SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2019

SAT 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b008pc0b)
Guards! Guards!
Episode 5
"That dragon isn't going to accept any mealy-mouthed, wishy-washy liberal nonsense.... Do you know what you're getting with a dragon? Unashamed strong leadership."The dragon strikes. But will Captain Vimes triumph?First published in 1989, the 8th of Terry's Pratchett's comic fantasy stories set on Discworld.Narrator ...... Martin JarvisCaptain Vimes ...... John WoodNobby ...... Melvyn HayesSergeant Colon ...... Stephen ThorneLady Ramkin ...... Helen Atkinson-WoodCarrot ...... Robert GwilymLord Vetinari ...... Crawford LoganSupreme Grand Master ...... Brett UsherChief Merchant ...... Jeff NuttallLibrarian...... Michael Roberts Little Girl ....... Kate McEneryDramatised in six parts by Michael Butt.Director: John TaylorFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in December 1992.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076mjy)
Smoking
Journalist Amanda Mitchison, novelist Maureen Freely and comic Lewis Schaffer join Matthew Parris to discuss smoking. From 2004.
SAT 01:00 Hercule Poirot (b007ytww)
Murder on the Orient Express
Episode 5
Time is against Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot as he battles to unmask the murderer aboard the Orient Express.Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot.Monsieur Bouc ...... Andre MaranneDr Constantine ...... Peter PolycarpouMasterman ...... Desmond LlewelynPierre Michel ...... Frank Windsor Princess Dragmiroff ...... Sian PhillipsMrs Hubbard ...... Sylvia SymsMiss Debenham ...... Francesca AnnisCount Andrenyi ...... David ThorpeCountess Andrenyi ...... Siriol JenkinsColonel Arbuthnot ...... Stephen HodsonFoscarelli ...... Frank CodaMiss Ohlsson ...... Kate BinchyMacQueen ...... James TelferFraulein Schmidt ...... Linda PolanMusic composed and played by Michael HaslamFrom the book published in 1934 and dramatised by Michael BakewellDirector Enyd Williams.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1993.
SAT 01:30 Who Was Rosalind? (b01qlhjt)
In As You Like It, Shakespeare created one of his greatest and most complicated female roles. At a time when women were not allowed to act on stage, the role would have been taken by a young boy. But who? Actor, Critic and academic Susan Hitch tries to find outIn doing so she looks at how Shakespeare wrote for his actors, the educational culture of Elizabethan England, and the brilliance of the makeup artists of Shakespeare's company. She talks to academic experts, to actor Adrian Lester who has played Rosalind, and to contemporary schoolboys and teachers about boys playing girls, and discovers how radically our ideas of intimacy and desire have changed in the last 400 years and how strong the power of theatre still is today.
SAT 02:00 Jean Rhys - Wide Sargasso Sea (b00m5wdt)
Episode 10
Rochester has shut his 'mad' wife, Creole heiress Antoinette, in the attic of his English home.Jean Rhys's most famous novel tracing the early life of the first Mrs Rochester from Jane Eyre.Conlcuded by Adjoa Andoh.Abridged by Margaret BusbyProducer: Claire GroveFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2004.
SAT 02:15 What Is a Story? (b061d24z)
History for the Record
Marina Warner explores History for the Record.A look at the world of contemporary fiction. In the company of leading contemporary writers, she considers a story and story writing from a different angle.Marina speaks with writers as diverse as Julian Barnes, Michelle Roberts, Fanny Howe, Marlene van Niekerk, Alain Mabanckou, Lydia Davis, Edwin Frank, Elleke Boehmer, Wen-Chin Ouyang, Daniel Medin, Nadeem Aslam and Laszlo Krasznahorkai.There are questions around the boundaries between fact and fiction which Marina believes are central to any consideration of storytelling, since readers' pleasure depends so much on trust built up between the storyteller or writer and the audience.With discussions on the reasons for writing, writers as witnesses and political interaction.Marina was Chair of the Man Booker International Prize 2015 and the series draws on the expertise of the International Booker judging panel, the views of the shortlisted writers, as well as other key literary talent.Producer: Kevin DawsonA Whistledown production for BBC Radio first broadcast in July 2015.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b06c48nt)
CJ Sansom - Shardlake: Sovereign
Episode 5
Reeling from his public humiliation at the hands of King Henry, Shardlake returns to York knowing that it will haunt him for the rest of his life. His troubles aren't over, however, because an old enemy is waiting to see him: Sir Richard Rich.Gripping dramatisation of CJ Sansom's Tudor crime novel, featuring lawyer detective Matthew Shardlake and set during Henry VIII's spectacular Royal Progress to the north in 1541.Shardlake ..... JUSTIN SALINGERBarak ..... BRYAN DICKMaleverer ...... STEPHEN CRITCHLOWRadwinter ..... DAVID ACTONBroderick ..... NICK UNDERWOODTamasin ...... CATH WHITEFIELDCraike ..... PATRICK BRENNANRich ..... CHRIS PAVLODramatised by Colin MacDonald.Director: Kirsteen CameronFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2015.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b04tv0pj)
Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography
Episode 5
During the glittering 1920s and 30s, Elsa Schiaparelli was the undisputed Queen of Fashion. Everyone who was anyone, from Vivien Leigh to the Duchess of Windsor, entered her doors on the Place Vendôme and obediently wore whatever she instructed.Her clothes were beautifully made, but they were also designed in a manner no one had seen before - buttons that looked like butterflies, mermaids or carrots, trompe l'oeil pockets that looked like lips, gloves with red nails appliquéd on them. She was unique.Born into a prominent Italian family, she moved to London and married a supposed Polish count who, it transpired, was really a French con-man. His deportation during the First World War saw them move to New York, where he abandoned Schiaparelli and their baby daughter. Undaunted, she picked herself up, moved to Paris and launched her meteoric career, surviving the Second World War despite being under suspicion of spying from both sides.Her story is one of pluck and determination, talent and great imagination. Along with Coco Chanel, her greatest rival, she was one of the few female figures in the field at the time. And her collaborations with artists such as Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Alberto Giacometti, elevated the field of women's clothing design into the realm of art.Reader: Abigail ThawWritten by Meryle SecrestAbridged by Libby SpurrierProduced by Joanna GreenA Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 03:00 Dostoyevsky - The Brothers Karamazov (b00yc3jw)
Episode 5
Following Ivan's dramatic appearance at his brother's trial, Katerina prepares to deal Dmitry a fatal blow.Conclusion of Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky's final novel published in 1880.Dramatised by Melissa Murray.Dmitry ...... Paul HiltonIvan ...... Nicholas BoultonAlyosha ...... Carl PrekoppKaterina ...... Juliet AubreyGrushenka ...... Katy CavanaghLise ...... Emma NoakesMrs Khoklakova ...... Rachel AtkinsGrigory ...... Desmond McNamaraDevil ...... Sam DaleJudge ...... Ian MastersProsecutor ...... Philip FoxFetyukovich ...... Mark StrakerBystanders ...... Paul Richard Biggin/ Saikat AhamedOriginal music by David Pickvance.Directors: Marc Beeby and Colin GuthrieFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in Decenber 2006.
SAT 04:00 Who Goes There? (b0076b0c)
Series 6
Episode 5
Martin Young presents the biographical quiz show.Team captains Francis Wheen and Fred Housego are joined by Agony Aunt Claire Rayner and author David AaronovitchProducer: Elizabeth FreestoneFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2002.
SAT 04:30 Mark Tavener - In the Red (b007k003)
Episode 3
Anarchic BBC reporter George Cragge probes the murder of another London bank manager - while in Broadcasting House, BBC Controllers are counting on divine intervention to topple the Director General.London is plagued by a series of bizarre murders of bank managers. Hot on the trail of the killer are an old-style Chief Police Inspector and BBC Radio's anarchic crime correspondent, George Cragge.A blackly humorous murder mystery set in the world of City finance, the BBC and political parties starring Michael Williams.Dramatised by Mark Tavener and Peter Baynham from Mark Tavener's novel.George Cragge ...... Michael WilliamsFrank Jefferson ...... Barry FosterGeoffrey Crichton-Potter ...... Stephen MooreHenry ...... Julian Rhind-TuttMax ...... Peter WoodthorpeController Radio 2 ...... Stephen FryController Radio 4 ...... John BirdDominic De'ath ...... Benjamin WhitrowHercules Fortescue ...... Nicholas Le PrevostAndrew James ...... Peter SerafinowczAgony Aunt ...... Eva StuartOswald ...... Simon GreenallChairman ...... Peter YappOther parts by Oliver Sentona and Alice Arnold.Music by Paul MottramProducer: Paul SchlesingerFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1995.
SAT 05:00 Babblewick Hall (b01mxtj6)
Series 1
Episode 1
When idealistic Fenton Babblewick inherits his uncle's Yorkshire estate, it’s the perfect opportunity to realise his utopian dreams.But for his manservant, August Snipe, the move to Babblewick Hall is a nightmare - the house is cold, full of farm animals and worst of all "it’s in the north" - a lifetime away from the comforts of London.Starring Nicholas Le Prevost as Fenton Babblewick and Forbes Masson as Augustus Snipe.The first series of Scott Cherry’s six-part sitcom set in the 18th-century.Fenton Babblewick ...... Nick Le PrevostAugustus Snipe ...... Forbes MassonBarney ...... David AntrobusJack ...... Sam KellyMolly ...... Gillian BevanBob Scotcher ...... Philip JacksonMusic by Paul Mottram.Producer: Paul SchlesingerFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1995.
SAT 05:30 Cooking in a Bedsitter (b09h2rby)
Series 2
Mutton Rissoles
Beattie Edmondson and Nikesh Patel star in Sue Teddern's romantic comedy, inspired by Katharine Whitehorn's cookery classic. Spring 1965. Trisha moves into a new bedsitter with the toast-loving Moira. Extracts from Cooking in a Bedsitter are read by Eleanor Bron.Directed by Emma HardingTrisha.....Beattie EdmondsonDeepak.....Nikesh PatelJune.....Ellie Darvill.
SAT 06:00 Shelagh Stephenson - Darling Peidi (b01kkmk8)
Dramatisation based on he true story of Edith Thompson who, with Freddy Bywaters, was charged murdering her husband in 1922.Rachel Joyce stars as Edith and Charles Simpson as Freddy in Shelagh Stevenson's drama. Edith Thompson .... Rachel JoyceFreddy Bywaters ... Charles SimpsonPercy Thompson ... Peter WightAvis Graydon ... Theresa StreatfieldMr Graydon ... Norman BirdMrs Graydon ... Gudrun UreRose/Wardress ... Siriol JenkinsElsie/Wardress .... Joanna MyersMr Stern ... David LearnerHenry Curtis-Bennett ... Mark LambertThomas Inskip .... Brett UsherMr Justice Shearman .... Jonathan AdamsClerk/Chaplain ... Nicholas MurchieForeman/Officer .... Peter GunnPrison Governor ... Keith DrinkelDirector: Jeremy MortimerFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1992
SAT 07:30 Britain in a Box (b01sc9cc)
Series 6
Desmond's
The story behind Channel 4's longest running sitcom, Desmond's - the OTHER Peckham based comedy which featured Norman Beaton as Desmond, the owner of a West Indian Barber shop and Carmen Munroe who played his wife, Shirley. Series in which Paul Jackson celebrates innovative TV programmes, whilst using them as a window on a particular period in our cultural and social history.The 71 episode series ran from 1989 until 1994 upon the untimely early death of its star character, 'Desmond', played by Norman Beaton.Paul speaks to the show's creator, Trix Worrell, who got the idea for setting a comedy in a West Indian Barber's shop whilst he was on a bus travelling through Peckham on the way to meet comedy producer, Humprey Barclay.Both of them share their memories of the creation of Desmond's with Paul Jackson, along with the series' first producer, Charlie Hanson and script editor Paulette Randall. Ram John Holder, one of the show's stars, 'Porkpie' tells Paul how accurately the sit com portrayed the West Indian community and how it was a welcome change to be in a black sit com which was both funny and enjoyed by all sections of the audience.The then commissioner for Channel 4, Farrukh Dhondy, gives his thoughts on the success of Desmond's and contributors question how much futher forward British television is today in its commission of comedies featuring members from the UK's diverse communities.Producer: Sarah TaylorFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2013.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b07tqbw0)
Period Drama Politics
Steven Fielding, Professor of Political History at Nottingham University, asks whether the portrayal of class relations in period dramas - Downton Abbey, Upstairs Downstairs and Noël Coward's play Cavalcade - had any political effect.Steven sees striking parallels between the dramas; all three are set in the early decades of the twentieth century in wealthy households with servants; all three portray the relationship of the upper classes with their servants as essentially benevolent; all three appeared at times of national crisis (the 1930s, the 1970s and after the 2008 financial crash); and a Conservative government was voted in after each one.Steven investigates whether there is a pattern here. Are these dramas just comforting entertainment or could they have had a subtle effect on voting habits? And how accurate is the portrayal of relations between the ruling classes and their servants?Featuring a specially recorded interview with Downton creator Julian Fellowes, and an archive interview with the Script Editor of Upstairs Downstairs, Alfred Shaughnessy, that hasn't been broadcast before.With archive material from Noël Coward, Sheridan Morley, Jean Marsh, Eileen Atkins, and Sir John Gielgud, and contributions from Coward's biographer Philip Hoare, Upstairs Downstairs expert Richard Marson, and Selina Todd, Professor of Modern British History at Oxford University.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2016.
SAT 09:00 The Freedland Files (b09t0r9c)
Made to mark the 90th Academy Awards ceremony in 2018, Michael Freedland, the prolific author and broadcaster, opens his audio archives for the very first time. As a writer, presenter and interviewer for over fifty years Freedland has an extensive collection of material which contains the biggest Oscar winning names in film, great entertainers and leading public figures.In this special 4 Extra showcase recorded from his Bournemouth home he explores the private recordings made for his book and article research along with extracts from his radio documentaries and reveals some of the lesser-known tales of the great stars of stage and screen. Many of the selections from his archives have never been broadcast before and along with key material from the iconic names of Hollywood such as Julie Andrews, Fred Astaire, Hope and Crosby, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, James Cagney we also hear exclusive interview recordings with Morecambe and Wise and a fascinating not to be missed conversation with Margaret Thatcher before she became prime minister.Michael Freedland passed away in October 2018.Producer: Stephen GarnerFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in March 2018.
SAT 12:00 The Food Quiz (b0076gyp)
Series 1
Episode 1
Jay Rayner puts well-known gastronomes through their culinary paces. On the menu:Hugh Fearnley-WhittingstallAnissa HelouMatthew FortClarissa Dickson WrightProducer: Rebecca Wells First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2003.
SAT 12:30 The Patrick and Maureen Maybe Music Experience (b007jvk3)
Episode 1
Unhappily married Patrick and Maureen are meant to be presenting a classical music show together, but they just can’t stop bickering...Starring Imelda Staunton as Maureen Maybe and Patrick Barlow as Patrick Maybe. Doctor ...... Peter JonesProfessor ...... Stella GonetBill ...... Simon RobertsSpecial guest Jack Davenport.Written by Patrick Barlow.Producer: Claire JonesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1999.
SAT 13:00 Blackwater (Omnibus) (m0008g6z)
Episode 1
Golden girl Zoe's been dead for ten years, her body dragged from the river Black after a night out to celebrate the end of school. But now a woman who says she's Zoe has turned up in her hometown of Blackwater, on the Irish border, with no memory of the last decade. She claims she woke up in a forest nearby, bruised and bleeding, and doesn't know where she's been all this time. What happened to her? Is she really Zoe? If so, who's in her grave?Paul, a local boy whose band were playing in the venue where Zoe was last seen, went to prison for her murder. Now he's out, but he's lost everything and is shunned in the town. The people of Blackwater were easily convinced that a black boy murdered Zoe, and the evidence did stack up - but if she's not even dead, then how did he get convicted? Did someone deliberately frame him? He's determined to find out the truth and clear his name. But does he really know nothing about what happened?Could it be that everyone involved with the case is hiding something? There's Zoe's uncle Phil, a former detective superintendent with an explosive secret. There's Steve, the police officer who found 'Zoe's' body in the river Black, and sent Paul to prison for her murder. And there's Zoe's friend Danny, who wasn't where she said she was on that night ten years ago. When Paul and Zoe collide, they realise they're the only ones who can help each other. As they sift through their conflicting memories of that day ten years ago, they start to discover that not everyone is happy Zoe's back from the dead.Claire McGowan's multi-voiced dark story about secrets and lies in a small townOmnibus of the first five of ten parts.Clare Dunne ..... ZoeRichard Clements ..... SteveClaire McGowan ..... WriterCelia De Wolff ..... ProducerFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m0008g72)
Angelique Kidjo
Singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo chooses ‘Quimbara’ by Celia Cruz and ‘Fire on the Mountain’ by Asa.
SAT 14:15 Frankly Speaking (b07d2z3f)
Allen Lane
Publisher and founder of Penguin books, Allen Lane answers the questions posed by George Scott, Margaret Lane and Walter Allen.Aged 58 when interviewed, Allen talks of his life as a pioneering paperback publisher and his discovery of DH Lawrence.Sir Allen Lane was born in 1902 and died in 1970.Launched in 1952 on the BBC Home Service, Frankly Speaking was a novel, ground breaking series. Unrehearsed and unscripted, the traditional interviewee/interviewer pairing was initially jettisoned for three interviewers firing direct questions. Early critics described it as 'unkempt', 'an inquisition' and described the guest as prey being cornered, quarry being pursued - with calls to axe the unscripted interview. But the format won out and eventually won over its detractors.Only 40 or so of the original 100 programmes survive.First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in 1961.
SAT 14:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jdz9p)
Holmes and Watford
Tattoo
For PC Sue Holmes policing is about keeping the peace, but PC Tina Watford yearns for excitement and she'll stop at nothing to ensure some action.Today, a couple have a row outside a pub, but Tina has a vested interest in ensuring they don't make up.Jon Canter's comedy about two policewoman crewing in a small village.Sue Holmes ...... Jessica RansomTina Watford ...... Susan WokomaCarl ...... Samuel JamesShelley ...... Abbie AndrewsDirector: Sally AvensFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2017.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b07tqbw0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Shelagh Stephenson - Darling Peidi (b01kkmk8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Britain in a Box (b01sc9cc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Doctor Who (b08thzv7)
The Lost Stories: Paradise 5
Episode 1
When the Sixth Doctor and his companion, Peri check in on an old friend, Professor Albrecht Thompson, they discover he's vanished - and last sighted taking a shuttle to the eerie holiday resort planet of Paradise 5...An adventure originally written for the BBC's Doctor Who TV series but never made.Colin Baker stars as the Sixth Doctor.Peri ...... Nicola BryantGabriel ...... Alex MacqueenMichael ...... James 'D'ArcyStella/ Bella ...... Helen GoldwynLorelei ...... Andree BernardElohim ...... Teddy KempnerMrs Aht ...... Claire WyattMr Tapp ...... Richard EarlWritten by PJ Hammond and Andy Lane.Director: Barnaby EdwardsMade by Big Finish and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SAT 19:00 The Freedland Files (b09t0r9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Political Animals (b01lv38q)
Series 1
Wilberforce
Wilberforce, Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office 1973-1987, reflects on his life with Margaret Thatcher.The first in a series of four scurrilous talks given by well-known, if unreliable, Downing Street cats, who relate their trials and tribulations under four different Prime Ministers.Starring Clive Swift.Written by Tony Bagley.Director: Marc BeebyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2012.
SAT 22:15 Gus Murdoch's Sacred Cows (b00fcbgm)
Pubs
Is the concept of the pub is dead?Incisive reporter Gus Murdoch investigates Britain's public houses.Written by and starring Stephen Carlin.With Rachel Atkins, Christopher Douglas, Chris Pavlo, Renton Skinner and Dan Tetsall.Producer: Tilusha GhelaniMade for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in November 2008.
SAT 22:30 Revolting People (b008j10d)
Series 3
Them Thar Hills
Samuel and McGurk follow a prospector named Mad Pete in search of gold...Sitcom set just before the American War of Independence.Written by Andy Hamilton and Jay Tarses.McGurk ...... Andy HamiltonSamuel ...... Jay TarsesCaptain Brimshaw ...... James FleetJoshua ...... Tony MaudsleyMad Pete ...... Hugh DennisJeremiah ...... Philip PopeProducer: Paul Mayhew-ArcherFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0008ngl)
Daliso Chaponda (1/2)
From 10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Angela Barnes chats to Daliso Chaponda.
SAT 23:00 Alice's Wunderland (b01kt4ck)
Series 1
Episode 2
A trip round Wunderland, the Poundland of magical realms. It's a kingdom much like our own, and also nothing like it in the slightest. Stay a while and meet waifs and strays, wigshops and witches, murderous pensioners and squirrels of this delightful land as they go about their bizarre business.A sketch show written and performed by Alice Lowe.Also starring Richard Glover, Simon Greenall, Rachel Stubbings, Clare Thompson and Marcia Warren.Producer: Sam BryantFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.
SAT 23:30 Ross Noble Goes Global (b007jvs3)
Series 1
China
The stand-up comic discovers the bustling city of Shanghai, performs in front of the locals and marvels at the wonders of a thousand pensioners in a park.Producer: Danny WallaceFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2001.