SATURDAY 28 DECEMBER 2024

SAT 00:00 Kenny Everett on BBC Radio Bristol (m0026896)
On March 27th, 1971, Britain’s most controversial DJ interviewed the leader of the biggest pop group in the world. Both were at a crossroads in their lives.
Kenny Everett had been fired by Radio 1 the previous summer after insulting the wife of a Government Minister. John Lennon had just produced his first solo album after the break-up of the Beatles and was immersed in a damaging legal dispute with Paul McCartney.
The pair came together for what turned out to be a revealing conversation at John’s mansion at Sunningdale in Berkshire. Lennon played the piano in his home studio. Kenny asked a few naïve questions about his relationship with Paul. John gave some blunt but amusing answers. Sadly, few people heard it.
The “wireless wizard” had been close friends with the Fab Four since his days on the pirate ship Radio London. Coming from Merseyside helped Kenny get several exclusives, being the first person in the world to play “Strawberry Fields Forever” on the radio. When the offshore stations were outlawed in 1967 he would interview the lads for the BBC on both the Light Programme and Radio 1. John could be quite cutting with his Liverpool pal, telling him that he wasn’t very good at asking questions. Kenny admitted he was “naff” at it. But the Beatles loved his shows, and admired his technical brilliance in the studio, asking him to produce their annual Christmas record for the group’s fan club in 1968 and 1969.
But by 1971 there were few takers for his scoop. The interview was featured on Radio Monte Carlo International, a short-lived English language service in France. But it only went out in the early hours of the morning on the station’s final broadcast. The only UK outlet to use it was Radio Bristol, one of the BBC’s newest Local Radio stations. Kenny had been offered a month-long stint that summer as weekend holiday relief. The Lennon interview seemed a good way for the “bad boy” of the corporation to re-establish his credentials. A remixed version went out on July 3, 1971 in his final show in a four-part series. It hasn’t been heard since … until now.
The programme also includes the final episode of his comedy series “Dick Dale – Special Doctor”, first broadcast on Radio 1, along with music by Paul McCartney, Hurricane Smith, Smokey Robinson, The Idle Race, Fifth Dimension, Dawn, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, Butterscotch, The Yamasukis, Freda Payne and Bread.
The show closes with Kenny making an appeal to BBC bosses to restore him to the national airwaves.
It was almost two years before he returned to Radio 1, but his spell on Radio Bristol led to more BBC Locals taking him on, and getting a regular spot on Radio 4’s ”Start The Week” and the spin-off series “If It’s Wednesday … It Must Be”.
He joined London's Capital Radio at its launch in 1973 before becoming a highly successful TV performer both on ITV and BBC1. But radio was his true love, and he was still broadcasting on Capital Gold shortly before his death from AIDS on April 4, 1995. He was just 50.
The last of three shows Kenny made for BBC Radio Bristol first broadcast in July 1971.
*** Part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's celebration of Kenny Everett who was born 80 years ago on Christmas Day, 1944.
SAT 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jm4n)
Hercule Poirot - Evil Under the Sun
5. The Picnic
Determined to pinpoint the killer of the American starlet, the Belgian sleuth invites everyone on his list of suspects to a picnic.
Conclusion of Agatha Christie's whodunnit starring John Moffatt as Hercule Poirot.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Hercule Poirot …. John Moffatt
Colonel Weston …. George Baker
Carrie Gardener …. Wendy Craig
Christin Redfern …. Susannah Corbett
Patrick Redfern …. Iain Glen
Rosamund Darnley …. Sabina Franklyn
Linda Marshall …. Lindsey Fawcett
Captain Kenneth Marshall …. Robin Ellis
Inspector Colgate …. Gerrard McDermott
Horace Blatt …. John Hartley
Gladys …. Nicol Forbes
Producer: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1998.
SAT 01:30 The Christopher Marlowe Mysteries (b007k1zv)
4. The Murky Mystery of Murder at St Mark's
Can a college murderer at large be outwitted?
The eloquent Elizabethan spy heads to Cambridge, where college professors are dropping like flies.
Amid the splendour and squalor of Elizabethan London - scholar, playwright and government spy, Christopher Marlowe is assigned to investigate a number of baffling mysteries and perplexing intrigues...
Starring Dominic Jephcott and Bill Wallis.
Last of a series of historical comedy mysteries by Ged Parsons.
Christopher Marlowe ....... Dominic Jephcott
Bartholomew Ratsbane ....... Bill Wallis
Sir Francis Walsingham ....... Paul Brooke
Darus ....... Peter Serafinowicz
Sir Hubert ....... Gordon Reid
Mistress Parker ....... Sarah Thomas
Producer: Richard Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993.
SAT 02:00 Up the Garden Path (b0082g3d)
Series 2
On the Side of the Angels
Izzy faces confusion when fiancé Charles takes her home to the family mansion.
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30 something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men.
Imelda Staunton stars as Izzy.
A radio sequel adapted in eight parts from Sue Limb’s 1984 novel.
The second of 3 series which ran from 1987 to 1993. Granada also adapted the series for ITV
Izzy ...... Imelda Staunton
Charles ...... David Robb
Bill ...... Neil McCaul
Maria ...... Marty Cruickshank
Gwyn ...... Dafydd Hywel
Sharon ...... Melissa Wilson
Lorraine ...... Catherine Clarke
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1988.
SAT 02:30 Doctor in the House (b007k4s5)
Out-Patients
Medic Simon Sparrow misdiagnoses a boil, whilst Taffy keeps volunteering for night-shifts.
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
Nurse …. Carol Mason
Mrs Clark …. Irene Handl
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1968.
SAT 03:00 The Train at Platform 4 (m0013swn)
Series 1
Gilbert
When First Class Steward Gilbert discovers his step-sister is a passenger on the train, he's forced to spend the journey hiding from her. It seems that his whole life Gilbert has been living a lie.
Meanwhile, Sam must contend with a carriage full of Roundheads on their way to a re-enactment of the Battle of Naseby, armed with a collection of very realistic pikes.
Our heroes are the long-suffering train crew who manage to scrape through every shift like a dysfunctional family.
Comedy legends Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis's sitcom, set in the claustrophobic carriages of a cross-country rail service.
Sam…. Rosie Cavaliero
Gilbert…. Kenneth Collard
Dev….. Ali Shahalom
Tasha….. Amy Gledhill
Jocasta.... Anna Crilly
Colleague.... Justice Ritchie
Roundhead 1.... Hugh Dennis
Roundhead 2.... Steve Punt
Producer: James Robinson
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2022.
SAT 03:30 The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi (b00xnddx)
5. Farewell to Motley
His body crippled by the years of on-stage clowning, Joseph Grimaldi is forced finally to pass the baton to his son.
Determined to fill the family's pockets, he stages a last farewell on 28 June 1828.
Barely able to stand, he staggers on the stage of a packed Drury Lane Theatre in London...
Andrew McConnell Stott's story of the life of one of Britain's greatest comedians
Abridged by Viv Beeby
Concluded by Kenneth Cranham
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.
SAT 03:45 Paddington Bear by Michael Bond (m0026890)
5. A Disappearing Trick
The Brown family hold a birthday party for Paddington and he prepares to do some magic tricks.
Another adventure featuring Paddington Bear written by Michael Bond.
Dramatised by Colin Smith.
The Narrator ... Michael Hordern
Paddington .... Andrew Branch
Mr Brown .... Edward Kelsey
Mrs Brown .... Jill Shilling
Mrs Bird .... Jo Manning Wilson
With Peter McGowan
Producer: Colin Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1982.
SAT 04:00 Nature Table (m000qjff)
The Nature Table Christmas Special
In keeping with the show's 'show and tell' format, Sue will be joined by celebrity guests from the worlds of comedy and natural history.
Expert guests for this festive special include:
* Naturalist, presenter and writer Chris Packham
* Botanist, presenter and writer James Wong
* Wildlife presenter Michaela Strachan.
And helping Sue to make sense of the amazing funny facts that the experts present is Tony-nominated comedy actor Stephen Mangan.
Our experts will be presenting flora and fauna that all have a festive connection including reindeers, robins, fly agaric mushrooms (that hold the key to why reindeers can fly and Father Christmas wears red and white), turtle doves, Christmas spiders (and their link to the history of Christmas tinsel), holly and partridges.
Written by: Catherine Brinkworth, Kat Sadler & Jon Hunter
Produced by: Simon Nicholls
Music by Ben Mirin.

Additional sounds were provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.
SAT 04:45 Pam Ayres at Christmas (b06scz8z)
This Christmas for the first time ever, long-married Pam and Gordon are on their own.
But how to spend the festive season? A posh hotel? A cruise? Extreme sports?
Fortunately the crisis is resolved by a letter from the NHS....
Much-loved poet, comedienne and broadcaster Pam Ayres presents 'Operation Christmas'.
Written by and starring Pam Ayres.
Pam ....... Pam Ayres
Gordon ....... Geoffrey Whitehead
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2015.
SAT 05:00 Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw (b07ff197)
2. A Battle of Wills
Barbara is out in the East End trying to save souls and raise money for the Salvation Army.
Meanwhile, Undershaft tells Dolly the two things necessary for Salvation are money and gunpowder - and once he's got the Army he'll have Barbara too.
Is he, as Dolly suspects, an infernal old rascal?
Starring Matthew Marsh and Eleanor Tomlinson.
Conclusion of George Bernard Shaw’s 1905 classic.
Barbara ..... Eleanor Tomlinson
Adolphus (Dolly) ..... Jack Farthing
Andrew Undershaft ..... Matthew Marsh
Lady Britomart ..... Rebecca Front
Stephen ..... Joel MacCormack
Sarah ..... Scarlett Brookes
Charles (Cholly) ..... Kieran Hodgson
Morrison ..... Brian Protheroe
Mrs Baines ..... Susan Jameson
Jenny Hill ..... Nicola Ferguson
Bill Walker ..... Ewan Bailey
Snobby Price ..... Sargon Yelda
Man ..... Sean Baker
Woman ..... Adie Allen
Concertina played by Colin Guthrie and Cornet by Peter Ringrose.
Director: Tracey Neale.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2016.
SAT 06:00 The Duenna by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (m002682d)
Don Jerome has arranged for his daughter, Louisa, to marry a wealthy merchant. She objects because she is in love with Don Antonio.
Can Louisa find someone to help her secure true love?
A comic operetta by Richard Sheridan (1751-1816) first performed in London in 1775.
Don Antonio .... Denis Quilley
Donna Louisa .... Jane Wenham
Don Jerome .... Alan Dudley
Don Carlos .... Gordon Faith
Don Ferdinand .... Barrie Ingham
Donna Clara .... Patricia Routledge
The Duenna .... Betty Huntley-Wright
Isaac Mendoza .... Peter Pratt
Pepita .... Valerie Kirkbright
Father Paul .... Aubrey Woods
Lopez .... Andrew Sachs
With the John McCarthy Singers.
Music by especially composed Julian Slade, played by the Sinfonia of London conducted by Marcus Dods.
Adapted for radio and produced by Peter Bryant.
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1964.
*** Part of HOME SERVICE DAY on BBC Radio 4 Extra ***
SAT 08:00 The Silver King (m002682g)
After losing all his money gambling Wilfred Denver escapes to America – but will he strike it rich?
"O God! Put back thy universe, and give me yesterday".
The Silver Age is one of the 19th century's great Victorian melodramas.
Written by Henry Arthur Jones (1851–1929) and Henry Herman (1851 – 1929) and first published in 1882.
Starring Donald Wolfit.
Cast in order of speaking:
Bilcher .... Alan Lawrance
Ware .... John Boxer
Tubbs .... Joe Sterne
Jaikes .... George Merritt
Denver .... Donald Wolfit
Baxter .... Peter Claughton
Corkett .... John Hollis
Coombe .... Leigh Crutchley
Skinner .... Malcolm Hayes
Nelly .... Rosalind Iden
Cripps .... Alan Haines
Inspector .... Kenneth Hyde
Susie .... Lynn Carson
Olive .... Nicolette Bernard
Footman .... Gordon Gardner
Cissy .... Isabel Rennie
Gaffer .... Norman Wynne
Tabitha ....Lynn Carson
Music composed by Alan Paul.
Adapted for radio by Archie Campbell and Mitchell Raper.
Producer: RD Smith
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1964.
*** Part of HOME SERVICE DAY on BBC Radio 4 Extra ***
SAT 09:30 Spike Milligan (b04vdhcy)
The GPO Show
Spike Milligan delivers first class fun to Postmaster General Tony Benn and staff of the General Post Office.
A seasonal Goon's-eye view of Operation Mailbag in full swing at London's Mount Pleasant sorting office
Written by and starring Spike Milligan.
With:
Harry Secombe
John Bluthal
Barry Humphries
Bob Todd
Gary Miller
Music from the Grand Piano Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Producer: Charles Chilton
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1964.
*** Part of HOME SERVICE DAY on BBC Radio 4 Extra ***
SAT 10:00 We Don't Often Lose a Boffin by John Graham (m002682j)
After months of being cooped up in a laboratory, top government scientist Dr Grebe is enjoying some fresh country air.
He is the guest of Sir James - Permanent Secretary for Defence.
Sir James's son Wesley doesn't really approve of Dr Grebe's work and his younger brother Henry is pining for a two-wheeled bicycle...
Starring Patrick Barr, William Fox and Joan Matheson
Comedy drama written by John Graham
Cast in order of speaking:
Henry .... George Westbury
Weslie .... Nicholas Charles
Dr Grebe .... Patrick Barr
Sir James .... William Fox
Celia .... Joan Matheson
Mary, a maid .... Molly Rankin
Mr Sand, a 'top-brass in M.I.5' .... Frederick Treves
Sir Malcolm, a 'top-brass in Whitehall' .... John Graham
Producer: Audrey Cameron
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1964.
*** Part of HOME SERVICE DAY on BBC Radio 4 Extra ***
SAT 11:00 Sherlock Holmes (m0009568)
Sherlock Holmes with Carleton Hobbs - Series 5
The Norwood Builder
A young solicitor is accused of murder and arson.
Another case for the Baker Street sleuth, Sherlock Holmes.
Starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective tale - first published in 1903.
Adapted by Michael Hardwick.
Sherlock Holmes ...... Carleton Hobbs
Dr Watson ...... Norman Shelley
Mrs Hudson ...... Janet Morrison
Inspector Lestrade ...... Humphrey Morton
McFarlane ...... Henry Stamper
Mrs Lexington ...... Eva Stuart
Jonas Oldacre ...... Hamlyn Benson
Mrs McFarlane ...... Molly Weir
Policeman 1 ...... Alaric Cotter
Policeman 2 ...... Fraser Kerr
Producer Graham Gauld
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in September 1964.
*** Part of HOME SERVICE DAY on BBC Radio 4 Extra ***
SAT 11:30 Sherlock Holmes (m00094ml)
Sherlock Holmes with Carleton Hobbs - Series 5
The Three Garridebs
To inherit a fortune, an American asks the sleuth to find two men with his surname.
Another case for the Baker Street sleuth, Sherlock Holmes.
Starring Carleton Hobbs and Norman Shelley.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective tale - first published in 1924.
Adapted by Michael Hardwick.
Sherlock Holmes ...... Carleton Hobbs
Dr Watson ...... Norman Shelley
Mrs Hudson ...... Janet Morrison
Inspector Lestrade ...... Humphrey Morton
John Garrideb ...... Eric Anderson
Nathan Garrideb ...... Charles E Stickill
Holloway ...... Harold Reese
Producer Graham Gauld
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in September 1964.
*** Part of HOME SERVICE DAY on BBC Radio 4 Extra ***
SAT 12:00 Daughters in Law by Henry Cecil (m002682m)
Through bitter experience, Major Buttonstep has a deep loathing of the legal profession.
When he discovers the profession of his prospective daughters-in-law, he asks his sons to reconsider.
Henry Cecil adapts his novel for radio.
Starring Cecil Parker and Naunton Wayne.
Major Claude Buttonstep .... Cecil Parker
Archie Randall .... Anthony Viccars
Digiby Buttonstep .... John Pullen
Prunella Coombe .... Gudrun Ure
Jane Coombe .... Diana Olsson
John Buttonstep .... William Eedle
Mr Justice Coombe .... Will Leighton
Mr Trotter .... Naunton Wayne
P C Giossop .... Peter Claughton
Mr Dealtry .... Malcolm Hayes
Mr Larpent .... Rolf Lefebvre
Judge Smoothe .... Philip Leaver
Lord Justice Crewe .... Haydn Jones
Lord Justice Blake .... Derek Birch
Producer: HB Fortuin
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in September 1961.
*** Part of HOME SERVICE DAY on BBC Radio 4 Extra ***
SAT 13:30 Knock Up Ginger (m002682p)
The front doors in his street fascinated young Johnny Morris.
When was it safe to knock on them - and when wasn't it?
Written and performed by Johnny Morris
Producer Brian Patten
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1964.
*** Part of HOME SERVICE DAY on BBC Radio 4 Extra ***
SAT 14:00 The Duenna by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (m002682d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 16:00 The Silver King (m002682g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Spike Milligan (b04vdhcy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 18:00 We Don't Often Lose a Boffin by John Graham (m002682j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 19:00 Sherlock Holmes (m0009568)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SAT 19:30 Sherlock Holmes (m00094ml)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:30 today]
SAT 20:00 Daughters in Law by Henry Cecil (m002682m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:00 today]
SAT 21:30 Knock Up Ginger (m002682p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:30 today]
SAT 22:00 Welcome to Wherever You Are (m0006sf0)
Series 2
Episode 1
Andrew Maxwell hosts a truly global stand-up show, in which comedians perform from wherever on the planet they happen to be, to an audience in the BBC Radio Theatre, London.
With:
Steph Tisdell
Schalk Bezuidenhout
Al Pitcher
Steph Tisdell is a First Nations Australian stand-up.
Schalk Bezuidenhout is an Afrikaaner from Cape Town.
Al Pitcher aims to give us the lowdown on life in Stockholm.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2019.
SAT 22:30 Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music (b00cqh5d)
Series 2
Journey to the Centre of Rick
Mitch Benn and his team must be miniaturised and inserted into Rick Wakeman to prevent impending war.
It's a voyage told through song. Do not adjust your set.
Written by Mitch Benn and Robin Ince.
With:
Robin Ince
Kirsty Newton
Alfie Joey
Tasha Bayliss
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2005
SAT 23:00 Lemn Sissay's Origin Stories (b07zyg5w)
4. The Dark Side
Batman was an orphan; Lisbeth Salander, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was an orphan; Superman was an orphan and a foundling. Cinderella was a foster child. Darth Vader - well, they can't all be winners.
Taking a comic and poetic angle, Lemn Sissay compares reality against the treatment of children raised in care, orphans and foster children in popular culture. Because it surely says something about how we view them that we create so many for fiction?
No-one, really, believes they are doing evil.
Anakin Skywalker did not become Darth Vader because he liked being bad, he did it because he believed his pregnant wife was in danger - and so began his journey to the Dark Side.
In this final, and possibly toughest, episode, Lemn examines his bad choices; where he let himself do the wrong thing - and how he has attempted to make amends.
When must you let go of your memories and live?
Written and performed by Lemn Sissay.
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2016.
SAT 23:30 The Remains of Foley and McColl (b007jrl6)
The Real You
Their BBC producer forces Sean and Hamish to get proper jobs.
Surreal comedy starring award-winning double act, Sean Foley and Hamish McColl - the Right Size.
With:
Rose English
Count Arthur Strong
Chris Larner
Mark Stevens
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2000.

SUNDAY 29 DECEMBER 2024

SUN 00:00 You're Entering The Twilight Zone (b00vk2mg)
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man."
50 years ago back in 1959, writer Rod Serling ushered audiences into a new realm of light and shadow.
The Twilight Zone offered glimpses of American dreams and nightmares through a glass darkly.
Alan Dein explores the life of this provocative screenwriter and producer.
Featuring:
Carol Serling
Robert Serling
Earl Holliman
Jean Marsh
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.
SUN 01:00 The Duenna by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (m002682d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 The Silver King (m002682g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 Spike Milligan (b04vdhcy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 We Don't Often Lose a Boffin by John Graham (m002682j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b02yngr1)
Children's Authors
Rumer Godden
Always an outsider, Rumer Godden seems to have gone against all the mores of her time; from opening a dancing school in Calcutta to living alone with her children in Kashmir.
The writer describes how her rich life in India (under the Raj) and in Britain has influenced her novels.
She says she can't remember a time when she didn't write.
Rumer was first castaway by Roy Plomley in 1975, but returned in 1996 to chat to Sue Lawley.
She died two years later at the age of 90, having published dozens of novels for adults and children, alongside non-fiction and verse.
DISC ONE: Dominic Muldowney - Peacock Spring Music
DISC TWO: Vladimir Horowitz - Robert Schumann's Träumerei (from Scenes from Childhood)
DISC THREE: Duke Ellington and His Orchestra - Stormy Weather
DISC FOUR: : Los Frontierizos Orchestra with The Choir Of The Bassilica - Ariel Ramírez's Misa Criolla
DISC FIVE: Philadelphia Orchestra - Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique
DISC SIX: Elisabeth Schwarzkopf & Chorus with The Philharmonia Orchestra - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Porgi, amor (from The Marriage of Figaro)
DISC SEVEN: The Ballet Theatre Orchestra, conducted by Joseph Levine - Frédéric Chopin's Les Sylphides
DISC EIGHT: Claudio Arrau - Franz Liszt's Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Vladimir Horowitz - Robert Schumann's Träumerei (from Scenes from Childhood)
BOOK CHOICE: The Atlantic book of British and American Poetry - Edith Sitwell
LUXURY CHOICE: A widow's cruse filled with whisky
Producer Angie Nehring
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1996.
SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b010y0r7)
Series 2
Chimps
They say, David Attenborough reports, that we share more of our genes with chimpanzees than any other species alive today.
It was this proximity of Homo Sapiens to the chimpanzee which motivated him even more to film behaviour never before seen.
It had been known for some time that chimps hunt monkeys for meat, but it would be a first to film it for TV audiences.
To film such a hunt required days of waiting and tracking a troop through the Equatorial African forest - and when the hunt came and was over it changed Sir David Attenborough's view of chimps and their importance to us, forever.
Written and presented by David Attenborough.
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
SUN 07:00 Poetry Extra (m00268bh)
Poetry Please - Poems for Winter
Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and selects a seasonal highlight: Poetry Please - Poems for Winter.
This features Roger McGough with requests for wintry poems including these by:
Ted Hughes
WH Auden
Gillian Clarke.
Producer: Sally Heaven
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2015.
*** And Daljit reads another poem from his Poetry Extra Book of the Month - Collected Poems by Wendy Cope.
SUN 07:30 The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi (Omnibus) (m00268bk)
How one of the world's most famous clowns, Joseph Grimaldi, became a superstar of Georgian pantomime.
Nine-year-old Joe is forced to become the breadwinner when his father dies of syphilis.
Andrew McConnell Stott's story of the life of one of Britain's greatest comedians.
Omnibus of five parts adapted by Viv Beeby.
Read by Kenneth Cranham.
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.
SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (m00268bm)
Chris and Rosie Ramsey
Chris and Rosie Ramsey choose 'Wake up Boo!' by The Boo Radleys, 'Real Gone Kid' by Deacon Blue and 'I’m Alive' by Celine Dion.
SUN 08:50 Paddington Bear by Michael Bond (Omnibus) (m00268bp)
A bear arrives from darkest Peru at Paddington railway station in London.
Omnibus of five adventures of Paddington bear written by Michael Bond.
* Please Look After This Bear
* Bear in Hot Water
* Paddington and the Christmas Pantomime
* Paddington's Christmas
* A Disappearing Trick
The Narrator ... Michael Hordern
Paddington .... Andrew Branch
Mr Brown .... Edward Kelsey
Mrs Brown .... Jill Shilling
Judy .... Jane Knowles
Jonathan .... Elizabeth Lindsay
Mrs Bird .... Jo Manning Wilson
With:
Michael Deacon
Peter McGowan
Dramatised and produced by Colin Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1982.
SUN 10:00 Beyond Our Ken (b0bl6403)
From 08/10/1958
Kenneth hosts 'Next Question, Please' in Cornwall and 'Hornerama' investigates Education.
A madcap mix of sketches and songs written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took
Starring:
Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Williams
Hugh Paddick
Betty Marsden
Ron Moody
Music from Pat Lancaster, the Malcolm Mitchell Trio and the BBC Review Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
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 October 1958.
SUN 10:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m00268br)
Series 2
A Message to America
Some American friends want to be reminded of their recent visit - so could the dear ladies record some of their wonderful songs and Miss Primly's memorable poem?
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 Bracket ...... Patrick Fyffe
Dr Evadne Hinge ...... George Logan
PC George Bolsover ...... Herbert Smith
Miss Primly......................Rosalie Williams
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.
Producer: James Casey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1978.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b02yngr1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b010y0r7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m00268bh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi (Omnibus) (m00268bk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (m00268bm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 13:50 Paddington Bear by Michael Bond (Omnibus) (m00268bp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 15:00 Beyond Our Ken (b0bl6403)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 15:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m00268br)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 16:00 Drama on 4 (m0001rzz)
Porcelain
Are you witch, or fairy or the wife of Michael Cleary?
Hat is an overqualified admin assistant who grew up in the shadow of an Irish fairy fort, famously the site of the murder of Bridget Cleary.
When Hat's life changes unexpectedly, her familiar mythologies are all that can make sense of her world.
Starring Jessie Buckley.
Written by Margaret Perry.
Bridget Cleary was an Irish woman killed by her husband in Tipperary in 1895.
Her husband believed that she had been abducted by fairies with a changeling left in her place - a belief so fervent he invited her family to witness the killing of the changeling.
Hat .... Jessie Buckley
Bill …. Don Gilet
Silvertongue …. Emma Handy
Sarah …. Niamh Denyer
Michael …. Alan Mahon
Bridget …. Lucy Doyle
Director: Jessica Dromgoole
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2018.
SUN 16:45 Absent Friends 2024 - The 7th Dimension (m00268bt)
Toby Hadoke pays tribute to some of the lesser-known performers, creators and behind the scenes talent in the world of sci-fi, fantasy and horror whom we lost this year.
Including a trio of 99 year olds: Thunderbirds legend and Dalek Voice David Graham, William Russell from Doctor Who’s very first regular line-up, and Ysanne Churchman (Grace Archer from The Archers but with science fiction credentials too).
He also celebrates behind the scenes talent including make-up designers Lisa Westcott and Sheelagh Wells, designer Ken Ledsham and Floor Manager David Tilley alongside such ubiquitous and gifted thespians as Pamela Salem, Georgina Hale, Richardson Morgan and Stuart Organ.
Producer: Moy McGowan
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b02yngr1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b010y0r7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m00268bh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 18:30 The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi (Omnibus) (m00268bk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (m00268bm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 19:50 Paddington Bear by Michael Bond (Omnibus) (m00268bp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 21:00 Beyond Our Ken (b0bl6403)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m00268br)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 22:00 Revolting People (b00ww9fh)
Series 4
Episode 6
Our heroes finally meet King George III. Can they persuade him - and his chief advisor, an elm tree - to end the war?
Sitcom set just before the American War of Independence.
Written by and starring Andy Hamilton and Jay Tarses.
Sergeant McGurk .... Andy Hamilton
Samuel .... Jay Tarses
Captain Brimshaw .... James Fleet
Mary .... Julia Hills
Joshua .... Tony Maudsley
Belle …. Rebecca Front
With Michael Fenton Stevens and Philip Pope
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2006.
SUN 22:30 Electric Ink (b01jjtn5)
Series 2
Episode 1
Maddox has lost the job of news editor and now faces being sued.
Starring John Sessions and Alex Jennings.
Old hacks meet new media in this satire set in the changing world of the struggling newspaper industry.
Written by Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson.
A group of dysfunctional journalists attempt to cover major news stories at the same time as grappling with the demands of working in a multi-platform environment, watching circulation figures plummet and the recession causing half the workforce to be laid off.
Maddox ..... John Sessions
Oliver ..... Alex Jennings
Freddy ..... Stephen Wight
Carol ..... Polly Frame
Masha ..... Debbie Chazen
Keith ..... Sam Dale
Producer: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.
SUN 23:00 Lewis Macleod Is Not Himself (b04grrpq)
Episode 1
The impression and sketch show that looks behind the scenes at the life and work of star impressionist Lewis Macleod.
Lewis has performed on BBC Radio 4 Extra's Newsjack, plus Postman Pat, The Phantom Menace and Dead Ringers.
With:
Kate O'Sullivan
Duncan Wisbey
Julian Dutton
Producer: Lyndsay Fenner
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2014.
SUN 23:30 Safety Catch (b00fc4vp)
Series 1
Show Me You Care
Simon McGrath likes to think of himself as a good citizen.
He donates blood, recycles his newspapers and has adopted two tigers.
He just also happens to be an arms dealer...
Starring Darren Boyd as Simon McGrath.
First of three series of Laurence Howarth’s black comedy of modern morality.
With:
Joanna Page
Lewis MacLeod
Sarah Smart
Brigit Forsyth
Ben Onwukwe
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2007.

MONDAY 30 DECEMBER 2024

MON 00:00 Drama on 4 (m0001rzz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:45 Absent Friends 2024 - The 7th Dimension (m00268bt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:45 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b02yngr1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b010y0r7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m00268bh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi (Omnibus) (m00268bk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (m00268bm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]
MON 03:50 Paddington Bear by Michael Bond (Omnibus) (m00268bp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Beyond Our Ken (b0bl6403)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m00268br)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jvld)
Wimsey - Unnatural Death
1. No Sign Of Foul Play
Not satisfied with Agatha Dawson's post-mortem, Lord Peter Wimsey investigates.
Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic sleuth.
British gentleman detective Lord Peter Wimsey features in a number of detective novels and short stories by English crime writer, Dorothy L Sayers.
Unnatural Death was first published in 1927.
Classy and sharp-witted, aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Bredon Wimsey was born in 1890 and educated at Eton and Oxford, before serving in the military during the First World War.
Ian Carmichael appeared as Lord Peter Wimsey for BBC Radio from 1973 to 1983, in addition to the BBC TV adaptations that were broadcast between 1972 and 1975.
Dramatised in seven episodes by Chris Miller.
Lord Peter Wimsey …. Ian Carmichael
Miss Climpson …. Ambrosine Phillpotts
Inspector Parker …. Gabriel Woolf
Doctor Carr …. Peter Baldwin
Nurse Philliter …. Corinna Marlowe
Waiter …. Christopher Emmett
Producer: Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1975.
MON 06:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hwf6)
1. A Small Killing in Hollywood
The Prime Minister discovers a film is set to be made about the "Kaiseroda" mine - Hitler's secret cave of treasures during the Second World War.
So did Winston Churchill meet Hitler in 1940?
Can the SIS (Britain's Secret Intelligence Service) uncover the truth?
The title of Len Deighton’s riveting thriller XPD stands for Expedient Demise.
An alleged secret meeting between Churchill and Hitler in 1940 is at the centre of the tangled plot; Whitehall, the Kremlin and the CIA - plus a ruthless secret group - were all somewhat anxious of that historical conference. Will the so-called Hitler Minutes prove Churchill a traitor?
Deighton described his book as "faction", a blend of fact and fiction "so skilful you can't see the join".
Dramatised in eight-parts by Michael Bakewell.
Boyd Stuart ...... Trevor Nichols
Sydney Ryden ...... David Garth
Charles Stein ...... Bruce Boa
Max Breslow ...... Bernard Hepton
Willi Kleiber ...... Clifford Rose
Hitler Minutes ...... Colin Starkey
Prime Minister ...... Bernard Brown
Jennifer ...... Jenny Funnell
Kitty ...... Melinda Walker
MacIver ...... Don Fellows
Billy Stein ...... Ian Tyler
Director: Peter King
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1985.
MON 07:00 The House of the Spirit Levels (b007jr6k)
To Begin At The End
Nick Revell’s six-part comedy serial travels between the Andes, St Petersburg and a town in west Yorkshire, where Tony Hardstaff returns after a 10-year absence.
He encounters his 183-year-old father Obadiah, his Bronte obsessed ex-girlfriend and the Morris Dancing Survivalist Militia.
In this opening episode, Tony is seduced by the charms of the beautiful Natassia Fillipovna Karamazov and has to escape from the ruthless Russian mafia in St Petersburg.
Tony ...... Nick Revell
Natasha Fillipovna ...... Morwenna Banks
The Narrator ...... Alistair McGowan
Mrs Yepanchin ...... Joanna Brooks
Ivan ...... Jonathan Kydd
Sergei ...... Peter Gunn
Kropotkin ...... Peter Serafinowcz
Vladimir ...... Chris Pavlo
Other parts played by the cast.
Music composed by Paul Mottram.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1997.
MON 07:30 The Burkiss Way (b00gs067)
Series 2
Plan Christmas Schedules the Burkiss Way
The team mock TV and radio's festive line-up.
Cult sketch comedy series which originally ran from 1976 to 1980.
Starring:
Fred Harris
Jo Kendall
Nigel Rees
Chris Emmett
Written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick.
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1976.
MON 08:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b0680gtv)
Series 4
The Stag
Damien and Anthony celebrate their stag weekend in Dublin when their plans to spend it at the opera are ruined by the weather.
Meanwhile, Ian is tasked with looking after Damien's mother who is recovering from laser eye surgery.
Sitcom charting the life of cookery writer Damien Trench, who lives in London's Queen's Park with his partner Anthony
Created by and starring Miles Jupp.
Written by Justin Edwards.
Damien Trench ...... Miles Jupp
Anthony ...... Justin Edwards
Ian Frobisher ...... Philip Fox
Mr Mullaney .... Brendan Dempsey
Damien's mother .... Selina Cadell
The Waitress .... Alex Tregear
Ray Jarrow .... Chris Brand
Chef/Policeman ...... Stephen Critchlow
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2015.
MON 08:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0170s05)
1. North Utsire, South Utsire, Cromarty
The shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4 is as familiar as the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour.
Yet recognisable though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain.
Charlie Connelly sets off on a journey into the forecast to find out.
Written by Charlie Connelly and abridged in five parts by Beatrice Colin
Read by Tom Goodman-Hill.
Producer: Gaynor MacFarlane
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
MON 08:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjyg)
1. Visit
Kate Dickens tells the story of her father’s final and unfinished novel, a fast-moving thriller set in the cathedral town of Cloisterham.
It is Christmas and all is fine until Edwin - the young man who appears to have it all, a beautiful and charming prospective bride, the promise of an engineering job in Egypt - disappears.
Presumed murdered. Could it have been impetuous Neville Landless? Or Edwin’s uncle Jasper?
In this episode, Edwin visits his fiancé Rosa at Miss Twinkleton’s Academy, but his gift of a pair of gloves for every one of her 19 years is not as successful as he had hoped.
In an opium den near London’s docks, Princess Puffer teases secrets from Edwin’s uncle, John Jasper.
Dickens’ last, unfinished, novel is set in a phantasmagorical drug-fuelled landscape where nobody is who or what they say they are.
Whilst writing it, Dickens was driving himself towards exhaustion and death through obsessive public performances of the most lurid parts of Oliver Twist - revisiting his first successful novel whilst struggling with his last, fearful that his creative well is drying up and that this story would never be brought to a close.
Written by Charles Dickens and dramatised in ten parts by Mike Walker.
Narrated by Dickens’ daughter Kate, witness to her father’s final weeks, and whose fascination with this story leads her to look into its unsolved conclusion to find clues about her father’s character.
Kate Dickens ...… Pippa Nixon
John Jasper ...… Joel McCormack
Edwin Drood ...… Iwan Davies
Rosa Bud ...… Isabella Inchbald
Princess Puffer ...… Rachel Atkins
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.
MON 09:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002689w)
Series 82
Episode 3
The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit to the Anvil Theatre in Basingstoke. Marcus Brigstocke and Henning Wehn take on Miles Jupp and Rachel Parris, with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell provides piano accompaniment.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random production for BBC Radio 4
MON 09:30 Estuaries (m002689y)
Brett Westwood is joined by keen bird watcher, Stephen Moss, on the Devonshire coast. With the help of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson they offer a practical and entertaining guide to identifying the birds which you're most likely to see and hear in Britain's estuaries; birds like Redshank, Dunlin, Curlew and Knot.
This is the first of five programmes to help identify many of the birds found around our British coastline in places like sandy beaches, rocky shores, sea cliffs, off-shore islands and estuaries. Not only is there advice on how to recognise the birds from their appearance, but also how to identify them from their calls and songs.
This series complements three previous series; A Guide to Garden Birds, A Guide to Woodland Birds and A Guide to Water Birds and is aimed at both the complete novice as well as those who are eager to learn more about our coastal visitors and residents.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
MON 09:45 Daily Service (m00268b0)
Reflections and Beginnings - Escape
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Reflections and Beginnings - Escape
Presenter: Ann Easter
Reading: Matthew 2: 13-16
Music:
Coventry Carol - Canticum
In the stillness - Daily Service Carol Concert
Sussex Carol - Daily Service Carol Concert
MON 10:00 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k14d)
Nick Wisdom
Norman Wisdom's son Nick chats about what life was like growing up with his famous funny father.
Sally Magnusson hosts the series where the sons and daughters of famous comedians talk about life with their dads.
Producer: Mike Walker
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in October 2005.
MON 10:30 The Mystery of the Mystery of Edwin Drood (b019gz0c)
'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' is a tantalising element of the Dickens manuscript archive held by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Frances Fyfield uses the packed manuscript pages, detailed number plans and early cover designs to try and make sense of one of English Literature's great mysteries:
What really happened to the eponymous hero. Edwin Drood?
Frances is assisted in her quest by fellow crime-writer Simon Brett and Dickens scholar Professor Jenny Hartley.
Dickens died shortly after bringing the curtain down on Chapter 23, barely half way through the twelve monthly instalments. He suffered a massive stroke later that day, 8 June 1870, and died the next day.
By that stage in Dickens' novel, Edwin has gone missing and it is suspected that he has been murdered but no body has been found. The finger of suspicion points at Neville Landless but the author seems to be hinting at the guilt of a more sinister figure, the leader of the Cathedral choir, John Jasper.
Ever since, Dickensian enthusiasts have searched the book for every hint of a clue as to what the author intended to do with the characters he'd created. Frances isn't afraid of joining these so-called 'Droodians' in trying to employ her crime-writer's insights to make sense of the pieces of the jigsaw left to us.
But her investigation, which takes her to Rochester where the novel is set, also examines the state of Dickens' mind at the time, and his fascination with the criminal mentality, including vintage Dickensian types like Mr Crisparkle, the angular Mr Grewgious and the hideous auctioneer Mr Sapsea.
Frances and her colleagues also search the manuscript for signs of the author's failing health, and, perhaps more importantly, failing ability.
What they find is the usual high octane writing style, brilliant inventiveness and perhaps a greater subtlety in characterisation than in many of the earlier works.
Producer: Tom Alban
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2012.
MON 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jvld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 11:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hwf6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 12:00 The House of the Spirit Levels (b007jr6k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Burkiss Way (b00gs067)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 13:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b0680gtv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 13:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0170s05)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 14:00 Just a Minute (b00qtt8c)
Series 56
Episode 8
Nicholas Parsons presides over the devious game where panellists are challenged to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition.
With:
Paul Merton
Graham Norton
Sue Perkins
Tony Hawks
Subjects include: Some Strange Facts About The People In This Show, Bluffing, How To Pick A Good Lodger, Starters, Whistling Down The Wind, A Eureka Moment, Vitamins and Being Wise After The Event.
Created by Ian Messiter.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2010.
MON 14:30 Too Much Information (b00n55sq)
Episode 2
Waft Tourist Information struggle to attract visitors by promoting their most famous local resident, a local doctor who burps.
But when a genuinely famous dissolute TV comic stops off for a pee, they are to determined not to let him leave!
The ancient northern town of Waft appears in the Lonely Planet Guide with the advice: "Don't bother". It has more people in the cemetery than living in it, is twinned with a town near Chernobyl and is most often visited by people using the toilet on the way to Alton Towers.
So Waft Tourist Information Centre is hardly a hive of activity! But Warren along with the other members of the "Friends of Waft" each week attempt to solve the endless conundrum of how on earth they can attract visitors to Waft!
Neil Warhurst's comedy drama set in the idiosyncratic world of a tourist information office.
Warren ....... Jeff Rawle
Douglas ....... Malcolm Tierney
Heather ....... Liza Sadovy
Lucy ....... Joannah Tincey
Bryan ....... Paul Barnhill
Ricky ....... Phillip Fox
George ....... Stephen Hogan
Producer: Liz Webb
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009.
MON 15:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsvj)
1. Calf Love
"Mr Gibson was a widower and likely to remain so; his domestic affections were centred on Molly, but even to her he did not give way to much expression of his feelings. He had rather a contempt for demonstrative people, arising from his medical insight into the consequences to health of uncontrolled feeling. Molly, however, had her own intuitions to guide her and grew to understand her father well and the two had the most delightful intercourse together - half banter, half seriousness, but altogether confidential friendship."
Molly is faced with spending time away from her Papa.
Final novel written by 'Cranford' author, Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1866.
Starring Tom Wilkinson and Kathryn Hurlbutt.
Dramatised in nine parts by Barry Campbell.
Molly .... Kathryn Hurlbutt
Mr Gibson .... Tom Wilkinson
Clare .... Angela Pleasence
Squire Hamley .... Robert Lang
Mrs Hamley .... Lillias Walker
Lady Cuxhaven .... Anna Fox
Mr Coxe .... Alex Jennings
Bethia ....Pauline Siddle
Maid ..... Carole Boyd
Mrs Gaskell .... Thelma Whiteley
Music composed by Rachel Portman.
Director: Jane Morgan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1983
MON 16:00 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k14d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 The Mystery of the Mystery of Edwin Drood (b019gz0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jvld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 17:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hwf6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 18:00 The House of the Spirit Levels (b007jr6k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:30 The Burkiss Way (b00gs067)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 19:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b0680gtv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0170s05)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 19:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 20:00 Just a Minute (b00qtt8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
MON 20:30 Too Much Information (b00n55sq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
MON 21:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsvj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002689w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 22:30 Alice's Wunderland (b01l1dlg)
Series 1
Episode 3
A trip round Wunderland, the Poundland of magical realms. It's a kingdom much like our own, and also nothing like it in the slightest.
Stay a while and meet waifs and strays, wigshops and witches, murderous pensioners and squirrels of this delightful land as they go about their bizarre business.
A sketch show written and performed by Alice Lowe.
Also starring:
Richard Glover
Simon Greenall
Rachel Stubbings
Clare Thompson
Marcia Warren
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.
MON 23:00 The Naked Week (m00268b2)
Series 1
The Naked Christmas Week: Books, Trump, and When Is Bins?
Landing slap-bang in the no-man’s land between Christmas and New Year, the Naked Week team will be heading out of the trenches to challenge the news to a game of football. This week, we find out which of the year's political memoirs passes our special test, and we ask the big Christmas question 'When Is Bins?'
Expect festive advice, guests full of joy and wonder, and a little drummer boy (budget depending), as the show sticks its hand into all the Christmas current affairs, pulls out a bag of news-giblets and stuffs the airwaves with irreverent features, mischievous set-pieces and more jokes than you can shake a seasonal stick at.
Presenter of Presents: Andrew Hunter Murray
Chief Christmas Correspondent: Amy Hoggart
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Jason Hazeley
Katie Sayer
Sarah Dempster
Gareth Ceredig
Adam Macqueen
Louis Mian
Produced by Jon Ho-ho-ho-Holmes.
Production Team: Katie Sayer, Phoebe Butler, Laura Grimshaw, Jerry Peal, Tony Churnside.
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:30 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (m000cn0p)
Case #524 - New Year's Evil
Acclaimed double-act Max and Ivan as the incompetent private detectives for hire.
It’s New Year’s Eve, but any plans for celebration are put on ice as Max and Ivan are tasked with investigating fearsome crime family matriarch, Mama Shanks.
Word on the street is that she has something big planned for this very evening but, in a plot that takes in vaping, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and 10,000 bees, can Max and Ivan find out what it going down before it is too late?
Special guest Katherine Parkinson.
Written by Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez.
Max ...... Max Olesker
Ivan ...... Ivan Gonzalez
Martha Shanks ...... Katherine Parkinson
Narrator / Malcolm McMichaelmas ...... Lewis MacLeod
Lumpy ...... Jessica Ransom
PC Gribble ...... David Reed
Original music by Huw Olesker and Samuel H James
Developed by John Stanley Productions.
Producer: Ben Walker.
A Hare and Tortoise production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2019.

TUESDAY 31 DECEMBER 2024

TUE 00:00 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k14d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 The Mystery of the Mystery of Edwin Drood (b019gz0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jvld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hwf6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 The House of the Spirit Levels (b007jr6k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 The Burkiss Way (b00gs067)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b0680gtv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0170s05)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjyg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00qtt8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Too Much Information (b00n55sq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsvj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlj)
Wimsey - Unnatural Death
2. Death In Epping Forest
After yet another killing, Lord Peter Wimsey questions an evasive would-be divorcee.
Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic amateur sleuth.
Dorothy L Sayers' detective mystery.
Dramatised by Chris Miller.
Lord Peter Wimsey …. Ian Carmichael
Miss Climpson …. Ambrosine Phillpotts
Inspector Parker …. Gabriel Woolf
Mrs. Peasgood …. Betty Cardno
Mrs. Forrest …. Bridget McConnel
Superintendent Walmisley …. Godfrey Kenton
Mrs. Gulliver …. Pauline Letts
Miss Murgatroyd …. Madi Hedd
Producer: Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1975.
TUE 06:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hx33)
2. The House in Geneva
Charles Stein is on a mission to Switzerland to meet his old Colonel.
Can he discover the truth about the missing treasures from the Nazi Kaiseroda mine?
The title of Len Deighton’s riveting thriller XPD stands for Expedient Demise.
An alleged secret meeting between Churchill and Hitler in 1940 is at the centre of the tangled plot; Will the so-called Hitler Minutes prove Churchill a traitor?
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Boyd Stuart ...... Trevor Nichols
Charles Stein ...... Bruce Boa
Colonel Pitman ...... Barry Morse
Shumuk ...... George Coulouris
Ian Tyler ...... Billy Stein
Loden ...... Bernard Brown
Mme Maurig ...... Mary Wimbush
Kalkhoven ...... Stuart Milligan
Ivan ...... David Garth
Grechko ...... David Sinclair
Hollis ...... David Learner
Parker ...... Colin Starkey
Producer: Peter King
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1985.
TUE 07:00 Rent (b0675byd)
Series 4
Episode 6
Maria and Richard have their lives back. For Paul and Ruby, it's decision time...
Stars Patrick Barlow and Barbara Flynn.
Conclusion of Lucy Flannery's award-winning sitcom about Maria and Richard Reynolds and their lodgers.
Maria …. Barbara Flynn
Richard …. Patrick Barlow
Ruby …. Vivienne Rochester
Paul …. Dave Lamb
Eva …. Sarah Parkinson
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1998.
TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b007jnb4)
Series 6
Scradje
With Britain's boots exploding, Neddie Seagoon tries to tackle a national 'scradje' shortage.
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Peter Eton
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in March 1956.
TUE 08:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000rlpv)
Series 2
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam play a couple who have been married 'forever'.
Children of the 1960s, they're still free spirits, drawn together by their passion for music and each other. Their recognisable warm and witty conversations dance around everything from health scares, jealousy and confessions, to TV incompatibility and sourdough bread.
In this episode, Roger is late home from a pub lunch and Joanna finds out he had a ‘chance encounter’ on the train home with a former student and didn’t tell her.
Written for Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam by award-winning comedy writer and journalist Jan Etherington.
Jan has been married for 34 years to Gavin Petrie, with whom she has created many hit Radio 4 Extra and TV series (Second Thoughts, plus Next of Kin, Faith in the Future, The Change).
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2021.
TUE 08:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0170vfd)
2. Dogger, Fisher, German Bight
The shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4 is as familiar as the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour.
Yet recognisable though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain.
Charlie Connelly has set off on a journey into the forecast to find out.
"I cursed the arbitrary nature of the shipping forecast map for forcing me to spend a weekend of my life here."
Charlie's quest takes in 'the St Tropez of the North' and 'the most boring place in the world.'
Written by Charlie Connelly and abridged by Beatrice Colin
Read by Tom Goodman-Hill.
Producer: Gaynor MacFarlane
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
TUE 08:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjf4)
2. Twins
Kate Dickens tells the story of her father’s final and unfinished novel, a fast-moving thriller set in the cathedral town of Cloisterham.
It is Christmas and all is fine until Edwin - the young man who appears to have it all, a beautiful and charming prospective bride, the promise of an engineering job in Egypt - disappears.
Presumed murdered. Could it have been impetuous Neville Landless? Or Edwin’s uncle Jasper?
Newly arrived from Ceylon, orphan twins Neville and Helena Landless turn up in Cloisterham.
Helena makes firm friends with Rosa, but Neville, lodging with Reverend Crisparkle, clashes with Edwin.
Dickens’ last, unfinished, novel is set in a phantasmagorical drug-fuelled landscape where nobody is who or what they say they are.
Whilst writing it, Dickens was driving himself towards exhaustion and death through obsessive public performances of the most lurid parts of Oliver Twist - revisiting his first successful novel whilst struggling with his last, fearful that his creative well is drying up and that this story would never be brought to a close.
Written by Charles Dickens and dramatised by Mike Walker.
Narrated by Dickens’ daughter Kate, witness to her father’s final weeks, and whose fascination with this story leads her to look into its unsolved conclusion to find clues about her father’s character.
Kate Dickens ...… Pippa Nixon
John Jasper ...… Joel McCormack
Edwin Drood ..…. Iwan Davies
Rosa Bud ...… Isabella Inchbald
Reverend Crisparkle ...… Damian Lynch
Neville Landless ...… Maanuv Thiara
Helena Landless .….. Halema Hussain
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
A BBC Cymru Wales Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.
TUE 09:00 Best Medicine (m00268c1)
Series 2
6. Pain Management, Organoids, Prosthetic Leg Covers
Joining Kiri this week is comedian Desiree Burch who explains the best ways to cope with pain following surgery. Dr Abdullah Khan engineers mini versions of human organs in a dish to enable more effective testing of new medical treatments, and Mark Williams shows off personalised prosthetic legs clad in anything from gold and flames to beer and the Welsh Flag.

Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by a funny and fascinating panel of comedians, doctors, scientists, and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.

Each week, Kiri challenges a panel of medical experts and a comedian to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each guest champions anything from world-changing science or an obscure invention, to an every-day treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.

Whether it’s origami surgical robots, life-changing pineapple UTI vaccines, Victorian scandal mags, denial, sleep, tiny beating organoid hearts, lifesaving stem cell transplants, gold poo donors or even crying - it’s always something worth celebrating.

Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Featuring: Desiree Burch, Dr Abdullah Khan and Dr Mark Williams

Written by Laura Claxton, Mel Owen, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Nicky Roberts and Ben Rowse

Producers: Tashi Radha and Ben Worsfield

Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones

A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 09:30 A Guide to Coastal Birds (b00tcz9d)
2. Sandy Shores
Brett Westwood is joined by keen bird watcher, Stephen Moss, on the Devonshire coast.
With the help of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson they offer a practical and entertaining guide to identifying the birds which you're most likely to see and hear on sandy shores around Britain's coastline; birds like Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher.
The programmes helps identify many of the birds found around our British coastline in places like sandy beaches, rocky shores, sea cliffs, off-shore islands and estuaries.
Not only is there advice on how to recognise the birds from their appearance, but also how to identify them from their calls and songs.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2010.
TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m00268c4)
Reflections and Beginnings - Back to Nazareth
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Reflections and Beginnings - Back to Nazareth
Presenter: Fr Paschal Uche
Reading: Matthew 2: 19-23
Music:
Thy hand, o God has guided - Daily Service Singers
You do not walk alone - Laura Wright & The Daily Service Singers
Unto us is born a son - Keble College
TUE 10:00 A Good Read (b09tdtl6)
Joanna Trollope and Sabrina Mahfouz
Writers Joanna Trollope and Sabrina Mahfouz join Harriett Gilbert to discuss favourite books by Penelope Fitzgerald, Omar Robert Hamilton and Ysenda Maxtone Graham.
The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald
Publisher Harper Perennial
The City Always Wins by Omar Robert Hamilton
Publisher Faber
Terms & Conditions: Life in Girls' Boarding Schools 1939-1979 by Ysenda Maxtone Graham
Publisher Abacus
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.
TUE 10:30 Jazz Frenzy (b00vxzvk)
Poland, August 1956. Rioters had been shot dead in Poznan weeks before.
The invasion of Hungary is just weeks away.
The Cold War rages but for eight young Londoners, newly formed as The Dave Burman Jazz Group, their unlikely journey behind the Iron Curtain is an overwhelming surprise. Jazz in Poland had been banned by first the Nazis and then the Communists, but had been played secretly by a faithful few.
Until the death of Stalin in 1953, playing and listening to jazz was illegal. This 'decadent Imperialist music' could lead to expulsion from music college, blacklisting or worse. But in the 'thaw' that followed Stalin's death, the restrictions on jazz began to lift.
Now, at the seaside resort of Sopot, tens of thousands of young people journeyed miles by hitching rides or cramming into trains to hear jazz and that rarest of attractions - a British band.
The Dave Burman Jazz Group had been assembled in just a few weeks - it would never play together again. But for a few days the Cold War blew hot as they thumped out Tiger Rag, Bucket's Got a Hole in It, Sugar and other standards to crowds of thousands all over the country. Their contact with Polish jazz lovers was minimal, frequently ushered by Communist officials during their hectic tour.
But for those Polish musicians taking part in Sopot '56, this was the beginning of their Jazz Frenzy, of freedom.
Dave Burman and the rest of the musicians returned to England never to experience such adulation and success again.
Now, more than 50 years later, Dave is reunited with former band members Alan Teulon and Laurie Chescoe, before returning to Poland with his son and producer of the programme to meet some of those whose lives were changed forever by the events of Sopot '56.
Producer and Presenter: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2010.
TUE 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 11:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hx33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 12:00 Rent (b0675byd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jnb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000rlpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0170vfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 14:00 Booked (b0075m1d)
Series 2
Episode 5
The Troll applies for the job of Archbishop of Canterbury, while Thomson and Thompson, from Tintin, offer their pitch to be the PM's bodyguards.
Ian McMillan chairs the irreverent literary game.
Outrageous parody, biting wit and bizarre couplings from:
Miles Kington
Dillie Keane
Mark Thomas
Roger McGough
Producer: Marc Jobst
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1997.
TUE 14:30 Six Geese A-laying (m000qm8w)
It's New Year's Eve - as a train grinds its way very slowly from London to Edinburgh.
The passengers are feeling hot, and frustrated.
Who will win the "tannoy contest" among the buffet-car staff?
Will Alan and Frank get a kidney for transplant to Newcastle on time?
Written by Mark Maier.
Starring:
Dave Lamb
Catherine Tate
Zoe Lyons
Mark Maier
Dan Maier
Laura Shavin
Benedict Wong
Producer: Alex Walsh-Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2003.
TUE 15:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsvt)
2. A Crisis
"All I know is, that it's a very dangerous thing to shut two young men of one and three and twenty up in a country house like this with a girl of seventeen..."
The prospect of a stepmother looms large on Molly's horizon.
Final novel written by 'Cranford' author, Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1866.
Starring Tom Wilkinson and Kathryn Hurlbutt.
Dramatised by Barry Campbell.
Molly .... Kathryn Hurlbutt
Mr Gibson .... Tom Wilkinson
Clare .... Angela Pleasence
Squire Hamley .... Robert Lang
Mrs Hamley .... Lillias Walker
Roger Hamley .... Michael Troughton
Lady Cumnor …. Pauline Letts
Lord Cumnor …. Kerry Francis
Lady Harriet …. Marian Diamond
Lady Cuxhaven .... Anna Fox
Lord Hollingford …. Geoffrey Collins
Mary …. Pauline Siddle
Robinson …. Nigel Graham
Bulter …. David Peart
Mrs Gaskell .... Thelma Whiteley
Music composed by Rachel Portman
Director Jane Morgan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1983
TUE 16:00 A Good Read (b09tdtl6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:30 Jazz Frenzy (b00vxzvk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hx33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Rent (b0675byd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b007jnb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 19:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000rlpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0170vfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 19:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Booked (b0075m1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Six Geese A-laying (m000qm8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsvt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
TUE 22:00 Best Medicine (m00268c1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
TUE 22:30 The Consultants (b007k2w7)
Series 3
Episode 6
Unisex barbers and wrong telephone numbers.
Cerebral sketch show written by and starring:
Neil Edmond
Justin Edwards
James Rawlings
Producer: Will Saunders
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2005.
TUE 23:00 Trevor's World of Sport (b007k3rb)
Series 1
Episode 4
Trevor's rapacious partner finds a perfect new agency client - but there's a catch.
Starring Neil Pearson.
Another brave attempt by sports agent Trevor Heslop to swim safely through the shark tank of life.
Andy Hamilton's TV comedy swaps to radio.
Trevor ...... Neil Pearson
Sammy ...... Paul Reynolds
Ralph ...... Michael Fenton Stevens
Theresa ...... Rosalind Ayres
Heidrun ...... Cosima Shaw
Barry ...... Abdul Salis
Meryl ...... Claire Skinner
Toby ...... Matthew Thomas
Antonia .... Doon Mackichan
Written and produced by Andy Hamilton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2004.
TUE 23:30 Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World (b007jtpd)
Series 2
The Sea
Why did Turner paint the sea so often? Was it its timeless majesty, or because he couldn't draw hands properly?
From Liverpool University - this is the cult New Age comedy that answers the questions which leave other shows scratching their beards.
Starring Stewart Lee and Richard Herring.
With:
Rebecca Front
Armando Iannucci
And the voice of Tom Baker.
Producer: Sarah Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1993.

WEDNESDAY 01 JANUARY 2025

WED 00:00 A Good Read (b09tdtl6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Jazz Frenzy (b00vxzvk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hx33)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Rent (b0675byd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b007jnb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000rlpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0170vfd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjf4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Booked (b0075m1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Six Geese A-laying (m000qm8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsvt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlm)
Wimsey - Unnatural Death
3. The Will
A suspect takes a shine to Lord Peter Wimsey, as he continues his investigation into multiple murders.
Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic sleuth.
Dorothy L Sayers' detective mystery.
Dramatised by Chris Miller.
Lord Peter Wimsey …. Ian Carmichael
Miss Climpson …. Ambrosine Phillpotts
Inspector Parker …. Gabriel Woolf
Bunter …. Peter Jones
Mr Murbles …. Malcolm Hayes
Nurse Forbes …. Sheelah Wilcocks
Evelyn Gotobed …. Alison Skilbeck
Producer: Simon Brett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1975.
WED 06:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hwpg)
3. An Egg Farm in Norfolk
On the trail of wartime secrets, Boyd Stuart has been sent to Los Angeles by the British Secret Service to investigate a film company.
But he's being followed and his contact dies....
The title of Len Deighton’s riveting thriller XPD stands for Expedient Demise.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Boyd Stuart ...... Trevor Nichols
Charles Stein ...... Bruce Boa
Max Breslow ...... Bernard Hepton
Wever ...... Carl Duering
Reader ...... Colin Starkey
Case Officer ...... Alan Thompson
Psychiatrist ...... David Garth
Mrs Breslow ...... Mary Wimbush
Mrs Wever ...... Anne Jameson
Hitler ...... David Sinclair
Producer: Peter King
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1985.
WED 07:00 Radio Cars (m00268cd)
Series 2
1. A Wide Boy
Young cab firm owner Angela has a merry tale of gambling, gardening and misunderstanding.
Can she deal with the consequences of her manager Eddie’s dinner party visit?
Starring Harriet Walter and Gary Waldhorn.
The return of Jennifer Phillips's six-part sitcom set in the offices of a disreputable London cab company.
Eddie .... Gary Waldhorn
Angela .... Harriet Walter
Mrs Corfton-Browne .... Anne Stallybrass
Nicco .... Neil Dudgeon
Frenchie .... Terence Edmond
Lawrence .... Jon Strickland
Gringo …. Paul Gregory
Slippy …. Norman Jones
Liam .... Gerard O'Hare
Director: Richard Wortley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
WED 07:30 The Missing Hancocks (m000qmpv)
Series 4
New Year Resolutions
The Lad announces his New Year Resolutions confident he can stick to them. It doesn't go well.
Bill is equally confident that this is a money-making opportunity.
Starring Kevin McNally as Tony Hancock.
Recreated episode of the classic sitcom. 20 were missing from the BBC archives.
Now, after four highly successful series, the final batch of those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre.
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.
With:
Kevin Eldon
Simon Greenall
Robin Sebastian
Susy Kane
Special guest: Paul Merton
Written by Ray Galton & Alan Simpson.
Music recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Levon Parikian.
Producer: Neil Pearson & Hayley Sterling.
Originally broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on 4th January, 1956.
A BBC Studios Production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2020.
WED 08:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06s9l5c)
Series 3
A Christmas Not Special
A ring on the doorbell interrupts an already unconventional Wrigglesworth family Christmas as Tom battles to get home.
Tom Wrigglesworth phones home for his weekly check-in with his Mum, Dad and Gran, giving us a glimpse into his family background and the influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and hang-ups.
Tom ...... Tom Wrigglesworth
Dad ...... Paul Copley
Mum ...... Kate Anthony
Granny ...... Elizabeth Bennett
With Chris Pavlo.
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle with additional material by Miles Jupp
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2015.
WED 08:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0175jj0)
3. Wight, Portland, Fitzroy
The shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4 is as familiar as the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour.
Yet recognisable though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain.
Charlie Connelly is on a journey into the forecast to find out.
"There is probably no better place to earn a sense of your own mortality than the headland at Finisterre."
Charlie travels to a literary island, the Portland Race and the End of the World.
Written by Charlie Connelly and abridged by Beatrice Colin
Read by Tom Goodman-Hill.
Producer: Gaynor MacFarlane
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
WED 08:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qkmz)
3. Marriage
Kate Dickens tells the story of her father’s final and unfinished novel, a fast-moving thriller set in the cathedral town of Cloisterham.
It is Christmas and all is fine until Edwin - the young man who appears to have it all, a beautiful and charming prospective bride, the promise of an engineering job in Egypt - disappears.
Presumed murdered. Could it have been impetuous Neville Landless? Or Edwin’s uncle Jasper?
Mr Grewgious visits his ward, Rosa, to discuss the terms of her forthcoming marriage to Edwin, while stone mason Durdles takes John Jasper on a tour of the Cathedral crypt and tower.
Dickens’ last, unfinished, novel is set in a phantasmagorical drug-fuelled landscape where nobody is who or what they say they are.
Whilst writing it, Dickens was driving himself towards exhaustion and death through obsessive public performances of the most lurid parts of Oliver Twist - revisiting his first successful novel whilst struggling with his last, fearful that his creative well is drying up and that this story would never be brought to a close.
Written by Charles Dickens and dramatised by Mike Walker.
Narrated by Dickens’ daughter Kate, witness to her father’s final weeks, and whose fascination with this story leads her to look into its unsolved conclusion to find clues about her father’s character.
Kate Dickens ...… Pippa Nixon
John Jasper ..…. Joel McCormack
Edwin Drood …... Iwan Davies
Rosa Bud ..…. Isabella Inchbald
Neville Landless ...… Maanuv Thiara
Hiram Grewgious ...… Peter Davison
Stony Durdles .….. Ian Conningham
Deputy ...… Aaron Gelkoff
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.
WED 09:00 One Person Found This Helpful (m00268ch)
Xmas Special
In this Christmas special, Frank Skinner and his guests decipher the good, the bad, and the baffling, as they try to work out a mystery item - based entirely on its online reviews.

Which traditional panto features an animatronic dinosaur? What’s the worst present they’ve ever received? And is that one star write-up “bit claggy, made me feel sick” a review of some stuffing or Love Actually?

Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer and Peter Tellouche

Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans, with the producer David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
WED 09:30 A Guide to Coastal Birds (b00tf9np)
3. Rocky Shores
Brett Westwood is joined by keen bird watcher, Stephen Moss, on the Devonshire coast.
With the help of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson they offer a practical and entertaining guide to identifying the birds which you're most likely to see and hear on rocky shores around Britain's coastline; birds like Rock Pipit, Turnstone, Herring Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull.
This programmes helps identify more of the birds found around our British coastline in places like sandy beaches, rocky shores, sea cliffs, off-shore islands and estuaries.
Not only is there advice on how to recognise the birds from their appearance, but also how to identify them from their calls and songs.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2010.
WED 09:45 Daily Service (m00268cl)
Reflections and Beginnings - The Light
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Reflections and Beginnings - The Light
Presenter: Imogen Ball
Reading: John 1: 6-13
Music:
Lord for the Years - BBC Songs of Praise
New Year Carol - Benjamin Britten - Sheffield Cathedral Choir
Angels’ Carol by John Rutter, performed by BBC Young Choristers 2023 and the BBC Philharmonic
WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (m0016gwk)
50 Years Without a Clue
I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, recently voted ‘greatest radio comedy show of all time’ in a Radio Times poll, turned 50 years old in 2022.
Greg James celebrates the long-running, self-styled antidote to panel games.
He unearths a bumper selection of clips and quips from half a century of the antidote to panel games, featuring many of the show’s most popular panellists and silliest rounds.
Production Co-ordinator: Sarah Nicholls
Producer: Jon Naismith

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2022.
WED 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 11:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hwpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 12:00 Radio Cars (m00268cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 12:30 The Missing Hancocks (m000qmpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 13:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06s9l5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 13:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0175jj0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qkmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 14:00 The Museum of Curiosity (m000qvtp)
Museum of New Year's Curiosity
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and curator Alice Levine host a special New Year's show where guests donate fascinating exhibits to a vast imaginary museum
They're joined by past curators Sally Phillips and Dan Schreiber.
Plus Senior Lecturer in Social and Cultural Artificial Intelligence - Dr Kate Devlin.
Producer: Anne Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2020.
** Recorded remotely during UK Lockdown.
WED 14:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b0124y8y)
Series 1
Dial M for Martian
It's 1961. BBC producer Hugo Kellerman struggles to make a radio soap set in the unimaginably futuristic world of 2006.
Will he give in to government manipulation to save his beloved show from cancellation?
Starring Peter Bowles, Cheryl Campbell and Joseph Kloska.
Futuristic sitcom by Christopher William Hill.
Nigel Lavery …. Peter Bowles
Sylvia Hann …. Cheryl Campbell
Hugo Kellerman …. Joseph Kloska
Godfrey Winnard …. John Fortune
Sir Angus McNairn …. Gary Waldhorn
Douglas Bennings …. Jon Glover
Colin Franks …. Paul Richard Biggin
Miss Pickford …. Miranda Keeling
Producer: Liz Webb
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2006.
WED 15:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsw4)
3. The New Mama
"Molly was positively unhappy, and her father did not appear to see it; he was absorbed with his new plans and his new wife that was to be."
Molly must try to come to terms with her father's betrothed.
He feels truly sorry for her, but opts not show it...
Final novel written by 'Cranford' author, Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1866.
Starring Tom Wilkinson and Kathryn Hurlbutt.
Dramatised by Barry Campbell.
Molly .... Kathryn Hurlbutt
Clare .... Angela Pleasence
Mr Gibson .... Tom Wilkinson
Squire Hamley .... Robert Lang
Mrs Hamley .... Lillias Walker
Osborne Hamley .... Adam Bareham
Roger Hamley .... Michael Troughton
Lord Cumnor ..... Kerry Francis
Lady Cumnor .... Pauline Letts
Lady Harriet .... Marian Diamond
Mr Preston .... Brett Usher
Miss Browning .... Diana Bishop
Miss Phoebe ..... Hilda Schroder
Maid .... Carole Boyd
Mrs Gaskell .... Thelma Whiteley
Music by Rachel Portman.
Director: Jane Morgan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1983
WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (m0016gwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 17:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hwpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 18:00 Radio Cars (m00268cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:30 The Missing Hancocks (m000qmpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 19:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06s9l5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0175jj0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 19:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qkmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 20:00 The Museum of Curiosity (m000qvtp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
WED 20:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b0124y8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
WED 21:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsw4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
WED 22:00 One Person Found This Helpful (m00268ch)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 22:30 Isy Suttie's Love Letters (b041y1n3)
Series 2
Eleanor and Mr Woodfield
Isy Suttie returns to her Derbyshire home town of Matlock and observes the unfolding romance between dinner lady, Eleanor, and teacher, Mr Woodfield.
Both are unhappily married, but find solace in their workplace friendship.
Isy's Sony Award-winning show, recounts a series of love stories affecting people she's known throughout her life, told partly through song.
Sometimes Isy has merely observed other people's love lives; quite often she's intervened, changing the action dramatically - for better or worse. Intertwined within these stories are related real life anecdotes from Isy's own, often disastrous, love life.
With her multi-character and vocal skills, and accompanied by her guitar, Isy creates a hilarious and deeply moving world, sharing with us her lessons in life and love.
Producer: Lyndsay Fenner
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2014.
WED 23:00 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (b01pp6xb)
Series 2
Showbiz
Sarah Siddons, Richard Burton and Caradog (Cor Mawr).
Comedian Elis James compares key figures in Welsh history to determine the ultimate heroes of Wales.
With:
Ben Partridge
Nadia Kamil
Written by Elis James, Gareth Gwyn and Benjamin Partridge.
Producer: Sharif Shahwan
First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in January 2013.
WED 23:30 Paperback Hell (m000j945)
Series 2
Stop the Dodgems, I Want to Throw Up
Not-entirely-true autobiography as Jack Sunglasses Ramsey reads from his personal account of life in the 1960s criminal underworld.
Paperback Hell is the series determined to destroy the good name of literature.
Written by Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell.
Starring:
Michael Fenton Stevens
Rebecca Front
Mel Hudson
Alex Lowe
Dan Tetsell
Producer: Lucy Armitage
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.
WED 23:45 Excuse Me, Are You John Shuttleworth? (m000qjfp)
2. The Big Time
Graham Fellows is an actor, musician and character comedian who has been in showbusiness for 40 years.
After hiding behind the masks of made-up people, it’s time he revealed himself.
This is an honest account of Graham’s life to date - sometimes hilarious, sometimes moving and often disarmingly honest - which will give a real sense of the man behind the mask.
Each show is punctuated with witty and moving songs performed on pedal harmonium and Graham shares which songs he kept for himself and which he gave to his characters, and why, with occasional interjections from some of Graham’s characters, particularly John Shuttleworth.
In the last of two episodes, we find Graham a bit depressed and ready to quit showbusiness.
After some counselling, he decides that what he really wants to do with his life is become a milkman! But after three months with not a single glimpse of a housewife in a nightie, he’s offered an acting job in the Theatre. This renews his love of performing and he returns to John Shuttleworth, honing the character so that he’s shortlisted for the Perrier awards and has his first series on Radio 4.
Graham soon feels ready to create a new character, and rock musicologist Brian Appleton is born: “I've been dumped upon from a massive height by so many rock stars, even Morrissey ripped me off. I wrote a song called My Turn to be Poorly.”
John is ever present, and Graham reveals that such were the demands of Shuttleworth and the sheer quantity of songs the character needed for new tours and radio shows that he had to pass many of his own songs straight over to John, including She Lives in Hope and The Man who Lives on the M62. At which point, Ken Worthington appears and insists that John wrote all his own songs, unaided.
Graham reveals who voices the other characters in the Shuttleworth world before ending the show with a song that captures the truth of a simple event in HIS life – I Had an Egg with my Son.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
A Chic Ken production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.

THURSDAY 02 JANUARY 2025

THU 00:00 Archive on 4 (m0016gwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000hwpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Radio Cars (m00268cd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 The Missing Hancocks (m000qmpv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06s9l5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0175jj0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qkmz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (m000qvtp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b0124y8y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsw4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlv)
Wimsey - Unnatural Death
4. Hallelujah
Thanks to the cousin of one of the murder victim's, new clues surface in Lord Peter Wimsey's investigation.
Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic sleuth.
Dorothy L Sayers' detective mystery.
Dramatised by Chris Miller.
Lord Peter Wimsey …. Ian Carmichael
Inspector Parker …. Gabriel Woolf
Mr Murbles …. Malcolm Hayes
Reverend Hallelujah Dawson …. Tommy Eytle
Mrs Cobling …. Miriam Margolyes
Piggin …. David Gooderson
Ben Cobling …. Bill Wallis
Producer: Simon Brett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1975.
THU 06:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000j124)
4. The Hitler Minutes
Secret Service agent Boyd returns to England to question Wever, an ex-German soldier who claims he helped load the 'Kaiseroda' treasure on to the train and into Hitler's mine.
Is he telling the truth?
Len Deighton’s riveting thriller.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Boyd Stuart ...... Trevor Nichols
Charles Stein ...... Bruce Boa
Max Breslow ...... Bernard Hepton
Reader ...... Colin Starkey
Kitty ...... Melinda Walker
Billy Stein ...... Ian Tyler
Mary Breslow ...... Helena Breck
Deputy Secretary ...... Garard Green
Case Officer ...... Alan Thompson
Section Head ...... Bernard Brown
Producer: Peter King
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1985.
THU 07:00 Heated Rollers (b007jwzw)
Episode 1
A cavewoman look ahead, the perils of phoning a bank and the history of feminism
The first-ever all-women sketch show made for BBC Radio 2.
Starring:
Lynda Bellingham
Gwyneth Strong
Joanna Monro
With music supplied by the Lorraine Bowen Experience.
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1999.
THU 07:30 Parsley Sidings (b01p0x1b)
Series 1
The Inspector Calls
The threat of closure from an official inspection calls for desperate measures at Parsley Sidings station.
Starring Arthur Lowe and Ian Lavender.
Jim Eldridge's eponymous series is set in a sleepy railway station.
Horace …. Arthur Lowe
Bert …. Ian Lavender
Percy …. Kenneth Connor
Gloria …. Liz Fraser
Phineas Perkins …. John Graham
Missing original announcements re-created for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Keith Skues.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1971.
THU 08:00 55 and Over (b01nt3xm)
1. Out of Tune
Ray and Jane's marriage is rocked by some very bad singing and late-life crisis's take hold.
Starring Juliet Stevenson and Philip Jackson.
Multi-award winning writer, Peter Souter's comedy about love, sex and other foolhardy mistakes made by the modern 50-pluser.
Jane ..... Juliet Stevenson
Ray ..... Philip Jackson
Tony ..... Patrick Brennan
Heather ..... Liza Sadovy
Honey ..... Stephanie Racine
Sam ..... Adam Nagaitis
Director: Helen Perry
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2012.
THU 08:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0176kpb)
4. Fastnet, Irish Sea, Rockall
The shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4 is as familiar as the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour.
Yet recognisable though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain.
Charlie Connelly is on a journey into the forecast to find out.
Charlie visits the centre of Irish emigration and cycles the TT course (after a fashion).
"I wasn't able to visit the next sea area on the list, but then until recently more people had been to the moon than had been to Rockall."
Written by Charlie Connelly and abridged by Beatrice Colin
Read by Tom Goodman-Hill.
Producer: Gaynor MacFarlane
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
THU 08:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjm6)
4. Decision
Kate Dickens tells the story of her father’s final and unfinished novel, a fast-moving thriller set in the cathedral town of Cloisterham.
It is Christmas and all is fine until Edwin - the young man who appears to have it all, a beautiful and charming prospective bride, the promise of an engineering job in Egypt - disappears.
Presumed murdered. Could it have been impetuous Neville Landless? Or Edwin’s uncle Jasper?
Edwin and Rosa come to a decision which will change their lives, while Neville Landless confides in his sister that he has fallen in love. And Edwin meets a mysterious stranger who appears to be on the trail of John Jasper.
Dickens’ last, unfinished, novel is set in a phantasmagorical drug-fuelled landscape where nobody is who or what they say they are.
Whilst writing it, Dickens was driving himself towards exhaustion and death through obsessive public performances of the most lurid parts of Oliver Twist - revisiting his first successful novel whilst struggling with his last, fearful that his creative well is drying up and that this story would never be brought to a close.
Written by Charles Dickens and dramatised by Mike Walker.
Narrated by Dickens’ daughter Kate, witness to her father’s final weeks, and whose fascination with this story leads her to look into its unsolved conclusion to find clues about her father’s character.
Kate Dickens ...… Pippa Nixon
John Jasper .….. Joel McCormack
Edwin Drood .….. Iwan Davies
Rosa Bud .….. Isabella Inchbald
Reverend Crisparkle ...… Damian Lynch
Neville Landless …... Maanuv Thiara
Helena Landless ...… Halema Hussain
Princess Puffer ...… Rachel Atkins
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
A BBC Cymru Wales Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.
THU 09:00 Michael Spicer: No Room (Omnibus) (m00268c7)
3. Like throwing a pigeon at a wall
How not to choose a new name for a train station - a lesson in politics. A billionaire wants your cash. It's for a thing. Louis Theroux thinks he's won another BAFTA.
Comedian Michael Spicer's satirical series features character-filled sketches which brilliantly capture everything that provokes us - culture, politics, work...and other people.
Michael is famous for his Room Next Door government advisor character whose withering take downs of politicians have amassed more than 100 million views and helped keep his audience sane in fractured times.
An omnibus edition of sketches from the first series.
Writer, Performer and Co-Editor: Michael Spicer
Composer and Sound Designer: Augustin Bousfield
Producer: Matt Tiller
A Tillervision production for BBC Radio 4
THU 09:30 A Guide to Coastal Birds (b00thnb7)
4. Sea Cliffs
Brett Westwood is joined by keen bird watcher, Stephen Moss, on the Devonshire coast.
With the help of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson they offer a practical and entertaining guide to identifying the birds which you're most likely to see and hear on sea cliffs around Britain's coastline; birds like Fulmar, Kittiwake, Guillemot and Razorbill.
This programme helps identify more of the birds found around our British coastline in places like sandy beaches, rocky shores, sea cliffs, off-shore islands and estuaries.
Not only is there advice on how to recognise the birds from their appearance, but also how to identify them from their calls and songs.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2010.
THU 09:45 Daily Service (m00268cb)
Reflections and Beginnings - No condemnation
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Reflections and Beginnings - No condemnation
Presenter: Michela Youngson
Reading: Romans 8:1-4
THU 10:00 Great Lives (b0076hxj)
Charles Dickens
Satirist and writer Armando Iannucci chooses novelist Charles Dickens.
Armando is a huge and unexpected fan of the author.
Were he alive today, he says, Dickens would be writing sitcoms.
Alan Partridge? Maybe not. But the man behind the Partridge phenomena will be championing the man behind Pickwick, Chuzzlewit and Uriah Heep.
Joining Armando and presenter Humphrey Carpenter, is the Dickens expert, Professor Andrew Sanders.
Producer: Miles Warde
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2003.
THU 10:30 The Quietest New Year On Earth (b055jy1k)
Black-clad security men stalk the streets hunting down people making noise and silencing them.
No music, no laughter, no engines, no computer games.
Instead maybe a barking dog, a fly buzzing against a window pane, or a mother stifling a child's cry. In the paddy fields the crickets, the frogs and the beetles chirrup on, but the roads are empty, the skies free from vapour trails.
No human noise at all. Just silence.
This is not a scenario from some chilling science-fiction tale, but New Year's Day on the Hindu island of Bali, where Nyepi, as the day is known, is welcomed in by a day of silence - a day to fool the evil spirits into believing that everyone has gone and their work is done.
Of course, in one of the fastest growing property markets in the world, there is pressure for change, as overseas visitors exert more influence, and Muslim influence from the Indonesian mainland increases.
But somehow Nyepi still has a powerful hold on the lives and imaginations of the Balinese, as the entire population falls silent for 24 hours – an island population known for one of the noisiest music traditions in the world - gamelan.
It's a tradition that most locals take part in gladly, taking a chance to contemplate the year to come and using the time to meditate - whilst increasingly tourists are drawn to experience this unique atmosphere.
Would you prefer a day of contemplating or a hangover to start the New Year?
From the exorcisms the night before, through the day of silence itself, we hear the tensions mount – till the morning after.
With additional material gathered by:
* Maria Bakkalapulo: reporter
* Niall Macaulay: field recordist
* Wayan Tilik: assistant
* John Stanmeyer: translator
* Audio contributors: Melasti and Ogoh Ogoh
Producer: Sara Jane Hall
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2015.
THU 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 11:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000j124)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 12:00 Heated Rollers (b007jwzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 12:30 Parsley Sidings (b01p0x1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 13:00 55 and Over (b01nt3xm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 13:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0176kpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjm6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 14:00 Who Goes There? (b007wqd6)
Series 2
Episode 5
Martin Young chairs the quiz looking at lives of the noteworthy and notorious from the history books.
Tackling the biographical teasers are team captains Francis Wheen and Fred Housego.
With guests:
Claire Rayner
Roy Hattersley
Producer: Aled Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1998.
THU 14:30 No Commitments (b007jn72)
Series 12
Darling Daughters
Roger and Victoria's daughter is getting married, but Charlotte reckons that what’s happening to her daughter is far more interesting.
Gisele lands a part in a TV series.
Simon Brett’s sitcom about the lives and squabbles of three very different sisters.
Anna …. Rosemary Leach
Victoria …. Angela Thorne
Charlotte …. Celia Imrie
Emily …. Lisa Coleman
Eddie …. James Green
Jeff …. Stephen Thorne
Music by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Written and produced by Simon Brett
First broadcast on BBC Radio in April 2006.
THU 15:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jswc)
4. Mr Osborne Hamley's Secret
'Molly, we are all wrong at home! Osborne has lost the fellowship at Trinity he went back for. Then he has gone and failed miserably in his degree, after all that he said and that his mother said. I can't understand it.
I never expected anything from Roger; but Osborne! And then it has thrown Madam into one of her bad fits of illness; and she seems to have a fancy for you, child!'
Molly overhears some shocking information regarding the Squire's son.
Final novel written by 'Cranford' author, Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1866.
Starring Tom Wilkinson, Kathryn Hurlbutt and Angela Pleasence.
Dramatised by Barry Campbell.
Molly .... Kathryn Hurlbutt
Clare .... Angela Pleasence
Mr Gibson .... Tom Wilkinson
Cynthia .... Anne Louise Lambert
Squire Hamley .... Robert Lang
Mrs Hamley .... Lillias Walker
Osborne Hamley .... Adam Bareham
Roger Hamley ....Michael Troughton
Miss Browning .... Diana Bishop
Mr Preston .... Brett Usher
Girl .... Moir Leslie
Gardener .... Peter Tuddenham
Robinson .... Nigel Graham
Mrs Gaskell .... Thelma Whiteley
Music composed by Rachel Portman
Director: Jane Morgan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1983
THU 16:00 Great Lives (b0076hxj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:30 The Quietest New Year On Earth (b055jy1k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 17:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000j124)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 18:00 Heated Rollers (b007jwzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:30 Parsley Sidings (b01p0x1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 19:00 55 and Over (b01nt3xm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0176kpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 19:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjm6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 20:00 Who Goes There? (b007wqd6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
THU 20:30 No Commitments (b007jn72)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
THU 21:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jswc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
THU 22:00 Michael Spicer: No Room (Omnibus) (m00268c7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 22:30 Big Town All Stars (m001lj63)
Series 1
If You Scratch My Back
You can join a band for a lot of reasons - fame, sex, money. Yet Kenny sees it as his only chance of giving up teaching geography.
But when an unscrupulous record executive offers him a contract, it turns out it's not really his music she's interested in.
Which leaves Kenny wondering just how much he wants to give up the day job...
Starring Stephen Tompkinson.
With:
Clive Rowe
Meera Syal
Nicola Walker
Adrian Scarborough
Musical Director: David Firman
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2000.
THU 23:00 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b04vkl9j)
Series 6
Ann Widdecombe
Marcus Brigstocke persuades his guests to try new experiences - starting with politician Ann Widdecombe.
Ann tries camping in a tent for the first time and watches as much of The Thick Of It as she can stand on TV.
Marcus also offers Ann the chance to drink a Jagerbomb - but will she accept?
Director: Bill Dare
First broadcast on BBC Radio in December 2014.
THU 23:30 Party (b01n6rsf)
Series 3
Radio
The budding politicians get a crucial radio interview ahead of the upcoming by election.
Tom Basden's satirical comedy about a group of young idealists trying to make waves with their new political party.
Simon .... Tom Basden
Duncan .... Tim Key
Jared .... Jonny Sweet
Mel .... Anna Crilly
Phoebe .... Katy Wix
Alison the radio producer .... Rachel Stubbings
Radio Interviewer .... Peter Curran
Drama interviewee ...Jot Davies
Producer: Julia McKenzie.
First broadcast on Radio 4 in October 2012.

FRIDAY 03 JANUARY 2025

FRI 00:00 Great Lives (b0076hxj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 The Quietest New Year On Earth (b055jy1k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000j124)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Heated Rollers (b007jwzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Parsley Sidings (b01p0x1b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 55 and Over (b01nt3xm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0176kpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjm6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Who Goes There? (b007wqd6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 No Commitments (b007jn72)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jswc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlr)
Wimsey - Unnatural Death
5. The Property Act
Unravelling property rules throws up some fresh clues for Lord Peter Wimsey as he continues his murder probe.
Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic sleuth.
Dorothy L Sayers' detective mystery.
Dramatised by Chris Miller.
Lord Peter Wimsey …. Ian Carmichael
Inspector Parker …. Gabriel Woolf
Mr Murbles …. Malcolm Hayes
Mr Towkington …. Garard Green
Mr Trigg …. Gordon Clyde
Mrs Mead …. Bridget McConnel
Producer: Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1975.
FRI 06:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000j1yg)
5. Operation Siegfried
The 'Kaiseroda' treasure contains papers that could prove Hitler had a meeting with Churchill in 1940.
Charles Stein knows where the papers are. He’s being watched by German, Russian and British agents.
They all want the papers...
Len Deighton’s riveting thriller.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Boyd Stuart ...... Trevor Nichols
Charles Stein ...... Bruce Boa
Reader ...... Colin Starkey
Kitty ...... Melinda Walker
Billy Stein ...... Ian Tyler
Mary Breslow ...... Helena Breck
Deputy Secretary ...... Garard Green
Case Officer ...... Alan Thompson
Section Head ...... Bernard Brown
Max Breslow ...... Bernard Hepton
MI5 Man ...... David Sinclair
Producer: Peter King
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1985.
FRI 07:00 Up the Garden Path (b0084qnz)
Series 2
You Shall Go to the Ball
Izzy gets invited to a ball in Cambridge, but she could do with a fairy godmother...
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30 something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men.
Imelda Staunton stars as Izzy.
A radio sequel adapted in eight parts from Sue Limb’s 1984 novel.
The second of 3 series which ran from 1987 to 1993. Granada also adapted the series for ITV
Izzy ...... Imelda Staunton
Charles ...... David Robb
Dick ...... Mike Grady
Michael ...... Nicholas Le Prevost
Maria ...... Marty Cruickshank
Louise ...... Phyllida Nash
Gwyn ...... Dafydd Hywel
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1988.
FRI 07:30 Doctor in the House (b007lmys)
Money Troubles
With their microscopes in at the pawn broker, the young medics need some cash in a hurry.
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
Lady Spratt …. Joan Young
The Waiter …. David Jason
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1968.
FRI 08:00 Prepper (m00026x2)
Series 1
Bugging Out
Trump. ISIS. The Courgette Crisis. Signs of civilisation’s fragility are all around.
No wonder the Doomsday Clock just nudged closer to midnight. In this fearscape, more and more ordinary people are wondering how they’d cope if everything we take for granted (law and order, access to healthcare, iceberg lettuces in Sainsburys) was taken away.
Preppers - a large and rapidly growing global community - have taken this thought one step further. They’re actively skilling-up, laying down supplies and readying themselves for the end of the world, in whatever form it comes.
Indeed, a prepping shop just opened in Newquay. And if people in Cornwall are prepping, it’s time to worry.
Imagine if Woman’s Hour made a podcast about preparing for the end times. Prepper follows neurotic, debt-ridden Rachel and hard-as-nails ‘Churchill in Spanx’ Sylvia, working class Mancunians who prep and podcast, sharing knowledge with their community, and showing off just how Armageddon-ready they are.
Told through their podcasts from Sylvia’s garage and featuring ‘apoco-tips’, ‘end of days drills’ and interviews with preppers from around the world, Prepper comically explores how two mismatched women live with the possibility of the end of days, and how they bond over their determination to survive. And fend off zombies.
Comedy written by Caroline Moran and James J Moran.
Sylvia ...... Sue Johnston
Rachel ...... Pearl Mackie
Calhoun ...... Simon Holland Roberts
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019.
FRI 08:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0176pbp)
5. Hebrides, Faeroes, South East Iceland
The shipping forecast on BBC Radio 4 is as familiar as the sound of Big Ben chiming the hour.
Yet recognisable though the sea areas are by name, few people give much thought to where they are or what they contain.
Charlie Connelly is on a journey into the forecast to find out.
Charlie ends his voyage by discovering some legendary whiskey and land younger than himself.
"Believe me, you truly know you're getting on a bit when you're older than a flipping volcano."
Written by Charlie Connelly and abridged by Beatrice Colin
Concluded by Tom Goodman-Hill.
Producer: Gaynor MacFarlane
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
FRI 08:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjd3)
5. Disappearance
Kate Dickens tells the story of her father’s final and unfinished novel, a fast-moving thriller set in the cathedral town of Cloisterham.
It is Christmas and all is fine until Edwin - the young man who appears to have it all, a beautiful and charming prospective bride, the promise of an engineering job in Egypt - disappears.
Presumed murdered. Could it have been impetuous Neville Landless? Or Edwin’s uncle Jasper?
On Christmas Eve in Cloisterham. Edwin and Neville appear to have resolved their differences with John Jasper.
But on Christmas morning the whole town learns that Edwin has disappeared. If a violent crime has been committed they think they know who is to blame.
Dickens’ last, unfinished, novel is set in a phantasmagorical drug-fuelled landscape where nobody is who or what they say they are.
Whilst writing it, Dickens was driving himself towards exhaustion and death through obsessive public performances of the most lurid parts of Oliver Twist - revisiting his first successful novel whilst struggling with his last, fearful that his creative well is drying up and that this story would never be brought to a close.
Written by Charles Dickens and dramatised by Mike Walker.
Narrated by Dickens’ daughter Kate, witness to her father’s final weeks, and whose fascination with this story leads her to look into its unsolved conclusion to find clues about her father’s character.
Kate Dickens .….. Pippa Nixon
John Jasper ...… Joel McCormack
Edwin Drood .….. Iwan Davies
Reverend Crisparkle ..…. Damian Lynch
Neville Landless ...… Maanuv Thiara
Geoff/JP …... Ian Conningham
Joe …... Wilf Scolding
Director: Jeremy Mortimer
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2020.
FRI 09:00 Wing It (m00268bw)
Series 1
4. The Cage of Curiosities
In the series 1 finale, Alasdair Beckett-King gets the players to display the importance of 'remembering your Club Card', 'reading the room at a dance lesson', and 'what you need to be willing to do to get on the property ladder.'
"No Script. No Prep. No Clue."
Presented by Alasdair Beckett-King.
Starring Monica Gaga, Steen Raskopoulos, Amy Hoggart, and Thomas Mayo.
Devised by Shoot From The Hip
Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Co-ordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries
Sound Editor: Joe Bayley
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
FRI 09:30 A Guide to Coastal Birds (b00tkpf9)
5. Offshore Islands
Brett Westwood is joined by keen bird watcher, Stephen Moss, on the Devonshire coast.
With the help of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson they offer a practical and entertaining guide to identifying the birds which you're most likely to see and hear on Britain's off-shore islands; birds like Common Eider Duck, Puffin, Manx Shearwater and Arctic Tern.
The last of five programmes helps identify more of the birds found around our British coastline in places like sandy beaches, rocky shores, sea cliffs, off-shore islands and estuaries.
Not only is there advice on how to recognise the birds from their appearance, but also how to identify them from their calls and songs.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2010.
FRI 09:45 Daily Service (m00268bz)
Reflections and Beginnings - The New Creation
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Reflections and Beginnings - The New Creation
Presenter: Jay Hulme
Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Music:
Light will dawn - Rivers and Robots
Great is thy Faithfulness - The Complete Season 9 Collection
Praise - Elevation Worship
FRI 10:00 Soul Music (m001fcf6)
Running Up That Hill
"And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places..."
True stories of what Kate Bush's song Running Up That Hill means to people around the world, from its original release in 1985 to its return to the charts in 2022.
Long distance runner Lee Perry takes himself on a marathon the morning after his mum dies, with Kate Bush in his headphones for all 26 miles of his run.
Musician and record producer Georgia Barnes talks through the making of her synth-pop cover of the song, from the opening drone to the iconic synth line.
Graeme Thomson, author of 'Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush', shares insights into Bush's studio set-up during her making of the Hounds of Love album, and reflects on why Running Up That Hill continues to resonate down the generations.
Songwriter and trans activist Órla Bligh sees the song as an anthem of empathy, and a call-to-action for people to try to understand the experiences of others.
And finally, Astrid Jorgensen, conductor and founder of ‘Pub Choir’, gets 1600 people under one roof to sing Running Up That Hill together.
Producer: Becky Ripley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2022.
FRI 10:30 The Danube Ain't Blue, It's Green (b07ws0dy)
Rainer Hersch champions the most popular waltz Johann Strauss ever wrote – the Blue Danube.
In Vienna, he hits the tourist trail and finds that everyone knows it, from South Koreans to Californians, while hard-working musicians there can play it over 400 times a year.
It’s always performed as the inevitable encore at the New Years’ Day Concert in Vienna, and Franz Bartholomey, former principal cellist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, thinks it’s "simply the most beautiful waltz in the world".
Rainer touches on the finer points with conductor Alfred Eschwé as they sing their way through it, discovering that it’s not just "da-da-da-da-daa, tchk-tchk, tchk-tchk" - but Strauss combined five separate waltz melodies in the piece.
He also finds out that, as Spike Jones described it in his musical parody, the waters of the Danube aren’t blue, they’re green, and a rather murky green at that.
Also murky was one period of the waltz's history, when Goebbels decided that the music of Strauss was an ideal palliative for the Nazi war machine, though he had to remove all traces of Strauss’s Jewish ancestry in order to make the music acceptable.
Musician Ernst Theis and Strauss biographer John Suchet trace the Blue Danube's history, while Piers Lane shows how it has become one of the pianist's favourite encores in its devilish transcription by Schulz-Evler.
A Far Shoreline production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2016.
FRI 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 11:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000j1yg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 12:00 Up the Garden Path (b0084qnz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Doctor in the House (b007lmys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Prepper (m00026x2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0176pbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjd3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 14:00 The Motion Show (b0075rbl)
Series 1
Episode 1
City or countryside? – and does the World need more cookery shows?
Dr Phil Hammond watches over proceedings in the quirky debating game.
With:
Clive Coleman
Richard Morton
Pete Sinclair
Mark Steel
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1998.
FRI 14:30 1834 (b01137b8)
What Century Are You Living In?
Jason Slater is a 21st-century English teacher from Cheadle Hulme who wakes in 19th-century Macclesfield.
He discovers he's now Tarquin, third son of Lord Belport with a faithful valet, Ned who can't explain what's happened.
He's also acquired a suspicious brother, Henry; a spurned ex-girlfriend, Millicent, now going out with Henry; and an over excited Luddite-cum-cauliflower farmer.
Jim Poyser's riotous six-part comedy of transportation and delight.
Jason Slater ...... Michael Begley
Ned ...... Joe Caffrey
Hoskins ...... Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belport ...... Mark Chatterton
Henry ...... James Nickerson
Luddite ...... Toby Hadoke
Millicent ...... Julia Rounthwaite
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
FRI 15:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsx2)
5. The Charity Ball
"What In the world can I do to secure an income?" thought Osborne, "Poor Almée must have money. Yet what would my father say if he knew I'd married a Frenchwoman? In his present mood he'd disinherit me; and he'd speak about her in a way I couldn't stand. A Roman Catholic too! Well, I don't repent it. I'd do it again."
Molly is concerned when Cynthia is pursued by Mr Preston.
Final novel written by 'Cranford' author, Elizabeth Gaskell, first published in 1866.
Starring Tom Wilkinson, Kathryn Hurlbutt and Angela Pleasence.
Dramatised by Barry Campbell.
Molly …. Kathryn Hurlbutt
Clare …. Angela Pleasence
Mr Gibson .… Tom Wilkinson
Cynthia …. Anne Louise Lambert
Squire Hamley …. Robert Lang
Osborne Hamley …. Adam Bareham
Roger Hamley …. Michael Troughton
Mr Preston …. Brett Usher
Lady Harriet …. Marian Diamond
Lord Hollingfold …. Geoffrey Collins
Miss Browning …. Diana Bishop
Miss Phoebe ….. Hilda Schroder
Mrs Goodenough …. Margot Boyd
Miss Hornblower …. Monica Grey
Miss Piper …. Carole Boyd
Mr Roscoe …. James Kerry
Old Silas …. Michael Bilton
Robinson …. Nigel Graham
Maria …. Eileen Tully
Mrs Gaskell …. Thelma Whiteley
Music composed by Rachel Portman
Director: Jane Morgan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1983
FRI 16:00 Soul Music (m001fcf6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:30 The Danube Ain't Blue, It's Green (b07ws0dy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jvlr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Len Deighton - XPD (m000j1yg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Up the Garden Path (b0084qnz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 18:30 Doctor in the House (b007lmys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 19:00 Prepper (m00026x2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Attention All Shipping: A Journey Around the Shipping Forecast (b0176pbp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 19:45 The Mystery of Edwin Drood (m000qjd3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 20:00 The Motion Show (b0075rbl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
FRI 20:30 1834 (b01137b8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (b007jsx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Wing It (m00268bw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 22:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b00s3gq5)
Series 2
Penzance
Comedian Mark Steel returns to visit more UK towns to discover what makes them and their inhabitants distinctive.
He creates a bespoke stand-up show for each town and performs the show in front of a local audience.
As well as shedding light on the less visited areas of Britain, Mark uncovers stories and experiences that resonate with us all as we recognise the quirkiness of the British way of life and the rich tapestry of remarkable events and people who have shaped where we live.
Mark travels to Cornwall and finally reaches the town of Penzance where the locals revel in their remoteness, pilchards and pasties.
Struck by the beauty of this rugged coastal town he is surprised to find a civil war raging...
Written by Mark Steel.
With additional material by Pete Sinclair.
Producer: Julia McKenzie.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2010.
FRI 23:00 Meet David Sedaris (b08wp5cq)
Series 6
Untamed & Theft By Finding
The globetrotting, trash-picking, aisle-rolling storyteller is back with more words of wit and wisdom.
* A new story fresh from the pages of The New Yorker, Untamed
* Extracts from his book Theft By Finding, a compilation of diary entries from 1977-2002.
With sardonic wit and incisive social critiques, David Sedaris has become one of America's pre-eminent humour writers. The great skill with which he slices through cultural euphemisms and political correctness proves that he is a master of satire and one of the most observant writers addressing the human condition today.
David Sedaris's first book, Barrel Fever (1994), which included The SantaLand Diaries. was a critical and commercial success, as were his follow-up efforts, Naked (1997), Holidays on Ice (1997) and Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000). He became known for his bitingly funny recollections of his youth, family life and travels, making semi-celebrities out of his parents and siblings.
David Sedaris has been nominated for three Grammy Awards for Best Spoken Word and Best Comedy Album. A feature film adaptation of his story C.O.G. was released after a premier at the Sundance Film Festival (2013). He has been a contributor to BBC Radio 4 since 1996.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2017.
FRI 23:30 Sean Lock - 15 Storeys High (b09kct7r)
Series 1
The Sticky Patch
A romantic neighbour and a group of aggressive children try to disturb Sean’s peace.
However much Sean tries to avoid the rest of the world, occasionally it will try to engage with him.
Starring Sean Lock
Written by Sean Lock and Martin Trenaman.
With:
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Peter Serafinowicz
Martin Trenaman
Chris Pavlo
Script Editor: Robert Fraser-Steele
Producer: Chris Neill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1999.