Programme Information

Dermot O'Leary is joined by Turin Brakes, English duo Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, for a live session.

The childhood friends cite musical influences ranging from Miles Davis to Fugazi. Though they shy away from genre labels, they would describe their music as "folk-tinged indie rock".

In September 2009, they released Bottled At Source, a double album featuring all the hits from the early years, unreleased tracks and B-sides, which marked the 10th anniversary of their debut single.

Presenter/Dermot O'Leary, Producer/Ben Walker

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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"The King" Elvis Presley

Comedian and Elvis fan Rob Brydon revisits the King's golden period in Las Vegas, where he did a seven-year run between 1969 and 1976.

The 1969 Memphis Sessions at American Studios in Memphis re-established Presley as a musical force, returning him to the charts and producing some of his most acclaimed work. Presley's manager, Col Tom Parker, was planning Presley's return to live concerts with a series of shows at the International Hotel in Las Vegas later that year.

Elvis assembled a new live band for his first Las Vegas concerts. The programme features contributions from lead guitarist James Burton and legendary Presley road manager Joe Esposito, who discuss the rehearsals in the summer of 1969.

Singers Myra Smith and Estelle Brown also reveal what it was like performing on stage, night after night, with Elvis. Elvis went on to perform regular shows there for seven years – a total of 637 consecutive, sold-out performances, in front of 2.5 million people.

Presley completed his four-week stint on 28 August 1969. When he returned, in January 1970, for his winter season, he and his entourage made a considerable impact on life at the Hilton International Hotel, as described by valet Lonnie Pope and bell-boy Dan Hakata.

However, things did become intense on the road and the FBI and Presley's personal body guards were on full alert following a death threat which claimed the King would be shot on stage, as described in the documentary by Jerry Schilling, one of Presley's inner circle and "Memphis mafia".

The winter of 1976 was Presley's 15th season at the Las Vegas Hilton International Hotel and his last. Grappling with his weight and personal problems, it was while preparing to play yet another series of concerts that the Presley's heart gave out in Graceland on 16 August 1977.

Presenter/Rob Brydon, Producer/John Sugar

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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BBC Radio 2 presenter Bob Harris

American Midwest-born Israel Nash Gripka has recorded an After Midnight session for Bob Harris with his band.

He was brought up in a place where country music ruled the airwaves. His father was a Baptist minister, preaching in Ozark churches, but also playing Israel the songs of The Beatles, the blues of the Stones and the stories of Townes Van Zandt and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Now based in New York City, Israel has been labelled as a child of the Seventies, with a penchant for sing-along folk rock that marks him out as a rival to Ryan Adams and Richard Thompson.

Presenter/Bob Harris, Producer/Mark Simpson

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

In the first of three programmes, Lucy Duran visits the island of Madagascar. Lying in the Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Africa, one of the many things that makes this island of strange dreams, ancestral worship and sorcery so special is its music. This week, Lucy profiles musician Justin Vali and records his Malagasy Orkestra, an all-star collection of the island's best musical talent.

One of the island's best-loved and most skilled musicians, Justin Vali is a master of the Valiha – a tube zither originally made of bamboo. Listeners can hear him play and talk about his life, from his childhood in rural Madagascar to his experiences as a Malagasy immigrant in France. The Malagasy Orkestra showcase many of the different styles found throughout the island.

Presenter/Lucy Duran, Producer/James Parkin

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Opera On 3 – Live From The Met: Hansel And Gretel

Saturday 2 January

6.00-8.30pm BBC RADIO 3

Miah Persson and Angelika Kirchschlager play brother and sister Hansel and Gretal

Live from the Metropolitan Opera, New York, Fabio Luisi conducts Humperdinck's take on the Brothers Grimm fairytale Hansel And Gretel.

Miah Persson and Angelika Kirchschlager star as the brother and sister lost in the woods, looking for food, and finding an inviting gingerbread house to feast on. Philip Langridge sings the role of the Witch, with more than just gingerbread on her mind for her next meal.

Always a Christmas favourite, Hansel And Gretel has drama, humour and some ravishing music.

Presented by Margaret Juntwait, with guest commentator Ira Siff, the programme includes live backstage interviews during the interval.

Presenter/Margaret Juntwait, Producer/Ellie Mant

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Jazz singer Gwyneth Herbert performs Jane Austen's favourite songs – many of them newly discovered – and scholars and biographers discuss how they cast a new light on this most enigmatic of writers.

Jane Austen collected songs throughout her life. However, many of them have only just come to light in manuscripts inherited by one of her descendents.

Professor Richard Jenkyns inherited a pile of music manuscripts which are only just being looked at by the Austen scholars. Some have been laboriously copied out by Jane herself – and, among the music manuscripts in Austen's handwriting, is a piano piece which he believes she composed.

In this programme, presented by world-class concert pianist David Owen Norris, listeners can hear this and more of Austen's favourite songs, each of which has something to say about the much-loved writer.

David visits Austen's house in the village of Chawton, Hampshire, to meet biographers and scholars who discuss what these songs reveal about her life and work.

With contributions from: Professor Richard Jenkyns; Samantha Carrasco, a young musician who has been part of the research team studying the manuscripts; and Austen scholar and author Deirdre le Faye.

David also accompanies Gwyn on the piano and is joined by clarinettist Andrew Lyle.

Presenter/David Owen Norris, Producer/Elizabeth Burke

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Actors Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy co-star on BBC Radio 2

Noel Coward's sublime comedy stars Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy as a divorced couple who discover they are staying at the same hotel on the first night of their honeymoons with their new partners.

Elyot and Amanda realise that they are still in love with each other and should never have divorced. So they abandon their new spouses, Sibyl and Victor, and run off together. However, they soon find themselves caught up in the same violent arguments that originally plagued their stormy marriage.

The cast also stars Andrea Riseborough as Sibyl and Paul Ritter as Victor.

Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy were keen to work together. Both are admirers of Coward's urbane comedy, so Private Lives seemed the perfect opportunity and they approached BBC Radio 4 with the idea.

Producer/Sally Avens

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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This weekend listeners can enjoy the last two programmes in the 1989 series presented by Sir John Tusa, retracing the year's major political, cultural and social events as they happened.

On this day in 1989, reorganisation begins in Romania as fledgling political parties take shape – and, in the final instalment, General Noriega gives himself up to US forces in Panama.

Presenter/Sir John Tusa, Producer/Joby Waldman

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Saturday 2 January

12.00noon-6.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Mark Pougatch presents coverage of an afternoon of live sport, including news of the FA Cup third-round ties, plus reports from the day's rugby union Premiership matches.

Presenter/Mark Pougatch, Producer/Mark Williams

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Football

Saturday 2 January

2.55-5.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted live commentary comes from one of the afternoon's FA Cup third-round matches.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Legendary DJ Derrick May returns for the third instalment of his 6 Mix residency.

Fresh from his New Year's Eve DJ dates around Europe, the techno pioneer kicks of 2010 with a selection of the hottest beats from Detroit and beyond. Best known for hit single Strings Of Life, Derrick has been the leading light of Detroit's electronic music scene for over two decades, working alongside musicians Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atikins to keep the motor city's musical flag flying, as well as running his own label, Transmat recordings.

For the third of his 6 Mix shows, Derrick broadcasts live from BBC 6 Music's studios, sharing his favourite tunes and tales from 2009. In the last hour there is another one of Derrick's infamous "May Day" club mixes, playing classic, old-skool club tunes alongside brand new music from around the world.

Presenter/Derrick May, Producer/Rowan Collinson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Listeners have another chance to hear some of the best live performances to have featured on BBC Radio 1 in 2009, from Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Dizzee Rascal and Lily Allen.

Each one-hour performance runs back to back, beginning with Coldplay at Hampden Park (12midnight-1am), followed by Arctic Monkeys at Maida Vale (1-2am) and Dizzee Rascal at the BBC Electric Proms (2-3am). The night wraps up with Lily Allen at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (3-4am).

Producer/Kat Wong

BBC Radio 1 Publicity

Ronan Keating sits in for Steve Wright this week and presents a special Sunday Love Songs in which the first hour of music features performances from guys, while in the second hour it's over to the girls.

Presenter/Ronan Keating, Producer/Jessica Rickson

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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In a special edition of the programme, Elaine Paige plays some of her favourite exclusive in-studio performances recorded during 2009. These include songs by the West End casts of The Lion King, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert, Oliver!, Forbidden Broadway, Avenue Q, Chicago, Jersey Boys, Hairspray and a song from Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat performed by Gareth Gates.

Presenter/Elaine Paige, Producer/Malcolm Prince

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Brian D'Arcy celebrates Epiphany and the feast of the three Magi with much-loved music for Twelfth Night. For many, this is the climax of the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Music comes from King's College Chapel Choir with members of the Aberdeen University Choral Society, directed by Roger Williams. Hymns include As With Gladness Men Of Old and Three Kings From Persian Lands Afar.

Presenter/Brian D'Arcy, Producer/Janet McLarty

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Michael Berkeley's guest on Private Passions this week is theatre director Katie Mitchell.

Katie has been much influenced by Eastern European theatre and studied under Lev Dodin and Tadeusz Kantor. She demands long, intensive rehearsal periods and uses the Stanislavsky method to create productions characterised by emotional intensity and realistic acting, several of which have sparked controversy for their unconventional approach to the texts. Katie is currently directing two productions at the National Theatre – Ferdinand Bruckner's The Pains Of Youth, and a much lighter subject, The Cat In The Hat, based on Dr Seuss's children's story.

Katie often uses music in her productions and her choices include the aria Erbarme dich from Bach's St Matthew Passion, which she recently directed at Glyndebourne, an extract from Luigi Non's Al gran sole carico d'amore, which she directed at Salzburg earlier this year, and Alfred Schnittke's Stille nacht for violin and piano. Schnittke's highly idiosyncratic music has influenced her own use of music and sound in the theatre.

Presenter/Michael Berkeley, Producer/Chris Marshall

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Stephen Johnson explores the musical nuances of Gabriel Fauré's Requiem in D minor, in both its original and more familiar revised version, using recordings by John Eliot Gardiner and Harry Christophers.

Fauré composed what is arguably his magnum opus between 1870 and 1890, but his reasons for composing the piece are uncertain. He lost both his parents within two years of each other, which may have been his original impetus, but by the time of his mother's death he had already begun the work.

The first version of the work, which he called "un petit Requiem", included just five movements. Over two years Fauré expanded the piece to the now more familiar seven movements, and altered some of his original orchestrations.

In 1899-1900, the score was reworked again for full orchestra, probably by one of his students. This was the definitive version of the Requiem – played at Fauré's funeral in 1924 – until John Rutter rediscovered the original manuscript of the chamber orchestra version in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris in the early Eighties. It has now become one of the most popular pieces for choirs and choral societies around the world.

Presenter/Stephen Johnson, Producer/Les Pratt

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Scottish poet Kathleen Jamie visits the uninhabited island of North Roma

Distinguished Scottish poet and writer Kathleen Jamie joins a "once-in-a-blue-moon" research expedition to the tiny uninhabited island of North Rona, 45 miles out into the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cape Wrath in Sutherland.

Here, Kathleen observes and assists with seabird surveys – counting the rare and mysterious Leach's Petrel – and archaeologists mapping the island's eighth-century early Celtic Christian buildings.

As a family pod of killer whales circles the cliffs of Rona – the adults teaching their calves to catch seals – Kathleen, surrounded by thousands of puffins and a herd of grumpy sheep, considers ideas of remoteness and isolation.

Presenter/Kathleen Jamie, Producer/Tim Dee

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

The Custom Of The Country Ep 1/3

Sunday 3 January

3.00-4.00pm BBC RADIO 4

Award-winning writer Jane Rogers dramatises The Custom Of The Country, Edith Wharton's compelling social satire about marriage and money in early 20th-century American society.

Set between 1900 and 1910, The Custom Of The Country tells the story of Undine Spragg, a beautiful but remorselessly selfish young woman, who moves from Apex to New York, marries Ralph Marvell from an old New York family, and rapidly wears out his income, love and health. She has a son, Paul, whom she neglects. She moves on to Paris, divorce and marriage to Raymond, a French aristocrat, but soon tires of him.

Elmer Moffatt, an old acquaintance from Apex, weaves through her life – he is there at every point of crisis. A self-made millionaire, he has a powerful hold on Undine – a shared past that she is desperate to conceal. Perhaps he is the only man who truly understands her.

Rebecca Night (Lark Rise To Candleford and Wuthering Heights) plays Undine, Dan Stevens (Sense And Sensibility, Dracula and The Line Of Beauty) plays Ralph, Lorelei King (After You've Gone, Cold Feet) plays Mrs Heeny and Tom Hollander (A Good Year, Pirates Of The Caribbean and Pride And Prejudice) plays Elmer Moffatt.

Producer/Nadia Molinari

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith has written more than 90 books. Among them is a series set in Scotland Street, Edinburgh. In this edition of Book Club, James Naughtie and a group of readers discuss the first in the series – 44 Scotland Street.

This comic novel was first published in The Scotsman newspaper as a daily story. Like Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and Armistead Maupin before him, Alexander got the idea for writing stories on a daily basis at a party in San Francisco, where he met Maupin.

Readers in the audience ask questions about the myriad characters that live in the flats at the eponymous address – the narcissistic young man; the wise older woman; the pushy mother and her poor put-upon son, Bertie, who ends up in therapy. Bertie remains six years old throughout the series, even though adult characters are patently growing older.

Alexander talks about the challenges of writing a thousand words a day; how readers would advise him on where to take the story next; and what they thought he should do with characters they didn't like. He also explains how a few real people, including novelist Ian Rankin and art gallery owner Guy Peploe, turned up in the stories.

Presenter/James Naughtie, Producer/Dymphna Flynn

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Miles Jupp asks whether patriotic poems, which inspired boys a century ago, can still move young men today.

In the early 20th century, English prep school boys were served up memorable slabs such as Hearts Of Oak and Flags Of England, and battles, duels and jungle explorations. Some of it was first rate, exhorting young readers to feats of strength and self-reliance, but not all. Good or bad, tales of battles or of foreign shores, it was all intended to be memorised.

Miles delves between the leather covers of the Muscular Lines that once entranced, or made miserable, Britain's schoolboys. He takes a wide sounding of today's masculine opinion and modern-day explorers like Ranulph Fiennes and Bear Grylls make their selections from the books.

Miles also speaks to some of the men who still remember lines from the books; he visits rugby clubs and army barracks to see what today's men make of the verse; and he takes the Edwardian best-seller back to his own all-boys prep school to see how the poems which preached yesterday's masculine values sit with the young men of tomorrow.

Presenter/Miles Jupp, Producer/David Stenhouse

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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More Than A Game – The Fight Ep 1/3

Sunday 3 January

10.45-11.00pm BBC RADIO 4

In June 1938, 64 per cent of Americans who owned a radio tuned in to listen to one of the most politically charged boxing matches in history. In More Than A Game – The Fight, the first of three programmes looking at politically significant sporting events, Professor Anthony King of Essex University discusses the fight between black American boxer Joe Louis and white German fighter Max Schmeling.

In 1936, Louis had seemed invincible, but in Yankee Stadium, New York, he was sensationally beaten by Schmeling. It was a propaganda triumph for the Nazis. A Nazi journal declared the victory not only a matter of sport but "a question of prestige for our race". German minister Joseph Goebbels used footage of the fight in one of his most successful propaganda films.

By 1938, Louis had become World Champion after defeating another American, but he wanted to avenge the one blot on his record. With the prospect of war looming, the fight took on significance far beyond the sport. US president Franklin D Roosevelt reportedly invited Louis to the White House and told him: "Joe, we're depending on those muscles for America."

The fight acquired a massive importance for black and white Americans; for Jewish people; for people around the world who opposed fascism; and for the Nazi regime in Germany. Louis and Schmeling were caught in the middle, whether they liked it or not.

The fight took place on 22 June with the whole world listening. It lasted just 124 seconds and was over so quickly many people missed it – Schmeling was knocked out.

Presenter/Professor Anthony King, Producer/Chris Bond

BBC News Publicity

5 Live Sport

Sunday 3 January

12.00noon-6.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Colin Murray presents an afternoon of live sport including live Scottish Premier League (SPL) commentary on the Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers, from Celtic Park, at 12.30pm.

There's also coverage from the day's FA Cup third-round matches and updates from the Edinburgh derby between Hibernian and Hearts in the SPL from 3pm and reports from the first day of the third Test match between South Africa and England in Cape Town.

Presenter/Colin Murray, Producer/Graham McMillan

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Test Match Special

Sunday 3 January

8.10am-4.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

The Test Match Special team, led by Jonathan Agnew, presents ball-by-ball commentary on the opening day's play of the third Test match between South Africa and England, live from Newlands, Cape Town. Simon Mann and Gerald de Kock are alongside Jonathan in the commentary box with Ashes-winning former England captain Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott and Duncan Fletcher providing the expert summary.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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NFL American Football

Sunday 3 January

9.00pm-12.30am BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Arlo White introduces live commentary from the final week of the regular NFL season, the last chance for teams to get a place in the post-season play-offs.

Arlo is joined by Neil Reynolds and Greg Brady with all the news from around the NFL.

Presenter/Arlo White

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

In a new series of International Radio 1, four more DJs check out the music scenes of the cities they love.

Judge Jules kicks off the run in Helsinki, Finland, where he discovers what the country's dance music scene has to offer.

The next three Mondays see Huw Stephens, Gilles Peterson and Bobby Friction head to other exciting destinations.

International Radio 1 is part of a line-up of documentaries that have so far included Radio 1's Stories – The Story Of The Noughties. Alongside Nihal's Review show and In New DJs We Trust, they sit at the heart of the weeknight schedule at 9pm.

BBC Radio 1 Publicity

BBC Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce

Queen drummer Roger Taylor joins Ken Bruce to discuss his Tracks Of My Years and picks a selection which includes music by Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, The Who and David Bowie.

Presenter/Ken Bruce, Producer/Gary Bones

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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BBC RADIO 2'S ELVIS SEASON
Elvis, The Brand Ep 1/2

Monday 4 to Tuesday 5 January

11.30pm-12.00midnight BBC RADIO 2

In what would have been the week of Elvis Presley's 75th birthday, Paul Gambaccini tells the story of the singer's undiminished fame and his power as an American icon.

It's a story of brilliant reinvention, as Paul examines the way in which Elvis evolved through many guises and identities – Hillbilly Cat Elvis, Elvis The Pelvis, Army Elvis, Hollywood Elvis, Comeback Special Elvis, Las Vegas Elvis, Black Leather Elvis, Black Velvet Elvis and Reincarnated Elvis – making him the most influential celebrity brand in history.

The series concludes tomorrow at the same time.

Presenter/Paul Gambaccini, Producer/Susan Marling

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Dan is the globe-trotting architectural historian best known for his dynamic television appearances in series such as Around The World In 80 Treasures and Britain's Best Buildings. He argues that the aesthetic and emotional consequences of this conservation are underestimated and that we need to restore architecture to a prominent place in our understanding of ourselves, our history and our society.

Presenter/Rana Mitter, Producer/Fiona McLean

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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The Essay – The Path And The Poem Ep 1/5

Monday 4 to Friday 8 January

11.00-11.15pm BBC RADIO 3

Poet Andrew Motion

In the first Essay series of the New Year, poet Andrew Motion explores the connections between walking and writing in five talks about poems that follow paths. The poets under discussion are Edward Thomas, Norman MacCaig, Frank O'Hara, Elizabeth Bishop and Alice Oswald: two Americans, a Scot and two English writers.

The walking poem has a long history – Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are told along a walk – but Andrew Motion has selected five poets from the last hundred years, the century when walking ceased being the universal form of transport. One poem covers only a few feet but reaches back many years; another takes a walk across Manhattan; and another down a river, but all have things to say about how human movement and journeys of the imagination are entwined.

Presenter/Andrew Motion, Producer/Tim Dee

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Jez Nelson welcomes in the New Year with a special edition of Jazz On 3 celebrating some of the best live acts to have grown up on British soil. Recorded earlier this evening at Ronnie Scott's jazz club, the show features performances from some of the finest current bands, both established and new.

The programme features a rare appearance from Django Bates's Human Chain, with their trademark spontaneity and rejuvenating spirit, plus BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist trumpeter Tom Arthurs performing in duo with pianist Richard Fairhurst. Elder statesman of brass, Kenny Wheeler, showcases his innovative compositions and beautiful tone with his quintet and, following a performance marking his 50th birthday at the 2009 London Jazz Festival, Cleveland Watkiss brings his mesmerising voice along for a true celebration of the best of British.

Presenter/Jez Nelson, Producer/Peggy Sutton

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

In Our Time –
The Royal Society And British Science Ep 1/4

Monday 4 to Thursday 7 January

9.00-9.45am BBC RADIO 4

BBC Radio 4 presenter Melvyn Bragg

To mark the Royal Society's 350th anniversary, Melvyn Bragg presents a new series about its leading role in the development of modern science.

Melvyn explores how the Royal Society has adapted to social, political, economic and scientific change. He asks whether it can be seen as a barometer of British science and explores how other institutions of British science, such as the Royal Institution, copied, challenged and partially eclipsed the Royal Society itself.

In the first programme, Melvyn travels to Wadham College, Oxford, where the young Christopher Wren and friends experimented in the garden of their inspirational college warden, John Wilkins. In London, as Charles II returns to the throne from exile, the Society is formally founded one night in Gresham College. When London burns six years later, two of its key Fellows are charged with rebuilding the city – it is science which adds seasoning to their plans.

Tuesday's programme begins in the coffee house frequented by Isaac Newton and the Fellows of the early 18th century. In an age of exploration, senior Fellows of the Royal Society accompany naval expeditions, such as Cook's expedition to Tahiti and subsequent discovery of Australia. By the end of that century, the President, Sir Joseph Banks, successfully embeds the Royal Society in the imperial bureaucratic hub of the new Somerset House.

In Wednesday's programme, Melvyn explores how the 19th century blooms scientifically with numerous alternative, specialist learned societies and associations all threatening the Royal Society's pre-eminence. Attempts to reform the membership criteria – marking scientific leadership's painful transition from patronage to expertise – are troubled, and organisations such as the British Association For The Advancement Of Science excite and enliven scientific discourse outside London.

The final programme, on Thursday, takes a look at the more subtle, discreet role the Society played in the 20th century, such as secretly arranging for refugee scientists to flee Nazi Germany; co-ordinating international scientific missions during the Cold War; and quietly distributing government grant money to fund the brightest young researchers in the land.

Presenter/Melvyn Bragg, Producers/John Watkins, James Cook and Alex Mansfield

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Book Of The Week – The Last Matchmaker Ep 1/5

Monday 4 to Friday 8 January

9.45-10.00am BBC RADIO 4

For centuries, Irish matchmakers have performed a vital service, bringing people together in love and marriage.

It is a mysterious art, and the very best matchmakers have an almost magical quality to them. Willie Daly, whose father and grandfather were matchmakers before him, is the most celebrated of them all.

Each year, his tiny home town of Lisdoonvarna, which boasts a population of 800, hosts a matchmaking festival that attracts 40,000 visitors from around the world. They all hope to meet Willie, "the horse whisperer of matchmaking". With his unique blend of intuition, quiet wisdom and a small drop of cunning, Willie has brought together hundreds of couples over the years.

The Matchmaker offers listeners an intimate glimpse into the culture and traditions of rural Ireland.

Reader/Dermot Crowley, Producer/Kirsteen Cameron

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Woman's Hour Drama – Six Suspects Ep 1/10

Monday 4 to Friday 8 January

10.45-11.00am BBC RADIO 4

Vicky Rai, notorious playboy son of a prominent Indian politician, shoots dead a waitress at a trendy Delhi restaurant. But at a lavish society party to celebrate his acquittal, he is himself murdered.

The big question in Six Suspects, written by Ayeesha Menon, is: who did it? The suspects include: a Bollywood actress with a guilty secret; an American who came to India to marry his mail-order bride; a mobile phone thief with big dreams; a tribesman on a quest to recover a stolen relic; and Rai's own mother, a corrupt politician who will do anything to cling to power.

The police investigation gets nowhere and the murder promises to be yet another unsolved mystery in a country full of unsolved crimes – until India's leading investigative journalist, Arun Advani, steps in to tell the world the shocking truth. It's a story that takes listeners on an extraordinary journey into the heart of modern-day India.

Six Suspects was recorded on location on the streets of Mumbai with an Indian cast.

Rajit Kapur plays Arun Advani, Zafar Karachiwala plays Vicky Rai and Radhika Mital plays his mother, Mumta Rai. Anand Tiwari is the mobile phone thief, Shernaz Patel plays Bollywood actress Shabnam Sxena, Gary Richardson plays American tourist Larry Page and Rohit Malkani is Eketi, the tribesman.

Producer/John Dryden

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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In 1914, Norah Elam was put in a Holloway prison cell with Emmeline Pankhurst for her involvement with the suffragette movement, fighting for women's rights. In 1940, Norah returned to the same prison with Diana Mosley, this time for her involvement with the fascist movement.

In Mother Was A Blackshirt, James Maw explores how Norah Elam's fascist philosophy grew directly out of her involvement with the suffragettes, and how subsequently the British fascist movement was largely driven by women. He discovers how the first British fascist movement was founded by a woman, and that it was the leading lights of the suffragettes, along with Oswald Mosley, who founded the British Union of Fascists.

Blackshirts targeted young women from an early age, says James, who begins with the story of his own mother, who was targeted by recruiters in 1937 when she was just 16 and working in an ink factory.

Francis Beckett reveals how his mother was recruited when she was sent by the Pitman's secretarial agency to work at Mosley's headquarters. He talks about how he has been vehemently anti-fascist all his life and has worked tirelessly to clear the family name of the stigma he feels.

Angela McPherson had no idea until recently of the role her grandmother played at the very centre of the fascist movement. She had subconsciously blocked out disturbing memories of the events and stories her grandmother told her as a child, which continue to affect her family today.

In a very personal and revealing story, James learns how powerful fascist women became and explores the long-term effects their right-wing beliefs had on their children and grandchildren.

Presenter/James Maw, Producer/Neil George

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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The Beatrix Potter Guide To Business Ep 1/5

Monday 4 to Friday 8 January

3.45-4.00pm BBC RADIO 4

Richard Collins presents The Beatrix Potter Guide To Business, looking, in the first programme, at Potter's Jemima Puddleduck – where he finds money. It turns out not to be a heart-warming bedtime story for children at all. With an unflinchingly brutal telling of the tale, the programme combines vivid drama with passionate, well-informed commentary and solid business advice from leading entrepreneur Dharmesh Shah, investor and businessman Sanjiv Menezes and private equity director Janet Brooks.

Tomorrow, Richard looks at The Tale Of Ginger & Pickles, which was once described by Margaret Thatcher as "the only business book a young entrepreneur needs to read". Featuring a sharp dramatisation of this harsh story of two incompetent grocers, Richard talks to supermarket chairman Edwin Booth and BBC Chief Economics Editor Stephanie Flanders.

On Wednesday, Richard explores the menacing Tale Of Samuel Whiskers and finds a cautionary tale of things going missing and the importance of auditing a growing business. He hears from Potter authority Judy Taylor and CEO of the Eddie Stobart transport group, Andrew Tinkler.

Thursday's programme looks at The Tale Of Timmy Tiptoes, one written especially for the booming American market. It features commentary and reflections on the resonance of the tale from businessman Gerald Ratner, biographer Judy Taylor and cultural commentator Cory Doctorow.

In the final programme, Richard learns the best way to deal with management consultants exploring The Tale Of Mrs Tittlemouse. It features contributions from management consultant David Craig, former BBC Director-General Greg Dyke and Janet Brooks, alumnus of Arthur Andersen.

Presenter and Producer/Richard Collins

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Just A Minute Ep 1/12

Monday 4 January

6.30-7.00pm BBC RADIO 4

The grandfather of all panel games ushers in the New Year with a return to the airwaves this evening.

Chairman Nicholas Parsons takes control of a loquacious and rebellious bunch of players whose task it is to speak on a subject he gives them for one minute without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

Panellists featured in this series include: Paul Merton, Graham Norton, Charles Collingwood, Josie Lawrence, Julian Clary, Tony Hawks, Dave Gorman, Justin Moorhouse, Chris Neill, Gyles Brandreth, Jenny Eclair, David Mitchell, Lisa Tarbuck and Sue Perkins.

Presenter/Nicholas Parsons, Producer/Claire Jones

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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In Search Of The British Work Ethic Ep 1/2

Monday 4 January

8.00-8.30pm BBC RADIO 4

Journalist Melanie Phillips embarks upon a personal journey to explore what work means to some of the most vulnerable and socially excluded people in Britain.

Melanie is known for her uncompromising views on the "work shy" beneficiaries of the welfare state but will her theories stand up in the face of the complex and difficult lives of the people she meets?

In the opening programme, she travels to the North East to meet young NEETs – the Government's acronym for people who are not in employment, education or training – who are struggling to find their way into the labour market, and a married couple who are desperate to get into work and away from dependency.

In next week's programme, Melanie looks at the kinds of jobs which offer the only realistic alternative to benefits for many people. She spends time with cleaners and catering staff working on the minimum wage and asks what motivates them to work. She also questions whether her own assiduous work ethic would survive night shifts, low pay and cleaning lavatories.

Presenter/Melanie Phillips, Producer/Charlotte Simpson

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The Vox Project Ep 1/3

Monday 4 January

9.00-9.30pm BBC RADIO 4

Most people take speaking, and the sounds that come out of their mouths, for granted but this belies the considerable complexity of the physical act of speaking and the consequent detail of the sounds each voice makes.

The Vox Project, a new series presented by Clare Balding, reflects new research into the way the human voice works, bringing it to life in a series of listener experiments which aim to push forward understanding of how the brain and voice interact and shed new light on the nature of the voice and people's speech patterns.

Professor Sophie Scott from University College London, and impressionist Duncan Wisbey have recently been collaborating on a project which takes understanding of the human voice to new levels. In this interactive series, listeners are invited to contribute to the experiment in various forms.

Among the themes tackled are: the construction of the voice; training and application of it for people such as actors and sports commentators; family voices; how environments affect people's voices; the way in which health changes speech patterns; conditioning by surrounding; and the way voices change.

Presenter/Clare Balding, Producer/Dilly Barlow

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Monday 4 January

7.00-10.30pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Arlo White presents all the day's sports news and is joined by special guests for the Monday Night Club, discussing the latest big issues in football.

At 8pm, there's live commentary on the night's FA Cup third-round match.

Presenter/Arlo White, Producer/Francesca Bent

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Test Match Special

Monday 4 January

8.15am-4.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Ball-by-ball commentary of the second day's play of the third Test between South Africa and England comes live from Newlands, Cape Town. Jonathan Agnew leads the commentary team, alongside Simon Mann and Gerald de Kock, with expert summary from Ashes-winning former England captain Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott and Duncan Fletcher.

Presenter/Jonathan Agnew, Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Last year's BBC Sound Of 2009 poll revealed Little Boots, La Roux and Florence And The Machine to be the big tips for 2009 – and the voters seem to have got it spot on.

As the new year kicks off, BBC 6 Music's Lauren Laverne reveals the top five artists in the BBC's Sound Of 2010 poll, starting today with number five and finishing on Friday with the announcement of the artist that has been tipped for the top spot.

Lauren talks to each band as they are revealed and introduces live sessions from some of them.

Presenter/Lauren Laverne, Producer/Gary Bales

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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Andrew Collins chats to experimental Brooklyn band Yeasayer about their new single, Ambling Alp, which is his Video Of The Week. The track is taken from the band's second full-length album, Odd Blood.

Directed by Radical Friend and shot over the course of five days in the Californian desert and Hollywood studios, the video features unidentifiable human-like objects, wild horses and naked people worshipping foil.

Presenter/Andrew Collins, Producer/Jax Coombes

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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Gideon Coe's archive concert tracks come courtesy of Suede and The Specials. Sessions from the vaults include tracks from wistful Americana-tinged Galaxie 500, Swedish collective I'm From Barcelona, Diblo Dibala and The Kissaway Trail.

Presenter/Gideon Coe, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Jaggy is hiding something, in the first of this week's visits to Silver Street. He calls Darren at 3am to borrow money for a cab. He later repays him, but Darren wonders why Jaggy's being so jumpy.

Elsewhere, Deepika gets a shock when she barges into Sean's bedroom. She later goes to the newsagents to buy a pad of raffle tickets for her forthcoming event. When she leaves, Mary gossips to Shazia about who Deepika was getting cosy with on New Year's Eve.

Jaggy is played by Jay Kiyani, Darren by Samuel Kindred, Deepika by Babita Pohoomull, Sean by Lloyd Thomas, Mary by Carole Nimmons and Shazia by Shobu Kapoor.

BBC Asian Network Publicity

This week's theme is trumpeter Harry James, who formed his own band in 1939 with a gifted but little-known vocalist – Frank Sinatra.

Presenter/Desmond Carrington, Producer/Dave Aylott

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Martin Sheen explores the story of when the King of Rock 'n' Roll met the President of the United States to offer his services to his country as a special secret agent. Elvis Presley expressed his desire to be made a "Federal Agent at Large" in order to communicate with, and report on, what he felt were harmful factions threatening America. He believed his star status would allow him a non-threatening entrance into the closed environment of these groups.

When Elvis arrived at the White House gate with his two bodyguards, he carried some family photos and a commemorative Second World War pistol, intended as gifts for the President.

The programme includes contributions from Egil "Bud" Krogh and Dwight Chapin, President Nixon's aides, who were in the meeting with Elvis on the day they met. Jerry Schilling, one of Elvis's inner circle, who was with him in the Oval Office, also reveals why the meeting was so important to the King and how the relationship continued beyond the first meeting.

Presenter/Martin Sheen, Producer/Jo Meek

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Nature Ep 1/6

Tuesday 5 January

11.00-11.30am BBC RADIO 4

Some of Britain's trees are among the rarest in the world. In the first programme in a new series of Nature, Brett Westwood travels not to a remote tropical island or Amazonian forest, but to the cliffs of Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales to search for Ley's Whitebeam, of which only 17 specimens exist in the wild.

With botanist Tim Rich as his guide, Brett explores the Avon Gorge near Bristol where more Whitebeams are still being described. He also visits the strange Whitty Pear tree in Worcestershire, which was only known from a single specimen for centuries, until a dramatic discovery in the Eighties.

Next week, Paul Evans visits the Juan Fernandez Islands to explore the unique wildlife as well as the threats it faces.

Presenter and Producer/Brent Westwood

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Journalist Melanie McFadyean begins an investigation into the strange life of Opal Whiteley, a child prodigy from Oregon whose idiosyncratic diary was a huge hit in the Twenties. Her aristocratic claims were disputed, however, and ultimately brought her to a pitiful end in a British psychiatric hospital.

Opal wrote an extraordinary book and was at the heart of an unsolved mystery which this programme will attempt to solve. From Opal's grave in Highgate Cemetery, the programme looks back at her rise to fame in America, her celebrity life in India, her strange disappearances and final years in Napsbury Hospital, St Albans, where she died in 1992.

The book, a diary describing her early childhood in Oregon, was published in 1920, entitled The Story Of Opal: The Journey Of An Understanding Heart. It was an instant bestseller, but many readers wondered whether it was really an elaborate hoax.

In this programme, Melanie tracks down some fascinating information from documentary sources, including Opal's written archive stored in the University of London. Melanie interviews one American admirer who actually got inside Napsbury Hospital and met Opal; locates one of Opal's nurses who attended her funeral; and talks to writer Kathrine Beck, who believes Opal to have been a fraud. Melanie also hears from academics at the University of Oregon on Opal's reputation and standing today.

Presenter/Melanie McFadyean, Producer/Bob Dickinson

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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(l-r) Peter Donegan, son of Lonnie Donegan, and band member of The Quarrymen Rod Davies

Folk singer Huw Williams traces the origins of the song that changed the face of popular music forever – Lonnie Donegan's skiffle anthem, The Rock Island Line.

Huw's travels begin with a meeting with The Quarrymen. Band members Colin Hanton and Rod Davies argue that without this song, there would have been no Beatles and no rock 'n' roll revival in Britain.

Huw also meets Lonnie's son, Pete Donegan, and picks up a washboard to join a new recording of The Rock Island Line song with The Quarrymen.

Huw's travels take him to Washington DC to meet two of America's foremost musicologists, Kip Lornell (Leadbelly biographer) and Jeff Place, a senior archivist at the Smithsonian Institute, to discuss the importance of the railroad songs genre to American popular culture. He also learns about the cryptic messages contained in the song.

He travels to Rock Island Illinois and to Burlington Iowa where he discovers the fabled Rock Island Line railway is no more, having succumbed to economic changes and closed in 1980.

Huw's journey ends with a ride in the cab of a freight train for the Iowa Northern Railroad as it travels a section of the "old rock island line".

Presenter/Huw Williams, Producer/Darren Broome

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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An Asian man walks into a police station and says he wants help. PC Sonia Maan, an Asian police officer, asks if she can help. The man says: "Yes, I think I'm about to murder."

The subject of today's Afternoon Play, written by Tajinder Singh Hayer, cannot remember his name and has no identification on him. He is agitated. The station's sergeant thinks he's either a lunatic or an amnesiac, but PC Maan isn't so sure, there is something genuine about him. When she later questions him, he remembers that he is Dr Vijay Raja, and that there has been some sort of mistake. He leaves, but Maan is intrigued.

Later, PC Maan gets a phone call from the man, who this time calls himself Mushtaq Ali, a teacher. Maan goes to meet him. He has no recollection of their previous meeting. When she questions him, he becomes confused and runs away.

Maan tracks down the real Mushtaq Ali, who has scars on his hands as a result of being caught in an infamous bus bomb. The trail eventually leads to Robert Carlson, the true identity of the man who came to the police station. It transpires that he was the driver of the bus that blew up.

Maan has a psychologist friend who reckons that Carlson is dealing with the trauma in a strange and unusual way. He has multiple personality disorder. Maan realises that the next personality Carlson will take on is that of Bilal Iqbal, the bomber. Maan must act before Carlson's disorder has devastating consequences.

I.D. features Zubin Varla as Robert Carlson and Shivan Ghai as PC Sonia Maan.

Producer/Gary Brown

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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The Time Being Ep 1/3

Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 January

3.30-3.45pm BBC RADIO 4

The Time Being returns to showcase new voices – none of them previously broadcast. Today's story is Jules by Tamara Pollock, read by Nicola Walker.

Jules has been diagnosed with cancer but, for a number of reasons, not all of them noble, her best friend, Kate, finds it hard to be as supportive as she should.

Tomorrow's story is The Painter And The Dybbuk by Claire Griffiths, read by Nicholas Farrell. In Jewish folklore, a Dybbuk is the wandering soul of a dead person that enters the body of a living person and controls his or her behaviour. A painter's talent has so far kept him alive in Auschwitz but, as he starts on a portrait of one of the guards, he wonders just who is in control of the painting.

The final story on Thursday is Smell My Fleece by Anna Towers, read by Claire Foy. Dentistry, stalking and poetry collide in this curious tale. With four fewer teeth and a mouth stuffed with cotton wool, Debra isn't having the easiest of days. And then she meets Dale...

Previous series have brought new talent to a wider audience and provided a stepping stone for writers who have since gone on to enjoy further success, both on radio and in print, such as Tania Hershman, Heidi Amsinck and Sally Hinchcliffe.

Readers/Nicola Walker, Nicholas Farrell and Claire Foy, Producer/Jeremy Osborne

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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In this week's Great Lives, Christopher Biggins presents the Roman emperor Nero.

Biggins was never happier than when he took on the role of Nero in I, Claudius. So how will he react to the news that the infamous emperor banned pantomime actors from the streets of Rome?

Matthew Parris puts the record straight with the help of biographer Dr Miriam Griffin.

Presenter/Matthew Parris, Producer/John Byrne

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Journalist and writer Phil Harding investigates and evaluates Britain's rapidly increasing CCTV systems tackling crime and asks whether they are really being effective.

It is often said that Britain is the most surveyed country in the Western world. Closed-circuit television has become part of our everyday lives – walking down any high street in the country, on the bus and in most shops, people are likely to be watched by CCTV cameras.

In this programme, Phil travels to Bristol and looks at the city's CCTV operation – from the control room, out on the streets with the police and talking to the council.

He speaks to Superintendant Nigel Rock who headed the investigation into the Westbury-on-Trym bomber and meets the police who are trialling "drone" cameras in Liverpool.

The programme also hears from Professor Martin Gill who wrote an influential report on CCTV; Dr Gavin Smith, a sociologist specialising in CCTV; Graham Gerrard from the Association of Chief Police Officers; Spencer Chainey, criminologist from the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science; and Dr James Orwell, who is researching future applications of CCTV.

Presenter/Phil Harding, Producer/Laura Parfitt

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Jon Ronson On... Ep 1/5

Tuesday 5 January

11.00-11.30pm BBC RADIO 4

Jon Ronson On returns with more interesting and incredible stories and interviews, all served up with the usual Ronson wit and mixed with a late-night soundtrack.

The series begins with Jon Ronson On... Living In A Movie. He looks at the story of conflict photographer Jason Howe and his relationship with Marilyn, a Colombian paramilitary. Jason is a self-confessed thrill-seeker. As a young man he worked in a camera shop in Ipswich, where he yearned to take pictures in exotic and dangerous places. He eventually got his chance in Colombia where he photographed rebels from The Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) but he wanted to document the other side, the right-wing paramilitaries.

He met Marilyn at a bus stop – she said she could give him the contacts. They became romantically involved but she then revealed she was not only a paramilitary herself but also one of their ruthless assassins, with numerous confirmed kills. Suddenly, he was living his life as if it were a movie, going down a dangerous path that would end in tragedy.

Next week's programme tells the story of Denis Filion, who was behind the first major internet hoax of 1999.

Contributors across the series include writer Graham Linehan (Father Ted); comedian Josie Long; writer and comedian Danny Robins; Charlie Brooker; Vicky Coren; and David Quantick.

Presenter/Jon Ronson, Producers/Laura Parfitt and Simon Jacobs

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Tuesday 5 January

7.00-10.30pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Mark Pougatch

Mark Pougatch presents all the day's sports news and, from 8pm, there's live League Cup semi-final, first-leg commentary.

Presenter/Mark Pougatch, Producer/Claire Ackling

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Test Match Special

Tuesday 5 January

8.15am-4.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra brings ball-by-ball commentary of the third day's play of the third Test between South Africa and England, live from Newlands, Cape Town. Jonathan Agnew leads the commentary team alongside Simon Mann and Gerald De Kock, with expert summary from Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott and Duncan Fletcher.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Gideon Coe chooses concert highlights from Spiritualized at the 2007 Summer Sundae festival and the Fiery Furnaces recorded live on BBC Radio 3's Mixing It show. Session tracks come courtesy of The Butthole Surfers and Rasta poet Benjamin Zephaniah, plus Jack Rose and windswept Aussies Howling Bells.

Presenter/Gideon Coe, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Shazia offers to say a few words at the New Year event but Deepika declines, having heard a rumour, as the drama continues. Later, Deepika tries to rope Sean into helping her but Mary overhears and gives Sean some advice.

Meanwhile, Cyrus leaves messages for Jaggy and Darren telling them there's another exclusive poker game this week. Darren says he's not interested – he knows people who have suffered because of Cyrus's games – but what will Jaggy do?

Shazia is played by Shobu Kapoor, Deepika by Babita Pohoomull, Sean by Lloyd Thomas, Mary by Carole Nimmons, Cyrus by Nigel Hastings, Jaggy by Jay Kiyani and Darren by Samuel Kindred.

BBC Asian Network Publicity

Weird Tales Ep 1/3

Wednesday 6 January

11.00-11.30pm BBC RADIO 4

Introduced by the mysterious HP Lovecraft, played by Stephen Hogan, Weird Tales is a series of three chilling and intimate plays for the late-night slot on BBC Radio 4.

Drawing listeners into a claustrophobic and disturbing world, the plays set out to explore their characters' deepest fears and torments. The series concentrates on the psychological element of the horror genre, stirring the imagination of the listener.

In Connected, by Melissa Murray, Steph's brother-in-law, Ray, buys her a hi-tech phone for Christmas as a joke – everyone knows she's useless with technology. When Ray is killed in a car crash, Steph is overcome with sadness and can't seem to deal with the shock.

One day, feeling maudlin, she picks up the phone that Ray gave her and rings his number. She just wants to hear his voice on the voicemail. She says goodbye to him for the last time and rings off, feeling a bit of a fool. The next day, he calls her back...

Steph is played by Fiona Glascott and Ray by Joseph Kloska.

The next story, on Wednesday 13 January, is Split The Atom by Lynn Fergusson, in which Frank Ivory played by Derek Riddell is very angry – burning, simmering, steaming angry.

The final tale, on Wednesday 20 January, The House On Pale Avenue by Richard Vincent, tells the story of Geoff Williams, who is determined to give his family a fresh start by moving house. But then the noises begin... Jamie Glover plays Geoff.

Producers/Mary Peate, Gemma Jenkins and Luke Fresle

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Wednesday 6 January

7.00-10.30pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Mark Pougatch presents all the day's sports news and from 8pm there's live League Cup semi-final first-leg commentary.

Presenter/Mark Pougatch, Producer/Graham McMillan

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Test Match Special

Wednesday 6 January

8.15am-4.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Ball-by-ball commentary of the fourth day's play of the third Test between South Africa and England comes live from Newlands, Cape Town.

Jonathan Agnew leads the commentary team, alongside Simon Mann, and Gerald de Kock, with expert summary from Ashes-winning former England captain Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott and Duncan Fletcher.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Gideon Coe plays concert recordings of Gil Scott Heron at Glastonbury in 1986 and The Good The Bad And The Queen at Camden's Roundhouse in 2006. Vintage session artists include Eighties indie from the June Brides, Elbow, I Am Kloot, Toronto sextet Stars and scary goth-tinged beats from Killing Joke.

Presenter/Gideon Coe, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Jaggy and Darren tease Deepika about the poor turnout for the Rangers youth game in today's visit to Silver Street. Deepika remembers something that wipes the grin off Darren's face.

Mary warns Sean not to help Deepika – she will only take the credit for all his work. Later, Sean sees something that makes him wonder if Mary has a point.

Jaggy and Darren are in the pub when Jaggy gets another call from Cyrus. It's decision time...

Jaggy is played by Jay Kiyani, Darren by Samuel Kindred, Deepika by Babita Pohoomull, Mary by Carole Nimmons, Sean by Lloyd Thomas and Cyrus by Nigel Hastings.

BBC Asian Network Publicity

Discovery – What Scientists Believe Ep 1/3

Wednesday 6 January

8.30-9.00pm BBC WORLD SERVICE

Stephen Webster, a philosopher of science at Imperial College London, talks to six scientists in this new, three-part series, as he investigates the links between scientists' personalities and their research work.

He asks how much of a scientist's personality can be reflected in their work. Can subjective, privately held beliefs be a part of objective scientific outcomes and what happens when tensions develop between a scientist's beliefs and the formal demands of science?

In the first of three programmes, Stephen talks to Philip Kilner about the strengths and weaknesses of scientific method. Philip initially trained as a doctor before leaving medicine to retrain as a sculptor. He is now a consultant in cardiovascular magnetic resonance at the Royal Brompton Hospital. Philip talks to Stephen about the combination of artistic and scientific insights that help him interpret images of the heart.

Presenter/Stephen Webster, Producer/John Watkins

BBC World Service Publicity

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Earlier this year, Fifa sent out a warning to the soccer world that it would not tolerate any expression of religion on the pitch during the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations Tournament in Angola (10-31 January 2010).

Religion, like politics, the organisation argues, should be kept out of football stadiums. The Vatican, among others, disagrees and argues that because the values promoted by religions are being abandoned, football is affected by moral degradation.

In this week's Heart And Soul, the Reverend Richard Coles explores the role that faith plays in football and asks how realistic and desirable it is to expect football to be secular.

Producer/Estelle Doyle

BBC World Service Publicity

In a Memphis hotel room back in 1974, American singer-songwriter Suzi Quatro declined an invitation from "The King" himself to visit him at his Graceland home.

Thirty-five years later, as part of BBC Radio 2's Elvis Season, Suzi returns to Memphis to finally make that long-delayed visit and explore her life-long obsession with Elvis, the connection she feels with him and his influence on her career.

Suzi says: "To finally be going to Graceland after all these years... Wow, what a journey it was, very, very emotional. I was in tears many times as I traced the footsteps of Elvis Presley, who was and is the reason I do what I do."

On the way to Graceland, in an attempt to discover the man behind the image, Suzi visits Elvis's birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi. She meets some of his childhood friends, who share some of their precious memories, including the reason why Elvis was hopeless at fishing and the moving story behind the final resting place of his still-born twin brother Jesse.

In Memphis itself, Suzi sees the council flat that was the Presley's first big city home, his school and the places where he made his first music, and meets the girl who Elvis walked home from school every day for four years. Then it's on to Beale Street, where Elvis found his musical direction; Sun Studios, where he made his first recordings; and Audobon Drive where he bought his first house.

Life-long friend George Klein offers a personal insight into the Presley psyche, before Suzi finally makes that long-delayed, and highly emotional, visit to Graceland itself.

Presenter/Suzi Quatro, Producer/Mark Hagen

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Face The Facts Ep 1/6

Thursday 7 January

12.30-12.55pm BBC RADIO 4

Following the deaths of six people in a high rise fire in London last July, presenter John Waite investigates the safety failures exposed in tower blocks, in the first of a new series of Face The Facts.

The six deaths revealed poor to non-existent fire safety standards in some similar residential buildings. At many there was no fire risk assessment, and one has even been condemned as too unsafe for people to live in. Some apartments have been expensively refurbished – seemingly with little consideration for fire safety in communal areas.

Face The Facts reveals one tower block which had been visited by the Fire Service on a regular basis because of broken lifts – yet only after the London fire did it become clear that the building was unsafe.

Presenter/John Waite, Producer/Andrew Smith

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Many areas of British industry will have had cherished creative dreams scrapped this year because of the financial downturn. Hard times can mean years of research being painfully binned but, because of industrial secrecy, often no one can tell the full story at the time.

The Killing Of The TSR2, dramatised by Robin Brooks, tells the true story of the TSR2, the world-beating British-built fighter jet that never was. Twenty years ahead of its time technologically, the jet was scrapped overnight by the Labour government in 1965 after just one supersonic test flight.

At the end of the Fifties, the British aircraft industry embarked on an ambitious project to produce a revolutionary military aeroplane, a Cold War warrior. It had to perform multiple roles – tactical, strike and reconnaissance – but its main purpose, come Armageddon, was to fly in under the Russian radar and drop a nuclear device on enemy missile silos with precision.

The British designers and engineers rose to the challenge, creating a world-beating prototype, years ahead of its time, a strange and beautiful machine. The test pilots were highly impressed, but the project was dogged with teething troubles and costs were spiralling astronomically. While the TSR2 prototype was making its most successful test flight, the Conservative government fell and new Labour Chancellor Dennis Healey, in his first budget, wielded the axe with ruthless speed. The project was destroyed.

The Killing Of The TSR2 features Ewan Bailey in the multiple roles of Wing Commander Roland Beamont, John F Kennedy and Harold Wilson; and Jon Glover as Harold Macmillan and Sir Cyril Musgrave. The cast also includes Bruce Alexander as Sir George Edwards, and Joseph Cohen-Cole as Davis. Also featuring are Piers Wehner, Nigel Hastings, John Biggins, Rhys Jennings, Kate Layden and Emerald O'Hanrahan.

Producer/Jonquil Panting

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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House On Fire Ep 1/6

Thursday 7 January

11.00-11.30pm BBC RADIO 4

When first-time buyers Matt and Vicky set their heart on the same two-bedroom house in Brixton, they realise neither of them can afford it by themselves.

Once their parents have helped them out, they agree to pool their resources and buy the property together. What could go wrong? She seems friendly and intelligent, and is definitely easy on the eye. He seems kind, funny and is undeniably cute. Not only is this a sensible financial move, it could end up being a great way of making a new friend for life. Or it could turn out to be the worst move they ever made?

House On Fire is a comedy series about two strangers who buy a house together, and then discover that they hate each other. Stuck together, but too financially intertwined to extricate themselves, Matt and Vicky must put up with each other's annoying habits before they lose their minds. Constantly at loggerheads, occasionally at war, each pulls out all the stops to try make the other leave.

Secretly, they might love each other – but if they do, they've got a funny way of showing it.

Vicky Johnson is played by Emma Pierson; Matt South by Jody Latham; Vicky's father, Colonel Bill, is played by Rupert Vansittart; Matt's mum by Janine Duvitski; Matt's dad by Philip Jackson; and Donny by Sebastian Cardinal.

Producer/Clive Brill

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

Eleanor Oldroyd is joined by some top sports correspondents to discuss the week's top sporting stories in The Headline Hour.

Then, from 9pm, David Davies introduces England's Lost Leaders, a special report examining the lack of successful England managers at the top of the Premier League.

Presenter/Eleanor Oldroyd, Producer/Ben North

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Test Match Special

Thursday 7 January

8.15am-4.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Test Match Special presents ball-by-ball commentary of the final day's play of the third Test between South Africa and England, live from Newlands, Cape Town.

Jonathan Agnew leads the commentary team alongside Simon Mann and Gerald de Kock, with expert summary from Ashes-winning former England captain Michael Vaughan, Geoffrey Boycott and Duncan Fletcher.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Gideon Coe plays a 2001 concert from Elbow and Prefab Sprout recorded live in 1985. He also plunders the archive for sessions from Toots And The Maytals, jangly Scots Camera Obscura, noughties techno-rock from Fujiya And Miyagi and Curly Hair's September 2009 session for Marc Riley.

Presenter/Gideon Coe, Producer/Frank Wilson

BBC 6 Music Publicity

The New Year event at Parkside is in full swing, as the drama continues. Shazia has to admit that she's impressed with Deepika's range of activities but does Mary feel the same way?

Jaggy confirms Darren's worst suspicions, just as Deepika grabs him to announce the name of the raffle winner who gets to train with Rangers for the day. As Darren takes to the stage Jaggy walks off to make a call about where he stands on the next poker game.

Shazia is played by Shobu Kapoor, Deepika by Babita Pohoomull, Mary by Carole Nimmons, Jaggy by Jay Kiyani, Darren by Samuel Kindred and Cyrus by Nigel Hastings.

BBC Asian Network Publicity

Victor Schonfeld is renowned for his 1982 theatrical documentary The Animals Film, narrated by Oscar-winner Julie Christie, which was instrumental in drawing attention to animal suffering at human hands.

More than 25 years later, Schonfeld returns to this subject in the second part of this series, to question whether any progress has been made in this area, and to ask whether human relationships with other species is still as exploitative.

Victor asks whether the hopes of the animal rights movement can ever be realised, given current trends in meat-based diets, industrialised factory farming and scientific research on live animals.

The series features revealing dialogues with leading figures in the United States and elsewhere, to gain insights into the limitations and potential of an evolving social change movement.

Presenter/Victor Schonfeld

BBC World Service Publicity

BBC RADIO 2'S ELVIS SEASON
The Elvis Trail Ep 1/6

Friday 8 January

7.00-7.30pm BBC RADIO 2

Following his journeys in the footsteps of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Judy Garland, Michael Freedland takes to the road again to mark the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley's birth with a new series, as part of BBC Radio 2's Elvis Season.

Michael's first stop is Tupelo, Mississippi, where Elvis Aaron Presley was born shortly before dawn on 8 January 1935. Here he visits the museum that has sprung up at the King's birthplace and director Dick Guyton guides listeners around the two-room shack built the year before Elvis's birth by his father Vernon and grandfather Jesse.

Michael then heads to the First Assembly of God church, where Elvis sang as a boy. Helping to tell the story of Elvis's early years are his school friends Guy Thomas Harris, James Ausborn and Azalia Moore, and his cousin Sybil Presley.

At one of the star's schools, Milam High, Michael meets up with psychiatrist Billy Welch, who used to sing with Elvis at school, and harmonica player Jimmy Gault. At the Elvis Presley Heights Museum, meanwhile, the trail leads to Bill and Linda Kinard, who have an incredible collection of Presley memorabilia, including his famous pink Cadillac.

While there, Michael talks to the policeman who was on duty the night Elvis made a legendary home performance in front of a "near riot" of Tupelo girls; Elvis's cousins Charlene Presley and Edie Hand; collector Joyce Logan; and DJ Charlie Watts, who interviewed Gladys and Vernon Presley as well as Elvis. Charlene later takes Michael out to Priceville Cemetery, where Elvis's stillborn twin brother, Jesse Garon, is buried at a secret location.

At Lawhorn School, Michael talks to school friends Don Winders and Shirley Gillentine, who beat Elvis in a talent competition. At the local cinema, one of Elvis's friends, Sam Bell, describes how they would go to the movies together and be forced to split up because of racial segregation – and how Elvis would sneak into the black section to sit with him.

The visit to Tupelo ends at the famous hardware store where Elvis was bought his first guitar. The store remains exactly as it was in 1945.

Presenter/Michael Freedland, Producer/Neil Rosser

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Featuring 11 top bands from the UK and the Fountain City Brass Band from America, Brass In Concert is the country's premier brass band entertainment competition.

Frank Renton presents highlights from the competition, featuring music from The Grimethorpe Colliery Band, The Brighouse And Rastrick Band, and The Fountain City Brass Band.

Presenter/Frank Renton, Producer/Terry Carter

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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BBC Radio 2 presenter Claudia Winkleman

Claudia Winkleman welcomes listeners to a new year of arts and entertainment programming.

As part of BBC Radio 2's Elvis Season, marking what would have been Elvis Presley's 75th birthday, Claudia looks at Presley's singing career, film roles and those swivelling hips in an examination of the enduring legacy of the King of Rock 'n' Roll.

Presenter/Claudia Winkleman, Producer/Carmela DiClemente

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Charlie Gillett introduces a session by Martha Wainwright, whose latest album is a tribute to Edith Piaf.

Growing up in Montreal and speaking French at school, Martha was totally captivated by Piaf as a child and listened to her music from the age of eight.

The album, Martha Wainwright Sings Piaf, was produced by Hal Willner and recorded over three intimate performances in New York's Dixon Place Theatre last June. The singer assembled a unique band of musicians – including long-time collaborator Brad Albetta, who produced her first two albums, pianist Thomas Bartlett and electric guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Doug Wieselman – to capture the French chanteuse's venerable catalogue, which is beautifully coupled with Martha's evocative and characterful voice.

Presenter/Charlie Gillett, Producer/James Parkin

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

NHS Punters Speak Out Ep 1/2

Friday 8 January

11.00-11.30am BBC RADIO 4

The culture of customer feedback has now extended beyond hotels and coffee chains to the NHS. In this two-part series, Liz Barclay takes dissatisfied NHS patients back to hospital to see if hospital-rating websites really work to improve treatment.

Many holidaymakers wouldn't dream of booking a hotel before they've consulted one of the many hotel-rating and review websites. This principle has now been extended to the health service, with patients invited to rate their hospital stay out of five stars and to leave comments about the care they received.

Barclay asks if the idea of online feedback really can be applied to the health service and whether it can genuinely improve standards of care. Critics suggest that the sites are merely window-dressing and that NHS patients are not "consumers". Some health professionals even claim that the sites can simply become places where personal scores are settled against NHS staff.

Presenter/Liz Barclay, Producer/Laurence Grissell

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Elizabeth Lewis's comedy focuses on a journalist's attempts to write a weekly family newspaper column – when his family have deserted him.

Charlie writes a column entitled Family Matters, which revolves around the comings and goings of his family – his Welsh wife, Carys, their young children and their pet rat, Mr Rafferty.

However, Charlie is left in charge of Mr Rafferty and his irrepressible father-in-law, Marmaduke, when his wife announces out of the blue that she is taking the children to Italy to stay in the holiday home of her marketing manager, Orlando.

He is, as he mournfully describes himself, "a husband without a wife, a father without children and a columnist without a column". For, without his family, Charlie's inspiration deserts him and the column resolutely refuses to write itself.

Beset with fears that his wife's relationship with Orlando may be a threat to his marriage, Charlie simply cannot concentrate on writing. As the deadline for his column approaches, and his editor turns from pleading to threatening, he sees his life unravelling before him. A randy 75-year-old father-in-law and a rat with an injured tail are not the companions he would have chosen to witness this disintegration.

Philip Jackson plays Charlie and Howell Evans is Marmaduke in Lewis's comedy of dysfunctional family life.

Producer/Kate McAll

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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The News Quiz Ep 1/8

Friday 8 January

6.30-7.00pm BBC RADIO 4

The popular topical panel show returns for a 70th series in this, its 33rd year on air. Joining host Sandi Toksvig are the usual regulars – Jeremy Hardy, Andy Hamilton, Fred MacAulay and Francis Wheen – as well as guests including Sue Perkins, Jack Dee and Ed Byrne.

Presenter/Sandi Toksvig, Producer/Sam Bryant

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Colin Murray

Colin Murray is joined by Pat Nevin and Perry Groves for Kicking Off With Colin Murray, previewing all the weekend's action, including Arsenal versus Everton, Hull versus Chelsea and Liverpool versus Tottenham.

From 9.30pm, Tim Lovejoy is in the studio for Murray And Lovejoy's Sports Express. Colin and Tim take a quick-fire look at the latest burning issues in sport.

Murray And Lovejoy's Sports Express is also available as a podcast to download at bbc.co.uk/5live.

Presenter/Colin Murray, Producer/Louise Sutton

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

BBC 6 Music presenter Lauren Laverne

A range of opinion formers from the worlds of music and journalism have taken part in the BBC poll to identify the most hotly tipped bands of 2010 and today Lauren Laverne reveals the act that has reached the top spot.

Lauren speaks to the winner about their accolade and hears them play live, as they demonstrate why they truly are The Sound Of 2010.

Presenter/Lauren Laverne, Producer/Gary Bales

BBC 6 Music Publicity

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Friday Rock Show favourites Killswitch Engage return to the studio to play a selection of blistering rock tracks that have moved and motivated them over the years.

The five-piece from Massachusetts are led by charismatic front man Howard Jones. Hugely popular, they're renowned for their versatile fusion of aggression, melody, rock and metal.

They chat to Bruce Dickinson about their current self-titled record and what it was like working with super producer Brendon O'Brien (AC/DC, Rage Against The Machine and Pearl Jam).

Presenter/Bruce Dickinson, Producer/Ian Callaghan

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Darren wins the Golden Crown's raffle prize of a "bottomless pint", at the end of another week in Silver Street. Mary gives Deepika a drink on the house to reward her for organising the New Year event and, later, Sean is woken up by a drunken Deepika. However, she isn't alone...

Over at the poker game, Jaggy wins three games in a row and the stakes get higher. Jaggy puts his Santorini villa on the line but will his lucky streak hold out?

Darren is played by Samuel Kindred, Mary by Carole Nimmons, Deepika by Babita Pohoomull, Sean by Lloyd Thomas and Jaggy by Jay Kiyani.

BBC Asian Network Publicity

Africa Kicks Ep 1/4

Friday 8 January

8.00-8.30pm BBC WORLD SERVICE

In 1977, Pelé predicted that an African nation would lift the World Cup by the century's end. As the African Cup of Nations begins in Angola and preparations step up in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, presenter Farayi Mungazi asks whether his prediction could soon be a reality.

Africa Kicks explores the rich and complex history of African football. Farayi begins with the story of Ghana's first leader, Kwame Nkrumah, who fought to create the Organisation of African Unity and saw football as an essential tool in projecting a pan-African identity.

With the World Cup to be held in Africa's newest democracy this year, Farayi explores the very particular history of football in South Africa. It is thought that it was here that football first came to the continent but it was also where apartheid denied many of the nation's best footballing talents access to the world stage. Indeed, football became the ultimate expression of freedom for the prisoners on the rocky confines of Robben Island, where apartheid was directly challenged on the pitch.

Presenter/Farayi Mungazi, Producer/Mark Burman

BBC World Service Publicity