SATURDAY 14 JUNE 2025

SAT 00:00 Soul Music (m000c4th)
Series 29
The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel
'The Boxer' is Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel's 1969 masterpiece.
People who have a deep personal connection with the song and its lyrics, discuss what it means to them.
Seamus McDonagh is a former boxer. He recalls his tumultuous time during and after his famous fight with Evander Holyfield in 1990. He also explains why he identifies closely with the song's lyrics.
Julie Nimoy is the daughter of Leonard Nimoy and co-producer of a film about the much-loved actor’s life story - 'Remembering Leonard Nimoy'. Best remembered as Star Trek’s Mr Spock, Leonard’s favourite song was ‘The Boxer’. Julie describes exactly what it meant to him both throughout his life, and in its closing moments.
Gary Edward Jones is a singer-songwriter who for years rejected comparisons made of him to Paul Simon. Eventually, he embraced the likeness and his life changed after developing a show called 'Something About Simon - The Paul Simon Story'.
Dave Mason is an amateur guitarist who has found deep meaning in The Boxer; meaning that has changed and grown as he has.
Series about pieces of music with a powerful emotional impact.
Producer: Karen Gregor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2019.
SAT 00:30 Picking Round Apples (b014qxbg)
Steve Carver lives the life of a seasonal apple-picker on a farm in rural Herefordshire.
In his previous programmes for Radio 4 'Dancing Round the Mediterranean' and 'Touring Round Torquay' , Steve immersed himself in a new line of work, living alongside co-workers and experiencing their way of life.
For a week in mid-August 2011, Steve gave up his home comforts and moved into a small campervan parked in the corner of a field.
Every year, a small band of retired people establish a make-shift and temporary, but close community.
Every day, all day, they pick apples. The money they earn boosts their pensions, and a simple and quietly sociable life is also a great draw.
However it's hard work - bad backs, scratched arms, and sore feet are the wounds that must be borne.
The retired pickers live in their motor-homes for the summer, with many over-wintering in Spain when the weather begins to cool.
No such luxury (or destination) for Steve - we gave him a basic campervan, with no electrical 'hook-up'; the use of a microwave in a farm-building, which also houses the showers and loos.
He was cold at night (trekking socks a necessity in bed, even in August), he got a little sick of microwave meals, but he enjoyed meeting the other pickers.
Steve appreciated what they meant by 'getting into the zone' of apple picking: reach... pick... put in bucket... reach... pick... put in bucket... almost - as Steve said - like a form of meditation.
Grab yourself an apple - as it’s crunch-time for Steve as he gets picking at Tillington Fruit Farm, near Ledbury in Herefordshire.
Producer: Karen Gregor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2011.
SAT 01:00 Jim Nicholson - Return to the Islands (m002d8s5)
5. The Intruder
The team are out for revenge sparked by the latest tragedy.
Captain Jim Nicholson formulates a plan against their enemies...
Starring Edward De Souza.
Robert Barr's thriller set in the remote and lonely islands of the Outer Hebrides.
Jim Nicholson .... Edward de Souza
Ian McLeod .... Bryden Murdoch
Major Miller .... John Graham
Paul O'Donnell .... Geoffrey Frederick
Sergeant Finney .... Clive Merrison
Alan Shaw/Landlord .... Andrew Neil
Katy Evans .... Gretta Gouriet
Producer: Peter Titheradge.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1971.
SAT 01:45 Whodunnits (b01nj2x5)
Inspector Barlach - The Judge and his Hangman
5. Truth
The surprising truth is revealed about the murder of Schmied.
Friedrich Dürrenmatt's thrilling tale of lifelong rivalry.
Concluded by Bernard Hepton.
Producer: Maurice Leitch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1984.
SAT 02:00 A Very Private Man (b09j2l7l)
Episode 4
Panic stations for Helen, as her mother arrives unannounced.
Can she manage to keep her away from husband David?
Starring Rodney Bewes and Ann Bell.
Terry Gregson's north v south sitcom.
David Parkinson ...... Rodney Bewes
Helen Parkinson ...... Ann Bell
Mrs Henderson ...... Daphne Oxenford
Mrs Arthur ...... Paula Tildrook
Mr Sands ...... Peter Wheeler
Produced at BBC Manchester by Ron McDonnell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1981.
SAT 02:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00j0hbp)
Series 2
Episode 7
A forgetful actor, a grave digger's wedding - and people who use lots of words but say very little.
A sequential entertainment for radio starring Ronnie Barker.
With:
Terence Brady
Pauline Yates
John Graham
Pianist: Gordon Langford.
Written by Tony Bilbow and Mike Fentiman, Guy Boas, Terence Brady, David Climie, John Graham, Charles Griffin, Kevin Paul and Harold Arkthorp, Allan Scott and Chris Bryant, Peter Spence and Gerald Wiley.
Producer: John Fawcett-Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1972.
SAT 03:00 Showstopper (b00y2sjt)
3. Scout Camp
The Showstopper team are here to create a hilarious improvised comic musical on the spot!
Featuring songs, plot and characters based entirely on suggestions from the live studio audience.
It’s curtain-up on the musical world of cub scouting....
The cast includes:
Pippa Evans
Ruth Bratt
Dylan Emery
Lucy Trodd
Sean McCann
Oliver Senton
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2011.
SAT 03:30 The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (b06wj5wf)
5. Personal Geology
Examining the fault lines bisecting her life, Amy questions why she became an alcoholic.
Amy Liptrot's incisive memoir of overcoming alcoholism amid the luminous Orkney landscape.
Liptrot grew up on a sheep farm on Orkney. She was shaped by the wind-swept islands, but longed for the excitement of the city.
A move to London led to a life that was hedonistic and fun but she was unable to control her drinking. Her alcoholism exposed her to some terrifying situations and left her lost and lonely.
At 30 she finds herself washed up back home in Orkney, and discovers that this place she once longed to escape is curative, its wildness and lore playing an essential part in her recovery from addiction.
Abridged by Sara Davies.
Concluded by Tracy Wiles,
Producer: Simon Richardson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2016.
SAT 03:45 Clutch, Throttle, Brake by Christopher William Hill (b08c32cw)
Friday
It is Nat's driving test, and she is viewing it with great apprehension - as, for different reasons, is her instructor Ken.
Conclusion of Christopher William Hill's comedy drama is about driving lessons, dominant mothers and unexpected friendships.
Nat, a harassed middle-aged teacher, who sees her life rapidly drifting away from her, is desperate to pass her driving test on the anniversary of her father's death.
It is his money that has helped pay for her instruction.
Ken, her much older driving instructor, has understandable doubts about his pupil's chances. But he also finds himself increasingly drawn to his client.
Their unlikely friendship develops over the course of Nat's final week before her test - despite, or perhaps because of, the distractions provided by Nat's needy and larger-than-life mother, Suki.
Nat .... Samantha Spiro
Ken .... Bill Paterson
Suki .... Alison Steadman
Waitress .... Nicole Bartlett
Original Music: David Chilton
Director: Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2017.
SAT 04:00 The Motion Show (b00768f5)
Series 3
Episode 1
Debates galore over the North/South divide, glorious failure – and blowing your own trumpet.
Graeme Garden chairs the quirky battle of words and wit.
With:
Steve Punt
Simon Fanshawe
Dan Gaster
Jenny Eclair
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000
SAT 04:30 Odd Balls (b0076043)
Speedily to School by Billl Bosun
Passengers love country school bus driver Bill Bosun, despite his speed making journeys both a hazard and an adventure.
But his weakness is an unwillingness to see anyone in a jam. Against instruction, he waits for late pupils and gives lifts to all kinds of folk and their dogs, ducks and hens.
The children adore him, but the school governors and local councillors have a different view. Bill's future is in their hands.
One of four character-based comedies written by Don Howarth.
Bill …. Shaun Curry
Headmaster …. Russell Dixon
Mrs Cupboard …. Jillie Meers
Mrs Gasper …. Gillian Goodman
Mr Pilchard …. Graham Colclough
Micky …. David Thorpe
Freddie …. Barry Farrimond
Jenny …. Holly Grainger
Charlie …. Will Haigh
Narrator …. Peter Meakin
Director: Julie Beckett
Producer: Sue Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.
SAT 05:00 My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin (m002d8sb)
2. Daughter of the Southern Cross
When 17 year old Sybylla Melvyn meets the rich and handsome Harold Beecham, all thoughts of her harsh outback upbringing disappears.
Sybylla hates to conform but when she is faced with the choice between "a brilliant career" and marriage, she is for once at a loss for words.
Conclusion of the classic Australian novel set at the turn of the 20th century,
Starring Nicola Quilter and Stefan Dennis.
Written by Miles Franklin (Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin)
Dramatised by Lavinia Murra
Sybylla .... Nicola Quilter
Harold .... Stefan Dennis
Aunt Gussie/Mother .... Judy Cornwell
Frank .... Louis Hilyer
Granny .... Margaret Robertson
Helen .... Kate Blackham
Father/Uncle Julius .... Darryl Forbes-Dawson
Mr McSwat .... Terence Mann
Mrs McSwat .... Eilis Hetherington
Child .... Hugh Paterson
Child .... Robert Lindsay
Child .... Brenna Paterson
Pianist David R Smith
Director: Kate Rowland
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1996
SAT 06:00 Our Family by Victor Pemberton (m002dkqv)
3. Down by the Sea
1963-1980. Letty and Oliver reach the sunset of their lives, spent in a seaside bungalow bought for them by their children.
Now, alone, they have to resolve the problems of old age.
Starring Nerys Hughes and Nigel Anthony.
Victor Pemberton's trilogy of dramas telling the story of the Edginton family across the 20th century.
It is inspired by real people and actual events.
Letty Hobbs . . . . Nerys Hughes
Oliver Hobbs . . . . Nigel Anthony
Beatrice . . . . Sheila Grant
Mick . . . . Spencer Banks
Eddie . . . . Sean Barrett
Mary . . . . Karen Archer
Jonathan . . . . Rory McNicholl
Bill Brooks . . . . Michael Tudor Barnes
Tilly Brooks / District Nurse . . . . Emily Richard
Fred Golding . . . . Norman Bird
Gladys Golding / Alice . . . . Joan Matheson
Cypriot man / Newsreader . . . . John Baddeley
Cypriot woman . . . . Julie Berry
Reporter / Charlie . . . . Kim Wall
Doctor / Brian . . . . Steven Harrold
Guests at the Golden Wedding played by members of the cast.
Dance band: Les Brown Trio
Pianist: Mary Nash
Director: David Spenser
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1989.
SAT 07:30 Jaws by Peter Benchley (Omnibus) (b0bhfnq3)
2/2: "He didn't see the fin rise behind him..."
Amity's beaches are open again for the 4th July weekend. But Brody is nervous...
Will it ever be safe to go back into the water?
Peter Benchley's classic novel 'Jaws' was first published in 1974 and shot straight on to the bestseller lists. It's since sold over 20 million copies.
A year later, it was adapted into the iconic film by Steven Spielberg, which won three Academy Awards.
Omnibus of the last five of ten parts abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Concluded by Henry Goodman.
Producer: Justine Willett
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2018.
SAT 08:45 Someone Like Me by Miles Kington (b00dpspz)
5. Shock
A shock at the age of 18 from his sausage-loving father...
Broadcaster, writer and musician, Miles Kington concludes his account of an endearingly eccentric childhood.
Abridged by Richard Hamilton.
Producer: Emma Harding
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2005.
SAT 09:00 The Men from the Ministry (b007jq8w)
The Big Big Big Ben Bungle
The bungling bureaucrats drop clangers galore, as the bare truth is exposed in Westminster!
A weekly tribute to all those who work in government departments.
Written by Edward Taylor and John Graham.
Lennox-Brown …. Deryck Guyler
Lamb …. Richard Murdoch
Mildred Murfin …. Norma Ronald
Sir Gregory Pitkin …. Ronald Baddiley
Wilkins/McTicker …. John Graham
Newsreader …. Bryan Martin
'The Men from the Ministry' ran for 14 series between 1962 and 1977. Deryck Guyler replaced Wilfrid Hyde-White from 1966.
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 in July 1977.
SAT 09:30 J Kingston Platt (b01s9hds)
The Scriptwriter's Revenge
The showbiz survivor spins a yarn of overwhelming revenge with a tinge of praise.
The doyen of British showbiz, the insider's insider, J Kingston Platt, shares the last of his startlingly persuasive recollections.
Written and read by Peter Jones.
Producer: Pete Atkin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1993.
SAT 10:00 The Mastertapes Guide to Writing the Perfect Song (m000z6g9)
1. From Macca to McLean
An all-star line-up present a masterclass in the art of songwriting:
* Sir Paul McCartney
* Emeli Sande
* Suzanne Veja
* Natalie Merchant
* Paul Weller
* Corrine Bailey Rae
* Richard Hawley
* Jimmy Webb
* Laura Marling
* Billy Bragg
* Ray Davies
* Don McLean
In the first of three programmes, John Wilson looks back over his conversations with 45 acclaimed songwriters for BBC Radio 4's series ‘Mastertapes’.
Recorded with an audience of fans at the BBC Maida Vale studios in London, each guest focusses on a key album from their career, describing in detail how dozens of much loved hit songs were written.
Now, the ‘Mastertapes’ guests are brought together to offer a unique how-to guide to writing the perfect song.
SIR PAUL McCARTNEY demonstrates the building blocks of songwriting, reveals how a chord ‘borrowed’ from a Picasso painting became the basis of a collaborative composition with Kanye West. McCartney also talks candidly about his songwriting partnership with John Lennon in The Beatles.
SUZANNE VEGA and EMELI SANDÉ remember - and try to play - the very first songs that they wrote as children.
RAY DAVIES reveals how the character studies he created for his songs with The Kinks - including ‘Dedicated Follower Of Fashion’ - were based on real people.
PAUL WELLER breaks down the words and chords to ‘A Town Called Malice’, and remembers how, as a younger songwriter, he would ritually destroy his lyric books after completing a new album.
And DON McLEAN is delightfully evasive about his greatest hit, ‘American Pie’
Presented and produced by John Wilson.
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra - and first broadcast in May 2021.
SAT 11:00 Our Family by Victor Pemberton (m002dkqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 12:30 Jaws by Peter Benchley (Omnibus) (b0bhfnq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 13:45 Someone Like Me by Miles Kington (b00dpspz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 14:00 The Men from the Ministry (b007jq8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 14:30 J Kingston Platt (b01s9hds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 15:00 The Mastertapes Guide to Writing the Perfect Song (m000z6g9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 16:00 The Drover's Path by Vanessa Rosenthal (b0076q43)
A chilling ghost story set in 1890 on a remote sheep farm in Yorkshire.
Stars Jeff Hordley.
Vanessa Rosenthal’s dark drama is based on real-life family history.
John Whitam …. Jeff Hordley
Percy Metcalf …. Malcolm Hebden
Robert Whittam/Thomas Omerod …. Kenneth Alan Taylor
Ellen Whittam/Edith Whittam …. Elianne Byrne
Arthur Cunliffe/Edward Ormerod …. Matthew Lewney
Young Ellen/Young Edith …. Catherine Jenkins
Young John …. Oliver Hudson
Signature tune: Wench All
Directed at BBC Manchester by Polly Thomas.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2005.
SAT 17:00 Our Family by Victor Pemberton (m002dkqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 18:30 Jaws by Peter Benchley (Omnibus) (b0bhfnq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 19:45 Someone Like Me by Miles Kington (b00dpspz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 20:00 The Men from the Ministry (b007jq8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 20:30 J Kingston Platt (b01s9hds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 21:00 The Mastertapes Guide to Writing the Perfect Song (m000z6g9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Barker, Belgrave and Bigweed by Bill Dare (m002dkqx)
Barker and Bigweed were at school with Belgrave.
Over the years, whenever they bump into each other, the subject of every conversation is, of course, their extraordinarily successful friend.
They both have plenty of stories to tell about the never-seen Belgrave, but it never occurs to either of them that they differ…
Written by Bill Dare.
Bigweed .... Nicky Henson
Barker .... Jeremy Clyde
Voice .... Paul Gregory
Director: Glyn Dearman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1987.
SAT 22:30 Life, Death and Sex with Mike and Sue (b007jq77)
Series 1
Families and Relationships
The sofa-bound daytime presenter duo share some surprising items about smoking, underpants and old age.
Starring Robert Duncan and Julia Hills.
Bill Dare's six-part spoof of daytime TV lifestyle shows - including bits about sex for those who hate life and death.
Mike ...... Robert Duncan
Sue ...... Julia Hills
With:
Roger Blake
Mark Kilmurry
Sally Phillips
Dan Strauss
Music by Mark Burton.
Producer: Pete Sinclair
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1996.
SAT 23:00 Brian Gulliver's Travels (b00zdh7k)
Series 1
Sham
Brian Gulliver, a seasoned presenter of travel documentaries, finds himself in a hospital's secure unit after claiming to have had a number of bizarre adventures.
This time he travels to Sham a country where alternative therapies abound.
Starring Neil Pearson and Mariah Gale.
A satirical adventure story from Bill Dare.
Brian Gulliver ...... Neil Pearson
Rachel Gulliver ...... Mariah Gale
Raindrop ...... Antonia Campbell-Hughes
Muesli ...... David Horovitch
Mumbo ...... Julian Dutton
Kaleem ...... Lewis Alsamari
Healer ...... Stuart McLoughlin
Tofu ...... Sally Orrock
Hunter ...... Bill Dare
Grand ...... Joanna Monro
Producer: Steven Canny
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.
SAT 23:30 Big Town All Stars (b007jrmc)
Series 1
If You Scratch My Back
You can join a band for a lot of reasons - fame, sex, money. Yet Kenny sees it as his only chance of giving up teaching geography.

But when an unscrupulous record executive offers him a contract. it turns out it's not really his music she's interested in.

Which leaves Kenny wondering just how much he wants to give up the day job...

Starring Stephen Tompkinson.

Series one of Bill Dare's four part sitcom about a small-time band trying to make it big

Kenny ...... Stephen Tompkinson.
Bozo ...... Clive Rowe
Johnnie ...... Adrian Scarborough
Lorelei ...... Nicola Walker
Trixie ...... Meera Syal
Ruper ...... Stephen Powell

WIth:

Mathew Little
Bill Dare

Musical Director: David Firman

Producer: Gareth Edwards

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2000.

SUNDAY 15 JUNE 2025

SUN 00:00 The Drover's Path by Vanessa Rosenthal (b0076q43)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Our Family by Victor Pemberton (m002dkqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:30 Jaws by Peter Benchley (Omnibus) (b0bhfnq3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 03:45 Someone Like Me by Miles Kington (b00dpspz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 The Men from the Ministry (b007jq8w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 J Kingston Platt (b01s9hds)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 The Mastertapes Guide to Writing the Perfect Song (m000z6g9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m001thw5)
King Lear
Glenda Jackson
Politician and Transport Minister Glenda Jackson is castaway by Sue Lawley.
Politics is Glenda's third job. At 16, she left school to work in Boots. But it was as an actress that she reached the pinnacle of her profession, becoming an international star and winning Oscars for her roles in Women in Love and A Touch of Class.
On TV, she was the formidable Elizabeth R, but won our hearts as Cleopatra in Morecambe & Wise.
Despite her vast acting experience, she admits that when she came to make her maiden speech in the House of Commons she had the worst attack of stage fright in her long career.
DISC ONE: Nutbush City Limits - Ike & Tina Turner
DISC TWO: Igor Stravinsky's Symphony Of Psalms - CBC Symphony Orchestra Choir with Festival Singers Of Toronto, conducted by Igor Stravinsky
DISC THREE: Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
DISC FOUR: John Adams's The Chairman Dances - San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
DISC FIVE: Dmitry Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 in C major: "Leningrad" - London Symphony Orchestra
DISC SIX: Benjamin Britten's Libera me (from War Requiem) - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle
DISC SEVEN: Superstition - Stevie Wonder
DISC EIGHT: Michael Tippett's Concerto for Double String Orchestra - Scottish Chamber Orchestra
BOOK CHOICE: The History and Creation of a Japanese Sand Garden
LUXURY CHOICE: A bath
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Benjamin Britten's Libera me (from War Requiem) - City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simon Rattle
Producer: Angie Nehring
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1997.
SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00mcxcs)
Series 1
The Dodo
The Dodo is the caricature of extinction.
This turkey-sized flightless pigeon lived on a remote island and was slaughtered by seafarers for its meat. The same fate has met other flightless species.
Can we learn this lesson from history?
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 September 2009.
SUN 07:00 Poetry Extra (m002dl2z)
500th edition with The Canterbury Tales read by Miriam Margolyes
It's the 500th edition of BBC Radio 4 Extra's Poetry Extra.
Poet Daljit Nagra celebrates by dipping into the BBC World Service archive and selecting Stories in Verse - The Canterbury Tales.
Read by Miriam Margolyes.
Presented and produced by Joy Boatman
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 1995.
SUN 07:30 The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (Omnibus) (b06y11w3)
Amy Liptrot's story of overcoming alcoholism amid the luminous Orkney landscape.
Liptrot grew up on a sheep farm on Orkney. She was shaped by the wind-swept islands, but longed for the excitement of the city.
A move to London led to a life that was hedonistic and fun but she was unable to control her drinking. Her alcoholism exposed her to some terrifying situations and left her lost and lonely.
At 30 she finds herself washed up back home in Orkney, and discovers that this place she once longed to escape is curative, its wildness and lore playing an essential part in her recovery from addiction.
Orkney is an archipelago off Scotland's north- eastern coast.
Amy Liptrot's incisive memoir, first published in 2015.
We join Amy washed up and back home.
Omnibus of five parts abridged by Sara Davies.
Read by Tracy Wiles
Producer: Simon Richardson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2016.
SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002dl31)
Sophie Duker
Comedian and writer Sophie Duker selects ‘Nelson Mandela’ by The Specials, and ‘Gansta’ by Kojey Radical.
SUN 08:50 Clutch, Throttle, Brake by Christopher William Hill (Omnibus) (b08d8cn2)
Nat is a harassed middle-aged teacher, who sees life rapidly drifting away from her.
She's desperate to pass her driving test on the anniversary of her father's death.
It is his money that has helped pay for her instruction.
Ken, her much older driving instructor, has understandable doubts about his pupil's chances. But he also finds himself increasingly drawn to his client.
Their unlikely friendship develops over the course of Nat's final week before her test - despite, or perhaps because of, the distractions provided by Nat's needy and larger-than-life mother, Suki.
Christopher William Hill's comedy drama is about driving lessons, dominant mothers and unexpected friendships.
Omnibus of five parts.
Ken …. Bill Paterson
Suki …. Alison Steadman
Nat …. Samantha Spiro
Waitress …. Nicole Bartlett
Original Music: David Chilton
Director: Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in February 2017.
SUN 10:00 Frankie Howerd (m0017tkt)
Series 3
Episode 1
The King of Titters takes a comic look back through his eventful life and illustrious career as he writes his memoirs.
Frankie tells us all about his amorous adventures in the police force.
Written by David McKellar.
With:
June Whitfield
Bob Todd
Marjorie Rhodes
Hugh Ross
Producer: David Hatch
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in October 1974.
SUN 10:30 Huddwinks (b00fsmzb)
Series 2
Tom Smollet's Schooldays
A young pupil faces up to boarding school life with a fearsome headmaster and a bullying head boy.
Starring Roy Hudd.
Series of comedic parodies written by Laurie Rowley.
With
Denise Coffey
Chris Emmett
David Gooderson
Fred Harris
Producer: Jonathan James-Moore
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in July 1988.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m001thw5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00mcxcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m002dl2z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (Omnibus) (b06y11w3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002dl31)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 13:50 Clutch, Throttle, Brake by Christopher William Hill (Omnibus) (b08d8cn2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 15:00 Frankie Howerd (m0017tkt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 15:30 Huddwinks (b00fsmzb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 16:00 Mythos by Julian Simpson (b0b01rvm)
3. Albion
A sinkhole opens up beneath the City Of London.
Lairre and Parker - fresh from battling Robin Hood and his Merry Men - are tasked by Miranda Hyde to rescue Johnson from the depths of the city.
Lairre battles an incorrect cultural consensus of British history while Parker channels Modesty Blaise to become the world's greatest secret agent.
Together they find themselves facing Gogmagog the Giant as Britain's past erupts through time to destroy the present.
Julian Simpson's paranormal drama starring Nicola Walker.
Mythos is a series that looks at British folklore through a quasi-scientific prism.
It's laced with sardonic humour, ridiculous situations and insane leaps of logic - but its foundations lie in the stories that have become part of the British cultural DNA over the last 2000 years.
Lairre ...... Nicola Walker
Parker ...... Phoebe Fox
Johnson ...... Tim McInnerny
Miranda Hyde ...... Tracy-Ann Oberman
Warden Godfrey ...... Ewan Bailey
Hood ...... Ewan Bailey
Alan-a-Dale ...... David Holt
Aide 1 ...... David Holt
Danvers ...... David Holt
Geoffrey of Monmouth ...... David Collings
Jeff ...... David Collings
Aide 2 ...... Becky Wright
Written and directed by Julian Simpson.
Sound Designer: David Thomas
Producer: Karen Rose
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2018.
SUN 16:45 The Cure by Dorothy K Haynes (b041ydwd)
A poor man was hanged for theft, now his widow and her frightened son climb a hill to visit the gallows.
Can the touch of a hanged corpse really heal?
Short story by Dorothy K Haynes read by Sarah Collier.
Producer: David Jackson Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in October 1998.
SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m001thw5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00mcxcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m002dl2z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 18:30 The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (Omnibus) (b06y11w3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002dl31)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 19:50 Clutch, Throttle, Brake by Christopher William Hill (Omnibus) (b08d8cn2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 21:00 Frankie Howerd (m0017tkt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:30 Huddwinks (b00fsmzb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 22:00 The Mary Whitehouse Experience (b007jpq5)
From 17/02/1990
Nice or nastiness?
What is embarrassing?
Starring the double double-acts of:
David Baddiel and Rob Newman
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis.
With Mark Hurst.
BBC Radio 1's alternative comedy with sketches, stand-up and the odd spot of audience participation.
Starting in 1989, the foursome's popularity sparked a BBC TV-transfer of the same name.
Producer: Armando Iannucci
First broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in February 1990
SUN 22:30 Dead Ringers (m002dl34)
Series 1
Episode 2
Topical impressions show: Doctor Who needs a taxi and a politician has stars in their eyes.
No one will be safe from the merciless parodies, as the show takes down every programme, institution and politician you hold dear.
Starring:
Jon Culshaw
Alistair McGowan
Kate Robbins
Simon Lipson
Keith Harris
Written by Nev Fountain, Tom Jamieson, John Holmes, Andy Hurst, Simon Blackwell, Ivor Baddiel, Ashley Boroda, Gerard Foster, Henry Nailor, George Jeffrie, Bert Tyler-Moore, Robin Ince, Ed Dyson, Ali Crockatt, Oriane Messina, Fay Rusling and Mike Weedy.
Producer: Bill Dare with Mario Stylianides and Danny Wallace.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
SUN 23:00 I've Never Seen Star Wars (b00hq2xz)
Series 2
Jan Ravens
Jan Ravens tries her hand at boxing, reading a book by Andy McNab - and threading hair.
But can she build a brick wall?
Series in which Marcus Brigstocke invites celebrities to try new experiences.
Producer: Bill Dare
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2009.
SUN 23:30 The Secret World (b012ylgm)
Series 2
Episode 6
James Bond star Daniel Craig tries to get some car insurance.
The comedy impressions series examining the bizarre and private lives of public people.
Starring:
Jon Culshaw
Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Julian Dutton
Lewis Macleod
Jess Robinson
Duncan Wisbey
Written by Bill Dare, Julian Dutton, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.
Producer: Bill Dare
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2010.

MONDAY 16 JUNE 2025

MON 00:00 Mythos by Julian Simpson (b0b01rvm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:45 The Cure by Dorothy K Haynes (b041ydwd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:45 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (m001thw5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b00mcxcs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m002dl2z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 The Outrun by Amy Liptrot (Omnibus) (b06y11w3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002dl31)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]
MON 03:50 Clutch, Throttle, Brake by Christopher William Hill (Omnibus) (b08d8cn2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Frankie Howerd (m0017tkt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Huddwinks (b00fsmzb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Jim Nicholson - Return to the Islands (m002dnrn)
6. The Trap
With the his team briefed and eager, Captain Nicholson embarks on the endgame – with enemies to trace and the original mission to secure.
Starring Edward De Souza.
Conclusion of Robert Barr's thriller set in the remote and lonely islands of the Outer Hebrides.
Jim Nicholson .... Edward de Souza
Ian McLeod .... Bryden Murdoch
Major Miller .... John Graham
Paul O'Donnell .... Geoffrey Frederick
Sergeant Finney .... Clive Merrison
Alan Shaw .... Andrew Neil
Katy Evans .... Gretta Gouriet
Alec Rogers .... Ian Dewar
Miss Dalgleish .... Eva Stuart
Prisoner .... David Gooderson
Producer: Peter Titheradge.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1971.
*******************************************************************************************
Our warm thanks to the Radio Circle for returning this series to the BBC Radio archive.
MON 06:45 The Man with the Red Beard by Edgar Wallace (m0005gys)
" As you are a man of considerable property and may wish to have time to make arrangements as to its disposal, I will give you a little grace.
At the end of a reasonable period, I shall come to London and kill you... "
Notorious vigilante, The Ringer, sets out to exact revenge.
Edwin Richfield reads Edgar Wallace's short story.
Producer: Nigel Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1989.
MON 07:00 The Pasadenas' Almanac (m002dnrq)
Some Like It Lukewarm
The lead is flying in Chicago back in the days of guns and gangsters.
A series of musical excursions for the Pasadena Roof Orchestra through some of the greatest moments in the history of the 20th century.
Written by Chris Emmett and Tony Hare.
Starring:
June Whitfield
Jeffrey Holland
Chris Emmett
With vocalist Duncan Galloway.
Producer: Richard Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1992.
MON 07:30 Steptoe and Son (b00t39lf)
Series 2
The Siege of Steptoe Street
Albert and Harold are besieged by all their creditors demanding money.
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
Stacey the Butcher …. Robert Dorning
The Man …. Michael McLean
The Bailiff …. Alan Dudley
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 June 1967.
MON 08:00 On the Rocks (b05vwtsk)
Series 2
Sermons
Father Tregarthan enlists the help of an unlikely source to help him with his irreligious parishioners on St. Martin's.
Christopher William Hill's comedy set on a remote island of the Isles of Scilly, just before the Second World War.
Frank Gunwallow ...... Joseph Kloska
Tommy Trenear ...... Stuart Fox
Tregarthan ...... Peter Marinker
Ben Trenear ...... Alex Palmer
Morwenna-May ...... Alex Tregear
Signor Di Bicci ...... Sam Dale
Reggie Pender ...... Christopher William Hill
Director: Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2015.
MON 08:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000msv2)
1. Governess Job
Early in 1914, 22-year-old Gerty Freely travels to Russia to work as a governess, little-knowing the huge upheavals in the world and in her own life that lie ahead.
In London, 1974, Gerty begins a memoir for her daughter Sophy, looking back at that extraordinary time of war, revolution and civil war.
Most of her memories are centred on a young inventor, Nikita Slavkin, who mysteriously disappeared in 1919 and was subsequently celebrated in Soviet culture as The Vanishing Futurist.
“No word has been heard from him since […] Yet the idea persists that one day he will reappear.”
Charlotte Hobson's novel, first published in 2016.
Abridged in ten parts by Jeremy Osborne.
Read by Barbara Flynn.
Producer: Jeremy Osborne
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020.
****** Charlotte Hobson graduated from Edinburgh University with a first in Russian. Thereafter she travelled widely in the former Soviet Union, working as an interpreter in the Caucasus, a translator, and dabbling in civil rights.
Her book, Black Earth City (2002) won a Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award 2002. The Vanishing Futurist was her first novel, published in 2016.
MON 08:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dnrt)
1. Family
Rosemary finds some papers, written by her mother, hidden at the back of a drawer.
They contain her mother's version of their family history.
Rosemary secretly adds her views.
Margaret Forster's novel about family conflict, first published in 1986,
Dramatised in ten parts by Juliet Ace.
Penelope (mother) . . . . Angela Pleasence
Rosemary . . . . Nichola McAuliffe
Oliver . . . . Simon Armstrong
Grandmother Butler . . . . June Barrie
Mike . . . . Oliver Ryan
Celia . . . . Jenny Funnell
Jess . . . .Gemma Kelly
Emily . . . . Jessica Lloyd
Director: Tanya Nash
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
MON 09:00 It's a Fair Cop (m002d9sf)
Series 9
3. Suspicious Death
In this week’s case Alfie must secure the crime scene when the discovery of a dead body leaves him with a mystery to solve.
Join Alfie and his audience of sworn-in deputies as they attempt to piece together what might have happened.
Written and presented by Alfie Moore
Script Editor: Will Ing
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
Producer: Sam Holmes
A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4
MON 09:30 Living National Treasures (m000g4zk)
1. Slate Carver
Technology detaches us from touch and provenance and this, in part, has contributed to the boom in artisanal crafts.
It's a call back to more tactile experiences.
We're learning to craft, to forage, to paint, to build; gravitating towards skills which can replace some of the sensory connections from which we've disengaged.
This series is about celebrating existing ability and drawing attention to our own Living National Treasures.
Ieuan Rees is a 79 year old Welsh calligraphy slate carver.
He grew up in Tumble where his father was a coal miner at the Ammanford colliery. His slate carving studio is in the old mining building where his father and other miners used to get ready to go down the mine and wash when they returned.
Despite the fact Ieuan's work is in most cathedrals around the UK, his father was most proud of the fact that he worked in the old mining building.
Ieuan has been working at his craft all his life and continues to design and carve headstones in Welsh slate for people around the world.
While the Living National Treasure tradition began in Japan - where they also commend buildings and monuments as 'National Treasures' - the celebratory trend has now been adopted by France, Thailand, South Korea and Romania.
Living National Treasures are defined as people who possess a high degree of knowledge and skill in a culturally significant craft.
This series is a combination of slow radio, artisanal craft and poignant personal stories. We get under the skin of practitioners, learning why they've chosen rare and unusual crafts.
Producer: Kate Bissell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.
MON 09:45 Daily Service (m002dnry)
The Trinity - The Trinity is seen on earth
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: The Trinity - The Trinity is seen on earth
Presenter: Revd Jenny Wright - recorded at Bishopthorpe York
Reading: Matthew 3:13-17
Music, sung by the Ebor Singers:
Holy, holy, holy
Psalm 8
Blessed angel spirits (Tchaikovsky)
All hail adored Trinity
MON 10:00 How Tickled Am I? (b007jp99)
Series 1
Jimmy James
He was known as the comedians' comedian, because of huge respect from his colleagues.
Flanked by his stooges, he packed out theatres with his imaginative dialogue - the Goons of their day.
Jimmy James was revered for his performance as a drunk even though he was a teetotaller - but he did have one vice. His love of gambling led to his bankruptcy, and some believe made his wife turn to drink.
Mark Radcliffe profiles the life and career of Jimmy James.
Featuring:
Jim Casey
Eric Morecambe
John Fisher
Tommy Trinder
Roy Castle
Eli Woods
A series exploring the tradition of the northern comedian.
Producer: Bernadette McConnell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1999.
MON 10:30 Poisoned Angel - The Story of Alma Rose (b00yyfrq)
Niece of composer Gustav Mahler, the violinist Alma Rose was Viennese musical royalty.
But that didn't save her from Auschwitz during the Second World War.
There, she was ordered to transform a ragged group of female musicians into an orchestra to play as the work details came and left their death-camp hell.
Her success saved the women from the gas chambers.
Alyn Shipton looks at her life, the suspicion surrounding her death and controversy over the misrepresentation of her character by some of those she saved.
Producer: Paul Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2004.
MON 11:00 Jim Nicholson - Return to the Islands (m002dnrn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 11:45 The Man with the Red Beard by Edgar Wallace (m0005gys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
MON 12:00 The Pasadenas' Almanac (m002dnrq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 12:30 Steptoe and Son (b00t39lf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 13:00 On the Rocks (b05vwtsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 13:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000msv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dnrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 14:00 Just a Minute (b00t6ykd)
Series 57
Episode 1
Nicholas Parsons presides over the devious game where panellists are challenged to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition.
With:
Paul Merton
Jenny Eclair
Gyles Brandreth
Graham Norton
Subjects include: My Idea of Hell, A Garden Party, I've Got 99 Problems, Vampires, In My Tool Box, Budget Cuts and Perfect Aim.
Created by Ian Messiter.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2010.
MON 14:30 Married (b0081vm4)
Series 1
Episode 2
Confirmed bachelor Robin Lightfoot is not happy. He's accidentally helpful to his new family. Surely he's not growing to like them?
With a new wife and kids, Robin learns more about his parallel universe.
Hugh Bonneville stars in Tony Bagley's comedy.
Robin ...... Hugh Bonneville
Lesley ...... Josie Lawrence
Julia ...... Barbara Murray
Dirk ...... Steve Frost
Ned ...... Sam Bradley
Maxine ...... Ann Gosling
Janet Ellis ...... Elaine
Psychotherapist ...... Simon Roberts
Big Kid ...... Jackson Leach
Nicholas Parsons ...... Himself
Producer Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1999.
MON 15:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bbdmb)
1. Burying the Past
Michael Henchard spends his life trying to atone for the terrible action that led to the loss of his wife and child.
But his past refuses to be buried, no matter how hard he tries to conceal it.
Starring John Lynch.
Thomas Hardy's tragic story.
Dramatised in three parts by Helen Edmundson
Michael Henchard .... John Lynch
Elizabeth-Jane .... Ruth Wilson
Donald Farfrae .... Paul Higgins
Furmity Woman .... Maggie Steed
Susan Henchard …. Olwen May
Abel Whittle .... Burn Gorman
Jopp .... Conrad Nelson
Newson .... Jonathan Keeble
Solomon Longways .... Russell Dixon
Christopher Coney .... David Fielder
Mother Cuxsom .... Sue Ryding
Martha .... Vashti Maclachlan
Directed at BBC Manchester by Nadia Molinari.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2008.
MON 16:00 How Tickled Am I? (b007jp99)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 Poisoned Angel - The Story of Alma Rose (b00yyfrq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 17:00 Jim Nicholson - Return to the Islands (m002dnrn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 17:45 The Man with the Red Beard by Edgar Wallace (m0005gys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
MON 18:00 The Pasadenas' Almanac (m002dnrq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:30 Steptoe and Son (b00t39lf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 19:00 On the Rocks (b05vwtsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000msv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 19:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dnrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 20:00 Just a Minute (b00t6ykd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
MON 20:30 Married (b0081vm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
MON 21:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bbdmb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
MON 22:00 It's a Fair Cop (m002d9sf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 22:30 Big Problems with Helen Keen (b09b19y6)
Series 2
Women
You may not immediately identify women as a problem.
But, when 'normal' has meant 'male' for centuries how does that affect our perception of women from the past - and how does it affect women in the present?
Comedy series looking at the biggest problems our species has faced since the beginning of time - and offering some incredible, absurd and possible scientific solutions.
Starring Helen Keen
With:
Jon Culshaw
Susy Kane
Written by Helen Keen, Jenny Laville, Lloyd Langford and Carrie Quinlan and special thanks to Marc Abrahams and Dr Stuart Richie.
Producer: Katie Tyrrell
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in October 2017.
MON 23:00 Dead Ringers (m002dc9n)
Series 26
Episode 1. Greta, Trump and Eau de Farage
The Dead Ringers team are back to train their vocal firepower on the week’s news with an armoury of impressive impressions.
This week: Greta Thunberg floats her boat at Rachel Reeves, Trump and Elon couple up on Love Island, and Gary Lineker tries something new.
Cast: Jan Ravens, Jon Culshaw, Jess Robinson, Kieran Hodgson and Duncan Wisbey.
The episode was written by: Nev Fountain and Tom Jamieson, Laurence Howarth, Edward Tew, Tom Coles, Rob Darke, Sophie Dickson, Toussaint Douglas, Jon Holmes, Nicky Roberts, Jennifer Walker, Phoebe Butler, David Whitehead, Rachel E. Thorn, and Davina Bentley.
Created by Bill Dare
Producer: Jon Holmes
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Co-ordinator: Caroline Barlow
MON 23:30 Old Harry's Game (b00b9nzb)
Series 4
Knowledge and Ignorance
Satan thinks humans can't handle knowledge, but the professor thinks they can.
Andy Hamilton’s devilishly funny sitcom set in Hell.
Satan …. Andy Hamilton
The Professor …. James Grout
Thomas …. Jimmy Mulville
Scumspawn …. Robert Duncan
Other characters played by:
Felicity Montagu
Philip Pope
Nigel Pegram
Michael Fenton Stevens
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2001.

TUESDAY 17 JUNE 2025

TUE 00:00 How Tickled Am I? (b007jp99)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 Poisoned Angel - The Story of Alma Rose (b00yyfrq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Jim Nicholson - Return to the Islands (m002dnrn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:45 The Man with the Red Beard by Edgar Wallace (m0005gys)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 The Pasadenas' Almanac (m002dnrq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Steptoe and Son (b00t39lf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 On the Rocks (b05vwtsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000msv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dnrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00t6ykd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Married (b0081vm4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bbdmb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Paul Temple (b007t1kg)
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery
1. The Coat
A dangerous web of lies and murder awaits Paul Temple when his wife Steve disappears...
Another thrilling case by Francis Durbridge must be solved.
Starring Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury as BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Superintendent Raine …. Simon Lack
Mike Langdon …. Tommy Duggan
Charlie …. James Beattie
Linda Kelburn …. June Tobin
Tony Wyman …. Jon Rollason
Telephone Operator …. Mary Wimbush
From 1938 to 1969 the fictional crime novelist and detective Paul Temple, together with his Fleet Street journalist Steve, solved case-after-case in one of BBC radio's most popular series.
They inhabited a sophisticated world of chilled cocktails and fast cars, where the women were chic and the men wore cravats - a world where Sir Graham Forbes, of Scotland Yard, usually needed Paul's help with his latest tricky case.
Producer: Martyn C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1961.
TUE 06:30 Whodunnits (b009gfpb)
Inspector Grant - The Singing Sands
1. End of the Line
Crippled by claustrophobic panic attacks, Inspector Alan Grant is on compulsory leave from his beloved Scotland Yard.
But when he arrives in the Scottish Highlands, a body is discovered n an adjoining sleeper.
The dead man had been drinking heavily and left a poem scrawled in the margin of a newspaper:
"The beasts that talk,
The streams that stand,
The stones that walk,
The singing sands
That guard the way
To Paradise"
Josephine Tey's detective mystery, first published in 1952.
Abridged in four parts by Sian Preece.
Read by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Made by BBC Scotland for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in March 2008
TUE 07:00 Winston (b00pbv78)
Winston Back Home
So This Is What Happiness Is All About
The idyllic return of Winston and Nancy to Winterleaf Gunner proves to be short-lived...
Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy serial.
Winston …. Bill Wallis
Father …. Maurice Denham
Nancy …. Shirley Dixon
Rosie …. Liz Goulding
William .… Christian Rodska
Director: Shaun MacLoughlin.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1994.
TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b007jp0s)
Series 7
The Histories of Pliny the Elder
The Romans hit Britain, but Neddie Seagoon, Eccles and Bluebottle are off to the Colosseum in Rome! .
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: Pat Dixon
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in March 1957..
TUE 08:00 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06kdxsg)
Series 1
A Fistful of Sand
Richard Wilson plays Robinson Crusoe in an irreverent re-boot of Daniel Defoe's classic.
After cheating their captain of the ship's treasure, a couple of sailors go into hiding on a deserted island. Their plans to lay low are rumbled when they're discovered by a long-forgotten castaway and his Spanish manservant.
The comedy troupe Peepolykus assume the roles of minor characters in great works of fiction and derail the plot of the book through their hapless buffoonery.
Written by John Nicholson, Richard Katz and Javier Marzan.
Crusoe . . . . . Richard Wilson
Friday . . . . . Javier Marzan
John . . . . . John Nicholson
Richard . . . . . Richard Katz
Captain . . . . . Sam Dale
First Mate . . . . . Leo Wan
Briggs . . . . . David Hounslow
Dodd . . . . . Caolan McCarthy
Director: Sasha Yevtushenko
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2015.
TUE 08:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mt0y)
2. Seismic Change
The world sinks deeper into war and brings seismic change both in Russia and in Gerty herself.
Early in 1914, 22-year-old Gerty Freely travels to Russia to work as a governess, little-knowing the huge upheavals in the world and in her own life that lie ahead.
In London, 1974, Gerty begins a memoir for her daughter Sophy, looking back at that extraordinary time of war, revolution and civil war. Most of her memories are centred on a young inventor, Nikita Slavkin, who mysteriously disappeared in 1919 and was subsequently celebrated in Soviet culture as The Vanishing Futurist.
“No word has been heard from him since […] Yet the idea persists that one day he will reappear.”
Written by Charlotte Hobson
Read by Barbara Flynn
Abridged and produced by Jeremy Osborne
Charlotte Hobson graduated from Edinburgh University with a first in Russian. Thereafter she travelled widely in the former Soviet Union, working as an interpreter in the Caucasus, a translator, and dabbling in civil rights. Her book, Black Earth City (2002) won a Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award 2002. The Vanishing Futurist was her first novel, published in 2016.
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020.
TUE 08:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dmjk)
2. Britain at War
War breaks out and Penelope moves in with her mother in law in a regency square in Brighton with her daughters whilst Oliver joins up as a medical officer.
Rosemary recalls just how much she hated Grandmother Butler.
Written by Margaret Forster
Dramatised by Juliet Ace
Penelope (mother) . . . . Angela Pleasence
Rosemary . . . . Nichola McAuliffe
Oliver . . . . Simon Armstrong
Grandmother Butler . . . . June Barrie
Director: Tanya Nash
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
TUE 09:00 Unspeakable (m002dbtg)
Series 2
5. Friends, Germans, Kung Fu Men
This episode we hear Shappi Khorsandi's word for indispensable mates, Ahir Shah turning German, and Alexei Sayle's word for when you're not quite as good at martial arts as you think you are.
Ever struggled to find the right word for a feeling or sensation? Unspeakable sees comedian Phil Wang and lexicographer Susie Dent invite celebrity guests to invent new linguistic creations, to solve those all too relatable moments when we're lost for words.
Hosts: Phil Wang and Susie Dent
Guests: Shappi Khorsandi, Alexei Sayle and Ahir Shah
Created by Joe Varley
Writers: Matt Crosby and Katie Storey
Recorded by Jerry Peal
Producer: Jon Harvey
Executive Producers: Joe Varley and Akash Lockmun
A Brown Bred production for BBC Radio 4
TUE 09:30 Living National Treasures (m000g3jc)
2. Paper Marbler
Technology detaches us from touch and provenance and this, in part, has contributed to the boom in artisanal crafts. It's a call back to more tactile experiences. We're learning to craft, to forage, to paint, to build; gravitating towards skills which can replace some of the sensory connections from which we've disengaged.
This series is about celebrating existing ability and drawing attention to our own Living National Treasures.
Victoria Hall lives in Norfolk. Victoria is a paper marbler and has been doing it all her working life. She works out of a workshop near Fakenham in Norfolk where she replicates historic marbled papers to help restore antique books. The marbled papers are made by floating water colours on a slightly viscous liquid prepared from seaweed called carrageen moss and then laying the paper on it to transfer the design. There are only a handful of people working professionally in this field.
While the Living National Treasure tradition began in Japan - where they also commend buildings and monuments as 'National Treasures' - the celebratory trend has now been adopted by France, Thailand, South Korea and Romania. Living National Treasures are defined as people who possess a high degree of knowledge and skill in a culturally significant craft.
Living National Treasures is a combination of slow radio, artisanal craft and poignant personal stories. We get under the skin of practitioners, learning why they've chosen rare and unusual crafts.
Produced by Kate Bissell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.
TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m002dmjm)
The Trinity - Father
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: The Trinity - Father
Presenter: Angel Morgan
Reading: John 1:1-5
Music:
How Deep the Father's Love for us - Angel Morgan (BBC Recording)
The Word was God (Rosephanye Powell) - St Martin's Voices (BBC Recording)
Good Good Father- Chris Tomlin
TUE 10:00 A Good Read (m0002r4p)
Kate Bottley and Ken Cheng
BBC presenter Kate Bottley and comedian Ken Cheng join Harriett Gilbert to discuss their favourite books by Amy Chua, Cole Morton and Carlo Rovelli.
The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away by Cole Morton
Publisher: Harper Collins
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli
Translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell
Publisher: Penguin
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2019.
TUE 10:30 Fela Kuti Comes Home (b011j8zj)
Fela Kuti is Africa's most famous musician.
Before his death in 1997 he recorded nearly 50 albums and invented his own genre of music: Afrobeat. In the 70s and 80s his legendary club in Lagos was famed for housing the best live band on Earth. As witnessed by James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney.
But there was more to Fela Kuti than ground-breaking music. He was also a political revolutionary who spent his life strongly criticising successive military regimes in his native Nigeria. While his contemporaries would sing in more general terms of oppression, Fela singled out his targets, personally naming them in songs which became popular all over Africa. It wasn't long before he was a hero to many working class Nigerians.
But his taunts didn't go down so well with the authorities. Nor did his controversial lifestyle: he openly smoked marijuana, declared his home an independent state of Nigeria and married 27 women on the same day. The story goes he was the most arrested person in Nigerian history. He appeared in court hundreds of times, had spells in prison and permanently suffered from his injuries after regular beatings at the hands of the military and police. Fela believed they were also responsible for the death of his mother, who was thrown from an upstairs window when his home was stormed by 1000 soldiers.
In 2009 his incredible story was turned in to a successful Broadway musical and it was performed in Lagos for the first time in 2011. Fela Kuti was coming home. But while the rest of the world is finally paying attention to this musical and political revolutionary why will you struggle to hear any of his music on Nigerian radio? Have they forgotten Fela? Or do the powers that be still find his music offensive? Radio 4 visited Lagos to find the answers.
Producer: James Hale
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
TUE 11:00 Paul Temple (b007t1kg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 11:30 Whodunnits (b009gfpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 12:00 Winston (b00pbv78)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b007jp0s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 13:00 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06kdxsg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 13:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mt0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dmjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 14:00 It's Your Round (b01b8zw3)
Series 2
Episode 6
Another panel of comedians endeavour to beat each other at their own games, watched over by Angus Deayton.
Trying to beat each other at their own games:
Alex Horne
Roisin Conaty
Paul Sinha
Rufus Hound
Featured rounds:
Alex Horne's "Font, Fighter or Fragrance" in which panellists are given a word and they must guess whether that word refers to a typographical font, the name of a Gladiator from ITV's show "Gladiators" or a "Lynx deodorant" fragrance.
Roisin Conaty's "Four Second Pitch" in which panellists have but four seconds to pitch Angus the elements of an idea for a blockbuster film and a new religion.
Paul Sinha's "World Record Recall" in which panellists have to fill in the missing details from the description of a real record from the Guinness Book of World Records.
And Rufus Hound's "Which Lady Done Say That Thing" in which panellists must guess which audience member said a certain phrase. As the title suggests.
Producer: Sam Michell
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2012.
TUE 14:30 Double Science (b012ymwf)
Moving House
Incompetent teachers Kenneth and Colin are going to have to find new abodes quick smart.
The turmoil continues at a Sixth Form College specialising in drama, after the arrival of new head Alison, determined to revitalise the science department.
Written by and starring Ben Willbond and Justin Edwards.
With:
Rebecca Front
Raza Jaffrey
Margaret Cabourn-Smith.
Producer: Adam Bromley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2008.
TUE 15:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bfk05)
2. Revelations
Henchard attempts to hold his life together despite painful revelations - and the unexpected arrival of someone from his past.
Thomas Hardy's tragic story of a man who spends his life trying to atone for the terrible action that led to the loss of his wife and child.
Starring John Lynch.
Dramatised by Helen Edmundson.
Michael Henchard .... John Lynch
Elizabeth-Jane ..... Ruth Wilson
Donald Farfrae .... Paul Higgins
Lucetta .... Emma Fielding
Furmity Woman .... Maggie Steed
Susan Henchard .... Olwen May
Abel Whittle .... Burn Gorman
Jopp .... Conrad Nelson
Solomon Longways .... Russell Dixon
Mother Cuxsom .... Sue Ryding
Phoebe .... Lorna Lewis
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2008.
TUE 16:00 A Good Read (m0002r4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:30 Fela Kuti Comes Home (b011j8zj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Paul Temple (b007t1kg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Whodunnits (b009gfpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Winston (b00pbv78)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b007jp0s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 19:00 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06kdxsg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mt0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 19:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dmjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 20:00 It's Your Round (b01b8zw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Double Science (b012ymwf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
TUE 21:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bfk05)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
TUE 22:00 Unspeakable (m002dbtg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
TUE 22:25 The Comedy Club Interviews (m002dthv)
Sam Nicoresti 1/2
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Rob Deering chats to fellow comic Sam Nicoresti.
TUE 22:30 Tim Key's Poetry Programme (b05n17yz)
Series 3
Horror
Tim gets to the bottom of the concept of horror, by attempting to scare the wits out of his long-suffering musician, Tom Basden.
And by reading poems.
Written and presented by Tim Key.
With:
Tom Basden
Katy Wix
Producer: James Robinson
A BBC Cymru Wales production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2015.
TUE 22:45 Sir Ralph Stanza's Letter from Salford (b0076fcx)
Series 2
Speeches
Sir Ralph hosts a literary lunch at Salford's Munchbox Cafeteria, but there's another poet in town...
Written by and starring James Quinn.
With:
Judy Flynn
Alison Darling
Mark Chatterton
Stephen Hoyle
Jemma Thompson
Carol Ann Duffy
Produced in Manchester by Graham Frost
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2003.
TUE 23:00 Tina C (b06r885k)
Tina C: Herstory
Episode 2
1999 sees Tina C established as a global icon, and exploring her feminist side.
Jenni Murray quizzes Tina about the highs and lows of finding your feet as a woman in Nashville.
Written & performed by Christopher Green.
Additional voices: Susan Jameson & Leo Wan.
The Band: Duncan Walsh-Atkins, Mark Hardisty & Phil Wraith.
Produced by Victoria Lloyd.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
TUE 23:30 And Now in Colour (b007w56x)
Series 1
Fairground
The sketch show team take their audience to the fair for Will's birthday – and England’s World Cup clichés...
Precision comedy written and performed by:
Tim Firth
Tim de Jongh
Michael Rutger
William Vandyck
Producer: Lissa Evans
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1990

WEDNESDAY 18 JUNE 2025

WED 00:00 A Good Read (m0002r4p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Fela Kuti Comes Home (b011j8zj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Paul Temple (b007t1kg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Whodunnits (b009gfpb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Winston (b00pbv78)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b007jp0s)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics (b06kdxsg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mt0y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dmjk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 It's Your Round (b01b8zw3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Double Science (b012ymwf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bfk05)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Paul Temple (b007t1qq)
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery
2. Concerning Ted Angus
The suave sleuth tries to connect Steve's kidnapping with a body dressed in a coat.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury as BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
With James Beattie as Charlie
Mike Langdon …. Tommy Duggan
Superintendent Raine …. Simon Lack
Larry Cross …. Hugh Manning
Tony Wyman …. Jon Rollason
Linda Kelburn …. June Tobin
George Kelburn …. Julian Somers
Ted Angus …. Tom Watson
Producer: Martyn C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1961.
WED 06:30 Whodunnits (b009h7nn)
Inspector Grant - The Singing Sands
2. Fishing for Clues
On compulsory leave, Inspector Alan Grant's has travelled by train to the Scottish Highlands
The dead man in an adjoining sleeping compartment is finally identified.
He'd been drinking heavily, but left an enigmatic clue of a poem scrawled in a newspaper.
But why was he heading to the Highlands?
Josephine Tey's detective mystery, first published in 1952.
Abridged by Sian Preece.
Read by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Made by BBC Scotland for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in March 2008.
WED 07:00 Nineteen Ninety-Eight (b01blmhz)
Episode 1
"Yes it's all in your Number One Nineteen Ninety-Eight! Exclusive! The names behind the Baby Burger Bar bombing - revealed. And we ask "gorgeous Tabatha Minx - woman or mouse?" And: who is the mysterious Twang?"
Can Edward keep his girlfriend and avoid explosions?
Orwellian sitcom starring David Threlfall.
Written by William Osborne and Richard Turner
Edward Wilson ...... David Threlfall
With:
Pam Ferris
Hugh Laurie
Steve Steen
Rebecca Stevens
Richard Turner
Jenny Luckcraft
Produced at BBC Manchester by Nick Symons
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1987.
WED 07:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007vh34)
Series 4
Hancock in the Police
When Bill and the Lad take to the beat, the crime rate soars after they meet Sid.
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 February 1957.
WED 08:00 Dot (b0714033)
Series 1
The Astonishing Adventures of Agent Whiff-Whaff
Comic adventures with Dot and the gals from personnel who are getting squiffy over Agent Bertie Whiff-Whaff.
Bertie wants Dot promoted, but can Dot handle life on the other side of the hallway?
Rollicking wartime comedy by Ed Harris - set in the personnel department of the Cabinet War Rooms.
Dot ..... Fenella Woolgar
Myrtle ..... Kate O'Flynn
Peg ..... Freya Parker
Millicent ..... Jane Slavin
Peabody ..... David Acton
Agent Bertie Whiff-Whaff ..... Adie Allen
Director: Jessica Mitic
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.
WED 08:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mr52)
3. Stay in Moscow
While the Kobelevs leave Moscow, Gerty and Slavkin remain at the house on Gagarinsky Lane.
Early in 1914, 22-year-old Gerty Freely travels to Russia to work as a governess, little-knowing the huge upheavals in the world and in her own life that lie ahead.
In London, 1974, Gerty begins a memoir for her daughter Sophy, looking back at that extraordinary time of war, revolution and civil war. Most of her memories are centred on a young inventor, Nikita Slavkin, who mysteriously disappeared in 1919 and was subsequently celebrated in Soviet culture as The Vanishing Futurist.
“No word has been heard from him since […] Yet the idea persists that one day he will reappear.”
Written by Charlotte Hobson
Read by Barbara Flynn
Abridged and produced by Jeremy Osborne
Charlotte Hobson graduated from Edinburgh University with a first in Russian. Thereafter she travelled widely in the former Soviet Union, working as an interpreter in the Caucasus, a translator, and dabbling in civil rights. Her book, Black Earth City (2002) won a Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award 2002. The Vanishing Futurist was her first novel, published in 2016.
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020.
WED 08:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dnv6)
3. The Savage Winter of 1947
After the war and the savage winter of 1947, Penelope and the girls returns to London.
Penelope takes in student lodgers, two of whom cause trouble and excitement for 15 year old Rosemary.
Written by Margaret Forster
Dramatised by Juliet Ace
Penelope (mother) . . . . Angela Pleasence
Rosemary . . . . Nichola McAuliffe
Mike . . . . Oliver Ryan
Director: Tanya Nash
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
WED 09:00 Henry Normal: A Normal... (m001g987)
Home
"Shove up National Treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal" Simon O'Hagan - Radio Times
Join Henry Normal for the tenth instalment of his acclaimed, occasional series in which the acclaimed, occasional writer tackles those subjects so big only radio can possibly contain them.
So far Henry has covered ‘Family’, ‘Life’, ‘Love’, ‘Imagination’, ‘Nature’, ‘The Universe’, ‘Communication’ ‘Ageing’ and ‘Community’; and this latest episode is all about ‘Home’. Through poetry, stories, jokes and quotes, he will be examining how 'home' is more than just a place and talking about what it really means to us.
Recorded in Rye, East Sussex, where Henry now calls home.
Henry Normal is a multi-award-winning writer, producer and poet. Co-writer of award-winning TV programmes such as The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Coogan’s Run and Paul Calf, and producer of, amongst many others, Oscar-Nominated Philomena, Gavin and Stacey and Alan Partridge.
He’s published eight collections of poetry including his most recent ‘The Beauty Within Shadow’. Plus his memoir written with Angela Pell ‘A Normal Family: Everyday adventures with our autistic son'.
Praise for previous episodes in this series:
-"It's a rare and lovely thing: half an hour of radio that stops you short, gently demands your attention and then wipes your tears away while you have to have a little sit down"
-"It's a real treat to hear a seasoned professional like Henry taking command of this evening comedy spot to deliver a show that's idiosyncratic and effortlessly funny"
-"Not heard anything that jumps from hilarious to moving in such an intelligent, subtle way as Henry Normal's show"
Written and performed by Henry Normal
Production Coordinator - Katie Baum
Sound manager - Jerry Peal
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in December 2022.
WED 09:30 Living National Treasures (m000g459)
3. Silversmith
Technology detaches us from touch and provenance and this, in part, has contributed to the boom in artisanal crafts. It's a call back to more tactile experiences. We're learning to craft, to forage, to paint, to build; gravitating towards skills which can replace some of the sensory connections from which we've disengaged.
This series is about celebrating existing ability and drawing attention to our own Living National Treasures.
Silversmith Rauni Higson works out of an old chapel in Snowdonia, North Wales. From her old chapel window, which streams light onto her traditional silversmith work bench, she can on a good day, see the top of Snowdon. Her work is very much inspired by the landscape around her. Rauni is currently making a processional cross and candlesticks for Liverpool’s Catholic Cathedral. Rauni has been working on this commission for two years. It is a painstaking process, but the end result will be a beautiful object that could potentially last forever.
While the Living National Treasure tradition began in Japan - where they also commend buildings and monuments as 'National Treasures' - the celebratory trend has now been adopted by France, Thailand, South Korea and Romania. Living National Treasures are defined as people who possess a high degree of knowledge and skill in a culturally significant craft.
Living National Treasures is a combination of slow radio, artisanal craft and poignant personal stories. We get under the skin of practitioners, learning why they've chosen rare and unusual crafts.
Produced by Kate Bissell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.
WED 09:45 Daily Service (m002dnv8)
The Trinity - Jesus
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: The Trinity - Jesus
Presenter: Greg Finn
Reading: Philippians 2:5-8
Music:
All Hail the Power of Jesu's Name - Choir of St Mary's Warwick
At the Name of Jesus - Daily Service Singers
What a Friend We have in Jesus - Emma Mould
WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (b0930m3j)
Uses of Literacy Now
Writer and critic DJ Taylor assesses Richard Hoggart's masterpiece The Uses of Literacy.
This colossal book inspired a slew of post-war histories, as well as Coronation Street and the poet Tony Harrison's 'Them and Uz'. It was the book that inspired Alan Bennett to write.
Hoggart was born into great poverty in Leeds and wrote movingly about this early life and the people - mainly women - who inspired him.
A scholarship boy, he revealed the emotional consequences of moving from one class to another. He also offered a searing critique of the burgeoning mass media, expressing his concerns that the new literacy was in danger of being swamped by a popular press that carefully suppressed anything liable to encourage readers to think about the environment they inhabit, rather than simply wallow in its material comforts.
Contributors include: author of Estates and Respectable, Lynsey Hanley, historian David Kynaston, novelist David Lodge and playwright Alan Bennett.
Producer: Nicola Swords.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2017.
WED 11:00 Paul Temple (b007t1qq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 11:30 Whodunnits (b009h7nn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 12:00 Nineteen Ninety-Eight (b01blmhz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007vh34)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 13:00 Dot (b0714033)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 13:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mr52)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dnv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 14:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b09kxt2b)
Series 12
Episode 1
Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Sally Phillips welcome:
* The satirical comedy impressionist Rory Bremner
* The presenter of the BBC World Service's The Arts Hour Nikki Bedi
* The award-winning writer who makes you thirsty for beer, Pete Brown.
The Museum's Guest Committee find out about the boy-elephant-god Ganesh, and why the direction his trunk is pointing in is so important; reveal the last British soldier to bring down an enemy with a longbow, and enter George Orwell's favourite non-existent pub.
Researched by QI & Mike Turner.
Producers: Richard Turner, Anne Miller & James Harkin.
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2018.
WED 14:30 Acropolis Now (b007rj19)
Series 2
Signs
The Acropolis Fish Restaurant, 408BC. The Spartans are besieging Athens and food is scarce. It is not a great time to be in the catering business.
Sex, squid and six more Socratic dialogues by Lynne Truss.
Back in Ancient Greece, Uncle Liquidities demands Plato gives up philosophy and enter the funerary urn business.
Heraclitus …….. Stephen Moore
Aristophanes …….. Alan Cox
Socrates …….. Robert Hardy
Xanthippe …….. Imelda Staunton
Oracle …….. Rosemary Leach
Plato …….. Tom George
Liquidities …….. Gavin Muir
Directed at BBC Pebble Mill by Brian King.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2002.
WED 15:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bvc00)
3. The Stranger
Henchard sets about rebuilding his life, but the appearance of a stranger in Casterbridge threatens to unravel everything...
Conclusion of Thomas Hardy's tragic story.
Starring John Lynch.
Dramatised by Helen Edmundson.
Michael Henchard .... John Lynch
Elizabeth-Jane ..... Ruth Wilson
Donald Farfrae .... Paul Higgins
Lucetta .... Emma Fielding
Furmity Woman .... Maggie Steed
Abel Whittle .... Burn Gorman
Jopp .... Conrad Nelson
Solomon Longways .... Russell Dixon
Mother Cuxsom .... Sue Ryding
Phoebe .... Lorna Lewis
Christopher Coney........David Fielder
Martha...........................Vashti Maclachlan
Director: Nadia Molinari
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2008.
WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (b0930m3j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 17:00 Paul Temple (b007t1qq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 17:30 Whodunnits (b009h7nn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 18:00 Nineteen Ninety-Eight (b01blmhz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007vh34)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 19:00 Dot (b0714033)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mr52)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 19:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dnv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 20:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b09kxt2b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
WED 20:30 Acropolis Now (b007rj19)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
WED 21:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bvc00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
WED 22:00 Henry Normal: A Normal... (m001g987)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 22:30 Linda Smith's A Brief History of Timewasting (b00fn0jh)
Series 2
Poltergeist
Linda Smith's life of Riley is interrupted by an idle poltergeist after a Psychic Fayre.
Meanwhile live-in builder Chris reveals an unwanted Gift.
Sitcom written by and starring Linda Smith.
With:
Femi Elufowoju Jnr
Jeremy Hardy
Margaret John
Martin Hyder
Chris Neill
Producer: Jon Rolph
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2002.
WED 23:00 The Million Pound Radio Show (b007k3vv)
Series 4
Episode 6
The legendary career of BBC Director General, Ronald Ambrose and the Queen Mother takes a special interest in the players at Wembley.
Andy Hamilton and Nick Revell's sharp-edged banter and satirical sketches with a topical flavour.
Written by and starring Andy Hamilton and Nick Revell
With:
Jasper Jacob
Felicity Montagu
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1989.
WED 23:30 Warhorses of Letters (b03s6jv7)
Series 3
Episode 3
Artistic differences threaten to destroy our heroes' love for each-other as both attempt to find fame as writers.
But is the literary horse public ready for Marengo's experimental, Proustian and incredibly long exploration of what it is to be a horse?
Or is there more of a market for Copenhagen's rather racier "Fifty Shades of Hay"?
Continuing the world's first epistolary equine love story.
Napoleon's horse Marengo and Wellington's horse Copenhagen are deeply in love but sundered by history.
Marengo ..... Stephen Fry
Copenhagen ..... Daniel Rigby
Narrator ..... Tamsin Greig
Written on their behalf by Marie Phillips and Robbie Hudson.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2014.
WED 23:45 The News at Bedtime (b00pftgq)
Series 1
Episode 6
Twin presenters John Tweedledum and Jim Tweedledee present in-depth news analysis covering the latest stories happening this 'once upon a time'.
Mary Mary has shocking news of an egg on a wall.
Written by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman
Starring Jack Dee and Peter Capaldi.
With:
Lewis MacLeod
Alex Macqueen
Lucy Montgomery
Vicki Pepperdine
Dan Tetsell
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2009.

THURSDAY 19 JUNE 2025

THU 00:00 Archive on 4 (b0930m3j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Paul Temple (b007t1qq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 Whodunnits (b009h7nn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Nineteen Ninety-Eight (b01blmhz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007vh34)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Dot (b0714033)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mr52)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dnv6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b09kxt2b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Acropolis Now (b007rj19)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (b00bvc00)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Paul Temple (b007t1qp)
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery
3. A Change of Mind
Debonair sleuth Paul Temple needs to uncover why he's been asked to halt his murder investigation...
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury as BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Superintendent Raine …. Simon Lack
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Tony Wyman …. Jon Rollason
Mike Langdon …. Tommy Duggan
George Kelburn …. Julian Somers
Mrs Fletcher …. Joan Matheson
Bill Fletcher …. William Bedle
Dr Benkaray …. Mary Wimbush
Larry Cross …. Hugh Manning
Ted Angus …. Tom Watson
Charlie …. James Beattie
Fred Harcourt …. George Merritt
Mrs Harcourt …. Beatrice Kane
Producer: Martyn C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1961.
THU 06:30 Whodunnits (b009hfjs)
Inspector Grant - The Singing Sands
3. A New Obsession
Finally free of his claustrophobic panic attacks, Inspector Alan Grant is on compulsory leave in the Highlands.
But now a new obsession takes their place...
Josephine Tey's detective mystery, first published in 1952.
Abridged by Sian Preece.
Read by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Made by BBC Scotland for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in March 2008.
THU 07:00 Never Too Late (m002dl5m)
Series 2
Tommy's Little Fling
One of Hilda’s friends has an unusual offer when they knock on a door collecting for charity.
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
Mabel .... Pearl Hackney
Producer: Edward Taylor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1982.
**** 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 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jtjp)
Series 2
The Guests
Author Gerald is appalled at news of unwelcome dinner companions.
The convoluted chronicle of an optimistic author who's married to a more successful writer.
Starring Ian Carmichael and Charlotte Mitchell.
Written by Basil Boothroyd.
Gerald C Potter ...... Ian Carmichael
Diana Potter ...... Charlotte Mitchell
With:
Michael Goldie
Penelope Reynolds
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 1977.
THU 08:00 The Break (m000k908)
Series 3
3. The Haunting of Jeffrey Whittaker
Jeff is having one of his occasional dark afternoons of the soul.
Andy decides he needs a project. As luck would have it, the local pub landlord Phil Loynes needs a gimmick to boost his flagging sales.
Jeff wonders if a ghost would help: “Every pub needs a ghost” and he tells the story of the mysterious Grey Lady of Sharpwater Green. Even though the story is completely invented by Jeff, he and Andy go out of their way to make it real, with the help of veteran ghost-faker Fish Shop Frank Bridgwater.
While our heroes are grappling with forces they do not comprehend, their friend Joyce is struggling with a creature she cannot control - a large dog called Goliath.
Will the Flamford False Phantom Fakers fall victim to the most inexorable power of all - social media?
Jeff ...... Philip Jackson
Joyce ...... Alison Steadman
Frank Bridgewater ...... Mark Benton
Dr Singh ...... Shobna Gulati
Phil Loynes ...... Rasmus Hardiker
Andy ...... James Northcote
Created and Written by Ian Brown and James Hendrie
Director: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2020.
THU 08:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mqnq)
4. Transformation
Pasha and Sonya have returned to Moscow and the Kobelevs’ house becomes the Institute Of Revolutionary Transformation.
Early in 1914, 22-year-old Gerty Freely travels to Russia to work as a governess, little-knowing the huge upheavals in the world and in her own life that lie ahead.
In London, 1974, Gerty begins a memoir for her daughter Sophy, looking back at that extraordinary time of war, revolution and civil war. Most of her memories are centred on a young inventor, Nikita Slavkin, who mysteriously disappeared in 1919 and was subsequently celebrated in Soviet culture as The Vanishing Futurist.
“No word has been heard from him since […] Yet the idea persists that one day he will reappear.”
Written by Charlotte Hobson
Read by Barbara Flynn
Abridged and produced by Jeremy Osborne
Charlotte Hobson graduated from Edinburgh University with a first in Russian. Thereafter she travelled widely in the former Soviet Union, working as an interpreter in the Caucasus, a translator, and dabbling in civil rights. Her book, Black Earth City (2002) won a Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award 2002. The Vanishing Futurist was her first novel, published in 2016.
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020.
THU 08:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dl5p)
4. Jess the Outsider
Jess proves to be different to the rest of her family.
One day Penelope breaks some news to her, from which she never recovers...
Written by Margaret Forster
Dramatised by Juliet Ace
Penelope (mother) . . . . Angela Pleasence
Rosemary . . . . Nichola McAuliffe
Celia . . . . Jenny Funnell
Jess . . . .Gemma Kelly
Director: Tanya Nash
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
THU 09:00 The Matt Forde Focus Group (m002db9p)
4. Political Empathy
Can political discussion be funny? Er - yes!
Top political comedian Matt Forde convenes his focus group in front of a live theatre audience with guests Sir Ed Davey, Helen Lewis, and Baroness Sayeeda Warsi.
Written and performed by Matt Forde
Additional writing from Karl Minns, Jason Hazeley and Richard Garvin
Producer: Richard Garvin
Co Producers: Daisy Knight and Jules Lom
Broadcast Assistant: Jenny Recaldin
Sound Design and Editing: David Thomas
An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
THU 09:30 Living National Treasures (m000g3fx)
4. Glass Flame Worker
Technology detaches us from touch and provenance and this, in part, has contributed to the boom in artisanal crafts. It's a call back to more tactile experiences. We're learning to craft, to forage, to paint, to build; gravitating towards skills which can replace some of the sensory connections from which we've disengaged.
This series is about celebrating existing ability and drawing attention to our own Living National Treasures.
Carrie Fertig is a glass flame worker who works in a big airy studio in an old lemonade factory in Leith, Edinburgh. Carrie is known for making huge flame glass structures and glass musical instruments that can be played. In all of her work she hopes to make people think and feel. She says the transparency of glass means we can always see what it holds and she uses her work to help people explore what emotions they are holding onto.
While the Living National Treasure tradition began in Japan - where they also commend buildings and monuments as 'National Treasures' - the celebratory trend has now been adopted by France, Thailand, South Korea and Romania. Living National Treasures are defined as people who possess a high degree of knowledge and skill in a culturally significant craft.
Living National Treasures is a combination of slow radio, artisanal craft and poignant personal stories. We get under the skin of practitioners, learning why they've chosen rare and unusual crafts.
Produced by Kate Bissell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.
THU 09:45 Daily Service (m002dl5s)
The Trinity - The Holy Spirit
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: The Trinity - The Holy Spirit
Presenter: Sharon Grenham Thompson
Reading: John 14:15-27
Music
Veni Sancte Spiritus - Taize
St Martin's Voices
BBC recording
Breathe on me, breath of God - Ronald Foot
King's Singers
CD: Choral Essays Vol. 2: Reflections (Salvationist Publishing)
Spiegel im Spiegel - Arvo Part
Tasmin Little
CD: The Very Best of Arvo Part (Warner)
Love divine - Howard Goodall
Choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxdord
CD: Eternal Light - A Requiem (Warner)
THU 10:00 Great Lives (m000zdqv)
Peggy Seeger on her husband Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl sang "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" to Peggy Seeger down the phone. When they met, Peggy says, he was in the grip of his midlife crisis. "I'm fond of saying the poor boy didn't stand a chance," she tells Matthew Parris.
This programme is her attempt to set the record straight. "I'd like to do a bit of justice to him, because there's an awful lot of myths, an awful lot of bad talk, misunderstandings."
Ewan MacColl was born Jimmy Miller in Salford, which he wrote about in 1949 in his song, "Dirty Old Town."
He made his name in theatre, was married to Joan Littlewood, and after the second world war he was a powerful force behind the folk revival. He also with Peggy Seeger and Charles Parker created the famous Radio Ballads.
Peggy is joined in discussion by Peter Cox, author of Set Into Song.
The programme is heavily illustrated with MacColl's music and his voice.
Produced by Miles Warde.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2021.
THU 10:30 I'm Here. Where Are You? (b08zcbtz)
Early-bird poet Ian McMillan investigates why some people are happiest being early and others are content to be late.
Ian often arrives hours early for a performance and the thought of being late brings him out in a cold sweat. Infuriated at being repeatedly kept waiting by his tardy friend and fellow performer, composer Luke Carver Goss, he tries to find out why people have such different ideas about what being on time means.
Luke and Ian share their experiences of timekeeping to try and understand each other's approaches to punctuality - and end up writing a song, "I'm Not Late, I'm Running Late".
Ian also talks to social psychologist and author Oliver Burkeman, another early bird, about whether he should be irritated by being kept waiting - or more forgiving. Oliver says no-one is late or early by accident - it's always revealing of a deeper need.
Perhaps Ian runs on "industrial time", a throwback to his industrial roots. This was when the clock began to rule the working day instead of the sun and - according to Katy Belshaw, curator of industrial heritage at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry - when people began to talk not about time passed, but about time spent.
Ian shares his strong emotions about the possibility of being late with psychotherapist Sarah Carson, who questions him about his past to find out where his fear began. Finally, Ian sets himself the challenge of meeting his friend Luke on time - not early or late, just exactly on time. But how will this make Ian feel?
Produced by Janet Graves.
A Pennine production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2017.
THU 11:00 Paul Temple (b007t1qp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 11:30 Whodunnits (b009hfjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 12:00 Never Too Late (m002dl5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jtjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 13:00 The Break (m000k908)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 13:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mqnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dl5p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 14:00 The Ultimate Choice (m001kgr7)
Series 1
5: Ancient Rome v Space Station
Steph McGovern is in Leeds to ask 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 Chris Cantrill and Kiri Pritchard-McLean.
Devised and written by Jon Harvey & Joseph Morpurgo.
With additional material from Laura Major.
Producer: Jon Harvey
A Naked production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2023.
THU 14:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b007jxdd)
Series 1
Jour de Fete
A dilemma for the Head, the search for a truant - and a surprise at the School Fete.
School comedy created and written by Jim Eldridge.
Ten series of this King Street Junior ran between 1985 and 1998. King Street Junior Revisited ran from 2002 to 2005.
Mrs Devon .... Carolyn Pickles
Miss Lewis .... Marlene Sidaway
Miss Featherstone .... Teresa Gallagher
Mr Long .... Paul Copley
Miss Reid .... Jacqueline Beatty
Mr Maxwell .... Michael Cochrane
Mrs Khan .... Janice Acquah
Mr Beeston .... James Grout
Mark Walker .... Jordan Calvert
Jo-Jo .... Gregg Chillin
Sandy .... Jessica Hill
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2002.
THU 15:00 Drama on 4 (b08cr6wm)
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
1. Life without Money?
'It's only an accident that I'm not you, and you're not me.'
A Little Princess starts with a schoolgirl. But it's not a school story. Frances Hodgson Burnett's tough tale shows us a London full of foreign wealth and child poverty.
That's why for over a century, its shocking story and unforgettable young characters have influenced everything from Angela Carter to anime.
And Kate Clanchy's radical two-part dramatisation discovers the Indian heart of Sara Crewe.
When Sara is rich, she is treated just the same as other girls. But when she is not rich - exactly who is she? And why has she been brought to England?
Archie Panjabi and Rebecca Front star with Clare Perkins in this much-loved gothic treat.
Sara Crewe ...... Archie Panjabi
Becky Perkins ...... Clare Perkins
Miss Minchin ...... Rebecca Front
Young Sara ...... Nishi Malde
Young Becky ...... Polly Allen
Captain Crewe ...... Tom Forrister
Miss Amelia ...... Adie Allen
Lavinia ...... Rebecca Hamilton
Little Lottie ...... Jocelyn MacNab
Ermengarde ...... Lucy Hutchinson
Mr Barrow ...... Jonathan Forbes
Ram Dass ...... Sagar Radia
Mrs Herbert ...... Elizabeth Bennett
Director: Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.
THU 16:00 Great Lives (m000zdqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:30 I'm Here. Where Are You? (b08zcbtz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 17:00 Paul Temple (b007t1qp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 17:30 Whodunnits (b009hfjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 18:00 Never Too Late (m002dl5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jtjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 19:00 The Break (m000k908)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mqnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 19:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dl5p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 20:00 The Ultimate Choice (m001kgr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
THU 20:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b007jxdd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
THU 21:00 Drama on 4 (b08cr6wm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
THU 22:00 The Matt Forde Focus Group (m002db9p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 22:30 Mr and Mrs Smith (b019rpw8)
Series 1
The Dinner Party
A year into married life and already things are a little creaky.
So, following Will's unimaginative anniversary present (a draining rack), Annabelle's signed them up for a course of marriage counselling.
Following a successful pilot, series one begins written by and starring Will Smith.
Sitcom about a couple in marriage counselling.
Counsellor Guy mediates a recent dispute between Will and Annabelle, with flashbacks to the events that spawned the argument. Sort of.
Will Smith ..... Will Smith
Annabelle Smith ..... Sarah Hadland
Guy ..... Paterson Joseph
Katrina ..... Tracy Wiles
Doug ..... Simon Bubb
Heather ..... Morwenna Banks
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2012.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m002dthx)
Sam Nicoresti 2/2
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, The Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. And tonight, Rob Deering chats to fellow comic Sam Nicoresti.
THU 23:00 The Problem With Adam Bloom (b00hhrhp)
Series 2
Stress
It's quite stressful writing a six-part series, planning an Edinburgh show and taking a holiday.
Will Adam manage to complete this series?
And just what is the best way of dealing with stress?
Written by and starring Adam Bloom.
With Brendon Burns.
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2004.
THU 23:15 Fabulous (b00j6jkj)
Series 1
Episode 6
Faye causes havoc when she decides to gatecrash her boss's wedding.
Lucy Clarke’s sitcom about a woman who wants to be fabulous but can't cope.
Starring Daisy Haggard as Faye.
With:
Olivia Colman
Daisy Haggard
Katy Brand
Adam Buxton
Matthew Holness
Joanna Scanlan
Joanna Neary
Eve Dallas
Music by Osymyso.
Producer: Simon Nicholls
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2007.
THU 23:30 Mark Watson Makes the World Substantially Better (b00kkfk6)
Series 1
Envy
Mark Watson investigates envy as he continues his quest to free us from the seven deadly sins via stand-up comedy.
Sketches, songs and jealous glances from:
Tim Key
Tim Minchin
Producer: Katie Marsden
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2007.

FRIDAY 20 JUNE 2025

FRI 00:00 Great Lives (m000zdqv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 I'm Here. Where Are You? (b08zcbtz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Paul Temple (b007t1qp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:30 Whodunnits (b009hfjs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Never Too Late (m002dl5m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter (b007jtjp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 The Break (m000k908)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mqnq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dl5p)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Ultimate Choice (m001kgr7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 King Street Junior Revisited (b007jxdd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Drama on 4 (b08cr6wm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Paul Temple (b007t1r7)
Paul Temple and the Margo Mystery
4. Bill Fletcher's Story
Debonair sleuth Paul Temple and wife Steve face danger when a bomb is sent to their home.
Francis Durbridge's thriller stars Peter Coke and Marjorie Westbury as BBC radio's smoothest investigator and his glamorous wife.
Paul Temple …. Peter Coke
Steve …. Marjorie Westbury
Superintendent Raine …. Simon Lack
Sir Graham Forbes …. James Thomason
Tony Wyman …. Jon Rollason
Mike Langdon …. Tommy Duggan
George Kelburn …. Julian Somers
Mrs Fletcher …. Joan Matheson
Bill Fletcher …. William Bedle
Dr Benkarary …. Mary Wimbush
Larry Cross …. Hugh Manning
Charlie …. James Beattie
Bank Clerk/Police Sergeant …. Nigel Anthony
Bank Manager …. Haydn Jones
Producer: Martyn C Webster
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in January 1961.
FRI 06:30 Whodunnits (b009hp59)
Inspector Grant - The Singing Sands
4. The Holiday Ends
Inspector Alan Grant returns to London determined to clear up the mystery over the death of Bill Kenrick.
Josephine Tey's detective mystery, first published in 1952.
Abridged by Sian Preece.
Concluded by Paul Young.
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie
Made by BBC Scotland for BBC Radio 7 and first broadcast in March 2008.
FRI 07:00 A Very Private Man (b09jl1cv)
Episode 5
As Helen prepares to go away to celebrate her mother's birthday, David fears for his marriage...
Rodney Bewes stars in Terry Gregson's sitcom.
David Parkinson ...... Rodney Bewes
Helen Parkinson ...... Ann Bell
Mrs Henderson ...... Daphne Oxenford
Mrs Wilshaw ...... Marlene Sidaway
Mr Sands ...... Peter Wheeler
Produced at BBC Manchester by Ron McDonnell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in February 1981.
FRI 07:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00j2j7c)
Series 2
Episode 8
A bizarre slice of Shakespeare - and a poem for a man with a plan.
A sequential entertainment for radio starring Ronnie Barker.
With:
Terence Brady
Pauline Yates
John Graham
Pianist: Gordon Langford
Guitarist: Dick Abell.
Written by Chris Allen, Peter Campbell, Ted Clayton and Patrick Ennis, John Graham, Roy Lomax, Donald Monat and June Dixon, Frank A Terry and Harold Arpthorp.
Producer John Fawcett-Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1972.
FRI 08:00 Showstopper (b00y8yjn)
4. Super Heroes
The Showstopper team are here to create a hilarious improvised comic musical on the spot!
Featuring songs, plot and characters based entirely on suggestions from the live studio audience.
It’s curtain-up on the musical world of Super Heroes.
The cast includes:
Pippa Evans
Ruth Bratt
Dylan Emery
Lucy Trodd
Sean McCann
Oliver Senton
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.
FRI 08:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mrzx)
5. Propaganda Machine
Amid rising tensions within the commune, Slavkin builds his Propaganda Machine.
Early in 1914, 22-year-old Gerty Freely travels to Russia to work as a governess, little-knowing the huge upheavals in the world and in her own life that lie ahead.
In London, 1974, Gerty begins a memoir for her daughter Sophy, looking back at that extraordinary time of war, revolution and civil war. Most of her memories are centred on a young inventor, Nikita Slavkin, who mysteriously disappeared in 1919 and was subsequently celebrated in Soviet culture as The Vanishing Futurist.
“No word has been heard from him since […] Yet the idea persists that one day he will reappear.”
Written by Charlotte Hobson
Read by Barbara Flynn
Abridged and produced by Jeremy Osborne
Charlotte Hobson graduated from Edinburgh University with a first in Russian. Thereafter she travelled widely in the former Soviet Union, working as an interpreter in the Caucasus, a translator, and dabbling in civil rights. Her book, Black Earth City (2002) won a Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize and the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award 2002. The Vanishing Futurist was her first novel, published in 2016.
A Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2020.
FRI 08:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dpj2)
5. Adventure
Summer 1957 and after the family tragedy, Rosemary wants them all to go on holiday.
But her mother Penelope feels old and sad and can't embrace the drinking, dancing and jollity.
Written by Margaret Forster
Dramatised by Juliet Ace
Penelope (mother) . . . . Angela Pleasence
Rosemary . . . . Nichola McAuliffe
Celia . . . . Jenny Funnell
Emily . . . . Jessica Lloyd
Director: Tanya Nash
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
FRI 09:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m002d1v8)
Series 6
4. Georgia On My Mind
Joanna and Roger are off to America for Roger’s grandson’s wedding.
Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam star as a long-married couple, in Jan Etherington’s beloved comedy.
This week, they’re off to Savannah, Georgia for the wedding of Roger’s grandson. They are both apprehensive at meeting Roger’s ‘new’ family but are warmly welcomed in true Southern style. Roger impresses the gathering by rustling up a Yorkshire pudding for dinner and his zydeco dancing draws a crowd. Joanna tells him she loves his family and all is going wonderfully well, until Roger’s son, Dustin makes a helpful suggestion.
Conversations from a Long Marriage is written by Jan Etherington and produced by Claire Jones.
Wilfredo Acosta - Sound Engineer
Jon Calver - Sound Designer
Sarah Nicholls - Production Coordinator
An EcoAudio certified production.
A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4
FRI 09:30 Living National Treasures (m000g4gb)
5. Oak Swill Basket Maker
Technology detaches us from touch and provenance and this, in part, has contributed to the boom in artisanal crafts. It's a call back to more tactile experiences. We're learning to craft, to forage, to paint, to build; gravitating towards skills which can replace some of the sensory connections from which we've disengaged.
This series is about celebrating existing ability and drawing attention to our own Living National Treasures.
Oak swill basket maker, Owen Jones lives outside Ulverston in the Lake District. Owen is the only master craftsmen of swilling (oak basket weaving) left in the country. Owen coppices near-by woods to maintain a supply of oak and willow and uses water from the beck running past his workshop to boil and soften the wood. Owen choice swilling because he spent most of his childhood roaming the New Forrest and wanted the lifestyle it brings him.
While the Living National Treasure tradition began in Japan - where they also commend buildings and monuments as 'National Treasures' - the celebratory trend has now been adopted by France, Thailand, South Korea and Romania. Living National Treasures are defined as people who possess a high degree of knowledge and skill in a culturally significant craft.
Living National Treasures is a combination of slow radio, artisanal craft and poignant personal stories. We get under the skin of practitioners, learning why they've chosen rare and unusual crafts.
Produced by Kate Bissell.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.
FRI 09:45 Daily Service (m002dpj4)
The Trinity - The Spirit in us
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: The Trinity - The Spirit in us
Presenter: Jay Hulme
Reading: 2 Corinthians 1 18-24
Music:
Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God - St Martin's Voices
Upon your heart - St Martin's Voices
Be still for the presence of the Lord - Lucy Grimble
FRI 10:00 Soul Music (b07zz5y8)
Series 23
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Memories of first love, first borns and loss are stirred by 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'.
This timeless love song was written by Ewan MacColl for Peggy Seeger, and made famous by Roberta Flack.
Activist and folk musician Peggy Seeger recalls her first meeting with the Scottish folk musician, which would inspire him to write the song, and talks about what the song means to her today. Ewan MacColl's biographer Ben Harker explains why this song is so different from much of his other work.
Julie Young talks about singing the song to her son Reagan, who had severe complex needs following a cardiac arrest as a baby.
Writer Louise Janson speaks about what the song came to mean to her as she set out on the path to becoming a mother on her own.
Writer and academic Jason King tells the story of how Roberta Flack came to cover this ballad, and how it catapulted her to fame.
And Kandace Springs, a singer and pianist from Nashville, Tennessee, records her version of the song and talks about why the song is one of the greatest love songs of all time.
Producer: Mair Bosworth
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2016.
FRI 10:30 The Half: A Countdown To Performance (b08m9h2m)
The Half - called over the tannoy backstage at the theatre - is the beginning of the countdown to facing an audience.
Regardless of the highs and lows of daily life, performers have to harness themselves, step into the spotlight and use pressure to their advantage. The 30-minute call is when it all becomes a bit more serious - there’s no escaping what lies ahead.
We hear the half-hour count down over the loudspeaker system as arts broadcaster and journalist Fiona Lindsay takes us behind the scenes in a West End theatre and a hospital operating theatre and explores how that crucial half hour before the curtain goes up plays out for performers of all kinds.
We go backstage at Matilda the Musical to follow actor Craige Els as he transforms into the terrifying Miss Trunchbull. At the Sheffield Children’s Hospital, Paediatric surgeon Ross Fisher lets us in on the half hour before he performs an operation on a child. Comedian Mae Martin sizes up the audience as she waits stage-side to perform stand up in London’s East End. World champion snooker player Steve Davis remembers the rituals that played out in his changing room in the half hour before he performed at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. Rabbi Miriam Berger describes how she prepares to lead a funeral service. Performance psychologist Amanda Owens takes us through the techniques she teaches to top sports people.
Are there parallels that can be drawn between these very different kinds of performers? Fiona uncovers the psychological and physical routines our performers have in common, as well as the highly idiosyncratic rituals that individuals come to rely on.
Produced by Peggy Sutton and Chris Elcombe.
A Somethin' Else production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2017.
FRI 11:00 Paul Temple (b007t1r7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 11:30 Whodunnits (b009hp59)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 12:00 A Very Private Man (b09jl1cv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00j2j7c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 13:00 Showstopper (b00y8yjn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 13:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mrzx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dpj2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 14:00 The Motion Show (b00768jd)
Series 3
Episode 2
Debates galore over money, radio and having children.
Graeme Garden chairs the quirky battle of words and wit.
With:
Steve Punt
Tony Hawks
Gyles Brandreth
Simon Bates
Producer: Helen Williams
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
FRI 14:30 Odd Balls (b007608c)
Night Receptionist by Stan Rooker
Late one Saturday night, good Samaritan, Wilfred Parkin brings a man with a strange problem to the hospital reception.
But Stan Rooker seems strangely reluctant to call the doctor.
One of four character based comedies by Don Howarth.
Stan Rooker ...... Terry Malloy
Wilfrid Parkin ...... Paul Copley
Knight ...... Barry Farrimond
Director: Julie Beckett
Producer: Sue Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2001.
FRI 15:00 Drama on 4 (b08dmrzv)
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
2. Only an Accident...
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife, The Fall) and Rebecca Front (War and Peace, Dr Thorne) star with Clare Perkins in this much-loved gothic treat.
'It's only an accident that I'm not you, and you're not me.'
A Little Princess starts with a schoolgirl. But it's not a school story. Frances Hodgson Burnett's tough tale shows us a London full of foreign wealth and child poverty. That's why for over a century, its shocking story and unforgettable young characters have influenced everything from Angela Carter to anime.
The conclusion of Kate Clanchy's radical dramatisation discovers the Indian heart of Sara Crewe.
When Sara is rich, she is treated just the same as other girls. But when she is not rich - exactly who is she? And why has she been brought to England?
Sara Crewe ...... Archie Panjabi
Becky Perkins ...... Clare Perkins
Miss Minchin ...... Rebecca Front
Young Sara ...... Nishi Malde
Young Becky ...... Polly Allen
Ram Dass ...... Sagar Radia
Mr Carrisford ...... James Lailey
Mr O’Neill ...... Nick Underwood
Miss Amelia ...... Adie Allen
Mrs Brown ...... Elizabeth Bennett
Lavinia ...... Rebecca Hamilton
Ermengarde ...... Lucy Hutchinson
Anne ...... Kirsty Oswald
Director: Jonquil Panting.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.
FRI 16:00 Soul Music (b07zz5y8)
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FRI 16:30 The Half: A Countdown To Performance (b08m9h2m)
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FRI 17:00 Paul Temple (b007t1r7)
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FRI 17:30 Whodunnits (b009hp59)
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FRI 18:00 A Very Private Man (b09jl1cv)
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FRI 18:30 Lines From My Grandfather's Forehead (b00j2j7c)
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FRI 19:00 Showstopper (b00y8yjn)
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FRI 19:30 The Vanishing Futurist by Charlotte Hobson (m000mrzx)
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FRI 19:45 Private Papers by Margaret Forster (m002dpj2)
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FRI 20:00 The Motion Show (b00768jd)
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FRI 20:30 Odd Balls (b007608c)
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FRI 21:00 Drama on 4 (b08dmrzv)
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FRI 22:00 Conversations from a Long Marriage (m002d1v8)
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FRI 22:30 Where Did It All Go Wrong? (b0076gqv)
Series 1
Blakey 'Blake' Blakeson
A reassessment of one of England's forgotten folk heroes - Blakey 'Blake' Blakeson.
Series in which Simon Munnery debunks the image of iconic characters.
Written and performed by Simon Munnery.
Producer: Ed Morrish
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2003.
FRI 22:45 The Pin (b07v2ncp)
Series 2
Shoestring
The Pin are out to prove their accountant wrong, and make a great show on a budget.
Strap in for a 15-minute delve into a world of oddness performed in front of a live studio audience.
The Pin are an award-winning comedy duo, and legends of Edinburgh festival. They deconstruct the sketch form, in a show that exists somewhere between razor-sharp smartness and utterly joyous silliness.
Written by Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen.
Performed by:
Ben Ashenden
Alex Owen
Nick Mohammed
Producer: Sam Bryant
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2016.
FRI 23:00 Vent (b00tv7x3)
Series 2
I Want You
Ben's unconscious mind puts him in a compromising situation with a fellow patient at a familiar Torquay hotel of the 1970s.
He slides in and out of his coma, but every time he wakes, Mary is asleep.
Starring Neil Pearson.
Dark sitcom following the thoughts of a coma patient written by Nigel Smith.
Ben Smith …. Neil Pearson
Mary …. Fiona Allen
Mum …. Josie Lawrence
Blitzkrieg …. Leslie Ash.
With:
Nicholas Hutchison
Jo Martin
Mark Perry
Tim Whitnall
Hils Barker
Clare Grogan
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2007.
FRI 23:30 Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management (b00gd5hv)
Episode 4
Will enlists the help of explorer Rebecca to try to become more adventurous, but has trouble venturing out of his front door because of his strange neighbour.
As ever, Will Smith seeks help and advice - primarily from his godfather Peter - on coping with the onset of middle age.
Starring Will Smith
Comedy by Will Smith and Roger Drew.
Peter …… Roger Allam
With:
Rebecca Front
Paul Rider.
Producer: Tilusha Ghelani
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2009.