BBC Radio 4 FM

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

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4

Radio 4 (FM)

Did the Victorians Ruin the World?

Factual: History

Kat and Helen Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears.

Did The Victorians Ruin The World?

Did the Victorians Ruin the World?: Series 1: Toilets

Factual

Toilets

Series 1

BBC Radio 4 - Did the Victorians Ruin the World?, Series 1, Toilets

Are toilets a case of Victorian genius, or did they flush away our most precious resource?

Helen Arney and Dr Kat Arney explore the Victorian legacy: toilets – a Victorian triumph or flushing away resources? From 2017.

It's the most celebrated period of British ingenuity, but are our Victorian forebears due a rethink? 

Sci-curious sisters Kat and Helen Arney are on hand with some revisionist revelations that could turn what we think we know completely upside down.

Was the water-based toilet the pinnacle of 19th century hygienic invention, or did the Victorians literally flush away our most precious resource? Why did they choose the water closet over the alternatives that were available to them - the Earth Closet and the Air Closet? And was there a Fire Closet too (or was that just the result of that other great Victorian import, the curry?). Helen and Kat are holding their noses and diving in.

Helen Arney is a presenter and comedian, and Dr Kat Arney is a writer and broadcaster who has published a book on genetics.

A Hat Trick production first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2017.

Did the Victorians Ruin the World?: Series 1

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

Sci-curious comedian Helen Arney and her sister Dr Kat Arney present revisionist revelations about our Victorian forebears that could turn what we think we know upside down.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Did the Victorians Ruin the World?

Series 1

Toilets

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 4 FM

About BBC Radio 4