Showing results by author "BBC Radio" in All Categories

With its wickedly funny mimicry and on-point parodies, Dead Ringers became an instant classic when it hit the airwaves in January 2000. In these four series, first broadcast between 2020 and 2023, the team give us their inimitable impersonations of the famous and infamous: from Donald Trump and Joe Biden to Liz Truss, Professor Chris Whitty and Holly Willoughby.

Just a Minute is the grandaddy of panel games, entertaining Radio 4 listeners since 1967 with wit, whimsy and wonderful wordplay. To mark the show's 55th anniversary in December 2022, here are five fantastic series from 2011, 2012 and 2013, all chaired by the legendary Nicholas Parsons. Among them is Series 62, which commemorated JAM's 45th birthday with an episode tackling the same subjects given out in the very first series, and featured two special editions from Mumbai.

The News Quiz began on Radio 4 in 1977 and continues to be hugely popular to this day. The first host was Barry Norman, and subsequently Barry Took, Simon Hoggart, Sandi Toksvig, Miles Jupp, Nish Kumar, Angela Barnes and Andy Zaltzman have all take the chair. The show's guests have been drawn from the cream of British comedians, journalists and politicians: Alan Coren, Richard Ingrams, Ian Hislop, Peter Cook, Linda Smith, Jeremy Hardy, Clive Anderson, Jo Brand, William Hague, Boris Johnson, Edwina Currie, Matthew Parris and many more.

Nicholas Parsons was the host of the Just a Minute for nearly 52 years - from its first broadcast on 22nd December 1967 until his last show on 23rd September 2019, aged 96. He was a comedy 'straight man', West End actor, radio personality, game-show presenter, chat-show host, quiz master supreme and larger-than-life stage superstar. Here we celebrate his life and work with a series of programmes compered by Paul Merton, plus Series 85 of Just a Minute - his final series.

For over 40 years The News Quiz has graced the Radio 4 airwaves with an irreverent sideways look at the headlines. Having first appeared in 1977, it boasts a tantalising archive of episodes to remind us of the news from yesteryear, refracted through the satirical gaze of regular panellists including Alan Coren, Andy Hamilton, Mark Steel, Francis Wheen and Jeremy Hardy. Among the many guest panellists featured here are Boris Johnson, Nigella Lawson, Jo Brand, Eddie Mair, John Sergeant, Linda Smith and Roy Hattersley.

Twenty-four episodes of the popular topical comedy show, chaired by Andy Zaltzman With its brilliant blend of the silly, the serious and the satirical, The News Quiz has been a must-listen for comedy fans since 1977. Recorded in front of a virtual audience, these three series see Andy Zaltzman...

Sue Perkins chairs Radio 4's longest-running panel game in which contestants are challenged to speak on a given topic for 60 seconds without hesitation, deviation or repetition.

Join world-leading scientists as they delve into the incredible stories behind 16 elements, including the dark and controversial history of gold; how a solar eclipse in 1868 led to the discovery of the periodic table's most notorious escape artist, helium; the role of iron in the rise and fall of human civilisations; why you might find iodine in British milk, but not necessarily anywhere else in the world; and how a discovery in boiled urine led to the trade union movement and a chemical weapon.

Like a treasured piece of furniture, Just a Minute has graced the living rooms and kitchens of radio listeners for more than 50 years. Comfortable, relaxing and easy to sink into, it has long been the seat of sparkling comedy, infectious laughter and intelligent humour. We invite you once again to enjoy the fine patina of another top-drawer collection of classic episodes.

Seven more series of the popular BBC Radio 4 impressions show - plus a selection of unbroadcast material. Since the turn of the millennium, Dead Ringers has been giving us its skewed, hilarious take on the famous and the infamous. The show has won a British Comedy Award, a Sony Gold Award, and a Press Guild Award for Radio Programme of the Year - and won a legion of fans with its merciless parodies, mocking every programme, institution and politician you hold dear.

Four more shows from the groundbreaking BBC Radio series. Described by Barry Took as 'A kaleidoscope of funny voices, catch phrase and innuendo revolving at breakneck speed and with a complete disregard for logic', I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again pre-dated I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and showcased the comic talents of Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall, and Bill Oddie.

Proving that yesterday's news is every bit as entertaining as today's, these 14 archive episodes of the long-running BBC Radio 4 panel show are chaired by Barry Took, Simon Hoggart and Sandi Toksvig. Spanning the years from 1979 to 2011, this latest selection of sharp and funny editions take in...

BBC Xtra is the flagship daily 2 hour live magazine programme on BBC Arabic, driving social and human interest issues onto the main news agenda of the Arabic Service. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

December 2022 marks 55 years of Just a Minute, Radio 4's longest-running and most beloved panel game. To commemorate this milestone, this special collection comprises five classic series of the hit show from 2010 and 2011, featuring a wealth of favourite panellists attempting to prove they have the gift of the gab.

Just a Minute has been entertaining generations of listeners since its first series in 1967. This collection of five series from 2018-2019, commemorating the programme's 55th anniversary, contains the last ever episodes chaired by broadcasting legend Nicholas Parsons, as well as several shows in which Gyles Brandreth sits in for him as temporary host. Between them, they keep the scores and the peace.

The complete Series 100 of the satirical radio panel show, presented by eight special guest hosts It’s the one hundredth series of The News Quiz – let the centennial celebrations commence! To mark the occasion, each of these eight episodes is presented by a different guest host from the...

Born the same year as Radio 4 itself, Just a Minute is one of the BBC's longest-running and most popular panel games. In these five series from 2016-2018, collected together to mark the 55th birthday of the show, Nicholas Parsons presides over more hilarious linguistic shenanigans. Highlights include a festive edition, Just a Minute Does Panto!, which sees the players journeying through Panto-land in search of the missing Golden Whistle. Also featured is Just a Minute: 50 Years in 28 Minutes, which was specially compiled to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary.

First heard every weekday morning at 5.58am on BBC Radio 4, Tweet of the Day captured the imagination of early risers and bird lovers, proving so popular that it was named Radio Programme of the Year 2014. Each episode begins with a bird call or song, followed by fascinating ornithological detail about its owner. This collection contains every edition from the first series, British Birds.

A fast-paced mix of stand-up, songs and sketches, The Now Show takes an off-the-wall look at world events, blending satire and silliness to poke fun at politics and lampoon the news. In these 18 episodes from 2014 and 2015, Steve Punt co-presents with Hugh Dennis and, on one occasion, Jon Culshaw. Joining them are a raft of comedians including Nathan Caton, Elis James, Sara Pascoe, Aditi Mittal, Alex Edelman and Alexei Sayle, as they dissect the headlines with their scalpel of wit.

All three series of the award-winning topical panel show from 2025 Andy Zaltzman returns for a triple helping of comic quizzing, as he serves up a satirical smorgasbord of choice news morsels for his esteemed panellists to feast on. Making short work of them are some of the biggest names in...