Aemilia Lanyer

Aeneas Gunn

Aerosmith

Aeschylus

Aesop lived in the early sixth century BC on the island of Samos, which lies off the coast of modern Turkey. He originally came from Thrace which was a separate country in those days, though it now forms part of Greece and Bulgaria. Very little is known about his life except that he worked as a slave on Samos for a master called Iadmon, and that he became a very famous storyteller. He was so famous that almost any fable which could have been told by him became attributed to him.

Aesop

Afsaneh Knight

Afsaneh Moqadam

Afua Hirsch is a writer, filmmaker, and journalist. She is the author of Brit(ish), the Sunday Times bestseller that explores Britishness, identity and belonging, for which she was awarded the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Prize for Non-Fiction. She co-presented Enslaved, a 6-part series about the transatlantic slave trade with Samuel L Jackson. She is the presenter of the Audible podcast series We Need To Talk About the British Empire, and Africa Rising, an ongoing flagship series about art and culture for the BBC, through her production company Born in Me Productions. She is a longtime columnist for the Guardian and is a professor of journalism at the University of Southern California.

Afua Hirsch

AGAPI STASSINOPOULOS is an author, blogger and international speaker who inspires audiences around the world. She has spoken at many corporations and conferences, such as Nike Women, Starbucks,Time Inc., Virgin, Johnson &amp; Johnson and the American Heart Foundation. She was born in Athens and trained in London at RADA before gaining a Master’s in psychology at the University of Santa Monica. She has collaborated with her sister, Arianna Huffington, to develop talks and seminars, and has worked with the Oprah Winfrey network. She is currently hosting a new podcast series in collaboration with The Huffington Post, entitled ‘Sundays with Agapi’, which includes guided meditations and interviews with prominent guests. She lives in Los Angeles.

Agapi Stassinopoulos

Agatha Christie

Aggie MacKenzie

Aghnia Mardiyah is a London-based Illustrator and Character Designer with a passion for children's books and animation. She is drawn to fun, bright and vibrant colours. When she isn't disappearing under piles of work, she loves to travel! Exploring foreign places, exciting new sights and sensations is what inspires her the most!

Aghnia Mardiyah

Agnes Callard is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chicago. Her primary areas of specialization are ancient philosophy and ethics. She has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Atlantic, Harper’s, Boston Review, and penned a monthly column for the Point. From 2019 to 2020, she held a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship for the research that contributes to this book.

Agnes Callard

Agnes Jekyll

Agnes Bertha Marshall (24 August 1855-29 July 1905) was an English culinary entrepreneur who became a leading cookery writer, dubbed the 'Queen of Ices'. Her 1888 cookery book included a recipe for 'cornets with cream', possibly the earliest publication of the edible ice cream cone. Marshall was born in Walthamstow. She wrote four books: Ices Plain and Fancy: The Book of Ices (1885), Mrs A B Marshall's Book of Cookery (1888), Mrs A B Marshall's Larger Cookery Book of Extra Recipes (1891) and Fancy Ices (1894).

Agnes Marshall

Agnes Prus

Agri Ismaïl is a Kurdish author based in Sweden who has worked as a corporate lawyer in London, Dubai, and Iraqi Kurdistan. His work has been published in The White Review, The Rumpus, Litro, 3:AM Magazine, and Asymptote amongst other places. His piece 'Haunted Home' won the 2016 Stack award for best non-fiction for The Outpost, runner-up in the Lifted Brow &amp; RMIT non/fictionLab Prize for Experimental Non-Fiction, and he was longlisted for the 2017/2018 Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize. Hyper is his first novel.

Agri Ismaïl

Aharon Appelfeld authored more than 45 acclaimed works of fiction and nonfiction and received many international awards including the MLA Commonwealth Award, the Independent Foreign Fiction prize, the prix Médicis étranger, the Israel prize, and the Nelly Sachs prize. Born in Czernowitz, Bukovina (now part of Ukraine) in 1932, he survived the Holocaust and passed away in Israel in 2018.

Aharon Appelfeld

Ahmadou Kourouma

Ahmed Alnaouq is a Palestinian journalist and human rights activist based in London. He is the co-founder and director of We Are Not Numbers and a journalist with Palestine Deep Dive. Ahmed holds a degree in English Literature from Al-Azhar university in Gaza, and an MA in International Journalism from Leeds University, where he was a Chevening Scholar. 
 
Pam Bailey is a social-justice activist and journalist based in Washington DC. She lived and worked in the Gaza Strip following the 2008/9 Israeli assault, and co-founded We Are Not Numbers. Today, in addition to her ongoing dedication to the Palestinian cause, she dedicates herself to two nonprofits that advocate for people detained in American prisons -- including one she co-founded in 2020, called More Than Our Crimes.

Ahmed Alnaouq

Ahmed Errachidi

Ahmed Rashid

Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar

Ahron Bregman is the author of four books about Israel and the Arabs: The Fifty Years War (with Jihan el Tahri), Israel's Wars, A History of Israel and Elusive Peace. He teaches at the Department of War Studies, King's College London.

Ahron Bregman

Ai Qing is regarded as one of the finest modern Chinese poets, whose free verse was influential in the development of new poetry in China.

Ai Qing

Ai Weiwei

Aidan Chambers was born in County Durham in 1934. After national service in the Royal Navy he became a teacher and then, for seven years, a monk. His young adult novels have been widely acclaimed, with POSTCARDS FROM NO-MAN'S LAND winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal and the US Michael L Printz Award. With his wife Nancy he ran Signal magazine and he has served as the president of the School Library Association. His devoted services to children's literature were recognised by his receipt of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002.

Aidan Chambers

Aidan Higgins was born in 1927. Langrishe Go Down, his first novel, won the James Tait Black memorial Prize and the Irish Academy of Letters Award, and was later filmed for television with a screenplay by Harold Pinter. His second novel, Balcony of Europe, was shortlisted for the 1972 Booker Prize. The novel Lions of the Grunewald appeared in 1993 and a collection of shorter fiction, Flotsam and jetsam, in 1996. Donkey's Years and Dog Days were the first two volumes of the Higgins Bestiary which concludes with this volume.

Aidan Higgins

Aidan Mathews

Aidan Potts

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Various

Mid-Wales: and a lonely bachelor avoids personal contact as much as humanly possible, despite the best efforts of his well-meaning but nosey next door neighbours. Gwilym Lloyd whiles away his time, pottering in the garden, learning the harmonica and writing letters to women serving long-term prison sentences in various jails around the world. Women that he knows he'll never have to meet. When South Londoner Layla O'Dowd is released on early parole and suddenly shows up on the the doorstep of Gwilym's rural Welsh cottage out of the blue, his whole world is turned upside down. In the modern social media jungle of internet profiles and identity theft, the art of letter writing may seem quaintly old fashioned, but that doesn't mean that it's not fraught with the very same dangers. Craig Hawes is a new Welsh writer. Jailbird Lover is his first Afternoon Drama.

Jailbird Lover (BBC Radio Drama)

Charlotte Jones

The Kennedys were the most famous family in England when Joseph became American Ambassador in London. But daughter Rosemary's behaviour began to cause the family increasing concern. Award winning writer Charlotte Jones' play is inspired by the lives of two of JFK's sisters, 'Rosemary' Kennedy, who died in 2005, but underwent a prefrontal lobotomy aged 23 and Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy who married the heir to the Duke of Devonshire.

An American Rose

Alan Ayckbourn

Alan Ayckbourn is a multi-award-winning playwright, whose plays have been seen in the West End, on Broadway and worldwide. In this collection we hear - in his own words - about his family and upbringing; on being a writer and director, as well as those who influenced him. He discusses the characters he creates and his time in Scarborough, and also his childhood and his love of theatre. Alan also talks about his relationships - on and off stage - and touches on his personal life. 
 
 The interviews on this collection include: Today, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 2 March 1979); Saturday Review, BBC 2 (first broadcast 4 June 1980); The Levin Interview, BBC 2 (first broadcast 1 July 1984); Kaleidoscope, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 21 November 1984); The Michael Parkinson Programme, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 28 May 1987); Meridian, BBC World Service (first broadcast 5 September 1989); Omnibus, BBC 1 (first broadcast 13 February 1990); Alan Ayckbourn in Conversation, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast May 1991); Simon Mayo, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 24 January 2010); Imagine, BBC 1 (first broadcast 15 November 2011). 
 
 Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

In His Own Words

Derek Jacobi

Sir Derek Jacobi is an award-winning actor who is famous for his many roles on television, film and on stage. He received a Tony Award for his performance as Benedick in the RSC's production of Much Ado About Nothing and is probably most famous for his TV roles in Cadfael and I, Claudius. 
 
 In this collection we hear, in his own words, about his influences, his school years and early acting performances, as well as the many roles he has played. He talks about being a star and working with other famous names, and discusses playwrights, casting, Shakespeare, the skill needed in acting and future roles. Sir Derek also talks about his relationships - on and offstage - and about his personal beliefs and perceptions. 
 
 Interviews include: radio archive interview (first broadcast 1 January 1976, featuring Louis Robinson); Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcat 10 June 1978, featuring Roy Plomley); The Brian Morton Show, BBC Radio Scotland (first broadcast 14 August 2000, featuring Brian Morton); Front Row, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 16 September 2004, featuring Mark Lawson); Front Row, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 19 November 2012, featuring Mark Lawson). 
 
 Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Derek Jacobi In His Own Words

Csaba Szekely

It's difficult being young and in love when your Dad is a high ranking official in Ceausescu's communist machine, your mother weeps all the time and your brother is trying to kill you. This wild and sideways look at life behind the Iron Curtain during Ceausescu's regime is a first play by a young Hungarian writer living in Romania and was shortlisted for the BBC World Service/British Council's International Playwriting Competition. Starring Freddy White, Michael Begley, Jane Whittenshaw, Julia Tarnoky, Brian Bowles, Daniel Rabin, and Luke Newberry. Director: Marion Nancarrow. Says Szekely of himself: It's difficult being young and in love when your Dad is a high ranking official in Ceausescu's communist machine, your mother weeps all the time and your brother is trying to kill you. This wild and sideways look at life behind the Iron Curtain during Ceausescu's regime is a first play by a young Hungarian writer living in Romania and was shortlisted for the BBC World Service/British Council's International Playwriting Competition. Starring Freddy White, Michael Begley, Jane Whittenshaw, Julia Tarnoky, Brian Bowles, Daniel Rabin, and Luke Newberry. Director: Marion Nancarrow. Says Szekely of himself: "I'm 28 years old. I used to be the cultural editor of a weekly magazine, then cultural editor at the local radio station. Now I'm just a writer. I'm also a translator (from Romanian and English to Hungarian) always looking for a job. I write movie reviews and book reviews too. I'm not famous".

Do You Like Banana, Comrades?

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Charles Dickens

In the polluted and poverty-ridden Coketown, Louisa and Tom Gradgrind endure a cold and loveless childhood at the hands of their self-satisfied and unimaginative father Thomas. Starved of affection, Louisa is forced into a miserable marriage with the self-made industrialist Josiah Bounderby, thirty years her senior, whilst Tom descends into a secret life of theft. Into such squalor and misery comes Sissy Jupe, a child of the circus whose ailing father Sleary has deserted her. When she is adopted by Tom Gradgrind, the generous hearts of Sissy and her circus colleagues help combat the pervading gloom and offer the hope of redemption and eventual happiness. This full-cast BBC Radio dramatisation stars John Woodvine, Tom Baker and Anna Massey.

Hard Times

Paul Mason

What caused the financial mess we're in? And how do we get out of it? Two of the great economic thinkers of the 20th century had sharply contrasting views. John Maynard Keynes believed that government spending could create employment and longer term growth. His contemporary and rival Friedrich Hayek believed that investments have to be based on real savings rather than increased public spending or artificially low interest rates. Keynes's biographer, Professor Lord Skidelsky, takes on modern-day followers of Hayek in a debate at the London School of Economics. Paul Mason, economics editor of Newsnight, is in the chair. Speakers include George Selgin, Duncan Weldon and Jamie Whyte.

Keynes V Hayek

Myles Rudge

Join Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick and Joan Sims as they go beyond Round the Horne. Taking over the mantle of Round the Horne, Stop Messing About carried on the comedy tradition, which reunited Kenneth Williams with both Hugh Paddick and Kenneth's Carry On co-star, Joan Sims. These four episodes include such favourites as crusty old judge Sir Inigo Parchmutter, Crackerjackanory With Mother, more visits to Tolpurgis Hall, as well as a couple who bear a bona similarity to Julian and Sandy. With much vada-ing and some wonderful film adaptations, such as A Fistful of Denaro and Oliver Stick, Stop Messing About is packed with outrageously funny sketches, parodies, double entendres and saucy songs. Stop Messing About - the first all-nude radio show. Nervous listeners are advised to keep their eyes closed - and it s forbidden to take photographs.

More Kenneth Williams' Stop Messing About

Andy Macdonald

A tense and powerful drama exploring the timely issues of unemployment, ethics and international conflict. A fifty year old factory employee finds his own way to make a stand. With orders still on the books, Kenny Gall refuses to leave the factory he has worked in for more than thirty years. This will have serious implications for the company, his daughter, Ashley, and for a local ex-serviceman. Starring Alexander Morton, Sally Reid, Brian Ferguson, Tracy Wiles. Directed by Gaynor Macfarlane.

Occupation

Anthony Trollope

The American Senator By Anthony Trollope. Dramatised by Martyn Wade. 
Part One: 
Arabella is determined to keep her engagement to John Morton a secret. Perhaps, there is a more exciting and wealthy husband she might be able to catch. 
Part Two: 
 Lord Rufford has kissed Arabella twice but she realises that much more needs to be done to win him and his estate. It is now time to tell John Morton she no longer wants to marry him? 
Part Three: 
Lord Rufford has run away from Arabella but she hasn't given up hope. She is determined that he will marry her but then she receives some distressing news 
Starring Robert Glenister, Anna Maxwell Martin, Barbara Flynn, Blake Ritson, Stuart Milligan, Joanna David, Daniel Rabin, Penelope Rawlins, Carl Prekopp, Henry Devas, Elaine Claxton, Joanathan Forbes, Jane Whittenshaw, and Sean Baker. Directed by Tracey Neale.

The American Senator

A BBC Radio full cast dramatization

Matthew Solon

After five years of planning and an 18-month campaign costing more than £15m, England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup ended in humiliation in front of millions of TV viewers around the world.   This thrilling drama tells the behind-the-scenes story of what happened in Zurich in the days leading up to the momentous announcement on 2nd December 2010. The England bid team - which included David Beckham and Prince William - arrived with high hopes. They had a strong bid and their presentation to the FIFA voting executives went without a hitch.   But behind the confident facade, a desperate struggle was taking place as England jostled with other countries, courting FIFA executive members, lobbying for votes and making deals.   This is a gripping story of hope, broken promises and disappointment, starring John Sessions and written by Matthew Solon.   Directed by John Dryden. A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4.

The Bid

Neil Forsyth

Brian Cox stars as the 63-year-old Servant in these wickedly funny full-cast email exchangesBorn and bred in Dundee, Bob Servant sees himself as the people's champion. Once a cheeseburger magnate and part of what he claims to be 'the largest window cleaning round in Western Europe', he's now retired and feeling a little bored. After winning a computer in the bowling club raffle, and only ever receiving spam emails, he decides to take on this plague of the electronic age…This complete series features the anarchic exchanges between Bob and the unwitting spam merchants who flood his inbox. As they offer him Russian brides, African fortunes, and get-rich-quick scams, he turns the tables by thinking up some outlandish schemes of his own. Playing the fraudsters at their own game, he soon has them in the palm of his hand.Starring Brian Cox as Bob Servant, and featuring a stellar ensemble cast including Felix Dexter, Laura Solon, Sanjeev Kohli and Lewis MacLeod.Cast and Credits 
Starring Brian Cox as Bob Servant 
with Felix Dexter, Laura Solon, Sanjeev Kohli and Lewis MacLeod 
Written by Neil Forsyth 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
Produced by Owen Bell 
 First broadcast BBC Radio Scotland, 29 October-3 December 2010 
 ©2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Bob Servant Emails: A BBC Radio Dramatisation starring Brian Cox

Clare Balding

The 1948 Olympics were very different from the impressive spectacle that London put on in 2012. Three years after the end of the Second World War, Britain was still gripped by austerity. Rationing was still in force, severe bomb damage was still much in evidence and no new sports facilities could be built. Visiting athletes were put up in schools and RAF camps. Yet the Games were a resounding success and actually made a profit.   Clare Balding meets athletes who competed in 1948, including cyclist Tommy Godwin, who won two bronze medals, and Dorothy Manley, who won silver in the athletics. She also talks to Roger Bannister who saved the day for the British team in the opening ceremony. The programme also includes fascinating voices from the archives, including Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold medals.

The Ration Book Olympics

Mark Jones

The RMS Titanic  sailed from Southampton en route for New York on her maiden voyage with 2228 passengers and crew on board. On the 14th April at twenty minutes before midnight, sailing at almost full speed, she struck an iceberg and sank in just two and a half hours. Over 1500 lives were lost. This is the story of a great tragedy described by the surviving passengers, officers and crew who were on board that night. Firsthand accounts help to explain why so few of the passengers took to the lifeboats and later describe the miraculous survival of those forced to jump into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. The story of the Titanic is ultimately one of simple human loss and these laconic Edwardian voices bring it vividly to life. The hold that these events have on our imagination is as strong now as it ever has been in the 100 years since the great ship went down.

Titanic, The Voices From The BBC Archive

BBC Learning English

Learn and improve your English with the BBC. Collected here for the first time are 12 episodes from BBC Learning English's popular 6 Minute English series. Aimed at intermediate-level learners of English, each programme examines a different topic which is discussed and explained to help learners increase their knowledge of the English language. 
 
Over the course of 70 minutes, our helpful guides will steer you through the language used and provide you with a better understanding of the vocabulary of Science and Technology. Topics discussed include Social Network Scams, E-Wars, Citizen Journalism, Movie Science, and Mobile Phones. 
 
Produced by BBC Learning English.

6 Minute English Science And Technology

Sasha Hails

Two new dramas which get inside the emotional realities of dealing with ethical dilemmas.  When a confused young man with no I.D. and a Doctor Who fixation is brought into hospital, the staff have clear rules about how decisions can be made on his behalf. But when he starts to make his own wishes clear, are they right to listen?   Starring Gunnar Cauthery, Clare Perkins, Simon Bubb, and Carl Prekopp. With Peter Polycarpou, Gerard McDermott, Jonathan Forbes, James Lailey, Alex Tregear, Susie Riddell and Elaine Claxton. Script Consultant: Jim Blair, St George's Healthcare NHS Trust. Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting.

Best Interests

Peter White

In Blind Man's Bete Noire, Peter White explores some of the things which annoy him most about his blindness. The four programmes include The Countryside, Holidays, Being Introduced to Other Blind People and Going Slowly.  Produced by Cheryl Gabriel.

Blind Man's Bete Noire

Four Programmes presented by Peter White

Glenn Patterson

Northern Ireland was a very dark place in the 1980s. A hunger strike was looming, street violence and tit for tat murders were an everyday occurrence, but in a small corner of West Belfast something extraordinary was happening. In a factory in Dunmurry a unique new sports car was being built, a DMC 12, a style icon for the late 20th century. For 2 years John DeLorean brought hope to communities flattened by the Troubles in Northern Ireland. This is the story of that two year dream as seen through the eyes of key employees - including a union representative, an assembly line worker and a supervisor. Over 9,000 DMCs were produced during this period, cars which today still retain their cult status. The workforce put their heart and souls into this car plant believing that this was going to be the start of a better future, and that they too could 'live the dream.'

Delorean

Everyone knows that the TARDIS is bigger on the inside than the outside; and the selection of aural locations from the Doctor’s travels will equally broaden your horizons.   No fewer than seven alien worlds are visited, together with some extra-ordinary, extra-dimensional occurrences encountered on Earth (Sol 3 in the Mutters Spiral). Add to these an audiogram of the Doctor’s own mind processes, TARDIS operations, some weapons for self-defence and your galactic safety is ensured.   Time Lord Note: a source of jelly babies is recommended to complete the illusion of time travel.

Doctor Who Sound Effects (Vintage Beeb)

Ian Marter

A group of palaeontologists have been savagely attacked while carrying out a study of fossilised dinosaur remains in an underground cave system on twenty-fifth century Earth.   A party of troopers and Professor Kyle, the only survivor of the attack, are investigating the deaths of her colleagues when they discover the Doctor and his companions at the site of the massacre. The time-travellers are immediately suspected. In trying to establish their innocence and find out who – or what – was responsible for the killings, the Doctor is confronted by an old enemy...   The Fifth Doctor himself, Peter Davison, reads Ian Marter’s complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1983, whilst Nicholas Briggs provides the authentic voice of the Cybermen.

Doctor Who: Earthshock

Sarah Woods

With George Monbiot, Paul Allen and Peter Harper.  Have you got what it takes to get to zero carbon? Our expert panel set one average family the task of eliminating their carbon footprint... and living with the consequences. Originally broadcast in March 2009. Starring Kate Ashfield, Don Gilet, Poppy Lee Friar, Ryan Watson, Malcolm Tierney, Jonathan Tafler, Janice Acquah, and Stephen Hogan. Producer/Director: Jonquil Panting.

Getting To Zero

Sarfraz Manzoor

Dolly Parton grew up in poverty in rural East Tennessee, where children only attended school if there was no work to be done on the farm. She came to regard literacy skills as a passport to a better life and in 1995 she launched the 'Imagination Library'. All local children were sent a book a month, from birth to age 5. In 2007, she brought the project to Britain, starting in Rotherham. But what happened next? Travelling to Dollywood for an Imagination Library conference, Sarfraz Manzoor meets people from all over the world who have signed up for the project, and finds that Dolly's influence is global. He talks to Dolly about her life and work, speaks to those who knew her as a child and explores the motivations for this charitable work she undertakes with such passion. It is a journey to the glamorous heart of country music, but one which reveals much more about one of the world's best-loved country singers.

How Dolly Got Rotherham Reading

Laurence Olivier

Regarded by many as the greatest actor of the 20th Century, Laurence Olivier enjoyed a stellar career in film, theatre and television, winning multiple awards along the way from the 1920s to the 1980s. 
 
 In this absorbing collection of archive interviews he discusses his schooldays and early acting career; his drama training; his spells as actor-manager running the Old Vic and the National Theatre (which he helped create); his wartime service, and his friendship and collaboration with fellow actors including John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. 
 
 Hear all the highlights from Olivier's legendary life, as he recounts his fascinating story in his own words. 
 
 Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Laurence Olivier In His Own Words

Micky Flanagan

The complete BBC radio series of Micky Flanagan's autobiographical comedy show - plus pilot episode 
 
'Excellent, funny and poignant' Miranda Sawyer, The Observer 
 
Based on his Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated show What Chance Change?, Micky Flanagan's debut radio series combines brilliant stand-up with insightful behind-the-scenes interviews to tell the story of his life from the 1970s to the 2000s. 
 
These four episodes chart the Cockney comedian's progression from working-class Herbert to middle-class intellectual giant - and being awkwardly caught between both worlds. Via hilarious jokes and sharply-observed comic routines, Micky takes us from the mean streets of the East End to the leafy lanes of East Dulwich, outlining his rise to fame from Billingsgate fish porter to successful entertainer, from Sunblest to panini, tabloids to broadsheets and the street party to the dinner party. We hear how he left school without qualifications, ran away to New York to be an international lover and player, returned to education to become a teacher, and settled down with his wife and built his stand-up career. 
 
Chatting to family, friends and special guests - including sociology professor Paul Willis, millionaire plumber Charlie Mullins, and fellow comedian Sean Lock - he considers how his upbringing shaped his identity, discusses the thorny issue of class and comedy, and explains how, over four decades, taking chances has changed his life. 
 
Written and performed by Micky Flanagan 
Produced by Tilusha Ghelani 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 25 May-15 June 2010 (Series 1) 
 
 
 ©2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2012 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Micky Flanagan: What Chance Change?

The complete BBC Radio series

Wolfgang Stoecker

Wolfgang Stoecker is on a mission to explore the cultural meanings of dust. Cologne-based artist Stoecker has collected samples of dust from historic buildings across Europe and beyond. With the help of scientists and an electron-microscope, he has analysed the dust and discovered it contains tiny fossils, particles from the Sahara, pollutants of various kinds and human debris. He is fascinated by what dust can tell us about human culture and history, and proves an engaging and charismatic host in this thought-provoking, witty documentary.  Produced by Mary Ward-Lowery.

My Empire Of Dust

Following his father's death, John Harmon returns to London to claim his inheritance. But he finds he is only eligible if he marries Bella Wilfer. To observe her character he assumes another identity and secures work with his father's foreman, Mr Boffin, who is also Bella's guardian.   'Our Mutual Friend'  was Charles Dickens'  last complete novel and is a satiric masterpiece about money. This complete Woman's Hour Drama, which contains all 20 episodes, was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2009.

Our Mutual Friend (Woman's Hour Drama)

Tina Pepler

A pregnant fourteen year-old and her angry mother present the ante-natal team with some difficult decisions in a gripping medical ethics drama written by Tina Pepler.  When Rosie is admitted to A&amp;E with stomach pains, she's shocked to find out that she's pregnant. Her mother is even more horrified, and the ante-natal team must decide if Rosie is capable of making her own decisions without her mother's consent. The situation is further complicated when Rosie wants to keep an even more shocking piece of news from her mother, and the medical team's efforts to support her come under real pressure as an emergency confronts them with a difficult decision about what is best for Rosie's welfare.

Positive

Peter Souter

By Peter Souter. Hugh and Bella, are running to the same timetable, the timetable you're on if someone you love has just died, and they keep running into each other.  They visit the same undertakers at the same time; Hugh's Mum is cremated immediately after Bella's husband; and they even end up in the same bereavement-counselling group.  But Hugh and Bella are dealing with very different types of grief. Hugh's heart is like a toy that has never been taken out of the box, Bella's is like a beautiful crystal glass that's been dropped from a 30 storey building.  Starring Alex Jennings, Juliet Stevenson, and Lizzy Watts. Directed by Gordon House.

Stream, River, Sea

Michael Butt

El Ultimo Proyecto - The Last Project by Michael Butt, a play in two languages- Spanish and English.  A romantic thriller set in the hills of Andalucia. A British former soldier, Travis, has a love affair with the wife of a famous Spanish film director. Story telling and reality collide when the director insists Travis helps with his latest film, his 'last project' in which a murder is committed.  Starring Bryan Dick, Yolanda Vazquez, William Marquez, and Hugo Cubilla. With original song composition by Akintayo Akinbode and words by Federico Garcia Lorca Produced and Directed by Pauline Harris.

The Last Project: El Utimo Proyecto

Ronnie Barker

Ronnie Corbett

The Two Ronnies was one of Britain's most successful comedy sketch shows, and dominated the TV schedules for sixteen years between 1971 and 1987. This second compilation of classics from the much-loved show includes such sketches as 'Mispronounciation'; 'Night, Night; Cheers'; 'Cricket Commentators'; 'Train of Events'; and not forgetting 'The News According to The Two Ronnies'. There's also 'All in a Day's Wonk'; 'Sex Equalit'y; 'Pam Ayres'; 'The Castaway'; and 'You're Welcome, Milord'. Taken from the TV series The Two Ronnies, first transmitted June to August 1976. Due to the archive nature of the source material, the sound quality may vary.

Two Ronnies, The Volume 2 (Vintage Beeb)

Prepare to be gripped by this prequel series to R.D. Wingfield's A Touch of Frost. 
 
Back in Denton, Detective Sergeant Jack Frost returns to investigating murders, finding missing children, and discovering dead bodies in woodland areas. With Detective Inspector Williams missing, and a new policeman, DS Waters, to mentor, DS Jack Frost has to put the stresses and straings of his personal life on hold in order to keep Denton safe.

Filters

Category

Age

Publication Date

Format

Series

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter