Programme Information

The cast of new London musical Legally Blonde join Elaine Paige in the studio for a chat and an exclusive performance this week.

There are also listeners' break-a-leg messages and a Big One from Malcolm Prince which, this week, is taken from hit musical Mamma Mia!.

Presenter/Elaine Paige, Producer/Malcolm Prince

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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On this week's programme, Brian D'Arcy looks for the signs and wonders of God's presence in the world around us. He explores ways in which God reveals himself through everyday words and deeds as well as through more dramatic signs.

Music comes from King's College Chapel Choir with the Aberdeen University Choral Society, directed by Roger Williams. The organist is Paul Mealor and hymns include: I Cannot Tell; Praise To The Holiest In The Height; and Thine Arm, O Lord, In Days Of Old.

Presenter/Brian D'Arcy, Producer/Janet McLarty

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Author Arthur Ransome's colourful past has recently hit the headlines after newly released documents reveal his recruitment as a spy by MI5, following the Bolshevik revolution in 1917. Amazonia is the story of Ransome's dramatic sojourn in Russia, years before he found fame as a children's writer with Swallows And Amazons. From archive sources and published material, writer Garry Lyons creates a tale of war, revolution, romance and espionage.

Struggling author Arthur Ransome, aged 29, flees a failing marriage and a libel scandal in London, arriving in Petrograd, determined to become a fiction writer in defiance of his late father. But trapped in the East, as Europe mobilises for the First World War, he takes a job as war correspondent for the Daily News, and spends time at the front. Still there in 1917, he gets caught up in the revolution, befriends many of the leading Bolsheviks, including Lenin and Trotsky, and falls in love with Trotsky's secretary, Evgenia Shelepina.

Arthur Ransome is played by Rory Kinnear and Evgenia Shelepina is played by Michelle Dockery.

Producer/Melanie Harris

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Four hundred years ago, much of Central Europe was under Turkish rule, and the traces remain to this day. Many bathe, drink coffee and eat croissants, courtesy of the Ottoman Turks. Yet several nations still resist Turkey joining the EU.

Visiting today's Turkish communities in Vienna and the Muslim districts of Sarajevo, Dennis Marks poses the question of whether Europe is in denial about the past influence of the Ottoman Empire to contemporary Austrians, Bosnians and Turks. These artists, scholars, politicians and historians discover what they share and what they fear.

Presenter and Producer/Dennis Marks

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Irish actors Lorcan Cranitch and Orla Charlton explore the Irish landscape in readings spanning from the 9th century to the present day, including work by some of the best-loved Irish poets including Seamus Heaney, PJ Kavanagh, Derek Mahon and Paul Durcan, with music ranging from Arnold Bax to John Cage.

Lorcan and Orla celebrate the beauty of their country but also reveal the air of melancholy that pervades the backdrop of turbulent historical events and economic decline. The programme takes as its title Song For Ireland, a ballad celebrating the beauty of the landscape and hope for the future.

Readers/Lorcan Cranitch and Orla Charlton, Producer/Jessica Isaacs

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

In this week's Living World, Lionel Kelleway explores the dark, damp cellars of Witley Court in Worcestershire, where "meta bourneti", one of two species of cave spider, can be found.

Cave spiders are one of the largest spiders found in the United Kingdom, with adults measuring up to 5cm in leg span and 15mm in body length.

Joining Lionel is Spencer Tricket from English Heritage, who own Witley Court, and John Partridge, Secretary of the British Arachnological Society. But before they can begin their search, they have to wait for the all-clear from Nick Bonsall from Access Ecology, as the spiders share their cellars with "Lesser Horseshoe" bats, which hibernate there in the winter. Once the cellars have been checked, the trio make their way down a spiral staircase and through the labyrinth of dark, damp rooms.

Lionel and his companions find several cave spiders during their quest underground, as well as egg cases, some tiny spiderlings and plenty of webs. Lionel hears how there is more than one kind of spider silk, learns about the spiders' most bizarre feeding habits and discovers why the life of the male spider is probably a short but happy one.

Presenter/Lionel Kelleway, Producer/Sarah Blunt

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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This week's castaway is stylist and presenter Gok Wan. Gok talks to Kirsty Young about his life, his favourite music and how he would cope on BBC Radio 4's mythical island.

Presenter/Kirsty Young, Producer/Leanne Buckle

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Archaeologist and broadcaster Mike Pitts delves into the sometimes murky world of the metal detector – from harmless amateur history buffs, to criminal night-hawkers.

This programme tells the human stories of in-fighting within the metal-detecting community, detailing bust-ups between landowners and "detectorists", battles within the archaeological establishment and the politics of this area. Above all, listeners discover how metal detecting is changing national heritage.

Recently, metal detectors have hit the headlines through some incredible discoveries, including: Viking and Saxon hoards valued into the millions; a Roman cemetery; and even a possible Boudicca's Temple. They've been praised for reporting their discoveries to the authorities and allowing experienced archaeologists to carry out thorough excavations at the find sites. But there is a bigger and much more complex story to tell.

Unique finds inevitably attract huge media attention and there are worries that the attention only serves to encourage the numbers of illegal night-hawkers. Some even fear it could be encouraging a modern gold-rush. It's an issue scaring the "legal" metal detectors and a debate that has split the archaeological community in two.

As well as gaining access to the behind-the-scenes conservation work on recent hoards, this programme hears from a range of experts and people working in the field including: Time Team's Tony Robinson; Terry Herbert, finder of the "Staffordshire Hoard"; Duncan Slarke, Finds Liaison Officer; Pete Wilson, English Heritage; John Browning, a farmer whose site has been targeted by night-hawkers; Jude Plouviez, archaeologist; CI Mark Harrison, Kent Police; Trevor Austin, General Secretary of National Metal Detecting Society; and Tim Sutherland, battlefield archaeologist.

Presenter/Mike Pitts, Producer/Terry Lewis

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Actor Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley

In the final part of John le Carré's The Honourable Schoolboy, dramatised by Shaun McKenna, Smiley's plans to get hold of Russian spy Nelson Ko are coming to a head. But Smiley has pinned his hopes on Jerry Westerby – and Westerby has plans of his own.

The cast stars Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley, Hugh Bonneville as Jerry Westerby and Daisy Haggard as Liese Worth.

Producer/Marc Beeby

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Sunday 7 February

12.00noon-6.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Colin Murray presents the latest sports news and an afternoon of live action. At 1.30pm, there's commentary of the West Midlands derby, Birmingham versus Wolves, live from St Andrews.

There are also Six Nations updates from Scotland versus France (kick-off 3pm) at Murrayfield and live racing with commentary of the Hennessy Gold Cup from Leopardstown at 3.45pm.

At 4pm, there's top-of-the-table Premier League commentary of Chelsea versus Arsenal, live, from Stamford Bridge.

Presenter/Colin Murray, Producer/Ed King

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Rugby Union

Sunday 7 February

2.45-4.45pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted Six Nations commentary comes from Scotland versus France, live, from Murrayfield. There is expert analysis from former Scotland captain Gavin Hastings.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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NFL American Football

Sunday 7 February

9.00pm-4.00am BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Arlo White and Greg Brady present commentary of Super Bowl XLIV, live, from Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

The NFC Champions take on the AFC Champions in the showpiece final of the NFL season. Arlo and Greg have all the build-up to the big match, which starts at approximately 11.20pm.

Presenter/Arlo White

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Huey Morgan meets the latest band to emerge, brimming with brilliance, from Brooklyn – White Rabbits.

With two drummers, two singers and a reputation for an impressively energetic live show, the White Rabbits arrive in the UK with their second album, It's Frightening, ready to cement their burgeoning reputation.

They first registered on the scene in 2007, with their debut album, Fort Nightly, which landed them a tour with the Kaiser Chiefs. Their second album is produced by Britt Daniel, guitarist of Spoon, and is propelled off the starting blocks by the driving beats of lead single Percussion Gun.

The band talk to Huey about their striking percussion section, their communal loft-living arrangements and being a part of the coolest music scene in the world.

Presenter/Huey Morgan, Producer/Becky Maxted

BBC 6 Music Publicity