SATURDAY 08 APRIL 2017

SAT 00:00 Charles Chilton - Space Force (b007jmdr)
Series 1, Threshold of Stars
"And what happens if we fail the test?".
"It's obvious we'll be killed."
Held captive by their abductors, the Space Force crew discover exactly what the aliens are after - while Chipper causes concern.
Charles Chilton's intergalatic adventure in six-parts starring Barry Foster as Captain Saxon Berry, Nicky Henson as Chipper, Nigel Stock as Magnus, Tony Osoba as Lauderic, Wendy Murray as Ifwa, Theresa Streatfeild as Treia, Lolly Cockerell as Voedica and Jenny Twigge as Jennie.
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 1984.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b01qlpcg)
Series 15, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
More than just 'da da da dum': Beethoven's 5th Symphony is this week's Soul Music.
It accompanied Sir Robin Knox-Johnston on the regular Bombay to Basra route he sailed during his early days in the Merchant Navy.
Archaeologist and crime novelist, Dana Cameron, spent many a long day in a dark, lonely basement analysing artefacts from a merchant's house in Salem, Massachusetts. A CD player was often her only companion and Beethoven's 5th buoyed her through these arduous days working towards her PhD
And for conductor, Christopher Gayford, it was the piece which provided a breakthrough in his musical life. Recalling the time he spent rehearsing it with the Sheffield Youth Orchestra - for a tour in East Germany - he describes the build up to one of the most memorable performances of his career.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
SAT 01:00 Falco (b008kkch)
Shadows in Bronze, Episode 1
Following a plot to depose the Emperor Vespasian, Falco sets out to clear up a few loose ends, only to uncover a nest of vipers.
Anton Lesser stars as Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's witty detective, patrolling the streets of 1st-century Rome.
With Ben Crowe as Petronius / Chamberlain, Fiona Clarke as Tullia, Anna Madeley as Helena Justina, Michael Tudor Barnes as Vespasian / Milo and Christian Rodska as Gordianus.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
SAT 01:30 Krazy Kat (b007x4zy)
Quentin Blake profiles of one of the most influential cartoon strips of the 20th century and its creator George Herriman, the first black cartoonist in print. From August 2007.
SAT 02:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00lh5tt)
Episode 5
Sir Edward Leithen worries that missing Francis Galliard has been abandoned in the freezing Canadian Wilds. Read by Paul Young.
SAT 02:15 Publishing Lives (b03bsb9m)
Series 1, Geoffrey Faber
Geoffrey Faber was a brilliant middleman. He sought out the best new poetry and prose. And he hired a young American banker named T.S. Eliot - not just a poet of genius, but also a gifted publisher. Together, Eliot and Faber built one of the most influential literary lists of the twentieth century.
Faber was a classical scholar, a fellow of All Souls and a member of the Yorkshire brewing family Strong & Co. In 1924, bored with beer, he went into partnership with an Oxford friend, Maurice Gwyer, as a publisher. Gwyer already specialised in medical books and journals, but Faber had other ideas. Within five years he turned a company that published 'The Nursing Mirror' and the 'Hospital Newsletter' into one that hosted Siegfried Sassoon, Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot.
He championed the notion that Faber & Faber had a responsibility to the world to preserve the best in literature and encouraged enterprises that were not always commercial. Yet it was show business that saved the company when T.S. Eliot's 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' became a hit musical.
In a landscape increasingly dominated by giant media empires, Faber & Faber remains one of the last great independent publishing houses in the UK. As the digital revolution shakes traditional publishing to its foundations, the firm is exploring new ways of presenting its authors, including Eliot, for a new generation of readers.
Robert meets Geoffrey's grandson Toby Faber, and literary and publishing experts, to explore Geoffrey Faber's life and the future of publishing in Britain.
Produced by Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:30 George Eliot - Adam Bede (b007jnzn)
Episode 15
The time arrives for Dinah to decide where her heart really lies. Stars Katherine Igoe, Vicki Liddelle and Thomas Arnold.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b01hl415)
The Uke of Wallington, Episode 5
Read by Hugh Dennis
The one man ukulele tour of Great Britain nears its end at the Smoo Cave Hotel in Cape Wrath and as Mark Wallington walks along the beautiful curve of Balnakeil Bay he reflects on his journey. Not only had he learnt a great deal about the music of the British Isles, but people had been really kind and he decided the ukulele really did make them smile.
Producer: Jane Marshall
A Jane Marshall Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lch3)
26-30 December 1916
In the week in 1916 when Germany's peace offer was rejected by the Allies, Christmas week still brings some festive cheer to Tynemouth.
Written by Shaun McKenna
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
SAT 04:00 Who Goes There? (b00fj1rj)
Series 3, Episode 1
Martin Young hosts the famous people quiz. With Francis Wheen, Fred Housego, Sue Cook and Annabel Giles. From January 2000.
SAT 04:30 Tickets Please (b00p1nm5)
Episode 3
Confusion reigns when love blossoms among the staff of the 9.27 London to Exeter. Stars Jeremy Swift. From November 2009.
SAT 05:00 Old Dog and Partridge (b007jq9s)
Episode 1
When a landlord's daughter offers to help run the pub, his reaction is unexpected. Stars Michael Williams. From December 1998.
SAT 05:30 A Normal Life (b08ktnwk)
Part two in an occasional series in which Henry Normal uses poetry, storytelling and comedy to explore life's big questions.
Last year Henry brought us his acclaimed show - 'A Normal Family', which centred around his son, Johnny, who was diagnosed with "mildly severe" autism. In this profound, funny and moving show, Henry explored what this meant for his family.
This time Henry brings us his new show, 'A Normal Life'. Drawing on his experiences bringing up a child with autism, Henry investigates where edges are, and how we are connected. As well as his trademark humour, the show tackles the subjects of life, death, loneliness, loss, human frailty and other classic conversation stoppers.
Henry Normal is a multi-award winning writer, producer and poet. Co-writer of award winning TV programmes such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Coogan's Run and Paul Calf, and producer of, amongst many others, Oscar-Nominated Philomena, Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge.
He has published several volumes of poetry, including The Dream Ticket, Nude Modelling for the Afterlife and Staring Directly at the Eclipse. His last Radio 4 series was 1997's Encyclopaedia Poetica.
Written and performed by - Henry Normal
Producer - Carl Cooper
Production Coordinator - Steve Lanham
This is a BBC Studios Production.
SAT 06:00 Oscar Wilde (b007jv0p)
The Importance of Being Earnest
London, 1895: crafty friends Jack and Algernon are living a double life.
This production of Oscar Wilde's comedy was mounted to celebrate the centenary of the play's first night at London's Haymarket Theatre on 14th February 1895.
Starring Dame Judi Dench as Lady Bracknell, Martin Clunes as Algernon Moncrieff, Michael Sheen as Jack Worthing, Miriam Margolyes as Miss Prism, John Moffatt as Canon Chasuble and Michael Hordern as Lane.
Pianist: Terence Allbright. Produced by Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
SAT 08:00 The Reunion (b00jh1f1)
National Theatre
Sue MacGregor presents the series which reunites a group of people intimately involved in a moment of modern history.
She brings together some of the original members of the National Theatre to remember its birth in 1963 under artistic director Laurence Olivier. Her guests are Sir Michael Gambon, Sir Derek Jacobi, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Joan Plowright and Bill Gaskill.
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 08:45 Marriott's Monologues (b007jqz7)
Dame Thora Hird
Monologist, Dame Thora Hird introduces the Ramsbottom family with 'The Lion and Albert' and 'The Return of Albert'.
Series of eight programmes featuring the famous monologues of Marriott Edgar.
Music by Brian Fitzgerald.
Produced in Manchester by Mike Craig
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in BBC Radio 2 in 1991.
SAT 09:00 The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh (b08lpx38)
Alternative Comedy...and Beyond
Instead of guest Comedy Controllers, choosing their comedy favourites, it is now the turn of those who, in their own ways, have to take the blame for many of the shows often featured on Radio 4 Extra. Between them, Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd & Jimmy Mulville have well over a 150 years of gut-busting, side-aching woofers, gags and - let's be honest - the occasional horrific mistimed silence.
In front of an audience in the iconic Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House - the home of British Radio comedy - they reveal why they do it and what it was (and is) that made them laugh.
Programme 3. Alternative Comedy... and Beyond - in which the Real Comedy Controllers return to the 80s to consider how alternative the new wave of comedy was... and to explore how their humour developed as the century drew to a close. Episodes featured include:
Lenin of the Rovers
Midfield football maestro Ricky Lenin's battle for Britain's first all-communist football team. Ricky introduces his radical thinking to Felchester Rovers. Starring Alexei Sayle, Keith Allen, Andrew McClean and Maurice Colbourne. First broadcast in February 1988.
The Mary Whitehouse Experience
David Baddiel, Rob Newman, Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis tackle buskers and January sales. With Mark Thomas. From January 1990.
Goodness Gracious Me
The Marriage Emporium is running low on Indian brides, plus a version of the classic song 'Fifty Ways to Leave Your Mother'. British-Asian sitcom with Nina Wadia. From July 1997.
On The Hour
Pre-natal beauty therapy hits the headlines. Chris Morris hosts the incisive news satire. With Steve Coogan. From April 1992.
Series Producers: Paul Kobrak and Dixi Stewart.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SAT 12:00 Booked (b08l6zhj)
Series 5, Episode 1
4 Extra Debut. Ian McMillan chairs the literary quiz with Dillie Keane, Roger McGough, David Stafford and Arthur Smith. From November 1998.
SAT 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007x041)
Series 5, The New Radio Series
Big-headed from TV success, the lad's had enough of radio and is set to retire - until he discovers the plan for his replacement.
Stars Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1958.
SAT 13:00 Val McDermid - Dead Pan: Omnibus (b08lpyhd)
DCI Alma Blair is enjoying a romantic dinner at a fine dining restaurant, but is murder on the menu? Stars Julie Hesmondhalgh.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08lq07r)
Paul McKenna
Hypnotist and author Paul McKenna chooses 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA and 'Us and Them' by Pink Floyd.
SAT 14:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kdd4)
Isle of Skye
Pam returns to the West Coast of Scotland to look for otters and to discover the aphrodisiac power of herrings.
Series in which poet and raconteuse, Pam Ayres takes to the open road, visiting eight places in Britain to hear tales from the people who live there.
Producer: Simon Elmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2000.
SAT 14:45 Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe (b007jncq)
Series 1, What a Screech
Carter helps his uncle to look up an old flame, but they are surprised by what they find. With Stephen Thorne and Sam Kelly.
SAT 15:00 The Reunion (b00jh1f1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 15:45 Marriott's Monologues (b007jqz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 16:00 Oscar Wilde (b007jv0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 18:00 Mike Walker - 2025 (b00hy94c)
Episode 1
It's a future where computers rule and the possibility of artificial intelligence has become a reality.
Mike Walker's two-part serial stars Alphonsia Emmanuel as Irena, Mona Hammond as Olivia, Daniela Nardini as Dr Beth David, David Yip as Henry/Mr Li, Su-Lin Looi as Anno, John Rowe as Praegar, Alastair Danson as Dr Finzey, Rachel Atkins as Kate, Gerard McDermott as Capstick and Ravin J Ganatra as Terry Gupta.
Director: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
SAT 19:00 The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh (b08lpx38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Shappi Talk (b00lh4yp)
Series 1, Racism
Iranian comedian Shappi Khorsandi was brought to this country as a child and grew up in a very unusual and un British family.
Her father was one of Iran's top satirists and the family were forced to leave their home country as her father was termed a political dissident. As she grew up, it became apparent that the Khorsandi household was a little different from some of the families that Shappi had been friends with.
Shappi Talk takes this alternative background for Shappi to host a four part comedy series where she takes four elements of this upbringing to hilariously reveal what it was like growing up in a non-British family.
Joining Shappi will be comedian Felix Dexter who was born in St Kitts and moved to the UK as a child and each week Shappi also chats to another guest 'on location' and this time she's joined by Meera Syal.
There'll also be a song from comedian Hils Barker.
Producer: Paul Russell
An Open Mike Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 22:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b01f883m)
Series 2, With guest Danny Baker
New series of the comedy show hosted by Alex Horne and his five piece band and specially written, original music. Guests across this series include Phill Jupitus, Charlie Baker, Nick Mohammed, Doc Brown, Matt Lucas and Danny Baker.
The first epsiode explores the theme of 'games' and guest stars Danny Baker who sings with the band and champions an instrument that can't fail to put a smile on your face. Plus the funkiest song you're ever likely to hear about Chess; an Ode to Chris Hoy and music to exercise to.
Host .... Alex Horne
Trumpet/banjo .... Joe Auckland
Saxophone/clarinet ....Mark Brown
Double Bass/Bass .... Will Collier
Drums and Percussion .... Ben Reynolds
Piano/keyboard .... Ed Sheldrake
Guest performers .... Danny Baker and Ben Jones
Producer .... Julia McKenzie.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08m0dg0)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Andrew Doyle.
SAT 23:00 Rhod Gilbert's Bulging Barrel of Laughs (b00tysvb)
Episode 5
Welsh stand-up Rhod Gilbert hosts a brand new audience comedy show featuring comedy regulars Lloyd Langford and Greg Davies (We Are Klang), along with Sarah Millican who takes a look at the Fifth Stage of Woman - the hoarder.
This fifth episode features live music from Divine Comedy, including the hit National Express, and the guest comedian is Shappi Khorsandi. Find out whether animals can have human faces; what annoys Rhod about considerate builders; and the most surprising location for a postage stamp.

SUNDAY 09 APRIL 2017

SUN 00:00 Mike Walker - 2025 (b00hy94c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Val McDermid - Dead Pan: Omnibus (b08lpyhd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08lq07r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kdd4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 Uncle Mort's Celtic Fringe (b007jncq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 The Reunion (b00jh1f1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 03:45 Marriott's Monologues (b007jqz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Oscar Wilde (b007jv0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 George Eliot - Adam Bede Omnibus (b00c86bm)
Episode 3
After the death of her child, Hetty must face her punishment. Can Dinah help her to ease her guilt? Stars Katherine Igoe, Thomas Arnold, Vicki Liddelle.
SUN 07:15 Tony Hawks Gets Lost in the Afternoon (b007j8cy)
How do we manage to lose things we held in our hands only minutes ago? Neuroscientists and psychologists suggest it may be more complicated than we think. From May 2007.
SUN 07:30 My Teenage Diary (b04vj1xg)
Series 6, Lucy Worsley
Rufus Hound is joined by the historian Lucy Worsley, whose diaries reveal that she was swottier than the average teenager. While her friends were out at parties, Lucy was curating her collection of rocks, and gardening.
Produced by Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 All Gas and Gaiters (b007jpx1)
The Bishop Has a Rest
A peaceful Saturday afternoon at St Oggs is rudely interrupted.
Starring Robertson Hare as the Archdeacon, William Mervyn as the Bishop, Jonathan Cecil as Bishop's Chaplain - the Reverend Mervyn Noote and John Barron as the Dean. With Joan Sanderson as Mrs Pugh-Critchley.
The ecclesiastical sitcom started life as a TV pilot in Comedy Playhouse, ahead of a run on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971.
Written for radio by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps.
Producer: David Hatch.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1972.
SUN 08:30 Up the Pole (b04v9dlg)
From 01/11/1948
Dopey Jimmy Jewel and fast-talking Ben Warriss settle into their new flat over a disused fire station. Desperate Jimmy's in love and needs cash fast...
The sole surviving episode from 4 series of 'Up The Pole' which ran from 1947 - 1952. In the first series, the duo ran an Arctic trading post. First cousins, Jewel and Warriss found great success on stage, film, radio and TV in the post-war years.
With Claude Dampier, Jon Pertwee, Betty Paul and Roger Snowdon.
Music by the Five Smith Brothers and the Dance Orchestra - conducted by Stanley Black
Scripted by Ronnie Hanbury.
Producer: George Inns
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1948.
SUN 09:00 John Berger - And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos: Omnibus (b08ltlpc)
....as Photos. Omnibus drama.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08ltlpf)
Madhur Jaffrey
Indian cookery expert Madhur Jaffrey chooses 'Om Jai Jaggadish Hare' and two different versions of 'My Favourite Things'.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08ltmyt)
Honoured Actors, Mark Rylance
4 Extra Debut. From Beethoven to Nina Simone. Actor Mark Rylance makes his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From February 2015.
SUN 11:00 TED Radio Hour (b08ltp2r)
Series 4, Open Source World
Guy Raz explores co-operation and innovation in a world where everyone has access to ideas. With Sir Tim Berners-Lee.
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.
SUN 11:55 The Listening Project (b01sjn8r)
Steve and Derek - Things That Go Bump in the Night
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between friends who hold widely differing views of the supernatural, in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
SUN 12:00 All Gas and Gaiters (b007jpx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Up the Pole (b04v9dlg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 George Eliot - Adam Bede Omnibus (b00c86bm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Tony Hawks Gets Lost in the Afternoon (b007j8cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Sarah Perry - The Essex Serpent: Omnibus (b08ltqlg)
Episode 1
Newly widowed Cora and her young son leave London for Colchester and stories of the Essex Serpent. Read by Ruth Gemmell.
SUN 15:45 Daphne du Maurier - The Supreme Artist (b00bdn13)
The matinee is over, but who is the visitor waiting at the stage door? Michael Drew reads Daphne du Maurier's short story.
SUN 16:00 Barnes' People (b08ltrl1)
Its Cold, Wanderer, It's Cold
Moscow 1905. On the eve of his execution, a God-fearing terrorist meets his victim's widow to defend his revolutionary beliefs.
A series of duologues by Peter Barnes starring Sir Ian McKellen as Ivan Kalyayev and Mary Ellis as the Grand Duchess.
Director: Ian Cotterell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 1984.
SUN 16:20 Barnes' People (b08ltrtv)
No End to Dreaming
"I've come to tell of this dream of mine. Just one dream, one man, one dream but it's a famous dream in its way. Dreams, we are told, are prophets of our future fortunes."
Laurence Olivier stars as 89 year-old Nathan Yavok describing s the dream that led him far from home in search of wealth.
Written by Peter Barnes.
A review in the 'The Times' concluded: "Just Olivier and the microphone in a monologue that, no less strikingly than his visual performances, illustrates the man's uncanny skill in assuming yet another identity".
Director: Ian Cotterell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 1987.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b08lts3f)
No-One Left and No-One Came
Edward Thomas died exactly 100 years ago on the battlefields of the First World War. To commemorate that moment, BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with Thomas's uneventful poem about inactivity and solitude 'No One Left and No One Came'.
In Edward Thomas's poem Adlestrop a train stops, there's a hiss of steam, someone clears his throat and a blackbird sings. And that's it. Yet this 16 line poem is one of the best-loved in English, inspiring articles, pilgrimages to the Cotswold village and many other poems. Anne Harvey tells the story of how it came to be written and explores the fascination of a short poem in which nothing happens but which deals with large themes: memory, time, naming, sound - and fear.
Producer: Julian May
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
SUN 17:30 My Teenage Diary (b04vj1xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 The Price of Fear (b007jmxv)
Out of the Mouths
Horror legend Vincent Price introduces a tale about unforeseen danger as a scientist tries out advanced theories on his new born son.
Stars Hywel Bennett as Richard, Elizabeth Proud as Rachel and John Quail as David.
Scripted by William Ingram.
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1983.
SUN 18:30 A Sting in the Tale (b0076jsy)
Sally Go Round the Moon
Are job pressures making Sally hear a child's voice that no-one else can hear? Or is she being haunted?
Natalia Power's spine-tingling tale stars Jaimi Barbakoff as Sally, Rachel Atkins as Laura, Frances Jeater as Receptionist, Ioan Meredith as Stacey Wilson, David Thorpe as Simon and Jessica Crossley as
Voice.
Pianist & Musical Director: Clement Power

Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
SUN 19:00 TED Radio Hour (b08ltp2r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:55 The Listening Project (b01sjn8r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:55 today]
SUN 20:00 John Berger - And Our Faces, My Heart, Brief as Photos: Omnibus (b08ltlpc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b08ltlpf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08ltmyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b04vj1xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Down the Line (b012xpl8)
Series 3, Bad Manners and Modern Liberal Parenting
Britain's got bad manners - should we bring back hanging? Gary Bellamy takes the calls. Stars Rhys Thomas. From February 2008.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08m0djb)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Andrew Doyle.
SUN 23:00 The In Crowd (b06g26t0)
Series 4, Episode 5
Unsympathetic beauty therapy and renting videos. Manchester sketch show with Kate Ward, Smug Roberts and Robin Ince. From June 2004.
SUN 23:30 Jon Ronson On (b01s0r54)
Series 7, Undeserved Rewards
We like to think we live in a fair world - but writer and documentary-maker Jon Ronson investigates the way in which the least deserving often win the greatest rewards.
Writer Helen Keen opens the programme, describing how she won an award for comedy she wrote about working class life in a gritty northern town - but, when she met the judges, she sensed that her 'poshness' disappointed them and made her less deserving of the award.
Jon meets comedian Bob Mortimer who admits that, when he was a criminal barrister in Peckham, he couldn't resist asking his clients if they were guilty. Astonishingly, he says, all fifteen hundred admitted their guilt. Nevertheless, he fought their cases in court and a huge proportion of them walked free. He was rewarded for his success but it cost him dear on other more profound levels.
South Hampstead Synagogue sounds like an unlikely site for misplaced rewards. Jon travels there to meet a charismatic young rabbi who had a novel idea to increase youth attendance. Kids won raffle tickets for turning up and joining in. The competition ran over a year, culminating in a grand draw. The prizes were massive. Emotions were running high. But things went drastically wrong, leaving the children asking "how could God let this happen?".
Finally, Jon talks to ex-New York Times reporter Jayson Blair, who added fictitious flourishes to his news stories. He embellished details, put words in people's mouths and created poignant touches about his interviewees' lives. He knew it was wrong but his lies started earning him huge respect from his bosses and readers - until the whole façade dramatically unravelled.
Producer: Lucy Greenwell
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.

MONDAY 10 APRIL 2017

MON 00:00 The Price of Fear (b007jmxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 A Sting in the Tale (b0076jsy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 George Eliot - Adam Bede Omnibus (b00c86bm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Tony Hawks Gets Lost in the Afternoon (b007j8cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Sarah Perry - The Essex Serpent: Omnibus (b08ltqlg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Daphne du Maurier - The Supreme Artist (b00bdn13)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Barnes' People (b08ltrl1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 04:20 Barnes' People (b08ltrtv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:20 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b08lts3f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 My Teenage Diary (b04vj1xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Falco (b008klh0)
Shadows in Bronze, Episode 2
Probing the murder of a conspirator against the Emperor, the Roman sleuth is sent to a fashionable resort.
Anton Lesser stars as Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's witty detective, patrolling the streets of 1st-century Rome.
With Ben Crowe as Petronius, Michael Tudor Barnes as Vespasian, Sara Poyzer as Silvia, Christopher Kelham as Larius, Paul Webster as Marcellus and Anna Madeley as Helena Justina,
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
MON 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lxph0)
The Purple of the Terrys
"Ellen Terry was my great-aunt. What I remember mostly about her is her movement - she was then an old lady, deaf and rather blind and very vague in mind, but when she came on stage you really believed that she was either walking on the flagstones of Venice or in the fields of Windsor..."
Sir John Gielgud talks to John Miller about his career - starting with his 1921 very brief debut at The Old Vic.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation. He played every major Shakespearean role, including King Lear, Hamlet, Richard II and Prospero. His Hollywood supporting role as a butler in 'Arthur' won him his only Oscar in 1982.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1978.
MON 07:00 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k0qs)
Episode 1
1932: Edgar heads to Kent in a horse-drawn caravan, and someone is interested. Victor Canning's tale stars Richard Griffiths.
MON 07:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b08kttsw)
Series 18, Episode 1
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
John Finnemore, Henning Wehn, Lou Sanders and Miles Jupp are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as sheep, islands, Steve Jobs and beans.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 08:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08lxyfx)
Series 2, Home From Home
Jennifer's mission to save the plants back at their old house doesn't take root...
Starring Wendy Craig as Jennifer Corner, Francis Matthews as Henry Corner, Charlotte Mitchell as Mary, Roberta Tovey as Trudi, Jill Riddick as Amanda, Aline Waites as Mrs Weston, Richard Waring as Peter Harrison and June Liversidge as Marilyn.
The second series of comedy mishaps of the Corner family: Jennifer and Henry and their three children Trudi, Amanda and Robin. Not in Front of the Children originally ran for four series from 1967 to 1970 on BBC TV. Richard Waring adapted his own scripts for this radio version, now fully restored from the original reel-to-reel tapes.
Wendy Craig won a Best Actress BAFTA award for the TV version of Not in Front of the Children in 1969. This was the first of several housewife roles that Wendy Craig was to play on television. Later series included And Mother Makes Three/Five and Butterflies.
Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Producer: Trafford Whitelock.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1970.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007jlw7)
Series 1, Under Fire
On fire-watch with Godfrey, Frazer thinks a local resident of Walmington-on-Sea s signalling to the enemy...
Six years after legendary sitcom Dad's Army started on BBC TV, these specially adapted radio versions began recording with the original cast.
Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey, John Laurie as Private Frazer, Geoffrey Lumsden as Colonel Square, Avril Angose as Mrs Keene and David Goodison as Murphy. With John Snagge as the announcer.
Adapted from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's original BBC TV scripts by Michael Knowles and Harold Snoad.
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in April 1974.
MON 09:00 Booked (b08lxzg6)
Series 5, Episode 2
Ian McMillan chairs the literary quiz with David Stafford, Dillie Keane, Arthur Smith and Roger McGough. From December 1998.
MON 09:30 The World As We Know It (b00ftbx1)
The Murderer Is in This Very Room
The last people on Earth play a murder mystery game, organised by The Stranger. Stars Meera Syal and Toby Longworth. From June 1999.
MON 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lh3p)
2-6 January 1917
In the week in 1917 when the Newcastle Journal published a glowing report on the improved conditions at munitions factories, Marshalls Factory tells the other side of the story.
Written by Claudine Toutoungi
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
MON 11:00 Love Stories (b01msgg4)
A Voice From the Past
By Penny Vincenzi. A young girl is enchanted by vivid tales from the past. Stories from bestselling romantic novelists. Read by Joanna Lumley.
MON 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b00wlf5m)
How to Be an Internee With No Previous Experience
How to Be an Internee With No Previous Experience
by Colin Shindler
In 1944, PG Wodehouse, the creator of Jeeves and Wooster, was questioned by MI5 after broadcasting to America from a German internment camp. One of the interrogators was an up and coming journalist called Malcolm Muggeridge. The other was Major EJP Cussen, who later became a high court judge. The stakes were high: one of Britain's best loved authors was facing the possibility of the death penalty.
Wodehouse - Tim McInnerny
Muggeridge - Alex Jennings
Cussen - Anton Lesser
Connor - Stephen Critchlow
Flannery - Gunnar Cauthery
Producer/Director Peter Leslie Wild.
MON 12:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08lxyfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jlw7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Falco (b008klh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lxph0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00ljxx8)
Episode 6
A disorientated, feverish Galliard is found, but Sir Edward Leithen must now search for Lou. Read by Paul Young.
MON 14:15 Publishing Lives (b03xd3hs)
Series 2, Kaye Webb
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Kaye Webb was a children's book publisher of genius who shaped the literary imagination of generations. Through Puffin, Kaye Webb created an immortal library of children's books.
Towards the end of her life, Kaye Webb told Sue Lawley on Desert Island Discs, "I've had very good luck in the working sense and not such good luck in the private sense". Her third husband - the cartoonist Ronald Searle - left her for another woman, and she brought up their twin children alone. Yet as her own family disintegrated, she built up an increasingly happy and motivated professional family at Puffin Books, which she took over in 1961.
Paperbacks were booming and children's publishing was entering a golden age, with Webb leading the way. Puffin acquired the paperback rights to most of the best children's writers of the day: Roald Dahl, Rosemary Sutcliff, Maurice Sendak, Raymond Briggs, Leon Garfield, Joan Aiken, Nina Bawden, Quentin Blake, Shirley Hughes, Alan Garner, C.S. Lewis, and new authors such as Clive King, whose Stig of the Dump was one of Webb's most famous purchases.
Webb spent her final years in a wheelchair with arthritis. Sadly, the woman who produced so many happy endings for other people's children did not get her own.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01n9wzt)
Heinrich Boll - The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, Episode 1
A brilliant exploration of the corrosive impact of tabloid journalism on one young woman. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is dissects the power of the press and it's impact on individual freedom. Told in the form of an unofficial report, this intelligent and pacy story from the 1970s tackles issues of press freedom, responsibility and police tactics.
It's based on a real incident in the author's own life, when he was publicly accused of being a terrorist sympathiser and hounded by the German press. The subtitle of the book is "how violence develops and where it can lead."
Recorded on location in Berlin, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum also features a soundtrack of 1970s Krautrock from bands such as Can, Neu, La Dusseldorf and Ash Ra Tempel.
Episode 1:
The narrator sets the scene - Katharina Blum was taken in four days ago for questioning about her relationship with a young man she met at a party, who is in fact a suspected criminal on the run. A chain of chaotic and ever more pressurised events builds up, culminating in Katharina shooting Totges, a tabloid press journalist. We meet the police interrogation team and Katharina herself, whose resolute refusal to confess sends Inspector Beizmenne out of the interview room in a fury.
Sound design ..... Eloise Whitmore
Broadcast assistant ..... Kath Willgress
Executive producer ..... Joby Waldman
Abridged by Helen Meller
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bq9ct)
Olivier, Episode 1
Published when the National Theatre turned 50 in 2013, Philip Ziegler's biography, based on previously unseen letters and diaries, tells the story of Laurence Olivier as he developed his craft, focusing on his career path from early school days through rep theatre to Hollywood, before returning to triumph in his greatest role ever, as the first director of the National Theatre.
Episode 1:
Born at a time when theatre was at a low ebb in Britain, and after a rather unpromising start in life, the young Laurence Olivier enters the acting profession and begins to shine.
Reader: Toby Jones
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lh3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Booked (b08lxzg6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 The World As We Know It (b00ftbx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k0qs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b08kttsw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Charles Chilton - Space Force (b007jmf6)
Series 1, Marooned in Space
The space crew battle to escape from the aliens, who are trying to target Chipper.
Charles Chilton's intergalatic adventure in six-parts starring Barry Foster as Captain Saxon Berry, Nicky Henson as Chipper, Nigel Stock as Magnus, Tony Osoba as Lauderic,. With Wendy Murray and Teresa Stretfeild.
Charles Chilton wrote and produced many popular and successful radio programmes for the BBC - including the classic 1950s serial 'Journey into Space' - charting the adventures of Captain Jet Morgan. This fired the imagination of millions, years before the first moon landing. It was the last radio drama to record higher ratings than the new young upstart television!
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 1984.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0076j93)
Roger Deakin & Kristine Landon-Smith
Sue MacGregor and her guests - writer and film maker, Roger Deakin and director, Kristine Landon-Smith - discuss books by Shyam Selvadurai, TH White and William Boyd. From 2003.
Any Human Heart by William Boyd
Publisher: Penguin
The Sword In The Stone by TH White
Publisher: Collins
Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai
Publisher: Vintage.
MON 19:00 Not in Front of the Children (b08lxyfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007jlw7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Falco (b008klh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lxph0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Love Stories (b01msgg4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b00wlf5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b08kttsw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive (b00dhxn7)
Series 4, Episode 6
The comedy banker awards laughter bonuses. With Chris Addison, Miranda Hart and David Quantick. From September 2008.
MON 23:00 The Now Show (b08kylww)
Series 50, 07/04/2017
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Ivo Graham, Daliso Chaponda, Pippa Evans and Luke Kempner to present the week in news through stand-up and sketches.
Malawian stand-up Daliso Chaponda explores Kim Jong Un's aversion to jibes about his weight. Ivo Graham offers his take on Pepsi's much maligned new advertising campaign. Pippa Evans sings an ode to Deliveroo's corporate speech and in the wake of Cadbury and Pepsi's PR disasters this week Public Relations Guru Trevor Morris talks to Steve and Hugh about what they could have done differently.
Produced by Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios Production.
MON 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08mnsbn)
From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats to Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby.
MON 23:30 The Sofa of Time (b00j0hqt)
Here Comes Bod
Can Milford and Parker overcome Raamen Bod and find the Sofa of Time? Stars Mark Heap and Nick Frost. From November 2002.

TUESDAY 11 APRIL 2017

TUE 00:00 Charles Chilton - Space Force (b007jmf6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0076j93)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Falco (b008klh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lxph0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00ljxx8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Publishing Lives (b03xd3hs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01n9wzt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bq9ct)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lh3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Booked (b08lxzg6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 The World As We Know It (b00ftbx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k0qs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b08kttsw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Falco (b008kmgp)
Shadows in Bronze, Episode 3
At the villa of Helena's former father-in-law, the Roman sleuth meets old friends of the senator's daughter.
Anton Lesser stars as Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's witty detective, patrolling the streets of 1st-century Rome.
With Anna Madeley as Helena Justina, Christopher Kelham as Larius, Paul Webster as Marcellus, Timothy Watson as Aemilius Rufus and Jaimi Barbakoff as Aenelia.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
TUE 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lylck)
Why Don't I Go On the Stage?
"She thought me rather mannered and rather effeminate - which I was, and very conceited..."
Surrounded by a famous family, the theatre had a magnetic pull for Sir John Gielgud early on. With John Miller.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1978.
TUE 07:00 Control Group Six (b08lyslh)
Series 2, Episode 1
President Frank is dead, killed by an exploding theatre review at the end of the last series, and Control Group Six, the Company's experimental town, minus a leader.
Our hero, Dr Heaven, is looking for a job, and he doesn't mind light cleaning. Can the Director of the Company help or will her plans put a different sheen on Heaven's career?
The second series of the bizarre four-part comedy - half sketch show and half psychological thriller. Written and performed by Richard Bean, Andrew Clifford, Clive Coleman and Colin Swash. With Geraldine Fitzgerald.
Producer: Jon Rolph
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
TUE 07:30 The Missing Hancocks (b08kv5f8)
A Visit to Swansea
The Missing Hancocks recreates those episodes of the classic Hancock's Half Hour that have been wiped or lost from the archive. Something else had gone missing at the start of this series - The Lad Himself, who had absconded to Rome. In 1955, he was replaced for the first three episodes by the Goon Show's Harry Secombe, who in this recreation has been replaced by Andy Secombe - Harry's son. After Tony returned from his jaunt the writers Galton and Simpson ensured he wasn't allowed to forget who had saved his bacon, so in this episode, for one show only, both Tony and Harry appeared together in Hancock's Half Hour. Not heard since then, this is a real piece of comedy history.
The first modern sitcom, Hancock's Half Hour made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams and launched Ray Galton and Alan Simpson on one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history. But 20 episodes of the show are missing from the BBC archives. Now, after two highly successful series, another five of those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Tonight's episode: A Visit to Swansea. Tony, Bill, Andree and Sid head to Swansea in search of Harry Secombe. This episode was first broadcast on the 10th May 1955.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic score newly recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the show stars Kevin McNally, Andy Secombe, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin Sebastian and Susy Kane. A Visit to Swansea.
Produced by Neil Pearson & Paul Sheehan.
Written by Ray Galton & Simpson
Music recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Levon Parikian.
A BBC Studios Production.
TUE 08:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00gszmr)
From 29/03/1971
A bungling burglar, a struggling pianist and the Clegworthy family's Sunday.
A sequential entertainment for radio starring Ronnie Barker.
With Terence Brady, Pauline Yates and Peggy Ann Wood. Pianist: Gordon Langford.
Written by Chris Allen, Tony Bilbow and Mike Fentiman, David Climie, John Graham, Gerald Wiley and John Fawcett-Wilson.
Producer John Fawcett-Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1971.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00xn6sw)
Strictly for the Birds
The feather-brained civil servants get in a flap.
A weekly tribute to all those who work in government offices and to all the others who spend their days there as well.
Stars Wilfrid Hyde White and Richard Murdoch.
With Norma Ronald, Roy Dotrice, Diana Olsson, Percy Edwards and John Graham.
Written and produced by Edward Taylor.
'The Men from the Ministry' ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977. Deryck Guyler replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966. Sadly many episodes didn't survive in the archive, however the BBC's Transcription Service re-recorded 14 shows in 1980 - never broadcast in the UK, until the arrival of BBC Radio 4 Extra.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1962.
TUE 09:00 The Now Show (b08kylww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Joyce Grenfell - Hats Off (b00qs7mb)
Song of Gladness
Maureen Lipman reads more of Joyce Grenfell's poems. Introduced by Janie Hampton. Including The Bumble Bee and My Boy.
TUE 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lh9y)
9-13 January 1917
In the week, in 1917, when Sylvia Pankhurst was threatened with libel for reporting the conditions of female munitions workers, emotions run high for those remaining at Marshall's factory.
Written by Claudine Toutoungi
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
TUE 11:00 Love Stories (b01mm3c5)
Room Service
By Jojo Moyes. A surprise weekend away after 14 years of marriage. Series of stories by bestselling romantic novelists. Read by Doon MacKichan.
TUE 11:15 Nan Woodhouse (b007jx5f)
Now or Never
Age is no barrier for a group of older people who decide to make their wishes come true. Stars Thelma Barlow and Katherine Parr.
TUE 12:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00gszmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00xn6sw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Falco (b008kmgp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lylck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00ljz6k)
Episode 7
A weakened Sir Edward Leithen is himself rescued by Lou, who has a positive effect on his flagging spirit. Read by Paul Young.
TUE 14:15 Publishing Lives (b03xf0g5)
Series 2, Victor Gollancz
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Victor Gollancz was a giant of 20th century British publishing. The firm he founded published works by Ford Madox Ford, George Orwell, Elizabeth Bowen, Daphne du Maurier, Franz Kafka, Kingsley Amis and John le Carre.
Gollancz used the profits from these bestselling authors to fund his political mission. He created the pioneering Left Book Club to campaign against the rise of fascism in Europe. It gained 45,000 members in its first year and, at its peak, was distributing nearly 60,000 books a month. The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell was its most famous title.
Victor Gollancz was a rare breed - a publisher with a social conscience. He was a great literary man who devoted his life to contemporary causes. In the process, he helped to change the world.
The Observer's Robert McCrum talks to publishing insiders including bestselling author, John le Carré, and Victor Gollancz's daughter Livia Gollancz.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01nd783)
Heinrich Boll - The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, Episode 2
A brilliant exploration of the corrosive impact of tabloid journalism on one young woman. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is dissects the power of the press and it's impact on individual freedom. Told in the form of an unofficial report, this intelligent and pacy story from the 1970s tackles issues of press freedom, responsibility and police tactics.
It's based on a real incident in the author's own life, when he was publicly accused of being a terrorist sympathiser and hounded by the German press. The subtitle of the book is "how violence develops and where it can lead."
Recorded on location in Berlin, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum also features a soundtrack of 1970s Krautrock from bands such as Can, Neu, La Dusseldorf and Ash Ra Tempel.
Episode 2:
Katharina's employers, Mr and Mrs. Blorna, become involved and are agitated by the lurid tabloid headlines about Katharina. She is taken back in for questioning and continues to deny knowledge of the whereabouts of Ludwig, the suspected criminal she met at a party. She also refuses to explain the origin of a valuable ring found in her flat, which is clearly far too expensive for Katharina to have bought herself.
Sound design ..... Eloise Whitmore
Broadcast assistant .... Kath Willgress
Executive producer ..... Joby Waldman
Abridged by Helen Meller
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bxb7l)
Olivier, Episode 2
Published when the National Theatre turned 50 in 2013, Philip Ziegler's biography, based on previously unseen letters and diaries, tells the story of Laurence Olivier as he developed his craft, focusing on his career path from early school days through rep theatre to Hollywood, before returning to triumph in his greatest role ever, as the first director of the National Theatre.
Episode 2:
Newlywed Olivier begins a stellar rise in the London theatre, with a big break from Noel Coward. But Hollywood is less generous and he returns home to make a film with Vivien Leigh.
Reader: Toby Jones
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lh9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Puzzle Panel (b00z628p)
Episode 10
Fiendish brain teasers with Chris Maslanka, Dr Doreen Baxter, Professor David Singmaster and Robert Eastway. From August 1998.
TUE 16:30 Joyce Grenfell - Hats Off (b00qs7mb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Control Group Six (b08lyslh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 The Missing Hancocks (b08kv5f8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Douglas Hill - The Blade of the Poisoner (b007jrkq)
Episode 1
Three allies with psychic powers help 12-year-old Jarral fight an evil prince. Douglas Hill's sci-fi fantasy stars Eric Allen.
TUE 18:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007jt19)
Series 3, Gracie Fields
Mark Radcliffe profiles the major film and music hall star, who never forgot her Rochdale roots.
TUE 19:00 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00gszmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00xn6sw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Falco (b008kmgp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lylck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Love Stories (b01mm3c5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Nan Woodhouse (b007jx5f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 The Missing Hancocks (b08kv5f8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Cowards (b007772j)
Series 1, Episode 2
Elephant rides and bear fights in the bizarre world of Tom Basden, Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and Lloyd Woolf. From April 2007.
TUE 23:00 Concrete Cow (b0076jz1)
Series 1, Episode 5
Sherlock Holmes plays Cluedo in this sketch comedy starring Robert Webb, Olivia Colman and Sally Hawkins. From September 2002.
TUE 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08mnsvz)
From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats again to Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby.
TUE 23:30 We Are Klang: Amazing Lives (b007k3vt)
Musical
On its 25th anniversary, writers and performers reflect on Gummy Monkey: The Musical. Stars Greg Davies, Steve Hall and Marek Larwood.

WEDNESDAY 12 APRIL 2017

WED 00:00 Douglas Hill - The Blade of the Poisoner (b007jrkq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007jt19)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Falco (b008kmgp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lylck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00ljz6k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Publishing Lives (b03xf0g5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01nd783)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bxb7l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lh9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Puzzle Panel (b00z628p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Joyce Grenfell - Hats Off (b00qs7mb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Control Group Six (b08lyslh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 The Missing Hancocks (b08kv5f8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Falco (b008ktyq)
Shadows in Bronze, Episode 4
The Roman sleuth heads to a party thrown by the wealthy and influential Crispus. Helena gets shocking news and Falco receives a nasty surprise.
Anton Lesser stars as Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's witty detective, patrolling the streets of 1st-century Rome.
With Anna Madeley as Helena Justina, Ben Crowe as Petronius, Sara Poyzer as Silvia, Timothy Watson as Aemilius Rufus, Bertie Carvel as Aufidius Crispus, Paul Webster as Marcellus and Jaimi Barbakoff as Aenelia.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
WED 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lzpgt)
Those Great Creatures
Great actor managers dominated Edwardian theatre, but Sir John Gielgud tells John Miller how star actresses drew the crowds.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1978.
WED 07:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k3l9)
Series 3, Abraham's Brother
A faded photograph and a private film show spell trouble for Rabbi Abraham. Stars David De Keyser. From February 2002.
WED 07:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04hz62m)
Series 3, About Paranoia
EPISODE TWO: ABOUT PARANOIA
In a mix of stand-up and re-enacted family life - Nathan Caton illustrates how watching too much TV can make you paranoid and that can have serious repercussions for your family.
Written by Nathan Caton and James Kettle
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing is a series about young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who after becoming the first in his family to graduate from University, opted not to use his architecture degree but instead to try his hand at being a full-time stand-up comedian, much to his family's horror and disgust. They desperately want him to get a 'proper job.'
Each episode illustrates the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his disapproving family as he tries to prove himself.
The series is a mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.
Janet a.k.a. Mum is probably the kindest and most lenient of the disappointed family members. At the end of the day she just wants the best for her son. However, she'd also love to brag and show her son off to her friends, but with Nathan only telling jokes for a living that's kind of hard to do.
Martin a.k.a. Dad works in the construction industry and was looking forward to his son getting a degree so the two of them could work together in the same field. But now Nathan has blown that dream out of the window. Martin is clumsy and hard-headed and leaves running the house to his wife (she wouldn't allow it to be any other way).
Shirley a.k.a. Grandma cannot believe Nathan turned down architecture for comedy. She can't believe she left the paradise in the West Indies and came to the freezing United Kingdom for a better life so that years later her grandson could 'tell jokes!' How can her grandson go on stage and use foul language and filthy material... it's not the good Christian way!
So with all this going on in the household what will Nathan do? Will he persevere and follow his dreams? Or will he give in to his family's interference? Or will he finally leave home?!
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b007jnvy)
NANA
HMS Troutbridge sets sail with Phillips let loose on a new navigational aid.
Starring 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 Wren Chasen, Tenniel Evans as the Admiral and Michael Bates as Mr Harris.
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 and George Evans.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1975.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jnbl)
Series 5, The Scandal Magazine
The lad takes action over scandal rag Blabbermouth's scurrilous claims of him cavorting with Mabel Biggs the cigarette girl.
Stars Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1958.
WED 09:00 Dilemma (b03vf07z)
Series 3, Episode 3
Sue Perkins presents a third series of Dilemma, the panel show where she puts four guests through the moral and ethical wringer by posing a series of finely-balanced dilemmas and then cross-examining them on their answers.
This week, Sue is joined by comedians Tom Wrigglesworth and Lucy Beaumont, who must resolve problems with dictators and ugly children; journalist Anne McElvoy jumps into a phone booth to deal with a super problem; and comedy writer Joel Morris gets top marks for helping out an audience member.
The show was devised by the actor and award-winning comedian Danielle Ward.
"A non-irritating, hilarious panel show" (Radio Times)
Presenter ... Sue Perkins
Devised by ... Danielle Ward
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
WED 09:30 Up the Garden Path (b0081t4t)
Series 2, The View from the Bridge
When confused Izzy meets fiance Charles' friend Bill, they hit it off straight away. Stars Imelda Staunton. From November 1988.
WED 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lhzh)
16-20 January 1917
In the week in 1917 when a munitions factory explosion in Silvertown, East London, killed 73 workers, and damaged 70,000 properties, the aftereffects of the Marshalls factory explosion are still rippling through every level of people's lives in Tyneside.
Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
WED 11:00 Love Stories (b010grrf)
Restoration Woman
By Elizabeth Buchan. A portrait sparks an epiphany in a young widower. Series of stories by bestselling romantic novelists. Read by Tom Goodman-Hill.
WED 11:15 Lord of the Lyceum (b08m03xv)
Jeffrey Richards and a distinguished company of past luminaries of the stage, including Ellen Terry, Violet Vanbrugh, John Martin-Harvey, and Edward Gordon Craig, celebrate the theatrical life and achievement of the first knight of the theatre, Henry Irving.
Stars Daniel Massey as Henry Irving. With Polly James, Diana Olsson, Norman Bird, David March, Clifford Norgate and Crawford Logan.
Written and compiled by Jeffrey Richards.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1988.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b007jnvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jnbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Falco (b008ktyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lzpgt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00lk2cb)
Episode 8
Gaillard opens up to Leithen to reveal the reasons for him moving to America, and his disappearance. Read by Paul Young.
WED 14:15 Publishing Lives (b03xf16j)
Series 2, Norah Smallwood
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Norah Smallwood was the first woman to break into the traditional gentleman's club of publishing in the early 20th Century. She joined Chatto and Windus as a secretary in 1936 and rapidly worked her way up, becoming a partner after the Second World War, and managing director between 1975 and 1982. She was on the board of the Hogarth Press and worked closely with its founder, Leonard Woolf.
Her authors included Aldous Huxley, Elizabeth Taylor, Iris Murdoch, A. S. Byatt and Toni Morrison. She also became close friends with Dirk Bogarde, then one of Britain's leading movie stars, after she heard him on a late night radio show and spotted his potential as a writer. Iris Murdoch said she was 'a combination of comrade, leader, mother, business partner and muse'.
The Observer's Robert McCrum talks to publishing insiders including Dame Gail Rebuck and Booker prize-winning author, A. S. Byatt.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01nd7fk)
Heinrich Boll - The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, Episode 3
A brilliant exploration of the corrosive impact of tabloid journalism on one young woman. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is dissects the power of the press and it's impact on individual freedom. Told in the form of an unofficial report, this intelligent and pacy story from the 1970s tackles issues of press freedom, responsibility and police tactics.
It's based on a real incident in the author's own life, when he was publicly accused of being a terrorist sympathiser and hounded by the German press. The subtitle of the book is "how violence develops and where it can lead."
Recorded on location in Berlin, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum also features a soundtrack of 1970s Krautrock from bands such as Can, Neu, La Dusseldorf and Ash Ra Tempel.
Heinrich Boll is a Nobel Prize winning writer, a giant of German 20th century literature.
Episode 3:
Katharina is the subject of ever more lurid tabloid headlines. Her family and friends are interrogated and we find out more about Katharina's upright moral character, at odds with the press portrayal. She is becoming more distressed by the press intrusion, and the deluge of abusive letters and phone calls she is receiving.
Sound design: Eloise Whitmore
Broadcast assistant: Kath Willgress
Executive producer: Joby Waldman
Abridged by Helen Meller
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bxb8v)
Olivier, Episode 3
Published when the National Theatre turned 50 in 2013, Philip Ziegler's biography, based on previously unseen letters and diaries, tells the story of Laurence Olivier as he developed his craft, focusing on his career path from early school days through rep theatre to Hollywood, before returning to triumph in his greatest role ever, as the first director of the National Theatre.
Episode 3:
Olivier goes from strength to strength at the Old Vic and makes his breakthrough on the big screen with Wuthering Heights followed by Henry V - just as war breaks out in Europe.
Reader: Toby Jones
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lhzh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Dilemma (b03vf07z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Up the Garden Path (b0081t4t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k3l9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04hz62m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Douglas Hill - The Blade of the Poisoner (b007jrng)
Episode 2
Cut by a tainted blade, young Jarral faces death unless his three friends can save him. Stars Eric Allen and Elizabeth Bell.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00wdjrn)
Never Trust a Writer
Never Trust a Writer, or you'll end up in their book, and you might not like what you read. Is everything fair game in the artistic process? Three writers who have all either dished on their loved ones or been dished on - Antonia Quirke, Terence Blacker and Bill Coles, battle it out, refereed by presenter Dominic Arkwright. New writing and heated debate in Off the Page.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b007jnvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jnbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Falco (b008ktyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lzpgt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Love Stories (b010grrf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Lord of the Lyceum (b08m03xv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04hz62m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Births, Deaths and Marriages (b037gypc)
Series 2, The Uncivil Partnership
'Births, Deaths and Marriages - returning for a second series - is the sitcom set in a Local Authority Register Office where the staff deal with the three greatest events in anybody's life.
Written by David Schneider (The Day Today, I'm Alan Partridge), he stars as chief registrar Malcolm Fox who is a stickler for rules and would be willing to interrupt any wedding service if the width of the bride infringes health and safety. He's single but why does he need to be married? He's married thousands of women.
Alongside him are rival and divorcee Lorna who has been parachuted in from Car Parks to drag the office (and Malcolm) into the 21st century. To her, marriage isn't just about love and romance, it's got to be about making a profit in our new age of austerity.
There's also the ever spiky Mary, geeky Luke who's worried he'll end up like Malcolm one day, and ditzy Anita who may get her words and names mixed up occasionally but, as the only parent in the office, is a mother to them all.
In the third episode, Lorna is freaking out because her ex-husband Jonathan is attending a wedding in the office with his new partner, James. Malcolm falls in love with a woman registering the death of her third deceased husband and Anita's in a panic because the hamster she borrowed from her daughter's school has died.
Producer: Simon Jacobs
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:00 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (b03mnmqr)
Series 3, Transport
Pendine Sands, Ernest Willows and Edward George Bowen are scrutinised by comedian Elis James and guests. From January 2014.
WED 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (b08mnsy1)
From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Paul Garner chats again to Julian Barratt and Simon Farnaby.
WED 23:30 The Mark Steel Lecture (b007k4h4)
Series 1, Thomas Paine
The radical comedian profiles the 18th-century author and radical idealist. From September 1999.

THURSDAY 13 APRIL 2017

THU 00:00 Douglas Hill - The Blade of the Poisoner (b007jrng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00wdjrn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Falco (b008ktyq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08lzpgt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00lk2cb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Publishing Lives (b03xf16j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01nd7fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bxb8v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lhzh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Dilemma (b03vf07z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Up the Garden Path (b0081t4t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Attractive Young Rabbi (b007k3l9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b04hz62m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Falco (b008l1cb)
Shadows in Bronze, Episode 5
The Roman sleuth closes in on his man, but gets more than he bargained for from Helena's old school friend.
Anton Lesser stars as Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's witty detective, patrolling the streets of 1st-century Rome.
With Anna Madeley as Helena Justina, Sean Connolly as Atius Pertinax, Christopher Kelham as Larius, Sara Poyzer as Silvia, Paul Webster as Marcellus, Bertie Carvel as Aufidius Crispus, Timothy Watson as Aemilius Rufus, Christian Rodska as Gordianus and Jaimi Barbakoff as Aenelia.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
THU 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08m0g5p)
One Of Our More Promising Young Actors
"It was a very interesting and extraordinary part, but I was very intense in it..."
Sir John Gielgud recalls the early influence of Russian director, Theodore Komisarjevsky - and praise for his goatee beard. With John Miller.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1978.
THU 07:00 In the Chair (b007jsyl)
Episode 5
Links between the serial killings and New Labour appear stronger than ever for maverick hack, George Cragge.
Mark Tavener's six-part satirical comedy thriller stars Michael Williams as George Cragge, Barry Foster as DCI Frank Jefferson, Hugh Laurie as the Prime Minister, Richard Griffiths as Crichton-Potter, John Bird as Martin, Stephen Fry as Charles Prentiss, Rebecca Front as Marcia Mallon, Kenneth Cranham as Jim Hardie, Geoffrey Whitehead as Director of Personnel, Simon Greehall as the Chancellor, Jonathan Keeble as John and Susie Brann as Caroline.
Music by Paul Mottram.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
THU 07:30 Reluctant Persuaders (b08kxzvv)
Series 2, Live Young
Starring Nigel Havers, Mathew Baynton and Josie Lawrence. Welcome back to Hardacre's, the worst advertising agency in London, for the second series of Edward Rowett's award-winning sitcom.
This series finds the team a little higher up the proverbial ladder. No longer fighting to stay afloat, but now fighting to get ahead, this week the team are confronted with an unexpected challenge - a can of water.
Tasked by accounts manager Amanda (Josie Lawrence) with creating a campaign to sell water to impoverished millennials, copy-writer Joe (Mathew Baynton) and art director Teddy (Kieran Hodgson) face an unsettling question - can you convince people with no money to buy something they could have for free? And even if you can - should you?
As ever, they are alternately assisted and obstructed by their washed up creative director and self-professed advertising god, Rupert Hardacre (Nigel Havers) and disinterested receptionist Laura (Olivia Nixon).
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 08:00 Jim the Great (b02qcsw6)
Series 1, Emperor Jim
To boost his coffers, the moustachioed monarch has a go at empire building on-the-cheap.
Historical regal romp starring Jimmy Edwards.
With Julian Orchard, Joan Sanderson, Ronald Baddiley, John Baddeley and David Ryall
Jim The Great ran for 2 series on BBC Radio 2 between 1976 - 1979.
Written by Andrew Palmer.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1977.
THU 08:30 Benny Hill (b08m0l8d)
Star Parade
Fred Scuttle's mission to land on the Moon and how zoo monkeys perceive human visitors.
With Peter Vernon, Jan Waters, the Mike Sammes Singers and the Johnnie Spence Orchestra.
Scripted by Benny Hill.
Producer: John Browel
First broadcast in 'Star Parade' on the BBC Light Programme in August 1963.
THU 09:00 Guess What? (b062r3z9)
Episode 4
Animal, vegetable or mineral? Barry Took's revised 20 questions. With Geoffrey Durham, Neil Innes and Jan Ravens. From April 1998.
THU 09:30 Country Matters (b00lvz52)
Episode 6
Will Cathy finally make the break and give up city life for good? Stars Jonathan Tafler and Lesley Sharp. From June 1994.
THU 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lkkk)
23-27 January 1917
In the week, in 1917, when the national press reported extensively on an explosion at an East London munitions factory, in Tynemouth, the workers are yet to have their story told.
Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Sound: Martha Littlehailes.
THU 11:00 Love Stories (b01ms5x7)
Love in the Afternoon
By Maeve Binchy. 'My mother always told me life is a matter of luck.' Series of stories by bestselling romantic novelists. Read by Adjoa Andoh.
THU 11:15 Charlotte Jones - Dolly's Mexican Wave (b0076r7h)
4 Extra Debut. Dolly is 90, difficult and nearing the end, but her love of football keeps her pulse racing. Stars Patricia Routledge.
THU 12:00 Jim the Great (b02qcsw6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Benny Hill (b08m0l8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Falco (b008l1cb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08m0g5p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00lk9c4)
Episode 9
Deep in the wilds of Canada, Sir Edward Leithen fantasises about returning to the comforts of home. Read by Paul Young.
THU 14:15 Publishing Lives (b03xgl42)
Series 2, Paul Hamlyn
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Paul Hamlyn revolutionised the British book trade in the 20th century, turning it from a cosy club serving the elite into an industrial powerhouse. A Jewish émigré from Berlin, he entered publishing by selling books from a barrow at Camden Market. But he soon ran low on stock and started his own firm, printing books cheaply but handsomely in Eastern Europe. His great insight was that beautiful colour plate books could be produced for the mass market at very low prices.
Hamlyn was an outsider who was looked down on by the gentlemen who had traditionally dominated publishing, but he achieved his ambition to become the biggest publisher on the block. Along the way he transformed the industry with a revolution in lifestyle books - cookery, gardening, history, art - mass-produced at high quality.
Hamlyn was at the forefront of the non-fiction revolution that transformed bookshops and brought colour to post-war Britain. Marguerite Patten's Cookery in Colour of 1962 quickly became an unprecedented bestseller. Today's bestseller lists, packed with celebrity chefs, would have been inconceivable before Paul Hamlyn discovered and developed this new market.
Robert McCrum talks to publishing insiders including Tim Hely Hutchinson and Lady Helen Hamlyn.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01nd826)
Heinrich Boll - The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, Episode 4
A brilliant exploration of the corrosive impact of tabloid journalism on one young woman. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is dissects the power of the press and it's impact on individual freedom. Told in the form of an unofficial report, this intelligent and pacy story from the 1970s tackles issues of press freedom, responsibility and police tactics.
It's based on a real incident in the author's own life, when he was publicly accused of being a terrorist sympathiser and hounded by the German press. The subtitle of the book is "how violence develops and where it can lead."
Recorded on location in Berlin, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum also features a soundtrack of 1970s Krautrock from bands such as Can, Neu, La Dusseldorf and Ash Ra Tempel.
Heinrich Boll is a Nobel Prize winning writer, a giant of German 20th century literature.
Episode 4:
The Blornas discover their high ranking politician friend Alois Straubleder is in love with their housekeeper Katharina, even though she has refused his advances. He is terrified as he has given Katharina a key for his country home, where he suspects the fugitive Ludwig is hiding. Meanwhile, tabloid journalist Totges sneaks into the hospital to interview Katharina's dying mother.
Sound design: Eloise Whitmore
Broadcast assistant: Kath Willgress
Executive producer: Joby Waldman
Abridged by Helen Meller
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bx6qm)
Olivier, Episode 4
Published when the National Theatre turned 50 in 2013, Philip Ziegler's biography, based on previously unseen letters and diaries, tells the story of Laurence Olivier as he developed his craft, focusing on his career path from early school days through rep theatre to Hollywood, before returning to triumph in his greatest role ever, as the first director of the National Theatre.
Episode 4:
Olivier and Ralph Richardson revitalize The Old Vic Theatre Company in war-torn London but, when he departs to tour Australia, he receives a nasty shock from the Theatre's Board.
Reader: Toby Jones
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lkkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Guess What? (b062r3z9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Country Matters (b00lvz52)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 In the Chair (b007jsyl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Reluctant Persuaders (b08kxzvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Douglas Hill - The Blade of the Poisoner (b007jrr6)
Episode 3
Jarral and his friends head to Prince Mephtik's garden, where a battle awaits them. Stars Eric Allen and Ben Onwukwe.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b00g378b)
Series 17, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.
Actor David Soul champions the life of the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was involved in the German resistance movement in WWII.
THU 19:00 Jim the Great (b02qcsw6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Benny Hill (b08m0l8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Falco (b008l1cb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08m0g5p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Love Stories (b01ms5x7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Charlotte Jones - Dolly's Mexican Wave (b0076r7h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Reluctant Persuaders (b08kxzvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Clare in the Community (b03pjcyf)
Series 9, In Blog We Trust
Episode Two - In Blog We Trust
Clare is convinced that the Sparrowhawk Centre is the home of a blogger called 'The Secret Social Worker' and sets out to track them down. Meanwhile Brian accepts Simon's help to find a date.
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.
THU 23:00 Elastic Planet (b007k33s)
The Zoo
The true meaning of birdsong is revealed. Julian Pettifer features in the cosmic comedy of connections.
THU 23:15 The Shuttleworths (b00sjqtq)
Series 5, Wishee Washee Day
John suggests to his neighbour Ken Worthington that he take his wet washing off the line because rain is forecast, but when Ken decides not to heed this warning John, with advice from wife Mary, takes matters into his own hands with disastrous consequences.
The Shuttleworths is written and performed by Graham Fellows, and the series is produced by Dawn Ellis.
THU 23:30 The Penny Dreadfuls Present (b00gpbcv)
More Brothers Faversham, Maximillian Faversham
The story of Victorian Britain's greatest horror writer. The comedy trio's swashbuckling family romp. From October 2008.

FRIDAY 14 APRIL 2017

FRI 00:00 Douglas Hill - The Blade of the Poisoner (b007jrr6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b00g378b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Falco (b008l1cb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08m0g5p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00lk9c4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Publishing Lives (b03xgl42)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01nd826)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bx6qm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lkkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Guess What? (b062r3z9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Country Matters (b00lvz52)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 In the Chair (b007jsyl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Reluctant Persuaders (b08kxzvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Falco (b008m17q)
Shadows in Bronze, Episode 6
A final showdown for the Roman sleuth - but his reunion with Helena proves bittersweet.
Anton Lesser stars as Marcus Didius Falco, Lindsey Davis's witty detective, patrolling the streets of 1st-century Rome.
With Ben Crowe as Petronius, Robert Lister as Decimus Camillus, Fiona Clarke as Tullia, Anna Madeley as Helena Justina, Michael Tudor Barnes as Vespasian, Christian Rodska as Gordianus and Sean Connolly as Atius Pertinax,
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
FRI 06:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08m0kt1)
Hamlet tomorrow or next Thursday, but just not tonight!
"I'd used to trail around, waving my cloak in the air and posing with my sword and crying a lot, and I thought - I don't think that's the thing at all."
The 1929 - 31 seasons at London's Old Vic established Sir John Gielgud as a new and exciting Shakespearean performer. With John Miller.
Actor and theatre director, Sir John Gielgud (1904-2000) was regarded as one of the greatest thespians of his generation.
Producer: John Powell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1978.
FRI 07:00 Old Dog and Partridge (b007v07y)
Episode 2
As she settles back into the pub, Nicola struggles to bond with her father Jack. Stars Michael Williams. From January 1999.
FRI 07:30 Hal (b08lgdpn)
Series 2, Teenagers
The second series of the sitcom with Hal Cruttenden finds the hapless house husband still trying to cope with his mid-life crisis and doubting his every move.
His wife Sam (Kerry Godliman) is still a highly successful business woman, his two daughters Lily and Molly continue to grow into teenagers and find their dad just a little annoying, his bitter and embittered sister Pippa (Abigail Cruttenden) has inconveniently decided to stay with Hal alongside her angry teenage son Oberon, racist neighbour Penny (Ronni Ancona) proves to be a major thorn in Hal's side and best mates Fergus (Ed Byrne) and Barry (Gavin Webster) hinder rather than help Hal's goal of finding himself.
In this first episode, eldest daughter Lily is about to introduce the family to her new hip boyfriend, Bazman, and Hal's need to re-kindle his own romantic past leads to unforeseen challenges. Hal's sister Pippa has also come to stay unexpectedly after her husband decided to experiment with his sexuality.
Written by Hal Cruttenden and Dominic Holland
Produced by Paul Russell
An Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00r92l4)
Series 2, Episode 9
Amazing secrets of the BBC revealed in Auntie's very own story.
More quick-fire sketches, terrible puns, humorous songs and parodies.
Stars Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue 'Cambridge Circus', ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Music by Dave Lee and Bill Oddie.
Producer: Humphrey Barclay
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1965.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jr24)
Tales of Men's Shirts
It is 1942, and Neddie Seagoon must stop the Germans' secret weapon. Stars Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. From December 1959.
FRI 09:00 Who Goes There? (b00fj2bw)
Series 3, Episode 2
Martin Young's famous people quiz. With Francis Wheen, Fred Housego, Amanda Foreman and Maria McErlane.
FRI 09:30 Tickets Please (b00p5xc2)
Episode 4
Will the tangled web of love and lust be unpicked before arrival in Exeter St David's? With Alex Kelly. From December 2009.
FRI 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lky7)
30 January-3 February 1917
In the week, in 1917, when America formally broke diplomatic relations with Germany, and in Tynemouth, people are making small steps forwards.
Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews
Note:
This is the final omnibus of this season of Home Front, which returns to Radio 4 on 17th April 2017.
FRI 11:00 Love Stories (b01mmrh0)
The Lion's Den
By Josephine Cox. A young man assumes he will never find his heart's desire. Stories from bestselling romantic novelists. Read by Robert Glenister.
FRI 11:15 After the Break (b00769l5)
Triple spy George Blake's daring defection made headlines. But what about life behind the Iron Curtain? Stars Jack Klaff.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00r92l4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jr24)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Falco (b008m17q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08m0kt1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 John Buchan - Sick Heart River (b00lkk0v)
Episode 10
Moved by their plight, Leithen spends his last days helping the Canadian Indians. John Buchan's novel read by Paul Young.
FRI 14:15 Publishing Lives (b03xgslw)
Series 2, Carmen Callil
Robert McCrum explores the stories of five great British publishers.
Carmen Callil set out to change the world with her pioneering feminist publishing house, Virago Press. Arriving in London from Australia in 1960, she started as a "publicity girl", then one of the few publishing jobs available to women who did not want to be secretaries.
In 1973 she founded Virago Press to "publish books by women which celebrated women's lives, and which would, by so doing, spread the message of women's liberation to the whole population". Virago's first publication was Fenwomen: A Portrait of Women in an English Village by Mary Chamberlain. This oral history set out as Virago meant to go on, giving voice to previously silent women.
Despite some criticism from the established literary world, Virago quickly became a success. In 1978, Carmen launched the hugely influential Modern Classics series, with their distinctive green spines, celebrating and reviving the work of hundreds of often neglected female writers. Since then, the Modern Classics series has become Virago's hallmark.
Carmen left Virago to run Chatto in the 80s, and retired from publishing in 1994. The company she founded over 40 years ago has evolved and changed, yet the founding principles remain the same, to publish the best of women's writing and to celebrate women's lives thorough literature. Since 1973, women have made a significant contribution to literature, as bestsellers, as Booker Prize winners and as readers shaping the modern book trade.
Featuring Carmen Callil, Ursula Owen and Lennie Goodings.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway Production production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b01nd3dy)
Heinrich Boll - The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, Episode 5
A brilliant exploration of the corrosive impact of tabloid journalism on one young woman. The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum is dissects the power of the press and it's impact on individual freedom. Told in the form of an unofficial report, this intelligent and pacy story from the 1970s tackles issues of press freedom, responsibility and police tactics.
It's based on a real incident in the author's own life, when he was publicly accused of being a terrorist sympathiser and hounded by the German press. The subtitle of the book is "how violence develops and where it can lead."
Recorded on location in Berlin, The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum also features a soundtrack of 1970s Krautrock from bands such as Can, Neu, La Dusseldorf and Ash Ra Tempel.
Heinrich Boll is a Nobel Prize winning writer, a giant of German 20th century literature.
Episode 5:
The fugitive Ludwig is captured and Katharina is proved innocent of any involvement with his crime. However, this does not deter the press and their headlines grow ever more lurid, blaming her for her mother's death. At last, she cracks under the pressure and reveals exactly how and why she shot Totges, the journalist responsible for the tabloid campaign against her.
Sound design: Eloise Whitmore
Broadcast assistant: Kath Willgress
Executive producer: Joby Waldman
Abridged by Helen Meller
Produced and directed by Polly Thomas
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bx81y)
Olivier, Episode 5
Published when the National Theatre turned 50 in 2013, Philip Ziegler's biography, based on previously unseen letters and diaries, tells the story of Laurence Olivier as he developed his craft, focusing on his career path from early school days through rep theatre to Hollywood, before returning to triumph in his greatest role ever, as the first director of the National Theatre.
Episode 5:
Olivier goes to the Royal Court to star in 'The Entertainer' which, in turn, sets him on a path to the last two great loves of his life - Joan Plowright and the National Theatre.
Reader: Toby Jones
Producer: Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b083lky7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Who Goes There? (b00fj2bw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Tickets Please (b00p5xc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Old Dog and Partridge (b007v07y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Hal (b08lgdpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Douglas Hill - The Blade of the Poisoner (b007jrtt)
Episode 4
Jarral must destroy Prince Mephtik and his knife before the full moon, or he'll die. Douglas Hill's fantasy stars Eric Allen and Hugh Dixon.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b01qm2fw)
Series 15, She Moved through the Fair
The Irish traditional song She Moved Through The Fair is well loved and well recorded by many. To some it is a ghost story that tells of unfulfilled longings and of hopes and aspirations cut short. Sinead O' Connor and others talk about the haunting beauty of this ancient song and of why its imagery is carved into their souls.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00r92l4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jr24)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Falco (b008m17q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 John Gielgud - An Actor in His Time (b08m0kt1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Love Stories (b01mmrh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 After the Break (b00769l5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 Hal (b08lgdpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 That Mitchell and Webb Sound (b03k0s5j)
Series 5, Episode 2
The real point of owning a cat and a culture clash at the Proms. Sketches starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. From December 2013.
FRI 23:00 Bleak Expectations (b00d06pc)
Series 1, A Childhood Cruelly Kippered
Mark Evans's Dickensian spoof reveals the downward spiral of young Pip Bin's life. Stars Richard Johnson. From August 2008.
FRI 23:30 The Skivers (b00jhmlm)
Series 3, Episode 5
Going Live! Phillip Schofield relives his days on children's television, with Nick Golsen and Tim de Jongh. From January 1997.