SATURDAY 04 JANUARY 2020

SAT 00:00 Doctor Who (b08fjg55)
Serpent Crest
Survivors in Space, part 2/2
The Fourth Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey finally track down the hamlet of Hexford, just as the Skishtari Egg is about to hatch...
Tom Baker stars as the Fourth Doctor.
Conclusion of Paul Magrs’ five-story adventure,
The Doctor ...... Tom Baker
Mrs Wibbsey ...... Susan Jameson
The Visitor ...... David Troughton
Mike Yates ...... Richard Franklin
Deirdre ...... Nerys Hughes
Tish ...... Joanna Tope
Reverend Tongue ...... Cornelius Garrett
Lucius ...... Sam Hoare
Producer: Kate Thomas
Made by BBC Audio and reversioned for broadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076qjx)
Animal Lovers
Matthew Parris, Gerard Baker, Manda Scott and Hugh Thomson discuss our relationship with animals. From February 2005.
SAT 01:00 Hercule Poirot (b007jxgg)
One, Two Buckle My Shoe
Episode 5
With a killer still at large, the Belgian detective finds inspiration in the words of a psalm sung by the village church choir.
Conclusion of Agatha Christie's whodunit starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Hercule Poirot ...... John Moffatt
Chief Inspector Japp ...... Philip Jackson
Frank Carter ...... Dominic Colchester
Alistair Blunt ...... Philip Franks
Jane Olivera ...... Amanda Waring
Mr Barnes ...... Patrick Godfrey
Howard Raikes ...... Robert Portal
Original music composed by Tom Smail.
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
SAT 01:30 The Shipwrecked Bears (b012r6tt)
3,000 teddy bears went missing in 1903, supposedly en route for New York from their native Germany.
Bear expert and storyteller-par-excellence Gyles Brandreth attempts to discover what really happened to these earliest toy bears.
In 1902 the first ever toy bear was designed in Germany by Richard Steiff: Bär 55 PB, a lifelike bear with joints, a humped back and a snout. A New York toy company placed an order at the Leipzig Toy Fair in 1903 for 3,000 of the novelties to be ready in time for the Christmas market. The bears were made and packed up for shipment, but there is no record of them reaching their destination and none of this load of US-bound bears has ever been found.
The templates, patterns and even photos of this bear exist but not even one sample was kept. One popular explanation is that there was a shipwreck and the bears had a watery end. All that is certain is that if one of these bears turned up now it would be 'open chequebook' time for certain museums and collectors.
Witty, magical and heart-warming, the documentary reveals fascinating detail behind the making of the bears, including a trip to the Steiff factory and a rifle through their detailed archives, as Gyles delights us with this little-known story, and imagines where water-logged bears might have washed up.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2011.
SAT 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b06c4l24)
Sweet Caress: The Many Lives of Amory Clay
Episode 5
Amory begins a new chapter, and a new relationship, in New York.
William Boyd's novel follows one remarkable woman through the decades of the 20th century.
In 1915, Amory’s uncle unknowingly sets her life on its course when he gives her a Kodak Brownie No 2 as a present for her seventh birthday, igniting a lifelong passion for photography. Her camera will take her from high society London in the 1920s to the cabaret clubs and brothels of inter-war Berlin; to 1930s New York, the Blackshirt riots in London’s East End, and to France and Germany during the Second World War, where she becomes one of the first female war photographers.
She eventually comes to rest on a remote Scottish island, where she drinks, writes and looks back on a personal life that has been just as rich and complex as her professional one. She remembers the men that have been closest to her – her father, her brother, her lovers – irreparably scarred by two world wars, and reflects upon her own experiences of conflict and loss, passion and joy.
Read by Barbara Flynn
Abridged by Sara Davies
Producer: Mair Bosworth
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2015.
SAT 02:15 The Hidden Henry (b00kntj0)
Henry The Musician
In the final programme about hidden aspects of Henry VIII, marking the 500th anniversary of his coronation, Dr Stephen Rice, who researches and plays little-known renaissance music, investigates Henry VIII's musical abilties. Did he really compose 'Greensleeves' and other pieces attributed to him? He was certainly a patron of music, appreciating visits from foreign musicians and expanding the royal musical household. Dr Rice introduces music from the period, recently recorded by the Brabant Ensemble. He is joined by the Elizabeth Kenny, one of the UK's leading lutenists, and together they demonstrate how the repertoire reflects Henry's personal concerns, his poltical outlook, his religious convictions and his practical abilities as a musician and composer.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b085yyzf)
Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey
Episode 10
Catherine returns to her home after her abrupt dismissal from Northanger Abbey. Will she ever know what she did wrong and more importantly will she ever see Henry Tilney again?
Jane Austen's satire pokes fun at the popular sensationalist fiction of the day.
Catherine ..... Georgia Groome
Henry ..... Luke Thompson
Mrs Morland ..... Alison Belbin
Mr Morland ..... John Bowler
Harriet ..... Keziah Joseph
George ..... Luke MacGregor
The Book ..... Miriam Margolyes
Directed by Sally Avens
By Jane Austen
Dramatised by Hattie Naylor
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b04vqvbq)
Ian Bostridge - Schubert's Winter Journey
Episode 5
Literature, religion and the hurdy-gurdy man. Internationally acclaimed tenor Ian Bostridge concludes his exploration of Schubert's existential masterpiece Winterreise, Winter's Journey.
Strange old man,
Should I go with you?
Will you to my songs
Play your hurdy-gurdy?
Written and read by Ian Bostridge
Abridged by Laurence Wareing
Produced by Kirsteen Cameron.
SAT 03:00 Charles Dickens (b01b3fqd)
Little Dorrit
Episode 5
After her father's death Little Dorrit is still in Italy when the newly-married Fanny has a strange visit from Mr Merdle.
Arthur is struck by disaster and Mrs Clennam is forced to reveal the family secret at last.
Conclusion of Charles Dickens's masterpiece of social satire and imprisonment.
Starring Sir Ian McKellen as Charles Dickens.
Recorded on location in London.
Charles Dickens ...... Ian McKellen
Arthur Clennam ...... Julian Wadham
Mrs Clennam ...... Margaret Tyzack
Little Dorrit ...... Jasmine Hyde
Fanny Dorrit ...... Indira Varma
John Chivery ...... Ben Crowe
Flintwinch ...... Ioan Meredith
Mr Pancks ...... Philip Joseph
Mr Doyce ...... Jonathan Keeble
Mr Merdle ...... Kenneth Cranham
Chivery ...... Gordon Reid
Dramatised by Doug Lucie.
Music by Mia Soteriou
Director: Janet Whitaker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2001.
SAT 04:00 The Food Quiz (b0076mtq)
Series 2
Episode 3
Journalist and food critic, Jay Rayner gives four contestants a good grilling on their knowledge of food and drink.
What's a fucivore's favourite food? How is porridge traditionally eaten? Which wine writer had a bit part in a Hollywood blockbuster?
Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, food writers Anissa Helou and Sue Lawrence and greengrocer Charlie Hicks chew over these culinary conundrums.
Producer: Rebecca Wells
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
SAT 04:30 The Emerald Green Show (b076c11b)
Celebrations
A vain, ambitious black woman dreams of becoming a chat-show queen.
Lisselle Kayla's 4-part comedy series starring Llewella Gideon as Emerald Green.
With Jonathan Firth and Iwan Thomas.
Director: Pam Fraser Solomon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1998.
SAT 05:00 1834 (b011vffj)
London
Trapped in 19th-century Macclesfield, bored 21st-century Jason heads to London, but is waylaid by a mint-popping highwayman...
In Jim Poyser's riotous comedy of transportation and delight, Jason is now Tarquin, third son of Lord Belport with faithful valet, Ned.
Jason Slater ...... Michael Begley
Ned ...... Joe Caffrey
Hoskins ...... Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belport ...... Mark Chatterton
Millicent ...... Julia Rounthwaite
Henry ...... James Nickerson
Highwayman ...... Toby Hadoke
Duke of Cranmere ...... John Craig
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2003.
SAT 05:30 There Was A Young Fellow Named Palin (m0001rzj)
Michael Palin, Britain’s nicest man, is probably Britain’s busiest man too, which might explain why he’s asked James Peak to step in and write him some limericks.
Limericks are the simplest of verse forms - only five lines, a bit of rhyming, and half of the first line "There once was a..." is already written for you.
It's child’s play you’d think - but writing a really good limerick is not as easy as it sounds.
Join Michael and James for a ridiculous half hour that proves, once and for all, that if you want something doing properly you should do it yourself.
With thanks to the National Poetry Library at the Southbank Centre.
Window Cleaner ….. Harriet Carmichael
Limerick Expert ….. Chris McCabe (as himself)
Written by Michael Palin and James Peak.
Producers: Andre Jacquemin and James Peak
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 06:00 Saturday Drama (b00vv0n7)
Agatha Christie - And Then There Were None
Ten guests are separately invited to an island by a person none of them knows very well, if at-all. When they arrive, it seems they have all been invited for different reasons. Nothing quite adds up.
An anonymous voice accuses each of them of having murdered someone. By the end of the first night, one of the guests is dead. Stranded by a violent storm and tormented by the nursery rhyme 'Ten Little Soldier Boys', the ten guests fear for their lives. Who is the killer? Is it one of them?
Agatha Christie's famous detective story without a detective. First published in 1939.
Vera Claythorne ...... Lyndsey Marshal
Cyril ...... Harry Child
Captain Lombard ...... Alex Wyndham
Emily Brent ...... Joanna Monro
Dr Armstrong ...... Sean Baker
Mr Justice Wargrave ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Anthony Marston ...... Lloyd Thomas
Mr Blore ...... Sam Dale
Narracott ...... Adeel Akhtar
General MacArthur ...... John Rowe
Mr Rogers ...... Wayne Foskett
Mrs Rogers ...... Sally Orrock
Hugo ...... Henry Devas
Gramophone Voice ...... Jude Akuwudike
Dramatised by Joy Wilkinson.
'And Then There Were None' was named the world's favourite Agatha Christie novel in a poll in September 2015.
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2010.
SAT 07:30 Beyond Today - The 2010s (m000d69w)
The Beyond Today podcast listens in on the big moments, memes, and the music that defined a decade.
Producer: Seren Jones
Mixed by Nicolas Raufast
Editor: John Shields
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (m0001cwc)
Elvis Presley Comeback Special
Paul Morley tells a parallel story of Elvis and America, from the vantage point of the King's finest hour in 1968.
"I've got to do this sooner or later," Elvis says sheepishly, "so I may as well do it now."
And so the 1968 Comeback Special begins: his quiff defying gravity and his leather jumpsuit chafing, as he bursts into an elemental rendition of Heartbreak Hotel. It had been one of his first singles thirteen years before, initially recorded when he was still a teenager living in the Jim Crow South at the beginning of rock and roll.
Much had happened in the meantime: JFK, the Beatles, the hippies and Detroit soul. And Elvis had become a different person, depressed, addicted and increasingly irrelevant.
So by 1968, after his stint in the army, the uninspired films and the years of absence from the stage, the Comeback Special was an opportunity to resuscitate Elvis's career, to claw back his status as a powerful, credible force.
And it did, fleetingly. He was fabulous, and his discography is never better showcased than on that day.
But it also marked the point at which it became clear that the King was fragile.
He was 33, a new father, and he would never be this good again.
Paul Morley believes the 1968 Comeback Special shows us Elvis at his best. But also that it offers a vantage point from which to look backwards, forwards and outwards to a changing America - remembering where the hillbilly kid had come from and poignantly aware of where he would end up.
Featuring historian Mary Frances Berry, filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, writer Luc Sante and theatre artist Greg Wohead.
Producer: Martin Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.
SAT 09:00 The Inimitable PG Wodehouse (m000cz81)
“Everything in life that’s any fun, as somebody wisely observed, is either immoral, illegal or fattening.” PG Wodehouse, Girl in Blue (1970)
Alexander Armstrong is at Westminster Abbey for a special dedication to PG Wodehouse (1881-1975), widely regarded as the greatest comic author of the 20th century.
During this showcase we hear a collection of some his best loved work, including a celebration of his creations, the feckless Bertie Wooster and his phlegmatic manservant, Jeeves, and his many other characters. All of them brought to radio life by stars including Simon Cadell, Michael Hordern and Richard Briers.
We’ll hear rare interviews and archive along with contributions from fans, friends and family.
Celebrating the comic brilliance of PG Wodehouse is for Alexander Armstrong (Armstrong and Miller, Pointless) a personal passion, especially as he’s president of the PG Wodehouse Society – which numbers fans from all over the world.
Producer: Stephen Garner
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in January 2019.
SAT 12:00 The Rest is History (b075mnxs)
Series 2
Episode 1
Frank Skinner loves history, but just doesn't know much of it. So he's devised a comedy discussion show in order to find out more about it.
Along with his historian in residence, Professor Kate Williams, Frank is joined by Katy Brand and Pierre Novellie, who discuss Hodge - the cat belonging to Doctor Samuel Pepys, Nelson and Lady Hamilton, and the Lyme Missal.
Producers: Mark Augustyn and Justin Pollard
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2016..
SAT 12:30 The Stanley Baxter Playhouse (b06r5xx2)
Series 7
The Leaving of Barra
Back in 1949, a young assistant director on Whisky Galore, falls in love with a local girl on the Hebridean island of Barra where filming is taking place.
Sixty six years later, his memories of that golden time come flooding back.
Stanley Baxter plays the old man who abandoned a career in film to stay on the island with the woman he loved, and now faces a sad farewell.
Series of comic plays starring Stanley Baxter.
John Anderson...............Stanley Baxter
Peggy Anderson.............June Watson
Young John......................Scott Hoatson
Catriona ..................Samara Maclaren
Mary...............................Tracy Wiles
Other parts played by the cast.
Written by Michael Chaplin
Director: Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2015.
SAT 13:00 30 Eggs (Omnibus) (b06gx5ph)
Weary of life in the bustling Rwandan border town of Rusumo, Modeste, a blind and sickly homeless man resolves to return to his home village of Kibuye on the far side of the country with the help of his companion, Innocent, a cheeky seven year-old street orphan.
The journey starts well when they stumble upon a small amount of money but little Innocent inadvertently spends the cash purchasing a basket of thirty raw eggs during a mix up in a market melee. With their peculiar bounty of raw eggs the unlikely duo set off on an adventure of a life time along the rising road cresting atop the many rolling hills of Rwanda.
Irish writer Eoin O'Connor's beautiful, funny and inspirational story which catapults you into life in Rwanda and one remarkable journey.
Omnibus of five parts.
Modeste ...... Jude Akuwudike
Innocent ...... Milanne Gordon
Grace ...... Noma Dumezweni
Egg Vendor ...... Nyasha Hatendi
Cyclist ...... Richard Pepple
Customer ...... Damian Lynch
Assad ...... Josiah Choto
Richard ...... Khalil Vaughan
Producer: Gemma McMullan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2015.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m000cz83)
Toby Stephens
Actor Toby Stephens chooses You Are In My Vision by Gary Numan and Tubeway Army and She Belongs To Me by Bob Dylan.
SAT 14:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b00751hc)
Paul Theroux
Controversial novelist and travel writer Paul Theroux talks to Dr. Anthony Clare about what spurs him on to write.
Psychiatrist Dr Anthony Clare's in depth interviews with prominent people from different walks of life.
Born in Dublin, author Anthony held a doctorate in medicine, a master's degree in philosophy and was a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. After becoming a regular on BBC Radio 4's Stop the Week in the 1980s, he became Britain's best-known psychiatrist and earned his own vehicle, In the Psychiatrist's Chair.
Starting in 1982, this series ran until 2001 and also transferred to TV. Series highlights include conversations with Bob Monkhouse, Cecil Parkinson and Gerry Adams.
Anthony Clare died suddenly in Paris aged 64 in 2007.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1997.
SAT 14:55 The Fanthorpe Investigations (b039b74y)
The Catacomb Phenomenon
The strange tale of the Catacomb Phenomenon.
Priest and paranormal investigator Lionel Fanthorpe relates stories from the world of the strange and unexplained.
Producer: Paul Arnold
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2013.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (m0001cwc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Saturday Drama (b00vv0n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Beyond Today - The 2010s (m000d69w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Dan Dare (m000cz85)
Series 2
Operation Saturn 1/2
It’s a year since Dan Dare and his crew helped rid Earth of The Mekon’s army of ruthless robots, although the evil alien is still at large.
After disappearing a decade ago, experimental ship the Nautilus suddenly reappears in orbit around the Moon, so Dan, Digby and Peabody are sent to investigate.
Clues point to Saturn being involved in some way, but the new threat to Earth comes from far closer to home...
More adventures based on the Eagle comic strip 'Dan Dare' created in 1950 by the Reverend Marcus Morris and Frank Hampson.
Dan Dare …. Ed Stoppard
Digby …. Geoff McGivern
Professor Peabody …. Heida Reed
Sondar …. Bijan Daneshmand
Sir Hubert …. Michael Cochrane
Blasco …. Jonathan Rhodes
The Vora …. Nicholas Briggs
Flight Control …. Diane Spencer
Maxwell .... Fiona McAlpine
On-Board Computer .... Dianne Weller
Original music: Imran Ahmad
Dramatised by Patrick Chapman from an original story by Frank Hampson.
Director: Andrew Mark Sewell.
Made by B7 Media.
SAT 18:30 Weird Tales (b01nrd24)
Series 3
Original Features by Christopher William Hill
When Carl and Rob buy a flat in a 19th century house, it seems they've found their perfect home.
With Carl away on business, Rob throws himself into restoring the flat, but he ends up with more of the original features than he'd anticipated...
Series of chilling plays for winter nights.
Carl ..... Martin Hutson
Rob ..... Carl Prekopp
Jess ..... Adjoa Andoh
Girl ..... Francine Chamberlain
Answerphone ..... Tracy Wiles
Woman ..... Alex Rivers
Man ..... Christopher Webster
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011.
SAT 19:00 The Inimitable PG Wodehouse (m000cz81)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 The Show What You Wrote (b06r5d0m)
Series 3
Work and Play
Jason Manford, Janice Connolly, Gavin Webster, Fiona Clarke and Darren Kuppan star in the themed sketch show made entirely from contributions sent in by the public.
Series 3 of the best ideas chosen from thousands of submissions from new writers resulting in a show like no other.
The first theme is "Work and Play" - featuring someone being really challenged about their age, a club that doesn't play anything so clichéd as music, and some naughty fun...
Written by: Ben Behrens, Dave Bibby, James Bugg, Keith Carter, Lou Conran, Stu Cooper, Rob Gilroy, Dan Hobson & Jon Bridle, Daniel Hooper, Scott Kingsnorth, Steve Nelson, Christopher Stanners and Claire Wetton.
Producers: Ed Morrish and Paul Sheehan.
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in December 2015.
SAT 22:30 Masala FM (b007x0c9)
Episode 1
Masala FM is East London's premier Asian community radio station.
Owner, Mr Krishna, wants to make some changes and everyone's scared, except for visiting Bollywood celebrity Johnny 'Muscles' Patel...
Six-part sitcom written by Meera Syal
Starring Sanjeev Bhaskar, Nitin Sawheny, Meera Syal and Nina Wadia.
Music by Nitin Sawhney.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000djzg)
James Harkin & Dan Schreiber
From 10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Angela Barnes chats to James Harkin and Dan Schreiber about the 'No Such Thing As A Fish' book.
SAT 23:00 Alexei Sayle's Imaginary Sandwich Bar (b083p88m)
Series 1
Careerism
Alexei reveals the surprising reason he disappeared from our TV screens in the 1990's, recounts a chance meeting with Ed Miliband, discusses rampant nepotism in most coveted careers and draws a striking comparison between capitalism and all you can eat buffets.
The Godfather of Alternative Comedy delivers a mixture of stand-up, memoir and philosophy from behind the counter of his Imaginary Sandwich Bar.
Written and performed by Alexei Sayle.
Additional Material from Liam Beirne.
Producer: Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2016
SAT 23:30 Dr John Cooper Clarke at the BBC (b081qztt)
Series 1
Textiles
The Bard of Salford performs a selection of poems on stage at the BBC’s Radio Theatre in London.
* To a Tikki Shirt
* Smooth Operetta
* George
* Who Stole Bongo’s Trousers?
* 21 Gun Salute Suit
Written and performed by Dr John Cooper Clarke.
Introduction by Johnny Green.
Producer: Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2016
SAT 23:45 Political Animals (b03ktz1b)
Series 2
Barney and George
Barney reveals how President George W Bush broke his heart by being unfaithful with a man called Tony.
Another unreliable dog's eye view of the trials and tribulations of living in the White House.
Written by Tony Bagley.
Director: Marc Beeby.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.