SATURDAY 23 DECEMBER 2017

SAT 00:00 Midnight News (b09jbsq7)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SAT 00:30 Book of the Week (b09jgnf6)
Village Christmas, Episode 5

Derek Jacobi reads from a new collection of Laurie Lee's writings, including newly discovered pieces by his daughter Jessy Lee, which return to the landscape and traditions of his rural home in Slad as well as a changing London in the last century.

Laurie Lee's classic memoir Cider With Rosie, his lyrical evocation of an early life in Gloucestershire, launched his writing career in the late 1950s and continues to be one of England's most popular books.

Writer: Laurie Lee
Reader: Derek Jacobi
Abridged and produced by Karen Rose

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b09jbsq9)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b09jbsqc)

SAT 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b09jbsqh)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 05:30 News Briefing (b09jbsqk)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b09jh3nm)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking.


SAT 05:45 iPM (b09jqbqm)
After the affair: the wife

A wife on rebuilding her marriage after her husband's affair.
iPM is the news programme that starts with its listeners. Email ipm@bbc.co.uk. Twitter: @BBCiPM. Presented by Luke Jones and Eddie Mair.


SAT 06:00 News and Papers (b09jbsqm)

The latest news headlines. Including the weather and a look at the papers.


SAT 06:07 Open Country (b09jgkl6)
Torridge and Taw, North Devon

The writer and walker Linda Cracknell joins Helen Mark along North Devon's exposed and rugged coast to seek out the traces of her maritime roots. Her family sailed out of Braunton on the Torridge and Taw. This estuary, which drains large parts of Exmoor and Dartmoor, has the second largest tidal range in the world, and Linda is fascinated by the intertidal zone that's exposed at low tide, a place of wrecks and wader birds.

Particularly treacherous is the Bideford Bar, a shifting bank of sand and shingle that sits at the entrance to the estuary, and which has claimed many lives over the years. Helen rows out towards it with the Appledore gig racing team, who love to rise to the challenges the estuary poses. Helen and Linda also meet the Hartnell family who farm Braunton's Great Field, an unenclosed system of narrow strips that dates back past medieval times to the Saxons.

Forming the buffer between the sea and the Great Field are Braunton Burrows, a richly varied sand dune habitat, home to orchids and many other rare plants. Botanist Mary Breeds and her husband John, former warden for the Burrows, show Helen and Linda the plants, while Army landrovers rattle by on training exercises.

Producer: Mark Smalley.


SAT 06:30 Farming Today (b09jbsqp)
Farming Today This Week: Condiments

Farming Today This Week explores the production of condiments. From mustard to chilli sauce, who makes the added extras we serve with our meals? As the season of feasting approaches, Sybil Ruscoe visits the farm shop at the Tortworth Estate near Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, to find out more.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Emma Campbell.


SAT 06:57 Weather (b09jbsqr)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 07:00 Today (b09jqbqp)

News and current affairs. Including Yesterday in Parliament, Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (b09jbsqt)
Chris Difford

Aasmah Mir and the Rev. Richard Coles are joined by Chris Difford and John Lloyd.


SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (b09jqbqr)
Series 19, Cambridge

Jay Rayner presents a festive edition of the culinary panel show. Dr Annie Gray, Tim Hayward, Sue Lawrence and Rob Owen Brown join Jay to delve into Christmas cooking traditions.

They discuss winter cocktails, brawn, and festive breakfasts. The panellists also offer tips on the best Christmas desserts, pay homage to the mighty cheeseboard and settle the turkey vs goose debate once and for all!

Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

Food Consultant: Anna Colquhoun

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (b09jqbqt)

Steve Richards assesses the ups and downs of the political year with Paul Waugh of The Huffington Post, Helen Lewis of the New Statesman and Iain Martin of The Times.

Editor: Peter Mulligan.


SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (b09jbsqw)
A Bet That Backfired?

Killing time on election day in Catalonia and the bitter experience of applying for a visa. Correspondents share their stories, insights, and complaints. Introduced by Kate Adie.

Reporting restrictions on polling day prompt Kevin Connolly to explore Barcelona and take a bit of a gamble. Yolande Knell tries to ignore the tempting local delicacies in Jerusalem and sample public opinion instead. Linda Pressly meets the people hoping the river the Pilcomayo will once again flow through the Chaco - one of the most arid and unforgiving regions of South America situated along the border between Paraguay and Argentina. Chris Bowlby remembers New Year's Eve 1992 and the moment when Czechoslovakia became the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. And of the many challenges that foreign reporting presents, the one Colin Freeman dreads most is applying for a visa.

Prouder: Joe Kent.


SAT 12:00 News Summary (b09jbsqy)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 12:04 Money Box (b09jqbqw)
Learning about money

Huge housing costs, a changing labour market, stagnant wages, and - for many - a massive burden of student debt. It's not surprising that some young people feel hopeless when it comes to their finances.

Despite financial education now being on the secondary school curriculum for all state maintained schools very little is known about whether it's helping improve money skills.

In this edition of Money Box, Young Money blogger Iona Bain investigates how money skills are taught, what we need to be learning, the role of parents as well as the best age to start.

Presenter: Iona Bain
Producer: Alex Lewis
Editor: Andrew Smith.


SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (b09jgzhy)
Christmas Specials 2017, Episode 1

A special topical Christmas edition from the satirists featuring HM The Queen, Dame Joan Bakewell, Donald Trump and The Brexit Bulldog David Davis.

The series is written by Private Eye writers Tom Jamieson and Nev Fountain, together with Tom Coles, Ed Amsden, Sarah Campbell, Laurence Howarth, James Bugg, Max Davis, Jack Bernhardt and others.

The series stars Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis MacLeod, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey.

Producer - Bill Dare
Production Coordinator - Beverly Tagg

A BBC Studios Production.


SAT 12:57 Weather (b09jbsr0)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 13:00 News (b09jbsr2)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (b09jgzj4)
Ed Davey, Marvin Rees, Kwasi Kwarteng, Anne Atkins

Jonathan Dimbleby presents political debate from Cheriton Fitzpaine Parish Hall in Devon with the Liberal Democrat spokesman on Home Affairs Ed Davey, Conservative MP and PPS to the Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, author and broadcaster Anne Atkins, and the Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees.


SAT 14:00 Any Answers? (b09jbsr4)

Listeners have their say on the issues discussed on Any Questions?


SAT 14:30 Turgenev's First Love (b09k9024)

Ivan Turgenev's masterpiece "First Love" tells the story of a young man who, over the course of one enchanted summer, falls hopelessly in love with his beautiful neighbour, only to find himself desperately entangled in illicit passion and betrayal. It is based on Turgenev's own experience, and is read by Alex Waldmann.
Producer: Robin Brooks.


SAT 15:45 Survivors (b08606t2)

Tamsin Greig reads Laura Barnett's story of blended families. Isabel makes a gesture of Christmas day diplomacy and discovers that whilst family history may be in the past, it is rarely truly over. A Christmas story specially commissioned for BBC Radio 4.

Laura Barnett is an author and journalist. Her first novel, The Versions of Us, was published in the UK in June 2015 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson. As an arts journalist and theatre critic, she writes regularly for The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph and Time Out London. Her non-fiction book, Advice from the Players, is published by Nick Hern Books.

Reader: Tamsin Greig
Author: Laura Barnett
Producer: Simon Richardson.


SAT 16:00 Woman's Hour (b09jbsrh)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Jessica Chastain and Molly Bloom, Lingerie, Recovery from eating disorders

New film 'Molly's Game' is inspired by the story of Molly Bloom who ran one of the world's most exclusive secretive high-stakes underground poker games until she was arrested by the FBI. Jenni talks to Molly Bloom, and the actor Jessica Chastain who plays her.

Hope Virgo and Jayne Nisbet are passionate about speaking out about their own recovery from an eating disorder. They discuss how it is possible with the right help and support to move on with your life.

Festive pot plants- what pot plants make good Christmas gifts? Alys Fowler and Emma Sibley discuss.

Actor Romola Garai talks about her role as Marin Brandt in the BBC1's television adaptation of the bestselling book, The Miniaturist.

How do you manage a child's expectations when it comes to the Christmas list? Freelance journalist Clare Johnson and Prittie Billimoria from the charity Turn to Us discuss.

The Victoria's Secret model, Adriana Lima, declared she would no longer strip down to her underwear for an empty cause. Model Emily Ratajkowski, a self-declared feminist, has defended her decision to writhe around on a table of spaghetti in her underwear for the Love Magazine's 2017 advent calendar. Can sexy lingerie be feminist? Jenni speaks to Hayat Rachi, founder of feminist lingerie brand Neon Moon, and Helen Thorn, half of the comedy duo Scummy Mummies and Instagram blogger 'Helen Wears a Size 18'. Who buys lingerie? And is there anything wrong with wearing big, cotton pants?

Sarah Long, a self-proclaimed 'martyred mum', has three grown up children, and 32 year old writer Daisy Buchanan has 5 grown-up sisters. Both share their experiences of 'kidulting' at Christmas.

Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Dianne McGregor.


SAT 17:00 PM (b09jbsrv)
Saturday PM

Full coverage of the day's news.


SAT 17:30 iPM (b09jqbqm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:45 today]


SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b09jbss8)

The latest shipping forecast.


SAT 17:57 Weather (b09jbssk)

The latest weather forecast.


SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b09jbssp)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (b09jbsst)
Bill Bailey, Joe Lycett, Shappi Khorsandi, Josie Naughton, Mica Paris, The Hempolics, Nikki Bedi, Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson is joined by Bill Bailey, Joe Lycett, Shappi Khorsandi and Josie Naughton for an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy. With music from Mica Paris and The Hempolics.

Producer: Sukey Firth.


SAT 19:00 Profile (b09jqdst)
Sarah Mullally

Sarah Mullally, appointed this week as the first woman Bishop of London, the third most senior position in the Anglican Church.
A former nurse and senior civil servant, she was ordained in 2001. Her surprise appointment followed a brief spell as Bishop of Devon in Crediton.
She's expected to attract criticism from more conservative elements of the Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical elements of the church.
Mark Coles profiles the most senior woman in the Anglican Church.

Produced by Helen Grady and Siobhan O'Connell.


SAT 19:15 Saturday Review (b09jbstd)
Hamilton musical, Irish film Sanctuary, Louise Erdrich novel, BBC TV Christmas specials

The much-anticipated musical Hamilton has opened in London. It tells the story of Alexander Hamilton; one of the Founding Fathers of The United States with intentionally colour-conscious casting of non-white actors as the Founding Fathers. It has been a phenomenon on Broadway and across the US; how will it play with British audiences?
Irish film Sanctuary has a cast made up almost exclusively of actors with learning difficulties. It lightly tells the story of a trip to the cinema where the best laid plans go awry. And even though it includes hugging and learning, does it tread the difficult line avoiding sentimentality or patronising the cast and the issues raised?
In Louise Erdrich's newest novel Future Home Of The Living God, evolution is running backwards and all around the central character society is crumbling. She's a 26 year old fighting for her life in an oppressive post-cataclysm America, pregnant (maybe by an angel)
And we review 3 of the BBC's TV Christmas specials: Father Brown, Upstart Crow and Not Going Out - what is the attraction of these yearly yuletide delights?

Tom Sutcliffe's guests are Sarah Churchwell, Dreda Say Mitchell and David Benedict. The producer is Oliver Jones.


SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (b09jqkj9)
Lenny Henry on Richard Pryor: The Making of a Satirist

Lenny Henry retraces the late comedian Richard Pryor's seven month stay in Berkeley, California - a crucial moment in his artistic development.

Richard Pryor is often hailed as the greatest stand up comedian of all time. For Lenny Henry, it was Pryor's fearless act in the mid 70s and 80s that inspired him as a young comic. And he remains Lenny's comedy hero to this day.

But the Richard Pryor that Lenny knows and loves had a very different act when he first started out in 1960s New York. A self-confessed Bill Cosby clone, charming audiences with his 'white bread' humour.

It's the stuff of legend how Pryor's biting social satires, salty language, and character-driven routines like The Wino and The Junkie came about after he threw away a lucrative job in Las Vegas and vowed to reinvent himself. But, for Lenny, the key to Pryor's artistic transformation lies in his short stay in Berkeley, California. When he arrived in February 1971, revolution was in the air. A hub for American counterculture, there were pitched battles in the streets between activists and the police. Berkeley was also home to the Black Panthers and a burgeoning black arts movement.

Pryor made friends with a local radio producer who invited him on to the local station KPFA, gave him a recorder so he could brainstorm new material, and taped several of his performances around town. With these little-heard tapes, Lenny pieces Pryor's life together during his self-imposed exile. Pryor immersed himself in black history and culture, hanging out with intellectuals like Ishmael Reed and Cecil Brown. For the first time, Pryor was taken seriously as an artist and we get a fascinating glimpse him recording free verse poetry. We also hear Pryor experimenting with edgier material at local clubs. For example, we hear blistering attacks on police brutality and his response to the 1971 Attica prison rebellion - which sound remarkably modern even today.

Contributors include: N
ovelist and poet, Ishmael Reed
Former poet laureate of California, Al Young
Richard's widow and keeper of his archives, Jennifer Pryor
Comedian and director, David Steinberg
Actress and comedian, Liz Torres
Author of Becoming Richard Pryor, Scott Saul

Producer: Victoria Ferran
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 21:00 Drama (b09jby2w)
The Scarlet Pimpernel, Episode 2

James Purefoy stars as Sir Percy Blakeney in Jonathan Holloway's new adaptation of Baroness Orczy's classic tale, set in the French Revolution.

Holloway's political interpretation is brought to life by an ensemble cast including Sienna Guillory as Marguerite Blakeney and Enzo Cilenti as the spine-chilling revolutionary soldier, Henri Chauvelin.

Muscular acting, pungent words, threat and jeopardy replace the whimsy of other adaptations and are floated on a contemporary, filmic score written by Sarah Llewellyn, with sound design by Wilfredo Acosta.

Episode Two:
At Lord Grenville's ball, Chauvelin's plot is in play. Has Marguerite's honey-trap worked? Can she save her brother? And will the true identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel be revealed?

Cast:
Percy Blakeney................James Purefoy
Marguerite Blakeney.......Sienna Guillory
Andrew Ffoulkes.............Eric MacLennan
Henri Chauvelin..............Enzo Cilenti
Suzanne De Tournay.......Abby Wain
Captain Duroc................Graeme Rose
Citizen Brogard..............Mike Rogers
Barsad & Wilmot.............James Camp

Music composed by Sarah Llewellyn
Adapted and directed by Jonathan Holloway
Produced by Sally Harrison
Sound design by Wilfredo Acosta
A Darling Woolyback Co-Production for BBC Radio 4.


SAT 22:00 News and Weather (b09jbstv)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4, followed by weather.


SAT 22:15 We Need to Talk About Death (b09jf1zb)
Series 2, My Digital Legacy

As we spend an ever increasing amount of time online, much of our lives, both professional and personal, have found their way onto the digital sphere.

So what happens to it all when we die? Should we view our digital assets much like our physical possessions? And, if so, how should we manage our digital legacies?

Producer: Beth Eastwood.


SAT 23:00 Round Britain Quiz (b09jcftw)
Programme 6, 2017-18

(6/12)
The new Northern Ireland team make their second appearance in Round Britain Quiz this week, this time taking on the formidable Welsh who are the defending champions. Tom Sutcliffe is in the chair, as Freya McClements and Paddy Duffy square up to David Edwards and Myfanwy Alexander. You can find out how close you were to the right answer when Tom reveals the solution to last week's unanswered teaser question. The programme also includes some more of the best listeners' question ideas sent in over the past year or so.

Producer: Paul Bajoria.


SAT 23:30 The Echo Chamber (b09jc26c)
Series 10, Darkness Visible

Visual artist Sam Winston spent a week living in total darkness, recording the experience in a series of 'blind' drawings. He later invited three poets to undertake 'darkness residencies', asking them to write new work in response to the experience.

Paul Farley visits Sam's installation at the Southbank Centre to spend time in the dark himself, and to hear the resulting poems by Kayo Chingonyi, Emily Berry and George Szirtes.

Producer: Mair Bosworth.



SUNDAY 24 DECEMBER 2017

SUN 00:00 Midnight News (b09jqsx1)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


SUN 00:30 Short Works (b09jgzhc)
Series 1, Letter from Eurydice

Eurydice writes to Orpheus from her home in the Underworld, to reflect on love, death, and his failed rescue attempt. Written and read by Natalie Haynes. Producer...Mary Ward-Lowery.


SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b09jqsx3)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b09jqsx8)

SUN 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b09jqsxd)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 05:30 News Briefing (b09jqsxg)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (b09jqxqh)
Manchester Cathedral

This week's Bells on Sunday, comes from Manchester Cathedral. This grade one listed building was - during World War two - the most damaged English Cathedral after Coventry. The interior retains a magnificent set of choir stalls complete with misericords dating back to the early Sixteenth Century. The tower contains a peal of 10 bells cast by the Croydon Foundry of Gillett and Johnson. The tenor, cast in 1925, weighs 27 and three quarter hundredweight and is tuned to F. We hear them now ringing Bristol Surprise Royal.


SUN 05:45 Profile (b09jqdst)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 06:00 News Headlines (b09jqsxj)

The latest national and international news.


SUN 06:05 Something Understood (b09jqsxq)
On the Eve

For Christmas Eve, Mark Tully talks to John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, about how he approaches the eve of any major religious festival and discusses how best to celebrate the day before the big day.

They talk about preparation, holding vigils, being an Archbishop "on call" and chaotic attitudes to present wrapping.

There's music from The Chieftains, Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Choir of York Minster. Actor and impressionist Alistair McGowan and RSC actor Emma Cunniffe read from the work of Lucy Maude Montgomery, C Day Lewis and the Italian poet Clemente Rebora.

Readers: Alistair McGowan and Emma Cunniffe
Presenter: Mark Tully
Producer; Frank Stirling

A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 06:35 The Living World (b09jqxqk)
Ancient Holly

Brett Westwood relives programmes from The Living World archives. In this episode from 2011 Joanna Pinnock travels up to the Stiperstone Hills of Shropshire where she meets up with Sara Bellis and Carl Pickup from the Shropshire Wildlife Trust at a remarkable site, The Hollies.

Here high up on the windswept hills, Joanna encounters ancient holly trees, which could be as old as 400 years. Holly, naturally an understory tree of more developed woodland, is not suited to grow up here in the cold windy conditions. But how and why these trees came to be here is something of a mystery. It is thought these holly trees are a living link to a past age in this landscape, where lead mining was once common and over 2 centuries ago there were thousands of people eking a subsistence living up here. Possibly the hollies we seen now, gnarled and twisted though they are, are all that remains of a woodland which at one time covered all the hills around here. That woodland was subsequently cleared for whatever reason, leaving the holly trees as a valuable source of winter fodder. With the altitude and animal grazing on the hills these days, young holly cannot regenerate, so this landscape is one of preservation not conservation.

But the story ends with a surprise, the cuckoo trees up here. Sometimes known as bonded trees, here Joanna witnesses the growing of full height rowan trees, inside the trunks of older holly trees. How did the rowan trees get there, well, it all has something to do with winter thrushes, as is revealed in the programme.

Producer Andrew Dawes.


SUN 06:57 Weather (b09jqsxs)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 07:00 News and Papers (b09jqsxy)

The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 07:10 Sunday (b09jqsy3)
Bethleham, Bishop Sarah Mullally, Alternative Christmas

At this time of year, homelessness is in the spotlight. In Manchester we join the Bishop of Manchester the Rt Rev David Walker who is concerned about the growing number of women who have no place to live.

In response to the criticism that a major supermarket received when their advert showed people from other faiths celebrating Christmas we go into the homes of three non-Christian families to hear what they get up to on the 25th December.

There'll be live music in the studio, some surprising yuletide facts from the writer and comedian Paul Kerensa and we soak up the atmosphere in Bethlehem's Manger Square as Christians worldwide prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Producer: David Cook

Series Producer: Amanda Hancox.


SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (b09jqxqm)
Handicap International UK

The broadcaster and journalist Mike Wooldridge makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Handicap International UK.

Registered Charity Number: 1082565
To Give:
- Freephone 0800 404 8144
- Freepost BBC Radio 4 Appeal. (That's the whole address. Please do not write anything else on the front of the envelope). Mark the back of the envelope 'Handicap International UK'.
- Cheques should be made payable to 'Handicap International UK'.


SUN 07:57 Weather (b09jqsyf)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 08:00 News and Papers (b09jqsyh)

The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers.


SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (b09k0p8m)
Hope for the Future

The baby lying in the manger is the focus of carols, cards and nativity plays - but are we missing something? The theme for the last Sunday in Advent is the hope this child offers for the future. Our service comes from St Columba's Church, Belfast and is led by the Rev Dr Janet Unsworth. The preacher will be the Rev Canon John Auchmuty and the music is led by the Chapel Choir of Methodist College, Belfast directed by Ruth McCartney.

Readings;
2 Samuel 7: 1-11 + 16
Romans 16: 25-27
Luke 1: 26-38.

Music;
Hark the Herald (Mendelssohn arr Willcocks)
Silent Night (arr Chilcott)
Hush my Dear (Jackson)
I am Changed (Todd)
Christmas Lullaby (Rutter)
Mid-Winter (Chilcott)
When Christ was Born (Archer)
Away in a Manger (arr Chilcott).


SUN 08:48 A Point of View (b09jqxsp)
In Praise of the Feuilleton

Howard Jacobson on the art of the feuilleton....and the joy of the ordinary.

He says the feuilletonists - those writers of short observational pieces - show "you don't have to be tendentious to be of consequence".

He asks us to step back and seek what's important around us...and even question whether there's such a thing as importance at all.

Producer: Adele Armstrong.


SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (b09jqxqp)
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 6 of 12

During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and for many a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder days. Tweet of the Day has been entertaining early morning listeners to the Radio 4 schedule every day since 2013, but this Christmas we will delight in an avian offering of the well known song the Twelve Days of Christmas.

As preparations for Christmas gather pace, what better for a true love than to supply a laying goose for the family table? Though six geese a-laying may be a gaggle too much in some households. As actress Alison Steadman discusses a strong contender for the goose-a-laying could well be the gregarious greylag goose, the wild ancestor of many a farmyard goose today.

Producer : Andrew Dawes
Photograph: John Dixon.


SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (b09jqsyl)

Sunday morning magazine programme with news and conversation about the big stories of the week. Presented by Paddy O'Connell.


SUN 10:00 The Archers Omnibus (b09jqsyq)

Toby's life is changed forever, and there's a day to remember for Lilian.


SUN 11:15 Desert Island Discs (b09jr61s)
Bruno Tonioli

Bruno Tonioli, dancer, choreographer and a judge on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, is Kirsty's guest.
He was brought up in Ferrara, Northern Italy, and was the only child of hard-working parents who hoped he would be an accountant. Bruno wanted to pursue a creative career and joined a raunchy cabaret dance troupe when he was a teenager, and performed across Europe. He went on to train in other areas of dance and choreography and spent the 1980s working on pop videos with The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Bananarama, Boy George, George Michael, Duran Duran and many more.
Since 2004, Bruno has been a judge on BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing and is a judge on the American version of the programme, Dancing with the Stars.

Presenter: Kirsty Young
Producer: Sarah Taylor.


SUN 12:00 News Summary (b09jqsyw)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 12:04 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b09jcnfb)
Series 68, Episode 6

Back for a second week at the New Theatre in Hull, regulars Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel by Miles Jupp and John Finnemore with Jack Dee in the chair. Piano accompaniment is provided by Colin Sell. Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production.


SUN 12:32 The Food Programme (b09jr61x)
Sheila Dillon's Christmas Dinner

Sheila Dillon invites some special guests, friends old and new, to come and share a festive meal.

Before they start to arrive, Nigel Slater drops by to help Sheila prepare. Each visitor will bring a dish, or a drink, that for them captures something unique of the flavours and spirit of the season.

Knocking on Sheila's door are: Giorgio Locatelli, Angela Hartnett, Anna Jones, Pete Brown, Neil Borthwick and Yotam Ottolenghi.

Presenter: Sheila Dillon
Producer: Rich Ward.


SUN 12:57 Weather (b09jqsyy)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (b09jqsz1)

Global news and analysis.


SUN 13:30 From Our Home Correspondent (b09jr620)

In a festive edition for Christmas Eve, Mishal Husain presents pieces by: Ian McMillan on the special pleasures of Christmas Eve; Sarah Oliver on advice for those daunted by the seasonal food extravaganza; Padraig O Tuama on what happened when Bethlehem came to Belfast; Datshiane Navanayagam on the make-or-break power of customer service departments at this time of year; and Jonnie Bayfield on how he fared in devising out-of-the-ordinary gift options.


SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b09jgzh9)
Christmas Special at Broadcasting House

Eric Robson presents a special edition of the show from London's Broadcasting House. Christine Walkden, James Wong, and Matthew Wilson continue GQT's 70th Anniversary celebrations by taking a tour of the building. Along the way, they answer questions from some of BBC Radio 4's household-names - including Anita Anand, Lynda Snell, Paddy O'Connoll, Roger Boulton, Martha Kearney, Samira Ahmed, and Winifred Robinson.

Also, there are some unusual collaborations with Dead Ringers, The Now Show and the Shipping Forecast.

Produced by Darby Dorras
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 14:45 The Listening Project (b09jr624)
Omnibus - Inspiration

Fi Glover introduces conversations between friends, family, lovers and artists about the art and the relationship that inspire them in the Omnibus edition of the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningproject

Producer: Marya Burgess.


SUN 15:00 A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (b09jr627)

A live broadcast from the Chapel of King's College, Cambridge

Hymn: Once in Royal David's City (desc. Cleobury)
Bidding Prayer read by the Dean
In the bleak mid-winter (Darke)
First lesson: Genesis 3 vv 8-19 read by a Chorister
Adam's Fall (Richard Elfyn Jones)
Love came down at Christmas (Morris Arr. Cleobury)
Second lesson: Genesis 22 vv 15-18 read by a Choral Scholar
How shall I fitly meet thee? (J.S. Bach)
I saw three ships (Arr. Ledger)
Third lesson: Isaiah 9 vv 2, 6-7 read by a representative of the Cambridge Churches
Illuminare, Jerusalem (Judith Weir)
O little town of Bethlehem (Arr. Cleobury)
Fourth lesson: Isaiah 11 vv 1-3a, 4a, 6-9 read by the Chaplain
A spotless rose (Howells)
The Lamb (Tavener)
Fifth lesson: Luke 1 vv 26-38 read by a member of College staff
Gabriel's Message (Arr. Pettman)
The Linden Tree Carol (Arr. Cleobury)
Sixth lesson: Luke 2 vv 1-7 read by a representative of the City of Cambridge
Carol Eliseus (Huw Watkins - Commission (world premiere))
Away in a manger (Arr. Willcocks)
Seventh lesson: Luke 2 vv 8-16 read by the Director of Music
Can I not syng but hoy? (Francis Jackson)
God rest you merry, gentlemen (Arr. Willcocks)
Eighth lesson: Matthew 2 vv 1-12 read by the Vice-Provost
We three kings of Orient are (Arr. Neary)
The Magi's Dream (Whitbourn)
Ninth lesson: John 1 vv 1-14 read by the Provost
O come, all ye faithful (Arr. Willcocks)
Collect and Blessing
Hark! The herald angels sing (desc. Cleobury)

Organ voluntaries:
In dulci jubilo (BWV 729) (Bach)
Prelude and Fugue in B major (Dupré) [broadcast on Radio 3 on Christmas Day only]

Director of Music: Stephen Cleobury
Organ scholar: Henry Websdale

Producer: Philip Billson

For many around the world, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, live from the candlelit Chapel of King's College, Cambridge, marks the beginning of Christmas. It is based around nine Bible readings which tell the story of the loving purposes of God. They are interspersed with carols old and new, sung by the world-famous chapel choir who also lead the congregation in traditional Christmas hymns.

King's College Choir has performed a newly written carol at the famous Christmas Eve service A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols every Christmas since 1983. This year's carol - the 35th carol commissioned by King's for the Festival - is by Welsh composer Huw Watkins, who studied at King's as an undergraduate and is now Professor of Composition at the Royal Academy of Music.

The carol, which will be heard in public for the first time on Christmas Eve this year, is a setting of part of the welsh Plygain carol Carol Eliseus, chosen by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

Of the setting, Watkins writes:

"I was particularly delighted to have been asked to write this year's new carol, having been an undergraduate at King's in the '90s. As a non-Welsh-speaking Welshman, I was also thrilled and slightly daunted when Stephen Cleobury suggested a Welsh text. My mother (a native speaker) has helped me with the sounds and stresses of the words, and I feel like setting this language has unlocked an indefinable Welshness in my music. I wanted to write something pure and somehow artless, and all the time I've had that glorious acoustic in my head."

The carol continues a tradition dating back to the beginning of Stephen Cleobury's tenure as Director of Music at King's, and is part of a long-standing contribution by the College to contemporary choral writing. Commissioned carols from previous years have included Judith Weir's Illuminare, Jerusalem and John Rutter's What Sweeter Music, as well as compositions by Jonathan Dove, Judith Bingham, John Tavener, Tansy Davies and many others.


SUN 16:30 Four Seasons (b09jr62c)
Poems for the Winter Solstice

A collection of seasonal poems for the winter solstice by Margaret Atwood, D. H. Lawrence, James Fenton, Bertolt Brecht, W. H. Auden, Edna St Vincent Millay and Thom Gunn. Readers are Juliet Stevenson, Anton Lesser, Harriet Walter, Bill Paterson, Siobhan Redmond, Stephen Fry, Noma Dumezweni and Simon Russell Beale. Joining them are more recent pieces read by the poets Sinead Morrissey, Aonghas MacNeacail, Gerda Stevenson and Jacob Polley as well Radio 4's poet-in-residence, Alice Oswald. And a new poem specially commissioned for the day by Imtiaz Dharker.

Producer: Sarah Addezio.


SUN 17:00 What Would Bagehot Say? (b09jdc7q)

In 1867 Walter Bagehot published his seminal work on The English Constitution, describing the role of Cabinet, Parliament and Monarchy in delivering 'strong and stable' government. But 150 years on, would Bagehot still recognise our current political system and would he approve? The writer of The Economist's Bagehot column, Adrian Wooldridge, examines the British constitution through the eyes of a Victorian master.

Producer: Adam Bowen.


SUN 17:40 Profile (b09jqdst)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Saturday]


SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (b09jqszd)

The latest shipping forecast.


SUN 17:57 Weather (b09jqszh)

The latest weather forecast.


SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b09jqszm)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (b09jqszp)
Antonia Quirke

In Antonia Quirke's festive edition of Pick of the Week we travel from ancient Persia to the Slad valley via elvish church-bells in Iceland and Mowhawk cries along The Great Lakes, the stirring of pomegranate-studded puddings in Palestine, and five kilos of cheddar eaten on a night-in with dad. Phantasmagorical warnings, an (infuriating) non-wedding-wedding (!) and Proust read by the light of a glow-worm.

Produced by Cecile Wright in Salford.


SUN 19:00 The Archers (b09jr62g)

Brian has some exciting news, and Helen counts her blessings.


SUN 19:15 Just William - Live! (b09jr62j)
Series 5, The Christmas Truce

Martin Jarvis performs the first of two Just William stories by Richmal Crompton in front of an enthusiastic, invited audience at the Riverhouse Barn Theatre, Walton on Thames in Surrey.

In The Christmas Truce, William's arch-enemy Hubert Lane and his cronies sabotage William's Christmas party. William and his Outlaws are then forced by conniving mothers to attend Hubert's party in return. So can they execute a pleasing and satisfactory revenge?

Director: Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis and Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 19:45 The Reservoir Tapes (b09jr62n)
Series 1, Ginny's Story

When a girl disappears in the heart of England how far back do you have to go to find the truth?

Sara Kestelmanl continues Jon McGregor's gripping series. A community is rocked when 13-year-old Becky Shaw goes missing on a midwinter walk in the Peak District. Now her disappearance sparks long-buried memories, and opens old wounds. Today: a local woman's increasingly unreliable memories are taken back to the summer before...

The fifteen stories of The Reservoir Tapes each stand alone but together build a compelling portrait of a village shaken by tragedy, as they explore events that precede and follow the disappearance of the teenage Becky Shaw. A companion to Jon McGregor's critically acclaimed Man Booker long-listed novel Reservoir 13, these stories and their different perspectives offer tantalizing glimpses as what to might have happened to the teenage girl.
Writer: Jon McGregor is an acclaimed British novelist who has been longlisted for the Man Booker Prize three times. His third novel, Even the Dogs, won the International Dublin Literary Award.
Reader: Sara Kestelman
Producer: Justine Willett.


SUN 20:00 Feedback (b09jgzhh)

Roger Bolton with a round up of listener views on the big BBC radio stories of the year.

Following our interview with Sarah Sands, the then-new Editor of the Today programme, we hear from one listener about how she is getting on.

How does Radio 2 and Radio 6 Music strike a balance between too much and too little Christmas music? Jeff Smith, the Editor of Music for both networks explains.

Listeners give their views on BBC radio's Brexit coverage and the direction of The Archers.

Also, we go behind-the-scenes of Farming Today as they record their Christmas feature at a Brussels sprout farm in the Cotswolds. Roger tries out the new sweeter variety in a frosty field.

And we speak to disabled and deaf actors as they prepare for their Christmas performance of The Midwich Cuckoos to be broadcast on Radio 4 on New Year's Eve.

Producer: Kate Dixon
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


SUN 20:30 Last Word (b09jgzhf)
Professor Heinz Wolff, Aline Countess of Romanones, Tony Whitten, Fritz Lustig, Keely Smith

Photo: Professor Heinz Wolff

Matthew Bannister on

Professor Heinz Wolff, the bioengineer who was known to millions of TV viewers as the presenter of "The Great Egg Race".

Aline, Countess of Romanones, the model and socialite who wrote best selling books based on her experiences of spying on the Nazis during the war.

Tony Whitten, the passionate conservationist who had eleven species named after him.

Fritz Lustig who worked as a wartime secret listener, eavesdropping on the conversations of German prisoners of war.

And the singer Keely Smith who, with her husband Louis Prima, became one of the most successful Las Vegas acts of the 1950s.


SUN 21:00 Money Box (b09jqbqw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:04 on Saturday]


SUN 21:26 Radio 4 Appeal (b09jqxqm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 today]


SUN 21:30 In Business (b09jgklg)
Uganda's Refugee Entrepreneurs

Uganda has taken in more than a million South Sudanese refugees. Many have lost almost everything. So how do they get back on their feet? For some of them the answer is to set up a small business. But doing that in a refugee settlement, when you have no capital and many of your customers have no money, is no easy task.
Yet markets are sprouting up across the refugee settlements of northern Uganda. There are stalls selling eggs, vegetables, mobile phone cards, jeans; and there are even hairdressers and photocopying services in small shacks, where both the refugees and the local Ugandan population can trade.
So how have these places come to existence? How have they grown out of what very recently was untamed African bush land?
As John Murphy discovers, it's a story of entrepreneurship, sacrifice, taking a gamble and simple necessity.

Producer and Presenter: John Murphy.


SUN 22:00 News Summary (b09jr6jw)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


SUN 22:15 Pick of the Year (b09jr62s)
Clarke Peters

It's the season of goodwill and Clarke's stocking is full of radio gifts from 2017.

He has the sound of silence, a magical nanny trying to get through airport security and a jewel of a story from an astronaut. There's an absolutely fabulous actress, some dangerous women and we celebrate the life of soul and jazz singer Al Jarreau.

Producer: Stephen Garner

With production support and research from Kay Bishton.


SUN 23:00 The Film Programme (b09jgkl8)
Christmas Presents

Larushka Ivan-Zadeh is joined by Clare Binns and Tim Robey as they look back at the best films of 2017 and look forward to things to come from 2018.


SUN 23:30 Midnight Mass (b09jr7cv)

Midnight Mass, live from the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool as its Golden Jubilee year draws to a close. Celebrant and preacher: The Archbishop of Liverpool The Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon.
The setting is Missa Ad Praesepe (Mass of the crib), by George Malcolm and amongst the carols and anthems is the beautiful 'Serenity' (O magnum mysterium) by Ola Gjeilo, as well as seasonal favourites such as O Come all ye faithful, O little town of Bethlehem, Silent night and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.



MONDAY 25 DECEMBER 2017

MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (b09jqxqh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 05:43 on Sunday]


MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b09jqt2q)

The latest shipping forecast.


MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b09jqt2s)

MON 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b09jqt2v)

The latest shipping forecast.


MON 05:30 News Briefing (b09jqt2x)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b09kqjl0)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking.


MON 05:45 Farming Today (b09jqt2z)
Festive support in rural areas, Christmas harvest, Farmyard nativity

It's Christmas day - and across the food and farming sector, a lot of hard work has gone into making the season special and the food abundant! But the festive season can also bring pressures of a different kind: loneliness, isolation, depression - issues that can particularly affect people in rural communities. This makes for a busy festive season for rural churches and those who work for them, in terms of offering not only spiritual guidance but also more practical and emotional support for people who might be alone over the Christmas period. Sybil Ruscoe speaks to Reverend Claire Maxim, a rector in the Diocese of Salisbury and the incoming head of the church's rural resource centre.

Farming Today heads off to Leicestershire, where the Duffin family have been farming in the village of Mountsorrel since the 1950s. They have plenty of Christmas business, growing everything from potatoes for roasting to trees for decorating. But the highlight of their festive farm is the nativity scene, as Ben Jackson finds out.

For many farmers Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year, as they fight to get the festive goodies to the shops in time. This year, the December snow caused one or two seasonal headaches for vegetable growers. Anna Hill visits organic grower Taylorgrown in Norfolk, to witness the harvest of six thousand tonnes of Christmas carrots.

Presented by Sybil Ruscoe and produced by Lucy Taylor.


MON 05:56 Weather (b09jqt33)

The latest weather forecast for farmers.


MON 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09jr9qj)
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 7 of 12

During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and for many a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder days. Tweet of the Day has been entertaining early morning listeners to the Radio 4 schedule every day since 2013, but this Christmas we will delight in an avian offering of the well known song the Twelve Days of Christmas.

The big day has arrived and with it seven swans a swimming. Though wrapping these may have been an issue. As actress Alison Steadman discusses deeply embedded in the British culture the mute swan, which for many is the perfect bird for the seventh day in the song. Although in winter two other contenders arrive on our shores, the Bewick swan from Siberia and the slightly more vocal Whooper swan from Iceland.

Producer : Andrew Dawes
Photograph: Kevin Neal.


MON 06:00 Voices of the First World War (b09msgx6)
The Christmas Truce

An omnibus edition of five episodes of Voices of the First World War, spanning the course of the war from 1914 to 1917.

Narrated by Dan Snow, this edition begins with the Christmas Truce of 1914, when German and British troops mingled and played football in No Man's Land on the Western Front. Veterans recall the war as they remember it - from how they survived the nights in the trenches, to what they got up to behind the lines. Conscientious objectors and family members speak about their experiences from 1916 onwards. And William Towers describes his medical treatment and journey home after being injured at Passchendaele in 1917.

There are now no living veterans of WW1, but it is still possible to go back to the First World War through the memories of those who actually took part. In a unique partnership between the Imperial War Museums and the BBC, two sound archive collections featuring survivors of the war are brought together for the first time. The Imperial War Museums' holdings include a major oral history resource of remarkable recordings made in the 1980s and early 1990s with the remaining survivors of the conflict. The interviews were done not for immediate use or broadcast, but because it was felt that this diminishing resource that could never be replenished, and would be of unique value in the future. Among the BBC's extensive collection of archive featuring first hand recollections of the conflict a century ago, are the interviews recorded for the 1964 TV series 'The Great War', which vividly bring to life the human experience of those fighting and living through the war.

Voices of the First World War is broadcast in short seasons throughout the commemorative period.


MON 07:00 With Great Pleasure (b09jr9qn)
With Great Pleasure at Christmas

Will Young takes us on a tour of his favourite bits of writing, songs, entertainment and art including Lord of the Rings, Joni Mitchell, Magritte, Cabaret and King Lear. Along the way he'll talk about his life and his career. And there'll be live music and performance from Will himself plus a range of special guests.


MON 08:00 The Listening Project (b09jr9qq)
The Listening Project in Hull

Fi Glover and guests reflect on Hull's momentous year as UK City of Culture, through the people and conversations gathered by BBC Radio Humberside in The Listening Project Booth

In front of a local audience in Radio Humberside's theatre space, Fi Glover welcomes some of those who contributed to more than 250 conversations recorded in Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. Reaching audiences in market squares and country parks, housing estates and workplaces, the Booth was towed up and down the region, sporting the logos of Radio 4, Radio Humberside, and the British Library. It caused waves on social media and sparked new interest in The Listening Project and in the BBC. Local producers worked with charities and employers to find conversations; contributors, intrigued by the small white caravan, stepped up to take part.

On stage with Fi is Kofi Smiles, the BBC's 'Face of Hull 2017'. Also the BBC Radio Humberside producers who made it happen. Using some of the conversations recorded in the Booth, as well as the reflections of those who took part, Fi recalls an extraordinary year.


MON 09:00 Christmas Service (b09jrd1n)

A Service for Christmas Morning from Bath Abbey

As households across the world enjoy entertaining guests, we hear what it means to be manager of a prestigious hotel at this major festival.
And what is it like to be a guest? It can be great fun but, as a grandmother explains, it can be difficult to receive the hospitality of others. Whether alone or with a crowd on Christmas Day, the worship invites us to consider being a host to the Christ-child or responding to his invitation to be a guest.

With The Reverend Edward Mason and the choir of Bath Abbey directed by Huw Williams, traditional readings, and carol favourites including I Saw Three Ships, O Come All Ye faithful and Hark The Herald Angels Sing.

Producer: Benjamin Collingwood.


MON 09:45 Book of the Week (b09jrd1q)
Adventures of a Young Naturalist, Episode 1

In the 1950s, David Attenborough, the naturalist and broadcaster grasped a life changing opportunity which led him to travel the world finding rare and elusive animal species for London Zoo and filming the expeditions for the BBC television series, Zoo Quest. Today, an alarming encounter with a caiman.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.


MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (b09jqt3d)
My Perfect Imperfect Christmas

The turkey is in the oven, all the presents have been bought and wrapped, the tree is up and there are even crackers in the cupboard. What can possibly go wrong on Christmas day? Well... life happens. Jane is joined by Gill Sims, the 'Peter and Jane' blogger and author of 'Why Mummy Drinks'; the TV and radio presenter Gloria Hunniford; and Bernie Wood who runs the Thrive Project for a charity in Manchester and her son Geoffrey to talk about surviving Christmas.

Presenter: Jane Garvey.


MON 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jrkqy)
Incredible Women, Episode 1

Meet the living legend, actress Dame Cicely Leyland as she approaches her 100th birthday! All this week Rebecca Front and Jeremy Front bring you a fun-packed retrospective of her life on stage, TV and the big screen. From her roots in Variety, through her early radio comedy days, to appearances in the Beatles film 'Gear!' And more recently in Harry Potter.

But there's one card Cicely is playing close to her chest as her big birthday approaches. Will Jeremy Front uncover it in time?

In today's programme we meet Cissy for the first time, as she comes off stage after performing her one-woman show Other People's Shoes. We hear about her surprising origins in Russia, meet her dresser and companion Paddy, and we find out from her friend and fellow actress, Fenella Fielding that Cissy is 'never one to let the truth get in the way of a good anecdote'.

Starring Rebecca Front, Jeremy Front, Sam Spiro, Jon Culshaw and Fenella Fielding.

With short testimonials by Andy Hamilton, Joe Lycett and Melanie C.

Written by Jeremy Front.

Produced by Claire Jones.

This is a BBC Studios production.


MON 11:00 The Untold (b09jrkr0)
Revisited

Grace Dent revisits four of the most intriguing Untold stories from recent series to discover what happened next. This includes Rachel Burns, the former care home manager who was sacked after posting a photo of one of her residents on Facebook. Another update is from Deborah, the cancer patient touring the world as a barbershop singer. We also hear the latest from the retired couple establishing their own Marigold Hotel and Nick, the 25 year old determined to get his life back after a brain injury.

Producer: Sam Peach.


MON 11:30 Cooking in a Bedsitter (b09jrkr2)
Series 2, Bolognese Cutlets

Beattie Edmondson and Nikesh Patel star in Sue Teddern's romantic comedy, inspired by Katharine Whitehorn's cookery classic. Trisha is definitely over Deepak. She really, truly is. Extracts from Cooking in a Bedsitter are read by Eleanor Bron.

Directed by Emma Harding.


MON 12:00 News Summary (b09jqt3h)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 12:04 Home Front (b09jrkr4)
25 December 1917 - Sylvia Graham

On this day in 1917, plum pudding was made a regular ration for the troops for the first time, while at Collingwood Park, Sylvia wishes in vain for peace and goodwill.

Season 12 of Home Front, titled Giddy With Possibility, is set in the North East of England, in the shadow of the Russian Revolution. The excitement and fear provoked by the Bolshevik Revolution that overturned Russia, Britain's greatest ally in the war, rippled out around the world and - briefly - made people believe that anything was possible. In industrial Tyneside it is a time of unprecedented unrest and union activity, and where ladies' football is gaining a foothold in the national imagination.

Meanwhile, an unexpected announcement disrupts Christmas Day at the Marshall family home. Sylvia and Graham look on in disbelief. It is also the birthday of the relatively new head of the household, Johnnie. Isabel has lovingly wrapped a special present for him and commissioned a rare celebratory cake.

Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.


MON 12:15 Pick of the Year (b09jr62s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 22:15 on Sunday]


MON 13:00 News Summary (b09jrkr6)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 13:15 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b09jrkr8)
Christmas Special 2017: Bedbugs and Drumsticks

Arthur returns to BBC Radio 4 with a celebratory Christmas special of the long running comedy sitcom. The former variety star gets the opportunity to audition for a Christmas production of Bedknobs and Broomsticks. What could possibly go wrong?

The show features Count Arthur and his erstwhile protégé Malcolm (Terry Kilkelly), surrounded by a host of regular characters created by Mel Giedroyc, Alastair Kerr and Dave Mounfield. The long running series first aired on BBC Radio 4 in 2005 and ran for seven series until the former variety star transferred to BBC TV in his eponymous sitcom in 2012.

A Komedia Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 13:45 Radio Four's Pen Pals (b09jrmmj)
Series 1, Fi and Ann

A new series celebrating the phenomenon of the international pen-pal - the art of writing a letter the old-fashioned way, the tentative early forays into a new friendship, and the frisson of glamour when the air mail envelope drops through the letter-box.

Five favourite Radio 4 voices were asked to chose a pen-pal from anywhere in the world. The task was to write six letters in long-hand and send them through the post. What they wrote about was entirely up to them. But they had to finish before the end of 2017.

Episode One features Fi Glover and Ann Plumley, an American mother in Ohio who voted for Donald Trump.

Ann is a former forensic scientist, who gave up her career to raise her daughter. She and Fi compare "mom culture" in Britain and the USA, and share parenting worries and precious memories of childhood. Along the way, they discuss the political events of the year - Donald Trump, Brexit and terror attacks.

Is this the start of a beautiful new friendship? Or is there more to divide than unite them?

In our globally connected world, how much do we really understand the lives of people born thousands of miles away? By trying to understand the individual, we may gain a better understanding of the bigger picture. And as each presenter learns more about their new friend, they also offer a small window into their own world.

Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 14:00 The Archers (b09jr62g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Sunday]


MON 14:15 Drama (b09jrsfc)
Mr Betjeman's Class

1 / 2. By Jonathan Smith. First of two plays celebrating one of Britain's best-loved poets. 1928. John Betjeman, aged 23, has left Magdalen College - sent down without a degree. He's spent three years at Oxford being a class-conscious social climber, clowning his suburban way into the country house weekend set. With his ambitions in ruins, he's reduced to acting as cricket master in a prep school. He knows nothing of cricket. Stars Benjamin Whitrow in his final role before his death at the age of 80.

Producer/director: Bruce Young
(Jonathan Smith's second play, Mr Betjeman Regrets, is at 2.15pm on Boxing Day).


MON 15:00 HM THE QUEEN (b09jrslj)

The Queen's Christmas message to the United Kingdom.


MON 15:05 News Summary (b09k1flg)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 15:15 Soundstage (b07cyvjx)
The Reed Bed

When you stare into a bank of reeds in early May you can see very little, yet hear so much inside, so sound recordist Chris Watson decided to try and capture the changing soundscape within the reeds over 24 hours. But tall phragmites reeds growing out of sodden ground and watery dykes make them impenetrable places by foot, so Chris sets up his microphones around the edge of the reedbed and prepares to listen from dusk until dawn. Reed beds are magical places. The resident wildlife is either very well camouflaged or secretive and yet the sounds are extraordinary - from the booming fog-horn like calls of Bittern, which are very rarely seen but whose calls reverberate across the reed beds, to the pig-like squeals of the water rail (again a bird you are very unlikely to see but will hear). Dusk is accompanied by the screams and clicks of swifts and swallows as the swoop back and forth catching insects on the wing. As the temperature drops, the reed bed becomes a quieter place but just before dawn the silence is broken and the orchestra strikes up once again: Bitterns, reed buntings and chattering reed and sedge warblers as well as the reeling grasshopper warblers are the first to be heard. Then there's the bell-like high pitched calls of Bearded tits, and finally a soloist as a cuckoo calls to attract a mate. Producer Sarah Blunt.


MON 15:30 The Food Programme (b09jr61x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 12:32 on Sunday]


MON 16:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (b09jrtb6)
Christmas Special: The Science of Magic

The Infinite Monkey Cage Christmas Special: The Science of Magic

The Infinite Monkeys bring their own brand of yule friendly science and comedy to the BBC Radio 4 Christmas schedule, and this year add an extra sprinkling of festive magic. Brian Cox and Robin Ince will be joined on stage by some very special guests to look at the science behind some of our best loved magic tricks and illusions. Actor, writer and illusionist Andy Nyman,actor and comedian Diane Morgan, Professor of Psychology and magician Richard Wiseman, and theologian and broadcaster Professor Francesca Stavrakopoulou will all be demonstrating how basic human psychology and evolution allow us to see and believe the seemingly impossible. They'll be exploring how some basic psychology can lead to some truly impressive deceptions, and ask how easy it is to trick the human mind, even a mind like Brian's. Prepare to be amazed.

Producer: Alexandra Feachem.


MON 16:30 Beyond Belief (b09jrtbb)
Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol

Tiny Tim's "God Bless Us, Every One!" is the rousing conclusion to Charles Dickens' festive fable A Christmas Carol. But what is the Christian message behind this enduring story? Joining Ernie to discuss Charles Dickens' faith and the religious themes in his work are three fans, all of whom have written books about him: actor Simon Callow, author Claire Tomalin and John Bowen - Professor of Nineteenth-Century Literature at the University of York. Also interviewed is Rev Cheryl Kincaid, an American Presbyterian minister author of "Hearing the Gospel through A Christmas Carol". She has a deep affection for Dickens and the plight of Tiny Tim in particular.

Producer: Helen Lee.


MON 17:00 Logical Family: An Evening with Armistead Maupin (b09jrxpp)

Armistead Maupin, legendary chronicler of San Francisco life, whose Tales of the City have been loved by millions, reads from his funny, poignant and unflinchingly honest memoir, in the company of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. An unmissable evening of words matched with music from the movies, the stage and the concert hall - with one or two surprises.

This is an edited version of the BBC Radio 3 recording, which will be available on the BBC Radio iPlayer after the BBC Radio 3 transmission.

Featured music:
Max Steiner - Overture to Gone With The Wind
George and Ira Gershwin - Summertime*
John Adams - Short Ride In A Fast Machine
Bernard Herrmann - Vertigo
Mason Bates - Nymphs

*Sarah Tynan (soprano)
and special guest Russell Tovey

BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Parry

Producers: Ann McKay (BBC Symphony Orchestra) and Steve Doherty (Giddy Goat Productions)
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 17:57 Weather (b09jrxpr)

The latest weather forecast.


MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b09jqt3x)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


MON 18:15 15 Minute Musical (b09jvgnb)
Xmas 2017, The Legend of Holy Superior Mother Theresa May and the Magic Money Tree

After her disappointing election result, a heavily disguised Theresa flees London and embarks on a magical fantasy trip around the Emerald Isle to find the tree that will solve all of Britain's economic problems. Holidaying pilots and politically venomous snakes threaten the success of her mission but our brave heroine ploughs on towards her final showdown with a nice lady called Arlene.

Starring: Pippa Evans, Dave Lamb and Richie Webb
Writers: Dave Cohen, David Quantick and Richie Webb
Composer: Richie Webb
Music production: Matt Katz

Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.


MON 18:30 Just a Minute (b09jrxpt)
Just a Minute: 50 Years in 28 Minutes

A special edition of Just a Minute to celebrate the 50th anniversary, featuring some of your favourite panellists from across the years, with regular voices and a few surprises.

Nicholas Parsons presents a one-off programme in which guests from across the programme's history are brought together for one night only. Listeners of a sensitive nature should be warned that wanton hesitation, repetition and deviation will feature from the start.

Produced by Gareth Gwynn
A BBC Studios Production.


MON 19:00 The Archers (b09jrxpw)

Joe wants company on Christmas Day, and Tony and Johnny are left in charge.


MON 19:15 Front Row (b09jqt3z)
Christmas Party with Jon Culshaw, Josie Lawrence, Austentatious, Patience Agbabi, Inua Ellams and Steve Edis

Join John Wilson for a Christmas party including games and performances from all our guests.

Impressionist Jon Culshaw delivers ten Christmas messages, but can you guess all the voices?

Poet Patience Agbabi performs her Christmas poem, I Go To the Supervillains Christmas Ball As The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, written especially for Front Row.

Cariad Lloyd and Charlotte Gittins from comedy improv group Austentatious perform an excerpt from a previously unknown Jane Austen work suggested by our party guests.

Playwright Inua Ellams reads his poem, Swallow Twice, about family and feasting.

Actress Josie Lawrence improvises a Christmas song based on a random object, with Steve Edis on piano providing musical accompaniment throughout.

Presenter: John Wilson
Producer: Hannah Robins.


MON 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jrkqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


MON 20:00 The Nativity (b085h7tz)

An improvised drama of The Nativity as dictated by young children as they contemplate a story where there really is rather a lot to take on board.
At age five & six they know only the world around them so even hurdling the concept of "Long, long ago" - a world where there are no cars, no planes, no televisions, no ipods, no hospitals - naturally throws up a lot of lively debate. And what with Angels appearing, and there being "no room in the inn", and having to have the baby on straw in a stable with animals, and Three Wise Men showing up with gifts and Shepherds arriving, this really is rich terrain to place in the small hands of truly natural story tellers. Who knows what we will learn?

Performed by pupils from St Malachy's Primary School, Kilclief and St Joseph's Primary, Strangford. With Liam Neeson.

Devised with ..... Frank Cottrell Boyce
Producer ..... Gemma McMullan
Production Co-ordinator ..... Morag Keating
Sound Supervisor ..... Bill Maul
Sound Supervisor ..... John Riddell.


MON 20:30 Crossing Continents (b09jf642)
33 Ways to Dispel a Chinese Mistress

There are 33 ways to dispel a mistress according to one of China's top love detectives. An unusual new industry has taken hold in some of the country's top cities. It's called "mistress-dispelling", and it involves hired operatives doing what it takes to separate cheating husbands from their mistresses. With the surge in super-affluent families in China, there has also been an apparent upsurge in the number of men choosing to keep a concubine. And for wives who see divorce as a humiliating option, almost no expense is sometimes spared in seeing off the rival. For Crossing Continents, Ed Butler meets some of these private detectives and "marriage counsellors", heads off on a mistress "stake-out", and asks whether this is all a symptom of a deeper crisis in gender relations in China.

Reported and produced by Ed Butler.


MON 21:00 Mysteries of Sleep (b09jd32l)
Series 1, Sleep Deprivation and Insomnia

Lack of sleep can make us sick, fat and slow. But what if a sleep disorder is to blame? What happens when no matter how much sleep you get, it's never enough?

In the last of a three-part series, neurologist Dr Guy Leschziner explores medical causes of sleep deprivation or disruption and their consequences. We meet some of his patients, including 17 year-old Vincent, whose internal body clock runs on a different rhythm from the world around him, leaving him wide awake when everyone else is tucked up in bed. We hear from Mary Rose, whose restless legs stop her from getting to sleep and staying asleep and Claire, whose severe insomnia led to a breakdown. And we talk to Maria, whose mysterious symptoms turned out to be due to one of the most common sleep disorders, sleep apnoea.

In this programme, we learn about the medical causes of lack of sleep and the serious impact that these conditions have on our brain function, mood and general health.

Presenter: Dr Guy Leschziner
Producer: Sally Abrahams.


MON 21:30 Miss Simpson's Children (b08pgm4b)

The story of how one woman offered refuge to leading intellectuals fleeing from the Nazis, helping transform the cultural and intellectual landscape of Britain and the United States. Shortly after Hitler came to power, an organisation was set up in Britain to help academics who were being thrown out of their jobs in Nazi Germany. It was called the Academic Assistance Council. The council's assistant secretary, Esther Simpson, became its dynamic force. She called all the refugees she assisted her 'children'. Sixteen of them ended up as Nobel Prize winners. Many would later admit that they owed their lives to her. David Edmonds tells the unknown story of Esther Simpson and the brilliant minds she saved.
Producer Mark Savage.
(Photo credit: The Lotte Meitner-Graf Archive).


MON 22:00 Loose Ends (b09jbsst)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Saturday]


MON 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b09js2d0)
How to Stop Time, Episode 1

Tom Hazard has a rare condition - he ages very, very slowly with the result that, while he looks about 41, he is in fact over 400 years old. Over the centuries, it has been a dangerous condition to have, so he has continually changed identities and moved from place to place. And he has travelled the world. Now, in a search for at least the pretence of normality, he has returned to London.

Episode One
Tom attends an interview for a job as a history teacher at a school in Tower Hamlets.

Matt Haig is the bestselling author of Reasons To Stay Alive. An award-winning writer of books for children and young adults, he has written five novels for adults.

Writer: Matt Haig
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Reader: Tom Hollander
Producer: Lisa Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


MON 23:00 Something Understood (b09jqsxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:05 on Sunday]


MON 23:30 Anansi Boys (b09ghqjr)
1/6

'Stories are Webs. They are connected strand to strand....'

Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys comes to Radio 4, with a stellar cast, and a specially commissioned song written and performed by Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones's Grey Worm) who makes his radio debut as Fat Charlie Nancy, a South London boy whose dad is trouble. And not just your standard, run of the mill kind of trouble: more like, your trickster God and master of mischief and storytelling kind of trouble.

Anansi Boys is a story of love, laughter, music and murder, old gods and new tricks, that takes Fat Charlie from his home in London to Florida, the Caribbean, and the very Beginning of the World itself. Or the End of the World. Depending on which direction you're coming from.

Jacob Anderson is a musician (as Raleigh Ritchie) as well as an actor. Starring as Fat Charlie, a young man who struggles to find his voice, he has also written and performed a specially commissioned song - Charlie's Song - which forms part of the magical fabric of Anansi Boys.

The stellar cast of the series also includes Earl Cameron, Tanya Moodie, Adjoa Andoh, Joseph Marcell, Lenny Henry, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Sheila Atim, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Cecilia Noble, Angela Wynter, Ariyon Bakare, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Danielle Vitalis, Ronke Adekoluejo, Clifford Samuel, and Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong.

This is Dirk Maggs's fifth adaptation of a Neil Gaiman novel for Radio 4, and Neil Gaiman's favourite so far.

Writer ..... Neil Gaiman
Adaptor ..... Dirk Maggs
Sound Design ..... Wilfredo Acosta
Producer ..... Allegra McIlroy
Director ..... Allegra McIlroy.



TUESDAY 26 DECEMBER 2017

TUE 00:00 Midnight News (b09jqt63)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


TUE 00:15 Christmas Meditation (b09k8z4b)

A spiritual reflection in words and music to bring Christmas Night to a close from Sarah Teather, Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service UK. This personal meditation finds the joy of Christmas breaking through in the messy painful struggles of life, including family tragedy and the lives of refugees. Featuring beautiful choral settings by Francis Poulenc, James Macmillan and David Bednall, the programme weaves music and text to explore profound themes of human life and the Christmas story.

Sarah Teather is a former Westminster MP and Government Minister but has been working for the Jesuit Refugee Service since June 2015.

Producer: Garry Boon.


TUE 00:30 Book of the Week (b09jrd1q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Monday]


TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b09jqt65)

The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b09jqt6f)

TUE 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b09jqt6k)

The latest shipping forecast.


TUE 05:30 News Briefing (b09jqt6m)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b09l9lgz)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking.


TUE 05:45 Farming Today (b09jqt6p)
Christmas Camels

Some farmers take part in Christmas celebrations by providing sheep or cattle to re-create living nativity scenes, but Beatrice Fenton has been to meet some more exotic festive animals. Rebecca and Joseph Fossett keep eight camels on their farm in Warwickshire and, together with their children, dress them up and hire them out for Christmas events. Today they're in Solihull town centre.

Produced and presented by Beatrice Fenton.


TUE 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09jv7cv)
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 8 of 12

During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and for many a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder days. Tweet of the Day has been entertaining early morning listeners to the Radio 4 schedule every day since 2013, but this Christmas we will delight in an avian offering of the well known song the Twelve Days of Christmas.

As actress Alison Steadman reveals during the cold mid-winter as they went about their business, those eight maids a milking were probably not thinking of a familiar bird which also produces milk. The domestic pigeon.

Producer : Andrew Dawes
Photograph: David England.


TUE 06:00 Today (b09jqt6r)

News and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


TUE 09:00 Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History (b09jv8pc)
Series 1, 1910-1920

The Wire's Clarke Peters draws on a rare collection of archive recordings to explore a forgotten musical history.

Received wisdom has it that black popular music arrived in Europe with the Empire Windrush in 1948, but Clarke brings us black sounds recorded in Europe from as far back as 1900.

Focusing on early commercial discs made in the recording studios of London, Paris and Berlin, we hear from dozens of different performers, including African American travelling entertainers, traditional African musicians, black British classical composers and more.

Episode 2 - 1910-1920
Clarke explores the music of black Europe at the time of the First World War. The sounds of what would become jazz start to emerge, including African American banjo bands who entertained London high society, and the military music of Harlem bandleader James Reese Europe which enthralled France. The programme also includes music by captured African Prisoners of War, recorded in camps across Germany.

Much of the music in this series is drawn from Black Europe, a vast boxset issued by Bear Family Records and documenting the sounds of the era.
With readings by Paterson Joseph.

Produced by Tom Woolfenden
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 09:30 One to One (b08xz8hf)
Mark Steel and Graeme Le Saux

Mark Steel has two addictions: stand-up comedy (his job) and sport (watching, playing, talking about it). He's certain that the two have much in common - risk taking, performance anxiety, dealing with crowd hostility and more. His guest this week is former Premiership and England footballer, Graeme Le Saux, whose strategies for coping with playing at the highest level are more similar than you might think to Mark's own experiences - especially when it comes to dealing with crowds who don't really like you.

In this series, he meets Dr. Faye Didymus, a sports psychologist at Leeds Beckett University (who was impressed by his flow-state, but would like him to reduce his dependence on ironing). And Mark also meets former World Champion snooker player, John Parrott. All three programmes are available as podcasts after broadcast. And there are extra, un-broadcast, bits in the John Parrott & Graeme Le Saux podcasts.

Producer in Bristol: Karen Gregor.


TUE 09:45 Book of the Week (b09jvfbv)
Adventures of a Young Naturalist, Episode 2

In the 1950s, David Attenborough, the naturalist and broadcaster grasped a life changing opportunity which led him to travel the world finding rare and elusive animal species for London Zoo and filming the expeditions for the BBC television series, Zoo Quest. Today, David Attenborough reads from the account of his trip to Guyana where he encounters a reluctant sloth.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.


TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (b09jqt6t)
Women speaking out in 2017

On Boxing Day, Jane Garvey reflects on the women who've spoken out in 2017 and the issues they've been bringing to the fore. We discuss the reaction they got and if there really is a cause for celebration as we come to the end of the year.

We will hear from guests who've spoken out on this programme including, actress Anne-Marie Duff discussing sexual harassment in the film industry; model Adwoa Aboah talking about her mental health and addiction; Women's Officer at Cambridge University Lola Olufemi discussing prejudice and racism; and Gina Martin, the victim of upskirting photography who is campaigning to change sexual harassment laws.

Joining Jane, Gloria Allred, an American Women's rights lawyer notable for taking on high-profile and often controversial cases, she is currently representing some of Harvey Weinstein's alleged victims of sexual harassment. Also, transgender model and activist Munroe Bergdorf who lost her job with L'Oreal this year after speaking out about racism. Plus, Mum, Author and columnist at the Daily Telegraph, Bryony Gordon and Guardian columnist Deborah Orr.


TUE 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jvfc2)
Incredible Women, Episode 2

Meet the living legend, actress Dame Cicely Leyland as she approaches her 100th birthday! All this week Rebecca Front and Jeremy Front bring you a fun-packed retrospective of her life on stage, TV and the big screen. From her roots in Variety, through her early radio comedy days, to appearances in the Beatles film 'Gear!' And more recently in Harry Potter.

But there's one card Cicely is playing close to her chest as her big birthday approaches. Will Jeremy Front uncover it in time?

In today's programme reporter Jeremy Front Interviews Dame Cissy in a Jacuzzi after her over-80s aqua-robics class, he accompanies her to Pinewood Studios for a mysterious meeting and he experiences, first-hand, the power of Dr Theatre's tonic. We also hear from Front Row's John Wilson about Cissy's performance in the Hitchcock film The Informer, while she was still a teenager.

Starring Rebecca Front, Jeremy Front, Sam Spiro, Jon Culshaw and John Wilson.

Written by Jeremy Front.

Produced by Claire Jones.

This is a BBC Studios production.


TUE 11:00 James Burke on the End of Scarcity (b09jvfc4)

Broadcasting legend James Burke returns to the airwaves to discuss the biggest change to humanity in 10,000 years. In 50 years or so he predicts nanotechnology will give us capabilities we've only imagined of in science fiction. In labs around the world the foundations are being laid for the 'nano-fabricator' a device that will allow us to assemble just about anything, atom by atom; including itself. IT COULD MEAN THE END OF SCARCITY ITSELF.

As far-fetched as it seems it's an idea that was first posited as long ago as 1959 by physicist Richard Feynman and then popularised as the 'replicator' in Star Trek. But this is no fantasy - in Manchester Professor David Leigh has made the world's first nano-robot, an arm a millionth of a millimetre in size that will assemble the molecules you programme into it. While at MIT's Centre for Bits and Atoms they're taking the replicator as their inspiration and are working on materials and methods to make our physical world as programmable as our digital one.

What fascinates James isn't so much the revolution in the technology but what it will mean for us as a species; one whose raison d'etre has been about managing the scarcity of what we need or want. It's been the impetus to human development since our very beginning and the reason why we have markets and jobs and governments and maths and every other innovation that's helped us along the way to get us to now. By taking us on a high speed journey through our history of scarcity busting invention James will demonstrate just how disruptive what's coming will be. For him it will be nothing less than the next stage in our evolution.


TUE 11:30 Tales From the Stave (b09jvfc6)
Series 16, Mendelssohn's Elijah

Frances Fyfield begins a new series of her celebrations of the handwritten manuscripts of famous pieces of classical music with a piece that was first heard in Birmingham. Mendelssohn's Oratorio 'Elijah' was commissioned by the Birmingham Music Festival for a first performance in 1846. The manuscript used at that first midday concert by the organist H J Gauntlet is held by the Library of Birmingham. It's the work of a German Copyist but contains amendments by the composer and organist and examples of material later removed or replaced by Mendelssohn in time for repeat performances the following year. Frances looks at the score with Simon Halsey, the current chorus master of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Choir. But the two of them are then joined by one of Britain's greatest singers, the Bass/Baritone Sir Thomas Allen, at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. It's there that Mendelssohn's revised vocal score, one which he began working on within weeks of the first performance, is housed.
The reworking of choruses and solos, including the famous trio 'Lift thine Eyes', the beautiful hand and the evidence of partnership between Mendelssohn and his English translator William Bartholomew are in evidence throughout the manuscript. Sir Thomas, who sang the role of Elijah many times during his career, has a special fondness for the piece which resonates with the non-conformist background of his Grand-parents and the days of massed regional Choral Societies for whom this was a favourite from its first rapturous reception at Birmingham Town Hall, during which several of the movements were encored. And yet, today it appears to have fallen out of favour, a situation that Sir Thomas and Simon Halsey are keen to reverse.

Producer: Tom Alban.


TUE 12:00 News Summary (b09jqt6w)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 12:04 Home Front (b09bdq00)
26 December 1917 - Lester Reed

On this day in 1917, the first Ladies' international football match was played in Belfast, and in Tynemouth, Lester Reed is finding it hard to celebrate. His sister can't console him and he leaves to drown his sorrows.

Season 12 of Home Front, titled Giddy With Possibility, is set in the North East of England, in the shadow of the Russian Revolution. The excitement and fear provoked by the Bolshevik Revolution that overturned Russia, Britain's greatest ally in the war, rippled out around the world and - briefly - made people believe that anything was possible. In industrial Tyneside it is a time of unprecedented unrest and union activity, and where ladies' football is gaining a foothold in the national imagination.

Meanwhile, at Collingwood Park the children are met with the confusing site of Father Christmas building a bonfire. Is this what he does with the leftover presents, they wonder. Things only get more perplexing when they are joined by adults from the house. An argument between them and Father Christmas ensues and Cressida, worried for everyone's safety, takes drastic action.

Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.


TUE 12:15 You and Yours (b09jqt6y)
Boxing Day Sales

New research suggests the UK has fallen out of love with the Boxing Day Sales. A survey commissioned by You and Yours suggests the traditional post-Christmas spending spree is being eroded by the Black Friday sales in November.

The last three months of the year are what's known as the golden quarter in retail - where shops hope to make most of their profits. But, Black Friday has been a massive shake up for retailers over the Christmas shopping period. Forcing some retailers to discount throughout December, and take part in discounts when they don't want to. We speak to the Managing Director of Waterstones, James Daunt, about why he likes the theatrics of Black Friday, as well as Jenny Parker from online retailer Country Attire about how Black Friday has changed how people shop on her website over the Christmas period.

We analyse how constant discounting degrades a consumer's opinion of a brand. We visit River Island's flagship store in Westfield shopping centre in London, to see how they're using new technology to avoid having too many sales.

The NEXT sale was once a staple for many Boxing Day bargain hunters, with people queuing outside stores overnight. George Davis, the founder of NEXT, tells us how he created the excitement around the sale and his approach to discounts.

We also hear advice from fashion and lifestyle influencer Hayleigh McCullough on how to get the best deals on Boxing Day.

Presenter: Samantha Fenwick
Producer: Lydia Thomas.


TUE 12:57 Weather (b09jqt72)

The latest weather forecast.


TUE 13:00 World at One (b09jqt74)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


TUE 13:45 Radio Four's Pen Pals (b09jvfch)
Series 1, Lemn and Mark

A new series celebrating the phenomenon of the international pen-pal - the art of writing a letter the old-fashioned way, the tentative early forays into a new friendship, and the frisson of glamour when the air mail envelope drops through the letter-box.

Five favourite Radio 4 voices were asked to chose a pen-pal from anywhere in the world. The task was to write six letters in long-hand and send them through the post. What they wrote about was entirely up to them. But they had to finish before the end of 2017.

Poet, author and broadcaster, Lemn Sissay, chose a secondary-school boy in Northern Ireland as his pen-pal for this second episode.

Northern Ireland is one of Lemn's favourite places on earth. Both share a dark struggle and a love of good writing. Last year, Lemn ran a workshop at the new Seamus Heaney Centre near Magherafelt and loved the passion and enthusiasm of the local school children. He's been writing letters to one of them, Mark Comer, about Harry Potter, being on stage, and scaring children at Halloween.

Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 14:00 The Archers (b09jrxpw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Monday]


TUE 14:15 Drama (b09jvfcr)
Mr Betjeman Regrets

2/2. By Jonathan Smith. Stars Benjamin Whitrow who died shortly before he could finish recording this play. His role was completed by Robert Bathurst, a friend and fellow Betjeman enthusiast. Towards the end of his career, Sir John Betjeman is a national treasure. He's become an immensely popular tv and radio performer, selling over two million copies of his Collected Poems in his lifetime. But he continues to worry about his chequered career and complex personal life.
Betjeman .............. BENJAMIN WHITROW/ROBERT BATHURST
Lady Elizabeth ..................... ...........................JOANNA DAVID
Lady Penelope ..................... .....................SARAH CROWDEN
Producer/director: Bruce Young.


TUE 15:00 The Kitchen Cabinet (b09jqbqr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Saturday]


TUE 15:30 Making History (b09jvglr)
Who was Saint Stephen?

Helen Castor is in the chair for a festive edition of the popular history magazine programme. She's joined by Professor Miri Rubin from Queen Mary, University of London and Tony Collins the Professor of Sport at De Montfort University in Leicester.

On this feast of Stephen, Tom visits Norwich to find out more about the character who met a violent death and became the first christian martyr. He talks to the choristers who will be singing Good King Wenceslas in the city's grand Norman cathedral over Christmas and the Bishop of Norwich the Rt Reverend Graham James.

Dr Hugh Doherty from the University of East Anglia takes the story of martyrdom on to the 12th century. In Norwich, a city which had no saint, a twelve year old boy called William was found dead just before the feast of Passover. Some pointed the finger of blame for this death at the city's growing Jewish community, accusing them of a ritual murder. Was William a martyr as some in Norwich tried to make him, or was this nothing more than a nasty anti-semitic medieval marketing campaign.

Boxing Day is a time for games and a feast of sport. A football match will be on many people's festive agenda. Journalist Paul Brown has traced festive football back to its Victorian and Edwardian roots and discovered that Everton FC once played no fewer than three games on Christmas Day and Boxing Day!

Finally, a new game - Top Town History. Two Making History listeners go head to head to prove that where they live is best for history. Today, Fort William meets Reading in a battle for the past.

Producer: Nick Patrick
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 16:00 The Half: A Countdown to Performance (b08m9h2m)

The Half - called over the tannoy backstage at the theatre - is the beginning of the countdown to facing an audience.

Regardless of the highs and lows of daily life, performers have to harness themselves, step into the spotlight and use pressure to their advantage. The 30-minute call is when it all becomes a bit more serious - there's no escaping what lies ahead.

We hear the half-hour count down over the loudspeaker system as arts broadcaster and journalist Fiona Lindsay takes us behind the scenes in a West End theatre and a hospital operating theatre and explores how that crucial half hour before the curtain goes up plays out for performers of all kinds.

We go backstage at Matilda the Musical to follow actor Craige Els as he transforms into the terrifying Miss Trunchbull. At the Sheffield Children's Hospital, Paediatric surgeon Ross Fisher lets us in on the half hour before he performs an operation on a child. Comedian Mae Martin sizes up the audience as she waits stage-side to perform stand up in London's East End. World champion snooker player Steve Davis remembers the rituals that played out in his changing room in the half hour before he performed at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. Rabbi Miriam Berger describes how she prepares to lead a funeral service. Performance psychologist Amanda Owens takes us through the techniques she teaches to top sports people.

Are there parallels that can be drawn between these very different kinds of performers? Fiona uncovers the psychological and physical routines our performers have in common, as well as the highly idiosyncratic rituals that individuals come to rely on.

Produced by Peggy Sutton and Chris Elcombe

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 16:30 Great Lives (b09jvglt)
Series 44, Nazir Afzal on Gandhi

This week Matthew Parris invites the former Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England Nazir Afzal who was responsible for convicting the men who sexually abused young girls in Rochdale to nominate a great life. He has chosen Mahatma Gandhi, also a lawyer, whom he says inspired him to speak out on behalf of those who were marginalised and ignored by the rest of society.

Producer: Maggie Ayre.


TUE 17:00 PM (b09jqt76)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b09jqt78)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


TUE 18:15 15 Minute Musical (b09jvglw)
Xmas 2017, Dud Brothers

A Blood Brothers-inspired separated at birth story where Jeremy Corbyn and Jacob Rees-Mogg discover that despite being brought up with opposite political ideologies, they actually have one very significant thing in common.

We begin with two abandoned children being taken in and cared for by two very different families. After chalk and cheese childhoods, Jacob and Jeremy finally meet in parliament where they reveal through a searing ballad their joint desire to not only make their respective parties unelectable but also to join forces and find their common birth mother. Who is she and where will they find her?

Starring: Pippa Evans, Dave Lamb and Richie Webb
Writers: Dave Cohen, David Quantick and Richie Webb
Composer: Richie Webb
Music production: Matt Katz

Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.


TUE 18:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b09jvhgh)
Series 8, Portishead

Mark Steel's In Town - Portishead

"When the siren sounds - Go in, close doors and windows and stay in"

Mark Steel returns to Radio 4 with the 8th series of his award winning show that travels around the country visiting towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness. After thoroughly researching each town, Mark writes and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.

In this episode Mark visits Portishead in Somerset

Portishead is near Bristol, but it definitely isn't Bristol. You can get to Bristol from there if you like, but it isn't that easy. It has a lovely Marina, a boating lake, a lido and peculiar stationers shop with too many rooms. It also has a plethora of groups and societies including a marvellous bunch of people who save toads and frogs from getting run over. Oh, and newts.

Eddie Large and Mike Baldwin from Coronation Street live there as well.
*(Not together)

Written and performed by ... Mark Steel
Additional material by ... Pete Sinclair
Production co-ordinator ... Hayley Sterling
Sound Manager ... David Thomas
Producer ... Carl Cooper

Picture Credit ... Tom Stanier.


TUE 19:00 The Archers (b09jvhgk)

Will has some bad luck, and Tony makes preparations.


TUE 19:15 Front Row (b09jqt7b)
Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman on his 30 year career in film, from playing punk rebel Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy to a barnstorming performance as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.

He tells Kirsty why he was reluctant at first to take on the role. How he transformed himself into Britain's wartime Prime Minister and the challenge of recreating Churchill's distinctive voice. How when he was young his drama teachers told him that he wouldn't amount to anything. And as he approaches his 60th birthday, why he would like to return to British theatre.

Presenter: Kirsty Lang
Producer: Timothy Prosser.


TUE 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jvfc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


TUE 20:00 A Culture of Encounter (b09dxz1b)

We may be more connected than ever, but we are, in many ways, strangers to each other. How many of your close friends have radically different politics, values or life experiences from you? And when did you last share a meal with someone from a totally different background?

In this programme, Douglas Alexander tries to find out why we've become so polarised as a nation and what we can do about it. His time as a politician convinced him that government alone cannot mend Britain's divisions. So what can we do as a society and as individuals?

Douglas seeks advice from those who've studied Britain's fault lines and traced their causes - from political and economic forces to neuroscience and psychology. We also hear from those with expertise in bringing together people from different backgrounds - from the head of the UK army to the members of an Edinburgh cooking club. He also takes inspiration from the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, who's argued that, for human beings to flourish, we need to create a Culture of Encounter.


TUE 20:30 In Touch (b09jqt7d)
I'm Sorry I Haven't A Quiz

Peter White hosts a special Boxing Day edition called 'm Sorry I Haven't A Quiz' with a panel of guests: TV journalist Kevin Mulhern, opera singer Denise Leigh, audio-book reviewer Sue Arnold and musician Dave Kent.
Loosely based on BBC Radio 4 quizzes, the panel are asked to take part in games which have been given the In Touch twist.
There is a special guest appearance by the doyen of radio comedy script writing, Denis Norden/

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Cheryl Gabriel.


TUE 21:00 The Power of Sloth (b09jvhgp)

Zoologist and founder of the Sloth Appreciation Society, Lucy Cooke, unleashes her inner sloth to discover why being lazy could actually be the ultimate evolutionary strategy.

The explorers of the New World described sloths as 'the lowest form of existence', but sloths are actually some of the most enduring of all tropical mammals. They make up one third of the mammalian biomass in rainforests and have survived some 64 million years - outliving far flashier animals like sabre tooth tigers.

The secret to the sloth's success is their slothful nature and their suite of energy-saving adaptations. In fact slothfulness is such a successful strategy, that there are examples all over the animal kingdom, including, surprisingly, worker ants. Recent studies in humans have shown the many health benefits of adopting a slower pace of life. Sleep itself is universal amongst the animal kingdom. All animals do it, but why remains a mystery. What is clear though, is that unleashing your inner couch potato is no bad thing, be you sloth or human.

Lucy discovers the genius behind the sloths laid back attitude and fights the corner for laziness.

Producer: Alexandra Feachem.


TUE 21:30 Black Music in Europe: A Hidden History (b09jv8pc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (b09jqt7g)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


TUE 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b09jvhx3)
How to Stop Time, Episode 2

Tom Hazard has a rare condition - he ages very, very slowly, with the result that, while he looks about 41, he is in fact over 400 years old. Over the centuries it has been a dangerous condition to have, so he has continually changed identities and moved from place to place. And he has travelled the world. Now, in a search for at least the pretence of normality, he has returned to London.

Episode Two
Over 200 years after the death of Rose, Tom seeks help for his condition from London clinician Dr Hutchinson.

Matt Haig is the bestselling author of Reasons To Stay Alive. An award-winning writer of books for children and young adults, he has written five novels for adults.

Writer: Matt Haig
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Reader: Tom Hollander
Producer: Lisa Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


TUE 23:00 The Missing Hancocks (b06s87ls)
The Trial of Father Christmas

Between 1954 and 1959, BBC Radio recorded 102 episodes of Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's comedy classic Hancock's Half Hour. The first modern sitcom, it made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Galton and Simpson on one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history. But 20 episodes of the show are missing from the BBC archives, and have not been heard since their original transmission nearly sixty years ago. Now, after a highly successful first series, another five of those episodes have been lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre, featuring a stellar cast led by Kevin McNally as The Lad Himself.

Tonight's episode: The Trial Of Father Christmas. For the show's contribution to the festive season, The Anthony Hancock Strolling Players present a cautionary tale of Christmas as it might be...

Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and with the classic score newly recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra, the show stars Kevin McNally, Kevin Eldon, Simon Greenall, Robin Sebastian, Susy Kane and John Finnemore. The Trial Of Father Christmas was first broadcast on the 21st December 1955.

Produced be Ed Morrish & Neil Pearson.

Written by Ray Galton & Simpson

A BBC Radio Comedy Production.


TUE 23:30 Anansi Boys (b09ghqrv)
2/6

When his father dies, Fat Charlie Nancy (Jacob Anderson) discovers that not only was the late Mr Nancy (Lenny Henry) actually the god Anansi, but that he also has a long-lost brother, Spider (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), who is everything Fat Charlie is not. When Spider begins to take over Fat Charlie's life, flat and even his fiancée Rosie (Sheila Atim), Fat Charlie is forced to make a pact that lands him in even more trouble. Not just with his boss (Julian Rhind-Tutt), the wife of their biggest client (Julie Hesmondhalgh) and police officer Daisy Day (Pippa Bennett-Warner), but with the gods themselves...

Anansi Boys is a magical web of a story that spans the old world and the new, from South London to the Southern US, the fictional Caribbean island of St Andrews, and the Mountains at the End of the World. Or the Beginning of the World. Depending on which way you're heading.

From the writer of Neverwhere and American Gods, a six part adaption of Neil Gaiman's best-selling and much-loved novel.

The stellar cast of the series also includes Earl Cameron, Tanya Moodie, Adjoa Andoh, Joseph Marcell, Cecilia Noble, Angela Wynter, Ariyon Bakare, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Danielle Vitalis, Ronke Adekoluejo, Clifford Samuel, and Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong.

Writer ..... Neil Gaiman
Adaptor ..... Dirk Maggs
Sound Design ..... Wilfredo Acosta
Producer ..... Allegra McIlroy
Director ..... Allegra McIlroy.



WEDNESDAY 27 DECEMBER 2017

WED 00:00 Midnight News (b09jqt9l)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


WED 00:15 Bone Stories (b090whd4)
Series 1, Irish Giant

The first of five stories in which Evolutionary Biologist Ben Garrod follows a trail of clues beginning with a bone or skeleton and leading to a fascinating revelation. In this programme, Ben explores the link between an 18th century skeleton in the Hunterian Museum and Brendan Holland from County Tyrone who reached a height of 6'10" and has been diagnosed with gigantism. Ben follows a trail of clues and discovers how recent findings could mean that in the future there are no more Irish giants. Producer Sarah Blunt

If you have concerns about FIPA, the first port of call should be your GP.
Information about Familial Isolated Pituitary Adenoma (FIPA) is available at www.fipapatients.org
The Pituitary Foundation provides a confidential and non-judgemental service to pituitary patients, their carer, families and friends.
www.pituitary.org.uk
AMEND is run by patients, for patients to support and inform anyone affected by multiple endocrine neoplasia disorders and their associated endocrine tumours.
www.amend.org.uk.


WED 00:30 Book of the Week (b09jvfbv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Tuesday]


WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b09jqt9n)

The latest shipping forecast.


WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b09jqt9q)

WED 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b09jqt9s)

The latest shipping forecast.


WED 05:30 News Briefing (b09jqt9v)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b09kqsb1)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking.


WED 05:45 Farming Today (b09jqt9z)
Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution's festive work

It's a season for celebration: across the country, families and friends are gathering to mark Christmas and the New Year with food, music and laughter.
But for many in rural communities, it's not such a carefree time of year. In Britain's farming communities, issues such as isolation, financial pressures and depression are becoming increasingly common.
The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) is a national charity that offers emotional, practical and financial support to disadvantaged members of the farming community. This is their busiest time of year.
Lucy Taylor joins farmer and RABI volunteer John Smith and the charity's Welfare Officer for the South West, Chloe Rigler, as they deliver a festive hamper to retired farm worker Mr Penny; and speaks to Professor Matt Lobley, Director of the Centre for Rural Research at the University of Exeter, about the particular problems facing people who live and work in agriculture.


WED 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09jvlnh)
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 9 of 12

During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and for many a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder days. Tweet of the Day has been entertaining early morning listeners to the Radio 4 schedule every day since 2013, but this Christmas we will delight in an avian offering of the well known song the Twelve Days of Christmas.

As actress Alison Steadman recounts, there are many birds who could be thought of as the best dancers, but for me I'm sure the nine ladies dancing (and gentlemen) in the song would relish a chance to relax for a while and watch the dancing display of the great crested grebe. A sure sign that winter is nearly over.

Producer : Andrew Dawes
Photograph: Tim Donovan.


WED 06:00 Today (b09jqtb1)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


WED 09:00 Soul Music (b09jvlnk)
Series 25, Redemption Song

"If you've never heard of Bob Marley then you must be living under a rock" - Neville Garrick, Bob Marley's Art Director and friend.

At the time he wrote 'Redemption Song', circa 1979, Bob Marley had been diagnosed with the cancer in his toe that later took his life. It is considered one of his greatest works and continues to inspire generations of Marley fans across the world.

For Grammy Award Winning artist John Legend, it's become an anthem for addressing the criminal justice system of America whilst in Palestine, for 'Musicians without Borders' practitioner Ahmed al 'Azzeh it's a song that inspires him to work towards a better life. For Jamaican Poet Laureate Lorna Goodison, it is a reminder to continue Marley's call to 'sing these songs of freedom' and for Bob Scott, it will forever be heard in memory of his nephew Dominick who lost his life during the 2004 Tsunami.
Featuring interviews with Neville Garrick and Wailers Guitarist Don Kinsley.
Produced by Nicola Humphries.


WED 09:30 Why I Changed My Mind (b09bz16l)
Series 3, Bill Browder

Bill Browder was the biggest foreign investor in Russia, but a tragic death - and changing his mind about what truly matters to him - have made him Vladimir Putin's great enemy.

Browder managed Hermitage Capital Management, with billions invested in Russia until one night in 2009 when his Russian lawyer was beaten to death inside a Moscow prison. The two men had been trying to expose corruption at the heart of the Russian state.

When Sergei Magnitsky died, Bill Browder decided to abandon his career as one of the most successful capitalists in the world, and dedicate his life to campaigning for human rights and specifically justice for his dead friend. He has successfully persuaded many Western governments to consider and introduce laws to ban those he holds responsible for Magnitsky's death from travelling to several countries, and to freeze assets they own in states outside Russia.

But this campaign has come at a price. Browder is now in fear of his life and feels the need to be eternally vigilant to the possibility that Russian agents have plans to assassinate him.

In "Why I Changed My Mind", Dominic Lawson interviews people who have changed their mind on controversial matters.

Producer: Jonathan Brunert.


WED 09:45 Book of the Week (b09jvlnp)
Adventures of a Young Naturalist, Episode 3

In the 1950s, David Attenborough, the naturalist and broadcaster grasped a life changing opportunity which led him to travel the world finding rare and elusive animal species for London Zoo and filming the expeditions for the BBC television series, Zoo Quest. Today, he reads from his account of his trip to Java where he gets to grips with a monstrous reptile.

Abridged and read by David Attenborough
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.


WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (b09jqtb5)
Masculinity: being a man today

What's it like to grow up as a man today? Do accepted ideas about masculinity need to change? The flood of allegations of sexual misconduct by men in public life and the stories shared at #MeToo have re-opened conversations about whether masculinity itself is toxic. We've heard from actor Robert Webb and former lad Chris Hemmings who've questioned conventional expectations of male behaviour. Are they typical of changing attitudes and what are the biggest challenges facing masculinity?
With guests singer song-writer Will Young, director Chris Sweeney - both creators of a podcast for LGBTQ audiences, Bilal Khan who works across youth programmes in schools, Guardian editor and author Mark Rice-Oxley, and author Ross Raisin.

Presenter: Jenni Murray
Producer: Anne Peacock.


WED 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jvlnr)
Incredible Women, Episode 3

Meet the living legend, actress Dame Cicely Leyland as she approaches her 100th birthday! All this week Rebecca Front and Jeremy Front bring you a fun-packed retrospective of her life on stage, TV and the big screen. From her roots in Variety, through her early radio comedy days, to appearances in the Beatles film 'Gear!' And more recently in Harry Potter.

But there's one card Cicely is playing close to her chest as her big birthday approaches. Will Jeremy Front uncover it in time?

In today's programme Cissy is interviewed on Woman's Hour by Jane Garvey who has her work cut out for her keeping the mischievous Cissy on the PC straight and narrow; and Barry Cryer describes what a star she was in ENSA, performing as 'Aunty Mabel' for the armed forces all over Europe during the war, where everyone knew her catchphrase 'Anyone seen me Bren gun?!'

Starring Rebecca Front, Jeremy Front, Sam Spiro, Jon Culshaw, Jane Garvey and Barry Cryer.

Written by Jeremy Front.

Produced by Claire Jones.

This is a BBC Studios production.


WED 11:00 A Place Called Home (b08ynzzv)
Series 1, Mary Portas

Watford or Harvey Nichols - where is home for the 'Queen of Shops'?

Award winning interviewers and journalists Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson meet well known people to explore the geography of their childhood. In this episode, Mary Portas takes Alice and Rachel back to her home town of Watford where she grew up.

Mary shows them the department store, the theatre and the streets she knew so well, and shows them how they shaped her - and her politics and entrepreneurial outlook. And she says she only really found home when she made it to Knightsbridge and the glamour of the Harvey Nichols' shop windows.

Producer: Chris Ledgard.


WED 11:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b085wj14)
Series 6, Episode 1

John Finnemore, writer and star of Cabin Pressure and John Finnemore's Double Acts and regular guest on The Now Show and The Unbelievable Truth, presents some seasonal sketches in a special edition of his multi award-winning Souvenir Programme., joined as ever by Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin, Carrie Quinlan and, at the piano, Susannah Pearse.

Expect sketches! Expect songs! They're what made up the previous five series, so it seems a pretty safe bet that that's what will be in this one as well. And, well, since you ask him for some tall tales...

John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme was described by The Radio Times as "the best sketch show in years, on television or radio", and by The Daily Telegraph as "funny enough to make even the surliest cat laugh". Already the winner of a BBC Audio Drama Award and a Radio Academy Silver Award, John was named the 2016 Radio Broadcaster of the Year by the Broadcasting Press Guild for his work on Souvenir Programme.

A seasonal special, taking in TV adverts, woodland talent contests, a song about the best day of the Christmas season and what is almost certainly the greatest story a Finnemore has ever told.

Written by & starring ... John Finnemore

Original music composed and performed by ... Susannah Pearse

Production Coordinator...Sophie Richardson

Producer ... Ed Morrish

A BBC Studios Production.


WED 12:00 News Summary (b09jqtb7)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 12:04 Home Front (b09bdq5y)
27 December 1917 - Fraser Chadwick

On this day in 1917, Vladimir Lenin gave a speech proposing the nationalisation of all Russian banks, and in North Shields, Fraser has an unusual offer.

Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.


WED 12:15 You and Yours (b09jqtb9)
Michelin-starred restaurants, Boxing Day sales figures, UK ivory trade ban

Boxing Day sales figures are out. A survey commissioned by You & Yours has revealed that the traditional post-Christmas spending spree is being eroded by the Black Friday sales in November. Fifty six per cent said the Boxing Day sales have lost their appeal. Today we look at what we actually spent.

Antiques dealers are making a last-minute attempt to talk the government out of a blanket ban on all sales of ivory. We discuss the government consultation that ends this week.

One hundred and seventy five restaurants in the UK and Ireland have at least ONE Michelin star. It's the blue riband in the catering world - worth it not just for the prestige - but the number of customers it brings through the door. But what are the stars awarded for - and do people going to eat there really understand what to expect from a Michelin restaurant? We meet a winner and an owner to find out if they think it's worth it.

And, the sales app for parents launched in the Netherlands that is proving so popular that half of all the households in Denmark with children under six are using it at least once a month. 'Reshopper' comes to the UK.

And why the gap between Xmas and New Year can be a good time to put your house on the market.

Presented by Winifred Robinson
Produced by Helen Roberts.


WED 12:57 Weather (b09jqtbc)

The latest weather forecast.


WED 13:00 World at One (b09jqtbf)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


WED 13:45 Radio Four's Pen Pals (b09jvlnx)
Series 1, Lyse and Masood

Lyse Doucet is the BBC's Chief International Correspondent. She first met her pen-pal, Masood Khalili, in the 1980s when she was a young correspondent covering the early years of war in Afghanistan. He is a poet, a former fighter who survived two suicide attacks, and now a diplomat. They revisit their friendship through a series of poignant letters, discussing war, poetry and cancer.

For this series, five favourite Radio 4 voices were asked to chose a pen-pal from anywhere in the world. The task was to write six letters in long-hand and send them through the post. What they wrote about was entirely up to them - but they had to finish before the end of 2017.

In our globally connected world, how much do we really understand the lives of people born thousands of miles away? By trying to understand the individual, we may gain a better understanding of the bigger picture. And as each presenter learns more about their new friend, they also offer a small window into their own world.

Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 14:00 The Archers (b09jvhgk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Tuesday]


WED 14:15 Drama (b09jvmgd)
Game Over

Building a video game that works, where the player understands the goals and enjoys the experience is one thing, but Chelsea wants her new game to change the world. She's calling it Glacier and it will tell the story of an Alaskan village eroded by global warming.

Chelsea, in financial debt from her previous project, is thrilled when top Californian investor Harrison Reed decides to back the game. He has a reputation for great design and commercial success. He has also become infamous for not working with women.

Chelsea always starts with a feeling and builds the look and mood of the game from that. With Glacier, she wants the story to be about real characters with a real dilemma. She's determined to capture a sense of loss and grief in the medium of a game. But Harrison pushes for something fun and easy to sell and is determined to get press coverage about how socially responsible he has become.

To build Glacier, Chelsea has to navigate the boys' club of designers working with Harrison and choose which battles are even worth fighting. When she signs up to work with Harrison, she can't anticipate what it will be like.

Written by Emily Short, Game Over is her first play for radio. She's a leader in interactive storytelling and sought-after for a variety of projects in games, interactive stories, interactive film, and education.

Cast:
Chelsea.....Sarah Elmaleh (pictured above)
Lee.....Eden Marryshow
Harrison.....Ari Brand
Jared.....Michael Levi Harris
Gloria.....Fay Ann Lee
with
Emily Perkins
Pete McElligott.
Raphael Martin

Sound design by Louis Mitchell and Peregrine Andrews.
Music by Gene Pritsker

Directed by Judith Kampfner
Executive Producer: Polly Thomas

A Corporation For Independent Radio production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 15:00 Ramblings (b0939xjz)
Series 37, Listeners' Walks: Cornwall

Clare Balding takes the Cornish coastal path from Constantine Bay to Harlyn, in the company of two women for whom walking has been the cement in their friendship. Sarah Rossiter and Rebecca Newsom met at university and although their lives have taken them in very different directions; Sarah works for an investment bank , Rebecca for Greenpeace, they try to ensure they get together every few months to do some challenging hiking while putting the world to rights. In this repeat from earlier in 2017, Clare will be walking with listeners who have recommended people or places the programme should feature. Sarah wrote to Ramblings wishing to share their enthusiasm for walking and walking together.

The route they take can be found on OS Explorer 106 Newquay and Padstow.

Producer: Lucy Lunt.


WED 15:27 The Listening Project (b09jvlnt)
David and Mike - Words of Love Not Hate

A social worker who supported families affected by the Enniskillen Remembrance Sunday bombing and the journalist who interviewed Gordon Wilson, who lost his daughter on that day, share the impact of Gordon's capacity for forgiveness on their lives. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.


WED 15:30 The Power of Sloth (b09jvhgp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 21:00 on Tuesday]


WED 16:00 Thinking Allowed (b09jvmgw)
Working-class actors, Class and classical music

Working class actors: Laurie Taylor asks if acting is becoming an increasingly exclusive and elite profession. He talks to the actor Julie Hesmondhalgh and to Dave O'Brien, Chancellor's Fellow, Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Edinburgh, and author of a new study which suggests that working class actors face increasing economic, as well as cultural obstacles, comparable to skydiving without a parachute. Also, class and classical music. Anna Bull, lecturer in the School of Social, Historical and Literary Studies at the University of Portsmouth, considers why this musical genre is seen as such a middle class preserve.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.


WED 16:30 The Media Show (b09jqtbk)
Who wants to be a TV format millionaire?

British TV producers are responsible for some of the world's most popular shows. What is the secret to creating a hit format? Amol Rajan gets advice from Richard Osman, creative director of Endemol UK, Karen Smith, co-devisor of Strictly Come Dancing and Paul Smith who was part of the team behind Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Robin Hilton is a partner at the law firm Sheridans and John McVay is Chief Executive of Pact.

Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Richard Hooper
Assistant producer: Eleanor Kifvel

Picture shows Richard Osman and Amol Rajan.


WED 17:00 PM (b09jqtbm)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b09jqtbp)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


WED 18:15 Dr John Cooper Clarke at the BBC (b09jvn0h)
Series 2, 27/12/2017

The Bard of Salford performs a mixture of classic and previously unheard poems, recorded at the BBC's Radio Theatre in London.

Set List:

A Distant Relation
Christmas at Somebody Else's House
Shave Off
The Day My Pad Went Mad

Written and performed by Dr John Cooper Clarke
Introduction by Johnny Green
Produced by Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios Production.


WED 18:30 Jeremy Hardy Feels It (b09jvn0m)
Series 1, Jeremy Hardy Feels... Fear

Jeremy Hardy returns with his new series that not only seconds that emotion, but explains it too. In this show, Jeremy feels... fear.

Radio 4's most passionate polemicist returns to the airwaves with a new format which promises to be both personal and profound, and to present sides of Jeremy you won't have heard before. He may even sing. (He won't sing.)

The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue" regular, proud progenitor of ten series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, and winner of numerous awards and almost certainly the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Jeremy is famous for lines like:

"Kids should never be fashion slaves, especially in the Far East. My 12-year old daughter asked me for a new pair of trainers. I told her she was old enough to go out and make her own."

and -

"Islam is no weirder than Christianity. Both are just Judaism with the jokes taken out."

His unique world view once lead him to be likened to "an incendiary vicar". Gillian Reynolds called him, "an idealist, a dissenter, a polemicist and moralist - he's a salutary reminder that jokes can, and should, be about big things."

The show is produced by Jeremy's long-standing accomplice, David Tyler, whose radio credits include Cabin Pressure, Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!, Marcus Brigstocke's The Brig Society, Kevin Eldon Will See You Now, Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The Castle, The 99p Challenge, Deep Trouble, My First Planet, Radio Active and Bigipedia. His TV credits include Paul Merton - The Series, Spitting Image, Absolutely, The Paul Calf Video Diary, Coogan's Run and exec producing Victoria Wood's dinnerladies.

Written by Jeremy Hardy
Produced by David Tyler

A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 19:00 The Archers (b09jvn53)

Pat gets a belated gift, and Ian looks to the future.


WED 19:15 Front Row (b09jqtbr)
Incredible! The unstoppable rise of the comic book superhero

The surprise success of this year's Wonder Woman film emphasized the current dominance of superhero movies at the box office. Stig Abell investigates the comic book origins of these characters and explores why they have become such a presence in our culture.

Dave Gibbons, the comic book writer and artist most famous for his collaboration with Alan Moore on The Watchman, shows Stig around his studio. Gibbons, who has also worked on Superman, Green Lantern, and Frank Miller's Give Me Liberty, talks about his 40 year career in comics and whether today is truly a 'Golden Age' for the form.

Stig visits Orbital comics shop and is guided around the superhero universes by comic critic Adam Karenina Sherif and journalist Louise Blain. Plus he gets a lowdown on the changing film industry from Den of Geek editor Simon Brew.

Author Nikesh Shukla and critic Gavia Baker-Whitelaw join comic book writer Kieron Gillen to examine what is it about superhero characters and their stories that is so appealing.

Presenter: Stig Abell
Producer: Kate Bullivant

Image: Gal Gadot as Diana in Warner Bros film Wonder Woman
Image credit: 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment and Ratpac Entertainment LLC.


WED 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jvlnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


WED 20:00 We Need to Talk About Death (b09jvp31)
Series 2, Bury Me at Sea

Although many people who have been buried at sea were sailors or navy personnel, anyone can have their body committed to the deep.

Few people choose the sea as their final resting place but, for those that do, there is a small band of funeral directors, skippers and coffin makers around the country who know how it's done.

A body can't be buried anywhere. There are designated sites around the country and a license is required to protect human health and the marine environment.

The Marine Maritime Organisation issues licences for burials in England. Applicants must supply a doctor's certificate to confirm that the body is free from infection and fever. It cannot be embalmed, must be lightly dressed in biodegradable clothing and tagged with durable ID.

The sea coffin itself looks a bit like a treasure chest. Built to withstand impact and to ensure it drops swiftly to the seabed, two hundred kilograms of iron, steel and concrete is strapped around the coffin and clamped to its base. To aid its sinking, dozens of holes are drilled into its softwood surface to let the seawater rush in.

Joan Bakewell and her panel discuss this little known mode of burial and explore how our naval history has shaped modern day practice. Joan also gets some tips on the best way to scatter ashes at sea.

Producer: Beth Eastwood.


WED 20:45 Encounters (b09jvp33)
Death Knocking

The press response to the Manchester Attacks and the Grenfell Fire has reignited debate about how journalists should contact people affected by tragedies. Death knocking - visiting the home of a grieving person to get an interview - is a controversial practice, but one which many journalists defend as a vital tool of their trade.

Two people come together to swap one story which helped shape their views on death knock journalism. Then they retell each other's story as if it had happened to them. Can this help them to better understand each other's perspective?

Sheron Boyle has been a journalist for nearly 30 years and has written several stories that started with a death knock. Claire Throssell was thrust into the media spotlight after her partner killed their children and himself in a fire. She talks about giving an interview in her home that she felt was an intrusion on her grief.

Produced and presented by Viv Jones.


WED 21:00 Against Our Ruin (b08q739x)

Hayden Lorimer, from the ruins of a modern architectural masterpiece on the banks of the River Clyde, asks poets, thinkers and entropy tourists why we love fragments and scraps more than finished art works. With Alice Oswald and Patrick McGuinness, Mark Ford and Seamus Perry, and the music of Bob Dylan, Pere Ubu and Christian Marclay. These fragments I have shored against my ruins, wrote TS Eliot in The Waste Land. Are we all cultural vultures now? Producer: Tim Dee.


WED 21:30 Soul Music (b09jvlnk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


WED 22:00 The World Tonight (b09jqtbt)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


WED 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b09jvp35)
How to Stop Time, Episode 3

Tom Hazard has a rare condition- he ages very, very slowly, with the result that, while he looks about 41, he is in fact over 400 years old. Over the centuries it has been a dangerous condition to have, so he has continually changed identities and moved from place to place. And he has travelled the world. Now, in a search for at least the pretence of normality, he has returned to London.

Episode Three
It's 1599 and Tom remembers his time in Suffolk, his mother, and trials for witchcraft.

Matt Haig is the bestselling author of Reasons To Stay Alive. An award-winning writer of books for children and young adults, he has written five novels for adults.

Writer: Matt Haig
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Reader: Tom Hollander
Producer: Lisa Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


WED 23:00 Life on Egg (b09jvp37)
Series 1, Mistress of Disguise

The Egg, floating on a giant prehistoric egg in the middle of the ocean, is Britain's most remote prison. So there's no better place to send Patsy Potts, one of the nation's most tricky prisoners, who's a master of disguise and escaped from every other prison they've tried to keep her in. But when Tim arrives on The Egg with Patsy in the helicopter, she's nowhere to be found, and worse, no-one knows what she actually looks like...

Written by Dan Maier

Produced by Sam Michell

It is a production from BBC Studios.


WED 23:15 The East Coast Listening Post (b09jvp39)
Series 1, Return of Mr Splatt

In episode two Jenna and Dana turn their attention to the British phenomenon that was 'Mr Splatt', a costumed character who dominated family entertainment television in the early 90s. They interview Carl, the man who was inside the suit, and hear the tale of his experience working in the entertainment industry. But, is Carl as innocent as he makes out? (Spoiler alert: no).

The East Coast Listening Post was written and performed by Celeste Dring and Freya Parker, with performances from David Elms and Tim Key. The original score was composed by Owain Roberts. The script editor was Matthew Crosby. The production co-ordinator was Steve Lanham.
The East Coast Listening Post was produced by Suzy Grant for BBC Studios Scripted Comedy.


WED 23:30 Anansi Boys (b09ghqt4)
3/6

'Fat Charlie has a headache, a grieving heart, and a cash bonus from Graham Coats of two thousand pounds'

A gentle boy whose dad made him feel small, Fat Charlie Nancy is now overwhelmed by the discovery of a brother he never knew he had (not to mention the fact that his dad is the Spider God Anansi). As Spider (not so much feckless as absent on the day they handed out feck) tramples carelessly across Charlie's life, Charlie begins to discover in himself a growing fire.

From the writer of Neverwhere and American Gods, a six part adaption of Neil Gaiman's best-selling and much-loved novel.

The stellar cast of the series also includes Earl Cameron, Tanya Moodie, Adjoa Andoh, Joseph Marcell, Jacob Anderson, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Sheila Atim, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Cecilia Noble, Angela Wynter, Ariyon Bakare, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Danielle Vitalis, Ronke Adekoluejo, Clifford Samuel, and Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong.

Writer ..... Neil Gaiman
Adaptor ..... Dirk Maggs
Sound Design ..... Wilfredo Acosta
Producer ..... Allegra McIlroy
Director ..... Allegra McIlroy.



THURSDAY 28 DECEMBER 2017

THU 00:00 Midnight News (b09jqtfb)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


THU 00:15 Bone Stories (b090xwq1)
Series 1, West Runton Mammoth

Evolutionary biologist Ben Garrod heads to a Norfolk beach to hear how a raging storm led to the discovery of one of the oldest mammoth skeletons ever to have been found in the UK and the best preserved skeleton of this species in the world. The skeleton revealed a treasure trove of information about life some 600,000 to 700,000 years ago.

Producer Sarah Blunt.


THU 00:30 Book of the Week (b09jvlnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Wednesday]


THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b09jqtfd)

The latest shipping forecast.


THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b09jqtfg)

THU 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b09jqtfj)

The latest shipping forecast.


THU 05:30 News Briefing (b09jqtfl)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b09kqwhr)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking.


THU 05:45 Farming Today (b09jqtfn)
Dutch cheese in Cornwall

Giel Spierings came home from college to find a 'for sale ' sign on the gate of his family's dairy farm in Cornwall. He was inspired by his Dutch heritage to start a business making Gouda cheese, to save the farm. Now the cheese is a national award winner sold in delis and restaurants around the country. Sarah Swadling meets Giel to hear his story and find out how traditional Gouda is made.


THU 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09jvsps)
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 10 of 12

During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and for many a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder days. Tweet of the Day has been entertaining early morning listeners to the Radio 4 schedule every day since 2013, but this Christmas we will delight in an avian offering of the well known song Twelve Tweets of Christmas.

As actress Alison Steadman recounts, while the original song called for ten Lords a Leaping, in the bird world a there are a number of species which could be thought of as able to leaping about. Choosing which birds come to mind from that list brings to mind the pied wagtail and the common crane.

Producer : Andrew Dawes.
Photograph: Deanne Wildsmith.


THU 06:00 Today (b09jqtfq)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


THU 09:00 In Our Time (b09jqtfs)
Hamlet

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Shakespeare's best known, most quoted and longest play, written c1599 - 1602 and rewritten throughout his lifetime. It is the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, encouraged by his father's ghost to take revenge on his uncle who murdered him, and is set at the court of Elsinore. In soliloquies, the Prince reveals his inner self to the audience while concealing his thoughts from all at the Danish court, who presume him insane. Shakespeare gives him lines such as 'to be or not to be,' 'alas, poor Yorick,' and 'frailty thy name is woman', which are known even to those who have never seen or read the play. And Hamlet has become the defining role for actors, men and women, who want to show their mastery of Shakespeare's work.

The image above is from the 1964 film adaptation, directed by Grigori Kozintsev, with Innokenty Smoktunovsky as Hamlet.

With

Sir Jonathan Bate
Provost of Worcester College, University of Oxford

Carol Rutter
Professor of Shakespeare and Performance Studies at the University of Warwick

And

Sonia Massai
Professor of Shakespeare Studies at King's College London

Producer: Simon Tillotson.


THU 09:45 Book of the Week (b09jvspv)
Adventures of a Young Naturalist, Episode 4

In the 1950s, David Attenborough, the naturalist and broadcaster grasped a life changing opportunity which led him to travel the world finding rare and elusive animal species for London Zoo and filming the expeditions for the BBC television series, Zoo Quest. Today, extraordinary birds and their nesting habits.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.


THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (b09jqtfv)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


THU 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jvspx)
Incredible Women, Episode 4

Meet the living legend, actress Dame Cicely Leyland as she approaches her 100th birthday! All this week Rebecca Front and Jeremy Front bring you a fun-packed retrospective of her life on stage, TV and the big screen. From her roots in Variety, through her early radio comedy days, to appearances in the Beatles film 'Gear!' And more recently in Harry Potter.

But there's one card Cicely is playing close to her chest as her big birthday approaches. Will Jeremy Front uncover it in time?

In today's programme Barry Cryer explains that after her great success with ENSA as Aunty Mabel, Cissy was suddenly faced with an acting drought. But before long she took a different turn and was appearing in some of the British Film industry's popular movies - both comedy and horror. John Wilson is enthusiastic on the topic, until things in studio turn awkward.

Starring Rebecca Front, Jeremy Front, Sam Spiro, Jon Culshaw, John Wilson and Barry Cryer.

Written by Jeremy Front.

Produced by Claire Jones.

This is a BBC Studios production.


THU 11:00 Crossing Continents (b09jvspz)
Taming the Pilcomayo

A journey up the 'suicidal' Pilcomayo river that separates Paraguay from Argentina... The Pilcomayo is the life-force of one of Latin America's most arid regions. But it is also one of the most heavily silted rivers of the world. As it courses down from the Bolivian Highlands in the months of December and January, half is water, half sand. This means it often causes flooding. Or, it changes course, failing to deliver water to those who depend on it. So in order to benefit communities, this is a river system that needs careful management, and a lot of human input to ensure the water flows. Compounding the fickleness of the Pilcomayo are 3 years of drought in the region. Gabriela Torres travels north from Asuncion up the course of the Pilcomayo during the dry season, visiting communities where the wildlife is dying and the economy under threat. How will the people - and animals - cope this year?


THU 11:30 Thinking Outside the Boxset: How Technology Changed the Story (b09jvsq1)
Series 1, Episode 3

The rise of social media and smartphones has given the audience for artistic events - whether on TV, in the theatre or in cinemas - the chance to react more quickly and with more impact than ever before. In the final part of the series, Mark Lawson considers how this newfound power is affecting the way stories are being told across the arts. He hears about the frustration felt by producers, writers and directors when a small proportion of negative tweets are used as the basis for front-page news stories, but also speaks with some writers who are keen to use social media to engage in more direct and productive ways than previously possible with their audience, even those whose reactions are initially negative. Mark considers the similarities between the newly empowered audience making itself heard within the arts with those in the worlds of sport and politics. He hears how some platforms are already allowing the audience to play a direct role in the way narratives progress, and finally turns his thoughts to the future, and how new advances - some of which we have only just begun to consider - might change the way we view and take part in stories as technology's development continues to accelerate.


THU 12:00 News Summary (b09jqtfx)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 12:04 Home Front (b09bdq6q)
28 December 1917 - Marion Wardle

On this day in 1917, the German forces allegedly dropped deadly toys over France which exploded in children's hands, while in North Shields, Marion eagerly accepts Kitty's generosity.

Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.


THU 12:15 You and Yours (b09jqtfz)
Call You and Yours: Have you reached peak stuff?

Today we want to know if you're at peak stuff?
As you recover from all that turkey and tinsel - we want to know if you think you've got too many material things.
Figures from Barclaycard suggest that we now prefer to buy an experience - dinner out or a trip to the theatre rather than physical stuff. Their data shows that spending on entertainment, from concerts to pubs, rose by 10 per cent in 2017. That compares with a 3 per cent fall in spending at department stores.
Do you want to live with less? Perhaps you've already ditched the clutter? Tell us if you regret throwing something away. Get in touch too if you're someone who likes to keep everything - and it all has meaning.

Email youandyours@bbc.co.uk and leave a phone number so we can call you back.

Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Jess Quayle.


THU 12:57 Weather (b09jqtg1)

The latest weather forecast.


THU 13:00 World at One (b09jqtg3)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


THU 13:45 Radio Four's Pen Pals (b09jvsq3)
Series 1, Jim and Jenny

Scientist Jim Al-Khalili describes himself as a committed rationalist. He's never had a pen-pal before and chose to explore the life of someone living off-grid on a remote Canadian island, a life very far from his own.

Jenny Vester has lived on Lasqueti Island, off the East Coast of Vancouver, for 25 years and describes herself as a lover of variety and ideas - "One that loves to dance, write, tell stories, dream, walk in the forest and take inspiration from nature".

For this series, five favourite Radio 4 voices were asked to chose a pen-pal from anywhere in the world. The task was to write six letters in long-hand, and send them through the post. What they wrote about was entirely up to them - but they had to finish before the end of 2017.

Jim and Jenny enter into a wide-ranging discussion on the connection between mind and body, zombies and the meaning of life. Their daily lives are poles apart. Will the same be true of their beliefs?

In our globally connected world, how much do we really understand the lives of people born thousands of miles away? By trying to understand the individual, we may gain a better understanding of the bigger picture. And as each presenter learns more about their new friend, they also offer a small window into their own world.

Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 14:00 The Archers (b09jvn53)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Wednesday]


THU 14:15 Drama (b09jvx78)
Long Time Coming

By Ben Weatherill

Rachel is ambushed by Vicky in the supermarket, a woman who claims to be an old school friend. Vicky certainly knows an awful lot about her but the trouble is, Rachel can't remember her. It's not until Rachel invites her into her home that Vicky reveals her true identity.

Rachel . . . . . Kate O'Flynn
Vicky . . . . . Maggie Service
Tom . . . . . Neil Grainger

Director . . . . . Sasha Yevtushenko.


THU 15:00 Open Country (b09jvt24)
Nan Shepherd's Cairngorms

Helen Mark visits the Cairngorms in Scotland to find out why this landscape was an inspiration and a refuge for writer Nan Shepherd. Shepherd's neglected book 'The Living Mountain' has found new audiences with a resurgence in the popularity of nature writing in recent years and recognition of her importance has resulted in her image featuring on the new Scottish five pound note.

Helen meets Nan's long-time friend and 'adopted family member' Erlend Clouston, as well as local people who share her passion for the wilderness of the mountains here. Ospreys became extinct and were reintroduced to the Cairngorms during Nan Shepherd's lifetime: Helen discusses this and some of the more glamorous jobs of RSPB warden Fraser Cormack, including ditch-blocking. She'll talk about winter climbing with Helen Geddes and rare plants and how to protect them with Gwenda Diack to build up a picture of what Shepherd loved about this wild and remote area of Scotland.

Producer... Mary Ward-Lowery.


THU 15:27 Radio 4 Appeal (b09jqxqm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:54 on Sunday]


THU 15:30 Open Book (b09jvvnr)
David Walliams

In a special programme David Walliams talks about his life as a children's writer. He has enjoyed phenomenal success with his books, which include Gangsta Granny, Billionaire Boy and Mr Stink, and has sold millions of copies around the world. In this revealing and entertaining interview Walliams talks with Mariella Frostrup about his latest Bad Dad, the writers he admires and his relationship with his own father.


THU 16:00 The Film Programme (b09jvvnt)
Aaron Sorkin

Francine Stock talks to West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin about his directorial debut Molly's Game. Based on the true story of a woman who ran underground poker games for the rich and famous, Sorkin reveals why he didn't name the Hollywood actors who were regular punters.

Composer Neil Brand tickles the ivories and shows how Ron Goodwin's theme for 633 Squadron changed the sound of the war movie.

Briony Hanson and Scott Jordan Harris slug it out to get their directors in the A to Z of film-makers. This week it's Kelly Reichardt versus Satyajit Ray.


THU 16:30 BBC Inside Science (b09jqtg5)
Ancient DNA and Human Evolution

Twenty years ago, a revolution in the study of human evolution began. A team in Leipzig in Germany successfully extracted DNA from the bones of a Neanderthal man who died about 40,000 years ago. Thirteen years later, the same group unveiled the first complete genome sequence of another Neanderthal individual. Last year, they announced they'd retrieved DNA from much oldest archaic human bones, more than 400,000 years old.

Adam Rutherford talks to Svante Paabo, the scientist has led these remarkable achievements. Professor Paabo and his colleague Janet Kelso at the Max Planck Institute of Biological Anthropology in Leipzig discuss the genes in many European people alive today that originated in Neanderthals and were passed to modern humans when the two species interbred.

Adam also speaks to Johannes Krause who worked on the Neanderthal genome project in Leipzig but is now director of the Max Planck Institute of the Science of Human History. His latest research adds a new layer of intrigue and complexity to the relationship between our species and Neanderthals in deep time.

David Reich at Harvard University focuses on using ancient DNA to uncover the ancestry and movements of modern human hunter-gatherers in Eurasia from about 50,000 years to the Bronze Age, a few thousand years ago. Population movements occur on a cinematic scale, he says. (Podcast only).

The revelations of ancient genetics would not be possible and meaningful without the traditional disciplines of palaeoanthropology and archaeology. Adam goes to Gibraltar to seek the perspective of Clive Finlayson who leads excavations there as director of the Gibraltar Museum. Gibraltar is the most concentrated site of Neanderthal occupation in the world. As well as remains of a young Neanderthal child last year, the Rock's caves have also recently yielded the first example of Neanderthal cave art.


THU 17:00 PM (b09jqtg8)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b09jqtgb)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


THU 18:15 Dr John Cooper Clarke at the BBC (b09jvvnw)
Series 2, 28/12/2017

The Bard of Salford performs a mixture of classic and previously unheard poems, recorded at the BBC's Radio Theatre in London.

Set List:

Gimmick World (It's a World of Gimmicks)

Home Honey I'm High

The Motorist

Christmas 73

Pies

Written and performed by Dr John Cooper Clarke
Introduction by Johnny Green
Produced by Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios Production.


THU 18:30 Susan Calman - Keep Calman Carry On (b09jvvny)
Series 2, Birdwatching

Susan Calman is the least relaxed person she knows. She has no down time, no hobbies (unless you count dressing up your cats in silly outfits) and her idea of relaxation is to sit on her sofa playing Assassin's Creed, an hour into which she is in a murderous rage with sky high blood pressure. Her wife had to threaten to divorce her to make her go on holiday, and she's been told by the same long-suffering wife that unless she finds a way to switch off, and soon, she's going to be unbearable.

Susan decided her best bet was to try to immerse herself in the pursuits that her friends find relaxing, to find her inner zen and outer tranquillity. In the first series of this show she attempted to ditch the old Susan Calman and attempted to find the new Susan Calm, by watching Cricket; going Hillwalking; visiting an Art Gallery and being spontaneous. She enjoyed these pursuits, but all too soon found herself slipping back into her old ways. So she's trying again. This week she goes birdwatching with the writer and comedian Emma Kennedy.

In other episodes Susan will learn about gardening with Val McDermid, go to a music festival with Robin Ince and try baking with the Great British Bake Off's Selasi Gbormittah.

Keep Calman Carry On is an audience stand up show in which Susan reports on how successful she's been - both at relaxing and at the pursuit itself - as well as playing in and discussing a handful of illustrative clips from her efforts. It's an attempt to find out how people find solace or sanctuary in these worlds and how Susan can negotiate her own place in them.

Written by Susan Calman and Jon Hunter.
Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
A BBC Studios Production.


THU 19:00 The Archers (b09jvvp0)

Brian sets out his vision, and Eddie comforts the cast.


THU 19:15 Front Row (b09jqtgd)

Arts news, interviews and reviews.


THU 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jvspx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


THU 20:00 The Briefing Room (b09jvvp2)
What next for the Democrats?

The Democrats. A year on from their shock defeat in the US presidential elections, David Aaronovitch asks how the party is responding to Donald Trump's Presidency and assesses some of the challenges which lie ahead.

In the Briefing Room are Jon Sopel, the BBC's North America Editor; Dr Larry Sabato from the University of Virginia and Joan C Williams, author of the White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.


THU 20:30 In Business (b09jvvp4)
Mental Health at the Workplace

Why can you phone in sick with flu but not with depression? Mental health is a big deal in the workplace at the moment. Following recent celebrity and Royal disclosures about their own mental health issues, it's become a hot topic. But away from the glare of publicity what's actually going on - what are employers actually doing? In this edition of In Business David Baker asks how far companies should go in managing their employee's mental health. With technology and an on-call culture increasingly blurring the lines between our work and home, what are the boundaries between issues at the office and those which should remain part of our private lives?

Producer: Jim Frank.


THU 21:00 BBC Inside Science (b09jqtg5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 today]


THU 21:30 In Our Time (b09jqtfs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]


THU 22:00 The World Tonight (b09jqtgj)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


THU 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b09jvvpd)
How to Stop Time, Episode 4

Tom Hazard has a rare condition - he ages very, very slowly, with the result that, while he looks about 41, he is in fact over 400 years old. Over the centuries it has been a dangerous condition to have, so he has continually changed identities and moved from place to place. And he has travelled the world. Now, in a search for at least the pretence of normality, he has returned to London.

Episode Four
In 1891, Tom travels to New York where he meets the mysterious and charismatic Hendrich and learns about the Albatross Society.

Matt Haig is the bestselling author of Reasons To Stay Alive. An award-winning writer of books for children and young adults, he has written five novels for adults.

Writer: Matt Haig
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Reader: Tom Hollander
Producer: Lisa Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:00 The Brig Society (b069xxg5)
Series 3, Football Manager

Uh-oh - Marcus Brigstocke has decided to find out about the pure, noble and honest game of football - and also FIFA. He'll be tackling some of the sport's biggest problems, like racism and homophobia - and also FIFA.

And as a football manager, he'll be taking his amateur side all the way to the Premier League. And possibly beyond, if Qatar pay him enough.

Helping him to kick it out of the park will be Margaret Cabourn-Smith ("Miranda"), William Andrews ("Sorry I've Got No Head") and Colin Hoult ("Derek")

Written by Marcus Brigstocke, Jeremy Salsby, Toby Davies, Nick Doody, Steve Punt and Dan Tetsell.

Produced by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.


THU 23:30 Anansi Boys (b09ghqyn)
4/6

Charlie begins to follow the strands of the web to its centre, and takes the first steps to owning his own story. Through an unexpected séance, he slips across the hairsbreadth between worlds, to the place of the old gods, and encounters his father's old enemies, Tiger and Bird.

Anansi Boys is a magical web of a story that spans the old world and the new, from South London to the Southern US, the fictional Caribbean island of St Andrews, and the Mountains at the End of the World. Or the Beginning of the World. Depending on which way you're heading.

The stellar cast of the series also includes Earl Cameron, Tanya Moodie, Adjoa Andoh, Joseph Marcell, Jacob Anderson, Lenny Henry, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Sheila Atim, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Cecilia Noble, Angela Wynter, Ariyon Bakare, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Danielle Vitalis, Ronke Adekoluejo, Clifford Samuel, and Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong.

Writer ..... Neil Gaiman
Adaptor ..... Dirk Maggs
Sound Design ..... Wilfredo Acosta
Producer ..... Allegra McIlroy
Director ..... Allegra McIlroy.



FRIDAY 29 DECEMBER 2017

FRI 00:00 Midnight News (b09jqtjg)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. Followed by Weather.


FRI 00:15 Bone Stories (b090ygbd)
Series 1, Mary Rose Archer

Evolutionary biologist Ben Garrod tries his hand at pulling a medieval long bow and discovers how studies of the skeletons of the archers who sank with the Mary Rose could help patients with dyspraxia. Producer Sarah Blunt.


FRI 00:30 Book of the Week (b09jvspv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:45 on Thursday]


FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (b09jqtjj)

The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (b09jqtjl)

FRI 05:20 Shipping Forecast (b09jqtjn)

The latest shipping forecast.


FRI 05:30 News Briefing (b09jqtjq)

The latest news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (b09krdzt)

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with the Rt Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, Bishop of Dorking.


FRI 05:45 Farming Today (b09jqtjv)
Challenges in Family Farming

Today we turn the spotlight on family succession as we investigate the relationships between the farming generations. Howard Shannon has been to meet two families who face very different problems. In Hertfordshire we hear from a farmer who feared his son was more interested in rugby than taking over the dairy herd. Meanwhile in Northamptonshire a family worries about the impending handover to their daughter in light of the arable and sheep farm being cut in two by the HS2 train line. We also hear how the older generation have often found the handover process to be a fraught one and why in one case a third party intermediary was the answer.


FRI 05:58 Tweet of the Day (b09jvxhk)
Alison Steadman - The Twelve Tweets of Christmas 11 of 12

During this season of goodwill our thoughts turn to crackling fires, being with the family and for many a song or a carol to bring merriment to the colder days. Tweet of the Day has been entertaining early morning listeners to the Radio 4 schedule every day since 2013, but this Christmas we will delight in an avian offering of the well known song Twelve days of Christmas.

As the song hints at, no festive party for a true love would be complete without eleven massed pipers piping. And possibly the best pipers of the British bird world can be found down on the coast. For actress Alison Steadman two species which come to mind are the redshank and the oystercatcher.

Producer : Andrew Dawes
Photograph: Tim Marlow.


FRI 06:00 Today (b09jqtjx)

Morning news and current affairs. Including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.


FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (b09jr61s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 on Sunday]


FRI 09:45 Book of the Week (b09jx8mf)
Adventures of a Young Naturalist, Episode 5

In the 1950s, David Attenborough, the naturalist and broadcaster grasped a life changing opportunity which led him to travel the world finding rare and elusive animal species for London Zoo and filming the expeditions for the BBC television series, Zoo Quest. Today, he reads from his account of his trip to Argentina and the mystery of the vanishing armadillo.

Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.


FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (b09jqtjz)

Programme that offers a female perspective on the world.


FRI 10:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jx8mh)
Incredible Women, Episode 5

Meet the living legend, actress Dame Cicely Leyland as she approaches her 100th birthday! All this week Rebecca Front and Jeremy Front bring you a fun-packed retrospective of her life on stage, TV and the big screen. From her roots in Variety, through her early radio comedy days, to appearances in the Beatles film 'Gear!' And more recently in Harry Potter.

But there's one card Cicely is playing close to her chest as her big birthday approaches. Will Jeremy Front uncover it in time?

In today's programme Jeremy hears about the era of the kitchen sink drama; Fenella Fielding reveals what Cissy got up to on the set of 'Gear!' and Laurence Fox turns up as Cicely's plus one for her 100th birthday party.

Starring Rebecca Front, Jeremy Front, Sam Spiro, Jon Culshaw, Fenella Fielding and Laurence Fox.

Written by Jeremy Front.

Produced by Claire Jones.

This is a BBC Studios production.


FRI 11:00 I'm Stuck in Here (b09jx8mk)

Ian Sansom is trapped. He has no idea where he is, who he's talking to and where that annoying music is coming from. If the voice in his head is to be believed, he's somehow managed to turn up in an edition of niche American podcast, Whiskey Cats, and he better have something to say about the matter.

But this could be the least of Ian's worries. It appears he may have been swallowed up into some kind of bigger, stranger, far more disconcerting audio rabbit-hole.

Just as he's beginning to adjust to a lively discussion about single malts and feline friends, he's off again - to the Australian outback, a meditation session with Harvey Keitel, the wrong side of a mirror and a sewer deep beneath the streets of London with someone called Gary.

Turns out that voice inside Ian's head belongs to an unreliable narrator who feels it's her duty to explain he's trapped inside a radio documentary. A radio documentary about radio documentaries, podcasts and audio story-telling from around the world, as it happens. If that's not enough, his only chance of escape is to come up with some sort of thesis based on all the things he's discovering. But he better hurry - this programme ends in less than half-an-hour...

Producer: Conor Garrett.


FRI 11:30 David Sedaris: The Santaland Diaries (b04vf7nc)

David Sedaris wasn't always an award-winning writer and satirist. For two consecutive Christmases in the early 1990s, he was a Christmas elf at Santaland in the famous New York department store, Macy's. These are hilarious extracts from his diaries at the time.

"My costume is green. I wear moss-colored velvet breeches, an emerald smock, and a stocking cap decorated with spangles. This is my work uniform. My elf name is Crumpet, and I was allowed to chose it myself, which is something."

The Santaland Diaries drew David's writing to the attention of America and the World. He hasn't read them out loud for nearly twenty years - but has agreed to read them once more for BBC Radio 4.

The original recording of the story, made for Morning Edition on America's National Public Radio (NPR), has been aired every Christmas since it was first broadcast. A very much shortened version was also recorded by David for Radio 4 in 1996.

Crumpet, the little elf in the perky green cap, is re-born - and you'll never hear Billie Holiday in the same way ever again.

Writer/Performer: David Sedaris

Produced by Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:00 News Summary (b09jqtk3)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 12:04 Home Front (b09bdty0)
29 December 1917 - Joyce Lyle

On this day in 1917, the Russian government issued a decree abolishing all military ranks and titles, and in Tynemouth, discharged soldier, Duncan Chadwick, gives Joyce a difficult start to her day.

Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole.


FRI 12:15 You and Yours (b09jqtk5)

Consumer news and issues.


FRI 12:57 Weather (b09jqtk7)

The latest weather forecast.


FRI 13:00 World at One (b09jqtk9)

Analysis of news and current affairs.


FRI 13:45 Radio Four's Pen Pals (b09jx8mm)
Series 1, Louiza and Angeliki

In the last episode of a new series celebrating the art of letter writing, Louiza Patikas, better known to Radio 4 listeners as Helen from The Archers, discusses stage-craft and Greek life and culture with fellow actress, Angeliki Papoulia.

Louiza is half-Greek and has spent many happy holidays visiting family and soaking up the culture. She has long admired the work of Greek actor and theatre director, Angeliki Papoulia, star of award-winning films Dogtooth, Alps and The Lobster. The two discover a shared love of village life, and a common history in the story of their parents' roles in the political upheavals of 1960s and 70s Greece.

For this series, five favourite Radio 4 voices were asked to chose a pen-pal from anywhere in the world. The task was to write six letters in long-hand and send them through the post. What they wrote about was entirely up to them - but they had to finish before the end of 2017.

In our globally connected world, how much do we really understand the lives of people born thousands of miles away? By trying to understand the individual, we may gain a better understanding of the bigger picture. And as each presenter learns more about their new friend, they also offer a small window into their own world.

Producer: Deborah Dudgeon
Executive Producer: David Prest

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 14:00 The Archers (b09jvvp0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 19:00 on Thursday]


FRI 14:15 Drama (b09jx8mp)
Saving the Blue

The Large Blue was always a magnificent and rare creature but, by the early 1970s, it was very nearly extinct. That was when Professor Jeremy Thomas, then a PHD student, was tasked with saving this iconic butterfly. And yet their numbers were critically low even as he began.

Throughout the rest of the 1970s, he spent the summer months out in the field, at a secret location on Dartmoor, attempting to discover the reason for their decline and, if possible, to reverse it. As the population dwindled away, Professor Thomas became locked in an increasingly desperate race against time.

This ground breaking work has been enormously influential on conservation practice to this day, having profound consequences for other butterflies and for wider conservation practice. What started as one man, on his own, on the moors, has grown into a group of individuals and agencies whose ongoing work remains vitally important.

Steve Waters, inspired by this work, has invented the characters and settings that surround it. His dramatic work based on factual events is well known, with recent plays in the West End (Limehouse and Temple) as well as radio dramas made with Holy Mountain including Air Gap and Deep Swimmer.

Professor Jeremy Thomas is played by Michael Pennington and Joshua McGuire, alongside a cast including Anton Lesser and Hannah Steele.

Saving the Blue is delicate and essential drama.

Written by Steve Waters
Sound Design by Alisdair McGregor
Assistant Producer Robbie MacInnes
Produced and Directed by Boz Temple-Morris

A Holy Mountain production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (b09jx8mr)
Garden Museum

Peter Gibbs and the panel visit the Garden Museum in Lambeth. Pippa Greenwood, Anne Swithinbank and Matt Biggs answer questions from the audience.

Produced by Hannah Newton
Assistant Producer: Laurence Bassett

A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 15:45 Short Works (b09jx8mt)
Series 1, The Boundary

A new story for Radio 4 by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri. Set in a remote Italian village, a teenage girl, of immigrant parents, wonders why her life is so different from those of the happy, glossy young families who come to holiday there.

Author: Jhumpa Lahiri has won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for her debut short story collection, The Interpreter of Maladies and the Frank O'Connor Award for her collection Unaccustomed Earth. She has recently been awarded the 29th PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short story
Reader: Deeivya Meir
Abridged and produced by Justine Willett.


FRI 16:00 Last Word (b09jx8mw)

Obituary series, analysing and celebrating the life stories of people who have recently died.


FRI 16:30 A Good Read (b08sn96z)
Ed Byrne and Hardeep Singh Kohli

Comedians Ed Byrne and Hardeep Singh Kohli talk to Harriett Gilbert about favourite books. It's a bit of a Scotfest: Ed's is Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre, Hardeep's The Prime of Miss Brodie by Muriel Spark and then Harriett introduces them to The Seven Good Years by little-known Israeli writer Etgar Keret - with mixed results..
Producer Beth O'Dea.


FRI 16:55 The Listening Project (b09jx8my)
Sharon and Melanie - Learning from Cancer

A counsellor finds she has gained as much from their sessions as her client whose life has been changed through cancer. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.


FRI 17:00 PM (b09jqtkd)

Eddie Mair with interviews, context and analysis.


FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (b09jqtkg)

The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.


FRI 18:15 Little Lifetimes by Jenny Eclair (b099yqss)
Series 4, The Visit

by Jenny Eclair
Performed by Doon Mackichan
Produced by Sally Avens

A woman returns to her old home to see the changes made by her husband and his new wife. She can't believe what she finds, but she has a unique way of dealing with her disappointment.

Doon Mackichan is one of our leading comic actors. She wrote and starred in Smack The Pony and Doon Our Way and has recently been seen in Plebs and Two Doors Down.


FRI 18:30 Dead Ringers (b09jxd2g)
Christmas Specials 2017, Episode 2

Topical impressions show that offers a satirical take on politics, media and celebrity.


FRI 19:00 The Archers (b09jxd2j)

Lynda is on top form, and there is revelry at Honeysuckle Cottage.


FRI 19:15 Front Row (b09jqtkj)

News, reviews and interviews from the worlds of art, literature, film and music.


FRI 19:45 15 Minute Drama (b09jx8mh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:45 today]


FRI 20:00 Correspondents Look Ahead (b09jxd2l)
Correspondents Look Ahead 2017

Senior BBC journalists forecast what is likely to happen over the coming year.


FRI 20:50 A Point of View (b09jxd2n)
Dramatic Speech

"It isn't just because they have become platforms for propaganda and interpersonal odiousness that we should declare war on the social media", writes Howard Jacobson. "It is because they reduce all discourse to a shout".

Howard appeals for a re-discovery of the subtlety of language and explains why he believes we should leave behind the "frozen wastes of Emojiland".

"A thumb up or thumb down culture has given up on the idea that difference of opinion comes in shades, that thought is gradual and graded, that argument is more about adjustment than it is about assertion".

Producer: Adele Armstrong.


FRI 21:00 Home Front - Omnibus (b09bdty2)
25-29 December 1917

The seventh omnibus of Season 12, Giddy with Possibility, set in Tynemouth, in the week, in 1917, when the first Ladies' international football match was played in Belfast.

Cast
Sylvia Graham ..... Joanna David
Lester Reed ..... Trevor Fox
Fraser Chadwick ..... Edmund Wiseman
Marion Wardle ..... Laura Elphinstone
Joyce Lyle ..... Tracy Whitwell
Alan Lowther ..... David Seddon
Cressida Marshall ..... Isabella Inchbald
Dilys Walker ..... Ellie Piercy
Edie Chadwick ..... Kathryn Beaumont
Esther O'Leary ..... Anna Bolton
Ethel Manning ..... Sophie Scott
Gabriel Graham ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Gladys Lynch ..... Elaine Claxton
Iris Reed ..... Charlie Hardwick
Isabel Graham ..... Keely Beresford
Johnnie Marshall ..... Paul Ready
Judith Turner ..... Kate Okello
Kitty Lumley ..... Ami Metcalf
Duncan Chadwick ..... Mark Stobbart
Matilda James ..... Hannah Wood
Mhairi Marchant ..... Jane Slavin
Peggy Tanney ..... Abbie Andrews
Ronald ..... Bill Fellows
Sarah Illingworth ..... Naomi Frederick
Policeman ..... Shaun Prendergast
Waiter ..... Charlie Clements
Beatrice Marshall ..... Eviee Lavery
Gussie Marshall ..... Grace Doherty
Rosamund Marshall ..... Bea White

Written by Katie Hims
Directed by Jessica Dromgoole

Story led by Shaun McKenna
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.


FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (b09jqtkl)

In-depth reporting and analysis from a global perspective.


FRI 22:45 Book at Bedtime (b09jxfym)
How to Stop Time, Episode 5

Tom Hazard has a rare condition - he ages very, very slowly, with the result that, while he looks about 41, he is in fact over 400 years old. Over the centuries it has been a dangerous condition to have, so he has continually changed identities and moved from place to place. And he has travelled the world. Now, in a search for at least the pretence of normality, he has returned to London.

Episode Five
London 1599 - Tom meets Rose, his first and only love, her sister Grace, and Mr William Shakespeare.

Matt Haig is the bestselling author of Reasons To Stay Alive. An award-winning writer of books for children and young adults, he has written five novels for adults.

Writer: Matt Haig
Abridger: Jeremy Osborne
Reader: Tom Hollander
Producer: Lisa Osborne

A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4.


FRI 23:00 Woman's Hour (b09jxfyp)
Late Night Woman's Hour: 2017 - WTF?!?

What just happened?! LNWH is officially baffled. And worried about a time when we won't be baffled.

Lauren and guests Afua Hirsch, Zoe Strimpel and Sali Hughes get to grips with the key events of 2017.


FRI 23:27 Anansi Boys (b09ghqzr)
5/6

Anansi Boys is a magical web of a story that spans the old world and the new, from South London to the Southern US, the fictional Caribbean island of St Andrews, and the Mountains at the End of the World. Or the Beginning of the World. Depending on which way you're heading.

The stellar cast of the series also includes Earl Cameron, Tanya Moodie, Adjoa Andoh, Joseph Marcell, Jacob Anderson, Lenny Henry, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Sheila Atim, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Cecilia Noble, Angela Wynter, Ariyon Bakare, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Danielle Vitalis, Ronke Adekoluejo, Clifford Samuel, and Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong.

Writer ..... Neil Gaiman
Adaptor ..... Dirk Maggs
Sound Design ..... Wilfredo Acosta
Producer ..... Allegra McIlroy
Director ..... Allegra McIlroy.


FRI 23:55 The Listening Project (b09jxfyr)
Clare and Val - Vicars in Pink Shirts and Shoes

Over 20 years after the first female vicars were ordained, two canons of the church still find themselves considering how they should dress. Fi Glover presents another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.

Producer: Marya Burgess.