Adam Henson is perhaps the best-known farmer in the UK, presenting on BBC's Countryfile to millions of viewers each Sunday evening. He's also appeared on Lambing Live, Secret Britain, Coast and Inside Out. Adam also runs the award-winning Cotswold Farm Park in Gloucestershire, which welcomes family visitors all year round and is home to many rare breeds. He has a monthly column in Countryfile magazine, as well as the Cotswold Life magazine. He has written several books including the Sunday Times bestseller Like Farmer, Like Son. This is his first children's book and it is the perfect introduction to the farm.

Adam Henson

Adam Henson presents Countryfile, often from his 650-hectare farm in the Cotswolds. Having studied Agriculture at college, Adam took over Bemborough Farm from his father, Joe. The farm now grows wheat, spring barley and oilseed rape, runs a flock of 400 commercial ewes and has the UK's leading collection of rare breeds, many of which are in demand for film sets and advertisements. Cotswold Farm Park (www.cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk) offers a total countryside experience for all the family, welcoming more than 100,000 visitors each year. 
 
Adam presented Lambing Live with Kate Humble, writes for Countryfile magazine and has appeared on Radio 4's On Your Farm and Farming Today. He is the author of three previous books, Adam’s Farm: My Life on the Land, the Sunday Times bestseller, Like Farmer, Like Son and A Farmer and His Dog.

Adam Higginbotham writes for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, GQ, Businessweek, Smithsonian, Men’s Journal, and The Atavist. He began his career in magazines and newspapers in London, where he was the editor-­in-chief of The Face and a contributing editor at The Sunday Telegraph. The author of Midnight in Chernobyl, he lives in New York City.

Adam Higginbotham

Adam Hills is an internationally recognised comedian and host of award-winning Channel 4 show The Last Leg. His collection of stories from a life in comedy, Best Foot Forward, was a Times bestseller.

Adam Hills

Adam Howling

Adam J. Kurtz

Adam Jacot de Boinod

ADAM JOHNSON won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2013 for his second novel, the New York Times bestseller The Orphan Master’s Son (‘Excavates the very meaning of life’ New York Times). His short story 'Nirvana' won the prestigious Sunday Times/EFG Short Story Award. He is the author of acclaimed story collections, Fortune Smiles and Emporium and the novel Parasites Like Us. He teaches creative writing at Stanford University and lives with his family in San Francisco.

Adam Johnson

Adam Kay is a former doctor who has written five million books and sold seven copies. No, hang on – he’s written seven books and sold five million copies. His debut book, This is Going to Hurt, is a literary sensation: a Sunday Times number one bestseller for over a year, winning a record-breaking four National Book Awards and selling over 3 million copies. Kay adapted This is Going to Hurt as a BAFTA-winning comedy-drama series for the BBC. Adam Kay’s children’s books have been translated into 32 languages and sold over 1 million copies, making him one of the UK’s bestselling children’s authors. Kay’s Anatomy became the fastest-selling children’s general non-fiction hardback of the decade. His first picture book, Amy Gets Eaten, was published in 2023, and his first children’s novel, Dexter Procter the Ten-Year-Old Doctor, was published in September 2024.

Adam Kay

Adam studied illustration and animation, and received a BA followed by an MA from the Edinburgh College of Art. As a student he won a competition to create a short film for MOMI and Channel 4, and once his career producing animated commercials was under way, he became an illustrator as well. He has regular columns in the UK and the US.

Adam Larkum

Adam Lashinsky

Adam Macqueen

Adam Mars-Jones

Adam O'Riordan was born in Manchester in 1982, where he currently lives. In 2008 he became the youngest Poet-in-Residence at The Wordsworth Trust, the Centre for British Romanticism. His first collection In the Flesh (2010) win a Somerset Maugham Award. He is the Academic Director of the Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Adam O'Riordan

Adam Phillips, formerly Principal Child Psychotherapist at Charing Cross Hospital, London, is a practising psychoanalyst and a visiting professor in the English department at the University of York. He is the author of numerous works of psychoanalysis and literary criticism, including most recently On Giving Up, On Wanting to Change, Attention Seeking, In Writing, Unforbidden Pleasures and Missing Out. He is General Editor of the Penguin Modern Classics Freud translations, and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature.

Adam Phillips

Adam Rackley

Adam Richardson is the UK's top trending health and fitness coach with a rapidly growing audience across both TikTok and Instagram. Adam is passionate about removing barriers to exercise and movement, a philosophy that is key to his work as a Personal Trainer in which he strives to help his clients feel more confident, as well as more fit and healthy.

Adam Richardson

Adam Roberts is acknowledged as the senior scholar of international relations in the UK. He was Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at Oxford University 1986-2007, and President of the British Academy 2009-13 - the head of humanities in Britain. He was on the Council of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London (2002-08), a member of the UK Defence Academy Advisory Board (2003-15) and is now on the Board of Advisers of the Lieber Institute for Law and Land Warfare at the United States Military Academy, West Point.

Adam Roberts

Adam Roberts is the author of The Amateur Gourmet and Secrets of the Best Chefs, and coauthor of Give My Swiss Chards to Broadway. He started his food blog, The Amateur Gourmet, in 2004 and currently writes The Amateur Gourmet Newsletter on Substack. Roberts has also written for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, and for film and television. He lives in Brooklyn with his husband and their dog, Winston. Food Person is his first novel.

Adam Robinson is based in the Middle East and is a regular contributor to newspapers in the Arab world and also to the British media. He is the author of numerous books on the region, including Bin Laden: Behind the Mask of the Terrorist.

Adam Robinson

Adam Ross

Adam Rutherford

Adam Rutherford is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, and geneticist at University College London. His books include A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived, The Book of Humans, and the Sunday Times bestseller How to Argue with a Racist. He has written and presented numerous documentaries for BBC radio and television, including Inside Science and The Cell. Adam has also worked as a science advisor on many films, including the Oscar-winning Ex Machina (2015) and Annihilation (2018).

Adam Smith

Adam Smyth runs the 39 Step Press, an experiment in printing, from a cold barn in Oxfordshire. He is also Professor of English Literature and the History of the Book at Balliol College, University of Oxford.

Adam Smyth

Adam Sweeting

Adam Tandy

Adam Thirlwell was born in London in 1978. The author of three previous novels, his work has been translated into thirty languages. His essays appear in the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, and he is an advisory editor of the Paris Review. His awards include a Somerset Maugham Award and the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; in 2018 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has twice been selected by Granta as one of their Best of Young British Novelists.

Adam Thirlwell

Adam Thorpe was born in Paris in 1956. His first novel, Ulverton, appeared in 1992 and he has published two books of stories and ten further novels, most recently Missing Fay (2017), and six poetry collections. 
 
 
www.adamthorpe.net

Adam Thorpe

Adam Tooze is the author of the highly praised Crashed, The Deluge and The Wages of Destruction, all published by Allen Lane. He has been the recipient of the Wolfson Prize for History, the Longman-History Today Book of the Year Prize and the Lionel Gelber Prize. Tooze has taught at Cambridge and Yale and is now Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of History at Columbia University.

Adam Tooze

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Richard Curtis

Four classic episodes from the original TV series: Arrival, Songs of Praise, Easter Special and The Christmas Lunch Incident. Welcome to Dibley, a perfect village full of some perfectly peculiar people - including Alice Tinker and her underactive brain, Owen Newitt and his overactive bowels, and Letitia Cropley and her orange cake with Branston pickle icing. Council ruler David Horton has everything running exactly as he wishes - until 102-year-old Reverend Pottle dies. That's when the trouble begins, for the new vicar of Dibley is Geraldine, a babe with a bob and a magnificent bosom. In these instalments, the vicar increases the church-going public, finds something remarkably attractive about television, learns about suffering by giving up chocolate for Lent, and promises herself too many Christmas lunches with too many people. Starring Dawn French, with Gary Waldhorn, James Fleet, Roger Lloyd Pack, Emma Chambers and Trevor Peacock.

The Vicar of Dibley

Four Classic TV Soundtracks

Richard Holmes

Military historian Richard Holmes turns his attention to the infamous First World War trench line, the Western Front. Of the nine million British and Dominion soldiers who were killed in action in the Great War, most died here. In this thorough examination of the role the Front played in the war, the eminent historian Richard Holmes considers its initial creation, the rapid expansion of the British army (which led to problems with the supply of men and munitions), the challenge of coping with life and death at the Front, and the regular attempts by soldiers to 'break the trench'. He also examines two major battles in detail, thos of the Somme and Verdun. Richly detailed and highly authoritative, Holmes' work clarifies the complexities of the Western Front and examines its context within the most bitter and bloody of wars.

The Western Front

Compton MacKenzie

Stanley Baxter reads the witty Compton Mackenzie story set in the Scottish Islands. The inhabitants of Great and Little Toddy think they can cope with World War II - but then the whisky runs out. Life becomes intolerable, until fate delivers them a shipwreck with a cargo of whisky.

Whisky Galore

Des Lynam

Four selected episodes from the two BBC Radio 4 series of Touchline Tales. In these programmes, old friends Des Lynam and Christopher Matthew visit some famous sporting venues to enjoy, observe, reminisce, and trade tales.

Touchline Tales

Stephen Wakelam

The painter Mario Minniti has travelled to Naples to seek out his old friend and former mentor Caravaggio. But on arrival, the great painter is nowhere to be found. In a bid to find him, Mario retraces Caravaggio's last known movements. His search reveals a life lived dangerously. Starring David Tennant as Mario Minniti, with Anton Lesser, Peter Hamilton, Joe Dempsie, Tracy Wiles and Harry Livingstone. Written by Stephen Wakelam. Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko. Editor: Colin Guthrie. Studio Managers: Colin Guthrie, Keith Graham, Alison Craig. Production Coordinator: Nicole Fitzpatrick.

Waiting For The Boatman

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Helen Cooper

Article 9 of the Tokyo Judgement at the end of WWII withdrew from the Japanese constitution the state's right of belligerency. Traumatised and guilt ridden for having killed enemy soldiers in war, Bernard has to attempt to coerce his children to continue his life's work, and makes their awaiting inheritance dependent on their abandoning their present careers and dedicating their lives to the promotion of A9. 1948: Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. The right of belligerency of the State will not be recognised. Starring David Warner, Rebecca Saire, Oliver Cotton, Deborah Findlay, Jonathan Tafler, Ewart James Walters, and Malcolm Tierney. Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.

Anna Symon

When Ed finds himself sleeping in the spare room he realises he might have to rediscover exactly what love is. But coming up with the correct definition proves harder than he first imagines.  Starring Paul Ritter, Tessa Peake-Jones, Aurelie Ambland, Jonathan Forbes, Peter Polycarpou, and Jane Whittenshaw. Directed by Sally Avens.

The Meaning Of Love

Charlotte Crofts

Angela Carter's relationship with radio began with an accidental sound effect. She went on to write two docu-dramas, Come Unto These Yellow Sands (about the Victorian painter Richard Dadd) and A Self-Made Man (about Edwardian novelist Ronald Firbank) and re-worked two of her short stories into radio plays. Carter loved radio's technical possibilities: the opportunity to extend the power of the written word, blurring the lines of traditional narrative into 'three-dimensional story-telling'. This documentary weaves interviews with Carter's friends and colleagues Susannah Clapp, Carmen Callil, Marina Warner and Christopher Frayling, memories of the studio technicians who worked on her plays and the responses of listeners who heard them, with extracts from the plays themselves to suggest why Carter found the medium so magical and appealing. Academic Charlotte Crofts explains why the medium suited her so well. Producer: Sara Davies.

Angela Carter's Love Affair With Radio

David Attenborough

David Attenborough discusses his life and achievements in this collection of BBC radio and TV interviews: Parkinson (broadcast on BBC One, 2th December 1975, featuring Michael Parkinson), Profile (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 1st July 1976, featuring Kathleen Cheesmond), Desert Island Discs (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 1th March 1979, featuring Roy Plomley), Desert Island Discs (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 25th December 1998, featuring Sue Lawley), Mark Lawson Talks To David Attenborough (broadcast on BBC Four, 27th February 2005, featuring Mark Lawson), Front Row (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 26th October 2011, featuring Mark Lawson) and Desert Island Discs (broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 29th January 2012, featuring Kirsty Young). 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

David Attenborough In His Own Words

Paul Magrs

Kidnapped by armed robots and whisked into the far future, the Doctor and Mrs Wibbsey embark upon another epic adventure in Time and Space. Plunged into conflict between warring Robotovs, humans and the deadly Skishtari, they come into possession of a Skishtari egg, whose powers are both wondrous and deadly. Back on Earth, the Doctor and his companion find mishaps around every corner. In 19th century Hexford they uncover the dark secret of a mysterious boy and his tutor, but escalating events soon lead them into a netherworld of treasure, genies and sentient scarfs, where fairy tale logic applies. When modern day Hexford comes under attack, Mrs Wibbsey and Mike Yates discover that two Doctors aren't better than one, and finally the stage is set for a terrifying showdown when the Skishtari come calling for their rightful property. Not everyone will live to see another dawn in Hexford... Tom Baker stars as the Doctor, with Susan Jameson as Mrs. Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, and a cast including David Troughton, Michael Jayston, Simon Shepherd, Terrence Hardiman, Joanna David, Sophie Ward, Andrew Sachs, and Nerys Hughes in these linked stories by Paul Magrs.

Doctor Who Serpent Crest: The Complete Series

Simon Guerrier

Thrown off course by a howling storm, the TARDIS lands in a bleak, desolate stretch of countryside. The Doctor deduces that it has arrived in Hampshire in the 1920s and, sniffing the air, he smells a distinct odour of sulphur - indicating that a spaceship has crashed in the area. While Rory goes to fetch an umbrella, Amy and the Doctor brave the rain to find the stricken craft. It is huge, shiny, silvery-blue - and completely empty. A set of footprints leads to a cosy-looking, old-fashioned cottage: but the house, too, is deserted. However, the Doctor and Amy can distinctly hear people talking - and one of the voices sounds like Rory's. How could he be in the cottage when he was last seen heading back to the TARDIS? Where are the residents of the empty house? And what has happened to the inhabitants of the spaceship? Written specially for audio by Simon Guerrier, The Empty House features the Doctor, Amy and Rory as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the acclaimed hit series from BBC Television. It is read by Raquel Cassidy, who played Miranda Cleaves in the 2011 TV episodes The Rebel Flesh and The Almost People.

Doctor Who: The Empty House

Bernard Shaw

Man and Superman was the first drama to be broadcast on the BBC's Third Programme on October 1st, 1946. To celebrate Radio 3's 50th anniversary, the play was directed by Sir Peter Hall, and preserved for all time in this lush audio dramatisation. 'A comedy and a philosophy', Man and Superman is based on the Don Juan theme and, using all the elements from Mozart's Don Giovanni, Shaw reordered them so that Don Juan becomes the quarry instead of the huntsman. Boasting an outstanding cast including Ralph Fiennes, Juliet Stevenson, Dame Judi Dench, John Wood, Nicholas Le Prevost and Paul Merton, this release includes an exclusive interview with director Sir Peter Hall.

Man & Superman

Lesley Bruce

Caroline is running Household Solutions on her own from the student rooms she is renting - just leaflets through doors, offering a family back-up service. Then she meets Sylvia, who is sure she could be helpful to the business. Caroline is sure she couldn't. But Sylvia persists and gradually, throughout this BBC Radio series, a mutual respect is formed and a strong business, MiraclesRus, is built up. In these four episodes, the duo must help a client with romantic problems; are engaged by a married woman to stay for three days in her cottage in Sussex and post daily pre-written postcards to her husband at home; and attend an auction at a country house to bid for a Lot for a client. Written by Lesley Bruce. Starring Anna Massey as Sylvia and Deborah Findlay as Caroline. Music and stings from the music of Nick Drake. Theme: "When the Day is Done" and stings: "Time of No Reply" and "Cello Song".

Miracles R Us

Joanna Toye

For over fifty years, Britain's most popular radio drama has captured the imagination of listeners throughout the country. Ambridge and its residents have been constant companions to millions throughout the highs and lows of five successive decades.   Covering the years 1968 to 1986, Joanna Toye's novel follows the fortunes of Dan and Doris's grandchildren, as they search for happiness and love in the changing world of the 70s and early 80s. Jennifer's struggles as an unmarried mother look to be over with marriage to the gorgeous Roger, but a happy ending is not to be. Lilian has her share of tragedy with the death of her first husband Nick and illness of her second, Ralph. There is happiness for Shula, though, with new-found love Mark Hebden and Tony is lucky to meet Pat.

The Archers

Looking For Love 1968-1986

Stephen Evans

Fifty years ago a dashing, ultra-talented motorbike racer planned to escape from Communist East Germany at the height of the Cold War. Award-winning presenter Stephen Evans tells how Degner, a hero in his homeland, risked everything including the life of his young family to flee to the west, taking with him groundbreaking technology developed deep behind the Iron Curtain. All that stood in his way was an increasingly repressive regime, the notorious Stasi and the building of a certain wall that changed the course of European history.

The Degner Defection

Rory Cellan-Jones

Rory Cellan-Jones traces the roots of social networking from the counterculture of the 197s through early bulletin board systems such as California's The WELL and the first networks on the World Wide Web, finding out how a geeky hobby became a mass phenomenon. He discovers how Facebook became the world's biggest social network, looks at the sites of the future and asks where the phenomenon is heading. His interviewees include Lee Felsenstein, co-founder of Community Memory, Larry Brilliant, co-founder of The WELL, Andrew Weinrich, founder of SixDegrees.com, Jonathan Abrams, co-founder of Friendster, Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Facebook, Chris DeWolfe, co-founder of MySpace, Michael and Xochi Birch, co-founders of Bebo, Wayne Ting, co-founder of Campus Network, David Kirkpatrick, author of The Facebook Effect, Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare and Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.

The Secret History Of Social Networking

Martina Navratilova

In this fascinating collection of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive, Martina Navratilova talks about her life and career as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. 
 
The interviews included are: BBC Radio interview (first broadcast 1 June 1978, featuring Gerald Williams); BBC Radio interview, (first broadcast 6 July 1979, featuring Gerald Williams, Jana Navratilova); BBC Radio interview (first broadcast 7 July 1984 (featuring Mike Ingham); Nicky Campbell, BBC Radio (first broadcast 18 January 1995, featuring Nicky Campbell); Friday Night With Jonathan Ross , BBC TV (first broadcast 23 June 2006, featuring Jonathan Ross); Woman's Hour, BBC Radio (first broadcast 10 July 2006, featuring Jenni Murray); The Steve Wright Show with Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio (first broadcast 11 July 2006, featuring Mark Radcliffe); The Andrew Marr Show, BBC TV (first broadcast 22 June 2008, featuring Andrew Marr); The Jeremy Vine Show, BBC Radio (first broadcast 5 July 2010 (featuring Jeremy Vine). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Martina Navratilova In Her Own Words

Spike Milligan

In this fascinating collection of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive, Spike Milligan talks about his life and career as one of the foremost comedy writers and performers of the 20th Century. 
 
 The interviews included are: It Takes All Sorts, broadcast on BBC Radio, 23 January 1967 (featuring Holmes Tolley); Line Up, broadcast on BBC Radio, 30 October 1969 (featuring Joan Bakewell); Laugh Till It Hurts, broadcast on BBC Radio, 10 June 1971 (featuring Ralph Rolls); Parkinson, broadcast on BBC Television, 13th January 1973 (featuring Michael Parkinson); Face Your Image, broadcast on BBC Television, 14 March 1975 (featuring David Dimbleby); In the Psychiatrist's Chair, broadcast on BBC Radio, 25 September 1982 (featuring Anthony Clare); Famous Last Words, broadcast on BBC Television, 29 September 1986 (featuring Peter France). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Spike Milligan In His Own Words

Miriam Elia

Following a successful run on Radio 7, Miriam Elia's fantastical Sony Radio Academy Award nominated comedy sketch series transfers to Radio 4 for a second series, with new characters and a few familiar faces. Originally broadcast from 29 September 2010 - 20 October 2010, this download offers another chance to step inside the deranged mind of comedian Miriam Elia (winner of BBC Radio 7's 'Witty and Twisted' competition).In 'A Series of Psychotic Episodes', Moses receives his first Commandments, Captain Empathy tries to avert disaster, Edward the Hamster makes a friend, and Sweep has an interesting story about his life before he met Sooty. Meanwhile Postman Pat finds out that his life so far is based on a lie, and 'Darwinian Families' launch a new toy range... 
This slightly skewed sketch comedy features the voices of Rachel Atkins, Miriam Elia, Pippa Evans, Geoff McGivern, David Reed and Dan Tetsell.

A Series Of Psychotic Episodes (BBC Radio 4 Comedy) Series 2

Robin Ince

Bertrand Russell was one of the greatest thinkers of the last century. His contributions to the fields of mathematics and philosophy are widely acknowledged as some of the most important of their kind. But he also brought his brand of rationalism and intellect to an audience far beyond the academic and political circles he routinely mixed with. His relationship with the BBC goes back almost to the beginning of its own history, and his many broadcasts brought his ideas to a whole new audience. He delivered the first Reith Lectures back in 1948, and was a regular panellist on the hugely popular "The Brains Trust". His thoughts on themes ranging from education, through to nuclear armament and religion, were regularly broadcast on the BBC right up to the end of his life. Robin Ince listens to some of Russell's great contributions to broadcasting and looks at the life of arguably the first great media academic. Producer: Alexandra Feachem.

Bertrand Russell The First Media Academic? (Archive On 4)

David Whitaker

'History must take its course...'   The TARDIS materialises in the middle of a holy war between King Richard the Lionheart and the Saracen leader, Saladin, in 12th Century Palestine. As the Doctor, Vicki, Ian and Barbara explore their surroundings, they are suddenly caught up in a Saracen ambush - and Barbara is kidnapped.   For the time travellers, intrigue and espionage ensue as they once again become involved in living history. A newly-knighted 'Sir Ian of Jaffa' makes haste to find and rescue Barbara, whilst the Doctor finds it difficult to stay out of trouble in the court of the King...   This classic adventure, only two episodes of which survive in the BBC film archive, stars William Hartnell as the Doctor, William Russell as Ian, Jacqueline Hill as Barbara, and Maureen O'Brien as Vicki. Amongst the guest cast are Julian Glover as Richard, with Jean Marsh as his sister Joanna.

Doctor Who: The Crusade (TV Soundtrack)

John Betjeman

In this fascinating collection of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive, John Betjeman (Poet Laureate 1972) talks about his life and career as one of the foremost poets of the 20th Century. 
 
The interviews included are: Asian Club, broadcast on BBC Radio, 7 July 1959 (featuring Arthur Russell and studio audience); People of Today, broadcast on BBC Radio, 24 December 1959 (featuring Irene Slade); Omnibus, broadcast on BBC TV, 5 November 1972 (featuring unnamed interviewer); Parkinson, broadcast on BBC TV, 17 February 1973 (featuring Michael Parkinson); Desert Island Discs, broadcast on BBC Radio, 12 April 1975 (featuring Roy Plomley); Parkinson, broadcast on BBC TV, 5 November 1977 (featuring Michael Parkinson); John Betjeman: A Tribute, broadcast on BBC TV, 5 June 1984 (featuring unnamed interviewers); Time Enough! Or Not Enough Time, broadcast on BBC TV, 8 May 1994 (featuring Jonathan Steadall). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

John Betjeman In His Own Words

Sapper

Cyril McNeile

Julian Rhind-Tutt reads Sapper's thrilling adventures of private detective Captain Hugh 'Bulldog' Drummond, as heard on BBC Radio. In these six episodes, the demobbed officer offers his services to any client offering adventure. This leads him into danger and dashing escapades, as he finds himself grappling a gorilla; trying to save the realm from dreadful peril; protecting a Duchess's pearls and battling to foil the evil Peterson, who is planning to overthrow the Government...

Julian Rhind-Tutt reads Sapper's Bulldog Drummond

A BBC Radio 4 Extra reading

Alan Harris

Lighthouse keepers Howell and Griffith are posted to 6 weeks on the Smalls - a desolate rock 20 miles off the Pembrokeshire coast. But the two men share a past, and because of what happens next, lighthouses would never again have only a crew of two. Based on a true story. Written by Alan Harris, and starring Paul Rhys as Howell and Ifan Huw Dafydd as Griffith. Directed by James Robinson.

Lighthouse

Alice Nutter

A family saga covering four decades, My Generation offers a window into the drugs and pop-fuelled protest movement inspired by writer Alice Nutter's own experience of the protest movement (she was part of the band Chumbawamba). With original music by Harry Hamer, My Generation stars Jo Hartley (Waterloo Road; This Is England) as Cath, Jason Done (Waterloo Road) as Mick in a cast that also includes Aimee Leigh Foster, Emma Rydall and Carla Henry. First broadcast: BBC Radio 3, February 5, 2012.

My Generation

Drama On 3

Nick Wood

Stephen Luckwell is an autistic teenager with an enquiring mind. His teacher, Claire, helps him through the daily activities which present him with enormous challenges, from deciphering phrases such as 'I was miles away' or 'I wouldn't want to be in your shoes', to understanding private jokes and other people's expressions. It's the day of the regional heats of the Young Artists' competition and Stephen is preparing how to behave. If he's properly prepared he can behave appropriately. Meanwhile Claire has some huge life changes in store, but she's not quite so prepared as Stephen. Written by Nick Wood and starring James Rastall, Emily Chennery and Simon Lee Phillips. Produced and directed by Fiona Kelcher.

My Name Is Stephen Luckwell

Dan Cruickshank

Geoffrey Fletcher's London was not the big landmarks, but rather 'the tawdry, extravagant and eccentric'. He wrote about parts of the city no-one ever had before. This could be an art nouveau pub, a Victorian music hall, a Hawksmoor church or even a public toilet in Holborn in which the attendant kept goldfish in the cisterns. He was drawn to the corners of the city where 'the kids swarm like ants and there are dogs everywhere'. This classic book was originally published in 1962 and has been in and out of print ever since. In 1967 it was turned into an acclaimed documentary film starring James Mason. Following a series of sold out screenings at the Barbican and the ICA, the film was re-released on DVD in 2008. This book is a must-have for anyone with an interest in London, and will surprise even those who think they know it well.

The London Nobody Knows

Frances Fyfield

'The Mystery of Edwin Drood' is a tantalising element of the Dickens manuscript archive held by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 
Along with fellow crime-writer Simon Brett and Dickens scholar Professor Jenny Hartley, Frances Fyfield uses the packed manuscript pages, detailed number plans and early cover designs to try and make sense of one of English Literature's great mysteries: what really happened to the eponymous hero. Edwin Drood. 
Dickens died shortly after bringing the curtain down on Chapter 23, barely half way through the twelve monthly instalments. He suffered a massive stroke later that day, 8 June 1870, and died the next day. 
By that stage in Dickens' novel, Edwin has gone missing and it is suspected that he has been murdered but no body has been found. The finger of suspicion points at Neville Landless but the author seems to be hinting at the guilt of a more sinister figure, the leader of the Cathedral choir, John Jasper. 
Ever since, Dickensian enthusiasts have searched the book for every hint of a clue as to what the author intended to do with the characters he'd created. Frances isn't afraid of joining these so-called 'Droodians' in trying to employ her crime-writer's insights to make sense of the pieces of the jigsaw left to us. 
But her investigation, which takes her to Rochester where the novel is set, also examines the state of Dickens' mind at the time, and his fascination with the criminal mentality, including vintage Dickensian types like Mr Crisparkle, the angular Mr Grewgious and the hideous auctioneer Mr Sapsea. 
Frances and her colleagues also search the manuscript for signs of the author's failing health, and, perhaps more importantly, failing ability. 
What they find is the usual high octane writing style, brilliant inventiveness and perhaps a greater subtlety in characterisation than in many of the earlier works. 
Producer: Tom Alban. 
 First broadcast: BBC Radio 4, 19 January 2012.

The Mystery Of The Mystery Of Edwin Drood

Alexandra Wood

A love story told across the two New York blackouts of 1965 and 1977. Larry and Nancy meet during the first blackout, while the prosperous city enjoys a spontaneous holiday. Twelve years on, the city is very different: rioting and looting accompany the blackout in a time of economic depression, and the couple must fight for their survival in a world which seems irrevocably changed. Starring Megan Ketch as Nancy and Brian Hastert as Larry. Written by Alexandra Wood. Directed by Lu Kemp. First broadcast: BBC Radio 4, 19 January 2012.

Twelve Years

Pearse Elliott

Best friends Aidan and Paul make a yearly pilgrimage to catch their rock idols AC/DC on their European tour. This year Paul has chosen Zurich - and Aidan soon discovers why. The cast stars Conleth Hill as Paul and Patrick FitzSymons as Aidan, with music by Brendan Ratliff. First broadcast: BBC Radio 3, February 4, 2012.

Zurich (The Wire)

Black Lace Book Of Women Sexual Fantasies

Black Star Series

Blacklist

Set inside Blandings Castle, this comedy series follows Lord Emsworth and his pig Empress as they meet with his dysfunctional family and friends, and the havoc that follows.

Blandings

Blandings Castle

Blood City Rollers

Bloodlines

Blossom Street

Blue Ant

Bluey

Bodyguard

Bodyguard Series

Bollocks to Alton Towers

Book of Dust Series

Borderlands

Born Wicked

Boudica: the last defender of the Celtic culture; the only woman openly to have led her warriors into battle; the only British warrior to have stood against the might of Imperial Rome - and triumphed. 
 
This is her story.

Boudica

Boy Soldier

Brain Chemicals

Brave Bunnies

Bridge

Bridget Jones's Diary

Brief Encounters

Bright Young Things

Brotherband

Arthur Bryant and John May are Golden Age detectives living in the modern world. Together they head up the Peculiar Crimes Unit, ready to solve any of the weird and wonderful crimes that fall across their desks.

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