SATURDAY 07 DECEMBER 2019

SAT 00:00 David Garnett - Lady into Fox (b00cmz8m)
2. Escape
Despite Richard Tebrick's increased security for their new home, his vixen wife escapes to begin a new family life in the woods...
David Garnett's terrifying novel of transformation is concluded by Ben Miles.
Abridged by Doreen Estall
Directed at BBC Northern Ireland by Lawrence Jackson.
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in July 2008.
SAT 00:30 Last Orders (b00qpslw)
Episode 1
A celebration of the pub landlord and landlady.
With pubs disappearing at the rate of more than three a day , signalling one of the most rapid cultural shifts of recent times, half a dozen landlords and landladies reflect on life as a licensee and explore what we're in danger of losing besides the beer and the buildings.
This rueful view from behind the bar includes reflections on the qualities of a good landlord or landlady; their role as community confessional and settler of tap room fights, dispenser of best bitter and pearls of wisdom.
We hear from old hands like Barbara, an ex-Bunny girl who runs the Grapes in London's Limehouse; Tetley Dave who fought a battle to keep the Shoulder of Mutton from closing in Castleford; Maureen from the Waggon and Horses at Langsett who's famous for her pies ; ex miner Dennis from Barnsley, whose concern is health and safety; stand-up comedian Toby- who recalls lining up six pints apiece for the miners coming off shift at his auntie's pub in a Yorkshire pit village ; and former Cambridge academic Tim, who's taken early retirement to open his first pub in York - the Pheonix- just as many others are shutting up shop.
How have these landlords and landladies kept their marriages together , living and working on the premises? How much of a tempatation was it to hit the top shelf and go for the optics after a hard day's graft behind the bar? Why do they think the pub can teach the next generation how to hold their drink .And how do they handle an objectionable customer without starting a wild-west barroom brawl?
Producer Lindsay Leonard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2010.
SAT 01:00 Wimsey (m000c2bx)
Whose Body?
5. Bunter Brings a Letter
In his quest to finally solve the mystery of missing financier Sir Reuben Levy, Lord Peter Wimsey makes a crucial appointment...
Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic sleuth.
British gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey features in a number of detective novels and short stories by English crime writer, Dorothy L Sayers. Whose Body? was first published in 1923
Classy and sharp-witted, aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Bredon Wimsey was born in 1890 and educated at Eton and Oxford, before serving in the military during the First World War
Ian Carmichael appeared as Lord Peter Wimsey for BBC Radio from 1973 to 1983, in addition to the BBC TV adaptations that were broadcast between 1972 and 1975
Lord Peter Wimsey...............................Ian Carmichael
Bunter........................................................Peter Jones
Sir Julian Freke.......................................Bernard Archard
Inspector Charles Parker....................Gabriel Woolf
Piggott/Dr Colegrove..........................Geoffrey Beevers
Dr Grimbold/Sir Reuben Levy..........Wilfred Carter
Lady Levy..................................................Betty Cardno
Adapted by Chris Miller
Producer Simon Brett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1974.
SAT 01:30 The Lennon Visitors (b00v1qzc)
Every year, around 8,000 people from 50 countries pay homage to John Lennon at his childhood home, Mendips. But who are these visitors and what do they seek from an ordinary suburban semi in Liverpool?
Comedian, Alexei Sayle, took the National Trust tour in 2009 and was so taken with its 1950s charm and with the spirit of it, that he's gone back; this time meeting custodian, Colin Hall and finding out what it's like to live in one of the most famous houses in Liverpool.
He also talks to some of those who visited the house when John Lennon lived there - John's cousin Mike; Colin Hanton, the drummer in John Lennon's band, the Quarrymen; and Freda Kelly, the Beatles' Club Secretary. And of course just a few of those 8000 visitors.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2010 to mark Lennon's 70th birthday
SAT 02:00 Jennifer Donnelly - A Gathering Light (b01683vq)
Episode 5
Will she stay or will she go? Mattie reads Grace's last letter and receives some news from Miss Wilcox. And Royal awaits.
As the story behind Grace Brown's death unfolds, 17 year old Mattie Gokey must chose to between her desire to be a writer, and the excitement of a first romance.
Jennifer Donnelly's debut novel conlcuded by Vicki Simon.
Abridged by Penny Leicester.
Producer: Liz Allard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
SAT 02:15 A History of Britain in Numbers (b053c3pd)
Series 2
Voting
Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority (2012-2017), brings to life the numbers conveying the big trends that have transformed the shape and scope of the British state.
He looks at what governments through the centuries have spent, borrowed, taxed, regulated and built; and he considers how we came to organise a national life that reaches into every corner of private life, from the delivery of pensions and healthcare to the surveillance of emails or rules about the temperature of a hot cup of tea.
By one measure, the modern British state is roughly 7,000 times bigger than the Tudor state. How and why did that happen?
The story of the state unfolds through muddy fields, smugglers coves and a Victorian village lock-up. Numbers become sound as we hear the dramatic scale of change that has occurred over the centuries.
The evolution of the state may be driven less by party politics than party politicians might like us to think. Although the state's size and functions are a natural subject of fierce political argument, the impetus for the biggest changes has often come from another source - such as war, economic growth, and the power that arises from knowledge.
In the final programme of the series, Andrew turns his attention to enfranchisement.
Producer: Michael Blastland
A Whistledown production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
SAT 02:30 A House to Let (b00x544m)
Episode 5
The derelict house finally reveals its sad secrets, but Trottle is determined to make it a happy ending. Stars Marcia Warren.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b053c3nw)
Mary Portas - Shop Girl
Episode 5
Mary Portas reads her moving and hilarious memoir of her early years.
Mary has finally found her calling as a window dresser at Harrods. Under Berge, the Armenian Rudolf Nureyev/Freddie Mercury look-alike who's known as Queen of the Store, she learns to create windows which will make dreams become reality and entice customers over the threshold into the magic kingdom.
She thrives in the frenetic, creative environment, but now that her dad has sold the family home to move in with his new wife, she's always desperate for money and lonely in her tiny flat.
Then, one night, her step mother turns up - with shocking news.
Read by the author
Abridged by Jo Coombs
Produced by Hannah Marshall
A Loftus production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 03:00 Drama (b084tl7z)
Robert Louis Stevenson: Terror in the South Seas
The Ebb Tide
Three destitute men steal a schooner. They drink the cargo of champagne and try to steal a treasure trove of pearls from a local slave-owning trader.
The second of two dramatisations of Robert Louis Stevenson's gripping novellas set in Samoa and written while he lived there. Starring David Tennant.
At the height of his powers, Stevenson tackled the most pressing theme on the islands - the vicious effects of colonialism including slavery, racism, sexual exploitation and the conflict between traditional and modern values. The subjects are as vivid today as in 1894 and these compelling and violent stories feature some of the most driven, dangerous and obsessive characters in fiction. Joseph Conrad drew on these novellas for Heart of Darkness.
Narrator - David Tennant
Captain John Davis - Stanley Townsend
Herrick - Rupert Evans
Huish - Charles Davies
Attwater - Nick Sampson
Dramatised by Jane Rogers
Director: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2016.
SAT 04:00 It's Not What You Know (b0639w41)
Series 3
Episode 5
Which particular football match is Elis James obsessed with? What's Penny Smith's worst habit? What was the worst thing Russell Grant did as a child?
All these burning 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.
In this case, comedian Elis James picks his radio show co-host, presenter Penny Smith picks her brother-in-law and astrologer Russell Grant picks his mum.
Producer: Matt Stronge.
SAT 04:30 The Phenomenon Squad (b08490hk)
The Devil
The Beevers are expecting the Devil at No 42. Brabazon and the squad are out to foil their plans.
Can they save suburbia from Satanism?
Roy Kinnear and Simon Cadell star in Michael Snelgrove’s sitcom about the less-than-competent leader of a crack undercover police squad.
Supt Brabazon ...... Roy Kinnear
Dep Asst Commissioner ...... Simon Cadell
Sigaloff ...... Royce Mills
WPI Nuttkins ...... Susie Blake
MacTooley ...... Alex Norton
Humby ...... Stephen Frost
Derek ...... Anthony Jackson
Donna ...... Karen Archer
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1987.
SAT 05:00 1834 (b01137b8)
What Century Are You Living In?
Jason Slater is a 21st-century English teacher from Cheadle Hulme who wakes in 19th-century Macclesfield.
In Jim Poyser's riotous comedy of transportation and delight, Jason discovers he's now Tarquin, third son of Lord Belport with a faithful valet, Ned who can't explain what's happened.
He's also acquired a suspicious brother, Henry; a spurned ex-girlfriend, Millicent, now going out with Henry; and an over excited Luddite-cum-cauliflower farmer.
Jason Slater ...... Michael Begley
Ned ...... Joe Caffrey
Hoskins ...... Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belport ...... Mark Chatterton
Henry ...... James Nickerson
Luddite ...... Toby Hadoke
Millicent ...... Julia Rounthwaite
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
SAT 05:30 Rich Hall's (US) Breakdown (m000bp4k)
Rich Hall's (US Election) Breakdown
Thanksgiving
Join multi award-winning comedian and US citizen Rich Hall as he takes a look across the pond at the current state of US politics.
A combination of stand-up, sketch and interview, Rich Hall's (US) Breakdown broadcasts live from the fictional IBBC network in Washington to the whole of the United States.
In this Thanksgiving special Rich and his co-host Nick Doody take a closer look at the impeachment process, hear from some Democratic presidential hopefuls and listen in as Trump pardons a turkey...
Written by Rich Hall & Nick Doody with additional material from Sarah Campbell and Mike Shepherd.
The cast includes Lewis McLeod, Freya Parker and Mike Wilmot. Interview Guest Dahlia Lithwick (Host of Amicus Podcast, Senior Editor at Slate)
Researcher: Mandy Baker
Production co-ordinator: Candace Wilson
Producer: Adnan Ahmed
A BBC Studios production
SAT 06:00 Hercule Poirot (b007rd7r)
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
When Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot retires to the country to grow vegetable marrows, he soon discovers that someone has planted the seeds of treachery... and of murder.
Agatha Christie's whodunit stars John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot.
First published in 1926, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Hercule Poirot .… John Moffatt
Dr Sheppard …. John Woodvine
Roger Ackroyd …. Laurence Payne
Raymond …. Peter Gilmore
Parker the Butler …. Deryck Guyler
Caroline …. Diana Olsson
Miss Russell …. Eva Stuart
Ralph Paton …. Paul Sirr
Flora …. Zelah Clarke
Mrs Ackroyd …. Joan Matheson
Kent …. Peter Craze
Blunt …. David Goodland
Inspector Raglan …. Richard Tate
Inspector Davis …. Simon Cuff
Ursula …. Karen Archer
Eammond …. Alan Dudley
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1987.
SAT 07:30 The Voices of... (b01n11cz)
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt has been recognised as a prog-rock drummer, jazz composer, avant-garde cornet player, artist and activist in a wheelchair. But, above all else, he has been known by one of the most instantly recognisable and distinctive voices of the last fifty years.
Forever associated with Shipbuilding, Elvis Costello's song written in reaction to the Falklands War, Wyatt's voice and the causes he gives voice to are intricately entwined.
This intimate radio portrait, in his own words, traces Wyatt's journey from the psychedelic excesses of Soft Machine (appearing both with Jimi Hendrix and at the BBC Proms), through the life-changing accident that has confined him to a wheelchair for almost forty years, to recent celebrated musical projects that are reaching new audiences.
Producer: Alan Hall.
A Falling Tree production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2012.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b04y6mw8)
Mustn't Grumble: The Noble British Art of Complaining
Complaining is a vital component of British life, whether it's formal letters to a utility company, bank or broadband provider, or it's an ice-breaker at a bus stop, bemoaning the dreary weather.
Writer and broadcaster Bidisha sets out to identify why complaining is so important to us, and also precisely how we go about it.
She visits an international language school to hear how students learning English react to lessons in 'hedging' (the art of introducing a complaint with apology - "I'm terribly sorry but..", "Forgive me for mentioning it but.."); she also meets literary professor Phil Davis to track complaint through the fictional pages of history, former comedian and classicist Natalie Haynes to found out how the Ancients did it, and journalist Lynne Truss to find out why we never complain to a hairdresser.
Along the way she also meets a professional complainer, Jasper Griegson, who's sent thousands of letters of complaint over the years, sometimes in verse, sometimes in medieval script, to find out the best methods of complaining.
Bidisha also wonders, finally, whether complaining is actually good for us - whether the occasional gains we may achieve are worth so much of our energy and spirit. The programme will make use of the ample archive of complaint, from Juvenal to 'Points of View', Samuel Pepys' diaries to Alf Garnett and Tom Wrigglesworth.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.
SAT 09:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Remembered (b04wjh11)
BBC Radio 4 Extra celebrates the life of the novelist, Elizabeth Jane Howard who died aged 90 on January 2nd 2014.
This 3 hour special features material from the BBC archive including two of Howard's short stories, and her choice of Desert Island Discs from 1995. But it also includes an extract from her first novel The Beautiful Visit (read by Juliet Stevenson), as well as new interviews with, among others, her step-son Martin Amis and her biographer Artemis Cooper, all recorded at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.
As well as being the author of 14 novels, and selling more than a million books, Howard lived a richly eventful life. She walked out of her first marriage to naturalist Peter Scott, taking with her just £10, a suitcase and half a novel. She subsequently went on to remove herself from two more marriages. As her life-long friend, Jacqui Graham, points out, it was enormously brave. "Women just didn't do that."
Cathy Rentzenbrink, who presents the programme, says of Howard, 'What I find interesting is the way her life and fiction intertwines. I can't think of any other writer where the mistakes of life are transformed, reinterpreted, recycled into such brilliant novels."
Producer: Sarah Wade
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2015.
SAT 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b00j1wj3)
Series 3
The Pet Dog
The lad buys Andree a puppy for her birthday, but to his alarm - it won't stop growing!
Starring Tony Hancock.
With Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly and Kenneth Williams.
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 October 1955.
SAT 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jpgq)
Series 2
The Day the Balloon Went Up
Captain Mainwaring gets carried away with the platoon's war effort.
Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's BBC TV scripts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.
Captain Mainwaring …. Arthur Lowe
Sergeant Wilson …. John Le Mesurier
Corporal Jones …. Clive Dunn
Private Fraser …. John Laurie
Private Godfrey …. Arnold Ridley
Private Pike …. Ian Lavender
Warden Hodges …. Bill Pertwee
Vicar …. Frank Williams
The Verger …. Edward Sinclair
Squadron Leader …. Michael Knowles
Announcer …. John Snagge
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1975.
SAT 13:00 Anne Tyler - Ladder of Years (Omnibus) (b05n40rr)
Episode 2
An unexpected romantic encounter in the grocery aisle sparks the beginning of a new adventure for homely Delia Grinstead.
Anne Tyler's unsettling story about marriage, family and hope.
Delia Grinstead's new job in the sleepy town of Bay Borough draws her into the business of another fractured family.
Omnibus of the last five of ten episodes dramatised by Rebecca Lenkiewicz.
Delia ...... Nancy Crane
Adrian ...... Ian Conningham
Sam ...... Nathan Osgood
Eliza ...... Jessica Turner
Rosemary ...... Rhiannon Neads
Skipper ...... David Acton
Carroll ...... Sam Valentine
Driscoll ...... Mark Edel-Hunt
Susie ...... Roslyn Hill
Director: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2015.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m000c33l)
Kelly MacDonald
Actor Kelly Macdonald chooses You are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis and I Love You by Woodkid.
SAT 14:15 Down Your Way (m000c33n)
Sian Phillips in Dinefwr
Actress Sian Phillips returns to her childhood haunt of Dinefwr, an area of villages and valleys north of Swansea and on the western edge of the Brecon Beacons.
Down Your Way was a schedule staple for decades - 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 the series' success in the 1950s, it was attracting 10 million listeners a week.
Producer: Jill Marshall.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1990.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b04y6mw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Hercule Poirot (b007rd7r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 The Voices of... (b01n11cz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 William Boyd - A Haunting (b00765nx)
A landscape architect finds himself taken over by an unseen presence in an aeroplane and is forced to make a strange drawing which he doesn't recognise.
He begins to act out of character, lusting after waitresses and butcher's assistants, growing a beard and behaving so strangely that he seems to have a breakdown...
Published in 2000, William Boyd's ghost story stars John Sessions.
Alexander Reif …. John Sessions
Stella Reif …. Emma Currie
John-Jo Harrigan …. Liam Brennan
Demarco …. Crawford Logan
Leandra …. Eliza Langland
Stewardessr …. Joanna Tope
Other parts played by the cast.
Director: Dave Batchelor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2001.
SAT 18:45 The Pond (b06z8twn)
An old man calls to a frog and then catches it for a sinister purpose, but will he pay for his crime?
George Parsons reads Nigel Kneale’s short story.
Produced at BBC Bristol by Pamela Howe.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1988
SAT 19:00 Elizabeth Jane Howard Remembered (b04wjh11)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 It's Jocelyn (b08g7mjt)
Series 2
Dates
Series 2 of It's Jocelyn - sketches and stand-up from the wonderful mind of Jocelyn Jee Esien.
In episode two, Jocelyn talks about a dating, we follow a day in the life of Britain's worst bus driver and Kingston's take away caters for a vegan customer.
This series Jocelyn is joined by Paul Whitehouse as a cockney funeral director, as well as the vocal talents of Ninia Benjamin, Curtis Walker, Dee Kaate, Gavi Chera and Karen Bartke.
The producer is Suzy Grant and It's Jocelyn is a BBC Studios production.
SAT 22:30 Revolting People (b00wr9v4)
Series 4
Reunion
Samuel and company hit London, where McGurk has a family get-together. 1775 America sitcom starring Andy Hamilton. From May 2006.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000cqj6)
Phil Jerrod (1/2)
From 10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Angela Barnes chats to Phil Jerrod.
SAT 23:00 Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters (b0375b3z)
Series 1
Episode 3
Master character comedian Colin Hoult presents his debut comedy series. Enter the Carnival of Monsters, a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters, presented by the sinister Ringmaster.
Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as: Thwor - the mighty (but Leeds-based) god of Thwunder; Len Parker - Nottingham-born martial arts and transformers enthusiast; Anna Mann - outrageous star of such forgotten silver screen hits such as 'Rogue Baker', 'Who's For Turkish Delight' and 'A Bowl For My Bottom'; and many more.
Writers Guild Award-winner Colin Hoult is best known for his highly acclaimed starring roles in 'Being Human', 'Life's Too Short', and 'Russell Howard's Good News', as well as his many hit shows at the Edinburgh Festival. He has also appeared and written for a number of Radio 4 series including 'The Headset Set' and 'Colin and Fergus' Digi-Radio'.
'Lewis Carol meets The League Of Gentlemen . A beautifully staged masterclass in character comedy' - Time Out
'Comic gold' - Metro
'Delightfully funny' - The Telegraph
Produced by Sam Bryant.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
SAT 23:30 Ross Noble Goes Global (b01cjg35)
Series 2
Adelaide
Weirdness awaits the comedian in the Australian city, with men in leotards and locals with something to hide. From May 2003.