Showing results by author "BBC Radio" in All Categories

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.

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.

It’s the 100th 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 world of comedy, who keeps the chair warm in their own inimitable style (and with their cushion of choice). Zoe Lyons, Angela Barnes, Patrick Kielty, Andrew Maxwell, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Andy Zaltzman, Phil Wang and Nish Kumar lead a panel of guests as they dissect the latest political machinations and round up news stories both big and small.

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.

In these 19 episodes, recorded from their home studios and broadcast to a remote audience, presenters Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by a plethora of special guests including Lucy Porter, Huge Davies, Gemma Arrowsmith, Zoe Lyons, George Fouracres, Jena Friedman, Darren Harriott, Lost Voice Guy, Eshaan Akbar, Jessica Fostekew, Chris McCausland, Daliso Chaponda, Janine Harouni and Laura Lexx.

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.

First broadcast in 1967, Just a Minute is Radio 4's longest-running panel game, and a national institution. These five series from 2015-2016, brought together in one collection to commemorate the show's 55th anniversary, feature some of the most magical moments in JAM's history—among them David Tennant's spectacular performance, speaking for an uninterrupted minute in his very first show.

With its brilliant blend of the silly, the serious and the satirical, The News Quiz has been a must-listen for comedy fans since it started 46 years ago. Recorded in front of an audience, these three series see Andy Zaltzman presiding over a motley crew of comedians and journalists as they trawl through the biggest (and smallest) news stories of 2023 to provide comedy, commentary, irony and irreverence.

If you have an appetite for sharp satirical comedy blended with vintage news items, be sure to sample these 14 archive episodes of BBC Radio 4's long-running panel show, chaired by Barry Took, Simon Hoggart and Sandi Toksvig. This latest smorgasbord of editions, all first broadcast between 1980 and 2012, has for its subjects such delicacies as the Royal family, 'boisterous' TV presenters, Oscar acceptance speeches, pop stars, Teletubbies, the EU referendum, the 2010 financial crash, super-injunctions, ice cream vans and much, much more.

As highly prized as a Ming vase or a Regency sideboard, this fine collection of 14 vintage episodes of BBC Radio 4’s long-running panel show - chaired by Barry Took, Simon Hoggart, Bill Tidy and Sandi Toksvig - is at last available for all to hear. Those in the know will discern a clear patina of sensible, silly and salacious news items from Britain, America and all around the world.

The Now Show returns with more stand-up, sketches and songs, as Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and special guests take aim at the latest headlines. Bringing their quips, quick wit and a quiver full of satirical arrows are comedians including Laura Lexx, Ian Smith, Sarah Keyworth, Olga Koch, Janine Harouni, Ahir Shah, Alex Kealy and Helen Bauer.

Enter a surreal universe where David Dickinson goes looking for weapons of mass destruction in 'Weapons Hunt', the Queen sells off the royal jewels on the QVC shopping channel and Delia Smith turns homicidal and starts cooking up the competition. Elsewhere, Anne Robinson votes off The Weakest Disciple, and Simon Schama and David Starkey battle it out - literally - in order to become television's leading historian.

The Radio 2 Book club celebrates the best in new fiction and recommends great reads. Sara will be interviewing top authors about their latest novels, and she’ll be catching up with librarians and reading groups from across the UK. Whether you’re after a summer blockbuster, a twist-filled thriller, or want to curl up with a heart-warming love story, Sara has you covered!

A long-time favourite of Friday night comedy fans, The Now Show presents the headlines through sketches, songs and stand-up, providing a wry, satirical perspective on UK and world events. In these 19 episodes from 2015 and 2016, hosts Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis are joined by some of the brightest and best comedy writers and performers—including Mitch Benn, Pippa Evans, John Finnemore, Mae Martin, Adam Kay and Nish Kumar—for an entertaining romp through the worlds of politics, popular culture and current affairs.

Stand-up comedy from some of the best comedians at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe including Mark Simmons, Amy Gledhill, Vittorio Angelone, Harriet Dyer, Joshua Bethania, Martin Angolo, John Meagher, Michelle Shaughnessy. Hosted by Alison Spittle.

In 1986, members of environmental group London Greenpeace published a leaflet called What's Wrong with McDonald's? It claimed McDonald's was exploiting workers, destroying rainforests, torturing animals, and promoting food that could make people sick, even cause cancer... McDonald's said the claims in the leaflet were untrue, harmed its reputation and demanded an apology. Helen Steel, a gardener, and a former postman named Dave Morris, refused. Mark Steel takes us into the murky world of McDonald's Corporation v Steel & Morris - aka 'McLibel' - the longest-running trial in English history, ...

In these series, Rhod Gilbert and Chris Addison introduce a line-up of the best and brightest stand-ups, inviting fresh faces and old hands onstage to display their comic talents. Each programme features three different stars - a newcomer who performs the opening act, an established comedian or double act offering up sketches, musical numbers or character pieces and a final headline artist. There’s some top-notch comedy from the compères, too, as they showcase their funniest routines.

An entertaining guide to some of our commonest and most curious coastal wildlife. Brett Westwood is joined by naturalist Phil Gates in this informative and entertaining guide to a variety of common coastal wildlife. Recorded in early summer along the coast of Northumberland, each programme focuses on a different habitat - rock pools, sandy beaches, sea cliffs, strandlines and mudflats adjoining saltmarshes.

Currently chaired by Andy Zaltzman, The News Quiz is the topical panel quiz show that takes its questions from the week's news stories. This bundle collection includes all three series from 2025, presenting hilarious and topical panels of some of Britain’s best known faces.

Three further series of flagship comedy The Now Show presented by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis: with their characteristic wit and satirical flair, Hugh Dennis, Steve Punt and a plethora of special guests crack wise at all things news, using topical sketches, stand-up, songs and chat to bring a smile to your face.