Programme Information

BBC Radio 2 presenter Zoe Ball

Film critic Ambrose Heron joins Zoe Ball this morning to review the big-screen version of Maurice Sendak's classic children's story Where The Wild Things Are. He also discusses the remastered versions of The Wizard Of Oz, It's A Wonderful Life and talks about the DVD release of the latest Harry Potter film, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince.

Presenter/Zoe Ball, Producer/Mark Simpson

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett of Little Feat have joined forces to form an acoustic duet. Tonight they play for Bob Harris in the After Midnight Acoustic Session.

They first played together on the album Dixie Chicken some 25 years ago. Since then they have played together, or individually, on numerous recording sessions for Little Feat and artists including Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Dionne Farris and The Wallflowers.

Presenter/Bob Harris, Producer/Mark Simpson

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Opera On 3 Live From The Met – Il Trittico

Saturday 12 December

5.30-10.00pm BBC RADIO 3

Patricia Risley as Ciesca, Alessandro Corbelli as Gianni Schicchi, Stephanie Blythe as Zita and Jennifer Check as Nella in Gianni Schicchi, from Puccini's Il Trittico

Opening a new season of Live From The Met, Stefano Ranzini conducts a production of Giacomo Puccini's ever popular triple bill.

Three very different operas are linked by soprano Patricia Racette, who stars in all of them. Il Tabarro tells the story of a love affair which, when discovered, leads to murder. Suor Angelica is the tragic tale of a nun, banished to a convent after having an illegitimate child. This is followed by the light relief of Gianni Schicchi, in which the eponymous hero upsets the grasping Donato family by impersonating their recently deceased relative, ostensibly to ensure that the family gets his properites, but in fact taking the best of them for himself.

Opera On 3 Live From The Met is presented by Margaret Juntwait with guest commentator Ira Siff. There will be live backstage interviews and the Met Quiz during the two intervals.

Presenter/Margaret Juntwait, Producer/Ellie Mant

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Stephen Gill follows the ancient manufacturing process of a bonshou, the huge bell found in every Buddhist temple, and captures the awesome physical and symbolic power of tons of suspended bronze, struck on the side by a swinging tree-trunk.

Stephen weaves stories into the recordings, of famous bells, haiku poems about them and, most importantly, the sounds of these bonshou, each of which has a unique voice.

There is the Gion bonshou, which at 80 tons (six times the weight of Big Ben) is the heaviest in the land – it takes 20 monks to swing the beam to sound it. Ikkō Iwasawa, who runs the foundry that cast the largest bell in Japan, explains the mystery of creating such huge bells as one is being cast.

The Reverend Eishou Kawahara, the head priest of Rengein, whose bell can be heard for 40 kilometres, reveals their spiritual meaning and the impact they have on people. Each "Old Year" is rung out with 108 booms from every bonshou throughout the land. Each has its own voice and character. Every Japanese person has the right to one strike, which consumes the sins of the old year and purifies them for the new.

Presenter/Stephen Gill, Producer/Julian May

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Shaun Ley recounts how the political circumstances of the late Seventies resulted in three of television's most popular series – Doctor Who, Secret Army and The Professionals – each losing at least one episode, which had been filmed but was not broadcast.

With the help of some of the programme makers and the series' stars, including Tom Baker, Tony Booth and Clifford Rose, Shaun looks at what happened to the episodes that were shelved.

As Britain struggled with the financial crisis of the late Seventies, the politics of the extreme left and the extreme right, and the power of the broadcasting unions, TV bosses cancelled episodes of three of their most popular shows. It raises issues about censorship, popular culture, the politics of the times and the attitudes of broadcasters.

The final episode of the hit series Secret Army was filmed and completed but has never been broadcast. Shaun tries to find out why. London Weekend Television approved all of the scripts for the first series of The Professionals but, in March 1978, took fright at one storyline. Industrial conflict also played a key role in the shelving of some Doctor Who programmes.

Presenter/Shaun Ley, Producer/Jane Ashley

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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In the Saturday play, The Middle, a close-knit family is brought to its knees by one momentary indiscretion.

Clare is the golden middle sister in a family headed by a formidable matriarch. She marries Martin. Hopelessly in love, they can't contain their happiness at having found each other. Clare's family adore Martin too and he is smitten with them all – they are charming, funny and welcoming. But in the heady early days of their marriage, Martin makes a mistake which knocks everyone off balance, and suddenly this fun, attractive, sparky group slithers into despair.

The Middle is a modern tragedy. It charts betrayal, infatuation, denouncement, banishment and death.

Clare is played by Emma Cunniffe, Ben Miles plays Martin, Anna Madeley is Nicky, Eve Matheson is Justine and Paola Dionisotti plays Luca.

Producer/Mary Peate

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

Ahead of tomorrow's BBC Sport Personality Of The Year Awards, Fighting Talk broadcasts from Sheffield in front of a live audience. Colin Murray is judge and jury as a panel of experts battle it out for points for punditry on the week's top sporting stories.

Presenter/Colin Murray, Producer/Simon Crosse

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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5 Live Sport

Saturday 12 December

12.00noon-7.20pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Arlo White presents an afternoon of live sport, kicking off with live commentary on Stoke versus Wigan from the Britannia Stadium from 12.45pm, with regular updates from Motherwell's game against Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.

There's also live coverage of all the day's 3pm kick offs including Chelsea against Everton and Tottenham Hotspur versus Wolves in the Premier League and Rangers versus St Johnstone in the SPL.

From 5.30pm there's further Premier League commentary on the game between Manchester United and Aston Villa live from Old Trafford.

Presenter/Arlo White

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

5 Live Football League

Saturday 12 December

2.45-5.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Listeners can enjoy live commentary from one of the day's top matches in the Championship, plus reports and score updates from across the Football League.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Rugby Union

Saturday 12 December

5.55-7.45pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra presents uninterrupted commentary of the European Rugby Cup match between Scarlets and Leinster, live from Parc y Scarlets.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

World Drama –
The Inheritance Of Loss By Kiran Desai Ep 1/2

Saturday 12 December

8.00-9.00pm BBC WORLD SERVICE

Kiran Desai's Booker Prize-winning novel is dramatised for the first time for radio and leads up to the January edition of World Book Club, in which Kiran will discuss the novel.

Set near the Himalayas, it's the story of three people, each dreaming of another time. Orphaned Sai comes to her grandfather's house when her astronaut parents are killed in a car crash in Russia. A retired judge, he's living an isolated life with his dog and cook and has no need of the uncomfortable memories she stirs up. As Sai begins to grow up – and fall in love – so civil unrest starts to encroach on her life.

The Inheritance Of Loss stars Ayesha Dharker (The Terrorist; Bombay Talkie), Vincent Ebrahim (The Kumars At No. 42) and Paul Bhattacharjee (Dirty Pretty Things). The cast also includes Harvey Virdi, Pooja Ghai, Inam Mirza, Ronny Jhutti, Melissa Advani, Stephen Hogan, Kate Layden, Zubin Varla, Nickul Hathi, Ravi Aujla, Nicholas Khan, Antony Bunsee, Stephen Hogan, Rehan Sheikh and Badi Uzzaman. It is directed by Marion Nancarrow.

BBC World Service Publicity