BBC Radio Plays, radio 4, 1998

The BBC kept very few of these plays after they were broadcast. I estimate that around a third to a half of them exist in known private collections.

The list below only shows Afternoon plays, including those on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

The Classic Serial in 1998 was repeated on the following Friday afternoon for part of the year and therefore appears in part of the list below. Saturday afternoon plays also have their own list; the link is on the main radio page.



1 Jan Cigarettes and Chocolate
By Anthony Minghella. `The day I stopped talking was one of those perfect days we have in England. They come in the spring and in the autumn, differently, the one full of entrance, the other full of exit... I'd spoken to them all, in turn, carefully, loving them all; like suicide in a way, to stop talking.' With Juliet Stevenson and Bill Nighty. Directed by Anthony Mingella and Robert Cooper.

2 Jan Classic Serial: War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy's epic novel, dramatised in ten parts by Marcy Kahan and Mike Walker. 6: It is 1811, and despite the peace, Napoleon's troops are massing in Poland, while in Moscow disaster strikes the Rostovs when Natasha is seduced. With Leo McKern, Simon Russell Beale, Amanda Redman and Emily Mortimer. Director Janet Whitaker.(broadcast Sunday)





5 Jan 2025
Mike Walker's two-part serial is set in a future when lives are ruled by computers and the possibility of artificial intelligence has become a reality. Part 1. With Alphonsia Emmanuel, Mona Hammond, Daniela Nardini and David Yip. Director Sally Avens.

6 Jan Thirty Minute Theatre: Last Man Out
By Steve May. At the end of a night of jazz, only the drummer and the bar manager remain, packing up and picking over the ruins of their lives. With Donald Sumpter. Director Ned Chaillet.

7 Jan Shoulders
By Gurmeet Mattu. Calum's annual ceilidh is endangered when the band's van breaks down. As luck would have it, a Birmingham bhangra band's van has also ground to a halt - just outside Calum's snowbound pub. But will bhangra survive the rigours of the Scottish night out? With Simon Nagra, Jim Mistry and Nitin Chandra Ganatra. Director Hamish Wilson.(Repeat)

8 Jan Hafod - Visions of Eden
By Tracy Spottiswoode. Hafod was built by a millionaire visionary who hoped to create an Eden in the wilderness of 18th-century Wales. But in every paradise there is a serpent. With Anthony O'Donnell, Sioned Mair and Eiry Thomas. Director Alison Hindell.

9 Jan Classic Serial: War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy's epic novel, dramatised in ten parts by Marcy Kahan and Mike Walker. 7: It is 1812, and despite having sworn brotherly love to Tsar Alexander, Napoleon has struck deep into the heart of Russia. The Bolkonsky estate is in jeopardy. And, once Smolensk has fallen, Bonaparte may soon be at the gates of Moscow. With Ioan Meredith, Janet Maw and Hugh Dickson. Director Eoin O'Callaghan. (Broadcast Sunday)





12 Jan 2025
The conclusion of Mike Walker's futuristic two-part serial. Olivia and Irena take a step closer to illegal genetic engineering. But who can they trust? With Alphonsia Emmanuel, Mona Hammond, Daniela Nardini and David Yip. Director Sally Avens.

13 Jan Thirty Minute Theatre: Present Progressive
Marjorie Van Halteren's play focusing on a small community of expatriates teaching English in the north of France.

14 Jan Young PC
Fledgling policewoman Paula Young is back on the beat in her home town of Rothersleigh in a second three-part series by award-winning writer Mark Davies Markham. With Julia Ford, Mark Bonnar and Vincent Davies. Director Claire Grove.

15 Jan Buried Treasure
By Andrew Alty. Amid the chaos of the metropolis, three relationships reach crisis point. The lovers find themselves lost in a secluded cemetery which appears to take on a bizarre life of its own. With Michael Byrne, Maggie McCarthy and Neil Dudgeon. Director Cathryn Horn.

16 Jan War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy's epic novel, dramatised in ten parts by Marcy Kahan and Mike Walker. 8: It is 1812, and the French army has surged through Smolensk and is now converging on Borodino, before Moscow. Her father dead, Maria has fled Bald Hills, and now even the Rostovs prepare to leave the city. With Leo McKern, Simon Russell Beale and Emily Mortimer. Director Eoin O'Callaghan. (Broadcast Sunday)





19 Jan Slow Burn
By John Harvey. When Jimmy Nolan's Nottingham jazz club burns down, it looks like an insurance job. But for jazz-loving DI Charlie Resnick and his team, this is the start of a more sinister chain of events. Part 1. With Philip Jackson, Sean Baker, Kate Eaton and John Rowe.

20 Jan Thirty Minute Theatre: Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
Sheila Goff's play is an alternative version of the 60s. A chance meeting between Carol and old boyfriend George conjures up their Walthamstow past. With Siobhan Stamp, Gerard McDermott and Sarah Rice. Director David Hunter.

21 Jan Young PC
The second of a three-part series created by Mark Davies Markham, written by Vince Foxall. Paula Young has been shot at in a bank raid and suspects that her ex-boyfriend Tony is involved. With Julia Ford, Mark Bonnar and Vincent Davies. Director Claire Grove.

22 Jan Tam O'Shanter
Catherine Czerkawska's play is based on and tells the story of Robert Burns's famous poem. With Liam Brennan, Gerda Stevenson and Sheila Donald. Director Hamish Wilson.

23 Jan Classic Serial: War and Peace
Leo Tolstoy's epic novel, dramatised in ten parts by Marcy Kahan and Mike Walker. 9: It is 1812, and Napoleon enters Moscow to find it almost deserted. Pierre has stayed and is imprisoned by the French. The dying Andrei is reunited with Natasha. With Leo McKern, Simon Russell Beale and Emily Mortimer. Director Janet Whitaker. Broadcast Sunday.





26 Jan The Ghost Train
Arnold Ridley's 1920s thriller, adapted by Shaun McKenna. As the last steam train speeds from London to Cornwall, it carries a disparate group of travellers, all anxious to reach their destination. The last thing any of them needs is the object of a terrible local superstition... With Adam Godley, David Brooks and Alison Pettitt. Director Marion Nancarrow.

27 Jan Thirty Minute Theatre: Reenee Say Goodbye
By Max Hillman. Reenee Luck's cloying relationship with her daughter, Lisa, is threatened when a health worker comes to tend her ailing husband. Lisa makes friends with the health worker's daughter, and the jealousy that consumes Lisa's mother results in an act of unimaginable sacrifice. With June Barry and Sian Hillman. Director Kristine Landon-Smith.

28 Jan Young PC
The last of a three-part series created by Mark Davies Markham, written by Vince Foxall. Paula has a breakthrough in the bank robbery case, but her friendship with Jan has been put on the line. With Julia Ford, Mark Bonnar and Vincent Davies. Director Claire Grove.

29 Jan Deep Down
By Carol McGuigan. A group of Geordies have won a competition entitled `First Foot into the Future'. But they are stuck underground on the metro train designed to transport them into the millennium exhibition. While two of the passengers try to find out what is happening, Linsey reveals a dark secret to fellow passenger Grace. With Ann Rye and Colin MacLachlan. Director Susan Roberts.

30 Jan War and Peace
The conclusion of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel, dramatised in ten parts by Marcy Kahan and Mike Walker. It is 1812, and Kutuzov has withdrawn to beyond Moscow, leaving Napoleon no alternative but to retreat. As `General Winter' takes hold, his dream of conquest turns to nightmare in a desperate dash for the Russian border. With Leo McKern, Sean Baker and Nicola Pagett. Director Eoin O'Callaghan. Broadcast Sunday.





2 Feb A Breath of Fresh Air
When death stalked the streets of Paris at the time of the French Revolution, no one was safe - not even the greatest chemist of his day. With Keith Drinkel, Robert Harper, Colleen Prendergast, John Hollis and Alex Lowe. Director Martin Jenkins.

3 Feb Thirty Minute Theatre: Phone Tag
By Israel Horovitz. In a world of answerphones, love is kept on the hook and mayhem is unleashed in the intercontinental game of phone tag. With John Guerassio, Elizabeth Mansfield and Doreen Mantle. Director Ned Chaillet.

4 Feb Who Sings the Hero?: Hard Row to Porlock
In a remarkable true-life rescue story of 1899, the Lynmouth lifeboat crew carry their boat overland five miles to save a ship in distress. With John Rowe, Tom Bevan and Hugh Dickson. Director Cherry Cookson.

5 Feb Sweet Rugged Mystery
By Jesse Moyo James. Sharon and Petal struggle to remain friends as they vie for the attention of the same man. With Michelle Joseph, Heather Imani and Trevor Etienne. Director Kristine Landon-Smith.

6 Feb Classic Serial: The Last Chronicle of Barset
The final story in Anthony Trollope's `The Barchester Chronicles', dramatised in five episodes by Martyn Wade. 1: The Vicar of Hogglestock is accused of stealing a cheque - a charge which is to have wide-reaching implications for his family and for the inhabitants of Barchester. With Kenneth Cranham, Gabrielle Lloyd and Emma Fielding. Director Cherry Cookson. Broadcast Sunday





9 Feb Next Time We Might Play Better
Peter Tinniswood's touching comedy about an inept quartet of musicians whose fervent aim is to fulfil the promise of the play's title. With Graham Crowden, Hugh Dickson and Jillie Meers. Director Enyd Williams.

10 Feb Cursed with Both Head and Heart
Crime writer Dorothy L Sayers was controversial and versatile in public life, and her frequent letters reveal an equally spirited but troubled private existence, involving unsuitable men and an illegitimate child. The letters are introduced by Dr Reynolds and read by Sheila Mitchell.

11 Feb Who Sings the Hero? Trapped
By Martin Jenkins. The tragic story of the Exeter Theatre fire of 1887 and its heroes. Narrated by Geoffrey Whitehead and Rachel Atkins. Starring Alastair Danson, Adam Davison, Tom Drewett, Alison Pettitt, Christian Rodska, John Rowe, Iwan Thomas and Stephen Thorne. Director Martin Jenkins.

12 Feb Come to Me
By Michael Punter. Theo Popplewell knows he must solve the riddle of his birth for the sake of his survival. But can the answers really lie in a crumbling house on the south coast of England? With John Guerrasio, Avril Elgar and Jane Lapotaire. Director Jane Morgan.

13 Feb Classic Serial: The Last Chronicle of Barset
The final story in Anthony Trollope's `The Barchester Chronicles' is dramatised in five episodes by Martyn Wade. 2: The Rev Crawley stands accused of theft and, despite his protestations of innocence, Mrs Proudie is determined to use the charge to bring him down. Broadcast Sunday.





16 Feb The Wireless Lady
Peter Tinniswood's celebration of the great days of radio. Eighty-year-old Winifred Leslie, the grande dame of radio drama, lives alone and thinks she is forgotten. Her only companion in life is an old Bakelite wireless. But then she is offered a part by a young producer and memories come flooding back... Starring Billie Whitelaw and Christian Rodska.Repeat.

17 Feb Lucifer Matches: The Letters of Charlotte Bronte
The creator of `Jane Eyre' was not known for mincing words in her letters, and her husband, describing them as `dangerous as lucifer matches', ordered that they be burned. But the revealing missives survived, and are explored by Bronte's biographer, Juliet Barker, in this programme. Extracts read by Sian Thomas.

18 Feb The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes
Three classic mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, starring Clive Merrison as Sherlock Holmes and Michael Williams as Dr Watson. 1: `The Lion's Mane'. Holmes has retired to Sussex to tend his bees, but finds that old habits linger - especially when it is a case of violent death. Repeat.

19 Feb Up and Down in Silvertown
By Mike Walker. After 30 years, the tower blocks in Silvertown are coming down, and Flo will lose her view over London's Docklands. With great-granddaughter Amba at her side, she makes her way down from the 19th floor on a journey that takes her back in time. With Anna Wing, Jade Williams and Alison Pettitt. Director Jeremy Mortimer.

20 Feb Classic Serial: The Last Chronicle of Barset
Part 3. Broadcast Sunday.





23 Feb 98 Moonbeam and Mrs Pat
By Peter Ling. The most constant and adored companion in the life of celebrated actress Mrs Patrick Campbell was her little dog, Moonbeam. With Imelda Staunton, Sarah Badel and Zulema Dene. Director Enyd Williams. Repeat.

24 Feb 98 Lantern Slides
By Mark Pottle, based on the diaries and letters written by Violet Bonham Carter - daughter of Herbert Asquith - between 1904 and 1918. This dramatisation deals with a period in her life in which an intense relationship brought her great joy - until its tragic conclusion. Helena Bonham Carter plays Violet, her real-life grandmother. With Alex Jennings and John Rowe. Director Cherry Cookson.

25 Feb 98 The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes
Three classic mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, starring Clive Merrison as Sherlock Holmes and Michael Williams as Dr Watson. 2: `The Veiled Lodger'. Mrs Merrilow has the perfect lodger - a gentlewoman who keeps herself to herself and pays rent in advance. But why will she not show her face? With Ian Masters and Michael Tudor Barnes. Director Patrick Rayner. Repeat.

26 Feb 98 Missing the Melody
Karen Hope's examination of sound told from the perspective of a woman who is profoundly deaf. Lucy, a gifted violinist as a child, became deaf in her early teens. Now, fifteen years later, she awaits the result of an operation which will restore her hearing. But will reality match her memories and expectations? With Emma Fielding and Richard Hope.

27 Feb 98 Classic Serial: The Last Chronicle of Barset
The final story in Anthony Trollope's `The Barchester Chronicles', dramatised in five episodes by Martyn Wade. 4: The course of true love has not been running smoothly in Barchester. And dramatic events in the Proudie household mean that life will never be quite the same again... With Rosemary Leach and David Horovitch. Director Cherry Cookson. Broadcast Sunday.





2 Mar Lost
By Bob Hescott. It is 1950, and four Jewish teenagers remember the night they were rounded up in Prague and kept in the town hall until they could be transported to Auschwitz. With Nadia Sparham, Kerry Stacey and Jeremy Colton. Director Brian Lighthill. Repeat.

3 Mar Milena Jesenska: Kafka, Love and Courage
Author Mary Hockaday journeys to Prague to discover the truth about Milena Jesenska, the mysterious woman to whom Franz Kafka wrote his famous, heartfelt `Letters to Milena'.

4 Mar The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes
The last of three classic mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, starring Clive Merrison as Sherlock Holmes and Michael Williams as Dr Watson. `Shoscombe Old Place'. Holmes and Watson make a gruesome discovery in an old crypt. With Nicholas Le Prevost and Donald Pickering. Director Enyd Williams. Repeat.

5 Mar Dangerous Samples
By John Pilkington. 1996 marked the centenary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite and pioneer of weapons of mass destruction, yet also the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize. An illuminating insight into the life, hopes and fears of this extraordinary and contradictory man. With Robin Soans, John Hartley, Shirley Dixon and Jonathan Kitchens. Director Cathryn Horn.

6 Mar Classic Serial: The Last Chronicle of Barset
Conclusion of the final story in Anthony Trollope's `The Barchester Chronicles', dramatised by Martyn Wade. 5: As the community comes to terms with the death of Mrs Proudie, there is good news from abroad for the Rev Crawley. With Kenneth Cranham, Gabrielle Lloyd, Emma Fielding, Stephen Moore, Jilly Bond, Christopher Wright, Alison Pettit, John Rowe and Brian Parr. Director Cherry Cookson. Broadcast Sunday.





9 Mar An Oscar for Janice
By Janet George. Theatre-mad supermarket assistant Janice finds that the stars in her eyes lose their twinkle when she gets a work placement in her local theatre and meets the actors. With Julie Riley, Geoff Hinsliff, Dave Hill, Sandra Maitland and Bernard Padden. Director Nandita Ghose.

10 Mar No play! Book programme instead.

11 Mar Medical Detectives
Three true stories of pioneering investigations in the field of pathology, dramatised by Michael Butt from `The Ghost Disease and Other Stories' by Michael Howell and Peter Ford. 1: `Death in the Parish'. When a cholera epidemic ravages Soho in 1854, the Rev Henry Whitehead refuses to blame it on the poor. With Bill Nighy and Nicky Henson. Director John Taylor. Repeat.

12 Mar The Last Resort By Philip Osment. Richard and Melanie take a holiday in Spain after Richard's retirement. The truth of their relationship is exposed in the unfamiliar surroundings. With Terry Molloy, Gillian Hanna and Cal McCrystal. Director Kristine Landon-Smith.

13 Mar Classic Serial: Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand's classic play, translated by Anthony Burgess (John Burgess Wilson). In the first of two episodes, Cyrano fights a duel, saves a poet from certain death and falls desperately in love. With Alex Norton, Emma Fielding and Jonathan Cullen. Broadcast Sunday.





16 Mar The Valley of Fear
The Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dramatised in two parts by Bert Coules. 1: `The Scowrers'. Revenge and treachery link a Sussex country house with the sinister secret societies of 1890s industrial America. With Clive Merrison, Michael Williams and Iain Glen. Director Enyd Williams. Repeat.

17 Mar No play.

18 Mar Medical Detectives Three true stories of pioneering investigations in the field of pathology, dramatised by Michael Butt from `The Ghost Disease and Other Stories' by Michael Howell and Peter Ford. 2: `The Epping Jaundice'. It is odd enough that a quiet Essex suburb should develop its own unique epidemic, but what really baffles Dr Ash is that the victims are all middle class. With Bernard Hepton and Julia Watson. Director John Taylor. Repeat.

19 Mar Salzburg in London
By Marcy Kahan. Esther Salzburg, a screenplay writer, escapes noisy New York for the promised peace and quiet of an Edwardian block of flats near London's West End. However, she is in for an unpleasant surprise. With Tara Hugo, Robert Goodale, Marcella Riordan, Kerry Shale, Mia Soteriou, Kristin Milward and Carolyn Jones. Director Gordon House.

20 Mar Classic Serial: Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand's classic play, translated by Anthony Burgess. In the second of two episodes. With Alex Norton, Emma Fielding and Jonathan Cullen. Broadcast Sunday.





23 Mar The Valley of Fear
The Sherlock Holmes novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dramatised in two parts by Bert Coules. 2: The Tragedy of Birlstone. The case is solved with the aid of a single dumbbell and Dr Watson's umbrella. With Clive Merrison, Michael Williams, Iain Glen, Ronald Pickup, Mark Bonnar and Timothy Bateson. Director Enyd Williams. Repeat.

24 Mar No play.

25 Mar Medical Detectives
Three true stories of pioneering investigations in the field of pathology, dramatised by Michael Butt from `The Ghost Disease and Other Stories' by Michael Howell and Peter Ford. 3: `That Last Infirmity'. Chared with unravelling the tangle of folk tales and bad science obscuring the causes of yellow fever in Cuba in 1898, Carroll and Lazear resort to extreme methods. With Colin Stinton, William Hope and Peter Marinker. Directed by John Taylor. Repeat.

26 Mar Hideous Kinky
Esther Freud adapts her own successful novel for radio. The story charts the journey of two small children and their mother. Seen through the eyes of the children, their adventures take them further and further from home. With Lisa Jacobs, Lexi Rose, Lannah McAdam, Nasser Memarzia and Paul Viragh. Music by Felix Cross. Director Kristine Landon-Smith.

27 Mar Classic Serial: The Ladies' Paradise By Emile Zola, dramatised in two parts by Stephen Wyatt. With Dervla Kirwan as Denise Baudu and Douglas Hodge as Octave Mouret. 1: Denise Baudu comes to Paris to look for work in her uncle's shop. When he cannot afford to take her on, she is drawn inexorably towards the competition - `The Ladies' Paradise', owned by the charismatic Octave Mouret. Director Rosemary Watts. Music by Matthew Scott. Director Hilary Norrish. Broadcast Sunday.





30 Mar The Kite
By Stephen James. Samuel works as a clerk in a government office and lives with his brother William, who is dying. Samuel tries to ``borrow'' a favourite painting from the office over Christmas, but it all goes wrong. `The Kite' is a gentle and moving play about the secret lives of the unregarded. With Philip Jackson, Christopher Ravenscroft, Amelia Bullmore, and Michael Begley. Director Melanie Harris. Repeat.

31 Mar No play.

1 Apr Mother's Bag-A-Bagel
By Sue Teddern. The first of four comedy dramas celebrating mothers. When Shirley Silver's husband walked out on her, he left his mother's bagel recipe behind. Success is the best revenge. With June Whitfield, Matilda Ziegler, Sharon D Clarke and John Rowe. Director Marion Nancarrow.

2 Apr Pig Paradise
By Kitty Fitzgerald. Jack Plum has created a paradise for pigs in the cellar of his home. This is made more unusual by the fact that Jack is a 35-year-old man with special needs. When he befriends young Holly Lock, they both delight in this secret underworld. But nothing lasts forever. With Christopher Eccleston, Becky Simpson, Sue Johnston and Jane Hollowood. Director Pauline Harris. and the pair battle for survival in a world not ready for outsiders. With Christopher Eccleston, Becky Simpson and Sue Johnston. Director Pauline Harris.

3 Apr Classic Serial: The Ladies' Paradise
By Emile Zola, dramatised in two parts by Stephen Wyatt. With Dervla Kirwan as Denise Baudu and Douglas Hodge as Octave Mouret. 2: Denise has been unjustly dismissed from `The Ladies Paradise', but she still lives within its shadow and feels its influence. With David Timson, Richard Derrington, Christopher Scott and Terry Molloy. Director Rosemary Watts. Music by Matthew Scott. Director Hilary Norrish. Broadcast Sunday.





6 Apr Summer with Monika
Roger McGough's magical poem of love in the 60s is dramatised for radio by the poet. Director Ned Chaillet.

7 Apr Keep Out. Private
By John McClelland. The Fitzgibbons get a personal call about an unusual privatisation scheme. With Walter McMonagle, Brenda Winter, Roger Lloyd Pack and Philip Jackson. Music composed by Bill Lloyd and sung by Singit. Director Roland Jaquarello.

8 Apr Mother's Day: Double Trouble
By Georgia Pritchett. The second of four comedies celebrating mothers follows the fortunes of a darts team with a difference - all the players are pregnant. With Maggie McCarthy, Eilidh Fraser and Gabrielle Glaister. Director David Blount

9 Apr The Maids of Orleans
Beatrice Colin's play is set in France in the dark days of 1940. As the Germans advance from Paris, three women - an heiress, a journalist and a poet - escape to a chateau in the Loire Valley. They have sworn to counter bullets with words, and violence with feminism. But, like latter-day Joans of Arc, they discover that idealism has a price. Director Patrick Rayner.

10 Apr Roman Fever
By Edith Wharton, dramatised by Colin Davis. In 1920s Rome, two middle-aged American women who were childhood friends meet again by chance. But an afternoon of quiet reminiscence leads into an evening of astonishing revelations. With Zoe Wanamaker as Grace Ansley and Gillian Barge as Alida Slade. Director Celia de Wolff.





13 Apr The End of the Affair
Graham Greene's story of the loss of love and one man's losing battle with his own agnosticism. Dramatised for radio by John Harvey. With Alex Jennings as Bendrix and Emma Fielding as Sarah. Director Sally Avens.

14 Apr The Servant's Room
Written and directed by Don Taylor. Walls have secrets, and when Adam and Belinda find a small cupboard plastered over in the attic room of their new house, they discover the story of what happened in the servant's room - or they think they do... With Michael Jenn, Catherine Russell and Cheryl Campbell. Director Don Taylor.

15 Apr Wannabe
By Sue Teddern. The third of four comedies celebrating mothers. When young Kelly Worthington is selected for a new all-girl band, her ambitious mother glimpses success in the wings. With Tessa Peake-Jones, Sarah Rice and Tom Watt. Director David Hunter.

16 Apr The Monkey Bin
By Bob Sherman. English actors and would-be Mel Gibsons have flocked to Los Angeles for the `pilot season', and Billy Bob's apartment house is the venue for high ambition and low plots. With William Hootkins, Stefan Dennis and James Laurenson. Director Ned Chaillet.

17 Apr Take That, Lennon and Sid
By Jonathan Harvey. Two teenage girls abscond from school to see their favourite pop group in concert and are changed for ever following a revelation about one of their classmates. With Sarah French, Lucy Speed and Ricci Harnett. Director John Burgess.





20 Apr Hermit Thrush at Morn
Natalia Power's play is based on the life of Amy Beach (1867-1944), the first and most important American woman composer. With Deborah Findlay, Henry Goodman, Carolyn Jones and William Roberts. Director Cherry Cookson.

21 Apr Ad for a Dad
By John Goodwin. When his father dies, 12-year-old Sam writes to the local paper to advertise for a new dad - a move that has unforeseen consequences. With Ben Marshall, Maureen O'Grady and Stephen Critchlow.

22 Apr Showing Up
By Georgia Pritchett. The last of four plays celebrating mothers. When Sheila Martin welcomes back into the family the son she gave up for adoption, she does not guess the home truths his reappearance will uncover. With Edna Dore, Polly James and Iwan Thomas. Director Marilyn Imrie.

23 Apr Mrs Shakespeare
By Robert Nye. A look at Shakespeare through the dark eyes of his wife Anne. She favours us with an entertainingly intimate account of the week she first went to London, summoned by Mr Shakespeare for his 30th birthday, and what then happened to her in a strange and remarkable bed in his lodgings above a fishmonger's shop in Bishopsgate. With Maggie Steed and Kenneth Cranham. Director Patrick Rayner.

24 Apr Desert Island Desserts
A comedy by Alexandra Cadall. When two interviewees from `Desert Island Discs' are marooned on an island, their choice of music and survival techniques fail to live up to expectations. With Nicholas Le Provost, Eddie Marsan and Sue Lawley. Director Sally Avens





27 Apr On the Whole It's Been Jolly Good
Peter Tinniswood's monologue written to celebrate the diamond jubilee in broadcasting of Maurice Denham, who stars as Sir Plympton Makepeace.

28 Apr The Last Obit
Billie Whitelaw stars as an obituarist living in her own very particular world in this monologue written especially for her by Peter Tinniswood. Director Enyd Williams.

29 Apr Verona - a Conspiracy of Parrots
Stephanie Cole stars as the slightly elderly lady whose exotic birds bring her triumphant fulfilment in this monologue written specially for her by Peter Tinniswood.

30 Apr Private Wheeler's War
By Christopher Aird and Jonathan Tafler. With Andrew Lincoln as Wheeler and Ciaran Hinds as Wellington. Sleeping in palaces or under the stars, seeking glory or courting fair damsels, hunting the enemy and in turn being hunted - an authentic account of life as a soldier in Wellington's peninsular campaign. Director Jonathan Tafler.

1 May The Prisoner of Gender
By John Merryfield. As an academic, Andrew is a shining example of all that is politically correct. But, sadly, he is a complete disaster as a human being. With James Telfer, Crawford Logan and Mairi Gillespie. Director Patrick Rayner.





4 May If You Knew Suzy
Patrice Chaplin's play shows a less familiar side to Suzy Solidor, the husky-voiced chanteuse who ran the infamous Paris nightclub La Vie Parisienne in the 1940s. With Becky Hindley, Clive Swift and Danielle McCormack. Director Jeremy Mortimer.

5 May The Retired Colourman
By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, dramatised by Bert Coules. Farewell to 221B Baker Street. Starring Clive Merrison as Sherlock Holmes, Michael Williams as Dr Watson and George Cole as Josiah Amberley. Director Enyd Williams.

6 May Roberto Sultana
By Katie Hims. Nine-year-old Shelly writes to her hero, Roberto Sultana, who is away looking for a man with a limp. Her mother will not eat, talk or get out of bed. Shelly needs some help. With Sarah Tingle, Christopher Horner and Liz Smith. Director Melanie Harris.

7 May Motor Flight
In 1907, Edith Wharton and Henry James made a journey through France in a Panhard car with two small dogs, Edith's husband and a chauffeur named Cook. Michael Bakewell presents an account of their stately progress and of the friendship of the two remarkable writers, who observe the landscape and each other with wry humour. Joss Ackland plays Henry James.

8 May The Captain's Wife
By Juliet Ace. Every two years, there is a new captain - and a new captain's wife. Mattie, played by Patricia Hodge, is there for them all, moving, over the years, from the centre of the table to the captain's side. She observes the Navy at play and provides exotic relief - until she is ready to change herself. Director Ned Chaillet.





11 May Chekhov in My Life
By Lydia Avilov, adapted for radio by Carolyn Sally Jones from the translation by David Magarshack. When Lydia Avilov died in 1942, her account of her turn-of-the-century love affair with Chekhov was published. But was it simply a romantic longing of her own imagining? With Janet Suzman and Paul Rhys. Director Keith Slade.

12 May Blonde for Danger
Adapted by Guy Fithen from the book by Berkely Gray. Christopher Cazenove stars as Norman Conquest, the `Gay Desperado', and Bonnie Langford as his resourceful partner, Pixie. With Richard Davies, Colin Spaull and Bill Nighy. Director Adrian Bean.

13 May The Young Ambassadors
Angela Pelham was one of a group of British children evacuated to America during the Second World War. Her letters home were published in a book on which this play is based. They tell the story of Angela's transition from childhood to adulthood and of her meetings with an extraordinary range of luminaries, including Edward and Mrs Simpson.

14 May The Teahouse Detective - the York Mystery
By Baroness Orczy, dramatised by Michael Butt. In a London ABC Cornerhouse in the twenties, few would guess that ragged old man sitting over a cup of warm tea and a doughnut is Britain's most astute detective, or that he is on the brink of solving the country's most scandalous and intriguing murder mystery. With Bernard Hepton and Suzanne Burden. Director John Taylor.

15 May Painting Mrs Jones
Lindsay Duncan stars as Jennifer Jones in Rachel Joyce's new play about a woman who sits for her portrait and wonders if the painting will reveal a new truth about her inner self. With James Laurenson and David Antrobus. Director Jeremy Mortimer.





18 May Roy and Daisy
Corin Redgrave's original drama, culled from the diaries of his grandparents Roy Redgrave and Daisy Scudamore, is a vivid and often funny account of their relationship, which blossomed in South London's music halls in the golden era of the Edwardian melodrama. Starring Corin Redgrave and Kika Markham.

19 May And the Birds Are Still Singing
By Nick Fisher. When a young couple visit an old house with a view to buying it, they are unaware of the memories of 80 years contained within it... With Freda Dowie and Kim Wall. Director Richard Wortley.

20 May Jerusalem North West
By Vanessa Rosenthal. In this evocative play, a Jewish convert looks back over her life, remembering the man she once fell in love with... With Sarah Lancashire, David Fleesman and Brigit Forsyth. Director Nandita Ghose.

21 May Hambone's Day
By David Johnston. Northern Ireland is at a crossroads, and ten-year-old Paul is concerned. He can hear his parents arguing and they tell him that it is his future which is at stake. The countdown to the referendum has begun, and Paul decides to keep a diary, starting on Good Friday 1998 and ending on 21 May. With Dean Pritchard and Gerard McSorley.

22 May Confessions of a Love Addict
By Yana Stajno. In her agony column, Eve Baxter gives tough advice on love. Little do her readers know that she herself is a hopeless love addict. With Leslie Ash as Eve and Robert Daws as Robin. Director Peter Kavanagh.





25 May The Greengage Summer
By Rumer Godden, dramatised for radio by Dawn Lowe Watson. Left to fend for themselves during a long, hot summer in France, the Grey children find themselves caught up in an adult world of duplicity and lies that finally leads to tragedy. With Ellie Beaven, Abigail Docherty and Ciara Janson. Director Sally Avens.

26 May The Happiness Foundation
By Matthew Solon. The Albrights are a successful and charming family - Tony and Cherie Blair types, with a son about to be made head of school and a daughter making it big in fashion. They are systematically being destroyed by someone with a grudge. A black comedy which descends from perfection to squalor in 45 minutes. With Clive Mantle, Jan Ravens and Dermot Crowley. Director John Dryden.

27 May Cinderella D-Day
Another chance to hear Julia Stoneham's three-part series following on from `Cinderella Service' and continuing the story of a group of Land Army girls during the Second World War. 1: `Spring, 1944'. With Samantha Bond, June Barrie and Louise Lombard.

28 May The Last Bed
By Hugo Claus, translated from the Flemish by Marie Claire Nuyens. Why have the two women come to this rather cheerless seaside hotel? Not for romance, certainly, but for a rather grimmer purpose. With Stella Gonet and Jane Whittenshaw. Director Jane Morgan.

29 May Bullseye Babes
By Cally Phillips. For the small community of West Gretna, life is about more than winning and losing. With a song in your heart, there is everything in the world to play for. With Ann-Louise Ross, Alexander Morton and Jan Wilson. Director Julie Fraser.





1 Jun The Trouble You Bring Me
Scenes from the marriage of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, adapted by Tony Staveacre from their letters and memoirs. Weill was a German composer, studious and serious; she was an Austrian coachman's daughter, stage-struck and ambitious. The hectic marriage of this unlikely couple became the stuff of gossip in Europe and America. With Henry Goodman and Kelly Hunter. Director Tony Staveacre.

2 Jun Like the First Dewfall
By David Britton, from a story by Elizabeth Jolley. It is September 1939, and a last-minute seaside holiday raises questions of responsibility for a Quaker family. With Amanda Gordon, Rachel Atkins and Andy Hockley. Director Alison Hindell.

3 Jun Cinderella D-Day
Samantha Bond stars as Alice Todd in Julia Stoneham's three-part series continuing the story of a group of Land Army girls during the Second World War. Part 2. With June Barrie, Louise Lombard and Adrian Lukis. Repeat.

4 Jun Walton's Pike
Tony Ramsay's play about Sir Izaak Walton, author of `The Compleat Angler', as he goes on one last fishing trip. With Richard Johnson, David Timson and Teresa Gallagher. Director Janet Whitaker.

5 Jun Some of My Best Friends Are Dolphins
Marianne Carey's light comedy is about a meeting of opposites - Yvette is successful, cultivated and a bit of a snob, whereas Jazz is broke, loud and living upstairs. With James MacPherson, Deirdre Davis and Molly Innes. Director Patrick Rayner. Repeat.

8 Jun The Devil and Paganini
Tom Baker plays Beelzebub in Hattie Naylor's new play about virtuoso violinist Nicolo Paganini and an English journalist intent on eliciting from the maestro the secret of his genius. With Marcello Magni, David Bamber and Bart Ruspoli. Director Jeremy Mortimer.

9 Jun Conquest Marches On
In Guy Fithen's adaptation of the book by Berkeley Gray, Christopher Cazenove plays `Gay Desperado' Norman Conquest, one of the first fictional tough-guy heroes. Bonnie Langford features as his girlfriend, Pixie. Repeat.

10 Jun Cinderella D-Day
`August, 1944'. Samantha Bond stars as Alice Todd in the final instalment of Julia Stoneham's series about a group of Land Army girls during the Second World War. With Sam Collings, Louise Lombard and Adrian Lukis. Repeat.

11 Jun Parson Skinner of Camerton
Adapted and written by Kate Withers. The journals of John Skinner, who held the living of the parish of Camerton in Somerset between 1800 and 1839, are the basis for a dramatised feature about the village, past and present. With Timothy West and June Barrie.

12 Jun Minty Alley
Margaret Busby's dramatisation of the only novel by C L R James. A young man is forced to leave middle-class security and move into a household that seems to thrive on passion and violence. With Geff Francis, Vivienne Rochester and Burt Caesar. Director Pam Fraser Solomon.





15 Jun Stations of the Cross
American dramatist Israel Horovitz takes the leading role in his new play. David has returned from America, the land of his father, to make a farcical, poetic rail crossing of England to the home of his sister - and to an unforgettable funeral. With Nicky Henson and Joanna Monro. Director Ned Chaillet.

16 Jun Render unto Caesar
By Patrick J Power. An old man is dead and a large sum of money is missing. It is rural Ireland and the powers that be - the priest and the Guard - move in. With Pauline McLynn, Owen Roe and Pat Laffan. Director Pam Brighton.

17 Jun Mary Something Takes the Veil
By Charlotte Jones. A novice nun is about to take her final vows. All the nuns are called Sister Mary Something, the name of the saint to whom they dedicate themselves. She must find the right one before Brother Paul comes to take her confession. With Colleen Prendergast and Akbar Kurtha. Director Claire Grove.

18 Jun The Magic Caravan
By Tim Green. The story of pioneering Welsh filmmaker William Haggar and his struggle to make his vision come true. With Tony Robinson, Robert Pugh and Christine Pritchard. Director Foz Allan.

19 Jun Fair Game
Christian Rodska and Maggie O'Neill star in a psychological thriller. Tom is infatuated with his employee Sue and starts to subject her to sexual harassment. But his whole world starts to tumble around him as he becomes involved in murder and blackmail. Director Diane Whitley.





22 Jun The Strange Petitioner
By Joe Dunlop. A dramatisation of the life of Robert K Andrews, who sat in the House of Commons every day from 1963 until just before Christmas 1997. He was not an MP, nor was he a Lord; his seat was in the central lobby and by night he lived on the streets of London, which is where he died on Christmas Day. With Tony Benn, Peter Bottomley, Emma Nicholson and Bernard Weatherill.

23 Jun Family Affair
By Jayne Hollinson. When Suzie embarks on a relationship with Andrew, she soon discovers this also means taking on his two children and Eileen, his separated wife. Andrew and Eileen are learning that being separated is not so easy when you share children - especially when one of them is determined to get you back together. With Paul Bown and Lesley Nightingale. Director Diane Whitley.

24 Jun Retouching
By Jane Cassidy. A woman brings an old photo to a studio to be retouched and asks to have the child in it erased. The retoucher becomes determined to find out why. With Marie Jones, Ian McElhinney, Margaret D'Arcy, Simon Magill, JJ Murphy, George Shane and Brenda Winter. Director Pam Brighton.

25 Jun Something to Declare
`1948 - the Untold Stories'. In a unique collaboration, the BBC and the Royal Court Young People's Theatre present a sound picture of Britain in 1948, which shines an unusual light on the Windrush story. Written and performed by the Royal Court Young People's Theatre. Directors Marion Nancarrow, Tony Phillips and Ollie Ola Animashawun.

26 Jun Talkers
By Neil Brand. In the late 20s, Jack Warner and his Brothers sounded the death knell for silent movies. However, one band leader with nothing to lose had very different ideas about the future of `talkers'. With Nathan Osgood, Bradley Lavelle, Kristin Marks and Kim Romer. Director Eoin O'Callaghan.





29 Jun Divided Harvest
By Vanessa Rosenthal. An actress meets her Israeli lover after 19 years apart, and long-kept family secrets are revealed. With Sheila Steafel, Jack Klaff and Jane Cameron. Director Nandita Ghose.

30 Jun Ben Sees It Through
Tony Robinson is ex-con Ben and Leslie Phillips the evil Lovelace in J Jefferson Farjeon's 1930s thriller. A hat, a dagger and an MP's letter entice Ben into the world of arms smugglers and his girlfriend into the arms of Spanish inquisitor Pasquale. With Rebecca Lacey and Jon Glover. Repeat.

1 Jul Jack and Frances
Michael Bakewell adapts the story of the love affair between famously flamboyant writer and lecturer John Cowper Powys and American poet Frances Gregg. They fell in love in 1912 and, as he was already married, maintained a relationship by engineering her marriage to a friend of his. With James Laurenson and Sian Thomas.

2 Jul As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams
A vivid self-portrait of an 11th-century Japanese woman. Lady Sarashina remembers her life, which has been sustained by nature, dreams and a love of stories. Adapted from Ivan Morris's translation, with additional tales by Pomme Clayton. With Annabelle Apsion and Kazuko Hohki. Director Pomme Clayton.

3 Jul The Bomb Damage Sale Wedding Dress
By Christina Reid. It is the summer of '97 in the university area of Belfast. When single parent Molly refuses to marry Joseph, it starts a whole roundabout of relationships in `La Ronde' style. However, 70-year-old Lily is more interested in tradition and monarchical memorabilia... With Trudy Kelly, Laine Megaw and Kathryn Rankin. Director Roland Jaquarello.





6 Jul London Particulars
A Victorian detective thriller by John Peacock. Young Kathleen Kelleher travels from Ireland to join her fiance in London. But on her arrival he is nowhere to be found. Starring Todd Carty as Pip Shepherd and Elizabeth Spriggs as Dolly Jenks. Director David Blount (1/2). Repeat.

7 Jul Conquest Marches On
In Guy Fithen's adaptation of the book by Berkeley Gray, Christopher Cazenove plays `Gay Desperado' Norman Conquest, one of the first fictional tough-guy heroes. Bonnie Langford features as his girlfriend, Pixie.

8 Jul John Dodd Gets Taken for a Ride
By Richard Lumsden. John, born with learning difficulties, has been hidden from his Derbyshire village by his parents. His view of the world, though limited, has its own brand of humour, insight and poetry. His careful routine is broken when his uncle arrives to take him out in a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. With Peter Gunn, Rowena Cooper and Russell Dixon. Director Gillian Bevan.

9 Jul Rivers of Deceit
By Rebecca Bartlett. It is the end of the 18th century in Co Tyrone, Ireland, and a young woman is urged to solve her family's financial problems by marrying an affluent suitor. With Sharon Curran, John Paul Connolly and Marie Jones. Director Pam Brighton.

10 Jul Unwritten Law
Helena Kennedy QC presents four dramatised features about trials that brought about a change in the law because of changing social attitudes. 1: `A Case of Blasphemous Obscenity'. In 1976, Mary Whitehouse brought a private prosecution for blasphemous libel against Dennis Lemon and Gay News, who published an allegedly obscene poem about Christ.





13 Jul London Particulars
In the conclusion of John Peacock's two-part Victorian detective thriller, a Bow Street runner and a peeler join forces to investigate the double mystery of a murdered earl and a missing Irishman. Starring Todd Carty as Pip Shepherd and Charles Simpson as Thomas Tedman. With Elizabeth Spriggs, Hilary Reynolds and Linda Polan. Director David Blount. Repeat.

14 Jul Hard Row to Porlock
By Eric Pringle. The true story of a remarkable rescue, which took place in 1899 when the Lynmouth lifeboat crew carried their boat over five miles by land to save a ship in distress. With John Rowe, Tom Bevan and Hugh Dickson. Director Cherry Cookson. Repeat.

15 Jul Atia - a True Story
From Mirpur, Pakistan, to Oldham, near Manchester, Maya Chowdhry's drama tells the remarkable story of 18-year-old Atia Idrees and her determination to remain in Britain and to care for her 78-year-old grandmother. With Indira Varma, Adlyn Ross and Yasmin Sidhwa. Director Pauline Harris.

16 Jul Just You, Me and a Glitterball
By Lucy Catherine. Five-and-a-half hours in Terminal One, and Deborah and Marek find that sharing views on hand luggage and making Molotov cocktails produces some surprising bonds between them. With Sarah-Jane Holm as Deborah and David Thorpe as Marek. Director Jeremy Mortimer.

17 Jul Unwritten Law
Helena Kennedy QC presents four dramatised features about trials that brought about a change in the law reflecting changing social attitudes. 2: `A Bunch of Twigs'. The first appeal against birching on the Isle of Man sparked demonstrations and even the threat of secession from the UK. But the growing anti-birching lobby had found a cause. With David Antrobus and Gareth Armstrong. Director Peter Kavanagh.





20 Jul A Soap Queen for New Delhi
By Neil Harris. Rani, a hotel chambermaid, writes a fan letter to Candice, inviting her to come to India. Imagine her surprise when she discovers that her favourite soap character is staying at her hotel. With Judy Buxton, Nina Wadia and John Guerassio. Director Tanya Nash. Repeat.

21 Jul Miss Dynamite
Christopher Cazenove stars as thirties sleuth Norman Conquest and Bonnie Langford is his partner, Pixie, in another crime-solving thriller peppered with blonde bombshells and glamorous villains. Director Adrian Bean. Repeat.

22 Jul A Little Princess
Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story, dramatised in two parts by Dave Simpson. 1: When wealthy Sara Crewe is sent to Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Girls, her charm and popularity make her some fearsome adversaries. Starring Julia McKenzie as Miss Minchin. With Nicky Hensen, Ellie Beaven and Fenella Norman. Director Martin Jameson.

23 Jul Connected
By Judith Johnson. A talented teenager leaves behind her home town and her baby. In 2012, when she returns as an adult, she finds her young daughter in a familiar situation. With Sue Johnston, Emma Cunniffe, Darren Tighe and Kaye Wragg. Director John Burgess.

24 Jul Unwritten Law
Helena Kennedy QC presents four dramatised features about trials that brought about a change in the law, reflecting changing social attitudes. 3: `The Case of the Ladies' Directory' by Rib Davis. In the new liberal climate of 1959, a publisher tries to defend his magazine's offering prostitutes services. With Iwan Thomas and Charles Simpson. Director Peter Kavanagh.





27 Jul Hearts and Bones
By Annie McCartney. A mother faces a major dilemma when tests for a much-needed bone-marrow transplant reveal that her husband may not be the father of her child. With Amanda Root, Kenneth Cranham and Ellie Beaven. Director Eoin O'Callaghan.

28 Jul Dogs
Sheila Goff's black comedy of revenge, set in Dogs' Bodies Kennels and Pet Emporium, Pinner. With Tina Gray, Shirley Dixon, Frances Jeater and Geoffrey Whitehead. Director David Hunter.

29 Jul A Little Princess
The conclusion of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story, dramatised in two parts by Dave Simpson. 2: Sara Crewe, forced into poverty, discovers that her imagination and her warm heart are all she has left... Starring Julia McKenzie as Miss Minchin. With Ellie Beaven, Robert Glennister and Ravin J Ganatra. Director Martin Jameson.

30 Jul Mr Loveday's Little Outing
By Evelyn Waugh, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway. When Angela Moping visits her eccentric father in the asylum, she is curiously affected by the situation of his very loyal secretary, Mr Loveday. With Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Charlotte Attenborough and Stephen Thorne. Director David Hunter.

31 Jul Unwritten Law
`85 Burglaries and a Phone Tap'. Helena Kennedy QC presents the last of four dramatised features about trials that brought about a change in the law, reflecting changing social attitudes. The trial of eight people in 1978 was to launch a much more important investigation into the secrecy of the state.





3 Aug The Big Hot Summer
By Bill Taylor. Operating from a tree house, two 12-year-olds become secret investigators and set up a sting of which Chandler would be proud. With Will Haigh, Sadie Pickering and Stuart Callaghan. Director Melanie Harris.

4 Aug Telling Tales
By Gordon Snell. The friendship between elderly Mrs Fry and 11-year-old Sophie is exciting for them both, as they create a fantasy world based on Mrs Fry's thrilling - if unreliable - wartime memories. But as they immerse themselves deeper in the world of codes, spies and disguises, they begin to expose themselves to real danger. With Victoria O'Donnell, Jean Boht and Rachel Atkins. Director Cathryn Horn.

5 Aug Something of the Night
By Jenny McDade. A bad dream, ley lines, the marsh mist, or simply an overactive imagination? With Leonard Kirby as Dean Batty, and John Challis as Inspector Andrews. Director Celia de Wolff.

6 Aug The Whispering Tree
Tanika Gupta's drama for the whole family. A year after her mother's death, 14-year-old Sharmila prefers to escape into a world of Hindu myth and legend rather than confront her guilt and pain. With Parminder K Nagra, Souad Faress and Lyndam Gregory. Director Pam Fraser Solomon.

7 Aug Killer Conquest
By Guy Fithen. Christopher Cazenove stars as 1930s sleuth Norman Conquest, and Bonnie Langford as his crime-solving partner, Pixie, in their greatest adventure yet - proving the Gay Desperado's innocence. With Richard Davies and Colin Spaull. Director Adrian Bean. Repeat.





10 Aug Hidden Identity
A taut political thriller by Gary Brown. In Leeds in 1936, a Jew infiltrates the local fascists, thereby setting in motion a series of events that reveal dark personal and political secrets. With Linal Haft, Russell Dixon, Thelma Ruby and Jonathan Tafler. Director Andy Jordan. Repeat.

11 Aug Pity about Kitty
By Jimmie Chinn. Dora Bryan plays all three characters involved in the untimely demise of Awkward Horace.

12 Aug The Beat Goes On
`Sing Our Own Song'. The first of four plays charting the musical lives of a black family from 1919 to the present day. In 1919, a young musician from Sierra Leone returns from war. When he docks in Liverpool, his destiny changes for ever as he falls in love with an Irishwoman. With Patrice Naiambana, John Brobby and Darren Warner. Director Nandita Ghose.

13 Aug Roman Fever
By Edith Wharton, dramatised by Colin Davis. In twenties Rome, two middle-aged American women who were girlhood friends meet again by chance. But an afternoon of quiet reminiscence turns into an evening of astonishing revelations. With Zoe Wanamaker, Gillian Barge and Barbara Barnes. Director Celia de Wolff. Repeat .

14 Aug Deep in the Heart of Nowhere
By Graham White. In 1871, the nation became obsessed with the terrible suffering of a tiny Devon village at the hands of the `Nymet Rowland Savages', a family of depraved and lawless peasants. A century later, a very different account emerges - one of political corruption, media manipulation and public hysteria. With Bob Peck, Emma Fielding and Steven Waddington. Director Cathryn Horn.





17 Aug Hidden Identity
A taut, three-part political thriller by Gary Brown. 2: Jacky succeeds in infiltrating the Blackshirts, but is his hidden identity secure? With Daniel Isaacs, Stuart Richman, Linal Haft, Lloyd Peters and Thelma Ruby. Director Andy Jordan. Repeat

18 Aug A Tous Ceux Qui
By Noelle Renaude, translated and adapted by Sara Coward. On a hot afternoon in mid-France in the late 1940s, six interrelated families are gathered in the garden for a celebration meal. With Geoffrey Whitehead, Elizabeth Proud and David Timson. Director Sue Wilson.

19 Aug The Beat Goes On
`Luv Dancin'' by Trish Cooke. The second of four plays charting the musical lives of a black family from 1919 to the present day. Abraham and Annie Sabu have a daughter, Catherine. She is the light of Abi's life, but he can only be an onlooker as she learns the painful lessons of life and love. With Patrice Naiambana and Catherine Keane. Director Pauline Harris.

20 Aug Chekhov in My Life
By Lydia Avilov, adapted for radio by Carolyn Sally Jones from the translation by David Magarshack. When Lydia Avilov died in 1942, her account of her turn-of-the-century love affair with Chekhov was published. But was it simply a romantic longing of her own imagining? With Janet Suzman and Paul Rhys. Director Keith Slade.

21 Aug The Orchestra
Jean Anouilh's comic masterpiece, translated by Jeremy Sams, exposes the hypocrisies and suspicions of the members of a small-town brasserie orchestra in fifties provincial France. Underneath placid exteriors, tensions bubble and seethe - but the band plays on. With Joanna Wake, Janine Ulfane and Bernice Stegers. Director Kristine Landon-Smith.





24 Aug Hidden Identity
A taut, three-part political thriller by Gary Brown. 3: Just as Jacky's undercover operation succeeds, a tragedy at home leads to the revelation of painful family secrets. With Daniel Isaacs, Stuart Richman and Linal Haft. Director Andy Jordan. Repeat

25 Aug The Hydro New Series
A four-part series of Ronald Frame's popular drama set in a luxury hotel in the Scottish Highlands. 1: Fee Drummond, managing director of the Hydro, is coming to terms with her husband's return from the dead. And there is a very unusual reunion dinner. With Eliza Langland, Crawford Logan and Simon Tait. Director Patrick Rayner.

26 Aug The Beat Goes On
`Rhythm on the Ceiling' by Stephen Butchard. The third of four plays charting the musical lives of a black family from 1919 to the present day. Abraham Sabu's grandson Freddie has signed a record deal which is turning out to be a contract to nowhere. Can his family persuade him not to give it up? With Patrice Naiambana, Jake Abrahams, David Okoro and Zain Salim. Director Pauline Harris.

27 Aug Unforgettable - Have You
Heard the Music Man?
First of three plays about memory by David Napthine. Ex-trombonist George cannot remember his son's name, but put on some music and it's remarkable how he recalls his days on the road - and in what intimate detail... With Windsor Davies, Carol McGuigan and Jack McBride. Director Jonquil Panting.

28 Aug Legal Affairs
Chris Thompson's five-part series about three solicitors in a country practice in the Midlands. 1: Life at Lang and Stafford has moved along comfortably but slowly - until the arrival of the dynamic Helen Shepherd, the new partner. With Graham Padden, Meera Syal, Julia St John and Ravi Kapoor. Director Brian Lighthill. Repeat





31 Aug Five Children and It
By E Nesbit, dramatised by Malcolm McKee. On a hot, Edwardian summer's day, five children are granted a series of wishes by a strange creature they find in a gravel pit. But, inevitably, things do not go to plan in their enchanted world. With Julia McKenzie, Simon Carter and Fiona Christie. Director Rosemary Watts.

1 Sep The Hydro
A four-part serialisation of Ronald Frame's popular drama set in a luxury hotel in the Scottish Highlands. 2: A famous television soap opera star plans a secret revenge in the dining room, and a businesswomen's conference leaves one accompanying husband with far too much time on his hands. With Eliza Langland, Crawford Logan and Una McLean. Director Patrick Rayner.

2 Sep The Beat Goes On
`A Song for Jake' by Winsome Pinnock. The last of four plays charting the musical lives of a black family from 1919 to the present day. Steve has songwriter's block and falls out with his teenage son Jake over music - with life-threatening consequences. With Patrice Naiambana, Paul Barber and David Sampson. Director Nandita Ghose.

3 Sep Unforgettable
`Eraser'. The second of three plays about memory by David Napthine. Recovering from a head injury, Terri has to keep notes to help her damaged memory. Then her notebooks begin to contradict each other. With Jo-Anne Horan, John Lloyd Fillingham, Sharon Percy and Sonia Beinroth. Director Jonquil Panting.

4 Sep Legal Affairs
Chris Thompson's five-part series about three solicitors in a country practice in the Midlands. 3: Morton is stalking Natasha and now knows where she lives. James has a surprise idea for Helen and the children. With Graham Padden, Nina Thomas, Andrew Robinson and Meera Syal. Director Brian Lighthill. Repeat





7 Sep From a Distance
By Maggie Allen. Award-winning journalist Abi Maguire reluctantly returns to look after her ailing father in Brighton, only to discover her talents are needed there more than in London. With Frank Windsor, Emma Fielding and Maggie Steed. Director Marion Nancarrow.

8 Sep The Hydro
Ronald Frame's popular drama in four parts is set in a luxury hotel in the Scottish Highlands. 3: Fee runs into trouble as a rival hotel steals her staff. Meanwhile, four old friends are having a surprising reunion on the tennis court. With Eliza Langland, Crawford Logan and Edith Macarthur. Director Patrick Rayner.

9 Sep Roy and Daisy
Corin Redgrave's original drama, culled from the diaries of his grandparents Roy Redgrave and Daisy Scudamore, is a vivid and often funny account of their relationship, which blossomed in South London's music halls in the golden era of the Edwardian melodrama. Starring Corin Redgrave and Kika Markham. Repeat

10 Sep Unforgettable
`May All Your Wishes Come True'. A play about memory by David Napthine. Billy is found wandering the streets of Newcastle with no idea of his past. Until his memory returns, the only thing to do is wait - or is it? With Derek Walmsley, Charlie Hardwick, Phillip King and Terence Mann. Director Jonquil Panting.

11 Sep Legal Affairs
Chris Thompson's five-part series about three solicitors in a country practice in the Midlands. 3: Morton is stalking Natasha and now knows where she lives. James has a surprise idea for Helen and the children. With Graham Padden, Nina Thomas, Andrew Robinson and Meera Syal. Director Brian Lighthill. Repeat.





14 Sep Spirite
Gautier's erotically charged ghostly romance, set in 19th-century Paris. Guy is all set to marry Cecile when he sets eyes on the most beautiful young woman imaginable. A love triangle develops, with death as the only possible resolution. Dramatised by Michael Fox. With Katy Cavanagh, Richard Heap and Alison Darling. Director Michael Fox.

15 Sep The Hydro
Ronald Frame's popular drama in four parts is set in a luxury hotel in the Scottish Highlands. 4: Crisis looms for Fee, as Colin leaves to run a rival hotel, and David takes an interest in another woman. A disappointed wife dreams of her teenage dancing days, and a divorced father tries to get his son back. With Eliza Langland, Crawford Logan, Simon Tait and Sarah Collier. Director Patrick Rayner.

16 Sep The Night House
By Gillian Tindall. Anne, a young newlywed, comes across a schoolgirl's journals which unlock the secrets of the old house into which she has just moved. With Helen Sheals, Helen Weaver and John Telfer. Director Sara Davies. Repeat

17 Sep Airswimming
Charlotte Jones's uplifting comedy of friendship, fantasy and freedom. 1924. Persephone is planning her coming-out ball when she finds herself consigned to a rather puzzling finishing school, St Dymphna's Hospital for the Criminally Insane. With Sophie Thompson, Charlotte Jones, Marcia Warren, Elizabeth Bradley and Geoffrey Whitehead. Director Jonquil Panting.

18 Sep Legal Affairs
A five-part series about three solicitors in a Midlands country practice. 4: Work and domestic life threaten to collide for Helen Shepherd as the planning enquiry for the proposed new shopping centre gets under way. By Graham Harvey. With Julia St John, James Warrior and Fiona Johnston. Director Vanessa Whitburn. Repeat.





21 Sep The Charm Factory
Sue Teddern's four-part drama, set in 1953, follows the lives of six students of the Meteor Charm School. 1: `Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes'. September. Irene Gilbert has been given the hairstyle, the lifestyle and a shot at stardom - but first she has to break up with Eric. With Tabitha Wady, Dinah Sheridan and Liz Fraser. Director Marion Nancarrow.

22 Sep The Charm Factory
Sue Teddern's four-part drama, set in 1953, follows the lives of six students of the Meteor Charm School. 2: `Rags to Riches'. October. Irene has lost a friend, but she is about to act with dishy screen idol Hugh Lincoln. With Tabitha Wady, Dinah Sheridan and Liz Fraser. Director Marion Nancarrow.

23 Sep The Charm Factory
Sue Teddern's four-part drama, set in 1953, follows the lives of six students of the Meteor Charm School. 3: `Broken Wings'. November. Britain's favourite good-time girl, Phyllis Dent, may not be all she appears. With Tabitha Wady, Dinah Sheridan and Luisa Bradshaw-White. Director Marion Nancarrow.

24 Sep The Charm Factory
Sue Teddern's four-part drama, set in 1953, follows the lives of six students of the Meteor Charm School. `You Belong to Me'. December. Irene plans a change of image, but love and Hollywood may intervene. With Tabitha Wady, Dinah Sheridan and Luisa Bradshaw-White. Final part

25 Sep Legal Affairs
A five-part series about three solicitors in a Midlands country practice. Two months has elapsed since the public inquiry, and the result will have far-reaching effects on both the personal and working lives of all involved. By Chris Thompson. With Graham Padden, Nina Thomas and Meera Syal. Director Brian Lighthill. Repeat .





28 Sep Sounds of Silence
By Jill Truman. When Lisa wakes from her anaesthetic, the only sounds are inside her head. With Julia McKenzie and Ian Brooker. Director Sue Wilson.

29 Sep E-Love
By Alan McDonald. On the internet, you can be whoever you want. Two people, 5,000 miles apart, fall in love across the ether in an e-mail romance. Director Cathryn Horn.

30 Sep The Final Furlong
By Christopher Reason, starring Bernard Cribbins. Can a heartbroken old man rescue a desperate situation? Directed by Martin Jenkins.

1 Oct Private Wheeler's War
Compiled by Christopher Aird and Jonathan Tafler. With Andrew Lincoln as Wheeler and Ciaran Hinds as Wellington. An authentic account of life as a soldier in Wellington's peninsular campaign. Director Jonathan Tafler.

2 Oct Passnotes on Romeo and Juliet
By Jane Buckler. When Rom falls in love with Julie, he discovers that real life is different from Shakespeare. With Robert Harpet, Siriol Jenkins, Karin Diamond and Rhys Miles Thomas. Director Alison Hindell.





5 Oct I Can't Be Ill, I'm a Hypochondriac
By Paul Mendelson. Testicular cancer strikes advertising copywriter Philip Martindale when he can least afford it. So how does Nancy cope when her hypochondriac husband really is ill? With Ray Brooks, Carolyn Pickles and Deborah Berlin. Director David Ian Neville.

6 Oct Mature Women
By Jane Beeson. Three female friends are lent an idyllic cottage in deepest rural France - no men, no children, no phones. All is perfect until one of them sees a figure in the trees, and Madge forgets the `no men' part of the arrangement.

7 Oct The Strange Affair of the Brown Dog
The true story of one of the most intriguing controversies of Edwardian Britain. In 1903, a dog was cruelly experimented on at University College, London. Thanks to a medical student, this gave a kick-start to Britain's animal rights movement. Dramatised by Tony Coult from Peter Mason's book `The Brown Dog Affair'. With Maggie Steed, Nerys Hughes and Mark Straker. Director Turan Ali.

8 Oct No Signposts in the Sea
By Vita Sackville-West, dramatised by Jill Hyem. Starring Ronald Pickup as Edmund and Kate Buffery as Laura. An eminent journalist learns that he has only a short time to live. He decides to embark on a sea voyage in the company of a widow he has always admired. With Geoffrey Whitehead, Frances Jeater and Harry Myers. Director Cherry Cookson.

9 Oct Playing for Extra Time
By Alan MacDonald. Nicci Goodwin is chairwoman of a football club which seems to be in deep financial trouble. Finance director Frank Winter insists that the only option is to sell Lee Sandor, their star player - who just happens to be Nicci's lover. With Jenny Funnell as Nicci Goodwin, Gary Webster as Lee Sandor and Peter Bowles as Frank Winter.





12 Oct After the Race
By James Joyce, dramatised by Felicity Hayes-McCoy. Jimmy Doyle's rich Oxbridge pals arrive in Dublin for a smart motor race. His acquaintances are impressed - but can Jimmy keep his head? Narrated by Nigel Anthony. With Gerard O'Hare as Jimmy and Philip Rham as Segouin. Director Peter Kavanagh.

13 Oct Two Gallants
By James Joyce, dramatised by Hugh Leonard. Two Dublin chancers are on a Sunday afternoon jaunt in search of girls and the price of a pint. One of them goes off on an assignation - what will he bring back? With Andrew Scott, Barry McGovern, Bosco Hogan and Joe Taylor. Director Peter Kavanagh.

14 Oct The Boarding House
By James Joyce, dramatised by David Pownall. Mrs Mooney is a butcher's daughter who takes in lodgers out of necessity. Her daughter Polly's pregnancy by one of the better-class lodgers provides a golden opportunity... With Dermot Crowley, Doreen Keogh, Angeline Ball and Jim Norton. Director Eoin O'Callaghan.

15 Oct A Little Cloud
By James Joyce, dramatised by Alan Berrie. Little Chandler nervously awaits his evening meeting with former colleague Gallagher, now a big journalist in London. Why did he himself not have the courage to leave provincial Dublin? Narrated by Ciaran Hinds. With Michael Maloney as Little Chandler and TP McKenna as Gallagher. Director Peter Kavanagh.

16 Oct Counterparts
Dramatised by Alan Berrie. With Stanley Townsend as Farrington and Nigel Anthony as Alleyne. Narrated by Ciaran Hinds. Mr Farrington the clerk has upset his vengeful employer. There is only one way to cope with the pressure - slip out for a quick little drink... Just one, of course. With Breffni McKenna and Liam Hurricane. Director Peter Kavanagh.





19 Oct Curious, if True
Five stories of mystery and the supernatural by Elizabeth Gaskell, dramatised by Sally Hedges. 1: `The Squire's Story'. Mr Higgins appears every inch the gentleman. But his strange manners - not to mention a tendency to disappear - suggest a less ordinary source for his comfortable lifestyle. With Elizabeth Spriggs, Angela Thorne and Michael Lumsden. Director Nigel Bryant.

20 Oct Curious, if True
Five stories of mystery and the supernatural by Elizabeth Gaskell, dramatised by Sally Hedges. 2: `The Crooked Branch'. Farmers Nathan and Hester Huntroyd shower love and money on their handsome son Benjamin. But he has ambitions above their humble station, and the result is unexpected, to say the least. With Elizabeth Spriggs, Peter Meakin and Mary Jo Randle. Director Nigel Bryant.

21 Oct Curious, if True
Five stories of mystery and the supernatural by Elizabeth Gaskell, dramatised by Sally Hedges. 3: `The Poor Clare'. A young lawyer investigating the heir to a substantial fortune is drawn towards a young woman haunted by a mother's curse. With Elizabeth Spriggs, Kim Wall, Janet Dale and Kathryn Hunt. Director Nigel Bryant.

22 Oct Curious, if True
Five stories of mystery and the supernatural by Elizabeth Gaskell, dramatised by Sally Hedges. 4: `Lois the Witch'. A Warwickshire girl, newly arrived in Salem, Massachusetts, finds herself drawn into a Puritan family's world of visions, malice and, apparently, demonic possession. With Elizabeth Spriggs, Carolyn Backhouse and Sandra Berkin. Director Nigel Bryant

23 Oct Curious, if True
Five stories of mystery and the supernatural by Elizabeth Gaskell, dramatised by Sally Hedges. 5: `The Grey Woman'. A miller's daughter marries a nobleman. However, this is no fairy tale but the beginning of a terrifying adventure. With Elizabeth Spriggs, Stella Gonet and Adjoa Andoh. Director Nigel Bryant.





26 Oct As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams
Adapted from Ivan Morris's translation, with additional tales by Pomme Clayton. The vivid self-portrait of an 11th-century Japanese woman. Lady Sarashina remembers her life - sustained by nature, dreams and a love of stories. Set in a landscape of haunting music. With Annabelle Apsion and Kazuko Hohki. Director Pomme Clayton. Repeat

27 Oct Prize Fighting
By David and Caroline Stafford. The judges of a prestigious international book prize bicker among themselves, jockeying for position. Then one Det Insp Pearce announces that terrorists have planted a bomb under the Bank of England which will be detonated unless their own, populist, choice of book is announced as the winner. Now the pressure is on. What to do?

28 Oct Room of Leaves
Using poetry and prose, Amanda Dalton's poignant story tells of how a jilted 70-year-old woman is found dead in a room of leaves, with supermarket eggs clustered in the grass of her garden and pink ribbon everywhere. With Emily Woof, Christopher Eccleston and Ann Rye. Director Susan Roberts.

29 Oct Little Angels
By Vivienne Allen. In the Armstrong household, all ears are tuned to the radio to hear the progress of Ruth Ellis's appeal against a death sentence for murder. For young Helen, these events are part of a sinister world that threatens to encroach on a homely Norfolk childhood. With Lisa Ellis, Marlene Sidaway, Simon J Williamson, Maria McClagon and Maryann Turner.

30 Oct Hermit Thrush at Morn
Natalia Power's play is based on the life of Amy Beach (1867-1944), the first and most important American woman composer. With Deborah Findlay, Henry Goodman, Carolyn Jones and William Roberts. Director Cherry Cookson. Repeat





2 Nov The Confidant
By Elizabeth Bowen, dramatised for radio by Patricia M Cobey. The 1920s in Cork, when women thought the world was beginning for them. With Cathy Belton, Fionnuala Murphy and Peter O'Meara. Director Pam Brighton.

3 Nov Au Revoir Johnny Onions
By Tracy Spottiswoode. Fifty years after she last heard from him, Elsie goes to Brittany in search of her sweetheart Johnny Onions. With Simon Armstrong, Jennifer Hill, Rachel Atkins, Oliver Ryan and Helen Griffin. Director Alison Hindell.

4 Nov Real Women
Judith French's three stories of extraordinary 18th-century women, told through the writings of the day. 1: `Miss Linley's Matrimonial Excursion'. In which the foremost young soprano of the day, Miss Elizabeth Linley, becomes entangled with aspiring young playwright Richard Sheridan, and all of fashionable England is agog. With Sarah-Jane Holm, David Bamber and James Fleet. Director Jonquil Panting.

5 Nov Real Women
Judith French's three stories of extraordinary 18th-century women, told through the writings of the day. 2: `Condemn'd for Piracy'. In which the real-life trial of the notorious female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read gets a little out of hand... With Pauline McLynn, Charlotte Coleman and Robin Bailey. Director Jonquil Panting.

6 Nov Real Women
Judith French's stories of extraordinary 18th-century women, told through the writings of the day. `A Spinster of No Profession' focuses on the French mathematician Sophie Germain. Growing up in revolutionary France, she was barred by her sex from entering uninversity, Using an assumed name, she corresponded with Carl Friedrich Gauss, the most famous mathematician of the day. With Kathryn Pogson and Nigel Anthony. Director Jonquil Panting (3/3).





9 Nov The Silence of Memory
By Tina Pepler. On 11 November 1920, the Unknown Warrior - representing all those whose loved ones were missing, presumed dead - was buried in Westminster Abbey. This drama documentary follows three men on the day of the funeral as they try to come to terms with their loss. With Michael Williams, Daniel Jackson and Michael Wilson. Director Kate McAll.

10 Nov The Girls They Left Behind
A journey through the battlefields of the First World War as seen through the eyes of teenagers from James Gillespie's High School, Edinburgh. Original poetry and reminiscences from the Great War conjure the ghosts of the girls who were left behind and the soldier boys they mourned. Reader Carol Ann Crawford.

11 Nov Strange Meeting
With Alex Jennings as the Captain and Paul Rhys as Wilfred Owen. Peter Wolf's play, inspired by Owen's remarkable First World War poem, dramatises the events leading up to Owen's death on the eve of the Armistice. With Stephen Critchlow, Ian Masters and Frances Jeater. Director Cherry Cookson.

12 Nov Love and Dissent
Dramatised by Tina Pepler from `The Secret Diaries of Sarah Thomas'. Discovered by local historian June Lewis, Sarah Thomas's diaries cover five stormy years in the love life of a Baptist minister's daughter in a Victorian Cotswold town.

13 Nov In Singapore
Sally, now in her fifties, remembers her childhood in Singapore in 1958. With Jane Lapotaire, Kelly Hunter, John Rowe and Charles Simpson. Music composed and performed by Malcolm McKee. Director Vanessa Whitburn.





16 Nov Life's Little Ironies - an Imaginative Woman
By Eric Pringle. Ella Marchmill longs to meet the poet she has always most admired, and the more elusive he remains, the more ardent her desire grows. With Amanda Root, Sean Baker and Shirley Dixon. Director Clive Brill.

17 Nov The Wrong Side of the River
`Mudlark' by Mary Cooper and Peter Spafford. The first of three plays set on two sides of a river in the north of England. Teenager Kate finds that life on rural South Bank is very different to the city, and as she gets to know her eel-fisher grandfather, a secret is revealed. With Geoff Hinsliff, Lesley Nichol and Sarah Brigham.

18 Nov The Wrong Side of the River
By Mary Cooper and Peter Spafford. The second of three plays set on two sides of a river in the north of England. Carol's South Bank past comes back to haunt her, and the city exerts its pull as she prepares for the Marina Centre's big opening night. With Geoff Hinsliff, Lesley Nichol and Sarah Brigham. Director Nandita Ghose.

19 Nov The Wrong Side of the River
`The Great Silver' by Mary Cooper and Peter Spafford. The last of three plays set on two sides of a river in the north of England. Jack is determined to make his dream of catching the eels come true with Kate's help. But Kate has dreams of her own... With Geoff Hinsliff, Lesley Nichol and Sarah Brigham. Director Nandita Ghose.

20 Nov Mrs Shakespeare
By Robert Nye. A look at Shakespeare through the dark eyes of his wife, Anne, his never-quite-tamed but loving shrew. She favours us with an intimate account of the week she first went to London. With Maggie Steed and Kenneth Cranham. Director Patrick Rayner. Repeat





23 Nov Life's Little Ironies
`The Story of how Dan'l and Charity Hornhead Told the Story of Tony Kyte and Milly Richards to an Handsome Young Stranger'. Tony Kyte has promised himself in marriage to three women on the same day. Sooner or later he has to make a choice, but will he get the one he deserves? Director Clive Brill.

24 Nov In Care
Shauna, at 13, knows it all. Jamana Prem, fifty years older, has a lot to learn. Does wisdom come from experience, or vice versa? With Charubala Chokshi, Cathy Purcell and Zita Sattar. Director Sue Wilson.

25 Nov The Golden Triangle
`The Awakening Conscience' by Robin Brooks. William Holman Hunt meets Annie Miller, a young beauty who works behind the local bar. He resolves to turn her into the perfect model and woman. With Jonathan Firth, Julie Cox, Alan Cox and Damian Lewis.

26 Nov A Soap Queen for New Delhi
By Neil Harris. Rani, a hotel chambermaid, writes a fan letter to Candice, inviting her to come to India. Imagine her surprise when she discovers that her favourite soap character is staying at her hotel. With Judy Buxton, Nina Wadia and John Guerassio. Director Tanya Nash. Repeat

27 Nov Writing Home
By Manny Draycott Lai. Jane Lapotaire plays the mother of two daughters living in very different parts of the world in the early 1920s. They correspond with her as she sits alone in England, a long way from her homeland of Trinidad. With Indra Ove, Elizabeth Conboy, Tilly Gaunt and Geoffrey Whitehead. Director Cherry Cookson.





30 Nov Life's Little Ironies
`To Please His Wife' by Laurie Graham. Emily and Joanna both want to marry Shadrach Joliffe, recently returned from a sea voyage. Will their jealousy destroy a perfect friendship? With Damian Lewis, Elli Garnett and Rebecca Saire. Director Clive Brill.

1 Dec Motor Flight
In 1907, Edith Wharton and Henry James made a journey through France in a Panhard car with two small dogs, Edith's husband and a chauffeur named Cook. Michael Bakewell presents an account of their stately progress and of the friendship of the two remarkable writers, who observe the landscape and each other with wry humour. With Joss Ackland as Henry James and Gayle Hunnicutt as Edith Wharton. Repeat.

2 Dec The Golden Triangle
`The Order of Release' by Robin Brooks. John Ruskin is insistent that Millais should paint his portrait while he is on holiday with his wife, Effie Gray. The beauty and innocence of Ruskin's wife make it an almost impossible task. With Bob Peck, David Tennant and Sharon Small. Director Clive Brill.

3 Dec Painting Mrs Jones
Lindsay Duncan stars as Jennifer Jones in Rachel Joyce's new play about a woman who sits for her portrait and wonders if the painting will reveal a new truth about her inner self. With James Laurenson and David Antrobus. Director Jeremy Mortimer. Repeat.

4 Dec A Mermaid at Zennor
By Michael Butt. At the height of the First World War, DH Lawrence and his German wife, Frieda, fled controversy and settled in a remote Cornish fishing village. But their Utopian vision was shattered when the community turned against them, forcing them once again into exile.





7 Dec Life's Little Ironies
`The Tragedy of Two Ambitions'. By Jane Rogers. As two young men struggle to emerge from the humblest of origins, their father threatens to destroy everything they have worked for.

8 Dec The Road Back
By Gordon Cruikshank. A moving account of how a man came to terms with his new identity as a tetraplegic after a road accident. Gordon Cruikshank begged nurses to attach a stick to his hand so he could tap out his innermost thoughts onto a laptop computer. The result was aunique diary of nearly 25,000 words. Peter Capaldi stars as Gordon.

9 Dec The Golden Triangle
`Love among the Ruins'. By Robin Brooks. As Edward Burne-Jones looks back over a long and successful career, he is tormented by the memory of Maria Zambaco, the wild and fascinating woman who became his model and his first and only love. With Ken Cranham and Maggie Steed. Director Clive Brill.

10 Dec The Teahouse Detective
`The Metropolitan Line Murder.' Based on the stories of Baroness Orczy, dramatised by Michael Butt. Journalist Polly visits the enigmatic man at the ABC corner table to resolve a murder mystery and a personal tragedy, but finds his methods almost too devastating. With Suzanne Burden, Bernard Hepton, Jessica Turner and Jonathan Tafler. Director John Taylor.

11 Dec Showing Up By Georgia Pritchett. Sheila Martin welcomes the son she gave up for adoption back into the family. She does not guess what home truths his reappearance will uncover. With Edna Dore, Polly James, Iwan Thomas, Caroline Strong, Peter Kenny and Jenny Lee. Director Marilyn Imrie. Repeat .





14 Dec Return to Lyonesse
The true story of the brief and happy courtship and miserable forty-year marriage of Thomas Hardy and his first wife, Emma Gifford. The poet David Constantine visits Cornwall, where the couple fell in love, following the journey Hardy made after Emma's death. Starring Oliver Ford Davies and Jane Gurnett.

15 Dec Gurney
By Tim Sanders. A dramatised account of the life of Ivor Gurney, a brilliant composer scarred by the trenches of the First World War. With Anton Lesser, Geraldine Alexander, Carol Drinkwater and Jamie Glover. Director Andy Jordan.

16 Dec Clive
By Stephanie Norgate. The true impact of sharing their home with foster brother Clive comes home to sisters Sally and Liz one evening ten years later. With Priyanga Elan, Siobhan Stamp, Ben Crowe and Tessa Peake Jones. Director David Hunter.

17 Dec The Teahouse Detective
`The Body in the Barge.' Based on the stories of Baroness Orczy, dramatised by Michael Butt. When a rotting body is found on a potato barge on the Thames, a blackmail victim appears to have the motive - but the truth is more complex and sinister. With Suzanne Burden and Bernard Hepton. Director John Taylor.

18 Dec Grounded
By Elizabeth Baines. A series of letters sent over the years at Christmas from Janet to her old friend Pam. A gentle satire charting two broken marriages, delinquent children and a letter-writer's tragicomic attempts to retain control in a chaotic and uncontrollable life. With Helen Atkinson Wood. Director Diane Whitely.





21 Dec Maigret's Christmas
By Georges Simenon, adapted by John Petherbridge. It is Christmas Day in Paris, a few years before the outbreak of the Second World War. Maigret and his wife are visited by a neighbour who hopes that the famous sleuth might help her solve a puzzle - the case of the little girl who claims to have seen Father Christmas. With Barry Foster, Pauline Yates and Maria Charles. Director Andy Jordan.

22 Dec Henry's Leg
The first in a two-part dramatisation of the award-winning children's novel by Ann Pilling. Dramatised by Eric Pilling. Eleven-year-old Henry Hooper's real love in life is junk. When he brings home a fashion dummy's leg, he quickly finds himself in the middle of a real-life thriller. With Adam Nagaitis and Robert Pollard. Director Pauline Harris.

23 Dec Henry's Leg
Concluding a two-part dramatisation of the children's novel by Ann Pilling. Dramatised by Eric Pilling. Dirty Danny Crompton has stolen the dummy's leg, and Henry is determined to get it back. `H', the voice of Henry's imagination, wants a quiet life, but Henry wants to solve the mystery and sort out his family at the same time. With Adam Nagaitis, Robert Pollard and Bridgit Forsyth. Director Pauline Harris.

24 Dec The Teahouse Detective
`The de Genneville Peerage.' Based on the stories of Baroness Orczy, dramatised by Michael Butt. Polly is shattered by an appalling murder, but the man in the corner's efforts to shed light on the mystery meet with her furious resistance. With Suzanne Burden and Bernard Hepton. Director John Taylor.

25 Dec The Gemini Apes
By Dirk Maggs. Radio 4's Christmas Day audio movie stars Christopher Lee as Drake. Two lab chimps return to Earth after 40 years marooned in orbit, possessing exceptional intelligence and the key to saving a child's life. With Alan Marriott, Garrick Hagon and Liza Ross. Director Dirk Maggs.





28 Dec Open Secrets
Five Canadian short stories by Alice Munro, dramatised for radio by Claire Luckham. 1: `Carried Away'. Jack's letters from the front give Louisa hope for the future - but have they both just been carried away? With Briony Glassco, David Jarvis and Bradley Lavelle. Director Marion Nancarrow.

29 Dec Open Secrets
Five Canadian short stories by Alice Munro, dramatised for radio by Claire Luckham. 2: `A Real Life'. Millicent is keen to help the glamorous Muriel to find a marriage partner. Then Dorrie arrives, fresh from shooting muskrats. There's no accounting for taste. With Liza Ross, Laurel Lefkow and Richenda Carey. Director Marion Nancarrow.

30 Dec Open Secrets
Five Canadian short stories by Alice Munro, dramatised for radio by Claire Luckham. 3: `Open Secrets.' The disappearance of young Heather Bell on a hiking trip is followed by a number of clues, but only Maureen seems to have an insight into an open secret. With Lorelei King, Peter Marinker and Nancy Crane.

31 Dec Open Secrets
Five Canadian short stories by Alice Munro, dramatised for radio by Claire Luckham. 4: Has Eunie Morgan really been captured by spaceships, or is this just an extension of her childhood games with Rhea? With Barbara Barnes, William Hope and Susan Engel. Director Marion Nancarrow.

compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website

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