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Feedback: 07/11/2014

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07/11/2014

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Rediscovering Hancock's Half Hour. And why some Archers addicts say they will switch off.

How Robin Sebastian recreates the comedic voice of Kenneth Williams for Hancock's Half Hour, and the dramatic changes sending shockwaves through the Archers community.

Dramatic storylines and racy relationships are continuing to cause a stir among Archers fans. Now the actor who plays the sausage king Tom Archer has been deposed, some listeners are threatening to switch off altogether.

There were 103 episodes of Hancock's Half Hour recorded in the 1950s. However, 20 episodes are missing from the BBC archives. Now, five of them have been brought back to life in new recordings of the original scripts. Giving a voice to the many voices of Kenneth Williams is actor Robin Sebastian. But which of all Williams's classic characters is his favourite? And what is it about this comedy that makes audiences still laugh sixty years on?

And is the British coverage of German history too focused on conflict? One programme setting out to change this is Neil McGregor's 30 part series 'Germany: Memories of a Nation'. It's been well received by most listeners though some feel repeating it three times a day was a bit much. Commissioning Editor Jane Ellison and the programme's producer Paul Kobrak discuss how and why the series was made.


Produced by Will Yates
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4.

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