SATURDAY 07 DECEMBER 2024

SAT 00:00 Soul Music (m0006tks)
Series 28
Streets of London by Ralph McTell
Ralph McTell and others discuss a song that was written for a heroin addict, became an anthem against homelessness, and transcended the folk genre to become an enduring classic.
Ralph says he’s thought constantly about the “blip in my graph” that is Streets of London. People say to him “50 years. One hit. You think you’d have given up by now”.
But, Ralph says, that’s not why he writes songs. And, of course, he’s written many. Many that he considers far better than Streets of London. But this remains his best known, best loved, and most played track. It was first recorded 50 years ago, in 1969, for his album Spiral Staircase although it wasn’t released as a single until 1974.
Taking part in Soul Music, alongside Ralph, with their stories and memories connected to Streets of London, are:
Jerry Playle, a music producer. His first ever public performance as a teenage guitarist was of Streets of London. The guitar part went well, but when he opened his mouth to sing, he realised - to his horror - that he couldn't...
Gwen Ever, a DJ. He became homeless in the 1980s. It’s the unlikely punk version of Streets of London by the Anti Nowhere League that reminds him of this time.
Maria Bentley-Dingwall, the daughter of Iris Bentley. Iris was the sister of Derek Bentley who was hanged for a murder he did not commit. Iris spent her life campaigning for his conviction to be quashed.
Ralph McTell grew up knowing this story, became a friend of the family, wrote a song about the case, and sang Streets of London at Iris Bentley’s funeral.
Producer: Karen Gregor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2019.
SAT 00:30 Grand Guignol (b00td9qw)
At the end of the 19th-century, in the seediest quarter of Paris, a new theatre opened its doors offering a recipe of blood and terror.
Soon the Grand Guignol was to become as big as an attraction in the city as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.
The success of an evening's performance - made up of a succession of short comedy and horror plays - was measured by how many members of the audience fainted, as they witnessed gougings, garrottings and gory murders on a nightly basis.
After more than 60 years the theatre finally closed its doors, but only after helping influence the development of horror in the cinema, as well as introducing the phrase Grand Guignol into common parlance as a byword for shocking, blood-soaked terror.
Sheila McClennon visits Paris to revisit the scene of this most shocking of theatre movements
She also heads to London to find out how the likes of Joseph Conrad and Noel Coward got involved in its English incarnation, which fought a staunch but unsuccessful battle with the censors at the beginning of the 1920s.
Producer: Geoff Bird
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2010.
SAT 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jnp6)
Miss Marple - At Bertram's Hotel
Episode 5
The police ask amateur sleuth Miss Marple to take part in a little experiment.
Conclusion of Agatha Christie's whodunnit starring June Whitfield.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Miss Marple ...... June Whitfield
Inspector Davy ...... Frederick Jaeger
Sir Ronald Graves ...... Patrick Allen
Canon Pennyfather ...... Maurice Denham
Bess Sedgwick ...... Sian Phillips
Miss Gorringe ...... Jillie Meers
Elvira Blake ...... Tracy Wiles
Bridget ...... Sarah Plowright
Ladislaus Malinowski ...... Gavin Muir
Sergeant Waddell ...... Ross Livingstone
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1995.
SAT 01:30 The Meisterspringer by Berkely Mather (m0025m8s)
6. He Who Springs Last
Carter, Wainwright and Ilena are reaching the last stage of their voyage on the Finnish ship Skagarak.
Even now, each is deeply suspicious of the others and as they draw nearer the China Seas, Carter and Wainwright decide to risk all by breaking into the radio shack at night to get a message to the Gaffer....
Espionage and intrigue as a recently convicted spy is ordered to be sprung from jail, just a year into a twenty-five year sentence.
But what is the motivation and who is behind the plan?
Starring Christopher Good and Melinda Walker.
Conclusion of Berkely Mather's spy thriller serial.
Charles Wainwright .... Christopher Good
Ilena .... Melinda Walker
Mettold .... Cyril Shaps
Carter .... Graham Blockey
The Gaffer .... Ronald Baddiley
Captain Kjaer .... Henry Stamper
Inspector Snell .... Roger Snowdon
Producer: Graham Gauld
Director: Caroline Raphael
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1985.
SAT 02:00 Up the Garden Path (b0080p54)
Series 2
Hot Water
With more love entanglements, Izzy is finding life back in England rather confusing.
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30 something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men.
Imelda Staunton stars as Izzy.
A radio sequel adapted in eight parts from Sue Limb’s 1984 novel.
The second of 3 series which ran from 1987 to 1993. Granada also adapted the series for ITV.
Izzy ...... Imelda Staunton
Dick ...... Mike Grady
Michael ...... Nicholas Le Prevost
Aunt Vinny ...... Rosemary Martin
Charles ...... David Robb
Gwyn ...... Dafydd Hywel
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1988.
SAT 02:30 Doctor in the House (b007k437)
Sex and St Swithins
Medic Simon Sparrow breaks hospital rules by flirting with a pretty new nurse.
The misadventures of student doctor, Simon Sparrow.
Starring Richard Briers.
With special guest star, Irene Handl.
Adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's 'Doctor in the House' published in 1952.
Simon Sparrow …. Richard Briers
Sir Lancelot Spratt …. Geoffrey Sumner
Mrs Clarke ...... Irene Handl
Tony Benskin …. Ray Cooney
Taffy Evans …. Edward Cast
Sister …. Barbara Mitchell
Nurse Michaels ...... Carol Marsh
Ginger ...... Tanya Robinson
Producer: David Hatch
Recorded at the BBC Paris studio in London.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1968.
SAT 03:00 The Train at Platform 4 (m00132xq)
Series 1
Coffee
Comedy legends Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis's first series of their sitcom, set in the claustrophobic carriages of a cross-country rail service.
It's day one of a new franchise and train manager Sam has high hopes for their maiden voyage, even if the new bosses insist her role is to 'enhance the onboard travel experience'.
But the marketing team's offer of free coffee for ALL customers soon threatens to derail the smooth running of the service.
Meanwhile passengers struggle to escape the clutches of the automatic toilets....
Our heroes are the long-suffering train crew who manage to scrape through every shift like a dysfunctional family.
Sam …... Rosie Cavaliero
Gilbert ..…. Kenneth Collard
Dev …... Ali Shahalom
Tasha …... Amy Gledhill
Pensioner 1 …... Hugh Dennis
Pensioner 2 …... Gemma Arrowsmith
Student …... Justice Ritchie
Lawyer …... Steve Punt
Producer: James Robinson
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2022.
SAT 03:30 The Secret Guests by BW Black (m000fgj0)
10. Under Attack
Strafford decides to take the girls and flee.
In 1940, at the height of Blitz, the two young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are secretly evacuated from Buckingham Palace for their own safety and sent to an isolated rural estate in neutral Ireland.
However Clonmillis Hall may prove to be even more dangerous than wartime London...
Irish police detective Strafford has been assigned to watch over the girls during their stay and so must form an uneasy alliance with their governess Miss Celia Nashe, an undercover MI5 officer charged with the princesses’ safety.
However, with a contingent of soldiers patrolling the woods and rumours of IRA terrorists in the vicinity, they soon find their task even more treacherous than expected.
But is the real threat from outside, or from within Clonmillis Hall itself?
BW Black's imagined historical adventure is an enthralling mystery.
Abridged by Neville Teller.
Concluded by Sorcha Cusack.
Producer: Michael Shannon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2020.
SAT 03:45 Subterranean Homesick Blues (m00132xw)
Series 5
5. If Not For You
John is still mounting nightly patrols to try and catch the village lurker and it's a nasty surprise when their identity is finally revealed.
Starring Bill Nighy and Anna Calder-Marshall.
Conclusion of series 5 of AL Kennedy's romantic comedy drama.
John Black ...... Bill Nighy
Maggie Turner ...... Anna Calder-Marshall
Jimmy Nails ...... Michael Begley
Villagers ...... Jasmine Hyde, Christine Kavanagh, Neil McCaul
Director: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2022.
SAT 04:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m0013zj6)
Series 27
Episode 4
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies.
They compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
The panellists are obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as mistakes, bicycles, dogs and death.
With:
Richard Osman
Henning Wehn
Holly Walsh
Ria Lina
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2022.
SAT 04:30 All the Young Dudes (b007rkc3)
Series 1
People's Parties
Billy gets bullied into having some people round to his place.
It seems like a bad idea, until someone suggests a game of cards....
The lives of Patrick and wife Helen as they settle back into the town where he was born.
Comedy drama written by and starring Jim Sweeney.
Patrick …. Jim Sweeney
Helen …. Cathryn Harrison
Billy …. Steve Steen
Moira …. Sadie Shimmin
Joe …. Stephen Frost
Maria …. Flaminia Cinque
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2001.
SAT 05:00 Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (b007jqyc)
2. Friday
Crusoe's acceptance of his solitude is shattered by a single footprint in the sand.
Conclusion of Daniel Defoe’s epic tale.
Starring Roy Marsden and Tom Bevan.
Dramatised by Steve Chambers.
Older Robinson ...... Roy Marsden
Younger Robinson ...... Tom Bevan
Wells ...... Gerard McDermott
Crusoe's Father ...... John Rowe
Crusoe's Mother ...... Jenny Lee
Captain ...... Christopher Wright
Jack ...... Iwan Thomas
Director: Marion Nancarrow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1998.
SAT 06:00 The Dippers by Ben Travers (m0025trv)
If only Stella and Henry had realised that they were both going to be in Coombe Puddy.
If only Henry hadn't missed his train home.
If only he hadn't reluctantly agreed to impersonate a 'professional' dancer.
If only the dancer's wife hadn't been quite so lovely
And if only Stella hadn't caught him in the bedroom of this creature...
Ben Travers’ comic novel, first published in 1920 novel.
Starring Michael Williams and Judi Dench.
A classic British farce dramatised by Peter King.
Henry Talboyes .... Michael Williams
Stella Tavistock .... Judi Dench
Lord Mellingham .... Freddie Jones
Pauline Dipper .... Melinda Walker
Hank Dipper .... Colin Stinton
Band leader .... John Samson
Agent .... Norman Bird
Peter .... Stephen Rashbrook
Wattle .... Trevor Nichols
Helen Monk .... Dorcas Morgan
Minnie .... Polly James
Cowman .... William Simons
Party Guest .... Eva Stuart
Party Guest .... Diana Olson
Music composed and played by David Chilton and Nick Russell-Pavier
Director: Peter King
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1988.
SAT 07:30 F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Lost Stories (Omnibus) (b08swvx1)
A selection of stories taken from a collection of previously unpublished work by F Scott Fitzgerald, I'd Die For You: and Other Lost Stories.
Omnibus of five parts - opens with an extract from editor Anne Margaret Daniel's essay.
THANK YOU FOR THE LIGHT. An atmospheric vignette read by Laurel Lefkow and Karen Bartke.
THE COUPLE A previously unpublished comic story about the disintegration of a young marriage. Read in three parts by Finn Den Hertog.
SALUTE TO LUCY AND ELSIE A previously unpublished tale about honour, morals and the gulf between generations. Read by Stuart Milligan.
Romance, parties, cocktails and glamour - as a young writer in the 1920s F Scott Fitzgerald gave the magazines what they wanted. He had little choice; short stories were his bread and butter. But as the author matured he yearned to explore darker territory.
This desire wasn't cushioned by wealth; The Great Gatsby hadn't sold well and as the Depression crunched in the early 30s, Fitzgerald was hit by large medical bills for both himself and his wife Zelda. Despite the financial pressures he resisted the easy censorship requested by editors, who balked at Fitzgerald's portrayal of confusing generational freedoms, sex before marriage, divorce and working women.
Growing increasingly uncompromising about deletions and sanitisations, Fitzgerald preferred to let these stories lie in wait until their time came.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2017.
SAT 08:45 Inner Voices (b09w2369)
The Expedition by Dylan Moran
A man decides that he and his wife need a bit of distance.
So he undertakes an arduous Arctic expedition with her brother.
Written and performed by Dylan Moran.
Series of character monologues by top UK comics.
Director: Liz Webb
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.
SAT 09:00 Mr Willow's Wife (m000p0dn)
1. Getting to Know You
Felicity Willow is feeling sad that her 13 year-old twin boys have gone away to boarding school.
So instead, she decides to devote her energies to getting closer to husband Paul once more...
Starring Moira Lister and Terence Alexander.
Written by Ray Cooney and John Chapman
Felicity Willow ...... Moira Lister
Paul Willow ...... Terence Alexander
Nanny ...... Doris Hare
Motel Receptionist ...... Ray Cooney
Manager ...... John Chapman
Producer David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1971.
SAT 09:30 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007jztn)
The TV Spectacular - A Contradiction in Terms
The veteran of many parts recounts the woeful tale of a 'Gala Night in Venice'.
It's a story that will confirm the truth of a lot of what you'd always suspected, and the place in showbiz history of the liver sausage sandwich.
J Kingston Platt is the doyen of British show business.
He's ready to share reminiscences drawn from the wealth and the poverty of his experience from the past 40 years.
Performed and written by Peter Jones.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1986.
SAT 10:00 Soul Music Mixtapes (m0009lmv)
1. 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You' to 'Tainted Love'
Cerys Matthews delves into the archives to put together a specially curated mixtape of her favourite stories from across 25 series of the BBC Radio 4's Soul Music.
Each episode of Soul Music takes a different piece of music – it might be a pop song, or a hymn, or a piece of classical music or world music – and looks at why it moves us and what it means to different people.
In the first of three episodes, Cerys chooses:
* Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons: ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’
* Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor
* Carly Simon: ‘You Are My Sunshine’
* Eric Satie: ‘Gymnopedie'
* Leonard Cohen: ‘Hallelujah’
* PP Arnold: ‘The First Cut Is The Deepest’
* Peggy Seeger: ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’
* Soft Cell: ‘Tainted Love’
Producer: Mair Bosworth.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in January 2018.
SAT 11:00 The Dippers by Ben Travers (m0025trv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 12:30 F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Lost Stories (Omnibus) (b08swvx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 13:45 Inner Voices (b09w2369)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 14:00 Mr Willow's Wife (m000p0dn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 14:30 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007jztn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 15:00 Soul Music Mixtapes (m0009lmv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 16:00 John Wyndham - The Chrysalids (b01lh971)
2. Mutants
Genetic mutation has devastated the world.
David Strorm is one of a group of young people who can communicate by transferring thought-shapes.
In God fearing, law abiding Waknuk, David and his friends would be classed as Mutants.
Will David be forced to flee to the Fringes, the lawless territory inhabited by mutants or risk discovery?
John Wyndham's post-apocalyptic sci-fi classic.
Written in 1955, it explores the dangers inherent in discrimination and the threats posed by religious fundamentalism.
The 'Old People' who caused the apocalypse are depressingly like us: ' They were shut off by different languages and different beliefs. They created vast problems then buried their heads in the sands of idle faith.'
The children of the future (the Chrysalids) are able to 'think-together' and so can rise above the selfish violence and conflicting religions of the past.
Wyndham's story of a group of persecuted teenagers is more timely than ever in our post-Fukushima, war-riven, genetically engineered and religiously divided world.
Dramatised in two parts by Jane Rogers.
David ...... Matthew Beard
Rosalind ...... Verity-May Henry
Petra ...... Sydney Wade
Michael ...... Henry Devas
Fringe dweller ...... Henry Devas
Sophie ...... Carla Henry
Sally ...... Carla Henry
Rachel ...... Emma Cunniffe
Zealander ...... Emma Cunniffe
Gordon ...... Conrad Nelson
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.
SAT 17:00 The Dippers by Ben Travers (m0025trv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 18:30 F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Lost Stories (Omnibus) (b08swvx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 19:45 Inner Voices (b09w2369)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 20:00 Mr Willow's Wife (m000p0dn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 20:30 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007jztn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 21:00 Soul Music Mixtapes (m0009lmv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 22:00 TEZ Talks (b09pmbdt)
Series 2
2. Are youse Muslim and that?
Comedian Tez Ilyas presents a stand-up show about life as a British Muslim.
In this episode Tez talks about lack of Asian role models in TV and film and he discusses his feelings about being a role model himself.
Written and performed by Tez Ilyas
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2018.
SAT 22:15 The East Coast Listening Post (b09jvp39)
Series 1
Return of Mr Splatt
The East Coast Listening Post was created by Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated duo Lazy Susan.
Journalist sisters, Jenna and Dana, tour the UK and interview its inhabitants in their quest to reveal something meaningful, inadvertently revealing themselves in the process.
In this episode, Jenna and Dana turn their attention to the British phenomenon that was 'Mr Splatt', a costumed character who dominated family entertainment television in the early 90s.
They interview Carl, the man who was inside the suit, and hear the tale of his experience working in the entertainment industry. But, is Carl as innocent as he makes out?
Written and performed by Celeste Dring and Freya Parker.
With performances from:
David Elms
Tim Key
Producer: Suzy Grant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2017.
SAT 22:30 Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music (b00cgyp3)
Series 2
New Music Scene
Is there a minimum number of people that constitutes a scene?
What happens if you're the only mod in Austin, Texas? And why does everything sound like Coldplay?
Mitch Benn tackles these vital issues via the medium of song and discusses music, life and Goths.
Written by Mitch Benn and Robin Ince.
With:
Robin Ince
Kirsty Newton
Alfie Joey
Tasha Bayliss
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2005
SAT 23:00 Lemn Sissay's Origin Stories (b07wpf5q)
1. The Bed under the Stairs
Batman was an orphan; Lisbeth Salander, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was an orphan; Superman was an orphan and a foundling. Cinderella was a foster child. Darth Vader - well, they can't all be winners.
Taking a comic and poetic angle, Lemn Sissay compares reality against the treatment of children raised in care, orphans and foster children in popular culture. Because it surely says something about how we view them that we create so many for fiction?
In this opening episode, Lemn compares his experiences as a foster child to the life of Harry Potter.
Like Harry, Lemn was never told the truth about what happened to his parents. Like Harry, he found his foster parents harsh and unforgiving. But, like Harry, he came through those problems, avoided the dementors, and grew up.
As well as storytelling, comedy and poetry, Lemn imagines an interview with Vernon and Petunia Dursley - Harry's foster parents. Finally, they get to tell their side of the story.
Written and performed by Lemn Sissay.
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2016.
SAT 23:30 Rigor Mortis (b007m331)
Series 1
Episode 6
The pathologists are invited to assist the celebrated Dutch anatomist, Professor Raymond van den Hoogenband, in the first ever 'live' radio autopsy.
Laurence Howarth’s sitcom set in the fascinating, but misunderstood world of the pathology lab.
Dr Anthony Webster ...... Peter Davison
Dr Ruth Anderson ...... Tracy-Ann Oberman
Professor Donaldson ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Gordon ...... Tom Price
Chloe ...... Marianne Levy
Simon ...... Gus Brown
Prof Van den Hoogenband ...... Chris Pavlo
Music by Paul Mottram and Stephanie Benavente.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2003.

SUNDAY 08 DECEMBER 2024

SUN 00:00 John Wyndham - The Chrysalids (b01lh971)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 The Dippers by Ben Travers (m0025trv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:30 F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Lost Stories (Omnibus) (b08swvx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 03:45 Inner Voices (b09w2369)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Mr Willow's Wife (m000p0dn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 J Kingston Platt's Showbiz Handbook (b007jztn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 Soul Music Mixtapes (m0009lmv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0025vcf)
Absent Friends 2024
Donald Sutherland
Actor Donald Sutherland is castaway by Sue Lawley.
Donald acted in over 100 films, including such classics as M*A*S*H, Don't Look Now and JFK.
Born in Canada, he was tall and lanky as a child. Due to the size of his big ears, he was called 'Goofus' or 'Dumbo'.
However, it was those ears that caught the attention of the director of The Dirty Dozen and thus his film career was launched.
The actor went on to be given the Academy Honorary Award during the 90th Academy Awards in 2017.
Donald Sutherland died aged 88 in June 2024,
DISC ONE: Peggy Lee - The Best Is Yet To Come
DISC TWO: Dennis Brain with The Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major
DISC THREE: Patsy Cline - Sweet Dreams
DISC FOUR: Glenn Gould - Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations
DISC FIVE: The Beatles - The Ballad of John and Yoko
DISC SIX: Dave Brubeck - Take Five
DISC SEVEN: Janis Joplin - Me And Bobby McGee
DISC EIGHT: Diane Dufresne - J'ai recontre l'homme de ma vie
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Dennis Brain with The Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Herbert von Karajan - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major
BOOK CHOICE: A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman
LUXURY CHOICE: 100 cases of vintage Bordeaux
Producer: Angie Nehring
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2000.
SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0100j9q)
Series 2
Hummers
Hummingbirds are given spectacular names motivated by their striking colours, patterns and shimmering metallic iridescence; their names are beautiful as are the birds.
David Attenborough has filmed them on several occasions and is fascinated by their agility and flying skills to drink nectar from flowers inaccessible to any other animal.
Propelled by this rocket fuel of nature, they are capable of flying great distances and living life in the fast lane.
Enchanting in this story is how moved David Attenborough is when recalling a story of their conservation; a rare piece of good news he comments.
Written and presented by Sir David Attenborough
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.
SUN 07:00 Poetry Extra (m0025vch)
Adventures In Poetry - Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and selects Adventures in Poetry - Jabberwocky.
This is Lewis Carrol's famous poem about a mythical creature.
Peggy Reynolds goes out among the slithy toves and braves the frumious bandersnatch as she goes in search of Carroll's invention.
Producer: Paul Dodgson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2003.
SUN 07:30 The Secret Guests by BW Black (Omnibus) (m000fnvf)
Episode 2
As the IRA close in on the true identities of the young guests, an accident befalls one of the princesses.
In 1940, at the height of Blitz, the two young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are secretly evacuated from Buckingham Palace for their own safety and sent to an isolated rural estate in neutral Ireland.
However Clonmillis Hall may prove to be even more dangerous than wartime London...
Irish police detective Strafford has been assigned to watch over the girls during their stay and so must form an uneasy alliance with their governess Miss Celia Nashe, an undercover MI5 officer charged with the princesses’ safety.
However, with a contingent of soldiers patrolling the woods and rumours of IRA terrorists in the vicinity, they soon find their task even more treacherous than expected.
But is the real threat from outside, or from within Clonmillis Hall itself?
BW Black's imagined historical adventure and enthralling mystery.
Omnibus of the last five of ten episodes abridged by Neville Teller.
Concluded by Sorcha Cusack.
Producer: Michael Shannon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2020.
SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (b06chsm1)
Bill Nighy
Actor Bill Nighy chooses 'Well Did You Evah' by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra and 'Sign On A Window' by Bob Dylan.
SUN 08:50 Subterranean Homesick Blues (Omnibus) (m0025vck)
Series 5
Maggie has survived the pandemic and a broken hip and is now a social media 'influencer'.
John worries how he can protect her now she is so well-known?
Perhaps vetting her phone messages isn't such a good idea.
Starring Bill Nighy and Anna Calder-Marshall.
The return of AL Kennedy's romantic comedy drama.
Omnibus of Series 5 in five parts.
John Black .... Bill Nighy
Maggie Turner .... Anna Calder-Marshall
Yuri/Jimmy Nails .... Michael Begley
Mr Seymour/Villager .... Neil McCaul
Mrs Seymour/Villager .... Christine Kavanagh
Post Office Carol/Villager .... Jasmine Hyde
Director: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2022.
SUN 10:00 Beyond Our Ken (b008kmgm)
From 26/08/1958
Ooh la la! Monsieur Kenneth Horne hits Paris - and 'Hornerama' reports on the future of motoring.
A madcap mix of sketches and songs written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took
Starring:
Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Williams
Hugh Paddick
Betty Marsden
Ron Moody
Music from Pat Lancaster, the Malcolm Mitchell Trio and the BBC Review Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Announcer: Douglas Smith
Beyond Our Ken hit the airwaves in 1958 and ran to 1964 - featuring regulars like Arthur Fallowfield, Cecil Snaith and Rodney and Charles.
The precursor to 'Round The Horne' - sadly only 13 shows survive from the original run of 21 episodes in Series 1. Audio restored using both home and overseas (BBC Transcription Service) recordings.
Producer: Jacques Brown
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1958.
SUN 10:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m0025vcn)
Series 2
An Outing To Cambridge
The dear ladies enjoy an eventful expedition from the village.
Starring Dr Evadne Hinge and her lifelong companion Dame Hilda Bracket.
Brought to you from the genteel setting of the Suffolk village of Stackton Tressel, where the musical duo reside.
Written by Mike Craig, Lawrie Kinsley and Ron McDonnell.
Dame Hilda Bracket ...... Patrick Fyffe
Dr Evadne Hinge ...... George Logan
Maude .... Daphne Heard
Constable Bolsover …. Herbert Smith
Three series ran on BBC Radio 4 between 1977 and 1979, with further spin-off seasons on BBC Radio 2 until 1990.
In the early 1980s, they expanded over to BBC TV with the series Dear Ladies.
Producer: James Casey
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1978.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0025vcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0100j9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m0025vch)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Secret Guests by BW Black (Omnibus) (m000fnvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (b06chsm1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 13:50 Subterranean Homesick Blues (Omnibus) (m0025vck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 15:00 Beyond Our Ken (b008kmgm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 15:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m0025vcn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 16:00 The Man in Black (b00z2yvr)
Series 3
Uncle William's House by Alison Falconer
When a young mum inherits a tumble-down cottage, her chance for a fresh start in life seems too good to be true...
The Man in Black introduces Nicholas Pierpan's sinister tale.
Mark Gatiss stars as the sinister raconteur.
Chrissie …. Anne-Marie Piazza
Andrew …. Henry Devas
Uncle William …. Sean Baker
Ivy …. Sally Orrock
Adrian …. Tony Bell
The Nurse …. Deeivya Meir
Horrifying tales from The Man in Black. You might meet him at a luggage carousel in an airport, or behind the desk at an employment agency or he might approach you in the corridor of a care home.
Wherever you encounter him, he's eager to pass on his stories. Stories to unsettle and horrify. Stories to haunt you.
Director: Fiona Kelcher
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in March 2011.
SUN 16:30 Blop by JCW Brook (m000mljf)
George and Sylvia are enjoying afternoon tea in their Herefordshire garden, when an unexpected visitor drops in.
Written by JCW Brook
George.....................Peter Jeffrey
Sylvia........................Betty Huntley-Wright
Oats..........................Anthony Higginson
Blop..........................Michael Cochrane
Producer Gerry Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1975.
SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0025vcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0100j9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m0025vch)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 18:30 The Secret Guests by BW Black (Omnibus) (m000fnvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (b06chsm1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 19:50 Subterranean Homesick Blues (Omnibus) (m0025vck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 21:00 Beyond Our Ken (b008kmgm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m0025vcn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 22:00 Revolting People (b00wg3mg)
Series 4
George Washington
Captain Brimshaw attempts to broker peace with George Washington.
Sitcom set just before the American War of Independence.
Written by Andy Hamilton and Jay Tarses.
McGurk ...... Andy Hamilton
Samuel ...... Jay Tarses
Joshua ...... Tony Maudsley
Mary ...... Julia Hills
Ezekiel ...... Hugh Dennis
Captain Brimshaw ...... James Fleet
With Philip Pope and Michael Fenton Stevens
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2006.
SUN 22:30 1966 and All That (b01phm54)
The 1980s and 90s
Neil Knock-Knock becomes leader of the Labour Party; Jeffrey Archer reveals he's won the Nobel Prize - and John Minor stands against himself... and loses.
Craig Brown's satirical history of Britain reaches the 1980s and 90s.
With:
Joss Ackland
Eleanor Bron
Rory Bremner
Ewan Bailey
Margaret Cabourn-Smith
John Humphrys
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2006.
SUN 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0026666)
Chelsea Birkby 1/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Stephen Bailey chats to the writer and stand-up comedian, Chelsea Birkby.
SUN 23:00 Life With Lederer (m001kgkh)
Series 2
The Party
Helen, in nervous anticipation, prepares for a dinner party. But the diners are ringing to check who's on the guest list.
And Olivia, the inappropriately dressed single introvert, arrives early.
Written by and starring Helen Lederer.
With:
Victoria Finney
Christopher Campbell
Malcolm Raeburn
Produced at BBC Manchester by Paul Z Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1991.
SUN 23:15 Where to, Mate? (m000jmpf)
Series 1
"...twelve ceramic owls..."
Hit the road with taxi drivers Bernie and Ben as we eavesdrop on their fares around North West England.
Starring Peter Slater and Jo Enright.
In this episode, Ben is doing his best to resist the advances of an overly flirtatious passenger.
Bernie and Milton continue their friendship as they reflect on whether it is right to take a an old lady's ceramic owls.
A semi-improvised comedy recorded on location in a car in Manchester.
Based on ideas by Jason Wingard and Carl Cooper.
Featuring local voices and character actors/comedians from the North.
Ben ...... Peter Slater
Bernie ...... Jo Enright
Saj ...... Abdullah Afzal
Milton ...... Christopher J Hall
Penelope ...... Dylan Morris
Controller ...... Jason Wingard
Controller ...... Abdullah Afzal
Additional voices and material by the cast and crew.
With additional material and production support by Hannah Stevenson.
Director: Jason Wingard
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios Audio Production, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2020.
SUN 23:30 Delve Special (b007k4fc)
Series 2
The Secret Disservice
David Lander probes MI5 in a tale of dirty tricks, purple herrings and mauve sheep.
Presented by David Lander with assistance from Stephen Fry.
Studio production by:
Brenda Blethyn
Tony Robinson
Jack Klaff
Stephen Frost
Dramatic reconstruction by:
Felicity Montagu
Robert Bathurst
Phil Nice
Researched and compiled by Tony Sarchet.
Editor: Paul Mayhew-Archer
Delve Special ran for four series from 1984 to 1987 and later transferred to TV as: This is David
Lander.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1985.

MONDAY 09 DECEMBER 2024

MON 00:00 The Man in Black (b00z2yvr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 Blop by JCW Brook (m000mljf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0025vcf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0100j9q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m0025vch)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 The Secret Guests by BW Black (Omnibus) (m000fnvf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (b06chsm1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]
MON 03:50 Subterranean Homesick Blues (Omnibus) (m0025vck)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Beyond Our Ken (b008kmgm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket (m0025vcn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlfq)
1. Down These Mean Streets
Merseyside mother of two Rosie Monaghan is 39 and redundant.
Wondering what to do with the rest of her life - she decides to become a private detective...
Starring Paula Wilcox.
Alan McDonald's six-part thriller serial.
Rosie ...... Paula Wilcox
Margie ...... Elizabeth Estensen
Jerry ...... Christopher Bramwell
Mike ...... Steve Hodson
Bob ...... Dominic Grounsell
Carol ...... Helen Roberts
Andrew ...... Kim Wall
Others parts played by:
Federay Holmes
Siriol Jenkins
Matthew Morgan
Nicholas Murchie
Music composed by Peter Howell.
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
MON 06:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j5hpz)
Series 2
1. The Road to Nowhere
An upsurge of burglary on one street sees detective duo Trueman and Riley probe an odd deception amongst students.
Starring Robert Daws and Duncan Preston.
Set in Leeds, the return of Brian B Thompson's ill-matched coppers sees them trying to climb back up the career ladder.
DI Trueman …... Robert Daws
DS Riley …... Duncan Preston
Holly ..…. Laura Molyneux
Carol Munsthorpe …... Hannah Storey
Nic Jeune …... Malcolm Tierney
Harry …... Benjamin Askew
Marty Reynolds …... Matt Addis
The duo began life on BBC Radio 4 in 2002, with Detective Inspector Trueman called back to work after a nervous breakdown in order to solve a high profile murder case. He was backed up by Detective Superintendent Riley.
This was followed by three new dramas in 2005 then more series made for BBC Radio 7.
Director: Toby Swift
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in March 2009.
MON 07:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00bfq16)
Series 2
All Aboard!
There's mutiny in the air as Tommy and Sheila set off on their cruise.
30 years after sweethearts Tommy Franklin and Sheila Parr won the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, the musical double-act are back in the big time.
June Whitfield and Roy Hudd star in Mike Coleman's sitcom.
Tommy Franklin .... Roy Hudd
Sheila Parr .... June Whitfield
Hettie Stark .... Pat Coombes
Murray Franklin .... Julian Erdley
Louis Elstein .... Edward Halstead
Carla …. Tracy Ann Oberman
Tom/Duane …. Les Dennis
Music by Frido Ruth.
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1999.
MON 07:30 The Navy Lark (m0025svk)
Series 11
CPO Pertwee and the Lead Half Crowns
The suspicious crew of HMS Troutbridge wonder why Chief Petty Officer Pertwee is being so generous.
Stars Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and Stephen Murray.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge.
Written by Lawrie Wyman
The Sub-Lieutenant ...... Leslie Phillips
The Chief Petty Officer ...... Jon Pertwee
The Commanding Officer ...... Stephen Murray
Captain Povey ...... Richard Caldicot
Netta ….. Heather Chasen
The Admiral ….. Tenniel Evans
Able Seaman Ginger …. Michael Bates
The Navy Lark ran for an impressive 13 series between 1959 and 1976.
Producer: Alastair Scott-Johnston
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in March 1970.
MON 08:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b064z75b)
Series 4
The Panel Show
Damien is persuaded to appear on topical TV panel show "I Beg Your Pardon" in order to boost his profile ahead of his street food series.
Meanwhile, Anthony and Mr Mullaney's property business has developed to the point at which they can now start buying somewhere to do up.
Will Anthony plump for the right property though?
Sitcom charting the life of cookery writer Damien Trench, who lives in London's Queen's Park with his partner Anthony.
Written by Justin Edward.
Damien Trench ...... Miles Jupp
Anthony ...... Justin Edwards
Ian Frobisher ...... Philip Fox
Mr Mullaney ...... Brendan Dempsey
The Auctioneer/Ivan ...... Mark Edel-Hunt
Livi Hollinshead ...... Alex Tregear
Gavin Colthorpe ...... Stephen Critchlow
Producer: Sam Michell
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2015.
MON 08:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s1t9)
1. Humble Beginnings
Robert Maxwell remains an enigma.
A hugely successful tycoon who came from humble beginnings as an Orthodox Jew in Czechoslovakia, and whose father sold animal skins for a living, Maxwell became a British war-hero, decorated for his heroism, then a Labour MP, all the while amassing a huge fortune as the owner of publishing and newspaper businesses.
But when he fell from his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, in the middle of the night in 1991, another story was revealed - of debts and unscrupulous dealings.
No-one had ever fallen so far and so quickly.
John Preston's gripping biography sets out to give the definitive account of Robert Maxwell's rise and fall.
Underneath this apparent model of society lay an amoral and bloated wreck.
Abridged in five parts by Richard Hamilton.
Read by Henry Goodman.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
MON 08:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mstv)
1. Peace Offering
A neighbouring clan commits an offence against Umuofia.
To avoid war, the offending clan gives Umuofia a young boy, Ikemefuna who is entrusted to Okonkwo.
Chinua Achebe’s classic tale depicting pre-colonial 1890's Igbo village life, centring on the rise and fall of a powerful Igbo clan leader Okonkwo.
Dramatised in five parts by Biyi Bandele.
Okonkwo ...... Okezie Morro
Ikemefuna/Uzowulu ...... Clinton Liberty
Chinyere ...... Grace Cookey-Gam
Ekwefi/Ezinma ...... Marilyn Nnadebe
Obierika ...... Cyril Nri
Odukwe/Ezeugu ...... Richard Pepple
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2020.
MON 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m001zvfm)
Susan Hulme reports as Unionist MPs try to recast Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trading rules
MON 09:30 A Cause for Caroling (b03kpnk3)
1. A Carol's a Carol, to Begin With
Choral conductor and scholar Jeremy Summerly tells the story of the Christmas carol in Britain in this ten-part series.
He begins by trying to capture something of the caroling traditions of today and then heads back into the misty caroling past discovering what he believes is the first carol in the English language.
The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when carolers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots in dance form.
Nowadays only the strictest scholar would quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song.
But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music history because each shift in the story has been preserved in the carols that we sing today. Go to a carol concert now and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-Victorian and modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that happening in any other situation.
Jeremy Summerly follows the carol journey through the Golden age of the Medieval carol into the troubled period of Reformation and puritanism, along the byways of the 17th and 18th century waits and gallery musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the carol in the 19th century.
It's a story that sees the carol veer between the sacred and secular even before there was any understanding of those terms..
Jeremy traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, some of which survive to this day and many others which languish unloved but ready for re-discovery.
It's a journey full of song describing the history of a people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this music.
The series title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should chose to sing - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound' - is the question asked. This series is an attempt to answer why carols remain so popular and familiar to so many.
Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service that commands a worldwide audience measured in millions, but as Jeremy concludes it has left an imbalance in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the choir stalls.
Producer: Tom Alban
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.
MON 09:45 Daily Service (m0025svm)
Candles: Faith from the Prophets - Prince of Peace
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Candles: Faith from the Prophets - Prince of Peace
Presenter: Bishop Joe Aldred
Reading: Isaiah 9:6-7
Music:
A Child Is Born to Us - Yvonne & David Lyon
Looking for a miracle - AMC Gospel Choir
Perfect Peace - Andrae Crouch
MON 10:00 Sounds Natural (b07hwrh5)
Spike Milligan
From Rhesus Monkeys to Kookaburras.
Star of The Goon Show, Spike Milligan talks to Derek Jones about his enthusiasm for wild animals and his concern for their future.
Aided by recordings from the BBC Sound Archives.
Spike Milligan KBE: died aged 83 in 2002.
Producer: John Burton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1972.
MON 10:30 Tropicalia - Revolution in Sound (b06zr3zl)
Tropicalia was a musical revolution in Brazil.
Singer and journalist Monica Vasconcelos meets the key artists and contemporary champions of Tropicalia - from Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil to Marcos Valle and Talking Heads' David Byrne - and explores its enduring musical and political force.
Burning brightly for only few years in the late 1960s, and politically inspired by the uprisings in Paris in May 68, the Tropicalia movement electrified Brazilian music.
It combined the sophistication of bossa nova, samba and baiao with psychedelia, new Beatles-inspired electric sounds and orchestral experimentation. It was a deliberately subversive mix that provoked the country’s military regime and led to the exile and imprisonment of some of Brazil’s star musicians.
Tropicalia brought a new wave of liberation and energy into Brazilian music.
Earlier in the decade, bossa nova had captured a mood of national optimism but, as the 1960s wore on, the political situation darkened. The military junta, in power since 1964, was drifting into open repression - the arts would be censored, musicians targeted, imprisoned and exiled. A new, more combative approach was called for.
Tropicalia was based around a core group of musicians – Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, the group Os Mutantes, singer Gal Costa and Tom Ze
It was a mash-up of styles which drew on the country's deep roots but pushed the sound elsewhere, radically.
Harvesting influences from inside and outside Brazil, drawing especially on Western rock, classical orchestration and electronic effects, Tropicalia parodied, mixed and sampled global styles.
Producer: Simon Hollis
A Brook Lapping production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2016.
MON 11:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlfq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 11:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j5hpz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 12:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00bfq16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 12:30 The Navy Lark (m0025svk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 13:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b064z75b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 13:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s1t9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mstv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 14:00 Just a Minute (b00qbw66)
Series 56
Episode 5
Nicholas Parsons presides over the devious game where panellists are challenged to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition.
With:
Paul Merton
Charles Collingwood
Josie Lawrence
Chris Neill
Subjects include: How To Remember People's Names, Romantic Meals, Stiff Upper Lip, Spitting Feathers, My Advice To Other Panellists, A Dark Stormy Night and Puppy Love.
Created by Ian Messiter.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2010.
MON 14:30 Noel Coward (m0025svp)
Hay Fever
'I wanted a nice restful weekend ... and now the house is going to be full of discord - not enough food, everyone fighting for the bath - perfect agony! I wish I were dead!'
The eccentric Bliss family’s very bohemian "weekends" are thrown into chaos when each of them invite a guest to stay.
Set in a 1920s English country house.
Starring Peggy Ashcroft, Tony Britton and Millicent Martin
Noel Coward's comic drama was first performed on the London stage in 1924.
Judith Bliss .... Peggy Ashcroft
David Bliss .... Tony Britton
Sorel Bliss .... Karin Fernald
Simon Bliss .... Geoffrey Beevers
Myra Arundel .... Millicent Martin
Jackie Coryton .... Julia Foster
Richard Greatham .... Maurice Denham
Sandy Tyrell .... David Timson
Clara .... Betty Baskcomb
Director: Guy Vaesen
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1971.
**** BBC Radio 4 Extra's collection marking the 125th anniversary of Noel Coward's birth ****
MON 16:00 Sounds Natural (b07hwrh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 Tropicalia - Revolution in Sound (b06zr3zl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 17:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlfq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 17:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j5hpz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 18:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00bfq16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:30 The Navy Lark (m0025svk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 19:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b064z75b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s1t9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 19:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mstv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 20:00 Just a Minute (b00qbw66)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
MON 20:30 Noel Coward (m0025svp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
MON 22:00 Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz (m0025kl0)
Series 3
Merthyr - home of Welsh heroes
Paul Sinha tests his audience in Methyr Tydfil on their knowledge of Wales's 100 Greatest Heroes, which manages to completely overlook some Welsh icons and place some less well-remembered names alarmingly high.
Before that, though, there are questions about the events of 2024, and a section on national anthems. And, of course, the audience get to test Paul on his general knowledge.
Written and performed by Paul Sinha
Additional material: Oliver Levy
Additional questions: The Audience
Original music: Tim Sutton
Recording engineer: Steve Martin
Mixed by: Rich Evans
Producer: Ed Morrish
A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4
MON 22:30 Alice's Wunderland (b010fbyb)
Pilot
A trip round Wunderland, the Poundland of magical realms.
It's a kingdom much like our own, and also nothing like it in the slightest.
Stay a while and meet the waifs, strays, ghosts, murderous pensioners and squirrels of this delightful land as they go about their bizarre business.
Written and performed by Alice Lowe.
With:
Richard Glover
Simon Greenall
Rachel Stubbings
Clare Thompson
Marcia Warren
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.
MON 23:00 The Naked Week (m0025lc9)
Series 1
Episode 2: Spin, Milestones, and Monopoly (Qatar edition)
Host Andrew Hunter Murray, Chief Correspondent Amy Hoggart, The Skewer's Jon Holmes and The Naked Week team deliver a topical news-nude straight to your ears. This week - Spin, Milestones, and Monopoly (Qatar edition).
The Naked Week team will strip away the curtain and dive into not only the big stories, but also the way in which the news is packaged and presented.
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Sarah Dempster
Gareth Ceredig
Jason Hazeley
Adam Macqueen
Louis Mian
Production Team: Laura Grimshaw, Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, Katie Sayer
Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:30 The Confessional (m001gww6)
Series 3
The Confession of Lady Antonia Fraser
Historian and biographer, Antonia Fraser has her conscience examined by Stephen Mangan.
With stories of royal parties, theft and fake masses.
The comic and intrusive chat show, in which Stephen Mangan interrogates celebrity penitents about their stories of shame, guilt and embarrassment.
Each episode, Stephen entices a different eminent guest into his virtual confessional box to make three confessions of sins, peccadilloes, misdeeds and idiocies - anything really that will make us laugh, shudder, blush or cringe at their expense.
Written and presented by Stephen Mangan.
Additional material by Nick Doody.
Producer: Frank Stirling
A 7digital production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2023.

TUESDAY 10 DECEMBER 2024

TUE 00:00 Sounds Natural (b07hwrh5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 Tropicalia - Revolution in Sound (b06zr3zl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlfq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j5hpz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00bfq16)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 The Navy Lark (m0025svk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 In and Out of the Kitchen (b064z75b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s1t9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mstv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00qbw66)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Noel Coward (m0025svp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlg3)
2. Following From In Front
Who is novice private-eye Rosie Monaghan's mystery client?
And how do you trail somebody?
Starring Paula Wilcox.
Alan McDonald's thriller serial about a Merseyside mum turned private eye.
Rosie ...... Paula Wilcox
Margie ...... Elizabeth Estensen
Jerry ...... Christopher Bramwell
Andrew ...... Kim Wall
Graham ...... David Thorpe
Bob ...... Dominic Grounsell
Carol ...... Helen Roberts
Bill ...... Dominic Letts
Music composed by Peter Howell.
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
TUE 06:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j5lbm)
Series 2
2. The Three Degrees
As bickering detectives Trueman and Riley probe the near-drowning of an ex-student in Leeds, they unearth an old secret.
Starring Robert Daws and Duncan Preston.
Brian B Thompson's ill-matched detective duo.
DI Trueman …... Robert Daws
DS Riley …... Duncan Preston
Paul Balfe ..…. Jonathan Tafler
Jane Balfe ..…. Caroline Guthrie
Nick Cahill …... Paul Rider
Director: Toby Swift
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in March 2009.
TUE 07:00 Rent (b064fnvq)
Series 4
Episode 3
Maria and Richard are getting to grips with a welcome new arrival - the nanny.
While Paul and Ruby are about to cope with a rather less welcome arrival...
Lucy Flannery's award-winning sitcom about Maria and Richard Reynolds and their lodgers.
Maria …. Barbara Flynn
Richard …. Patrick Barlow
Ruby …. Vivienne Rochester
Paul …. Dave Lamb
With Sarah Parkinson and Toby Longworth.
Producer: Liz Anstee.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1998.
TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b007jt5g)
Series 6
The Great Tuscan Salami Scandal
A meaty mystery for Neddie Seagoon, unaccompanied by the show's regular musicians who were on strike.
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Peter Eton
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in February 1956.
TUE 08:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000r4w0)
Series 2
Heartbreak Hotel
Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam play a couple who have been married 'forever'.
Children of the 1960s, they're still free spirits, drawn together by their passion for music and each other. Their recognisable warm and witty conversations dance around everything from health scares, jealousy and confessions, to TV incompatibility and sourdough bread.
In this episode, Roger is best man at their friend’s second marriage, in a country hotel, and Joanna makes excessive demands of room service.
Written for Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam by award-winning comedy writer and journalist Jan Etherington - who's been married for 34 years to Gavin Petrie, with whom she has created many hit Radio 4 Extra and TV series (Second Thoughts, plus Next of Kin, Faith in the Future, The Change),
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2021.
TUE 08:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s1b4)
2. Early Business Dealings
John Preston’s eye-watering biography about the notorious tycoon.
In this episode, Robert Maxwell’s shape-shifting youth is marked by heroism, love and a murky start in business.
The life story of the larger-than- life newspaper owner Robert Maxwell, takes us from his birth to his mysterious death at sea.
Maxwell remains an enigma. He was a hugely successful businessman who came from humble beginnings as an Orthodox Jew in Czechoslovakia, and whose father sold animal skins for a living. Maxwell became a British war-hero, decorated for his heroism, then a Labour MP, all the while amassing a huge fortune as the owner of publishing and newspaper businesses.
But when he fell from his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, in the middle of the night in 1991, another story was revealed - of debts and unscrupulous dealings. No-one had ever fallen so far and so quickly.
John Preston's gripping biography sets out to give the definitive account of Robert Maxwell's rise and fall and to explain why underneath this apparent model of society lay an amoral and bloated wreck.
Read by Henry Goodman.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
TUE 08:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mt0r)
2. Impossible Choice
Having lived with Okonkwo for three years, Ikemefuna is treated like a son until the day that the Oracle of the Hills and Caves pronounces a different fate for him.
Chinua Achebe’s classic tale set in 1890's about the rise and fall of Okonkwo a powerful Igbo clan leader.
Obierika ...... Cyril Nri
Okonkwo ...... Okezie Morro
Ikemefuna ...... Clinton Liberty
Chinyere ...... Grace Cookey-Gam
Dramatized by Biyi Bandele.
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2020.
TUE 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m001zwqt)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
TUE 09:30 A Cause for Caroling (b03kqf08)
2. Spreading the Medieval Word Made Flesh
The second programme in Jeremy Summerly's ten part series tracing the history of the Christmas carol in Britain. Today he discovers the impact of the Franciscans in using the carol to make the birth of Jesus a focus for the church and harnessing the energy of popular music to that end.
Series Description:
The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when singers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song.
But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music history because each shift in the story has been preserved in the carols that we sing today. Go to a concert now and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-Victorian and modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that happening in any other situation.
Jeremy Summerly follows the journey through the golden age of the medieval carol into the troubled period of Reformation and Puritanism, along the byways of the 17th and 18th century gallery musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol veer between the sacred and secular even before there was any understanding of those terms. For long periods the church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and texts. Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by the carols they hear from King's College, Cambridge.
He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, some of which survive to this day and many others which languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. It's a journey full of song describing the history of a people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this music.
That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for children - Once in Royal David's City the most familiar example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the uninhibited world of folk song and ballad.
The series' title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should choose to sing - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound'. It is an attempt to answer why carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on Christmas Eve: "Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally transmitted from father to son through several generations down to the present characters, who sang them out right earnestly."
Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service that commands a worldwide audience measured in many millions, but as Jeremy concludes, it has left an imbalance in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the choir stalls.
Producer: Tom Alban
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m0025t1p)
Candles: Faith from the Prophets - Zechariah's song
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Candles: Faith from the Prophets - Zechariah's song
Presenter: Marika Rose
Reading: Luke 1 67-79
Music:
Hills of the North rejoice - Guildford Cathedral Choir
O radiant dawn - Apollo 5
A great and mighty wonder - St Martin's Voices
TUE 10:00 A Good Read (b09ry6k2)
Sathnam Sanghera and Hadley Freeman
Columnists and authors Hadley Freeman and Sathnam Sanghera join Harriett Gilbert to their discuss favourite books by Melissa Bank, David Szalay and Junichiro Tanizaki.
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
Publisher: Penguin
Spring by David Szalay
Publisher: Vintage
A Cat, a Man, and Two Women by Junichiro Tanizaki.
Publisher: Daunt Books
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2018.
TUE 10:30 Wreck of the Alba (b00lh37d)
A popular picture at the heart of the summer exhibition in the Tate, St Ives is 'The Wreck of the Alba' by Alfred Wallis.
It depicts what happened just outside the gallery, and to the entire nation. Michael Bird, art historian and surfer, uncovers the universal and local significance of this great and popular painting.
Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson are great St Ives artists. But it is Alfred Wallis, the old fisherman and sailor who in his seventies began painting with left over boat paint on bits of cardboard, who combines greatness (he's acknowledged by the critics) with real popularity. Wallis is on the mugs, in the auction room (one painting sold recently for £50,000) and he's big in Japan.
In the gallery above Porthmeor Beach people huddle around The Wreck of the Alba, his painting of a ship on its side, overwhelmed by a huge, cold wave. Just outside surfers talk about 'going down boiler end', the east of the beach, where the waves break biggest and low tide exposes a huge rusty cylinder from that ship, after which one of St Ives' new upscale restaurants is named.
The Alba, wrecked on Porthmeor on 31 January 1938, lives on in the imagination because - like the Torrey Canyon or the Titanic - it caught the historic moment. She was carrying coal, dug by Welsh miners, to fascist Italy, part of Chamberlain's attempt to keep Mussolini and Hitler sweet.
The courageous rescue of the steamer's Hungarian crew - still remembered by locals - highlights St Ives' global connections, in contrast to Chamberlain's infamous appeal to British insularity (the Czechs were people about which 'we know little', too 'far away' to be of concern).
Alfred Wallis painted the shipwreck obsessively, his empathy as a seaman informing an image of great symbolic intensity. His Alba paintings are among his last, and close to his grave a stone commemorates the Hungarian mariners drowned in the wreck and buried together nearby.
But there is more to it than this: the name on the ship in the painting is ALBIAN - this is, as well as a tramp steamer, the ship of state, Albion, overwhelmed as war approaches.
And one of the drowned Hungarians is not in the communal grave close to Wallis. He was Jewish, and as there is no synagogue in Cornwall, was taken to Plymouth to be buried. Michael Bird has recently discovered the Rabbi's eulogy, which praises the people of St Ives for the rescue, hospitality and respect given to strangers. It is on such things that civilisation, he says, depends.
Michael Bird tells the story of Wallis's great painting, and reveals its wider political as well as local historical resonances using new material that he has discovered. He interviews people in St Ives who remember both Wallis and the disaster, the son of one of the lifeboat crew and the widow of the man who bought the painting from the artist for half a crown . He also speaks to Martin Clark, Artistic Director at Tate St Ives, people looking at the painting, and a surfer 'down boiler end'.
Michael lives in St Ives and has written several books and catalogues.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.
TUE 11:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlg3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 11:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j5lbm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 12:00 Rent (b064fnvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jt5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000r4w0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s1b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mt0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 14:00 Booked (b0075lk3)
Series 2
Episode 2
Sickboy from Trainspotting jumps into Pride and Prejudice, Fred Flintstone advertises in the lonely hearts column and The Three Musketeers gets a radical reworking.
Outrageous parody, biting wit and bizarre couplings from:
Miles Kington
Mark Thomas
Dillie Keane
John Hegley
Ian McMillan chairs the irreverent literary game.
Producer: Marc Jobst
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1997.
TUE 14:30 Noel Coward (b00d06t9)
The Vortex
Noel Coward lifts the lid on the lives of the country house set.
Starring Elizabeth Sellars, Martin Jarvis and Sarah Lawson.
First performed in 1924 at London's Everyman Theatre, Hampstead, this play rocketed Noel Coward to prominence as both actor and writer.
"There is an imprint of truth upon this play. The craftmanship is beyond reproach, the dialogue is taut and spare... and shimmering with wit.
(James Agate, Sunday Times, November, 1924)
The action takes place in Mrs Lancaster's flat in London, and at her house in the country.
Preston .... Madi Hedd
Helen Saville .... Sarah Lawson
Pauncefort Quentin .... Gerald Cross
Clara Hibbert .... Gudrun Ure
Florence Lancaster .... Elizabeth Sellars
Tom Veryan .... Timothy Dalton
Nicky Lancaster .... Martin Jarvis
David Lancaster .... Peter Williams
Bunty Mainwaring .... Kate Coleridge
Bruce Fairlight .... Peter Woodthorpe
Piano played by William Davies
Director: Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1975.
TUE 16:00 A Good Read (b09ry6k2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:30 Wreck of the Alba (b00lh37d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlg3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j5lbm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Rent (b064fnvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b007jt5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 19:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000r4w0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s1b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 19:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mt0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Booked (b0075lk3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Noel Coward (b00d06t9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
TUE 22:00 Best Medicine (m0025l5c)
Series 2
3. Sleep, FMTs, Dr Charles Drew, Stem Cell Transplantation
Joining Kiri this week is comedian Laura Smyth who discovered the importance of sleep as she underwent cancer treatment. Historian Subhadra Das celebrates the incredible medical pioneer of blood transfusion Dr Charles Drew, Professor Lindsay Hall uses golden poo donors to cure serious infections, and Professor Nicholas Embleton’s life is saved by a stem cell transplant.

Best Medicine is your weekly dose of laughter, hope and incredible medicine. Award-winning comedian Kiri Pritchard-McLean is joined by a funny and fascinating panel of comedians, doctors, scientists, and historians to celebrate medicine’s inspiring past, present and future.

Each week, Kiri challenges a panel of medical experts and a comedian to make a case for what they think is 'the best medicine', and each guest champions anything from world-changing science or an obscure invention, to an everyday treatment, an uplifting worldview, an unsung hero or a futuristic cure.

Whether it’s origami surgical robots, life-changing pineapple UTI vaccines, Victorian scandal mags, denial, sleep, tiny beating organoid hearts, lifesaving stem cell transplants, gold poo donors or even crying - it’s always something worth celebrating.

Hosted by Kiri Pritchard-McLean

Featuring: Subhadra Das, Professor Nicholas Embleton, Professor Lindsay Hall and Laura Smyth

Written by Laura Claxton, Edward Easton, Charlie George, Mel Owen, Pravanya Pillay, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Nicky Roberts and Ben Rowse

Producers: Tashi Radha and Ben Worsfield

Theme tune composed by Andrew Jones

A Large Time production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 22:30 The Consultants (b007k37k)
Series 3
Episode 3
Chesney brings his daughter to work.
Or does he?
Cerebral sketch show written by and starring:
Neil Edmond
Justin Edwards
James Rawlings
Producer: Will Saunders
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2004.
TUE 23:00 Trevor's World of Sport (b00gnfz4)
Series 1
Episode 1
Andy Hamilton's BBC TV comedy swaps to radio.
It's about Trevor, the sports agent, and his brave attempts to swim safely through the shark-tank of his life.
Starring Neil Pearson.
Trevor ...... Neil Pearson
Sammy ...... Paul Reynolds
Ralph ...... Michael Fenton Stevens
Theresa ...... Rosalind Ayres
Heidrun ...... Cosima Shaw
Barry ...... Abdul Salis
Meryl ...... Claire Skinner
Toby ...... Matthew Thomas
Ted ...... Trevor Cooper
Jason ...... Jake Wood
Written and produced by Andy Hamilton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2004.
TUE 23:30 Lionel Nimrod's Inexplicable World (b007tm8f)
Series 2
Magic
Did witches really fly with broomsticks between their legs or did they just get a bit overexcited?
Series two of the cult comedy that answers the questions which leave other shows scratching their beards.
Starring Stewart Lee and Richard Herring.
With:
Rebecca Front
Armando Iannucci
And the voice of Tom Baker.
Producer: Sarah Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1993.

WEDNESDAY 11 DECEMBER 2024

WED 00:00 A Good Read (b09ry6k2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Wreck of the Alba (b00lh37d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlg3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j5lbm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Rent (b064fnvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b007jt5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m000r4w0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s1b4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mt0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Booked (b0075lk3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Noel Coward (b00d06t9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlgf)
3. Back Against the Wall
A row over privatisation breaks out - and private eye Rosie has doubts over the apparently innocent death...
Starring Paula Wilcox.
Alan McDonald's thriller serial about a Merseyside mum turned private eye.
Rosie ...... Paula Wilcox
Margie ...... Elizabeth Estensen
Jerry ...... Christopher Bramwell
Bob ...... Dominic Grounsell
Carol ...... Helen Roberts
Andrew ...... Kim Wall
Mike ...... Steve Hodson
Martin ...... Paul Barber
Andrew ...... Kim Wall
Bill Jones ...... Dominic Letts
Elsie ...... Pauline Yates
DS Murdoch ...... Gareth Armstrong
Hickey ...... Michael Onslow
Music composed by Peter Howell.
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
WED 06:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j622b)
Series 2
3. A Man's World
Back at CID, Trueman and Riley suspect a male hospital midwife of petty thefts from pregnant women.
Starring Robert Daws and Duncan Preston.
Brian B Thompson's ill-matched detective duo.
DI Trueman …... Robert Daws
DS Riley …... Duncan Preston
Nurse …... Benjamin Askew
Eileen ..…. Caroline Guthrie
Tiffany …... Lizzy Watts
Mark Jefferson ..…. Stephen Critchlow
Sarah Haddon …... Janice Acquah
Dan …... Stephen Hogan
Director: Toby Swift
Made for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in March 2009.
WED 07:00 Winston (b007wvf0)
Winston in Europe
Finis
Before returning to England, the family take a whistle stop tour round Europe.
Father takes them to where it all started - where he and their mother got spliced...
Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy serial.
Winston …. Bill Wallis
Father …. Maurice Denham
Nancy …. Shirley Dixon
Rosie …. Liz Goulding
William .… Christian Rodska
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1992.
WED 07:30 The Missing Hancocks (b06qht29)
Series 2
The Red Planet
Tony Hancock takes up astronomy, and discovers something terrible among the stars.
Between 1954 and 1959, BBC Radio recorded 102 episodes of Galton & Simpson's comedy but 20 went missing from the BBC archives, and had not been heard since their original transmission… until these faithful re-imaginings.
After a highly acclaimed first series, another five were lovingly re-recorded in front of a live audience at London's BBC Radio Theatre.
The Lad Himself …. Kevin McNally
Bill Kerr …. Kevin Eldon
Sid James …. Simon Greenall
Kenneth Williams …. Robin Sebastian
Andree Melly …. Susy Kane
Newly recorded score by the BBC Concert Orchestra
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson
Produced by Ed Morrish and Neil Pearson
Originally broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1955.
Recreated for broadcast by BBC Radio Comedy for BBC Radio 4 and first broadcast in November 2015.
WED 08:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06qkp8n)
Series 3
Profit and Loss
Mr and Mrs Wrigglesworth receive some bad news about a friend while Granny helps Tom with a "gambling situation".
Sitcom where Tom Wrigglesworth phones home for his weekly check-in with his Mum, Dad and Gran, giving us a glimpse into his family background and the influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and hang-ups.
Tom ...... Tom Wrigglesworth
Dad ...... Paul Copley
Mum ...... Kate Anthony
Granny ...... Elizabeth Bennett
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle. With Miles Jupp
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2015.
WED 08:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s2lr)
3. Fleet Street
John Preston’s breath-taking biography of the notorious newspaper owner.
In this episode, it’s the 1960s and Maxwell has made and lost several fortunes, and he continues to dream of becoming part of the British establishment.
His yearning for a Fleet Street newspaper has been thwarted time and again but remains unabated. At home, a devastating family tragedy unfolds.
The life story of the larger-than-life newspaper owner Robert Maxwell, takes us from his birth to his mysterious death at sea.
Maxwell remains an enigma - he was a hugely successful businessman who came from humble beginnings as an Orthodox Jew in Czechoslovakia, and whose father sold animal skins for a living. Maxwell became a British war-hero, decorated for his heroism, then a Labour MP, all the while amassing a huge fortune as the owner of publishing and newspaper businesses.
But when he fell from his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, in the middle of the night in 1991, another story was revealed - of debts and unscrupulous dealings. No-one had ever fallen so far and so quickly.
John Preston's gripping biography sets out to give the definitive account of Robert Maxwell's rise and fall and to explain why underneath this apparent model of society lay an amoral and bloated wreck.
Read by Henry Goodman.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
WED 08:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mr4l)
3. Accidental Crime
At the funeral of the great warrior Ogbuefi Ezeudu, Okonkwo accidentally commits a crime against the Earth Goddess and is forced to flee.
Chinua Achebe's classic tale about the rise and fall of Okonkwo.
Obierika ...... Cyril Nri
Okonkwo ...... Okezie Morro
Nwoye/One-Handed Spirit ...... Michael Ajao
Dramatised by Biyi Bandele.
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2020.
WED 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m001zvkh)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
WED 09:30 A Cause for Caroling (b03ktz0k)
3. From Coventry to Agincourt
In the third programme in the series Jeremy finds a developing professionalism in carol singing and writing in the details of a manuscript held by Cambridge University, and he reveals the background of the Coventry carol's mystery play setting. The combination of energetic drama and more refined singing men makes this period a caroling golden age but with clouds on the horizon.
Series Description:
The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when singers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song.
But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music history because each shift in the story has been preserved in the carols that we sing today. Go to a concert now and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-Victorian and modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that happening in any other situation.
Jeremy Summerly follows the journey through the golden age of the medieval carol into the troubled period of Reformation and Puritanism, along the byways of the 17th and 18th century gallery musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol veer between the sacred and secular even before there was any understanding of those terms. For long periods the church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and texts. Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by the carols they hear from King's College, Cambridge.
He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, some of which survive to this day and many others which languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. It's a journey full of song describing the history of a people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this music.
That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for children - Once in Royal David's City the most familiar example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the uninhibited world of folk song and ballad.
The series' title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should choose to sing - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound'. It is an attempt to answer why carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on Christmas Eve: "Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally transmitted from father to son through several generations down to the present characters, who sang them out right earnestly."
Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service that commands a worldwide audience measured in many millions, but as Jeremy concludes, it has left an imbalance in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the choir stalls.
Producer: Tom Alban
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
WED 09:45 Daily Service (m0025vyl)
Candles: Faith from the Prophets - Shepherd his flock
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Candles: Faith from the Prophets - Shepherd his flock
Presenter: Andy Fishburne
Reading: Micah 5: 2-4
Music:
While Shepherds Watched - King's College Cambridge
In the bleak midwinter - Yvonne and David Lyon
Light of the world - Matt Redman
WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (m000zv9p)
Teen Spirit: Nevermind at 30
On the 30th anniversary of the release of Nirvana’s album Nevermind, leading figures from music, literature, fashion, and activism reflect on the impact it had on their lives.
Presenter Douglas Coupland, author of Generation X, explores how his own work is entwined with the album’s history. In the early 90s, Douglas Coupland, like Nirvana, was at the vanguard of a new movement that valued individualism and freedom.
In 1991, the music industry had modest ambitions for a second album from Seattle three-piece rock group Nirvana. Little did they know. Opening with hit single Smells Like Teen Spirit, Nevermind was a politically radical, powerful package of pop and punk music that made the grunge genre world-famous. The album knocked Michael Jackson off the top of the US charts, eventually selling 30 million copies. It made Kurt Cobain an icon. Though released on a major label, the record redefined the notion of independent spirit for a generation.
Musician Bat For Lashes talks about processing troubling teenage experiences through her Nirvana fandom. Actor Zawe Ashton reveals that grunge directly inspired her character of Vod in sitcom Fresh Meat. Transgender activist Daniella Carter reflects on the ways the band defined her politics. Novelist Aaron Hamburger remembers how Kurt Cobain helped him come out as gay. Nevermind producer Butch Vig recalls the release changing his life overnight. Other contributors include poet Hanif Abdurraqib, author Deborah Levy, and musician and fashion expert Brix Smith. Meanwhile, a rare archive interview between Kurt Cobain and Jon Savage transports us back to the spirit of the time.
Finally, folk band The Unthanks perform an exclusive cover of Nevermind closer "Something In The Way".
Producer: Jack Howson
Additional Production: Tess Davidson and Silvia Malnati
Sound Mix: Mike Woolley
A Reduced Listening production, first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2021.
WED 11:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlgf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 11:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j622b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 12:00 Winston (b007wvf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 12:30 The Missing Hancocks (b06qht29)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 13:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06qkp8n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 13:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s2lr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mr4l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 14:00 Counterpoint (b0375byt)
Series 27
2013 Semi-final 3
Paul Gambaccini chairs the general knowledge music quiz.
Now at the semi-final stage with three contestants, who've proved the breadth of their musical knowledge in the heats, returning to compete for a place in the final.
At stake is a real chance to lift the silver trophy as the 27th Counterpoint champion.
This trio of competitors battling it out at the BBC's Radio Theatre, London are:
* Paul Burgess from Cheltenham
* Adam Harvey from Bury St. Edmunds
* Alan McLean from Debden, Essex
Producer: Paul Bajoria
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
WED 14:30 Noel Coward (m0025vyn)
Private Lives
Tempestuous divorced couple Amanda and Elyot meet again while on their second honeymoons.
Noel Coward's intimate comedy of manners opened on the London stage in 1930, after touring the provinces.
'The Master' wrote that Private Lives was 'conceived in Tokyo, written in Shanghai, and produced in London in September 1930.'
Coward reported that 'a gratifying number of respectable people queued up at the box office.' They have been doing so ever since.
Starring Paul Scofield, Patricia Routledge and Miriam Margolyes.
Adapted for radio by Cynthia Pughe.
Elyot Chase .... Paul Scofield
Amanda Prynne .... Patricia Routledge
Sibyl Chase .... Miriam Margolyes
Victor Prynne .... John Rye
Louise .... Carole Boyd
Music played and improvised by William Davies.
Director: Ian Cotterell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1975.
WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (m000zv9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 17:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlgf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 17:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j622b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 18:00 Winston (b007wvf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:30 The Missing Hancocks (b06qht29)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 19:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06qkp8n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s2lr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 19:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mr4l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 20:00 Counterpoint (b0375byt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
WED 20:30 Noel Coward (m0025vyn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
WED 22:00 You Heard It Here First (m001yz5n)
Series 2
'I never heard a cow!'
Chris McCausland asks Steph McGovern and Jarred Christmas to take on Hugh Dennis and Thanyia Moore. Can guests work out where in the UK Chris is from audio alone? The teams must figure out what on earth is being advertised on TV, guess what famous objects or locations children are trying to describe.
Producer: Sasha Bobak
Assistant Producer: Becky Carewe-Jeffries
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Dan Marchini
A BBC Studios Production
An EcoAudio certified production
WED 22:30 Mark Thomas: The Manifesto (b01s8qy0)
Series 5
London
Comedian-activist Mark Thomas takes his People's Manifesto to the BBC Radio Theatre, London.
The manifesto is created by policies suggested by the studio audience.
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m002666r)
Chelsea Birkby 2/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Stephen Bailey chats to the writer and stand-up comedian, Chelsea Birkby.
WED 23:00 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (b01pbxz2)
Series 2
Myths
The Red Dragon, Merlin, and Fireman Sam.
Comedian Elis James compares key figures in Welsh history to determine the ultimate heroes of Wales.
With:
Ben Partridge
Nadia Kamil
Written by Elis James, Gareth Gwyn and Benjamin Partridge.
Producer: Sharif Shahwan
First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in December 2012.
WED 23:30 Paperback Hell (m000hq1b)
Series 2
Travelodge Travelogue
Tales of a travel writer’s hotel tour in a spoof literary chapter.
One of a selection of chapters culled from books that bear a striking resemblance to something you might have read before.
Paperback Hell is the series determined to destroy the good name of literature.
Starring:
Michael Fenton Stevens
Rebecca Front
Mel Hudson
Alex Lowe
Dan Tetsell
Written by Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell
Producer: Lucy Armitage
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.
WED 23:45 The Hauntening (b097c27l)
Series 1
Soulmaits
Travel through the bad gateway in this modern ghost story.
Writer and performer Tom Neenan discovers what horrors may lurk in our apps and gadgets.
Modern technology is terrifying. The average smartphone carries out 3.36 billion instructions per second. The average person can only carry out one instruction in that time. Stop and think about that for a second. Sorry, that's two instructions - you won't be able to do that.
But what if modern technology was literally terrifying?
What if there really was a ghost in the machine?
Tom...................Tom Neenan
Heidi..................Jenny Bede
The Cabbie.........Roger Morlidge
Jane...................Kath Hunter
With Frances Barber as the voice of the app.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2017.

THURSDAY 12 DECEMBER 2024

THU 00:00 Archive on 4 (m000zv9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlgf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j622b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Winston (b007wvf0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 The Missing Hancocks (b06qht29)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (b06qkp8n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s2lr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mr4l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Counterpoint (b0375byt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Noel Coward (m0025vyn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlgr)
4. If Looks Could Kill
Private-eye Rosie Monaghan continues to investigate a murder.
But no-one else thinks one actually happened...
Starring Paula Wilcox.
Alan McDonald's thriller serial about a Merseyside mum turned private eye.
Rosie ...... Paula Wilcox
Margie ...... Elizabeth Estensen
Jerry ...... Christopher Bramwell
Bob ...... Dominic Grounsell
Carol ...... Helen Roberts
Andrew ...... Kim Wall
Mike ...... Steve Hodson
Martin ...... Paul Barber
Bill Jones ...... Dominic Letts
Helen Thackray ...... Rachel Atkins
James MacLeish ...... James Telfer
DS Murdoch ...... Gareth Armstrong
Music composed by Peter Howell.
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1993.
THU 06:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j6bh2)
Series 2
4. The Other Chic
Passions run high as detectives Trueman and Riley tackle an arson attack on a lingerie shop in Leeds.
Starring Robert Daws and Duncan Preston.
Brian B Thompson's ill-matched detective duo.
DI Trueman …... Robert Daws
DS Riley ..…. Duncan Preston
Rachel Hammond …... Melanie Kilburn
Colin Teague ..…. Philip Fox
Director: Toby Swift
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in March 2009.
THU 07:00 Coming Alive (b00h3ngz)
Series 2
Big Trouble
Terry is plagued by smugglers with big ideas - and Sandra has a stalker.
Starring Karl Howman and Phylis Logan.
Jim Eldridge's sitcom about ex-convict Terry King's efforts to run a community centre.
Terry King ...... Karl Howman
Sandra Gaines ...... Phyllis Logan
Steve Addison ...... Ben Crowe
Marlene …. Hetty Baynes
Andy Edwards …. Tom George
Annie …. Alison Pettitt
Producer: Marilyn Imrie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2000.
THU 07:30 Parsley Sidings (b01nrmxq)
Series 1
The Market Special
The railway station staff at Parsley Sidings go all out to boost falling passenger numbers.
Starring Arthur Lowe and Ian Lavender.
Jim Eldridge's eponymous series is set in a sleepy station
The Hepplewhites have run Parsley Sidings Station for generations and the current station master, Horace, hopes that his son Bert will continue the line. Mild-mannered ticket clerk, Bert, wants to work anywhere but on the railways. His colleague, station announcer, Gloria, Simpkins, secretly loves him.
Porter Percy Valentine is an archetypal wheeler-dealer and the ancient signalman, Bradshaw, causes havoc and dispenses home-made remedies in equal measure.
One stop down the line is the station master of Potwhistle Halt, Phineas Perkins - Parsley Sidings' nemesis!
Horace …. Arthur Lowe
Bert …. Ian Lavender
Percy …. Kenneth Connor
Gloria …. Liz Fraser
Ethel …. Elizabeth Morgan
Original announcements re-created by Keith Skues.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in December 1971.
THU 08:00 Bridget Christie: Mortal (m000vgj6)
Death
Continuing her look at Mortality, Bridget ponders 'Death'.
Like many of us forced to work from home during Covid lockdown, Bridget recorded this series herself in her house, and in her local park, on a pre-sanitised recording device sent to her in the post. Batteries weren’t included. She had to buy them all herself.
In a collection of informative, personal and absurd recordings, she confronts the difficult questions most of us spend our lives avoiding - all whilst being interrupted by cats, bad WiFi, life admin and her own dead self from beyond the grave.
If you are mortal, then this is the show for you.
Written and performed by Bridget Christie.
With guest appearances from her sister Eileen and her friend Ash.
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2021.
THU 08:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s2qg)
4. Opulence and Debt
John Preston’s compelling biography of the notorious business tycoon and newspaper owner.
In this episode, Maxwell’s success is uncontested, it’s the 1980s and the age of flash. But opulent parties and champagne business launches mask the cracks appearing in his empire’s finances.
The life story of the larger-than- life newspaper owner Robert Maxwell, takes us from his birth to his mysterious death at sea.
Maxwell remains an enigma. He was a hugely successful businessman who came from humble beginnings as an Orthodox Jew in Czechoslovakia, and whose father sold animal skins for a living. Maxwell became a British war-hero, decorated for his heroism, then a Labour MP, all the while amassing a huge fortune as the owner of publishing and newspaper businesses.
But when he fell from his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, in the middle of the night in 1991, another story was revealed - of debts and unscrupulous dealings. No-one had ever fallen so far and so quickly.
John Preston's gripping biography sets out to give the definitive account of Robert Maxwell's rise and fall and to explain why underneath this apparent model of society lay an amoral and bloated wreck.
Read by Henry Goodman.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
THU 08:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mqnf)
4. Division
When Christian missionaries arrive and proclaim that the Igbo Gods are false, Okonkwo is angered but his son Nwoye has a different view.
Chinua Achebe's powerful, moving tale of an Igbo community fighting to retain its identity, tradition and independence in the face of colonial rule.
Obierika ...... Cyril Nri
Rev Brown ...... Andonis Anthony
Nwoye ...... Michael Ajao
Mr Kiaga/Enoch ...... Sule Rimi
Okonkwo ...... Okezie Morro
Dramatised by Biyi Bandele.
Directed by Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2020.
THU 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m001zvj0)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
THU 09:30 A Cause for Caroling (b03kv1f3)
4. Carol Crisis? What Crisis?
In the fourth programme, Jeremy describes the impact of the Reformation and later Puritan attitudes to music in general and carols in particular. The development of the medieval carol may have been arrested, but there was never a serious threat to folk caroling and it wasn't long after the Commonwealth that carols, or rather one in particular, was back in church.
Series Description:
The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when singers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song.
But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music history because each shift in the story has been preserved in the carols that we sing today. Go to a concert now and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-Victorian and modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that happening in any other situation.
Jeremy Summerly follows the journey through the golden age of the medieval carol into the troubled period of Reformation and Puritanism, along the byways of the 17th and 18th century gallery musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol veer between the sacred and secular even before there was any understanding of those terms. For long periods the church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and texts. Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by the carols they hear from King's College, Cambridge.
He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, some of which survive to this day and many others which languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. It's a journey full of song describing the history of a people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this music.
That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for children - Once in Royal David's City the most familiar example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the uninhibited world of folk song and ballad.
The series' title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should choose to sing - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound'. It is an attempt to answer why carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on Christmas Eve: "Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally transmitted from father to son through several generations down to the present characters, who sang them out right earnestly."
Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service that commands a worldwide audience measured in many millions, but as Jeremy concludes, it has left an imbalance in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the choir stalls.
Producer: Tom Alban
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
THU 09:45 Daily Service (m0025vyq)
Candles: Faith from the Prophets - A Voice in the Wilderness
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Candles: Faith from the Prophets
Presenter: Sharon Grenham-Thompson
Reading: Isaiah 40
THU 10:00 Great Lives (m0001qvy)
Mark Steel on Charlie Chaplin
Mark Steel makes the case for Charlie Chaplin being one of the most radical comedians of his time.
He reckons it's sad that most see Chaplin as that bloke who wore a bowler hat, had a funny walk, waved a cane around and wasn’t even that funny. Mark argues that Charlie Chaplin’s silent films and his "Tramp" character make sense if you look at the upheavals in society that were occurring alongside his career.
Mark is best known for the Mark Steel Lectures and Mark Steel's in Town. He says that while Chaplin was standing up for the working class, the irony was that he became the richest rebel.
Presenter Matthew Parris is also joined by Simon Louvish - author of ‘Chaplin: The Tramps Odyssey’.
Producer: Perminder Khatkar
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day 2018.
THU 10:30 Latch-Key Kids (b00sg1hf)
Actress Jessica Hynes a latch-key kid from the age of six hears the stories of others over the generations who too had to let themselves in to an empty house after school. How has this shaped and influenced the way she and others bring up their children?
The term "latch- key kid" came to prominence during the Second World War when children as young as five years old were being left as their dads were away fighting and their mothers became part of the labour force. Sandra now a grandmother in her 70's, was along with her parents 'bombed out' of their home in Sheffield. They lost everything and her mum had to go out to work; throughout her entire school life Sandra was a latch-key kid. Later on in life when she too got married and had kids, she made a secret pact - she was going to be around for her kids but in doing so what were the consequences?
Decades later the term became synonymous with neglect and was dropped but the practice continues to this day. John Amaechi defends rigorously his upbringing - having to be responsible and independent made him into who he is today - his success and they way he has raised his own family mirrors his own experience.
But 80's child Lizzie who became a delinquent teenager says she was "at times overlooked"....brought up on Pot Noodles and stale things. She's opted for a different life for her two boys. Whose got it right ?
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2010.
THU 11:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlgr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 11:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j6bh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 12:00 Coming Alive (b00h3ngz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 12:30 Parsley Sidings (b01nrmxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 13:00 Bridget Christie: Mortal (m000vgj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 13:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s2qg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mqnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 14:00 Who Goes There? (b007v2sv)
Series 2
Episode 2
Martin Young chairs the quiz looking at lives of the noteworthy and notorious from the history books.
Tackling the biographical teasers are team captains Francis Wheen and Fred Housego.
With guests:
Claire Rayner
Roy Hattersley.
Producer: Aled Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1998.
THU 14:30 Noel Coward (m0025vys)
Design for Living
'The actual facts are so simple. I love you. You love me. You love Otto. I love Otto. Otto loves you. Otto loves me. There now! Start to unravel from there'.
An impossible love triangle is played out between designer Gilda, playwright Leo and painter Otto.
Noel Coward 's subversive comedy of sexual manners in which three people design a relationship which flouts society's rules.
It was first staged in New York on Broadway in 1932 due to concerns in regard to London's over-zealous stage censor.
Starring Anna Massey, John Rye and Martin Jarvis.
Adapted by Guy Vaesen
Gilda ....... Anna Massey
Otto ....... John Rye
Leo ....... Martin Jarvis
Ernest ....... John Rowe
Grace ....... Irene Sutcliffe
Henry ....... David Graham
Heten ....... Nicolette McKenzie
Director: Ian Cottrell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1976.
THU 16:00 Great Lives (m0001qvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:30 Latch-Key Kids (b00sg1hf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 17:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlgr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 17:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j6bh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 18:00 Coming Alive (b00h3ngz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:30 Parsley Sidings (b01nrmxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 19:00 Bridget Christie: Mortal (m000vgj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s2qg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 19:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mqnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 20:00 Who Goes There? (b007v2sv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
THU 20:30 Noel Coward (m0025vys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
THU 22:00 Unspeakable (m0025l2v)
Series 1
6. Meet Phal Wing and Sesie Dunt
Stephen Fry invents a surreptitious insult, Lucy Beaumont presents a word that describes a state between two extremes, and Sunil Patel encapsulates a feeling we've all had on a trip to a gallery.

Ever struggled to find the right word for a feeling or sensation? Unspeakable sees comedian Phil Wang and lexicographer Susie Dent invite celebrity guests to invent new linguistic creations, to solve those all-too-relatable moments when we're lost for words.

Hosts: Phil Wang and Susie Dent
Guests: Lucy Beaumont, Stephen Fry and Sunil Patel
Created by Joe Varley
Writer: Matt Crosby
Recorded by Jerry Peal
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producers: Joe Varley and Akash Lockmun

A Brown Bred production for BBC Radio 4
THU 22:30 Vent (b00t2crk)
Series 1
Switching Off
Ben's doctors wonder if lying in a coma might be making him depressed and they send in the hospital psychiatrist to see him. This has a surprising effect on Ben, Mary and Mum.
Meanwhile Ben's unconscious mind takes him back to his previous experience of therapy - having a row with Mary about their marriage guidance counsellor.
Starring Neil Pearson.
Nigel Smith's dark sitcom about a man in a coma, travelling through the distinctly odd landscape of his own unconscious mind.
Ben Smith ...... Neil Pearson
Mary ...... Fiona Allen
Mum ...... Josie Lawrence
Blitzkrieg ...... Leslie Ash
With:
Mark Perry
Dave Lamb
Jo Martin
Lucy Montgomery
Nicola Walker
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2006.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m002666p)
Chelsea Birkby 3/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Stephen Bailey chats to the writer and stand-up comedian, Chelsea Birkby.
THU 23:00 Children's Hour with Armstrong and Miller (b00933zr)
Episode 4
Martin Bain-Jones is left in the studio, while Craig Children's got a dubious new job.
Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong star as the pompous critics.
With:
Charlie Condou
Melissa Lloyd
Tony Gardner
Written by Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong.
Producer: Jon Rolph
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1998.
THU 23:30 Party (b01mwvkw)
Series 3
The Grundy
The prospective politicians visit Phoebe and 'The Grundy' in hospital.
Tom Basden's satirical comedy about a group of young idealists trying to make waves with their new political party.
Simon ...... Tom Basden
Duncan ...... Tim Key
Jared ...... Jonny Sweet
Mel ...... Anna Crilly
Phoebe ...... Katy Wix
Male Nurse ...... Jot Davies
Producer: Julia McKenzie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2012.

FRIDAY 13 DECEMBER 2024

FRI 00:00 Great Lives (m0001qvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Latch-Key Kids (b00sg1hf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlgr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j6bh2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Coming Alive (b00h3ngz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Parsley Sidings (b01nrmxq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Bridget Christie: Mortal (m000vgj6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s2qg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mqnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Who Goes There? (b007v2sv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 Noel Coward (m0025vys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlh0)
5. Count Your Blessings
Private-eye Rosie Monaghan is trying to solve her first case, but the demands of love, children and her bank manager are pressing in...
Starring Paula Wilcox.
Alan McDonald's thriller serial about a Merseyside mum turned private eye.
Rosie ...... Paula Wilcox
Margie ...... Elizabeth Estensen
Jerry ...... Christopher Bramwell
Bob ...... Dominic Grounsell
Carol ...... Helen Roberts
Andrew ...... Kim Wall
Mike ...... Steve Hodson
Martin ...... Paul Barber
Bill ...... Dominic Letts
Helen ...... Rachel Atkins
Old Woman ...... Diana Payan
Graham ...... David Thorpe
Music composed by Peter Howell.
Director: Tracey Neale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1993.
FRI 06:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j7p9f)
Series 2
5. Love Bytes
With a woman missing, Trueman and Riley are sucked into the virtual world of online role playing.
Starring Robert Daws and Duncan Preston.
Brian B Thompson's ill-matched detective duo.
DI Trueman …... Robert Daws
DS Riley ..…. Duncan Preston
Susan/Lucy Lovestar ..…. Rebecca Manley
Andy …... Matt Addis
Mr Thomas …... Malcolm Tierney
Geoff/Male Voice …... Stephen Critchlow
Male Voice …... Benjamin Askew
Male Voice ..…. Jonathan Tafler
Seductive Female Voice …... Lizzy Watts
Internet Café Owner ..…. Paul Rider
Director: Toby Swift
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in March 2009.
FRI 07:00 Up the Garden Path (b0081cjz)
Series 2
A Soft-Hearted Little Thing
More tangles in Izzy's love life, when she and Dick head to dinner with Charles.
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30 something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men.
Imelda Staunton stars as Izzy.
An 8-part radio sequel adapted from Sue Limb’s 1984 novel. The second of 3 series which ran from 1987 to 1993. Granada also adapted the series for ITV.
Izzy ...... Imelda Staunton
Dick ...... Mike Grady
Michael ...... Nicholas Le Prevost
Louise ...... Phyllida Nash
Aunt Vinny ...... Rosemary Martin
Charles ...... David Robb
Gwyn ...... Dafydd Hywel
Sooty ...... Zelah Clarke.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1988.
FRI 07:30 Doctor in the House (b007k4bc)
Our First Baby
Medic Simon Sparrow is thrown in the deep-end on St Swithins' ante-natal ward.
The misadventures of student doctor, Simon Sparrow.
Starring Richard Briers.
Adapted for radio by Ray Cooney from Richard Gordon's 'Doctor in the House' published in 1952.
Simon Sparrow …. Richard Briers
Sir Lancelot Spratt …. Geoffrey Sumner
Tony Benskin …. Ray Cooney
Taffy Evans …. Edward Cast
Vera …. Norma Ronald
Mrs Stevens …. Gwendolyn Watts
Sister/Granny …. Beth Boyd
Porter/Padre …. Brian Haines
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1968.
FRI 08:00 The Train at Platform 4 (m001394s)
Series 1
Cat
Comedy legends Punt and Dennis with their sitcom, set in the claustrophobic carriages of a cross-country rail service.
It's Friday night and everyone's looking forward to their weekend plans.
But the journey home is struck with disaster when a celebrity cat goes missing on the train - Artemis Montmorency Wolfhandle the Third is potentially the new face of Kitty Krunch Cat Food but is set to miss a crucial audition if the train crew can't track her down.
Meanwhile, Dev's plans for a hot date are thrown into turmoil when he learns the bitter truth about his receding hairline.
Our heroes are the long-suffering train crew who manage to scrape through every shift like a dysfunctional family.
Sam …... Rosie Cavaliero
Gilbert ..…. Kenneth Collard
Dev …... Ali Shahalom
Tasha …... Amy Gledhill
Cat Lady ...... Freya Parker
American ...... Hugh Dennis
Passenger ...... Steve Punt
Written by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis
Produced by James Robinson
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2022.
FRI 08:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s3r2)
5. Maxwell's Disappearance
John Preston’s jaw-dropping biography of the notorious business tycoon.
In this episode, Maxwell is at sea. His reputation and business empire are in peril.
The life story of the larger-than- life newspaper owner Robert Maxwell, takes us from his birth to his mysterious death at sea.
Maxwell remains an enigma. He was a hugely successful businessman who came from humble beginnings as an Orthodox Jew in Czechoslovakia, and whose father sold animal skins for a living. Maxwell became a British war-hero, decorated for his heroism, then a Labour MP, all the while amassing a huge fortune as the owner of publishing and newspaper businesses.
But when he fell from his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, in the middle of the night in 1991, another story was revealed - of debts and unscrupulous dealings. No-one had ever fallen so far and so quickly.
John Preston's gripping biography sets out to give the definitive account of Robert Maxwell's rise and fall and to explain why underneath this apparent model of society lay an amoral and bloated wreck.
Read by Henry Goodman.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
FRI 08:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mrzm)
5. Fight for Independence
As the Christian Missionaries and the British Colonial Officers take ever stronger control over Umuofia will Okonkwo be able to persuade his fellow clan members to fight for their independence?
The tragic concluding episode of Chinua Achebe’s, powerful tale of an Igbo community fighting to retain its identity, tradition and independence in the face of colonial rule.
Okonkwo ...... Okezie Morro
Obierika ...... Cyril Nri
Ajofia/Head Messenger ...... Sule Rimi
Rev Brown/District Commissioner ...... Andonis Anthony
Nwoye/Interpreter ...... Michael Ajao
Ekwueme ...... Richard Pepple
Dramatised by Biyi Bandele.
Directed by Nadia Molinari.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2020.
FRI 09:00 Yesterday in Parliament (m002037r)
The latest news from Westminster - and beyond.
FRI 09:30 A Cause for Caroling (b03kvby7)
5. The Ghosts of the West Gallery
Jeremy Summerly visits Dorchester where Thomas Hardy captured the caroling tradition that had matured through the 17th and 18th century, but which faced extinction in the 19th.
The West Gallery tradition of musicians and singers in parish churches was an integral part of community life in Hardy's Wessex as elsewhere. Jeremy explains the origins of that tradition and the fuguing carols so beloved at the time and why their days were numbered. Along with folk musician Tim Laycock, he gets to see the carol manuscripts from which Hardy's great grandfather played and sang on Christmas night in 1800.
Series Description:
Series Description:
The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when singers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song.
But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music history because each shift in the story has been preserved in the carols that we sing today. Go to a concert now and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-Victorian and modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that happening in any other situation.
Jeremy Summerly follows the journey through the golden age of the medieval carol into the troubled period of Reformation and Puritanism, along the byways of the 17th and 18th century gallery musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol veer between the sacred and secular even before there was any understanding of those terms. For long periods the church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and texts. Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by the carols they hear from King's College, Cambridge.
He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, some of which survive to this day and many others which languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. It's a journey full of song describing the history of a people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this music.
That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for children - Once in Royal David's City the most familiar example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the uninhibited world of folk song and ballad.
The series' title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should choose to sing - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound'. It is an attempt to answer why carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on Christmas Eve: "Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally transmitted from father to son through several generations down to the present characters, who sang them out right earnestly."
Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service that commands a worldwide audience measured in many millions, but as Jeremy concludes, it has left an imbalance in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the choir stalls.
Producer: Tom Alban
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
FRI 09:45 Daily Service (m0025w4h)
Candles: Faith from the Prophets - throne established
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Candles: Faith from the Prophets - throne established
Presenter: Sarah Bradley
Reading: 2 Samuel 7: 12-16
Music:
Of the Father's heart begotten - Winchester Cathedral Choir
Beauty for brokenness - Graham Kendrick
Long ago, prophets knew - St Martin's Voices
FRI 10:00 Soul Music (b07x2zd2)
Series 23
A Change Is Gonna Come, by Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come has become synonymous with the American Civil Rights Movement.
It was released in December 1964, two weeks after the influential singer was shot dead in Los Angeles.
Contributors include: Sam Cooke's brother LC, singer Bettye Lavette who sang it for Barack Obama at his inaugural ceremony and civil rights activists from the Freedom Summer of 64, Jennifer Lawson and Mary King.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2016.
FRI 10:30 Thelma & Michael: Love In The Cutting Room (b07z6w01)
Nicholas Wapshott tells the story of how film director Martin Scorsese unwittingly acted as cupid in one of cinema's greatest love stories.
While working on Raging Bull in 1980, Scorsese introduced his American film editor Thelma Schoonmaker to his boyhood hero, the celebrated British director Michael Powell. Despite their 35 year age difference - Powell was 75 - the two fell in love and were married until Powell's death in 1994.
In this programme, Martin Scorsese assesses Powell's work on classic movies like The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp and The Red Shoes, and recalls introducing him to his long time cutting room colleague.
Using clips from some of his best known films and tributes from academics and critics, Nicholas Wapshott puts Michael Powell's heritage in perspective and, in exclusive interviews with Scorsese and Schoonmaker, explores the brilliance of the two lovers and how their unlikely relationship developed in the cutting room.
A Trevor Dann's Company production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 1994.
FRI 11:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 11:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j7p9f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 12:00 Up the Garden Path (b0081cjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Doctor in the House (b007k4bc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 13:00 The Train at Platform 4 (m001394s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s3r2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mrzm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 14:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m00146ph)
Series 27
Episode 5
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies.
They compete against one another to see how many items of truth they're able to smuggle past their opponents.
The panellists are obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as cars, Coca-Cola, donkeys and tomatoes.
With:
Pippa Evans
Geoff Norcott
Fern Brady
Simon Evans
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2022.
FRI 14:30 Noel Coward (m0025w4k)
Brief Encounter
"If only it were someone else's story and not mine. As it is you are the only one in the world I can never tell - never - never."
Alec and Laura are both married to other people.
After meeting, they fall passionately in love but find the constraints of decent behaviour an insurmountable obstacle to their love.
Starring Cheryl Campbell and Ian Holm.
Noel Coward's romantic film drama was released in 1945.
Adapted by Walter Hall.
Laura .... Cheryl Campbell
Alec .... Ian Holm
Albert .... Walter Hall
Myrtle .... Shirley Dixon
Beryl .... Rosalind Adams
Dolly .... Miranda Forbes
Fred .... Stephen Thorne
With;
Ray Browne
David Gooderson
Madi Hedd
Crawford Logan
Jean Trend
Director: Dickon Reed
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in October 1982
FRI 15:30 All the Young Dudes (b007s74l)
Series 1
Waterloo Sunset
It's the end of the line for Patrick, but Joe and Maria might, just might, have some good news for everyone.
The lives of Patrick and wife Helen as they settle back into the town where he was born.
Comedy drama written by and starring Jim Sweeney.
Patrick …. Jim Sweeney
Helen …. Cathryn Harrison
Billy …. Steve Steen
Moira …. Sadie Shimmin
Joe …. Stephen Frost
Maria …. Flaminia Cinque
Mrs Fleming ...... Jenny Lee
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2001.
FRI 16:00 Soul Music (b07x2zd2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Thelma & Michael: Love In The Cutting Room (b07z6w01)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Unofficial Rosie (b007jlh0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Trueman and Riley (b00j7p9f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Up the Garden Path (b0081cjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 18:30 Doctor in the House (b007k4bc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 19:00 The Train at Platform 4 (m001394s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell by John Preston (m000s3r2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 19:45 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (m000mrzm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 20:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m00146ph)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
FRI 20:30 Noel Coward (m0025w4k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
FRI 21:30 All the Young Dudes (b007s74l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:30 today]
FRI 22:00 Wing It (m0025ssb)
Series 1
The Cow Who Flew Through The Moon
"No Script. No Prep. No Clue."
Alasdair Beckett-King plays host to a panel of improv comedy all stars in this new spontaneous series, full of ridiculous challenges & completely made up games.
Presented by Alasdair Beckett-King.
Starring Cariad Lloyd, Steen Raskopoulos, Alexander Jeremy, and Emma Sidi.
Devised by Shoot From The Hip
Producer: Sam Holmes
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Co-ordinator: Becky Carewe-Jeffries
Sound Editor: Joe Bayley
A BBC Studios Audio Production
FRI 22:30 Mark Steel's in Town (b00rtbyy)
Series 2
Dartford
Comedian Mark Steel returns to visit six more UK towns to discover what makes them and their inhabitants distinctive.
He creates a bespoke stand-up show for each town and performs the show in front of a local audience.
As well as shedding light on the less visited areas of Britain, Mark uncovers stories and experiences that resonate with us all as we recognise the quirkiness of the British way of life and the rich tapestry of remarkable events and people who have shaped where we live.
For starters, Mark performs a show for the residents of Dartford in Kent.
He's discussing the peasants' revolt, gypsy tart, Mick Jagger and what one resident calls the Road To Hell.
Written by Mark Steel
With additional material by Pete Sinclair.
Producer: Julia McKenzie.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2010.
FRI 23:00 Clayton Grange (b01n11xj)
Series 1
Episode 2
The team of brilliantly stupid scientists attempt to solve the global fuel crisis. With a hamster.
This is Clayton Grange, top secret Scientific Institute with a government brief to solve the global fuel crisis, cheer people up and make war just a bit more gentle. Meet the scientists who are a bit rubbish at life. And not much better at science.
Comedy by Neil Warhurst with extra material by Paul Barnhill.
Saunders ..... Anthony Head
Geoff ..... Neil Warhurst
Roger ..... Paul Barnhill
Jameson ..... Stephanie Racine
Helen/Lionel ..... Don Gilet
Alan Dobson ..... Paul Stonehouse
Director: Sally Avens
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2012.
FRI 23:30 Sean Lock - 15 Storeys High (b09j3dct)
Series 1
The Dead Swan
Sean's bad-tempered, reckless past catches up with him in the shape of a dead swan.
He's still hiding in Flat 76, Elderberry House, Maydew Estate, failing to keep the world at bay.
Starring Sean Lock
Written by Sean Lock and Martin Trenaman.
With:
Tim Mitchell
Tracy-Ann Oberman
Peter Serafinowicz
Martin Trenaman.
Script Editor: Robert Fraser-Steele
Producer: Chris Neill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1999.