SATURDAY 19 MAY 2018

SAT 00:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsdm)
Discovery
Aboard 'Discovery', Dave Bowman learns the spaceship mission has changed course...
Arthur C Clarke's ground-breaking novel is set in our present, a vision of a future yet to be, and a past shrouded in mystery.
Read in ten parts by William Roberts - secrets of the story are revealed that the film adaptation missed.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
SAT 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b04kfgcr)
Michael Faber - The Book of Strange New Things, Episode 5
Joe Armstrong, Hayley Atwell and Dougray Scott star in this adaptation of the astonishing new novel by Michel Faber (Under the Skin, Crimson Petal and the White).
Set in the near future, it tells the story of Peter, devoted husband and devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Beatrice. Peter has travelled to a far distant planet, called Oasis, where an enigmatic corporation called USIC have a base. He has been employed as Christian missionary to the native inhabitants - a gentle, peaceable community, who have welcomed Peter to their settlement and are eager to hear the teachings of the Bible, a book they call 'The Book of Strange New Things'.
In today's episode, Peter is called to preside over a funeral service of one of his colleagues on the USIC base. And for Bea, back on Earth, life grows increasingly complicated.
Adapted for radio by Miranda Emmerson.
Directed by Emma Harding.
Other parts played by members of the company.
SAT 00:30 Mastertapes (b01sm7hv)
Series 2, Wilko Johnson (the A-side)
John Wilson returns with the second series of Mastertapes, 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 1, A-side. "Down By The Jetty" with Wilko Johnson.
At the beginning of 2013 Wilko Johnson announced a series of farewell UK concerts in March. The guitarist and founding member of Dr. Feelgood has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and he has chosen not to undergo chemotherapy. But before these final live appearances and before going into the studio to complete a new album, he came to the BBC Maida Vale studios to discuss the making of his very first one: Dr. Feelgood's debut album, "Down By The Jetty".
Released in January 1975 and including 'Roxette', 'She Does It Right' and 'All Through the City', the album has been cited as a major influence by the likes of Paul Weller, the Clash, Blondie and the Ramones.
The B-side of the programme, where it's the turn of the audience to ask the questions, can be heard tomorrow at 3.30pm
Other programmes in the series include Mike Scott talking about the Waterboys' album "Fisherman's Blues" and Richard Thompson revisiting his best selling solo album, "Rumor & Sigh".
Complete versions of the songs performed in the programme (and others) can be heard on the 'Mastertapes' pages on the Radio 4 website, where the programmes can also be downloaded and other musical goodies accessed.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
SAT 01:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007jsrj)
The Doomed Oasis
A celebration and a shattered dream, as English lawyer George Grant continues his hunt for a missing client.
Arabian adventure based on Hammond Innes' 1960 novel adapted in six parts by Rene Basilico.
Starring Tim Munro as George Grant, Bernard Horsfall as Colonel Whittaker, Raad Rawi as Prince Khalid, John Malcolm as Alexander Erkhard, Garard Green as Sir Philip Gorde, Ali Refaie as Yousif, Farouk El-Demerdash as Sheikh Makhmud and Adam Hussein as Sheikh Abdullah.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in August 1984.
SAT 01:30 Balalaikas in Blackpool (b0076rqz)
Why did the Soviet Union produce a detailed map of the Lancashire resort? Henry Dodds examines Cold War invasion plans. From May 2005.
SAT 02:00 Donna Tartt - The Secret History (b03q9ng3)
Episode 15
Richard has been shot and, as events escalate, not everyone will get out alive. Donna Tartt thriller concluded by William Hope. From April 1995.
SAT 02:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t1qpx)
Political Thinkers and the Drink Question
Mark Whitaker shows how the 'Drink Question' was of central importance for both of England's most original and influential political thinkers of the 19th century - John Stuart Mill and TH Green.
For both of them it raised the question of how far the state could be justified in interfering in the lives of individuals. The debate had started in the letters page of the Times in 1856, in a high-level exchange between the Tory MP Lord Stanley and Samuel Pope, Secretary of the temperance movement the UK Alliance. The latter argued that his rights as a citizen were "invaded" by the behaviour of heavy drinkers; the former that no Englishman would agree to be "coerced for his own benefit".
Mill picked up the topic in his essay On Liberty, published in 1859. Mill was mid-Victorian England's most influential public intellectual, and his books were best-sellers even though his ideas were radical. He insisted that "drunkenness is not a fit subject for legislative purposes", and feared that the weight of public opinion would crush individualism.
TH Green was an academic philosopher at Oxford, and was deeply involved in the temperance movement during the 1870s. He believed that individual freedom lay in pursuing the common good and that mass drunkenness made this impossible in England. He thought that "moderate drinkers" had to sacrifice their pleasure for the sake of society as a whole.
Actors read extracts from their work.
Producer: Mark Whitaker
A Square Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03dvn0y)
Jane Harris - Gillespie and I, Episode 10
Victorian gothic mystery by Jane Harris set in Glasgow during the International Exhibition of 1888. As the trial reaches its climax young Sybil is called to give evidence. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b01skbc2)
Richard Holmes - Falling Upwards, Episode 5
In this heartlifting book, the Romantic biographer Richard Holmes floats across the world following the pioneer generation of balloon aeronauts, from the first heroic experiments of the 1780s to the tragic attempt to fly a balloon to the North Pole in the 1890s.
In a compelling adventure story, dramatic sequences include an unscheduled early flight over the North Sea, the crazy firework flights of beautiful Sophie Blanchard and the heart-stopping escape of two families from East Germany.
Early balloons also played a role in warfare - with the legendary tale of sixty balloons that escaped Paris during the Prussian siege of 1870, and a memorable flight by General Custer in the American Civil War.
These are stories where scientific genius combines with extraordinary courage and the power of an imagination that dares to claim the airy kingdom for itself.
Episode 5 (of 5):
Perhaps the most daring and ambitious of all the balloon adventurers was the Swede, Salomon Andrée, and his efforts to reach the North Pole by balloon in 1897.
Read by Rory Kinnear.
Abridged and Produced by Jill Waters.
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gszmm)
Loving and Losing
As Philip hatches a plan, Maggie Tulliver's loyalties are sorely tested. With Sylvestra Le Touzel and Richard Pearce. From May 1991.
SAT 04:00 It's Your Round (b01b8zw3)
Series 2, Episode 6
Angus Deayton presides over another episode of the show where the format is, there isn't one. Instead, each of the four panellists has brought their own round for the other panellists to play. How will each round play out? And, more importantly, who will be beaten at their own game?
The rounds featured this episode are:
Alex Horne's "Font, Fighter or Fragrance" in which panellists are given a word and they must guess whether that word refers to a typographical font, the name of a Gladiator from ITV's show "Gladiators" or a "Lynx deodorant" fragrance.
Roisin Conaty's "Four Second Pitch" in which panellists have but four seconds to pitch Angus the elements of an idea for a blockbuster film and a new religion.
Paul Sinha's "World Record Recall" in which panellists have to fill in the missing details from the description of a real record from the Guinness Book of World Records.
And Rufus Hound's "Which Lady Done Say That Thing" in which panellists must guess which audience member said a certain phrase. As the title suggests.
Producer: Sam Michell.
SAT 04:30 After Henry (b007jq6v)
Series 3, A Box of Chocolates
"Any treaty drawn up with my mother would have to include strict boundary agreements. I'm afraid she has the same attitude to frontiers as Genghis Khan. And now I come to think of it, the similarities don't end there."
When Sarah meets an old flame 30 years on, her mother manages to interrupt them once again.
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, Tom Wilkinson as Peter and Julie Berry as the Doctor.
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 (b0b2rpjy)
Basic Instinct
Richard and Sarah are summoned to see their daughter Kate's headmaster.
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, Brian Bowles as the Headmaster, Teresa Gallagher as Julia, Kay Stoneham as Mrs Morris and David Cooper as James.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1996.
SAT 05:30 Stand-Up Specials (b0b2hps0)
Pippa Evans Grows Up
Pippa Evans has never felt like a grown-up. In theory she's reached the age where you really should, but somehow it's a feeling that's so far eluded her. In this brand new stand-up show she asks what it means to be a grown-up and how you know when you are one. There are lots of markers of adulthood, standing up for yourself is a sure sign that you're a step further towards it so perhaps this is a trick she must master.
With stand- up and music from her house band, Pippa involves her audience in her journey of self-discovery.
Star of the Now Show, Pippa Evans is a fixture at the Edinburgh Festival with sell-out shows and is a co-founder of the Sunday Assembly.
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith.
SAT 06:00 Bernard Pomerance - The Elephant Man (b0b3fxv7)
From Victorian fairground freak to social celebrity - the true story of John Merrick, whose hideously deformed body cruelly hid the mind of a sensitive and intelligent being.
Stars Gerard Murphy as John Merrick, Jeremy Clyde as Frederick Treves, Anna Massey as Mrs Kendall, Charles Kay as Carr Gomm, John Hollis as Ross, Jennifer Piercey as Princess Alexandra, John Baddeley as the Bishop, Philip Sully as Lord John, Joan Walker as the Countess, Diana Olsson as the Duchess and Michael Tudor Barnes as the Porter.
Musical Director: Colin Snell.
Adapted from Bernard Pomerance's stage play and directed by David Hitchinson.
A BBC World Service Drama production first broadcast in 1988.
SAT 07:30 Kenneth Williams - Just Williams (b0b3fxv9)
That Does Sound Rather Me
"I don't want that voice in this show..."
1957-1962: Revue with Maggie Smith, Beyond Our Ken and Carry On Sergeant.
The UK's much-loved comic actor and master raconteur, Kenneth Williams continues 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 Leonard Rossiter - In a Nutshell (b00sj9r3)
Hold the Back Page
"The paper's policy was to identify with the man in the street - and unfortunately, our man in the street seemed to have escaped from some sort of asylum."
A disastrous foray into journalism is recounted in embarrassment by Leonard Rossiter (1926-1984).
Written by Barry Pilton.
Producer: Louise Purslow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in March 1981.
SAT 08:00 Here's the Thing (b0b3fxvc)
Sarah Jessica Parker and Ian Schrager
Alec Baldwin explores the lives of the actress, Sarah Jessica Parker, and New York's Studio 54 nightclub founder, Ian Schrager.
Award-winning actor Alec Baldwin gives the listener unique entrée into the lives of artists, policy makers and performers. Alec sidesteps the predictable by taking listeners inside the dressing rooms, apartments, and offices.
After shooting the pilot for Sex and the City, Sarah Jessica Parker told HBO she didn't want to go through with the project. But after the first day's taping, she says, she "didn't want to be anywhere else."
Ian Schrager is in the hospitality business. Hotels or nightclubs, uptown or downtown, Miami or Manhattan, Schrager defines luxury and leisure. In 1977, he co-founded Studio 54, which quickly became the epitome of the disco era.
Here's the Thing has its roots in public radio. In 2009, Alec joined with producers Lu Olkowski, Trey Kay, Kathie Russo, and Emily Botein to find fresh ways to engage in conversation on the radio. The group developed the idea of a new show that at its heart would look at what makes interesting people tick and create a platform for new and emerging ideas to be presented.
From WNYC Studios, New York. First heard in the USA in 2016.
SAT 09:00 The BBC Tour (b04d0kl7)
Savoy Hill, Broadcasting House, Lime Grove, TV Centre, Maida Vale and Bush House are just some of the iconic BBC buildings brought alive by Nick Baker in this fascinating tour of the archives from 1922 to the present.
After the Queen opened the new extension to London Broadcasting House in 2013, regular guided public tours have taken place. Sculptor Eric Gill's statue of Prospero and Ariel over the 1932 art deco front entrance sparked controversy over part of the latter's anatomy. BBC buildings have made news ever since.
The BBC's first home in Savoy Hill was described by DG Lord Reith as a miserable sort of place, but for ten years it broadcast a variety of talks and even some agonisingly slow Wimbledon commentaries.
Lime Grove in Shepherd's Bush was bought by the BBC in 1949 to temporarily house its fledgling TV service, but it remained in use for 42 years. Ludovic Kennedy shares its history.
TV Centre is recalled by perhaps the most celebrity vox pop ever assembled. BBC music studio, Maida Vale, is visited by Cerys Matthews. Terry Waite returns to Bush House, former home to BBC World Service which sustained him during his Lebanon captivity.
Members of the public experience the BBC Broadcasting House tour (discontinued in 2016) and BBC Head of History Robert Seatter shares all the facts.
Produced by Merilyn Harris. Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Testbed.
SAT 12:00 North by Northamptonshire (b017mx3z)
Series 2, Episode 1
As is well-known: Yorkshiremen wear flat caps and Essex girls wear short skirts; Liverpudlians are scallies and Cockneys are wideboys. Northamptonians gaze wistfully at these stereotypes and wish for an identity of any kind and a label less ridiculous than Northamptonians. Northamptonshire, let us be clear, is neither north, nor south nor in the Midlands. It floats somewhere between the three eyeing up the distinctiveness of each with envious eyes. Now Katherine Jakeways is giving Northamptonshire an identity. And she waits, benevolently, for her home-county to thank her. And possibly make her some kind of Mayor.
Joined by the same incredible cast which graced Series One - including Sheila Hancock as the Narrator, Penelope Wilton, Mackenzie Crook, Felicity Montagu and Kevin Eldon - and with the exciting addition of Geoffrey Palmer, North by Northamptonshire promises once again to delight audience and critics.
Wadenbrook is a small market town in a corner of Northamptonshire, and will be familiar to anyone who has ever lived anywhere. This year, its residents are building up to a Dickensian Festival weekend, so expect mob caps, cravats and shawls which are usually used as cat-blankets. Also expect a great many laughs, a certain amount of loneliness, and the same warmth and affection which underpinned the widely-praised first series.
Written by Katherine Jakeways
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
John Biggins............Keith
Mackenzie Crook.........Rod
Kevin Eldon.........Jonathan / Ken
Shelia Hancock........... Narrator
Jessica Henwick.............Helen
Katherine Jakeways.... Esther / Jacqui
Felicity Montagu..............Jan
Geoffrey Palmer..........Norman
Lizzie Roper............Angela
Penelope Wilton............Mary
Rufus Wright..............Frank.
SAT 12:30 Foul Play (b00jh5hn)
Series 3, Death By a Short Head
Crime writers Lady Antonia Fraser and Anthony Price probe the death of a top jockey. Chaired by Simon Brett. From December 1997.
SAT 13:00 Wuthering Heights (b0b3g0bl)
Omnibus 1/2
Mr Earnshaw brings a mysterious child home...
Emily Bronte's only novel 'Wuthering Heights' is unforgettable, full of passion and darkness. Thrilling but haunting until the very end.
A story filled with violence, forbidden trysts, family warfare and revenge. Riddled with drinking, gambling, cursing and consumption. It's got energy, it's fast, passionate, unpredictable and thrilling. The story is elemental and tempestuous, uniquely bound to its setting on the bleak Yorkshire moors.
Omnibus of the first five of ten-parts adapted by award-winning writer Rachel Joyce.
Heathcliff ..... Ben Batt
Cathy ..... Chloe Pirrie
Nelly ..... Emma Fielding
Mr Earnshaw ..... Clive Hayward
Hindley ..... Luke Bailey
Joseph ..... Philip Bretherton
Frances ..... Lauren Cornelius
Young Cathy ..... Rosie Boore
Young Heathcliff ..... Reuben Bainbridge
Edgar Linton ..... Ryan Whittle
Isabella Linton ..... Kerry Gooderson
Young Hareton ..... Ruben Cryer
Priest ..... Ryan Early
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0b3g0bn)
Mariella Frostrup
Broadcaster Mariella Frostrup offers up Leonard Cohen's 'Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye' and Van Morrison's 'Have I Told You Lately?'.
SAT 14:15 With Great Pleasure (b00770fr)
Kirsty Wark
Journalist Kirsty Wark shows her more literary side as she entertains an audience at Glasgow's Òran Mór with some of her favourite prose and poetry, including extracts by Edna O'Brien and Robert Louis Stevenson.
With friends Bridget McCann, Sean Scanlon and Barbara Rafferty.
Producer: Viv Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
SAT 14:45 The Fosdyke Saga (b007jrmy)
The Future Is Tripe
"Fosdyke International is going into red cabbage, pigs' feet and maybe even pickled onions." Jos Fosdyke is feeling extra determined to conquer the world...
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, Stephanie Turner as Rebecca Fosdyke, Miriam Margolyes as Victoria Fosdyke, David Threlfall as Tom Fosdyke. John Junkin as the Warder and John Westbrook as the King,
Other parts played by Christopher Barr, Sally Grace, Douglas Blackwell and David English.
Producer: Alan Nixon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1983.
SAT 15:00 Here's the Thing (b0b3fxvc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Bernard Pomerance - The Elephant Man (b0b3fxv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Kenneth Williams - Just Williams (b0b3fxv9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 17:50 Leonard Rossiter - In a Nutshell (b00sj9r3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:50 today]
SAT 18:00 Drama (b06kgvc4)
Julian Simpson - Fugue State
In the heart of the English countryside in a specialist residential hospital. A man, a government agent, is in a fugue state - a psychological shutdown - the result of something seemingly threatening that has taken place in a remote village.
Needing to act before the situation escalates and believing the patient can still hear, Doctor Fallon uses sound recordings to recreate events leading up to the point of shutdown, to prompt the patient's brain into remembering what has happened.
Julian Simpson's original drama was inspired by a series of talks and workshops at the Wellcome Trust, based around the latest thinking on how the human brain processes inputs - how it builds a model of the world, which we call reality, based on sensory information and our prediction of what we are expecting to see, hear or feel.
Scientific Advisor: Paul Fletcher
Director: Julian Simpson
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 18:45 Dorothy K Haynes - Mrs Jones (b0b3g0qf)
4 Extra Debut. An uncharitable cook pays the price when she is rude to a hag who wants a free sample at the village fair. Read by Donna Edwards. From February 1994.
SAT 19:00 The BBC Tour (b04d0kl7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Old Harry's Game (b007jmbz)
Series 3, The Reasonably Fantastic Journey
Satan and the Professor find a huge empty space in Hell - inside Scumspawn's brain. Devilish sitcom stars Andy Hamilton. From April 1999.
SAT 22:30 Bird Island (b043wk17)
Series 2, Episode 3
EPISODE THREE:
Ben, a young scientist working in Antarctica, tries to adapt to the loneliness by keeping a cheery audio diary on his Dictaphone. This week, Graham teaches Ben to abseil and the bathroom lock in the Unit base is broken.
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 (b00771gs)
Tina C's State of the Union Tour, Ireland
Can the country singing sensation and global activist gain a better understanding of Ireland? Stars Christopher Green. From November 2006.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0b3qsnr)
Sarah Kendall 2/3
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith talks to Sarah Kendall.
SAT 23:00 The Mark Steel Solution (b007k0s8)
Series 3, Sexual Politics
The comedian has more radical advice for his fellow man - get yourself a boyfriend. With Maria McErlane. From August 1995.
SAT 23:30 The Skivers (b007jpsp)
Series 1, Episode 1
Lecturing Leslie Phillips guest stars in Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh's skilful sketch show. With Mel Giedroyc. From March 1994.

SUNDAY 20 MAY 2018

SUN 00:00 Drama (b06kgvc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:45 Dorothy K Haynes - Mrs Jones (b0b3g0qf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:45 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Wuthering Heights (b0b3g0bl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0b3g0bn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 With Great Pleasure (b00770fr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 The Fosdyke Saga (b007jrmy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Here's the Thing (b0b3fxvc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Bernard Pomerance - The Elephant Man (b0b3fxv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Kenneth Williams - Just Williams (b0b3fxv9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:50 Leonard Rossiter - In a Nutshell (b00sj9r3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:50 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Jane Harris - Gillespie and I (b03f86n1)
Omnibus 2/2
Glasgow, 1888: The Gillespies' younger daughter, Rose, has been kidnapped. Meanwhile, her elder sister, Sibyl, is recovering after setting fire to herself with paraffin...
Victorian gothic mystery by Jane Harris, set during the International Exhibition.
Omnibus of the last five of ten-parts dramatised by Chris Dolan.
Harriet ..................Phyllis Logan
Ned.......................Liam Brennan
Annie ...................Kate Dickie
Elspeth.................Ann Scott-Jones
Sybil......................Helen Mackay
Ramsay................Paul Young
Christina..............Sarah McCardie
McPhail...............Jimmy Chisholm
Caskie................. Steven McNicoll
Judge...................Finlay Welsh
Stirling..................Robert Jack
Director: Bruce Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
SUN 07:15 David Benedictus - Queen of the May (b0b3kn57)
4 Extra Debut. She used to be a superb horse, but can Queen of the May win one more race before retiring? Written and read by David Benedictus. From June 1996.
SUN 07:30 The Gobetweenies (b03ggpbj)
Series 3, Episode 4
Episode Four of Marcella Evaristi's comedy explores the impossibility of retaining your privacy when you lead a go-betweening life.
Joe had wanted to keep his new affair secret. His new girlfriend is twenty four and he now wishes he hadn't called Mimi's most recent ex-husband the Decrepit from Connecticut. Mimi is being badgered about bringing a 'plus one' to a wedding. She's in a state of post divorce fragility and begins to wonder if Joe still secretly longs for her. After all, he brought her lilacs on their wedding anniversary.
Tom, already burdened by having to pretend he doesn't know about Tuberose, his Dad's hot new girlfriend, dreams confusingly and guiltily about the wrong girl. Not his girlfriend Poppy, but Lucy's fifteen year old best friend Katy. He's been talking in his sleep. How do you cope with a leaking subconscious?
Meanwhile, having discovered that Tuberose works at Latex Couture of Holloway, Mimi is talked into checking her out.
Writer: Marcella Evaristi
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 Ray's a Laugh (b07djzlk)
From 31/10/1958
Ted's feeling insecure. Maybe body building will increase his self-esteem?
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 (b0b3g1zc)
From 22/11/1955
The cast settle into their new home - with Ron's feeling poorly in 'The Glums'.
A gala occasion for the cast, as the show is first to be broadcast from the BBC's newly refurbished Paris theatre studio in Lower Regent Street, London. (A former cinema, it was vacated in 1995).
Starring Professor Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley, June Whitfield, Alma Cogan and Wallace Eton.
Classic comedy scripted by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Music from The Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra with Harry Rabinowitz.
Announcer. David Dunhill
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1955.
SUN 09:00 The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time (Omnibus) (b0b3g6c7)
This is an exploration behind the elements that go into the creation of one of life's most precious objects 'The Book'. From the history of the materials that were first used to what we use now. This is a delightful dip into the long and often surprising history of one of the world's most important information technologies.
Written by Keith Houston
Omnibus read by Deborah Findlay
Abridged in five-parts by Libby Spurrier
Produced by Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2018.
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b03dvx6l)
Itchy Feet - Ian and Judith
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between a husband, who once set off on his motorbike for 4 months and came back 14 years later, and his wife. He's planning another trip, proving yet 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 (b0b3g6c9)
The Voice, Felicity Lott
4 Extra Debut. From Tony Bennett to Richard Strauss, opera singer Dame Felicity Lott shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From July 2008.
SUN 11:00 Radiolab (b0b3g6cc)
Series 3, Saving Animals
Radiolab explores what it means to be special when it comes to saving a particular animal. 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 (b07djzlk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Take It From Here (b0b3g1zc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Jane Harris - Gillespie and I (b03f86n1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 David Benedictus - Queen of the May (b0b3kn57)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 The Female Persuasion (b0b3g6cf)
Omnibus 1/2
Greer Kadetsky is a shy college student in Connecticut when she meets Faith Frank, a dazzlingly persuasive and charismatic activist who has been a pillar of the women's movement for decades. The meeting is made more resonant since she has just been the victim of a sexual assault on campus.
As Greer moves into her independent adult life, Faith is to become her mentor figure, someone she looks up to and respects, until she is forced re-evaluate.
Meg Wolitzer's The Female Persuasion is a book written before the seismic shift in American politics and the advent of the #MeToo movement but it illuminates the complexities of what it is to be a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 21st century. But as well as the relationship between Greer and her 'role model', the story explores how a young man copes with devastating loss and attempts to rebuild his life, and poses searching questions about feminism and the painful realities of love and loyalty.
Writing in The New York Times Review Of Books Lena Dunham described how 'the novel ...deserves to be placed on shelves alongside such ornate modern novels beginning in college as A Little Life, The Secret History and The Marriage Plot... But when all is said and done, Wolitzer is an infinitely capable creator of human identities that are as real as the type on this page, and her love of her characters shines more brightly than any agenda".
Meg Wolitzer is the author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking.
Omnibus of the first five of ten-parts read by Tanya Moodie.
Abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel Creed
Produced by Jill Waters and The Waters Company for BBC Radio 4 and first broadcast in 2018.
SUN 15:45 The Lore of the Land (b069b676)
Episode 5
In the final episode of her five part series exploring the enduring relevance of the creatures of Great British folklore, medieval literature scholar Dr Carolyne Larrington travels to Hart Hall in Glaisdale, North Yorkshire.
Strolling down towards Hart Hall and its surrounding dairy farm, Carolyne is joined by local storyteller Rose Rylands. Rose explains that Hart Hall features in a local folktale which involves a peculiar creature known as a hob. Hobs are small dwarf like beings, covered in shaggy hair. They're said to have large feet and superhuman strength. According to local folklore, hobs take up residence on certain farms and stay for generations, working in secret to provide assistance to the farmer.
Standing in a barn, surrounded by calves, Rose tells the tale of the hob of Hart Hall who saved a bumper harvest from being ruined by the rain. The farm hands reward the hob with a hemp shirt and a leather belt for his efforts, however this causes grave offence and the hob storms off never to be seen again. Carolyne reveals that, by giving him a gift, the farm hands had inadvertently treated the hob like an employee who gets paid in kind, rather than a spirit who gives his labour for free.
Carolyne and Rose head to Runswick Bay where they creep inside a cave known as the Hob Hole which is said to be the residence of a hob with medicinal powers. For years locals would bring their children to the cave in the hope that the hob would cure them of whooping cough.
Back at Hart Hall we hear tales of other farm spirits such as the Hogboon and the mischievous boggart. Carolyne explains that labour relations and our treatment of people in the workplace are central to these tales.
Producer: Max O'Brien
A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 16:00 Rose Tremain - The End of Love (b0075nk4)
Olga and Bertie's 30 year old daughter Lottie wishes to marry her Irish poet boyfriend Michael. But he's a dreamer and fearful of commitment.
He reminds Olga of the love of her life - a Polish pianist. Their love was not enough: why should Lottie's fare any better?
Stars Miriam Margolyes as Olga, Nigel Anthony as Bertie, Kieran Cunningham as Michael and Eleanor Tremain as Lottie.
Other parts played by Tessa Worsley and Becky Hindley
Director: Gordon House
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b0b3g6ch)
Blake Morrison and Glyn Maxwell
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with 'Fine Lines' with Blake Morrison and Glyn Maxwell.
Poets Blake and Glyn discuss their different approaches to shaping a new collection of poems.
Presented by Christopher Cook.
Producer: Melanie Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
SUN 17:30 The Gobetweenies (b03ggpbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Ray Bradbury's Tales of the Bizarre (b007jlrz)
Series 2, Jack in the Box
A young boy lives an isolated life - until a death opens the door to the outside world...
Strange and chilling tales from the award-winning master of thrillers Ray Bradbury, who tops and tails these radio dramatisations in his own inimitable style.
Stars Richard Pearce, Ed Bishop and Carolyn Jones.
Producer: Adrian Bean.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
SUN 18:30 The Female Ghost (b00njj2k)
Edith Nesbit - Man Sized in Marble
For newly-weds Charles and Laura, their housekeeper's dread of All Saint's Eve seems laughable - that is, until the day itself arrives...
A series of ghostly stories by women dramatised by Christopher Hawes.
Edith Nesbit's eerie tale stars Carolyn Jones as Edith Nesbit, Stephen Critchlow as Charles, Deborah Berlin as Laura, Gerard McDermott as Doctor Kelly and Tina Gray as Mrs Dorman.
Producer: Marion Nancarrow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
SUN 19:00 Radiolab (b0b3g6cc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 The Book: A Cover-to-Cover Exploration of the Most Powerful Object of Our Time (Omnibus) (b0b3g6c7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b03dvx6l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0b3g6c9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 The Gobetweenies (b03ggpbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Brian Gulliver's Travels (b00zsc2b)
Series 1, Jampoa
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 Jampoa where fame definitely equals fortune.
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 Mariah Gale. Cast includes fantastic actors Tamsin Greig, John Standing, Paul Bhattacharjee, Christopher Douglas, Vicky Pepperdine, Phil Cornwell, 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 (b0b3qsvv)
Sarah Kendall 3/3
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith talks to Sarah Kendall.
SUN 23:00 Chat Show Roulette (b05qjypq)
Episode 5
Justin Edwards is the host of the new improvised chat show. His guests are Simon Day, David Reed, Luisa Omielan and Beardyman - 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 A Bit of Fry and Laurie (b0485v71)
Episode 1
An unusual first kiss, a vision of the future and some shocking TV soap revelations.
On their journey to international stardom - Cambridge Footlights graduates, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie wrote and starred together in a pilot followed by four acclaimed TV series of 'A Bit of Fry & Laurie' from 1989 to 1995.
Hugh Laurie introduces the first of two audio collections of choice comedy morsels culled from the BBC TV soundtracks.
Producer: Aled Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1994.

MONDAY 21 MAY 2018

MON 00:00 Ray Bradbury's Tales of the Bizarre (b007jlrz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 The Female Ghost (b00njj2k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Jane Harris - Gillespie and I (b03f86n1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 David Benedictus - Queen of the May (b0b3kn57)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 The Female Persuasion (b0b3g6cf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 The Lore of the Land (b069b676)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Rose Tremain - The End of Love (b0075nk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b0b3g6ch)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 The Gobetweenies (b03ggpbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007jsrw)
The Empty Quarter
As his quest continues, lawyer George Grant is led into an inhospitable desert - and into the heart of a long-standing conflict.
Arabian adventure based on Hammond Innes' 1960 novel adapted in six parts by Rene Basilico.
Starring Tim Munro as George Grant, Bernard Horsfall as Colonel Whittaker, Raad Rawi as Prince Khalid, George Masri as Salim, Christopher Guard as David Whittaker, Ali Refaie as Ali, Mamdouh Ashour as Hamid and Yasmin Abdul Rahman as the Arab Boy.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September 1984.
MON 06:30 The Library Returns (b01h75xw)
The public outcry over the predicted closure of libraries masks a subtler story. Across Europe, the USA and Britain libraries are being re-invented. They are being given a much needed architectural facelift and a profound review of services in order to guarantee their survival into the 21st century.
Jonathan Glancey presents this programme which visits the great game-changing library in Seattle, Europe's 'most modern' library in Deft, a library in Stuttgart which is reviving a whole neighbourhood, Piers Gough's 'super library' for Canada Water in London's Docklands and, of course, the huge new library at the centre of Birmingham which will open next year as the largest public cultural space in Europe.
He considers what these libraries are doing to secure their place in the future - what they can offer in terms of inspiring architecture, engagement with the communities they serve and democratic access to the digital world.
Producer: Susan Marling
A Just Radio Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 07:00 Winston (b007tzt5)
Winston in Europe, An Educated Woman
The family arrive in France and Father feels homesick. Winston talks of Flaubert, Baudelaire and Renoir leaving Nancy feeling baffled...
Peter Tinniswood's bawdy six-part comedy serial stars Bill Wallis as Winston, Maurice Denham as Father, Shirley Dixon as Nancy, Liz Goulding as Rosie and Christian Rodska as William.
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1992.
MON 07:30 Just a Minute (b0b2j7r4)
Series 81, Episode 1
Just A Minute is back for its 81st series and kicks off with a cracking line-up: Paul Merton, Shelia Hancock, Fern Britton and Graham Norton..
The panel have to talk on a given subject for sixty seconds without repetition, hesitation or deviation. Why does Paul think there are too many cooks? What does Shelia have to say about the quiet carriage, does Graham like jam, has Fern swam the English Channel, and did Nicholas really admit to wearing fishnet stockings?
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle and it was produced by Matt Stronge.
Just A Minute is a BBC Studios production.
MON 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t1bnk)
Hancock's Hair
Paranoid over going bald, the lad pays a visit to Maison James
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 January 1956.
MON 08:30 Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0085j9l)
Series 2, Episode 6
Shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel heads to Hollywood and makes a movie.
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 Quote... Unquote (b037smxv)
The quotations quiz hosted by Nigel Rees.
As ever, a host of celebrities will be joining Nigel as he quizzes them on the sources of a range of quotations and asks them for the amusing sayings or citations that they have personally collected on a variety of subjects.
This week Nigel is joined by Martin Bell, Viv Groskop, Edward Petherbridge and David Schneider.
Reader ..... Peter Jefferson.
Produced by Carl Cooper.
MON 09:30 Bangers and Mash (b0075gv1)
Episode 3
A health inspector calls. Will the struggling catering team have to halt pie production?
Six-part comedy series by Katie Hims.
Stars Catherine Harvey as Martina, Gerard McDermott as Jimmy, Roger May as Juan Jose, Jane Whittenshaw as Carol and Anthony Zaki as the Health Inspector.
Director: Cat Horn
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1999.
MON 10:00 Classic Serial (b04jhp4d)
Ian Rankin - Rebus: Set in Darkness, Episode 1
Ian Rankin's crime thriller centres on the building of the new Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh in 1998. During the construction work a body is discovered in an old fireplace. The forensics suggest the victim was murdered 20 years before. Police are still attempting to identify the corpse when a second body is found on the site - and this time it's one of the prospective candidates for the new parliament. It's a high-profile case and the rising star of Lothian And Borders Police - 28-year-old Detective Inspector Linford - is assigned to investigate, assisted by a reluctant John Rebus.
Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
Other parts are played by the cast.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.
MON 11:00 Short Rides in Fast Machines (b04pcd4x)
The Bullet Racers by Adam Marek
A multi-contributor series of specially-commissioned radio stories about speed.
Every generation observes that life is getting faster - the pace of change, of action, or communication. Our cars, trains, boats and planes are faster than ever. And as every world-record on the athletic track confirms, we're still getting faster ourselves. The title is inspired by the minimalist composition by John Adams ('Short Ride In A Fast Machine').
Episode 1:
The Bullet Racers by Adam Marek
A reporter visits the village of Thaxtum-cum-Shyne to investigate reports of a strange occurrence at the annual race.
Adam Marek is the award-winning writer of two short story collections - 'Instruction Manual For Swallowing' and 'The Stone Thrower'. He won the 2011 Arts Foundation Short Story Fellowship and was shortlisted for the inaugural Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. His stories have appeared in many magazines, including Prospect and The Sunday Times Magazine, and in many anthologies such as Lemistry, Biopunk and The Best British Short Stories 2011. Five of Adam's published stories were broadcast on Radio 4Extra as 'The Stories Of Adam Marek' in March 2014
Reader: Ben Crowe
Produced by Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:15 Dermot Bolger - Temptation (b0076frt)
Powerful emotions erupt as married Alison is reunited with a long lost love on holiday in Ireland.
Stars Zara Turner as Alison Gill, Peter McDonald as Chris Conway, Gary Whelan as Peadar, Eleanor Methven as Joan, Gerard McSorley as the Doctor, Coirle Magee as Sheila, Jack Logue as Danny and Emma McNeill as the Babysitter.
Producer: Gemma McMullan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
MON 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t1bnk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0085j9l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007jsrw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 The Library Returns (b01h75xw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y0n8n)
Gabrielle Zevin - The Collected Works of AJ Fikry, Love and Loss
Beguiling, funny and poignant, The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry is largely set in Island Books, a failing independent bookshop in the middle of an island community off the American coast. A. J.Fikry, the shop's owner, is struggling to come to terms with a devastating loss, Amelia, a sales rep for a small publisher can't find the right man, and Maya, the baby found abandoned beside the piles of books, with a note, all gravitate to its teetering stackes. Island Books brings them together and offers life lessons gleaned from reading which are passed on and shared.
Gabrielle Zevin is an award winning American novelist, writing for adults and young adults. She is also a screenwriter; her first screenplay was 'Conversations with Other Women' which starred Helena Bonham Carter and Aaron Eckhart.
Madeleine Potter has appeared in numerous films, television series, and theatre productions. She is well known to Radio 4 audiences for We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Great Swim and Where'd You Go, Bernadette.
Hari Dhillon reads from A.J. Fikry's journal. Hari has read for Book of the Week and Book at Bedtime and starred in Holby City.
The abridger is Sally Marmion and the producer is Elizabeth Allard.
MON 14:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t3t9d)
Habitual Drunkards and the Asylum
Mark Whitaker focuses on a new sort of panic that swept the nation at the very end of the 19th century - a panic about the number of 'habitual drunkards' in the country and the impact they were having.
This was the time of pioneering social research by the likes of Booth and Rowntree, and also of a new belief in the ability of government to intervene to change social conditions. Allied to this was a growing medical confidence that addiction to alcohol was a disease that could be isolated and treated - and a new term was invented, 'inebriety'.
Public and political opinion on the matter was hugely influenced by the publication by the Daily Telegraph in 1891 of a long series of letters giving first-hand accounts of alcohol addiction. They were revelatory, and the paper called them a "sad mirror of the National Sin". There was particular concern over the extent of female drunkenness, and this fed into fears about a deterioration of the 'national stock'.
A leading medical figure argued that "the wide-spread prevalence of alcoholism among women, especially during the reproductive period of life, is one of the important factors making for racial decay".
Such fears came to a head when many young men proved insufficiently healthy to fight in the Boer War. In 1898 Parliament passed an Inebriates Act that required local authorities to set up special 'reformatories' as an alternative to prison for those arrested time after time for being drunk and disorderly. Courts could sentence people to them for up to three years. The shift was from condemnation to cure: but the reformatories couldn't survive after the outbreak if war in 1914.
Producer: Mark Whitaker
A Square Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jr553)
ME Braddon - Lady Audley's Secret, Episode 1
Dramatisation of the classic Victorian thriller by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
Lucy Graham gains all the wealth she desires when she marries rich older widower Sir Michael Audley, and her maid, Phoebe, watches with envy as Lucy delights in the luxury of her new life.
Mary Braddon ...... Hattie Morahan
Lucy, Lady Audley ...... Charlotte Emmerson
Sir Michael Audley ...... Sam Dale
Phoebe Marks ...... Lizzy Watts
Luke Marks ...... Benjamin Askew
Directed by Julie Beckett and Fiona Kelcher.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b01s7yvn)
Damian Barr - Maggie and Me, Episode 1
Damian Barr reads his touching and entertaining memoir of growing up in a small Scottish steelworks town in the 80s.
On 12th October 1984 young Damian's world explodes. He watches in panic as his mum rips off her wedding ring and packs their bags. Later that night he is glued to the news as Margaret Thatcher miraculously survives the IRA bomb that has blown apart the Grand Hotel in Brighton. As his own life descends into chaos, he knows that he too must survive.
In the shadow of the Falklands war, milk snatching, and the strikes that are spreading across Britain, tensions flare up in the heart of his own community. As the local Ravenscraig steelworks and his dad's job come under threat, Damian holds onto Maggie's advice to work hard and escape.
Written and read by Damian Barr.
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Allegra McIlroy.
MON 15:00 Classic Serial (b04jhp4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Quote... Unquote (b037smxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Bangers and Mash (b0075gv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Winston (b007tzt5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 Just a Minute (b0b2j7r4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsdn)
Trouble
Poole and Bowman are suspicious over HAL's reported communications failure.
Arthur C Clarke's ground-breaking novel is set in our present, a vision of a future yet to be, and a past shrouded in mystery.
Read in ten parts by William Roberts - secrets of the story are revealed that the film adaptation missed.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
MON 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l0gd8)
Michael Faber - The Book of Strange New Things, Episode 6
Joe Armstrong, Hayley Atwell and Dougray Scott star in Miranda Emmerson's adaptation of the astonishing new novel by Michel Faber (Under the Skin, Crimson Petal and the White).
Set in the near future, it tells the story of Peter, devoted husband and devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Beatrice.
Peter has travelled to a far distant planet, called Oasis, where an enigmatic corporation called USIC have a base. He has been employed as Christian missionary to the native inhabitants - a gentle, peaceable community, who have welcomed Peter to their settlement and are eager to hear the teachings of the Bible, a book they call 'The Book of Strange New Things'.
In today's episode, Bea has big news for Peter.
Adapted for radio by Miranda Emmerson
Directed by Emma Harding
Other parts played by members of the company.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0b3g8yx)
Jon Snow and Christopher Frayling
Sue MacGregor and her guests - TV news presenter, Jon Snow and design and popular culture enthusiast, Sir Christopher Frayling - discuss favourite books by Françoise Sagan, MR James and Alexander Masters. From 2006.
Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
Publisher: Penguin Books
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by MR James
Publisher: Dover
Stuart - A Life Backwards by Alexander Masters
Publisher: Harper Perennial.
MON 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t1bnk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0085j9l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007jsrw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 The Library Returns (b01h75xw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Short Rides in Fast Machines (b04pcd4x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Dermot Bolger - Temptation (b0076frt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 Just a Minute (b0b2j7r4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (b0076nlx)
The Tertiary Phase, Fit The Sixteenth
"Arthur Dent has been diverted from arriving at the Longest Party Ever Held to find himself in a sinister labyrinth being threatened by a nasty voice through a frankly rather dodgy PA system. This leads him to a subterranean Cathedral of Hate in which a fifty-foot high statue of himself is depicted causing harm to various creatures in hapless ways, such as swatting flies or stepping on ants. It turns out that the organisms that Arthur has inadvertently been killing (and/or eating) throughout his life have all been the same person, reincarnated over and over again, only to be killed - over and over again - by Arthur Dent. Its last, most desperate incarnation, one it had to fight for, and one which gives it a last chance for revenge against his tormentor, is as a four-foot fruitbat with an orthodontic condition. Its name is Agrajag, and even the discovery that it has mis-timed this vendetta (and that Arthur will not die till he reaches a place called Stavromula Beta) will not stop it attempting to kill Arthur Dent. Fortunately for Arthur, Agrajag manages to bring about his own death (yet again), and as the Cathedral collapses about them, Arthur runs into the open air, trips over a boulder - and finds himself flying.
The knack of flying is to throw yourself at the ground and miss, and Arthur is so preoccupied with his problems that he succeeds in carrying off this difficult yet exhilarating feat. He flies just long enough to collide with Ford and Slartibartfast who are clinging to the sides of the Longest Party Ever Held, itself capable of flight thanks to some rather drunken physicists who happened to be invited several generations ago.
Gaining entrance to the Party (thanks to a bottle of retsina which is inside an item of luggage which mysteriously materialised during his practise swoops), Arthur is shocked and not a little jealous to find Trillian in the enormous arms of Thor the Thunder God. An encounter follows with various strange guests, including a woman with a head shaped like the Sydney Opera House and a man who has just won an award which looks suspiciously like a silver cricket bail. This is in fact precisely what it is, as the sudden attack by eleven homicidal Krikkit robots to steal it confirms. As they leave, the Party, now mortally wounded, begins to spiral downward to the planet it has so long ravaged, and Arthur demands that Thor surrender Trillian so they can escape before the inevitable crash. Trillian has been quite enjoying the attentions of a minor Norse deity, but realises Arthur means business when he challenges Thor to step outside to settle the matter. This duly occurs, allowing our friends to depart in pursuit of the Krikkit Robots. ".
MON 23:00 News Quiz Extra (b0b3g917)
Series 23, Episode 6
Made for 4 Extra. Extended version of the satirical review show chaired by Miles Jupp with panellists Jeremy Hardy, Zoe Lyons, Simon Evans and Francis Wheen.
MON 23:45 Ivor Cutler - A Stuggy Pren (b00ctktw)
Episode 4
Poet and composer Ivor Cutler on bargain hunting, water flowers and 'Beelyploomkins'. From June 1994.

TUESDAY 22 MAY 2018

TUE 00:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsdn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l0gd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0b3g8yx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007jsrw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 The Library Returns (b01h75xw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y0n8n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t3t9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jr553)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b01s7yvn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Classic Serial (b04jhp4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Quote... Unquote (b037smxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Bangers and Mash (b0075gv1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Winston (b007tzt5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Just a Minute (b0b2j7r4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007k372)
Jebel Al-Akhbar
Politics and practicalities as the water supply is cut to force the Emir to negotiate - and a final confrontation.
Arabian adventure based on Hammond Innes' 1960 novel adapted in six parts by Rene Basilico.
Starring Tim Munro as George Grant, Bernard Horsfall as Colonel Whittaker, Christopher Guard as David Whittaker, Robert Rietty as Ruffini, Nicholas Courtney as Colonel Goodge, David McAlister as Captain Chuck Berry, Ali Refaie as Yousif, Adam Hussein as Sergeant Rashid, Mohammad Sultan as Trucial Oman Scout, Renu Setna as Abdul Zaid, Emir of Hadd, Robert James as Henry Grant and Jill Lidstone as Betty.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September 1984.
TUE 06:30 Passing the Hat (b00mqhqr)
Jolyon Jenkins explores the world of street performance and busking, and takes to the streets of Cardiff as part of a course with the School of Busking, founded by Mario Morris. Jolyon meets fellow students, including a German juggler and a naked unicyclist, and learns tips from the Great Soprendo and Gazzo, the world's finest exponent of the cups and balls.
TUE 07:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nm20q)
Series 2, Reunion
A visitor brings new branches to the Conroy family tree.
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, Damian Lanigan as Stu, Jim Poyser as Damian and Chris Pavlo as Barry.
Music: Big George
Producer: Neil Mossey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2000.
TUE 07:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b2jg2y)
Series 3, Milton Prime
Special offer! Sign on with Milton Prime, the pioneering audio comedy delivery service and listen to this week's programme completely free.
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is "Help!". 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 Ben Willbond (The Thick Of It).
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 (b007k7gr)
Series 2, Episode 4
As Jean's sister-in-law and husband visit, Lionel acts like a psychiatrist.
Starring Judi Dench as Jean and Geoffrey Palmer as Lionel. With Moira Brooker as Judith and Philip Bretherton as Alistair.
A six-part adaptation by Bob Larbey of series two of his popular BBC TV sitcom. Two former lovers Jean and Lionel have been reunited unexpectedly after losing contact for 38 years.
After falling in love in the early 1950s, army officer Lionel was sent to Korea, but they lost touch after a letter he sent to her never arrived. Both assumed the other had lost interest, but their paths have crossed again on his return to England.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1998.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b017gzgl)
All Change
Struggling with the new metric system - will the dopey duo measure up in fancy new jobs?
Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler.
With Norma Ronald, Ronald Baddiley and John Graham.
Written by Edward Taylor and John Graham.
'The Men from the Ministry' ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977. Deryck Guyler replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966. Sadly many episodes didn't survive in the archive, however the BBC's Transcription Service re-recorded 14 shows in 1980 - never broadcast in the UK, until the arrival of BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in July 1975.
TUE 09:00 News Quiz Extra (b0b3g917)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Ivor Cutler - A Stuggy Pren (b00ctktw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 Classic Serial (b04k7j00)
Ian Rankin - Rebus: Set in Darkness, Episode 2
In the final part of Ian Rankin's crime thriller, Rebus is investigating two murders on the site where the new Scottish Parliament is being built in Edinburgh in 1998. But he makes the mistake of sleeping with the sister of one of the victims. DC Siobhan Clarke is looking into the death of a vagrant with over £400,000 in the bank. Rebus begins to suspect all three cases could be linked - but crime boss Ger Cafferty has his own ideas about where the police investigation should be going. Dramatised by Chris Dolan.
Other parts are played by the cast.
Producer/director: Bruce Young
BBC Scotland.
TUE 11:00 Short Rides in Fast Machines (b04pvp7z)
The Fall of Paris by Toby Litt
A multi-contributor series of specially-commissioned radio stories about speed.
Every generation observes that life is getting faster - the pace of change, of action, or communication. Our cars, trains, boats and planes are faster than ever. And as every world-record on the athletic track confirms, we're still getting faster ourselves. The title is inspired by the minimalist composition by John Adams ('Short Ride In A Fast Machine').
Episode 2:
"The Fall Of Paris" by Toby Litt
A video-clip goes viral online with unforeseen and different consequences for the film-maker and his subject.
Toby Litt was born in 1968 and grew up in Bedfordshire. In 2003, he was named one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists. His stories 'The Melancholy' (2010), 'People Carry Roses' (2011) and 'The Sandy' (2012) featured in previous Sweet Talk series for BBC Radio 4. His latest collection of short stories 'Life-Like' will be published in November 2014.
Reader: Julian Rhind-Tutt
Produced by Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 11:15 CW Hill - Killing Maestros (b007w5g0)
Jinxed with mysterious deaths - Wagner's Tristan Und Isolde is the 'Scottish Play' of the opera world.
Conductor Sergei Bodanov convinces himself that he too will suffer from the Opera's course, and tells his therapist that he has six weeks to cure him of this 'evil' before the first performance...
Christopher William Hill's drama starring Bill Nighy as Sergei Bodanov, Henry Goodman as Dr Carl Lieberman, Lorelei King as Ruth Lieberman, Sylvestra Le Touzel as Laura van Helden and Andrew C Wadsworth as Emile Danacre.
Pianist: Colin Guthrie
Director: Liz Webb
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
TUE 12:00 As Time Goes By (b007k7gr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b017gzgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007k372)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Passing the Hat (b00mqhqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y10tj)
Gabrielle Zevin - The Collected Works of AJ Fikry, A Discovery
Enchanting, funny and poignant, The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry is largely set in Island Books, a struggling independent bookshop in the middle of an island community off the American coast. In today's episode, an unlikely discovery in the children's section of the bookshop presents A.J. with a dilemma. Madeleine Potter is the narrator, and Hari Dhillon reads from A.J. Fikry's journal.
The abridger is Sally Marmion and the producer is Elizabeth Allard.
TUE 14:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t3tb3)
The Central Control Board of 1915
"Drink is doing us more damage in the War than all the German submarines put together", insisted Lloyd George in February 1915.
Continuing his history series on how British governments have approached the 'Drink Question', Mark Whitaker looks at the years of the First World War, when everything was determined by the needs of 'national efficiency'.
After a few months of war it became clear that Britain needed to make more munitions - and fast. But output was slowed down by the workers' drinking habits. "We are fighting German, Austrians and Drink", said Lloyd George as he embarked on a plan for the government to buy up the country's whole liquor trade.
But the Cabinet balked at the price. Instead a Central Control Board (CCB) was set up in 1915 with the power to take over the trade in areas of particular sensitivity to the war effort. The largest of these was Gretna-Carlisle, where a new national munitions factory was built.
The number of licences was drastically reduced: the beer was weakened: the sale of spirits limited: and pubs encouraged to provide food as well as drink. Newspapers called it "the largest social experiment of our time". A Carlisle vicar called state control "the dawning of a new era". It worked too. Convictions for drunkenness in CCB-controlled areas declined dramatically, and many began to think that nationalisation might finally be the solution to the 'Drink Question'.
Producer: Mark Whitaker
A Square Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jwy2f)
ME Braddon - Lady Audley's Secret, Episode 2
Dramatisation of the classic Victorian thriller by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
Young lawyer Robert Audley bumps into his old school friend George Talboys, who has made his fortune in Australia. George is returning home to the wife he left behind, but there is an unexpected letter waiting for him in London.
Mary Braddon ...... Hattie Morahan
Lucy, Lady Audley ...... Charlotte Emmerson
Robert Audley ...... Alex Wyndham
George Talboys ...... Joseph Kloska
Sir Michael Audley ...... Sam Dale
Alicia Audley ...... Perdita Weeks
Directed by Julie Beckett and Fiona Kelcher.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b0213yfp)
Damian Barr - Maggie and Me, Episode 2
Damian Barr reads his extraordinary memoir of growing up in small-town Scotland in the 1980s.
The threat of closure comes to Ravenscraig, the nearby steelworks where Damian's dad works, and tensions build locally. But as the community mounts a campaign to 'Save the Craig' and the chaos of his homelife escalates, ten year old Damian finds escape in his books and his new best friend Mark - everybody at school loves Mark, but he's joined at the hip to Damian.
Written and read by Damian Barr.
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Allegra McIlroy.
TUE 15:00 Classic Serial (b04k7j00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b00s92p7)
Series 3, Episode 1
Prepare to have your synapses twisted into a string theorist's nightmare, as Professor Lloyd and his new curator, the startlingly insightful comedian Jon Richardson, hurriedly throw the dust covers off the Museum's clump of empty plinths for a brand new series of the BBC's most improving comedy panel show.
This week, fantasy novelist Sir Terry Pratchett offers them a Secret And Personal Extra Day Of The Week; cosmologist and author Marcus Chown donates a bizarre but plausible scientific theory of the afterlife known as the Enigma Point; and Shappi Khorsandi has somehow finds herself in a position to offer none other than Charlie Chaplin.
TUE 16:30 The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere (b007jsq3)
Series 2, 6th May 1800
Cholericke gets a surprise visitor while Dorothy tries to manage as the household descends into chaos...
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, Miriam Margolyes as Stinking Iris, Angela Pleasence as Sara Cholricke and Nickolas Grace as Thomas de Quinine.
Music by Stephen Oliver and performed by Cantabile.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1987.
TUE 17:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nm20q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b2jg2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsdz)
HAL
Suspicions arise that HAL is acting on its own volition, but does HAL suspect them..?
Arthur C Clarke's ground-breaking novel is set in our present, a vision of a future yet to be, and a past shrouded in mystery.
Read in ten parts by William Roberts - secrets of the story are revealed that the film adaptation missed.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
TUE 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l0tg6)
Michael Faber - The Book of Strange New Things, Episode 7
Joe Armstrong, Hayley Atwell and Dougray Scott star in Miranda Emmerson's adaptation of the astonishing new novel by Michel Faber (Under the Skin, Crimson Petal and the White).
Set in the near future, it tells the story of Peter, devoted husband and devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Beatrice.
Peter has travelled to a far distant planet, called Oasis, where an enigmatic corporation called USIC have a base. He has been employed as Christian missionary to the native inhabitants - a gentle, peaceable community, who have welcomed Peter to their settlement and are eager to hear the teachings of the Bible, a book they call 'The Book of Strange New Things'.
In today's episode, Peter attempts to bridge the vast distance between Oasis and Earth and reconnect with his wife, Bea.
Directed by Emma Harding.
TUE 18:30 The Palace of Laughter (b007vcw2)
Series 1, Grand Blackpool
Geoffrey Wheeler visits the seaside theatre that is refusing to bring the curtain down. With Bernard Cribbins and Mike Harding. From April 2002.
TUE 19:00 As Time Goes By (b007k7gr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b017gzgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007k372)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Passing the Hat (b00mqhqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Short Rides in Fast Machines (b04pvp7z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 CW Hill - Killing Maestros (b007w5g0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b2jg2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b03hwbrr)
Series 1, Out of Our Tree
Tom's father is engrossed in putting together the Wrigglesworth Family Tree which is leaving Tom's mother at a loose end. Tom suggests she gets in a lodger for company.
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.
A fascinating and hilarious glimpse into Tom Wrigglesworth, his family background and the influences that have shaped his temperament,opinions and hang-ups.
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.
'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.
Cast:
Tom Wrigglesworth ...Tom
Judy Parfitt ... Granny
Paul Copley ... Dad
Kate Anthony ... Mum
David Reed ... Henry
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle
Additional Material by Miles Jupp
Producer: Katie Tyrrell.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0b4p6wp)
Tania Edwards 1/2
The best in contemporary comedy. Jon Holmes talks to Tania Edwards.
TUE 23:00 Lewis Macleod Is Not Himself (b04jk3qr)
Episode 3
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 (b04mh3r9)
Series 1, Episode 3
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 third programme (of four), there are stories about Tom Jones, Morrissey and Mrs Phyllis Pearsall, among others.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.

WEDNESDAY 23 MAY 2018

WED 00:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsdz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l0tg6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 The Palace of Laughter (b007vcw2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Hammond Innes - The Doomed Oasis (b007k372)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Passing the Hat (b00mqhqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y10tj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t3tb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jwy2f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b0213yfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Classic Serial (b04k7j00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b00s92p7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere (b007jsq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Stockport, So Good They Named It Once (b01nm20q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b0b2jg2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpf)
Episode 1
The Dutch police arrive at Martin's house just as he's thinking of going to bed. He has to leave his wife Sophia and travel with them to Amsterdam's central police station, where Inspector Van der Valk breaks the news.
Martin is the chief suspect in the murder of the seductive Elsa de Charmoy - his former lover and manipulator of men...
Nicholas Freeling's crime thriller read by David Troughton.
Piet Van der Valk is the much-copied prototype detective, 'a cranky, gentle, bumbling, brilliant, non-conformist student of human behaviour whose primary concern is why rather than how crimes are committed'.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in 2006.
WED 06:30 Cricket Legends - Denis Compton (b0b3ggks)
4 Extra Debut. England's first-class cricketer and Arsenal footballer - Denis Compton's story explored by David Rayvern Allen. From July 1998.
WED 07:00 The Leopard in Autumn (b00s3bcz)
Series 2, Salvatore's Apotheosis
Plethora decides it's time for son and heir Salvatore to be ordained as a priest - by nonagenarian Father Ignazio.
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, Nicholas Grace as Lord Luton and Kim Wall as Father Ignazio.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2002.
WED 07:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b2kpm2)
Series 1, The Helpers
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 third episode, Daliso looks at charities and organisations who want to help the relationship.
Written and performed by Daliso Chaponda
The Other Guy... James Quinn
Theme tune by Lawi
Image by Steve Ullathorne
Production Coordinator... Beverly Tagg
Producer... Carl Cooper
This is a BBC Studios Production.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b00805k9)
The Falmouth Ghost Ship
The crew of HMS Troutbridge investigate strange lights spotted at sea off the coast of Cornwall.
Stars Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Tenniel Evans as Sir Willoughby Todhunter-Brown, Heather Chasen as Lady Todhunter-Brown, Richard Caldicote as Captain Povey, Michael Bates as Commander Bracewell and Ronnie Barker as the Liner Captain.
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 (b007jrlz)
Series 2, Episode 5
Master Spy Kenneth Horne's on the case of a remote-control guided nuclear banana - and Kenneth Williams throws a fresh tantrum over the show's script.
With Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London. Announcer: Douglas Smith
Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, catchphrases and double-entendres.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1966.
WED 09:00 Foul Play (b00jtm1q)
Series 3, Oh Yes She Is Dead!
Crime writers Susan Moody and Simon Shaw tackle a charming pantomime murder. Simon Brett chairs the murder quiz. From January 1998.
WED 09:30 The 27-Year Itch (b0b3gk92)
Expanding the Mind
Edward seeks to expand his mind, with the help of a gentle arm-lock from Dorothy.
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 David Burke, Lewis Fiander, John Gabriel and Geoffrey McGivern.
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 January 1979.
WED 10:00 Nan Woodhouse (b04v2w8w)
Judith Shakespeare
Playwright William Shakespeare's younger daughter is a loner.
Feeling at odds with the confined world of Stratford-upon-Avon, Judith yearns to be a part of her father's life.
Nan Woodhouse's 17th century drama stars Amanda Root as Judith, Michael Pennington as William, Anton Lesser as the Earl of Southampton, Andrew Wincott as Ben, Melinda Walker as Anne, Thomas Connor as Hamnet, Stephen Critchlow as Carias, Ann Beach as the Landlady, Colleen Prendergast as the Chambermaid and Jillie Meers as the Wise Woman.
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
WED 11:00 Short Rides in Fast Machines (b04sy3qy)
About Time by Tania Hershman
A multi-contributor series of specially-commissioned radio stories about speed.
Every generation observes that life is getting faster - the pace of change, of action, or communication. Our cars, trains, boats and planes are faster than ever. And as every world-record on the athletic track confirms, we're still getting faster ourselves. The title is inspired by the minimalist composition by John Adams ('Short Ride In A Fast Machine').
Episode 3:
"About Time" by Tania Hershman
A writer's research for a story about time machines takes him in some unusual directions.
Tania Hershman is the author of two story collections - 'My Mother Was An Upright Piano: Fictions' and 'The White Road and Other Stories'. Her award-winning short stories and poetry have been widely published in print and online and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and 4. Tania is founder and curator of ShortStops, celebrating short story activity across the UK and Ireland. She is a Royal Literary Fund fellow at the faculties of science at Bristol University and is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, exploring the intersection between fiction and particle physics. She is co-writer and editor of Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion which will be published in December 2014.
Produced by Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:15 Sue Teddern - Picking Up the Pieces (b0076dyr)
Emma's husband was killed after intervening in a burglary. Back at work, her friends have no idea what to say so she finds herself feeling increasingly lonely.
By chance, she meets the uncle of one of her husband's killers, and an unlikely friendship develops.
Sue Teddern's drama stars Nicola Stephenson as Emma, Shaun Dingwall as Ross, Clare Corbett as Clare, Laura Doddington as Ken, Priyanga Elan as Mina and Andrew Harrison as Ian.
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b00805k9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Round the Horne (b007jrlz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Cricket Legends - Denis Compton (b0b3ggks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y15j4)
Gabrielle Zevin - The Collected Works of AJ Fikry, Episode 3
Beguiling, funny and poignant, The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry is largely set in Island Books, a struggling independent bookshop at the heart of an island community off the American coast. Today, A.J. Fikry acts out of love when he makes an extraordinary commitment. Madeleine Potter and Hari Dhillon read.
The abridger is Sally Marmion and the producer is Elizabeth Allard.
WED 14:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t3tbw)
Improving the Pub
It seemed possible during the 1920s that the 'Drink Question' that had bedevilled British governments for so long might finally be about to be consigned to the past.
The fall in consumption - which had started during the First World War - continued throughout the decade, and political attention focused on why. This was when the Labour Party formed its first governments, and there were powerful socialist voices arguing for a full nationalisation of the drinks industry. This could be a route to weaning the working classes away from a product that was "a powerful weapon in the hands of the exploiters". George Bernard Shaw called liquor "a chloroform that allows the poor to endure the painful operation of living".
But while governments chose to sit on the fence during the 1920s, the brewing industry got busy. Led by people like Ernest Nevile, the head of Whitbread's, they set about designing and building a new type of pub - one that would attract a new middle class clientele. "The presence in public houses of people who will not tolerate insobriety makes excess unfashionable".
What were called 'improved pubs' - huge buildings with bars, restaurants, ball rooms, bowling greens and even tennis courts - sprung up in the new suburbs. When Nevile said "if I can cure drunkenness in the country in my time, that will satisfy me" he was talking business, not morality.
The programme also looks at the first attempts at a sociology of the pub, and what people wanted from it.
Producer: Mark Whitaker
A Square Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jwy27)
ME Braddon - Lady Audley's Secret, Episode 3
Dramatisation of the classic Victorian thriller by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
Curious to meet his uncle's beautiful young wife, Robert Audley travels to Essex. He invites his widowed friend George Talboys to distract him from his grief. But Lady Audley is most reluctant to receive them.
Mary Braddon ...... Hattie Morahan
Robert Audley ...... Alex Wyndham
George Talboys ...... Joseph Kloska
Sir Michael Audley ...... Sam Dale
Alicia Audley ...... Perdita Weeks
Phoebe Marks ...... Lizzy Watts
Directed by Julie Beckett and Fiona Kelcher.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b0214316)
Damian Barr - Maggie and Me, Episode 3
Powerful 1980s memoir written and read by Damian Barr.
It's 1987 and Damian Barr is eleven years old. He's terrified of the AIDS epidemic, and he's sure it's coming to get him. Secondary school is a harsh place for a young gay boy on free school dinners. As his chaotic home life escalates he attempts to hide from his sexuality, and turns to the escape offered by his friend Heather's calm home.
Written and read by Damian Barr.
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Allegra McIlroy.
WED 15:00 Nan Woodhouse (b04v2w8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Foul Play (b00jtm1q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The 27-Year Itch (b0b3gk92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 The Leopard in Autumn (b00s3bcz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b2kpm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsf0)
Mutiny
As the spaceship approaches Saturn, computer HAL takes control of the ship.
Arthur C Clarke's ground-breaking novel is set in our present, a vision of a future yet to be, and a past shrouded in mystery.
Read in ten parts by William Roberts - secrets of the story are revealed that the film adaptation missed.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
WED 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l0zq1)
Michael Faber - The Book of Strange New Things, Episode 8
Joe Armstrong, Hayley Atwell and Dougray Scott star in Miranda Emmerson's adaptation of the astonishing new novel by Michel Faber (Under the Skin, Crimson Petal and the White).
Set in the near future, it tells the story of Peter, devoted husband and devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Beatrice.
Peter has travelled to a far distant planet, called Oasis, where an enigmatic corporation called USIC have a base. He has been employed as Christian missionary to the native inhabitants - a gentle, peaceable community, who have welcomed Peter to their settlement and are eager to hear the teachings of the Bible, a book they call 'The Book of Strange New Things'.
In today's episode, Bea and Peter's relationship comes under strain.
Directed by Emma Harding
Other parts played by members of the company.
WED 18:30 The Tingle Factor (b07jlr2g)
Richard Ingrams
Former Private Eye and The Oldie editor Richard Ingrams tells Robin Ray about that music that stirs his emotions. From July 1991.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b00805k9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Round the Horne (b007jrlz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Cricket Legends - Denis Compton (b0b3ggks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Short Rides in Fast Machines (b04sy3qy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Sue Teddern - Picking Up the Pieces (b0076dyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b2kpm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 2525 (b03sg6mf)
Episode 6
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 kitchen appliances to the historical re-enactment society devoted to restaging fights in pub car parks.
Written by Colin Birch, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris, Jon Hunter, Jane Lamacraft, 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 (b0b4p6wr)
Tania Edwards 2/2
The best in contemporary comedy. Jon Holmes talks to Tania Edwards.
WED 23:00 Clayton Grange (b047zk79)
Series 2, Episode 4
by Neil Warhurst with additional material by Paul Barnhill
Spurred on by Saunders, our weary scientific team tries to impress a visiting Nobel Prize judge with their self-replicating killer robo-ants. But this is Clayton Grange. When do things ever go right?
Produced & directed by Marion Nancarrow
Anthony Head returns for the finale of this sparkling comedy series, described by The Observer as "brilliantly funny".
WED 23:30 Delve Special (b00t3xrt)
Series 1, The Shifton Scandal (Part 3)
In his town demolition expose, David Lander examines the link to a government sex scandal. Stephen Fry stars as the spoof investigative journalist. From August 1984.

THURSDAY 24 MAY 2018

THU 00:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l0zq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 The Tingle Factor (b07jlr2g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Cricket Legends - Denis Compton (b0b3ggks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y15j4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t3tbw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jwy27)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b0214316)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Nan Woodhouse (b04v2w8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Foul Play (b00jtm1q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The 27-Year Itch (b0b3gk92)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Leopard in Autumn (b00s3bcz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Daliso Chaponda: Citizen of Nowhere (b0b2kpm2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpm)
Episode 2
Martin's finally admitted the truth: he met Elsa de Charmoy shortly before her death - and he attempted to visit her on the night she died, but claims he didn't kill her. Martin's alibi is thin and there are no other suspects, but Van der Valk takes a chance on him. Together they visit Elsa's apartment to try and find evidence...
Nicholas Freeling's crime thriller read by David Troughton.
Piet Van der Valk is the much-copied prototype detective, 'a cranky, gentle, bumbling, brilliant, non-conformist student of human behaviour whose primary concern is why rather than how crimes are committed'.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in 2006.
THU 06:30 Movie Outcasts: The Making of Easy Rider (b00cqhm8)
Micky Dolenz explores how two producers, hot from the success of The Monkees TV series, kick-started an artistic renaissance in Hollywood with their counter-culture movie about two hippie bikers riding across America.
Contributors include Peter Tork, Jim Frawley, Steve Blauner, Henry Jaglom, Karen Black, Roger McGuinn, Donn Cambern and Peter Bogdanovich.
THU 07:00 North by Northamptonshire (b017x4fn)
Series 2, Episode 2
Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the residents of a small town in Northamptonshire. Jan has Helen back at home, but is it what she really wants?
written by Katherine Jakeways
produced by Victoria Lloyd
John Biggins............Keith
Mackenzie Crook.........Rod
Kevin Eldon.........Jonathan / Ken
Shelia Hancock........... Narrator
Jessica Henwick.............Helen
Katherine Jakeways.... Esther / Jacqui
Felicity Montagu..............Jan
Geoffrey Palmer..........Norman
Lizzie Roper............Angela
Penelope Wilton............Mary
Rufus Wright..............Frank.
THU 07:30 Alone (b0b2mgj6)
Series 1, The Reunion
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, overly honest, frustrated actress Louisa (Kate Isitt), and socially inept IT nerd Morris (Bennett Arron).
In The Reunion, Mitch's get together with an old university chum is not at all the reunion he expects - while the rest of the gang are disappointed to have to attempt the local pub quiz without their main man, Mitch.
Guest stars Frances Barber and Clive Mantle.
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 08:00 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k0kz)
The Rich Brothers
The veteran of many parts recalls a slapstick act, and reveals all on showbiz cliches. Stars Peter Jones. From July 1986.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jn76)
Tales of Old Dartmoor
Prison governor Neddie Seagoon relocates his inmates to the south of France. Stars Harry Secombe. From February 1956.
THU 09:00 Funny You Should Ask (b0b3j9rq)
From 23/07/1979
Peter Jones hosts the entertainment quiz about comedy as he tests a panel of experts:
Sid Colin, Barry Cryer and John Junkin recall memories of careers and comic colleagues.
Funny You Should Ask ran for 8 series from 1976 to 1982.
Questions compiled by Michael Pointon.
Producer: Bob Oliver Rogers
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in July 1979.
THU 09:30 Alison and Maud (b007k2d1)
Series 1, Family Hold Back
How does Maud manage to come up trumps in the middle of the night?
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, Chris Emmett as Mr Mullett, Geoffrey Whitehead as Mr Ducket and Judy Flynn as Mrs Ducket.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2002.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b04bmtpk)
Honoré de Balzac - Eugenie Grandet, Episode 1
Rose Tremain's gripping dramatisation, starring Ian McKellen, of Balzac's tragic novel revolving around Grandet, an ageing vine farmer, and his innocent young daughter Eugenie.
Monsieur Grandet, who has amassed a considerable fortune, is a miser who feigns poverty and runs his household along miserably frugal lines. All changes with the arrival of Eugenie's handsome 22-year-old cousin, Charles Grandet, from Paris. Charles has brought with him a shocking letter from his father, Guillaume, who has committed suicide. He has placed his debts and the care of his son into his brother's hands. It is a fatal decision, with ruinous consequences for the whole family.
Eugenie Grandet is considered by many to be the strongest novel in Balzac's magnificent series, The Human Comedy. It pits a young naive girl against the father she has worshipped and this defiance sets us on course for the playing out of a heart-rending tragedy. Like King Lear, Grandet is a man who deeply loves the daughter who has defied him. He has no other child, no hope, no future but her. But in Balzac's 'human comedy' the tragic and the comic exist side by side and this fruitful conjunction blossoms in Rose Tremain's enthralling adaptation.
Cello and Treble Recorder: Alison Baldwin
Original Music: Lucinda Mason Brown
Produced and directed by Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 11:00 JG Ballard - The Largest Theme Park in the World (b06p52c5)
Europe has exchanged work for perpetual sunbathing on the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea. Read by Patrick Malahide. From January 1991.
THU 11:15 Alex Ferguson - A Woman's Walk Is Never Done (b0075xn8)
Jessie Lincoln's left holding the baby when husband Tom joins the 1936 Jarrow March.
But as Tom marches in one direction, headstrong Jessie marches in another - and takes the road to independence.
Alex Ferguson's drama stars Janine Birkett as Jessie, Trevor Fox as Tom, Carol McGuigan as Hannah, Peggy Shields as Mrs Hudson, Jack McBride as Mr McGovern, Donald McBride as Mr Lincoln, Kerry Turner as Isobel, Vicki Wilson as Maureen and Ashley Wykes as the Maid.
Producer: Lindsay Leonard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
THU 12:00 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k0kz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jn76)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Movie Outcasts: The Making of Easy Rider (b00cqhm8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y38l2)
Gabrielle Zevin - The Collected Works of AJ Fikry, Chance and Possibility
The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry is the enchanting, funny and touching novel by Gabrielle Zevin. Set in Island Books, a struggling independent bookshop at the heart of an island community off the American coast, it is the place where life lessons gleaned from reading are passed on. Today, Maya and A.J. open a book each, and what they find inside leads to delight and opportunity. Madeleine Potter and Hari Dhillon read.
Abridged by Sally Marmion and produced by Elizabeth Allard.
THU 14:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t4qkn)
The Doctors Take Over
A Ministry of Health Report in 1956 referred to heavy drinking as something that had been an issue in Britain "at times in the 18th and 19th century". In 1961 the Home Secretary RA Butler confidently told the Commons that "public drunkenness is not a problem". But such denial couldn't last long.
As part of his series on the politics of alcohol in Britain, Mark Whitaker focuses on the decision by government in 1962 to build specialist alcoholic treatment units around the country. It was called "the first official recognition of alcoholism as an illness which should be the responsibility of doctors", and was an acknowledgement that drinking was on the increase. This period saw the first specific warnings about teenage drinking.
But controversies followed. Several Regional Hospital Boards were reluctant to invest in the new units; research suggested that in-patient treatment was not necessarily the most effective; and the strategy was attacked for being of limited value to those most in need of help - the unemployed meths drinkers of 'Skid Rows' in the major cities.
This was when the pioneering psychiatrist Griffith Edwards first proposed his methods for tackling drunkenness as a public health issue, based on its being recognised as a community-wide problem. Edwards contributes to the programme, while actors read documents from the 1960s.
Producer: Mark Whitaker
A Square Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jwy29)
ME Braddon - Lady Audley's Secret, Episode 4
Dramatisation of the classic Victorian thriller by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
Robert Audley continues his search for his lost friend George. He follows the trail to Southampton, but believes the answer to all his questions actually lies at Audley Court.
Mary Braddon ...... Hattie Morahan
Lucy, Lady Audley ...... Charlotte Emmerson
Robert Audley ...... Alex Wyndham
Alicia Audley ...... Perdita Weeks
Sir Michael Audley ...... Sam Dale
Lieutenant Maldon ...... Jonathan Tafler
Directed by Julie Beckett and Fiona Kelcher.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b0213zsb)
Damian Barr - Maggie and Me, Episode 4
Though Damian is caught up in the anti-capitalist enthusiasm of one of his teachers who smuggles key anti Poll Tax Protesters into school to inspire the children, he still has a secret desire to impress his unlikely heroine Margaret Thatcher.
He's been hiding his sexuality for years, but he finally discovers some freedom in dancing to Madonna in Glasgow's only gay club.
Written and read by Damian Barr.
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Allegra McIlroy.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b04bmtpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Funny You Should Ask (b0b3j9rq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Alison and Maud (b007k2d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 North by Northamptonshire (b017x4fn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Alone (b0b2mgj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsf8)
Reconnaissance
Bowman prepares to embark on the final stages of his reconnaissance mission
Arthur C Clarke's ground-breaking novel is set in our present, a vision of a future yet to be, and a past shrouded in mystery.
Read in ten parts by William Roberts - secrets of the story are revealed that the film adaptation missed.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
THU 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l3bql)
Michael Faber - The Book of Strange New Things, Episode 9
Joe Armstrong, Hayley Atwell and Dougray Scott star in Miranda Emmerson's adaptation of the extraordinary new novel by Michel Faber (Under the Skin, Crimson Petal and the White).
Set in the near future, it tells the story of Peter, devoted husband and devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Beatrice.
Peter has travelled to a far distant planet, called Oasis, where an enigmatic corporation called USIC have a base. He has been employed as Christian missionary to the native inhabitants - a gentle, peaceable community, who have welcomed Peter to their settlement and are eager to hear the teachings of the Bible, a book they call 'The Book of Strange New Things'.
In today's episode, life on Earth pushes Bea to breaking point, while on Oasis, Peter has a curious encounter.
Directed by Emma Harding.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b010fd93)
Series 24, Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Ferrier was a British contralto singer who died in 1953 from breast cancer. Her professional career had lasted just 14 years but in that time she had had become an international star, singing at Covent Garden, Glyndebourne and Carnegie Hall; and had worked with such luminaries of post-war music as Benjamin Britten, Sir John Barbirolli, and Bruno Walter. Not bad for someone who had no formal training as a singer and who had left school to work in the Blackburn telephone exchange. Ferrier never lost her common touch, never became a prima donna, and retained her liking for beer, cigarettes, and risque jokes. In this programme, broadcaster Sue MacGregor tells Matthew Parris why she admires Ferrier's work. Joining the discussion is conductor Christopher Fifield who edited Ferrier's letters.
THU 19:00 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k0kz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jn76)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Movie Outcasts: The Making of Easy Rider (b00cqhm8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 JG Ballard - The Largest Theme Park in the World (b06p52c5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Alex Ferguson - A Woman's Walk Is Never Done (b0075xn8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Alone (b0b2mgj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Ross Noble Goes Global (b01dbgvs)
Series 2, Milan
The comedian discovers graffiti, beggars and lycra-clad couriers in the Italian style capital of Europe. From June 2003.
THU 23:00 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b010hcwk)
Series 3, Episode 3
Arthur Smith presents comedy and music from his flat in Balham, with stand-up comedy from Sean Lock in the living room, Annette Fagon on the landing and music from Squeeze in the kitchen.
Producer Alison Vernon-Smith.
THU 23:30 The Odd Half Hour (b00wdh4m)
Series 2, Episode 4
A right-wing intervention and must-have board games. Stars Kevin Bishop, Stephen K Amos and Doon Mackichan. From December 2010.

FRIDAY 25 MAY 2018

FRI 00:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsf8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l3bql)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b010fd93)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Movie Outcasts: The Making of Easy Rider (b00cqhm8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y38l2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t4qkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jwy29)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b0213zsb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b04bmtpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Funny You Should Ask (b0b3j9rq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Alison and Maud (b007k2d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 North by Northamptonshire (b017x4fn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Alone (b0b2mgj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpq)
Episode 3
The Dutch detective has finally discovered murder victim Elsa de Charmoy's secret. A decoy is needed to snare the killer, but it's a very risky assignment. Tension mounts as the murderer makes his presence felt.
Nicholas Freeling's crime thriller concluded by David Troughton.
Piet Van der Valk is the much-copied prototype detective, 'a cranky, gentle, bumbling, brilliant, non-conformist student of human behaviour whose primary concern is why rather than how crimes are committed'.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in 2006.
FRI 06:30 Before Your Very Ears! (b00chw4h)
Grant Gordon explores the rich history of magic on radio.
Archive features include Sid and Lesley Piddington and their mind-reading act, the great Sidani confounding Kenneth Horne, Uri Geller bending keys, John Wade sawing Barry Wordsworth in half, David Berglas's magical carpentry and Jack Delvin escaping from a lift in Bush House.
Contributors include magicians Darryl Rose, Paul Zenon, Ali Bongo and Derren Brown.
FRI 07:00 Andy & Eric Merriman - Minor Adjustment (b0b3jncg)
At the End of the Rainbow
Richard's wildest dreams seem about to come true.
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, Kerry Shale as Joel Bennett, Kim Wall as Nick, Rachel Preece as Dr Thompson and Patience Tomlinson as Charlotte's Mother.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1996.
FRI 07:30 Stand-Up Specials (b0b3bcsp)
Geoff Norcott: Right Leaning But Well Meaning
Geoff Norcott is working class, had two disabled parents, votes Tory and voted Leave. How did he end up a comedian?
In this stand up show, Geoff introduces us to his family, his early career as a teacher and how he ended up on Question Time.
He has a starring role in The Mash Report on BBC 2, has done a national tour and appeared on Live at the Apollo, Edinburgh Nights, Comedy Bigmouths, and The Wright Stuff, as well as Question Time - twice. Geoff has also found himself in demand as a social commentator on Radio 4's Today programme, Daily Politics on BBC1, Victoria Derbyshire on BBC 2 and Sky News' All Out Politics.
He writes for national publications with articles appearing in The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent and The New Statesman. He writes regularly for other comedians including Sarah Millican and Katherine Ryan. Geoff was nominated for Best New Show at the Leicester Comedy Festival and an has Operational Services Medal for five frontline tours entertaining the troops in Afghanistan.
With Geoff Norcott, Leanne Everitt and Barry Castagnola.
Written by Geoff Norcott with additional material by Stephen Grant and Barry Castagnola.
Produced by Caroline Raphael
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b01075d1)
Series 7, Episode 2
A truthful army recruitment campaign - and Professor Prune's travels in his electrical trousers back to the 16th century.
Starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Sketches 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, Dave Lee, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.
Producer: David Hatch/Peter Titheradge
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in January 1969.
FRI 08:30 Brothers in Law (b007js84)
Series 2, Keeping It Warm
Will barrister Roger manage to make up with girlfriend Sally?
Starring Richard Briers as Roger Thursby, John Glyn-Jones as Grimes, Julia Lockwood as Sally, Jean Anderson as Mrs Thursby, Norman Bird as Brigstocke, John Gabriel as Lowthwaite, Francis de Wolff as Mr Justice and Peter Tuddenham as the Lord Justice.
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 The Motion Show (b00762c8)
Series 4, Episode 1
Graeme Garden chairs the debating game with Hugh Dennis, Arthur Smith, Gyles Brandreth and Henry Naylor. From May 2001.
FRI 09:30 After Henry (b007jq99)
Series 3, Different Viewpoints
'If the television is a guest in the house, it's rude to exclude it from the conversation. If the television says something, then one would be impolite not to respond to it.'
Sarah is irritated by her mother Eleanor's opinions on TV - and every other subject...
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 November 1987.
FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b04c9xcq)
Honoré de Balzac - Eugenie Grandet, Episode 2
The final part of Rose Tremain's gripping dramatisation of Balzac's Eugenie Grandet, starring Ian McKellen as Eugenie's miserly father and Alison Pettit as his lovelorn daughter.
Monsieur Grandet, who has amassed a considerable fortune, is a miser who feigns poverty and runs his household along miserably frugal lines. All changes with the arrival of Eugenie's handsome 22-year-old cousin, Charles Grandet, from Paris. Charles has brought with him a shocking letter from his father, Guillaume, who has committed suicide. He has placed his debts and the care of his son into his brother's hands. It is a fatal decision, with ruinous consequences for the whole family.
Eugenie Grandet is considered by many to be the strongest novel in Balzac's magnificent series, The Human Comedy. It pits a young naive girl against the father she has worshipped and this defiance sets us on course for the playing out of a heart-rending tragedy. Like King Lear, Grandet is a man who deeply loves the daughter who has defied him. He has no other child, no hope, no future but her. But in Balzac's 'human comedy' the tragic and the comic exist side by side and this fruitful conjunction blossoms in Rose Tremain's enthralling adaptation.
Cello and Treble Recorder: Alison Baldwin
Original Music: Lucinda Mason Brown
Produced and directed by Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b0b3jncj)
British Podcast Award Winners (Part 1)
Made for 4 Extra. Amanda Litherland presents highlights from 2018's British Podcast Awards, featuring interviews with winners.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b01075d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Brothers in Law (b007js84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Before Your Very Ears! (b00chw4h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b03y3lkz)
Gabrielle Zevin - The Collected Works of AJ Fikry, A Trip to Providence
Beguiling, funny and poignant, The Collected Works of A.J. Fikry is largely set in Island Books, a struggling independent bookshop at the heart of an island community off the American coast. Today, Amelia's favourite book finds A.J planning a trip to Providence with Maya and his trusted friend, Lambiase. Madeleine Potter & Hari Dhillon read.
Abridged by Sally Marmion and produced by Elizabeth Allard.
FRI 14:15 Britain on the Bottle: Alcohol and the State (b00t3tdc)
The 'Drink Question', Past and Present
In the last decade or so Britain has experienced renewed social and political panic over the consequences of excessive drinking, and the concept of 'alcohol related harms' has entered the language. A coherent policy community has developed, and research has multiplied, around questions of alcohol control. But governments have seemingly been reluctant to listen.
Mark Whitaker concludes his look at the politics of alcohol since the 17th century by examining New Labour's Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy of 2004, and related relaxation of the licensing system.
Whitaker interviews the historians whose work has informed his own research, and asks them how they think the past can or should inform present policy. He talks to James Nicholls, Virginia Berridge, John Greenaway and Betsy Thom. They address questions about why the 'Drink Question' has been defined differently at different times; why the liquor industry has been so politically powerful; why the temperance movement lasted so long but seemingly achieved so little; and why alcoholism and drunkenness have posed distinct policy challenges.
Above all, they reflect on the complexity of alcohol as a commodity, and on why legislating about it has been, and remains, remarkably difficult.
Producer: Mark Whitaker
A Square Dog production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b00jwy2c)
ME Braddon - Lady Audley's Secret, Episode 5
Dramatisation of the classic Victorian thriller by Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
Robert leaves the splendour of Audley Court to continue his search for his missing friend at a draughty hilltop inn. When he interviews Lady Audley's former maid, he provokes a surprising result.
Mary Braddon ...... Hattie Morahan
Lucy, Lady Audley ...... Charlotte Emmerson
Robert Audley ...... Alex Wyndham
Phoebe Marks ...... Lizzy Watts
Luke Marks ...... Benjamin Askew
Directed by Julie Beckett and Fiona Kelcher.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b0213yrn)
Damian Barr - Maggie and Me, Episode 5
Still at school, Damian makes a brave decision to come out as gay, but discovers first-hand the impact of Clause 28 when his normally supportive teachers are unable to discuss his sexuality openly with him.
He heads to university and leaves Scotland for good with the help of a bursary from a mystery benefactor, and finally makes it to a new life as a journalist living in Brighton with his partner. His last visit to Scotland reminds him of the ghosts of his past that still echo in his life, the Ravenscraig steelworks that were the heart of the community and have now disappeared from the landscape, and his complicated relationship with Margaret Thatcher, his unlikely heroine.
Written and read by Damian Barr.
Abridged by Sian Preece
Producer: Allegra McIlroy.
FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b04c9xcq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 The Motion Show (b00762c8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 After Henry (b007jq99)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Andy & Eric Merriman - Minor Adjustment (b0b3jncg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Stand-Up Specials (b0b3bcsp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Arthur C Clarke - 2001: A Space Odyssey (b007jsf9)
Monolith
On the last stage of his mission, Bowman drives a space pod towards the monolith - but what will become of him..?
Arthur C Clarke's ground-breaking novel is set in our present, a vision of a future yet to be, and a past shrouded in mystery.
The last of ten parts by William Roberts.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
FRI 18:15 15 Minute Drama (b04l3gm8)
Michael Faber - The Book of Strange New Things, Episode 10
Joe Armstrong, Hayley Atwell and Dougray Scott star in Miranda Emmerson's adaptation of the otherworldly new novel by Michel Faber (Under the Skin, Crimson Petal and the White).
Set in the near future, it tells the story of Peter, devoted husband and devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Beatrice.
Peter has travelled to a far distant planet, called Oasis, where an enigmatic corporation called USIC have a base. He has been employed as Christian missionary to the native inhabitants - a gentle, peaceable community, who have welcomed Peter to their settlement and are eager to hear the teachings of the Bible, a book they call 'The Book of Strange New Things'.
In today's episode, Peter is horrified to find Jesus Lover 5 gravely ill in Intensive Care. And on Earth, a pregnant Bea faces an uncertain future.
Directed by Emma Harding.
FRI 18:30 Mastertapes (b01sm710)
Series 2, Wilko Johnson (the B-side)
John Wilson returns with a new series of Mastertapes, 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 1, the B-side. Having discussed the making of "Down By The Jetty", the debut album from Dr. Feelgood (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 27th May and available online), Wilko Johnson responds to questions from the audience and performs live versions of some of the songs discussed.
Complete versions of the songs performed in the programme (and others) can be heard on the 'Mastertapes' pages on the Radio 4 website, where all the programmes of this and previous series can also be downloaded and other musical goodies accessed.
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b01075d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Brothers in Law (b007js84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Van der Valk - Love in Amsterdam (b007jwpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Before Your Very Ears! (b00chw4h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b0b3jncj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Stand-Up Specials (b0b3bcsp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Sketchorama (b066wfny)
Series 4, Episode 4
Award winning writer, actress and comedian Isy Suttie presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit. Each week Sketchorama will showcase three acts performing character, broken and musical sketch comedy all brought together by our brilliant new host for series 4.
Groups featured in this episode will be performing at this year's Edinburgh Festival so a real chance to hear some of the latest sketch acts making a name for themselves at the Fringe 2015.
Sketch is a huge part of our British comedy heritage and there are so many incredibly talented and inventive sketch acts on the UK comedy scene with over 100 groups performing at the Edinburgh Festival every year. Sketchorama aims to bring hidden gems and established live acts to the airwaves, offering a truly unmissable show for sketch lovers on Radio 4.
Produced by Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 23:00 Spike Milligan - Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall (b00gl4sz)
Episode 6
1942: More musical and military mishaps as Spike finds himself in and out of more trouble...
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 8-parts by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
FRI 23:30 Chain Reaction (b0092j13)
Series 4, Richard Wilson Interviews Arabella Weir
The famous TV pensioner passes the baton to the Fast Show gal in the relay chat show. From March 2008.