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SAT SATURDAY 19 DECEMBER 2015 SAT SAT 00:00 Arthur Conan Doyle - Professor Challenger b00zs6nn (Listen) SAT The Disintegration Machine SAT Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's indomitable academic must SAT investigate dastardly Latvian scientist Theodore Nemor. SAT Stars Bill Paterson. SAT SAT 00:30 Soul Music b0076blv (Listen) SAT Series 3, Kol Nidrei SAT Max Bruch's piece for cello is based on Jewish prayer sung SAT at Yom Kippur and played memorably by Jacqueline du Pre. SAT From November 2002. SAT SAT 01:00 P Division b00rgnxh (Listen) SAT Two Way Cut, Episode 4 SAT Donoghue has enough evidence to arrest Stein - but where is SAT he? Louise wants to make a statement about the murder and SAT Elka Willems is going to tell Mrs Salisbury about her SAT daughter's illness. SAT Stars Frank Gallagher as DC Malcolm Montgomery, Robert SAT Carlyle as DC King, Eliza Langland as WPC Elka Willems, SAT Ginni Barlow as Mrs Sailisbury, Mary Ann Reid as Mrs Steen, SAT Jake D'Arcy as DS Ray Sussock and Crawford Logan as DI SAT Donoghue. SAT Published in 1988, this is Peter Turnbull's fifth P Division SAT novel about his Glaswegian cops. SAT Dramatised by Stephen Mulrine. SAT Producer: Hamish Wilson SAT First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1993. SAT SAT 01:30 Eagle: The Space Age Weekly b00wqdx6 (Listen) SAT Sir Tim Rice explores the lasting appeal of British magazine SAT Eagle and the impact of its flagship character Dan Dare. SAT Eagle ran in two main incarnations between 1950 and 1994. SAT Dan Dare, often referred to as "Biggles in space", is SAT regarded in some circles as the greatest British science SAT fiction hero of the 20th century SAT In this feature we chart the influences behind the comic, SAT and explore the life of its creator Marcus Morris, a SAT fascinating man who began the publication because of his SAT concern over 'horrific' US comics which presented SAT 'disturbing' storylines which he felt 'corrupted British SAT youth'. SAT The programme reveals how Dan Dare was originally envisaged SAT as a space chaplain before becoming the popular astronaut. SAT It also examines the work of illustrator Frank Hampson who SAT introduced technology years ahead of its time. Hampson knew SAT the Space Age was on its way while serving in the Second SAT World War and seeing the German VI rockets. He made the Dan SAT Dare strips as realistic as possible by dressing his team in SAT spacesuits and uniforms, basing the look of the fictional SAT characters on his colleagues. SAT We reveal how the stories had educational value and, along SAT with Dan Dare, we look at other Eagle offerings including SAT Shakespeare's plays and the Greek myths which ran as comic SAT strips. SAT Featuring contributions from author Philip Pullman, Sally SAT Morris the daughter of Eagle Creator Marcus and Eagle SAT Society member David Britton. SAT SAT 02:00 Jan Struther - Mrs Miniver b00nnp65 (Listen) SAT Back From Abroad; Three Stockings SAT The engaging stories of an English housewife, created in The SAT Times of 1937 and immortalised on film. Read by Penelope SAT Wilton. SAT SAT 02:15 A Cause for Caroling b03kvby7 (Listen) SAT The Ghosts of the West Gallery SAT In the fifth programme of his series telling the story of SAT the Christmas Carol Jeremy Summerly visits Dorchester where SAT Thomas Hardy captured the caroling tradition that had SAT matured through the 17th and 18th century but which faced SAT extinction in the 19th. The West Gallery tradition of SAT musicians and singers in parish churches was an integral SAT part of community life in Hardy's Wessex as elsewhere. SAT Jeremy explains the origins of that tradition and the SAT fuguing carols so beloved at the time and why it was that SAT their days were numbered. SAT Along with folk musician Tim Laycock he gets to see the SAT carol manuscripts from which Hardy's great grandfather SAT played and sang on Christmas night in 1800. SAT Series Description: SAT The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when SAT carolers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back SAT then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots SAT in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would SAT quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song. SAT But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music SAT history because each shift in the story has been preserved SAT in the carols that we sing today. Go to a carol concert now SAT and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-victorian and SAT modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that SAT happening in any other situation. SAT In these programmes Jeremy Summerly follows the carol SAT journey through the Golden age of the Medieval carol into SAT the troubled period of Reformation and puritanism, along the SAT byways of the 17th and 18th century waits and gallery SAT musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the SAT carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol SAT veer between the sacred and secular even before there was SAT any understanding of those terms. For long periods the SAT church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the SAT virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and carol texts. SAT Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by SAT the carols they hear from Kings College Cambridge. SAT He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the SAT carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, SAT some of which survive to this day and many others which SAT languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. SAT It's a journey full of song describing the history of a SAT people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the SAT coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the SAT heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. SAT Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this SAT music. SAT That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are SAT one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather SAT than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for SAT Children; Once in Royal David's City the most familiar SAT example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on SAT the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the SAT uninhibited world of folk song and ballad. SAT The series title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which SAT he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should chose to sing SAT - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound' - SAT is the question asked. THis series is an attempt to answer SAT why Carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In SAT fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood SAT Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he SAT described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on SAT Christmas Eve: SAT 'Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time SAT worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally SAT transmitted from father to son through several generations SAT down to the present characters, who sang them out right SAT earnestly." SAT Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the SAT famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC SAT since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service SAT that commands a worldwide audience measured in many SAT millions, but as Jeremy concludes it has left an imbalance SAT in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition SAT that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the SAT choir stalls. SAT Producer: Tom Alban. SAT SAT 02:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvwn (Listen) SAT Episode 5 SAT Becky travels to London with the ailing spinster Miss SAT Crawley. Narrated by Stephen Fry. With Emma Fielding and SAT Margaret Tyzack. SAT SAT 02:45 Alan Coren - Core Coren b007jrq9 (Listen) SAT One is One - Leading the Solitary Life SAT The humorist, writer and broadcaster muses on a Victorian SAT novelty, the chance of appearing in Macbeth and SAT home-working. SAT SAT 03:00 Home Front - Omnibus b064jrpl (Listen) SAT 26-30 October 1915 SAT Closing Omnibus edition of season five of this epic drama SAT series set in Great War Britain. SAT CAST SAT Guard ..... David Acton SAT Esme ..... Katie Angelou SAT Norman ..... Sean Baker SAT Edie ..... Kathryn Beaumont SAT Roy ..... Tim Beckmann SAT Stella ..... Ava Bell SAT Ray ..... Scarlett Bell SAT Isabel ..... Keely Beresford SAT Gabriel ..... Michael Bertenshaw SAT Mack ..... Owen Clarke SAT Dolly ..... Elaine Claxton SAT Alice ..... Claire Louise Cordwell SAT Beau ..... Stephen Critchlow SAT Sylvia ..... Joanna David SAT Cooper ..... Mark Edel-Hunt SAT Marion ..... Laura Elphinstone SAT Hilary ..... Craige Els SAT Roland ..... Jack Holden SAT Man 1 ..... David Hounslow SAT Adam ..... Billy Kennedy SAT Kitty ..... Ami Metcalf SAT PC Eldridge ..... Dan Hagley SAT Brad ..... Neet Mohan SAT Clemmie ..... Joanna Monro SAT Albert ..... Harry Myers SAT Woman ..... Rhiannon Neads SAT Johnnie ..... Paul Ready SAT Marieke ..... Olivia Ross SAT Florrie ..... Claire Rushbrook SAT Dorothea ..... Rachel Shelley SAT Alec ..... Tom Stuart SAT Sally ..... Sarah Thom SAT Maggie ..... Hollie Thoupos SAT Ivy ..... Lizzy Watts SAT Nancy ..... Jane Whittenshaw SAT Written by Richard Monks SAT Story-led by Sarah Daniels SAT Consultant Historian: Professor Maggie Andrews SAT Music: Matthew Strachan SAT Directed by Jessica Dromgoole. SAT SAT 04:00 The 99p Challenge b06s6mrj (Listen) SAT Series 4, Episode 5 SAT Crazy panel show capers as host Sue Perkins grills Armando SAT Iannucci, Peter Baynham, Sean Lock and Jack Docherty. SAT The game where someone stands to leave the studio 99p richer SAT than when they came in. SAT Producer: David Tyler SAT First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003. SAT SAT 04:30 Mind Your Own Business! b009pr6l (Listen) SAT Points of Disagreement SAT Whiz-kid Jimmy and staid Russell clash over a business SAT takeover. Stars Bernard Cribbins and Frank Thornton. From SAT January 1988. SAT SAT 05:00 Winston Comes to Town b007svwq (Listen) SAT The Best Place for Them SAT With Father set for an old folk's home, can the old rogue SAT save the day for Nancy? Stars Maurice Denham. From February SAT 1990. SAT SAT 05:30 Trodd en Bratt Say 'Well Done You' b06rxgtc (Listen) SAT Series 2, Episode 4 SAT The fun packed second series from comedy duo Lucy Trodd and SAT Ruth Bratt draws to a conclusion. Sketches and songs from a SAT whole range of new characters, with the occasional SAT appearance from some old favourites. SAT The first series was nominated for Best Comedy at the BBC SAT Audio awards 2014, and all four performers have recently SAT been on the West End stage as part of the smash hit SAT Showstopper: The Improvised Musical - and were part of the SAT show when it graced the Radio 4 airwaves a few years ago. SAT This week the vaguely European owners of the Fings and Bobs SAT Novelty Shop make a return visit to SAT Wherever-we-come-from-Land, Evelyn and Gertie try to be nice SAT and - there's been a murder! SAT Performers: SAT Lucy Trodd SAT Ruth Bratt SAT Adam Meggido SAT Oliver Senton SAT Written and created by: Ruth Bratt and Lucy Trodd SAT Script Editor: Jon Hunter SAT Original music: Duncan Walsh Atkins SAT Producer: Steve Doherty SAT A Lucky Giant production for BBC Radio 4. SAT Credits SAT Performer: Lucy Trodd SAT Performer: Ruth Bratt SAT Performer: Adam Meggido SAT Performer: Oliver Senton SAT Writer: Ruth Bratt SAT Writer: Lucy Trodd SAT Producer: Steve Doherty SAT SAT 06:00 Alick Rowe - Crisp and Even Brightly b007jqsz (Listen) SAT Was the poor man gathering fuel really poor, and was he SAT really a man - or was she a Slavnik spy in disguise? Was SAT Wenceslas's tramp into the forest with his ten-year-old page SAT carrying flesh and wine and logs just a public relations SAT exercise? SAT What is the true story behind the story of Good King SAT Wenceslas? SAT Alick Rowe's comedy stars Timothy West as Good King SAT Wenceslas, James Holland as the Page, June Barrie as the SAT Queen Grandmother, Christian Rodska as Sigmund, Bill Wallis SAT as Tunna and Polly James as a Hovel Dweller. SAT Music by Andrew Christie. SAT Directed in Bristol by Shaun McLaughlin. SAT First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1987. SAT SAT 07:15 Oscar Wilde b06w1frs (Listen) SAT The Happy Prince SAT Can the statue of the 'Happy Prince' and a friendly swallow SAT help the poor people they see below them? Read by Joseph SAT Fiennes. SAT SAT 07:30 Marguerite Patten's Century of British Cooking SAT b0075k9n (Listen) SAT Trench Cookers and Borsch, 1940-1949 SAT Borsch, Corned Beef Loaf, Jugged Hare, Crumble, Pickled Red SAT Cabbage and Christmas Pudding. SAT Marguerite Patten mingles recipes of the 1940s with memories SAT of the Blitz, pressure cookers, trench cookers, digging for SAT victory, the formation of the NHS and some of her own early SAT broadcasts - in her 10-part history of British cooking. SAT Marguerite told us how to make the most of our rations SAT during the Second World War in 'Kitchen Front' on the BBC SAT Home Service. She fronted her first BBC TV cookery show in SAT 1947. SAT Born in Bath, the home economist was widely considered to be SAT the first celebrity cook, and wrote more than 170 books with SAT worldwide sales of 17 million. SAT A regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour SAT programme from 1946, Marguerite's final appearance was in SAT 2011. She was awarded the OBE in 1991 and CBE in 2011. SAT Born November 4th 1915, Marguerite Patten died just a few SAT months short of her 100th birthday in June 2015. SAT Producer: Ian Willox SAT First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1999. SAT SAT 08:00 Meeting Myself Coming Back b01jppw6 (Listen) SAT Series 4, Richard Branson SAT The first programme in the new series of 'Meeting Myself SAT Coming Back', the series in which leading public figures SAT explore their lives through the BBC archives, features Sir SAT Richard Branson in conversation with John Wilson. From his SAT early days as the founder of "Student" magazine, to the SAT creation of the Virgin record business and expansion into a SAT global empire, Richard Branson has been an icon of SAT entrepreneurship. In this interview, he meets his younger SAT self from the sound archive and discusses his reactions with SAT John Wilson. SAT He begins by hearing his 21- year old self running the SAT influential "Student Magazine" from a basement in London and SAT relives the way he created Virgin Records as a cut price SAT mail order enterprise. He also hears the sound archive from SAT 1984 when he announced the setting up of Virgin Atlantic SAT with only one plane. We hear his memories of his daring SAT exploits in hot air balloons and at sea and his thoughts on SAT escaping death by a whisker. SAT Richard Branson also relives the episode when one of his SAT planes flew into Baghdad airport in to bring out the British SAT hostages held by Saddam Hussain after the invasion of Kuwait SAT in 1990. He talks about the eerie stillness of the deserted SAT airport, the tension of waiting and the relief when the SAT hostages finally came on board. SAT We also hear his thoughts on doing business, taking knocks, SAT political affiliation, plans for space travel and paying SAT tax. SAT Producer: Emma Kingsley. SAT SAT 09:00 Josie Long Hears the Truth b06s9rcn (Listen) SAT The truth in all of its forms can be complicated, but that's SAT not to say it's not worth the quest. From heartfelt, SAT emotional encounters to awe-inspiring experiences, Josie SAT Long presents the best in true storytelling from both home SAT and abroad. SAT The items featured in this programme are: SAT The Worst Haircut Ever - Radio producer Jeff Cohen SAT interviews his two young daughters about a haircut that went SAT terribly wrong. SAT Produced by Jeff Cohen SAT The Blow Up Bra - 94-year-old Betty Jenkins remembers a SAT quirky gift from her mother. SAT Produced by Nadia Reiman SAT School Night - Storyteller Ameera Chowdhury recalls writing SAT a pop music review as a teen and receiving a surprising SAT response. SAT Produced for The Moth Radio Hour SAT Don't Go Far - The adventure of two Dublin children in SAT August 1985 who chanced a free ride on the DART and ended up SAT further away than they expected... SAT Produced by Ronan Kelly and Paul Russell SAT The Real Tom Banks - 23 year old gay teen Tom Banks is on SAT the search for love...on the internet. SAT Produced by Jesse Cox SAT Split Brain - Brain scientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor SAT remembers every moment of her life-altering stroke. SAT Produced by Nick Van der Kolk SAT Freud's Couch - Roman Mars on the story behind the most SAT famous couch in history. SAT Produced by Ann Hepperman SAT Myrtle and Denika - Fi Glover hears from Myrtle, one of the SAT first single parents to adopt in the UK, and Denika, who was SAT 5 when she went to live with her. SAT Produced by Victoria McArthur SAT Dame Mitsuko Uchida - Japanese born classical pianist, Dame SAT Mitsuko Uchida talks about her inspiration and passion for SAT piano playing. SAT Produced for Front Row SAT Helen Sharman - The first British person to travel in space, SAT Helen remembers docking with the Mir space station in 1991 SAT and her regret at having to return to Earth. SAT Produced for My Century SAT Millie The Jack Russell - We hear the story of the SAT overweight Jack Russell Millie's return to fitness for SAT 2014's PDSA Pet Fit Club. SAT Produced for You And Yours SAT Norma Miller - Harlem born Norma Miller tells the story of SAT her lindy hop days. SAT Produced for My Century SAT Living With Birdie - Birdie McDonald tells the extraordinary SAT story of her life as a foster mother of more than 850 SAT children over the last 35 years. SAT Produced by Emily Jeal SAT Made for BBC Radio 4 in Extra and first broadcast in SAT December 2015. SAT SAT 12:00 Round the Horne b00mlxk1 (Listen) SAT Series 3, Episode 12 SAT Kenneth Williams saddles up as a jockey in 'A Man Is Two SAT Foot Tall', but Kenneth Horne is after some advice on Bona SAT Bijou Tourettes from Julian and Sandy. SAT With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill SAT Pertwee. SAT Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, SAT London. Announcer: Douglas Smith SAT Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio SAT comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric SAT Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, SAT Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the SAT scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and SAT 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, SAT catchphrases and double-entendres. SAT Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser SAT Hayes Four. SAT Producer: John Simmonds SAT First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1967. SAT SAT 12:30 Brothers in Law b007k0y6 (Listen) SAT Series 2, Look It Up SAT Newly qualified lawyer Roger annoys his girlfriend Sally by SAT defending a wife-beater. Stars Richard Briers. From July SAT 1971. SAT SAT 13:00 Sarah Woods - Speck of Dust Omnibus b06sb14w (Listen) SAT When Zoe's husband Ben leaves her for another woman, she is SAT determined the family will get on fine without him. With SAT Eiry Thomas. SAT SAT 14:10 Inheritance Tracks b06sb17d (Listen) SAT Rick Stein SAT Chef Rick Stein chooses 'Wouldn't It Be Lovely' from My Fair SAT Lady, and 'Afternoons And Coffee Spoons' by the Crash Test SAT Dummies. SAT SAT 14:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair b06sb28z (Listen) SAT Tony Benn SAT Former cabinet minister, politician and campaigner Tony Benn SAT discusses his life and career with Professor Anthony Clare. SAT From 1995. SAT Psychiatrist Dr Anthony Clare's in depth interviews with SAT prominent people from different walks of life. SAT Born in Dublin, author Anthony Clare held a doctorate in SAT medicine, a master's degree in philosophy and was a fellow SAT of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. After becoming a SAT regular on BBC Radio 4's Stop the Week in the 1980s, he SAT became Britain's best-known psychiatrist and earned his own SAT vehicle, In the Psychiatrist's Chair. Starting in 1982, this SAT series ran until 2001 and also transferred to TV. Series SAT highlights include conversations with Bob Monkhouse, Cecil SAT Parkinson and Gerry Adams. SAT Anthony Clare died suddenly in Paris aged 64 in 2007. SAT First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 1995. SAT SAT 15:00 Meeting Myself Coming Back b01jppw6 (Listen) SAT [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] SAT SAT 16:00 Alick Rowe - Crisp and Even Brightly b007jqsz (Listen) SAT [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] SAT SAT 17:15 Oscar Wilde b06w1frs (Listen) SAT [Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today] SAT SAT 17:30 Marguerite Patten's Century of British Cooking SAT b0075k9n (Listen) SAT [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] SAT SAT 18:00 Classic Serial b01nkt24 (Listen) SAT The Gothic Imagination, Frankenstein, part 1 SAT A new production of Mary Shelley's heart-breaking modern SAT myth of obsession, pride and the need for love. SAT While sailing through the Arctic wastes, Captain Walton SAT picks up an unexpected passenger. Close to death the man SAT begins to tell Walton his strange and terrible story. 1 of 2 SAT Dramatised by Lucy Catherine. SAT Directed by Marc Beeby. SAT Credits SAT Frankenstein: Jamie Parker SAT The Monster: Shaun Dooley SAT Elizabeth: Susie Riddell SAT Walton: Alun Raglan SAT Father: Robert Blythe SAT Clerval: Sam Alexander SAT Mother: Christine Absalom SAT Waldman: Patrick Brennan SAT Justine: Emma Hook SAT Sailor: Joe Sims SAT Lieutenant: Don Gilet SAT Writer: Lucy Catherine SAT Director: Marc Beeby SAT SAT 19:00 Josie Long Hears the Truth b06s9rcn (Listen) SAT [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] SAT SAT 22:00 Irish Micks and Legends b01nq4j1 (Listen) SAT Series 1, Tir Na Nog SAT Aisling Bea and Yasmine Akram become Ais and Yaz and are the SAT very best pals. They are taking their role as Ireland's SAT freshest story-tellers to the British nation very seriously SAT indeed but they haven't had the time to do much research, SAT learn their lines or work out who is doing which parts. SAT The girls' unconventional way of telling stories involves a SAT concoction of thoroughly inappropriate modern-day metaphors SAT and references to many of the ancient Irish stories. SAT With a natural knack for both comedy and character voices SAT Yasmine Akram and Aisling Bea will bring you warm, modern SAT re-workings of popular ancient Irish stories. SAT Today it's Tir Na Nog. SAT Written and performed by Aisling Bea and Yasmine Akram SAT Producer: Raymond Lau. SAT SAT 22:15 Mission Improbable b01p4254 (Listen) SAT Series 1, Splash! SAT A brand new series of high octane mini-adventures, written SAT by and starring The Boom Jennies - Anna Emerson, Lizzie SAT Bates and Catriona Knox. SAT When cub reporter Jane arrives in Tintagel to get an SAT interview with Cornwall's oldest whelk fisherman, her SAT long-suffering companions could be forgiven if they were a SAT little reluctant to tag along. Not a bit of it. SAT Spinster-in-waiting Lucy has her eye on Jane's SAT septuagenarian man of the sea, and zoo assistant Amelia has SAT her mind fixed on dolphins. But as they head out into the SAT bay to intercept the aged shellfish gatherer, the speed of SAT Amelia's rowing sets them on a very different course - one SAT of world records, mountainous seas and near misses with oil SAT tankers. SAT Will Jane get her story? Will Lucy catch the man of her SAT dreams? Will Amelia remember to take the lens cap off her SAT binoculars? All these questions will be answered before SAT their plucky rowing boat spies land once more. SAT Jane ................ Catriona Knox SAT Lucy .................Lizzie Bates SAT Amelia ..............Anna Emerson SAT Bill ................... Paul Ryan SAT Written by Anna Emerson, Lizzie Bates and Catriona Knox SAT Audio production by Matt Katz SAT Produced by Dave Lamb and Richie Webb SAT A Top Dog Production for BBC Radio 4. SAT SAT 22:30 Strap In - It's Clever Peter b01jhdht (Listen) SAT Pedro SAT Strap in for 15 minutes of rip-roaring comedy as Clever SAT Peter bring you a death plunge, a leap across a ravine and a SAT sexy clown. SAT Clever Peter - the wild and brilliantly funny award-winning SAT sketch team - get their own Radio 4 show. SAT From the team that brought you Cabin Pressure and Another SAT Case of Milton Jones comes the massively bonkers and funny SAT Clever Peter, hot off the Edinburgh Fringe and wearers of SAT tri-coloured jerseys. SAT "If they don't go very far very soon there is no such thing SAT as British justice" - Daily Telegraph SAT "A masterclass in original sketch comedy" - Metro SAT "Pretty much top of the class"- The Scotsman SAT So - SAT Why "Clever"? SAT Dunno SAT Why "Peter"? SAT Not a clue mate SAT Should I listen to the show? SAT Yes, of course! Derrr. SAT Starring Richard Bond, Edward Eales-White, William Hartley SAT and special guest Catriona Knox SAT Written by Richard Bond, Edward Eales-White, William Hartley SAT and Dominic Stone SAT Produced and directed by David Tyler SAT A Pozzitive Television Ltd production for BBC Radio 4. SAT Credits SAT Performer: Richard dBond SAT Performer: Edward Eales-White SAT Performer: William Hartley SAT Performer: Catriona Knox SAT Director: David Tyler SAT Producer: David Tyler SAT Writer: Richard dBond SAT Writer: Edward Eales-White SAT Writer: William Hartley SAT Writer: Dominic Stone SAT SAT 22:45 Steven Appleby's Normal Life b007jn0b (Listen) SAT Series 1, Normal Science SAT The cartoonist aims to prove that science will make the SAT natural world entirely redundant. Stars Paul McCrink. From SAT August 2001. SAT SAT 23:00 The Jason Byrne Show b01p03v9 (Listen) SAT Series 3, Ever Been Proposed to in a Pub? SAT The award-winning funny man muses on the merits of SAT matrimony. With Laurence Howarth and Daisy Haggard. From SAT October 2010. SAT SAT 23:30 Son of Cliché b00p4mcr (Listen) SAT Freddie Fortune SAT From a spoof Melvyn Bragg to a signing chimp. Sketch comedy SAT with Chris Barrie, Nick Maloney and Nick Wilton. From SAT November 1984. SAT SAT SUN SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER 2015 SUN SUN 00:00 Classic Serial b01nkt24 (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Saturday] SUN SUN 01:00 Sarah Woods - Speck of Dust Omnibus b06sb14w (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 13:00 on Saturday] SUN SUN 02:10 Inheritance Tracks b06sb17d (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 14:10 on Saturday] SUN SUN 02:15 In the Psychiatrist's Chair b06sb28z (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Saturday] SUN SUN 03:00 Meeting Myself Coming Back b01jppw6 (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 on Saturday] SUN SUN 04:00 Alick Rowe - Crisp and Even Brightly b007jqsz (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Saturday] SUN SUN 05:15 Oscar Wilde b06w1frs (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Saturday] SUN SUN 05:30 Marguerite Patten's Century of British Cooking SUN b0075k9n (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Saturday] SUN SUN 06:00 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair Omnibus SUN b008lywx (Listen) SUN Episode 1 SUN Orphan Becky Sharp begins her journey in society. Stephen SUN Fry narrates the Victorian comic tale. With Emma Fielding. SUN SUN 07:15 Unbuilt Britain b01l0csn (Listen) SUN A Pyramid for Primrose Hill SUN In the second in the series, architectural writer and SUN historian Jonathan Glancey looks at some of the most SUN fantastic building projects of Britain and finds out why SUN they didn't make it off the drawing board. In north London, SUN Primrose Hill is today a park much loved by local residents. SUN But, as Jonathan discovers, plans in the 19th century might SUN have led to a giant pyramid being built, a place of burial SUN for millions of corpses. SUN How could such an extraordinary project ever have been SUN considered for this part of London? Jonathan Glancey looks SUN at the Victorian approach to death and how an Egyptian SUN pyramid might just have fitted with the times. SUN SUN 07:30 Ed Reardon's Week b00q2w82 (Listen) SUN Series 6, The Cruise SUN ED REARDON'S WEEK SUN Episode 3: The Cruise SUN Ed, surprisingly, has had a brilliant idea for a book and, SUN even more surprisingly, Ping agrees. So it is that when an SUN opportunity arises to go on a cruise with Jaz and the band, SUN Ed takes up the offer in order to find creative SUN reinvigoration at sea. SUN With Christopher Douglas as Ed Reardon SUN and Stephanie Cole as Olive SUN Simon Greenall as Ray SUN Geoff McGivern as Cliff SUN Philip Jackson as Jaz SUN Rita May as Pearl SUN Barunka O'Shaughnessey as Ping SUN And Geoffrey Whitehead as Stan SUN With Kim Wall and Lewis McCleod SUN Written by Christopher Douglas and Andrew Nickolds SUN Producer: Dawn Ellis. SUN Credits SUN Producer: Dawn Ellis SUN SUN 08:00 The Al Read Show b008xzwj (Listen) SUN From 28/10/1995 SUN Right monkey! Al takes a peek inside the world of horse SUN racing. A compilation of the northern comic's 1950s SUN monologues. SUN SUN 08:30 Much Binding in the Marsh b018zl22 (Listen) SUN From 01/12/53 SUN 4 Extra Debut. The staff of 'The Weekly Bind' visits a SUN Christmas novelty factory. Stars Kenneth Horne and Dora SUN Bryan. From December 1953. SUN SUN 09:00 My History Omnibus b06sbdn3 (Listen) SUN In 1936, at the age of four, Lady Antonia Fraser is given a SUN book by her godmother that later inspires her to become an SUN historian. SUN SUN 10:10 Inheritance Tracks b06sbdn5 (Listen) SUN Juliette Lewis SUN Actress and singer Juliette Lewis chooses 'Peg' by Steely SUN Dan, and 'Voodoo Child/Slight Return' by Jimi Hendrix. SUN SUN 10:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited b06sbg3r (Listen) SUN Singers, Morrissey SUN 4 Extra Debut. From Marianne Faithfull to The Velvet SUN Underground. Singer Morrissey shares his castaway choices SUN with Kirsty Young. From November 2009. SUN SUN 11:00 The Moth Radio Hour b06sbgmx (Listen) SUN Ghosts, Angels and Motorcycle Rides SUN True stories told live in the USA: Sarah Austin Jenness SUN introduces tales about ghosts, last chances and revelations. SUN The Moth is an acclaimed not-for-profit organisation SUN dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling based in the SUN USA. Since 1997, it has celebrated both the raconteur and SUN the storytelling novice, who has lived through something SUN extraordinary and yearns to share it. Originally formed by SUN the writer George Dawes Green as an intimate gathering of SUN friends on a porch in Georgia (where moths would flutter in SUN through a hole in the screen), and then recreated in a New SUN York City living room, The Moth quickly grew to produce SUN immensely popular events at theatres and clubs around New SUN York City and later around the USA, the UK and other parts SUN of the world. SUN The Moth has presented more than 15,000 stories, told live SUN and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. SUN The Moth podcast is downloaded over 27 million times a year. SUN Featuring true stories told live on stage without scripts, SUN from the humorous to the heart-breaking. SUN The Moth Radio Hour is produced by Jay Allison and Atlantic SUN Public Media in Woods Hole, Massachusetts and is distributed SUN by the Public Radio Exchange. SUN SUN 11:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories b00ptl4p (Listen) SUN Series 1, Large Blue SUN The naturalist asks why the Large Blue butterfly recently SUN died out in the UK - and the challenge of its SUN reintroduction. SUN SUN 12:00 The Al Read Show b008xzwj (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] SUN SUN 12:30 Much Binding in the Marsh b018zl22 (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] SUN SUN 13:00 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair Omnibus SUN b008lywx (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] SUN SUN 14:15 Unbuilt Britain b01l0csn (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 today] SUN SUN 14:30 Slade House Omnibus b06sbhv7 (Listen) SUN Every nine years, a guest is summoned to the eerie Slade SUN House, but why has that person been chosen, and by whom? SUN SUN 15:45 Hans Christian Andersen - The Fir Tree b01pfwn0 (Listen) SUN Out in the woods amongst his many large companions, a nice SUN little fir tree is keen to grow up. Read by Paul Copley. SUN SUN 16:00 The Northern Irish Man in CS Lewis b007jw8w (Listen) SUN The much-loved writer's fascinating childhood and how it SUN inspired tales of Narnia. Brian Sibley's account stars SUN Geoffrey Palmer. SUN SUN 17:00 Poetry Extra b0076bz0 (Listen) SUN The Echo Chamber - The Knowledge SUN BBC Radio 4's Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra revisits the SUN BBC's radio poetry archive. SUN In 'The Echo Chamber', Paul Farley does the Knowledge, SUN collecting taxi poems and sounds from all over London. SUN Including poems by John Challis, Sean O'Brien and David SUN Harsent and songs, prose texts and other performances from a SUN series of art events held in the capital's surviving cabbies SUN shelters. SUN Producer: Tim Dee. SUN First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014. SUN SUN 17:30 Ed Reardon's Week b00q2w82 (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] SUN SUN 18:00 Fear on Four b00c84lh (Listen) SUN Series 2, The Monkey's Revenge SUN The Man in Black tells of a seriously ill doctor taking SUN control of his own destiny. SUN Starring Jenny Howe as the Mother, Catherine Alexander as SUN June, Richard Pasco as John, Ronald Herdman as the Surgeon SUN and Edward de Souza as the Man in Black. SUN Fear on 4 brings you more in a series of nerve-tinglers. SUN Written by Guy Jenkin. SUN Producer: Gerry Jones SUN First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. SUN SUN 18:30 Susan Hill - The Woman in Black b007jz83 (Listen) SUN The Nursery and a Child SUN More ghostly revelations for solicitor Arthur Kipps in SUN ghostly Eel Marsh House. Stars John Woodvine and Robert SUN Glenister. SUN SUN 19:00 The Moth Radio Hour b06sbgmx (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today] SUN SUN 19:50 David Attenborough's Life Stories b00ptl4p (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 11:50 today] SUN SUN 20:00 My History Omnibus b06sbdn3 (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] SUN SUN 21:10 Inheritance Tracks b06sbdn5 (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 10:10 today] SUN SUN 21:15 Desert Island Discs Revisited b06sbg3r (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 10:15 today] SUN SUN 22:00 Ed Reardon's Week b00q2w82 (Listen) SUN [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] SUN SUN 22:30 My Teenage Diary b039cy0f (Listen) SUN Series 5, Sarfraz Manzoor SUN Another brave celebrity revisits their formative years by SUN opening up their intimate teenage diaries, and reading them SUN out in public for the very first time. In this programme, SUN Comedian Rufus Hound is joined by journalist Sarfraz SUN Manzoor. SUN Sarfraz relives his teenage days living in Luton in a strict SUN Muslim family - when he was obsessed with Bo Derek and pop SUN music, and desperate to buy a computer. SUN Producer: Harriet Jaine SUN A Talkback production for BBC Radio 4. SUN Credits SUN Presenter: Rufus Hound SUN Interviewed Guest: Sarfraz Manzoor SUN Producer: Harriet Jaine SUN SUN 23:00 I Think I've Got a Problem b007xvrp (Listen) SUN Series 1, Episode 3 SUN Tom gets a courier job to Spain, but his 'imaginary' band SUN causes plane mayhem. Stars Suggs and Bob Monkhouse. From SUN July 2001. SUN SUN 23:30 A Look Back at the Future b01rszvs (Listen) SUN 2021 SUN Recorded in July 1994, Brian Perkins, Kate Robbins and Tony SUN Hawks find helium in the air and 'Casablanca: The Sound SUN Man's Cut'. SUN SUN MON MONDAY 21 DECEMBER 2015 MON MON 00:00 Fear on Four b00c84lh (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Sunday] MON MON 00:30 Susan Hill - The Woman in Black b007jz83 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Sunday] MON MON 01:00 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair Omnibus MON b008lywx (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Sunday] MON MON 02:15 Unbuilt Britain b01l0csn (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 07:15 on Sunday] MON MON 02:30 Slade House Omnibus b06sbhv7 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Sunday] MON MON 03:45 Hans Christian Andersen - The Fir Tree b01pfwn0 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 15:45 on Sunday] MON MON 04:00 The Northern Irish Man in CS Lewis b007jw8w (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Sunday] MON MON 05:00 Poetry Extra b0076bz0 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 17:00 on Sunday] MON MON 05:30 Ed Reardon's Week b00q2w82 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Sunday] MON MON 06:00 Agatha Christie b0081rx2 (Listen) MON The Sittaford Mystery, The Message MON A blizzard has hit England. In the tiny village of MON Sittaford, on the fringes of Dartmoor, a party of six is MON gathered in Sittaford House, home of Captain Trevelyan. He's MON rented the house out for the winter and is staying in a MON nearby village. As evening draws in, a séance is proposed. MON But it reveals something far more sinister than they'd all MON anticipated... MON Agatha Christie's whodunit stars Geoffrey Whitehead as MON Inspector Narracott, Barbara Atkinson as Mrs Curtis, Norman MON Bird as Major Burnaby, Susan Westerby as Mrs Willett, MON Victoria Carling as Violet Willett and John Moffatt as Mr MON Rycroft. MON From the book first published in 1931. MON Dramatised and directed by Michael Bakewell. MON First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. MON MON 06:30 The Great Gatsby Letters b01130n7 (Listen) MON F Scott Fitzgerald tells his editor Maxwell Perkins about MON his hopes and fears for his new novel. Read by William Hope. MON MON 07:00 The Right Time b00c5snp (Listen) MON Series 3, Episode 5 MON There's a timeshare shock in the sketch comedy for people MON growing older disgracefully. Stars Eleanor Bron and Neil MON Innes. From April 2003. MON MON 07:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue b06rxn53 (Listen) MON Series 64, Episode 3 MON The nation's favourite wireless entertainment pays a visit MON to the Grand Opera House in York. Regulars Barry Cryer, MON Graeme Garden and Tim Brooke-Taylor are joined on the panel MON by Sandi Toksvig, with Jack Dee in the chair. Colin Sell MON provides piano accompaniment. MON Producer - Jon Naismith. It is a BBC Radio Comedy MON production. MON Credits MON Presenter: Jack Dee MON Panellist: Barry Cryer MON Panellist: Graeme Garden MON Panellist: Tim Brooke-Taylor MON Panellist: Sandi Toksvig MON Producer: Jon Naismith MON MON 08:00 Dad's Army b007jq82 (Listen) MON Series 3, Things That Go Bump in the Night MON Corporal Jones's van runs out of petrol, so the Home Guard MON platoon must take shelter in a spooky house. MON Starring Arthur Lowe as Captain Mainwaring, John Le Mesurier MON as Sergeant Wilson, Clive Dunn as Corporal Jones, John MON Laurie as Private Frazer, Arnold Ridley as Godfrey, Ian MON Lavender as Private Pike and Larry Martyn as Private Walker. MON Adapted for radio from Jimmy Perry and David Croft's TV MON scripts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles. MON Producer: John Dyas MON First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 1976. MON MON 08:30 Brothers in Law b007k164 (Listen) MON Series 2, Tell 'Em the Tale MON Lawyer Roger has an appointment with his boss, but worries MON in case the news is bad. Stars Richard Briers. From July MON 1971. MON MON 09:00 Quote... Unquote b0128ln0 (Listen) MON The popular quotations quiz returns for a new series, hosted MON by Nigel Rees. This week the panellists are former BBC MON Chairman, Michael Grade, comedian Simon Munnery, poet Ian MON McMillan and psychiatrist Dr Sandra Scott. MON The reader is Peter Jefferson. MON Produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer. MON MON 09:30 King Street Junior b007jmfw (Listen) MON Series 5, Good Times, Bad Times MON Mrs Stone thinks that teachers are all frustrated MON performers, and she may well be right. Stars James Grout. MON From May 1990. MON MON 10:00 Mystery Theater b06sdzqk (Listen) MON Rocky Fortune: Frank Sinatra, part 2 MON Genial drifter Rocky Fortune is always in need of an odd MON job. This time he finds himself moon-bound for a 'Rocket to MON the Morgue'. Or is it all just a load of moonshine? MON Frank Sinatra portrayed "footloose and fancy-free young man" MON Rocky Fortune for NBC for 25 episodes during an MON album-recording hiatus that ended with the release of the MON legendary 'Songs for Young Lovers' in 1954. MON Cast includes: Howard Culver, Don Diamond and Edith Terry. MON Scripted by George Lefferts. Directed by Andrew C Love. MON Announcer: Eddie King. MON First broadcast in the USA on NBC (National Broadcasting MON Company) in 1954 MON 4 Extra's MYSTERY THEATER showcases American radio's golden MON years of the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's MON greatest screen stars were regular performers, often MON re-enacting film roles. MON MON 10:30 Just William - Live! b01pfrrc (Listen) MON Series 3, William Holds the Stage MON Last May, as part of Winchester's Best of British Festival MON in celebration of the Jubilee, Martin Jarvis performed the MON first of two of Richmal Crompton's comic classics, live MON on-stage. MON In William Holds the Stage, when an old boy of the school MON gives a lecture on Hamlet, William gets a somewhat confused MON idea that Shakespeare's plays were written by a man called MON Ham, and that Shakespeare poisoned Ham, and stole the plays MON and pretended he had written them. Then a man called Bacon MON got involved and possibly someone called Eggs as well. MON When it's announced that the class will perform a scene from MON Hamlet in front of a live audience, William decides that, MON despite being cast as an attendant, he'd prefer to play the MON leading role himself. But things don't go entirely to plan. MON A packed house at the Theatre Royal rocks with laughter as MON Jarvis performs William's hilariously inventive version of MON Shakespeare's masterpiece. Just William as 'stand-up'. MON Performed by Martin Jarvis MON Director: Rosalind Ayres. MON A Jarvis and Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4. MON Credits MON Actor: Martin Jarvis MON Director: Rosalind Ayres MON Author: Richmal Crompton MON MON 11:00 Four Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald b0076f44 (Listen) MON Financing Finnegan MON A writer finds his own modest career eclipsed by a more MON volatile author, who ends up in the North Pole. Read by John MON Sharian. MON MON 11:15 Afternoon Drama b00zdhzs (Listen) MON Mike Walker - The Gun Goes to Hollywood MON The Pride and the Passion is Hollywood's 1957 adaptation of MON The Gun, by C S Forester. It's set in Spain during the MON Napoleonic wars and tells the story of Captain Anthony MON Trumbull, played by Cary Grant, a British military officer, MON who is ordered to retrieve an enormous cannon and transport MON it across Spain to the British lines, where it will be used MON to attack the French garrison at Avila. Guerrilla leader MON Miguel, played by Frank Sinatra, agrees to help, even though MON he despises the Englishman, and Miguel's feisty girlfriend MON Juana, played by Sophia Loren, comes with them. Along the MON way Juana falls in love with Trundall. But the film had a MON notoriously troubled set. Sinatra left the production early MON because of marriage difficulties with Ava Gardner, and MON Grant, then 53, fell in love with his co-star Loren, 23. MON Mike Walker's play imagines the behind-the-scenes ructions MON from the viewpoint of the script doctor, Earl Felton, who MON was drafted in to save the day. MON A BBC/Cymru Wales production, directed by Kate McAll. MON Credits MON Earl Felton: Steven Weber MON Cary Grant: Gregory Itzin MON Sophia Loren: Kate Steele MON Frank Sinatra: Jonathan Silverman MON Stanley Kramer: Jonathan Getz MON Barman: Andre Sogliuzzo MON Gangster: Tom Virtue MON Writer: Mike Walker MON Director: Kate McAll MON Producer: Kate McAll MON MON 12:00 Dad's Army b007jq82 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] MON MON 12:30 Brothers in Law b007k164 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] MON MON 13:00 Agatha Christie b0081rx2 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] MON MON 13:30 The Great Gatsby Letters b01130n7 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] MON MON 14:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road MON b007jw7k (Listen) MON Emmitt's Arrival MON A new city manager arrives, determined to tame the MON wilderness. Then the snow starts to fall. Alaskan tales read MON by their author. MON MON 14:15 A Cause for Caroling b03lp80w (Listen) MON A Second Golden Age MON In the sixth part of his story of the Christmas Carol Jeremy MON Summerly reaches the 19th century and publications of old MON folk carols from what was thought to be a dying tradition. MON However, by mid-century, with the Tracterean movement in the MON Church of England at its height the carol and the singing of MON carols was once again hugely popular. It was the publication MON of a 'Christmas Carols New and Old by Henry Ramsden Bramley MON and John Stainer in 1867, that marked the height of another MON caroling golden age. However, it was now big business and MON there were reputations at stake when folk carol collectors MON saw their work hoovered up by the might of Bramley and MON Stainer.Jeremy also tells the story of the little 16th MON century Finnish manual 'Piae Cantiones' that provided a MON series of memorable re-workings of fifteenth century words MON and melodies, including In Dulce Jubilo and Good King MON Wenceslas. MON Series Description: MON The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when MON carolers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back MON then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots MON in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would MON quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song. MON But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music MON history because each shift in the story has been preserved MON in the carols that we sing today. Go to a carol concert now MON and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-victorian and MON modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that MON happening in any other situation. MON In these programmes Jeremy Summerly follows the carol MON journey through the Golden age of the Medieval carol into MON the troubled period of Reformation and puritanism, along the MON byways of the 17th and 18th century waits and gallery MON musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the MON carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol MON veer between the sacred and secular even before there was MON any understanding of those terms. For long periods the MON church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the MON virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and carol texts. MON Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by MON the carols they hear from Kings College Cambridge. MON He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the MON carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, MON some of which survive to this day and many others which MON languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. MON It's a journey full of song describing the history of a MON people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the MON coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the MON heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. MON Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this MON music. MON That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are MON one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather MON than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for MON Children; Once in Royal David's City the most familiar MON example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on MON the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the MON uninhibited world of folk song and ballad. MON The series title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which MON he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should chose to sing MON - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound' - MON is the question asked. THis series is an attempt to answer MON why Carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In MON fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood MON Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he MON described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on MON Christmas Eve: MON 'Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time MON worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally MON transmitted from father to son through several generations MON down to the present characters, who sang them out right MON earnestly." MON Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the MON famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC MON since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service MON that commands a worldwide audience measured in many MON millions, but as Jeremy concludes it has left an imbalance MON in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition MON that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the MON choir stalls. MON Producer:Tom Alban. MON MON 14:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvx0 (Listen) MON Episode 6 MON Becky Sharp gains a husband, but loses the chance of a MON title. Narrated by Stephen Fry, with Emma Fielding and MON Trevor Peacock. MON MON 14:45 And June Whitfield b007jvdz (Listen) MON Episode 1 MON From dance classes to Noel Coward's parties. Legendary MON screen, stage and radio actress June Whitfield reads her own MON life story. MON One of the country's best-loved actresses begins reading MON five extracts from her autobiography covering her career MON from Eth Glum in 'Take It from Here' through to Mother in MON 'Absolutely Fabulous'. MON Abridged by Sally Marmion. MON Producer Sarah Johnson MON First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2000. MON MON 15:00 Mystery Theater b06sdzqk (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today] MON MON 15:30 Just William - Live! b01pfrrc (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today] MON MON 16:00 Quote... Unquote b0128ln0 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] MON MON 16:30 King Street Junior b007jmfw (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today] MON MON 17:00 The Right Time b00c5snp (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today] MON MON 17:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue b06rxn53 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] MON MON 18:00 A Short History of Vampires b00yhwyc (Listen) MON Dracula's Guest MON By Bram Stoker. Natalie Haynes introduces a series of tales MON of the undead. The Count looks out for a curious Englishman. MON Read by Dan Stevens. MON MON 18:30 A Good Read b00761qk (Listen) MON Phil Hogan and George Monbiot MON Louise Doughty and her guests - journalist, Phil Hogan and MON environmentalist, George Monbiot discuss their three MON favourite paperbacks by Adam Thorpe, Lisa Appignanesi and MON Malcolm Bradbury. From 2001. MON The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury MON Publisher: Picador MON Ulverton by Adam Thorpe MON Publisher: Minerva MON Losing the Dead by Lisa Appignanesi MON Publisher: Vintage. MON MON 19:00 Dad's Army b007jq82 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] MON MON 19:30 Brothers in Law b007k164 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] MON MON 20:00 Agatha Christie b0081rx2 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] MON MON 20:30 The Great Gatsby Letters b01130n7 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] MON MON 21:00 Four Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald b0076f44 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today] MON MON 21:15 Afternoon Drama b00zdhzs (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today] MON MON 22:00 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue b06rxn53 (Listen) MON [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] MON MON 22:30 Cabin Pressure b01q8qqc (Listen) MON Series 4, Wokingham MON When his Mum falls ill, Martin has to deal with a sister, a MON van and a moustache. Meanwhile, Carolyn and Douglas become MON locked in a game that can never end. MON Cabin Pressure is a sitcom about the wing and a prayer world MON of a tiny, one plane, charter airline staffed by two pilots: MON one on his way down, and one who was never up to start with. MON Whether they're flying squaddies to Hamburg, metal sheets to MON Mozambique, or an oil exec's cat to Abu Dhabi, no job is too MON small, but many, many jobs are too difficult. MON Written by John Finnemore MON Produced and directed by David Tyler MON A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4. MON Credits MON Carolyn Knapp-Shappey: Stephanie Cole MON First Officer Douglas Richardson: Roger Allam MON Captain Martin Crieff: Benedict Cumberbatch MON Arthur Shappey: John Finnemore MON Wendy Crieff: Prunella Scales MON Caitlin Crieff: Rosie Cavaliero MON Simon Crieff: Justin Edwards MON Dr White: Dan Tetsell MON Writer: John Finnemore MON Director: David Tyler MON Producer: David Tyler MON MON 23:00 The Now Show b06s1gcg (Listen) MON Series 47, Episode 6 MON Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by Jon Holmes, John MON Finnemore, Jess Ransom, Jasper Rees, Jake Yapp and Harry the MON Piano for a festive look at the week's news. MON Written by the cast with additional material from Gareth MON Gwynn, Max Davis, Liam Beirne, Sarah Campbell and Rebecca MON Channon. MON Produced by Alexandra Smith. MON Credits MON Presenter: Steve Punt MON Presenter: Hugh Dennis MON Performer: Jon Holmes MON Performer: John Finnemore MON Performer: Jasper Rees MON Performer: Jessica Ransom MON Performer: Jake Yapp MON Performer: Harry the Piano MON Producer: Alexandra Smith MON MON 23:30 Weak at the Top b00tgch7 (Listen) MON Series 2, Booty MON Marketeer John Weak has got a chocolate bar crisis. How to MON improve sales - fast? Stars Alexander Armstrong. From July MON 2006. MON MON TUE TUESDAY 22 DECEMBER 2015 TUE TUE 00:00 A Short History of Vampires b00yhwyc (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Monday] TUE TUE 00:30 A Good Read b00761qk (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Monday] TUE TUE 01:00 Agatha Christie b0081rx2 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Monday] TUE TUE 01:30 The Great Gatsby Letters b01130n7 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Monday] TUE TUE 02:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road TUE b007jw7k (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Monday] TUE TUE 02:15 A Cause for Caroling b03lp80w (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Monday] TUE TUE 02:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvx0 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Monday] TUE TUE 02:45 And June Whitfield b007jvdz (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Monday] TUE TUE 03:00 Mystery Theater b06sdzqk (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Monday] TUE TUE 03:30 Just William - Live! b01pfrrc (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Monday] TUE TUE 04:00 Quote... Unquote b0128ln0 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Monday] TUE TUE 04:30 King Street Junior b007jmfw (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Monday] TUE TUE 05:00 The Right Time b00c5snp (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Monday] TUE TUE 05:30 I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue b06rxn53 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Monday] TUE TUE 06:00 Agatha Christie b007jlqg (Listen) TUE The Sittaford Mystery, An Arrest for Murder TUE A seance at the remote Sittaford House has revealed the TUE murder of Captain Trevelyan. But who would've killed a man TUE who didn't have an enemy in the world...? TUE Agatha Christie's whodunit stars Geoffrey Whitehead as TUE Inspector Narracott, Stephen Tompkinson as Charles Enderby, TUE Donald Gee as Evans, Jo Kendall as Mrs Belling and Norman TUE Bird as Major Burnaby. TUE From the book first published in 1931. TUE Dramatised and directed by Michael Bakewell. TUE First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. TUE TUE 06:30 Candlelight: The Living Flame b00765mf (Listen) TUE Through personal story and commentary, an exploration of the TUE symbolism of candlelight and its affinity to Christmas time. TUE From December 2001. TUE TUE 07:00 HR b01ckgfz (Listen) TUE Series 3, Robbed TUE Nigel William's retirement comedy series, starring Jonathan TUE Pryce and Nicholas le Prevost. The two friends, having TUE discovered that their pensions are worthless, take every TUE measure thinkable to survive. This week, Sam tries to TUE remortgage their home. TUE Peter ..... Jonathan Pryce TUE Sam ..... Nicholas Le Prevost TUE Mr Loomis ..... Philip Jackson. TUE TUE 07:30 Gloomsbury b042jpk4 (Listen) TUE Series 2, Two Broads Broadcasting TUE Vera is terrified when she receives a letter inviting her to TUE do a lecture tour of America, and instantly begins a search TUE for plausible excuses. But when Ginny asks her to help TUE present a programme on BBC Radio about modern poetry. her TUE anxiety is swiftly forgotten. Vera sees a chance to read one TUE of her poems on the radio and share the limelight with those TUE two wonderfully modern poets, TS Jellitot and DH Lollipop. TUE Henry warns Vera not to underestimate Ginny, however, who TUE won't allow Vera to read anything unless Ginny agrees to TUE it... and Ginny does not think that Vera's poem is modern TUE enough to be in her programme. TUE What Ginny has not bargained for is the prudery and TUE authority of Lord Reith who will not allow TS Jellitot to TUE appear on her programme, because his American accent will TUE corrupt the listeners and banishes DH Lollipop from TUE Broadcasting House because of the constant sexual references TUE in his language. TUE It falls to Vera to save the day by impersonating TS TUE Jellitot and DH Lollipop live on air and then to get one TUE over on Ginny by reading out her poem before Ginny can stop TUE her. The broadcast falls apart, but Vera returns TUE Sizzlinghurst the victor. Back at home, over a brandy or TUE two, Henry reminds Vera about the prohibition movement in TUE America. Reason enough for Vera to wriggle out of her TUE lecture tour. Chin chin! TUE GLOOMSBURY - THE SERIES TUE Green-fingered Sapphist Vera Sackcloth-Vest shares a bijou TUE castle in Kent with her devoted husband Henry, but longs for TUE exotic adventures with nervy novelist Ginny Fox and wilful TUE beauty Venus Traduces. It's 1921, the dawn of modern love, TUE life and lingerie, but Vera still hasn't learnt how to boil TUE a kettle. TUE Producer: Jamie Rix TUE A Little Brother Production for BBC Radio 4. TUE Credits TUE Vera Sackcloth-Vest: Miriam Margolyes TUE Henry Mickleton: Jonathan Coy TUE Mrs Ginny Fox: Alison Steadman TUE Lionel Fox: Roger Lloyd Pack TUE Venus Traduces: Morwenna Banks TUE DH Lollipop: John Sessions TUE Crispin St John Higginbotham: Nigel Planer TUE TS Jellitot: John Sessions TUE Producer: Jamie Rix TUE Writer: Sue Limb TUE TUE 08:00 Round the Horne b00mrhjp (Listen) TUE Series 3, Episode 13 TUE Kenneth Horne blows his own trumpet in 'Young Horne with a TUE Man', plus Julian and Sandy's bona psychic gift of a second TUE vada TUE With Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, Betty Marsden and Bill TUE Pertwee. TUE Recorded at the BBC's Paris Studio in Lower Regent Street, TUE London. Announcer: Douglas Smith TUE Round The Horne was born out of the demise of BBC radio TUE comedy Beyond Our Ken, after the end of writer Eric TUE Merriman's involvement. Using the same cast and producer, TUE Barry Took and Marty Feldman were persuaded to write the TUE scripts - which led to four series that ran between 1965 and TUE 1968 - packed full of parodies, recurring characters, TUE catchphrases and double-entendres. TUE Music by Edwin Braden and the Hornblowers and The Fraser TUE Hayes Four. TUE Producer: John Simmonds TUE First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1967. TUE TUE 08:30 To the Manor Born b007jm7w (Listen) TUE Plenty More Fish TUE With their love-lives in a tangle, Audrey falls out with TUE Marjory. TUE Starring Penelope Keith as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, Keith TUE Barron as Richard DeVere, Angela Thorne as Marjory TUE Frobisher, Nicholas McArdle as Brabinger, Margery Withers as TUE Mrs Polouvicka and Frank Middlemass as Ned. TUE The tale of lady of the manor Audrey fforbes-Hamilton, TUE forced to sell her beloved Grantleigh Estate when her TUE husband's death leaves her financially strapped. With butler TUE Brabinger in tow, they've decamped to the tiny Old Lodge TUE cottage. TUE From this vantage point, Audrey keeps a close and TUE disapproving eye on the estate's new owner, the TUE nouveau-riche Richard DeVere, a wholesale foods magnate of TUE Czech descent. TUE First piloted on radio and then whisked off to TV before it TUE ever appeared, before finally arriving home in 1997. TUE Written for radio by Peter Spence. TUE Producer: Jane Berthoud TUE First broadcast on BBC Radio 2 in March 1997. TUE TUE 09:00 The Now Show b06s1gcg (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 23:00 on Monday] TUE TUE 09:30 Capital Gains b00slqv8 (Listen) TUE Series 2, Stake Capital TUE After tackling the developers directly, should Julian keep TUE his cards closer to his chest? Stars Peter Jones. From July TUE 1997. TUE TUE 10:00 Mystery Theater b06sg52c (Listen) TUE Rocky Fortune: Frank Sinatra, part 3 TUE Always in need of a job, genial drifter Rocky lands in a TUE complex identity scam in 'Steven in a Rest Home'. TUE Frank Sinatra portrayed "footloose and fancy-free young man" TUE Rocky Fortune for NBC for 25 episodes during an TUE album-recording hiatus that ended with the release of the TUE legendary 'Songs for Young Lovers' in 1954. TUE Cast includes: Frances Eurey, Maurice Hart, Jack Maither and TUE Herb Ellis. TUE Directed by Andrew C Love. TUE Announcer: Eddie King. TUE First broadcast in the USA on NBC (National Broadcasting TUE Company) in 1953 TUE 4 Extra's MYSTERY THEATER showcases American radio's golden TUE years of the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's TUE greatest screen stars were regular performers, often TUE re-enacting film roles. TUE TUE 10:30 Just William - Live! b01ph83g (Listen) TUE Series 3, Aunt Arabelle in Charge TUE In 2012, as part of Winchester's Best of British Festival in TUE celebration of the Jubilee, Martin Jarvis performed the TUE second of two of Richmal Crompton's comic classics, live TUE on-stage. TUE In Aunt Arabelle in Charge, William and his faithful Outlaws TUE (Ginger, Douglas and Henry) encounter a strangely complacent TUE six year old who is staying in the village. This odious TUE child turns out to be the hugely famous Anthony Martin, TUE subject of his mother's best-selling books and poems. TUE The Outlaws need to redeem themselves in the admittedly TUE short-sighted eyes of Ginger's journalist aunt. She, TUE equally, is desperate to secure an exclusive interview with TUE the child star. It's soon clear that this wonderfully TUE constructed story is a brilliant parody of - who else - A.A. TUE Milne's Christopher Robin. TUE The packed Winchester audience understood this at once. In TUE Jarvis' inhabitation of both the smug infant and Ginger's TUE aunt, the comedy is unremitting. TUE Can William sort this out and, incidentally, give the TUE horrific child his just deserts? Blackmail is the answer, of TUE course. TUE Performed by Martin Jarvis TUE Director: Rosalind Ayres TUE A Jarvis & Ayres production for BBC Radio 4. TUE Credits TUE Actor: Martin Jarvis TUE Director: Rosalind Ayres TUE Author: Richmal Crompton TUE TUE 11:00 Four Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald b0076f4l (Listen) TUE The Smilers TUE Sylvester Stockton tries hard to inflict his misery on TUE others, unaware that they might already be unhappy. Read by TUE John Sharian. TUE TUE 11:15 Charles Dickens b007jw8x (Listen) TUE The Haunted Man and the Ghost's Bargain TUE Charles Dickens' last Christmas story is a vivid account of TUE a man tormented by his past. With Michael Tudor-Barnes and TUE John Moffatt. TUE TUE 12:00 Round the Horne b00mrhjp (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] TUE TUE 12:30 To the Manor Born b007jm7w (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] TUE TUE 13:00 Agatha Christie b007jlqg (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] TUE TUE 13:30 Candlelight: The Living Flame b00765mf (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] TUE TUE 14:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road TUE b007k06s (Listen) TUE Argus and Emmitt TUE On a December night, a man and his dog turn up at a log TUE cabin. There's a smell of burning. Alaskan tales read by TUE their author. TUE TUE 14:15 A Cause for Caroling b03lpfx0 (Listen) TUE Folk Carol Survival and Revival TUE In the seventh programme in his series describing the TUE gathering history of the Christmas Carol in Great Britain TUE Jeremy Summerly returns to the Gallery tradition that was TUE squeezed out of 19th century Church worship but steadfastly TUE refused to die. It's now in rude health in several parts of TUE the country but nowhere is it more energetically sustained TUE than in South Yorkshire and Derbyshire. With the guidance of TUE Dr Ian Russell who holds folk carol festivals and the TUE enthusiasm of pub carolers who sustain the tradition Jeremy TUE shares a pint and a clutch of fuguing carols which flower TUE happily in the 21st century while having roots in the 18th TUE and 19th. TUE He also finds out about an American offshoot of the gallery TUE style that's been preserved in the icy blasts of TUE Pennsylvannia USA since it was first seeded there in the TUE middle of the 19th century. TUE Series Description: TUE The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when TUE carolers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back TUE then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots TUE in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would TUE quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song. TUE But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music TUE history because each shift in the story has been preserved TUE in the carols that we sing today. Go to a carol concert now TUE and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-victorian and TUE modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that TUE happening in any other situation. TUE In these programmes Jeremy Summerly follows the carol TUE journey through the Golden age of the Medieval carol into TUE the troubled period of Reformation and puritanism, along the TUE byways of the 17th and 18th century waits and gallery TUE musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the TUE carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol TUE veer between the sacred and secular even before there was TUE any understanding of those terms. For long periods the TUE church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the TUE virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and carol texts. TUE Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by TUE the carols they hear from Kings College Cambridge. TUE He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the TUE carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, TUE some of which survive to this day and many others which TUE languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. TUE It's a journey full of song describing the history of a TUE people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the TUE coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the TUE heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. TUE Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this TUE music. TUE That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are TUE one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather TUE than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for TUE Children; Once in Royal David's City the most familiar TUE example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on TUE the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the TUE uninhibited world of folk song and ballad. TUE The series title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which TUE he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should chose to sing TUE - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound' - TUE is the question asked. THis series is an attempt to answer TUE why Carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In TUE fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood TUE Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he TUE described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on TUE Christmas Eve: TUE 'Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time TUE worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally TUE transmitted from father to son through several generations TUE down to the present characters, who sang them out right TUE earnestly." TUE Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the TUE famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC TUE since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service TUE that commands a worldwide audience measured in many TUE millions, but as Jeremy concludes it has left an imbalance TUE in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition TUE that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the TUE choir stalls. TUE Producer:Tom Alban. TUE TUE 14:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvx8 (Listen) TUE Episode 7 TUE As Amelia Sedley's family face ruin, George Osborne breaks TUE his engagement. Narrated by Stephen Fry, with Emma Fielding. TUE TUE 14:45 And June Whitfield b007jvf2 (Listen) TUE Episode 2 TUE The actress recalls her rise to fame, with a radio role in TUE the hit show 'Take It From Here' with Jimmy Edwards. TUE TUE 15:00 Mystery Theater b06sg52c (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today] TUE TUE 15:30 Just William - Live! b01ph83g (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today] TUE TUE 16:00 The Motion Show b0075x94 (Listen) TUE Series 2, Episode 6 TUE Dr Phil Hammond chairs the debating game with Stuart TUE Maconie, Steve Punt, Chris Neill and Linda Smith. From TUE February 2000. TUE TUE 16:30 Capital Gains b00slqv8 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today] TUE TUE 17:00 HR b01ckgfz (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today] TUE TUE 17:30 Gloomsbury b042jpk4 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] TUE TUE 18:00 A Short History of Vampires b00yqqs8 (Listen) TUE Hero Dust TUE By Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Natalie Haynes introduces another TUE tale of the undead. A slayer is searching for his successor. TUE Read by David Horovitch. TUE TUE 18:30 Shah Rukh Khan's Heroes b06sg8ss (Listen) TUE The Ordinary Man TUE Bollywood film star Shah Rukh Khan's pays tribute to TUE everyday people and celebrates the normal things in life. TUE Revisiting his father's view that it is special to be TUE down-to-earth, he reveals that he has the same fear of TUE failure today as when he started working in Indian cinema. TUE Shah says "it's not the cost of the shirt or jacket that you TUE wear, it's just how much you enjoy wearing it", explaining TUE that ordinary people are heroes because they enjoy life TUE despite the world's issues. TUE Producer: Ranjit Doal TUE First broadcast on the BBC Asian Network in 2012. TUE TUE 19:00 Round the Horne b00mrhjp (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] TUE TUE 19:30 To the Manor Born b007jm7w (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] TUE TUE 20:00 Agatha Christie b007jlqg (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] TUE TUE 20:30 Candlelight: The Living Flame b00765mf (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] TUE TUE 21:00 Four Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald b0076f4l (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today] TUE TUE 21:15 Charles Dickens b007jw8x (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today] TUE TUE 22:00 Gloomsbury b042jpk4 (Listen) TUE [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] TUE TUE 22:30 The Ape That Got Lucky b0081cbz (Listen) TUE Science and Progress TUE Chris Addison's spoof lectures exploring human evolution. TUE With Geoffrey McGivern as Professor Austin Herring. From TUE August 2005. TUE TUE 23:00 Twenty Players b06sgb8m (Listen) TUE Series 2, Pigeonmilk Bob TUE Forgotten sporting heroes. Gerald Sinstadt tells the story TUE of Eric Sarby and his prize-winning greyhound. From June TUE 1997. TUE TUE 23:15 Sir Henry at Rawlinson End b00s6n86 (Listen) TUE A Christmas Eating at Rawlinson End TUE Surreal saga of a dynasty delicately balanced on the edge of TUE sanity. Written by and stars Viv Stanshall. From December TUE 1996. TUE TUE 23:30 Think the Unthinkable b007jm3k (Listen) TUE Series 1, Retailer TUE The management consultants propose a radical publicity TUE campaign to an ailing retailer. Stars Emma Kennedy. From TUE October 2001. TUE TUE WED WEDNESDAY 23 DECEMBER 2015 WED WED 00:00 A Short History of Vampires b00yqqs8 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Tuesday] WED WED 00:30 Shah Rukh Khan's Heroes b06sg8ss (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Tuesday] WED WED 01:00 Agatha Christie b007jlqg (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Tuesday] WED WED 01:30 Candlelight: The Living Flame b00765mf (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Tuesday] WED WED 02:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road WED b007k06s (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Tuesday] WED WED 02:15 A Cause for Caroling b03lpfx0 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Tuesday] WED WED 02:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvx8 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Tuesday] WED WED 02:45 And June Whitfield b007jvf2 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Tuesday] WED WED 03:00 Mystery Theater b06sg52c (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Tuesday] WED WED 03:30 Just William - Live! b01ph83g (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Tuesday] WED WED 04:00 The Motion Show b0075x94 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 16:00 on Tuesday] WED WED 04:30 Capital Gains b00slqv8 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Tuesday] WED WED 05:00 HR b01ckgfz (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Tuesday] WED WED 05:30 Gloomsbury b042jpk4 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Tuesday] WED WED 06:00 Agatha Christie b007k07y (Listen) WED The Sittaford Mystery, Emily Goes to Work WED James Pearson has been arrested for the murder of his uncle, WED but his fiancee Emily is determined to prove his innocence. WED Agatha Christie's whodunit stars Melinda Walker as Emily WED Trefusis, Stephen Tompkinson as Charles Enderby, Geoffrey WED Whitehead as Inspector Narracott, Jo Kendall as Mrs Belling, WED Susan Westerby as Mrs Willett and Victoria Carling as Violet WED Willett. WED From the book first published in 1931. WED Dramatised and directed by Michael Bakewell. WED First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. WED WED 06:30 Merry Christmas Morris Minor! b00wqgmg (Listen) WED Martin Wainwright sets off through the snow to give seasonal WED best wishes to the owners of Britain's favourite mass WED produced car - and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the WED special edition Morris Minor Million - the rarest minor of WED all. WED Highlight of the programme is a special rendition of 'Jingle WED Bells' from a Morris Minor 'choir.' WED Martin has a soft spot for the little car - often described WED as a large jelly mould with a speedometer sitting like a WED clock on the dashboard, and orange fingers for indicators. WED For it's time though, according to Stirling Moss, it was a WED nippy little car. Martin meets a mechanic who 'soups' the WED car up, owners like Dave Brown from 'The Mighty Boosh' and WED the drivers who 'danced ' their Morris Minors at the end of WED the Manchester Commonwealth Games . WED Finally, using the horn, various clunks and clicks from the WED car door and boot, and a squeak from the chassis, he WED conducts a unique version of ' Jingle Bells' by the Morris WED Minor 'choir.' WED Producers: Janet Graves and Geoff Bird WED A Pennine production for BBC Radio 4. WED WED 07:00 Lenin of the Rovers b007jwg9 (Listen) WED Series 2, The Final Solution WED Will Ricky's million-pound sponsorship deal wreck WED Felchester's hopes of a Wembley victory? Stars Alexei Sayle. WED From April 1989. WED WED 07:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups b06rz9hx (Listen) WED Series 3, How to Make a Killing WED Episode 5, 'How to Make a Killing'. A neighbourly good deed WED lands Tom in trouble while his parents throw themselves into WED some evening classes. WED Series 3 of the sitcom where Tom Wrigglesworth phones home WED for his weekly check-in with his Mum, Dad and Gran, giving WED listeners a glimpse into his family background and the WED influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and WED hang-ups. WED Starring Tom Wrigglesworth, Paul Copley, Kate Anthony and WED Elizabeth Bennett. WED Written by Tom Wrigglesworth and James Kettle with WED additional material by Miles Jupp WED Produced by Richard Morris WED A BBC Radio Comedy Production. WED Credits WED Actor: Tom Wrigglesworth WED Actor: Paul Copley WED Actor: Kate Anthony WED Actor: Elizabeth Bennett WED Writer: Tom Wrigglesworth WED Writer: James Kettle WED Writer: Miles Jupp WED Producer: Richard Morris WED WED 08:00 The Navy Lark b01dw471 (Listen) WED The New Barmaid WED A fresh arrival makes waves and throws a NATO exercise into WED confusion. 100th episode. WED Stars Jon Pertwee as the Chief Petty Officer, Leslie WED Phillips as the Sub-Lieutenant, Stephen Murray as the Number WED One, Ronnie Barker as Able Seaman Johnson and Richard WED Caldicote as Captain Povey. WED Laughs afloat aboard British Royal Navy frigate HMS WED Troutbridge. The Navy Lark ran for an impressive thirteen WED series between 1959 and 1976. WED Scripted by Lawrie Wyman WED Producer: Alastair Scott Johnston. WED First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in April 1963. WED WED 08:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again b010y71x (Listen) WED Series 7, Episode 6 WED Solutions for unemployment, and Professor Prune hears a WED strange echo. Stars John Cleese and Bill Oddie. From WED February 1969. WED WED 09:00 Counterpoint b008m8jp (Listen) WED 1999, Heat 9 WED Ned Sherrin hosts the music quiz with Oxford's Dennis WED Chiles, Len Smith from Essex and Alison Foot of WED Carmarthenshire. From February 1999. WED WED 09:30 The Leopard in Autumn b00sbf7q (Listen) WED Series 2, Royal Wedding Blues WED Countess Rosalie no longer loves Prince Ludovico. Can WED Princess Plethora save the day? Stars Sian Philips. From WED June 2002. WED WED 10:00 Mystery Theater b06spfsn (Listen) WED Let George Do It: There Ain't No Justice WED A corpse sets detective-for-hire George Valentine on a WED search for a missing embezzler. WED 'Let George Do It' was a sponsored American radio drama WED carried by the Mutual Broadcasting System from 1952. WED Robert Bailey stars as George Valentine, gleaning clients WED from his classified ad in the Personal Notices: "Danger's my WED stock in trade. If the job's too tough for you to handle, WED you've got a job for me." WED With Virginia Gregg as George's secretary, Brooksie. WED Scripted by David Victor and Jackson Gillis. WED Music by Eddie Dunstedler. WED Directed by Don Clark. WED Announcer: John Hiestand. WED 4 Extra's MYSTERY THEATER showcases American radio's golden WED years of the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's WED greatest screen stars were regular performers, often WED re-enacting film roles. WED WED 10:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! b007728p (Listen) WED Count Arthur Strong's Christmas Special WED Count Arthur Strong, one-time variety star, makes his WED preparations for Christmas. From his altercation with a WED carol singer and his improvised 'reading' of the Nativity, WED to his show for the elderly at Leafy Glade old people's WED home. What could possibly go wrong? Stars Steve Delaney. WED From December 2006. WED WED 11:00 Four Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald b0076f52 (Listen) WED An Alcoholic Case WED She is a young trainee, eager and very willing to help. He WED is jaded, used up and has seen it all before. Read by John WED Sharian. WED WED 11:15 Steve Chambers - Victoria Station b06spfst (Listen) WED Over the Points WED Wednesday February 1st 1895. The crash inquiry begins and a WED second disaster looms. Can Roberts clear his name? WED Nottingham born author Steve Chambers' 5-part set in WED Victoria Station, Bridgford in 1895 each with a WED self-contained drama , as well as the day-to-day shenanigans WED and goings on of the station staff. WED Stars Sean Baker as Station Master Joe Braddock, Philip WED Jackson as Tidmarsh, John Hartley as Union activist Fred WED Roberts, Gavin Muir as Area Manager Mr Cripps, Julia Ford as WED Josie and Pauline Letts as Ada. WED Director: Celia de Wolff WED First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1995 and set a WED century before. WED WED 12:00 The Navy Lark b01dw471 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] WED WED 12:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again b010y71x (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] WED WED 13:00 Agatha Christie b007k07y (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] WED WED 13:30 Merry Christmas Morris Minor! b00wqgmg (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] WED WED 14:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road WED b007k082 (Listen) WED The Best Sauna Story So Far WED A cosy evening at the lake with food, drink and good WED company. What can possibly go wrong? WED WED 14:15 A Cause for Caroling b03lpjpp (Listen) WED The Birth of Nine Lessons with Carols WED In the eighth programme of his series charting the WED development of the Christmas Carol in Britain Jeremy WED Summerly reaches the critical moment at which the 19th WED century enthusiasm for carols sung in church resulted in a WED vehicle in which they could take a leading role. It was WED developed by Bishop Benson of Truro who, in 1880 found WED himself holding services in a huge wooden shed while a new WED cathedral was being built next door. To celebrate the new WED diocese and capture the enthusiasm he recognise in the WED nonconformist tradition of carol singing in Cornwall, Benson WED developed a narrative service running from Adam's original WED sin to the birth of Christ and the impact of the word made WED flesh. WED Jeremy visits Truro and then follows Benson's service to the WED moment in 1918 when a war-wearied Dean of King's College WED Chapel, Cambridge, Erich Milner-White decided to use the WED service as part of his college's Christmas celebrations. The WED changes he made survive to this day. WED Series Description: WED The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when WED carolers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back WED then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots WED in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would WED quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song. WED But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music WED history because each shift in the story has been preserved WED in the carols that we sing today. Go to a carol concert now WED and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-victorian and WED modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that WED happening in any other situation. WED In these programmes Jeremy Summerly follows the carol WED journey through the Golden age of the Medieval carol into WED the troubled period of Reformation and puritanism, along the WED byways of the 17th and 18th century waits and gallery WED musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the WED carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol WED veer between the sacred and secular even before there was WED any understanding of those terms. For long periods the WED church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the WED virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and carol texts. WED Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by WED the carols they hear from Kings College Cambridge. WED He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the WED carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, WED some of which survive to this day and many others which WED languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. WED It's a journey full of song describing the history of a WED people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the WED coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the WED heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. WED Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this WED music. WED That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are WED one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather WED than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for WED Children; Once in Royal David's City the most familiar WED example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on WED the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the WED uninhibited world of folk song and ballad. WED The series title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which WED he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should chose to sing WED - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound' - WED is the question asked. THis series is an attempt to answer WED why Carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In WED fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood WED Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he WED described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on WED Christmas Eve: WED 'Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time WED worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally WED transmitted from father to son through several generations WED down to the present characters, who sang them out right WED earnestly." WED Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the WED famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC WED since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service WED that commands a worldwide audience measured in many WED millions, but as Jeremy concludes it has left an imbalance WED in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition WED that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the WED choir stalls. WED Producer:Tom Alban. WED WED 14:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvxc (Listen) WED Episode 8 WED George and Amelia honeymoon in Brighton, where Becky and WED Rawdon are after his aunt's cash. Narrated by Stephen Fry. WED WED 14:45 And June Whitfield b007jvf6 (Listen) WED Episode 3 WED Reading her own life story, the famous actress recalls the WED highs and lows of working with Peter Sellers and Kenneth WED Williams. WED WED 15:00 Mystery Theater b06spfsn (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today] WED WED 15:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! b007728p (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today] WED WED 16:00 Counterpoint b008m8jp (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] WED WED 16:30 The Leopard in Autumn b00sbf7q (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today] WED WED 17:00 Lenin of the Rovers b007jwg9 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today] WED WED 17:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups b06rz9hx (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] WED WED 18:00 A Short History of Vampires b00yy6vt (Listen) WED Israbel WED By Tanith Lee. Natalie Haynes introduces the tale of a WED dangerous obsession for a vampire and a painter. Read by WED Mark Bonnar and Claire Harry. WED WED 18:30 Off the Page b0076x93 (Listen) WED Are We Alone? WED Victoria Coren presents the series featuring new writing, WED discussing paranormal beliefs with Charlie Skelton, Nick WED Pope and Christopher French. From March 2006. WED WED 19:00 The Navy Lark b01dw471 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] WED WED 19:30 I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again b010y71x (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] WED WED 20:00 Agatha Christie b007k07y (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] WED WED 20:30 Merry Christmas Morris Minor! b00wqgmg (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] WED WED 21:00 Four Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald b0076f52 (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today] WED WED 21:15 Steve Chambers - Victoria Station b06spfst (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today] WED WED 22:00 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups b06rz9hx (Listen) WED [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] WED WED 22:30 Old Harry's Game b00wqfn8 (Listen) WED Christmas Special 2010, Christmas Spirit WED The sitcom set in hell. Satan runs his infernal world with WED the assistance of his chief demon, Scumspawn. Amongst those WED he torments are Edith, a murdered historian, and Thomas, the WED most repellent human who ever lived. WED Full of jokes and broad comedy the show is also a WED philosophical study of the human condition, asking such WED questions as whether man is inherently good or evil. WED In this episode Satan decides to ban Christmas. WED Written by Andy Hamilton WED Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer. WED Credits WED Satan: Andy Hamilton WED Edith: Annette Crosbie WED Scumspawn: Robert Duncan WED Thomas: Jimmy Mulville WED Writer: Andy Hamilton WED Producer: Paul Mayhew-Archer WED WED 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews b05njm7k (Listen) WED From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club WED offers the best laughs. Tonight, Jessica Fostekew has a WED Christmassy chat with Mr B, the Gentleman Rhymer. WED WED 23:00 Beauty of Britain b010mryx (Listen) WED Series 2, The Delegate WED No professional care-worker can afford to miss Beauty WED Olonga's survival guide to Britain - its overheated houses, WED its disappointing church services and its world-class WED charity shops. Series 2 of this Radio 4 comedy follows WED Beauty's continuing adventures as the Featherdown Agency WED sends her to provide care for the elderly. WED Beauty sees herself as an inspiration to other African girls WED hoping to live the dream in Britain. The series breaks the WED embarrassed silence about what happens to us when we get old WED and start to lose our faculties. It shows the process in all WED its chaotic, tragi-comedy but it does so from the point of WED view of Beauty, whose Zimbabwean Shona background has taught WED her to respect age. Beauty sees Britain at its best, its WED worst and also sometimes without its clothes on running the WED wrong way down the M6 with a toy dog shouting 'Come on!' WED Episode 4 'The Delegate' WED Karen of the featherdown agency sends Beauty to the 'End of WED Life' care conference on her behalf. Beauty struggles to WED understand the peculiar behaviour of the British at a WED conference and their obsessions with name tags and lanyards, WED as well as why she is the only carer in attendance. This WED must be why the keynote speaker, Professor Smythe takes a WED shine to her? WED Beauty ..... Jocelyn Jee Esien WED Jenny ..... Pippa Haywood WED Rob ..... Tony Gardner WED Mrs Grace ..... Phyllida Law WED Sally ..... Felicity Montagu WED Karen/Keely ..... Nicola Sanderson WED The music for the series was performed by The West End WED Gospel Choir. WED Written by Christopher Douglas and Nicola Sanderson WED The producer is Tilusha Ghelani. WED WED 23:30 Beautiful Dreamers b00vrvxw (Listen) WED The Whalemen of Musungenyi WED In this series documentary maker Nat Segnit investigates the WED untold stories of visionary mavericks. WED This week Nat meets an extraordinary group of thrillseeking WED "Jonahs" who offer themselves up to be swallowed by whales. WED With contributions from Toby Jones, Kevin Eldon,Christine WED Kavanagh, Iain Batchelor, Jude Akuwudike and Ewan Bailey. WED Writers ..... James Lever and Nat Segnit WED Producers ..... Steven Canny and Sasha Yevtushenko. WED Credits WED Producer: Sasha Yevtushenko WED WED THU THURSDAY 24 DECEMBER 2015 THU THU 00:00 A Short History of Vampires b00yy6vt (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Wednesday] THU THU 00:30 Off the Page b0076x93 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Wednesday] THU THU 01:00 Agatha Christie b007k07y (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Wednesday] THU THU 01:30 Merry Christmas Morris Minor! b00wqgmg (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Wednesday] THU THU 02:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road THU b007k082 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Wednesday] THU THU 02:15 A Cause for Caroling b03lpjpp (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Wednesday] THU THU 02:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvxc (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Wednesday] THU THU 02:45 And June Whitfield b007jvf6 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Wednesday] THU THU 03:00 Mystery Theater b06spfsn (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Wednesday] THU THU 03:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! b007728p (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Wednesday] THU THU 04:00 Counterpoint b008m8jp (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Wednesday] THU THU 04:30 The Leopard in Autumn b00sbf7q (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Wednesday] THU THU 05:00 Lenin of the Rovers b007jwg9 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Wednesday] THU THU 05:30 Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang-Ups b06rz9hx (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Wednesday] THU THU 06:00 Agatha Christie b007k097 (Listen) THU The Sittaford Mystery, A Recipe for Ginger Cake THU Emily suspects that the Willetts, who've rented Sittaford THU House, are somehow involved in the murder of Captain THU Trevelyan. But how can she get into the house? THU Agatha Christie's whodunit stars Melinda Walker as Emily THU Trefusis, Stephen Tompkinson as Charles Enderby, Geoffrey THU Whitehead as Inspector Narracott, Barbara Atkinson as Mrs THU Curtis, John Moffatt as Mr Rycroft and Nigel Greaves as THU Ronnie Garfield. THU From the book first published in 1931. THU Dramatised and directed by Michael Bakewell. THU First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. THU THU 06:30 The Night the Animals Talked b0077268 (Listen) THU Chatter at the stroke of midnight! Ian McMillan's magical THU exploration of Christmas Eve legends from around the world. THU From December 2006. THU THU 07:00 North by Northamptonshire b03s6mf2 (Listen) THU Series 3, Episode 6 THU by Katherine Jakeways THU Sheila Hancock narrates the bittersweet adventures of the THU residents of a small market town in Northamptonshire. This THU week, a funeral focuses everyone's mind. THU Producer: Steven Canny THU As is well-known: Yorkshiremen wear flat caps and Essex THU girls wear short skirts; Liverpudlians are scallies and THU Cockneys are wideboys. Northamptonians gaze wistfully at THU these stereotypes and wish for an identity of any kind and a THU label less ridiculous than Northamptonians. THU Northamptonshire, let us be clear, is neither north, nor THU south nor in the Midlands. It floats somewhere between the THU three eyeing up the distinctiveness of each enviously. Now THU Katherine Jakeways is giving Northamptonshire an identity. THU And she waits, eagerly, for her home-county to thank her. THU And possibly make her some kind of Mayor. THU Joined by nearly all of the incredible cast which graced THU Series One and Two - including Sheila Hancock as the THU Narrator, Penelope Wilton, Felicity Montagu, Geoffrey Palmer THU and Kevin Eldon - and with the exciting addition of Tim Key THU and Nathaniel Parker - North by Northamptonshire hopes (and THU promises) to once again delight audience and critics. THU 'The laughs are cruel, but the monsters of suburbia are THU curiously sympathetic, and the characters so well drawn and THU well played that this could run and run.' Time Out. THU Credits THU Narrator: Sheila Hancock THU Rod: Tim Key THU Mary: Penelope Wilton THU Jonathan: Kevin Eldon THU Keith: John Biggins THU Esther: Katherine Jakeways THU Norman: Geoffrey Palmer THU Orson: Nathaniel Parker THU Alistair: Michael Bertenshaw THU Jan: Felicity Montagu THU Producer: Steven Canny THU Writer: Katherine Jakeways THU THU 07:30 Tina C: Herstory b06s0njv (Listen) THU Episode 3 THU It's 2003 and Tina has geo-political aspirations, and a role THU promoting US values overseas. Ritula Shah asks about her THU role as a special advisor to US President George W Bush. THU Written & Performed by Christopher Green. THU Additional voices: Debra Baker & Leo Wan. THU The band: Duncan Walsh-Atkins, Mark Hardisty & Phil Wraith. THU Guest Interviewer: Ritula Shah. THU Produced by Victoria Lloyd. THU THU 08:00 Steptoe and Son b007k1hd (Listen) THU Series 4, The Colour Problem THU Albert and Harold Steptoe argue over whether to buy a new TV THU or a car. THU Starring Wilfrid Brambell as Albert and Harry H Corbett as THU Harold. With Jo Manning Wilson and William Bedle. THU Following the conclusion of their hugely successful THU association with Tony Hancock, writers Ray Galton and Alan THU Simpson wrote 10 pilots for the BBC TV's Comedy Playhouse in THU 1962. The Offer was set in a house with a yard full of junk, THU featuring the lives of rag and bone men Albert Steptoe and THU his son Harold and it was the spark for a run of 8 series THU for TV. THU Written for TV and adapted for radio by Ray Galton and Alan THU Simpson. THU Produced by Bobby Jaye THU First broadcast on the BBC Radio 2 in March 1972. THU THU 08:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter THU b00wt7n3 (Listen) THU The Cousin THU The author and his wife Diana must prepare for a last minute THU Christmas visitor. Stars Ian Carmichael. From December 1977. THU THU 09:00 Booked b0075m77 (Listen) THU Series 2, Episode 6 THU Ian McMillan's irreverent literary game with Mark Thomas, THU Dillie Keane, Miles Kington and John Hegley. From March THU 1997. THU THU 09:30 No Commitments b007jnxx (Listen) THU Series 7, Supporting Parts THU Victoria worries over Roger's libido and Charlotte is after THU a top job. Stars Rosemary Leach and Celia Imrie. From THU January 2001. THU THU 10:00 Mystery Theater b06sq756 (Listen) THU Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of Copper Beeches THU A young, frightened woman pays a visit to the Baker Street THU detective. A job offer that seems too good to be true is THU just the beginning of a most mysterious case. THU John Stanley stars as the original super-sleuth, Sherlock THU Holmes with Alfred Shirley as the dependable Doctor Watson. THU American radio drama series carried by the Mutual THU Broadcasting System from 1947. THU Based upon the character of Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir THU Arthur Conan Doyle and dramatised by Edith Meiser. THU Music by Albert Berman. THU Announcer: Sy Harris THU Produced and directed by Basil Loughren. THU 4 Extra's MYSTERY THEATER showcases American radio's golden THU years of the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's THU greatest screen stars were regular performers, often THU re-enacting film roles. THU THU 10:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! b04vjh7y (Listen) THU Christmas Special 2014 THU Count Arthur is saved from the seemingly simple task of THU writing his Christmas cards by a call from the Vicar. An THU invitation to star in the local pantomime gets Arthur THU excited about possible return to the stage. THU Count Arthur Strong - one time Variety Star, now sole THU proprietor and owner of Doncaster's Academy of Performance - THU is a show business legend, raconteur, and lecturer THU extraordinaire. All false starts and nervous fumbling badly THU covered up by a delicate sheen of bravado and THU self-assurance, and an expert in everything from the world THU of entertainment to the origin of the species, everyday life THU with Arthur is an enlightening experience. THU Produced by John Leonard and Mark Radcliffe THU A Komedia Entertainment production for BBC Radio 4. THU Credits THU Count Arthur Strong: Steve Delaney THU Actor: Mel Giedroyc THU Actor: Alastair Kerr THU Actor: David Mounfield THU Actor: Terry Kilkelly THU Producer: John Leonard THU Producer: Mark Radcliffe THU THU 11:00 Four Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald b0076f5l (Listen) THU Three Hours Between Planes THU Donald reunites with his childhood love Nancy and old THU emotions stir. However, memories can deceive. Read by John THU Sharian. THU THU 11:15 Nikolai Gogol - Christmas Eve b00wsymb (Listen) THU Extraordinary happenings as a night of 'mischief and mayhem' THU is unleashed on a Ukrainian village. Starring Crawford THU Logan. THU THU 12:00 Steptoe and Son b007k1hd (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] THU THU 12:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter THU b00wt7n3 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] THU THU 13:00 Agatha Christie b007k097 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] THU THU 13:30 The Night the Animals Talked b0077268 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] THU THU 14:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road THU b007k09c (Listen) THU The Town Tree THU Will the town's first communal Christmas tree be greeted THU with peace and goodwill to all men? Alaskan tales read by THU their author. THU THU 14:15 A Cause for Caroling b03ls15l (Listen) THU Import and Export THU The penultimate programme in Jeremy Summerly's series THU tracing the history of the Christmas Carol in Britain. THU Jeremy picks up the story in the first half of the 20th THU century with carols from all over the world becoming more THU popular in this country much to the irritation of Ralph THU Vaughan Williams who continued to champion the folk THU tradition, albeit in a refined choral form. This was a time THU when the grandeur of Victorian caroling gave way to a leaner THU aesthetic with the Oxford Book of Carols being published in THU 1928, the same year in which the BBC broadcast the King's THU College, Cambridge Nine Lessons and Carols for the very THU first time. As it became an established favourite the carols THU used, gathered in many cases over centuries, become known THU both nationally and indeed internationally. THU Series Description: THU The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when THU carolers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back THU then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots THU in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would THU quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song. THU But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music THU history because each shift in the story has been preserved THU in the carols that we sing today. Go to a carol concert now THU and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-victorian and THU modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that THU happening in any other situation. THU In these programmes Jeremy Summerly follows the carol THU journey through the Golden age of the Medieval carol into THU the troubled period of Reformation and puritanism, along the THU byways of the 17th and 18th century waits and gallery THU musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the THU carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol THU veer between the sacred and secular even before there was THU any understanding of those terms. For long periods the THU church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the THU virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and carol texts. THU Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by THU the carols they hear from Kings College Cambridge. THU He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the THU carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, THU some of which survive to this day and many others which THU languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. THU It's a journey full of song describing the history of a THU people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the THU coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the THU heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. THU Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this THU music. THU That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are THU one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather THU than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for THU Children; Once in Royal David's City the most familiar THU example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on THU the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the THU uninhibited world of folk song and ballad. THU The series title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which THU he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should chose to sing THU - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound' - THU is the question asked. This series is an attempt to answer THU why Carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In THU fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood THU Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he THU described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on THU Christmas Eve: THU 'Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time THU worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally THU transmitted from father to son through several generations THU down to the present characters, who sang them out right THU earnestly." THU Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the THU famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC THU since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service THU that commands a worldwide audience measured in many THU millions, but as Jeremy concludes it has left an imbalance THU in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition THU that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the THU choir stalls. THU Producer:Tom Alban. THU THU 14:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvxg (Listen) THU Episode 9 THU Amelia follows George and the regiment to Brussels, as Becky THU attracts an army of admirers. Stars Emma Fielding and Jon THU Glover. THU THU 14:45 And June Whitfield b007jvfd (Listen) THU Episode 4 THU The much-loved actress remembers the challenges of working THU with Tony Hancock, and her huge TV success with Terry and THU June. THU THU 15:00 Mystery Theater b06sq756 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today] THU THU 15:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! b04vjh7y (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today] THU THU 16:00 Booked b0075m77 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] THU THU 16:30 No Commitments b007jnxx (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today] THU THU 17:00 North by Northamptonshire b03s6mf2 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today] THU THU 17:30 Tina C: Herstory b06s0njv (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] THU THU 18:00 A Short History of Vampires b00z55h6 (Listen) THU Quid Pro Quo THU By Tanya Huff. Natalie Haynes introduces a deliciously noir THU tale of an immortal whose lover is in mortal danger. Read by THU Genevieve Adam. THU THU 18:30 Great Lives b00k3zns (Listen) THU Series 18, Frank Sinatra THU Broadcaster Colin Murray chooses Francis Albert Sinatra in THU the biographical series in which Matthew Parris asks his THU guests to choose someone who's inspired their lives. THU "Fiercely competitive", "aggressive", "utterly masculine" THU and "supremely talented". Just some of the words - Matthew THU Paris says - that might be used to describe one of the THU greatest entertainers of the 20th century. THU Colin calls Frank omnipresent. Enchanted by his songs he THU says: "It's not about the notes you hit for me, it's about THU the simplicity and the honesty. And for me he had it in THU bucket loads" THU New York author and music critic Will Friedwald vividly THU describes the singer's life history, from his early years to THU the marriages and through his recording and screen career. THU Featuring excerpts of many of Sinatra's greatest recordings. THU Produced by Beth O'Dea THU First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009. THU THU 19:00 Steptoe and Son b007k1hd (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] THU THU 19:30 The Small, Intricate Life of Gerald C Potter THU b00wt7n3 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] THU THU 20:00 Agatha Christie b007k097 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] THU THU 20:30 The Night the Animals Talked b0077268 (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] THU THU 21:00 Four Stories by F Scott Fitzgerald b0076f5l (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 11:00 today] THU THU 21:15 Nikolai Gogol - Christmas Eve b00wsymb (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 11:15 today] THU THU 22:00 Tina C: Herstory b06s0njv (Listen) THU [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 today] THU THU 22:25 The Comedy Club Interviews b06vmg0l (Listen) THU The best in contemporary comedy. On this very special night, THU Jessica Fostekew chats to Santa! THU THU 22:30 Two Episodes of Mash b01mx27s (Listen) THU Series 2, Episode 4 THU In Episode 4: Diane, Joe and David have to do 30 minutes of THU community service as punishment for their crimes against THU radio. THU You can see an animation by Tom Rourke on the Radio 4 THU website: www.bbc.co.uk/radio 4. THU Credits: Diane Morgan, Joe Wilkinson, David O'Doherty, Aled THU Jones, Paul Harry Allen, Bobbie Pryor and Gary Newman. THU Producer: Clair Wordsworth. THU THU 22:55 The Comedy Club Interviews b06vmfyf (Listen) THU From 10pm to midnight, seven days a week, the Comedy Club THU offers the best laughs. Tonight, Jessica Fostekew is joined THU by Mr B, the Gentleman Rhymer for more music and chat. THU THU 23:00 Bleak Expectations b00nw3rs (Listen) THU Series 3, A Horrible Life Un-Ruined and Then Re-Ruined a Lot THU Comedy Victorian adventure by Mark Evans. THU Pip, Harry, Pippa and Ripely are reduced to abject poverty THU on the banks of the Thames. Will Pip and Harry be able to THU find work, or will they have to end their days eating mud THU and listening to the gloating of Mr Benevolent? THU Sir Philip ...... Richard Johnson THU Young Pip Bin ...... Tom Allen THU Gently Benevolent ...... Anthony Head THU Harry Biscuit ...... James Bachman THU Barker Wackwallop ...... Geoffrey Whitehead THU Ripely ...... Sarah Hadland THU Pippa ...... Susy Kane THU A Vegetarian Lion ...... Mark Evans. THU THU 23:30 The Museum of Everything b007k0zt (Listen) THU Series 1, School Parties Welcome THU A bunch of marauding school kids cause havoc in the Undersea THU Adventure display. Stars Marcus Brigstocke. From April 2004. THU THU FRI FRIDAY 25 DECEMBER 2015 FRI FRI 00:00 A Short History of Vampires b00z55h6 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 18:00 on Thursday] FRI FRI 00:30 Great Lives b00k3zns (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 18:30 on Thursday] FRI FRI 01:00 Agatha Christie b007k097 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 on Thursday] FRI FRI 01:30 The Night the Animals Talked b0077268 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 on Thursday] FRI FRI 02:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road FRI b007k09c (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 14:00 on Thursday] FRI FRI 02:15 A Cause for Caroling b03ls15l (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 14:15 on Thursday] FRI FRI 02:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvxg (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 14:30 on Thursday] FRI FRI 02:45 And June Whitfield b007jvfd (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 14:45 on Thursday] FRI FRI 03:00 Mystery Theater b06sq756 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 on Thursday] FRI FRI 03:30 Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show! b04vjh7y (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 on Thursday] FRI FRI 04:00 Booked b0075m77 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 on Thursday] FRI FRI 04:30 No Commitments b007jnxx (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 on Thursday] FRI FRI 05:00 North by Northamptonshire b03s6mf2 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 on Thursday] FRI FRI 05:30 Tina C: Herstory b06s0njv (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 07:30 on Thursday] FRI FRI 06:00 Agatha Christie b007k0bk (Listen) FRI The Sittaford Mystery, The Second Seance FRI Mr Rycroft decides that only by re-enacting the séance which FRI announced the murder of Captain Trevelyan, will the identity FRI of his killer finally be revealed. FRI Agatha Christie's whodunit stars Melinda Walker as Emily FRI Trefusis, Stephen Tompkinson as Charles Enderby, Geoffrey FRI Whitehead as Inspector Narracott, Norman Bird as Major FRI Burnaby, Jack May as Ellwood, David Goudge as Martin Dering, FRI John Moffatt as Mr Rycroft and Susan Westerby as Mrs FRI Willett. FRI From the book first published in 1931. FRI Dramatised and directed by Michael Bakewell. FRI First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. FRI FRI 06:30 Bringing Holly from the Bongs b06sqkhl (Listen) FRI Christmas 1965: The children of Goostrey Primary School in FRI Cheshire are preparing to perform a special nativity play in FRI the stable of the Crown Inn. Holly from the Bongs has been FRI written especially for them by the famous children's writer FRI Alan Garner (The Weirdstone of Brisingamen, The Moon of FRI Gomrath, The Owl Service) who lives locally and worked with FRI them to help create the play. FRI Christmas 2015: The grown-ups who originally performed in FRI the play return to the Crown Inn, 50 years on, to reflect on FRI this unique theatrical experience with Alan Garner - who FRI still regards Holly from the Bongs as his most technically FRI perfect piece of writing. FRI Leslie Pimlott who played the Doctor in the original FRI production, recalls with other cast members the story of how FRI this customised nativity play was created by Alan Garner. FRI The author spent many afternoons walking the children round FRI the village's boundaries, fields and The Bongs, the wooded FRI area behind the school to explore the history and living FRI heritage of Goostrey. Leslie celebrates the excitement of FRI taking part in the original production and its memorable FRI first performance half a century ago. Part nativity FRI play/part mummer's play Holly from the Bongs is a customised FRI piece of theatre written for the voices of the individual FRI children of Goostrey School in 1965. A stylistic lesson in FRI English writing from the middle ages to the 1960's that has FRI a very special place in the hearts of the original cast and FRI the village of Goostrey. FRI Producer: Andy Cartwright FRI Made for BBC Radio 4 Extra by Soundscape Productions. FRI FRI 07:00 Dad's Army b007jqrv (Listen) FRI Present Arms FRI Military medal rivalry sparks a shooting contest with FRI another platoon. Adapted from TV with Arthur Lowe. From FRI December 1974. FRI FRI 08:00 Hancock's Half Hour b007jp42 (Listen) FRI Series 5, The Threatening Letters FRI The lad is full of the joys of Spring - until the postman FRI arrives. FRI Starring Tony Hancock. With Sidney James, Bill Kerr, Hattie FRI Jacques and Kenneth Williams. FRI Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. FRI Theme and incidental music written by Wally Stott. FRI Producer: Tom Ronald FRI First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in May 1958 . FRI FRI 08:30 The Goon Show b00fyvxb (Listen) FRI The International Christmas Pudding FRI An eccentric millionaire funds an expedition for fragments FRI of a famous dessert. Stars Spike Milligan. From November FRI 1955. FRI FRI 09:00 The 99p Challenge b06sqn7w (Listen) FRI Series 4, Episode 6 FRI Crazy panel show capers as host Sue Perkins grills Armando FRI Iannucci, Simon Pegg, Marcus Brigstocke and Jon Holmes. FRI The game where someone stands to leave the studio 99p richer FRI than when they came in. FRI Producer: David Tyler FRI First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003. FRI FRI 09:30 Mind Your Own Business! b009sczf (Listen) FRI Two Fingers of Suspicion FRI There's a leak at a secret defence project. Could Brightco FRI be the source? Stars Bernard Cribbins. From January 1988. FRI FRI 10:00 Mystery Theater b06sqp09 (Listen) FRI The Black Museum: Orson Welles 2/2 FRI The Raincoat: Orson Welles' tale inspired by a real case FRI from Scotland Yard's gruesome gallery of crime-related FRI ephemera FRI Even a simple garment like a raincoat can be connected to FRI the brutal murder of a married woman. FRI In The Black Museum, Orson is your host and guide through FRI tales based on the grim and ominous collection of objects FRI connected to significant British crimes. FRI Writer: Ira Marion. FRI Music: Sydney Torch FRI Producer: Harry Alan Towers FRI The films of Orson Welles have guaranteed him a place in the FRI pantheon of film heroes (Citizen Kane, The Magnificent FRI Ambersons, Touch of Evil). This series is one of several FRI fascinating sidesteps into a medium which arguably FRI contributed to Welles' success - radio. Thanks to Harry Alan FRI Towers, British radio was host to his dulcet tones for a FRI spell in the early 1950s - including his famous cinematic FRI anti-hero in The Lives of Harry Lime. FRI Presented by arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer radio FRI attractions FRI Produced by Towers of London and first broadcast in the USA FRI in 1952. FRI 4 Extra's MYSTERY THEATER showcases American radio's golden FRI years of the 1940s and 50s, when many of Hollywood's FRI greatest screen stars were regular performers, often FRI re-enacting film roles. FRI FRI 10:30 Anthony Trollope - Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage FRI b00pfkw1 (Listen) FRI A young man finds love with a vicar's daughter. Anthony FRI Trollope's Victorian comedy stars Finty Williams and Julia FRI McKenzie. FRI FRI 11:00 Maeve Binchy - Christmas Present b06sqq25 (Listen) FRI 4 Extra debut. A young boy spots a simple way of showing FRI three generations of a family the true magic of Christmas FRI Day. Read by Hannah Gordon. FRI FRI 11:15 Poirot b008j05h (Listen) FRI The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding FRI Hercule Poirot must try to retrieve a priceless stolen ruby FRI as he attends a Christmas house party. Agatha Christie's FRI whodunit stars John Moffatt. FRI FRI 12:00 Hancock's Half Hour b007jp42 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] FRI FRI 12:30 The Goon Show b00fyvxb (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] FRI FRI 13:00 Agatha Christie b007k0bk (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] FRI FRI 13:30 Bringing Holly from the Bongs b06sqkhl (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] FRI FRI 14:00 Tom Bodett - Christmastime at the End of the Road FRI b007k0bq (Listen) FRI Yet Another New Year FRI New Year is a time of celebration - and an annual fist FRI fight. But a dense fog descends. Alaskan tales read by FRI author Tom Bodett. FRI FRI 14:15 A Cause for Caroling b03lsdg6 (Listen) FRI Ring in the New FRI Jeremy Summerly concludes his history of the carol in FRI Britain pondering the success of new carols over the last FRI century. While King's College, Cambridge organist Stephen FRI Cleobury insures a supply of newly commissioned carols for FRI his massive international audience Jeremy wonders whether FRI the popular songs from Berlin's 'White Christmas' to Slade's FRI 'Merry Christmas' don't help sustain a more genuine caroling FRI tradition. FRI He also recalls his own first experience of carols at FRI Lichfield cathedral where John Rutter's 'Shepherd's Pipe FRI Carol' was an astonishing discovery for the eager young FRI chorister. FRI And Jeremy also ponders the continued appeal of the carol FRI and why, while it's been in decline throughout its history, FRI it continues to thrive. FRI Series Description: FRI The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when FRI carolers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. Back FRI then the carol was a generic term for a song with its roots FRI in dance form, nowadays only the strictest scholar would FRI quibble with the fact that a carol is a Christmas song. FRI But the journey the carol has taken is unique in music FRI history because each shift in the story has been preserved FRI in the carols that we sing today. Go to a carol concert now FRI and you're likely to hear folk, medieval, mid-victorian and FRI modern music all happily combined. It's hard to imagine that FRI happening in any other situation. FRI In these programmes Jeremy Summerly follows the carol FRI journey through the Golden age of the Medieval carol into FRI the troubled period of Reformation and puritanism, along the FRI byways of the 17th and 18th century waits and gallery FRI musicians and in to the sudden explosion of interest in the FRI carol in the 19th century. It's a story that sees the carol FRI veer between the sacred and secular even before there was FRI any understanding of those terms. For long periods the FRI church, both catholic and protestant, was uneasy about the FRI virility and homespun nature of carol tunes and carol texts. FRI Nowadays many people think that church music is defined by FRI the carols they hear from Kings College Cambridge. FRI He traces the folk carol in and out of church grounds, the FRI carol hymn, the fuguing carol and the many other off-shoots, FRI some of which survive to this day and many others which FRI languish unloved but ready for re-discovery. FRI It's a journey full of song describing the history of a FRI people who needed expression for seasonal joy in the FRI coldest, hardest time of the year. And however efficient the FRI heating system may be, the carol still generates warmth. FRI Much of that is to do with the positive nostalgia of this FRI music. FRI That nostalgia is in part due to the fact that carols are FRI one of the first kinds of song children actually sing rather FRI than hear. Many favourite carols were actually written for FRI Children; Once in Royal David's City the most familiar FRI example. Another factor is the concentration in the texts on FRI the humanity of nativity with tunes garnered from the FRI uninhibited world of folk song and ballad. FRI The series title is taken from a Thomas Hardy poem in which FRI he ponders of a Darkling Thrush why it should chose to sing FRI - 'so little cause for carolings of such ecstatic sound' - FRI is the question asked. THis series is an attempt to answer FRI why Carols remain so popular and familiar to so many. In FRI fact Hardy himself, in his first novel Under The Greenwood FRI Tree, went some way to answering his own question when he FRI described the Mellstock Quire singing at Midnight on FRI Christmas Eve: FRI 'Then passed forth into the quiet night an ancient and time FRI worn hymn, embodying a quaint Christianity in words orally FRI transmitted from father to son through several generations FRI down to the present characters, who sang them out right FRI earnestly." FRI Jeremy brings the series up to date with the story of the FRI famous Nine Lessons and Carols service broadcast by the BBC FRI since the 1920s but born originally in Truro. It's a service FRI that commands a worldwide audience measured in many FRI millions, but as Jeremy concludes it has left an imbalance FRI in the appreciation of our caroling tradition, a tradition FRI that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the FRI choir stalls. FRI Producer:Tom Alban. FRI FRI 14:30 William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair b007jvxl (Listen) FRI Episode 10 FRI 1815, the Battle of Waterloo. As George and Rawdon fight, FRI Becky and Amelia wait for news. Narrated by Stephen Fry. FRI FRI 14:45 And June Whitfield b007jvfk (Listen) FRI Episode 5 FRI The final chapter of June's life story so far takes us from FRI the News Huddlines to international fame with Absolutely FRI Fabulous. FRI FRI 15:00 Mystery Theater b06sqp09 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 10:00 today] FRI FRI 15:30 Anthony Trollope - Christmas Day at Kirkby Cottage FRI b00pfkw1 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 10:30 today] FRI FRI 16:00 The 99p Challenge b06sqn7w (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 09:00 today] FRI FRI 16:30 Mind Your Own Business! b009sczf (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 09:30 today] FRI FRI 17:00 Dad's Army b007jqrv (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 07:00 today] FRI FRI 18:00 MR James - Oh, Whistle and I'll Come To You b06sqq9z (Listen) FRI 4 Extra Debut. Professor Parkins uncovers a very curious FRI artefact. Special effects by the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. FRI Starring Michael Hordern. FRI FRI 18:30 Soul Music b0075zst (Listen) FRI Series 1, Silent Night FRI An exploration of one of the world's most popular Christmas FRI carols, and some of unlikely places where it has been sung. FRI From December 2000. FRI FRI 19:00 Hancock's Half Hour b007jp42 (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 08:00 today] FRI FRI 19:30 The Goon Show b00fyvxb (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 08:30 today] FRI FRI 20:00 Agatha Christie b007k0bk (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 06:00 today] FRI FRI 20:30 Bringing Holly from the Bongs b06sqkhl (Listen) FRI [Repeat of broadcast at 06:30 today] FRI FRI 21:00 Black Cinderella Two Goes East, or Confessions of a FRI Glass Slipper Tryer Onner b00g31bq (Listen) FRI All-star panto set in the land of Saxmania. Co-produced by FRI Douglas Adams. With Peter Cook and John Cleese. From FRI December 1978. FRI FRI 22:00 Radio 4 Comedy Advent Calendar b03m7mdf (Listen) FRI On Christmas Day gorge on a bumper edited compilation of all FRI 24 'windows' from the Radio 4 Comedy Advent Calendar FRI featuring some of your favourite presenters, performers and FRI comedians. FRI Produced by Lyndsay Fenner and Sam Michell. FRI FRI 23:00 The Penny Dreadfuls Present b008vt7r (Listen) FRI Revolution FRI The comedy trio tell the epic tale of the French Revolution. FRI Co-starring Richard E Grant and Sally Hawkins. From July FRI 2011. FRI
18 December, 2015
Radio 4 Extra Listings for 19/12/2015 - 25/12/2015
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