SATURDAY 08 SEPTEMBER 2018

SAT 00:00 15 Minute Drama (b00qzjrd)
Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black, Escape
Dramatisation by Caroline Harrington of Hilary Mantel's blackly comic novel about a professional medium with a troubled past.
Alison's disgusting spirit guide Morris has been joined by Donny Aitkenside, one of the violent group of petty criminals who were in and out of the house all through Alison's abusive childhood. Alison knows the other members of the spirit gang can't be far behind, and decides the only way to escape them is to move to a new house where they won't want to follow her. Her assistant Colette locates a suitable new development, and the move has the desired effect: Morris hates it, and announces he's leaving. At long last, Alison thinks, she's free.
Alison ...... Alison Steadman
Colette ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Morris ...... Bill Wallis
Emmie ...... Katharine Rogers
Aitkenside ...... Simon Armstrong
Directed by Sara Davies.
SAT 00:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nmjxb)
Voices
"I reached the door and ran outside, but the voices would not leave me..."
Andrew witnesses a mysterious ceremony in a former church and meets with his friend's widow.
Jonathan Aycliffe's chilling novel abridged in ten parts by Rosemary Goring.
Read by Robert Paterson
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 1997.
SAT 00:30 Mastertapes (b03k3h2k)
Series 3, Edwyn Collins (B-Side)
John Wilson continues with his Radio 4 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 4 (B-side). Having discussed the making of "Gorgeous George", the career changing solo album with the world wide hit A Girl Like You (in the A-side of the programme, broadcast on Monday 2nd December and available online), Edwyn Collins - together with his wife and manager Grace Maxwell - responds to questions from the audience and, with a small band, performs acoustic live versions of some to the tracks from the album which he started recording 20 years ago.
Producer: Helen Lennard.
SAT 01:00 Jim Eldridge - Down Payment on Death (b007jtl9)
The Moment of Truth
Retired hitman Art Gordo comes face-to-face with his mysterious nemesis at last.
Conclusion of the 5-part thriller adapted by Jim Eldridge from his own novel.
Stars Dinsdale Landen as Art Gauder, Frances Jeater as Louise Lenehan, Donald Gee as Paul Le Clerk, Joanna Wake as Sally Le Clerk, Basil Hinson as Leon Young and Douglas Blackwell as Forbes.
Producer: John Fawcett-Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 1976.
SAT 01:30 Command Performance (b00rpvkt)
Command Performance explores prestigious concerts held in unique places under special circumstances with presenter Katie Derham . As you'd expect the command performance is a royal prerogative and singer Katherine Jenkins gives us further insight when she explains her recent experience of a performance for the current Queen at Balmoral.
As we hear for most artists a private performance rarely features a royal at the top table. Time is devoted to the after dinner or corporate gig where lucrative money can be made. Comedian Barry Cryer gives us tips on the best way to approach these unique events and veteran Roy Hudd also suggests ways you make the most of these performance opportunities with out losing your nerve.
After a hard day General Secretary Joseph Stalin liked to relax watching the ballet. Today a bespoke performance with an artist is possible. Jazz musician Yolanda Brown was invited to perform for the President Medvedev at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. Playing for a leading political figure is significant for an artist, but what about performing for eight global players? Jools Holland explains his command performance when he played for Prime Minster Tony Blair at the G8 summit and why President Bill Clinton had difficulty leaving the event.
For many artists a performance for his Holiness the Pope is a command performance to be embraced with great relish. Composer Simon Wills performed for the Pope on two occasions and reveals what happens behind the walls of the Vatican, what the changing facilities are like and how the Pope responds to a performance.
The programme concludes that any one can purchase their own command performance and music promoter Hugh Phillimore can help. He has secured the world's leading stars providing the price is right.
Sugar Productions for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b044jh7r)
Jo Baker - Longbourn, Episode 5
By Jo Baker. The Bennet family receive an invitation from Netherfield. For Sarah, it's a chance to better get to know Ptolemy, the Bingleys' footman.
Reader...Sophie Thompson
Abridger...Sara Davies
Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.
SAT 02:15 The Making of Music (b007mnr6)
Series 1, The Renaissance
James Naughtie discovers how history has shaped the development of classical music.The world was changing: in the Renaissance, man was well as God was celebrated in music and the arts. In Ferrara, Italy, Josquin Desprez wrote as mass that immortalised his patron, the Duke Ecole d'Este I. Missa Hercules dux Ferrariae was based on the syllables of the Dukes name.
Reader: Simon Russell Beale
Produced by Rosie Boulton, Sara Conkey, Lucy Lunt.
BBC Birmingham.
SAT 02:30 Jane Beeson - A Monkey With a Box of Paints (b00764b5)
Opening
The first Impressionist exhibition finally opens, and Berthe has to face the wrath of the reactionary critics. But her sister Edma offers a glimmer of light.
Conclusion of Jane Beeson's five-part series looking at the female impressionist painter Berthe Morisot through her correspondence with her mother and sister.
Berthe ... Sarah-Jane Holm
Cornelie ... Pauline Munro
Manet ...Simon Chandler
Edma .... Alison Pettitt
Guichard .... Robert Lister
Woolf ... Ian Brooker
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Peter Leslie Wild
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b03b97bc)
Sandra Hempel - The Inheritor's Powder: A Cautionary Tale of Poison, Betrayal and Greed, Episode 5
On the morning of Saturday 2nd of November 1833, the Bodle household sat down to their morning breakfast, sharing a pot of coffee. That evening, the local surgeon John Butler received an urgent summons - the family and their servants had all collapsed with a serious illness. Three days later, after lingering in agony, the wealthy grandfather George Bodle died in his bed at his farmhouse in Plumstead. The Bodles had been the victims of a terrible poisoning.
In the nineteenth century, criminal poisoning with arsenic was frighteningly easy. For a few pence and with few questions asked, it was possible to buy enough poison to kill off an entire family, hence arsenic's popular name - The Inheritor's Powder.
The surgeon John Butler had set about collecting the evidence that he hoped would bring the culprit to justice but, in the 1830s, forensic science was still in its infancy. Even diagnosing arsenic poisoning was a hit-and-miss affair.
So when a chemist named James Marsh was called as an expert witness in the case of the murder at Plumstead, he decided that he had to create a reliable test for arsenic poisoning, or the murders would continue and killers would be left to walk free. In so doing though he was to cause as many problems as he solved. Were innocent men and women now going to the gallows?
Sandra Hempel, author of The Inheritor's Powder, is a medical journalist who has written for a wide variety of both popular newspapers and magazines and specialist publications, from the Mail on Sunday and The Times to Nursing Times and BMA News.
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Director: David Blount
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 Keith Waterhouse - Mr and Mrs Nobody (b055knqf)
A delightful diary account which reveals the day-to-day activities of one Charles Pooter, a London clerk, and his long-suffering wife Carrie.
Stars Judi Dench and Michael Williams.
By Keith Waterhouse. Based on George and Weedon Grossmith's 19th Century comic masterpiece 'The Diary of a Nobody'.
Incidental music composed by Colin Sell. Played by Colin Sell and Peter Ripper.
Directed by Gordon House
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in May 1990.
SAT 04:00 Jest a Minute (b017gnw5)
Series 2, Episode 4
Rhod Gilbert's comedy quiz from the Glee Club in Cardiff.
With Elis James, Jon Richardson, Lloyd Langford and Chris Corcoran
Producers: Paul Forde and Gareth Gwynn.
First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in 2006.
SAT 04:30 Elephants to Catch Eels (b007nchq)
Series 1, Episode 2
Sly barmaid Tamsyn Trelawny and her band of smugglers battle to try and outwit local customs officer, Captain Marriott.
18th century Cornish village sitcom by the writers of Dead Ringers - Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain.
Starring Lucy Speed as Tamsyn Trelawny, John Bowe as Jago Trelawny, Cameron Stewart as Major Thomas Falconer, Andrew McGibbon as Captain Marriot, Martin Hyder as Squire Bascombe, Julia Deakin as Edna, Mark Felgate as Dewey and Phil Nice as Roy.
Producer: Jan Ravens.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2003.
SAT 05:00 Winston (b00pync3)
Winston Back Home, A Born Natural
Old rogue Winston's plot to be alone with Nancy gets an unexpected boost from Father.
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.
SAT 05:30 Michael Frayn's Matchbox Theatre (b06qms9t)
Episode 2
Michael Frayn - the most comic philosophical writer of our time. An all-star cast has great fun with Frayn's hilarious view of us all. People talking. To each other, to the world at large, to themselves. Explaining. Heard, overheard, half-heard.
In Episode 2, we eavesdrop on two strangers in a café. Patricia Hodge is the woman who can't get names right. Joanna Lumley, listening in at the next table, longs to correct her. Adam Godley becomes increasingly obsessive in a doctor's surgery. Matthew Wolf, attending a lecture on words, doesn't care for the phrase 'if you like'. Sophie Winkleman and Charles Edwards, trying to find their destination, have 'WIC' - that's 'Words in Car'. Stephen Fry is a politician who believes he has mastered the intricacies of his mobile phone. Tom Hollander and Nigel Anthony share confidences in their own mathematically precise language. And Julian Sands suffers at the hands of Martin Jarvis' Pinteresque writer-tormentor.
This four-part series is Theatre in miniature. Short entertainments based on Frayn's recently acclaimed book, Matchbox Theatre. His brand new collection, now on the radio - the theatre of the listener's imagination. Set design, ice-cream sales, packet of nuts, where to sit - it's up to you. Just sit back and enjoy.
Episode 2 cast: Patricia Hodge, Joanna Lumley, Adam Godley, Mathew Wolf, Sophie Winkleman, Charles Edwards. Stephen Fry, Tom Hollander, Nigel Anthony, Julian Sands, Martin Jarvis.
Written by Michael Frayn
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 Michael Frayn - Here (b00db303)
Moving into their tiny new flat, a young couple need to make important decisions. Where will they put the bed? And do they really want to spend the rest of their lives together?
Michael Frayn's comedy drama stars Samuel West as Phil, Lucy Tregear as Cath and Margaret Courtenay as Pat.
Director: Matthew Walters
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
SAT 07:30 Encore! (b00mw5nc)
Singer Guy Garvey explores the development of the musical encore, from the spontaneous demand for a repeat performance to the predictable delivery of a closing party piece.
Speaking to fellow performers and hearing from historians, he discovers how the encore has progressed over time. In the 17th and 18th century orchestras would be applauded after each movement of a symphony, often repeating the most popular movements a number of times before moving on the rest of the concert. The demand for more seemed to be spontaneous and unexpected. Nowadays, however, all encores are saved for the end of an evening and are hardly, if ever, a repeat of what has been heard before.
Guy asks how acts choose their encores, if there is an art to the good encore and if there are any artists today who are trying to breath new life into the practice.
SAT 08:00 I'm Keith Moon, What's Your Excuse? (b0140jmj)
Phil Daniels remembers The Who's drummer Keith Moon who, had he been alive today, would have qualified for a bus pass.
His life was cut short after a prescription drug overdose on 7 September 1978. But Moon packed a great deal into his short life. As one of the documentary's key contributors points out, because he hardly seemed to sleep, Moon probably managed to pack an average lifetime into his brief spell.
This documentary tracks down contributors who were close to Moon at key periods of his life. Long-term PR man for The Who, Keith Altham, oversaw Moon's early career with the band and witnessed the - sometimes - fractious nature of the band's off-stage relationships. Moon's road manager, Peter "Dougal" Butler was a constant companion up until close to the drummer's demise. "Legs" Larry Smith was a friend who witnessed the tragic death of Moon's driver, Neil Boland. Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones had the unenviable task of replacing him on The Who's drum stool both during Moon's lifetime and after he died. All provide a fascinating insight into the workings of "Moon The Loon's" mind.
But possibly the most insightful voice is provided by Moon himself. Interviewed by Stuart Grundy in Los Angeles in 1974, much of the brief sixteen-minute recording has never been heard before and provides a poignant first-hand illustration of the troubled drummer's lifestyle.
Apart from featuring Moon's drumming and writing, his one solo album also gets a rare outing. And there are excerpts from his all-too-brief radio series, which was produced by the late John Walters. With those two minds in tandem, how could the result be anything but hysterical?!
The title of the documentary comes from the front page of a Melody Maker from the mid 1970s. In a picture featuring Moon and PJ Proby, the words emanate from the drummer's mouth in a word bubble. It first broadcast on Radio 2 in September 2011.
SAT 09:00 And We Are Live... (b007k2x2)
Have a lie-in with Radio 4 Extra's first live show - and find out how the comedian Jake Yapp gets on in the world of live radio.
Jake will attack the established furniture of the media with his take on live news headlines, sports reports and documentaries. Jake will also chat to stalwarts of live broadcasting - newsreaders, sports reporters, DJs, continuity announcers and quiz show hosts.
There will also be live, improvised and topical sketches featuring studio guests Ruth Bratt, Alex Lowe and Cariad Lloyd, music from Harry the Piano - and a show-stopping musical extravaganza.
The show will also feature treats and feats of live broadcasting - both fictional and actual - from the BBC Archive.
SAT 12:00 Flying the Flag (b007jx5g)
Series 1, Favours
In which the repair of the Embassy typewriter plays a part in the mating of seals, the extermination of bugs, and the silencing of little birds.
Alex Shearer's Eastern bloc embassy sitcom.
Starring Dinsdale Landen as HM Ambassador Mr Mackenzie, Peter Acre as William Frost, Moir Leslie as Helen Waterson, Milton Johns as Brown, Stuart Organ as Bryant and Christopher Benjamin as the Colonel
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1987.
SAT 12:30 Snap (b00td5sb)
Series 1, Episode 1
When a couple have history, how can they ever be history?
Molly and Doug are separating but as he's only moving a few streets away, can they make a clean break?
Paul Mendelson's sitcom stars Rebecca Lacey as Molly, Paul Venables as Doug, Soumaya Keynes as Kaz, Jessie Sullivan as Ryan, Rebecca Front as Scarlet, Marlene Sidaway as Mrs Lonsdale and Richard Firth as Ansel.
Producer: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2003.
SAT 13:00 How Does That Make You Feel? (b0bj6jsh)
Series 10 Omnibus
For several months, MP Richard Fallon has managed to avoid scandal and humiliation, but as ever he oscillates between the need for a low profile and his desperate craving for recognition.
And so alarm bells start ringing when he reveals to Martha - in total secrecy - that he's been snapped by paparazzi leaving a restaurant carrying a woman over his shoulder.
Written by Shelagh Stephenson
Omnibus of the 10th series sees Martha's clients making a few changes to their circumstances: Richard, Tony, Caroline and Philip.
Richard Fallon .... Roger Allam
Martha .... Frances Tomelty
Tony/ Philip .... Tim McInnerny
Caroline .... Rebecca Saire
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
First broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in September 2018.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0bj6jsq)
Ken Howard
The artist Ken Howard RA chooses 'Winin' Boy Blues' by Jelly Roll Morton and the last part of 'Ride of the Valkyries' by Richard Wagner.
SAT 14:15 Down Your Way (b0bj6jt3)
Dame Jennifer Jenkins on Brownsea Island
Former Chair of the National Trust, Dame Jennifer Jenkins takes a short voyage to explore Brownsea Island in Dorset - to find it 'full of noises, sounds and sweet airs'.
Meeting residents, Dame Jennifer learns about local activities and the history of the Scouts and Girl Guide movement which began here.
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.
Dame Jennifer Jenkins died aged 96 in 2017.
Producer: Jill Marshall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
SAT 15:00 I'm Keith Moon, What's Your Excuse? (b0140jmj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Michael Frayn - Here (b00db303)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Encore! (b00mw5nc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Sarah Woods - News From Nowhere (b0bj6jt7)
News from Nowhere is a classic piece of futuristic writing, first published in 1890 by artist, designer and socialist William Morris. Its central tenet - that society should refind the value of work and thrive on beauty, rather than consumerism - is timely. This updated drama revisits Morris' vision of a new society for now.
Our Will Guest is a modern day, 21st Century man, travelling from 2016 to a future Utopia. The word utopia comes from the Greek ou-topos, meaning 'no-place' or 'nowhere'. There is uneasy antagonism between Will's 21st Century values and those of 'Nowhere'. But there is also love......Will goes on a time travelling voyage of discovery, finding a new love for society, as well as a woman.
Part of the Dangerous Visions BBC Radio 4 season.
Dramatist Sarah Woods
Producer Polly Thomas
Sound design Nigel Lewis
Production co ordination Lindsay Rees
A BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 18:45 Jan Mark - Black and White (b08bs3pk)
Who's a Pretty Boy Then?
When dad builds a budgerigar aviary on the strange, bare garden patch, the birds' behaviour turns alarming. Read by Ann Rye.
SAT 19:00 Lynne Truss: Pick of the Archive (b0528nk7)
Writer and broadcaster Lynne Truss introduces her favourite programmes from the BBC archive - from 1960s quizzes and classic comedy dramas to Tom Stoppard and Garrison Keillor.
Over 3 hours, Lynne's handpicked highlights include:
We Interrupt the Programme: a BBC Radio 4 documentary celebrating the American comedy duo Bob and Ray from 2004. With a 40 year partnership, Bob and Ray were the first to parody radio and TV with spoofs that often outlasted the original. If you've never heard the 'slow-talkers of America', this is not to be missed.
Many a Slip: an episode of the long-running BBC radio panel show from the 1960s.
Albert's Bridge by Tom Stoppard: the timeless, surreal and philosophical radio drama featuring a 27-year-old John Hurt in the title role.
The Wordsmiths of Gorsemere: comedy drama that still makes Lynne laugh nearly 30 years after it was made - Sue Limb's parody of the lives of the Romantic poets, starring Simon Callow, Geoffrey Whitehead and Denise Coffey.
Lake Wobegon: Garrison Keillor performing his classic storytelling monologue, a report from the writer's fictitious hometown.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Pier Productions.
SAT 22:00 The Lee Mack Show (b00bwzv3)
The Lee Mack Show, Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Ellis-Bextor joins the quick-fire comic for stand-up, sketches and music. With Angela McHale. From March 2005.
SAT 22:30 The Richest Man in Britain (b00nrrq8)
The Elephant in the Room
Sitcom by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith about an ageing rock star and his search for fulfilment.
Trillionnaire rocker Dave Mabbutt introduces ex-lead singer Andy to his new best friend and personal assistant, Mr Tumble the elephant.
Dave Mabbutt ...... Mark Williams
Dom ...... Russell Tovey
Dave's Mum ...... Lynda Bellingham
Andy ...... Noddy Holder
The Lawyer ...... Gus Brown.
SAT 23:00 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b062kx4n)
Series 2, Coffee
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.
This week it's coffee. How much are we now drinking as a nation? And how much of the price of a cup of coffee is actually the coffee beans? Are we giving coffee growers the best deal when we buy Fairtrade coffee or should we be seeking out Direct trade coffee? And could this be the least harmful of all addictions? Perhaps even a positive addiction, with the coffee shop being, as Steven Johnson said (in his recent 'Where good ideas come from' TED talk), 'a place where ideas can have sex'?
Simon speaks to specialist coffee experts Onny Loisel and Michael Cleland. He is also joined by economics guru, More Or Less host Tim Harford and the Queen of investment know-how, Merryn Somerset-Webb, as he walks us around the economics of this very familiar commodity and pokes fun at our relationship with it.
Presented by Simon Evans, with Onny Loisel and Michael Cleland, Tim Harford and Merryn Somerset Webb.
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge and Andy Wolton.
Produced by Claire Jones.
SAT 23:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b00x9zdj)
Series 3, Episode 2
Comedian-activist, Mark Thomas collates policies suggested by the studio audience to add to his People's Manifesto.
These policies are intended to improve our world, nation or just our own lives, with tonight's agenda including:
1. 50% Minimum Participation in Elections
2. Converting Fast Food into Renewable Gas
3. Imposing an Earning Cap of £30k on All Bank Employees
Plus there are plenty of "any other business?" suggestions from the studio audience.

SUNDAY 09 SEPTEMBER 2018

SUN 00:00 Sarah Woods - News From Nowhere (b0bj6jt7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:45 Jan Mark - Black and White (b08bs3pk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:45 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 How Does That Make You Feel? (b0bj6jsh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0bj6jsq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Down Your Way (b0bj6jt3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 I'm Keith Moon, What's Your Excuse? (b0140jmj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Michael Frayn - Here (b00db303)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Encore! (b00mw5nc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Jane Beeson - A Monkey With a Box of Paints (b0bj6qq0)
Omnibus
As the first impressionist exhibition opens to the ridicule of the critics, the first stirrings of Berthe Morisot's talent are recalled with an early encounter with Édouard Manet.
Omnibus of Jane Beeson's five-part series looking at the female impressionist painter Berthe Morisot through her correspondence with her mother and sister.
Berthe ... Sarah-Jane Holm
Cornelie ... Pauline Munro
Manet ...Simon Chandler
Edma .... Alison Pettitt
Guichard .... Robert Lister
Woolf ... Ian Brooker
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Peter Leslie Wild
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
SUN 07:15 Michael Carson - End of Story (b007jtxm)
4 Extra Debut. A pub landlord vividly recalls meeting an aging actor upset about his looks. Read by John Baddeley.
SUN 07:30 To Hull and Back (b06j57f9)
Series 1, Crying in the Chapel
Songs of Praise are paying a visit to Hull. Sophie sees this as an opportunity to start a successful singing career.
But neglected plumbing and a painting of Elvis at The Last Supper make an impossible task even more difficult...
Series 1 of the sitcom by BBC New Comedy Award winner, Lucy Beaumont.
Sophie still lives at home with her mum in Hull. They make a living doing car boot sales at the weekend. Except they don't really make a living because her mum can't bear to get rid of any of their junk. Plus, they don't have a car. As their house gets more cluttered, Sophie feels more trapped.
Starring Lucy Beaumont as Sophie and Maureen Lipman as Sheila.
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Radio Comedy Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
SUN 08:00 Floggit's (b007xrf9)
From 16/11/1956
Village shopkeepers Gert and Daisy take in a lost St Bernard dog, but it doesn't seem to understand English.
Starring Elsie and Doris Waters as Gert and Daisy.
With Joan Sims, Hugh Paddick, Ronnie Barker, Ron Moody, Iris Vandaleur and Peter Hawkins.
Originally popular regulars in 'Workers' Playtime' on the BBC Home Service during wartime, Gert and Daisy won their own series, Floggit's, where they've inherited a village general store in Russett Green with a ragbag of local characters to deal with. It ran for 2 series between 1956 and 1957.
Scripted by Terry Nation, John Junkin and Dave Freeman.
Producer: Bill Gates
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1956.
SUN 08:30 Take It From Here (b01bl4rd)
From 02/04/1958
Eth wants a busier social life in 'The Glums', while Jim and Bentley go to the ballet.
Starring Professor Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley and June Whitfield.
Music from Wallace Eaton and the Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Scripted by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1958.
SUN 09:00 In My Mind's Eye (Omnibus) (b008kk4s)
Author Jan Morris has kept a daily diary for a year, abridged for radio by Katrin Williams.
Installed at her home in North Wales, author Jan Morris keeps a daily diary of thoughts about her life that range from fifty years ago to the present day. Her memories include climbing Mount Everest and living in small town America to achievements now in her nineties, including the ascent of Mount Snowdon and driving her car in a racy way. And having a large family on hand or at least in contact with her!
Read by Janet Suzman
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in September 2018.
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b04nv6m3)
Kizzy and Emma - Friendship on Four Wheels
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between two young wheelchair users who have forged a friendship through their common experience and positive attitude.
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 (b072s5f3)
Comedy Writers, Armando Iannucci
4 Extra Debut. From Bach to Sibelius, comedy writer and producer Armando Iannucci makes his castaway choices. With Sue Lawley. From April 2006.
SUN 11:00 Radiolab (b0bj6qq2)
Series 4, Guts
Radiolab dives into the messy mystery in the middle of us. What's going on down there? With Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich.
Radiolab is a Peabody-award winning show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and the human experience.
Hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich investigate a strange world.
First broadcast on public radio in the USA.
SUN 12:00 Floggit's (b007xrf9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Take It From Here (b01bl4rd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Jane Beeson - A Monkey With a Box of Paints (b0bj6qq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Michael Carson - End of Story (b007jtxm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Transcription (Omnibus) (b0bj6qq4)
Episode 1
Radio producer Juliet Armstrong spots an all-too-familiar face in a crowded London street.
Set in the years after the Second World War, Kate Atkinson's novel puts idealism on the spot and asks who can be trusted when loyalty is pushed to its limits.
Read by Fenella Woolgar
Omnibus of the first five of ten parts.
Abridged by Robin Brooks
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2018.
SUN 15:45 Inside the Queen's Head (b00t3vjs)
A Mug's Game
Lemn Sissay visits pubs with the Queen's name to meet her subjects. A variety of migrants, and violence breaks out in London.
SUN 16:00 Gerry Huxham - Russian Roulette (b007t4ll)
Dramatised events based on the life of the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky, when he undertook a potentially disastrous bet that led to the writing of 'The Gambler'.
Written by Gerry Huxham.
Dostoyevsky .... David Troughton
Anna ..... Amanda Gordon
Gregory .... Keith Drinkel
Alexis .... Robert Harper
Polina ... Elaine Pyke
Grandmama ....Shirley Dixon
General .... Denys Hawthorne
Stellovsky .... Stephen Thorne
Dubarry .... Christopher Scott
With Ioan Meredith, Chris Pavlo, Colleen Prendergast and Mark Bonnar
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b0bj6qq6)
North: Catherine Heaney on Seamus Heaney
Daljit Nagra welcomes Catherine Heaney into 4 Extra's Poetry Extra studio to discuss life growing up with her father, the Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney.
And we hear 'North' featuring Seamus Heaney, first broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster in 1975.
Producer: Sarah Wade
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in September 2018.
Daljit Nagra welcomes Catherine Heaney into 4 Extra's Poetry Extra studio to discuss life growing up with her father, the Nobel Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney.
And we hear 'North' featuring Seamus Heaney, first broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster in 1975.
Producer: Sarah Wade
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in September 2018.
SUN 17:30 To Hull and Back (b06j57f9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Dan Dare (b0bj6qq8)
Marooned on Mercury, Episode 2
Dan Dare and the Anastasia crew assist allies old and new to thwart the evil Mekon, who plots revenge on Venus.
Adventures based on the Eagle comic strip 'Dan Dare' created in 1950 by the Reverend Marcus Morris and Frank Hampson.
Starring Ed Stoppard as Dan Dare, Geoff McGivern as Digby, Heida Reed as Professor Peabody, Raad Rawi as the Mekon, Bijan Daneshmand as Sondar, Kelly Burke as Ergolux, Dianne Weller as the On-Board Computer, Nicholas Briggs as Garlock and Alistair Lock as Crewman Galloway.
Dramatised by Marc Platt.
Director: Andrew Mark Sewell.
Made by B7.
SUN 18:30 Guy de Maupassant - The Hand (b007t4lx)
1880s' Corsica: Reminded by a gruesome trophy reminder of his days in Africa, Sir John Rowell awaits the return of his nemesis...
Guy de Maupassant's story dramatised by Michael Robson.
Stars Denis Quilley as Sir John Rowell, Cyril Shaps as Bermutier, Edward Seckerson as Olivier, David Strong as Audas and Hector Ross as Chavanne.
Devised and directed by Derek Hoddinott.
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 1976.
SUN 19:00 Radiolab (b0bj6qq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 In My Mind's Eye (Omnibus) (b008kk4s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b04nv6m3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b072s5f3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 To Hull and Back (b06j57f9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Self Storage (b01hblzr)
Family
Dave's domestic life is still upside down, and so his dad arrives to offer advice. Stars Reece Shearsmith. From October 2007.
SUN 22:45 2000 Years of Radio (b00769xp)
Series 2, Greensleeves FM
It's a right royal knockabout as Henry VIII wants a son. Recreation of the wireless archives with Al Holloway. From October 2002.
SUN 23:00 Tim Key's Suspended Sentence (b0128pyh)
Truths universally acknowledged. Clocks striking thirteen. Bests and worsts of times. A truly great opening line can make a novel iconic. But what makes these famous first sentences sing to us?
Last year, Perrier award-winning comedian and poet Tim Key chased down the meaning of Nikolai Gogol's enigmatic short story "The Overcoat", in a feature that garnered some of the most prestigious awards in European radio - winning the EBU's Ake Blomstrom Prize, and being nominated for the Prix Italia and Prix Marulic.
Now, another chance to hear his first radio 'documentary' (sort of), originally aired in 2011, as he tries to sleuth out what makes a great literary opening line, with the help of author Joe Dunthorne, comedian and novelist Mark Watson, and literary critics Maureen Freely and John Sutherland. You see, Tim's just desperate to write his first novel - it's in him, just waiting, waiting to be unleashed. If only he could think of a good beginning...
Fresh from his acclaimed stage show "Masterslut" and regular spots on Charlie Brooker's "Newswipe" and Steve Coogan's "Mid-Morning Matters With Alan Partridge", Tim's on a mission to pen the ultimate opening line: one that will knock your socks off, hook you in, blow you away (he'll sort out the rest later, yeah?).
As he slowly crafts his one-sentence magnum opus, Tim taps into the minds of some of Britain's top literary talents to find out what a first line should and shouldn't do, and the hours of sweat and toil enshrined in those crucial few words. He also tries to galvanise his imagination - taking a spin of one of the world's strangest literary board games...
The pressure's on, as we hear a roll-call of some of the finest and most famous first lines in publishing history - from Dickens to Dostoevsky to uh, Dan Brown. Overwhelmed with information, we also hear a crash course on what not to do - as Tim visits Knebworth House, ancestral pile of a man whose most famous first sentence is legendary for all the wrong reasons: Edward Bulwer-Lytton, author of the infamous "It was a dark and stormy night..."
Finally it's time to try out Tim's sentence of the unsuspecting public, as he visits the award-winning Brick Lane Book Club for a focus group...before in the final moments, he unleashes that killer first sentence on the world...(so then Tim: what comes next?).
SUN 23:30 Beauty of Britain (b00n0prf)
Series 1, Seagulls Over Sue Ryder
Comedy by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson. Beauty Olonga works as a carer for the Featherdown Agency and sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to achieve their goals in the land of semi-skimmed milk. We see Britain through her eyes - its overheated houses, its disappointing church services and its over-fondness for cauliflower cheese.
Beauty discovers the glories of Weston-super-Mare's charity shops and experiences the disappointment of her first British funeral.
Beauty ...... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Mr Collinson ...... Malcolm Tierney
Jill ...... Pippa Haywood
Sally ...... Felicity Montagu
Karen/Bus Driver/Shop Assistant ...... Nicola Sanderson
Mrs Gupte ...... Indira Joshi
Anil ...... Paul Sharma
Derek/Waiter/Church Reader ...... Christopher Douglas
Minister ...... Dan Tetsell
Music by The West End Gospel Choir.

MONDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2018

MON 00:00 Dan Dare (b0bj6qq8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:35 Guy de Maupassant - The Hand (b007t4lx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Jane Beeson - A Monkey With a Box of Paints (b0bj6qq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Michael Carson - End of Story (b007jtxm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Transcription (Omnibus) (b0bj6qq4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Inside the Queen's Head (b00t3vjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Gerry Huxham - Russian Roulette (b007t4ll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b0bj6qq6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 To Hull and Back (b06j57f9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952dzs)
BBC National Short Story Award 2017, The Collector
Shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2017.
In Benjamin Markovits's story a lonely man is struggling to come to terms with recent events which are shrouded in mystery. Read by Kyle Soller.
Benjamin Markovits grew up in Texas, London, Oxford and Berlin. He has published seven novels, including Either Side of Winter, about a New York private school, and a trilogy on the life of Lord Byron: Imposture, A Quiet Adjustment and Childish Loves. His most recent novel, You Don't Have To Live Like This, about an experimental community in Detroit, won the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction in 2015. He won a Pushcart Prize for his short story Another Sad, Bizarre Chapter in Human History. Granta selected him as one of the Best of Young British Novelists in 2013.
The five stories in the BBC National Short Story Award 2017 reflected an energy and excitement about short fiction from a generation of the UK's most dynamic, contemporary writers.
Abridged by Rowan Routh
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
MON 06:30 The Playlist Series (b01gd4lk)
William Shakespeare's Playlist
David Owen Norris and guests compile a playlist for the bard. Choosing Shakespeare's favourite songs are the renowned Shakespeare scholar Stanley Wells, RSC director Greg Doran and musician Lucie Skeaping.
The music ranges from a lullaby Shakespeare's mother Mary Arden might have sung him, through bawdy ballads from the local tavern, to haunting songs written by Shakespeare himself. What do they tell us about our most enigmatic genius?
The programme is recorded at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, a wooden recreation of a Shakespearean playhouse.
With singers Gwyneth Herbert and Thomas Guthrie, and a trumpeter from Shakespeare's old school to test the theatre acoustics with some rousing fanfares.
Producer: Elizabeth Burke.
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 07:00 Flying the Flag (b007jy0c)
Series 1, Weather Problems
In which a promising retirement is threatened by a freak hailstorm - and Ambassador Mackenzie discovers something worse than a frank exchange of views in an atmosphere of cordiality.
Alex Shearer's Eastern bloc embassy sitcom.
Starring Dinsdale Landen as HM Ambassador Mackenzie, Peter Acre as William Frost, Moir Leslie as Helen Waterson, Michael Bilton as Yakov Korovin, Jonathan Kidd as Mikael Korovin and Christopher Benjamin as Colonel Surikov.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1987.
MON 07:30 Just a Minute (b0bgpssx)
Series 82, Episode 5
Nicholas Parsons expertly corrals four Just a Minute regulars in the form of Paul Merton, Pam Ayres, Josie Lawrence and Julian Clary.
This week the rare achievement of an uninterrupted minute! But from who?
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.
MON 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007synp)
The Old School Reunion
Surprises are in store as the lad heads back for prize-giving day at his old school.
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 January 1957.
MON 08:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jq15)
The Fancy Dress Parade
Frambourne-on-Sea's pier restoration fund-raising costume party is going well, until Pike brings a piano.
A seaside saga of pier perpetuation starring John Le Mesurier as Arthur Wilson, Ian Lavender as Frank Pike, Bill Pertwee as Bert Hodges and Vivienne Martin as Miss Perkins.
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 January 1984.
MON 09:00 Wordaholics (b01s8mns)
Series 2, Episode 5
Gyles Brandreth chairs the comedy panel game where this week Milton Jones and Robin Ince compete against Natalie Haynes and Lloyd Langford to find out who is the most passionate and knowledgeable about words.
Today the Letter of the Week is 'W'. Lloyd Langford hazards a guess as to what 'Welsh cricket' is while Natalie Haynes has to work out what 'Whistling breeches' are.
In a round about Australian slang Robin Ince tries to guess the meaning of 'guttergripper' while Milton Jones takes a stab at 'shypoo'.
All the panellists come up with some brilliant new toponyms and also reveal their pet-hate words.
Writers: Jon Hunter and James Kettle
Producer: Claire Jones.
MON 09:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b007jx8t)
Series 1, The Real Thing
A big school fund-raising concert is planned - and a Russian supply teacher is on the way.
School comedy created and written by Jim Eldridge. Ten series of this King Street Junior ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.
Stars Carolyn Pickles as Mrs Devon, Marlene Sidaway as Miss Lewis, Michael Cochrane as Mr Maxwell, Paul Copley as Mr Long, Teresa Gallagher as Miss Featherstone, Jacqueline Beatty as Miss Reid, Boris Isarov as Andre, Christopher Dunning as Steven, Nikko Jacques as Ajaz, Jordan Maxwell as Trevor and Gemma Boyle as Sarah.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2002.
MON 10:00 Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent (b00770cw)
Episode 1
When a terrorist bomb explodes in London killing the bomber, all levels of the establishment, and every anarchist circle feels threatened.
Joseph Conrad's prescient black comedy, written in 1907 takes a wry look at the shabby truth behind the news.
Dramatised in two parts by David Napthine.
CHIEF INSPECTOR HEAT..........................RON COOK
ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER.......ROBERT GLENISTER
ADOLF VERLOC.................................DAVID CALDER
WINNIE VERLOC......................WENDY NOTTINGHAM
TOM OSSIPON...................................PAUL BAZELEY
THE PROFESSOR................................ROBIN SOANS
VLADIMIR..............................................HUGH ROSS
SIR ETHELRED.........................GEOFFREY BEEVERS
TOODLES...................................... JOSEPH KLOSKA
GEORGE................................PAUL RICHARD BIGGIN
WAITER..........................................SAIKAT AHAMED
Director: Jessica Dromgoole
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
MON 11:00 Jennifer Egan - Emerald City and Other Stories (b01dq53v)
One Piece
The next in our series of stories from 'Emerald City', the new collection by young American author Jennifer Egan, whose 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and made her name as one of the best new writers to emerge in the past decade.
In today's story, 'One Piece', a young girl takes drastic action to put the broken pieces of her brother's life back together again.
The Abridger is Miranda Davies
The Producer is Justine Willett
Reader: Teresa Gallagher.
MON 11:15 Helen Cross - The Typist Who Flew to Australia (b0076b6g)
In 1930, an intrepid young woman from Hull set off for Australia in a tiny biplane. Amy Johnson became a national heroine and was never far from the front pages of newspapers and magazines.
But what made this apparently ordinary woman want to fly in the first place? Helen Cross's play looks at the years leading up to her flight and glances forward to her mysterious death in 1941.
Amy ... Cathryn Bradshaw
Mr Johnson ... Rob Swinton
Mrs Johnson ... Gillian Goodman
Molly/Unity ... Alex Kelly
Hans/Peter .... Andrew Wincott
Davidson .... Ian Brooker
Police Inspector.... Robert Lister
Director: Peter Leslie Wild
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
MON 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007synp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jq15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952dzs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 The Playlist Series (b01gd4lk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b0457zr5)
Jo Baker - Longbourn, Episode 6
By Jo Baker.
'Pride and Prejudice', from the point of view of the servants.
After the Bingleys' ball, everyone is feeling unsettled, including Sarah. James has a moment of self-realisation.
MON 14:15 The Making of Music (b007nf4j)
Series 1, The Reformation
James Naughtie discovers how history has shaped the development of classical music.Why should the Devil ahve all the best tunes? Luther changed religion and religious music forever. He harnessed secular songs for sacred purposes and introduced congregational singing.
Reader: Benedict Cumberbatch
Produced by Rosie Boulton, Sara Conkey, Lucy Lunt
BBC Birmingham.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b04bmz8z)
Queens of Noise: Get It On, Episode 1
by Roy Boulter. It's 1989. All-girl band Velveteens are high on champagne and excitement as they sign their first record deal. Are they on the road to be wannabe flops or Top of the Pops? Music industry veterans Louise Wener and Roy Boulter draw on their experiences to tell the story of a young band about to get their big break.
Music directors ..... Brian Rawling and Marky Bates
Directed by Toby Swift
In 2012 Radio 2 broadcast a pilot music drama 'Shout to the Top', the brainchild of the station's Head of Music, Jeff Smith. Writers Roy Boulter (drummer with The Farm) and Louise Wener (ex-Sleeper) came on board to ensure that the drama was founded on a genuine knowledge of the music business. Taking care of the music were successful producers Brian Rawling (Bowie, Kylie, Cher, Craig David, One Direction and many more besides) and Marky Bates (Faithless, Dido).
And so were born Velveteens, an all-girl band desperate to make it in the days before the digital revolution changed the music business forever.
Migrating to Radio 4, the resulting series picks up the story as the band signs to a major record company. Now sharing a flat and with only pennies in their pockets, the three young members of the band embark on a roller coaster ride on the road to who-knows-where. Calling the shots is their new manager, Sam Shephurst.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bdbpw)
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China, Episode 1
Jung-Chang's ground-breaking biography reassesses the reputation of this formidable 19th century stateswoman who single-handedly dragged China into modernity. Based on newly available documents, this biography comprehensively overturns the conventional view of the Dowager Empress as a deeply conservative and cruel despot.
Jung Chang vividly describes how Cixi fought against monumental obstacles to change China. Under her the ancient country attained virtually all the attributes of a modern state: industries, railways, electricity, telegraph, and an army and navy with up-to-date weaponry. It was she who abolished gruesome punishments like 'death by a thousand cuts' and put an end to foot-binding. She inaugurated women's liberation, and embarked on the path to introduce parliamentary elections to China.
A fast-paced and gripping story which takes us inside the mind of a brilliant political strategist.
Read by Pik-Sen Lim
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Gemma Jenkins.
MON 15:00 Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent (b00770cw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b007jx8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Flying the Flag (b007jy0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 Just a Minute (b0bgpssx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdk)
Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black, Alison's Good Action
Dramatisation by Caroline Harrington of Hilary Mantel's blackly comic novel about a professional medium with a troubled past.
Alison's disgusting spirit guide, Morris, seems to have disappeared, much to Alison's delight, leaving her to enjoy her new house unmolested. Colette decides that it's time for her to take a more proactive role in the business, but reading palms doesn't seem to be her forte, and an unexpected encounter with her ex, Gavin, leaves her rattled. When a homeless young man takes up residence in the new garden shed, Alison sees an opportunity finally to perform a good action and lay the evil ghosts of her past to rest. But Colette has other ideas.
Alison ...... Alison Steadman
Colette ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Gavin ...... Mark Meadows
Mart ...... Malcolm Hamilton
Directed by Sara Davies.
MON 18:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nqncy)
Grave News
When postgraduate student Andrew MacLeod sees chilling photos of occult influence, he fears for his family and friends...
Set in contemporary Edinburgh. Jonathan Aycliffe's chilling novel abridged in ten parts by Rosemary Goring.
Read by Robert Paterson
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 1997.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b007710s)
John Mullan and Tessa Hadley
Sue MacGregor and her guests - novelist, Tessa Hadley and literary journalist, John Mullan - on books by Ford Madox Ford, EL Doctorow and JM Coetzee. From 2006.
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
Publisher: Penguin
Ragtime by EL Doctorow
Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics
Boyhood: A Memoir by JM Coetzee
Publisher: Vintage.
MON 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007synp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jq15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952dzs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 The Playlist Series (b01gd4lk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Jennifer Egan - Emerald City and Other Stories (b01dq53v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Helen Cross - The Typist Who Flew to Australia (b0076b6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 Just a Minute (b0bgpssx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Start/Stop (b04v2z6p)
Series 2, Date Night
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 three couples end up on a 'date night' together and Evan is a surprise convert to French cinema. Meanwhile Barney tries to get his smartphone to answer some of life's big questions.
Producer ..... Claire Jones.
MON 23:00 News Quiz Extra (b0bj7bhp)
Series 24, Episode 2
With Miles Jupp out of the office, comedian Simon Evans takes the guest host chair for this week's show.
Simon's guests are Phill Jupitus, Ayesha Hazarika, Phil Wang and Rory Bremner.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.
MON 23:45 Hearing With Hegley (b007jr05)
Series 2, Episode 2
Songs and poems from the Luton Laureate including tales of the Tate, a jumble sale and an armadillo. From September 1998.

TUESDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2018

TUE 00:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nqncy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b007710s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952dzs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 The Playlist Series (b01gd4lk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b0457zr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 The Making of Music (b007nf4j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b04bmz8z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bdbpw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent (b00770cw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Wordaholics (b01s8mns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b007jx8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Flying the Flag (b007jy0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Just a Minute (b0bgpssx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b095386s)
BBC National Short Story Award 2017, The Waken
Shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2017.
Jenni Fagan's story is set on a Scottish island where a young woman with vengeance on her mind has a transformative experience. Read by Joanna Vanderham.
Jenni Fagan has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and was shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize, the Desmond Elliott Prize, and the James Tait Black Prize for her debut novel The Panoptican (2012). In 2013, she was selected as one of Granta's Best Young British Young Novelists and appointed as a writer-in-residence at the University of Edinburgh.
The five stories in the BBC National Short Story Award 2017 reflected an energy and excitement about short fiction from a generation of the UK's most dynamic, contemporary writers.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
TUE 06:30 The Playlist Series (b01jpptd)
James Joyce's Playlist
James Joyce had a fine singing voice and earned money singing professionally as a young man. All his life he sang for friends; he sang to his desperately sick young brother, dying of typhoid; he sang to his mother on her deathbed. He sang to Nora, and she sang to him - their songs becoming a part of their courtship and marriage. He wrote songs, and set them to music; and certain special songs are repeated again and again through his fiction.
In this programme, recorded in James Joyce's Martello Tower near Dublin, we discover and recreate James Joyce's favourite songs. We also find, and hear, Joyce's own guitar. At one point in his life he had a plan to make a living travelling round Ireland playing it, as a wandering minstrel.
The songs include sentimental classics like 'Love's Old Sweet Song', which appears seven times in 'Ulysses'; the bawdy music hall ballad 'Those Seaside Girls', one of Joyce's favourites (his most erotic scenes are set by the sea); and a hauntingly sad farewell he wrote to his wife Nora, 'Bid Adieu'. We end with the rollicking 'Finnegan's Wake', an Irish song about a drunken wake which gave its name to the novel.
The contributors are Declan Kiberd, eminent Irish scholar and author of 'Ulysses and Us: the Art of Everyday Living'; actor Barry McGovern; and Katherine O'Callaghan, who has spent several years researching Joyce's music.
The presenter is David Owen Norris, pianist and music Professor, who has also arranged the songs which are sung by Thomas Guthrie and Gwyneth Herbert.
The setting is the Martello Tower near Dublin where Joyce lived as a young man, and which becomes the setting for the opening scenes of 'Ulysses'.
Producer: Elizabeth Burke
A Loftus Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 07:00 Second Thoughts (b007jx4k)
Series 2, Overtaken By Events
Hannah's driving her mother round the bend, while son Joe is discovering girls.
Sitcom about the battles of divorcees Bill MacGregor and Faith Greyshott trying to forge a relationship whilst balancing the demands of his ex-wife, Liza and her teenage children, Hannah and Joe.
Stars Lynda Bellingham as Faith, James Bolam as Bill, Celia Imrie as Hilary, Kelda Holmes as Hannah, Mark Denham as Joe.
Series two of four inspired by the real lives of its writers, husband and wife Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie.
A TV version made by LWT for ITV appeared in 1991 and ran for four series, with a spin-off 'Faith in the Future'.
Producer: Sioned Wiliam
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1989.
TUE 07:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b03w16pc)
Series 1, High-Speed Rail
Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'.
King of the one-liners, Milton Jones returns BBC to Radio 4 for an amazing 10th series in a new format where he has decided to set himself up as a man who can help anyone anywhere - whether they need it or not. Because, in his own words, "No problem too problemy".
But each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. So when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.
This week, there's rumours of a new rail line in the offing - and it's threatening a tiny delicate dormouse. So Milton decides he must put his foot down - carefully...
Written by Milton with James Cary ("Bluestone 42", "Miranda") and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show "House Of Rooms") the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton," returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.
The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill ("Spamalot", "Mr. Selfridge") as the ever-faithful Anton, and Dan Tetsell ("Newsjack"), and features the one and only Josie Lawrence working with Milton for the first time.
Producer David Tyler's radio credits include Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, Cabin Pressure, Bigipedia, Another Case Of Milton Jones, Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, The Brig Society, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The 99p Challenge, The Castle, The 3rd Degree and even, going back a bit, Radio Active.
Produced and Directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 08:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jthd)
Series 2, The Banquet
Author Gerald writes off his car whilst trying to help his wife Diana find inspiration.
The convoluted chronicle of an optimistic author starring Ian Carmichael as Gerald C Potter and Charlotte Mitchell as his wife.
Written by Basil Boothroyd.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter ran from 1976 to 1981
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1977.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jqhn)
One Way Only
The bungling civil servants try to tackle London's transport congestion.
Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler.
With Norma Ronald, Ronald Baddiley, John Graham and Nicolette McKenzie.
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 August 1977.
TUE 09:00 News Quiz Extra (b0bj7bhp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:45 Hearing With Hegley (b007jr05)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]
TUE 10:00 Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent (b00770h8)
Episode 2
After a terrorist bomb explodes in London killing the bomber, all levels of the establishment, and every anarchist circle feels threatened.
But what began as an international outrage quickly resolves into a domestic tragedy.
Conclusion of Joseph Conrad's prescient black comedy, written in 1907 takes a wry look at the shabby truth behind the news.
Dramatised in two parts by David Napthine.
CHIEF INSPECTOR HEAT..........................RON COOK
ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER.......ROBERT GLENISTER
ADOLF VERLOC.................................DAVID CALDER
WINNIE VERLOC......................WENDY NOTTINGHAM
TOM OSSIPON...................................PAUL BAZELEY
THE PROFESSOR................................ROBIN SOANS
VLADIMIR..............................................HUGH ROSS
SIR ETHELRED.........................GEOFFREY BEEVERS
GREAT LADY.......................................JILLIE MEERS
TOODLES...................................... JOSEPH KLOSKA
STEVIE...................................PAUL RICHARD BIGGIN
PORTER..........................................SAIKAT AHAMED
Director: Jessica Dromgoole
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
TUE 11:00 Jennifer Egan - Emerald City and Other Stories (b01gf4n8)
Spanish Winter
The next in our series of stories from 'Emerald City', the new collection by young American author Jennifer Egan, whose 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and made her name as one of the best new writers to emerge in the past decade.
Today's story, 'Spanish Winter', is set in the shadows of the Alhambra, where a divorced woman tries to break free from the painful ties that bind, until a figure from her past forces her to rethink...
The Abridger is Miranda Davies
The Producer is Justine Willett
Reader: Madeleine Potter.
TUE 11:15 Gideon Fell - To Wake the Dead (b04bzw4w)
The Riddle of the Stone
1937, on the eve of the coronation of King George VI, a woman is murdered in a grand London hotel. But the police know it's not the first of its kind...
First published in 1938, John Dickson Carr's thriller dramatised in two-parts by Peter Ling.
Starring Donald Sinden as detective, Doctor Gideon Fell. With John Hartley as Supt. Hadley, Richard Johnson as Sir Giles Gray, Wendy Craig as Melita Reaper, John Rowe as Dan Reaper and Tracy-Ann Oberman as Francine Forbes.
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
TUE 12:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jthd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jqhn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b095386s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 The Playlist Series (b01jpptd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b045bqtn)
Jo Baker - Longbourn, Episode 7
By Jo Baker.
Mr Wickham is getting under Sarah's feet, and James' skin. And they don't trust his motives with Polly, the chambermaid, who is just a child.
TUE 14:15 The Making of Music (b007nlbn)
Series 1, The Counter Reformation
James Naughtie discovers how history has shaped the development of classical music. Luther's hymns were accessible - and popular. The Counter Reformation responded to Luther's musical revolution by giving an edict that the words of church music had to be clear and understood. This is the story of the composer Palestrina who became embroiled in the politics of the high church.
Reader : Simon Russell Beale
Produced by Rosie Boutlon, Sara Conkey, Lucy Lunt
BBC Birmingham.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b04bnd0s)
Queens of Noise: Get It On, Episode 2
by Louise Wener. After the heady excitement of last night's party to celebrate their record deal, Velveteens are back to the realities of life.
Music directors ..... Brian Rawling and Marky Bates
Directed by Toby Swift.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bdpl9)
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China, Episode 2
Jung Chang's biography of one woman's remarkable rise to power in 19th century China continues. Cixi forms an important political alliance and launches a palace coup.
Read by Pik-Sen Lim
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Gemma Jenkins.
TUE 15:00 Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent (b00770h8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Dilemma (b01qwglw)
Series 2, Episode 2
Sue Perkins puts Josie Long, Owen Jones, Clare Grogan and Andrew Maxwell through the moral and ethical wringer.
The panellists finely balanced dilemmas include a catering faux pas, putting a value on human life and/or robots, keeping the back yard tidy and hearing the patter of tiny feet.
Devised by Danielle Ward.
Producer: Ed Morrish.
TUE 16:30 Ballylenon (b007jx5y)
Series 5, Episode 2
Guard Gallagher gets new lodgings, as arguments rage over the cottage.
Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal in 1956.
Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.
Starring TP McKenna as Phonsie Doherty, Margaret D'Arcy as Muriel McConkey, Stella McCusker as Vera McConkey, Aine McCartney as Vivienne Hawthorne, Gerard Murphy as Rev Hawthorne, Marcella Riordan as Peg Sweeney, John Guiney as Father O'Flatley and Charlie Bonnar as Packy McGoldrick.
Music arranged and performed by Stephanie Hughes.
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
TUE 17:00 Second Thoughts (b007jx4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b03w16pc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdm)
Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black, The Fiends Are On Their Way
Dramatisation by Caroline Harrington of Hilary Mantel's blackly comic novel about a professional medium with a troubled past.
Alison is increasingly troubled by a sense of foreboding, which becomes stronger on the return of her horrible spirit guide Morris. Her young friend Mart, banished by Colette from the garden shed but working with a group of labourers over the road, tells her he's seen a white van full of boxes arrive looking for her. The news brings back terrible memories to Alison, who fears that the events of her childhood - and the evil men who were part of them - are getting closer all the time. Meanwhile, her assistant Colette is more interested in getting their accounts sorted out.
Alison ...... Alison Steadman
Colette ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Morris ...... Bill Wallis
Mandy ...... Adrienne O'Sullivan
Mart ...... Malcolm Hamilton
Directed by Sara Davies.
TUE 18:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nqqgl)
No Escape
As student Andrew battles to unravel the true purpose of the Matrix Aeternitatis, an unwelcome object reappears...
Set in contemporary Edinburgh. Jonathan Aycliffe's chilling novel abridged in ten parts by Rosemary Goring.
Read by Robert Paterson
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 1997.
TUE 18:30 My Life in Five Songs (b00rv6zn)
Series 2, Pat Kane
Hue and Cry's Pat Kane talks to Phil Cunningham about his life as a writer and musician and chooses his five milestone tracks.
Producer: Mike Walker
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in April 2010.
TUE 19:00 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jthd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jqhn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b095386s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 The Playlist Series (b01jpptd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Jennifer Egan - Emerald City and Other Stories (b01gf4n8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Gideon Fell - To Wake the Dead (b04bzw4w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b03w16pc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Bunk Bed (b040lj8b)
Series 1, Episode 3
Everyone craves a place where their mind and body are not applied to a particular task. The nearest faraway place. Somewhere for drifting and lighting upon strange thoughts which don't have to be shooed into context, but which can be followed like balloons escaping onto the air. Late at night, in the dark and in a bunk bed, your tired mind can wander.
This is the nearest faraway place for Patrick Marber and Peter Curran. Here they endeavour to get the heart of things in an entertainingly vague and indirect way. This is not the place for typical male banter.
From under the bed clothes they play each other music from The Residents and Gerry Rafferty, archive of JG Ballard and Virginia Woolf. Life, death, work and family are their slightly warped conversational currency.
Writers/Performers:
PETER CURRAN is a publisher, writer and documentary maker. A former carpenter, his work ranges from directing films about culture in Africa, America and Brazil to writing and presenting numerous Arts and culture programmes for both radio and television.
PATRICK MARBER co-wrote and performed in On The Hour and Knowing Me, Knowing You..with Alan Partridge. His plays include Dealer's Choice, After Miss Julie, Closer and Don Juan in Soho. Marber also wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for the film Notes on a Scandal.
Producer: Peter Curran.
TUE 22:45 Guy Browning's Small Talk (b0076n25)
Series 2, How to Pack
Start naked and pretend to get dressed - bad luck if the taxi comes early. The writer shares travel tips. From September 2004.
TUE 23:00 Elvenquest (b017mwrv)
Series 4, Queen Eleanor
The noble Questers set off once again to find the Sword of Asnagar, the only thing that can rid Lower Earth from the tyranny of the evil Lord Darkness.
Their search brings them to the kingdom of Premenstrua, where they defeat a band of trolls that have been terrorising the land. As a reward for their heroism, they are offered the Sword of Asnagar by its grateful ruler, Queen Eleanor. But before it's placed in their hands, they must first get her a birthday present...
Meanwhile, Kreech tries to convince Lord Darkness that what he needs to help him maintain eternal dominion over Lower Earth is a personal assistant...
Cast:
Vidar - Darren Boyd
Queen Eleanor - Louise Delamere
Dean/Kreech - Kevin Eldon
Amis - Dave Lamb
Sam - Stephen Mangan
Lord Darkness - Alistair McGowan
Penthiselea - Ingrid Oliver
Writers: Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto
Producer: Sam Michell.
TUE 23:30 The Maltby Collection (b00wwj28)
Series 2, Episode 1
With the museum stuck in the past, modernising deputy curator Rod wants to make it sexy. Stars Geoffrey Palmer. From June 2008.

WEDNESDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2018

WED 00:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nqqgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 My Life in Five Songs (b00rv6zn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b095386s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 The Playlist Series (b01jpptd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b045bqtn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 The Making of Music (b007nlbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b04bnd0s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bdpl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Joseph Conrad - The Secret Agent (b00770h8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Dilemma (b01qwglw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Ballylenon (b007jx5y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Second Thoughts (b007jx4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b03w16pc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952sv6)
BBC National Short Story Award 2017, if a book is locked there's probably a good reason for that, don't you think?
Shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2017.
In Helen Oyeyemi's story office politics turn dark when a newcomer's handbag is upturned and secrets spill out. Read by Tamara Lawrance.
Helen Oyeyemi is the author of several highly acclaimed novels, including The Icarus Girl (2005); The Opposite House (2007); White is for Witching (2009), which won a Somerset Maugham Award and was a Shirley Jackson Award finalist; Mr Fox (2011) and Boy, Snow, Bird (2014), which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Her short story collection, What is not yours is not yours, was published in 2016 and won the PEN Open Book Award. Helen was selected as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists in 2013. She studied social and political sciences at Corpus Christi, Cambridge.
The five stories in the BBC National Short Story Award 2017 reflected an energy and excitement about short fiction from a generation of the UK's most dynamic, contemporary writers.
Abridged and produced by Elizabeth Allard.
WED 06:30 Women of the New Wave (b00r8hhz)
Singer Pauline black meets some of the women who were in the vanguard of punk and new wave music, and asks what their legacy is for today's female artists. Punk offered women the chance to get on stage and be themselves, free from the constraints of a previously male dominated music industry. Artists such as Siouxsie Sioux, Poly Styrene and Gaye Advert started their own bands and expressed themselves in ways that female musicians hadn't been allowed to previously. They refused to be judged on their looks and asserted the right to sing about subjects that interested them rather than about broken hearts and lost loves. As punk evolved into a wider musical spectrum that encompassed New Wave and Two Tone, bands such as The Selecter emerged through which singers such as Pauline Black tackled issues of racism and sexism in their lyrics. Thirty years on, she asks some of those groundbreaking women what they think they've achieved for women of their and subsequent generations.
Producer: Maggie Ayre.
WED 07:00 Dry Slopes (b0075178)
Series 2, Emma
Does the fact that Emma is married, has a son and is moving to Mauritius mean that she's no longer interested in Angus - or is she just playing hard to get?
It would be a lot easier to dine out if he could talk to her instead of her answer machine, even though it is a good Listener.
Written by and starring Nick Ball. With Louisa Rix as Mum, Robert Hartley, Wayne Forester and Julie Gibbs.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1997.
WED 07:30 Sarah Kendall: Australian Trilogy (b0bgrsr7)
Series 2, Seventy-Five Years
Part 3: Seventy-Five Years
"Maybe there is neither good nor bad luck; maybe we're all just component part of an endless story"
Multi-award winning storyteller Sarah Kendal returns with more hilarious, gripping and moving stories.
This second volume of Sarah Kendall's Australian Trilogy, is one show in three parts. A collection of seemingly unconnected stories and memories, which, together, form a meditation on luck, survival and hindsight.
Scrolling backwards and forwards in time to different moments in her life, over the three parts Sarah creates an intricate montage, demonstrating the interconnectedness of life.
In this final part, Sarah tells of he grandparents lives, past and present. Stabbings, alien abductions and dementia wards. We find out why Halley's Comet meant so much to Sarah's dad and we conclude with a story about an astronaut's final trip.
Written by Sarah Kendall & Carl Cooper
Performed by Sarah Kendall
Producer - Carl Cooper
Production Co-ordinator - Beverly Tagg
This is a BBC Studios production
Photo Credit - Rosalind Furlong
Series One of Sarah Kendall's Australian Trilogy-
Winner - Writers' Guild Award - Best Radio Comedy
Winner - BBC Audio Drama Award - Best Scripted Comedy (Longform)
Winner -Silver ARIA Award - Best Fictional Storytelling
Nominee - Chortle Comedy Awards - Best Radio Show
Nominee - Music and Radio Awards - Best Storytelling.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b01hc2x3)
On the Carpet
The floor of Murray's cabin aboard HMS Troutbridge is bare - and Phillips wants it to stay that way.
Stars Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Ronnie Barker as Able Seaman Johnson, Richard Caldicote as Captain Povey and Heather Chasen as Heather.
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 October 1963.
WED 08:30 Beyond Our Ken (b008kmgm)
From 26/08/1958
Ooh la la! Monsieur Kenneth Horne hits Paris - and 'Hornerama' reports on the future of motoring.
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 Paul Fenoulhet.
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 August 1958.
WED 09:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b03zy1cd)
Series 13, Episode 1
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.
Alex Horne, Lucy Beaumont, John Finnemore and Jack Dee are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as birds, witches, pubs and shoes.
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 production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 09:30 The Secret Life of Rosewood Avenue (b007jx3p)
Entertaining Edwin
"Whenever you're passing , look me up" you said. "No need to let me know, stay as long as you like..."
An old school chum visits hapless vicar Timothy Carswell, while two teenage tearaways terrorise residents.
Stephen Sheridan's six-part series stars James Grout as the Reverend Timothy Carswell, Margaret Courtenay as Miss Tilling, Jean Heywood as Miss Tapp and Christopher Good as Dr Warlock.
Producer: Lissa Evans.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1991.
WED 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b0b65n70)
18-22 June 1918 (Season 14 start)
The first omnibus of Season 14, Needs Must When the Devil Drives, set in Devon in 1918, in the week that Viscount Grey published a pamphlet supporting President Wilson's proposal to establish a League of Nations.
Written by Lucy Catherine
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
WED 11:00 Jennifer Egan - Emerald City and Other Stories (b01gnjwm)
The Watch Trick
Another story from this insightful collection by the acclaimed writer, Jennifer Egan, which takes a pithy and sometimes poignant look at contemporary life in the United States.
Hidden desires surface when the hedonistic antics of an old friend challenge a married couple's complacency.
Reader: Fenella Woolgar
Abridger: Miranda Davies
Producer: Gemma Jenkins.
WED 11:15 Gideon Fell - To Wake the Dead (b04c06yr)
The Secret in the Stone
Dr Gideon Fell's murder investigation reaches its climax as King George VI is about to be crowned...
First published in 1938, the conclusion of John Dickson Carr's thriller - dramatised in two parts by Peter Ling.
Starring Donald Sinden as detective, Doctor Gideon Fell.
With John Hartley as Supt. Hadley, Richard Johnson as Sir Giles Gray, Wendy Craig as Melita Reaper, John Rowe as Dan Reaper, Tracy-Ann Oberman as Francine Forbes, David Brooks as Chris Kent, Roger May as Richie Bellowes, Hugh Dickson as Kenneth Hardwick and Sarah Rice as Jenny Kent.
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b01hc2x3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Beyond Our Ken (b008kmgm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952sv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Women of the New Wave (b00r8hhz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b045bwrw)
Jo Baker - Longbourn, Episode 8
By Jo Baker. Elizabeth Bennet is to visit Mr and Mrs Collins in Kent, and take Sarah with her. It's what Sarah has always wanted, to spread her wings. But she doesn't want to leave James.
WED 14:15 The Making of Music (b007njhr)
Series 1, Venice
James Naughtie discovers how history has shaped the development of classical music. An uncle and nephew, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli wrote music that filled St Marks Basilica, using the space as a stage for many voices. The music inspired travellers who passed through the Serene City, then the crossroads of the known world.
Reader: Laurence Fox.
Produced by Rosie Boulton, Sara Conkey, Lucy Lunt
BBC Birmingham.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b04brjb4)
Queens of Noise: Get It On, Episode 3
by Roy Boulter. Songwriter Beth has been hanging out with the lead singer of rival band The Radicals. Now she's pushing to dump the planned debut single and record her new song.
Music directors ..... Brian Rawling and Marky Bates
Directed by Toby Swift.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bdw83)
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China, Episode 3
Jung Chang's biography of this remarkable 19th century stateswoman continues. Following the death of her son, Emperor Tongzhi, in 1875, Cixi adopted the three year old son of her sister and named him the new Emperor. This saw her return to power as the Empress Dowager and she continued to push through her reforms.
Read by Pik-Sen Lim
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Gemma Jenkins.
WED 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b0b65n70)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b03zy1cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The Secret Life of Rosewood Avenue (b007jx3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Dry Slopes (b0075178)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Sarah Kendall: Australian Trilogy (b0bgrsr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdp)
Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black, Team Psychics
Dramatisation by Caroline Harrington of Hilary Mantel's blackly comic novel about a professional medium with a troubled past.
Alison is invited to take part with her fellow mediums in a Team Psychics show, but the event is disrupted when the elderly medium Mrs Etchells sees some unexpected figures in the back row of the audience. The fiends from Alison's past are back, and they are intent on mischief. Their first victim is Mrs Etchells, who dies of a heart attack and brings Alison disturbing news from the other side.
Alison ...... Alison Steadman
Colette ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Silvana ...... Jacqueline Tong
Mrs Etchells ...... June Barrie
Directed by Sara Davies.
WED 18:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nrd22)
Dark Forces
"Mylne needs me to bring back Catriona from the dead ..."
Student Andrew MacLeod discovers he's not alone and may have a useful ally...
Jonathan Aycliffe's chilling novel abridged in ten parts by Rosemary Goring.
Read by Robert Paterson
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 1997.
WED 18:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007jp11)
Series 1, Les Dawson
"Hardship? He knew all about it..."
Mark Radcliffe profiles the career of the Mancunian wordsmith who started out playing piano in a Parisian brothel - and went on to become one of this country's most popular comedians.
Featuring Roy Barraclough.
A six-part series exploring the tradition of the northern comedian.
Producer: Bernadette McConnell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b01hc2x3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Beyond Our Ken (b008kmgm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952sv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Women of the New Wave (b00r8hhz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Jennifer Egan - Emerald City and Other Stories (b01gnjwm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Gideon Fell - To Wake the Dead (b04c06yr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Sarah Kendall: Australian Trilogy (b0bgrsr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Sarah Millican's Support Group (b00r2cy5)
Series 1, Episode 3
Comedy by Sarah Millican, who plays Sarah, life counsellor and modern-day agony aunt.
Sarah tackles the problems 'I'm a clown with a secret' and 'Do age-gap relationships work: is 65 in slippers the new 30 in a suit?'
Sarah ...... Sarah Millican
Marion ...... Ruth Bratt
Terry ...... Simon Daye
Judith ...... Susie Blake
Malcolm ...... Mark Heap
Helen ...... Debra Stevenson.
WED 23:00 The Masterson Inheritance (b007jr0v)
Series 3, The Masterson Bunch
Suffragettes split the family, sparking drama at the races. Improvised historical saga with Paul Merton. From July 1995.
WED 23:30 Absolute Power (b00805kb)
Series 3, Episode 5
Spin doctors Prentiss and McCabe are challenged to boost public opinion about men. Stars Stephen Fry and John Bird. From January 2002.

THURSDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2018

THU 00:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nrd22)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 How Tickled Am I? (b007jp11)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952sv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Women of the New Wave (b00r8hhz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b045bwrw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 The Making of Music (b007njhr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b04brjb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bdw83)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b0b65n70)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b03zy1cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The Secret Life of Rosewood Avenue (b007jx3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Dry Slopes (b0075178)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Sarah Kendall: Australian Trilogy (b0bgrsr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952zlk)
BBC National Short Story Award 2017, Murmur
Shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2017.
Will Eaves's story is a vividly narrated account of a man finding himself on the wrong side of conventional morality. Read by Blake Ritson.
Will Eaves was the Arts Editor of the Times Literary Supplement from 1995 to 2011. He teaches in the Writing Programme at the University of Warwick. He is the author of four novels: The Oversight (2001; shortlisted for the Whitbread - now Costa - First Novel Award), Nothing To Be Afraid Of (2005; shortlisted for the Encore Award), This Is Paradise (2012), and The Absent Therapist (2014; shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize); and two collections of poetry: Sound Houses (2011) and The Inevitable Gift Shop ( 2016; shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry).
The five stories in the BBC National Short Story Award 2017 reflected an energy and excitement about short fiction from a generation of the UK's most dynamic, contemporary writers.
Abridged by Julian Wilkinson Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
THU 06:30 Inside the Elephant Mind (b00qxgzw)
Everyone knows that elephants are clever but science is only now beginning to reveal just how smart they are. Andrew Luck-Baker joins British and Kenyan researchers on the East African savannah who are revealing the depths of the elephant mind with the help of a huge loudspeaker in the back of a Land Rover.
By playing different sound recordings (of elephants, lions and people) at elephant family groups, the scientists are probing the sophistication of elephant memory and pachyderm numerical skills. They are also testing whether elephants can distinguish between different human languages. Anecdotes suggest they can.
Another team of British researchers have been using urine samples and smelly clothes in other experiments to probe the agility of elephant grey matter.
All this has been taking place on the plains of Amboseli National Park in Kenya, under the looming presence of Mount Kilimanjaro. Amboseli is home to the world's longest running study of a single elephant population. Started by journalist-turned-biologist Cynthia Moss almost forty years ago, the study is a continuing record of every facet of the lives of every elephant living there. Cynthia Moss says the Amboseli data is like "gold" for the visiting animal psychologists to make sense of their experiments.
It turns out that that elephants are more intelligent than humans in some respects. For example, elephants have a much better short-term working memory than we do and out-perform people on at least one numerical skill. But why might they need to distinguish between the English language and the language of the local Masaai people? And what does this research tell us about the evolution of animal intelligence in general?
THU 07:00 Snap (b00tf82j)
Series 1, Episode 2
After their split, Molly and Doug are determined to prove they can have a life without each other.
And maybe they would, if it wasn't for Doug's elderly mum misbehaving...
Paul Mendelson's sitcom stars Rebecca Lacey as Molly, Paul Venables as Doug, Soumaya Keynes as Kaz, Jessie Sullivan as Ryan, Rebecca Front as Scarlet, Marlene Sidaway as Annie and Jonathan Tafler as Raymond.
Producer: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2003.
THU 07:30 Plum House (b07hgb4m)
Series 1, Trust the Trust
Comedy about the inept staff at a historic house, starring Simon Callow and Jane Horrocks.
Every year thousands of tourists flock to the Lake District. But one place they never go to is Plum House - the former country home of terrible poet George Pudding (1779-1848). Now a crumbling museum, losing money hand over fist, it struggles to stay open under it's eccentric curator Peter Knight (Simon Callow).
Can anyone save Plum House from irreversible decline?
In this episode, a mysterious visitor arrives. Being visited is an unusual event in itself, but when he shows genuine interest in how the place is run our team immediately suspect he has been sent from the Trust to spy on them. Why else would a man, on his own, turn up at a museum unannounced?
The cast is joined by Kevin Eldon who guest stars as the visiting man of mystery.
Written by Ben Cottam and Paul McKenna
Directed and Produced by Paul Schlesinger
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 08:00 Yes Minister (b007jmsk)
Series 1, Doing the Honours
MP Jim Hacker is outwitted by Sir Humphrey during an economy drive.
Starring Paul Eddington as Jim Hacker, Nigel Hawthorne as Sir Humphrey Appleby and Derek Fowldes as Bernard.
With John Nettleton as Sir Arnold, Graham Crowden as the Master and William Fox as the Bursar.
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 (b007jtqc)
Six Charlies in Search of an Author
Through pages and chapters, the fate of Neddie Seagoon is in the hands of the writer. Stars Spike Milligan. From December 1956.
THU 09:00 The Write Stuff (b05z1t16)
Series 9, AA Milne
James Walton quizzes the panel in the literary quiz show.
Team captains Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh with guests Sue Limb and John O'Farrell.
The Author of the Week and subject for pastiche is AA Milne
Reader: Beth Chalmers.
Producer Katie Marsden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2006.
THU 09:30 Alison and Maud (b007k449)
Series 2, Men Misbehaving But Only Slightly
The sisters plan a celebration for Father's 85th birthday.
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, Geoffrey Whitehead as Bernard, Chris Emmett as Mr Mullet and Nicholas Grace as Leslie.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2004.
THU 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b0b65tjk)
25-29 June 1918
The second omnibus of Season 14, Needs Must When the Devil Drives, set in Devon, in the week, in 1918, when the War Office called for 10,000 wounded, unfit and older men to help with the looming harvest. At Staverley Court, meanwhile, Hector and Cora receive a field postcard.
Written by Lucy Catherine
Story-led by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Ciaran Bermingham
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
THU 11:00 Paul Herzberg - The Crackwalker (b007jxz7)
4 Extra Debut. Ego is a witty romantic who knows he has problems. One day he sees his lost love in Camden Town. Read by Phil Daniels.
THU 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b03pmk7f)
Joseph Wilde - Wildsong
The writer Joseph Wilde and musician Tim van Eyken take the main roles in their new play 'Wildsong'. Integral to the drama Wilde has written is Tim van Eyken's music, a soundscape composed using recordings made on the Somerset Levels.
Vic leaves the comfort of the city, in search of his brother Reg, last heard of living somewhere in rural Somerset. Their father is dying, and he wants to see his son before the end. Vic's search takes him far into the watery land of the Somerset Levels. Striving to persuade his brother to return, Vic reluctantly shares his life of withy cutting, cider and singing. The place, its life and sounds - its wildsong - begin to change him. But Reg's recalcitrance and Vic's desperation - his own life is not as ordered and secure as he makes out - lead to a dangerous confrontation as, in a violent storm, the Somerset Levels flood.
Director - Julian May.
THU 12:00 Yes Minister (b007jmsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jtqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952zlk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Inside the Elephant Mind (b00qxgzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b045c1wq)
Jo Baker - Longbourn, Episode 9
By Jo Baker. James has left without saying goodbye. Sarah and Mrs Hill are both distraught, but their work must go on. Mr Bennet is about to discover what it is to have a child go missing.
THU 14:15 The Making of Music (b007njht)
Series 1, Elizabeth I
James Naughtie discovers how history has shaped the development of classical music. Two composers, William Byrd and Thomas Tallis, turned the end of the sixteenth century into a golden age for English music, despite being on the wrong side of the political and religious divide.
Produced by Rosie Boulton, Sara Conkey and Lucy Lunt
BBC Birmingham.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b04brpdp)
Queens of Noise: Get It On, Episode 4
by Louise Wener. Landing the support slot on a big tour gives Velveteens the chance to play to thousands every night. But can that ever compensate for the lack of black pudding at the B&B?
Music directors ..... Brian Rawling and Marky Bates
Directed by Toby Swift.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bfsym)
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China, Episode 4
Jung Chang's biography of this remarkable 19th century stateswoman continues.
A young ambitious reformist looks to topple Cixi from power and a dramatic battle of wits ensues.
Read by Pik-Sen Lim
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Gemma Jenkins.
THU 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b0b65tjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The Write Stuff (b05z1t16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Alison and Maud (b007k449)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Snap (b00tf82j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Plum House (b07hgb4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdr)
Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black, A Violent Death
Dramatisation by Caroline Harrington of Hilary Mantel's blackly comic novel about a professional medium with a troubled past.
Alison tries to get the truth about her childhood out of her mother, but Emmie won't give her a straight reply. It's not until the appalling Morris and his evil spirit friends have caused another shocking death that Alison begins to get some answers. When Alison confronts Morris with the evil he's done, he counters by revealing the true extent of the vengeance that the young Alison took on her abusers. It's all too much for Colette, who announces she won't stay another day in the house.
Alison ...... Alison Steadman
Colette ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Morris ...... Bill Wallis
Emmie ...... Katharine Rogers
Directed by Sara Davies.
THU 18:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nrrbn)
Connections
"Duncan Mylne has never died and he means to go on living ..."
A visit to a potential ally begins to clarify Andrew's thoughts, but raises doubts about Katrina.
Jonathan Aycliffe's chilling novel abridged in ten parts by Rosemary Goring.
Read by Robert Paterson
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 1997.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b0150p96)
Series 25, Gerald Durrell
Former England footballer Graeme le Saux champions the life of writer, broadcaster and conservationist Gerald Durrell. Graeme and presenter Matthew Parris are joined in the studio by Durrell's widow, Lee.
Gerald Malcolm Durrell (1925 - 1995) was a pioneering conservationist who took on the established "zoo community" by emphasising the need to preserve endangered species, rather than just repeatedly dip in to the natural world for more animals to amuse and entertain. His work culminated in the creation of his own zoo on Jersey. It was there that a teenage islander called Graeme le Saux helped out in the gorilla enclosure, before moving on to play at left back for Chelsea and England.
THU 19:00 Yes Minister (b007jmsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b007jtqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952zlk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Inside the Elephant Mind (b00qxgzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Paul Herzberg - The Crackwalker (b007jxz7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b03pmk7f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Plum House (b07hgb4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Newsjack (b0bj7yqz)
Series 19, Episode 1
BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical sketch show Newsjack returns for its 19th series with host Angela Barnes. A scrapbook sketch show written entirely by the Great British public.
Featuring: Jason Forbes, Chiara Goldsmith and Kiell Smith-Bynoe
Script Editors: Ed Amsden and Tom Coles
Producer: Adnan Ahmed and Hayley Sterling
A BBC Studios Production.
THU 23:00 Hut 33 (b00lv795)
Series 1, Don't Bet on It
The Bletchley Park codebreakers must play football against Italian prisoners of war. Stars Robert Bathurst. From July 2007.
THU 23:30 The Young Postmen (b00fr1vh)
C'est la Legion
The posties organise a party, but end up in North Africa with a Hollywood star. With Alistair McGowan. From November 1992.

FRIDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2018

FRI 00:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01nrrbn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b0150p96)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952zlk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Inside the Elephant Mind (b00qxgzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b045c1wq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 The Making of Music (b007njht)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b04brpdp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b03bfsym)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b0b65tjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Write Stuff (b05z1t16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Alison and Maud (b007k449)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Snap (b00tf82j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Plum House (b07hgb4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952qq3)
BBC National Short Story Award 2017, The Edge of the Shoal
The winning story from BBC National Short Story Award 2017.
Cynan Jones's story of survival on the seas is read by Jamie Parker.
Cynan Jones is the author of five novels, The Long Dry, Everything I Found on the Beach, The Dig, Bird, Blood, Snow and Cove. His work is widely translated, and short stories have appeared on BBC Radio 4 and in a number of anthologies and publications including Granta Magazine and The New Yorker. He also scripted an episode of the television crime drama Hinterland. He has won a Betty Trask Award, the Wales Book of the Year Fiction Prize, and a Jerwood Fiction Prize, and a chapter of The Dig was shortlisted for the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award in 2013. His novel Cove was longlisted for the Europese Literatuurprijs (in the Netherlands).
The five stories in the BBC National Short Story Award 2017 reflect an energy and excitement about short fiction from a generation of the UK's most dynamic, contemporary writers.
Abridged by Julian Wilkinson
Produced by Simon Richardson.
FRI 06:30 The Big Noise (b00sqkgj)
A music project in Scotland is aiming to improve life for the kids of Stirling.
The Simon Bolivar National Youth Orchestra under conductor Gustavo Dudamel stole the show at both the Proms and the Edinburgh Festival, offering real proof of the talent and virtuosity that has emerged from the El Sistema programme in Venezuela.
Can Scotland's version of El Sistema - dubbed The Big Noise - achieve as much in the deprived area of The Raploch near Stirling? Lesley Riddoch finds out.
In June 2008, Sistema Scotland, the brainchild of former bishop and current chair of Creative Scotland Richard Holloway, got underway in the Raploch. Its aim - to inspire and galvanise the education and motivation of children from all backgrounds through involvement in orchestral musicianship. Ability is irrelevant. Anyone can join.
It's a project that's not lacked critics. Some argue it takes attention and money away from existing outreach projects. Others resent the insistence on classical music. Richard Holloway is convinced it will boost confidence, pride and empathy, and thereby articulacy and educational ability, both in children and in the wider community.
Two years on, the Big Noise's first full orchestra is launched and Lesley Riddoch takes stock to analyse what the Venezuelan initiative can do in a UK context.
Producers: Amanda Hargreaves and Bronwen Tulloch.
FRI 07:00 Winston (b00q9280)
Winston Back Home, After All This Time, a Happy Ending
Old rogue Winston is set to wed Nancy at last, but exactly how will they tie the knot?
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 May 1994.
FRI 07:30 Michael Frayn's Matchbox Theatre (b06r8cjk)
Episode 3
Michael Frayn: the most comic philosophical writer of our time. An all-star cast has great fun with his hilarious view of us all. People talking. To each other, to themselves. To no one. Trying to communicate. To explain.
In Episode 3, a controlling theatre director (Alex Jennings) thinks he can direct anything. Lloyd Owen and Rosalind Ayres talk to each other on their mobiles, yards apart. Patricia Hodge and Roger Allam can't agree on how to deal with household repairs. And Matthew Wolf decides to take a short break from this very programme. Ian Ogilvy, Julia McKenzie, Julian Sands and Sophie Winkleman attend an unusual Memorial, and Janie Dee and Richard Sisson enjoy a musical invitation list. Martin Jarvis lectures on being 'quite clear'.
So no worries about queuing up to get a drink in the interval or finding the loo. We're on the radio - the theatre of the listener's imagination. Sit back and enjoy.
Episode 3 cast: Alex Jennings, Patricia Hodge, Roger Allam, Rosalind Ayres, Mathew Wolf, Ian Ogilvy, Julia McKenzie, Sophie Winkleman, Julian Sands, Janie Dee, Richard Sisson, Martin Jarvis
Written by Michael Frayn
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b01321dr)
Series 8, Episode 6
The team sets out to cause full frontal offence, plus high drama on the railway.
Starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Sketches written by Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie - and Tim Brooke-Taylor.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue 'Cambridge Circus', ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Music and songs by Bill Oddie, Liam Cohen and Dave Lee.
Producer: David Hatch/Peter Titheradge
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in March 1970.
FRI 08:30 Doctor in the House (b007jt20)
Our First Operation
Sir Lancelot Spratt causes alarm for medic Simon Sparrow in the operating theatre.
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, Edward Cast as Taffy Evans and Ann Murray as Sister.
Producer: David Hatch
Recorded at the BBC Paris studio in London.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1968.
FRI 09:00 Jest a Minute (b017ptbk)
Series 2, Episode 5
Rhod Gilbert's comedy quiz from the Glee Club in Cardiff.
With Greg Davies, Eggsy, Lloyd Langford and Chris Corcoran.
Producers: Paul Forde and Gareth Gwynn.
First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in 2009.
FRI 09:30 Elephants to Catch Eels (b007qcsv)
Series 1, Episode 3
Tamsyn and Jago's smuggling exploits are to be chronicled at close quarters by a group of fly-on-the-wall balladeers.
They get some exciting material as Jago's up before an unusually hard-line judge - and it seems there's no escape from the noose...
18th century Cornish village sitcom by the writers of Dead Ringers - Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain.
Starring Lucy Speed as Tamsyn Trelawny, John Bowe as Jago Trelawny, Cameron Stewart as Major Thomas Falconer, Andrew McGibbon as Captain Marriot, Martin Hyder as Squire Bascombe, Mark Felgate as Dewey, Mark Perry as Judge Pettiforth and Michael Fenton Stevens as Anthony the Balladeer.
Producer: Jan Ravens.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2003.
FRI 10:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b0b666cj)
2-6 July 1918
The third omnibus of Season 14, Needs Must When the Devil Drives, set in Devon, in the week, in 1918, when the Allied countries launched an intervention into the Russian Civil War.
Cast
Klaus Hofstadter ..... Atilla Akinci
Primrose Holden ..... Jade Matthew
Morris Battley ..... Sean Baker
Sylvia Graham ..... Joanna David
Rose Fairweather ..... Helen Longworth
Daniel Marriott ..... Jonathan Bailey
Gabriel Graham ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Amos Rutter ..... Richard Cotton
Moses Wickens ..... Ed Gaughan
Ludwig Huber ..... Marcel Hagen
Arthur Hurst ..... Mark Heap
Jocelyn Ogden ..... Christine Kavanagh
Isaac Cox ..... James Lailey
Victor Lumley ..... Joel MacCormack
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Hardy Walsh ..... Damien Molony
Cora Gidley ..... Joanna Monro
Lionel Summer ..... Geoffrey Palmer
Hector Gidley ..... Brian Protheroe
Eli Lawrence ..... Michael Shelford
Dieter Lippke ..... Joe Sims
Effie Taverner ..... Lizzie Stables
Gert Battley ..... Maggie Steed
Ivan Jackson ..... Lloyd Thomas
Elspeth Taverner ..... Kelly Williams
Charles Summer ..... Rufus Wright
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b0bj83q2)
Made for 4 Extra. Amanda Litherland and guests recommend the best podcasts.
FRI 12:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b01321dr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Doctor in the House (b007jt20)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952qq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Big Noise (b00sqkgj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b045c66n)
Jo Baker - Longbourn, Episode 10
Sarah still has had no word from James, but the Bennet daughters have good news. Pride & Prejudice from the servants' perspective, read by Sophie Thompson.
FRI 14:15 The Making of Music (b007njhw)
Series 1, The Birth of Opera
James Naughtie discovers how history has shaped the development of classical music. Opera was invented by a group of Italian intellectuals called the Camerata in Florence around 1600. They stumbled across something extraordinary - why not tell a story in music? It took off and soon theatres were springing up all over Italy - forty in Venice alone.
Reader Benedict Cumberbatch
Produced by Rosie Boulton, Sara Conkey and Lucy Lunt.
BBC Birmingham.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b04bryc0)
Queens of Noise: Get It On, Episode 5
by Roy Boulter. The debut single's out. The band love it, the record company loves it and Janice Long "loves it to bits". Will the nation agree?
Music Directors ..... Brian Rawling and Marky Bates
Directed by Toby Swift.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b03bg4v9)
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China, Episode 5
Jung Chang's biography of this remarkable 19th century stateswoman continues. Cixi faces her greatest challenge as ruler when anti-Western feeling in rural China leads to violence.
Read by Pik-Sen Lim
Abridged by Sara Davies
Produced by Gemma Jenkins.
FRI 15:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b0b666cj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Jest a Minute (b017ptbk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Elephants to Catch Eels (b007qcsv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Winston (b00q9280)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Michael Frayn's Matchbox Theatre (b06r8cjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 15 Minute Drama (b00r4rdt)
Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black, Alison's Retribution
Dramatisation by Caroline Harrington of Hilary Mantel's blackly comic novel about a professional medium with a troubled past.
Alison knows that in order to banish the demons of her past she must face them and confront the painful truth about what happened in her childhood. With the help of Mrs McGibbet, yet another spirit from her past, Alison learns the worst. Meanwhile, Colette goes back home to Gavin, and the two of them try to remember why they split up in the first place. Alison's appalling spirit guide Morris realises she's lost to him forever now that she has not only faced down her demons but has committed a good deed and will go on to commit more. Alison is at last free to set off into a brighter future with a replacement spirit guide, the sweet and devoted Maureen.
Alison ...... Alison Steadman
Colette ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Morris ...... Bill Wallis
Emmie ...... Katharine Rogers
Aitkenside ...... Simon Armstrong
Gavin ...... Mark Meadows
Mrs McGibbet/Maureen ...... Sheila Hannon
Directed by Sara Davies.
FRI 18:15 Jonathan Aycliffe - The Matrix (b01ns0y8)
The Ceremony
"Andrew, I do not think you will ever know peace again until you know the ..."
Can student Andrew MacLeod escape the evil that stretches from North Africa to Scotland?
The gripping conclusion of Jonathan Aycliffe's chilling novel abridged in ten parts by Rosemary Goring.
Read by Robert Paterson
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in 1997.
FRI 18:30 Mastertapes (b03j9np4)
Series 3, Soul II Soul (A-Side)
John Wilson talks to Jazzie B and Caron Wheeler of Soul II Soul about their 1989 album 'Club Classics Vol 1' including the global hit Back to Life. Including exclusive performance by the whole band.
Soul II Soul is one of the most successful British black groups of all time. Their ethos of 'a happy face, a thumping bass for a loving race' and the sound of their debut album, released in 1989, defined a time and place in the UK's musical history. Featuring the huge hits 'Back To Life' and 'Keep On Moving' the album took London's multicultural underground club culture into the mainstream and achieved worldwide success. 'Club Classics' mixed the sounds of a burgeoning DJ scene with Jazzie B's distinctly British take on rap and the colossal vocal talents of Caron Wheeler.
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.
Mastertapes is new programme in which John Wilson talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them. Recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC's iconic Maida Vale Studios. Each edition includes two episodes, 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.
The B-side of this programme, where it's the turn of the audience to ask the questions, can be heard tomorrow at 3.30pm.
FRI 19:00 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b01321dr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Doctor in the House (b007jt20)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 BBC National Short Story Award (b0952qq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 The Big Noise (b00sqkgj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (b0bj83q2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Michael Frayn's Matchbox Theatre (b06r8cjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Goodness Gracious Me (b007jv3v)
Series 1, Episode 3
Bhangraman must save the world - and the downside of keeping a cow as a family pet
Stars Sanjeev Bhaskar, Kulvinder Ghir, Nitin Sawhney, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia.
Gold Winner of the Sony Radio Academy Awards. The sketch comedy show originally ran on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998, later transferring to TV on BBC Two from 1998 to 2001.
Scripted by Sharat Sardana, Richard Pinto and the cast.
Produced by Gareth Edwards and Anil Gupta.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1996.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0bl2xhw)
Harry and Chris 1/2
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Harry and Chris.
FRI 23:00 Rubbish (b0077128)
Series 1, Outsourcing
Local government officer Martin ends up as acting head, but is soon out of his depth. Stars Reece Dinsdale. From November 2006.
FRI 23:30 The Party Party (b007jx3r)
Episode 4
No one in Microcosm notices that the quiz show Narrator has gone missing. Stars Hugh Laurie and Clive Mantle. From June 1987.