SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER 2017

SAT 00:00 Ben Moor - Undone (b007jxhj)
Series 1, UnravelledThings go from strange to stranger for Edna, Tankerton and both the Carlos...
Ben Moor's comic sci-fi saga stars Sarah Solemani as Edna, Ben Moor as Tankerton, Duncan Wisbey as Carlo and Tim Key as Grant.
Producer: Colin Anderson
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2006.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b06pttqp)
Series 21, Mr Blue SkyELO's brilliantly off-beam classic, Mr Blue Sky, is explored in this week's Soul Music.
It was released as a single in 1978, having first appeared on the ELO album 'Out of the Blue' in 1977. Written by Jeff Lynne, it was a no.6 hit in the UK, and has endured on the radio airwaves ever since.
Contributing to the programme:
Tracey Collinson whose husband, Nigel, loved the track tells of the meaning it has for her.
Musicologist, Allan Moore, discusses the anomolous use of the word 'blue': usually associated with downbeat emotions, this is a peculiar subversion of that cultural norm with the word 'blue' conjuring happiness and good weather.
Tremayne Crossley and his friend, Jo Milne, tell the extraordinary story of how Jo heard music for the first time. This track played an important role in that event.
For Dr. Sam Illingworth, Mr Blue Sky will always take him back to the low-flying research-flights he made over the wetlands, greenlands and seas of the Arctic Circle with the shadow of the BAE146 plane beneath him and clear blue skies above.
The children of King's St. Albans in Worcester sang the track that features at the end of the programme.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
SAT 01:00 Sherlock Holmes (b09bk193)
Sherlock Holmes with Carleton Hobbs - Series 1, The Noble BachelorThe great detective is hired to find why a bride mysteriously disappeared just hours after getting married.
Starring Carleton Hobbs as Sherlock Holmes. The actor played the Baker Street sleuth in 80 radio dramas between 1952 and 1969.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tale originally appeared in 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' published in the Strand Magazine in 1891. Adapted by Michael Hardwick.
With Norman Shelley as Doctor Watson, Frederick Treves as Lestrade, William Eedle as Lord St Simon, Jane Jordan Rogers as Mrs Moulton and Jerold Wells as Francis May Moulton.
Producer: Frederick Bradnum
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1959.
SAT 01:30 Ludwig Koch and the Music of Nature (b00jn4m2)
Ludwig Koch was once as famous as David Attenborough, as pioneering as 'Blue Planet' and as important as the BBC Natural History Unit. They all owe their existence to this German refugee who first recorded the music of nature. Through his archive and new field recordings the poet Sean Street tells the story of Ludwig Koch.
When Sean Street was recording in a store-room at the Science Museum for a Radio 4 archive programme he came across a grey crate, stencilled, as if it belonged to a band on tour, with KOCH on it. This was the disc-cutting machine which Ludwig Koch used for a decade to make the recordings of birds, mammals and insects that led to a new field of study, of broadcasting and the creation of the BBC's Natural History Unit.
Sean and his producer then began investigating and discovered that Koch made the first ever wildlife recording, of a bird, when he was eight, in 1889 - and that it still exists in the BBC's archives.
Koch was an effusive man and this led to several confrontations with Nazi officials, whom he despised. There is an extraordinary recording of him telling the story of a Berliner whose bullfinch sang 'The Internationale'. He was carted off to prison and the bird 'executed'. "Under dictatorship," Koch observed, "even songbirds suffer". He came to England, worked with Julian Huxley on theories of animal language, and recorded birds from the Scillies to Shetland.
In 1940 he joined the BBC and soon became a household name, beloved of comedians (there's a great sketch by Peter Sellers parodying him at work) because of his resolute pronunciation of English as if it were German.
As well as being wonderful radio in itself his work was of great significance. It inspired producer Desmond Hawkins to start 'The Naturalist', (using Koch's enchanting recording of a curlew as its signature tune). Sean Street uses his recordings and contributions of those who worked with him in what becomes a natural history programme in itself, with Koch the subject and Sean exploring his habits and habitat.
There is also an attempt to record curlews as he did so successfully, to shed light on the achievements of this courageous, influential and loveable genius. Today sound-recordists use tiny digital machines and sophisticated microphones. But there are other problems - traffic, planes, people - and fewer, shyer curlews.
Producer: Julian May.
SAT 02:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l2b)
Episode 10Believing her happiness with Mr Rochester assured, a shocking revelation threatens Jane's dreams. Adaptation read by Anne-Marie Duff. From April 2004. Episode 10 of 15.
SAT 02:15 In Pursuit of the Ridiculous (b01ntls9)
The Purple EmperorMatthew Oates has long been obsessed with the elusive and beautiful purple emperor, a butterfly of the high tops which is aggressive to other butterflies and yet often lands on people. But in this programme he's out-obsessed by Neil Hume, a self-confessed addict of the emperor .Together they watch the butterflies chasing off rivals high in the tree-tops and discuss its anti-social feeding habits which include sipping human sweat and animal dung - this is a butterfly which avoids flowers. As they enthuse over emperors, Neil explains what the experience of seeing this butterfly means and how it takes him to special places at the height of summer.
Presenter: Matthew Oates
Producer: Brett Westwood
Editor: Julian Hector.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b038z9fy)
The True Story of Bonnie Parker, Episode 5by Beatrice Colin
A new look at the story of Bonnie and Clyde. The True Story of Bonnie Parker uses historical sources to illustrate how a series of often disastrous decisions led the former waitress from Cement City to end up as one of America's most wanted criminals. It reveals how the press first celebrated and then reviled Bonnie Parker as her notoriety grew. Even during their lifetimes, the depiction of the couple in the press was at considerable odds with the reality of their life on the road. But most of all, this is about a doomed love affair, a twentieth century Romeo and Juliet, with guns.
Bonnie and Clyde spring a young convict from jail and commit ever more desperate crimes. Clyde remains optimistic but Bonnie knows that time is running out.
Produced and directed by Gaynor Macfarlane.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b01nxzcb)
Patrick Leigh Fermor: An Adventure, Episode 5Artemis Cooper's biography charts for the first time the extraordinary life story of the celebrated travel writer and war hero who was as renowned for his feats of derring-do as for his sumptuous prose.
The construction of Paddy's "power-house for prose" in Greece and a fascinating insight into the remarkable creative journey which culminated in the award-wining, A Time of Gifts.
Read by Samuel West
Abridged by Miranda Davies
Produced by Gemma Jenkins.
SAT 03:00 Nikos Kazantzakis - Zorba the Greek (b007jqzy)
Episode 2Will following Zorba's advice for life lead to tragedy when Nikos meets with the young widow? Stars Robert Stephens. Starring Robert Stephens. From December 1993.
SAT 04:00 The Rest Is History (b04v2ssq)
Series 1, Episode 1Frank Skinner loves history, but just doesn't know much of it.
The Rest Is History is a new comedy discussion show which promises to help him find out more about it.
Along with his historian in residence Dr Kate Williams, each episode sees Frank joined by a selection of celebrity guests, who will help him navigate his way through the annals of time, picking out and chewing over the funniest, oddest, and most interesting moments in history.
Frank's guests in this edition of the programme are Dave Gorman and Sara Pascoe
Produced by Dan Schreiber and Justin Pollard
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:30 Kalangadog Junction (b09bl13k)
Episode 2After arriving from 1950s Manchester, Dr Thomas and Jane are finally making headway in the remote town of Kalangadog Junction. But his appointment as judge of the Beautiful Baby Contest risks offending his new Aussie neighbours.
Six-part comedy drama series by Moya O'Shea.
Starring Caroline Quentin as Jane, John Duttine as Thomas, Niall Ashdown as Jimmy, Toby Longworth as Pete, Brian Bowles as Len, Joanna Monro as Madge, Julie Gibbs as Milly, June Whitfield as Phoebe and Moya O'Shea as Gaylene.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
SAT 05:00 Hazelbeach (b008crhw)
Series 1, PartyRonnie organises a disastrous birthday party and Nick finally finds his father's will.
Caroline and David Stafford's comedy stars Jamie Forman as Ronnie, Paul Bazely as Nick, Tracy Wiles as Chloe, John Dougall as James and Liza Sadovy as Andrea.
Producer: Marc Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2007.
SAT 05:30 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (b099wv45)
Series 2, Case #139 - Help! The Aged!Cack-handed private eyes Max and Ivan are in a state of penury, with mad landlord Malcolm going to extreme lengths to get his hands on their rent. Nonetheless, Max seems ready to jack in the business when he discovers that his Great Uncle Bernard (guest star Richard Wilson) might be in trouble.
But when he and Ivan investigate Bernard's retirement home and meet the terrifying Sister Geraldine, all might not be as it seems.
Written by Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez
Developed by John Stanley Productions
Produced by Ben Walker
A Retort production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 The Two Voyages of Donald Crowhurst (b09fh77p)
The story of an amateur sailor's ill-fated entry into the 1968 Sunday Times round the world yacht race.
On 31st October 1968, Donald Crowhurst sailed out of Teignmouth, Devon aboard his trimaran. Nine months later it was found, intact, in the North Atlantic - but he'd disappeared.
The logs and tapes left behind reveal indisputably that Crowhurst did not sail round the world, but only in the Atlantic. So if he charted a fictitious circumnavigation, why did he leave sufficient proof behind to reveal the truth?
Tony Salmon tells the story of a real voyage and a false one. But it's also about two voyages in another sense: the voyage of a boat and the journey of a man's mind.
Keen to win the newspaper's Golden Globe Race cash prize - were the pressures which drove Crowhurst to his end uniquely of his own time?
With the voices of Donald Crowhurst, Rodney Hallworth, Dr Glin Bennet, Stanley Best, Nicholas Tomalin, John Norman, Ronald Hall and Arthur Blaydon.
Readers: Andrew Sachs, Donald Heighway and Brian Gear
Script: Brian Gear
Producer: Brian Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1970.
SAT 07:30 Yes Yes Yes (b007kvtw)
Series 2, Mind Games in Mill StreetJohn Rawling returns with another six-part series looking back at some of sport's greatest finishes. This edition recalls the dramatic night in 1995 when Steve Collins challenged Chris Eubank for the WBO Super-Middleweight Championship - a fight which almost didn't take place, thanks to a hypnotist.
SAT 08:00 An Hour With... (b05x27ty)
Hinge and BracketDr Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket celebrate their 21st anniversary with a sell-out concert on 7th August 1994 at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London. Their hilarious performance includes anecdotes about their early days, greetings cards from friends and well-wishers, and some of their favourite songs.
The two elderly ladies recall how they got their first break at the Edinburgh Festival, as well as some unfortunate experiences staying at showbiz digs, and Dame Hilda's concerns about her nephew Julian.
Their songs include 'We Said We Wouldn't Look Back' from Salad Days, a Gilbert and Sullivan medley, and 'Land of Hope and Glory'.
SAT 09:00 Diane Morgan Believes in Ghosts (b09c0rr8)
This Halloween weekend, Diane Morgan - famed for her investigative powers as Philomena Cunk - trawls the BBC archive for the best real-life tales of ghost hunting, hauntings, and unexplained phenomena, which takes us across England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales - as well as on a tour around the bowels of BBC Broadcasting House.
And Diane will be joined by some special guests who have all had paranormal experiences, including Yvette Fielding, Glen Hunt, Toyah Willcox, Bethany Black, Steve Punt, and Maxine Peake, and they will share their stories.
Archive programmes include The Grimbsy Ghostbusters from 1992, Stranger Things: An Old Fashioned Haunting from Radio Wales, a tour of the Vaults underneath Edinburgh's Cowgate in Underground Lives and Radio Ulster's From Fear to Eternity. There is also a phone-in from 1979 where listeners share their experiences, and there are short stories of real-life hauntings on the railways, and in theatres, mills, hotels, homes - and even live on Excess Baggage on Radio 4.
SAT 12:00 The Sit Crom (b00lvmwp)
The Secret KnockeMercy's disguise is revealed, Father Francis is perplexed in his hole, Tobias denigrates the vegetables, Arise Higgs and his platoon are billeted on Firebasket Hall and Gazebo has lethal orders.
Sue Limb's six-part comedy set during the English Civil War.
Stars Joss Ackland as Sir John Firebasket, Denise Coffey as Lady Anne Firebasket, Clive Merrison as Tobias Thynne, Miriam Margoyles as Mercy, alias Melissa Ffortescue-Bottomley, Nickolas Grace as Father Francis, Chris Emmett as Slow Ned, Jack Klaff as Gazebo Fogg, Alun Armstrong as Captain Arise Higgs, Nicky Henson as Posthumous, Peter Hayward as Counter Tenor and Jane Whittenshaw as Lettice.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
SAT 12:30 Not in Front of the Children (b0524hhh)
Series 1, House in a TreeJennifer berates her headstrong husband Henry who's due in court over his somewhat shaky treehouse.
Starring Wendy Craig as Jennifer Corner, Francis Matthews as Henry Corner and Fanny Rowe as Mother.
The comedy mishaps of the Corner family: Jennifer and Henry and their three children Trudi, Amanda and Robin. Family sitcom, 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 and Butterflies.
Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Producer: Trafford Whitelock.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1969.
SAT 13:00 How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny and Me - Series 2 Omnibus (b06mybd6)
Venta the slave keeps an observant eye on Pliny the Younger, his mother Marcella and Doris, the Greek cook. Stars Kieran Hodgson.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b09c0rrc)
Wilko JohnsonGuitar legend Wilko Johnson chose 'Cathy's Clown' by the Everly Brothers and 'Highway 61 Revisited' by Bob Dylan.
SAT 14:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kfpc)
Series 2, LincolnshirePam's trek to the flat lands reveals a company catering to bee enthusiasts, a Georgian prison and a local couple converting blooms into rose oil and rosewater.
Poet and raconteuse, Pam Ayres makes her final stop on the open road, visiting places across Britain to hear tales from the people who live there.
Producer: Jill Marshall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2001.
SAT 14:45 Peter Tinniswood (b007jqwp)
Tales From the Brigadier, The Brigadier in SeasonThe Brigadier recalls a cricketing trip to Europe. Did the game travel well over there?
All the way from Witney Scrotum, more reminiscences from the crusty old brigadier.
Starring Richard Wilson.
Written by Peter Tinniswood.
Producer: Pete Atkin.
SAT 15:00 An Hour With... (b05x27ty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 The Two Voyages of Donald Crowhurst (b09fh77p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Yes Yes Yes (b007kvtw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 The Twilight Zone (b00j17qd)
Series 2, It's a Good LifePeaksville, Ohio is a town that's not on any map, but it's here that six year-old Anthony Freemont uses his horrifying powers...
Rod Serling's TV script from a story by Jerome Bixby adapted for radio by Dennis Etchison
Starring Mike Starr, Meg Thalken, Franette Liebow, Christian Stolte, Jeff Lupetin, Doug James, Brooke Sanford, Carl Amari and Zachary Leipzig.
Stacy Keach (best known here as US TV detective Mike Hammer) takes Serling's original TV role as narrator.
Created by Rod Serling, cult sci-fi and horror series 'The Twilight Zone' was first broadcast in the USA on CBS from 1959 to 1964 and electrified the new medium of television.
Armed with a licence from CBS and the Serling estate, Carl Amari's slick adaptions are based on the original TV scripts - adapted from 2002 as a 40-minute radio drama series, with a full cast, music and sound effects.
Produced and directed by Carl Amari and Roger Wolski for the Falcon Picture Group.
SAT 18:40 James Follett - The Silent Vulcan (b007jswq)
Episode 7As Malone carries out surveillance on the spider, Vikki receives more guidance from the visitors.
After a UFO crash landed, the Sussex town of Pentworth has been cut off by a mysterious invisible and impenetrable wall.
'The Silent Vulcan' is the final book in James Follett's sci-fi trilogy of the same name.
Read by Nigel Anthony.
Abridged by Miranda Davis.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2004.
SAT 19:00 Diane Morgan Believes in Ghosts (b09c0rr8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 The Mark Steel Lecture (b007nf6b)
Series 2, Billie HolidayInitially a hater of jazz music, the radical comedian profiles the American singer and songwriter. From April 2001.
SAT 22:30 Andrew Maxwell's Public Enemies (b03f8g6l)
Drugs TradeAndrew Maxwell is one of the UK's most informed and fearless stand ups. In this series of one-off stand up shows, he uses his trademark intelligence and political incisiveness to dig behind the clichés and assumptions about four possible threats to British society: food, the internet, drugs and Nationalism.
This series will showcase a comedian at the top of his abilities tackling difficult and important 'slow news' topics with a depth and perceptiveness that remains outside the remit of mainstream 'topical' comedy.
The drugs trade is one of our few booming industries. In this third episode, Andrew looks at the facts behind both the illegal and legal drugs. What are the risks? What are the problems? And what can we do about either?
Always adept at making shrewd, balanced and very funny political observations, Maxwell was one of the first comics at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival to react to the riots in England and the Arab Spring and evolve his act accordingly to rave reviews and a nomination. He performed his 2012 Edinburgh show That's the Spirit at the Assembly Rooms George Square to sell out audiences and followed this with a run at London's Soho Theatre. He also performed at the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival last year including a performance at the televised American Dream Gala and at the Udderbelly Festival.
"One of the most significant comedians working in the country today" THE INDEPENDENT
"Fiercely funny and utterly invigorating" THE TIMES
"Stand up. is rarely this politically well-informed or thought-provoking" THE SCOTSMAN
Written and performed by ..... Andrew Maxwell
Script edited by ..... Paul Byrne
Produced by ..... Ed Morrish.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09d4rm7)
Jonny & the Baptists 2/3The best in contemporary comedy. Plus, Arthur Smith is joined by Jonny and Paddy aka musical comedy duo Jonny & the Baptists.
SAT 23:00 Goodness Gracious Me (b01p1plb)
Series 3, Episode 2The embarrassing auntie gets hip, and curious memories of the British Raj. Stars Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nina Wadia. From May 1998.
SAT 23:30 Chris Addison's Civilization (b00dy51z)
Cities and LawsThe thinking idiot's anthropologist explains flaws in the urban democratic system. With Geoffrey McGivern. From April 2006.

SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER 2017

SUN 00:00 The Twilight Zone (b00j17qd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:40 James Follett - The Silent Vulcan (b007jswq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:40 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Wally K Daly (b007jt88)
Time SlipPaul Williamson arrives home, only to find himself already there. What exactly is going on? Stars Paul Daneman and Norma Ronald.
SUN 01:00 How to Survive the Roman Empire, by Pliny and Me - Series 2 Omnibus (b06mybd6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b09c0rrc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kfpc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 Peter Tinniswood (b007jqwp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 An Hour With... (b05x27ty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 The Two Voyages of Donald Crowhurst (b09fh77p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Yes Yes Yes (b007kvtw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Beatrice Colin - The True Story of Bonnie Parker (b039b647)
Having dropped out of high school and married at 16, the young Bonnie Parker is working as a waitress. Her life is about to change, when she meets Clyde Barrow.
Beatrice Colin's fresh look at the story of Bonnie and Clyde - using historical sources to illustrate how a series of often disastrous decisions led the former waitress from Cement City to end up as one of America's most-wanted criminals.
The press first celebrated and then reviled Bonnie Parker as her notoriety grew. Even during their lifetimes, the depiction of the couple in the press was at considerable odds with the reality of their life on the road. But most of all, this is about a doomed love affair, a 20th Romeo and Juliet, with guns.
Stars Melody Grove as Bonnie, Finn den Hertog as Clyde and Robin Laing as Mr Dove.
With Liam Brennan, James Anthony Pearson and Rosalind Sydney.
Director: Gaynor Macfarlane
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
SUN 07:15 Leila Keys - The Non-Traditional Wife (b01fjx6w)
When Arjun's wife demands a divorce, he asks his lawyer friend Sudhir for advice. But will he take it? Read by Shiv Grewal. From November 1996.
SUN 07:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b043x48z)
Series 3, Marcus BrigstockeStand-up Alex Horne and his 5-piece band explore fashion and trends through live music and comedy. This week there's a ceilidh and songs about Alex's car and the first dance at his wedding amongst others. They're joined by special guest comedian Marcus Brigstocke and singer Vula Malinga.
Host... Alex Horne
Band... Joe Auckland, Mark Brown, Will Collier, Ben Reynolds, Ed Sheldrake
Guest... Marcus Brigstocke and Vula Malinga
Producer... Charlie Perkins.
SUN 08:00 The Al Read Show (b007jwx8)
Northern Variety ParadeStarring the Salford sausage-maker turned Monarch-of-the-Monologue. With Louise Traill.
Monologues and sketches from the legendary Northern comic "introducing us to ourselves".
With the Silvertones and the Augmented Northern Variety Orchestra.
Conductor: Alyn Ainsworth
Produced in the North of England by Ronnie Taylor.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme's Northern Variety Parade in November 1955.
SUN 08:30 As Time Goes By (b04v8rll)
Series 1, Episode 3Lecturing in Norwich, Lionel stays with an old girlfriend. But Jean turns up unexpectedly.
Former sweethearts Jean and Lionel have been reunited in middle-age.
Starring Judi Dench as Jean and Geoffrey Palmer as Lionel.
With Moira Brooker as Judith, Jon Glover as Alistair, John Barren as the Master, Jean Warren as Denise, Simon Greenall and Melanie Hudson as the Students.
Adapted from his original BBC TV series by Bob Larbey.
Producer: Martin Fisher.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1997.
SUN 09:00 Philip Pullman - Daemon Voices Omnibus (b09c1y3m)
In these personal, entertaining and deeply thoughtful essays, Philip Pullman examines the art of storytelling.
Written over a period of 30 years, they reflect on a wide range of topics including the origins of his own stories, the practice of writing and the storytellers who have most inspired him.
Today's essay reveals how his days at Oxford in the sixties provided the inspiration for the setting of His Dark Materials.
Adapted and produced by Kate McAll
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 10:05 World Book Club (b096wnfm)
The New York TrilogyBestselling American writer Paul Auster talks to Harriett Gilbert about his acclaimed work - The New York Trilogy.
In three brilliant variations on the classic detective story, Auster makes the well-traversed terrain of New York City his own.
Each interconnected tale exploits the elements of standard detective fiction to achieve an entirely new genre that was ground-breaking when it was published three decades ago.
In each story the search for clues leads to remarkable coincidences in the universe as the simple act of trailing a man ultimately becomes a startling investigation of identity and what it means to be human.
Hear what readers made of Paul and his novel and what happened when another Paul Auster stood up to introduce himself to the Paul Auster on the stage.
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in November 2012.
SUN 11:00 Radiolab (b09c204c)
Series 2, Black BoxRadiolab examines three very different kinds of black boxes - spaces for strange creation. With Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich.
Radiolab is a Peabody-award winning show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and the human experience.
First broadcast on public radio in the USA.
SUN 12:00 The Al Read Show (b007jwx8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 As Time Goes By (b04v8rll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Beatrice Colin - The True Story of Bonnie Parker (b039b647)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Leila Keys - The Non-Traditional Wife (b01fjx6w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Philip Pullman - The Book of Dust Omnibus (b09d5l7r)
Episode 1Oxford, The Trout Inn: The tale of a pot boy named Malcolm Polstead, and a girl hidden in a convent. Read by Simon Russell Beale.
SUN 15:45 What Is a Story? (b061qccj)
Filling the GapsMarina Warner - in the company of leading contemporary writers - looks at the world of contemporary fiction. In each programme, she considers a story and story writing from a different angle.
Marina is the Chair of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 and the series draws on the expertise of this year's International Booker judging panel, the views of the shortlisted writers, as well as other key literary talent.
Marina speaks with writers as diverse as Julian Barnes, Michelle Roberts, Fanny Howe, Marlene van Niekerk, Alain Mabanckou, Lydia Davis, Edwin Frank, Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang, Daniel Medin, Nadeem Aslam and Laszlo Krasznahorkai.
There are questions around the boundaries between fact and fiction which Marina believes are central to any consideration of storytelling, since readers' pleasure depends so much on trust built up between the storyteller or writer and the audience.
Over ten episodes, there are discussions on the reasons for writing, writers as witnesses and political interaction.
In episode six, Marina looks at 'Filling the Gaps'
Producer: Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 16:00 The Northern Irish Man in CS Lewis (b007jw8w)
A fascinating journey into the childhood of one of the world's best loved writers.
Geoffrey Palmer stars as CS Lewis, guiding us through his early life illustrating how his Northern Irish boyhood in County Down inspired his magical stories of Narnia.
Brian Sibley's drama also stars Dario Angelone as Young CS Lewis, Hannah Gordon as Penny, Jack Logue as Warnie, Doreen Keogh as Lizzie, Stuart Graham as Father, Laura Hughes as Mother, James Ellis as Grandfather, John Hewitt as the Doctor and Sarah Gordon, Coirle Magee and Patrick Gleadhill as the children.
Director: Gemma McMullan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b09c4xvq)
ExtinctionsPoet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'The Echo Chamber - Extinctions'.
Paul Farley listens to old and new poetry of extinction 100 years after the death of Martha, the last ever passenger pigeon.
With poems from Fleur Adcock, Sean O'Brien, WS Merwin and David Harsent and the sounds of X-ray audio, the samizdat music of the Soviet Union that used black-market plates of skulls and ribcages to capture the beginnings of rock n' roll.
Producer: Tim Dee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
SUN 17:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b043x48z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Dave Simpson - Nightmares (b0076nnq)
Jilly's been having recurring nightmares, in which she hears footsteps, meets a grotesquely masked stranger in a lift - or is picked up by a taxi driver who turns out to be the same person.
She also dreams of being alone in the house asleep and hearing broken glass. It's all very real and very frightening.
A hospital consultant, who's attracted to her, offers advice and the pair become friends. However, the terrifying nightmares continue...
Dave Simpson's psychological thriller stars Gillian Kearney as Jilly, Chris Gascoyne as Nick, Deborah McAndrew as Penny, Jonathan Keeble as Ben and David Harewood as James.
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
SUN 19:00 Radiolab (b09c204c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:55 Philip Pullman - Daemon Voices Omnibus (b09c1y3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:05 World Book Club (b096wnfm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:05 today]
SUN 22:00 40 Years of The News Quiz (b09c4xvs)
Miles Jupp presents a look back at 40 years of the Great British institution that is The News Quiz. Since 1977 when Barry Norman, the inaugural chairman of the programme advised us to "keep taking those tabloids", the News Quiz has charmed generations of listeners at home and abroad. The programme boasts upwards of 18 million listeners worldwide each year and the hallowed seats on its panel have been warmed by some of the biggest names from the worlds of both comedy and politics.
In this programme, incumbent News Quiz chairman Miles Jupp takes a look back at the funniest, most controversial and downright delightful moments from the last 40 years of a programme that's helped to define British satire. Miles will remind us how the News Quiz team tackled not just the serious world events of the last four decades but also how they got to grips with stories of donkeys getting stuck down wells and similar whimsy.
Join Miles for 40 years of laughs (big ones), political insight (fleeting) and cuttings (rude) in one hour!
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09d4szc)
Jonny & the Baptists 3/3The best in contemporary comedy. Plus, Arthur Smith is joined by Jonny and Paddy aka musical comedy duo Jonny & the Baptists.
SUN 23:00 Pleased to Meet You (b007k2kz)
Series 1, Episode 1Ninety-something good-time girl Dora Dale spills the beans on the Rat Pack to Martin Kelner. Co-stars Jake Yapp. From July 2006.
SUN 23:30 Pick Ups (b00nkxfc)
Series 2, Carpe DiemSitcom by Ian Kershaw, set around a Manchester taxi company.
Lind endures a dinner date in a bid to secure the future of Irwell Cars, while Mike's pick-up is on a quest for sexual and personal liberation.
Mike ...... Paul Loughran
Lind ...... Lesley Sharp
Dave ...... Phil Rowson
Alan ...... Parvez Qadir
Simon De Vere ...... James Quinn
Shelly ...... Naomi Radcliffe
Johnny ...... Peter Keeley.

MONDAY 30 OCTOBER 2017

MON 00:00 Dave Simpson - Nightmares (b0076nnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Beatrice Colin - The True Story of Bonnie Parker (b039b647)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Leila Keys - The Non-Traditional Wife (b01fjx6w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Philip Pullman - The Book of Dust Omnibus (b09d5l7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 What Is a Story? (b061qccj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 The Northern Irish Man in CS Lewis (b007jw8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b09c4xvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section (b043x48z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Sherlock Holmes (b09c5440)
Sherlock Holmes with Carleton Hobbs - Series 1, Shoscombe Old PlaceThe great detective heads to Berkshire to investigate strange events at a racing stable...
Starring Carleton Hobbs as Sherlock Holmes. The actor played the Baker Street sleuth in 80 radio dramas between 1952 and 1969.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tale originally appeared in 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes' published in the Strand Magazine in 1927. Adapted by Michael Hardwick.
With Norman Shelley as Doctor Watson, Frederick Treves as John Mason / Coachman, Fanny Carby as Mrs Norlett / Pageboy, Ronald Baddiley as Josiah Barnes, Godfrey Kenton as Sir Robert Norbarton, Robert Sansom as Mr Norlett and Frank Atkinson as Stephens / Dog.
Producer: Frederick Bradnum
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1959.
MON 06:30 Blues Run the Game (b01nxh4s)
Laura Barton reveals a lost gem of British folk music and tells the poignant story of its creator, Jackson C Frank.
With insurance money from a childhood accident Jackson C Frank migrated from New York to London in the mid-'60s, where his first album was produced by another ascendant young songwriter called Paul Simon. It was warmly received and Frank is spoken of as an influence on a generation of British folk performers.
And then, it seems, he disappeared from view. Little was heard from Jackson C Frank for decades.
Laura Barton speaks to some of those who knew him to find out about the lost years and the tragedy of the life of Jackson C Frank.
Featuring Jackson C Frank's friends Al Stewart, John Renbourn, Jim Abbott and John Kay.
Producer: Martin Williams.
MON 07:00 Millport (b008gh00)
Series 1, ArdourThe Minister reveals to Irene his secret yearning for Moira. After the initial shock, she realises this unlikely romance could prove advantageous...
Bittersweet comedy written by and starring Lynn Ferguson as 30-something, island barmaid Irene Bruce, who hankers after a better life on the Scottish mainland.
Stars Lynn Ferguson as Irene, Janet Brown as Moira/Agnres, Lewis McLeod as Alberto/Robert/Derek/Bob, Gabriel Quigley as Ena/Bunty, Matt Costello as Doogie and Robert Paterson as the Minister.
Producer: Lucy Bacon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2000.
MON 07:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b099xs64)
Series 19, Episode 4David 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.
Lloyd Langford, Henning When, Ellie Taylor and John Finnemore are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as boxing, snails, bras and parents.
Produced by Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 08:00 Hello Cheeky (b00djnq5)
From 19/05/1973A very early TV prototype of BBC 3 and an unusual crime to solve for Sherlock Holmes.
Pun-tastic fast-moving comedy sketch series written by and starring John Junkin, Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor.
With musical accompaniment from the Denis King Trio.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1973.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007jq82)
Series 3, Things That Go Bump in the NightCorporal Jones's van runs out of petrol, so the Home Guard platoon must take shelter in a spooky house.
Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, John Laurie as Private Frazer, Arnold Ridley as Godfrey, Ian Lavender as Private Pike and Larry Martyn as Private Walker.
Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's TV scripts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1976.
MON 09:00 Just a Minute (b00t97p0)
Series 57, Episode 2The classic long running panel game is back on the airwaves.
Chairman Nicholas Parsons takes charge once again. Subjects include 'What Shall We do With the Drunken Sailor?' Paul Merton, Sue Perkins, Liza Tarbuck and John Sergeant take it in turns to speak without Repetition hesitation or Deviation. Tune in, to find out how many words per minute they can manage.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani.
MON 09:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b0178s5n)
Series 2, Prey of the Bog MonsterComedy series by Christopher William Hill, set in 1962. A BBC producer struggles to make a radio soap set in the unimaginably futuristic world of 2008.
4/6. Prey of the Bog Monster
The show avoids censorship by becoming an outside broadcast.
Nigel Lavery ...... Peter Bowles
Sylvia Hann ...... Cheryl Campbell
Godfrey Winnard ..... John Fortune
Sir Angus McNairn ...... Gary Waldhorn
Hugo Kellerman ...... Joseph Kloska
Douglas Bennings ...... Jon Glover
Keith Wood ...... Sam Pamphilon
Veronica Walters ...... Johannah Tincey
Henderson ...... Ben Crowe.
MON 10:00 Jane Austen (b008h3ns)
Emma, Episode 1Emma Woodhouse - handsome, clever and rich - is a young woman so blessed by life that she declares she will never marry. However, she is determined to find the right match for her new friend Harriet Smith.
Jane Austen's sparkling comedy of love and marriage first published in 1815.
Stars Eve Best as Emma Woodhouse, David Bamber as Mr Elton, Robert Bathurst as Mr Knightley, Norman Rodway as Mr Woodhouse, Marcia Warren as Miss Bates, Patience Tomlinson as Mrs Weston, Ellie Beaven as Harriet Smith, Andrew Wincott as Mr Weston, Beth Chalmers as Jane Fairfax and Tom Hollander as Frank Churchill
Dramatised in two parts by April de Angelis.
Director: Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
MON 11:00 New Irish Writing (b03wsb40)
Days of White TulipsA series of new readings by some of Ireland's most exciting and talented writers. Clare Dwyer-Hogg, Michèle Forbes, Paul McVeigh and Martin Meenan bring us a range of stories where human emotions are tested, and memories are forged, forgotten or found, all the while taking a humorous and poignant look at how people withdraw, connect and reconnect with one another throughout the course of their lives.
Dearbhla Molloy reads 'Days of White Tulips' by Michèle Forbes, a story of two sisters and the shift in their relationship when one becomes increasingly forgetful and moves into a nursing home.
Written Michele Forbes
Producer Heather Larmour
Reader Dearbhla Molloy.
MON 11:15 Tommies (b082kdp4)
Tommies - Series 5, 18 November 1916It is the last day of the Battle of the Somme and Signals Captain Mickey Bliss is back very close to where he started 141 days ago in this story by Jonathan Ruffle.
Observing an escalating catalogue of errors from an Intelligence Dugout Mickey is spurred on to make a last ditch attempt to secure a little ground - but at what cost?
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
And through it all, we'll follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of war, over four long years.
Series created by Jonathan Ruffle
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: David Hunter.
MON 12:00 Hello Cheeky (b00djnq5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jq82)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Sherlock Holmes (b09c5440)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Blues Run the Game (b01nxh4s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l3d)
Episode 11Jane must examine her conscience and decide on the right course - even if at the cost of her happiness and that of her lover's...
Anne-Marie Duff continues Charlotte Bronte's bold and passionate story of a woman's search for independence and love on her own terms. First published in 1847.
Abridged in 15-parts by Sally Marmion.
Producer: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
MON 14:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzk)
The Sky's the LimitAstronomer Heather Couper charts the history of our growing understanding of the universe and the progress of astronomy. From May 2008.
MON 14:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b0153tq3)
Episode 1Vic Brown is infatuated with his work colleague Ingrid Rothwell, but how will he manage to break the ice?
Set in Yorkshire, Stan Barstow's iconic 1960s novel is a compelling, poignant and humorous account of 20 year-old Vic's infatuation for Ingrid - which develops into an emotional crisis, thanks in part to her spiteful friend, Dorothy.
Dramatised by Stan Barstow's partner Diana Griffiths.
Starring Lee Ingleby as Vic Brown, Rebecca Callard as Ingrid Rothwell, Kate Layden as Mrs Brown and Fine Time Fontayne as Mr Brown
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b01npgn7)
Michael Holroyd - On Wheels, Episode 1Michael Holroyd confronts an army of automobiles in this charming memoir. Weaving together personal stories and historical anecdote, he traces his relationship with cars through a lifetime of biography.
Learning to drive was no easy matter for Michael. The lessons required military precision when practising how to get in and out of his car correctly. His biographical subjects also had their difficulties: Bernard Shaw drove with reckless gusto when overtaking his eightieth year; Vita Sackville-West's car became a chamber for sudden romantic assignations and getaways; Augustus John and his family careered through vulnerable villages as the poor vehicle, piled high with bohemian friends, stuttered and jerked along in first gear.
Wry, thoughtful and very funny, On Wheels is an elegy to the glamour of the car. Subtle and perceptive, Michael Holroyd finds surprising ways to understand the past and challenge our view of the future.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Jane Austen (b008h3ns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Just a Minute (b00t97p0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b0178s5n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Millport (b008gh00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b099xs64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Tomb (b007jzmv)
The obsessive Jervas Dudley reveals the sinister events leading up to his incarceration in an asylum.
First published in 1917, HP Lovecraft's chilling tale read by Ryan McCluskey.
American writer, H P Lovecraft (1890-1937) is recognised as one of the most significant figures in 20th century supernatural fiction. Contemporary horror writers, including Stephen King, often cite him as a major influence. His own outlook on life is mirrored in his writing.
"I am so beastly tired of mankind and the world that nothing can interest me unless it contains a couple of murders on each page or deals with the horrors unnameable and unaccountable that leer down from the external universes."
Lovecraft found living, the everyday stuff of life a painful experience. At every turn he felt disillusioned by what life had to offer. Through his writing he sought to put into words these sentiments.
Producer: Gemma Jenkins
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2005.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0076pvx)
Ronan Bennett and Barbara TrapidoNovelists Ronan Bennett and Barbara Trapido join Sue MacGregor to discuss books by Michael Reynolds, Bernard MacLaverty and Slavenka Drakulic. From 2005.
The Young Hemingway by Michael Reynolds.
Publisher: Norton
Grace Notes by Bernard MacLaverty
Publisher: Vintage
They Would Never Hurt a Fly by Slavenka Drakulic
Publisher: Abacus.
MON 19:00 Hello Cheeky (b00djnq5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007jq82)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Sherlock Holmes (b09c5440)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Blues Run the Game (b01nxh4s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 New Irish Writing (b03wsb40)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Tommies (b082kdp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b099xs64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Steven Appleby's Normal Life (b00st0z2)
Series 2, Normal OceanographyThe cartoonist wades into the world under the sea, and gets intimate with a haddock. Stars Paul McCrink. From March 2003.
MON 22:45 Earls of the Court (b00rfhpt)
The Ides of MarchComedy drama series by Will Adamsdale and Stewart Wright about two Australians down on their luck in London.
The night of Lloydie's much-publicised toga party is fast approaching. But can Johnno raise his game in time, and play the crucial role in the Ides of March sketch?
Lloydie ...... Stewart Wright
Johnno ...... Will Adamsdale
Woman 1 ...... Alison Pettitt
Woman 2 ...... Keely Beresford
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.
MON 23:00 News Quiz Extra (b09c6940)
Series 21, Episode 8Made for 4 Extra. Miles Jupp chairs a satirical review of the week's news in an extended version of Friday's programme. Episode 8 of 8.
MON 23:45 Paperback Hell (b0076cl3)
Shopping For Mr WrongTale of a singleton who wants to be swept off her feet. Another spoof chapter of a bestseller. Starring Mel Hudson. From January 2003.

TUESDAY 31 OCTOBER 2017

TUE 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Tomb (b007jzmv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0076pvx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Sherlock Holmes (b09c5440)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Blues Run the Game (b01nxh4s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b0153tq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b01npgn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Jane Austen (b008h3ns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00t97p0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b0178s5n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Millport (b008gh00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b099xs64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Poirot (b007yn6z)
Murder on the Orient Express, Episode 1A train departs, but one person aboard the Orient Express is destined never to arrive. Speeding through the snowy European landscape, a bizarre and terrible murder brings the train to an abrupt halt.
The high-class carriages are packed with passengers and one of them - Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot - soon realises the challenge that awaits him...
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot. With Sian Phillips as Princess Dragmiroff, Francesca Annis as Miss Debenham, Joss Ackland as Mr Ratchett, Frank Windsor as Pierre Michel, Sylvia Syms as Mrs Hubbard and Desmond Llewelyn as Masterman.
Pianist: Michael Haslam
From the book published in 1934 and dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Director Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
TUE 06:30 Hunting Haydn's Head (b00kmgrx)
Simon Townley tells the story of the theft of the skull of composer Joseph Haydn by over-zealous fans, shortly after his death in 1809.
The man who gave the world The Creation, over a hundred symphonies and the blueprint for the string quartet, had his head stolen by Karl Rosenbaum, the secretary of Haydn's employers, the Esterhazy family, and Johann Nepomuk Peter, governor of the provincial prison. Their motivation for stealing the skull was, it is believed, 'scientific': there was at the time a great interest in phrenology, a now-discredited scientific movement that attempted to associate mental capacities with aspects of cranial anatomy.
Simon tracks down what happened to the famous head in the next 145 years, through being displayed for years at the Gesellschaft für Musikfreunde in Vienna in a specially made black wooden casket, until it was finally reunited in 1954 with Haydn's other remains in a marble tomb in the Bergkirche in Eisenstadt.
He finds out exactly what the phrenologists were hoping to achieve with the head of the late composer and ponders the curious enthusiasm that fans of classical music have for busts of their favourite composers.
TUE 07:00 One Foot in the Grave (b007jn64)
The Beast in the CageVictor suffers a bank holiday traffic nightmare stuck in a jam - and so do Margaret and Jean!
Starring Richard Wilson as Victor, Annette Crosbie as Margaret and Doreen Mantle as Mrs Warboys. With Michael Fenton Stevens.
Adapted for radio by David Renwick from this TV script.
Producer: Diane Messias
First broadcast in February 1995 on BBC Radio 2.
TUE 07:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b099yh8d)
Series 12, The Writer in the VanEpisode 1 : The Writer In The Van
Ed Reardon is back, and after being sent down from University for misappropriation of funds he finds himself temporarily living in a hotel trying to write the first in a new series of novels about his eponymous hero, Inspector Masterson, for which he has high hopes. These are soon dashed by Ed's agent, Ping, who informs him he must write 'grip-lit' with a girl in the title who gets drunk, goes to bed with everyone and then gets chopped up.
Ping also palms Ed and Jaz Milvain off with her new assistant, Maggie, a jam-making, sock knitting 'older' lady (who also designs draft excluders) whilst she goes "oop North" to trawl the universities for the next generation of stand-ups. Whilst Jaz is furious with being "tossed on the scrapheap" Ed decides to give Maggie a chance and is soon rewarded when she gets him a writing gig on "Your Motorhome Magazine". This turn of events not only furnishes him with a small but steady income, but also a new home with floral upholstery, carpet on the ceiling and the advantage of letting him and his companion , Elgar, celebrate the freedom of the open road
The regular cast this series are joined by guests Monica Dolan, Vicki Pepperdine, Don Gilet, Karl Theobald and Tyger Drew-Honey.
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis
BBC Studios Production.
TUE 08:00 Listen to Les (b00kmn1b)
From 11/09/1983Cissie Braithwaite is in despair as she instructs Ada Shufflebotham on the finer points of ballet.
Starring Les Dawson. With Roy Barraclough, Daphne Oxenford and Colin Edwynn.
Music by Brian Fitzgerald.
Scripted and produced by James Casey.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September 1983.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0124y9s)
How Now Brown CowThe bumbling bureaucrats spark a right royal mix-up when they act on the hoof.
A weekly tribute to all those who work in government departments.
Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler. With Norma Ronald, Ronald Baddiley and John Graham.
Written by Edward Taylor and John Graham.
'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.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in July 1972.
TUE 09:00 News Quiz Extra (b09c6940)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Paperback Hell (b0076cl3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 Jane Austen (b008h4xg)
Emma, Episode 2A ball, a picnic and a marriage proposal. Concluding part of classic novel with Eve Best, Tom Hollander and Robert Bathurst. From December 2000.
TUE 11:00 New Irish Writing (b03xgsw6)
TicklesA series of new readings by some of Ireland's most exciting and talented writers. Clare Dwyer-Hogg, Michèle Forbes, Paul McVeigh and Martin Meenan bring us a range of stories where human emotions are tested, and memories are forged, forgotten or found, all the while taking a humorous and poignant look at how people withdraw, connect and reconnect with one another throughout the course of their lives.
In 'Tickles' by Paul McVeigh a son visiting his mother who is suffering from dementia, uncovers some long-lost memories and makes an unexpected connection. Read by Liam McMahon.
Writer Paul McVeigh
Reader Liam McMahon
Producer Heather Larmour.
TUE 11:15 Tommies (b0834086)
Tommies - Series 5, 25 November 1916After the horrors of the Battle of the Somme Captain Mickey Bliss is on leave in Paris where he is drawn into the shady world of intelligence and politics in this story by Nick Warburton.
With over a million casualties so far, a potential peace offer from Berlin generates a flurry of activity and manoeuvring amongst those in power.
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
And through it all, we'll follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Series created by Jonathan Ruffle
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: David Hunter.
TUE 12:00 Listen to Les (b00kmn1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0124y9s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Poirot (b007yn6z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Hunting Haydn's Head (b00kmgrx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l3y)
Episode 12Having left Mr Rochester and Thornfield Hall, can Jane make new friends and begin a new life? Read by Anne-Marie Duff. From April 2004.
TUE 14:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzp)
Cathedrals of the CosmosAstronomer Heather Couper reflects on the importance of the sun to ancient agrarian society. With Timothy West. From May 2008.
TUE 14:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b0154xfd)
Episode 2Vic's second date with Ingrid doesn't go well. Is their romance doomed before it starts? Stars Lee Ingleby and Rebecca Callard. From July 2010.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b01ns0qx)
Michael Holroyd - On Wheels, Episode 2Michael Holroyd confronts an army of automobiles in this charming memoir. Weaving together personal stories and historical anecdote, he traces his relationship with cars through a lifetime of biography.
Learning to drive was no easy matter for Michael. The lessons required military precision when practising how to get in and out of his car correctly. His biographical subjects also had their difficulties: Bernard Shaw drove with reckless gusto when overtaking his eightieth year; Vita Sackville-West's car became a chamber for sudden romantic assignations and getaways; Augustus John and his family careered through vulnerable villages as the poor vehicle, piled high with bohemian friends, stuttered and jerked along in first gear.
Wry, thoughtful and very funny, On Wheels is an elegy to the glamour of the car. Subtle and perceptive, Michael Holroyd finds surprising ways to understand the past and challenge our view of the future.
Episode 2 of 5
Despite holding some unusual views on driving, Michael Holroyd finally gets hold of a driving licence, thanks to a colourful array of instructors. He then sets about passing on his new wisdom to the writer Margaret Drabble.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 Jane Austen (b008h4xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 It's Not What You Know (b037tnxt)
Series 2, Episode 5What is Masterchef finalist Kirsty Wark's signature dish? What is Andrew Maxwell's best character trait? What is Francis Wheen's greatest fear?
All these questions, and more, will be answered in the show hosted by Miles Jupp, where panellists are tested on how well they know their nearest and dearest.
Producer: Sam Michell.
TUE 16:30 Ballylenon (b00gddtk)
Series 2, Episode 4After "overhearing" that Reverend Hawthorne is leaving Ballylenon for a larger congregation, telephone operator Vera McConkey loses no time in communicating the good news to the local newspaper, The Vindicator.
Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal, in 1954, before the days of mass tourism and proper plumbing in every home.
Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.
Starring TP McKenna as Phonsie Doherty, Margaret D'Arcy as Muriel McConkey, Stella McCusker as Vera McConkey, Aine McCartney as Vivienne Boal, John Hewitt as Guard Gallagher, Charlie Bonnar as Packy McGoldrick, Ciara McKeown as Josie Doherty and Gerard Murphy as Rev Samuel Hawthorne.
Music arranged and performed by Stephanie Hughes.
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
TUE 17:00 One Foot in the Grave (b007jn64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b07wt5tq)
Series 11, Episode 1Episode 1: 'The Reboot'
Ed Reardon is back, and this time in slightly unfamiliar territory as he has entered the groves of academe and returned to full-time education at 'Uni'. He's doing a three-year course in, well he's not entirely sure, but at the end he'll get a BA with the chance of a two-year MA add-on. The fact that he'll have warm, comfortable accommodation for the foreseeable future, a student loan to pay the rent and that he'll reach 65 by the time he's finished the course and therefore passed the age of paying back the fees has nothing to do with his decision to study. No, this is all to do with making up for lost time when his studies were cut short in his youth following expulsion from school.
Of course, as with all students nowadays Ed will need to boost his loan by earning extra cash so he'll still be pestering his agent, Ping for writing opportunities and so it is as we renew our acquaintance with Ed, and trusty companion Elgar, that we find him reimagining a series of children's books and giving them a savvy post-modern twist for a "cool hundred each" whilst trying to keep up with the other students and their love of coffee shop loyalty cards, seminar satisfaction surveys and certain daytime TV programmes.
The regular cast are joined this series by guests including Sylvestra Le Touzel, Nicholas Farrell and Maya Sondhi.
Cast list ep 1
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis.
TUE 18:00 J C Wilsher - Just Before Midnight (b09c745f)
"...we've forgotten that technology has its roots in magic and mystery..."
An old model-maker specialises in dioramas of disasters, but his timing causes concern...
JC Wilsher's sinister tale starring Paul Schofield and Eric Allan
Director: Ian Cotterell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1979.
TUE 18:15 Basil Copper - The Candle in the Skull (b007jpyd)
Martin's attempt to dispose of his wife does not go according to plan - but his daughter gets a sinister treat for Hallowe'en.
Read by Gerard McDermott.
Producer: Louise Grealish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
TUE 18:30 That Reminds Me (b007jp1h)
Series 3, Sheila SteafelActress Sheila Steafel shares memories of her stage, film and TV career with an audience.
From 'drowning' for Michael Bentine, the unpredictability of Robert Morley to the perils of dancing topless!
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2001.
TUE 19:00 Listen to Les (b00kmn1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0124y9s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Poirot (b007yn6z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Hunting Haydn's Head (b00kmgrx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 New Irish Writing (b03xgsw6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Tommies (b0834086)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Ed Reardon's Week (b099yh8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 In and Out of the Kitchen (b01q8l39)
Series 2, Valentine's DayTradition in the Trench/MacIlveny household dictates that Valentine's Day is the one day of the year when Damien is not allowed in the kitchen and Anthony can be left alone to cook a special meal to celebrate the occasion... much to Damien's chagrin.
Meanwhile, Damien struggles to finish the links to a new series for Sky Arts all about the dietary habits of the great poets. And his dad has an unfortunate accident whilst walking the dog...
Produced by: Sam Michell.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09d5d78)
Yvette Fielding 1/2Comedy Club Halloween Special. Diane Morgan chats to ghost hunters Glen Hunt and Yvette Fielding.
TUE 23:00 Revolting People (b00wbnb0)
Series 4, McGurk Runs the ShopSamuel is reunited with his sister and Ezekiel is dressed as a bear. 1775 America sitcom. Stars Andy Hamilton. From May 2006.
TUE 23:30 Vent (b01dw7cx)
Series 3, Loneliness Is a Crowded HeadComedy series by Nigel Smith about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind.
Ben's life is full of well-meaning people trying to do everything for him. Everything, that is, except leave him alone. He begins to wonder if Robinson Crusoe might have been on to a good thing.
Ben ...... Neil Pearson
Mary ...... Fiona Allen
Mum ...... Josie Lawrence
Blitz ...... Leslie Ash
Nurse ...... Jo Martin
Derek ...... Stephen Frost
Marley ...... Spencer Brown
Bea ...... Scarlett Milburn-Smith
Castaway ...... John Kay-Steel
Waiter ...... Bruce Alexander
Directed by Nigel Smith.

WEDNESDAY 01 NOVEMBER 2017

WED 00:00 J C Wilsher - Just Before Midnight (b09c745f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:15 Basil Copper - The Candle in the Skull (b007jpyd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 That Reminds Me (b007jp1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Poirot (b007yn6z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Hunting Haydn's Head (b00kmgrx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l3y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b0154xfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b01ns0qx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Jane Austen (b008h4xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 It's Not What You Know (b037tnxt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Ballylenon (b00gddtk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 One Foot in the Grave (b007jn64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b099yh8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Poirot (b007yp1g)
Murder on the Orient Express, Episode 2The Orient Express is trapped in a snowdrift and in one compartment, a man lies murdered. Fortunately Hercule Poirot is aboard the train.
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot. With Frank Windsor as Pierre Michel, Sylvia Syms as Mrs Hubbard and Desmond Llewelyn as Masterman.
Pianist: Michael Haslam
From the book published in 1934 and dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Director Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
WED 06:30 Every Day in Every Way (b01mqq6f)
Positive thinking gurus and hypnotherapists aren't the only ones familiar with the phrase 'Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better.' It's reputation today is that of a trite, rather ineffective 'feel good' relic of yesteryear but the phrase, and the man who conjured it up have a fascinating history.
Writer Gillian Darley explores the work of the Frenchman Emile Coué who, though a mere pharmacist in his native France, came to be one of the best known figures of the post First World War world. His visits to England and America were preceeded by record sales of his books which encouraged advocates in the ways of auto-suggestion.
The scientific community are dismissive of his place in the development of psychiatric thinking and development and Gillian Darley reveals reports of one event in which he caused chaos amongst a group of shell-shocked soldiers during a 1922 visit to England. But there are others who say that the 'Every day, in every way' phrase, borrowed to comic effect by Frank Spencer amongst others, was in fact the work of a genuine pioneer in cognitive therapy.
Using contemporary eye-witness reports and newspaper coverage of his travels, Gillian Darley reveals a character who might well merit a more measured response from those writing the popular, as well as the academic history of 20th century medicine.
Meanwhile in France, a recent conference being held in his old base in Nancy shows that there is a new interest in the Coué method, ensuring that 'Every Day, in Every way' his reputation is, at the very least changing.
Producer: Tom Alban
(Repeat).
WED 07:00 Electric Ink (b01kkqc9)
Series 2, Episode 6by Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson.
A comic satire set in the struggling world of newspapers. The paper is on the verge of being sold to a Russian gangster.
Maddox ..... John Sessions
Oliver ..... Alex Jennings
Freddy ..... Stephen Wight
Carol ..... Polly Frame
Masha ..... Debbie Chazen
Andrei Zinoviev ..... Ewan Bailey
Steward ..... Adeel Akhtar
Producer ..... Sally Avens
Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson's satire is set in the world of modern newspapers.
A group of dysfunctional journalists attempt to cover major news stories at the same time as grappling with the demands of working in a multi-platform environment, watching circulation figures plummet and the recession causing half the workforce to be laid off.
At the heart of the comedy is the relationship between Maddox Bradley, a journalist who mourns the day of proper investigative journalism, and Freddy, the online editor who will regurgitate a press release quite happily and call it a story. But they have a grudging respect for the each other as Freddy helps Maddox stay afloat in the world of Twitter, Facebook and podcasting and Maddox shows Freddy how to sniff out the real story. Both are at the mercy of Oliver, the pragmatic Editor more concerned with keeping his job, and Carol, the news editor who believes that circulation will increase if they run pieces on Big Mac eating orang-utans and 'intelligent' skunks rather than Maddox's moral crusading diatribes. And only Masha, the Russian head of online communities, who wants to give away all their content because that is true democracy, knows Freddy's secret; that he's a posh boy from Eton rather than a hypercool kid from the street; well that's what Freddy thinks anyway.
WED 07:30 Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers (b099ypqj)
Series 1, PoliticsAndy Hamilton is a familiar and much-loved voice on Radio 4. Now for the first time on the network, he presents a collection of observations and reminiscences about both his personal life and his 40 years working in comedy.
Over this 4 part series, Andy looks at Childhood, Politics, The Human Body and Animals. Using comic observation and personal anecdotes he will explore each theme, examining how much (or how little) things have changed in the 60ish years he's been on this planet. Each programme will provide 30 minutes of thoughtful, social history, but packed with laughs.
In this episode Andy shares his political memoirs, from being escorted from the playground in 1963 for singing a rude song about the Profumo affair, through encounters with Jim Callaghan, although he won't be talking about Brexit because life is too short.
Andy was born in Fulham in 1954, read English at Cambridge and then in 1976 began writing comedy for BBC radio, on programmes like Week Ending and The News Huddlines. In 1990, he and Guy Jenkin created Drop the Dead Donkey for Channel 4. Andy has spent much of his working life making acute observations about politics and family life. In 2007, again with Guy Jenkin, he created the massive TV hit, Outnumbered, which celebrated the chaos of life with young children. More recently they created the highly topical Ballot Monkeys and Power Monkeys for Channel 4, which charted the absurdities of the General Election and then the EU Referendum. For over 20 years he has been playing the part of Satan in his R4 sitcom, Old Harry's Game. Andy is also a popular panellist on shows such as The News Quiz and Have I Got News For You.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b007k26r)
Bringing Back the BargeThe Admiral's barge must be moved to Portsmouth, but Pertwee has a prior arrangement.
Starring Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as Number One, Richard Caldicot as Commander Povey, Ronnie Barker as AS Johnson, Heather Chasen as Heather, Michael Bates as Bracewell and Tenniel Evans as the Admiral.
The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series on BBC Radio between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jps5)
Series 6, The Poetry SocietyThe lad's new avant garde friends produce some poetical gems - with a little help from Sid and Bill.
Starring Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Fenella Fielding, Warren Mitchell and Fraser Kerr.
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 December 1959.
WED 09:00 Say the Word (b00764vn)
Episode 4Frank Delaney's language game, with The Nimmo Twins and guests Christopher Cook, Miles Kington, Valerie Grove and Carol Boyd. From November 2001. Episode 4 of 6.
WED 09:30 The Sit Crom (b00ly7z6)
The General InspectionCromwell arrives, weeps and investigates as well he might since Father Francis has donned a night shirt and taken to the roof leads singing Ave Maria.
Mercy's disguise is revealed, Father Francis is perplexed in his hole, Tobias denigrates the vegetables, Arise Higgs and his platoon are billeted on Firebasket Hall and Gazebo has lethal orders.
Sue Limb's six-part comedy set during the English Civil War.
Stars Joss Ackland as Sir John Firebasket, Denise Coffey as Lady Anne Firebasket, Clive Merrison as Tobias Thynne, Miriam Margoyles as Mercy, alias Melissa Ffortescue-Bottomley, Nickolas Grace as Father Francis, Jack Klaff as Gazebo Fogg, Alun Armstrong as Captain Arise Higgs, Nicky Henson as Posthumous, Peter Hayward as Counter Tenor, Bert Parnaby as Cromwell and Peter Howell as Colonel Thundery.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
WED 10:00 Home Front (b09cc0fx)
From 31 July to 4 August 1917On this day in 1917, there was a service on the Leas in Folkestone to mark the third anniversary of the outbreak of war.
Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
WED 11:00 New Irish Writing (b03y3lkb)
SerenityA series of new readings by some of Ireland's most exciting and talented writers. Clare Dwyer-Hogg, Michèle Forbes, Paul McVeigh and Martin Meenan bring us a range of stories where human emotions are tested, and memories are forged, forgotten or found, all the while taking a humorous and poignant look at how people withdraw, connect and reconnect with one another throughout the course of their lives.
A coffee shop owner who portraits the epitome of calm and sophistication spectacularly lets her guard down in "Serenity" by Claire Dywer-Hogg. Read by Hattie Morahan. Produced by Morag Keating.
Music, Letters by Little Bear.
WED 11:15 Tommies (b083r2fd)
2 December 1916British Indian Army soldiers discover the topsy-turvy world of a Turkish POW camp, in this story by Avin Shah.
Of the 10,000 British Army combatants taken prisoner after the seige of Kut-al-Amara, half of the Indian soldiers and two-thirds of the British have died on forced marches to Turkish camps. Now they find themselves starved and worked as slave labour on the Baghdad to Berlin railway. Rival sergeants Ahmadullah and Zarbab have found their own ways of surviving. But which one is the real traitor?
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
And through it all, we'll follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Punjabi translation: Sukhdeep Singh Jodha of UK Punjab Heritage Association
With thanks to Jatinder Verma of Tara Arts, and Nasim Rashid
Series created by Jonathan Ruffle
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: Jonquil Panting.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b007k26r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jps5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Poirot (b007yp1g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Every Day in Every Way (b01mqq6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l4h)
Episode 13Jane has a new home, work and friends, but then something quite unexpected happens. Sally Marmion's adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic read by Anne-Marie Duff. From Apr 2004.
WED 14:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzr)
Stories of the SkyAstronomer Heather Couper reflects on how early man mapped the stories of his mythology onto the constellations in the sky. From May 2008.
WED 14:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b0154z0t)
Episode 3Vic Brown fears that his big romance with Ingrid may be over when she fails to turn up for a night out. Stars Lee Ingleby. From July 2010.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b01ns0sz)
Michael Holroyd - On Wheels, Episode 3Michael Holroyd confronts an army of automobiles in this charming memoir. Weaving together personal stories and historical anecdote, he traces his relationship with cars through a lifetime of biography.
Learning to drive was no easy matter for Michael. The lessons required military precision when practising how to get in and out of his car correctly. His biographical subjects also had their difficulties: Bernard Shaw drove with reckless gusto when overtaking his eightieth year; Vita Sackville-West's car became a chamber for sudden romantic assignations and getaways; Augustus John and his family careered through vulnerable villages as the poor vehicle, piled high with bohemian friends, stuttered and jerked along in first gear.
Wry, thoughtful and very funny, On Wheels is an elegy to the glamour of the car. Subtle and perceptive, Michael Holroyd finds surprising ways to understand the past and challenge our view of the future.
Episode 3 of 5
In the third episode of On Wheels Michael Holroyd describes the pleasures of driving a Daf, and the danger of doing so in Northern Ireland. And he gives us a taste of playwright Bernard Shaw's rather individualistic approach to driving.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Home Front (b09cc0fx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Say the Word (b00764vn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The Sit Crom (b00ly7z6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Electric Ink (b01kkqc9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers (b099ypqj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Oscar Wilde (b008hvvx)
The Canterville Ghost, Episode 1When American Minister, Hiram B Otis signs the deeds for Canterville Chase, he not only buys a piece of English history, but he also inherits a troublesome ghost. No sooner have Mr Otis and his family moved into their new home than they come up against this unruly spirit and a battle of wills ensues...
Read by Alistair McGowan.
Producer: Gemma Jenkins.
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2007.
WED 18:30 Musical Genes (b00h33zj)
Series 2, Deana MartinTom Morton meets Deana Martin, daughter of Dean Martin, to get the true story of life as the offspring of a legend. From January 2009.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b007k26r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jps5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Poirot (b007yp1g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Every Day in Every Way (b01mqq6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 New Irish Writing (b03y3lkb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Tommies (b083r2fd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers (b099ypqj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 The Harpoon (b00cq60w)
Series 3, The HarpoonA star-spangled American issue of the nostalgic spoof of boys' adventure story papers. With Alistair McGowan. From March 1994.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09d5dkr)
Yvette Fielding 2/2Comedy Club Halloween Special. Diane Morgan chats to ghost hunters Glen Hunt and Yvette Fielding.
WED 23:00 Bridget Christie Minds the Gap (b04ykk5j)
Series 2, Episode 3Bridget Christie returns in another series of her multi-award winning series about modern feminism.
Bridget thought that she'd be able to put her feet up after her last Radio 4 series, she expected it to bomb. Sadly it was a huge success and she's had to bang on about feminism ever since.
But she hasn't managed to single-handedly eradicate sexism so she's made a whole new four-part series about it for Radio 4
This week Bridget tries to find a feminist icon who doesn't want to replace the word 'feminism' with 'bootylicious', discusses how adverts have ruined her sex life, and why twitter is a sexist's natural habitat.
She's assisted in this by the series' token man, Fred MacAulay.
The series is written and performed by Bridget Christie and the producers are Alexandra Smith and Alison Vernon Smith.
WED 23:30 Radio 9 (b04dykmz)
Series 2, Episode 1Urban fox hunting, reckless parenting and faking surgery for real. Stars Johnny Daukes and Hils Barker. From June 2005.

THURSDAY 02 NOVEMBER 2017

THU 00:00 Oscar Wilde (b008hvvx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Musical Genes (b00h33zj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Poirot (b007yp1g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Every Day in Every Way (b01mqq6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l4h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b0154z0t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b01ns0sz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Home Front (b09cc0fx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Say the Word (b00764vn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The Sit Crom (b00ly7z6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Electric Ink (b01kkqc9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Andy Hamilton Sort of Remembers (b099ypqj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Poirot (b007yrng)
Murder on the Orient Express, Episode 3Hercule Poirot has discovered the murder victim has a "past" - and is convinced that the murderer is still aboard the train.
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot. With Sian Phillips as Princess Dragmiroff, Frank Windsor as Pierre Michel, Kate Binchy as Miss Ohlsson and Andre Maranne as Monsieur Bouc.
Pianist: Michael Haslam
From the book published in 1934 and dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Director Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
THU 06:30 Erin's Model World (b009rx96)
Supermodel Erin O'Connor explores the frenzy of the fashion show, and ideas to protect fashion model welfare. From April 2008.
THU 07:00 A Certain Age (b00766cw)
Series 1, Episode 4Tough and ballsy Sue works in a man's world, editing a football magazine. She's also the dreaded "other woman", snatching alternate Saturdays with her lover.
Then one Saturday he turns up with a suitcase - and instead of the afternoon of passion she was expecting - she has a married man weeping all over her candlewick.
Read by Lesley Manville.
A series of six monologues written by Lynne Truss. Six women have reached their 40-something years, and each has a very different, and sometimes surprising, story to tell.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
THU 07:30 Lemn Sissay's Origin Stories (b07z3zfw)
Is It a Bird?Batman was an orphan; Lisbeth Salander, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, was an orphan; Superman was an orphan and a foundling. Cinderella was a foster child. Darth Vader - well, they can't all be winners. Lemn Sissay returns to BBC Radio 4with a comic and poetic look at the treatment of children raised in care, orphans and foster children in popular culture, comparing them with reality. Because it surely says something about how we view them that we create so many for fiction.
Lemn will explore the gap between fiction and reality, based on his own experiences of growing up in care as well as those of some special guests.
3. Is It A Bird
The most important thing that John and Martha Kent taught Clark, the boy they found in a strange-looking pod that crash-landed on their Kansas farm, was to keep his true self secret. People wouldn't understand that you can lift cars, melt steel beams with your eyes, or fly. People will be scared of you because you are different. Every adoptee and every care leaver knows this feeling. Lemn examines how he hid his feelings, his experiences, his identity, in order to fit in better with the world around him.
Lemn also talks to comedian and adoptee Deborah Frances-White about secret identities - and how to go about reinventing yourself.
Written and performed by ... Lemn Sissay
Guest ... Deborah Frances-White
Producer ... Ed Morrish
LEMN SISSAY'S ORIGIN STORIES IS A BBC STUDIOS PRODUCTION.
THU 08:00 Not in Front of the Children (b052svws)
Series 1, Just Pack a ToothbrushMary's surprise news leaves Jennifer broody, much to Henry's horror.
Starring Wendy Craig as Jennifer Corner, Francis Matthews as Henry Corner and Fanny Rowe as Mother.
The comedy mishaps of the Corner family: Jennifer and Henry and their three children Trudi, Amanda and Robin. Family sitcom, 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 and Butterflies.
Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Producer: Trafford Whitelock.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1969.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b00q9xrg)
1985Winston Seagoon battles the Big Brother Corporation. Can he survive Room 101? Stars Spike Milligan. From January 1955.
THU 09:00 Counterpoint (b00776qv)
Series 21, Episode 5Heat 5.
THU 09:30 HR (b00tg1c3)
Series 2, GassingSam is battling retirement blues with a part-time job working for the Saviours, manning telephone lines to help those in distress. And today's first client is of course Peter, in distress about their faulty boiler.
Peter ..... Jonathan Pryce
Sam ..... Nicholas Le Prevost
George ..... Sam Dale
Voice ..... Alison Pettitt
Director: Peter Kavanagh.
THU 10:00 Home Front (b09cfrx6)
From 7 August to 11 August 1917Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
THU 11:00 New Irish Writing (b03yqyzk)
JigsawA series of new readings by some of Ireland's most exciting and talented writers. Clare Dwyer-Hogg, Michèle Forbes, Paul McVeigh and Martin Meenan bring us a range of stories where human emotions are tested, and memories are forged, forgotten or found, all the while taking a humorous and poignant look at how people withdraw, connect and reconnect with one another throughout the course of their lives.
Missing jigsaw pieces bring three generations of a family together in Martin Meenan's 'Jigsaw' read by Ciaran McMenamin. Produced by Heather Larmour.
THU 11:15 Tommies (b08lgpr3)
10 April 1917In the tunnels underneath Vimy Ridge, the Canadian Corps are re-writing the rules of war, in this story by Avin Shah.
Mickey Bliss has taken a shine to the can-do Canadians. Particularly since yesterday, when they made a momentous advance here on the Western Front, together with British forces. But when Mickey meets a young Canadian journalist, here to write up the story for his home paper - can they agree on what really happened?
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
And through it all, we'll follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Series created by Jonathan Ruffle
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: Jonquil Panting.
THU 12:00 Not in Front of the Children (b052svws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b00q9xrg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Poirot (b007yrng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Erin's Model World (b009rx96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l4x)
Episode 14Janes new-found wealth is tainted by news of the fate of Thornfield and her master. Adaptation of the classic novel read by Anne-Marie Duff. From April 2004.
THU 14:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzt)
Mirror of the EarthAstronomer Heather Couper looks at the history of astrology, which began as a way of advising rulers on their military campaigns. From May 2008.
THU 14:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b0153hwv)
Episode 4Vic and Ingrid's seemingly idyllic romance moves on a pace, but are doubts creeping in? Stars Lee Ingleby and Rebecca Callard. From July 2010.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b01ns1ff)
Michael Holroyd - On Wheels, Episode 4Michael Holroyd confronts an army of automobiles in this charming memoir. Weaving together personal stories and historical anecdote, he traces his relationship with cars through a lifetime of biography.
Learning to drive was no easy matter for Michael. The lessons required military precision when practising how to get in and out of his car correctly. His biographical subjects also had their difficulties: Bernard Shaw drove with reckless gusto when overtaking his eightieth year; Vita Sackville-West's car became a chamber for sudden romantic assignations and getaways; Augustus John and his family careered through vulnerable villages as the poor vehicle, piled high with bohemian friends, stuttered and jerked along in first gear.
Wry, thoughtful and very funny, On Wheels is an elegy to the glamour of the car. Subtle and perceptive, Michael Holroyd finds surprising ways to understand the past and challenge our view of the future.
Episode 4 of 5
Michael explains the delight the Bloomsbury set took in motor cars, both as objects of desire and locations for illicit assignations. And he explains how the motor car allowed Augustus John to reveal his true, colourful and cavalier character.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Home Front (b09cfrx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Counterpoint (b00776qv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 HR (b00tg1c3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 A Certain Age (b00766cw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Lemn Sissay's Origin Stories (b07z3zfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Oscar Wilde (b008jw9k)
The Canterville Ghost, Episode 2Troublesome ghost of a dead nobleman, Sir Simon is determined to oust the Otis family from his ancestral home. So his hauntings are becoming more and more elaborate...
First published in 1887, Oscar Wilde's novella is read by Alistair McGowan.
Producer: Gemma Jenkins.
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2007.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b00rt9rh)
Series 21, Bertolt BrechtMathew Parris is back with BBC Radio Four's acclaimed biography series 'Great Lives', in which celebrated people of today nominate a great life from the past to explore and discuss.
The series begins with playwright John Godber's choice of his literary hero and inspiration, Bertolt Brecht. Both writers have in common an instinct and desire for truly popular theatre which has the power to change fundamentally the perspective of its audiences. And who else could bring the spectacle of the sports stadium into the theatre auditorium?
Specialist in German drama, Professor Michael Patterson, joins the debate to counter the widespread view that 'if it's German and political it must be boring'. Brecht's own productions were immensely lively and popular and his theatrical legacy, although eschewed by Hollywood devotees of naturalism, stands firm in the work of many of today's greatest writers. We also learn the truth about allegations of Brecht plundering the genius of his many lovers, and how he made love with his socks on.
THU 19:00 Not in Front of the Children (b052svws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b00q9xrg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Poirot (b007yrng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Erin's Model World (b009rx96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 New Irish Writing (b03yqyzk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Tommies (b08lgpr3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Lemn Sissay's Origin Stories (b07z3zfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Recorded for Training Purposes (b00gm512)
Series 3, Episode 2Sketch show about modern communication and contemporary obsessions. With Ben Willbond and Rachel Atkins. From January 2009.
THU 23:00 And Now in Colour (b007jqfb)
Series 2, The Great OutdoorsThe sketch team take the audience on an activity holiday. Stars Tim de Jongh, William Vandyck and Tim Firth. From January 1991.
THU 23:30 The Masterson Inheritance (b007jsmr)
Series 1, The Curse of the MastersonsThe improvised family saga starts in 1760. With Paul Merton, Josie Lawrence, Caroline Quentin and Jim Sweeney. From April 1993.

FRIDAY 03 NOVEMBER 2017

FRI 00:00 Oscar Wilde (b008jw9k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b00rt9rh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Poirot (b007yrng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Erin's Model World (b009rx96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l4x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b0153hwv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b01ns1ff)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Home Front (b09cfrx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Counterpoint (b00776qv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 HR (b00tg1c3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 A Certain Age (b00766cw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Lemn Sissay's Origin Stories (b07z3zfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Poirot (b007ys7n)
Murder on the Orient Express, Episode 4Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot discovers that someone aboard the train is lying to him.
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot. With Sylvia Syms as Mrs Hubbard, Francesca Annis as Miss Debenham, Peter Polycarpou as Dr Constantine and Siriol Jenkins as Countess Andrenyi.
Pianist: Michael Haslam
From the book published in 1934 and dramatised by Michael Bakewell
Director Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
FRI 06:30 Beardyman and the Mimics (b00d61q9)
Champion beatboxer Beardyman, aka Darren Foreman, is a master of vocal artistry. He can make all manner of noises, including entire percussive music tracks, using only his mouth, throat and tongue.
Inspired by the lyrebird, he ventures on a personal journey to unveil the secrets of animal vocal mimicry. He encounters ornithologist and musician Bill Oddie, birdsong scientific experts and a whole new world of sounds.
FRI 07:00 Safety Catch (b0178ncg)
Series 2, Brothers in ArmsLaurence Howarth's black comedy of modern morality set in the world of arms dealing.
Darren Boyd stars as reluctant arms dealer Simon McGrath who is generally a nice chap - he just happens to work as an arms dealer, or 'Defence and security equipment system solutions broker' as he prefers to call it. Whilst battling with his conscience he justifies to himself why five years on he's still in a job he just fell into - after all, what he really wants is to pursue is his career in electronic music. But until that takes off he'll stay where he is, and as his mother so eloquently puts it, "any job where you get your own desk and a hot dinner can't be all bad". And so as we renew our acquaintance with Simon we find him, using his 'flair for original ideas' to go to extreme lengths to prove to everyone just how badly he feels about doing the job he does.
Cast:
Simon Mcgrath..........................Darren Boyd
Anna Grieg...............................Joanna Page
Boris Kemal............................Lewis Macleod
Judith McGrath..........................Sarah Smart
Angela McGrath........................Brigit Forsyth
Madeleine Turnbull....................Rachel Atkins
Peter..........................................Gus Brown
Paramedic.....................................Philip Fox
Written by Laurence Howarth
Produced by Dawn Ellis.
FRI 07:30 Tony Law: 21st Century Adventurer (b09by2t2)
Fearless adventurer Tony Law leads an intrepid team attempting to recover the Lost Girdle of the Amazons.
Tony Law is a celebrity explorer, in the mould of Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Several years ago, he wrote a book about his adventures which, combined with the proceeds from a handful of specially funded expeditions, has bankrolled his operation ever since. He's a big fan of razzle-dazzle and derring do, a man who wants to be perceived as a hero.
As a young man, Tony discovered the stories surrounding his great-grandfather, Anton Lawless, and his grandfather, Antonio Lawless. The Lawless family were renowned explorers, but Tony's accountant father was ashamed of the family's unorthodox past, changed the family name to Law (no-one wants an accountant called Lawless), moved to Canada and hid the family history from the young Tony.
Tony's discovery of his grandfather's past gave his life a sudden purpose and spurred him on to follow in Anton and Antonio's footsteps. and, if possible, outdo them. Tony both stars in and narrates the show, in which he is joined by a set of adventurers he has employed to help him on his various quests.
The team comprises Martha (Adjoa Andoh), a survival expert; Janet (Nina Wadia), the 40-something Botanist who's just got out of an awful marriage and finally decided to put her Open University Floral Biology degree to good use; Alan (John-Luke Roberts), the group's transport officer and an old-fashioned right-winger who is delighted to have a shot at (what he sees as) rebuilding the British Empire.
New sitcom written by Gareth Gwynn and John-Luke Roberts. Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tv7wx)
Series 4, Episode 14To mark the end of series 4, it's panto time with Jack and the Beanstalk!
More quick-fire sketches, terrible puns, humorous songs and parodies.
Stars Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by Eric Idle 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 and songs by Dave Lee and Bill Oddie.
Producer: Humphrey Barclay
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1967.
FRI 08:30 Brothers in Law (b007k268)
Series 1, Counsel for the ProsecutionRookie barrister Roger Thursby confronts a fearsome judge. Stars Richard Briers and Andrew Cruickshank. From September 1970.
FRI 09:00 The Rest Is History (b04vd88y)
Series 1, Episode 2A new, six-part comedy discussion show hosted by Frank Skinner.
Frank loves history, but just doesn't know much of it, so he's devised The Rest Is History to find out more about it.
Along with his historian in residence, Dr Kate Williams, each episode sees Frank joined by a selection of celebrity guests, who will help him navigate his way through the annals of time, picking out and chewing over the funniest, oddest, and most interesting moments in history.
Frank's guests in this edition of the programme are Victoria Coren Mitchell and Andy Zaltzman.
Produced by Dan Schreiber and Justin Pollard
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 09:30 Kalangadog Junction (b09ckrh5)
Episode 31956: It's a big week in the junction as everyone prepares to go to the movies, and the Australian town witnesses a version of On the Waterfront unlike any other...
Six-part comedy drama series by Moya O'Shea.
Starring Caroline Quentin as Jane, John Duttine as Thomas, Niall Ashdown as Jimmy, Toby Longworth as Pete, Brian Bowles as Len, Joanna Monro as Madge, Julie Gibbs as Milly, June Whitfield as Phoebe and Moya O'Shea as Gaylene.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
FRI 10:00 Home Front (b09ckrhc)
From 14 August to 18 August 1917Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.
FRI 11:00 Katherine Mansfield - Her First Ball (b068j5sx)
When Leila attends her first formal ball, her dance partners have distinctly different effects on her. Read by Sara Coward. From September 1996.
FRI 11:15 Tommies (b08m9k1l)
17 April 1917Who appears at your bedside, when you're a serviceman who's expected to die?
Who appears in your head?
After two and a half years at war, the answers for Mickey Bliss hold plenty of surprises. And in this story by Nick Warburton, set in the officers-only Duchess of Westminster's No. 1 British Red Cross Society Hospital in Le Touquet, those surprises include a very unorthodox medical procedure.
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
And through it all, we'll follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Series created by Jonathan Ruffle
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: Jonquil Panting.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tv7wx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Brothers in Law (b007k268)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Poirot (b007ys7n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Beardyman and the Mimics (b00d61q9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre (b0076l5g)
Episode 15After hearing the shocking news of Mr Rochester's misfortune, Jane begins her search for him. Adaptation of the classic read by Anne-Marie Duff. From April 2004.
FRI 14:15 Cosmic Quest (b00bfpzw)
Three Wise MenAstronomer Heather Couper reviews ancient associations of stars and planets with deities, and astrology's link to mathematics and the 24-hour day. From May 2008.
FRI 14:30 Stan Barstow - A Kind of Loving (b015272f)
Episode 5Vic is increasingly indifferent towards Ingrid, but can he let her out of his life? Stars Lee Ingleby and Rebecca Callard.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b01ns1k9)
Michael Holroyd - On Wheels, Episode 5Michael Holroyd confronts an army of automobiles in this charming memoir. Weaving together personal stories and historical anecdote, he traces his relationship with cars through a lifetime of biography.
Learning to drive was no easy matter for Michael. The lessons required military precision when practising how to get in and out of his car correctly. His biographical subjects also had their difficulties: Bernard Shaw drove with reckless gusto when overtaking his eightieth year; Vita Sackville-West's car became a chamber for sudden romantic assignations and getaways; Augustus John and his family careered through vulnerable villages as the poor vehicle, piled high with bohemian friends, stuttered and jerked along in first gear.
Wry, thoughtful and very funny, On Wheels is an elegy to the glamour of the car. Subtle and perceptive, Michael Holroyd finds surprising ways to understand the past and challenge our view of the future.
Episode 5 of 5
In the final episode, Michael Holroyd describes playwright Bernard Shaw's enthusiastic, if cavalier, approach to driving - only thwarted by the outbreak of world war. For Michael Holroyd, however, it was the satnav that did for him.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Home Front (b09ckrhc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 The Rest Is History (b04vd88y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Kalangadog Junction (b09ckrh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Safety Catch (b0178ncg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Tony Law: 21st Century Adventurer (b09by2t2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Oscar Wilde (b008lz2g)
The Canterville Ghost, Episode 3Troublesome ghost of a dead nobleman, Sir Simon is determined to oust the Otis family from his ancestral home. So his hauntings are becoming more and more elaborate...
First published in 1887, Oscar Wilde's novella is read by Alistair McGowan.
Producer: Gemma Jenkins.
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2007.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b075pxfx)
Series 22, Bring Him HomeBring Him Home, from Les Miserables, is a beautiful and moving prayer-in-song that has developed meaning and identity outside the hit musical.
Taking part in the programme:
The celebrated tenor, Alfie Boe, has sung this many times in the West End and on Broadway; he discusses what the song means to him.
Herbert Kretzmer talks about the agonising process of writing the lyrics.
The Greater Manchester Police Male Voice Choir recorded a version especially for the programme; one of their members describes singing Bring Him Home at the funeral of PC Dave Phillips in November 2015.
The original Cosette, from Les Miserables, Rebecca Caine now sings this song - written for a male voice - regularly as part of international recitals.
And for Becky Douglas it will forever be a reminder of her daughter whose death inspired the foundation of a leprosy charity.
Jeremy Summerly, Director of Music at St Peter's College, Oxford plays through the piece and describes why it moves us emotionally.
Producer: Karen Gregor.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tv7wx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Brothers in Law (b007k268)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Poirot (b007ys7n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Beardyman and the Mimics (b00d61q9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Katherine Mansfield - Her First Ball (b068j5sx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Tommies (b08m9k1l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 Tony Law: 21st Century Adventurer (b09by2t2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Bleak Expectations (b00d45vn)
Series 2, A Restoration Re-Ruined Only Even WorseBy Mark Evans
Volume Two, Chapter the Fourth: a Restoration Re-Ruined Only Even Worse.
This week in the Victorian comic epic Pip finds himself heavily in debt when he has to bribe the whole of the House of Commons not to hang him. But has he found true love at last in the form of wealthy Southern belle Talullah Not-A-Man? Or is it some sort of fiendishly subtle plot hatched by an evil villain in a frock.
Sir Philip...........................Richard Johnson
Mr Benevolent........................Anthony Head
Young Pip..................................Tom Allen
Sternbeater...................Geoffrey Whitehead
Harry Biscuit......................James Bachman
Ripely Fecund......................Sarah Hadland
Pippa/Woman............................Susy Kane
The Bailiff................................Mark Evans
Produced by Gareth Edwards.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09d5f8d)
Daliso Chaponda 1/3The best in contemporary comedy. Plus, Arthur Smith is joined by the comedian Daliso Chaponda.
FRI 23:00 Absolute Power (b007qs09)
Series 1, Episode 4Spinning for both the Church and the State proves profitable for Prentiss and McCabe. Stars Stephen Fry. From January 2000.
FRI 23:30 Chain Reaction (b00gsb81)
Series 2, Barry Cryer Interviews Mark ThomasVeteran gagsmith Barry Cryer and political comedian Mark Thomas in the tag talk show, where the guest is next week's interviewer.
Based on the original BBC Radio 5 programme of the same name, Chain Reaction is a simple idea of big name stars from the world of entertainment interviewing others whose work they appreciate and admire.
Recorded with an audience, the interviews focus on the life, career and the passions of the interviewee but often prove to be as revealing about the interviewer.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.