SATURDAY 24 JULY 2021

SAT 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey into Space (b007jrts)
The World in Peril
Episode 10
The enigmatic Paddy Flynn reveals more about the hierarchy of asteroid crews.
Completing the sci-fi trilogy of the adventures of Captain Jet Morgan, Mitch, Doc and Lemmy.
Jet Morgan …. Andrew Faulds
Stephen ‘Mitch’ Mitchell …. Don Sharp
Doc Matthews …. Guy Kingsley-Poynter
Lemmy Barnet …. Alfie Bass
Other Parts …. Pat Campbell
Other Parts and Announcer …. David Jacobs
Music composed by Van Phillips
Written and produced by Charles Chilton.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1955.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b00vy37b)
Luck
Are some people just born lucky, or can we control our fate ?
Professor Richard Wiseman claims to have begun scientifically to investigate the concept of luck. In this programme, he writes about his interviews with over a thousand so-called lucky and unlucky people, and reveals why resilience and not the supernatural is what affects us all.
Playwright Annie Caulfield describes a brush with voodoo in west Africa; while sports writer Matthew Syed explains why his own sporting success was due in part to growing up in a lucky Reading postcode.
Presenter: Dominic Arkwright
Producer: Miles Warde.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2010.
SAT 01:00 Find The Lady (m000f6cv)
7. In Which Andrew Marsh Finds the Truth
Andrew Marsh finally deduces who is behind him being framed for both cheque book fraud - and murder.
Starring Noel Johnson.
Conclusion of the murder mystery thriller serial by David Ellis.
Andrew Marsh …. Noel Johnson
Joyce Marsh …. Madi Hedd
Roger Sherwin …. Douglas Blackwell
Peter Lloyd …. Michael Deacon
Detective Sergeant Rankin …. Henry Stamper
Detective Inspector Adams …. John Bentley
Alf Jenkins …. Brian Haines
Judy Randall …. Eva Haddon
Producer: Betty Davies.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1969.
SAT 01:30 Cordoba (m000y1j1)
1. Written Off
DT Mitchell 's life is dogged by alcohol, divorce and a dull job on a newspaper in Swansea.
But her cynicism evaporates when she stumbles on a chain of murders.
Starring Alison Steadman.
Nigel Baldwin’s six part thriller set in south Wales.
DT Mitchell …. Alison Steadman
Conrad De’Ath …. Bill Stewart
Thomas …. Alan Towner
Geraint …. Robin Griffith
Ieuan …. Robert Pugh
Alex …. Leslie Rooney
Turner …. Tony Leader
Jenny …. Ruth Jones
Charlene …. Louise Holland
Richard …. Ian Targett
Coastguard …. Rhodri Hugh
Directed at BBC Wales by Jane Dauncey.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1992.
SAT 02:00 Birdcage Walk by Helen Dunmore (b08h0g52)
Episode 5
Lizzie is missing her mother dreadfully and troubled by Diner's behaviour. She goes to visit Hannah for her reassurance and has an unexpected encounter.
News also come from France of the King's trial.
Set in Bristol in 1792, Helen Dunmore's novel is set against a backdrop of the French Revolution.
It touches on Radical idealism, property speculation, political turmoil and private tragedy...
Read by Hattie Morahan and Carl Prekopp
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Producer: Julian Wilkinson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017.
SAT 02:15 The Citadel (b09c0pw6)
Series 1
Episode 5
Denny and Manson are arrested. Can they extricate themselves from a scandal that will ruin their careers?
Set in the mid-1920s and based on AJ Cronin's ground breaking novel.
Andrew Manson, a newly trained doctor, is settling into Drineffy - a South Wales mining town.
Manson …. Richard Fleeshman
Denny …. Julian Lewis Jones
Branwell .... Philip Fox
Gwyneth .... Fiona Clarke
PC Davies .... Simeon Truby
Dramatised by Christopher Reason.
Director: Gary Brown
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2017.
SAT 02:30 The French East End (b01j5nw4)
On a head count, the British capital has long been the sixth biggest French city, boasting more French people than Nantes, Strasbourg or Bordeaux.
London's French community is racially and culturally diverse. It has grown far beyond the bourgeois confines of 'Frog Valley' in well-heeled South Kensington. Lucy Ash meets some of the new Gallic Eastenders and asks what their stories can tells us about the current state of France and her former colonies.
The East End's French connection goes back to the 17th Century when Charles II offered sanctuary to tens of thousands of persecuted French Protestants. Lucy visits Spitalfields, where many of the Huguenots settled.
The Huguenots came to the UK to escape prejudice at home - so are there any modern day parallels? One unlikely Gallic outpost is New VIc in Newham, London's biggest 6th form college. It can't really compete with the Lycee Charles de Gaulle in Kensington but it does have a high number of Francophone pupils and the demographics are very different. These are mainly non-white students from France's Overseas Departments or former colonies, places like Reunion, Guadeloupe and Algeria. They crossed the channel partly because they hope learning English will improve their chances of getting a job and partly because of perceived racial prejudices in the French system.
The head teacher Eddie Playfair is a pragmatic Brit with a background in Corsica. He says that finding a job in France is often tough, as payroll taxes and bureaucracy make employers wary of taking on new staff. For non-white applicants it is even worse.
Lucy discovers another group of young French people in Hackney. Most of them are designers, artists or work in cutting edge digital media outfits. Malika Favre, who has just done a cover for the Penguin edition of the Kama Sutra, says she finds London a more creative environment and she find English 'hypocrisy' is good for business.
Producer: Lucy Ash
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2012.
SAT 03:00 Margaret Steward - Running Out of Sky (b01mny05)
The 'present day' finds two men, unaware of each other, retracing their steps through the Lincolnshire countryside.
An American Second World War airman and an English doctor find memories of unfinished relationships and ghosts from the past.
Stars William Gaunt and Garrick Hagon.
Margaret Steward’s haunting drama.
Tom Mason ... William Gaunt
Earl Grant .... Garrick Hagon
Young Tom .... Tom Wright
Mrs Mason ... Sunny Ormonde
Jenny .... Jenny Lee
Janet Grant ....Elizabeth Kelly
Eddie .... David Bannerman
Johnnie .... Angus Wright
Bob .... Paul Downing
Jim .... Andrew Wincott
Director: Sue Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1991.
SAT 04:00 It's Not What You Know (b0375sfk)
Series 2
Episode 3
Justin Moorhouse, Bridget Christie and Ainsley Harriott each nominate someone they know well to answer a series of questions and they than have to second guess how they answered.
Host Miles Jupp tests Bridget on how well she knows her best friend Rebecca Sewell, Ainsley his best friend, pitch doctor Paul Boross, and Justin his former radio producer Sean Gibson.
What is the one thing that DJ Justin does not like talking about? What is Bridget's worst fear? And who is Ainsley's worst habit?
All answers and more will be revealed.
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
SAT 04:30 To the Manor Born (b007lzww)
A Wife's Prerogative
Audrey makes the most of helping Devere - by pretending she's his wife.
Starring Penelope Keith and Keith Barron.
Lady of the manor Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, forced to sell her beloved Grantleigh Estate, has decamped to the tiny Old Lodge cottage with her butler in tow.
From this vantage point, Audrey keeps a close and disapproving eye on new owner, the nouveau-riche Richard DeVere.
Adapted for radio by Peter Spence from his BBC TV script.
Keith Barron ..... Richard DeVere
Angela Thorne ..... Marjory Frobisher
Nicholas McArdle ..... Brabinger
Margery Withers ..... Mrs Polouvicka
Frank Middlemass ..... Ned
Mademoiselle Dutoit ..... Rula Lenska
First piloted on radio and then whisked off to TV before it ever appeared, before finally arriving home in 1997.
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1997.
SAT 05:00 Guilt Trip (b07mxt9d)
Episode 3
On day 10 of the walk, they spot a narrow boat that reminds Laura of the Rosie and Jim boat she remembers from the children's TV show.
But when the owner invites them aboard, it doesn't all go quite as they might have expected.
Comedy drama written by Katherine Jakeways with Felicity Montagu and Olivia Nixon.
A mother and daughter are undertaking a two week sponsored walk along The Thames Path to raise money for the dead father's charity.
But the mother and father divorced nine years ago and he'd re-married, so relationships between them all have been strained. Things come to a head at any mention of the French Oak gable table that Ros and her now dead ex bought together in Camden. This has somehow ended up in the stepmother's house, much to Ros's annoyance: "I mean she sits at it! It's my table and she sits at it."
Ros ...... Felicity Montagu
Laura ...... Olivia Nixon
Stepmother ...... Katherine Jakeways
Boat Owner ...... Juliet Cowan
Producer: Jane Berthoud
A BBC Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2016.
SAT 05:30 Stand-Up Specials (m000xzjl)
Alun Cochrane: Centrist Dad?
“A Centrist Dad takes his children to feed the ducks, a Conservative Dad takes his children duck shooting, a Socialist Dad takes his children to a Solidarity With Ducks rally.”
Centrist Dads have a bad reputation. They’re “entirely responsible for Labour’s Election defeat”, “aggressively condescending” and they “like Top Gear too much”. And yet, Alun Cochrane is fine with being one (albeit one who hasn’t actually watched Top Gear).
Recorded in front of a virtual audience from Salford, this show is Alun’s quest for the centre ground, an area bizarrely underpopulated in the comedy world. Comedians should poke fun at all hypocrisy no matter whether it emerges from the right or the left, so why are so few stand-ups apparently adept at sniping from the middle?
Alun investigates whether his politics have changed or if it's the world that has changed around him and left a reasonable man feeling like an extremist. He is pretty sure he isn’t an actual baddie. He spends his days writing jokes in ‘Where’s Wally?’ pyjamas alongside his gluten-free dog. Does that sound like an extremist to you?
Written and performed by Alun Cochrane
Production co-ordinator: Mabel Wright
Sound engineer: Michael Smith
Producer: Richard Morris
Photo credit: Matt Stronge
A BBC Studios Production
SAT 06:00 HG Wells (m00041c8)
The Island of Dr Moreau
A shipwreck leads a young naturalist to Dr Moreau’s secretive island, the site of a hideous scientific experiment.
First published in 1896, HG Wells' classic adventure story.
Dramatised by David Calcutt.
Montgomery ....... Kenneth Colley
Prentice ....... Kim Wall
Prentice's Nephew ....... Neal Foster
Dr Moreau ....... Garard Green
Captain Jones ....... Peter Meakin
Helmar ....... Richard Mitchley
M'Ling ....... Terry Molloy
Constans ....... Danny Schiller
Nurse ....... Janet Dale
Various ....... Alex Jones
Director: Nigel Bryant.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1990.
SAT 07:30 Great Lives (b08b7wd1)
Series 41
Chris Patten on Pope John XXIII
Chris Patten, Lord Patten of Barnes, nominates a great life who was born a peasant and became a Pope.
Pope John XXIII did well at school but was no star. He wasn't a striking figure of a man and struggled to keep his weight under control.
There was nothing about him that stood out and his election as Pope took many by surprise. But he was the man who began to push the Roman Catholic church into the modern world.
Presenter: Matthew Parris.
With Eamon Duffy, Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Cambridge.
Producer: Perminder Khatkar
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2017.
SAT 08:00 The Motion Show (b00762pb)
Series 4
Episode 4
Debates galore from modern manners - to life in the fast lane.
Graeme Garden chairs the quirky battle of words and wit.
With Jenny Eclair, Hugh Dennis, Stuart Maconie and Greg Proops.
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2001.
SAT 08:30 Smelling of Roses (b007k131)
Series 2
French Connections
Rosie and her team organise a twinning ceremony for a town on the south coast of England with a town on the north coast of France.
But Is it really a step forward for Anglo-French relations?
The trials and tribulations of Rosie Burns and her event management company, based in Brighton.
Rosie ...... Prunella Scales
Kate ...... Arabella Weir
Jo ...... Rebecca Callard
Bob ...... Duncan Preston
Tess ...... Annette Badland
Don ...... Owen Brenman
Jean-Luc ...... Simon Greenall
Genevieve ...... Rachel Atkins
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2001.
SAT 09:00 A Date With Dyall (b06my9rb)
Writer and actor Jonathan Rigby unlocks the vaults of the BBC sound archives to explore the broadcasting career of Valentine Dyall.
He reveals the enduring appeal of Dyall's most memorable character - the menacing and creepy raconteur 'The Man In Black' - and along the way he lifts the lid on some classic BBC radio horror moments.
* Radio Dyall
Jonathan Rigby profiles the radio work of Valentine Dyall with rare archive of Dyall in conversation.
* Here Come The Men In Black
Featuring new and exclusive interviews. Actor Edward de Souza, a reincarnation of The Man in Black in the 1980's radio series Fear On 4, talks for the first time about his interpretation of the character.
And the role's latest denizen Mark Gatiss reveals his joy and enthusiasm for portraying radio's most sinister personality. With rare archive of Valentine Dyall.
* Appointment With Fear
A classic episode from the ground breaking radio horror series
* Jonathan Rigby's Vault of Horror
Jonathan Rigby is joined by writer Kim Newman and Josephine Botting from the British Film Institute to chart the history of 'The Man in Black', reveal some memorable radio horror stories and get their teeth into why this genre continues to have us shivering under the sheets.
* Fear on 4: The Monkey's Paw
A man makes wishes on a very unusual gift that's been cast with a sinister spell. Stars Oliver Maguire and Trudy Kelly.
* Appointment With Fear
Another classic episode from the ground breaking radio horror series
* Fear on 4: The Snowman Killing
The Man in Black introduces the snowy mystery of a mother fearing evil in her own home. Stars Edward de Souza and Imelda Staunton.
Producer: Stephen Garner
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in October 2015.
SAT 12:00 Act Your Age (b00zm0mc)
Series 3
Episode 1
Simon Mayo hosts the three-way battle between the comedy generations to find out which is the funniest.
Will it be the Up-and-Comers, the Current Crop or the Old Guard who will be crowned, for one week at least, as the Golden Age of Comedy.
Holly Walsh is joined by Henry Paker, Lucy Porter by Miles Jupp and Tom O'Connor teams up with Duggie Brown.
Devised and Produced by Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.
SAT 12:30 The Navy Lark (b007jmzt)
The TV Documentary
Confusion abounds when HMS Troutbridge gets a makeover for TV as a German wartime frigate.
Stars Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and Stephen Murray.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive 13 series between 1959 and 1976.
The Sub-Lieutenant ...... Leslie Phillips
The Chief Petty Officer ...... Jon Pertwee
The Number One ...... Stephen Murray
Captain Povey ...... Richard Caldicot
Mrs Povey ...... Heather Chasen
Commander Bell ...... Ronnie Barker
Taffy Goldstein ...... Tenniel Evans
Cuthbert. ....... Michael Bates
Written by Lawrie Wyman and George Evans.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1972.
SAT 13:00 Archive on 4 (b0848f95)
Lloyd George's Revolution
Drawing on sound archive and key contemporary witnesses, Peter Hennessy tells how David Lloyd George revolutionised Britain's government when he became prime minister over a century ago.
In the darkest days of the First World War, Lloyd George transformed an amateurish approach to government and galvanised a war weary country by radically reforming the Cabinet, bringing outsiders ('men of push and go') into Whitehall and creating new departments.
As a radical politician, he always saw government as a force for progress, and as war leader he ruthlessly replaced unprofessional informality with business-like efficiency.
He began by setting up a five-man War Cabinet, a reform that he recommended again on the BBC in the early days of the Second World War. Lloyd George also created a Cabinet Secretariat (now the Cabinet Office), ensuring that a minute was taken of Cabinet meetings and that ministers' decisions were implemented.
Yet Lloyd George was also a precursor of presidential-style politics. He brought his own advisers and press secretary into Number 10, and his mistress became one of the private secretaries (the first woman to hold this post).
Although his presidential tendencies later contributed to his downfall, his revolution in government had laid the foundations for victory in 1918 and remains his legacy in Whitehall.
Among those taking part are biographers Ffion Hague, Kenneth Morgan and Roy Hattersley, and historian, Hew Strachan.
Producer: Rob Shepherd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2016.
SAT 14:00 Chain Reaction (b052jk2z)
Series 10
Adam Buxton talks to Reece Shearsmith
Adam Buxton - comedian, actor, technophile and one half of 'Adam and Joe', Adam Buxton
talks to
Reece Shearsmith - co-creator and star of The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville and Inside No. 9,
Chain Reaction is the long running hostless chat show where the interviewee becomes this next interviewer.
Producer: Charlie Perkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
SAT 14:30 Think the Unthinkable (b007k4g0)
Series 2
Genforce
Back to transform companies in ways they barely understand, the team are working with Genforce - an energy firm with lots to hide.
James Cary’s award-winning sitcom about management consultants.
Ryan ...... Marcus Brigstocke
Sophie ...... Emma Kennedy
Daisy ...... Catherine Shepherd
Owen ...... David Mitchell
Chip ...... Greg Proops
Various ...... Steven Kynman
Music by John Whitehall.
Producer: Adam Bromley.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2002.
SAT 15:00 Radio Active (b007k1hf)
Series 4
Gigantaquiz
Which lucky contestant is going to win the £10,000 jackpot in Radio Active's massive quiz?!!!!
Radio Active is the one and only local national radio station.
Starring:
Helen Atkinson-Wood
Angus Deayton
Geoffrey Perkins
Philip Pope
Michael Fenton-Stevens
Music by Philip Pope and Steve Brown. With Helen Murry, Nick Wilton and Jamie Rix.
Written by Angus Deayton, Geoffrey Perkins with John Buchan.
Producer: Jamie Rix
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1984.
SAT 15:30 The Mel and Sue Thing (b0076b72)
Episode 6
Jane Austen will be reeling from beyond the grave, as we learn the true meaning of Sweet Fanny Adams in the final instalment of the Mel and Sue's dramatisation of her last, and lost, novella.
Plus a big musical number to finish off the series. What will the Old Biddies have to say about that?
More mayhem from Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
With Paul Chahidi
Written by Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2002.
SAT 16:00 HG Wells (m00041c8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Great Lives (b08b7wd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Nick Fisher - Finding Fellows (m0003kcx)
A computer expert surfs the internet for contacts, concealing his identity.
But what is his identity?
Sci-fi drama written by Nick Fisher.
Richard Fellows ……. Nicholas Woodeson.
Sal ……. Sarah Rice
Geoff ……. David Brooks
Tom ……. Christopher Wright
Sally ……. Karen Hayley
Other parts played by Alastair Danson, Alison Pettitt and Iwan Thomas
Director: Peter Kavanagh
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1997.
SAT 19:00 A Date With Dyall (b06my9rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Rigor Mortis (b007qw7n)
Series 2
Episode 4
Dr Webster meets his doppelganger - entomologist Dr Betsy, whilst Gordon hears voices.
Starring Peter Davison.
Laurence Howarth's black comedy set in the world of the pathology lab.
Anthony Webster …. Peter Davison
Ruth Anderson …. Matilda Ziegler
Professor Donaldson …. Geoffrey Whitehead
Graham …. Tom Price
With Marianne Levy, Gus Brown and Alex Lowe.
Music by Paul Mottram and Stephanie Benavente.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2004.
SAT 22:30 Chain Reaction (b053bq55)
Series 10
Reece Shearsmith talks to Bob Mortimer
Co-creator and star of The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville and Inside No.9, Reece Shearsmith talks to one half of comedy double-act Vic & Bob, creators of Shooting Stars and House of Fools, Bob Mortimer.
Chain Reaction is the long running hostless chat show series where the previous interviewee becomes the next interviewer.
Producer: Charlie Perkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
SAT 23:00 Sara Pascoe: The Modern Monkey (b09ry6k4)
Series 1
Murder
Sara Pascoe sets out to explore our modern social world though theories of Evolutionary Psychology and more.
How does our monkey past influence our modern lives?
How come we can still get emotionally hijacked by our primitive emotions?
Murder fascinates and intrigues as much as it repels us.
Happily the human animal is much more of a pacifist than lots of our other mammal relations, including meerkats (the adverts have lied to us). But even the most patient among us has probably been driven to murderous thoughts on occasion, especially when your sister steals your clothes.
From sibling rivalry, to pair bonding this is an informative and hilarious look at one of the darker aspects of human behaviour.
Recorded on location at The RAF Museum, Colindale
Written by and starring Sara Pascoe
Producer: Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2018.
SAT 23:30 The Mark Steel Lecture (b007nf6b)
Series 2
Billie Holiday
A profile of the American singer and songwriter.
Mark Steel lectures humourously about historical figures that have shaped their era.
With:
Martin Hyder
Carla Mendonca
Producer: Lucy Armitage
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2001.