SATURDAY 05 JUNE 2021

SAT 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b007jmq9)
Wyrd Sisters
4. Degrees of Royalty
Lancre's new ruler teeters on the edge of madness. The old King will be revenged. The three witches set to work!
Starring Sheila Hancock, Lynda Baron and Deborah Berlin.
The conclusion of Terry Pratchett's popular tale.
Granny Weatherwax …. Sheila Hancock
Nanny Ogg …. Lynda Baron
Magrat Garlick …. Deborah Berlin
Duke Felmet … Ian Masters
Lady Felmet …. Kristin Milward
King Verence …. John Hartley
The Fool …. Andrew Branch
Vitoller …. Gavin Muir
Hwel …. Brian Hibbard
Tomjon …. Roger May
Dramatised by Vince Foxall.
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1995.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b00smq83)
Entitlement
When did what we desire become what we feel we deserve ? In an age when foreign holidays have become routine and over 25,000 public sector workers earn £100,000 a year and more, we tackle this mood of relentless entitlement with Heather Brooke, whose tireless use of the Freedom of Information act helped to break the MPs expenses scandal; stand up Simon Evans, whose routine includes a description of his accent as exotic 'and that's because it is educated'; and Naomi Alderman whose first novel Disobedience won the Orange Award for Young Writers and who feels our sense of entitlement should be replaced by a purer feeling of gratitude. The presenter is Dominic Arkwright and the producer is Miles Warde.
SAT 01:00 Detective (b01s2xl6)
Series 3
3. Lost Without a Trace
Detectives Brook and Tully must sound out their snouts to try and recapture £200,000 of stolen electrical goods.
Starring Ray Brooks and Stephen Garlick.
More tough stories of crime and detection in London written by Robert Barr
Detective Sergeant Brook …. Ray Brooks
Detective Constable Tully …. Stephen Garlick
Detective Sergeant Harrison …. Peter Cleall
Chief Inspector Roach …. Stephen Yardley
Ma Gregg … Julie May
Mr Hewitt …. Victor Maddern
Harry …. Johnny Wade
Springer …. William Hope
Other parts played by the cast.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast weekly on BBC Radio 2 in July 1984.
SAT 01:30 Barbara Vine - King Solomon's Carpet (m000wlyg)
4. Out of This World
Axel's influence over the residents of the schoolhouse, near the London Underground, finally extends to Tom...
Conclusion of Ruth Rendell's crime mystery - written under the pen name of Barbara Vine.
Dramatised by Nick Fisher.
Alice .... Kate Fenwick
Axel .... Mark Strong
Tom .... Jonathan Cullen
Daphne .... Linda Polan
Cecilia .... Ann Beach
Jarvis .... Kim Wall
Tina .... Alice Arnold
Jasper .... Stuart Morris
Bienvida .... Verity Waite
Alice's mother .... Shirley Dixon
Newsreader .... Alex Lowe
First doctor .... Christopher Scott
Second doctor .... Colleen Prendergast
Musicians: Polly Hewett, Roland Robert and Christine Messiter.
Director: Marion Nancarrow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
SAT 02:00 Flâneuse: Women Who Walk the Cities by Lauren Elkin (b07myyqx)
5. Florence
Author Lauren Elkin strolls great cities, thinking about distinguished women who did the same.
There's an intriguing photograph of 'Jinx Allen', taken in Florence by Ruth Orkin, and its mysteries are now revealed.
Then some reveries after wandering the sidewalks of New York.
Concluded by Julianna Jennings.
Abridged by Penny Leicester.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.
SAT 02:15 Gudrun (m000ss39)
Series 7
Episode 5
Gudrun is reunited with a figure from her past when she is taken to meet the leader of a religious cult.
Stars Kate Phillips.
The final series in Lucy Catherine’s Viking epic of love, revenge and faith inspired by the Icelandic sagas.
Gudrun ….. Kate Phillips
Freija ….. Samantha Dakin
Garvinicus ….. Jane Whittenshaw
Sigrid ….. Hollie Burgess
Leif ….. Chris Pavlo
Director: Gemma Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2021.
SAT 02:30 D-Day Dames (b0457rms)
In spring 1944, American women war correspondents gathered in London in anticipation of the D-Day invasion.
Women were not allowed to report from the front line, although that did not stop Martha Gellhorn. She returned to London as her marriage to Ernest Hemingway was ending - he had met his next wife, also a war correspondent, in the Dorchester hotel in London as he waited for the invasion to take place.
But it was Gellhorn, who hid on a hospital ship across the channel, who went ashore and wrote a dramatic account of it – she was subsequently disciplined by the authorities as she had no accreditation.
Others women, such as Helen Kirkpatrick witnessed Eisenhower's return from the front as she reported from D-Day HQ.
After D-Day itself, women reporters gradually started going to Normandy, such as Lee Miller, who filed dramatic photo-journalism accounts for British Vogue from a field hospital and then found herself on the frontlines of the siege of St Malo. The women followed the troops across Europe, arriving in Paris for its liberation in August.
It was a key moment in the history of women war correspondents.
Lyse Doucet recounts their stories with archive audio, readings from their articles and letters, interviews with relatives and their biographers. She explains how the work of women war correspondents has changed since then.
Producer: Philip Reevell
A City Broadcasting production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2014.
SAT 03:00 Hugh Walpole - Rogue Herries (b007k1r3)
4. A Great Age to Be Beginning
Trapped at Herries with a man she cannot love, Mirabell yearns to be free...
Stars Gavin Muir, Mark Bonnar and Deborah Berlin.
Conclusion of Hugh Walpole's historical novel dramatised by Eric Pringle.
Francis .... Gavin Muir
David ... Mark Bonnar
Mirabell ... Deborah Berlin
Deborah ... Jane Whittenshaw
Sarah ... Becky Hindley
Benjamin ... Chris Pavlo
Reverend ... Christopher Scott
Harness ... Gerard McDermott
Other parts played by Stephen Thorne, Linda Polan, Katie Clarke, Joseph Head, Carolyn Jones and George Maguire
Director David Blount
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1997.
SAT 04:00 Counterpoint (b00scgxy)
Series 24
2010 Heat 9
Paul Gambaccini chairs the ninth and last heat of the 2010 general knowledge music quiz from Manchester.
Musical extracts encompass classical composers old and modern, jazz, rock and pop, and musical theatre.
The three contestants are from Scotland and the North of England:
George Kerr
Thomas Leeming
Mike Unsworth
Only one can win the last remaining place in the semi-finals.
Producer Paul Bajoria
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2010.
SAT 04:30 Bristow (b007vgv7)
Series 3
Chapter and Verse
As the Chester-Perry clerk writes for the house journal, he learns the meaning of poetic justice.
Michael Williams stars as Bristow.
Frank Dickens' sitcom is based on his famous long-running newspaper cartoon strip about the Chester-Perry buying clerk.
Bristow ...... Michael Williams
Jones ...... Rodney Bewes
Mrs Purdy ...... Dora Bryan
Hewitt ...... Owen Brenman
Miss Sunman ...... Katy Odey
Fudge ...... Jon Glover
Postboy ...... Simon Schatzberger
Hickford ...... Roger Lloyd Pack
Liftboy ...... Ian Kelland
Music: John Whitehall
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
SAT 05:00 The Break (b07j40ww)
Series 1
The Girl from the South
Uncle Jeff, out of the blue, decides that his nephew Andy needs a girlfriend.
Andy decides that he does not. Jeff persists - Fish Shop Frank has his niece visiting from down south, and she is, by all accounts, "a lovely girl".
While waiting for Andy to agree, Jeff takes him to the local hypermarket ostensibly for supplies, but in fact because Jeff has read in a magazine that supermarkets are the ideal place for young singles to meet.
While Jeff is wrongly detained for shoplifting, Andy runs into an old flame from London, Liz. She's staying with her Uncle Frank - so this is the "lovely girl" Jeff's been banging on about! Can Andy rekindle the relationship with his old flame?
Jeff ...... Philip Jackson
Andy ...... Tom Palmer
Frank ...... Mark Benton
Corinne ...... Alison Steadman
Joyce ...... Alison Steadman
Liz ...... Shobna Gulati
Carenza ...... Shobna Gulati
Alan ...... Rasmus Hardiker
Frank 2 ...... Rasmus Hardiker
Writers: Ian Brown and James Hendrie
Director: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2016.
SAT 05:30 The Confessional (m000wjfr)
Series 1
The Confession of Joan Bakewell
Actor, comedian and broadcaster Stephen Mangan presents a comedy chat show about shame and guilt.
Each week Stephen Mangan invites a different eminent guest into his virtual confessional box to make three 'confessions'. This is a cue for some remarkable storytelling, and surprising insights.
We’re used to hearing celebrity interviews where stars are persuaded to show off about their achievements and talk about their proudest moments. Stephen's not interested in that. He doesn’t want to know what his guests are proud of, he wants to know what they’re ashamed of. That’s surely the way to find out what really makes a person tick. Stephen and his guest reflect with empathy and humour on why we get embarrassed, where our shame thresholds should be, and the value of guilt.
This week, legendary broadcaster Joan Bakewell confesses to gaffes in the Big Apple, escapades in Paris and not being outspoken enough.
Other guests in the series include Cariad Lloyd, Dr Phil Hammond, Clarke Peters, Suzi Ruffell, Marian Keyes, Phil Wang, Lucy Porter, Nigel Planer and Alastair Campbell.
Written and presented by Stephen Mangan
With extra material by Nick Doody
Devised with Dave Anderson and produced by Frank Stirling
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 06:00 Eric Pringle - Meeting Bea (b041th7q)
In 1927, children's author, Beatrix Potter was living the life of a recluse as Mrs Beatrix-Heelis.
The arrival at her Lake District home of an American publisher and an admiring Lancashire Mill-girl, sparks painful memories of an appalling childhood and youth.
Eric Pringle's play stars Stephanie Cole and Clive Swift.
Beatrix ....... Stephanie Cole
William Heelis ....... Clive Swift
Alexander McKay ....... Ed Bishop
Sally Worboys ....... Caroline Strong
Young Beatrix ....... Federay Holmes
Tom Storey ....... Lloyd Johnston
Bertram ....... James Telfer
Mrs Potter ....... Irene Sutcliffe
Matson ....... Jonathan Adams
Norman Warne ....... John Church
Joseph ....... John Webb
Lancashire Girl ....... Melanie Hudson
Shopkeeper ....... Jill Graham
Director: Adrian Bean
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1993.
SAT 07:30 Great Lives (b084x6m8)
Series 41
Sir Ben Kingsley on Elie Wiesel
Actor Sir Ben Kingsley tells Matthew Parris why he regards Elie Wiesel as his great life.
A writer, a Nobel laureate, a holocaust survivor, Elie had to endure the worst horrors of mankind and survive the darkest of crimes.
In the Holocaust he lost his mother, his father and his youngest sister. He once said: “To forget the dead would be to akin to killing them again a second time”.
Sir Ben Kingsley regards Wiesel as was one the great voices of the holocaust and says he should never be forgotten. This was a promise he made to Wiesel.
To help tell Elie’s story, the expert witness is Robert Eaglestone, Professor of Contemporary Literature and Thought and an expert in Holocaust Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Producer: Perminder Khatkar
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2016.
SAT 08:00 Whispers (b007k2zg)
Series 1
Episode 3
“There never was an individual less regretted by his fellow creatures than this deceased King."
Gyles Brandreth reveals who - in the panel show that celebrates gossip rather than discretion - believing valour to be a redundant concept in the face of a good story.
The regular team captains are writer and critic, Anthony Holden and actor and writer, Stella Duffy.
Joining them to test their wits are ex-BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond and entertainer Geoffrey Durham.
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2003.
SAT 08:30 Snap (b00tnmtj)
Series 2
Episode 1
Separated for over a year, Doug and Molly are still finding it hard to keep out of each other's lives.
When the decree absolute arrives and Doug hears that Molly is having a drinks party he's furious. But is all as it seems?
The return of Paul Mendelson’s sitcom about life for a couple after they've split.
Molly …. Rebecca Lacey
Doug …. Paul Venables
Kaz …. Soumaya Keynes
Ryan …. Jessie Sullivan
Annie …. Marlene Sidaway
Raymond …. Jonathan Tafler
Dawn …. Samantha Spiro
Producer: David Ian Neville
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.
SAT 09:00 Do Tell Them Pike: Arthur Lowe on the Radio (b06chqrb)
The BBC radio legacy of iconic British comedy actor Arthur Lowe – best loved as Dad's Army's very own Captain Mainwaring.
Arthur's friend, and Dad's Army co-star, Ian Lavender (Private Pike) is our guide over 3 hours:
* Desert Island Discs - Arthur Lowe:
Lost to the BBC archives, but saved by a listener's off air recording, Arthur Lowe's castaway choices heard for the first time since 1970. Arthur tells Roy Plomley about his childhood, his early acting days whilst serving in the Second World War, his time on ITV's Coronation Street, and his joy at being part of the BBC's Dad's Army team – then in its relative infancy.
* Dad's Army:
Ian chooses his favourite episode about the Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon from the many radio adaptations.
* Billy's Last Stand:
From 1965, Arthur stars in a startling drama, the first play from Barry Hines (who later wrote the novel 'A Kestrel For A Knave' - filmed by Ken Loach as 'Kes') In this darkly comic tale, Arthur Lowe plays casual labourer Billy who becomes the target of the schemes of parasitic Darkly, played by 'The Men From The Ministry' star, Ronald Baddiley. First heard on the BBC Third Programme.
* With Great Pleasure:
Not heard since 1976, Arthur Lowe's own choice of favourite readings and sketches. Helped by Martin Jarvis, hear Arthur's take on one of his favourite writers, PG Wodhouse, as he plays the ultimate British butler, Jeeves.
Arthur Lowe died aged 66 in 1982.
Producer: Peter McHugh.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in September 2015.
SAT 12:00 Who Goes There? (b00766w1)
Series 6
Episode 1
Martin Young chairs the biographical quiz show about the noteworthy and notorious.
Team captains Francis Wheen and Fred Housego - and guests Lynne Truss and Anthony Holden - battle to prove that it's not what you know but who you know that counts.
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2002.
SAT 12:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b01qldm8)
Pilot episode
Award winning comedian-author-adventurer, Tim FitzHigham and his nemesis Alex Horne recreate a bizarre bet which was originally wagered by the 4th Duke of Queensbury in 1753.
The bet: that Tim can pass a missive over a distance of fifty miles in one hour, using only the means that would have been available to a gentleman in 1753.
Written by Tim FitzHigham and Jon Hunter, with additional material from Paul Byrne.
Produced by Colin Anderson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
SAT 13:00 Archive on 4 (b08x2zn8)
Apocalypse Nigh
In 2017, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists set its Doomsday Clock at two minutes to midnight, their judgement that humanity had moved closer to its own destruction.
It's a theme embraced in popular culture, from the surprise-bestseller, The Ladybird Book of the Zombie Apocalypse to armageddon-chic on the catwalk.
However while politics, pollution and the very real threat of terrorism may indeed have made our world less stable, Robin Ince considers whether our concern with disaster is also age-old and sometimes imagined.
Using the archive, he explores our longstanding preoccupation with the apocalypse, from religion and science to comedy and drama, and what it tells us about the way we think.
Drawing on diverse sources from nuclear missile tests to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Orson Wells' infamous radio hoax, Ince discovers how destruction has been portrayed in different ways across the decades, with archive contributions from thinkers including physicist Richard Feynman and philosopher Noam Chomsky.
Robin hears from contemporary commentators with an interest in the darker side of human thought. Novelist Lionel Shriver and psychotherapist Susie Orbach explain what the apocalypse means to them.
Ince also searches the archive for practical advice in the event of catastrophe. He meets Professor Lewis Dartnell, a disaster-expert who explains how to reboot civilisation in the event of apocalypse.
Producer: Harry Kretchmer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2017.
SAT 14:00 Party (b011jrmq)
Series 2
All Publicity Is Good Publicity
The young aspiring politicians of the new political Party attempt to step up a gear and get the recognition and publicity they deserve.
All they need to do is sort out the diversity of their group first.
Second series of Tom Basden's satirical comedy about a political party run by young idealists.
Simon ...... Tom Basden
Duncan ...... Tim Key
Jared ...... Jonny Sweet
Mel ...... Ann Crilly
Phoebe ...... Katy Wix
Photographer ...... Jane Wittenshaw
Producer: Julia McKenzie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.
SAT 14:30 To Hull and Back (b09rx3vt)
Series 3
Last Chance Salon
On her way back from Hull station following a failed attempt to get onto the Vidal Sassoon hairdressing course in London, Sophie is knocked over by a car.
By way of compensation the driver, Alison, a frequent church-goer, offers Sophie a disused hair salon that she has access to thanks to her church's outreach work. Sophie accepts Alison's offer.
But with only a week to make the salon a going concern, will Sophie manage to make a success of it?
Starring Lucy Beaumont and Maureen Lipman.
Lucy Beaumont’s warm-hearted sitcom set in Hull where a daughter tries to escape her overbearing mother.
Sophie ...... Lucy Beaumont
Sheila ...... Maureen Lipman
Jean ...... Kerrie Marsh
Ernie ...... Norman Lovett
Alison ...... Annie Sawle
Trish ...... Debra Baker
Producer: Sam Michell
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2018.
SAT 15:00 Bleak Expectations (b00p3380)
Series 3
Lives Lost, Ruined, Wrecked and Redeemed
Pip and Ripely find themselves facing a vast and evil undead army.
England has only one hope - that Miss Sweetly Delightful can melt Mr Benevolent's cruel, undead heart.
Mark Evans's epic Victorian comedy in the style of Charles Dickens.
Sir Philip ...... Richard Johnson
Young Pip Bin ...... Tom Allen
Gently Benevolent ...... Anthony Head
Harry Biscuit ...... James Bachman
Bishop Wackwallop ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Ripely Bin ...... Sarah Hadland
Miss Sweetly Delightful ...... Raquel Cassidy
The Duke of Chelsea ...... Mark Evans
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009
SAT 15:30 Chain Reaction (b03s71cz)
Series 9
Graham Linehan talks to Adam Buxton
The final episode in this series sees Father Ted and IT crowd writer Graham Linehan talking to comedian, actor and one half of Adam and Joe, Adam Buxton.
Chain Reaction is the long running host-less chat show where last week's interviewee becomes this week's interviewer.
Producer: Carl Cooper
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.
SAT 16:00 Eric Pringle - Meeting Bea (b041th7q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Great Lives (b084x6m8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Dan Dare (b0bhfnq7)
Series 1
5. Marooned on Mercury 1/2
On their journey Earthwards, Dare and the crew of the Anastasia rally to the assistance of an old ally...
Adventures based on the Eagle comic strip 'Dan Dare' created in 1950 by the Reverend Marcus Morris and Frank Hampson.
First of a two-part adventure starring Ed Stoppard.
Dramatised by Marc Platt.
Dan Dare …. Ed Stoppard
Digby …. Geoff McGivern
Professor Peabody …. Heida Reed
The Mekon …. Raad Rawi
Sondar …. Bijan Daneshmand
Ergolux …. Kelly Burke
On-board Computer …. Dianne Weller
Garlock …. Nicholas Briggs
Crewman Galloway …. Alistair Lock
Director: Andrew Mark Sewell.
Made by B7 Media in 2016.
SAT 18:30 The Dead Hand by Wilkie Collins (b007k2ws)
"When he looked at the bed now, he saw hanging over the side of it a long, white hand."
When Arthur visits Doncaster during race week, he’s obliged to share a hotel room with a stranger.
A tale of mystery by Wilkie Collins - addapted by Michael Bakewell
Read by Peter Marinker
Producer: Rosemary Hart
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1989.
SAT 19:00 Do Tell Them Pike: Arthur Lowe on the Radio (b06chqrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Welcome to Wherever You Are (b09gkh2f)
Series 1
Episode 1
Andrew Maxwell hosts a truly global stand-up show, in which comedians perform from wherever on the planet they happen to be, to an audience in the BBC Radio Theatre, London.
With:
Alice Fraser
Storm Xu
Bassem Youssef
From Sydney, The Bugle podcast co-host Alice Fraser talks cricket and colonialism.
Emerging star Storm Xu in Shanghai reveals his problems with dating.
World-renowned satirist Bassem Youssef explains why he had to move to Los Angeles from his native Egypt (spoiler: it turns out dictators don't like you making jokes about them).
Photo credit: Matt Stronge
Producer: Ed Morrish
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2017.
SAT 22:30 Elvenquest (b01616lj)
Series 3
Episode 1
When Sam is left behind to "guard the stuff" whilst the others are off killing the Man-munching Giant of Rankor he is accosted by a beautiful maiden, Eirwen, who has been kept captive in the giant's castle and takes Sam to be her rescuer. She promptly proposes, throwing the future of the Questers' Fellowship into jeopardy.
Meanwhile, Lord Darkness' attempts to conquer Lower Earth take a new turn when Kreech discovers an ancient prophesy enabling Lord Darkness to create the "UnChosen One", an evil spirit that is the only being that can defeat the Chosen One.
Problem is, it means Lord Darkness has to impregnate a hideous, misshapen creature. If only there was one of those close to hand...
Fantasy-based sitcom set in Lower Earth written by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto.
Sam …. Stephen Mangan
Lord Darkness …. Alistair McGowan
Dean/Kreech …. Kevin Eldon
Vidar …. Darren Boyd
EirwenMartha Howe-Douglas
Amis ‘The Chosen One’ …. Dave Lamb
Penthiselea …. Sophie Winkleman
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2011.
SAT 23:00 Jason Cook's School of Hard Knocks (b03y38kp)
Funerals and Sex Education
Jason Cook helps make life more lovely for listeners, with more life lessons.
This time Jason looks at the peculiar pressures of fitting in at funerals as well as how to tackle the tricky task of explaining the bird n' the bees.
With Zoe Harrison and Neil Grainger.
Producer: Sam Michell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.
SAT 23:30 Two Episodes of Mash (b01mk9nz)
Series 2
Episode 2
Barricaded inside their studio, David O'Doherty is holding all the Radio 4 microphones hostage in an attempt to make the network give them the team their own radio series.
Prepare for unique versions of the news, weather, sport, traffic and a fly on the wall documentary about working behind-the-scenes on a sketch show.
Things look set take a turn for the worse with a phone call from the Radio 4 Negotiator.
An online animation of the Fishing Sketch by Tom Rourke is available via the Radio 4 Extra website.
A mix of silly, surreal sketches and banter starring Diane Morgan, and Joe Wilkinson.
With:
David O'Doherty
Paul Harry Allen
Bobbie Pryor
Gary Newman
Producer: Clair Wordsworth
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2012.