SATURDAY 19 OCTOBER 2019

SAT 00:00 William Hope Hodgson - The House on the Borderland (b007wxhs)
Episode 4
Back from his voyage, the narrator sees a sinister green hand at his window...First published in 1908, William Hope Hodgson's fantasy novella is now seen as a classic of early, Edwardian sci-fi.Concluded by Jim Norton.Abridged by Doreen Estall.Producer: Lawrence JacksonMade for BBC Radio 7 by BBC Northern Ireland.First broadcast in September 2007.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076mrp)
Anger
Matthew Parris talks about rage with broadcaster Shyama Perera, journalist Cristina Odone and Rouzbeh Pirouz. From August 2004.
SAT 01:00 Dixon of Dock Green (b013216n)
Series 1
Needle in a Haystack
A baby's life is in danger when some pep pills go missing and George Dixon causes a stir at home when he offers PC Crawford the spare room...Radio revival of BBC TV's famous copper starring David Calder as PC George Dixon and David Tennant as Andy Crawford.Dixon of Dock Green's roots go back to 1950 film drama 'The Blue Lamp', which ended with Dixon being shot dead. However, Warner's role was resurrected for the BBC TV series running from 1955 to 1976.PC George Dixon ...... David CalderPC Andy Crawford ...... David TennantArchie ...... Jonah CookBilly Monks ...... Michael CarolanMary Dixon ...... Charlie BrooksNancy Harris ...... Carol MacReadyMrs Monks ...... Kate ByersWritten by Ted Willis. Dramatised from his TV screenplay by Sue Rodwell.Produced in Bristol by Viv Beeby and Jeremy Howe.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2005.
SAT 01:30 The Bob Graham Round (b0184vh6)
The Bob Graham Round is perhaps the most gruelling of all Fell Running challenges. Athletes have to climb 42 peaks, run about 70 miles and ascend 27 000 feet - which is about the height of Everest from sea level - all in a period of 24 hours. The run takes place in the glorious beauty of The Lake District, with its rapidly changing weather and underfoot conditions. It's a challenge which unites two diverse motivators of great art : human endeavour and the beauty of nature.This year, while determined runners made their attempts at the Bob Graham Round, a young Italian composer has been writing a brand new piece of music that celebrates fell running in The Lakes. Maurizio Malagnini had never visited Cumbria before and had never heard of fell running. Ironically these were two of the reasons he was asked to write a new piece of work for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, they wanted to see how fresh eyes would be inspired.The programme follows two stories: the development of Maurizio's composition and the attempt of two runners seeking to complete The Bob Graham Round.
SAT 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b08g7zv8)
The Underground Railroad
Episode 10
Cora faces Ridgeway once more, and makes a final journey on the railroad.Colson Whitehead's inventive novel follows Cora and Caesar as they escape from a Georgia slave plantation and run north in pursuit of freedom, aided by the stationmasters and conductors of the Underground Railroad.This brilliant and at times brutal novel about the history of slavery and racism in America, which won the US National Book Award for Fiction in 2016.Concluded by Clarke Peters.Abridged by Sara Davies.Producer: Mair BosworthFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017.
SAT 02:15 Life at 24 Frames a Second (b00xhfg3)
You Must Remember This
"Every movie is about time passing away and memory trying to say it was a story."Author David Thomson continues his idiosyncratic journey through the collective dream of cinema.Producer: Mark Burman.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2011.
SAT 02:30 Doris Lessing - The Good Terrorist (m0009ct1)
Episode 5
Alice finally meets her revolutionary neighbour, the enigmatic Comrade Andrew.Nobel laureate Doris Lessing's 1985 satire about a band of incompetent, bourgeois revolutionaries living in a London squat.Starring Olivia Vinall, Joe Armstrong and Sian Thomas.Dramatised in ten parts by Sarah Daniels.Alice ...... Olivia VinallJasper ...... Joe ArmstrongFelicity ...... Lauren CorneliusAndrew ...... Adam FitzgeraldPat ...... Isabella InchbaldPhilip ...... Gary DuncanRoberta ...... Kath WeareFaye ...... Abbie AndrewsDirector: Emma Harding.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b050bwpf)
Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible
Episode 5
In the early 2000s, Peter Pomerantsev (the son of Russian political exiles) came to Moscow to work in the fast-growing television industry. He was perfectly placed to witness the transformation of the New Russia on its journey from communist collapse to a new form of dictatorship.In this episode, he reflects upon the fractured nature of a country (and its people) that has moved so quickly from communism to capitalism, where the difference between 'public' and 'private' selves can, by necessity, be extreme. Realising that he can't maintain such psychological divisions, he decides to return to London.Written by Peter PomerantsevRead by Justin SalingerAbridged by Robin BrooksProduced by Kirsteen CameronFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.
SAT 03:00 John Fowles - The French Lieutenant's Woman (b00hk2dv)
Episode 2
Charles's life as a complacent Victorian gent has been overturned by his secret meetings with the mysterious Sarah on the under-cliff at Lyme.Having vowed to end the liaison he finds himself lured one last time. He kisses Sarah passionately. Then discovers they're being watched...John Hurt concludes John Fowles' passionate epic of two lovers in conflict with starched Victorian society.Narrator ...... John Hurt Charles ...... Jonathan FirthSarah ...... Emily BruniErnestina ...... Kelly ReillyDr Grogan ...... TP McKennaMrs Endicott ...... Susan JamesonSam ...... Nick Sayce Mary ...... Ella SmithMr Freeman ...... Gerard McDermottMrs Rogers ...... Colleen Prendergast Montague ...... Wayne FoskettProstitute ...... Sophie RobertsCurate ...... John CumminsDramatised by Graham White.Producer: Peter KavanaghFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
SAT 04:00 It's Not What You Know (b037hmyc)
Series 2
Episode 4
Who is Nick Helm's all time hero? What is the most embarrassing thing Isy Suttie's mum ever did? Who would play Dougie Anderson in the film of his life?All these questions, and more, will be answered in the show hosted by Miles Jupp, where panellists are tested on how well they know their nearest and dearest.Producer: Sam MichellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
SAT 04:30 Gush (b04y52ct)
Episode 1
What could divide two close friends, the aristocratic Foxwell Cravate and American tycoon Max Pomeroy so far apart that their rivalry has come to threaten the human race?There's only one way to find out - with flashbacks.Ian Hislop and Nick Newman's epic tale of bitter rivals whose destinies are tragically intertwined. Set in Durban at the Transworld Oil Conference - aping the style of the best TV mini-series of the 90s.Foxwell Cravate ...... Martin JarvisMax Pomeroy ...... Mac McDonaldArabella Derbyshire ...... Felicity MontaguIolanthe Diamond ...... Caroline QuentinCharles Ambrose Fortescue de Vere ...... Jonathan CoyPrince Saudi ...... Julian DuttonWith Toby Longworth and Mandy KnightProducer: Colin Swash First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1994.
SAT 05:00 Babblewick Hall (b01nlzcw)
Series 1
Episode 6
The downfall of Squire Fenton and Babblewick Hall appears imminent with the arrival of Fenton's father who has plans for his wayward son. Not least that he should marry the insipid and bewhiskered Harriet.Meanwhile, Augustus makes a dramatic discovery...Starring Nicholas Le Prevost as Fenton Babblewick and Forbes Masson as Augustus Snipe.Conclusion of the first series of Scott Cherry’s sitcom set in the 18th-century.Fenton Babblewick ...... Nick Le PrevostAugustus Snipe ...... Forbes MassonWilliam Babblewick ...... Benjamin WhitrowElizabeth Babblewick ...... Pauline YatesHarriet ...... Courtney KingSeptimus Hickey ...... John MoffatMolly ...... Gillian BevanBarney ...... David AntrobusJack ...... Sam KellyMusic by Paul Mottram.Producer: Paul SchlesingerFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1996.
SAT 05:30 Sofie Hagen: How to Love Your Fat (m00099xr)
Award-winning author-comedian Sofie Hagen examines society’s relationship with fat people and, with her infectious wit, sets a funny and impassioned agenda for moving beyond mere body positivity to a better world for everyone - fat or not.Fatphobia is one of the last acceptable prejudices in a world that should really know better. Society continues to send poisonous messages about weight and size, causing widespread misery and mental illness, and dangerously skewing the priorities of millions of young people. Sofie Hagen, the brilliant comedian and author of last year’s hugely successful manifesto Happy Fat, asks what it really means to love your body at any size, and sets out a vision for a world where people aren't defined by their bodies. A personal, fiercely funny examination of a subject everyone else is scared to talk about.An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 06:00 Robert Westall - The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral (m0009k6x)
Steeplejack Joe Clarke is hired to do some work on the spire of Muncaster Cathedral, but in the tower a malevolent gargoyle wields its evil power over the fate of Joe and his family.Drama by Robert Westall starring Peter Meakin. Joe Clarke ... Peter MeakinSergeant Allardyce ...Terry MolloyReverend Morris ... John WebbBilly .... David HoltKevin Clarke .... Tim BlackBarbara Clarke .... Sunny OrmondeTaff Evans/Policeman ....Richard MitchleyCurator ............Gillian GoodmanDr Kumar ........Zita SattarInspector ........Anthony PeddlarDirector: Rosemary WattsFirst broadcast on Radio 4 in August 1996.
SAT 07:30 Reasons to be Cheerful (b00t5vkw)
Series 2
Jake Arnott
Jake Arnott reckons there has never been a better time to be a man. The best-selling author of modern gangster classic The Long Firm takes on the Grumpy Old Men and Women,Jake examines the astonishing changes to men's lives in just a few decades. This runs from greater sexual freedoms to modern metrosexuals like David Beckham, who are not afraid to don a sarong, and onto the world-class British men's designers like Ozwald Boteng.Along the way he celebrates Britain's new-found cafe culture and the regeneration of his beloved Soho.He's joined in his quest by Mark Simpson, the journalist who first coined the term "metrosexual", fashion expert Christopher Breward from the Victoria & Albert Museum and Professor Frank Furedi, sociologist and nemesis of the modern Grumpies.Jake tries his best to convince columnist and sometime Grumpy Old Woman Kathryn Flett that modern life is far from rubbish.Producer: Martin McNamaraA Loftus production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2010.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b06s6tlm)
The Selling of Sinatra
Jazz singer Kurt Elling provides a unique take on Frank Sinatra, playing with the glitz and glamour, and discovering the dark undertones to a crooner's life that we thought we knew. In a centenary celebration, he analyses just how much image-making and effort went into turning Francis Albert Sinatra into plain old "Frank."Sinatra had many incarnations in a sixty-year career. He was born to a working-class Italian immigrant family in New Jersey. His father was a lightweight boxer, bar owner and firefighter. His mother Natalina was active in Democratic politics and ran an illegal abortion clinic. Frank dropped out of high school and began singing at his dad's bar, eventually gaining the attention of bandleader Tommy Dorsey.With Tommy's help, Sinatra’s popularity grew in the 40s, but he didn't serve in the Second World War due to a perforated eardrum and he attracted some bitterness as magazine photographs displayed him surrounded by beautiful women and making plenty of cash in New York.A decline in popularity and damage to his vocal chords led to the "wilderness years", suicide attempts and deep depression.With the boost of an Oscar win in 1953, Frank successfully remade himself on an industrial scale with Las Vegas tours, Hollywood movies, platinum records, retirements, comebacks and high society connections that included the Oval Office.Contributors include Robert Wagner, John Lahr and Paul Anka.Producer: Colin McNultyA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2015.
SAT 09:00 Michael Palin's Radio Adventures (b09jvgpk)
In a completely different broadcast from London's Radio Theatre John McCarthy meets with Michael Palin to celebrate the actor-adventurer's remarkable life and career as heard on BBC radio.Michael Palin has been a Python, a world traveller, author, actor and screenwriter, and often described as "Britain's Nicest Man". However one area which is often overlooked from his long and impressive career are his fascinating radio contributions.In this programme we hear extracts from his mighty canon of work including his famous diaries, interviews about his comedy and travel work, documentaries about mental illness and dramas. We also hear rare footage of the time he tried his hand as a BBC disc jockey, his charity work and a hilarious pythonesque local radio broadcast from a taxi rank.Recorded in front an enthusiastic audience the celebration features contributions from comedians Barry Cryer and John Finnermore, broadcasters Paul Gambaccini and John Waite and throughout we discover Palin's love for radio as we hear a treasure trove of archives on an eclectic mix of subjects and plenty memories of Monty Python.Producer: Stephen GarnerMade for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in December 2017.
SAT 12:00 The Cold Swedish Winter (b06sg2mm)
Series 2
Episode 1
Geoff and the Anderssons celebrating baby John's first Christmas, as Geoff unwisely volunteers to organise the festivities for the whole family.The second series Danny Robins' sitcom, set and recorded in Sweden.Starring Edinburgh Comedy Award-winner Adam Riches, Danny Robins and a cast of Sweden's most popular TV comedy actors.Geoff has moved to Yxsjö in northern Sweden, to start a new life with his girlfriend Linda in the (frequently frosty) bosom of her family.This year, new dad Geoff has plenty of fresh experiences to contend with, including three varieties of pickled cabbage, sinister Christmas elves and an unpleasant visit from Sweden's answer to the BNP. It's all worth it though for Linda and baby John.While Geoff and Linda now have their own place, he still has to deal with her disapproving Dad, Sten her alarmingly flirtatious mother Gunilla and her apparently suicidal, arsonist brother, Anders.Geoff is determined to be more Swedish than the Swedes as he takes to his new country with renewed enthusiasm, and he has help, in the form of fellow expat, cynical Ian, an unending source of (slightly misleading) information, and Soran, a Danish Kurd with Swedophobia.Geoff ...... Adam RichesSten ...... Thomas OredssonLinda ...... Sissela BennGunilla ...... Anna-Lena BrundinIan ...... Danny RobinsSoran ...... Farshad KohlgiAnders Fredrik AnderssonWith Thomas Ericsson and Shanthi Rydwall.Director: Frank StirlingA Unique production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in January 2016. .
SAT 12:30 The Ken Dodd Show (b050cx7p)
From 20/10/1963
Down Your Way is in the village of Knotty Ash, Doddy croons a ditty and the World's Worst.Restored from BBC Transcription Service tapes - originally edited for sale abroad.Starring Ken Dodd. With Judith Chalmers (Wish You Were Here), John Laurie (Dad's Army), Wallas Eaton, Percy Edwards, Peter Hudson and The Barry Sisters.BBC Revue Orchestra, Conducted by Malcolm LockyerScript by Ken Dodd and Eddie Braben.Produced by Bill WorsleyFirst broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1963.
SAT 13:00 The Country Girls (m0009k6z)
Series 2 Omnibus
Episode 1
Kate and Baba blag their way into a wine-tasting and meet Eugene Gaillard.Edna O’Brien’s frank, funny and subversive story of womanhood in Ireland in the 50s.Omnibus of the first five of ten parts. Kate ..... Charlie MurphyBaba ..... Aoibhinn McGinnityTod Mead ..... Shaun MasonEugene ..... Jonathan ForbesThe Body ..... Jonny HoldenEamonn ..... Chris PavloJoanna ..... Susan JamesonWoman ..... Catherine CusackDramatised by Kate HimsDirected by Sally Avens & Jessica DromgooleThe Lonely Girl is the second book in Edna O'Brien's trilogy, The Country Girls. O’Brien – born in 1930 - is now celebrated as the fearless chronicler of the dark underbelly of rural Ireland. Originally published in the 1960s, The Country Girls Trilogy was banned by the Irish Censorship Board, burnt publicly in O’Brien’s home town, and described by the Justice Minister (a young Charles Haughey) as filth. Fifty years later, the trilogy is recognised as an iconic work of 20th century Irish fiction.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2019
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m0009k72)
Sir John Eliot Gardiner
Conductor Sir John Eliot Gardiner chooses 'Zefiro Torna' by Monteverdi and the Credo from Beethoven's 'Missa Solemnis' Op123.
SAT 14:15 With Great Pleasure (b00cmb2l)
Mark Kermode
Film critic Mark Kermode draws upon some of his favourite haunting fiction, including extracts from William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist, plus F Scott Fitzgerald's American classic The Great Gatsby.Other writers include - Shirley Jackson, William Peter Blatty and Pat Barker.And Mark's grandfather recites TE Brown's poem Betsy Lee in his Manx accent.Readers: Amelia Bullmore and Demetri GoritsasProducer: Mark SmalleyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2008.
SAT 14:45 Uncle Mort's North Country (b007jl5v)
Series 1
Dog Days
At the allotment, Carter's Uncle Mort sounds off on sunshine, southerners and a smart mutt.Carter Brandon gets a week off work, so he decides to go on day-trips in his car, with his Uncle Mort, 'where the fancy takes them.Peter Tinniswood’s continuing tales of Carter Brandon and his curmudgeonly uncle.Uncle Mort and his Yorkshire based family first appeared in Tinniswood’s novel ‘A Touch Of Daniel’ which earned them a run of four series of ‘I Didn't Know You Cared’ on BBC TV from 1975 to 1979.Uncle Mort …. Stephen ThorneCarter Brandon …. Peter SkellernNarrator …. Christian RodskaProducer: Pete Atkin.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1987.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b06s6tlm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Robert Westall - The Stones of Muncaster Cathedral (m0009k6x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Reasons to be Cheerful (b00t5vkw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Doctor Who (b08y710s)
The Lost Stories: The Song of Megaptera
Episode 2
Like Jonah, the Sixth Doctor and Peri find themselves inside a whale - and they're not alone...An adventure originally written for the BBC's Doctor Who TV series but never made.Colin Baker stars as the Sixth Doctor.Peri ...... Nicola BryantCaptain Greeg ...... John BenfieldStennar ...... Neville WatchurstCaller ...... John BanksChief Engineer ...... Susan BrownStafel ...... Toby LongworthAxel ...... Alex LoweWritten by Pat Mills.Director: John AinsworthProducer: David RichardsonMade by Big Finish and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SAT 19:00 Michael Palin's Radio Adventures (b09jvgpk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Mark Steel's in Town (b09h3rc9)
Series 8
Bedford
Mark Steel is back with the 8th series of his award winning show that travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.In this first episode Mark visits Bedford.Everyone's heard of Bedford but not many seem to know where it is or what goes on there. It is a town full of surprises; it has the highest concentration of Italians in the country, it is the home of the biggest airship in the world and it has a museum dedicated to a cult called The Panacea Society, who believe The Garden of Eden is actually in Bedford.Written and performed by ... Mark SteelAdditional material by ... Pete SinclairProduction co-ordinator ... Hayley SterlingSound Manager ... Jerry PealProducer ... Carl CooperPicture Credit ... Tom Stanier.A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2017.
SAT 22:30 Big Problems with Helen Keen (b05y0qkv)
Series 1
Love
Helen looks at love and the problems of finding the perfect mate.Including the invention of computer dating; how we might chemically engineer love; how the bicycle revolutionised sex; having a row in Ikea; and a pair of romantic prairie voles.A comic look at the solutions humanity has devised to deal with the fundamental problems of survival, starring Helen Keen, Susy Kane and Peter Serafinowicz.Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill, Producer: Gareth EdwardsA BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2015.
SAT 23:00 Meet David Sedaris (b064418w)
Series 5
Stepping Out; The Vigilant Rabbit
Two stories from one of the world's best storytellers, David Sedaris, doing what he does best:How a quest for fitness can become an obsession in "Stepping Out".An anthropomorphic tale of over zealous security in "The Vigilant Rabbit".Plus some questions from the studio audience.Producer: Steve DohertyA Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2015.
SAT 23:30 The Problem With Adam Bloom (b018zvmk)
Series 3
Reading
Adam Bloom investigates his fear of reading aloud. Just what is the point of books?After very negative but funny experiences at school, the comedian managed to avoid reading a book for much of his adult life. But he does find one novel that inspires him to start reading again.Written by and starring Adam Bloom.With Rob Rouse, Hattie Hayridge and Stefano Polini.Producer: Adam BromleyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2005.