Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Arts & Entertainment

Jeremy Summerly tells the story of the Christmas Carol in England in these illuminating and delightful programmes. The Christmas carol is as popular now as it was when singers celebrated the birth of Edward III in 1312. But the journey it has taken is unique in music history. Here Jeremy Summerly follows that journey from medieval times to the present day. It's a story that sees the carol veer between the sacred and secular, in a tradition that has always had one foot in the pub and another in the church.

Bill and Faith are both divorcees, late in love but new to each other. As they battle to forge a relationship together, they discover that the course of true love doesn’t always run smoothly. In these 31 episodes, they move in together, plan a wedding and deal with the challenges of married life – all the while trying to balance the demands of Bill’s ex-wife, Liza, and her teenage children, Hannah and Joe. 

In this revealing series, acclaimed historian and Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces Lucy Worsley explores the reign of Queen Victoria through pivotal figures in her life. We meet 10 key individuals - some well known, others less so - and find out how they influenced the queen, what she thought of them - and what they thought of her. 

The UK and Africa have had a long and complicated past. These two series look at the history of this relationship, with Daliso as our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places. A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not.... 

Join sad pervie Richard Richard and his masochistic flatmate Eddie Hitler (a.k.a. Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson) for some disgusting toilet humour, caustic merriment and charming English pleasantries in these four pungent classic TV episodes of anarchic sitcom Bottom. In addition, we join charismatic ace investigative reporter Kevin Turvey (Mayall) as he combs the back of his mind to bring us exclusives on such soul-searching subjects as death, sex and the supernatural in Kevin Turvey Investigates.

A finely matured selection of episodes from the long-running topical Radio 4 panel show, chaired by Barry Norman, Barry Took, Simon Hoggart, Sandi Toksvig and Miles Jupp. These 14 archive editions, all published for the first time, span the decades from 1978 to 2017 and recall the headline-grabbing issues, incidents and individuals of yesteryear.

Breakthrough comedian Tez Ilyas presents a show for everyone interested in - or interested in becoming - a British Muslim. Everything you need to know is here - the do's, don'ts, and avoid-or-you'll-be-arresteds. How can Muslims integrate better? And who says they don't at the moment? And more importantly, what's Marks & Spencer or hipster beards got to do with it? What is the mysterious organisation that is the 'Muslim Community'? Who runs it? What does it do? And does Nadiya from Bake Off speak for them all? 

Joe Lycett explores the nation's weird and wonderful obsessions by getting to know a selection of famous and not so famous guests. Hear Katherine Ryan share her love of the Kardashians, Greg James introduce Joe to the world of cricket and Janice Connolly share her collection of decluttering books. Can Lloyd Griffith inspire you with his adoration of fire engines? Or will June Sarpong get you into Hula-Hooping? 

Immensely popular and hugely influential, legendary radio series The Goon Show changed the face of British comedy. This collection of episodes is taken from the first part of the ninth series, first broadcast in 1958-59.

Few can forget where they were in September 1993 when they first heard Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation. The show was an immediate smash-hit success, causing pubs to empty on a Saturday night, which was particularly astonishing since the show went out on Thursdays. Since that fateful first series, the show has gone on to win Sony awards, Writers Guild nominations and a Nobel Prize for Chemistry. Included here are all 10 series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation.

Award-winning comedian Tom Allen is one of Britain's best and brightest stand-ups. He's appeared on Mock the Week, The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice and Live at the Apollo, toured several sell-out solo shows, starred in his own TV pilot and even written an autobiography. He's always seemed pleasant and polite on the surface: but the truth is, he's a monster - or so he says. In Tom Allen Is Actually Not Very Nice, he stages a stand-up intervention to find out what turned him from sweet to naughty and how he can get back on the straight and narrow.

Against his better judgement, Andrew Patterson accepts a job as a lecturer in English literature at a remote Northern redbrick university. His departmental colleagues are an eccentric bunch: doddery Head of English Professor Misty, who looks like he went to school with Little Dorrit; Amy Spade, who's suffering from an identity crisis and given to sending anonymous letters, and man-eating Melissa Murgatroyd, the honeypot of the Senior Common Room. Fortunately, Patterson has old friend and fellow lecturer Victor to show him the ropes - but even so, his first day does not go well.

In the spaces between inner-city Bristol and the netherworld walks Deacon, a mysterious, centuries-old drifter who arrives when least expected to save lost souls. In these three dramas, he comes to the aid of a boxer-turned-petty-criminal, a teenager in danger and a refugee in hiding. Don Warrington stars as the enigmatic Deacon in this gritty contemporary fantasy trilogy.

Miles Jupp stars as James Boswell, Dr Johnson's time-travelling biographer, with a host of top actors and comedians as his celebrity interviewees. Before James Boswell penned a biography of his friend, Dr Johnson, they were both nobodies. But his Life of Samuel Johnson made them famous - so now Boswell's out to work his magic on other celebrities. Travelling through the centuries, he gives 12 legendary figures the Boswell treatment, hoping to do for them what he did for Johnson....

What do you get if you put a comedian, a scientist and an internet expert in a room together? The answer is Great Unanswered Questions, a panel game in which resident funnyman Colin Murphy teams up with brainiac Dr David Booth and computer geek Matthew Collins to tackle ludicrous questions and provide the correct (or at least the funniest) answers.

Dr Helen Ash is coming to terms with the fact she has just nine months to live, when she's emailed a video of a boat mysteriously sinking in stormy seas. And the email is from her dead father. As she and Freddy try to find out whether the sunken ship really exists, they realise that they are being followed. And disaster awaits. 

From politics to economics, from tech to the study of how we live, things are changing fast. Old certainties are crumbling, and we need new solutions to shake up the status quo and shape the future. In The Spark, Helen Lewis meets 11 radical thinkers who are bidding to change our world, and puts their ideas under the spotlight to find out what they have to offer compared to the failures of the past.

All 12 episodes of the anarchic radio sitcom about a man desperate to succeed in a world he doesn't understand. Phil's trying to keep his business afloat and pay the rent. He's trying to get over his ex-wife, who divorced him three years ago. He's trying to be a better person. He's trying - boy, is he trying. He just needs a bit of a break (and a lot of luck) and things will surely start looking up.... 

Released from prison early, chirpy Cockney conman Terry King is given a chance to find his feet again. His challenge is to breathe new life into a run-down community centre - with the support of Sandra Gaines, a social worker with a warm heart but an unhappy past. If he succeeds, he'll prove that rehabilitation is possible. But if he fails, he'll be sent back to jail.... Situated in the middle of a rough council estate, Grove Hill Farm needs a lot of work. The windows are broken, the plumbing's out of action and part of the centre was burned down during a riot.

Poet Ian McMillan is our host in this gleeful game of literary tomfoolery, outrageous parody and biting wit. Joining him for some lighthearted competitive wordplay are a quartet of writers and comedians, all ready and eager to run riot through the halls of great literature.