SATURDAY 16 NOVEMBER 2024

SAT 00:00 Soul Music (m00187b3)
Ne Me Quitte Pas
Ne Me Quitte Pas is a song about begging someone not to go; of promising the world to them, if they'll only stay.
From Haiti to New York, Provence to Glasgow... in versions by Nina Simone, Dusty Springfield and Scott Walker... we hear stories of what Jacques Brel's song has meant to people around the world.
With contributions from France Brel, Johane Celestin, Alastair Campbell, Brendan McGeever, Peter Hawkins and Malaika Kegode.
Produced by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2022.
SAT 00:30 Open the Box (b0075rhq)
Set against the relentless 24-hour story of the telephone box's life, from late-night revellers calling for cabs to the clean-up teams that scour out the box ready for another day,
Sara Parker meets those for whom the telephone box is far more than somewhere to place a call.
Producer: Simon Elmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
SAT 01:00 Castles in Spain (m0004xw1)
5. Death
'Whatever you think it is, bookseller, Terry copied pictures. End of story. Right?'
Will Forrest’s death release bookseller Grahame Mayer from the business of tracking down Jock Cameron?
Starring Ray Brooks.
Conclusion of Edward Boyd’s mystery thriller serial.
Grahame Mayer ..... Ray Brooks
Coleman ..... John Westbrook
Teresa ..... Alexandra Mathie
Dr Lovat ..... Roy Hanlon
Joseph Greig ..... Cameron
Produced at BBC Scotland by Patrick Rayner.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1987.
SAT 01:30 P Division (b007jx62)
Condition Purple
2. Mystery
The police post-mortem has shown that prostitute, Stephanie Craigellachie had an 'I belong to Dino' tattoo.
But who is Dino and what did he have to do with her murder...?
Peter Turnbull's P Division novel about his Glaswegian cops.
Stars Martin Cochrane and Ralph Riach.
Dramatised by Stephen Mulrine.
DCI Donoghue …. Martin Cochrane
DS Ray Sussock …. Ralph Riach
Karen …. Gaylie Runciman
DC King …. John Buick
DC Montgomery …. Frank Gallagher
Tuesday Noon …. Alex McAvoy
Mr Keyes …. Robert Trotter
Mrs Olive Keyes …. Kay Gallie
WPC Elka Willems …. Ann Louise Ross
Dino …. Alexander Morton
Produced at BBC Glasgow by Hamish Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1993.
SAT 02:00 Trapped (b0076h5p)
Series 1
A Boy in a Well
A local TV news team are desperate for a dramatic story to boost their ratings.
Pennine News Network needs a big story to go national and keep them all employed. So when 9-a year-old boy falls down a well - will he be trapped there long enough for the team to keep their jobs?
Black comedy by Mark Maier and Daniel Maier.
Ben .... Paul Popplewell
Trevor .... Chris Pavlo
Mrs Pickery .... Catherine Tate
MacFee .... Ralph Ineson
Becky .... Catherine Shepherd
Mike .... Paul Copley
Stuart .... Philip Jackson
Producer: Alex Walsh-Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2003.
SAT 02:30 Doctor in the House (b007jsz4)
Anatomy
More hospital mayhem, as student medic Simon Sparrow struggles with dissecting bodies.
The misadventures of student doctor, Simon Sparrow.
Starring Richard Briers.
Adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's 'Doctor in the House' published in 1952.
Simon Sparrow …. Richard Briers
Sir Lancelot Spratt …. Geoffrey Sumner
Tony Benskin …. Ray Cooney
Taffy Evans …. Edward Cast
Vera …. Norma Ronald
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1968.
SAT 03:00 Michael Spicer: Before Next Door (m000xtc1)
Series 1
Silver Badge
Things are taking off for our socially awkward and neurotic part-time comedian now he is a fully fledged internet sensation. Michael is asked to attend the Webber’s Comedy Awards, but he is only needed to present an award, not to receive one. Even so, this is the first time Michael has been invited to such a prestigious industry event and wife Roberta insists he attends - as long as she can come too.
Roberta is more excited about the awards ceremony than Michael, as she spies a chance to network and create new opportunities for his burgeoning comedy career.
And the stress of Michael’s day job as a copywriter at a kitchen worktop company intensifies after an ominous corridor encounter with a new recruit.
As Michael’s anxiety goes full throttle, even a call from 1920s cabaret star and war heroine Josephine Baker fails to calm his nerves and he gives the most explosive presentation speech in the history of the Webber’s Comedy Awards. Or does he?
As Roberta attempts to become Michael’s manager and thrust him into the limelight outside the social media where he has become successful, will he break through into television and radio? It’s only Episode Two so this is still in your hands. Listen to the show. He’s been trying for 20 years with only cult success until now. So give it a sympathy listen, if nothing else. That would be good.
Cast: Michael Spicer with Ellie Taylor, Joanna Neary, Paterson Joseph, Susan Wokoma, Greig Johnson, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Tara Flynn and Peter Curran.
Writer: Michael Spicer
Producer: Matt Tiller
A Starstruck and Tillervision production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2021.
SAT 03:30 Endell Street by Wendy Moore (m000jph0)
5. The Last Days
In Wendy Moore's book about the military hospital set up during the First World War, the final days of the hostilities approach., but it is "darkest before dawn".
This is the story of the trailblazing women who set up three military hospitals during WWI and is a tribute to their brilliant and courageous work.
Louisa Garrett Anderson and Flora Murray were the two doctors who put their campaigning for women's suffrage to one side, so that they could turn their attention to the war wounded. They made their mark by setting up and running a hospital on Endell Street in the heart of London, where over the course of the war they treated 26,000 wounded soldiers. However, when the war ended, Murray and Anderson's achievements were once again side-lined, and the story of Endell Street was forgotten.
Read by Jessica Raine
Written by Wendy Moore
Abridged by Katrin Williams
Produced by Elizabeth Allard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2020.
SAT 03:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767g1)
5. Infidelity
Can Andrea and married Philip manage to keep their affair secret?
Stan Barstow’s gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960s, dramatised by his partner Diana Griffiths.
Agnes.........Naomi Radcliffe
Andrea...............Deborah Mcandrew
Philip..................Robert Glenister
Landlord.............Geoff Hinsliff
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
SAT 04:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m00138j0)
Series 27
Episode 1
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies.
They compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
The panellists are obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as pigs, underwear, camels and sausages.
With:
Alan Davies
Lucy Porter
Lou Sanders
Justin Edwards
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2021.
SAT 04:30 All the Young Dudes (b00cgyjs)
Series 1
School's Out
Having moved back to London, Patrick is still looking for a teaching post and tries for a job at his old school.
An unexpected voice from the past leaves him feeling cold...
The lives of Patrick and wife Helen as they settle back into the town where he was born.
Comedy drama written by and starring Jim Sweeney.
Patrick …… Jim Sweeney
Helen: Cathryn Harrison
Billy …… Steve Steen
Joe …… Stephen Frost
Moira …… Sadie Shimmin
Maria …… Flaminia Cinque
Charlie …… Izzy De Rosario
Mr Martin …… Geoffrey Whitehead
Announcer: Whispering Bob Harris
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2001.
SAT 05:00 Rodney Stone by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (m000gvjz)
Episode 4
Rodney Stone and his friend Jim, two young lads from the country, find themselves drawn into the racy. colourful but dangerous world of boxing and gambling, and become involved in a series of exciting adventures set in an England where the Prince Regent is all but King and Lord Nelson all but God.
Sir Charles and Rodney rush to meet Jim Harrison to find out what prevented him from fighting Wilson. Stars Sean Arnold.
Written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and first published in 1896, it is dramatised for radio in 4 parts by Constance Cox.
Rodney Stone ... Sean Arnold
Jim Harrison .... Stuart Organ
Champ Harrison ... Henry Stamper
Mrs Harrison .... Charlotte Mitchell
Sir Charles Tregellis ... John Rye
Lord Avon ....Terence Morgan
Miss Hinton ... Jill Balcon
Anson Stone ...Peter Woodthorpe
Mrs Stone .... Jean Trend
Sir Lothian Hume ....Nigel Graham
Ambrose .... Michael Bilton
Sir James Ovington/1st Officer.... Peter Tuddenham
2nd Officer .... David Gooderson
Directed by David Johnston
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1983.
SAT 06:00 The Double Gallant (m002541q)
THE DOUBLE GALLANT
or The Sick Lady's Cure
A farcical comedy by Colley Cibber and others*
First produced at the Queens Theatre on London's Haymarket, November 1st, 1707
Starring Fenella Fielding, John Westbrook, June Tobin, Jane Wenham.
Cast in order of appearance:
Prologue / Sir Henry Atall..... Austin Trevor
Atall ...., Timothy West
Tom Clerimint .... John Westbrook
Careless .... Peter Pratt
Sir Solomon Sadlife .... Hamlyn Benson
Supple, His Man / Mr Rhubarb .... Lewis Stringer
Clarinda, niece to Sir Solomon .... June Tobin
Sylvia, her cousin .... Jane Wenham
Wishwell, Lady Sadlife's Woman .... Hilda Kriseman
Lady Sadlife .... Janet Burnell
Lady Dainty .... Fenella Fielding
Situp, her woman .... Dorit Welles
Caesar / An Indian / Finder, man to Atall .... Jonathan Scott
Pompey / An American Birdman .... David Valla
The Chinawoman .... Sian Davies
Doctor Blister / Mr Lockum, the Queen's messenger.... Kenneth Hyde
Old Mr Wilful .... George Merritt
Music composed and conducted by Christopher Whelen played by a section of the New Symphony Orchestra
Harpsichord, Lionel Salter
Adapted for radio and produced by Raymond Raikes
First broadcast on the BBC Third Programme in October 1962.
* The Double Gallant (1707) was constructed from Burnaby's The Reformed Wife (1700) and The Lady's Visiting Day (1701) and Centlivre's Love at a Venture (1706).
SAT 07:36 Parcel Arrived Safely: Tied With String (Omnibus) (m0013qzv)
From Frank Spencer-like moments at the births of his daughters to the tribulations and ultimate triumph of starring in 'The Phantom of The Opera'.
Michael Crawford CBE reads his autobiography.
Celebrated for his roles as the hapless Frank Spencer in the BBC TV sitcom, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - and as the man in the mask in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera - Michael is one of Britain's best loved entertainers.
Omnibus of five parts abridged by Pat McLoughlin.
Producer: Penny Leicester
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1999.
SAT 08:45 Alan Coren - Core Coren (b007jrph)
3. Away From It All
The humourist, writer and broadcaster muses on travelling, and considers acting lessons for posing in holiday snaps.
Abridged in five-parts, Alan Coren (1938-2007) reads from his book 'A Bit on the Side' first published in 1996.
The son of a builder, Coren won a scholarship to Oxford, and also studied at Yale and the University of California. He planned to become a professor, but his experiences in the USA prompted him to take up comic writing. He was editor of 'Punch' magazine from 1978-1987.
Alan was also a regular panellist on BBC radio 4's ‘The News Quiz’ and a team captain on BBC TV's ‘Call My Bluff’.
Producer: Aled Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1997.
SAT 09:00 The Men from the Ministry (b017gzgl)
All Change
Struggling with the new metric system - will the dopey duo measure up in fancy new jobs?
Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler.
Lennox-Brown …. Deryck Guyler
Lamb …. Richard Murdoch
Mildred Murfin …. Norma Ronald
Sir Gregory Pitkin …. Ronald Baddiley
‘Creepy’ Crawley …. John Graham
Written by Edward Taylor and John Graham.
'The Men from the Ministry' ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977. Deryck Guyler replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966. Sadly many episodes didn't survive in the archive, however the BBC's Transcription Service re-recorded 14 shows in 1980 - never broadcast in the UK, until the arrival of BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in July 1975.
SAT 09:30 The Morecambe and Wise Show (m002541s)
Episode 5
Eric and Ernie discuss holidays before reimagining a classic search for lost treasure.
Starring Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise
With Elaine Taylor and Peter Hawkins.
Written by Eric Merriman.
Music from Anita Harris, The Mike Sammes Singers and Burt Rhodes and his Orchestra.
Producer: John Browell
First broadcast on BBC Light Programme in August 1966.
SAT 10:00 Hilarious Histories - What's So Funny About the Past? (m000n0kq)
1. A Cad and a Bounder
Public Historian Greg Jenner embarks on an Arthurian quest to find out how comedy writers make history funny.
Greg is the Historical Consultant to all eight TV series of CBBC’s Emmy and multiple BAFTA award-winning Horrible Histories.
In short, he is both a nerd and a comedy nerd.
In the first of three programmes, Greg grapples with the big questions over accuracy and ethics
With the help of:
Comedian-turned-classicist Natalie Haynes
‘Horrible Histories’ Head Writer Ben Ward
‘Austentatious’ improvisers Cariad Lloyd and Andrew Hunter-Murray.
Featured programme:
‘Austentatious: A Cad and a Bounder’ [BBC Radio 4 18/06/2017]
Producer: Anne-Marie Luff
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in February 2019.
SAT 11:00 The Double Gallant (m002541q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 12:36 Parcel Arrived Safely: Tied With String (Omnibus) (m0013qzv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:36 today]
SAT 13:45 Alan Coren - Core Coren (b007jrph)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 14:00 The Men from the Ministry (b017gzgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 14:30 The Morecambe and Wise Show (m002541s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 15:00 Hilarious Histories - What's So Funny About the Past? (m000n0kq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Stanislaw Lem - Solaris (b00pf12m)
1. Trouble in Space
A psychologist is sent to a rundown space station to find out what has happened to its crew. When his long-dead young wife turns up, he suddenly finds himself in serious trouble.
Stanislaw Lem's modern sci-fi classic dramatised by Hattie Naylor.
Kris......................Ron Cook
Rheya.................Joanne Froggatt
Sartoris..............Stuart Rickman
Snow...................Tim McMullan
The Woman......Maxine Burth
Music by Alice Trueman
Sound Design: Steve Brooke
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2007.
SAT 17:00 The Double Gallant (m002541q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 18:36 Parcel Arrived Safely: Tied With String (Omnibus) (m0013qzv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:36 today]
SAT 19:45 Alan Coren - Core Coren (b007jrph)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 20:00 The Men from the Ministry (b017gzgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 20:30 The Morecambe and Wise Show (m002541s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 21:00 Hilarious Histories - What's So Funny About the Past? (m000n0kq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Angstrom (b09nxsc4)
Series 1
Into the Mad Mind of Madness
Matthew Holness stars as Knut Ångström, a brooding, alcoholic, maverick Swedish detective from the tough streets of Oslo.
Scandinavian detective yarn adapted from the bestselling Ångström trilogy by Martin English (writing as Bjorgen Swedenssonsson).
Following the death of his wife, Ångström is posted to the Njalsland peninsula where he becomes embroiled in a labyrinthine murder (or possibly not-murder) case which bears an eerie similarity to the Askeladden killings - a case from his distant past.
A clue left by the killer now leads Ångström and Mina to the Schmilsson novelty troll factory, where Ångström's brooding threatens to get out of control.
Written by Joel Morris and Jason Hazeley.
Knut Ångström ...... Matthew Holness
Nina Oblong ...... Nadia Kamil
Narrator ...... Simon Kane
Also starring:
Kevin Eldon
Freya Parker
David Reed
Anna Crilly
The writers have also written the Ladybird Books for Grown Ups, Charlie Brooker's Wipe, That Mitchell and Webb Look and A Touch of Cloth.
Producer: Lyndsay Fenner
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2018.
SAT 22:30 The Secret World (b03mj1yd)
Series 4
Episode 6
Peter Sallis lays down a track for Lady Gaga's new album.
Chancellor Merkel plays 'snog marry avoid' and Ed Miliband learns to boogie.
It can only be the strange goings on in the show that shines a light on the private lives of public people.
With:
Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Jon Culshaw
Julian Dutton
Lewis MacLeod
Jess Robinson
Duncan Wisbey
Written by Bill Dare, Julian Dutton and Duncan Wisbey.
Produced and created by Bill Dare.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m00255cc)
Michael Cumming 3/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus more from Jake Yapp’s chat with Brass Eye director Michael Cumming.
SAT 23:00 Innes Own World (b0178mxy)
Episode 2
A radio programme that takes you inside Neil Innes's head and doesn't let you out for half an hour.
Featuring "The Breakfast Things", Neil's own version of The Today Programme, broadcast from his kitchen table.
Written and performed by Neil Innes.
Script Editor: John Dowie
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2003.
SAT 23:30 Rigor Mortis (b007k4h5)
Series 1
Episode 3
When a new coroner arrives, Ruth wants him to send her the most interesting autopsy cases.
Laurence Howarth’s sitcom set in the fascinating, but misunderstood world of the pathology lab.
Dr Anthony Webster ...... Peter Davison
Dr Ruth Anderson ...... Tracy-Ann Oberman
Professor Donaldson ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Gordon ...... Tom Price
Chloe ...... Marianne Levy
Simon ...... Gus Brown
Daniel Kasper ...... Laurence Howarth
With:
Stephen Critchlow
Beth Chalmers
Music by Paul Mottram and Stephanie Benavente.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.

SUNDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2024

SUN 00:00 Stanislaw Lem - Solaris (b00pf12m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 The Double Gallant (m002541q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:36 Parcel Arrived Safely: Tied With String (Omnibus) (m0013qzv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:36 on Saturday]
SUN 03:45 Alan Coren - Core Coren (b007jrph)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 The Men from the Ministry (b017gzgl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 The Morecambe and Wise Show (m002541s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 Hilarious Histories - What's So Funny About the Past? (m000n0kq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m002541v)
Booker Prize Castaways
Arundhati Roy
Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer, Arundhati Roy.
She won the Booker Prize for her first novel, The God Of Small Things, which has been translated into 40 languages and became the best-selling book ever by a non-expatriate Indian. After a gap of 20 years, her second novel will be published in June.
Brought up in Kerala, her Syrian Christian mother left her marriage when her children were young and set up a small school where Arundhati and her brother were educated. Raised to be independent, aged 16, Arundhati left home to study architecture in Delhi before being introduced to the film world by her second husband.
Since the publication of The God of Small Things in 1997, she has continued to write non-fiction, using her influence her to focus on tackling injustice. She has campaigned against India's nuclear programme, dam-building, globalisation, religious intolerance and the inequality of Indian society.
DISC ONE: The Beatles - While My Guitar Gently Weeps
DISC TWO: Martin Taylor’s Spirit of Django - Hi Lily, Hi Lo
DISC THREE: Paul Robeson - Ol' Man River
DISC FOUR: The Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday
DISC FIVE: Janis Joplin - Summertime
DISC SIX: Bhungar Khan - Jhatke Aaayo Chomasho
DISC SEVEN: Bhimsen Joshi - Raga Chhaya-Chhaya Malhar
DISC EIGHT: Leonard Cohen - Winter Lady
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bhimsen Joshi - Raga Chhaya-Chhaya Malhar
BOOK CHOICE: Hope Against Hope by Nadezhda Mandelstam
LUXURY CHOICE: A Ratol Mango Tree
Producer: Cathy Drysdale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017.
SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00yz55m)
Series 2
Charnia
David Attenborough has always been fascinated by fossils; even as a boy he'd spend many hours exploring the local quarry near his home in Leicestershire.
Near his family home was a forest which he visited frequently, but didn't hunt for fossils there because he knew the rocks were too old to have any postcards of early life embedded in their layers.
But he was wrong - those rocks harboured a wonderful secret - a secret that would rattle the cages of the big thinkers of the time and would change the story of life on earth for ever.
Written and presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.
SUN 07:00 Poetry Extra (m002541x)
In The Studio - Ocean Vuong: Becoming Briefly Gorgeous
Poet Daljit Nagra selects In The Studio - Ocean Vuong: Becoming Briefly Gorgeous featuring the young Vietnamese writer who has been called “one of our most gifted poets”. And Daljit reads a poem from his Poetry Extra Book of the Month - Battery Rocks by Katrina Naomi.
Ocean Vuong came to public attention when his poetry collection “Night Sky With Exit Wounds” was showered with awards. His first novel “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” followed and has also been critically acclaimed.
Ocean’s work often mirrors his own experience as an immigrant. He was born in Saigon, Vietnam but at a young age he and members of his family left Vietnam, as refugees for the United States. After attempting a degree in business, Ocean found his true vocation as a writer and now divides his time between creating new work and teaching university students.
Oonagh Cousins talks to Ocean about the way he creates his work, how ideas and images come to him and the importance of being uncomfortable when he’s writing.
Producer – Emma Kingsley
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 2020.
SUN 07:30 Endell Street by Wendy Moore (Omnibus) (m002541z)
Wendy Moore's account of the trailblazing women who set up three military hospitals during the First World War is a tribute to their brilliant and courageous work.
Louisa Garrett Anderson and Flora Murray were the two pioneering doctors who temporarily put to one side their campaigning for Votes for Women, so that they could turn their attention to the casualties of war.
They made their mark by setting up and running a military hospital on Endell Street in the heart of London, where over the course of the war they treated 26,000 wounded soldiers.
Anderson and Murray demonstrated, along with their staff of women surgeons, nurses and orderlies, that they were supremely capable in so many fields of medicine, but when the war ended, their achievements were once again side-lined, and the story of Endell Street forgotten.
Omnibus of five-parts abridged by Katrin Williams.
Read by Jessica Raine.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2020.
SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0025421)
Celia Imrie
Actor and author Celia Imrie selects ‘You Know What I Mean’ by Jeff Beck and ‘Merveille’ by Jean-Louis Aubert.
SUN 08:50 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus) (b06z87jb)
Episode 1
Andrea meets Philip, a married man.
The warnings are all about lust, but tenderness is the real enemy.
Stan Barstow’s gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960's.
Dramatised by his partner Diana Griffiths.
Omnibus of the first five of ten parts.
Andrea ...... Deborah McAndrew
Philip ...... Robert Glenister
Tom ...... David Calder
George ...... John Griffin
Julie ...... Naomi Radcliffe
Mrs Warner ...... Daryl Fishwick
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast in on BBC Radio 4 in April 2002.
SUN 10:00 Beyond Our Ken (b007jqx6)
From 29/07/1958
Kenneth Horne turns journalist for a women's magazine - and Hornerama probes the English.
Starring Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Ron Moody.
Written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took
Music from Pat Lancaster, the Malcolm Mitchell Trio and the BBC Review Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
A madcap mix of sketches and songs, Beyond Our Ken hit the airwaves in 1958 and ran to 1964 - featuring regulars like Arthur Fallowfield, Cecil Snaith and Rodney and Charles.
The precursor to 'Round The Horne' - sadly only 13 shows survive from the original run of 21 episodes in Series 1. Audio restored using both home and overseas (BBC Transcription Service) recordings.
Producer: Jacques Brown
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1958.
SUN 10:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m0025423)
Series 2
The Holiday Camp Skulls
The dear ladies hear of plans for a new holiday camp.
Starring Dr Evadne Hinge and her lifelong companion Dame Hilda Bracket.
Brought to you from the genteel setting of the Suffolk village of Stackton Tressel, where the musical duo reside.
Written by Mike Craig, Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell.
Dame Hilda Brackett …. Patrick Fyffe
Dr Evadne Hinge …. George Logan
Maud .... Daphne Heard
Teddy Tranter .... John Savident
Constable Bolsover .... Herbert Smith
Three series ran on BBC Radio 4 between 1977 and 1979, with further spin-off seasons on BBC Radio 2 until 1990.
In the early 1980s, they expanded over to BBC TV with the series Dear Ladies.
Produced at BBC Manchester by James Casey.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1978.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m002541v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00yz55m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m002541x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Endell Street by Wendy Moore (Omnibus) (m002541z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0025421)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 13:50 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus) (b06z87jb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 15:00 Beyond Our Ken (b007jqx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 15:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m0025423)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 16:00 The Man in Black (b00yhs8p)
Series 3
Connect by Lucy Moore
Helpline volunteer Rosie receives a series of strange calls from a sinister caller raking up her past...
Mark Gatiss returns as the sinister raconteur, The Man in Black, to introduce Lucy Moore's chilling tale that may make you think twice before picking up the phone.
Rosie …. Claire Harry
Mike …. Iain Batchelor
The Demon …. Eliza Caitlin Parkes
Sam …. Lloyd Thomas
Liz …. Leah Brotherhood
The Volunteer …. Deeivya Meir
More horrifying tales from The Man in Black. You might meet him at a luggage carousel in an airport, or behind the desk at an employment agency or he might approach you in the corridor of a care home. Wherever you encounter him, he's eager to pass on his stories. Stories to unsettle and horrify. Stories to haunt you.
Director: Abigail le Fleming
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in February 2011.
SUN 16:30 Weird Tales (b00vknmp)
Series 2
Connected by Melissa Murray
Hoarder of horror, HP Lovecraft returns to share more of weird chilling tales.
When her brother-in-law is killed in a car crash, Steph is overcome with sadness.
One day, feeling maudlin, she rings his mobile number. She just wants to hear his voice really. The next day he rings her back...
Written by Melissa Murray
Lovecraft ..... Stephen Hogan
Steph ..... Fiona Glascott
Ray ..... Joseph Kloska
Jamie ..... Piers Wehner
Mother ..... Kate Layden
Jan ..... Melissa Advani
Passenger ..... Ewan Hooper
Shop Assistant ..... Rhys Jennings
Passer-by ..... John Biggins
Estate Agent ..... Tessa Nicholson
Other parts played by the cast.
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2010.
SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m002541v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00yz55m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m002541x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 18:30 Endell Street by Wendy Moore (Omnibus) (m002541z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0025421)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 19:50 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus) (b06z87jb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 21:00 Beyond Our Ken (b007jqx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m0025423)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 22:00 What's Funny About ... (m000j35w)
The Vicar Of Dibley - with Dawn French & Richard Curtis
TV veterans Peter Fincham and Jon Plowman talk to the writers, producers and performers behind Britain’s biggest TV comedy hits, and hear the inside story of how they brought their programmes to the screen.
In this episode, Dawn French and Richard Curtis discuss their much-loved sitcom 'The Vicar of Dibley'.
They explain how to make a fundamentally nice character funny, ponder Richard’s curious appetite for writing quite so many weddings, and Dawn’s strangest ever Vicar of Dibley gig.
With Peter and Jon as our guides, discover how the Dawn and Richard went about making a great bit of TV comedy.
Who came up with it?
How did it get written?
Plus, backstage secrets straight from the horse’s mouth, with the unvarnished truth from the people who were there, and who put these iconic shows on the telly.
Producer: Owen Braben
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Expectation Productions in 2020. This version was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2021.
SUN 22:30 1966 and All That (b0100q4y)
The 1920s and 30s
King George utters some unmemorable last words.
DH Lawrence of Arabia writes Lady Chatterbox's Llama.
And John Yogi Bear discovers the BBC, but finds there's not much on...
Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain begins in the 1920s and 1930s.
With:
Joss Ackland
Eleanor Bron
Rory Bremner
Ewan Bailey
Margaret Cabourn-Smith
John Humphrys
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2006.
SUN 23:00 Life With Lederer (m001jt0r)
Series 2
The Company
With so much talk about the recession, Helen decides it's time to set-up her own company!
Helen Lederer returns with more of her recipes for coping with life
Written by and starring Helen Lederer.
With:
Malcolm Raeburn
Christopher Campbell
Victoria Finney
Sandra Maitland
Produced at BBC Manchester by Paul Z Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1991.
SUN 23:15 Where to, Mate? (m000j2sq)
Series 1
"...Walt Disney has a sister...?"
Follow taxi drivers Bernie and Ben as we eavesdrop on their journeys around North West England.
Starring Peter Slater and Jo Enright.
In this opening episode, Bernie picks up Milton and they strike up a friendship. Ben picks up a healer who tries to help him against his will.
A semi-improvised comedy set and recorded on location in a car in Manchester.
Based on ideas by Jason Wingard and Carl Cooper.
Ben was the first driver to work at the firm and he’s seen it all. He likes 80s movies and arguing about nothing, but tries to help passengers out with their problems whenever he can.
Bernie has left her husband in Birmingham and escaped to Manchester to work as the only female driver at All Star Cars. She didn’t get out on her own much before she got this job, but she’s making up for it now.
Featuring local voices and character actors/comedians from the North.
Ben ..... Peter Slater
Bernie ..... Jo Enright
Milton ..... Christopher J Hall
The Healer ..... Lisa Moore
Saj ..... Abdullah Afzal
Controller ..... Jason Wingard
Controller ..... Abdullah Afzal
Additional voices and material by the cast and crew.
With additional material and production support by Hannah Stevenson.
Director: Jason Wingard
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2020.
SUN 23:30 The Absolutely Radio Show (b08xzcvk)
Series 2
Episode 4
It's a fractious Stoneybridge Town Council meeting where there's controversy even when there's no agenda.
The Little Girl gives her take on US politics, Frank Hovis reveals how he met his wife and the Commissionaire explains how to manage a border wall between countries.
Calum Gilhooley makes a mountain out of buying a cup of coffee and Gwynedd shocks Denzil when she reveals her new beachwear - a beaver skin furkini.
The team look at the rise of mobile phone zombies and there's a song about the pitfalls of being a self help junkie, while ageing rockers Joe and Davie try to resurrect the old magic in the recording studio.
The cast of TV's hugely popular sketch show revisit some of their much-loved sketch characters, while also introducing some newcomers to the show.
Starring:
Peter Baikie
Morwenna Banks
Moray Hunter
Gordon Kennedy
John Sparkes
Gus Beattie
In 2013, the group that made their name on Channel Four in the 1980s and 90s got back together for BBC Radio 4's Sketchorama: Absolutely Special - which won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Live Scripted Comedy.
Producers: Gordon Kennedy & Gus Beattie
An Absolutely/Gusman production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2017.

MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2024

MON 00:00 The Man in Black (b00yhs8p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Weird Tales (b00vknmp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m002541v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00yz55m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m002541x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Endell Street by Wendy Moore (Omnibus) (m002541z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0025421)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]
MON 03:50 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (Omnibus) (b06z87jb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Beyond Our Ken (b007jqx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m0025423)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Whodunnits (m0017lnv)
Lady in a Fog
1. Presenting Philip Odell
Philip Odell is a hard-nosed Irish-American private eye, who worked for the American secret service during the Second World War.
When his friend Heather O'Mara reveals her brother has been killed, she asks him to investigate.
With London under a thick pea soup fog, his probe begins…
Starring Robert Beatty.
Vintage thriller serial by Lester Powell in eight parts.
Philip Odell .... Robert Beatty
Heather McMara .... Sheila Manahan
Marilyn Peters .... June Tobin
Christopher Hampden .... James Thomason
Parkin .... Harold Reese
Martin Sorrowby .... John Bennett
Barman …. Ronald Baddiley
Mrs Cantaloup .... Betty Baskcomb
Receptionist .... Joan Matheson
Producer: Martyn C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1958.
MON 06:30 P Division (b007jx64)
Condition Purple
3. Dino
While Dino remains as elusive as ever, the team continue their search for fresh evidence in the hunt for the killer of prostitute, Stephanie Craigellachie.
Peter Turnbull's P Division novel about his Glaswegian cops.
Stars Martin Cochrane and Ralph Riach.
Dramatised by Stephen Mulrine.
DCI Donoghue …. Martin Cochrane
DS Ray Sussock …. Ralph Riach
DC King …. John Buick
DC Montgomery …. Frank Gallagher
Collette …. Louise Beattie
WPC Elka Willems …. Ann Louise Ross
First Woman …. Wilma Duncan
Second Woman …. Mamie Stirling
Dino …. Alexander Morton
Produced at BBC Glasgow by Hamish Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1993.
MON 07:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00b41fs)
Series 2
Anyone for a Cruise to Cherbourg?
The singing duo wonder why their agent is being uncharacteristically nice...
30 years after sweethearts Tommy Franklin and Sheila Parr won the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, the musical double-act are back in the big time.
June Whitfield and Roy Hudd star in Mike Coleman's sitcom.
Tommy Franklin ...... Roy Hudd
Sheila Parr ...... June Whitfield
With Pat Coombs, Julian Eardley, Edward Halstead, Paul Rogan and Alex Lowe.
Music by Frido Ruth.
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1999.
MON 07:30 The Navy Lark (b0176m1q)
The Forbodians Hijack Troutbridge
When the crew of HMS Troutbridge are taken on an unexpected voyage - who can save them?
Stars Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and Stephen Murray.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive 13 series between 1959 and 1976.
The Sub-Lieutenant ...... Leslie Phillips
The Chief Petty Officer ...... Jon Pertwee
The Number One ...... Stephen Murray
Captain Povey ...... Richard Caldicot
Natasha ...... Heather Chasen
The Admiral ...... Tenniel Evans
Igor ...... Michael Bates
AS Tiddy ...... Lawrie Wyman
Written by Lawrie Wyman
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1970.
MON 08:00 North by Northamptonshire (b018xy2d)
Series 2
Episode 5
The dawn of the Dickensian festival brings chaos to Wadenbrook, and Angela has something to tell Frank.
Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the residents of a small town in Northamptonshire.
Written by Katherine Jakeways.
John Biggins................................Keith
Mackenzie Crook...........................Rod
Kevin Eldon...................Jonathan / Ken
Shelia Hancock....................... Narrator
Jessica Henwick...........................Helen
Katherine Jakeways........ Esther / Jacqui
Felicity Montagu..............................Jan
Geoffrey Palmer........................Norman
Lizzie Roper..............................Angela
Penelope Wilton............................Mary
Rufus Wright................................Frank
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2012.
MON 08:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sgrj)
1. Like Finding a Friend
Scots Makar Jackie Kay reflects on her love of blues singer Bessie Smith. She explores the life of the Empress of the Blues and considers the effect the icon had on her as she grew up as a black girl adopted by white parents.
Orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on the street to support her siblings and was swept into travelling shows as a young woman. Facing extreme racial prejudice, she brawled under the influence of bathtub gin and had tumultuous love affairs with men and women. She also sold hundreds of thousands of records and became a genuine superstar.
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, Jackie remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first heard the music of the Empress.
Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay with Adjoa Andoh
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
MON 08:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767h8)
6. Collision
Tom plans for Norma's future, whilst Andrea's future is very much threatened.
A gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960's, dramatised by Stan Barstow's partner Diana Griffiths.
Andrea...............Deborah Mcandrew
Philip..................Robert Glenister
David Calder..................Tom
Jo-Anne Knowles.........Kate
Sharon Duce...............Norma
Ruth Herbert..............Shirley
Ben Crompton...........Nick
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
MON 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00254g2)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
MON 09:30 Team Spirit (b0092bys)
1. London Air Ambulance Service
Claudia Hammond looks at the psychology of team dynamics.
By talking to academics and visiting teams across the UK she finds out what makes them tick.
She begins with members of the London Air Ambulance Service, who daily deal with life and death.
Producer: Michelle Martin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
MON 09:45 Daily Service (m00254g4)
Children of God - Importance of Children
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Children of God - Importance of Children
Presenter: Claire Campbell Smith
Reading: Mark 9:36-41
Music:
God is here as we his people (Everton) - St Martin's Voices
A Grateful Heart (Plumstead) - Young Chorister of the Year Belinda
Walk together, children (Spiritual) - Jessye Norman
MON 10:00 Sounds Natural (b07lp1v3)
Derek Nimmo
From the Bar-Tailed Godwit to the Natterjack Toad.
Actor, producer, author and Just A Minute panellist, Derek Nimmo talks to Derek Jones about his love of wildlife photography and filming, plus his recent trip to Australia,
Aided by recordings from the BBC Sound Archive.
Derek Nimmo died aged 68 in 1999.
Producer: John Burton
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1973.
MON 10:30 The Gospel Truth (b06ycmd8)
1. Church To Charts
Financial educator Alvin Hall explores American gospel music genre has been affected by commercialisation.
Gospel's uplifting and rejoicing sound is world famous, a multi million-dollar music genre that in many ways has ended up the beating heart of American popular music. But can gospel be gospel if it entertains and makes money as well as praises the Lord?
In this first episode Alvin examines gospel's journey from the church to the charts through the music of Thomas Dorsey, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke. Now considered some of gospel's greatest artists, these early singers all met with strong criticism from the church as they took their songs from the sacred world into the secular.
Alvin also reveals how other gospel performers in the first half of the 20th century struggled fulfilling their religious obligations whilst battling with the temptations of life on the road.
Producer: James Hale
First broadcast on BBC Radio in January 2016.
MON 11:00 Whodunnits (m0017lnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 11:30 P Division (b007jx64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 12:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00b41fs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Navy Lark (b0176m1q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 13:00 North by Northamptonshire (b018xy2d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 13:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sgrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767h8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 14:00 Just a Minute (b00pqh91)
Series 56
Episode 2
Nicholas Parsons presides over the devious game where panellists are challenged to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition.
With:
Paul Merton
Josie Lawrence
Charles Collingwood
Chris Neill
Subjects include: How I Know When I Am In Love, A Police Escort, My Battle Strategy, Walking On Hot Coals, Sweet Sixteen, Crossing A Zebra Crossing, Morris Dancers and My Kitchen.
Created by Ian Messiter.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2010.
MON 14:30 Street and Lane (b00vzz09)
Series 2
Estimates Day
When the Yorkshire builders price up fitting mirrors, they start seeing double...
Series 2 of Ian McMillan and Dave Sheasby's comedy stars
Shaun Dooley as Johnny Street
Fine Time Fontayne as Arthur Lane
Christine Kavanagh as Janet
Mark Straker as John
Sam Dale as Franklin
and Rachel Atkins as Julia
Producer: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.
MON 15:00 Drama on 4 (b072htqt)
Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
1. Captured
Sylvia Dobson's cousin, Philip, lives for her, he loves her totally but Sylvia is in love with seafaring whaler, Charlie Kinraid.
Set in 1790s Yorkshire.- the time of the Napoleonic wars. It takes place in Monkshaven (ie.Whitby).
The Press Gangs were always lurking when the whale boats were returning from Greenland with their cargo. They intercepted the boats, seized the men and pressed them into service with the Royal Navy to fight the French.
Elizabeth Gaskell last (completed) novel dramatised by Ellen Dryden, starring Jodie Comer.
Elizabeth Gaskell ...... Barbara Flynn
Sylvia ...... Jodie Comer
Philip ...... Graeme Hawley
Charlie Kinraid ...... Chris Connel
Bell ...... Siobhan Finneran
Daniel ..... Paul Copley
Kester/Donkin ...... Jonathan Keeble
Molly ...... Nichola Burley
Mrs. Corney ....... Olwen May
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.
MON 16:00 Sounds Natural (b07lp1v3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 The Gospel Truth (b06ycmd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 17:00 Whodunnits (m0017lnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 17:30 P Division (b007jx64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 18:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00b41fs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:30 The Navy Lark (b0176m1q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 19:00 North by Northamptonshire (b018xy2d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sgrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 19:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767h8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 20:00 Just a Minute (b00pqh91)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
MON 20:30 Street and Lane (b00vzz09)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
MON 21:00 Drama on 4 (b072htqt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
MON 22:00 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m0024w92)
Series 3
South London - home to Stanleys and Georges and two of the Magnificent Seven
Stand-up and quizzer Paul Sinha tests the people of South Norwood on their knowledge of places with SE postcodes, and the people who have lived, worked and studied there.
So if you know your Stanleys from your Stanleys and your Gilberts from your Gilberts, grab youself a pencil and see how many you can get right.
The audience also test Paul on their favourite questions - such as the connection between Elon Musk and Hilary Mantel, and what makes a particular member of Girls Aloud unique.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Additional material: Oliver Levy
Additional questions: The Audience
Original music: Tim Sutton
Recording engineer: David Thomas
Mixed by: Rich Evans
Producer: Ed Morrish
A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4
MON 22:30 Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children (m000xv7s)
Series 1
2. Opt to Adopt
Stand-up comedian Ashley Blaker tells the story of how the Blakers added to their large, hectic domestic life by deciding to adopt a little girl with Down Syndrome.
Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children is a mix of stand-up and observational documentary, all recorded in the Blakers’ home with the voices of his real family, and tackling parenting, adoption and raising children with special needs.
As parents of six children, Ashley and his wife Gemma are trying to raise a family in a world that is only really set up for having two. What's more, the Blakers’ children are not just any kids. Three have special needs – two autistic boys and an adopted girl with Down Syndrome – and the show - with sensitivity - finds the funny side of raising children with disabilities and also adoption.
Written and performed by Ashley Blaker
Ashley is joined by:
Shelley Blond
Kieran Hodgson
Rosie Holt
Judith Jacob
Also appearing as themselves are Ashley’s own children:
Ami
Ophie
Simi
Soroh
Sruly
Bina
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2021.
MON 23:00 Dead Ringers (m0024x4y)
Series 25
Episode 3
Satirical impressions from the team headed up by Jon Culshaw and Jan Ravens.
MON 23:30 The Confessional (m001g9sm)
Series 3
The Confession of Neil Dudgeon
Midsomer Murders star, Neil Dudgeon reveals some toe curling tales about his past - including that time in hospital....
Stephen Mangan hosts his comedy chat show about shame, guilt and occasional repentance.
Each episode, Stephen invites a distinguished guest into his virtual confessional box to make three 'confessions' to him.
An antidote to conventional talk shows, the guests' stories don't reflect their proudest moments. Stephen wants them to open up about their darker side - however much they may squirm.
Written and presented by Stephen Mangan
With additional material by Nick Doody
Producer: Frank Stirling
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2022.

TUESDAY 19 NOVEMBER 2024

TUE 00:00 Sounds Natural (b07lp1v3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 The Gospel Truth (b06ycmd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Whodunnits (m0017lnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 P Division (b007jx64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00b41fs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 The Navy Lark (b0176m1q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 North by Northamptonshire (b018xy2d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sgrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767h8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00pqh91)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Street and Lane (b00vzz09)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Drama on 4 (b072htqt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Whodunnits (m0017l6r)
Lady in a Fog
2. O'Gorman of Islington
Irish-American private eye Philip Odell is investigating the suspicious death of his friend's brother.
But the body count suddenly doubles...
Starring Robert Beatty.
Lester Powell's vintage thriller about the cases of a hard-nosed Irish-American private eye.
Philip Odell .... Robert Beatty
Heather McMara .... Sheila Manahan
Marilyn Peters .... June Tobin
Mrs Cantaloup .... Betty Baskcomb
Hector O'Gorman .... David March
Taxi Driver .... Will Leighton
Violet Levine .... Joan Matheson
The Narrator .... Anthony Viccara
Producer: Martyn C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1958.
TUE 06:30 P Division (b007jx68)
Condition Purple
4. Angel
As the search for Dino and Jimmy 'The Rodent' Purdue continues, Donoghue receives a report of another murder. 'P Division' closes in...
Concluding Peter Turnbull's P Division novel about his Glaswegian cops.
Stars Martin Cochrane and Ralph Riach.
Dramatised by Stephen Mulrine.
DCI Donoghue …. Martin Cochrane
DS Ray Sussock …. Ralph Riach
Karen …. Gaylie Runciman
DC King …. John Buick
DC Montgomery …. Frank Gallagher
Tuesday Noon …. Alex McAvoy
Mr Keyes …. Robert Trotter
Mrs Olive Keyes …. Kay Gallie
WPC Elka Willems …. Ann Louise Ross
Dino …. Alexander Morton
Produced at BBC Glasgow by Hamish Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1993.
TUE 07:00 Living with Betty (b09k8sy0)
Episode 6
Betty's ex-husband turns up unexpectedly and Bill is concerned.
The East End meets Cheshire in Arline Whittaker's sitcom starring Barbara Windsor and Peter Sallis..
Betty …. Barbara Windsor
Harold …. Peter Sallis
Bill …. Glynn Edwards
Muriel …. Rosalind Knight
Trevor …. Simon Molloy
Katherine …. Diana Mather
Vince …. Chris Ellison
Producer: Mike Craig
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1987.
TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b018jjzf)
Series 6
The House of Teeth
Neddie Seagoon investigates a dastardly denture-stealing plan.
But who wants them and why?
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
With Valentine Dyall.
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 January 1956.
TUE 08:00 Lemn Sissay's Social Enterprise (m000cc6m)
Episode 4
Every year since 2013, the poet, broadcaster and author Lemn Sissay has arranged a Christmas dinner for people aged 18-25 who have left the care system and have no one with whom to have Christmas dinner. No one to give presents or receive them. No-one on the other end of the cracker.
This is not a charity. It isn't even an organisation. It's a project Lemn undertook because he understands how it feels - at 18 he was released from a children's home and given an empty flat in Wigan, with no-one in the world who had known him for longer than a year.
Lemn Sissay’s Social Enterprise is a four-part series for BBC Radio 4, considering what these dinners have taught him about charity, social enterprise, and people, through stand-up, interview and poetry.
This week he explores the idea of time - with the help of Jill Mortimer from Age UK, Anna Chojnicka from the Global Entrepreneurship Network, and comedian and podcaster Deborah Frances-White.
Written and performed by Lemn Sissay
Guest: Jill Mortimer
Guest: Anna Chojnicka
Guest: Deborah Frances-White
Producer: Ed Morrish
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2019.
TUE 08:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sj99)
2. Ma Rainey
Bessie joins a travelling show with the 'Mother of the Blues' and faces violence in her second marriage.....
Scotland’s National Poet Jackie Kay charts the rise and fall of Bessie Smith as she brings to life the dramatic story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.
Orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on the street to support her siblings and was swept into travelling shows as a young woman. Facing extreme racial prejudice, she frequently brawled under the influence of bathtub gin and had tumultuous love affairs with men and women. She also sold hundreds of thousands of records and became a genuine superstar.
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first gifted the music of the Empress.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
TUE 08:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767hs)
7. Some Revelations
Andrea's in hospital and her mother’s discovered the truth.
Across town, Norma's daughter, Shirley is shocked by her brother's news.
A gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960's, dramatised by Stan Barstow's partner Diana Griffiths.
Andrea...............Deborah Mcandrew
Philip..................Robert Glenister
David Calder..................Tom
Jo-Anne Knowles...............Kate
Sharon Duce...............Norma
Ruth Herbert...............Shirley
Ben Crompton...............Nick
Guy Perry..............Bedford
Daryl Fishwick...............Mrs Warner
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
TUE 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m002541j)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
TUE 09:30 Team Spirit (b009jf96)
2. Birmingham's Morris Men
Claudia Hammond looks at the psychology of team dynamics.
By talking to academics and visiting teams across the UK she finds out what makes them tick.
This time Claudia Hammond visits the Jockey Morris Men as they dance around Birmingham's city centre On Plough Day.
Producer: Michelle Martin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m002541l)
Children of God - Returning to the father
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Children of God - Returning to the father
Presenter: Joe Aldred
Reading: John 16:21-28
Music:
He put a song on my heart - Volney Morgan
I still believe - Volney Morgan & New Ye
Heaven - Still Shadey & Melodees from Heaven
TUE 10:00 A Good Read (b09plx4w)
Stephen Fry and Alan Davies
Actors Stephen Fry and Alan Davies reunite and join Harriett Gilbert to debate favourite books by Aldous Huxley, JM Coetzee and Muriel Spark.
A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Publisher: Vintage
Boyhood by J.M. Coetzee
Publisher: Vintage
A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark
Publisher: Virago
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2018.
TUE 10:30 The Gospel Truth (b06z2kyc)
2. Going Global
Financial educator Alvin Hall explores how American gospel music became a global force through commercialisation.
Gospel's uplifting and rejoicing sound is world famous, a multi million-dollar music genre that in many ways has ended up the beating heart of American popular music. But can gospel be gospel if it entertains, makes money and praises the Lord at the same time?
Alvin explores how this American religious music genre has been affected by both commercialisation and secularisation.
In this second part, Alvin explains how gospel became a global force in popular music.
He reveals how Aretha Franklin's marriage of pop to gospel sold millions of records, introducing gospel to a world audience in the process. He looks at the rise of the gospel choir in the 1970s and 80s and discovers how it increasingly became a money-making industry.
He also meets leading gospel stars Kirk Franklin and Donnie McClurkin to ask whether they think today's gospel stars have been affected by money and celebrity.
Producer: James Hale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.
TUE 11:00 Whodunnits (m0017l6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 11:30 P Division (b007jx68)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 12:00 Living with Betty (b09k8sy0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b018jjzf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Lemn Sissay's Social Enterprise (m000cc6m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sj99)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767hs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 14:00 Act Your Age (b00g3hr8)
Series 1
Episode 5
Simon Mayo hosts a three-way play-off to establish which generation of comedians is the funniest.
Captains Jon Richardson, Lucy Porter and Roy Walker are joined by guests Russell Kane, Phil Nicoll and Johnnie Casson.
Producers: Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2008.
TUE 14:30 Getting Nowhere Fast (b00mzslr)
Series 3
Episode 4
If Isaac Newton had been a middle aged woman he would have discovered gravity much sooner. But would he have joined a gym?
Fat is a feminist issue and everybody else's when Pamela takes action.
Sitcom set in the Cyber Pass’ internet café.
Written by and starring Mervyn Stutter.
Merv …. Mervyn Stutter
Pam …. Lill Roughley
Dibden …. John Challis
Nev …. Gyuri Sarossy
Chantal …. Tracy-Ann Oberman
Dilkes …. Chris Ettridge
Various …. Geoffrey McGivern
Songs by Mervyn Stutter.
Performed by Swamp Things.
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2004.
TUE 15:00 Drama on 4 (b0736566)
Sylvia's Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
2. The Return
Sylvia marries Philip, believing Charlie to be dead. But chaos descends when Charlie returns, and Sylvia discovers Philip has lied to her.
Set in Yorkshire in the 1790's - the time of the Napoleonic wars, in Monkshaven (ie.Whitby), during the time of the Press Gangs, who intercepted the fishing boats, seized the men and pressed them into service with the Royal Navy to fight the French.
Conclusion of Elizabeth Gaskell last (completed) novel, starring Jodie Comer.
Elizabeth Gaskell ..... Barbara Flynn
Sylvia ...... Jodie Comer
Philip ........ Graeme Hawley
Bell ....... Siobhan Finneran
Daniel ...... Paul Copley
Charlie ...... Chris Connell
Kester/Duncan ....... Jonathan Keeble
Molly ..... Nichola Burley
Hester/Mrs Kinraid ..... Verity Henry
Dramatised by Ellen Dryden.
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.
TUE 16:00 A Good Read (b09plx4w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:30 The Gospel Truth (b06z2kyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Whodunnits (m0017l6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 17:30 P Division (b007jx68)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Living with Betty (b09k8sy0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b018jjzf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 19:00 Lemn Sissay's Social Enterprise (m000cc6m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sj99)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 19:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767hs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Act Your Age (b00g3hr8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Getting Nowhere Fast (b00mzslr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Drama on 4 (b0736566)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
TUE 22:00 Henry Normal: A Normal... (m00035w0)
Nature
Henry Normal: A Normal... Nature
"Shove up National Treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal"
Simon O'Hagan - Radio Times
The fifth instalment in this acclaimed, occasional series in which acclaimed, occasional writer Henry Normal uses poetry, stories and comedy to tackle those subjects so big only radio can possibly contain them.
In this new episode Henry looks our relationship with nature in an exploration of unsung nature from the point of view of a busy urban human.
Henry Normal is a multi-award winning writer, producer and poet. Co-writer of award winning TV programmes such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Coogan’s Run and Paul Calf, and producer of, amongst many others, Oscar-Nominated Philomena, Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge.
He has published several volumes of poetry, including Travelling Second Class Through Hope, Staring Directly at the Eclipse, Raining Upwards and his new volume This Phantom Breath. And his memoir, A Normal Family: Everyday adventures with our autistic son.
Praise for previous episodes in this series:
"It's a rare and lovely thing: half an hour of radio that stops you short, gently demands your attention and then wipes your tears away while you have to have a little sit down"
"It's a real treat to hear a seasoned professional like Henry taking command of this evening comedy spot to deliver a show that's idiosyncratic and effortlessly funny"
"Not heard anything that jumps from hilarious to moving in such an intelligent, subtle way as Henry Normal's show"
Written and performed by Henry Normal
Production Coordinator - Beverly Tagg
Produced by Carl Cooper
This was a BBC Studios production.
TUE 22:30 The Penny Dreadfuls (b00gpbcq)
The Brothers Faversham
Augustus Faversham
The story of Victorian Britain's most celebrated magician - Augustus Faversham.
The comedy sketch trio present swashbuckling tales of four brothers born into the same privileged aristocratic family - Horatius, Theseus, Leonidas and Augustus.
Written by and starring The Penny Dreadfuls:
Humphrey Ker
David Reed
Thom Tuck
Alexandra Faversham ... Ingrid Oliver
Narrator... Miles Jupp
Producer: Julia McKenzie
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in February 2008.
TUE 23:00 Clare in the Community (b063dcgb)
Series 10
Things That Go Bump in the Day
The Sparrowhawk team are forced to work together to overcome a little problem they discover in the office. Lead by Clare, they're thinking outside the box...
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Clare continually struggles to control both her professional and private life In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden.
Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Nali/ Megan ...... Nina Conti
Ray ...... Richard Lumsden
Helen ...... Pippa Haywood
Simon ...... Andrew Wincott
Libby ...... Sarah Kendall
Joan/ Sarah Barker ...... Sarah Thom
Scarlett ...... Eleanor Curry
Stine Wetzel ...... Amelia Lowdell
Hunter ...... Neet Mohan
Dylan ...... Elliot Steel
Producer: Alexandra Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2015.
TUE 23:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0025f2l)
Rachel Fairburn 1/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats to Rachel Fairburn.
TUE 23:30 Jason Cook's School of Hard Knocks (b03xgl4g)
Job Interviews and Office Politics
Jason Cook uses the lessons learnt from his bitter experiences to help sweeten the lives of listeners.
This time, he holds forth on the best ways to pass a job interview.
Plus, how to wend one's way through the perilous pastures of office politics.
Helping to police the prairie of the public's problems:
Zoe Harrison
Neil Grainger
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2014.

WEDNESDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2024

WED 00:00 A Good Read (b09plx4w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 The Gospel Truth (b06z2kyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Whodunnits (m0017l6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 P Division (b007jx68)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Living with Betty (b09k8sy0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b018jjzf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Lemn Sissay's Social Enterprise (m000cc6m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sj99)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767hs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Act Your Age (b00g3hr8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Getting Nowhere Fast (b00mzslr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Drama on 4 (b0736566)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Whodunnits (m0017lvp)
Lady in a Fog
3. The Mink Coat
Odell’s investigations take a glamorous turn with the appearance of woman clad in a mink coat.
Starring Robert Beatty.
Lester Powell's vintage thriller about the cases of a hard-nosed Irish-American private eye.
Philip Odell .... Robert Beatty
Heather McMara .... Sheila Manahan
The Lady in Mink .... Mary Wimbush
Christopher Hampden .... James Thomason
Parkin .... Harold Reese
Inspector Rtgby .... Edward Jewesbury
Sergeant Leyton .... Jeffrey Segal
Mrs Cantaloup .... Betty Baskcomb
Producer: Martyn C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1958.
WED 06:30 Stand By For West (m00045r5)
Battle for Inspector West
1. Honeymoon Spells Danger
Chief inspector Roger West has an old score to settle with a notorious blackmailer.
Starring Patrick Allen as Scotland Yard’s youngest, smartest chief inspector.
Created and written by John Creasey.
Dramatised in seven parts by Maurice Travers.
Chief Inspector Roger West …. Patrick Allen
Janet West …. Sarah Lawson
Sir Mortimer Grant …. Humphrey Morton
Michael Grant …. Philip Bond
Christine Grant …. Denise Buckley
Sir Guy Chatworth …. Hamilton Dyce
Prendergast …. John Cazabon
John Creasey wrote over 600 novels, using over 20 pseudonyms. More than 40 Roger West novels were written between 1942 and 1973 with the basis for this first series, first published in 1948.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1967.
WED 07:00 Winston (b007vcn9)
Winston in Europe
Where Are We Now?
The old rogue challenges Nancy's intelligence.
Father sings the praises of Crewe toilets.
Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy serial.
Winston …. Bill Wallis
Father …. Maurice Denham
Nancy …. Shirley Dixon
Rosie …. Liz Goulding
William .… Christian Rodska
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1992.
WED 07:30 The Missing Hancocks (b04pvk1j)
Series 1
The New Neighbour
The Missing Hancocks recreates those episodes of the classic Hancock's Half Hour that have been wiped or lost from the archive.
The first modern sitcom, Hancock's Half Hour made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Ray Galton and Alan Simpson as one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history.
Between 1954 and 1959, BBC Radio recorded 102 episodes, but 20 were missing from the BBC archives, until four highly successful series lovingly reimagined them before a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.
In this recreation, Tony has a new neighbour, whose night-time routine is very, very suspicious.....
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Tony Hancock …. Kevin McNally
Bill Kerr …. Kevin Eldon
Kenneth Williams …. Robin Sebastian
Sid James …. Simon Greenall
Andree Melly …. Susy Kane
Other Parts .... David Cann
Classic Hancock score re-recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Levon Parikian.
Producers: Ed Morrish and Neil Pearson.
The lost original recording was last broadcast in March 1956.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2019.
WED 08:00 The Architects (b0536qr7)
Series 2
D.I.Y.
Sir Lucien casts aside his hopes of Brutalism returning to fashion and decides to go into house building.
His loyal team must follow...negotiating marshland, unexploded bombs and homicidal relatives en route.
Comedy set in a struggling architectural practice.
Written by Jim Poyser with Neil Griffiths.
Sir Lucien ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Tim ...... Alex Carter
Sarah ...... Anna Crilly
Matt ...... Dominic Coleman
Lucy ...... Jane Slavin
Darvo/Receptionist ...... Ian Conningham
Director: Toby Swift
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
WED 08:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sh81)
3. Buffet Flats
After the end of her marriage, Bessie continued to have relationships with both sexes - It wasn't just the jazz that could 'swing'. But unfortunately, one love triangle ended in violence and jail........
Scotland’s National Poet Jackie Kay explores the success of Bessie Smith and the rise in popularity of the blues, as she brings to life the dramatic story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first encountered the Empress.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
WED 08:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767j6)
8. The Campaign
After finding out Tom is actually her father, Shirley has gone missing.
A gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960's, dramatised by Stan Barstow's partner Diana Griffiths.
Andrea...............Deborah Mcandrew
David Calder..................Tom
Sharon Duce...............Norma
Ruth Herbert...............Shirley
Ben Crompton...............Nick
Geoff Hinsliff..........Inspector Bradley
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
WED 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00255gh)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
WED 09:30 Team Spirit (b009mr7v)
3. Antarctic
Claudia Hammond looks at the psychology of team dynamics.
By talking to academics and visiting teams across the UK she finds out what makes them tick.
This time Claudia Hammond hears from members of a small research group in the Antarctic who use initiation rites and celebrate Midwinter's Day to help bonding.
Producer: Michelle Martin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
WED 09:45 Daily Service (m002557c)
Children of God - A new generation
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Children of God - A new generation
Presenter: Georgia Clarke
Reading: Deuteronomy 4:9-14
Music:
Christ is the King, O friends rejoice (Vulpius) - The Chapel Choir of Marlborough College
Who you say I am - Hillsong (musicbox)
There's nothing our God can't do - Spring Harvest
WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (m000jszt)
Anthony Blunt: A Question of Retribution?
In November 1979, Margaret Thatcher exposed the British art historian Sir Anthony Blunt as a Soviet spy. She revealed that Blunt - openly gay and a former intelligence officer for MI5 - was a member of the infamous Cambridge Five spy ring who had traded secrets with Soviet Russia during the Second World War.
As one of the country's leading academics and a former Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures (a role for which he received his knighthood), Blunt's influence reached to the top of the establishment. In a Britain polarised by the Cold War, Blunt's exposure provoked an unprecedented media storm and turned him into a national hate figure.
Blunt had shared 1,771 top secret documents with Russia during the war and played a key role in the escape of Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess and Kim Philby, fellow members of the Cambridge Five. Ironically, Stalin's regime was so distrustful of everything they received that it is questionable how much impact the information that Blunt shared actually had.
David Cannadine, the current President of the British Academy, reassesses Blunt’s career before his exposure as well as the fallout afterwards. He uncovers the controversy which erupted over Blunt's academic position after he was revealed as a spy, and how the academic community came to terms with the revelation of a traitor in its midst.
Eventually stripped of his knighthood and expelled from academic life, Blunt's rapid downfall was driven as much by a hostile disdain for his position as a privileged left-wing intellectual, and by a rampant homophobia in the press that labelled him a 'treacherous Communist poof'.
Can artistic reputations survive political actions or personal disgrace, and what issues does Blunt's story raise for institutional loyalty and professional identity?
David Cannadine speaks to many of Blunt’s former students and those directly involved in the raw and personal clash of ideals over Blunt's position, some of whom remained sympathetic to him as a great intellectual and great teacher, and saw themselves as defenders of intellectual liberty against a political witch-hunt.
With Dawn Ades, Christopher Andrew, Miranda Carter, Richard Davenport-Hines, Neil MacGregor, Charles Moore, Charles Saumarez Smith, Deborah Swallow, Sarah Whitfield and Richard Verdi.
Historical research: Martin Spychal
Producer: Melissa FitzGerald
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2020.
WED 11:00 Whodunnits (m0017lvp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 11:30 Stand By For West (m00045r5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 12:00 Winston (b007vcn9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 12:30 The Missing Hancocks (b04pvk1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 13:00 The Architects (b0536qr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 13:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sh81)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767j6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 14:00 Counterpoint (b0367mxg)
Series 27
2013 Heat 9
Coming from the BBC Philharmonic studio at Media City in Salford - the general knowledge music quiz chaired by Paul Gambaccini
Which other female recording artist apart from Adele has won six Grammy awards in a single ceremony? And which controversial classical pianist was the subject of a TV drama featuring Victoria Wood?
These and other questions will be testing the mettle of today's contestants - and they'll also have to pick a specialist musical topic to answer individual questions on, with no advance warning of what the choice of topics will be. As always, Paul will be serving the musical extracts and anecdotes to entertain - whatever your musical tastes
The competitors battling for a place in the next round are:
David Love from Wombourne in Staffordshire
Tony Quinn from Liverpool
Peter Strange from Newcastle Upon Tyne
Producer: Paul Bajoria
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
WED 14:30 Smelling of Roses (b007jrl9)
Series 1
Sleeping Partners
Rosie is arranging the activities for partners of delegates to a major finance company's conference.
Kate meanwhile sees it as her ticket back into a high-flying job...
Prunella Scales in Simon Brett's sitcom.
The trials and tribulations of Rosie Burns and her event management company, based in Brighton.
Rosie ...... Prunella Scales
Kate ...... Arabella Weir
Jo ...... Rebecca Callard
Bob ...... Duncan Preston
Tess ...... Annette Badland
Sheila Wilkinson ...... Debbie Norman
Philip Wilkinson ...... Alan Cowan
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2000.
WED 15:00 Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd (b01mtsm3)
1. A Farmer Just Beginning
Young farmer Gabriel Oak sees an ideal wife in Bathsheba Everdene, but she turns him down, believing in true romance. As she becomes rich, he is ruined, and the tables turn.
Thomas Hardy's classic tale dramatised by Graham White.
Bathsheba ...... Alex Tregear
Gabriel Oak ...... Shaun Dooley
Boldwood ...... Toby Jones
Troy ...... Patrick Kennedy
Liddy ...... Lizzy Watts
Fanny ...... Hannah John-Kamen
Maltster ...... Robert Blythe
Jan ...... Joe Sims
Joseph ...... Sam Alexander
Henery ...... Patrick Brennan
Billy ...... Don Gilet
Cain ...... Harry Livingstone
Aunt ...... Tracy Wiles
Maryann ...... Amaka Okafor
Musicians: Colin Guthrie, Chris Davies, Lauren Swift
Director: Jessica Dromgoole
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (m000jszt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 17:00 Whodunnits (m0017lvp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 17:30 Stand By For West (m00045r5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 18:00 Winston (b007vcn9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:30 The Missing Hancocks (b04pvk1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 19:00 The Architects (b0536qr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sh81)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 19:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767j6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 20:00 Counterpoint (b0367mxg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
WED 20:30 Smelling of Roses (b007jrl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
WED 21:00 Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd (b01mtsm3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
WED 22:00 You Heard It Here First (m001y1hr)
Series 2
1. 'You're no help at all Chris!'
Chris McCausland asks Iain Stirling and Su Pollard to take on Alasdair Beckett-King and Sophie Duker. A raucous motormouth round creates a unique bond between Iain and Su. The teams must figure out what on earth is being advertised on TV, guess what famous objects or locations children are trying to describe, and guess what sounds their teammates are trying to recreate.
Producer: Sasha Bobak
Assistant Producer: Becky Carewe-Jeffries
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Dan Marchini
A BBC Studios Production
An EcoAudio certified production
WED 22:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b01rw3ym)
Series 5
Canterbury
Comedian and activist Mark Thomas creates a People's Manifesto from the policies of his Gulbenkian Theatre audience in Canterbury.
Agenda:
1) Farmers to stop spraypainting sheep
2) Abandon the recycling of plastic bottles
3) Land Value Tax to replace all other taxation.
Researcher: Susan McNicholas
Producer: Colin Anderson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
WED 23:00 The Big Fun Show (b00lk0c1)
Episode 6
Sketch series with Paul Merton, Julian Clary, Tony Hawks and Josie Lawrence - before they hit the big time.
Includes the Timmy Twins dire performance to an expectant Detroit crowd and the story of Eastender Philip Boswell blighted by poverty and his families cheap musical instrument business.
Written and presented by Paul Merton, John Irwin and Neil Mullarkey.
Also starring:
Josie Lawrence
Tony Hawkes
Julian Clary
Music by Tony Hawks.
Producer: David Tyler
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1988.
WED 23:30 Ken Cheng: Chinese Comedian (m0000njc)
Series 1
2: The Arts
Stand-up series exploring British Chinese culture, from BBC New Comedy Award finalist Ken Cheng.
In this episode, Ken examines attitudes towards the Arts.
Reader Sarah Sharpe
Producer: Lyndsay Fenner
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2018
WED 23:45 Self-Storage (b0080x3g)
Series 1
Family
Dave's family try therapy to halt his descent, but he can't see the point - what's wrong with living in a storage unit?
Stars Reece Shearsmith and Mark Heap.
Sitcom written by Tom Collinson and Barnaby Power.
Dave ...... Reece Shearsmith
Geoff ...... Mark Heap
Ron ...... Tom Goodman-Hill
American ...... Phil Nicol
Judy ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Sarah ...... Susan Earl
Dad ...... Philip Jackson
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.

THURSDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2024

THU 00:00 Archive on 4 (m000jszt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Whodunnits (m0017lvp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Stand By For West (m00045r5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Winston (b007vcn9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 The Missing Hancocks (b04pvk1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 The Architects (b0536qr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sh81)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767j6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Counterpoint (b0367mxg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Smelling of Roses (b007jrl9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd (b01mtsm3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Whodunnits (m0017m28)
Lady in a Fog
4. The Lady isn't Willing
Philip Odell’s investigations become clouded when the police suspect him of being involved in the crimes.
Starring Robert Beatty.
Lester Powell's vintage thriller about the cases of a hard-nosed Irish-American private eye.
Philip Odell .... Robert Beatty
Heather McMara .... Sheila Manahan
The Lady in Mink .... Mary Wimbush
Christopher Hampden .... James Thomason
Parkin .... Harold Reese
Martin Sorrowby .... John Bennett
Inspector Rigby .... Edward Jewesbury
Sergeant Leyton .... Jeffrey Segal
Jay .... Haydn Jones
Producer: Martyn C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1958.
THU 06:30 Stand By For West (m00046rb)
Battle for Inspector West
2. Terror for a Bride
In a mysterious case of blackmail, Chief Inspector West hunts a missing honeymooning bride.
Starring Patrick Allen.
Created and written by John Creasey.
Dramatised by Maurice Travers.
Chief Inspector Roger West …. Patrick Allen
Janet West …. Sarah Lawson
Michael Grant …. Philip Bond
Christine Grant …. Denise Buckley
Sir Guy Chatworth …. Hamilton Dyce
Prendergast …. John Cazabon
Carosian …. Francis de Wolff
Arthur Morley …. Preston Lockwood
Various …. Charles Haggith
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1967.
THU 07:00 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 07:30 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007jq64)
11. War Damage
Wilson, Pike and Hodges go to London to try and claim compensation for their pier in Frambourne-on-Sea.
Starring John Le Mesurier, Ian Lavender and Bill Pertwee.
A seaside saga of pier perpetuation.
Written by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.
Arthur Wilson …. John Le Mesurier
Frank Pike …. Ian Lavender
Bert Hodges …. Bill Pertwee
Miss Perkins …. Vivienne Martin
Sir Wensley Smithers …. Reginald Marsh
Mr Thorndyke/Civil Servant #3 …. Michael Bilton
Civil Servants #1 and #5 …. Gordon Clyde
Civil Servants #2 and #4 …. Jon Glover
Based on the Dad's Army characters originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September 1984.
THU 08:00 Alex Edelman's Peer Group (m000fq8j)
Series 3
The Future
Award-winning comedian Alex Edelman discusses the future and how it might look.
With help from his "peer group" at the University of Arts London, he examines what issues lie ahead for humanity and how we might be able to save it.
Alex Edelman's Peer Group is written and performed by Alex Edelman, with additional material from Alfie Brown, Rebecca Nicholson, David Burstein, Catherine Brinkworth and Kat Sadler.
Producer: Sam Michell
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2020.
THU 08:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sjxw)
4. Richly Talented
Blues singer Bessie Smith has her talents recognised in the 1920s. She enjoys an extravagant, hedonistic, lifestyle and proves herself a generous friend. However, the 1930s are a coming.
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first gifted the music of the Empress. Jackie was thrilled by some of Bessie's naughtier lyrics.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Written and read by Jackie Kay
Readings Adjoa Andoh
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
THU 08:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767jp)
9. A Trip to Scarborough
Election Day draws closer with Philip and Tom as rivals.
A gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960's, dramatised by Stan Barstow's partner Diana Griffiths.
Tom...........David Calder
Norma.............Sharon Duce
Andrea..............Deborah McAndrew
Philip................Robert Glenister
Caroline............Naomi Radcliffe
Shirley...........Ruth Herbert
Nick........Ben Crompton
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
THU 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00255gp)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
THU 09:30 Team Spirit (b009q4wr)
4. U12's Football Team
Claudia Hammond looks at the psychology of team dynamics.
By talking to academics and visiting teams across the UK she finds out what makes them tick.
Claudia Hammond meets an under-12s girls' football squad in Bishop's Lydeard, Somerset, to find out how they learn to work as a unit.
Producer: Michelle Martin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
THU 09:45 Daily Service (m002556l)
Children of God - Teaching Children
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Children of God - Teaching Children
Presenter: Rachel Mann
Reading: Isiah 54:13-17
THU 10:00 Great Lives (b0076dhy)
Scott of the Antarctic
The biographical series in which a distinguished guest chooses someone who's inspired their life. Will their hero stand up to intensive scrutiny and merit the description of having led a great life?
Novelist Beryl Bainbridge proposes the explorer Robert Falcon Scott, less for his glorious failures in Antarctica, and more for his hidden romantic side. "His eyes were known to turn from blue to purple when he was amorous," she says. Providing the cooler expert advice is Bob Headland, archivist of the Scott Polar Institute, and the programme is chaired by Humphrey Carpenter.
Producer Miles Warde
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2003.
THU 10:30 The Tingle Factor (b04plpwz)
Beryl Bainbridge
Beryl Bainbridge shares those musical moments which stir strong emotions with Robin Ray.
From classic BBC radio comedies to Shirley Temple, the novelist also looks back over her own life and career.
Producer: Caroline Adams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1991.
THU 11:00 Whodunnits (m0017m28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 11:30 Stand By For West (m00046rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 12:00 Coming Alive (b00gdw1p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 12:30 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007jq64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 13:00 Alex Edelman's Peer Group (m000fq8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 13:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sjxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767jp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 14:00 Dilemma (b05sstcb)
Series 4
Episode 5
Sue Perkins puts the big moral and ethical questions to a mixed panel to discern their own personal codes of ethics.
With comedians Nathan Caton and Celia Pacquola, historian Dan Snow, and writer and broadcaster Natalie Haynes.
Up for discussion are unusual meals, lying to children, and the best way to deal with noisy, but happy, neighbours.
Devised by Danielle Ward.
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
THU 14:30 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007js1l)
Series 1
A Cavalier Attitude
Model village-makers, Robin and Wendy are shown "Black Bess" as their randy friends Sue and Glen persuade them to attend a battle re-enactment.
Written by and starring Kay Stonham and Simon Greenall.
Robin ...... Simon Greenall
Wendy ...... Kay Stonham
Maureen ...... Debra Stephenson
Derek ...... Phil Cornwell
Sue ...... Jan Ravens
Glenn ...... Michael Simkins
Darnley ...... Ewan Bailey
Carol ...... Jo Enright
Pikeman ...... Sean McKenna
Producer: Mario Stylianides
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2002.
THU 15:00 Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd (b01n0vh4)
2. Cuts and Points
Bathsheba discovers that sending William Boldwood a valentine card was a terrible mistake. But Boldwood is not Gabriel's only rival for Bathsheba's heart.
Thomas Hardy's classic tale dramatised by Graham White.
Bathsheba ...... Alex Tregear
Gabriel Oak ...... Shaun Dooley
Boldwood ...... Toby Jones
Troy ...... Patrick Kennedy
Liddy ...... Lizzy Watts
Fanny ...... Hannah John-Kamen
Maltster ...... Robert Blythe
Jan ...... Joe Sims
Joseph ...... Sam Alexander
Henery ...... Patrick Brennan
Billy ...... Don Gilet
Cain ...... Harry Livingstone
Maryann ...... Amaka Okafor
Musicians: Colin Guthrie, Chris Davies, Lauren Swift
Director: Jessica Dromgoole
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
THU 16:00 Great Lives (b0076dhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:30 The Tingle Factor (b04plpwz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 17:00 Whodunnits (m0017m28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 17:30 Stand By For West (m00046rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 18:00 Coming Alive (b00gdw1p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:30 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007jq64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 19:00 Alex Edelman's Peer Group (m000fq8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sjxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 19:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767jp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 20:00 Dilemma (b05sstcb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
THU 20:30 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007js1l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
THU 21:00 Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd (b01n0vh4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
THU 22:00 Unspeakable (m0024x1g)
Series 1
3. Unlikely ways to get fit and keep warm
Amy Gledhill invents a new way to keep warm this winter, Andrew Maxwell has a new word for an unlikely way to get fit, and Rob Rinder evokes a surprising moment of secret happiness.
Ever struggled to find the right word for a feeling or sensation? Unspeakable sees comedian Phil Wang and lexicographer Susie Dent invite celebrity guests to invent new linguistic creations, to solve those all too relatable moments when we're lost for words.
Hosts: Phil Wang and Susie Dent
Guests: Amy Gledhill, Andrew Maxwell and Rob Rinder
Created by Joe Varley
Writer: Matt Crosby
Recorded by Jerry Peal
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producers: Joe Varley and Akash Lockmun
A Brown Bred production for BBC Radio 4
THU 22:30 Vent (b00svcbq)
Series 1
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
Ben doesn't get out much, but he has a loving and attentive family, an active imagination and a comfortable bed, so he can't complain.
Because he's in a coma, Mary and Mum wonder whether some of his favourite music will wake him up, while his own thoughts are occupied with visons of Sue Lawley, Robbie Williams - and an unconventional seduction technique.
Starring Neil Pearson.
Nigel Smith's dark sitcom about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind.
Ben Smith ...... Neil Pearson
Mary ...... Fiona Allen
Mum ...... Josie Lawrence
Blitzkrieg ...... Leslie Ash
With:
Mark Perry
Dave Lamb
Jo Martin
Tim Whitnall
Hils Barker
Kim Wall
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2006.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0025f2n)
Rachel Fairburn 2/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats again to Rachel Fairburn.
THU 23:00 Children's Hour with Armstrong and Miller (b008yrwy)
Episode 1
Number One for young people - Martin Bain-Jones and Craig Children present their frightfully clever pop culture show.
Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong write and star in their first full-length BBC radio comedy series.
With:
Charlie Condou
Melissa Lloyd
Luke Goss
Written by Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong
Producer: Jon Rolph
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1998.
THU 23:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b0075t8y)
Series 1
Episode 3
Being a 'breatharian' sparks disaster for host Mel.
Variety meets sitcom meets sketch show - written and performed by Mel Hudson and Vicki Pepperdine.
With:
Martin Hyder
Keith Wickham
Jim North
Script editor: Graeme Garden
Producers: Claire Jones and Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2000.

FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2024

FRI 00:00 Great Lives (b0076dhy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 The Tingle Factor (b04plpwz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Whodunnits (m0017m28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Stand By For West (m00046rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Coming Alive (b00gdw1p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 It Sticks Out Half A Mile (b007jq64)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Alex Edelman's Peer Group (m000fq8j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000sjxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767jp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Dilemma (b05sstcb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b007js1l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd (b01n0vh4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Whodunnits (m0017m4p)
Lady in a Fog
5. The Little Doctor
Philip Odell’s investigations finally begin to reveal the connections between the murders and the blackmail.
Starring Robert Beatty.
Lester Powell's vintage thriller about the cases of a hard-nosed Irish-American private eye.
Philip Odell .... Robert Beatty
Heather McMara .... Sheila Manahan
The Lady in Mink .... Mary Wimbush
Martin Sorrowby .... John Bennett
Inspector Rigby .... Edward Jewesbury
Sergeant Levton .... Jeffrey Segal
Police Doctor .... Hugh Manning
Postman .... Frank Partington
Foreman .... Will Leighton
Dr Alexander Frey ....Trevor Martin
Producer: Martyn C. Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1958.
FRI 06:30 Stand By For West (m00046kl)
Battle for Inspector West
3. Shadow on a Millionaire
Michael Grant is taken for a ride, and Inspector West finds a door slammed in his face.
Starring Patrick Allen.
Created and written by John Creasey.
Dramatised by Maurice Travers.
Chief Inspector Roger West …. Patrick Allen
Janet West …. Sarah Lawson
Michael Grant …. Philip Bond
Christine Grant …. Denise Buckley
Sir Guy Chatworth …. Hamilton Dyce
Arthur Morley …. Preston Lockwood
Julieta …. Eva Stuart
Sir Mortimer Grant …. Humphrey Morton
Carosian …. Francis de Wolff
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1967.
FRI 07:00 Trapped (b0076h8h)
Series 1
Clem Walder's Way Out
With three wives, Clem can't keep up his treble life any longer. How can he escape them all?
Black comedy by Mark Maier and Daniel Maier.
Clem .... Alex Lowe
Keith .... Kevin Eldon
Paula .... Laura Shavin
Ben .... Tom Price
Sarah .... Alison Pettitt
Jo .... Rachel Atkins
Producer: Alex Walsh-Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2003.
FRI 07:30 Doctor in the House (b007jt0n)
In the Wards
Unleashed on the patients, the rookie medics are unprepared for the formidable Sister Virtue.
The misadventures of student doctor, Simon Sparrow.
Starring Richard Briers.
Adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's 'Doctor in the House' published in 1952.
Simon Sparrow …. Richard Briers
Sir Lancelot Spratt …. Geoffrey Sumner
Tony Benskin …. Ray Cooney
Taffy Evans …. Edward Cast
Sister Virtue …. Joan Sanderson
Mrs Clark …. Irene Handl
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1968.
FRI 08:00 Michael Spicer: Before Next Door (m000y0rb)
Series 1
Cheesy Strings
His Room Next Door videos are getting tens of millions of views online, a mention in the House of Commons and plaudits from highbrow cultural commentators so, by rights, Michael should be drowning in big money offers.
But, in reality, he’s sat at his desk writing copy for a kitchen worktop company worrying about the restructuring consultant they’ve brought in. Getting the axe would be catastrophic for Michael and his family.
This strange position is heightened when A-list British actor Emily Mallaby contacts Michael to invite him to a political dinner party at home. She is starting a new movement to shake up Westminster and wants the famous Room Next Door Man, who lampoons cabinet members so mercilessly, to spearhead the campaign.
At the same time, Michael’s wife Roberta is channelling her energy into hustling for Michael as a distraction from having to make a work friend redundant. She secures him an audition for a potentially lucrative commercial. OK, the role is to play a cheesy string, but a gig’s a gig and shows that Michael should take Roberta’s ambitions to be his manager seriously.
Unfortunately, he fails to acknowledge her skills and they have a massive falling out, just as he needs his wife’s advice on the work situation. Michael tries to enlist his eldest son, Sam’s help to extract that advice, but he’s useless. Perhaps Daddy is expecting too much of a nine-year old?
Both the audition and the political dinner party test Michael’s patience and integrity but fortunately Peter Curran is on hand to reassure and unnerve him in equal measure. Can Michael emerge with his principles intact and what will happen when Roberta’s ex-colleague Alexandra turns up at her doorstep while Michael is gallivanting with the A-Listers?
Cast: Michael Spicer with Ellie Taylor, Joanna Neary, Beattie Edmondson, Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Peter Curran and Kipp Spicer.
Writer: Michael Spicer
Producer: Matt Tiller
A Starstruck and Tillervision production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2021.
FRI 08:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000skc4)
5. An Unmarked Grave
Scotland’s National Poet Jackie Kay examines the rumours and controversies around the death of Bessie Smith. She was driving to a gig with her partner when his car crashed. Her second husband tries to claim he was still in her life and gets money from royalties. Years after Bessie's first funeral - Janis Joplin helps to pay for a headstone.
Orphaned by the age of nine, Bessie Smith sang on the street to support her siblings and was swept into travelling shows as a young woman. Facing extreme racial prejudice, she frequently brawled under the influence of bathtub gin and had tumultuous love affairs with men and women. She also sold hundreds of thousands of records and became a genuine superstar.
“The first time I saw Bessie Smith, it really was like finding a friend…”
Mixing biography, fiction, music and memoir, the Makar remembers the electric thrill of identification when, as a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, she was first gifted the music of the Empress.
Abridged by Rosemary Goring
Read by Jackie Kay with Adjoa Andoh
Produced by Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
FRI 08:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767k6)
10. Winners and Losers
It's the day of the election, and there's a showdown with Andrea and Philip's wife, Kate.
Conclusion of Stan Barstow's gritty double love story set in Yorkshire in the 1960's, dramatised by his partner Diana Griffiths.
Tom...........David Calder
Norma.............Sharon Duce
Andrea..............Deborah McAndrew
Philip................Robert Glenister
Nick........Ben Crompton
Bess............Daryl Ffishwick
Kate..............Jo-Anne Knowles
Shirley...........Ruth Herbert
Inspector Bradley..........Geoff Hinsliff
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
FRI 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00255gr)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
FRI 09:30 Team Spirit (b009twr3)
5. Dirty Dancing
Claudia Hammond looks at the psychology of team dynamics.
By talking to academics and visiting teams across the UK she finds out what makes them tick.
This time Claudia Hammond meets the backstage 65-strong team of the West End musical Dirty Dancing.
Producer: Michelle Martin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
FRI 09:45 Daily Service (m0025579)
Children of God - Gifts from God
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme:
Children of God - Gifts from God
Presenter: Steve Williams
Reading: Psalms 127:1-5
Music:
Fill your hearts with joy and gladness (Regent Square) - All Souls Orchestra
All good gifts (from 'Godspell') - The New Broadway Cast Recording
Gift to be simple - The King's Singers
FRI 10:00 Soul Music (b078y1q4)
Series 22
Feed the Birds
'Feed The Birds' was written by composers Richard and Robert Sherman for the 1964 film Mary Poppins.
Richard recalls how the song was a Walt Disney favourite and long after the film was over, Walt would call him down into his office in the late afternoon, gaze out of the window and say 'Play it.'
Karen Dotrice, who played Jane Banks in the original film, describes the experience of hearing the song sung by Julie Andrews.
Lawyer Eli McCann describes how re-watching Mary Poppins a few years ago, one snowy afternoon in Salt Lake City, was a turning point in his life, and teacher Marie Barteld remembers her love of 'Feed The Birds' as a child, and how she took the words of the song literally - much to her mother's consternation.
Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.
Producer: Sarah Conkey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.
FRI 10:30 Inside the Brain of a Five-Year-Old (b00rm072)
Claudia Hammond investigates the latest research into the working of the five year old brain, and asks whether the latest developments in neuroscience might have an application in the classroom.
Could a deeper understanding of brain development help educationalists get better results - and if so how can teachers separate the brain fact from so much of the brain fiction which seems to be out there?
Producer: Alexandra Feachem
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.
FRI 11:00 Whodunnits (m0017m4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 11:30 Stand By For West (m00046kl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 12:00 Trapped (b0076h8h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Doctor in the House (b007jt0n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Michael Spicer: Before Next Door (m000y0rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000skc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 14:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m0013hy8)
Series 27
Episode 2
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies.
They compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
The panellists are obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as shoes, beer, diets and metal.
With:
Pippa Evans
Geoff Norcott
Fern Brady
Simon Evans
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2022.
FRI 14:30 All the Young Dudes (b007qx33)
Series 1
Lazy Sunday
Joe and Maria's pub is losing trade to the Irish Theme Bar down the road, which involves taking some drastic measures.
The lives of Patrick and wife Helen as they settle back into the town where he was born.
Comedy drama written by and starring Jim Sweeney.
Patrick …… Jim Sweeney
Helen …… Cathryn Harrison
Billy …… Steve Steen
Joe …… Stephen Frost
Moira …… Sadie Shimmin
Maria …… Flaminia Cinque
Charlie …… Izzy De Rosario
Announcer: Whispering Bob Harris
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2001.
FRI 15:00 Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd (b01n606d)
3. A Successful Rival
One man proves constant in his love for Bathsheba, while she gives up on all hopes of happiness.
Thomas Hardy's classic tale dramatised by Graham White.
Bathsheba ...... Alex Tregear
Gabriel Oak ...... Shaun Dooley
Boldwood ...... Toby Jones
Troy ...... Patrick Kennedy
Liddy ...... Lizzy Watts
Fanny ...... Hannah John-Kamen
Maltster ...... Robert Blythe
Jan ...... Joe Sims
Joseph ...... Sam Alexander
Henery ...... Patrick Brennan
Billy ...... Don Gilet
Cain ...... Harry Livingstone
Maryann ...... Amaka Okafor
Musicians: Colin Guthrie, Chris Davies, Lauren Swift
Director: Jessica Dromgoole
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
FRI 16:00 Soul Music (b078y1q4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Inside the Brain of a Five-Year-Old (b00rm072)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Whodunnits (m0017m4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Stand By For West (m00046kl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Trapped (b0076h8h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 18:30 Doctor in the House (b007jt0n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 19:00 Michael Spicer: Before Next Door (m000y0rb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Bessie Smith by Jackie Kay (m000skc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 19:45 Stan Barstow - A Raging Calm (b00767k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 20:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m0013hy8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
FRI 20:30 All the Young Dudes (b007qx33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd (b01n606d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Parish Matters (m002533x)
Series 1
2. 'He's not presumed dead yet, Hank'
A brand-new sitcom sketch hybrid made in Belfast and starring voices from all over Ireland. Each week we join the eccentric inhabitants of the Parish in their weekly council meeting to air their problems and grievances.
The Parish is suffering from low morale and the council meets to decide what can be done to cheer everyone up. Can they slow the Parish ‘brain drain’ and stop losing their best and brightest to greener pastures abroad? How might they increase the birth rate in order to secure a brighter and more baby-filled tomorrow? There’s a surprise proposal for a new education campus and award ceremony to celebrate the parishioners and their achievements. But can the best (and only) cop in town solve the mystery disappearance of the beloved, whiskery Parish mascot Brendan?
PARISH MATTERS is a half hour window into an everlasting argument and an energetic and original comedy show written by Michael McCullagh and Phil Taggart and starring the writers alongside Michael Fry, Ciara Knight, Hannah Mamalis, Mary Flanigan, Michael Stranney and Peter McGann. Produced by Keith Martin and Exec Produced by Sam Michell. A FABEL radio Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 22:30 The Jason Byrne Show (b01fhswh)
Series 2
Money
Award-winning comedian Jason Byrne gives full value on the cost of living and luxury.
Fast-paced stand-up comedy and sketch show
With:
Laurence Howarth
Anna Bengo
Producer: Julia McKenzie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2009.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0025f3r)
Rachel Fairburn 3/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Arthur Smith chats again to Rachel Fairburn.
FRI 23:00 Small Scenes (b0739rfy)
Series 3
Episode 3
More overblown, melodramatic scenes from modern life.
Meet the man who can't get enough towels, a saxophonist who is tortured by his inability to play the solo from Baker Street and a late night visit from a charity burglar.
Award-winning sketch show.
Starring:
Daniel Rigby
Mike Wozniak
Cariad Lloyd
Henry Paker
Jessica Ransom
Written by Benjamin Partridge, Henry Paker and Mike Wozniak, with additional material from the cast.
Producer: Simon Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2016.
FRI 23:30 Bird Island (b043wk17)
Series 2
Episode 3
Graham teaches Ben to abseil and the bathroom lock in the Unit base is broken.
Ben ...... Reece Shearsmith
Graham ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Mother ...... Alison Steadman
Jane ...... Katy Wix
Atmospheric comedy about a cheery scientist based in Sub-Antarctica by Katy Wix.
It’s Ben’s trip of a lifetime, but in a vast icy landscape with dodgy internet. Feeling lonely, he shares his thoughts via an audio 'log' on his dictaphone.
Graham is a fellow nerdy scientist so their exchanges are mumbled. Ben’s even more awkward around new arrival Jane, though he’s not entirely sure why.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2014.
FRI 23:45 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.