SATURDAY 23 MARCH 2019

SAT 00:00 Atomic Tales (b007qtm4)
Unstoppable!
A white-knuckle ride of instellar thrills as a space train hurtles towards Earth1950s American sci-fi spoof starring John Guerrasio, Jeff Harding, Allison Warnyca, Lewis McLeod, Colin Stinton and Liza Ross.Written by Adam Tandy and Nat Sones.Producer: Adam Bromley.Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in August 2006.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076d68)
Recovery
Writers Robert McCrum and Laura Thompson join poet Martin Newell and host Matthew Parris to talk about healing.In each programme, Matthew Parris introduces a group of writers of fact and fiction. In the context of a discussion of one of the ideas and pre-occupations of our times, each presents a piece on this week's topic. Produced by Jane Greenwood. First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
SAT 01:00 Agatha Christie (b01r0gpc)
Murder Is Easy
Episode 3
Luke and Bridget are getting closer, in spite of themselves. As they discover yet another body, they think they know who the murderer is, but will they be able to prove it?Agatha Christie's thriller dramatised in three parts by Joy WilkinsonLuke ..... Patrick BaladiBridget ..... Lydia LeonardLord Whitfield ..... Michael CochraneMiss Waynflete ..... Marcia WarrenMiss Pinkerton ..... Marlene SidawayBilly Bones ..... Patrick BrennanRose ..... Lizzy WattsDr Thomas ..... Will HowardMajor Horton ..... Robert BlytheDirector: Mary Peate
SAT 01:30 A Funny Sort of Sound (b00l92sr)
Julian Clary pays tribute to the wit and ingenuity of comedy musical acts. He considers the appeal of acts like TV's Mr Muscle, Tony Holland, who won Opportunity Knocks six times in a row by flexing his biceps to the tune of Wheels Cha Cha, and Bob - AKA Tray - Blackman, whose act consisted of bashing a tea tray on his head while singing Mule Train.Julian also considers how the genre has evolved from the heyday of music hall theatre, and talks to Ken Dodd and Jim Tavare.A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b00807gp)
Episode 5
Helena leaves her lover to help Richard. A gun shot causes a commotion.A house - with a fragrant lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs - is the link between the five cousins which neither the war nor adulthood can break.Published in 1984, Mary Wesley novel abridged in ten parts by Elizabeth Bradbury.Read by Sian Phillips.Producer: Tracey NealeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
SAT 02:15 A History of Britain in Numbers (b03jfk29)
Living
Andrew Dilnot, chair of the UK Statistics Authority, tells the story of a transformation in personal life in Britain, through the numbers that capture change on the grand scale.He delves into the data for the big patterns and trends in history, finding new ways of thinking about the whole shape of the population - the balance between adults and children, for example, or the shifting shape of what we do with our lives, from infancy to retirement and death. He seeks answers in history to some of the problems that perplex us now, such as how badly austerity has bitten or the paradox of why no-one seems able to afford a house but so many people own one. And he tells these stories not just with data, but through people and the real experiences that bring the numbers to life.In the search for data to measure how we've changed, the programme counts rotten teeth and adds up what people ate, what they own and throw away. What did we earn through the centuries, how do we know, and what could we do with it? What was our health like, or our homes, our jobs or education? What was the status and experience of women? And how has it all changed?Each of these ten programmes takes one theme, to explore how far we have made progress, and why it might continue, or falter.10. LivingIs the history of the economic struggle for survival over, as Keynes once said it would be? If so, has it been replaced with what he said would be a much harder problem - not working out how to survive, but working out how to live? Some think we will only do this when we balance our expectations with the sustainability of the planet; others that it has become a moral problem, not an economic one.Producer: Michael BlastlandA Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b04pc6l0)
Inquest
Day Five
by Richard MonksThe inquest into the death of a female soldier found drowned reveals she has been the victim of a sexual assault by a fellow soldier. Over five days we hear witness statements and the coroner must decide whether she took her own life. In today's episode we hear about the final days of Lorna's life and the Coroner reaches his conclusion.Director ..... Sally Avens.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b042bjzl)
Richard Benson - The Valley
Episode 5
Abridged from Richard Benson's epic family saga The Valley, the focus of this Book of the Week is on the story of the author's grandmother - Winnie Hollingworth (1909 - 2002) - and her life in the mining villages of the Dearne Valley in South Yorkshire.This remarkable social history draws on years of research, interviews and anecdote which chart generations of carousing and banter, tears and fights all set against the background of a close-knit community where almost everybody worked either in the mines or the mills.Richard Benson's first book, THE FARM which related the story of his own parents and brother and their livelihood in the Yorkshire Wolds was described as ' an extraordinary mixture of hardness and tenderness, wit and slog.. wonderful ' Ronald Blythe author of Akenfield. It went on to be a no.1 bestseller.This new book is a powerful and moving achievement - it follows Winnie from her first romantic encounter: 'her heart beating hard and fast down in her whalebone and elastic' to her final years sitting in the lounge of a long rubber-tiled room with high-backed chairs around the walls.. ' where 'the residents either roost mutely or chat while their eyes search the room for a younger person who might play the piano for them.'Ep 5. Children become adults, and Winnie and Harry grow frail, but there are still surprises in store.Read by Richard StaceyPRODUCER: JILL WATERSAbridged and directed by Jill WatersA Waters Company production for BBC 4Extra.
SAT 03:00 RD Blackmore - Lorna Doone (b00sp1f1)
Episode 3
When Lorna is taken to London, John fears he’s lost her forever. Meanwhile Carver Doone has murderous plans....Conclusion of RD Blackmore’s popular and enduring romance set on 17th-century Exmoor.Starring David Schofield as John Ridd, Alison Pettit as Lorna Doone, Janet Dale as Mother, Kim Durham as Carver Doone, Graham Padden as Jeremy Stickles, Cornelius Garrett as Tom Faggus, Sunny Ormonde as Lizzie Ridd, Katherine Mount as Annie Ridd, Susan Jeffrey as Gwenny, David Perks as Charlie Doon, Graham Colclough as Counsellor Doone and Jonathan Wyatt as King James.Dramatised by Barry Letts.Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Brian Lighthill.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
SAT 04:00 Who Goes There? (b0075z3c)
Series 4
Episode 4
Martin Young chairs the quiz which looks at the noteworthy and the notorious from history.Tackling the biographical teasers are team captains Francis Wheen and Fred Housego with guests Claire Rayner and David Aaronovitch.Producer: Liz AnsteeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2000.
SAT 04:30 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k1gh)
Episode 4
All at sea, Mr Finchley discovers the dignity of labour and visits an old haunt.Victor Canning's novel about the adventures of a man and his horse-drawn caravan touring the 1930s countryside of Kent.Richard Griffiths stars as Mr Finchley.With John Bird as Mr Blain, Clive Swift as the Captain, Auriol Smith as Mrs Maberley, Richard Ridings as Duffy and Albert Welling as Mr Greevey.Narrated by James Villiers.Adapted in six parts by Andy and Eric Merriman.Producer: Gareth EdwardsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1993.
SAT 05:00 The Elephant Man (b007k2c7)
Keeper v Keeper
There's a new arrival at the zoo and Terry must mark his territory.Debbie Barham's eight-part sitcom about sitcom about the life of an elephant zoo keeper.Starring Peter Serafinowicz as Terry Lyon, Chris Emmet as Leonard, Geoff McGivern as George, Geraldine Fitzgerald as Maureen, Richard Pearce as Adam, Joanna Monro as Stephanie and Wayne Forester as Morse.Producer: Richard Wilson.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
SAT 05:30 Where's the F in News (m000360t)
Series 2
Episode 2
An energetic, intelligent female-anchored show with a female panel - using the events, trends and talking points they think should really be top of the news agenda in a series of fresh and funny challenges.Host Jo Bunting is joined by a panel of women including comedians Katie Mulgrew and Eleanor Tiernan, along with broadcasters Eve Pollard and Anneka Rice.Jo is a producer and writer of topical comedy and satire, with credits including Have I Got News For You, the Great British Bake Off spin off show An Extra Slice with Jo Brand, and the successful topical chat show That Sunday Night Show presented by Adrian Chiles on ITV. Jo was a guest interviewer on Loose Ends for several years and a panellist on Loose Women.An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 06:00 Ian Curteis - Miss Morison's Ghosts (b060bn9s)
Based on what's been called 'the most authenticated ghost story of all time', Ian Curteis's play tells of the paranormal events experienced by two English ladies in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, France, in 1901.Starring Patrica Hodge as Miss Morison, Juliet Stevenson as Miss Lamont, Robert Hardy as Lord Kedlestone and Toby Longworth as Mr Hodgson.Musical Accompaniment by Tim WoolfeDirected by Dirk MaggsA BBC World Service production first broadcast in 2004.
SAT 07:30 The Road to the National Theatre (m0003s6f)
Whose National Theatre?
James Naughtie concludes his two-part investigation into why the UK took so long to found a National Theatre and whether the struggles and delay resulted in a more creative and versatile organisation.James Naughtie takes up the story from the end of the First World War, but his particular focus is on how the introduction of a National Health Service and National Insurance after the Second World War shifted cultural attitudes.He looks into the legacy of the Festival of Britain and the ways in which this eased the way for a National Theatre company and, eventually, its iconic building on the South Bank.He considers why, when this building was at last opened in 1976, its publicity poster boldly declared "The New National Theatre is Yours".James Naughtie speaks with Nicholas Hytner, Richard Eyre, Michael Frayn and Michael Billington as well as listening to the voices of Laurence Olivier, Sybil Thordyke, Lillian Bayliss and other theatrical luminaries in the BBC Archives, tracing a story in which the arts, history, politics and national identity share the stage.Reader: Simon Russell BealeProducer: Beaty RubensFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b06sdxfl)
Jay Rayner Pigs Out
Jay Rayner gets serious and sybaritic about pigs - starting with medieval Britain swarming with wild boars and ending with 21st century pigs cannibalised for human spare parts.Jay muses on recent rumours surrounding a certain Prime Minister and a pigs head. Does the pig-image make it all the more taboo? This is the extraordinary and, at times, shocking tale of our relationship with the allegedly filthy animal.The archive groans and grunts with pig - much of it anthropomorphic, some fact and some fiction.Remember the Tamworth Two who escaped a Wiltshire abattoir in 1998 and went on the run? They were renamed Butch and Sundance and their intelligence was celebrated by the world's press. Rescued by a popular tabloid, they escaped the slaughterhouse. Jay Rayner, on the other hand, has dutifully been to see pigs killed and dealt with the carcasses.Animal lovers beware - this portrait of our fellow omnivores is controversial. Jay is a non-observant Jew who loves pork - he cooks it, eats it, reviews it, reveres it.Jay also considers pig as man's best friend, delighting in the poetry of Dylan Thomas and in another pig fancier, Winston Churchill. The upper classes have always loved their pigs.In the hands of George Orwell however, the intelligence of the pig makes for some dark meat. And Jay hears from comedian Aatif Nawaz who explains why his mother can't even say the word 'p*g.'Plenty here about the pigs' fitness for cannibalising human spare parts too. Our porcine friends share some startling similarities to humans, including the size and pumping capacities of their hearts.Produced by Sarah CuddonA Testbed production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 09:00 The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh (b007wv2m)
Origins
Instead of guest Comedy Controllers, choosing their comedy favourites, it is now the turn of those who, in their own ways, have to take the blame for many of the shows often featured on Radio 4 Extra. Between them, Paul Jackson, Beryl Vertue, John Lloyd and Jimmy Mulville have well over a 150 years of gut-busting, side-aching woofers, gags and - let's be honest - the occasional horrific mistimed silence.In front of an audience in the iconic Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House - the home of British Radio comedy - they reveal why they do it and what it was (and is) that made them laugh. Over four extended episodes they survey broadcast comedy from its origins before and during the Second World War to the laughs (and groans) of the internet age. And they select their favourite moments.Programme 1. Origins - The Real Comedy Controllers take us back to the stars of Variety and the entertainers of World War II, the men and women (though largely men) who entertained us through the dark days of conflict and the drab times of austerity and rationing. Episodes featured include:* ITMA - It's That Man Again (Victory Edition).Tommy Handley's gang celebrate victory in Europe, as broadcast on 10th May 1945. With the BBC Augmented Variety Orchestra.* The Goon Show - "The Phantom Head Shaver (of Brighton)"As baldness breaks out in Brighton, is there a connection to a glut of cheap tobacco? From October 1954.* The Navy Lark - "The Multiple Mines"A drunken night out sparks chaos when an old mine used as a collection box is set adrift. From May 1959* Hancock's Half Hour - "Sunday Afternoon At Home"Bored and miserable, the lad tries to decide what to do. From April 1958Series Producers: Paul Kobrak and Dixi Stewart.Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
SAT 12:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03bqchn)
Series 6
Watson, Fletcher, Blashford-Snell
The Museum of Curiosity is the natural meeting place for entertaining experts and expert entertainers.This week, it's flinging open its doors, inaugurating a brand new wing of empty plinths is ready to receive 3 new exhibits.Our host is (as ever) the Professor of Ignorance, John Lloyd, and for this series he is joined by a new curator, the comedian Humphrey Ker. This week's generous donors are Egyptologist Prof. Joann Fletcher, who is presenting us with a hugely significant Roman coin; explorer Col. John Blashford-Snell, who brings a compass that led its owner the greatest one-liner in History; and the comedian Mark Watson, who is offering us something rather small and personal.Produced by Richard Turner.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
SAT 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jl9m)
Series 1
Command Decision
Captain Mainwaring gets an offer of weapons for the platoon, but there's a catch...Six years after legendary sitcom Dad's Army started on BBC TV, these specially adapted radio versions began recording with the original cast.Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, John Laurie as Private Fraser, James Beck as Private Walker, Geoffrey Lumsden as Colonel Square, David Sinclair as the Driver and John Snagge as the announcer.Adapted from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's original BBC TV scripts by Michael Knowles and Harold Snoad.Producer: John DyasFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1974.
SAT 13:00 A Passage to India (Omnibus) (m0003kcq)
Episode 2
Tanika Gupta's imaginative and bold adaptation of EM Forster's masterful novel.As Aziz ponders over Fielding's reflections, that there is something in India that doesn't suit English ladies, Adela wonders why the doctor has not yet organised the promised expedition to the mysterious Marabar caves.Mrs Moore ..... Penelope WiltonAdela ..... Ellie KendrickDr Aziz ..... Shubham SarafFielding ..... Jonathan FirthRonny Heaslop ..... Christopher HarperRalph Moore ..... Joseph AyreProfessor Godbole ..... Thusitha JayasunderaMr Das ..... Nicholas KhanMahmoud Ali ..... Ashley KumarMr Turton ..... Tony TurnerMrs Turton ..... Joanna MonroMajor Callendar ..... Michael BertenshawMrs Callendar ..... Susan JamesonMr McBryde ..... Sam DaleAnthony/Amritrao ..... Ronny JhuttiWith Don Gilet, Franchi Webb and Sarah OvensProduced and Directed by Tracey Neale
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b06djx8l)
Lenny Henry
Comedian, actor and writer Lenny Henry chooses 'Blueberry Hill' by Fats Domino and 'Vide Cor Meum' from the film Hannibal.
SAT 14:15 Down Your Way (m0003kcv)
Ludovic Kennedy on Skye
Broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy visits the Isle of Skye, exploring tales of Highland Clans MacDonald and MacLeod.Down Your Way was a schedule staple for decades - starting on the BBC Home Service in 1946 and ending its run on BBC Radio 4 in 1992. Using a variety of hosts, including Richard Dimbleby and Brian Johnston, the programme toured villages, towns and cities across the UK. At the height of the series' success in the 1950s, it was attracting 10 million listeners a week.Producer: Jill Marshall.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1991.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b06sdxfl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Ian Curteis - Miss Morison's Ghosts (b060bn9s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 The Road to the National Theatre (m0003s6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Nick Fisher - Finding Fellows (m0003kcx)
A computer expert surfs the internet for contacts, concealing his identity.But what is his identity?Nick Fisher’s drama stars Nicholas Woodeson as Richard Fellows, Sarah Rice as Sal, David Brooks as Geoff and Christopher Wright as Tom.Other parts played by Karen Hayley, Alastair Danson, Alison Pettitt and Iwan ThomasDirector: Peter KavanaghFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
SAT 19:00 The Real Comedy Controllers: The Things That Made Us Laugh (b007wv2m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Chain Reaction (b01l8rbv)
Series 8
Rebecca Front interviews Chris Addison
Rebecca Front talks to her Thick Of It co-star and fellow Nude-a-phobe, comedian Chris Addison about working with Armando Iannucci and embracing his middle-classness through stand-upProducer ..... Carl Cooper"In an unclothed state I look like a child has done a collage with some Twiglets".Chris AddisonOther episodes in the chain include:Rebecca Front being interviewed by the man who knows her best, her big brother, Jeremy Front.Chris Addison in a rare interview with the actually-really-nice-and-he-doesn't-do-any-of-that-weird-stuff-in-real-life, Derren Brown;Derren Brown chatting hair, beliefs and Tim Minchin with comedy musical megastar and fellow sceptic Tim Minchin;A poorly Tim Minchin being handed tissues whilst attempting to interview with no questions a not-at-all-poorly and hilarious Caitlin Moran.Caitlin Moran getting to spend time and talk shoes, Bananarama and women with her comedy hero Jennifer Saunders.And.Jennifer Saunders turning up a week later to find the series has ended. Probably. We weren't there because the series had ended.
SAT 22:30 Richard Herring's Objective (b00vcqm7)
Series 1
The Hoodie
Richard Herring reclaims objects that we've grown to hate - a tracksuit top with a hood. With Emma Kennedy. From October 2010.
SAT 23:00 Beauty of Britain (b0100gqp)
Series 2
Citroen UXB
No professional care-worker can afford to miss Beauty Olonga's survival guide to Britain - its overheated houses, its disappointing church services and its world-class charity shops. Series 2 of this Radio 4 comedy follows Beauty's continuing adventures as the Featherdown Agency sends her to provide care for those who need it - and some who don't, but all of whom have relatives with guilty consciences.Beauty sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to live the dream in Britain. 'There are plenty of opportunities here. The professional classes are always off sick due to binge drinking and the rest are too lazy to get off the couch to answer the pizza delivery man.'The series breaks the embarrassed silence about what happens to us when we get old and start to lose our faculties. It shows the process in all its chaotic, tragi-comedy but it does so from the point of view of a migrant worker, Beauty, whose Zimbabwean Shona background has taught her to respect age. Beauty sees Britain at its best, its worst and also sometimes without its clothes on running the wrong way down the M6 with a toy dog shouting 'Come on!'In episode one, Beauty is sent to look after Sarah, who lives with both her mother and daughter. A perfect, happy modern family, like the kind Beauty has seen in feel-good British movies. With her own family being very demanding, it is understandable when Beauty begins to get too close.Episode 1 'Citroen UXB'Beauty... Jocelyn Jee EsienJoyce ... Julia McKenzieSarah ... Jenny AgutterLucy ... Catherine ShepherdSally ... Felicity MontaguKaren ... Nicola SandersonThe music for the series was provided by The West End Gospel Choir.Written by Christopher Douglas and Nicola SandersonThe producer is Tilusha Ghelani.
SAT 23:30 The Big Booth (b007k1xy)
Series 1
Episode 3
Marvellous monologues and sketches starring Boothby Graffoe. With Ned Sherrin and singer John Otway. From January 2000.


SUNDAY 24 MARCH 2019

SUN 00:00 Nick Fisher - Finding Fellows (m0003kcx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 A Passage to India (Omnibus) (m0003kcq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b06djx8l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Down Your Way (m0003kcv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b06sdxfl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Ian Curteis - Miss Morison's Ghosts (b060bn9s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 The Road to the National Theatre (m0003s6f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Inquest: Day One to Five (Omnibus) (b04ph81c)
The inquest into the death of a female soldier found drowned reveals she has been the victim of a sexual assault by a fellow soldier.Omnibus of witness statements from over five days, as the coroner must decide whether she took her own life...Written by Richard Monks.Hannah ..... Katie LyonsStevens ..... Matt StokoeJean ..... Claire RushbrookNicola ..... Nisha NayarMark ..... James NortonCoroner ..... Philip FoxClerk ..... Mark Edel-HuntLorna ..... Jane SlavinDirector ..... Sally AvensFirst broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
SUN 07:15 Lily Herzberg - A Dog for All Seasons (m0003kld)
The children want a dog. Their mum does not.So what will happen when Tex, a lovable Alsatian, arrives?Fiona Ramsey reads Lily Herzberg’s short story.Producer: Andy JordanFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
SUN 07:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b06sgygq)
Series 2
Financial Advisor
This week, Milton Jones becomes a responsible sober-suited Financial Adviser, and fights off a Swedish invasion with the aid of his trusty hamster.Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'. Because each week, Milton and his trusty assistant Anton (played by Milton regular, Tom Goodman-Hill) set out to help people and soon find they're embroiled in a new adventure. Because when you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push."Milton Jones is one of Britain's best gagsmiths with a flair for creating daft yet perfect one-liners" - The Guardian."King of the surreal one-liners" - The Times"If you haven't caught up with Jones yet - do so!" - The Daily MailWritten by Milton with James Cary (Bluestone 42, Miranda) and Dan Evans (who co-wrote Milton's Channel 4 show House Of Rooms), the man they call "Britain's funniest Milton" returns to the radio with a fully-working cast and a shipload of new jokes.The cast includes regulars Tom Goodman-Hill ( Spamalot, Mr. Selfridge) as the ever-faithful Anton, Josie Lawrence and Dan Tetsell (Newsjack).With music by Guy Jackson.Produced and directed by David TylerA Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 All Gas and Gaiters (b007jpqw)
The Bishop Gives a Present
The Archdeacon's not too keen on celebrating the Dean's silver wedding.Starring Robertson Hare as the Archdeacon, William Mervyn as the Bishop, Jonathan Cecil as Bishop's Chaplain - the Reverend Mervyn Noote and John Barron as the Dean. With Joan Sanderson as Mrs Pugh-Critchley.The ecclesiastical sitcom started life as a TV pilot in Comedy Playhouse, ahead of a run on BBC1 from 1966 to 1971. Selected scripts were revised and re-recorded for radio.Written for radio by Pauline Devaney and Edwin Apps.Producer: David Hatch.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1972.
SUN 08:30 We're in Business (b07md68m)
Changing Rooms
Can Dudley and Harry get along in their new noisy lodgings?Stars Peter Jones as Dudley, Harry Worth as Harry and Irene Handl as Miss Boot. With Dick Emery. Peter Jones is small-time businessman, Dudley Grosvenor who's 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 February 1960.
SUN 09:00 'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms (Omnibus) (m0003klg)
Collingwood Ingram, known as 'Cherry' after his defining life's work, was born in 1880 and lived to a hundred years old, witnessing a fraught century of conflict and change.Ingram's interest was piqued by visits to Japan in 1902 and 1907, and further when he moved to The Grange in Benenden, Kent in 1919 and discovered two magnificent cherry trees in the neglected garden of his new family home. They reminded him of his Japanese trips and he ell in love with cherry blossoms - or sakura - dedicating much of his life to their cultivation and preservation.On a further visit to Japan in 1926, to find new specimens and meet other experts, Ingram was shocked to see the loss of local cherry diversity - a consequence of industrialisation and modernisation driven by the need to rebuild after a devastating earthquake which destroyed vast areas of traditional housing. There was also an unsettling political undercurrent and pernicious ideology at work. A cloned cherry, the Somei-yoshino, was taking over the landscape and becoming the symbol of Japan's expansionist ambitions.For Ingram, the most striking absence from the Japanese cherry scene was that of Taihaku, a brilliant ‘great white’ cherry tree. A proud example of this tree grew in his English garden and he swore to return it to its native home. Multiple attempts to send Taihaku scions back to Japan ended in failure, but Ingram persisted. Over decades, he became one of the world’s leading cherry experts and shared the joy of sakura both nationally and internationally. Every spring we enjoy his legacy.‘Cherry’ Ingram is a portrait of this little-known Englishman, a story of Britain and Japan in the twentieth century and an exploration of the delicate blossoms whose beauty is admired around the world.Omnibus written and translated by Naoko AbeRead by Hattie MorahanAbridged by Isobel Creed and Lizzie DaviesProduced by Lizzie DaviesA Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in five parts in 2019.
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b06fmsy4)
Glyn and Hywel – Dark Suits and Blazers
Fi Glover hears two of the first basses from the Cor Meibion Aberystwyth consider whether or not some swaying in time to the music would enhance the male voice choir experience. Another conversation in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen, this one recorded in the mobile Booth on the Promenade at Aberystwyth.The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningprojectProducer: Marya Burgess
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0003klj)
Composers
Claude‐Michel Schonberg
From Offenbach to Richard Strauss. Composer Claude‐Michel Schonberg shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From March 2003.
SUN 11:00 Radiolab (m0003kll)
Series 5
Post No Evil
Radiolab explores how to define hate speech in the age of social media giants? With Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich.How do you define hate speech? Where's the line between a joke and an attack? Facebook has tried to answer these questions in a rulebook that all 2.2 billions of us are expected to follow. What does this mean for the future of free speech? Radiolab is a Peabody-award winning show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and the human experience.Hosts Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich investigate a strange world.From WNYC. First broadcast on public radio in the USA in 2018.
SUN 12:00 All Gas and Gaiters (b007jpqw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 We're in Business (b07md68m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Inquest: Day One to Five (Omnibus) (b04ph81c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Lily Herzberg - A Dog for All Seasons (m0003kld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 A Terrible Country (Omnibus) (m0003kln)
Episode 2
In the summer of 2008 as the global financial crisis erupts, Andrei Kaplan moves from New York to Moscow to look after his ageing grandmother - a woman who survived the dark days of communism and witnessed Russia's violent capitalist transformation, during she lost her beloved dacha.She welcomes Andrei into her home, even if she can't always remember who he is.Andrei learns to navigate Putin's Moscow, still the city of his birth but with more expensive cars and coffee. He looks after his elderly but surprisingly sharp grandmother, finds a place to play hockey, a cafe to send emails from, and eventually some friends - including a beautiful young activist named Yulia.In this second, and final, omnibus, Andrei's luck is on the up, as he finds a wifi signal - and possibly a girlfriend.Capturing with a miniaturist's brush the unfolding demands of family, fortune, personal ambition, ideology, and desire, A Terrible Country is a compelling novel about ageing, radical politics, Russia at a crossroads, and the difficulty - or impossibility - of actually changing one's life.Written by Keith GessenOmnibus read by Trevor WhiteThe last five of ten parts abridged by Jill Waters and Isobel CreedProducer: Jill WatersA Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in ten parts in 2019
SUN 15:45 Architectural Marriages (m0003klq)
Barry and Pugin: the Palace of Westminster
A successful architect, an eccentric genius and feuding descendants in a tale of high Victorian drama.Jonathan Glancey tells stories of extraordinary architectural relationships - and the fruits of these collaborations.Producer: Rebecca Nicholson First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999.
SUN 16:00 Drama (b0532byg)
CS Forester - The African Queen
Samantha Bond and Toby Jones star in a new dramatisation of C.S. Forester's classic World War 1 novel.Set in 1915, Rose Sayer's work as a missionary comes to an abrupt end when the village she and her brother, Reverend Samuel Sayer, live in is invaded by the German army. Samuel dies of fever and Rose blames the ungodly Germans for having ground him down and frightened off the entire village.Patriotically, but naively, Rose conceives of blowing up a German warship thus helping the war effort. She convinces cowardly Cockney Charlie Allnut to lend his rickety steam-powered boat, The African Queen, for the cause. He has offered to give Rose a lift in his boat to get away from the village and the Germans, so reluctantly goes along with her plan. If they manage to survive German attacks, rapids, malaria and mechanical mishaps will they be able to survive each other?The novel, The African Queen by C.S. Forester, was of course the basis for the highly popular Hollywood movie of the same name. Paul Mendelson's dramatisation goes back to the novel re-instating Forester's original ending and giving Charlie his Cockney identity back!The African QueenBy C. S. Forester; dramatised for radio by Paul MendelsonMusic composed and played by Gary C. NewmanProducer/director: David Ian Neville.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (m0003klt)
Rites of Passage - Baby Remembrance
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive and selects Rites of Passage – Baby Remembrance.Ian McMillan travels around the country, meeting ordinary people who turn to poetry for inspiration or solace at key moments in their lives. McMillan speaks to the Rev Sarah Brewerton, a minister who turned to poetry as a way of expressing her grief after her baby died at 28 weeks.Producer - Liz LeonardFirst broadcast on Radio 4 in 2004.
SUN 17:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b06sgygq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 The Prisoner (m0003klw)
Series 2
Project Six
Once returned to The Village, Number 6 learns who Kate really is. Another significant female then intervenes...The original 17 episode TV series of The Prisoner created intrigue and controversy in equal measure when it first aired in the UK in 1967.In a taut psychological spy thriller the main character, dehumanised as ‘Number 6’, has committed no crime, save for having resigned from some unspecified branch of the British Secret Service. His prison was a heavily guarded coastal village.Under constant surveillance, Number 6 can trust no-one and relentlessly works to establish who his captors are. As the audio re-imagining continues, we discover more about the enigma of the personal life of Number 6...Mark Elstob stars as Number 6, with Lucy Briggs-Owen as Number 2, Sarah Mowat as Janet, Helen Goldwyn as the Village Voice, Andrew Ryan as Number 52 and Nicholas Briggs as Number 99.Music - Jamie RobertsonScript Editor - Jamie Anderson.Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs.A Big Finish Production - based on the classic ITV series.
SUN 18:55 Jane Gardam - Somebody (b08tj9mf)
Mary assumes she lives alone in a rambling old house. Her god-daughter Lucy knows she doesn’t...Jane Gardham's off-kilter tale read by Gillian Bevan.Producer: Duncan MinshullFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
SUN 19:00 Radiolab (m0003kll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 'Cherry' Ingram: The Englishman who saved Japan's Blossoms (Omnibus) (m0003klg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b06fmsy4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0003klj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b06sgygq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 The Headset Set (b012fs7b)
Series 1
Episode 4
It is appraisal day in the offices of catalogue company Smile5, but only Sailesh has prepared for it.Eavesdrop on both sides of the bizarre, horrific and ludicrous phone calls when customers call in as events unfold with company staff.Aleesha and other characters ..... Chizzy AkudoluBernie and other characters ..... Margaret-Cabourn SmithBig Tony, Ralph and other characters ..... Colin HoultSailesh, Bradley and other characters ..... Paul SharmaVarious ..... Philip FoxWriters: James Kettle, Stephen Carlin, Celia Pacquola, Andy Wolton, Benjamin Partridge, Colin Hoult, Kevin Core, Madeliene Brettingham, Rebecca Hobbs and Dan Tetsell.Script editor: James KettleProducer: Tilusha GhelaniFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2011.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0003s7p)
Jo Bunting 2/2
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith talks to Jo Bunting.
SUN 23:00 Cabin Pressure (b00lmcyc)
Series 2
Helsinki
Carolyn and her sister haven't spoken for fifteen years. Which is why Arthur has invited her to a party on board, together with 500 Euros-worth of smuggled orchids...The return of the hit sitcom starring Stephanie Cole, Benedict Cumberbatch and Roger Allam about a tiny charter airline for whom no job is too small, but many, many jobs are too difficult...Starring Stephanie Cole as Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, Roger Allam as 1st Officer Douglas Richardson, Benedict Cumberbatch as Captain Martin Crieff, John Finnmore as Arthur Shappey, Alison Steadman as Ruth Gregson, Matt Green as Kieran Gregson and Simon Greenall as Milo.Producer: David TylerMade for BBC Radio 4 by Pozzitive productions. First broadcast in July 2009.
SUN 23:30 Radio Active (b008jdf3)
Series 3
Repeat After Three
After a presenter reshuffle at Radio Active, Mike Channel presents his first overnight slot, including the 'What My Favourite Record Is' phone-inStarring Helen Atkinson-Wood, Angus Deayton, Geoffrey Perkins, Philip Pope and Michael Fenton-Stevens.Written by Angus Deayton and Geoffrey Perkins. With Jon Canter, Moray Hunter, John Docherty, Roger Planer and Richard Curtis.Producer: Jamie RixFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1983.


MONDAY 25 MARCH 2019

MON 00:00 The Prisoner (m0003klw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:55 Jane Gardam - Somebody (b08tj9mf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:55 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Inquest: Day One to Five (Omnibus) (b04ph81c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Lily Herzberg - A Dog for All Seasons (m0003kld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 A Terrible Country (Omnibus) (m0003kln)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Architectural Marriages (m0003klq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Drama (b0532byg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (m0003klt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Thanks a Lot, Milton Jones! (b06sgygq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061fdq3)
Watch the Birdie
A photograph circling the heads of three people at a party on a lawn sparks a new mystery for veteran detective Bill Galbraith. After spending days looking for him, Tommy Evans has finally tracked Galbraith down.Starring Bernard Hepton as Galbraith. With Garard Green as Finch and Richard Davies as Evans.Written by prize-winning TV producer Robert Barr, who also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly.Produced by John BrowellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
MON 06:30 When Cassius Met The Beatles (b00r8b1k)
The tale of an unexpected encounter between 20th century legends - a meeting which created a new template for global celebrity.February 1964: The Beatles fly into Miami, sparking Beatlemania as they prepare to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.Meanwhile in a low-rent Miami gym, the underdog Cassius Clay trains to fight reigning champion Sonny Liston for the world title. The pundits say Clay hasn't a hope. Quite unexpectedly, the paths of these legendary figures cross.British photographer Harry Benson arranges for The Beatles to visit Cassius Clay in the gym. Clay picks up Ringo and swings him around the ring as if he's no heavier than a toddler, as the other band-members lie at his feet. Clay pretends to knock all four Beatles down with a single punch. The resulting images remain in the memory long after this brief encounter.The Beatles triumph on TV. Cassius Clay amazes all the boxing writers by defeating Liston. They suddenly both find themselves on the cusp of a new kind of stardom - they're young, outspoken and able to capture the global imagination.John Wilson reports from Miami on the background to this unique encounter, with the memories of three people who were there at the time: photographer Harry Benson, who was travelling with the Beatles, writer Robert Lipsyte, who was covering the fight for the New York Times as a rookie reporter, and fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco, then working at the gym in Miami. All witnessed the moment when Cassius met The Beatles. John also taps the memories of Paul McCartney.Producer John Goudie
MON 07:00 Flying the Flag (b00c39mw)
Series 3
Drugs, Mr Ambassador?
"Drugs, Mr Ambassador?""We didn't need drugs in my day, William. We had something else to sustain us - we called them standards."Fortified by caffeine, nicotine and alcohol, the diplomats tackle the drug barons.Series 3 of Alex Shearer's Eastern bloc embassy sitcom.Starring Dinsdale Landen as HM Ambassador Mackenzie, Peter Acre as William Frost, Moir Leslie as Helen Waterson, Stephen Greif as US Ambassador Spiro Weinberg and Christopher Benjamin as Colonel Surikov.Producer: Neil CargillFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1990.
MON 07:30 Just a Minute (m0003cvq)
Series 83
Episode 7
Paul Merton, Josie Lawrence, Lee Mack and Zoe Lyons join Nicholas Parsons for the panel game where the challenge is to speak without hesitation, repetition or deviation.Produced by Matt Stronge.A BBC Studios Production.
MON 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jp9g)
Series 6
The Childhood Sweetheart
The lad sets off for a romantic reunion pledged 25 years before.Starring Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Kenneth Williams and Patricia Hayes.Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.Producer: Tom RonaldFirst broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1959.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007jlcs)
Series 1
The Enemy Within the Gates
As their new uniforms arrive, Captain Mainwaring's platoon try to capture Germans - for a cash reward.Six years after legendary sitcom Dad's Army started on BBC TV, these specially adapted radio versions began recording with the original cast.Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, James Beck as Private Walker, Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey, Ian Lavender as Private Pike, Carl Jaffe as Captain Winogrodzki, David Sinclair - all other parts and John Snagge as the announcer.Adapted from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's original BBC TV scripts by Michael Knowles and Harold Snoad.Producer: John DyasFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1974.
MON 09:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03c2zwb)
Series 6
Palmer, Sommer, O'Neill
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Humphrey Ker welcome the crowd-sourcing rock star Amanda Palmer, evolutionary anthropologist Professor Volker Sommer and occult comedian Andrew O'NeillUp for discussion: steam punk, cross-dressing, rock, sex, death, religion, humans and other great apes.Producers: Richard Turner and Dan SchreiberFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2013.
MON 09:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b00kfsky)
Series 3
This Is Your Life
It's excitement all round as the staff and children prepare to celebrate the return of Head Teacher, Mrs Devon.School comedy created and written by Jim Eldridge. Ten series of this King Street Junior ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.Stars Carolyn Pickles as Mrs Devon, Marlene Sidaway as Miss Lewis, Michael Cochrane as Mr Maxwell, Teresa Gallagher as Miss Featherstone, Jacqueline Beatty as Miss Reid, Janice Acquah as Mrs Khan, Paul Copley as Mr Long, Christopher Ravenscroft as Paul Devon, Daryl Moore as Roscoe, Reanna Calvert as Tracy, Charlie Barker as Brandon and Elisha Mansuroglu as Kylie.Producer: John Fawcett WilsonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
MON 10:00 Jane Austen (b007jr87)
Mansfield Park
The Family at Mansfield
Jane Austen's unlikely heroine Fanny Price is plucked from her impoverished family and brought up by her wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park.Classic tale dramatised in three parts by Elizabeth Proud.Starring Hannah Gordon as Jane Austen, Amanda Root as Fanny, Michael Williams as Sir Thomas Bertram, Jane Lapotaire as Mrs Norris, Robert Glenister as Edmund Bertram, Louise Jameson as Lady Bertram, Teresa Gallagher as Mary Crawford and Andrew Wincott as Henry Crawford.Music composed by Anthea Gomez and played by Christian McKay, Jill Heartfield, Audrey Douglas and Katharine Gittings.Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Sue WilsonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
MON 11:00 TED Radio Hour (m0003kfx)
Series 5
Unstoppable Learning
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.Guy Raz explores the extraordinary ways babies and children learn – from the womb, to the playground to the internet.First broadcast in the USA on National Public Radio in 2013.
MON 11:50 Inheritance Tracks (b08pmt8t)
Fearne Cotton
DJ and presenter Fearne Cotton inherits 'Good Times, Bad Times' by Led Zeppelin and wants to pass on 'Rocket Man' by Elton John.
MON 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jp9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jlcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061fdq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 When Cassius Met The Beatles (b00r8b1k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080jj1)
Episode 6
Sophie tells all, and Calypso has a secret for Hector, but where is he?A house - with a fragrant lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs - is the link between the five cousins which neither the war nor adulthood can break.Published in 1984, Mary Wesley novel abridged in ten parts by Elizabeth Bradbury.Read by Sian Phillips.Producer: Tracey NealeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
MON 14:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b07457jx)
Rock Pools
What looks a sponge, smells like a volcano and is found in rock pools? Well, the answer can be found in this series of three programmes in which Brett Westwood joins naturalist Phil Gates on the coast of Northumberland and with the help of recordings by wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, they offer a practical and entertaining guide to the wildlife which you're most likely to see and hear in different coastal habitats beginning with probably everyone's favourite childhood haunt, the rock pool. These are home to shore crabs and hermit crabs, as well as sea anemones, breadcrumb sponges and sea squirts. We learn how sea squirts which appear to be little more than bags of fluid clinging to the rocks might be our evolutionary ancestors, we hear how a school teacher invented glass shells to study the reproduction and subsequently house-moving antics of hermit crabs, and discover how when it comes to building, it's the breadcrumb sponges which have mastered the art with some clever self- assembly scaffolding tricks! Producer Sarah Blunt.
MON 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b2grv)
Episode 1
An unexpected obstacle sparks a beguiling adventure for diplomat George Darrow.Published in 1912, The Reef is one of Edith Wharton's most accomplished yet neglected novels - revealing the submerged and perilous depths beneath the surface of even the most conventional of its characters.Starring Ben Miles as George Darrow, Jodhi May as Sophie and Sian Thomas as the Narrator.Dramatised by Penny Leicester.Producer: Di SpeirsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b0458063)
A Broken Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen's Secret Chord
Episode 1
As Leonard Cohen turns 80, a new biography by Liel Leibovitz explores the life, work and passion of the poet-turned-musician. What makes Cohen such an enduring international figure in the cultural imagination?Granted extraordinary access to Cohen's personal papers, Leibovitz evokes a complicated, sometimes contradictory figure. Born into a Canadian religious Jewish family, for years a reclusive lyricist on the Greek island of Hydra, known for his bold political commentary, his devotion to Buddhist thought and his later despair over contemporary Zionism, Cohen hardly follows the rules of a conventional rock star.An intimate look at a man who, despite battles with depression and years spent in hermit-like isolation, is still touring and now seems to be reaching a new peak of popularity.Read by Julian Barratt, with Leonard Cohen quotes read by Colin Stinton.Abridged by: Jo CoombsProducer: Pippa VaughanA Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 15:00 Jane Austen (b007jr87)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03c2zwb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b00kfsky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Flying the Flag (b00c39mw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 Just a Minute (m0003cvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Atomic Tales (b007jx7x)
Night of the Cicadas
Small and usually friendly, chirruping insects suddenly grow huge - turning nasty and developing a taste for human flesh...1950s American sci-fi spoof starring John Guerrasio, Jeff Harding, Allison Warnyca, Lewis McLeod, Colin Stinton and Liza Ross.Written by Adam Tandy and Nat Sones.Producer: Adam Bromley.Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in August 2006.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b00899lm)
Eamon Duffy and Elinor Goodman
Sue MacGregor and her guests - historian, Professor Eamon Duffy and political commentator, Elinor Goodman - discuss favourite books by John Meade Falkner, Laurie Graham and Nella Last.The Nebuly Coat by John Meade FalknerPublisher: Steve SavageGone with the Windsors by Laurie GrahamPublisher: Harper PerennialNella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of 'Housewife, 49'Publisher: Profile BooksFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007.
MON 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour (b007jp9g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007jlcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061fdq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 When Cassius Met The Beatles (b00r8b1k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 TED Radio Hour (m0003kfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:50 Inheritance Tracks (b08pmt8t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:50 today]
MON 22:00 Just a Minute (m0003cvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 Gloomsbury (b05w8dmy)
Series 3
All Very Hush Hush
When Henry decides to work from home, his wife - the novelist and gardener Vera Sackcloth-Vest - is forced to rearrange her secret liaison with Venus Traduces lest Henry should discover her betrayal.But Henry has more pressing matters to attend to. His boss from the foreign office is coming down for a secret meeting to discuss a breach of security at Sizzlinghurst and, as a result, Henry can't stop seeing spies round every corner. His paranoia is fuelled by the arrival of a journalist and a photographer from that hotbed of Bolshevism, the Observer newspaper, who have come to interview Vera, and by the unexpected visit of Ginny Fox and her Socialist husband, Lionel, who have come to do research for Ginny's new novel on the Foreign Office.Everyone appears to be asking intrusive questions and Henry becomes very, very twitchy - especially when he discovers that the interviewer is the working class genius DH Lollipop and the photographer his occasional squeeze, Venus Traduces.Now Henry feels properly betrayed and only Vera denouncing Venus in public can assuage his jealous rage.Produced by Jamie RixA Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0003sbc)
Pierre Novellie 1/2
Jayde Adams chats to Pierre Novellie.
MON 23:00 The Now Show (m0003d9p)
Series 54
Episode 5
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand-up and sketchesFeaturing Andy Zaltzman, Vikki Stone, Geoff Norcott and Emma Sidi.Written by the cast with additional material from Laura Major, Ian Smith, Catherine Brinkworth, Kat Sadler and Jeffrey Aidoo.Producer: Adnan AhmedBBC Studios Production
MON 23:30 Concrete Cow (b04v8zs2)
Series 2
Art
Someone goes too far at a murder-mystery party.Second series of the sketch show in which anything is possible.Starring Robert Webb, Beth Chalmers, Catherine Shepherd, Steven Kynman, Abigail Burdess and Chris Pavlo.Written by James Cary.Producer: Adam BromleyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2004.


TUESDAY 26 MARCH 2019

TUE 00:00 Atomic Tales (b007jx7x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b00899lm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061fdq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 When Cassius Met The Beatles (b00r8b1k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080jj1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b07457jx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b2grv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b0458063)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Jane Austen (b007jr87)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03c2zwb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b00kfsky)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Flying the Flag (b00c39mw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 Just a Minute (m0003cvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061fpw2)
Who Goes Next
An East End criminal lawyer is threatened and a young man disappears. Starring Bernard Hepton as Galbraith. With Garard Green as Finch, Richard Davies as Evans, Robert Gillespie as Doc McDowall and Clive Merrison as Tully.Written by prize-winning TV producer Robert Barr, who also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly.Produced by John BrowellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
TUE 06:30 The Curse of the Confederacy of Dunces (b01r55wx)
A Confederacy of Dunces is one of the great comic novels of the 20th century; unfortunately its author did not live to see his work acclaimed. Frustrated by the publishing world's rebuffs, John Kennedy Toole committed suicide in 1969 unpublished, impoverished and unhinged. Twelve years later it won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.The book, beloved by the people of New Orleans, whose people and their mores Toole depicted with forensic accuracy, has since become the book Hollywood has tried most to film and so far failed. The deaths of four leading actors, the murder one financier and even Hurricane Katrina have all intervened to prevent the cameras rolling.With yet another Hollywood 'A- lister' signed up to play the book's monstrous slob of an anti-hero, Ignatius J Reilly, Matthew Wells tells the story of the incredible life of a work that has been surrounded by so much tragedy, tribulation and ultimately acclaim. He examines the appeal of a masterpiece that's up to its 30th edition and can be read in 22 languages from Croatian to Catalan.
TUE 07:00 Smelling of Roses (b00qh0ls)
Series 2
Party Party
Rosie and the team are asked to launch a new political party for people over 60. Sadly, its leader doesn't quite get to launch his manifestoPrunella Scales stars in the second of four series of Simon Brett's sitcom following the trials and tribulations of Rosie Burns and her event-management company based in Brighton.With Arabella Weir as Kate, Rebecca Callard as Jo, Duncan Preston as Bob, Annette Badland as Tess, Ben Aris as Sir Geoffrey, Felicity Goodson as Anthea and Simon Trinder as Robert. Producer: Maria EspositoFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2001.
TUE 07:30 My Teenage Diary (b07gfjhm)
Series 7
Sara Pascoe
Comedian Sara Pascoe joins Rufus Hound and reads from her teenage diaries. She works at the Millennium Dome, gets a new boyfriend, starts university and takes her dog along for company. What could possibly go wrong?Producer: Harriet JaineExecutive Producer: Aled EvansMy Teenage Diary is a Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 08:00 Play It Cool (b05qdylm)
Episode 3
Women's magazines and ballroom dancing inspire comedy characters galore in fast-moving sketches.Starring Ian Carmichael, Joan Sims and Hugh Paddick.Films like Private's Progress and I'm All Right Jack helped make Ian Carmichael a major star of both British stage and screen. Play it Cool was his first radio comedy series promising a variety of potty and pompous situations.Written by Eric Merriman - best known for his work on numerous series of Beyond Our Ken.With music from Rosemary Squires, The Mike Sammes Singers and The Ken Thorne OrchestraProduced by John SimmondsFirst broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1964.
TUE 08:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b007jrgc)
Moving On
Bob and Terry take an eventful trip down memory lane.Starring James Bolam as Terry Collier, Rodney Bewes as Bob Ferris and Brigit Forsyth as Thelma Chambers. With Sheila Fearn and Michael Segal.Created and scripted for BBC TV by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Adapted for radio by Patrick Tilley.Producer: John BrowellOriginally lost from the archive, the audio was provided by BBC producer Stan Was.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1975.
TUE 09:00 The Now Show (m0003d9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 Beachcomber... By the Way (b0084hyx)
Series 1
Episode 5
Lady Cabstanleigh holds a party, Mrs McGurgle gets into an argument, Chief Inspector Blunderton follows up a few leads, and Justice Cocklecarrot has to contend with the antics of the Filthistan trio.Richard Ingrams, John Wells, John Sessions and Patricia Routledge recreate the world of the JB Morton.Running in the Daily Express from 1924 to 1975 – JB Morton’s surreally comic ‘Beachcomber’ column paved the way for a great deal of modern humour.Adapted by Michael Barfield with Richard Ingrams.Announcer: Brian PerkinsProducer: Harry ThompsonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989
TUE 10:00 Jane Austen (b007jrc2)
Mansfield Park
Mr Crawford Changes Tack
The Crawfords cause confusion for Fanny Price, and her brother William returns.Jane’s Austen’s classic tale dramatised by Elizabeth Proud.Starring Hannah Gordon as Jane Austen.With Amanda Root as Fanny, Michael Williams as Sir Thomas Bertram, Jane Lapotaire as Mrs Norris, Robert Glenister as Edmund Bertram, Louise Jameson as Lady Bertram, Teresa Gallagher as Mary Crawford, Andrew Wincott as Henry Crawford, Kim Wall as Tom Bertram, Cathy Sara as Maria Bertram, Tracy Wiles as Julia Bertram, Michael Onslow as Mr Rushworth, Malcolm McKee as Mr Yates, Sharon Bayliss as Mrs Grant and Richard Curnow as William Price.Music composed by Anthea Gomez and played by Christian McKay, Jill Heartfield, Audrey Douglas and Katharine Gittings.Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Sue WilsonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
TUE 11:00 Telling Tales (m0003l14)
The Moth
This week’s show looks at live storytelling, with Catherine Burns and Meg Bowles of The Moth.The Moth Radio Hour is a weekly series which launched in 2009. It features true stories told live on stage without scripts, notes, props, or accompaniment.Some of the storytellers that step up to the mic are writers by trade. But many aren’t and Catherine and Meg are practised in the art of helping bring these voices and stories to a wider audience.The pair share insights into the art of telling a good story well, with some highlights from The Moth archives.We also head backstage, at the Moth’s latest event in London, to meet some of the storytellers brave enough to take to the stage and deliver a tale on the topic of Occasional Magic.Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
TUE 12:00 Play It Cool (b05qdylm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b007jrgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061fpw2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 The Curse of the Confederacy of Dunces (b01r55wx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080p26)
Episode 7
Polly and the twins have an interesting relationship. Helena is put out by Richard's visit.A house - with a fragrant lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs - is the link between the five cousins which neither the war nor adulthood can break.Published in 1984, Mary Wesley novel abridged in ten parts by Elizabeth Bradbury.Read by Sian Phillips.Producer: Tracey NealeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
TUE 14:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074x4th)
Sandy Beaches
The sandy beach is one of the most hostile habitats on our coastline.To survive the driving wind, abrasive sand and predation by sea birds, animals either spend much of their lives below the surface or have evolved some very clever adaptations - as Brett Westwood discovers when he joins naturalist Phil Gates on the Northumberland coast.With the help of recordings by wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, they offer a practical and entertaining guide to the wildlife which you’re most likely to see and hear on sandy beaches.On the lower shore, they wander amongst the lugworm burrows in search of razor clams and pogoing cockles! Brett discovers not only how razor clams escape predation by burrowing into the sand with their muscular foot, but also how to age them “It’s great I’ve come all the way to Northumberland to age a mollusc“, laughs Brett.Higher up the beach, Brett and Phil gently rake through piles of decaying seaweed to discover a seething mass of jumping sand hoppers; small crustaceans about the size of a woodlouse with legs of two different lengths, which move up and down the beach with the tides. And finally at the top of the beach at the front of the sand dunes, they discuss the remarkable abilities of marram grass not only to avoid drying out, but also to hold back the sand and create stable areas where communities of other plants can take root and grow.Producer: Sarah Blunt
TUE 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b2qv8)
Episode 2
Diplomat George Darrow is determined to give Sophie a few days of happiness in Paris to compensate for her dreary prospects.Published in 1912, The Reef is one of Edith Wharton's most accomplished yet neglected novels - revealing the submerged and perilous depths beneath the surface of even the most conventional of its characters.Starring Ben Miles as George Darrow, Jodhi May as Sophie, Julian Ovenden as Owen and Sian Thomas as the Narrator.Dramatised by Penny Leicester.Producer: Di SpeirsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b045kb39)
A Broken Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen's Secret Chord
Episode 2
As Leonard Cohen turns 80, a new biography by Liel Leibovitz explores the life, work and passion of the poet-turned-musician. What makes Cohen such an enduring international figure in the cultural imagination?Granted extraordinary access to Cohen's personal papers, Leibovitz evokes a complicated, sometimes contradictory figure. Born into a Canadian religious Jewish family, for years a reclusive lyricist on the Greek island of Hydra, known for his bold political commentary, his devotion to Buddhist thought and his later despair over contemporary Zionism, Cohen hardly follows the rules of a conventional rock star.An intimate look at a man who, despite battles with stage fright and years spent in hermit-like isolation, is still touring and now seems to be reaching a new peak of popularity.In episode 2, despite success as a poet, Cohen feels the need to escape to the Greek island of Hydra.Read by Julian Barratt, with Leonard Cohen quotes read by Colin Stinton.Abridged by: Jo CoombsProducer: Pippa VaughanA Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 15:00 Jane Austen (b007jrc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Genius (b0076vc0)
Series 2
Johnny Vegas
From a robotic dog to friendly car horns. Dave Gorman asks comedian and actor Johnny Vegas to select the public's best loopy ideaThe second of three radio comedy series where award-winning comedian Dave Gorman and a celebrity guest chew over the ridiculous, unworkable but sometimes genius inventions, schemes and policies of the public.Producer: Simon NichollsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2006.
TUE 16:30 Ballylenon (b008751g)
Series 6
Episode 5
Following Guard Gallagher's successful performance in New York, Phonsie’s lured back a tourist executive to promote the town...Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal in 1956.Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.Starring TP McKenna as Phonsie Doherty, Margaret D'Arcy as Muriel McConkey, Stella McCusker as Vera McConkey, Aine McCartney as Vivienne Hawthorne, Gerard Murphy as Rev Samuel Hawthorne, Gerard McSorley as Stumpy Bonnar, Charlie Bonnar as Packy McGoldrick and John Hewitt as Guard Gallagher.Music arranged and performed by Stephanie Hughes.Directed at BBC Belfast by Peter Kavanagh.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1998.
TUE 17:00 Smelling of Roses (b00qh0ls)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 My Teenage Diary (b07gfjhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (m0003l17)
Series 5
Edgar Allan Poe - Morella
What's in a name?Edgar Allan Poe explores the notion of identity in the first of five stories from the incomparable author.In a writing career that spanned barely two decades (he died in his 41st year) the American penned over 70 short stories. These he incessantly revised over the years and many became standards of the short form (like ‘The Fall Of The House of Usher’ or ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’).But for our five fictional tales, we burrow down amongst Poe’s lesser-known, and often dark, gems.Reader: Owen TealeAbridger: Pete NicholsProducer: Karen RoseMade for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Sweet Talk Productions.
TUE 18:15 HH Munro - Five Tales By Saki (b0076rmr)
The Lumber Room
When young Nicholas is punished by his aunt, he seeks refuge in the magical lumber room; but when his aunt seeks him in the garden, he can expect retribution.Saki's fiction famously celebrates the triumph of the "human beast" over the structures of society. Mischief, mayhem and the antic spirit of children are the stuff of his enduring tales of English life.Stars Susan Engel as the Aunt, Ben Tibber as Nicholas and Alex Tregear as Agatha.Five Tales by Saki (HH Munro), dramatised by Roger Davenport.Director: Ned ChailletFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
TUE 18:30 The Radio Detectives (b007jpbt)
Series 2
On the Beat with PC 49
Professor Jeffrey Richards recalls the popular street bobby and asks Susan Stranks about her father Alan's sleuthing creation.
TUE 19:00 Play It Cool (b05qdylm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? (b007jrgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061fpw2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 The Curse of the Confederacy of Dunces (b01r55wx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Telling Tales (m0003l14)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b07gfjhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Susan Calman Is Convicted (b01qwc92)
Series 1
Depression
In a brand new series for Radio 4, Susan Calman explores issues on which she has strong opinions.When Susan was younger (and more than a little self-obsessed), she thought that the brooding, silent type was the best way to be. Then, whilst trying to deal with depression, she went on a journey of counselling, self-help. even writing poetry - you name it, she did it all. Now she is convinced that bottling things up makes things worse and that we should all talk about everything all the time. Well, not quite. But nearly.But does counselling help or does it encourage self-pity? Should we all just pull ourselves together?Produced by Lyndsay Fenner.
TUE 23:00 Old Harry's Game (b00j4kbz)
Series 7
Episode 5
Hell is not what it was since the baby turned up.Satan's become a one-man adoption agency whilst his chief demon is reading Penelope Leach. But can Satan place the baby with a good family?Stars Andy Hamilton as Satan, Annette Crosbie as Edith, Robert Duncan as Scumspawn and Jimmy Mulville as Thomas.Other roles played by Mike Fenton Stevens, Philip Pope and Felicity Montagu. Written by Andy Hamilton.Producer: Paul Mayhew-ArcherFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2009.
TUE 23:30 The Maltby Collection (b00mg0wp)
Series 3
Episode 3
Warring curators, wedding cleaners and a dodgy alarm system all add to the unwanted pressure on Walter.Geoffrey Palmer and Julian Rhind-Tutt star in series 3 of David Nobbs’ sitcom about a small museum of paintings and sculpture.Rod Millet ...... Julian Rhind-TuttWalter Brindle ...... Geoffrey PalmerPrunella Edgecumbe ...... Rachel AtkinsSusie Maltby ...... Margaret Cabourn-SmithJulian Crumb-Loosely ...... Ben WillbondWilf Arbuthnot ...... Geoff McGivernEva Tattle ...... Juklia DeakinDes Wainwright ...... Michael SmileyStelios Constantinopoulis ...... Chris PavloProducer: Colin AndersonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.


WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH 2019

WED 00:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (m0003l17)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:15 HH Munro - Five Tales By Saki (b0076rmr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 The Radio Detectives (b007jpbt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061fpw2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 The Curse of the Confederacy of Dunces (b01r55wx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080p26)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074x4th)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b2qv8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b045kb39)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Jane Austen (b007jrc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Genius (b0076vc0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Ballylenon (b008751g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Smelling of Roses (b00qh0ls)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 My Teenage Diary (b07gfjhm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061g4g8)
Pandora's Box
A file is stolen from a retired lawyer's office and the investigation leads to the hunt for a widow. Vast wealth and secrets are both linked to a death. Starring Bernard Hepton as Galbraith. With Garard Green as Finch, Richard Davies as Evans, Margery Withers as Mrs Palmer and Clive Merrison as Tully.Written by prize-winning TV producer Robert Barr, who also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly.Produced by John BrowellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
WED 06:30 Bowling for Love (b00mr5r6)
Following a bowls community, and the friendships and romances formed on and off the green. When Brian and Meryl joined Adastra Bowls Club in Hassocks, they were looking for a new hobby. But as their lives changed, the crown green became the setting for another sort of interest.
WED 07:00 The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII (b0076hv6)
Episode 1
Twenty years married to Catherine of Aragon - and no son for the King. Should she take all the blame?An unreliable history, created and written in six parts by Barry Grossman.Starring Jonathan Coy as Henry VIII, Carla Mendonca as Catherine of Aragon, Sheila Steafel as Donna Elvira, John Rowe as Cardinal Wolsey, Milton Jones as Thomas Cromwell, Stephen Gretf as the Pope, and Alfred Burke as the Chronicler.Music by Jim Parker.Producer: John Fawcett WilsonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
WED 07:30 Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Addiction (b09czrbc)
Why Are Some More Susceptible Than Others?
Mae Martin is kicking the habit.Award-winning stand-up and Edinburgh comedy award nominee 2017 Mae Martin presents a brand new series for Radio 4.Mae's exploring how we as a society think about addiction, and on a personal level, trying to understand who she is now she's no longer addicted to anything. Through the lens of her own experience, Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Addiction follows Mae chronologically through a lifetime of obsessive behaviour and addiction with all her characteristic wit and levity.Episode 2 - Why are some people more susceptible to addiction than others? And what can we do about it?Sober, un-obsessed, and single for the first time in her life, Mae is asking: Who am I when I'm NOT addicted? And what's next? Mae looks at how society views addiction and recovery, and what connections we can make between identifying why people feel the need to self-soothe, and helping them on the road to recovery in a compassionate way.Written by and starring Mae MartinWith Dr Gabor MateProducer Alexandra SmithProduction Coordinator Beverley TaggA BBC Studios Production.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b01nw97t)
The Sabotaged Floggle-Toggle-Box
The crew are confined to ship over fears of underhand interference aboard HMS Troutbridge.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 Mrs Povey, Ronnie Barker as AS Johnson, Tenniel Evans as LS Goldstein and Michael Bates as the Padre.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 WymanProducer: Alastair Scott Johnston.First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in September 1965.
WED 08:30 Not in Front of the Children (b08htpmg)
Series 2
No Man at the Helm
The Corners are trying to sell their London house - but things are becoming unhinged...Starring Wendy Craig as Jennifer Corner, Francis Matthews as Henry Corner, Charlotte Mitchell as Mary, Roberta Tovey as Trudi, Jill Riddick as Amanda, Hugo Keith-Johnston as Robin, David Tate as the Agent, Norman Mitchell as Mr Weston and Aline Waites as Mrs Weston.The second series of comedy mishaps of the Corner family: Jennifer and Henry and their three children Trudi, Amanda and Robin. Not in Front of the Children originally ran for four series from 1967 to 1970 on BBC TV. Richard Waring adapted his own scripts for this radio version, now fully restored from the original reel-to-reel tapes.Wendy Craig won a Best Actress BAFTA award for the TV version of Not in Front of the Children in 1969. This was the first of several housewife roles that Wendy Craig was to play on television. Later series included And Mother Makes Three/Five and Butterflies.Music by Ronnie HazlehurstProducer: Trafford Whitelock.First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1970.
WED 09:00 Counterpoint (b009xsph)
Series 22
2008 Heat 5
Paul Gambaccini chairs the general knowledge music quiz, covering the whole musical spectrum from the classics to jazz, stage and film music, rock and pop.From the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, the three contestants battling it out are Greg Lord from Sutton Coldfield, Anthony Payne from St Bees, and Martyn Smith from Aberdare.Producer: Paul Bajoria.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
WED 09:30 PG Wodehouse - Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (b007jqgh)
Bartholomew, Blackmail and Barefaced Lies
An expensive statue lands Bertie Wooster in a pickle.PG Wodehouse romp adapted in six-parts by Richard Usborne.Starring Michael Hordern as Jeeves, Richard Briers as Bertie Wooster, Paul Eddington as Roderick Spode, John Le Mesurier as Sir Watkin Bassett, Ronald Fraser as Major Plank, Jonathan Cecil as Boko Fittleworth, Denise Coffey as Stiffy Bing and Percy Edwards as Bartholemew the Dog.Producer: David HatchFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1980.
WED 10:00 Jane Austen (b007jrff)
Mansfield Park
Portsmouth and After
Both Fanny and Tom face disappointment and hope in equal measure.Conclusion of Jane’s Austen’s classic tale dramatised by Elizabeth Proud.Starring Hannah Gordon as Jane AustenWith Amanda Root as Fanny, Michael Williams as Sir Thomas Bertram, Jane Lapotaire as Mrs Norris, Robert Glenister as Edmund Bertram, Louise Jameson as Lady Bertram, Teresa Gallagher as Mary Crawford, Andrew Wincott as Henry Crawford, Kim Wall as Tom Bertram, Richard Curnow as William Price, Sunny Ormonde as Mrs Price, Terry Molloy as Mr Price, Katherine Mount as Susan Price and Anne-Marie Francis as Rebecca. Price children: Tim Black, Stephanie Luxton, Zoe Ganjavi and Richard Ganjavi.Music composed by Anthea Gomez and played by Christian McKay, Jill Heartfield, Audrey Douglas and Katharine Gittings.Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Sue WilsonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1997.
WED 11:00 Above Ground (b05rl4fy)
Licence to Kill
Stephanie Cole reads a new short story by Penelope Lively.Eighty-six-year-old Pauline requires a little help with daily tasks. Her teenaged care assistant, Cally, is employed to take her shopping. Their easy routine stutters when, out of the blue, Pauline reveals a secret about her past.This is the first in a new series of stories in which writers consider the theme of age and ageing. The series title, Above Ground, is inspired by a quote from Carol Shields novel The Stone Diaries: "Here's to another year and let's hope it's above ground."Read by Stephanie ColeWritten by Penelope LivelyProduced by Kirsteen Cameron.
WED 11:15 Drama (b045bsx8)
Susan Swingler - House of Fiction
Dramatised by Sara Davies from the memoir by Susan Swingler.When Susan Swingler was twenty-one, she received a cheque from an aunt of whom she'd never heard. Intrigued, she went to visit. Her aunt asked after her brother and sister and was surprised that Susan did not appear to have an Australian accent.But Susan was an only child, and she had never been to Australia. She'd lived alone with her mother since the day her father abandoned them seventeen years before. Why did her aunt, and the rest of her family, believe they were living in Australia?This meeting begins for Susan the process of unravelling an extraordinary deception that lies at the heart of her family, invented by her step-mother, Australia's best-known female novelist, Elizabeth Jolley.Miriam Margolyes and Juliet Aubrey star in this true story of how Elizabeth Jolley's most creative piece of fiction is her own life. Includes interviews with Susan Swingler.Director...Mary Ward-LoweryMusic...Gnossiene No.3 by Erik Satie.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b01nw97t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Not in Front of the Children (b08htpmg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061g4g8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Bowling for Love (b00mr5r6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080qbv)
Episode 8
Sophie has an accident. Polly tries to forget the twins. Calypso receives some bad news.A house - with a fragrant lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs - is the link between the five cousins which neither the war nor adulthood can break.Published in 1984, Mary Wesley novel abridged in ten parts by Elizabeth Bradbury.Read by Sian Phillips.Producer: Tracey NealeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
WED 14:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074xq25)
Sea Cliffs
What has an old threepenny coin and a sea cliff in common?Well, the answer can be found in this programme when Brett Westwood joins naturalist Phil Gates on the Northumberland coast and discovers how plants and animals have evolved to survive the battering waves, salt spray and driving winds in one of the most hostile habitats on our coastline, the sea cliffs.Their first encounter is with sea pink or thrift, a plant which has evolved to survive the high levels of salt by sequestering salt into its leaves which then die off, and are replaced by new leaves. Lured by the cries of birds calling out their name "kitti-waak", "kitti-waak", they clamber across the rocks into a cove where kittiwakes and fulmars are nesting on a sheer cliff face.Brett learns why the young chicks don’t fall off their narrow ledges and how fulmars keep predators at bay (the clue is in their name which means, foul mouth). Below the birds, where the waves pound against the rocks, the surface is studded with barnacles and limpets, and away from the roar of the waves, in a quiet spot amongst coconut-scented gorse bushes Brett and Phil discuss just how these creatures manage to ‘cling on’, survive and thrive!Producer: Sarah Blunt
WED 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b32bz)
Episode 3
Paris in the springtime is a dangerous place - a chateau in the October sunlight seems much safer. Darrow arrives at Givre in pursuit of Anna.Published in 1912, The Reef is one of Edith Wharton's most accomplished yet neglected novels - revealing the submerged and perilous depths beneath the surface of even the most conventional of its characters.Starring Ben Miles as George Darrow, Jodhi May as Sophie, Julian Ovenden as Owen, Teresa Gallagher as Anna and Sian Thomas as the Narrator.Dramatised by Penny Leicester.Producer: Di SpeirsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b045kc5r)
A Broken Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen's Secret Chord
Episode 3
As Leonard Cohen turns 80, a new biography by Liel Leibovitz explores the life, work and passion of the poet-turned-musician. What makes Cohen such an enduring international figure in the cultural imagination?Granted extraordinary access to Cohen's personal papers, Leibovitz evokes a complicated, sometimes contradictory figure. Born into a Canadian religious Jewish family, for years a reclusive lyricist on the Greek island of Hydra, known for his bold political commentary, his devotion to Buddhist thought and his later despair over contemporary Zionism, Cohen hardly follows the rules of a conventional rock star.An intimate look at a man who, despite battles with stage fright and years spent in hermit-like isolation, is still touring and now seems to be reaching a new peak of popularity.In the third episode, having altered the course of his life with the decision to start writing music, Cohen faces a creative struggle with those around him in the recording studio. Will the release of Bird on the Wire change his fortunes?Read by Julian Barratt, with Leonard Cohen quotes read by Colin Stinton.Abridged by: Jo CoombsProducer: Pippa VaughanA Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 15:00 Jane Austen (b007jrff)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Counterpoint (b009xsph)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 PG Wodehouse - Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (b007jqgh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII (b0076hv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Addiction (b09czrbc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (m0003jms)
Series 5
Edgar Allan Poe - The Cask of Amontillado
A Dish Served Cold. A dark tale of revenge by the incomparable Edgar Allan Poe.In a writing career that spanned barely two decades (he died in his 41st year) the American penned over 70 short stories. These he incessantly revised over the years and many became standards of the short form (like ‘The Fall Of The House of Usher’ or ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’).But for our five fictional tales, we burrow down amongst Poe’s lesser-known, and often dark, gems.Reader: Owen TealeAbridger: Pete NicholsProducer: Karen RoseMade for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Sweet Talk Productions.
WED 18:15 HH Munro - Five Tales By Saki (b0076rnb)
The Schartz-Metterklume Method
When Lady Carlotta is mistaken for Miss Hope, the new governess, she takes up the job with relish applying a freshly invented technique of child-rearing to her new charges. The ensuing chaos is all too "modern" for the parents.Stars Jennie Stoller as Lady Carlotta, Jemma Churchill as Mrs Quabarl, Philip Fox as Mr Quabarl/ Carter, Timothy Morand as Station Master/ Jack and Emily Wachter as Irene.Five Tales by Saki (HH Munro), dramatised by Roger Davenport.Director: Ned ChailletFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
WED 18:30 My Life in Five Books (b0132tgd)
Series 2
Zoe Wicomb
2/4Zoe Wicomb was born and raised in South Africa and has lived in Scotland since 1994. She's taught in the Department of English Studies at the University of Strathclyde and now concentrates on writing.Her latest book, You Can't get Lost in Cape Town is a collection of short stories about growing up as a young coloured woman in South Africa.Zoe talked to Stuart about these five books:1. The Children's Bible2. Toni Morrison - Beloved.3. Flannery O'Connor -A Good Man Is Hard to Find.4. Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart.5. Virginia Woolf - To the Lighthouse.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b01nw97t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Not in Front of the Children (b08htpmg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061g4g8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Bowling for Love (b00mr5r6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Above Ground (b05rl4fy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Drama (b045bsx8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Addiction (b09czrbc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Everyone Quite Likes Justin (b01n0wj1)
Series 2
Episode 5
by Justin Moorhouse and Jim PoyserJustin's still living with his father-in-law, still working with his ex-wife and still calling on his Gran for her words of wisdom. This week he also has to cope with a chance of his big break.Justin ..... Justin MoorhouseGran ..... Anne ReidLisa ..... Christine BottomleyBryn ..... Lloyd LangfordRay ..... Paul CopleyTanya ..... Victoria ElliottCharlie ..... Mark ChattertonProducer: Steven CannyIn one version of his life, Justin is a loveable celebrity who is successful, funny, and stopped in the street by adoring fans. He's the man who has everything.In the more realistic version he's a DJ in a slightly shabby local radio station who gets hassled by the occasional oddball on the street. And he's the man who hopes for everything.And at home? Well, it's chaotic. His wife has left him, taking custody of his 8-year-old son Justin jnr. So he's back on the market. So he's currently living in his father-in-law's spare room in Bury. The only person who understands him is his Gran, living in luxury in an old folk's home in Warrington. Oh, and his producer Bryn but this might not be such a good thing.Everyone Quite Likes Justin is written by Justin Moorhouse and Jim Poyser. Justin is a comedian who sells out gigs across the country. He has also written plays, a previous show for Radio 4 and the first series of Everyone Quite Likes Justin. Jim Poyser is a writer and producer of enormous experience in both radio and television.Recorded in front of an audience in Manchester.
WED 23:00 And Now in Colour (b007jmn1)
Series 1
Intercity
The sketch show team takes the audience to Margate and asks 'Whose Pencil Line is it Anyway?'Precision comedy written and performed by Tim Firth, Tim de Jongh, Michael Rutger and William Vandyck.Producer: Lissa EvansFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1990
WED 23:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! (b00pxvds)
Series 5
The Musical
Spoof reminiscences of a former variety star. Count Arthur Strong is an expert in everything from the world of entertainment to the origins of the species, all false starts and nervous fumbling, poorly concealed by a delicate sheen of bravado and self-assurance.Owing to the huge success of shows like Miss Saigon, Cats and Annie Get Your Coat, Arthur decides 'his time is now' and devises his own autobiographical musical tribute to himself, Count Arthur Strong: The Musical. Hoping to raise the money to take it into the West End, Arthur performs highlights of the show to an invited audience of potential investors. Will he raise the money he needs to make his dream come true?With Steve Delaney, Mel Giedroyc, Dave Mounfield and Alastair Kerr.A Komedia Entertainment/Smooth Operations production for BBC Radio 4.


THURSDAY 28 MARCH 2019

THU 00:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (m0003jms)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:15 HH Munro - Five Tales By Saki (b0076rnb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 My Life in Five Books (b0132tgd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061g4g8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Bowling for Love (b00mr5r6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080qbv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074xq25)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b32bz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b045kc5r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Jane Austen (b007jrff)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Counterpoint (b009xsph)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 PG Wodehouse - Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves (b007jqgh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Six Mothers-in-Law of Henry VIII (b0076hv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Mae Martin's Guide to 21st Century Addiction (b09czrbc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061ycw3)
Gold Medal
Harry Denning has gone missing and veteran detective Bill Galbraith goes down to the river to investigate.Starring Bernard Hepton as Galbraith. With Richard Davies as Evans, Garard Green as Finch, Michael Kilgarriff as Chief Inspector Collins and Clive Merrison as Tully.Written by prize-winning TV producer Robert Barr, who also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly.Produced by John BrowellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
THU 06:30 The Secret Life of JS Bach (b03bds3t)
Long before the world of pop beckoned, and when the priesthood was an unimagined future calling, Rev Richard Coles had an unusual teenage passion. By his bed stood the bust of the greatest composer the world has ever known, with an inescapable marmoreal gaze that only the most self-assured genius could produce. This was a man with a gigantic musical brain, an untouchable god, a super-human with a daily life and preoccupations we can't begin to imagine. Bach that is, for avoidance of any doubt.Or was he? For Radio 4, Coles sets out to meet another Bach, the hot young talent whose daily life as a church organist was punctuated as much by petty quarrels and hard graft as it was the call of the Romantic muse. He clambers inside the technological marvel which is an 18th-century German organ and discovers that the principles of physics, architecture, metallurgy and acoustics were every bit as prominent in Bach's armoury as his musicianship. And he hunts for clues as to why the young Bach might have been the prickly hot-head he appears to have been, including the intriguing theory that a disrupted childhood and chaotic education may have left him with a personality we might now consider to be characterised by clinical paranoia.But what if we were to meet Bach in the flesh? Now Richard gets the chance to do exactly that. Well almost, thanks to the pioneering work of scientists in Dundee who have recreated the composer's image in 3D using the very latest forensic techniques. Is this meeting a realisation of lifelong fantasies, or is the Bach we uncover the very last person Richard would like to appoint as parish organist?With contributions from organists John Butt, Jon Cullen and Tim Rishton, psychologist Tamar Pincus, musicologist Ruth Tatlow, and forensic scientist Caroline Wilkinson.More information on the Barony Organ at the University of Strathclyde can be found here: http://www.strath.ac.uk/music/thebaronyorgan/.
THU 07:00 Heated Rollers (b007r4ys)
Episode 4
Upstairs Downstairs downgraded, and a toy doll with wrinkles.The first ever all-women sketch show made for BBC Radio 2 starring Lynda Bellingham, Gwyneth Strong and Joanna Monro.With music supplied by the Lorraine Bowen Experience.Producer: Maria EspositoFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1999.
THU 07:30 The Wilsons Save the World (m0003cnp)
Series 2
Live Forever
Spurred on by the notoriously anti-environment neighbour ‘BMW Paul’ and his apparent saintly u-turn on plastics and waste, Mike lays down a no-plastic challenge to the family which is taken up with competitive relish. Meanwhile Max’s Mum Pauline pays another visit and dishes out a heap of straight-talking common sense in her own inimitable way. It turns out that the purpose of her visit is to drop another bombshell which sends Max reeling and forces her to confront a number of difficult issues head on.Mike…Marcus BrigstockeMax…Kerry GodlimanCat..Mia JenkinsLola…India BrownPauline...Liza TarbuckBMW Paul…Mike WozniakWriters…Marcus Brigstocke and Sarah MorganProducer...Julia McKenzieA BBC Studios Production
THU 08:00 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b007qg0y)
Series 2
Episode 5
Eric is a far from fair cop and there’s some monkey business in Ernie's latest masterpiece ‘The Mighty Kong’.Written by Eddie Braben.With Nicola Pagett and Elaine Delmar.Music from Peter Knight and his Orchestra.Producer: John BrowellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in September 1976.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b00fgzr6)
Tiddlywinks
After defeat at the hands of Cambridge, Neddie Seagoon seeks his gameful revenge. Stars Spike Milligan. From March 1958.
THU 09:00 Booked (b00753g9)
Series 1
Episode 1
Richard III talks to Eeyore and Oedipus shares confessions with Captain Haddock.Outrageous parody, biting wit and original writing from Roger McGough, Miles Kington, Mark Thomas and Dillie Keane. Barnsley poet Ian McMillan chairs the first of a six-part series of the irreverent literary game.Producer: Marc JobstFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1995.
THU 09:30 Rent (b00752yh)
Series 3
Episode 6
It's time for Paul and Ruby to decide upon their future, which could spell the end of life as we know it at chez Reynolds...Conclusion of series 3 of Lucy Flannery's award-winning sitcom about Maria and Richard Reynolds and their lodgers.Stars Barbara Flynn as Maria, Patrick Barlow as Richard, Linda Polan as Amy, Vivienne Rochester as Ruby and Dave Lamb as Paul.Producer: Liz Anstee.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1997.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b015ykwq)
Silas Marner
Episode 1
Outcast from the church, community, and closest friends for a crime he did not commit, Silas Marner's trust and faith falls away.A broken, disillusioned man, exiled, he builds a new faith, that will never let him down: gold. He weaves his cloths, counts his money, baptises himself with the coins of his new religion.When tragedy strikes again and all his money is stolen he's bereft and grief stricken. Then on New Year's Eve a vision of gold flickers before the flames. Spilling locks are tumbling coins. For a moment Silas is reunited with his lovely sovereigns. And then he sees a little child.First published in 1861, George Eliot's novel dramatised by Richard Cameron. SILAS MARNER.............George CostiganSARAH/PRISCILLA ............................Fiona ClarkeWILLIAM/JEM/GODFREY...........Conrad NelsonMINISTER/MACEY.............Seamus O'NeillSNELL/BRYCE..............Leigh SymondsDUNSEY/DOWLAS..............James NickersonSQUIRE ............. ......Terence WiltonDOLLY............. ...Deborah McAndrewAARON (child).............................George HerbertNANCY/MOLLY........ ........Maeve LarkinDirector: Pauline Harris.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011.
THU 11:00 Above Ground (b05ssfvf)
You Want?
Nearing retirement, feeling jaded by life, Karl is in France to sell his aunt's rapidly dilapidating house. Caught up in a snowstorm, he finds himself engulfed by a memory of an encounter with a local woman during an earlier visit to the country.Vivid short story by Jane Rogers.Story series in which writers consider themes of age and ageing. The series title, Above Ground, is inspired by a quote from Carol Shields's novel The Stone Diaries: "Here's to another year and let's hope it's above ground."The story first appeared in Jane Rogers' story collection Hitting Trees With Sticks, published by Comma Press in 2012.Read by David ActonWritten by Jane RogersProduced by Kirsteen Cameron
THU 11:15 Angela Huth - Past Forgetting (m0003kx7)
When Arthur uncovers a secret from his wife Jane's past, their long and contented marriage is under threat. Angela Huth's drama stars Julia McKenzie as Jane and Barry Foster as Arthur.Director: Pam Fraser SolomonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
THU 12:00 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b007qg0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b00fgzr6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061ycw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 The Secret Life of JS Bach (b03bds3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080qtn)
Episode 9
Max gets a telephone call about Monica, while Helena gets a surprise visitor. A house - with a fragrant lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs - is the link between the five cousins which neither the war nor adulthood can break.Published in 1984, Mary Wesley novel abridged in ten parts by Elizabeth Bradbury.Read by Sian Phillips.Producer: Tracey NealeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
THU 14:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074zdd0)
The Strandline
The strandline offers shelter and food to a diverse range of wildlife, but of course you never know quite what you might find here as it moves with the tides.Shells, feathers, skulls and egg cases might get caught up in piles of rotting seaweed or blown away by the wind. It’s a very windy day when Brett Westwood and Phil Gates scour the strandline, and having retrieved their ‘treasure’ they head off to the shelter of the dunes to share their booty; shells of various kinds, a feathers, a piece of sea sandwort and some seaweed flies – one of the few insects which you might find on the beach.Other creatures which you might be lucky enough to find include a sea potato or burrowing sea urchin. After they have died, what remains is a beautiful heart-shaped case covered in tiny holes which mark the point where muscular feet once protruded. When alive, the urchins burrow into the sand and filter food out of the sea water. Strandlines are also good places to look for whelk egg cases, which resemble pieces of bubble wrap, but as we hear are the sites of cannibalism and molluscan violence!But perhaps the most highly prized find on a strandline would be a mermaid’s purse; the egg case of a dog fish or skate although the latter are very rare. And as Phil reveals he’s not only found egg cases in the past but had a close encounter with the adult – a relative of a shark – and survived to tell the tale!Producer: Sarah Blunt
THU 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b3gv2)
Episode 4
Just as Anna's life looks set to begin at last, now that Darrow has arrived to claim her - an unexpected surprise awaits him.Published in 1912, The Reef is one of Edith Wharton's most accomplished yet neglected novels - revealing the submerged and perilous depths beneath the surface of even the most conventional of its characters.Starring Ben Miles as George Darrow, Jodhi May as Sophie, Teresa Gallagher as Anna and Sian Thomas as the Narrator.Dramatised by Penny Leicester.Producer: Di SpeirsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b045kc5t)
A Broken Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen's Secret Chord
Episode 4
As Leonard Cohen turns 80, a new biography by Liel Leibovitz explores the life, work and passion of the poet-turned-musician. What makes Cohen such an enduring international figure in the cultural imagination?Granted extraordinary access to Cohen's personal papers, Leibovitz evokes a complicated, sometimes contradictory figure. Born into a Canadian religious Jewish family, for years a reclusive lyricist on the Greek island of Hydra, known for his bold political commentary, his devotion to Buddhist thought and his later despair over contemporary Zionism, Cohen hardly follows the rules of a conventional rock star.An intimate look at a man who, despite battles with stage fright and years spent in hermit-like isolation, is still touring and now seems to be reaching a new peak of popularity.Today, disasters threaten Cohen's first European tour, but in Buddhism he finds the spiritual solace which enables him to write the groundbreaking Hallelujah.Read by Julian Barratt, with Leonard Cohen quotes read by Colin Stinton.Abridged by: Jo CoombsProducer: Pippa VaughanA Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b015ykwq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Booked (b00753g9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Rent (b00752yh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Heated Rollers (b007r4ys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 The Wilsons Save the World (m0003cnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (m0003kx9)
Series 5
Edgar Allan Poe - Metzengerstein
A Plague on both your Houses. Edgar Allan Poe's first published short story (January 1932).In a writing career that spanned barely two decades (he died in his 41st year) the American penned over seventy 70 stories. These he incessantly revised over the years and many became standards of the short form (like ‘The Fall Of The House of Usher’ or ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’).But for our five fictional tales, we burrow down amongst Poe’s lesser-known, and often dark, gems.Reader: Owen TealeAbridger: Pete NicholsProducer: Karen RoseMade for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Sweet Talk Productions.
THU 18:15 HH Munro - Five Tales By Saki (b0076rnv)
Fur
Eleanor and Suzanne are best friends, but not for much longer. Suzanne knows she can get her rich cousin Bertram to buy her a fur in the sales, but she has to entrust the job to Eleanor - who has her own plans...Stars Helen Longworth as Eleanor, Lydia Leonard as Suzanne, Bertie Carvel as Bertram and Alex Tregear as Woman in Park/ Woman in Shop.Five Tales by Saki (HH Munro), dramatised by Roger Davenport.Director: Ned ChailletFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b01p71gg)
Series 29
Jean Cocteau
Children’s author Francesca Simon chooses artist, writer and film-maker Jean Cocteau. With Matthew Parris. From December 2012.
THU 19:00 The Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise Show (b007qg0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b00fgzr6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061ycw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 The Secret Life of JS Bach (b03bds3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Above Ground (b05ssfvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Angela Huth - Past Forgetting (m0003kx7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 The Wilsons Save the World (m0003cnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Newsjack (m0003kxc)
Newsjack Unplugged, Series 3
Episode 2
The week's news stories lovingly bashed, mashed and moulded into sketches and one-liners by the public.
THU 22:45 Tina C (b0076q68)
Tina C's Tiny Island Tour
Scotland
The country singer and global activist promotes her new album in Glasgow and traces her tartan in Edinburgh. Stars Christopher Green. From January 2005.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0003scn)
Pierre Novellie 2/2
The best in contemporary comedy. Jayde Adams talks to Pierre Novellie.
THU 23:00 The Mitch Benn Music Show (b00b5tc3)
Series 2
Episode 2
The comedian presents a selection of classic comic songs. With special guest singer-songwriter Isy Suttie. From October 2006.
THU 23:30 Hut 33 (b01jz3p2)
Series 3
Spitfire Poker
The Bletchley Park code breakers try help raise money for the town's spitfire fund.Stars Tom Goodman-Hill as Archie, Robert Bathurst as Professor Charles Gardner, Fergus Craig as Gordon, Alex MacQueen as 3rd Lt. Joshua Featherstonhaugh-Marshall, Olivia Colman as Minka and Lill Roughley as Mrs Best.Written by James Cary.Producer: Adam BromleyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009.


FRIDAY 29 MARCH 2019

FRI 00:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (m0003kx9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:15 HH Munro - Five Tales By Saki (b0076rnv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:15 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b01p71gg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b061ycw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 The Secret Life of JS Bach (b03bds3t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080qtn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074zdd0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b3gv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b045kc5t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b015ykwq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Booked (b00753g9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Rent (b00752yh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Heated Rollers (b007r4ys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 The Wilsons Save the World (m0003cnp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b05z865m)
Aladdin's Cave
A gambling club owner appears to be at the centre of Bill Galbraith's latest mystery, but he's protected.Starring Bernard Hepton as Galbraith. With Richard Davies as Evans, Garard Green as Finch and Robert Gillespie as Doc McDowall.Written by prize-winning TV producer Robert Barr, who also wrote TV scripts for the BBC's Z Cars and Softly Softly.Produced by John BrowellFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
FRI 06:30 Landscape With Canals and Machines: The Legacy of LTC Rolt (b00vrssh)
Hermione Cockburn on LTC Rolt, the writer who led us to value our industrial landscape.LTC Rolt achieved something remarkable - he changed the character of the British - for the better - by altering their perception of their land and history. Before he began writing, and campaigning, our industrial landscape was regarded a desecration of a rural idyll. It was Rolt who taught us to value it, to appreciate its beauty and to appreciate the achievements of those who created the great engines, viaducts, lighthouses, ships and railways that revolutionised Britain - and the world.The father of industrial archaeology, Rolt wrote definitive biographies of the Stephensons, Brunel, Watt and Telford. He wrote about railways, aeronautics and cars (his 1920s Alvis is still going), and 'High Horse Riderless' is an important early work of environmental philosophy. And he wrote fiction, including ghost stories.His book 'Narrowboat' led to the establishment of the Inland Waterways Association and the canal network's navigation channels, structures, towpaths, bridges, tunnels and aqueducts were saved in the nick of time.Rolt is now recognised as a pioneer of the leisure industry. He went on to rescue the bankrupt Talyllyn narrow-gauge railway and taught volunteers to restore, then run it. Such an endeavour had never been attempted before but now this is a model for renovation and conservation schemes all over contemporary Britain, and all over the world.Hermione Cockburn, with help from Timothy West (who also has a narrowboat) and Rolt's widow, Sonia, tells the story of this remarkable engineer and author and reveals how his work shapes our thinking today - not just about our past but how we deal with it for the future.
FRI 07:00 The Elephant Man (b007k2cj)
While the Cat's Away
Leonard and Adam go to Frankfurt for the sake of the polar bear and the zoo's future. Stars Peter Serafinowicz. From September 1996.
FRI 07:30 Where's the F in News (m0003cpg)
Series 2
Episode 3
An energetic, intelligent female-anchored show with a female panel - using the events, trends and talking points they think should really be top of the news agenda in a series of fresh and funny challenges.Host Jo Bunting is joined by a panel of women including comedians Jo Brand, Sara Barron and Lauren Pattison and broadcaster Samira Ahmed.Jo Bunting is a producer and writer of topical comedy and satire, with credits including Have I Got News For You, the Great British Bake Off spin off show An Extra Slice with Jo Brand, and the successful topical chat show That Sunday Night Show presented by Adrian Chiles on ITV. Jo was a guest interviewer on Loose Ends for several years and a panellist on Loose Women.An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 08:00 The Michael Bentine Show (b00k3myf)
From 15/04/1984
From his own father to a huge hairy mountain gorilla, it's the ultimate one-man show, written by the host. From April 1984.
FRI 08:30 Steptoe and Son (b00t4d75)
Series 2
The Piano
Harold and Albert strike the wrong chord with a grand piano in a top-floor flat.Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold. With Brian Oulton.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 JayeFirst broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1967.
FRI 09:00 Who Goes There? (b0075z6w)
Series 4
Episode 5
Martin Young's famous people quiz. With Francis Wheen, Fred Housego, Gyles Brandreth and Sheridan Morley. From November 2000.
FRI 09:30 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k1q4)
Episode 5
Edgar Finchley's adventures continue as he leads a village uprising and gains a travelling companion. With Richard Griffiths.
FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b0167vk2)
Silas Marner
Episode 2
Silas Marner by George EliotAfter a life of exile and a miserly existence, Silas's life changes forever when Eppie, a little girlcrosses his threshold on a cold New Year's evening. Their life together, from her childhood towomanhood is his salvation. But all is threatened when her biological father makesa claim on her.Silas Marner ...... George CostiganEppie ....... Rebecca CallardDolly ..... Deborah McAndrewAaron ..... Stephen HoyleGodfrey/Jem ..... Conrad NelsonNancy ...... Maeve LarkinMacey .... Seamus O'NeillDr. Kimble......... Leigh SymondsPriscillia ...... Fiona ClarkeDramatised by Richard CameronDirected by Pauline Harris.First broadcast in 2011.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m0003l5d)
Dame Kelly Holmes and NB
This week Amanda Litherland recommends two brilliant new podcasts.Firstly, Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes discusses her new series 'What Do I Do?'Having experienced her own difficulties with depression and self-harm, in this podcast Kelly sets out to discover how other people cope, talking to TV personalities, writers, comedians, journalists and more about their mental health. Including Davina McCall, Eddie Izzard, Alastair Campbell and Munroe Bergdorf.After that Caitlin Benedict and Amrou Al-Kadhi join Amanda to talk about their BBC series 'NB'.You might have heard the term non-binary. This is how it feels. Join Caitlin and Amrou as they ask the big questions about gender and identity.
FRI 12:00 The Michael Bentine Show (b00k3myf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Steptoe and Son (b00t4d75)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b05z865m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Landscape With Canals and Machines: The Legacy of LTC Rolt (b00vrssh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Mary Wesley - The Camomile Lawn (b0080sjp)
Episode 10
A funeral sparks a big reunion of old faces at the house in Cornwall.A house - with a fragrant lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs - is the link between the five cousins which neither the war nor adulthood can break.Published in 1984, Mary Wesley novel abridged in ten parts by Elizabeth Bradbury.Concluded by Sian Phillips.Producer: Tracey NealeFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
FRI 14:15 A Guide to Coastal Wildlife (b074zy93)
Mudflats and Salt Marshes
What attracts so many birds to gather on vast expanses of coastal sea mud around the coast?Well, the answer can be found in this programme when Brett Westwood joins naturalist Phil Gates on the Northumberland coast and after wading carefully across a slippery bed of popping seaweed, they explore the sticky ooze of the mud flats, to discover it teeming with life; food for wading birds.As well as cockles and lugworms, there are much smaller mud snails and mud shrimps. The latter are tiny crustaceans, very elongated with enormous antennae like “curved crane jibs” which are found in vast numbers (a conservative estimate is 10,000 per square metre) swimming on the surface in liquid mud or hiding out in tunnels below the surface. This rich source of food explains why so many birds gather here to feed; birds like the smart looking shelduck; a duck which is almost the size of small goose but lays its eggs in underground burrows!Away from the mud, slightly higher up the shore on the salt marsh, Brett and Phil discover sea lavender, a plant which has a clever way of dealing with high salt levels by excreting salt crystals onto its leaves giving them a greyish sheen and a salty taste! Producer: Sarah Blunt
FRI 14:30 Edith Wharton - The Reef (b00b3zz3)
Episode 5
Darrow sets out to persuade Sophie to leave Givre, but discovers affairs are much more complicated than he’d realised.Published in 1912, The Reef is one of Edith Wharton's most accomplished yet neglected novels - revealing the submerged and perilous depths beneath the surface of even the most conventional of its characters.Starring Ben Miles as George Darrow, Jodhi May as Sophie, Teresa Gallagher as Anna, Julian Ovenden as Owen and Sian Thomas as the Narrator.Dramatised by Penny Leicester.Producer: Di SpeirsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b045kcjh)
A Broken Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen's Secret Chord
Episode 5
As Leonard Cohen turns 80, a new biography by Liel Leibovitz explores the life, work and passion of the poet-turned-musician. What makes Cohen such an enduring international figure in the cultural imagination?Granted extraordinary access to Cohen's personal papers, Leibovitz evokes a complicated, sometimes contradictory figure. Born into a Canadian religious Jewish family, for years a reclusive lyricist on the Greek island of Hydra, known for his bold political commentary, his devotion to Buddhist thought and his later despair over contemporary Zionism, Cohen hardly follows the rules of a conventional rock star.An intimate look at a man who, despite battles with stage fright and years spent in hermit-like isolation, is still touring and now seems to be reaching a new peak of popularity.In the final episode, Cohen begins the 1990s as a hugely successful songwriter, poet and performer. Yet spiritual crises still plague him, and he retreats to the San Gabriel Mountains to spend time with his guru. By 2006, he's forced to start touring again when evidence emerges that a long-time employee and friend may have stolen millions of dollars from him.Read by Julian Barratt, with Leonard Cohen quotes read by Colin Stinton.Abridged by: Jo CoombsProducer: Pippa VaughanA Loftus Media production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b0167vk2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 Who Goes There? (b0075z6w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Mr Finchley Takes the Road (b007k1q4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 The Elephant Man (b007k2cj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Where's the F in News (m0003cpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Short Works: A Season of Murder, Mystery and Suspense (m0003l5g)
Series 5
Edgar Allan Poe - The Man of the Crowd
Five stories from the incomparable Edgar Allan Poe. In a writing career that spanned barely two decades (he died in his 41st year) the American penned over seventy short stories. These he incessantly revised over the years and many became standards of the short form (like ‘The Fall Of The House of Usher’ or ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’). But for our five fictional tales, we burrow down amongst Poe’s lesser-known, and often dark, gems.An unknown man keeps to the shadowsReader: Owen TealeWriter: Edgar Allan PoeAbridger: Pete NicholsProducer: Karen RoseA Sweet Talk Production
FRI 18:15 HH Munro - Five Tales By Saki (b0076rpb)
The Toys of Peace
Harvey is encouraged by his right-thinking sister to give toys that can't be used for war to her two sons. But children, in a Saki tale, are immensely inventive...Stars Anthony Calf as Harvey, Beth Chalmers as Leonora, Ben Tibber as Eric, Anton Rice as Bertie and Alex Tregear as the Waitress.Five Tales by Saki (HH Munro), dramatised by Roger Davenport.Director: Ned ChailletFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
FRI 18:30 Off the Page (b0076d9k)
Gossip
Matthew Parris chinwags about trivia with poet Jean Binta Breeze, regular diarist Marina Hyde and writer Roy Foster.In each programme, Matthew Parris introduces a group of writers of fact and fiction: new talent and established names. In the context of a discussion of one of the ideas and pre-occupations of our times, each presents a piece on this week's topic.The best new writing and the freshest conversation from 2003.
FRI 19:00 The Michael Bentine Show (b00k3myf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Steptoe and Son (b00t4d75)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Robert Barr - Galbraith and the Midas Touch (b05z865m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Landscape With Canals and Machines: The Legacy of LTC Rolt (b00vrssh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m0003l5d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Where's the F in News (m0003cpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Craig Brown's Lost Diaries (b00vrssk)
November and December
November & December. As winter sets in, John Prescott, Germaine Greer and Nigella Lawson's thoughts turn to home.A second chance to hear satirist Craig Brown dip into the private lives of public figures from the 1960's to the present day.Voiced by Jan Ravens, Alistair McGowan, Lewis McLeod, Ewan Bailey, Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Dolly Wells.Written by Craig Brown.Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
FRI 23:00 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (b01pjp4n)
Series 2
Communication
Pryce Pryce-Jones, Richard Trevithick, and Guglielmo Marconi. Determining the ultimate heroes of Wales. From December 2013.
FRI 23:30 Thom Tuck Goes Straight to DVD (b01rr371)
Faith Films
In his debut solo Radio 4 show, comedian Thom Tuck recounted heart-rending tales of loves lost while drawing comparisons with 54 Straight-to-DVD Disney movies he'd watched, so we don't ever have to.Thom now turns his attention to other genres of Straight-to-DVD movies - seeking out further underrated gems and drawing parallels with captivating personal tales from his own life experience, backed by cinematic music, so we can rest easy.In this second episode, Thom looks at the strangely lucrative world of faith films, and draws parallels to the narrative in these underrated gems with stories of his own experiences as a child growing up whilst his family travelled the globe through Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Yorkshire."...a seductive experience" The GuardianProduced by Lianne Coop.