Programme Information

Jonathan Ross and Andy Davies are joined by British actor Toby Stephens, who starred as Rochester in BBC One's 2006 adaptation of Jane Eyre and as the supervillain in the James Bond film Die Another Day. There's also live music from English electronic music duo Goldfrapp.

Presenter/Jonathan Ross, Producer/Fiona Day

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Dale Winton counts down the charts from this week in 1969 and 1977, with hits from Simon And Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, The Who, Andrew Gold and Elkie Brooks.

Presenter/Dale Winton, Producer/Phil Swern

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Kevin Eldon and Liza Tarbuck star in the fourth comedy in BBC Radio 2's showcase series, Hamilton's Ode-ssey, which is written by Kevin and script-edited by Stewart Lee.

Kevin stars as a poet in a mid-life crisis, with Liza as his girlfriend attempting to shake him out of his torpor. Will going on a road trip get the creative juices flowing and end his writer's block?

Radio 2's Comedy Showcase highlights a rich array of comic talent, both established and emerging, including Mathew Horne and Tim Minchin.

Producer/Ed Morrish

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Tonight's session guest is singer, songwriter and guitarist Philip Sayce.

Philip was born in Aberystwyth but moved with his family to Toronto, Canada, when he was two years old. He grew up in a musical household, learning the guitar and piano, but after seeing an Eric Clapton concert he was in no doubt about the instrument for him. After jamming on stage with one of his heroes – guitar player and fellow Canadian Jeff Healey – he was invited to join Healey's band.

In 2001, Philip moved to Los Angeles and joined Uncle Kracker. He was with the band when they had their massive US No. 1 Drift Away. He starred in and wrote the music for the short film Cockroach Blue, directed by Robert Crossman, which received acclaim when it was shown at the Woodstock Film Festival. Then, in 2003, Grammy and Oscar winner Melissa Etheridge came calling and he enjoyed playing and recording with her band until 2008.

Philip Sayce's new studio album, Innerevolution, was recorded with his current touring band: keyboardist Fred Mandel (Queen, Supertramp, Elton John, Alice Cooper), bassist Joel Gottschalk and drummer Ryan MacMillan (Matchbox 20). Some of the new songs have been co-written with Richard Marx.

Presenter/Bob Harris, Producer/Mark Simpson

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón

Tom Service catches up with one of today's hottest opera stars, Rolando Villazón, as the Mexican tenor prepares for his long-awaited debut at the Royal Festival Hall in London, in an all-Handel programme.

Also in today's programme, as the Royal Opera House stages a new production of Verdi's Aida, its director, David McVicar, tells Tom why he's challenging old preconceptions about this Egyptian tale of power, love and betrayal, while conductor Nicola Luisotti outlines his approach to this most colourful score.

Tom also travels to Paris as a new book, Messiaen The Theologian, explores the profound and meaningful links between the French composer and his Catholic faith. Peter Bannister, one of the book's contributors, explains how Messiaen drew inspiration from the latest trends in Catholic thought; and organist Carolyn Shuster Fournier, whose spiritual life was radically changed after working with the composer, talks about her time with Messiaen.

Presenter/Tom Service, Producer/Juan Carlos Jaramillo

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Fifty years after 16 countries in Africa became independent, Lucy Duran and French journalist Florent Mazzoleni play rare tracks from the period. Music was to play a central role in the search for new identity, and in the Sixties and Seventies some of the continent's greatest dance music was created. Today's World Routes celebrates countries that became independent in the first half of 1960, including Congo, Senegal, Guinea and Cameroon.

Based in Bordeaux, French writer and photographer Florent Mazzoleni has travelled all over Africa collecting music and, in particular, documenting the soundtrack of the golden era of Atlantic African music. The programme includes tracks from Florent's collection, many of which have not been re-released since their limited pressing in the Sixties and Seventies, let alone played on British radio.

Another programme with Florent will be broadcast in September 2010, celebrating some of the African countries that became independent in the second half of 1960, such as Mali, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Gabon.

Presenter/Lucy Duran, Producer/James Parkin

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Opera On 3 – Live From The Met: Armida

Saturday 1 May

6.00-10.30pm BBC RADIO 3

Soprano Renée Fleming sings the part of the sorceress who plans to use her beauty to enslave the crusading soldiers in Rossini's Armida, live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York. She falls in love with Rinaldo (sung by tenor Lawrence Brownlee), who is captivated by her until he sees his reflection and realises he is no longer the noble warrior he once was. Riccardo Frizza conducts the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra.

Presented from New York by Margaret Juntwait, with guest commentator Ira Siff, the two intervals include live backstage interviews and the famous Met Quiz.

Presenter/Margaret Juntwait, Producer/Ellie Mant

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Laurie Taylor investigates the pain – and occasional pleasure – of the UK's public address announcements and goes on a mission to improve their quality with the people who make them.

It's a form of broadcasting that people often have very little or no training in whatsoever, yet it's heard by millions each day. Laurie discovers what elements are needed to make people listen to public messages and asks if the people who make them simply get handed a microphone and told to speak. He looks at what causes unnatural pronunciation, with the stress nearly always in the wrong place, and why some of the language used is often archaic. Laurie holds a masterclass for shop workers eager to improve their announcements and tests the before and after results.

Comedian Arthur Smith, who has trained railway workers to speak, challenges Laurie to master the tannoy himself and listeners hear what happens when he takes over making the announcements on the 12.03 to Birmingham.

Presenter/Laurie Taylor, Producer/Howie Shannon

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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From Fact To Fiction Ep 1/8

Saturday 1 May

7.00-7.15pm BBC RADIO 4

Acclaimed television writer Tony Grounds is the first in the hot seat as From Fact To Fiction, the award-winning series in which writers create a fictional response to a story in the week's news, returns.

Each week a 15-minute stand-alone piece of fiction is created from scratch in the days leading up to the transmission. The form and content is entirely led by the news topic so listeners can expect drama in a number of guises, as well as poetry and prose. The series presents writers with the opportunity to work in a bold and instinctive way as they respond to events in the news.

Tony Grounds has a long track record of producing scripts for acclaimed and multi-award winning television drama. His TV drama credits include When I'm 64; Births, Marriages And Deaths; Our Boy; and First Signs Of Madness.

Producer/Sasha Yevtushenko

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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BBC presenter Gabby Logan

Twenty-five years on, Gabby Logan remembers the day 56 people died in the Bradford City fire. She asks what lessons have been learnt since the worst fire disaster in British football history.

Saturday 11 May 1985 is a day which will live with Gabby for ever. The third division trophy had just been paraded around Valley Parade by the triumphant Bradford City players.

Gabby's dad, Terry Yorath, was assistant manager of Bradford City that season and, aged 12, she attended the match with her family. The fire which later swept through one of the stands in just four minutes started about four rows from where Gabby and her brother and sister usually sat.

Fifty-six people died in the disaster while more than 260 were injured. The majority of those who perished were either young children or the elderly. In some cases, several generations of the same family were wiped out.

Gabby hears from survivors who were forced to make split-second decisions to escape, as well as the lengths people went to in order to save others.

In the weeks and months following the fire, £3.5m pounds was raised by The Bradford Disaster Appeal Fund.

The disaster led to major changes in football safety as well as pioneering medical products for burns injuries and the establishment of the Bradford Burns Unit. Gabby reflects on how, 25 years on, lives are still being saved as a result of this often forgotten disaster.

Presenter/Gabby Logan, Producer/Ashley Byrne

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Saturday 1 May

12.00noon-6.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Mark Pougatch presents an afternoon of live sport and news.

There's coverage of the afternoon's 3pm football kick-offs, including some key Premier League games. In the race for the fourth Champions League spot, Tottenham Hotspur face Bolton and Manchester City play Aston Villa, while there's a relegation battle between lowly Wigan Athletic and Hull City.

There are also updates from rugby union's European Cup semi-finals as Toulouse meet Leinster, cricket's ICC World Twenty20 in Guyana, and the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield.

Presenter/Mark Pougatch, Producer/Mark Williams

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Rugby League

Saturday 1 May

6.45-8.45pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary of Leeds Rhinos versus Wakefield Trinity in the Super League comes live from Murrayfield, Edinburgh, as part of the Magic Weekend in which a round of Super League is played over two days in one city featuring all 14 teams.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

The Souljazz Orchestra are in session with Craig Charles tonight. Hailing from Ottawa, The Souljazz Orchestra combine jazz, funk, African and Latin music while touching on politics and spirituality.

They come into the studio to play live for Craig and tell him about their European tour and their new album, Rising Sun.

Presenter/Craig Charles, Producer/Hermeet Chadha

BBC 6 Music Publicity

Raj and Pablo speak to Shahid Kapoor and Anushkha Sharma, the stars of the latest Bollywood release, Badmaash Company. Set in the Nineties, in Mumbai's middle class, the film tells of four young friends who get together to start their own company. Finding a way around the system and by doing all the wrong things the right way, their business becomes an instant hit.

Shahid and Anushkha talk about their roles, and Raj and Pablo also round-up the latest news and gossip from Bollywood.

Presenters/Raj and Pablo

BBC Asian Network Publicity

Harriett Gilbert talks to Richard Ford about his award-winning international bestseller, The Sportswriter. The book is a powerful tale about a failed novelist turned sportswriter, who undergoes an emotional crisis following the death of his son.

Presenter/Harriett Gilbert, Producer/Karen Holden

BBC World Service Publicity