SATURDAY 04 MAY 2019

SAT 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey into Space (b007jpv4)
The Red Planet
Episode 5
With all communications back to Earth lost, the courage of Captain Jet Morgan is severely tested during a meteor swarm...Charles Chilton’s 1954 classic set in 1971. Andrew Faulds ..... Jet MorganDavid Kossoff ..... LemmyGuy Kingsley Poynter ..... DocBruce Beeby ..... MitchDavid Jacobs ..... Announcer/VariousAnthony Marriott ..... VariousMusic composed and conducted by Van Phillips.Producer: Charles ChiltonFirst broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in September 1954.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076ggf)
Wickedness
Matthew Parris talks to writers Philip Burley, Mimi Thebo and Richard Morton Jack about the nature of good and evil. From August 2003.In each programme, Matthew Parris introduces a group 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 2003.
SAT 01:00 The Lives of Harry Lime (m0004y9l)
Series 4
Honeymoon
Con artist Harry Lime gets embroiled in a bizarre smuggling plot for a notorious Sicilian bandit.Starring Orson Welles as Harry Lime.In the celebrated 1949 film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel 'The Third Man', Harry Lime is introduced as one of cinema's most notorious anti-heroes brilliantly portrayed by Welles.This 1951-52 radio prequel to the film, 'The Lives of Harry Lime' earned Welles even more acclaim. Selected episodes were even broadcast by the BBC – the first drama to be aired that hadn’t been produced in-house.Stripped of the film cameras, the character of Harry Lime is not ameliorated for this radio outing. He's an out-and-out rogue. Lime made it to the airwaves thanks to another Harry - Harry Alan Towers. Like its eponymous anti-hero, this series travelled widely, being syndicated across the USA and on Radio Luxembourg.The music is by Anton Karas, the zither man.Produced by Towers of London.
SAT 01:20 Inheritance Tracks (b06gx5pk)
Cyndi Lauper
Singer Cyndi Lauper with Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong's 'All That Meat And No Potatoes' and Marvin Gaye's 'Mercy, Mercy Me'.
SAT 01:30 Midnight Feasts and Lashings of Ginger Beer (b00pqj0x)
Food is everywhere in children's literature.The Famous Five were constantly eating enormous amounts of food. Midnight feasts an essential part of life at St Clare’s and Hogwarts. Not forgetting squashed fly biscuits, and even food which comes to life - children's books luxuriate in lavish descriptions of meals, picnics and treats.Food is always delicious and written about with such enthusiasm that the reader is left wishing they could dive into the story and feast on the treats within. But why is British children's fiction so preoccupied with all this fictional feasting?Former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen, among others, discusses the meaning of all this gluttony with presenter Sheila McClennon.Producer: Cecile Wright.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010
SAT 02:00 Michael Palin - Hemingway's Chair (b01s9lcn)
Episode 5
Whizz-kid manager Nick Marshall continues to make his clandestine plans for Theston’s Post Office, and Elaine isn't happy.Michael Palin continues this ten-part reading of his first novel.Producer: Rosemary WattsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1995.
SAT 02:15 Foreign Bodies (b01mnz57)
Series 1
Sweden - Inspector Martin Beck
In 1965 husband and wife Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö published the first of their series of 10 police procedurals featuring Inspector Martin Beck and his team. Written during a time when Stockholm saw demonstrations against the Vietnam War, the arming and re-organisation of the police force and stresses on the welfare state, the Beck novels deliberately used the crime genre to depict changes in Swedish society.Current crime best sellers Jo Nesbø, Henning Mankell, Åsa Larsson, Camilla Lackberg, Jens Lapidus, Val McDermid and Gunnar Staalesen are amongst those discussing the influence of the Martin Beck series with Mark Lawson as part of his series looking at European history through crime fiction.Producer: Robyn ReadFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
SAT 02:30 Katie Hims - Football Stories for Girls (m0004y9q)
Death or Glory
9 months pregnant, Maggie tries to find out why her husband left her. But is her relationship somehow linked to the fate of the England team?One of five short plays by Katie HimsMaggie ... Claire RushbrookTrevor ... Gerard McDermottDirector: Toby SwiftFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b04dq7z6)
Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered
Episode 5
A genius immortalised her. A French king paid a fortune for her. An emperor coveted her. Every year more than 9 million visitors trek to view her portrait in the Louvre. Yet while everyone recognizes her smile, hardly anyone knows her story.Mona Lisa: A Life Discovered - a blend of biography, history, and memoir - truly is a book of discovery about the world's most recognised face, most revered artist, and most praised and parodied painting.Who was she, this ordinary woman who rose to such extraordinary fame? Why did the mostrenowned painter of her time choose her as his model? What became of her? And why does her smile enchant us still?The author, Dianne Hales, is a prize-winning, widely published journalist and author. The President of Italy awarded her an honorary knighthood in recognition of her internationally bestselling book, La Bella Lingua.Abridged by Eileen HorneProducer: Clive BrillA Brill production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 03:00 War and Peace (b04w89vd)
Episode 10
In this concluding episode, Pierre recalls his time in the barracks – a surprisingly happy time where he meets a prisoner, Platon Karateev. Kutuzov reluctantly leads the Battle of Tarutino, a Russian victory by a series of accidents.Meanwhile, Sonya is left little choice but to return her promise to Nikolai so that he can marry his true love, Marya. Countess Rostov receives shocking news and Natasha is still suffering from the death of her beloved Prince Andrei. Kutuzov is called upon once again by the Emperor, this time to 'save Europe'. What will be the General's ultimate decision for Russia?A dynamic fresh dramatisation by Timberlake Wertenbaker of Leo Tolstoy's epic - from the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokonsky - follows the fortunes of three Russian aristocratic families during the Napoleonic War. Starring Lesley Manville, John Hurt, Alun Armstrong and Harriet WalterThe story moves between their past and present as Pierre, Natasha, Marya and Nikolai talk to their children about the events that shaped their lives and the lives of every Russian who lived through these troubled times.War and Peace reflects the panorama of life at every level of Russian society in this period. The longest of 19th-century novels, it's an epic story in which historical, social, ethical and religious issues are explored on a scale never before attempted in fiction. From this, Timberlake Wertenbaker has created a riveting radio dramatisation in ten episodes.Leo Tolstoy … AuthorTimberlake Wertenbaker … DramatistAlex Shiels … Sergei RostovAlun Armstrong … Count RostovBen Crowe … Mikhail MitrichCharlotte Emmerson … Helen KuraginDaniel Flynn … Regimental CommanderDavid Calder … Prince Vassily KuraginDavid Collings … ShinshinElla Dale … Masha BezukhovEmerald O'Hanrahan … Julia KaraganFerdinand Kingsley … Anatole KuraginHarriet Walter … Anna Mikhailovna DrubetskoyHazel Ellerby … Julia's motherJed Vine … Petya RostovJoanna David … Annette SchererJoel Maccormack … Boris DrubetskoyJohn Hurt … Prince BolkonskyJonathan Slinger … Captain DenisovKathleen Keaney … Liza RostovLesley Manville … Countess RostovMiss Nelly Harker … Lise BolkonskyNatasha Little … Marya BolkonskyPaterson Joseph … Pierre BezuhkovPhoebe Fox … Natasha RostovPip Donaghy … Colonel of the HouseRoger Allam … General KutuzovRoger May … Prince BagrationSam Blatchford … Andrusha RostovSam Dale … AlpatychSam Reid … Nikolai RostovSarah Badel … Maria DemitrievnaSerena Evans … CaticheStanley Toyne … Mitya RostovStephen Campbell Moore … Andrei BolkonskyTamzin Merchant … Sonya RostovTom Glenister … Nikolenka BolkonskyDirector: Celia de WolffExecutive Producer: Peter HoareA Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
SAT 04:00 Hidden Treasures (b055q39m)
Harewood House
From gorgeous fashion creations to athlete wrestling with a python.Lars Tharp chairs the light-hearted Antiques Quiz from the Long Gallery at the Earl of Harewood's family home in West Yorkshire.With Henry Sandon, Sally Kevill-Davies, Tim Bentinck and Kevin Baker.Producer: Annie BristowFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
SAT 04:30 Safety Catch (b00w236m)
Series 3
Unforgiveable, That's What You Are
A new series of Laurence Howarth's black comedy of modern morality set in the world of arms dealing.Simon McGrath is a generally nice chap who just happens to be an arms dealer. It's not something he planned, he just fell into it, and despite all his best intentions he just doesn't seem to be able to leave because he has to pay his mortgage like everyone else. Of course his real love is electronic music and this is just a stop gap until he finds the perfect outlet for his music - okay so the gap has lasted five years but that's not the point. Once he can get himself motivated he'll be out of there and, as his ever supportive mum says, people will always want to kill each other. So that's alright then...This week Heathcote Sanders are under the microscope when some of the weapons they sold to a hostile government are turned against the British. This prompts Simon to wonder if he should be seeking some kind of forgiveness, although of course, he has absolutely nothing to seek forgiveness for...does he? Meanwhile his personal life is going fantastically well, until he and Anna realise that they don't know why they love each other.Cast List:Simon McGrath.........Darren BoydAnna Grieg.............Joanna PageBoris Kemal............Lewis MacleodJudith McGrath..........Sarah SmartAngela McGrath........Brigit ForsythMadeleine Turnbull........Rachel AtkinsSarah......Di BotcherVicar.....Mike HaywardWritten by Laurence HowarthProduced By Dawn Ellis.
SAT 05:00 Reluctant Persuaders (b06bhk9h)
Series 1
Lemon
Welcome to Hardacres, the worst advertising agency in London, and setting of Edward Rowett's new series.In this opening episode, the agency is shaken by the arrival of a new accounts chief, Amanda Brook who is determined to rebrand and re-launch the agency as a legitimate business.Inept creative team Joe and Teddy, two recent graduates who are still not entirely sure what it is they're supposed to be doing, find themselves fighting to save their jobs and prove they are not quite as clueless as they appear.Meanwhile, creative director and advertising legend Rupert Hardacre is appalled to discover Amanda expects him to do slightly more than play golf and drink whisky all day.And receptionist Laura...well, she doesn't care what happens.The team must work together as they head to the Advertise NOW! Awards and find an answer to the question - how do you advertise yourself?Rupert Hardacre - Nigel HaversAmanda Brook - Josie LawrenceJoe - Matthew BayntonTeddy - Rasmus HardikerLaura - Olivia NixonDirector: Alan NixonProducer: Gordon KennedyAn Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
SAT 05:30 Stand-Up Specials (m0004lbs)
Lucy Porter in the Family Way… Again
Radio 4 favourite Lucy Porter returns with another examination of domestic life, covering everything from the dramatic to the dreary.Following up last year's In the Family Way, Lucy looks at the question of legacy - what do we receive from our parents, and what do we pass on to our children?Lucy hasn’t entirely been a winner in the genetic lottery. She has inherited dodgy knees, terrible teeth and a small third nipple. Her collection of family heirlooms consists of glass clowns, porcelain horses and offensive jam lids. Lucy does, however, want to instil in her own kids some of the values her parents taught her, including patience, courage and charity.Talented comedian and impressionist Luke Kempner is on hand again to help Lucy illustrate the points she wants to make. As always, he displays his range of comic voices, including an impressive impersonation of Lucy’s Welsh great-grandmother.In The Family Way... Again is a kind of love letter from Lucy to her mum, and a tender reflection on the things our parents do that drive us mad - things we’ll inevitably end up doing ourselves.Recorded live at Circus StratfordWritten by Lucy PorterWith Additional Material by Gabby Hutchinson CrouchPerformed by Lucy Porter and Luke KempnerDirected by Marilyn ImrieEngineered and Edited by Jerry PeelProduction Managed by Sarah TomblingProduction Runner: Abbigayle BirchamProduced by Gordon KennedyAn Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 06:00 Drama (b0631r4y)
James Bond - Diamonds Are Forever
An all-star Ian Fleming James Bond adventure, directed by Martin Jarvis and starring Toby Stephens as 007.Fleming's fourth Bond novel is especially dazzling. Its dark humour encompasses millions of pounds worth of diamonds smuggled out of British mines in Africa. Responsible? Somebody known as ‘ABC’. James Bond is sent undercover by MI6 to New York to follow the pipeline. Masquerading as a courier he meets enticing, ice-cold, Tiffany Case. She stands between Bond and gang-bosses whose criminal diamond business stretches from Sierra Leone, via London, to the gambling tables of Las Vegas.Bond infiltrates the mob. Horse-racing scams, a car chase, a rigged card game, pursuit by locomotive - Bond and Tiffany endure all. Eventually flown to West Africa, Bond unmasks the ultimate villain.Archie Scottney’s dramatisation parades a bizarre collection of mafiosi monsters.James Bond..................Toby Stephens‘M'.................................John StandingSupt Harris...................Nigel HaversRufus B. Saye...............Alan ShearmanTiffany Case.................Lisa Dillon‘Shady’ Tree.................Alex JenningsFelix Leiter...................Josh StambergErnie Cureo.................Stacy KeachMr Spang.....................Jared HarrisSammy.........................Kevin DanielsRocky and Wint............Andre SogliuzzoKidd and the Sergeant.....Darren RichardsonTingaling and Dentist.......Matthew WolfVoice of Ian Fleming.........Martin JarvisOther parts played by members of the castSound design: Mark HoldenOriginal music: Mark Holden and Michael LopezDirector: Martin JarvisProducer: Rosalind AyresA Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
SAT 07:30 Let Me Entertain You (b00djlcr)
Elizabethan London
Elizabethan London, from Bankside theatre to ringside gambling, from merry jigs to brutal bear-baiting.John Sessions continues his series charting the history of popular entertainment in Britain, from medieval minstrels to Victorian freakshows.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2008.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b06000pc)
A Brief History of Shame
American satirist Joe Queenan is joined by a stellar cast including Tiger Woods, Gordon Brown and the Duchess of York for Archive on 4's A Brief History of Shame. Queenan tackles key issues - what is shame for? The art of the apology; and then there's the French - before building to a surprising and fiery conclusion."When you do something wrong and then you admit that you did it, and people keep after you ... that’s when society becomes almost pathological. I’m never willing to give the public the benefit of the doubt – and this insane epidemic of shame – both the trivial, and the miserable, the deadly, even the murderous – it’s got to be reined in."Featuring archive of Bill Clinton, Jane Garvey, John Prescott, Jon Ronson, Tim Stanley of the Daily Telegraph, and Sir Peter Viggers, the 'duck house man'; plus new interviews with classics professor Edith Hall and novelist Kathy Lette, and music by Fats Domino, Bessie Smith and Question Mark and The Mysterians.Shame follows Joe Queenan's previous programmes on Anger, Irony and Blame.Produced in Bristol by Miles Warde.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4in 2015.
SAT 09:00 Alexander Armstrong's Radio Heroes (b01qdwl5)
The X-Men? Pah! Superman? Bah! Give us Jet Morgan any day - as Alexander Armstrong celebrates those fine gentleman adventurers of the wirelessBig screen do-gooders like the Avengers have the glam and the moves, but you don't have to be superhuman to be a hero. Enjoy our very own British brand of intrepid adventurer, for whom style, panache, wit and guile serve just as well as x-ray vision, awesome strength or vivid underpants.Guiding us through this modern pantheon is Alexander Armstrong - no stranger to style, panache and wit himself - although he assures us his underpants are suitably subdued.Along the way, we'll ponder what makes these characters so enduringly heroic? - and what qualities does a hero need?Featuring:RAFFLES: EW Hornung's gentleman cracksman seizes a challenge. Stars Jeremy Clyde.JOURNEY INTO SPACE:Captain Jet Morgan in the classic 1950s sci-fi from Charles Chilton. Stars Andrew Faulds.SEXTON BLAKEThe comic strip crime fighter devised for radio in the 1960s by Philip Ridgeway. Starring William Franklyn.DICK BARTON: SPECIAL AGENT:The BBC Light Programme's hugely popular radio hero revived in 1972 and starring Noel Johnson.JUDGE DREDD:Gary Martin stars as the legendary law enforcement officer. Produced by Dirk Maggs.THE DEVIL IN AMBERThe decadent Edwardian dandy and defender of the realm, Lucifer Box. Written and read by Mark Gatiss. Produced by Martin Dempsey.
SAT 12:00 Counterpoint (b00bfpc8)
Series 22
2008 Semi-final 1
Paul Gambaccini chairs the general knowledge music quiz.The pace hots up as the series enters its semi-final stage, with three of this year's heats winners going into battle for a place in the Final in a few weeks' time. The questions cover every aspect of music - from the classical repertoire to world music, show tunes, film scores, jazz, rock and pop.Three contestants battle it out: Stephen Banks from Bristol, Brian Davies of Middlesex and Diane Hallagan from Leeds.Producer: Paul BajoriaFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
SAT 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b009h7l4)
Series 6
Fred's Pie Stall
The lad is out to save a Cheam institution threatened by council closure.Starring Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Wilfred Babbage, Hugh Morton and Harry Towb.Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.Producer: Tom RonaldFirst broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1959.
SAT 13:00 Curious Under the Stars (m0004xtb)
Series 8 Omnibus - The Owl and the Ivy
Gareth picks up a naked hitchhiker on the road into Glan Don. She seems to have sprung to life from the forest. More of the magical drama set in Glan Don, a mysterious village perched on the wild Welsh coast. Omnibus written by Alan Harris Starring Elis James (Josh), Emma Sidi (Pls Like) and Ifan Huw Dafydd (Gavin and Stacey). Gareth.... Elis James Diane.... Emma Sidi Emlyn..... Ifan Huw Dafydd Megan.... Aimee Ffion Edwards Fleur…. Catrin Stewart Bethan.... Hannah Daniel Matty.... Siw Hughes Series created by Meic Povey Directed by James Robinson A BBC Cymru Wales Production first broadcast in five-parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b069njsy)
Bridget Christie
Comedian Bridget Christie chooses 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain' by Creedence Clearwater Revival and the theme to Steptoe and Son.
SAT 14:15 With Great Pleasure (b007tck8)
Tony Benn
Veteran politician Tony Benn presents some of the pieces of prose and poetry that have helped shape his personal philosophy, including the words of Mahatma Ghandi, Dwight D Eisenhower, Oscar Wilde and John Bunyan.Readers: Saffron Burrows, Jim Findley and Carl Prekopp.Producer: Christine HallFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
SAT 14:45 The (Almost) Accidental Adventures of Bell and Todd (m0004xtd)
The Magic Compass
Todd and Bell’s plan to revamp the royal croquet lawn upsets the Princess...Mischievous narrator Diana has thrown Bell and Todd into a mad and a mysterious world of her own devising.June Whitfield stars as Diana in John Eggleston's six-part comedy adventure series.With Matthew Bell as Bell and Toby Longworth as ToddProducer: Liz AnsteeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1998.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b06000pc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Drama (b0631r4y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Let Me Entertain You (b00djlcr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Jill Hyem - Past Refrain (m0004xtg)
Lara is haunted by a Corsican lullaby. Can it be due to some repressed memory from her childhood?Tracy Wiles … Lara Ben Crowe … Sam Mary Wimbush … Mrs Osborne John Turner … Aiden Routh Elizabeth Bell … Judith Routh Tessa Worsley … Marjory Ioan Meredith … Vicar Stephen Critchlow … Various Becky Hindley … VariousWritten by Jill Hyem.Director: Cherry Cookson.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
SAT 19:00 Alexander Armstrong's Radio Heroes (b01qdwl5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Mark Steel's in Town (b05vy6ps)
Series 6
Melton Mowbray
'Melton Mowbray - Rural Capital of Food'Mark visits the Leicestershire Town where he discovers that as well as being the home of the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie and Stilton Cheese, it's also coincidentally, been officially ranked the most obese area of Leicestershire. He looks at the history of fox hunting in the area, meets several eccentric local residents including a crime fighting milk man and he tries to get to the bottom of who and what is the Melton Mowbray Town Estate, a mysterious organisation established in 1549.Mark Steel's sixth series of the award winning show that travels around the country, researching the history, heritage and culture of six towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness, and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.Written and performed by ... Mark SteelAdditional material by ... Pete SinclairProduction co-ordinator ... Hayley StirlingProducer ... Carl Cooper.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
SAT 22:30 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m0004xtj)
2019
Episode 5
Jake Yapp is joined by Jessica Fostekew, Rob Deering, Laura Lexx and Angela Barnes to bring you the best of this year’s Machynlleth Comedy Festival.
SAT 22:40 Afternoon Reading (b013f972)
Comic Fringes
A Difference of Opinion by Bridget Christie
When Bridget's husband is assaulted by the ghost of a long dead European leader, it highlights the vast differences in interpretation between a believer and an atheist.Written and performed by Bridget Christie.Recorded in front of an audience at the BBC's own venue at Potterrow, during 2011's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Producer: Kirsteen Cameron.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
SAT 22:55 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m0004xtm)
2019
Episode 6
Jake Yapp is joined by Jessica Fostekew, Rob Deering, Laura Lexx and Angela Barnes to bring you the best of this year’s Machynlleth Comedy Festival.
SAT 23:05 Beef and Dairy Network (b09xnpy3)
Broadcast Series 2
Episode 1
The number one podcast for those involved or just interested in the production of beef animals and dairy herds.In this episode, we interview Michael Banyan, the former bovine poet laureate who is now in hiding after a brush with the Bovine Farmers' Union.Produced by Benjamin Partridge.
SAT 23:35 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m0004xtp)
2019
Episode 7
Jake Yapp is joined by Jessica Fostekew, Rob Deering, Laura Lexx and Angela Barnes to bring you the best of this year’s Machynlleth Comedy Festival.
SAT 23:40 The Hauntening (b097c27l)
Series 1
Soulmaits
Travel through the bad gateway in this modern ghost story as writer and performer Tom Neenan discovers what horrors may lurk in our apps and gadgets.Modern technology is terrifying. The average smartphone carries out 3.36 billion instructions per second. The average person can only carry out one instruction in that time. Stop and think about that for a second. Sorry, that's two instructions - you won't be able to do that.But what if modern technology was literally terrifying? What if there really was a ghost in the machine?Tom...................Tom NeenanHeidi..................Jenny BedeThe Cabbie.........Roger MorlidgeJane...................Kath Hunterand Frances Barber as the voice of the app.Written by Tom NeenanProduced by David TylerA Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 23:55 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m0004xtr)
2019
Episode 8
Jake Yapp is joined by Jessica Fostekew, Rob Deering, Laura Lexx and Angela Barnes to bring you the best of this year’s Machynlleth Comedy Festival.