SATURDAY 17 JANUARY 2026

SAT 00:00 Soul Music (m001fm2r)
Chervona Kalyna
Powerful stories linked to this beautiful and stirring Ukrainian folk song.
Chervona Kalyna inspired Pink Floyd to reform so they could release their own version, 'Hey Hey Rise Up', alongside Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Boombox.
It's a clarion call with roots stretching back to 17th century Cossack history; as meaningful now as then, this episode of Soul Music reflects how music can be a unifying force in the most dangerous and difficult of times.
Anti-Russian, it was banned prior to Ukrainian independence in 1991 with one of its lyrics calling to 'free our brothers Ukrainian from Muscovites shackles'.
Its full title 'Oi u luzi chervona kalyna' translates as 'Oh the red viburnum in the meadow': red viburnum is a common plant in Ukraine and in the song it's a metaphor for the country itself.
Telling their stories:
* Taras Ratushnyy, journalist turned soldier, discusses his beloved son, Roman, and the heroic role he played in Ukrainian society both before after the war began.
* Elizaveta Izmalkova is a young Ukrainian singer who now lives in Lithuania. She performed Chervona Kalyna as part of a flash-mob co-organised by Egle Plytnikaite who describes why she and other Lithuanians wanted to demonstrate their support for Ukraine.
* Nadia Morykvas wrote a book about the cultural polymath, Stepan Charnetskyi, who - in the early 20th century - adapted Chervona Kalyna for one of his plays. (Volodymyr Oleyko translates for Nadia Morykvas).
* Andrij Halushka is a Ukrainian who now lives in London. He describes how his family history, down multiple generations, connects with the song.
* Julia and Kateryna came to England under the 'Homes for Ukraine' scheme when the war began. Under the name 'Dvi Doli' they raise money for Ukraine by staging concerts where they perform traditional songs on the Bandura.
* Taras Filenko is a pianist and ethno-musicologist. Originally from Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, he now lives in Pennsylvania, USA. He discusses the musicology of the song, and recalls a neighbour from his childhood who was imprisoned for performing Chervona Kalyna in the 1940s.
* Myroslava Hartmond is a British-Ukrainian cultural diplomacy expert. She explains how the current popularity of Chervona Kalyna began when Andriy Khlyvnyuk, the lead singer of Boombox, recorded an a capella version in the centre of Kyiv. This inspired Pink Floyd to collaborate with Khlyvnyuk and release their own version.
Please scroll down to the 'Related Links' box on the Radio 4 Soul Music webpage for further information about some of the interviewees and the different versions of the song used in the programme.
The programme image is of Taras and Roman Ratushnyy.
Producer for BBC Audio in Bristol: Karen Gregor
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2022.
SAT 00:30 Good In Vestments (b011p7sr)
Amidst the rustle of silk, the drape of damask and the questions over whether the green or the red lining is better, the Reverend Richard Coles explores the ancient tradition of ecclesiastical vestment-wearing.
At a Royal Wedding, all eyes may have been on Catherine Middleton's dress, but the magnificent vestments worn by the Archbishop of Canterbury also caught peoples' attention.
Why do clergy still wear these clothes, who designs and sews them and has the emergence of women priests made any difference to who's wearing what in church?
Various members of the clergy and historians explain the traditions and developments and the way vestments have been adopted by Anglicans and Catholics.
Richard goes to one of London's oldest vestment companies to meet priests being measured for their new clothes, and talks to the seamstresses who stitch the chasubles and stoles by hand.
As well as hearing about the traditional designs, he investigates how some clergy are seeking out new pictures and patterns - and asks what that says about the role of vestments in an increasingly secular society.
Producer: Emma Kingsley
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.
SAT 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jljw)
Baldi - Series 1
1. The Prodigal Son
Franciscan priest and philosophy lecturer Paolo Baldi is accidentally drawn into trying to solve a murder in an Italian chip shop.
Consequently, he soon discovers his skills as an amateur sleuth are needed elsewhere in Dublin on a regular basis...
Starring David Threlfall.
Series of six murder-mysteries set in Dublin, written by Barry Devlin.
Paolo Baldi …… David Threlfall
Tina Mahon …… Tina Kellegher
Father Troy …… TP McKenna
Dr Graham …… Gerard McSorley
Superintendent Rynne …… Owen Roe
Mrs Reid …… Margaret D'Arcy
Gianni …… Paolo Tullo
Ali …… Simon Delaney
Monica …… Aoiffe MacMorrough-Kavanagh
Remigio …… Damien McAdam
Anto …… Eanna McLiam
Tony, the barman …… Frankie McCafferty
Breda …… Anne Byrne
Collet …… Charlie Bonner
Tolan …… Mark Bereen
O'Hagan …… Mark Lambert
Darren Todd …… Laurence Kinlan
Liam …… Paul Roa
O'Hagan's Secretary …… Nicola Duffy
Other parts played by members of the cast.
Want to know the name of the theme music?
* Saint Agnes and the Burning Train
* Performed by Sting
Format created by Barry Devlin for Sarah Lawson Productions.
Developed and produced by BBC Northern Ireland.
Directed in Belfast by Lawrence Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
SAT 01:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04sv8q5)
Kind Hearts and Bayonets
Terry Jones introduces another tasty Renaissance tale.
Starring Samuel Barnett and Sam Dale as virtuous men in a dirty world.
The 100 stories which make up Giovanni Boccaccio’s humane and comic masterpiece come from all over the world.
This Renaissance work is considered a landmark in the history of literature.
The stories are vividly reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes in the cities of 14th-century Italy.
But their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern, and their subjects - love, fate, sex, religion, morality - are universal.
"Tales of great generosity or magnificence".
Mithridanes wants to be a wise and generous benefactor. Sadly, his neighbour Nathan is always wiser and more generous. How best to deal with this problem? Wisely and generously? Or… not so much?
Mithridanes ..... Samuel Barnett
Nathan ..... Sam Dale
Beggarmaid ..... Bettrys Jones
Adapted by Robin Brooks.
Music arranged and performed by Robert Hollingworth and Paula Chateauneuf
Lyric translations by Silvia Reseghetti
Script consultant: Guyda Armstrong
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in December 2014.
SAT 02:00 Taking It Up the Octave (b087q4sx)
3. Flushing Out Talent
Should local council cash be spent on Opera Sunderland, or a public convenience?
Comedy drama series written by Fintan Coyle and Tom Miles.
The mishaps and adventures of the acting troupe at Opera Sunderland
Derek …. Andrew Branch
Keyboard Ken …. Tom Miles
Cilla …. Carolyn Bonnyman
Gareth …. Godfrey James
James …. Simon Butteriss
Natasha …. Caz Weller
Dwight …. Jonathan Kydd
Claire Long …. Sally Grace
Singers:
Alison Porter
Susan Jelley
Henrik Wager
Benjamin Davies
Producer: Chris Neill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1997.
SAT 02:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jlll)
Series 3
Tea for Two
A famous visitor from the impending by-election sparks political party wars for the rag and bone duo.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett.
Classic sitcom about the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold.
Written for BBC TV and adapted for BBC Radio by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Albert ...... Wilfrid Brambell
Harold ...... Harry H Corbett
With:
John Rye
Edward Kelsey
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1971.
SAT 03:00 The Break (b07ffb29)
Series 1
Dead Man's Dinner
Jeff and his nephew Andy are contacted by the editor of The Flamford Bugle.
They've won a slap-up dinner for two at Flamford's poshest eaterie, The Royal Albion Hotel.
Eagerly anticipating the night out of a lifetime, Andy and Jeff's dreams of gourmet heaven quickly deteriorate into the nightmare of a lifetime. The prize had been promised to local citizen Wally Metcalfe, but he died just after the draw. Now his widow is on the warpath with her two burly sons.
Social media doesn't help either, and in no time there is a mob baying for Jeff and Andy's blood.
Written by Ian Brown and James Hendrie.
Andy ...... Tom Palmer
Jeff ...... Philip Jackson
Frank ...... Mark Benton
PC Clark ...... Mark Benton
Corinne ...... Alison Steadman
Joyce ...... Alison Steadman
Morag ...... Alison Steadman
Kevin ...... Rasmus Hardiker
Mira ...... Shobna Gulati
Chris ...... Gordon Kennedy
Director: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2016.
SAT 03:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002pqb8)
3. Being the First Part of the history of Sir Conolly Rackrent
Ireland. Old Thady has served under four disastrous generations of the Rackrents:
* Sir Patrick drinks
* Sir Murtagh litigates
* Sir Kit gambles
* Sir Condy (Sir Connolly) merely fritters away the family fortunes
Yet he is still the ever-faithful retainer at the bankrupt Castle Rackrent.
Being the first part of the history of Sir Conolly Rackrent - Sir 'Condy' is Old Thady's favourite Rackrent - a good-natured, overly generous and utterly feckless landlord.
Maria Edgeworth's satire on Anglo-Irish landlords, first published in 1800.
Abridged by John Scotney.
Read by Cyril Cusack.
Producer: Jeremy Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
SAT 03:45 Ladies of Letters (m002pqbb)
Ladies of More Letters
10. Wedding
With a wedding to arrange, will all end happily ever after between correspondents Vera and Irene?
Starring Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge.
Concluding another series about the up and down relationship between two mature ladies shared via their barbed correspondence.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman.
Vera Small ... Patricia Routledge
Irene Spencer ... Prunella Scales
Howard .... Christopher Kelman
Producer: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1999.
SAT 04:00 The Personality Test (b00m16xm)
Series 1
Greg Dyke
The BBC's former Director-General Greg Dyke quizzes a panel about himself.
Battling with queries based on Greg's life, whims and interests are:
Sue Perkins
Alan Carr
Lucy Porter
Series in which a fresh host every episode quizzes a comedy panel about themselves.
Script by Richard Turner.
Devised & produced by Aled Evans.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2006.
SAT 04:30 A Whole 'Nother Story (b00763tm)
Series 1
Older
"I'm all alone. I've been on the shelf so long, I have to be taken down for dusting".
Cassie and Pete would be a great couple, if they weren't so busy being friends.
Starring Debra Stephenson and Dave Lamb.
The first of three series of Amanda Murphy’s comedy-drama series about a friendship between a man and a woman.
Cassie ...... Debra Stephenson
Pete ...... David Lamb
Rebecca ...... Mika Simmons
PJ ...... Brendan Burns
Dad ...... Mike Grady
Mum ...... Anne Reid
Producer: Graham Frost
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2001.
SAT 05:00 The Jungle Book (m000t4v3)
2. Tiger, Tiger
Mowgli is an orphan brought up by the Wolves, a gang of petty criminals in a tenement block in Mumbai. He quickly learnt how to survive in that world.
But when the villainous politician, Tiger Khan, threatened Mowgli's life, two residents of the tenement block, "black panther" Bagheera and the "bear" Baloo, offered to help him escape.
He's on a journey of self-discovery through the city, meeting "creatures" along the way who don't always have his best interests at heart...
Ayeesha Menon takes Rudyard Kipling’s family classic and gives it a darker twist, re-imagining it in the concrete jungle of present-day India.
Conclusion of the gangland coming-of-age fable.
Recorded in India.
Mo ...... Namit Das
Tiger Khan ...... Rajit Kapur
Mrs Gupta ...... Shernaz Patel
Mr Gupta ...... Zafar Karachiwala
Bugs ...... Sukant Goel
Yuva ...... Abir Abrar
Kala ...... Shikha Talsania
Rikita ...... Devika Shahani
Father Carvalho ...... Sohrab Ardeshir
Young Kala/Rani ...... Preetika Chawla
Young Mo ...... Omkar Kulkarni
Dimple ...... Trisha Kale
Bobby ...... Alka Sharma
Varun/Boy ...... Ajitesh Gupta
Amma ...... Prerna Chawla
Raksha ...... Shivani Tanksale
Rafiq & Naag ......Tavish Bhattacharyya
Baldeo/Tabaqui/Purun Bhagat ...... Vivek Madan
Akhil ...... Nadir Khan
Music by Sacha Puttnam
Songs written and performed by Satchit Puranik
Written and directed by Ayeesha Menon
Producer: Nadir Khan
Executive Producer: John Scott Dryden
A Goldhawk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2021.
SAT 06:00 The Ipcress File by Len Deighton (b01697h2)
An unnamed agent is ensnared in a sinister plot to brainwash scientists and trade them across the Iron Curtain.
Len Deighton's gripping Cold War thriller, first published in 1962.
Starring Ian Hart.
Taut dramatisation by Mike Walker.
The Agent …. Ian Hart
Colonel Ross …. James Laurenson
Major Dalby …. Jonathan Coy
Chico …. Jamie Bamber
Jean …. Fenella Woolgar
Alice …. Rachel Atkins
Jay …. Peter Marinker
Skip …. Kerry Shale
Keightley …. Adam Tedder
Adem …. Raad Rawi
Battersby …. John Sharian
Producer: Toby Swift
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2004.
SAT 07:30 The Captain's Apprentice by Caroline Davison (Omnibus) (m002q2gw)
Following in the footsteps of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Caroline Davison explores the influence of folk song and The Fens on the composer.
Ralph Vaughan Williams was a keen collector of folk songs and committed to saving these indigenous tunes before they could be forgotten.
In 1905, he was in King's Lynn where James 'Duggie' Carter sang 'The Captain's Apprentice'. The beautiful tune, melody, harmony and feeling went on to shape Vaughan Williams' future composition.
Yet, in stark contrast, the lyrics of this song told a tale of brutal torture at sea.
Caroline delves into the plight of cabin boys on the high seas who were at the mercy of unscrupulous sea captains. She also describes how the landscape of the Fens inspired Vaughan Williams’ work.
There are also glimpses into the composer's personal life and the times in which he lived.
Omnibus of five parts abridged by Katrin Williams.
Read by Poppy Miller.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2022.
SAT 08:45 Tom Mennard's Local Tales (m002q2gy)
Series 1
Stranger
Welcome to Tom's world. The scene is the 'Goat and Compasses'.
The cast: Tom, Harry, Charlie and Fred. Well, they're just 'local tales'.
Order yourself a pint, sit yourself down and listen.
Tom's got a tale to tell about the time a stranger turned up....
Written by and starring Tom Mennard.
Tom Mennard's Local Tales comedy series ran on BBC Radio 2 between 1981 and 1987.
Tom was later cast in ITV's Coronation Street.
Producer: Mike Craig
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1981.
SAT 09:00 The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0082crd)
Series 2
Episode 4
Can shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel save a struggling department store from closure?
Recreation of the Marx Brothers' lost shows charting the adventures of shady lawyer Waldorf T Flywheel and his assistant, Emmanuel Ravelli.
Originally broadcast with sponsors on America's NBC radio network in the 1930s. The scripts were rediscovered in 1988.
Groucho Marx as Waldorf T Flywheel ...... Michael Roberts
Chico Marx as Emmanuel Ravellias ...... Frank Lazarus
With:
Lorelei King
Graham Hoadly
Vincent Marzello
Written by Nat Perrin and Athur Sheekman.
Adapted by Mark Brisenden.
Music arranged and conducted by David Firman.
Producer: Dirk Maggs
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1991.
SAT 09:30 The Navy Lark (b017stwl)
Mysterious Radio Signals
Sub-Lieutenant Phillips' love-life causes havoc at sea for the crew of HMS Troutbridge.
Stars Leslie Phillips, Jon Pertwee and Stephen Murray.
Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge.
Written by Lawrie Wyman.
CO Murray …. Stephen Murray
CPO Pertwee/Vice Admiral Button-Shaw …. Jon Pertwee
Sub Lt. Phillips …. Leslie Phillips
Captain Povey …. Richard Caldicote
WREN Chasen …. Heather Chasen
LS Goldstein …. Teniel Evans
Vice Admiral Ironbridge …. Michael Bates
WREN Vera Penfold …. Norma Ronald
The Navy Lark ran for an impressive 13 series between 1959 and 1976.
Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston.
First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in June 1971.
SAT 10:00 Down by the River (m0011lyt)
3. And So, To The Sea...
Writer Laura Barton concludes her exploration of the rivers of Britain to discover how they've shaped our stories and lives.
Flowing through the BBC Radio archives, with brand new interviews, Laura follows these rivers closely to hear the tales they have to share.
Featuring:
* WEDDING RITES by Retta Bowen
Read by Emma Fielding.
* TARKA THE OTTER by Henry Williamson
1/5 Little Water Wanderer
The start of an eventful cubhood in the Devon countryside, as seen through the young otter's eyes.
Read by Nicholas Farrell.
(BBC Radio 4 – 2002)
Producer: Luke Doran
Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra and first broadcast in June 2020.
SAT 11:00 The Ipcress File by Len Deighton (b01697h2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 12:30 The Captain's Apprentice by Caroline Davison (Omnibus) (m002q2gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 13:45 Tom Mennard's Local Tales (m002q2gy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 14:00 The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0082crd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 14:30 The Navy Lark (b017stwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 15:00 Down by the River (m0011lyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 16:00 Torchwood (b00d9zww)
1. Lost Souls
Outside of the government, beyond the police and fighting for the future on behalf of the human race, the Torchwood team leaves Cardiff and heads for the Franco-Swiss border.
This is where former time-traveller Martha Jones is now working as a doctor at the world's biggest physics laboratory, CERN.
Deep in an underground tunnel, a giant particle accelerator is about to be activated for the first time. But something strange is happening.
Scientists are hearing voices and collapsing with a strange illness. Is something lurking in the tunnel? Do the dead ever really stay dead?
Written by Joseph Lidster.
Captain Jack Harkness .... John Barrowman
Gwen Cooper .... Eve Myles
Ianto Jones .... Gareth David-Lloyd
Martha Jones .... Freema Agyeman
Professor Johnson .... Lucy Montgomery
Dr Oliver Harrington .... Stephen Crichlow
Leon Foiret .... Mark Meadows
Music by Murray Gold and Ben Foster.
Director: Kate McAll
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2008.
*** ‘Lost Souls’ was commissioned as part of BBC Radio 4's ‘Big Bang Day’, a day of special programming for the switch-on of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.
SAT 16:45 Black and White by Jan Mark (b0886z4c)
2. Old Money
Gary gets an ancient two-shilling coin in his change.
But he doesn't reckon on its looming deadly effect...
Series of chilling tales of strange and creepy happenings written by Jan Mark.
Abridged by Peter Kerry.
Read by Malcolm Raeburn.
Producer: Martin Jameson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in September 1993.
SAT 17:00 The Ipcress File by Len Deighton (b01697h2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 18:30 The Captain's Apprentice by Caroline Davison (Omnibus) (m002q2gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 19:45 Tom Mennard's Local Tales (m002q2gy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
SAT 20:00 The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0082crd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 20:30 The Navy Lark (b017stwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
SAT 21:00 Down by the River (m0011lyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SAT 22:00 Earwig (m000pmx9)
Sketch show pilot written by BAFTA-winning comedy writer Brian Dooley (The Smoking Room).
At the heart of Earwig is the comedy of overheard conversations, played deadpan and real; a look at what's happening when nothing's happening.
Hoping around different conversations the length and breadth of Britain, recorded on location and featuring a diverse comedy cast.
The theme of the pilot episode is Britain is going through a November heatwave.
Starring:
Debbie Chazen (Sherlock, The Smoking Room)
Nimisha Odedra (Newsjack)
Nathan Bryon (Benidorm)
Jason Forbes (Daphne)
Duncan Wisbey (Dead Ringers)
Producer: Simon Nicholls
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in November 2020.
SAT 22:30 Sarah Millican's Support Group (b00r2cy5)
Series 1
3. 'I'm a clown with a secret'.
'I'm a clown with a secret'
'Do age-gap relationships work?'
'Is 65 in slippers the new 30 in a suit?'
Sarah Millican plays a life counsellor and modern-day agony aunt tackling the nation's problems head on, dishing out real advice for real people.
Assisted by her very own team of experts.
Sarah ...... Sarah Millican
Marion ...... Ruth Bratt
Terry ...... Simon Daye
Judith ...... Susie Blake
Malcolm ...... Mark Heap
Helen ...... Debra Stevenson.
Written by Sarah Millican.
Producer: Lianne Coop
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2010.
SAT 23:00 Domestic Science (b09tf719)
Series 2
Bedroom
Science you can play along with at home in a look at the domestic phenomena we relate to on a day-to-day basis.
Hosted by Festival of The Spoken Nerd trio:
* Physicist Steve Mould
* Stand up Mathematician Matt Parker
* Physicist and musician Helen Arney.
A heady combination of maths, science and comedy.
In this episode, they're in the bedroom.
Producer: Lyndsay Fenner
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2018.
SAT 23:15 Late (b00762s1)
3. From Dating to Mothering
A lonely heart calls her gay best friend for help, dodgy advice on the airwaves - and a mother tries to soothe a crying baby...
Bleak, funny and confusing tales of urban life, after dark.
Starring:
Paul Merton
Liz Smith
Richard Wilson
Julian Clary
Meera Syal
Julie Balloo
Tilly Vosburgh
And Archie.
Written by Mandy Wheeler, Joss Bennathan, Rob Colley, Paul Merton, Jo Brooks and Julie Balloo.
Music by Robert Katz.
Producer: Sarah Parkinson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2001.
SAT 23:30 Radio Active (b008pc9s)
Series 4
Salute to New York
It's Radio Active's live transatlantic link-up with the Big Apple!
Sadly Mike Channel is stuck behind in the UK studio.
It's the return of Britain's first national local radio station.
Starring:
Helen Atkinson-Wood
Angus Deayton
Geoffrey Perkins
Philip Pope
Michael Fenton-Stevens
Music by Philip Pope and Steve Brown.
Written by Angus Deayton and Geoffrey Perkins. With Jon Canter, Moray Hunter, John Docherty, Roger Planer and Mark Smith.
Producer: Jamie Rix
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1984.

SUNDAY 18 JANUARY 2026

SUN 00:00 Torchwood (b00d9zww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:45 Black and White by Jan Mark (b0886z4c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:45 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 The Ipcress File by Len Deighton (b01697h2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:30 The Captain's Apprentice by Caroline Davison (Omnibus) (m002q2gw)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 03:45 Tom Mennard's Local Tales (m002q2gy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 The Marx Brothers' Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel (b0082crd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:30 The Navy Lark (b017stwl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Saturday]
SUN 05:00 Down by the River (m0011lyt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b01phm4w)
Soap Stars
Wendy Richard
EastEnders actress Wendy Richard is castaway by Sue Lawley.
Wendy is one of the best-known faces on British TV.
She talks to Sue Lawley about a career which started with the Arthur Haines show in the 60s, and took her through a whole series of long-running TV programmes - The Newcomers, Are You Being Served? and its sequel Grace and Favour.
However, it was 10 years ago that she took the part that was to spark her greatest popularity - Pauline Fowler in BBC TV's EastEnders.
DISC ONE: Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1 in D major “Land of Hope and Glory” - The BBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Charles Groves
DISC TWO: In The Mood - Glenn Miller
DISC THREE: Jerusalem - Winchester Cathedral Choir
DISC FOUR: Who Do You Think You Are Kidding Mr Hitler? - Bud Flanagan & The Band of the Coldstream Guards
DISC FIVE: Léo Delibes’s Flower Duet (from Lakmé) - Jane Berbie, Joan Sutherland
DISC SIX: Maurice Ravel’s Bolero - London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Litton
DISC SEVEN: Arthur Wood’s Barwick Green (The Archers' theme tune) - New Concert Orchestra, conducted by Jay Wilbur
DISC EIGHT: Rule Britannia - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir
BOOK CHOICE: Wilt - Tom Sharpe
LUXURY CHOICE: Tapestry to make
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1 in D major “Land of Hope and Glory”
Producer: Olivia Seligman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1995.
**** Sadly Wendy Richards died in 2009 aged just 65.
SUN 06:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0120790)
Series 2
Fireflies
The chemistry that allows the combustion of natural chemicals to generate light without heat is wonderfully harnessed by the firefly.
Fireflies are insects with several species in the group; each with its own species specific code and signalling regime.
In this life story, Sir David Attenborough tells of his personal experience filming the antics of fireflies and the insight this gave him into this secret world of messaging.
Written and presented by David Attenborough.
Producer: Julian Hector
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.
SUN 07:00 Poetry Extra (m002q2nv)
The Echo Chamber - Tony Harrison
Poet Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's poetry archive and selects The Echo Chamber - Tony Harrison. Best known for his poem V, Harrison was a leading British poet and playwright from Yorkshire, and we broadcast the programme to mark his recent passing.
The Echo Chamber is presented by Paul Farley, who has been nominated for this year's prestigious T.S Eliot Award - winner to be announced on 19th January 2026.
Plus, Daljit reads from his Poetry Extra Book of the Month: Woman: Plant: Language by Agata Maslowska.
Paul Farley hears Tony Harrison read a long poem called Polygons - a poem set in Delphi in Greece, that richly draws together many of the poetic preoccupations of his life: Greek tragedy, the wild landscapes of ancient human sacred sites, the deaths and passing of poetic mates, and the comforts of water and of wine.
Producer: Tim Dee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2015.
SUN 07:30 The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono (Omnibus) (m002q2nx)
Between the two world wars the tree-planting efforts of French shepherd, Elzéard Bouffier, in Provence,, sows the seeds of hope for mankind.
Jean Giorno’s inspiring tale of ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’, first published in 1953.
Omnibus of two-parts.
Read by Bill Paterson.
Director: Andy Jordan
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1992.
SUN 08:00 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (Omnibus) (m002q2nz)
Episode 1
Ireland. Old Thady has served under four disastrous generations of the Rackrents:
* Sir Patrick drinks
* Sir Murtagh litigates
* Sir Kit gambles
* Sir Condy (Sir Connolly) merely fritters away the family fortunes
Yet he is still the ever-faithful retainer at the bankrupt Castle Rackrent.
Old Thady begins with his recollectionthat it was Sir Patrick O'Shaughlin who earned the nickname 'Sir Patrick Rackrent' due to his extravagance....
Maria Edgeworth's satire on Anglo-Irish landlords, first published in 1800.
Read by Cyril Cusack.
Omnibus of the first three of eight parts abridged by John Scotney.
Producer: Jeremy Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1989.
SUN 08:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002q2p2)
Peter and Dan Snow
Broadcasters Peter Snow and his son Dan choose Sibelius’s ‘Finlandia’ and ‘Remember The Alamo’ by Tex Ritter.
SUN 08:50 Ladies of Letters (m002q2p4)
Ladies of More Letters (Omnibus)
Episode 2
Crossed wires and frayed tempers lead Irene to offer Vera an apology in verse.
Starring Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge.
More of the up and down relationship between two mature ladies shared via their barbed correspondence.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman.
Omnibus of the last five of ten episodes
Vera Small ... Patricia Routledge
Irene Spencer ... Prunella Scales
Howard Small ... Christopher Kelham
Lesley Crabtree ... Fiona Clarke
Stu Jackson ... Christopher Kelham
Producer: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1999.
SUN 10:00 Stilgoe's Around (b00b1p8c)
Christie's Auction Rooms
With his musical revue, Richard Stilgoe visits Christie's Auction rooms taking the lid off the Ming, Meissen and militaria market.
Remaining motionless during the sketches lest they buy an Old Master are:
Charles Collingwood
Peter Blake
Jill Meager
On antique instruments:
Kathryn Tickell
Ian Carr
Lynn Tocker
Written by Richard Stilgoe.
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1989.
SUN 10:30 Take It From Here (b015p5xn)
From 17/03/1955
Plane capers in South America and Eth is shocked at Ron's criminal record in 'The Glums'.
Starring:
Professor Jimmy Edwards
Dick Bentley
June Whitfield
Wallas Eaton
Music from Alma Cogan, The Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Written by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Producer: Charles Maxwell
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in March 1955.
SUN 11:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b01phm4w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 11:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0120790)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 12:00 Poetry Extra (m002q2nv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono (Omnibus) (m002q2nx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (Omnibus) (m002q2nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 13:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002q2p2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 13:50 Ladies of Letters (m002q2p4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 15:00 Stilgoe's Around (b00b1p8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 15:30 Take It From Here (b015p5xn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 16:00 Terry Pratchett (b00b8rpc)
Small Gods
3. The City of Citadel
Ephebian philosophers argue violently among themselves but they're no match for Deacon Vorbis.
However one philosopher, Didactylos, is prepared to stand up to him.
Terry Pratchett's comic Discworld fantasy.
Starring Carl Prekopp, Patrick Barlow, Alex Jennings and Anton Lesser.
Dramatised by Robin Brooks.
Narrator ...... Anton Lesser
Om ...... Patrick Barlow
Brutha ...... Carl Prekopp
Vorbis ...... Alex Jennings
Didactylos ...... Gerard McDermott
Urn ...... John Cummins
Nhumrod ...... Geoffrey Beevers
Sergeant Simony ...... Nick Sayce
Other parts played by the cast.
Producer: Claire Grove
Director: Gordon House
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2006.
SUN 16:30 The Heart of Hark'un (b007jq8x)
3. The Power of the Deadlands
Shaznir calls on the power of the Deadlands, while Arcos meets a strange Brotherhood.
A fantasy-adventure by Peter Thomson and Jamie Thomson.
Arcos ..... Francis Thomson
Kaddah ..... Trevor Peacock
Vanna ..... Elizabeth Whiting
Shazir ..... Crawford Logan
Bereneth ..... Edward Kelsey
Va ..... Melanie Hudson
Alviza ..... Emma Fielding
Zander ..... Robert Portal
The General ..... Clarence Smith
Rashiq ..... Theresa Streatfeild
Producer: Peter Hutchings
First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in September 1991.
SUN 17:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b01phm4w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 17:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0120790)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
SUN 18:00 Poetry Extra (m002q2nv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
SUN 18:30 The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono (Omnibus) (m002q2nx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 19:00 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (Omnibus) (m002q2nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 19:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002q2p2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 today]
SUN 19:50 Ladies of Letters (m002q2p4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 today]
SUN 21:00 Stilgoe's Around (b00b1p8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
SUN 21:30 Take It From Here (b015p5xn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
SUN 22:00 Sarah Kendall: Australian Trilogy (b08hnpms)
Series 1
Shaken
"This show is a story, and it's a big story. But it actually starts in one of my therapy sessions..."
In 1989, 13 and unpopular, Sarah misses the school bus. This prompts her to tell a lie and suddenly she finds herself the focal point of the entire community.
This show is as much about the art of storytelling as it is about a teenager's want to be popular. Sarah examines why stories are so important to her and she leaves us with a message from Ferris Bueller:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and move around once in a while, you could miss it"
Multi-award winning storyteller Sarah Kendall, continues her critically acclaimed trilogy of funny and moving, live shows to BBC Radio.
Taking her audience on a trip, Sarah gives a unique snapshot of small-town life in Australia in the early 90s.
At a time when most people were seeing Australians through the filter of 'Home and Away' and 'Neighbours', Sarah's shows present a darker underbelly to the stereotype of the sun-loving, happy-go-lucky Aussie teenager.
Comedic and tragic in equal measure, Sarah's tales of her teenage life blend intricate narratives with a cast of memorable characters, bringing events to life in front of your very ears.
Written and performed by Sarah Kendall.
Producer: Carl Cooper
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2017.
SUN 22:30 Listen Against (b00fq2sw)
Series 2
Episode 3
Radio 4's new drama 'Peston', 'Thought for the Day' for Satanists and why is Jeremy Vine so charming in person but so tetchy on Radio 2?
The show that look backs in amplitude at rearranged and downright fictional snippets from BBC radio.
Starring:
Jon Holmes
Alice Arnold
Written by Jon Holmes, Bill Dare, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.
Additional costumes by Luke Roberts and Adam Buxton.
Special make-up affects: Gareth Gwynn
Voices: James Bachman, Jill Cardo, David Mara, Kim Wall and Catherine Shepherd.
Producers: Sam Bryant and Jon Holmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2008.
SUN 23:00 Life: An Idiot's Guide (b01qmxfy)
Series 2
Health and Medicine
Stephen K Amos is joined by three stand-up comedians to compile an Idiot's Guide to Health and Medicine.
With:
Paul Sinha
Andre Vincent
John Hegley
Additional material written by Christine Rose, Tom Neenan, Jack Bernardt and Hugh Sington.
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2013.
SUN 23:30 Hearing with Hegley (b0bnv2s7)
Series 2
Episode 4
The poet laureate of alternative comedy, John Hegley performs poems and songs.
Featuring poems dedicated to Bonfire Night and not waving.
Plus a surreal adventure in a Tardis-like kennel.
With musical accompaniment from Nigel Piper and the Popticians.
Producer: Phil Clarke
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1998.
SUN 23:45 Bunk Bed (m00140c9)
Series 9
Episode 4
Under the covers and ensconced in the cloak of darkness are where real conversations happen.
Marber tries his new language of Yiddish and Cockney rhyming slang, that doesn't rhyme.
Curran relates the story of his head being used instead of a golf ball during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Producer: Peter Curran
A Foghorn production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2022.

MONDAY 19 JANUARY 2026

MON 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b00b8rpc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
MON 00:30 The Heart of Hark'un (b007jq8x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Sunday]
MON 01:00 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b01phm4w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
MON 01:45 David Attenborough's Life Stories (b0120790)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Sunday]
MON 02:00 Poetry Extra (m002q2nv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Sunday]
MON 02:30 The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono (Omnibus) (m002q2nx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
MON 03:00 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (Omnibus) (m002q2nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Sunday]
MON 03:40 Inheritance Tracks (m002q2p2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:40 on Sunday]
MON 03:50 Ladies of Letters (m002q2p4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:50 on Sunday]
MON 05:00 Stilgoe's Around (b00b1p8c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Sunday]
MON 05:30 Take It From Here (b015p5xn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Sunday]
MON 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jlk6)
Baldi - Series 1
2. Keepers of the Flame
Baldi gets caught up in solving the murder of a leading University academic.
He must follow a trail leading into the past of one of Ireland's most cherished literary figures...
Starring David Threlfall.
Series of murder mysteries about Franciscan priest and philosophy lecturer turned amateur sleuth, Paolo Baldi.
Written by Simon Brett.
Paolo Baldi …… David Threlfall
Tina Mahon …… Tina Kellegher
Father Troy …… TP McKenna
Dr Graham …… Gerard McSorley
Superintendent Rynne …… Owen Roe
Mrs Reid …… Margaret D'Arcy
Philip Trent …… Malcolm Douglas
Mary Matthews …… Noelle Brown
Professor Bryden …… Pat Laffan
J T Brennan …… John Hewitt
Vivian Luscombe …… Kevin Flood
Maureen …… Alice Barry
Garda …… Jim Fox
Format created by Barry Devlin for Sarah Lawson Productions.
Developed and produced by BBC Northern Ireland.
Directed in Belfast by Lawrence Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
MON 06:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04t9b5c)
The Sweetest Young Man in Perugia
Terry Jones introduces another tasty Renaissance tale.
Starring Tim McInnerny as a husband with a dissatisfied young wife.
The 100 stories which make up Giovanni Boccaccio’s humane and comic masterpiece come from all over the world
They are vividly reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes in the cities of Renaissance Italy. But their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern, and their subjects - love, fate, sex, religion, morality - are universal.
“Tricks that women play on men.”
A young bride can’t work out why her marriage seems flat. Until she and her husband both meet the sweetest young man in Perugia.
Pietro ..... Tim McInnerny
Madam ..... Hannah Genesius
Pandara ..... Jane Slavin
Masetto ..... Monty d’Inverno
Ercolano ..... David Acton
Adapted in ten parts by Robin Brooks
Music arranged and performed by Robert Hollingworth and Paula Chateauneuf
Lyric translations by Silvia Reseghetti
Script consultant: Guyda Armstrong
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in December 2014.
MON 07:00 In the Chair (b007jsvd)
Episode 3
Hack George Cragge is convinced that the minister for information has something to hide.
And the BBC Chairman gets implicated...
Starring Michael Williams and Barry Foster.
Mark Tavener's blackly humorous murder mystery.
George Cragge ...... Michael Williams
DCI Frank Jefferson ...... Barry Foster
Prime Minister ...... Hugh Laurie
Crichton-Potter ...... Richard Griffiths
Martin McCabe ...... John Bird
Charles Prentiss ...... Stephen Fry
Marcia Mallon ...... Rebecca Front
Jim Hardie ...... Kenneth Cranham
Director of Personnel ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Chancellor ...... Simon Greehall
John ...... Jonathan Keeble
Caroline ...... Susie Brann
Max ...... Peter Woodthorpe
Michael Salisbury ...... John Rowe
Sandra ...... Rachel Atkins
Richard ...... Darren Boyd
Newsreader ...... Harriet Cass
Music by Paul Mottram.
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 1998.
MON 07:30 Dad's Army (b007jmyj)
Series 2
Boots, Boots, Boots
The Home Guard platoon take action when Captain Mainwaring becomes obsessed with their feet.
The comic exploits of a Second World War Home Guard platoon in Walmington-on-Sea.
Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's TV scripts by Michael Knowles and Harold Snoad.
Captain Mainwaring …. Arthur Lowe
Sergeant Wilson …. John Le Mesurier
Corporal Jones …. Clive Dunn
Private Frazer …. John Laurie
Private Pike …. Ian Lavender
Private Godfrey …. Arnold Ridley
Mr Sedgewick …. Eris Chitty
Announcer …. John Snagge
Producer: John Dyas
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1975.
MON 08:00 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b04p87r7)
Series 2
Exit Strategy
Uljabaan is determined to fail his annual inspection, in order to be sent to a better posting.
But he'll need Kat and Lucy's help in order to make it work - and he can do without any surprises, such as the identity of the Zone Commander who'll be conducting the inspection...
Eddie Robson's sitcom about aliens invading the village of Cresdon Green.
Starring Hattie Morahan and Peter Davison.
Aliens have locked villagers behind an impenetrable force-field in order to study human behaviour and to decide if Earth is worth invading.
The only inhabitant who seems to be bothered by their new alien overlord is Katrina Lyons, who was only home for a weekend to borrow the deposit for a flat.
So along with Lucy Alexander (the only teenager in the village, willing to rebel against whatever you've got) she formed The Resistance - slightly to the annoyance of her parents Margaret and Richard.
This is also much to the annoyance of Field Commander Uljabaan who's been trying to actually run the alien invasion.
Katrina Lyons ...... Hattie Morahan
Richard Lyons ...... Peter Davison
Margaret Lyons ...... Jan Francis
Lucy Alexander ...... Hannah Murray
Field Commander Uljabaan ...... Charles Edwards
The Computer ...... John-Luke Roberts
Zone Commander Ravella ...... Nina Sosanya
Script-edited by Arthur Mathews
Producer: Ed Morrish.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2014.
MON 08:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q2tk)
4. Sir Condy and the House
the Rackrents:
* Sir Patrick drinks
* Sir Murtagh litigates
* Sir Kit gambles
* Sir Condy (Sir Connolly) merely fritters away the family fortunes
Yet he is still the ever-faithful retainer at the bankrupt Castle Rackrent.
Old Thady recalls things came to head when Sir Condy's new wife's money ran out....
Maria Edgeworth's satire on Anglo-Irish landlords, first published in 1800.
Abridged in eight parts by John Scotney.
Read by Cyril Cusack.
Producer: Jeremy Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
MON 08:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k325)
Ladies of Letters.com
1. Resolutions
India-bound Vera's full of New Millennium resolutions and Irene suggests emailing.
Starring Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales.
Vera Small and Irene Spencer continue to conduct their long friendship through a candid and not uncritical correspondence, this time via email.
After a long period of silence, Vera decides to offer an olive branch.
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman.
Vera …. Patricia Routledge
Irene …. Prunella Scales
Karen …. Julia Ford
Lesley …. Kate Gartside
Howard …. Christopher Kelham
Director: Paul Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
MON 09:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m002pq1j)
Series 32
4. Names, Rodents, Death and Chocolate
David Mitchell hosts the panel game in which four comedians are encouraged to tell lies and compete against one another to see how many items of truth they’re able to smuggle past their opponents.
Ian Smith, Lucy Porter, Maisie Adam and Ed Byrne are the panellists obliged to talk with deliberate inaccuracy on subjects as varied as names, rodents, death and chocolate.
The show is devised by Graeme Garden and Jon Naismith
Producer: Jon Naismith
A Random Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4
MON 09:30 Encounters with Victoria (m00051pt)
6. The Dresser
Lucy Worsley, Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces, continues her exploration of Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters.
Queen Victoria found her personal staff - the ‘invisible people’ who kept her household running - through recommendations from her German relatives, and this is how Frieda Arnold, from Karlsruhe, entered her service.
When Frieda arrived at Windsor Castle in 1854, Victoria would have found her new dresser quiet and efficient, and wouldn’t have suspected that she was sending detailed reports back to Germany revealing exactly what it was like to live at Windsor Castle.
Frieda spent years in the closest of daily contact with the Queen whose clothes she cared for, garments including the beautiful dressing gown with mauve bows featured in this episode.
The Queen’s wardrobe, sumptuous in quality but un-showy in style, formed a big part of her middle-of-the-road appeal.
Women like Frieda, who saw the queen both in and out of her clothes, grew very intimate with her, and became almost her friends.
Readers:
Michael Bertenshaw
Sarah Ovens
Sabine Schereck
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2019.
MON 09:45 Daily Service (m002q2tn)
St Olaf's Wasdale Head
A service of Morning Prayer from England’s smallest parish church, St Olaf’s at Wasdale Head, set just beyond Wast Water, England’s deepest lake. Surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery, the low-roofed church with its simple wooden pews stands where the valley begins to rise towards Great Gable and Scafell Pike. The service is led by Rosalind Amey and the producer is Andrew Earis.
Reading: Psalm 121
Music (sung by St Martin's Voices):
All things bright and beautiful
For the beauty of the earth
Great is thy faithfulness
A Gaelic Blessing - John Rutter
MON 10:00 The Tingle Factor (b04ybftp)
Ned Sherrin
'I'm word-oriented rather than music-oriented.'
Ned Sherrin shares those moments in performance which send a shiver down the spine with Jeremy Nicholas.
From Cleo Laine to The Kinks.
The writer/producer/director/broadcaster also looks back over his life and career.
Producer: Ray Abbott
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 1993.
MON 10:30 Art for the Millions (b09dx8pd)
Series 1
1. Artists Gotta Eat
In the middle of the greatest national crisis since the Civil War, the American Government looked to the arts to both help lift the national spirit and spread the message of the New Deal.
In the first of two parts, writer Marybeth Hamilton begins her journey through this remarkable but short-lived experiment with the story of fine arts.
Collectively, it was hoped, Americans could renew democracy and create a better tomorrow through participation and exposure to music, art and theatre.
Across the nation, artists painted epic murals in small towns and vast cities that valorised work and workers or America's democratic past.
You could find art going on at subway stations, sewerage works and public schools. A hospital, school or public institution could loan a painting for a few dollars. All of this was to provide employment in a time of crisis and renew American democracy but it raised deep questions about the role of art and who got to own it or see it.
For its many critics, programmes like Federal One were fostered radicalism and dissent - subverting a nation.
But for the many touched by those days, it was an unforgettable experiment in art and democracy.
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2017.
MON 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jlk6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 11:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04t9b5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
MON 12:00 In the Chair (b007jsvd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 12:30 Dad's Army (b007jmyj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 13:00 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b04p87r7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 13:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q2tk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k325)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 14:00 Just a Minute (b011lhrb)
Series 60
Episode 2
Nicholas Parsons presides over the devious game where panellists are challenged to speak for one minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition.
With:
Paul Merton
Josie Lawrence
Graham Norton
Jenny Éclair
Subjects include: If I Were A Superhero, Swimming In The Sea, The Best Thing About Going To The Hairdressers, Pocket Money, The Perfect Excuse, Doodles, Florence Nightingale, How To Scare A Small Child, The Biggest Cheapskate I Know and Quick Thinking
Created by Ian Messiter.
Producer: Claire Jones
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.
MON 14:30 Smelling of Roses (b00fd63v)
Series 4
Episode 5
Rosie had always thought the expression 'Celebrity Gardener' was a contradiction in terms...until she met Bernadette Gittings...
Prunella Scales stars in Simon Brett's sitcom.
The trials and tribulations of Rosie Burns and her event management company, where the clients are only part of the problem..
Rosie Burns …. Prunella Scales
Jo …. Rebecca Callard
Bob …. Duncan Preston
Tess …. Annette Badland
Brad …. Colin Stinton
Bernadette Gittings …. Suzanne Jameson
Crispin Garnett …. George Leyton
Mrs Thompson …. Mary Wimbush
Written and produced by Simon Brett.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2003.
MON 15:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03sg4s2)
Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers
1. The New Bishop
Four years have passed since Mr Harding was forced to relinquish the wardenship of Hiram's Hospital.
Now the cathedral town of Barchester is changing again, with the arrival of a new Bishop, his wife and Chaplain from London throwing all Barchester into disarray.
And Eleanor Bold is to meet them all and discover a potential rival in the beautiful, but lame Madeline Neroni.
Anthony Trollope's novel, first published in 1857.
Dramatised in three parts by Nick Warburton.
Mrs Baxter ..... Maggie Steed
Mr Harding ..... Tim Pigott-Smith
Eleanor Bold ..... Claire Price
Archdeacon Grantly ..... Malcolm Sinclair
Obidiah Slope ..... Richard Lumsden
Bishop Proudie ..... James Lailey
Mrs Proudie ..... Joanna Monro
Madeline Neroni ..... Katherine Parkinson
Bertie/1st Clergyman ..... Joel MacCormack
Mrs Quiverful ..... Carolyn Pickles
Dr Stanhope ..... John Norton
Music composed by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant
Directed: Marion Nancarrow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.
MON 16:00 The Tingle Factor (b04ybftp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:30 Art for the Millions (b09dx8pd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
MON 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jlk6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 17:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04t9b5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
MON 18:00 In the Chair (b007jsvd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 18:30 Dad's Army (b007jmyj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 19:00 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b04p87r7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q2tk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 19:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k325)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
MON 20:00 Just a Minute (b011lhrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
MON 20:30 Smelling of Roses (b00fd63v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
MON 21:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03sg4s2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
MON 22:00 The Unbelievable Truth (m002pq1j)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 22:30 Weak at the Top (b00rmygl)
Series 1
Smoked Meat
Sir Marcus wants a global web presence by the end of the week.
Mean marketing director John Weak descends to the IT netherworld to do battle with Gavin Smedley, an IT director grown from the sweat of a techie's armpit.
John Weak puts the man into management.
Alexander Armstrong stars in Guy Browning’s sitcom.
John Weak ...... Alexander Armstrong
Hayley ...... Clare Perkins
Sir Marcus ...... Geoffrey Whitehead
Bill Peters ...... Ron Cook
Gary Peyton ...... Ewan Bailey
Gavin Smedley ...... Gerard McDermott
Paul ...... Harry Myers
Producer: Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2005.
MON 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (m002qcy7)
John Lloyd 4/4
From 10pm until midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club has two hours of comedy. Plus John Lloyd talks to Laura Lexx about his early career.
MON 23:00 The News Quiz (m002pqh1)
Series 119
2. U-Turn, We Defect
Andy’s returned from The Ashes and is back in the News Quiz chair. He’s come home to a selection of defections, some serious U-turning and 30,000 properties without water in his hometown of Tunbridge Wells. He was only away for one week! Helping Andy make sense of it all is Susie McCabe, Paul Sinha, Cindy Yu and Scott Bennett.
Written by Andy Zaltzman.
With additional material by: Mike Shephard, Eleanor Morton and Dee Allum
Producer: Georgia Keating
Executive Producer: Richard Morris
Production Coordinator: Giulia Mazzu
Sound Editor: Marc Willcox
A BBC Studios Production for Radio 4.
MON 23:30 Nigel and Earl Sort Out the World (b007jx3b)
Episode 3
A mix of surrealist character humour and topical comedy starring Andrew Livingston and Fine Time Fontayne.
With boy-scout ingenuity and a smattering of half-completed evening classes behind them - Nigel and Earle can go anywhere and do anything, tackling the world's problems from the quirky end.
This is the DIY, instant fix-it approach to world politics. The titular pair attempt to put the world to rights, meeting up with an assortment of people from the week's news (in 1992).
In this episode: Cheering up the Pope, Special Branch are watching someone and Blind Date has an usual person looking for a love...
Written by Martin Jameson and Joe Turner.
Starring:
Andrew Livingston
Fine Time Fontayne
Robert Harley
Joanna Brookes
Producer: Liz Anstee
First broadcast on BBC Radio 5 in July 1992.

TUESDAY 20 JANUARY 2026

TUE 00:00 The Tingle Factor (b04ybftp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 Art for the Millions (b09dx8pd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jlk6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04t9b5c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 In the Chair (b007jsvd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Dad's Army (b007jmyj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Welcome to Our Village, Please Invade Carefully (b04p87r7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Monday]
TUE 03:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q2tk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Monday]
TUE 03:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k325)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b011lhrb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 Smelling of Roses (b00fd63v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03sg4s2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jlkz)
Baldi - Series 1
3. Miss Lonelyhearts
Baldi and Tina investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a nurse at an old people's home in Dublin.
And they uncover an unlikely case of voyeurism...
Starring David Threlfall.
Series of murder mysteries about Franciscan priest and philosophy lecturer turned amateur sleuth, Paolo Baldi.
Written by Barry Devlin.
Paolo Baldi …… David Threlfall
Tina Mahon …… Tina Kellegher
Father Troy …… TP McKenna
Superintendent Rynne …… Owen Roe
Mrs Reid …… Margaret D'Arcy
Thelma …… Marie Jones
Jack …… Des Nealon
Janet …… Doreen Keogh
Matron …… Julia Dearden
Jason …… Mario Rosenstock
Breda …… Anne Byrne
Tolan …… Mark Bereen
Kieran …… Shane O'Neill
Sergeant …… Malcolm Douglas
Format created by Barry Devlin for Sarah Lawson Productions.
Developed and produced by BBC Northern Ireland.
Directed in Belfast by Lawrence Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
TUE 06:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd5x)
The Wager
Terry Jones introduces another tasty Renaissance tale.
Starring Louise Brealey in a sly tale about a costly bet.
The 100 stories which make up Giovanni Boccaccio’s humane and comic masterpiece, come from all over the world.
They are vividly reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes in the cities of Renaissance Italy. But their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern, and their subjects - love, fate, sex, religion, morality - are universal.
“Those who after misadventures, find unexpected happiness.”
When Bernabo makes a bet on his wife’s chastity, and his friend sets out to prove him wrong, neither man imagines the matter will change their lives forever.
Musciatto ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Ambrogiuolo ..... Geoffrey Streatfeild
Bernabo ..... Paul Ritter
Zinevra ..... Louise Brealey
Sultan ..... Jude Akuwudike
Captain ..... Shaun Mason
Adapted by Robin Brooks.
Music arranged and performed by Robert Hollingworth and Paula Chateauneuf
Lyric translations by Silvia Reseghetti
Script consultant: Guyda Armstrong
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in December 2014.
TUE 07:00 Oh Mother! (m002q2zh)
The Boyfriend
Beverley invites nerdy Rupert over for lunch.
She's never left home - so will her her mum, Nelly, approve?
Starring Mollie Sugden and Patricia Brake.
Christopher Sykes' sitcom about a 38 year old woman still living at home with her mum in Purley, in the Surrey commuter-belt for London.
Nelly …. Mollie Sugden
Beverley …. Patricia Brake
Rupert …. Ian Lavender
Producer: Martin Fisher
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1980.
**** Sadly not all episodes have survived in the BBC archive.
TUE 07:30 The Goon Show (b00j1c4f)
Series 9
The Battle of Spion Kop
Things aren't going well in The South African War. Time to send in the cutlery.
Groundbreaking, surreal BBC radio comedy written by Spike Milligan.
Starring:
Peter Sellers
Harry Secombe
Spike Milligan
First billed as Crazy People, ten series of The Goon Show were recorded between 1951 and 1960, but sadly many of the earliest shows weren’t kept in the archive.
With the Ray Ellington Quartet and Max Geldray.
Orchestra conducted by Wally Stott.
Announcer: Wallace Greenslade
Producer: John Browell
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service in December 1958.
TUE 08:00 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07nrxdl)
Series 3
Death
Simon Evans concludes his series of comedy lectures on four of the big life stages marking our journey through life.
He explains how economics is part of every one of those stages, whether we like it or not.
As always, he is joined by:
* Financial Times columnist and presenter of Radio 4's 'More or Less', economist Tim Harford
* Financial guru and editor of Money Week, Merryn Somerset Webb.
This time Simon looks at (probably) the most final of life stages: Death.
From paying for funerals to the cost of cryonics, and the cheery subject of getting your final finances in order, this inevitably morbid programme will also make you laugh.
* Special guest is Louise de Winter, funeral planner and the editor of the Good Funeral Guide.
Written by Simon Evans, Benjamin Partridge and Andy Wolton.
Producer: Claire Jones.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2016.
TUE 08:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q2zl)
5. To Mount Juliet's Town in a Jaunting Car
Ireland. Old Thady has served under four disastrous generations of the Rackrents - Sir Patrick drinks, Sir Murtagh litigates, Sir Kit gambles, and Sir Condy merely fritters away the family fortunes - and yet he is still the ever faithful retainer at the bankrupt Castle Rackrent.
To Mount Juliet's Town in a Jaunting Car - and permanent outing is planned as relations between Sir Condy and his wife deteriorate....
Maria Edgeworth's satire on Anglo-Irish landlords, first published in 1800.
Read by Cyril Cusack.
Abridged in 8 parts by John Scotney.
Producer: Jeremy Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
TUE 08:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k333)
Ladies of Letters.com
2. Saag Aloo
Vera emails Irene the first Indian recipe for her travel cookbook, whilst Irene does some stirring over her pregnant daughter.
Starring Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales, two much-loved actresses who passed away in October last year.
Vera Small and Irene Spencer continue to conduct their long friendship through a candid and not uncritical correspondence, this time via email.
Vera …. Patricia Routledge
Irene …. Prunella Scales
Karen …. Julia Ford
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman.
Director: Paul Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
TUE 09:00 You Heard It Here First (m002ppxh)
Series 3
1. 'The Live Disintegration of a Man's Being'
Chris McCausland asks Amy Gledhill and Luke McQueen to take on Angela Barnes and Kiell Smith-Bynoe. The teams must figure out what on earth is being advertised on TV, guess what famous objects or locations children are trying to describe, and guess what soundscapes their teammates are trying to convey using their mouths alone.
Producer: Sasha Bobak
Assistant Producer: Eve Delaney
Executive Producer: Pete Strauss
Production Coordinator: Jodie Charman
A BBC Studios Production.
TUE 09:30 Encounters with Victoria (m00050q7)
7. A Nightingale at Balmoral
Lucy Worsley continues her exploration of Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters.
Miss Florence Nightingale and her nurses had put the British Army to shame with their exposure, in Crimea, of the shockingly poor medical treatment given to the soldier.
Florence became a celebrity, and Queen Victoria was a huge fan, admiring Miss Nightingale’s modesty and her apparently tender care for her men.
In reality, Florence was an ambitious, tenacious and entirely un-Victorian woman, who had the trick of maintaining the self-effacing manner that powerful men would respect.
In 1856, Florence accepted an invitation to Balmoral, not because she admired the Queen, but because she wanted to argue the case for medical reform.
At Balmoral, the cool veteran of Crimea found Victoria shallow: 'the least self-reliant person’ she’d ever known.
Florence also thought that the Queen, pregnant for the ninth time, was too fond of dancing at the whiskey-fuelled Balmoral balls.
During their time together in the pseudo-Scottish fantasy land of Balmoral, no one had a very good time, and each of the two very different women failed to understand each other.
With the historian Mark Bostridge.
Readers: Susan Jameson and Sarah Ovens
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2019.
TUE 09:45 Daily Service (m002q2zp)
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - United in Humility
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - United in Humility
Presenter: Tim Gee
Reading: Philippians 2:1-11
Music:
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God - St Martin's Voices
Lord of the Dance - The Priests
At the Name of Jesus - Daily Service Singers
TUE 10:00 A Good Read (m000gc5y)
Sharleen Spiteri & Hugh Dennis
Texas frontwoman Sharleen Spiteri and comedian Hugh Dennis join Harriett Gilbert to discuss books by Renee Knight, Peter Ackroyd and Caitlin Moran.
The Secretary by Renee Knight
Publisher: Black Swan
Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd
Publisher: Penguin
How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
Publisher: Ebury Press
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2020.
TUE 10:30 Art for the Millions (b09fy1qc)
Series 1
2. Staging the New Deal
Marybeth Hamilton concludes her short series uncovering the power, passion and craziness of the first and only successful attempt to bring government funded theatre to the whole nation.
In the midst of the Great Depression, Roosevelt's flagship New Deal programme, the WPA, took thousands of unemployed artists, writers and performers and put them on the payroll.
The Federal Theater Project, under the leadership of Hallie Flanagan, staged the American experience across the nation to some 30 million people.
From Federal work camps to parks, remote towns to great cities - now audiences could see anything from vaudeville to Shakespeare, marionettes to Eugene O'Neill for just 25 cents.
Unemployed journalists and writers were put to work on Living Newspapers, fusing documentary and drama to stage contemporary issues and create debate among the audience.
Orson Welles and John Houseman brilliantly staged an all black version of Macbeth and Marc Blitzstein's agit-opera The Cradle Will Rock.
But the Federal Theater had created powerful enemies in Congress with mounting inquiries into communist subversion and waste that would bring nearly all the New Deal's cultural programmes to an abrupt halt.
Marybeth Hamilton speaks to:
* Tim Robbins
* Simon Callow
* 103 year old veteran of the Federal stage, Norman Lloyd.
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2017.
TUE 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jlkz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 11:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
TUE 12:00 Oh Mother! (m002q2zh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Goon Show (b00j1c4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 13:00 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07nrxdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 13:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q2zl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k333)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 14:00 Hidden Treasures (b0075xyh)
Petworth House
Check out your chattels and hang on to your heirlooms!
Lars Tharp chairs the light-hearted Antiques Quiz from some of England's finest country houses.
Starting at Petworth House in West Sussex – there are mystery objects, several hidden treasures from the house itself and valuations.
With:
Eric Knowles
Bunny Campione
Producer: Annie Bristow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1998.
TUE 14:30 Ring Around the Bath (b00p2hb4)
Series 1
Car Boot
Stella is a middle aged woman having a crisis - her grown up children refuse to leave home.
And worse, her husband doesn't mind!
Lucy Clare and Ian Davidson's sitcom about a rather topsy turvy household.
Starring Duncan Preston and Penny Downie.
Stella tries to dejunk the house. Everything useless must go, including her grown-up kids.
Patrick ...... Duncan Preston
Stella ...... Penny Downie
Alison ...... Claudie Blakely
Rick ...... Bruce McKinnon
Egg ...... Daniela Denby-Ashe
Xanthe ...... Catherine Shepherd
Driving instructor.........Andrew Westfield
Producer: Elizabeth Freestone
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2003.
TUE 15:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03tr7j6)
Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers
2. Things Unsaid
Dr Arabin is 40, an Oxford man and adversary in Archdeacon Grantly's fight against the odious clerical newcomer, Slope.
Arabin, however, knows nothing of women.
But now he's seen Eleanor Bold, looking out over the fields to Barchester.....
Written by Anthony Trollope and dramatised by Nick Warburton
Mrs Baxter ..... Maggie Steed
Mr Harding ..... Tim Pigott-Smith
Eleanor Bold ..... Claire Price
Mr Arabin ..... Steve Toussaint
Archdeacon Grantly ..... Malcolm Sinclair
Obidiah Slope ..... Richard Lumsden
Madeline Neroni ..... Katherine Parkinson
Mrs Proudie ..... Joanna Monro
Bishop Proudie .... James Lailey
Mrs Quiverful ..... Carolyn Pickles
Mr Quiverful ..... John Norton
Music composed by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant.
Director: Marion Nancarrow
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2014.
TUE 16:00 A Good Read (m000gc5y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:30 Art for the Millions (b09fy1qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
TUE 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jlkz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 17:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
TUE 18:00 Oh Mother! (m002q2zh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 18:30 The Goon Show (b00j1c4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 19:00 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07nrxdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q2zl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 19:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k333)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
TUE 20:00 Hidden Treasures (b0075xyh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Ring Around the Bath (b00p2hb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
TUE 21:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03tr7j6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
TUE 22:00 You Heard It Here First (m002ppxh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
TUE 22:30 The Maltby Collection (b00y2x2m)
Series 2
Episode 6
Love is all around?
The day of Julian and Prunella's wedding dawns.
Starring Julian Rhind-Tutt and Geoffrey Palmer.
David Nobbs’ sitcom about a small art museum staffed by eccentrics and obsessives.
Rod Millet …. Julian Rhind-Tutt
Walter Brindle …. Geoffrey Palmer
Prunella Edgcombe …. Rachel Atkins
Julian Crumb-Loosely …. Ben Willbond
Wilf Arbuthnot …. Geoff McGivern
Eva Tittle …. Julia Deakin
Des Wainwright …. Michael Smiley
Stelios Constantinopoulis …. Chris Pavlo
Susie Maltby …. Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Dave Edgcumbe …. Stephen Critchlow
3rd Mrs Wainwright ...... Liz Sutherland
Julian's Mother …. Helen Atkinson-Wood
Ghost of Charlie Tattle ...... Barry Cryer
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2008.
TUE 23:00 The Croft & Pearce Show (b074xw25)
Episode 4
* An unsentimental relationship counsellor gives marriage advice.
* A wide-eyed work experience girl delights in what she's learnt during her time in the Big Smoke.
* Middle-class powerhouses June and Jean must somehow find a way to tolerate their husbands.
More sketches from award-winning duo Croft and Pearce, rising stars of the UK comedy scene.
Written and performed by Hannah Croft and Fiona Pearce.
These Edinburgh Fringe favourites were the break-out hit of BBC Radio 4's Sketchorama and have performed sell-out shows in London, New York and around the UK.
Packed with sharply observed characters.
Producer: Liz Anstee
A CPL production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in March 2016.
TUE 23:15 Helen Keen's It Is Rocket Science (b00zt22n)
Series 1
Episode 4
Funny, off-beat but true account of the history of space flight.
* Will humanity ever make it to the stars?
* Time travel, parallel universes and faster than light travel.
* Have aliens ever made it here? If so, were they tempted to use their vastly superior intelligence to really clean up in pub quizzes?
Starring:
Helen Keen
Peter Serafinowicz
Susy Kane
Written by Helen Keen and Miriam Underhill.
Producer: Gareth Edwards
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.
TUE 23:30 Jake Yapp's Media Circus (b0bf626v)
Social Media
Jake Yapp applies his sharp satirical eye to the modern media, exploring its strengths, weaknesses and idiosyncrasies through stand-up, sketch and music.
Jake turns his focus to Social Media and makes an argument as to why you should delete your accounts and throw your laptop out of the window.
Written, performed and composed by Jake Yapp.
With:
George Fouracres
Emily Lloyd-Saini
Additional material by Robin Morgan.
Producer: Joe Nunnery
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2018.

WEDNESDAY 21 JANUARY 2026

WED 00:00 A Good Read (m000gc5y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Art for the Millions (b09fy1qc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jlkz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd5x)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Oh Mother! (m002q2zh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 The Goon Show (b00j1c4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Simon Evans Goes to Market (b07nrxdl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Tuesday]
WED 03:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q2zl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Tuesday]
WED 03:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k333)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Hidden Treasures (b0075xyh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Ring Around the Bath (b00p2hb4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03tr7j6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 Whodunnits (b007jlld)
Baldi - Series 1
4. The Emerald Style
Baldi's attempt to wine and dine his spiritual director Father Troy at a leading Dublin hotel is suddenly interrupted.
Someone's been murdered in the kitchen...
Starring David Threlfall.
Series of murder mysteries about Franciscan priest and philosophy lecturer turned amateur sleuth, Paolo Baldi.
Written by Simon Brett.
Paolo Baldi …… David Threlfall
Tina Mahon …… Tina Kellegher
Father Troy …… TP McKenna
Superintendent Rynne …… Owen Roe
Mrs Reid …… Margaret D'Arcy
Mona …… Cathy Belton
Shaun …… Frank O'Sullivan
Niamh …… Eva Birthistle
Shelley Brigid …… Erin Bates
Klaus …… Richard Croxford
Mr Windfeldt …… Nick Hardin
Mrs Windfeldt …… Aine McCartney
Johnnie Leary/Sergeant …… Patrick Fitzsimons
Format created by Barry Devlin for Sarah Lawson Productions.
Developed and produced by BBC Northern Ireland.
Directed in Belfast by Lawrence Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2000.
WED 06:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd63)
A Job for the Boys
Terry Jones introduces another tasty Renaissance tale, starring Neil Pearson and Tameka Empson, in a story about fun with nuns.
The one hundred stories which make up Giovanni Boccaccio’s humane and comic masterpiece, come from all over the world.
They are vividly reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes in the cities of Renaissance Italy. But their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern, and their subjects - love, fate, sex, religion, morality - are universal.
“Those who lose something, and then regain it.”
Masetto’s having a quiet drink, when the chance of a new job comes his way.
Masetto ..... Neil Pearson
Sister Donna ..... Tameka Empson
Sister Lisa ..... Rhiannon Neads
Hildegard ..... Jane Slavin
Nuto ..... Sam Dale
Steward ..... Michael Bertenshaw
Adapted by Robin Brooks
Music arranged and performed by Robert Hollingworth and Paula Chateauneuf
Lyric translations by Silvia Reseghetti
Script consultant: Guyda Armstrong
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in December 2014.
WED 07:00 If You're So Clever, Why Aren't You Rich? (b00srqfx)
Series 3
Happy New Year
The London flatmates throw a New Year's Eve party.
Judith has a hot director to impress; David has a hot sandwich maker to mend; and Giles has a hot date to seduce.
Everything goes according to plan. Not!
Starring Tony Slattery, Paul Bigley and Amanda Root.
Comedy drama series about three promising graduates still underachieving in their 30s.
Written by Paul Shearer and Richard Turner.
Giles ...... Tony Slattery
David ...... Paul Bigley
Judith ...... Amanda Root
Other parts played by:
Kerry Shale
Simon Greenall
Debra Stephenson
Fiona Allen
Paul Shearer
Richard Turner
Producer: Paul Schlesinger
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1998.
WED 07:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b009l7jt)
Series 6
The Waxwork
The Lad is set to be immortalised in wax, but the trouble is, it's not quite how he'd envisaged...
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
Warren Mitchell
Theme and incidental music composed and conducted by Wally Stott.
Producer: Tom Ronald
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in November 1959.
WED 08:00 Plum House (b07hgb4m)
Series 1
Trust the Trust
A mysterious visitor arrives.
Being visited is an unusual event in itself, but when he shows genuine interest in how the place is run our team immediately suspect he has been sent from the Trust to spy on them.
Why else would a man, on his own, turn up at a museum unannounced?
Starring Simon Callow and Jane Horrocks.
Comedy about the inept staff at an historic house written by Ben Cottam and Paul McKenna
Every year thousands of tourists flock to the Lake District. But one place they never go to is Plum House - the former country home of terrible poet George Pudding (1779-1848). Now a crumbling museum, losing money hand over fist, it struggles to stay open under its eccentric curator Peter Knight.
Can anyone save Plum House from irreversible decline?
Kevin Eldon guest stars as the visiting man of mystery.
Peter ...... Simon Callow
Maureen ...... Jane Horrocks
Julian ...... Miles Jupp
Tom ...... Tom Bell
Alan ...... Pearce Quigley
Emma ...... Louise Ford
Martin ...... Kevin Eldon
Director: Paul Schlesinger
A Hat Trick production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2016.
WED 08:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q30l)
6. Tens, hundreds, thousands
Ireland. Old Thady has served under four disastrous generations of the Rackrents - Sir Patrick drinks, Sir Murtagh litigates, Sir Kit gambles, and Sir Condy merely fritters away the family fortunes - and yet he is still the ever faithful retainer at the bankrupt Castle Rackrent.
Tens, hundreds, thousands - Old Thady admits Sir Condy's ruinousness finances were not helped by someone close to home....
Maria Edgeworth's satire on Anglo-Irish landlords, first published in 1800.
Read by Cyril Cusack.
Abridged in 8 parts by John Scotney.
Producer: Jeremy Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
WED 08:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k33z)
Ladies of Letters.com
3. Melbourne
Vera fears malaria, while puzzled Irene thinks her house is being staked out.
Starring Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales, two much-loved actresses who passed away in October last year.
Vera Small and Irene Spencer continue to conduct their long friendship through a candid and not uncritical correspondence, this time via email.
Vera …. Patricia Routledge
Irene …. Prunella Scales
Karen …. Julia Ford
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman.
Director: Paul Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
WED 09:00 Stand-Up Specials (m002pqlr)
Why in the Name of Pierre Novellie
2. Why Have We Stopped Reading?
In this episode, all about why we’ve stopped reading, Pierre examines the sex-lives of elves, the evils of chess, the economics of pebbles and why the French are always cross.
As Pierre says -
“I’m delighted to be given the chance to perform my own comedy on the BBC, the original source of my obsession with comedy as a child. It’s a chance to bring my stand up to a hypothetically grateful nation.”
Written and performed by Pierre Novellie and produced & directed by David Tyler (“Cabin Pressure”, “One Person Found This Helpful”, “Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive” etc)
A Pozzitive production for the BBC
www.pozzitive.co.uk
WED 09:30 Encounters with Victoria (m00051k1)
8. An Encounter With Death
Lucy Worsley continues her exploration of Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters.
'A time of awful anxiety, but still all full of hope. It was a crisis, a struggle of strength.’
So wrote Victoria in her journal for 13 December 1861, thankful that her husband Albert had passed through the worst of his mysterious illness (today it seems possible it was Crohn's Disease).
But there is no entry for 14 December, which turned out to be the worst day of her life, because Albert relapsed and died.
Victoria, perhaps the most powerful woman in the world, could not stop her husband from slipping away from her.
As everyone noticed, he hadn’t really wanted to live.
Using the account book of the royal pharmacist, this episode examines what was wrong with Albert, explores Victoria’s grief, and begins to probe how eventually she would get her confidence back and manage without him.
With the historian Helen Rappaport.
Readers: Susan Jameson and Sarah Ovens
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2019.
WED 09:45 Daily Service (m002q30p)
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - United in Equality
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - United in Equality
Presenter: Stewart Rapley
Reading: James 2:1-9
Music:
Ešenvalds: Ubi caritas - Choir of Trinity College
The Church's One Foundation - King's College Choir of Cambridge
Now thank we all our God - King's College Choir of Cambridge
WED 10:00 Archive on 4 (m001byg0)
Paul Verhoeven's American Futures
The writer Ken Hollings explores the American futures as depicted in Paul Verhoeven's Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers with Verhoeven and many of his key collaborators. 'Would you like to know more?'
With Robocop, Verhoeven's first instinct was to throw the script in the bin. History has proved otherwise. Robocop's punk-ass takedown of ruthless corporations in the age of Reagan remains a gleeful assault on American capitalism. 'Good business is where you find it' whether its the boardroom or the coke lab. Amid all that is set the poignant tale of Officer Murphy's death and resurrection as man machine.
Total Recall cemented Verhoeven's reputation as the wickedly ironic and brazen blockbuster king. Adapted from a Philip K. Dick short story, once again ruthless corporate forces control the very air that Martian colonists breath. The mutant underground are the resistance as Arnold Schwarzenegger undergoes the ultimate trip - or does he?
Starship Troopers wickedly deconstructs its Robert Heinlein source novel. A classic platoon movie of forever war. Its fresh-faced, gung ho, beautiful soap stars are put into the mincer of war and mutilated by bugs. But are we really the good guys - and isn't that charming Neil Patrick Harris in full fascist regalia? 'Do you want to know more?'
Joining Verhoeven are writers Ed Neumeier, Mike Miner and Gary Goldman, producer Jon Davison, actor Kurtwood Smith, sound designer Stephen Flick and stop motion wizard Phil Tippett with archive of Miguel Ferrer, Basil Poledouris and screenwriter Ronald Shusett.
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2022.
WED 11:00 Whodunnits (b007jlld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 11:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd63)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
WED 12:00 If You're So Clever, Why Aren't You Rich? (b00srqfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b009l7jt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 13:00 Plum House (b07hgb4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 13:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q30l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k33z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 14:00 The Write Stuff (m000956b)
Series 3
3. Geoffrey Chaucer
James Walton tests Sebastian Faulks, John Walsh, Imogen Stubbs and Louise Doughty in the game of literary correctness.
Author of the week: Chaucer
Reader: Beth Chalmers
Producer: Jon Rolph
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2000.
WED 14:30 Getting Nowhere Fast (b0081lf5)
Series 1
Episode 4
Dominic's cold hearted decision to turn the Vodka and Veggie cafe into a rehab clinic leads to non-violent direct action from the most unlikeliest of sources...
Sitcom written by and starring Mervyn Stutter.
Merv ...... Mervyn Stutter
Pam ...... Lill Roughley
Dibden ...... John Challis
PC Dilkes ...... Christopher Etteridge
Chantal ...... Tracy-Ann Oberman
Nev ...... Geoffrey Joseph
Producer: Mario Stylianides
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2001.
WED 15:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03vd163)
Anthony Trollope's Barchester Towers
3. Games at Ullathorne
Miss Thorne brings the whole of Barchester together for a summer Fete - and unwittingly introduces the two adversaries, Mr Arabin and Mr Slope.
But now their rivalry is at a height, each having realised their love for the widow, Eleanor Bold.
Written by Anthony Trollope and dramatised by Nick Warburton
Mrs Baxter ..... Maggie Steed
Mr Harding ..... Tim Pigott-Smith
Archdeacon Grantly ..... Malcolm Sinclair
Miss Thorne ..... Una Stubbs
Eleanor Bold ..... Claire Price
Obadiah Slope ..... Richard Lumsden
Madeline Neroni ..... Katherine Parkinson
Arabin ..... Steve Toussaint
Bishop Proudie ..... James Lailey
Mrs Proudie ...... Joanna Monro
Bertie Stanhope ...... Joel MacCormack
Guest/Servant ..... John Norton
Lady deCourcy ..... Carolyn Pickles
Maid ..... Georgie Fuller
Music composed by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Julian Gallant
Director: Marion Nancarrow
WED 16:00 Archive on 4 (m001byg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 17:00 Whodunnits (b007jlld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 17:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd63)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
WED 18:00 If You're So Clever, Why Aren't You Rich? (b00srqfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 18:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b009l7jt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 19:00 Plum House (b07hgb4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q30l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 19:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k33z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
WED 20:00 The Write Stuff (m000956b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
WED 20:30 Getting Nowhere Fast (b0081lf5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
WED 21:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03vd163)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
WED 22:00 Stand-Up Specials (m002pqlr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 22:30 The Harpoon (b007lrqx)
Series 2
Episode 4
Wow! And hip hiporama,
Harpooners! Get down daddyos to the formica fun and crepe-soled capers of this special 1950s edition of your favourite weekly rag!
Plenty of nylon and skiffle, plus here comes a Muffin the Mule shocker!
Written by Julian Dutton and Peter Baynham.
Performed by:
Susie Brann
Alistair McGowan
Julian Dutton
Peter Baynham
Mary Elliot-Nelson
Producer: Sarah Smith
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1992.
WED 23:00 Jamie MacDonald: Life on the Blink (m000w340)
Series 1
To The Stage
Jamie MacDonald is a Glaswegian stand-up comedian who found himself rapidly going blind in his teens.
This series shows how Jamie used humour to turn denial into acceptance.
He managed to find the spotlight as the darkness descended and has turned some pretty dark experiences into hilarious stories and anecdotes.
This week, he shares the story about his first few attempts at stand up comedy.
Producer: Julia Sutherland
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2021.
WED 23:15 Damien Slash (b08vzj4x)
The Damien Slash Mixtape. Series 1
Episode 3
Multi-character YouTube star Damien Slash makes the move from online to BBC Radio, in this fast-paced, one-man sketch comedy show.
From the surreal to the satirical, from the zeitgeist to the absurd, Damien serves up a range of high octane characters, all from his own voice. Adverts, actors, hipsters, trolls - no aspect of modern life is left un-skewered.
Written by and starring Damien Slash (aka Daniel Barker).
Additional material by Robin Morgan.
Producer: Sam Bryant
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2017.
WED 23:30 The Skewer (m002pqm8)
Series 15
2. ICE, ICE, baby
The four-time Gold Comedy winner at the Radio Academy Awards returns as Jon Holmes mashes up news with pop-culture into a current affairs comedy concept album.
This week - The Iranian Revolution Will Not Be Televised, the USA is on thin ICE, and Donald Trump meets Martin Roberts on a special episode of Greenland Under The Hammer.
Producer: Jon Holmes
An unusual production for BBC Radio 4
WED 23:45 Holland's Shorts (m001ngpb)
Episode 2
Dominic riffs on awkwardness with toilet attendants, coin chucking during football matches and cushy professional air travellers - he has also noticed that everyone is getting taller.
Written by and starring Dominic Holland.
With:
Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Martin Hyder
Ed Weeks
Music by Jim Howard.
Producer: Victoria Lloyd
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2006.

THURSDAY 22 JANUARY 2026

THU 00:00 Archive on 4 (m001byg0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 Whodunnits (b007jlld)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd63)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 If You're So Clever, Why Aren't You Rich? (b00srqfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b009l7jt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Plum House (b07hgb4m)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Wednesday]
THU 03:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q30l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Wednesday]
THU 03:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k33z)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 The Write Stuff (m000956b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Getting Nowhere Fast (b0081lf5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 The Barchester Chronicles (b03vd163)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 Whodunnits (b00803g1)
Baldi - Series 1
5. Death Cap
At a monastic retreat far out in County Cork, a sudden death among the Franciscan brothers causes Baldi to suspect foul play.
Starring David Threlfall.
Series of murder mysteries about Franciscan priest and philosophy lecturer turned amateur sleuth, Paolo Baldi.
Written by Simon Brett.
Paolo Baldi …… David Threlfall
Tina Mahon …… Tina Kellegher
Father Troy …… TP McKenna
Father Cyril …… Patrick Ryecart
Abbot Frederick …… Barry Cassin
Brother Vincent …… Rudolph Walker
Brother Stanislaus …… Christopher Rozycki
Mark …… David Howarth
Chrissie …… Jenny Maher
Brother Benedict …… Jack Lynch
Cabbie/Sergeant …… Mark Mulholland
Format created by Barry Devlin for Sarah Lawson Productions.
Developed and produced by BBC Northern Ireland.
Directed in Belfast by Lawrence Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2000.
THU 06:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd65)
Love Lies Sleeping
Terry Jones introduces another tasty Renaissance tale.
The one hundred stories which make up Giovanni Boccaccio’s humane and comic masterpiece, come from all over the world.
They are vividly reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes in the cities of Renaissance Italy. But their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern, and their subjects - love, fate, sex, religion, morality - are universal.
“The loves which lead us to disaster.”
In the middle of the night, Beppo’s wife wakes him up to tell him a story. And his night has only just begun.
Silvestra ..... Laura Molyneux
Beppo ..... Rudi Dharmalingam
Giovanni ..... Joseph Drake
Rinaldo ..... David Acton
Mother ..... Jane Slavin
Adapted by Robin Brooks
Music arranged and performed by Robert Hollingworth and Paula Chateauneuf
Lyric translations by Silvia Reseghetti
Script consultant: Guyda Armstrong
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in December 2014.
THU 07:00 Yes Minister (b007jmsk)
Series 1
Doing the Honours
During an economy drive, MP Jim Hacker find himself outwitted by Sir Humphrey.
Starring Paul Eddington, Nigel Hawthorne and Derek Fowlds.
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn satirical sitcom ran on BBC TV between 1980 and 1984.
Yes Minister is centred around the hapless Jim Hacker and a collection of civil service underlings headed by the Machiavellian Sir Humphrey Appleby and obsequious Bernard.
Jim Hacker ...... Paul Eddington
Sir Humphrey Appleby ...... Nigel Hawthorne
Bernard ...... Derek Fowlds
Sir Arnold ...... John Nettleton
The Master ...... Graham Crowden
The Bursar ...... William Fox
Committee Member ...... Stuart Organ
Committee Member ...... David Peart
Committee Member ...... Moir Leslie
Adapted for radio by producer Pete Atkin.
First broadcast on Radio 4 in November 1983.
THU 07:30 Give Or Take (m000zzws)
4. Cheque Mate?
Sam and Annabel are off to London to collect their pools cheque and celebrate.
But there are surprises in store...
Wally K Daly's sitcom starring David Roper and Sharon Duce.
Sam …… David Roper
Annabel …… Sharon Duce
Fred …… Bill Owen
Bill …… George A Cooper
Rose …… Patsy Rowlands
Telegraph Man …… Gorden Kaye
Marigold …… Deirdre Costello
Uncle Brian …… Maurice Lane
Announcer: Peter Donaldson
Producer: John Fawcett Wilson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 1980.
THU 08:00 All Those Women (b06bhvsr)
Series 1
Episode 2
Jen is driven to compete with Stuart in the parenting stakes.
Cue the most fun (and educational) sleepover an 11 year old could wish for. In theory.
In the meantime, Maggie would really prefer it if her houseguests would put things back in the correct drawer, and stop leaving teabags in the sink.
Comedy series by Katherine Jakeways about four generations of women trying to live under one roof.
Hetty ...... Sheila Hancock
Maggie ...... Lesley Manville
Jen ...... Sinead Matthews
Emily ...... Lucy Hutchinson
David ...... Denis Lill
Stu ...... Chris Pavlo
Pat ...... Katherine Jakeways
Mrs Bell ...... Amelia Lowdell
Freya ...... Zoe Castle
Lucy ...... Hollie Burgess
Announcement ...... George Watkins
Script editor: Richard Turner
Producer: Alexandra Smith
A BBC Radio Comedy production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in September 2015.
THU 08:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q30d)
7. The Wake
Ireland. Old Thady has served under four disastrous generations of the Rackrents - Sir Patrick drinks, Sir Murtagh litigates, Sir Kit gambles, and Sir Condy merely fritters away the family fortunes - and yet he is still the ever faithful retainer at the bankrupt Castle Rackrent.
The Wake - Old Thady recalls how Sir Condy thought it was a shame he could not attend his own funeral's festivities....
Maria Edgeworth's satire on Anglo-Irish landlords, first published in 1800.
Read by Cyril Cusack.
Abridged in 8 parts by John Scotney.
Producer: Jeremy Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
THU 08:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k34t)
Ladies of Letters.com
4. Contractions
Following a falling-out with Vera, Irene's off to Australia to see her pregnant daughter.
Starring Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales, two much-loved actresses who passed away in October last year.
Vera Small and Irene Spencer continue to conduct their long friendship through a candid and not uncritical correspondence, this time via email.
Vera …. Patricia Routledge
Irene …. Prunella Scales
Karen …. Julia Ford
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman.
Director: Paul Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
THU 09:00 What's the Story, Ashley Storrie? (m002pqpg)
Series 3
2. Haunted
While her mum may have returned in bird-form (ahem), Ashley’s also being pecked at by the last argument they had before she died. She continues to try and dodge talking about it with the irritatingly persistent therapist in her head (yup, it’s a thing).
There are lots of other voices in there too, including some archaeologists she’s having a fight with, and some cult members that reject her – despite her superior hair-braiding skills.
And while she revisits her mum’s final weeks, and their shifting dynamic, she also explains her impeccable logic behind her phobia of the sea and shares her psychologically scarring method for crying on camera. Don’t try that at home kids…
Hilariously poignant and deeply personal, this is Ashley’s soul in sound.
Produced by Julia Sutherland
Sound Design by Sean Kerwin
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4
THU 09:30 Encounters with Victoria (m00051pl)
9. Mutiny Against An Indian
Lucy Worsley explores Queen Victoria's reign through significant encounters.
The elderly Queen Victoria enhanced Osborne House, her holiday home on the Isle of Wight, with an Indian-style party room called the Durbar Room.
Its attendant gallery of portraits reveals Victoria's passionate identification with her role as Empress of India.
Amongst the paintings, Abdul Karim, her favourite servant (and teacher of Urdu) stands out.
This last significant relationship in the twilight of her reign had deep ramifications for her court.
Abdul became the royal ‘favourite’, and the old-fashioned jealousy that this position had always attracted was made worse, in his case, by racism.
A plot to get rid of Abdul grew to a crisis in a second holiday location, the huge luxury hotel with a private wing built for the queen for her holidays in Nice on the Côte d’Azur.
Racial prejudice, social snobbery, accusations of treason and eventually the claim that the queen had ‘gone mad’ all played their part in the conspiracy against Abdul.
With the historians Priya Atwal and Shrabani Basu.
Readers: Kenny Blyth, Susan Jameson and Abdul Wahab Rafique
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2019.
THU 09:45 Daily Service (m002q30h)
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - United in song
A space for spiritual reflection with a Bible reading, prayer and a range of Christian music.
Theme: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - United in song
Presenter: Swarzy
Reading: Colossians 3:12-17
Music:
O Happy Day - Sister Act II
One People - Philippa Hanna
Alpha & Omega - Israel Houghton
THU 10:00 Great Lives (b00wdgxd)
Malcolm McLaren
Public relations expert Mark Borkowski chooses the manager of the Sex Pistols, Malcolm McLaren.
Matthew Parris presents the life of the great rock and roll swindler, Malcolm McLaren, who died in April 2010, aged 64.
'I've been called many things,' McLaren wrote as advance publicity for his one man show, 'a charlatan, a con man, or the culprit responsible for turning popular culture into nothing more than a cheap marketing gimmick. This is my chance to prove these accusations are true.'
The man behind the Sex Pistols and Duck Rock is nominated by public relations expert Mark Borkowski, author of The Fame Formula, and a man who knew him well. What intrigues Borkowski is not just the success, but the myths that have evolved around this highly manipulative man. Matthew Parris is more sceptical, as is Chris Salewicz. As a journalist for NME between 1974-1981, Salewicz watched McLaren rewrite the rules of management.
He also introduced the Sex Pistols to the man from EMI who then signed them up.
An intriguing programme about fame, the media, and why the truth should not be confused with an easily believable myth.
Producer: Miles Warde
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010.
THU 10:30 A Short History of the Fork (b0075ztd)
If you think about it - which you probably never have - the fork is an odd instrument?
It's four curved, sharpened prongs emanating from a fat ridge joined to a handle.
But where did it come from, and how should it be used?
Joe Farrell tucks into the tale with a little help from collectors, manufacturers and fans of the fork.
Producer: Miles Warde
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2000.
THU 11:00 Whodunnits (b00803g1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 11:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
THU 12:00 Yes Minister (b007jmsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 12:30 Give Or Take (m000zzws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 13:00 All Those Women (b06bhvsr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 13:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q30d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k34t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 14:00 Say the Word (b00764vn)
Episode 4
Frank Delaney's panel game revolving around the English language.
With:
Christopher Cook
Miles Kington,
Valerie Grove
Carol Boyd
Plus resident jesters - the Nimmo Twins
Producer: Simon Elmes
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2001.
THU 14:30 HR (b00tj5qm)
Series 2
Dogging
Sam, determined to help depressed Peter find a sense of purpose in his retirement, gets him a dog.
But will the scruffy mongrel help Peter?
Or will it add to his aggression and sense of injustice?
Nigel Williams’ comedy drama series charting the misfortunes of a middle-aged HR officer and his trouble-making colleague.
Peter ..... Jonathan Pryce
Sam ..... Nicholas Le Prevost
Nasty Man ..... Tony Bell
Woman ..... Christine Kavanagh
Man ..... Sam Dale
Director: Peter Kavanagh.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2010.
THU 15:00 From Lagos With Love by Janice Okoh (b00d45nt)
A junior lawyer in a London law firm uncovers a major fraud in a Nigerian oil company.
Then he falls in love with his contact in Lagos.
And she disappears...
Written by Janice Okoh
Femi................Nadine Marshall
Jeremy............Chris Pavlo
Kenneth..........Stephen Critchlow
Jill......................Helen Longworth
Beatrice...........Syan Blake
Paul...................Adetomiwa Edun
Director: Claire Grove
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2008.
THU 15:45 Short Works (b08lk53y)
Series 1
Pork Cooked with Prunes in Vouvray by Tessa Hadley
It's 1974 and Alison is studying for her A Levels. To make a bit of money she cooks for friends of her mother when they have dinner parties.
This is how she meets Mia who is glamorous and beautiful - just the sort of woman Alison thinks she'd like to become.
But it isn't long before she discovers that Mia's life is really quite superficial and that beneath the façade lurks unhappiness.
Reader: Kate O'Flynn
Producer: Elizabeth Allard
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.
THU 16:00 Great Lives (b00wdgxd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:30 A Short History of the Fork (b0075ztd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
THU 17:00 Whodunnits (b00803g1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 17:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
THU 18:00 Yes Minister (b007jmsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 18:30 Give Or Take (m000zzws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 19:00 All Those Women (b06bhvsr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q30d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 19:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k34t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
THU 20:00 Say the Word (b00764vn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
THU 20:30 HR (b00tj5qm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
THU 21:00 From Lagos With Love by Janice Okoh (b00d45nt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
THU 21:45 Short Works (b08lk53y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 today]
THU 22:00 What's the Story, Ashley Storrie? (m002pqpg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 22:30 Fab TV (m0016j53)
The Preventers
A four-part comedy series paying homage to TV's cult action adventure shows of the 1960s and 70s.
THE PREVENTERS are an elite, stylish, polo-neck-wearing threesome of international troubleshooters.
Meet the TV trio:
Craig Sturdy - suave and charming
Penelope Cold - enigmatic and foreign
Mike Stallion - the third one.
Written by and starring:
Morwenna Banks
Chris England
Robert Harley
With:
Ed Devereaux
Desmond Llewelyn
Neil Mullarkey
John Irwin
Emma Myant
Music by Peter Baikie.
Producer: Phil Clarke
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1996.
THU 23:00 Felicity Ward - Appisodes (b0bfz6r0)
Series 1
Depression
Australian stand-up Felicity Ward tries to solve her mental health issues - one app at a time.
In this episode, she tries to alleviate her depression with the help of patented swimming app 'You Can Swim to Save Yourself' (as voiced by Nick Helm).
Throughout the series, Felicity downloads a new app each week to help her destress, refocus and find practical solutions to her various trouble areas - anxiety, depression, IBS and insomnia.
Written and performed by Felicity Ward.
Script Editor: Gareth Gwynn
Producer: Adnan Ahmed
A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in August 2018.
THU 23:15 Rosie Jones: Box Ticker (m000hn67)
Gender
Stand-up comedy from triple-threat Rosie Jones. She’s disabled, gay and northern - so, of course, she has her own Radio 4 show.
However, she’s not a great example of any of these communities and she’s tired of being asked to speak on their behalf. This show checks what’s really inside the boxes and throws most of it out.
This week, Rosie invites friend and comedian Helen Bauer onto the stage to discuss gender. They are close friends, who have clearly shared a lot of life, love and laughs in the past.
Recorded in a live comedy club, prepare to be shocked and disappointed by Rosie’s lack of respect for your expectations.
A Dabster production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in April 2020.
THU 23:30 Old Harry's Game (b00j16ky)
Series 7
Episode 4
Why is a baby in Hell?
Only God can bring people back to life, but can God be persuaded?
Andy Hamilton’s devilishly funny sitcom set in Hell.
Satan…. Andy Hamilton
God …. Timothy West
Edith …. Annette Crosbie
Scumspawn …. Robert Duncan
Thomas …. Jimmy Mulville
With Felicity Montagu.
Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2009.

FRIDAY 23 JANUARY 2026

FRI 00:00 Great Lives (b00wdgxd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 00:30 A Short History of the Fork (b0075ztd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday]
FRI 01:00 Whodunnits (b00803g1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
FRI 01:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd65)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 on Thursday]
FRI 02:00 Yes Minister (b007jmsk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 02:30 Give Or Take (m000zzws)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:00 All Those Women (b06bhvsr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Thursday]
FRI 03:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q30d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 on Thursday]
FRI 03:45 Ladies of Letters (b007k34t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 Say the Word (b00764vn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 HR (b00tj5qm)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 From Lagos With Love by Janice Okoh (b00d45nt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:45 Short Works (b08lk53y)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 Whodunnits (b0080483)
Baldi - Series 1
6. Devil Take the Hindmost
Crime-solving priest Paolo Baldi investigates the death of a student on campus, following the trail to an arrogant clique that dabbled in the occult.
Is there a rational explanation?
Or was the Devil really involved..?
Starring David Threlfall.
Series of murder mysteries about Franciscan priest and philosophy lecturer turned amateur sleuth, Paolo Baldi.
Written by Annie Caulfield.
Paolo Baldi .... David Threlfall
Tina Mahon ....Tina Kellegher
Father Troy .... T P McKenna
Dr Graham …. Gerard McSorley
Superintendent Rynne .... Owen Roe
Mrs Reid …. Margaret D'Arcy
Eamon …. Gavin Kennedy
Russell …. Conor Delaney
Paul …. Frank Bourke
Laura …. Eva Birthistle
Collet …. Charlie Bonner
John Hayes …. Gordon Fuller
Fireman 1 …. Jim Fox
Fireman 2 …. Malcolm Douglas
Dave …. Joe Savino
Format created by Barry Devlin for Sarah Lawson Productions.
Developed and produced by BBC Northern Ireland.
Directed in Belfast by Lawrence Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2000.
FRI 06:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd6c)
A Quiet Night in Naples
Terry Jones introduces another tasty Renaissance tale.
The one hundred stories which make up Giovanni Boccaccio’s humane and comic masterpiece, come from all over the world.
They are vividly reset by Boccaccio among the flourishing merchant classes in the cities of Renaissance Italy. But their witty, satirical, bawdy voice sounds utterly modern, and their subjects - love, fate, sex, religion, morality - are universal.
“Adventures which end in triumph.”
Country boy Andreuccio comes to Naples to buy a horse. If only life in Naples were so straightforward.
Andreuccio ..... Gunnar Cauthery
Filomena ..... Roslyn Hill
Scarabone ..... Shaun Mason
Neighbour ..... David Acton
Ludo ..... Paul Heath
Bruno ..... Ian Conningham
Sister Lisa ..... Elaine Claxton
Sister Donna ..... Hannah Genesius
Adapted by Robin Brooks
Music arranged and performed by Robert Hollingworth and Paula Chateauneuf
Lyric translations by Silvia Reseghetti
Script consultant: Guyda Armstrong
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting
First broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in December 2014.
FRI 07:00 Taking It Up the Octave (b088948k)
4. Prima Donna on Tour
Staging opera can be an exhausting and chaotic business.
Keyboard Ken collapses and has to be rushed to hospital while Natasha, Opera Sunderland's prima donna, tours pubs, clubs and local radio stations trying to drum-up an audience.
Comedy drama series written by Fintan Coyle and Tom Miles.
The mishaps and adventures of the acting troupe at Opera Sunderland.
Natasha ....... Caz Weller
James ....... Simon Butteriss
Derek ....... Andrew Branch
Gareth ....... Godfrey James
Dwight ....... Jonathan Kydd
Keyboard Ken ....... Tom Miles
Cilla ....... Carolyn Bonnyman
Singers:
Kathryn Jenkin
Susan Jelley
Henrik Wager
Jochem van Ast
Music by Tom Miles and Georges Bizet
Producer: Chris Neill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1997.
FRI 07:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jlnf)
Series 3
TB or Not TB
Sixty years of smoking takes its toll on Albert Steptoe.
Starring Wilfrid Brambell and Harry H Corbett.
Classic sitcom about the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold.
Written for BBC TV and adapted for BBC Radio by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.
Albert ...... Wilfrid Brambell
Harold ...... Harry H Corbett
Receptionist ...... Jo Manning Wilson
Producer: Bobby Jaye
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1971.
FRI 08:00 The Break (b07gf4s6)
Series 1
Sunday, Flipping Sunday
Dawn breaks on a beautiful Sunday morning in Flamford.
Uncle Jeff is on a quest for spiritual comfort and persuades his nephew Andy to join him by bribing him with the promise of a proper roast dinner.
They find that the local church has installed a new vicar, the Reverend Beverley, who invites Jeff to her bible class that evening. The words "bring a bible" strike a chill to Jeff's heart. He has never owned a bible, and neither has Andy.
They spend the rest of the day trying to find a bible on a Sunday, with Andy's stomach rumbling as he pictures his dinner slipping further away. On their quest they encounter Derek Horrox The Mayor, Peter Humfriss, The Town Crier, and a slightly unnerving bookseller.
Written by Ian Brown and James Hendrie.
Jeff ...... Philip Jackson
Andy ...... Tom Palmer
Reverend Beverley ...... Shobna Gulati
Derek Horrox the Mayor ...... Rasmus Hardiker
Peter Humfriss, the Town Crier ...... Mark Benton
Director: Gordon Kennedy
An Absolutely production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in June 2016.
FRI 08:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q372)
8. A hundred golden guineas to a sixpence
Ireland. Old Thady has served under four disastrous generations of the Rackrents - Sir Patrick drinks, Sir Murtagh litigates, Sir Kit gambles, and Sir Condy merely fritters away the family fortunes - and yet he is still the ever faithful retainer at the bankrupt Castle Rackrent.
A hundred golden guineas to a sixpence - Old Thady remembers when, finally, Sir Condy agreed a wager too far...
Maria Edgeworth's satire on Anglo-Irish landlords, first published in 1800.
Abridged iby John Scotney.
Concluded by Cyril Cusack.
Producer: Jeremy Howe
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1989.
FRI 08:45 Ladies of Letters (b012xnfv)
Ladies of Letters.com
5. The Stalker
Irene emails about her grandchild's early arrival, but Vera's getting impatient.
Starring Patricia Routledge and Prunella Scales, two much-loved actresses who passed away in October last year.
Vera Small and Irene Spencer continue to conduct their long friendship through a candid and not uncritical correspondence, this time via email.
Vera …. Patricia Routledge
Irene …. Prunella Scales
Karen …. Julia Ford
Lesley …. Kate Gartside
Written by Lou Wakefield and Carole Hayman.
Director: Paul Miller
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2000.
FRI 09:00 Dan Does Dating (m002q25c)
Series 1
Madeline
Think of the worst date you've been on, or heard about. Now imagine having to go through that every week. That's what happens to Dan Dickerson in Dan Does Dating, a new non-audience sitcom by Michael Beck. And his dates feel the same way.
This week, Dan is persuaded to try dating again for the first time since splitting up with/getting dumped by his ex - but can he resist the urge to argue with people he disagrees with?
Dan … Christopher Macarthur-Boyd
Madeline … Lisa Livingstone
Chris … Ray Bradshaw
Jack … Stephen Buchanan
Jamila … Nalini Chetty
Diane … Zara Gladman
French Waiter … Jonny Donahoe
Linda … Tina Gray
Woman … Layla Kirk
Waiter … Sanjeev Kohli
Sales Assistant … Amy Matthews
Written by Michael Beck
Recorded and edited by Diane Jardine at Sonido Studios, Clydebank
Produced and directed by Ed Morrish
A Lead Mojo production for BBC Radio 4
FRI 09:30 Encounters with Victoria (m00050qn)
10. The Sinking of a Great Ship
Lucy Worsley, curator at Historic Royal Palaces, concludes her exploration of Queen Victoria's reign with her final days.
The Queen had reigned for so long that few could remember the protocol for the passing of a monarch, but now Victoria's last days were drawing near.
On 22 January 1902, a crowd of family and servants, two emperors and numerous nurses, gathered at the dying Queen's bedside at Osborne House.
Among them was Bishop Randall Davidson, one of the few people towards whom Victoria had friendly feelings even if their relationship had begun with a tremendous row over her desire to publish a eulogy to John Brown.
Summonsed on the eve of her death, Davidson deeply felt the weight of history. He recorded every step of his journey across the sea to the island, and every family feud that broke out in the room where the queen died.
His journal, now in the Lambeth Palace Archives, is a revealing on-the-spot history of exactly what happened as Britain's longest reigning monarch breathed her last.
Most of the people present had their own very different ideas of what she was thinking about when she died, as she’d lived, under the hungry gaze of other people.
With the writer and historian A.N. Wilson.
Readers: Michael Bertenshaw, Susan Jameson and Sara Ovens
Producer: Mark Burman
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2019.
FRI 09:45 Daily Service (m002q375)
United in Communion
Christian reflection and music with Fr John McLuckie of Old St Paul's Scottish Episcopal Church, Edinburgh.
Reading: Ephesians 2: 13-20
FRI 10:00 Soul Music (m0029ygx)
Ae Fond Kiss by Robert Burns
Robert Burns began a correspondence with Agnes McElhose, also known as Clarinda and Nancy, a married woman he was besotted with.
When she left Scotland to reunite with her husband he wrote Ae Fond Kiss as a heartfelt farewell.
It was later set to music and is one of his most famous 'songs' along with Auld Lang Syne and My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose.
Karen Matheson, the singer with Capercaillie, talks about its meaning to her and how performing it at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 was a very special moment.
Joan Donaldson from Michigan grew up with Scottish music and has called her latest historical novel Ae Fond Kiss. She says she channelled her grief into the characters as a way of dealing with a devastating loss.
Sir Geoff Palmer discovered the song when he arrived in Edinburgh in the 1960s. He has traced Burns' and the song's connection to his home country of Jamaica and feels proud of the links he discovered.
For film maker Karen Guthrie from Ayrshire - Burns' birthplace - coping with and caring for her estranged parents meant long drives home through the countryside he inhabited. It was a journey of rediscovering Scotland's national poet and relating her family's story to Ae Fond Kiss.
Musician Seonaid Aitken plays both versions of the song on the violin and explains how the music conveys the feelings of longing after an unresolved love affair.
Producer: Maggie Ayre
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2025.
FRI 10:30 Best Friends Forever: Robert Burns and Mrs Dunlop (m00024wg)
Novelist Louise Welsh explores the unlikeliest best friends in Scottish letters: Robert Burns and Frances Dunlop.
In 1786 Mrs Frances Anna Wallace Dunlop a fifty-six year old mother, grandmother and woman of letters, started a correspondence with a poet half her age: Robert Burns. She was a gentlewoman proud of her family’s connection to William Wallace, he was the son of a tenant farmer. It shouldn’t have worked to have a friendship that crossed barriers of age, sex and class like that and yet she was one of the most important people in Burns’ life.
Thanks to new research by Moira Hansen of Glasgow University, we’re understanding more about this relationship and the foundation of shared experience it was built upon. Burns’ poetry helped Frances recover from a deep depression and she in turn became the person he reached out to most when he was troubled in mind.
Novelist Louise Welsh joins Moira and Burns expert Professor Gerald Carruthers to explore the relationship, while finding out about Burns mental health from Professor Daniel Smith.
Historian of emotions, Dr Katie Barclay tells us more about how 18th century people thought about depression and modern day writer Dr Carolyn Jess Cooke considers the healing power of writing letters.
Producer: Louise Yeoman
First broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland in January 2019.
FRI 11:00 Whodunnits (b0080483)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 11:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
FRI 12:00 Taking It Up the Octave (b088948k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 12:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jlnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 13:00 The Break (b07gf4s6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 13:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q372)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:45 Ladies of Letters (b012xnfv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 14:00 The Personality Test (b00m5tks)
Series 1
Gyles Brandreth
Broadcaster, author and ex-MP Gyles Brandreth quizzes a panel about himself.
Battling with queries based on Gyles's life, whims and interests are:
Sue Perkins
Alan Carr
Lucy Porter
Series in which a fresh host every episode quizzes a comedy panel about themselves.
Script by Richard Turner.
Devised & produced by Aled Evans.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2006.
FRI 14:30 A Whole 'Nother Story (b00763xr)
Series 1
Velvet Pants and Padded Bras
After her terrible rejection, Pete tries to convince Cassie that she’s definitely not a sad old cat-keeping spinster.
But it's becoming clear that they haven't been quite as disinterested in each other's love lives as perhaps they've appeared...
Starring Debra Stephenson and Dave Lamb.
Amanda Murphy’s comedy-drama series about a friendship between a man and a woman.
Cassie ...... Debra Stephenson
Pete ...... David Lamb
PJ ...... Brendan Burns
Dad ...... Mike Grady
Mum ...... Anne Reid
Producer: Graham Frost
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2001.
FRI 15:00 The Middle by Amelia Bullmore (b00p7g8q)
Clare is the golden middle sister in a family headed by a formidable matriarch, Luca.
Clare meets and quickly marries Martin, who falls just as much in love with her fun, sparky family.
But Martin makes a mistake and sets in train a series of events which brings the family to its knees.
Written by Amelia Bullmore.
Clare ..... Emma Cunniffe
Martin ..... Ben Miles
Nicky ..... Anna Madeley
Justine ..... Eve Matheson
Luca ..... Paola Dionisotti
Karl ..... Nigel Pilkington
Owen ..... Baxter Willis
Mick ..... John Biggins
Ed ..... Piers Wehner
Donna ..... Melissa Advani
Director; Mary Peate
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.
FRI 16:00 Soul Music (m0029ygx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:30 Best Friends Forever: Robert Burns and Mrs Dunlop (m00024wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Whodunnits (b0080483)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 17:45 Decameron Nights: Ten Italian Indelicacies Remixed from Boccaccio (b04tcd6c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:45 today]
FRI 18:00 Taking It Up the Octave (b088948k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 18:30 Steptoe and Son (b007jlnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 19:00 The Break (b07gf4s6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth (m002q372)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 19:45 Ladies of Letters (b012xnfv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:45 today]
FRI 20:00 The Personality Test (b00m5tks)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 today]
FRI 20:30 A Whole 'Nother Story (b00763xr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 today]
FRI 21:00 The Middle by Amelia Bullmore (b00p7g8q)
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:00 today]
FRI 22:00 Dan Does Dating (m002q25c)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 22:30 Four Sleepless Knights (m002q378)
1. Sir David's Quest for Sheep, Sorry, Sleep
David thinks he is a tree. Actually, he's trying to imagine he's a tree in order to get to sleep. He's tried counting sheep, but they keep skittering off and he has to start all over again.
Then a bus arrives....
Series of comedic adventures in insomnia for the night hours written by Toby Jones and Edward Kemp.
David................Toby Jones
Uncle Des...............Martin Hyder
Aunt May...............Beth Chalmers
Mum...............Maggie McCarthy
Shepherd.............Harry Towb
Producer: Dawn Ellis
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2004.
FRI 22:45 Life With Lederer (m00125vb)
Series 1
1. The Body Beautiful
Helen Lederer reveals her recipes for coping with life, beginning with losing weight.
Written by and starring Helen Lederer.
With:
Malcolm Raeburn
Diane Whitley
Victoria Finney
Produced at BBC Manchester by Paul Z Jackson.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1990.
FRI 23:00 The Masterson Inheritance (b007jq3n)
Series 2
The Gangrene of the Mastersons
The Masterson's epic Crimean War struggle of carnage, carnality and cads.
Award-winning improvised historical comedy series.
Based entirely on audience suggestions - this is the unfolding saga of the Mastersons - a family at war with itself.
Starring:
Paul Merton
Josie Lawrence
Lee Simpson
Jim Sweeney
Phelim McDermott
Caroline Quentin
Producer: Phil Clarke
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 1994.
FRI 23:30 Laura Solon - Talking and Not Talking (b00773md)
Series 1
Episode 4
A day in the life of a lock keeper and a return to Chingley Hall.
Award-winning comedian Laura Solon's sketch and character comedy series
With:
Ben Moor
Katherine Parkinson
Ben Willbond
Written by Laura Solon.
With additional material by the cast, Carl Cooper, Tony Roche and Andy Marlatt.
Producer: Colin Anderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in January 2007.