SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2018

SAT 00:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b0784dyd)
Inside the Moon StationDr Max Kramer has tricked the crew of Orbiter 2, but what exactly is Unity up to on the Moon?
BD Chapman's adventure in the conquest of space in 14 parts.
Stars John Carson as Captain Bob Britton, Andrew Crawford as Captain Douglas McClelland, Barrie Gosney as Flight Engineer Hicks, Donald Bisset as Colonel Kent, Gerik Schelderup as Max Kramer, and Leslie Perrins as Sir Charles Day. With Ian Sadler and John Cazabon.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1959.
SAT 00:30 Mastertapes (b01npjpr)
Series 1, Billy Bragg (the B-Side)John Wilson launches a major new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios.
Programme 1, Side B. 'Talking With The Taxman About Poetry' - Having discussed the making of his self-proclaimed 'difficult' third album (in the A-side of the programme), Billy Bragg responds to questions from the audience.
He considers the state of protest songs today, reveals what music he is writing at the moment and explains what poetry he would discuss with today's taxman. And he plays excerpts from the album live in front of the audience.
Future Programmes will include Paul Weller talking about the Jam's last album, 'The Gift'; Suzanne Vega recalls the making of 'Solitude Standing', the album that made her a worldwide superstar; and Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone takes us back to the seminal Zombies' record 'Odessey and Oracle'
Complete versions of the songs performed in the programme (and others) can be heard on the 'Mastertapes' pages on the Radio 4 website, where the programmes can also be downloaded and other musical goodies accessed.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
SAT 01:00 Dick Francis (b007qg3v)
Bolt, Nemesis for TwoChampion jockey Kit Fielding gets wind that Henri de Brescou plans to kill more horses. Kit is determined to put a stop to this needless slaughter.
Starring Sian Phillips as Princess Casilia, Eric Allan as Kit Fielding, John Bull as Henri de Brescou and Bill Wallis as Allardeck.
Author Dick Francis is acclaimed as one of the greatest thriller writers in the world. Dramatised by John Ashe.
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin at BBC Pebble Mill.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.
SAT 01:30 Bette in Britain (b00bzdg8)
Susan George profiles Hollywood legend Miss Bette Davis, recalling her visits to Britain and the impact she had on British actors, directors and producers.
Reflecting the plotlines of characters she played on screen, Bette Davis's visits across the Atlantic left behind stories of success, mystery, court battles, failed marriages and sadness.
Miss Davis starred in several British films and was inspired by our history and influenced by our culture. She came here in the 1970s to tour her one-woman show where it has been claimed on a visit to Cardiff she searched for and found her relatives.
The programme features Davis's memorable appearance at the National Film Theatre and looks at the time she came to the UK to record an album of songs.
With extracts from her British interviews spanning 30 years the programme includes contributions from actor Wendy Craig, broadcaster Wyn Calvin and director Jimmy Sangster.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 to mark the centenary of the birth of Miss Bette Davis in 2008.
SAT 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03q08zt)
Colin MacInnes - Absolute Beginners, Episode 5September, 1958, and racial tension is rising in parts of London. The teenage narrator of Colin MacInnes' cult classic finds himself caught up along with his friends in the violence that erupts on the streets of his home patch in Notting Hill. As the fighting spreads, Suzette turns up at the Santa Lucia club, but then his brother Vernon arrives with bad news.
Read by Joel MacCormack
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies.
SAT 02:15 In Search of Ourselves: A History of Psychology and the Mind (b04416s8)
The Happiness ProjectIn the concluding programme of this 25-part series, Martin Sixsmith looks at where we are now in terms of understanding what makes us think, feel and act the way we do.
He re-visits the Government's 2010 pledge to increase happiness and well-being and talks to former 'happiness tsar' Richard Layard. He examines initiatives such as the provision of thousands of newly-trained CBT therapists to make treatment for mental health problems more widely available and other ways in which we are being encouraged to modify our behaviour, asking 'what is happiness' and whether it's achievable both for an individual and society .
Produced by Sara Parker
Series consultant: Professor Daniel Pick of Birkbeck, University of London
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b07c56hv)
Mary Ann in Autumn, Episode 5Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin
Episode Five
Mary Ann has an unwelcome encounter with a presence from her past. Shawna is upset by Michael's revelation.
Dramatised by Lin Coghlan
Producer Susan Roberts
Director Charlotte Riches
For more than three decades, Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series has blazed a trail through popular culture-from ground-breaking newspaper serial to classic novel. Radio 4 are dramatising the full series of the Tales novels for the very first time.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b01r123k)
Tracey Thorn - Bedsit Disco Queen, Episode 5Written and read by Tracey Thorn.
Tracey Thorn's memoir takes us from her very early teenage diaries, through to juggling school homework with interviews with music journalists, the highs of pop stardom and the lows of being dropped by her record company. This is an insider's insight into the music industry, and also a very personal story which has Tracey's relationship with Ben Watt at the heart of it.
Tracey gave up music for motherhood without a second thought, but now finds her experience as a parent has freed her from her teenage anxieties so she can return to singing on her own terms.
Abridged by Alison Joseph
Produced by Allegra McIlroy.
SAT 03:00 Nathaniel Hawthorne - Wakefield (b00rs19x)
A dull middle-aged man whose life has been monotonously ordinary for years, devises a plot to temporarily leave home and observe the effect on his wife from a flat opposite. But he stays away much longer than expected - and it becomes more and more difficult for him to return.
Starring David Haig as Wakefield, John Rowe as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Richenda Carey as Mrs Wakefield and Jonathan Keeble as Lucas Ferris.
Dramatised by Martyn Wade from a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Producer: Cherry Cookson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
SAT 04:00 Whispers (b007k3bv)
Series 3, Episode 5Gyles Brandreth hosts the scandals quiz with Lucy Moore, Anthony Holden, Richard Herring and Louise Doughty. From November 2005.
SAT 04:30 Street and Lane (b00vzz09)
Series 2, Estimates DayWhen the Yorkshire builders price up fitting mirrors, they start seeing double...
Series 2 of Ian McMillan and Dave Sheasby's comedy stars Shaun Dooley as Johnny Street, Fine Time Fontayne as Arthur Lane, Christine Kavanagh as Janet, Mark Straker as John, Sam Dale as Franklin and Rachel Atkins as Julia.
Producer: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.
SAT 05:00 Capital Gains (b00slqv8)
Series 2, Stake CapitalWhen an act of civil disobedience centred around a tea break fails to bring results, Julius Hutch, the leader of The Tree Party, turns to games of chance.
Starring Peter Jones as Julius Hutch.
With Celestine Randall as Pauline Hutch, Justine Midda as Kate, Jeffrey Wickham as Sexton Lewis, Stephen Thorne as Sir Gainford Blounty, Jillie Meers as Dahlia Sprout, Collin Johnson as Haiku Jack, David Holt as Ted and Brian Perkins as Himself.
Scripted by Collin Johnson.
Producers: Andy Jordan and David Blount
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1997.
SAT 05:30 The Break (b07h6fmm)
OccupiedAndy (Tom Palmer) has found a level of contentment with the world - reading books, watching films, and generally repairing his wounded psyche. Uncle Jeff (Philip Jackson) is having none of this and reveals a hitherto unknown secret to Andy, that the dusty shop downstairs from his seaside flat belongs to Jeff. When necessary, it seems, he offers the community of Flamford a valuable service as an electrical repair person.
Jeff lures Andy into the shop and shows him how to use the till. Andy realises it's another of his uncle's ploys, and refuses this oblique yet unsubtle job offer. But Jeff, never the one to say "die", takes his nephew on a job search in which Andy is an unwilling participant.
Visits follow to Fish Shop Frank (Mark Benton), the Tourist Information Office run by the uniformed and uninformed Steph and Pippa (Alison Steadman and Shobna Gulati), and Flamford's as-yet-unlicensed zoo.
Writers: Ian Brown and James Hendrie
Producer/Director: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 Saturday Drama (b00vv0n7)
Agatha Christie - And Then There Were NoneAgatha Christie's famous detective story without a detective, adapted by Joy Wilkinson.
Ten guests are separately invited to an island by a person none of them knows very well, if at-all. When they arrive, it seems they have all been invited for different reasons. Nothing quite adds up.
An anonymous voice accuses each of them of having murdered someone. By the end of the first night, one of the guests is dead. Stranded by a violent storm and tormented by the nursery rhyme 'Ten Little Soldier Boys', the ten guests fear for their lives. Who is the killer? Is it one of them?
'And Then There Were None' was named the world's favourite Agatha Christie novel in a poll in September 2015.
Directed by Mary Peate.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
SAT 07:30 Byzantium Unearthed (b00dxdcs)
Episode 1Historian Bettany Hughes begins a series that uses the latest archaeological evidence to learn more about the empire of Byzantium and the people who ruled it.
Bettany learns how treasures found in the empire's capital, modern-day Istanbul, reveal much about the life and importance of a civilisation that, whilst being devoutly Christian and the inheritors of the Romans, was also exotic and eastern.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b04tcbd2)
Malcolm X in OxfordStephen Tuck discovers what brought Malcolm X to Oxford in 1964 just weeks before his assassination, and how the speech he made there was one of the most important of his life.
For Malcolm X, Oxford was 'hot' - but why? What was it that attracted him there when he was turning down so many other invitations to speak abroad and when he was preparing to step up the struggle against racial inequality at home in the United States?
These questions lead Stephen Tuck into the remarkable story of Malcolm X's last year of life when he travelled in Africa, the Middle East and Europe - a year during which this black nationalist American Nation of Islam advocate began evolving into a campaigner for international civil liberties.
But what also emerges is an untold story of racial discrimination and protest in Oxford, and how we choose to remember the struggle for racial equality as happening elsewhere - in the Southern States of America, or South Africa - rather than in the Britain of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Tuck uses archive from the original debate and the personal testimonies of those who knew Malcolm X, as well as some of the people who were there at the Oxford Union or at the edge of Britain's own racial fault line fifty years ago, to reveal how Oxford affected Malcolm X and how Malcolm X changed Oxford.
Produced by Adam Fowler
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 09:00 Mark Billingham's Rule Book of Crime (b01r19jd)
Best-selling crime writer Mark Billingham has always been obsessed with the creative criminal minds of the past.
Over three hours, Mark sets out to detect the clues dropped in the BBC archives, by his favourite crime writers: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dame Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, PD James and Henning Mankell.
Clues that reveal why their sleuthing creations - Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Philip Marlowe, Adam Dalgliesh and Kurt Wallander - are so enduring.
Having created his own flawed crime fighter, Detective Inspector Tom Thorne, Mark's wrestled with the thorny issue of inventing a distinctive new voice amongst a myriad of detecting greats. What's more important, devious plotting or debauched heroes, a killer in-plain-site or rug-pulling twists?
In plundering the archive for answers, Mark has uncovered a hidden BBC radio detecting gem. Debuting in the late 1970s and running for a few seasons into the 1980s, it starred an actor who could be a lead in TV classic Cathy Come Home and voice an iconic children's cartoon. It was penned by a writer that worked on TV police dramas Z Cars and Softly Softly.
All is revealed in Mark Billingham's Rule Book of Crime.
Producer: Peter McHugh
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2013.
SAT 12:00 It's Your Round (b00yjs4p)
Series 1, Episode 1The panel for this first episode is Rufus Hound, Miles Jupp, Sara Pascoe and Adam Hills. Find out what hilarity ensues when each of them play the rounds they've brought along, variously entitled "Them Next Door", "What Does My Dad Know?", "Come To Romford!" and "Newspaper Headline or Cryptic Crossword Clue". All these games are untried, untested and unpredictable so it could all end in disaster. But that's all part of the fun.
Angus Deayton is the host valiantly trying to keep the show together.
Writers: Angus Deayton, Ged Parsons and Paul Powell
Devised by Benjamin Partridge
Producer: Sam Michell.
SAT 12:30 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b0082f0w)
Series 1, BarbieIt's school reports time - and Eddie needs a loan to start up his own taxi business.
The lives of the Stockport-based, Conroy family in the first series of Jim Poyser and Damian Lanigan's comedy drama.
Starring Dominic Monaghan as Jason, Jason Done as Michael, Stefan Escreet as Dave, John McArdle as Eddie, Emma Clarke as Collete, Beverley Callard as Maureen and Jo-Anne Knowles as Debbie.
Music: Big George
Producer: Neil Mossey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
SAT 13:00 Jonathan Myerson - That Was Then (Omnibus) (b09rwbk3)
Series 2 Omnibus 2/2Held at knifepoint - but will the truth set Anna free? Tense phone-based thriller starring Rosie Cavaliero and Johann Myers.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b09rwbk5)
Julie HesmondhalghFormer Coronation Street actor Julie Hesmondhalgh chooses 'The Joy of Living' by Ewan MacColl and 'Reach' by S Club.
SAT 14:15 Down Your Way (b09rwbk7)
Wally K Daly in GrangetownPlaywright Wally K Daly spends his 50th birthday visiting his old home of Grangetown near Middlesbrough, and recalls the voices of childhood.
Down Your Way was a schedule staple for decades - starting on the BBC Home Service in 1946 and ending its run on BBC Radio 4 in 1992. Using a variety of hosts, including Richard Dimbleby and Brian Johnston, the programme toured villages, towns and cities across the UK. At the height of the series' success in the 1950s, it was attracting 10 million listeners a week.
Producer: Leanne Buckle
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b04tcbd2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Saturday Drama (b00vv0n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Byzantium Unearthed (b00dxdcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Doctor Who (b05ysz8d)
Trail of the White WormThe legend dates back to Roman times, at least: a great White Worm, as wide as a man, slithers out of the rocks of the Dark Peak Gap to take animals, sometimes even children, for its food.
When the Doctor and Leela arrive in the wilds of Derbyshire, only to get caught up in the hunt for a missing girl, they soon discover that the legend of the Worm is very much alive - even now, in 1979.
Worse still, it seems that the Doctor isn't the only renegade Time Lord on the trail of this deadly and mysterious Worm...
Tom Baker is the Fourth Doctor, with his ancient warrior companion, Leela, played by Louise Jameson.
Written by Alan Barnes and directed by Ken Bentley.
A Big Finish production.
SAT 19:00 Mark Billingham's Rule Book of Crime (b01r19jd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Old Harry's Game (b007jpd8)
Series 2, ComputersThere's trouble in hell, thanks to a fundamentalist and a pushy computer. Satanic sitcom starring Andy Hamilton and James Grout. From April 1998.
SAT 22:30 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00773md)
Series 1, Episode 4Perrier Award winning comedian Laura Solon continues her new sketch and character comedy series, aided by the voices of Ben Moor, Katherine Parkinson and Ben Willbond. Plus more from the China Lion, the new barn conversion couple and a return to Chingley Hall.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09t2kcv)
Naomi Sheldon 2/2The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Naomi Sheldon.
SAT 23:00 The Mark Steel Solution (b007js6t)
Series 2, HousingAnother radical proposal as the comedian calls for people to be re-housed at random. From July 1994.
SAT 23:30 Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better (b00kvq7t)
Series 1, WrathThe Welsh comedian continues his quest to free us from the seven deadly sins. With Tim Key and Tim Minchin. From March 2007.

SUNDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2018

SUN 00:00 Doctor Who (b05ysz8d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Jonathan Myerson - That Was Then (Omnibus) (b09rwbk3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b09rwbk5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Down Your Way (b09rwbk7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b04tcbd2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Saturday Drama (b00vv0n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Byzantium Unearthed (b00dxdcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (Omnibus) (b07d2vlz)
Mary Ann in Autumn2008 in San Francisco and Mary Ann returns with some big news to share with Michael. Stars Kate Harper and Trevor White. From May 2016.
SUN 07:15 David Benedictus - From the Slips (b09rwg3r)
4 Extra Debut. During a game, a cricketer dreams of radically changing his life, but at what cost? Written and read by David Benedictus. From November 1997.
SUN 07:30 Reception (b039zg2p)
Breaking the RulesReception is a sitcom about two men sitting behind a desk, starring Adrian Scarborough, Morwenna Banks and Amit Shah. Written by Paul Basset Davies.
Brian is very impressed by the expertise of the technician who comes to repair the agency's electronic entry system. Danny thinks he's a pillock. But when Clarissa arrives to inform them of a theft from the building, and the technician starts to chat her up, Brian changes his tune. He becomes convinced that the visitor is involved in the theft, and persuades Danny to help in an elaborate sting operation that will show Clarissa how wrong she is to trust the man.
Will Brian win back Clarissa's affections? And if he does, what on earth will he do with them?
Producer: Anna Madley
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 Ray's a Laugh (b007jxbb)
From 11/10/49Ted is 'gonged' and argues with Kitty, and reporter George blunders again.
Starring Ted Ray. With Kitty Bluett, Peter Sellers, Patricia Hayes, Fred Yule, Leslie Perrins and Wallace Greenslade.
Ray's a Laugh - the successor to ITMA - follows the comedy exploits of Ted's life at home with his 'radio' wife Kitty, as well as in a variety of jobs. It ran from 1949-1961.
Scripted by Eddie Maguire and Ted Ray.
Music from Bob & Alf Pearson and The Beaux and The Belles.
BBC Dance Orchestra conducted by Stanley Black.
Producer: George Inns
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in October 1949.
SUN 08:30 Harry Worth in Things Could Be Worse (b09rwg3t)
And So to BedHarry has got back problems, but will a reputation for being a hypochondriac work against him?
Written by David McKellar and David Renwick.
Starring Harry Worth. With John Baddeley, John Graham and Miriam Margolyes.
Producer: Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1976.
SUN 09:00 Miriam Darlington - Owl Sense (Omnibus) (b09rwg3w)
A fresh insight into owls and the way we think about this magnificent predator and emblem of wisdom. Read by Teresa Gallagher.
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b06wf7ll)
Jim and Robin - Setting SailFi Glover with friends who are united by their love of the sea and encourage unity through traditional seafaring: "If we don't all pull together in one direction we'll go nowhere" - another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b09rwg3y)
Medicine, Science and Engineering, Professor Dame Kay Davies4 Extra Debut. From Eric Clapton to Schubert. Scientist, Professor Dame Kay Davies, shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From February 2009.
SUN 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b09r7xc9)
Series 1, Ben HunteRadio 4 Extra explores the world of podcasts and finds the best on offer.
Each week, Amanda Litherland and a guest presenter recommend one or two podcasts from the BBC and beyond. From some of the most popular series, to lesser-known hidden gems, they will feature their favourite finds and speak with the people who make them.
Amanda and this week's guest, journalist Ben Hunte, listen to some LGBT-themed podcasts including Nancy and Homo Sapiens.
With Homo Sapiens hosts Will Young and Chris Sweeney.
SUN 12:00 Ray's a Laugh (b007jxbb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Harry Worth in Things Could Be Worse (b09rwg3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (Omnibus) (b07d2vlz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 David Benedictus - From the Slips (b09rwg3r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train (Omnibus) (b063jmm1)
Episode 2Several weeks after her disappearance, Megan's body is found buried in Corly Woods...
The second of two omnibus editions of Paula Hawkins' international bestseller with thrilling multi-voice narration.
Starring Sally Hawkins as Rachel, Lyndsey Marshal as Megan and Zoe Tapper as Anna.
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. 'Jess and Jason', she calls them. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.
And then she sees something shocking. It's only a minute until the train moves on, but it's enough. Now everything's changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see: she's much more than just the girl on the train...
Abridged by Neville Teller
Producer: Jenny Thompson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
SUN 15:45 Tom Courtenay - Dear Tom (b007k1r4)
Episode 4Still at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, student Tom Courtenay is receiving funny and moving letters from his mother Annie back in Hull.
As agents start to take an interest in the budding actor, Tom is feeling worried when he goes home...
Actor, Sir Tom Courtenay reads more of his memoir of those letters. Sian Thomas plays his mother Annie.
Published in 2000. Abridged in five parts by Penny Leicester.
Producer: Sarah Johnson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
SUN 16:00 Peter Terson - Tales My Father Taught Me (b09rwhgn)
Sir George Sitwell is an autocratic recluse running the family estate at Renishaw, ahead of the First World War.
His other preoccupations are research into medieval pig-keeping, and making sure his son Osbert isn't allowed to do what he wants to do...
Peter Terson's drama stars Sir John Gielgud as Sir George Sitwell, Renee Asherson as Lady Ida Sitwell, Richard Pearce as Osbert Sitwell and Christopher Good as Henry Moat.
Producer: Shaun MacLoughlin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b09rwhgq)
In Praise of LimestonePoet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'In Praise of Limestone' featuring WH Auden's famous poem about the remote Pennine Dales.
After reading it at school, poet Ian McMillan fulfils his ambition to explore the limestone scenery that inspired the poem. Ian walks in Auden's footsteps, revisiting the places that so moved Auden when he was a boy and young man.
Ian meets Tony Sharpe from Lancaster University, who has looked at how the area impacted on Auden's development as a poet. He also meets local writer and Auden enthusiast Robert Forsythe peering down the deep shaft at Haggs Mine, then venturing on in search of the places described in Auden's wartime New Year Letter from America.
Ian meets mining historian Ian Tyler and local poet Josephine Dickinson, whose own work is rooted in the countryside.
Producer: Andrew Carter
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
SUN 17:30 Reception (b039zg2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Fear on 4 (b007jqbb)
Life LineThe Man in Black introduces a tale about modern technology and a chatline where the callers are on hold forever...
Another in a series of nerve-tinglers from Fear on 4.
Starring Nicholas Murchie as Ryan and Edward de Souza as the Man in Black. With Jonathan Tafler as Colin, Moir Leslie as Susan, Federay Holmes as Belinda, Ann Windsor as the Life Line Operator. Matthew Morgan as Engineer and Kate Binchy, Julian Rhind-Tutt and Melinda Walker as the Voices.
Written by Stephen Gallagher.
Producer: Martin Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.
SUN 18:30 Charles Chilton - Space Force (b007jn58)
Series 2, A Test of EnduranceHeld captive in an underground city on Mars, the Space Force crew are set to learn their fate...
Charles Chilton's second intergalactic adventure series in six parts.
Starring Barry Foster as Captain Saxon Berry, Nicky Henson as Chipper Barnett, Nigel Stock as Magnus Carter, Tony Osoba as Lodderick Sincere.
With Wendy Murray, Willoughby Goddard and Bernard Brown.
Charles Chilton wrote and produced many popular and successful radio programmes for the BBC - including the classic 1950s serial 'Journey into Space' - charting the adventures of Captain Jet Morgan. This fired the imagination of millions, years before the first moon landing. It was the last radio drama to record higher ratings than the new young upstart television!
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 1985.
SUN 19:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b09r7xc9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 Miriam Darlington - Owl Sense (Omnibus) (b09rwg3w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b06wf7ll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b09rwg3y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Reception (b039zg2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Meet David Sedaris (b03jysr6)
Series 4, Episode 1One of the world's funniest storytellers is back on BBC Radio 4 doing what he does best.
There are two stories, this week: "The Happy Place", dealing with the ups and downs of a colonoscopy; and "The Shadow of Your Smile", about how the right lighting can make us all look good.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 23:00 Newsjack (b09r7t3b)
Series 18, Episode 2BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical sketch show Newsjack with host Angela Barnes.....
Featuring Jon Pointing, Emma Sidi and Raphael Wakefield
Script Editors: Ed Amsden and Tom Coles
Producers: Adnan Ahmed and Matt Stronge
Production Co-ordinator: Nick Coupe
Newsjack is lovingly assembled with jokes and sketches supplied by the Great British Public and brought to life by a revolving cast of sketch performers.
This week we order some eggs, campaign for lent and visit "White Planet".
The programme continues to be a showcase for new comedy writing: anyone can submit material (sketches and one-line jokes) - these can be submitted every week of the six week run.
Details for submitting material can be found on the Newsjack programme page. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kvs8r.
SUN 23:30 The Iguanodon (b0075cbr)
Away and Slightly to the LeftSam Varley is looking for a lift back to the mainland when his boat is wrecked in a storm.
Mr Brook is looking for an unforgettable adventure at sea, after a lifetime in custards.
Neither of them get quite what they're expecting on a boat called 'The Iguanodon'...
A three-part comedy adventure by Paul Lucas.
Starring Paul Haigh as Sam Varley, Bernard Cribbins as Mr Brook, Rosemary Leach as Isabel, Dermot Crowley as Don O'Reilly, John Arthur as the Captain, Patsy Byrne as Harriet and Sally Phillips as Laura.
Producer: Jo Clegg
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1997.

MONDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2018

MON 00:00 Fear on 4 (b007jqbb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Charles Chilton - Space Force (b007jn58)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (Omnibus) (b07d2vlz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 David Benedictus - From the Slips (b09rwg3r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Paula Hawkins - The Girl on the Train (Omnibus) (b063jmm1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Tom Courtenay - Dear Tom (b007k1r4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Peter Terson - Tales My Father Taught Me (b09rwhgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b09rwhgq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Reception (b039zg2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Falco (b00qy0lr)
The Iron Hand of Mars, Episode 1The famous detective of Ancient Rome, Falco is sent to the Barbarian forests of Free Germany - home to a giant bull, raging Celts and a pagan priestess.
Starring Anton Lesser as Marcus Didius Falco, Anna Madely as Helena Justina and Ben Crowe as Petronius.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
MON 06:30 Stefan Gates's Cover Story (b00qfzbw)
When he was four, food writer Stefan Gates appeared on the cover of Led Zeppelin's classic album Houses of the Holy. This deeply personal programme follows him as he investigates for the first time the story behind this iconic cover.
It is a famously unsettling image. Taken at the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, Stefan and his sister Samantha appear naked climbing up the eerie landscape against a bright orange apocalyptic sky.
It's a photo that's dogged Stefan all his life. Ever since he was a child, the picture has disturbed him, even scared him. He's ambivalent about it; should he be proud of it or is there something to be ashamed of? He's purposely never found out the story behind it. He has never even listened to the record.
Now he sets out to revisit that chapter in his life and to confront his own mixed emotions about it, discovering the story behind the image, and its ideas and ethics. He discovers his sister's memories of the difficulties in getting it made, confronts his mother about why she let him pose naked as a child and meets Aubrey Powell, the cover art's photographer, from the famous graphic design team Hipgnosis. Finally, he makes an emotional journey back to the Giants Causeway to listen to the album for the very first time.
MON 07:00 Winston (b007jn9c)
Winston in Love, I'm in Love, I'm in LoveNow that Nancy has fallen in love with Roland from the Ministry of Whatsisname, she doesn't like to remember what happened with Winston under the old beech tree at Winterleaf Gunner...
Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy serial stars Bill Wallis as Winston, Maurice Denham as Father, Shirley Dixon as Nancy, Liz Goulding as Rosie and Christian Rodska as William.
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin
First broadcast on BBC Radio in December 1990.
MON 07:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b09qcfh1)
Series 12, Episode 5This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Sally Phillips welcome the satirical comedy songstress Dillie Keane, intrepid Neanderthal expert Ella Al-Shamahi, and the writer of Notting Hill, Blackadder and The Vicar of Dibley, Richard Curtis.
This week, the Museum's Guest Committee tuck into some homemade chutney, get embarrassingly excited about caves and celebrate some choice bits of Australian slang.
The show was researched by Mike Turner and QI.
The Production Coordinator was Tamara Shilham.
The Associate Producer was James Harkin.
The Producers were Richard Turner and Anne Miller.
It was a BBC Studios Production.
MON 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jzg0)
The Monte Carlo RallyThe lad competes in the famous motor race in a very classic car - provided by Sid.
Starring Tony Hancock, Moira Lister, Bill Kerr, Sidney James and Kenneth Williams.
Special guests: Brian Johnston and Raymond Baxter.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1955.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007jrl4)
Series 3, Is There Honey Still for Tea?A new aerodrome threatens Private Godfrey's idyllic cottage with demolition.
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 Private Godfrey, Ian Lavender as Private Pike, Joan Cooper as Cissie Godfrey and Fraser Kerr as the Colonel/ Sir Charles Renfrew McAlistair.
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 August 1976.
MON 09:00 Quote... Unquote (b07x2s1y)
Quote ... Unquote, the popular quotations quiz, returns for its 40th anniversary series.
For forty years, Nigel Rees has been joined by writers, actors, musicians, scientists and various comedy types. Kenneth Williams, Judi Dench, PD James, Larry Adler, Ian KcKellen, Peter Cook, Kingsley Amis, Peter Ustinov... have all graced the Quote Unquote stage.
Join Nigel as he quizzes a host of guests on the origins of sayings and well-known quotes, and gets the panel to share their favourite anecdotes.
Episode 4
Children's author Cressida Cowell
Journalist, biographer and crime novelist Ruth Dudley Edwards
Podcaster, broadcaster and writer Helen Zaltzman
Autor and arts critic Michael Billington
Presenter ... Nigel Rees
Reader ... Sally Grace
Producer ... Carl Cooper
Production Co-ordinator ... George Pierpoint
This is a BBC Studios Production.
MON 09:30 Pankhiraj (b07m5jzc)
The Honeymoon Is OverNishith, Sripurna's ex-husband has been having secret meetings with Malati - and Dida turns up unexpectedly in Manchester.
Tanika Gupta's four-part comedy stars Meera Syal as Malati, Vinny Dhillon as Rehana, Souad Faress as Sripurna, Charubala Chokshi as Dida, Vinny Dhillon as Rehana, Geoffrey Beevers as Geoffrey and Bhasker Patel as Nishith.
Director: Michelle Matherson Frederick
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1996.
MON 10:00 Kate Brannigan - The Right Chemistry (b007jlm5)
Can fast-talking private investigator Kate Brannigan discover who is behind a deadly case of blackmail - and a counterfeit scam - which also involves murder...
Val McDermid's Manchester-based thriller stars Jane Hazelgrove as Kate Brannigan, Matthew Dunster as Richard Barclay, Kathryn Hunt as Shelley, James Quinn as Trevor, Martin Reeve as Jackson, Laura Richmond as Gail and Caroline Sugden as Janice.
Producer: Melanie Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
MON 11:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b0759mjt)
The Superstitious Man's StoryLongpuddle villagers discover how strange omens surround the death of ex-resident, William Privett. (1891) Read by Richard Mitchley.
These tales from Thomas Hardy published between 1877 and 1929, possess all the power of his novels: the wealth of description, the realistic portrayal of the age old lore of Wessex, the 'Chaucerian' humour and the shrewd insights into human nature. They tenderly re-create, what was even then, a rapidly vanishing rural world and yet the narratives remain timeless in their embrace of both the farcical and the tragic aspects of daily life.
Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Lizzie Davies
Made for BBC Radio Extra by Waters Company Productions.
MON 11:15 Carol McGuigan - The Painter and the Fishergirl (b09rwk6y)
1881: Two worlds collide when American artist Winslow Homer arrives at a coastal village.
Carol McGuigan's passionate portrait of a painter and the ordinary young woman who changes his life.
Based on American artist Winslow Homer's 1881 visit to Cullercoats, a fishing village on England's north east coast.
Starring Henry Goodman as Winslow, Joanne Froggatt as Maggie, Charlie Hardwick as Mrs Jefferson, Joe Caffrey as Andy and Sharon Percy as Belle.
Producer: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
MON 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jzg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jrl4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Falco (b00qy0lr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Stefan Gates's Cover Story (b00qfzbw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007lnqr)
Biggles Gets a LetterAnswering an old chum's call for help, heroic fighter pilot Major James Bigglesworth flies off to Fort Beaver.
Michael Palin reads 'Captain' WE Johns' gripping adventure.
First published in 1939, 'Biggles Flies North' was adapted in eight parts by George Hearton.
WE Johns (1893-1968) wrote nearly 100 books about Biggles and his loyal sidekicks Algy, Ginger and Smyth.
Producer: Marilyn Ireland
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1981.
MON 14:15 The History of the Future (b01mhx6v)
The Oracle of DelphiJuliet Gardiner begins her journey into the History of the Future with a look at the Oracle of Delphi, the place where the Ancient Greeks went to consult the Oracle and hear what the future held for them.
Juliet argues that a history of the future is really a history of anxiety, and begins her excavation of how the futurologists of their day foretold what was to come, and what these visions says about the pre-occupations of the time. How different were prophesies about the future at different points in history? What can ideas about the future tell us about the past?
People seek reassurance about the future, but that desire is rooted in their understanding of the present, with its specific predicaments, and it is these particularities that Juliet will be unearthing. Whose master plan does the future represent? Is it determined by God, or gods, or does man have the power to change what might seem predetermined?
This series of ten programmes will range from the Apocalyptic visions found in the New Testament Book of Revelation, to the enigmatic prophesies of Nostradamus in 16th century France to the science fiction dystopias of HG Wells and George Orwell. In 5th Century BC Greece, the god Apollo and his Oracle at Delphi was central to the idea of the future. In a fragmented society made up of warring City States with no over-arching authority people flocked to the Oracle to see what the future held. The Priestess through whom the god Apollo would speak would greet a questioner seated on a tripod in an underground chamber chewing bay leaves and surrounded by the intoxicating vapours which escaped through the fault line in the earth on which the Temple was built. Juliet speaks to classicists Nick Lowe and Hugh Bowden, and visits a tarot card reader on Brighton Pier.
Produced by Victoria Shepherd
A Juniper Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wn2jm)
The Days of Anna Madrigal, Episode 1Tales of the City: The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin. Dramatised by Lin Coghlan.
Episode 1.
The final series of Tales of the City. Now ninety-two, and committed to the notion of 'Leaving like a lady', Mrs Madrigal has seemingly found peace with the 'Logical' family that has grown around her. But there are ghosts in her past that are the key to her identity and they trouble her. Is she prepared to confront them?
Director/Producer Gary Brown
'The Days of Anna Madrigal' is the ninth novel of Armistead Maupin's bestselling 'Tales of the City' series. It features one of modern literature's most unforgettable characters - Anna Madrigal, the legendary landlady of 28 Barbary Lane as she embarks on a road trip that will take her deep into her past.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b01r993b)
Jared Diamond - The World Until Yesterday, Episode 1The first of five extracts from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond's powerful new book, that asks what can traditional societies teach us about how we in the west live now?
Drawing upon several decades of experience living and working in Papua New Guinea, Professor Diamond shows how traditional societies can offer an extraordinary window into how our ancestors lived for millions of years - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms - and provide unique, often overlooked insights into human nature. Exploring how tribal peoples approach essential human problems, from childrearing to old age to conflict resolution to health, Diamond reminds us that the West achieved global dominance due to specific environmental and technological advantages, but Westerners do not necessarily have superior ideas about how to live well.
Read by Crawford Logan.
Abridged by Robin Brooks.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
MON 15:00 Kate Brannigan - The Right Chemistry (b007jlm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Quote... Unquote (b07x2s1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Pankhiraj (b07m5jzc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Winston (b007jn9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b09qcfh1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b077xnzr)
BreakawayCaptain McLelland and Flight Engineer Hicks plan to use an unmanned probe in their desperate bid to return to Earth.
First broadcast in 1959, a bold plan to conquer space begins with prefabricated components of space station 'Orbiter X' being transported up from Earth, but the task proves perilous...
BD Chapman's adventure stars John Carson as Captain Bob Britton, Andrew Crawford as Captain Douglas McClelland, Barrie Gosney as Flight Engineer Hicks, Donald Bisset as Colonel Kent, Gerik Schjelderup as Max Kramer and Ian Sadler as Neasen.
Shaped like a giant wheel and code-named 'Orbiter X', the space station is designed to circle Earth, travelling in a rapid polar orbit - boasting synthetic gravity, produced by the rotation around the central hub.
Fact and fiction were curiously interwoven, as a fortnight before broadcast, the Soviet Luna 2 space probe crash landed on the Moon.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast in 14 parts on the BBC Light Programme in 1959.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b09rwm1w)
Razia Iqbal and Judith FlandersSue MacGregor and her guests - BBC journalist Razia Iqbal and author Judith Flanders - discuss books by Jhumpa Lahiri, Sybille Bedford and Shirley Hazzard. From August 2005.
Interpreter of Maladies, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Publisher: Flamingo
A Visit to Don Otavio, by Sybille Bedford
Publisher: Elland Books
The Bay of Noon, by Shirley Hazzard
Publisher: Virago.
MON 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jzg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007jrl4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Falco (b00qy0lr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Stefan Gates's Cover Story (b00qfzbw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b0759mjt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Carol McGuigan - The Painter and the Fishergirl (b09rwk6y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b09qcfh1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Ross Noble Goes Global (b007jvv4)
Series 1, SingaporeSpotting a monkey and shopping malls galore - the globetrotting comedian is having a bad hair day in the city's incredible humidity.
Producer: Danny Wallace
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2002.
MON 23:00 News Quiz Extra (b09rwm24)
Series 22, Episode 7Made for 4 Extra. Miles Jupp chairs a satirical review of the week's news in an extended version of Friday's programme.
MON 23:45 Crème de la Crime (b0089jzj)
Series 3, Carrion up the JungleMichael Feydeau and David Pershore probe a dastardly case of felony afloat. Stars Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. From April 2003.

TUESDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2018

TUE 00:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b077xnzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b09rwm1w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Falco (b00qy0lr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Stefan Gates's Cover Story (b00qfzbw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007lnqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 The History of the Future (b01mhx6v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wn2jm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b01r993b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Kate Brannigan - The Right Chemistry (b007jlm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Quote... Unquote (b07x2s1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Pankhiraj (b07m5jzc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Winston (b007jn9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 The Museum of Curiosity (b09qcfh1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Falco (b00qyk7j)
The Iron Hand of Mars, Episode 2Falco and Xanthus travel to Germany and witness the aftermath of a grisly crime on the way. As the Roman detective tries to deliver the new standard to the 14th legion, he receives a rather hostile welcome. At least he finds more hospitality at the house of Helena's Tribune brother, Justinus.
Starring Anton Lesser as Marcus Didius Falco and David Holt as Xanthus.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
TUE 06:30 The Last Post (b00xn7d4)
Since ancient Egyptian times, pigeon post has carried messages of love and war. Can it survive the internet? With Tim Pigott-Smith. From July 2003.
TUE 07:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b007jr5m)
Series 1, The Agony and the EcstasyItalian exchange student Gian Paolo meets the Conroy family. Eddie's trying not to lose his patience - or his fare to Gay Pride.
Jim Poyser and Damian Lanigan's comedy-drama series following the lives of the Conroys, a family living in Stockport.
Starring Dominic Monaghan as Jason, Stefan Escreet as Gian-Paulo, John McArdle as Rav, Chris Paylo as Eddie, Beverley Callard as Maureen, Jason Done as Michael and Ann Rye as Gran and Jo-Anne Knowles as Debbie.
Music: Big George
Producer: Neil Mossey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1999.
TUE 07:30 A Normal... (b09r4qdm)
LovePart three in an occasional series in which the occasional writer Henry Normal uses poetry, storytelling and comedy to tackle those subjects so big only radio can possibly contain them.
Last year Henry brought us his acclaimed show - 'A Normal Life', which was awarded a Silver ARIA for Best Comedy / Entertainment production at the 2017 Radio Academy Awards.
This time Henry returns with his new show for Valentine's Day - 'A Normal Love', exploring love, romance and other unreasonable expectations.
Henry Normal is a multi-award winning writer, producer and poet. Co-writer of award winning TV programmes such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Coogan's Run and Paul Calf, and producer of, amongst many others, Oscar-Nominated Philomena, The Mighty Boosh, Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge.
Written and performed by Henry Normal
Produced by Carl Cooper
This was a BBC Studios production.
TUE 08:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b03q5gb0)
Doddy's Daft Half Hour, From 31/01/1971The King of Knotty Ash delves into breaking the rules and brings us Happy News.
Starring Ken Dodd. With Peter Goodwright, Pat Coombs, Teddy Johnson, Talfryn Thomas and Jo Manning Wilson.
Devised and written by Ken Dodd, David McKellar, Norman Beedle, George Moffat and Malcolm Cameron.
Doddy's Diddy Orchestra conducted by Geoff Alderson.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in January 1971.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0153cxh)
Plane MadnessEvents take off as the idle duo welcome an office efficiency expert.
Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler. With Norma Ronald, Ronald Baddiley, John Graham and Dilys Laye.
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 June 1974.
TUE 09:00 News Quiz Extra (b09rwm24)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Crème de la Crime (b0089jzj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 Kate Brannigan - Clean Break (b0089bqv)
Fast-talking private eye Kate Brannigan is not amused when thieves steal a Monet painting from a stately home where she has arranged the security.
Kate sets off on a chase that takes her across Europe bringing her head-to-head with organised crime.
Val McDermid's Manchester-based thriller stars Charlotte Coleman as Kate Brannigan, John Lloyd Fillingham as Richard Barclay, Noreen Kershaw as Alexis Lee, Joseph Jones as Michal Haroun, Geoff Hinsliff as Dennis O'Brien, Rob Pickavance as Henry Naismith, Martin Reeve as Lord James Ballantrae and Kathryn Hunt as Della Prentiss.
Producer: Melanie Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
TUE 11:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b075fmsz)
The Winters and The PalmleysThe aged groceress remembers a lonely old lady from the village, "dead these five-and-twenty year at least" who had good reason to be so aloof from her neighbours. (1891) Read by Richard Mitchley.
These tales from Thomas Hardy published between 1877 and 1929, possess all the power of his novels: the wealth of description, the realistic portrayal of the age old lore of Wessex, the 'Chaucerian' humour and the shrewd insights into human nature. They tenderly re-create, what was even then, a rapidly vanishing rural world and yet the narratives remain timeless in their embrace of both the farcical and the tragic aspects of daily life.
Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Lizzie Davies
Made for BBC Radio Extra by Waters Company Productions.
TUE 11:15 Nick Warburton - Lawn Wars (b00td4zv)
A single older woman takes on a gardener, and gets much more than she bargained for.
Nick Warburton's gentle comedy about relationships, property and cricket.
Stars Anna Calder-Marhsall as Alice, Richard Johnson as Anthony and Robert Daws as Rob.
With thanks to David Acfield of Essex County Cricket Club for off-spin advice.
Director: Peter Kavanagh
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
TUE 12:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b03q5gb0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0153cxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Falco (b00qyk7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 The Last Post (b00xn7d4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007lzws)
At the Three Star SaloonWhen the pilot hero finds his chum is missing from the aerodrome, he crosses swords with the evil McBain. Read by Michael Palin. From August 1981.
TUE 14:15 The History of the Future (b01mk2hl)
The DruidsJuliet Gardiner continues her journey back to the History of the Future with a look into the society of the Druids and their beliefs about the future.
Druids held a crucial role in Britain, Ireland and Gaul until the first Century AD. Very little evidence of their mysterious culture remains and we might think of them now as the Roman writers portrayed them, wearing white robes and wreaths of mistletoe and oak leaves, making animal, even human sacrifices. One thing is for certain: their powers of prophesy were the sources of awe, fear and political threat to the conquering Romans who saw them as an alternative power base. The Druids are said to have predicted the Fall of the Roman Empire. Was this political expediency or something more mysterious? Juliet sees ancient spoons which may have been used by the Druids in divination ceremonies.
Produced by Victoria Shepherd
A Juniper Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wp3gf)
The Days of Anna Madrigal, Episode 2Tales of the City: The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin. Dramatised by Lin Coghlan.
Ep 2.
As Michael and Ben prepare for 'Burning Man' art festival in Nevada, Shawna makes them an offer that could change their lives.
Director/Producer Gary Brown.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b01r9cd8)
Jared Diamond - The World Until Yesterday, War and PeaceWar and peace.
Second extract from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond's powerful new book that draws upon his several decades of experience living and working in Papua New Guinea. Professor Diamond argues that traditional societies offer a window onto how our ancestors lived for millions of years - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms - and can provide unique, often overlooked insights into human nature.
Read by Crawford Logan.
Abridged by Robin Brooks.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
TUE 15:00 Kate Brannigan - Clean Break (b0089bqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Jest a Minute (b012yngz)
Series 1, Episode 4Justin Moorhouse, Alun Cochrane, Chris Corcoran and Tom Wrigglesworth join Rhod Gilbert in the comedy quiz. From September 2006.
TUE 16:30 Such Rotten Luck (b065cbyv)
Series 2, Meet My New AgentWill struggling writer Woodhouse get a break when he is taken on by a new agent? Stars Tim Pigott-Smith. From December 1991.
TUE 17:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b007jr5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 A Normal... (b09r4qdm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b077ypfb)
The Price of SurvivalUnity are plotting to commandeer the yet to be assembled Orbiter X space station for their own evil purposes.
BD Chapman's adventure in the conquest of space in 14 parts.
Stars John Carson as Captain Bob Britton, Andrew Crawford as Captain Douglas McClelland, Barrie Gosney as Flight Engineer Hicks, Max Kramer as Gerik Schjelderup as Max Kramer, Arthur Lawrence as Gelbin, Ian Sadle as Neasen, Donald Bisset as Colonel Kent and Leslie Perrins as Sir Charles Day.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1959.
TUE 18:30 And the Academy Award Goes To... (b00h3wlv)
Series 2, The Godfather and The Godfather Part IIAnd the Academy Award Goes To... The Godfather & Godfather II. Another chance to catch Paul Gambaccini's series on Oscar-winning films and what they can tell us of the culture and times that gave birth to them.
To kick off the series he explores the potboiler novel that spawned not only one of the most violent 'family' movies ever, but also led to an even more successful sequel. An offer that can't be refused..
TUE 19:00 The Ken Dodd Show (b03q5gb0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0153cxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Falco (b00qyk7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 The Last Post (b00xn7d4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b075fmsz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Nick Warburton - Lawn Wars (b00td4zv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 A Normal... (b09r4qdm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation (b01r11wm)
Series 9, How to Be a Woman in the 21st CenturyStand by your radios! Jeremy Hardy returns to the airwaves with a broadcast of national comic import as he delves into the murky world of womanlitude. Expect polite language from the start.
Welcome to "Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation", a series of debates in which Jeremy Hardy engages in a free and frank exchange of his entrenched views. Passionate, polemical, erudite and unable to sing, Jeremy returns with a new series of his show, famous for lines like -
"Kids should never be fashion slaves, especially in the Far East. My 12-year old daughter asked me for a new pair of trainers. I told her she was old enough to go out and make her own" and, "Islam is no weirder than Christianity. Both are just Judaism with the jokes taken out."
Few can forget where they were twenty years ago when they first heard "Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation". The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. The Light Entertainment department was besieged, questions were asked in the House and Jeremy Hardy himself became known as the man responsible for the funniest show on radio since Money Box Live with Paul Lewis.
Since that fateful first series, Jeremy went on to win Sony Awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
The show is a Pozzitive production, and is produced by Jeremy's long-standing accomplice, David Tyler.
Written by Jeremy Hardy
Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09t2l62)
Archie Maddocks 1/2The best in contemporary comedy. Rob Deering chats to Archie Maddocks.
TUE 23:00 Seekers (b03gghks)
Series 1, Seek HardEPISODE 6: SEEK HARD
It's an unusual day in the Job Centre when armed robbers, having been cornered by police after doing a bank job across the road, take everyone hostage. This could be Stuart's chance to prove to Nicola he's a hero. He needs to do something spectacular to compete with her past boyfriend who Joe claims was none other than Christian Bale.
Seekers, is about the characters that regularly frequent a Job Centre in the Essex town of Rayleigh. Be it the unfulfilled or aspirational staff that work there, or the mixture of jobless people from every walk of life, some desperate to get back to work, some trying their best to never have to work at all.
We listen into the mundane, pointless and sometimes bewildering conversations, the petty arguments and pointless rivalries that people involve themselves in just to relieve the boredom in the sterile, air conditioned building, they all have to return to day after day.
Written by Steven Burge
Produced by Katie Tyrrell.
TUE 23:30 The Mel and Sue Thing (b0076b0y)
Episode 4Cinema trips, Jane Austen and a new posh British blockbuster. Sketches with Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. From October 2002.

WEDNESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2018

WED 00:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b077ypfb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 And the Academy Award Goes To... (b00h3wlv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Falco (b00qyk7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 The Last Post (b00xn7d4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007lzws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 The History of the Future (b01mk2hl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wp3gf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b01r9cd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Kate Brannigan - Clean Break (b0089bqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Jest a Minute (b012yngz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Such Rotten Luck (b065cbyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b007jr5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 A Normal... (b09r4qdm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Falco (b00qyq1t)
The Iron Hand of Mars, Episode 3Falco has arrived in Germany and discovered that Gracilis, the Fourteenth Legion's legate, has gone missing. It looks as though he might be involved in some corrupt business with the local potters.
Falco's inquiries get him into trouble with a centurion, and Xanthus the barber reveals an unexpected talent.
Starring Anton Lesser as Marcus Didius Falco, Anna Madely as Helena Justina and David Holt as Xanthus.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
WED 06:30 Letters to Myself (b00dx16j)
An insight into the experiences of people who have written letters to themselves to be opened in years to come. Some have sent letters to a website that acts as a temporary library before emailing them back to be read at a later date. The programme also follows a group of young adults as they open letters that they wrote to themselves years ago as school leavers.
WED 07:00 Ring Around the Bath (b00p8fk7)
Series 1, New HousePatrick and Stella find their dream house, but will the children scupper their move? Stars Duncan Preston. From September 2003.
WED 07:30 Bridget Christie's Utopia (b09r6fvs)
Series 1, SpiritualityWitness episode 2 of award-winning stand-up comedian Bridget Christie's BBC Radio 4 comedy series, Bridget Christie's Utopia.
As Bridget Christie struggles to come to terms with current world events - Kim Jong-un, the melting polar ice caps and parakeets in her garden reminding her of Brexit, she embarks on a comic quest for her Utopia - a way of living that will make her less anxious and enable her to have her first happy wee since the Brexit vote in 2016.
EPISODE 2 : Spirituality
In this second episode of the series, Bridget explores spirituality - to see if that will make her happier. Could Yoga, Hinduism or becoming a nun be the answer to all her problems? Or will life still be completely rubbish? In her tour of spirituality, Bridget meets an elderly nun - Sister Agatha - at Bar Convent, hides from an Easter egg hunt and witnesses the aftermath of her husband getting a wedgie from the ghost of Napoleon. Will any of this help her switch off?
Stand-up show recorded in front of a studio audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Starring: Bridget Christie.
With special guest Sister Agatha.
Producers: Simon Nicholls and Alison Vernon-Smith.
A BBC Studios Production.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b05tzgds)
Mr Murray Goes SickStanton thinks Number One is looking poorly, which gives cunning Pertwee an idea...
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 Captain Stanton, Heather Chasen as Heather, Michael Bates as the MO and Tenniel Evans as Uncle Ebenezer Pertwee.
The Navy Lark ran for an impressive 13 series on BBC Radio between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1960.
WED 08:30 Round the Horne (b00j05wv)
Series 1, Episode 8Who killed the Amazing Proudbasket? And Kenneth Horne trolls round to 'Bona Tours' - courtesy of Julian and Sandy.
Starring Kenneth Horne.
With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
Round the Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, catchphrases and double-entendres.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1965.
WED 09:00 Many a Slip (b09s4mfl)
Roy Plomley chairs as Eleanor Summerfield and Isobel Barnett battle David Nixon and Richard Murdoch as they compete in the panel game to spot mistakes.
With some tune-twisters from Steve Race.
Devised and written by Ian Messiter
Producer: Trafford Whitelock
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1973.
WED 09:30 The Right Time (b009v5dn)
Series 2, Episode 1From the perils of seduction to topless sunbathing. 40 is the new 21.
Sketch show about life, written and performed by people who have lived a bit.
Stars Eleanor Bron, Graeme Garden, Neil Innes, Paula Wilcox, Clive Swift and Roger Blake.
Written by Graeme Garden, Neil Innes, John Pidgeon, Jan Etherington, Julie Balloo and Ramone Towers.
Music by Ronnie & The Rex.
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2002.
WED 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bbsq9)
13-17 November 1917The first omnibus of Season 12, Giddy with Possibility, set in Tynemouth, in the week, in 1917, when the Finnish Parliament declared their independence from Russia.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Shaun McKenna
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
WED 11:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b075g3n9)
Netty Sargent's StoryMr Day, the painter, recalls the unusual circumstances by which Netty Sargent came to own her house. (1891) Read by Richard Mitchley.
These tales from Thomas Hardy published between 1877 and 1929, possess all the power of his novels: the wealth of description, the realistic portrayal of the age old lore of Wessex, the 'Chaucerian' humour and the shrewd insights into human nature. They tenderly re-create, what was even then, a rapidly vanishing rural world and yet the narratives remain timeless in their embrace of both the farcical and the tragic aspects of daily life.
Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Lizzie Davies
Made for BBC Radio Extra by Waters Company Productions.
WED 11:15 Caroline Gawn - Fresh from the Coast (b007jqxk)
1940s London: Two women uncover a devastating secret that changes their friendship for ever.
Elsie Haworth and Kathleen James are old school friends, working on the rebuilding of Waterloo Bridge. Elsie is heavily pregnant, but won't reveal the father's name to anyone.
A police inspector begins to follow the two women, asking probing questions about the mysterious father. The plot thickens and then thickens again...
Caroline Gawn's thriller stars Jo Joyner as Elsie, Christine Brennan as Kathleen, Mark Chatterton as the Police Inspector, Martin Reeve as Mr Jackson and Ken Bradshaw as Gerhard.
Director: Polly Thomas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b05tzgds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Round the Horne (b00j05wv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Falco (b00qyq1t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Letters to Myself (b00dx16j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007m474)
The Jupiter Heads NorthwardBiggles faces more trouble from the evil McBain as he prepares to leave the local saloon. Read by Michael Palin. From August 1981.
WED 14:15 The History of the Future (b01mk71l)
The Book of RevelationJuliet Gardiner continues her look back into the History of the Future with the apocalyptic visions of Divine Judgement in the Book of Revelation.
There is some dispute about its authorship but it is generally believed that the Revelations of Jesus Christ were communicated to a mystic, John, while in exile on the island of Patmos off the coast of Turkey. John wrote them down around AD 95 and some interpret the Book of Revelation as unveiling events that will take place in the future, when Satan will be cast out and the Second Coming will bring about paradise on earth, others see it as an allegory of the struggle between good and evil.
Juliet views the Douse Manuscript, a dazzling 15th century illuminated Book of Revelation from a period when there was a flowering of interest in this vision of future, with its images of beasts, fires and plagues. Why did the Book's predictions become so pertinent at this particular time? Was this connected to anxieties and political aspirations of the Crusades? Juliet speaks to Professor of Early Modern ideas, Justin Champion.
Produced by Victoria Shepherd
A Juniper Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wpd5b)
The Days of Anna Madrigal, Episode 3Tales of the City: The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin. Dramatised by Lin Coghlan.
Ep 3.
Mrs Madrigal prepares to go back to her home town and Michael and Ben argue over Shawna's offer.
Director/Producer Gary Brown.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b01r9q05)
Jared Diamond - The World Until Yesterday, Child-rearing and DisciplineChild-rearing and discipline.
Extract from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond's powerful new book that draws upon his several decades of experience living and working in Papua New Guinea. Professor Diamond argues that traditional societies offer a window onto how our ancestors lived for millions of years - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms - and can provide unique, often overlooked insights into human nature.
Read by Crawford Logan.
Abridged by Robin Brooks.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
WED 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bbsq9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Many a Slip (b09s4mfl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The Right Time (b009v5dn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Ring Around the Bath (b00p8fk7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Bridget Christie's Utopia (b09r6fvs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b0783p4d)
Marooned in SpaceThe evil Unity organization sets about planting an insider within the HQ of the Commonwealth Space Project.
BD Chapman's adventure in the conquest of space in 14 parts.
Stars John Carson as Captain Bob Britton, Andrew Crawford as Captain Douglas McClelland, Gerik Schjelderup as Max Kramer, Arthur Lawrence as Gelbin, John Witty as Captain Jack Bradley, Donald Bisset as Colonel Kent and Peter Noel Cook as Control Officer Brown.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1959.
WED 18:30 The Tingle Factor (b04plpwz)
Beryl BainbridgeBeryl Bainbridge shares those musical moments which stir strong emotions with Robin Ray.
From classic BBC radio comedies to Shirley Temple, the novelist also looks back over her life and career.
Producer: Caroline Adams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b05tzgds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Round the Horne (b00j05wv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Falco (b00qyq1t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Letters to Myself (b00dx16j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b075g3n9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Caroline Gawn - Fresh from the Coast (b007jqxk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Bridget Christie's Utopia (b09r6fvs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01r7b8n)
Series 1, Power BlockKatrina Lyons was only visiting Cresdon Green, the village where she grew up, to borrow some money from her parents. But when she tried to head back to London, it turned out alien beings known as the Geonin had lowered a force field around the village and were refusing to let anyone in or out.
Unfortunately almost everyone in the village is too cowardly, apathetic, polite or stupid to stand up to this alien menace, so Katrina has no choice but to start the resistance movement herself. In the cricket pavilion.
EPISODE THREE: Power Block.
Uljabaan is busy with a construction project and asks Margaret to help with some routine duties in the village - collecting data, checking up on the man they put down the old well, that sort of thing. Katrina is dismayed - he's too busy to oppress the humans, so he's getting them to do it to each other. But the construction project involves opening up the force-field that surrounds the village. Can Katrina and Lucy sneak a message into the outside world?
Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully is written by Eddie Robson (That Mitchell and Webb Sound, Newsjack), and stars Hattie Morahan (Outnumbered, Critic's Circle & Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actress'), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing, The Hour), Jan Francis (Just Good Friends, Emmerdale), Peter Davison (A Very Peculiar Practice, Dr Who), Hannah Murray (Skins, Game of Thrones), and John-Luke Roberts (Spats, BBC Three Live At The Fringe).
Producer: Ed Morrish.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09t2lcj)
Archie Maddocks 2/2The best in contemporary comedy. Rob Deering chats to Archie Maddocks.
WED 23:00 Danny Robins Music Therapy (b00fgts9)
Episode 1Danny uses the power of music to help humanity - and a dormouse. With Isy Suttie and beatboxer Beardyman. From November 2008.
WED 23:30 The Guns of Adam Riches (b01qwj0j)
Series 1, The Third PoleIn this final episode, the award-winning comedian Adam Riches tells the story of Martin, an audience member from London, who started the evening as an unsuspecting software developer, but ended it as the greatest explorer ever to walk the earth. As Martin battles to be the first man to reach the "Third Pole", he is faced by many challenges, including a rival team of Norwegians, led inexplicably by the German filmmaker, Werner Herzog.
Written by and starring Adam Riches.
Also starring Cariad Lloyd, Jim Johnson and Simon Yadoo.
Produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer and Rupert Majendie.

THURSDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2018

THU 00:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b0783p4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 The Tingle Factor (b04plpwz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Falco (b00qyq1t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Letters to Myself (b00dx16j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007m474)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 The History of the Future (b01mk71l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wpd5b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b01r9q05)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bbsq9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Many a Slip (b09s4mfl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The Right Time (b009v5dn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Ring Around the Bath (b00p8fk7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Bridget Christie's Utopia (b09r6fvs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Falco (b00qyr9t)
The Iron Hand of Mars, Episode 4After making enquiries with Claudia, the missing legate's mistress, Falco decides he has to cross the Rhine into Barbarian territory. Accompanied by Justinus, Helveticus and a motley crew of raw recruits, he sets off on his most dangerous journey yet.
Things begin to look ominous when they find a deserted Roman camp in the heart of the forest.
Starring Anton Lesser as Marcus Didius Falco, Anna Madely as Helena Justina, David Holt as Xanthus and Gary Lewis as Helveticus.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
THU 06:30 The Naughty Pictures Committees (b01nt3xk)
It's 100 years since the British Board of Film Censors was set up, yet few people know that it has always been local authorities that had - and still have - the final say over what films are shown in their areas. And from the late Forties through to the Seventies, many councils such as Manchester and London used these powers to push back the boundaries of what was considered acceptable to public 'taste and decency'. They passed many films the BBFC had banned, causing the Board to slowly relax its views on nudity and sex in particular. Other councils, like Sale in Cheshire, tried desperately to hold back the tide of X-rated films, insisting they could not be shown in their town without the express permission of the council - which was often denied.
Laurie Taylor explores this peculiarly British system of film censorship, where the local councils have the power - "people power" some say - while the national Board has most of the expertise but no legal powers and its certificates are only guidance.
He starts his journey in the "birthplace of British Cinema", the Regent Street cinema in London, now being refurbished, and along the way he looks at such classics as The Birth of A Baby, the naturist Garden of Eden, the gory Joker Is Wild, the notorious Ulysses, and more.
Finally Laurie looks at how the BBFC has, over recent decades, got much more involved with audiences and so almost eliminated the conflict with local councils that at one time threatened its very existence.
Producer: Mike Hally
A Square Dog Radio production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 07:00 Double Income, No Kids Yet (b00906d7)
Series 3, Episode 3Change is in the air when Amanda and Richard get happily engaged. But when Lucy and Daniel opt to change their lives, Lucy resolves not to tell anyone.
What Daniel hasn't told Lucy is that he can't keep a secret...
David Spicer's comedy drama about modern life and parenthood, as seen through the eyes of two 30-something non-parents.
Starring David Tennant as Daniel, Liz Carling as Lucy, Tracy-Ann Oberman as Katie, Tony Gardner as Andy, Nasreen Hussain as Amanda and Dave Lamb as Richard.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
THU 07:30 Alex Edelman - Millennial (b055jpnw)
Alex Edelman, the 25-year-old Bostonian native and winner of the prestigious Best Newcomer Award at the 2014 Edinburgh Comedy Festival, presents a special half-hour version of his award-winning show about the much misunderstood and ridiculed millennial generation and how he has used his wit to bite back.
THU 08:00 Marriage Lines (b061ygcr)
Series 2, Episode 5George and Kate get in a tizzy showing-off baby Helen.
Richard Briers and Prunella Scales star in their second series based on the mutual love and mistrust of a young married couple.
Originating on BBC TV, it was adapted for radio due to its popularity by Richard Waring from his own TV scripts.
A decade later, Richard Briers was starring as Tom Good in The Good Life whilst Prunella Scales starred as Sybil in Fawlty Towers. They remained friends until Richard Briers' death in 2013.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
Recorded at the BBC Paris Studio in London.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1967.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jmrj)
Shangri-La AgainNeddie Seagoon escapes an invasion and finds Utopia. Fantasy novel spoof with Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe. From November 1955.
THU 09:00 It's Your Round (b00yrfwr)
Series 1, Episode 2"It's Your Round" is the comedy panel show where the format is simple: there is no format. Instead, each of the panellists has brought along their own round for the others to play, meaning that each show is unique, untried, and unpredictable.
This episode Andy Parsons, Rebecca Front, Miles Jupp and prog-rock legend, Rick Wakeman battle it out to see who can beat each other at their own games.
Enjoy the hilarity that ensues when each of them play the games they've brought along. Can the teams guess the concept for Rick's new prog rock album in his "What's The Concept?" round? And what happens when the teams have to play Andy's inventively titled "It's Not Your Round"? And would Rebecca Front like to marry Prince William? Find out the answers to these questions and more in this show.
Angus Deayton is the host valiantly trying to make sure everyone comes out of it with their reputations intact.
Writers: Angus Deayton and Paul Powell
Devised by Benjamin Partridge
Producer: Sam Michell.
THU 09:30 The Inimitable Jeeves (b007s5dn)
The Great Sermon HandicapCan Bertie Wooster beat the odds of disaster in an unusual betting syndicate?
PG Wodehouse romp adapted by Chris Miller.
Starring Michael Hordern as Jeeves, Richard Briers as Bertie, Maurice Denham as Rev Heppenstall, Jonathan Cecil as Bingo Little, David Jason as Eustace, Jonathan Lynn as Claude and Carol Marsh as Cynthia.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1973.
THU 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bccx6)
20-24 November 1917The second omnibus of Season 12, Giddy with Possibility, set in the week, in 1917, when the Battle of Cambrai marked the first mass use of tanks.
Cast
Edie Chadwick ..... Kathryn Beaumont
Sarah Illingworth ..... Naomi Frederick
Marion Wardle ..... Laura Elphinstone
Fraser Chadwick ..... Edmund Wiseman
Lester Reed ..... Trevor Fox
Alan Lowther ..... David Seddon
Duncan Chadwick ..... Mark Stobbart
Ethel Manning ..... Sophie Scott
Iris Reed ..... Charlie Hardwick
Johnnie Marshall ..... Paul Ready
Joyce Lyle ..... Tracy Whitwell
Judith Turner ..... Kate Okello
Kenny Stokoe ..... Dean Logan
Matilda James ..... Hannah Wood
Maud Drummond ..... Vineeta Rishi
Molly Duckett ..... ictoria Bewick
Neil McCaul ..... Hodges
Stanley Hobbs ..... David Nellist
Trevor Lamb ..... Phillip Correia
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Shaun McKenna
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
THU 11:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b075p19n)
Old Mrs ChundleKindly soul Mrs Chundle, a little deaf, who sought help from the new curate to hear his weekly sermon. (1929) Read by Richard Mitchley.
These tales from Thomas Hardy published between 1877 and 1929, possess all the power of his novels: the wealth of description, the realistic portrayal of the age old lore of Wessex, the 'Chaucerian' humour and the shrewd insights into human nature. They tenderly re-create, what was even then, a rapidly vanishing rural world and yet the narratives remain timeless in their embrace of both the farcical and the tragic aspects of daily life.
Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Lizzie Davies
Made for BBC Radio Extra by Waters Company Productions.
THU 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01r5qgm)
Marcy Kahan - Mr Bridger's OrphanCommissioned to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of Noel Coward, Mr Bridger's Orphan tells a surprising and little-known story from his life. It's 1968 and Coward is in Dublin to play the chief gangster in the film The Italian Job. But why has the urbane actor and playwright, in failing health, accepted the role?
The play tells the story of how his involvement in the movie emerged from a significant encounter during Coward's dynamic and humane twenty-year Presidency of the Actors' Orphanage, revealing the down-to-earth man behind the sometimes waspish and rarefied public persona.
Between 2000 and 2008 playwright Marcy Kahan wrote a quintet of comic plays about Noel Coward for BBC R4, each set in a different city at a different stage of his life. Design for Murder was a 1930s backstage murder mystery; Blithe Spy took him to New York on an wartime espionage adventure, consistent with his real-life work for British Security Co-ordination; A Bullet At Balmain's interrupted his 1947 Paris stage debut with the death of a fashion-house mannequin; Death At the Desert Inn distracted him from his 1955 Las Vegas cabaret debut with the death of a chorus girl; Our Man in Jamaica re-enlisted him as a spy in 1961, as part of his neighbour Ian Fleming's outlandish plot to destabilise Fidel Castro.
Mr Bridger's Orphan reunites the cast of the Coward quintet: Noel Coward is played by Malcolm Sinclair; his devoted secretary Lorn Loraine by Eleanor Bron; and his devoted Man Friday, Cole Lesley, by Tam Williams. And it also features young Finlay Christie, who's making a name for himself as one of our youngest stand up comedians, and who stars in the Radio 4 comedy series the Gobetweenies.
Writer ..... Marcy Kahan
Director ..... Marilyn Imrie.
THU 12:00 Marriage Lines (b061ygcr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jmrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Falco (b00qyr9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 The Naughty Pictures Committees (b01nt3xk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007lzbj)
Some Grim EncountersThe crackle of vicious machine-gun fire from another plane forces the Jupiter to take action. Read by Michael Palin. From August 1981.
THU 14:15 The History of the Future (b01mk92q)
NostradamusJuliet Gardiner continues her History of the Future with a look into the world of the most famous futurologist of them all, Nostradamus. Nostradamus's name is synonymous with prediction and his poetic quatrains have not been out of print since they were first published in France in 1555.
The prophesies were an instant bestseller all across Europe and struck a chord in London too. Widespread fear in France of invasion by the Ottoman Empire made his prophesies with their reference to the Anti-Christ seem urgent and people were drawn to the predictions for clues to how to act in a war-torn present. Five hundred years later people still consult the almanacs of Nostradamus and find in its pages predictions that seem to have foreseen major current events, the most famous of which was the attack on the World Trade Centre on 9/11.
The prophesies are enigmatic, poetically vague and ripe for interpretation, but what is striking is that Nostradamus's words can represent the anxieties of the time in which they were written, and ours today. Juliet speaks to Nostradamus experts Peter Lemesurier and Mario Reading.
Produced by Victoria Shepherd
A Juniper Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wqlm7)
The Days of Anna Madrigal, Episode 4Tales of the City: The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin. Dramatised by Lin Coghlan.
Episode 4.
As she travels to her home town of Winnemucca, Mrs Madrigal remembers when she was a boy and her intense friendship with Lasko.
Director/Producer Gary Brown.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b01r9skn)
Jared Diamond - The World Until Yesterday, Treatment of the ElderlyTreatment of the elderly.
Extract from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond's new book which suggests that traditional societies offer us a window onto how our ancestors lived for millions of years - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms - and can provide unique, often overlooked insights into human nature.
Read by Crawford Logan.
Abridged by Robin Brooks.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
THU 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bccx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 It's Your Round (b00yrfwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 The Inimitable Jeeves (b007s5dn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Double Income, No Kids Yet (b00906d7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Alex Edelman - Millennial (b055jpnw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b0783r2p)
Operation SalvageCaptain Kent of the Commonwealth Space Project embarks on a rescue mission. Will the crew of Orbiter 2 ever get back home?
BD Chapman's adventure in the conquest of space in 14 parts.
Stars John Carson as Captain Bob Britton, Andrew Crawford as Captain Douglas McClelland, Gerik Schjelderup as Max Kramer, Arthur Lawrence as Gelbin, Donald Bisset as Colonel Kent, John Witty as Captain Jack Bradley and John Graham as Captain Knight.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1959.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b00tt5kn)
Series 22, Michel de MontaigneMichel de Montaigne is one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the essay as a literary genre and became famous for his ability to fuse intellectual speculation with casual anecdotes and autobiography. Montaigne's work continues to influence writers to this day.
Championing his life is the surgeon, scientist, broadcaster and politician Professor Robert Winston and providing expert witness is the writer Sarah Bakewell, whose recent biography, How to Live: A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer, was recently published to great acclaim.
Producer: Paul Dodgson.
THU 19:00 Marriage Lines (b061ygcr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jmrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Falco (b00qyr9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 The Naughty Pictures Committees (b01nt3xk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b075p19n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01r5qgm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Alex Edelman - Millennial (b055jpnw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Newsjack (b09rzk0m)
Series 18, Episode 3BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical sketch show Newsjack with host Angela Barnes.
Featuring Gabby Best, Arnold Jorge and Luke Kempner.
Script Editors: Gemma Arrowsmith and Jenny Laville
Producers: Adnan Ahmed and Hayley Sterling
Production Co-ordinator: Nick Coupe
Newsjack is lovingly assembled with jokes and sketches supplied by the Great British Public and brought to life by a revolving cast of sketch performers.
The programme continues to be a showcase for new comedy writing: anyone can submit material (sketches and one-line jokes) - these can be submitted every week of the six week run.
Details for submitting material can be found on the Newsjack programme page. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kvs8r.
THU 23:00 Masala FM (b007x0c9)
Episode 1The London Asian radio station toughens up its act. Stars Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Nina Wadia. From September 1996.
THU 23:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b0076254)
Series 2, Episode 2Mel Hudson and Vicki Pepperdine have a diabolical visitor while 'Eminem' and 'Lesley Garrett' perform a duet. From May 2001.

FRIDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2018

FRI 00:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b0783r2p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b00tt5kn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Falco (b00qyr9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 The Naughty Pictures Committees (b01nt3xk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007lzbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 The History of the Future (b01mk92q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wqlm7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b01r9skn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bccx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 It's Your Round (b00yrfwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 The Inimitable Jeeves (b007s5dn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Double Income, No Kids Yet (b00906d7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Alex Edelman - Millennial (b055jpnw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Falco (b00r32wz)
The Iron Hand of Mars, Episode 5Roman detective Falco and his fellow prisoners are marched through the forest and finally meet the legendary Celtic priestess Veleda.
Justinus takes matters into his own hands when he volunteers to negotiate with her, but Falco is worried that he doesn't fully understand the implications of the meeting.
Starring Anton Lesser as Marcus Didius Falco, Gary Lewis as Helveticus and Oliver Hembrough as Justinus.
Dramatised by Mary Cutler.
Directed at BBC Birmingham by Peter Leslie Wild.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
FRI 06:30 Captain Fantastic - Bobby Moore (b007kw2v)
4 Extra Debut. A profile of England's World Cup winning captain, Bobby Moore. With contributions from Alan Mullery, Martin Peters, Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Armfield. From May 2001.
FRI 07:00 Capital Gains (b00snlx2)
Series 2, Development CapitalThere must be a way to stop the Haiku Jack Consortium from covering the land in concrete. Accidental billionaire Julius Hutch turns to the law - and goes beyond it..
Starring Peter Jones as Julius Hutch.
With Celestine Randall as Pauline Hutch, Justine Midda as Kate, Jeffrey Wickham as Sexton Lewis, Celestine Randall as Mrs Pauline Hutch, Stephen Thorne as Sir Gainford Blounty, Jillie Meers as Dahlia Sprout, David Holt as Ted Smoothie and Brian Perkins as Himself.
Scripted by Collin Johnson.
Producers: Andy Jordan and David Blount
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1997.
FRI 07:30 The Break (b07j40ww)
The Girl from the SouthUncle Jeff (Philip Jackson), out of the blue, decides that his nephew Andy (Tom Palmer) needs a girlfriend. Andy decides that he does not. Jeff persists - Fish Shop Frank (Mark Benton) has his niece visiting from down south, and she is, by all accounts, "a lovely girl".
While waiting for Andy to agree, Jeff takes him to the local hypermarket ostensibly for supplies, but in fact because Jeff has read in a magazine that supermarkets are the ideal place for young singles to meet.
While Jeff is wrongly detained for shoplifting, Andy runs into an old flame from London, Liz (Shobna Gulati). She's staying with her Uncle Frank - so this is the "lovely girl" Jeff's been banging on about! How can Andy rekindle the relationship with his old flame without - annoyingly - oving Jeff right?
Writers: Ian Brown and James Hendrie
Producer/Director: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00d0h1b)
Series 6, Episode 2An apocalyptic weather forecaster - and oyster walkies.
Starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by Bill Oddie, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor.
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 Leon Cohen and Bill Oddie.
Producer: David Hatch/Peter Titheradge
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1968.
FRI 08:30 Albert and Me (b04b6dbs)
Series 2, High SocietySingle dad Bryan attends a garden fete and impresses the guest of honour.
Robert Lindsay plays single parent Bryan Archer, struggling to find work and raise his baby son.
In the original 1977 series, Bryan was played by the late Richard Beckinsale who tragically died in 1979. After a six-year hiatus, the series returned with Bryan's mother and baby Albert played once again by Pat Coombs.
With Diana King as Mrs Willis, Marica Warren as Vera, Gorden Kaye as Edward, Sarah Berger as Lady Samantha and Michael Bilton as the Vicar.
Incidental music by Max Harris
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 1983.
FRI 09:00 Whispers (b007k3jj)
Series 3, Episode 6Gyles Brandreth hosts the scandals quiz with Lucy Moore, Anthony Holden, John O'Farrell and Dan Tetsell. From November 2005.
FRI 09:30 Street and Lane (b00w5rgj)
Series 2, Going for BrokeThe Yorkshire builders are warned over a dodgy landlord - and a birth is imminent...
Series 2 of Ian McMillan and Dave Sheasby's comedy stars Shaun Dooley as Johnny Street, Fine Time Fontayne as Arthur Lane, Muzz Khan as Pete and Bethan Walker as Lucy.
Producer: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.
FRI 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bd8jb)
27 November - 1 December 1917The third omnibus of Season 12, Giddy with Possibility, set in Tynemouth, in the week, in 1917, when Germany and the new Russian government began a cessation of hostilities.
Cast
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Sarah Illingworth ..... Naomi Frederick
Isabel Graham ..... Keely Beresford
Iris Reed ..... Charlie Hardwick
Phyllis Marshall ..... Christine Absalom
Adeline Lumley ..... Helen Schlesinger
Bill McCracken ..... Caolan McCarthy
Cressida Marshall ..... Isabella Inchbald
Ethel Manning ..... Sophie Scott
Edie Chadwick ..... Kathryn Beaumont
Eva Reynolds ..... Sophie Scott
Johnnie Marshall ..... Paul Ready
Kenny Stokoe ..... Dean Logan
Lester Reed ..... Trevor Fox
Marion Wardle ..... Laura Elphinstone
Matilda James ..... Hannah Wood
Maud Drummond ..... Vineeta Rishi
Molly Duckett ..... Victoria Bewick
Peggy Tanney ..... Abbie Andrews
Joyce Lyle ..... Tracy Whitwell
Lad 1 ..... Edmund Wiseman
Lad 2 ..... Philip Correia
Stanley Hobbs ..... David Nellist
Beatrice Marshall ..... Eviee Lavery
Cristine de Groot ..... Ysabelle Cooper
Gussie Marshall ..... Grace Doherty
Peter Lumley ..... Bea White
Written by Sarah Daniels
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Story-led by Shaun McKenna
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
FRI 11:00 Thomas Hardy Short Stories - More Tales of Village Life (b075pq6s)
The Thieves Who Couldn't Help SneezingAn ambush on Christmas Eve does not end well for the perpetrators. (1877) Read by Richard Mitchley.
These tales from Thomas Hardy published between 1877 and 1929, possess all the power of his novels: the wealth of description, the realistic portrayal of the age old lore of Wessex, the 'Chaucerian' humour and the shrewd insights into human nature. They tenderly re-create, what was even then, a rapidly vanishing rural world and yet the narratives remain timeless in their embrace of both the farcical and the tragic aspects of daily life.
Abridged by Isobel Creed
Produced by Lizzie Davies
Made for BBC Radio Extra by Waters Company Productions.
FRI 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01s0qn1)
Doug Lucie - The Milky WayIts 1959 and milkman Bob Reilly has dreams of making it big as a singer, but after yet another knock-back begins to realise that Emceeing at the local pub might be the highlight of his career. Until, that is, he discovers his son Andy and his mates have formed a band. They're not half bad and who better to manage them and lead them to stardom than Bob himself? Soon the band, christened The Milky Way, begin to have some success, but Bob's hopes and plans for the band's future aren't necessarily those of the band themselves, causing friction between father and son and Bob to reassess his priorities and his long cherished dreams.
From acclaimed dramatist Doug Lucie a new drama about rock 'n' roll, real life, and realising what dreams in life are really worth chasing, starring Shaun Dingwall, Belinda Stewart-Wilson, Jemima Rooper, Tim McInnerny, David Cardy, Ted Reilly, Tony Bignell and Theo Gregrory.
Music by 'The Milky Way' was performed by Doug Lucie, Ian Lucie, Dave Hillman and George Stenning, with lead vocals by Tony Bignell and backing vocals by Theo Gregory and Ted Reilly.
Music was performed by Doug Lucie, Ian Lucie, Dave Hillman and George Stenning, with lead vocals by Tony Bignell.
THE MILKY WAY was written by Doug Lucie and directed by Heather Larmour.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00d0h1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Albert and Me (b04b6dbs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Falco (b00r32wz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Captain Fantastic - Bobby Moore (b007kw2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 WE Johns - Biggles Flies North (b007lrnj)
Southward AgainWith the Jupiter stranded, thoughts of rescue fade as the chums realise who is roaring towards them. Read by Michael Palin. From August 1981.
FRI 14:15 The History of the Future (b01mkzgw)
Leonardo da VinciJuliet Gardiner continues her History of the Future with a look at the designs of Renaissance Man Leonardo da Vinci. Juliet views his designs for warfare which seem to prefigure the modern tank and helicopter, and tries to understand how the culture of 15th century Florence with its political and religious turmoil as well as artistic flowering spoke to Leonardo's vision of the future. Many of Leonardo's inventions were astonishingly ahead of their time, but he is also a man firmly of his time, a time in which God, and the Revelation of the judgement of the Apocalypse depicted on the roof of the Baptistry would determine the end times for all. Juliet speaks to Evelyn Welch and Martin Kemp.
Produced by Victoria Shepherd
A Juniper Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:30 Armistead Maupin - Tales of the City (b08wr9fp)
The Days of Anna Madrigal, Episode 5Tales of the City: The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin. Dramatised by Lin Coghlan.
Ep 5
Michael, Ben and Shawna arrive at the Burning Man festival. And Mrs Madrigal remembers her troubled relationship with Lasko.
Director/Producer Gary Brown.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b01r9wcb)
Jared Diamond - The World Until Yesterday, Diet and HealthDiet and health.
Extract from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond's powerful new book which suggests that traditional societies offer a window onto how our ancestors lived for millions of years - until virtually yesterday, in evolutionary terms - and can provide unique, often overlooked insights into human nature.
Read by Crawford Logan.
Abridged by Robin Brooks.
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
FRI 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bd8jb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Whispers (b007k3jj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Street and Lane (b00w5rgj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Capital Gains (b00snlx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 The Break (b07j40ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 BD Chapman - Orbiter X (b0788cnv)
Return to WoomeraWith their ship patched up, the crew of Orbiter 2 aim for Earth - but will the Commonwealth Space Project realise the incoming incommunicado ship is a friendly one?
BD Chapman's adventure in the conquest of space in 14 parts.
Stars John Carson as Captain Bob Britton, Andrew Crawford as Captain Douglas McClelland, Barrie Gosney as Flight Engineer Hicks, Donald Bisset as Colonel Kent, John Witty as Captain Jack Bradley, Leslie Perrins as Sir Charles Day and Peter Noel Cook as Control Officer Brown.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1959.
FRI 18:30 Mastertapes (b01nq1c0)
Series 1, Suzanne Vega (the A-Side)The second programme of this new series in which John Wilson talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios, each edition includes two episodes. In Episode 1 (The A side), John asks the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 2, A-side "Solitude Standing". Singer and songwriter Suzanne Vega discusses the influences behind her platinum-selling second album, released 25 years ago, which included hits like "Luka" and the title track.
She explains that it was her manager who saw the potential of "Luka" and convinced her that a song with a social message could be a hit.
She recalls how the tune for "Tom's Diner" came to her while she was walking down Broadway after having been to the real Tom's restaurant.
And she discusses the way in which images and words were part of her life from a very early age and have influenced her work.
In the next programme (The B-side) it'll be the turn of the audience to ask Suzanne the questions.
Producer: Emma Kingsley.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00d0h1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Albert and Me (b04b6dbs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Falco (b00r32wz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Captain Fantastic - Bobby Moore (b007kw2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b09rzmn0)
Series 1, Anna SaleAmanda Litherland is joined by guest host Anna Sale from her studio in California.
FRI 22:00 The Break (b07j40ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Ian D Montfort Is: Unbelievable (b01qj7q2)
Series 1, With guest, actress Angela GriffinIan D Montfort is a celebrity spirit medium and psychic, and star of a brand new series for Radio 2. A comedy character created by Tom Binns (the man behind hapless hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury) Ian D Montfort has been a hit at the last three Edinburgh festivals with his combination of magic and laughter.
In each radio show Ian makes contact with the celebrity 'spirit guides' secretly chosen by audience members and reveals personal stories that make them laugh-out-loud one moment and gasp in surprise the next. Each episode features a different celebrity guest who gets a 'private' reading from Ian. This episode stars former Corrie and Holby actress Angela Griffin who reveals more than she bargained for as a traumatic day at P.E. is revisited, and other guests across the series are Ruth Madoc, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Joe Swash.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b09t2lvn)
Barry Ferns 1/2The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Barry Ferns.
FRI 23:00 Listen Against (b00fgt0r)
Series 2, Episode 1An Archers convention, a live pitbull on the Today programme and a Popmaster crisis. Stars Jon Holmes. From November 2008.
FRI 23:30 Chain Reaction (b00m9p30)
Series 3, Clive Anderson Interviews John LloydSeries in which public figures choose others to interview. The previous week's guest Clive Anderson grabs the microphone to interview his selected guest, John Lloyd, the man responsible for programmes such as Not the Nine O'Clock News, Blackadder, Spitting Image and QI. Clive asks John about co-writing and falling out with Douglas Adams and the key to creating great comedy.