By Frances Sheridan, adapted in two parts by Louise Page.

The exuberant Lord Bidulph deems his friend Orlando Faulkland the perfect marriage partner for his shy young sister Sidney. But even he is not prepared for the skeleton in Falkland's cupboard.
Other parts played by members of the cast
(Repeated Saturday 9pm)

Choice
Many great authors learned their craft from their mothers - take Trollope, whose Mama castigated the vulgarity of The Domestic Manners of the Americans. Or take Sheridan, whose mother Frances wrote the Memoirs of Miss Sidney Bidulph (3.00pm R4). Hers is a cautionary tale of refinement versus true sentiment. The hero Faulkland (a name her son adapted in The Rivals) proves to have had a mistress prior to his engagement to the blushing Sidney. Her mother determines that she will, therefore, marry another: disasters ensue. Joanna David and Emilia Fox - real mother and daughter - have sometimes inextricably similar voices but give a pleasing frisson to the roles of the Bidulph women, in this eventful, racy and melodramatic tragedy.
The Food Programme (12.30pm R4) nominations for awards are still in the offing, and we are all invited to vote. See page 24. SG