SATURDAY 20 DECEMBER 2025
SAT 00:00 Midnight News (m002nl35)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 00:30 Artworks (m002nl1t)
When I Met Jane Austen
Colm Tóibín on Persuasion, the Navy, and a special letter
As Jane Austen turns 250, Austen biographer and writer Dr Paula Byrne is joined by prominent thinkers, writers and directors who tell her about their encounters with the famous author. Each of her guests has been shaped and changed by Austen. Paula's guests inspire her own reflections about Austen's life and works. Today it's the turn of Colm Tóibín.
Austen's final published novel, Persuasion, was the first Austen novel that Irish novelist Colm Tóibín encountered. It was on the syllabus at his school in County Wexford and he vividly remembers one of his classmates reading aloud a letter that the novel's hero, Captain Wentworth, writes. It's a striking piece of writing, passionate and agonised - beginning with the line: "I can listen no longer in silence." Colm says Persuasion is all about a changing England, how a system of inherited wealth and titles is being replaced by something new. And that's thanks to the Navy. In Persuasion, Wentworth returns to the lead character Anne Elliot's world after almost nine years apart. In that time, he has risen in status due to his Naval career. Paula reflects on how Austen's representation of the Navy changes through her work, and how the Navy changed life for her own family. For Colm, Persuasion remains his favourite Austen novel and it has profoundly influenced his own writing.
Presenter: Dr Paula Byrne
Reader: Gemma Whelan
Producer: Camellia Sinclair
SAT 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002nl37)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002nl39)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
SAT 05:30 News Summary (m002nl3c)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002nl3f)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002nl3h)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Fiona Stewart, a writer who runs a Christian arts charity.
SAT 05:45 You're Dead to Me (m002nwqn)
Dead Funny History
Ramesses the Great
Dead Funny History: Ramesses the Great.
Join historian Greg Jenner for a fast-paced, funny and fascinating journey through the life of Ramesses II, aka Ramesses the Gr8, one of Ancient Egypt’s most famous Pharaohs, and possibly its biggest show-off.
This episode of Dead Funny History is packed with jokes, sketches and sound effects that bring the past to life for families and Key Stage 2 learners. From his epic PR campaigns and giant statues to his pet lion and peppercorn-packed mummy, Ramesses knew how to make history memorable.
Discover how he became king at just 24, caught pirates, lost the Battle of Kadesh (but told everyone he won), and built a glittering capital city called Pi-Ramesses, complete with temples, stables, and even a zoo. Learn about his Sed Festivals, where he raced to prove his fitness at age 89, and his obsession with building colossal statues of himself, some still standing today.
Meet his wives Nefertari and Iset-Nofret, his 100 children, and the sacred Apis Bull that answered questions by kicking buckets. There’s even a cow beauty pageant, a bake sale gag, and a goat who helps discover Ramesses’ tomb centuries later.
Expect parodies, sketch comedy, and a quiz to test what you’ve learned. It’s history with heart, humour and high production value. Perfect for curious kids, families, and fans of You’re Dead To Me.
Written by Jack Bernhardt, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch and Dr Emma Nagouse
Host: Greg Jenner
Performers: Mali Ann Rees and Richard David-Caine
Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse
Associate Producer: Gabby Hutchinson Crouch
Audio Producer: Emma Weatherill
Script Consultant: Dr Campbell Price
Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy
Production Manager: Jo Kyle
Studio Managers: Keith Graham and Andrew Garratt
Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews
A BBC Studios Production
SAT 06:00 News and Papers (m002ntx7)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SAT 06:07 This Natural Life (m002nhyp)
Dara McAnulty
Dara McAnulty, a 21-year-old Northern Irish naturalist currently studying at Cambridge, is home for the winter break. He takes Martha Kearney to one of his favourite places nearby - the Murlough National Nature Reserve in the Mourne Mountains. This special landscape of ancient forest, sand dunes, and a colony of seals lies on the edge of Dundrum Bay, framed by the Mourne Mountains.
Dara shares his deep connection to this place and explains why he loves visiting in all weathers. He reflects on his journey into the natural world, beginning with his early years in Belfast and growing up as an autistic child, finding solace, peace, and joy in the outdoors - and then writing about his experiences.
His debut book, Diary of a Young Naturalist, won the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing in 2020, among other accolades, and he is the youngest ever winner of the RSPB Medal. Dara has also written three children’s books: Wild Child: A Journey Through Nature, A Wild Child’s Book of Birds, and A Wild Child's Guide to Nature at Night.
Producer: Eliza Lomas
SAT 06:30 Farming Today (m002ntx9)
20/12/25 Farming review, cheap veg, historic buildings
The Batters Review into Farm Profitability in England was finally published this week. It was put together by Baroness Batters, former president of the National Farmers Union. More than 150 pages long, it has 57 recommendations for the government: it calls for a National Plan for farming, and a New Deal for profitable farming that recognises the true cost of producing food and delivering for the environment.
We look at the issue of supermarkets using veg like carrots and potatoes as loss leaders in their stores. Some are selling packs for as little as 5p for 2kg. We hear from the Fresh Food Editor of The Grocer magazine who says it's all about getting shoppers through the door, but can ultimately devalue food.
All this week on our sister programme Farming Today we've been looking at the rural heritage buildings that make up our countryside, from barns to country houses. Today we hear from students learning heritage construction skills, a church in need of renovation, and historic mill stones.
And we're at a livestock market carol service, where a silver brass band replaces sheep and cattle in the stalls.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Sally Challoner.
SAT 06:57 Weather (m002ntxf)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 07:00 Today (m002ntxk)
Today (Saturday)
SAT 09:00 Saturday Live (m002ntxp)
A Christmas Games Special
On this Christmas special edition of Saturday Live, we take a deep-dive into the world of board games.
Marcia Lewis’s has board games in her blood - her father was the creator of Cluedo.
Neil Scanllan holds not one, not two, but four world records for his remarkable collection of Monopoly sets.
Dr Harshan Lamabadusuriya, doctor by day, scrabble assassin by night, has had the best season of his life becoming the UK champion for the second time.
Also today, BBC Inside Science presenter Tom Whipple, shares with us the tips and tricks for winning some of Christmas’s classic family games - and the Mammoth star Mike Bubbins adds a sprinkling of 70’s Christmas nostalgia to proceedings.
Presenter: Adrian Chiles
Producer: Ben Mitchell
Assistant Producer: Catherine Powell
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley
SAT 10:00 Curious Cases (m002ntwk)
Series 24
Mining for Gold (GOLD!)
From pharaohs' tombs in Ancient Egypt and medieval currency, to priceless royal jewellery and Spandau Ballet songs - gold has been prized for millennia.
But it's only really in the last century or so that we've started uncovering its usefulness in less decorative applications.
Today, gold is used in masses of electricals; it's also revolutionised part of the manufacturing sector by stopping a dangerous reliance on mercury as a catalyst; and it's vital to space missions. Although there are also some more frivolous modern uses for gold, as Hannah and Dara discover. (Gold-leaf in your cocktail, anyone?)
Challenged to find out whether all the world's mined gold would really fit in an Olympic swimming pool, our science-savvy duo discover that this antisocial element might just be the best darn thing on the periodic table...
Contributors:
- Graham Hutchings, Regius Professor of Chemistry at the University of Cardiff
- Frances Wall, Professor of Applied Mineralogy in the Camborne School of Mines at the University of Exeter
- Tim Peake, Astronaut
Producer: Lucy Taylor
Executive Producer: Sasha Feachem
A BBC Studios Production
SAT 10:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m002ntwq)
Series 50
Christmas Special
Jay Rayner and the panel are celebrating the festive season at the Pleasance theatre in London answering questions from an audience of home cooks. Joining Jay are chefs, cooks and food writers, Andi Oliver, Jocky Petrie and Lerato and resident food historian, Dr Annie Gray.
The panellists discuss the best alternatives to Christmas pudding, the best Christmas dinners they've ever eaten in their life, and the festive food items they'd shut away in room 101.
Meanwhile, Jay stops to chat to food product developer Rachel Auty, about the process of getting Christmas products on the supermarket shelves.
Producer: Matt Smith
Assistant producer: Dulcie Whadcock
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 11:00 The Week in Westminster (m002ntxv)
To discuss the major political stories and developments over the last twelve months, and what lies ahead for 2026, Ben Wright is joined by George Parker, the political editor of the Financial Times, Pippa Crerar, the political editor of the Guardian and Sebastian Payne, columnist and leader writer for The Times.
SAT 11:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002ntsm)
Ukraine's defiant stand in Pokrovsk
Kate Adie introduces stories from Ukraine, Hong Kong, Australia, the USA and Laos.
Russian forces have tried to capture the city of Pokrovsk for nearly two years as it seeks to control Eastern Ukraine, but Ukrainian forces have continued to resist the advance, helped by Ukraine's innovative arms industry. Jonathan Beale met battle-scarred troops at a command centre and visited a secret missile factory.
The Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been convicted of ‘colluding with foreign forces’ under the Beijing-imposed national security law. Mr Lai had been accused of violating the law for his role in pro-democracy protests and through his newspaper, Apple Daily. Danny Vincent has been following the case.
Last weekend, two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi beach in Sydney. 15 people were shot dead and dozens more were injured in the worst mass shooting in Australia in nearly three decades. Katy Watson has been speaking to members of Sydney's Jewish community.
In the 'Yellowstone' state of Montana the prospect of a public land sell-off has brought together unlikely allies, as cowboys and environmental activists, conservatives and progressives, have all joined forces to protect their way of life. Ellie House reports from Montana.
And we’re travelling through rural Laos where people hold a deep spiritual connection to the land, where spirits are believed to inhabit all elements of the natural world. Sara Wheeler heard how the Khmu people have held fast to their ancient beliefs in the face of a repressive government.
Series Producer: Serena Tarling
Production coordinators: Katie Morrison and Sophie Hill
Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith
SAT 12:00 News Summary (m002nty0)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
SAT 12:04 Money Box (m002ntsb)
Mortgages, Silver Marriages and Warren Buffett
This week the Bank of England cut interest rates to the lowest level for more than two years. The decision to cut Bank Rate to
3.75% came after new figures also showed inflation had slowed, falling to 3.2% in the year to November. What will that mean for mortgages in 2026?
Financial advisors say there's been a rise in older couples getting married because of changes to the rules around inheritance tax and pensions. We'll speak to a couple about their recent decision to tie the knot.
Arguably the most successful investor of all time, Warren Buffett, will retire at the end of this month after sixty years as the CEO of the American company Berkshire Hathaway. What will his legacy be?
And festive messages from just a handful of the listeners we’ve helped over the past 12 months.
Presenter: Felicity Hannah
Reporter: Dan Whitworth
Researcher: Eimear Devlin and Jo Krasner
Editor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast
12pm Saturday 20th December 2025)
SAT 12:30 Dead Ringers (m002nl2m)
Christmas Specials 2025
Dead Ringers Christmas: Ep 2. A Very Kemi Christmas and a Lammy New Year
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their festive firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.
This week: Scrooge is visited by the ghost of a Money Saving Expert, and The Grinch more than meets his match.
This week's impressionists are Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Duncan Wisbey and Jess Robinson
The episode was written by: Nev Fountain and Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Tom Coles, Sarah Campbell, Sophie Dickson, Peter Tellouche, Jon Holmes, Rachel E Thorn, JoJo Maberly and Cooper, Mawhinny & Sweryt
Created by Bill Dare
Producer: Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4
SAT 12:57 Weather (m002nty2)
The latest weather forecast
SAT 13:00 News (m002nty4)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 13:10 Any Questions? (m002nl2t)
Dame Harriett Baldwin MP, Michael Crick, Lord Purvis, Karin Smyth MP
Alex Forsyth presents political debate from Areley Kings Village Hall in Worcestershire, with the shadow business minister Dame Harriett Baldwin MP; journalist and broadcaster Michael Crick; the leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords, Lord Purvis; and health minister Karin Smyth MP.
Producer: Paul Martin
Assistant producer: Lowri Morgan
Production co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano
Lead broadcast engineer: Caitlin Gazeley
Editor: Glyn Tansley
SAT 14:05 Any Answers? (m002nty6)
Listeners respond to the issues raised in the preceding edition of Any Questions?
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley
SAT 14:45 The Archers (m002nl2p)
Emma and Susan share the hope that Chris might meet someone he can settle down with soon. Emma reports Keira’s mood swings. Susan reckons it’s normal for a teenager. Emma wonders if her mum will have time to come up to Grange Farm on Christmas Day when they have Martha. Susan observes they’ve come a long way as a family since last year. Emma wonders which is worse, Christmas without your mum, or your son. Susan observes the tough ones make the good ones even more precious. Emma agrees, but George is struggling so much without Amber, she feels like nothing she can do will make him want to celebrate.
Tony’s hunting for some fairy lights for the Fordson. He starts to explain the intricacies, but Pat isn’t really listening. She’s had an idea sparked by something Esme said but wants to look into it before sharing. She wonders what’s going on between Helen and Dane but doesn’t want to pry. Meanwhile, Tony finds a tin angel John made at school, and they reminisce. They start to decorate the tree, and Tom and Helen join them. The four of them enjoy memories of childhood and John. Pat comments on what a strange Christmas this is, with John gone so long and now Peggy. They all agree it’s been lovely to talk about both of them so freely. Wondering how to mark John’s fiftieth birthday, they settle on a bonfire disco party and a homemade pig cake. They turn on the tree lights and wish each other an early Merry Christmas.
SAT 15:00 Opening Lines (m002nty8)
Sense and Sensibility - Episode One
John Yorke explores the romantic framework of Jane Austen’s first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, as well as the reasons for its enduring appeal. It’s a novel that explores the cost of love, and in it, Austen develops writing techniques that revolutionised this new form, which are still in use some two hundred years later.
With contributions from Professor John Mullan, and poet and dramatist Claudine Toutoungi.
John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he’s trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
Reader: Rhiannon Neads
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
Sound: Iain Hunter
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 15:15 Drama on 4 (m002ntyb)
Sense and Sensibility
Part 1
Marianne and Elinor Dashwood are left near penniless after the death of their father. When they move to Devonshire, a new world of romantic possibility beckons. Starring Tamsin Greig, Madeleine Mantock and Rose Basista.
Sense and Sensibility is a tale of two sisters with wildly different hearts: one ruled by reason, the other by passion. But when love, loss, and scandal strike, Elinor and Marianne will learn that heartbreak is best faced together.
Radio 4 celebrates 250 years of Jane Austen with fresh, funny, and female-focused adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Expect heartbreak, hilarity, and the enduring power of sisterhood. Both dramas are narrated by Tamsin Greig as Austen herself.
CAST
Jane Austen ..... Tamsin Greig
Elinor ..... Madeleine Mantock
Marianne ..... Rose Basista
John Willoughby ..... Ben Hardy
Edward Ferrars ..... Enyi Okoronkwo
Colonel Brandon ..... Richard Goulding
Mrs Dashwood ..... Jasmine Hyde
Margaret Dashwood ….. Ava Talbot
Mrs Jennings ..... Carolyn Pickles
Sir John ..... Clive Hayward
Lucy Steele ..... Bethan Rose Young
John Dashwood ..... Django Bevan
Fanny Dashwood ..... Sasha McCabe
Production co-ordinator ..... Kate Gray
Casting Manager ..... Alex Curran
Sound ..... Andy Garratt, Neva Missirian and Sam Dickinson
Dramatist ..... Claudine Toutoungi
Director ..... Anne Isger
A BBC Studios Production.
Claudine Toutoungi is a poet and playwright. Claudine's latest poetry collection is Emotional Support Horse (2024). Her other poetry collections are Smoothie (2017) and Two Tongues (2020), which won the Ledbury Prize for Second Collection. Her poetry has been translated into Spanish and her live poetry contributions to festivals include Tongue Fu, Poetry East and appearances on BBC Radio 4. Her plays for theatre include Bit Part and Slipping and her many audio dramas for BBC Radio 4 include Deliverers, The Inheritors and The Voice in my Ear.
SAT 16:15 Woman's Hour (m002ntyd)
Weekend Woman's Hour: Violence against women and girls, Kate Hudson, Female tribute bands
This week the Government set out its strategy to deal with violence against women and girls. This makes up nearly 20% of all recorded crime in England and Wales. Over the last year alone, one in every eight women was a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking, according to Home Office figures. Educating boys on misogyny is a key aim of the strategy and figures show that nearly one in five boys aged 13 to 15 are said to hold a positive view of the self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, according to a YouGov poll. Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, joins Anita Rani to discuss the Government's strategy.
Hollywood actor Kate Hudson’s latest movie Song Sung Blue is based on the real life story of Wisconsin couple Mike and Claire Sardina. Kate plays Claire, who along with her husband Mike, played by Hugh Jackman, finds local fame in the 1990s as a Neil Diamond tribute act. Kate tells Anita about the appeal of the role and how she’s now found empowerment and her voice.
Woman’s Hour celebrates the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth. Nuala McGovern delves into the world that Jane was born into in 1775. She is joined by the author Gill Hornby, President of the UK Jane Austen Society, and by Dr Zoe McGee whose book Courting Disaster explores the issue of consent in Regency literature.
According to a survey in the press this week, nearly half of younger women surveyed said they are confident in painting and decorating, compared with just 28% of young men. The stats are from the motoring and cycling firm Halfords who said its study revealed a reversal from previous generations. We hear from Vickie Lee, DIY YouTuber known online as The Carpenter's Daughter, alongside Caroline Henn, founder of bePractical DIY in Bristol, who runs courses aimed at making DIY accessible.
We celebrate the phenomenon of female tribute acts to male bands. Gobby Holder, aka Danie Cox of Slady and Lolo Wood of The Fallen Women and Ye Nuns discuss.
Presenter: Anita Rani
Producer: Dianne McGregor
SAT 17:00 PM (m002ntyg)
US strikes hit Islamic State in Syria
The United States says its military has carried out a "massive strike" against the Islamic State group in Syria - we have an update, and a briefing on the wider global influence of IS. Plus, shooting hares in England will be banned for most of the year as part of a wider animal welfare strategy expected next week. We hear from a critic and a supporter of the plans.
SAT 17:30 Sliced Bread (m002nhyc)
Toast - Farepak's Christmas Hampers
What led to the collapse of the Christmas savings club Farepak?
The BBC Business journalist, Sean Farrington, investigates with the entrepreneur, Sam White, alongside him.
It's our Christmas special and we're turning the clock back to the mid 1960s…. and looking at a business which started from humble beginnings in a Peckham butcher's shop, and went on to change Christmas for tens of thousands of families all over the UK.
So, why did Farepak end up toast?
Sean interviews:
-David Goodhart - founder of Prospect Magazine, journalist, commentator and author. David tells us more about the man known as Farepak's founder, Bob Johnson and how his passion for philanthropy influenced the business.
-Suzy Hall - Former Farepak customer and agent who went on to become a national campaign coordinator for Unfairpak- a campaign set up in the wake of the Farepak collapse.
-Dermot Power - Former senior partner with the accountants BDO Stoy Hayward, Dermot was appointed as joint administrator to the Farepak business and can talk us through what happened and how he worked to help get customers' money back.
Produced by Linda Walker. A BBC Audio North production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. Contact: toast@bbc.co.uk
SAT 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002ntyj)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SAT 17:57 Weather (m002ntyl)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SAT 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ntyn)
More questions about Andrew Mountbatten Windor's links to Jeffrey Epstein
Further questions are raised about Andrew Mountbatten Windor's links to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell after US authorities release a photo of the former Prince lying across some women's laps at Sandringham. Also: President Zelensky says the US has proposed fresh face-to-face negotiations between officials from Ukraine and Russia. Manchester City move up to the top of the Premier League standings. And: a German engineer becomes the first wheelchair user to go into Space.
SAT 18:15 Loose Ends (m002ntt1)
Gyles Brandreth, Carrie Grant, Simon Evans, Lisa Faulkner, The Unthanks
Stuart Maconie presents the Loose Ends festive Christmas special, recorded in front of an audience in the BBC's Philharmonic Studio at MediaCity.
King of the Christmas jumper, Gyles Brandreth brings his book 'Somewhere, A Boy And A Bear' - a biography of AA Milne and Winnie-the-Pooh. He regales us with stories of Christopher Robin and of a surprising encounter with a Rolling Stone.
Carrie Grant tells us all about the book she's written with her husband David, 'Joy To The World', which explores the stories behind iconic Christmas songs, including Stay Another Day, Last Christmas and Gaudete.
Lisa Faulkner is returning to the stage for the first time in 21 years, as she's about to star in new stage adaptation of the hit 90s movie Single White Female alongside Kym Marsh. We hear about her upcoming epic tour, as well as her controversial take on the role of Yorkshire Puddings on a Christmas dinner.
Comedian Simon Evans takes a break from his current tour 'Staring At The Sun' to talk Coleridge, James Joyce and, of course, Bernard Manning...
There's music from The Unthanks as they perform 'The Cherry Tree Carol' and the beautiful winter song 'Hawthorn'.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
SAT 19:00 Profile (m002ntpz)
Mary Berry
Dame Mary Berry has been teaching Brits to cook for more than half a century. Aged 90, she remains a staple on our screens at Christmas.
Born in Bath in 1935, Berry was the middle child of two brothers. She struggled in school and studied Home Economics class instead of Maths.
Berry left school with no qualifications but continued to pursue her love of cooking, training at the famous Le Cordon Bleu school in France.
In 1971, she began her TV career with slots on shows like Collector’s World and Good Afternoon with Judith Chalmers, where she’d teach viewers how use newfangled items like freezers and tinfoil.
Over the next four decades, Berry would go on to write dozens of cookbooks, feature in and present her own cooking programmes, and teach thousands to cook in her Aga lessons, which she hosted in her own home.
But it was her role as a judge on Bake Off that introduced her to a new generation of viewers, and cemented her as one of the nations best-loved cooks.
Stephen Smith looks back on her decades-long career.
Contributors:
Belles Berry – Mary Berry’s daughter
Maragret Berry – Mary Berry’s sister in law
Rosie Millard – Journalist
Kirsty Wark – Journalist and presenter
Candice Brown – Winner of the Great British Bake Off 2016
Production
Presenter: Stephen Smith
Producers: Tom Gillett, Mhairi Mackenzie and Alex Loftus
Editor: Nick Holland
Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound: Gareth Jones
SAT 19:15 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m002kjvh)
Series 34
Monkey Business - Robin Dunbar, Dave Gorman and Jo Setchell
In perhaps the monkiest Infinite Monkey Cage episode there’s ever been, Brian Cox and Robin Ince attempt to uncover the secrets of love, lust and friendship in primates. Swinging by to offer a hand (or tail) are evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar, anthropologist Jo Setchell, and comedian Dave Gorman.
Together the panel explores Dunbar’s number in monkeys – the idea that the number of friendships an individual can maintain correlates with brain size – with the very creator of the theory! They ask whether monkeys feel love the way we do, why some species remain strictly monogamous but others don’t, and what we could learn about ourselves through studying them. Robin goes bananas for bonobo fashion, while Dave couldn’t give a monkey’s about finding an aftershave to complement his natural smell.
Series Producer: Mel Brown
Researcher: Alex Rodway
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
A BBC Studios Production
SAT 20:00 Archive on 4 (m002ntx3)
A Ghost Story for Christmas
Katherine Rundell unearths the Christmas ghost story from pagan origins to Dickens, Susan Hill and 1970s folk horror television and considers what these curious bedfellows say about our complex relationship with this time of year.
Ghost stories have always been best told on a midwinter night — preferably aloud, around a blazing fire. Katherine joins Jeanette Winterson at the hearth of her haunted home to share ghostly archival tales from MR James, Elizabeth Gaskell and Charles Dickens and to trace what she describes as ‘the greatest of pleasures’ - that combination of an icy haunting dark, hemming a Christmas globe of light.
She learns how midwinter, not Halloween, is the traditional time to usher in a world beyond ours. In the company of Professor John Mullan, Katherine returns to some of our oldest texts including Beowulf to discover how spectres and ghouls have allowed us to express loss, resolution and rage around the fire over centuries.
Reading from her childhood diary, writer Sarah Waters describes her own long fascination with ghost tales in midwinter and reflects on the BBC’s reigniting of this tradition with its ‘A Ghost Story for Christmas’ adaptations in the 1970s and then again more recently. She examines yuletide motifs for horror including ancient houses where families gather once a year, creaking staircases and children’s faces at snowy windows.
Music by The Cabinet of Living Cinema and Zac Gvi
Produced by Sarah Cuddon
A Falling Tree Production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 21:00 Moral Maze (m002nhlb)
What's the bigger threat to Europe: "cultural erasure", or far-right populism?
Tommy Robinson's carol concert claimed to be "putting Christ back into Christmas". Church of England Bishops quickly pointed out that Christ never went away and warned about Christmas becoming another proxy in the culture wars. Many of Robinson's supporters are turning to Christianity. Some have openly stated that the Christian faith is a cultural ballast, representing British freedoms and values, and a defence against a perceived threat posed by Islam and immigrants. For others, Christianity and Christmas is being appropriated in the most un-Christian way, the Holy Family were persecuted refugees, and a central message of Jesus was one of radical hospitality for the stranger.
This year, Christmas comes at the time of a wider debate about so-called "civilizational erasure" in Europe, following the publication of America's National Security Strategy. It boldly states that, within a few decades, NATO members will be "majority non-European", encourages the resistance - and praises the influence - of "patriotic" European parties, including Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) in Germany, a far-right anti-immigration party.
Is a full-throated defence of Christmas a sign of strength or weakness? What's the bigger threat to Europe: "cultural erasure", or far-right populism?
Chair: Michael Buerk
Panel: Giles Fraser, Inaya Folarin-Iman, Anne McElvoy and Matthew Taylor
Witnesses: Chris Wickland, Krish Kandiah, Eric Kaufmann and Adrian Pabst
Producer: Dan Tierney.
SAT 22:00 News (m002ntyq)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SAT 22:15 The Food Programme (m002nl1r)
Dates: A User's Guide
Dan Saladino explores culinary cultures and world religions to find out how the date became one of the earliest, most revered, and diverse of all cultivated fruits, and also a feature of Christmas.
Some of the world's historically important date palm oases have survived in the south of Tunisia. Dan travels to the ancient cities of Gafsa and Tozeur to visit two of them and watches the date harvest underway. There he tastes Tunisia's most prized date, the Deglet Nour, which translates as 'fingers of light' because of it's amber colour and almost translucent appearance. In Tozeur he also explores Eden Palm, the site of of a museum dedicated to dates and date palm, where he hears how the date has been an important food and source of trade for thousands of years.
Featuring food historian Ivan Day, food writers Yasmin Khan, Itamar Srulovich and Nawal Nasrallah, archeobotanist Professor Dorian Fuller, and scientist Shahina Ghazanfar.
Produced and presented by Dan Saladino.
SAT 23:00 Time of the Week (m002nrsr)
Series 2
1. Wives, Ankles, Underwear
Woman journalist Chloe Slack returns with a new series of the women’s current affairs show all about women. Including features on BritPop, Leap Days, a Wife Convention and Sauna and Cold Plunge Births. Plus, a trial of the new Wall Of Women.
Sian Clifford stars as self-important journalist Chloe Slack in this comedy series parodying women’s current affairs and talk shows, surrounded by an ensemble cast of character comedians.
Chloe Slack - Sian Clifford
Ensemble cast:
Ada Player
Alice Cockayne
Aruhan Galieva
Ayoade Bamgboye
Caroline Elms
Em Prendergast
Jodie Mitchell
Jonathan Oldfield
Lorna Rose Treen
Mofé Akàndé
Additional voices: Beatrice Walker
Created by Lorna Rose Treen and Jonathan Oldfield
Writing team:
Alice Cockayne
Jodie Mitchell
Jonathan Oldfield
Lorna Rose Treen
Priya Hall
Will Hughes
Script Editors - Lorna Rose Treen and Jonathan Oldfield
Photographer - Will Hearle
Producer - Ben Walker
A DLT Entertainment Production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 23:30 Punt & Dennis: Route Masters (m0023zjf)
Series 1: From Beer to Eternity
8 – From Motown to Ed Sheeran
Linking Motown with Ed Sheeran is simple, right? Pick a session musician or two, and the most direct route will reveal itself. So why are Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and guest Mark Billingham invoking Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Savoy cabbage, the Wombles and trusses?
Because this warm and witty podcast celebrates new and half-remembered trivia in a bid to link random places, people and things.
Across the series, they’re joined by guests including Ken Cheng, Kiri Pritchard McLean, Isy Suttie and Marcus Brigstocke, on a scenic route which takes in Shampoo, The Gruffalo, Watford Gap Services and Yoghurt… on a bid to travel from “beer” to “eternity”.
Written and hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis
With Mark Billingham
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
Recorded at Maple St Creative
Mixed by Jonathan Last
A Listen production for BBC Radio 4
SUNDAY 21 DECEMBER 2025
SUN 00:00 Midnight News (m002ntys)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 00:15 Take Four Books (m002nkpc)
Salman Rushdie
Sir Salman Rushdie speaks to Take Four Books about his new collection of short fiction and together with presenter James Crawford they explore its connections to three other literary works. Arguably one of the world’s most celebrated authors, the publication of Sir Salman's second novel in 1981 announced the arrival of a phenomenal talent. Midnight's Children went on to win not just the Booker Prize but it was also picked as the Best Booker for the prize’s 25th and 40th anniversaries. In his latest work - The Eleventh Hour - Sir Salman showcases a quintet of stories that mix narratives of revenge, ghosts and magic into poignant reckonings with mortality.
For his three influences Sir Salman chose: E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India from 1924; Franz Kafka’s Amerika from 1927; and Robert Browning’s The Pied Piper of Hamelin from 1842.
Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
SUN 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ntyv)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ntyx)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
SUN 05:30 News Summary (m002ntyz)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ntz1)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 05:43 Bells on Sunday (m002ntt8)
The church of St John the Baptist in Mathon, Herefordshire
Bells on Sunday comes from the church of St John the Baptist in Mathon, Herefordshire. There are six bells all originally cast by the Abel Rudhall foundry of Gloucester in 1760. In 1950 the fifth bell was replaced, and all the bells retuned and rehung by the John Taylor Foundry of Loughborough. The tenor weighs seven and a half hundredweight and is tuned to the note of A flat. We hear them ringing St Simon’s Bob Doubles by a band of the Hereford Diocesan Guild of Bellringers.
SUN 05:45 In Touch (m002njxm)
A Visually Impaired Figure Skater, Navigating a New EU Border System
Aarifah Karim is a visually impaired figure skater. She had a stop-start entry into the sport that she now loves, not because of her visual impairment, but due it being a tricky sport to master and other people's attitudes. Aarifah describes to Peter White what figure skating is, how she became involved and whether or not her visual impairment has ever become an obstacle in pursuing the sport.
The Entry/Exit System (EES) is a new digital system designed to keep track of when non-EU citizens enter and leave the Schengen Area. It covers 29 European countries, mostly in the EU, and it requires fingerprints and a photograph to be registered. Chris Kay contacted In Touch about the new EES system because he was concerned how he and other members of the Visually Impaired Veterans Ski Club would fare when managing the new system when they take their next annual ski trip to Italy. The Independent's Travel Correspondent, Simon Calder, helps address Chris' concerns and provides more general advice for visually impaired people on future travel through countries who come under this new system.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
SUN 06:00 News Summary (m002ntnq)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 06:05 Beyond Belief (m002njwd)
Faith and the climate crisis: ten years since Laudato Si
Giles Fraser talks to a panel of experts about the impact of 'Laudato Si', a decade after it was released by Pope Francis. They examine how this landmark document inspired global political co-operation and provided 'moral ballast' in the call for climate action. He hears from Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of the Philippines whose country is one of those most vulnerable to climate change. He discusses the role of faith communities and leaders in motivating people to work together to protect our common home in the face of increasing disengagement with the topic.
Panel: Carmody Grey, Theologian and Professor of Integral Ecology at Radboud University in the Netherlands, Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, co-founder of Eco-Judaism and Dr Shanon Shah, Muslim Director of Faith for the Climate
PRESENTER: GILES FRASER
PRODUCER:CATHERINE MURRAY
ASST PRODUCER: CHARLIE FILMER-COURT
PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR: NED STONE
EDITOR: CHLOE WALKER
SUN 06:35 On Your Farm (m002ntnv)
Red Leicester
David and Jo Clarke have been making Red Leicester cheese at Sparkenhoe Farm the traditional way for twenty years. Sarah Swadling joins David Clarke at morning milking time, and he explains how poor milk prices led them to take the leap into cheesemaking. The family nearly didn't choose Red Leicester, as the mass produced version had a bad reputation. They realised this actually meant there was a gap in the market for a raw milk cloth-bound cheese, which hadn't been made on farm in Leicestershire for many years. The decision paid off as Sparkenhoe Red Leicester is now stocked in high end cheesemongers and farm shops across the country. The farm's also able to support the next generation with David and Jo's son, William, joining the business to make a blue cheese. Sarah follows the cheesemaking process from milking parlour to cheese board and learns the answer to the all important question: why is Red Leicester, red?
Produced and Presented by Sarah Swadling.
SUN 06:57 Weather (m002ntnz)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 07:00 News and Papers (m002ntp2)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
SUN 07:10 Sunday (m002ntp6)
New Archbishop of Westminster; Billy Bragg protest song; Priestess of Avalon
The Catholic Church in England and Wales has a new leader - Richard Moth has been named as the new Archbishop of Westminster, succeeding Cardinal Vincent Nichols who turned 80 last month. We hear from Ruth Gledhill, Assistant Editor at the Catholic weekly The Tablet.
A new song from the singer-songwriter and political activist Billy Bragg is called "Put Christ back into Christmas". The title is a reference to the current campaign by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson. Last weekend we reported on the Robinson-inspired carol service in London; Billy Bragg turned out for a rival carol service orgainsed by Stand up to Racism. He explains why.
Today is the winter solstice - the shortest day of the year when, as the priest poet John Donne put it, the "whole world's sap is sunk". At three minutes past three this afternoon the earth tilts furthest from the sun, and from that moment the days begin to lengthen. It is a moment marked in pagan tradition, and we are joined by Erin Johansen, the first pagan chaplain at Sussex University who is also training to be a Priestess of Avalon.
Presenter: Edward Stourton
Producers: Katy Davis and James Leesley
Technical Producers: Isabelle Whitehead & Sharon Williams
Editor: Tim Pemberton
SUN 07:54 Radio 4 Appeal (m002ntpb)
Ethiopiaid
Call The Midwife actor Jenny Agutter makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of the charity Ethiopiaid.
The Radio 4 Appeal features a new charity every week.
Each appeal then runs on Radio 4 from Sunday 0755 for 7 days.
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 ‘Ethiopiaid’.
- Cheques should be made payable to ‘Ethiopiaid’.
- You can donate online at bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
- Please ensure you are donating to the correct charity by checking the name of the charity on the donate page.
Registered Charity Number: 802353. If you’d like to find out more about the charity’s work visit *https://ethiopiaid.org.uk/
*The BBC is not responsible for content on external websites
Producer: Anna Bailey
SUN 07:57 Weather (m002ntpg)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 08:00 News and Papers (m002ntpj)
The news headlines, including a look at the newspapers.
SUN 08:10 Sunday Worship (m002ntpl)
Advent Authors - CS Lewis
The Advent series exploring the works of literary greats from around the United Kingdom concludes this Fourth Sunday of Advent with a service from Fisherwick Presbyterian Church in Belfast with the Chapel Choir of Methodist College, Belfast. The Rev David Campton considers the thoughts of the Belfast born writer, CS Lewis.
Led by Rev Emily Hyland, the College Chaplain
Readings: Philippians 2: 5-11; Matthew
1:18-25
Away in a Manger (Arr Reginald Jacques)
Personent Hodie (Traditional)
Mary’s Lullaby (John Rutter)
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming (Arr Helvey)
How Far is it to Bethlehem (Arr Wilberg)
In Dulci Jubilo (Cecilia McDowall)
The Choir is directed by Lynda Roulston and the organist is Graeme McCullough.
Producer: Bert Tosh
SUN 08:48 Witness History (w3ct74nq)
Dismaland: Banksy's dystopian theme park
In 2015, Banksy turned a derelict swimming pool in Weston-super-Mare, England, into a dystopian theme park which drew huge crowds and Hollywood stars.
Working under cover of darkness, the street artist created Dismaland - a 'bemusement park' offering a satirical twist on mainstream resorts.
The temporary exhibition featured a fire-ravaged castle, a riot police van sinking into a lake, and Cinderella’s upturned pumpkin carriage.
Open for just five weeks, Dismaland sold thousands of tickets daily and injected an estimated £20 million into the local economy.
Kurtis Young speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about his summer job as a steward at Dismaland.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
(Photo: A mermaid sculpture in front of the fairy castle. Credit: Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
SUN 08:58 Tweet of the Day (m002ntpn)
Liz Berry on the Robin
For poet Liz Berry, December is the robin's month, when our hearts are warmed by its singing under frosty streetlights. She wonders if its midwinter song is one of the reasons why we feel close to robins, and imagine them as our companions in the thin places between living and dying. Liz tells the story of how the robin brought her hope during a difficult pregnancy, inspired by its fierceness and willingness to survive.
Presented by Liz Berry and produced by Sophie Anton for BBC Audio in Bristol.
This programme features a recording by Martin Billard from Xeno-Canto (XC871726 - European Robin)
SUN 09:00 Broadcasting House (m002ntpq)
A festive Broadcasting House
We've a live brass band, a druid celebrating Winter Solstice at Stonehenge and Darren Jones with a review of the government's performance in 2025.
SUN 10:00 Desert Island Discs (m002ntps)
Kate Winslet, actor
Kate Winslet is an actor who achieved global fame playing Rose DeWitt Bukater, opposite Leonard DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, in the 1997 James Cameron epic Titanic. During her career she has won five BAFTAs, two Emmys, five Golden Globes and an Academy Award for her role in the Reader.
Kate was born in Reading in 1975 and attended Redroofs School for the Performing Arts in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Her film debut came in 1994 when she played a teenage killer in Peter Jackson’s film Heavenly Creatures. The following year she played Marianne Dashwood opposite Emma Thompson’s Elinor in Sense and Sensibility, directed by Ang Lee. Kate’s performance earned her a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
She went on to consolidate her reputation as one of the most versatile actors of her generation by starring in a list of popular and critically acclaimed films including Hideous Kinky, Iris, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Holiday.
Last year Kate directed her first film, Goodbye June, starring Helen Mirren, Timothy Spall and Andrea Riseborough.
Kate has three children and lives in West Sussex with her husband Ned and her family.
DISC ONE: Georgia on my Mind - Roger Winslet and Sophie Breakenridge
DISC TWO: Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs - Brian and Michael
DISC THREE: Kiss from a Rose - Seal
DISC FOUR: Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
DISC FIVE: Nuvole Bianche - Ludovico Einaudi
DISC SIX: Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi - Radiohead
DISC SEVEN: Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes
DISC EIGHT: Pump up the Jam - Technotronic
BOOK CHOICE: Outside: Recipes for a Wilder Way of Eating by Gill Meller
LUXURY ITEM: Freshly ground coffee
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Georgia on my Mind – Roger Winslet and Sophie Breakenridge
Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley
Desert Island Discs has cast many actors away over the years including Dame Emma Thompson, Cate Blanchett and Dame Helen Mirren. You can hear their programmes if you search through BBC Sounds or our own Desert Island Discs website.
SUN 11:00 The Archers Omnibus (m002ntpv)
Writer: Sarah Hehir
Director: Pip Swallow
Editor: Jeremy Howe
Ben Archer.... Ben Norris
David Archer.... Timothy Bentinck
Helen Archer.... Louiza Patikas
Pat Archer.... Patricia Gallimore
Tony Archer.... David Troughton
Tom Archer.... William Troughton
Chris Carter.... Wilf Scolding
Susan Carter.... Charlotte Martin
Martyn Gibson.... Jon Glover
Clarrie Grundy.... Heather Bell
Ed Grundy.... Barry Farrimond
Eddie Grundy.... Trevor Harrison
Emma Grundy.... Emerald O'Hanrahan
Tracy Horrobin.... Susie Riddell
Joy Horville.... Jackie Lye
Jazzer McCreary.... Ryan Kelly
Esme Mulligan.... Ellie Pawsey
SUN 12:15 Profile (m002ntpz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Saturday]
SUN 12:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m002nk3t)
Series 84
6. London's Royal Festival Hall
The godfather of all panel shows returns to London's Royal Festival Hall. On the panel are Joe Lycett, Pippa Evans, Richard Coles and Tony Hawks with Jack Dee in the umpire’s chair.
Regular listeners will know to expect inspired nonsense, pointless revelry and Colin Sell at the piano.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 12:57 Weather (m002ntq3)
The latest weather forecast
SUN 13:00 The World This Weekend (m002ntq7)
"Shadow of war": is the UK ready?
Amid escalating warnings of war, we ask whether the UK is prepared. We'll look at military recruitment and procurement. We'll also examine the UK's civil preparedness for conflict. Plus, an interview with co-author of the UK's Strategic Defence Review, General Sir Richard Barrons.
SUN 13:30 Currently (m002ntqc)
Left Out: the political radicalisation of young women - and the silence surrounding it
At the 2024 general election, something remarkable happened: young voters broke away from the political mainstream, but in opposite directions. Young men moved to the right, while young women swung just as strongly (if not, more) to the left.
While the shift among young men dominated headlines and airwaves, sparking endless commentary and think pieces, the shift among young women was largely ignored, reduced to vague notions of idealism or climate anxiety. No analysis. No research funding. No curiosity.
Presented by Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff, Left Out asks what we’ve missed by overlooking this political awakening and what it reveals about gender, power and a media landscape that still treats young men as serious voters, and young women as a footnote. It explores whether this quiet revolution signals a deeper cultural realignment.
We hear directly from women aged 17-24 about what matters to them, why their political views are shifting, how conversations with their male peers often unfold and what they need to hear and see from politicians.
Backed by the latest polling data, and with insights from academics, MPs and leading pollsters, Left Out investigates how social media is shaping the political consciousness of Britain’s youth, as well as the many other forces behind a growing polarisation between genders. It asks what happens when young men and women enter adulthood holding such opposing worldviews - in their careers, relationships and family lives.
And we question how our politics might change if mainstream parties and media organisations fail to respond to this growing chorus of young women who have found their voice - and their power.
A 2 Degrees West Production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002nl29)
Wrexham County Borough: Rose Cuttings, Begonias and Hydrangeas
Is there a foolproof way to take rose cuttings? Why have my hydrangeas turned from blue to pink? And do begonias have a lifespan limit?
Kathy Clugston is in the vibrant Wrexham County Borough, where an enthusiastic audience puts their gardening dilemmas to an expert panel.
Joining Kathy are celebrated garden designer and botanist James Wong, horticulturist Bethan Collerton, and Marcus Chilton-Jones, curator of RHS Bridgewater – the sharpest tools in the GQT shed.
Later in the programme, Kirsty Wilson shares her top tips for growing holly successfully.
Senior Producer: Dan Cocker
Junior Producer: Rahnee Prescod
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 14:45 Opening Lines (m002ntql)
Sense and Sensibility - Episode Two
John Yorke explores the revolutionary techniques developed by Jane Austen in Sense and Sensibility and uncovers why her work is so endlessly adaptable to modern tastes.
Austen innovated ‘free indirect style’, which blends third person narration with a character’s internal thoughts and feelings. Novelists have been using her creation ever since. She also had a gift for dialogue which allows her to reveal character through idiosyncratic speech habits. The novel is shot through with darkness, but it is also extremely funny. Joh discovers that the main characters, Elinor and Marianne, have ‘comedy double act energy’.
With contributions from Professor John Mullan and poet and dramatist Claudine Toutoungi.
John Yorke has worked in television and radio for thirty years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless. As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he’s trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names. He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
Reader: Rhiannon Neads
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Production Hub Coordinator: Dawn Williams
Sound: Iain Hunter
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 15:00 Drama on 4 (m002ntqs)
Sense and Sensibility
Part 2
Marianne and Elinor are on their way to London. Marianne is desperate to see Willoughby after his abrupt departure. Elinor has discovered the devastating news of Edward’s engagement to Lucy Steele, but is determined to keep the secret. New adaptation starring Tamsin Greig, Madeleine Mantock and Rose Basista.
Sense and Sensibility is a tale of two sisters with wildly different hearts: one ruled by reason, the other by passion. But when love, loss, and scandal strike, Elinor and Marianne will learn that heartbreak is best faced together.
Radio 4 celebrates 250 years of Jane Austen with fresh, funny, and female-focused adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. Expect heartbreak, hilarity, and the enduring power of sisterhood. Both dramas are narrated by Tamsin Greig as Austen herself.
CAST
Jane Austen ..... Tamsin Greig
Elinor ..... Madeleine Mantock
Marianne ..... Rose Basista
Edward Ferrars ..... Enyi Okoronkwo
John Willoughby ..... Ben Hardy
Colonel Brandon ..... Richard Goulding
Mrs Dashwood ..... Jasmine Hyde
Mrs Jennings ..... Carolyn Pickles
Sir John ..... Clive Hayward
Lucy Steele ..... Bethan Rose Young
John Dashwood ..... Django Bevan
Fanny Dashwood ..... Sasha McCabe
Production co-ordinator ..... Kate Gray
Casting Manager ..... Alex Curran
Sound ..... Andy Garratt, Neva Missirian and Sam Dickinson
Dramatist ..... Claudine Toutoungi
Director ..... Anne Isger
A BBC Studios Production.
Claudine Toutoungi is a poet and playwright. Claudine's latest poetry collection is Emotional Support Horse (2024). Her other poetry collections are Smoothie (2017) and Two Tongues (2020), which won the Ledbury Prize for Second Collection. Her poetry has been translated into Spanish and her live poetry contributions to festivals include Tongue Fu, Poetry East and appearances on BBC Radio 4. Her plays for theatre include Bit Part and Slipping and her many audio dramas for BBC Radio 4 include Deliverers, The Inheritors and The Voice in my Ear.
SUN 16:00 Bookclub (m002njwj)
Emma Thompson: Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility
The award-winning actress Emma Thompson takes questions on Sense and Sensibility in this special episode of Bookclub to mark the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth. Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen's first novel published in 1811 when she was thirty-five years old. The book follows the Dashwood sisters as they navigate their way through love and and threat of its loss. Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment.
Emma Thompson won an Oscar for her screen adaptation of the 1995 film, of the same name, in which she played Elinor Dashwood. The film also starred Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood, Hugh Grant as Edward Ferrars, Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon, and Greg Wise as John Willoughby.
This episode was recorded at Broadcasting House, London, in August.
Producer: Dominic Howell
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
SUN 16:30 Punt & Dennis: Route Masters (m0023zjg)
Series 1: From Beer to Eternity
9 – From Ipswich Town to Nessie
Susie Dent joins Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis in a wide-ranging and utterly tenuous route between Ipswich Town and the Loch Ness monster, via the Dromedary camel and the Berlin Wall.
This warm and witty podcast celebrates new and half-remembered trivia in a bid to link random places, people and things. Across the series, Steve and Hugh are joined by guests including Ken Cheng, Kiri Pritchard McLean, Isy Suttie and Marcus Brigstocke, on a scenic route which takes in Shampoo, The Gruffalo, Watford Gap Services and Yoghurt - on a bid to travel from “beer” to “eternity”.
Written and hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis
With Susie Dent
Produced by Victoria Lloyd
Recorded at Maple St Creative
Mixed by Jonathan Last
A Listen production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 17:00 Witness History (w3ct74kb)
When Laurel and Hardy spent Christmas at an English pub
In December 1953, Hollywood film stars Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy spent a few weeks at the Bull Inn, Bottesford, Leicestershire, while they performed a show at the nearby Nottingham Empire.
Stan’s sister, Olga Healey, was the landlady.
Customers and staff said the duo spent time serving behind the bar, signing autographs and chatting with regulars.
This was produced and presented by Rachel Naylor, in collaboration with BBC Archives.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.
For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
(Photo: Oliver Hardy and Stan Laurel. Credit: Getty Images)
SUN 17:10 Living and Light (m002ntr3)
The future looks bright... thanks to rising artificial light pollution.
Our towns and cities are more illuminated than they have ever been. And this light might be spilling over into our lives and impacting our health. Recent headlines have linked exposure to artificial light at night with Alzheimer’s disease, capturing the attention of broadcaster and neuroscientist, Julia Ravey. While this research field is in its infancy, Julia wondered just how much has been uncovered about the human health implications of this inconspicuous pollutant.
Over millennia, the application of light – from flame to gas lamps to LEDs – has been essential for facilitating leaps forward in our advancement. Nick Dunn, Professor of Urban Design at the University of Lancaster, explores how this intertwined history between humans and artificial light, and how our deep-seated feelings about the dark, may have contributed towards our over-illuminated cities. Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, explains how this artificial light at night has allowed us to defy our biological rhythms - and the health consequences this has ensued. But a question remains - could simply living in our ever brightening urban environments erode our health? Early studies are beginning to give us clues.
While research progresses, night-time light levels continue to increase. But some are hoping to buck the trend. In Sedbergh, Julia meets Janey and Jack, who show her some newly fitted “dark skies friendly” streetlamps, saving both on bills and sky glow. And at York St John University, she joins a team of academics, estate managers and experts on a campus tour, exploring a project augmenting the university lights - which they hope may act as a template for York to become UK’s first “dark skies friendly” city. But changing the light scapes of our cities must be balanced with citizens perception of safety. Anna Barker, Associate Professor in Criminal Justice and Criminology at the University of Leeds, discusses her research on making urban parks safer spaces for women and girls, and the role lighting has been found to play in making these areas more accessible.
Presenter and producer: Julia Ravey
Editor: Martin Smith
Assistant producer: Sam Nixon
Production coordinator: Elliott Prince
Studio manager: Jackie Margerum
A BBC Audio West and Wales production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 17:40 The Ideas List (m0026v8k)
1. Mondex
Thirty years ago, in March 1995, a fresh-faced Claudia Hammond arrived at the BBC for a job interview as a trainee science producer. To prepare, she put together a comprehensive list of science and health stories, ready to pitch at the interview.
Fast forward to the present day and Claudia, now an award-winning broadcaster and presenter of Radio 4’s All in the Mind, is sorting through the drawer of paper she keeps to recycle in her printer and she discovers the list of stories she’d prepared to pitch at that interview three decades earlier.
In this quirky, personal journey, Claudia revisits five ideas from her Ideas List to find out what happened next. She tracks each headline-grabbing story forward through the false-starts and dead ends, the surprises and successes. And she asks what each tale teaches us about the tortuous path of scientific progress.
In the first episode she looks into a bold experiment in digital cash which aimed to consign notes and coins to history.
Mondex looked like any other debit or credit card but it wasn’t associated with a bank account. The money was right there on the card and it was designed to be used for all those smaller purchases where cash was king, from a lunchtime sandwich to a pint in your local.
Swindon was chosen as the place to trial Mondex and in July 1995, amid a blaze of publicity, the card was launched in the town centre. The first official Mondex transaction was a copy of the local paper, the Swindon Advertiser.
Claudia meets one of the inventors of Mondex, Tim Jones. He tells her about the moment of inspiration which turned digital cash from a bright idea into reality. We also hear from Rob Jamieson whose job it was to win hearts and minds for Mondex among the businesses and residents of Swindon. And photographer Richard Wintle recalls the excitement of launch day, when the eyes of the world were on the Wiltshire town.
Producers: Florian Bohr and Jeremy Grange
SUN 17:54 Shipping Forecast (m002ntrb)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
SUN 17:57 Weather (m002ntrj)
The latest weather reports and forecast
SUN 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ntrq)
US reportedly intercepts third oil tanker off Venezuelan coast
US forces are reported to have intercepted an oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela. The South American country has accused the US of international piracy. The Trump administration says the vessels were carrying sanctioned oil. Also: Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is booed at an event held to remember the victims of the Bondi Beach attack. Israel approves 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. In Cricket, England’s winless run continues, losing the Ashes in three tests.
SUN 18:15 Pick of the Week (m002ntrx)
Peter Curran
This week, there’s a sprinkle of seasonal magic thanks to a visit into Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop, plus a trip to the past when comedy legends Laurel and Hardy spent Yule in an English pub. Driving home for Christmas? Let the fabulous (and very safe) Dame Sheila Hancock be the one behind the wheel. If it all seems a bit overwhelming and too much, remember back to a time when all festive frivolities were banned in Scotland. And if you’re not feeling too Grinch-like, join in a merry song with a comedic twist, thanks to Richard Coles.
Presenter: Peter Curran
Producer: Emily Esson
Production Coordinators: Caoilfhinn McFadden and Caroline Peddle
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 19:00 The Archers (m002nts3)
Fallon tells Joy she’s just taken Martha to an uplifting advent service at St Stephens, before Alan headed off to a multi-faith prayer for peace at Felpersham Cathedral. George then comes into the shop, buying crisps and a big bottle of vodka, telling them pointedly he’s not going to New Year’s Eve at The Bull, seeing as he’s barred. Fallon follows George to the playground, where he’s demolishing the vodka, and mentions a job she’s seen that he could go for. George is negative and self-pitying, telling Fallon that Amber’s left and isn’t coming back, before implying Fallon’s been sleeping with Chris. He grabs Fallon’s arm, propositioning her himself. Fallon pulls away, accusing George of trying to provoke her. He needs to move on and stop blaming everyone else for his problems. George tells Fallon that instead of saving her that night he should have let her drown.
At Home Farm, Ruairi is attaching a lotus flower made by Kate to their tractor for the upcoming Tractor Run, while grumbling light-heartedly to Adam about decorating the tractor without much help from the rest of the family. But what’s really bothering Ruairi is falling out with Paul after an off-road driving lesson yesterday which ended badly. Ruairi hopes that giving Paul an amazing Christmas gift will repair any rift between them – but first he’s got to work out what it could be. Later, Joy compliments Ruairi on his efforts with the tractor and asks if any of the family might want to be marshals on the day.
SUN 19:15 Illuminated (m002ntr8)
A Very British Christmas
What does Christmas Day mean to you?
This raw, kaleidoscopic audio portrait, made up entirely from voice notes recordings, tracks the emotional contours of the day as it unfolds.
Through midnight churchgoing and moments of quiet reflection to frenetic gift-giving, culinary chaos and karaoke, the programme evokes and questions our own multifarious experiences of what Christmas Day ‘means’.
Variously boozy, silly, sad, excited, warm, lonely, deeply spiritual and endearingly humanistic – the contributions chart a cross section of modern Britain, encompassing heartfelt-stories, accidental field recordings, impromptu songs and audio diary entries.
With special thanks to all those who recorded their Christmas Day for us in 2024. Original music and sound design by James Bonney.
Producer: James Bonney
Mix: Mike Woolley
Executive Producer: Olivia Humphreys
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 19:45 Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (m0010fzb)
Get Some Houseplants
Not only do they look good, but surprising research is revealing the health benefits of houseplants. In this episode, Michael Mosley explores the science, discovers which houseplants have the biggest impact, and reveals just how many you need in a room to feel the effects. Michael speaks to Dr Tijana Blanusa of the Royal Horticultural Society, to explore the science behind how houseplants can not only improve productivity and cognition at work, they can also improve air quality, helping you literally breathe easier.
SUN 20:00 Feedback (m002nhyt)
Feedback's Interview of the Year 2025
All year long we've been asking listeners to send in their nominations for Feedback's Interview of the Year, and finally the time has come to crown the winner.
In this special episode of Feedback, Andrea Catherwood will hear your nominations for the BBC Audio Interview of the Year - any conversation from across BBC radio or podcasts that inspired, surprised, or stopped you in your tracks.
We'll also reveal the interview that was judged the best by our listener judging panel - and talk to the winner.
Presenter: Andrea Catherwood
Producer: David Prest and Rebecca Guthrie
Judging Panel Coordinator: Mike Hally
Executive Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown Scotland production for BBC Radio 4
SUN 20:30 Last Word (m002nl2f)
Rob Reiner, Joanna Trollope, Stanley Baxter, Sophie Kinsella
Matthew Bannister on
Rob Reiner, the film director, screenwriter and actor behind pictures like “This Is Spinal Tap”, “Stand By Me” and “When Harry Met Sally”.
Stanley Baxter, the Scottish comedian best known for his impersonations of Hollywood stars and royalty. The actor Bill Paterson pays tribute.
And Joanna Trollope and Sophie Kinsella, two best-selling novelists who, in their different ways, told stories of modern life and relationships.
Interviewee: Hadley Freeman
Interviewee: Linda Evans
Interviewee: Bill Paterson
Interviewee: Brian Beacom
Interviewee: Bill Scott-Kerr
Producer: Gareth Nelson-Davies
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley
CORRECTION: In this episode we mistakenly refer to Stanley Baxter being born in 1928. He was born in 1926.
Archive used:
Rob Reiner interview, HardTalk, BBC News, 06/05/1998; All In The Family trailer, Tandem Productions, 1975; This is Spinal Tap, Sony Pictures Entrainment, uploaded to YouTube 31/07/2025; Stand By Me, Film Trailer, Castle Rock 1986, Dir: Rob Reiner; When Harry Met Sally, Official Film Trailer, 1989, Director: Rob Reiner; Joanna Trollope interview, BBC Four, 23/03/2014; Stanley Baxter: Compilation of Best Sketches and Impressions, BBC Scotland 1962; Stanley Baxter interview, Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 02/02/1970; Stanley Baxter, Best of Show, BBC Television, 14/02/1961; Sophie Kinsella reads a second extract from her novel Mini Shopaholic, Transworld Books, uploaded to YouTube 08/09/2010; Confessions of a Shopaholic Trailer 2009, Touchstone Pictures, Director P.J. Hogan; Sophie Kinsella interview, Loose Ends, BBC Radio 4, 22/04/2013; Meet the Author: Sophie Kinsella, BBC News, 05/02/2017; Sophie Kinsella, Extract from book preview, What Does It Feel Like?, Read by Sally Phillips, Penguin Random House;
SUN 21:00 Money Box (m002ntsb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:04 on Saturday]
SUN 21:25 Radio 4 Appeal (m002ntpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 today]
SUN 21:30 From Our Own Correspondent (m002ntsm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
SUN 22:00 Loose Ends (m002ntst)
Loose Ends Lounge: Curtis Stigers, Amy MacDonald, The Lottery Winners, Rachel Sermanni, Peat & Diesel
In the first of two special programmes, Stuart Maconie showcases some of the best Loose Ends music sessions from the past year. With performances from Curtis Stigers, Amy MacDonald, The Lottery Winners, Rachel Sermanni and Peat & Diesel.
Presenter: Stuart Maconie
Producer: Sam Nixon
Production Co-ordinator: Leo Davies
SUN 23:00 In Our Time (p00547hx)
Dickens
To celebrate Melvyn Bragg’s 27 years presenting In Our Time, five well-known fans of the programme have chosen their favourite episodes. The singer Joan Armatrading has selected the episode about Charles Dickens and recorded an introduction to it. (This introduction will be available on BBC Sounds and the In Our Time webpage shortly after the broadcast and will be longer than the version broadcast on Radio 4). Dickens is best known for the strength of his plots and the richness of his characters but he can also be regarded as a political writer. Some have seen him as a social reformer of great persuasiveness, as a man who sought through satire to expose the powerful and privileged, and whose scenes moved decision-makers to make better decisions. George Bernard Shaw said of Dickens’ novel Little Dorrit that it was “more seditious than Das Kapital”. Others argue that, although Dickens was a great caricaturist, he was really a conservative at heart.
With
Rosemary Ashton
Professor of English at University College London
Michael Slater
Professor of Victorian Literature at Birkbeck College, University of London and editor of The Dent Uniform Edition of Dickens’ Journalism
And
John Bowen
Senior Lecturer in English at the University of Keele
Producers: Jonathan Levi and Charlie Taylor
This programme was first broadcast in July 2001 and we share it now in memory of Michael Slater (1936-2025)
Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time from BBC Radio 4 is essential listening for the intellectually curious. In each episode, host Melvyn Bragg and expert guests explore the people, ideas, events and discoveries that have shaped our world
In Our Time is a BBC Studios production
SUN 23:45 Short Works (m002nl2c)
Dreaming
A specially-commissioned story by Henry Normal about growing up in the 70s and discovering that poetry books, purple flares and plate-glass windows don’t mix.
Read by Philip Jackson
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
MONDAY 22 DECEMBER 2025
MON 00:00 Midnight News (m002ntt0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 00:15 Crossing Continents (m002njxv)
Stolen brides of Kazakhstan: the fightback
In plain sight, in a modern city, a colleague offers to drive you home after work. How would you respond? One woman in Kazakhstan accepted the lift only to find herself kidnapped or ‘stolen’ as a bride. She got away, rescued by the police, but for many Kazakh women kidnap leads to marriage.
Human Rights lawyer Khalida Azhigulova reckons that thousands of women are forced into marriage each year in Kazakhstan, including many who are abducted. Some women even find that a wedding has already been arranged by the time a kidnapper gets her home. Now, after 20 years of campaigning by Khalida and other activists, legislators have passed a law making forced marriage a crime.
Monica Whitlock and Roza Kudabayeva travel to Kazakhstan to meet women who’ve been kidnapped, and hearing about the intense pressures that make them feel obliged to marry their abductors. Women like Gulbala who endured 20 years of marriage with her kidnapper and is now making a new life for herself. And Klara who is crystal clear that it’s time for a change. All her children will marry in the proper way, she says, because no one should be forced into marriage.
Bride stealing is a problem not only in Kazakhstan, but in many other parts of Central Asia and the Caucasus. It’s often defended as ‘tradition’ rooted in the Kazakh’s nomadic past. Nonsense, says Khalida. ‘Kazakh girls in the nomadic community were raised as warriors. They were taught to ride a horse, how to gallop, how to use arms and how to fight. She would not let anyone kidnap her'.
Produced by Monica Whitlock and Rose Kudabayeva.
Studio Mix by James Beard.
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Editor: Penny Murphy
MON 00:45 Bells on Sunday (m002ntt8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
05:43 on Sunday]
MON 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002nttg)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002nttp)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
MON 05:00 News Summary (m002ntty)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
MON 05:04 Last Word (m002nl2f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 on Sunday]
MON 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ntv5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
MON 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ntvd)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Fiona Stewart, a writer who runs a Christian arts charity.
MON 05:45 Farming Today (m002ntvn)
22/12/25 Government animal welfare reforms, reaction to the Farm Profitability Review
Colony cages for hens and pig's farrowing crates are to be phased out as part of the Government's animal welfare strategy which is launched today. Trail hunting and snares will be banned while new laws on livestock worrying will be introduced. Ministers say it's the most ambitious such strategy in a generation.
We hear reaction to the Batters' Review of profitability in farming. It was published last week and makes 57 recommendations to government and, as she put it, calls for 'a total recalculation' of farming's economic importance to England.
Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.
MON 05:57 Weather (m002ntvx)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for farmers
MON 06:00 Today (m002ntt7)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
MON 09:00 Start the Week (m002nttf)
Poetry - reading, writing, editing and translating
How much can we truly know about the inner lives of others? Tom Sutcliffe is joined by Miles Leeson and Karen Leeder to reflect on the challenge of interpreting the minds and motivations of poets, both past and present.
Editor Miles Leeson presents Poems from an Attic, a newly published collection of Iris Murdoch’s previously unseen poetry. Found in a box long after her death, these intimate verses offer fresh insight into the desires of a writer better known for her novels and philosophy.
Professor Karen Leeder has spent much of her career studying the poetry of East Germany. Her recent translation of Durs Grünbein, Psyche Running: Selected Poems 2005-2022 won this year's Griffin Poetry Prize 2025. Grünbein has written about the wartime bombing of his birth city Dresden and as a translator of classical authors, including Aeschylus and Seneca, his work features reflections on the relevance of the past and of antiquity in the present.
Nick Makoha's latest volume of poetry The New Carthaginians draws on an eclectic range of artistic, historic and cultural sources from the politics of 1970s Uganda to the myth of Icarus and the exploded collages of the neo-expressionist art movement. He writes employing symbols and traditions in startling ways to transform what we might think we know into something completely new.
Producer: Ruth Watts
MON 09:45 Wild Bond (m001d58n)
The Henchmen
The name's Bond. James Bond. Everyone's favourite spy has been serving up the guns, the glamour, the girls and the gadgets on the silver screen for 60 years, and we're celebrating... In a slightly unusual way. Emily Knight is taking the iconic characters from the Bond world and re-casting them, from the animal kingdom. Which of our animal cousins would make the best 007? Who do we cast as the Bond Girl? In nature, who comes equipped with the best gadgets? Who are villains, bent on world domination, and who are the henchmen, just following orders?
In this episode, its the turn of those boiler-suited nobodies, the loyal drones staffing the evil lairs, who die by the hundred every time Bond rappels his way on the scene. The villain's seemingly endless supply of henchmen, ready and willing to die for the cause, however convoluted that cause may be. In the animal world, self-sacrifice is most common in the insect domain, where colony-dwelling creatures like wasps, bees and ants happily die for the greater good. Some in a more spectacular manner than others. Meanwhile in the mammal world, our altruism is a little more calculating. We don't like to give, unless there's some taking on the cards as well. But for chimpanzees, the safety and security of the troop is top priority, and they go to extraordinary lengths to make sure they're on the winning side. Often at their own expense.
With Bond expert Ian Kinane from the University of Roehampton, Professor of Apiculture at the University of Sussex Francis Ratnieks, and evolutionary biologist Kevin Langergraber from Arizona State University.
Presented and Produced in Bristol by Emily Knight.
MON 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ntts)
Christmas hosting, Epstein files, Women in retail, FGM
Christmas parties, Christmas dinners, Christmas Day: this time of the year can be full of hosting duties and opportunities. But for many women, hosting can be the source of stress and worry, whether it’s the house, the food or the relationships between our family and friends. To discuss what our worries reveal and what you can do to enjoy hosting more and stress a bit less, Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry and content creator Matilda Bea.
Thousands of pages of documents related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's abuse were released by the US Department of Justice last Friday and dominated headlines over the weekend. The DOJ then removed at least 13 files from the website without explanation by Saturday because of concerns raised by victims, according to the deputy attorney general. One of the images removed included a photograph of US President Donald Trump. Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by BBC Correspondent, Joe Inwood to hear more.
The government has announced that next year it will cease funding its flagship international programme to prevent FGM, or Female Genital Mutilation. A recent report published by a group of MPs says access to services for survivors in the UK is a postcode lottery and they are often not provided with the appropriate counselling services. To discuss this, Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by Sema Gornall, CEO of The Vavengers, a UK-based charity committed to ending Female Genital Mutilation, and Christine Jardine, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West and member of the Women and Equalities Committee.
Christmas shopping is stressful at the best of times, but what about for those working in retail? Women account for 66% of jobs in the sector, and a recent study by the retail trust found three quarters have experienced abuse this year, with 43% wanting to quit their jobs as a result. The rate of shoplifting has also gone up by 13% from last year, the highest for 20 years. We hear from retail worker Stephanie Michelle and Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust.
Presented by: Datshiane Navanayagam
Produced by: Sarah Jane Griffiths
MON 11:00 Housing Britain (m002ntv1)
No Place Like Home
In the final episode of the series, Vicky explores the sharp end of the housing crisis.
Visiting Birmingham, we hear from a single mother living in cramped temporary accommodation, sleeping in one bed with her three children.
We explore how and why this type of homelessness has escalated in Britain, pulling in more and more families with children.
We trace the roots of the crisis to a failure by successive governments to build social housing and explore whether that record is now being turned around. And the director of Crisis tells us why his charity is buying property to become a housing provider for the first time in its history.
In concluding the series we take stock of the challenges we've explored and present ideas on how to make things better.
Producer: Leela Padmanabhan
Sound Design: Hal Haines
MON 11:45 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntv9)
1. Crazy water, pickled lemons
Diana Henry, one of the UK's best loved food writers, reads from Around the Table a selection of her very best essays, handpicked from across her career in food. Over five episodes we travel the world in her company and delight in the ingredients, the produce, the cooks and chefs that have gone on to shape her life and her cooking.
Diana takes us from the bustling Turkish groceries of the Edgware Road which defined her twenties; to kitchen tables in France where she learned how to make the perfect vinaigrette during her teenage years; to a trattoria tucked away in the suburbs of Rome; to the chilly Vermont countryside famed for its maple syrup. Lastly, we travel back to her homeland in Northern Ireland where she reflects on her mum's culinary skills and her dad's culinary curiosity.
Diana's vivid writing reminds us of the joy to be found in good food, from the humble apple, to rose ice-cream, to truffles and to pasta.
Diana Henry has regular columns in the press, and is the author of twelve books including Salt, Sugar, Smoke, A Change of Appetite and From the Oven to the Table. Before becoming a food writer, Diana was a TV producer.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Producer Elizabeth Allard
MON 12:00 Archive on 4 (m00268nz)
A Child's Christmas
Drawing on an iconic recording of Dylan Thomas reading his tale A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Cerys Matthews digs into the archive to discover those other writers and poets - both the wide-eyed and the cynical - who have been inspired to write Christmas through the eyes of a child.
From Raymond Briggs and Judith Kerr, to Dylan Thomas and CS Lewis, time-travelling back to a childhood Christmas is a strange, nostalgic drug. Its rituals, sounds, smells and emotions become a lens through which to explore pure wonder but also more thorny issues of loneliness, grief and coming-of-age.
Cerys talks to author Katherine Rundell who says, “For children, Christmas has such a surfeit of magic and limitless possibility. For the adult you see it from the other side – you see how Christmas is made – but you never really get to experience it again as something miraculous. That is, unless you conjure it once again by catching it in your text.”
Writer and actor Mark Gatiss describes how Christmas tales can also be a way to carry our child heroes to the edge of the adult world, a place of peril, haunted by the spectres of mid-winter. Think of Susan Cooper’s eerie cult classic, The Dark is Rising and John Mansfield’s The Box of Delights.
In this parallel other Christmas, Cerys also finds themes of entrapment within family and religion and she talks to the author Lemn Sissay about his experience of writing Christmas through the eyes of the orphaned or the fostered child. ‘To really be a child without a family at Christmas is perhaps the most painful story of all,’ he says.
Including reference to:
Dylan Thomas - A Child's Christmas in Wales
Hans Christien Andersen - The Little Match Girl and The Snow Queen
Raymond Briggs - The Snowman
Clement Clarke Moore - The Night Before Christmas
Jacqueline Wilson - Tracy Beaker's Christmas
Katherine Rundell - One Christmas Wish
The Haunted Wood: A History of Childhood Reading - Sam Leith
Judith Kerr - Mog's Christmas
Charles Causley - Shepherds' Song
Louisa May Alcott - Little Women
John Agard - If Only I Could Take a Snowflake Home
Carol Ann Duffy - Christmas Eve
CS Lewis - The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
John Masefield - The Box of Delights
Susan Cooper - The Dark is Rising
Charles Dickens - A Christmas Carol
Readers: Jesse, Aurora, Ori, Lochan, Ionas, Elba
With music by The Enchanted Cinema
Produced by Sarah Cuddon
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
MON 13:00 World at One (m002ntvm)
US pursues Venezuela-linked oil tanker
The US Coast Guard attempts to intercept an oil tanker, reported to be the sanctioned Bella 1. Also on the programme, a major incident is declared after a sinkhole opens up in Shropshire.
MON 13:45 Who Are You in Winnie-the-Pooh? (m002ntvw)
Piglet
To celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh’s 100th anniversary, Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce is asking some the UK's most celebrated children’s writers who they most identify with in A A Milne’s timeless tales from the Hundred Acre Wood.
Pooh Bear first appeared in print in a story commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks with Francesca Simon of Horrid Henry fame, and Michael Morpurgo who has written so many books for children but is perhaps best known for War Horse, about ways in which they identify with Piglet.
Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer Production
MON 14:00 The Archers (m002nts3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Sunday]
MON 14:15 Fags, Mags and Bags (m002ntw4)
Habda-Geddon
The hit Radio 4 series ‘Fags, Mags and Bags’ finally closes its shutters for the last time, after 11 series and 59 episodes of shop-based shenanigans and over-the-counter philosophy, courtesy of Ramesh Majhu, his trusty sidekick Dave, and his sons Sanjay and Alok.
In this special episode, recorded in front of a studio audience at the historic Oran Mor venue in Glasgow, Dave finally lands on his feet after selling a hugely valuable Moving Alan figure. However, Lenzie gold-diggers are never far away, causing friction in the shop.
This record-breaking show is the longest running TV or Radio sitcom to come out of Scotland, and the 10th longest running in BBC Radio 4 history.
CREDITS
Ramesh: Sanjeev Kohli
Dave: Donald Mcleary
Sanjay: Omar Raza
Alok: Susheel Kumar
Malcolm: Mina Anwar
Lovely Sue: Julie Wilson-Nimmo
Mrs Birkett: Stewart Cairns
Mr Hepworth: Tom Urie
Producer: Gus Beattie for Gusman Productions.
Fags, Mags and Bags is a Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:45 Faith, Hope and Glory (m000s2ql)
Series 1
4. Gloria and Clement
The history of post-war Britain is told through the lives of Hope Kiffin, Eunice Lamming and Gloria de Soto, bound forever by one moment in 1946. Today, we meet Gloria de Soto and her husband Clement.
Gloria ..... Pippa Bennett Warner
Clement ..... Stefan Adegebola
Waitress ..... Emma Handy
Writer ..... Roy Williams
Director ..... Mary Peate
Producer ..... Jessica Dromgoole
MON 15:00 Great Lives (m002ntwc)
Alex Wheatle, the Bard of Brixton
After a childhood in care in Surrey, Alex Wheatle was moved to a hostel in Brixton aged fourteen. Later he was involved in the riots and given a prison sentence, events which were covered in one of the Small Axe anthology of films by Steve McQueen. But it is Wheatle's writing career that has prompted Ashley John Baptiste to pick him for Great Lives - and his success was rapid and inspiring before his early death in 2025. Joining Ashley in this celebration of the life and career of the Brixton Bard is Lemn Sissay and Vanessa Walters, author of Rude Girls and The Nigerwife.
Includes archive of Alex Wheatle MBE at the Hay Festival in 2024 and on Graham Norton's radio show.
The producer for BBC Studios in Bristol is Miles Warde
MON 15:30 Curious Cases (m002ntwk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Saturday]
MON 16:00 Currently (m002ntqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:30 on Sunday]
MON 16:30 The Kitchen Cabinet (m002ntwq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:30 on Saturday]
MON 17:00 PM (m002ntwv)
Singer Chris Rea dies aged 74
The singer-songwriter Chris Rea has died at the age of 74 – we look back on his music career. The US ramps up pressure on Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro – President Trump’s former Special Representative to Venezuela gives us his view on the strategy. And, in Shropshire, a major incident has been declared after a giant hole emerged along a canal embankment - the chief executive of the Canal and River Trust joins us live.
MON 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ntwx)
The singer and musician Chris Rea dies at the age of 74
The musician Chris Rea, whose hits include the festive song, Driving Home for Christmas, has died at the age of 74. Also: Russia says it's investigating whether Ukraine was responsible for a car bomb that killed a senior general in Moscow. And 15 people had to be rescued after a large hole opened in a canal in Shropshire.
MON 18:30 The Unbelievable Truth (m002nrtr)
Series 32
1. Pigeons, Smoking, Football and Night
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they’re able to smuggle past their opponents.
Ed Byrne, Ian Smith, Maisie Adam and Lucy Porters are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as pigeons, smoking, football and night.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 19:00 The Archers (m002ntrv)
Jolene’s looking forward to Christmas dinner at Lower Loxley, but Joy’s stressed about the Tractor Run. Jolene doesn’t understand why Joy isn’t more relaxed, but Joy outlines the struggle she’s had just getting all the farmers on the same page about the rules, plus there’s the health and safety. She dreads thinking what would happen if anything goes wrong and she has to sort it out. They both laugh at the thought of Eddie dressed as an angel in a bedsheet and thermals, though. With Alan and Akram riding motorbikes, plus Zainab on her moped, Joy happily takes up Jolene’s suggestion they could be the three wise men. But she’s still short of marshals and as for the running order - how on earth can she navigate that without offending anyone?
Harrison senses something’s different as he snuggles up with Fallon, before there’s a ring at the door. It’s Kenton delivering a basket of goodies, but when Fallon overreacts to an upstairs door banging Kenton senses something’s amiss and Fallon tells him about George yesterday. Fallon’s really angry, hating that George can make her feel like that. She begs Kenton not to tell Harrison, fearing his reaction. But after Fallon goes out of the room Harrison puzzles over why Fallon’s so sad, worrying it could be him. Without admitting what Fallon’s just told him Kenton assures Harrison that whatever’s bothering Fallon he can pretty much guarantee it’s not him.
MON 19:15 This Cultural Life (m0029qh9)
Maggie O'Farrell
Maggie O’Farrell is the author of nine novels. Her debut, After You’d Gone, was published 25 years ago this year and won the Betty Trask Prize in 2001. Her 2010 book The Hand That First Held Mine won the Costa Novel Award; and Hamnet, her hugely acclaimed and bestselling story of the death of Shakespeare’s son, won the 2020 Women’s Prize for fiction. Maggie O’Farrell has also written a memoir; I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death.
Maggie tells John Wilson about some of her creative influences including the Finnish writer Tove Jansson, whose book Moominland Midwinter she first read at the age of eight when she was ill in bed, suffering from encephalitis. The poet Michael Donaghy gave Maggie valuable writing advice when she attended his poetry workshops at City University and inspired her with his recitations of poetry from memory. Maggie also reveals how seeing a David Hockney photomontages called The Scrabble Game hugely influenced the way she constructs narrative and time-frame in her novels.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
MON 20:00 The Briefing Room (m002nhyw)
Should we worry about America’s security strategy?
As both the year and the current series of The Briefing Room draw to a close, Europe and much of the world have been digesting a lengthy document outlining the Trump administration’s view of foreign policy. The National Security Strategy covers much of the globe but extra special vitriol was reserved for Europe with dire warnings that the continent is facing “civilisational erasure” partly due to immigration. At the same time the growing influence of “patriotic European parties” (those on the far right) is welcomed. But there’s more - the US wants to dominate the “Western Hemisphere” - the Americas and countries on its doorstep. It wants more trade with Asia and China, as well as the Middle East. But there are notable absences -there's no talk of a significant threat from either Russia or China. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss what all this means and ask how worried we, in Europe, should be about the current US view of the world?
Guests:
Frank Gardner, BBC Security Correspondent
Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor, The Economist
Rebecca Lissner, Senior fellow for U.S. foreign policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and lecturer, Jackson School of Global Affair, Yale University.
Dr Christoph Heusgen, Former Chairman Munich Security Conference and former German Ambassador to United Nations
Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Caroline Bayley, Kirsteen Knight, Cordelia Hemming
Production Co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound engineer: Neil Churchill
Editor Richard Vadon
MON 20:30 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txq)
How did President Trump transform science in 2025?
This week President Trump’s director of the Office of Management and Budget announced that a major climate research centre would be broken up. 2025 has brought a wave of reorganisations and funding cuts, reshaping the ways science is done in the USA. Veteran science journalist Roland Pease tells us whether we’re starting to see the impacts.
Victoria Gill gets a subterranean tour of Finland’s new nuclear waste disposal facility. It’s the first country in the world to get one and the UK are interested in learning how they did it. Victoria is also joined by science journalist Caroline Steel to talk about this week in science research.
And 40 years ago, Dian Fossey was murdered at her home in Rwanda where she had spent decades studying mountain gorillas. Gilly Forrester, Professor of Comparative Cognition at the University of Sussex talks about why the data collected from Dian’s ‘gorillas in the mist’ continues to shape science today.
To discover more fascinating science content, head to bbc.co.uk search for BBC Inside Science and follow the links to The Open University.
Presenter: Victoria Gill
Producers: Clare Salisbury, Kate White and Tim Dodd
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
MON 21:00 Start the Week (m002nttf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 21:45 Wild Bond (m001d58n)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:45 today]
MON 22:00 The World Tonight (m002ntwz)
Is Labour's relationship with farmers broken?
The government says it will prohibit trail hunting too as part of its Animal Welfare Strategy, 21 years after banning fox hunting. We hear from a former Conservative minister and a Labour MP on a tradition that divides the country - and ask whether Labour's relationship with farmers is terminally broken.
Also:
Remembering Chris Rea, the self-effacing singer-songwriter from Middlesbrough whose deep gravelly voice beguiled millions, though not always himself.
And amid calls for every school to have a choir, we hear what impact regular singing has had in one primary school in London.
MON 22:45 Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson (m002ntx1)
Mrs Winterson's Mince Pies
For Christmas week, Jeanette Winterson presents a selection of readings from her book ‘Christmas Days’, a collection of festive fictions, family recipes, and memories of Yuletides past.
To start the week, she remembers two key components of the Winterson family Christmas: Dad’s sherry trifle, and Mrs Winterson’s mince pies.
Produced by Emma Harding, Fay Lomas and Mair Bosworth
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:00 Archive on 4 (m002ntx3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Saturday]
TUESDAY 23 DECEMBER 2025
TUE 00:00 Midnight News (m002ntx6)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 00:30 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntv9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Monday]
TUE 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ntxd)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ntxj)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
TUE 05:00 News Summary (m002ntxn)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
TUE 05:04 From Our Own Correspondent (m002ntsm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:30 on Saturday]
TUE 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ntxr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
TUE 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ntxw)
Spiritual reflection to start the day with Fiona Stewart, a writer who runs a Christian arts charity.
TUE 05:45 Farming Today (m002ntxz)
Trail hunting ban, Christmas trees, Combating rural loneliness at Christmas
We hear from both sides of the hunting divide about the Government's plan to ban trail hunting in England and Wales. Trail hunting was introduced after hunting foxes, and other animals, with hounds was banned under the 2004 Hunting Act. It involves hounds following an animal scent based trail. The Government and anti-hunting campaigners argue that the practice is being used by some as a smokescreen for intentional, illegal, hunting of foxes. They say the current law needs to be changed urgently. The Countryside Alliance says there's no evidence that the Hunting Act is unenforceable and that those who hunt illegally are prosecuted.
We drop in at a lunch organised to combat social isolation at Christmas for older people in the Highlands. And, how much trickier has Christmas tree production been due to this year's summer drought?
Presenter: Anna Hill
Producer: Sarah Swadling
TUE 06:00 Today (m002ntqj)
News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
TUE 09:00 The Life Scientific (m002ntnc)
Tony Juniper on parrots, princes and environmental protection
Tony Juniper is an environmentalist who has worn many hats, over the course of his career.
After developing a passion for birds in childhood, his first job saw him working to save endangered parrots - including a successful effort to bring back the Spix's macaw from the edge of extinction. Tony went on to hold leading campaigning roles with some of the world's best known environmental organisations, from Friends of The Earth to the World Wildlife Fund. He also acted as an advisor to King Charles's International Sustainability Unit and co-authored three books with the monarch.
Today, Tony has swapped lobbying and campaigning for advising the government, as head of the advisory body Natural England: not without its challenges, but he says they are still outweighed by the positives.
Talking to Professor Jim Al-Khalili about his enduring love for nature and hopes for the future, Tony explains his optimism that we can and will recognise the urgent need to protect and restore our planet; and why ultimately, that means saving ourselves.
Presented by Jim Al-Khalili
Produced by Lucy Taylor for BBC Studios
TUE 09:30 How to Play (m002ntqr)
The Snowman by Howard Blake
Eavesdropping on rehearsals for a special screening of the beloved Christmas animation, as musicians prepare to perform the soundtrack live with its hit song, Walking in the Air.
Every winter, the Carrot Productions orchestra comes together to create a big-screen version of one of Britain’s most iconic Christmas-television treats: The Snowman. Ambitions are high and the pressure is on as the rehearsal date arrives. In just a few hours, they will be taking their show on the road and bringing it to eager audiences across the country. The players have just one morning to transform themselves into a cohesive ensemble and bring the complex musical score to life. If that wasn’t enough, there’s the added challenge of synchronising their performance to the live animated pictures!
We are invited inside their rehearsal space to witness the magical process of turning musical notes on a page into a story that breathes and soars. Leading the way is conductor, George Morton, who shows us how he homes in on key moments to fix problems and finesse the drama. The players give us a musicians-eye view of their experiences on stage and we hear from the young soloist who is stepping up to sing the famous Christmas hit at the centre of the story, “Walking in the Air”.
Producer: Chris Taylor for BBC Audio Wales
TUE 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ntqx)
Caring for older visitors at Christmas, Women's protests in Iran, Female jazz musicians
Women and babies have become targets in conflicts around the world, according to an investigation by The Guardian. Along with data collected by the NGO Insecurity Insight, it identified nearly 300 attacks on and disruptions to maternity care facilities, staff and pregnant women over the past three years and at least 119 incidents involving direct strikes on hospitals and delivery wards. Datshiane Navanayagam is joined by Liz Cookman, Europe Correspondent at The Observer and freelancer at The Guardian and Times, who worked on the story.
For the Sun After Long Nights is an on-the-ground exploration of the Woman, Life, Freedom protests in Iran, one of the country's largest uprisings in decades, after the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. Journalist Nilo Tabrizy discusses writing the book with fellow Iranian journalist Fatemeh Jamalpour, keeping in touch while Fatemeh was in Tehran, and why she thinks it's important to show the history of the Iranian women's rights movement.
As Soho jazz club Ronnie Scott's prepares to open its newly revamped upstairs space, Ronnie Scott’s head of music Sarah Weller and resident singer Natalie Williams join Datshiane to talk about the history of the venue, the iconic musicians who have played there from Nina Simone to Ella Fitzgerald, and how the role of women in jazz has changed over six decades. Plus, Natalie treats us to a rendition of the Christmas classic, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, live in the studio.
And with many generations getting together over the festive period, what can we do to ensure the older members of our families feel cherished and included in the celebrations? Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, and Louise Blezzard, a former nurse who runs a care service looking after older people in their homes, join us.
Presenter: Datshiane Navanayagam
Producer: Simon Richardson
TUE 11:00 Add to Playlist (m002nl2r)
Joe Stilgoe and Heidi Fardell celebrate Yuletide Classics
Anna and Jeffrey host an Add to Playlist Yuletide special. They are joined by jazz musician and songwriter Joe Stilgoe and baroque recorder player Heidi Fardell to pick apart five cracking festive tracks, from Sleigh Ride to the Carol of the Bells.
Producer: Jerome Weatherald
Presented with musical direction by Jeffrey Boakye and Anna Phoebe
The five tracks in this week's playlist:
Sleigh Ride by Ella Fitzgerald
Sinfonia from The Christmas Oratorio by J S Bach
Carol of the Bells by The Sixteen, written by Mykola Leontovych and Peter Wilhousky
Step into Christmas by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Feliz Navidad by José Feliciano
Other music in this episode:
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing by The Torero Band
Sleigh Ride by the Boston Pops Orchestra
Sleigh Ride by The Andrews Sisters
Sleigh Ride by The Ronettes
Christmas Oratorio Pt 1 by J S Bach
Shchedryk by Mykola Leontovych
Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christmas) by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by Elton John
Maoz Tzur by The Maccabeats
Yalda by Hossein Tavakoli
TUE 11:45 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntr2)
2. French deliciousness, tastes of the Bosphorus and pasta's generosity
Diana Henry, one of the UK's finest food writers, reads from her collected essays. Today, she takes us on an evocative culinary tour where we can delight in the produce and dishes of Bordeaux, Istanbul and Rome.
Around the Table by Diana Henry is a selection of her very best essays, handpicked from across her career in food. Over five episodes we travel the world in Diana's company and delight in the ingredients, the produce, the cooks and chefs that have gone on to shape her life and her cooking.
Diana takes us from the bustling Turkish groceries of the Edgware Road which defined her twenties; to kitchen tables in France where she learned how to make the perfect vinaigrette during her teenage years; to a trattoria tucked away in the suburbs of Rome; to the chilly Vermont countryside famed for its maple syrup. Lastly, we travel back to her homeland in Northern Ireland where she reflects on her mum's culinary skills and her dad's culinary curiosity.
Diana's vivid writing reminds us of the joy to be found in good food, from the humble apple, to rose ice-cream, to truffles and to pasta.
Diana Henry has regular columns in the press, and is the author of twelve books including Salt, Sugar, Smoke, A Change of Appetite and From the Oven to the Table. Before becoming a food writer, Diana was a TV producer.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Producer Elizabeth Allard
TUE 12:00 This Natural Life (m002ntq6)
His Majesty The King
In this special edition of This Natural Life, His Majesty The King tells Martha Kearney about his lifelong passion for nature and the environment. As they walk together through the walled garden at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, the King reflects on how his love of the natural world began in childhood and discusses topics ranging from school farms and marine conservation to the art of topiary and the joy of secateurs. Martha also talks to young people and tutors on educational schemes based at the two thousand acre estate, which is owned by the King’s Foundation.
Photo courtesy of the King's Foundation
Producer: Emma Campbell
TUE 12:25 A Carnival of Animals (m002kfpn)
The Orangutan
In this new series for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, best-selling author and scholar Katherine Rundell celebrates the lives of twenty astonishing but endangered animals. Each episode includes fascinating stories that connect natural history with cultural insight, myth and science — revealing how animals have shaped human imagination, and how our choices now shape their survival.
This first episode, The Orangutan, introduces us to Rose, who once lived in Napoleon’s household, and takes us deep into the forests of Borneo, where orangutans have learned to weed paths, wash clothes, and steal canoes — simply by watching the humans around them.
But fewer than 800 Tapanuli orangutans remain in the wild. Katherine asks what it means to live alongside such beings — and what it will take to ensure they remain part of our shared future.
Written and Presented by Katherine Rundell
Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol
TUE 12:30 Short Works (m002837t)
Nothing Happened by David Szalay
Indira Varma reads an original short story for Radio 4 by this year's Booker Prize-winner David Szalay.
In Abu Dhabi airport, in the middle of the night, two people are thrown together again for the first time in decades. Now both middle-aged, they ponder missed chances...
Writer: David Szalay won the Booker Prize in 2025 for his novel Flesh. He has also been shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and has won the Betty Trask Award and the Edge Hill Short Story Prize.
Reader Indira Varma
Producer: Justine Willett
TUE 12:45 Opening Lines (m002ntr9)
Joy in the Morning
Ian Sansom, sitting in for John Yorke, takes a look at Joy In the Morning, the 44th Jeeves and Wooster novel by PG Wodehouse. Published in 1946, it revolves around Bertie Wooster’s attempts to avoid a series of social and romantic calamities. The omniscient Jeeves, of course, remains the great calm at the centre of the novel’s storm, devising ingenious solutions just when disaster seems inevitable. Readings from the book are by Stephen Fry, who also describes why he’s such an enthusiast for Wodehouse so much, and what it is he loves about this adventure in the Jeeves and Wooster canon.
Ian Sansom is a novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is the author of more than 20 books, including the Mobile Library and the County Guides series of detective novels and his work has been translated into more than a dozen languages. He has worked as a columnist for The Guardian and The Spectator and currently writes for the TLS, The Irish Times and The Dublin Review. He is a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 3. He was formerly the Director of the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College Dublin and a Professor and Head of English at Queen’s University Belfast.
With readings and contributions from Sir Stephen Fry
Archive:
Archive 1961 BBC Interview – Alistair Cooke speaks to P.G. Wodehouse
Archive 1972 BBC Interview – Keith Dewhurst speaks to P.G. Wodehouse
Reader: Sir Stephen Fry
Producer: Laura Grimshaw
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Programme Hub Co-ordinator: Nina Semple
Researcher: Henry Tydeman
Sound: Sean Kerwin
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 13:00 World at One (m002ntrh)
Farm inheritance tax plans watered down
After a year of protests, the Government raises the planned inheritance tax relief threshold for farmers. Also on the programme, new support for care leavers and a look at the history of Christmas tree decorations.
TUE 13:45 Who Are You in Winnie-the-Pooh? (m002ntrn)
Owl
To celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh’s 100th anniversary, Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce is asking some the UK's most celebrated children’s writers who they most identify with in A A Milne’s timeless tales from the Hundred Acre Wood.
Pooh Bear first appeared in print in a story commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks with Onjali Q. Raúf best known for The Boy at the Back of the Class, and political cartoonist, illustrator and writer of many children’s book Chris Riddell, about ways in which they identify with Owl.
Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer Production
TUE 14:00 The Archers (m002ntrv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Monday]
TUE 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002nts1)
Plum in Prison
Can - or should - comedy play a role in times of political extremes and cruelty?
In late May 1940, author PG Wodehouse was interned by the Nazis. During that time, he made a series of radio broadcasts that caused intense debate about patriotism and when humour is or is not appropriate. The broadcasts were essentially humorous monologues about his time as prisoner, combined with subtle mocking of his captors. However, the simple fact of the broadcasts and certain phrases from them, along with his apparent reluctance to denounce his German captors, led to hostile accusations that he was a traitor, a quisling, or worse - a man with fascist sympathies who had sold out his country to gain early release.
Wodehouse was never entirely forgiven. Despite his enormous fame and popularity, it took until the eve of his death for him to be knighted.
Taking this lesser-known incident as its central theme, Plum in Prison considers responsibility, judgment, and choices in bad times, offering a defence of laughter, comedy and joy even in our darkest hours. Stephen Mangan plays PG Wodehouse aka Plum.
In fact, despite his usual sang froid, Wodehouse had a grim internment, moved from place to place with little warning, sleeping four to a room, unable to communicate with friends and family. The Germans read Wodehouse’s novels as anti-English satires and hoped that Wodehouse would make this explicit in his broadcasts - he did not. Those broadcasts found ways of mocking his captors and maintaining what Wodehouse always championed - a very English unflappability. These were comic monologues, the most serious thing about them was their refusal to take things seriously.
Behind the scenes, he organised, through his publishers, ways of letting his fellow captives’ families know that their loved ones were safe and arranged payments to support them.
Plum in Prison fuses serious material with ever surreal comedy. Mistaken identities, miscommunications, misunderstandings piling on misunderstandings, start to infect the rigid German prison system – the whole thing becoming a complicated tangle for Plum, from which he can surely only be rescued by ... Jeeves?
Even so, farce is juxtaposed with the seriousness of the stakes, the evolving horror of the war, the very real risks to Wodehouse and other internees, the madness engulfing Europe and, behind even that, the hideous rumblings of a yet more grotesque plan to rid Europe of Germany’s enemies.
Who dares laugh at such a time? But what might laughter do? Does the horror kill the laughter? Does the laughter mask the horror? Or could the laughter help us see the horror?
What the dispute about Wodehouse reveals – underneath criticisms of his actions – is a deep-seated refusal to accept the seriousness of comedy. Wodehouse’s brio, his flippancy, his wit, enraged people to the very same extent that he had previously entertained them.
Plum ….. Stephen Mangan
Bunny ….. Clare Lawrence Moody
Meadowes and McKenzie ….. Harley Viveash
Spode, Schmidt and Schmidt …. Max Runham
Reeves and Webb ….. Graeme Hawley
Buchelt ….. Silas Carson
Producer: Polly Thomas
Sound Designer: Steve Brooke
Production Manager: Darren Spruce
Executive Producer: Celia de Wolf
Written by Dan Rebellato
A Thomas Carter Projects production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:00 Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley (m002nts6)
Series 4
52. Amelia Haslett - Lady Killer in My Family
Lucy Worsley is back with a brand new series of Lady Killers. Lucy and her team of all female detectives re-visit the unthinkable crimes, committed by murderesses, more than a hundred years ago.
In this episode, Lucy looks at a case with a difference. It’s true crime meets family history - with a twist. The team receives an email from Lady Killers listener, Charlotte Godfrey, who says she has a Victorian Lady Killer in her family. Charlotte wants to find out more about her Great Great Aunt’s role in The Chertsey Murder.
It’s a tragic tale involving murder and suicide. On 16th May 1894, 18 year-old Amelia Haslett poisons her 9 year-old sister Daisy and then kills herself. What were the circumstances that led to this unimaginable crime?
Lucy brings in Lady Killers’ in-house historian Professor Rosalind Crone to help get to the bottom of this dark family secret.
Ros meets Charlotte at the scene of the crime in Addlestone, Surrey and visits the church where her relatives are buried.
Back in the studio Lucy, Ros and Charlotte are joined by Dr Gwen Adshead who, for many years, was a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist at Broadmoor Hospital.
Can they answer Charlotte’s questions – why did Amelia do it and what may have been happening with her mental health.
Producer: Julia Hayball
Readers: Clare Corbett, Ruth Sillers, Jonathan Keeble and Bill Hope
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:30 Beyond Belief (m002ntsd)
Christmas through the eyes of a convert
Giles Fraser examines Christmas through the eyes of the convert talking to two people about how changing faiths affected how they experienced Christmas.
He’s joined by Jennifer Ogenyemi who describes how converting to Islam from Christianity changed her life at this time of year and how she helps other converts navigate the season.
Rev David Reed talks about his conversion from atheism to Christianity and how it gave new meaning to Christmas
They're joined by Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Philospher Julian Baggini about the bridges and divides caused by belief at this time of year.
Presenter: Giles Fraser
Producer: Catherine Murray
Asst Producer: Charlie Filmer- Court
Production Co-ordinator Ned Stone
Editor: Chloe Walker
TUE 16:00 Artworks (m002ntsk)
The Poetry Detective
Overwintering
Vanessa Kisuule unearths the poems that offer us insight into the issues that ail us most. This week, it's getting through winter.
"Overwintering" is a term usually reserved for plants or animals adapting in order to make it through winter. But we humans are living beings too and perhaps we are also in need of some mulching around the roots, some bringing indoors, some hibernation.
And when life throws us a metaphorical winter, can we allow ourselves to just sit and watch through the window 'til the storm has passed? Perhaps poetry can help. Can it make us calmer, wiser, and more accepting of life's unplanned pauses?
With Katherine May, author of Wintering and the poets Lavinia Greenlaw, Megan Fernandes and Isabelle Baafi.
Produced in Bristol by Ellie Richold
TUE 16:30 What's Up Docs? (m002ntss)
How can you find comfort in the winter months?
Welcome to What’s Up Docs?, the podcast where doctors and identical twins Chris and Xand van Tulleken cut through the confusion around every aspect of our health and wellbeing.
In this episode, Chris and Xand dive into winter comforts. What is comfort? How has the meaning of comfort evolved? How did the ancients find comfort in the winter? How do other cultures embrace comfort? They explore the history of comfort, especially that found in winter celebrations and rituals, discuss how traditional winter habits compare to our modern ones, and examine whether comfort is a good thing or whether we should be embracing more discomfort.
Joining them to discuss this is Dr Tiffany Watt Smith, writer and cultural historian interested in the histories of emotion and medicine, former director of the Centre for the History of Emotions at Queen Mary University of London, and fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
If you want to get in touch, you can email us at whatsupdocs@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08000 665 123.
Presenters: Drs Chris and Xand van Tulleken
Guest: Dr Tiffany Watt Smith
Researcher: Mili Ostojic
Producer: Faye Lyons White and Rami Tzabar
Social Media Producer: Leon Gower
Assistant Producer: Maia Miller-Lewis
Editor: Jo Rowntree
Tech Lead: Reuben Huxtable
Digital Lead: Richard Berry
Composer: Phoebe McFarlane
Sound Design: Melvin Rickarby
At the BBC:
Assistant Commissioner: Greg Smith
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
A Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 17:00 PM (m002ntsz)
Men found guilty of planning gun attack on British Jews.
We hear the details behind the sentencing of two men who plotted a gun attack on a mass gathering of Jews in Manchester, we speak to a Labour MP as the government climbs down from one of their proposals on farmers inheritance tax and, we bring you today's PM from Halifax in West Yorkshire broadcasting from the Grade I listed Piece Hall building and speak to traders about how the Christmas shopping season has been going.
TUE 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ntt6)
Two men are found guilty of planning a gun attack on the Jewish community
Two men have been found guilty of planning a gun attack on the Jewish community in Manchester. Also: The latest release of documents relating to the late sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, contains a number of references to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and President Trump. And the Government waters down inheritance tax plans for farmers.
TUE 18:30 One Person Found This Helpful (m002nrtz)
Series 3
6. A Whiff Of Xmas
Frank Skinner and guests Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Sunil Patel, Simon Evans and Ania Magliano don green tights and angels’ wings and jiggle suspiciously to play a Christmas-flavoured episode of the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day – shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad and the baffling.
Everyone has an online life, and when the great British public put pen to keyboard to leave a review, they almost always write something hilarious. And our all-star panel have to work out just what they were reviewing – and maybe contribute a few reviews of their own. So if you’re the person who reviewed some tinsel by saying “does what it says on the tin” - this show salutes you!
Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Gareth Gwynn, Jason Hazeley, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche
Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans with the producer David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 19:00 The Archers (m002ntmv)
Joy has called a final meeting of the Tractor Run entrants, with Tony and Hannah amongst them, bickering over the running order: Tony is in first place, Hannah, representing Berrow Farm, is fourteenth. Hannah proposes swapping places, throwing Tony’s justifications back at him, but to no avail. Joy then goes through some housekeeping rules, before Tony and Hannah approach to argue over the running order. Joy nips their complaints in the bud by justifying her decision and making clear it’s final. As everyone disperses Hannah asks Joy to change her position to last, before heading off with Jazzer, followed by curious Tony. Hannah’s planning on having Jazzer in his terrible turkey costume as part of her decorations, though she’ll have to do some work on it. She then assures Tony that last place in the run is the best place to be…
With Amber having come back last night, cocky George gives Kenton short shrift when he tells George to never say anything again like he said to Fallon the other day. George brings up the risk he took getting Markie rearrested, putting his life on the line, then defiantly tells Kenton to stop taking their nonsense out on him. Later, Kenton’s on the Green with Harrison when George’s dog, Holly, jumps up at him. This triggers Kenton, who hides behind Harrison, while George saunters up casually. George is completely unapologetic, despite Kenton’s obvious distress, before leading Holly away. Shaken, Kenton goes back to Woodbine Cottage with Harrison, where he reluctantly starts telling Harrison what George said to Fallon.
TUE 19:15 This Cultural Life (m0024lz2)
Thelma Schoonmaker
Thelma Schoonmaker has, for over five decades, been Martin Scorsese’s cutting room collaborator. Having edited his first feature film in 1967, she has worked on every Scorsese movie since Raging Bull, including Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed, Wolf Of Wall Street, right up to his most recent features The Irishman and Killers Of The Flower Moon. As the widow of the legendary British filmmaker Michael Powell, she has also played a key role in the restoration of classic Powell and Pressburger films including The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus and A Matter Of Life And Death. Thelma Schoonmaker has won three Academy Awards, more than any other film editor.
Thelma tells John Wilson how enrolling on a six week film making course as a young graduate in New York led to her meeting and helping Martin Scorsese edit a short film he was making. He then asked her to edit his 1967 feature film debut, Who's That Knocking at My Door and their partnership began in earnest. She recalls how she and Scorsese were part of the editing team on Michael Wadleigh's music festival documentary, Woodstock for which she received her first an Oscar nomination for Best Film Editing - the first documentary ever to be nominated in that category. Thelma reveals the process of working with Scorsese in the cutting room and how, through him, she met her late husband Michael Powell, whose films with Emeric Pressburger, both she and Scorsese had so admired from childhood.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
Archive and music used:
The Red Shoes, Powell & Pressburger, 1948
Who's That Knocking at My Door, Martin Scorsese, 1967
I Can't Explain, The Who, Live at Woodstock, 1969
See Me. Feel Me, The Who, Live at Woodstock, 1969
Star Spangled Banner, Jimi Hendrix, Live at Woodstock, 1969
Raging Bull, Martin Scorsese, 1980
Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie-editing, BBC4, 30 August 2005
Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ, Peter Gabriel
Sunshine of Your Love, Cream
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, Pietro Mascagni
Love Is Strange, Mickey & Sylvia
Layla, Derek & The Dominos
A Matter of Life and Death, Powell & Pressburger, 1946
Michael and Martin, BBC Radio 4, 30 June 2005
TUE 20:00 Café Hope (m002ntq2)
Cafe Hope's Christmas Dinner
Join Rachel Burden for Café Hope’s Christmas Dinner where we’ve swapped our virtual café for a real one – the perfectly named Café Hope in Glasgow - for a chat and a cake or two. We’ll hear how the community café is run by young people mentored and trained by professional chefs. And we’ll hear how all our guests are trying to make Christmas better for people in big or small ways.
Café Hope is our virtual Radio 4 coffee shop, where guests pop in for a brew and a chat to tell us what they’re doing to make things better in big and small ways. Think of us as sitting in your local café, cooking up plans, hearing the gossip, and celebrating the people making the world a better place.
We’re all about trying to make change. It might be a transformational project that helps an entire community, or it might be about trying to make one life a little bit easier. And the key here is in the trying. This is real life. Not everything works, and there are struggles along the way. But it’s always worth a go.
You can contact us on cafehope@bbc.co.uk
Presenter: Rachel Burden
Series Producer: Uma Doraiswamy
Sound Design: Nicky Edwards
Editor: Clare Fordham
TUE 20:40 In Touch (m002nttm)
Stardom Within Touch
In Touch talks to three visually impaired rising stars of show business. Betsy Griffin does many things: she writes music and sings, but her main goal is to become a radio host, where she has already presented on In Touch and a BBC Three Counties Radio show. Eleanor Stollery began performing with the National Theatre in her role of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol, and she is now involved with delivering live audio description for theatre performances. Bonnie O'Mera is the star of Maddie + Triggs, a children's TV programme that puts visual impairment at its heart. The three discuss their careers so far and their experiences of working in showbiz with their visual impairments.
A very Merry Christmas from the In Touch team:
Presenter, Peter White
Producer, Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator, Kim Agostino
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.
TUE 21:00 Crossing Continents (m002nttw)
Argentina's elusive big cats
After decades of extinction, wild jaguars are once again roaming in Northern Argentina. It has been at least thirty five years since a wild jaguar cub was spotted in this dry and dusty part of Argentina. But in August 2025, a baby appeared on the chocolatey-brown banks of the River Bermejo. Its existence was a great success for the team from Rewilding Argentina, a non-profit foundation that started reintroducing these magnificent beasts here in 2019. But it has not been easy: hunting is still a problem and the organisation has had to get the locals on board with sharing their home with big cats. For Crossing Continents, Charlotte Pritchard travels to 'The Impenetrable Forest' to find out how the birth of this baby became possible.
Reporter: Charlotte Pritchard
Producer: Macarena Gagliardi
Mixed by Duncan Hannant
Production Coordinator: Katie Morrison
Series Editor: Penny Murphy
TUE 21:30 Ramblings (m002cfkp)
Camino de Santiago with Manni Coe
This is a very special series of Ramblings. To mark Clare’s 25th year of presenting Radio 4’s walking programme she is off to Spain to fulfil her long held desire of hiking one of the world’s most famous pilgrimage footpaths, the Camino de Santiago. Translated roughly as The Way of St. James, the Camino isn’t just one route, rather it’s a network of trails across western Europe converging on Santiago de Compostela, the reputed burial place of St. James.
Clare's first companion is Manni Coe. He first walked the Camino 22 years ago with his brother Reuben, following the Francés, or French, path. This is probably the most famous route, which starts in the French town of St Jean Pied de Port. Reuben has Down’s Syndrome and Manni recalls their journey together as the most magical yet challenging time of their lives.
Manni now lives in Spain and works as a tour guide, including leading pilgrims along the Sanabrés which begins in Granja de Moreruela and stretches around 225 miles to Santiago.
Manni is also an author about to publish his second book, ‘Little Ruins’. As he explains to Clare, the simple act of walking has been invaluable in enabling him to complete this personal project which is about recovery from childhood trauma.
This is the second time Clare has walked with Manni: search in our episodes list for ‘Brotherly Love in Burton Bradstock’ to hear Manni and Reuben walking in Dorset. For this episode, Manni and Clare walked from Bendoiro (What3Words: tuxedos.unwed.enjoys) to Silleda (W3W: expecting.shortcuts.outsells)
Presenter: Clare Balding Producer: Karen Gregor
TUE 21:55 A Carnival of Animals (m002kf8h)
The Hummingbird
In this series for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, best-selling author and scholar Katherine Rundell celebrates the lives of twenty astonishing but endangered animals. Each short essay includes fascinating stories that connect natural history with cultural insight, myth and science - revealing how animals have shaped human imagination, and how our choices now shape their survival.
In this episode, Katherine introduces the hummingbird - the smallest living bird, hatched from eggs typically no bigger than a chickpea, and explains how these birds, named for the sound of their wings, see a world far more vivid than ours, thanks to ultraviolet-sensitive cones in their eyes.
We also hear how Queen Victoria’s fascination with hummingbirds helped spark a craze that led to their use in jewellery - and eventually to the founding of the RSPB. Today, more than 10% of hummingbird species are endangered. Katherine explores why we need them - not only for pollination, but as dazzling proof of nature’s ability to evolve in colours beyond our imagination.
Written and Presented by Katherine Rundell
Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol
TUE 22:00 The World Tonight (m002ntv4)
Should government meet pro-Palestine hunger strikers?
Pro-Palestinian remand prisoners staging the largest organised hunger strike in over 40 years are to continue, after the government refused a meeting. We hear from the sister of one of them - and ask whether the government should now intervene.
Also on the programme:
The latest Epstein files include an email from Balmoral in which Ghislaine Maxwell is asked if she's found some new "inappropriate friends". We have the latest.
And what do Christmas cracker jokes do to our brains?
TUE 22:45 Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson (m002ntvc)
O'Brien's First Christmas
O’Brien doesn’t like Christmas. If she goes home to Cork, the aunts will ask about her marriage prospects, her dad will nag her about her job prospects, and her mum will comment on her hair. Faced with another Christmas alone in London, O'Brien strikes up a friendship with the department store Santa.
Louisa Harland reads a short story by Jeanette Winterson, from her collection 'Christmas Days'.
Abridged by Miranda Emmerson
Produced by Emma Harding, Fay Lomas and Mair Bosworth
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 23:00 Uncanny (m002ntvl)
Series 5
Case 9: Christmas Casebook with Diane Morgan
Danny Robins unpacks a Christmas hamper of horror with ghost fan Diane Morgan, star of Motherland, After Life and Philomena Cunk. Diane relates several of her own terrifying encounters with the paranormal, and crosses swords with sceptic Dr Ciaran O’Keeffe as they hear supernatural real-life stories from Uncanny listeners.
Written and presented by Danny Robins
Experts: Diane Morgan and Ciaran O'Keeffe
Editing and sound design: Charlie Brandon-King
Music: Evelyn Sykes
Theme music by: Lanterns on the Lake
Produced by: Danny Robins and Simon Barnard
A Bafflegab and Uncanny Media production for BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds
WEDNESDAY 24 DECEMBER 2025
WED 00:00 Midnight News (m002ntvv)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 00:30 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntr2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Tuesday]
WED 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ntw2)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ntw7)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
WED 05:00 News Summary (m002ntwf)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
WED 05:04 BBC Inside Science (w3ct8txq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:30 on Monday]
WED 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ntwl)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
WED 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ntwp)
Spiritual reflection for Christmas Eve with Fiona Stewart, a writer who runs a Christian arts charity.
WED 05:45 Farming Today (m002ntwt)
24/12/25 The Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses
With a military pipe band and trumpet fanfares, Caz Graham joins pensioners at the Royal Hospital Chelsea for their Ceremony of the Christmas Cheeses, a festive tradition where dairy processors and farmers present cheese for the Hospital’s Christmas celebrations.
It dates back to the late 1600s when Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned by King Charles II to build a sanctuary for soldiers "broken by age and war". He asked the dairies of London to give cheese every Christmas to the veterans who became known as the Chelsea Pensioners.
Caz meets the Hospital’s Governor to hear about the origins of this ancient ceremony, farmers whose milk goes into some of the cheeses, and some of the pensioners taking part, including Andy Kay, the Chelsea pensioner who cuts the first slice of a huge 25kg Montgomery cheddar with a ceremonial sword.
There's also the latest news on the government's proposals for inheritance tax on farm businesses.
Produced and presented by Caz Graham.
WED 06:00 Today (m002ntm4)
Melvyn Bragg Guest Edits Today
Writer and broadcaster Lord Melvyn Bragg is the first Today guest editor this Christmas.
WED 09:00 More or Less (m002ntm6)
Were there really Three Wise Men?
The surprising things we learn when we count everyone - a tour of the UK census through time.
We also figure out just how many parking officers there are versus soldiers in the British army.
Who really does all the housework? Plus - 20 years of ‘Freakonomics’ with Stephen Dubner.
And finally - were there really three wise men who visited baby Jesus? And were they kings as the Christmas hymn would lead us to believe?
Presenter: Tim Harford
Reporter: Lizzy McNeil
Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Nathan Gower and Katie Solleveld
Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele
Sound Mix: Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon
WED 09:30 The History Podcast (m002ntm8)
Two Nottingham Lads
1. From One Nottingham Man to Another
Donetsk, April 2022. Two men find themselves face to face in a prison building. One is a prisoner of war, captured fighting for Ukraine. The other is a self-styled independent journalist, filming an interview for his online audience. But these two men are not Ukrainian. They’re British – and they were both born in Nottingham.
Graham Philips had been documenting the growing war in the East of Ukraine since 2014, amassing thousands of followers keen to see the war from what appears to be a pro-Russian viewpoint. Aiden Aslin had been fighting for Ukraine since 2018, but was captured not long after the full scale invasion.
This episode begins with a disturbing video - a peculiar, chilling episode which will change the lives of both men forever - and introduces our two protagonists, charting their backstories to understand how they found themselves on opposite sides of a foreign war. What motivated them to go to Ukraine in the first place? And how did their worldviews change so dramatically, when they were born in the same city?
Presenter: Paul Kenyon
A Message Heard production for BBC Radio 4
WED 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ntmc)
Epstein Files, Plane spotting, Janie Dee, South Asian female DJs
The US Department of Justice released another batch of documents related to the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Many of the pages are heavily redacted and represent only a fraction of the number held by the FBI. Marina Lacerda met Epstein when she was 14 years old in New York around 2002 and was abused by him. She gave her reaction to the last Friday's release of documents.
South Asian women have long been underrepresented in the DJ scene - largely due to a combination of cultural expectations and gender stereotypes but that’s starting to change. Every Saturday, Asian Network’s DJ Kizzi bring us a House Party show. This Saturday - the final one of 2025 - she’s ending the year in style with a special House Party featuring five South Asian female DJs in back-to-back sets. They will be representing the different diasporas and Asian cultures, from Punjabi and Pakistani to Bengali and Tamil. DJ Kizzi and DJ Manara join Krupa to talk about what it means to be a female South Asian DJ in a male-dominated industry and why they’re passionate about championing female DJ talent.
‘Fly girls love planes’ - that’s the motto of Gloria Amponsem, founder of a plane spotting group for women. After her videos went viral on social media, The Plane Spotting Club has organised group socials and built an online community with hundreds of women. Founder Gloria and member of the club Michelle Fradgley join Krupa to discuss why they love plane spotting and how their group is challenging stereotypes.
Brahmacharini Shripriya Chaitanya, a spiritual leader at Chinmaya Mission London, shares the wisdom of Advaita Vedanta, the Hindu philosophy of non-duality that teaches all existence is one interconnected reality. After studying in India, she returned to the UK and has spent seven years guiding her community through talks, writings, and her podcast, as well as appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Prayer for the Day. This festive season, her message is simple - pause, practise mindfulness and gratitude, and reconnect with the stillness within to find calm and light amid the celebrations.
As Noel Coward’s funny, shocking play Fallen Angels is revived one hundred years after it was first performed, actress and singer Janie Dee joins Krupa to talk about how the play almost didn’t make it past the censors, and Noel Coward cabaret night, plus she performs a Noel Coward song live in the studio.
Presenter: Krupa Padhy
Producer: Dianne McGregor
WED 11:00 File on 4 Investigates (m002k3jm)
Youth Justice: The project keeping young offenders out of custody
A van selling coffee and sandwiches from an office car park doesn’t sound like anything special, but there’s one in Swindon helping to keep young offenders out of custody. It’s part of an approach being deployed across the country trying to prevent young people from reoffending by encouraging a shift in their identity.
The idea is to get to know the young offender, figure out what makes them tick. And then, instead of locking them up, find ways of getting them involved in whatever interests them. Selling tea and coffee from the burger van is where those with a culinary eye can learn new skills and start to feel valued for being part of legitimate endeavours. Similar interventions include social enterprises working in bicycle maintenance, hair and beauty and podcasting.
As the adult prison population has soared in England and Wales, the number of under-18s behind bars has dropped markedly in the past 20 years, from around 3000 to 400. File on 4 Investigates spends time with the Youth Justice Service in Swindon to find out how it rehabilitates young offenders in the local community, and asks if the success of the youth system could hold lessons to address chronic overcrowding problems in adult prisons.
Chris Marston, who presents shows on National Prison Radio and spent 10 months in prison discovers that what’s going on in Swindon is very different from his own experiences of the adult criminal justice system.
Reporter: Chris Marston
Producer: Beth McLeod
Technical Producer: Craig Boardman
Production Co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Nick Holland
Main Image: Presenter Chris Marston in front of the Solid Ground coffee van in Swindon.
WED 11:40 This Week in History (m002ntmf)
22nd to 28th December
Fascinating, surprising and eye-opening stories from the past, brought to life.
This week: 22nd to 28th December
22nd December 1972 - The Chilean Air Force finds fourteen survivors of a plane crash in the Andes, ten weeks after it happened.
25th December 800 - Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III.
26th December 1860 - Hallam FC and Sheffield FC contest the first ever match between two football clubs.
Presented by Viji Alles and Caroline Nicholls.
WED 11:45 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntmh)
3. A love of menus
Diana Henry, the well-loved food writer reads from her collected essays. Today, she considers the pleasure of creating a menu and the cuisines of California and Mexico City.
Around the Table by Diana Henry is a selection of her very best essays, handpicked from across her career in food. Over five episodes we travel the world in her company and delight in the ingredients, the produce, the cooks and chefs that have gone on to shape her life and her cooking.
Diana takes us from the bustling Turkish groceries of the Edgware Road which defined her twenties; to kitchen tables in France where she learned how to make the perfect vinaigrette during her teenage years; to a trattoria tucked away in the suburbs of Rome; to the chilly Vermont countryside famed for its maple syrup. Lastly, we travel back to her homeland in Northern Ireland where she reflects on her mum's culinary skills and her dad's culinary curiosity.
Diana's vivid writing reminds us of the joy to be found in good food, from the humble apple, to rose ice-cream, to truffles and to pasta.
Diana Henry has regular columns in the press, and is the author of twelve books including Salt, Sugar, Smoke, A Change of Appetite and From the Oven to the Table. Before becoming a food writer, Diana was a TV producer.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Producer Elizabeth Allard
WED 12:00 Drama on 4 (m002ntml)
Joy in the Morning
Episode 1
Ageless, affable Bertie Wooster (Freddie Fox) travels to rural Steeple Bumpleigh. Older, wiser valet Jeeves (Martin Jarvis) accompanies him.
In this sparkling new two-part dramatisation of Wodehouse’s novel, Freddie Fox revisits the character of Wooster which he played to acclaim in the West End. Martin Jarvis recreates the older Jeeves for which he won the Theatre World Award on Broadway.
Episode 1: Absurd challenges at rural Steeple Bumpleigh. Bertie needs to do a favour for crusty Lord Worplesdon (Ian Ogilvy.) Complications. Not least from Bertie’s ex-fiancée Florence (Lisa Dillon). Also, Bertie has promised lovely young Zenny (Rose Williams) he’ll get Lord W’s consent to her to marrying Boko Fittleworth (Edward Bennett.)
Could Jeeves help? Possibly. But further difficulties include midnight marauders and ambitious PC Cheesewright (Lloyd Owen).
A wondrous Wodehouse whirligig. Timeless psychology. Young people in a romantic turmoil. Dazzlingly funny - the English language deployed in the service of P. G. Wodehouse’s comedic mastery.
Jarvis and Ayres' previous Wodehouse reviews:
‘Glittering. Proves why Wodehouse is such wonderful material for production’ (Sunday Times)
‘R4, where Wodehouse truly resides.’ (Telegraph)
‘Jarvis understands Wodehouse in a way granted to few.’ (The Times)
Cast:
Bertie Wooster….Freddie Fox
Jeeves….Martin Jarvis
Bookseller….Nigel Anthony
Zenobia Hopwood….Rose Williams
Florence Craye….Lisa Dillon
Stilton Cheesewright….Lloyd Owen
Boko Fittleworth….Edward Bennett
Edwin….Max Hanson
Lord Worplesdon….Ian Ogilvy
Dramatised by Archie Scottney
Engineers: Olly Thompson, Neil Wogensen
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4
WED 13:00 World at One (m002ntmp)
Zelensky changes position on territory in new pleace plan
President Zelensky outlines an updated 20-point US-Ukrainian peace plan. Also on the programme, what impact are AI toys having on children?
WED 13:45 Who Are You in Winnie-the-Pooh? (m002ntmr)
Pooh Bear
To celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh’s 100th anniversary, Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce is asking some the UK's most celebrated children’s writers who they most identify with in A A Milne’s timeless tales from the Hundred Acre Wood.
Pooh Bear first appeared in print in a story commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925.
To mark the day of Pooh's 100th birthday, Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks with Nick Butterworth, best known for his Percy the Park Keeper series, and Julia Donaldson, who has written so many books for children but is perhaps best known for The Gruffalo, about ways in which they identify with Pooh Bear.
Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer Production
WED 14:00 The Archers (m002ntmv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Tuesday]
WED 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002ntmx)
The Truth about Phyllis Twigg
In 1924, the world’s first radio drama was broadcast by the BBC. Richard Hughes was credited as the writer - but Phyllis Twigg wrote a children’s radio play performed live on the BBC on Christmas Eve, over one year earlier.
It’s definitely not the first time a woman’s contribution to history has gone awry. The Truth About Phyllis Twigg is a light-hearted drama about giving credit where credit’s due – even if it takes 100 years to get it.
1922: It may only be six weeks old, but the brand-new British Broadcasting Company is already desperate for content. Arthur Burrows, its first on-air voice and Director of Programmes is accosted by children’s author Phyllis Twigg outside Marconi House with a pitch - could they put a play on the radio? Phyllis has already written for gramophone, broadcasting is the natural next step.
2025: In the British Library, HerStory podcast producer Jenny Adams fumbles with her phone as she attempts to record a voice note for her season finale. She suspects children's author Moira Meighn and Phyllis Twigg the dramatist are one and same and the proof is somewhere in its stacks. She also intends to right an injustice. Not for the first time has a man been credited with a woman’s historical first.
As Arthur and Phyllis grapple with the challenges of broadcasting the nation’s first live radio play, they also star in it. Jenny faces a challenge of her own. Change history – and reveal the truth about Phyllis Twigg.
Written by Paul Kerensa
Phyllis Twigg .... Tamsin Greig
Arthur Burrows .... Rory Kinnear
Jenny .... Aja Dodd
Rajesh .... Amit Shah
Mr White .... Will Harrison-Wallace
Lift Boy .... Haydn Watts
Anne .... Flora Saner
Other roles played by members of the cast.
"Dear Santa" written and performed by Hannah Brine
Sound Design .... Eloise Whitmore
Studio Manager .... Rohan Onraet
Original Music .... Neil Brand
Producer/Executive Producer .... Andrew Mark Sewell
Director .... Helen Quigley
A B7 Media production for BBC Radio 4
WED 15:00 A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols (m002nl9n)
Christmas 2025
A service of carols, hymns and readings live from the candlelit Chapel of King's College, Cambridge.
Hymn: Once in royal David's City (Irby, descant Willcocks)
Bidding Prayer (read by the Dean)
Carol: The blessed son of God (Ralph Vaughan Williams)
First lesson: Genesis 3 vv. 8-19 (read by a Chorister)
Carol: Adam lay ybounden (Boris Ord)
Second lesson: Genesis 22 vv. 15-19 (read by a College student)
Carol: Nowell, nowell, nowell (Elizabeth Maconchy)
Third lesson: Isaiah 9 vv. 2, 6-7 (read by a member of College staff)
Carol: On Christmas night (trad. arr. Philip Ledger)
Hymn: It came upon the midnight clear (Noel, descant Scott)
Fourth lesson: Isaiah 11 vv. 1-9 (read by a representative of Eton College)
Carol: The Darkling Thrush (Rachel Portman) – 2025 commission
Carol: The Lamb (John Tavener)
Fifth lesson: Luke 1 vv. 26-38 (read by a Fellow)
Carol: Ave Maria (Anton Bruckner)
Carol: There is no rose (anon. transc. Stevens)
Sixth lesson: Luke 2 vv. 1-7 (read by the Mayor of Cambridge)
Carol: A boy was born (Benjamin Britten)
Hymn: Unto us is born a Son (Piae Cantiones arr. Willcocks)
Seventh lesson: Luke 2 vv. 8-20 (read by the Director of Music)
Carol: Nativity Carol (John Rutter)
Carol: The shepherds’ farewell (Hector Berlioz)
Eighth lesson: Matthew 2 vv. 1-12 (read by the Vice-Provost)
Carol: Dormi Jesu (John Rutter)
Carol: I saw three ships (Stuart Nicholson)
Ninth lesson: John 1 vv. 1-14 (read by the Provost)
Hymn: O come, all ye faithful (Adeste Fideles, arr. Willcocks, Daniel Hyde)
Collect and Blessing
Hymn: Hark, the herald angels sing (Mendelssohn, arr. Willcocks)
Organ voluntaries:
In dulci jubilo, BWV 729 (Bach)
Dieu parmi nous (Messiaen)
Revd. Dr. Stephen Cherry (Dean)
Daniel Hyde (Director of Music)
Revd. Dr. Jonathan Kimber (Chaplain)
Harrison Cole (Assisting Organist)
For millions listening 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. The service 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.
A new work has been commissioned for the Christmas Eve service every year since 1983, and this year Rachel Portman has written The Darkling Thrush.
A number of pieces by twentieth century composers such as Elizabeth Maconchy, John Tavener and Benjamin Britten sit alongside traditional carols. The service includes two pieces by Sir John Rutter who celebrated his 80th birthday earlier this year.
Producer: Katharine Longworth
WED 16:30 Child (m002ntn1)
Series 2
8. Love
In the final episode of the series India looks into love. From an exploration into the oxytocin driving the parent infant bond to the pressures of unconditional love and the importance of receiving love on a child’s development, this is the story of a big, beautiful, often pressurised emotion.
Presenter: India Rakusen
Producer: Charlotte Evans-Young
Series Producer: Ellie Sans
Executive Producer: Alex Hollands
Commissioning Executive: Paula McDonnell
Commissioning Editor: Rhian Roberts
Original Music: The Big Moon and Eska Mtungwazi
Sound Design: Charlie Brandon-King
A Goldhawk Production for Radio 4
WED 17:00 PM (m002ntn3)
Zelensky: Ukraine could accept Donbas demilitarised zone
Latest peace proposal is most significant softening from Ukraine on territory. But will Russia accept the plans? Also on PM, what makes midnight mass so special? And can you turn up after a night at the pub? We discuss with two vicars. Pantomime hits New York - but is America ready? And a Christmas Eve quiz featuring some familiar question-masters.
WED 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ntn5)
President Zelensky sets out a new peace plan
President Zelensky has set out a new 20-point peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, and has indicated for the first time that he is willing to negotiate with Russia about territory. Also: European countries have denounced travel bans on five people the White House has accused of censoring US social media platforms. And it's been 100 years since one of the world's most famous children's characters, Winnie the Pooh, first appeared in a printed story.
WED 18:15 Ian Hislop's Oldest Jokes (m001vkvd)
Series 1
Wordplay
There are a number of themes or types or techniques in British comedy that seem to survive any social or political upheaval. We love wordplay, we're suckers for Double entendre and while animals can be cute or terrifying, they can also make us laugh. In this series Ian Hislop looks back to try and find the first examples of these jokes or comedy genres. We love a good parody but when did that become a thing? Can we really find Anglo-Saxon Double Entendre? You bet we can, and filthy to boot, another trove of British Humour.
He visits libraries, museums and chapels, and also talks to comedy stars and writers of today like Nina Conti, Paul Whitehouse, comedy song writing duo Flo and Joan and parodist Craig Brown.
Ian begins his quest in the dark ages, not known as a well-spring of comic opportunity. Nevertheless, in the pages of the Venerable Bede's 'Ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum - Ecclesiastical History of England, there is wordplay. Not only that, it's wordplay that obeys the comedy rule of three and it was potent enough to have a part in the naming of a nation. And how his fellow monks must have laughed.
Producer: Tom Alban
WED 18:30 I Don’t Do… with Julian Clary (m002nrvg)
I Don’t Do…Christmas! is a brand new, gloriously mischievous panel show for people who’d, well, rather not.
Julian Clary hosts a yuletide celebration like no other, joined by comedians Jo Brand, Glenn Moore and Fatiha El-Ghorri, with special guest Gareth Malone.
Hosted and Created by Julian Clary
Featuring: Jo Brand, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Glenn Moore
Special Guest: Gareth Malone
Additional Material: Andrew White
Sound: David Thomas
Production Manager: Laura Shaw
Producer: Charlie Dinkin
Executive Producer: Benjamin Sutton
A Daddy’s Superyacht production for BBC Radio 4
WED 19:00 The Archers (m002ntn7)
Hannah and Jazzer are driving their tractor to the start of the Run when Tony calls saying there’s a problem with his Fordson. He offers Hannah his place at the head of the line. Hannah thinks it’s a ploy for Tony to nab her position at the back, but Jazzer believes Tony and persuades her to agree. Hannah makes it clear how serious she is about winning the race to collect most money. Everyone then loves it as Hannah and turkey Jazzer lead the Run with angelic Eddie not far behind.
Fresh from his motorbike stint, wise man Alan joins Joy to count the donations, with firm instructions to count Hannah and Tony’s buckets separately. Meanwhile, Lynda and Ruairi are marshals making sure everything runs smoothly. Ruairi wants to know if buying Paul a watch to apologise for upsetting him is a good idea and Lynda delivers a little sermon about not conflating a gift with an apology when the sincerity of the apology is what really matters. Then Tony’s Fordson passes with sleigh bells, a snow machine and Pat dressed as an elf, before Ruairi runs over to apologise to Paul sans gift.
Alan confesses he inadvertently mixed all the collected money together, but Joy is happy to deal with Hannah and Tony if they kick up a fuss. Joy then announces they’ve raised over £1200 for charity, while Hannah and Tony are mutually complimentary about their entries, before wishing each other a Merry Christmas!
WED 19:15 This Cultural Life (m0024fj9)
Bill Nighy
A star of stage and screen, Bill Nighy has enjoyed a fifty year career and is now among Britain’s most prolific and much loved actors. Acclaimed for National Theatre roles in plays by David Hare and Tom Stoppard, his popular appeal lies with scene-stealing appearances in films including Pirates Of The Caribbean, Harry Potter and, most famously, Love Actually. Bill Nighy has won Bafta and Golden Globe awards and was Oscar nominated for his starring role in the 2022 historical drama Living. His most recent film is Joy in which he plays obstetrician Patrick Steptoe, one of the pioneers of fertility treatment.
Bill Nighy talks to John Wilson about some of the earliest influences on his career including a school drama teacher. He also recalls joining the Liverpool Everyman rep company in the 1970s and the influence of playwright David Hare who cast him in many of his works including Pravda, The Vertical Hour and Skylight.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
WED 20:00 Moral Maze (m002ntn9)
What Is Truth?
What is truth? In a special edition of The Moral Maze, we discuss perhaps the most significant question in all of human thought. It sits at the foundation of how we understand reality, and how we communicate and behave towards one another.
The obvious answer is that the strongest possible way to arrive at the truth in a shifting world of AI and authoritarian control is through a commitment to empirical data and provable facts. However, this can only ever get us so far because truth is always told from somewhere. Even objective facts can be curated from one perspective. Stories about ourselves and the world have been necessary, alongside partial data, to keep the social order and to prevent us from being overwhelmed. The historian uses limited sources to tell a story about our past. Language constrains how we articulate who we are, what we do and how we think and feel. Where science falters in expanding the horizons of truth, artists and theologians step in with their own insights that truth can be discovered through poetry and mysticism. That’s before the postmodernists come along and state that what we think of as truth is constructed rather than discovered; that the ‘truth’ we seek doesn’t really exist; that it’s all a fiction to give our lives meaning and purpose.
Chair: Michael Buerk
Panel: Mona Siddiqui, Giles Fraser, Anne McElvoy and Ash Sarkar
Witnesses: Charlie Beckett, Fay Bound-Alberti, Mark Vernon and Hilary Lawson
Producer: Dan Tierney.
WED 21:00 The Life Scientific (m002ntnc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Tuesday]
WED 21:30 Ramblings (m002cqr0)
Camino Francés with Maggie McLean
Clare walks with Reverend Maggie McLean today on a stretch of the Camino de Santiago, the world famous pilgrimage route that concludes at Santiago de Compostela’s glorious Cathedral in northern Spain. The Camino can be completed in numerous ways, with one of the most popular routes being the French Way otherwise known as the Francés. It begins in the French town of St. Jean Pied de Port and ends 790km/490miles later in Santiago. Maggie is trekking part of this route and Clare joins her at Triacastela to hear her story as they make their way to the Benedictine Monastery at Samos, which is about 150km from Santiago itself.
Maggie is a lifelong keen walker, and was one of the first women to be ordained in the Church of England. She works as a Canon at York Minster, and would like to see some kind of pilgrimage established there, so her time on the Camino is not just a spiritual journey, it’s also a way of conducting some research. On their walk she tells Clare about her life and journey in faith, including working in homeless centres, probation hostels and a seafarers’ mission in Australia.
En route Clare and Maggie bumped into Arthur, a pilgrim who has spent several weeks every year for seven years on the Camino, which he started by walking out of his front door in Switzerland. Despite suffering cancer three times, and having one quarter of a lung removed, he still carries a 10kg backpack and never plans where he’s going to stay overnight.
Presenter: Clare Balding
Producer: Karen Gregor
WED 21:55 A Carnival of Animals (m002kgm1)
The Swift
In this series for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, best-selling author and scholar Katherine Rundell celebrates the lives of twenty astonishing but endangered animals. Each short essay includes fascinating stories that connect natural history with cultural insight, myth and science - revealing how animals have shaped human imagination, and how our choices now shape their survival.
In this short essay, written and read by Katherine, we meet the swift - a bird so committed to flight that it spends at least ten months of the year airborne. Over its lifetime, a swift will fly around two million kilometres: enough to reach the moon and back twice, and then once more to the moon. They even sleep on the wing, as witnessed by a First World War pilot who described flying through a motionless flock in the night sky.
Swifts belong to the family Apodidae, from the Greek ápous, meaning “footless” - a reflection of the belief that they had no legs. They do, but if all goes well, they rarely need them. Yet in Britain, swift numbers have dropped by 50% in the last two decades, as nesting sites vanish with the demolition of old buildings.
Written and Presented by Katherine Rundell
Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol
WED 22:00 The World Tonight (m002ntnf)
US visa ban on social media campaigners
Two British campaigners are among those US has denied visas for being 'radical activists'. We have reaction from a Labour MP. Also: Bethlehem and Ukraine on Christmas Eve, diplomatic gifts, Winnie The Pooh.at 100, and the Colorado military base that tracks Santa.
WED 22:45 Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson (m002ntnh)
Spirit of Christmas
Late on Christmas Eve, a couple pack up the car for a country cottage getaway, trying to avoid their annual tradition of a Christmas row. The car heaving with food and presents, they finally set off into the night – but a strange encounter spins them off course.
Tanya Moodie reads a short story by Jeanette Winterson, from her collection 'Christmas Days'.
Abridged by Miranda Emmerson
Produced by Emma Harding, Fay Lomas and Mair Bosworth
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:00 Stand-Up Specials (m002ntnk)
David Eagle: See No Eagle
2. Technology
Comedy meets folk music as host David Eagle explores his relationship with technology, from his first shortwave radio to the many technological advancements that are designed to help the blind, but often hinder instead.
Written and performed by David Eagle.
Editor: David Thomas
Production Co-ordinator: Jodie Charman
Producer: Rajiv Karia
WED 23:15 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntmh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 today]
WED 23:30 Midnight Mass (m002ntnm)
From the heart of Liverpool, Christmas begins with a radiant celebration of the Nativity. Midnight Mass, live from Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral, is led by the Dean of Liverpool, the Very Reverend Dr Sue Jones, and the sermon is given by the Interim Bishop of Liverpool, the Right Reverend Ruth Worsley. The Cathedral Choir sings O holy night and Will Todd’s My Lord has come alongside much-loved congregational carols including O come, all ye faithful and Hark! the herald angels sing.
Director of Music: Stephen Mannings
Organist: Ian Tracey
Producer: Andrew Earis
THURSDAY 25 DECEMBER 2025
THU 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ntnr)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ntnw)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
THU 05:00 News Summary (m002ntp0)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 05:04 More or Less (m002ntm6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ntp5)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
THU 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ntp9)
Spiritual reflection for Christmas Day with Fiona Stewart, a writer who runs a Christian arts charity.
THU 05:45 Farming Today (m002ntpf)
25/12/25 Farms for City Children - 50 years of Michael & Clare Morpurgo's charity.
Farms for City Children was set up by the writer Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare 50 years ago. They were both young teachers and wanted to help children connect with farming and the countryside. We find out how their vision became a reality and hear from children visiting their farm in Devon.
Produced and presented by Fiona Clampin.
THU 06:00 Artworks (m002j6z0)
Finding Elgar
Meet Edward Elgar - composer of Land of Hope and Glory, moustachioed symbol of Empire, and not obviously the kind of man Adrian Chiles would feel a deep connection with. But spend a little time with Elgar - really listen to him - and a very different character starts to emerge.
In Finding Elgar, Adrian Chiles heads out into the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire - where both he and Elgar spent their formative life - and sets out to rescue Sir Edward from the clutches of empire and stuffy concert halls. Along the way, he finds a surprising kinship with the composer - both Midlands-born, both Catholic, both prone to mood swings and bursts of enthusiasm, Adrian starts to see Elgar not as the voice of the establishment, but as a man constantly on the edge of it.
Adrian takes us from London concert halls to the hearing Elgar's music played on the Malvern Hills, via his father's music shop, his cottage birthplace and the church organ loft where the composer learned his craft. We follow Adrian as he traces Elgar’s journey from self-taught son of a piano tuner to national treasure - and asks how a composer with so much doubt, mischief and melancholy ended up as the soundtrack of British establishment.
Along the way, he meets musicians, scholars and fellow fans who all help to build a picture of the man behind the moustache. A man full of contradiction, tenderness and a love of silly games (including one involving beards).
Contributors include Ian Venables, a composer and fellow Worcester resident; the music writer Jude Rogers; flautist Catherine Handley; and academic and oboist Uchenna Ngwe. Adrian also meets Adrian Brown, the founder of the Elgar Sinfonia, and goes into the hills with Shulah Oliver, a professional violinist from Elgar country. Tom Allenby reads excerpts from Elgar's letters and W.H. Reed's biography.
Producer: Katie Hill
Executive Producer: Steven Rajam
An Overcoat Media production for BBC Radio 4
THU 06:30 Soul Music (m0012pb3)
A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten
In 1942, Benjamin Britten boarded the M.S. Axel Johnson, a Swedish cargo vessel, to make the journey home to England after three years in America. During the voyage, the ship stopped at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Britten came across a poetry anthology in a bookshop - The English Galaxy of Shorter Poems. In his cabin, he began work on setting some of these poems for voices and harp. Originally conceived as a series of unrelated songs, the piece developed into an extended choral composition for Christmas.
There are some pieces of music we return to at special moments and, for many, Britten's A Ceremony of Carols is a beloved winter piece - "Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a performance of it" says harpist Sally Pryce, who recalls performing the piece in deepest winter, desperately trying to keep her fingers warm as she prepared to play the first harp notes. Music writer Gavin Plumley tells the story of Britten's wartime voyage home and reflects on Christmases past and present. Matt Peacock remembers a very special performance of the work bringing together professional musicians, choristers and people experiencing homelessness in an Oxford college chapel. Dr Imani Mosley reflects on how the piece has helped her create a winter ritual in sunny Florida and how its meaning has changed since losing her partner. Conductor and composer Graham Ross is Director of Music at Clare College, Cambridge; he takes us deep into Britten's sound world and reflects on the genius of his approach to setting texts and the mastery of his writing for harp and voices. And Johanna Rehbaum remembers the joy of singing the work with the women of her choir, days before giving birth to her son.
Produced in Bristol by Mair Bosworth for BBC Audio
THU 07:00 Christmas Service (m002ntpy)
A Service for Christmas Morning from Leeds Catholic Cathedral. The service is led by the Dean, Canon Matthew Habron.
The Senior Boys, Girls and Choral Scholars of Leeds Cathedral Choir are leading the music this morning.
The conductor Thomas Leech and the organist is Benjamin Newlove
Music :
Once in Royal David’s City
A tender shoot
O Come All ye Faithful
The Holly and the Ivy
O Little Town of Bethlehem
See Amid the Winter’s Snow
Hodie Christus Natus Est
Sussex Carol
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Excerpts from the Christmas Homily given at Midnight Mass in Bethlehem on 24 December 2024 by Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. The full text of the homily is available here: https://www.lpj.org/en/news/homily-for-midnight-mass-christmas-2024
Lead Broadcast Engineer:
Phil Booth
Producer:
Carmel Lonergan
THU 08:00 Café Hope (m002ntq2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
20:00 on Tuesday]
THU 08:35 This Natural Life (m002ntq6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
12:00 on Tuesday]
THU 09:00 The Reunion (m002ntqb)
Downton Abbey
When Downton Abbey first hit our screens in September 2010, no-one could predict that it would take the world by storm becoming Britain’s most successful drama export ever. There were six series, three films, a stash of international awards and millions of fans in hundreds of countries.
ITV was still recovering from a crippling downturn in advertising revenues after the 2008 financial crash when they were approached with the idea for an expensive Edwardian Upstairs Downstairs style drama. They took a chance on it and, by the second week, audiences had rocketed by 25 percent.
It was unashamedly glamorous with toffs swanning around huge high-ceilinged rooms upstairs, while their legion of servants scurried around below ready to attend to their every waking need.
Its multi-generational appeal bridged the era where everyone knew their place just as younger characters were embracing women’s suffrage, the rise of socialism, and the imperturbable march of technology.
Joining Kirsty Wark for this Christmas special are: Hugh Bonneville who played Robert Crawley, patriarch of the Crawley family and the owner of the Downton Abbey estate; Julian Fellowes who wrote all six series, five Christmas specials and three feature films; Laura Carmichael who played the unconventional middle daughter Lady Edith – her first role out of drama school; Phyllis Logan who was the firm but fair housekeeper Mrs Hughes; Leslie Nichol who played the constantly flustered head cook Mrs Patmore; executive producer Gareth Neame who came up with the original idea; and producer Liz Trubridge who kept the show on the road through tantrums and turmoil.
Producer: Karen Pirie
Series Producer: David Prest
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4
THU 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ntqg)
The rituals and traditions of Christmas
On this Christmas Day’s Woman’s Hour Nuala McGovern and Anita Rani are discussing the rituals and traditions that we do at Christmas. Some passed down across the generations and some adapted through in-laws or friends that make this time of year so special and unique to us all. Do you always receive presents in a stocking? Perhaps it’s a bracing Christmas walk or plunge into the sea, or maybe it’s matching Christmas pyjamas.
With a recent YouGov poll saying that 89% of Brits celebrate Christmas and most of the preparation and work that goes into this festive season is done by women, what role do women play in the making and maintaining of these rituals? And Nuala and Anita will be finding out about the importance of nostalgia and why we love to do the same thing year after year.
Liza Frank, author of Household Lore - folklore, traditions and remedies for every room in your home, and Beverley Cook, Social History Curator, London Museum, discuss the origins of our treasured rituals and traditions.
Dr Audrey Tang, author and a chartered psychologist with the British Psychological Society explains the importance of the rituals we do every year and why we do them.
Cookery writer Syke McAlpine, author of The Christmas Companion, delves into our food rituals and shares her own Christmas traditions, which span between the UK, Italy and Australia.
Author and book coach Penelope Wincer tells us about Friendsmas, hosting friends rather than families at Christmas, and what it’s like to embrace and create new traditions together.
Travel journalist Jessica Vincent talks us through some of the rituals that happen across the world, from throwing dough at the ceiling and hoping it sticks, to roller skating to Midnight Mass.
And there’s live music from Alexis Strum, who writes a Christmas song every year. Her song for 2025 is called I won’t be lonely this Christmas.
Presenters: Nuala McGovern and Anita Rani
Producer: Andrea Kidd
Editor: Karen Dalziel
THU 11:00 The Infinite Monkey Cage (m002kjvk)
Series 34
The North Pole Unwrapped - Russell Kane, Felicity Aston and Lloyd Peck
In this Christmas episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage, Brian Cox and Robin Ince head to the North Pole to explore the dazzling science behind the northern lights, the extreme adaptations that help animals - and even Santa Claus - survive the Arctic cold, and how the Earth’s magnetic field might just guide him home. Joining the monkeys are comedian Russell Kane, Arctic explorer Felicity Aston and Polar biologist Lloyd Peck, as they brave the chill to uncover the wonders of one of Earth’s most remote and magical frontiers.
Series Producer: Mel Brown
Researcher: Alex Rodway
Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem
A BBC Studios Production
THU 11:45 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntqq)
4. Autumn cuisine in Japan and Northern Ireland
Diana Henry, the acclaimed food writer reads from her collected essays. Today, the serenity of Japanese flavours including cooked chrysanthemums, an autumnal treat, are conjured up.
Around the Table is a collection of Diana Henry's very best essays which span her career in food. Over five episodes we travel the world in her company and delight in the ingredients, the produce, the cooks and chefs that have gone on to shape her life and her cooking.
Diana takes us from the bustling Turkish groceries of the Edgware Road which defined her twenties; to kitchen tables in France where she learned how to make the perfect vinaigrette during her teenage years; to a trattoria tucked away in the suburbs of Rome; to the chilly Vermont countryside famed for its maple syrup. Lastly, we travel back to her homeland in Northern Ireland where she reflects on her mum's culinary skills and her dad's culinary curiosity.
Diana's vivid writing reminds us of the joy to be found in good food, from the humble apple, to rose ice-cream, to truffles and to pasta.
Diana Henry has regular columns in the press, and is the author of twelve books including Salt, Sugar, Smoke, A Change of Appetite and From the Oven to the Table. Before becoming a food writer, Diana was a TV producer.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Producer Elizabeth Allard
THU 12:00 Pick of the Year (m002ntqy)
Pick of the Year 2025 (Parts 1&2)
Jeanette Winterson presents a selection of audio highlights from the past year across the BBC.
Producer: Anthony McKee
Presenter: Jeanette Winterson
Production Coordinators: Caoilfhinn McFadden and Caroline Peddle
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 13:00 News (m002ntr4)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 13:10 A Carnival of Animals (m002kgrg)
The Pig
In this series for BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, best-selling author and scholar Katherine Rundell celebrates the lives of twenty astonishing but endangered animals. Each short essay includes stories that connect natural history with cultural insight, myth and science - revealing how animals have shaped human imagination, and how our choices now shape their survival.
In this episode, Katherine introduces us to Lulu, a black potbellied pig who once saved a human’s life - a reminder of the pig’s intelligence. We learn that pigs can distinguish between different types of music, and some have even learned to play video games. The largest pig on record was Big Bill, who weighed 1,100kg - as much as a VW Beetle with a lion inside. But their size can also make them dangerous: in 14th-century Normandy, one was tried and sentenced in a court of law for killing a child.
Despite their strength and intelligence, some pig species are now critically endangered. One of them, the Visayan Warty Pig, has piglets with go-faster stripes along their backs and adults with extravagant bouffant hair. The pig may even be the subject of the world’s oldest known animal art - a 45,000-year-old cave painting of the Sulawesi Warty Pig, now listed as near-threatened. Whether it survives another 45,000 years - or even another hundred - is up to us.
Written and Presented by Katherine Rundell
Produced by Natalie Donovan for BBC Audio in Bristol
THU 13:15 Illuminated (m002ntr8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:15 on Sunday]
THU 13:45 Who Are You in Winnie-the-Pooh? (m002ntrg)
Tigger
To celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh’s 100th anniversary, Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce is asking some the UK's most celebrated children’s writers who they most identify with in A A Milne’s timeless tales from the Hundred Acre Wood.
Pooh Bear first appeared in print in a story commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks with Cressida Cowell of How to Train Your Dragon fame, and Michael Rosen who has written so many books for children but is perhaps best known for We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, about ways in which they identify with Tigger.
Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer Production
THU 14:00 The Archers (m002ntn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Wednesday]
THU 14:15 Drama on 4 (m002ntrp)
Regifted
A magical Christmas tale of unwanted talking gifts and lonely humans in search of connection.
Who doesn’t keep a shelf somewhere stacked with discarded Christmas presents? Books you never asked for, board games you’ll never play, ornamental tat you´ll never display, and the inevitable scented candle. Their only purpose - to be rewrapped and regifted in order to satisfy the honour code of meaningless gift exchange.
Una has just turned 40 and faces another Christmas alone. Another token gift from colleagues at work reminds her of just how lonely she is.
Cardy is a Cardamon, Cider and Toasted Pumpkin scented candle whose dream of taking pride of place by a luxurious foam bath comes crashing down when she finds herself thrown into the cupboard under Una’s stairs with the other rejects – an embittered rival candle, a cheeseboard, a Karl Marx novelty lighter, a bottle of limoncello, an outdated CD and a pack of tealights.
As Cardy changes hands, all is not lost - though with each regifting, the candle’s hopes, just like the notes of her complex scent, are fading fast. And with them, Una’s hopes of ever finding friendship and connection.
Part social satire, part festive fable, Regifted is a bittersweet, comic tale of loneliness, community and hope in the season of giving.
By Martin Jameson
The Spirit of Christmas ..... Cyril Nri
Two-Piece and Cheeseboard ..... Kate Harbour
Una and Cardamon ..... Jessica Dennis
Limoncello and Amy ..... Clare Corbett
Leather and Mr Two-Piece ..... Ben Crowe
Honest John and Now ..... Will Howard
Rob ..... Jesse Fox
Other voices played by the cast
Executive producer ..... Sara Davies
Sound design ..... Adam Woodhams
Directed and produced by Nicolas Jackson
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4
THU 15:00 HM The King (m002ntrw)
HM The King
The King's Christmas message to the Commonwealth and the nation, followed by the national anthem.
THU 15:05 News Summary (m002nts2)
The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:12 Radio 4 Appeal (m002ntpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:54 on Sunday]
THU 15:15 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (m002hkw1)
2025 Special
2025's instalment of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is forty-five minutes of the funniest things John thought of in the last year, performed by John and his regular cast of Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan, with composer Susannah Pearse at the piano and Sally Stares on the cello.
Please note that listening to these sketches about seahorses, time travel and sirens may cause side effects, unless you're listening to the placebo version of the show.
Written and performed by … John Finnemore
Ensemble … Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Ensemble … Simon Kane
Ensemble … Lawry Lewin
Ensemble … Carrie Quinlan
Original music … Susannah Pearse
Piano … Susannah Pearse
Cello … Sally Stares
Recording … Jerry Peal & Jon Calver
Editing … Rich Evans
Production Manager … Katie Baum
Executive Producer … Richard Morris
Producer … Ed Morrish
John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme is a BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
THU 16:00 When I Met Jane Austen (m002nts8)
When I Met Jane Austen: Omnibus 1
The omnibus edition brings together a collection of writers and film makers to discuss how Jane Austen still matters and how her work has informed their own.
THU 17:00 With Great Pleasure (m002ntsh)
Bill Bailey: With Great Pleasure at Christmas
In a special Christmas treat, Bill Bailey and his band perform his favourite songs and readings to delight the audience at the BBC Radio Theatre and the listeners at home. Starring Sir Trevor McDonald and Alison Steadman as his readers, along with Christopher Bailey, Bill's father.
Singers Florence Hvorostovsky and Nina Hvorostovsky.
Violin: Matt Holborn
Double Bass: Drew McConnell
Drums: Owen Hopkin
Produced in Bristol by Beth O'Dea
Photo credit: Gillian M Robertson
THU 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ntsp)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
THU 18:15 Ian Hislop's Oldest Jokes (m001vm4h)
Series 1
Double entendre
There are a number of themes or types or techniques in British comedy that seem to survive any social or political upheaval. We love wordplay, we're suckers for Double entendre and while animals can be cute or terrifying, they can also make us laugh. In this series Ian Hislop looks back to try and find the first examples of these jokes or comedy genres. We love a good parody but when did that become a thing? Can we really find Anglo-Saxon Double Entendre? You bet we can, and filthy to boot, another trove of British Humour.
He visits libraries, museums and chapels, and also talks to comedy stars and writers of today like Nina Conti, Paul Whitehouse, comedy song writing duo Flo and Joan and parodist Craig Brown.
And in today's programme he travels to Exeter to admire the Bishop's seat and discover the filth hidden behind the Double entendre of the Exeter book of Riddles.
Producer: Tom Alban
THU 18:30 Unspeakable (m002nrvx)
Christmas Special 2025
Phil Wang and Susie Dent challenge guests to invent new festive words to enter the dictionary. With special guests Matt Lucas, Nick Mohammed and Sara Pascoe.
In the 2025 Christmas special, we hear Matt Lucas' new word for a crucial moment during Christmas Dinner, Nick Mohammed - fresh from Celebrity Traitors - coins a new word for your neighbour who goes all out with the decorations, and Sara Pascoe creates a word for when you have to put on a brave face through the festive season.
Have you ever struggled to find the right word for a feeling or sensation? Unspeakable sees comedian Phil Wang and lexicographer Susie Dent invite celebrity guests to invent new linguistic creations, to solve those all too relatable moments when we're lost for words.
Hosts: Phil Wang and Susie Dent
Guests: Matt Lucas, Nick Mohammed and Sara Pascoe
Created by Joe Varley
Writers: Matt Crosby and Katie Storey
Recorded by Jerry Peal
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producers: Joe Varley and Akash Lockmun
A Brown Bred production for BBC Radio 4
THU 19:00 The Archers (m002ntsv)
Jolene and Kenton start early on some cleaning jobs before Fallon arrives and gives them the present of Christmas Day off while Harrison and her take over for the day. Later, Harrison broaches the subject of George, but Fallon warns him off. Harrison though is grateful to Kenton for trying to protect him from hearing about what happened, even at the cost of being traumatised again. Fallon insists, no more George, not on Christmas Day. Trying a different tack later, Harrison tells Fallon he’s been working on his anger management – and it paid off when Kenton got scared by George and Holly. Dealing with what George said to Fallon will be harder, but Harrison suggests dealing with it together in whatever way Fallon prefers. Fallon repeats that she just wants a lovely Christmas together and not to think about George, which Harrison accepts.
Alan catches Hannah going nowhere in particular. She explains about her mum’s dementia and how her planned visit today has been postponed. As she doesn’t have any other plans, Alan invites Hannah for a drink at the pub. Where Fallon catches Kenton and Jolene raiding the kitchen for snacks, while the hired-in chef is serving in the restaurant. They confess that rather than heading to Lower Loxley they’d prefer to stay in, slobbing about in pyjamas. Fallon offers to pass on their excuses, before she joins Hannah for Christmas dinner. It’s clear Hannah would have eaten alone otherwise, as she usually does. Joined by tipsy Jolene, they pull crackers together and drink in the Christmas spirit.
THU 19:15 This Cultural Life (m0023pzh)
Nile Rodgers
Nile Rodgers is one of the most successful and influential figures in popular music. As a songwriter, producer and arranger he has enjoyed a 50-year career with his bands Chic and Sister Sledge, and collaborations with artists including Diana Ross, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Madonna, Daft Punk and Beyoncé.
Bringing his 1959 Fender Stratocaster guitar to the This Cultural Life studio, Nile tells John Wilson how the instrument has been the bedrock of almost every record that he worked on, and acquiring the nickname 'The Hitmaker'. He discusses his bohemian upbringing in 1950s New York with his mother and stepfather who were both drug users. He chooses as one of his most important influences his jazz guitar tutor Ted Dunbar who taught him not only about musical technique but also how to appreciate the artistry of a hit tune. “It speaks to the souls of a million strangers” he was told.
Nile Rodgers reminisces about his musical partner Bernard Edwards, with whom he set up the Chic Organisation after the pair first met on the club circuit playing with cover bands. He discusses their songwriting techniques and the importance of what they called ‘deep hidden meaning’ in lyrics. He also reflects on the untimely death of Bernard Edwards in 1996 shortly after he played a gig with Nile in Tokyo, and why he continues to pay musical tribute to his friend in his globally-touring stage show which includes the songs of Chic and other artists they worked with.
Producer: Edwina Pitman
THU 20:00 Archive on 4 (m0024ljh)
Up in Smoke
During an Easter parade in 1929, a group of well-dressed young women marched down Fifth Avenue in New York City under a banner printed with the slogan Torches of Freedom. They were smoking cigarettes. This feminist demonstration against the "ancient prejudice" that stigmatised women smokers was, in fact, staged by the tobacco industry in a campaign to expand its market.
Since the invention of the Bonsack cigarette rolling machine in 1880 through to attempts in 2024 to roll back the legal age for buying tobacco products, our relationship with smoking has been complicated. Alan Hall, who quit smoking (mostly) in 1990, considers how a habit that's so evidently dangerous and anti-social can have been adopted by so many for so long - and to have remained for a century so, well, cool.
With Rosemary Elliot, author of Woman and Smoking Since 1890; William B. Davis, the actor who played the Cigarette Smoking (or Cancer) Man in The X Files; Stuart Evers, who wrote Ten Stories About Smoking, and Amy Westervelt, a journalist who traces parallels between the propaganda machines of Big Oil and the tobacco industry.
Music by Mark McCambridge
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4
THU 21:00 Loose Ends (m002ntt1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:15 on Saturday]
THU 21:45 The Ideas List (m0026v50)
2. Inhalable Vaccines
Thirty years ago years ago, in March 1995, a fresh-faced Claudia Hammond arrived at the BBC for a job interview as a trainee science producer. She put together a comprehensive list of science and health stories, ready to pitch at the interview. In this quirky, personal journey, Claudia revisits five ideas from her Ideas List to find out what happened next. She tracks each headline-grabbing story forward through the false-starts and dead ends, the surprises and successes. And she asks what each tale teaches us about the tortuous path of scientific progress.
In this episode, Claudia reexamines a story about inhalable flu vaccines that she had found in the New Scientist edition from March 11th, 1995. Normally, vaccines are administered via injections, but, in some ways, this isn’t ideal as it does not induce immunity in the mucosal tissues in the upper airways and nose.
In the early 90s, virologist Jan Wilschut decided to explore an idea: what if we were to create vaccines that could be administered right where influenza viruses enter the human body? After some very promising experiments in mice, he and his colleagues work together with a pharmaceutical company. But translating their approach into an actual medical treatment proves too difficult. And Jan wrote off the idea entirely.
Immunologist Chris Chiu shares with Claudia that, for the last decade or so, children in the UK have received an intranasal flu vaccine. The issue is that it is the only vaccine of its kind and does not work in adults. Other attempts to create similar intranasal or inhalable vaccines have not been successful as of yet. But there is hope on the horizon. The Covid pandemic has renewed interest in the idea of stopping infections in their tracks. And with new technological developments and a better understanding of the human immune system, Chris believes that inhalable vaccines could become a reality in the future.
Jan Wilschut didn’t follow any of these new developments. And hearing about it now made him reflect on his old failed attempt to revolutionise flu vaccines. Maybe his idea was just too visionary.
Producers: Florian Bohr and Jeremy Grange
THU 22:00 I Don’t Do… with Julian Clary (m002nrvg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 22:30 Ian Hislop's Oldest Jokes (m001vtly)
Series 1
Any Women here?
There are a number of themes or types or techniques in British comedy that seem to survive any social or political upheaval. We love wordplay, we're suckers for Double entendre and while animals can be cute or terrifying, they can also make us laugh. In this series Ian Hislop looks back to try and find the first examples of these jokes or comedy genres. We love a good parody but when did that become a thing? Can we really find Anglo-Saxon Double Entendre? You bet we can, and filthy to boot, another trove of British Humour.
He visits libraries, museums and chapels, and also talks to comedy stars and writers of today like Nina Conti, Paul Whitehouse, comedy song writing duo Flo and Joan and parodist Craig Brown.
Today Ian addresses a gap in the historical record. Where is the evidence of a female contribution to comedy and humour? The journey to equality on the comedy circuit today isn't exactly a fait accompli but the Medieval records can give the impression that it was only monks or wood-carvers or clerks who provided all the laughs. However, that would be to make huge assumptions, according to Dr Janina Ramirez and Professor Marion Turner, not least about the gender of Anon. And there are glimpses of humour in The Book of Margery Kemp and the figure of Chaucer's Wife of Bath, even if one was written out by a man and the other was the creation of a man. There's also an argument for looking elsewhere, at the ephemera of Medieval records, the marginalia of manuscripts, the designs and drawings and the records of games.
Producer: Tom Alban
THU 22:45 Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson (m002ntt9)
Christmas Light
“The spirit of Christmas can’t be bought… Its resonance, its beauty, its truth, lies in the mystery of what it offers – asking us to stop what we are doing and look for the miracle”. Jeanette Winterson reads a new piece, written for Christmas week on Radio 4.
Produced by Emma Harding, Fay Lomas and Mair Bosworth
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4
THU 23:00 When I Met Jane Austen (m002nttj)
When I Met Jane Austen: Omnibus 2
The omnibus edition brings together a collection of writers and film makers to discuss how Jane Austen still matters and how her work has informed their own
FRIDAY 26 DECEMBER 2025
FRI 00:00 Midnight News (m002nttv)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 00:15 Christmas Meditation - Seeing As God Sees (m002ntv3)
A reflection on the meaning of Christmas with Bishop Mariann Budde, the Bishop of Washington. At the start of the year, at the US President's inauguration, Bishop Budde preached a sermon that made an impact around the world. In this Christmas Meditation she reflects on the past year, her trust in God and her hope for all in times of challenge and division.
Producer: Alexa Good
With thanks to Spelman College Glee Club, Sarah Benibo and Kevin Johnson for the use of "We Are Christmas".
FRI 00:30 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntqq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:45 on Thursday]
FRI 00:48 Shipping Forecast (m002ntvf)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 01:00 Selection of BBC World Service Programmes (m002ntvp)
BBC Radio 4 presents a selection of news and current affairs, arts and science programmes from the BBC World Service.
FRI 05:00 News Summary (m002ntvy)
National and international news from BBC Radio 4
FRI 05:04 New Elements (m002j5vp)
What does it take to make something which has never existed on Earth before? The search for element 120 on the periodic table has begun at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California.
Cosmologist Andrew Pontzen, who is used to studying the processes of creation, visits the 88-Inch Cyclotron facility at Berkeley where the next new element may be created very soon.
To uncover what motivates scientists to pursue something that is possibly only produced in the violent explosions of stars he speaks with the scientists trying it now, the scientists who last made an element at Berkeley 50 years ago, and a historian of the fraught history of element discovery.
The answer is not as straight forward as he suspected.
Presenter: Andrew Pontzen
Producer: Ella Hubber
Editor: Martin Smith
Production Coordinator: Jana Holesworth
Image Credit: Berkeley Lab Heavy Element Group
FRI 05:34 Shipping Forecast (m002ntw3)
The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping
FRI 05:43 Prayer for the Day (m002ntw9)
Spiritual reflection for Boxing Day with Fiona Stewart, a writer who runs a Christian arts charity.
FRI 05:45 Farming Today (m002ntwg)
Horse-powered Pint
Britain’s pubs and bars will be busy with Boxing Day drinkers enjoying a seasonal pint or two today. But how many will give a thought to the way the beer they’re enjoying arrived in the store room or cellar? In this festive programme, Vernon Harwood visits one of the last breweries in the country to continue the tradition of delivering beer by horse-drawn dray. Hook Norton Brewery in Oxfordshire owns a trio of magnificent Shire horses named Brigadier, Balmoral and Cromwell who live in stables on site and graze the fields nearby. They have become local celebrities and crowds of spectators gather every time they appear in public to pull the brewery dray, loaded with kegs of ale, through the winding village lanes.
At the start of the 20th century Shire horses were a common sight in the British countryside as well as in our towns and cities. Around a million Shires worked the fields as plough horses, pulled canal barges and omnibuses, transported goods and carried passengers for the railway companies, among many other tasks. But those days are long gone and it’s almost impossible to see heavy horses genuinely employed to do a job of work today. The Shire Horse Society says only 250 foals are born each year which puts the breed firmly at risk of extinction. So why is the brewery so passionate about keeping its Shires, who looks after the animals and what are the advantages of delivering a horse-powered pint?
Produced and presented by Vernon Harwood.
FRI 06:00 With Great Pleasure (m002ntsh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Thursday]
FRI 07:00 Today (m002ntz4)
Sir James Dyson Guest Edits Today
Sir James Dyson is the second Today guest editor this Christmas.
FRI 09:00 Desert Island Discs (m002ntps)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Sunday]
FRI 10:00 Woman's Hour (m002ntz6)
Women's relationships with the dark
NB: The music in this broadcast has been removed from the podcast for rights reasons.
We've just had the shortest day of the year, and the most amount of darkness. But how do women live their lives in the dark today? You might have to work at night, or find it the best time to be productive. Or you might harness darkness as a time to think and meditate. Anita Rani speaks to two people who have considered the pros and cons of darkness in very different ways. Lucy Edwards is a Blind Broadcaster, Journalist, Author, Content Creator and Disability Activist and Arifa Akbar is theatre critic for the Guardian whose investigations into the dark formed her book, Wolf Moon, which came out this summer.
Earlier this month we asked you for your night time experiences and were contacted by listener Catherine Smeeth who is a 55-year-old newly qualified class 1 HGV driver which is the heaviest you can get at 44 tons. She does a 300 mile round trip in an articulated lorry with a double decker trailer. Catherine got her licence 3 months ago and says the night roads are "great for a newbie getting to grips with the road". She works 12 hour shifts overnight, and recorded one of them for us.
Dame Maggie Aderin Pocock is a legend when it comes to the night sky. She is a space scientist and educator, having presented the Sky at Night and she is presenting this year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. She has written books for adults and children, presented TV film 'Do we really need the Moon?', received a Damehood in 2024 for services to science education and diversity and in 2023 had a Barbie doll made in her name. So who better to ask about how the night sky can inspire and comfort us?
We’ve heard about darkness and fear and overcoming that and how the lights in the sky can be both awe inspiring and comforting. But what about the past? What kind of relationship have women had with the dark over time? To help answer that, Anita is joined by archaeologist Dr Marion Dowd and Professor Jane Hamlett.
Moving on from the past to modern day celebrations at night. And where better than with nightclubs and music. Anita is joined by Woman’s Hour’s resident Boxing Day DJ Jamz Supernova who suggests some tracks for getting the party started and keeping it going.
Presenter Anita Rani
Producer: Corinna Jones
FRI 11:00 The Food Programme (m002ntz8)
A Life Through Drink: Dave Broom
Whisky writer Dave Broom has helped transform how the world tastes and talks about spirits, bringing flavour, culture, and meaning to a new generation. In this festive edition of the programme, Jaega Wise finds out how his ideas and passions came about, and what has made him one of the most influential voices in the drinks world.
Born in Glasgow, Dave Broom began his career in the industry with a job at the wine merchants OddBins. He later ran a pub in Bristol before moving into writing about spirits for the trade media. Since then, he’s written 15 books on whisky and other spirits. His writing is known for drawing people into the world of flavour through music and food references, and through connections to place. As well as writing about Scotch, he has also long explored whiskies and spirits from around the world - and was an early advocate for Japanese whiskies.
In June 2019 Dave Broom presented a crowd-funded documentary film called The Amber Light, which took him across Scotland, meeting distillers, musicians, and writers, and exploring the idea that whisky reflects the place it comes from. The film was directed and produced by Adam Parks.
Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Natalie Donovan
FRI 11:45 Around the Table by Diana Henry (m002ntzb)
5. Truffle hunting and returning home
Diana Henry, the well-loved food writer reads from her essay collection. Today, in Italy and Vermont nature's bounty is evoked, and Diana returns to her childhood and reflects on culinary curiosity and memories.
Around the Table is a collection of Diana Henry's very best essays which span her career in food. Over five episodes we travel the world in her company and delight in the ingredients, the produce, the cooks and chefs that have gone on to shape her life and her cooking.
Diana takes us from the bustling Turkish groceries of the Edgware Road which defined her twenties; to kitchen tables in France where she learned how to make the perfect vinaigrette during her teenage years; to a trattoria tucked away in the suburbs of Rome; to the chilly Vermont countryside famed for its maple syrup. Lastly, we travel back to her homeland in Northern Ireland where she reflects on her mum's culinary skills and her dad's culinary curiosity.
Diana's vivid writing reminds us of the joy to be found in good food, from the humble apple, to rose ice-cream, to truffles and to pasta.
Diana Henry has regular columns in the press, and is the author of twelve books including Salt, Sugar, Smoke, A Change of Appetite and From the Oven to the Table. Before becoming a food writer, Diana was a TV producer.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Producer Elizabeth Allard
FRI 12:00 Drama on 4 (m002ntzd)
Joy in the Morning
Episode 2
With some adroit string-pulling, including Wooster attending a fancy dress ball, might Jeeves resolve each problem? Can he also extricate the young master from the bizarre horrors of Steeple Bumpleigh – and finally bring ‘joy in the morning’?
The comic genius of P.G. Wodehouse.
“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalms 30:5.) Bertie Wooster certainly hopes so
Cast
Bertie Wooster….Freddie Fox
Jeeves….Martin Jarvis.
Boko Fittleworth….Edward Bennett
Florence Craye….Lisa Dillon
Lord Worplesdon….Ian Ogilvy
Zenobia Hopwood….Rose Williams
Stilton Cheesewright….Lloyd Owen
Edwin….Max Hanson
Dramatised by Archie Scottney
Engineers: Olly Thompson, Neil Wogensen
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 13:00 World at One (m002ntzg)
US launches strikes against Islamic State in Nigeria
The United States has launched airstrikes on Nigeria. President Trump says targets were linked to IS, the Islamic State group, who he claimed were responsible for “viciously killing … innocent Christians”. We consider the extent to which IS is operational in the region where the strikes took place, and why the strikes have happened now. Also on the programme, the changing profile of boxing day sales and shoppers. Plus, after the government pledges to ban trail hunting, could clean boot hunting, where bloodhounds chase human quarries, be the answer?
FRI 13:45 Who Are You in Winnie-the-Pooh? (m002ntzj)
Eeyore
To celebrate Winnie-the-Pooh’s 100th anniversary, Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce is asking some the UK's most celebrated children’s writers who they most identify with in A A Milne’s timeless tales from the Hundred Acre Wood.
Pooh Bear first appeared in print in a story commissioned by London's Evening News for Christmas Eve 1925.
Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks with children’s writers Nadia Shireen and Charlie Higson about ways in which they identify with Eeyore.
Producer: Rosie Boulton
A Must Try Softer Production
FRI 14:00 The Archers (m002ntsv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
19:00 on Thursday]
FRI 14:15 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (m0012r6w)
Away in a Mangle!
How long will Arthur last in the role of Father Christmas this year? His annual attempt to spread festive cheer in a department store falls short - but will he be a great redeemer in the Christmas Special of the much-loved family sitcom?
Count Arthur Strong returns with his stumblings through life in this 2021 Christmas Special, recorded in front of a live audience at the Exeter Barnfield Theatre. Count Arthur creator Steve Delaney is ably assisted by his radio repertory company - Alastair Kerr, Mel Giedroyc and Terry Kilkelly, with Paul Putner being invited into the cast along with Dorothy Daws and Alfie Delaney.
The show first became a feature on BBC Radio 4 in 2005 and, since then, has notched up eight series and nine specials, while winning the Sony Award for Best Comedy in 2009 and the British Comedy Guide Best Radio Sitcom in 2016, 2018 and 2019. The critically acclaimed show also featured in the Radio Times' Top 20 radio comedies of all time in 2020.
A Komedia Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 14:45 You're Dead to Me (m002ntzl)
Dead Funny History
History of Football
Dead Funny History: History of Football.
Join historian Greg Jenner for a funny and fascinating journey through the History of Football. A laugh-out-loud episode of Dead Funny History, the family podcast that brings the past back to life.
From medieval madness to the modern game
Football might be the world’s favourite sport today, but its early days were anything but beautiful. Greg takes us back to medieval Britain, when football was a chaotic town-wide scramble played on Pancake Day, complete with hundreds of players, broken windows and absolutely no referee in sight.
Kings, chaos … and the rules of the game
We meet monks who first wrote about the sport and kings who tried (and failed) to ban it. Then, in the 1800s, posh public-school students invented their own versions, and their many arguments eventually gave us both football and rugby.
Enter the gloriously named Ebenezer Cobb Morley, the man who helped create the Football Association and the rulebook that changed the game forever.
The women who made football their own
Greg also features the brilliant women who played, led and loved football long before it was accepted. There’s Nettie Honeyball, who founded the British Ladies’ Football Club, and Lily Parr, the teenage superstar striker of the Dick, Kerr Ladies, famous for her unstoppable shot and trailblazing spirit.
Even when the FA banned women’s matches in 1921, these pioneers kept playing, paving the way for today’s Lionesses.
History meets hilarity
With jokes, sketches and sound effects galore, from “Vatican VAR” to medieval mob matches, Greg Jenner and the Dead Funny History team bring the story of football roaring to life. It’s packed with fun facts, silly moments and quick-fire quizzes that make learning irresistible for children, families and football fans alike.
The perfect family listen
If you’ve ever wondered how football began, why kings banned it, or how women’s teams made sporting history, this episode delivers a clever mix of comedy and education.
Funny, factual and full of heart, Dead Funny History: The History of Football is history with extra time and plenty of laughs.
Host: Greg Jenner
Writers: Jack Bernhardt, Gabby Hutchinson Crouch and Dr Emma Nagouse
Performers: Mali Ann Rees and John Luke-Roberts
Producer: Dr Emma Nagouse
Associate Producer: Gabby Hutchinson Crouch
Audio Producer: Emma Weatherill
Script Consultant: Professor Jean Williams
Production Coordinator: Liz Tuohy
Production Manager: Jo Kyle
Studio Managers: Keith Graham and Andrew Garratt
Sound Designer: Peregrine Andrews
A BBC Studios Production
FRI 15:00 Gardeners' Question Time (m002ntzn)
From The Archives: Seasons Greetings
How do you remove mistletoe? How can you protect plants from frost damage? And why do brassicas develop clubbed roots?
Kathy Clugston delves into the Gardeners’ Question Time archives to uncover timeless festive gardening wisdom.
Drawing on decades of horticultural expertise, GQT panellists and chairs — past and present — share trusted, practical advice for every green-fingered dilemma. From tackling mistletoe to safeguarding plants against winter cold, their knowledge is as enduring and deep-rooted as the gardens they tend.
Producer: Rahnee Prescod
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m002ntzq)
Baltic Christmas by Gerard McKeown
An original festive short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 from the writer Gerard McKeown. Read by Andrew McCracken.
The Author
Gerard McKeown is a writer from Ballymena, Northern Ireland. His work has been published in a number of journals and anthologies and broadcast by BBC Radio 4. In 2025, he was longlisted for the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize.
Writer: Gerard McKeown
Reader: Andrew McCracken
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 16:00 Last Word (m002ntzs)
Antony Price, Sister Stan Kennedy, Ena Collymore Woodstock, John Carey
Jon Kay on
Fashion designer Antony Price who fused together the worlds of fashion and music in the 70s and 80s
Sister Stan Kennedy, the nun who founded one of Ireland’s largest homelessness charities
Ena Collymore Woodstock, the Jamaican barrister and magistrate who throughout her career broke many barriers for women
John Carey, the academic and former chief literary critic for The Times who took no prisoners with his reviews.
Producer: Ed Prendeville
Assistant Producer: Ribika Moktan
Researcher: Jesse Edwards
Editor: Glyn Tansley
Archive
Midweek: Professor John Carey, Benny Lewis, Eduardo Niebla, Lynn Ruth Miller, BBC Radio 4, 19/03/2014; The Verb (Week 10), BBC Radio 3, 13/03/2015; Meet the Author, BBC News, 20/03/2014; SAL Night 2020 – A Message From Sister Stan, Founder and President, Focus Ireland, YouTube, 16/10/2020; Redlight – Sr Stan Kennedy, YouTube (Immigration Council), 20/08/2018; Everyman: Ireland’s Hidden People, BBC One, 24/04/1988; Mary H.R.H. Princess Royal, BBC Archive, 26/06/1940; Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing – Gone Christmas Fishing, BBC Two, 13/12/2020
FRI 16:30 More or Less (m002ntm6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
FRI 17:00 PM (m002ntzv)
Trump warns of more US strikes on militants in Nigeria
President Trump said the attacks targeted Islamic State group fighters responsible for killing Christians in Nigeria. Is that rationale good enough for MAGA supporters? Plus, the number of shoppers taking advantage of the Boxing Day sales drops, and we hear from the former Rugby 7s captain, Ollie Phillips, who's rowing the Atlantic for charity.
FRI 18:00 Six O'Clock News (m002ntzx)
Ukraine's President Zelensky says he'll meet Donald Trump in Florida this weekend for talks on ending the war with Russia
FRI 18:15 Ian Hislop's Oldest Jokes (m001vmcb)
Series 1
The Drunk and the Bullion Stone
There are a number of themes or types or techniques in British comedy that seem to survive any social or political upheaval. We love wordplay, we're suckers for Double entendre and while animals can be cute or terrifying, they can also make us laugh. In this series Ian Hislop looks back to try and find the first examples of these jokes or comedy genres. We love a good parody but when did that become a thing? Can we really find Anglo-Saxon Double Entendre? You bet we can, and filthy to boot, another trove of British Humour.
He visits libraries, museums and chapels, and also talks to comedy stars and writers of today like Nina Conti, Paul Whitehouse, comedy song writing duo Flo and Joan and parodist Craig Brown.
The subject of drink and drunkenness is always a contentious one, but however puritanical or sensitive the age, the figure of a drunk, from Joanna Lumley's riotous Patsy in Absolutely Fabulous to Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff has been a regular feature of comedy. And as it turns out, you can go back further still to find the depiction of a comic drunk. Ian's in Scotland to see The Bullion Stone, a 10th century Pictish carving now on display in the National Museum of Scotland.
Producer: Tom Alban
FRI 18:30 The Matt Forde Focus Group (m002nrvb)
Boxing Day Special
Top political comedian Matt Forde reconvenes his Focus Group for a Boxing Day special with a Dickensian twist.
Recorded in front of a live audience, Matt is joined by journalist Miranda Green, comedian Pierre Novellie and former Cabinet Minister Michael Gove – to review the political state we're in through the lens of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Expect sharp analysis, unexpected confessions, and the year's biggest stories getting visited by the Ghosts of Politics Past, Present and Yet to Come.
It's topical comedy that's both genuinely funny and surprisingly insightful – perfect for digesting with the leftover turkey.
Written and performed by Matt Forde
Additional writing from Karl Minns, Laura Claxton and Richard Garvin
Producer: Richard Garvin
Executive Producers Jon Thoday and Richard Allen Turner
Co-Producers: Daisy Knight and Jules Lom
Broadcast Assistant: Sahar Rajabali
Sound Design and Editing: David Thomas
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 19:00 The Archers (m002ntzz)
George cycles up to Bridge Farm, asking Pat if they’ve got any work going. She puts him off, saying she’ll let him know if they need someone. Tony then joins Pat, ready to take some winter bedding over to Meadow Farm. On his way back George has a barbed exchange with Hannah, swapping insults over who has the sadder life, before Hannah gets upset and goes. Later at The Bull, Hannah talks through with Fallon what just happened. Hannah knows she shouldn’t have risen to George’s bait, but Fallon reckons it’s like George is on a mission to rile everyone. They agree someone should talk to George – but not Harrison. Fallon then knocks at George’s door, telling him forcefully he needs to leave them all alone, including Hannah. George tries brazening it out, but underneath it’s clear Fallon has rattled him.
Pat and Tony find Esme in the yard at Meadow Farm, in the middle of clearing out a storage barn. She’s stunned when they tell her they’ve been collecting spare bales of winter bedding for her, from local farmers. When she offers them money they refuse, telling her it’s a gift from the farming community. Esme then lays out a thank you tea for them. She’s so grateful for all the help she’s had from everyone. Pat and Tony encourage Esme to contact the land agent about the tenancy, now the likes of Josh are showing interest, before sharing thoughts on coping with bereavement and how time is the best healer.
FRI 19:15 Screenshot (m002nv01)
Jane Austen
2025 marks 250 years since the birth of Jane Austen, the English writer whose finely tuned observations of Regency life shaped the modern novel. But perhaps more notably for Screenshot, it’s also 30 years since Colin Firth walked out of a lake and straight into the nation’s hearts, in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice miniseries.
Three decades on from the ‘Austenmania’ of 1995, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode explore Jane Austen adaptations past and present. Do screen versions of novels like Emma and Sense and Sensibility offer a cosy retreat from the modern world - or do they still have something to say in the present moment?
Mark speaks to film writer and researcher Lillian Crawford about various Austen triumphs and missteps on screen, from numerous incarnations of Emma, to Netflix’s recent update on her last novel, Persuasion. He also speaks to playwright Nick Dear about an adaptation many Austen experts consider a high-water mark - the 1995 version of Persuasion, written by Dear and directed by Roger Michell for the BBC’s Screen Two strand.
Meanwhile, Ellen talks to Amy Heckerling, writer and director of the classic 1995 comedy Clueless, which transplants Austen’s novel Emma to a Beverly Hills high school. And she also speaks to writer-director Celine Song, whose recent film Materialists stars Dakota Johnson as a professional matchmaker - and unmistakably bears the influence of Austen.
Producer: Jane Long
A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 20:00 Radical with Amol Rajan (m002nv03)
Newscast Review of the Year
With Newscast's review of the year.
FRI 20:55 This Week in History (m002ntmf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:40 on Wednesday]
FRI 21:00 The Verb (m002nv05)
Ian McMillan brings The Adverb to the stunning surroundings of Redhills, the newly-restored Durham Miners' Hall, for the city's Brass Festival.
Seams of coal infuse the poems of Ian's guests, Helen Mort, Katharine Goda and the poet laureate, Simon Armitage. Simon reads a poem about his grandparents' old coal scuttle, Katherine performs her work 'My Great-Grandpa Hands Down His Miner's Lamp', and Helen brings us extracts from her poem 'Scab'.
Interspersed with the poetry, there's music from Simon's band LYR as they perform their emotive project Firm As A Rock We Stand, a commemoration of the tragic history of County Durham's Category D Villages. Villages that were declared economically unviable in the 1950s and cut off from public funding, leading to decades of hardship and entire communities erased. Combining spoken word, soaring vocals and the haunting brass arrangements of composer and conductor Simon Dobson, performed by LYR and the Easington Colliery Band.
Presenter: Ian McMillan
Producer: Elizabeth Foster
Production Co-ordinator: Julie Downing
FRI 22:00 The World Tonight (m002nv07)
US judge blocks Trump deportation of British activist
A US judge has temporarily blocked the detention of British social media campaigner Imran Ahmed, who took legal action against the US government over having his visa removed. The Center for Countering Digital Hate founder was among five people denied US visas after the Trump administration accused them of seeking to "coerce" tech platforms into censoring free speech. He told us he is being targeted for his work monitoring social media giants.
Also on the programme: as the US carries out missile strikes against alleged Islamist targets in northern Nigeria we hear from a BBC reporter on the ground; and research finds women were more likely to be portrayed performing traditional roles in TV adverts this year, we ask why.
FRI 22:45 Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson (m002nv09)
Christmas in New York
Sam lives alone and has long lost sight of why Christmas is worth bothering with. So he’s surprised to return home to his New York apartment one day to find a Christmas tree set up in the living room.
Russell Tovey reads a short story by Jeanette Winterson, from her collection 'Christmas Days'.
Abridged by Miranda Emmerson
Produced by Emma Harding, Fay Lomas and Mair Bosworth
Mixed by Ilse Lademann
A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 23:00 Limelight (m002nv0c)
Spores: Series 2
Episode 2. Cruel Deceiver
It’s been 12 years since social worker Cassie discovered a mysterious mould in her home, invisible to almost everyone except her. Now the fungus has spread - its glowing spores a major global health threat, infecting the brains of those who inhale them. But many refuse to take seriously a menace they cannot see.
When spores erupt at a care home in Wales, Cassie’s son Bryn and 30 residents are exposed to infection. But how could this have happened when just days earlier the building was declared mould-free by a mycelium-sighted Inspector?
For Bryn there is only one explanation - not everyone who claims to see the mould can be trusted. But who is this rogue Inspector and why would they lie? In his search for answers, Bryn’s fraught relationship with Cassie will be tested to the limit as they battle to stop the fungus before the looming pandemic can take hold.
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was condemned to speak the truth yet never be believed. A story of trust and what happens when we lose it. And of a hidden threat destroying the very thing that makes us powerful.
Written and created by Marietta Kirkbride
Cassie ….. Kate O’Flynn
Bryn ….. Ben Skym
Pascal ….. Emmanuel Berthelot
Helen ….. Laurel Lefkow
Ethan ..... Philip Desmeules
Kirsten ..... Cristina Wolfe
Gareth ..... George Williams
Demonstrators ..... Théo Marceau and Félix Marceau
Ola ..… Aggy K. Adams
Other voices played by the cast
Production Manager: Eleanor Mein
Production Assistant: Liis Mikk with Teresa Milewski
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Title music: Ioana Selaru and Melo-Zed
Track laying: Andreina Gómez
Sound design: Jon Nicholls and Adam Woodhams
Directed and produced by Nicolas Jackson
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 23:30 Beyond Belief (m002ntsd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:30 on Tuesday]