Programme Index

Discover 11,128,835 listings and 279,940 playable programmes from the BBC

Dame Vera Lynn's classic wartime song is British, original and entirely without controversy, or not. Ian Hislop discovers the chequered history of this musical mainstay of the British nation in its finest hour. Could it really be a song weighed down by politics, propaganda and even a touch of plagiarism? And what about those bluebirds - have you ever seen any in the Dover area? Hislop meets Dame Vera, veterans, musicologists and, yes, an ornithologist, in his quest to find the hidden meaning of this enduring wartime song.

Ian Hislop looks for bluebirds: page 123

Contributors

Presenter:
Ian Hislop
Guest:
Dame Vera Lynn
Producer:
Philip Sellars

7/8. The "finest topical comedy panel game known to radio".Chaired by Simon Hoggart, with Alan Coren, Linda Smith, Francis Wheen and a special guest. Repeated from yesterday

Contributors

Unknown:
Simon Hoggart
Unknown:
Alan Coren
Unknown:
Linda Smith
Unknown:
Francis Wheen

Jonathan Dimbleby chairs the discussion at Dartmouth Community College, Devon. Panellists include Theresa May, shadow secretary of state for the environment,
Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat spokesman on culture, media and sport; and the Times columnist Lord Rees-Mogg. Repeated from yesterday

Contributors

Chair:
Jonathan Dimbleby
Panellist:
Theresa May
Panellist:
Don Foster
Panellist:
Lord Rees-Mogg

Greyfriars Bobby 's master, John Gray , served as an Edinburgh policeman for several years and, like other officers on the beat atthetime, he had to provide his own police dog. In this new adventure specially written for radio, Ronald Frame follows the fortunes of John Gray and his dog, Bobby. With petty thieves on the High Street and house breakers at work in both the Old and New Town area of the city, the new recruits have their work cut out.
Producer/Director David Ian Neville

Contributors

Unknown:
Greyfriars Bobby
Unknown:
John Gray
Unknown:
John Gray
Director:
David Ian Neville
Bobby:
Crawford Logan
Jock (John Gray):
Paul Young
Aeneas:
Kenny Blyth
Bridie:
Gayanne Potter
Lachlan:
Simon Talt
Sgt Mitchell:
Lain Agnew
Lachlan:
Simon Talt
McCrae:
Steven McNicoll
Lady Cairncross:
Vlvlenne Dlxon

'The Parsis, members of one of India's oldest faiths, are fighting to keep alive their death ritual - the feeding of dead bodies to vultures on top of the Towers of Silence in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay). Mumbai-born novelist Ardashir Vakil journeys to the Towers to follow this extraordinary ritual and tells the wider story of the Parsi struggle for survival in today's world. Producer AasiyaLodhi

Contributors

Unknown:
Ardashir Vakil

Marcel Ophuls , the tenacious documentary film-maker known for his study of France under the Occupation, The Sorrow and the Pity, talks to Jim White about morality, his exhaustive, investigative approach and about his film-making father, Max. And get ready for another bout of Pottermania- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is about to be released. Producer Jerome Weatherald

Contributors

Unknown:
Marcel Ophuls
Unknown:
Jim White
Unknown:
Harry Potter
Producer:
Jerome Weatherald

1/3. Timing Is Everything
One of music's most celebrated observers explains why he can't help falling in love. Nik Cohn 's conversion to rock 'n' roll happened when he was a schoolboy in the 1950s. Before long he was at the centre of the storm, reporting on the sights and sounds of swinging London. Repeated from Sunday

Contributors

Unknown:
Nik Cohn

Thirty five years ago a disastrous fire gutted Snape
Maltings, the Aldeburgh Festival's main concert hall. This programme tells the story of how one of Britain's greatest international artistic ventures overcame setbacks to become a living monument to the composer Benjamin Britten. Out of the ashes of both war and fire, a sleepy former fishing village in Suffolk was to become one of Europe's musical powerhouses. Ivan Howlett dips into the archives to tell the Aldeburgh story. Producer Nick Patrick

Contributors

Unknown:
Benjamin Britten.
Unknown:
Ivan Howlett
Producer:
Nick Patrick

2/2. In Stella Gibbons's gentle comedy, Margaret Steggles has met playwright Gerard Challis. She thinks she has found happiness but slowly she becomes disillusioned. With the help of Lady Challis, she learns that there are more ways of living than pinning one's happiness on another's approval.

Repeated from Sunday

Contributors

Writer:
Stella Gibbons
Adapted by:
Lynne Truss
Director:
Kate McAll
Narrator/Lady Challis:
Rosemary Leach
Margaret:
Juliet Aubrey
Gerard:
Michael Fenton Stevens
Hilda:
Saffron Burrows
Hebe:
Caroline Harker
Zita:
Mia Soteriou
Seraphina:
Phyllida Nash
Dick:
Jonathan Nibbs
Mrs Steggles:
Angela Barlow
Mr Hudson:
Chris Donnelly
Nanny:
Jacqueline Tong
Earl:
Martin T Sherman

3/3. Some of our best-known institutions are put to the test in a series of debates.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Should parents have the right to engineer a baby to save a sibling? And should couples be allowed to choose the sex of their children? The HFEA has been accused of not talking to patients nor consulting widely enough with the scientific community. Professor Alison Murdoch defends them against clinician Dr Mohammed Taranissi , who says the HFEA interferes and is out of touch with science. Diana Madill is in the chair, and there's an invited forum of experts. Repeated from Wednesday

Contributors

Unknown:
Professor Alison Murdoch
Unknown:
Dr Mohammed Taranissi
Unknown:
Diana Madill

3/6. Roger McGough introduces requests for poems on the themes of life, death and renewal byEECummings, Vernon Scannell and Billy Collins. Readers are Peter Marinker , Alice Arnold and David Collins. Repeated from Sunday

Contributors

Introduces:
Roger McGough
Unknown:
Vernon Scannell
Readers:
Billy Collins.
Unknown:
Peter Marinker
Unknown:
Alice Arnold
Unknown:
David Collins.

3/5. Another chance to hear a series of stories by women that take a short, hard look at men.
Affair. Written by Anne Jones and read by Marlene Sidaway. Producer Peter Everett

Contributors

Written By:
Anne Jones
Read By:
Marlene Sidaway.
Producer:
Peter Everett

BBC Radio 4 FM

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

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About this data

This data is drawn from the Radio Times magazine between 1923 and 2009. It shows what was scheduled to be broadcast, meaning it was subject to change and may not be accurate. More