SATURDAY 13 JULY 2019

SAT 00:00 The Laxian Key (b007k30w)
Episode 4
Evans the Welsh vigilante aims to senselessly bomb the planetary decontaminationists for melting Earth. Stars Chris Larner.
SAT 00:30 Off the Page (b0076k0b)
Rogues
Jake Arnott, Katie Hickman and Michael Dobbs dissect the cliché about rogues being 'lovable'. With Mathew Parris.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 2004.Produced by Peter Everett.
SAT 01:00 Nigel Baldwin - Burnt (b09tbs3h)
Episode 5/6 - Too Much Knowledge
As Milkie tries to find out how far the political corruption goes - can he deal with consequences?Dennis Waterman stars in Nigel Baldwin’s taut political thriller.Milkie ... Dennis WatermanThe Teller ... Ray SmithBeth ... Bethan JonesAngela ... Tara DominickHuw ... Richard ElfynSharon ... Emma GregoryPauline ... Eluned JonesLaura ... RichardsMusic by Laurie Scott Baker.Producer: Jane DaunceyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1990.
SAT 01:30 That Man Remembered (m0006n5l)
A tribute to Tommy Handley, star of ITMA - It’s That Man Again, the live comedy radio show that became an institution and kept Britain laughing during the dark days of the Second World War. Over 300 programmes were broadcast with up to 20 million listeners tuned in all around world.When Tommy died suddenly in 1949, there were outpourings of grief at his passing.Presented by Roger Worsley, whose father Francis was the series producer.First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in 1989.
SAT 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b09hw97w)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Accessories Maketh the Woman
With the man of her dreams' gig approaching, Eleanor realises she's badly neglected her self-improvement plans. Some urgent pampering is required...Tracy Wiles continues Gail Honeyman's heartwarming, and sometimes heartbreaking, novel.Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything. But one simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself.Reader: Tracy WilesProducer: Justine WillettAbridger: Richard Hamilton
SAT 02:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04bryyz)
Patterns from Crossed Peas
In 1900 three papers by three botanists, unknown to each other, appeared in the same scientific journal. Each had independently "rediscovered" the rules of inheritance that Gregor Mendel had found four decades earlier in his solitary investigations of pea plants.Kathy Willis reassesses Mendel's famous pea experiments in the light of his attempts to uncover what happens over several generations when hybrid plants are created. As historian Jim Endersby explains, Mendel's initial results may have stunned him and shown what plant breeders might have suspected for decades, but science now had mathematical laws to create new varieties.Historian Greg Radick sheds light on how Mendelism, in the years leading up to the First World War, became heavily promoted by Cambridge botanist William Bateson and was put into action by the first Professor of Agricultural Botany, Roland Biffen. His success in creating new wheat hybrids is explained by a unique international assembly of wheat ears from the early 1900s, curated by Mark Nesbitt, Head of Kew's economic botany collection.Producer Adrian Washbourne.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b062n4n6)
Rachel's Cousins
Episode 5
When her boss offers her a promotion Rachel has to decide where her loyalties lie.Glasgow lawyer Rachel is dealing with the wayward relatives she's been brought up to ignore after discovering they share the BRCA2 cancer gene.Conclusion of Ann Marie Di Mambro's five-part drama.Rachel..............................................................TAMARA KENNEDYMarilyn.............................................................GABRIEL QUIGLEYJosie.....................................................................KAREN BARTKEShirley.................. ............................................ SARAH McCARDIEBobby....................................... ............................ALAN McHUGHAlex ........................................ ...............................ROBIN LAINGKevin .................................................................STEVIE HANNANBecca...............................................................NICOLA JO CULLYCarol...................................................................VERONICA LEEROther parts are played by the cast.Directed at BBC Scotland by Bruce YoungFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b04g19vy)
Omid Djalili - Hopeful: The Autobiography
Episode 5
Omid explores the vital role his vivacious mother plays in his life and art.Conclusion of comedian and actor Omid Djalili's memoirOne of Britain's funniest men takes us through his unconventional childhood growing up in an Iranian household in London and chart his progression from serious acting into comedy.It's a laugh-out-loud, intelligent and deeply touching journey through a fascinating life.Abridger ..... Lu KempProducer ..... Kirsty WilliamsA BBC Scotland Production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in September 2014
SAT 03:00 Mrs Henry Wood - East Lynne (m0006n5p)
Until Eternity
Sir Francis Levison has been dramatically arrested for the murder of Hallijohn, while at East Lynne a terrible gloom descends as little William grows weaker daily.Can the two great mysteries that have befallen the Carlyle family be unravelled?Conclusion of Mrs Henry Wood's novel dramatised by Michael Bakewell.Mrs Henry Wood ... Rosemary Leachthe Lady Isabel ... Moir LeslieMr Carlyle .... David CollingsFrancis Levison .... Anthony EdridgeMiss Cornelia ... Maxine AudleyBarbara Hare ... Julie BerryLittle William ... Ben RobbAfy .... Angela CrowRichard Hare .... Kim WallMrs Hare ... Joan MathesonJustice Hare .... Brian HewlettLord Mount Severn: Stephen ThorneDill: Tim ReynoldsJoyce: Jo KendallBall: Peter AcreJames: Mlchael Tudor BarnesDobede .... Colin StarkeyBethel .... Stephen HarroldMr Jiffin .... Sebastian StrideUsher .... Paul GregoryRubiny ... Nicholas GoldwynCler ...: David GoodlandJudge .... Michael BiltonDirector: David JohnstonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1987.
SAT 04:00 Say the Word (b007652k)
Episode 6
Frank Delaney's language game with Hunter Davies, Sheila Steafel, Roger McGough and Helen Atkinson Wood. From November 2001.
SAT 04:30 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076457)
Series 1
I'll Build That Bridge When I Come To It
Pete is in love with Cassie, but is she in love with him? Stars Debra Stephenson and David Lamb. From September 2001.
SAT 05:00 Charles Dickens (b00s5lbl)
Sketches by Boz: Series 2
Sentiment
The arrival of an MP's daughter at Miss Crumpton's finishing school seems a cause for celebration until a romantic attachment comes to light.Gloriously comic stories of London Life by Charles Dickens - dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.Boz ...... Nicholas FarrellMaria Cumpton ...... Patience Tomlinson Maria CumptonAmelia Cumpton ...... Jane BookerCornelius Brook Dingwall Esq MP ...... Gerard Murphy Lavinia ...... Tilly GauntFootman ...... Harry MyersTheodosius Butler ...... Michael MuellerDirector: Sally AvensFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1999.
SAT 05:30 The Absolutely Radio Show (m0006l75)
Series 3
Episode 1
The hugely popular sketch show returns for a third series on BBC Radio 4. Pete Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John Sparkes revisit some of their much-loved characters, and also introduce some newcomers.Absolutely was a big hit on Channel Four in the late 80s and early 90s. In 2013, the group got back together for the Sketchorama: Absolutely Special for BBC Radio 4 - winning a BBC Audio Drama Award in the Best Live Scripted Comedy category. The Absolutely Radio Show followed, with the first two series picking up Celtic Media Award nominations for Best Radio Comedy, while the second series was also nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award in 2018The opening episode of this series features The Stoneybridge Town Council pitching for their very own radio station, the Little Girl giving her explanation of MeToo and Time’s Up and Calum Gilhooley being interviewed for a job. We also hear from a family agonising about being completely average and, from the archive, there's Two Line Terry’s film career.Written and Performed by: Peter Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John SparkesProduction Manager Sarah TomblingRecording Engineer Dave MurricaneEditor Pete BaikieProducer Gus BeattieProducer Gordon KennedyBBC Executive Sioned WiliamRecording Venue The Oran Mor, GlasgowAn Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4
SAT 06:00 Dodie Smith - Dear Octopus (b06qjp4l)
1938: Charles and Dora Randolph are celebrating their Golden Wedding. A chance for four generations of the same family to be together – sparking all the problems and surprises that such a gathering inevitably causes...Dodie Smith's play enjoyed a hugely successful run in the theatre before and during the early years of the Second World War.Charles Randolph ...... Michael DenisonDora Randolph ...... Dulcie GrayBelle ...... Mary Wimbush Margery ...... Annette BadlandEdna ...... Frances JeaterNanny ...... Dora BryanCynthia ...... Penny DownieLaurel ...... Trevyn McDowellHilda ...... Joanna DavidNicholas ...... Nicholas GecksFenny ...... Charlotte AttenboroughHugh ...... Joshua TowbKenneth ...... Michael Tudor BarnesBill ...... Mark BurrowsScrap ...... Sara-Jane DerrickFlouncy ...... Bernadette WindsorGertrude ...... Becky HindleyProducer: Glyn DearmanFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1995.
SAT 07:30 Jarvis and Matthew (b07pjkhp)
Hanging In
Christopher Matthew and Martin Jarvis continue on their nostalgic journey into their past.It was in the 70s that Martin Jarvis and Christopher Matthews both made the moves that were to give their careers the second wind that would carry them through to the Eighties (and beyond).For Martin it was his insistence (against the advice of his agent) that he follow up his portrayal as Nicholas Nickleby by auditioning for the role of Uriah Heap - suddenly he shook off the shackles of being the eternal youth and instead he took on a succession of more adult parts (from Oliver Pryde in 'Rings On Their Fingers' to the Governor in 'Doctor Who'). And it allowed him to become one of the best known voices in the country - through his extensive voice-over work on countless TV commercials and on the radio (ironically through his readings of 'Billy Bunter' and Richmal Crompton's 'Just William').Meanwhile, Christopher left behind the advertising agencies of Berkeley Square and moved across to Fleet Street and Broadcasting House. A chance encounter with a travel editor for the Sunday Times persuaded him to become a freelance writer and the following week he was commissioned for his first piece. A life of travel writing and humorous columns followed - even the occasional book - mostly humorous.In fact it was as a result of hearing him reading from the diaries of his accident-prone her Simon Crisp in Diary of a Somebody on Radio 4 in 1978 that Martin finally reached out to Christopher and thus began a friendship and frequent collaboration that has lasted for the nigh on 40 years.Producer: Paul Kobrak.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.
SAT 08:00 World Book Club (m0006t0f)
Sarah Waters - Tipping the Velvet
Harriett Gilbert talks to Sarah Waters about her acclaimed novel, ‘Tipping the Velvet’ – a saucy, sensuous historical romance set amongst the music halls of Victorian England.With book readers from around the world.First broadcast on the BBC World Service in May 2018.
SAT 09:00 Floating in Space (b073bhqc)
Grab your space suit, climb on board and get ready for take-off, because BBC Radio 4 Extra is taking you on an adventure into space.As the British Astronaut Tim Peake orbits above us in the International Space Station, we will be flying past him on a three hour audio space journey, from a launch, to a spacewalk, then touching down on the Moon and Mars, before crashing back to earth.Samira Ahmed (Radio and TV presenter, childhood space obsessive) is our captain, navigating the course through a rich mix of space themed radio dramas, readings and comedies.Along the way we will explore the cultural influence of the space race, examine the highs and lows of life as an astronaut, and see just why the limitless possibilities of radio makes it the perfect medium to capture the vastness of space.Samira is joined at points across the journey by the science fiction writer Simon Guerrier, she will also hear from radio producer Dirk Maggs about why Space makes for such good radio, and she will takes some giant leaps of her own in an astronaut's space suit.Programmes include:The first episode of Charles Chilton's ground breaking 'Journey In To Space'; we follow Alexey Leonov as he takes the first ever space walk in 'Two Sides Of The Moon'; the astronaut Kathryn Thornton tells us about the solitude of space in the documentary 'Alone'; we hear the strange story of what really happened when man landed on the moon, as reimagined in 'One Small Step'; Helen Keen looks at our obsession with travelling to Mars in 'It Is Rocket Science', before Stephen Baxter takes us there in the Dirk Maggs produced 'Voyage'; and finally we follow the astronaut Chris Hadfield in a nail biting return to earth from his biography 'An Astronaut's Guide To Life On Earth'.Along the way. there's extra insight with selected moments from 'Soul Music', 'Just A Minute', Nick Mohammed's 'Apollo 21', 'Saturday Live' and 'A Night With Helen Sharman'.So assume your launch position, this mission is set to take off in 5...4...3...2...1......
SAT 12:00 Act Your Age (b00fn0vg)
Series 1
Episode 1
Simon Mayo discovers which generation is the funniest. With Jon Richardson, Lucy Porter and Roy Walker. From November 2008.
SAT 12:30 Hobby Bobbies (b04pshk4)
Series 2
Sinkhole
When an enormous sinkhole opens up, the useless police officers need to do a little more than "look into it".Britain's longest serving PCSO is paired with the laziest in Dave Lamb's sitcom. (Dave is the voice of TV's Come Dine With Me)Geoff...............Richie WebbNigel...............Nick WalkerThe Guv..........Sinead KeenanNina................Pooja ShahBernie.............Chris EmmettGeoff's Dad.....Noddy Holder Produced by Steve DohertyA Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2014.
SAT 13:00 Dead Cert (Omnibus) (m0006t0h)
We race towards the final furlong of Val McDermid’s Dead series. DCI Alma Blair investigates matters of life and death in the closed world of horse racing.Omnibus written by Shelley Silas.DCI ALMA BLAIR ...... Julie HesmondhalghDR JO BLACK /BELL PEPPER ...... Jane HazlegroveDS JASON TROTTER /PINKY PENWORTHAM / KEVIN CURRIE ...... Graeme HawleyNARRATOR / DR HUNTER CLIVE / NOEL FELL ...... Jonathan KeebleMO HAMID / RICKY LEVEY ...... Nitin KundraHEATHER PALMER /DR BINKY LOCKWOOD ...... Erin ShanagherCLARE BALDING ...... HerselfMINNIE SPAIN ...... Shelley SilasFEMALE GROOM ...... Val McDermid / Julie HesmondhalghWOMAN ON ROBBIE’S VOICEMAIL ...... Justine Potter Series Creator: Val McDermidSeries 5 Writer: Shelley SilasDirected and Produced by Justine PotterAssistant Producer: Lynsey HulmeSound Engineer and Designer: Eloise WhitmoreExecutive Producer: Melanie HarrisA Savvy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in five parts in 2019.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (m0006t0k)
Paul Young
Singer Paul Young chooses 'The Yellow Rose of Texas' by Mitch Miller and 'These Arms of Mine' by Otis Redding.
SAT 14:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kd8c)
Series 1
Slapton Sands
Pam Ayres visits the Devon setting for the disastrous D-Day landing rehearsals of 1944. Pam talks to two American ex-servicemen and the locals of Slapton Sands who had to vacate their farms and villages in preparation.Series in which poet and raconteuse, Pam Ayres takes to the open road, visiting eight places in Britain to hear tales from the people who live there.Producer: Simon ElmesFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 2000.
SAT 14:45 Ernest Fontwell versus the Experts (m0006t0m)
The Catering Experts
Frustrated Fontwell finds that the chips are off when he takes on the fiends in white coats and overalls at their own game.The perils of eating out and in - written by Lawrie Wyman.Starring Frank Thornton as Ernest Fontwell.With Patsy Rowlands, David Tate and John Baddeley.Producer: Geoffrey PerkinsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1979.
SAT 15:00 World Book Club (m0006t0f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Dodie Smith - Dear Octopus (b06qjp4l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Jarvis and Matthew (b07pjkhp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 Yevgeny Zamyatin - We (b0076l5v)
Infatuation
OneState engineer D-503 gets increasingly infatuated by the beautiful 1-330, though he harbours suspicions. The key to his fate seems to lie in the hands of the mysterious S - but who is S? Will his fascination lead him to love or revolution?The first great dystopian novel of the 20th century, written in secret in early Soviet Russia by Yevgeni Zamyatin.D-503 ...... Anton LesserR-13 ...... Don WarringtonU ...... Brigit Forsyth1-330 ...... Joanna Riding0-90 ...... Julia RounthwaiteBenefactor ...... Russell DixonTannoy ...... Emma ClarkeBabushka ...... Judith DavisS ...... Patrick Bridgman2nd Engineer ...... Paul ViraghDramatised in two-parts by Sean O'Brien.Director: Jim PoyserFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
SAT 19:00 Floating in Space (b073bhqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Mark Steel's in Town (b07x5vs3)
Series 7
Gibraltar
"I've done loads of these, but I've never done one where I couldn't get into my dressing room because of monkeys."In the last episode of the series, Mark visits the British overseas territory of Gibraltar where he performs in the spectacular setting of St Michael's Cave, inside The Rock. He explores Gibraltar's relationship with Spain, visits a British phone box, has some British fish and chips and encounters some not so British monkeys.Mark Steel's seventh series of the award winning show that travels around the country, researching the history, heritage and culture of six towns that have nothing in common but their uniqueness, and performs a bespoke evening of comedy for the local residents.A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2016.
SAT 22:30 Sami Shah's Beginner's Guide to Pakistan (b06d8pql)
Episode 1
Sami Shah is an award-winning comedian and best-selling author, and one of Pakistan's most successful comedians. Yes, Pakistan has comedians. In A Beginner's Guide To Pakistan he has traveled to Birmingham - or, to give it its full name, the Islamic Republic of Birmingham - to give a quick guide to the country which has directly and/or indirectly provided the UK with 1.8% of its population: Pakistan.In this first episode, he looks at the country's political history, from its foundations in British-ruled India right up to the present day. It's a litany of coups and assassinations, in the middle of which Sami was grew up, moved away and came home - to a very different Pakistan from the one he left. Which isn't to say that there weren't more coups and/or assassinations.Written and performed by ... Sami ShahThe Voice of the Guide ... Anita AnandProducer ... Ed MorrishA BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0007148)
Sofie Hagen 1/2
From 10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Angela Barnes chats to Sofie Hagen.
SAT 23:00 Armando Iannucci (b007jym0)
Series 2
Episode 5
Armando lannucci’s best bits including spoof interviews and phone calls.With Rebecca Front, Dave Schneider, Peter Baynham, Richard Herring and Stewart Lee.Music from Morrissey.Written by Armando Iannucci, Peter Baynham, Richard Herring and Stewart Lee.Producer: Sarah SmithFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in April 1994.


SUNDAY 14 JULY 2019

SUN 00:00 Yevgeny Zamyatin - We (b0076l5v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Dead Cert (Omnibus) (m0006t0h)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (m0006t0k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Pam Ayres' Open Road (b007kd8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 02:45 Ernest Fontwell versus the Experts (m0006t0m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 World Book Club (m0006t0f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Dodie Smith - Dear Octopus (b06qjp4l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Jarvis and Matthew (b07pjkhp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Rachel's Cousins (Omnibus) (b063hy4b)
A Glasgow lawyer arrives at a police station to represent three drunken women – only to find they are her relatives.When they discover they share the BRCA2 cancer gene, they become unexpectedly caught up in each other's lives. By Ann Marie Di Mambro.Rachel..............................................................TAMARA KENNEDYMarilyn.............................................................GABRIEL QUIGLEYJosie.....................................................................KAREN BARTKEShirley.................. ............................................ SARAH McCARDIEBobby....................................... ............................ALAN McHUGHAlex ........................................ ...............................ROBIN LAINGKevin .................................................................STEVIE HANNANBecca...............................................................NICOLA JO CULLYCarol...................................................................VERONICA LEEROther parts are played by the cast.Directed at BBC Scotland by Bruce YoungOmnibus of five parts first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
SUN 07:15 Victorian Love Stories (m0006sx1)
Oscar Wilde - The Nightingale and the Rose
A young man needs a red rose to woo his love, and a nightingale makes the ultimate sacrifice to procure the bloom.The first of five tales of requited and unrequited passion.Jo James reads Oscar Wilde's short story.Producer: Julia ButtFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.
SUN 07:30 Susan Calman - Keep Calman Carry On (b073j5cg)
Series 1
Hillwalking
Susan Calman tries to learn how to unwind, by going hillwalking with Muriel Gray.Written by Susan Calman.Producer: Lyndsay FennerFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2016.
SUN 08:00 Whack-O! (b06451cb)
The Inspector's Visit
Professor Jimmy Edwards' plans to bribe the boys with a sumptuous meal are all washed up.June Whitfield ...... MatronRoger Shepherd ...... LumleyFrederick Treves ...... Alfred TennysonWith Michael Turner, Graham Aza and David Lott.Starting life on BBC TV before transferring to radio, Chiselbury School is run "for the sons of gentlefolk".Headmaster, Professor James Edwards, M.A. never misses a trick when it comes to exploiting the students and their parents. Sports pitches are given over to growing vegetables, which the boys nurture for their head to sell. Classes never exceed 95 pupils - 50 if private tuition is paid for at five guineas extra. It's only thanks to the efforts of the devoted deputy head, Mr Pettigrew, that the school exists at all.Written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden and adapted for radio by David Climie.Producer: Edward TaylorFirst broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1961.
SUN 08:30 The Clitheroe Kid (m0006sx7)
Series 4
Fishing In Troubled Waters
Grandad wants to win an angling contest, but schoolboy Jimmy fancies a trip to seaside.Just 4 feet 3 inches tall, the success of comic entertainer Jimmy Clitheroe (1921-1973) sprang from a BBC Variety Playhouse try-out in the late 1950s. His naughty schoolboy act was a smash and he even wore school uniform during recordings! At its peak, ten million fans were tuning into 'The Clitheroe Kid' on the BBC Light Programme.Living with his mother, sister and grandfather in a northern England town - the Kid's schemes spark havoc, with the ever present threat of a good spanking from Grandad! The Clitheroe Kid clocked up 16 series in its run from 1956 to 1972.Jimmy Clitheroe …. The Kid HimselfPatricia Burke …. MotherPeter Sinclair …. GrandfatherDiana Day …. SusanDanny Ross …. AlfieLeonard Williams …. Theodore Craythorpe/Harry WhittleTony Melody …. Mr HigginbottomTheme music by Alan Roper and played by the BBC Northern Dance Orchestra directed by Alan Ainsworth.Written by Frank Roscoe.Producer: James CaseyFirst broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1961.
SUN 09:00 The Fens: Discovering England's Ancient Depths (Omnibus) (m0006sxc)
The Fens are a distinctive, complex, man-made and little understood landscape. Francis Pryor has lived in, excavated, farmed, walked and loved the Fens country for more than forty years - its levels and drains, its soaring churches, its magnificent medieval buildings. Interweaving personal experience and passion, the graft and grime of the dig, and lyrical evocations of place, he offers a unique portrait of a neglected but remarkable area of England.Dr Pryor counterpoints the history of the Fen landscape and its transformation with the story of his own exploration of it as an archaeologist. He recounts his thrilling Bronze Age discoveries in the early 1970s at Fengate and then, a decade later, at Flag Fen near Peterborough - and what those remarkable finds tell us about our ancient ancestors and the way they lived and farmed the land.We learn how the waterlogged landscape can be a treasure trove for archaeologists and how archaeology has the power to challenge some common misconceptions. Dr Pryor also turns his attention to the future of this low-lying area of Eastern England and the challenges we face in preserving it.Francis Pryor is one of Britain’s most distinguished living archaeologists, specialising in the study of the Bronze and Iron Ages. He has now retired from full-time field archaeology but still appears on television and writes books as well as being a working sheep farmer.Omnibus reader: Sam DaleAbridger: Libby SpurrierProducer: Alexa MooreA Pier production first broadcast in five parts on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.
SUN 10:10 The Listening Project (b07hgb4k)
Alex and Chris – Just Friends
Fi Glover introduces a conversation between friends who have differing views about their direction of travel, but who still arrive at the same place. Another in the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.The Listening Project is a Radio 4 initiative that offers a snapshot of contemporary Britain in which people across the UK volunteer to have a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they've never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being gathered across the UK by teams of producers from local and national radio stations who facilitate each encounter. Every conversation - they're not BBC interviews, and that's an important difference - lasts up to an hour, and is then edited to extract the key moment of connection between the participants. Most of the unedited conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. You can learn more about The Listening Project by visiting bbc.co.uk/listeningprojectProducer: Marya Burgess
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b070pb4d)
Space
Monica Grady
From Brahms to Ultravox. Space scientist Professor Monica Grady shares her castaway choices with Kirsty Young. From July 2015.
SUN 11:00 Radiolab (b08ynt14)
Series 1
Bliss
Radiolab explores why people chase moments of total, world-shaking bliss. With Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich.Radiolab is a Peabody-award winning show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy and the human experience.First broadcast on public radio in the USA.
SUN 12:00 Whack-O! (b06451cb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Clitheroe Kid (m0006sx7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Rachel's Cousins (Omnibus) (b063hy4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Victorian Love Stories (m0006sx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Sweet Sorrow (Omnibus) (m0006sxh)
Episode 1
A decade after the publication of his bestselling novel, One Day, featuring the story of Emma and Dexter, David Nicholls has again created a triumphantly engaging pair of young lovers.When Charlie Lewis meets Fran Fisher in the summer of 1996, he is at something of a loose end. School is out and so is the sun, but his future is not looking bright. He has been hit hard by his parents' split and is not happy about the role assigned to him by his mother - keeping an eye on his depressed and bankrupt father.Failure hangs in the air - not just the closure of his father's record shop but also Charlie's inability to complete most of his GCSE exams. But then Fran Fisher almost literally stumbles across him and a whole new world opens up.David Nicholls' last novel, Us, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction 2014. Earlier this year, he won a BAFTA for Patrick Melrose, his television adaptation of the novels by Edward St Aubyn.In Sweet Sorrow he gives us a pitch-perfect portrayal of the anguish and joys of adolescence brilliantly laced with wit and compassionate humour.James Norton, familiar from his roles in McMafia and War and Peace as well as the psychopathic villain in Happy Valley, reads his first book for BBC Radio.Omnibus producer: Jill WatersAbridged by Isobel Creed and Jill WatersA Waters Company production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in five parts in 2019.
SUN 15:45 Parkmasters (b00773lw)
James Pennethorne and Victoria Park, London
James Pennethorne created Victoria Park in east London for some of the poorest people in the capital.The space may have resembled Regent's Park with grand carriageways and vistas, but the workers made it their own as they congregated to discuss politics and to bathe in the grand lakes before the park had even officially opened.Historian Tristram Hunt continues his history of the people and ideas behind the creation of public parks. Producer: Erin RileyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.
SUN 16:00 Peter Wolf - Red Star Belgrade (m0006sxr)
Belgrade, 1941: As the Nazis begin their invasion of the Balkans, half the football team are wiped out as the pitch is bombed. In prison camp, the survivors form a new team to play a match against the Prison Guards, but the price of winning this match against their fascists captors will be their lives.Written by Peter WolfVratar ...... Bill NighyIgrac ...... Mark BazeleyBozo ...... Stephen CritchlowGretl ...... Tracy-Ann ObermanZdenka ...... Janice AcquahGazde ...... Philip JosephDevet ...... Jonathan KeebleOsam ...... Gordon ReidSedam ...... Kenny BlythProducer: Cherry CooksonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (m0006sxw)
And You, Helen
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive and chooses And You, Helen featuring writer Helen Thomas and her tempestuous marriage to poet Edward Thomas and her role in keeping his flame alive after his death in World War One.Presented by poet Deryn Rees-Jones who travels to Liverpool, south London and Steep in Hampshire, in the footsteps of this incredibly spirited, progressive woman, who scandalised Thomas' friends with her candid accounts of her relationship with Edward in her memoirs, As It Was and World Without End. Deryn talks to playwright Nick Dear, poet Alison Brackenbury, critic Edna Longley and members of the Edward Thomas Fellowship about Helen's extraordinary life, her response to the tragedy of Edward's death and her talents as a writer. Deryn also reads from her own poetic sequence, 'And you, Helen' - a response to Edward Thomas' poem of the same name.Readings by Elaine Claxton and Wilf ScoldingProduced by Emma HardingAnd you, Helen by Edward ThomasAnd you, Helen, what should I give you?So many things I would give youHad I an infinite great storeOffered me and I stood beforeTo choose. I would give you youth,All kinds of loveliness and truth,A clear eye as good as mine,Lands, waters, flowers, wine,As many children as your heartMight wish for, a far better artThan mine can be, all you have lostUpon the travelling waters tossed,Or given to me. If I could chooseFreely in that great treasure-houseAnything from any shelf,I would give you back yourself,And power to discriminateWhat you want and want it not too late,Many fair days free from careAnd heart to enjoy both foul and fair,And myself, too, if I could findWhere it lay hidden and it proved kind.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
SUN 17:30 Susan Calman - Keep Calman Carry On (b073j5cg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 Nightfall (m0006sy0)
Series 1
From My Appointed Place Below
A young man delivers his rent to the local Scottish landowner, Sir Robert Redgauntlet, but the latter dies before writing a receipt, and the money disappears.Desperate, the young man turns to a stranger for help.‘Nightfall’ was a series of supernatural and horror dramas produced by Canada’s CBC Radio between July 1980 and June 1983 and went on to become one of the most popular shows in the network’s history. Over its one hundred episodes over three seasons, ‘Nightfall’ featured a mix of original stories and adaptations of classic tales.Hugh Webster… Steenie SteensonChris Wiggins… Sir Robert RedgauntletJohn Douglas… Sir John RedgauntletSandy Webster… Dougal MacCallumFrank Perry… HutcheonJohn Bayliss… The Writer In BlackStory by Sir Walter Scott, 1824.Directed by Fred Dalzell.First broadcast on CBC Canada in 1980.
SUN 18:30 Robert Holmes - Aliens in the Mind (b007jlwv)
Final Tribulations
Professor Lark and John Cornelius reveal to Flora's MP father, Ian Sanderson, that he himself is a mutant being - manipulated by some unidentified Controller.Shocked and horrified, Sanderson helps them trace the organisation...Starring Peter Cushing and Vincent Price.John Cornelius ..... Peter CushingCurtis Lark ..... Vincent PriceSir Gordon MacLeodan ..... Richard HurndallLady MacLeodan ..... Joan BenhamIan Sanderson ..... Frazer KerrDonald Scholar ..... Henry StamperManson ..... Andrew SearWritten by Rene Basilico from an idea by Robert Holmes.Producer: John DyasFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1977.
SUN 19:00 Radiolab (b08ynt14)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 20:00 The Fens: Discovering England's Ancient Depths (Omnibus) (m0006sxc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 The Listening Project (b07hgb4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b070pb4d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Susan Calman - Keep Calman Carry On (b073j5cg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Hal (b04stlcv)
Series 1
Crime
Hal Cruttenden stars as a 40-something husband and father who, years ago, decided to give up his job and become a stay at home father. His wife, Sam, has a successful business career, which makes her travel more and more. His children, Lilly and Molly, are growing up fast, and his role as their father and mentor is diminishing by the day.So what can Hal to as he reaches a crossroads in his life? Help is (sort of) at hand in the form of his eager mates - Doug, Fergus and Barry - who regularly meet at their local curry house for mind expanding conversations that sadly never give Hal the core advice he so desperately needs.Hal is confused even further as he regularly has visions of his long dead and highly macho father, who he's forced to engage in increasingly frustrating conversations.In this episode, Hal becomes the latest victim to a series of car crimes that have happened near his home. Not only has his own personal car space been invaded, but his beloved CD collection has been stolen - including Abba, Dolly Parton and The Pet Shop Boys.How can Hal survive this tragedy?In the process of trying to cope with this crime, Hal also tries to find the real man in himself - but in attempting to do this, only scares his young daughters and reduces them to tears.The cast includes co-writer Dominic Holland, Ed Byrne, Ronni Ancona, Anna Crilly, Gavin Webster, Dominic Frisby, Samuel Caseley and Emily and Lucy Robbins.Produced by Paul RussellAn Open Mike production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in November 2014.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000714f)
Sofie Hagen 2/2
From 10.00pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus Angela Barnes chats again to Sofie Hagen.
SUN 23:00 Cabin Pressure (b012r99d)
Series 3
Rotterdam
It's Lifejacket, Camera, Action as stardom beckons for one of the crew of MJN Air.But who will get to blow the final whistle? And will they look good in a vest?John Finnemore's sitcom about the pilots of a tiny charter airline for whom no job is too small and many jobs are too difficult.Carolyn Knapp-Shappey ..... Stephanie Cole1st Officer Douglas Richardson ..... Roger AllamCapt. Martin Crieff ..... Benedict CumberbatchArthur Shappey ..... John FinnemoreCapt. Herc Shipwright ..... Anthony HeadMartin Davenport ..... Gus BrownProducer/Director: David TylerA Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2011.
SUN 23:30 Chris Addison's Civilization (b00dr4t0)
Controlling the Universe
Chris Addison goes on a journey through the vast and rich subject of civilisation and explains exactly what we need to create a new one.In the opening episode, he investigates the notion of a controllable universe.With Professor Austin Herring (Geoffrey McGivern), Jo Enright and Dan Tetsell.Producer: Simon NichollsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2006.


MONDAY 15 JULY 2019

MON 00:00 Nightfall (m0006sy0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Robert Holmes - Aliens in the Mind (b007jlwv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Rachel's Cousins (Omnibus) (b063hy4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:15 Victorian Love Stories (m0006sx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Sweet Sorrow (Omnibus) (m0006sxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:45 Parkmasters (b00773lw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 Peter Wolf - Red Star Belgrade (m0006sxr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (m0006sxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Susan Calman - Keep Calman Carry On (b073j5cg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Book at Beachtime (b036wblb)
Jennie Rooney - Red Joan
Episode 1
In Jennie Rooney's compelling spy thriller, a knock at the door threatens to expose the past Joan Stanley has been so keen to hide for the last 50 years.Eleanor Bron and Olivia Hallinan are the readers.BBC Radio 4 Extra's Book at Beachtime is a deliciously intense spy thriller set in wartime Cambridge and Cold-war London by the Costa shortlisted author, Jennie Rooney.Inspired by the true story of Melita Norwood - who was exposed as a Cold-War spy for the Soviets - Red Joan is both a gripping "what would you do" tale of moral decisions and a moving love story.Joan Stanley has a secret. She is a loving mother, a doting grandmother, and leads a quiet, unremarkable life in the suburbs. Then one morning there is a knock on the door, and suddenly the past she has been so keen to hide for the last fifty years threatens to rip apart all that she holds dear.Abridged by Alison JosephProducer: Elizabeth Allard.Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2013.
MON 06:30 Nigel Baldwin - Burnt (b09tc6hp)
Episode 6/6 - The Danger of Exposure
Milkie discovers exposing guilt is dangerous - when the powerful are rotten and the idealists are liars.Conclusion of Nigel Baldwin's taut political six part thriller.Starring Dennis Waterman as Milkie, Ray Smith as the Teller, Bethan Jones as Beth, Richard Elfyn as Huw, Eluned Jones as Pauline, Michael Povey as Gordon, Terry Victor as Rhys, Sian Summers as Sian and Robert David as Dewi.Producer: Jane DaunceyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
MON 07:00 Lucky Heather (b0075rz9)
Wild Bunch
Heather helps a neighbour who is being harassed on the estate and also tries line dancing.Just this side of nosey, Heather is western movie-mad. She's also the Sherlock Holmes of the rundown Sutter Estate.Sue Teddern's six-part comedy series star Lindsey Coulson as Heather. (Carol Jackson in BBC TV's EastEnders until 2015)With Abigail Hart as Natalie, Ben Crowe as Ryan and Kelly Wright as Emma, Gemma Saunders as Chloe, Elizabeth Kelly as Olive, Harry Myers as Tommy and Dearbhla Molloy as Maev.Director: David HunterFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2000.
MON 07:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m0006lnt)
Series 71
Episode 3
The 71st series of the multi award-winning comedy panel game chaired by Jack Dee
MON 08:00 A Very Private Man (b09g6hw1)
Series 1
Episode 1
Young couple David and Helen swap the frenzy of Croydon for the serenity of the Yorkshire countryside. But there are obstacles to overcome...Rodney Bewes stars in Terry Gregson's north v south sitcom.David Parkinson ...... Rodney BewesHelen Parkinson ...... Ann BellMrs Henderson ...... Daphne OxenfordMrs Arthur ...... Paula TildrookMr Sands ...... Peter WheelerProduced at BBC Manchester by Ron McDonnell.First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1981.
MON 08:30 Dad's Army (b007qrzs)
Series 1
Sons of the Sea
Out on river patrol, Captain Mainwaring's Home Guard platoon gets lost in fog in the English Channel...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, Arnold Ridley as Private Godfrey, Ian Lavender as Private Pike and Timothy Bateson as Various. With 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 the BBC Radio 4 in June 1974.
MON 09:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b04mc1hk)
Series 7
Episode 4
The Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Phill Jupitus.With American comedy writer, stand-up and musician, Rich Hall, historian, author and TV presenter, Dr Anna Keay and leading neurosurgeon, Henry Marsh CBE.The Museum's Steering Committee discusses:* How the Wild West wasn't at all like we think it was* How brain surgery isn't exactly rocket science* How tourists were encouraged to chip off their own souvenirs from Stonehenge* Why the key to understanding the difference between Americans and the British is on the front porch* How British monarchs used to borrow their crown jewels* How our brains disappear when they're not needed.Researchers: James Harkin and Stevyn Colgan of QI.Producers: Richard Turner and Dan SchreiberFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
MON 09:30 Street and Lane (b00v3n2v)
Series 1
Patio Marital
"Up your Street, Down your Lane".Johnny Street and Arthur Lane are a pair of Yorkshire builders in a white van who battle out their partnership and their future as they tackle a plethora of household repairs.In this opening episode, the duo tool up for a patio job at the home of warring couple.Johnny Street ...... Nick LaneArthur Lane ...... Fine Time FontayneChristine ...... Becky HindleyTom ...... Richard KatzGreat Northern Man ...... Gerard McDermottProducer: David HunterFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2005.
MON 10:00 Classic Serial (b01mtsm3)
Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd
A Farmer Just Beginning
Young farmer Gabriel Oak sees an ideal wife in Bathsheba Everdene, but she turns him down, believing in true romance. As she becomes rich, he is ruined, and the tables turn.Thomas Hardy's classic tale dramatised by Graham White.Bathsheba ...... Alex TregearGabriel Oak ...... Shaun DooleyBoldwood ...... Toby JonesTroy ...... Patrick KennedyLiddy ...... Lizzy WattsFanny ...... Hannah John-KamenMaltster ...... Robert BlytheJan ...... Joe SimsJoseph ...... Sam AlexanderHenery ...... Patrick BrennanBilly ...... Don GiletCain ...... Harry LivingstoneAunt ...... Tracy WilesMaryann ...... Amaka OkaforMusicians: Colin Guthrie, Chris Davies, Lauren SwiftDirector: Jessica DromgooleFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
MON 11:00 TED Radio Hour (m0006sww)
Series 5
The Spirit of Inquiry
A journey through fascinating ideas based on talks by riveting speakers on the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) stage.Guy Raz explores how a deeper and more humble style of inquiry may help achieve the next big breakthrough.First broadcast in the USA on National Public Radio in 2017.
MON 11:50 Inheritance Tracks (b07yk69q)
Danielle de Niese
Lyric soprano Danielle de Niese chooses Barbra Streisand's 'Evergreen' and 'I Know That My Redeemer Liveth' from Handel's Messiah.
MON 12:00 A Very Private Man (b09g6hw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007qrzs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 Book at Beachtime (b036wblb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Nigel Baldwin - Burnt (b09tc6hp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jcs2k)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Look Out, Saturday Night!
With her thoughts still very much on ageing rocker Johnnie Lomond, Eleanor agrees to go to a party with Raymond. Soon the bubbles are going to her head...Tracy Wiles continues Gail Honeyman's heartwarming, and sometimes heartbreaking, novel. Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything. But one simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself.Reader: Tracy WilesProducer: Justine WillettAbridger: Richard Hamilton.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.
MON 14:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cb9gw)
Towards the Light
The Nobel prize for Chemistry was awarded to German scientist Richard Willstatter in 1915 for his analysis of the green plant pigment chlorophyll. It marked a significant moment in the long history of piecing together the many elements that contribute to photosynthesis - the process by which plants draw in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and together with light and water can generate their own glucose and release oxygen back into the air. The limits of this process were now clearKathy Willis hears from historian Jim Endersby about defining moments in photosynthesis' long history and from Kew's Head of Conservation Biotechnology about how artificially elevating levels of carbon dioxide in the air,a technique long developed by horticulturists to produce bigger fruit and vegetable crops, is now having dramatic effects on successful reintroduction of cultivated endangered plants back into the wild.And as scientists understand the different methods that plants use to photosynthesise, Kathy Willis hears from Oxford plant scientist Jane Langdale who's part of a network of international scientists who are attempting to mend a fundamental flaw in the process of photosynthesis which could improve future rice yields by 50%Producer Adrian Washbourne.
MON 14:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cq1d4)
The Marriage
Beautiful Emma meets and marries Doctor Charles Bovary. He's happy for the first time in his life - unlike Emma, who's distraught that her marriage lacks the passion and excitement of her fantasies.A French masterpiece of betrayal and wantonness; the first great novel of adultery starring John Hurt.Narrator ...... John HurtCharles ...... Conrad NelsonEmma ...... Sarah SmartMadame Bovary Snr ...... Brigit ForsythMonsieur Rouault ...... Russell DixonGustave Flaubert's novel is dramatised by Diana Griffiths from a translation by Margaret Mauldon.Producer: Pauline HarrisFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
MON 14:45 Book of the Week (b04f9frc)
Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love
Episode 1
The 17-year-old Philip Larkin goes up to Oxford to read English. In the quadrangle of St John's, he meets a jazz-loving kindred spirit in Kingsley Amis.Written by James Booth and read by Michael Pennington.Philip Larkin was that rare thing among poets - a household name in his own lifetime. Lines such as 'Never such innocence again' and 'Sexual intercourse began / In nineteen sixty-three' made him one of the most popular poets of the last century.Larkin's reputation as a man, however, has been more controversial. A solitary librarian known for his pessimism, he disliked exposure and had no patience with the literary circus. And when, in 1992, the publication of his Selected Letters laid bare his compartmentalised personal life, accusations of duplicity, faithlessness, racism and misogyny were levelled against him.There is, of course, no requirement that poets should be likeable or virtuous, but James Booth asks whether art and life were really so deeply at odds with each other. Can the poet who composed the moving 'Love Songs in Age' have been such a cold-hearted man? Can he who uttered the playful, self-deprecating words 'Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth' really have been so boorish?A very different public image is offered by those who shared the poet's life - the women with whom he was romantically involved, his friends and his university colleagues. It is with their personal testimony, including access to previously unseen letters, that Booth reinstates a man misunderstood - not a gaunt, emotional failure, but a witty, provocative and entertaining presence, delightful company; an attentive son and a man devoted to the women he loved.Abridged by Libby Spurrier. Produced by Joanna GreenA Pier production for BBC Radio 4
MON 15:00 Classic Serial (b01mtsm3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b04mc1hk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 Street and Lane (b00v3n2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 Lucky Heather (b0075rz9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m0006lnt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Good Omens (b04knthd)
Episode 1
The demon Crowley is tasked with the delivery of a baby to St Beryl's hospital, initiating a chain of events that will lead to Armageddon. But things don't quite go to plan.With a cast led by Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap, this is the first ever dramatisation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens.According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, the world will end on a Saturday. A Saturday quite soon, on Radio 4.Events have been set in motion to bring about the End of Days. The armies of Good and Evil are gathering and making their way towards the sleepy English village of Lower Tadfield. The Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pollution and Death - have been summoned from the corners of the earth and are assembling.Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell and his assistant Newton Pulsifier are also en route to Tadfield to investigate some unusual phenomena in the area, while Anathema Device, descendent of prophetess and witch Agnes Nutter, tries to decipher her ancestor's cryptic predictions about exactly where the impending Apocalypse will take place.Atlantis is rising, fish are falling from the sky; everything seems to be going to the Divine Plan.Everything that is but for the unlikely duo of an angel and a demon who are not all that keen on the prospect of the forthcoming Rapture. Aziraphale (once an angel in the Garden of Eden, but now running an antiquarian bookshop in London), and Crowley (formerly Eden's snake, now driving around London in shades and a vintage Bentley) have been living on Earth for several millennia and have become rather fond of the place. But if they are to stop Armageddon taking place they've got to find and kill the one who will the one bring about the apocalypse: the Antichrist himself.There's just one small problem: someone seems to have mislaid him...Crowley ...... Peter Serafinowicz Aziraphale ...... Mark Heap Sister Patricia Prattle ...... Tracy Wiles Dagon ...... Ben Crowe Mr Young ...... Simon JonesLigur ...... Neil MaskellWarlock ...... Rudi GoodmanAgnes Nutter ...... Josie LawrenceSister Grace Voluble ...... Marcella Riordan Sister Mary Loquacious ...... Louise BrealeyHastur ...... Phil DavisPoliceman ...... Terry PratchettPoliceman ...... Neil Gaiman Young Anathema ...... Lily-Rose AslandogduAdaptation and sound design by Dirk Maggs.Producer: Heather LarmourFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b00c5j0v)
Marcelle d'Argy Smith and Barry Cunliffe
Sue MacGregor and her guests - former Cosmopolitan editor, Marcelle d'Argy Smith and archaeologist, Professor Barry Cunliffe - discuss books by Robert Harris, Voltaire and David M Friedman.The Ghost by Robert HarrisPublisher: HutchinsonA Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis by David M FriedmanPublisher: Robert Hale LimitedCandide by VoltairePublisher: Oxford World's ClassicsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
MON 19:00 A Very Private Man (b09g6hw1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Dad's Army (b007qrzs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 Book at Beachtime (b036wblb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Nigel Baldwin - Burnt (b09tc6hp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 TED Radio Hour (m0006sww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:50 Inheritance Tracks (b07yk69q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:50 today]
MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m0006lnt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 The Harpoon (b00cq60w)
Series 3
Episode 4
Howdee y'all! A special star-spangled American issue of the nostalgic spoof of boys' adventure story papers.Performed by Alistair McGowan, Peter Baynham, Susie Brann, Mary Elliot-Nelson and Julian Dutton.Producer: Sarah SmithFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1994.
MON 23:00 Dead Ringers (m0006n1y)
Series 19
Episode 6
This series of Dead Ringers features Jon Culshaw, Jan Ravens, Lewis Macleod, Debra Stephenson and Duncan Wisbey,The producer and creator is Bill DareA BBC Studios Production
MON 23:30 Radio Active (b007k18c)
Series 4
The BioShow
The station's biographical series pays tribute to the sensational life of celebrated actor, Sir John Lesley.Radio Active is the one and only local national radio station.Starring Helen Atkinson-Wood, Angus Deayton, Geoffrey Perkins, Philip Pope and Michael Fenton-Stevens.Music by Philip Pope and Steve Brown.Written by Angus Deayton, Geoffrey Perkins with Jon Canter, John Docherty, Moray Hunter, Helen Murry and Nick Wilton.Producer: Jamie RixFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1984.


TUESDAY 16 JULY 2019

TUE 00:00 Good Omens (b04knthd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b00c5j0v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Book at Beachtime (b036wblb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Nigel Baldwin - Burnt (b09tc6hp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jcs2k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cb9gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cq1d4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Book of the Week (b04f9frc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Classic Serial (b01mtsm3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b04mc1hk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Street and Lane (b00v3n2v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Lucky Heather (b0075rz9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (m0006lnt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Book at Beachtime (b036x212)
Jennie Rooney - Red Joan
Episode 2
MI5 have caught up with Joan Stanley and her secret past is unravelling. Poignant memories of her wartime passion for Leo Galich and her friendship with his beguiling cousin, Sonya, are recalled.Jennie Rooney's compelling spy thriller set in wartime Cambridge and Cold-war London Read by Eleanor Bron and Olivia Hallinan.Abridged by Alison Joseph.Producer: Elizabeth Allard.Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2013.
TUE 06:30 Dreamers of the Black Metropolis (b01r113s)
Rita Coburn Whack reveals how a generation of artists forged a new identity amidst the Depression in Chicago's 'Black Metropolis'.By the 1930's Chicago was the promised land for the largest internal migration in American history. Waves of black American's left the South for a city that promised opportunity and deliverance from the murderous land of Jim Crow. On the city's Southside black owned businesses, newsapers and clubs helped define a city within a city that resounded to the music of giants like Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith.This burgeoning 'Black Metropolis' sparked an artistic renaissance that outlasted Harlem, nurturing painters, sculptors, poets and printmakers. Largely rejected by the White American art world, able to study only in a few places and barely able to exhibit in their own city these visual artists forged a new identity in the Black Metropolis.The Depression also birthed new links between both white and black, the talk was revolutionary, the politics incendiary and the desire to represent the race, to redefine their place in this white world and to reclaim dignity, drove many.In 1940, at the height of Roosevelt's New Deal 'Negro Art' was firmly on the map with both The American Negro Exposition and the triumphant opening of the South Side Community Art Center by the First Lady in the heart of Chicago's thriving Bronzeville.Now, funded by the W.P.A., artists like Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Eldizor Cortor, Margaret Burroughs, fledgling photographer Gorden Parks and young poet Gwendolyn Brooks had a space to call their own. Bold murals, social realist depictions of ordinary black life and meditations on what it meant to be black in America filled the walls whilst an entire community learnt art in a time of austerity.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2013.
TUE 07:00 Smelling of Roses (b00dpspn)
Series 3
The Queen of Song
A showcase concert for a local diva turns into a headache for organiser Rosie Burns.Rosie is asked to arrange a showcase concert for a new potential rival to Celine Dion.The girl has plenty of money, but what about talent?Another assignment for Rosie Burns and the event management company, where the clients are only part of the problem...Written by Simon Brett.Rosie ..... Prunella ScalesJo ..... Rebecca CallardBob ..... Duncan PrestonTess ..... Annette BadlandRobert ..... Simon TrinderCath Unger ..... Felicity GoodsonTerry ..... Colin SellProducer: Maria EspositoFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2002.
TUE 07:30 Heresy (m0006m3r)
Series 11
Episode 5
Joining Victoria Coren Mitchell to commit heresy about pets and Donald Trump's Twitter account are Germaine Greer, Sathnam Sanghera and David Mitchell.Produced by Victoria Coren Mitchell and Daisy KnightAn Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 08:00 The Al Read Show (b00cq63d)
From 7/10/1995
The legendary Northern comic pokes at courting, marriage, kids and football.A compilation of Al Read's 1950s monologues.Originally produced at BBC North by Ronnie TaylorCompilation produced by Mike Craig. First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1995.
TUE 08:30 To the Manor Born (b007m9wg)
The Spare Room
DeVere takes a shine to Mrs fforbes-Hamilton's guest. Is Audrey jealous?.Starring Penelope Keith as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton.Keith Barron ..... Richard DeVereAngela Thorne ..... Marjory FrobisherNicholas McArdle ..... BrabingerMargery Withers ..... Mrs PolouvickaFrank Middlemass ..... NedPodge Hodge ..... Zulema DeneThe tale of lady of the manor Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, forced to sell her beloved Grantleigh Estate when her husband's death leaves her financially strapped. With butler Brabinger in tow, they've decamped to the tiny Old Lodge cottage.From this vantage point, Audrey keeps a close and disapproving eye on the estate's new owner, the nouveau-riche Richard DeVere, a wholesale foods magnate of Czech descent.First piloted on radio and then whisked off to TV before it ever appeared, before finally arriving home in 1997.Adapted from his TV scripts by Peter Spence.Producer: Jane BerthoudFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1997.
TUE 09:00 Dead Ringers (m0006n1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 The Other Man (b0076xyj)
Declaration
A date, a declaration, some poetry and a proposal: things get out of hand for all the lovers.Written by Jan Etherington and Gavin Petrie.Travis ..... Julian Rhind-TuttGrace ..... Charlotte RandleCharlie ..... Paul ReynoldsSerena ..... Alice LoweAlice ...... Clare CathcartProducer: Elizabeth FreestoneFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2006.
TUE 10:00 Classic Serial (b01n0vh4)
Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd
Cuts and Points
Bathsheba discovers that sending William Boldwood a valentine card was a terrible mistake. But Boldwood is not Gabriel's only rival for Bathsheba's heart.Thomas Hardy's classic tale dramatised by Graham White.Bathsheba ...... Alex TregearGabriel Oak ...... Shaun DooleyBoldwood ...... Toby JonesTroy ...... Patrick KennedyLiddy ...... Lizzy WattsFanny ...... Hannah John-KamenMaltster ...... Robert BlytheJan ...... Joe SimsJoseph ...... Sam AlexanderHenery ...... Patrick BrennanBilly ...... Don GiletCain ...... Harry LivingstoneMaryann ...... Amaka OkaforMusicians: Colin Guthrie, Chris Davies, Lauren SwiftDirector: Jessica DromgooleFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
TUE 11:00 Telling Tales (m0006sck)
John Finnemore
John Finnemore always wanted to write for radio and, since that first commission, his output has been prolific.He created the popular sitcom Cabin Pressure, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Roger Allam, and the long-running Souvenir Programme sketch series, which is now in its eight series.Along the way, he’s picked up multiple awards, seen a cast member become a Hollywood star, and taken control of the Radio 4 airwaves, as the Lord Of Misrule for Twelfth Night 2017.John has added comedy two-handers to his CV, with two series of Double Acts, taken Souvenir Programme out on the road (retitled John Finnemore’s Flying Visit), and even finds time to create the occasional cryptic crossword.Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra.
TUE 12:00 The Al Read Show (b00cq63d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 To the Manor Born (b007m9wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Book at Beachtime (b036x212)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Dreamers of the Black Metropolis (b01r113s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jdc7v)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Dance? Could I?
Eleanor is surprised to find herself dancing at the golf club party... And dancing, it turns out, is easy.Tracy Wiles continues Gail Honeyman's heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking novel.Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything. But one simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself.Reader: Tracy WilesProducer: Justine WillettAbridger: Richard Hamilton.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.
TUE 14:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cc1wy)
Multiple Genes
In 1903 a cluster of evening primrose in an abandoned potato field outside the Dutch town of Hilversum caught the eye of German botanist Hugo de Vries. Its huge blooms and large leaves appeared to suggest the sudden development of a new species. Around the same time in Kew Gardens a mysterious primula hybrid appeared. The new discipline of plant genetics soon revealed that this curious trick was being driven by multiplication of chromosomes inside the plant cell nucleus.Professor Kathy Willis examines this phenomenon - known as polyploidy ( "multiple forms") - and how insights into this peculiarity can contribute to the evolutionary success of plants. It may also hold the answer to one of the botanical world's greatest mysteries - why so soon after appearing in the fossil record did the flowering plants suddenly explode into the bewildering range of species we see today.With contributions from historian Jim Endersby, Keeper of Kew's Jodrell Lab Mark Chase, and Jodrell Laboratory geneticist Illia Leitch.Producer Adrian Washbourne.
TUE 14:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cq60z)
The Ball
The dazzling splendour of a Marquis ball intensifies married Emma's longing for excitement.A French masterpiece of betrayal and wantonness; the first great novel of adultery starring John Hurt..Narrator ...... John HurtCharles ...... Conrad NelsonEmma ...... Sarah SmartMadame Bovary Snr ...... Brigit ForsythMonsieur Rouault ...... Russell DixonGustave Flaubert's novel is dramatised by Diana Griffiths from a translation by Margaret Mauldon.Producer: Pauline HarrisFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
TUE 14:45 Book of the Week (b04fc4m0)
Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love
Episode 2
Philip meets Monica Jones, an Assistant Lecturer in the English Department at Leicester University. And so begins a complicated, lifelong relationship.Read by Michael Pennington. Philip Larkin was that rare thing among poets - a household name in his own lifetime. Lines such as 'Never such innocence again' and 'Sexual intercourse began / In nineteen sixty-three' made him one of the most popular poets of the last century.Larkin's reputation as a man, however, has been more controversial. A solitary librarian known for his pessimism, he disliked exposure and had no patience with the literary circus. And when, in 1992, the publication of his Selected Letters laid bare his compartmentalised personal life, accusations of duplicity, faithlessness, racism and misogyny were levelled against him.There is, of course, no requirement that poets should be likeable or virtuous, but James Booth asks whether art and life were really so deeply at odds with each other. Can the poet who composed the moving 'Love Songs in Age' have been such a cold-hearted man? Can he who uttered the playful, self-deprecating words 'Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth' really have been so boorish?A very different public image is offered by those who shared the poet's life - the women with whom he was romantically involved, his friends and his university colleagues. It is with their personal testimony, including access to previously unseen letters, that Booth reinstates a man misunderstood - not a gaunt, emotional failure, but a witty, provocative and entertaining presence, delightful company; an attentive son and a man devoted to the women he loved.Written by James BoothAbridged by Libby SpurrierProduced by Joanna GreenA Pier production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 15:00 Classic Serial (b01n0vh4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Best Behaviour (b05tm8wt)
Episode 2
Holly Walsh presents the comedy panel show that defines the dos and don'ts of modern manners.The guest panellists are comedians Mark Steel, Isy Suttie and Tom Allen - who are all seeking to supply the top tips for best behaviour in the 21st century.In this edition, the social minefield of parties is up for debate - including the suggestion of a new rule banning all small talk, and the desperate need for the end to evening-only wedding invitations.The panel also have the opportunity to offer advice on the social conundrum from a member of the studio audience: 'My friend has hijacked my baby-sitting job. How can I win it back?'Produced by Aled EvansA Zeppotron production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 16:30 Ballylenon (b00pcl7j)
Series 7
Episode 5
Bernard Gallagher has resigned from the police force to take up a singing career. Whilst lodging with the Maconchy sisters at the Post Office, he makes a devastating discovery...Series set in the sleepy town of Ballylenon, Co Donegal in 1959.Written by Christopher Fitz-Simon.Muriel Maconchy ...... Margaret D'ArcyVera Maconchy ...... Stella McCuskerPhonsie Doherty ...... Gerard MurphyVivienne Hawthorne ...... Annie McCartneyStumpy Bonner ...... Gerard McSorleyGuard Gallagher ...... Frankie McCaffertyPianist: Michael HarrisonDirector: Eoin O'CallaghanFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.
TUE 17:00 Smelling of Roses (b00dpspn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Heresy (m0006m3r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Good Omens (b04vdqpp)
Episode 2
Realising they have been protecting and corrupting the wrong child, Aziraphale and Crowley set out to discover what happened to the real son of Satan.With a cast led by Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap, this is the first ever dramatisation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens.Events have been set in motion to bring about the End of Days. The armies of Good and Evil are gathering and making their way towards the sleepy English village of Lower Tadfield. The Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pollution and Death - have been summoned from the corners of the earth and are assembling.Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell and his assistant Newton Pulsifier are also en route to Tadfield to investigate some unusual phenomena in the area, while Anathema Device, descendent of prophetess and witch Agnes Nutter, tries to decipher her ancestor's cryptic predictions about exactly where the impending Apocalypse will take place.Atlantis is rising, fish are falling from the sky; everything seems to be going to the Divine Plan.Everything that is but for the unlikely duo of an angel and a demon who are not all that keen on the prospect of the forthcoming Rapture. Aziraphale (once an angel in the Garden of Eden, but now running an antiquarian bookshop in London), and Crowley (formerly Eden's snake, now driving around London in shades and a vintage Bentley) have been living on Earth for several millennia and have become rather fond of the place. But if they are to stop Armageddon taking place they've got to find and kill the one who will the one bring about the apocalypse: the Antichrist himself.There's just one small problem: someone seems to have mislaid him...Crowley ...... Peter Serafinowicz Aziraphale ...... Mark Heap Marie ...... Tracy Wiles Dagon ...... Ben Crowe Agnes Nutter ...... Josie LawrenceShadwell ...... Clive RussellMadame Tracy ...... Julia DeakinProut ...... Ben CroweNewton Pulsifer ...... Colin MorganAnathema Device ...... Charlotte RitchieRaven Sable ...... Paterson JosephMary Hodges ...... Louise BrealeyAmi ...... Christy MeyersElvis The Cook ...... Mitch BennBlenkinsop ...... Paul StonehouseTomkins ...... Theo MaggsWethered ...... Tom AlexanderJane Garvey ...... HerselfAdam ...... Adam Thomas WrightPepper ...... Hollie BurgessWensleydale ...... Bobby FullerBrian ...... Lewis AndrewsAdaptation and sound design by Dirk Maggs.Producer: Heather LarmourFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
TUE 18:30 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k0n4)
Michael Sellers
Peter Sellers' son Michael chats to Sally Magnusson about the ups and downs of growing up with a famous funny father.Producer: Mike WalkerFirst broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in September 2005.
TUE 19:00 The Al Read Show (b00cq63d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 To the Manor Born (b007m9wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 Book at Beachtime (b036x212)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Dreamers of the Black Metropolis (b01r113s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Telling Tales (m0006sck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 22:00 Heresy (m0006m3r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 Alun Cochrane's Fun House (b01s0dld)
Bedroom
Comedian Alun Cochrane has a 25 year mortgage which he can only pay off by being funny. In this series he takes us on a room by room, stand up tour of his house.He has a fridge that beeps at him when he doesn't move quickly enough and a fire alarm he can't reach. His relationship with his house is a complicated one.A hoarder of funny and original observations on everyday life, Alun invites us to help him de-clutter his mind and tidy his ideas into one of those bags that you hoover all the air out of and keep under your bed. This show will help Alun and his house work through their relationship issues and prevent a separation that Alun can ill afford; at least not until the market picks up anyway.Starring ... Alun Cochrane and Gavin OsbornWritten by ... Alun Cochrane and Andy WoltonProduced by ... Carl Cooper.First broadcast by BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m000714h)
Sarah Campbell chats to the comedian Ian Smith
TUE 23:00 The Croft & Pearce Show (b072mz5w)
Episode 1
Sharply observed sketch show from award-winning comedy duo Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce.These Edinburgh Fringe favourites were the break-out hit of BBC Radio 4's Sketchorama and have performed sell-out shows in London, New York and around the UK.Packed with sharply observed characters, this debut from writer-performers Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce is not to be missed.In the opening episode we meet June and Jean, two middle-class ladies driven to the brink by the strain of village life in the Home Counties, as well as a rowdy Geordie Brown Owl and an over-excited work experience girl.Written and performed by Hannah Croft and Fiona PearceProducer: Liz AnsteeA CPL production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 23:15 The Literary Adventures of Mr Brown (b0717dlt)
Episode 1
Imagine if London's genteel literary scene had a bit more swag and a gangsta's lean. You've just imagined The Literary Adventures of Mr. Brown.With the help of his naively affable intern, Charlie, the heroic, absurd and frankly bad-ass Kurtis Brown fights for his clients in London's entertainment industry.When you need your fights fought and your books bought, who are you going to call? The best damn literary agent in the world, Kurtis Brown. He'll solve all your problems...for 15%.Written and performed by Chris Gau and Mike Orton-Toliver.Performer: Lola-Rose MaxwellProducer: Zoe RochaExecutive Producer: Ralf LittleA Little Rock production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2016.
TUE 23:30 Bussmann and Quantick Kingsize (b00757wk)
Episode 1
A five pound deal of sketches, monologues and weird soup.Originally broadcast live from London's exclusive Imperial Rooms, Mayfair.Written and performed by Jane Bussmann and David Quantick.Also featuring Peter Serafinowicz, Emma Clarke and Steve Brody.Producer: Phil Bowker.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.


WEDNESDAY 17 JULY 2019

WED 00:00 Good Omens (b04vdqpp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Dad Made Me Laugh (b007k0n4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Book at Beachtime (b036x212)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Dreamers of the Black Metropolis (b01r113s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jdc7v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cc1wy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cq60z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Book of the Week (b04fc4m0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Classic Serial (b01n0vh4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Best Behaviour (b05tm8wt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Ballylenon (b00pcl7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Smelling of Roses (b00dpspn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Heresy (m0006m3r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Book at Beachtime (b036xc1d)
Jennie Rooney - Red Joan
Episode 3
MI5 have caught up with Joan Stanley and her secret past is unravelling.New revelations about her war work in 1940s Cambridge leave Nick, her barrister son, in a state of shock. Eleanor Bron and Olivia Hallinan read.Jennie Rooney's compelling spy thriller abridged by Alison Joseph.Abridged by Alison JosephProducer: Elizabeth Allard.Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2013.
WED 06:30 Gone Today, Hair Tomorrow (b01104bx)
For centuries hair has been used as a symbol of remembrance; from a simple lock kept to the more intricate practice of weaving hair into bracelets or its use in art and jewellery.Historian and biographer Juliette Barker traces these practices through history and talks to some modern collectors.Now that it's become apparent that hair offers us the chance to retrieve good quality DNA, could it be about to enjoy a renaissance as favoured medium once more by which we remember our loved ones and ancestors? First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
WED 07:00 There Is No Escape (b06grjn7)
Episode 1
Andrew Lawrence's sitcom about a man dissatisfied with his life, whose feeble attempts to run away invariably end with him traipsing home defeated.In this opening episode, Andrew arrives home from work one evening to find the house even more of a mess than usual. An argument with his girlfriend about cleaning escalates and Andrew storms out to find something to eat.After a soul destroying encounter with the woman in the local shop, who can only recommend frozen turkey dinosaurs for his meal, Andrew joins his work mate, Lennie, for a consolation dinner in the pub.Later he returns home and is forced to negotiate about a cleaner through the letterbox before he is finally allowed back in.Starring Andrew Lawrence and Diane Morgan.With Rosie Cavaliero and Marek Larwood. Producer: Jane BerthoudFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2015.
WED 07:30 The Pin (m0006lsk)
Series 4
Ep 2: Magic
The latest series from Ben and Alex, aka "The Pin", is a sketch-sitcom hybrid. The award-winning sketch duo are forced to record their latest series in their flat and the boys are glad of the new creative freedom this opportunity presents, away from the "prying eyes of the BBC". Unfortunately, their creative freedom is short-lived, thanks to numerous intrusions from the boys' unlucky neighbour Maria, Ben's restaurant-reviewing mother and a disappearing magician.The Pin At Home is written by Alex Owen and Ben AshendenIt stars:Alex Owen as AlexBen Ashenden as BenPippa Haywood as MichelleCeleste Dring as MariaEllen Roberstson as Olivia, the magicianKrupa Pattani as KarenandJason Forbes as Jamie, the hotel receptionistIt was produced by Sam MichellA BBC Studios Production
WED 08:00 The Diary of a Nobody (b01fhrg1)
Episode 1
The imaginary journal of a middle-class suburban 'hero' with an over-developed sense of dignity - Charles Pooter.Arthur Lowe reads George and Weedon Grossmith's comic masterpiece of middle-class self importance in Victorian Britain.One of the classic humorous books of English literature, first published in 1894.Abridged in five parts by Donald Bancroft.Producer: Richard WortleyFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1977.
WED 08:30 Doctor at Large (b009s9n7)
Mozambique
A trip ashore for ship's medic Simon Sparrow leads to some local linguistic mishapsThe misadventures of newly qualified doctor, Simon Sparrow - adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's 'Doctor at Large' published in 1955.Starring Richard Briers as Simon Sparrow, Geoffrey Sumner as Captain Spratt, Ray Cooney as First Mate Jock Hornbeam, Marjorie Westbury as Maria, Miriam Margolyes as Matilde, Ann Murray as Mrs Hawkins, Madi Hedd as Rosa and Peter Jones as Easter.Producer: David HatchFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1969.
WED 09:00 Act Your Age (b00fr1tp)
Series 1
Episode 2
Simon Mayo discovers which generation is the funniest. With Jon Richardson, Lucy Porter and Roy Walker. From December 2008.
WED 09:30 Cleaning Up (b053c3p4)
Episode 2
They say there's someone for everyone, has Shiv found true love?Every night, as time is called and people are spat out onto the streets and squeezed into rides home to dream -tossed beds - others are hard at work. Teams of cleaners are in office spaces scrubbing, vacuuming and cleaning up. And right at the bottom of the food chain we find our gang - Spit n' Polish tackling the floors of a plush tower block in Manchester city centre.Written by Ian Kershaw and with a top hole Northern cast, this is a funny, sometimes dark comedy about people who always get the fuzzy end of the lollipop. A group of people thrown together by their work, take as much solace as they can from this.Julie ..... Julie HesmondhalghNobby ..... Paul BarberDave ..... John ThompsonShiv ..... Lauren SochaNita ..... Bhavna LimbachiaOur Bri ..... Jack DeamProduced at BBC Salford by Alison Vernon-SmithFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
WED 10:00 Classic Serial (b01n606d)
Thomas Hardy - Far From the Madding Crowd
A Successful Rival
One man proves constant in his love for Bathsheba, while she gives up on all hopes of happiness.Thomas Hardy's classic tale dramatised by Graham White.Bathsheba ...... Alex TregearGabriel Oak ...... Shaun DooleyBoldwood ...... Toby JonesTroy ...... Patrick KennedyLiddy ...... Lizzy WattsFanny ...... Hannah John-KamenMaltster ...... Robert BlytheJan ...... Joe SimsJoseph ...... Sam AlexanderHenery ...... Patrick BrennanBilly ...... Don GiletCain ...... Harry LivingstoneMaryann ...... Amaka OkaforMusicians: Colin Guthrie, Chris Davies, Lauren SwiftDirector: Jessica DromgooleFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
WED 11:00 Ronald Frame Short Stories (b007k19s)
The Trinket Box
To her observers, Mrs Bradley always seemed that bit too glamorous for a small gift shop owner...John Gordon Sinclair reads Ronald Frame's short story.Producer: David HunterFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1996.
WED 11:15 Sarah Waters Introduces - The Yellow Wallpaper (m0006t5p)
Exclusively for Radio 4 Extra, author Sarah Waters chooses a favourite book from the BBC archives.Dramatised from the 1892 short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. A woman is taken to the country by her doctor husband in order to cure her of an unnamed illness - post-natal depression - after the birth of a child.Instructed to have total rest and emptiness of mind and avoid stimulating company, the woman sinks into a still-deeper depression. Alone in the top floor nursery of a rented house, she becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper and descends into madness.Dramatised from the 1892 short story by American writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman.Starring Charlotte Emmerson.Music composed by Gary Yershon and performed by Gary Yershon and Laetitia HaversProducer Susan RobertsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
WED 12:00 The Diary of a Nobody (b01fhrg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Doctor at Large (b009s9n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 Book at Beachtime (b036xc1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 Gone Today, Hair Tomorrow (b01104bx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jf23j)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Bad Days
Sporting her new hairdo, make-up and outfit, Eleanor prepares herself for the hand of fate to unite her with Johnnie Lomond at his farewell gig.Tracy Wiles continues Gail Honeyman's heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking novel. Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything. But one simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself.Producer: Justine WillettAbridger: Richard Hamilton.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.
WED 14:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cffpd)
Battling Bark and Beetle
By the end of the First World War the mysterious sudden death of elms was a common sight across Belgium and the Netherlands. Dutch researchers managed to elucidate the real culprit amidst rumours of drought or wartime gas poisoning. It was a fungus thought to originate from America, carried by a beetle and the disease rather unfairly gained its name Dutch elm disease. Diagnosis produced no cure and it soon advanced across the channel to Britain.Professor Kathy Willis talks to the head of Kew's arboretum, Tony Kirkham, on the disease's impact amidst complacency, and how the emergence of a vigorous new fungal strain was to completely transform the landscape during its peak in the 1970's.Now that the principle replacement for lost elms, ash, itself has fallen victim to the latest disease to hitch a ride on incoming nursery stock, Paul Smith, Head of Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, explains why this new disease could be easier to control.Producer Adrian Washbourne.
WED 14:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cqdwd)
The Solicitor
As Emma and Charles move to a new town, she makes the acquaintance of a young solicitor.A French masterpiece of betrayal and wantonness; the first great novel of adultery starring John Hurt..Narrator ...... John HurtCharles ...... Conrad NelsonEmma ...... Sarah SmartMadame Bovary Snr ...... Brigit ForsythMonsieur Rouault ...... Russell DixonDoctor Lariviere ...... Martin ReeveMere Rollet ...... Julie McCabeMadame Lefrancois ...... Siobahn FinneranMonsieur Homais ...... David FleeshmanLeon Dupuis ...... James D'Arcy Gustave Flaubert's novel is dramatised by Diana Griffiths from a translation by Margaret Mauldon.Producer: Pauline HarrisFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
WED 14:45 Book of the Week (b04fc5f0)
Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love
Episode 3
Philip begins work as Librarian at Hull University and oversees plans for an ambitious programme of expansion. In his private life, another woman - Maeve Brennan - catches his eye.Read by Michael PenningtonPhilip Larkin was that rare thing among poets - a household name in his own lifetime. Lines such as 'Never such innocence again' and 'Sexual intercourse began / In nineteen sixty-three' made him one of the most popular poets of the last century.Larkin's reputation as a man, however, has been more controversial. A solitary librarian known for his pessimism, he disliked exposure and had no patience with the literary circus. And when, in 1992, the publication of his Selected Letters laid bare his compartmentalised personal life, accusations of duplicity, faithlessness, racism and misogyny were levelled against him.There is, of course, no requirement that poets should be likeable or virtuous, but James Booth asks whether art and life were really so deeply at odds with each other. Can the poet who composed the moving 'Love Songs in Age' have been such a cold-hearted man? Can he who uttered the playful, self-deprecating words 'Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth' really have been so boorish?A very different public image is offered by those who shared the poet's life - the women with whom he was romantically involved, his friends and his university colleagues. It is with their personal testimony, including access to previously unseen letters, that Booth reinstates a man misunderstood - not a gaunt, emotional failure, but a witty, provocative and entertaining presence, delightful company; an attentive son and a man devoted to the women he loved.Written by James BoothAbridged by Libby SpurrierProduced by Joanna GreenA Pier production for BBC Radio 4
WED 15:00 Classic Serial (b01n606d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Act Your Age (b00fr1tp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Cleaning Up (b053c3p4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 There Is No Escape (b06grjn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 The Pin (m0006lsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Good Omens (b04vf43c)
Episode 3
Aziraphale consults Agnes's prophesies in the hunt for the antichrist, the Witchfinder Army send Newt to Tadfield, and the Horsepersons of the Apocalypse continue to be summoned.With a cast led by Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap, this is the first ever dramatisation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens.Events have been set in motion to bring about the End of Days. The armies of Good and Evil are gathering and making their way towards the sleepy English village of Lower Tadfield. The Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pollution and Death - have been summoned from the corners of the earth and are assembling.Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell and his assistant Newton Pulsifier are also en route to Tadfield to investigate some unusual phenomena in the area, while Anathema Device, descendent of prophetess and witch Agnes Nutter, tries to decipher her ancestor's cryptic predictions about exactly where the impending Apocalypse will take place.Atlantis is rising, fish are falling from the sky; everything seems to be going to the Divine Plan.Everything that is but for the unlikely duo of an angel and a demon who are not all that keen on the prospect of the forthcoming Rapture. Aziraphale (once an angel in the Garden of Eden, but now running an antiquarian bookshop in London), and Crowley (formerly Eden's snake, now driving around London in shades and a vintage Bentley) have been living on Earth for several millennia and have become rather fond of the place. But if they are to stop Armageddon taking place they've got to find and kill the one who will the one bring about the apocalypse: the Antichrist himself.There's just one small problem: someone seems to have mislaid him...Crowley ...... Peter Serafinowicz Aziraphale ...... Mark Heap Major Pulsifer ...... Ben Crowe Agnes Nutter ...... Josie LawrenceAnathema Device ...... Charlotte RitchieNewton Pulsifer ...... Colin MorganShadwell ...... Clive RussellMadame Tracy ...... Julia DeakinLopez ...... Mitch BennBlake ...... Theo MaggsWasabi Computer ...... Andy SecombeCarmine Zuigiber ...... Rachael StirlingChalk ...... Harry LloydDeath ...... Jim NortonInternational Express ...... Ron CookAnforth ...... Nicholas BriggsNick Grimshaw ...... HimselfMartha Kearney ...... HerselfNeil Sleat ...... HimselfAdam ...... Adam Thomas WrightPepper ...... Hollie BurgessWensleydale ...... Bobby FullerBrian ...... Lewis AndrewsAdaptation and sound design by Dirk Maggs.Producer: Heather LarmourFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
WED 18:30 That Reminds Me (b007jnv6)
Series 3
George Melly
Celebrated raconteur, jazz singer and critic George Melly regales an audience with tales of his eventful life and passions.Aged 75, the bon viveur reveals his short-term memory is faulty, yet his past is crystal clear. As Melly charts his way through a varied career - underpinned by his hunger for entertaining and performing - he recalls his early gay lifestyle, and explains his great passion for surrealism,When George died, BBC News said "With his flamboyant suits, oversize hats and Havana cigars, George Melly was a good-time Renaissance man who indulged, often over-indulged, his passions for jazz, film, art, fishing, writing, drink and sex."George Melly: Born 17 August 1926. Died 5 July 2007.Producer: Claire JonesFirst broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in November 2001.
WED 19:00 The Diary of a Nobody (b01fhrg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Doctor at Large (b009s9n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 Book at Beachtime (b036xc1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 Gone Today, Hair Tomorrow (b01104bx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 Ronald Frame Short Stories (b007k19s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Sarah Waters Introduces - The Yellow Wallpaper (m0006t5p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
WED 22:00 The Pin (m0006lsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 The Future of Radio (b04brrpp)
Series 1
Sweet Smell of Success
What is the future of radio? In a world of digital overload can the public be expected to just listen to something without any pictures? Is the radio era over? The Institute of Radiophonic Evolution (IRE), based in South Mimms, is working hard to give radio a bright future.Their secret work is revealed in these programmes which draw on conference calls, voice notes and life-logs, to tell a compelling and strange story of the technological lengths to which the researchers will go to keep radio relevant.Instead of just adding pictures, the lab is working on ways to transmit smells, vibrations, and 3D images, as well as a way of putting radio into listeners' very brains!It sounds impossible, but the IRE boffins believe in making the impossible audible. And that's their motto.Each week a jiffy bag of sound files arrives at the BBC. We listen to the contents to discover what backroom boffins Luke Mourne and Professor Trish Baldock (ably assisted by Shelley – on work experience) have been up to.In this week's episode, they discover that radio can transmit smells and use them to enhance the output of the Radio Drama Department.Luke ..... William BeckTrish ..... Emma KilbeyShelley ..... Lizzy WattsFelix ..... David Brettwith Joan Walker and Chris StantonPianist: Mike WoolleyWritten by Jerome Vincent and Stephen DinsdaleProducer David BlountA Pier production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2014.
WED 22:45 John Kearns (b05w3x5l)
Half-Time
Passions flare and loyalty is tested at a football ground in London.The second of four 14-minute vignettes in a series from John Kearns, the Winner of the Main Prize at the 2014 Edinburgh Comedy Festival, as well as the Best Newcomer Award in 2013.Producer: Arnab Chanda.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
WED 23:00 The Jason Byrne Show (b01fhswh)
Series 2
Money
Award-winning comedian Jason Byrne gives full value on the cost of living and luxury.Stand up and sketches with Laurence Howarth and Anna Bengo.Producer: Julia McKenzieFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2009.
WED 23:30 Hamish and Dougal: You'll Have Had Your Tea (b0077038)
Series 3
Inverurie Jones and the Thimble of Doom
Unscrupulous treasure hunter Inverurie Jones has made off with the legendary Thimble of Doom. The Laird leads Hamish and Dougal on an expedition to retrieve it.Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden star as the two Scotsmen famed for their appearances on BBC Radio’s I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.With Alison Steadman as their cleaning-lady-cum-housekeeper, Mrs Naughtie, and Jeremy Hardy as the local Laird.Producer: Jon NaismithFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2006.
WED 23:45 Love in Recovery (b050bmfm)
Series 1
Andy
The lives of five very different recovering alcoholics.Set entirely at their weekly meetings, we hear them get to know each other, learn to hate each other, argue, moan, laugh, fall apart, fall in love and, most importantly, tell their stories.Comedy drama by Pete Jackson, set in Alcoholics Anonymous. Starring Sue Johnston, John Hannah, Eddie Marsan, Rebecca Front, Paul Kaye and Julia Deakin.In this episode, Andy has a date for the first time in....well....longer than he'd like to admit. It's up to the rest of the group to rally round and get him match fit.Julie ...... Sue JohnstonMarion ...... Julia DeakinFiona ...... Rebecca FrontSimon ...... John HannahDanno ...... Paul KayeAndy ...... Eddie MarsanThere are funny stories, sad stories, stories of small victories and milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, and stories that you really shouldn't laugh at - but still do. Along with the storyteller.Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent time with Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found, as many people do, support from the unlikeliest group of disparate souls, all banded together due to one common bond. As well as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship.Director: Ben WorsfieldA Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.


THURSDAY 18 JULY 2019

THU 00:00 Good Omens (b04vf43c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 That Reminds Me (b007jnv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Book at Beachtime (b036xc1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Gone Today, Hair Tomorrow (b01104bx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jf23j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cffpd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cqdwd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Book of the Week (b04fc5f0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Classic Serial (b01n606d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Act Your Age (b00fr1tp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Cleaning Up (b053c3p4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 There Is No Escape (b06grjn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 The Pin (m0006lsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Book at Beachtime (b036y5sh)
Jennie Rooney - Red Joan
Episode 4
MI5 are getting closer to the truth about Joan's hidden past.Her moral convictions and her clandestine Cold-War actitivities are recalled along with a devastating loss which in turn leads to a new and crushing revelation.Read by Olivia Hallinan and Eleanor Bron.Jennie Rooney's spy thriller abridged by Alison Joseph.Producer: Elizabeth Allard.Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2013.
THU 06:30 Who Was Opal? (b00pk9y9)
Journalist Melanie McFadyean investigates the strange life of Opal Whiteley, a child prodigy from Oregon, whose childhood diary was a huge hit in the early 1920s, but whose aristocratic claims were disputed and ultimately brought her to a sad end in a British psychiatric hospital.Opal's diary described, in an amusing, poetic style, her upbringing in the backwoods lumber camps at the beginning of the 20th century, and her intimate relationship with the natural world - a relationship in which many of the animals she knew, and even some of the trees, were given names, often taken from classical literature.But it was the story behind the diary's publication that first raised eyebrows - Opal, as an adult, claimed to a publisher that the original diary had been ripped apart by a jealous sister, but the piecies were preserved for years in a hatbox. Opal was encouraged to paste the diary back together, and the manuscript for the book was transcribed from the results.Many people were sceptical about the diary's reconstruction, but scepticism turned to outright suspicion when Opal turned her back on her Oregon family, as a result of implications in the diary that she was an orphan and that her real father was a member of the French royal family. Opal's diary still divides opinion in America.During the Second World War, Opal lived in a London flat, along with thousands of books. But her mental condition deteriorated and she was placed in Napsbury Hospital, near St Albans, in 1948, where she spent the next 44 years until her death in 1992. We hear from people who met her and knew her, hear extracts from the diary, and musical clips from a musical about her life.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2010.
THU 07:00 Hobby Bobbies (b04svjxv)
Series 2
Vice
The tiny Haling police force is thrown into confusion when The Guv orders a crackdown on vice in their patch. Can social media help unveil the mysterious Big Brenda?The characterful sitcom where Britain's longest serving PCSO -and Britain's laziest - make quite a pairing.Written by Dave Lamb (the voice of Come Dine With Me) and starring Richie Webb (Horrible Histories), Nick Walker, Chris Emmett and Noddy Holder.Geoff...............Richie WebbNigel...............Nick WalkerThe Guv..........Sinead KeenanNina................Pooja ShahBernie.............Chris EmmettGeoff's Dad.....Noddy HolderWritten by Dave LambProduced by Steve DohertyA Top Dog production for BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
THU 07:30 Terry Alderton's Whole Half Hour (m0006lb4)
Terry Alderton has been thrilling audiences with his jokes, energy, characters and general chaos for over 20 years. Finally he’s arrived in radio’s most prestigious comedy slot. Expect some songs, some stand up and some general silliness.Written and performed by Terry AldertonAdditional material: Richard Melvin, Julia Sutherland, Bobby Davro, Bob Tap, Paul Tonkinson, Steven Dick.Sound Design: Sean KerwinProduced by Richard MelvinA Dabster production for BBC Radio 4
THU 08:00 Brothers in Law (b007jrs5)
Series 1
The Expert Witness
Faced with a case involving osteoarthritis, rookie barrister Roger Thursby must bone up on his medical knowledge.Roger Thursby ...... Richard BriersHenry Blagrove ...... Richard WaringSally Mannering ...... Ann DaviesBelkin ...... John BresslinRennell ...... Robert DorningGuest stars:Eagler ...... Richard CaldlcotThe Judge ...... John Le MesurierOther parts by Malcolm Hayes, Clifford Norgate and Frederick Treves.Adapted for radio by Richard Waring from the BBC TV scripts.Restored from BBC Transcription Service tapes - originally edited for sale abroad.Published in 1955, Henry Cecil's comic legal novel Brothers in Law was adapted first for TV in 1962 by Frank Muir and Denis Norden. It provided the first regular starring role for Richard Briers, who later reprised his role of the idealistic young lawyer Roger Thursby for BBC Radio between 1970 and 1972.Produced by David Hatch.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1970.
THU 08:30 The Goon Show (b00jz5x2)
The Tay Bridge
On Scotland's crab-ridden shores, Neddie Seagoon is bridging a gap. Stars Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. From February 1959.
THU 09:00 Booked (b0075m1d)
Series 2
Episode 5
The Troll applies for the job of Archbishop of Canterbury, while Thomson and Thompson, from Tintin, offer their pitch to be the PM's bodyguards.Satirical wit, outrageous parody and original writing from Mark Thomas, Dillie Keane, Miles Kington and Roger McGough.Irreverent literary game chaired by Ian McMillan.Producer: Marc JobstFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1997.
THU 09:30 Bristow (b007sxvq)
Series 2
The Girl in the Yellow Overcoat
It's the Chester-Perry office party and Jones thinks all his Christmases have come at once.Michael Williams stars as Bristow, the buying clerk from Frank Dickens' famous newspaper cartoon strip. Syndicated internationally, it ran for 41 years in London's Evening Standard.Bristow ...... Michael WilliamsJones ...... Rodney BewesMrs Purdy ...... Dora BryanHewitt ...... Owen BrenmanMiss Sunman ...... Katy OdeyMoorcroftRobert BathurstFudge ...... Jon GloverPost Boy ...... Simon SchatzbergerWitherspoon ...... Peter KellyFenella ...... Anna MountfordYellow Overcoat Girl ...... Zeena EateMusic composed and performed by John Whitehall.Producer: Neil CargillFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1999.
THU 10:00 Drama (b054pfn7)
John Gabriel Borkman
Episode 1
David Threlfall stars as John Gabriel Borkman, a disgraced banker now destitute after a fraud scandal and imprisonment.Whilst trapped in his own home like a wolf in a cage, the living ghosts of his past wrestle to determine his future.Henrik Ibsen’s rarely performed but all-too-pertinent play about the dangerous pursuit of power. Produced from a version by David Eldridge.John Gabriel Borkman ….. David ThrelfallMiss Ella Rentheim ….. Susannah HarkerMrs Gunhild Borkman ….. Gillian BevanVilhelm Foldal ….. Philip JacksonErhart Borkman ….. Luke NewberryMrs Fanny Wilton ….. Jenny RainsfordMalene ….. Claire CageDirector: Helen PerryA BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
THU 11:00 Ronald Frame Short Stories (b007k1lf)
The End of the Season
Rhona has run away from her relationship problems. At her hotel, she comes to an understanding.Jilly Bond reads Ronald Frame's short story.Producer: David HunterFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1995.
THU 11:15 Drama (b04jjz3q)
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
What are the odds on the earnest statistician Liam meeting the impulsive photographer Sadie?What are the chances of starting a family?Charlotte Bogard Macleod's tale of love, surrogacy and statistics.Liam ..... Andrew ScottSadie ..... Jeany SparkCath ..... Hannah GenesiusFinn ..... Karna MajdianDirector: David HunterFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
THU 12:00 Brothers in Law (b007jrs5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Goon Show (b00jz5x2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 Book at Beachtime (b036y5sh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Who Was Opal? (b00pk9y9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jgklj)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Please Don't Hurt Us
Humiliated by her childish infatuation with Johnnie Lomond, Eleanor seeks help...Tracy Wiles continues Gail Honeyman's heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking novel.Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything. But one simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself.Producer: Justine WillettAbridger: Richard Hamilton.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.
THU 14:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cfhqt)
Hunt for Diversity
Agriculture tends to favour the best food varieties but this is often a trade off with beneficial traits such as resistance to disease or tolerance to drought. During the 1920s the Russian botanist Nikolai Vavilov, having witnessed famine on a large scale, became increasingly concerned about the potential loss of locally adapted varieties and spent his life studying crop plants in their wild habitats.Professor Kathy Willis examines Vavilov's pioneering work and his search for pools of genetic variability - so called "centres of origin" amongst the wild relatives of our domesticated crops that could help sustain future plant breeding for human use.Vavilov's story has a tragic end but, as we hear, his legacy lives on in seedbanks such as Kew's Millennium Seedbank at Wakehurst Place whose Crop Wild Relatives Project is collecting and assessing new potential amongst the original progenitors of our domestic crops.With contributions from archaeobotanist Dorian Fuller, Kew's curator of economic botany Mark Nesbitt, Crop Wild Relatives Project coordinator Ruth Eastwood, and head of the Millennium Seedbank Paul Smith.Producer Adrian Washbourne.
THU 14:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cql2l)
The Longing
Emma's memory of young solicitor Leon becomes the core of her despair.A French masterpiece of betrayal and wantonness; the first great novel of adultery starring John Hurt..Narrator ...... John HurtCharles ...... Conrad NelsonEmma ...... Sarah SmartLeon Dupuis ...... James D'ArcyMonsieur L'Heureux ...... Seamus O'NeillFelicite ...... Sarah Jayne HallworthRodolphe Boulanger ...... Jude AkuwudikeGustave Flaubert's novel is dramatised by Diana Griffiths from a translation by Margaret Mauldon.Producer: Pauline HarrisFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
THU 14:45 Book of the Week (b04fc80x)
Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love
Episode 4
As middle age approaches, Larkin's public and professional life come to the fore, while his poetry retreats to a more private space. And his personal life is as complicated as ever.Read by Michael Pennington.Philip Larkin was that rare thing among poets - a household name in his own lifetime. Lines such as 'Never such innocence again' and 'Sexual intercourse began / In nineteen sixty-three' made him one of the most popular poets of the last century.Larkin's reputation as a man, however, has been more controversial. A solitary librarian known for his pessimism, he disliked exposure and had no patience with the literary circus. And when, in 1992, the publication of his Selected Letters laid bare his compartmentalised personal life, accusations of duplicity, faithlessness, racism and misogyny were levelled against him.There is, of course, no requirement that poets should be likeable or virtuous, but James Booth asks whether art and life were really so deeply at odds with each other. Can the poet who composed the moving 'Love Songs in Age' have been such a cold-hearted man? Can he who uttered the playful, self-deprecating words 'Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth' really have been so boorish?A very different public image is offered by those who shared the poet's life - the women with whom he was romantically involved, his friends and his university colleagues. It is with their personal testimony, including access to previously unseen letters, that Booth reinstates a man misunderstood - not a gaunt, emotional failure, but a witty, provocative and entertaining presence, delightful company; an attentive son and a man devoted to the women he loved.Written by James BoothAbridged by Libby SpurrierProduced by Joanna GreenA Pier production for BBC Radio 4
THU 15:00 Drama (b054pfn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 Booked (b0075m1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 Bristow (b007sxvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Hobby Bobbies (b04svjxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 Terry Alderton's Whole Half Hour (m0006lb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Good Omens (b04vjb60)
Episode 4
Newt and Anathema try to decipher Agnes's cryptic riddles; Aziraphale and Crowley receive visits from the Angelic and Demonic authorities, and Adam begins to formulate some plans.With a cast led by Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap, this is the first ever dramatisation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens.Events have been set in motion to bring about the End of Days. The armies of Good and Evil are gathering and making their way towards the sleepy English village of Lower Tadfield. The Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pollution and Death - have been summoned from the corners of the earth and are assembling.Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell and his assistant Newton Pulsifier are also en route to Tadfield to investigate some unusual phenomena in the area, while Anathema Device, descendent of prophetess and witch Agnes Nutter, tries to decipher her ancestor's cryptic predictions about exactly where the impending Apocalypse will take place.Atlantis is rising, fish are falling from the sky; everything seems to be going to the Divine Plan.Everything that is but for the unlikely duo of an angel and a demon who are not all that keen on the prospect of the forthcoming Rapture. Aziraphale (once an angel in the Garden of Eden, but now running an antiquarian bookshop in London), and Crowley (formerly Eden's snake, now driving around London in shades and a vintage Bentley) have been living on Earth for several millennia and have become rather fond of the place. But if they are to stop Armageddon taking place they've got to find and kill the one who will the one bring about the apocalypse: the Antichrist himself.There's just one small problem: someone seems to have mislaid him...Crowley ...... Peter Serafinowicz Aziraphale ...... Mark Heap Agnes Nutter ...... Josie LawrenceAnathema Device ...... Charlotte RitchieNewton Pulsifer ...... Colin MorganShadwell ...... Clive RussellMadame Tracy ...... Julia DeakinHastur ...... Phil DavisLigur ...... Neil MaskellMelatron ...... Nicholas BriggsAdam ...... Adam Thomas WrightPepper ...... Hollie BurgessWensleydale ...... Bobby FullerBrian ...... Lewis AndrewsCorrie Corfield ...... HerselfAdaptation and sound design by Dirk Maggs.Producer: Heather Larmour.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b01s4g7j)
Series 30
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Broadcaster Gyles Brandreth nominates Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as his "Great Life". Matthew Parris chairs, assisted by biographer Andrew Lycett.Conan Doyle is best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. This always irritated him, and he tried to kill off the great detective, only to bring him back by popular demand. But there was more to Conan Doyle than Holmes. A footballer, cricketer, skier,, a campaigner against the Belgian atrocities in the Congo, and most startlingly, a convinced spiritualist who believed in fairies.The paradox of Conan Doyle's life was that, having invented the most rational, cerebral fictional character of all time, he himself embraced superstition and behaved in ways that caused even his allies to despair of his credulity.
THU 19:00 Brothers in Law (b007jrs5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Goon Show (b00jz5x2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 Book at Beachtime (b036y5sh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Who Was Opal? (b00pk9y9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 Ronald Frame Short Stories (b007k1lf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Drama (b04jjz3q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 Terry Alderton's Whole Half Hour (m0006lb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Richard Marsh (b06d9ljc)
Cardboard Heart
Wedding
Award-winning writer and poet Richard Marsh stars alongside Russell Tovey and Phil Daniels in this new, heart-warming sitcom set in a greetings card company.This week, Will's asked to be best man at a wedding. As a man who spends every day writing heartfelt sentiments, the speech is easy - Will's used to writing other people's feelings. It's much harder to confront his own.Richard Marsh is the writer and star of Love and Sweets, a Radio 4 comedy series that won Best Comedy in the BBC Audio Drama awards 2014. Now, in Cardboard Heart, he plays Will, a hapless romantic who's keen to find love and an aspiring writer with a 9 to 5 job writing poetry at a greetings card company.Will shares an office with Goadsby (Rebecca Scroggs), who's responsible for the card artwork and being Will's nemesis, Colin (Sam Troughton), the firm's safety and survival-obsessed accountant, and charming renegade salesman Beast (Russell Tovey). Phil Daniels plays Rog, their roguish boss.Paid to express heartfelt emotions for people he will never meet, Will consistently fails to express himself properly to anyone he does meet. Every social interaction is a minefield for Will. In his head, he knows exactly what to say but the minute he opens his mouth, it's a disaster. Luckily for you, Will shares his inner thoughts with the audience.Written and created by Richard MarshDirected by Pia FurtadoProduced by Ben WorsfieldA Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 23:00 Lemn Sissay's Homecoming (b05tl3jt)
London
We all leave. We all migrate from childhood to adulthood, from village to town to city, from single to married. We all hate and love where we are from. We are all immigrants of time. There are problems with home and a need to leave. There is a love of home and a need to leave. Goodbye is who we are.Lemn Sissay explores what "home" means through stand-up, poetry and conversation. It's surely not just a physical location - it's the people, the memories, the feeling. It's not home if you don't belong there, it's just where you live.The second of two shows was recorded in front of an audience in Lemn's adopted home of London. But he is still perhaps more closely associated with Manchester. He arrived there at the age of 18 with a birth certificate, a fist full of poems and a mouth. It was about to become Madchester. He grew into the talented adopted son of a wonderful, dysfunctional family and thrived. His poems have become landmarks throughout the city. He's tattooed its body. And then he left. He just left.Talking to Lemn about his journey are Mancunian broadcaster Terry Christian, and artistic director of the Southbank Centre, Jude Kelly.Lemn Sissay is the author of five collections of poetry. He has also written plays for stage and BBC radio. He was the first poet to write for the Olympics 2012 and received an MBE from the Queen for Services to Literature. He is associate artist at the Southbank Centre, and an (hon) doctor of letters. His radio documentary Child of the State was nominated for the 2010 Sony Awards. If you should google "Lemn sissay" all the returning hits will be about him. There is only one person named Lemn Sissay in the world.Written and performed by Lemn Sissay,Producer: Ed MorrishFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
THU 23:30 Two Episodes of Mash (b01mx27s)
Series 2
Episode 4
Diane, Joe and David have to do 30 minutes of community service as punishment for their crimes against radio.You can see an animation of their Fishing Sketch by Tom Rourke on the 4 Extra website.A mix of silly, surreal sketches and banter with Diane Morgan, David O'Doherty, Joe Wilkinson, Paul Harry Allen, Bobbie Pryor, Gary Newman and Aled Jones.Producer: Clair Wordsworth.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2012.


FRIDAY 19 JULY 2019

FRI 00:00 Good Omens (b04vjb60)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b01s4g7j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Book at Beachtime (b036y5sh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Who Was Opal? (b00pk9y9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jgklj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cfhqt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cql2l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:45 Book of the Week (b04fc80x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Drama (b054pfn7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Booked (b0075m1d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Bristow (b007sxvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Hobby Bobbies (b04svjxv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 Terry Alderton's Whole Half Hour (m0006lb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Book at Beachtime (b036yndp)
Jennie Rooney - Red Joan
Episode 5
MI5 have new revelations for Joan about her hidden past.Will love triumph in her world of secrets and betrayal?Read by Olivia Hallinan and Eleanor Bron.Jennie Rooney's intense spy thriller abridged by Alison Joseph.Producer: Elizabeth Allard.Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in 2013.
FRI 06:30 Just a Simple Old New Zealand Bee Keeper (m0006v5g)
The record-breaking mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary reflects on an incredible life of adventure.In conversation with Cliff Morgan in Auckland, he remembers his childhood and his father, who was a journalist-turned-beekeeper with strong social views and principles.Sir Edmund remembers first seeing snow, and the tremendous moment he heard news of his successful summit of Everest with Tenzing Norgay, on BBC Radio.A self-confessed "mediocre man", with no particular athletic ability, Hillary believes that it was motivation that led him to success on challenging projects.The conversation also covers diplomacy, in light of his appointment as New Zealand's High Commissioner in Delhi, and his firm belief that the destruction of the natural environment is a worldwide concern.Producer: Vanessa HarrisonFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1985.
FRI 07:00 Charles Dickens (b00s7fbg)
Sketches by Boz: Series 2
The Boarding House
Mrs Tibbs is the owner of a most respectable Boarding House, until the arrival of a mysterious new lodger.Gloriously comic stories of London Life by Charles Dickens - dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.Boz ...... Nicholas FarrellMrs Tibbs ...... Imelda StauntonMrs Bloss ...... Annette BadlandMr Tibbs ...... Christopher HancockAgnes ...... Tracy-Ann ObermanMr Evenson ...... Stephen CritchlowMr Wisbottle ...... Peter GunnMr O’Bleary ...... Jason O’MaraDirector: Sally AvensFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1999.
FRI 07:30 The Absolutely Radio Show (m0006s9b)
Series 3
Episode 2
The hugely popular sketch show returns for a third series on BBC Radio 4. Pete Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John Sparkes revisit some of their much-loved characters, and also introduce some newcomers.Absolutely was a big hit on Channel Four in the late 80s and early 90s. In 2013, the group got back together for the Sketchorama: Absolutely Special for BBC Radio 4 - winning a BBC Audio Drama Award in the Best Live Scripted Comedy category. The Absolutely Radio Show followed, with the first two series picking up Celtic Media Award nominations for Best Radio Comedy, while the second series was also nominated for a BBC Audio Drama Award in 2018.This second episode includes The Rev McMinn encountering the European political elite in his local Minimart, Gwynedd’s insomnia driving Denzil to despair and then song, and Frank Hovis fondly remembering his holidays. From the archive, we have never before heard footage from Dunkirk rescuers and four-and-three-quarter year-old Jack gives the eulogy at his Grandpa’s funeral.Written and Performed by: Peter Baikie, Morwenna Banks, Moray Hunter, Gordon Kennedy and John SparkesProduction Manager Sarah TomblingRecording Engineer Dave MurricaneEditor Pete BaikieProducer Gus BeattieProducer Gordon KennedyBBC Executive Sioned WiliamRecording Venue The Oran Mor, GlasgowAn Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 08:00 The Burkiss Way (b00jr7fp)
Series 2
Make Short Programmes the Burkiss Way
The Eurovision Raquel Welch Gag Contest begins in the correspondence course that promises you one free laugh. With short comedic instruction from Jo Kendall, Nigel Rees, Chris Emmett and Fred HarrisA short comedy script by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick.Short sharp production by Simon Brett.Cult sketch show first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1977.
FRI 08:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jmlj)
Series 4
The Three Feathers
Harold Steptoe is convinced a commode will make him rich.Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold. With Douglas Blackwell and Leslie HeritageFollowing 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.Written for TV and adapted for radio by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.Producer: Bobby JayeFirst broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in February 1972.
FRI 09:00 It's Not What You Know (b01c7snf)
Series 1
Episode 1
Miles Jupp takes the chair of It's Not What You Know, a new series which sets out to see how well panellists know those closest to them. For in this show it's not what, but who you know that matters - and more importantly how well you know them.Rachel Johnson, Des Lynam and Mark Steel nominate one of their nearest and dearest to answer a selection of questions - anything from "Who would you like to be stranded on a desert island with?" to "What is your favourite film?" to "How much is a pint of milk?" - and they must then attempt to second-guess how their nominee responded. If they can get it right, or come close, they get points.Each episode also features a very special guest contributor whose answers the panel must also try to predict. In this episode, that very special guest is renowned film director and food critic, Michael Winner.Producer: Sam Michell.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2012.
FRI 09:30 Mr Finchley Goes to Paris (b00g27dk)
Episode 1
Mr Finchley finds himself on his way to Paris to track down a rather irresponsible client. But before he sets off, he has an important question to put to a certain widow of his acquaintance...Richard Griffiths stars as the shy solicitor's clerk, Edgar Finchley - in a second series of adventures written by Victor Canning.Mrs Crantel ...... Anna CropperMr Sprake ...... James GroutLawrence Hume ...... Piers GibbonMrs Patten ...... Jill GrahamDavid White ...... James TaylorMavis ...... Teresa GallagherThe Frenchman ...... Barry GordonNarrated by James Villiers.Adapted in six parts by Andy and Eric Merriman.Producer: Gareth EdwardsFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in May 1994.
FRI 10:00 Drama (b055f2lg)
John Gabriel Borkman
Episode 2
Now reunited with his first love, will John Gabriel Borkman be able to find real happiness? Or will the continued pursuit of his ambitions lead to his final destruction?David Threlfall stars as the disgraced banker finally being made to atone for his sins. Conclusion of Henrik Ibsen’s rarely-performed but all-too-pertinent play about the dangerous pursuit of power. Produced from a version by David Eldridge John Gabriel Borkman ….. David ThrelfallMiss Ella Rentheim ….. Susannah HarkerMrs Gunhild Borkman ….. Gillian BevanVilhelm Foldal ….. Philip JacksonErhart Borkman ….. Luke NewberryMrs Fanny Wilton ….. Jenny RainsfordMalene ….. Claire CageDirected by Helen PerryA BBC Cymru/Wales production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2015.
FRI 11:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m0006v5k)
Made for 4 Extra. Presenters recommend their favourite podcasts and speak to the people who make them.
FRI 12:00 The Burkiss Way (b00jr7fp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jmlj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Book at Beachtime (b036yndp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Just a Simple Old New Zealand Bee Keeper (m0006v5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Book at Bedtime (b09jh3ks)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Goodbye, Mummy
Tracy Wiles concludes Gail Honeyman's heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking new novel - this year's bestselling fiction debut.Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything. But one simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself.Today: After being taken back to painful childhood memories, Eleanor finally confronts her mother...Reader: Tracy WilesProducer: Justine WillettAbridger: Richard Hamilton.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2017.
FRI 14:15 Plants: From Roots to Riches (b04cfvg3)
Botanical Medicine
In 1947 Sir Robert Robinson received the Nobel prize for Chemistry "in recognition of his investigations of plant products of biological importance, especially the alkaloids". This powerful family of plant chemicals was proving a potent medical tool.Professor Kathy Willis traces the natural role of alkaloids in plants and the first attempts to isolate one of the best know - quinine, from chinchona bark growing in the Andes. This development gave rise to the emergence of a new kind of laboratory scientist equally able to handle botanical and chemical data. As Mark Nesbitt, Keeper of Kew's Economic Botany Collection explains, this was to eliminate the chance and guesswork in identifying "good" plants from "bad".Professor Monique Simmons of Kew's Jodrell Laboratory, assesses why chemicals from the plant kingdom are still needed in the fight against some of our most challenging diseases, from breast cancer to cardiovascular disease, and how making the nuanced connections between plant species is central to success in this field.Producer Adrian Washbourne.
FRI 14:30 Gustave Flaubert - Madame Bovary (b00cqzj4)
The Temptation
Emma meets wealthy land owner Rodolphe Boulanger, and succumbs to temptation...A French masterpiece of betrayal and wantonness; the first great novel of adultery starring John Hurt..Narrator ...... John HurtCharles ...... Conrad NelsonEmma ...... Sarah SmartRodolphe Boulanger ...... Jude AkuwudikeMadame Lefrancois ...... Siobhan FinneranMonsieur Homais ...... David FleeshmanGustave Flaubert's novel is dramatised by Diana Griffiths from a translation by Margaret Mauldon.Producer: Pauline HarrisFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2006.
FRI 14:45 Book of the Week (b04fchlh)
Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love
Episode 5
Larkin finds professional life stressful, sees his poetic future as bleak and - despite continuing relationships with both Monica and Maeve - brings another woman into his life.Concluded by Michael Pennington. Philip Larkin was that rare thing among poets - a household name in his own lifetime. Lines such as 'Never such innocence again' and 'Sexual intercourse began / In nineteen sixty-three' made him one of the most popular poets of the last century.Larkin's reputation as a man, however, has been more controversial. A solitary librarian known for his pessimism, he disliked exposure and had no patience with the literary circus. And when, in 1992, the publication of his Selected Letters laid bare his compartmentalised personal life, accusations of duplicity, faithlessness, racism and misogyny were levelled against him.There is, of course, no requirement that poets should be likeable or virtuous, but James Booth asks whether art and life were really so deeply at odds with each other. Can the poet who composed the moving 'Love Songs in Age' have been such a cold-hearted man? Can he who uttered the playful, self-deprecating words 'Deprivation is for me what daffodils were for Wordsworth' really have been so boorish?A very different public image is offered by those who shared the poet's life - the women with whom he was romantically involved, his friends and his university colleagues. It is with their personal testimony, including access to previously unseen letters, that Booth reinstates a man misunderstood - not a gaunt, emotional failure, but a witty, provocative and entertaining presence, delightful company; an attentive son and a man devoted to the women he loved.Written by James BoothAbridged by Libby SpurrierProduced by Joanna GreenA Pier production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 15:00 Drama (b055f2lg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 It's Not What You Know (b01c7snf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Mr Finchley Goes to Paris (b00g27dk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Charles Dickens (b00s7fbg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 The Absolutely Radio Show (m0006s9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Good Omens (b04vjll9)
Episode 5
The Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse assemble and set off for Lower Tadfield, while Aziraphale finds himself inhabiting a most unexpected host body.With a cast led by Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap, this is the first ever dramatisation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens.Events have been set in motion to bring about the End of Days. The armies of Good and Evil are gathering and making their way towards the sleepy English village of Lower Tadfield. The Four Horsepersons of the Apocalypse - War, Famine, Pollution and Death - have been summoned from the corners of the earth and are assembling.Witchfinder Sergeant Shadwell and his assistant Newton Pulsifier are also en route to Tadfield to investigate some unusual phenomena in the area, while Anathema Device, descendent of prophetess and witch Agnes Nutter, tries to decipher her ancestor's cryptic predictions about exactly where the impending Apocalypse will take place.Atlantis is rising, fish are falling from the sky; everything seems to be going to the Divine Plan.Everything that is but for the unlikely duo of an angel and a demon who are not all that keen on the prospect of the forthcoming Rapture. Aziraphale (once an angel in the Garden of Eden, but now running an antiquarian bookshop in London), and Crowley (formerly Eden's snake, now driving around London in shades and a vintage Bentley) have been living on Earth for several millennia and have become rather fond of the place. But if they are to stop Armageddon taking place they've got to find and kill the one who will the one bring about the apocalypse: the Antichrist himself.There's just one small problem: someone seems to have mislaid him...Crowley ...... Peter Serafinowicz Aziraphale ...... Mark Heap Agnes Nutter ...... Josie LawrenceAnathema Device ...... Charlotte RitchieNewton Pulsifer ...... Colin MorganMadame Tracy ...... Julia DeakinWar ...... Rachael StirlingFamine ...... Paterson JosephPollution ...... Harry LloydDeath ...... Jim NortonBig Ted ...... Mitch BennScuzz ...... Mark BentonPigbog ...... Arsher AliGreaser ...... Ben CroweTyler ...... Andy SecombeMrs Omerod ...... Marcella RiordanJulia ...... Tracy WilesAdaptation and sound design by Dirk Maggs.Producer: Heather Larmour.First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2014.
FRI 18:30 Off the Page (b0076k37)
The Paranormal
Matthew Parris invites Matt Harvey, Candida Clark and Tibor Fischer to make their unseen presence felt by talking.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 2004.
FRI 19:00 The Burkiss Way (b00jr7fp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jmlj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 Book at Beachtime (b036yndp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Just a Simple Old New Zealand Bee Keeper (m0006v5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Podcast Radio Hour (m0006v5k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 22:00 The Absolutely Radio Show (m0006s9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 BBC Introducing Radio 4 Comedy Award (m0006v5m)
2019
Heat 3
The third heat of BBC Introducing Radio 4 Award 2019, recorded at The Y in Leicester and hosted by Lloyd Griffith. Ten new acts compete for a place in the Edinburgh semi-final of this prestigious new act competition.The acts featured are:Abbie EdwardsAdam BeardsmoreDavid EagleDonald AlexanderEleanor ColvilleStuart McPhersonHelena LangdonLiz GuterbockNathan RobertsVlad IlichThe judges are: Geoff Rowe (Director of Leicester Comedy Festival), BBC Executive Producer Alexandra Smith and comedian and writer Angela Barnes.Produced by Adnan Ahmed. A BBC Studios production.
FRI 23:30 The Big Booth (b007jrvv)
Series 2: The Big Booth Too
Episode 5
Boothby's script dictatorship is overthrown by the Workers' Collective.More guitar-flavoured songs and surreal laughs from Boothby Graffoe.With Stephen Frost , Kevin Eldon, Vivienne Soan, Big Al and Antonio Forcione.Written by Boothby Graffoe and Dave Thompson.Producer: Lucy ArmitageFirst broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2001.