SATURDAY 05 MAY 2018

SAT 00:00 Richard Matheson - Duel (b007k3qp)
Episode 2
A hunted motorist is forced to become the hunter in a deadly, primordial duel.
Conclusion of the classic tense thriller by American sci-fi novelist, screenwriter and principal writer of 'The Twilight Zone', Richard Matheson (1926-2013).
Adapted by Steven Spielberg for the big screen in 1971, Duel is also a cult film.
Read by Nathan Osgood.
Producer: Vivien Rosenthal
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2006.
SAT 00:30 Mastertapes (b01p71gb)
Series 1, The Zombies (the A-Side)
John Wilson concludes his 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. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing 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 7. Forty five years after it was recorded, Rod Argent, Chris White and Colin Blunstone recall the making of the Zombies album 'Odessey And Oracle'. When it was released in 1968, after the band had split up, it was indifferently received. But since it has been described as: "one of the great undiscovered works of the psychedelic era" - Pitchfork; "an album that should grace any record collection... essential" - BBC; and "combining the adventure of Sgt. Pepper with the concision of British Invasion Pop" - Rolling Stone.
Those who have cited the Zombies as influences include everyone from Courtney Love to the Magic Numbers and from the Arctic Monkeys to Paul Weller. 'Odessey And Oracle' (the title was mis-spelt by the designer of the cover) contained only one stereotypically summer-of-love hit ('Time Of The Season') - the darker tones and dramatic third-person feel of much of the album (including the likes of 'Care of Cell 44', 'The Butcher's Tale' and 'A Rose For Emily') makes it sound ahead of its time.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
SAT 01:00 John Mortimer Presents: The Trials of Marshall Hall (b007k2zd)
The Case of the Green Bicycle
True stories of crime and trial in a bygone age, starring Tom Baker as Britain's celebrated barrister, Sir Edward Marshall Hall.
Did Ronald Light shoot a woman cyclist dead? Sir Edward sets out to prove his innocence.
Introduced by Rumpole of the Bailey's creator John Mortimer. With Jonathan Tafler and David Alistair.
Dramatised by Michael Butt.
Director Michael Fox
A Fiction Factory production for BBC Radio 2 from 1996.
SAT 01:30 Mr Pollock's Theatres (b0076dzn)
How did toy theatres begin? With enthusiasts of all ages, Simon Callow explores the world of cardboard make-believe. From May 2003.
SAT 02:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03npbkf)
Episode 5
Why are four bookworms covered in wounds and bruises? Donna Tartt's thriller, read by William Hope.
SAT 02:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01gvwxr)
The Flag That Failed
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 15. THE FLAG THAT FAILED - The problems in uniting Scotland and England and in creating a Great Britain are encapsulated in a set of designs for a common flag.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b05s3nmt)
Elizabeth von Arnim - The Enchanted April, Episode 5
By Elizabeth von Arnim
Dramatised by Vivienne Allen
The arrival of Mr Briggs, the owner of the castle, charms everyone but Scrap. Then another visitor threatens to bring disharmony too. Can the enchantment of San Salvatore win through?
Directed by Tracey Neale.
SAT 02:45 Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History (b010nxrw)
The Way Forward
Concluding his recollections, Adam Nicolson must convince his workers to back the garden's return to a working landscape.
SAT 03:00 The Master Of Ballantrae (b00cbmp9)
Episode 2
After the brother's bitter duel - the body of James Durie has mysteriously disappeared. The House of Durrisdeer is shattered for a second time.
Brothers James and Henry Durie engage in a bitter struggle over money, power and love in this dark and dramatic adventure story set in 18th-century Scotland and America.
Conclusion of Robert Louis Stevenson's buccaneering tale dramatised in two parts by Chris Dolan.
Starring David Rintoul as James Durie, Liam Brennan as Henry Durie, John Shedden as Ephraim McKellar, Vicki Liddelle as Alison Graeme, Patrick Moy as Hasty, John Kazek as Captain Harris, Simon Tait as Carlisle, Lesley Hart as Katherine, Tom Fleming as Lord Durrisdeer, Ali de Souza as Secundra Dass, James Bryce as Colonel Johnson, Alec Heggie as Mr Mountain and Harris Young as Alexander Durie.
Producer: Bruce Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
SAT 04:00 It's Your Round (b019f6kd)
Series 2, Episode 4
Four more panellists attempt to beat each other at their own games, with host, Angus Deayton.
The rounds this episode include:
Will Smith's "Jersey Quiz", all about the weird and wonderful world of his Channel Island birthplace.
Australian actress and comedian, Celia Pacquola's "Now That's Charity!" in which panellists must all pitch a charity which they would use to acquire enough funds to eradicate their personal bêtes noires, like men in flip-flops, Jennifer Aniston films, or people who constantly check their phones.
Jason Solomon's "Tagline Tease" in which panellists have to guess the tagline to a particular film.
Andrew Maxwell's "Boarder, boarder, boarder or boarder"... in which panellists are given a slang term and they have to guess whether it's from the world of snowboarding, surfboarding, clapper-boarding or boarding school.
Producer: Sam Michell.
SAT 04:30 After Henry (b007k4gw)
Series 3, Lines of Communication
'It's been wonderfully peaceful. Or it would have been if I hadn't felt so guilty all the time.'
Sarah and her mother Eleanor wage a war of attrition, until Russell steps in.
Simon Brett's comedy about three generations of women - struggling to cope after the death of Sarah's GP husband - who never quite manage to see eye to eye.
Starring Prunella Scales as Sarah, Joan Sanderson as Eleanor, Benjamin Whitrow as Russell and Gerry Cowper as Clare.
Four radio series were made, but instead of moving to BBC TV - Thames Television produced 'After Henry' for the ITV network.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1987.
SAT 05:00 Andy & Eric Merriman - Minor Adjustment (b0b0x50b)
Lollipops and Roses
Daughter Kate launches a campaign to help a lollipop man and family life is disrupted by a well-meaning TV documentary crew.
Six-part comedy series about the Stubbs family - cartoonist Richard, therapist Sarah and their daughters - Kate, aged 16 and three-year-old Amy who has Down's Syndrome.
Written by Son and father team, Andy and Eric Merriman - inspired by Andy's own four-year-old daughter, Sarah. Eric famously wrote legendary BBC comedy series 'Beyond Our Ken'.
Starring Peter Davison as Richard, Samantha Bond as Sarah, Peter Jones as Ron Miller, Claire Russell as Kate, Sarah Merriman as Amy, Heather Jones as Emma, Stephen Critchlow as Michael and Keith Drinkel as Chris.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1996.
SAT 05:30 Stand-Up Specials (b0b0m84n)
Lucy Porter in the Family Way
In recent years, Lucy Porter has become a mum of two and a middle-aged orphan. Now she explores her relationship with the concept of family, and the lasting effects of a childhood spent in Croydon.
Lucy gives helpful tips for children, parents and grandparents alike, explaining helicopter parenting, the value of benign neglect, and the rise of the tiger mother - a mother who comes to tea, eats all the buns and drinks all of daddy's beer!
As she charts the life cycle of a typical nuclear family, Lucy addresses issues like siblings. Why do we all think "it'll be nice for them to have each other to play with" when no siblings have ever played together nicely since the dawn of time?
Lucy takes us right to the end of the parenting process - when you end up having to parent your own parents. How do you tempt your parents out of the Morrison's cafe? Why is it essential to carry a pound coin at all times? What do you do when your dad insists he's a major international songwriter?
This is a warm and witty new show recorded at Stratford Circus Arts Centre, with a lot of laughs and a dollop of poignancy.
Cast:
Lucy Porter
Luke Kempner
Written by Lucy Porter
Additional Material by Gabby Hutchinson Crouch
Studio Manager and Editor- Jerry Peal
Production Manager- Sarah Tombling
Produced by Marilyn Imrie and Gordon Kennedy
Directed by Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 Jonathan Smith - Abandoned (b07609r8)
In 1914 at the age of 74 the French sculptor, Auguste Rodin spent a few weeks in a guest house in Cheltenham with his secretary Judith and his mistress Rose. But the love of his life, Camille Claudel, was left behind in a lunatic asylum in France.
Jonathan Smith's drama stars Freddie Jones as Auguste Rodin, Carolyn Backhouse as Camille Claudel, Maureen O'Brien as Judith, Mary Wimbush as Rose, Hugh Dickson as Alain Duval and June Barrie as Mrs Parker.
Producer: Shaun McLoughlin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
SAT 07:30 Kenneth Williams - Just Williams (b0b1pz3m)
Repertory Theatre
'I don't really know how to get into the theatre...'
Demobbed from the army, Kenneth struggles to begin his theatrical career.
The UK's much-loved comic actor and master raconteur, Kenneth Williams reads his autobiography.
Abridged in ten parts by David H Godfrey.
Producer: Pamela Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1985.
SAT 07:50 Ken Dodd on Shakespeare (b0b1pz3p)
Doddy talks to Michael Billington about his comedy craft and researching his role of Malvolio in Twelfth Night at the Liverpool Playhouse in 1971.
Producers: Rosemary Hart/Miriam Rapp
Taken from 'Scan' first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1971.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b036tln3)
Crime of the Century
In the early hours of August 8th 1963, the Royal Mail train from Glasgow to London was held up in the Buckinghamshire countryside by a gang of London thieves. After assaulting the train driver, the criminals stole over two and a half million pounds, something in the region of £40 million in today's money.
The twists and turns of the case, and its main characters, ensured that the robbery stayed in the public eye for the decades that followed.
There was the discovery of an abandoned hideout, the high-profile captures, escapes from maximum security prisons, bundles of cash left in phone boxes, and extradition battles that went on for years.
Gang members Bruce Reynolds, Buster Edwards and Ronnie Biggs became celebrities.
Novelist Jake Arnott takes a deeper look at the gang behind the headlines, and considers how the legacy of this crime has become a curse for the criminals.
In his last recorded interview before his death, Bruce Reynolds describes his early life of crime and what it took to plan the audacious raid.
From his care home in North London, Ronnie Biggs spells out how he randomly got involved in the heist and kept the story running for years as a fugitive in Brazil.
Also taking part are criminologist Laurie Taylor, former head of Scotland Yard John O'Connor, Bruce's son Nick Reynolds, BBC reporter Reg Abbiss, Daily Express reporter Colin MacKenzie and former Buckinghamshire policeman John Woolley.
Producer: Colin McNulty
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 09:00 Hackers and Humphreys All (b06vc0qn)
Yes Prime Minister made its television debut on the same day that Michael Heseltine quit the cabinet. In a celebration of thirty years of one of Britain's best loved sitcoms, BBC Radio 4 Extra explores the relationship between the real world of Whitehall and this timeless satire.
In exclusive interviews, Sir Antony Jay, a former political speech writer, and Hollywood film director Jonathan Lynn, who between them wrote every word, share the secrets of Yes Prime Minister's success. Shaun Ley hears about the sources who blabbed, how New Labour ministers were influenced by Jim Hacker's serial defeats at the hands of Sir Humphrey, and visits the very heart of the British government, the Cabinet Room, to find out how true to life some of the plotlines really were.
A three-hour special programme, featuring four classic TV episodes of Yes Prime Minister.
Contributors include: Sir Anthony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, Sir Richard Mottram, Edwina Currie, Lord Bernard Donoughue, Lord Peter Hennessey, Graham McCann and Tony Blair.
Producer: Adam Bowen for BBC News - Westminster.
SAT 12:00 Andy & Eric Merriman - Minor Adjustment (b0b0x50b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:00 today]
SAT 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b00j283q)
The Jewel Robbery
The lad's getting a new car, so Sid makes the most of the opportunity.
Starring Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James. Andree Melly and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1955.
SAT 13:00 Love Henry James: The Wings of the Dove (b0b1q039)
Omnibus 1/2
Kate Croy is in love with Merton Densher; a poor writer. Her rich aunt Maud disapproves. Maud has offered Kate a wealthy existence but if Kate chooses to marry Merton she risks losing it all.
The first five episodes of Linda Marshall Griffiths' 10-part dramatisation of Henry James's passionate and heart-breaking novel about desire and money.
Henry James.....John Lynch
Kate Croy.....Aisling Loftus
Merton Densher.....Nico Mirallegro
Croy.....Anthony Ofoegbu
Maud Lowder.....Emma Cunniffe
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0b1q03c)
Debbie Wiseman
Composer Debbie Wiseman chooses 'I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing' by The New Seekers and Chopin's Nocturne in E flat.
SAT 14:15 With Great Pleasure (b0077064)
Jonathan Sacks
Dr Jonathan Sacks presents some of his favourite prose and poetry, including extracts from the Torah and the writings of Isaiah Berlin and Amos Oz, plus poems by Ogden Nasn and WH Auden.
With Alice Arnold, Michael Fenton Stevens, John Moraitis and Andrew Sachs.
Producer: Viv Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
SAT 14:45 The Fosdyke Saga (b007jrk7)
The Fly in the Ointment
'The truth is - our Victoria's run away...'. Josiah Fosdyke starts work at the tripe works.
A classic tale of struggle, power, personalities and tripe. Bill Tidy and John Junkin's family saga - based on Tidy's Daily Mirror cartoon strip (1971-1985) parodying John Galsworthy's 'The Forsyte Saga' novels.
Starring Philip Lowrie as Josiah Fosdyke, Miriam Margolyes as Victoria Fosdyke, Christian Rodska as Roger Ditchley, Stephanie Turner as Rebecca Fosdyke and Colin Douglas as Ben Ditchley,
Other parts played by Christopher Barr, Sally Grace and John Junkin.
Producer: Alan Nixon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1983.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b036tln3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Jonathan Smith - Abandoned (b07609r8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Kenneth Williams - Just Williams (b0b1pz3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 17:50 Ken Dodd on Shakespeare (b0b1pz3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:50 today]
SAT 18:00 Dermot Bolger - Hunger Again (b0b1q0kp)
The aftermath of an explosion at a British nuclear plant creates a lawless Ireland with the spectre of famine.
Against this backdrop, Helen Curtayne is searching for her young daughter Millie across a dangerous and altered country.
Stars Cathy Belton as Helen, Hannah R Gordon as Millie, Owen Roe as Thomas, Vincent Higgins as the Corporal, Susannah Doyle as Susan, Sean Campion as Stephen, Tina Kellegher as Theresa, Gerry O'Brien as Miko, John Hewitt as the Old Traveller and Sarah and Martha Gordon as the children.
Directed at BBC Belfast by Gemma McMullan.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
SAT 19:00 Hackers and Humphreys All (b06vc0qn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Old Harry's Game (b007jmb2)
Series 3, Another Country
The professor believes societies evolve and mature. Satan introduces him to Bill Clinton. Devilishly funny sitcom starring Andy Hamilton. From March 1999.
SAT 22:30 Bird Island (b042l2xt)
Series 2, Episode 1
Ben, a young scientist working in Antarctica, tries to adapt to the loneliness by keeping a cheery audio diary on his Dictaphone. This week, Ben is all consumed by a new cereal bar while Jane and Graham are completing the Penguin Census.
Written by ..... Katy Wix
Produced by ..... Tilusha Ghelani
ABOUT BIRD ISLAND:
An atmospheric comedy about a cheery scientist based in Sub-Antarctica. Starring Reece Shearsmith, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Alison Steadman and Katy Wix.
On the one hand, Ben is on the trip of a lifetime. On the other, he's trapped in a vast icy landscape with a dodgy internet connection and a dictaphone. Loneliness is something of a problem. So, Ben shares his thoughts with us in the form of an audio 'log'.
His fellow scientist Graham should alleviate this sense of isolation, but the tragi-comic fact is, they are nerdy blokes, so they stumble through yet another mumbled exchange. Not to mention the new arrival Jane, who Ben is even more awkward around, for reasons that aren't entirely clear to him.
Apart from his research studying the Albatross on the Island, Ben attempts to continue normal life with an earnestness and enthusiasm which is ultimately very endearing. We eavesdrop as he chats awkwardly with Graham or Jane, phones his mother or talks to himself, as he often does. We also hear the pings and whirrs of machinery, the Squawks and screeches of the birds and the vast expanse outside. Oh, and ice. Lots of ice.
Bird Island is written by Katy Wix, half of sketch comedy Duo 'Anna and Katy'. Katy is also an actress who stars in 'Miranda', 'Outnumbered' and 'Not Going Out'.
SAT 22:45 Tina C (b0077164)
Tina C's State of the Union Tour, Paris
Can the global activist and country singing sensation discover the secrets of French cuisine? Stars Christopher Green. From November 2006.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0b1v550)
Tom Neenan 2/3
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith talks to Tom Neenan.
SAT 23:00 Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters (b0375b3z)
Series 1, Episode 3
Master character comedian Colin Hoult presents his much anticipated debut comedy series for BBC Radio 4. Enter the Carnival of Monsters, a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters, presented by the sinister Ringmaster.
Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as: Thwor - the mighty (but Leeds-based) god of Thwunder; Len Parker - Nottingham-born martial arts and transformers enthusiast; Anna Mann - outrageous star of such forgotten silver screen hits such as 'Rogue Baker', 'Who's For Turkish Delight' and 'A Bowl For My Bottom'; and many more.
Writers Guild Award-winner Colin Hoult is best known for his highly acclaimed starring roles in 'Being Human', 'Life's Too Short', and 'Russell Howard's Good News', as well as his many hit shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also appeared and written for a number of Radio 4 series including 'The Headset Set' and 'Colin and Fergus' Digi-Radio'.
'Lewis Carol meets The League Of Gentlemen . A beautifully staged masterclass in character comedy' - Time Out
'Comic gold' - Metro
'Delightfully funny' - The Telegraph
Produced by Sam Bryant.
SAT 23:30 Think the Unthinkable (b00cttcm)
Series 2, Christmas Party
The consultants' drunken office party looks like a recipe for festive disaster. Starring Marcus Brigstocke. From December 2002.

SUNDAY 06 MAY 2018

SUN 00:00 Dermot Bolger - Hunger Again (b0b1q0kp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Love Henry James: The Wings of the Dove (b0b1q039)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0b1q03c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 With Great Pleasure (b0077064)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 The Fosdyke Saga (b007jrk7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b036tln3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Jonathan Smith - Abandoned (b07609r8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Kenneth Williams - Just Williams (b0b1pz3m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:50 Ken Dodd on Shakespeare (b0b1pz3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:50 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Elizabeth von Arnim - The Enchanted April (Omnibus) (b05ssp09)
While at their Shaftesbury Avenue club on a rainy February day, Rosie and Lottie discover they've been reading the same advertisement in The Times:
'To those who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine. Small mediaeval Italian Castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let Furnished for the month of April.'
Can they seize this opportunity and escape to the sunny Italian Riviera or is it just an impossible dream?
Originally dramatised in 5 parts by Vivienne Allen from Elizabeth von Arnim's novel.
Narrator...Jenny Funnell
Lotty ... Pippa Nixon
Rose ... Lyndsey Marshal
Mrs Fisher ... Joanna Monro
Caroline (Scrap) ... Rhiannon Neads
Mellersh ... Stephen Critchlow
Briggs ... Neet Mohan
Frederick ... Chris Pavlo
Francesca ... Jessica Turner
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
SUN 07:15 Rukhsana Ahmad - The Treatment (b0b1q2q4)
4 Extra Debut. A long-buried secret threatens to destroy Abbas and Zaitoon's hard-earned family life. Read by Heather Emmanuel. From May 1995.
SUN 07:30 The Gobetweenies (b03dvn12)
Series 3, Episode 2
Mimi is having a hard time. She's freshly divorced and scared of her eggs going stale so she's decided to freeze them. But she didn't realise she had to give herself hormone injections. What's the divorced etiquette of asking an ex-husband to inject your torso? And how come she's not the favourite parent? Could it be because she was a complete failure trying to convince the mother of Tom's best friend that skateboarding was safe?
Joe is flailing too. And very broke. When Lucy sees him posing at her life drawing class she bolts. Does he think he can do a Lena Dunham and go naked at his age? She switches her allegiance to Mimi and gives her a make-over that turns her into Ernie from Sesame Street.
Meanwhile Tom is still proud of Dad. Joe talked Jennifer into letting Freddy skateboard. But his mum makes him wear so much protective gear he and Tom look like Team Pathetic. And with his big chrome bucket of a helmet, Freddy looks like Darth Vader - but stupid. Now the pair of them get pelted with KFC cartons and cans.
Maybe Mum can help. If she can recover from the smell of the vegan dog food Jennifer has given her.
Cast:
Joe...................Mark Bonnar
Mimi..................Sarah Alexander
Tom..................Finlay Christie
Lucy..................Phoebe Abbott
Tuberose..........Charlotte Richie
Jennifer.............Emily Bruni
Freddie..............Harry Nowell
Writer: Marcella Evaristi
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 Ray's a Laugh (b07d39yl)
From 17/10/1958
Ted wants to make some home improvements, but can he manage to wangle a loan from the bank?
Starring Ted Ray. With Kitty Bluett and Kenneth Connor.
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 Bernard Botting and Charles Hart.
BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Producer: Leslie Bridgmont
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1958.
SUN 08:30 Take It From Here (b0b1q2yt)
From 08/11/1955
The Battle of Waterloo gets a feminine touch and Ethel's sweet shop takings are swiped in 'The Glums'.
Starring Professor Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley, June Whitfield, Alma Cogan and Wallace Eton.
Music from The Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra with Charles Shadwell.
Announcer: David Dunhill
Classic comedy scripted by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1955.
SUN 09:00 The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (Omnibus) (b0b1q698)
Benjamin Zephaniah reads his autobiography, beginning with his childhood growing up in Birmingham.
It was a childhood coloured with love and violence, but it was also where his love of poetry first evolved. Having spent much of his teens on the wrong side of the law and time in approved school and borstal, Benjamin realises quickly that there is more to life than this.
No longer content in Birmingham, Zephaniah moves to London, where he finds himself culturally, religiously and politically inspired. As the writer flourishes, the man, now a husband, suffers at the cruel hands of infertility.
Written and read by Benjamin Zephaniah.
Abridged by Sara Davies in five parts.
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2018.
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b04brn30)
Hal and Natasha - Double Exposure
Fi Glover introduces a conversation about the intimacy of nude photography and how it can reveal the unexpected, proving again that it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can upload your own conversations or just learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0b1q69b)
The Voice, Renee Fleming
4 Extra Debut. From Richard Strauss to Joni Mitchell. Opera singer Renee Fleming shares her castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From November 2005.
SUN 11:00 Radiolab (b0b1q69d)
Series 3, Ghost Stories
Radiolab hears from people try to pin down, and make peace with, mysterious figures that haunt them. With Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich.
Radiolab is a Peabody-award winning show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and the human experience.
First broadcast on public radio in the USA.
SUN 12:00 Ray's a Laugh (b07d39yl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Take It From Here (b0b1q2yt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Elizabeth von Arnim - The Enchanted April (Omnibus) (b05ssp09)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Rukhsana Ahmad - The Treatment (b0b1q2q4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 The Valley at the Centre of the World (b0b1q69h)
Omnibus
As Sandy wrestles with the attraction he feels towards his new neighbour, the community gathers at the Red House to welcome Jo and Ryan to the valley.
Read by Steven Robertson.
Originally abridged in 10 parts by Robin Brooks.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Malachy Tallack's debut novel is a quiet yet powerful study of contemporary rural Scotland that asks what remains when a way of life vanishes. Set on the rugged west coast of Shetland, in a community only ever a few steps away from extinction, Tallack's novel tackles big questions about land, inheritance and belonging without ever losing sight of the humanity and integrity of its characters.
Malachy Tallack is the author of two non-fiction titles which fused nature writing, history and memoir; Radio 4 Book of the Week '60 Degrees North' and 'The Un-Discovered Islands'. Malachy won a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust in 2014 and the Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship in 2015. He is a singer-songwriter, author and journalist.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.
SUN 15:45 The Lore of the Land (b069b5xl)
Episode 3
Dark and foreboding, the dense woodland that once covered so much of Great Britain has always been populated with the creatures of folklore. In the third episode of her five part series exploring the enduring relevance of the folkloric creatures of the British landscape, medieval literature scholar Dr Carolyne Larrington heads into the heart of an ancient forest in Windsor Great Park to seek them out.
Carolyne is joined on her walk by local storyteller and expert on Berkshire folktales, David England. As the pair venture deeper into the forest David tells the tale of Herne the Hunter. Herne is a mysterious figure. Once the king's head huntsman, he is gored to death by a raging stag. Brought back to life by a mysterious sorcerer, but robbed of his skill as a huntsman thanks to the dirty dealings of a horde of jealous hunters, Herne eventually hangs himself from an oak in the Windsor woods. According to local folklore, Herne still rides through Windsor Great Park with a pair of antlers upon his head, accompanied by a hunt made up of all those who wronged him.
This tradition of a 'wild hunt' has roots in earlier folkloric traditions. In the Anglo Saxon world, Woden the storm god leads a host of spectral huntsmen, and in Wales an underworld figure called Gwyn ap Nudd is said to be followed by a hunt that includes a pack of white hounds with red eyes and ears.
Carolyne argues that, while we've lost much of our medieval woodland, the forest still arouses a primeval sense of awe and terror. The woods are where we imagine the terrifying, the alluring and the uncivilised to range freely, inviting us to shed our city identities and return to a more instinctual way of being.
Producer: Max O'Brien
A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 16:00 Saturday Drama (b008yj9d)
Spellbound
Newly qualified psychiatrist, Constance Sedgwick arrives at Landry House in North Yorkshire, where another new arrival - the handsome, Dr Murchison, author of several books on psychiatry- is giving the great Dr Edwardes a welcome break.
With his special patient locked in a room, Nurse Deeling- Dr Edwardes loyal long term assistant - suspects Dr Murchison might be an imposter....
Dramatised by Amanda Dalton from the famous Hitchcock film - script by Ben Hecht and the original book - The House of Dr Edwardes by Francis Beeding.
Starring Hattie Morahan as Constance Sedgewick, Benedict Cumberbatch as John Ballantyne, Alexander Mathie as Nurse Anne Deeling, David Fleeshman as Dr Edwardes, Gerard Fletcher as Geoffrey Dodstone and Christine Cox as Ciceley Truelow.
Director: Susan Roberts
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b0b1sr9p)
Benjamin Zephaniah/Gavin Ewart
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive to select two programmes:
To mark his colleague's 60th birthday - Time for Verse with Benjamin Zephaniah - reading his poems and talking to Carol Ann Duffy (the current Poet Laureate). From 1991.
Time for Verse with Gavin Ewart - a poet who fought in the Second World War - in conversation with George MacBeth. From 1998.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
SUN 17:30 The Gobetweenies (b03dvn12)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 HG Wells (b007jwdh)
The Sea Raiders
After a suspicious-looking object is washed in by the tide, flesh-eating monsters from the deep are soon terrorising residents along the Devon coastline.
HG Wells's thrilling adventure story was first published in 1896.
Read by Robert Bathurst.
English author and political philosopher, HG Wells (1866-1946) is recognised as one of science-fiction's founding-fathers, producing more than 80 books.
George Orwell believed that 'the minds of all of us, and therefore the physical world, would be perceptibly different if Wells never existed.'
Producer: Gemma Jenkins
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in 2006.
SUN 18:30 Voices From the Grave (b007jwnf)
Middlewitch
Midsummer. A remote village in North Wales has been living under a curse since 1823. Will the arrival of a new Methodist Minister offer them salvation?
Lucy Catherine's horror stars Elizabeth Morgan as Modren, Christian Patterson as Bryhs, Jenny Livesy as Jenny, Sion Pritchard as Drew and Myfanwy Waring as Rhiannon.
Voices From The Grave is a series of four chilling and intimate dramas, inspired by existing ghost stories from around Britain. The writers make these stories more than simply scary - they are studies of humanity, love, rage and despair, of passion, longing and pain.
Lucy is an experienced writer for radio, TV and theatre.
Producer: Gemma Jenkins
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in 2007.
SUN 19:00 Radiolab (b0b1q69d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 The Life and Rhymes of Benjamin Zephaniah (Omnibus) (b0b1q698)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b04brn30)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0b1q69b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 The Gobetweenies (b03dvn12)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Brian Gulliver's Travels (b00zlfh9)
Series 1, Erosia
Brian Gulliver, a seasoned presenter of travel documentaries, finds himself in a hospital's secure unit after claiming to have had a number of bizarre adventures.
This week he travels to Erosia which has a very different view of sexual politics.
Written by Bill Dare
Produced by Steven Canny
Brian Gulliver's Travels is a new satirical adventure story from Bill Dare. The series has attracted an excellent cast led by Neil Pearson and award winning star of the RSC's current season, Mariah Gale. Cast includes fantastic actors Tamsin Greig, John Standing, Paul Bhattacharjee, Christopher Douglas, Catherine Shepherd, Vicky Pepperdine, Phil Cornwell, Antonia Campbell Hughes, Jo Bobin and Katherine Jakeways.
For years Bill Dare wanted to create a satire about different worlds exploring Kipling's idea that we travel, 'not just to explore civilizations, but to better understand our own'. But science fiction and space ships never interested him, so he put the idea on ice. Then Brian Gulliver arrived and meant that our hero could be lost in a fictional world without the need for any sci-fi.
Satirical targets over the series: the medical profession and its need to pathologize everything; the effect of marriage on children; spirituality and pseudo-science; compensation culture; sexism; the affect of our obsession with fame.
Gulliver's Travels is the only book Bill Dare read at university. His father, Peter Jones, narrated a similarly peripatetic radio series: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0b1v5xm)
Tom Neenan 3/3
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith talks to Tom Neenan.
SUN 23:00 Chat Show Roulette (b05nxpl2)
Episode 3
Justin Edwards is the host of the new improvised chat show. His guests are Charlie Higson, Mike Wozniak and Cariad Lloyd, and Matt Lucas - with musical accompaniment from James Sherwood.
Devised by Ashley Blaker and Justin Edwards.
Produced by Ashley Blaker
A John Stanley production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 23:30 Hannah Gadsby: Arts Clown (b055gcdq)
Michelangelo's David
Art historian Hannah Gadsby continues her radio series of comedy lectures about four masterpieces. This week she looks at Michelangelo's 'David', the 17ft statue he created between 1501 and 1504.
Born in Tasmania, Hannah got to know a lot about art from books. But it was only in her 20s when she visited Europe for the first time, that she saw the art she'd studied 'in the flesh', so to speak.
There in Florence she fell in love with David and in this programme she shares her affection for and knowledge of him, with all his imperfections.
Hannah is joined on stage by her very own 'Quotebot' who is inputted with every quote that's ever been written about art.
Quotebot sounds remarkably like comedy legend and all-round boffin John Lloyd.
Written by Hannah Gadsby
Performed by Hannah Gadsby with her Quotebot aka John Lloyd
Script edited by Jon Hunter
Produced by Claire Jones.
SUN 23:45 Mission Improbable (b0460kcs)
Series 2, Scotland!
It's the wedding of the year in a grand castle in Scotland. Even high profile media mogul Marcus Blackstock (Gordon Kennedy) is in attendance. But Jane Roberts (Catriona Knox) is not having a good time. This is probably because an old and, in Jane's opinion, less talented school friend has found love and wealth without having to do anything as mundane as forge herself a career.
However, Lucy (Lizzie Bates) and Amelia (Anna Emerson) are both having the time of their lives - Lucy because she's enjoying an incredible run of success with men, and Amelia because she just loves to dance. In fact she loves everything and everyone. Maybe that's because she's had her drink spiked with Scotland's most prevalent party drug Crank.
Suddenly Jane's news antenna is twitching and she pieces together a story which all points to a Crank super-lab operating out of a remote cave on the outlying island of Todday.
Written by Anna Emerson, Lizzie Bates and Catriona Knox
Audio production by Matt Katz
Produced by Dave Lamb and Richie Webb
A Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4.

MONDAY 07 MAY 2018

MON 00:00 HG Wells (b007jwdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Voices From the Grave (b007jwnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Elizabeth von Arnim - The Enchanted April (Omnibus) (b05ssp09)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Rukhsana Ahmad - The Treatment (b0b1q2q4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 The Valley at the Centre of the World (b0b1q69h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 The Lore of the Land (b069b5xl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Saturday Drama (b008yj9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b0b1sr9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 The Gobetweenies (b03dvn12)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wf8j)
Series 1, Episode 1
Since graduation, Simon has hardly blazed a trail as a plodding Health and Safety executive, so why does his old Cambridge master Gilbert need him?
Mark Tavener's comedy thriller stars Geoffrey Palmer as Gilbert, Samuel West as Simon and Rebecca Front as Patricia.
Following the death of one of its most prominent Dons, celebrity TV historian Peter Devanti - everyone at a Cambridge College gathers to attend the funeral. Simon, an ex-student and now disillusioned health and safety officer, starts wondering whether his death was not as straightforward as it at first appeared.
Script Editor: Paul Schlesinger
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2005.
MON 06:30 Calling Hereford (b00mwrh9)
Since 1978, staff at the world's largest earth satellite station in Herefordshire have watched global news unfold - immediate, uncensored and unedited. Foreign correspondent Hugh Sykes visits the site and meets the workers who have seen world history in the raw.
MON 07:00 Millport (b0076br4)
Series 3, The End of the Beginning
The island makeover has turned horribly sour and with Irene gone, the only person to save the island from being bulldozed is Bunty Pierce.
But with her ailing health and hermit ways, will she leave her vegetables to rescue the island's integrity? And will Irene change her mind about mainland life and return to the island for good?
Bittersweet comedy written by and starring Lynn Ferguson as 30-something barmaid Irene Bruce, who hankers after a better life on the mainland.
With Janet Brown as Agnes / Moira, Lewis McLeod as Alberto / Ferryman / Robert the dog / Morris, Gabriel Quigley as Ena / Bunty, Robert Paterson as the Minister /Bob and Kenneth Bryans as Dougie.
Producer: Lucy Bacon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2002.
MON 07:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b0b0ptm5)
Series 20, Episode 5
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Richard Osman, Elis James, Sindhu Vee and Alan Davies the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as buses, dancing, monkeys and statues.
Produced by Richard Turner.
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00j283n)
The Bequest
The lad is set to inherit a fortune, but only if he can find a wife!
Starring Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1955.
MON 08:30 Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0082crd)
Series 2, Episode 4
Can shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel save a struggling department store from closure?
Recreation of the Marx Brothers' lost shows charting the adventures of shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel and his assistant, Emmanuel Ravelli. Originally broadcast with sponsors on America's NBC radio network in the 1930s. The scripts were rediscovered in 1988.
Starring Michael Roberts as Groucho Marx as Waldorf T Flywheel and Frank Lazarus as Chico Marx as Emmanuel Ravelli
With Lorelei King, Graham Hoadly and Vincent Marzello.
Written by Nat Perrin and Athur Sheekman. Adapted by Mark Brisenden.
Music arranged and conducted by David Firman.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1991.
MON 09:00 Just a Minute (b00wdffp)
Series 58, Episode 5
Nicholas Parsons chairs the grandaddy of all panel games with Paul Merton, Sue Perkins, Julian Clary and Kevin Eldon as the panellists. The aim of the game is to speak on a subject without hesitation, repetition or deviation. Much, much harder than it sounds...
On today's show Julian Clary talks about Building Bridges, Paul Merton reveals all about his Relationship with the Chairman, Kevin Eldon reels off Seven Ways to Say Goodbye and Sue Perkins dazzles on the subject of Dostoyevsky.
MON 09:30 Bangers and Mash (b0075gh6)
Episode 1
Martina's not sure if she wants to be a nun anymore, so she takes work with a catering company and soon lands in a crisis of epic proportions...
Six-part comedy series by Katie Hims.
Stars Catherine Harvey as Martina, Mark Straker as Kingsley, Gerard McDermott as Jimmy, Roger May as Juan Jose and Marlene Sidaway as Mrs Olney.
Director: Cat Horn
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1999.
MON 10:00 Saturday Drama (b00hh28z)
Patrick Barlow - Joan of Arc, and How She Became a Saint
Written and directed by Patrick Barlow. Comic interpretation of the story of Joan of Arc performed by comic troupe the National Theatre of Brent.
Crowd and courtiers played by Beth Nestor, Carrie Quinlan, Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck.
MON 11:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (b0b1sth7)
The Asking Price by Sophie Hannah
Despite recent bad blood between them, Tanya goes to visit her former best friend Lynne in her new home. But what are her motives for doing so? Read by Monica Dolan.
An occasional series of stories from life's murkier places.
Taken from Sophie Hannah's 'Something Untoward: Six Tales Of Domestic Terror' (2012).
Sophie Hannah is a best-selling writer of psychological crime fiction. In 2013, her novel 'The Carrier' won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards.
Produced by Jeremy Osborne.
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
MON 11:15 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the King of Diamonds (b042m3c2)
Appointment in Zurich
The 'King of Diamonds' stays in Amsterdam, whilst Galbraith chases the 'Queen of Hearts'.
A quiet retirement still eludes veteran detective Bill Galbraith. His criminal mastermind foe, Cater, sets an intricate plan in motion.
Starring Bernard Hepton as Galbraith, Richard Davies as Tom Evans, Tom Watson as Cater, Peter Dyneley as Gelder, Eva Haddon as Anne-Marie, Francis Jeater as Betty Van Druten, Peter Hawkins as Lander, Cyril Shaps as Lindemanns and Bruce Alexander as Milne.
Robert Barr also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly, as well as being a prize-winning TV producer.
Producer: John Browell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1975.
MON 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00j283n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0082crd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wf8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Calling Hereford (b00mwrh9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03ph302)
Episode 6
Richard recovers from his illness, but makes an odd discovery about Henry. Donna Tartt's thriller, read by William Hope. From April 1995.
MON 14:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h6461)
A Time of Change, a Change of Time
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, enters the final week of his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 16 A TIME OF CHANGE, A CHANGE OF TIME - A rare domestic clock with an equally rare minute hand and quarter-hour chimes reveals the changing relationship Shakespeare's audiences had to time.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03cdzk6)
Jane Harris - Gillespie and I, Episode 1
Victorian gothic mystery by Jane Harris. In 1888, Harriet Baxter, an art-loving Englishwoman, arrives in Glasgow for the city's International Exhibition. She meets the Scottish painter, Ned Gillespie, and his wife, Annie - but tragedy is about to strike the Gillespies. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
Gillespie And I (first published in 2011) is the second novel by Jane Harris. Her acclaimed debut novel , The Observations (first pub. 2006) was also dramatised for Radio 4 as a ten-part serial by dramatist Chris Dolan and producer/director Bruce Young in 2007.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b00n46wt)
Michael Palin Diaries - The Python Years, The Holy Grail
The Monty Pyton star recalls the making of their first film, 'The Holy Grail'.
Michael Palin reads five scintillating extracts from his diaries - as the success of the influential comedy troupe Monty Python escalates during the 1970s.
Producer: Louise Armitage
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
MON 15:00 Saturday Drama (b00hh28z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Just a Minute (b00wdffp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Bangers and Mash (b0075gh6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Millport (b0076br4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b0b0ptm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b010ns71)
Night Watch, Episode 1
Living in the past is hard. Dying in the past is incredibly easy.
Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch falls through time and arrives in the city of his youth.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel dramatised in five parts by Robin Brooks.
Stars Philip Jackson as Sam Vimes, Carl Prekopp as Young Sam, Paul Ritter as Carcer, Peter Marinker as Willikins, Clare Corbett as Rosie, Sam Dale as Fred Colon, Ben Onwukwe as Dr Lawn and Matt Addis as Sergeant Knock.
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0b1swrj)
Anna Ford and Paul Morley
Sue MacGregor and her guests - former newsreader, Anna Ford and music journalist, Paul Morley - discuss books by Jean-Philippe Toussaint, W H Hudson and Elizabeth Jane Howard. From 2006.
'Television' by Jean-Philippe Toussaint (trans Jordan Stump)
Publisher: Dalkey Archive Press
'Far Away and Long Ago' by W H Hudson
Publisher: Eland Books
'Odd Girl Out' by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Publisher: Pan.
MON 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00j283n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0082crd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wf8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Calling Hereford (b00mwrh9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (b0b1sth7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the King of Diamonds (b042m3c2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b0b0ptm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (b0076nff)
The Tertiary Phase, Fit The Fourteenth
Arthur and Ford have travelled in time and arrive at Lords Cricket Ground, where England are defeating Australia to win The Ashes. It turns out our heroes have arrived 24 hours before the destruction of the planet, but this fact almost pales into insignificance with the appearance of Slartibartfast, the elderly planet designer Arthur first encountered on Magrathea (see Primary Phase).
Slarti is here to avert the disastrous abduction of The Ashes (which have some intergalactic significance we can as yet only guess at) by the villainous and lethal Krikkit Robots. This he utterly fails to do, as they arrive, blow up Lords, and leave with their booty. Slarti, Arthur and Ford give chase in the unlikely Starship Bistromath which is powered by the equally unlikely (though not improbable) Somebody Else's Problem Field.
On the swamp planet Squornshellous Zeta, Marvin the Paranoid Android is still helplessly trudging in circles, anchored to one spot by an artificial leg he was fitted with after surviving a near miss with the heart of a blazing star (again, see Primary Phase, and try and keep up for goodness' sake). It is something of a relief for him to have the leg removed by the same eleven Krikkit Robots who have stolen The Ashes. It is even more of a relief when they decide to remove him as well, leaving his talkative but very boring companion, Zem the Mattress, to ponder the infinite and globber gently.
MON 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0b1v625)
Ed Gamble 1/2
The best in contemporary comedy. Rhys James chats to Ed Gamble.
MON 23:00 News Quiz Extra (b0b1swrl)
Series 23, Episode 4
Miles Jupp is joined by Desiree Burch, Danny Finkelstein, Holly Walsh and Andy Zaltzman for a satirical review of the week's news.
This week the panel discuss Amber Rudd's resignation, the Local Elections and the Buddhist funeral of 800 defunct robot dogs.
The Chair's script was written with James Kettle, Benjamin Partridge and Danielle Ward with additional material from Laura Major and Daniel Page.
The Producer was Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios Production.
MON 23:45 Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science (b0418p87)
Series 3, Episode 4
Last in the series of the comic but factually accurate history of space exploration. This week we look at Astronomical Errors. How mistakes have shaped the history of rocket science, including how the universe is made out of ice, or possibly isn't; when you should keep quiet about the shape of the solar system; and some of the more surprising activities of unpredictable genius Isaac Newton.
Starring Helen Keen, Peter Serafinowicz and Susy Kane
Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill
Produced by Gareth Edwards.

TUESDAY 08 MAY 2018

TUE 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b010ns71)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0b1swrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wf8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Calling Hereford (b00mwrh9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03ph302)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h6461)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03cdzk6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b00n46wt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Saturday Drama (b00hh28z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00wdffp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Bangers and Mash (b0075gh6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Millport (b0076br4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 The Unbelievable Truth (b0b0ptm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wmnj)
Series 1, Episode 2
Another mysterious death makes Health and Safety executive Simon consider the relevance of cruets.
Mark Tavener's comedy thriller stars Geoffrey Palmer as Gilbert, Samuel West as Simon and Rebecca Front as Patricia.
Following the death of one of its most prominent Dons, celebrity TV historian Peter Devanti - everyone at a Cambridge College gathers to attend the funeral. Simon, an ex-student and now disillusioned health and safety officer, wonders whether his death was not as straightforward as it at first appeared.
Script Editor: Paul Schlesinger
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2005.
TUE 06:30 Rosa and Leos (b00vhg35)
In 1926, the Czech composer Leos Janacek was in Britain on a short visit. Addressing the Czechoslovak Club in London, he thanked the person who had been responsible for inviting him, discovering his music and championing him in Britain - not a conductor or a performer, but an elderly Englishwoman named Rosa Newmarch.
Although little known today, Rosa Newmarch was a pivotal figure in making concert-goers in early 20th century Britain appreciate and understand new music from Czechoslovakia, Russia and Finland. She travelled extensively abroad, hearing new works performed and later getting them played in English concert halls. She was friends with composers such as Sibelius and Elgar and she wrote copious programme notes and books on musical trends abroad.
In 1920 Rosa visited Prague for the first time and was immediately taken with the music of Leos Janacek. She eventually met the composer in person and, on her return to England, she began writing about him. She also began mounting performances of his work. In 1926, she managed to persuade Janacek to come to London. Rosa booked the Wigmore Hall and planned an ambitious programme of her friend's music. However, the visit coincided with the beginning of the General Strike. Although the concert of Janacek's work took place, there was little publicity surrounding it, as there were no newspapers being printed. Still, it was an introduction for concert-goers. Rosa had also planned excursions for Janacek which couldn't take place because of the lack of transport. But he did manage to get to London Zoo, where he took down notes of the noises that the monkeys made.
The friendship between Janacek and Rosa continued until his death two years later and was cemented when he dedicated his well-loved "Sinfonietta" to her.
In this programme, music writer and lecturer Peter Avis tells the remarkable and unknown story of Rosa Newmarch and her friendship with Leos Janacek. With contributions from Rosa's grand-daughter, musical experts and extracts from correspondence of the time, he re-evaluates the significance of Rosa's place in musical history.
Producer: Emma Kingsley.
TUE 07:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nd47b)
Series 2, Roddy
Eddie and Maureen join a book club, and why is Michael so keen to get into work?
The lives of the Stockport-based, Conroy family - in series 2 of Damian Lanigan and Jim Poyser's comedy drama.
Starring Jason Done as Michael, Andrew Knott as Jason, Beverley Callard as Maureen, John Henshaw as Eddie, Romy Baskerville as Yvonne, John Jardine as Roddy and Marsha Thomason as Helena.
Music: Big George
Producer: Neil Mossey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2000.
TUE 07:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b0pwgn)
Series 3, The University of Milton
Trigger warning! This week Milton gets to the bottom of things by founding a seat of learning.
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is "Help!". Because each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. Because, when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.
"Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian.
"King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times
"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily Mail
Written by Milton with James Cary (Bluestone 42, Miranda) and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show House Of Rooms), the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton" returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.
The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill ( Spamalot, Mr. Selfridge) as the ever-faithful Anton, Josie Lawrence and Dan Tetsell (Newsjack)
With music by Guy Jackson
Produced and directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 08:00 As Time Goes By (b007k7dc)
Series 2, Episode 2
Will Lionel and Jean's trip to Paris go as planned? Adapted from TV with Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. From January 1998.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0175m69)
This VAT and the Other
The bungling bureaucrats are helping to collect VAT - how taxing can that be?
Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler.
With Norma Ronald, Ronald Baddiley and John Graham.
Written by Edward Taylor and John Graham.
'The Men from the Ministry' ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977. Deryck Guyler replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966. Sadly many episodes didn't survive in the archive, however the BBC's Transcription Service re-recorded 14 shows in 1980 - never broadcast in the UK, until the arrival of BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in June 1975.
TUE 09:00 News Quiz Extra (b0b1swrl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science (b0418p87)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 Classic Serial (b00m5sr5)
Thomas Hardy - Two on a Tower, Episode 1
Dramatisation by Jon Sen of Thomas Hardy's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers in the West Country.
When Lady Viviette Constantine discovers the handsome young astronomer Swithin St Cleeve on the lonely tower on her estate, a story of passion and sacrifice begins.
Lady Constantine ...... Maggie O'Neill
Swithin St Cleeve ...... Blake Ritson
Parson Torkingham ...... Conrad Nelson
Tabitha Lark ...... Amy Humphreys
Fellows ...... Stephen Tomlin
Granny Martin ...... Pauline Jefferson
Louis ...... Richard Heap
Joshua ...... Carter Dowland
Directed by Stefan Escreet.
TUE 11:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (b0b1t0cr)
Something Untoward by Sophie Hannah
A woman's simple tube journey is thrown into confusion when her mother appears on the train. Read by Bryony Hannah.
An occasional series of stories from life's murkier places.
Taken from Sophie Hannah's 'Something Untoward: Six Tales Of Domestic Terror' (2012).
Sophie Hannah is a best-selling writer of psychological crime fiction. In 2013, her novel 'The Carrier' won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards.
Produced by Jeremy Osborne.
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
TUE 11:15 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the King of Diamonds (b042m84m)
The Last Move
All the cards are played, and the spotlight falls on the Joker.
Bill Galbraith is powerless to stop Cater's long game. But a new arrival changes the game.
Starring Bernard Hepton as Galbraith, Richard Davies as Tom Evans, Tom Watson as Cater, Peter Dyneley as Gelder, Eva Haddon as Anne-Marie, Francis Jeater as Betty Van Druten, Peter Hawkins as Lander, Cyril Shaps as Lindemanns, Bruce Alexander as Milne, Mary Galbraith as Katharine Page and Robert Gillespie as the Gunman.
Producer: John Browell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1975.
TUE 12:00 As Time Goes By (b007k7dc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0175m69)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wmnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Rosa and Leos (b00vhg35)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03ph7cq)
Episode 7
Richard finally learns what Henry and the others were fleeing - a ritual gone wrong. William Hope reads Donna Tartt thriller. From April 1995.
TUE 14:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h666y)
Plague and the Playhouse
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 17. PLAGUE & THE PLAYHOUSE - May 1603 saw not only a new king but the worst plague outbreak since the Black Death. Its impact and reach is told through a series of early seventeenth century proclamations.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03cmt4q)
Jane Harris - Gillespie and I, Episode 2
Victorian gothic mystery by Jane Harris. Ned enters a competition to paint the Queen's portrait. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b00n4907)
Michael Palin Diaries - The Python Years, Branching Out
The actor and travel writer recalls the Monty Python team's success in America, their break-up and the start of his solo projects. From October 2006.
TUE 15:00 Classic Serial (b00m5sr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 It's Not What You Know (b0639w41)
Series 3, Episode 5
Which particular football match is Elis James obsessed with? What's Penny Smith's worst habit? What was the worst thing Russell Grant did as a child?
All these burning questions, and more, will be answered in the show hosted by Miles Jupp, where panellists are tested on how well they know their nearest and dearest.
In this case, comedian Elis James picks his radio show co-host, presenter Penny Smith picks her brother-in-law and astrologer Russell Grant picks his mum.
Producer: Matt Stronge.
TUE 16:30 The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere (b007jskt)
Series 2, 26 September 1799
Dorothy is perturbed by de Quinine's enthusiasm. Stinking Iris is in an interesting condition. There is a reconciliation. And Sir Walter Spott is expected...
An everyday story of towering genius in Sue Limb's six part soap opera, set in and around the Lake District at the turn of the 18th century.
Stars Geoffrey Whitehead as William Wordsmith, Denise Coffey as Dorothy Wordsmith, Simon Callow as Samuel Tailor Cholericke, Nickolas Grace as Thomas de Quinine, Miriam Margolyes as Stinking Iris, Chris Emmett as the Leechpedla and Bill Paterson as Sir Walter Spott.
Music by Stephen Oliver and performed by Cantabile.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1987.
TUE 17:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nd47b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b0pwgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b010nyk4)
Night Watch, Episode 2
Chasing a villain called Carcer, Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch has been thrown back in time. The Old Watch are a lack-lustre bunch and they've taken him prisoner.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Stars Philip Jackson as Sam Vimes, Carl Prekopp as Young Sam, Paul Ritter as Carcer, Peter Marinker as Tilden, Clare Corbett as Rosie, Sam Dale as Colon, Ben Onwukwe as Dr Lawn and Matt Addis as Knock.
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
TUE 18:30 The Palace of Laughter (b007tbvx)
Series 1, Glasgow Pavilion Theatre
Geoffrey Wheeler's affectionate look at one of Scotland's last variety venues, which legend claims is haunted. From March 2002.
TUE 19:00 As Time Goes By (b007k7dc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b0175m69)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wmnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Rosa and Leos (b00vhg35)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (b0b1t0cr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the King of Diamonds (b042m84m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b0pwgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b03gg7n7)
Series 1, Problems with a Package
Tom's parents are in Tenerife but that doesn't stop Tom making his weekly call. Tom lives to regret persuading them to explore more than just the hotel whilst they're on holiday.
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-ups gets underneath the skin of Tom and the Wrigglesworth family, so sit back and enjoy a bit of totally legal phone hacking.
Classic Wrigglesworth rants combined with a fascinating and hilarious glimpse into his family background and the influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and hang-ups.
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang Ups is a 30 minute phone call from Tom ringing his parents for his weekly check-in. As the conversation unfolds, Tom takes time out from the phone call to explain the situation, his parent's reactions and relate various anecdotes from the past which illustrate his family's views. And sometimes he just needs to sound-off about the maddening world around him and bemoan everyday annoyances.
During all this Hang Ups explores class, living away from 'home', trans-generational phenomena, what we inherit from our families and how the past repeats in the present. All in a 30 minute phone call.
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle
Additional Material by Miles Jupp
Producer: Katie Tyrrell.
TUE 23:00 Lewis Macleod Is Not Himself (b04grrpq)
Episode 1
A brand new impression and sketch show that looks behind the scenes at the life and work of star impressionist Lewis Macleod (Newsjack, Postman Pat, The Phantom Menace, Dead Ringers) with Kate O'Sullivan, Duncan Wisbey and Julian Dutton.
Producer: Lyndsay Fenner.
TUE 23:30 52 First Impressions with David Quantick (b04l3ghh)
Series 1, Episode 1
Journalist and comedy writer David Quantick has met and interviewed hundreds of people. What were his first impressions, how have they changed and does it all matter?
In this first programme (of four), there are stories about Björk, Michael Caine and Freddie Mercury, among others.
Produced by Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.

WEDNESDAY 09 MAY 2018

WED 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b010nyk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 The Palace of Laughter (b007tbvx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wmnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Rosa and Leos (b00vhg35)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03ph7cq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h666y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03cmt4q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b00n4907)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Classic Serial (b00m5sr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 It's Not What You Know (b0639w41)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere (b007jskt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nd47b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b0pwgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wzvk)
Series 1, Episode 3
As dead don Peter Devanti's sordid side is made public, Simon struggles with his day job.
Mark Tavener's comedy thriller stars Geoffrey Palmer as Gilbert, Samuel West as Simon and Rebecca Front as Patricia.
Following the death of one of its most prominent Dons, celebrity TV historian Peter Devanti. Simon, an ex-student and disillusioned health and safety officer uncovers more skullduggery.
Script Editor: Paul Schlesinger
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2005.
WED 06:30 Conversation Piece - Dame Freya Stark (b0b1tl8q)
Still travelling the world at the age of 88, travel writer and explorer Dame Freya Stark talks to Sue MacGregor.
Fearless traveller extraordinaire Dame Freya Stark (1893-1993) travelled widely - particularly across the Middle East - a multi-linguist who wrote many books.
Produced at BBC Manchester by Gillian Hush
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1981.
WED 07:00 The Leopard in Autumn (b00rvzkq)
Series 2, Considering the Lillies of the Field
Prince Ludovico of Monte Guano - besieged ruler of the pettiest state in Italy - battles to raise enough money from his meagre subjects to pay for the new Pope's tribute.
Second series of the comedy drama set in Renaissance Italy devised by Neal Anthony.
Written by Roger Danes.
Stars David Swift as Ludovico, Sian Phillips as Plethora, Graham Crowden as Francesco, Saskia Wickham as Rosalie, Nick Romero as Salvatori, Paul Bigley as Alessandro, Christopher Kelham as Guido and Kim Wall as Vitelozzo.
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2002.
WED 07:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b0v5hh)
Series 1, How It All Began
Malawian Comedian Daliso Chaponda looks at the relationship between the UK and Africa.
The UK and Africa have had a long a complicated past. This series looks at the history of this relationship and Daliso is our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places.
A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not...
In this first episode Daliso looks at the origins of the relationship and asks how the UK and Africa first met.
Written and performed by Daliso Chaponda
The Other Guy... James Quinn
Theme music by Lawi
Production Coordinator... Beverly Tagg
Producer... Carl Cooper
This is a BBC Studios Production.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b007ys7l)
Povey's Unexpected Leave
It's a case of better the devil you know, when a temporary new Captain arrives on board HMS Troutbridge.
Stars Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Ronnie Barker as Able Seaman Johnson, Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Mrs Povey, Michael Bates as the Laundry Manager and Tenniel Evans as the Clerk.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1961.
WED 08:30 Round the Horne (b00jnnpm)
Series 2, Episode 3
Master Spy Kenneth Horne is on the trail of an escaped war criminal in Tel Aviv, and whips his shirt off for Julian and Sandy to get a Bona Tattoo.
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 March 1966.
WED 09:00 The Write Stuff (b04nqv72)
Series 17, Virginia Woolf
Radio 4's literary panel show, hosted by James Walton. Recorded at the Hay Festival with team captains Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh and guests Russell Davies and Sue Limb.
This week's author is Virginia Woolf.
Produced by Alexandra Smith.
WED 09:30 The 27-Year Itch (b0b1txr3)
All Play and No Work Makes Jill an Unemployment Statistic
Dorothy wants to get out of the house and get a job, but what about cooking Edward's dinner?
Dorothy and Edward Atkinson are Sidcup's premier warring couple with a marriage to challenge even the most determined of counsellors.
Barry Pilton's marital mayhem sitcom stars Hugh Paddick as Edward and Betty Marsden as Dorothy.
With Alison Steadman and Bill Wallis.
After notching up multiple BBC radio series together of 'Beyond Our Ken' and 'Round The Horne' - most memorably as ageing juvenile Binkie Huckaback and Dame Celia Molestrangler - Hugh and Betty were reunited on-air, almost a decade later in 'The 27 Year Itch'.
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1978.
WED 10:00 Classic Serial (b00m8pvn)
Thomas Hardy - Two on a Tower, Episode 2
Dramatisation by Jon Sen of Thomas Hardy's tragic tale of star-crossed lovers in the West Country.
Viviette and Swithin have married in secret, but chance and convention conspire against them and painful sacrifices have to be made.
Lady Constantine ...... Maggie O'Neill
Swithin St Cleeve ...... Blake Ritson
Parson Torkingham ...... Conrad Nelson
Tabitha Lark ...... Amy Humphreys
Fellows ...... Stephen Tomlin
Louis ...... Richard Heap
Bishop Helmsdale ...... Russell Dixon
Joshua ...... Carter Thomas
Directed by Stefan Escreet.
WED 11:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (b0b1txr5)
The Safety Net by Sophie Hannah
A woman's attempt to frame her ex-boyfriend goes badly wrong. Read by Monica Dolan.
An occasional series of stories from life's murkier places.
Taken from Sophie Hannah's 'Something Untoward: Six Tales Of Domestic Terror' (2012).
Sophie Hannah is a best-selling writer of psychological crime fiction. In 2013, her novel 'The Carrier' won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards.
Produced by Jeremy Osborne.
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
WED 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01sdr1p)
Becky Prestwich - Chopping Onions
Chopping Onions
by Becky Prestwich
Grandmother Esther has suffered a stroke . Esther's daughter, Ruth, has insisted she come to stay while she recovers. To welcome Esther, daughter Ruth is attempting to make chicken soup and grand-daughter Vanessa is going to make a desert.. But as the three generations of Jewish women come together in the kitchen, they stir up much more than the soup. A poignant and comic new drama about motherhood.
Produced and Directed by Pauline Harris.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b007ys7l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Round the Horne (b00jnnpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wzvk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Conversation Piece - Dame Freya Stark (b0b1tl8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03phdnz)
Episode 8
After the horrific revelation from Henry, Richard learns more about Bunny's growing significance. Donna Tartt thriller read by William Hope. From April 1995.
WED 14:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h73pq)
London Becomes Rome
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 18. LONDON BECOMES ROME - A set of designs for the Coronation Procession of James I reveals the extent of classical knowledge amongst Shakespeare's audience.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03cn871)
Jane Harris - Gillespie and I, Episode 3
Victorian gothic mystery by Jane Harris set during the International Exhibition in Glasgow in 1888. Annie begins work on Harriet's portrait, but young Sybil is acting strangely. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b00n4ffh)
Michael Palin Diaries - The Python Years, My Father
The comic actor and travel writer shares more poignant memories from the 70s, reflecting on his relationship with his ailing father. From October 2006.
WED 15:00 Classic Serial (b00m8pvn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 The Write Stuff (b04nqv72)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The 27-Year Itch (b0b1txr3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 The Leopard in Autumn (b00rvzkq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b0v5hh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b010tzfb)
Night Watch, Episode 3
Thrown back in time, Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch is training his young self in the art of policing - then runs into his old enemy, Carcer.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Stars Philip Jackson as Sam Vimes, Carl Prekopp as Young Sam, Paul Ritter as Carcer, Clare Corbett as Rosie, Sam Dale as Colon, Ben Onwukwe as Dr Lawn, Peter Marinker as Tilden and Rachel Atkins as Lady Meserole.
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
WED 18:30 The Tingle Factor (b07gbsn8)
David Puttnam
Film producer and educator David Puttnam talks to Robin Ray about the sounds which stirs his emotions.
Recalling his upbringing and looking back over his career, David's selection includes speeches by Robert de Niro and Teddy Kennedy.
Producer: Andrew Mussett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b007ys7l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Round the Horne (b00jnnpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wzvk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Conversation Piece - Dame Freya Stark (b0b1tl8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (b0b1txr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01sdr1p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b0v5hh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 2525 (b03ph1bv)
Episode 4
In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive... then it may sound something like this. Set 511 years in the future, 2525 invites you to hear more snippets of our future from talking toilets to the church devoted to the worship of The Beatles.
Written by Colin Birch, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, Jane Lamacraft, Alex Lowe, Paul Putner, Tim Perry, John Luke Roberts and Eddie Robson
Produced by Ashley Blaker
A John Stanley production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0b1v648)
Ed Gamble 2/2
The best in contemporary comedy. Rhys James chats to Ed Gamble.
WED 23:00 Clayton Grange (b046kyc7)
Series 2, Episode 2
by Neil Warhurst, with additional material by Paul Barnhill
Anthony Head leads the team thinking the unthinkable in a top-secret institute. This is Clayton Grange, where brilliantly stupid scientists are as rubbish at life as they are at science.
This week Professor Saunders hopes to persuade his elderly aunt to leave her fortune to science. Meanwhile, his team develop a gun powered simply by thought, but no one succeeds in thinking very well.
Produced & directed by Marion Nancarrow.
WED 23:30 Delve Special (b00sz32f)
Series 1, The Shifton Scandal (Part 1)
Stephen Fry plays spoof undercover investigative reporter David Lander, who begins a four-part expose into irregularities over plans to site a new London airport near Birmingham. With serious allegations aimed at a multi-national giant - what exactly has the government's role been in the plans to demolish the town? And exactly who is the shifty Mr Browncoat?
Co-starring Brenda Blethyn, Jack Klaff, Stephen Frost and Tony Robinson.
Delve Special ran for four series from 1984 to 1987 and later transferred to TV as: This is David Lander.
Written by Tony Sarchet. Producer Paul Mayhew-Archer.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1984.

THURSDAY 10 MAY 2018

THU 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b010tzfb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 The Tingle Factor (b07gbsn8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008wzvk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Conversation Piece - Dame Freya Stark (b0b1tl8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03phdnz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h73pq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03cn871)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b00n4ffh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Classic Serial (b00m8pvn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Write Stuff (b04nqv72)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The 27-Year Itch (b0b1txr3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Leopard in Autumn (b00rvzkq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b0v5hh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008x3lv)
Series 1, Episode 4
Simon has to investigate the college chapel, while also trying to identify Peter Devanti's murderer. But is Zoe the next target?
Mark Tavener's comedy thriller stars Geoffrey Palmer as Gilbert, Samuel West as Simon and Rebecca Front as Patricia.
Following the death of one of its most prominent Dons, celebrity TV historian Peter Devanti. Simon, an ex-student and disillusioned health and safety officer uncovers more skullduggery.
Script Editor: Paul Schlesinger
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2005.
THU 06:30 The Parrot Sketch (b00xmh61)
Tony Hawks hears from some talkative parrots and the people who choose to live with them (if they can get a word in). From November 2003.
THU 07:00 Hopes and Desires (b0b1v7b4)
Series 1, The Anniversary Waltz
Max and Shirley bicker all day long in their north London deli. Max believes the customers love their bantering but Shirley's had enough.
There must be more to life than this?
Jeremy Front's comedy drama stars Prunella Scales as Shirley, Roger Allam as Max, Rebecca Front as Roszinka, Rosie Fellner as Young Shirley, Liza Sadovy as Marcy and Bruce Purchase as the Toastmaster.
Director: Peter Kavanagh
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
THU 07:30 Alone (b0b0xbrt)
Series 1, Not Listening but Hearing
A sitcom, written by Moray Hunter and starring Angus Deayton, about five single, middle aged neighbours living in flats in a converted house in North London.
Mitch (Angus Deayton) is a widower and part-time therapist who is looking to put his life back together now that he is single and living - supposedly temporarily - with Will (Pearce Quigley), his younger, more volatile and unhappily divorced half-brother.
Elsewhere in the building are schoolteacher Ellie (Abigail Cruttenden) who is shy, nervous and desperately missing her ex-boyfriend, as well as overly honest, frustrated actress Louisa (Kate Isitt), and socially inept IT nerd Morris (Bennett Arron).
In Not Listening But Hearing, Will and Mitch's sleep is disturbed by some frankly outrageous noises coming from upstairs, which leads to an extremely awkward conversation with Louisa, who is in a new relationship. Ellie has had her Miro print re-framed - she likes the new frame but is now worried it's not exactly the same print. And Morris is on jury duty which, to him, is basically a great chance to meet single women.
It's a busy week all round.
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 08:00 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k02m)
Dick Turpin
The veteran of many parts recounts a disastrous TV adaptation where he experienced robbery of a different kind. Stars Peter Jones. From June 1986.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b0b1v7dm)
The Red Fort
Neddie Seagoon earns his stripes in a lesser-known skirmish of the Indian rebellion of 1857.
Starring Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe.
This programme was one of several locked in a BBC cupboard marked "not for rebroadcast", as the subject matter has somewhat dated since 1957. Repeated as an 'historical curiosity' to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Spike Milligan.
Beginning in May 1951 as 'Crazy People', The Goon Show ran for 10 series stretching the boundaries of radio comedy in new and influential directions concluding in January 1960.
Scripted by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Roy Speers
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in November 1957.
THU 09:00 Listomania (b0b1xqns)
Series 1, Episode 6
Susan Calman hosts the series exploring the world of the list - from the magnificent to the mundane - from the humble 'to do' list to the bucket list and many more...
With Sara Cox, Elis James, Isy Suttie and Gary Delaney.
Written by James Kettle and Juliet Meyers with Max Davis
Producer: Jane Berthoud and Adnan Ahmed.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 2015.
THU 09:30 Alison and Maud (b007k1w7)
Series 1, Fishing for Compliments
Is there something fishy about Bernard, apart from his VAT returns?
First of two series of Sue Limb's Bed and Breakfast sitcom about sisters Alison and Maud and their guests at the Abbeyfield Guest House in Norwich.
Starring Denise Coffey as Alison, Miriam Margolyes as Maud, Joss Ackland as Father, Chris Emmett as Mr Mullett, Geoffrey Whitehead as Bernard and Phyllida Nash as Marina.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2002.
THU 10:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vhg)
Episode 1
'Faith is like love; it does not let itself be forced.'
A uniquely frank memoir of a Victorian childhood. Edmund Gosse was raised in the strictly non-conformist Plymouth Brethren.
Tender, comic and lyrical, this is his account of the spiritual struggle between a lonely boy and his charismatic father.
Dramatised in two parts by Nick Warburton.
Starring Derek Jacobi as Edmund Gosse, Roger Allam as Phlip Henry Gosse, Steven Williams as Young Edmund, Kate Buffery as Emily Gosse, Colleen Prendergast as Miss Marks, Sophie Roberts as Mary Grace, Ann Beach as Miss Flaw, Ayesha Antoine as Kate and Geoff Felix as Mr Punch.
Other parts played by Gerard McDermott, Delroy Brown, Nick Sayce and members of the cast.
Producer: Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
THU 11:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (b0b1xqnv)
The Birthday Treat by Sophie Hannah
Morag plans a 60th birthday present for her mother with a difference. Read by Bryony Hannah.
An occasional series of stories from life's murkier places.
Taken from Sophie Hannah's 'Something Untoward: Six Tales Of Domestic Terror' (2012).
Sophie Hannah is a best-selling writer of psychological crime fiction. In 2013, her novel 'The Carrier' won the Crime Thriller of the Year Award at the Specsavers National Book Awards.
Produced by Jeremy Osborne.
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
THU 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01sdw24)
Jaden Clark - I O U
A bailiff, who's lost everything in his personal life goes to collect on a female shoplifter and loses the one thing he didn't know he still had in his possession. His heart. But in gaining his heart, is he also prepared to lose his liberty?
Director/ Producer Gary Brown
Jaden Clark is an experienced TV writer; her credits include EastEnders, Waterloo Road and Moving On. This is her first play for radio.
THU 12:00 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k02m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b0b1v7dm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008x3lv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 The Parrot Sketch (b00xmh61)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03pj28f)
Episode 9
Richard becomes more and more involved in Henry's plans to deal with Bunny. Donna Tartt thriller read by William Hope. From April 1995.
THU 14:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h75y2)
The Theatres of Cruelty
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, continues his object-based history. Taking artefacts from William Shakespeare's time, he explores how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asks what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. He uses carefully selected objects to explore the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and he considers what they can reveal about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
Programme 19. THE THEATRES OF CRUELTY - A human eyeball in a silver setting provides a striking insight to the theatre of cruelty in Elizabethan and Jacobean Britain.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03ct4nb)
Jane Harris - Gillespie and I, Episode 4
Victorian gothic mystery by Jane Harris set in Glasgow during the International Exhibition of 1888. At the home of the artist, Ned Gillespie, a New Year party goes horribly wrong - and young Sybil gets the blame. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b00n51g1)
Michael Palin Diaries - The Python Years, Saturday Night Live
The comic actor shares his surreal experience of guest hosting a big American TV show and going to a party at New York's Studio 54. From October 2006.
THU 15:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vhg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Listomania (b0b1xqns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Alison and Maud (b007k1w7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Hopes and Desires (b0b1v7b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Alone (b0b0xbrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b010v3d7)
Night Watch, Episode 4
Thrown back in time, Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch relives the glorious revolution of his youth. But he must also protect his younger self from arch-enemy Carcer.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Stars Philip Jackson as Sam Vimes, Carl Prekopp as Young Sam, Paul Ritter as Carcer, Clare Corbett as Rosie, Sam Dale as Colon, Ben Onwukwe as Dr Lawn, Joseph Kloska as Reg Shoe and Peter Marinker as Major Clive.
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b00xpp68)
Series 23, Mary Stott
The writer Katharine Whitehorn chooses Mary Stott, the great campaigning journalist and the first editor of the Guardian women's page. She's the journalist who more than anyone started the revolution in women's journalism since the 1950s. She gave ordinary women a voice, and a place to get together and share ideas. Liz Forgan, who was to edit the women's page later, shares her memories of working with Mary, and Matthew Parris presents.
Producer Beth O'Dea.
THU 19:00 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k02m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b0b1v7dm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008x3lv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 The Parrot Sketch (b00xmh61)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (b0b1xqnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01sdw24)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Alone (b0b0xbrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Ross Noble Goes Global (b01cjg35)
Series 2, Adelaide
Weirdness awaits the comedian in the Australian city, with men in leotards and locals with something to hide. From May 2003.
THU 23:00 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b0101g5j)
Series 3, Episode 1
Arthur Smith presents music and comedy from his home in Balham, South London. There's music in the kitchen, comedy in the front room and poetry on the landing. This week, finding a decent sized performance space amongst the accumulated debris that is Arthur's life are Katie Melua, Roisin Conaty, Alun Cochrane and Nick Helm
Producer; Alison Vernon-Smith.
THU 23:30 The Odd Half Hour (b00w1zxc)
Series 2, Episode 2
Comedy sketch show starring Kevin Bishop, Stephen K Amos, Doon Mackichan, Justin Edwards & Jessica Ransom. Answering the questions you probably never asked, this week's episode explains why Bagpuss is a bad influence for children, how a seance can go badly wrong and why the vikings never used consumer focus groups.
Produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer.

FRIDAY 11 MAY 2018

FRI 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b010v3d7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b00xpp68)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008x3lv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 The Parrot Sketch (b00xmh61)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03pj28f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h75y2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03ct4nb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b00n51g1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vhg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Listomania (b0b1xqns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Alison and Maud (b007k1w7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Hopes and Desires (b0b1v7b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Alone (b0b0xbrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008x7tk)
Series 1, Episode 5
After the attempted poisoning of Zoe, Simon steps up the search for the killer.
Mark Tavener's comedy thriller stars Geoffrey Palmer as Gilbert, Samuel West as Simon and Rebecca Front as Patricia.
Following the death of one of its most prominent Dons, celebrity TV historian Peter Devanti. Simon, an ex-student and disillusioned health and safety officer uncovers more skullduggery.
Script Editor: Paul Schlesinger
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2005.
FRI 06:30 Famed for Its Knitting (b01bmlt8)
The life and changing times of Woman's Weekly - "the number-one-selling brand within the mature woman's weekly magazine sector" - as it celebrates its centenary in a period of unprecedented economic turmoil in the publishing industry.In a previous journalistic life, Clare Jenkins was for a while "The Man Who Sees" on Woman's Weekly.The magazine was an anachronism 25 years ago - very old school, very pink, catchlined "Famed for its Knitting" .
"The Man Who Sees" was the resident 'male voice' philosopher .For six months, Clare stood in for the woman (sic) who usually wrote it. At another point, she was the astrologer (when the resident astrologer had a heart attack). For the rest of the time, she was a sub-editor and celebrity interviewer, the celebs being people like Hollywood film stars Joan Fontaine and Gloria Graham, Jenny Agutter and Nicholas Parsons. There was a knitting department, where they made balaclavas and sleeveless jumpers for models like Roger Moore and Sandra Howard .
It was decidedly mono-cultural, too - an edict from on high forbade the use of non-white faces. That same edict forbade any mention of sex in its pages, so the fictional heroines - created by old-style romantic novelists like Netta Muskett and Mary Burchell (a wartime heroine herself, helping Jews to escape from the Nazis) - were virginal and letters mentioning sexual difficulties had to be rewritten before appearing on the problem page.
It still sells 330,000 a week and has achieved a different kind of status after being immortalised in a Victoria Wood song ..."beat me on the bottom with the Woman's Weekly". As it celebrates its centenary ,Clare takes an affectionate but sharp-edged look at everybody's granny's favourite cup-of-tea read. How has it managed to survive?
FRI 07:00 Andy & Eric Merriman - Minor Adjustment (b0b1xt8g)
A Change of Art
Sarah's mother Bea arrives with a horse-box full of expressionist art and three moulting cats.
Six-part comedy series about the Stubbs family - cartoonist Richard, therapist Sarah and their daughters - Kate, aged 16 and three-year-old Amy who has Down's Syndrome.
Written by Son and father team, Andy and Eric Merriman - inspired by Andy's own four-year-old daughter, Sarah. Eric famously wrote legendary BBC comedy series 'Beyond Our Ken'.
Starring Peter Davison as Richard, Samantha Bond as Sarah, Claire Russell as Kate, Sarah Merriman as Amy, Phyllida Law as Bea, Jonathan Adams as Felix Patterson, Simon Fielder as Paul, Zulema Dene as Meg, Colleen Prendergast as the Autograph Hunter and Alice Arnold as the Art Collector.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1996.
FRI 07:30 Stand-Up Specials (b0b1pwqw)
Bilal Zafar's British Muslim Love
A one off stand up show that follows 25-year-old British Muslim comedian Bilal Zafar in his quest to find love.
Bilal is the last of his siblings to be single. His Mum has told him he should really think about marriage and he realises he has no idea how to approach this. Luckily, the world of Muslim dating is vast and Bilal has plenty of fascinating and often very funny options available in his quest for marriage.
Bilal Zafar is the winner of the Hackney New Act of the Year 2016, an Edinburgh Best Newcomer 2016 nominee and Chortle Best Newcomer 2017 nominee.
Written and Performed by Bilal Zafar
Additional Material from Glenn Moore
Produced by Daisy Knight
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00zvcmn)
Series 6, Episode 13
J Arthur Bile recalls the golden age of the silver-screen with the spotlight on cinema.
Starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue 'Cambridge Circus', ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Music and songs by Liam Cohen and Bill Oddie.
Producer: David Hatch/Peter Titheradge
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in July 1968.
FRI 08:30 Brothers in Law (b007js3q)
Series 2, 1471
Both of barrister Roger Thursby's girlfriends, Sally and Joy attempt to get him some work.
Starring Richard Briers as Roger Thursby, John Glyn-Jones as Grimes, Julia Lockwood as Sally, Bridget Armstrong as Joy, Blake Butler as Alec and James Hayter as Tewksbury.
Other parts played by Garard Green and John Ruddock.
Written by Henry Cecil and Basil Dawson.
Published in 1955, Henry Cecil's comic legal novel Brothers in Law was adapted first for TV in 1962 by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. It provided the first regular starring role for Richard Briers, who later reprised his role of the idealistic young lawyer Roger Thursby for BBC Radio between 1970 and 1972.
Producer: David Hatch.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1971.
FRI 09:00 It's Your Round (b019rgtc)
Series 2, Episode 5
Angus Deayton hosts the show which is totally different every time, as it's the panellists themselves that devise the format. Each of the contestants has brought their own round for the other panellists to play. But will they be beaten at their own games?
The rounds featured this episode are:
Lucy Porter's "Who's the Daddy?" in which the other three, childless, male panellists must complete the quote from a 70's parenting bible.
Tom Wrigglesworth's "Dodo's Den" in which each contestant must pitch their idea for a new invention that they think will make them their millions. Examples include the "Herring Aid" and the intriguingly titled "Bam".
Robert Popper's brilliant parlour game, "ORAG" aka "The Opposite Rhyming Animal Game", which is pretty much, er, self-explanatory...
And Lloyd Langford devises a quiz based on Welsh talisman and eccentric, Dr William Price, in his round "The Price Is Right".
Producer: Sam Michell.
FRI 09:30 After Henry (b007jq4g)
Series 3, Intellectual Aspirations
'... but he did look at you twice. So clearly you have something that appeals to him other than your ability to discuss Schopenhauer's Weltanschauung.'
Clare's seeing graduate Julian, but his brainy parents make her feel inadequate.
Simon Brett's comedy about three generations of women - struggling to cope after the death of Sarah's GP husband - who never quite manage to see eye to eye.
Starring Prunella Scales as Sarah, Joan Sanderson as Eleanor, Benjamin Whitrow as Russell, Gerry Cowper as Clare and Jasper Jacob as Julian.
Four radio series were made, but instead of moving to BBC TV - Thames Television produced 'After Henry' for the ITV network.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1987.
FRI 10:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vm0)
Episode 2
Baptised at the age of ten, lonely Edmund is torn between his father and a terrible secret. Stars Derek Jacobi and Roger Allam. From November 2005.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b0b1y7t3)
Angela Barnes: 'DumTeeDum' and 'The West Wing Weekly'
Sarah Wade is joined by Angela Barnes to recommend some favourite podcasts. The theme this week is Fan Club podcasts featuring 'DumTeeDum' and a chat with Lucy Freeman and 'The West Wing Weekly' podcast, based around the popular television series which ended in 2006.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00zvcmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Brothers in Law (b007js3q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008x7tk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Famed for Its Knitting (b01bmlt8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03pm1hw)
Episode 10
The murder has finally been committed. However, a phone call complicates things. Donna Tartt thriller read by William Hope. From April 1995.
FRI 14:15 Shakespeare's Restless World (b01h7cdr)
Shakespeare Goes Global
Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum, brings to an end his object-based history. During the past four weeks he has taken artefacts from William Shakespeare's time and explored how Elizabethan and Jacobean playgoers made sense of the unstable and rapidly changing world in which they lived.
With old certainties shifting around them, in a time of political and religious unrest and economic expansion, Neil asked what the plays would have meant to the public when they were first performed. Carefully selected objects shed light on the great issues of the day that preoccupied the public and helped shape the works, and revealed much about the concerns and beliefs of Shakespearean England.
In this, the final programme of the series, Neil considers how William Shakespeare made the transition from successful playwright to possibly the greatest dramatist the world has known
Programme 20 SHAKESPEARE GOES GLOBAL - The publication of the First Folio of Shakespeare's collected plays in 1623 began the process of turning an early modern playwright into a global phenomenon. An annotated copy of the Collected Works of Shakespeare reveals the extent to which Shakespeare has inspired and influenced audiences across the globe and through the ages.
This programme was originally broadcast in 2012.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03cv471)
Jane Harris - Gillespie and I, Episode 5
Victorian gothic mystery by Jane Harris set in Glasgow during the International Exhibition in 1888. Young Sybil's erratic behaviour continues to cause concern when tragedy strikes. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b00n58dd)
Michael Palin Diaries - The Python Years, The Life of Brian
The actor and writer recalls how the influential comedy group reconvened in 1977 to make their most controversial film. From October 2006.
FRI 15:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vm0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 It's Your Round (b019rgtc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 After Henry (b007jq4g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Andy & Eric Merriman - Minor Adjustment (b0b1xt8g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Stand-Up Specials (b0b1pwqw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b010v5f8)
Night Watch, Episode 5
Commander Sam Vimes of the City Watch, thrown back into his own past, has little time left there to undo the harm done by his arch-enemy Carcer, before coming back to his present...
The conclusion of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Stars Philip Jackson as Sam Vimes, Carl Prekopp as Young Sam, Paul Ritter as Carcer, Clare Corbett as Rosie, Sam Dale as Colon, Ben Onwukwe as Dr Lawn, Joseph Kloska as Reg Shoe, Peter Marinker as Major Clive and Rachel Atkins as Lady Mesarole.
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
FRI 18:30 Mastertapes (b01pbq46)
Series 1, The Zombies (the B-Side)
John Wilson concludes his 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. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing 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 7, the B-side. Having discussed the making of the Zombies' seminal 1968 album, "Odessey & Oracle" (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Tuesday 11th December and available online), Rod Argent, Chris White and Colin Blunstone responds to questions from the audience and perform live versions of some of the songs from the album, still held in such high regard.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00zvcmn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Brothers in Law (b007js3q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Mark Tavener - High Table, Lower Orders (b008x7tk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Famed for Its Knitting (b01bmlt8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b0b1y7t3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Stand-Up Specials (b0b1pwqw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (b0b1yn9y)
2018, Episode 1
Made for 4 Extra. The Comedy Club brings you interviews, atmosphere and much more, direct from the Machynlleth Comedy Festival.
FRI 22:35 Sketchorama (b061yh01)
Series 4, Episode 2
Award winning actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit.
Each week the programme showcases three up and coming groups featuring character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.
There are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch groups on the British Comedy scene, but with no dedicated broadcast format. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves.
Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:05 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (b0b1ynb0)
2018, Episode 2
The Comedy Club brings you interviews, atmosphere and much more, direct from the Machynlleth Comedy Festival.
FRI 23:10 Spike Milligan - Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (b00g3xwm)
Episode 4
1941. Troublesome telephone lines and odd athletics events.
Spike Milligan shares more frank memories of his wartime service.
Published in 1971, Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall is the first volume of the Spike Milligan's idiosyncratic military memoir.
Reversioned into eight parts by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
FRI 23:40 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (b0b1ynb2)
2018, Episode 3
The Comedy Club brings you interviews, atmosphere and much more, direct from the Machynlleth Comedy Festival.
FRI 23:45 This Is Craig Brown (b00dwndv)
The Arts
How designer Terence Conran 'invented' the chair. Satirist Craig Brown pokes fun, with Rory Bremner and Harry Enfield. From March 2004.