| 00:00 | 00:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 00:15Laurie Taylor on our multinational armed forces, and Deborah Butler on female jockeys. 00:45The bells of St Mary's Church, Ilmington, Warwickshire. 00:48The latest shipping forecast.
| 00:48The latest shipping forecast.
| 00:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 00:15A reflection on the meaning of Christmas with author and blogger Catherine Fox. 00:302/5The author Angela Thirkell recalls her home in Kensington Square in the late 1890s. 00:48The latest shipping forecast.
| 00:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 00:151/5Stephen Fry meets the engineers who first dreamt of creating a cellular network in the 60s(R) 00:303/5The third of the Angela Thirkell's houses is the country home of Edward Burne-Jones. 00:48The latest shipping forecast.
| 00:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 00:152/5Stephen Fry on how Britain was a world leader in mobile phone technology in the 1980s.(R) 00:304/5At her grandfather's house, Angela listens to her cousin Rudyard Kipling's new stories. 00:48The latest shipping forecast.
| 00:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 00:153/5Stephen Fry explores how texting triumphed unexpectedly when paging was all the rage.(R) 00:305/5It's Christmas at Rottingdean and the waits and the mummers are paying their calls. 00:48The latest shipping forecast.
| 00:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 00:154/5How engineers turned mobile phones from hefty bricks into fashion items.(R) 00:301/3A woman contemplates the end of her marriage and her new life in her solitary flat.(R) 00:48The latest shipping forecast.
| |
|---|
| 01:00 | 01:00BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
| 01:00BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
| 01:00BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
| 01:00BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
| 01:00BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
| 01:00BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
| 01:00BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
| |
|---|
| 02:00 | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| 03:00 | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| 04:00 | | | | | | | | |
|---|
| 05:00 | 05:20The latest shipping forecast. 05:43A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Archbishop Vincent Nichols. 05:45Charlotte Smith is in a Yorkshire sprout field to help bring in the harvest for Christmas. 05:57The latest weather forecast for farmers.
| 05:20The latest shipping forecast. 05:43A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Archbishop Vincent Nichols. 05:45Anna Hill meets the team who farm the real Downton Abbey estate at Highclere Castle.
| 05:20The latest shipping forecast. 05:43A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Archbishop Vincent Nichols. 05:45Anna Hill is the lambing shed awaiting the arrival of around 100 pedigree lambs in Norfolk
| 05:20The latest shipping forecast. 05:43A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Archbishop Vincent Nichols. 05:45Charlotte Smith visits a 'nature friendly' farm run by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.
| 05:20The latest shipping forecast. 05:43A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Archbishop Vincent Nichols. 05:45Moira Hickey on starter farms, a new way onto the ladder for young farmers in Scotland.
| 05:20The latest shipping forecast. 05:30The latest news from BBC Radio 4. 05:43Presented by the Very Rev Graham Forbes, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. 05:45The winner of the iPM New Year's Honours is announced.
| 05:20The latest shipping forecast. 05:43The bells of St Paul's Cathedral in London. 05:45Tom Armitage says learning to write computer code means learning to think in a modern way.
| |
|---|
| 06:00 | 06:00Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
| 06:00Sheila Dillon and Valentine Warner present the 13th annual BBC Food and Farming Awards.
| 06:00The entrepreneur and creator of the Virgin empire reflects on life via the BBC archives.
| 06:00Morning news and current affairs, guest edited by scientist Sir Paul Nurse.
| 06:00Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
| 06:00News headlines, plus a look at the papers. 06:04The latest weather forecast. 06:07On the edge of JM Barrie's Kirriemuir, Helen Mark discovers the real Never Never Land. 06:30A year in the life of the Farming Today cow. Presented by Sarah Swadling. 06:57The latest weather forecast.
| 06:00The latest national and international news. 06:05Mark Tully asks when it is right to relinquish dreams, and how best to leave grief behind. 06:35Caz Graham discovers how farming on Earth is increasingly being shaped by outer space. 06:57The latest weather forecast.
| |
|---|
| 07:00 | | 07:00John McCarthy retraces one of the journeys of the mercurial travel writer HV Morton.(R) 07:30The comic actor and writer, Eric Sykes, remembers riding the airwaves. With Paul Jackson.
| 07:00Morning news and current affairs. Includes Sports Desk; Weather; Thought for the Day.
| | | 07:00Morning news and current affairs, guest edited by journalist Dame Ann Leslie.
| 07:00The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers. 07:10Sunday morning religious news and current affairs programme, presented by Edward Stourton. 07:55Ian McEwan presents the Radio 4 Appeal for SolarAid. 07:57The latest weather forecast.
| |
|---|
| 08:00 | | 08:004/6For a special Christmas edition, Jay Rayner and the panel are with food lovers in London. 08:30It's Christmas day, but will Ed be spending it in the bosom of his family?
| | | | | 08:00The latest news headlines. Including a look at the papers. 08:10From Glasgow at the turn of the year, Kevin Franz and Rev Alison Jack explore hospitality. 08:50With the excesses of Christmas behind us, Will Self appeals for a major lifestyle change.
| |
|---|
| 09:00 | 09:00Andrew Marr with Rolando Villazon, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Mary King and Michael Trimble. 09:451/5The author recalls The Grange in Fulham, home to her grandfather artist Edward Burne-Jones
| 09:00A Right Royal Christmas: Bishop Richard Chartres preaches from the Tower of London. 09:452/5The author Angela Thirkell recalls her home in Kensington Square in the late 1890s.
| 09:00Libby Purves looks back over the last decade, with guests including Sir Trevor Nunn. 09:453/5The third of the Angela Thirkell's houses is the country home of Edward Burne-Jones.
| 09:00Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the cult of Mithras, the Roman mystery religion. 09:454/5At her grandfather's house, Angela listens to her cousin Rudyard Kipling's new stories.
| 09:00Kirsty Young talks to comedian, actress and writer Dawn French. 09:455/5It's Christmas at Rottingdean and the waits and the mummers are paying their calls.
| 09:00John McCarthy and Suzy Klein with Aggie MacKenzie; Russell Grant's Inheritance Tracks.
| 09:00News and conversation about the big stories of the week with Paddy O'Connell.
| |
|---|
| 10:00 | 10:00Tracey Thorn plays songs for Christmas Eve, plus chef Diana Henry. With Jane Garvey. 10:451/5Can conceited wine buff Richard Pratt identify a rare vintage?
| 10:00A Christmas Day celebration presented by Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey. 10:452/5A trip to Paris allows a wife to take revenge on her husband.
| 10:00Unique interviews with some of the world's wisest and remarkable women. 10:453/5A hitchhiker helps out in an extraordinary way when Andrew is stopped for speeding.
| 10:00Jessica Ennis, Victoria Pendleton, Katherine Grainger - a Woman's Hour sport special. 10:454/5A woman tries to convince her husband that a stray cat is a reincarnation of Franz Liszt.
| 10:00Jenni Murray asks what makes the ring more special than any other piece of jewellery. 10:455/5A press baron's adulterous wife gets her head stuck in a Henry Moore. What should he do?
| 10:30An exploration into why Shakespeare is so beloved in Germany.
| 10:00Lilian lives it up, and there's a warm welcome for Jazzer.
| |
|---|
| 11:00 | 11:00Terry Waite and Christopher Matthew use their Freedom Passes on the buses of London. 11:301/2Playfulness, soundscape and oddity above the rustling leaves of Enid Blyton's classic.
| 11:00A Christmas Day celebration presented by Jenni Murray and Jane Garvey. 11:3017/24Howard Stableford looks at conservation issues in some of the British Overseas Territories
| 11:00Guy Schalom hunts out the spirit of the new Egypt in the musical roots of the bellydance 11:304/4Can thespian sleuth Charles Paris finally uncover who murdered Ellie?
| 11:00Lucy Ash investigates an increasingly bitter row over a major Chinese investment in Burma. 11:30Beatrix Potter's The Tailor of Gloucester restored with its original Chistmas music
| 11:00Martha Kearney looks at the events of 1982 through newly-released government papers.
| 11:00Bridget Kendall and guests explore the boundaries of reality in art and maths. 11:30Kate Adie presents some of 2012's best despatches from correspondents around the world.
| 11:15Designer and businesswoman Anya Hindmarch is interviewed by Kirsty Young.
| |
|---|
| 12:00 | 12:00Christmas travel special: New destinations and bargains in the UK and abroad. 12:57The latest weather forecast.
| 12:00A celebration of favourite readings with Fi Glover and guests. 12:57The latest weather forecast.
| 12:00Should we listen to government health advice? Plus, what to do with that leftover turkey. 12:57The latest weather forecast.
| 12:00Deaf people are being targeted on internet dating websites. Winifred Robinson investigates 12:57The latest weather forecast.
| 12:00We visit the Olympic Park in search of the promised Olympic legacy. 12:52A father and son talk about the father's National Service experience on Christmas Island. 12:57The latest weather forecast.
| 12:00Paul Lewis and guests look ahead to 2013 - house prices, investing, income and the economy 12:302/8Compilation of the best bits of the News Quiz from 2012, presented by Sandi Toksvig. 12:57The latest weather forecast.
| 12:00Christmas special of the multi-award award-winning comedy panel game chaired by Jack Dee. 12:32Dan Saladino explores the cocktail, from 18th century punch to new flavours in the USA. 12:57The latest weather forecast.
| |
|---|
| 13:00 | 13:00Shaun Ley presents national and international news. 13:456/10Marina Warner probes the fate of the tales in the hands of the Nazis.
| 13:15Grease has entertained audiences for over 40 years. Alan Dein searches for its true roots. 13:457/10Marina Warner uses psychoanalysis to explain meanings behind the Grimm Brothers' tales.
| 13:00Shaun Ley presents national and international news. 13:458/10Marina Warner examines how feminism has tackled the Grimm brothers' tales.
| 13:00Shaun Ley presents national and international news. 13:459/10Marina Warner breaks the silence on the Grimm brothers' tales' history of censorship.
| 13:00James Robbins presents national and international news. 13:4510/10Marina Warner considers what lies in the future for the Grimm brothers' tales.
| 13:00The latest news from BBC Radio 4. 13:10The BBC's top correspondents give their predictions about what will shape the news in 2013
| 13:00Global news and analysis, presented by James Robbins. 13:30Hardeep cooks lunch for the director and volunteers of the Cat Survival Trust.
| |
|---|
| 14:00 | 14:15A joyous a capella musical comedy about a matador who inherits a barber shop in Norfolk.
| 14:00Mike's in the mood for dancing. 14:152/2Rumpole defends a doctor accused of murdering his wife.
| 14:00There's a warm welcome for Jazzer. 14:15By David Reed and Humphrey Ker. The comic lifestory of one of England's forgotten heroes.
| 14:00It's the end of an era in Ambridge. 14:15The Glasgow psychic detective investigates a woman's obsession with an English professor.
| 14:15Sound recordist Andrei finds his work haunted by a mysterious voice.
| 14:00BBC Philharmonic presents The Listening Project Symphony, from MediaCityUK in Salford.(R) 14:30Karen's heart is set on a pair of red shoes whose magic compels her to dance to her death.
| 14:00Eric Robson and the team are in Newcastleton in Scotland for the final GQT of 2012. 14:45Fi Glover proves that it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
| |
|---|
| 15:00 | 15:00Christmas carols and readings from the candlelit chapel of King's College, Cambridge.
| 15:00The Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth and the nation. 15:15Departing Radio 4 announcer Harriet Cass chooses her favourite radio moments from 2012.
| 15:00Lynne Truss decodes interviews and puzzles to find the secrets of this hardy mind teaser.(R)
| 15:00On the edge of JM Barrie's Kirriemuir, Helen Mark discovers the real Never Never Land. 15:27Richard Wilson presents an appeal on behalf of Contact the Elderly. 15:30Colin Firth shares his five of the best books.
| 15:00Eric Robson and the team are in Newcastleton in Scotland for the final GQT of 2012. 15:453/3Crises beset an events manager, who is organising a christening party at the former church
| 15:30Guy Schalom hunts out the spirit of the new Egypt in the musical roots of the bellydance
| 15:002/3The arrival of Lizzie Eustace's cousin Frank proves both diverting and scandalous.
| |
|---|
| 16:00 | 16:30Brian Cox and Robin Ince celebrate Christmas with Mark Gatiss and Steve Jones.
| 16:00Michael Rosen discovers that the giving and receiving of compliments is a tricky business. 16:30Matthew Parris and Stuart Maconie celebrate the life of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
| 16:00Laurie Taylor explores the role and meaning of both alcohol and drugs in human life. 16:30Steve Hewlett explores the dark art of festive TV scheduling, and talks to David Jason.
| 16:00Francine Stock and guests look at the challenges filmmakers face adapting difficult books. 16:30Quentin Cooper and guests discuss unsung heroes of science.
| 16:00Jonathan Glancey on the amazing cultural legacy of the third Marquis of Bute. 16:30Tim Harford and guests look back at the most surprising statistics of 2012. 16:55A conversation between a father and the daughter who thinks he prefers his dog to her.
| 16:00Charlotte Church and other young women who have made an impression in 2012.
| 16:00Literary Trends of 2012, including bonkbusters, historical fiction and self-publishing. 16:30Roger McGough with a selection of poetry on the theme of time.
| |
|---|
| 17:00 | 17:00Full coverage and analysis of the day's news with Paddy O'Connell.
| 17:10Eddie Mair returns to his native Scotland to explore his deep affection for Country music. 17:40Nabokov's beautiful Christmas story of loss and redemption. Read by Robert Glenister. 17:54The latest shipping forecast. 17:57The latest weather forecast.
| 17:00Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
| 17:00Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
| 17:00Carolyn Quinn with interviews, context and analysis.
| 17:00Full coverage of the day's news with Patrick O'Connell. 17:30The winner of the iPM New Year's Honours is announced. 17:54The latest shipping forecast. 17:57The latest weather forecast.
| 17:00The tragic story of the African migrants who fled fighting in Libya on an inflatable boat. 17:403/8By John Godber. Two gravediggers contemplate the year's news. Are we in for a triple dip? 17:54The latest shipping forecast. 17:57The latest weather forecast.
| |
|---|
| 18:00 | 18:00National and international news from BBC Radio 4. 18:15Christmas special of the multi-award award-winning comedy panel game chaired by Jack Dee.
| 18:00National and international news from BBC Radio 4. 18:151/6Upstairs Downton with the Windsors and the Middletons. Plus a spoons solo. 18:306/6Mister Gently Benevolent unveils an advent calendar of evil culminating on Christmas Day.
| 18:00National and international news from BBC Radio 4. 18:152/6Brian Cox in Brian Elliott, about a boy who D-reams of being a Scientist. 18:305/6Mark uncovers an unlikely town rivalry and the story behind a baffling accent.
| 18:00National and international news from BBC Radio 4. 18:153/6The rise and rise of Rupert Murdoch, and how he came to Britain to build a media empire. 18:304/6The team are horrified that the media have been invited to Malcolm's citizenship ceremony.(R)
| 18:00National and international news from BBC Radio 4. 18:154/6Can the coalition cash in by crashing out at the next election? 18:302/8Compilation of the best bits of the News Quiz from 2012, presented by Sandi Toksvig.
| 18:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 18:15Clive Anderson revisits the best chat, music and comedy on Loose Ends in 2012.
| 18:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 18:15Liz Barclay makes her selection from the past seven days of BBC Radio.
| |
|---|
| 19:00 | 19:00Mike's in the mood for dancing. 19:15Mark Lawson meets the arts headline makers of 2012, including EL James and Danny Boyle. 19:451/5Can conceited wine buff Richard Pratt identify a rare vintage?
| 19:00There's a warm welcome for Jazzer. 19:15Mark Lawson talks to artists and performers who work with members of their own family. 19:452/5A trip to Paris allows a wife to take revenge on her husband.
| 19:00It's the end of an era in Ambridge. 19:15Neil Young, Pete Townshend, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and more on their musical roots. 19:453/5A hitchhiker helps out in an extraordinary way when Andrew is stopped for speeding.
| 19:15Kirsty Lang meets the backstage stars who play a key role in big events and major TV shows 19:454/5A woman tries to convince her husband that a stray cat is a reincarnation of Franz Liszt.
| 19:00Lynda is in for a big surprise. 19:15Mark Lawson talks to British actors about their experience of working in the USA. 19:455/5A press baron's adulterous wife gets her head stuck in a Henry Moore. What should he do?
| 19:003/8By John Godber. Two gravediggers contemplate the year's news. Are we in for a triple dip? 19:15Departing Radio 4 announcer Harriet Cass chooses her favourite radio moments from 2012.
| 19:00Chris steps into the limelight. 19:152/2William meets a famous six-year-old. 19:451/3Sara Maitland gives her own distinctive spin to the classic fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty.
| |
|---|
| 20:00 | 20:006Music DJ Shaun Keaveny meets the scientists investigating why songs get stuck in our head(R) 20:30Paul Henley meets the migrants heading to Poland, attracted by its thriving economy.
| 20:00Jack Dee narrates the story of Gerard Hoffnung's classic tale, The Bricklayer's Lament.(R) 20:30David Blunkett, Gary O'Donoghue and Denise Leigh join Peter White to talk audio books.
| 20:00Clive Anderson and guests look at how the legal world is reflected on stage and screen. 20:45Tom Armitage says learning to write computer code means learning to think in a modern way.
| 20:00Phil Kemp investigates the sale of software company Autonomy to IT giant Hewlett Packard. 20:30Peter Day finds out how random acts of kindness can help businesses in surprising ways.
| 20:00The BBC's top correspondents give their predictions about what will shape the news in 2013 20:50With the excesses of Christmas behind us, Will Self appeals for a major lifestyle change.
| 20:00Stephen Fry on the mysterious life of the much-loved comedy great Margaret Rutherford.
| 20:00Tim Harford and guests look back at the most surprising statistics of 2012. 20:30Who was the man behind mantra 'Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better'?(R)
| |
|---|
| 21:00 | 21:00Unintelligent IQ tests, frozen Lakes, human life on Mars, and Santa stuck in a chimney. 21:30Andrew Marr with Rolando Villazon, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Mary King and Michael Trimble.
| 21:00Satirist Joe Queenan reveals that the search for someone to blame is always successful.(R)
| 21:00Franny Armstrong looks at the explosive impact of Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring. 21:30Libby Purves looks back over the last decade, with guests including Sir Trevor Nunn.
| 21:0017/24Howard Stableford looks at conservation issues in some of the British Overseas Territories 21:30Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the cult of Mithras, the Roman mystery religion.
| 21:00A celebration of favourite readings with Fi Glover and guests.
| 21:001/3Lizzie Eustace must fight to retain the diamonds which she believes are rightfully hers.
| 21:00Paul Lewis and guests look ahead to 2013 - house prices, investing, income and the economy 21:26Ian McEwan presents the Radio 4 Appeal for SolarAid. 21:30Peter Day finds out how random acts of kindness can help businesses in surprising ways.
| |
|---|
| 22:00 | 22:00Round-up of the day's news, with Ritula Shah. 22:451/10Lady Dona flees high society London for the family estate in Cornwall.
| 22:00Comedy drama about John Le Mesurier, Arthur Lowe and the making of Dad's Army.(R) 22:452/10Lady Dona encounters the local gentry and finds a secret passage to the sea.
| 22:00Syrian army police chief defects to rebels. Round-up of the day's news with Paul Moss. 22:453/10Dona is captured by pirates, which is not altogether unpleasant.
| 22:00United States 'heading over fiscal cliff'. Presented by Ritula Shah. 22:454/10Lady Dona socialises with French pirates and English gentry, juggling her two lives.
| 22:00Round-up of the day's news, with Ritula Shah. 22:455/10Dona enjoys her new secret friendship, and the pirates invite her on their next adventure.
| 22:00The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4. 22:15Clive Anderson and guests look at how the legal world is reflected on stage and screen.
| 22:00Paddy O'Connell looks back at the defining events of 2012, serious and not-so-serious.
| |
|---|
| 23:00 | 23:00Michael Rosen starts a new series by investigating the effects of alcohol on speech. 23:30Midnight Mass from the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, Liverpool.
| 23:00Brian Cox and Robin Ince celebrate Christmas with Mark Gatiss and Steve Jones. 23:30In Buckingham Palace, David Owen Norris and guests hear Queen Victoria's favourite songs.
| 23:00Comedian Tim Key spins his own surreal tale of one of Russia's greatest short stories.(R) 23:30David Owen Norris and guests listen to Shakespeare's favourite songs in the Swan Theatre.(R)
| 23:004/6With no headliner at The Mallard, newcomer Billy is asked to extend his stand-up set.(R) 23:30David Owen Norris hears songs the Scottish bard might have carried around with him.(R)
| 23:00Matthew Parris and Stuart Maconie celebrate the life of Ralph Vaughan Williams. 23:27David Owen Norris and guests hear James Joyce's favourite songs in his Martello Tower.(R) 23:55Fi Glover with the series that proves it's surprising what you hear when you listen.
| 23:00Nationwide general knowledge quiz chaired by Russell Davies. 23:30Roger McGough presents a warm but slush-free selection of Christmas poetry requests.
| 23:00Francine Stock and guests look at the challenges filmmakers face adapting difficult books. 23:30Mark Tully asks when it is right to relinquish dreams, and how best to leave grief behind.
| |
|---|
