Programme Information

Graham Norton's Saturday morning show is a vibrant mix of music and celebrity conversation. This week singer Will Young and actress Stephanie Beacham join Graham in the studio.

Presenter/Graham Norton, Producer/Malcolm Prince for the BBC

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

BBC Radio 3 presents highlights from the Free Thinking festival 2011 at The Sage Gateshead, which runs from 4-6 November 2011.

As part of the 2011 Free Thinking festival, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 5 Live join forces at The Sage Gateshead to debate the editorial choices behind news stories in The Free Thinking Debate – What Is News Now? on Saturday 5 November (9-10pm).

Broadcast live simultaneously on both networks, 5 Live presenter Chris Warburton and Radio 3's Matthew Sweet are joined by a panel of guests from television news and the press, in front of a live audience. As internet bloggers and social media such as Twitter transform the consumption and distribution of news – and celebrity gossip and audience-generated stories push foreign affairs and politics further down the agenda – the panel discuss what the future holds for traditional news.

On Sunday 6 November, Matthew Sweet broadcasts from this year's festival , with live guests at The Sage Gateshead and an in-depth interview with one of the world's top heart surgeons, Francis Wells. He discusses the future of the heart, his work at the cutting-edge of surgery and his fascination with Leonardo. Matthew is also joined live by Radio 3's New Generation Thinkers; Giles Fraser, Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral; and the festival's Thinker-in-Residence.

In Words And Music (7.45-8.30pm) Ian McMillan presents soprano Lisa Milne and members of Northern Sinfonia performing a special edition of the programme exploring themes of change, recorded live at the Festival.

On Monday, Night Waves' Philip Dodd chairs a debate from Radio 3's Free Thinking 2011 – Can We Stop The Mania For Change? (10-10.45pm). Philip and guests discuss the central theme of this year's festival: Change. The panel includes: Bafta-winning director Molly Dineen; Rev Dr Giles Fraser, Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral; and James Woudhuysen, Professor of Innovation and Forecasting at Leicester's De Montfort University.

Foreign Secretary, William Hague, is interviewed by Nightwaves' Anne McElvoy on Tuesday (10-10.45pm), when he discusses the dramatic changes taking place throughout the globe and Britain's role in this transforming world order.

Kevin Fong, who presents BBC Two's Horizon and is a leading expert on space medicine, gives a talk at the festival on Wednesday (10-10.45pm) entitled Why We Should Not Retreat From The Final Frontier. In the wake of the retirement of the space shuttle, Kevin – who works for NASA – argues that now is not the time to pull back from space exploration, calling for a second Space Age.

Finally, on Thursday (10-10.45pm), Germaine Greer delivers a talk questioning the pursuit of freedom at the festival.

Presenters/Chris Warburton, Matthew Sweet, Ian McMillan, Philip Dodd, Anne McElvoy and Rana Mitter, Producer/Tim Prosser

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Renowned opera singer Placido Domingo

Opera On 3 presents a special homage to Placido Domingo, one of the greatest voices of all time and an artist renowned worldwide, beyond the realm of music.

The Royal Opera House celebrates the 40th anniversary of his London debut with acts from three Verdi operas that have had special significance in the Spanish tenor's career. In the title roles of Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra and Otello, Domingo – who turned 70 this year – portrays three immensely complex characters, all facing dramatic actions. The recently added baritone roles of the first two are testimony to both his incredibly wide repertory and his artistic hunger.

This celebration culminates with Domingo as Otello, perhaps his most legendary portrayal and a role he's made entirely his own. Antonio Pappano, the Royal Opera House Music Director, conducts a star-studded cast.

Presenter/Andrew McGregor, Producer/Juan Carlos Jaramillo for the BBC

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Twenty years after the death of Robert Maxwell, Steve Hewlett assesses his life – a classic rags-to-riches story.

As a companion piece to his archive hour on Rupert Murdoch, Hewlett presents this programme on Murdoch's late archrival.

Steve speaks to former union leader Brenda Dean; former Mirror Editor Roy Greenslade; Maxwell's former "chief of staff" Peter Jay; journalist Wendy Leigh; Mirror former political editor Alastair Campbell; and Pandora Maxwell, who married into the Maxwell family.

Robert Maxwell was born Ján Ludvík Hoch in Czechoslovakia to a poor Orthodox Jewish family. He fled to Britain aged 17 in 1940, while his remaining family were killed in Auschwitz. Maxwell changed his name and entered the British Army, rising to the ranks of a decorated captain.

With Maxwell Communications Corporation, he sat atop a vast trans-continental publishing empire. That is, until his body was found in the Mediterranean Sea.

Presenter/Steve Hewlett, Producer/Colin McNulty for Whistledown Productions

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

On Bonfire Night there's a chance to hear again the story of the botched plot to blow up Parliament by Guy Fawkes and his subsequent interrogation in the Tower of London.

Kevin Eldon stars as Guy, and The Penny Dreadfuls are also joined on stage by Miles Jupp and Andy Pugsley.

The Penny Dreadfuls are David Reed, Humphrey Ker and Thom Tuck.

The programme was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2009.

Producer/Julia McKenzie for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Extra Publicity

5 Live Sport

Saturday 5 November

12.00noon-6.06pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Mark Pougatch presents the day's sports news and looks ahead to today's action.

From 12.45pm there's live Premier League football commentary of Newcastle United versus Everton.

That's followed by live coverage of this afternoon's Premier League football action with updates from across the 3pm kick-offs in the Championship, Football League and Scottish Premier League.

Sports Report at 5pm features reports, results and reaction from today's big sporting stories, plus Premier League football updates from Queens Park Rangers versus Manchester City (5.30pm kick-off).

Presenter/Mark Pougatch, Producer/Mike Carr

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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Free Thinking 2011 – What Is News Now?

Saturday 5 November

9.00-10.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 5 Live join forces for a special debate about the editorial choices behind today’s news stories, live from the 2011 Free Thinking festival in Gateshead.

Presenters/Chris Warburton and Matthew Sweet, Producer/Louisa Compton

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Rugby League

Saturday 5 November

12.55-2.45pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary on Wales versus New Zealand in the Four Nations tournament comes live from Wembley.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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