SATURDAY 18 JANUARY 2025

SAT 00:00 Soul Music (b09lyhmv)
Series 25
Boys Don't Cry
Boys Don't Cry by The Cure is, on the surface, a tribute to teenage angst and a slice of pop perfection.
Lol Tolhurst, the band's drummer, wrote the song with his band mates in Robert Smith's parents' house extension.
Poorna Bell saw the song's lyrics echo her husband's struggle with expressing his emotions, and describes the devastating impact which that can have.
Runner Derek Redmond recalls the moment he lost his 'game face' at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, and Sara Pacella and Jeffrey Axt chart the changing fortunes of a giant Boys Don't Cry poster.
Producer: Sally Heaven.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2018.
SAT 00:30 Hunt/Lauda (b01rfy5f)
Racing driver Vicki Butler-Henderson recalls one of sport's most intense rivalries.
How swashbuckling British playboy James Hunt took on Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda, a man who by the August of 1976 would be fighting for his life in a German hospital.
Motorsport legends Murray Walker, journalist Nigel Roebuck and Niki Lauda himself tell how Hunt, in his British McLaren, chased the Austrian's scarlet Ferrari in a 200mph season-long duel from Brazil to Japan. It wasn't long before the handsome, blonde, badly behaved Hunt became Britain's number one sporting hero, filling the front and back pages of international newspapers in the scorching summer of '76 with his outrageous car control and equally outrageous personal life.
Thrilling archive and first hand testimonies from three-time world champion Lauda and famed Austrian commentator and author Heinz Pruller tell how, in the August of that year, Ferrari's golden boy crashed heavily at the notorious Nurburgring circuit in Germany. His car burst into flames, and left Lauda, stricken with terrible burns, to receive the Last Rites.
What followed remains one of sport's most heroic chapters as Lauda went from death's door to returning to the track, battle scarred and bleeding, taking the fight with Hunt to the final race of the year and setting up a gladiatorial showdown amid monsoon conditions at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Producer: James Roberts
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
SAT 01:00 Cadfael (b007k28z)
Dead Man's Ransom
5. A Helping Hand
With a strong case against Elis, will Brother Cadfael solve the sheriff's murder?
Starring Philip Madoc.
Conclusion of Ellis Peters’ medieval thriller featuring the Benedictine monk and amateur sleuth.
Dramatised by Bert Coules.
Cadfael …. Philip Madoc
Hugh Beringar …. Jonathan Tafler
Sister Magdalen …. Susannah York
Elis …. Jason Hughes
Melicent …. Kate Odey
Prince Owain …. Sion Probert
Eliud …. Mark Lewis Jones
Ithel/Herbard …. Shaun Prendergast
Cristina …. Siobahn Flynn
Villager …. David Holt
Narrator …. Michael Kitchen
Music by Peter Salem.
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1991.
SAT 01:30 Whodunnits (b00yb1z9)
Father Brown Stories
The Blue Cross
Father Brown and Flambeau cross a Norfolk lake to meet an Italian with a dark history, and exchange dreams with an old adversary.
Starring Andrew Sachs and Olivier Pierre.
Series of GK Chesterton's stories about the insightful clerical sleuth.
Dramatised by John Scotney.
Father Brown ........ Andrew Sachs
Flambeau ........ Olivier Pierre
Mr Paul ........ Garard Green
Mrs Anthony ........ June Barrie
Saradine ........ Roger Hammond
Italian ........ Robin Summers
Norfolk Tough ........ Peter Acre
Directed at BBC Bristol by Alec Reid.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1985.
SAT 02:00 Up the Garden Path (b00898sz)
Series 2
Love's Labours
As her holiday in Wales comes to an end, Izzy argues with her fiance Charles.
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30 something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men.
Imelda Staunton stars as Izzy.
An 8-part radio sequel adapted 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
Bill ...... Neil McCaul
Louise ...... Phyllida Nash
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1988.
SAT 02:30 Doctor in the House (b007mwkh)
Marriage-itis
Simon Sparrow must cope with both his hangover and a bad case of cold feet.
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
Matron/Vera …. Norma Ronald
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1968.
SAT 03:00 Prepper (m0002g7v)
Series 1
The Kit In Your Head
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.
In this episode - situational awareness.
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 February 2019.
SAT 03:30 Amongst Women by John McGahern (m000jhpq)
10. Pilgrimage
Moran’s daughters make the pilgrimage home, fearing that their father’s death is fast approaching.
Michael Moran’s life was forever transformed by his days of glory in the War of Independence. Now, a farmer in the Irish countryside, Moran is still fighting - with his family, his friends, even himself - in a poignant struggle to come to terms with the past.
However, as he grows older, his wife and daughters must confront how their own lives have been irrevocably shaped by this complicated and contradictory man.
An intimate story of a family living on the Irish border, under the thumb of a former soldier turned tyrant in his own home.
Written and Abridged by John McGahern
Read by Lloyd Hutchinson
Produced by Celia de Wolff
A BBC Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2020.
SAT 03:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000mytm)
5. Registered Missing
Joe is officially registered as a ‘missing person’, and Jess insists her father get back to France immediately.
Four years ago, Anna and John's marriage was floundering. To make matters worse, John began a disastrous affair with their couples counsellor, which he later regretted.
Now, to escape the past, they've started over in rural Southern France - a place they once visited on holiday, but don't know very well at all.
It's an act of folly, maybe, but necessary for their survival – or so it seemed at the time. But their dream of a new life in France is shattered when their 16 year old son disappears and they find that they, and each of their house guests, are suspects in what the gendarmes have decided is a possible murder enquiry.
Written by Shelagh Stephenson.
Anna ...... Rosie Cavaliero
John ...... Ewan Bailey
Jess ...... Macy Nyman
Joe ...... Tom Glenister
Berengere ...... Kate Duchêne
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2020.
SAT 04:00 The Motion Show (b0075rmr)
Series 1
Episode 3
The merits of watching TV - and retiring at the age of 30.
Dr Phil Hammond watches over proceedings in the quirky debating game.
With:
Simon Fanshawe
Peter Bradshaw
Brian Sewell
Steve Punt
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1998.
SAT 04:30 1834 (b011klyr)
Strong Continental Lager
21st-century teacher Jason decides 19th-century Macclesfield needs a decent pub with decent beer.
Jason Slater is now Tarquin, the third son of Lord Belport with his faithful valet, Ned.
Jim Poyser's riotous comedy of transportation and delight.
Jason Slater ...... Michael Begley
Ned ...... Joe Caffrey
Hoskins ...... Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belport ...... Mark Chatterton
Stubbs ...... Glenn Cunningham
Millicent ...... Julia Rounthwaite
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
SAT 05:00 The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth (b07b2phd)
2. A Trap
Lord Colambre has travelled to Ireland for the first time to visit the Clonbrony estates.
But unknown to him, Lady Dashfort is determined to trap him into marriage with her daughter Isabel.
Conclusion of Maria Edgeworth's novel - first published in 1812.
Starring Stephen Rea and Anna Healy.
Dramatised by Nick McCarty.
Lord Colambre... Stephen Rea
Grace Nugent... Anna Healy
Paddy... Billy Boyle
Whipp ... Ben Onwukwe
Sir Terence O'Fay ... James Berwick
Lord Clonbrony... T P McKenna
Lady Clonbrony... Francine Mulrooney
0'Halloran.... Shay Gorman
Garraghty...John O'Mahoney
With:
Fraser Kerr
Danielle Allan
Emma Gregory
Jenny Howe
Elizabeth Kelly
Auriol Smith
Ian Lindsay
Andrew Wincott
Terence Edmond
Producer: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1991.
SAT 06:00 The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (m002741d)
A ‘comedy of manners’ where a cheeky alias causes confusion for two young lovers.
Knowing his lover Lydia Languish is a romantic at heart, Captain Jack Absolute assumes the persona of a poor army officer, Ensign Beverley.
Lydia is enthralled over the idea of eloping with him under the nose of her guardian, the moralistic Mrs Malaprop - whose misuse of language has given us the term ‘malapropism’.
How will Lydia react when she learns that impoverished Beverley is actually well-to-do Jack?
Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s drama is set in 18th century Bath, where the wealthy and fashionable went ‘to take the waters’.
Stars Dame Flora Robson, Christine Finn and Bernard Brown.
The drama was first performed on the London stage in 1775.
Mrs Malaprop .... Flora Robson
Sir Anthony Absolute .... Peter Pratt
Lydia Languish .... Christine Finn
Captain Absolute ....Bernard Brown
Bob Acres .... William Ingram
Julia .... Rosalind Shanks
Faulkland .... Peter Tuddenham
Sir Lucius O'Trigger .... Denys Hawthorne
Lucy .... Barbara Mitchell
Fag .... Christopher Bidmead
David .... Ronald Herdman
Thomas .... Alan Dudley
Boy/Maid .... Carol Marsh
Servant .... LeRoy Lingwood
Director: Betty Davies
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1968 as part of the Flora Robson Festival.
SAT 07:30 The Oak Papers by James Canton (Omnibus) (m002741g)
James Canton’s fascinating account of the history and symbolic power of oak trees.
When a relationship breaks down, James Canton begins to spend time with an ancient oak tree near where he lives in Essex - the 800-year-old Honywood Oak.
“I began to visit the oak as one might visit a friend. From the first meeting there grew a strange sense of attachment I didn’t consciously recognise until I began to realise the significance that trees, and oak trees especially, can have in our lives.”
Spending time at the tree, James finds solace from his distress. More than that, he begins to feel bewitched by the power of the tree. It is then that he begins an exploration of the history of oak trees, and their vital importance in history and myth.
“As I’ve dug deeper into the historical and cultural layers of ancient Europe, I have begun to realise just how common the veneration of oak trees was.”
He meets people who work with oak, and artists who have been inspired by oak trees. And, as he sits at the oak, he records in detail the sounds and sights of the natural world around him.
“A wren pipes up, a staccato tic, tic, tic from somewhere in the centre of the oak. A hare appears on the path, all ears, lean and jittery, only to disappear into the long grasses and ferns that cover the soft slopes of the stream valley. It is a slice of time laid bare, a moment when the normal flow of life is frozen.”
Beautifully-observed nature writing and fascinating history, with a soundscape of the natural world, and music by Max Richter.
Omnibus of five episodes read by Jonathan Keeble.
Abridged and produced by Elizabeth Burke.
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2020.
SAT 08:45 More Tales From a Long Room by Peter Tinniswood (m002741j)
2. Batman
Cricketing superheroes?
The Empire-adoring Brigadier brings more madness, melancholy and musings on the stumps
Another of Peter Tinniswood's cricket tales.
Read by Robin Bailey, as the acerbic Brigadier.
Abridged for radio by the author.
Producer: Tony Cliff
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1982.
SAT 09:00 Mr Willow's Wife (m000q4t0)
6. The Cost of Living
Times are tough, but can Felicity and Paul Willow do without their Nanny..?
Staring Moira Lister and Terence Alexander.
Written by Ray Cooney and John Chapman.
Felicity Willow .... Moira Lister
Paul Willow ....Terence Alexander
Nanny .... Doris Hare
Marigold Foskett .... Jo Kendall
the Boutique Owner .... Ray Cooney
Mr Foskett ... John Chapman
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1971.
SAT 09:30 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k11m)
An 'Ep' in the Country
The off-screen doings of TV soap opera stars are often more interesting than the actual programmes, particularly if you never watch the programme concerned...
British show business doyen, J Kingston Platt shares reminiscences drawn from the wealth and the poverty of his experience from the past 40 years.
Performed and written by Peter Jones.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1986.
SAT 10:00 Growing Pains (m0009cq7)
3. Teenage Diary & Summer with Monika
Grace Dent locks herself in her teenage bedroom for one last time, and rifles through the BBC Archives to celebrate the awkward, emotional, and unfortunately inevitable adolescent experience.
Grace concludes reminiscing about the heartbreak and arguments that were an everyday part of her own teenage years growing up in Carlisle in the 1970s.
She takes Young Adult author Steven Camden back to the park to conjure up memories of adolescent boredom and longing and persuades some real-life teenagers to explain their lives, lingo and of course mobile phones to her.
In the last of three episodes, Grace dips into the BBC Archives and come up with one of her favourite depictions of adolescence:
* 'My Teenage Diary'
Richard Herring opens up his teenage diary for Rufus Hound
* 'Summer with Monika'
Dramatisation of Roger McGough's iconic poem about young love in the 1960s.
Starring Mark McGann and Katy Carmichael.
Producer: Jessica Treen
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra. First broadcast in October 2017.
SAT 11:00 The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (m002741d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 12:30 The Oak Papers by James Canton (Omnibus) (m002741g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 13:45 More Tales From a Long Room by Peter Tinniswood (m002741j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 14:00 Mr Willow's Wife (m000q4t0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 14:30 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k11m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 15:00 Growing Pains (m0009cq7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 16:00 The Voyage of the Demeter by Robert Forrest (b00vk23h)
1897: Terror strikes as the schooner 'Demeter' sails from Bulgaria to the east coast of England.
Something very nasty is lurking aboard in the dark corners of the ship.
Its voyage is set to spark great alarm...
Starring Finlay Welsh.
A chilling tale of the supernatural written by Robert Forrest.
Ripelski ..... Finlay Welsh
Robash ...... Gary Lewis
Kaneski ...... Steven McNicoll
Bretov ...... Grant O'Rourke
Gentleman ...... Alexander Morton
Producer: Patrick Rayner
First broadcast on Radio 4 in February 2008.
SAT 17:00 The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (m002741d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 18:30 The Oak Papers by James Canton (Omnibus) (m002741g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 19:45 More Tales From a Long Room by Peter Tinniswood (m002741j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 20:00 Mr Willow's Wife (m000q4t0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 20:30 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k11m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 21:00 Growing Pains (m0009cq7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Welcome to Wherever You Are (m0007cw6)
Series 2
Episode 4
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:
Eliana La Casa
Ambrus Oroscz
Tin Vodopivec
Eliana La Casa is the resident MC of Buenos Aires’ first English language stand-up night.
Ambrus Oroscz, the first Hungarian to perform stand-up at the Edinburgh festival dials in from Budapest with stories of politics and his favourite “uncle jokes”.
Tin Vodopivec is in Llubljana, Slovenia, where he’s the biggest national stand-up having supported Eddie Izzard on his tour in the country.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2019.
SAT 22:30 Rob Newman (b0bktltg)
Rob Newman's Total Eclipse of Descartes
The Music of the Chromosomes
Rob navigates the wonders and pitfalls of genetics and internationalism.
One of Britain's finest comedians Rob Newman sets his sights on the world of philosophy, unpicking 3000 years of good and bad ideas to discover how we got into this mess. In a world gone mad can philosophy provide the answer?
Written and performed by Rob Newman
Edited by John Whitehall.
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producer: Richard Wilson
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2018.
SAT 23:00 My Teenage Diary (b07dlxmq)
Series 7
Lionel Shriver
Writer Lionel Shriver reads from her frank and highly personal teenage journals, while discussing her formative years with Rufus Hound.
She talks about her attempts to rebel against her religious upbringing, her complex relationship with her older brother, and her suspicion of young children - which began when she was little more than a child herself.
Producer: Harriet Jaine
Executive Producer: Aled Evans
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2016.
SAT 23:30 The Remains of Foley and McColl (b007m4dx)
Subtle
Sean Foley and Hamish McColl investigate the art of subtlety by visiting a Jane Austen novel.
Surreal comedy starring award-winning double act Sean Foley and Hamish McColl, the Right Size.
With:
Rose English
Count Arthur Strong
Chris Larner
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.

SUNDAY 19 JANUARY 2025

SUN 00:00 The Voyage of the Demeter by Robert Forrest (b00vk23h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (m002741d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:30 The Oak Papers by James Canton (Omnibus) (m002741g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 03:45 More Tales From a Long Room by Peter Tinniswood (m002741j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Mr Willow's Wife (m000q4t0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007k11m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 Growing Pains (m0009cq7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m002749g)
Children's Authors
Malorie Blackman
Kirsty Young's castaway is the writer Malorie Blackman.
A prolific and multi-award winning author she has powered her way to success not just through talent but determination and perseverance. From the careers mistress who told her, "black people don't become teachers," to the 82 rejection letters she received before she was published, significant parts of her life seem to have been spent proving people wrong. A technology wizz, her first career was in computing. As a writer her books have tackled challenging themes: bullying, teenage pregnancy, racism and terrorism.
Currently Childrens' Laureate, her own formative years were spent in South London where as a little girl she went from thinking everyone was her friend to feeling, as a teenager, that the world was her enemy.
She says, "Good stories made me reassess the world and people as I thought I knew them. Great stories made me reassess myself."
DISC ONE: Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Abezizwa (Uniting Nations Together)
DISC TWO: Bob Marley & The Wailers - Redemption Song
DISC THREE: Bernard Cribbins - Right Said Fred
DISC FOUR: Jennifer Larmore and Hong Hei-Kyung - Léo Delibes’s The Flower Duet [from Lakmé]
DISC FIVE: Marvin Gaye - Whats Going On
DISC SIX: Gladys Knight - Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me
DISC SEVEN: My Chemical Romance - Sing
DISC EIGHT: Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World
BOOK CHOICE: Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
LUXURY CHOICE: Bicycle
Producer: Cathy Drysdale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2013.
SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b011ppq4)
Series 2
Nectar
The beautiful thick, sweet and luscious tasting delicacy of honey is one of the world's natural goodies.
Indigenous peoples from all over the world will go to great lengths to get the honey from wild bees - and for most of us less connected to the natural world, we love this product of bees bought from the shop.
Honey is nectar and David Attenborough poignantly points out this "was the first bribe in nature..." - it evolved 100,000,000 years ago with the flowering plants and drove the evolutionary relationship between animals and plants.
Written and presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.
SUN 07:00 Poetry Extra (m002749j)
Conversations on a Bench - Northumberland: Katrina Porteous
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and chooses Conversations on a Bench - Northumberland with a specially commissioned poem by Katrina Porteous who has been shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2024. And Daljit reads from his January Poetry Extra Book of the Month - a debut collection Oi You Lot by Kareem Parkins-Brown.
Anna Scott-Brown returns to hear more stories from the people who stop to sit beside her on benches around the country. In this episode, she is joined on a bench overlooking Beadnell Harbour in Northumberland by holiday-makers, environmentalists and some members of the last remaining fishing families of Beadnell.
Throughout the programme, a specially commissioned work by poet and Beadnell resident, Katrina Porteous draws on the voices of locals and passers by.
The harbour was once a thriving departure point for the lime produced in the kilns behind the bench, and for the traditional coble fishing boats, now almost completely gone.
Today, the village has one of the highest percentages of holiday homes in Britain, and traditional ways of making a living are under threat, but Anna is joined by those whose communal memory goes back to the heyday of a once close-knit working community.
Hidden lives are revealed and common threads recur as Anna Scott-Brown's gentle - but insistent and sometimes extremely direct - questions elicit poignant and profound responses from those sitting on the bench.
Presenter: Anna Scott-Brown
Producer: Adam Fowler
An Overtone production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2016.
SUN 07:30 Amongst Women by John McGahern (Omnibus) (m002749l)
Episode 2
Without his sisters at home, young Michael must go elsewhere to look for excitement.
Michael Moran’s life was forever transformed by his days of glory in the War of Independence. Now, a farmer in the Irish countryside, Moran is still fighting - with his family, his friends, even himself - in a poignant struggle to come to terms with the past.
However, as he grows older, his wife and daughters must confront how their own lives have been irrevocably shaped by this complicated and contradictory man.
An intimate story of a family living on the Irish border, under the thumb of a former soldier turned tyrant in his own home.
Omnibus of the last five of ten episodes.
Written and abridged by John McGahern.
Read by Lloyd Hutchinson.
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A BBC Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2020.
SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002749n)
Kate Humble
Broadcaster and outdoors lover Kate Humble chooses ‘Suzanne’ by Leonard Cohen and ‘Ain't Got No/I Got Life’ by Nina Simone.
SUN 08:50 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (Omnibus) (m002749q)
Episode 1
Four years ago, Anna and John's marriage was floundering. To make matters worse, John began a disastrous affair with their couples counsellor, which he later regretted.
Now, to escape the past, they've started over in rural Southern France - a place they once visited on holiday, but don't know very well at all.
It's an act of folly, maybe, but necessary for their survival – or so it seemed at the time. But their dream of a new life in France is shattered when their 16-year-old son disappears and they find that they, and each of their house guests, are suspects in what the gendarmes have decided is a possible murder enquiry.
Written by Shelagh Stephenson.
Omnibus of the first five of ten episodes.
Anna .... Rosie Cavaliero
John .... Ewan Bailey
Jess .... Macy Nyman
Dorothy .... Linda Bassett
Duncan .... Rufus Wright
Joe .... Tom Glenister
Lou .... Rebecca Saire
Rob .... John McAndrew
Melanie .... Jane Slavin
Charlie .... Thomas Allam
Christopher .... Alfie Wickham
Berengere .... Kate Duchêne
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020.
SUN 10:00 Beyond Our Ken (b0bnb4gg)
From 12/11/1958
Kenneth Horne discovers he’s got an ancestor in the navy and ‘Hornerama’ investigates music.
With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Ron Moody.
Written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took
Music from Pat Lancaster, the Malcolm Mitchell Trio and the BBC Review Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
A madcap mix of sketches and songs, Beyond Our Ken hit the airwaves in 1958 and ran to 1964 – featuring regulars like Arthur Fallowfield, Cecil Snaith and Rodney and Charles.
The precursor to ‘Round The Horne’ – sadly only 13 shows survive from the original run of 21 episodes in Series 1. Audio restored using both home and overseas (BBC Transcription Service) recordings.
Producer: Jacques Brown
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1958.
SUN 10:30 Take It From Here (b01136nk)
From 19/11/1953
Mona Lisa's smile enigma solved - and Eth and Ron fancy their own place in 'The Glums'.
Long-running classic comedy written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Starring:
Professor Jimmy Edwards
Dick Bentley
June Whitfield
Alma Cogan
Wallas Eaton
Herbert Mostyn – a bit-part persona adopted, when necessary, by both Frank and Denis.
Music from The Keynotes and the Augmented BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1953.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m002749g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b011ppq4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m002749j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Amongst Women by John McGahern (Omnibus) (m002749l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002749n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 13:50 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (Omnibus) (m002749q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 15:00 Beyond Our Ken (b0bnb4gg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 15:30 Take It From Here (b01136nk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 16:00 Fear on 4 (b007zzyr)
Series 1
Music Lovers
The Man in Black introduces Mr Ford's terrifying quest for musical perfection.
Another nerve-tingler from Fear on 4.
Written by Nick Warburton.
Miss Eames …. Prunella Scales
Mr Pauley …. Nigel Anthony
The Man in Black …. Edward de Souza
Director: Jeremy Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1988.
SUN 16:30 Simon Bovey - Cold Blood (b007s74m)
3. The Changing Man
After his trip to Mitchell Bluff, Taft's realised Bowers' story about the attack on his base doesn't add up - and Bowers isn't giving anything away.
Worse, a member of Taft's team has been found dead...
Continuing Simon Bovey's sci-fi thriller made in 2005 but set in 2015.
Bowers …. Tim McMullan
Commander Taft …. Tom Mannion
Max Bellingfield …. Stuart McLoughlin
Anaya …. Ndidi Del Fatti
Deborah …. Helen Longworth
Director: Marc Beeby
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in January 2005.
SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m002749g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b011ppq4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m002749j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 18:30 Amongst Women by John McGahern (Omnibus) (m002749l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002749n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 19:50 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (Omnibus) (m002749q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 21:00 Beyond Our Ken (b0bnb4gg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:30 Take It From Here (b01136nk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 22:00 Listen Against (b01752w7)
Series 4
Episode 3
Another week of radio that never happened.
Alice Arnold and Jon Holmes rewind and mangle real programmes for you to enjoy the wrong way round.
Written and created by Jon Holmes
With:
Kevin Eldon
Justin Edwards
Sarah Hadland
James Bachman
Kim Wall
David Mara
Written by Jon Holmes, Gareth Gwynn, John Hunter, James Kettle, Joel Morris and Jason Hazeley, John Luke Roberts, Rachel Wheeley and Alice Arnold.
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
SUN 22:30 Electric Ink (b01k68hg)
Series 2
Episode 4
Can struggling journalist Maddox make a splash with a tip-off over political corruption that could unseat the coalition?
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.
Maddox ..... John Sessions
Oliver ..... Alex Jennings
Freddy ..... Stephen Wight
Carol ..... Polly Frame
Masha ..... Debbie Chazen
Julie Compton ..... Joanna Monro
Producer: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010..
SUN 23:00 Lewis Macleod Is Not Himself (b04kbl8h)
Episode 4
The impression and sketch show that looks behind the scenes at the life and work of star impressionist Lewis Macleod
Lewis has performed on 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 October 2014.
SUN 23:30 Safety Catch (b00fn9d1)
Series 1
Whatever Happened to the Unlikely Lad?
Arms dealer Simon dreads his school reunion, but could he be the coolest kid in class?
Starring Darren Boyd as Simon McGrath.
Laurence Howarth’s black comedy of modern morality. Simon is essentially a nice man who also happens to be an arms dealer.
With:
Joanna Page
Lewis MacLeod
Sarah Smart
Brigit Forsyth
Nicholas Boulton
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.

MONDAY 20 JANUARY 2025

MON 00:00 Fear on 4 (b007zzyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Simon Bovey - Cold Blood (b007s74m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m002749g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b011ppq4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m002749j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Amongst Women by John McGahern (Omnibus) (m002749l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002749n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]
MON 03:50 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (Omnibus) (m002749q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Beyond Our Ken (b0bnb4gg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Take It From Here (b01136nk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Whodunnits (b0100lqx)
Nemesis
1. The Mystery Begins...
The wishes of a dead man sees amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple being sent on the ultimate mystery tour.
Starring June Whitfield.
Agatha Christie's whodunnit first published in 1971.
Dramatised in five-parts by Michael Bakewell.
Miss Marple …. June Whitfield
Mr Rafiel …. George A. Cooper
Cherry …. Jane Whittenshaw
Mr Broadribb …. Geoffrey Whitehead
Esther Anderson …. Yvonne Edgell
Mrs Risely-Porter …. Margot Boyd
Joanna Crawford …. Molly Gaisford
Richard Jameson …. Charles Simpson
Miss Temple …. Jill Balcon
Producer: Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1998.
MON 06:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274bd)
1. The Girls on the Tram
Looking back on his youth in 1912, writer Gregory Dawson remembers how he arrived in the town of Bruddersford.
He was orphaned, lonely and burning with unfulfilled ambition...
JB Priestley's novel, first published in 1946.
Dramatised in six parts by Eric Pringle
Gregory Dawson .... David Hargreaves
Elizabeth Earl .... Frances Jeater
Young Gregory .... Peter Kenny
Ackworth .... Steve Hodson
Uncle Miles .... John Evitts
Aunt Hilda .... Margaret John
Lady Harndean .... Margaret John
Lord Harndean .... Gavin Muir
Mr Alington .... Gareth Armstrong
Joan .... Elaine Claxton
Bridget .... Teresa Gallagher
Eva .... Tara Dominick
Oliver .... Paul Pantlng
Croxton .... Pete Whitman
Driver .... James Taylor
Music played by Les Brown, Laurence Rossi and Tony Gamage
Director Adrian Bean
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1984.
MON 07:00 The House of the Spirit Levels (b007jv9c)
The Prisoner
Tony Hardstaff has made contact with his former true love, the beautiful but mad Emily Earnshaw.
On the day of his mother's funeral, can she save him from the hostility of his own family? And will the spirit of his mother Alice return to haunt him?
Nick Revell's epic comedy saga continues.
Tony ...... Nick Revell
Jane ...... Alison Steadman
Emily ...... Claire Skinner
Obadiah ...... David Swift
Alice ...... Maggie Steed
Mrs Womersley ...... Joanna Brooks
Joanna ...... Natalie Walter
Jeff ...... Peter Gunn
The Narrator ...... Peter Serafinowcz
Music composed by Paul Mottram.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1997.
MON 07:30 The Likely Lads (m00274bg)
Series 1
1. Where Have All The Flowers Gone?
Terry and Bob attend a wedding and realise that they are now the only unmarried men they know. Many of their acquaintances have settled down but they are unable to change their ways.
Sitcom written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, a radio adaptation of their TV script.
Bob Ferris …. Rodney Bewes
Terry Collier …. James Bolam
Audrey …. Sheila Fearn
Mrs Collier …. Olive Milbourne
Betty Hardy …. Aunt Peggy
Vicar/Uncle Walter …. John Cazabon
Cyril …. Leroy Lingwood
with Carol Marsh and Rosalind Shanks
Producer: John Browell
First broadcast on BBC Light Programme in August 1967.
MON 08:00 North by Northamptonshire (b03mflth)
Series 3
Episode 2
Against her better judgement, Jan has dinner with her ex-husband, and Mary and Jonathan have crossed wires.
Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the residents of a small town in Northamptonshire.
Written by Katherine Jakeways.
As is well-known: Yorkshiremen wear flat caps and Essex girls wear short skirts; Liverpudlians are scallies and Cockneys are wideboys.
Northamptonians gaze wistfully at these stereotypes and wish for an identity of any kind and a label less ridiculous than Northamptonians. Northamptonshire, let us be clear, is neither north, nor south nor in the Midlands. It floats somewhere between the three eyeing up the distinctiveness of each enviously.
Katherine Jakeways gives Northamptonshire an identity. And she waits, eagerly, for her home-county to thank her. And possibly make her some kind of Mayor.
Narrator ...... Sheila Hancock
Rod ...... Tim Key
Frank ...... Rufus Wright
Mary ...... Penelope Wilton
Jonathan ...... Kevin Eldon
Esther ...... Katherine Jakeways
Keith ...... John Biggins
Norman ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Orson ...... Nathaniel Parker
Jan ...... Felicity Montagu
Producer: Steven Canny
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.
MON 08:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqjtl)
1. A New Spaniel
Jenny Coverack reads 'Flush', by Virginia Woolf: an unusual biography that begins with the gift of a young dog to a very famous writer, Elizabeth Barret Browning.
Flush was given to Miss Barrett by a family friend, and the young spaniel very quickly became the poet's devoted companion and constant atttendant at her bedside in her father's house in Wimpole Street. In this first episode, Flush must learn to forget his early life in the country, and become used to days spent in an invalid's bedroom.
Written by Virginia Woolf
Read by Jenny Coverack
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
MON 08:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n5dk)
6. Interviews
Anna’s son Joe has now been missing for six days and the gendarmes are keen to interview all of the house guests in relation to his disappearance.
Four years ago, Anna and John's marriage was floundering. To make matters worse, John began a disastrous affair with their couples counsellor, which he later regretted.
Now, to escape the past, they've started over in rural Southern France - a place they once visited on holiday, but don't know very well at all.
It's an act of folly, maybe, but necessary for their survival – or so it seemed at the time. But their dream of a new life in France is shattered when their 16 year old son disappears and they find that they, and each of their house guests, are suspects in what the gendarmes have decided is a possible murder enquiry.
Written by Shelagh Stephenson.
Anna ...... Rosie Cavaliero
John ...... Ewan Bailey
Jess ...... Macy Nyman
Dorothy ...... Linda Bassett
Duncan ...... Rufus Wright
Joe ...... Tom Glenister
Lou ...... Rebecca Saire
Rob ...... John McAndrew
Melanie ...... Jane Slavin
Charlie ...... Thomas Allam
Berengere ...... Kate Duchêne
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2020.
MON 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00274bl)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
MON 09:30 Agatha Christie (b0076m5j)
The 8.55 to Baghdad
1. Middle Eastern Adventure
"Her adventure had been taken at a moment of major personal change; mine was beginning at a moment that could change the world".
In 1928, crime writer Agatha Christie made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go on holiday, alone, to Iraq. Then in her late thirties she was already a popular and successful novelist, but her 14 year marriage to Archie Christie had recently ended and her comfortable life at Sunningdale had become oppressive.
In the first of five readings from his book, Andrew Eames describes how 75 years later on, on the eve of the second Gulf War, he set out to trace Agatha's journey and explore her reasons for making it.
Written and read by Andrew Eames
Abridged in five parts by Laurence Wareing.
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio in July 2004.
MON 09:45 Daily Service (m00274bn)
Still small voice - Still Small Voice
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Still small voice - Still Small Voice
Presenter: Molly Boot
Reading: 1 Kings 19:11-13
Music:
Still my soul, be still - Keith and Krysten Getty
Dear Lord and Father - Wallingford Parish Church
Let all mortal flesh keep silence - Rugby School Choir
MON 10:00 Dad Made Me Laugh (b00d3k8c)
Max Hudd
Roy Hudd's son Max chats about life growing up with the star of 'The News Huddlines', 'Coronation Street' and more.
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 September 2006.
MON 10:30 Bridging the Gap (b00q3kvw)
A sound portrait of the Tyne Bridge, linking Newcastle and Gateshead.
With recordings by wildlife sound recordist, Chris Watson, the sounds of the waves, the wind and the wildlife are combined with the voices of the river in this powerful and vivid portrait of a magnificent bridge.
The earliest bridge across the Tyne, Pons Aelius, was built by the Romans near the location of the present Tyne bridge. After it fell into disrepair, a stone bridge was built in 1270 but this was destroyed by the great flood of 1717. The idea for the present Tyne Bridge dates back to 1883, but it wasn't until 1925 that work began. The design is based on the Sydney bridge. And whilst work on the Sydney bridge began first, the Tyne bridge was finished and opened first by King George V on 10th October 1928.
The Tyne is a major artery through the city, the Tyne Bridge a vital span; a thoroughfare of business and trade, a link between Gateshead and Newcastle, between north and south. As a giant arch, the bridge is an engineering triumph and hugely symbolic; it spans place and time, and as a port-way it's symbolic of the changes which have taken place in the north east. Today, the wildlife has moved into the gaps vacated by the industrial past; the river is home to otters and salmon and the bridge is a nesting site for kittiwakes, a species of ocean-travelling gull. The birds which nest here and on the Baltic on the Gateshead river bank make it the furthest inland breeding site of kittiwakes in the world.
Sound recordist Chris Watson.
Producer: Sarah Blunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2010.
MON 11:00 Whodunnits (b0100lqx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 11:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274bd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 12:00 The House of the Spirit Levels (b007jv9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Likely Lads (m00274bg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 13:00 North by Northamptonshire (b03mflth)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 13:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqjtl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n5dk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 14:00 The Rest is History (b075mnxs)
Series 2
Episode 1
Frank Skinner loves history, but just doesn't know much of it.
So he's devised a comedy discussion show in order to find out more about it.
Along with his historian in residence, Professor Kate Williams, Frank is joined by Katy Brand and Pierre Novellie.
Up for discussion: Hodge - the cat belonging to Doctor Samuel Pepys, Nelson and Lady Hamilton, and the Lyme Missal.
Producers: Mark Augustyn and Justin Pollard
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2016.
MON 14:30 Smelling of Roses (m000xtcr)
Series 2
Romance Is Dead
Rosie's event management company arranges activities for the partners of conference delegates for a major finance company.
Meanwhile Kate thinks this is her ticket back to a high-flying job....
Prunella Scales stars in Simon Brett's sitcom.
The trials and tribulations of Rosie Burns and her event management company, based in Brighton.
Rosie ...... Prunella Scales
Kate ...... Arabella Weir
Jo ...... Rebecca Callard
Bob ...... Duncan Preston
Tess ...... Annette Badland
Sheila Wilkinson ...... Debbie Norman
Philip Wilkinson ...... Alan Cowan
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2001.
MON 15:00 The Funny Side of Love by David Stafford (b093p3th)
Back from Oz, June reunites for a soggy summer season comeback with 1960s song partners, Gary and Charlie. Will it be hell or harmonies?
David Stafford 's wry comedy about showbiz, eternal triangles and the Eurovision Song Contest.
June .... Deborah Findlay
Gary ..... Neil McCaul
Charlie .... Stephen Ley
Jelly .... Geoffrey Durham
Donna ..... Jill Graham
Damien .... John Webb
Kayla ..... Oona Beeson
Janusc .... Trevor Allan Davies
Comic/Attendant .... Steve Hodson
The boys in the band: Trevor Allan Davies (piano). Bobby Worth (drums) and David Stafford (bass guitar)
Producer: Marilyn Imrie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993
MON 16:00 Dad Made Me Laugh (b00d3k8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 Bridging the Gap (b00q3kvw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 17:00 Whodunnits (b0100lqx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 17:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274bd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 18:00 The House of the Spirit Levels (b007jv9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:30 The Likely Lads (m00274bg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 19:00 North by Northamptonshire (b03mflth)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqjtl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 19:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n5dk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 20:00 The Rest is History (b075mnxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
MON 20:30 Smelling of Roses (m000xtcr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
MON 21:00 The Funny Side of Love by David Stafford (b093p3th)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m0026v98)
Series 82
Episode 6
Back for a second week at the City Hall in Sheffield, panellists Milton Jones, Lucy Porter, Miles Jupp and Tony Hawks compete with one another, with Jack Dee the unimpressed umpire. Piano accompaniment is provided by Colin Sell.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random production for BBC Radio 4
MON 22:30 Alexei Sayle's Strangers on a Train (m001nwnx)
Series 2
Shrewsbury to Pwllheli
Alexei Sayle takes another train journey and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train in the UK - by actually talking to his fellow passengers.
In this episode, he travels from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli on the Cambrian coast line.
Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:
* Barry, an old school friend from Liverpool
* Denise, who has been given an extraordinary set of directions in order to deal with the complex arrangements for her holiday
* Geoff, who on a whim, decided to buy one of the UK's oldest cinemas, in a tiny Welsh seaside town
* Isabel, who is off to monitor dolphins
* Margaret, who has been going to the same spot on the Cambrian coast for her holiday every year for more than 50 years - and now her extended family is following the same tradition.
Producers: Peter Lowe and Nick Symons
A Ride production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2023.
MON 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m00277yx)
Celya AB 1/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Arthur Smith talks to Celya AB.
MON 23:00 The News Quiz (m0026w87)
Series 116
Episode 2
Topical panel quiz show, taking its questions from the week's news stories.
MON 23:30 Old Harry's Game (b007jpct)
Series 2
Nero
Satan takes Thomas on a tour of his life and recruits a keen new tormentor, the Emperor Nero.
Andy Hamilton’s devilishly funny sitcom set in Hell.
Satan ...... Andy Hamilton
The Professor ...... James Grout
Thomas ...... Jimmy Mulville
Scumspawn ...... Robert Duncan
Other characters played by:
Philip Pope
Felicity Montagu
Nick Revell
Producer Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.

TUESDAY 21 JANUARY 2025

TUE 00:00 Dad Made Me Laugh (b00d3k8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 Bridging the Gap (b00q3kvw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Whodunnits (b0100lqx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274bd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 The House of the Spirit Levels (b007jv9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 The Likely Lads (m00274bg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 North by Northamptonshire (b03mflth)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqjtl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n5dk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 The Rest is History (b075mnxs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Smelling of Roses (m000xtcr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 The Funny Side of Love by David Stafford (b093p3th)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Whodunnits (b0101p1x)
Nemesis
2. The Manor House
Amateur sleuth Jane Marple's investigation leads to a dilapidated manor house with a deadly reputation...
Starring June Whitfield.
Agatha Christie's whodunnit.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Miss Marple …. June Whitfield
Mr Rafiel …. George A. Cooper
Miss Cooke …. Tricia Hitchcock
Miss Barrow …. Delia Lindsay
Lavinia Glynne …. Louie Ramsay
Anthea Bradbury-Scott …. Thelma Barlow
Clotilde Bradbury-Scott …. Mary Wimbush
Amy …. Freda Dowie
Emyln Price …. Roger Moss
Professor Wanstead …. David Swift
Producer: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1998.
TUE 06:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274b4)
2. Party Games
Writer Greg Dawson remembers how his days of youth improved - and the big surprise at Joe Ackworth's Christmas party.
JB Priestley's novel dramatised by Eric Pringle
Gregory Dawson .... David Hargreaves
Elizabeth Earl .... Frances Jeater
Young Gregory .... Peter Kenny
Ackworth .... Steve Hodson
Mr Alington .... Gareth Armstrong
Bridget .... Teresa Gallagher
Joan .... Elaine Claxton
Eva .... Tara Dominick
Oliver .... Paul Panting
David .... Richard Pearce
Mrs Alington .... Tina Gray
Ben Kerry .... Dominic Letts
Herbert Leaton .... Tom Bevan
Jock Barniston .... Malcolm Ward
Councillor Knott .... James Taylor
Croxton .... Peter Whitman
Music played by Les Brown, Tony Gamage and Laurence Rossi.
Producer Adrian Bean
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1984.
TUE 07:00 Girlies (b08kgzq5)
Series 1
Episode 3
Dan and Sonal move house. Vinny and Ali try to assert some control over their young son, who's causing havoc because Vinny's pregnant.
Ramesh turns up unannounced...
Five 30-something Asian women get together for "girlie" evenings
Comedy serial written by Sudha Bhuchar and Shaheen Khan.
Tula …. Zita Sattar
Ramesh …. Ameet Chaana
Vinny …. Bharti Patel
Jabeen …. Shaheen Khan
Sonal …. Sudha Bhuchar
Samina …. Sakuntala Ramanee
Dan …. Roger Liddle
Marianne …. Alice Arnold
Alia …. Sophie Levy
Sara …. Nyla Levy
Masi …. Charubala Chokshi
Karan …. Susan Sheridan
Salim …. Shiv Grewal
Ali … Burt Caesar
Javed …. Omar Salimi
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Kristine Landon-Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1997.
TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b007jndr)
Series 7
Drums Along the Mersey
A newspaper claims Neddie Seagoon is set to inherit a million pounds.
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
Special guest: Valentine Dyall
First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Peter Eton
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in October 1956.
TUE 08:00 Dr Phil's Bedside Manner (m000z6xl)
Dr Phil visits Birmingham City Hospital
An innovative mix of comedy performance and documentary in a series presented by Dr Phil Hammond.
As a doctor and a comedian, Phil knows that humour and laughter are vital coping mechanisms in the NHS, as he travels the UK on a mission to listen to the beating heart of a national institution.
The programmes are an adventurous, hilarious, thought-provoking mix of humour and happiness, tragedy and reflection as the personal thoughts, opinions, experiences and hopes of people who work for and use the NHS are revealed.
This time Dr Phil visits Birmingham City Hospital, where he hears the stories of porters and patients, cleaners and cardiologists, visitors and volunteers, the managers and the medics.
And Phil performs a free stand-up comedy show for the staff based on his listening experiences at that location and the stories of the people he has met.
Producer: David Morley
A Ride production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2021.
TUE 08:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqspp)
2. Love Rivals
Virginia Woolf's biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's devoted spaniel, Flush, is read by Jenny Coverack.
Flush has abandoned the memories of his early days in the country, and is now Miss Barrett's constant companion in her father's house in Wimpole Street. However, when his beloved owner embarks on a very special correspondence, Flush senses change is in the air. His fears are confirmed with the arrival of a new visitor to the invalid's bedroom. When Flush realises he longer occupies the most important place in Miss Barrett's affections, he decides to make his feelings about the usurper Mr Browning clear in the only way he knows.
Written by Virginia Woolf
Read by Jenny Coverack
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
TUE 08:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n5y3)
7. Glimmer of Hope
The news that Joe may have gone off with a friend offers Anna a glimmer of hope.
Four years ago, Anna and John's marriage was floundering. To make matters worse, John began a disastrous affair with their couples counsellor, which he later regretted.
Now, to escape the past, they've started over in rural Southern France - a place they once visited on holiday, but don't know very well at all.
It's an act of folly, maybe, but necessary for their survival – or so it seemed at the time. But their dream of a new life in France is shattered when their 16 year old son disappears and they find that they, and each of their house guests, are suspects in what the gendarmes have decided is a possible murder enquiry.
Written by Shelagh Stephenson.
Anna ...... Rosie Cavaliero
John ...... Ewan Bailey
Jess ...... Macy Nyman
Duncan ...... Rufus Wright
Melanie ...... Jane Slavin
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2020.
TUE 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00274b7)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
TUE 09:30 Agatha Christie (b03hngqk)
The 8.55 to Baghdad
2. Orient Express to Istanbul
"All my life I had wanted to go on the Orient Express," wrote Agatha. "What can beat a train?"
In 1928, crime writer Agatha Christie made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go on holiday, alone, to Iraq. Then in her late thirties she was already a popular and successful novelist, but her 14 year marriage to Archie Christie had recently ended and her comfortable life at Sunningdale had become oppressive.
In the second of five readings from his book retracing Christie's steps, Andrew Eames recalls taking the Orient Express train to Istanbul.
Written and read by Andrew Eames
Abridged in five parts by Laurence Wareing
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio in July 2004.
TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m00274b9)
Still small voice - Be still and know
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Still small voice - Be still and know
Presenter: Harry Baker
Reading: Psalm 46
Music:
Be Still - Wes Davis
Benedictus - Karl Jenkins
Be still for the presence of the Lord - Jonathan Veira
TUE 10:00 A Good Read (b09wsg1y)
Phill Jupitus and Robin Ince
Comedians Phill Jupitus and Robin Ince join Harriett Gilbert to talk about books by Hans Richter, Arkady and Strugatsky and Bill Beverly.
Dada: Art and Anti-Art by Hans Richter
Publisher: Thames and Hudson
Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Publisher: Gollancz
Dodgers by Bill Beverly
Publisher: No Exit Press
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2018.
TUE 10:30 Songs for the Dead (b07npx1f)
Keeners were the women of rural Ireland who were traditionally paid to cry, wail and sing over the bodies of the dead at funerals and wakes. Their role was to help channel the grief of the bereaved and they had an elevated, almost mythical status among their communities. The custom of keening had all but vanished by the 1950s as people began to view it as primitive, old-fashioned and uncivilised.
Now - with emotions raw from her own recent experience of grief - broadcaster Marie-Louise Muir sets out to ask what’s been lost with the passing of the keeners.
She travels to Inis Mor, a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, where one of Ireland’s last professional keeners - Brigid Mullin - was recorded by the song collector and archivist Sidney Robertson Cowell in the 1950s. Brigid's crackling, eerie evocation of sorrow echoes down the years to capture a tradition in its dying days - a ghostly remnant of another world.
Dr Deirdre Ni Chonghaile is a native of Inis Mor and thinks modern funerals have taken on an almost Victorian dignity in a society that in general has become far less tolerant of extravagant displays of grief. Deirdre believes it was this very extravagance that helped lead to keening's demise. Its emphasis on the body and human mortality was in direct conflict with the notion of a Christian afterlife and the influential role of the keening women may even have been regarded as a threat to the patriarchy of the Church.
As the story of the keeners blends with the waves and winds of Ireland's west coast, Marie-Louise reflects on the passing of this once rich tradition.
Producer: Conor McKay
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.
TUE 11:00 Whodunnits (b0101p1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 11:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 12:00 Girlies (b08kgzq5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jndr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Dr Phil's Bedside Manner (m000z6xl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqspp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n5y3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 14:00 Act Your Age (b00q3gjg)
Series 2
Episode 2
Comedy show that pits the comic generations against each other to find out which is the funniest.
Hosted by Simon Mayo.
With Team Captains:
Jon Richardson
Lucy Porter
Adrian Walsh
Guest Comics:
Jack Whitehall
Sarah Kendall
Ronnie Golden
Producers: Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2010.
TUE 14:30 Cabin Pressure (b00chy5c)
Series 1
Cremona
Arthur is struck dumb when a film star joins the flight, and Douglas has to disguise 30 knights of Camelot in a hurry.
Starring Stephanie Cole, Benedict Cumberbatch and Roger Allam
John Finnemore’s sitcom about the pilots of a tiny charter airline for whom no job is too small, but many, many jobs are too difficult.
Carolyn Knapp-Shappey ...... Stephanie Cole
1st Officer Douglas Richardson ...... Roger Allam
Captain Martin Crieff ...... Benedict Cumberbatch
Arthur Shappey ...... John Finnemore
Hester Macaulay ...... Helen Baxendale
Percival ...... Rufus Jones
Gawain ...... Robert Harley
Lancelot ...... Ali Amadi
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2008.
TUE 15:00 The Guide by RK Narayan (b007jyp4)
Railway Raju is famous for helping tourists above and beyond the call of duty – until Rosie arrives.
Stars Nitin Ganatra.
RK Narayan's novel first published in 1958.
Dramatised by Rukhsana Ahmad.
Raju .... Nitin Ganatra
Uncle .... Saeed Jaffrey
Rosie .... Shaheen Khan
Marco Polo .... Sam Dastor
Velan ....Vincent Ebrahim
Mother .... Leena Dhingra
Gaffur .... Shiv Grewal
Other parts played by the cast.
Director: David Hitchinson
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in August 2003
TUE 16:00 A Good Read (b09wsg1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:30 Songs for the Dead (b07npx1f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Whodunnits (b0101p1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Girlies (b08kgzq5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b007jndr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 19:00 Dr Phil's Bedside Manner (m000z6xl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqspp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 19:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n5y3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Act Your Age (b00q3gjg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Cabin Pressure (b00chy5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
TUE 21:00 The Guide by RK Narayan (b007jyp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
TUE 22:00 Ahir Shah's Seven Blunders of the World (m0026v68)
Episode 3
Inspired by an email from his 74 year-old father, comedian Ahir Shah concludes his exploration of the The Seven Blunders of the World.
In 1925, Mahatma Gandhi published an article in the journal Young India, outlining what he called the Seven Social Sins. They were wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, religion without sacrifice, and politics without principle.
One hundred years on, the world is a very different place (this was written on a computer, for crying out loud!). Yet, Ahir reckons Gandhi's century-old list of the great societal blunders still feels relevant today. Could they teach us anything going forward?
Join Ahir (and sometimes his dad, who started this whole thing), as he wraps up his journey through these seven blunders using his trademark combination of philosophical inquiry, political vigour, and sweet gags.
Created and Performed by Ahir Shah
Starring Meera Syal and Vikram Shah
Additional Material - Glenn Moore
Producers – Daisy Knight and Jules Lom
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 22:30 Sarah Kendall: Australian Trilogy (b0bgrsr7)
Series 2
Seventy-Five Years
Multi-award winning storyteller Sarah Kendal returns with more hilarious, gripping and moving stories.
This second volume of Sarah Kendall's Australian Trilogy, is one show in three parts. A collection of seemingly unconnected stories and memories, which, together, form a meditation on luck, survival and hindsight.
Scrolling backwards and forwards in time to different moments in her life, over the three parts Sarah creates an intricate montage, demonstrating the interconnectedness of life.
In this final part, Sarah tells of he grandparents lives, past and present, stabbings, alien abductions and dementia wards.
We find out why Halley's Comet meant so much to Sarah's dad and we conclude with a story about an astronaut's final trip.
Written by Sarah Kendall and Carl Cooper.
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2018.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m00277rv)
Celya AB 2/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Arthur Smith talks to Celya AB.
TUE 23:00 Clare in the Community (b082hg9n)
Series 11
Fight Them on the Beaches
Clare is in charge of a day at the seaside for some elderly residents of the estate.
They turn out to be a bit more feisty than the Sparrowhawk team were expecting, which makes it tricky for Clare to impress her new student, Cilla.
Back at home, Brian is coaching Nali for a musical audition.
Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution.
A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her.
Clare continues her struggle to control both her professional and private life. In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare.
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden
Clare ...... Sally Phillips
Brian ...... Alex Lowe
Nali ...... Nina Conti
Ray ...... Richard Lumsden
Libby ...... Sarah Kendall
Joan ...... Sarah Thom
Mrs Singh ...... Nina Wadia
Cilla ...... Gbemisola Ikumelo
Pauline ...... Clare Perkins
Dotty ...... Alison Belbin
Geoff ...... Sean Baker
Producer: Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2016.
TUE 23:30 The Curried Goat Show (b007k41b)
Episode 1
Cake night - and an odd flat-share.
Sketch-bonanza written by and starring:
Dan Gaster
Will Ing
Ben Silburn
Special guest, Gary Olsen.
Music by The Big Buzzard Boogie Band.
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1998.

WEDNESDAY 22 JANUARY 2025

WED 00:00 A Good Read (b09wsg1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Songs for the Dead (b07npx1f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Whodunnits (b0101p1x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Girlies (b08kgzq5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b007jndr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Dr Phil's Bedside Manner (m000z6xl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqspp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n5y3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Act Your Age (b00q3gjg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Cabin Pressure (b00chy5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 The Guide by RK Narayan (b007jyp4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Whodunnits (b0102h2y)
Nemesis
3. Suspicions
The potential witness has a suspicious 'accident', so amateur sleuth Jane Marple widens the net.
Starring June Whitfield.
Agatha Christie's whodunnit.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Miss Marple …. June Whitfield
Joanna Crawford …. Molly Gaisford
Miss Temple …. Jill Balcon
Professor Wanstead …. David Swift
Lavinia Glynne …. Louie Ramsay
Clotilde Bradbury-Scott …. Mary Wimbush
Anthea Bradbury-Scott …. Thelma Barlow
Mrs Merrypit …. Kathleen Helme
The Postmistress …. Patricia Scott
Emyln Price …. Roger Moss
The Coroner …. Colin Pinney
Producer: Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1998.
WED 06:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274g2)
3. Anxiety and Optimism
The arrival of Malcolm Nixey at Hawes and Company leaves Ackworth and Gregory anxious for the future.
But everyone is enjoying the last summer before 1914.
JB Priestley’s novel dramatised by Eric Pringle.
Older Gregory .... David Hargreaves
Young Gregory .... Peter Kenny
Elizabeth Earl .... Frances Jeater
Ackworth .... Steve Hodson
Mr Alington .... Gareth Armstrong
Joan .... Elaine Claxton
Eva .... Tara Dominck
Bridget .... Teresa Gallagher
Oliver .... Paul Panting
David .... Richard Pearce
Mrs Alington .... Tina Gray
Malcolm Nixey .... David Jarvis
Eleanor Nixey .... Susannah Corbett
Lady Harndean .... Margaret John
Stanley Mervin .... Gavin Muir
Croxton .... Peter Whitman
Ben Kerry .... Dominic Letts
Jock Barniston .... Malcolm Ward
Herbert Leaton .... Tom Bevan
James Taylor .... Driver
Music played by Les Brown, Laurence Rossi and Tony Gamage.
Director: Adrian Bean
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1984.
WED 07:00 Radio Cars (m00274g4)
Series 2
4. A Toy Boy
Further jealousies in the sex war as Eddie's cab drivers gossip about Aussie newcomer, Johnie, and his friendship with Angela.
Second series of Jennifer Phillips's six-part comedy set in the offices of a disreputable London cab company.
Starring Gary Waldhorn as Eddie and Harriet Walter as Angela.
Eddie .... Gary Waldhorn
Angela .... Harriet Walter
Slippy .... Norman Jones
Nicco .... Neil Dudgeon
Frenchie .... Terence Edmond
Gringo .... Paul Gregory
Nellie .... Eva Stuart
Johnie .... James Telfer
Director: Richard Wortley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
WED 07:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t3twj)
Series 3
The Student Prince
The Lad is lured to Moravia as an unknowing decoy for the endangered Crown Prince.
Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's classic comedy about the life and times of Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock.
Starring Tony Hancock.
With:
Bill Kerr
Sidney James
Kenneth Williams
Andree Melly
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Music recorded by the BBC Augmented Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1956.
WED 08:00 Women Talking About Cars (b084xr59)
Series 1
Sarah Millican
Victoria Coren Mitchell interviews Sarah Millican about cars.
Sarah reminisces about her Dad's long lost Granada and describes a traffic jam that led to some desperate measures...
Series in which famous women look at their lives from the perspective of the cars they have known, the journeys they've been on and the things they keep in their boot for emergencies.
With car descriptions read by Josette Simon.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2016.
WED 08:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqvk8)
3. Dog Snatchers
Virginia Woolf's biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's devoted spaniel, Flush, is read by Jenny Coverack.
Miss Browning's constant companion Flush has been stolen by a gang of dog snatchers who hold their canine victims to ransom - and exact a fearful retribution if the price is not paid. Flush finds himself imprisoned in dreadful conditions in Whitechapel, while Miss Barrett becomes increasingly anxious in Wimpole Street. When her father tries to prevent her securing Flush's return, and even dear Mr Browning advises her against giving in to blackmail, she leaves her sickroom and takes matters into her own hands.
Written by Virginia Woolf
Read by Jenny Coverack
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
WED 08:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n4w7)
8. Suspicion
Suspicion begins to fall on one of Anna and John’s closest friends.
Four years ago, Anna and John's marriage was floundering. To make matters worse, John began a disastrous affair with their couples counsellor, which he later regretted.
Now, to escape the past, they've started over in rural Southern France - a place they once visited on holiday, but don't know very well at all.
It's an act of folly, maybe, but necessary for their survival – or so it seemed at the time. But their dream of a new life in France is shattered when their 16 year old son disappears and they find that they, and each of their house guests, are suspects in what the gendarmes have decided is a possible murder enquiry.
Written by Shelagh Stephenson.
Anna ...... Rosie Cavaliero
John ...... Ewan Bailey
Jess ...... Macy Nyman
Dorothy ...... Linda Bassett
Duncan ...... Rufus Wright
Rob ...... John McAndrew
Melanie ...... Jane Slavin
Berengere ...... Kate Duchêne
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2020.
WED 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00274g6)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
WED 09:30 Agatha Christie (b0076m6c)
The 8.55 to Baghdad
3. A Steam Bath
In the third of five readings from his book retracing Christie's steps, Andrew Eames visits The Cilician Gates and travels by sleeping car to Damascus, Syria.
In Damascus, Syria, Christie spent some time shopping before heading off to Baghdad and a steam bath.
In 1928, crime writer Agatha Christie made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go on holiday, alone, to Iraq. Then in her late thirties she was already a popular and successful novelist, but her 14 year marriage to Archie Christie had recently ended and her comfortable life at Sunningdale had become oppressive.
Written and read by Andrew Eames
Abridged in five parts by Laurence Wareing
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio in July 2004.
WED 09:45 Daily Service (m00274g8)
Still small voice - Be still, my soul
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Still small voice - Be still, my soul
Presenter: Tim Gee
Reading: Psalm 131
Music:
Be Still My Soul - The Priests
How can I keep from singing - Libera
The Lord's my Shepherd - The Daily Service Singers
WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (m000g520)
Call Up: The Story of National Service
60 years after the last conscripts arrived at their barracks and queued for their kit, historian Richard Vinen uncovers stories of the two million young men who went through National Service.
While some embraced the discipline, camaraderie and opportunities that National Service offered, others endured misery. Most never left the country, but some fought in Korea or the Malayan jungle, or found themselves in Kenya, Suez or Cyprus.
As well as memories of parade grounds and patriotism, brief moments of terror and long months of tedium, Richard considers the absurdities of army life and post-war ideas of class and masculinity.
And in an era when war with the Soviet Union seemed likely, Richard unpicks the politics of National Service from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, asking why post-war Britain needed its young conscripts and whether conscription changed Britain.
Producer: Julia Johnson
A TBI Media production, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.
WED 11:00 Whodunnits (b0102h2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 11:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274g2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 12:00 Radio Cars (m00274g4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t3twj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 13:00 Women Talking About Cars (b084xr59)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 13:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqvk8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n4w7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 14:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b08b7t22)
Series 10
Episode 3
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Jo Brand welcome:
* A fashion historian with a taste for nautical chic, Amber Butchart
* A quizzer with a business head and 57 trillion entries in his address book, Jack Waley-Cohen;
* A comedian who's as big Down Under as he is internationally, Jimeoin.
The Museum's Guest Committee investigate a failed cure for malaria that made the world go crazy for mauve; an inventive use of adverbs that will obsess inventive punsters; and a new unit of velocity for compressed curd.
Researched by Anne Miller of QI and Mike Turner.
Producers: Richard Turner and James Harkin.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2017.
WED 14:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b012n3rs)
Series 1
What Price Utopia
The government tries to use the programme for a very dark purpose.
It's 1961. BBC producer Hugo Kellerman is struggling to make a radio soap set in the unimaginable world of 2006.
Starring Peter Bowles, Joseph Kloska and Leslie Phillips.
Futuristic sitcom by Christopher William Hill.
Nigel ... Peter Bowles
Hugo ... Joseph Kloska
Sylvia ... Cheryl Campbell
Douglas ... Jon Glover
Godfrey ... John Fortune
Colin Paul ... Richard Biggin
Producer ... Miranda Keeling
Sir Angus ... Gary Waldhorn
Rex, the Pianist ... Marc Wilcox
Producer: Liz Webb
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2006.
WED 15:00 The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies (m00274gb)
1. The Death Card
Francis Cornish looks down from Limbo, nervously awaiting whatever fate has in store for his not entirely spotless soul.
His family and colleagues in Toronto begin to oversee the disposal of his vast, priceless, but perhaps slightly dubious art collection.
Robertson Davies's celebrated trilogy on the life and death of Francis Cornish, international art expert and mysterious millionaire philanthropist.
Starring William Hope.
Dramatised in three parts by Roger Danes.
Francis Cornish .... William Hope
Simon Darcourt .... Matt Zimmerman
Mamusia .... Elaine Claxton
Mary-Jim .... Buffy Davis
Maria Theotoky .... Barbara Barnes
Senator McRory .... Nigel Anthony
Urquhart McVarish .... David Holt
Arthur Cornish .... John Guerrasio
Zadok Hoyle .... Gavin Muir
All other parts played by members of the cast.
Music composed by David Dorward.
Director: Patrick Rayner
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.
WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (m000g520)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 17:00 Whodunnits (b0102h2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 17:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274g2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 18:00 Radio Cars (m00274g4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t3twj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 19:00 Women Talking About Cars (b084xr59)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqvk8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 19:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n4w7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 20:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b08b7t22)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
WED 20:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b012n3rs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
WED 21:00 The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies (m00274gb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
WED 22:00 ReincarNathan (m001fmwb)
Series 3
Bonobo
Nathan Blakely was a popstar. But he was useless, died, and was reincarnated. The comedy about Nathan’s adventures in the afterlife continues, starring Daniel Rigby, Ashley McGuire and guest-starring Amy-Beth Hayes and Mike Wozniak.
In episode 3, Nathan is brought back to life as a lovesick Bonobo Ape, who’s escaped from Whipsnood Zoo and made it to Paris on the Eurostar. There, his plan is to sabotage the wedding of his human girlfriend, Susan.
Cast:
Ashley McGuire - Carol
Daniel Rigby – Nathan
Tom Craine – Deliveroo Driver, Banana, Pigeon
Amy-Beth Hayes – Dr Germentrude
Henry Paker – Phil
Freya Parker – Susan
Mike Wozniak – Norman Borman
Writers: Tom Craine and Henry Paker
Producer: Harriet Jaine
Sound: Jerry Peal
Music Composed by: Phil Lepherd
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4
WED 22:30 Isy Suttie's Love Letters (b01s8cp3)
Series 2
George and Louise
Isy Suttie recounts the tale of George and Louise, set against the backdrop of the Matlock Ceilidh over Christmas and New Year 2014.
Another love story, told partly through song.
Sometimes Isy has merely observed the lives of others; quite often she's intervened, changing the action dramatically - for better or worse.
Intertwined within these stories are related real life anecdotes from her own, often disastrous, love life.
With her award-winning 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 May 2014.
WED 23:00 Susan Calman Is Convicted (b01qm4q4)
Series 1
Death Penalty
Susan Calman explores issues on which she has strong opinions. This week, she examines the issues surrounding the Death Penalty from the perspective gained whilst working on Death Row.
Susan was always stoically against capital punishment - because that was the expected position for a liberal student to take - and thought that she knew all about it. But it's very easy being so liberal when you're sitting in a country that doesn't have the death penalty. Then, as a law student, she travelled to North Carolina and worked on Death Row for a time. What she experienced whilst there persuaded her absolutely that she thought Capital Punishment was utterly wrong.
This is a story about the transition from casually adopting received opinion to developing your own belief system.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
First broadcast on Radio 4 in 2013.
WED 23:30 This Is Craig Brown (m00274gk)
Politics
The series mixing satire, social observation and nonsense turns the spotlight on the Politics.
John Humphrys interviews a Home Office minister about a storm in a teacup, Queen Elizabeth II reflects on her talks with prime ministers, EastEnders goes back in time and Tony Benn attempts to rebuild the Berlin Wall.
Written and introduced by Craig Brown.
With:
Rory Bremner
Harry Enfield
Edward Fox
Mel Hudson
Geoffrey McGivern
Felicity Montagu
Hugo Weaving
With John Humphrys and Charlotte Green as themselves.
Script Editor: Simon Littlefield
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2004.
WED 23:45 Jelly Mountain (b00fkp5z)
Episode 3
A visit to the circus heralds arcane amusements.
Songs and stories written by and starring Ivor Cutler.
With:
Craig Murray-Orr
Dylan Edwards
Beverley Crew
Alison O'Kill
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1996.

THURSDAY 23 JANUARY 2025

THU 00:00 Archive on 4 (m000g520)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Whodunnits (b0102h2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274g2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Radio Cars (m00274g4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b00t3twj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Women Talking About Cars (b084xr59)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yqvk8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n4w7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b08b7t22)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b012n3rs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies (m00274gb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Whodunnits (b0102tmh)
Nemesis
4. Investigations...
Amateur sleuth Jane Marple curtails her tour to investigate the murders - and the manor house beckons...
Starring June Whitfield.
Agatha Christie's whodunnit.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Miss Marple …. June Whitfield
Professor Wanstead …. David Swift
Anthea Bradbury-Scott …. Thelma Barlow
Emyln Price …. Roger Moss
Miss Barrow …. Delia Lindsay
Miss Cooke …. Tricia Hitchcock
Mrs Blackett …. Hilda Schroder
Archdeacon Brabazon …. Desmond Llewelyn
Producer: Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1998.
THU 06:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274k6)
4. An Outside Threat
Gregory's relationship with the Alington family is placed under the strain of approaching war.
Malcolm Nixey's real plans for wool merchants Hawes and Company are becoming clear...
JB Priestley's novel dramatised by Eric Pringle
Gregory Dawson .... David Hargreaves
Elizabeth Earl .... Frances Jeater
Young Gregory .... Peter Kenny
Ackworth .... Steve Hodson
Mr Alington .... Gareth Armstrong
Bridget .... Teresa Gallagher
Joan .... Elaine Claxton
Eva .... Tara Dominck
Mrs Alington .... Tina Gray
Oliver .... Paul Panting
David .... Richard Pearce
Jock Bamiston .... Malcolm Ward
Dorothy .... Caroline Strong
Croxton .... Peter Whitman
Ben Kerry .... Dominic Letts
Malcolm Nixey .... David Jarvis
Eleanor Nixey .... Susannah Corbett
Albert Harfner .... Lyndan Gregory
Tubby Puller .... Tom Bevan
Music played by Les Brown. Laurence Rossi and Tony Gamage
Director Adrian Bean
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1984.
THU 07:00 Heated Rollers (b007r4ys)
Episode 4
Upstairs Downstairs downgraded, and a toy doll with wrinkles.
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 March 1999.
THU 07:30 Parsley Sidings (b01pcz6r)
Series 1
Cricket, Lovely Cricket
Station Master Horace Hepplewhite steps up to the crease in his battle to save his station from closure.
Starring Arthur Lowe and Ian Lavender.
Jim Eldridge's eponymous series is set in a sleepy railway station.
Horace Hepplewhite … Arthur Lowe
Bert Hepplewhite …. Ian Lavender
Percy Valentine …. Kenneth Connor
Gloria Simpkins …. Liz Fraser
Mr Bun the Inspector …. Ronald Baddiley
Re-created Announcements by Keith Skues.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1972.
THU 08:00 55 and Over (b01p3hnx)
4. Old v Young
Hearts are more fragile than previously thought when disaster strikes and old lovers are forced to confront their new younger replacements around a hospital bed.
Starring Juliet Stevenson and Philip Jackson.
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
Portia ..... Sarah Thom
Director: Helen Perry.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2012.
THU 08:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yrfwp)
4. Dog Travels
Virginia Woolf's lighthearted biography of poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning's spaniel, Flush, is read by Jenny Coverack.
Flush's life changes dramatically as his mistress and her new husband leave Wimpole Street behind them and travel to Italy. As the Brownings begin their married life in Florence, Flush too finds a new lease of life amid the rich sensations and smells of the Florentine alleys and fields. Once again, however, a new arrival threatens to disturb the enjoyable routine.
Written by Virginia Woolf
Read by Jenny Coverack
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
THU 08:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n47k)
9. Confusion
Confusion descends on the gendarmes’ investigation when one of their chief suspects is found murdered in his home.
Four years ago, Anna and John's marriage was floundering. To make matters worse, John began a disastrous affair with their couples counsellor, which he later regretted.
Now, to escape the past, they've started over in rural Southern France - a place they once visited on holiday, but don't know very well at all.
It's an act of folly, maybe, but necessary for their survival – or so it seemed at the time. But their dream of a new life in France is shattered when their 16 year old son disappears and they find that they, and each of their house guests, are suspects in what the gendarmes have decided is a possible murder enquiry.
Written by Shelagh Stephenson.
Anna ...... Rosie Cavaliero
John ...... Ewan Bailey
Jess ...... Macy Nyman
Dorothy ...... Linda Bassett
Duncan ...... Rufus Wright
Joe ...... Tom Glenister
Lou ...... Rebecca Saire
Rob ...... John McAndrew
Melanie ...... Jane Slavin
Charlie ...... Thomas Allam
Christopher ...... Alfie Wickham
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2020.
THU 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00274k8)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
THU 09:30 Agatha Christie (b0076m6z)
The 8.55 to Baghdad
4. Damascus to Baghdad
In the fourth of five readings from his book retracing Christie's steps, Andrew Eames sets out from Damascus to Baghdad and with the motley crew of passengers is reminded of Christie's novel Nemesis.
The route they take follows the original silk route. The journey is uncertain and he marvels at Agatha Christie taking this trip in 1928.
In 1928, crime writer Agatha Christie made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go on holiday, alone, to Iraq. Then in her late thirties she was already a popular and successful novelist, but her 14 year marriage to Archie Christie had recently ended and her comfortable life at Sunningdale had become oppressive.
Written and read by Andrew Eames
Abridged in five parts by Laurence Wareing
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio in July 2004.
THU 09:45 Daily Service (m00274kb)
Still small voice - Sacred Solitude
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Still small voice - Sacred Solitude
Presenter: Sharon Grenham Thompson
Reading: Mark 6:5-6, Matthew 13:13-14, Matthew 17:1-2
THU 10:00 Great Lives (b03zb4bd)
Evelyn Glennie on Jacqueline Du Pre
Evelyn Glennie, solo percussionist talks about her admiration for the cellist Jacqueline Du Pre with presenter Matthew Parris.
With music writer and broadcaster, Stephen Johnson.
Producer: Perminder Khatkar
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2014.
THU 10:30 Black, White and Beethoven (b071tgbk)
Britain's music scene today is a multicultural feast that draws on talent from all corners of society.
Unless, that is, your passion is for classical music. In Britain, and across Europe, performers, composers, teachers and institutions remain resolutely, predominantly white.
Joseph Harker sets out to discover why should this be, and is it a concern?
Chi-chi Nwanoku and members of her Chineke! Orchestra, Europe's first professional Black and Minority Ethnic orchestra, talk about their lives in classical music: we also hear from other Black classical musicians about their work.
Producer: Lyndon Jones
A BBC Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2016.
THU 11:00 Whodunnits (b0102tmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 11:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 12:00 Heated Rollers (b007r4ys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 12:30 Parsley Sidings (b01pcz6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 13:00 55 and Over (b01p3hnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 13:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yrfwp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n47k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 14:00 The 3rd Degree (m001npb6)
Series 13
University of Strathclyde
Steve Punt hosts the battle of wits as three students from the University of Strathclyde take on their professors.
A funny and dynamic general knowledge quiz show with specialist subjects including creative writing, management science and civil and environmental engineering.
Questions involve words like "babok", "chiasmus" and "vug". There's also a chance to find out about the fascinating Mavis Grind.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2023.
THU 14:30 No Commitments (b007jzbf)
Series 12
Soft Soap
Charlotte's acting career looks set to be revived, but can the same be said for Anna's love life?
Simon Brett’s sitcom about the lives and squabbles of three very different sisters.
Anna …. Rosemary Leach
Victoria …. Angela Thome
Charlotte …. Celia Imrie
Eddie …. James Greene
Jeff …. Stephen Thorne
Mr Darnley …. Colin Starkey
Felicity …. Susan Jameson
George …. Bruce Alexander
Music by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Written and produced by Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio in May 2006.
THU 15:00 The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies (m00274kd)
2. The Knave of Coins
A tragic and long-lost brother, a liking for funeral parlours, a beautiful young artist's model - and a period of time spent hidden away in a pre-war German castle.
The Reverend Darcourt's ferreting into Francis Cornish's past begins to shine light into some very dark corners...
Robertson Davies's celebrated trilogy on the life and death of Francis Cornish, international art expert and mysterious millionaire philanthropist.
Starring William Hope.
Dramatised by Roger Danes.
Francis Cornish .... William Hope
Simon Darcourt .... Matt Zimmerman
Mamusia .... Elaine Claxton
Mary-Jacobine .... Buffy Davis
Maria Theotoky .... Barbara Barnes
Ismay Glasson .... Rachel Atkins
Saraceni .... Nigel Anthony
Prince Max .... David Holt
Arthur Cornish ....John Guerrasio
Zadok Hoyle .... Gavin Muir
All other parts played by members of the cast.
Music composed by David Dorward.
Director: Patrick Rayner
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.
THU 16:00 Great Lives (b03zb4bd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:30 Black, White and Beethoven (b071tgbk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 17:00 Whodunnits (b0102tmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 17:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 18:00 Heated Rollers (b007r4ys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:30 Parsley Sidings (b01pcz6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 19:00 55 and Over (b01p3hnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yrfwp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 19:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n47k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 20:00 The 3rd Degree (m001npb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
THU 20:30 No Commitments (b007jzbf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
THU 21:00 The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies (m00274kd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
THU 22:00 Aurie Styla: Tech Talk (Omnibus) (m0026vtb)
3. Alexa, Make Me A Sandwich
Stand-up comedian Aurie Styla, a 90s nerd, takes an autobiographical journey through technology history. In this episode, we look at Laurie's life today - a life which is riled by Siri and her various strange sisters.
Aurie has been a technology lover since he got his first 13-inch television which only worked if asked very nicely, and he re-wired to show all the channels available - in total, four.
Since the days of his first gaming console, the Sega Master System – featuring the often frustrating Alex Kidd In Miracle World – Aurie has seen technology transform in a manner that would have been hard to believe in the 90s.
This show charts his personal relationship with machines, looking at the past (computer games that you had to load from cassette tapes), the present (houses that are lit and warmed via apps on your phone, cars that drive themselves without you) and the future (AIs that tell you how to dress and what to eat for dinner, and superior intelligences that command your every move whether you want to object or not).
Technology has moved on rapidly, from being a fun sideshow to the bedrock of our understanding of human life. Aurie guides us through this landscape with infectious wit, taking time to remember the awkward interface of MSN Messenger while also negotiating the modern culture of having to check with a virtual assistant before you turn your lights off. A warm, human show about the way the world has become less and less warm and human, celebrating the march of tech while being appropriately terrified of it.
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4
THU 22:30 Big Town All Stars (m001m40z)
Series 1
Band Of Gold
The band are on the road. Up the M1, in fact, to play at a big party, which would be more fun if it wasn't Lorelei's ex's engagement party.
As they cover the miles the band uncover a lot of old scores.
Starring Stephen Tompkinson.
With:
Nicola Walker
Clive Rowe
Bill Dare
Rachel Preece
Adrian Scarborough
Musical Director: David Firman
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2000.
THU 23:00 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b04yk55d)
Series 6
Gyles Brandreth
Marcus Brigstocke persuades Gyles Brandreth to spend a day doing absolutely nothing.
And how does he get on writing his first ever pop song?
Series persuading guests to try new experiences: things they really ought to have done by now. Some are loved, some are loathed, in this show all about embracing the new.
Producer: Bill Dare
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2015.
THU 23:30 Beauty of Britain (b00n7zd1)
Series 1
Girl With a Polycotton Tabard
Beauty wonders why so many British men get stuck in the emotional wilderness and find it hard to communicate with each other - as she deals with an elderly gentleman and his son.
Beauty's dreams of becoming a model are given a boost when she applies to be the Face of the Social Services.
Starring Jocelyn Jee Esien.
Comedy by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson.
Beauty Olonga works as a carer for the Featherdown Agency and sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to achieve their goals in the land of semi-skimmed milk.
Beauty ...... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Mr Clark ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Julian ...... Christopher Douglas
Georgie ...... Emma Fryer
Sally ...... Felicity Montagu
Karen ...... Nicola Sanderson
Mrs Gupte ...... Indira Joshi
Anil ...... Paul Sharma
Race Commentator ...... Christopher Douglas
Music by The West End Gospel Choir.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009.

FRIDAY 24 JANUARY 2025

FRI 00:00 Great Lives (b03zb4bd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Black, White and Beethoven (b071tgbk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Whodunnits (b0102tmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Heated Rollers (b007r4ys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Parsley Sidings (b01pcz6r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 55 and Over (b01p3hnx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yrfwp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n47k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The 3rd Degree (m001npb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 No Commitments (b007jzbf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies (m00274kd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Whodunnits (b010330g)
Nemesis
5. Friends
Amateur sleuth Jane Marple's friends come to her aid, as she battles to finally solve the murder mystery.
Starring June Whitfield.
Conclusion of Agatha Christie's whodunnit.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Miss Marple …. June Whitfield
Professor Wanstead …. David Swift
Lavinia Glynne …. Louie Ramsay
Clotilde Bradbury-Scott …. Mary Wimbush
Anthea Bradbury-Scott …. Thelma Barlow
Miss Cooke …. Tricia Hitchcock
Miss Barrow …. Delia Lindsay
Michael Rafiel …. Peter Gunn
Mr Broadribb …. Geoffrey Whitehead
Producer: Enyd Williams.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1998.
FRI 06:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274m0)
5. The Picnic
Ackworth leaves wool company Hawes and Company - while tragedy strikes at Pikeley Scar.
These two events leave the Alingtons destroyed and Gregory confused.
JB Priestley's novel dramatised by Eric Pringle
Gregory Dawson .... David Hargreaves
Elizabeth Earl .... Frances Jeater
Young Gregory .... Peter Kenny
Ackworth .... Steve Hodson
Mr Alington .... Gareth Armstrong
Bridget .... Teresa Gallagher
Joan .... Elaine Claxton
Eva .... Tara Dominick
Oliver .... Paul Panting
Mrs Alington .... Tina Gray
Jock Barniston .... Malcolm Ward
Croxton/Leo........ Peter Whitman
George Adony .... Gavin Muir
Malcolm Nixey .... David Jarvis
Eleanor Nixey .... Susannah Corbett
Laura .... Nina Wadia
Music played by Les Brown, Laurence Rossi and Tony Gamage
Director Adrian Bean
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1984.
FRI 07:00 Harry Worth (m000nwdv)
Thirty Minutes Worth
The Problem
Harry's back, confusing everybody as usual - so the last thing he wants is someone knocking on his door with a problem...
This series was the amiable, woolly-minded bumbler's return to BBC radio, using the title of his first TV series 20 years before with the same writer.
Starring Harry Worth.
Sitcom written by Vince Powell
With:
Jacqueline Clarke
Charles Collingwood
Julie Higginson
Sandra Dickinson
Produced at BBC Manchester by Mike Craig.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September 1988.
FRI 07:30 Doctor in the House (b007jtg8)
To Pass or Not to Pass
It's nerves and pints all round, as the St Swithin's medics sit their final exams.
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
The Dean …. Dennis Ramsden
Mrs Clark …. Irene Handl
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1968.
FRI 08:00 Prepper (m0002ltd)
Series 1
Bugging In
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.
In this episode - home defence.
Comedy written by Caroline Moran and James J. Moran
Sylvia ...... Sue Johnston
Rachel ...... Pearl Mackie
With Simon Holland Roberts.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2019.
FRI 08:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yrgzc)
5. Reflections
Virginia Woolf's biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's beloved spaniel, Flush, is read by Jenny Coverack.
The Brownings have settled happily in Florence, their little boy is growing up, and Flush is growing old. He can't understand his mistress's new enthusiasm for summoning the spirits, and he's lost his old passion for roaming the streets and fields of Florence. It's time for him to lie in the shade of a market stall and remember the good times he's lived through.
Written by Virginia Woolf
Read by Jenny Coverack
Abridged and produced by Sara Davies
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
FRI 08:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n6ql)
10. Searching for a Motive
Joe's body has been found, but Anna and John have yet to discover the reason for his senseless murder.
Four years ago, Anna and John's marriage was floundering. To make matters worse, John began a disastrous affair with their couples counsellor, which he later regretted.
Now, to escape the past, they've started over in rural Southern France - a place they once visited on holiday, but don't know very well at all.
It's an act of folly, maybe, but necessary for their survival – or so it seemed at the time. But their dream of a new life in France is shattered when their 16 year old son disappears and they find that they, and each of their house guests, are suspects in what the gendarmes have decided is a possible murder enquiry.
Written by Shelagh Stephenson.
Anna ...... Rosie Cavaliero
John ...... Ewan Bailey
Jess ...... Macy Nyman
Dorothy ...... Linda Bassett
Duncan ...... Rufus Wright
Joe ...... Tom Glenister
Lou ...... Rebecca Saire
Rob ...... John McAndrew
Melanie ...... Jane Slavin
Charlie ...... Thomas Allam
Christopher ...... Alfie Wickham
Director: Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2020.
FRI 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m00274m3)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
FRI 09:30 Agatha Christie (b0076m7h)
The 8.55 to Baghdad
5. The Ancient City of Ur
In the final reading, Andrew Eames continues to retrace the English crime writer's 1928 journey and visits the ancient city of Ur where Agatha met her future husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan.
In 1928, crime writer Agatha Christie made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go on holiday, alone, to Iraq. Then in her late thirties she was already a popular and successful novelist, but her 14 year marriage to Archie Christie had recently ended and her comfortable life at Sunningdale had become oppressive.
Written and read by Andrew Eames
Abridged in five parts by Laurence Wareing.
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio in July 2004.
FRI 09:45 Daily Service (m00274m5)
Still small voice - Words of Wisdom
Spiritual reflection and music with Rev Moira McDonald of Corstorphine Old Parish Church, Edinburgh.
Reading: Proverbs 18: 1-15
FRI 10:00 Soul Music (b00rb2sv)
Series 9
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands is a spiritual song originating in the United States, but it first caught the public's attention when Laurie London took it to the top of the charts in 1958. In this programme, people describe the place that the song has in their lives. Including the conductor of a choir for refugees and asylum seekers and the minister who led prayers on President Obama's first day in office.
The programme also includes a performance from Washington Performing Arts Society's Children of the Gospel Choir. They sang an arrangement of He's Got the Whole World in His Hands made by their conductor and Artistic Director Stanley J Thurston at the National Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral on January 21, 2009. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joseph Biden and their families attended this service and the sermon was given by the Reverend Sharon E Watkins.
Contributors:
John Copley
Ian Bradley
Amy Mclean
Philip Wright
Sharon Watkins
Mike McGrother
Producer: Sara Conkey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
FRI 10:30 Dancing With The Devil (b00sp452)
Rachel Johnson talks to women, now in their 90s, who as part of their cultural education, visited Germany in the 1930s.
A few went to Hitler rallies, remembering the sound of metalled boots on specially metalled roads. One was a member of the Hitler youth, and recalls how all the boys she was at school with perished in the war. One was questioned by the Gestapo for boasting about British military supremacy in the street.
Another visited a dark and dingy beer cellar, to have drinks with Unity Mitford, Rudolph Hess and Adolph Hitler.
Their experiences in Germany in the years building up to the war give a unique insight into the rise of Nazism from the point of view of aristocratic teenage girls.
Producer: Sara Conkey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
FRI 11:00 Whodunnits (b010330g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 11:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274m0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 12:00 Harry Worth (m000nwdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Doctor in the House (b007jtg8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Prepper (m0002ltd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yrgzc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n6ql)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 14:00 The Motion Show (b0075rt1)
Series 1
Episode 4
The merits of the Class system - and should Men be more like Women?
Dr Phil Hammond watches over proceedings in the quirky debating game.
With:
John O'Farrell
Mark Maier
Maria McErlane
Miles Kington
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1998.
FRI 14:30 1834 (b011pw52)
Dentists and Lovers
Ned needs root canal work, but 21st-century Jason needs lessons in 19th-century courting.
Jason Slater is now Tarquin, the third son of Lord Belport with his faithful valet, Ned.
Jim Poyser's riotous comedy of transportation and delight.
Jason Slater ...... Michael Begley
Ned ...... Joe Caffrey
Hoskins ...... Kenneth Alan Taylor
Lord Belport ...... Mark Chatterton
Stubbs ...... Glenn Cunningham
Millicent ...... Julia Rounthwaite
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2003.
FRI 15:00 The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies (m00274m7)
3. The Fool
The Reverend Darcourt is drawing ever closer to uncovering the astonishing final secret of Cornish's past.
Meanwhile, tempers are fraying and hearts are breaking as rehearsals begin for the premiere of ETA Hoffman's long-lost opera, Arthur of Britain.
Conclusion of Robertson Davies's celebrated trilogy on the life and death of Francis Cornish, international art expert and mysterious millionaire philanthropist.
Starring William Hope.
Dramatised by Roger Danes.
Francis Cornish …William Hope
Rev Simon Darcourt …. Matt Zimmerman
Mamusia …. Elaine Claxton
Dr Dahl-Soot …. Buffy Davis
Maria …. Barbara Barnes
Singer …. Noel Mann
Hulda …. Rachel Atkins
Saraceni …. Nigel Anthony
Geraint …. David Holt
Arthur …. John Guerrasio
Zadok …. Gavin Muir
Ismay Glasson .... Rachel Atkins
Prince Max .... David Holt
All other parts played by members of the cast.
Music composed by David Dorward.
Director: Patrick Rayner
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.
FRI 16:00 Soul Music (b00rb2sv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Dancing With The Devil (b00sp452)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Whodunnits (b010330g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Bright Day by JB Priestley (m00274m0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Harry Worth (m000nwdv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 18:30 Doctor in the House (b007jtg8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 19:00 Prepper (m0002ltd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Flush by Virginia Woolf (b00yrgzc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 19:45 Broken English by Shelagh Stephenson (m000n6ql)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 20:00 The Motion Show (b0075rt1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
FRI 20:30 1834 (b011pw52)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
FRI 21:00 The Cornish Trilogy by Robertson Davies (m00274m7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
FRI 22:00 What? Seriously?? (m00274m9)
3. Guinea Pigs and the Mafia
In this episode, Dara and Isy are joined by the star of The Traitors Miles Asteri to learn about the surprising connection between guinea pigs and the mafia - with some diverting conversations about seafaring science experiments, citrus fruits, and small furry animals.
What? Seriously?? is a new podcast which combines comedy with quirky history, hosted by Dara and Isy who unravel an extraordinary real-life tale each week with the help of a celebrity guest.
The stories are definitely true, but also kind of unbelievable at the same time - the sort of stories that make you go ‘What? Seriously??’ when you hear them, but you resolve to tell them in the pub the first chance you get.
Across the series, Dara and Isy will be joined by I’m A Celeb winner Georgia Toffolo, the Aussie comedian Rhys Nicholson, the broadcaster Stuart Maconie, Master Chef star Louisa Ellis, Miles from The Traitors, the comedian Richard Herring, the astronaut Helen Sharman, and Slow Horses star Chris Chung.
‘What? Seriously??’ with Dara Ó Briain and Isy Suttie and special guest Rhys Nicholson
Format co-developed by Dan Page. Story compiled by Gareth Edwards and Dan Page.
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Executive Producer: Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 22:30 The Jason Byrne Show (b01p03v9)
Series 3
Ever Been Proposed to in a Pub?
Award-winning comedian Jason Byrne muses on all beasts, including humans.
Fast-paced stand-up comedy and sketch show.
With:
Laurence Howarth
Daisy Haggard
Producer: Julia McKenzie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 2010.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0027878)
Celya AB 3/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Arthur Smith talks to Celya AB.
FRI 23:00 Meet David Sedaris (b08ynzzz)
Series 6
Buddy, Can You Spare a Tie?; A Modest Proposal
The globetrotting, trash-picking, aisle-rolling storyteller shares more words of wit and wisdom:
* Some selected sections from a 'style' essay, Buddy, Can You Spare a Tie?
* A Modest Proposal, David's take on the subject of same sex marriage.
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 The Wilsons Save the World (m000pgjh)
Series 3
Arrest
The Wilson household is shaken by two bits of news - Mike has cooked a 12 bean chilli and Cat has been arrested for taking part in a ‘climate emergency disruption’.
Mike and Max head to the police station to bail her out and realise it’s not quite as straight forward as they first thought.
Sitcom about trying to live ethically and do the right thing.
Written by Marcus Brigstocke and Sarah Morgan.
Mike ...... Marcus Brigstocke
Max ...... Kerry Godliman
Cat ...... Aine McNamara
Lola ...... Jasmine Sakyiama
DC Hunter ...... Nimisha Odedra
Producer: Suzy Grant
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2020.