SATURDAY 23 JULY 2022

SAT 00:00 Orbiter X (b0788cnv)
Return to Woomera
Patched up Orbiter 2 heads for Earth - but will CSP realise that the incoming incommunicado ship is friendly?
BD Chapman's futuristic sci-fi adventure from 1959.
Captain Bob Britton …. John Carson
Captain Douglas McClelland …. Andrew Crawford
Flight Engineer Hicks …. Barrie Gosney
Colonel Kent …. Donald Bisset
Captain Jack Bradley …. John Witty
Sir Charles Day …. Leslie Perrins
Control Officer Brown …. Peter Noel Cook
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1959.
SAT 00:30 Sounds Natural (b0b4zrtp)
Cyril Fletcher
Veteran comedian and 'That's Life' star, Cyril Fletcher talks to Derek Jones about his life-long love of the countryside.
Skylarks and the Barn Owl are among his choice of recordings from the BBC Sound Archives.
Produced in Bristol by Michael Bowen and John Burton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1971.
SAT 01:00 Detective (b03hw1vb)
Series 1
The Legacy
Detective Sergeant Dave Brook seems personally affected by a theft from a young woman.
DC Max, meanwhile, is hauled in by their boss...
Stories of crime and detection in London by Robert Barr.
Starring Ray Brooks as shrewd veteran DS Dave Brook and Christopher Blake as his young side-kick, DC Blair Maxton.
DS Dave Brook …. Ray Brooks
DC Blair Maxton …. Christopher Blake
DC Harrison …. Peter Cleall
Chief Inspector Roach …. David Daker
Mrs Kendall ...... Jessie Evans
Billie Sellars ...... Roy Holder
Susan Graham ...... Victoria Plucknett
Tommy ...... Johnny Wade
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1980.
SAT 01:30 Cadfael (b007jlbz)
Monk's Hood
5. Judgement
With a fresh arrest made for murder, Brother Cadfael is keen to see justice delivered.
Conclusion of Ellis Peters' medieval murder mystery featuring the Benedictine monk-cum-amateur sleuth.
Starring Philip Madoc - with Sir Michael Hordern as the narrator.
From the Chronicles of Brother Cadfael.
Dramatised by Bert Coules.
Narrator ...... Sir Michael Hordern
Brother Cadfael ...... Phillip Madoc
Sergeant William Warden ...... Ian Hogg
Brother Mark ...... Ian Targett
Prior Robert ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Martin Bellecott ...... Timothy Carlton
Edwin Gurney ...... Richard Pearce
Edwy Bellecott ...... Stephen Garlick
Brother Petrus ...... Fraser Kerr
The Judge ...... Norman Jones
Hugh Beringar ...... Alan Barker
Maerreg ...... Kenneth Price
Brother Simon ...... Michael Turner
Brother Barnabas ...... Terrence Edmond
Father Heribert ...... Timothy Bateson
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1991.
SAT 02:00 Melmoth by Sarah Perry (m0000z6f)
Episode 10
Helen has a final confrontation with Melmoth.
Can she forgive herself for what happened in Manila or will she answer Melmoth’s call?
Sarah Perry's contemporary novel set in Prague, inspired by an original Gothic story.
Melmoth the Witness is a terrifying and yet moving creation who repels and attracts our sympathies simultaneously. The novel explores some of humanity’s darkest actions, asks us to consider our deepest secrets and conveys the importance of bearing witness to unspeakable events.
At the same time, it's also a novel of redemption, of the possibility of forgiveness, hope and reconciliation, and the healing power of love.
Abridged in by Jeremy Osborne.
Concluded by Greta Scacchi and Anton Lesser.
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2018.
SAT 02:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrx0)
Episode 5
The peace of Sawston is disturbed by the latest news from Italy about Lilia.
EM Forster's deliciously witty story of English conventions confounded by the romanticism of Italy.
Debut novel first published in 1905.
Dramatised by Penny Leicester.
Narrator ...... Sian Thomas
Philip ...... Jamie Bamber
Caroline ...... Emilia Fox
MrsHerriton ...... Sara Kestelman
Harriet ...... Deborah Findlay
Lilia ...... Teresa Gallagher
Gino ...... Tom George
Irma ...... Imogen Hamilton-Jones
Director: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.
SAT 02:30 The 12 Inch Single (b01ckmgg)
From the mid-1970s the humble 7 inch vinyl single was joined by a much grander relative - the 12 inch single.
It reached its peak in 1983 with Blue Monday by New Order, probably the biggest selling 12 inch single of all time.
Music Journalist and co-founder of ZTT Records, Paul Morley visits the Factory Club in Manchester to talk to Peter Hook of New Order about how Blue Monday was written and to designer Peter Saville about the famous sleeve.
Paul explores the origins of the 12 inch single as a potentially higher quality format than the 7 inch single and visits Abbey Road studios to watch an engineer cutting a 12 inch single. Does it really sound better?
And he meets music producer Trevor Horn at Sarm Studios, home of ZTT records, to discuss the Frankie Goes to Hollywood 12 inch singles. ZTT released so many different versions of Two Tribes on 12 inch that the chart rules were changed - so was the record buyer getting value for money?
And what does the 12 inch single tell us about 1980s excesses?
Producer: Nick Holmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.
SAT 03:00 RD Blackmore - Lorna Doone (b00sp1f1)
Episode 3
When Lorna is taken to London, John fears he’s lost her forever.
Meanwhile Carver Doone has murderous plans....
Starring David Schofield and Alison Pettit.
Conclusion of RD Blackmore’s popular and enduring romance set on 17th century Exmoor.
Dramatised by Barry Letts.
John Ridd …. David Schofield
Lorna Doone …. Alison Pettit
Mother …. Janet Dale
Carver Doone …. Kim Durham
Jeremy Stickles …. Graham Padden
Tom Faggus …. Cornelius Garrett
Lizzie Ridd …. Sunny Ormonde
Annie Ridd …. Katherine Mount
Gwenny …. Susan Jeffrey
Charlie Doon …. David Perks
Counsellor Doone …. Graham Colclough
King James …. Jonathan Wyatt
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Brian Lighthill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in in September 1997.
SAT 04:00 Hidden Treasures (b0546cwh)
Harewood House
Undiscovered treasures and porcelain posers.
Enthusiasts and experts come together at Harewood House in West Yorkshire, which is crammed with a fine collection of Chippendale furniture
Lars Tharp chairs the light-hearted Antiques Quiz.
With:
Philippa Glanville
Henry Sandon
Producer: Annie Bristow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
SAT 04:30 One Flat Summer (b007529g)
The 2,000 Guineas
Excited by a good win at Newmarket and a promising partnership, redundant Ken is drawn deeper into the world of serious gambling.
Stars Gerard McDermott.
Dave Sheasby's comedy drama series set in the world of horse racing.
Ken …… Gerard McDermott
Margaret …… Gillian Bevan
Curly …… Anthony Ofoegbu
Christine …… Rachel Atkins
Dad …… Keith Marsh
Janice …… Andrea Pickering
Tanker …… Stephen Thorne
Super Yankee …… David Brooks
Shop Assistant …… Tracy-Ann Oberman
Bank Manager …… Hugh Dickson
Rita …… Janet Maw
Donald …… Ioan Meredith
Julia …… Carolyn Jones
Director: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio in August 1997.
SAT 05:00 All Those Women (b09r7vd8)
Series 3
Episode 4
Emily's choosing her options and Jen's taking the plunge and applying for her first teaching job.
Meanwhile Maggie's getting excited about the prospect of an adventure or two of her own.
But will she be able to go away, or is Hetty hiding something?
Comedy series by Katherine Jakeways about four generations of women living under one roof.
All Those Women explores familial relationships, ageing, marriages - it's about life and love and things not turning out quite the way that you'd expected them to.
Join Hetty, Maggie, Jen and Emily as they struggle to resolve their own problems, and support one another.
Hetty ...... Marcia Warren
Maggie ...... Lesley Manville
Jen ...... Sinead Matthews
Emily ...... Lucy Hutchinson
Stuart ...... Chris Pavlo
Derek ...... Clive Rowe
Producer: Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2018.
SAT 05:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m00199gr)
Series 1
London to Glasgow
Author, actor and comedy icon, Alexei Sayle continues his travels across the country by rail in the second of his six part series for Radio 4.
Alexei’s mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers in a quest for conversations that reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations. There’s humour, sadness and surprise as people talk about what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also tells stories and memories from his career and childhood.
Alexei has a lifelong "ticket to ride" in his DNA. His father was a railway guard and the Sayle family benefitted from free travel in the UK and across Europe. As a boy, Alexei and his family roamed far and wide from the family home in Anfield, Liverpool. At a time when most people thought an exciting trip by train was to Brighton or Blackpool, Alexei travelled thousands of miles to mysterious towns with unpronounceable names in far flung corners of the continent.
In each programme in the series, Alexei embarks on a rail journey, taking a chance on who he might meet and inviting them to have a conversation with him. In this episode, he travels from London to Glasgow and meets Roshny and Sharon, on holiday from Indonesia, who have just fulfilled a lifetime’s dream of watching Liverpool play at Anfield. He also talks to Laurence who has been to his public speaking club which he joined to overcome his extreme shyness and Kirsty who has lived most of her life on a sheep farm overlooking the stunningly beautiful Holy Loch in Argyll and Bute.
Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons
A Ride production for Radio 4
SAT 06:00 Stephen Gallagher - Chimera (b007wtfb)
Police investigate a brutal massacre at an isolated isolated scientific laboratory. The Jenner clinic’s purpose has always been a mystery.
Within hours, government officials are on the scene and the investigation is hushed-up.
But why..?
Stars Sarah Badel, Christian Rodska, Brian Glover and John Webb.
Dramatised from his own novel by Stephen Gallagher.
Broadcast to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of much loved actor, Brian Glover in 1997.
Alison …. Sarah Badel
Peter Carson …. Christian Rodska
Detective Superintendent Stoneley …. Brian Glover
Detective Inspector Schaffer …. John Webb
Tracey/WPC …. Jenny Funnell
Jenner/Gaskell …. David Sinclair
Dr Horsley …. Tessa Worsley
Sgt Creighton …. Christopher Douglas
Roger Forester …. Graham Blockey
Morgue official …. Marlene Sidaway
Capt Windeler/BBC Newsreader …. Bernard Brown
Diana/WPC …. Helena Breck
Hennessy …. Sean Arnold
Professor Liewski …. Leonard Fenton
PC/Soldier …. John Voce
Director: Martin Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1985.
SAT 07:30 Great Lives (m000256j)
Series 47
Matt Lucas on Freddie Mercury
Matt Lucas champions Freddie Mercury of the band, Queen.
To what extent can a troubled childhood contribute to an adult's need to perform?
Farrokh Bulsara was born in Zanzibar, sent to school in India, and fled revolution in Zanzibar to Feltham, Middlesex, aged 18. His family were Parsees and Freddie, as he became better known, was brought up as a Zoroastrian. He also became one of the greatest singer songwriters in British rock history.
Matt Lucas - of Little Britain, Shooting Stars and Doctor Who - was entranced by Freddie from an early age.
In this revealing, funny tribute, Matt explains how Freddie inspired him to perform, and unveils his Montserrat Caballe impression on the world. Lesley-Ann Jones knew the band as a 'young scumbag journalist' and provides an eyewitness account of watching Freddie from the wings.
Matt and presenter Matthew Parris are joined by the author of Bohemian Rhapsody, Lesley-Ann Jones, to dissect a legend.
Producer: Miles Warde
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2019.
SAT 08:00 The Write Stuff (b00f3wqc)
Series 12
JK Rowling
James Walton takes the chair for the game of literary correctness.
Team captains Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh are joined by Lynne Truss and Mark Billingham.
Author of the week is JK Rowling.
Reader: Beth Chalmers
Producer: Katie Marsden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2008.
SAT 08:30 North by Northamptonshire (b017mx3z)
Series 2
Episode 1
As is well-known: Yorkshiremen wear flat caps and Essex girls wear short skirts; Liverpudlians are scallies and Cockneys are wideboys.
Northamptonians gaze wistfully at these stereotypes and wish for an identity of any kind and a label less ridiculous than Northamptonians.
Northamptonshire, let us be clear, is neither north, nor south nor in the Midlands. It floats somewhere between the three eyeing up the distinctiveness of each with envious eyes. Now Katherine Jakeways is giving Northamptonshire an identity. And she waits, benevolently, for her home-county to thank her. And possibly make her some kind of Mayor.
Geoffrey Palmer joins the same incredible cast from the first series - including Sheila Hancock as the Narrator, Penelope Wilton, Mackenzie Crook, Felicity Montagu and Kevin Eldon.
Wadenbrook is a small market town in a corner of Northamptonshire, and will be familiar to anyone who has ever lived anywhere. This year, its residents are building up to a Dickensian Festival weekend, so expect mob caps, cravats and shawls which are usually used as cat-blankets.
Written by and also starring Katherine Jakeways.
Keith ...... John Biggins
Rod ...... Mackenzie Crook
Jonathan/Ken ...... Kevin Eldon
Narrator ...... Shelia Hancock
Helen ...... Jessica Henwick
Esther/Jacqui ...... Katherine Jakeways
Jan ...... Felicity Montagu
Norman ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Angela ...... Lizzie Roper
Mary ...... Penelope Wilton
Frank ...... Rufus Wright
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011.
SAT 09:00 The Workin's of Perkins: The Radio Life of Geoffrey Perkins (b00pk92h)
When British comedy stalwart Geoffrey Perkins died suddenly in 2008 aged 55, he left behind a legacy of programmes that few can equal.
He was involved in ground-breaking TV productions like Spitting Image, Father Ted and The Fast Show. He also kick-started the careers of the likes of Ben Elton and Harry Enfield.
However, Perkins' roots were in radio.
His friend and colleague Angus Deayton presents this 3 hour tribute to the producer, writer and performer:
Showcase featuring:
* Radio Active * Series 1 Ep 2/6: Bedrock (Mike Flex Breakfast Show)
National Local Radio Station Radio Acitive offers advice for nuclear war plus guests Status Quid.
Stars Geoffrey Perkins, Angus Deayton, Helen Atkinson-Wood, Michael Fenton Stevens and Philip Pope.
From 1981.
* Hordes of the Things * Episode 1/4:
The kingdom of Albion is in peril. Andrew Marshall and John Lloyd's epic
Tolkien parody with Paul Eddington, Miriam Margolyes and Simon Callow. From 1980.
* Legal, Decent, Honest and Truthful * Series 1 Ep 1/6:
Ken Handley pitches to a motorway services chain.
Advertising satire starring Martin Jarvis and Wendy Richard.
From 1982
* Ernest Fontwell Versus The Experts * The Communications Experts
* Ernest Fontwell Versus The Experts * The Holiday Experts
How to beat the fiends in white coats and overalls at their own game.
Two episodes of this sitcom starring Frank Thornton and Patsy Rowlands.
From 1979.
* The 27-Year Itch * Series 2: Ep 1/6 The Family That Stays Together Lives Apart
Marital mayhem comedy.
Starring Hugh Paddick and Betty Marsden.
From 1980.
* The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy * The Secondary Phase (6/6) Fit The Twelth
Arthur and Zaphod learn some unpalatable home truths.
Starring Peter Jones.
From 1980.
Producer: Mik Wilkojc
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in January 2010.
SAT 12:00 Round the Horne (b007jlnp)
Series 3
Episode 1
Kenneth Horne in war romp 'The Plastic Max', Seamus Android at Pinewood and Jules and Sandy bewail their parts.
One of BBC Radio’s most influential and groundbreaking series packed full of colourful characters, parodies, memorable catchphrases, and double-entendres.
Starring:
Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Williams
Hugh Paddick
Betty Marsden
Bill Pertwee
Announcer: Douglas Smith
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman wrote the brilliantly inventive - and sometimes outrageous - scripts for four series between 1965 and 1968.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1967.
SAT 12:30 Boswell's Lives (b075pddm)
Series 2
Boswell's Life of Madonna
Boswell meets Madonna and lives to tell the tale.
Jon Canter’s sitcom sees James Boswell, Dr Johnson's celebrated biographer, pursue other legends to immortalise.
James Boswell ...... Miles Jupp
Madonna ...... Debra Stephenson
Producer: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2016.
SAT 13:00 Archive on 4 (m0006kyj)
God Bless the Prince of Wales
Historian Martin Johnes revisits the Investiture of the Prince of Wales in July 1969 - exploring the stories we tell about it and the stories we tell about ourselves.
"You knelt a boy," John Betjeman wrote upon the investiture of Charles as Prince of Wales, "you rose a man."
Not his finest work, perhaps – and it's certainly a sentiment that many in Wales would have found difficult to stomach.
Take the Free Wales Army for example. Fresh from manoeuvres in Pembrokeshire and bomb training in Snowdonia, they threatened an armed rising in response to Charles's presence in Wales. Part of this insurrection included a plan to dump tonnes of manure on Charles's procession from a helicopter. The leading members of the Free Wales Army were arrested on public order and explosives charges and put on trial to coincide with the investiture ceremony.
Or take Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (MAC). They might have been more of a threat. MAC had already blown up four public buildings that year, attempted to blow up a monument to Charles in Holyhead and sent a letter bomb to a police officer. The group planned another four bombs on the day of the investiture ceremony. Two members of MAC were killed the day before when the gelignite they were carrying exploded. And a 10-year-old boy lost a leg when one of the bombs planted on Prince Charles's route exploded late.
The threats of violence were real and they cast a dark shadow over the Imperial pomp.
A glance at the running order of BBC Radio 4's World at One on the day of the ceremony tells its own story: bombs, guns, arrests, showtrials – paramilitary terrorism on British soil, before the rise of the Provos.
These events are dim in the collective memory of the UK, but they're important – they cleared a way for the sentiment that would lead to devolution – and they inform a politics that is still very much alive and still being played out.
Featuring:
Laura Clancy
Gethin ap Gruffydd
Elfed Wyn Jones
Mab Jones
Dominic Sandbrook
Wyn Thomas
Tim Williams
Producer: Martin Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2019.
SAT 14:00 Old Harry's Game (b007k1xw)
Series 2
Assistant
With Hell getting overcrowded, Satan decides it's time to hire an assistant demon.
Andy Hamilton’s devilishly funny sitcom set in Hell.
It's not easy being Satan.
Thrown out of heaven by a vengeful, white-haired God merely for daring to voice the concerns of middle management and condemned for all eternity to listen to Edith Piaf and Elvis Presley.
Satan may rule the roost, but he's beset by the poor unfortunates condemned to sit out Eternity with him
Satan ...... Andy Hamilton
The Professor ...... James Grout
Thomas ...... Jimmy Mulville
Scumspawn ...... Robert Duncan
Other characters played by:
Philip Pope
Felicity Montagu
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
SAT 14:30 Ability (m0003r3w)
Series 2
Disability Exam
Matt is 25. He has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app on his iPad.
Everyone who cares about Matt knows that this isn't the defining thing about him. He is funny and clever and "up for stuff" - partly because he is keen to show that there's nothing he can't do, but also because, if he's honest, he's aware that he's less likely than other people to get the blame.
This second series sees Matt still sharing a flat with his best mate, Jess. He is still in love with her but, much as she likes him, she is still not in love with him. She does however, fancy Matt’s rubbish carer, Bob. Well just a tiny bit anyway. Not that she would ever admit it. After all, Bob is even more lazy and useless at most things than she is.
But Bob is willing. And although domestic duties are not really his forte, he likes Matt and treats him like a real person. And over the last year or so the three of them have been through a lot together - well a lot of drinking and hangovers anyway.
The series is set in Newcastle and many of the cast last played together as children in Biker’s Grove.
Matt ...... Lee Ridley – aka Lost Voice Guy
Bob ...... Allan Mustafa
Jess ...... Sammy Dobson
Matt's Inner Voice ...... Andrew Hayden-Smith
Ability is the semi-autobiographical co-creation of Britain’s Got Talent 2018 winner, Lee Ridley, otherwise known as Lost Voice Guy. Like his sitcom creation, Lee has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app. Lost Voice Guy is - probably - the first stand up comedian to use a communication aid.
Katherine Jakeways is the co-creator and co-writer of Ability.
A Funny Bones production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2019.
SAT 15:00 The Maltby Collection (b00mjrxp)
Series 3
Episode 4
Interviewed 'in depth' by Cleaners' Weekly (incorporating The Scrubbers' Gazette), cleaner Eva Tattle manages to offend the entire museum in the process...
Starring Geoffrey Palmer and Julian Rhind-Tutt.
David Nobbs’ sitcom about a small art museum staffed by eccentrics and obsessives.
Rod Millet ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Walter Brindle ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Eva Tattle ...... Julia Deakin
Prunella Edgecumbe ...... Rachel Atkins
Susie Maltby ...... Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Julian Crumb-Loosely ...... Ben Willbond
Wilf Arbuthnot ...... Geoff McGivern
Des Wainwright ...... Michael Smiley
Stelios Constantinopoulis ...... Chris Pavlo
Mike Willis ...... Stephen K Amos
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.
SAT 15:30 Goodness Gracious Me (b007jwnv)
Series 2
Episode 1
A Buddhist pest control expert is hampered by his unwillingness to actually kill pests - " I intend to make the mice think about their actions" - plus TV's Masterchef with a twist.
Starring:
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Kulvinder Ghir
Nitin Sawhney
Meera Syal
Nina Wadia
Gold Winner of the Sony Radio Academy Awards. The sketch comedy show originally ran on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998, later transferring to TV on BBC TWO from 1998 to 2001.
Written by Richard Pinto, Sharat Sardana, Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Sanjeev Kohli.
Script Editor: Sharat Sardana
Producer: Anil Gupta.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1997.
SAT 16:00 Stephen Gallagher - Chimera (b007wtfb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Great Lives (m000256j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Anita Sullivan - Rock of Eye (b012l4ns)
Three elderly tailors, a trouser-maker, a coat-maker and a waistcoat-maker, have been commissioned to make a bespoke suit for an up and coming politician.
They have worked together for decades but have only met very rarely, although increasingly, these days, at their colleagues' funerals.
The suit has been designed by Mrs White, a mysterious woman whom they've never met. Mrs White has imposed very strict rules about secrecy, and all off-cuts have to be returned to her.
The suiting fabric supplied is also unusual. It seems to change colour and quality with the mood of the tailors, and to move against the needle in a sentient manner.
As the garment takes shape, it begins to have a powerful effect on anyone who comes into contact with it.
Morris ...... Allan Corduner
Harry ...... Malcolm Storry
Griff ...... Stephen Marzella
Lauren ...... Catrin Stewart
Mrs White ...... Liza Sadovy
Krista ...... Claire Cage
Fraser ...... Richard Nichols
Written and directed by Anita Sullivan.
A BBC/Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2011.
SAT 18:45 MR James (b007jtfj)
Ghost Stories
Lost Hearts
A young orphan is given a home by his elderly cousin. But how hospitable is the old man?
Read by Benjamin Whitrow.
Classic tales by the master of beautifully paced understatement, MR James (1862-1936)
Abridged and produced by Paul Kent
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1997.
SAT 19:00 The Workin's of Perkins: The Radio Life of Geoffrey Perkins (b00pk92h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Saturday Night Fry (b00936hz)
Episode 5
Stephen Fry shares some fishy thoughts as he serves up more witty banter and sketches.
With:
Hugh Laurie
Jim Broadbent
Emma Thompson
Phyllida Law
Written by Stephen Fry.
Additional material by Ian Brown and James Hendrie.
Producer: Dan Patterson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1988.
SAT 22:30 Life: An Idiot's Guide (b01cwrtd)
Series 1
Dishonesty
Stephen K Amos and his pick of the circuit's best stand-up comedians attempt to unravel the knotty problems of modern life
They kick off with the idiot's guide to dishonesty.
With:
Sara Pascoe
Matt Forde
Carey Marx
David O'Doherty
Programme associates: Christine Rose and Hugh Sington.
Producer: Colin Anderson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.
SAT 23:00 The Simon Day Show (b01jxtf2)
Series 2
Tony Becton
Simon Day and his characters welcome you back to The Mallard, a small provincial theatre somewhere in the UK.
Each week one of Simon's comic characters come to perform, while the staff struggle with rivalries, self-doubt and the new owner's vision for the theatre's future.
This time, reformed violent offender Tony Becton returns to the theatre with stories of his rehabilitation and new life in a park.
Written by Simon Day.
Tony Becton ...... Simon Day
Emanuel Akinyemi ...... Felix Dexter
Pat Bennet ...... Morwenna Banks
Ron Bone / Wozak ...... Simon Greenall
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.
SAT 23:30 Old Harry's Game (b0090y11)
Series 2
Chuckles
Satan is conducting interviews for a new assistant.
In the running are Scumspawn and a devious dolphin.
Andy Hamilton’s devilishly funny sitcom set in Hell.
Satan ...... Andy Hamilton
The Professor ...... James Grout
Thomas ...... Jimmy Mulville
Scumspawn ...... Robert Duncan
Other characters played by Philip Pope.
Producer Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.

SUNDAY 24 JULY 2022

SUN 00:00 Anita Sullivan - Rock of Eye (b012l4ns)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:45 MR James (b007jtfj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:45 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Archive on 4 (m0006kyj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:00 Old Harry's Game (b007k1xw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:30 Ability (m0003r3w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 The Maltby Collection (b00mjrxp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Saturday]
SUN 03:30 Goodness Gracious Me (b007jwnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Stephen Gallagher - Chimera (b007wtfb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Great Lives (m000256j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Melmoth by Sarah Perry (Omnibus) (b0bqhkp1)
Episode 2
Hoffman’s manuscript describes his shameful and terrifying experiences during the Second World War and its aftermath.
Melmoth the Witness is never far away.
A contemporary novel set in Prague, inspired by an original Gothic story and written by Sarah Perry.
Melmoth the Witness is a terrifying and yet moving creation who repels and attracts our sympathies simultaneously. The novel explores some of humanity’s darkest actions, asks us to consider our deepest secrets and conveys the importance of bearing witness to unspeakable events.
At the same time, it's also a novel of redemption, of the possibility of forgiveness, hope and reconciliation, and the healing power of love.
Omnibus of the last five of ten parts abridged by Jeremy Osborne.
Readers: Greta Scacchi and Anton Lesser
Producer: Rosalynd Ward
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2018.
SUN 07:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05r6n9j)
Charlie Higson
Comedian Charlie Higson chooses 'Waiting for the Man' by the Velvet Underground and Randy Newman's song 'Rollin'.
SUN 07:20 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (Omnibus) (b00fsbmd)
Episode 1
English prejudices clash with Italian passions when a young widow is sent abroad to avoid the clutches of a man.
EM Forster's deliciously witty story of English conventions confounded by the romanticism of Italy.
Debut novel first published in 1905.
Omnibus of the first five of ten parts abridged by Penny Leicester.
Narrator..............Sian Thomas
Lilia.......................Teresa Gallagher
Kingcroft............Tom George
Philip....................Jamie Bamber
Caroline..............Emilia Fox
Mrs Herriton.......Sara Kestelman
Harriet..................Deborah Findlay
Director: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.
SUN 08:30 Floggit's (b007xrf9)
From 16/11/1956
Shopkeepers Gert and Daisy get a large dog that doesn't seem to understand the English languge.
All the village happenings at the sisters' general store in Russett Green.
Starring Elsie and Doris Waters.
Written by Terry Nation, John Junkin and Dave Freeman.
Gert …. Elsie Waters
Daisy …. Doris Waters
Flo/Emma/Greta …. Joan Sims
Tom/Mr Niggle …. Hugh Paddick
George/Mr Bell …. Ronnie Barker
Swiss Dog Owner …. Ron Moody
Other Roles …. Peter Hawkins
Gert and Daisy became wartime favourites in 'Workers' Playtime' on the BBC Home Service - earning them two runs of their own series.
Sadly only a few episodes survive in the BBC archive.
Producer: Bill Gates
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1956.
SUN 09:00 The Code of the Woosters (b007jw62)
Strange Behaviour of a Curate
Bertie and Jeeves find themselves on the top of a wardrobe
PG Wodehouse romp adapted by Chris Miller.
Starring Michael Hordern as Jeeves, Richard Briers as Bertie Wooster, Patrick Cargill as Sir Watkyn Bassett, Miriam Margolyes as Stiffy Byng, Douglas Blackwell as Harold Pinker and Tony McEwan as PC Oates.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1973.
SUN 09:30 Coming Alive (m0019cgl)
Series 2
Off The Hook
Could Terry end up back in prison after his community centre success?
Starring Karl Howman and Phylis Logan.
Jim Eldridge's sitcom about ex-convict Terry King's efforts to run a community centre.
Terry King ...... Karl Howman
Sandra Gaines ...... Phyllis Logan
Steve Addison ...... Ben Crowe
Mr Preston ...... David Holt
Annie ...... Alison Pettitt
Mrs Barnes ...... Jillie Meers
Mick Stevens ...... Gavin Muir
Keith Standish ...... David Thorpe
Gail ...... Jennifer Wheelan
Producer: Marilyn Imrie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08swtz5)
BBC Proms 2022
Chris Packham
From Bowie to The Smiths.
Naturalist Chris Packham shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young.
TV presenter, filmmaker, writer, photographer, every bit of his work revolves around wildlife.
If he's not busy telling us why we should love midges Chris is enthusing about the hearing capacity of a barn owl. His passion for animals is clear, what they think of him remains a little more uncertain; he's been attacked by a baboon, charged by lions and bitten by a puff adder. His obsession with the natural world began early when a predictable boyhood fascination for tadpoles and ladybirds grew to encompass mosquito larvae, lizards, snakes and bats.
As a teenager he collected badger droppings by day and pogoed with electric blue hair at Clash gigs by night. These days he distinguishes himself by his impressive knowledge of his subject and his outspoken views on everything from countryside culls to the problems with cat owners.
He says, "I'll never rest until I've tried to do my own small bit in terms of changing the environment so it's a better place. I won't do it for my grandchildren because I won't have any and I won't do it for yours. I'll do it because it's the right thing to do.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2013.
SUN 10:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00mrzn0)
Series 1
Adam's Face
What are human eyebrows for?
Possibly to allow communication without the use of words.
Testing the value of eyebrow communication came into its own when David Attenborough met the men of an aboriginal tribe in New Guinea where there was no other common language.
Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.
SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (m0019k4m)
Series 13
I See You
True stories told live in the USA: Jenifer Hixon introduces stories about gaining new clarity and perspective.
The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.
The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.
First heard on PRX in the USA in 2020.
SUN 11:50 Inheritance Tracks (b05r6n9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:10 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m0019k4p)
The Echo Chamber - Darkness Visible
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and chooses The Echo Chamber - Darkness Visible featuring poets Kayo Chingonyi, Emily Berry and George Szirtes who share new poems written after spending time in total darkness.
Visual artist Sam Winston spent a week living in total darkness, recording the experience in a series of 'blind' drawings. He later invited three poets to undertake 'darkness residencies', asking them to write new work in response to the experience.
Paul Farley visits Sam's installation at the Southbank Centre to spend time in the dark himself, and to hear the resulting poems by Kayo Chingonyi, Emily Berry and George Szirtes.
Producer: Mair Bosworth.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.
SUN 12:30 Ability (m0003z8c)
Series 2
Doing a Runner
Matt and his carer Bob do a runner from a restaurant. They knock a thief down in their haste, and are heralded as heroes.
This can’t turn out well…
Stars Lee Ridley and Allan Mustafa.
Matt is 25. He has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app on his iPad.
Everyone who cares about Matt knows that this isn't the defining thing about him. He is funny and clever and "up for stuff" - partly because he is keen to show that there's nothing he can't do, but also because, if he's honest, he's aware that he's less likely than other people to get the blame.
This second series sees Matt still sharing a flat with his best mate, Jess. He is still in love with her but, much as she likes him, she is still not in love with him. She does however, fancy Matt’s rubbish carer, Bob. Well just a tiny bit anyway. Not that she would ever admit it. After all, Bob is even more lazy and useless at most things than she is.
But Bob is willing. And although domestic duties are not really his forte, he likes Matt and treats him like a real person. And over the last year or so the three of them have been through a lot together - well a lot of drinking and hangovers anyway.
The series is set in Newcastle and many of the cast last played together as children in Biker’s Grove.
Matt ...... Lee Ridley – aka Lost Voice Guy
Bob ...... Allan Mustafa
Jess ...... Sammy Dobson
Matt's Inner Voice ...... Andrew Hayden-Smith
Ability is the semi-autobiographical co-creation of Britain’s Got Talent 2018 winner, Lee Ridley, otherwise known as Lost Voice Guy. Like his sitcom creation, Lee has cerebral palsy and can only speak via an app. Lost Voice Guy is - probably - the first stand up comedian to use a communication aid.
Katherine Jakeways is the co-creator and co-writer of Ability.
A Funny Bones production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2019.
SUN 13:00 How Not to Be a Boy by Robert Webb (Omnibus) (b093m73b)
Comedian, actor and writer Robert Webb reads his memoir that is both laugh out loud funny and powerfully moving and tender.
He’s best known for his work with David Mitchell in BBC Radio 4's award-winning That Mitchell and Webb Sound and Channel 4’s Peep Show.
Omnibus in five parts abridged by Richard Hamilton.
An uneasy early childhood growing up in Lincolnshire, is followed by schoolboy crushes on girls and boys, to discovering a talent for making people laugh, to grief, and to becoming a husband and father.
As his life story unfolds, Robert questions the expectations thrust on boys and men and reflects on how these have shaped the man he is today.
Written and read by Robert Webb.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2017.
SUN 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07d2wt7)
Peter White
Broadcaster Peter White chooses 'Ma She's Making Eyes At Me' by Marie Adams and 'Golden Slumbers' by The Beatles.
SUN 14:20 Mary Brunton - Self Control (Omnibus) (b011pjsw)
Episode 1
Laura Montreville is loved by two men - a reckless Libertine and a dignified but reserved landowner.
In a world where polite society and sexual hypocrisy rub shoulders easily, can she choose wisely between passion and virtue?
Mary Brunton’s romantic tale set in Perthshire and London narrated by Maureen Beattie.
Colonel Hargrave's sexual advances are too much for Laura - and she places her suitor on a two-year probation.
Omnibus of the first five of 10 parts dramatised by Gerda Stevenson.
Laura ...... Gerda Stevenson
Hargrave ...... Andrew Wincott
Lady Harriet Montreville ...... Phyllida Law
Jeannie ...... Colette O'Neil
Montreville ...... Bernard Horsfall
Mary Brunton was a Scottish novelist much admired by Jane Austen; and Self Control, first published in 1811, deals with similar themes to Sense and Sensibility.
Producer: Bruce Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.
SUN 15:30 James Last - Non Stop Party People (b00vsvcy)
In a village hall in Lincolnshire determined fans brave the cold of a February night to dance the night away.
The only music on the turntable is by James Last, a German bandleader with a fanatical following.
Paul Gambaccini goes in search of the non-stop party people to try to understand Last's enduring appeal.
James Last died aged 86 in 2015.
Producer: Mark Rickards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2005.
SUN 16:00 Paul Gallico - The Snow Goose (b00sf8l0)
Steven Mackintosh stars in Paul Gallico's prize winning novella.
Introduced by Michael Morpurgo.
A wounded bird brings together a disfigured artist and a young girl and helps in a courageous act of bravery in the Second World War.
Dramatised by Nick Warburton
Philip Rhayader ..... Steven Mackintosh
Fritha ..... Georgia Groome
Mrs Farnes ..... Deborah Findlay
Storyteller ..... Sam Dale
Private Potton ..... Michael Shelford
Commander Brill-Oudener ..... Malcolm Tierney
Jock ..... David Seddon
Composer: Roger Goula
Director: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2010
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (m0019k4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 today]
SUN 17:30 Ability (m0003z8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Fear on 4 (b007jzd5)
Series 2
8. Dance in the Underworld
The Man in Black wonders whether teenager Tony really was dead when they buried him?
Starring Bryan Pringle.
Another nerve-tingler from Fear on 4.
Written by Stuart Kerr.
Victor …. Bryan Pringle
Avril …. Maggie McCarthy
Tony …. Angus Wright
Jenny …. Jenny Funnell
Scott …. Simon Treves
Doctor …. Fraser Kerr
The Man in Black …. Edward de Souza
Producer: Martin Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1991.
SUN 18:30 Night Terrace (m0009cnh)
Series 2
8. Home Again
In a peaceful neighbourhood full of old friends - including some who’ve miraculously escaped death - Anastasia Black has finally found the quiet retirement she always wanted.
If only the irritating voices on the radio would go away and leave her alone…
Sci-fi comedy starring Neighbours’ Jackie Woodburne as Anastasia Black.
Jackie Woodburne ....... the Anastasias Black
Ben McKenzie ....... Eddie Jones
Petra Elliott ....... Sue Denholm
Jane Badler ....... the Augustes Night
Andrew Hansen ....... the Horatios Gray
Lawrence Leung ....... the Darrens
John Clarke ....... Mr King
Written by John Richards
Music by David Ashton
Produced by Ben McKenzie and John Richards
A Splendid Chaps Production.
SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (m0019k4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:50 Inheritance Tracks (b05r6n9j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:10 today]
SUN 20:00 Paul Gallico - The Snow Goose (b00sf8l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 today]
SUN 21:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08swtz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00mrzn0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]
SUN 22:00 Ability (m0003z8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Delve Special (b007jmzk)
Series 4
Not-So-Supergrasses
Supergrasses are criminals. Criminals are liars. Policeman believe supergrasses Why?
Intrepid reporter David Lander probes the supergrass system and in particular the career of Billy ‘Stick’ Adams.
Presented by David Lander with assistance from Stephen Fry.
Studio production by:
Brenda Blethyn
Robert Bathurst
Clive Mantle
Dramatic reconstructions by:
Janine Duvitski
Philip Pope
Julia Hills
Mark Arden
Researched by Tony Sarchet.
Delve Special ran for four series from 1984 to 1987 and later transferred to TV as: This is David Lander.
Editor: Paul Mayhew Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1987.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0019qz2)
Abigoliah Schamaun and Joe Wells 1/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Rob Deering chats to Abigoliah Schamaun and Joe Wells.
SUN 23:00 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (m0019k4r)
Series 4
Dr Hummel
Mel gets happy tablets from her GP as Vicki stages her leaving party complete with celebrity guests.
Written by and starring Mel Hudson & Vicki Pepperdine
With:
Martin Hyder
Lewis MacLeod
Jim North
Additional material by Rhodri Crooks, Paul Kerensa, Richie Devlin, Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell.
Music by Richie Webb
Producer Chris Neill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2005.
SUN 23:30 The Museum of Everything (b00gknj8)
Series 3
The Museum Reopens
A temp with a scary clown face aids the tour guide.
Welcome back to the galleries of the only museum where you can experience the history of everything.
Written and performed by:
Marcus Brigstocke
Danny Robins
Dan Tetsell
With Lucy Montgomery.
Music by Dominic Haslam and Ben Walker.
Producer: Alex Walsh-Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2006.

MONDAY 25 JULY 2022

MON 00:00 Fear on 4 (b007jzd5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Night Terrace (m0009cnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 How Not to Be a Boy by Robert Webb (Omnibus) (b093m73b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b07d2wt7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Sunday]
MON 02:20 Mary Brunton - Self Control (Omnibus) (b011pjsw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:20 on Sunday]
MON 03:30 James Last - Non Stop Party People (b00vsvcy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Paul Gallico - The Snow Goose (b00sf8l0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (m0019k4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Ability (m0003z8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Detective (b03hws84)
Series 1
Time on Their Hands
Teamwork with Detective Sergeant 'Morgan the Mighty' means a chance for Dave Brook to score a personal victory on a night job.
Stories of crime and detection in London by Robert Barr.
Starring Ray Brooks as shrewd veteran DS Dave Brook and Christopher Blake as his young side-kick, DC Blair Maxton.
DS Dave Brook …. Ray Brooks
DC Blair Maxton …. Christopher Blake
DS Morgan …. Godfrey Morgan
DC Harrison …. Peter Cleall
Meg …. Norma Ronald
Keller …. David Kelly
Paddy …. Vass Anderson
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1980.
MON 06:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mc27)
1. Old Friends Meet
Early in 1914, two men meet in the wilds of German East Africa - one is a German, the other an Englishman.
Both men are roughly the same age, both share a similar background and each man looks almost identical to the other.
This similarity gives Leopold von Ragastein a perfect opportunity...
Starring David Robb.
E Phillips Oppenheim's mystery thriller - first published in 1920.
Dramatised in five parts by Barry Campbell
Sir Everard Dominey / Leopold von Ragastein ...... David Robb
Dr Schmidt ...... Phillip Manikum
Mangan ...... William Eedle
Princess Eiderstrom ...... Narissa Knights
Seaman ...... William Hope
Duchess of Worcester ...... Anne Jameson
Duke of Worcester ...... Garard Green
Capt Bartram ...... Graham Pountney
Director: Brian Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1985.
MON 07:00 Josh Howie's Losing It (m0000m7q)
Series 2
The Visitor
Return of stand-up comic Josh Howie coming to terms with with the birth of his first child.
Josh and his wife Monique prepare for a visit from the health visitor - who Josh manages to get on the wrong side of, as only he can.
Sitcom starring Josh Howie and Pippa Evans.
Written by Josh Howie.
With:
Kerry Godliman
Julian Deane
Jonathan Kemp
Producer: Ashley Blaker
A Black Hat production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2018. .
MON 07:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00199wn)
Series 77
Episode 2
This 50th Anniversary Series of Radio 4's multi award-winning ‘antidote to panel games’ promises more homespun wireless entertainment for the young at heart. This week the programme pays a return visit to London’s Royal Albert Hall where Tony Hawks and Pippa Evans are pitched against Harry Hill and the programme’s creator Graeme Garden, with Jack Dee in the chair. At the piano - Colin Sell.
Producer - Jon Naismith
A BBC Studios production
MON 08:00 Round the Horne (b007jlqv)
Series 3
Episode 2
Kenneth Horne crosses swords in 'The Three Musketeers' and thanks to Julian and Sandy, 'Bona Law' handles his briefs.
One of BBC Radio’s most influential and groundbreaking series packed full of colourful characters, parodies, memorable catchphrases, and double-entendres.
Starring:
Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Williams
Hugh Paddick
Betty Marsden
Bill Pertwee
Announcer: Douglas Smith
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman wrote the brilliantly inventive - and sometimes outrageous - scripts for four series between 1965 and 1968.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1967.
MON 08:30 Flying the Flag (b007jx83)
Series 1
Compromising Positions
Why does William sleep with his windscreen wipers? And will the tabloid press settle for a diplomatic answer?
The British Ambassador gets suspicious...
Starring Dinsdale Landen.
Eastern Bloc embassy sitcom written by Alex Shearer.
Ambassador Mackenzie …. Dinsdale Landen
William Frost …. Peter Acre
Helen Waterson …. Moir Leslie
Colonel Surikov …. Christopher Benjamin
Brown …. Milton Johns
Mrs Poonskey …. Margaret Ward
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1987.
MON 09:00 Wordaholics (b01s6c9z)
Series 2
Episode 4
Gyles Brandreth chairs the word-obsessed comedy panel show.
Katy Brand and Alex Horne compete against Richard Herring and Natalie Haynes to find out who knows more.
Richard Herring decides to reclaim the word 'middle class' and tries to decipher the 16th century phrase 'a mare's nest'.
Team-mate Natalie Haynes tries to get rid of the word 'decimate' and despite being a vegetarian works out what the very meaty cookery term 'barding' means;
Alex Horne comes up with the correct definition for the Victorian phrase 'a scraping castle' and asks to take the word 'a' out of the dictionary.
Meanwhile, Katy Brand takes a guess at what the unit of measurement 'the Warhol' is and reveals that her favourite word is 'plop'.
Writers: Jon Hunter and James Kettle.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2013.
MON 09:30 Heated Rollers (b007jwzw)
Episode 1
A cavewoman look ahead, the perils of phoning a bank and the history of feminism
The first-ever all-women sketch show made for BBC Radio 2.
Starring:
Lynda Bellingham
Gwyneth Strong
Joanna Monro
With music supplied by the Lorraine Bowen Experience.
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1999.
MON 10:00 Foreign Bodies (b09tcb4r)
The Bethlehem Murders
Schoolteacher Omar Yussef turns amateur sleuth in this crime fiction set in Palestine.
Yussef tries to save the life of his former student George Saba, a Christian recently returned to his home town of Bethlehem, who has fallen foul of a Palestinian militia group.
In doing so, Yussef uncovers a world of corruption, cynicism and fear which makes him regret the passing of a time when Christians and Muslims lived peacefully side by side.
Matt Rees has turned his observations from working as Time magazine's Jerusalem bureau chief into a set of Palestine-based murder mysteries.
Dramatised by Jennifer Howarth.
Omar Yussef ...... Peter Polycarpou
Habib Saba / Marwan Natsha ...... Vincent Ebrahim
Khamis Zeydan ...... Nabil Elouahabi
George Saba ...... Zubin Varla
Dima Rahman ...... Sirine Saba
Abdel Rahman / Jihad Awdeh ...... Selva Rasalingam
Hussein Tamari ...... Philip Arditti
Abu Jeriez ...... Carlos Chahine
Ramiz ...... Amir El-Masry
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.
MON 11:00 TED Radio Hour (m0019kfl)
Series 9
Work, Play, Rest: Part 3/3: Rest
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.
Manoush Zomorodi investigates how the last few years have changed the way we live: what is the future for how we rest?
First broadcast in the USA on National Public Radio in 2022.
MON 11:50 Inheritance Tracks (m0019kfn)
Sheila Hancock
Actress and author Dame Sheila Hancock, chooses 'The White Cliffs of Dover' by Vera Lynn and 'Feeling Good' by Nina Simone.
MON 12:00 Round the Horne (b007jlqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Flying the Flag (b007jx83)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Detective (b03hws84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mc27)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b092lz2g)
Episode 1
How do we approach and accept death?
In 1995, aged 42, Robert McCrum suffered a dramatic and near-fatal stroke - the subject of his acclaimed memoir My Year Off.
Ever since that life-changing event, he has lived in the shadow of death, unavoidably aware of his own mortality. And now, 21 years on, he is noticing a change - his friends are joining him there. Death has become his contemporaries' every third thought.
The question is no longer "who am I?" - but "how long have I got?" and "what happens next?"
With the words of Robert's favourite authors as travel companions, Every Third Thought takes us on a journey through a year and towards death itself. As he acknowledges his own and his friends' ageing, he confronts an existential question - in a world where we have learned to live well at all costs, can we make peace with what Freud calls "the necessity of dying"?
Searching for answers leads him to others for advice and wisdom.
Witty, lucid and provocative, this is an enthralling exploration of what it means to approach the end-game, and begin to recognise, perhaps reluctantly, that we are not immortal.
It all begins with Robert's sudden and unexpected fall in the street, resulting in a head injury...
Abridged in five parts by Barry Johnston
Read by Nicky Henson.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2017.
MON 14:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrxz)
Episode 6
Philip and Harriet arrive in Monteriano to rescue the unfortunate Lilia's beastly baby from the horrors of an Italian upbringing,
But Philip finds himself once more captivated by the country he is supposed to decry.
EM Forster's deliciously witty story of English conventions confounded by the romanticism of Italy.
Debut novel first published in 1905.
Dramatised ten parts by Penny Leicester.
Narrator ...... Sian Thomas
Philip ...... Jamie Bamber
Caroline ...... Emilia Fox
MrsHerriton ...... Sara Kestelman
Harriet ...... Deborah Findlay
Lilia ...... Teresa Gallagher
Gino ...... Tom George
Irma ...... Imogen Hamilton-Jones
Director: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2003.
MON 14:30 Highway 61: Fifty Years On (b06gtk2l)
Andy Kershaw re-examines the Bob Dylan album that changed popular music and his life.
Beginning with the resounding hit of a snare drum, Like A Rolling Stone starts Bob Dylan’s first fully electrified album, Highway 61 Revisited.
When he first heard the song in his mother’s car, Bruce Springsteen said it was “like somebody kicked open the door to your mind.” The album represents the birth of rock music, as opposed to the pop or beat music that preceded its release.
It sounds as subversive now as it did in 1965.
Besides revolutionising popular music, the album transformed the life of broadcaster Andy Kershaw. For him, nothing would be the same after Highway 61.
Andy travels to America to meet the surviving musicians and hear the extraordinary stories behind the recording sessions.
Dylan was only 24 years old when he walked into Columbia Studio A in New York City to record the album in June 1965. For a masterpiece record, it is all the more remarkable that almost no preparation, and absolutely no rehearsal, went into it.
Al Kooper, who was brought in as an observer, tells how he mistakenly and fortunately found himself playing the organ on Like A Rolling Stone, discovering the song’s melody on the spot.
Bassist Harvey Brooks talks about the patience that was required to work with the unorthodox Dylan. Legendary Nashville musician Charlie McCoy describes how he was accidentally brought in to play the memorable Spanish-sounding guitar on Desolation Row.
And Keith Richards provides a surprising take on Highway 61’s legacy.
Producer: Colin McNulty
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2015.
MON 15:00 Foreign Bodies (b09tcb4r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Wordaholics (b01s6c9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Heated Rollers (b007jwzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Josh Howie's Losing It (m0000m7q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00199wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Orbiter X (b078cv0k)
A Flight Against Time
With the Commonwealth Space Project now aware of Unity's plans, Britton, McLelland and Hicks return to Orbiter X.
BD Chapman's futuristic sci-fi adventure from 1959.
Captain Bob Britton…. John Carson
Captain Douglas McClelland …. Andrew Crawford
Flight Engineer Hicks …. Barrie Gosney
Max Kramer …. Gerik Schjelderup
Gelbin …. Arthur Lawrence
Colonel Kent …. Donald Bisset
Sir Charles Day …. Leslie Perrins
Captain Knight …. John Graham
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1959.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b04kbl8c)
Jeremy Paxman and Mary Beard
Harriett Gilbert and her guests - broadcaster, Jeremy Paxman and classicist, Dame Mary Beard - discuss their favourite books by Natalie Zemon Davis, Ben Fountain and Graham Greene.
Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
Publisher: Canongate
Travels with my Aunt by Graham Greene
Publisher: Vintage
The Return of Martin Guerre by Natalie Zemon Davis
Publisher: Harvard University Press
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2014.
MON 19:00 Round the Horne (b007jlqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Flying the Flag (b007jx83)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Detective (b03hws84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mc27)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 TED Radio Hour (m0019kfl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:50 Inheritance Tracks (m0019kfn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:50 today]
MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00199wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Everyone Quite Likes Justin (b01mc0mc)
Series 2
Episode 1
Justin's still living with his father-in-law, still working with his ex-wife and still calling on his Gran for her words of wisdom.
And now he also has to cope with not having a plus one to bring to his school reunion.
Starring Justin Moorhouse, Anne Reid and Paul Copley.
Sitcom written by Justin Moorhouse and Jim Poyser.
In one version of his life, Justin is a loveable celebrity who is successful, funny, and stopped in the street by adoring fans. He's the man who has everything.
In the more realistic version he's a DJ in a slightly shabby local radio station who gets hassled by the occasional oddball on the street. And he's the man who hopes for everything.
And at home? Well, it's chaotic. His wife has left him, taking custody of his 8-year-old son Justin jnr.
So he's back on the market. So he's currently living in his father-in-law's spare room in Bury. The only person who understands him is his Gran, living in luxury in an old folk's home in Warrington. Oh, and his producer Bryn but this might not be such a good thing.
Justin ...... Justin Moorhouse
Gran ...... Anne Reid
Ray ...... Paul Copley
Lisa ...... Christine Bottomley
Bryn ...... Lloyd Langford
Miles ...... Rob Rouse
Tanya ...... Victoria Elliott
Man ...... Jim Poyser
Recorded with an audience in Manchester.
Producer: Steven Canny
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2012.
MON 23:00 Dead Ringers (m0019b5q)
Series 22
Episode 6
Topical satire show, featuring characters drawn from the worlds of celebrity and politics.
MON 23:30 Matt Berry Interviews... (b0b5xrsy)
Series 1
Uri Geller
Matt Berry presents a series of interviews with the greats of the stage, screen and music world.
Matt interviewed Uri Geller at his home in 1974 just as the self-proclaimed psychic's star was on the rise.
Geller wasn't keen at first, but eventually agreed and was very welcoming. He was becoming quite a global star back in the early 70s and there was much fascination, not to mention the odd sideways glance, at the very mention of his name.
Matt actually met him first on the dance floor of Tramp's night club a year earlier but Geller said he had no memory of it. Not wanting to let such a snub deter Berry, he soldiered on and within this interview managed to get a real sense, of the real Uri Geller.
Written, performed and edited by Matt Berry.
Producer: Matt Stronge.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2018.
MON 23:45 Tom Parry's Fancy Dressed Life (b08kvsky)
Series 1
Rules
Tom needs to lay down the law and explain his four golden rules of Fancy Dress.
Listen carefully, fancy dress might seem like a bit of fun to you but for Tom it's something altogether more serious. But still fun.
For this week's costume party, Tom is off to help warm the house of his friends Marko and Rosie.
Tom wants to make sure that he has the best costume and looks good in front of Jill, a girl he's recently been "chirpsing", but Tom's cousin and fancy dress nemesis Gagsy is on hand to make sure that things don't run smoothly.
Written by and starring: Tom Parry,
With:
Ben Clarke
Celeste Dring
Gareth Pierce
Tom Parry is an award winning comedian, writer and actor whose credits include Miranda, Phone Shop and Drunk History. For more than a decade he has been part of the multi-award winning sketch team, Pappy's.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in April 2017.

TUESDAY 26 JULY 2022

TUE 00:00 Orbiter X (b078cv0k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b04kbl8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Detective (b03hws84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mc27)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b092lz2g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Highway 61: Fifty Years On (b06gtk2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Foreign Bodies (b09tcb4r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Wordaholics (b01s6c9z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Heated Rollers (b007jwzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Josh Howie's Losing It (m0000m7q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m00199wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Detective (b03hx6tw)
Series 1
The Pin-Up Murder - part 1/2
Chief Inspector Mannock returns to co-opt Detective Sergeant Dave Brook into keeping a stripper safe from harm.
Stories of crime and detection in London by Robert Barr.
Starring Ray Brooks as shrewd veteran DS Dave Brook and Christopher Blake as his young side-kick, DC Blair Maxton.
DS Dave Brook …. Ray Brooks
DC Blair Maxton …. Christopher Blake
DC Harrison …. Peter Cleall
DI Mannock …. Maurice Colbourne
Cindy …. Carol Hawkins
Kate Ryan …. Liz Gebhardt
Doctor …. David Strong
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1980.
TUE 06:30 The Great Impersonation (m000m9yd)
2. The Homecoming
A chance meeting of two former 'lookalike' schoolfriends in German East Africa, results in the death of one of them.
The other returns to England, under the name of Sir Everard Dominey.
On this espionage mission, he aims to take up a powerful position in society, as the country moved towards inevitable conflict with Germany.
Starring David Robb.
E Phillips Oppenheim's mystery thriller - first published in 1920.
Dramatised by Barry Campbell
Sir Everard Dominey / Leopold von Ragastein ...... David Robb
Seaman ...... William Hope
Prince Terniloff ...... Tim Meats
Princess Temiloff ...... Angela Phillips
Princess Eiderstrom ...... Narlssa Knights
Mangan ...... William Eedle
Middleton ...... Paul Nicholson
Mrs Marston ...... Gwen Cherrell
Parkins ...... Howard Hoffmann
Lady Dominey ...... Melinda Walker
Director: Brian Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1985.
TUE 07:00 North by Northamptonshire (b017x4fn)
Series 2
Episode 2
Jan has Helen back at home, but is it what she really wants?
Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the residents of Wadenbrook - a small town in Northamptonshire.
Written by Katherine Jakeways
Keith ...... John Biggins
Rod ...... Mackenzie Crook
Jonathan/Ken ...... Kevin Eldon
Narrator ...... Shelia Hancock
Helen ...... Jessica Henwick
Esther/Jacqui ...... Katherine Jakeways
Jan ...... Felicity Montagu
Norman ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Angela ...... Lizzie Roper
Mary ...... Penelope Wilton
Frank ...... Rufus Wright
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011.
TUE 07:30 Andrew Maxwell Values (m0019b6b)
Series 1
Episode 1
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have started to reflect more on our working lives and increasingly question the relative value of different occupations around the UK. Andrew Maxwell investigates why until now we have traditionally valued some jobs above others and what a new understanding of “work” might mean for how we approach our changing world.
This week, Andrew looks at the history of jobs, and his guests are Richard Donkin, the author of "The History of Work", and DIY expert and entrepreneur Jo Behari.
Producer: Richard Morris
Production co-ordinator: Ryan Walker-Edwards
A BBC Studios Production
TUE 08:00 The Goon Show (b007jmrj)
Series 6
Shangri-La Again
Neddie Seagoon escapes an invasion and finds Utopia.
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Peter Eton
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in November 1955.
TUE 08:30 Home Again (m0005gym)
Courage, Mother, Courage
Margaret plans to infuriate husband Fulton by revealing she’s taken a lover.
Starring Robin Bailey.
As suddenly as he disappeared, Fulton Jones returned to his family – wife Margaret, and children Rosie and Martin.
He went to the newsagent to buy matches 20 years before and, bold as brass, waltzed back assuming his role as father figure once more. Margaret is perplexed, whilst Rosie and Martin are furious with him.
Sitcom written by Peter Tinniswood.
Robin Bailey … Fulton
Doreen Mantle … Margaret
Liz Goulding … Rosie
David Troughton … Martin
Ursula Smith … Cyrilla
Christopher Benjamin … Ernest Blackrock
Producer: Griff Rhys Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1980.
TUE 09:00 Dead Ringers (m0019b5q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Change at Oglethorpe (b007k0mg)
The Unquiet American
An exciting new engine could soon be running on the quiet rural railway - but there's a big catch.
How can the staff make Oglethorpe look like a busy, modern station?
Starring Michael Williams and Peter Davison.
Peter Morfoot's railway sitcom.
David ...... Peter Davison
Rocket ...... Michael Williams
June ...... Rosemary Martin
Points ...... Phillippa Wilson
Hattie ...... Madge Hindle
Sodd ...... Chris Emmett
York ...... Don Fellows
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1995.
TUE 10:00 Foreign Bodies (b09v0yxl)
The Samaritan's Secret
Omar Yussef teams up with an ex-student turned police officer to solve the case of the murder of a young man whose body is found at the most sacred Samaritan site in Nablus.
Matt Rees' Palestine-based murder mysteries - featuring schoolteacher-turned-amateur sleuth, Omar Yussef.
Dramatised by Jennifer Howarth.
Omar Yussef ...... Peter Polycarpou
Sami Jaffari ...... Nabil Elouahabi
Jibril ...... Vincent Ebrahim
Roween ...... Lara Sawalha
Awwadi ...... Philip Arditti
Amin Kanaan ...... Zubin Varla
Jamie King ...... Isabella Inchbald
Thug ...... Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Thug 2 ...... Adam Fitzgerald
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.
TUE 11:00 Archive on 4 (m0007k9b)
Beckett's Last Tapes
Robert McCrum explores the elusive Samuel Beckett’s astonishing literary career through rare audio tape recordings from the Samuel Beckett Research Centre at the University of Reading.
Housed in the unlikely spot of the Museum of English Rural Life, Beckett - the lifelong outsider - would have enjoyed the absurdity of finding his archives next to dairy farming data and combine harvester records. As a result, perhaps not unintentionally, Beckett's tapes have remained here as a well-kept secret.
Many of the tapes are interviews recorded by Beckett's friend, the scholar James Knowlson, while he was researching an official biography. The interviews they contain reveal fascinating insights into the way Samuel Beckett worked closely and collaboratively with his actors and friends - including Sian Phillips, Paul Daneman, Billie Whitelaw and Harold Pinter - and the respect they showed for him in return.
Taking Krapp's Last Tape as inspiration for this programme, Robert tells the story of the Samuel Beckett archive at Reading and invites surviving collaborators, friends and those who have found inspiration in Beckett's work.
These include:
Tom Stoppard
Edna O'Brien
Sian Phillips
Lisa Dwan
Lady Antonia Fraser
James Knowlson
Robert asks them to listen to extracts from the tapes and reflect on his unique method and the expression of his genius.
Robert aims to gain new insight into the mind of one of the 20th century's literary giants, while bringing out the poignancy and nostalgia involved in revisiting memories and life-events through the tapes.
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2019.
TUE 12:00 The Goon Show (b007jmrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 Home Again (m0005gym)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Detective (b03hx6tw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 The Great Impersonation (m000m9yd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b093js04)
Episode 2
Robert reflects on how his attitude to life changed after suffering a stroke at a young age.
Witty, lucid and provocative, this Robert McCrum's enthralling exploration of what it means to approach the end-game, and begin to recognise, perhaps reluctantly, that we are not immortal.
In 1995, aged 42, Robert suffered a dramatic and near-fatal stroke - the subject of his acclaimed memoir My Year Off.
Ever since that life-changing event, he has lived in the shadow of death, unavoidably aware of his own mortality. And now, 21 years on, he is noticing a change - his friends are joining him there. Death has become his contemporaries' every third thought.
The question is no longer "who am I?" - but "how long have I got?" and "what happens next?"
With the words of Robert's favourite authors as travel companions, Every Third Thought takes us on a journey through a year and towards death itself. As he acknowledges his own and his friends' ageing, he confronts an existential question - in a world where we have learned to live well at all costs, can we make peace with what Freud calls "the necessity of dying"?
Searching for answers leads him to others for advice and wisdom.
Abridged by Barry Johnston
Read by Nicky Henson.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2017.
TUE 14:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jryd)
Episode 7
Preparing to rescue Lilia's baby, Philip, Caroline and Harriet find Italy intoxicating.
EM Forster's deliciously witty story of English conventions confounded by the romanticism of Italy.
Debut novel first published in 1905.
Dramatised by Penny Leicester.
Narrator ...... Sian Thomas
Philip ...... Jamie Bamber
Caroline ...... Emilia Fox
Harriet ...... Deborah Findlay
Gino ...... Tom George
Director: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2003.
TUE 14:30 The Forum (b08zrz8g)
Amelia Earhart - Trailblazer in the Skies
2017 marked the the 80th anniversary of the record-breaking attempt by the US aviator Amelia Earhart to circumnavigate the globe.
It was a mission that cost her life, but helped to cement her place in history as one of the most inspirational and celebrated pilots of the 20th century.
Earhart used her position and the publicity her flights generated to advance the cause of women's rights - not just in aviation, but in wider society.
Bridget Kendall looks back at the life of a pioneering woman determined to break through barriers - with Susan Butler, author of 'East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart'; Dorothy Cochrane, Curator in the Aeronautics Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington; and Susan Ware, author of 'Still Missing: Amelia Earhart and the Search for Modern Feminism'.
Producer: Becky Vincent
First broadcast on BBC World Service radio in 2017.
TUE 15:00 Foreign Bodies (b09v0yxl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b0bqdrwz)
Series 13
Episode 2
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Lee Mack welcome:
* Comedian Athena Kugblenu
* Writer and podcaster Dolly Alderton
* Artificial Intelligence expert Sir Nigel Shadbolt
The Museum's Guest Committee opt for the cheapest item on a wedding list, celebrate the triumph of a machine over the best chess player in the world and feel vegetarian nostalgia for corned beef.
Researched by QI and Mike Turner.
Producers: Richard Turner and Anne Miller.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2018.
TUE 16:30 Change at Oglethorpe (b007k0mg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
TUE 17:00 North by Northamptonshire (b017x4fn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Andrew Maxwell Values (m0019b6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Orbiter X (b078dqb6)
Building the Space Station
Britton, McLelland and Hicks play along with Unity's evil plan to commandeer space station, Orbiter X.
BD Chapman's futuristic sci-fi adventure from 1959.
Captain Bob Britton …. John Carson
Captain Douglas McClelland …. Andrew Crawford
Flight Engineer Hicks …. Barrie Gosney
Max Kramer …. Gerik Schjelderup
Gelbin …. Arthur Lawrence
Colonel Kent …. Donald Bisset
Sir Charles Day …. Leslie Perrins
Control Officer Brown …. Peter Noel Cook
Written by BD Chapman.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1959.
TUE 18:30 Soul Music (b08sndpp)
Series 24
You Are My Sunshine
You Are My Sunshine was written in or around 1939 and was adopted by the then governor of Louisiana, Jimmy Davies, who recorded and used it as his campaign theme song.
It has since been recorded by more than 400 artists, from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash to Aretha Franklin and Bryan Ferry.
A mother and daughter tell their story of how the song helped the daughter's recovery after a catastrophic car crash, and how it has come to symbolise her struggle to rebuild her life after being in a coma for several months.
A resident of 'Tornado Alley' and author of The Mercy of the Sky tells the story of a devastating tornado that hit a town in Oklahoma in 2013, killing several schoolchildren, but how all the toddlers in a nearby daycare centre survived.
The staff comforted them by singing You Are My Sunshine as the storm destroyed the building. And pensioner Alice Kennedy fondly recalls a friend from the Irish Pensioners Choir in London, who used to sing the song and add his own cheeky lyrics.
Music historian: Paul Kingsbury
Producer: Maggie Ayre
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2017.
TUE 19:00 The Goon Show (b007jmrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Home Again (m0005gym)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Detective (b03hx6tw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 The Great Impersonation (m000m9yd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Archive on 4 (m0007k9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 22:00 Andrew Maxwell Values (m0019b6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 The Nick Revell Show (b00cq58b)
Series 2
Health and Fitness
When his geraniums laugh at his puny physique, the writer overdoes his new fitness regime.
A sitcom for the 1990s, written by and starring comedian Nick Revell.
With:
Alistair McGowan
Doon MacKichan
Brian Bowles
Charles McKeown
Producer: Ioan Magnusson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1993
TUE 23:00 The Big Booth (b007jrvv)
Series 2: The Big Booth Too
Episode 5
Boothby's script dictatorship is overthrown by the Workers' Collective.
More guitar-flavoured songs and surreal laughs from Boothby Graffoe.
With:
Stephen Frost
Kevin Eldon
Vivienne Soan
Big Al
Guitarist: Antonio Forcione
Written by Boothby Graffoe and Dave Thompson.
Producer: Lucy Armitage
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2001.
TUE 23:30 Jigsaw (b04g8rwd)
Series 2
Episode 3
Clark Kent gets a telling off from his editor, and how to deal with that annoying driver in front.
The rapid-fire and surreal sketch show series.
Starring award-winning stand-up comedians Dan Antopolski, Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema.
Producer: Colin Anderson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2014.
TUE 23:45 Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science (b040lj88)
Series 3
Episode 3
The only factually accurate comedy about the history of space exploration looks at the forgotten and unacknowledged greats of astronomy.
Discover who were the men and (mainly) women who advanced our understanding of the stars but never quite received the fame they deserved.
People such as 18th-century disabled genius Caroline Herschel, who polished lenses with dung and discovered new stars.
Plus human computer Henrietta Swann Leavitt, who taught Hubble a method for working out the distances between the stars and narrowly missed out on a Nobel Prize when it turned out she had died some years earlier.
Starring:
Helen Keen
Peter Serafinowicz
Susy Kane
Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.

WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2022

WED 00:00 Orbiter X (b078dqb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Soul Music (b08sndpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Detective (b03hx6tw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 The Great Impersonation (m000m9yd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b093js04)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jryd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Forum (b08zrz8g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Foreign Bodies (b09v0yxl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b0bqdrwz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Change at Oglethorpe (b007k0mg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 North by Northamptonshire (b017x4fn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Andrew Maxwell Values (m0019b6b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Detective (b03hxq62)
Series 1
The Pin-Up Murder - part 2/2
Detective Sergeant Dave Brook stands to lose Judie's respect if he can't make their anniversary.
But duty is calling him...
Stories of crime and detection in London by Robert Barr.
Starring Ray Brooks as shrewd veteran DS Dave Brook and Christopher Blake as his young side-kick, DC Blair Maxton.
DS Dave Brook …. Ray Brooks
DC Blair Maxton …. Christopher Blake
DI Mannock …. Maurice Colbourne
Frank Catling …. Keith Buckley
George Catling …. Keith Buckley
Judie …. Jacqueline Tong
Bill …. John Hollis
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1980.
WED 06:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdbl)
3. Lady Dominey
Pursued by the passionate Princess Eiderstrom, the man claiming to be Sir Everard Dominey returns to 'his' ancestral home in Norfolk, where he has a lucky escape.
The Kaiser then demands a meeting...
Starring David Robb.
E Phillips Oppenheim's mystery thriller - first published in 1920.
Dramatised by Barry Campbell
Sir Everard Dominey / Leopold von Ragastein ...... David Robb
Parkins / Stillwell ...... Howard Hoffmann
Mangan ...... William Eedle
Mrs Marston ...... Gwen Cherrell
Lady Dominey ...... Melinda Walker
Dr Harrison/Duke of Worcester ...... Garard Green
Seaman ...... William Hope
The Kaiser/Middleton ...... Paul Nicholson
Duchess of Worcester ...... Anne Jameson
Prince Terniloff ...... Tim Meats
Princess Eiderstrom ...... Narissa Knights
Director: Brian Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1985.
WED 07:00 Boswell's Lives (b076bc7j)
Series 2
Boswell's Life of Bennett
Boswell attempts to locate the cream cracker under the settee of Mr Alan Bennett.
Jon Canter’s sitcom sees James Boswell, Dr Johnson's celebrated biographer, pursue other legends to immortalise.
James Boswell ...... Miles Jupp
Alan Bennett ...... Alistair McGowan
Producer: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2016.
WED 07:30 Anneka Has Issues (m0019b98)
Series 1
Family
Anneka Rice has led a fascinating and adventure-filled life. In a new stand-up series, she examines four tricky issues that are of particular importance to her. Bringing insight and a refreshingly eccentric but practical mindset to these sometimes taboo subjects she'll explain how her life has been shaped by her background and experiences.
In this episode, Anneka looks at how her perplexing and mysterious family background has left her with all sorts of issues. She's been on a constant quest to find a 'home', whether it's with topless hostesses in a Hong Kong bar or with her Challenge Anneka family. She and her audience share their hilarious experiences.
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
Production Coordinator: Katie Baum, Beverly Tagg
A BBC Studios Production
Archive material:
Grayson's Art Club / Swan Films Ltd for Channel 4
My Teenage Diary / Talkback for BBC Radio 4
WED 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b01l7r67)
Welcome to London 1958
To entertain athletes on their way home from the 6th British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in July 1958, the BBC staged a welcome gala at the London Coliseum.
Part of the evening features this rediscovered sketch.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Master of ceremonies Kenneth Horne introduces to the stage:
Tony Hancock
Sid James
Bill Kerr
The audio was recovered from the extraordinary archive of Bob Monkhouse.
First broadcast by the BBC Light Programme on 3rd August 1958.
WED 08:15 Tony Hancock (b01k2f7z)
Tony Hancock was a comedy actor and star of radio, TV and film, best known for Hancock's Half Hour, written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, where he epitomised the little man's struggle against the world.
He was always fighting against something, quite often himself. With the advent of TV, his battles with officialdom, and his gloomy reflections on the injustices visited on him, were in every living room.
Sadly, Tony began drinking heavily and his personal life unravelled.
His vulnerability was exposed in a BBC Face to Face interview with John Freeman in 1960. Although he went to Australia in the hope of a revival, it wasn't a success, and he committed suicide in 1968 aged 44.
Yet Hancock's Half Hour is still considered one of the most important yardsticks against which British sitcoms are measured, and it could be said that Alan Partridge and David Brent owe much of their success to Tony Hancock's character.
The New Elizabethans is a series where James Naughtie profiles 60 public figures nominated to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee
They were chosen by a panel of leading historians, chaired by Lord (Tony) Hall, Chief Executive of London's Royal Opera House.
The panellists were Dominic Sandbrook, Bamber Gascoigne, Sally Alexander, Jonathan Agar, Maria Misra and Sir Max Hastings.
They were asked to choose: "Men and women whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and/or given the age its character, for better or worse."
Producer: Clare Walker
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.
WED 08:30 Any Other Business (b012rb49)
Episode 1
After the local elections, the town of Chesbury is in uproar.
The undefeatable have been defeated, while the unelectable have been elected - and it looks like the unspeakable will become mayor...
Lucy Flannery's local government sitcom.
Starring:
Nelson David
John Duttine
James Grout
Rosy Fordham
Nick Hardy
Howard Lew Lewis
Toby Longworth
Jan Ravens
Vivienne Rochester
June Whitfield.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1995.
WED 09:00 The Write Stuff (b00f6q64)
Series 12
DH Lawrence
James Walton takes the chair for the game of literary correctness.
Team captains Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh are joined by Sue Limb and Andrew Motion.
Author of the week is DH Lawrence.
Reader: Beth Chalmers
Producer: Katie Marsden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2008.
WED 09:30 Odd Balls (b00760d2)
Jack Acorn: Disputed Inheritance
When Fred Melthorpe inherits an estate from his estranged father, he also inherits Jack Acorn, the general factotum.
But Jack's not all he seems so unpleasant discoveries are set to be made.
The last of four character based comedies by Don Howarth.
Jack Acorn ...... John Webb
Fred Melthorpe ...... Stephen Tomlin
Joey ...... Alex Trinder
Mrs Simcock ...... Pauline Jefferson
Director: Julie Beckett
Producer: Sue Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.
WED 10:00 Wallis - The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855gx9)
A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody
1986: Wallis Simpson is facing a lonely and miserable death, a virtual prisoner of her obsessive lawyer, Maitre Blum.
As the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis was reviled for causing King Edward VIII to abdicate his throne to marry her.
But what was she really like?
Starring Stockard Channing.
Elizabeth Proud's three-part drama about the Duchess of Windsor.
Wallis Simpson .... Stockard Channing
Maitre Blum .... Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Win Spencer .... Lewis Hancock
Ernest Simpson/Commander Lewis Little .... Stephen Thorne
Bessie Merryman .... Helen Horton
Anna Warfield/Foxie .... Jill Graham
Georges/Robbie …. Chris Emmett
Uncle Sol .... Ed Bishop
Nurse Christine/Corinne Mustin .... Sara Coward
Nurse Dominique/Mary Raffray .... Susan Bovell
Kitty Rogers .... Teresa Gallagher
Bigelow/Hugh .... Peter MacQueen
Herman Rogers/Chevy Chevalier .... William Dufris
Producer: Sue Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1996.
WED 11:00 Rik Mayall on Radio (m000jvtd)
2. The Reunion and Bedside Tales
John Lloyd explores more of the fascinating radio contributions of actor and comedian Rik Mayall to reveal a remarkable and eclectic mix of programmes and archives.
Rik was one of the first and foremost alternative comedians in the UK, best known for his work on TV's The Young Ones, Bottom and The New Statesman, all of which had a tremendous impact on British comedy. But he also made many captivating contributions to radio which are often overlooked.
This is the last of a two-part tribute made in 2018 - the year Mayall would have celebrated his 60th birthday.
Producer John is joined by Steven Canny, the producer of ‘Rik Mayall’s Bedside Tales’.
Featuring:
* ‘The Reunion’ [BBC Radio 4 - 2018]
* ‘Rik Mayall’s Bedside Tales: 22nd May’ [BBC Radio 4 - 2009]
Producer: Stephen Garner
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in December 2018.
WED 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b01l7r67)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:15 Tony Hancock (b01k2f7z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:15 today]
WED 12:30 Any Other Business (b012rb49)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Detective (b03hxq62)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b093js7n)
Episode 3
Robert meets a neurosurgeon and visits the writer Clive James, who is staring death in the face.
Witty, lucid and provocative, this Robert McCrum's enthralling exploration of what it means to approach the end-game, and begin to recognise, perhaps reluctantly, that we are not immortal.
In 1995, aged 42, Robert suffered a dramatic and near-fatal stroke - the subject of his acclaimed memoir My Year Off.
Ever since that life-changing event, he has lived in the shadow of death, unavoidably aware of his own mortality. And now, 21 years on, he is noticing a change - his friends are joining him there. Death has become his contemporaries' every third thought.
The question is no longer "who am I?" - but "how long have I got?" and "what happens next?"
With the words of Robert's favourite authors as travel companions, Every Third Thought takes us on a journey through a year and towards death itself. As he acknowledges his own and his friends' ageing, he confronts an existential question - in a world where we have learned to live well at all costs, can we make peace with what Freud calls "the necessity of dying"?
Searching for answers leads him to others for advice and wisdom.
Abridged by Barry Johnston
Read by Nicky Henson.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2017.
WED 14:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jryt)
Episode 8
Caroline sets out to rescue Lilia's son from his father Gino, but discovers something unknown.
EM Forster's deliciously witty story of English conventions confounded by the romanticism of Italy.
Debut novel first published in 1905.
Dramatised by Penny Leicester.
Narrator ...... Sian Thomas
Philip ...... Jamie Bamber
Caroline ...... Emilia Fox
Harriet ...... Deborah Findlay
Gino ...... Tom George
Director: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2003.
WED 14:30 The Ghost Trains Of Old England (b00vhhcf)
Just one train a week runs between Stockport and Stalybridge. Yet it never returns.
'There is no service from Stalybridge to Stockport', says a platform sign, cryptically.
This service is what's known as a parliamentary train and exists only so that the rail company can avoid going through formal closure proceedings. Running the single weekly service costs only £50, but to close it down would cost far more. Of the intermediate stops on the line, Network Rail notes:
'Data collection including observation has been unable to record any use of these stations.'
Ian Marchant travels these little-used lines and forgotten stations.
There is Teesside Airport station, the least-used stop in Britain, with just 44 passengers a year. It has only one train a week, is a 20-minute walk from the airport (a journey which involves negotiating a locked gate), and the airport has a different name anyway.
Plus the train that goes from Manchester to Brighton - except that since the Manchester to Brighton direct service has been abolished, a semi-secret replacement bus travels once a week from Ealing Broadway to Wandsworth Road, two stations that were never on the Manchester-Brighton route anyway.
Most bizarre is the case of Newhaven Marine, a station which is technically open, and is served by one train a day. But the station is behind a locked fence and passengers are forbidden to get on the train, which does not appear on any timetable. The company offers to provide a taxi service to any passenger 'in possession of a valid ticket'. But it is impossible to buy a ticket.
Who are the people who use these secret trains which are also buses and taxis? Mostly rail enthusiasts and hobbyists who collect rail tickets. But occasionally a real passenger stumbles across a service and uses it almost by accident. And what does it say about the British attitude to rules that we stick within the letter of the law while entirely subverting their intention?
Producer: Jolyon Jenkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2010.
WED 15:00 Wallis - The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855gx9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 The Write Stuff (b00f6q64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Odd Balls (b00760d2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Boswell's Lives (b076bc7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Anneka Has Issues (m0019b98)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Orbiter X (b078jrh3)
The Net Closes
Can some quick thinking by Britton, McLelland and Hicks lead the Commonwealth Space Project to locate Unity's HQ on Earth?
Penultimate episode of BD Chapman's space thriller.
Captain Bob Britton …. John Carson
Captain Douglas McClelland …. Andrew Crawford
Flight Engineer Hicks …. Barrie Gosney
Max Kramer …. Gerik Schjelderup
Gelbin …. Arthur Lawrence
Colonel Kent …. Donald Bisset
Captain Knight …. John Graham
Greta Ravel …. Irene Prador
Control Officer Brown …. Peter Noel Cook
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1959.
WED 18:30 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k1mb)
Annabel Meredith
Chic Murray's daughter Annabel chats about her life growing up with her legendary Scottish, funny father.
Sally Magnusson hosts the series where the sons and daughters of famous comedians talk about life with their dads.
Producer: Mike Walker
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in October 2005.
WED 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b01l7r67)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:15 Tony Hancock (b01k2f7z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:15 today]
WED 19:30 Any Other Business (b012rb49)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Detective (b03hxq62)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Rik Mayall on Radio (m000jvtd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 22:00 Anneka Has Issues (m0019b98)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Goodness Gracious Me (b007jwpj)
Series 2
Episode 2
The Marriage Emporium running low on Indian brides - and "Fifty Ways To Leave Your Mother".
Starring:
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Kulvinder Ghir
Nitin Sawhney
Meera Syal
Nina Wadia
Gold Winner of the Sony Radio Academy Awards. The sketch comedy show originally ran on BBC Radio 4 from 1996 to 1998, later transferring to TV on BBC TWO from 1998 to 2001.
Written by Richard Pinto, Sharat Sardana, Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Sanjeev Kohli.
Script Editor: Sharat Sardana
Producer: Anil Gupta.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1997.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0019r3s)
Abigoliah Schamaun and Joe Wells 2/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Rob Deering chats to Abigoliah Schamaun and Joe Wells.
WED 23:00 The Million Pound Radio Show (b00nd0tf)
Series 3
Episode 3
Bickering lizards, crazy golf championships and furniture to die for.
Sharp-edged topical humour in the most expensive show on radio.
Written by and starring Andy Hamilton and Nick Revell.
With:
Jasper Jacob
Felicity Montagu
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1987.
WED 23:30 Hearing With Hegley (b007jr05)
Series 2
Episode 2
The poet laureate of alternative comedy, John Hegley entertains an audience in Edinburgh with tales of the Tate, a jumble sale and an armadillo.
With contributions from:
Susan Norton
Nigel Piper
Producer: Phil Clarke
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1998.
WED 23:45 Sir Ralph Stanza's Letter from Salford (b00767tq)
Series 1
Chips off an Angry Block
The distinguished-but-hip London poet Sir Ralph Stanza is the new poet-in-residence for Salford.
He's determined to track down his muse, whichever chippy she works in.
Thanks to a specially funded scheme, Sir Ralph is now striding the streets, wearing a Panama hat, blazer and silk scarf.
His goal is to mix with the people of Salford and express their angst through his verse.
Written by and starring James Quinn as Sir Ralph Stanza.
With:
Alison Darling
Jack Deam
Mark Chatterton
Stephen Hoyle
Producer: Graham Frost
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2002.

THURSDAY 28 JULY 2022

THU 00:00 Orbiter X (b078jrh3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k1mb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Detective (b03hxq62)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b093js7n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jryt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 The Ghost Trains Of Old England (b00vhhcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Wallis - The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855gx9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Write Stuff (b00f6q64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Odd Balls (b00760d2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Boswell's Lives (b076bc7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Anneka Has Issues (m0019b98)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 An Illustration of Modern Science by Richard Marsh (b007jq1h)
Convinced she soon be murdered, stage artiste Beauffie Buckingham enlists the help of a London barrister to make her will...
Richard Marsh’s thriller read by Joanna Riding.
Richard Marsh was the pseudonym of British author Richard Bernard Heldmann. (1857 - 1915) best known for his supernatural thriller ‘The Beetle’.
Producer: Katherine Beacon
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in October 2003.
THU 06:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdp7)
4. The Messenger
Things start to unravel for spy Leopold von Ragastein as he battles to keep two women happy.
News arrives from Africa....
Starring David Robb.
E Phillips Oppenheim's mystery thriller - first published in 1920.
Dramatised by Barry Campbell.
Sir Everard Dominey / Leopold von Ragastein ...... David Robb
Lady Dominey ...... Melinda Walker
Nurse/Duchess ...... Anne Jameson
Parkins/Pelham ...... Howard Hoffman
Dr Harrison ...... Garard Green
Heggs/Ludwig Miller ...... Mark Straker
Middleton ...... Paul Nicholson
Prince Terniloff ...... Tim Meats
Seaman ...... William Hope
Princess Eiderstrom ...... Narissa Knights
Director: Brian Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1985.
THU 07:00 To Hull and Back (b06kdz3q)
Series 1
An Affair to Forget
Sophie is on a quest for love whilst her mother is trying to get accepted into a posh ladies golf club.
Door-to-door sellers peddling thick bleach and an accident with a milk float all conspire to thwart their efforts.
Sophie still lives at home with her mum in Hull. They make a living doing car boot sales at the weekend.
Except they don't really make a living because her mum can't bear to get rid of any of their junk. Plus, they don't have a car. As their house gets more cluttered, Sophie feels more trapped.
Starring Lucy Beaumont and Maureen Lipman.
Sitcom written by Lucy Beaumont.
Sophie ...... Lucy Beaumont
Sheila ...... Maureen Lipman
Jean ...... Kerrie Marsh
Ernie ...... Norman Lovett
DJ Richie ...... Jon Richardson
DeeDee ...... Sue McCormick
Ann ...... Annie Sawle
Ben ..... Christopher Simpson
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Radio Comedy Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2015.
THU 07:30 The Ultimate Choice (m0019bx3)
Pilot Episode
Steph McGovern leads a pair of seriously funny minds through some devious Would You Rather dilemmas, to find definitive answers to the great questions of our age. Or not.
In this episode, comedians Russell Kane and Ria Lina step up to the plate, with their fates to be decided by the wise and all-powerful studio audience, who will make the ultimate choice.
Starring Steph McGovern, Russell Kane and Ria Lina
Devised by Jon Harvey and Joseph Morpurgo
Mixed by David Thomas
Production Support: Leah Marks
Associate Producer: Joseph Morpurgo
Produced and edited by Jon Harvey
Executive Producer: Ed Morrish
A Naked production for BBC Radio 4
THU 08:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jm1y)
Series 1
Pass Examinations the Burkiss Way
Improve your IQ and go on the Auntie Quiz in the cult sketch show.
Continuing the Burkiss Way to dynamic living - radio's first correspondence course. No stamp needed.
Dynamic instruction from Denise Coffey, Nigel Rees, Chris Emmett and Fred Harris.
Dynamic scripts by Andrew Marshall, John Mason and David Renwick with dynamic production by Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1976.
THU 08:30 Little Blighty on the Down (b007jx8h)
Series 1
Episode 3
Political satire-based soap opera about the everyday story of a country folk.
Starring:
John Bluthal
Jo Kendall
John Baddeley
Nick Hancock
Bernadine Corrigan
Daniel Strauss
Written by Mark Burton, John O'Farrell and Mike Coleman.
Producer: David Tyler
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1988.
THU 09:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b0b0ptm5)
Series 20
Episode 5
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
Richard Osman, Elis James, Sindhu Vee and Alan Davies the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as buses, dancing, monkeys and statues.
Producer: Richard Turner
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2018.
THU 09:30 Coming Alive (b00gdw1p)
Series 2
Just One Night
Terry and Sandra come to blows when his ex winds up staying at the community centre.
Starring Karl Howman and Phylis Logan.
Jim Eldridge's sitcom about ex-convict Terry King's efforts to run a community centre.
Terry King ...... Karl Howman
Sandra Gaines ...... Phyllis Logan
Steve Addison ...... Ben Crowe
Mr Preston ...... David Holt
Annie ...... Alison Pettitt
Mavis Maddox ...... Tilly Vosburgh
Chaperoning Child ...... Irene Prentice
Gail ...... Jennifer Wheelan
Warren ...... Clinton Mullins Dodson
Producer: Marilyn Imrie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2000.
THU 10:00 Wallis - The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855tzh)
Tea for Two
As Maitre Blum manipulates Wallis, she recalls her first marriage and her attempts to meet a prince.
As the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis was reviled for causing King Edward VIII to abdicate his throne to marry her.
But what was she really like?
Starring Stockard Channing.
Elizabeth Proud's three-part drama about the Duchess of Windsor.
Wallis Simpson .... Stockard Channing
The Prince of Wales .... Christopher Cazenove
Maitre Blum .... Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Ernest Simpson.... Stephen Thorne
Perry .... Christopher Scott
Douglas .... David Monico
Bessie Merryman .... Helen Horton
Nurse Christine/Thelma Furness .... Sara Coward
Nurse Dominique/Sybil .... Susan Bovell
Nancy .... Sunny Ormonde
Kitty Rogers .... Teresa Gallagher
Ben Thaw/Herman Rogers .... William Dufris
Producer: Sue Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1996.
THU 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08swtz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
THU 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00mrzn0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 on Sunday]
THU 12:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jm1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Little Blighty on the Down (b007jx8h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 An Illustration of Modern Science by Richard Marsh (b007jq1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b093jskq)
Episode 4
Robert tries to come to terms with the impending decline of his close friends, as well as his own.
Witty, lucid and provocative, this Robert McCrum's enthralling exploration of what it means to approach the end-game, and begin to recognise, perhaps reluctantly, that we are not immortal.
In 1995, aged 42, Robert suffered a dramatic and near-fatal stroke - the subject of his acclaimed memoir My Year Off.
Ever since that life-changing event, he has lived in the shadow of death, unavoidably aware of his own mortality. And now, 21 years on, he is noticing a change - his friends are joining him there. Death has become his contemporaries' every third thought.
The question is no longer "who am I?" - but "how long have I got?" and "what happens next?"
With the words of Robert's favourite authors as travel companions, Every Third Thought takes us on a journey through a year and towards death itself. As he acknowledges his own and his friends' ageing, he confronts an existential question - in a world where we have learned to live well at all costs, can we make peace with what Freud calls "the necessity of dying"?
Searching for answers leads him to others for advice and wisdom.
Abridged by Barry Johnston
Read by Nicky Henson.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2017.
THU 14:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrzb)
Episode 9
Philip admires Gino's love for his son, but Harriet has other plans which spark terrible consequences.
EM Forster's deliciously witty story of English conventions confounded by the romanticism of Italy.
Debut novel first published in 1905.
Dramatised by Penny Leicester.
Narrator ...... Sian Thomas
Philip ...... Jamie Bamber
Caroline ...... Emilia Fox
Harriet ...... Deborah Findlay
Director: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2003.
THU 14:30 The Actors' Gang (b01p9f5c)
Just outside of LA in the Californian desert, presenter Rajesh Mirchandani joins 'Shawshank Redemption' star Tim Robbins as he leads acting classes with the segregated inmates from Norco prison. Rajesh witnesses the transformation of inmates, from tough gangsters into respectable men and gains a unique insight into some of America's toughest social challenges.
Rajesh recorded inside the prison with Tim Robbins over a two-month period, gaining unique access not only to Tim but also to the inmates. Tim visibly enjoys cult status among the inmates and quickly gains their trust. He is no stranger to prisons, having played an innocent man convicted of murder in "The Shawshank Redemption" and was nominated for a Best Director Oscar for "Dead Man Walking" - a film about a death row inmate. He formed The Actors' Gang, an acting troupe which runs prison theatre workshops for inmates, having spent time in some of LA's toughest prisons whilst researching both films. With re-offending a more likely scenario once they are out of prison, Robbins believes that more should be done whilst they are inside to help them change their ways.
Robbins' Hollywood master class ranges from Shakespeare to Commedia dell'arte, a style that originated in 16th-century Italy and involves actors in masks playing stock character types. Robbins explains that inmates learn to portray four different emotions: happiness, sadness, fear and anger. One of the inmates whom Rajesh follows over the course is Mike, who is serving a lengthy prison sentence. Mike says, "In the yard, gangs stick to their patch but these classes have helped to make guys see that we don't need to be violent."
Produced in Edinburgh by Kate Bissell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012
THU 15:00 Wallis - The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855tzh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b0b0ptm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Coming Alive (b00gdw1p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 To Hull and Back (b06kdz3q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 The Ultimate Choice (m0019bx3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Orbiter X (b078jwxl)
The Final Round
The battle is on.
Can the Commonwealth Space Project thwart Unity's plan for world domination?
Conclusion of BD Chapman's futuristic sci-fi adventure from 1959.
Captain Bob Britton …. John Carson
Captain Douglas McClelland …. Andrew Crawford
Flight Engineer Hicks …. Barrie Gosney
Max Kramer …. Gerik Schjelderup
Gelbin …. Arthur Lawrence
Colonel Kent …. Donald Bisset
Captain Knight …. John Graham
Greta Ravel …. Irene Prador
Control Officer Brown …. Peter Noel Cook
Producer: Charles Maxwell.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1959.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (m0003qy2)
Series 48
Shappi Khorsandi on Emma, Lady Hamilton
Comedian and author Shappi Khorsandi has been desperate to tell the story of Emma, Lady Hamilton as she’s quite simply one of her greatest fans.
Everyone knows Emma Hamilton as simply the seducer of Admiral Horatio Nelson but according to Shappi she was more than that; history has simply palmed her off as a prostitute, a mistress, without looking at the deeper story of what she suffered and endured.
In this programme Shappi, with help from Professor Kate Williams, author of ‘England’s Mistress’, makes the case for how this woman born into poverty clawed her way up through London’s sordid underworld and became fantastically famous posing for artist George Romney. She also became an ambassador’s wife and mixed in diplomatic circles and became the confidante of both Marie Antoinette and the Queen of Naples.
Will presenter Matthew Parris be convinced and accept Emma, Lady Hamilton as a great life.
Producer: Perminder Khatkar
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.
THU 19:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jm1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Little Blighty on the Down (b007jx8h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 An Illustration of Modern Science by Richard Marsh (b007jq1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b08swtz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
THU 21:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00mrzn0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 on Sunday]
THU 22:00 The Ultimate Choice (m0019bx3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Great Unanswered Questions (m000mhlt)
Series 1
Episode 1
Northern Irish comedian Colin Murphy and his cohorts try to answer the most ridiculous of questions with the correct or at the very least, funny answers.
With:
Scientist - Dr David Booth
Comedian and computer geek - Matthew Collins.
Special guest: Jo Caulfield.
Producer: Jackie Hamilton
First broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster in April 2008.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0019r1p)
Abigoliah Schamaun and Joe Wells 3/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Rob Deering chats to Abigoliah Schamaun and Joe Wells.
THU 23:00 The Maltby Collection (b00mqhqt)
Series 3
Episode 5
The museum is due to send an exhibition of its finest artefacts around Europe.
But can Walter find a suitably experienced and diplomatic member of staff to curate it?
Geoffrey Palmer and Julian Rhind-Tutt star in series 3 of David Nobbs’s sitcom about a small museum of paintings and sculpture.
Rod Millet ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Walter Brindle ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Prunella Edgecumbe ...... Rachel Atkins
Susie Maltby ...... Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Julian Crumb-Loosely ...... Ben Willbond
Wilf Arbuthnot ...... Geoff McGivern
Eva Tattle ...... Juklia Deakin
Des Wainwright ...... Michael Smiley
Stelios Constantinopoulis/Van Driver ...... Chris Pavlo
Barman ...... Stephen Hogan.
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.
THU 23:30 The Secret World (b03ls15z)
Series 4
Episode 4
The Queen hatches a plot to get Pippa Middleton out of the way.
Ed Miliband is so keen to pally-up with some builders that he ends up helping them do their work.
And Russell Crowe has a bizarre fixation with sprouts.
The Secret World is the impression show with a difference.
With
Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Jon Culshaw
Julian Dutton
Lewis MacLeod
Jess Robinson
Debra Stephenson
Duncan Wisbey
Written by Bill Dare, Julian Dutton and Duncan Wisbey.
Produced and created by: Bill Dare.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.

FRIDAY 29 JULY 2022

FRI 00:00 Orbiter X (b078jwxl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (m0003qy2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 An Illustration of Modern Science by Richard Marsh (b007jq1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdp7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b093jskq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrzb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 The Actors' Gang (b01p9f5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Wallis - The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855tzh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Unbelievable Truth (b0b0ptm5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Coming Alive (b00gdw1p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 To Hull and Back (b06kdz3q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 The Ultimate Choice (m0019bx3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Agatha Christie (b00jzwdq)
In a Glass Darkly
A man believes he has seen a murderous attack on a young woman reflected in a mirror. He then meets and falls in love with her. With war calling him away, he tries to warn her of what he has seen.
Jeff.....................Neil Dudgeon
Sylvia.................Rebecca Egan
Neil....................Rhys Meredith
Terry..................Bob Sherman
Angus...............Richard Firth
Dramatised by Mike Walker
Music composed and performed by Ben Wallfisch
Directed by Ned Chaillet
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2003.
FRI 06:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdn8)
5. The Truth Revealed
The Kaiser’s plans gather pace and the mystery of the black wood is revealed.
And at last it's time for the man supposed to be Sir Everard Dominey to reveal his true identity.
Is he Sir Everard, or the Prussian von Ragastein?
Conclusion of E Phillips Oppenheim's mystery thriller.
Starring David Robb.
Dramatised by Barry Campbell
Sir Everard Dominey / Leopold von Ragastein ...... David Robb
Prince Terniloff ...... Tim Meats
Pelham/Parkins ...... Howard Hoffmann
Lady Dominey ...... Melinda Walker
Seaman ...... William Hope
Williams ...... Brian Gear
Mrs Marston ...... Gwen Cherrell
Dr Harrison ...... Garard Green
Middleton/Reynolds ...... Paul Nicholson
Princess Eiderstrom ...... Narissa Knights
Dr Schmidt ...... Phillip Manikum
Director Brian Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1985.
FRI 07:00 Dot (b08pdxl5)
Series 2
Teeth
The fellas are going squiffy over Myrtle's new gnashers.
As Hollywood beckons, how will Dot take the news she is no longer the star of her own show?
Rollicking war time comedy by Ed Harris, set in the personnel department of the Cabinet Rooms.
Dot ..... Fenella Woolgar
Myrtle ..... Kate O'Flynn
Peg ..... Freya Parker
Millicent ..... Jane Slavin
Peabody ..... David Acton
Lord Basil Cornley-Awks ..... David Sterne
Director: Jessica Mitic
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2017.
FRI 07:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m0019jw2)
Series 1
Bristol to Penzance
Author, actor and comedy icon, Alexei Sayle continues his travels across the country by rail in the third of a new six part series for Radio 4.
Alexei’s mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers in a quest for conversations that reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations. There’s humour, sadness and surprise as people talk about what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also tells stories and memories from his career and childhood.
Alexei has a lifelong "ticket to ride" in his DNA. His father was a railway guard and the Sayle family benefitted from free travel in the UK and across Europe. As a boy, Alexei and his family roamed far and wide from the family home in Anfield, Liverpool. At a time when most people thought an exciting trip by train was to Brighton or Blackpool, Alexei travelled thousands of miles to mysterious towns with unpronounceable names in far flung corners of the continent.
In each programme in the series, he embarks on a rail journey, taking a chance on who he might meet and inviting them to have a conversation with him. In this episode, Alexei travels from Bristol to Penzance and meets Bert, a Cornish Bard, Marissa and Leanne who have travelled the world working on cruise liners, Angela who for many years ran one of Cornwall's most famous and historic pubs, and Astra who is learning the ropes at circus school.
Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons
A Ride production for Radio 4
FRI 08:00 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007k2kl)
Pike in Love
Mrs Pike asks Arthur to talk to her son, Frank about the birds and bees...
The seaside sitcom featuring characters from Dad’s Army.
Arthur Wilson …. John Le Mesurier
Frank Pike …. Ian Lavender
Bert Hodges …. ill Pertwee
Miss Perkins …. Vivienne Martin
Avril …. Carol Hawkins
Mavis Pike …. Janet Davies
Telephone Engineer …. Gordon Salkild
Written by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles, based on the characters originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1983.
FRI 08:30 The Secret Life of Rosewood Avenue (b007jx5n)
Miss Willow and the One-Eyed Gentleman
"I'm afraid you're too trusting for your own good, Miss Willow. Believe me, appearances can be very deceptive..."
Hapless vicar Timothy Carswell visits some of the more sinister members of his flock.
Stephen Sheridan's six-part series starring James Grout.
Reverend Timothy Carswell ...... James Grout
Miss Tilling ...... Margaret Courtenay
Miss Tapp ...... Jean Heywood
Miss Willow ...... Patricia Hayes
Captain Von Thal ...... Donald Pickering
Hilary ...... Jacqueline Tong
Keith ...... Brian Bowles
Marcia ...... Sarah Souster
Guy ...... James Simmons
Producer: Lissa Evans.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1991.
FRI 09:00 Hidden Treasures (b054z4kp)
Petworth House
A reclining marble sculpture, a very peculiar chair, and some weird and wonderful objects from the kitchen.
Lars Tharp chairs the light-hearted Antiques Quiz from the North Gallery of Petworth House in West Sussex - crammed with works of Turner, William Blake, Reynolds and Gainsborough.
With Eric Knowles, Clive Farahar and Hilary Kay.
Producer: Annie Bristow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
FRI 09:30 One Flat Summer (b00752gw)
The Derby
For Ken, the stakes have been raised by a big win at Newmarket and the attentions of the mysterious Racecourse Rita.
Meanwhile the home front has been badly neglected...
Dave Sheasby's six-part comedy drama.
Ken …… Gerard McDermott
Margaret …… Gillian Bevan
Curly …… Anthony Ofoegbu
Christine …… Rachel Atkins
Dad …… Keith Marsh
Janice …… Andrea Pickering
Tanker …… Stephen Thorne
Super Yankee …… David Brooks
Shop Assistant …… Tracy-Ann Oberman
Bank Manager …… Hugh Dickson
Rita …… Janet Maw
Tam ...... Tom Georgeson
Director: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio in August 1997.
FRI 10:00 Wallis - The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855wfh)
The Melody Lingers On
Wallis realises marrying an ex-king means broken promises, plus doubtful acquaintances and scandal.
As the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis was reviled for causing King Edward VIII to abdicate his throne to marry her.
But what was she really like?
Starring Stockard Channing.
The conclusion of Elizabeth Proud's three-part drama about the Duchess of Windsor.
Wallis Simpson .... Stockard Channing
Duke of Windsor .... Christopher Casenove
Maitre Blum .... Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Churchill/Georges .... Chris Emmett
Foxie .... Jill Graham
Nancy .... Sunny Ormonde
Noel Coward/Von Stohrer/1st Embassy Official …. John Webb
Nurse Christine .... Sara Coward
Nurse Dominique .... Susan Bovell
Penelope Ross/Lady Mosley .... Joanna Monro
Douglas .... David Monico
Stanley/Von Ribbentrop .... Keith Drinkel
Maj. Gray Phillips/BBC Announcer .... Tim Meats
2nd Embassy Official .... David Holt
Producer: Sue Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1996.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m0019kfr)
British Podcast Awards
Laura Grimshaw and Jon Holmes present highlights and winners from this year's British Podcast Awards.
The British Podcast Awards ceremony takes place on Saturday 23rd July at Kennington Park in London. There are 30 awards being presented including Best New, Best Comedy, Best Current Affairs, Best Fiction, the Climate Award, and the Rising Star Award. Plus one of the winners will be crowned Podcast of the Year 2022. For Podcast Radio Hour, we will chat to the winners, hosts and judges at the ceremony to bring the awards to you.
FRI 12:00 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007k2kl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Secret Life of Rosewood Avenue (b007jx5n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Agatha Christie (b00jzwdq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdn8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Every Third Thought by Robert McCrum (b093jsrn)
Episode 5
Despite thoughts of decline and death, Robert finds new hope through a new love.
Witty, lucid and provocative, this Robert McCrum's enthralling exploration of what it means to approach the end-game, and begin to recognise, perhaps reluctantly, that we are not immortal.
In 1995, aged 42, Robert suffered a dramatic and near-fatal stroke - the subject of his acclaimed memoir My Year Off.
Ever since that life-changing event, he has lived in the shadow of death, unavoidably aware of his own mortality. And now, 21 years on, he is noticing a change - his friends are joining him there. Death has become his contemporaries' every third thought.
The question is no longer "who am I?" - but "how long have I got?" and "what happens next?"
With the words of Robert's favourite authors as travel companions, Every Third Thought takes us on a journey through a year and towards death itself. As he acknowledges his own and his friends' ageing, he confronts an existential question - in a world where we have learned to live well at all costs, can we make peace with what Freud calls "the necessity of dying"?
Searching for answers leads him to others for advice and wisdom.
Abridged by Barry Johnston
Concluded by Nicky Henson.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2017.
FRI 14:15 EM Forster - Where Angels Fear to Tread (b007jrzr)
Episode 10
Englishman Philip confesses all to Italian Gino - and learns a bitter truth.
EM Forster's debut novel, first published in 1905.
Dramatised ten parts by Penny Leicester.
Narrator ...... Sian Thomas
Philip ...... Jamie Bamber
Caroline ...... Emilia Fox
Harriet ...... Deborah Findlay
Gino ...... Tom George
Director: Di Speirs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2003.
FRI 14:30 The Keskidee (b00k4fv9)
Oral Historian Alan Dein pieces together the remarkable and pioneering story of the Keskidee, Britain's first arts centre for the black community.
Founded in the early 1970's and tucked away in a church hall in the backstreets of Islington, London, it forged new ground for a generation of black British poets, actors, artists and directors.
Dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson was the educational officer at the Keskidee and Bob Marley shot the music video for 'Is This Love?' there. It had its own drama company, artists in residence and was a hub for African and Afro-Caribbean politics and arts, as well as a creative nursery for home-grown talent. It also catered for the needs of local youth and gave a generation of black teenagers a space of their own.
But this massively influential cultural centre also has a fascinating earlier history, when it served as a progressive mission hall with a musical pastor and a legendary silver band. Today the building has reverted to being a religious base, housing an African church and a devout and joyous congregation.
Dein joins up the hidden history of Gifford Hall which has played host to three different communities, but which, curiously, have much in common.
Producer: Neil McCarthy
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.
FRI 15:00 Wallis - The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855wfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Hidden Treasures (b054z4kp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 One Flat Summer (b00752gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Dot (b08pdxl5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m0019jw2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Bruce Bedford - The Gibson (b007js7p)
Episode 1
Aspiring poet Saul Judd gets drawn into a web of dark and mysterious forces - as a leprous prince ignores sinister warnings and a Bath playgroup's blind terror baffles the adults...
Bruce Bedford's time-hopping supernatural thriller serial in six episodes.
Robert Glenister .... Saul Judd
Sharon Duce .... Elise Judd
Freddie Jones .... The Scribe
Kate Binchy .... The Scribe's Wife
Constance Chapman .... Haensel Sethria
John Telfer .... Prince Bladud
Trevor Cooper .... Rough Peasant
Sam Dastor .... Karim el Hatel
June Barrie .... The Chairwoman
Geoff Serle .... The Northern Man
Jonathan Adams .... The Guardian
Original music composed by Thomas Johnson.
Music realised by Robin Lever.
Special effects: Dick Mills (Radiophonic Workshop)
Directed at BBC Bristol by Andy Jordan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
FRI 18:30 Sounds Natural (b0b6pkrx)
Nigel Stock
Actor Nigel Stock shares his passion for wildlife and conservation with Derek Jones.
A Slavonian grebe, a Fire-Bellied Toad and Fred the Coypu are among his choice of recordings from the BBC Sound Archives.
British character actor, Nigel Stock (1919 -1986).appeared in numerous TV, film and stage productions - most memorably as Dr Watson in the BBC's Sherlock Holmes TV dramatisations in the 1960s
Produced in Bristol by John Burton and Michael Bowen.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1971.
FRI 19:00 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007k2kl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Secret Life of Rosewood Avenue (b007jx5n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Agatha Christie (b00jzwdq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 The Great Impersonation (m000mdn8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m0019kfr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m0019jw2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Daydream Believers (b007kq40)
Mitchell and Webb are a hack sci-fi scribe and his gormless lodger. With Olivia Colman and Simon Greenall. From May 2007
FRI 23:00 The Pin (b06j5bjs)
Series 1
Episode 1
Join Alex and Ben in their weird twist on the double-act sketch show.
Strap in for a 15 minute delve in to a world of oddness performed in front of a live studio audience.
The Pin are an award-winning comedy duo, and legends of Edinburgh festival. They deconstruct the sketch form, in a show that exists somewhere between razor-sharp smartness and utterly joyous silliness.
After a sold-out run in Edinburgh, and a string of hilarious performances across BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC 3, Channel 4, and Comedy Central, this is The Pin's debut solo show for Radio 4. Join them as they celebrate, make, collapse and rebuild their jokes, each other, and probably the radio too.
Producer: Sam Bryant.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2015.
FRI 23:15 World of Pub (b007jlwx)
Series 1
Episode 1
The only regulars at Barry and Garry’s East End boozer are late-night DJs and Trappist monks.
Can dodgy Phil help boost custom?
First of two comedy series written by Tony Roche.
Dodgy Phil ...... John Thomson
Barry ...... Phil Cornwell
Garry ...... Peter Serafinowcz
Other parts played by Kim Wall and Debra Stephenson.
Music: Bill Bailey
Special effects: Carl Phillips and Nick Romero.
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1998.
FRI 23:30 James Acaster's Perfect Sounds (p09zrmpn)
Series 2
Fern Brady & Emo R&B
James Acaster talks about one of the many albums he collected from the year 2016 with one of his comedy friends. This week Fern Brady states from the outset that Half of My Love by Fauxe is not for her… oops. Even though the title comes from one of her favourite albums. Can James change her mind?