SATURDAY 11 AUGUST 2018

SAT 00:00 Philip Levene - Cold Storage (b007jxmr)
Cold stores are intended only for perishable goods - so the doors don't always have handles on the inside - as one accident-prone frozen food manufacturer finds out...
Philip Levene's drama stars Nigel Graham as Robert Craig, Bonnie Hurren as Lucy Craig and John Forrest as Alan Scott.
Producer: Margaret Etal
First broadcast in Thirty-Minute Theatre on BBC Radio 4 in 1973.
SAT 00:30 Mastertapes (b03h35tp)
Series 3, Robbie Williams (B-Side)
John Wilson continues with his new series in which he talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, with John initially quizzing the artist about the album in question, and then, in the B-side, the audience puts the questions. Both editions feature exclusive live performances.
Programme 1, the B-side. Having discussed the making of "Life Thru A Lens", the album he released after leaving boy-band Take That (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 11th November and available online), Robbie Williams candidly responds to questions from the audience and performs live versions of some to the tracks from that debut solo album, as well as his new release, "Swings Both Ways"
Producer: Paul Kobrak.
SAT 01:00 EW Hornung - Raffles (b01p3hkh)
Series 1, Wilful Murder
Bunny is horrified when gentleman thief Raffles calmly declares he wants to try a different crime - by planning to commit a murder.
Starring Jeremy Clyde as AJ Raffles, Michael Cochrane as Bunny, Henry Stamper as Inspector MacKenzie, Ron Pember as Crawshay and John Church as Sergeant/Waiter.
EW Hornung's early Raffles stories dramatised by David Buck.
Signature tune composed by Jim Parker.
Directed by Gordon House
A BBC Radio 4/ BBC World Service production first broadcast in 1985.
SAT 01:30 The Matter of the North (b07tbkwz)
The 20th-Century North
Melvyn Bragg explores the great cultural movements that came from the North of England which rippled out to affect the world - music with the Beatles, social commentary with Coronation Street and the rise of some of Britain's greatest comedians. Melvyn Bragg examines the contribution of the north to British culture throughout the 20th century - and celebrates the way in which it refreshed and transformed the arts of this country. Also included are some of the earliest voices of northerners ever recorded - part of the Berliner Lautarchiv collection recorded by Wilhelm Doegen - held at Humboldt Universitat. The British Library also offers access to these recordings via its website.
Contributors
Maxine Peake
Dame Joan Bakewell
Lee Hall
Sir Michael Parkinson
Professor Dave Russell
Jimmy McGovern
Dame Judi Dench
David Hockney
Producer: Faith Lawrence.
SAT 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01mx2wb)
Rose Tremain - Merivel: A Man of His Time, Episode 10
Rose Tremain returns triumphantly to one of her best loved characters, in the long awaited sequel to her Booker short-listed best-selling novel, Restoration, published in 1989.
Seventeen years after the events related in Restoration, Merivel, a man of wit, wisdom and not a little passion, is facing a crisis. Older and perhaps a little wiser, with his daughter on the brink of adulthood and his dearest friends ageing too, life on his Norfolk estate is no longer sufficiently satisfying. How to reinvigorate his life and find new purpose?
In today's episode: Sir Robert sets out for Switzerland, and has a lusty encounter on the road to what may prove true love and enlightenment.
The reader is the stage and screen actor Nicholas Woodeson.
The abridger was Sally Marmion and the producer was Di Speirs.
SAT 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b017x4fv)
Freepost
In the early 1800s the post office operated an expensive and illogical payment system. This forced letter-writers into ever more imaginative ways of avoiding postage, from using private couriers, to hiding letters in barrels of butter, to sending coded newspapers. MPs were allowed to send letters for free, but as only a signature was required it created a system that was ripe for abuse.
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines it's impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Historical Consultant: Susan Whyman
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors:Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03yqwhg)
Lavinia Greenlaw - Five Fever Tales, Emergency Prescriptions Kept Up One's Sleeve
A new drama serial by Lavinia Greenlaw about one of the oldest of human diseases.
Malaria has blighted human life in parts of the world for as long as humans have been humans. The mosquito, the parasite it carries, and the human bloodstream are evolving together. In many places the parasite still has the upper hand. Emergency Prescriptions Kept up One's Sleeve: the last of five dramas based on facts and taking in ancient historical itches and ideas about the disease and the latest scientific attempts to understand and outwit it.
The disease caused by a parasite carried in the saliva of female mosquitoes came to humans probably from gorillas a long time ago. Through recorded history the fever-prompting disease has shadowed humans almost everywhere warm enough for mosquitoes to live between the Poles. We have evolved together. It is still the biggest killer of children in parts of the world.
Made in collaboration with Wellcome Trust.
Medical/science adviser: Julian Rayner, Sanger Institute.
Music and sound design: Jon Nicholls
Narrator: Siobhan Redmond.
Other parts: Russell Boulter, Richard Bremmer, David Collins, Jasmine Hyde, John Mackay
Producer: Tim Dee.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b0385knn)
Lloyd Bradley - Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital, Episode 5
The story of a city's transformation through its music, taking in the wave of Commonwealth immigration in the '40s right up to the present day.
In the final episode, jungle and garage pave the way for grime, a style which has crossed over into the mainstream.
SAT 03:00 Classic Serial (b03xtx55)
Dante Alighieri - The Divine Comedy, Paradiso
Blake Ritson, Hattie Morahan and John Hurt star in Stephen Wyatt's dramatisation of Dante's epic poem - the story of one man's extraordinary journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.
In Episode 3: Paradiso, Dante's spiritual journey comes to a glorious conclusion as he (Blake Ritson) is led by Beatrice (Hattie Morahan) through the spheres of Paradise and into the presence of God himself. As they ascend, they encounter a number of souls who have also achieved blessedness.
Many years later, the older Dante (John Hurt), still in enforced exile from his beloved Florence, reflects on the episodes from his life that have inspired his great poem.
All other parts are played by members of the company
The Divine Comedy is dramatised by Stephen Wyatt
Sound design is by Cal Knightley
Directed by Emma Harding and Marc Beeby.
SAT 04:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b03srj01)
Series 12, Episode 6
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Henning Wehn, Graeme Garden, Jeremy Hardy and Victoria Coren Mitchell are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as the British, beetles, the Clergy and novels.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith, the team behind Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:30 After Henry (b007s8gm)
Series 4, Family Album
"Look at this old dear - roses round her cottage door, a cosy smell of making cake wafting from her kitchen. I can imagine a lot of people buying that, putting it in a frame and claiming it as their own grandmother. Probably easier to cope with than the real thing".
Eleanor's family snaps spark arguments with daughter Sarah over the past...
Stars Prunella Scales as Sarah, Joan Sanderson as Eleanor, Benjamin Whitrow as Russell, Gerry Cowper as Clare and Jean Anderson as Auntie Lilian.
Written by Simon Brett
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1989.
SAT 05:00 Winston (b00pbv78)
Winston Back Home, So This Is What Happiness Is All About
The idyllic return of Winston and Nancy to Winterleaf Gunner proves to be short-lived...
Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy serial stars Bill Wallis as Winston, Maurice Denham as Father, Shirley Dixon as Nancy, Liz Goulding as Rosie and Christian Rodska as William.
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1994.
SAT 05:30 Believe It! (b08n2yhf)
Series 3, Legacy
The third series of writer Jon Canter's version of Richard Wilson's autobiography. Will you believe any of it?
After a recent brush with death, Richard considers the legacy he will leave behind. So he ponders the best way to bequeath something to the next generation.
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 Martyn Wade - Gondal (b00cpvsq)
Paralleling Emily Bronte's life at Haworth with a dramatic reconstruction of Gondal, her epic fantasy world set on a Pacific island from which the ideas for 'Wuthering Heights' evolved.
Martyn Wade's play stars Diana Quick as Augusta, Janet Maw as Emily, John Rowe as Lord Eldred, Nathaniel Parker as Fernando, Clive Francis as Alfred, Linda Polan as Tabitha, Moir Leslie as Angelica, David Thorpe as Alexander, Keith Drinkel as Parry, Annabelle Lanyon as Young Emily, Eric Allan as Gerald, Bernadette Windsor as Young Charlotte and Jill Lidstone as Young Branwell.
Other parts by John Webb, Jillie Meers, Siriol Jenkins and Melanie Hudson.
Music specially composed by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Director: Cherry Cookson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
SAT 07:30 Michael Bentine - The Reluctant Jester (b01rg0zd)
The Reluctant Jester Strikes Back, It's a Square World
Michael Bentine remembers going the extra mile in creating some madcap pranks for BBC TV's 'It's A Square World'.
Founding member of The Goon Show and one of the foremost comic minds of his generation - Michael Bentine offers more behind-the-scenes tales of his offbeat and extraordinary life in showbiz.
With extracts from some of his most memorable comic performances and eccentric characters.
Recorded at the Paul Robeson Theatre, Hounslow, Middlesex.
Michael Bentine CBE was born in 1922 and died in 1996.
Producer: Andy Aliffe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1994.
SAT 08:00 The Archive Hour (b00cps5c)
Carry On Britain
Carolyn Quinn celebrates the Carry On films.
What does the long-running series of comedies tells us about British society from the late 1950s to the late 70s?
Featuring: Fenella Fielding, Barbara Windsor, June Whitfield, Shirley Eaton and Norman Hudis.
Producer Jane Ashley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
SAT 09:00 When Diane Met Ken (b0bdx3ff)
In this three hour special Diane Morgan celebrates the mad, creative, eclectic and innovative work of Ken Campbell. We have interviews with Ken from the BBC Archive, performances of drama, poetry, and comedy from throughout his career, and a look back at his wide-ranging influence and influences. Diane will be joined by Ken’s friends, family and colleagues including the playwright Terry Johnson, the ventriloquist and comedian Nina Conti, the actor and comedian Neil Edmond, Ken's agent Maureen Vincent and his literary agent Nicki Stoddart, and Ken’s daughter, the actor, writer and director Daisy Campbell who all speak of the chaotic, important and life-changing role Ken played in all their lives.
SAT 12:00 Ayres on the Air (b03pmk77)
Series 5, Home
Pam Ayres regales her Radio 4 audience with poems, stories and sketches, this week on the subject of Home.
She is joined on stage by Felicity Montagu and Geoffrey Whitehead, with Geoffrey playing her long-suffering husband 'Gordon'.
This week Pam talks about her first home, about the impact of her grown up sons leaving home and about the unwelcome prospect of downsizing. There are also looks at how making your home more 'vintage' can go too far, some handy hints on how to make your child feel more at home if they have to return to the nest post-university, and how your homelife changes when both partners have retired. We are also treated to some wry observations on how our homes have now become so hi-tech we can barely change channels on the TV, and how to approach the thorny issue of moving into single beds when your partner's snoring becomes too much to bear.
Poems include: A September Song, My Little Grandson & Pollen on the Wind
Sketch writers: James Bugg, Jan Etherington, Claire Jones, Grainne McGuire, Andy Wolton and Tom Neenan.
Producer: Claire Jones.
SAT 12:30 Alison and Maud (b007k377)
Series 2, Beds in the East Are Soft
It's not a guest but Daddy who's not keen on a mattress. Is a sneaky swap the answer?
Second of two series of Sue Limb's Bed and Breakfast sitcom about sisters Alison and Maud and their guests at the Abbeyfield Guest House in Norwich.
Starring Denise Coffey as Alison, Miriam Margolyes as Maud, Joss Ackland as Father, Chris Emmett as Mr Mullett and Geoffrey Whitehead as Bernard.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2004.
SAT 13:00 Maya Angelou's Autobiographies (Omnibus) (b0bdx3fh)
Gather Together in My Name
1945, San Francisco: Aged 17, and a single mother, Maya falls in love, but sinks into the world of prostitution and narcotics...
The first of six autobiographies by poet, essayist, writer and activist Maya Angelou.
Narrator (Older Maya) .... Adjoa Andoh
Maya .... Pippa Bennett-Warner
Curly .... Sope Dirisu
Bailey .... Paapa Essiedu
Uncle Charley .... Anthony Ofoegbu
The books are some of the best, most beautiful and haunting pieces of autobiography written . They run the gamut from life affirming to tragedy and back again with a tone that is a joyous, direct and searingly honest, and are an extraordinary portrait of 20th century black America.
Dramatised by Patricia Cumper
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast in five-parts on BBC Radio 4 in August 2018.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0bdx3fk)
Willard White
Opera singer Willard White chooses 'Smile' by Nat King Cole and Bach's Prelude No 1 in C Major, BWV 846.
SAT 14:15 Down Your Way (b0bdx3fm)
Beryl Bainbridge in Chirbury
Author Beryl Bainbridge is in south-west Shropshire to visit the villages of Chirbury and Marton, where she spent holidays as a young girl.
Down Your Way was one of the BBC's longest-running radio series - starting on the BBC Home Service in 1946 and ending its run on BBC Radio 4 in 1992. Using a variety of hosts, including Richard Dimbleby and Brian Johnston, the programme toured villages, towns and cities across the UK. At the height of its success in the 1950s, the series was attracting 10 million listeners a week.
Producer: Lyn Hartman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1987.
SAT 15:00 The Archive Hour (b00cps5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Martyn Wade - Gondal (b00cpvsq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Michael Bentine - The Reluctant Jester (b01rg0zd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Nick Fisher - The Shadow of Mir (b007k2vs)
Valentina Savitskaya, a middle-aged Russian bureaucrat, is sent into space to check the future viability of space station Mir.
As her real motive is gradually revealed, a tense power game is played out.
Nick Fisher's sci-fi drama stars Etela Pardo as Valentina Savitskaya, Jamie Glover as Stephen Childs, Philip Jackson as Dmitri Makarov, Michael Culver as Vladimir Gubarev, Harry Ditson as Ricky Gardner, Olegario Fedoro as Lyahkov, Sam Douglas as Mission Control, Keeley Hawes as the Girl, Ian Gelder as the Corporal and Toni G Barry as the TV presenter.
Recorded on location at Cranfield College of Aeronautics.
Director: John Dryden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
SAT 19:00 When Diane Met Ken (b0bdx3ff)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Old Harry's Game (b007jvjx)
Series 4, Beauty
Satan introduces the Professor and Thomas to Helen of Troy and her plain friend, Daphne. Devilish sitcom stars Andy Hamilton. From May 2001.
SAT 22:30 28 Acts in 28 Minutes (b0076zsq)
Edinburgh Special
4 Extra Debut. Tim Minchin and Barry Cryer join John Humphrys for a special edition of the fastest show on air. From 2006's Edinburgh Fringe.
SAT 23:00 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b0610182)
Series 2, Alcohol
Comedian Simon Evans returns with a new series about the economics of some of the goods - or bads - we are addicted to.
If you crave your daily coffee, can't get by without a cigarette, feel that mid-afternoon slump without your sugar-fix, or can't face an evening without a glass of wine, you are definitely not alone. But have you ever thought about the economics that has made your addiction possible? Who does it profit? And would you want to make some canny investments that take advantage of our human weaknesses?
In this series, Simon Evans looks at the economics, history and health issues behind these oh-so-addictive commodities.
With the help of economics guru, More Or Less host Tim Harford and the Queen of investment know-how, Merryn Somerset-Webb, Simon walks us around the economics of these very familiar commodities and pokes fun at our relationship with them.
Presented by Simon Evans, with regular guests Tim Harford and Merryn Somerset-Webb.
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge and Andy Wolton.
Produced by Claire Jones.
SAT 23:30 The Skivers (b007zn0j)
Series 2, Episode 3
Peter Sissons and Alan Hansen's secrets are revealed. Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh welcome guest Henry Cooper. From February 1995.

SUNDAY 12 AUGUST 2018

SUN 00:00 Nick Fisher - The Shadow of Mir (b007k2vs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Maya Angelou's Autobiographies (Omnibus) (b0bdx3fh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Down Your Way (b0bdx3fm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 The Archive Hour (b00cps5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Martyn Wade - Gondal (b00cpvsq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Michael Bentine - The Reluctant Jester (b01rg0zd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Lavinia Greenlaw - Five Fever Tales (Omnibus) (b03zhy0j)
Lavinia Greenlaw's exploration of ancient ideas about Malaria, and scientific attempts to defeat the deadly disease.
The disease caused by a parasite carried in the saliva of female mosquitoes came to humans probably from gorillas a long time ago. Through recorded history the fever-prompting disease has shadowed humans almost everywhere warm enough for mosquitoes to live between the Poles. We have evolved together. It is still the biggest killer of children in parts of the world.
Made with the research assistance of Wellcome Trust.
Medical/science adviser: Julian Rayner, Sanger Institute.
Music and sound design: Jon Nicholls
Narrator: Siobhan Redmond.
Other parts: Russell Boulter, Richard Bremmer, David Collins, Jasmine Hyde and John Mackay.
Producer: Tim Dee
First broadcast in five-parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
SUN 07:15 Clive Dunn - Definitely Dunn (b071c3yf)
Relieving General Gordon
Don't panic! Memories of Dad's Army star Clive Dunn, who played Lance-Corporal Jack Jones for nearly a decade on TV, radio and film between 1968 to 1977.
Recalling highlights from his first 50 years in entertainment, Clive recalls his early career training to be an actor and travelling with a repertory company.
Clive was aged 68 at the time of recording. He died in Portugal in 2012, aged 92.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in 1988.
SUN 07:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b04n6432)
Series 4, Episode 4
John Finnemore, the writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-upper in things like Miranda, records a fourth series of his hit sketch show.
4/6: In the fourth edition of the series, John tries to present a classic sketch, but the others aren't going to help him. We also hear a speech from someone who followed their dream, and induct a new employee at Vicarstown train station, on the Island of Sodor.
The first series of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme was described as "sparklingly clever" by The Daily Telegraph and "one of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time" by The Guardian. The second series won Best Radio Comedy at both the Chortle and Comedy.co.uk awards, and was nominated for a Radio Academy award. The third series actually won a Radio Academy award.
In this fourth series, John has written more sketches, like the sketches from the other series. Not so much like them that they feel stale and repetitious; but on the other hand not so different that it feels like a misguided attempt to completely change the show. Quite like the old sketches, in other words, but about different things and with different jokes. (Although it's a pretty safe bet some of them will involve talking animals.)
Written by and starring ... John Finnemore
Also featuring ... Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan.
Original music by ... Susannah Pearse & Sally Stares.
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
SUN 08:00 The Clitheroe Kid (b0bf49h6)
What a Picnic
A family picnic jeopardises the cheeky schoolboy's standing in The Black Hand Gang.
Starring Jimmy Clitheroe. With Peter Sinclair as Grandfather, Patricia Burke as Mother, Diana Day as Susan and Leonard Williams as Theodore Craythorpe.
With Peter Goodwright, Tony Melody, Karal Gardner and Joan Sharp.
Just 4 feet 3 inches tall, the success of comic entertainer Jimmy Clitheroe (1921-1973) sprang from a BBC Variety Playhouse try-out in the late 1950s. His naughty schoolboy act was a smash and he even wore school uniform during recordings! At its peak, ten million fans were tuning into 'The Clitheroe Kid' on the BBC Light Programme.
Every week, the Kid's schemes sparked havoc - with the ever present threat of a good spanking from Grandad. The Clitheroe Kid clocked up 16 series in its run from 1956 to 1972.
Theme music by Alan Roper and played by the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra directed by Alan Ainsworth
Scripted by Frank Roscoe.
Producer: James Casey.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in June 1960.
SUN 08:30 Take It From Here (b007k438)
From 24/04/1957
Inventors Corner - and can Pa stop Ron and Eth marrying in a court of law in 'The Glums'?
Starring Professor Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley, June Whitfield and Wallace Eton.
Classic comedy scripted by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Music from The Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra with Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1957.
SUN 09:00 The Cut Out Girl (Omnibus) (b0bf49h8)
The story of a man's search for the truth about his family's past
The last time Hesseline - known as Lien - saw her parents was in The Hague as she was collected at the door by a stranger and taken to a city far away to be hidden from the Nazis. She was raised by her foster family as one of their own but, some years after the war, she became estranged from the family who took her in. What was her side of the story? Bart van Es - a grandson of the couple who looked after Lien - was determined to find out.
Lien was now in her 80s and living in Amsterdam. Reluctantly, she agreed to meet him and eventually they struck up a remarkable friendship.
The Cut Out Girl combines a powerful recreation of Lien's intensely harrowing childhood story with the wider picture of life in Holland under the Nazi occupation.
Written by Bart Van Es
Read by Daniel Weyman
Abridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie Davies
Producer: Lizzie Davies
A Waters Company production first broadcast in five-parts on BBC Radio 4 in August 2018.
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b0512ln2)
Paddy and Mick - Swimming and Philosophy
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between men who share an interest in mindfulness and meditation, and who also brave the icy waters of Northern Ireland's lakes, rivers and seas. Another chat in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject
Producer: Marya Burgess.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07yk6gq)
Adventurers, Joe Simpson
From Joy Division to Etta James, mountaineer and author Joe Simpson shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From September 2004.
SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b0bbnxxz)
Series 7, Sailing on an Alien Sea
True stories told live in the USA: Jay Allison introduces STEM tales, featuring Science, Technology, Engineering and MATH.
The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.
The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.
SUN 11:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00zm4j4)
Series 2, Earthworms
6/20. Although Charles Darwin is especially well known for his work on the Theory of Evolution through his seminal work "On the Origin of Species", he also published a lot of his research on earthworms. Earthworms fascinated Darwin, so much so that his observations led him to believe that they showed marked intelligence. And earthworms fascinate David Attenborough too. He recalls a visit to Australia to film the giant earthworm and intriguingly used his ears more than any other sense to find them. What did they sound like and what did they look like? He reveals all.
Written and presented by David Attenborough
Produced by Julian Hector.
SUN 12:00 The Clitheroe Kid (b0bf49h6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Take It From Here (b007k438)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Lavinia Greenlaw - Five Fever Tales (Omnibus) (b03zhy0j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Clive Dunn - Definitely Dunn (b071c3yf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Travelling in a Strange Land (Omnibus) (b0bf49hd)
David Park's haunting story of a grieving father coming to terms with the loss of his son. Read by Richard Orr.
Tom sets off in the snow from Belfast to collect his son Luke from university digs in Sunderland. The weather means that airports are closed so Tom must make the journey by car. He sets off armed with supplies, his camera and a music playlist and as he drives explores the circumstances of his son Daniel's disappearance and death: his own grief, anger and guilt.
As he nears his destination he must face a shameful secret. Before he arrives he stops at the Angel of the North where he deletes the last photograph of his dead son and takes a new one. He resumes his journey with a new sense of hope.
Abridger: Robin Brooks
Producer: Natalie Steed
First broadcast in five-parts on BBC Radio 4 in August 2018.
SUN 15:45 As Soon As I Open My Mouth (b007jx35)
East End, West End
Kim Normanton meets brothers Ivor and Sid Spencer, both raised in London's East End, but their accents are worlds apart.
SUN 16:00 Don Haworth - Ernest's Tower (b03b5408)
Ernest is a fairground stallholder, who lives in the baleful shadow of his Uncle Leo.
Leo allows him to lease a small stall or two, but Ernest has dreams of owning the tallest fairground tower in the country.
Don Haworth's drama stars Paul Copley as Ernest, Stephen Thorne as Uncle Leo, Robin Herford as the Narrator, Alison Pettitt as Miranda, Elizabeth Bell as Rosie, Sam Kelly as Henson, Terence Edmond as Cech and Helen Ayres as the Waitress.
Original music composed by Simon Morecroft.
Director: Gordon House
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b0bf49hg)
Adventures in Poetry - The Farmer's Bride
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with Adventures in Poetry - The Farmer's Bride by Charlotte Mew.
A poem of unrequited rural longing first published in 1912 which still has powerful echoes today.
Peggy Reynolds explores its background effect and lasting appeal.
Producer: Sara Davies
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SUN 17:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b04n6432)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Dan Dare (b0bf49hj)
The Voyage to Venus, Episode 2
Arriving at Venus. will brilliant test pilot, Dan Dare, be able to hold his own against a cunning new enemy?
Adventures based on the Eagle comic strip 'Dan Dare' created in 1950 by the Reverend Marcus Morris and Frank Hampson.
Concluding episode starring Ed Stoppard as Dan Dare, Geoff McGivern as Digby, Heida Reed as Professor Peabody, Raad Rawi as the Mekon, Bijan Daneshmand as Sondar, Amber Aga as Treen General, David O'Mahony as the Flight Engineer, Kelly Burke as Flight Control, and Dianne Weller as the On-board Computer.
Dramatised by Richard Kurti and Bev Doyle.
Director: Andrew Mark Sewell.
Made by B7.
SUN 18:40 Bram Stoker - Dracula's Guest (b0bf49hl)
A young man sets out on a journey where the elements - and something elemental - are against him.
Bram Stoker's high-gothic tale, set in the Austrian Alps, read by Bertie Carvel.
Abridged and produced by: Justine Willett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2012.
SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b0bbnxxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00zm4j4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:50 today]
SUN 20:00 The Cut Out Girl (Omnibus) (b0bf49h8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b0512ln2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07yk6gq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b04n6432)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Brian Gulliver's Travels (b01mqq6h)
Series 2, Kognitia
by Bill Dare
Brian Gulliver, a seasoned presenter of travel documentaries, finds himself in a hospital's secure unit after claiming to have experienced a succession of bizarre adventures. This week, he relives his experiences in Kognitia where selective memory is taken to a new extreme.
Brian Gulliver ..... Neil Pearson
Rachel Gulliver ..... Mariah Gale
Kalmena ..... Debra Stephenson
Lamet ..... Duncan Wisbey
Door ..... Harry Livingstone
PA ..... Amaka Okafor
Producer ..... Steven Canny
This is the second series of this satirical adventure story from Bill Dare. The series has attracted an excellent cast led by Neil Pearson and including, Duncan Wisby, Vicki Pepperdine, Lisa Dillon, Colin Hoult, Toby Longworth, Adrian Scarborough, Dan Tetsell, Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Debra Stephenson, Colin Hoult, Nina Conti, Jo Bobin and Marcus Brigstocke.
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.
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 (b0bg64cm)
Jacob Hawley. 2/2
From 10pm - midnight, 7 days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats to comedian Jacob Hawley. Episode 2 of 2.
SUN 23:00 The Guns of Adam Riches (b04dmgb0)
Series 2, Bean's Odyssey
Comedian Adam Riches introduces a new series of one-off comic adventure stories. In this opening episode, we are taken on "Bean's Odyssey": an epic journey which follows Sean Bean's attempts to save his castle, his wife and his O2 contract from the ever-growing threat of...the McGann brothers.
As usual Adam is joined by Cariad Lloyd, Jim Johnson and a host of unwitting and occasionally unwilling audience shaped co-stars to create a cavalcade of mayhem that explodes deep into your ear flaps.
Written by Adam Riches
Produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer.
SUN 23:30 Dave Podmore (b007jyjh)
Dave Podmore's Cricket Night, Episode 1
The player's ambitions to make money on the after-dinner speaker circuit are scuppered. Stars Chris Douglas. From April 2004.

MONDAY 13 AUGUST 2018

MON 00:00 Dan Dare (b0bf49hj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:40 Bram Stoker - Dracula's Guest (b0bf49hl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:40 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Lavinia Greenlaw - Five Fever Tales (Omnibus) (b03zhy0j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Clive Dunn - Definitely Dunn (b071c3yf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Travelling in a Strange Land (Omnibus) (b0bf49hd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 As Soon As I Open My Mouth (b007jx35)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Don Haworth - Ernest's Tower (b03b5408)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b0bf49hg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b04n6432)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 EW Hornung - Raffles (b01p3mq2)
Series 1, The Chest of Silver
With Inspector MacKenzie's suspicions about Raffles' professional life growing, AJ decides it's time to visit Scotland. But Bunny is not to go with him: he has the responsibility of guarding Raffles' illegally-acquired silver plate.
Starring Jeremy Clyde as AJ Raffles, Michael Cochrane as Bunny, Henry Stamper as Inspector MacKenzie, Brian Smith as the Clerk and Adrian Egan as the Porter.
EW Hornung's early Raffles stories dramatised by David Buck.
Signature tune composed by Jim Parker.
Directed by Gordon House
A BBC Radio 4/ BBC World Service production first broadcast in 1985.
MON 06:30 The Matter of the North (b07tc373)
Northern Power: Speaking From the North
In this final programme Melvyn Bragg celebrates the power of northern voices in our sporting life, and asks what being and sounding Northern means more generally - in a year which has seen what might be a traumatic and decisive shift in our politics, and in our sense of national identity. In the wake of the EU Referendum, new questions are being raised about the need for devolution in the north of England - the need for the north to have a stronger presence in our public life and politics.
Contributors
David Hockney
Maxine Peake
Professor Robert Colls, De Montfort University
Geoffrey Boycott
Dame Judi Dench
Ian McMillan
Jimmy McGovern
Lee Hall
Ed Cox, Director IPPR North
Lee Rigg and the Wardle Academy Youth Brass Band
Producer: Faith Lawrence.
MON 07:00 Ayres on the Air (b03qfzgg)
Series 5, Horses
Pam Ayres regales her Radio 4 audience with poems, stories and sketches, this week on a subject close to her heart: Horses.
She is joined on stage by Felicity Montagu and Geoffrey Whitehead, with Geoffrey playing her long-suffering husband 'Gordon'.
This week Pam talks about her first memories of going to the races as a little girl, about the significance of leg positioning in statues of horses, and she shares an intriguing story of being flattered by a stranger's attentions at the Badminton Horse Trials.
Poems include: The Racehorse Fred, The Stuffed Horse & Dreaming of Fresh Fields.
Sketch writers: James Bugg, Jan Etherington, Grainne McGuire, Andy Wolton and Tom Neenan.
Producer: Claire Jones.
MON 07:30 Just a Minute (b0bd7zj0)
Series 82, Episode 1
Year 51 and Series 82 of the nationally treasured panel game. In this first episode of the new series, Nicholas Parsons introduces four fine players of the game, Paul Merton, Gyles Brandreth, Tony Hawks and Zoe Lyons.
What exactly took Gyles to Corsica and why is everyone so wound up about George V?
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.
MON 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jrry)
The Stolen Petrol
Sid sees the return of petrol rationing as a money spinner, with some help from the lad.
Starring Tony Hancock, Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques.
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 December 1956.
MON 08:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007k2kl)
Pike in Love
Mrs Pike asks Arthur to talk to her son, Frank about the birds and bees...
A seaside saga of pier perpetuation starring John Le Mesurier as Arthur Wilson, Ian Lavender as Frank Pike, Bill Pertwee as Bert Hodges, Vivienne Martin as Miss Perkins and Janet Davies as Mavis Pike.
After a pilot episode was made in 1981, Arthur Lowe sadly died. So this 13-part series was revamped to feature the Dad's Army characters played by Pertwee and Lavender instead. The series was later adapted for ITV by Yorkshire TV.
Written by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles, based on the characters originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1983.
MON 09:00 Wordaholics (b01rlmpt)
Series 2, Episode 1
Radio 4's word-obsessed comedy panel game returns for a new series - with stars from across the world of wordplay coming together to score points off each other, under the well-read eye of chairman Gyles Brandreth.
This week's panellists are comedians Milton Jones and Alun Cochrane, Dictionary Corner's Susie Dent and Front Row critic Natalie Haynes.
On today's show Milton Jones coins his own new fear - the fear of becoming a monk: 'cloisterphobia'; Alun Cochrane's Yorkshire roots help him guess the meaning of the Polish word 'prozvonit';Susie Dent explains the origin of the phrase 'gingering up' and Natalie Haynes tries to ban the word 'guesstimate'.
Other panellists appearing in the series include Lloyd Langford, Dave Gorman, Richard Herring, Katy Brand, Robin Ince and Alex Horne - plus there's a very special guest appearance from Ainsley Harriott.
They'll be asked to guess the meanings of now-obsolete words, invent their own cliches and cockney rhyming slang, discuss their own favourite words and phrases - and suggest words they would like to ban.
Writers: Jon Hunter and James Kettle.
Producer: Claire Jones.
MON 09:30 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04pcw9j)
A Folk Song for Europe
The Dublin theatrical costumiers get embroiled in rivalry between two Lancashire clog troupes.
Christopher Fitz-Simon's five-part comedy.
Stars David Kelly as Dessie Doyle, Pauline McLynn as Violet Doyle, Eugene O'Brien as Antony Gogan, Frank Kelly as Mr McNamara, Noreen Kershaw as Mona Scrummitt, Dave Hill as Mr Witherspoon and Maureen Dow as the Belfast Woman.
Music played by John Trotter.
Directed at BBC Belfast by Roland Jaquarello.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1998.
MON 10:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr2f)
Overtures and Beginners
1913: Richard Herncastle leaves his dead-end job to join his Uncle Nick's act in the vulgar world of music halls to experience the glamour, jealousies and romances backstage...
Published in 1965, JB Priestley's classic dramatised in three-parts by Bert Coules.
Stars Tom Baker as Nick Ollanton, Freddie 'Parrot Face' Davies as Harry Burrard, Bryan Pringle as Old Richard, Richard Hollick as Young Richard, Steven Frost as Tommy Beamish, Brigit Forsyth as Julie Blane, Deborah McAndrew as Cissie Mapes, Kathryn Hunt as Nancy, Russell Dixon as Jenning, John Lloyd Fillingham as Johnson and Mike Edmunds as Barney.
Music: Chris Monks
Producer: Kate Rowland
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.
MON 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf3h6)
Everything a Parent Needs to Know
Made for 4 Extra. Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
Helen, a single mother, is struggling to bring up her two children, Jessica and Paul, following a painful divorce. We hear her trying different strategies to cope with little Jessica, and her attempts are juxtaposed with extracts from a selection of parenting books. Read by Emma Fielding.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
MON 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b038hg46)
DJ Britton - When Greed Becomes Hunger, The Pit
By DJ Britton
The first in a two-part drama about global food security.
British trader Phil Ward has just moved to the US with his wife Sian to start work at the Chicago Board of Trade. When the grain market is thrown into turmoil, Phil's boss - Joel Bosco - calls him in to make sense of the numbers. Phil uncovers a global trend in food scarcity that represents a huge financial opportunity for the company. But what if the market fails?
World food security is a hot topic. Internationally, after record growth, global wheat exports have fallen by 10 per cent in the last year. Prices are rising inexorably. According to Oxfam, 800 million people are currently malnourished - a greater figure than ever before. As cereal production falls, world population numbers continue to rise, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation predicts food demand will double by 2030. Meanwhile world food security remains left to the volatility of the global free market.
When Greed Becomes Hunger asks whether the world can afford to trust the free market with its food supply.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
MON 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jrry)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007k2kl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 EW Hornung - Raffles (b01p3mq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 The Matter of the North (b07tc373)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n10n8)
Rose Tremain - Merivel: A Man of His Time, Episode 11
Rose Tremain returns triumphantly to one of her best loved characters, in the long awaited sequel to her Booker short-listed best-selling novel, Restoration, published in 1989.
Seventeen years after the events related in Restoration, Merivel, a man of wit, wisdom and not a little passion, is facing a crisis. Older and perhaps a little wiser, with his daughter now away at Court and his dearest friends ageing too, life on his Norfolk estate has ceased to satisfy. How to reinvigorate his life and find new purpose?
In today's episode: In a search for new purpose in his life, Merivel has left Bidnold and England behind and travelled to Switzerland in search of the beguiling Louise de Flamanville. She and her father have taken him into their home, and their hearts. Will that be solace enough?
The reader is the stage and screen actor Nicholas Woodeson.
The abridger was Sally Marmion and the producer was Di Speirs.
MON 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0183t4g)
The Penny Black
The arrival of Universal Penny Postage in 1840 marked the beginning of the post office as a genuine public service. Introduced by the social reformer, Rowland Hill, he argued that lowering the cost of postage would mean more people would send more letters leading to wider social benefits and increased profits. As secretary of the post office, Hill oversaw the implementation of the world's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black.
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines it's impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication. The Post Office has become a cherished social institution, linking people together and extending their vision outward into the wider world.
It's called Royal Mail but it should be known as the People's Post
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w0116)
Lindsay Ashford - The Mysterious Death of Jane Austen, Episode 1
Twenty-six years have passed since the death of Jane Austen. Armed with a lock of Austen's hair as perhaps her best clue, Anne Sharp, former governess to the Austen family and Jane's close friend, has decided at least to tell her story-a story of family intrigues, shocking secrets, forbidden loves, and maybe even murder.
Upon its publication in the UK, Lindsay Ashford's fictional interpretation of the few facts surrounding Jane Austen's mysterious death sparked an international debate and uproar. None of the medical theories offers a satisfactory explanation of Jane Austen's early demise at the age of 41. Could it be that what everyone has assumed was a death by natural causes was actually more sinister? Lindsay Ashford's vivid novel delves deep into Austen's world and puts forth a shocking suggestion-was someone out to silence her?
Andrew Davies, who has a phenomenal track record in adaptation, has collaborated with Eileen Horne in recent years, first as writer and producer on a new TV version of Room with a View (2007) and as writer and editor on The Purple Land for Radio 4 (2011).
Written by Lindsay Ashford
Adapted by Eileen Horne and Andrew Davies
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b00zzr1h)
Ken Campbell: The Great Caper, Episode 1
Ken Campbell, who died in September 2008, was one of the great mavericks of British theatre.
Ill-suited to a role in conventional theatre, he created a risk-taking confrontational style of performance, which often explored unlikely subject matter. He became, in director Mike Leigh's words, "The outsider's outsider"
Bob Hoskins, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent are amongst the performers whose formative years were spent working with Campbell. What did the director and producer bring to performance that made him such a mesmeric figure?
Michael Coveney's biography tells the story of Campbell, the great adventurer of British theatre.
Writer Michael Coveney is a long-standing theatre critic, who has worked for The Financial Times, The Observer and The Daily Mail. Actor Toby Jones played Truman Capote in 'Infamous' and Swifty Lazar in 'Frost/Nixon' and recently reprised the role of Dobby in the film 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. Toby has also appeared in a production of 'The Warp' by Neil Oram, the 22-hour epic created by Ken Campbell.
Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr2f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Wordaholics (b01rlmpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04pcw9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Ayres on the Air (b03qfzgg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 Just a Minute (b0bd7zj0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Hordes of the Things (b0089b37)
Episode 1
The kingdom of Albion is in peril, and the law of darkness encroaches...
Andrew Marshall and John Lloyd's epic Tolkien parody in 4-parts.
Stars Paul Eddington as King Yulfric the Wise, Patrick Magee as the Chronicler, Simon Callow as Crown Prince Veganin, Christian Rodska as Agar, Frank Middlemass as Radox the Green, Hugh Thomas as Maliadoc, David Ross as King Yulfric's First Assistant Advisor, Gordon Gostelow as Caradorn, Miriam Margolyes as Dyandetes and Eve Karpf as Another Harpy.
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1980.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b00770nb)
Michael Dobbs & Antony Beevor
Sue MacGregor and her guests - author Michael Dobbs, and historian, Antony Beevor - discuss books by Julian Barnes, Michael Morpurgo and George Orwell. From 2006.
Arthur and George by Julian Barnes
Publisher: Vintage
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
Publisher: HarperCollins
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
Publisher: Penguin.
MON 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jrry)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007k2kl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 EW Hornung - Raffles (b01p3mq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 The Matter of the North (b07tc373)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf3h6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b038hg46)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 Just a Minute (b0bd7zj0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Start/Stop (b04p7xlv)
Series 2, Funeral
Hit comedy about three marriages in various states of disrepair. Starring Jack Docherty, Kerry Godliman, John Thomson, Fiona Allen, Charlie Higson and Sally Bretton.
This week the prospect of the funeral of a neighbour - big Phil from No. 36 - shows that even someone's death provides opportunities for flirting, competitiveness and generally reprehensible behaviour.
Alice and Cathy are making food for Phil's widow; Barney and David are both keen to do the eulogy and meanwhile Fiona and Evan are trying to cope with the most irritating rescue dog who ever lived.
Producer ..... Claire Jones.
MON 23:00 Where's the F in News (b0bdbrzj)
Series 1, Episode 4
An energetic, intelligent female-anchored show with a female panel - using the events, trends and talking points they think should really be top of the news agenda in a series of fresh and funny challenges.
Host Jo Bunting is joined by a panel of women including Rose Matafeo, Lauren Pattison, Lucy Porter and Val McDermid.
Jo Bunting is a producer and writer of topical comedy and satire, with credits including Have I Got News For You, the Great British Bake Off spin off show An Extra Slice with Jo Brand, and the successful topical chat show That Sunday Night Show presented by Adrian Chiles on ITV. Jo was a guest interviewer on Loose Ends for several years and a panellist on Loose Women.
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 23:30 The Museum of Everything (b00hlcw5)
Series 3, Transport
Lady Bagshot claims on the insurance, and the model railway club hits the buffers. Stars Marcus Brigstocke. From August 2006.

TUESDAY 14 AUGUST 2018

TUE 00:00 Hordes of the Things (b0089b37)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b00770nb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 EW Hornung - Raffles (b01p3mq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 The Matter of the North (b07tc373)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n10n8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0183t4g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w0116)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b00zzr1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr2f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Wordaholics (b01rlmpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Spangles 'n' Tights (b04pcw9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Ayres on the Air (b03qfzgg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Just a Minute (b0bd7zj0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnjn)
Deadlock, A Hero's Death
At the funeral of her ice-hockey hero cousin, private eye V I Warshawski gets suspicious. Was his death really an accident?
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as VI Warshawski. With Eleanor Bron as Lottie, William Hootkins as Bobby Mallory, James Aubrey as Martin Bledsoe, Peter Marinker as Nils Greyfalk, Teresa Gallagher as Paige Carrington and William Roberts as Clayton Phillips.
Sara Paretsky has created one of the most popular female sleuths in modern crime-fiction. Her heroine, VI Warshawski, is a strong female character in a male-dominated world. VI is comfortable packing heat and trailing nasty suspects but she never loses touch with her basic femininity. Paretsky says of her Warshawski: "I was troubled by the way women were portrayed in (detective fiction) they always seemed either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likeable female private investigator".
Kathleen Turner also starred in the same role in the 1991 film 'VI Warshawski'.
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.
TUE 06:30 For One Night Only (b007xgjy)
The Prom of Peace
Series in which Paul Gambaccini recalls classic concerts.
On August 21, 1968, Russian tanks entered Czechoslovakia to put an end to Alexander Dubcek's Prague Spring. An extraordinary irony saw the Soviet State Symphony Orchestra making its debut at the Proms on the same day in a programme featuring Czech composer Antonin Dvorak's Cello Concerto. The performance by soloist Mstislav Rostropovich remains one of the greatest ever live recordings of the piece.
TUE 07:00 Secrets and Lattes (b0415hb2)
Series 1, Spring Awakening
It's Spring in Edinburgh but sisters Trisha and Clare's newly opened cafe isn't blossoming. A business-boosting Polish music evening ends in major heart trauma all round but can an unexpected proposal save the day?
It's Spring in episode 3 of Hilary Lyon's Edinburgh-based series and everything is blossoming...... apart from sisters Trisha and Clare's new business, unfortunately. 'Cafe Culture' is way too quiet for comfort and it's time to be financially inventive. Temperamental, opera-loving, Polish chef, Krzysztof, (Simon Greenall) suggests that they hold an Eastern European music evening and it's full steam ahead.....apart from the fact that he, mysteriously, keeps nipping off.........
Arty younger sister, Trisha, (Julie Graham) has recently returned to her native city after years of living in London and also loves to nip off out, but not mysteriously......she's just healthily jogging round the Meadows.
However, one morning, she bumps into a friendly American (Guy Paul) making far too many offers for her liking and she finds it hard to be friendly back. Fretting that Clare has plans to bail out and sell the cafe to the highest bidder, Trisha is all set for a barney with her. Indeed, sensible big sister Clare (Hilary Lyon) is harbouring a few secrets on several fronts whilst Lizzie (Pearl Appleby) continues to battle with her shoplifting habit, but comes up trumps, however, when she's unexpectedly left holding the fort on the big night.
There are identity issues and heart traumas of the major variety all round but can an unexpected, yet welcome, proposal save the day..........
Director: Marilyn Imrie
Producers: Moray Hunter and Gordon Kennedy
An Absolute production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 07:30 Jake Yapp's Media Circus (b0bd8g16)
Series 1, Columnists
Jake Yapp applies his sharp satirical eye to the modern media, exploring its strengths, weaknesses and idiosyncrasies through stand-up, sketch and music.
Episode 3 - Columnists
Jake turns his focus to the columns, exploring their progression, value and most common tricks and tropes.
Written, performed and composed by Jake Yapp
Starring George Fouracres and Emily Lloyd-Saini
Additional material by Robin Morgan
Produced by Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios Production.
TUE 08:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007w2s0)
Series 1, The Picture
Gerald and Diana have a clear-out to try and make some cash.
The convoluted chronicle of an optimistic crime writer written by Basil Boothroyd.
Starring Ian Carmichael as Gerald C Potter and Charlotte Mitchell as his wife and more successful writer, Diana.
With Michael McClain.
The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter ran from 1976 to 1981.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1976.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jq6j)
Horse Play
A naughty nightie and a nag? Blunders galore for the bungling civil servants.
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 1977.
TUE 09:00 Where's the F in News (b0bdbrzj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Any Other Business (b013n7gx)
Episode 5
The argy bargy of Chesbury politics presents a brand new Chestnut and a spot of blackmail.
Lucy Flannery's local government sitcom stars Nelson David, John Duttine, James Grout, Rosy Fordham, Nick Hardy, Howard Lew Lewis, Toby Longworth, Jan Ravens, Vivienne Rochester and June Whitfield.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1995.
TUE 10:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr2v)
First Night
It's the year before the Great War, and Richard Herncastle 's music-hall apprenticeship continues.
Richard gets closer to Nancy, but Harry Burrard's fears deepen...
JB Priestley's classic novel dramatised in three-parts by Bert Coules.
Stars Tom Baker as Nick Ollanton, Freddie 'Parrot Face' Davies as Harry Burrard, Bryan Pringle as Old Richard, Richard Hollick as Young Richard, Steven Frost as Tommy Beamish, Brigit Forsyth as Julie Blane, Deborah McAndrew as Cissie Mapes, Kathryn Hunt as Nancy, Russell Dixon as Jenning, John Lloyd Fillingham as Johnson, Mike Edmunds as Barney and Ann-Marie Frater as Nonnie.
Music: Chris Monks
Producer: Kate Rowland
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.
TUE 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf6c6)
Sweet Home
An old, German woman arrives in an English village, buys some woodland, and constructs a gingerbread cottage in a clearing. The locals are suspicious, and concerns increase when the weather worsens, VAT goes up to 20%, the Post Office closes, and the high-speed broadband connection date is postponed. Could the old woman have anything to do with these misfortunes? Read by Emma Fielding.
Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
TUE 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b038hk0k)
DJ Britton - When Greed Becomes Hunger, The Pen
The second in a two part drama about global food security.
It's three years after the events of part one and a new world order is dominated by global food protectionism, an unpredictable climate and, most of all, hunger.
Phil and Sian have used the money they made to buy a farm in mid-Wales. But as an international enquiry is launched into the causes of the crash, the couple's country idyll provides little shelter from an angry world, hungry for answers.
World food security is a hot topic. Internationally, after record growth, global wheat exports have fallen by 10 per cent (2012/13 figs). Prices are rising inexorably. According to Oxfam, 800 million people are currently malnourished - a greater figure than ever before. As cereal production falls, world population numbers continue to rise, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation predicts food demand will double by 2030. Meanwhile world food security remains left to the volatility of the global free market.
When Greed Becomes Hunger asks whether the world can afford to trust the free market with its food supply.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production.
TUE 12:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007w2s0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jq6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnjn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 For One Night Only (b007xgjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n11xg)
Rose Tremain - Merivel: A Man of His Time, Episode 12
Rose Tremain returns triumphantly to one of her best loved characters, in the long awaited sequel to her Booker short-listed best-selling novel, Restoration, published in 1989.
Seventeen years after the events related in Restoration, Merivel, a man of wit, wisdom and not a little passion, is facing a crisis. Older and perhaps a little wiser, with his daughter now away at Court and his dearest friends ageing too, life on his Norfolk estate has ceased to satisfy. How to reinvigorate his life and find new purpose?
In today's episode: Death is much on my mind. The duel will take place. Will Louise's husband keep to his word or will Merivel lose all that he holds dear?
The reader is the stage and screen actor Nicholas Woodeson.
The abridger was Sally Marmion and the producer was Di Speirs.
TUE 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0184rgd)
Business Post
The post office played a vital role in the spread of mass consumerism.
Thanks to cheap postage, businesses could advertise and interact with people in their own homes. When it took over the Parcel Post in 1883 the Post Office offered the first genuinely joined up postal service, leading to a boom in mail order catalogues.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w0gw8)
Lindsay Ashford - The Mysterious Death of Jane Austen, Episode 2
Twenty-six years have passed since the death of Jane Austen. Armed with a lock of Austen's hair as perhaps her best clue, Anne Sharp, former governess to the Austen family and Jane's close friend, has decided at least to tell her story-a story of family intrigues, shocking secrets, forbidden loves, and maybe even murder.
Upon its publication in the UK, Lindsay Ashford's fictional interpretation of the few facts surrounding Jane Austen's mysterious death sparked an international debate and uproar. None of the medical theories offers a satisfactory explanation of Jane Austen's early demise at the age of 41. Could it be that what everyone has assumed was a death by natural causes was actually more sinister? Lindsay Ashford's vivid novel delves deep into Austen's world and puts forth a shocking suggestion-was someone out to silence her?
Andrew Davies, who has a phenomenal track record in adaptation, has collaborated with Eileen Horne in recent years, first as writer and producer on a new TV version of Room with a View (2007) and as writer and editor on The Purple Land for Radio 4 (2011).
Written by Lindsay Ashford
Adapted by Eileen Horne and Andrew Davies
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b0101kyv)
Ken Campbell: The Great Caper, Episode 2
Michael Coveney's biography tells the story of Campbell, the great adventurer of British theatre.
Campbell's disastrous experience at the Royal Court Theatre in London shapes the direction of his career. With the Roadshow he takes theatre to the people.
Ken Campbell, who died in September 2008, was one of the great mavericks of British theatre.
Ill-suited to a role in conventional theatre, he created a risk-taking confrontational style of performance, which often explored unlikely subject matter.
He became, in director Mike Leigh's words, "The outsider's outsider"
Bob Hoskins, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent are amongst the performers whose formative years were spent working with Campbell. What did the director and producer bring to performance that made him such a mesmeric figure?
Writer Michael Coveney is a long-standing theatre critic, who has worked for The Financial Times, The Observer and The Daily Mail. Actor Toby Jones played Truman Capote in 'Infamous' and Swifty Lazar in 'Frost/Nixon' and recently reprised the role of Dobby in the film 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. Toby has also appeared in a production of 'The Warp' by Neil Oram, the 22-hour epic created by Ken Campbell.
Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b0167zkv)
Series 4, Haynes, McCandless, Crystal
Hosted by the Professor of Ignorance from the University of Buckingham John Lloyd C.B.E. and the intensely curious comedian Dave Gorman.
This week's guests:
Natalie Haynes is an author, comedian and critic. Her book, The Ancient Guide To Modern Life is all about the wisdom and lifestyles of the ancient Greeks and Romans and uses them to give us a better perspective of our own time. Natalie is bubbling with facts and loves busting cherished myths about the classical past. Natalie is also a massive fan of detective fiction, to which she has applied her prodigious intellect. An obsessive Diagnosis Murder fan, Natalie would give up a year of her life to live in the time in which Dick Van Dyke was the "biggest star in the world".
David McCandless is a journalist and the author of Information Is Beautiful, a book which uses imaginative new ways to display complex statistical information, using novel graphics. David was also once the UK's Doom video game champion, narrowly beaten in the world final by a 14-year-old boy with a moustache.
David Crystal is the Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. He is without doubt Britain's top linguist. He has written over a hundred books on the subject, including the standard texts read by every linguistics student in the country, and edited the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of the English language. He knows exactly how many different words there are in an average edition of the Sun, because he's counted them, knows just why people are wrong when they say that txtspk is the death of English, and once sold two dozen adjectives at a shilling each.
TUE 16:30 Any Other Business (b013n7gx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Secrets and Lattes (b0415hb2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Jake Yapp's Media Circus (b0bd8g16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Hordes of the Things (b007jqts)
Episode 2
Radox the Green battles to gather an army against the encroaching Evil One.
But as his mum gives him an ear-bashing - is Agar really a hero?
Andrew Marshall and John Lloyd's epic Tolkien parody in 4-parts.
Stars Paul Eddington as King Yulfric the Wise, Patrick Magee as the Chronicler, Simon Callow as Crown Prince Veganin, Christian Rodska as Agar, Frank Middlemass as Radox the Green, Hugh Thomas as Maliadoc, David Ross as King Yulfric's First Assistant Advisor, Miriam Margolyes as Mother of Agar, Maggie Steed as Queen Elfreda, Aubrey Woods as the High Bishop of Zylbor and Jonathan Lynn as Golin Longshanks.
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1980.
TUE 18:30 Meet the Parents (b01pmfs6)
Series 3, AL Kennedy
Award-winning, Scottish novelist AL Kennedy returns to her mother's house in Bidford-upon-Avon for a good old blether. Their stories literally take us around the world from Stratford to Australia and back to Dundee. Their shared love of literature and Shakespeare is inherent and their conversation is peppered with lovely anecdotal stories from Alison's childhood and the books they would often read together.
TUE 19:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007w2s0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jq6j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnjn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 For One Night Only (b007xgjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf6c6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b038hk0k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Jake Yapp's Media Circus (b0bd8g16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Paul Sinha's Citizenship Test (b038n3dh)
Episode 3
Paul Sinha is proudly British. He also loves a quiz. So you would have thought that the UK Citizenship Test, which newcomers to this country must pass to become citizens, would have been right up his street. But the questions in the 2012 and 2013 Home Office guides seem either bizarrely easy - "Where is Welsh most widely spoken?" - or infuriatingly vague - "What happened in the First World War?".
So Paul has created his own test, to better reflect the things that aspiring migrants should understand before they can call themselves British. In this third episode he looks at British culture - newspapers, TV, art and film. He tests the studio audience on their knowledge, with those that answer incorrectly being deported; he also offers up ten pounds of his own money to anyone in the audience who can correctly identify an artist that the Home Office think all new immigrants should be aware of.
The series intertwines the sort of comedy Paul has become known for on The Now Show, The News Quiz, and Fighting Talk, as well as his own Radio 4 shows The Sinha Test and The Sinha Games, and the command of facts and figures he demonstrates on the ITV quiz show The Chase, with a dash of the patriotism that has seen him banned from the bar at the United Nations.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha.
Producer: Ed Morrish.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0bfd9wp)
Sara Barron. 1/2
Jessica Fostekew chats to stand-up comic and New York storytelling queen Sara Barron.
TUE 23:00 Revolting People (b007jrx3)
Series 1, Even More Storm Clouds
Samuel's crooked brother lures Joshua into fighting the 'Cockney Monster'. 1770 America sitcom stars Andy Hamilton. From February 2000.
TUE 23:30 Inside Alan Francis (b00hlf5j)
Episode 1
Comedy series in which comedian Alan Francis explores the workings of his own mind in relation to his life, friends and long-suffering girlfriend Jane.
Alan realises he must have done something wrong to annoy Jane, but cannot remember what it is.
With Julian Dutton, Barnaby Power, Kali Peacock.

WEDNESDAY 15 AUGUST 2018

WED 00:00 Hordes of the Things (b007jqts)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Meet the Parents (b01pmfs6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnjn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 For One Night Only (b007xgjy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n11xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0184rgd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w0gw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b0101kyv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b0167zkv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Any Other Business (b013n7gx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Secrets and Lattes (b0415hb2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Jake Yapp's Media Circus (b0bd8g16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnk5)
Deadlock, Down the Hatches
Private eye VI Warshawski's dead cousin "Boom Boom" knew too much about something - and his flat is burgled, leading to another murder...
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as VI Warshawski. With William Hootkins as Bobby Mallory, Kerry Shale as Murray, James Aubrey as Martin Bledsoe, Teresa Gallagher as Paige Carrington and William Roberts as Clayton Phillips.
Sara Paretsky has created one of the most popular female sleuths in modern crime-fiction. Her heroine, VI Warshawski, is a strong female character in a male-dominated world. VI is comfortable packing heat and trailing nasty suspects but she never loses touch with her basic femininity. Paretsky says of her Warshawski: "I was troubled by the way women were portrayed in (detective fiction) they always seemed either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likeable female private investigator".
Kathleen Turner also starred in the same role in the 1991 film 'VI Warshawski'.
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.
WED 06:30 Evita's Odyssey (b01l05dq)
When Eva Peron, Argentina's most famous First Lady died in 1952, her body was embalmed. Three years later in 1955, her widower, Juan Peron, was deposed in a coup.
Evita was the most potent symbol of Peronism, and military officers feared her corpse could become a rallying point of protest against the new government. So they stole it. It probably spent time in a van parked in Buenos Aires, the city's waterworks, behind a cinema screen, and in the offices of Military Intelligence. But wherever it stayed, it is said that candles and flowers appeared. Clearly a more long-term solution was required...
In 'Evita's Odyssey', Linda Pressly tells the stranger-than-fiction tale of what happened to her body over the next two decades - in Argentina and Europe.
It's an extraordinary story - one that takes in more grave-robbing, kidnap, murder, a revolutionary guerrilla group, and the occult. Through interviews with key players - like the man who repaired the damage to Evita's body when it finally returned to Argentina in 1974 - this programme provides a fascinating glimpse of Argentina before it descended into its darkest and bloodiest days of military dictatorship in the 1970s. It is a story that will stay with you.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
WED 07:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00b41fs)
Series 2, Anyone for a Cruise to Cherbourg?
The singing duo wonder why their agent is being uncharacteristically nice...
30 years after sweethearts Tommy Franklin and Sheila Parr won the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, the musical double-act are back in the big time.
Series 2 of Mike Coleman's six-part sitcom stars June Whitfield and Roy Hudd.
With Pat Coombs, Julian Eardley, Edward Halstead, Paul Rogan and Alex Lowe.
Music by Frido Ruth.
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1999.
WED 07:30 Josh Howie's Losing It (b07vs3cy)
The Handyman
Stand-up comic Josh comes to terms with the impending birth of his first child.
In the fifth episode, Josh and his wife Monique employ handyman Dean to get the flat ready for the baby. However Josh soon discovers that Dean holds some very challenging opinions, especially when it comes to Jews.
Written by Josh Howie.
Produced by Ashley Blaker
A Black Hat production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b01flnk2)
Whittlesea Regatta
All that the crew of HMS Troutbridge have to do is tow a barge. What could possibly go wrong?
Stars Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Ronnie Barker as The Mayor, Richard Caldicote as Captain Povey, Tenniel Evans as The Admiral and Michael Bates as Rear Admiral Ironbridge.
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 April 1963.
WED 08:30 Beyond Our Ken (b007jqr9)
From 22/07/1958
Kenneth Horne attends a cultural soiree and Hornerma asks: "Art - do we really understand it?"
Starring Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Ron Moody.
Written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took
Music from Pat Lancaster, the Malcolm Mitchell Trio and the BBC Review Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
A madcap mix of sketches and songs, Beyond Our Ken hit the airwaves in 1958 and ran to 1964 - featuring regulars like Arthur Fallowfield, Cecil Snaith and Rodney and Charles.
The precursor to 'Round The Horne' - sadly only 13 shows survive from the original run of 21 episodes in Series 1. Audio restored using both home and overseas (BBC Transcription Service) recordings.
Producer: Jacques Brown
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1958.
WED 09:00 Who Goes There? (b00kmtcf)
Series 2, Episode 3
Martin Young chairs the quiz looking at lives of the noteworthy and notorious from the history books.
Tackling the biographical teasers are team captains Francis Wheen and Fred Housego with guests Carmen Callil and Victoria Glendinning.
Producer: Aled Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July1998.
WED 09:30 The Right Time (b00c34ks)
Series 3, Episode 4
A country house weekend, friends reunited and a dinner party surprise...
The sketch comedy for people growing older disgracefully.
Stars Eleanor Bron, Graeme Garden, Neil Innes, Clive Swift, Roger Blake and Paula Wilcox.
Written by Colin Bostock Smith, John Dowie, Graeme Garden, Jan Etherington, Mike Haskins, Ged Parsons, David Spicer and Peter Usher.
Script Editor: Ged Parsons.
Music by Ronnie & The Rex and Neil Innes.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2003.
WED 10:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr39)
Final Curtain
The glamour of the music halls begins to fade as Richard Herncastle embarks on a dangerous affair - and tragedy strikes the company.
Meanwhile, war is on the horizon...
Conclusion of JB Priestley's classic novel dramatised in three-parts by Bert Coules.
Stars Tom Baker as Nick Ollanton, Freddie 'Parrot Face' Davies as Harry Burrard, Bryan Pringle as Old Richard, Richard Hollick as Young Richard, Steven Frost as Tommy Beamish, Brigit Forsyth as Julie Blane, Deborah McAndrew as Cissie Mapes, Kathryn Hunt as Nancy, Russell Dixon as Jenning, John Lloyd Fillingham as Johnson and Mike Edmunds as Barney.
Music: Chris Monks
Producer: Kate Rowland
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1994.
WED 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf8jk)
Scaling Never
Young Jacob is the son of a Mormon church leader. When his sister Issy dies, he hopes that she might be resurrected - in the same way that miracles occur in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon. Read by Emma Fielding.
This story - Scaling Never - was the basis for Carys Bray's triumphant first novel, A Song for Issy Bradley, which was broadcast on Book At Bedtime on BBC Radio 4.
Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
WED 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b00pqj11)
DC Jackson - My Romantic History
Poignant and witty drama by DC Jackson about love and memory.
Charlie ...... Sandy Grierson
Amy ...... Cora Bissett
Sasha/Alison ...... Gabriel Quigley
Calvin/Jessie ...... Jordan Young
Mum/Receptionist ...... Juliet Cadzow
Directed by Kirsty Williams.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b01flnk2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Beyond Our Ken (b007jqr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnk5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Evita's Odyssey (b01l05dq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n1qyx)
Rose Tremain - Merivel: A Man of His Time, Episode 13
Rose Tremain returns triumphantly to one of her best loved characters, in the long awaited sequel to her Booker short-listed best-selling novel, Restoration, published in 1989.
Seventeen years after the events related in Restoration, Merivel, a man of wit, wisdom and not a little passion, is facing a crisis. Older and perhaps a little wiser, with his daughter now away at Court and his dearest friends ageing too, life on his Norfolk estate has ceased to satisfy. How to reinvigorate his life and find new purpose?
In today's episode: Despite Louise's marriage plans for him, Merivel has returned to England, to attend on the King whose health is failing and to find that Margaret has an amour of her own.
The reader is the stage and screen actor Nicholas Woodeson.
The abridger was Sally Marmion and the producer was Di Speirs.
WED 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0184s2q)
Love Letters
Universal penny postage meant people from all backgrounds could afford to sustain long distance relationships. But it also led to increased pressure: lovers were expected to write two or three times a week, even if they lived in the same town. Sales of letter-writing manuals rocketed, allowing people to copy model examples of the perfect love letter.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w164j)
Lindsay Ashford - The Mysterious Death of Jane Austen, Episode 3
Twenty-six years have passed since the death of Jane Austen. Armed with a lock of Austen's hair as perhaps her best clue, Anne Sharp, former governess to the Austen family and Jane's close friend, has decided at least to tell her story-a story of family intrigues, shocking secrets, forbidden loves, and maybe even murder.
Upon its publication in the UK, Lindsay Ashford's fictional interpretation of the few facts surrounding Jane Austen's mysterious death sparked an international debate and uproar. None of the medical theories offers a satisfactory explanation of Jane Austen's early demise at the age of 41. Could it be that what everyone has assumed was a death by natural causes was actually more sinister? Lindsay Ashford's vivid novel delves deep into Austen's world and puts forth a shocking suggestion-was someone out to silence her?
Andrew Davies, who has a phenomenal track record in adaptation, has collaborated with Eileen Horne in recent years, first as writer and producer on a new TV version of Room with a View (2007) and as writer and editor on The Purple Land for Radio 4 (2011).
Written by Lindsay Ashford
Adapted by Eileen Horne and Andrew Davies
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b0100x2s)
Ken Campbell: The Great Caper, Episode 3
Michael Coveney's biography tells the story of Campbell, the great adventurer of British theatre.
Campbell's Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool presents his first epic, the nine-hour drama 'Illuminatus'.
Ken Campbell, who died in September 2008, was one of the great mavericks of British theatre.
Ill-suited to a role in conventional theatre, he created a risk-taking confrontational style of performance, which often explored unlikely subject matter.
He became, in director Mike Leigh's words, "The outsider's outsider"
Bob Hoskins, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent are amongst the performers whose formative years were spent working with Campbell. What did the director and producer bring to performance that made him such a mesmeric figure?
Writer Michael Coveney is a long-standing theatre critic, who has worked for The Financial Times, The Observer and The Daily Mail. Actor Toby Jones played Truman Capote in 'Infamous' and Swifty Lazar in 'Frost/Nixon' and recently reprised the role of Dobby in the film 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. Toby has also appeared in a production of 'The Warp' by Neil Oram, the 22-hour epic created by Ken Campbell.
Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr39)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Who Goes There? (b00kmtcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The Right Time (b00c34ks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00b41fs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Josh Howie's Losing It (b07vs3cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Hordes of the Things (b007jqwz)
Episode 3
A startling discovery is made by one defender of Albion.
Andrew Marshall and John Lloyd's epic Tolkien parody in 4-parts.
Stars Paul Eddington as King Yulfric the Wise, Patrick Magee as the Chronicler, Simon Callow as Crown Prince Veganin, Christian Rodska as Agar, Frank Middlemass as Radox the Green, Hugh Thomas as Maliadoc, David Ross as King Yulfric's First Assistant Advisor, Miriam Margolyes as Mother of Agar, Maggie Steed as Queen Elfreda, Aubrey Woods as the High Bishop of Zylbor and Jonathan Lynn as Golin Longshanks.
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1980.
WED 18:30 Comic to Comic (b0080ssp)
Series 2, Julia Morris
After TV fame down under, Australian stand-up Julia Morris chats about her subsequent British success.
Series in which Bruce Morton talks to top stand-up comedians about life, the universe and comedy.
Producer: Carol Purcell
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in Febuary 2006.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b01flnk2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Beyond Our Ken (b007jqr9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnk5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Evita's Odyssey (b01l05dq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yf8jk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b00pqj11)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Josh Howie's Losing It (b07vs3cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b04nv6m8)
Series 2, Testing Times
5/6: Testing Times. It's the day after Lucy's eighteenth birthday, and her parents aren't happy, and not only because she took that bottle of rum from their drinks cabinet. They think she is wasting her life being part of the resistance, so unless she can pass her A Levels they're going to stop her coming to the meetings. Does it really take a village to raise a child? Or will they make things worse?
Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully is a sitcom about an alien race that have noticed that those all-at-once invasions of Earth never work out that well. So they've locked the small Buckinghamshire village of Cresdon Green behind an impenetrable force field in order to study human behaviour and decide if Earth is worth invading.
The only inhabitant who seems to be bothered by their new alien overlord is Katrina Lyons, who was only home for the weekend to borrow the money for a deposit for a flat when the force field went up. So along with Lucy Alexander (the only teenager in the village, willing to rebel against whatever you've got) she forms The Resistance - slightly to the annoyance of her parents Margaret and Richard who wish she wouldn't make so much of a fuss, and much to the annoyance of Field Commander Uljabaan who, alongside his unintelligible minions and The Computer (his hyperintelligent supercomputer), is trying to actually run the invasion.
Written by Eddie Robson
Script-edited by Arthur Mathews
Produced by Ed Morrish.
WED 23:00 Fabulous (b00j6jkj)
Series 1, Episode 6
Sitcom by Lucy Clarke about a woman who wants to be Fabulous but can't cope.
With Daisy Haggard, Adam Buxton, Joanna Scanlan, Joanna Neary, Matthew Holness, Eve Dallas, Katy Brand, Olivia Colman.
Music by Osymyso.
WED 23:15 Foley and McColl: The Interview (b0076cyy)
The Moroccan Striped Pig
The duo tells Parky about their strange first meeting. With Sean Foley, Hamish McColl and Michael Parkinson. From February 2003.
WED 23:30 Absolute Power (b007wwf1)
Series 3, Episode 1
The government retainer is under threat when Prentiss McCabe faces a very tricky task. Stars Stephen Fry. From January 2002.

THURSDAY 16 AUGUST 2018

THU 00:00 Hordes of the Things (b007jqwz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Comic to Comic (b0080ssp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnk5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Evita's Odyssey (b01l05dq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n1qyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0184s2q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w164j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b0100x2s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 JB Priestley - Lost Empires (b007jr39)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Who Goes There? (b00kmtcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The Right Time (b00c34ks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00b41fs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Josh Howie's Losing It (b07vs3cy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnkn)
Deadlock, Bedtime Stories
Somebody wants private eye VI Warshawski dead and tampers with her car.
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as VI Warshawski. With Eleanor Bron as Lottie, William Hootkins as Bobby Mallory, Kerry Shale as Murray, James Aubrey as Martin Bledsoe, Peter Marinker as Nils Greyfalk, and Teresa Gallagher as Paige Carrington.
Sara Paretsky has created one of the most popular female sleuths in modern crime-fiction. Her heroine, VI Warshawski, is a strong female character in a male-dominated world. VI is comfortable packing heat and trailing nasty suspects but she never loses touch with her basic femininity. Paretsky says of her Warshawski: "I was troubled by the way women were portrayed in (detective fiction) they always seemed either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likeable female private investigator".
Kathleen Turner also starred in the same role in the 1991 film 'VI Warshawski'.
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.
THU 06:30 Vienna and the Shadow of The Third Man (b00kp9jk)
Tour guide Dr Brigitte Timmermann uncovers Graham Greene's Vienna and takes us in the footsteps of his classic 1949 film, The Third Man. Walking through the city, she tells the stories that have fascinated generations of film buffs, from Soviet master spy Kim Philby's role in the film to tales of Sir Carol Reed and Graham Greene's late night visits to Vienna's seediest bars. With the help of fellow devotees, Brigitte explores Vienna's hidden history and examines why The Third Man has remained largely unpopular in the place which inspired it.
THU 07:00 North By Northamptonshire (b03phd43)
Series 3, Episode 4
by Katherine Jakeways
Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the residents of a small market town in Northamptonshire. This week, waiting in for a delivery tests the patience of even the most well meaning of daughters.
Producer: Steven Canny
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 enviously. Now Katherine Jakeways is giving Northamptonshire an identity. And she waits, eagerly, for her home-county to thank her. And possibly make her some kind of Mayor.
Joined by nearly all of the incredible cast which graced Series One and Two - including Sheila Hancock as the Narrator, Penelope Wilton, Felicity Montagu, Geoffrey Palmer and Kevin Eldon - and with the exciting addition of Tim Key and Nathaniel Parker - North by Northamptonshire hopes (and promises) to once again delight audience and critics.
'The laughs are cruel, but the monsters of suburbia are curiously sympathetic, and the characters so well drawn and well played that this could run and run.' Time Out.
THU 07:30 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (b0bdbdyz)
Series 1, Lloyd Griffith and June Sarpong
Joe Lycett explores the nation's weird and wonderful obsessions by getting to know a selection of famous and not so famous guests. Joining Joe on the sofa this week, comedian Lloyd Griffith shares his love of fire engines, whilst broadcaster June Sarpong reveals her obsession with hula hooping. Joe also welcomes members of the public to share their secret passions, as well as this week's VOP (very obsessed person), Viktor Wynd who shows Joe a selection of his museum of curiosities.
Joe Lycett's Obsessions was written and performed by Joe Lycett, with material from James Kettle and additional material from Laura Major and Mike Shepherd. The production coordinator was Hayley Sterling. The producer was Suzy Grant and it was a BBC Studios production.
THU 08:00 Yes Minister (b007jlbc)
Series 1, The Economy Drive
MP Jim Hacker plans to slim down the Civil Service. His own economy drive will set a personal example - won't it?
Starring Paul Eddington as Jim Hacker, Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby and Derek Fowldes as Bernard.
With Diana Hoddinot as Annie Hacker and Bill Nighy as Frank Weisel.
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn satirical sitcom ran on BBC TV between 1980 and 1984. Yes Minister is centred around the hapless Jim Hacker and a collection of civil service underlings headed by the Machiavellian Sir Humphrey Appleby and obsequious Bernard.
Adapted for radio by producer Pete Atkin.
First broadcast on Radio 4 in 1983.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b007jnm5)
The Great Bank Robbery
All set for the Long Distance Bass Drum Race, Neddie Seagoon is duped into villainy. Stars Spike Milligan. From November 1956.
THU 09:00 The Personality Test (b00n02yq)
Series 2, Claire Rayner
Agony aunt Claire Rayner quizzes a panel about herself.
With Sue Perkins, Lucy Porter, Will Smith and Robin Ince.
Series with changing hosts who quiz the panel.
Script by Richard Turner and Simon LIttlefield
Devised and produced by Aled Evans.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
THU 09:30 Alison and Maud (b007k3ds)
Series 2, A Gender Agenda
A visit from Bernard's mother raises suspicion for the landladies.
Second of two series of Sue Limb's Bed and Breakfast sitcom about sisters Alison and Maud and their guests at the Abbeyfield Guest House in Norwich.
Starring Denise Coffey as Alison, Miriam Margolyes as Maud, Joss Ackland as Father, Chris Emmett as Mr Mullett and Geoffrey Whitehead as Bernard.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2004.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b04mh75j)
Alan Le May - The Searchers, Episode 1
By Alan Le May
Dramatised for radio by Adrian Bean
Episode one of a new adaptation of the classic western novel, upon which the famous film was based.
Texas, 1848. When Comanches attack the Edwards family's settlement on the Texas plains, they kidnap two girls - seventeen year-old Lucy and ten year-old Debbie. So Amos Edwards sets out on the dangerous mission to recover his two nieces, with the help of his nephew Mart and a rag-tag bunch of searchers. Their epic mission will last six years.
Alan Le May's 1954 novel is a timeless work of western fiction and a no-holds-barred portrait of the real American frontier. It explores the fear and the hatred that underpinned the lives of both the white settlers and the Native Americans. And what emerges is a violent account of a creeping genocide, as one culture inevitably triumphs over the other.
John Ford's 1956 film, based on the novel, starred John Wayne as Ethan Edwards (called Amos in the book and radio adaptation). Ford's film was named the Greatest Western Movie of all time by the American Film Institute in 2008.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru/Wales Production.
THU 11:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yfsgy)
The Rescue
While shopping in a large supermarket, a father starts to watch the rescue of some miners in Chile on one of the televisions on display in the store. He's planning to go and visit his drug-addict son, who has hit 'rock bottom'. He hopes that, somehow, some day, his son too may be rescued. Read by Emma Fielding.
Carys Bray's collection of short stories, Sweet Home, won the 2012 Scott Prize.
With psychological insight and lightness of touch frequently found in fairy tales, Carys Bray delves under the surface of ordinary lives to explore loss, disappointment, frustrated expectations and regret. Described as 'not just excellent, but significant', by poet and critic Robert Sheppard, these dark and lyrical stories illuminate extraordinary and everyday occurrences with humanity and humour.
Bray's stories are never afraid to expose the darkness that exists behind suburban front doors, but at their heart are brave, moving evocations of what it means to be at home with those you love.
Abridged by John Peacock
Producer David Blount
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
THU 11:15 Peter Sansom - Killing Mr Mort (b0076jv2)
Three friends meet in their local to wonder at a strange epidemic of deaths, and to ponder over the whereabouts of a large sum of money given to the late Jamie Mort.
Poet and playwright Peter Sansom presents a modern-day version of Chaucer's Pardoner's Tale.
Derek ..... Stephen Critchlow
Simon .... Robert Purdy
Martin.... Tom Silburn
Old Man .... Trevor Martin
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
THU 12:00 Yes Minister (b007jlbc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jnm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Vienna and the Shadow of The Third Man (b00kp9jk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n1rr7)
Rose Tremain - Merivel: A Man of His Time, Episode 14
Rose Tremain returns triumphantly to one of her best loved characters, in the long awaited sequel to her Booker short-listed best-selling novel, Restoration, published in 1989.
Seventeen years after the events related in Restoration, Merivel, a man of wit, wisdom and not a little passion, is facing a crisis. Older and perhaps a little wiser, with his daughter now away at Court and his dearest friends ageing too, life on his Norfolk estate has ceased to satisfy. What comfort can he find in these years?
In today's episode: The King is dying. Merivel has one final task to complete for his beloved monarch. And fate has another calamity in store for our hero too.
The reader is the stage and screen actor Nicholas Woodeson.
The abridger was Sally Marmion and the producer was Di Speirs.
THU 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0184v2x)
A Community Hub
During the nineteenth century the post office became a central pillar in the community; a symbol of order, stability and public service. As well as stamps and stationary, sub-postmasters supplied news, advice and local gossip. From 1862 the Post Office Savings Bank offered savings accounts to poorer people for the first time.
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines it's impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak,
Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w2w5s)
Lindsay Ashford - The Mysterious Death of Jane Austen, Episode 4
Twenty-six years have passed since the death of Jane Austen. Armed with a lock of Austen's hair as perhaps her best clue, Anne Sharp, former governess to the Austen family and Jane's close friend, has decided at least to tell her story-a story of family intrigues, shocking secrets, forbidden loves, and maybe even murder.
Upon its publication in the UK, Lindsay Ashford's fictional interpretation of the few facts surrounding Jane Austen's mysterious death sparked an international debate and uproar. None of the medical theories offers a satisfactory explanation of Jane Austen's early demise at the age of 41. Could it be that what everyone has assumed was a death by natural causes was actually more sinister? Lindsay Ashford's vivid novel delves deep into Austen's world and puts forth a shocking suggestion-was someone out to silence her?
Andrew Davies, who has a phenomenal track record in adaptation, has collaborated with Eileen Horne in recent years, first as writer and producer on a new TV version of Room with a View (2007) and as writer and editor on The Purple Land for Radio 4 (2011).
Written by Lindsay Ashford
Adapted by Eileen Horne and Andrew Davies
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b0100x2v)
Ken Campbell: The Great Caper, Episode 4
Michael Coveney's biography tells the story of Campbell, the great adventurer of British theatre.
By Michael Coveney. In his production of 'The Warp', Campbell made arduous demands on his cast. For actor Russell Denton it was a life-changing experience.
Ken Campbell, who died in September 2008, was one of the great mavericks of British theatre.
Ill-suited to a role in conventional theatre, he created a risk-taking confrontational style of performance, which often explored unlikely subject matter.
He became, in director Mike Leigh's words, "The outsider's outsider"
Bob Hoskins, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent are amongst the performers whose formative years were spent working with Campbell. What did the director and producer bring to performance that made him such a mesmeric figure?
Writer Michael Coveney is a long-standing theatre critic, who has worked for The Financial Times, The Observer and The Daily Mail. Actor Toby Jones played Truman Capote in 'Infamous' and Swifty Lazar in 'Frost/Nixon' and recently reprised the role of Dobby in the film 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. Toby has also appeared in a production of 'The Warp' by Neil Oram, the 22-hour epic created by Ken Campbell.
Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b04mh75j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The Personality Test (b00n02yq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Alison and Maud (b007k3ds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 North By Northamptonshire (b03phd43)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (b0bdbdyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Hordes of the Things (b007jqyx)
Episode 4
Can the assembled forces of Radox the Green win the battle?
Andrew Marshall and John Lloyd's epic Tolkien parody in 4-parts.
Stars Paul Eddington as King Yulfric the Wise, Patrick Magee as the Chronicler, Simon Callow as Crown Prince Veganin, Christian Rodska as Agar, Frank Middlemass as Radox the Green, Maggie Steed as Queen Elfreda, Aubrey Woods as the Evil Flesh-Eating Lord of Craarn, Ballard Berkeley as Baddedas the Blue, Bob Grant as HobLob, the Monstrous Spider, Michael Cule as Xanspur, the Skylord and Jonathan Lynn as Golin Longshanks.
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1980.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b014fkwv)
Series 25, Hans Fallada
The Fast Show comedian Simon Day tells Matthew Parris why he's fascinated by the life and work of German author Hans Fallada. Matthew is also joined by Fallada's biographer Jenny Williams.
Hans Fallada (real name Rudolf Ditzen) was an alcoholic, a thief, a morphine addict and, prone to depression, attempted suicide twice. He lived and worked in the Germany of the 1930's and, although declared an "undesirable author," stayed in his beloved country for the duration of the Second World War. In and out of prison, sanatoriums and relationships, his volatile personal life often informed his writing (The Drinker, 1950.)
Simon Day achieved fame as "Competitive Dad" and "Dave Angel, Eco-Warrior" in The Fast Show of the 1990's. More recently he has written of his battles with various addictions, and finds parallels between his own experience of addiction, and that of Hans Fallada.
THU 19:00 Yes Minister (b007jlbc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jnm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Vienna and the Shadow of The Third Man (b00kp9jk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Carys Bray - Sweet Home (b04yfsgy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Peter Sansom - Killing Mr Mort (b0076jv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (b0bdbdyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 The In Crowd (b00890vn)
Series 1, Episode 3
Sketch show from Manchester's Comedy Store with Robin Ince, Helen Moon, Smug Roberts and Kate Ward. From August 2001.
THU 22:40 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0bfdb79)
Sara Barron. 2/2
Jessica Fostekew chats to stand-up comic and New York storytelling queen Sara Barron.
THU 22:45 The Shuttleworths (b00sp5cy)
Series 5, Picnic at Toadmouth Rock
John has planned a picnic to celebrate Ken's birthday, and also provide an opportunity for him to road-test his new cagoule. But the plan is thwarted by Ken who has other ideas.
John is created and performed by Graham Fellows, and the series is produced by Dawn Ellis.
THU 23:00 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b0076fhj)
Series 3, Reality TV
Mel Hudson and Vicki Pepperdine are swept up in the craze for celebrity reality TV
Starring Mel Hudson and Vicki Pepperdine with Martin Hyder and Jim North.
Written by Danny Robins, Richie Devlin and Dan Tetsell with the cast Script edited by Graeme Garden.
Music by Richie Webb.
Producer: Chris Neill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
THU 23:30 Late (b00762p3)
From Grieving to Cross-Dressing
An unwitting son takes his grieving mother to see "Mamma Mia"; a provincial theatre director talks about his latest play, a business woman stumbles on her husband indulging a secret obsession....
Bleak, funny and confusing tales of urban life, after dark.
Stars Paul Merton, Meera Syal, Liz Smith, Julian Clary and Richard Wilson.
Scripted by Mandy Wheeler, Joss Bennathan, Rob Colley and Paul Merton.
Music by Robert Katz.
Producer: Sarah Parkinson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2001.
THU 23:45 Roger McGough's Other Half (b04xrnlz)
Episode 2
Roger McGough is joined by Helen Atkinson-Wood, Philip Jackson and Richie Webb in a hilarious and surreal new sketch show for BBC Radio 4. With sketches about Fandom, Fatherhood and 17th Century France, you'll hear his familiar voice in a whole new light. Expect merriment and melancholy in equal measures, and a whisker of witty wordplay too. Produced by Victoria Lloyd.

FRIDAY 17 AUGUST 2018

FRI 00:00 Hordes of the Things (b007jqyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b014fkwv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnkn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Vienna and the Shadow of The Third Man (b00kp9jk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n1rr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0184v2x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w2w5s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b0100x2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b04mh75j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Personality Test (b00n02yq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Alison and Maud (b007k244)
Series 1, Lame Ducks
How can Alison avoid a courtship display without hastily inventing a husband?
First of two series of Sue Limb's Bed and Breakfast sitcom about sisters Alison and Maud and their guests at the Abbeyfield Guest House in Norwich.
Starring Denise Coffey as Alison, Miriam Margolyes as Maud, Joss Ackland as Father, Chris Emmett as Mr Mullett and Nickolas Grace as Leslie.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2002.
FRI 05:00 North By Northamptonshire (b03phd43)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Joe Lycett's Obsessions (b0bdbdyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnl3)
Deadlock, Deadlock
VI Warshawski flies to Canada to continue her investigation on the giant freighter the Lucella Weisser. But she's in for a shock when they sail through the Great Lakes Lock.
Sara Paretsky's thriller stars Kathleen Turner as VI Warshawski. With Eleanor Bron as Lottie, William Dufris as Captain Bemis and Keith Drinkel as Mike Sheridan.
Sara Paretsky has created one of the most popular female sleuths in modern crime-fiction. Her heroine, VI Warshawski, is a strong female character in a male-dominated world. VI is comfortable packing heat and trailing nasty suspects but she never loses touch with her basic femininity. Paretsky says of her Warshawski: "I was troubled by the way women were portrayed in (detective fiction) they always seemed either evil or powerless. I thought it was time for a tough, smart, likeable female private investigator".
Kathleen Turner also starred in the same role in the 1991 film 'VI Warshawski'.
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.
FRI 06:30 Juggling Chainsaws with Archaos (b00tmtxs)
Chainsaws, forklift trucks and semtex - in 1990, the French ripped into the traditional circus format with a demented vitality that outraged authorities across the UK. Archaos were the creation of Pierrot Bidon, "part gypsy, part street urchin, very hairy" according to Mark Borkowski. He was their British publicist, and saw it as his job to get them out of the cultural pages and onto the front pages instead.
"The Human Circus Hides Sick Secrets" - a typical tabloid headline that followed Archaos wherever they went. As a result, local councils banned them again and again, a cunning ploy to sell huge numbers of tickets wherever they went.
In Juggling Chainsaws with Archaos, presenter Miles Warde tracks down the British participants who made Archaos more successful here than anywhere else - including their producer Adrian Evans and performers like Mischa Eligoloff, who moved from backstage to fire-eater, hiccupped during a performance, and felt all his paraffin enter his lungs. Or as Pierrot Bidon used to say, "A life without danger is not a life; a show without danger is not a show.".
FRI 07:00 Winston (b00pgpm3)
Winston Back Home, A Whale of a Time with Chekhov
Angry Nancy takes action when she hears what old rogue Winston has been up to...
Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy serial stars Bill Wallis as Winston, Maurice Denham as Father, Shirley Dixon as Nancy, Liz Goulding as Rosie and Christian Rodska as William.
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1994.
FRI 07:30 Pauline Pepys Dowry (b00tbkfx)
Samuel Pepys' diaries make occasional mention of his sister Pauline who has come to visit. She appears not to have been an entirely welcome guest. This comedy is inspired by Pauline, and by many other unwelcome love-lorn house-guests throughout human history...
Meet Pauline Pepys. Her love life is in tatters, her sister-in-law wants her to move out of the spare room, and her best friend is her worst enemy. Oh, and this being London in the 1660s there's a nasty spot of plague about. This episode sees Pauline fall for a handsome executioner, but when he seems to prefer Charlotte she offers to fix Pauline up with a very romantic poet. Meanwhile Elizabeth has arranged for a lavish portrait of herself and Samuel that is not altogether going to plan. And the maid is doing something awful with a dead fish and a goat.
A new historical comedy starring Olivia Colman as hopeless romantic Pauline, Sharon Horgan as her best friend Charlotte the vainest woman in Britain, David Mitchell as a distinctly itchy Samuel Pepys, Katherine Parkinson as Elizabeth his wife, who is very stressed about making the right impression on society; and Tom Hollander as Russell de Bret, a man who in the twenty first century would be a rock star, but has chosen instead the career of public executioner; with Rebekah Staton as the peculiarly fish-obsessed house maid Jane and Dave Lamb as Joth a very angry painter and Wilston, a very sad poet...
Pauline Pepys' Dowry is written by Amy Shindler and Beth Chalmers and produced by Gareth Edwards.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b007jqws)
Series 8, Episode 1
The BBC's "Plans for Broadcasting in the 70's" - and full frontal radio.
Starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Sketches written by 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 Bill Oddie, Liam Cohen and Dave Lee.
Producer: David Hatch/Peter Titheradge
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in February 1970.
FRI 08:30 Doctor in the House (b007jsw0)
St Swithin's
Simon Sparrow dithers over registering to train as a doctor as St Swithin's hospital in London.
The misadventures of student doctor Simon Sparrow - adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's novel 'Doctor in the House' published in 1952.
Starring Richard Briers as Simon Sparrow, Geoffrey Sumner as Sir Lancelot Spratt, Ray Cooney as Tony Benskin, Erik Chitty as the Secretary, Beth Boyd as the Sister and Michael Deacon as the Padre.
Special guest star: John le Mesurier as The Dean
Producer: David Hatch
Recorded at the BBC Paris studio in London.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1968.
FRI 09:00 Jest a Minute (b016w0m2)
Series 2, Episode 1
Rhod Gilbert's comedy quiz from the Glee Club in Cardiff.
With Chris Corcoran, Lloyd Langford, Rob Deering and Tom Craine.
Producers: Paul Forde and Gareth Gwynn.
First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in 2006.
FRI 09:30 After Henry (b007t59f)
Series 4, Keeping Faith
"Anyone brought up on the Bible would automatically know that it's wrong to have a milk bottle on the table."
When Clare revokes her faith in God, her mother and granny are none too pleased.
Stars Prunella Scales as Sarah, Joan Sanderson as Eleanor, Benjamin Whitrow as Russell and Gerry Cowper as Clare.
Written by Simon Brett
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1989.
FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b04n2k2f)
Alan Le May - The Searchers, Episode 2
By Alan Le May
Dramatised for radio by Adrian Bean
A new adaptation of the classic western novel, upon which the famous film was based. Episode two.
Texas, 1851. It's been three years since the Comanches attacked the Edwards family's settlement on the Texas plains, and kidnapped ten year-old Debbie. Now only Amos Edwards and his nephew Mart remain on the epic search. But Mart is concerned about what Amos might do if he finds Debbie.
Alan Le May's 1954 novel is a timeless work of western fiction and a no-holds-barred portrait of the real American frontier. It explores the fear and the hatred that underpinned the lives of both the white settlers and the Native Americans. And what emerges is a violent account of a creeping genocide, as one culture inevitably triumphs over the other.
John Ford's 1956 film, based on the novel, starred John Wayne as Ethan Edwards (called Amos in the book and radio adaptation). Ford's version of The Searchers was named the Greatest Western Movie of all time by the American Film Institute in 2008.
Directed by James Robinson
A BBC Cymru/Wales Production.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b0bf56tg)
Made for 4 Extra. Host Amanda Litherland is joined by Simon O'Hagan who picks his favourite literary podcasts: Backlisted and Freedom, Books, Flowers and the Moon from the TLS.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b007jqws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Doctor in the House (b007jsw0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnl3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Juggling Chainsaws with Archaos (b00tmtxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b01n1vwr)
Rose Tremain - Merivel: A Man of His Time, Episode 15
Rose Tremain returns triumphantly to one of her best loved characters, in the long awaited sequel to her Booker short-listed best-selling novel, Restoration, published in 1989.
Seventeen years after the events related in Restoration, Merivel, a man of wit, wisdom and not a little passion, is facing his final years.
In today's episode: With the King dead and Margaret to be married, it is time to return to Bidnold and to Will Gates at last.
The reader is the stage and screen actor Nicholas Woodeson.
The abridger was Sally Marmion and the producer was Di Speirs.
FRI 14:15 The People's Post: A Narrative History of the Post Office (b0184vhd)
The Postal Worker's Strike
By 1890, Britain had a state of the art postal service with six daily deliveries in Britain's towns. To achieve this service, delivery staff often worked six day weeks with shifts split over a twelve or fourteen hour day. In sorting offices, postal staff complained of leaky roofs and inadequate toilets. Worse still, postmen weren't permitted their own independent union, and in 1890 frustration turned to industrial action.
As Royal Mail faces an uncertain future, Dominic Sandbrook charts the development of the post office and examines it's impact on literacy, free speech, commerce and communication.
Writer and Presenter: Dominic Sandbrook
Musicians: Sam Lee, Bella Hardy, Mick Sands, Nick Hart
Actors: Morgan George, John Sessions, Simon Tcherniak, Malcolm Tierney, Jane Whittenshaw
Producer: Joby Waldman
A Somethin Else production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b03w38q1)
Lindsay Ashford - The Mysterious Death of Jane Austen, Episode 5
Twenty-six years have passed since the death of Jane Austen. Armed with a lock of Austen's hair as perhaps her best clue, Anne Sharp, former governess to the Austen family and Jane's close friend, has decided at least to tell her story-a story of family intrigues, shocking secrets, forbidden loves, and maybe even murder.
Upon its publication in the UK, Lindsay Ashford's fictional interpretation of the few facts surrounding Jane Austen's mysterious death sparked an international debate and uproar. None of the medical theories offers a satisfactory explanation of Jane Austen's early demise at the age of 41. Could it be that what everyone has assumed was a death by natural causes was actually more sinister? Lindsay Ashford's vivid novel delves deep into Austen's world and puts forth a shocking suggestion-was someone out to silence her?
Andrew Davies, who has a phenomenal track record in adaptation, has collaborated with Eileen Horne in recent years, first as writer and producer on a new TV version of Room with a View (2007) and as writer and editor on The Purple Land for Radio 4 (2011).
Written by Lindsay Ashford
Adapted by Eileen Horne and Andrew Davies
Produced and Directed by Clive Brill
A Pacificus production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b0100x2x)
Ken Campbell: The Great Caper, Episode 5
Michael Coveney's biography tells the story of Campbell, the great adventurer of British theatre.
In his later work, Campbell focuses on improvisation; taking the safety-net of the script away from his performers.
Ken Campbell, who died in September 2008, was one of the great mavericks of British theatre.
Ill-suited to a role in conventional theatre, he created a risk-taking confrontational style of performance, which often explored unlikely subject matter.
He became, in director Mike Leigh's words, "The outsider's outsider"
Bob Hoskins, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent are amongst the performers whose formative years were spent working with Campbell. What did the director and producer bring to performance that made him such a mesmeric figure?
Writer Michael Coveney is a long-standing theatre critic, who has worked for The Financial Times, The Observer and The Daily Mail. Actor Toby Jones played Truman Capote in 'Infamous' and Swifty Lazar in 'Frost/Nixon' and recently reprised the role of Dobby in the film 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'. Toby has also appeared in a production of 'The Warp' by Neil Oram, the 22-hour epic created by Ken Campbell.
Read by Toby Jones
Abridged by Pete Nichols
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b04n2k2f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Jest a Minute (b016w0m2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 After Henry (b007t59f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Winston (b00pgpm3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Pauline Pepys Dowry (b00tbkfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 David Calcutt - The Daughter of the Sea (b07zfmwh)
A seal leaves the ocean and turns into a woman. Ishmael falls hopelessly in love. She agrees to marry him - on one condition.
Adapted from traditional sources by David Calcutt
Starring Mary Wimbush as the Old Woman, Susan Mann as the Girl, Stephen Tomlin as Ishmael and Moir Leslie as the Seal-woman
Seal-woman's song by Sue Harris
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Nigel Bryant
First broadcast in Thirty Minute Theatre on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.
FRI 18:30 Mastertapes (b03hvn6z)
Series 3, David Crosby (A-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 2, A-side. "If I Could Only Remeber My Name" with David Crosby
Double inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, David Crosby talkes John Wilson back to the making of his debut solo album, If I Could Only Remember My Name.
Released in 1971, it was one of four high-profile solo albums released more or less simultaneously by each member of the legendary super-group, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. David's If I Could Only Remember My Name boasted a stellar line-up that not only included Neil Young and Graham Nash, but also featured Joni Mitchell and the leading members of both Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. Initially met with mixed reviews, the album has never been out of print and features some of his most impressive vocal and songwriting work - including the haunting Laughing, the mantra-like Music Is Love and the extended, impressionistic Cowboy Movie.
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
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.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b007jqws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Doctor in the House (b007jsw0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 VI Warshawski (b007jnl3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Juggling Chainsaws with Archaos (b00tmtxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b0bf56tg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Pauline Pepys Dowry (b00tbkfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Funny From the Fringe (b0bf56tj)
2018, Episode 2
Award-winning comedian, Jayde Adams takes us on a journey to the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
A Fringe veteran, she gets amongst it, taking us from the big glitzy theatres to the sweaty underground venues where the best shows you've never heard of perform.
This is the full Edinburgh Festival Fringe experience, but in your ears.
A BBC Studios Production.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0bg65w0)
Jake Howie. 1/2
From 10pm - midnight, 7 days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats to Kiwi comic Jake Howie. Episode 1 of 2.
FRI 23:00 Rubbish (b00770kq)
Series 1, Whistleblower
Is local government officer Martin to blame for the notorious Dalek of Death compost bins? Stars Reece Dinsdale. From October 2006.
FRI 23:30 Chain Reaction (b00n1jbg)
Series 5, Alistair McGowan interviews Simon Callow
Impressionist Alistair McGowan interviews actor Simon Callow in the tag-team talk show, where this week's guest is the next week's interviewer. From September 2009.