SATURDAY 27 AUGUST 2016

SAT 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jpv4)
The Red Planet, Episode 5
With communications to Earth lost, Jet Morgan's courage is tested during a meteor swarm. Stars Andrew Faulds. Classic 1954 sci-fi set in 1971.
SAT 00:30 John Hersey - Hiroshima (b07pzj7p)
Panic Grass and Feverfew
From 12th August 1945 to the first anniversary. Recollections of six survivors of the devastating atomic bomb drop. From October 1948.
SAT 01:00 Poirot (b007jm4n)
Evil Under the Sun, Episode 5
Determined to pinpoint the American starlet's killer, Hercule Poirot invites all his suspects to a picnic. Stars John Moffat.
SAT 01:30 Going on the Gallopers (b011c222)
A portrait of the life, popular art and remarkable engineering of Carters Steam Fair. John Carter was interested in old machinery and fairground art. People began giving him gear and rides, or selling them to him when they retired, knowing he would keep them working.
His obsession encompassed his family and now, a decade after his death, Carters Steam Fair, staffed by John's widow, his sons and many old friends, travels for 7 months of the year, and spends winter in the yard fettling, burnishing and painting.
There are gallopers (no, not carousels) of extraordinary glamour and beauty, dizzying steam yachts and the amazing Chair -o - Planes. The family and workers live in exquisite 1940s art deco showmen's wagons, with cut-glass clerestories.
Their set-up is different everywhere they go because they regard all this as art and architecture - that moves. Even their lorries are ancient and beautiful - This programme, recorded in their winter yard and on site while they work, captures the wild, bright, musical, oily beauty, and thoughtful philosophy, of the life of the steam fair.
Producer: Julian May.
SAT 02:00 Marina Lewycka - A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian (b012hbxt)
Episode 10
Reconciliation and a new arrival as Nikolai prepares for the next phase of a long and chequered life. Concluded by Sian Thomas.
SAT 02:15 Sport and the British (b01cks4m)
Beating Us at Our Own Game
Clare Balding takes a look at Britain's most successful export ever - football. Yet in giving it to others, the British lost control of the game they had created and crafted. Clare, with the help of Prof Tony Mason of The International Centre for Sport History and Culture at De Montfort University, looks at our troubled relationship with the sport's governing body FIFA and asks if a British team will ever again come close to winning the World Cup.
Readers: Sean Baker and Nyasha Hatendi
Technical Presentation: John Benton
Producer: Garth Brameld.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b018fmsx)
AS Byatt - Possession, Episode 5
Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.
This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.
Roland and Maud have opened a Pandora's Box and the chase is on to find the evidence that will back up their theory and unravel the mystery.
Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin
Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b015zsc1)
Carmen Aguirre - Something Fierce, Episode 5
Mia Soteriou reads Carmen Aguirre's coming-of-age memoir of life as a revolutionary in Latin America.
Born a week after the death of Che Guevara, Carmen Aguirre was always destined to become a revolutionary. After Pinochet's coup in Chile in 1973, her family is forced to flee to Canada, but a few years later return to join the underground movement against Pinochet. And so Carmen's double life begins. Posing as a westernised teenager by day, at night she is drilled in surveillance techniques, cryptography and subterfuge, until she finally takes the resistance oath herself.
Today: secret police, paranoia and mistrust, as the resistance begins to falter...
Author: Carmen Aguirre.
Reader: Mia Soteriou.
Abridger: Richard Hamilton
Producer: Justine Willett.
SAT 03:00 Howard Spring - Fame Is the Spur (b0125kcb)
Perish By the Sword
Labour has a brief taste of power, and fortunes are made and lost as Hamer Shawcross concludes his memoirs. Stars Ian McKellen.
SAT 04:00 The 3rd Degree (b01rvnx3)
Series 3, University of Leicester
A lively and funny quiz show, hosted by Steve Punt, where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.
Coming this week from the University of Leicester, the specialist subjects are Medicine, Sociology and, quite literally, Rocket Science (well, Astrophysics and Space Physics), with questions ranging from tummy rumbling to black holes via cheese, snooker and T.S. Eliot.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds, and the 'Highbrow and Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction.
The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list.
The host Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show, is also someone who delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. He has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, on subjects as varied as "The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen" and "Getting The Gongs" (an investigation into awards ceremonies), as well as a comedy for Radio 4's Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called "The Genuine Particle".
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 04:30 Kathmandu or Bust (b01pkmq0)
The Truck Stops Here
The travellers have reached... um, well, actually they're lost in the middle of Uzbekistan. Stars David Haig. From July 1996.
SAT 05:00 Dave Sheasby - One Flat Summer (b007529g)
The 2,000 Guineas
Excited by a good win at Newmarket and a promising partnership, redundant Ken is drawn deeper into the serious world of gambling. Stars Gerard McDermott. From August 1997.
SAT 05:30 Fred MacAulay's Wet Hot Political Summer (b07pn82g)
Fred MacAulay looks at the momentous summer of 2016, a tumultuous period which saw (in no particular order) Brexit, the resignations of David Cameron, Roy Hodgson and Chris Evans, the non-resignation of Jeremy Corbyn, A new female PM, Labour leadership challenges, Nicola Sturgeon and the possibility of another Scottish referendum and Olympic glory!
Recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Fred is joined by Rory Bremner, Andy Zaltzman, Ahir Shah and Gráinne Maguire, with stand up from Shappi Korshandi and Jonathan Pie.
"Wet Hot Political Summer" addresses the tumult of the summer of 2016, and begin to make sense of the new political landscape.
Host: Fred MacAulay
Panelists:
Rory Bremner
Andy Zaltzman
Ahir Shah
Gráinne Maguire
Stand Up:
Shappi Korshandi
Jonathan Pie
Host's Script by Gareth Gwynn, Jack Bernhardt, Liam Bierne and Max Davis.
Producer: Adnan Ahmed
A BBC Studios Production.
SAT 06:00 Saturday Drama (b00ym6ct)
Classic Chandler, Classic Chandler - Farewell My Lovely
By Raymond Chandler
Dramatised by Robin Brooks
When Philip Marlowe sees a huge, loudly dressed man casually throwing a bouncer out onto the pavement as he goes into a bar, he knows it's time to walk away, so he follows him inside. The big guy is Moose Molloy, recently released from an eight year prison sentence and now on the hunt for his old sweetheart, a red-haired nightclub singer named Velma Valento.
Marlowe follows a trail which includes a stick-up, blackmail, an irresistible blonde, a psychic, drugs and murder, and it leads him all the way to the top of a corrupt state of California.
Farewell My Lovely was the second of Chandler's novels featuring Marlowe. It was adapted for the big screen three times.
Directed by Mary Peate
Adapted by Robin Brooks
Robin Brooks (dramatist) has recently dramatised I Claudius in 5 episodes for BBC Radio 4. Other Classic Serials include: Boswell's Life of Johnson, My Cousin Rachel and The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West.
SAT 07:30 Electric Ride (b00syqmq)
Episode 4
Peter Curran drives a battery car 4,500 miles round Europe on a pioneering journey. He talks to manufacturers about their progress with the production of electric cars.
En route he struggles to find enough power points to charge his battery.
Scandinavia, Germany, Austria, France, Spain and Europe - on his last leg he manages to arrive back in the UK to join the Brighton to London Eco-rally.
Produced by Dilly Barlow and Kevin Dawson
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b01nsyxq)
Who's Reithian Now?
As the BBC approaches its 90th birthday, arch scrutiniser and listeners' champion Roger Bolton examines the genesis of Reithian values and finds out how well Lord Reith - the first Director General of the BBC - lived up to his own exacting standards.
Memos and diary entries reveal Reith's spotless fingerprint on daily transmissions. "Hot jazz" was a "filthy product of modernity" and announcers should be "indirect and impersonal".
In conversation with Malcolm Muggeridge, Reith recalls how he stopped the BBC being taken over by the Government during the General Strike - a stand-off which caused a life-long rift with Churchill.
Former BBC Director General Greg Dyke says Reith set a precedent in establishing the Corporation's relationship with the Government and he talks about his own political conflicts. Ex-BBC radio controller and Reith biographer Ian McIntyre points out how Reith's public disdain for divorce and immorality contrasted with his own confused lovelife. Reith's daughter Marista Leishman - who wrote a frank biography of him - tells Bolton that her father's affairs were just his way of making himself the centre of attention.
Former Daily Telegraph editor Max Hastings says the role of the director general has strayed too far from its editorial origins. And BBC historian Jean Seaton assesses the impact and relevance of Reithian values in the 21st century.
Producer: Karen Pirie
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 09:00 Miriam Margolyes' Adventures in Radio (b07qcf7j)
Much-loved actress Miriam Margolyes looks back over her radio lives, choosing some of her favourite performances from the BBC Radio Archive.
Despite winning awards (BAFTA), Miriam is on the record as saying she has many regrets in her stage career, but when it comes to her radio back catalogue, she is immensely proud. Since she joined the BBC Radio Drama Repertory Company in the 1965, radio has been a true love.
Miriam's choices include:
* Sentimental Journey (Radio 4 1999) where she made an emotional trip to Belarus, with Arthur Smith to find out more about her family history;
* After Albert (Radio 4 1996) where she plays a feisty Queen Victoria, with surprising desires, after the death of Prince Albert;
* The Queen and I (Radio 4, 1992) in a Sony Radio Academy Best Actress winning performance, Miriam brings to life Sue Townsend's (Adrian Mole) comic tale about the House of Windsor, whose members are rather down on their luck;
* The Child (1979, Radio 4) where she stars in Olwen Wymark's sensitive story about a mother caring for her daughter who has profound mental health issues;
* Dickens' Women (Radio 4, 1991) Miriam chooses a favourite character, Miss Havisham, from her celebrated one-woman show stage show, recorded for Radio 4;
* The Picnic (Radio 3, 1985) Miriam stars with Timothy West in Anthony Horowitz's powerful story based on a real event in the Soviet Union in 1981;
* Singular Women, (Radio 4, 1997) Miriam becomes Stella, the manageress of a chocolate shop, demonstrating the power of the radio monologue to create a magical link of imaginations between an actor, a character and the listener.
Produced for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Peter McHugh.
SAT 12:00 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b007qv81)
Series 3, From 04/12/1977
The legendary duo taste wine, pay tribute to marriage guidance and head to the garden. With Anita Harris. From December 1977.
SAT 12:30 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b007jprd)
Kenneth Williams and Ted Ray cross their comedy swords. Characters, songs and sketches with Miriam Margolyes. From April 1974.
SAT 13:00 Gregory Evans - Blood and Milk (b07qdv15)
Episode 1
1890s: Megan Evans visits her brother at the family's dairy business, but he is strangely unwelcoming. Stars Bettrys Jones.
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 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b0418yx2)
Les Dawson
Comedian Les Dawson's earnest and open interview with Dr Anthony Clare recorded the week before his death in 1993.
In published transcripts of the interview, Clare says he felt privileged to have been given the interview and described Les as being "in good humour and talked, joked, clowned and recalled memories of his life with an energy and gusto that was infectious." At the time of its first broadcast, it formed part of the BBC's tribute to, as Clare put it, "a funny, generous, wise and happy man".
Born in Dublin, author Anthony held a doctorate in medicine, a master's degree in philosophy and was a fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. After becoming a regular on BBC Radio 4's Stop the Week in the 1980s, he became Britain's best-known psychiatrist and earned his own vehicle, In the Psychiatrist's Chair. Starting in 1982, this series ran until 2001 and also transferred to TV. Series highlights include conversations with Bob Monkhouse, Cecil Parkinson and Gerry Adams.
Anthony Clare died suddenly in Paris aged 64 in 2007.
Produced for BBC Radio 4 by Michael Ember Associates. From September 1993.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b01nsyxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Saturday Drama (b00ym6ct)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Electric Ride (b00syqmq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 The Scarifyers (b007wv3h)
The Thirteen Hallows, The Thirteen Hallows
Professor Dunning and his knightly friend Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr are captured and taken to King Arthur's final resting place: Barry Island, in Wales. With shadowy forces both home and abroad ranged against them, can Harry Crow and the mysterious Mr Merriman save them?
The Scarifyers follows the exploits of 1930s ghost-story writer Professor Dunning and retired policeman Harry Crow, who together investigate weird mysteries under the auspices of top-secret government department MI:13.
Stars David Warner as Harry Crow, Terry Molloy as Professor Dunning, Gareth David-Lloyd as Glewlwyd Gafaelfawr, David Benson as Mr Merriman and Von Ribbentrop, Margaret Cabourn-Smith as Lady Miriam Gore and Ewan Bailey as King Arthur.
Written by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris
Music by Edwin Sykes
A Bafflegab Production.
SAT 18:30 Terry Pratchett (b010v3d7)
Night Watch, Episode 4
Commander Sam Vimes faces the unstoppable tide of history as it rolls towards him, aided by enemy Carcer. Stars Philip Jackson.
SAT 19:00 Miriam Margolyes' Adventures in Radio (b07qcf7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 4 Extra Stands Up (b07qf6b8)
4 Extra Stands Up at the Fringe, Episode 2
Jo Caulfield takes to the stage to introduce some of the best comedians from 2016's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Nowhere else will you find such a melting pot of creativity, as Jo welcomes Tommy Tiernan, Michelle Wolf, Nick Cody, Des Clarke, Christopher MacArthur Boyd, Harriet Dyer, Mark Nelson and Darren Harriot to the stage. A night of comedy not to be missed!
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Dabster Productions.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b07tyhm7)
The Comedy Club offers the best in contemporary comedy. Tonight, Iain Lee chats again to Dana Alexander.
SAT 23:00 The Mary Whitehouse Experience (b045xy47)
Series 4, Episode 6
Charity telethons are mercilessly parodied by Hugh Dennis, Steve Punt, Robert Newman and David Baddiel. From November 1990.
SAT 23:30 2525 (b03q8q1n)
Episode 5
In the year 2525, if man is still alive, if woman can survive... then it may sound something like this. Set 511 years in the future, 2525 invites you to hear more snippets of our future from the last remaining members of the royal family to the 26th Century ebook readers.
Written by Colin Birch, Jon Hunter, Jane Lamacraft, Alex Lowe, Paul Putner, Victoria Gooch, Alastair Goff and Eddie Robson.
Produced by Ashley Blaker
A John Stanley production for BBC Radio 4.


SUNDAY 28 AUGUST 2016

SUN 00:00 The Scarifyers (b007wv3h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:30 Terry Pratchett (b010v3d7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Gregory Evans - Blood and Milk (b07qdv15)
[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 In the Psychiatrist's Chair (b0418yx2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b01nsyxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Saturday Drama (b00ym6ct)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Electric Ride (b00syqmq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Possession - Omnibus (b018j1mc)
Episode 1
Academic research assistant Roland Michell comes across some letters that could change literary history. Stars Jemma Redgrave.
SUN 07:15 A Dark History of British Gardening (b07qfsnr)
Dominance
Writer Jenny Uglow reflects on our garden weaknesses - how gardeners have always sought to dominate nature.
SUN 07:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01rcw7j)
Series 1, Little Green Lights
Katrina Lyons was only visiting Cresdon Green, the village where she grew up, to borrow some money from her parents. But when she tried to head back to London, it turned out alien beings known as the Geonin had lowered a force field around the village and were refusing to let anyone in or out.
Unfortunately almost everyone in the village is too cowardly, apathetic, polite or stupid to stand up to this alien menace, so Katrina has no choice but to start the resistance movement herself. In the cricket pavilion.
EPISODE FOUR: Little Green Lights.
Uljabaan's superior officer Gryvook is coming for an assessment visit. Uljabaan is hoping to get the go-ahead to invade the rest of Earth - but first he has to prepare a welcome banquet. Tradition dictates he should serve a human child... which could create an awkward atmosphere in the village. Meanwhile Richard is helping him with the invasion budget, and the figures just aren't adding up. It seems set to be a disaster - can Katrina exploit this to get the invasion cancelled permanently?
Welcome To Our Village, Please Invade Carefully is written by Eddie Robson (That Mitchell and Webb Sound, Newsjack), and stars Hattie Morahan (Outnumbered, Critic's Circle & Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actress'), Julian Rhind-Tutt (Green Wing, The Hour), Jan Francis (Just Good Friends, Emmerdale), Peter Davison (A Very Peculiar Practice, Dr Who), Hannah Murray (Skins, Game of Thrones), and John-Luke Roberts (Spats, BBC Three Live At The Fringe), with special guest Geoff McGivern (Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy, Dead Boss).
SUN 08:00 We're in Business (b07qfwm0)
The Newspaper Business
Can Dudley and Harry make a go of it in the newspaper business?
Stars Peter Jones as Dudley, Harry Worth as Harry and Beryl Reid as Lady Crabbe. With Dick Emery.
Peter Jones is small-time businessman Dudley Grosvenor, who is always out to make a fast buck - usually at the expense of his side-kick, Harry Worth.
Written by Marty Feldman, Barry Took and Peter Jones.
A selection of surviving episodes from two series broadcast between 1959-1960.
Producer: Charles Maxwell.
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in May 1960.
SUN 08:30 The Jason Explanation of... (b007jpwr)
Money
David Jason's probe of modern life sets out to comprehend cash. With Miriam Margolyes and Royce Mills.
Following in the footsteps of Lord Clark, Dr Bronowski and Professor Galbraith, David Jason unravels the mysteries of the universe and the meaning of life.
Scripted by Colin Bostock Smith, Andy Hamilton and Barry Pilton.
Music by John Owen Edwards
Producer: Geoffrey Perkins
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in September 1977.
SUN 09:00 Wish Lanterns: Omnibus (b07qfyng)
Wish Lanterns tells the stories of six Chinese youngsters, including Dahai who is a military child and a rebel; and also 'Fred' - a daughter of the Party.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05pr3rj)
Cerys Matthews
Singer and DJ Cerys Matthews chooses Snooks Eaglin's 'I'm a Country Boy' and Hozier's 'Take Me to Church'.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07qg3d1)
Olympians, Lord Coe
4 Extra Debut. From Louis Armstrong to Katie Melua. Olympic gold medallist Lord Coe shares his castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From December 2009.
SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b07qg5pr)
Series 3, A Flight Attendant, Refugee and Preacher
True stories told live in the USA: Catherine Burns introduces stories about kindness, survival and making unlikely friends.
The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart-breaking.
The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by the Public Radio Exchange.
SUN 12:00 We're in Business (b07qfwm0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Jason Explanation of... (b007jpwr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Possession - Omnibus (b018j1mc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 A Dark History of British Gardening (b07qfsnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Hilary Mantel - Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (b07qg60h)
Episode 2
In Saudi Arabia, cartographer Frances Shore discovers that the streets are not a woman's territory. Read by Anna Maxwell Martin.
SUN 15:45 Short Stories by John Mortimer (b007jzcv)
The Mysterious Affair
Freddy becomes convinced that his father played a grisly part in his grandfather's disappearance. Read by Bernard Cribbins.
SUN 16:00 Frederic Raphael - The Thought of Lydia (b07qg82d)
"Each man has his destiny. The grander the destiny, the smaller the choice."
An old tale of friendship, love and murder, set in a country in ancient Asia Minor where gold was the most dangerous weapon of all.
Frederic Raphael's drama stars Suzanne Bertish as Lydia, Robert Glenister as Candaules and Michael Kitchen as Gyges.
Producer: Walter Acosta
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4/ BBC World Service in 1998.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b07qgnlp)
Poetry and the Russian Soul
BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with Poetry and the Russian Soul.
A short but epic adventure through the heart and soul of Russia's poetry. Martin Sixsmith explores the 'strange kind of love' - often fatal - that Russia's poets have had for their homeland. And asks can you understand Russia better through its verse?
"and poetry awakens in me" (Vasili Pushkin- Autumn) Poetry is uniquely linked to Russian identity and nationhood. Effectively a creation of the 18th century, it was vital in creating a natural language and form of expression as modern Russia forged a separate identity from the old world of the Slavonic church.
Pushkin was its first hero and remains the archetype of the brilliant but doomed poet whose quest for the essential truth of his nation and people carries with it fatal consequences. Russia, after all, is one of the few countries where writing poetry can amount to a death sentence.
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
SUN 17:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01rcw7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 The Price of Fear (b007jmcf)
Blind Man's Bluff
Horror legend Vincent Price's chilling tale of an eerie passenger who joins him on a train heading west.
Co-starring Freddie Jones and Geoffrey Collins.
Written by William Ingram.
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 1975.
SUN 18:30 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (b007jm1h)
Primary Phase, Fit the Fifth
Arthur and company are blown up, but still find time for a bite at a very exclusive eatery. By Douglas Adams. From April 1978.
Arthur Dent is one of only two survivors from Earth, demolished to make way for a by-pass. He survived thanks to his friend, Ford Prefect (who hails not from Guildford, but somewhere near Betelgeuse), a writer for the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, "the most successful book ever to have come out of the great publishing corporations of Ursa Minor". Now paired with fellow Earth survivor Trillian and duplicitous two-headed hustler Zaphod Beeblebrox, Arthur and Ford were on the legendary planet Magrathea when the Galactic Police attacked them and an explosion occurred - they find themselves in a restaurant with a rather sensational selling point.
The global multi-media success story that is "Hitchhiker's" started life as a Radio 4 series in March 1978. The original scripts by the late Douglas Adams then went on to spawn a series of novels, a feature film, at least three stage shows, a TV series, a computer game, a collection of comic books - and various towels.
Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge and died in 2001 at the age of 49. He suffered a fatal heart attack after working out at his gym in California.
With Peter Jones, Simon Jones, Geoffrey McGivern, Mark Wing-Davey and Stephen Moore. Produced by the late Geoffrey Perkins.
SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b07qg5pr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 Wish Lanterns: Omnibus (b07qfyng)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b05pr3rj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b07qg3d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01rcw7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Warhorses of Letters (b03q59t3)
Series 3, Episode 2
By Robbie Hudson and Marie Phillips
Stephen Fry and Daniel Rigby star as Napoleon's horse Marengo and Wellington's horse Copenhagen, with an introduction by Tamsin Greig, in the world's first epistolary equine love story.
Still cruelly sundered by fate despite the war having ended, Marengo is put rather unwillingly out to stud and discovers the overwhelming and exhausting joys of parenthood, and Copenhagen finds a new way of passing the time - writing racy horse fan fiction, a genre for which he turns out to have a remarkable flair...
Produced by Gareth Edwards.
SUN 22:45 Tina C (b00dw881)
Tina C Goes Down Under: The Aborogynal Monologues, The Gold Coast
Country singer and US presidential hopeful Tina C, the comic creation of Christopher Green, looks at the Australian obsession with country music.
Tina explores Brisbane, where developers have built so many skyscraper hotels that the beach is in shade for most of the day. She sings her version of Waltzing Matilda on a local breakfast TV show and parties at a redneck bar.
SUN 23:00 Think the Unthinkable (b01n2tnx)
Series 4, Barrington General
The wacky management consultants try nursing an ailing hospital back to rude health. Stars Marcus Brigstocke. From October 2005.
SUN 23:30 The Skivers (b007jpsp)
Series 1, Episode 1
Lecturing Leslie Phillips guest stars in Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh's skilful sketch show. With Mel Giedroyc. From March 1994.


MONDAY 29 AUGUST 2016

MON 00:00 The Price of Fear (b007jmcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (b007jm1h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Possession - Omnibus (b018j1mc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 A Dark History of British Gardening (b07qfsnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Hilary Mantel - Eight Months on Ghazzah Street (b07qg60h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Short Stories by John Mortimer (b007jzcv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Frederic Raphael - The Thought of Lydia (b07qg82d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b07qgnlp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b01rcw7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07qrknh)
Episode 1
A tale of two families and a fresh era for the Minsters of Crown House, and the Royal Family of Windsor. A serial in eight episodes by Peter Ling and Juliet Ace.
Starring Jane Asher as Jenny, Gayle Hunnicutt as Gina, Margaret Rawlings as Old Bea, Dinah Sheridan as Alice, Martin Jarvis as Richard, Richard Pasco as William and Dominic Rickhards as Nicholas.
April 21, 1926 is a significant date for both households. While the old Earl of Minster is laid to rest and his son, William assumes the title, the King and Queen await the birth of a royal grandchild.
William's wife, Alice, is lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary, and through her the families are drawn together; but at the heart of the story is the house itself, set in its magical garden, slowly maturing in beauty year by year, as the saga unfolds.
Producer: Graham Gauld
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1988.
MON 06:30 Where England Meets Wales (b00wr9pk)
Episode 1
The Border between England and Wales wiggles its way from the Dee just south of Liverpool to the Severn at Chepstow. It's 160 miles long and Hardeep Singh Kohli journeys down it in two programmes, exploring its turbulent past, and its changing present. Since devolution, it has a new significance, with the Welsh Assembly implementing policies which add interest, and sometimes, confusion, to those living around the Border. But Hardeep also has time to explore its rich heritage, from the massive castles left by the invading Normans and English, to the areas of outstanding beauty from the Brecon Beacons to the Forest of Dean.
In the first programme Hardeep arrives at Flint Castle, the hefty stone marker put down by Edward I when he decided that the Welsh needed to be brought to heel. The Labour peer Lord Barry Jones has lived in the Flint and Deeside area all his life, and talks to Hardeep about the industrial crash in the 80's and the new developments.
A Welsh Assembly priority was to put the Welsh language literally on the map. Its bilingual policy is evident in the road signs, as Hardeep meets a group of Welsh speakers. The Borders have fewer Welsh speakers, but with Welsh a compulsory language up to GCSE, 'Hello' is becoming 'Bored'.
Hardeep also encounters two massive artefacts- first the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, built in the early 19th century, and the much earlier earthwork, the dyke masterminded by King Offa 1200 years ago. The dyke only survives in chunks these days, but, says expert Ian Bapty, 'We all have Offa's Dyke within us!'
In the second programme Hardeep continues southwards meeting Border people, who may relish their history, but find themselves entangled in policies now separating the place 'Where England meets Wales'.
Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 07:00 Gloomsbury (b01mx2sp)
Series 1, The Trials of Attempting an Elopement
A stellar cast of Miriam Margolyes, Alison Steadman, Nigel Planer, Morwenna Banks, Jonathan Coy and John Sessions breathes life into the colourfully chaotic characters of Gloomsbury, a riotous comedy about the Bloomsbury Group.
The six-part series from the pen of Sue Limb is an affectionate send up of the infamous literary group whose arty and adulterous adventures dominated the cultural scene in the early 20th century.
The series follows the fortunes of Vera Sackcloth-Vest (Margolyes) - writer, gardener and transvestite - and her urge to escape from the tranquillity of her rather cramped little castle in Kent which she shares with her doting but ambiguous husband Henry (Coy), who is 'something in the Foreign Office'. Vera's heart is forever surging with exotic passion for Ginny Fox (Steadman), a highly-strung novelist who adores her, or the beautiful but shallow Venus Traduces (Banks).
As the scene shifts from Kent to London, and Cornwall to Monaco, this close-knit coterie is divided by misunderstandings, jealousies and rows.
In episode one, Vera longs to elope to Mediterranean sunshine with one of her bosom chums. But her first choice, Ginny, is stubbornly impervious to adventure and Venus Traduces is fully booked for elopements until next April. Will Vera run off instead with the perky waitress at Lyons' Corner house? Meanwhile, what is Vera's husband Henry up to as telegrams fly between him and Archie Pinkerton-Poker at the Foreign Office?
Produced by Jamie Rix
A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 07:30 Just a Minute (b07pfc38)
Series 76, Episode 3
Nicholas Parsons and guests return for the 76th series of the panel show where participants must try to speak for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition. No repetition? That's no small order after nearly 50 years.
This is a very special episode coming from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and features the following guests: Paul Merton, Janey Godley, Nish Kumar and Marcus Brigstocke.
Hayley Sterling blows the whistle.
Produced by Matt Stronge.
It is a BBC Studios production.
MON 08:00 Parsley Sidings (b007k12w)
Series 2, The New Level Crossing
The station's future looks bleak when head office considers automation.
Starring Arthur Lowe as Horace, Kenneth Connor as Valentine/ Bradshaw, Liz Fraser as Gloria, Ian Lavender as Bert, Bill Pertwee as Mr Ryan and Garrard Green as Sir Henry McVey.
Jim Eldridge's eponymous series is set in a sleepy railway station. The Hepplewhites have run 'Parsley Sidings' station for generations and the current Station Master, Horace, hopes that his son Bert will continue the line. Mild-mannered Ticket Clerk Bert wants to work anywhere but on the railways. His colleague, Station Announcer Gloria Simpkins, secretly loves him. Porter Percy Valentine is an archetypal wheeler-dealer and the ancient Signalman, Bradshaw, causes havoc and dispenses home-made remedies in equal measure. The 'Parsley Sidings' nemesis is Phineas Perkins, the station master of Potwhistle Halt, one stop down the line.
Producer: Edward Taylor.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1973.
MON 08:30 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b01lk58m)
From 04/05/1974
Ted Ray, Kenneth Williams and Miriam Margolyes with quick-fire sketches and a rollicking trip to Rasputin's Russia. From May 1974.
MON 09:00 Foul Play (b00yy8yz)
Series 4, Deadline News
Crime writers Ruth Dudley Edwards and Robert Richardson tackle a model's murder. Chaired by Simon Brett. From September 1998.
MON 09:30 A Whole New Ball Game (b00g3x7g)
Series 2, Retreat
When the Pattersons get a dog, Father Benedict is not impressed. Stars Desmond Barrit and Brenda Blethyn. From November 1994.
MON 10:00 Classic Serial (b00pj463)
Edith Wharton - The Custom of the Country, Episode 1
Dramatisation by Jane Rogers of Edith Wharton's 1913 satire of marriage and money in early 20th-century American society.
When the beautiful Undine Spragg arrives in New York, she sets her sights on Ralph Marvell, but will he live up to her expectations?
Undine Spragg ...... Rebecca Night
Mrs Spragg ...... Barbara Barnes
Mrs Heeny ...... Lorelei King
Abner Spragg/Popple ...... Jonathan Keeble
Peter Van Degan ...... William Houston
Mr Dagonet ...... Paul McCleary
Laura Fairford ...... Provence Maydew
Elmer Moffatt ...... Tom Hollander
Ralph Marvell ...... Dan Stevens
Mabel Lipscombe ...... Tessa Nicholson
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
MON 11:00 Original Shorts (b01d5qty)
Series 5, Under My Skin
Martin Jarvis directs award-winning American star Calista Flockhart in Christine Conrad's devastating new tale of friendship gone awry. Two creative women in New York find they have much in common. But when gregarious, entrepreneurial Julie commandeers her less outgoing friend's new novel and announces it as her own film project, the relationship is inevitably dislocated. Julie is quoted as saying: 'A wonderful treatment has been written and my brilliant team and I are moving forward with great excitement and (Julie's favourite word) passion.'
As far as her erstwhile friend, the actual author of the book, is concerned 'The train had left the station and nobody had bothered to mention it to me!' The gradual realisation that they really aren't 'sisters under the skin', is movingly told. 'Under My Skin' is specially written for Original Shorts by American novelist and screen writer Christine Conrad (Junior, Mademoiselle Benoit, Ties That Bind.) And perceptively performed by Calista Flockhart - star of TV series Ally McBeal and Kitty McCallister in Brothers and Sisters.
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b014641w)
Hugh Hughes - Floating
On April 2nd 1982, the Isle of Anglesey separated from the mainland of Wales and floated off into the North Atlantic. Emerging artist Hugh Hughes and his friend Sioned, recount the story of this extraordinary geological event, and explain its personal significance.
Created and performed by Hugh Hughes and Sioned Rowlands with assistance from Shôn Dale-Jones and Jill Norman.
Produced by James Robinson.
MON 12:00 Parsley Sidings (b007k12w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b01lk58m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07qrknh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Where England Meets Wales (b00wr9pk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07qsljj)
Moving Day
1992: Evicted by a new government, can the Royal family cope with life outside their palaces?
Sue Townsend's novel is read in eight parts by Miriam Margolyes - a performance which won her the award for Best Radio Actress of 1992.
Abridged by Elizabeth Proud
Producer: John Tydeman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
MON 14:15 Sport and the British (b01cvk8l)
Sport for All
Clare Balding asks why and when did the British government get involved in sport. How did sport become part of politics, in a country which had always prided itself on keeping them apart?
The Nazis threw immense resources behind the German team for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, while the British Foreign Office still thought sport should be, ' a private affair between private individuals' free of government interference. However by the 1950's post war politicians began to think that physical recreation and games might be a cure for the general apathy and discontent of British youth as exemplified by the teddy boys, mods and rockers of the era.
Professor Tony Mason of The International Centre for Sport Culture and History at De Montfort University explains the importance of the 1957 Wolfenden Committee's report in broadening access to sporting facilities for all sectors of society.
Technical presentation: John Benton
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
MON 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b018g2z5)
AS Byatt - Possession, Episode 6
Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.
This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.
Roland and Maud retrace the steps of Ash and LaMotte and Professor gets wind of the letters and is eager to get his hands on them for his collection.
Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin
Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b016kkbj)
Jeanette Winterson - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Episode 1
'Why be happy when you could be normal ?' was the parting shot fired at the 16 year old Jeanette as she left the home of her adopted mother, Mrs Winterson. The words echoed through the author's life as she repeatedly sought happiness and love whilst constantly being aware that her early life had included neither.
When she was six weeks old baby Janet became Jeanette and was taken into the home of two Pentecostal Christian parents in the small town of Accrington. The tyranny of her mother's peculiar belief system and her uncompromising rules meant that the young Jeanette grew up being told that the devil had led her parents to the wrong crib. Mrs Winterson banned books from the house but read the Bible aloud every night; she also kept a revolver in the duster drawer and refused to share a bed with her husband. Jeanette was frequently punished for misdemeanours by being locked outside and left to spend the night on the doorstep. Nothing was 'normal' in the household. Jeanette was supposed to grow up and become a missionary in Africa, instead she fell in love with another girl and was subjected to an exorcism.
Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life.
Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.
Today's episode: Jeanette Winterson recalls her early life with her adopted mother Mrs Winterson whose Pentecostal Christian beliefs dominated the household in sometimes peculiar ways.
Read by Jeanette Winterson
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Classic Serial (b00pj463)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Foul Play (b00yy8yz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 A Whole New Ball Game (b00g3x7g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Gloomsbury (b01mx2sp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 Just a Minute (b07pfc38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jpxk)
The Red Planet, Episode 6
Captain Jet Morgan and his crew receive warnings to turn back, but who from? 1954 sci-fi classic set in 1971. Stars Andrew Faulds.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b00769gx)
Sam Llewellyn & Lynne Truss
Rosie Boycott and her guests author, Sam Llewellyn and journalist, Lynne Truss discuss books by Robert Sabbag, Geoffrey Willans and John Colapinto. From 2002.
About the Author, by John Colapinto
Publisher: 4th Estate
Molesworth, by Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle
Publisher: Penguin
Snowblind, by Robert Sabbag
Publisher: Canongate.
MON 19:00 Parsley Sidings (b007k12w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 The Betty Witherspoon Show (b01lk58m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07qrknh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Where England Meets Wales (b00wr9pk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 Original Shorts (b01d5qty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b014641w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 Just a Minute (b07pfc38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Very Old Pretenders (b014gghc)
The Patriots
Written by multi award-winning writer Carl Gorham, creator of cult TV animation show "Stressed Eric", the series explores what happens when two Jacobite soldiers from 1745 are found alive and well in a cave in Perthshire and have to be integrated into modern Scottish society by English academic Andrew Merron.
Anthropologist Andrew Merron attempts to introduce two Jacobite soldiers to modern notions of Scottishness. This week, in pursuit of patriotism, he takes them to a tartan shop on the Royal Mile. There, a chance encounter with a key ring brings back memories of the golden days and unlocks a great well of nationalistic feeling. But when they attend a football World Cup qualifier with Scotland taking on the tiny Dickson Isles, it all turns horribly sour.
Cast:
Andrew Merron......................David Haig
Denise Merron..................Rebecca Front
Rab ....................................Jack Docherty
Macdonald........................Gordon Kennedy
Commentator 2 / Train Announcer ....... Jack Docherty
Shuggy McNeil / Commentator 1.... Moray Hunter
Tess McNair ....... Morwenna Banks
Producer: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 23:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b07pjn84)
Series 9, Colgan, Ramirez, Frankopan
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Noel Fielding welcome:
Dr Janina Ramirez, art historian and TV presenter. Janina is Course Director for the Undergraduate Certificate in History of Art at the University of Oxford. He presenter credits include Treasures of the Anglo-Saxons; The Viking Sagas; Britain's Most Fragile Treasure; The Private Lives of Medieval Kings. Her latest book is The Private Lives of the Saints: Power, Passion and Politics in Anglo-Saxon England.
Peter Frankopan, Senior Research Fellow at Worcester College, Oxford and Director of the Oxford Centre for Byzantine Research. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian, and contributed to many TV and Radio documentaries. His latest book The Silk Roads: A New History of the World was named The Daily Telegraph's History Book of the Year 2015.
Jenny Colgan, a novelist who writes romantic comedies, sci-fi and children's books. Her first novel Amanda's Wedding was published in 1999, and she has written 26 more since then. In 2013 she won the Romantic Novel of the Year award for Welcome to Rosie Hopkins' Sweetshop of Dreams. Her audio play The Time Reaver - starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate will be released in August 2016.
This week, the Museum's Guest Committee appreciate a medieval polymath nun who created her own language; a collection of food additives from the 1970s; and an infinite number of colours that exist only in the mind and all with the same name.
The show was researched by Mike Turner and Anne Miller of QI.
The producers were Richard Turner and James Harkin.
It was a BBC Studios Production.
MON 23:30 Arthur Smith's Balham Bash (b00s7dw0)
Series 2, Episode 4
Arthur Smith invites the audience into his home for comedy and entertainment from Nine Below Zero, Phill Jupitus, Josh Widdecombe and Marlon Davies.


TUESDAY 30 AUGUST 2016

TUE 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jpxk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b00769gx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07qrknh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Where England Meets Wales (b00wr9pk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07qsljj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Sport and the British (b01cvk8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b018g2z5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b016kkbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Classic Serial (b00pj463)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Foul Play (b00yy8yz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 A Whole New Ball Game (b00g3x7g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Gloomsbury (b01mx2sp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Just a Minute (b07pfc38)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r1j6p)
Episode 2
As the new Lord Minster's family move to Crown House, housekeeper's daughter Jenny is keen to see Richard. Stars Martin Jarvis.
TUE 06:30 Where England Meets Wales (b00x40ny)
Episode 2
Hardeep Singh Kohli begins the second half of his journey at the site of a famous battle where Welsh forces routed the attacking English sent by Henry IV. This was the Battle of Pilleth, a battle recorded in Shakespeare's Henry IV part I. The castle at Hay-on-Wye, straddling the Border, also saw combat, but is now home to the largest second-hand bookshop in Europe. Its international book festival attracts the literary glitterati, as well as BBC Radio 4.
From Hay the gentle Border landscape heads into the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons. Here Hardeep comes across the Offa's Dyke Path, a 177 mile long trail that links the remaining chunks of Offa's Dyke and winds its way down the whole length of Wales. If Hardeep were fitter he might have attempted it, but the next stop on his journey offered a visit to one of the vineyards in Monmouthshire, a date which was slightly more attractive.
David Davies is MP for Monmouth and hears at first hand some of the problems of today's Border people. Separate Health and Education policies can be confusing, and the coming referendum may make separation more evident.
There is one area though that has offered beauty and inspiration since the 18th century - the Forest of Dean and the Wye Valley. Poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge, and writers like Tolkien and JK Rowling were captivated by forest, woodland and river, now designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Hardeep makes a final nod to the Norman conquistadors at Chepstow Castle, before succeeding in walking the final half mile of the Offa's Dyke Path. He ends his journey at the mouth of the Severn, reflecting on a Border which has seen the marks of history and is now heading towards a future in which more history will be made.
Producer: Richard Bannerman
A Ladbroke Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 07:00 Two Doors Down (b008h68b)
Series 2, Druids and Draws
Edith Black's poet lodger is back with his druid lover, and Sally is sorting again. Stars Stella McCusker. From August 2002.
TUE 07:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07pgw3h)
Series 2, Work and Play
New series from multi-award winning Mark Watson. Assisted and impeded in equal measure by henchmen Sam Simmons and Will Adamsdale, he revives his quest to make some sort of sense of life, against the backdrop of a world that, in recent times, has come to seem even more peculiar than usual.
The tenacious trio take on some of human life's central topics - family, spirituality, Scandinavia. Watson peddles his unique, high-octane stand-up while Simmons and Adamsdale chip in with interjections which include (but are not limited to) music, shopping lists, life advice, stunts, avant-garde offerings and divvy interactions.
Expect big laughs, controlled chaos and an attempt to answer the one question none of us can quite escape from - what exactly is going on?
This week, Watson and his team consider work and play. How can we find the right balance between them? Do we get more out of life from flogging ourselves at the coalface, or messing about at the coalface, or do we not even have to go to the coalface at all?
Mark Watson is a multi-award winning comedian, including the inaugural If.Comedy Panel Prize 2006. He is assisted by Sam Simmons, winner of the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award 2015 and Will Adamsdale who won the Perrier Comedy Award in 2004.
Produced by Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 08:00 Steptoe and Son (b00sbh9h)
Series 1, The Bath
Harold's plan for a proper bathroom upset his father Albert.

Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold.

Following the conclusion of their hugely successful association with Tony Hancock, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in 1962. The Offer was set in a house with a yard full of junk, featuring the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold and it was the spark for a run of 8 series for TV.

Adapted for radio from Galton and Simpson's TV script by Gale Pedrick.

Produced by Bobby Jaye

First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in September 1966.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jzmp)
All Cisterns Go
The blundering civil servants plumb new depths with a naval survey. Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler. From July 1976.
TUE 09:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b07pjn84)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Chambers (b007jnqh)
Series 1, Trial By Television
With his colleagues busy on the box, John Fuller-Carp is desperate to make a bigger TV splash. Parliamentary comedy stars John Bird. From May 1996.
TUE 10:00 Classic Serial (b00pnp9c)
Edith Wharton - The Custom of the Country, Episode 2
Dramatisation by Jane Rogers of Edith Wharton's 1913 satire of marriage and money in early-20th century American society.
Leaving her husband and child in New York, Undine travels to Paris where she meets a charming French aristocrat.
Mrs Heeny ...... Lorelei King
Elmer Moffatt ...... Tom Hollander
Undine Spragg ...... Rebecca Night
Mrs Spragg ...... Barbara Barnes
Abner Spragg ...... Jonathan Keeble
Ralph Marvell ...... Dan Stevens
Clare Van Degen ...... Lucy Gaskell
Peter Van Degan ...... William Houston
Mabel Lipscombe ...... Tessa Nicholson
Laura Fairford/Princess Estradina ...... Provence Maydew
Raymond De Chelles ...... Joseph Kloska
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
TUE 11:00 Original Shorts (b01djrpp)
Series 5, Judgement
The jurors in this case plainly disapprove of aging defence barrister Harry Fox as he shambles into court in his torn gown. He believes 'better a hundred guilty men go free, than one innocent man be convicted.' But this case may be different.
As Fox defends his client, he can see the jurors' hearts going out to the fragile-looking victim in the case. They stare at Fox as if to say - how can you defend a rapist? Have you no conscience? But then, something curious come to light in the courtroom. Will old Harry have to exercise his own 'judgement'? The denouement is unexpected and rather shocking. Successful barrister and novelist Olly Jarvis has written this brand-new story especially for Original Shorts. It's given a masterly performance by Tim Pigott-Smith.
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 11:15 Nick Warburton - Our Late Supper (b010b6bw)
A shy middle-aged woman is forced out of her shell by an unexpected friendship with a 12-year-old girl. Stars Marcia Warren.
TUE 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b00sbh9h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jzmp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r1j6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Where England Meets Wales (b00x40ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07r1pys)
Hell Close
Now just Mrs Windsor, can the former monarch navigate a world with social workers and rowdy neighbours? Read by Miriam Margolyes.
TUE 14:15 Sport and the British (b01cvr3s)
Golden Girls
In the final week of her series exploring how sport made Britain and Britain made sport, Clare Balding looks at the female British athletes of the 1960's who finally took centre stage on the podium and in the press.
She visits the home of the Birchfield Harriers in Birmingham, one of the country's leading athletics clubs. There she meets Norma Blaine who'd been coaching young women athletes since 1951. Norma remembers when women were unable to compete in any distance race over two hundred metres. Her friend, Diane Leather ran a five minute mile, (breaking the women's world record), the same week as Bannister broke the male world record but Diane's achievement was never acknowledged.
Clare explores the legacy of Anita Lonsborough,Dorothy Hyman, Anne Packer, Mary Rand and Lillian Board and asks if this golden age of female athletes can ever be repeated.
The series has been made with The International Centre for Sport History and Culture at De Montfort University in Leicester.
Technical presentation: John Benton
Producer: Lucy Lunt.
TUE 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b018g6wn)
AS Byatt - Possession, Episode 7
Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.
This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.
Roland and Maud find themselves in a seaside hotel in Whitby in hope of getting closer to the truth of what exactly was the nature of the relationship between Ash and LaMotte.
Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker.
Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin
Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b016p9z9)
Jeanette Winterson - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Episode 2
Books were banned in the Winterson household when Jeanette Winterson was growing up, but the language of the bible and of Shakespeare still coloured her childhood.
Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship.
Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life.
Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.
Read by Jeanette Winterson
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 Classic Serial (b00pnp9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Jest a Minute (b0183rrm)
Series 2, Episode 6
Paul Tonkinson, Tom Wrigglesworth, Lloyd Langford and Chris Corcoran join Rhod Gilbert for his comedy quiz. From January 2009.
TUE 16:30 Chambers (b007jnqh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Two Doors Down (b008h68b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07pgw3h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jq0c)
The Red Planet, Episode 7
The crew try to locate Freighter 6, while Captain Jet has a nightmare. 1954 sci-fi classic set in 1971. Stars Andrew Faulds and David Kossoff.
TUE 18:30 Lives in a Landscape (b0076szz)
The Lyke Wake Walk
The story of a 40-mile hiking challenge across the North York Moors, first completed by Bill Cowley in 1955. From August 2005.
TUE 19:00 Steptoe and Son (b00sbh9h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b007jzmp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r1j6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Where England Meets Wales (b00x40ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Original Shorts (b01djrpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Nick Warburton - Our Late Supper (b010b6bw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07pgw3h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Dave Podmore's Cricket Night (b007jyjh)
Episode 1
The player's ambitions to make money on the after-dinner speaker circuit are scuppered. Stars Chris Douglas. From April 2004.
TUE 23:00 Clare in the Community (b00fyvqy)
Series 2, Meet the Press
International stardom beckons when the social worker appears on the radio. Stars Sally Phillips. From November 2005.
TUE 23:30 Delve Special (b007k469)
Series 2, Whose Baby?
David Lander reports on the implications of revolutionary methods of baby production. Stephen Fry stars as the spoof investigative reporter. From September 1985.


WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2016

WED 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jq0c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Lives in a Landscape (b0076szz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r1j6p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Where England Meets Wales (b00x40ny)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07r1pys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Sport and the British (b01cvr3s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b018g6wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b016p9z9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Classic Serial (b00pnp9c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Jest a Minute (b0183rrm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Chambers (b007jnqh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Two Doors Down (b008h68b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (b07pgw3h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r233z)
Episode 3
Housekeeper's daughter Jenny falls further in love and Gina sparks money worries for new husband Charles. Stars Gayle Hunnicutt.
WED 06:30 Conversations with Artists (b07r24y1)
4 Extra Debut. Henry Moore tells Edward Lucie-Smith about his decision to become a sculptor and approach to different materials. From December 1981.
WED 07:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076bdt)
Series 2, Episode 4
It is never easy coping with a break-up, especially if you are Cassie. Stars Debra Stephenson and David Lamb. From November 2002.
WED 07:30 To Hull and Back (b07pj1dw)
Series 2, Is That You Mr Brown?
Lucy Beaumont stars as the daughter trying to escape her overbearing mother played by Maureen Lipman in the second series of this warm hearted sitcom set in Hull.
"It's like a cross between a Victoria Wood Sketch and a Mike Leigh film". Radio Times
Episode 3 - Is That You Mr Brown?
An elderly Mrs Chiltern comes to stay after her cat goes missing. Sophie tries to get some bits and pieces together to sell, to pay for a car, her mother buys an antique crystal ball and attempts to tell the fortune of a neighbour with piles.
..... Lucy Beaumont
Producer ..... Carl Cooper
Production Co-ordinator ..... Sophie Richardson
This is a BBC Studios Production.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b01p4qvm)
Going on Leave in Croydon
Heather has to let Pertwee down gently before it leads to a brawl.
Stars Leslie Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Number One, Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Heather, Ronnie Barker as AS Johnson, Tenniel Evans as the Admiral and Michael Bates as Lieutenant Bates.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976.
Scripted by Lawrie Wyman
Incidental Music by Tommy Riley and James Moody.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1965.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k15z)
The Holiday Camp
Sid hires the lad to run his new venture, but then he discovers a surprise next door.
Starring Tony Hancock, Bill Kerr, Sidney James. Andree Melly, Kenneth Williams and Denis Wilson.
Announcer: 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 May 1955.
WED 09:00 The 99p Challenge (b00njx8l)
Series 2, Episode 3
Crazy panel show capers as Sue Perkins grills Simon Pegg, Tom Binns, Peter Baynham and David Schneider. From July 2000.
WED 09:30 Rent (b04mljmt)
Series 2, Episode 2
Richard finds himself propelled into the limelight as a superstar DJ. With Patrick Barlow and Barbara Flynn. From February 1995.
WED 10:00 Classic Serial (b00psqvj)
Edith Wharton - The Custom of the Country, Episode 3
Dramatisation by Jane Rogers of Edith Wharton's 1913 satire of marriage and money in early-20th century American society.
Undine's plans to secure a better future for herself move on apace, but will she ever find real happiness?
Mrs Heeny ...... Lorelei King
Elmer Moffatt ...... Tom Hollander
Ralph Marvell ...... Dan Stevens
Undine Spragg ...... Rebecca Night
Marquise de Chelles ...... Olwen May
Raymond de Chelles ...... Joseph Kloska
Princess Estradina ...... Provence Maydew
Paul ...... Daniel Rogers
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
WED 11:00 Original Shorts (b01dvzgc)
Series 5, Elevated Thoughts
Edward is fond of the little oak tree that stands near the 15th tee of his local golf course. But there are club-members who view the tree with less friendly eyes. Chief among them is the club captain. There have been complaints, he says: some branches hang far too low over the tee - the oak should be cut down. So how can the situation be resolved happily for the club and its members?
Over the months, Edward wonders whether Nature herself is becoming involved. And, he recalls, didn't Wordsworth have something to say about all nature being alive, and possessed with a presence that disturbs him with the joy of elevated thoughts? He continues to observe, and witnesses a surprising conclusion.
Broadcaster, novelist and humorist Christopher Matthew has written this story especially for Original Shorts.
Martin Jarvis reads this wry tale of Nature versus petty bureaucracy.
Director: Rosalind Ayres
A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 11:15 Charlotte Jones - Airswimming (b0075ck2)
Touching play of friendship between two women, who find common ground when confined to an insane asylum. Stars Sophie Thompson, Charlotte Jones and Geoffrey Whitehead.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b01p4qvm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k15z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r233z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Conversations with Artists (b07r24y1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07r2mdt)
Affray
Now plain Mrs Windsor, can the former Queen deal with a council estate crisis? And money is short. Read by Miriam Margolyes.
WED 14:15 Sport and the British (b01cw7kv)
Rugby's Big Bang
Clare Balding explores why Rugby Union tried to stand firm against the encroaching tide of professionalism and in August 1995, lost.
One by one the old bastions of the sporting gentleman had fallen in the 1960s and 1970s. Cricket, tennis and athletics had all abandoned the Victorian distinction between amateurs and professionals. The word 'amateur' had almost become an insult. But of all the major sports, only one continued to uphold the banner - rugby union. It had introduced strict amateur rules into the game in 1886 and ever since had been determined to uphold them. Prof Tony Collins explains that when the Thatcher era did away with the old school tie mentality and money became an acceptable topic of conversation there was only one way rugby could go.
This series was made in partnership with The International Centre for Sport History and Culture.
Technical presentation: John Benton
Producer: Sara Conkey.
WED 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b018gqz3)
AS Byatt - Possession, Episode 8
Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.
This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.
The true weight of what happened between Ash and LaMotte is revealed as Roland and Maud themselves are drawn ever closer by the quest to find the truth.
Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin
Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b016pb9y)
Jeanette Winterson - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Episode 3
It's the mid 1970s and Jeanette Winterson is now a teenager navigating her own feelings and sexuality in the volatile atmosphere of Mrs Winterson's house.
Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship.
Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life.
Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.
Read by Jeanette Winterson
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Classic Serial (b00psqvj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 The 99p Challenge (b00njx8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Rent (b04mljmt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076bdt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 To Hull and Back (b07pj1dw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jq2w)
The Red Planet, Episode 8
As the Jet and the crew approach Mars, strange noises and dreams affect them. Sci-fi classic from 1954, stars Andrew Faulds and David Kossoff.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00ctl6y)
Making your Mind Up
4 Extra Debut. Dominic Arkwright, Dr David Lewis, Christine Webber and Michael Blastland discuss our decision-making process. From June 2008.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b01p4qvm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k15z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r233z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Conversations with Artists (b07r24y1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Original Shorts (b01dvzgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Charlotte Jones - Airswimming (b0075ck2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 To Hull and Back (b07pj1dw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Listen Against (b016ljj6)
Series 4, Episode 1
Listen Against is the comedy that takes the back off your radio and television, fiddles round with the programmes inside and then puts them all back the wrong way round.
Using "beautifully crafted, scalpel sharp" (Gillian Reynolds) mash-ups of current and archive programmes Listen Against creates a "sly, sharp, smart, surreal, satirical" world (Sunday Telegraph) where Alice Arnold and Jon Holmes look back in amplitude of at a week's worth of broadcasting like a media tapeworm going through a dog.
Like "the mischievous offspring of Points of View and The Day Today" (Observer) fictional listeners bombard Listen Against with fictional letters and emails complaining about half-fictional programmes while fictional guests and real life presenters (this series includes Melvyn Bragg, Jeremy Vine and Vanessa Feltz) argue with each other in "a gem of a satirical swoop at radio and television." (Guardian).
Written and created by Jon Holmes
Presented by Alice Arnold and Jon Holmes
Cast:
Kevin Eldon (Brass Eye, Big Train)
Justin Edwards (The Thick of It)
Sarah Hadland (Miranda)
James Bachman (Mitchell & Webb)
Kim Wall (Big Train , IT Crowd)
David Mara (RSC & Donmar Warehouse)
Produced by Sam Bryant.
WED 23:00 Living with Mother (b01nq4j3)
Series 2, Told You I Was Ill
Lisa is a hypochondriac and worries about everything. She can't accept the fact that her son has grown up and isn't a baby anymore.
Luke wants to leave home and move in with his girlfriend but he dare not break the news to his Mum. He hasn't actually told her that he's been going out with someone for the past year. The girlfriend gives Luke an ultimatum and he eventually plucks up the courage to tell his mother about her and that she is coming over for tea. Lisa seems OK with it all - but we soon discover that she has a plan.
Writing about the first series of Living with Mother, Radio Times described it as "Alexander Kirk's astutely-observed comedy series...underpinning each of these tales is a bittersweet poignancy, a moment when the easy laughs are replaced with a lip-trembling insight into the vulnerability, lack of self-confidence and interdependency".
Cast:
Luke ..... Daniel Mays
Lisa ..... Linda Robson
Written by: Alexander Kirk
Producer: Anna Madley
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:15 Mission Improbable (b01p4254)
Series 1, Splash!
A brand new series of high octane mini-adventures, written by and starring The Boom Jennies - Anna Emerson, Lizzie Bates and Catriona Knox.
When cub reporter Jane arrives in Tintagel to get an interview with Cornwall's oldest whelk fisherman, her long-suffering companions could be forgiven if they were a little reluctant to tag along. Not a bit of it. Spinster-in-waiting Lucy has her eye on Jane's septuagenarian man of the sea, and zoo assistant Amelia has her mind fixed on dolphins. But as they head out into the bay to intercept the aged shellfish gatherer, the speed of Amelia's rowing sets them on a very different course - one of world records, mountainous seas and near misses with oil tankers.
Will Jane get her story? Will Lucy catch the man of her dreams? Will Amelia remember to take the lens cap off her binoculars? All these questions will be answered before their plucky rowing boat spies land once more.
Jane ................ Catriona Knox
Lucy .................Lizzie Bates
Amelia ..............Anna Emerson
Bill ................... Paul Ryan
Written by Anna Emerson, Lizzie Bates and Catriona Knox
Audio production by Matt Katz
Produced by Dave Lamb and Richie Webb
A Top Dog Production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 23:30 At Home With The Snails (b007k2xv)
Series 1, Episode 3
Alex is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice when his mum thinks she is pregnant. Stars Gerard Foster. From July 2001.


THURSDAY 01 SEPTEMBER 2016

THU 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jq2w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00ctl6y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r233z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Conversations with Artists (b07r24y1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07r2mdt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Sport and the British (b01cw7kv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b018gqz3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b016pb9y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Classic Serial (b00psqvj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The 99p Challenge (b00njx8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Rent (b04mljmt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076bdt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 To Hull and Back (b07pj1dw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r2pt2)
Episode 4
Richard celebrates his last night as a bachelor by going to a London revue and dining with a chorus girl. Stars Martin Jarvis.
THU 06:30 Frank Dickens: Holy Mackerel - It's My Life! (b01bb9cm)
The extraordinary life and career of Frank Dickens - the cartoonist behind "Bristow", the world's longest running daily strip.
Narrated by Bernard Cribbins with Ralph Steadman and the Daily Mail's MAC.
Producer: Neil Cargill
Made for BBC Radio 4 by Pier Productions
First broadcast in 2012.
THU 07:00 Bristow (b00cbcpg)
Series 1, Fair Shares
Takeover tangles as Bristow learns Chester Perry is making a takeover bid for Miles and Rudge, the firm across the street. He thinks that if he surreptitiously invests in Miles and Rudge, he can make a mint...
Bristow works as a buying clerk for Reginald Chester-Perry's firm. He is but a small cog in a gigantic wheel... and he knows it.
Michael Williams stars as Bristow, the buying clerk from Frank Dickens' famous newspaper cartoon strip. Syndicated internationally, it ran for 41 years in London's Evening Standard.
With Rodney Bewes as Jones, Dora Bryan as Mrs Purdy and Owen Brenman as Hewitt.
Frank Dickens died in July 2016.
RSC talent and popular stage and TV actor, Michael Williams died in 2001
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1999.
THU 07:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07pjb9t)
Series 4, Strangers on a Train
Episode 1 - Strangers on a Train. Tom enlists the help of his Dad to take delivery of an important package while Mum bites the bullet and learns to drive.
Series 4 of Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups presents another hilarious helping of down-the-line adventures from Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated Tom. Listen in on Tom's weekly phone calls home to his Mum, Dad and Gran in Sheffield and get a glimpse into the triumphs and tribulations of the Wrigglesworth clan in all its dysfunctional glory.
Starring Tom Wrigglesworth, Paul Copley, Kate Anthony and Elizabeth Bennett.
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle with additional material by Miles Jupp.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios Production.
THU 08:00 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b007rn3z)
Series 3, From 11/12/1977
The regular butt of Eric and Ernie's jokes, singer Des O'Connor brings along his angry mum.
With Ann Hamilton.
Script Writer: Eddie Braben
Music by Peter Knight and his Orchestra
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1977.
THU 08:30 Radio Active (b007jvz8)
Series 6, Backchat
The station's most popular programme - the forum for listeners' complaints.
Starring Morwenna Banks, Angus Deayton, Geoffrey Perkins, Philip Pope and Michael Fenton-Stevens.
Music by Philip Pope and Steve Brown.
Written by Angus Deayton and Geoffrey Perkins with Michael Fenton-Stevens.
Producer: David Tyler
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1986.
THU 09:00 The Personality Test (b00kmnfn)
Series 1, John Sergeant
The ex-political correspondent quizzes a panel about himself. With Sue Perkins, Alan Carr and Lucy Porter. From July 2006.
THU 09:30 The Elephant Man (b007k2c7)
Keeper vs Keeper
There is a new arrival at Southwood Zoo and Terry must mark his territory. Stars Peter Serafinowicz. From September 1996.
THU 10:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vhg)
Episode 1
Memoir of Edmund Gosse's Victorian childhood, raised in a strictly non-conformist Plymouth Brethren home. Stars Derek Jacobi and Roger Allam.
THU 11:00 Colin Dexter Short Stories (b007lnpx)
Monty's Revolver
When a special gun is auctioned, one collector is alarmed to end up facing the wrong end of the barrel. Read by Joe Dunlop.
THU 11:15 Roy Apps - The Master and Mrs Tucker (b00cz803)
The story of the friendship between Noel Coward and E Nesbit. Roy Apps' play stars Guy Henry, Ann Bell and Rosemary Leach.
THU 12:00 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b007rn3z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 Radio Active (b007jvz8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r2pt2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Frank Dickens: Holy Mackerel - It's My Life! (b01bb9cm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07rgpnl)
A Thin Stew
She used to be the Queen, but can Mrs Windsor find enough cash to feed her husband and corgi? Read by Miriam Margolyes.
THU 14:15 Sport and the British (b01cwszw)
Globalisation
Clare Balding explores the way global television has changed our relationship with sport forever. It's no longer seasonal and is bankrolled by TV income and it bows to TV's needs.
This series was made in partnership with The International Centre for Sport History and Culture.
Technical presentation: John Benton
Producer: Sara Conkey.
THU 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b018grhr)
AS Byatt - Possession, Episode 9
Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.
This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.
Back in Lincoln, Maud's American feminist friend Leonora Stern pays her a visit, bringing with her a letter that adds to the mystery.
Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin
Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b016pf5t)
Jeanette Winterson - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Episode 4
Decades into a successful writing career the author is ambushed by a terrifying emotional and mental crisis, confronting her with the twin pillars of her life - love and loss.
Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship.
Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life.
Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.
Read by Jeanette Winterson
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vhg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The Personality Test (b00kmnfn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 The Elephant Man (b007k2c7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Bristow (b00cbcpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07pjb9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jq5b)
The Red Planet, Episode 9
Arriving on Mars, Captain Jet Morgan and crew prepare to start explorations. 1954 sci-fi classic stars Andrew Faulds and David Kossoff.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b007j7tb)
Series 12, Julius Caesar
Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.
8/9. Archaeologist Barry Cunliffe nominates Julius Caesar.
A brilliant orator and military tactician, Caesar was undoubtedly talented, yet he failed to find political solutions to the problems of the late Roman Republic.
THU 19:00 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b007rn3z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Radio Active (b007jvz8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r2pt2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Frank Dickens: Holy Mackerel - It's My Life! (b01bb9cm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Colin Dexter Short Stories (b007lnpx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Roy Apps - The Master and Mrs Tucker (b00cz803)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07pjb9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World (b007jtrr)
Series 2, The Unexplained
The sci-fi star attempts to solve all unsolved mysteries. With Richard Herring, Stewart Lee and Tom Baker. From August 1993.
THU 23:00 Old Harry's Game (b00cgsrw)
Series 5, Power Politics
Hell's got workforce problems, and Satan learns who truly wields power. Devilish sitcom stars Andy Hamilton. From October 2005.
THU 23:30 The Shuttleworths (b008tzyp)
Series 3, John Le Shuttle
When his agent Ken adopts a high-tech lifestyle, can John Shuttleworth keep up? Stars Graham Fellows. From November 1997.
THU 23:45 The In Crowd (b008d1f1)
Series 1, Episode 5
Sketch show from Manchester's Comedy Store with Robin Ince, Helen Moon, Smug Roberts and Kate Ward. From September 2001.


FRIDAY 02 SEPTEMBER 2016

FRI 00:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jq5b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b007j7tb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07r2pt2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Frank Dickens: Holy Mackerel - It's My Life! (b01bb9cm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07rgpnl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Sport and the British (b01cwszw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b018grhr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b016pf5t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vhg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Personality Test (b00kmnfn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 The Elephant Man (b007k2c7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Bristow (b00cbcpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b07pjb9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07rh3ws)
Episode 5
Alice gets involved in a new London venture while husband Lord Minster enlists Jenny's help in the garden. Stars Dinah Sheridan.
FRI 06:30 Ibiza: Britain's Balearic Soul (b013r76j)
The island of Ibiza has subtly influenced British youth culture and the nation's night-time economy for more than 20 years.
The Balearic attitude to nightlife and entertainment was first adopted in Britain during the late 80s and soon many young Brits would no longer be divided by class, race, football allegiances or even sexuality, instead becoming united by their devotion to house music, recreational drug taking and warehouse parties or raves.
By the mid-90s, millions of ordinary young people spent their weekends 'dancing on drugs' and, as alcohol sales dropped and customers fell away, the licensed leisure industry replaced so-called spit 'n' sawdust pubs with more modern bars while bottled beers and alcopops became the new drinks of choice. With Radio 1 broadcasting live from the world's house music clubs, dance music culture moved into the mainstream and has stayed there ever since.
In 'Ibiza: Britain's Balearic Soul' Dr Kate O'Brien meets those at the heart of these changes. Internationally celebrated DJ Paul Oakenfield shares with Kate his first experience in Ibiza and how he tried to recreate the island's bohemian, hedonistic party scene, while Radio 1's Pete Tong explains how he pushed the station into being part of this unrelenting youth movement.
Kate also hears from a former Chief Constable on his struggle to manage 40,000 party-goers at an all-night rave, and experts on alcohol and drug consumption tell how society and government reacted to the 'normalisation' of recreational drug taking and young people's determined move away from the limitations of licensed premises over two decades.
The history of British dance culture and clubbing is complex and fascinating, and Kate explores its impact on young people's identities and lifestyles since the late 1980s
Producer: Russell Crewe
A Made in Manchester Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 07:00 Dave Sheasby - One Flat Summer (b00752gw)
The Derby
Ken has got gambling plans for a big race, but what about the cost at home? Stars Gerard McDermott. From September 1997.
FRI 07:30 Sketchorama (b047c7x4)
Series 3, Episode 1
Tom Tuck presents the pick of the best live sketch groups currently performing on the UK comedy circuit - featuring three up and coming groups in character, improv, broken and musical sketch comedy.
In this programme:
Casual Violence
A comedy collective featuring Luke Booys, Greg Cranness, Dave Arrondelle, Alex Whyman, Ben Champion and writer James Hamilton. Their most recent show, House of Nostril, had sell out runs at the Soho Theatre and the Lowry in Salford Quays, following the show's success at the Edinburgh Fringe 2013. They won a ThreeWeeks Editor's Choice Award in 2011 for their show Choose Death, and their writer James Hamilton was nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality in 2011 and 2012.
Croft and Pearce
Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce met at school and, in a radical bid to break free from a quiet, cerebral existence in the Home Counties, they both went to study at Oxford University. Desperate to be chatted up by men from mainland Europe, Hannah studied French and Italian. Desperate not to be, Fiona studied English. Fiona went on to train on the three year acting course at Central School of Speech and Drama. Eager to be like Fiona, Hannah also studied acting for three years, at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Since then they have enjoyed three successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Beasts
Three refined gentlemen of comedy - Owen Roberts, James McNicholas and Ciarán Dowd. After a sell-out second Edinburgh show, these monstrously funny sketchmen are all set for greater success.
Producer: Gus Beattie
A Comedy Unit production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 08:00 Something to Shout About (b07rh90y)
Series 1, Episode 9
A new kind of biscuit, but does the ad agency's campaign have a large hole in it?
Starring Michael Medwin as Michael, Fenella Fielding as Janet, Joan Sims as Mavis, Eleanor Summerfield as Maggie, Nicholas Phipps as Adrian and Warren Mitchell as Mr Parkin.
"A light-hearted exposé of the advertising world!". Set in a London ad agency called 'Apsley, Addis, Cohen, Barbican, Blythe, Giddy & Partners', Something To Shout About ran to 54 episodes over three series
Written by Myles Rudge and Ronnie Wolfe.
Music by The Jingle Belles and The Bernie Fenton Quartet, under the direction of Cliff Adams.
Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1960.
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b00cyg6v)
The Missing Battleship
When HMS Boxer is stolen, you just know someone's going to fall in the water. Stars Peter Sellers. From November 1957.
FRI 09:00 The 3rd Degree (b01s09kc)
Series 3, Bath Spa University
A lively and funny quiz show, hosted by Steve Punt, where a team of three University students take on a team of three of their professors.
Coming this week from Bath Spa University, the specialist subjects are Creative Music Technology, Creative Writing and Physical and Environmental Geography, with questions ranging from VAT rates and model railways all the way to Meet The Kardashians and the Ku Klux Klan - via Mo Farah and Dame Nellie Melba.
The rounds vary between Specialist Subjects and General Knowledge, quickfire bell-and-buzzer rounds, and the 'Highbrow and Lowbrow' round cunningly devised to test not only the students' knowledge of current affairs, history, languages and science, but also their Professors' awareness of television, film, and One Direction.
The resulting show is funny, fresh, and not a little bit surprising, with a truly varied range of scores, friendly rivalry, and moments where students wished they had more than just glanced at that reading list.
The host Steve Punt, although best known as a satirist on The Now Show, is also someone who delights in all facets of knowledge, not just in the Humanities (his educational background) but in the sciences as well. He has made a number of documentaries for Radio 4, on subjects as varied as "The Poet Unwound - The History Of The Spleen" and "Getting The Gongs" (an investigation into awards ceremonies), as well as a comedy for Radio 4's Big Bang Day set in the Large Hadron Collider, called "The Genuine Particle".
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 09:30 Kathmandu or Bust (b07rhlzg)
A Sticky Night
The travellers have Nepal almost in sight, until their truck is stolen by bandits. Stars David Haig. From June 1996.
FRI 10:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vm0)
Episode 2
Baptised at the age of ten, lonely Edmund is torn between his father and a terrible secret. Stars Derek Jacobi and Roger Allam.
FRI 11:00 Martin Sorrell - The Cuban Heel (b0109k1z)
A maverick bus driver's attitude starts to annoy the passengers on an over-heated tourist bus in Spain. Stars Andrew Sachs.
FRI 11:15 Louise Oliver - Word From Cupid (b0076f1w)
A husband and wife try to reignite their relationship with a little help from a parrot called Cupid.
Louise Oliver's drama stars Alison Steadman as Lolly and George Costigan as Jim.
Cupid played by parrots, Percy and Poppy
With original music by Clive Bell
Directed in Manchester by Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
FRI 12:00 Something to Shout About (b07rh90y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b00cyg6v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07rh3ws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Ibiza: Britain's Balearic Soul (b013r76j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Sue Townsend - The Queen and I (b07rhpr1)
Rock Bottom
Evicted as Queen, can Mrs Windsor cope with a depressed husband and her wayward corgi? Read by Miriam Margolyes.
FRI 14:15 Sport and the British (b01cwvp9)
The State of Play
Clare Balding with Professors Richard Holt, Tony Collins and Mike Cronin explores the cultural importance of the great triviality that is sport.
The series was made in partnership with The International Centre for Sports History and Culture at de Montfort University.
Producer: Lucy Lunt
Executive Editor: Ian Bent.
FRI 14:30 15 Minute Drama (b018gy4z)
AS Byatt - Possession, Episode 10
Roland Michell, an academic research assistant, is completing some work in the London Library, when he comes across two unfinished letters written by the Victorian Poet, Randolph Henry Ash. Theses letters have obviously not been found by anyone else and they are not to his wife but to an unknown woman. Roland, whose entire academic life has been devoted to studying Ash, decides, recklessly to pocket the letters and try to determine exactly who they were written to.
This is the beginning of a quest that will change literary history and with the help of a feminist literary scholar Maud Bailey, they are determined to find out the truth behind these letters. Certain other characters hear about the letters and are eager to get their hands on them for their own financial gain and will do so, by any means necessary, and so the chase begins.
News of the stolen letters has now spread across the academic vaults and everyone is keen to get their hands on them. Roland and Maud escape to France in the hope of getting to the truth first.
Written by A S Byatt. Dramatised by Timberlake Wertenbaker
Cast:
Maud ...... Jemma Redgrave
Roland ...... Harry Hadden-Paton
Ash ....... James d'arcy
Lamotte ..... Rachael Stirling
Blackadder ..... Bill Paterson
Cropper ..... Matthew Marsh
George ...... Kenneth Cranham
Joan ....... Joanna David
Beatrice Nest ...... Stella Gonet
Euan ...... Nicholas Boulton
Fergus ...... Jonjo O'Neil
Hildebrand ..... Robert Portal
Val ...... Laura Pyper
Leonora .... Lorelei King
Raoul/Toby Byng .... Sam Dale
Mrs Wapshott/Mrs Cammish/Mrs lees ..... Jane Whittenshaw
Beth/PA/Mrs Judge/Librarian ...... Rachel Atkins
Girl ...... Sylvie Goodwin
Director: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b016pfyh)
Jeanette Winterson - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, Episode 5
'Why be happy when you could be normal ?' was the parting shot fired at the 16 year old Jeanette as she left the home of her adopted mother, Mrs Winterson. The words echoed through the author's life as she repeatedly sought happiness and love whilst constantly being aware that her early life had included neither.
When she was six weeks old baby Janet became Jeanette and was taken into the home of two Pentecostal Christian parents in the small town of Accrington. The tyranny of her mother's peculiar belief system and her uncompromising rules meant that the young Jeanette grew up being told that the devil had led her parents to the wrong crib. Mrs Winterson banned books from the house but read the Bible aloud every night; she also kept a revolver in the duster drawer and refused to share a bed with her husband. Jeanette was frequently punished for misdemeanours by being locked outside and left to spend the night on the doorstep. Nothing was 'normal' in the household. Jeanette was supposed to grow up and become a missionary in Africa, instead she fell in love with another girl and was subjected to an exorcism.
Elements of the story are familiar to those who read her fictionalised version of this childhood in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985). This memoir exposes some of the harsher truths and more bizarre incongruities. But it is also the story of how in later life, and recent years, the profound sense of loss and absence was catastrophically detonated by the end of a relationship. Struggling to remain intact, still clinging to her passion for language and literature, the author began to rebuild her sense of self and the way she lives her life. Love arrived and so too did a sense of home - and with it the courage to go back into the past and find the person who had always wanted her in those first few weeks of life.
Funny, acute, fierce and celebratory, this is a tough-minded search for belonging, for love, an identity, a home, and a mother.
Read by Jeanette Winterson
Abridged and produced by Jill Waters
A Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Edmund Gosse - Father and Son (b0076vm0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 The 3rd Degree (b01s09kc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Kathmandu or Bust (b07rhlzg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Dave Sheasby - One Flat Summer (b00752gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Sketchorama (b047c7x4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Charles Chilton - Journey Into Space (b007jq7r)
The Red Planet, Episode 10
Captain Jet Morgan's crew are on Mars, but he's alarmed when more of the fleet start to arrive. 1954 sci-fi classic stars Andrew Faulds.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b00r6029)
Series 9, Dido's Lament
Series exploring famous pieces of music and their emotional appeal.
Dido's Lament is a popular name for a famous aria, 'When I am laid in earth', from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, with the libretto by Nahum Tate. Mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly talks about why she finds the piece, sung by the likes of Janet Baker and Emma Kirkby, so extraordinary, and the skill it takes to perform it. Composer and cellist Philip Shepperd's musical life was transformed when he was part of the rock singer Jeff Buckley's performance of the piece at the 1995 Meltdown Festival.
FRI 19:00 Something to Shout About (b07rh90y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b00cyg6v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Ling/Ace - Crown House (b07rh3ws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Ibiza: Britain's Balearic Soul (b013r76j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Martin Sorrell - The Cuban Heel (b0109k1z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Louise Oliver - Word From Cupid (b0076f1w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 Sketchorama (b047c7x4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Ian D Montfort Is: Unbelievable (b01qj7q2)
Series 1, Angela Griffin
Ian D Montfort is a celebrity spirit medium and psychic, and star of a brand new series for Radio 2. A comedy character created by Tom Binns (the man behind hapless hospital radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury) Ian D Montfort has been a hit at the last three Edinburgh festivals with his combination of magic and laughter.
In each radio show Ian makes contact with the celebrity 'spirit guides' secretly chosen by audience members and reveals personal stories that make them laugh-out-loud one moment and gasp in surprise the next. Each episode features a different celebrity guest who gets a 'private' reading from Ian. This episode stars former Corrie and Holby actress Angela Griffin who reveals more than she bargained for as a traumatic day at P.E. is revisited, and other guests across the series are Ruth Madoc, Hardeep Singh Kohli and Joe Swash.
FRI 23:00 A Look Back at the Nineties (b007jqk5)
1995
Recorded in July 1993, Brian Perkins, Kate Robbins and Chris Barrie 'look back' at the decade that was yet to happen.
FRI 23:30 The Flight of the Conchords (b00dn8cf)
Dan and the Panda
The Kiwi parody band aim for UK fame. Improvised comedy by Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, with Rob Brydon. From September 2005.