SATURDAY 05 APRIL 2025

SAT 00:00 Soul Music (m000253j)
Series 27
Let the River Run
The story of how a song from a classic 1980’s movie became an inspirational anthem for a 21st Century generation.
Carly Simon’s ‘Let the River Run’ was originally conceived as the title track for the 1988 movie ‘Working Girl. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song. It also went on to win the affection of people around the world.
Initially thought of as a ‘hymn for New York’, ‘Let the River Run’ encapsulates the spirit of striving for a better life.
As Carly Simon puts it herself, “I wanted it to be large, I wanted it to be vast – it’s about bringing forth a common desire into the world”.
In more recent years it has become an anthem for Woman's Rights Movements and global initiatives aimed at making a better life for all.
Featuring interviews with:
* Carly Simon
* Ginny Suss - music producer and part of the team who organised the Women’s March on Washington
* Elisabet Barnes - Ultra Marathon Runner
* Nina Ritzen
Music from The Resistance Revival Chorus.
Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.
Producer: Nicola Humphries
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2019.
SAT 00:30 The Shapes of Things: BB Remembered (b00v71w4)
Kate Best looks back at the life and work of 'BB' - the pen-name of the writer and illustrator Denys Wakins-Pitchford.
He's best known for his children's books which include a much-loved classic, The Little Grey Men.
BB also wrote prolifically about the countryside, documenting the wildlife which was his lifelong obsession.
Kate visits some of his Northamptonshire haunts and talks to those who knew him.
Fans including, Ian McMillan and Philip Ardagh, explain his lasting appeal.
With readings by Sir Derek Jacobi.
Producer: Thomas Morris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2010.
SAT 01:00 Whodunnits (b0109byt)
Hercule Poirot - Peril at End House
Episode 5
Hercule Poirot summons everyone to End House.
Can the Belgian sleuth finally unmask the murderer?
Conclusion of Agatha Christie's whodunnit.
Starring John Moffatt.
Dramatised by Michael Bakewell.
Hercule Poirot …. John Moffatt
Captain Hastings …. Simon Williams
Frederica Rice …. Suzanna Hamilton
George Challenger …. Andrew Wincott
Nick Buckley …. Gemma Saunders
Mr Croft …. Terence Edmond
Mrs Croft …. Richenda Carey
Charles Vyse …. Stephen Critchlow
Chief Inspector Japp …. Bryan Pringle
Jimmy Lazarus …. Sean Arnold
Director: Enyd Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2000.
SAT 01:30 Paul Temple (b037j7m0)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair
5. Virginia van Cleeve
A sinister shop in the London's East End may hold a vital clue for Paul Temple.
Another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest sleuth and his glamorous wife.
Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson stars in Francis Durbridge's rebooted 1946 mystery thriller.
The original series wasn't saved in the BBC archive and scripts for episodes 1, 2 and 6 were lost.
Luckily our colleague in Norwegian radio discovered a complete set of scripts in Oslo!
So using the original incidental music, sound effects and vintage microphones - all ten parts of Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair have been recreated.
Paul Temple …. Crawford Logan
Steve …. Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes …. Gareth Thomas
Inspector Vosper …. Michael MacKenzie
Sir Donald …. Simon Donaldson
Zola …. Greg Powrie
Peter Davos …. Richard Greenwood
Kay Wiseman …. Meg Fraser
Virginia van Cleeve …. Francesca Dymond
Miss Marcia …. Eliza Langland
Lanny Knight …. Nick Underwood
Producer: Patrick Rayner
Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.
Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
SAT 02:00 Bodgers, Banks and Sparkes (m0029hvd)
The Theme is No Theme
The sketch show comedy gang have no theme to poke fun at!
From the team that would go on to create the celebrated late 80s Channel 4 TV comedy, Absolutely.
Starring The Bodgers:
Moray Hunter
Johnny NoName
Gordon Kennedy
Peter Baike
Morwenna Banks
John Sparkes
Music by Pete Baikie and The Jim Baikie Big Band.
Written by Moray Hunter and John Docherty with Morwenna Banks and John Sparkes.
Producer: Alan Nixon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1986.
SAT 02:30 The Ken Dodd Show (m0029hvg)
From 12/06/1966
The King of Knotty Ash is joined by Dave Berry & The Cruisers singing ‘If You Wait For Love’
Starring Ken Dodd.
Recovered episode back in the BBC archive.
One-liners and sketch show comedy - including Andy Mann’s DIY section.
With:
John Laurie
Patricia Hayes
Graham Stark
Judith Chalmers
Music from Dave Berry & The Cruisers.
BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Lockyer
Written by Ken Dodd and Eddie Braben.
Producer: Bill Worsley
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in June 1966.
SAT 03:00 Michael Frayn's Magic Mobile (m000j2rl)
Episode 1
Michael Frayn’s comic universe at the touch of a button.
The glittering cast includes:
David Suchet
Susannah Fielding
Joanna Lumley
Alfred Molina
Adam Godley
Jared Harris
Martin Jarvis
Roger Allam
"The electronic device so simple even an adult can use it." Half-an-hour of monologues and dialogues, brought to you by the makers of Matchbox Theatre and Pocket Playhouse.
Ever imagined God being interviewed on Desert Island Discs? Or worrying about his image? How does the pharmaceutical industry name its newest drugs? Could shopping for teabags become a political decision? Might Shakespeare be considered an adequate co-writer?
It's all here, and more, in Michael Frayn’s magical entertainment system. No passwords needed to enter.
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2020.
SAT 03:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (m000phx2)
5. Defending Saint-Domingue
Napoleon Bonaparte and Toussaint Louverture engage in a fierce battle of both wit and force over Saint-Domingue.
After three months of fighting, Toussaint seeks to negotiate a truce, but the French know he has to be removed.
Toussaint is arrested and embarks on his first sea voyage - one-way - to France.
'By striking me you have cut the tree of black liberty in Saint-Domingue. But it will spring back up from its roots for they are many and deep.'
Written by Sudhir Hazareesingh
Abridged by Libby Spurrier
Concluded by Adrian Lester
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2020.
SAT 03:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyc)
15. Court
Becky is delighted to be presented at court - but Rawdon Crawley is unhappy.
Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.
Written by William Makepeace Thackeray
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt
Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Lady Jane …. Jemma Churchill
Miss Briggs .... Kate Buffery
Rawdon Crawley …. Ray Coulthard
Pitt .... Jon Glover
Lord Steyne …. David Calder
Director Marc Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2004.
SAT 04:00 The Motion Show (b0075wtm)
Series 2
Episode 3
This House hates to cook, would marry into royalty and believes your elders know best.
Dr Phil Hammond watches over proceedings in the quirky debating game.
With:
Tony Hawks
Simon Fanshawe
Steve Punt
Arthur Smith
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
SAT 04:30 Hidden Treasures (m0029hvl)
And a Little Love Besides by Alan Plater
An 'unfortunate physical incident' takes place in Reverend Carter's parish.
One of his parishioners is accused of inappropriate behaviour.
The vicar's unorthodox reaction to this sets some of his flock firmly against him...
Starring Michael Jayston and Malcolm Hebden.
Written by Alan Plater.
Reverend Carter ........ Michael Jayston
Briggs ........ Malcolm Hebden
Amy ........ Annette Robertson
Mitchell ........ Stephen Hancock
Hennessy ........ Roger Rowland
Mrs Hennessy ........ Jean Rimmer
Mrs Carter ........ Lynda Marchal
Linda ........ Sue Jenkins
First performed on stage in Hull in 1970.
Directed at BBC Manchester by Caroline Smith.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1980.
********
'And a Little Love Besides’ is part of BBC Radio 4 Extra's Hidden Treasures collection of selected titles returned to the BBC by various collectors.
Our warm thanks go to the Radio Circle.
SAT 06:00 Blood and Ice by Liz Lochhead (b00y8vw6)
In 1816, Mary Wollstonecraft eloped with her lover Percy Shelley to the shores of Lake Geneva.
They moved into a villa close to Lord Byron and turned their hands to writing ghostly tales.
Starring Gerda Stevenson, Stephen Boxer, Jack Klaff and Stella Gonet.
A tale of the creation of Frankenstein written by Liz Lochhead.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley …. Gerda Stevenson
Percy Bysshe Shelley …. Stephen Boxer
Lord Byron …. Jack Klaff
Claire Clairmont …. Stella Gonet
Elise …. Tilly Vosburgh
The Creature …. Peter Kelly
Music composed and played by Robert Pettigrew.
Director: Marilyn Imrie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1990.
SAT 07:30 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Omnibus) (m0029nrj)
Episode 2
In peaceful Coopers Chase, a luxury retirement village in the Kentish Weald, four residents meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders.
Highly accomplished in their pre-retirement professions - psychiatrist, nurse, political firebrand and, probably, international spy - they are eminently qualified for the job.
But when a brutal killing takes place on their doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club found themselves in the middle of their first live case.
Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing 80 but they still run rings round the local police.
However the foursome now have not one, but two murders to investigate..!
Conclusion of Richard Osman’s compelling, funny and endearing crime thriller.
Omnibus of the last five of ten part abridged by Sara Davies.
Read by Haydn Gwynne.
Music by Tom Constantine.
Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2021.
SAT 08:45 Beryl Reid in Conversation (m0007cb0)
Early Years
Beryl Reid recalls her early days working in music hall, starting with her first uncertain steps as a variety entertainer.
The first of a six-part series in which Beryl recalls her remarkable life and career.
In conversation with her old friend and fellow actress, Siân Phillips.
Producer: Jon Naismith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in June 1992.
SAT 09:00 Mind Your Own Business! (b009mbdc)
The Big Bang
Jimmy is suspicious when Farrow and Sue stay in their office till late every evening.
Is it devotion to duty? Or just a bit of overtime?
Starring Bernard Cribbins and Frank Thornton.
Andrew Palmer's sitcom about the battles of whizz kid tycoon Jimmy Bright.
Jimmy Bright ...... Bernard Cribbins
Russell Farrow ...... Frank Thornton
Nan Forbes ...... Annette Crosbie
Sue Plant ...... Annee Blott
Bacon/Jacko ...... John Kane
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1988.
SAT 09:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001k9d)
From 4/6/1959
Kenneth Horne in a Greenland version of The Archers and ‘Hornerama’ looks at summer.
A madcap mix of sketches and songs written by Eric Merriman and Barry Took
Starring:
Kenneth Horne
Kenneth Williams
Hugh Paddick
Betty Marsden
Bill Pertwee
Music from Pat Lancaster, the Fraser Hayes Four and the BBC Variety 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 15 shows survive from the original run of 21 episodes in Series 2. Audio restored using both home and overseas (BBC Transcription Service) recordings.
Producer: Jacques Brown
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in June 1959.
SAT 10:00 Writing... The Midlands (m000rn00)
1. Jonathan Coe and Lee Child
Crime Writer Mark Billingham was born in The Midlands of England.
In the first of three programmes, he returns to the region that made him a writer to celebrate its literature both past and present.
Along the way Mark meets some of The Midlands’ finest writing talent and browses the BBC archives.
Featuring:
* THE ROTTERS' CLUB [12/11/2003] BBC Radio 4
* IN THE STUDIO: LEE CHILD [31/10/2017] BBC World Service
Producer: Jessica Treen
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in December 2019.
SAT 11:00 Blood and Ice by Liz Lochhead (b00y8vw6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 12:30 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Omnibus) (m0029nrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 13:45 Beryl Reid in Conversation (m0007cb0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 14:00 Mind Your Own Business! (b009mbdc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 14:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001k9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 15:00 Writing... The Midlands (m000rn00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Doctor Who (m001g9x3)
The War Doctor
2. The Thousand Worlds
With the high-ranking Time Lord Seratrix behind enemy lines, the War Doctor finds himself assigned to a rescue mission.
But any room for manoeuvre is severely restricted by an area of space known as the Null Zone.
Times have changed on Keska, and a countdown to destruction is beginning.
But who are the Taalyens and what is their part in the great and terrifying Dalek plan?
John Hurt stars as The War Doctor.
The War Doctor …. John Hurt
Cardinal Ollistra …. Jacqueline Pearce
Rejoice …. Lucy Briggs-Owen
Garv …. John Bank
Velkin …. Beth Chalmers
Arverton …. Barnaby Edwards
Bennus …. Kieran Hodgson
The Slave …. Carolyn Seymour
Seratrix …. Alex Wyndham
The Daleks .... Nicholas Briggs
Original music written by Howard Carter.
Artwork by Tom Webster.
Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs.
A Big Finish production.
SAT 17:00 Blood and Ice by Liz Lochhead (b00y8vw6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 18:30 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Omnibus) (m0029nrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 19:45 Beryl Reid in Conversation (m0007cb0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 20:00 Mind Your Own Business! (b009mbdc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 20:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001k9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 21:00 Writing... The Midlands (m000rn00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 22:00 The Tim Vine Chat Show (b09794s8)
Series 2
North Berwick
Tim Vine has been travelling the length and breadth of this fair land to uncover the best stories of the Great British public.
As well as taking every possible opportunity to tell a ridiculous joke and sing a preposterous song along the way.
Tim parks his Chat Show wagon in Scotland at the St Andrew Blackadder church in North Berwick.
A pie-seller and a man undergoing some unusual physiotherapy provide the entertainment and Tim leads a maritime sing-a-long.
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2017.
SAT 22:30 Start/Stop (b03c46ts)
Series 1
6. Lunch
Three couples sail off into the sunset. And sink.
Jack Docherty’s sitcom about love, marriage and despair.
With their marriages in various states of disrepair - a lunch invitation looks like it might change everything.
Starring:
Couple 1:
Barney ...... Jack Docherty
Cathy ...... Kerry Godliman
Couple 2:
Evan ...... John Thomson
Fiona ...... Fiona Allen
Couple 3:
David ...... Charlie Higson
Alice ...... Katherine Parkinson
Producer: Steven Canny
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2013.
SAT 23:00 The Celebrity Voicemail Show (b06d8ssx)
Series 1
Paul Hollywood
Kayvan Novak imagines what it might be like to hear the answerphone messages of the rich and famous.
This time, we listen into the voicemail of The Great British Bake Off's Paul Hollywood.
An entirely fictitious comedy show written, improvised and starring Kayvan Novak.
Producer: Matt Stronge
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2015.
SAT 23:15 Armstrong and Miller (b00t3vjx)
Episode 2
Battles recreated, and National Trousers Day.
Sketches and songs with Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong in their first series for radio.
With:
Samuel West
Tony Gardiner
Written by Ben Miller, Alexander Armstrong and Tony Gardiner.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1998.
SAT 23:30 The Simon Day Show (b01k2bw9)
Series 2
Mick Cunningham
Simon Day and his characters welcome you back to The Mallard, a small provincial theatre somewhere in the UK.
Each week one of Simon's comic characters come to perform, while the staff struggle with rivalries, self-doubt and the new owner's vision for the theatre's future.
This time, Australian celebrity chef, Mick Cunningham arrives labouring under the misapprehension that he'll be filming a TV show.
Written by Simon Day.
Mick Cunningham …. Simon Day
Emanuel Akinyemi …. Felix Dexter
Pat Bennet .... Morwenna Banks
Ron Bone / Wozak .... Simon Greenall
Rene .... Janine Duvitski
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.

SUNDAY 06 APRIL 2025

SUN 00:00 Doctor Who (m001g9x3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Blood and Ice by Liz Lochhead (b00y8vw6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:30 The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (Omnibus) (m0029nrj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 03:45 Beryl Reid in Conversation (m0007cb0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Mind Your Own Business! (b009mbdc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 Beyond Our Ken (m0001k9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 Writing... The Midlands (m000rn00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0029nzv)
Chefs and Cooks 2
Gordon Ramsay
Chef Gordon Ramsay is castaway by Sue Lawley.
The only British chef in the country to have three Michelin stars, at his eponymous restaurant in London.
He has recently become 'chef Patron' (head chef) at the restaurant at Claridges, owns two more restaurants, Pétrus in London and Amaryllis in Glasgow and is the author of four books.
Gordon chats to Sue about his life and work and chooses eight records to take to the mythical island.
DISC ONE: Yellow by Coldplay
DISC TWO: Kids in America by Kim Wilde
DISC THREE: Sunday Girl by Blondie
DISC FOUR: Simply the Best by Tina Turner
DISC FIVE: Careless Whisper by George Michael
DISC SIX: (Everything I do) I Do it For You by Bryan Adams
DISC SEVEN: Sex Bomb by Tom Jones & Mousse T.
DISC EIGHT: Sing by Travis
Favourite track: Yellow by Coldplay
Book: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Luxury: A fresh vanilla pod
Producer: Miranda Birch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2002.
SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00lt16w)
Series 1
Salamander
Sir David's first pet was a fire salamander, given to him by his father on his 8th birthday.
He also gave his own son a salamander on his 8th birthday, the legacy of which is very much alive and kicking today.
Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.
SUN 07:00 Poetry Extra (m0029nzy)
Ted Hughes, Lavinia Greenlaw and Kathleen Jamie
Poet Daljit Nagra selects two programmes from the BBC archives::
* Meet My Folks with Ted Hughes
* Three Score And Ten - Lavinia Greenlaw and Kathleen Jamie
Listening & Writing – Meet My Folks
Ted Hughes explains how his verse about his family came to be written. Featuring:
My Brother Bert
My Uncle Dan
My Grandmother
My Grandfather
My Mother
Written and presented by Ted Hughes.
Producer: Sam Langdon
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in March 1965.
Three Score And Ten - Lavinia Greenlaw and Kathleen Jamie
Ian McMillan presents Lavinia Greenlaw reading her then unpublished poem “Akhmatova in Lambertville” from a Young Poet's programme in 1996. A title which changed
before publishing to “Reading Akhmatova in Midwinter”.
Followed by Kathleen Jamie reading “Ultrasound”.
Producer: Sharon Sephton
First broadcast as part of Radio 3's series Three Score and Ten from 2016.
SUN 07:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (Omnibus) (m0029p00)
A gripping biography of the leader of the slave revolt which sparked the independence of Haiti.
Toussaint Louverture summed up the inhumanity of slavery in its systematic tendency:
‘to tear away the son from his mother, the brother from his sister, the father from his son’.
Sudhir Hazareesingh looks at what little is known of Toussaint's early life, his progress to coachman and his education by the Jesuits.
As an intelligent man who could read, it is likely he was key in shaping the strategy of the slave uprising in 1791.
But he was also a man of mystery and very little is documented about his life. He spread misinformation about himself and had a complex extended family with possibly 16 children.
Toussaint was a tactical leader and, after the uprising, he took time to consolidate his military position and as a rebel leader declared;
‘I was the first to favour a cause that I have always upheld ...what we have begun, I will finish’.
Written by Sudhir Hazareesingh
Omnibus of five parts abridged by Libby Spurrier.
Read by Adrian Lester.
Producer: Celia de Wolff
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2020.
SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0029p02)
DJ Spoony
BBC Radio 2 presenter DJ Spoony chooses ‘Time is the Master’ by John Holt and ‘Gabriel’ by Roy Davis Jr.
SUN 08:50 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Omnibus) (b008qpww)
Episode 3
Orphan Becky Sharp's ambitious pursuit of riches goes from strength to strength
Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.
Written by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Omnibus of episodes 11 to 15 of twenty.
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt
Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Amelia …. Katy Cavanagh
Miss Briggs .... Kate Buffery
William Dobbin .... Tom Smith
Miss Crawley ..... Margaret Tyzack
Pitt .... Jon Glover
John Osborne .... Geoffrey Whitehead
Hester …. Helen Longworth
Sir Pitt Crawley .... Trevor Peacock
Lord Steyne …. David Calder
Lady Jane …. Jemma Churchill
Rawdon Crawley …. Ray Coulthard
Maria …. Alice Hart
Mr Sedley …. Ian Masters
Georgy …. Harry Francis
Director Claire Grove
First broadcast on Radio 4 in September 2004.
SUN 10:00 Just Fancy (m0029p04)
From 30/11/1956
A brush with the law and 80 is a dangerous age for love affairs.
Series of gently humorous sketches written by and starring Eric Barker.
With:
Eric’s wife - Pearl Hackney
Deryck Guyler
Charlotte Mitchell
Kenneth Connor
Music directed by Peter Akister.
Just Fancy ran for 11 years.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1956.
SUN 10:30 Take It From Here (b012lj1y)
From 25/02/1954
Dick is homesick for Australia and Eth dithers over her wedding dress in 'The Glums'.
Long-running classic comedy written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Starring:
Professor Jimmy Edwards
Dick Bentley
June Whitfield
Alma Cogan
Wallas Eaton
Herbert Mostyn – a bit-part persona adopted, when necessary, by both Frank and Denis.
Music from The Keynotes and the Augmented BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in February 1954.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0029nzv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00lt16w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m0029nzy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 12:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (Omnibus) (m0029p00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0029p02)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 13:50 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Omnibus) (b008qpww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 15:00 Just Fancy (m0029p04)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 15:30 Take It From Here (b012lj1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 16:00 Your Perfect Summer, On Sale Here by Ed Harris (b0bgpcrd)
What will happen when virtual reality games can deliver real love?
Theo has been booked to give 24 hour care to a gamer who's in an elective coma.
The new immersive game he's playing simulates your first love affair.
But is it a simulation?
Not to Theo...
Starring Ben Tavassoli, Oliver Chris and Claudie Blakley.
Ed Harris's twisted romance.
Theo ..... Ben Tavassoli
Saskia ..... Claudie Blakley
Paul ..... Oliver Chris
Sophie ..... Scarlett Brookes
Theresa ..... Adie Allen
Game ..... Nicola Ferguson
Human ..... Nick Underwood
Director: Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2016.
SUN 16:45 The Keepers by Matt Haig (b047d0wn)
Matt Haig's vision in which a man wonders from his cage in a zoo what it means to be human.
In a letter to his daughter, he describes the events leading up to the moment humankind's supremacy came to an end.
Matt Haig's short story is read by Barnaby Kay
Producer: Gemma Jenkins
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2014.
*** Matt Haig is the bestselling author of titles including The Humans, A Boy Called Christmas and How To Stay Alive.
SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0029nzv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00lt16w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m0029nzy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 18:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (Omnibus) (m0029p00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0029p02)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 19:50 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Omnibus) (b008qpww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 21:00 Just Fancy (m0029p04)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:30 Take It From Here (b012lj1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 22:00 Sara Pascoe: The Modern Monkey (b09ry6k4)
Series 1
Murder
Sara Pascoe sets out to explore our modern social world though theories of Evolutionary Psychology and more.
How does our monkey past influence our modern lives?
How come we can still get emotionally hijacked by our primitive emotions?
Murder fascinates and intrigues as much as it repels us.
Happily the human animal is much more of a pacifist than lots of our other mammal relations, including meerkats (the adverts have lied to us). But even the most patient among us has probably been driven to murderous thoughts on occasion, especially when your sister steals your clothes.
From sibling rivalry, to pair bonding this is an informative and hilarious look at one of the darker aspects of human behaviour.
Written by and starring Sara Pascoe.
Recorded on location at The RAF Museum, Colindale
Producer: Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2018.
SUN 22:30 Colin Hoult's Carnival of Monsters (b0375b3z)
Series 1
Episode 3
Master character comedian Colin Hoult presents a bizarre and hilarious world of sketches, stories and characters.
Introduced by the sinister Ringmaster.
Meet such monstrous yet strangely familiar oddities as:
* Thwor - the mighty (but Leeds-based) god of Thwunder
* Andy Parker - Nottingham-born martial arts and transformers enthusiast
* Anna Mann - outrageous star of forgotten silver screen hits like 'Rogue Baker', 'Who's For Turkish Delight' and 'A Bowl For My Bottom'.
Producer:: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
SUN 23:00 Mark Watson's Live Address to the Nation (b017x0wb)
Goodwill
Mark Watson concludes his quest to improve the world.
As broadcast live in December 2011 - he invites the audience join in via tweets and messages to work out how we can all make the world a better place.
He's nimbly assisted by:
Tim Key
Tom Basden.
This time Mark looks at "Goodwill".
Quite a few years ago Matt Damon and Robin Williams went Good Will Hunting. Now Mark and co finish the job by finding it, as the final show takes on a festive aspect.
What is goodwill?
How we can incorporate it into our lives?
Is it better than ill-will? (SPOILER: it is).
Producer: Lianne Coop.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2011.
SUN 23:30 Rigor Mortis (b00g2glp)
Series 3
Episode 1
It's New Year in the mortuary and the pathologists must tackle a befuddled mother.
Starring Peter Davison.
The return of Laurence Howarth's black comedy set in the world of the pathology lab.
Dr Webster .... Peter Davison
Dr Anderson .... Matilda Ziegler
Professor Donaldson .... Geoffrey Whitehead
Gordon .... Tom Price
Chloe .... Marianne Levy
Simon .... Gus Brown
with Felicity Montagu and Kim Wall
Music by Paul Mottram and Stephanie Benavente.
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2006.

MONDAY 07 APRIL 2025

MON 00:00 Your Perfect Summer, On Sale Here by Ed Harris (b0bgpcrd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:45 The Keepers by Matt Haig (b047d0wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:45 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m0029nzv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00lt16w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m0029nzy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 Black Spartacus by Sudhir Hazareesingh (Omnibus) (m0029p00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (m0029p02)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]
MON 03:50 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (Omnibus) (b008qpww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Just Fancy (m0029p04)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Take It From Here (b012lj1y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Whodunnits (b011j8wn)
Agatha Raisin - Series 2
1. The Curious Curate
When the village curate is found murdered, retired PR guru Agatha Raisin vows to bring his killer to justice.
She's also hopeful that the investigation brings her closer to her handsome next-door neighbour, Colonel Lacey...
Penelope Keith stars as Agatha Raisin.
MC Beaton’s novel, first published in 2003.
Dramatised in six parts by David Semple.
Agatha Raisin ...... Penelope Keith
James Lacey ...... Malcolm Sinclair
Mrs Margaret Bloxby ...... Liza Sadovy
DC Bill Wong ...... Stephen Hogan
Richard Binser ...... Nicky Henson
Mrs Wendle ...... Tina Gray
Miss Partle ...... Ella Smith
Director: Carol Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2005
MON 06:30 Paul Temple (b037v4fk)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair
6. Concerning Mr Zola
A lingering scent of perfume may give a vital clue to the latest murder.
Another intriguing case for BBC radio's smoothest sleuth and his glamorous wife.
Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson stars in Francis Durbridge's rebooted 1946 mystery thriller.
The original series wasn't saved in the BBC archive and scripts for episodes 1, 2 and 6 were lost.
Luckily our colleague in Norwegian radio discovered a complete set of scripts in Oslo!
So using the original incidental music, sound effects and vintage microphones - all ten parts of Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair have been recreated.
Paul Temple …. Crawford Logan
Steve …. Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes …. Gareth Thomas
Inspector Vosper …. Michael MacKenzie
Edward Day …. Nick Underwood
Kay Wiseman …. Meg Fraser
Peter Davos …. Richard Greenwood
Madison …. Robin Laing
Zola …. Greg Powrie
Producer: Patrick Rayner
Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.
Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2013.
MON 07:00 Second Holmes (b015qy32)
3. The Case of the Reading Undertaker
The grandsons of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson investigate the death of a man by crossbow.
Starring Peter Egan and Jeremy Nicholas.
Six light-hearted adventures by Grant Eustace.
Stamford Holmes …. Peter Egan
Dr Watson …. Jeremy Nicholas
Simon Durham …. Stuart Organ
Janet Durham …. Madi Hedd
Inspector Fowler …. James Kerry
General …. Ronald Baddiley
Lamson …. Hugh Dickson
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1983.
MON 07:30 Steptoe and Son (b00rq30b)
Series 1
The Stepmother
Harold's not too happy to meet his dad Albert's new girlfriend.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett.
Classic sitcom about the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold.
Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Albert …. Wilfrid Brambell
Harold …. Harry H. Corbett
Emma …. Joan Lovell
The 1962 BBC TV comedy pilot 'The Offer' sparked a run of 8 series.
Adapted for BBC radio from the BBC TV script by Gale Pedrick.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in July 1966.
MON 08:00 On the Rocks (b03kvby1)
Series 1
Movies
It's 1937 on St. Martin's, a remote island off the Isles of Scilly and Morwenna has had enough
Islanders are protesting about the Penzance GPO man's efforts to modernise their precious local post office
Written by Christopher William Hill
Frank Gunwallow ...... Joseph Kloska
Mary ...... Bec Applebee
Morwenna ...... Alex Tregear
Ben ...... Alex Palmer
Tommy ...... Stuart Fox
Tregarthan ...... Peter Marinker
Len ...... Ed Gaughan
Grace ...... Christine Absalom
Pender ...... Christopher William Hill
Sound by Jenni Burnett, Anne Bunting and Graham Harper
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2013.
MON 08:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmy8)
1. Jay Gatsby
"I had a view of water, a partial view of my neighbour's lawn and the consoling proximity of millionaires."
It's the Jazz Age in roaring 1920s America. Nick Carraway moves to the East Coast, next door to the mysterious playboy, Jay Gatsby.
First published in 1925 - F Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel about aspiration in boom-time America.
Abridged in ten parts by Neville Teller.
Read by Sam Robards.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
MON 08:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyn)
16. Trouble
Rawdon leaves debtors' prison, but more trouble soon follows.
Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.
Written by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.
Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Hester …. Helen Longworth
Mr Moss …. Ian Masters
Rawdon Crawley …. Ray Coulthard
Lord Steyne …. David Calder
Lady Jane …. Jemma Churchill
Director Marc Beeby
First broadcast on Radio 4 in October 2004.
MON 09:00 One Person Found This Helpful (m0029hds)
Series 2
5. The Soapy Bucket of Sparkhill
Frank and guests Sara Barron, Pierre Novellie, Simon Evans and Harriet Kemsley find out what happens when Abba take a shower, when All Saints sell a T-shirt, and when you hear Russell Crowe sing.
This is the panel game based on what we all sit down and do at least once a day – shop online and leave a review, as an all-star panel celebrate the good, the bad and the baffling.
Everyone has an online life, and when the great British public put pen to keyboard to leave a review, they almost always write something hilarious. And our all-star panel have to work out just what they were reviewing – and maybe contribute a few reviews of their own. So if you’re the person who went on Trip Advisor to review Ben Nevis as “Very steep and too high”, this show salutes you!
Written by Frank Skinner, Catherine Brinkworth, Sarah Dempster, Jason Hazeley, Rajiv Karia, Karl Minns, Katie Sayer & Peter Tellouche
Devised by Jason Hazeley and Simon Evans with the producer David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4
MON 09:30 Roger Law and the Chinese Curiosities (b01k9q6z)
Series 1
1. Opera, Shoes and Security
Roger Law travels to China to find out what has brought about museum fever.
With new museums opening every month, he wants to know what the Chinese are displaying and why.
He begins in Shanghai with a visit to an opera museum, a rather unusual shoe museum in a private house, and a security museum where all the guns of the city's gangsters are on display.
It's certainly a whole new world of curiosities.
Produced by Mark Rickards.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.
MON 09:45 Daily Service (m0029nxt)
Lenten Poetry: Ash Wednesday
Priest and poet Laura Darrall journeys through Lent in a week long series of Daily Service programmes exploring poetry from across the centuries. Each service opens with a poem by Laura herself, and the five services take up the themes of Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, including famous works by Gerard Manley Hopkins and George Herbert alongside newer writings by living poets including Malcolm Guite and Ally Barrett.
MON 10:00 The Tingle Factor (b04nqvh6)
Joanna Lumley
Joanna Lumley tells Robin Ray about the music - and even birdsong - which stirs strong emotion.
From Beethoven to Strauss, the Absolutely Fabulous actress also shares memories of her life and career.
Producer: Andrew Mussett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1990.
MON 10:30 The Great Gatsby Letters (b01130n7)
F Scott Fitzgerald tells his editor Maxwell Perkins about his hopes and fears for his new novel - The Great Gatsby.
A selection of the lively correspondence describes the story in making, as the author travelled the south Mediterranean at the time, with his wife Zelda.
Read by William Hope.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
MON 11:00 Whodunnits (b011j8wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 11:30 Paul Temple (b037v4fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 12:00 Second Holmes (b015qy32)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 12:30 Steptoe and Son (b00rq30b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 13:00 On the Rocks (b03kvby1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 13:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmy8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 14:00 Listomania (b09z7br4)
Series 1
Episode 3
From the magnificent to the mundane.
From the humble 'to do' list to the bucket list and many more...
Susan Calman hosts the series exploring the world of the lists.
With:
Sara Cox
James Acaster
Miles Jupp
Jocelyn Esien
Written by James Kettle and Gráinne Maguire with Max Davis and Gabby Hutchinson Crouch.
Producers: Sam Bryant and Adnan Ahmed
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 2015.
MON 14:30 The Small World of Dominic Holland (m0001mgb)
Fear
Dominic Holland shares his thoughts on how to cope with fear and pain.
Series of stand-up and sketches illustrating the Domedic minutiae of life.
With:
Simon Greenall
Sally Grace
Dave Lamb
Producer: Maria Esposito
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2000.
MON 15:00 The Art Lovers (m0029nxw)
1. Collecting for Pleasure and Profit by Andrew Sachs
1935: a Van Gogh has recently been sold for £2,735 15s 9d.
Since Monty Pepper's death, George Willman has looked after the Willman-Pepper collection of four Van Goghs, not to mention Renoirs, Monets, Cezannes and Pissarros.
Then Monty's daughter arrives from America to ask for the odd Van Gogh to remind her of 'daddy'; the value being purely sentimental of course!
First of two plays about the world of Art
Written by and starring Andrew Sachs
George Willman .... Maurice Denham
Barbara Pepper .... Liza Ross
Klaus Reinhardt .... Andrew Sachs
Mr Armitage .... Timothy Bateson
Mrs Bell .... Gwen Cherrell
Stephen Dudley .... Garard Green
Waiter .... Trevor Nichols
Director: Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1985.
MON 16:00 The Tingle Factor (b04nqvh6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 The Great Gatsby Letters (b01130n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 17:00 Whodunnits (b011j8wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 17:30 Paul Temple (b037v4fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 18:00 Second Holmes (b015qy32)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:30 Steptoe and Son (b00rq30b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 19:00 On the Rocks (b03kvby1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmy8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 19:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 20:00 Listomania (b09z7br4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
MON 20:30 The Small World of Dominic Holland (m0001mgb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
MON 21:00 The Art Lovers (m0029nxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
MON 22:00 One Person Found This Helpful (m0029hds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 22:30 Big Problems with Helen Keen (b05y0qkv)
Series 1
Love
Helen looks at love and the problems of finding the perfect mate.
Including the invention of computer dating; how we might chemically engineer love; how the bicycle revolutionised sex; having a row in Ikea; and a pair of romantic prairie voles.
Comedy series that explores the triumphs and disasters of human ingenuity.
Helen Keen looks at the biggest problems that have faced our species since the dawn of time, and describes humanity's incredible and sometimes absurd solutions.
Co-starring:
Peter Serafinowicz
Susy Kane
Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill,
Producer: Gareth Edwards
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2015.
MON 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0029vw8)
Lachlan Werner 1/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of the funny stuff. And tonight Jon Holmes chats to the ventriloquist, Lachlan Werner.
MON 23:00 The Naked Week (m0029hwt)
Series 2
Tariffic Trump retaliation, and Woop Woop - it's the sound of the Thought Police.
The Naked Week team are back to place satirical news-tariffs on current events with a mix of correspondents, guests and, occasionally, live animals.
This week we 'woop woop' at the sound of the Thought Police, enjoy a spot of 'tariffic' retaliation, and bang a gong for the local elections.
From The Skewer’s Jon Holmes and host Andrew Hunter Murray comes The Naked Week, a fresh way of dressing the week’s news in the altogether and parading it around for everyone to laugh at.
With award-winning writers and a crack team of contemporary satirists - and recorded in front of a live audience - The Naked Week delivers a topical news-nude straight to your ears.
Written by:
Jon Holmes
Katie Sayer
Gareth Ceredig
Sarah Dempster
Jason Hazeley.
wth additional material.
Investigations Team:
Cat Neilan
Louis Mian
Freya Shaw
Matt Brown
Guests: Larry Budd, and Felicity Hannah out of off of Radio 4's Moneybox Live.
Production Team: Laura Grimshaw, Tony Churnside, Jerry Peal, Katie Sayer, Phoebe Butler.
Executive Producer: Philip Abrams
Produced and Directed by Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
MON 23:30 Old Harry's Game (b007jmbz)
Series 3
The Reasonably Fantastic Journey
Satan and the Professor find a huge empty space in Hell - when they enter Scumspawn's brain.
Andy Hamilton’s devilishly funny sitcom set in Hell.
Satan …. Andy Hamilton
The Professor …. James Grout
Thomas …. Jimmy Mulville
Scumspawn …. Robert Duncan
Other characters played by:
Felicity Montagu
Philip Pope
Nick Revel
Michael Fenton Stevens
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1999.

TUESDAY 08 APRIL 2025

TUE 00:00 The Tingle Factor (b04nqvh6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 The Great Gatsby Letters (b01130n7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Whodunnits (b011j8wn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Paul Temple (b037v4fk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Second Holmes (b015qy32)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Steptoe and Son (b00rq30b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 On the Rocks (b03kvby1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmy8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Listomania (b09z7br4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 The Small World of Dominic Holland (m0001mgb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 The Art Lovers (m0029nxw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Whodunnits (b011kpfh)
Agatha Raisin - Series 2
2. Duck and Cover
Still reeling from the death of their curate, the inhabitants of Carsley decide on Duck Racing and Morris Dancing to cheer themselves up.
But the village fete is unlikely to go smoothly whilst the killer is still amongst them...
Penelope Keith stars as Agatha Raisin.
MC Beaton’s novel about the PR guru turned amateur sleuth.
Dramatised by David Semple.
Agatha Raisin ...... Penelope Keith
James Lacey ...... Malcolm Sinclair
Mrs Margaret Bloxby ...... Liza Sadovy
DC Bill Wong ...... Stephen Hogan
Richard Binser ...... Nicky Henson
Roy ...... James Holmes
Mrs Wendle ...... Tina Gray
Miss Partle ...... Ella Smith
Farmer Ruskin ...... Gerard McDermott
Director: Carol Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio in October 2005.
TUE 06:30 Paul Temple (b03847yb)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair
7. A Woman's Intuition
Gunfire at the Madrid nightclub, and a dying man's confession.
Starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson.
From 1938 to 1968, Francis Durbridge's incomparably suave amateur detective and his glamorous wife solved case after baffling case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. Sadly, only half of Temple's adventures survive.
In 2006, BBC Radio 4 brought one of the lost serials back to life. Using the original scripts and incidental music, and recorded using vintage microphones and sound effects, the production of Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery aimed to sound as much as possible like the 1947 original might have done if its recording had survived.
The serial proved so popular that it was soon followed by more revivals - including this one originally heard in 1946.
Paul and Steve come to the aid of a baffled Scotland Yard in pursuit of a deadly and mysterious criminal mastermind.
Not only has the recording disappeared but also the scripts of Episodes 1, 2 and 6. This new production is made possible by the recent discovery by a colleague in Norwegian radio of a complete set of scripts in an old store cupboard in Oslo.
Written by Francis Durbridge.
Paul Temple …. Crawford Logan
Steve …. Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes …. Gareth Thomas
Inspector Vosper …. Michael MacKenzie
Madison …. Robin Laing
Kay Wiseman …. Meg Fraser
Zola …. Greg Powrie
Peter Davos …. Richard Greenwood
Edward Day …. Nick Underwood
Sir Donald …. Simon Donaldson
Producer: Patrick Rayner
Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.
Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2013.
TUE 07:00 To the Manor Born (b007jpzw)
The Rhythms of the Earth
Cash-strapped Lady of the Manor, Audrey fforbes-Hamilton has been forced to sell her beloved Grantleigh Estate when her husband died.
With her butler Brabinger in tow, they've decamped to the tiny Old Lodge cottage.
From this vantage point, Audrey is set to keep a close and disapproving eye on the estate's new owner, the nouveau-riche Richard DeVere, a wholesale foods magnate of Czech descent.
She must educate the new squire into the ways of the Lord of the Manor...
Starring Penelope Keith and Keith Barron.
Adapted for radio by Peter Spence from his BBC TV script.
Audrey fforbes-Hamilton …. Penelope Keith
Richard DeVere …. Keith Barron
Marjory Frobisher …. Angela Thorne
Brabinger …. Nicholas McArdle
Mrs Polouvicka …. Margery Withers
Ned …. Frank Middlemass
First piloted for BBC radio, but whisked off to BBC TV before it ever appeared, before finally arriving home in 1997.
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1997.
TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b007jtqc)
Series 7
Six Charlies in Search of an Author
Through pages and chapters, the fate of Neddie Seagoon is in the hands of the writer.
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens.
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.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Pat Dixon
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1956.
TUE 08:00 A Month of June (b01jhdgn)
1. Spray the Grass Green
It's 1939 and Lana Garfield is a fading Hollywood star.
Contracted to Tantamount Pictures run by the notoriously difficult and womanising studio head, Al Seltzer. Miss Garfield is writing her autobiography with the assistance of British ghost writer, George Creighton.
But she's shocked when her radio reveals Al intends to axe her contract.
George and his ex-pat cronies take time off from their cocktails and cricket matches to collude with Al's ambitious and glamorous assistant Betty Stevens in exacting an appropriate revenge.
Starring June Whitfield.
Series of comedies written for the legendary actress by Andy Merriman and Peter Morfoot.
Lana Garfield ..... June Whitfield
George Creighton ..... David Haig
Al Seltzer ..... Patrick Brennan
Betty Stevens ..... Tracy Wiles
Harry Harcourt-Jones ..... Robert Blythe
Edna Harper ..... Amaka Okafor
Boris Karloff ..... Peter Morfoot
Director: David Hunter
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012
TUE 08:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmyr)
2. Parties
Nick becomes embroiled in the workings of Tom's affair and the stories of Gatsby's extravagant parties.
It's the Jazz Age in roaring 1920s America. Nick Carraway has moved to the East Coast, next door to the mysterious playboy, Jay Gatsby.
F Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel about aspiration in boom-time America.
Abridged in ten parts by Neville Teller.
Read by Sam Robards.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
TUE 08:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyr)
17. Fight
Rawdon falters in his resolve to fight a duel with Lord Steyne.
Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.
Written by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.
Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Lady Jane …. Jemma Churchill
Rawdon Crawley …. Ray Coulthard
Pitt .... Jon Glover
Mr Wenham …. Philip Fox
Captain MacMurdo …. Mark Bonnar
with Stephen Fry as the narrator
Director Marc Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2004.
TUE 09:00 Meet David Sedaris (m0029hmd)
Series 10
1. The Hem of His Garment
"Is it against the law to dress like a priest?" I whispered to Julia as I did up the last of the thirty-three buttons, each of which symbolises a year of Christ's life and leaves you wishing he'd been crucified at twelve, especially if, like me, you're developing arthritis in your fingers.
In the first episode of this series, David reads from The Hem of His Garment – his comic essay about his surprise invitation to attend a gathering of international comedians at the Vatican for an audience with The Pope. But, being David, it wasn't all he got up to in Rome.
Also in this show – some extracts from David’s hilarious diary, which he’s kept for over 40 years and which reveals some of his darkest and cheekiest thoughts – including his regrets at commenting on someone else's child and his concerning interaction with German Duolingo.
David has been a contributor to BBC Radio 4 for nearly 30 years - bringing his trademark, sometimes caustic, wit to audiences in the UK and around the world.
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 09:30 Roger Law and the Chinese Curiosities (b01kbjx5)
Series 1
2. Bank, Tobacco and Sex
Roger Law continues his journey through Shanghai.
He finds that capitalism seems to be celebrated in some ways in the bank museum, whilst a tobacco museum doesn't allow its visitors to smoke on the premises.
He finally ends up in an 'ancient sex museum', filled with the most unusual curiosities.
Produced by Mark Rickards.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.
TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m0029pnd)
Lenten Poetry: Lent
Priest and poet Laura Darrall journeys through Lent in a week long series of Daily Service programmes exploring poetry from across the centuries. Each service opens with a poem by Laura herself, and the five services take up the themes of Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, including famous works by Gerard Manley Hopkins and George Herbert alongside newer writings by living poets including Malcolm Guite and Ally Barrett.
TUE 10:00 A Good Read (m0000qqy)
Ben Miller and Danny Wallace
Comedian, writer and actor Ben Miller and writer Danny Wallace joins presenter Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite book.
Ben chooses: Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
Pub: Ishi Press International
Danny chooses: Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith
Pub: Wordsworth Classics
Children of Dynmouth by William Trevor
Pub: Penguin
Producer: Maggie Ayre
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018.
TUE 10:30 Bombay Jazz (b0415hbd)
Sarfraz Manzoor explores a fascinating period of music history in India when American violinist Leon Abbey brought his jazz band to Bombay in the 1930's, leaving behind an incredible legacy.
The early years of jazz calls to mind places such as New Orleans, Chicago and Paris. What is often overlooked is that the Indian city of Bombay, now Mumbai, had its very own thriving jazz scene in the 1930's that lasted three decades.
Manzoor charts this extraordinary story of jazz in India when some of the world's most accomplished musicians including Dave Brubeck, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong brought their talents to the East and mixed with performers such as Chic Chocolate, Micky Correa, Teddy Weatherford and Frank Fernand -all regarded in India today as jazz legends. This cultural exchange produced music that wove threads into Bombay's story. These threads would later become inextricably a part of the city's own definitive creation: Bollywood, and its music in particular.
Discovering India's jazz heritage and the areas the music has been preserved Manzoor travels to Mumbai to visit Naresh Fernandes author of the critically acclaimed book The Taj Mahal Foxtrot. He meets with musicians and singers along with the widow of Micky Correa and the daughters of Chic Chocolate and explores the development of jazz with saxophonist Braz Gonsalves, the first man to play Be-Bop in India.
Examining the music and legacy of the Indian Jazz legends he searches for their impact today and his journey ends in Goa, now regarded as the new 'Jazz Capitol of India' by music promoter Colin D'Cruz .
Producer: Stephen Garner
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.
TUE 11:00 Whodunnits (b011kpfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 11:30 Paul Temple (b03847yb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 12:00 To the Manor Born (b007jpzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jtqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 13:00 A Month of June (b01jhdgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 13:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 14:00 Act Your Age (b00zm0mc)
Series 3
Episode 1
Three-way battle between the comedy generations to find out which is the funniest.
Hosted by Simon Mayo.
Will it be the Up-and-Comers, the Current Crop or the Old Guard who will be crowned, for one week at least, as the Golden Age of Comedy?
With Team Captains:
Holly Walsh
Lucy Porter
Tom O'Connor
Guest Comics:
Henry Paker
Miles Jupp
Duggie Brown
Devised and Produced by Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.
TUE 14:30 Hazelbeach (b00w7c41)
Series 3
Episode 3
Ronnie decides to become a psychic vet, while Nick explores the joys of the sink plunger.
Caroline and David Stafford's comedy about likeable conman Ronnie Hazelbeach.
Ronnie Hazelbeach ...... Jamie Foreman
Nick ...... Paul Bazely
Chloe ...... Claire Harry
Andrea ...... Joanna Monro
Policeman ...... Lloyd Thomas
Director: Marc Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.
TUE 15:00 The Art Lovers (m0029pnj)
2. Cash Me A Portrait by Andrew Sachs
When a man dies bequeathing a possible Leonardo da Vinci painting to another woman his wife is not best pleased.
Among many bequests, the late Mr Monty Friedman has left "Portrait of a Young Man", Italian school circa 1500, to a Ms Gertrude Lucinda Snape - known to her intimate admirers as Trudi. Mrs Friedman is not best pleased.
Vernon Clench-Blaise, the well-known art dealer, couldn't care less until he discovers the painting is actually the work of Leonardo da Vinci.
Written by Andrew Sachs.
Mrs Friedman .... Maria Charles
Vernon Clench-Blaise .... Jack May
Parsons .... Timothy Bateson
Trudi Snape .... Rosalind Adams
Truscott .... David Garth
Lord Bufflemere .... Peter Woodthorpe
Ernest Ridge .... Alan Thompson
Lady Bufflemere .... Anne Jameson
Mrs Ridge .... Tessa Worsley
Darren .... Paul Russell
Spot the dog .... Andrew Sachs
Director: Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1985.
TUE 16:00 A Good Read (m0000qqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:30 Bombay Jazz (b0415hbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Whodunnits (b011kpfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Paul Temple (b03847yb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 18:00 To the Manor Born (b007jpzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b007jtqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 19:00 A Month of June (b01jhdgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 19:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Act Your Age (b00zm0mc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Hazelbeach (b00w7c41)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
TUE 21:00 The Art Lovers (m0029pnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
TUE 22:00 Meet David Sedaris (m0029hmd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
TUE 22:30 The Young Postmen (b00fkp61)
Tour de France
Everyone goes on and on about how boring professional cycling is compared to the 1980s.
So if Brian, Derek and Sue have to leave the Post Office to look after itself for a bit and do something about it, then it's really ungrateful to start complaining.
Anyway, sorting mail is much harder than it looks, so they probably need a break. And it'll be loads better than some of the rubbish on telly these days.
The surreal escapades of a trio of 'posties'.
Written by and starring Ben Miller.
Brian ...... Ben Miller
Derek ...... John Thomson
Sue ...... Felicity Montagu
Mr Tilbury ...... Jim Barclay
Captain ...... Alastair McGowan
Melinda ...... Joanna Brooks
Jack Finlay ...... David Mellor
Music by Doctor Who composer Murray Gold
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1992.
TUE 23:00 The Mark Steel Solution (b007jmsj)
Series 1
All Judges Must Be Ex-Convicts
Radical proposals to change our lives for the better, with a drastic legal shake-up.
Written by Mark Steel and Pete Sinclair, who also perform with the help of Maria McErlane.
Give him 30 minutes and Mark will convince you of anything in the series that aims to prove that the ridiculous really is very sensible indeed.
Producer: Turan Ali
First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in October 1992.
TUE 23:30 Ivo Graham's Obsessions (b0bdbdyz)
Joe Lycett's Obsessions - Series 1
Lloyd Griffith and June Sarpong
Joe Lycett explores the nation's weird and wonderful obsessions by getting to know a selection of famous and not so famous guests.
Joining Joe on the sofa this week, comedian Lloyd Griffith shares his love of fire engines, whilst broadcaster June Sarpong reveals her obsession with hula hooping.
Joe also welcomes members of the public to share their secret passions, as well as this week's VOP (very obsessed person), Viktor Wynd who shows Joe a selection of his museum of curiosities.
Written and performed by Joe Lycett, with material from James Kettle and additional material from Laura Major and Mike Shepherd.
Produced by Suzy Grant.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2018.

WEDNESDAY 09 APRIL 2025

WED 00:00 A Good Read (m0000qqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Bombay Jazz (b0415hbd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Whodunnits (b011kpfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Paul Temple (b03847yb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 To the Manor Born (b007jpzw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b007jtqc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 A Month of June (b01jhdgn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Act Your Age (b00zm0mc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Hazelbeach (b00w7c41)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 The Art Lovers (m0029pnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Whodunnits (b011ktgc)
Agatha Raisin - Series 2
3. Buried Treasure
When Agatha embarks on a plan to give up smoking, little does she know it will lead to a treasure hunt, humiliation and a rather nasty murder...
Penelope Keith stars as Agatha Raisin.
MC Beaton’s novel about the PR guru turned amateur sleuth.
Dramatised by David Semple.
Agatha Raisin ...... Penelope Keith
James Lacey ...... Malcolm Sinclair
Mrs Margaret Bloxby ...... Liza Sadovy
DC Bill Wong ...... Stephen Hogan
Roy Silver ...... James Holmes
Mrs Friendly ...... Joanna Brookes
Mrs Hicks ...... Lynda Baron
Director: Carol Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio in October 2005.
WED 06:30 Paul Temple (b038hfpt)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair
8. News of Mr Gregory
On the trail of the mysterious and murderous Mr Gregory, Steve goes in search of a trumpeter.
Starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson.
From 1938 to 1968, Francis Durbridge's incomparably suave amateur detective and his glamorous wife solved case after baffling case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. Sadly, only half of Temple's adventures survive.
In 2006, BBC Radio 4 brought one of the lost serials back to life. Using the original scripts and incidental music, and recorded using vintage microphones and sound effects, the production of Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery aimed to sound as much as possible like the 1947 original might have done if its recording had survived.
The serial proved so popular that it was soon followed by more revivals - including this one originally heard in 1946.
Paul and Steve come to the aid of a baffled Scotland Yard in pursuit of a deadly and mysterious criminal mastermind.
Not only has the recording disappeared but also the scripts of Episodes 1, 2 and 6. This new production is made possible by the recent discovery by a colleague in Norwegian radio of a complete set of scripts in an old store cupboard in Oslo.
Written by Francis Durbridge.
Paul Temple …. Crawford Logan
Steve …. Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes …. Gareth Thomas
Inspector Vosper …. Michael MacKenzie
Sir Donald …. Simon Donaldson
Edward Day …. Nick Underwood
Miss Marcia …. Eliza Langland
Zola …. Greg Powrie
Peter Davos …. Richard Greenwood
Kay Wiseman …. Meg Fraser
Producer: Patrick Rayner
Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.
Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2013.
WED 07:00 Nineteen Ninety-Four (b0141xfj)
Choice Is Progress
'Channel 16 - the best bargain in Britain'
But does Edward Wilson think so? – as hs job title keeps changing with alarming alacrity.
Starring Robert Lindsay.
Futuristic sitcom by Richard Turner and William Osborne with a nod to George Orwell.
Edward ...... Robert Lindsay
Sophie ...... Siobhan Redmond
Charles ...... Paul Shearer
With Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Pam Ferris, Richard Turner and David Goodland
Producer: Nick Symons
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1985.
WED 07:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007m9f5)
Series 4
Michelangelo 'Ancock
The lad takes up sculpting. But when he runs out of rocks, it's Sid to the rescue.
Ray Galton and Alan Simpson's classic comedy about the life and times of Anthony Aloysius St John Hancock.
Starring Tony Hancock.
With:
Sidney James
Bill Kerr
Kenneth Williams
Hattie Jacques
Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott.
Music recorded by the BBC Augmented Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1956.
WED 08:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (m000bfhq)
Series 5
The Bubbles Get Up Your Nose
Tom tries to talk his Dad down from some amateur brewing.
Meanwhile the local bin collection system comes under attack.
Listen in on Tom's weekly phone calls home to his Mum, Dad and Gran in Sheffield and get a glimpse into the triumphs and tribulations of the Wrigglesworth clan in all its dysfunctional glory.
Tom ...... Tom Wrigglesworth
Dad ...... Paul Copley
Mum ...... Kate Anthony
Granny ...... Elizabeth Bennett
Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle.
With additional material by Miles Jupp
Producer: Richard Morris
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2019.
WED 08:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmz5)
3. Elusive
Nick experiences the beauty and allure of Gatsby's summer parties and meets their elusive host.
It's the Jazz Age in roaring 1920s America. Nick Carraway has moved to the East Coast, next door to the mysterious playboy, Jay Gatsby.
F Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel about aspiration in boom-time America.
Abridged in ten parts by Neville Teller.
Read by Sam Robards.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
WED 08:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyt)
18. Return
A keen William Dobbin returns from India to visit a frosty Amelia.
Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.
Written by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.
Amelia …. Katy Cavanagh
Jos Sedley .... Toby Jones
Polly, the maid …. Joanna McCallum
William Dobbin .... Tom Smith
Mr Sedley …. Ian Masters
Director Marc Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2004.
WED 09:00 The Ultimate Choice (m001trr5)
Series 2
1: Jane Austen v Where's Wally
Steph McGovern asks some seriously funny minds to offer definitive answers to the great questions of our age. Or not.
Welcome to the world's most devious game of Would You Rather? With guests Jason Cook and Lauren Pattison.
Host: Steph McGovern
Guests: Jason Cook and Lauren Pattison
Devised and written by Jon Harvey & Joseph Morpurgo
With additional material from Laura Major
Researcher: Leah Marks
Recorded and mixed by David Thomas
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producers: Ed Morrish and Polly Thomas
Photo: Carolyn Mendelsohn
A Naked production for BBC Radio 4
WED 09:30 Roger Law and the Chinese Curiosities (b01kbk3r)
Series 1
3. Gorges and Medicine
Roger Law travels to Chongqing in China to see what new museums are being built in this huge and overwhelming city.
He visits the Three Gorges museum to find the artefacts which were rescued from the massive dam project, and after climbing up and down the many hills in Chongqing, he finds himself in need of some help from the Chinese Traditional Medicine museum.
The doctor in residence is able to give him some much needed personal attention, but does the medicine have any effect?
Produced by Mark Rickards.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.
WED 09:45 Daily Service (m0029pnl)
Lenten Poetry: Maundy Thursday
Priest and poet Laura Darrall journeys through Lent in a week long series of Daily Service programmes exploring poetry from across the centuries. Each service opens with a poem by Laura herself, and the five services take up the themes of Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, including famous works by Gerard Manley Hopkins and George Herbert alongside newer writings by living poets including Malcolm Guite and Ally Barrett.
WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (b01qsqfp)
The Devil's Horn
The saxophone - that brass woodwind horn, is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Today, it's featured in classical music and pop, with many composers writing significant pieces for its shapely curves.
But for some, the sax produces a devilish sound and it's been shunned by polite society, banished from orchestras and even denounced by governments. It has also been accused of blandness and crowned the king of elevator music.
British jazz musician Soweto Kinch, examines the saxophone's place in history. An alto player himself, Soweto investigates the instrument's captivating and somewhat turbulent journey through musical and spoken archive.
Taking part
Courtney Pine
Amy Dickson
Paul Cohen
Richard Ingham
David Quantick
Producer James Hale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2013.
WED 11:00 Whodunnits (b011ktgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 11:30 Paul Temple (b038hfpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 12:00 Nineteen Ninety-Four (b0141xfj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007m9f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 13:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (m000bfhq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 13:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 14:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b08zdlb1)
Series 11
Episode 2
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Romesh Ranganathan welcome:
* Comedian, artist, performance poet, musician, radio DJ, author, musical actor and former Museum of Curiosity Curator, Phill Jupitus
* Criminologist, broadcaster, writer and award-winning documentary film-maker, Roger Graef
* Novelist, Michelin-starred restaurateur, food columnist, Chancellor of Queen Margaret University and Great British Bake Off judge, Prue Leith.
The Museum's Guest Committee offer as exhibits the world's first celebrity chef, a newspaper headline calling for longer sentences and one evening in Chelmsford Odeon on Sunday July 26th 1981.
Researched by Anne Miller of QI and Mike Turner.
Producers: Richard Turner & James Harkin.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2017.
WED 14:30 All the Young Dudes (b01by441)
Series 2
Mr Soft
Helen's ice cream project has the opposition licked!
The lives of Patrick and Helen back in 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
Charlie ...... Izzy De Rosario
Young man ...... Dave Lamb
Young woman ...... Emma Kennedy
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2002.
WED 15:00 Motor Flight by Michael Bakewell (b09sqb0r)
In 1907, American writers Edith Wharton and Henry James made a journey through France in a Panhard car with two small dogs, Edith's husband and a chauffeur named Cook.
Michael Bakewell presents an account of their stately progress and of the friendship of the two remarkable authors, who observe the landscape and each other with wry humour.
Starring Joss Ackland and Gayle Hunnicutt.
Henry James ....... Joss Ackland
Edith Wharton ....... Gayle Hunnicutt
Producer: Julian Wilkinson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1998.
WED 15:45 Short Works (m00146j0)
The Tallest Building in Wales by Craig Roberts
The cheapest meals on the menu are the red pepper soup or the kids' tagliatelle.
But the best thing about All Sky Cafe on the 35th floor is the waitress, Jeanette.
Joe Dunthorne's original short story read by Craig Roberts.
Sound by Catherine Robinson
Producer: Emma Harding
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2022.
WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (b01qsqfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 17:00 Whodunnits (b011ktgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 17:30 Paul Temple (b038hfpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 18:00 Nineteen Ninety-Four (b0141xfj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007m9f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 19:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (m000bfhq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 19:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 20:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b08zdlb1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
WED 20:30 All the Young Dudes (b01by441)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
WED 21:00 Motor Flight by Michael Bakewell (b09sqb0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
WED 21:45 Short Works (m00146j0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 today]
WED 22:00 The Ultimate Choice (m001trr5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 22:30 Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing (b01cws2l)
Series 1
About Work
Despite his comedy career, Nathan's family try persuading him to take a job at Dad's office.
This is the story of young, up-and-coming comedian Nathan Caton, who becomes the first in his family to graduate from university - only to opt for a career in comedy - much to his family's annoyance who want him to get a 'proper job' using his architecture degree.
Each episode shows the criticism, interference and rollercoaster ride that Nathan endures from his family as he pursues his career against their wishes.
A mix of Nathan's stand-up intercut with scenes from his family life.
Written by: Nathan Caton.
Additional material by: Ola and Maff Brown.
Nathan ...... Nathan Caton
Grandma ...... Mona Hammond
Mum ...... Adjoa Andoh
Dad ...... Curtis Walker
Mr Brimson ...... Don Gilet
Paul ...... Ola
Lingerie Customer / Boss ...... Chizzy Akudolu
Script Editor: James Kettle
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2012.
WED 22:45 Self-Storage (b00fhmzt)
Series 2
Episode 3
It's Dave's birthday, so Ron and Geoff arrange a celebratory meal.
Stars Reece Shearsmith and Mark Heap.
Sitcom written by Tom Collinson about a man living in a storage unit.
Dave ...... Reece Shearsmith
Geoff ...... Mark Heap
Ron ...... Tom Goodman-Hill
Judy ...... Rosie Cavaliero
Sarah ...... Susan Earl
Sioux ...... Helen Longworth
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2008.
WED 23:00 The Skivers (b007xwy1)
Series 2
William Franklyn
Dolphins - and Sue Lawley's big secret is revealed.
The return of Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh's skilful sketch show.
With special guest – sssh! William Franklyn, who’s mixing the drinks.
Written and performed by Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh.
With:
Peter Bradshaw
Mel Giedroyc
Producer: Jon Naismith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1995.
WED 23:30 Masala FM (b0080p9x)
Episode 6
Love is in the air at Masala FM as their first wedding resulting from Khalid's matrimonial phone-in looms.
But is love blind, or just stupid?
Asian radio station sitcom written by Meera Syal.
Starring:
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Nitin Sawheny
Meera Syal
Nina Wadia
Music by Nitin Sawhney.
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1996.

THURSDAY 10 APRIL 2025

THU 00:00 Archive on 4 (b01qsqfp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Whodunnits (b011ktgc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Paul Temple (b038hfpt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Nineteen Ninety-Four (b0141xfj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007m9f5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups (m000bfhq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmz5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b08zdlb1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 All the Young Dudes (b01by441)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Motor Flight by Michael Bakewell (b09sqb0r)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:45 Short Works (m00146j0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Whodunnits (b011l9l8)
Agatha Raisin - Series 2
4. The Civil War
The search to find the killer leads Agatha and James to the dreaming spires of Oxford.
Here they soon get intimate - in a cupboard full of EM Forster first editions...
Penelope Keith stars as Agatha Raisin.
MC Beaton’s novel about the PR guru turned amateur sleuth.
Dramatised by David Semple.
Agatha Raisin ...... Penelope Keith
James Lacey ...... Malcolm Sinclair
DC Bill Wong ...... Stephen Hogan
Mrs Friendly ...... Joanna Brookes
Mrs Hicks ...... Lynda Baron
Professor Wolf ...... Simon Treves
Director: Carol Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio in October 2005.
THU 06:30 Paul Temple (b038xx7d)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair
9. Millgate Steps
The suave sleuth and Sir Graham take to the river in the hunt for the missing girl.
Starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson.
From 1938 to 1968, Francis Durbridge's incomparably suave amateur detective and his glamorous wife solved case after baffling case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. Sadly, only half of Temple's adventures survive.
In 2006, BBC Radio 4 brought one of the lost serials back to life. Using the original scripts and incidental music, and recorded using vintage microphones and sound effects, the production of Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery aimed to sound as much as possible like the 1947 original might have done if its recording had survived.
The serial proved so popular that it was soon followed by more revivals - including this one originally heard in 1946.
Paul and Steve come to the aid of a baffled Scotland Yard in pursuit of a deadly and mysterious criminal mastermind.
Not only has the recording disappeared but also the scripts of Episodes 1, 2 and 6. This new production is made possible by the recent discovery by a colleague in Norwegian radio of a complete set of scripts in an old store cupboard in Oslo.
Written by Francis Durbridge.
Paul Temple …. Crawford Logan
Steve …. Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes …. Gareth Thomas
Charlie …. Greg Powrie
Inspector Vosper …. Michael MacKenzie
Sir Donald …. Simon Donaldson
Virginia van Cleeve …. Francesca Dymond
Kay Wiseman …. Meg Fraser
Peter Davos …. Richard Greenwood
Edward Day …. Nick Underwood
Producer: Patrick Rayner
Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.
Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2013.
THU 07:00 Coming Alive (b00hrt7t)
Series 3
Betting Fever
Terry agrees to babysit for Sandra - but he reckons without her mother.
Starring Karl Howman and Phyllis 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
Mrs McKendrick …. Sandra Voe
Sean Baker......David Reynolds
Gail …. Jennifer Wheelan
Mr Preston …. David Holt
Wendy Wilson …. Clare Corbett
Barman …. Ewan Bailey
Producer: Marilyn Imrie
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2001.
THU 07:30 Parsley Sidings (b04dcgpq)
Series 2
The Flower Show
Station Master Horace Hepplewhite digs up trouble when he hosts the village horticultural show.
Bert's parcel mix-up at the station's Left Luggage Office causes havoc.
Starring Arthur Lowe and Ian Lavender.
Jim Eldridge's eponymous series is set in a sleepy railway station.
Horace Heppelwhite …. Arthur Lowe
Percy/Clara/Vicar/Bradshaw/Salesman …. Kenneth Connor
Bert Hepplewhite …. Ian Lavender
Gloria Simpkins /Chick…. Liz Fraser
Phineas Perkins …. Bill Pertwee
Station Inspector …. Garrard Green
Announcer: John Dunn
Recovered and improved quality episode.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1973.
THU 08:00 Plum House (m000h7x8)
Series 3
3. A Knight to Remember
Plum House has once again been invited to the Museum of the Year awards in London.
Manager Tom is determined that he and Peter attend as the house has been nominated, despite the rest of the team thinking it's a waste of time.
While Tom and Peter are away, Julian is left in charge and much to Alan and Maureen's consternation decides that now's the time for him to raise his social media game by posing in a suit of armour.
Meanwhile Tom's chance meeting with old colleague Emma at the awards stirs up old feelings.
Comedy about the inept staff at a historic house.
Written by Ben Cottam and Paul McKenna.
Peter ...... Simon Callow
Julian ...... Miles Jupp
Maureen ...... Jane Horrocks
Tom ...... Tom Bell
Alan ...... Pearce Quigley
Emma ...... Louise Ford
Starring Alex Lowe.
Producer: Claire Broughton
Director: Paul Schlesinger
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2020.
THU 08:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmzm)
4. Discovery
Nick finds out more about Gatsby, but can he believe all that he discovers?
It's the Jazz Age in roaring 1920s America. Nick Carraway has moved to the East Coast, next door to the mysterious playboy, Jay Gatsby.
F Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel about aspiration in boom-time America.
Abridged in ten parts by Neville Teller.
Read by Sam Robards.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
THU 08:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyx)
19. Europe
Amelia, Jos and William travel to Europe, where they meet an old friend, or should that be enemy
Stephen Fry narrates one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.
Written by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.
Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Amelia …. Katy Cavanagh
Jos Sedley .... Toby Jones
William Dobbin .... Tom Smith
Mr Wenham …. Philip Fox
Lord Steyne …. David Calder
John Osborne .... Geoffrey Whitehead
Director Marc Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2004.
THU 09:00 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (m001j477)
Series 4
Monday's Child Is...
Multi-award winning comedian and author Mark Watson continues his probably doomed, but luckily funny quest to make sense of the human experience.
This series is about time - the days of the week, the stages of our existence - and the way we use it to make sense of things. We make our way through the working week, starting here with Monday. Why are we so attached to traditional wisdom like 'Monday's child is fair of face'? Why do so many of us dread the start of each week? And what is the biggest pig ever to be born?
Expect jokes, observations and interactions galore as Mark is aided, and sometimes obstructed, by the sardonic musical excellence of Flo & Joan. There's also a hand-picked comedy colleague each week - we kick off with Jayde Adams.
Producer: Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4
THU 09:30 Roger Law and the Chinese Curiosities (b01kblcn)
Series 1
4. Chinese Louvre and Grottos
Roger Law has arrived in Zhengzhou on his journey through China to see some of the many museums of the country.
In this city, a major railway junction, he is amazed to discover a 'Chinese Louvre', a pyramid-shaped building housing some of the finest treasures of the country.
He travels on to the Longman Grottos, where he is amazed to find more than 30,000 Buddha statues and 100,000 Buddha images in a series of caves hollowed out of the rock.
He also finds himself alongside almost the same number of Chinese tourists jostling to see a part of their history.
Produced by Mark Rickards.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.
THU 09:45 Daily Service (m0029pbh)
Lenten Poetry: Good Friday
Priest and poet Laura Darrall journeys through Lent in a week long series of Daily Service programmes exploring poetry from across the centuries. Each service opens with a poem by Laura herself, and the five services take up the themes of Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, including famous works by Gerard Manley Hopkins and George Herbert alongside newer writings by living poets including Malcolm Guite and Ally Barrett.
THU 10:00 Great Lives (b00gd3f0)
Bette Davis
Actress Tracy-Ann Oberman champions the life of the Hollywood actress Bette Davis.
Joining Matthew Parris and Tracy-Ann Oberman in the discussion is Bette Davis expert Robyn Karney, who explores her complex character and achievements, including twice winning the Oscar for Best Actress.
Producer: Miles Warde
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.
THU 10:30 Bette in Britain (b00bzdg8)
Susan George profiles Hollywood legend Bette Davis, her visits to Britain and the impact she had on British actors, directors and producers.
Reflecting the plotlines of characters she played on screen, Bette Davis's visits across the Atlantic left behind stories of success, mystery, court battles, failed marriages and sadness.
Miss Davis starred in several British films and was inspired by our history and influenced by our culture. She came here in the seventies to tour her one-woman show where it has been claimed on a visit to Cardiff she searched for and found her relatives.
Featuring Davis's memorable appearance at The National Film Theatre in London and a look at the time she came to the UK to record an album of songs.
Plus extracts from her British interviews spanning 30 years.
With:
Wendy Craig
Wyn Calvin
Jimmy Sangster
Producer: Stephen Garner
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2008.
THU 11:00 Whodunnits (b011l9l8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 11:30 Paul Temple (b038xx7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 12:00 Coming Alive (b00hrt7t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 12:30 Parsley Sidings (b04dcgpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 13:00 Plum House (m000h7x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 13:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmzm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 14:00 The 3rd Degree (m00213dr)
Series 14
1. University of Leicester
Steve Punt hosts the battle of wits as three students from the University of Leicester take on their professors.
A funny and dynamic general knowledge quiz show with specialist subjects including French, Genetics and Criminology.
Questions range from five-legged sheep, some Italian cheekbones and the one thing Hannibal Lecter really shouldn’t eat, plus there’ll be tips on how to tell your Larkin from your Lineker.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2024.
THU 14:30 No Commitments (b007772z)
Series 13
Model Behaviour
Emily's baby hasn't even arrived yet, but Victoria is already into competitive granny mode.
And is it really possible that Eddie the dentist has a girlfriend?
Simon Brett’s sitcom about the lives and squabbles of three very different sisters.
Anna ...... Rosemary Leach
Victoria ...... Angela Thorne
Charlotte ...... Felicity Montagu
Eddie ...... James Greene
George ...... Bruce Alexander
Felicity ...... Susan Jameson
Music by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Written and produced by Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio in April 2007.
THU 15:00 Indiana by George Sand (m001qlfw)
1. Attraction
Indiana is a young French Creole woman.
After being pushed by her father into a loveless marriage with an older man, she falls for handsome, frivolous Raymon
Novel written by George Sand, first published in 1832.
Starring Helen Longworth and Paul Rhys.
Narrated by Kate Buffery.
Dramatised in two parts by Winsome Pinnock
Indiana .... Helen Longworth
Raymon .... Paul Rhys
Colonel Delmare .... Philip Voss
Noun .... Ndidi Del Fatti
Ralph .... Paul Panting
Mme de Ramiere .... Richenda Carey
Mme Carvajal .... Elizabeth Bell
Lilievre .... Philip Fox
George Sand was the pseudonym used by author Amantine Aurore Dupin.
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2004.
THU 16:00 Great Lives (b00gd3f0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:30 Bette in Britain (b00bzdg8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 17:00 Whodunnits (b011l9l8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 17:30 Paul Temple (b038xx7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 18:00 Coming Alive (b00hrt7t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:30 Parsley Sidings (b04dcgpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 19:00 Plum House (m000h7x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmzm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 19:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 20:00 The 3rd Degree (m00213dr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
THU 20:30 No Commitments (b007772z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
THU 21:00 Indiana by George Sand (m001qlfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
THU 22:00 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (m001j477)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 22:30 The Problem With Adam Bloom (b007r0c7)
Series 1
Lending Things
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
Adam Bloom explores what happens when you give something to someone and then ask for it back.
With stand-up reconstructions and help from Rob Rouse.
Written by Adam Bloom.
Producer: Adam Bromley.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2003.
THU 22:45 Knocker (b008hn0k)
Incentativity
Market researcher Ian Dunn carries out a delicate immigration survey - a "Home Office survey on Racial Tolerance and Inclusion."
Ian's first port of call results in a door slam - from a woman who is convinced he wants credit details. Ian tempts her out with the promise that it is just her opinion he is after, but to no avail...
Comedy series written by and starring Neil Edmond.
Ian Dunn …. Neil Edmond
Mary …. Paula Wilcox
With:
Julia Deakin
Tina Gray
Simon Treves
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
Made for BBC 7 and first broadcast in December 2007.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0029vwb)
Lachlan Werner 2/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of the funny stuff. And tonight, Jon Holmes has another chat to the ventriloquist, Lachlan Werner.
THU 23:00 The Lee Mack Show (b00bt53m)
Suggs
Lee Mack presents stand-up comedy, sketches and music.
With:
Suggs
Milton Jones
Angela McHale
Music by Steve Brown, Kevin Powell and Mark Allis.
Written by Lee Mack and Neil Webster.
Additional material by Milton Jones, Rhodri Crooks and Paul Kerensa.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 2005.
THU 23:30 Beauty of Britain (b010mryx)
Series 2
The Delegate
Karen of the Featherdown agency sends Beauty to the 'End of Life' care conference on her behalf.
Beauty struggles to understand the peculiar behaviour of the British at a conference and their obsessions with name tags and lanyards, as well as why she is the only carer in attendance. This must be why the keynote speaker, Professor Smythe takes a shine to her?
Starring Jocelyn Jee Esien.
Beauty's adventures continue as the Featherdown Agency sends her to provide care for the elderly.
Beauty’s Zimbabwean Shona background has taught her to respect age. She sees Britain at its best and its worst
Written by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson
Beauty ...... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Jenny ...... Pippa Haywood
Rob ...... Tony Gardner
Mrs Grace ...... Phyllida Law
Sally ...... Felicity Montagu
Karen/Keely ...... Nicola Sanderson
Music by The West End Gospel Choir.
Producer : Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.

FRIDAY 11 APRIL 2025

FRI 00:00 Great Lives (b00gd3f0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 Bette in Britain (b00bzdg8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Whodunnits (b011l9l8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Paul Temple (b038xx7d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Coming Alive (b00hrt7t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Parsley Sidings (b04dcgpq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Plum House (m000h7x8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jmzm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The 3rd Degree (m00213dr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 No Commitments (b007772z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Indiana by George Sand (m001qlfw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Whodunnits (b011ppfg)
Agatha Raisin - Series 2
5. The Wizard of Evesham
Agatha is alarmed when her wizard of a hairdresser is keen to take care of other things besides her split ends....
She soon discovers that everyone in his salon has a secret and that he practises a very dark magic indeed...
Penelope Keith stars as Agatha Raisin.
MC Beaton’s novel about the PR guru turned amateur sleuth.
Dramatised by David Semple.
Agatha Raisin ...... Penelope Keith
James Lacey ...... Malcolm Sinclair
Mrs Bloxby ...... Liza Sadovy
Mrs Wendle ...... Tina Gray
John Orlando ...... John Cummins
Bobby ...... Matthew Carter
Director: Carol Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio in November 2005.
FRI 06:30 Paul Temple (b039q5dx)
Paul Temple and the Gregory Affair
10. Presenting Mr Gregory
The suave sleuth sends out invitations to a very special party at the Madrid club.
The tenth and final part, starring Crawford Logan and Gerda Stevenson.
From 1938 to 1968, Francis Durbridge's incomparably suave amateur detective and his glamorous wife solved case after baffling case in one of BBC radio's most popular series. Sadly, only half of Temple's adventures survive.
In 2006, BBC Radio 4 brought one of the lost serials back to life. Using the original scripts and incidental music, and recorded using vintage microphones and sound effects, the production of Paul Temple and the Sullivan Mystery aimed to sound as much as possible like the 1947 original might have done if its recording had survived.
The serial proved so popular that it was soon followed by more revivals - including this one originally heard in 1946.
Paul and Steve come to the aid of a baffled Scotland Yard in pursuit of a deadly and mysterious criminal mastermind.
Not only has the recording disappeared but also the scripts of Episodes 1, 2 and 6. This new production is made possible by the recent discovery by a colleague in Norwegian radio of a complete set of scripts in an old store cupboard in Oslo.
Written by Francis Durbridge.
Paul Temple …. Crawford Logan
Steve …. Gerda Stevenson
Sir Graham Forbes …. Gareth Thomas
Peter Davos …. Richard Greenwood
Kay Wiseman …. Meg Fraser
Inspector Vosper …. Michael MacKenzie
Edward Day …. Nick Underwood
Sir Donald …. Simon Donaldson
Charlie …. Greg Powrie
Producer: Patrick Rayner
Original series first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in December 1946.
Recreated and first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2013.
FRI 07:00 Up the Garden Path (b0089kjs)
Series 3
New Men
Izzy moves into a new flat and faces a new term, but will she find a new man?
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30 something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men.
Imelda Staunton stars as Izzy.
An 6-part radio sequel adapted from Sue Limb’s 1984 novel. The last 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
Maria ...... Marty Cruickshank
Louise ...... Phyllida Nash
Razors ...... Rene Zagger
Marianne ...... Deborah Findlay
Gwyn ...... Sion Probert
Brown ...... Geoffrey McGivern
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
FRI 07:30 The Ken Dodd Show (m0029p9d)
From 26/06/1966
The King of Knotty Ash is joined by The New Faces performing 'I Should Have Known Better'.
Starring Ken Dodd.
Recovered episode back in the BBC archive.
With:
John Laurie
Patricia Hayes
Graham Stark
Judith Chalmers
Doddy’s Diddy Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Written by Ken Dodd and Eddie Braben.
Producer: Bill Worsley
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in June 1966.
FRI 08:00 Michael Frayn's Magic Mobile (m000j94k)
Episode 2
Michael Frayn’s comic universe at the touch of a button
The glittering cast includes:
Joanna Lumley
David Suchet
Susannah Fielding
George Blagden
Jared Harris
Lisa Dillon
Martin Jarvis
Does your heart sink when asked to ‘listen to the following three options’? Enjoy racy promos of the newest versions of a Jane Austen classic! A filmed documentary dares to ask ‘What is Truth?' Why do we get so enraged with the latest technology?
And gorgeous young tv personality Melinda Twinkling presents a reminder of old-school viewing.
Producer: Rosalind Ayres
Director: Martin Jarvis
A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2020.
FRI 08:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jn01)
5. The Past
Nick discovers the reason behind Gatsby's parties - his need to be reunited with someone from his past.
It's the Jazz Age in roaring 1920s America. Nick Carraway has moved to the East Coast, next door to the mysterious playboy, Jay Gatsby.
F Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel about aspiration in boom-time America.
Abridged in ten parts by Neville Teller.
Read by Sam Robards.
Producer: Duncan Minshull
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1996.
FRI 08:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyz)
20. Futures
The futures of Becky, Jos, Amelia and William are finally decided.
Stephen Fry concludes one of the greatest comic novels of the Victorian period.
Written by William Makepeace Thackeray.
Dramatised by Stephen Wyatt.
Becky Sharp .... Emma Fielding
Amelia …. Katy Cavanagh
Jos Sedley .... Toby Jones
William Dobbin .... Tom Smith
Director Marc Beeby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2004.
FRI 09:00 Gossip and Goddesses with Granny Kumar (m000s7n9)
Episode 2
Granny Kumar is back!
Left alone while her family are stuck in quarantine on a world cruise, Granny Kumar decides to host her own series, born out of frustration at seeing or hearing the same old parade of guests on chat shows (mainly male, pale and stale).
She wonders why no one interviews any of the sisters and asks them about their extraordinary, complex and uplifting stories.
So, Gossip and Goddesses is born – Ummi Kumar gathers together her favourite inspirational women at Wembley Community Centre, aided by her millennial great granddaughter Maya and her arch nemesis “frenemy” Geeta, leader of the local Asian Ladies Silver Bats community group.
The show is a women-only party, where they share stories, laugh loads and chew the fat/dish the dirt/eat the biscuits…
A blend of sitcom, silliness and improvised chat, led by the best kind of interviewers who know how to make anyone talk - two really nosy old Indian women.
Ummi Kumar ...... Meera Syal
Geeta Bhandari ...... Harvey Virdi
Maya Kumar ...... Ambreen Razia
With guests, presenter of The Sky at Night Maggie Aderin-Pocock and British soul singer Beverley Knight.
Written by Meera Syal
Music by Sanjeev Bhaskar and Meera Syal
Produced by Liz Anstee
A CPL production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2021.
FRI 09:30 Roger Law and the Chinese Curiosities (b01kbm0n)
Series 1
5. Tap Water, Textiles and Art
Roger Law concludes his journey through China looking for the very best of the country's museums, old and new.
He ends up in Beijing, making a visit to the city's 'Tap Water' museum to find out what's on display.
From there he heads off to find wonderful Chinese textiles and the extraordinary sound of bells in two more of the city's unusual museums, before ending up in one of the finest collections of art that can be found anywhere in the country.
Produced by Mark Rickards.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2012.
FRI 09:45 Daily Service (m0029p9j)
Lenten Poetry: Holy Saturday
Priest and poet Laura Darrall journeys through Lent in a week long series of Daily Service programmes exploring poetry from across the centuries. Each service opens with a poem by Laura herself, and the five services take up the themes of Ash Wednesday, Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, including famous works by Gerard Manley Hopkins and George Herbert alongside newer writings by living poets including Malcolm Guite and Ally Barrett.
FRI 10:00 Soul Music (b036k8v8)
Series 16
Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez for Guitar
Written by Joaquin Rodrigo in 1939, the Concierto de Aranjuez is a guitar classic.
He wrote it amid the chaos of the Spanish Civil War, and in circumstances of poverty and personal tragedy.
How has it touched and changed people's lives?
The composer's daughter Cecilia Rodrigo explains how the blind composer was inspired by the fountains and gardens of the palace of Aranjuez. Nelício Faria de Sales recounts an unforgettable performance deep inside one of Brazil's largest caves.
David B Katague remembers how the piece got him through a difficult period of separation from his family in the Philippines.
Guitarist Craig Ogden explains the magic of the piece for a performer, while actor Simon Callow recalls how hearing the piece was a formative experience for him during his schooldays, when it turned rural Berkshire into a piece of Spain.
Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact
Producer: Melvin Rickarby
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
FRI 10:30 One Way to Necropolis (b00y35ys)
Waterloo to Woking. Alan Dein explores the "dead line" where trains took the departed to their final station.
In search of a coffin ticket, a Victorian funeral train and the guardians of what was once the world's largest cemetery, Alan Dein retraces the route of the Necropolis Railway - from London's Waterloo station to Woking - and uncovers the story of the station of the dead.
Producer: Neil McCarthy
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2005.
FRI 11:00 Whodunnits (b011ppfg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 11:30 Paul Temple (b039q5dx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 12:00 Up the Garden Path (b0089kjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Ken Dodd Show (m0029p9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Michael Frayn's Magic Mobile (m000j94k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jn01)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 14:00 The Motion Show (b0075wz8)
Series 2
Episode 4
This House believes the book is dead, and it would like to live in the 60s.
Dr Phil Hammond watches over proceedings in the quirky debating game.
With:
Gyles Brandreth
Hugh Dennis
Jeremy Hardy
Arthur Smith
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2000.
FRI 14:30 1835 (b0129v0m)
Haircut Sir?
Aristocrat Belport and his servant Ned join the police force, and are called upon to solve some murders in the city of London.
But first, to meet police regulations, they must both have hair cut:s - and as luck would have it, there's a barber's on Fleet Street, run by a Mr Sweeney Todd...
Comic saga of an aristocrat and his servant who struggle to find things to do in the mid- 1830s.
Belport ...... Paul Rider
Ned ...... Jason Done
Peel ...... Roy Barraclough
Trollope ...... Simon Greenall
Sweeney Todd ...... Jonathan Keeble
Written and directed at BBC Manchester by Jim Poyser.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
FRI 15:00 Indiana by George Sand (m001qlg9)
2. Risk
Young Indiana, who is married to a much older man, risks everything for love.
But she discovers that handsome Raymon's ideas are very different to her own.
Conclusion of George Sand's 1832 novel.
Starring Helen Longworth and Paul Rhys.
Narrated by Kate Buffery.
Dramatised by Winsome Pinnock
Indiana .... Helen Longworth
Raymon .... Paul Rhys
Colonel Delmare .... Philip Voss
Noun .... Ndidi Del Fatti
Ralph .... Paul Panting
Mme de Ramiere .... Richenda Carey
Captain Random .... Philip Fox
Narrator .... Kate Buffery
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2004.
FRI 16:00 Soul Music (b036k8v8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:30 One Way to Necropolis (b00y35ys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Whodunnits (b011ppfg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Paul Temple (b039q5dx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Up the Garden Path (b0089kjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 18:30 The Ken Dodd Show (m0029p9d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 19:00 Michael Frayn's Magic Mobile (m000j94k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (b007jn01)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 19:45 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (b007jvyz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 20:00 The Motion Show (b0075wz8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
FRI 20:30 1835 (b0129v0m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Indiana by George Sand (m001qlg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Call Jonathan Pie (m0029p9q)
Series 2
2. A Strange Musk
The first four episodes of Call Jonathan Pie series 2 are now available on BBC Sounds, subscribe to be alerted when new episodes in the series are released.

Whilst Pie discusses issues surrounding the billionaire class the entire team must deal with the fallout of Pie’s dodgy tummy. Meanwhile Sam is showing worrying signs: namely, thinking for himself. Special guest appearance from Dermot O’Leary.


Call Jonathan Pie is written and performed by Tom Walker.
With additional material from Nick Revell and Daniel Abelson
Jules ….. Lucy Pearman
Sam ….. Aqib Khan
Roger ….. Nick Revell.
Special Guest …. Dermot O’Leary

The callers; Daniel Abelson, Ed Kear, Sarah Gabriel, Willow Bennison, Adam Byron, and Laura Shavin.

Producers Alison Vernon-Smith and Julian Mayers
A Yada-Yada Audio Production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 22:30 Trevor's World of Sport (b00mzslp)
Series 2
Episode 6
When a vain footballer client throws a party, events take a chaotic and violent turn.
Stars Neil Pearson.
Andy Hamilton's comedy about an honourable sports agent in a dishonourable world.
Trevor …. Neil Pearson
Sammy …. Paul Reynolds
Meryl.........Claire Skinner
Toby.........Matthew Thomas
Ralph …. Michael Fenton Stevens
Theresa …. Rosalind Ayres
Heidrun …. Cosima Shaw
Barry …. Abdul Salis
Samantha.......Amber Sainsbury
Other parts........Philip Pope and Gina Yashere
Written and produced by Andy Hamilton
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2006.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m0029vwd)
Lachlan Werner 3/3
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of the funny stuff. And tonight, Jon Holmes once again chats to the ventriloquist, Lachlan Werner.
FRI 23:00 Sarah Keyworth - Are you a Boy or a Girl? (m000pp9c)
Series 1
Clutch Bag
In her first BBC stand-up series, award-winning comedian Sarah Keyworth explores her personal journey with gender fluidity.
Join Sarah as she looks back on her own funny, ridiculous and bizarre experiences, as she attempts to shed light on why gender still remains such an important issue in the 21st Century.
In this episode, Sarah is off to university - struggling to fit in with her group of hyper feminine fellow students and asking why do dresses never have pockets.
Producer: Adnan Ahmed
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2020.
FRI 23:15 Tom Mayhew Is Benefit Scum (m0019k7l)
Series 2
Everybody’s Changing
Working-class comedian Tom Mayhew takes you on an autobiographical journey through the benefits system.
It's a stand-up series taking a wry sideways look at the prejudices that people have towards benefits claimants and turns those assumptions on their heads.
In this episode, Tom is joined by his mate Sian Davies to talk about cheap dates, love and relationships as Tom’s stand up explores sexuality and feelings among the working class.
Tom Mayhew is a critically acclaimed comedian, whose material about being working class – mixing the personal and the political, with the punchline-rate of a one-liner comic – sets him apart from any other act on the circuit.
Tom Mayhew Is Benefit Scum is based on Mayhew's acclaimed Edinburgh show I, Tom Mayhew, which transferred to a sell-out run at the Soho Theatre.
Written and Performed by Tom Mayhew
Featuring Chris Cantrill and Sian Davies
Additional Material by Olivia Phipps
Produced by Benjamin Sutton
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2022.
FRI 23:30 Talking to Strangers (b0717j28)
Episode 4
Comic monologues in which a range of characters find themselves engaging in that most un-British of activities: talking to a stranger.
Each piece is a character study: funny, frank, absurd, moving... Characters include a sex councillor who loves to draw, a spy who loves to share, a woman who likes to help too much ('I'm a serial helpist...'), a frustrated falconer, and a cheater who has to call her cheatee the morning after. And in this show, the listener themselves 'plays' the silent stranger in the piece...
Written and performed by Sally Phillips and Lily Bevan.
With guest stars: :
Olivia Colman
Jessica Hynes
Steve Evets
Sinead Matthews
Joel Fry
Mike Wozniak
Producer: Sam Bryan
A BBC Comedy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2016.