WEDNESDAY 25 DECEMBER 2013

WED 00:00 Christopher Lee's Fireside Tales (b018jk1f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]


WED 00:15 MR James (b007jtfj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Tuesday]


WED 00:30 Wally K Daly (b007nfs5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]


WED 01:00 A Case for Dr Morelle (b007qw04)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]


WED 01:30 John Mortimer - Rumpole (b007k4gk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]


WED 02:00 The News Quiz Extra (b03lsn4c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]


WED 02:45 Hearing With Hegley (b0075ss5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:45 on Monday]


WED 03:00 Gaston Leroux - The Mystery of the Yellow Room (b01gyl0j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]


WED 04:00 Roshi Fernando - Homesick (b01cvkch)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 on Tuesday]


WED 04:15 Charles Dickens (b007jw8x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Tuesday]


WED 05:00 Flying the Flag (b00dhkzf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Tuesday]


WED 05:30 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k1q4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]


WED 06:00 A Case for Dr Morelle (b007qww7)
6. Voice in the Night

After receiving sinister death threats over the telephone, an elderly spinster calls in cantankerous criminal psychologist, Dr Morelle.

Ernest Dudley's Harley Street psychiatrist-turned-detective uses psychology as well as criminology to hunt down lawbreakers by deducing their felonious personalities.

Cecil Parker stars as Dr Morelle with Sheila Sim as his long-suffering assistant, Miss Frayle

Dr Morelle …. Cecil Parker
Miss Frayle …. Sheila Sim
Miss Nicholson …. Hester Paton Brown
Billy Boy the Dog …. Percy Edwards
Mr Nicolson …. Alan McClelland
Superintendent Denham …. Fred Yule
Station Officer …. Alan Keith
Julian Smith/Taxi Driver …. John Baker

Audio recovered by BBC Radio 4 Extra listener, Steve Arnold.

Director: Leslie Bridgmont

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1957.


WED 06:30 John Mortimer - Rumpole (b007jsdk)
The Gentle Art of Blackmail

Rumpole recalls a clear case of extortion at his Oxford College, St Joseph's.

"The Splendours And Miseries Of An Old Bailey Hack". Starring Maurice Denham as ageing London barrister-at-law Horace Rumpole and Margot Boyd as Hilda Rumpole

With Brian Sanders as the Judge, Geoffrey Bayldon as Bernard Crompton and Emily Richard as Sue Galton.

Originally a TV series created by writer and barrister John Mortimer, Rumpole hit the BBC radio airwaves in 1980. Case-by-case, Rumpole recalls his work at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.

Director: Ian Cotterell

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1980.


WED 07:00 Tales From the Mausoleum Club (b007k2d0)
A Study in Starlets

Clever sleuth Melcroft Dupont gets his comeuppance, but Inspector Chalker's on the case. Stars Fulton Mackay. From January 1987.


WED 07:30 What Does the K Stand For? (b03lpjy6)
Series 1

The Cat Next Door

An actress moves in next door to the Amos household and encourages Young Stephen to overcome his stage fright.

Stephen K Amos's sitcom about his teenage years, growing up black, gay and funny in 1980s South London.

Written by Jonathan Harvey with Stephen K Amos.

Himself ... Stephen K Amos
Young Stephen ... Shaquille Ali-Yebuah
Stephanie Amos ... Fatou Sohna
Virginia Amos ... Ellen Thomas
Vincent Amos ... Don Gilet
Miss Collins ... Gemma Whelan
Fola ... Kathryn Drysdale
PE Teacher ... Harry Jardine
Bo Bells ... Rachel Atkins

Producer: Colin Anderson

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.


WED 08:00 Brothers in Law (b007k1xl)
Series 2

Polite Notice

Parking his car lands bungling barrister Roger in a jam.

Starring Richard Briers as Roger Thursby, John Glyn-Jones as Grimes, Julia Lockwood as Sally, Bridget Armstrong as Joy, David Jason as Bannister, Gerald Cross as the Judge.

Others parts by Sean Arnold and Douglas Blackwell.

Written by Henry Cecil and Basil Dawson.

Published in 1955, Henry Cecil's comic legal novel Brothers in Law was adapted first for TV in 1962 by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. It provided the first regular starring role for Richard Briers, who later reprised his role of the idealistic young lawyer Roger Thursby for BBC Radio between 1970 and 1972.

Producer: David Hatch

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1971.


WED 08:30 Doctor in the House (b007jsw0)
St Swithin's

Simon Sparrow dithers over registering to train as a doctor as St Swithin's hospital in London.

The misadventures of student doctor Simon Sparrow - adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's novel 'Doctor in the House' published in 1952.

Starring Richard Briers as Simon Sparrow, Geoffrey Sumner as Sir Lancelot Spratt, Ray Cooney as Tony Benskin, Erik Chitty as the Secretary, Beth Boyd as the Sister and Michael Deacon as the Padre.

Special guest star: John le Mesurier as The Dean

Producer: David Hatch

Recorded at the BBC Paris studio in London.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1968.


WED 09:00 Aled Jones (b00krgg4)
Richard Briers

4 Extra Debut. Richard Briers talks to Aled Jones about his life and career, with music choices including Fats Waller and Al Bowlly. From May 2009.


WED 09:55 Prunella Scales Remembers Richard Briers (b03m32qc)
Actress Prunella Scales recalls working with her co-star Richard Briers in their 1960s BBC TV sitcom about a couple of newly-weds. Marriage Lines proved to be such a hit that it was later adapted for radio. To introduce the only surviving radio episode of in the BBC archive, Prunella explains how the show was recorded with a quick pace set by Richard. Assessing his skills as an actor, Prunella also reveals how they remained close friends to the end.


WED 10:05 Marriage Lines (b03m32qf)
Series 1

The Job

Grumpy George finds keeping his new wife at home is very expensive. So Kate sets off to find a job....

Starring Richard Briers as George and Prunella Scales as Kate.

Richard Waring’s sitcom based on the mutual love and mistrust of two newlyweds. Originating on BBC TV, it ran between 1963-65 and was adapted in two series for BBC radio due to its popularity.

George ...... Richard Briers
Kate ...... Prunella Scales
Ronald ...... Terence Alexander

Other parts played by Isabel Rennie, John Baddeley and Elizabeth Morgan.

Producer: Charles Maxwell

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in June 1965.


WED 10:30 Christmas Briers (b03m32v9)
Relive Christmas Day morning 1978 as first heard on BBC Radio 4 exactly as it happened on the day from 10.30am.

Having recorded his final episode of The Good Life that summer, Richard Briers was invited by the BBC to personally pluck seasonal snippets for his very own treasure trove of delights.

Choices include: "The Great Schnoz" Jimmy Durante singing Christmas Comes But Once a Year; Joyce Grenfell trying to keep order at the school nativity play; The Goon Show's version of A Christmas Carol. Jovial jests from Peter Ustinov, Nat King Cole and Shirley Bassey, plus Christmas for Pa, Ron and Eth in The Glums.

Produced by Jonathan James-Moore.


WED 12:00 The Briers Family Remember Richard (b03m335l)
The family of Richard Briers share their specially recorded memories of the man himself. His widow, actress Ann Davies and their daughters, Kate and Lucy reveal memories of childhood holidays listening to Tony Hancock with their Dad. Tales of his delightfully mischievous personality mingle with memories of Richard's determination to forever escape a precarious financial upbringing.


WED 12:15 Drama (b00z58bj)
Shelley Silas - Mr Jones Goes Driving

Written by Shelley Silas. Johnny Jones isn't particularly old, he's a regular man with a regular wife, two grown up children and a handful of grandkids. His has a good life, and for that he's grateful. He accepts that growing old is just one of those things, and until now, he has just got on with everything that has been thrown his way. He has always lived his life by getting up each day and getting on. However, all that is about to change.

Told that a series of seizures he's been having are not because of a brain tumour, but epilepsy, relief soon turns to gloom. While Johnny accepts everything the doctors tell him, he cannot accept having to give up his driving license. For over fifty years he's driven just about everyone everywhere in his beloved almond Rover P6 with a V8 engine. It is his private place, where he can be alone, think alone, listen to music, or simply sit by the sea, looking out at nothing more than sand and waves. It's a great big armchair of a car, with a chrome and oak interior, which he loves passionately. His wife, Alice hasn't driven for years, why would she when she has Johnny to drive her everywhere? While he's happy to part with many other activities, this is one he just can't give up. Now he's told he must stop driving or face the consequences.

Every day he says tomorrow will be the last day he'll drive.

This is the story of the day he takes one last journey in his dark Rover. And gradually we learn about the secrets no one else knows about.

The play stars real life husband and wife Richard Briers and Ann Davies.

Mr Jones Goes Driving is about growing old but not always gracefully. It's about facing up to things in life we don't want to. It's the story of a man giving up the one thing that he has always loved.

Cast:
Johnny Jones ...... Richard Briers
Alice Jones ..... Ann Davies
Imran ..... Muzz Khan
Lizzie Gray ..... Helena Breck
Ian ..... Jonathan Holby
Patrick ..... Ben Tosh
Johnny's Mother ..... Stella Duffy
Johnny's Grandchildren ..... Wilf and Ruby Armstrong Ashdown

Original Music composed by Lucinda Mason Brown

Producer/Director: Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 13:00 Michael Chaplin on Richard Briers (b03m33kw)
The creator of Radio 4's Two Pipe Problems and BBC TV's Monarch of the Glen remembers working with the late actor.


WED 13:10 Drama (b0132pk9)
Two Pipe Problems

The Case of the Missing Meerschaum

In tribute to Richard Briers, who co-starred in this series for six years.

Starring the late Richard Briers and Stanley Baxter.

William and Sandy are to appear at a Sherlock Holmes Convention, held at a hotel just around the corner from Baker Street. Sandy isn't keen but succumbs to William's desperate need to be in the spotlight once more. Sandy finds the display of 'fandom' absurd - the packed memorabilia stalls and one fan's observation that he thought he'd died years before. He also finds the political infighting threatening to tear the Society apart faintly ridiculous. But William is in his bombastic element, to such an extent that he has a very public and painful row with Sandy, who quits the convention and catches the Metropolitan Line back to the Old Beeches.

William occupies centre-stage at that night's dinner, flourishing the Society's prized meerschaum used by Basil Rathbone in the Holmes films. After a bibulous evening, William rolls into bed still with the precious pipe in his possession.

He wakes up the following morning and discovers that it's gone. He travels to the Old Beeches in a panic, begging Sandy to return to the Convention to help him solve the mystery - which he does using Holmesian precepts, and restoring their friendship in the process.

Written by Michael Chaplin
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 13:55 Alan Bennett Remembers Richard Briers (b008lytv)
Playwright Alan Bennett's specially recorded personal and affectionate tribute to Richard Briers. Recalling when the National Theatre staged his adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, Alan describes how Richard went about embracing his character of Ratty. He explains that Richard did not have a star's ego. He thought of himself as a "jobbing actor and those are the best really".


WED 14:00 Kenneth Grahame - The Wind in the Willows (b00fyl8x)
Mole, Rat and Badger try to curb the wild ways of their friend, Toad as they set out on their famous adventure.

Dramatised and narrated by Alan Bennett.

Starring Richard Briers, Derek Waring, Nickolas Grace and Adrian Scarborough.

Alan Bennett's acclaimed Royal National Theatre version of Kenneth Grahame classic story first published in 1908.

Mole ... Adrian Scarborough
Rat ... Richard Briers
Toad ... Nickolas Grace
Badger ... Derek Waring
Albert ... Terence Rigby
Otter ... John Hartley
Chief Weasel ... David March
Weasel Norman ... Stephen Tompkinson
Rupert ... Graham Seed
Monlca ... Allson Dowling
Magistrate ... Leslie Phillips

Narrator: Alan Bennett

Other cast members:

Amy Stanton, Belinda Baldwin, Danny Schiller, David Holt, David Sinclair, Elizabeth Mansfield, Geoffrey Matthews, Jack Stevens, James Hall, James Taylor, Jeffrey Holland,, Jessie Holder, Jill Graham, Luciano Macis, Lucie Fitchett, Maria Charles, Natasha Pyne, Paul Panting, Peter Acre, Peter Kenny, Peter Whitman, Sam Gordon, Simon Treves, Stefan Arestis, Tina Gray, Tom Bevan, Victoria Gunning and Victoria Wojciechowska

Original music and songs by Jeremy Sams.

Musicians:

Sara Clarke, Williams Cox, Julia Findon, Nicola Hadley, Anna Hemery, Juliet Leighton-Jones, Christopher O'Neal, Jane Pickles, Andrew Roberts, Jeremy Sams, Jane Sebba, Kate Somerby, Missak Takoussian, Keith Thompson and Christopher Wells

Producer: David Blount

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1994.


WED 16:00 The 4 O'Clock Show (b03m36vr)
Gary Barlow shares his favourite song of all time, and the one food that's the taste of the festive season for Jamie Oliver.


WED 17:00 Michael Ball's Sunday Brunch (b00q93z4)
Richard Briers

4 Extra Debut. Michael Ball talks to Richard Briers about his life and career, with music choices including Ethel Merman and the Beatles. From January 2010.


WED 17:30 Briers and the Bard (b03ncsqy)
Richard's widow Ann Davies and Sir Kenneth Branagh remember how Richard decided to take more risks in his middle 50s, leading to a burst of stage creativity in Shakespearean roles like Malvolio in Twelfth Night and King Lear. Richard Briers is heard talking about playing one of his greatest Shakespearean roles, Polonius in Hamlet - a role that particularly touched him where Polonius advises his son: "to thine own self be true".


WED 17:40 Drama on 3 (b01fbhlr)
Vaclav Havel - Largo Desolato

Theatre critic Michael Billington introduces a classic play from the archives by Czech playwright and President, Vaclav Havel, to mark Havel's death in December last year.

When the death of the former President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Havel was announced last year, Europe lost one of its great dissident voices. From the 1960s to the 1980s, BBC radio broadcast many new productions of Havel's plays - plays that were usually banned in his then-Communist homeland because of the way they mocked and interrogated the absurd nature of totalitarian rule.

Michael Billington, theatre-critic for the Guardian for much of this period, introduces another chance to hear a 1987 Havel black comedy called Largo Desolato in an English version by Tom Stoppard, himself born in Czechoslovakia.

Richard Briers stars as Leopold, a philosopher who has offended the authorities in an unnamed country. He has written a certain philosophical essay and anxiously each day awaits the knock on the door. His friends, of course, expect him to act like a hero....

Professor Leopold Nettles.......................Richard Briers
Edward.................................................Paul Gregory
Suzanna............................................Jennifer Piercey
First Sidney.........................................Philip Jackson
Second Sidney........................................David Goodland
Lucy...................................................Belinda Lang
Bertram................................................John Moffatt
First Chap..........................................Anthony Jackson
Second Chap............................................Ian Thompson
Marguerite..............................................Sue Broomfield

Produced by Matthew Walters.


WED 18:50 Stephen Fry Remembers Richard Briers (b03m37lv)
Stephen Fry explains his admiration for one of BBC Radio's "greatest achievements of the 1970s and 1980s", its adaptation of PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster stories, starring Richard Briers as Bertie Wooster and Michael Horden as his butler, Jeeves. Discover how they inspired Stephen's own attempts to capture Jeeves and Wooster on TV. Stephen also reveals the impact of Richard's death on both himself and the nation.


WED 19:00 PG Wodehouse (b00b41fq)
What Ho! Jeeves: Joy in the Morning

Florence Craye

Trapped in the Hampshire hamlet of Steeple Bumpleigh, Bertie Wooster meets an old flame.

PG Wodehouse's romp starring Michael Hordern and Richard Briers.

Adapted in seven-parts by Chris Miller.

Jeeves ...... Michael Hordern
Bertie Wooster ..... Richard Briers
Florence Craye ..... Bronwen Williams
Stilton Cheesewright ..... Michael Kilgarriff
Salesman ..... Bruce Bennett

Producer: Simon Brett

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1978.


WED 19:30 With Great Pleasure (b007wjc9)
Richard Briers

Much-loved screen, stage and radio actor, Richard Briers chooses some of his favourite performance pieces in the company of his daughter Lucy Briers and his old friend Peter Egan.

Includes extracts from PG Wodehouse, William Shakespeare and Dorothy Parker.

Producer: Christine Hall

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.


WED 19:55 Ed Harris Remembers Richard Briers (b03m37r2)
Award-winner Ed Harris tells us about the thrill of working with Richard as a young radio writer. Richard starred in his poignant 2009 BBC Radio 4 drama, The Moment You Feel It, a story in which Alf (Richard Briers) struggles to come to terms with growing older. Ed tells us what it was like to meet and work with Richard. In a performance he considers to be 'astounding' he remembers Richard becoming Alf - it was like the "ringtone" of writing in his head being transformed into music with a full orchestra.


WED 20:05 Drama (b00jzf6b)
Ed Harris - The Moment You Feel It

The Moment You Feel It

By Ed Harris

Alf's memories come in flashes and great blank holes, along with a running commentary from the voices of his past. So how does finding a strange coat in his kitchen, remind Alf why he doesn't want a bath today? A tender, sad comedy about re-remembering your past.

Alf ..... Richard Briers
Young Alf ..... Rory Kinnear
Pru ..... Tracy Wiles
Steven ..... Hugh Ross
Marina ..... Caroline Guthrie
with Janice Acquah

Producer/Director: Jonquil Panting.


WED 20:50 Briers on Hancock (b03m3d5j)
A documentary exploring Richard Briers lasting admiration for comedy legend Tony Hancock. Briers rejected the idea of recreating Hancock's Half Hour for radio. Instead, for Radio 4 in 1984, Richard talked to those who worked with Hancock: his BBC producer Dennis Main Wilson; his writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson; as well as admirers like comedy writer Denis Norden. Richard explores why Hancock continued to demand more of himself professionally, at the cost of personal friendships and family, leading up to his tragic death in 1968.


WED 21:20 Heathcote Williams - Hancock's Last Half Hour (b01glrp3)
An imagining of the comedy legend alone in a Sydney hotel room on the day he died, with a book of newspaper cuttings, a telephone and a bottle of vodka for company. In a tour de force performance Richard Briers plays his great comedy hero, Tony Hancock, looking back over the highs and lows of his career. Heathcote Williams's play reveals a comedy genius, tormented by his own desire to improve himself. A desire which overwhelmed him, when he tragically took his own life in June 1968.

Produced by Ned Chaillet for BBC Radio 3 in 1988.


WED 22:00 What Does the K Stand For? (b03lpjy6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]


WED 22:30 Act Your Age (b010mrzk)
Series 3

Episode 6

Simon Mayo hosts the three-way battle between the comedy generations to find out which is the funniest. Will it be the Up-and-Comers, the Current Crop or the Old Guard who will be crowned, for one week at least, as the Golden Age of Comedy. This week Holly Walsh is joined by Andrew Lawrence, Rufus Hound teams up with Paul Foot and Ted Robbins is paired with Stu Francis.

Devised and Produced by Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews.


WED 23:00 Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off (b00pbx22)
Series 4

Lapland

He's back! But this time, he's got a computer! Budleigh Salterton's most famous citizen has been grounded by both the Home Office and his father, so he's set up GWH Travvel ("2 Ms, 2 Gs, 2 Vs - bit of a mix up at the printers").

Run from his bedroom with the help of his long-suffering former Primary School teacher Mr Timmis and the hindrance of his sister Charlotte, it's a one-stop Travel/Advice/Events Management/Website service, where each week his schemes range far and wide - whether it's roaming the country lecturing would-be overlanders on how to pack a rucksack ("If in doubt, put it in. And double it"), or finding someone a zebra for a corporate promotion ("I'll look in the Phone Book - how hard can it be? Now, "A to D"...), GWH Travvel stays true to its motto - "We do it all, so you won't want to".

In this special episode, first broadcast at Xmas, Giles takes a trip to Iceland and buys some frozen food for his trip to Lapland. He also learns that when hunting with shotguns, it's good to know the difference between an elk and an elf.

Co-starring Catherine Tate as his long-suffering fiancee Arabella and Celia Imrie as his mother-in-law-to-be - the woman known only as "Mrs Wells" - in a snowbound special that mixes The Wizard Of Oz, It's A Wonderful Life and The Ice Queen in Giles's head, and serves them up with a helping of brandy butter and South Devon-style idiocy.

Starring Marcus Brigstocke as Giles.

Cast:
Giles Wemmbley Hogg ..... Marcus Brigstocke
Bella ..... Catherine Tate
Mrs Wells ..... Celia Imrie
Mr Timmis ..... Adrian Scarborough
Charlotte Wemmbley Hogg ..... Catherine Shepherd
Santa ..... Ewan Bailey

Written by Marcus Brigstocke & Jeremy Salsby.

Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b007728p)
Count Arthur Strong's Christmas Special

Count Arthur Strong, one-time variety star, makes his preparations for Christmas. From his altercation with a carol singer and his improvised 'reading' of the Nativity, to his show for the elderly at Leafy Glade old people's home. What could possibly go wrong? Stars Steve Delaney. From December 2006.