Radio 4 Extra Listings for 10 – 16 December 2016
SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER 2016
SAT 00:00 Kurt Vonnegut ­ The Euphio Question (b0088zh5)
Kurt Vonnegut's tale of the dilemmas facing scientists over discovering how to manufacture happiness. Read by Stuart Milligan.
SAT 00:30 Soul Music (b013f96w)
Series 12, Wichita Lineman
Wichita Lineman, the ultimate country/pop crossover track, is the subject of this week's Soul Music. David Crary is a lineman from Oklahoma. He describes his job ­ storm­chasing to mend fallen power­lines; travelling on 'dirt roads, gravel roads, paved roads... up in the farmlands of Illinois and Missouri... down south in the Swamplands... it ain't nothing to swerve in the middle of the road in your bucket­truck to miss an alligator '.
He recalls the first time he heard Wichita Lineman, travelling in the back of his family's Station Wagon, listening to the radio... thinking that being a lineman 'must be a cool job' if someone's written a song about it. Also a part­time musician, David has recorded his own version of the song which sums up his working life... on the road, working long hours, away from his wife and six
kids.
Wichita Lineman was written by Jimmy Webb for the Country star Glen Campbell. It tells the story of a lonely lineman in the American midwest, travelling vast distances to mend power and telephone lines.
Released in 1968 it's an enduring classic, crossing the boundary between pop and country. It's been covered many times, but it's Glen Campbell's version which remains the best loved and most played.
Johnny Cash also recorded an extraordinary and very raw version.
Peter Lewry, a lifelong Cash fan, describes how this recording came about, towards the end of Cash's career.
Meggean Ward's father was a lineman in Rhode Island... her memories of seeing him in green work trousers, a plaid shirt and black boots, wrapping his cracked hands in bandages every morning before setting off to climb telephone poles are interwoven forever with Wichita Lineman... as a child she always felt the song was written for her father, who else?
Glen Campbell also gave an interview for this programme. Shortly after the interview was recorded, Campbell went public about his diagnosis of Alzheimer's. His contribution to the programme is brief, and includes an acoustic performance of the song. It was a real privilege to record this, appropriately enough, down the line. Producer: Karen Gregor.
SAT 01:00 EW Hornung ­ Raffles (b007jngf)
Series 3, The Knees of the Gods
Raffles and Bunny leave England to fight for queen and country in the South African war. For one of them there will be no return...
The stories of EW Hornung in the continuing adventures of cricketer and gentleman thief, Arthur J Raffles, and his chronicler, Harry "Bunny" Manders. Starring Jeremy Clyde as AJ Raffles, Michael Cochrane as Bunny, Sean Barrett as Connell, Gudrun Ure as Mrs Fisher and Peter Penry­Jones as the General. Dramatised by Olwen Wymark. Signature tune composed by Jim Parker.
Director: Gordon House
A BBC Radio 4/ BBC World Service production first broadcast in
1992.
SAT 01:30 Blowing in the Wind: Dylan's Spiritual Journey (b011c0s2)
To coincide with Dylan's birthday (24th May 2011) presenter Emma Freud explores the singers spiritual journey revealing a side to the performer often over looked.
The programme opens with how Dylan grew up a small­town Jew
in Hibbing, Minnesota. We hear from Cantor Neil Schwartz he also grew up in the same town and his mother was Bob's Sunday school teacher. Author of 'Prophet, Mystic, Poet' Seth Rogovoy reflects on Dylan's early years and his Barmitzvah. We explore early Dylan music and author Clinton Helylin believes Dylan not only drew on early negro spirituals but the Old testament for his more engaging material. Helping makes sense of some of the more complex theological messages is Nick Baines The Bishop of Bradford and a life long admirer of Bob Dylan.
It was in the late 1970s, Dylan became a born again Christian and
1979 album 'Slow Train Coming' championed Jesus. Author of 'Down The Highway' Howard Sounes finds Dylan's three Christian albums a "difficult listen". Whether they meant something significant to his audience is another matter, but Al Kasha who helped Dylan with his understanding of the scriptures is convinced you can't doubt the depth of Dylan's religious conversion. Dylan's embrace of Christianity was unpopular with some of his fans and his album "Shot Of Love" recorded the spring 1981, featured Dylan's first secular compositions in more than two years, mixed with explicitly Christian songs. Essentially Dylan's venture into Christianity seemed to be coming to an end. As we discover with all things Dylan, its tricky to work out what is going on inside the singer's mind but 'Blowing In The Wind ­ Dylan's Spiritual Journey" will go someway to exploring his thoughts and spiritual beliefs through his songs and these revealing interviews. Producer: John Sugar
A Sugar Production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r23)
Episode 5
15th February, 2003: Squash game over, Henry food shops for the
night's reunion, but he feels troubled. Read by Robert Glenister.
SAT 02:15 World Agony (b04d1bjr)
South Africa
Irma Kurtz, Cosmopolitan magazine's Agony Aunt for over 40 years, talks to a different agony aunt from around the world for each programme in this series.
She speaks to Aunts from America, India, Australia, Egypt and South Africa, and reflects on the universal and contrasting problems that occur in their particular society. These Aunts, many
of whom have dramatic personal lives themselves, offer advice in newspaper columns, on radio phone­ins and on­line.
Irma draws on her ample experience to offer a useful perspective on their approach to problem solving. Together they discuss the problems specific to their communities and listeners hear examples of some of the letters they receive and the advice given.
Programme 5: Criselda Kananda, South Africa.
In the final programme of this series, Irma Kurtz talks to Criselda Kananda ­ an agony aunt in South Africa, where more than six million people are living with HIV. She tells Irma that the practical and optimistic responses she gives to the many letters she receives from people who are coping with the condition comes from first hand experience. Criselda was diagnosed HIV positive 15 years ago and knows only too well the ignorance and confusion that such a diagnosis can cause. Criselda talks about her own relationships, the letters that lift her spirits and her mission to remove the stigma of HIV.
Produced by Ronni Davis
A White Pebble Media production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 02:30 15 Minute Drama (b01kksqy)
Where'd You Go Bernadette?, Episode 10
Maria Semple's brilliantly comic debut novel about misplaced genius and mother­daughter love, starring Miranda Richardson, Lydia Wilson and Richard Laing.
In today's episode, Bee and Elgin continue their search for the missing Bernadette on the forbidding continent of Antarctica.
CAST:
Bernadette ..... Miranda Richardson
Bee .... Lydia Wilson
Elgin .... Richard Laing
Audrey .... Madeleine Potter
Soo Lin .... Laurel Lefkow
Marcus Strang .... Don Gilet
Ollie­O/ Jacob .... Sam Alexander
Paul Jellinek .... Patrick Brennan
Helen/ Gwen Goodyear .... Susie Riddell
Dr Kurtz .... Christine Absalom
Other parts played by members of the company.
Adapted and directed by Emma Harding
About the author: Maria Semple has written for television shows including Arrested Development, Mad About You, and Ellen. She
lives with her family on an island off Seattle. This is her first novel.
SAT 02:45 Book of the Week (b01cdl53)
Europe in the Looking Glass, Episode 5
The men eventually make their way home. Europe in the Looking Glass is Robert Byron's travel classic, recounting a car journey across Europe in 1926, and providing a mirror on events and nationhood both then and today. Byron (a descendant of the poet) found acclaim as the author of The Road to Oxiana ­ an account of a trip to Afghanistan and Persia.
The conclusion offers the travellers (and all of us) a new perspective on their homeland as well as the countries and cultures they explore together.
Read by Rupert Penry­Jones.
Producer: David Roper
A Heavy Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 03:00 Home Front ­ Omnibus (b07kt28q)
26­30 September 1916
In the week, in 1916, when Lloyd George declared 'there is no end of the war in sight', in Folkestone it's a week of parting, and small miracles.
Written by Sebastian Baczkiewicz
Directed by Allegra McIlroy
Editor: Jessica Dromgoole
Story­led by Katie Hims
Sound: Martha Littlehailes
Composer: Matthew Strachan
Consultant Historian: Maggie Andrews.
SAT 04:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03c2zwb)
Series 6, Palmer, Sommer, O'Neill
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Humphrey Ker welcome the crowd­sourcing rock star Amanda Palmer, evolutionary anthropologist Professor Volker Sommer and occult comedian Andrew O'Neill to discuss steam punk, cross­dressing, rock, sex, death, religion, humans and other great apes.
The show was researched by James Harkin and Stevyn Colgan of QI.
The producers were Richard Turner and Dan Schreiber.
SAT 04:30 The Phenomenon Squad (b084p6qt)
Episode 3
The undercover police squad try to foil a massive art fraud. But Crispin Pollock has other ideas. Stars Roy Kinnear. From October
1987.
Supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
Page 1 of 8
SAT 05:00 Never Too Late (b011d6rc)
Mildred and the Man
Man­mad Mildred's passions are aroused by the return of an old flame. Stars Thora Hird and Joe Gladwyn. From January 1981.
SAT 05:30 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b0848sqq)
Series 2, Episode 3
John Shuttleworth invites celebrated pop stars to his Sheffield home to perform one of their own songs and also, more importantly, one of his. This week it's Nick Heyward from Haircut 100.
Ken is very excited as he's heard that Nick has had a spiritual awakening and he's keen to learn how he can have one of his own. John feels that Ken is being silly wearing a kaftan and beads, but Ken is convinced that Nick can help him and ignores John. Also, Mary is not happy with the smell of the josticks that Ken has lit so he's ejected by John while Nick wins Mary over with his
rendition of Can't Go Back To Savoury Now.
In Top Tips on the Telephone, John learns from Tony Christie about coping with Eurovision failure! Written and Performed by Graham Fellows with special guests Nick Heyward and Tony Christie.
Produced by Dawn Ellis
A Chic Ken production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 06:00 John Osborne ­ The Entertainer (b007k2ll)
Bill Nighy stars as Archie Rice, a seedy third­rate comic in a tatty
twice­nightly seaside show. Set in the 1950s, Archie's tragedy mirrors not only a dying music hall, but a dying era, symbolic of the decline of post­war Britain. John Osborne's potent drama was first produced on stage in 1957.
With David Bradley as Billy Rice, Cheryl Campbell as Phoebe Rice, Sarah­Jane Holm as Jean Rice and Bertie Carvel as Frank Rice.
Music directed by Colin Sell with percussionist: Paul Girbow and trumpeter: Phil Revens. Adapted by John Foley. Producer: Marion Nancarrow
First broadcast on the BBC World Service in 2004.
SAT 07:30 Cat Women of the Moon (b013q20k)
Episode 1
Cat Women of the Moon was a 1950s film that followed a popular motif in science fiction; an all women society surviving without men. Charlotte Perkins Gilman explored the idea as early as 1915 in the classic novel 'Herland'. In part one of a two part programme we look at how science fiction has been used to examine relationships between the sexes ­ and in some cases, more than two sexes. In many novels the exploration of sexuality is unconventional and experimental. Some societies have more than one sex, in others people can change sex at will. In certain imagined worlds people form relationships with aliens or don't have sex with flesh and blood beings at all ­ but with artificial life
forms instead. The programme includes contributions from some of Britain's leading science fiction writers including Iain Banks, China Mieville and Nicola Griffith. The programme is presented by the writer Sarah Hall, author of 'The Carhullan Army' and 'The
Electric Michelangelo' which was short listed for the Booker Prize. The programme is produced in Manchester by Nicola Swords.
SAT 08:00 Archive on 4 (b0456t45)
Sentimental Journey
Gyles Brandreth (who's related to George R. Sims, the author of 'Christmas Day in the Workhouse') surveys the history of sentimentality from Charles Dickens to Princess Diana and from Agincourt to the internet ­ and wonders whether to sneer or cheer.
Tear­jerking contributors from the archives include Beverley Nichols, Godfrey Winn, Patience Strong and Hughie Greene. New readings are by Simon Russell Beale and Jenny Seagrove, who contribute their own opinions about the sentimentality of Shakespeare and Noel Coward. Producer: Peter Everett.
SAT 09:00 Dr John Cooper Clarke: Heroes and Villains (b0854ncv)
What makes a great hero? Why do some villains get all the best lines? The poet, rock star, broadcaster, comedian and cultural icon
Dr John Cooper Clarke returns to BBC Radio 4 Extra to rummage
through the archives for a curated selection of radio heroes and villains. Along the way he will talk us through the heroic characters and the unscrupulous rogues who lit up his own childhood imagination. Expect good guys and gunslingers, Second World War spy rings and a 'Shadowy figure', with stars including Humphrey Bogart, Orson Welles and Peter O'Toole. Through this surprising mix of hidden radio treasure, Dr John Cooper Clarke will discover whatever happened to all the heroes? And attempt to explain why sometimes good guys don't wear white.
SAT 12:00 The Change (b0076cp6)
Series 2, Episode 1
Kicking out transvestite husband George, Carol wants a new life. Stars Lynda Bellingham and Chris Ellison. From February 2003.
SAT 12:30 The Stanley Baxter Playhouse (b01pt9nc)
Series 5, Hector's House of Windsor
Hector's House of Windsor
By Colin Hough
A warm hearted comedic tribute to the Queen's jubilee year.
The Queen's Scots gillie aids her in a cunning plan to put her unruly prime minister and deputy firmly in their place when they Radio 4 Extra Listings for 10 – 16 December 2016
visit her at Windsor and she invites them to join her on a canter round the park.
Her own superior wisdom, cunning and diplomatic skills are revealed while Her Majesty's wise and wily old Scots gillie looks on and enters into the fun. Stanley Baxter plays the gillie and Phyllida Law takes the imperial role in this affectionate fictional account of what just might have happened when the prime minister of the day and his deputy pay Her Majesty a visit.
Written by Colin Hough
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 13:00 Katherine Jakeways ­ Forty Weeks: Omnibus (b0854qgj)
With 20 weeks until the baby is due, Sam has moved in with Bayley. But Rose is always on his mind. Stars Matthew Baynton.
SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0854qgz)
Trevor Nelson
Soul DJ Trevor Nelson chooses 'I Want You Back' performed by The Jackson 5 and 'As' by Stevie Wonder.
SAT 14:15 Down Your Way (b0854qh7)
Sam Wanamaker in Edinburgh
Returning to Edinburgh, Chicago­born actor/director, Sam Wanamaker explores the city which thrilled him on his first visit in the 1950s. Sam discovers the city's history, learns about famous Scottish people and local delicacies, plus shares memories of a crazy cèilidhi. Down Your Way was one of the BBC's longest­running radio series ­ starting on the BBC Home Service in 1946 and ending its run on BBC Radio 4 in 1992. Using a variety of hosts, including Richard Dimbleby and Brian Johnston, the programme toured villages, towns and cities across the UK. At the height of its success in the 1950s, the series was attracting 10 million listeners a week.
Sam Wanamaker was born in 1919 and died in 1993. He was the driving force behind the recreation of London's Globe Theatre.
Producer: Kerry McGeever.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1992.
SAT 15:00 Archive on 4 (b0456t45)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SAT 16:00 John Osborne ­ The Entertainer (b007k2ll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SAT 17:30 Cat Women of the Moon (b013q20k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SAT 18:00 The Scarifyers (b0854qhd)
The King of Winter, Episode 3
As Professor Dunning tries to flee Thornton Gibbet, Harry Crow uncovers the incredible truth behind the chilling murders at the Tartarus Club.
Stars David Warner as Harry Crow and Terry Molloy as Professor Dunning.
With Guy Henry, Stephen Critchlow, David Benson, Alex Lowe, Lisa Bowerman and David Bickerstaff.
The Scarifyers follows the exploits of 1930s ghost­story writer Professor Dunning and retired policeman Harry Crow, who together investigate weird mysteries under the auspices of top­
secret government department MI:13.
Written by Simon Barnard and Paul Morris. A Bafflegab Production.
SAT 18:30 Weird Tales (b01ns0yb)
Series 3, Louisa's
By Amanda Whittington. When a stranger walks into Louisa's café, the juke box which hasn't played a record for years whirrs into action, the lights start flashing and Louisa is thrown into a world where her past challenges life as she knows it. Part of a series of chilling plays for winter nights.
Cast
Louisa ... Sara Poyzer
Pete ... Paul Rider
Joe ... Gerard McDermott
Producer, Jessica Brown The Writer
Amanda Whittington has been described as Britain's 'most consistently popular female dramatist' (the Guardian). Her plays include BE MY BABY, (Soho Theatre), AMATEUR GIRL (Hull Truck), an adaptation of SATURDAY NIGHT & SUNDAY MORNING (New Perspectives), SATIN 'N' STEEL (Nottingham Playhouse/ Bolton Octagon), BOLLYWOOD JANE
(Leicester Haymarket/West Yorkshire Playhouse) and THE WILLS' GIRLS (Tobacco Factory, Bristol). Amanda has four plays published by Nick Hern Books and writes regularly for BBC Radio 4, contributing to the Woman's Hour serial and Afternoon Play slots. Her radio work includes adaptations of LADIES DAY, THE WILLS' GIRLS and BE MY BABY as well as original plays including NINE DAYS QUEEN.
SAT 19:00 Dr John Cooper Clarke: Heroes and Villains (b0854ncv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SAT 22:00 My Teenage Diary (b01ks9zd)
Series 4, Toby Young
My Teenage Diary returns with six more brave celebrities ready to revisit their formative years by opening up their intimate teenage diaries, and reading them out in public for the very first time. IN this fourth programme in the series, comedian Rufus Hound is joined by writer Toby Young who revisits his teenage years, when he had a lot of fun playing knock down ginger, shooting pea
shooters, and skateboarding ­ but let his academic work suffer. He reflects on his mis­spent youth and talks about how it has changed his perceptions of young offenders today. Producer: Harriet Jaine
A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4.
SAT 22:30 Revolting People (b007jrqj)
Series 1, Storm Clouds
Baltimore shopkeeper Samuel Oliphant has much to worry about. 1770 America sitcom. Stars Andy Hamilton. From January 2000.
SAT 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0875w8p)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Sophie Willan.
SAT 23:00 The Mary Whitehouse Experience (b007jq46)
From 06/02/1990
David Baddiel and Rob Newman join Punt and Dennis in a rousing audience game of Revolution. With Mark Hurst. From February 1990.
SAT 23:30 Elis James's Pantheon of Heroes (b01bpjtg)
Series 1, Inventors
Elis explores historic Welsh figures through sketch and stand­up. Facing judgement are Owain Glyndwr and William Robert Grove. Expect a glorious service station. From February 2012.
SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER 2016
SUN 00:00 The Scarifyers (b0854qhd)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday]
SUN 00:30 Weird Tales (b01ns0yb)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Saturday]
SUN 01:00 Katherine Jakeways ­ Forty Weeks: Omnibus (b0854qgj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday]
SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0854qgz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday]
SUN 02:15 Down Your Way (b0854qh7)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday]
SUN 03:00 Archive on 4 (b0456t45)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday]
SUN 04:00 John Osborne ­ The Entertainer (b007k2ll)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday]
SUN 05:30 Cat Women of the Moon (b013q20k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday]
SUN 06:00 Maria Semple ­ Where'd You Go Bernadette?: Omnibus (b01kpvnj)
Episode 2
Omnibus. Maria Semple's comic novel, adapted by Miranda Davies. Elgin confronts Bernadette about the mudslide. Stars Miranda Richardson.
SUN 07:15 Lady Curzon and a Pineapple (b00cm6ww)
Ian Peacock picks up his spoon and delves into the history of 'The
King of Fruits'. With comment from Lucinda Lambton.
SUN 07:30 Cabin Pressure (b04vf25d)
Series 5, Zurich, part 1
One of the most popular radio sitcoms of the past ten years bows out with a special double episode. As Martin decides whether to take his new job, is this the end for MJN Air? And just what has Arthur painted on the side of the van?
With the show titles running alphabetically from the first ever episode ­ "Abu Dhabi" through to this double finale "Zurich" ­ the
cast and crew of MJN Air discover that whether it's choosing an ice­cream flavour, putting a princess in a van or remembering your grandmother's name, no job is too small, but many, many jobs are too difficult.
With special guests including Anthony Head and Timothy West.
Written by John Finnemore
Produced and Directed by David Tyler
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 08:00 Take It From Here (b01cv9v2)
From 30/04/1958
Flavours of Italy are on the menu, while Eth's claiming Ron is a daddy's boy in 'The Glums'. Starring Professor Jimmy Edwards, Dick Bentley and June Whitfield.
Music from Wallace Eaton and the Keynotes and the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz. Scripted by Frank Muir and Denis Norden.
Producer: Charles Maxwell First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1958.
SUN 08:30 The Omar Khayyam Show (b0075b2t)
The Flying Dustman
Will the Flying Dustman Service take off in Australia? And what is Eccles from 'The Goon Show' doing down under? Starring Spike Milligan, Bob Todd, Bill Kerr and Barry Humphries. Music by George Chisholm & his Jolly Jazzers.
Between 1958 and 1962, Spike Milligan wrote and performed three series of 'The Idiot Weekly' for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Six episodes were remade by Charles Chilton for the BBC in 1963 as The Omar Khayyam Show.
The series was structured in the mould of The Goon Show, containing the same mixture of bizarre comedy and music. Scripts
were tweaked to remove some Australian references. Producer: Charles Chilton.
Supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
Page 2 of 8
SUN 09:00 Ross King ­ Mad Enchantment: Omnibus (b0854vfr)
Water lilies and weeping willows. The later years of Claude Monet and his famous paintings at Giverny. Read by Allan Corduner.
SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0854vfx)
Wendi Peters
Actress Wendi Peters chooses 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' by The Carpenters and 'Hello Dolly' sung by Barbara Streisand.
SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0854vfz)
Absent Friends, George Martin
4 Extra Debut. From Gershwin to the Beatles. Producer and composer George Martin shares his castaway choices with Sue Lawley. From November 1995.
SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b0854w66)
Series 4, Phone Call, Flamenco, Surprise Party
True stories told live in the USA: Jenifer Hixson introduces stories about connections, speed, swimming and a dance obsession.
The Moth is an acclaimed not­for­profit organisation dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and the storytelling novice, who
has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts of the world.
The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live and without notes, to standing­room­only crowds worldwide. The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year.
Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, from the humorous to the heart­breaking. The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed by
the Public Radio Exchange.
SUN 11:55 Just So Stories (b047c8nt)
Series 2, How the Camel Got His Hump
A grumpy camel gets the hump for his laziness in Kipling's fantastical tale, read by Samuel West.
SUN 12:00 Take It From Here (b01cv9v2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
SUN 12:30 The Omar Khayyam Show (b0075b2t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
SUN 13:00 Maria Semple ­ Where'd You Go Bernadette?: Omnibus (b01kpvnj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
SUN 14:15 Lady Curzon and a Pineapple (b00cm6ww)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today]
SUN 14:30 Ian McEwan ­ Nutshell: Omnibus (b0854wnw)
Episode 2
A modern­day Hamlet: Nutshell's Denmark is an elegant house in
London, but Claude has designs on it. Read by Tim McInnerny.
SUN 15:15 Ian McEwan ­ My Purple Scented Novel: Omnibus
(b0854x9x)
A tale of two writers ­ one of whom commits literary theft from his friend. Will he confess? Read by Roger Allam.
SUN 15:45 Elizabeth Buchan ­ Archaeology (b007z09z)
An archaeologist is amazed by her nurse's likeness to an Egyptian
painting discovered in a tomb. Read by Janet Maw.
SUN 16:00 John Sessions ­ Reconstructing Louis (b0075z1g)
At Vailima, his home in Western Samoa ­ Robert Louis Stevenson attempts to dispel some of the more romantic notions which have built up around him as he looks back over his life and the people who have meant most to him. These include his American wife Fanny, his step­son Lloyd, and the waspish literary critic WE Henley, now best remembered as the model for Treasure Island's most enduring character ­ Long John Silver.
Written by John Sessions who stars as Robert Louis Stevenson. With Phyllis Logan as Fanny, Paul Young as Thomas Stevenson and Sheila Donald as Maggie Stevenson. Producer: Bruce Young
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000.
SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra (b0854ygx)
Paul Durcan ­ Christmas Day
BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the BBC's radio poetry archive with Paul Durcan's Christmas Day. In three parts, Paul begins reading his book­length poem that sets out a funny, sweetly sad and often irreverent vision of Christmas.
Accustomed to loneliness, Paul accepts his friend Frank's invitation for Christmas lunch. First broadcast on Radio 3 in December 1997.
SUN 17:30 Cabin Pressure (b04vf25d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 18:00 MR James Stories (b01pg64z)
Echoes from the Abbey
One of his few great passions in life was a fascination for our great English Abbeys. So when he received an invitation to spend Christmas at Medborough Abbey, James accepted without a second thought. But had he known of the strange, supernatural and eventually tragic series of events that were to take place, he might have thought again ­ or perhaps not...?
Inspired by a fragment of his writing, Sheila Hodgson provides MR James with a ghostly encounter at Christmas. Stars David March as James, Arnold Diamond as Arthur Layton, Radio 4 Extra Listings for 10 – 16 December 2016
Ysanne Churchman as Nora Layton and Timothy Stark as Harley.
Director: David Johnston
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1984.
SUN 18:45 Charles Dickens (b00pdkdp)
The Signalman
The famous spine­chilling tale about a railway worker haunted by
a spectre, warning him of danger on the rails. Read by Emlyn Williams.
SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour (b0854w66)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
SUN 19:55 Just So Stories (b047c8nt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:55 today]
SUN 20:00 Ross King ­ Mad Enchantment: Omnibus (b0854vfr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks (b0854vfx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today]
SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited (b0854vfz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today]
SUN 22:00 Cabin Pressure (b04vf25d)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
SUN 22:30 Dave Podmore (b007qx6y)
Dave Podmore's Cricket Fix, Episode 3
On a chaotic overseas tour, the star cricketer's private life takes a turn for the worse. Stars Chris Douglas. From May 2001.
SUN 23:00 History Retweeted (b03wq2j5)
The Great Pyramid
The programme that sends us back in time as we hear people from the past comment on a series of major world events, in less than 140 characters.
In The Great Pyramid ­ the Nile turns into video streams, order your pet mummification online, and find out how Pharaoh Khufu built that great feat of mankind while maintaining a hashtag game
with his followers?
Turning statuses into sounds, History Retweeted transports us to timelines gone by, feeding hashtags, trolls and trending topics into moments from history.
Featuring the voices of Tim Barnes and Simon Berry, Wayne Forester and Annabelle Llewellyn,
Peter Temple and Jelly Macintosh. With Lucy Beaumont as the voice of The Computer.
Written by Tim Barnes and Simon Berry
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback production for BBC Radio 4.
SUN 23:15 My Booze Hell, by Little Johnny Cartilage (b010j4pd)
And Cue Supersonic
The washed­up TV star finds himself 'In the Psychiatrist's Chair' with Dr Anthony Clare. With Ben Miller. From October 1996.
SUN 23:30 The Skivers (b00805wv)
Series 2, Episode 4
Doctor Who meets Worzel Gummidge, as Nick Golson and Tim de Jongh welcome guest Jon Pertwee. From February 1995.
in 1911 stumbled upon the ancient ruins of an Inca city lost in the jungle. As Peru celebrates the centenary of it being found, writer and explorer Hugh Thomson follows Bingham's footsteps into the
Andes to unearth the truth and the controversies about its discovery. So, was Bingham the first person to see Machu Picchu? A re­
examination of his classic book, Lost City of the Incas, which describes the expedition and subsequent archaeological studies of the site, says otherwise. Behind the words is a determined and ambitious Yale professor who saw Machu Picchu as his ticket to world renown. In his quest, Bingham all too often blurred fact with fiction.
As a historian, he was ill­equipped to interpret the artefacts he'd brought back to Yale but nevertheless put forward suppositions about why the Incas built Machu Picchu and what they used it for.
Inflating its importance and hence his own, these myths ­ for example, that it was a spiritual retreat for the Virgins of the Sun ­ are still perpetuated today. So what was its real purpose?
The thousands of Inca artefacts Bingham took out of Peru have been cause for controversy as well, culminating in a fiercely fought court case. The Peruvian government sued Yale university for breaking the contract to return the Machu Picchu artefacts. Finally, the case has been settled and many of the artefacts have been returned ­ just in time for Peru's centenary celebrations, which are as much about reclaiming national pride and identity as
world heritage.
Producer: Dom Byrne
A Blakeway production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 07:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076h7t)
Series 3, The Trouble with Cassie
Cassie has an adoring boyfriend who gets on well with Pete. What on earth could go wrong? Stars Debra Stephenson. From October 2003.
MON 07:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08497d1)
Series 66, Episode 4
The antidote to panel games pays a return visit to the Grand Theatre in Wolverhampton. Old­timers Barry Cryer and Tim Brooke­Taylor are joined on the panel by Susan Calman and Richard Osman with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell attempts piano accompaniment. Producer ­ Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Studios production.
MON 08:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jrnh)
Series 3, The Last Burkiss Way
General Custer tackles his last stand with a battle of one­liners. Starring Fred Harris, Jo Kendall, Nigel Rees and Chris Emmett .
Cult sketch comedy series which originally ran from 1976 to 1980. Scripted by David Renwick and Andrew Marshall.
Producer: John Lloyd First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1978.
MON 08:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jpvy)
The First Meeting
Pike and Hodges campaign to save the pier, while Uncle Arthur upsets Mavis
A seaside saga of pier perpetuation starring John Le Mesurier as Arthur Wilson, Ian Lavender as Frank Pike, Bill Pertwee as Bert MONDAY 12 DECEMBER 2016
Hodges, Vivienne Martin as Miss Perkins and Glynn Edwards as Fred Guthrie. MON 00:00 MR James Stories (b01pg64z)
After a pilot episode was made in 1981, Arthur Lowe sadly died. [Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday]
So this 13­part series was revamped to feature the Dad's Army MON 00:45 Charles Dickens (b00pdkdp)
characters played by Pertwee and Lavender instead. The series [Repeat of broadcast at 18:45 on Sunday]
was later adapted for ITV by Yorkshire TV. MON 01:00 Maria Semple ­ Where'd You Go Bernadette?: Written by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles, based on the characters originally created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft.
Omnibus (b01kpvnj)
Producer: Martin Fisher [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday]
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in January 1984.
MON 02:15 Lady Curzon and a Pineapple (b00cm6ww)
MON 09:00 Just a Minute (b00pk8z6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday]
Series 56, Episode 1
MON 02:30 Ian McEwan ­ Nutshell: Omnibus (b0854wnw)
Nicholas Parsons chairs the devious word game. Panellists Paul [Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday]
Merton and Julian Clary reveal, among other things, what they MON 03:15 Ian McEwan ­ My Purple Scented Novel: think of New Year's Eve parties, and David Mitchell and Gyles Omnibus (b0854x9x)
Brandreth discuss the art of writing a book.
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:15 on Sunday]
MON 09:30 The Change (b0076cs6)
MON 03:45 Elizabeth Buchan ­ Archaeology (b007z09z)
Series 2, Episode 2
[Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday]
MON 04:00 John Sessions ­ Reconstructing Louis (b0075z1g) Away from transvestite George, Carol is spending time on her own and enjoying it. But her family seem to need her more than [Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday]
ever. With Chris Ellison. From February 2003.
MON 05:00 Poetry Extra (b0854ygx)
MON 10:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson [Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday]
(b0855gx9)
MON 05:30 Cabin Pressure (b04vf25d)
A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday]
1986: Wallis Simpson is facing a lonely and miserable death, a MON 06:00 EW Hornung ­ Raffles (b007jngz)
virtual prisoner of her obsessive lawyer, Maitre Blum. Series 3, The Last Word
As the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis was reviled for causing King War­scarred Bunny returns to London, determined to restore his Edward VIII to abdicate his throne to marry her. But what was extraordinary friend's reputation.
she really like?
The stories of EW Hornung in the continuing adventures of Eliizabeth Proud's three­part drama stars Stockard Channing as cricketer and gentleman thief, Arthur J Raffles, and his Wallis Simpson, Barbara Leigh­Hunt as Maitre Blum, Lewis chronicler, Harry "Bunny" Manders. Hancock as Win Spencer and Stephen Thorne as Ernest Simpson.
Starring Jeremy Clyde as AJ Raffles, Michael Cochrane as Producer: Sue Wilson
Bunny, Emily Richard as Sophie and Matthew Morgan as Alec.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1996.
Dramatised by Olwen Wymark. MON 11:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b01617db)
Signature tune composed by Jim Parker.
Episode 1
Director: Gordon House
A BBC Radio 4/ BBC World Service production first broadcast in The stakes are high in a dangerous game of chance, as secret agent 007 prepares to meet his enemy, the lethal Russian 1992.
operative, 'Le Chiffre'. MON 06:30 Who Found Machu Picchu? (b015cmrt)
Alex Jennings reads Ian Fleming's classic spy novel that first The story of Machu Picchu's discovery is one of myth, court cases
brought James Bond to life in 1953. and controversy. The popular account involves the central Abridged by Sally Marmion
character, the prototype for Indiana Jones, Hiram Bingham, who Supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
Page 3 of 8
Producer: Di Spiers
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2002.
MON 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b00r7l7b)
Nick Warburton ­ Not Bobby
by Nick Warburton
Frank brings a pet rabbit home. Mum gives Bobby's hutch pride of place in the sitting room. But who finished that last clue in yesterday's crossword? It wasn't mum...
Director: Peter Kavanagh
STEREO.
MON 12:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jrnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 12:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jpvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 13:00 EW Hornung ­ Raffles (b007jngz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 13:30 Who Found Machu Picchu? (b015cmrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 14:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r39)
Episode 6
15th February, 2003: Threatened during a passing anti­war march,
Henry visits his ailing mother. Read by Robert Glenister.
MON 14:15 Book of the Week (b01mhwsv)
Bring Me Sunshine ­ A Windswept, Rain­Soaked, Sun­Kissed, Snow­Capped Guide to Our Weather, Rain
By Charlie Connelly
Read by Stephen Mangan
Charlie Connelly sets off on the trail of our island obsession, the weather. And when talking about the British climate which aspect
do we usually turn to first? Rain... We talk about the weather a lot. It exasperates, confounds and on occasion delights us. Our national conversation is dominated by the weather, but how much do we really know about it? In Bring Me Sunshine, Charlie Connelly sets off on the trail of our island obsession. He breezes through the lives of meteorological eccentrics, geniuses, rainmakers and cloud­busters and brings vividly to life great weather events from history. He sheds light on Britain's weirdest wind, the first weather forecast and why people once thought firing cannons at clouds was a great idea. Having adventured round the shipping forecast areas for his bestselling Attention All Shipping, Connelly is the perfect guide through a melange of gales, blizzards, mists, heatwaves and the occasional shower of fish. Bring Me Sunshine answers all your weather questions as well as helping you to distinguish your graupel from your petrichor.
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
MON 14:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club (b00w46nz)
Episode 1
The villagers enjoy Sarah's inaugural creamy creation as she recalls life selling chocolate. Stars Eleanor Bron and Sylvia Sims.
MON 14:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cbcpn)
Le Monastier
Robert Louis Stevenson's 1878 French mountain adventure, with a creature of most decided character. Read by Alan Cumming.
MON 15:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855gx9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
MON 16:00 Just a Minute (b00pk8z6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
MON 16:30 The Change (b0076cs6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
MON 17:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076h7t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
MON 17:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08497d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b00b1p28)
Small Gods, Episode 1
Set in a complex State of beliefs, Great God Om appears before a novice monk
There are gods everywhere on Discworld ­ you can't swing a simian librarian without hitting one ­ except, of course, only a few
people can see them. Each small god lies in wait, desperately seeking to make someone believe in him. On Discworld, gods need people more than people need gods, for belief is the food of the gods.
Terry Pratchett's comic fantasy stars Carl Prekopp as Brutha, Patrick Barlow as Om and Alex Jennings as Vorbis. With Anton Lesser as the Narrator.
Dramatised by Robin Brooks. Producer: Claire Grove
Director: Gordon House
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2006.
MON 18:30 A Good Read (b0075bg9)
Niall Ferguson and Armando Iannucci
Tom Sutcliffe and his guests ­ historian, Niall Ferguson and broadcaster, Armando Iannucci ­ discuss three favourite paperbacks by Erich Maria Remarque, Raymond Carver and Samuel Beckett. From 1998.
The English translation of Erich Maria Remarque's 'All Quiet On The Western Front'
Publisher: Virago 'Will You Please Be Quiet, Please' by Raymond Carver.
Publisher: Harvill 'Murphy' by Samuel Beckett
Radio 4 Extra Listings for 10 – 16 December 2016
Publisher: Calder Publications Ltd.
MON 19:00 The Burkiss Way (b007jrnh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
MON 19:30 It Sticks Out Half a Mile (b007jpvy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
MON 20:00 EW Hornung ­ Raffles (b007jngz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
MON 20:30 Who Found Machu Picchu? (b015cmrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
MON 21:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b01617db)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
MON 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b00r7l7b)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08497d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
MON 22:30 The Mark Steel Lecture (b00sdyxt)
Series 3, Muhammad Ali
The radical comedian offers his humorous assessment of the life and career of the world heavyweight boxer. From October 2002.
MON 23:00 The Now Show (b084dqq6)
Series 49, Episode 6
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present the week via topical stand­
up and sketches.
MON 23:30 Will Smith Presents the Tao of Bergerac (b007w0j4)
Episode 2
Comedian Will Smith is obsessed with 1980s detective series Bergerac, so uses an audio book of its star, John Nettles, reading the Tao, to navigate the minefield of his life, with the help of a special guest. Will wonders how he can be an individual without being derided for his choices. With Karl Johnson, Simon Greenall, John Nettles, Rachel Bavidge and Olivia Poulet. Written by Will Smith and Roger Drew.
TUESDAY 13 DECEMBER 2016
TUE 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b00b1p28)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday]
TUE 00:30 A Good Read (b0075bg9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday]
TUE 01:00 EW Hornung ­ Raffles (b007jngz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday]
TUE 01:30 Who Found Machu Picchu? (b015cmrt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r39)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday]
TUE 02:15 Book of the Week (b01mhwsv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday]
TUE 02:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club (b00w46nz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday]
TUE 02:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cbcpn)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday]
TUE 03:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855gx9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:00 Just a Minute (b00pk8z6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday]
TUE 04:30 The Change (b0076cs6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday]
TUE 05:00 A Whole 'Nother Story (b0076h7t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday]
TUE 05:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue (b08497d1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday]
TUE 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w4dj)
Series 3, A Case of Winners and Losers
Private­eye Steven J Blackburn is still trailing his assistant behind
him, but she's rapidly catching up. At the allotments, a mucky war
of the flowers has broken out. One of four more cases for the ex­pitman turned investigator and his government scheme­funded assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days. Starring Finetime Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan, Chris Brailsford as Ted Turner and Christopher Wilkinson as Dr Hatten. Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby Director: Dave Sheasby First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1993.
TUE 06:30 Found in Translation (b012f5qj)
Former stand­up comic Anna Chen goes in search of the Chinese sense of humour. Comics, historians and a Chinese Elvis all give their take on what makes the Chinese laugh and why.
China isn't a nation you would automatically associate with comedy and laughter, unless it's to do with badly translated instructions. Anna Chen would like to change your mind. She says China invented the political joke: "With 4,000 years of often repressive rule, you'd need some sort of outlet". Texts written in the middle ages are full of mockery of authority. Crosstalk was a rambunctious art form which lampooned corrupt officials and country bumpkins. The Communist authorities put the dampners on crosstalk by requiring practitioners to "praise", rather than "satirise"­ a death sentence if ever there was one. But increased leisure time has an effect on culture and we're starting to see the emergence of some sharp rebellious youthful satire in China. Guo Degang has revitalised the crosstalk form and now plays to packed theatres. Han Han is China's most popular blogger and gets away with comments such as this one about party officials:
"The only thing they have in common with young people is that like us, they too have girlfriends in their 20s."
In "Found in Translation", Anna Chen reveals the history and the future of Chinese comedy ­ and she'll even throw in a gag or two.
TUE 07:00 Dave Sheasby ­ Sharing Fatman (b0075krt)
Under Starter's Orders
Mr Fatman battles a virus, and the unity of the horse­racing syndicate is threatened. Stars Gerard McDermott. From May 1999.
TUE 07:30 Clare in the Community (b084bmf9)
Series 11, Momento
Episode 4 ­ Momento Riots have broken out on the Sparrowhawk estate and ruined the team's family fun day. In all the chaos, Clare has lost her memory and is roaming the streets, encountering all sorts of characters as she tries to work out who she is. Sally Phillips is Clare Barker the social worker who has all the right jargon but never a practical solution. A control freak, Clare likes nothing better than interfering in other
people's lives on both a professional and personal basis. Clare is in her thirties, white, middle class and heterosexual, all of which are occasional causes of discomfort to her. Each week we join Clare in her continued struggle to control both
her professional and private life In today's Big Society there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker. Or even Clare. Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden Producer Alexandra Smith
A BBC Studios production.
TUE 08:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jlnf)
Series 3, TB or Not TB
Sixty years of smoking takes its toll on Albert Steptoe. Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as Harold. With Jo Manning Wilson as the Receptionist. Following the conclusion of their hugely successful association with Tony Hancock, writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in 1962. The Offer
was set in a house with a yard full of junk, featuring the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and his son Harold and it was the spark for a run of 8 series for TV. Adapted for radio from Galton and Simpson's TV script by Gale Pedrick. Produced by Bobby Jaye First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1971.
TUE 08:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00qxffl)
Claws
The civil servants blunder through Anglo­Chinese Friendship month. Stars Richard Murdoch and Deryck Guyler. From August 1977.
TUE 09:00 The Now Show (b084dqq6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday]
TUE 09:30 The Stanley Baxter Playhouse (b01pz5jd)
Series 5, The Hat
By Colin MacDonald.
Sheriff Finlay travels from Scotland to York for the funeral and cremation of his older brother William, with whom he didn't get on. When he gets there he is greeted with barely disguised hostility by William's widow. She tells him arrangements for the funeral are all made: it is going
to be a Humanist service and the family heirloom fireman's hat, which was worn with pride by the brothers' grandfather, is in the coffin and is going to be incinerated along with William. Alistair decides to get the hat before the coffin makes its final journey into the flames. This will take him into dangerous territory, breaking into a funeral parlour at night and braving the criminal underworld to retrieve Grandad's hat and make a final peace with his brother.
Coronation Street veteran Thelma Barlow stars as his sister­in­
law Louise and Stanley Baxter is Sheriff Alistair Finlay in this black comedy with a warm heart about death, brotherly love and saying goodbye.
Directed by Marilyn Imrie
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 10:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855tzh)
Tea for Two
As Maitre Blum manipulates Wallis, she recalls her first marriage
and her attempts to meet a prince. Stars Stockard Channing.
TUE 11:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b0161hhs)
Episode 2
Bond is unhappy with his new sidekick, but can she find a way to thaw him out? Alex Jennings reads Ian Fleming's classic novel.
TUE 11:15 Bettina Gracias ­ From Bangalore with Love (b007jy6v)
After encountering Parv on the internet and secretly meeting him in London, Nisha goes home but finds that things have changed. Stars Nina Wadia.
TUE 12:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jlnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 12:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00qxffl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w4dj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
Supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
Page 4 of 8
TUE 13:30 Found in Translation (b012f5qj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 14:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r3w)
Episode 7
15th February, 2003: Henry's daughter Daisy arrives in the evening, but uninvited guests are waiting. Read by Robert Glenister.
TUE 14:15 Book of the Week (b01mlslq)
Bring Me Sunshine ­ A Windswept, Rain­Soaked, Sun­Kissed, Snow­Capped Guide to Our Weather, Wind
by Charlie Connelly
Read by Stephen Mangan
From Aristotle in 4th century BC, to Edmond Halley in the 1680s,
great thinkers have always been fascinated by the most powerful force in the weather's armoury ­ the wind. We talk about the weather a lot. It exasperates, confounds and on occasion delights us. Our national conversation is dominated by the weather, but how much do we really know about it? In Bring Me Sunshine, Charlie Connelly sets off on the trail of our island obsession. He breezes through the lives of meteorological eccentrics, geniuses, rainmakers and cloud­busters and brings vividly to life great weather events from history. He sheds light on Britain's weirdest wind, the first weather forecast and why people once thought firing cannons at clouds was a great idea. Having adventured round the shipping forecast areas for his bestselling Attention All Shipping, Connelly is the perfect guide through a melange of gales, blizzards, mists, heatwaves and the occasional shower of fish. Bring Me Sunshine answers all your weather questions as well as helping you to distinguish your graupel from your petrichor.
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
TUE 14:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club (b00w4lt1)
Episode 2
Rosie harks back to her 21st birthday to reveal a shameful chocolate memory. Stars Sylvia Syms, Paula Wilcox and Eleanor Bron.
TUE 14:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cbmpc)
Setting Out
Donkey trouble strikes Robert Louis Stevenson as he begins his French mountain adventure. Read by Alan Cumming.
TUE 15:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855tzh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
TUE 16:00 Trivia Test Match (b007js6n)
From 10/09/1991
Brian Johnston umpires, as Willie Rushton and William Franklyn battle Tim Rice and Bernard Cribbins. From September 1991.
TUE 16:30 Flying the Flag (b00dr99l)
Series 4, Endangered Species
Ambassador Mackenzie turns his attention to the ecology of the People's Republic. Stars Dinsdale Landen. From July 1992.
TUE 17:00 Dave Sheasby ­ Sharing Fatman (b0075krt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
TUE 17:30 Clare in the Community (b084bmf9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b00b50xj)
Small Gods, Episode 2
After his encounter with the Great God Om, novice monk Brutha is selected for a secret mission. Comic fantasy with Anton Lesser.
TUE 18:30 Comic to Comic (b0080ssp)
Series 2, Julia Morris
After finding TV fame Down Under, the Australian stand­up chats to Bruce Morton about her subsequent British stage career. From February 2006.
TUE 19:00 Steptoe and Son (b007jlnf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
TUE 19:30 The Men From the Ministry (b00qxffl)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
TUE 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w4dj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
TUE 20:30 Found in Translation (b012f5qj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
TUE 21:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b0161hhs)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
TUE 21:15 Bettina Gracias ­ From Bangalore with Love (b007jy6v)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
TUE 22:00 Clare in the Community (b084bmf9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
TUE 22:30 The Richest Man in Britain (b00p346t)
The Cultural Attache
Sitcom by Nick Hornby and Giles Smith about an ageing rock star and his search for fulfilment.
Trillionnaire rocker Dave Mabbutt and his personal assistant Dom
come to blows over the one thing money can't buy.
Dave Mabbutt ...... Mark Williams Dom ...... Russell Tovey.
TUE 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0875wl3)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tom Wrigglesworth chats to Alan Davies.
TUE 23:00 Beauty of Britain (b00npr8g)
Series 1, Beauty and the Beast
Radio 4 Extra Listings for 10 – 16 December 2016
Comedy by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson. Beauty Olonga works as a carer for the Featherdown Agency and sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls hoping to achieve their goals in the land of semi­skimmed milk. Beauty is looking after the elderly Mr Easterby, who has a new girlfriend and is behaving like a lovestruck teenager. She is also trying to get to the Aspire to Dream retreat. Meanwhile Anil is on
a big cat stakeout, as several have been spotted in the region. Beauty ...... Jocelyn Jee Esien
Sally ...... Felicity Montagu
Karen ...... Nicola Sanderson
Mrs Gupte ...... Indira Joshi
Anil ...... Paul Sharma
Mr Easterby ...... Leslie Phillips
Mrs Mason ...... Liz Fraser
Kevin/Cab Man/Steve ...... Christopher Douglas Girl on Stretcher ...... Nicola Sanderson
Music by The West End Gospel Choir.
TUE 23:30 The In Crowd (b00sbrl6)
Series 3, Episode 1
Sketch show from Manchester's Comedy Store with Robin Ince, Helen Moon, Smug Roberts and Kate Ward. From July 2002.
WEDNESDAY 14 DECEMBER 2016
Tenniel Evans as the Admiral and Michael Bates as Lieutenant Burkett. Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen series between 1959 and 1976. Scripted by Lawrie Wyman. Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston. First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1971.
WED 08:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k4m9)
The Bolshoi Ballet
The lad's hopes for a night of dance at London's Covent Garden don't quite go to plan.
Starring Tony Hancock, Sidney James, Bill Kerr and Kenneth Williams. Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Theme and incidental music composed by Wally Stott. Recorded by the BBC Revue Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz.
Producer: Dennis Main Wilson
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in October 1956.
WED 09:00 Heresy (b01snlt0)
Series 9, Episode 3
Victoria Coren Mitchell presents another edition of the show which dares to commit heresy .
Her guests this week are comedians Mark Steel and Bridget Christie and journalist Matthew Norman.
Producers: Victoria Coren Mitchell and Daisy Knight
An Avalon Television production for BBC Radio 4.
WED 09:30 Rent (b00752s3)
Series 3, Episode 5
Paul has a serious question for Ruby, and Maria has got a serious problem with gambling. Stars Patrick Barlow. From February 1997.
WED 10:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855wfh)
The Melody Lingers On
Wallis realises marrying an ex­King means broken promises, plus
doubtful acquaintances and scandal. Stars Stockard Channing.
WED 11:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b0162qv2)
Episode 3
Bond deals with a bomb attack, but can he fend off the charms of his new colleague? Alex Jennings reads Ian Fleming's classic spy novel.
WED 11:15 Steve Chambers ­ Victoria Station (b0855xkk)
Series 2, Express Desire
Wednesday December 11th 1896: Ancient passion and modern excitement at Bridgford's Victoria railway station.
The second series of Nottingham­born author Steve Chambers' drama series set in Victoria Station, Bridgford in 1896. Each is a self­contained story featuring the day­to­day doings of the station staff. Stars Sean Baker as Station Master Joe Braddock, Christopher Scott as Tidmarsh, John Hartley as Union activist Fred Roberts, Gavin Muir as Area Manager Mr Cripps and Colleen Prendergast as Josie.
Director: David Hunter First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1996 and set a century before.
WED 12:00 The Navy Lark (b017h7cp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 12:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k4m9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w2k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 13:30 John Arlott ­ My Kind of Country (b03vztj9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 14:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r4f)
Episode 8
15th February, 2003: At the mercy of an intruder, Henry's family must face night­time intimidation. Read by Robert Glenister.
WED 14:15 Book of the Week (b01mlss5)
Bring Me Sunshine ­ A Windswept, Rain­Soaked, Sun­Kissed, Snow­Capped Guide to Our Weather, Clouds
by Charlie Connelly
Read by Stephen Mangan
The meteorological journey continues with the invention of the barometer, a Fleet Street pharmacist's obsession with clouds and the father of the weather forecast Robert FitzRoy.
We talk about the weather a lot. It exasperates, confounds and on occasion delights us. Our national conversation is dominated by the weather, but how much do we really know about it? In Bring Me Sunshine, Charlie Connelly sets off on the trail of our island obsession. He breezes through the lives of meteorological eccentrics, geniuses, rainmakers and cloud­busters and brings vividly to life great weather events from history. He sheds light on Britain's weirdest wind, the first weather forecast and why people once thought firing cannons at clouds was a great idea. Having adventured round the shipping forecast areas for his bestselling Attention All Shipping, Connelly is the perfect guide through a melange of gales, blizzards, mists, heatwaves and the occasional shower of fish. Bring Me Sunshine answers all your weather questions as well as helping you to distinguish your graupel from your petrichor.
WED 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b00b50xj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday]
WED 00:30 Comic to Comic (b0080ssp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday]
WED 01:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w4dj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday]
WED 01:30 Found in Translation (b012f5qj)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r3w)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday]
WED 02:15 Book of the Week (b01mlslq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday]
WED 02:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club (b00w4lt1)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday]
WED 02:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cbmpc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday]
WED 03:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855tzh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:00 Trivia Test Match (b007js6n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday]
WED 04:30 Flying the Flag (b00dr99l)
[Repeat of broadcast at 16:30 on Tuesday]
WED 05:00 Dave Sheasby ­ Sharing Fatman (b0075krt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday]
WED 05:30 Clare in the Community (b084bmf9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday]
WED 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w2k6)
Series 3, A Case of Hard Times
When a pub quiz jackpot is consistently won by the same contestant, the landlord's convinced trickery is involved so calls in Blackburn to crack the scam. But general knowledge isn't really Stephen's strength and anyway,
is it really a question of fraud?
Another case for the ex­pitman turned investigator and his assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days. Starring Finetime Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan, Gerry Kersey as Walton Bentley and Rod Arthur as the Quizmaster.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby Director: Dave Sheasby First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 1993.
WED 06:30 John Arlott ­ My Kind of Country (b03vztj9)
The late and much­missed cricket commentator John Arlott waxes lyrical about the rural splendour of Hampshire. From May 1968.
WED 07:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b0132tk0)
Series 3, Alka Salsa
Robin is talked into a salsa weekend, against his better judgement. Starring Kay Stonham and Amelia Bulmore. From June 2004.
WED 07:30 Women Talking About Cars (b084bpc0)
Olivia Colman
Victoria Coren Mitchell interviews famous women about their lives through the cars they have known, the journeys they've been
on and the things they shout in traffic. This week Olivia Colman reveals the nickname of her beloved Morris Minor, and answers that crucial question for any award­
winning actress: "What are you driving these days?"
With car descriptions read by Josette Simon.
Produced by Gareth Edwards
A BBC Studios Production.
WED 08:00 The Navy Lark (b017h7cp)
Impressions for Survival
The crew of HMS Troutbridge is set to be disbanded if Povey gets his way, but Pertwee has a cunning plan.
Stars Leslie Phillips as the Sub­Lieutenant, Jon Pertwee as the Produced by Joanna Green
Chief Petty Officer, Stephen Murray as the Commanding Officer, A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
Richard Caldicot as Captain Povey, Heather Chasen as Heather, Supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
Page 5 of 8
WED 14:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club (b00w5jbt)
Episode 3
Charlotte recalls how chocolate led to a French adventure with a stranger. Stars Sylvia Syms, Paula Wilcox and Carolyn Pickles.
WED 14:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cbt7k)
On the Road Cheylarde
Struggling with his French mountain adventure, Robert Louis Stevenson approaches a monastery at nightfall. Read by Alan Cumming.
WED 15:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855wfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
WED 16:00 Heresy (b01snlt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
WED 16:30 Rent (b00752s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
WED 17:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b0132tk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
WED 17:30 Women Talking About Cars (b084bpc0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b00b8rpc)
Small Gods, Episode 3
In the city of the Citadel, novice Brutha stands up to the devious Deacon Vorbus. Stars Anton Lesser and Patrick Barlow.
Synopsis: There are gods everywhere on Terry Pratchett's Discworld ­ you can't swing a simian librarian without hitting one ­ except, of course, only a few people can see them. Each small god lies in wait, desperately seeking to make someone believe in him. On the
Discworld gods need people more than people need gods, for belief is the food of the gods. Brutha, a tubby novice­priest with a phenomenal memory, is chosen as the one true Prophet. Will he succeed in bringing belief back to Omnia? The great God Om is currently stuck in the body of a small tortoise. He is ready for smiting and other godly activities if only he could get out of the basket of rotting vegetables into which he has fallen Meanwhile Deacon Vorbis rules this harsh desert country and the Quisition works tirelessly to beat sin out of its people. Vorbis is all set to expand his empire and recruits Brutha with his incredible memory to help him. Brutha accompanies Deacon Vorbis to the land of Ephebe where philosophers cover the landscape like locusts, argue violently among themselves, and live in barrels. One such philosopher is Didactylos, whose philosophy can be boiled down to the words "It's a funny old world." He now becomes the unifying part of an underground movement that insists, despite the tenets of the Church that "the Turtle moves"; that turtle being the Great A'Tuin
­ the whole of Discworld rides on its giant shell. As so often happens, religious dispute breeds war, and the future of Omnia, not to mention the future of the Great God Om, is in Brutha's hands. Cast: Anton Lesser narrates, Patrick Barlow is the Great God Om and Alex Jennings is Deacon Vorbis. Carl Prekopp is Brutha and Michael Kilgarriff plays Death. The rest of the cast includes Geoffrey Beevers, Philip Fox, Sean Barrett, Gerard McDermott, John Cummins, Nick Sayce Terry Pratchett worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983. In 1987 he turned to writing full time, and has not looked
back since. To date there are a total of 33 books in the Discworld series, of which three (so far) are written for children. The first of these, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, won the Carnegie Medal. His new Discworld novel, Thud!, was published autumn 2005. Regarded as one of the most significant contemporary English­language satirists, Pratchett has won numerous literary awards, was named an Officer of the British Empire "for services to literature" in 1998, and has received four honorary doctorates from the Universities of Warwick, Portsmouth, Bath, and Bristol. His acclaimed novels have sold 40 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 33 languages. Robin Brooks dramatised Terry Pratchett's 'Mort' for late night Radio 4. Other R4 dramatisations include Daphne Du Maurier's The Parasites, Love and Friendship adapted from Jane Austen, and Byron's Women. Also for R4 an original comedy A Quick Change, Bloody Stefi a play about Bartok and The Man Who Knew Everything, three original plays about the infamous solicitor, George Lewis.
ProducerClaire Grove.
WED 18:30 Off the Page (b00ny8gr)
I'm H.A.P.P.Y
4 Extra Debut. From euphoria to contentment ­ Miriam Akhtar, Dr Phil Hammond, Lucy Mangan and Dominic Arkwright focus on happiness. From November 2009.
WED 19:00 The Navy Lark (b017h7cp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
WED 19:30 Hancock's Half Hour (b007k4m9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
WED 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w2k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
WED 20:30 John Arlott ­ My Kind of Country (b03vztj9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
WED 21:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b0162qv2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
WED 21:15 Steve Chambers ­ Victoria Station (b0855xkk)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
Radio 4 Extra Listings for 10 – 16 December 2016
WED 22:00 Women Talking About Cars (b084bpc0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
WED 22:30 Mark Thomas Presents (b0076w9l)
Shelley Berman
Famed for his pioneering 'one­sided phone calls' ­ one of America's greatest Jewish comics, Shelley Berman performs. From December 2005.
WED 23:00 We Know Everything (b0855xkm)
Episode 5
If all the world's a stage, where does the audience sit? Dan Gaster and Paul Powell tackle audience quirky questions. From July 1995.
WED 23:15 Sir Ralph Stanza's Letter from Salford (b0076f8c)
Series 2, A Few Bevvies
Can the poet­in­residence bring the healing power of poetry to Salford social club? Stars James Quinn. From May 2003.
WED 23:30 Hut 33 (b00w2c91)
Series 2, Yellow
The codebreakers must get jabs, but they all rustle up excuses to avoid the needle. Stars Robert Bathurst. From June 2008.
THURSDAY 15 DECEMBER 2016
THU 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b00b8rpc)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday]
THU 00:30 Off the Page (b00ny8gr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday]
THU 01:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w2k6)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday]
THU 01:30 John Arlott ­ My Kind of Country (b03vztj9)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r4f)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday]
THU 02:15 Book of the Week (b01mlss5)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday]
THU 02:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club (b00w5jbt)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday]
THU 02:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cbt7k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday]
THU 03:00 Wallis ­ The Life and Legends of Wallis Simpson (b0855wfh)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:00 Heresy (b01snlt0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday]
THU 04:30 Rent (b00752s3)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday]
THU 05:00 Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends (b0132tk0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday]
THU 05:30 Women Talking About Cars (b084bpc0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday]
THU 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w39g)
Series 3, A Case of Drowning Sorrows
Stephen visits his Auntie Eileen in a retirement home, where the theft of a ventriloquist's dummy soon has him treading the boards of memory lane.
Another case for the ex­pitman turned investigator and his assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days. Starring Finetime Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan, Carole Copeland as Eileen Simpson and Rod Arthur as Arthur Swinscoe. Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby Director: Dave Sheasby First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1993.
THU 06:30 Composer Joseph Horovitz: No Ordinary Joe (b012qsdp)
This is the story of a composer of the kind of music that just fits so beautifully, that you hardly notice yourself humming along. Joseph Horovitz is a composer of concertos and ballets, operas and chamber music, yet he is best known for other kinds of music
such as Rumpole of the Bailey, and Captain Noah and his Floating Zoo. Composer Debbie Wiseman in interview with Joseph Horovitz, journeys through his remarkable life and career. Captain Noah has been translated into six languages, and has proved to be a best seller for Horovitz. The Berkshire Maestros, and conductor David Hill with the Bach Choir, have all recently rehearsed and performed this work, and give their views on why Captain Noah has been so popular over the past 40 years. Dancer Wayne Sleep, conductor John Wilson, and television executive producer Tony Wharmby, also discuss their collaborations with Horovitz, and give their thoughts on his music.
Horovitz's story begins with his escape from the Nazis as they entered Vienna in 1938, to then include giving musical appreciation lectures during the war to the forces, being awarded two Ivor Novello awards for his later compositions, and working with such comic legends as Gerard Hoffnung and Michael Flanders. This life journey has been one of distinction in many ways, yet Horovitz has not been taken as seriously as he'd like. Debbie Wiseman grapples with this issue, to understand why Horovitz has not received the acclaim that his artistry deserves.
THU 07:00 Bristow (b007sxvq)
Series 2, The Girl in the Yellow Overcoat
It's the Chester­Perry office party and Jones thinks all his Christmases have come at once.
Michael Williams stars as Bristow, the buying clerk from Frank Dickens' famous newspaper cartoon strip. Syndicated internationally, it ran for 41 years in London's Evening Standard. With Rodney Bewes as Jones, Dora Bryan as Mrs Purdy, Owen Brenman as Hewitt and Robert Bathurst as Moorcroft. RSC talent and popular stage and TV actor, Michael Williams died in 2001
Music: John Whitehall
Producer: Neil Cargill
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 1999.
THU 07:30 The Fair Intellectual Club (b084d9zy)
A Fling with Mr Franklin
A young American inventor named Ben Franklin ends up in Edinburgh. The young ladies of a secret scholarly society are seduced by his exciting talk of the New World and his intellectual
prowess. An elopement is on the cards as Marjory is set to be torn
from the wrinkly arms of her fiancé. Will the girls leave their beloved Scotland? Sparks fly and electricity abounds in the final episode of Lucy Porter's 18th Century Sitcom.
THU 08:00 Stop Messing About! (b00b1p9t)
Series 1, Episode 1
The follow up series to Round The Horne kicks off with the first all nude radio show ­ with a pull­out supplement.
Starring Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Joan Sims and announcer, Douglas Smith. After the unexpected death of Kenneth Horne in 1969, plans for the next series of Round The Horne were axed. Instead ­ using an old catchphrase of Kenneth Williams as a series title ­ Kenneth joined Hugh Paddick to continue the comedy tradition and was also reunited with his "Carry On" film co­star Joan Sims. Written by Johnnie Mortimer, Brian Cooke and Myles Rudge With the Max Harris Group. Producer: John Simmonds
First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in April 1969.
THU 08:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b008x0wg)
From 19/02/1984
From Russian spies to a tour of BBC sound effects, it's the ultimate one­man show, written by the host. From February 1984.
THU 09:00 The Personality Test (b00n51fv)
Series 2, Esther Rantzen
The TV star and consumer champ quizzes a panel about herself. With Sue Perkins, Lucy Porter and Will Smith. From January 2007.
THU 09:30 The Atkinson People (b007k271)
Barry Good
A wry, startling, in­depth probe into the life of a spoof pop star. Stars Rowan Atkinson. From November 1979.
THU 10:00 Classic Serial (b00c7kl4)
The Ring and the Book, Episode 1
Robert Browning's poetic masterpiece of sex, lies and murder, adapted by Martyn Wade.
Rome is rife with speculation in the aftermath of a triple stabbing.
Browning ...... Anton Lesser
Guido Franceschini ...... Roger Allam
Pompilia ...... Loo Brealey Caponsacchi ...... Dominic Rowan
Pietro Comparini ...... Andrew Sachs
Violante Comparini ...... Frances Jeater Paolo Franceschini ...... Dan Starkey
First Roman ...... Stephen Critchlow
Second Roman ...... Ben Crowe
Conti ...... Chris Pavlo
Margherita ...... Joan Walker
Judge ...... John Rowe
Directed by Abigail le Fleming.
THU 11:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b0162rgr)
Episode 4
Bond is at the baccarat table, but will his enemy Le Chiffre have the winning hand? Alex Jennings reads Ian Fleming's novel.
THU 11:15 Dave Sheasby ­ Showing Promise (b007m6tg)
With her creative writing course threatened, Marjorie is glad when Harry arrives to shake things up. Stars Heather Stoney.
THU 12:00 Stop Messing About! (b00b1p9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 12:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b008x0wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w39g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 13:30 Composer Joseph Horovitz: No Ordinary Joe (b012qsdp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 14:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r4y)
Episode 9
It is late on February 15th 2003. Baxter forces Daisy to recite a poem, with unexpected results. Read by Robert Glenister.
THU 14:15 Book of the Week (b01mltjr)
Bring Me Sunshine ­ A Windswept, Rain­Soaked, Sun­Kissed, Snow­Capped Guide to Our Weather, Eccentrics
by Charlie Connelly
Read by Stephen Mangan
From firing cannons at clouds to the cult of rainmakers, the author looks at meteorological eccentrics, geniuses, charlatans and dreamers.
We talk about the weather a lot. It exasperates, confounds and on occasion delights us. Our national conversation is dominated by the weather, but how much do we really know about it? In Bring Me Sunshine, Charlie Connelly sets off on the trail of our island obsession. He breezes through the lives of meteorological eccentrics, Supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
Page 6 of 8
geniuses, rainmakers and cloud­busters and brings vividly to life great weather events from history. He sheds light on Britain's weirdest wind, the first weather forecast and why people once thought firing cannons at clouds was a great idea. Having adventured round the shipping forecast areas for his bestselling Attention All Shipping, Connelly is the perfect guide through a melange of gales, blizzards, mists, heatwaves and the occasional shower of fish. Bring Me Sunshine answers all your weather questions as well as helping you to distinguish your graupel from your petrichor.
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
THU 14:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club (b00w5rkw)
Episode 4
Clementine remembers her stint as the owner of the Muchly Bottom village chocolate shop. Stars Paula Wilcox and Eleanor Bron.
THU 14:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cc0qq)
Our Ladies of the Snows
Robert Louis Stevenson samples French monastic life, as fellow visitors attempt to convert his religion. Read by Alan Cumming.
THU 15:00 Classic Serial (b00c7kl4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
THU 16:00 The Personality Test (b00n51fv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
THU 16:30 The Atkinson People (b007k271)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
THU 17:00 Bristow (b007sxvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
THU 17:30 The Fair Intellectual Club (b084d9zy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 18:00 Terry Pratchett (b00bdjq2)
Small Gods, Episode 4
Back in Omnia, Deacon Vorbis proclaims himself the One True Prophet. Brutha has concerns. Stars Anton Lesser and Alex Jennings. Synopsis: There are gods everywhere on Terry Pratchett's Discworld ­ you can't swing a simian librarian without hitting one ­ except, of course, only a few people can see them. Each small god lies in wait, desperately seeking to make someone believe in him. On the
Discworld gods need people more than people need gods, for belief is the food of the gods. Brutha, a tubby novice­priest with a phenomenal memory, is chosen as the one true Prophet. Will he succeed in bringing belief back to Omnia? The great God Om is currently stuck in the body of a small tortoise. He is ready for smiting and other godly activities if only he could get out of the basket of rotting vegetables into which he has fallen Meanwhile Deacon Vorbis rules this harsh desert country and the Quisition works tirelessly to beat sin out of its people. Vorbis is all set to expand his empire and recruits Brutha with his incredible memory to help him. Brutha accompanies Deacon Vorbis to the land of Ephebe where philosophers cover the landscape like locusts, argue violently among themselves, and live in barrels. One such philosopher is Didactylos, whose philosophy can be boiled down to the words "It's a funny old world." He now becomes the unifying part of an underground movement that insists, despite the tenets of the Church that "the Turtle moves"; that turtle being the Great A'Tuin
­ the whole of Discworld rides on its giant shell. As so often happens, religious dispute breeds war, and the future of Omnia, not to mention the future of the Great God Om, is in Brutha's hands. Cast: Anton Lesser narrates, Patrick Barlow is the Great God Om and Alex Jennings is Deacon Vorbis. Carl Prekopp is Brutha and Michael Kilgarriff plays Death. The rest of the cast includes Geoffrey Beevers, Philip Fox, Sean Barrett, Gerard McDermott, John Cummins, Nick Sayce Terry Pratchett worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983. In 1987 he turned to writing full time, and has not looked
back since. To date there are a total of 33 books in the Discworld series, of which three (so far) are written for children. The first of these, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, won the Carnegie Medal. His new Discworld novel, Thud!, was published autumn 2005. Regarded as one of the most significant contemporary English­language satirists, Pratchett has won numerous literary awards, was named an Officer of the British Empire "for services to literature" in 1998, and has received four honorary doctorates from the Universities of Warwick, Portsmouth, Bath, and Bristol. His acclaimed novels have sold 40 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 33 languages. Robin Brooks dramatised Terry Pratchett's 'Mort' for late night Radio 4. Other R4 dramatisations include Daphne Du Maurier's The Parasites, Love and Friendship adapted from Jane Austen, and Byron's Women. Also for R4 an original comedy A Quick Change, Bloody Stefi a play about Bartok and The Man Who Knew Everything, three original plays about the infamous solicitor, George Lewis.
THU 18:30 Great Lives (b009s75h)
Series 15, Charles Bukowski
Series of biographical discussions with Matthew Parris.
Writer and comedy star Rhona Cameron champions Charles Radio 4 Extra Listings for 10 – 16 December 2016
Bukowski, citing the enormous influence his writing had on her adolescence.
THU 19:00 Stop Messing About! (b00b1p9t)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
THU 19:30 The Michael Bentine Show (b008x0wg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
THU 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w39g)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
THU 20:30 Composer Joseph Horovitz: No Ordinary Joe (b012qsdp)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
THU 21:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b0162rgr)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
THU 21:15 Dave Sheasby ­ Showing Promise (b007m6tg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
THU 22:00 The Fair Intellectual Club (b084d9zy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
THU 22:30 Brian Gulliver's Travels (b01m16pr)
Series 2, Lessington
by Bill Dare Brian Gulliver, a seasoned presenter of travel documentaries, finds himself in a hospital's secure unit after claiming to have experienced a succession of bizarre adventures. This week, he relives his experiences in Lessington where ignorance reigns.
Brian Gulliver ..... Neil Pearson
Rachel Gulliver ..... Mariah Gale
Sharol ..... Jo Bobin
Cop ..... Fergus Craig
Cop ..... Colin Hoult
Guide ..... Patrick Brennan
Wife ..... Christine Absalom
Barman ..... Harry Livingstone
Robber ..... Sam Alexander
Producer ..... Steven Canny
This is the second series of this satirical adventure story from Bill
Dare. The series has attracted an excellent cast led by Neil Pearson and including, Duncan Wisby, Vicki Pepperdine, Lisa Dillon, Colin Hoult, Toby Longworth, Adrian Scarborough, Dan Tetsell, Barunka O'Shaughnessy, Debra Stephenson, Colin Hoult, Nina Conti, Jo Bobin and Marcus Brigstocke. For years Bill Dare wanted to create a satire about different worlds exploring Kipling's idea that we travel, 'not just to explore civilizations, but to better understand our own'. But science fiction and space ships never interested him, so he put the idea on ice. Then Brian Gulliver arrived and meant that our hero could be lost in a fictional world without the need for any sci­fi.
Gulliver's Travels is the only book Bill Dare read at university. His father, Peter Jones, narrated a similarly peripatetic radio series: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0875xb2)
The best in contemporary comedy. Tom Wrigglesworth chats to Alan Davies.
THU 23:00 The Last Hurrah ­ Interview With the Snowman (b054qc4v)
Episode 1
Rik Mayall is Elton the last remaining talking Snowman ­ an alcoholic, war­mongering, immortal, immoral tyrant. Duncan Pow is Ed Mullet, an eager young ghost­writer tasked with interviewing Elton for a forthcoming collection of memoirs. FRI 03:00 Classic Serial (b00c7kl4)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:00 The Personality Test (b00n51fv)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday]
FRI 04:30 The Atkinson People (b007k271)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday]
FRI 05:00 Bristow (b007sxvq)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday]
FRI 05:30 The Fair Intellectual Club (b084d9zy)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday]
FRI 06:00 The Blackburn Files (b007wn7k)
Series 3, A Case of Happy Endings
Setting out to track down a missing person, private­eye Steven J Blackburn finds something more...
The concluding case for the ex­pitman turned investigator and his
assistant Tracey. Set in a South Yorkshire town that's seen better days.
Starring Finetime Fontayne as Stephen J Blackburn, Judy Flynn as Tracey Duggan, John Branwell as Frank Ellis and Ann Rye as Maggie.
Scripted by Ian McMillan, Martyn Wiley and Dave Sheasby Director: Dave Sheasby First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 1993.
FRI 06:30 In Search of the Villa Noel Fleuri (b00x44dz)
The American thriller and travel­writer, David Dodge (1910­
1974), is best known for his 1952 novel To Catch A Thief, which Hitchcock turned into an iconic film three years later. Unusually for Hitchcock, half the film was shot on location, and the Riviera is as much a star as Grace Kelly (in her final film ­ she met Prince
Rainier during a publicity shoot and became Princess of Monaco) and Cary Grant (whom Hitchcock tempted out of retirement with this script).
Dodge's book was inspired by a real incident when he briefly became the number 1 suspect for a daring cat­burglary at his rich neighbour's villa. It is the story of John Robie, a reformed cat­
burglar who must prove his innocence by catching the thief who is duplicating his methods. His pursuit leads him into the arms of beautiful American heiress Francie Stevens.
Jean Buchanan tells the story and attempts to locate the Villa Noel Fleuri, where these dramatic events ultimately resulted in one of Hollywood's best­loved films. In the course of her quest Jean visits Golfe Juan, the fishing port between Canne and Nice where the Dodges arrived in France; she's given a tour of the Carlton hotel in Cannes by the Chef­Concierge, Stephane Fanciulli, who shows her the very room where Grant and Kelly watched ­ and made ­ fireworks; she makes a notable discovery in
the Nice­Matin newspaper archives and attempts to consolidate her finds on maps held in Vallauris.
She is assisted by Randal Brandt of the Bancroft Library at the University of California Berkeley and by Dirk Dominic, an expert
in To Catch A Thief locations. While Paul Gambaccini lends his expertise in film. Jean Buchanan has adapted Dodge's novel, To Catch A Thief, as a
play for BBC Radio 4, to be broadcast on 08/01/2011.
Producer: Marya Burgess.
FRI 07:00 Never Too Late (b011j605)
Down Memory Lane
Feisty Hilda's senior citizen holiday sees man­mad Mildred after a
nostalgic destination. Stars Thora Hird. From January 1981.
FRI 07:30 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b084tlr0)
Elton invites Ed to The Last Hurrah, a notorious, near mythical, Series 2, Episode 4
John Shuttleworth invites celebrated pop stars to his Sheffield highly secret and highly disgusting gentlemen's club. As the sherry flows, Elton becomes increasingly inept at hiding his long home to perform one of their own songs and also, more importantly, one of his. life of crime. This week, John's guest is Mari Wilson. Joan Chitty gets very excited about Mari's visit as she used to Specially adapted for radio from the original series "The Last have a wonderful beehive and Joan would like Mari to give her Hurrah" ­ Rik Mayall is at his anarchic best, in his last great the same look. John is not convinced this is a good idea as Joan leading role. has very short spiky hair and far too much hair lacquer would be required. Produced by Sweetchuck Productions.
Anyway, there are more important things to be done. Mari needs THU 23:30 Night Class (b00769c8)
to sing one of John's songs and John has to prepare for a medley Episode 2
Ex­Redcoat Johnny Vegas runs a stressful pottery class, where he of Mari's songs and get Top Tips on the Telephone from Tony Burrows who famously appeared on Top of The Pops three times believes in the healing power of clay. From September 2002.
in one show! Written and Performed by Graham Fellows with special guests Mari Wilson and Toni Burrows
FRIDAY 16 DECEMBER 2016
Produced by Dawn Ellis
A Chic Ken production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 00:00 Terry Pratchett (b00bdjq2)
FRI 08:00 Yes Minister (b007k0fx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday]
Series 2, The Skeleton in the Cupboard
FRI 00:30 Great Lives (b009s75h)
Jim Hacker gets the better of Sir Humphrey over a crisis in [Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday]
Derbyshire. FRI 01:00 The Blackburn Files (b007w39g)
Starring Paul Eddington as Jim Hacker, Nigel Hawthorne as Sir [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday]
Humphrey Appleby,Derek Fowldes as Bernard and Ian Lavender FRI 01:30 Composer Joseph Horovitz: No Ordinary Joe as Dr Cartwright. (b012qsdp)
Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn's satirical sitcom ran on BBC TV [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday]
between 1980 and 1984. Yes Minister is centred around the FRI 02:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r4y)
hapless Jim Hacker and a collection of civil service underlings [Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday]
headed by the Machiavellian Sir Humphrey Appleby and FRI 02:15 Book of the Week (b01mltjr)
obsequious Bernard. [Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday]
Adapted for radio by producer Pete Atkin. FRI 02:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 1984.
(b00w5rkw)
FRI 08:30 The Goon Show (b00gklbf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday]
The Sahara Desert Statue
FRI 02:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cc0qq)
What is Eccles doing with a cement sack and an imaginary piano?
[Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday]
Starring Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. From November 1958.
Supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
Page 7 of 8
FRI 09:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03cf03n)
Series 6, Ingrams, Bussmann, Stringer
This week, the Professor of Ignorance John Lloyd and his curator Humphrey Ker welcome Private Eye founder and editor of The Oldie Richard Ingrams; comedian and "world's worst foreign correspondent" Jane Bussmann, and the former head of Sony and the CBS network Sir Howard Stringer to discuss libel, lucky scrapes, African warlords, dozy judges and the difficulties of depicting a famous chat­show host's body parts in a cartoon.
The show was researched by James Harkin Molly Oldfield and Stevyn Colgan of QI.
The producers were Richard Turner and Dan Schreiber.
FRI 09:30 The Phenomenon Squad (b0855z15)
Episode 4
Brabazon's intrepid cops are purging pornography. But WPI Nutkins wants a wimple. Stars Roy Kinnear and Susie Blake. From October 1987.
FRI 10:00 Classic Serial (b00cq7p2)
The Ring and the Book, Episode 2
Robert Browning's poetic masterpiece of sex, lies and murder, adapted by Martyn Wade.
Accused of murder, Guido fights desperately for his life.
Browning ...... Anton Lesser
Guido Franceschini ...... Roger Allam
Pompilia ...... Loo Brealey Caponsacchi ...... Dominic Rowan
Bottini ...... Michael Maloney
Arcangeli ...... Stephen Moore
Pietro Comparini ...... Andrew Sachs
Violante Comparini ...... Frances Jeater Paolo Franceschini ...... Dan Starkey
Margherita ...... Joan Walker
Judge ...... John Rowe
Directed by Abigail le Fleming.
FRI 11:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b0161pxg)
Episode 5
Locked in a battle of wills, Bond's salvation comes from an unexpected quarter. Alex Jennings reads Ian Fleming's classic novel.
FRI 11:15 Afternoon Drama (b01dvw76)
Rachel Joyce ­ The Man with Wings
The Man with Wings, a new play for radio by award winning playwright Rachel Joyce, features a war­damaged man who wishes to fly, and a village boy, desperate for the return of his father.
It is 1947 and there is a gloomy and desolate feel to the small Gloucestershire village where young Jack Leach's boy lives. It is a village almost entirely populated by women and children; the men have yet to return from the war ­ and many will never return.
To this village comes a group of travelling nuns, who may or may
not be from a religious community, but who set up a homestead in
a deserted farmhouse. Then comes the man ­ back from the war ­ who is badly injured, but is nursed back to health by the women in the farmhouse. He is befriended in particular by Mireille, one of the women, and by the young boy, for whom he professes to have a secret. What this secret is, and why the man wishes to fly, is revealed as the play progresses. The boy then witnesses a scene
that will live with him forever.
This epic story about faith, forbidden love, and the intoxicating power of the imagination has one foot in the poverty of post­war rural Britain, a place of bitter disillusionment that reflects part of our society today, and another in the world of the beauty where the inconceivable may just possibly happen. Niamh Cusack, Tom Goodman Hill and Ian McDiarmid star in a play, which also introduces Jo Joyce Venables as the boy.
Original Music by Lucinda Mason Brown
Produced by Gordon House
A Goldhawk Essential Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 12:00 Yes Minister (b007k0fx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 12:30 The Goon Show (b00gklbf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 13:00 The Blackburn Files (b007wn7k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 13:30 In Search of the Villa Noel Fleuri (b00x44dz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 14:00 Ian McEwan ­ Saturday (b0076r5g)
Episode 10
February 15th, 2003: At the end of the day, Henry Perowne realises he has a decision to make. Concluded by Robert Glenister.
FRI 14:15 Book of the Week (b01mltk6)
Bring Me Sunshine ­ A Windswept, Rain­Soaked, Sun­Kissed, Snow­Capped Guide to Our Weather, Fog
by Charlie Connelly
Read by Stephen Mangan
The final stops on Charlie Connelly's meteorological journey include a young man's obsession with photographing snowflakes and a musical ode to the sea ­ the foghorn symphony.
We talk about the weather a lot. It exasperates, confounds and on occasion delights us. Our national conversation is dominated by the weather, but how much do we really know about it? In Bring Me Sunshine, Charlie Connelly sets off on the trail of our island obsession. He breezes through the lives of meteorological eccentrics, geniuses, rainmakers and cloud­busters and brings vividly to life great weather events from history. He sheds light on Britain's weirdest wind, the first weather Radio 4 Extra Listings for 10 – 16 December 2016
forecast and why people once thought firing cannons at clouds was a great idea. Having adventured round the shipping forecast areas for his bestselling Attention All Shipping, Connelly is the perfect guide through a mélange of gales, blizzards, mists, heatwaves and the occasional shower of fish. Bring Me Sunshine answers all your weather questions as well as helping you to distinguish your graupel from your petrichor.
Produced by Joanna Green
A Pier Production for BBC Radio 4.
FRI 14:30 Moya O'Shea ­ The Chocolate Lovers' Club (b00w6f7p)
Episode 5
Mysterious Mrs Drexl is last to share a chocolate tale, and the members soon discover why. Moya O'Shea's tale with Sylvia Syms and Paula Wilcox.
FRI 14:45 Travels With a Donkey (b00cblbn)
A Night Among the Pines
There's donkey trouble and no women around for Robert Louis Stevenson on his French mountain adventure. Read by Alan Cumming.
FRI 15:00 Classic Serial (b00cq7p2)
[Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today]
FRI 16:00 The Museum of Curiosity (b03cf03n)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today]
FRI 16:30 The Phenomenon Squad (b0855z15)
[Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today]
FRI 17:00 Never Too Late (b011j605)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today]
FRI 17:30 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b084tlr0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 18:00 Robert Aickman ­ The Hospice: Omnibus (b0855zx8)
4 Extra Debut. BBC 6 Music's Gideon Coe reads Robert Aickman's teasingly elusive strange tale, with a newly commissioned soundtrack by Vic Mars.
FRI 18:30 Soul Music (b013q20t)
Series 12, Spiegel im Spiegel
Exploring the impact that Estonian composer Arvo Pärt's piece for piano and violin Spiegel im Spiegel has had on people's lives. Written in 1978, just prior to his departure from Estonia, Arvo Pärt's Spiegel im Spiegel is musically minimal, yet produces a serene tranquillity.
It's in F major in 6/4 time, with the piano playing rising crotchet triads and the violin playing slow scales, alternately rising and falling, of increasing length, which all end on the note A. The score of the piece looks deceptively simple, but as violinist, Tasmin Little explains, it's one of the most difficult pieces to perform because the playing has to simply be perfect, or the mood
is lost.
"Spiegel im Spiegel" in German literally can mean both "mirror in the mirror" as well as "mirrors in the mirror", referring to the infinity of images produced by parallel plane mirrors.
The programme contains an interview with visual artist Mary Husted who heard this work and was inspired to produce a set of collages called "Spiegel im Spiegel" which in a round about way, led to her long lost son tracing her for the first time in his life.
FRI 19:00 Yes Minister (b007k0fx)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today]
FRI 19:30 The Goon Show (b00gklbf)
[Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today]
FRI 20:00 The Blackburn Files (b007wn7k)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today]
FRI 20:30 In Search of the Villa Noel Fleuri (b00x44dz)
[Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today]
FRI 21:00 James Bond ­ Casino Royale (b0161pxg)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today]
FRI 21:15 Afternoon Drama (b01dvw76)
[Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today]
FRI 22:00 John Shuttleworth's Lounge Music (b084tlr0)
[Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today]
FRI 22:30 Pleased to Meet You (b018j463)
A Very Dora Christmas, Episode 1
Theatre veteran Dora Dale puts the 'X' into Xmas with saucy festive yarns. With Jake Yapp and Martin Kelner. From December 2011. Episode 1 of 2.
FRI 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews (b0875yzv)
The best in contemporary comedy. Arthur Smith chats to Tez Ilyas.
FRI 23:00 Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive (b007wk83)
Series 3, Episode 2
Armando holds the ring for more hard­hitting blarney and outrageous fibs. With guests Jo Brand, Dave Gorman and Will Smith. From August 2007.
FRI 23:30 Hamish and Dougal: You'll Have Had Your Tea (b007k154)
Series 2, Fame Idol
The Scotsmen are desperate to utilise Mrs Naughtie's hidden talents. Stars Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden. From March 2004.
FRI 23:45 Self Storage (b01gk2wm)
Househunting
Separated and homeless, Dave muses on life outside his temporary storage pod home. Stars Reece Shearsmith. From September 2007.
Supported by bbc.co.uk/programmes/
Page 8 of 8