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00k3myf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Nikolai Gogol - The Government Inspector (b00fvg6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 When Hollywood Met Halifax (b010r7bw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Dashiell Hammett - Nightmare Town (b00svcgx)
Episode 4
Facing more danger and intrigue, can Steve Threefall finally unravel the town's dark mystery? Read by Stuart Milligan.
THU 14:15 The Good Samaritan (b00n0wyt)
Gordon's Story
4/5 Gordon's Story.
Dominic Arkwright meets people who have lent a helping hand, including the man who stopped by the roadside to help some swans in distress, only to have his luxury car stolen.
Producer John Byrne.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fny8b)
Julian Fellowes - Snobs, Episode 4
Satire on English snobbery, adapted from his own novel by Julian Fellowes.
Simon is on sparkling form when David and Isabel Easton invite the Broughtons and some of the film crew out for dinner, not realising that they are making a dreadful faux pas. But the evening takes an embarrassing turn and Charles is forced to make an early departure.
Narrator ...... Nicholas Farrell
Edith ...... Sophie Roberts
Charles ...... Hugh Bonneville
Lady Uckfield ...... Celia Imrie
Lord Uckfield ...... Richard Mitchley
Isabel ...... Sophie Thompson
David/Eric ...... Rupert Vansittart
Caroline ...... Caroline Harker
Simon ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Bella ...... Bernice Stegers
Singer ...... David Benson.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b01jsxlb)
Dear Lupin, Episode 4
Charlie is drifting from job to job but his father keeps in touch with a mix of gentle admonishment, advice and amusing tales from home: "We had a very good midday party where there was a lot to drink and your dear mother took advantage of that fact. Nor in fact did I stint myself ... A tall lady in an azure wig explained at some length why she loathed her husband so much. Perhaps I am a sympathetic listener; possibly I just lack the energy to move away."
Read by David Horovitch and Nicky Henson
Abridged and Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Mystery Theater (b0869gb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 15:30 Mystery Theater (b0869gb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 16:00 The Personality Test (b007rlx5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Taking It up the Octave (b0869g9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Mark Tavener - In the Red (b007jzh9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 A Beginner's Guide to India (b085b73n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Doctor Who (b0869gb8)
Demon Quest, Sepulchre 1/2
The Fourth Doctor and Captain Yates receive a distress call from Mrs Wibbsey, who's being held captive by The Demon.
Stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates and Nigel Anthony as the Wizard
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b009y1t0)
Series 15, Juan Manuel Fangio
Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.
Stirling Moss nominates the great racing driver Juan Manuel Fangio, a quiet home-loving man who made the record books by winning five world titles.
THU 19:00 Stop Messing About! (b00b8w6q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00k3myf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Nikolai Gogol - The Government Inspector (b00fvg6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 When Hollywood Met Halifax (b010r7bw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Short Stories by John McGahern (b00p1hnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Alex Ferguson - My Uncle Freddie (b007jw6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 A Beginner's Guide to India (b085b73n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Brian Gulliver's Travels (b01mdg8l)
Series 2, Anidara
by Bill Dare
Brian Gulliver, a seasoned presenter of travel documentaries, finds himself in a hospital's secure unit after claiming to have experienced a succession of bizarre adventures. This week, he relives his experiences in Anidara where Brian finds himself put out to stud.
Brian Gulliver ..... Neil Pearson
Rachel Gulliver ..... Mariah Gale
Computer ..... Duncan Wisby
Gem ..... Gerard McDermot
Markl ..... Harry Livingstone
Dorka ..... Vicki Pepperdine
Liberator ..... Duncan Wisby
Master ..... Patrick Brennan
Producer ..... Steven Canny
This is the second series of this satirical adventure story from Bill Dare. The series has attracted an excellent cast led by Neil Pearson and including, Duncan Wisby, Vicki Pepperdine, Lisa Dillon, Colin Hoult, Toby Longworth, Adrian Scarborough, Dan Tetsell, Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Debra Stephenson, Colin Hoult, Nina Conti, Jo Bobin and Marcus Brigstocke.
For years Bill Dare wanted to create a satire about different worlds exploring Kipling's idea that we travel, 'not just to explore civilizations, but to better understand our own'. But science fiction and space ships never interested him, so he put the idea on ice. Then Brian Gulliver arrived and meant that our hero could be lost in a fictional world without the need for any sci-fi.
Gulliver's Travels is the only book Bill Dare read at university. His father, Peter Jones, narrated a similarly peripatetic radio series: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
THU 23:00 King Cutler (b008pbxf)
Episode 1
Phyllis King and Ivor Cutler present offbeat humorous songs, stories and poems. With Glen Baxter. From January 1990.
THU 23:30 Night Class (b00769l9)
Episode 4
Pottery teacher Johnny Vegas takes his class on a sculpture trip but discovers more than he bargained for. From September 2002.

FRIDAY 30 DECEMBER 2016

FRI 00:00 Doctor Who (b0869gb8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b009y1t0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Nikolai Gogol - The Government Inspector (b00fvg6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 When Hollywood Met Halifax (b010r7bw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Dashiell Hammett - Nightmare Town (b00svcgx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 The Good Samaritan (b00n0wyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fny8b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b01jsxlb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Mystery Theater (b0869gb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 Mystery Theater (b0869gb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Personality Test (b007rlx5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Taking It up the Octave (b0869g9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Mark Tavener - In the Red (b007jzh9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 A Beginner's Guide to India (b085b73n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Wimsey (b007jwgl)
Busman's Honeymoon, The Mysteries of Married Life
Honeymooners Lord Peter Wimsey and his wife soon find their marital bliss disturbed - by something nasty in the cellar.
Starring Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey, Sarah Badel as Lady Wimsey, Peter Jones as Bunter, Rosemary Leach as Miss Twitterton and Pearl Hackney as Mrs Ruddle.
British gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey features in a number of detective novels and short stories by English crime writer, Dorothy L Sayers. Busman's Honeymoon was first published in 1937.
Classy and sharp-witted, aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Bredon Wimsey was born in 1890 and educated at Eton and Oxford, before serving in the military during the First World War.
Ian Carmichael appeared as Lord Peter Wimsey for BBC Radio from 1973 to 1983, in addition to the BBC TV adaptations that were broadcast between 1972 and 1975.
Adapted for radio in six episodes by Alistair Beaton.
Producer: Martin Fisher.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1983.
FRI 06:30 The Ice Cream Van Cometh (b012w944)
Sound designer Jim Carey celebrates the colourful history of one of our great national treasures - the British ice cream van.
For over a hundred years extravagantly painted wagons have been delivering extravagant looking ice creams to the streets of Britain. What are the origins of these curvacious and pastel skinned creatures? Why are there so many people of Italian origin involved? What has Margaret Thatcher got to do with it? And, providing the acoustic backdrop for generations of British summers, where do those evocative chimes come from?
Carey's quest leads us headlong into the rich whippy world of all things ice cream van; a story of art, science, music, cuisine, royalty, turf war and childhood. Francis Rossi (co-founder of Status Quo and ex-ice cream van man), Johnny Vegas (entertainer and ice cream enthusiast) and Banksy (graffiti artist and ice cream van owner) join historians, engineers, and ice cream people to help piece together the story of how ice cream vans have charmed and chimed their way into our subconsciousness as icons of British cultural life.
Written and presented by Jim Carey
Produced by Jim Carey
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 07:00 The Secret Life of Rosewood Avenue (b007k1rc)
Moving In
'What's Rosewood Avenue like? Very quiet. Very sedate. Very residential. Just the sort of place you'd feel at home in ...'
A hapless vicar discovers life behind suburbia's net curtains isn't what he expected.
Stephen Sheridan's six-part series stars James Grout as the Reverend Timothy Carswell, Margaret Courtenay as Miss Tilling, Jean Heywood as Miss Tapp and Christopher Good as Dr Warlock.
Producer: Lissa Evans.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1991.
FRI 07:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b085t2l0)
Series 8, Randolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
After causing confusion with his Christmas nuts selection, Arthur attempts to round up reindeer and build Mont Fuji for his own Japanese themed Christmas wonderland.
All false starts and nervous fumbling badly covered up by a delicate sheen of bravado and self-assurance, an expert in everything from the world of entertainment to the origin of the species, everyday life with Arthur is an enlightening, sometimes frustrating, never dull experience.
Count Arthur Strong is supported in the Christmas special by his Radio Repertory Company (like the RSC, only better) - Alastair Kerr, Dave Mounfield, Mel Giedroyc and Alfie Delaney as Billy.
Steve Delaney has been performing as Count Arthur Strong since the late 90s. In the last 15 years the character has evolved from Edinburgh cult to a mainstay of BBC comedy, with seven series on BBC Radio 4 and a TV sitcom that has stepped from BBC2 to BBC1 and will return for a third series in 2017.
A Komedia Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 Yes Minister (b007k0ww)
Series 2, The Quality of Life
Jim Hacker gets floored by the high rise world of property business.
Starring Paul Eddington as Jim Hacker, Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby, Derek Fowldes as Bernard, Richard Vernon as Sir Desmond and Selina Scott as herself.
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's satirical sitcom ran on BBC TV between 1980 and 1984. Yes Minister is centred around the hapless Jim Hacker and a collection of civil service underlings headed by the Machiavellian Sir Humphrey Appleby and obsequious Bernard.
Adapted for radio by producer Pete Atkin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1984.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jq80)
The Million Pound Penny
Two tales for the price of one - The Sockjelly Murder and the story of Ned The Miser! With Peter Sellers. From November 1958.
FRI 09:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03f92qc)
Series 6, Llewellyn, Rocos, Warwick
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Humphrey Ker welcome the author, presenter and actor Robert Llewellyn; comedian, socialite and tequilera Cleo Rocos and the partly-robotic professor of cybernetics at the University of Reading, Professor Kevin Warwick. This week, the Museum's Steering Committee discusses the joys of mobile chat shows; the demise of the internal combustion engine; the advantages of higher quality alcohol; the possibility that intelligent machines will make slaves of us all; and the late, lamented trees of our youth.
The show was researched by James Harkin, Molly Oldfield and Stevyn Colgan of QI.
The producers were Richard Turner and Dan Schreiber.
FRI 09:30 No Commitments (b007k3qk)
Series 12, Settling Down
More sisterly bickering in Beckenham, but why is Victoria learning to speak French? Stars Angela Thorne. From April 2006.
FRI 10:00 Mystery Theater (b06sg52c)
Rocky Fortune: Frank Sinatra, part 3
Always in need of a job, genial drifter Rocky lands in a complex identity scam in 'Steven in a Rest Home'.
Frank Sinatra portrayed "footloose and fancy-free young man" Rocky Fortune for NBC for 25 episodes during an album-recording hiatus that ended with the release of the legendary 'Songs for Young Lovers' in 1954.
Cast includes: Frances Eurey, Maurice Hart, Jack Maither and Herb Ellis.
Directed by Andrew C Love.
Announcer: Eddie King.
First broadcast in the USA on NBC (National Broadcasting Company) in 1953
4 Extra's MYSTERY THEATER showcases American radio's golden years of the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's greatest screen stars were regular performers, often re-enacting film roles.
FRI 10:30 Great Lives (b00k3zns)
Series 18, Frank Sinatra
Broadcaster Colin Murray chooses Francis Albert Sinatra in the biographical series in which Matthew Parris asks his guests to choose someone who's inspired their lives.
"Fiercely competitive", "aggressive", "utterly masculine" and "supremely talented". Just some of the words - Matthew Parris says - that might be used to describe one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century.
Colin calls Frank omnipresent. Enchanted by his songs he says: "It's not about the notes you hit for me, it's about the simplicity and the honesty. And for me he had it in bucket loads"
New York author and music critic Will Friedwald vividly describes the singer's life history, from his early years to the marriages and through his recording and screen career.
Featuring excerpts of many of Sinatra's greatest recordings.
Produced by Beth O'Dea
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.
FRI 11:00 Short Stories by John McGahern (b00pbv14)
A Slip Up
Exiled in England, a retired Irishman sustains himself by imagining working the farm he lost back home. Read by Sean McGinley.
FRI 11:15 Alex Ferguson - My Uncle Freddie (b007jw6h)
A Catalogue of Disasters
Set-backs and surprises unite the family, making Lecky the hero of the hour. 1930s Jarrow childhood trilogy with Shaun Prendergast.
FRI 12:00 Yes Minister (b007k0ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jq80)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Wimsey (b007jwgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Ice Cream Van Cometh (b012w944)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Oscar Wilde (b007k0vk)
The Remarkable Rocket
A collection of celebratory fireworks discuss the nature of love, and one of them gets his comeuppance. Read by John Moffat.
FRI 14:15 The Good Samaritan (b00n52kx)
Jamie's Story
Dominic Arkwright talks to the Sheffield man who came to the rescue of a distraught teenager.
Producer John Byrne.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00fny8v)
Julian Fellowes - Snobs, Episode 5
Satire on English snobbery, adapted from his own novel by Julian Fellowes.
Edith and Simon move in together, leaving Charles devastated. But life with an actor is not as glamorous as Edith had hoped and, when she makes an unfortunate discovery, she is forced to make a choice.
Narrator ...... Nicholas Farrell
Edith ...... Sophie Roberts
Charles ...... Hugh Bonneville
Lady Uckfield ...... Celia Imrie
Lord Uckfield ...... Richard Mitchley
Isabel ...... Sophie Thompson
David/Eric ...... Rupert Vansittart
Caroline ...... Caroline Harker
Simon ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Bella ...... Bernice Stegers
Singer ...... David Benson.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b01jsw4q)
Dear Lupin, Episode 5
David Horovitch and Nicky Henson conclude their reading from the collected correspondence of a long-suffering father to his wayward son.
"My Dear Lupin, How are things going with you? Are you (a) On the verge of becoming a millionaire? (b) On the brink of insolvency? (c) The subject of investigation by the Fraud Squad?" or (d) Cruising along like me, in genteel poverty?
Abridged and Produced by Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Mystery Theater (b06sg52c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 15:30 Great Lives (b00k3zns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
FRI 16:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03f92qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 No Commitments (b007k3qk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 The Secret Life of Rosewood Avenue (b007k1rc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b085t2l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Doctor Who (b0869kfh)
Demon Quest, Sepulchre 2/2
In a thrilling conclusion, the Fourth Doctor and Captain Yates learn who's really responsible for the chain of events in the Demon Quest.
Stars Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Captain Mike Yates and Nigel Anthony as the Wizard
Written by Paul Magrs
Director: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b0145x7m)
Series 12, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind
The words of one of our most loved hymns, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, were taken from the last six verses of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem, The Brewing of Soma, an attack on ostentatious and overt religious practise. But it wasn't until over fifty years later, that a school master at Repton in Derbyshire had the inspiration to pair it with a tune by Sir Hubert Parry, thus confirming it as a favourite for school assemblies, funerals and weddings. The current Director of Music at Repton, John Bowley, explains how this happened, while composer and conductor Bob Chilcott explains why this was a musical mariage made in heaven.
We hear from those for who whom the hymn has special significance, including the MP from Gloucester, Richard Graham; when briefly imprisoned in a Libyan gaol in 1978 he found enormous comfort in the words and tune. Pipe Major Ross Munro remembers recording the piece in the swelting heat of Basra with members of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards and film director Joe Wright recalls how the inclusion of this hymn was central to the power of his famous scene depicting the evacuation of Dunkirk in his film, Atonement.
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
FRI 19:00 Yes Minister (b007k0ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jq80)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Wimsey (b007jwgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 The Ice Cream Van Cometh (b012w944)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Short Stories by John McGahern (b00pbv14)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Alex Ferguson - My Uncle Freddie (b007jw6h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b085t2l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Sarah Millican's Support Group (b00qps89)
Series 1, Episode 1
Comedy by Sarah Millican, who plays Sarah, life counsellor and modern-day agony aunt.
Together with her team of 'experts', Sarah tackles the nation's problems head on, dishing out real advice for real people.
Sarah tackles the problems, 'I love a plumber but I'm no boiler; dating outside of your class: would you, should you, could you?' and 'Help! I love two women at the same time - my mam not included'.
Sarah ...... Sarah Millican
Marion ...... Ruth Bratt
Terry ...... Simon Daye
Chris ...... Steve Edge
Jamie ...... Nick Mohammed
Carol ...... Helen Atkinson Wood.
FRI 23:00 Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive (b007xs3b)
Series 3, Episode 4
The comedic alchemist brews up a potent comic potion. With David Cross, Clive Anderson and Mark Watson. From September 2007.
FRI 23:30 Hamish and Dougal: You'll Have Had Your Tea (b007k1n1)
Series 2, The Poison Pen Letters
The elderly Scotsmen investigate who's been snitching with green ink. Stars Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden. From March 2004.
FRI 23:45 Self Storage (b01hblzr)
Family
Dave's domestic life is still upside down, and so his dad arrives to offer advice. Stars Reece Shearsmith. From October 2007.