SATURDAY 11 APRIL 2015
SAT 00:00 Schalken the Painter by Sheridan Le Fanu (b007sw35)
2. The Deal
The ghoulish Vanderhausen seals his deal with Rose's uncle who is unaware that his pupil Godfrey Schalken is in love with her...
Ian McDiarmid concludes the unabridged reading of Sheridan Le Fanu's supernatural tale.
Producer: Lawrence Jackson
Made for BBC 7 by BBC Northern Ireland.
First broadcast in June 2005.
SAT 00:30 My Life in Five Songs (b00p6v33)
Series 1
Edwyn Collins
The Corries signing Sally Free and Easy and David Bowie's Conversation Piece are two of the songs Edwyn Collins has chosen as being really important to him. He talks to Phil Cunningham about the significance of these songs and the three others he's picked in My Life in 5 Songs.
SAT 01:00 Paul Temple (b007w2hz)
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair
7. The Girl in Brown
The debonair detective returns to Canterbury in search of 'Alex', when Leo Brent looks to be in danger.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Inspector Crane …. Haydn Jones
Wilfred Davis …. Basil Jones
Ricky …. Frank Henderson
Dr Kohima …. Roy Lefebvre
Leo Brent …. Dennis Hawthorne
Taxi Driver …. Alan Dudley
Walter …. David Brierly
Thomas …. Leroy Lingwood
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
SAT 01:30 Going to Pieces in the Box (b00p61zg)
Janet Ellis, host of the 1980s Children's BBC series Jigsaw, presents a celebration of the history and the art of the jigsaw puzzle.
More art - typically sentimental, traditional art - has made its way into more homes via the jigsaw puzzle than virtually any other medium. While it has since become the purveyor of comforting landscapes to the masses, it started life as an educational tool championed by the likes of philosopher John Locke. In 1760, London mapmaker John Spilsbury mounted one of his maps on hardboard and cut it into pieces to help children learn geography.
Janet tells the story of how, since then, it has become such a core feature of childhoods across the world. She hears how jigsaws hit their first major peak during the Great Depression, when 10 million a week were bought by families looking for cheap pastimes, and how they were used by immigration officers on Ellis Island to determine who should be allowed into the land of the free. Janet also explores how popular culture has flirted with the jigsaw, in novels and films as diverse as Mansfield Park, Citizen Kane and, most powerfully, Georges Perec's novel, Life: A User's Manual. She hears from academics and enthusiasts including Margaret Drabble, who explain the jigsaw's great allure.
Janet hears how jigsaws continue to be incredibly popular, having evolved into 3-D puzzles and of course made their way onto the internet, where no young children's games site is without one.
SAT 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tt673)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 5
Bee's struggle to persuade the police that her sister Tess didn't commit suicide continues as she goes to meet the psychiatrist who saw Tess shortly before her death. Bee discovers that he changed his diagnosis of post-natal depression to one of psychosis, but only after he learnt of her death. But Bee's efforts to convince him that Tess wouldn't have taken her own life meet with a professional stonewall. Bee also learns, from Tess' phone bill, that Tess had tried to call her in the States fifteen times in the twenty-four hours before she died, and her guilt over Tess' death increases with the knowledge that she had failed Tess in her time of need. Spurred on by this, she visits Tess's fellow student Simon in his flat, and there makes a sinister discovery.
The abridger is Lauris Morgan Griffiths, the reader is Hattie Morahan.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
SAT 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s54j7)
Octavia Hill
How Octavia set up the National Trust, based on her belief in the importance of nature for the working class.
SAT 02:30 Ladies of Letters (b007k3wb)
Ladies of Letters Go Global
Episode 5
Vera and Christopher undertake a life-threatening undercover operation for MI6.
With no-one else to turn to, Irene combines forces with the ex-pat couple employing her to get Vera and Christopher air-lifted out of the diamond mine in which they have been billeted.
Irene ...... Prunella Scales
Vera ...... Patricia Routledge
Brian ...... Ewan Bailey
The up and down relationship of two mature ladies shared via their barbed correspondence.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Havman.
Producer: Claudine Toutoungi
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2006.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b00rzrsx)
Michael Chabon - Manhood for Amateurs
Episode 5
Jason Butler Harner continues to read from Pulitzer prize-winning author Michael Chabon's moving, warm and witty memoir about life as a husband, father and son.
In exploring what it means to be a man today, Chabon reflects on the personal and family history that haunts him even as it's being written every day. At the centre of a large and complex family, and with four young children, Chabon evokes memories of his childhood, of his parents' marriage and divorce and of moments of painful adolescent comedy.
In the final episode, Michael Chabon is forced to confront his teenage daughter's emerging sexuality, and his own feelings of protectiveness and helplessness towards her.
"For a while everything about my daughter's entrance into puberty, her emerging new self and the concomitant interest of boys in her, discomfited me. And the part of it that made me squirm the most was how depressingly trite my discomfort was. Was that the kind of father I had turned out to be? Standing on the front porch with my shotgun under one arm, cartoonishly interrogating my daughter's cartoonish dates?"
Michael Chabon is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels including The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and The Yiddish Policeman's Union. He has been described by the Guardian as 'a spectacular writer' and by the New York Times as 'one of his generation's most eloquent voices'.
Jason Butler Harner has starred in films such as The Changeling with Angelina Jolie, as well as numerous TV series including Law and Order and John Adams. An accomplished stage actor, he has just appeared on the London stage in Serenading Louie at the Donmar Warehouse.
Producer: Jane Greenwood. This is a Loftus production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 George Eliot - The Mill on the Floss (b00gszmm)
Loving and Losing
Despite the continuing feud between their families Philip has a plan that he believes will restore happiness to Maggie Tulliver.
Starring Michael Fitzgerald and Sylvestra Le Touzel.
The conclusion of George Eliot’s 19th century novel.
Maggie ...... Sylvestra Le Touzel
Tom ...... Richard Pearce
Philip ...... Michael Fitzgerald
Stephen ...... Nicholas Gilbrook
Mrs Tulliver ...... Tina Gray
Dr Wakem ...... Roger Hume
Bob ...... Paul Downing
Lucy Dean ...... Moir Leslie
Dr Cairn ...... Simon Carter
Pianist: Harold Rich
Dramatised by Michelene Wandor.
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Philip Martin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1991.
SAT 04:00 All the Way from Memphis (b00j26h0)
Series 1
Episode 2
James Walton's pop music history quiz with Andrew Collins, Tracey MacLeod, Carol Decker and David Hepworth. From December 2004.
SAT 04:30 Richard Barton: General Practitioner! (b00757wt)
Episode 3
Richard and Sally take a well-earned break in Bratov, 'the jewel behind the iron curtain', but it soon becomes apparent that they should've dissuaded Dick from joining them.
Before they can reach the hotel, he's raced off in a taxi chase, convinced someone's taken his bag. They have. But as Dick's bag contains three drip-dry shirts and a week's supply of tea-bags, and theirs contains something quite different, one can assume it's an accident. Things are looking rather dangerous...
Richard Barton ...... Robert Bathurst
Old Dick Barton ...... Moray Watson
Jock ...... Iain Cuthbertson
Young Dick Barton ...... Julian Dutton
Sally Phillips ...... Matilda Ziegler
With Carolyn Jones, Roger Blake and Tim Whitnall.
In 1946, Edward J Mason wrote the first episode of Dick Barton - Special Agent. The BBC Light Programme's hugely popular serial followed the adventures of the ex-Commando and his mates Jock Anderson and Snowy White. Despite facing a series of never-ending cliff-hangers at the hands of dastardly villains, our hero always triumphed. "With one bound Dick was free!".
Half a century later, Edward J's son Lol created Richard Barton, son of Dick, in an affectionate homage to one of BBC Radio's most enduring heroes.
Producer: Jo Clegg
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
SAT 05:00 Rent (b00752fm)
Series 3
Episode 3
It's havoc in the Reynolds household as the preparations for the baby's naming ceremony reach a climax.
Series 3 of Lucy Flannery's award-winning sitcom about Maria and Richard Reynolds and their lodgers.
Stars Barbara Flynn as Maria, Patrick Barlow as Richard, Linda Polan as Amy, Vivienne Rochester as Ruby, Dave Lamb as Paul, Sally Grace as Mother and Chris Emmett as Father.
Producer: Liz Anstee.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1997.
SAT 05:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b01n6sjq)
Series 2
Episode 5
John Finnemore, the writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-upper in things like Miranda and Family Guy, records a second series of his hit sketch show.
The first series was described as "sparklingly clever" by The Daily Telegraph and "one of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time" by The Guardian. It featured Winnie the Pooh coming to terms with his abusive relationship with honey, how The Archers sounds to people who don't listen to the Archers and how Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde decided whose turn it was to do the washing up.
This week sees some moth-based lunacy, and a heartwarming tale of the days before health and safety. All of which is, as you'll see, "awesome".
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is written by and stars John Finnemore. It also features Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan. It is produced by Ed Morrish.
SAT 06:00 Black Bartlemy's Treasure (b007jwdn)
Jeffrey Farnol's swashbuckling tale of piracy, love and death on a desert island. Starring Steven Pacey and Julia Swift.
SAT 07:30 Unearthing Mysteries (b007mwg6)
Series 1
Lost Map of London
With no surviving copies of London's oldest known map, Professor Aubrey Manning traces its Tudor origins.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b01pt74f)
Rural Rides
Mark Steel's review of reporters' journeys round Britain, starting with William Cobbett, the great English journalist and radical campaigner who was born 250 years ago. Mark talks to veteran horseman Dylan Winter and analyses a classic radio and TV genre that owes more than it realises to Cobbett - the tradition of going out and taking a look at Britain.
The formula is a simple one: a hired hack goes on a whistle-stop tour of a part of the country that's unfamiliar to him (it's usually a him) and then publishes his ill-informed impressions together with any wild generalisations he cares to base upon them.
In print, it starts with Cobbett's 'Rural Rides' and ends with the likes of Bill Bryson, Beryl Bainbridge and of course Mark Steel, taking in along the way such scribblers as James Boswell, J.B.Priestley and George Orwell. In radio it's Tom Vernon ('Fat Man on a Bicycle'), Ray Gosling, the many incarnations of 'Down Your Way'... and Mark Steel (again). In TV it runs from Alan Whicker to Clare Balding and Griff Rhys Jones.
When it's done well, Cobbettry can celebrate the differences between us. It can give us an insight into people and places we might be interested to know more about; it can illuminate the human condition by shining a light on particular examples.
When it's done badly - as it often is - Cobbettry can be feeble, patronising and full of cliches. In his own prejudiced and over-simplified whistle-stop tour, Mark Steel demonstrates that Cobbett's legacy has been a mixed blessing.
Producer: Peter Everett
A Pennine production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 09:00 I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, Again (b01r5495)
Bill Oddie celebrates the cult BBC radio comedy series that originated from the Cambridge University Footlights - I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again - with three hours of history and hysteria. With Humphrey Barclay.
Featuring:
* Clips of Cambridge Circus.
* I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again: Series 2 (5/9)
Singing dogs - and the tale of Martin Copperwick. Starring Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie. From November 1965.
* I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again: Series 6 (9/13)
Worries over Bill Oddie's singing voice - and Shakespeare's funny side. Starring John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden : Acting (adult) Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie. From June 1968.
* I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again: Series 7 (13/13)
A look at love, sex and marriage - plus the tense climax to the hunt for the Time Trousers. Stars John Cleese, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie. From April 1969.
* I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again: 25th Anniversary Edition
The original cast of John Cleese, Tim Brook Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie reunite to celebrate 25 years of the programme. From December 1989
Producer: Nick St George
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in March 2013
SAT 12:00 Round the Horne (b00j05wj)
Series 1
Episode 5
Saluting a puddings inventor - and Gruntfuttock's after a job at the BBC.
Starring Kenneth Horne. With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, catchphrases and double-entendres.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1965.
SAT 12:30 The Navy Lark (b05px8vr)
Series 2
Tug-of-War
Troutbridge sails on escort duty, but Mr Phillips is assigned as the lone officer. Stars Leslie Phillips. From February 1960.
SAT 13:00 Chris Fallon - Le Donne (b05qdlnm)
Series 3 Omnibus
Caterina is now head of the Riccardi clan. As dissent grows among the ranks, she tries to find her daughter Antonella. With Indira Varma, Anton Lesser, Juliet Aubrey.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05qdlnp)
Ryan Molloy
Singer Ryan Molloy chooses 'The Night' by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and Donny Hathaway's 'A Song for You'.
SAT 14:15 Baldi (b00whw3t)
Series 5
Food of the Blue
Paolo Baldi's attempt at a scholarly retreat at the great Cranolly House just happens to coincide with its 500th Anniversary.
A series of unusual events plunges Baldi into a world of ancient traditions struggling to survive in a modern and materialistic world - and murder...
Starring David Threlfall as Paolo Baldi - Franciscan priest turned Dublin sleuth
With Tina Kellegher as Tina Mahon, Owen Roe as Rynne, TP McKenna as Father Troy, Dermot Crowley as De Burca, David Kelly as Baldwin, Alan Stamford as Edmonds, Don Wycherley as O'Byrne, Richard Dormer as Lojek, Kieran Lagan as Don as Bronagh Taggart as the Girl.
Murder mystery written by James McAleavey.
Format by Barry Devlin. Developed and produced by BBC Northern Ireland.
Directed in Belfast by Mark Lambert.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b01pt74f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Black Bartlemy's Treasure (b007jwdn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Unearthing Mysteries (b007mwg6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Simon Guerrier - Graceless (b01l2wcw)
Series 2
The Flood
Have Abby and Zara found a safe haven at last? A flood threatens the townspeople, but something's behind it. Stars Ciara Janson.
Abby - Ciara Janson
Zara - Laura Doddington
Brondle - Michael Cochrane
Wing - Joanna Van Gyseghem
Nina - Daisy Ashford
Soldier - John Banks
Written by Simon Guerrier
Directed by Lisa Bowerman
A Big Finish Production.
SAT 19:00 I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again, Again (b01r5495)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Life: An Idiot's Guide (b01dht2h)
Series 1
Raising Children
Stephen K Amos and his pick of the circuit's best stand-ups build an idiot's guide to life.
Ava Vidal, Howard Read, Andy Wilkinson and Lucy Porter join Stephen to offer a guide to raising children.
Miss London, Jess Fostekew and Craig Campbell join Stephen to offer an idiot's guide to first impressions.
Producer: Colin Anderson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.
SAT 22:30 Rhod Gilbert's Leaving Llanbobl (b00g66s2)
Flying high as a successful shoe shop manager, Rhod is brought down by family woes. With Greg Davies. From December 2008.
SAT 23:00 The Simon Day Show (b01j6t0s)
Series 2
Tommy Cockles
Simon Day and his characters once again welcome listeners to The Mallard, a small provincial theatre somewhere in the UK. Each week one of Simon's comic characters come to perform at The Mallard while the staff struggle with rivalries, self-doubt and the new owner's vision for the theatre's future.
This week popular, blazered entertainer Tommy Cockles arrives at the theatre to find it transformed. There's a new Nigerian owner, soundman Goose has been replaced by an authoritarian ex-copper and receptionist Catherine has disappeared off to India to find herself.
Cast list:
Tommy Cockles ..... Simon Day
Catherine ..... Catherine Shepherd
Emanuel Akinyemi ..... Felix Dexter
Pat Bennet ..... Morwenna Banks
Ron Bone ..... Simon Greenall
Written by Simon Day
Produced by Colin Anderson.
SAT 23:30 Wondermentalist Cabaret (b00yqspr)
Series 1
Episode 4
Matt Harvey's warm-hearted poetry cabaret in the company of fellow poets Les Barker, Pete Hunter and Jude Simpson.
Supported by one man house band, Jerri Hart, they vie for the audience's approval at the Comedy Box, Bristol, in the Dead Poets' Slam, wooing us with the deathless words of their best-loved poets from the past.
The audience too play their part, composing their own crowd-sourced poem (the subjects of which can vary wildly, from reflecting on the delights and demerits of cheese, to Sunday mornings, and the winter habits of gerbils).
Producer: Mark Smalley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.
SUNDAY 12 APRIL 2015
SUN 00:00 Simon Guerrier - Graceless (b01l2wcw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Chris Fallon - Le Donne (b05qdlnm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05qdlnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Baldi (b00whw3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b01pt74f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Black Bartlemy's Treasure (b007jwdn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Unearthing Mysteries (b007mwg6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Ladies of Letters (b007k3xg)
Ladies of Letters Go Global (Omnibus)
Irene and Vera are back - and this time they are going global.
Determined to escape the aftermath of their respective Christmases from Hell, first Vera nabs a package to Ibiza, then Irene sets out to rescue her friend when she falls prey to the charms of Gaston the seductive Gascon.
Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge star as grandmothers, Irene Spencer and Vera Small.
Series of comic emails written by Carole Hayman and Lou Wakefield.
Producer: Claudine Toutoungi
First broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
SUN 07:15 Kenneth Williams - Ad Lib (b05qdpnl)
Episode 1
Kenneth Williams presents the first of a compendium of entertaining reminiscences and personal opinions recorded in front of an audience at BBC Pebble Mill.
Beginning with the tale of his trip to Lichfield - the literary home of Samuel Johnson - the master raconteur shares tales of historical people and places.
Williams winds his way through stories of writers, buildings, the death of Thomas Cromwell and the funding of wars - and touches on the monarchy, the legal system and anecdotes of Prime Ministers past.
Produced by Michael Ford
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1982.
SUN 07:30 Beauty of Britain (b00n7zd1)
Series 1
Girl With a Polycotton Tabard
Beauty wonders why so many British men get stuck in the emotional wilderness and find it hard to communicate with each other, as she deals with an elderly gentleman and his son.
Beauty's dreams of becoming a model are given a boost when she applies to be the Face of the Social Services.
Comedy by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson.
Beauty Olonga works as a carer for the Featherdown Agency and sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to achieve their goals in the land of semi-skimmed milk.
Beauty ...... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Mr Clark ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Julian ...... Christopher Douglas
Georgie ...... Emma Fryer
Sally ...... Felicity Montagu
Karen ...... Nicola Sanderson
Mrs Gupte ...... Indira Joshi
Anil ...... Paul Sharma
Race Commentator ...... Christopher Douglas
Music by The West End Gospel Choir.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009.
SUN 08:00 All Gas and Gaiters (b007jpjp)
The Bishop Gains a Reputation
Clerical confusion abounds over the Archdeacon's tell-all book.
Starring Robertson Hare as the Archdeacon, William Mervyn as the Bishop, Jonathan Cecil as Bishop's Chaplain - the Reverend Mervyn Noote and John Barron as the Dean. With Michael Kilgarriff.
The ecclesiastical sitcom started life as a TV pilot in Comedy Playhouse, ahead of a run on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. Selected scripts were revised and re-recorded for radio.
Written and adapted by husband-and-wife team, Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps.
Producer: David Hatch.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1972.
SUN 08:30 Life With The Lyons (b01479kj)
An Afternoon on the Thames
Barbara Lyon and her boyfriend Derek struggle to enjoy time alone on a river trip.
Starring real-life American family: Ben Lyon and his wife Bebe Daniels and their children, Richard and Barbara.
With Doris Rogers as Florrie, Molly Weir as Aggie, Horace Percival as Mr Wimple, Richard Bellaers, Gwen Lewis, Patricia Field and Alanna Boyce.
Life With The Lyons was one the BBC's most popular radio sitcoms between1950 and 1961. It was also adapted for BBC TV.
Written by Bebe Daniels, Bob Block and Ronnie Hanbury.
BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1955.
SUN 09:00 The Story of Alice (b05qzg61)
Omnibus. Lewis Carroll began his fairy-tale about Alice on an 1862 river trip. Robert Douglas-Fairhurst probes the complex history.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05qdqss)
Fatboy Slim
DJ and musician Fatboy Slim chooses 'Something' by the Beatles and 'Sowing the Seeds of Love' by Tears for Fears.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b05qdrlx)
Theatre Folk
Jude Kelly
Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Bob Dylan and John Cage. Theatre director Jude Kelly shares her castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From May 2002.
SUN 11:00 An Hour With... (b00bdjh3)
Jon Pertwee
The star of 'Doctor Who', 'The Navy Lark' and 'Worzel Gummidge', actor Jon Pertwee entertains an audience with his one-man biographical show - sharing tales from his very early days through to his career highlights.
Jon recalls life at school and in the navy during the war. Staying afloat, he moves onto working on popular BBC radio comedy The Navy Lark - and reveals how one of his co-stars was instrumental in him taking over from Patrick Troughton as Doctor Who for BBC TV in the 1970s.
Later when playing Worzel Gummidge for Southern TV, Jon loved being able to change heads - and he also reveals how he stood up to Kenneth Williams on a 'Carry On' film!
SUN 12:00 All Gas and Gaiters (b007jpjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Life With The Lyons (b01479kj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Ladies of Letters (b007k3xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Kenneth Williams - Ad Lib (b05qdpnl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Molly McGrann - The Ladies of the House (b05qdv1y)
Episode 2
Made for 4 Extra. Molly McGrann's novel about the discovery of a dead man's double life and its dark secrets. Read by Susan Jameson.
SUN 15:45 Afternoon Reading (b011j8zn)
Sylvia Townsend Warner - Winter in the Air and Other Stories
Winter in the Air
Winter in the Air is the title story from Sylvia Townsend Warner's recently republished collection in which a woman reflects on the final and difficult days of her marriage. At the same time she looks ahead to her new life in her solitary flat in 1950s London.
The stories in this collection were written between 1938 and 1950. They capture the mood and atmosphere of the times, and the lot of women in mid twentieth century England. Sylvia Townsend Warner is less well known today, but in her time was a prolific writer of novels, short stories and poetry. She also wrote a biography of T.H. White. These stories illustrate her talent for sharp, insightful, and vivid storytelling.
The reader is Susannah Harker
Abridged by Richard Hamilton
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
SUN 16:00 Stephen Lowe - Touched (b05qdv20)
8th May 1945, Nottingham: Three sisters gather to hear Prime Minister Winston Churchill pronounce the end of the war in Europe.
In the hundred days that follow, before VJ Day, they come to face the haunting reality of the future.
Stephen Lowe's wartime drama won the 1977 George Devine Award.
Sandra ...... Sian Thomas
Mary ...... Anne Jameson
Betty ...... Sara Mair-Thomas
Mother ...... Mary Wimbush
Johnny ...... Michael Packer
Joan ...... Joanne Pearce
Pauline ...... Amy Pemble
Bridie ...... Annie Hayes
Keith ...... Robin Summers
Chef (Harry) ...... Brian Smith
Director: Caroline Raphael
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1985
SUN 17:30 Beauty of Britain (b00n7zd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Nevil Shute - On the Beach (b0124y0r)
Episode 2
As the deadly radioactive cloud approaches Australia, a desperate submarine mission is launched. Stars Richard Dillane.
SUN 19:00 An Hour With... (b00bdjh3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 The Story of Alice (b05qzg61)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05qdqss)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b05qdrlx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Beauty of Britain (b00n7zd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 The Richest Man in Britain (b00p6v3r)
The Meltdown
Sitcom by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith about an ageing rock star and his search for fulfilment.
Trillionnaire rocker Dave Mabbutt buys some last-minute holiday Euros and promptly brings down the entire international monetary system.
Dave Mabbutt ...... Mark Williams
Dom ...... Russell Tovey.
SUN 23:00 Radio Shuttleworth (b007qs2x)
Series 1
Episode 1
Sheffield aspiring singer-songwriter John Shuttleworth takes over the BBC airwaves. With Leo Sayer. From November 1998.
SUN 23:30 Jon Ronson On (b00qcj8w)
Series 5
Ambition
The writer Jon Ronson asks how our driving ambitions shape us. By interviewing several people at different points in their lives, he sees how ambition can make and break people.
He talks to an 11 year old boy who has plans to be a world class architect, a young woman who has set her sites on being Prime Minister and an ambitious stock broker whose success led him down a dangerous path towards a high security prison in the US.
Producer: Laura Parfitt
A Unique production for BBC Radio 4.
MONDAY 13 APRIL 2015
MON 00:00 Nevil Shute - On the Beach (b0124y0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Ladies of Letters (b007k3xg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Kenneth Williams - Ad Lib (b05qdpnl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Molly McGrann - The Ladies of the House (b05qdv1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Afternoon Reading (b011j8zn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Stephen Lowe - Touched (b05qdv20)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Beauty of Britain (b00n7zd1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Paul Temple (b007w39f)
Paul Temple and the Alex Affair
8. Introducing Alex
The suave sleuth invites the key players to his home, but has he finally managed to identify the blackmailing murderer?
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke as Paul Temple and Marjorie Westbury as Steve in the conclusion of another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Inspector Crane …. Haydn Jones
Leo Brent …. Dennis Hawthorne
Wilfred Davis …. Basil Jones
Ricky …. Frank Henderson
Dr Kohima …. Roy Lefebvre
Mrs Trevelyan …. Barbara Mitchell
Carl Lathom …. Simon Lack
Producer: Martin C Webster
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
MON 06:30 Sleeve Notes (b00htmzr)
Music writer Laura Barton explains her love of the sleeve note, which was once, for many, the cherished gateway into a musical world but has now been diminished by the digitalisation of music.
She considers how the sleeve note can act as a declaration of intent from the artist, as epitomised by Johnny Cash's sleeve notes for his classic 1968 live album, At Folsom Prison, or by the inclusion of the founding declaration of the Rock Against Racism movement on the sleeve of Tom Robinson's debut album Power in the Darkness.
Poet Simon Armitage talks about being commissioned by Paul Weller to write the sleeve notes for his latest album.
MON 07:00 Know Your Place (b019m16k)
Health Can Damage Your Smoking
Can caretaker Ramsay manage to quit cigarettes to keep his job?
Ramsay Potts is the jobsworth caretaker at a crumbling Edwardian block of flats, pursued by the over-amorous cleaner Elsie.
Starring Roy Dotrice as Ramsay and Patricia Hayes as Elspeth Spurgeon.
Sitcom written by Andrew Palmer and Nell Brennan.
With Jon Glover and James Taylor.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in July 1983.
MON 07:30 Dilemma (b05pmrtt)
Series 4
Episode 1
Sue Perkins returns with a fourth series of the show that puts the big moral and ethical questions to a mixed panel. This week, it's the turn of comedians Sarah Millican and John Robins, journalist Michael Deacon and former Blue Peter presenter Janet Ellis, who discuss how to deal with sexist wedding DJs, answer an audience question about coming out for a second time, and pit themselves against the moral clock in the Quickfire Round, where shades of gray are discarded in favour of immediate, black-or-white responses. Episode one of six.
Dilemma is presented by Sue Perkins, and was devised by Danielle Ward.
Presenter ... Sue Perkins
Guest ... Sarah Millican
Guest ... Michael Deacon
Guest ... Janet Ellis
Guest ... John Robins
Devised by ... Danielle Ward
Producer ... Ed Morrish.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2015.
MON 08:00 Dad's Army (b007jm2h)
Series 1
The Showing Up of Corporal Jones
Corporal Jones will be forced to retire from the platoon, unless he manages to complete an assault course in 15 minutes....
The comic exploits of a Second World War Home Guard platoon in Walmington-on-Sea.
Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's TV scripts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles.
Captain Mainwaring …. Arthur Lowe
Sergeant Wilson …. John Le Mesurier
Corporal Jones …. Clive Dunn
Private Godfrey …. Arnold Ridley
Private Frazer …. John Laurie
Private Pike …. Ian Lavender
Private Walker …. Graham Stark
Major Smith …. Jack Watson
Announcer …. John Snagge
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in April 1974.
MON 08:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kn7yv)
From 13/05/1984
From tackling Britain's recession to Film Extra of the Century.
Michael Bentine stars in the ultimate one man show written and performed by the host.
Producer: Jamie Rix
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in May 1984.
MON 09:00 The Write Stuff (b01c7wx4)
Series 15
HG Wells
This week the teams look at the life and work of one of the father's of Science Fiction and creator of such famous works as "The Time Machine" and "War of the Worlds", H.G. Wells.
Team captains, Sebastian Faulks and John Walsh, are helped out by journalist and critic, Alex Clark and comedy writer, John O'Farrell as they are set more literary challenges by host, James Walton.
For the finale, the teams must also put themselves in Wells' shoes (he was famous for making predictions about the future, some prescient, some very much not so) and make their own prophesies for 2012.
MON 09:30 Says on the Tin (b00g4fv7)
Toothpaste
Disgraced American ad man Eliott Thurber is forced to transfer to the new London branch of Parabola Media.
CAST:
Eliott Thurber .... Michael Brandon
Esther Finn .... Samantha Bond
Hannah Walker .... Pippa Haywood
Zadie .... Joannah Tincey
Ted Bruckner .... Malcolm Tierney
Toothrot …. Chris Pavlo
Customs Officer …. Stephen Critchlow
Woman ….Janice Acquah
Child …. Manjeet Mann
Stewardess …. Donnla Hughes
Plaque Inam Mirza
Written by Christopher Hill.
Producer: Liz Webb.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2008.
MON 10:00 Rose Tremain (b0075nk4)
The End of Love
Olga and Bertie's 30-year-old daughter Lottie wishes to marry her Irish poet boyfriend Michael. But he’s a dreamer and fearful of commitment.
He reminds Olga of the love of her life - a Polish pianist. Their love was not enough: why should Lottie's fare any better?
Miriam Margolyes stars in Rose Tremain's drama.
Olga ... Miriam Margolyes
Bertie ... Nigel Anthony
Lottie ...Eleanor Tremain
Michael ... Kieran Cunningham
with Becky Hindley and Tessa Worsley
Director: Gordon House
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1999.
MON 11:00 William Trevor Short Stories (b007jtw9)
Teresa's Wedding
At a bleak wedding reception, a young pregnant bride discovers why her marriage might just work. Read by Denys Hawthorne.
MON 11:15 Drama (b00772zm)
Julia Darling - The Waiting Room
The writer Julia Darling began a web diary in 2002 to chart her journey through breast cancer.
Poignant, honest, funny - filled with everyday life looking after teenagers, staying in hotels living in Newcastle - the diary also charts the ups and downs of being ill, until her death 3 years later.
With poems set to music and performed by Tim Dalling, Pete Challower and Charlie Harwick.
And contributions from Bev Robinson.
Producer: Sue Roberts.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.
MON 12:00 Dad's Army (b007jm2h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kn7yv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Paul Temple (b007w39f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Sleeve Notes (b00htmzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00txh86)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 6
Tess's funeral has taken place. Beatrice has learned about the three drugs which were found in her sister's body during the post-mortem. During a visit to Tess's friend Simon's flat to ask him about his last meeting with Tess, Bee discovered in his bedroom a collection of photographs of Tess. Tess's Polish friend Kasia reveals for the first time that both women had been given money during the course of the Cystic Fibrosis gene therapy trial. Now, Bee decides to find out more about the trial from Professor Rosen who is running it.
Hattie Morahan reads Rosamund Lupton's novel, abridged by Lauris Morgan Griffiths.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
MON 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s8djt)
Healing in the Open Air
How the rural landscape came to be seen as a place of moral, physical and spiritual healing for First World War veterans.
MON 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qkw)
Diagnosis
Maureen Wetherby is having a problem with her eye. She visits Doctor Merrily for some test results. Stars Val McClane.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b00tkymr)
Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl
Episode 1
"Roald Dahl thought biographies were boring. He told me so while munching on a lobster claw."
The new biographer of Dahl is Donald Sturrock, who once made a film about the writer, so knew the man and his family very well. His book charts Dahl's rich and varied life as fighter pilot, intelligence operative, and the adult writer who then wrote for children in such an impactful way that he remains hugely popular with today's young readers. He was truly on their wavelength. He spoke to them through books such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The BFG and Danny, Champion of The World.
Sturrock investigates Dahl's eternal popularity as a writer. And of course the man behind the books...
1.In the first of five episodes, abridged by Alison Joseph, the biographer sits at the Dahl dinner table and recounts a memorable visit to the writer's hut, where certain treasures are unearthed.
The reader is Julian Rhind-Tutt and the voice of Dahl is Ian McDiarmid
Producer Duncan Minshull.
MON 15:00 Rose Tremain (b0075nk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
MON 16:00 The Write Stuff (b01c7wx4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Says on the Tin (b00g4fv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Know Your Place (b019m16k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
MON 17:30 Dilemma (b05pmrtt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
MON 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015flq5)
Episode 1
Young historian Robert Olmstead journeys to the mysterious shunned town of Innsmouth in New England. Read by Richard Coyle.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0075ml2)
Anne Harvey and Peter Preston
Peter Preston from The Guardian and anthologist Anne Harvey talk about their favourite paperbacks with Sarah LeFanu. From 1999.
William, An Englishman - by Cicely Hamilton
Publisher: Persephone Books
Playback the last novel by Raymond Chandler
Publisher: Penguin Books
The Way I Found Her a thriller set in France by Rose Tremain
Publisher: Vintage.
MON 19:00 Dad's Army (b007jm2h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
MON 19:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b00kn7yv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Paul Temple (b007w39f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Sleeve Notes (b00htmzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
MON 21:00 William Trevor Short Stories (b007jtw9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Drama (b00772zm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
MON 22:00 Dilemma (b05pmrtt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Hearing With Hegley (b0075rsh)
Series 3
Episode 1
The poet visits Southampton to unravel the mystery of King Canute, plus poems on egg cosies and flannels. From February 2000.
MON 22:45 The Problem With Adam Bloom (b007m94n)
Series 1
Restaurants
Adam Bloom investigates bad service in restaurants with stand-up and reconstructions. It's comedy with a mission.
Helping Adam transform service culture are Sarah Kennedy, Brendon Burns and Rob Rouse
Written by Adam Bloom.
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2003.
MON 23:00 Dead Ringers (b05prpcq)
Series 14
Episode 1
The topical impressions show returns just in time to reflect the build up to one of the most important and incisive votes for decades. Will Austria win again or does Britain's Electro Velvet stand a chance? Satire meets silliness in the flagship comedy for hard working families up and down the country.
Starring Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Duncan Wisbey, Lewis MacLeod, Debra Stephenson.
Producer: Bill Dare.
MON 23:30 Pick Ups (b008mdd0)
Series 1
Episode 1
Life at a rundown Manchester taxi office. Dave's first job is to take Ivy to Blackpool. Stars John Thomson. From January 2008.
TUESDAY 14 APRIL 2015
TUE 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015flq5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0075ml2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Paul Temple (b007w39f)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Sleeve Notes (b00htmzr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00txh86)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00s8djt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qkw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b00tkymr)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Rose Tremain (b0075nk4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 The Write Stuff (b01c7wx4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Says on the Tin (b00g4fv7)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Know Your Place (b019m16k)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Dilemma (b05pmrtt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pbp6y)
Episode 1
Harlem, 1965: Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are the most notorious Detectives in the Harlem precinct. Their methods are unorthodox, and some people think they're trigger happy, but ask any law-abiding citizen of Harlem and they'll sing their praises. So when the Reverend Deke O'Malleys Back to Africa movement collects $87,000 from poor black families - only to have it stolen from under their noses - Jones and Johnson get put on the case.
Read by Hugh Quarshie.
Chester Himes' fantastically atmospheric novel is not just a great thriller it reveals the lives of black people in a white city at a time, three years before the death of Martin Luther King, when under Alabama law killing a Negro did not constitute murder. It was filmed in 1970 and has become a cult classic.
Chester Himes was born in 1909, and grew up in a middle class home in Missouri. His first real experience of racism was when a white hospital refused to treat his brother who had damaged his eyes in a schoolboy prank. He went to Ohio state University but was expelled. In 1928 he was arrested and sentenced to 25 years hard labour for armed robbery. He started writing in prison and sold stories to magazines including Esquire. He was released in 1936, lived in Los Angeles for a time - the basis of his novel If He Hollers Let Him Go, and moved to Paris in the 1950s where his Harlem precinct novels were first published. His novel For Love of Imabelle became very successful film A Rage in Harlem.
Hugh Quarshie is a TV regular in Holby City playing Ric Griffin. He has extensive film, tv and radio credits.
Abridged and produced by Chris Wallis.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Autolycus Productions.
TUE 06:30 Burl Ives (b00ktgkl)
Musician and writer CP Lee celebrates the life, career and music of singer and Oscar-winning actor Burl Ives, in the centenary year of his birth.
CP Lee also explores Ives's co-operation in the 1950s with the anti-communist trials held by the House Un-American Activities Committee, and how he informed against his fellow folk musicians, notably Pete Seeger, in order to preserve his film career.
Burl Ives came from Illinois, where he sang folk songs as a child, dropping out of school in the late 1920s to become an itinerant banjo player during the economic depression. By the 1930s he was appearing on radio, singing the songs he made famous, such as Foggy Foggy Dew, The Bluetail Fly and the hobo ballad Big Rock Candy Mountain.
Along with Woody Guthrie, Ives was one of a generation of musicians who were rediscovering American folk music, performing it to politicise their audiences as well as entertain them. Ives was also a talented actor, and during the Second World War he found success in several roles in Broadway productions. Subsequently he won an Oscar for his role in the 1958 film, The Big Country.
Like many other left-wing artists, Ives faced blacklisting in the late 1940s, when he was listed in a McCarthyite publication as having possible communist connections. But Ives survived the House Un-American Activities Committee two years later, by informing against other folk musicians, notably Pete Seeger. In 1993, however, two years before Ives's death, Seeger forgave him and the two were reunited and sang at a benefit concert in New York.
CP Lee explores Ives's rise to fame, his music, and the dilemmas he faced, with the help of veteran American folk singer Julie Felix. They recall the music and the influence of a man whose career spanned more than one troubled period in American history, and who is best remembered today for the songs he recorded for children.
TUE 07:00 Nikolai Gogol - Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat (b00nsnhd)
The Nose
Major Kovalyov's nose vanishes and reappears in St Petersburg disguised as a councillor. With Stephen Moore. From April 2002.
TUE 07:30 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (b05pnsr2)
Series 1
Case #10 - Perfect 10
British Comedy legend June Whitfield makes a guest appearance as a beauty pageant judge.
Max and Ivan are private detectives for whom no case is too small.....Sorry, for whom no fee is too small.
Driven by their love of truth, justice (and the need to pay off their terrifying landlord, Malcolm McMichaelmas), they take on crimes that no-one else would consider. In this case, they investigate why 10-year-old Ophelia Hamilton always comes last in the beauty pageants her mother enters her for.
Max and Ivan - comedians and actors Max Olesker and Ivan Gonzalez - are a critically acclaimed, award-winning double act who have quickly established themselves as one of the most exciting comedy duos on the circuit.
Over the course of the series they are dropped into new worlds, and have to use their skills to penetrate deep into each community. If that means Ivan dressing up as a 14 year old German girl, so be it!
They are joined across the series by four star guests from the world of comedy - June Whitfield, Reece Shearsmith, Jessica Hynes, and Matt Lucas.
Cast:
Max..................Max Olesker
Ivan.................Ivan Gonzalez
Dame Celia......June Whitfield
Malcolm............Lewis MacLeod
Crosby.............David Reed
Sandra.............Jessica Ransom
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
A John Stanley production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 08:00 Round the Horne (b00j05wn)
Series 1
Episode 6
Complaints to the BBC - and Kenneth Horne heads to a new bona bistro courtesy of Julian and his friend Sandy.
Starring Kenneth Horne. With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill Pertwee.
Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, London.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, catchphrases and double-entendres.
Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser Hayes Four.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1965.
TUE 08:30 The Ken Dodd Show (b05qk2kw)
From 13/06/1965
Building a home gym with Andy Mann and tackling the population explosion.
Starring Ken Dodd.
With John Laurie, Patricia Hayes, Judith Chalmers, Wallas Eaton and Percy Edwards.
Music from The Barry Sisters.
Doddy's Diddy Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Lockyer.
Script by Ken Dodd and Eddie Braben.
Producer: Bill Worsley
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in June 1965.
TUE 09:00 Dead Ringers (b05prpcq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
Series 1
The Little Grey Man
The ups and downs of a second class writer
First of two comedy drama series written by Ronald Hayman.
Woodhouse ...... Tim Pigott-Smith
Gila ...... Zoe Wanamaker
Seamus ...... Stephen Rea
Wilhelmina ...... Susie Bran
Henrietta Masterson ...... Miriam Karlin
Hamish McVomitory ...... Bill Wallis
Gila’s Dad ...... Benjamin Whitrow
Gila’s Mum ...... Joan Matheson
With Eva Stuart, Susan Sheridan and Shaun Prendergast as Creative Writing Class members.
Music by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Director: Piers Plowright
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in September 1989.
TUE 10:00 Daphne Du Maurier (b01096ch)
My Cousin Rachel
Episode 1
Ambrose is a hero to his young ward Philip, but things change when he meets Philip's cousin. Stars Damien Lewis and Lia Williams.
TUE 11:00 AS Byatt - Gode's Story (b007jtb6)
The tragic tale of a brash young sailor and a beautiful miller's daughter.
Sheila Mitchell reads AS Byatt’s fairy tale.
Producer: Pam Fraser Solomon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1995.
TUE 11:15 Peter Wolf - Ghost on the Moor (b00sr5qc)
Haunted by a painful break-up, moors recluse Graham begins an unexpected relationship. Romantic drama starring Robert Glenister.
TUE 12:00 Round the Horne (b00j05wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Ken Dodd Show (b05qk2kw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pbp6y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Burl Ives (b00ktgkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tyqws)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 7
The realisation that Tess's baby did not have Cystic Fibrosis has set Beatrice on the trail of the murderer. Knowing the police won't take her seriously, she is on her own: her next move is to interview another of the mothers who took part in the CF gene therapy trial.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan Griffiths from Rosamund Lupton's novel. Read by Hattie Morahan.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
TUE 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00sbcdh)
Gertrude Jekyll and the Suburban Countryside
How gardens became more than just lawns and borders, and transformed instead into a microcosm of the natural world.
TUE 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qlc)
The House of Spirits
Maureen has learned that she has a tumour behind her eye. Undaunted, she wants to know what the future holds. Stars Val McClane.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b00tkymm)
Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl
Episode 2
"Roald Dahl thought biographies were boring. He told me so while munching on a lobster claw."
The new biographer of Dahl is Donald Sturrock, who once made a film about the writer, so knew the man and his family very well. His book charts Dahl's rich and varied life as fighter pilot, intelligence operative, and the adult writer who then wrote for children in such an impactful way that he remains hugely popular with today's young readers. He was truly on their wavelength. He spoke to them through books such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The BFG and Danny, Champion of The World.
Sturrock investigates Dahl's eternal popularity as a writer. And of course the man behind the books...
2. According to Dahl, it was a dramatic war-time plane crash that steered him towards being a writer.
The reader is Julian Rhind Tutt and the voice of Dahl is Ian McDiarmid
Producer Duncan Minshull.
TUE 15:00 Daphne Du Maurier (b01096ch)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Hidden Treasures (b05qf1cg)
Parham House
Exquisite Louis XIV walnut chairs, and a pair of substantial leather boots - definitely not made for walking...
Lars Tharp chairs the light-hearted Antiques Quiz from the Elizabethan splendour of Parham House in West Sussex, where Queen Elizabeth I is said to have once dined.
With Hilary Kay, Penny Brittain, Clive Stewart-Lockhart and Anthony North.
Producers: Elizabeth Abrahams and Annie Bristow.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1998.
TUE 16:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Stilgoe's Around (b007k3kj)
Champneys Health Spa
Champney's Health Hydro in Hertfordshire put Richard Stilgoe into a steam cabinet, and cooked him for two hours at Regulo 6.
The result is a medium rare, low calorie, non-alcoholic look at life 'down on the farm'
With Emma Thompson and The Cambridge Buskers
Producer: Mike Craig
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1984.
TUE 17:30 Nikolai Gogol - Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat (b00nsnhd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
TUE 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015gsc4)
Episode 2
Robert Olmstead explores the dark, decrepit town of Innsmouth with a growing sense of unease and terror. Read by Richard Coyle.
TUE 18:30 Frankly Speaking (b05qkhm4)
Bette Davis - Self-Portrait of a Star
Actor George Coulouris and BBC producer Peter Duval Smith interview Hollywood icon Bette Davis.
In an occasionally heated conversation about her career, Oscar-winning Davis shares her opinions on what it means to be a star after 30 years in the business.
Davis shoots down the "misconception" that she creates frictions on her movie sets. Her arguments were always with the front office. The actress also strongly counters Duvall Smith's claim that she uses the same mannerisms in every performance - blaming instead her imitators.
Films discussed include 'Dark Victory' (1939), 'Juarez' (1939), 'Watch on the Rhine' (1943) and Davis's most recent hit at the time, 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' with Joan Crawford (1962).
George Coulouris had previously starred alongside Bette Davis in the films 'All This, and Heaven Too' (1940), 'Watch on the Rhine' (1943) and 'Mr Skeffington' (1944). He's best known for playing Walter Parks Thatcher in the Orson Welles drama 'Citizen Kane' (1941).
Launched in 1952, Frankly Speaking was a completely novel and ground breaking BBC series. Initially there were three interviewers and the series was both unrehearsed and unscripted.
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in 1963.
TUE 19:00 Round the Horne (b00j05wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Ken Dodd Show (b05qk2kw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pbp6y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Burl Ives (b00ktgkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 AS Byatt - Gode's Story (b007jtb6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Peter Wolf - Ghost on the Moor (b00sr5qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 The Casebook of Max and Ivan (b05pnsr2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Little Britain (b008h569)
Series 1
Episode 3
Back where it started out - Matt Lucas and David Walliams' oddball TV smash hit, without the cameras. From March 2001.
TUE 23:00 Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off (b00p87r0)
Series 4
Greece
He's back! But this time, he's got a computer! Budleigh Salterton's most famous citizen has been grounded by both the Home Office and his father, so he's set up GWH Travvel ("2 Ms, 2 Gs, 2 Vs - bit of a mix up at the printers").
Run from his bedroom in Budleigh Salterton, with the help of his long-suffering former Primary School teacher Mr Timmis and the hindrance of his sister Charlotte, it's a one-stop Travel/Advice/Events Management/Website service, where each week his schemes range far and wide - whether it's roaming the country lecturing would-be overlanders on how to pack a rucksack ("If in doubt, put it in. And double it"), or finding someone a zebra for a corporate promotion ("I'll look in the Phone Book - how hard can it be? Now, "A to D"...), GWH Travvel stays true to its motto - "We do it all, so you won't want to".
In this episode we see the struggle between the Apollonian and Dionysian principles as Giles travels to Greece on a desperate rescue mission and eats far too much halloumi.
Starring Marcus Brigstocke as Giles.
Cast:
Giles Wemmbley Hogg ..... Marcus Brigstocke
Professor Bakoyannis ..... Jack Klaff
Mr Timmis ..... Adrian Scarborough
Charlotte Wemmbley Hogg ..... Catherine Shepherd
Jeremy ..... James Bachman
Luke ..... Mark Evans
Aphrodite ..... Nina Millns
Colonel Yiannis ..... Chris Pavlo
Written by Marcus Brigstocke & Jeremy Salsby.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:30 Vent (b00tx4tb)
Series 2
Wednesday Morning 3am
A journey through the thoughts and feelings of every character in turn at the darkest hour of the night.
Dark sitcom following the thoughts of comatose patient Ben written by Nigel Smith.
Starring Neil Pearson as Ben Smith, Fiona Allen as Mary, Josie Lawrence as Mum and Leslie Ash as Blitzkrieg.
With Nicholas Hutchison, Jo Martin and Mark Perry.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.
WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2015
WED 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015gsc4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Frankly Speaking (b05qkhm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pbp6y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Burl Ives (b00ktgkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tyqws)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00sbcdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qlc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b00tkymm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Daphne Du Maurier (b01096ch)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Hidden Treasures (b05qf1cg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Such Rotten Luck (b01nm0f2)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Stilgoe's Around (b007k3kj)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Nikolai Gogol - Three Ivans, Two Aunts and an Overcoat (b00nsnhd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcs3d)
Episode 2
New York, 1965: detectives Grave Digger and Coffin Ed chase the masterminds behind the missing money.
Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are the most notorious Detectives in the Harlem precinct. Their methods are unorthodox, and some people think they're trigger happy, but ask any law-abiding citizen of Harlem and they'll sing their praises. When the Reverend Deke O'Malleys Back to Africa movement collected $87,000 from poor black families - only to have it stolen from under their noses - Jones and Johnson are determined to get it back.
Hugh Quarshie reads Chester Himes' thriller.
Abridged and produced by Chris Wallis.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Autolycus Productions.
WED 06:30 The Matinee: The Creation of a Theatrical Institution (b00xgc64)
Ned Sherrin investigates the lore and history of matinees in theatres.
Featuring June Whitfield, Donald Sinden, Sandy Wilson and John Moffatt.
Producer - Philippa Ritchie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
WED 07:00 London Calling (b05qdw48)
The Great Race
DG John Brown has decided that the BBC will broadcast the 1923 Boat Race.
So the rest of the staff must rally round to find a way to bring off the transmission.
Written by Jimmy Perry.
John Brown ...... Graham Crowden
Colonel Beecham ...... Jimmy Perry
Roger Eccles ...... Jeffrey Holland
Sergeant Lucas ...... Bill Pertwee
Roger Eccles ...... Jeffrey Holland
Miss Nightingale ...... Joanna Munro
Arthur ...... Toby Longworth
Admiral Carpenter ...... Peter Cellier
Jeffrey Stainton ...... Chris Luscombe
Bobby Bright ...... Leonard Kirby
Rex Murray ...... Logan Murray
Isabel Blair ...... Julie Gibbs
Phyllis Godfrey ...... Amanda Bellamy
Music by Roy Moore.
Producer: Jo Clegg.
First broadcast nightly on BBC Radio 2 in September 1994.
WED 07:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05pnw2q)
Series 2
Episode 2
Adventuring comedian Tim FitzHigham recreates a 19th-century bet.
Can his pig (Gwladys) cross a bridge quicker than a waterman can row the width of the river beneath?
Producer: Joe Nunnery.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b05qkzgv)
Series 2
The Cross Country Run
Rumour abounds that empire-building Commander Povey is after Lieutenant Commander Stanton's job.
Starring Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as Number One, Richard Caldicot as Commander Povey, Ronnie Barker as Lieutenant Commander Stanton, Michael Bates as the Rating and Tenniel Evans as The Admiral.
The Navy Lark ran for an impressive 13 series on BBC Radio between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1960.
WED 08:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tln6g)
Series 4
Episode 11
The team poke fun at TV sitcoms with the launch of 'For Better and for Worse And Son'.
More quick-fire sketches, terrible puns, humorous songs and parodies.
Stars Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, David Hatch, Jo Kendall and Bill Oddie.
Written by Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie.
Originating from the Cambridge University Footlights revue 'Cambridge Circus', ISIRTA ran for 8 years on BBC Radio and quickly developed a cult following.
Music and songs by Dave Lee and Bill Oddie.
Producer: Humphrey Barclay
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1966.
WED 09:00 Trivia Test Match (b007jshf)
From 08/10/1991
Brian Johnston umpires as Willie Rushton and Alfred Marks battle Tim Rice and Paul Merton. From October 1991.
WED 09:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b0076254)
Series 2
Episode 2
The duo get some help from war veteran and stand-up comedian Edie Trinder, who valiantly steps in when Mel loses her voice. Plus more from the Gory Nuns and the Goatee Beard Men's Group.
Special guest stars are rapper Eminem and opera diva Leslie Garrett.
Variety meets sitcom meets sketch show - written and performed by Mel Hudson and Vicki Pepperdine.
With Dave Lamb, Martin Hyder and Jim North.
Additional material by Martin Hyder and Jim North.
Script editor: Graeme Garden
Music by Richard Webb.
Producers: Helen Williams and Claire Jones.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2001.
WED 10:00 Daphne Du Maurier (b0109gdh)
My Cousin Rachel
Episode 2
Philip experiences more than one revelation when he finally faces his guardian's widow. Stars Damien Lewis and Lia Williams.
WED 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b00z5c8h)
Good Show Clarissa
A Midnight Revel
Martin Jarvis directs Helen Mirren, Joanna Lumley and Lisa Dillon as 'The Girls' in 'Good Show Clarissa!' from Jarvis & Ayres Productions - a series of three 'jolly hockey stick' stories for Radio 4 - performed by stars. These classic tales represent some of the best of popular 20th Century 'girls school fiction'.
The first story, 'A Midnight Revel', written in 1926 and performed with girlish relish by Dame Helen Mirren, is a neat thriller in which the boarders at Hardwick High are prevented by the rainy weather from playing a hockey match.
Bored at such inactivity, they decide to think of an adventurous alternative entertainment. It's left to Nan Stevenson, the one who usually has 'blossomy' ideas to come up with something exciting. "I've got it!" she exclaimed at last, triumphantly. "There's one thing we've never tried yet (and jolly fun it would be, too!) a midnight supper. Scrumptious! But how will they organise it? And will the girls' daring midnight spree proceed according to plan? What could possibly go wrong?
Producer: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:15 Drama (b00hvgbt)
Brett Goldstein - Success Story
When Ray's low-budget film is picked up by a major studio his dreams of Hollywood start to become a reality. Then, holed up in a hotel room doing endless publicity interviews, he finds the past coming back to bite him. By Brett Goldstein.
Ray ..... Geoffrey Streatfeild
Tara ..... Caroline Catz
Emily ..... Sasha Pick
Kristen ..... Laurel Lefkow
Directed by Toby Swift.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b05qkzgv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
WED 12:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tln6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcs3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
WED 13:30 The Matinee: The Creation of a Theatrical Institution (b00xgc64)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tyvwq)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 8
After visiting a second mother who had taken part in the same Cystic Fibrosis gene therapy trial as Tess, and whose baby also died at birth, Beatrice is convinced there is a link between the trial and the her sister's death. She is given hope by the fact the the police have finally accepted her belief that Tess was murdered, but she must still try to find further evidence before she can prove her theory to them.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan Griffiths and read by Hattie Morahan.
Producers: Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
WED 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00sf8ky)
The Brotherhood of Ruralists, part 1
The designer explains how Mother Nature inspired a group of 1970s artists to paint rural life in the countryside.
WED 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qlw)
The Nurse
Maureen Wetherby has a tumour behind her eye. She's not best pleased when a nurse calls round. Stars Val McClane.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b00tkymp)
Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl
Episode 3
"Roald Dahl thought biographies were boring. He told me so while munching on a lobster claw."
The new biographer of Dahl is Donald Sturrock, who once made a film about the writer, so knew the man and his family very well. His book charts Dahl's rich and varied life as fighter pilot, intelligence operative, and the adult writer who then wrote for children in such an impactful way that he remains hugely popular with today's young readers. He was truly on their wavelength. He spoke to them through books such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The BFG and Danny, Champion of The World.
Sturrock investigates Dahl's eternal popularity as a writer. And of course the man behind the books...
3. Living in New York gave the author a premonition of a family disaster, which was vividly realized all too soon.
Read by Julian Rhind Tutt and the voice of Dahl is Ian McDiarmid
Producer Duncan Minshull.
WED 15:00 Daphne Du Maurier (b0109gdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Trivia Test Match (b007jshf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
WED 16:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b0076254)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
WED 17:00 London Calling (b05qdw48)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05pnw2q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
WED 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015h0y0)
Episode 3
Robert Olmstead listens to aged local drunk Zadok Allen, who reveals the terrifying history of the town. Read by Richard Coyle.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b0076mn5)
Pomp and Circumstance
Matthew Parris performs his formalised radio ritual with Times editor Mary Ann Sieghart, sports writer Mihir Bose and actor Tom Mitchelson. From August 2004.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b05qkzgv)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
WED 19:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again (b00tln6g)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcs3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
WED 20:30 The Matinee: The Creation of a Theatrical Institution (b00xgc64)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b00z5c8h)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Drama (b00hvgbt)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05pnw2q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Open Letters (b00yjs4c)
Series 1
Bankers
Through the medium of four open letters, the comedian Tom Wrigglesworth investigates the myriad examples of corporate lunacy and maddening jobsworths in modern Britain.
In this series his subjects range from traffic wardens to estate agents, with Tom recalling his own funny and ridiculous experiences as well as recounting the absurd encounters of others.
Tom wonders how the bankers keep getting away with it.
WED 23:00 The Maltby Collection (b00mqhqt)
Series 3
Episode 5
The museum is due to send an exhibition of its finest artefacts around Europe.
But can Walter find a suitably experienced and diplomatic member of staff to curate it?
Geoffrey Palmer and Julian Rhind-Tutt star in series 3 of David Nobbs’s sitcom about a small museum of paintings and sculpture.
Rod Millet ...... Julian Rhind-Tutt
Walter Brindle ...... Geoffrey Palmer
Prunella Edgecumbe ...... Rachel Atkins
Susie Maltby ...... Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Julian Crumb-Loosely ...... Ben Willbond
Wilf Arbuthnot ...... Geoff McGivern
Eva Tattle ...... Juklia Deakin
Des Wainwright ...... Michael Smiley
Stelios Constantinopoulis/Van Driver ...... Chris Pavlo
Barman ...... Stephen Hogan.
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.
WED 23:30 Lucy Montgomery's Variety Pack (b00w20zg)
Series 1
Episode 1
Meet a masseuse who likes to ensure her clients are relaxed and a cleaning lady who knows her place
Tim Vincent's Mum checks into a hotel - and all the way from Las Vegas, Candi Karmel the 80-year-old diva who can't stop performing.
Characters galore courtesy of Lucy Montgomery.
With Philip Pope, Sally Grace, Waen Shepherd and Natalie Walter
Written by Lucy Montgomery, Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Steven Burge, Jon Hunter and Holly Walsh
Script Editor: Dan Tetsell
Music by Philip Pope
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2010.
THURSDAY 16 APRIL 2015
THU 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015h0y0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b0076mn5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcs3d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 The Matinee: The Creation of a Theatrical Institution (b00xgc64)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tyvwq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00sf8ky)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qlw)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b00tkymp)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Daphne Du Maurier (b0109gdh)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Trivia Test Match (b007jshf)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 The Hudson and Pepperdine Show (b0076254)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 London Calling (b05qdw48)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Tim FitzHigham: The Gambler (b05pnw2q)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcxq1)
Episode 3
New York, 1965: detectives Digger and Coffin's search for the missing money is getting dangerous.
Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are the most notorious Detectives in the Harlem precinct. Their methods are unorthodox, and some people think they're trigger happy, but ask any law-abiding citizen of Harlem and they'll sing their praises. When the Reverend Deke O'Malleys Back to Africa movement collected $87,000 from poor black families - only to have it stolen from under their noses - Jones and Johnson are determined to get it back.
Hugh Quarshie reads Chester Himes' thriller.
Abridged and produced by Chris Wallis.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Autolycus Productions.
THU 06:30 King-Size Papas and Mighty Tight Women (b007yn7d)
4 Extra Debut. Julian Clary, best known for his own brand of sexual humour, celebrates the clever use of double entendre in 1920s and 30s blues songs.
THU 07:00 Potting On (b00l3pxx)
Wedding
Invited to a big wedding, Pam wants to buy a big hat to wear and a big present for the bride and groom.
But Gordon’s got a severe pain in his wallet...
Sitcom about a couple at odds over running a garden centre and growing older.
Starring Pam Ayres as Pam and Geoffrey Whitehead as Gordon.
Written by Chris Thompson and Peter Reynolds with Pam Ayres.
With Trevor Bannister, Karl Theobald, Alex Tregear and Jemma Churchill.
Sitcom by Chris Thompson and Peter Reynolds.
Producer Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2008.
THU 07:30 Ed Reardon's Week (b03j9h7c)
Series 9
The Berkhamstead Job
Ed Reardon leads us through the ups and down of his week, complete with his trusty companion, Elgar, and his never-ending capacity for scrimping and scraping at whatever scraps his agent, Ping, can offer him to keep body, mind and cat together.
When Ed's flat burns down his old nemesis, Jaz Milvain, rides to the rescue. As a "National Treasure" lots of people want to work with Jaz (or so he says) and he's got some serious investors who want him to make a movie - an action-adventure with a quirky sci-fi twist. Ed is not keen until Alex offers him a rather nice hotel to work from. So it is that Ed starts writing 'Doctor Bond', or is it 'Harry Hobbit'.....
Written by Andrew Nickolds and Christopher Douglas
Produced by Dawn Ellis.
THU 08:00 Brothers in Law (b007k38w)
Series 1
Special Examiner
Barrister Roger Thursby is sent to Rome to check on a case.
Starring Richard Briers as Roger Thursby, Richard Waring as Henry Blagrove and Ann Davies as Sally Mannering.
With guest stars Fenella Fielding as Nina Zoffany and Terence Alexander as Chapfield.
Adapted for radio by Richard Waring from the BBC TV scripts.
Restored from BBC Transcription Service tapes - originally edited for sale abroad.
Published in 1955, Henry Cecil's comic legal novel Brothers in Law was adapted first for TV in 1962 by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. It provided the first regular starring role for Richard Briers, who later reprised his role of the idealistic young lawyer Roger Thursby for BBC Radio between 1970 and 1972.
Producer: David Hatch.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1970.
THU 08:30 Not in Front of the Children (b05qdylk)
Series 1
Echo of the Past
Jen gets jealous when she sees Henry talking to an old girlfriend.
The comedy mishaps of the Corner family: Jennifer and Henry and their three children Trudi, Amanda and Robin. Family sitcom, Not in Front of the Children originally ran for four series from 1967 to 1970 on BBC TV. Richard Waring adapted his own scripts for this radio version, now fully restored from the original reel-to-reel tapes.
CAST:
Jennifer …. Wendy Craig
Henry …. Francis Matthews
Mary …. Charlotte Mitchell
Trudi …. Roberta Tovey
Robin …. Hugo Keith-Johnston
Amanda …. Jill Riddick
Bettina Marlowe …. Helen Lindsay
Secretary …. Anna Dawson
Music by Ronnie Hazlehurst
Producer: Trafford Whitelock
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1969.
THU 09:00 Who Goes There? (b0075yw8)
Series 4
Episode 2
Martin Young chairs the quiz which looks at the noteworthy and the notorious from history.
Tackling the biographical teasers are team captains Francis Wheen and Fred Housego with guests Gyles Brandreth and Sheridan Morley.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2000.
THU 09:30 The Sit Crom (b00m5qlg)
A Draught of Malmesy
The household is in need of a steward, The captain undertakes a search and Lady Anne is desperate for a drink.
Sue Limb's six-part comedy set during the English Civil War.
Sir John Firebasket ...... Joss Ackland
Lady Anne Firebasket ...... Denise Coffey
Tobias Thynne ...... Clive Merrison
Mercy, alias Melissa ...... Miriam Margoyles
Father Francis ...... Nickolas Grace
Slow Ned ...... Chris Emmett
Gazebo Fogg ...... Jack Klaff
Captain Arise Higgs ...... Alun Armstrong
Counter Tenor ...... Peter Hayward
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1990.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b01h2kvn)
F Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
Episode 1
F Scott Fitzgerald's seminal novel, a portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, is perhaps the greatest book on the fallibility of the American dream.
Nick Carraway arrives in Long Island and is reacquainted with his distant cousin, Daisy Buchanan. He falls in with her wealthy crowd. His neighbour, the self-made and self-invented millionaire, Gatsby, is the man who has everything - but one thing will always be out of his reach.
Dramatised in two-parts by Robert Forrest.
Nick ..... Bryan Dick
Gatsby ..... Andrew Scott
Tom ..... Andrew Buchan
Daisy ..... Pippa Bennett-Warner
Jordan ..... Melody Grove
Wolfsheim ..... Karl Johnson
Klipspringer ..... Sam Dale
Wilson ..... Gerard McDermott
Myrtle ..... Susie Riddell
Catherine ..... Tracy Wiles
Chester ..... Patrick Brennan
Lucille ..... Christine Absalom
Alice ..... Amaka Okafor
Director: Gaynor Macfarlane.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2012.
THU 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b00z5hrb)
Good Show Clarissa
Jemima Gets Them Guessing
Martin Jarvis directs Lisa Dillon's humorous performance as the entire Fourth Form of Cliff House School in 'Jemima Gets Them Guessing'.
Written by Hilda Richards in 1939, eccentric, monocled Jemima Carstairs (a sort of female fourteen year-old Bertie Wooster with brains) is presented with a problem. One of their class-mates, Frances Frost - the icicle of the Fourth - threatens to blackmail decent Clara Trevlyn for visiting the Palais de Danse, thereby jeopardising Clara's position as Captain of Games.
But Clara may have had a perfectly proper motive for breaking bounds. To save her chum, Jemima concocts a plan involving a beach-side confrontation and a mysterious boat-trip. Can Jemima rescue Clara's reputation and prevent her from disgrace?
Producer: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 11:15 Julia Blackburn - The Need for Nonsense (b01hn1q4)
The sad, contradictory tale of Edward Lear, famed Victorian artist and scribe of gleefully silly verse. Stars Andrew Sachs.
THU 12:00 Brothers in Law (b007k38w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Not in Front of the Children (b05qdylk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcxq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 13:30 King-Size Papas and Mighty Tight Women (b007yn7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tzlrm)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 9
The police have finally acknowledged that Bea's sister Tessa was murdered, and didn't commit suicide whilst in the grip of post-natal psychosis. Bea is convinced that the key to her death lies with the Cystic Fibrosis gene therapy trial she had taken part in, and has been given hope by William, a doctor from the hospital where Tess had her baby, who has not only become a partner in the hunt for the truth, but has made his attraction to Bea quite clear. As she closes in on the killer, there's a dreadful shock in store for Bea.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and read by Hattie Morahan.
Produced by Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
THU 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00shgb5)
The Brotherhood of Ruralists, part 2
How John Seymour's 1976 Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency proved a huge hit with disaffected city dwellers keen on a rural life.
THU 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qmd)
The Turkish Bath
Diagnosed with a tumour behind her eye, Maureen plans to meet her old football-playing pal Maud. Stars Val McLane.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b00tkyx5)
Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl
Episode 4
"Roald Dahl thought biographies were boring. He told me so while munching on a lobster claw."
The new biographer of Dahl is Donald Sturrock, who once made a film about the writer, so knew the man and his family very well. His book charts Dahl's rich and varied life as fighter pilot, intelligence operative, and the adult writer who then wrote for children in such an impactful way that he remains hugely popular with today's young readers. He was truly on their wavelength. He spoke to them through books such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The BFG and Danny, Champion of The World.
Sturrock investigates Dahl's eternal popularity as a writer. And of course the man behind the books...
4. Aged fifty six, it's suddenly all change for Dahl, and then there is his manifesto for entertaining children.
Reader Julian Rhind Tutt and the voice of Dahl is Ian McDiarmid.
Producer Duncan Minshull.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b01h2kvn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Who Goes There? (b0075yw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
THU 16:30 The Sit Crom (b00m5qlg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Anything Legal (b0085hnm)
Episode 4
George and Charles tackle a horrid child and a bizarre giant in their new business offering anything legal...
Starring Donald Hewlett and Michael Knowles.
A Tale of Two City Gents by Wally K Daly
Charles .... Donald Hewlett
George .... Michael Knowles
Isabel .... Madeline Smith
Little Willy .... Stephen Grief
Simon .... Elizabeth Proud
Miss Folliate .... Frances Jeater
Theme music by Jim Parker
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1984.
THU 17:30 Potting On (b00l3pxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
THU 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015f7b6)
Episode 4
Robert Olmstead must spend a night in Innsmouth, but the town locals ensure he doesn't get much sleep. Read by Richard Coyle.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b0076j3v)
Series 4
Mary Kingsley
Journalist Ann Leslie chooses the pioneering writer and explorer Mary Kingsley. With Humphrey Carpenter. From December 2003.
THU 19:00 Brothers in Law (b007k38w)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Not in Front of the Children (b05qdylk)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcxq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
THU 20:30 King-Size Papas and Mighty Tight Women (b007yn7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b00z5hrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Julia Blackburn - The Need for Nonsense (b01hn1q4)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Ed Reardon's Week (b03j9h7c)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
THU 22:30 My Teenage Diary (b01kbhkd)
Series 4
Caitlin Moran
My Teenage Diary returns with six brave celebrities ready to revisit their formative years by opening up their intimate teenage diaries, and reading them out in public for the very first time.
Comedian Rufus Hound is joined by writer Caitlin Moran, who relives her teenage years when she was home-schooled in Wolverhampton, shared a small house with her seven brothers and sisters, and had a novel published at only 15.
Producer: Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b017ckf5)
Series 1
September 18th to 24th
Damien 's routine is thrown into disarray when Anthony's goddaughter, Libby, is sent to stay with them for "respite".
Meanwhile, Anthony finally has his long-awaited job interview and Damien is offered the chance to front his own TV cookery show.
More entries from the kitchen diary of cookery writer, Damien Trench - "no matter how grizzly" as he puts it "or, indeed, how gristly".
Written by and starring Miles Jupp.
The programme also features Damien's easy-to-follow recipes for:
- cracking crepes Suzette
- Spanish-as-sangria, "chorizo und patatas"
and
- a tastebud tantalising, Beef Oxford.
Damien Trench ...... Miles Jupp
Anthony ...... Justin Edwards
Damien's Mother ...... Selina Cadell
Mr Mullaney ...... Brendan Dempsey
Ian Frobisher ...... Philip Fox
Libby/Angie ...... Maggie Service
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
THU 23:30 Hut 33 (b00w2c91)
Series 2
Yellow
The code-breaking staff are ordered to be vaccinated against yellow fever, but Charles refuses to be injected by an Australian.
Archie is scared of needles and Gordon needs a note from his mum.
James Cary's sitcom set at Bletchley Park - the top-secret home of the Second World War codebreakers.
Charles …. Robert Bathurst
Archie …. Tom Goodman-Hill
Minka …. Olivia Colman
Mrs Best …. Lill Roughley
Gordon …. Fergus Craig
Joshua … Alex McQueen
With Ben Crowe and Brendon Burns.
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2008.
FRIDAY 17 APRIL 2015
FRI 00:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015f7b6)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b0076j3v)
[Repeat of broadcast at
18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcxq1)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 King-Size Papas and Mighty Tight Women (b007yn7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tzlrm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00shgb5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qmd)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b00tkyx5)
[Repeat of broadcast at
14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b01h2kvn)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Who Goes There? (b0075yw8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 The Sit Crom (b00m5qlg)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Anything Legal (b0085hnm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
17:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Potting On (b00l3pxx)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcz6p)
Episode 4
New York, 1965: detectives Digger and Ed have taken the biggest gamble of their careers and smuggled Iris out of jail hoping she'll lead them to Deke and the money. So why is she going to church?
Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson are the most notorious Detectives in the Harlem precinct. Their methods are unorthodox, and some people think they're trigger happy, but ask any law-abiding citizen of Harlem and they'll sing their praises. When the Reverend Deke O'Malleys Back to Africa movement collected $87,000 from poor black families - only to have it stolen from under their noses - Jones and Johnson are determined to get it back.
Hugh Quarshie reads Chester Himes' thriller.
Abridged and produced by Chris Wallis.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Autolycus Productions.
FRI 06:30 Beardyman and the Mimics (b00d61q9)
Champion beatboxer Beardyman, aka Darren Foreman, is a master of vocal artistry. He can make all manner of noises, including entire percussive music tracks, using only his mouth, throat and tongue.
Inspired by the lyrebird, he ventures on a personal journey to unveil the secrets of animal vocal mimicry. He encounters ornithologist and musician Bill Oddie, birdsong scientific experts and a whole new world of sounds.
FRI 07:00 Rent (b00752lq)
Series 3
Episode 4
Maria turns agony aunt, but is Paul finally turning all grown-up and responsible?
Series 3 of Lucy Flannery's award-winning sitcom about Maria and Richard Reynolds and their lodgers.
CAST:
Maria …. Barbara Flynn
Richard …. Patrick Barlow
Amy …. Linda Polan
Ruby …. Vivienne Rochester
Paul …. Dave Lamb
The Mother …. Sally Grace
The Checkout Girl …. Sarah Parkinson
Producer: Liz Anstee.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1997.
FRI 07:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b01nbrjc)
Series 2
Episode 6
John Finnemore, the writer and star of Cabin Pressure, regular guest on The Now Show and popper-upper in things like Miranda and Family Guy, presents the last in this second series of his hit sketch show.
The first series was described as "sparklingly clever" by The Daily Telegraph and "one of the most consistently funny sketch shows for quite some time" by The Guardian. It featured Winnie the Pooh coming to terms with his abusive relationship with honey, how The Archers sounds to people who don't listen to the Archers and how Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde decided whose turn it was to do the washing up.
This week's show starts by going to the dogs and ends with what is surely the oldest hymn in the world.
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is written by and stars John Finnemore. It also features Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan. The original music is by Susannah Pearse. It is produced by Ed Morrish.
FRI 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jm2y)
Series 3
The Conjurer
The lad takes up conjuring and is booked for Dartmoor Prison - unaware of Sid's plan.
Starring Tony Hancock.
With Bill Kerr, Sidney James, Andree Melly and Kenneth Williams.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1956.
FRI 08:30 Play It Cool (b05qdylm)
Episode 3
Women's magazines and ballroom dancing inspire comedy characters galore in fast-moving sketches.
Starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Sims and Hugh Paddick.
Films like Private's Progress and I'm All Right Jack helped make Ian Carmichael a major star of both British stage and screen. Play it Cool was his first radio comedy series promising a variety of potty and pompous situations.
Written by Eric Merriman - best known for his work on numerous series of Beyond Our Ken.
With music from Rosemary Squires, The Mike Sammes Singers and The Ken Thorne Orchestra
Produced by John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1964.
FRI 09:00 All the Way from Memphis (b00j6bh8)
Series 1
Episode 3
James Walton's pop music quiz with Andrew Collins, Tracey MacLeod, Richard Curtis and Anthony Wilson. From December 2004.
FRI 09:30 Richard Barton: General Practitioner! (b007582j)
Episode 4
Richard's flu is not getting any better. Old Dr Willoughby is called in, and it seems his fondness for whisky hasn't abated in retirement. A herbal remedy made from tree bark that Sally finds in a perfectly reputable health food shop has dramatic if unexpected results - the kind of results that require an immediate antidote. Can his father Dick Barton find the antidote in time?
Joss Ackland guest stars as Dr Willoughby
Richard Barton ...... Robert Bathurst
Old Dick Barton ...... Moray Watson
Jock ...... Iain Cuthbertson
Young Dick Barton ...... Julian Dutton
Sally Phillips ...... Matilda Ziegler
In 1946, Edward J Mason wrote the first episode of Dick Barton - Special Agent. The BBC Light Programme's hugely popular serial followed the adventures of the ex-Commando and his mates Jock Anderson and Snowy White. Despite facing a series of never-ending cliff-hangers at the hands of dastardly villains, our hero always triumphed. "With one bound Dick was free!".
Half a century later, Edward J's son Lol created Richard Barton, son of Dick, in an affectionate homage to one of BBC Radio's most enduring heroes.
Producer: Jo Clegg
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1998.
FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b01hdyq0)
F Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
Episode 2
Nick has fallen in with the wealthy crowd on Long Island. His neighbour, Gatsby, asks Nick to engineer a meeting with his lost love, Nick's cousin, Daisy.
Conclusion of F Scott Fitzgerald's seminal novel, a portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, is perhaps the greatest book on the fallibility of the American dream. Dramatised by Robert Forrest.
Nick ..... Bryan Dick
Gatsby ..... Andrew Scott
Tom ..... Andrew Buchan
Daisy ..... Pippa Bennett-Warner
Jordan ..... Melody Grove
Wolfsheim ..... Karl Johnson
Klipspringer/Michaelis ..... Sam Dale
Wilson/Gatz ..... Gerard McDermott
Myrtle ..... Susie Riddell
Alice ..... Amaka Okafor
Director: Gaynor Macfarlane
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2012.
FRI 11:00 Afternoon Reading (b00z5zxz)
Good Show Clarissa
The Cheat
Martin Jarvis directs Joanna Lumley's performance of this intriguing 'moral' tale from the prolific pen of Enid Blyton.
Written in 1947 Susan, less fortunate than most of the other girls - and certainly not from their well-heeled backgrounds - must win the scholarship in order to continue her education. Then an opportunity occurs for her to cheat in the exam. Joanna Lumley tells this surprisingly serious story with great humanity and compassion.
The story takes the form of both a thriller and a psychological account of an inner turmoil. Blyton and Lumley, in an ideal partnership, make us feel what it must be like, in this situation, to carry such a potentially heavy burden of guilt. And of course we are keen to know whether there might be a way out for Susan. Can she escape expulsion? Could she possibly avoid the stigma of being a cheat?
Producer: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 11:15 Tommies (b03thbp3)
7 October 1914
by Michael Chaplin.
Series created by Jonathan Ruffle.
Meticulously based on unit war diaries and eye-witness accounts, each episode of TOMMIES traces one real day at war, exactly 100 years ago.
And through it all, we'll follow the fortunes of Mickey Bliss and his fellow signallers, from the Lahore Division of the British Indian Army. They are the cogs in an immense machine, one which connects situations across the whole theatre of the war, over four long years.
Indira Varma, Lee Ross and Alex Wyndham star in this story, based on events in the valley of the Aisne, on October 7th, 1914. The German advance is just being held 60 miles north-east of Paris, on the day Mickey Bliss arrives at war.
Producers: David Hunter, Jonquil Panting, Jonathan Ruffle
Director: David Hunter.
FRI 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jm2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Play It Cool (b05qdylm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcz6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Beardyman and the Mimics (b00d61q9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b00tzp7h)
Rosamund Lupton - Sister
Episode 10
Beatrice now knows who killed her sister, and why, but has the knowledge come too late? The murderer has her at his mercy and it's clear he's planning to kill again. There's a final shocking twist to this dark and gripping psychological thriller about the bond between two sisters.
Abridged by Lauris Morgan-Griffiths and read by hattie Morahan.
Produced by Sara Davies and Christine Hall.
FRI 14:15 Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's Escape to the Country (b00skxgk)
Villadom in the Cotswolds
How the idea of escaping to the countryside, seen as a modern symbol of city dweller angst, is as old as the Romans.
FRI 14:30 Julia Darling - Appointments (b0076qmw)
Carla's Facial
Maureen does not let her tumour diagnosis stop her from going for a facial appointment with her daughter. Stars Val McClane.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b00tkyx7)
Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl
Episode 5
"Roald Dahl thought biographies were boring. He told me so while munching on a lobster claw."
The new biographer of Dahl is Donald Sturrock, who once made a film about the writer, so knew the man and his family very well. His book charts Dahl's rich and varied life as fighter pilot, intelligence operative, and the adult writer who then wrote for children in such an impactful way that he remains hugely popular with today's young readers. He was truly on their wavelength. He spoke to them through books such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, The BFG and Danny, Champion of The World.
Sturrock investigates Dahl's eternal popularity as a writer. And of course the man behind the books...
5. Even close to death Dahl was in mischievous mood, and his appeal to children will never fade.
Reader Julian Rhind Tutt and the voice of Dahl is Ian McDiarmid.
Producer Duncan Minshull.
FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b01hdyq0)
[Repeat of broadcast at
10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 All the Way from Memphis (b00j6bh8)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Richard Barton: General Practitioner! (b007582j)
[Repeat of broadcast at
09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Rent (b00752lq)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b01nbrjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 HP Lovecraft - The Shadow Over Innsmouth (b015fv26)
Episode 5
Robert Olmstead flees Innsmouth, only to discover years later a shocking secret linking him to the town. Read by Richard Coyle.
FRI 18:30 My Life in Five Songs (b00rv6zn)
Series 2
Pat Kane
Hue and Cry's Pat Kane talks to Phil Cunningham about his life as a writer and musician and chooses his five milestone tracks.
Producer: Mike Walker
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in April 2010.
FRI 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jm2y)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Play It Cool (b05qdylm)
[Repeat of broadcast at
08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Chester Himes - Cotton Comes to Harlem (b01pcz6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Beardyman and the Mimics (b00d61q9)
[Repeat of broadcast at
06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Afternoon Reading (b00z5zxz)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Tommies (b03thbp3)
[Repeat of broadcast at
11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme (b01nbrjc)
[Repeat of broadcast at
07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Sarah Millican's Support Group (b011d6rf)
Series 2
4. 'It's me or the dog'
"It's me or the dog!"
"My phobias are out of control but I'm too scared to even admit it"
Sarah Millican is a life counsellor and modern-day agony aunt tackling the nation's problems head on, dishing out real advice for real people.
Assisted by her very own team of experts of the heart - man of the people local cabbie Terry, and self qualified counsellor Marion,
Sarah tackles the nation's problems head on and has a solution for everything.
Sarah ...... Sarah Millican
Marion ...... Ruth Bratt
Terry ...... Simon Daye
Laura ...... Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Barry ...... Harry Peacock
John ...... Tim Key
Written by Sarah Millican.
Producer: Lianne Coop
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011
FRI 23:00 The Consultants (b007k3fh)
Series 3
Episode 4
The boys of St Battery's get their own back on the school bully. Sketches and songs with Justin Edwards. From January 2005.
FRI 23:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b01dtxh3)
Series 1
About Angry Grandmas
Nathan's family plan a surprise birthday party for Grandma.
But, it's not the only surprise when the police come looking for Nathan...
This is the story of young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who becomes the first in his family to graduate from University - only to opt for a career in comedy - much to his family's annoyance who want him to get a 'proper job' using his architecture degree.
Each episode shows the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his family as he pursues his career against their wishes.
A mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.
Written by: Nathan Caton. Additional material by: Ola and Maff Brown.
Nathan ..... Nathan Caton
Grandma ..... Mona Hammond
Mum ..... Adjoa Andoh
Dad ..... Curtis Walker
PC Scott ..... Don Gilet
Supermarket Checkout Girl..... Alex Tregear
Script Editor: James Kettle
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.
FRI 23:45 Tina C (b01by7d5)
Tina C's Global Depression Tour
United Kingdom
Country legend Tina C challenges the Secretary for the US Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the former CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Where they have failed, she can come up with a solution to the Global Recession.
So Tina set off on a six country tour to prove it - and her final stop sees her camping in London outside St Pauls.
Tina C...Christopher Green
With:
Paul Mason
Victoria Inez Hard
James Lailey
Musical arrangements by Duncan Walsh Atkins and Christopher Green
Director: Jeremy Mortimer.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2012.