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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Lives in a Landscape

Factual: Life Stories

Documentary series telling original stories about real lives in Britain today

Lives in a Landscape: Series 20

Lives in a Landscape: Series 20: Episode 4: The Life of Reilly

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Episode 4

Episode 4: The Life of Reilly

Series 20

The Life of Reilly

BBC Radio 4 - Lives in a Landscape, Series 20, The Life of Reilly

Alan Dein follows musical stand-up comedian Christian Reilly on the comedy circuit.

Alan Dein follows musical stand-up comedian Christian Reilly from the comedy-club circuit to the mecca for stand-ups everywhere, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

For every stand-up comedian that's a household name, there are dozens of hard-working, funny, committed comedians who haven't quite broken through into the national consciousness. 

Christian Reilly is a musical stand-up, a wandering minstrel, whose comedy material is delivered through song. He's a popular and successful act who's in great demand on the comedy-club circuit. His diary is packed: Some weeks he'll do two gigs in one night, in two different cities. It's an exhausting schedule. His year, along with so many others, reaches its peak at the Edinburgh festival in August.

In this week's Lives in a Landscape Alan Dein hears Christian's story and travels with him to gigs in Manchester, Liverpool and, ultimately, Edinburgh. From behind-the-scenes at comedy venues, to the share-house Christian rents for a month in Edinburgh with fellow comedians, Alan discovers what motivates Christian, what his ambitions are, and whether he believes he can achieve them.

Producer: Karen Gregor.

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Alan Dein presents documentaries about modern Britain

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Series 20

Episode 4: The Life of Reilly

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