SATURDAY 29 FEBRUARY 2020

SAT 00:00 HG Wells - The Invisible Man (m000fqkb)
5. Dr Kemp's Visitor
The invisible man reveals his identity to a shocked fellow medical student.
HG Wells’ gripping 1937 sci-fi novel about a deranged scientist abridged by Janet Hitchman.
Read by Stephen Murray.
Producer: Gordon House
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1976.
SAT 00:15 Hilary Mantel - Beyond Black (b00qzjrd)
5. Escape
Alison's disgusting spirit guide Morris has been joined by Donny Aitkenside, one of the violent group of petty criminals who were in and out of the house all through Alison's abusive childhood.
Alison knows the other members of the spirit gang can't be far behind, and decides the only way to escape them is to move to a new house where they won't want to follow her. Her assistant Colette locates a suitable new development, and the move has the desired effect: Morris hates it, and announces he's leaving.
At long last, Alison thinks, she's free.
Hilary Mantel's blackly comic novel about a professional medium with a troubled past.
Alison ...... Alison Steadman
Colette ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Morris ...... Bill Wallis
Emmie ...... Katharine Rogers
Aitkenside ...... Simon Armstrong
Dramatised by Caroline Harrington.
Director: Sara Davies.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076t2d)
The Power of the Voice
Matthew Parris and his guests Peggy Reynolds, Pauline Black and Stewart Pearce discuss how your voice can shape your everyday life. From August 2005.
SAT 01:00 Deep Six (m000fqk2)
1. Target
Terry is an ex-SAS professional occasionally hired by the Secret Services to do special 'jobs'.
The job he has to do now seems easy enough - until he senses that somehow he’s the intended victim...
Freddie Lees stars in John Fletcher’s six-part thriller serial.
Terry ...... Freddie Lees
Thompson ...... John Abineri
Fortescue ...... Hubert Rees
Sturley ...... John Linstrum
Simpson ...... Conrad Phillips
Chris ...... Elwyn Johnson
Linda Taylor ...... Madeleine Cemm
Nick ...... Brett Usher
Watson ...... Ray Handy
Trader ...... Colin Starkey
Directed at BBC Bristol by Brian Miller.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1984.
SAT 01:30 'Down With Skool': The Art of Molesworth (b074x71x)
Philip Hensher explores the art of the gloriously eccentric Molesworth books.
Nigel Molesworth is one of the immortal characters of British literature - a 1950s prep-school boy, the 'goriller of 3B' and the 'curse of st custard's'.
Molesworth's diaries, written by Geoffrey Willans, first appeared in Punch and were later developed into four books, Down with Skool! (1953), How to be Topp (1954), Whizz for Atomms (1956) and Back in the Jug Agane (1959). Illustrated by Ronald Searle as a boy's school sequel to Searle's St Trinian's drawings, they are still in print today.
The books are a kind of satire of 1950s Britain as, after the war, the upper middle classes faced the onslaught of irreverence, the Welfare State and a new generation that didn’t see why authority should be respected. Molesworth’s cynical yet naive outlook on life made him popular with young and old readers in the post-war world. He was a very long way from the clean-cut school fantasies which had entertained the British before the advent of the atomic bomb.
Author Geoffrey Willans had worked as a schoolmaster and understood the cheerful cynicism of boys, while Ronald Searle's illustrative style was dark, Gothic and seething with half-hidden obsessions. Searle had spent much of the war in a Japanese concentration camp where he documented the horrors he encountered, and elaborate psychological points come through with concise and economic observation in his drawings.
With contributions from Steve Bell, Wendy Cope, Max Hastings, Mike Leigh, Chris Riddell, Martin Rowson, Gerald Scarfe and Posy Simmonds.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.
SAT 02:00 F Scott Fitzgerald: The Lost Stories (b08sqwjc)
Salute to Lucy and Elsie
Stuart Milligan reads a previously unpublished story about honour, morals and the gulf between generations.
Taken from F Scott Fitzgerald's collection, I'd Die For You: and Other Lost Stories.
Romance, parties, cocktails and glamour - as a young writer in the 1920s F. Scott Fitzgerald gave the magazines what they wanted. He had little choice; short stories were his bread and butter. But as the author matured he yearned to explore darker territory.
This desire wasn't cushioned by wealth; The Great Gatsby hadn't sold well and as the Depression crunched in the early 30s, Fitzgerald was hit by large medical bills for both himself and his wife Zelda. Despite the financial pressures he resisted the easy censorship requested by editors, who balked at Fitzgerald's portrayal of confusing generational freedoms, sex before marriage, divorce and working women.
Growing increasingly uncompromising about deletions and sanitisations, Fitzgerald preferred to let these stories lie in wait until their time came.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2017.
SAT 02:15 Friends & Foes - A Narrative History of Diplomacy (b08drjdx)
The Revolution Will Be Tweeted
Professor David Rothkopf explores how cyber diplomacy is leading to the emergence of a new diplomatic doctrine.
Digital diplomacy has become an indispensable communication tool for governments. Twitter is now used by heads of state and governments in 173 countries. More than half of the world's foreign ministries are now active on social media. Its use is now part and parcel of any diplomatic training for ambassadors and diplomats.
Professor Rothkopf examines the birth of this new cultural ecosystem, where every individual in planet is connected for the first time in a new frontier which is transforming the way our politics, economics, security and diplomacy are conducted.
He speaks with Alec Ross, Hillary Clinton's Senior Advisor for Innovation when she was Secretary of State, and Jane Holl-Lute, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2013.
A Kati Whitaker production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.
SAT 02:30 MM Kaye - The Far Pavilions (b00yqn7f)
Episode 20
The Guides' heroic last stand at the British Mission in Kabul is watched helplessly by an imprisoned Ash.
Conclusion of MM Kaye's epic of love and war, dramatised by Lucy Catherine.
Narrator ..... Vineeta Rishi
Ash ..... Blake Ritson
Cavagnari ..... Sam Dale
Anjuli ..... Ayesha Dharker
Jenkyns ..... Sean Baker
Wally ..... Jonathan Forbes
Ambrose ..... Iain Batchelor
Nakshband Khan ..... Mozaffar Shafeie
Hassan Gul ..... Sagar Arya
Directors: Marc Beeby and Jessica Dromgoole
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.
SAT 02:45 Steve Boggan - Gold Fever (b05vj0r4)
Episode 5
Steve witnesses the darker side of ‘gold fever’ and finally tracks down ‘the guy’ he’s heard so much about.
Concluded by Paul Ritter and Sara Markland.
Gold - for centuries people have been entranced by the riches it promises, thousands have gone wild in their search for it, and since the Financial Crisis the price of gold has reached peaks never seen in history.
All over the world, particularly in the US, people with no experience of prospecting began shopping for shovels, pickaxes, gold pans, tents, generators, and all manner of equipment they had no idea how to use. And off they went mining.
Steve Boggan decided to follow in their footsteps. In 2013 he packed his bags and flew to San Francisco to join the 21st century's gold rush (the 'New 49ers') in a quest to understand the allure of the metal – and maybe find a bit for himself too.
He meets a selection of colourful characters - those who left desk jobs and family life behind to work by the river in scorching heat and fresh mountain air, in the hope of striking it rich. Most of them only make enough money to scrape a living, but Steve is surprised how happy they seem to be. From them, he gets a crash course in small-scale prospecting.
He also takes us back in time to the original gold rush, two centuries ago, tracing the path of the first intrepid 49ers (in particular, a woman called Sarah Royce and her family) who abandoned their roots and trekked thousands of miles across perilous terrain, risking death for the chance of riches.
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Producer: Joanna Green
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in May 2015.
SAT 03:00 Michael Punter - Come to Me (b0075685)
Theo Popplewell knows he must solve the riddle of his birth for the sake of his survival in America, where he lives in Kansas.
But can the answers really lie in a crumbling house on the south coast of England?
Dark comedy by Michael Punter
Theo ... John Guerrasio
May ... Avril Elgar
Greta ... Jane Lapotaire
Raymond ... Michael Troughton
Winnie... Patti Love
Paula ... Kate Harper
Director: Jane Morgan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1998.
SAT 04:00 Funny You Should Ask (b0b4fbgc)
From 13/08/1979
Peter Jones hosts the entertainment quiz about comedy as he tests a panel of experts:
Roy Hudd, Doris Hare and Dick Vosburgh recall memories of careers and comic colleagues.
Funny You Should Ask ran for 8 series from 1976 to 1982.
Questions compiled by Michael Pointon.
Producer: Bob Oliver Rogers
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in August 1979.
SAT 04:30 Molesworth (m000fqk5)
Home Life
Remember that school boy terror who loved flicking ink pellets? Many trillions of eons ago Nigel Molesworth was The Curse of St Custards.
But he's come a long way since those days, and now returns with his guide to modern life. Starring Willie Rushton.
Series written by Simon Brett based on characters created by Geoffrey Willans and by Ronald Searle.
Molesworth ...... Willie Rushton
Grimes ...... Clive Swift
Louise ...... Penelope Nice
Gillibrand ...... Robert Harley
Peason ...... Bob Sinfield
Fotherington-Thomas ...... Phil Nice
Arabella ...... Chrissy Roberts
Music: Oonagh Bernon
Producer: Mark Robson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1987.
SAT 05:00 The Lentil Sorters (b06pv0gx)
Researcher Bias
A sitcom set in the Office of Local and National Statistics which, depending on who you ask, is either where the real power of government resides, or the place where fun goes to die.
In this episode, Daniel and Audrey fight over the Welfare State with the aid of a can of strong lager, a fake police uniform and a beloved British character actor.
Meet the team:
Graham Quicks is Head of the People and Places Department of the LNS. There are three things in the world that Graham will always have faith in – statistics, the supremacy of filofaxes over computers and the idea that cardigans will never go out of style.
Audrey Carr is the Survey Researcher for the department. She believes passionately that statistics should be used as a tool to help the man on the street. Fortunately for her, she's never actually met "the man in the street". She's also passionate about Jane Austen, Les Miserables and pretending that she doesn't work in an office with Daniel.
Daniel Porter is the department's Data Analyst. He used to work in the City, until the City realised he was a colossal waste of space. Daniel divides his time between manipulating statistics to further his vision of capitalism, necking energy drinks and telling people his thighs are really, really strong. He's terrible.
Mrs. Wilkins has worked as tea lady, archivist and maintenance guru for fifteen years. She knows where the bodies are buried. We must stress that that is a figure of speech.
Graham Quicks ...... Vincent Franklin
Audrey Carr ...... Rebekah Staton
Daniel Porter ...... Kieran Hodgson
Mrs Wilkins ...... Julia Deakin
Special guests:
Jonty............................Tom Crowley
Stephanie....................Catriona Knox
Pete Postlefake............Paul Shearer
The Policeman..............Paul Putner
The Passer-By..............Tessa Coates
With Jo Unwin as The Narrator
Written by Jack Bernhardt
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2015.
SAT 05:30 Reluctant Persuaders (m0000mmf)
Series 3
Ideas for Life
Welcome back to Hardacre's, the worst advertising agency in London, as Edward Rowett's award-winning sitcom returns for a third series.
The second series ended in euphoria, as Hardacre's secured their biggest ever account - the Cosmos X10 smartphone. Now there's a reality check, as the team realise how woefully ill-equipped they are to handle a client of this magnitude.
Accounts manager Amanda Barnes (Josie Lawrence) immediately sets to work hiring new staff, while agency chief and creative director Rupert Hardacre (Nigel Havers) heads into Soho to secure new and grander premises.
Meanwhile on the creative side, copywriter Joe Starling (Mathew Baynton) begins to doubt his ability to deliver work for an account this size, despite reassurance from his art director and best friend Teddy Beech (Rasmus Hardiker), leading Joe to take drastic action.
Cast:
Nigel Havers- Hardacre
Mathew Baynton- Joe
Josie Lawrence- Amanda
Rasmus Hardiker- Teddy
Holly Morgan- Singer/Waitress
Andrew Nolan- Irish Barrista
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 Drama (b06p48lz)
Black Dog
Out of the blue, Clare's husband goes missing leaving her alone with their seven year old son and a huge black dog to look after.
Claire Rushbrook stars in award-winning playwright Katie Hims' funny and moving play about family, loss and love.
Clare ..... Claire Rushbrook
Ray ..... Ralph Ineson
Isaac (Age 7-10) ..... Alexander Aze
Isaac (Age 14) ..... Adam Thomas Wright
Isaac (Age 19) ..... Will Howard
Constable ..... Caolan McCarthy
Keisha ..... Nahel Tzegai
Jamal ..... Karl Queensborough
Gary ..... Stephen Critchlow
June ..... Rachel Davies
Brian ..... Peter Wight
Jo/Louise ..... Amelia Lowdell
Leia (Age 3) ..... Rosa Yevtushenko
Leia (Age 7) ..... Greta Dudgeon
Leia (Age 12) ..... Rebecca Ineson
Charlotte ..... Deeivya Meir
Morgue Assistant ..... Debra Baker
Therapist ..... Jessica Turner
Stranger ..... David Hounslow
Nurse ..... Evie Killip
Hermit ..... Chris Pavlo
Original music by Nina Perry
Cellist ..... Danny Keane
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
SAT 07:30 Reimagining the City (b03sr0wm)
Series 2
London
"The city is about light and water for me because it interrupts them, it interrupts light and it interrupts water and when something is interrupted it reveals itself to you".
Lavinia Greenlaw is perhaps unusual in that she has lived in the same part of London for most of her life. Walking up Hampstead Heath in the first light of a winter's morning she explains how the Heath is her childhood landscape where she played with her siblings.
But it's also the point where the city and the suburbs meet: "Although there's no clear edge to London I feel that the lip of the bowl where it sits is defined by the Heath which starts out being in the city and quickly ends up in the suburbs - a very different place. I was born on the border and used to feel that I was operating in two countries".
Here she crosses the river, climbs towers and walks through the Heath to reveal her unexpected and surprising vision of London.
Producer: Rachel Hooper
A Falling Tree production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
SAT 08:00 A Grand Day Out (m000fw3p)
From film school to the Oscars – this is the story of Wallace and Gromit's first adventure – A Grand Day Out.
Featuring interviews with their creator Nick Park, Aardman founders Dave Sproxton and Peter Lord, plus many more.
Produced by Tom Ryan for BBC Radio Bristol
First broadcast on BBC Local Radio in 2019.
SAT 09:00 The Meow Show With Ed Reardon and Elgar (b0868bq0)
The 12 year-olds at Radio 4 Extra thought it would be a wheeze to hire Ed Reardon for a 3-hour showcase of programmes about cats from the BBC radio archives, on the condition that his feline companion Elgar joins him as co-presenter.
And so Radio's favourite curmudgeon bundles Elgar into his basket and hops on the train from Berkhamsted to London's Broadcasting House. Between complaints about the paucity of hospitality (apart from a luxury pouch for puss) Ed and Elgar paw through the cat back catalogue to discover some kitty treats.
* In Spoken Cat Sian Phillips meets the people learning cat language so that they can communicate with their moggies.
* Dawn French reads The Cat Lover by Lynne Truss.
* Beryl Reid reveals how the Post Office put pussycats on the payroll in A Shilling a Week and All the Mice You Can Eat.
* In City Cat Fergus Keeling finds out how Felis Domesticus copes with the urban rat race.
* Dylan Winter hears about a whiskered winner of the PDSA Dickin Medal, a cat called Simon who kept up morale during the 100 day Yangtze Incident, in The Animals VC: The Cat Among the Pigeons.
* A vintage edition of Ed Reardon's Week finds Elgar going AWOL.
* And a moving story set on Christmas Eve, The Mousehole Cat, finds an old moggy helping his human to feed a starving Cornish village.
Along the way Ed dangles snippets of poetry and a serenade from Si Si the famous singing cat.
The disgruntled fare-dodger also tries to get tips on publishing success from Tom Cox, the author of four books about his cats and the owner of several feline social media sensations. And the cat-loving comedian Susan Calman has a clandestine consultation with Elgar.
Presented by Christopher Douglas.
Written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds
Producer: Moy McGowan
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in December 2016.
SAT 12:00 Legal, Decent, Honest and Truthful (b007jvtb)
Series 2
Episode 1
All set for divorce and a new home, ad man Ken Handley gets a surprise at the agency.
Martin Jarvis stars in Guy Jenkin and Jon Canter’s satire set in the competitive world of advertising
Ken Handley ...... Martin Jarvis
Sandy ...... Christopher Godwin
Freddie ...... Lockwood West
Deborah ...... Rosalind Ayres
Ambrose ...... Paul Jesson
Angus ...... Michael Jenner
Receptionist ...... Stacey Tendeter
Mr Cheater ...... James Griffiths
With Joss Ackland, Miriam Margolyes, John Shrapnel, Imelda Staunton and David Tate.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1984.
SAT 12:30 Double Income, No Kids Yet (b00dkxjl)
Series 1
Episode 1
It's Daniel's birthday and to soften the blow of his impending middle age, Lucy tries to arrange a birthday party for him. However, it seems all their friends are too busy being parents to attend.
David Tennant and Liz Carling star in David Spicer's sitcom about modern life and parenthood, as seen through the eyes of a 30-something couple with no kids.
Daniel ...... David Tennant
Lucy ...... Liz Carling
Katie ...... Meera Syal
Charlotte ...... Polly Frame
Bob ...... Toby Longworth
Andy ...... Tony Gardner
Alison ...... Joanna Brookes
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2001.
SAT 13:00 The Quarry Wood (Omnibus) (m000fw3r)
Meg Fraser reads extracts from the modernist classic by Nan Shepherd, author of 'The Living Mountain'.
Spirited nine-year old Martha Ironside is taken in by her kindly Great Aunt Josephine.
Omnibus of five parts abridged by Rosemary Goring
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2020.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m000fw3t)
Paul O'Grady
Entertainer Paul O’Grady chooses ‘Spirit In The Sky’ by Norman Greenbaum and ‘A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody’ by Sonny Lester.
SAT 14:15 With Great Pleasure (b00j4hmz)
Joanne Harris
Author Joanne Harris’ selection includes Ray Bradbury, Emily Bronte, Molesworth, Ted Hughes and one of Neil Gaiman's graphic novels.
The readers are Amanda Root and Jon Strickland.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2009.
SAT 14:45 Uncle Mort's North Country (b007jrcg)
Series 2
A Very Occasional Day
Uncle Mort and Carter Brandon continue their days out by going to a sheepdog trial
Peter Tinniswood’s continuing tales of long-suffering 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 Thorne
Carter Brandon …. Peter Skellern
Pat Brandon …. Liz Goulding
Narrator …. Christian Rodska
Written by Peter Tinniswood.
Producer: Pete Atkin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1989.
SAT 15:00 A Grand Day Out (m000fw3p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Drama (b06p48lz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Reimagining the City (b03sr0wm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Angela Carter - Vampirella (b06tfv03)
Could finding true love, free Count Dracula's daughter from her ‘dreadful wheel of destiny’?
A reimagining of the familiar vampire narrative – as Anna Massey stars as the last-in-line of the undead on the eve of the First World War.
Countess Vampirella/Elizabeth Ba'athory …. Anna Massey
Count Dracula …. David March
Henri Blot …. Sawney Beane
Hero …. Richard O'Callaghan
Mrs. Beane …. Betty Hardy
Angela Carter later rewrote this radio play as a short story 'The Lady in the House of Love'.
Also a writer of short stories, novels, stage plays, librettos, screenplays and essays, Angela Carter died in 1992 aged just 52.
Director: Glyn Dearman.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in July 1976.
SAT 19:00 The Meow Show With Ed Reardon and Elgar (b0868bq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Josh Howie's Losing It (b07vs3cy)
Series 1
The Handyman
Stand-up comic Josh comes to terms with the impending birth of his first child.
In the fifth episode, Josh and his wife Monique employ handyman Dean to get the flat ready for the baby. However Josh soon discovers that Dean holds some very challenging opinions, especially when it comes to Jews.
Written by Josh Howie.
Produced by Ashley Blaker
A Black Hat production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 22:30 Chain Reaction (b072my2p)
Series 11
Ian Hislop interviews Victoria Coren-Mitchell
Comedian and satirist Ian Hislop turns interviewer as he talks to the writer and presenter Victoria Coren-Mitchell about her wide and varied career in writing, quizzing and cards.
Chain Reaction is the long running hostless chat show where this week's interviewee becomes next week's interviewer.
Ian Hislop is a long-standing team captain on 'Have I Got News for You' and the editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye. As a dedicated fan and student of history, he has made several acclaimed documentaries on wide-ranging subjects including conscientious objectors and The Beeching Report.
Victoria Coren-Mitchell is a columnist for The Observer and GQ amongst other publications and has presented myriad documentaries on subjects as varied as The Bohemians and Mary Poppins. As well as a prolific writing career, she keeps order on the popular and fiendishly difficult television quiz, 'Only Connect'. She is also well-known as one of the world's top professional poker players and has achieved huge success at the card table.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in March 2016.
SAT 23:00 Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters (b04ykk5x)
Series 2
Episode 3
Enter the Carnival of Monsters, a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters, presented by the sinister Ringmaster.
A host of characters are the exhibits at the Carnival - all played by Colin himself.
Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as: Wannabe Hollywood screenwriter Andy Parker; 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 a host of other characters from acid jazz obsessives, to mask workshop coordinators.
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.
SAT 23:30 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (b07pjzvw)
Series 4
Industrial Towns
Comedian Elis James compares Pontypridd, Llanelli, and Bethesda to determine Wales' greatest industrial town.
With Benjamin Partridge and Nadia Kamil.
Producer: Sharif Shahwan.
First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in August 2016.