SATURDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2018

SAT 00:00 Mind's Eye (b007jyvk)
Lodgers
Maeve Hamilton runs a busy bed and breakfast in Dublin, but only she seems to be able to see the guests. Psychotherapists Lorcan and Aoife investigate...
Five tales of the paranormal written by Gemma McMullan and Gerry Casey.
Stars Dermot Crowley as Lorcan Molloy, Cathy Belton as Aoife Molloy, Mark Lambert as Fergus Rainer, Richard Orr as Brian Walsh, Stella McCusker as Maeve Hamilton, Miche Doherty as Daniel Hamilton and Aine McCartney as Gillian Power.
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
Made for BBC Radio 7 by BBC Northern Ireland.
First broadcast in 2006.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b00766xc)
On the Run
Poet Carole Satyamurti and humourist Guy Browning make unlikely fugitives, but the theme is what it means to flee.
In each programme, Professor Bigsby introduces a duo of writers of fact and fiction: new talent and established names. In the context of a discussion of one of the ideas and pre-occupations of our times, each presents a piece on this week's topic.
The best new writing and the freshest conversation from 2002.
SAT 01:00 Dick Francis (b011qm8r)
Whip Hand
5. The Finish
Sid Halley believes he knows the truth behind the doping and phoney racing syndicates, but dare he reveal it? Stars Mick Ford.
Stars Mick Ford as Sid Halley, Patricia Gallimore as Rosemary Caspar, Kim Durham as Chico Barnes, Philip Molloy as Rammileese and Alan Devereux as George Casper.
Dramatised by Alan England
Producer: Philip Martin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1991.
SAT 01:30 The FAE Sonata (b00sjbsx)
Frei Aber Einsam - 'free but lonely' - was the motto of the great 19th century violinist Joseph Joachim. It's also the name of a Violin Sonata played by Joachim, accompanied by Clara Schumann, that resulted from a collaboration between the composer Robert Schumann and two of his pupils, Johannes Brahms and Albert Dietrich.
On the 200th anniversary of Schumann's birth, Tom Robinson examines the complex relationships between these romantic artists through the prism of this piece of music. Schumann's passionate love for his wife Clara is matched only by Brahms' devotion to her during and following Schumann's decline into mental illness.
Brahms was also a close champion of Joachim, until the violinist's divorce, when they fell out over the composer's support for Joachims' wife. And the FAE Sonata itself was neglected - an innocent victim - until long after Brahms' death.
Tom unpicks the romantic and turbulent story of a musical collaboration with the help of pianist and Schumann champion Lucy Parham, violinist Tasmin Little, Robert John Godfrey of 'The Enid' and Radio 3's Andrew McGregor.
Producer: Alan Hall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:00 First World War 100: Poetry's Passing Bells (b0bqqx9h)
Anthem For Doomed Youth, A Record of War
Poetry's Passing Bells
Poet and presenter of Poetry Extra, Daljit Nagra, leads Radio 4 Extra’s memorial to the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War – on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918. Daljit introduces programmes from the BBC radio archive that traces the impact the First World War had upon poets, both soldiers, and those left behind.
Beginning each edition will be the poetry, and letters, of Wilfred Owen, who died in the weeks before the end of the Great War, in November 1918, aged only 25.
In Anthem for Doomed Youth (Radio 3, 1993), Kenneth Branagh reads some of the most profoundly moving artistic responses to the terrible impact of war ever written.
A Record of War (1981)
The 1914-18 war has been recalled mainly in the writings and reminiscences of the men who fought in France. But women too shared the suffering, the heartbreak and the loss. In 1981, this programme attempted to put the record straight, with readings from the then newly published Scars Upon My Heart, an anthology of women's poetry and verse of the First World War, and from Vera Brittain's published war diary, Chronicle of Youth, also published in 1981.
Presenter: Daljit Nagra
Producer: Peter McHugh
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b03m80qr)
Love, Nina: Despatches From Family Life
Dissertations, Romance and Subterfuge
Mary Poppins meets Adrian Mole in Nina Stibbe's letters from the heart of 1980s literary London. Dissertation crises, spotting Samuel Beckett and employing subterfuge to save face.
Read by Rebekah Staton
Abridged by Penny Leicester
Produced by Gemma Jenkins.
SAT 03:00 Voices of the First World War (b0bqqx9c)
1917
Reaching 1917, Dan Snow explores the events of the year through the recollections of those who were there. As the fighting became more and more desperate, in the air, on the Western Front - even below ground in extensive mining operations - the morale of those being sent into battle was at times becoming dangerously low. We reach the darkest days of the war with the Third Battle of Ypres. Dan Snow, based on location in Ypres and listening to the accounts of those who survived the place a century ago, attempts to grasp the unimaginable horror that marked this period of the war on the Western Front.
As they inched their way towards Passchendaele from July to November 1917, men witnessed scenes that would stay vividly with them for the rest of their lives. As Norman Macmillan, officer of the Royal Flying Corps, surveying the Battle of Passchendaele from the sky, said of it: 'Never at any time had I passed through such an extraordinary experience... Real damnation on the ground. And as we came out of it I felt that we had escaped from one of the most evil things I had ever seen at any time during that war'.
SAT 04:00 Guess What? (b00757gr)
Episode 1
Animal, vegetable or mineral?
Barry Took hosts a revised version of popular radio parlour game of 20 questions.
Regular Geoffrey Durham is joined by Sir Jeremy Hanley and Helen Atkinson Wood.
Written by Michael Dines.
Producer: Andy Aliffe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
SAT 04:30 Smelling of Roses (b007k0d2)
Series 1
Survival of the Fittest
Rosie’s company hosts a management team building course. It all goes well until the murder mystery dinner, but it isn't Rosie who makes a killing.
Prunella Scales stars in the first of four series of Simon Brett's sitcom following the trials and tribulations of Rosie Burns and her event-management company based in Brighton.
With Arabella Weir as Kate, Rebecca Callard as Jo, Duncan Preston as Bob, Annette Badland as Tess, Lee Simpson as Barry, Chris Pavlo as Alex and David Holt as Dick.
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2000.
SAT 05:00 The Right Time (b0076mj9)
Series 4
Episode 4
Getting mad at the milkman, a rocking DJ – and a very intuitive answerphone.
Sketch show about growing older disgracefully.
Stars Eleanor Bron, Dudley Sutton, Roger Blake and Paula Wilcox.
Written by Nicholas Barber & Glenn Dakin, Jill Brodie & John Pidgeon, Dave Dixon, Mike Haskins, George Poles, Alan Stafford, Dudley Sutton and Chris Thompson & Pete Reynolds.
Script editor: George Poles.
Music by Ronnie & The Rex.
Producer: Katie Marsden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.
SAT 05:30 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06grwnt)
Series 1
Mr Gray's Decorators
By John Nicholson, Richard Katz and Javier Marzan
In 19th-century London, a butler struggles to keep pace with the destructive lifestyle of his employer, a hauntingly good-looking and impressionable young man of means. The butler hires painter-decorators to carry out repairs but when they accidentally damage a portrait hidden in the attic, they find that it has alarming effects on the young man.
In this new series the comedy troupe Peepolykus assume the roles of minor characters in great works of fiction and derail the plot of the book through their hapless buffoonery.
Cast:
Richard . . . . . Richard Katz
Javier . . . . . Javier Marzan
John . . . . . John Nicholson
Dorian Gray . . . . . Blake Ritson
Sybil . . . . . Rebecca Hamilton
Lord Henry . . . . . Stephen Critchlow
Basil . . . . . Sam Dale
Young Dorian . . . . . Evie Killip
Director . . . . . Sasha Yevtushenko
Peepolykus (pronounced people-like-us) has exported its brand of irreverent comic theatre to over 100 towns and cities across four continents, often under the auspices of the British Council. The company's varied CV includes two tours of Bangladesh, winning the audience award at The Tehran Festival, performing to royalty in Brunei, to Indian states people in the Himalayas, a truly disastrous run in Barbados, an unforgettable stint on The Price is Right in Australia and other occasional bits of telly for the BBC. Their theatre scripts are licensed world wide and their award-winning musical with NYMT:UK is pencilled for re-launch. The company has also played for 3 months in the West End and collaborated with numerous organisations including Neal Street Productions, Aardman, NT, The Kevin Spacey Foundation and currently with Brunel University on STUCK - working with schools to adopt improvisation into the curriculum. Past forays on Radio 4 have included a co-penned series with Rik Mayall, a star-studded adaptation of A Christmas Carol and a live recording of The Hound of The Baskervilles. Peepolykus is produced by Eleanor Lloyd Productions.
SAT 06:00 JCW Brook - The Doppelganger (b007jv9r)
Adam and Jane are off on a make-or-break second honeymoon; but at Oxford station Adam sees his possibly dead mother.
Then at the hotel he meets Beth, a 25-year-old girl with the mind of a child of seven, who looks like Jane.... "a doppelganger is your other self - your dark brother of myth, who wishes to take your place in this world..."
JCW Brook’s spine-chilling drama stars Nigel Anthony as Adam Oxton, Elizabeth Lindsay as Beth Harris, Penelope Lee as Sarah Steadman, Emily Richard as Jane Oxton, Geoffrey Collins as Ralph Steadman, Mary Wimbush as the Woman and Jack May as the Man.
Music by Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Director: Ian Cotterell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
SAT 07:30 Unmasking the English (b007ypjj)
Mr Jorrocks
Andrew Marr continues his look at quintessentially English characters with RS Surtees' fictional Mr Jorrocks.
He heads to the hunt, joins a shoot at a stag party, meets some petrolheads, and talks to journalists AA Gill, Simon Barnes, and James Brown, to find the modern-day equivalent of Surtees' cockney hunting enthusiast. Could it be Jeremy Clarkson?
Producer: Tom Alban
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
SAT 08:00 The Original Godfather (b009kgnd)
Legendary writer and TV presenter Denis Norden chats to Paul Jackson about the legacy of his radio comedy partnership with Frank Muir.
The history of British sitcom is peppered with outstanding writing teams, not least Galton & Simpson, Clement & La Frenais, French & Saunders, Curtis & Elton and Aherne & Cash. But the very first - the veritable Godfathers of broadcast comedy - were Denis Norden and Frank Muir.
Born within two years of each other (Frank in 1920, Denis two years later), they shared similar RAF backgrounds and entertainment apprenticeships. After the Second World War, Muir landed a job with the BBC, writing for fellow ex-airman Jimmy Edwards and Norden joined a variety agency, writing for as many as 163 comedians.
Finally in 1947 they were brought together over lunch by Charles Maxwell (other reports claim it was fellow scriptwriter Ted Kavanagh) in the hope that they might hit it off. Thus started a 40 (plus) year partnership which kicked off with Take It From Here (1947-58) – still to be heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Their partnership continued into the early 1990s via My Word! (1956-1990) and My Music (1967-1991). Both series are still repeated in Australia and USA.
In between they wrote for countless stars from Bernard Braden and Peter Sellers to Benny Hill and Bob Monkhouse.
Paul Jackson explores their legacy with Denis himself, and hears from their long suffering secretary, Brenda Talbot and fellow writers Dick Vosburgh, Eric Sykes, Ray Galton, Alan Simpson and Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais.
Frank Muir passed away in 1998 and Denis Norden in 2018.
Producer: Paul Kobrak
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
SAT 09:00 Salutes You, Sir! Forces Fun from the BBC (b0085hk1)
Dad's Army's very own Private Pike aka Ian Lavender presents an homage to the humour generated for and by the British Armed Forces. Featuring:
* Merry-Go-Round - Army edition: 'Stand Easy' With Charlie Chester and Arthur Haynes (14/09/1945)
* The Victory edition of ITMA - It's That Man Again. Starring Tommy Handley (10/05/1945)
* Merry-Go-Round: Naval edition: 'HMS Waterlogged' With Eric Barker and Jon Pertwee (08/08/1945)
* The Navy Lark 'Mysterious Radio Signals' Starring Leslie Phillips, Stephen Murray and Jon Pertwee. (06/06/1971)
* Merry-Go-Round - RAF edition: 'Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh' Starring Richard Murdoch, Kenneth Horne and Sam Costa (11/04/1945)
* Dad's Army - 'Sergeant, Save My Boy' Stars Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and Ian Lavender (11/03/1975)
Ian Lavender played Private Frank Pike in the much-loved BBC TV sitcom Dad's Army (1968-77) and also appeared in the BBC radio adaptations still to be regularly heard on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Producer: Mik Wilkojc
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7 in November 2006.
SAT 12:00 A Whole New Ball Game (b00b2txd)
Series 1
Goodbye Gregory
The late Gregory Patterson was a stalwart of the Roman Catholic Parishioners. But how will Mrs Patterson cope now with her headstrong daughter, Barbara? How will young Robert face up to his new responsibilities?
Surely football-crazy priest Father Benedict can help?
A six-part black comedy by Martin Davies
Stars Desmond Barrit as Father Benedict, Brenda Blethyn as Mrs Patterson, Paul Parris as Robert Patterson, Charlotte Coleman as Barbara Patterson, Martino Lazzeri as Guy Entwhistle, Gordon Reid as Mr Plant, Mark Straker as Andy and Claire Skinner as Janet.
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1992.
SAT 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007yntz)
Series 5
The Male Suffragettes
The lad says women are holding men back, so he forms a group to re-establish male superiority.
Stars Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1958.
SAT 13:00 Curious Under the Stars (b0br5b62)
Series 6 Omnibus - Shincyn's Moon
Gareth and Diane have some unwelcome visitors – Diane’s mother Gertrude and an infestation of rats.
Magical drama set in Glan Don, a mysterious village perched on the wild Welsh coast.
Gareth.... Elis James
Diane.... Emma Sidi
Emlyn..... Ifan Huw Dafydd
Megan.... Aimee Ffion Edwards
Gertrude…. Joanna Scanlan
Written by Alan Harris
Series created by Meic Povey
Director: James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales Production first broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0br5b64)
Ken Bruce
BBC Radio 2's Ken Bruce chooses 'I've Got You Under My Skin' by Frank Sinatra and a very special live performance from Joe Brown.
SAT 14:15 Battlefield Ramblings (b0br5b66)
Series 1
Armada
Muriel Gray walks the sunny South Devon coast with the writer Neil Hanson and debunks a few myths about the Armada en route.
As they cross the cliff tops, they discuss piracy; warning beacons; a succession of Spanish mistakes; and whether Francis Drake really did finish that game of bowls.
Series exploring the areas around our greatest battlefields.
Producer: Lucy Lunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
SAT 14:45 15 Minute Drama (b0467pj5)
Val McDermid - Deadheading
Episode 4
Fear stalks the herd when there's a predator on the loose in Val McDermid's comedy detective story starring Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes. And with only two episodes to go, surely we must be getting nearer to solving the crime?
This fourth episode builds to the moment of truth when the suspects are invited to turn on each other. The unravelling of the detective story so often depends on one person betraying another. It's one of the things this species is particularly adept at.
Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore
Writer: Val McDermid
Directed and Produced by Justine Potter
A Savvy Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 15:00 The Original Godfather (b009kgnd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 JCW Brook - The Doppelganger (b007jv9r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Unmasking the English (b007ypjj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Mike Walker - Alpha (b0080p6l)
An all-knowing computer appears to have an independent life of its own - an abomination for those who believe in a supreme creator.
Father Marquez is sent to interrogate ‘Alpha’ to decide whether or not it can be allowed to exist. During their conversations, Marquez finds out far more than he expects about both Alpha and - much more disturbingly - himself...
Mike Walker’s chilling drama won Gold at the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2001.
Stars David Calder as Father Marquez, Sarah-Jane Holm as Alpha, John Moffatt as Cardinal Correlli, Ana Sofrenovia as Katerina, Daniel O'Grady as Tom and Lexi Ross as Sophia.
Original music composed and played by David Chilton.
Producer: Gordon House
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 2001.
SAT 19:00 Salutes You, Sir! Forces Fun from the BBC (b0085hk1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Paul Sinha's History Revision (b04tlfsr)
Series 1
Music
In Paul Sinha's History Revision the acclaimed stand-up and eleventh best UK quizzer Paul Sinha looks through all of human history and examines how we came to be where we are. He starts with something everyday, something we all know to be true; he then reveals the quirks of history and the fascinating stories that led up to this point.
In this first edition, Paul takes as his starting point Dolly Parton's standout performance at the 2014 Glastonbury Festival. How did 120,000 people in a Somerset field, plus many millions more at home, come to be watching a 68-year-old woman from Tennessee on a Sunday afternoon? The story inevitable takes in a Haitian rebellion, Slovenian hunting, Scottish whisky, Italian electronics and the American son of a Russian farmer who didn't like music. Because nothing and no-one exist in a vacuum.
Paul Sinha is an acclaimed stand-up who was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy award for his show Saint or Sinha?. He frequently appears on The News Quiz, The Now Show, and Fighting Talk. He is a resident 'chaser' on the ITV quiz show The Chase. He wrote and starred in one-offs The Sinha Test (2011) and The Sinha Games (2012) on Radio 4 and in 2013 had his own four-part series, Paul Sinha's Citizenship Test.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha.
Produced by Ed Morrish.
SAT 22:30 Chain Reaction (b00tmtfp)
Series 6
Harry Shearer interviews Stephen Merchant
The new series of the tag team talk show continues as last week's guest, voice of The Simpsons, face of Derek Smalls and political satirist Harry Shearer takes the microphone to interview multi award-winning co-creator of The Office and Extras, and famously tall funny man Stephen Merchant.
Harry asks Stephen what its like to be part of a creative double act with Ricky Gervais, broadcasting radio from the bushes and sharing a hot tub with playboy bunnies.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m00016d4)
Adam Rowe 1/2
From 10.00pm to midnight, 7 days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats to Adam Rowe.
SAT 23:00 Rhod Gilbert's Bulging Barrel of Laughs (b00tkmcl)
Episode 1
Welsh comic Rhod Gilbert introduces regulars Lloyd Langford and Greg Davies, plus Sarah Millican who takes a weekly look at The Six Stages of Woman.
With live music from Scouting for Girls, including their hit She's So Lovely,
Guest comedian is country and western singer Wilson Dixon.
Find out whether whales can paint and what annoys Rhod about supermarket potatoes.
Producers: Julia Mckenzie and Lianne Coop.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September 2010.