Programme Information

Seventies pop icon David Bowie

In the run up to the BBC's celebration of the 75th anniversary of its studios in Maida Vale tomorrow, BBC Radio 2 presents an evening of programmes starting at 7pm with the opportunity to hear American blues singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt performing live at the historic venue back in 1999.

This is followed at 8pm by an hour's worth of highlights from Radio 2's Live In The Morning session archive, presented by Ken Bruce, which precedes a programme featuring a selection of Maida Vale sessions recorded by various Radio 2 Introduces alumni including Duffy, Adele, Mika, Paloma Faith and Daniel Merriweather.

At 11pm, there's another opportunity to hear David Bowie performing an hour-long session live at the historic venue back in 2002, including a couple of live rarities in The Bewlay Brothers and The Alabama Song.

This leads into the day of Maida Vale celebrations, which kicks off on BBC Radio 2 with The Stereophonics playing live for Janice Long, ahead of the release of their new album, Keep Calm And Carry On.

Janice's association with the BBC's north west London studios spans a quarter of a century, with artists such as Morrissey, Kasabian, Primal Scream, Paul Weller, The Zutons and Nerina Pallot all playing sessions there for her Radio 2 show.

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Stéphane Denève conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall in a programme featuring some of the most sumptuous scores in the orchestral repertory.

Henri Dutilleux's Symphony No. 1 shows all the exquisite orchestration and glowing colours characteristic of the composer, who is still producing music in his ninth decade.

Leif Ove Andsnes joins the orchestra as soloist in Rachmaninov's Fourth Piano Concerto and Stravinsky's dazzling Firebird, which drives tonight's programme towards an intoxicating, powerful finish.

Presenter/Catherine Bott, Producer/Tony Sellors

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Rana Mitter hosts a public debate as part of this year's Free Thinking festival entitled: Is The West Losing Its Nerve?

The West has been the world's dominant economic and cultural force for nearly 500 years. But with the rise of India and China as economic and cultural powers, and American and European industries struggling in the recession, Rana asks if we are witnessing its decline.

Rana brings together a varied panel to argue this key question in a debate recorded in front of an audience at The Sage in Gateshead. His guests are prominent philosopher and defender of the Enlightenment AC Grayling, international business entrepreneur Paul Callaghan, professor of politics Baroness Haleh Afshar and sculptor Alexander Stoddart – well known for his defence of classical cultural values.

Presenter/Rana Mitter, Producer/Kirsty Pope

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Poet Sean O'Brien charts the profound contribution to Newcastle's cultural life of the Literary And Philosophical Society. Founded in 1793, the society grew into one of the most important intellectual institutions of its age. A place of talking, thinking, reading and listening, its history and membership have long been at the heart of Tyneside culture.

This is part of a series of Free Thinking essays recorded at BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking festival at The Sage, Gateshead.

Presenter/Sean O'Brien, Producer/Allegra McIlroy

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Reece Shearsmith's Haunted House Ep 1/2

Thursday 29 October

11.30am-12.00noon BBC RADIO 4

Comedy actor Reece Shearsmith hosts a series of energetic and witty illustrated discussions on horror, presented to an audience inside a haunted house.

Since early childhood, Reece has had a fascination with horror and his abiding enthusiasm for this subject comes to the fore in this two-part series examining a collection of ghostly and macabre themes.

Broadcasting either side of Halloween, Reece is joined by guests and fellow horror enthusiasts Mark Gatiss, Vic Reeves, Yvette Fielding and Mike Roberts at the reputedly haunted Sutton House in Hackney to discuss the influence the genre has had on them and their overall impact on the history of horror.

This week's episode, An Appointment With Fear, examines some classic scary moments from British radio and television and explores the ingredients for a classic horror story.

Next week, Films, Fangs And Frightening Fellas profiles horror at the movies, considers whether vampires are scary and recalls the legendary Hollywood actors that sent a celluloid shiver down the spine.

Presenter/Reece Shearsmith, Producer/Stephen Garner

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Bleak Expectations Ep 1/6

Thursday 29 October

6.30-7.00pm BBC RADIO 4

The epic Victorian comedy series written by Mark Evans is back with more of the remarkable adventures of Pip Bin. He battles his evil ex-guardian Mr Gently Benevolent in six more chapters of plots, disguises, inventions, escapes, tragedies and triumphs in the style of Charles Dickens after a drop too much gin.

The third series begins several years after the death – for the second time – of Mr Benevolent. All seems well as Pip Bin enjoys fame and wealth for his hugely popular invention, the bin, until...

The first episode, A Lovely Life Re-Kippered Again Once More, features a séance with Britain's shortest, fattest spiritualist, Small Medium Large – and the return from the dead of Mr Benevolent, who possesses a pigeon and sets out to frame Pip for murder. This brings him to the attention of Inspector Whackwallop of Scotland Yard and his Victorian crime-fighting tools, including state-of-the-art security paintings and the forensic science of bottom prints.

Richard Johnson, Anthony Head, and Geoffrey Whitehead lead a magnificent cast including Tom Allen, James Bachman, Sarah Hadland, Susie Kane and Mark Evans. Also guest starring in this series are Raquel Cassidy as Miss Sweetly Delightful and Jane Asher as Mr Gently Benevolent's evil mother.

Producer/Gareth Edwards

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

Eleanor Oldroyd presents the latest sports news and is joined by Clare Balding and some of the BBC's sports correspondents for The Headline Hour, discussing the latest big sports issues making the news.

At 8pm, Eleanor is joined by Steve Parry and guests to look ahead to the London 2012 Olympics in London Calling.

From 9pm, Mike Costello and Steve Bunce look ahead to the WBA heavyweight decider between David Haye and Nikolai Valuev in Nuremburg on Saturday 7 November.

At 10pm two of 5 Live Sport's pundits air their views about some sporting issues in And Another Thing.

Presenter/Eleanor Oldroyd, Producer/Steve Rudge

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

BBC 6 Music presenter Steve Lamacq

Lammo's Roundtable panel this week includes former Frankie Goes To Hollywood front man Holly Johnson and Luke Haines, whose former life as a Britpop lead singer with The Auteurs was chronicled so brilliantly in his 2009 book, Bad Vibes. The panel argues the virtues of the week's latest releases.

Presenter/Steve Lamacq, Producer/Gary Bales

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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Marc Riley is joined in the Manchester Hub this evening by the Hornblower Brothers, all the way from Brighton.

The band formed in the seaside city, by way of Halifax, Bexley, Stafford and Southampton. Built out of primary school friendships in Halifax (dual guitar/vocal duo Nathaniel and ex-marching band member Alistair), before moving south to Brighton and meeting up with James (bass) and Gary (keyboards, melodica), The Hornblower Brothers struggled for months to find a drummer, and after a brief dalliance with an iPod, finally settled on a local busker who used upturned dustbins as his instrument of choice.

The band was finally born and they released their debut EP, Adventures In The National Geographic, at the end of September.

Presenter/Marc Riley, Producer/Michelle Choudhry

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Bina thinks Roopa would be crazy to work at Pumpworks when she can get rich on adult chat-lines, in today's episode of Silver Street. Later the girls laugh when they see what Krishan has done to the Sheesha Lounge. Vinnie helps Krishan wipe the smile of their faces.

Elsewhere, Kuljit plays romantic music for Jodie after dinner and snuggles up to her on the sofa. Jodie says they need to talk, but will she tell Kuljit what he wants to hear?

Bina is played by Sana Raja, Roopa by Rakhee Thakrar, Krishan by Rahual Das, Vinnie by Saikat Ahamed, Kuljit by Sartaj Garewal and Jodie by Vineeta Rishi.

BBC Asian Network Publicity

This special edition of Assignment focuses on the work of a pioneering hospital and medical workers in Pakistan, struggling to make women's health a priority.

Most women in Pakistan cannot afford to get proper, basic care during pregnancy. Maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world.

Assignment travels to Karachi to look at the work of doctors, nurses and midwives in the poorest parts of the city who, every day, try to save the lives of women in childbirth; and to rural areas where health facilities can be non-existent and the only people women can rely on are untrained helpers.

Assignment asks why so many women still die during childbirth.

Presenter/Jill McGivering, Producer/Caroline Finnigan

BBC World Service Publicity