Programme Information

French And Saunders Ep1/2

Good Friday 22 April

12.00noon-2.00pm BBC RADIO 2 (Schedule addition 6 April)

Following their successful debut at Christmas, queens of British comedy French and Saunders return bringing joy to BBC Radio 2 listeners on Good Friday and Easter Monday.

The programmes repeat the winning formula of their festive shows, combining music, chat and, of course, a well-known guest for their Someone With Their Mum slot.

Dawn and Jennifer also offer their guide to What's Hot And What's Not in the world of fashion and celebrity... And it's all delivered with their trademark humour.

Presenters/Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Producer/Julia McKenzie

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

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Penny Smith sits in for Claudia Winkleman and meets Sophie Page, author of How To Marry A Prince. Plus there's a preview of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and Veronica Lee reviews the latest stand-up comedy.

Presenter/Penny Smith, Producer/Jessica Rickson for the BBC

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Performance On 3 – Frank Martin: Golgotha

Good Friday 22 April

7.00-9.15pm BBC RADIO 3

Stephen Cleobury conducts music for Good Friday, live from King's College, Cambridge.

Frank Martin wrote some of the most poignant sacred music of the 20th century and his large-scale oratorio Golgotha is a powerful, rich and complex work. Martin was inspired to create his own Passion after seeing Rembrandt's etching The Three Crosses. Using texts from the Gospels and the writings of St Augustine, Martin creates a world in darkness and doubt in which the five soloists share the narrative and character roles. He builds on the legacy of Bach's Passions by drawing on the finest 20th-century heritage of Debussy, Poulenc and Stravinsky.

Presenter/Catherine Bott, Producer/Janet Tuppen

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Ian McMillan offers the best writing around in BBC Radio 3's language cabaret. Tonight, novelist Justin Cartwright reads and discusses a new piece commissioned by The Verb; and Arto Vaun Payaslian introduces contemporary Armenian poetry.

Presenter/Ian McMillan, Producer/Erin Riley

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Mary Ann Kennedy presents tracks from across the globe and a studio session with American star of country music Emmylou Harris, performing songs from her new solo album, Hard Bargain.

In recent years Emmylou's music has moved on from the country music mainstream to a style closer to alternative music. Her new album includes a song that harks back to the darkest days of Fifites American racism, another that reflects on her relationship with the late Gram Parsons, and one that is a tribute to fellow singer Kate McGarrigle. She talks about them, and gives an exclusive acoustic solo performance.

Presenter/Mary Ann Kennedy, Producer/Roger Short

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

James Aldred encounters one of the world's most powerful birds of prey, the Harpy Eagle.

Like most small boys, James loved climbing trees and, now he has grown up, he's still climbing trees – helping scientists and film crews get up into the rainforest canopy. When he was invited to help a wildlife team film one of the world's largest eagles in Southern Brazil, it was an offer he couldn't refuse. But what happened next was a nerve-wracking and painful encounter with one of the world's most powerful birds.

Recordings made by James on location are combined with interviews with ornithologist Ian Newton and field biologist Marta Curti of The Peregrine Fund, in a programme which explores the behaviour, ecology and reputation of Harpy Eagles in the wild.

Presenter/James Aldred, Producer/Sarah Blunt for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Anna Madeley and Will Young star in Colin Bytheway's play based on a real story.

Mary Toft believes there is more to life than raising children and working the Surrey fields. Dreaming of fame and fortune, she tricks doctors into believing she is giving birth to rabbits.

In 1726, 26-year-old mother-of-three Mary gave birth to a rabbit – and another – and then another.

Local surgeon John Howard confirmed the phenomenon, delivering several live rabbits himself. He wrote of his findings to the Secretary of George I. The King, intrigued, sent his personal anatomist to investigate, who soon concluded that Mary was telling the truth.

Mary quickly became a national sensation and was brought to London to be studied at length – but eventually Mary broke down and confessed that the whole thing was a hoax.

Producer/Celia de Wolff for Pier Productions Limited

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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On the most solemn day in the Christian calendar, Dr Tina Beattie, Director of Catholic Studies at Roehampton University, travels to Jerusalem to reflect on the last moments of Christ's life.

Starting at night in the Garden of Gethsemane, the place where Jesus was arrested, Dr Beattie re-examines the human and spiritual consequences of Christ's journey to His death on the cross.

She visits the pavement on which Christ was tried by Pontius Pilate and scourged, and reflects on the moment where Mary has to contemplate the death of her son.

The programme concludes inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the site Christians believe to be the place of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.

Presenter/Tina Beattie, Producer/Mark O'Brien for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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David Attenborough has made it known over the years that rats are not his favourite animal; however, this week he remembers an experience filming them in India in a temple dedicated to them.

With his usual wit, David tells of the living nightmare he endured while on location in a place infested with rats. If that wasn't enough, while making his BBC TV series The Life Of Mammals, he devoted a whole programme to them – to balance his own personal view, he went to an Indian temple where the rat is revered and even encouraged to swarm in vast numbers.

In a twist of the story, David tells listeners why they should be respected.

Presenter/David Attenborough, Producer/Julian Hector for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

Gethin Jones follows the stories of lottery winners and how their lives changed after their lucky windfall. He speaks to one of the first to hit the jackpot, who now mentors other winners, and tells the story of a supermarket syndicate who gave up their jobs after winning the lottery.

Presenter/Gethin Jones, Producer/Jo Meek

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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5 Live Sport

Good Friday 22 April

2.45-5.30pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Jonathan Overend presents live Championship football coverage

Jonathan Overend presents live Championship football coverage, the latest from Rugby League's Superleague and all the day's other sports news.

Presenter/Jonathan Overend, Producer/Mike Carr

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

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5 Live Sport

Good Friday 22 April

7.00-10.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Colin Murray previews the weekend's action with a round-up of the day's sports news, plus build-up to tonight's live football in Kicking Off. That's followed by Championship football commentary of Leeds United versus Reading from 7.45pm.

Presenter/Colin Murray, Producer/Mike Carr

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Rugby League

Good Friday 22 April

12.10-2.00pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary comes from the big local derby, Hull FC versus Hull KR, in the Super League.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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Rugby League

Good Friday 22 April

2.40-4.30pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Rugby fans can enjoy full live commentary on Wigan versus St Helens in the Super League.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

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Football

Good Friday 22 April

5.10-7.15pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE SPORTS EXTRA

Uninterrupted commentary comes from the Championship match between local rivals Nottingham Forest and Leicester City.

Producer/Jen McAllister

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra Publicity

Now Playing @6Music

Good Friday 22 April

7.00-9.00pm BBC 6 MUSIC

Tom Robinson presents BBC 6 Music's unique new show, reflecting the music week online, on air and giving listeners the opportunity to shape the playlist.

This week there's the digital digest of the last seven days' online music highlights, another Themed Three and a chance for a listener to curate their very own mix for the show.

Presenter/Tom Robinson, Producer/Rowan Collinson for Somethin' Else Productions

BBC 6 Music Publicity