SATURDAY 03 MAY 2025

SAT 00:00 Soul Music (b0076m94)
Series 4
Stand By Me
Singer-songwriter Ben E King talks about writing the classic song in his bedroom on a cheap guitar.
It was recorded by Marc Bolan and John Lennon, and was featured in a film.
Those reflecting on its lasting emotional power are:
Raynold Gideon
Bruce Evans
Jason Toynbee
Steve Brosnihan
Alan Clayson
Reader: Kerry Shale
Series about music that makes the hairs stand up on the back of our necks.
Producer: Lucy Lunt
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2004.
SAT 00:30 Who Was Rosalind? (b01qlhjt)
In 'As You Like It', Shakespeare created one of his greatest and most complicated female roles.
At a time when women were not allowed to act on stage, the role would have been taken by a young boy.
But who?
Susan Hitch tries to find out.
The actor, critic and academic looks at how Shakespeare wrote for his actors, the educational culture of Elizabethan England, and the brilliance of the makeup artists of Shakespeare's company.
Susan talks to academic experts, to actor Adrian Lester who has played Rosalind, and to contemporary schoolboys and teachers about boys playing girls.
She also discovers how radically our ideas of intimacy and desire have changed in the last 400 years and how strong the power of theatre still is today.
Producer: Martin Smith
First broadcast in BBC Radio 4 in February 2013.
SAT 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jwd9)
Wimsey - Murder Must Advertise
5. Sudden Decease of a Man in Dress Clothes
With Lord Peter Wimsey working undercover to probe a death at an ad agency, there's news of a fresh killing.
Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic amateur sleuth created by Dorothy L Sayers.
Dramatised by Alistair Beaton.
Lord Peter Wimsey ...... Ian Carmichael
Chief Inspector Parker ...... Allan Cuthbertson
Dian de Momerie ...... Beth Morris
Mr Tallboy ...... Edward de Souza
Major Milligan ...... Lyndon Brook
Mr Garrett ...... Brian Wilde
Mr Hankin ...... Frank Williams
P.C. Moffatt ...... Gordon Clyde
Serg. Lumley ...... Danny Schiller
Mr Garfield ...... Philip Voss
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1979.
SAT 01:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002bjtw)
4. Monte Carlo
Four men cheated out of a million dollars are individually scheming to get their money back from American con-man Harvey Metcalfe.
Jean Pierre Lamanns' plan was a success.
Now it is the turn of Dr Adrian Tryner...
Jeffrey Archer's debut novel.
Starring Stratford Johns, Paul Darrow, Francis Matthews, Edward De Souza and Jeremy Clyde.
Dramatised by Betty Davies
The Narrator .... Jeffrey Archer
Harvey Metcalfe .... Stratford Johns
Stephen Bradley .... Paul Darrow
Adrian Tryner .... Francis Matthews
Jean Pierre Lamanns .... Edward de Souza
Lord James Brigsley .... Jeremy Clyde
Barise .... Olivier Pierre
Nurse Faubert .... Eve Karpf
Croupier .... Andre Maranne
Mellor .... Sean Arnold
Young man .... Gordon Reid
Waiter .... John Church
Lloyd Goldthorne .... Robert Beatty
Director: Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1980.
SAT 02:00 Up the Garden Path (b008hq47)
Series 3
Taking It on the Chin
As Izzy's love-life grows ever more complicated - she's in for a big surprise.
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30 something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men.
Imelda Staunton stars as Izzy.
A radio sequel adapted in six parts from Sue Limb’s 1984 novel.
One of three series which ran from 1987 to 1993. Granada also adapted the series for ITV.
Izzy ...... Imelda Staunton
Dick ...... Mike Grady
Maria ...... Marty Cruickshank
Michael ...... Nicholas Le Prevost
Razors ...... Rene Zagger
Bill ...... Neil McCaul
Louise ...... Phyllida Nash
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
SAT 02:30 The Ken Dodd Show (m002bjty)
From 07/01/1968
The world’s greatest cellist and the secrets of a happy married life.
Starring Ken Dodd.
With:
John Laurie
Patricia Hayes
Graham Stark
Judith Chalmers
Written by Eddie Braben and Ken Dodd
Doddy’s Diddy Orchestra directed by Geoff Alderson.
Producer: Bill Worsley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 broadcast in January 1968.
SAT 03:00 Relativity (m0001w39)
Series 2
Episode 1
The funeral of beloved grandmother Doris brings the family together in sorrow.
Chloe thinks this is the perfect time to share her and Ina’s forthcoming baby news - until she is unexpectedly pipped at the post.
Drawing on his own family, Richard Herring’s comedy drama returns to build on the warm, lively characters and family dynamics of the first series.
His affectionate observation of inter-generational misunderstanding, sibling sparring and the ties that bind will resonate with anyone who has ever argued with their dad about who the current Pope is.
Amid the comedy, Richard broaches some more serious highs and lows of family life.
Margaret …… Alison Steadman
Ken …… Phil Davis
Jane …… Fenella Woolgar
Ian …… Richard Herring
Chloe …… Emily Berrington
Pete …… Gordon Kennedy
Holly …… Tia Bannon
Mark …… Fred Haig
Nick …… Harrison Knights
Billy …… Danny Kirrane
Richard Herring is a comedian, writer, blogger and podcaster and the world's premier semi-professional self-playing snooker player.
Sound Design by Eloise Whitmore
Producer: Polly Thomas
Executive Producers: Jon Thoday and Richard Allen Turner
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019.
SAT 03:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (m000xv7l)
5. Prodigy Books, Insects and Record Breakers
The proliferation of "Prodigy" books and the first book to detail insects - Micrographia.
The shortest poem in history and the longest, largest and smallest books.
Edward Brooke-Hitching's father was an antiquarian book dealer.
So began his fascination, leading to a unique journey through the entire history of literature, delving into its darkest territories to hunt down the very strangest books ever written, and uncover the stories behind their creation.
This is a madman’s library of eccentric and extraordinary volumes from around the world, many of which have been completely forgotten.
Books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered… and a few others that are just plain weird.
Abridged by Polly Coles
Concluded by Arty Froushan
Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2021.
SAT 03:45 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (m002bjv0)
15. Failure and Success
Carrie has left Hurstwood, and he steadily declines to begging in the streets.
Carrie is now a highly successful actress, with money, fame and admirers.
Drouet returns to chance his luck with her, but she sends him packing.
But will she ever see Hurstwood again?
Conclusion of Theodore Dreiser's neglected American classic, first published in 1900.
It's the gripping tale of a young woman's eventful rise to fame and fortune at the turn of the 20th century.
Dramatised by Steve Chambers.
Dreiser .... Russell Dixon
Hurstwood .... Liam Cunningham
Carrie .... Eve Best
Julia .... Kate Harper
Lola .... Alison Darling
Charlie Drouet .... John Guerrasio
All other parts played by members of the cast.
Director: Polly Thomas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2000.
SAT 04:00 Whispers (b007k2kg)
Series 1
Episode 1
What is the rather inflammatory connection between Salman Rushdie and The Beatles?
This is the series celebrating our fascination with gossip, rumour and controversy.
Gyles Brandreth hosts the panel game with scandal on its mind and slander at its heart.
Regular team captains Anthony Holden and Stella Duffy are joined by:
Rosie Millard
Jenny Colgan
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2003.
SAT 04:30 1835 (b012mbjv)
Down at the Old Bull and Bush
Belport falls in love with renowned music-hall artiste Emilia La Rue. But can he prise her away from Svyatislav the strong man? Probably not.
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
Danvers ...... Roy Barraclough
The Great Fettuccine ...... Simon Greenall
Emelia ...... Sue Cleaver
Written and directed at BBC Manchester by Jim Poyser.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2004.
SAT 05:00 HG Wells (b08g3rbp)
Ann Veronica
2. A Quest for Liberation
Ann Veronica is living alone in London in her quest for liberation. But it's an uphill struggle.
She must fight off the sexual advances of a so called friend, discover the love of her life is married, and get arrested and imprisoned for a suffragette raid on the House of Commons.
Conclusion of HG Wells' witty and lively tale.
The storytelling is witty and ironic and Ann Veronica caused a scandal in its time because of the feminist sensibilities of the heroine and also because of the affair Wells was having with Amber Reeves, the woman who inspired the novel's eponymous character. This is a relatively unknown and unexpected novel by Wells.
The Spectator described Ann Veronica as a "poisonous book..." Although unlikely to offend modern listeners, this novel addresses many feminist versus femininity issues that are still relevant today.
The novel deals with the early stages of what is arguably the most important social development of the 20th Century, the education and financial and sexual liberation of women. And the fact is that, nearly 100 years later, the problem of women who want to marry, have children and pursue a liberating career, is still not easy to solve.
Wells makes a good case for freer sexual relationships, but Amber Reeves - and later Rebecca West - were the ones whose lives were changed - by bearing and bringing up a child by him.
Dramatised by Ellen Dryden.
Ann Veronica …... Amy Hoggart
Mr Stanley ..…. Geoffrey Whitehead
H.G. Wells ..…. Bill Nighy
Aunt Molly …... Ruth Alexander-Rubin
Kitty Brett ..…. Verity Henry
Manning ..…. Toby Hadoke
Ramage …... Jonathan Keeble
Director: Pauline Harris
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.
SAT 06:00 Drama on 4 (b0bknc4b)
The Christchurch Murder by Angela Carter
Two teenage girls, Lena Ball and Nerissa Locke become passionate friends after meeting at the local Girls’ Grammar school.
Enchanted with each other and disillusioned with their lives, they plan to run away to Hollywood.
Only their parents stand in the way of their happiness.
Angela Carter's unmade screenplay - based on a real life murder that took place in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954.
Starring Fiona Shaw and Nancy Carroll.
Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Angela Carter …. Fiona Shaw
Mary Locke …. Nancy Carroll
Colin Locke …. James Wilby
Douggie Quinn …. Adrian Lukis
Nerissa Locke …. Dolores Carbonari
Lena Ball …. Erin Wallace
Mrs Ball …. Julia Deakin
Mr Ball …. Gerard McDermott
Jean Ball …. Acushla-Tara Kupe
Bobbs Ball …. Thomas Meeson
Ollie/Man …. Rex Duis
Mrs Graham …. Kirsty Gillmore
Miss Johnson …. Sara Lynam
Miss Ferguson/Nurse …. Dianne Weller
Detective/Doctor …. Eddie Mann
Grammar School Girls …. Niamh Blackman, Julie Gilby, Lucy Mangan and Rosina Fielder
Director: Fiona McAlpine
An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2018.
SAT 07:30 Hello Stranger by Will Buckingham (Omnibus) (m002brs1)
When Will Buckingham's partner died, he coped with his grief by throwing his doors open to new people, and travelling alone to far-flung places among strangers.
The philosopher and traveller begins with the experience of personal grief.
He draws on his knowledge as a philosopher and anthropologist, as well as a keen and wide-roaming traveller, to explore the tensions, anxieties, joys and rewards of our relationship with strangers.
Taking in stories of loneliness, exile, travel and hospitality from early history, classical Greece and Rome to the present day, he holds out the possibility of an antidote to the fears and isolation of an increasingly fragmented world.
Will Buckingham's stories of connection, first published in 2021.
Omnibus of five parts abridged by Sara Davies.
Read by Mark Jeary-Fairbairn.
Producer: Sara Davies
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2021.
SAT 08:45 Beryl Reid in Conversation (m00083jd)
Classical Roles
The challenge of moving to the classical stage, performing with the RSC and at the National Theatre.
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 July 1992.
SAT 09:00 Molesworth (m000fqk5)
Home Life
Remember that school boy terror who loved flicking ink pellets?
Many trillions of eons ago, Nigel Molesworth was The Curse of St Custards.
But he's come a long way since those days, and now returns with his guide to modern-life.
Starring Willie Rushton.
Series written by Simon Brett.
Based on characters created by Geoffrey Willans and by Ronald Searle.
Molesworth ...... Willie Rushton
Grimes ...... Clive Swift
Louise ...... Penelope Nice
Gillibrand ...... Robert Harley
Peason ...... Bob Sinfield
Fotherington-Thomas ...... Phil Nice
Arabella ...... Chrissy Roberts
Music: Oonagh Bernon
Producer: Mark Robson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1987.
SAT 09:30 Beyond Our Ken (m00023k4)
From 16/7/1959
Kenneth Horne takes his two nephews to the zoo and ‘Hornerama’ investigates Holidays.
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 July 1959.
SAT 10:00 Mastertapes - Access All Areas (m000m0ty)
2. From Four Seasons to Time of the Season
Mastertapes is a BBC Radio 4 series in which John Wilson talks to leading performers and songwriters about the album that made them or changed them.
John continues his behind-the-scenes tour of the iconic BBC studios at Maida Vale in London where over 40 episodes of Mastertapes were recorded.
In the second of this three-part series, John recalls show featuring:
Nigel Kennedy
Noel Gallagher
Bellowhead
Soul II Soul
Wilko Johnson
Natalie Merchant
Emeli Sande
The Zombies
Producer: Sarah Shebbeare
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in December 2018.
SAT 11:00 Drama on 4 (b0bknc4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 12:30 Hello Stranger by Will Buckingham (Omnibus) (m002brs1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 13:45 Beryl Reid in Conversation (m00083jd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 14:00 Molesworth (m000fqk5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 14:30 Beyond Our Ken (m00023k4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 15:00 Mastertapes - Access All Areas (m000m0ty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Doctor Who (m001h4gb)
The War Doctor
6. The Neverwhen
On an isolated world ravaged by battle, time itself has become a weapon, laying waste to all who live and die there. Arms and technology are in a state of flux - and it seems that everlasting war is their only option.
The arrival of one battered Type Forty TARDIS inside this nightmare offers hope to the combatants trapped within.
But when he discovers the truth, the horrors of the Neverwhen will shock even the War Doctor...
John Hurt stars as The War Doctor.
Written by Matt Fitton.
The War Doctor .... John Hurt .
Cardinal Ollistra …. Jacqueline Pearce
Commander Barnac was played by Tracy Wiles
Daylin …. Jaye Griffiths
Commander Thraken …. Barnaby Kay
General Kallix …. Timothy Bentinck.
Navigator Valis …. Laura Harding
The Daleks voiced by Nicholas Briggs.
Original music written by Howard Carter.
Artwork by Tom Webster
Director: Nicholas Briggs
A Big Finish production.
SAT 17:00 Drama on 4 (b0bknc4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 18:30 Hello Stranger by Will Buckingham (Omnibus) (m002brs1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 19:45 Beryl Reid in Conversation (m00083jd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 20:00 Molesworth (m000fqk5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 20:30 Beyond Our Ken (m00023k4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 21:00 Mastertapes - Access All Areas (m000m0ty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Bridget Christie's Utopia (b09rz65d)
Series 1
The Countryside
As Bridget Christie struggles to come to terms with current world events - Kim Jong-un, the melting polar ice caps, the Brexit negotiations and Nick Knowles singing a cover of The Beatles "Here Comes The Sun" - she embarks on a comic quest for her Utopia.
She's seeking a way of living that will make her less anxious and enable her to have her first happy week since the Brexit vote in 2016.
In this episode, Bridget explores the countryside - to see if that will make her happier.
Could living on a rural commune or moving her family to the country be the answer to all her problems? Or will life still be completely rubbish? In her tour of the countryside, Bridget meets a woman who runs her own commune - Fran Blockley - in rural Wales. Could a new life in the countryside help this town mouse switch off?
Stand-up show recorded in front of a studio audience at the BBC Radio Theatre. With special guest Fran Blockley.
Producers: Simon Nicholls and Alison Vernon-Smith.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2018.
SAT 22:30 4 Stands Up (b00fhr36)
Series 2
Episode 4
Welsh comic Rhod Gilbert invites old hands and fresh faces on the comedy circuit to perform.
With:
Danielle Ward
Doc Brown
Robin Ince
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2008.
SAT 23:00 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m002brs3)
2025
03/05/2025
Esyllt Sears kicks off a week of special programmes featuring highlights and behind-the-scenes conversations from the 2025 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. In this episode she speaks to the brilliant Lorna Rose Treen and the delightful Desiree Burch.
Producers: Mark Lee and Chris Pearson
SAT 23:15 Sunil Patel: An Idiot's Guide To (m0017chs)
Cryptocurrency
How To Get Rich Off Crypto Alone
In a desperate bid to become rich, comedian and broadcaster Sunil Patel attempts to live off cryptocurrency alone.
Sunil tries to pay for everything only using cryptocurrency, and ends up having to travel to El Salvador to get his big shop done.
Including interviews with academic Patrick Shortis and the performing talents of Christopher Biggins.
Written by and Starring Sunil Patel
Featuring Helen Bauer and Christopher Biggins
Additional Material from Charlie Dinkin
Produced by Benjamin Sutton.
A Daddy’s SuperYacht production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2022.
SAT 23:30 Chain Reaction (b00gsb83)
Series 2
Mark Thomas Interviews Alexei Sayle
Political comedian Mark Thomas interviews the tough-talking godfather of alternative comedy, Alexei Sayle.
This is the tag talk show series where the guest turns interviewer in the next show.
Recorded with an audience, the interviews focus on the life, career and the passions of the interviewee but often prove to be as revealing about the interviewer.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2005.

SUNDAY 04 MAY 2025

SUN 00:00 Doctor Who (m001h4gb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Drama on 4 (b0bknc4b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:30 Hello Stranger by Will Buckingham (Omnibus) (m002brs1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 03:45 Beryl Reid in Conversation (m00083jd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 Molesworth (m000fqk5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 Beyond Our Ken (m00023k4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 Mastertapes - Access All Areas (m000m0ty)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m000zd22)
Football
David Beckham
Footballer David Beckham is castaway by Kirsty Young.
This programme was made to celebrate the BBC's 75th Anniversary of Desert Island Discs.
As a professional footballer he's the only Englishman to win the league titles in England, Spain, the US and France.
He spent the bulk of his career as a midfielder for Manchester United, winning the Treble - Premiership, FA Cup and Champions League - in 1999, before moving to Real Madrid in 2003. He headed to the US to play for LA Galaxy in 2007, and ended his career at Paris Saint-Germain in 2013, retiring in May that year.
Born and raised in East London, the middle child of Ted and Sandra, David Beckham discovered football early and spent hours kicking a ball around at the local park with his father. At the age of seven, he played for his first team, Ridgeway Rovers, before coming to the attention of Manchester United while attending the Bobby Charlton Soccer School.
He became a trainee with Manchester United in 1991, and progressed to make 265 first team appearances, winning the Premier League six times, the FA Cup twice and the UEFA Champions League once. He played for England from 1996 to 2009 and captained the side for six years.
He has been married to Victoria Adams - known as Posh from the Spice Girls - since 1999 and they have four children.
Since retiring from professional football in 2013, David has spent more time on his work with UNICEF which he has supported since 2005.
DISC ONE: Ella Fitzgerald - Every Time We Say Goodbye
DISC TWO: Michael McDonald & The Doobie Brothers - What a Fool Believes
DISC THREE: The Stone Roses - I Am the Resurrection
DISC FOUR: Elton John - Something About The Way You Look Tonight
DISC FIVE: Alejandro Sanz - No Es Lo Mismo
DISC SIX: The Rolling Stones - Wild Horses
DISC SEVEN: Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney - The Girl is Mine
DISC EIGHT: Sidney Bechet - Si tu vois ma mère
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Ella Fitzgerald - Every Time We Say Goodbye
BOOK CHOICE: On Fire by Francis Mallmann
LUXURY CHOICE: His England caps
Producer: Cathy Drysdale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2017.
SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00lj1nf)
Series 1
Bowerbirds
One of the most extraordinary structures in the animal world is constructed by a Bower Bird.
Sir David tells the life story of the Vogelkopf Bower Bird, the one that raises the bar higher than the rest.
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 (m002bsy9)
Ways to Weather the Storm
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and selects Ways to Weather the Storm with Clare Shaw.
In the flood-prone landscape of the Calder Valley, poet Clare Shaw asks what it means to live with the inevitability of severe flooding.
Why does this part of England continue to be loved by its communities - in particular by its many resident artists who are inspired by this watery, often bleak surrounding?
Recorded entirely on location on the steep-sided valleys and wind-swept tops of Calderdale, Clare discusses the pull and the perils of living here, and what this landscape and its communities can teach us about living with disaster of the most elemental kind.
Perhaps the most famous inhabitant of Calderdale is Ted Hughes, whose poem Rain is, for Clare, the most apt evocation of the rain here.
Water is an ever-present force in this landscape and in its history. Local historian Nick Wilding and musician Alison Cooper describe the part water has played in the industrial past of the valley, as well as how it continues to affect local communities and the very real threat of climate change.
The impact of flooding comes to the fore in conversation with friend and actress Jackie Kington, whose house in Hebden Bridge often features in national news stories about the flooding of the town.
With poet Zaffar Kunial and storyteller Christine McMahon, Clare asks what role art plays in making sense of these huge events around us, and finding ways of recovering. Mixed-media artist Kate Boyce describes how the beauty and contrasts of this landscape inspire her work, and how her own chronic illness has changed her understanding of both life and landscape.
We hear too from Clare's own collection Flood: a poetic exploration not just of flooding, but also of flood as metaphor in her own life, from breakdown to her mother's death, to the end of a failing relationship. We shape our own world - through stories and music and art and through everyday acts of kindness and resilience.
With thanks to the Ted Hughes Estate for use of his poem Rain, and the Arvon Foundation for allowing access to their terrace for socially-distanced outdoor recording.
Producer: Philippa Geering
Assistant Producer: Elizaveta Butakova
Mixed by Steve Wyatt
A Boom Shakalaka production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2021.
*** And Daljit reads a poem from his Poetry Extra Book of the Month: No One Will Know Tomorrow by Najwan Darwish.
SUN 07:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (Omnibus) (m002bsyc)
Edward Brooke-Hitching's father was an antiquarian book dealer.
So began his fascination, leading to a unique journey through the entire history of literature, delving into its darkest territories to hunt down the very strangest books ever written, and uncover the stories behind their creation.
This is a madman’s library of eccentric and extraordinary volumes from around the world, many of which have been completely forgotten.
Books written in blood and books that kill, books of the insane and books that hoaxed the globe, books invisible to the naked eye and books so long they could destroy the Universe, books worn into battle, books of code and cypher whose secrets remain undiscovered… and a few others that are just plain weird.
Omnibus of five parts abridged by Polly Coles.
Read by Arty Froushan.
Producer: Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2021.
SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002bsyf)
Steph McGovern
Presenter and journalist Steph McGovern chooses ‘Starman’ by David Bowie and ‘C’est La Vie’ by B*Witched.
SUN 08:50 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (Omnibus) (m002bsyh)
Episode 3
Hurstwood and Carrie set up house in New York. Hurstwood invests in a bar, and for a while all is rosy.
Time goes by, and Carrie becomes increasingly frustrated with her hemmed in life.
Carrie's dissatisfaction with her lot intensifies when she meets Robert Ames, an intelligent and courteous man, who treats her with dignity.
Theodore Dreiser's neglected American classic, first published in 1900.
It's the gripping tale of a young woman's eventful rise to fame and fortune at the turn of the 20th century.
Omnibus of the last five of fifteen episodes dramatised by Steve Chambers.
Dreiser .... Russell Dixon
Hurstwood .... Liam Cunningham
Carrie .... Eve Best
Charlie Drouet .... John Guerrasio
Pearl .... Alison Darling
Julia/Mrs Vance/Mrs Oeslagge .... Kate Harper
Maid/Lola .... Alison Darling
All other parts played by members of the cast
Director: Polly Thomas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2000.
SUN 10:00 Life With The Lyons (m002bsyk)
I Did It With My Little Hatchet
Richard’s vow to always be truthful creates havoc in the Lyon household.
Starring the real-life all-American Lyon family.
Ben …. Ben Lyon
Bebe …. Bebe Daniels
Barbara …. Barbara Lyon
Richard …. Richard Lyon
Aggie MacDonald …. Molly Weir
Florrie Wainwright …. Doris Rogers
Mr Wimple …. Horace Percival
With Hugh Morton and Gwen Lewis
Life With the Lyons was one the BBC's most popular radio sitcoms between1950 and 1961. It was also adapted for BBC TV.
Written by Bebe Daniels, Bob Block and Ronnie Hanbury.
BBC Variety Orchestra conducted by Paul Fenoulhet.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1954.
SUN 10:30 Take It From Here (b0138xvv)
From 15/04/1954
Jimmy and Dick talk green fingers, while Eth consults the stars over Ron 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 April 1954.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m000zd22)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00lj1nf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m002bsy9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (Omnibus) (m002bsyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002bsyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 13:50 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (Omnibus) (m002bsyh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 15:00 Life With The Lyons (m002bsyk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 15:30 Take It From Here (b0138xvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 16:00 All the Dark Corners (b015zm9l)
The Desk by Andrew Readman
Davis Finch is a hack TV writer with aspirations to write a novel.
In order to be a real writer he feels he needs a proper desk. The one he buys changes his life.
He becomes a success - but at what price?
Stars Graeme Hawley
The first in a series of three chilling plays.
Written by Andrew Readman.
Finch ....... Graeme Hawley
Harrison ....... Tim McInnerny
Rachel ....... Karen West
Morris ....... Greg Wood
Valerie ....... Melissa Jane Sinden
Shopkeeper ....... Russell Richardson
Director: Gary Brown
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2011.
SUN 16:45 Get Carter: The Bloody Chamber (b0bkr5p6)
The Erl-King
A hapless maid wandering deeper into the woods encounters the bewitching presence of the Erl-King, the presiding spirit of the forest.
She willingly enters his woodland lair and lies with him.
But when she discovers that he plans to turn her into a bird and imprison her with the rest of his aviary, she must somehow break the spell.
Another of Angela Carter's iconic collection of fairy stories - dramatised by Olivia Hetreed.
Erl-King ...... Ariyon Bakare
Lover ...... Rakie Ayola
Goblin ...... Jasmine Jones
At the time of writing The Bloody Chamber in the late 1970s, Angela Carter was disaffected by both sides of the feminist debate. She re-worked traditional fairy tales from her own unique, literary outsider’s point of view, putting women at the centre of the stories.
With their feisty heroines and orgiastic mash-up of beasts, shape-shifters and ghouls, her extraordinary tales are the most perfect example of her style, not just for her incomparable prose, but also in the dizzying twists and turns of perception, fantasy and myth.
Controversially influenced by De Sade, she embraced the erotic, explored our deepest and darkest urges, and subverted the roles of hunter and prey, master and mistress so that, instead of male sexuality, it is the female that becomes transgressive and powerful.
Sound Design: Lucinda Mason Brown
Director: Fiona McAlpine
An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2018.
SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m000zd22)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00lj1nf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m002bsy9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 18:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (Omnibus) (m002bsyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002bsyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 19:50 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (Omnibus) (m002bsyh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 21:00 Life With The Lyons (m002bsyk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:30 Take It From Here (b0138xvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 22:00 Elvenquest (b01616lj)
Series 3
Episode 1
When Sam is left behind to "guard the stuff" whilst the others are off killing the Man-munching Giant of Rankor he is accosted by a beautiful maiden, Eirwen, who has been kept captive in the giant's castle and takes Sam to be her rescuer. She promptly proposes, throwing the future of the Questers' Fellowship into jeopardy.
Meanwhile, Lord Darkness' attempts to conquer Lower Earth take a new turn when Kreech discovers an ancient prophesy enabling Lord Darkness to create the "UnChosen One", an evil spirit that is the only being that can defeat the Chosen One.
Problem is, it means Lord Darkness has to impregnate a hideous, misshapen creature. If only there was one of those close to hand...
Fantasy-based sitcom set in Lower Earth written by Anil Gupta and Richard Pinto.
Sam …. Stephen Mangan
Lord Darkness …. Alistair McGowan
Dean/Kreech …. Kevin Eldon
Vidar …. Darren Boyd
EirwenMartha Howe-Douglas
Amis ‘The Chosen One’ …. Dave Lamb
Penthiselea …. Sophie Winkleman
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2011.
SUN 22:30 Pick Ups (b00ngzck)
Series 2
Stags and Bucks
An old school friend rocks Dave's world, while Mike gets involved in a gay stag night - on the straight side of town.
Comedy set in a run-down taxi office in Manchester.
Written by Ian Kershaw.
Mike ...... Paul Loughran
Lind ...... Lesley Sharp
Dave ...... Phil Rowson
Shelly ...... Naomi Radcliffe
Ashley ...... Jonathan Mayor
Darren ...... Chris Hoyle
Producer: Paul Hardy
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009.
SUN 23:00 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m002bsyn)
2025
04/05/2025
Esyllt Sears continues a week of special programmes featuring highlights and behind-the-scenes conversations from the 2025 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. In this episode, Esyllt chats with Mach newcomer Rosalie Minnitt and the comedian and podcaster Cerys Bradley.
Producers: Mark Lee and Chris Pearson
SUN 23:15 Jokes (m001wpg2)
Jazz Emu: The Sound of Us
1. The Sound of Love
Jazz Emu sets out to write his friends the most romantic song ever created, in order to save their crumbling relationship and make everything in his friendship group nice again.
Digging back into his alternative musical archives, Jazz takes inspiration from Barry White, George Michael and ACDC in order to learn about what makes a song romantic.
Armed with misguided understanding and unerring confidence, Jazz is ready to blow some minds. If music be the food of love, it’s lunchtime. Or something like that?
Jazz Emu: musician, 70s lothario-type, ex-Hollywood foley artist and internationally renowned idiot. After a long career in (and often out) of the spotlight, he has decided to present a radio show in order to connect with the average Joes (and Janes, and other boring names) and bestow his expert knowledge of Sound upon the universe.
Written by Archie Henderson and Adrian Gray
Starring Archie Henderson, Adrian Gray, Emmanuel Sonubi, Lorna Rose Treen, Cody Dahler
Produced by Sasha Bobak
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2024.
SUN 23:30 Rigor Mortis (b00gszmk)
Series 3
Episode 5
Pathologist Anthony's ex wife Valerie wants to know why her mother died so he agrees to perform an autopsy.
Starring Peter Davison
Laurence Howarth's black comedy set in the world of the pathology lab.
Dr Webster .... Peter Davison
Valerie .... Rebecca Front
Dr Anderson .... Matilda Ziegler
Professor Donaldson .... Geoffrey Whitehead
Gordon .... Tom Price
Chloe .... Marianne Levy
Simon .... Gus Brown
Music: Paul Mottram
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2006.

MONDAY 05 MAY 2025

MON 00:00 All the Dark Corners (b015zm9l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:45 Get Carter: The Bloody Chamber (b0bkr5p6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:45 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m000zd22)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00lj1nf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m002bsy9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 The Madman's Library by Edward Brooke-Hitching (Omnibus) (m002bsyc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002bsyf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]
MON 03:50 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (Omnibus) (m002bsyh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Life With The Lyons (m002bsyk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Take It From Here (b0138xvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jwdr)
Wimsey - Murder Must Advertise
6. Appropriate Exit of an Unskilled Murderer
Lord Peter Wimsey is determined to finally crack the mysterious murder of a copywriter at an advertising agency.
Ian Carmichael stars as the aristocratic amateur sleuth created by Dorothy L Sayers.
Dramatised by Alistair Beaton.
Lord Peter Wimsey ...... Ian Carmichael
Chief Inspector Parker ...... Allan Cuthbertson
Mr Tallboy ...... Edward de Souza
Miss Meteyard ...... Frances Jeater
Miss Rossiter ...... Joanna Wake
Mr Brotherhood ...... Norman Shelley
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1983.
MON 06:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002brx1)
5. Ascot
Four men are battling to retrieve a million dollars they lost in a share fraud to Harvey Metcalfe.
Stephen Bradley's plan has two parts.
The first involves the running of Metcalfe's horse in the King George and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Jeffrey Archer's debut novel.
Starring Stratford Johns, Paul Darrow, Francis Matthews, Edward De Souza and Jeremy Clyde.
Dramatised in seven parts by Betty Davies
The Narrator .... Jeffrey Archer
Harvey Metcalfe .... Stratford Johns
Stephen Bradley .... Paul Darrow
Adrian Tryner .... Stephen Bradley
Jean Pierre Lamanns .... Edward de Souza
Lord James Brigsley .... Jeremy Clyde
Anne Summerton .... Lesley-Anne Down
Nick Hoyd .... Haydn Wood
Sir Howard .... Patrick Barr
Mellor .... Sean Arnold
Sam O'Flaherty .... John Bott
Hairdresser .....Anthony Hyde
As themselves:
Peter O'Sullevan
Robin Gray
Director: Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1980.
MON 07:00 North East of Eden (b01f9t2c)
Invaders and Outsiders
Marcia leaves London when she inherits her uncle's medical practice in Northumbria.
She find herself on the remote Paradise Island - with its Wind O' Change pub and populace of slightly dodgy fisherman...
Starring Rebecca Front and Joan Sims.
Peter Kerry's six-part sitcom.
Doctor Marcia Hulme …. Rebecca Front
Auntie Annie …. Joan Sims
Hjorst/The Translator …. Niall Ashdown
Joseph Gates …. James Garbutt
Mrs Peevis …. Jean Southern
William …. Sammy Johnson
Ralph Gates …. Stephen Thirkeld
Other Roles …. Peter Kerry
Producer: Kathy Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1997.
MON 07:30 Steptoe and Son (b00s5xtn)
Series 1
Steptoe a la Carte
After meeting Monique on his round, Harold's hoping he's found true love with a French twist.
But what will she make of his dad Albert?
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
Monique …. Gwendolyn Watts
The Butler …. Ian Burford
The 1962 BBC TV comedy pilot 'The Offer' sparked a run of 8 series.
Adapted for BBC radio from the TV script by Gale Pedrick.
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in August 1966.
MON 08:00 Love in Recovery (m00020z1)
Series 3
Cupboard
Andy is convinced that everyone’s forgotten his birthday - just like every other year.
What he doesn't know is that Simon and Danno are hiding in the cupboard with a cake. But finding an appropriate time to burst out cheering proves difficult when Julie comes in with a dark secret she wants to reveal.
Continuing the award-nominated comedy drama set in Alcoholics Anonymous, written by Pete Jackson and inspired by his own road to recovery.
It follows the lives of five very different recovering alcoholics. Taking place entirely at their weekly meetings, we hear them moan, argue, laugh, fall apart, fall in love and - most importantly - tell their stories.
Fiona …... Rebecca Front
Simon …... John Hannah
Julie …... Sue Johnston
Danno …... Paul Kaye
Andy ...... Johnny Vegas
Penny …... Zoe Buckney
Fran …... Susan Worsfield
Writer Pete Jackson is a recovering alcoholic and has spent time in Alcoholics Anonymous. It was there he found, as most people do, support from the unlikeliest group of disparate souls, all banded together due to one common bond. As well as offering the support he needed throughout a difficult time, AA also offered a weekly, sometimes daily, dose of hilarity, upset, heartbreak and friendship.
Love in Recovery doesn’t seek to represent an AA meeting exactly as it might happen in real life, but to capture the funny stories, the sad stories, the stories of small victories and of huge milestones, stories of loss, stories of hope, and most importantly, the many highs and lows in the journey of recovery.
Written and created by Pete Jackson.
Producer/Director: Ben Worsfield
A King Bert production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019.
MON 08:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t5wc)
1. The Conflict Begins
Virginia Nicholson's evocative account of the Second World War is told through a multitude of individual women's experiences.
As their stories unfold, we discover how they loved, suffered, laughed, grieved and dared.
The conflict begins, and 37-year old Frances Faviell learns to administer first-aid, and Lorna Bradey, serving as a nurse in France, witnesses the horror of Dunkirk first hand.
Abridged in five parts by Doreen Estall,
Read by Fenella Woolgar.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
*** Virginia Nicholson's books include Among the Bohemians - Experiments in Living 1900-1939, and Singled Out - How Two Million Women Survived Without Men after the First World War, which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
MON 08:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tcnr)
1. Letters
In 1964, Professor Glob, the curator of the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, dedicated his book The Bog People to a group of schoolgirls who had written to him about his recent archaeological discoveries.
50 years later, at a defining moment in her life, Tina Hopgood writes him another letter about a planned pilgrimage to Denmark with her best friend, Bella, to visit the 2000-year-old Tollund Man.
Why did they never make the trip?
She doesn’t expect a reply.
When Anders Larsen, a lonely museum curator responds, neither does he.
Their unexpected correspondence becomes a shared meditation on love, loss, life choices made and the opportunity to make new and different ones.
Anne Youngson's novel in the form of letters, first published in 2018.
Adapted in ten parts by Richard Leaf.
Tamsin Greig ...... Tina
Paul Ritter ...... Anders
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2021.
MON 09:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m002bhkh)
Series 31
Episode 3
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they’re able to smuggle past their opponents.
Angela Barnes, Mark Steel, Ria Lina and Alan Davies are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as spies, bread, numbers and names.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith.
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 09:30 A History of the Brain (b0174dzk)
6. The Beast Within
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part history is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe.
From Neolithic times to the present day, Geoff journeys through the many ideas of what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In this episode, the focus is on localisation.
Following a macabre accident when an iron rod shot through his head, Phineas Gage, a mild-mannered railway worker in Vermont, became capricious and profane.
Meanwhile in France, Paul Broca established that damage to another part of the brain caused aphasia.
While phrenology had it that the brains of 'degenerates' differed from those of poets or scientists, British neurologist John Hughlings Jackson incorporated evolutionary ideas into his theory of brain function: higher centres with more recent evolutionary origins kept lower, more primitive ones in check.
Featuring the voices of:
* Paul Bhattacharjee
* Jonathan Forbes
* Hattie Morahan
Producer: Marya Burgess
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
MON 09:45 Daily Service (m002brx4)
Animals in the Bible - Consider the Birds
Christian Worship with a Bible reading, prayer and Christian music.
Theme: The Nicene Creed- Through Him all things were made
Led by Rev Dr Bert Tosh
Reading: Matthew 6:25-34
All things bright and beautiful
How lovely is thy dwelling place
On eagle’s wings
MON 10:00 The Tingle Factor (b04pc255)
Alan Coren
Alan Coren talks to Robin Ray about which pieces of music stir his emotions.
From Annette Mills to Louis Armstrong, the humourist, writer and broadcaster also shares memories of his life and career.
Producer: Andrew Mussett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990.
MON 10:30 Bellydancing and the Blues (b01pg3qt)
Dancer and drummer Guy Schalom hunts out the spirit of the new Egypt in one of its biggest cultural exports.
To our ears, Baladi is the music of the bellydancer - kitsch and mock-Arab. But in its true form it is the essence of Egypt, 'of the country', 'home' in the deepest sense.
Our journey begins in Berlin, as bejwelled dancers from across Europe gather on a theatre stage ready to do battle for the title 'Miss Bellydance 2012'.
They might not all know it, but the music which accompanies their gyrations is a knot of contradictions: an essence of the east inspired by western musical traditions, the spirit of rural Egypt made urban.
But the deepest contradictions rest with the very people who perform Baladi.
What seems to us a provocative, alluring, even licentious dance for women in fact has roots in a ceremonial dance for men. As we discover in Cairo, deep divisions remain between those who think it is a vital expression of the oriental spirit and those committed to regenerating sexual stereotypes.
So what is the reality of bellydance and Baladi in the new Egypt?
Can it find any place amongst the street rappers and pop artists or is this an artform about to be consigned to realms of the tourist-pleasing clubs and cafes?
As with so much in this rapidly changing culture, answers prove difficult to find.
Producer: Michael Surcombe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2012.
MON 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jwdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 11:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002brx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 12:00 North East of Eden (b01f9t2c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 12:30 Steptoe and Son (b00s5xtn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 13:00 Love in Recovery (m00020z1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 13:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t5wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tcnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 14:00 Booked (b0075sd8)
Series 4
Episode 1
Literary consequences, Stop the Plot and plenty more!
From Huddersfield.
Barnsley poet Ian McMillan chairs the irreverent literary game.
Outrageous parody, biting wit and bizarre couplings from:
Mark Thomas
Dillie Keane
Mark Radcliffe
Miles Kington
Producer: Marc Jobst
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1998.
MON 14:30 Double Income, No Kids Yet (b00dpnvz)
Series 1
Episode 2
When best-selling author, April Prescott, gets writers block, Lucy and Daniel get lumbered with a rather unwelcome little house guest.
David Tennant and Liz Carling star in David Spicer's sitcom.
Modern life and parenthood, as seen through the eyes of a 30-something couple with no kids.
Daniel ...... David Tennant
Lucy ...... Liz Carling
Katie ...... Meera Syal
April ...... Felicity Montague
Peter ...... Rob Harley
Andy ...... Tony Gardner
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2001.
MON 15:00 Coming Home (p009yrs2)
1. War's End
Charles Wheeler presents five personal interpretations of what the end of the Second World War meant to people in Britain and across the world.
Through new interviews and rarely-heard archive recordings, those directly involved - the soldier, the POW, the war widow and those who didn't fight - tell their stories of the end of war, of homecoming and adjustment to new realities.
The War ground to a halt in Europe on 8 May 1945.
But in the Far East it was still raging and celebrations at home were in stark contrast to events on the other side of the world.
Charles begins with a look at the few days around the announcement of VE Day.
How did people react to the news?
How did they go about celebrating?
Producer: Neil George
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE Day in May 2005.
MON 15:45 Short Works (m0010ntj)
Gentle
A chance find in a bookshop prompts a pregnant woman to reflect on the journey she’s taking to becoming a mother.
It's a journey her family once took when they sought refuge in the United States - wondering who has the right to tell these stories.
Read by Nadia Albina.
Written by Dima Alzayat. Taken from her collection Alligator and Other Stories.
Producer: Nicola Holloway
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2021.
MON 16:00 The Tingle Factor (b04pc255)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 Bellydancing and the Blues (b01pg3qt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jwdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 17:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002brx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 18:00 North East of Eden (b01f9t2c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:30 Steptoe and Son (b00s5xtn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 19:00 Love in Recovery (m00020z1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t5wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 19:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tcnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 20:00 Booked (b0075sd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
MON 20:30 Double Income, No Kids Yet (b00dpnvz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
MON 21:00 Coming Home (p009yrs2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
MON 21:45 Short Works (m0010ntj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m002bhkh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 22:30 A Look Back at the Future (b01rlngt)
2005
It's the year of the Telepathone.
Recorded in 1994, the futuristic show recalls the turbulent upheaval of 2005 - a year that was yet to happen.
Starring:
Brian Perkins
Kate Robbin
John O'Farrell
Everything you wanted to know then, about the 21st century.
Written by Mark Burton, John O'Farrell and Pete Sinclair.
Producer: Caroline Leddy
First broadcast (with the aid of a crystal ball) on Radio 4 in July 1994.
MON 23:00 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m002brx7)
2025
05/05/2025
Esyllt Sears continues a week of special programmes featuring highlights and behind-the-scenes conversations from the 2025 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. In this episode, she speaks to the stand-up comedian, actor, and podcaster Sunil Patel, and Wheel Of Misfortune's Alison Spittle.
Producers: Mark Lee and Chris Pearson
MON 23:15 Jordan Brookes On... (m000y6pg)
Childhood
Everyone of us has had one, yet for many it was completely unfathomable.
Jordan Brookes hopes to explain what his childhood meant to him, so that others might learn from it. He brings a special object with sentimental value into the studio, and also lifts the lid on the special bond he shared with his grandmother.
Sunil Patel provides audio description to illustrate any physical bits and pieces Jordan does.
Starring Jordan Brookes and Sunil Patel.
Written by Jordan Brookes.
Produced by Sam Michell.
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2021.
MON 23:30 The News Quiz (m002bjqt)
Series 117
3. Power Outrage
Andy Zaltzman is joined by Geoff Norcott, Lucy Porter, Ed Byrne and Marie Le Conte to unpack the week in news. Topics include the loss of power in the Iberian Peninsula, the gaining of power in the Canadian election, the US-Ukraine mineral deal, cyberattacks on M&S, and the medical benefits of Champagne.
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Ruby Clyde, Eve Delaney, Cameron Loxdale and Laura Major.
Producer: Rajiv Karia
Executive Producer: James Robinson
Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4

TUESDAY 06 MAY 2025

TUE 00:00 The Tingle Factor (b04pc255)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 Bellydancing and the Blues (b01pg3qt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jwdr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002brx1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 North East of Eden (b01f9t2c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Steptoe and Son (b00s5xtn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Love in Recovery (m00020z1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t5wc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tcnr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Booked (b0075sd8)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Double Income, No Kids Yet (b00dpnvz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 Coming Home (p009yrs2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:45 Short Works (m0010ntj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Whodunnits (b00rdypv)
P Division - Two Way Cut
1. April Fools' Shock
Discovering a corpse early one morning on Glasgow's Maryhill Road is not out of the ordinary.
But it's one that PC Hamilton finds very different...
Published in 1988, this is Peter Turnbull's fifth 'P' Division crime thriller set in Glasgow.
Dramatised in five parts by Stephen Mulrine.
Mrs MacIntyre …. Edith Ruddick
Mrs Douglas …. Joyce Falconer
PC Hamilton …. Martin McCardie
DS Ray Sussock …. Jake D'Arcy
DC Tony Abernathy …. Andrew Conlan
Dr David Reynolds …. Gerard Slevin
Jean Kaye …. Rebecca Hawking
WPC Elka Willems …. Eliza Langland
DI Donoghue …. Crawford Logan
DC Malcom Montgomery …. Frank Gallagher
Louise …. Anne Marie Timoney
Producer: Hamish Wilson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1993.
TUE 06:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002btvv)
6. Oxford
Stephen Bradley's scheme is well underway to retrieve his part of a million dollars lost to the unscrupulous Harvey Metcalfe
But the second part of his plan is more complicated and involves all four victims of the con...
Jeffrey Archer's debut novel.
Starring Stratford Johns, Paul Darrow, Francis Matthews, Edward De Souza and Jeremy Clyde.
Dramatised by Betty Davies
The Narrator .... Jeffrey Archer
Harvey Metcalfe .... Stratford Johns
Stephen Bradley:.... Paul Darrow
Adrian Tryner .... Francis Matthews
Jean Pierre Lamanns .... Edward De Souza
Lord James Brigsley .... Jeremy Clyde
Harold MacMillan .... Robin Bailey
Anne Summerton .... Lesley-Anne Down
Shop Assistant .... Gordon Reid
Mellor .... Sean Arnold
Robin Tryner .... Aaron Burcheil
Clive Tryner .... Fred Gray
Director: Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1980.
TUE 07:00 To the Manor Born (b007k4vh)
Sons of the Fathers
Clearing out the cellar - Audrey finds more than she'd bargained for.
Starring Penelope Keith and Keith Barron.
Lady of the manor Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, forced to sell her beloved Grantleigh Estate, has decamped to the tiny Old Lodge cottage with her butler in tow.
From this vantage point, Audrey keeps a close and disapproving eye on new owner, the nouveau-riche Richard DeVere.
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 on radio and then whisked off to TV before it ever appeared, before finally arriving home in 1997.
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1997.
TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b00b5pg1)
Series 7
The Mysterious Punch-up-the Conker
Stand by for a thrilling pursuit of a mysterious nose assailant!
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
Jack Train
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 February 1957.
TUE 08:00 Bad Salsa (b048jj9b)
Series 1
A New Perspective
After treatment for ovarian and breast cancer Chippy, mad Jill is sad and Terri is definitely dangerous to know!
The road back after cancer treatment can be tricky and full of obstacles.
Two middle-aged women and their younger friend seek to regain their zest for life and love by learning to dance at Bad Salsa, the club where everyone knows your name but no-one knows your prognosis!
Depictions of people with cancer on TV and radio too often follow a standard format; there is the diagnosis, the depression the chemo, then the false recovery followed by the tragic death.
Written by Kay Stonham, Bad Salsa tries to paint a picture at once more hopeful and more in line with survival rates, which have improved immensely over the past 20 years.
For many, 'living with cancer' is now their day-to-day challenge. Our characters have finished their treatment and are in the process of finding their way back to normal life or at least finding a "new normal."
Everyday challenges must go on like boring marriages, distracting crushes, troublesome children, difficult workmates and infuriating parents. But their brush with mortality gives them a new perspective.
So do they preserve their pre-cancer status quo, or in Terri's words, to say, "sod it all" and "go for it!"?
Follow the women as they embrace the world of salsa whilst they adjust to life after cancer.
Terry ...... Camille Coduri
Chippy ...... Sharon Rooney
Jill ...... Natasha Little
Marco ...... Doc Brown
Gordon ...... Andrew Obeney
Colin ...... David Cann
Georgie ...... Emily Chase
Tim ...... Matt Houlihan
Sara ...... Antonia Reid
Chippy's Mum ...... Kay Stonham
Producer: Alison Vernon-Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2014.
TUE 08:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6gm)
2. Torpedo
Virginia Nicholson's evocative account of the Second World War is told through a multitude of individual women's experiences.
As their stories unfold, we discover how they loved, suffered, laughed, grieved and dared.
A ship is hit by a torpedo, and Mary Cornish's terrifying account of the hours and days that followed is recalled.
Abridged by Doreen Estall.
Read by Fenella Woolgar.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
TUE 08:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000td0p)
2. Family
Tina opens up about her family life and presses Anders about his wife, Birgitt.
In 1964, Professor Glob, the curator of the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, dedicated his book The Bog People to a group of schoolgirls who had written to him about his recent archaeological discoveries.
50 years later, at a defining moment in her life, Tina Hopgood writes him another letter about a planned pilgrimage to Denmark with her best friend, Bella, to visit the 2000-year-old Tollund Man.
Why did they never make the trip?
She doesn’t expect a reply.
When Anders Larsen, a lonely museum curator responds, neither does he.
Their unexpected correspondence becomes a shared meditation on love, loss, life choices made and the opportunity to make new and different ones.
Anne Youngson's novel in the form of letters.
Adapted by Richard Leaf.
Tamsin Greig ...... Tina
Paul Ritter ...... Anders
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2021.
TUE 09:00 Meet David Sedaris (m002bhxf)
Series 10
5. Good Grief
“May I ask you a question?”
“Not if it’s about how much to tip the doormen at Christmas,” he said.
That was exactly what I wanted to know. Quick, I thought, think of a replacement. “Can you recommend a cobbler?” I asked
Small talk - some of us are good at it, some of us much less so. American satirist, David Sedaris has given the situation some thought and, with a little digital intervention, come up with some great conversational opening gambits.
Also in this episode - Good Grief, a longer meditation on the shortness of life and dealing with the loss of those we have loved.
David Sedaris is a renowned American essayist - winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humour and member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Written and performed by David Sedaris
Producer: Steve Doherty
A Giddy Goat production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 09:30 A History of the Brain (b0174gkl)
7. Mind the Gap
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part history is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe.
From Neolithic times to the present day, Geoff journeys through the many ideas of what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In this episode, the focus is on how the microscope allowed neurologists to detail the structure of brain cells.
While Sigmund Freud, who started out as a neurologist, had hoped his gold chloride staining method would revolutionise brain research, it was in fact Camillo Golgi's La Reazione Nero, using silver nitrate, that enabled brain scientists to see the cell composition more clearly.
Combined with the Gudden microtome, which provided extremely thin sections of brain tissue, neurologists began to explore how neurons are connected, with Charles Sherrington coining the term synapse to describe the gap between them.
Featuring the voices of:
* Paul Bhattacharjee
* Jonathan Forbes
* Hattie Morahan
Producer: Marya Burgess
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m002btvy)
Animals in the Bible 2 - Eye on the sparrow
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Animals in the Bible 2 - Eye on the sparrow
Presenter: Imogen Ball
Reading: Matthew 10:26-31
Music:
Do Not Be Afraid (Philip Stopford) - Truro Cathedral Choir
Peace - Bethel Music
Sparrow - Audrey Assad
TUE 10:00 A Good Read (m00013r3)
Kamila Shamsie and Jeffrey Archer
Authors Kamila Shamsie and Jeffrey Archer join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Fred Uhlman, Shehan Karunatilaka and Penelope Fitzgerald.
‘Reunion’ by Fred Uhlman
Publisher: Vintage
‘Chinaman’ by Shehan Karunatilaka
Publisher: Vintage
‘The Bookshop’ by Penelope Fitzgerald
Publisher: 4th Estate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2018.
TUE 10:30 Butterbeer and Grootcakes (b08tgbc2)
Aleks Krotoski takes her seat at the table to explore the amazing world of fictional food made real.
Food is not a new force in fiction, but increasingly fictional food is finding its way onto the table.
And fan communities from the new breed of modern cultural canon aren’t just nibbling on Laura Esquivel’s devastating quail in rose petal sauce from Like Water for Chocolate, but also tucking in to fried squirrel and raccoon from The Hunger Games, Sansa’s lemon cakes from Game of Thrones, or downing a frothy glass of butterbeer from Harry Potter.
Now Aleks gathers together three people who know a lot about fictional food to discuss its appeal for fans, authors and food creators alike.
Together, they will make, and eat, a meal of food from fiction, and discuss some of the interesting questions it raises.
* Joanne Harris is author of several novels where food is almost a character in its own right - most famously Chocolat, which was turned into a film of the same name. She also co-created a cookbook, The Little Book of Chocolat, for the many fans desperate to make the concoctions they had read about in her novels.
* Sam Bompas is co-founder of creative food studio Bompas & Parr, who recently helped create Dinner At The Twits, inspired by Roald Dahl's book.
* Kate Young brings together her passion for food and literature in her blog The Little Library Café, where she creates recipes for food found in fiction. Many are included in her first cookbook, The Little Library Cookbook.
Plus music played on the flavour conductor - a working cocktail organ, conceived by Sam Bompas for Johnnie Walker.
The music is composed by Simon Little.
Producer: Giles Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2017.
TUE 11:00 Whodunnits (b00rdypv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 11:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002btvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 12:00 To the Manor Born (b007k4vh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b00b5pg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Bad Salsa (b048jj9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6gm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000td0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 14:00 Act Your Age (b010dqgb)
Series 3
Episode 5
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
Rufus Hound
Ted Robbins
Guest Comics:
Carl Donnelly
Justin Edwards
Norman Lovett
Devised and produced by Ashley Blaker and Bill Matthews.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.
TUE 14:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b017071k)
Series 2
Squab is not the Language of Love
A BBC producer struggles to make a radio soap set in the unimaginably futuristic world of 2008.
Radio writer Hugo defects to TV.
Christopher William Hill's sitcom set in 1962.
Nigel Lavery ...... Peter Bowles
Sylvia Hann ...... Cheryl Campbell
Godfrey Winnard ..... John Fortune
Sir Angus McNairn ...... Gary Waldhorn
Hugo Kellerman ...... Joseph Kloska
Douglas Bennings ...... Jon Glover
Keith Wood ...... Sam Pamphilon
Georgina Barrett ...... Carolyn Pickles
Burton ...... Peter Marinker.
Producer: Liz Webb
First broadcast on Radio 4 in February 2008.
TUE 15:00 Coming Home (p009yrrh)
2. Home Again
Charles Wheeler continues his personal interpretations of what the end of the Second World War meant to people in Britain and beyond.
As the cheers of the victory parties subsided among the hangovers, the realities of servicemen's return to civilian life began to bite.
Picking up the threads of lives interrupted by the horrors of conflict was a new battle to fight.
And for women whose lives had moved on, a husband back in the house could mean learning to live with a stranger.
Yet for some others, home no longer even existed...
Producers: Marya Burgess and Simon Elmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE Day in May 2005.
TUE 15:45 Short Works (m0010xv2)
Slow Burn
When her parents' newly-divorced friend Stan moves in with them, a young woman has no choice but to leave the family home and find her own place.
An original short story specially commissioned by BBC Radio 4 written by Irish writer Laura-Blaise McDowell.
Read by Eimear Keating
Laura-Blaise McDowell holds an MA in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including The Irish Times, The Galway Review, HeadStuff, Honest Ulsterman and Still Worlds Turning, an anthology of new Irish writing from No Alibis Press.
In 2020, she received an honourable mention in the Cúirt New Irish Writing Award. In 2021, her story 'The Lobster Waltz' came second in the Costa Short Story Award.
Producer: Michael Shannon
A BBC Northern Ireland production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2021.
TUE 16:00 A Good Read (m00013r3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:30 Butterbeer and Grootcakes (b08tgbc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Whodunnits (b00rdypv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002btvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 18:00 To the Manor Born (b007k4vh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b00b5pg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 19:00 Bad Salsa (b048jj9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6gm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 19:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000td0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Act Your Age (b010dqgb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b017071k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
TUE 21:00 Coming Home (p009yrrh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
TUE 21:45 Short Works (m0010xv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 today]
TUE 22:00 Meet David Sedaris (m002bhxf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
TUE 22:30 The Young Postmen (b00fz7bp)
Top of the Pops
The eager threesome attempt to record a number one record for Christmas.
More surreal escapades of a trio of 'posties'.
Written by and starring Ben Miller.
Brian .... Ben Miller
Derek .... John Thomson
Sue/Madonna .... Felicity Montagu
Mr Tilbury/George Michael/Burton .... Jim Barclay
Simon Bates/Gary Lineker/DJ .... Alastair McGowan
Music by Murray Gold
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1992.
TUE 23:00 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m002btw2)
2025
06/05/2025
Esyllt Sears continues a week of special programmes featuring highlights and behind-the-scenes conversations from the 2025 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. In this episode, Rob Deering speaks to Graham Fellows, who brought his comic creation, John Shuttleworth to Mach. And, folk music and comedy collide with Grace Petrie!
Producers: Mark Lee and Chris Pearson
TUE 23:15 The Shuttleworths (b00s9fh0)
Series 5
Tale of a Toaster
John Shuttleworth's wife Mary begins bidding for a fancy toaster on the internet, complete with crumb tray.
But John becomes obsessed that she'll be outbid.
Comic series following the lives of Sheffield's favourite singer-songwriter John Shuttleworth and his family and agent.
Written and performed by Graham Fellows,
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2010.
TUE 23:30 Seekers (b05zld8s)
Series 2
Stu's Birthday
It's Stuart's birthday, and Joe and Terry want to throw him a party. Meanwhile Nicola meets a very handsome man.
Starring Mathew Horne, Daniel Mays, Tony Way and Zahra Ahmadi.
Sitcom set in an Essex job centre written by Steve Burge.
Stuart ...... Mathew Horne
Joseph ...... Daniel Mays
Terry ...... Tony Way
Nicola ...... Zahra Ahmadi
Vanessa ...... Natalie Walter
Gary Probert ...... Steve Oram
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2015.

WEDNESDAY 07 MAY 2025

WED 00:00 A Good Read (m00013r3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Butterbeer and Grootcakes (b08tgbc2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Whodunnits (b00rdypv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002btvv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 To the Manor Born (b007k4vh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b00b5pg1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Bad Salsa (b048jj9b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6gm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000td0p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Act Your Age (b010dqgb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Tomorrow, Today! (b017071k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Coming Home (p009yrrh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:45 Short Works (m0010xv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Whodunnits (b00rfgz6)
P Division - Two Way Cut
2. Ritual Overtones
A headless body without a speck of blood on it has Glasgow's 'P' Division cops puzzled.
Just who was the strange hunched figure that PC Hamilton saw running along by the canal?
Peter Turnbull's 'P' Division crime thriller set in Glasgow.
Dramatised by Stephen Mulrine.
DCI Finnlater …. Alec Monteath
DI Donighue …. Crawford Logan
DC Tony Abernathy …. Andrew Conlan
DC King …. Robert Carlyle
Man on the Waste Ground …. Gilbert Martin
PC Wanless …. Paul Morrow
Mrs Dewey …. Caroline Paterson
Kilroy …. Robert Trotter
Biddulph …. Michael Elder
Michelle …. Daniela Nardini
DC Malcom …. Frank Gallagher
Louise …. Anne Marie Timoney
Producer: Hamish Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1993.
WED 06:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002bt65)
7. Boston
Four men have managed to retrieve the greater part of the million dollars conned from them by American millionaire Harvey Metcalfe.
One of the four - Lord James Brigsley - has yet to come up with his plan to get back the remainder.
His attention has been concentrated on persuading the beautiful Anne Summerton to marry him. Successful at last, he discovers to his horror that his future father-in-law is also his prospective victim.
The Narrator .... Jeffrey Archer
Harvey Metcalfe:.... Stratford Johns
Stephen Bradley:.... Paul Darrow
Adrian Tryner:.... Francis Matthews
Jean Pierre Lamanns .... Edward de Souza
Lord James Brigsley:..... Jeremy Clyde
Anne Summerton .... Lesley-Anne Down
Clergyman .... Patrick Barr
Major-Domo .... Brian Haines
Guest .... Amanda Murray
Written by Jeffrey Archer
Dramatised for radio in seven parts by Betty Davies
Directed by Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1980.
WED 07:00 If You're So Clever, Why Aren't You Rich? (b00nth17)
Series 1
Death Of Hope
Three promising graduates are still underachieving in their 30s.
They seemed to have it all - ambition, optimism and degrees from one of the country's top universities. The three friends were once "full of potential". Now they’re simply "might have beens". Self-employed and trapped in a London flat, they live off the crumbs offered them by richer friends.
Stars Richard E Grant, Amanda Root and Peter Capaldi.
We join the trio as a hideous antique statue and an Emma Thompson-obsessed theatre director combine to make life a little more difficult.
Comedy drama series written by Paul Shearer and Richard Turner.
Giles …… Richard E Grant
Judith …… Amanda Root
David …… Peter Capaldi
With:
Geoffrey Whitehead
Tina Grey
Christopher Rozycki
Paul Shearer
Amerjit Deu
Kay Stoneham
Music by Richard Attree.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 FM in January 1995.
WED 07:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007r3dg)
Series 4
The Espresso Bar
Making no money in show business, The Lad Himself sees his future in selling coffee.
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 December 1956.
WED 08:00 Ankle Tag (m000jnb3)
Series 3
House Sitting
Alice catches up with some old friends and the entire family do a spot of housesitting…
The Evans family return.
Former convict Bob is forced to live with his uptight son Gruff, sympathetic daughter-in-law Alice and granddaughter Carys whilst on parole.
Written by Gareth Gwynn and Benjamin Partridge.
Bob ...... Steve Speirs
Gruff ...... Elis James
Alice ...... Katy Wix
Joanna ...... Emily Lloyd-Saini
Zara ...... Chiara Goldsmith
Simon ...... Jordan Brookes
Bailiff ...... Sanjeev Kohli
Producer: Adnan Ahmed
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4 , first broadcast in May 2020.
WED 08:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t674)
3. Women in the Workplace
Virginia Nicholson's evocative account of the World War II is told through a multitude of individual women's experiences. As their stories unfold we discover how they loved, suffered, laughed, grieved and dared.
And how women enter the workplace in ever increasing numbers.
Virginia Nicholson's books include Among the Bohemians - Experiments in Living 1900-1939, and Singled Out - How Two Million Women Survived Without Men after the First World War, which was broadcast as a Book of the Week.
Read by Fenella Woolgar.
Abridged by Doreen Estall.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
WED 08:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tcbj)
3. Pregnancy
Anders' daughter Karin is pregnant. Will she tell the father?
In 1964, Professor Glob, the curator of the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, dedicated his book The Bog People to a group of schoolgirls who had written to him about his recent archaeological discoveries.
Fifty years later, at a defining moment in her life, Tina Hopgood writes him another letter about a planned pilgrimage to Denmark with her best friend, Bella, to visit the 2000-year-old Tollund Man.
Why did they never make the trip?
She doesn’t expect a reply.
When Anders Larsen, a lonely museum curator responds, neither does he.
Their unexpected correspondence becomes a shared meditation on love, loss, life choices made and the opportunity to make new and different ones.
Anne Youngson's novel in the form of letters.
Adapted by Richard Leaf.
Tamsin Greig ...... Tina
Paul Ritter ...... Anders
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2021.
WED 09:00 The Ultimate Choice (m001vsfq)
Series 2
5: Crabs v Wasps
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 Russell Kane and Isy Suttie.
Host: Steph McGovern
Guests: Russell Kane and Isy Suttie
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 A History of the Brain (b0174h6b)
8. The Agony and the Ecstasy
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part history is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe.
From Neolithic times to the present day, Geoff journeys through the many ideas of what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In this episode, the focus is on the collaborative work between Otto Loewi in Austria and Henry Dale in England. They established that communication within the brain is chemical and not electrical. Thanks to the work of many exiles from Nazism (and a leech smuggled out by one of them) the vital role of acetylcholine became known. This work laid the foundation for the neuropharmalogical gold rush of the 1950s, with the discovery of drugs to help those suffering from schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
Featuring the voices of Paul Bhattacharjee, Jonathan Forbes and Hattie Morahan.
Produced by Marya Burgess.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
WED 09:45 Daily Service (m002bt68)
Animals in the Bible 2 - The humble Donkey
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Animals in the Bible 2 - The humble Donkey
Presenter: Rev Grace Thomas
Reading: Matthew 21:1-8
Music:
How shall I sing that majesty - The Daily Service Singers
Creation Sings the Father's Song - Stuart Townend
By Gracious Powers - St Martin's Voices
WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (m0013zd2)
Paris-Zurich-Trieste: Joyce l'European
The Irish cultural industries have in recent decades managed to turn James Joyce into a valuable tourist commodity - 'a cash machine', 'the nearest thing we've got to a literary leprechaun.'
Joyce would surely have disapproved. "When the soul of man is born in this country," he wrote, "there are nets flung at it to hold it back from flight. You talk to me of nationality, language, religion. I shall try to fly by those nets." That is precisely what he did, leaving Ireland behind and living more than half his life across Continental Europe.
As Anthony Burgess put it, "Out there in Europe the modernistic movement was stirring," and by placing himself in the cultural cross-currents of cities like Trieste, Rome, Zurich, Paris & Pola, where he experienced the early rumblings of Dada, Psychoanalysis, Futurism et al, Joyce became a part of an endlessly plural social and linguistic explosion, far removed from the monolithic oppressiveness of Ireland.
Backed up by interviewees including Colm Tóibín, John McCourt and Liv Monaghan and illustrated by rich archive recordings, Andrew Hussey argues it was the deliberate rupture of leaving home - taking up "the only arms I know - silence, exile and cunning" - that allowed Joyce to develop the necessary breadth of vision and literary skill to write his greatest works. The Dublin of Ulysses itself becomes, according to Tóibín, 'a Cosmopolis... another great port city like Trieste."
For Hussey, who has himself lived and worked as a writer in Paris for many years, Joyce was not only a great pathfinder, he also offers an inspiring trans-national vision of Europe and the world just at a time when borders are tightening and the darker shades of nationalism are once again looming large.
Produced: Geoff Bird
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2022.
WED 11:00 Whodunnits (b00rfgz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 11:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002bt65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 12:00 If You're So Clever, Why Aren't You Rich? (b00nth17)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007r3dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 13:00 Ankle Tag (m000jnb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 13:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t674)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tcbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 14:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b092gkkl)
Series 11
Episode 6
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator, the brilliant Romesh Ranganathan welcome:
* Australian writer, columnist and formerly obsessive teen fan of Spike Milligan, Kathy Lette.
* Author and adventurer, podcaster and editor, and Miniature Golf competitor, Andy Miller.
* Comedian, actor, author, social media guru and ambassador for Norwich City FC, Stephen Fry.
The Museum's Guest Committee offer as exhibits, the mysterious thing that drives women to be mothers, a receptacle for honey that contains nothing more than a broken balloon and a bunch of grapes...
Researched by Anne Miller of QI and Mike Turner.
Producers: Richard Turner and James Harkin
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2017.
WED 14:30 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00cfzqy)
Series 4
Episode 1
Tommy and Sheila's sneaky agent schemes to sell off their back catalogue to a record company – but what’s in it for him?
Ageing showbiz couple Tommy Franklin and Sheila Parr battle on with their second stab at fame.
Series 4 of Mike Coleman’s six-part sitcom starring June Whitfield and Roy Hudd.
With Pat Coombs, Julian Eardley and Edward Halstead.
Music by Frido Ruth.
Producer: Steve Doherty
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2002.
WED 15:00 Coming Home (p009yrrc)
3. Missing
Charles Wheeler continues his personal interpretations of what the end of the Second World War meant to people in Britain and across the world.
The pain of loss in the aftermath of the war. The possessions, places, countries, dreams and most of all people - never to return.
The third episode - ‘Missing’ - is a threnody for the destroyed and the dead.
Personal testimony and archive evoke a powerful sense of loss, pain and occasional redemption. Building from one widow's loss, still grieving for her missing airmen after all these years, Charles Wheeler takes the listener on a journey through the destruction of entire communities, the swallowing of nations and the crushing of hope.
Presented by Charles Wheeler.
Producer: Mark Burman
Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of VE Day in May 2005.
WED 15:45 Short Works (m0012fwy)
Every Ballymena Man's Dream by Gerard McKeown
Someone has been leaving footballs filled with concrete in public places for unsuspecting people to discover.
Or, in one case, try to kick.
Gerard McKeown's original short story read by Seamus O'Hara.
Gerard is a writer from Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
He was recently longlisted for the Retreat West 2020 Short Story Award and the 2019 BBC National Short Story Award.
His work has appeared in numerous anthologies including 'Still Worlds Turning' 2019 and 'The Black Dreams: Strange Stories from Northern Ireland' 2021.
Producer: Michael Shannon
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2021.
WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (m0013zd2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 17:00 Whodunnits (b00rfgz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 17:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002bt65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 18:00 If You're So Clever, Why Aren't You Rich? (b00nth17)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007r3dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 19:00 Ankle Tag (m000jnb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t674)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 19:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tcbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 20:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b092gkkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
WED 20:30 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00cfzqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
WED 21:00 Coming Home (p009yrrc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
WED 21:45 Short Works (m0012fwy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 today]
WED 22:00 The Ultimate Choice (m001vsfq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 22:30 The Skivers (b0080rd1)
Series 2
Spike Milligan
Nick and Tim de Jongh welcome Spike Milligan to the last ever BBC Radio 4 show to be recorded at the famous BBC Paris Studios.
Located in Lower Regent Street, London, this was home to countless BBC shows from Round The Horne to Just A Minute - from 1946 to 1995.
Skilful sketch show 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 23:00 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m002bt6c)
2025
07/05/2025
Esyllt Sears continues a week of special programmes featuring highlights and behind-the-scenes conversations from the 2025 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. In this episode: regular panellist on the revival of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Jamali Maddix, and the News Quiz regular, Ian Smith.
Producers: Mark Lee and Chris Pearson
WED 23:15 Short Works (m001mclr)
Summer Holiday by Josie Long
A student breaks up the tedium of her summer job in inventive, and increasingly unhinged, ways.
Written and read by Josie Long.
Josie Long is an award-winning comedian, broadcaster and writer. She has recently published her first collection of short stories, Because I Don't Know What You Mean and What You Don't.
Producer: Ciaran Bermingham
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2023.
WED 23:30 The Skewer (m002bjdl)
Series 13
Elections, 100 Days of Trump, and Trans Labyrinth
Jon Holmes remixes the news into a current affairs comedy concept album. News meets popular culture in a multi-award-winning satirical mash up. This week - Local Elections, 100 Days of Trump, and Trans Labyrinth.
Producer: Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:45 World of Pub (b008pb2m)
Series 1
Episode 3
Dodgy Phil builds the world's biggest pub named after the Titanic, but is it undrinkable?
Deep in London's East End, Garry and Barry run the worst pub in the world.
Sitcom written by Tony Roche.
Dodgy Phil ...... John Thomson
Barry ...... Phil Cornwell
Garry ...... Peter Serafinowcz
Other parts played by:
Harry Hill
Kim Wall
Debra Stephenson.
Music: Bill Bailey
Special effects: Karl Phillips and Nick Romero.
Producer: Jane Berthoud
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1998.

THURSDAY 08 MAY 2025

THU 00:00 Archive on 4 (m0013zd2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Whodunnits (b00rfgz6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer (m002bt65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 If You're So Clever, Why Aren't You Rich? (b00nth17)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007r3dg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Ankle Tag (m000jnb3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t674)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tcbj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b092gkkl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Like They've Never Been Gone (b00cfzqy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Coming Home (p009yrrc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:45 Short Works (m0012fwy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Whodunnits (b00rfr3b)
P Division - Two Way Cut
3. The Zambezi
Samuel Lurinaky was a law abiding accountant and deeply in love with a lady from the Orient.
So why was he murdered and what does the owner of the Zambesi nightclub have to do with it?
Peter Turnbull's 'P' Division crime thriller set in Glasgow.
Dramatised by Stephen Mulrine.
WPC Elka Willems …. Eliza Langland
DS Ray Sussock …. Jake D'Arcy
DC Malcom Montgomery …. Frank Gallagher
PC Wanless …. Paul Morrow
Fire Officer …. Gilbert Martin
Chi Chiu Lorinksi …. Sedhar Chozam
DI Donoghue …. Crawford Logan
Sister …. Joyce Deans
Mrs MacIntyre …. Edith Ruddick
PC Phil Hamilton …. Martin McCardie
Louise …. Anne Marie Timoney
Producer: Hamish Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1993.
THU 06:30 Whodunnits (m000gmjz)
Stand By For West - Inspector West at Home
1. The Voice of Doom
When Chief Inspector Roger West discovers the body of a former small-time crook, he hits opposition from the formidable Superintendent Abbott
So begins a trail involving conspiracy, corruption and murder...
Starring Patrick Allen as Scotland Yard’s youngest, smartest chief inspector.
With Sarah Lawson as his long-suffering wife.
Created and written by John Creasey.
Dramatised in seven parts by Maurice Travers.
Chief Inspector Roger West .… Patrick Allen
Janet West .… Sarah Lawson
Detective Inspector Bob Cornish .… Frederick Treves
Mark Lessing .… Edward de Souza
Superintendent Abbott .... Grant Taylor
Pep Morgan .... Harry Landis
John Creasey wrote over 40 Roger West novels between 1942 and 1973.
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
THU 07:00 Never Too Late (m002bs97)
Series 2
Aftermath
Hilda is spurred into action when the council threatens the local day centre with closure.
The second series of adventures concerning a group of Lancashire senior citizens. In the first series they were planning trip to the seaside but this time Hilda, Emily, Mildred and Tommy divert their energies into saving the Carson Street Day Centre, which the council has threatened with closure. And, yes, ‘Never Too Late’ does share a theme tune with TV's 'Terry and June'.
Starring Dame Thora Hird as Hilda.
Terry Gregson's sitcom about a group of highly-active pensioners.
Hilda Spriggett …. Thora Hird
Mildred Emmett …. Avis Bunnage
Emily Holroyd …. Megs Jenkins
Tommy Preston …. Joe Gladwin
Doctor Brown …. Kenneth Connor
George/Sam the Butcher …. John Livesey
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1981.
**** This programme is an off-air recording, and so does have a few issues with its technical quality – but we hope you enjoy it anyway.
THU 07:30 Parsley Sidings (b007jpb9)
Series 2
A Bird in the Hand
A rare gull is spotted during a station spring-clean, causing chaos on the line.
Starring Arthur Lowe and Ian Lavender.
Jim Eldridge's eponymous series is set in a sleepy railway station. The Hepplewhites have run 'Parsley Sidings' station for generations and the current Station Master, Horace, hopes that his son Bert will continue the line. Mild-mannered Ticket Clerk Bert wants to work anywhere but on the railways. His colleague, Station Announcer Gloria Simpkins, secretly loves him. Porter Percy Valentine is an archetypal wheeler-dealer and the ancient Signalman, Bradshaw, causes havoc and dispenses home-made remedies in equal measure. The 'Parsley Sidings' nemesis is Phineas Perkins, the station master of Potwhistle Halt, one stop down the line.
Horace Hepplewhite …. Arthur Lowe
Valentine/Bradshaw/Editor …. Kenneth Connor
Gloria Simpkins…. Liz Fraser
Bert Hepplewhite …. Ian Lavender
Train Driver …. John Baddeley
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in November 1973.
THU 08:00 Sisters (b08wn2jr)
Series 2
Blackout
Susan and Fiona are grown up sisters who live together. But that's all they have in common.
Written by Susan Calman.
Their flat is plunged into darkness from a power cut. Next door neighbour and token family member, Blake doesn't provide the necessary support as he’s preoccupied with selling something special online.
As the darkness continues, fear of intruders and speculation about paranormal activity take hold and all three descend into a world of paranoia and mutual suspicion. It's a situation exacerbated by the fact that Susan is harbouring a stray cat and is very keen that Fiona doesn't discover this - especially as Fiona is violently allergic to pets of any description
Susan ...... Susan Calman
Fiona ...... Ashley Jensen
Blake ...... Nick Helm
Producer Paul Schlesinger
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in July 2017.
THU 08:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6dc)
4. A Second Front
Virginia Nicholson's evocative account of the Second World War is told through a multitude of individual women's experiences. As their stories unfold we discover how they loved, suffered, laughed, grieved and dared.
Rumours and speculation about a second front gather pace, and Doris Scorer is transferred from the aircraft factory to the woodwork shop, where she starts making gliders.
Virginia Nicholson's books include Among the Bohemians - Experiments in Living 1900-1939, and Singled Out - How Two Million Women Survived Without Men after the First World War, which was broadcast as a Book of the Week.
Read by Fenella Woolgar.
Abridged by Doreen Estall.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
THU 08:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tfjr)
4. Rumpus
There is a rumpus at the farm. Anders' relationship with his children deepens.
In 1964, Professor Glob, the curator of the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, dedicated his book The Bog People to a group of schoolgirls who had written to him about his recent archaeological discoveries.
Fifty years later, at a defining moment in her life, Tina Hopgood writes him another letter about a planned pilgrimage to Denmark with her best friend, Bella, to visit the 2000-year-old Tollund Man.
Why did they never make the trip?
She doesn’t expect a reply.
When Anders Larsen, a lonely museum curator responds, neither does he.
Their unexpected correspondence becomes a shared meditation on love, loss, life choices made and the opportunity to make new and different ones.
Anne Youngson's novel in the form of letters.
Adapted by Richard Leaf.
Tamsin Greig ...... Tina
Paul Ritter ...... Anders
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2021.
THU 09:00 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (m001k0q3)
Series 4
Friday'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. We've got as far as Friday. Friday's child is loving and giving. How do you reconcile that with getting what you want in life? Why does Mark's son think he goes out with Nicole Kidman? And why did he urgently need £35 recently?
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 - tonight, we say hello to Felicity Ward.
Producer: Lianne Coop
An Impatient production for BBC Radio 4
THU 09:30 A History of the Brain (b017528x)
9. All or Nothing
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part history is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe.
From Neolithic times to the present day, Geoff journeys through the many ideas of what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In this episode, the focus is on the invention of the electroencephalograph, which made our brain waves visible. Invented by Hans Berger, one of its main proponents was the eccentric English robotics pioneer and neuroscientist, William Grey Walter. Until a near fatal accident, Walter was one of 15% of the population who can't produce the resting, alpha wave - only the active, beta wave. After the accident he could emit alpha waves. Meanwhile, at Cambridge, Edgar Adrian, no fan of the EEG, established the 'all or nothing' principle of nerve transmission to explain simple reflex actions.
Featuring the voices of Paul Bhattacharjee, Jonathan Forbes and Hattie Morahan.
Produced by Marya Burgess.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
THU 09:45 Daily Service (m002bs9c)
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Animals in the Bible 2 - The Cockerel's crow
Presenter: Michaela Youngson
Reading: Matthew 26:69-74
THU 10:00 Great Lives (m001t9lj)
Iszi Lawrence on Diana Barnato Walker
Broadcaster and author Iszi Lawrence chooses the aviator Diana Barnato Walker.
Coming from a privileged background, Diana used her pocket money to take flying lessons, flew bombers during World War II, and - aged 45 - became the first British woman to break the sound barrier.
Iszi is joined by Giles Whittell, author of Spitfire Women of World War II, and Diana’s son Barney Walker.
Presenter: Matthew Parris
Producer: Beth Sagar-Fenton
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2023.
THU 10:30 A Spring Day Like I'd Never Seen Before (m002bs9f)
From her home in Berlin, Ilse Rewald recalls her war years living secretly as a Jew in Nazi Germany.
She and her husband were later protected by the composer Hanning Schroder.
With James Stewart.
Producer: Penny Arnold
First broadcast on BBC Radio Wales in May 1995 - as part of the VE Day commemorations
THU 10:50 Witness History: VE Day (w3cszmtt)
On the 8th of May 1945, hundreds of thousands of Londoners took to the streets to celebrate the end of the Second World War in Europe.
BBC correspondents captured the scenes of joy across the city - from the East End to Piccadilly Circus.
This programme is made up of material from the BBC Archives recorded on VE Day in 1945.
Produced by Simon Watts
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 2020
Photo: Londoners dancing on VE Day (Getty Images)
THU 11:00 Whodunnits (b00rfr3b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 11:30 Whodunnits (m000gmjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 12:00 Never Too Late (m002bs97)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 12:30 Parsley Sidings (b007jpb9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 13:00 Sisters (b08wn2jr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 13:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6dc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tfjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 14:00 The 3rd Degree (m0021xdt)
Series 14
5. Robinson College, Cambridge
Steve Punt hosts the battle of wits as three students from Robinson College, Cambridge take on their professors.
A funny and dynamic general knowledge quiz show with specialist subjects including Law, English and Spanish.
Questions range from eggshells, stilts, plums, dragons and the Bolivian Navy. Plus exciting updates about Cillian Murphy and Sir Alec Douglas-Home.
Producer: David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2024.
THU 14:30 No Commitments (b007gz65)
Series 13
New Beginnings
Charlotte gets surprising news, while Roger and Victoria must cope with a new arrival.
Simon Brett’s sitcom about the lives and squabbles of three very different sisters.
Anna ...... Rosemary Leach
Victoria ...... Angela Thorne
Charlotte ...... Felicity Montagu
Emily ...... Lisa Coleman
Eddie ...... James Green
Nick ...... Kieran Hill
George ...... Bruce Alexander
Roger ...... Jonathan Coy
Music by Elizabeth Parker of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Written and produced by Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio in May 2007.
THU 15:00 Coming Home (p009yrr7)
4. A Civil Society
Charles Wheeler continues his journey analysing how Britain and the world made the transition from Second World War to peace.
The 1945 General Election ushered in a Government promising a brighter, happier, more stable future.
But as the War ended in the Far East, exhausted men and women returned home to discover they had entered a new period of austerity: rationing of food, clothing and fuel; one of the worst winters on record and an energy crisis making life for some as hard as it had been during the War itself.
Producer: Neil George
Presented by Charles Wheeler
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
THU 15:45 Short Works (m00168rj)
Ghost Writer
A writer goes to Tuscany to complete the unfinished novel of a dead author.
In Lucca, he considers two failed marriages: one in the novel, the other his own.
Tom Vowler's short story read by Blake Ritson.
Taken from Tom's story collection The Method, which won the Scott Prize and the Edge Hill Readers' Prize.
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2022.
THU 16:00 Great Lives (m001t9lj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:30 A Spring Day Like I'd Never Seen Before (m002bs9f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 16:50 Witness History: VE Day (w3cszmtt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:50 today]
THU 17:00 Whodunnits (b00rfr3b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 17:30 Whodunnits (m000gmjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 18:00 Never Too Late (m002bs97)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:30 Parsley Sidings (b007jpb9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 19:00 Sisters (b08wn2jr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6dc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 19:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tfjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 20:00 The 3rd Degree (m0021xdt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
THU 20:30 No Commitments (b007gz65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
THU 21:00 Coming Home (p009yrr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
THU 21:45 Short Works (m00168rj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 today]
THU 22:00 Mark Watson Talks a Bit About Life (m001k0q3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 22:30 Big Town All Stars (b007jrjl)
Series 2
The Ballad Of Kenny And Christine
Kenny's new girlfriend wants to join his a cappella band - but she can't sing.
You can join a band for a lot of reasons - fame, sex, money. Yet Kenny saw it as his only chance of giving up teaching geography.
Series two of Bill Dare's four part sitcom about a small-time band trying to make it big starring Stephen Tompkinson.
Kenny ...... Stephen Tompkinson.
Johnnie ...... Adrian Scarborough
Lorelei ...... Nicola Walker
Nelson........Brian Bovell
Christine.....Debra Stephenson
WIth:
Bill Dare
Clive Rowe
Giles New
Dave Lamb
Written by Giles New
Devised by Bill Dare
Musical Director: David Firman
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2001.
THU 23:00 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m002bs9l)
2025
08/05/2025
Esyllt Sears continues a week of special programmes featuring highlights and behind-the-scenes conversations from the 2025 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. This time: artist Carl Chapple discusses his annual portrait painting classes; bilingual fun with Steffan Alun; and the the brilliant Robin Morgan chats about child friendly comedy.
Producers: Mark Lee and Chris Pearson
THU 23:15 Tarot: Soundbleed (m0010p2c)
Episode 3
Tarot: Soundbleed is the brainchild of a multi-award winning sketch supergroup, which unites Gein's Family Giftshop and Goose, alongside stand-up and writer Kiri Pritchard-McLean.
In August 2019, Tarot were the 5th best-reviewed act in Edinburgh, the fourth best show of the year according to The List, and the best show of the year according to Chortle.
Throughout their richly soundscaped first series, Soundbleed harnesses the group's inventive writing, rapid gag rate and fine ear for character.
In this episode, a self-defence class, the recording of an audiobook and the alibi of a ‘professional’ ghost hunter.
Written and performed by:
Adam Drake
Edward Easton
Kath Hughes
Ben Rowse
Kiri Pritchard-McLean
Produced by Hayley Sterling.
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2021.
THU 23:30 It's Jocelyn (b06tvbz1)
Series 1
Episode 2
Expect a raft of fresh characters from Jocelyn including a terrible shop assistant, a pair of terrible bedroom DJ's and an old lady obsessed with dying.
Jocelyn Jee Esien vents her frustration at the world around her through sketches and stand-up.
From pedantic dinner dates to coping with annoying friends, Jocelyn's life provides a rich seam of humour.
With:
Curtis Walker
Ninia Benjamin
Kevin J
Producer: John Pocock
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2016.

FRIDAY 09 MAY 2025

FRI 00:00 Great Lives (m001t9lj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 A Spring Day Like I'd Never Seen Before (m002bs9f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 00:50 Witness History: VE Day (w3cszmtt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:50 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Whodunnits (b00rfr3b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Whodunnits (m000gmjz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Never Too Late (m002bs97)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Parsley Sidings (b007jpb9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 Sisters (b08wn2jr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6dc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tfjr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The 3rd Degree (m0021xdt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 No Commitments (b007gz65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Coming Home (p009yrr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:45 Short Works (m00168rj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Whodunnits (b00rgnxh)
P Division - Two Way Cut
4. Samurai
Donoghue has enough evidence to arrest Stein - but where is he?
Louise wants to make a statement about the murder and Elka Willems is going to tell Mrs Salisbury about her daughter's illness...
Conclusion of Peter Turnbull's 'P' Division crime thriller set in Glasgow.
Dramatised by Stephen Mulrine.
DC Malcolm Montgomery …. Frank Gallagher
DC King …. Robert Carlyle
WPC Elka Willems …. Eliza Langland
Mrs Salisbury …. Ginni Barlow
Mrs Stein …. Mary Ann Reid
DS Ray Sussock …. Jake D'Arcy
DI Donoghue …. Crawford Logan
Louise …. Anne Marie Timoney
Spike …. Cathal Quinn
Barman …. Alec Monteath
Michelle …. Daniela Nardini
Dr Munro/PC Waness …. Paul Morrow
Chi Chiu Lorinksi …. Sedhar Chozam
Mrs MacIntyre …. Edith Ruddick
PC Hamilton …. Martin McCardie
Producer: Hamish Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1993.
FRI 06:30 Whodunnits (m000gn3w)
Stand By For West - Inspector West at Home
2. Crisis for a Copper
Roger is suspended from duty so hires Pep Morgan to help prove that he’s been framed.
Starring Patrick Allen as Scotland Yard’s youngest, smartest chief inspector.
Created and written by John Creasey.
Dramatised by Maurice Travers.
Chief Inspector Roger West .… Patrick Allen
Janet West .… Sarah Lawson
Mark Lessing .… Edward de Souza
Pep Morgan .... Harry Landis
Pickerell .… Robert James
Detective Inspector Bob Cornish .… Frederick Treves
Assistant Commissioner Sir Guy Chatsworth .… Maurice Hedley
Mrs Fleming .… Margaret Robertson
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1968.
FRI 07:00 Up the Garden Path (b008j0kf)
Series 3
Up the Stick and Sick as a Parrot
Izzy spends her birthday coping with the surprise news that she's pregnant...
Imelda Staunton stars as Isabelle 'Izzy' Comyn.
With Mike Grady as Dick, Marty Cruickshank as Maria, Nicholas Le Prevost as Michael, Rene Zagger as Razors, Neil McCaul as Bill, Phyllida Nash as Louise and Sion Prober as Gwyn.
Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30-something teacher Izzy has a predilection for inappropriate men.
A six-part radio sequel first adapted from Sue Limb’s 1984 novel. The last of three series which ran from 1987 to 1993. Granada also adapted the series for ITV.
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1993.
FRI 07:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b008kmkg)
Series 2
Episode 1
Reshuffling Patron Saints, the art of piano moving and spoofing 'Under Milk Wood'.
A sequential entertainment for radio starring Ronnie Barker.
With:
Terence Brady
Pauline Yates
Pianist: Gordon Langford.
Written by Miles Kington, Roy Lomax, John Graham, Peter Spence, Chris Miller, Chris Allen, Jim Eldridge, Chris Bell and Laurie Holloway and Peter N Christie
Producer John Fawcett-Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1972.
FRI 08:00 Relativity (m0001y8z)
Series 2
Episode 2
Holly’s unexpected pregnancy brings the family together once again, as they all comes to terms with it in their own way.
Pete and Billy bond over 59.1% Scotch, Margaret braves the supermarket and Holly won’t come out of her bedroom.
Drawing on his own family, Richard Herring’s comedy drama, builds on the warm, lively characters and family dynamics of the first series.
His affectionate observation of inter-generational misunderstanding, sibling sparring and the ties that bind will resonate with anyone who has ever argued with their dad about who the current Pope is.
Amid the comedy, Richard broaches some more serious highs and lows of family life.
Margaret …… Alison Steadman
Ken …… Phil Davis
Jane …… Fenella Woolgar
Ian …… Richard Herring
Chloe …… Emily Berrington
Pete …… Gordon Kennedy
Holly …… Tia Bannon
Mark …… Fred Haig
Nick …… Harrison Knights
Billy …… Danny Kirrane
Writer Richard Herring is a comedian, writer, blogger and podcaster and the world's premier semi-professional self-playing snooker player.
Sound Design by Eloise Whitmore
Produced by Polly Thomas
Executive Producers: Jon Thoday and Richard Allen Turner
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019.
FRI 08:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6np)
5. The Future
Virginia Nicholson's evocative account of the Second World War is told through a multitude of individual women's experiences. As their stories unfold we discover how they loved, suffered, laughed, grieved and dared.
As the celebratory atmosphere of VE day fades, many women are left wondering what the future holds.
Virginia Nicholson's books include Among the Bohemians - Experiments in Living 1900-1939, and Singled Out - How Two Million Women Survived Without Men after the First World War which was broadcast as a Book of the Week.
Read by Fenella Woolgar.
Abridged by Doreen Estall.
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
FRI 08:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tg5g)
5. Loneliness
Anders is lonely after his children leave. But Tina is finding that communal living is lonely too.
In 1964, Professor Glob, the curator of the Silkeborg Museum in Denmark, dedicated his book The Bog People to a group of schoolgirls who had written to him about his recent archaeological discoveries.
Fifty years later, at a defining moment in her life, Tina Hopgood writes him another letter about a planned pilgrimage to Denmark with her best friend, Bella, to visit the 2000-year-old Tollund Man.
Why did they never make the trip?
She doesn’t expect a reply.
When Anders Larsen, a lonely museum curator responds, neither does he.
Their unexpected correspondence becomes a shared meditation on love, loss, life choices made and the opportunity to make new and different ones.
Anne Youngson's novel in the form of letters.
Adapted by Richard Leaf.
Tamsin Greig ...... Tina
Paul Ritter ...... Anders
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2021.
FRI 09:00 Gossip and Goddesses with Granny Kumar (m000t495)
Episode 6
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, Doctor Who star Mandip Gill and Evening Standard Best Actress award winner Josette Simon.
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 March 2021.
FRI 09:30 A History of the Brain (b017551t)
10. Einstein's Brain
Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part history is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe.
From Neolithic times to the present day, Geoff journeys through the many ideas of what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.
What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.
In this episode, the focus is on how advances in neurology have influenced our understanding of human's as 'neurochemical selves'. Examining the recent trend to explain every aspect of personality by underlying brain processes, Geoff Bunn highlights how disciplines from aesthetics to sociology have felt the impact of neuroscience. He acknowledges the benefits supplied by MRI scanning but points out the flaws in promoting an understanding of humanity based entirely on analysis of the brain. If the dissection of Einstein's brain were all we had to go on, we wouldn't know much about the famous physicist's life and character.
Featuring the voices of Paul Bhattacharjee, Jonathan Forbes and Hattie Morahan.
Produced by Marya Burgess.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.
FRI 09:45 Daily Service (m002btx4)
Animals in the Bible - The Lion and the Lamb
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Animals in the Bible - The Lion and the Lamb
Presenter: Bishop David Walker
Reading: Revelation 5:1-8
Music:
All creatures of our God and King - Yvonne Lyon
Lion and the Lamb - Rivers & Robots
Shout to the Lord - Hillsong Chapel
FRI 10:00 Soul Music (b036v094)
Series 16
Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
The hymn 'Make Me a Channel of Your Peace' found its way into weddings, funerals and school assemblies and in this week's 'Soul Music' we hear how it has also embedded itself into the hearts of peace campaigners, charity workers and reformed alcoholics.
The simplicity of this hymn often belies the challenges at its heart. Its lyrics call for unconditional love and forgiveness in the toughest situations. The words are based on a poem which has often been attributed to St Francis of Assisi. However, Franciscan Historian, Dr Christian Renoux, suggests it was most likely to have been written by an anonymous French noble women.
The poem travelled across the globe with translations published during the first and second world wars, subsequently bringing inspiration to public figures ranging from Mother Theresa to President Roosevelt.
In 1967 it caught the eye of South African born musician and 'yogi' Sebastian Temple who put these words to its most famous musical arrangement. It's Sebastian's version that was played at Princess Diana's funeral and that has also touched the hearts of millions worldwide.
Mathew Neville of children's charity 'World Vision' recalls his encounter with this hymn in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whilst closer to home Wendy and Colin Parry share their memories of this music and the role it played in remembering their son Tim, who was killed in the 1993 Warrington Bombings.
In Minnesota former lawyer Mike Donohue reflects on how this hymn has guided him on a journey through alcohol abuse and dementia and Sarah Hershberg remembers her good friend Sebastian Temple, who first played this simple hymn in her front room before it went on to travel the world.
Producer: Nicola Humphries
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2013.
FRI 10:30 Smile (b01jg73p)
Kate Williams goes in search of the modern winning smile
Used in many different and persuasive ways, from beautiful people beaming down from billboards to politicians vying to win our votes - the broad and confident smile is very much at the centre of communication in today's society.
Yet open mouthed smiling can also be deemed a sign of madness – or simply undignified.
Historian and author Kate discovers the impact of dentistry and films on our changing relationship with our smiles along with role gender and culture play.
Why do most of us hate smiling in photographs? Discover why Jenni Murray would never broadcast without one.
Producer: Andrea Kidd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2012.
FRI 11:00 Whodunnits (b00rgnxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 11:30 Whodunnits (m000gn3w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 12:00 Up the Garden Path (b008j0kf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b008kmkg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Relativity (m0001y8z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6np)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tg5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 14:00 Whispers (b00b0hml)
Series 1
Episode 2
Discover the truth about how Bram Stoker broke Oscar Wilde's heart.
Gyles Brandreth hosts the scandals quiz show that puts naughty before nice, dishing the dirt on the bad boys and girls in history.
Regular team captains Anthony Holden and Stella Duffy are joined by:
Lynne Truss
Rowan Pelling
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2003.
FRI 14:30 More Mr Mulliner by PG Wodehouse (m002btx6)
The Bishop's Move
Pub raconteur Mr Mulliner’s tale of a bishop in a quandary about the future of his vicarage.
Storyteller Mr Mulliner enlists the regular tipplers of the Angler's Rest to tell his tales.
Starring Richard Griffiths.
From a collection of stories written by PG Wodehouse, first published in 1927.
Dramatised in six parts by Roger Davenport.
Mr Mulliner .... Richard Griffiths
Miss Postlethwaite / Mulliner Junior .... Matilda Ziegler
A Small Bitter / Augustine .... Tom George
A Pint of Stout / The Bishop .... David Timson
The Light Ale / Headmaster .... Martin Hyder
A Port / General Bloodenough .... Peter Acre
Director: Ned Chaillet
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2004.
FRI 15:00 Coming Home (p009yrr3)
5. Out of the Ashes
Charles Wheeler concludes his series about the end of the Second World War and the first years of peace - and how they affected the lives of people in Britain and overseas.
In the aftermath of the A-Bomb, would it be possible for idealism to return?
The programme looks at science, culture, religion and sport and asks whether they provided new hope and progress after long years of war.
Producer: Mark Burman
Charles Wheeler spoke to people to find out how Britain returned to normality after the War in the pursuit of sports and entertainment.
Producer Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2005.
FRI 15:45 Short Works (m00114tp)
Twenty-Five Years
Annika, a widow, now has a well-organised life built mainly around her work in Central London. But a Facebook friend request sends her spiralling into the past.
Mona Dash' short story read by Vineeta Rishi.
Mona works and lives in London. She is the author of A Roll of the Dice: a story of loss, love and genetics (2019) which won an Eyelands International Book Award for memoir.
Her debut short story collection, Let Us Look Elsewhere, was published in June 2021. Twenty-Five Years is her first story for radio.
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2021.
FRI 16:00 Soul Music (b036v094)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Smile (b01jg73p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Whodunnits (b00rgnxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 17:30 Whodunnits (m000gn3w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Up the Garden Path (b008j0kf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 18:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b008kmkg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 19:00 Relativity (m0001y8z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Millions Like Us: Women's Lives in War and Peace 1939-1949 by Virginia Nicholson (b010t6np)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 19:45 Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (m000tg5g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 20:00 Whispers (b00b0hml)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
FRI 20:30 More Mr Mulliner by PG Wodehouse (m002btx6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
FRI 21:00 Coming Home (p009yrr3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
FRI 21:45 Short Works (m00114tp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 today]
FRI 22:00 Call Jonathan Pie (m002brqn)
Series 2
6.Identity Crisis
As the team face the pain and pitfalls of diversity training, Pie’s prejudices are painfully exposed. 
Call Jonathan Pie is written and performed by Tom Walker.
With additional material from Nick Revell and Daniel Abelson
Alice …..Emily Houghton
Jules ….. Lucy Pearman
Sam ….. Aqib Khan
Roger ….. Nick Revell
Agent ...Daniel Abelson
The callers: Laura Shavin, Daniel Abelson, Ellie Dobing and Ed Kear
Original music ...Jason Read.
Voiceover ..... Bob Sinfield
Newsreader .... Rob Curling
Producers: Alison Vernon-Smith and Julian Mayers
A Yada-Yada Audio production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 22:30 The Absolutely Radio Show (m000747y)
Series 3
Episode 4
In the final episode of the series Mr Muzak takes on his social media network’s algorithms, Little Girl explains global warming and Stoneybridge Town Council discuss possible content for their brand-new Digital Information Board.
The show also features two followers of Sober October revealing what rhyming activities they do for the other months of the year and Gwynedd’s insomnia driving Denzil to despair and then song.
The cast of TV's hugely popular sketch show revisit some of their much-loved sketch characters, while also introducing some newcomers.
Starring:
Pete Baikie
Morwenna Banks
Moray Hunter
Gordon Kennedy
John Sparkes
In 2013, the group that made their name on Channel Four in the 1980s and 90s got back together for Radio 4's Sketchorama: Absolutely Special - which won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Live Scripted Comedy. The first series of The Absolutely Radio Show picked up a Celtic Media Award nomination for Best Radio Comedy.
Producers: Gordon Kennedy & Gus Beattie
An Absolutely/Gusman production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in July 2019.
FRI 23:00 Comedy Club at Machynlleth (m002btxb)
2025
09/05/2025
Esyllt Sears concludes a week of special programmes featuring highlights and behind-the-scenes conversations from the 2025 Machynlleth Comedy Festival. In this episode: the fantastic standup and writer Heidi Regan and the BAFTA comedy-award winning Stewart Lee.
Producers: Mark Lee and Chris Pearson
FRI 23:15 Heidi Regan: No Worries (m000xr9c)
Episode 3
As someone who tends to worry in 'normal' times, the pandemic of course offered some exciting new areas of exploration for the anxious mind.
Having a partner who is a GP has both helped and not helped Heidi with that: worrying about her being safe, but also, yay, on tap medical advice!
That said, examining rashes of a loved one over dinner isn’t really the romance her partner signed up for.
As Heidi and her partner ponder some of the big questions in life, Heidi's brain resorts, as it always does, to distracting them (and the audience) with increasingly silly jokes as she makes an argument for the pros and cons of joking your way through life.
In this episode, Heidi is keen to put her worries into perspective.
Written and performed by Heidi Regan.
With thanks to Nick Elleray.
Produced by Julia McKenzie.
A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2021.
FRI 23:30 Cowards (b007d5bl)
Series 1
Episode 4
Talking fruit meets crosswords in the bizarre world of the comedy sketch show team.
Written and performed by:
Tom Basden
Stefan Golaszewski
Tim Key
Lloyd Wool
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2007.