the times | Tuesday September 15 2020 1GT 11
television & radio
Times Radio
Digital Only
5. 00 am Calum Macdonald with Early
Breakfast 6 .00 Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell
with Times Radio Breakfast. All you need to
know for the day ahead 10. 00 Matt Chorley.
A lighter take on Westminster goings-on
1 .00pm Mariella Frostrup. Conversation
about the issues that matter 4. 00 John
Pienaar at Drive. In-depth discussion of
today’s news 7. 00 Phil Williams. News,
sport and entertainment news 10. 00 Carole
Walker 1. 00 am Stories of Our Times 1.3 0
Red Box. Matt Chorley’s politics podcast
2. 00 Highlights from Times RadioRadio 2
FM: 88- 9 0.2 MHz
5 .00am Vanessa Feltz 6 .30 The Zoe Ball
Breakfast Show 9 .3 0 Gary Davies 12. 00
Jeremy Vine 2 .00pm Steve Wright 5 .0 5
Sara Cox 6 .30 Sara Cox’s Half Wower. Sara
plays the biggest and best tunes 7.
Jo Whiley 9 .00 The Jazz Show with Jamie
Cullum. Giacomo Smith, the clarinetist and
Kansas Smitty’s bandleader, joins Jamie on
the show 10. 00 Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm
Nation 1 2. 00 OJ Borg3. 00 am Sounds of
the 80s with Gary Davies (r) 4.5 0 Radio 2
Sounds of the 8 0 s MastermixRadio 3
FM: 9 0.2- 9 2.4 MHz
6 .30am Breakfast
Georgia Mann presents the classical
breakfast show, featuring listener requests
9 .00 Essential Classics
A selection of music and features
1 2.00 Composer of the Week:
Pachelbel (1653-1706)
Donald Macleod tracks the young Pachelbel
to Erfurt, where Martin Luther once studied.
Alongside a brilliant setting of the
Magnificat, Macleod tells the curious story
of how a 20th-century Frenchman with a
knack for marketing turned the Canon in D
into the popular hit we know today.
Pachelbel (Exsurgat Deuss;Musikalische
Ergötzunggin F; Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne
in D minor; Suite for lute solo (first
movement — Allemandee); and Magnificat
anima meaa; Canon in D) (r)
1 .00pm Live Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
The Heath Quartet perform at Wigmore Hall,
London Bach (The Art of Fuguee— extracts);
Jorg Widmann (String Quartet No 4); and
Beethoven (String Quartet in C,
Op 59 No 3)2. 00 Afternoon Concert
Penny Gore presents a week of highlights
from the Berlin Philharmonic’s last season.
Sir Simon Rattle conducts Strauss’ Oboe
Concerto and Beethoven’s oratorioChrist on
the Mount of Olives. Strauss (Oboe Concerto
in D, AV 144); and Beethoven (Christ on the
Mount of Olivess, op 85). Plus, Paavo Järvi
conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in a
programme of Stravinsky and Berlioz.
Stravinsky (Scherzo fantastique, op 3);
Abrahamsen (Horn Concerto); and Berlioz
(Symphonie fantastique, op 14)
5. 00 In Tune
Sean Rafferty is joined by Rory McCleery
7. 00 In Tune Mixtape
An eclectic non-stop mix of music
7 .30 Radio 3 in Concert
Sir Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra
dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia
performed the opening Usher Hall concert of
the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival. It
was their second concert in town that year,
as the Festival Theatre hosted a performance
where they were joined by notable Italian
cast members Cecilia Bartolli and I
Barocchisti to perform Bellini’s Norma. The
Usher Hall opening concert presents a
programme of two very different love
stories. Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet
Fantasy Overturee reflects the Shakespearean
theme running through the Festival that
year, while Schoenberg’s rich score of the
symbolist play Pelleas and Melisande tells a
more ambiguous and troubling tale. The
pianist Boris Berezovsky joins the orchestra
to perform the most popular set of variations
ever to be inspired by Paganini’s 24th Caprice
— the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by
Rachmaninovv. Presented by Kate Molleson at
the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, on 7th August- Tchaikovsky (Romeo and Juliet Fantasy
Overturee); Rachmaninov (Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganiniii); Ravel (Gaspard de la
Nuiii); and Schoenberg (Pelleas und
Melisandee) (r)
10.00 Free Thinking
Susanna Clarke is one of Matthew Sweet’s
guests. She talks about the inspiration
behind the follow up to her best selling first
novelJonathan Strange and Mr Norrell,
Piranesi
1 0.45 The Essay: Mayflower Portraits
The author Margaret Verble considers the
legacy of Squanto, a Native American who
acted as an interpreter to Pilgrim settlers
1 1.00 Night Tracks
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents an adventurous,
immersive soundtrack for late-night listening
1 2.30am Through the Night (r)
Radio 4
FM: 92.4-94.6 MHz LW: 198kHz MW: 720 kHz
5.30am News Briefing
5.43 Prayer for the Day
5.45 Farming Today
5.58 Tweet of the Day (r)
6.00 Today
8.30 (LW) Yesterday in Parliament
9.00 The Life Scientific
Sarah Gilbert discusses her work developing
a vaccine for Covid-19 (7/8)
9 .3 0 One to One
The poet Helen Mort talks to retired Olympic
athlete Anyika Onuora (6/8)
9.45 (LW) Daily Service
9.45 Book of the Week: Eat the Buddha
By Barbara Demick (2/5)
10.00 Woman’s Hour
Jane Garvey presents the magazine show.
Including at 10 .45 Drama: Part two of
Life Liness by Al Smith
1 1. 00 Science Stories
The thought experiment that challenged both
physics and religion (4/5) (r)
1 1.30 The Green Lady In The Toilets
Emmy the Great seeks inspiration in ghost
stories set in school toilets
1 2.00 (LW) Shipping Forecast
1 2.04pm No Longer at Ease
By Chinua Achebe. An Igbo man leaves his
village for an education in Britain (2/5)
1 2.18 Call You and Yours
1. 00 The World at One
1 .4 5 Blood Lands
A white farming family falls silent following
the deaths of two black workers (2/5) (r)
2. 00 The Archers (r)
2 .1 5 Drama: Brother of Mine
By Nathaniel Price (r)
3. 00 Short Cuts
Short documentaries (6/7)
3 .3 0 BBC National
Short Story Award 2020
The second of five stories on the shortlist for
the annual award (2/5)
4 .00 Costing the Earth
Peter Gibbs looks into housing developments
post Coronavirus (2/13)
4 .3 0 Great Lives
Celebrating curator Okwui Enwezor (7/9)
5 .00 PM
5 .54 (LW) Shipping Forecast
6 .00 Six O’Clock News
6 .30 The Lenny Henry Show
A black man in a dangerous situation tries to
make sure he does not die first (4/6)
7 .00 The Archers
Gavin is forced to decide
7. 1 5 Front Row7 .4 5 Life Lines
Drama by Al Smith (2/5)
8. 00 File on 4
Mental disorder and killings that could have
been prevented
8 .4 0 In Touch
9 .00 The Food Programme
The history, science and magic of ice-cream
on wheels (r)
9 .30 The Life Scientific
Sarah Gilbert discusses her work developing
a vaccine for Covid-19 (7/8) (r)
1 0.00 The World Tonight
1 0.45 Book at Bedtime:
No Longer at Ease (r)
1 1.00 Fresh from the Fringe 2018
Darren Harriott showcases the best acts
from the 2018 Festival (2/2) (r)
1 1.30 Today in Parliament
1 2. 00 News and Weather
1 2.3 0 am Book of the Week:
Eat the Buddha(r)
1 2.48 Shipping Forecast
1. 00 As BBC World ServiceRadio 4 Extra
Digital only
8. 00 am The Goon Show 8.3 0 Any Other
Business 9. 00 The News Quiz 9 .3 0 Ed
Reardon’s Week 10. 00 Elena Ferrante — The
Neapolitan Novels 1 1. 00 Telling Tales 1 2. 00
The Goon Show 12.3 0 pm Any Other
Business 1. 00 Condition Purple 1 .3 0 Peril at
End House 2. 00 All the Way from Memphis
2 .3 0 Ed Reardon’s Week 3. 00 Elena Ferrante
— The Neapolitan Novels 4. 00 Telling Tales
5. 00 Shush! 5 .3 0 The Lenny Henry Show
6 .00 Journey into Space: Operation Luna
6 .30 Soul Music 7. 00 The Goon Show 7 .3 0
Any Other Business 8. 00 Condition Purple
8 .3 0 Peril at End House. Hercule Poirot and
Captain Hastings make a startling discovery
9. 00 Telling Tales. It’s time to turn to crime
with the writer and actor Amelia Bullmore
10. 00 Comedy Club: The Lenny Henry Show
10 .3 0 Great Unanswered Questions11. 00
The Consultants 1 1.3 0 Angela Barnes: You
Can’t Take It with You 11. 45 Hamish and
Dougal: You’ll Have Had Your TeaRadio 5 Live
MW: 693, 909
5 .00am Wake Up to Money 6 .00 5 Live
Breakfast 9. 00 Your Call 10. 00 The Emma
Barnett Show 1. 00 pm Nihal Arthanayake
4. 00 5 Live Drive 7. 00 5 Live Sport 9. 00
5 Live Sport: EFL Cup Football 2020-
10. 00 5 Live Sport 10 .3 0 Colin Murray
1 .00am Dotun AdebayotalkSPORT
MW: 1053, 1089 kHz- 00 am Early Breakfast 6 .00 talkSPORT
Breakfast with Laura Woods 10. 00
White and Sawyer 1. 00 pm Hawksbee and
Jacobs 4. 00 Drive with Adrian Durham &
Darren Gough 7 .00 Kick-off 10. 00 Sports
Bar 1. 00 am Extra Time
Talk Radio
Digital only
5 .00am James Max 6 .30 Julia Hartley-
Brewer 10. 00 Mike Graham 1. 00 pm
Ian Collins 4. 00 Dan Wootton 7. 00
Kevin O’Sullivan 10. 00 Cristo Foufas
1. 00 am Paul Ross6 Music
Digital only- 00 am Chris Hawkins 7 .3 0 Lauren Laverne
10 .3 0 Mary Anne Hobbs. New music and
classic songs 1.00pm Shaun Keaveny 4. 00
Steve Lamacq 7. 00 Marc Riley. Features and
new music from Salford 9. 00 Gideon Coe
1 2. 00 6 Music Recommends with Tom
Ravenscroft 1. 00 am The Evolution of
John Peel 2. 00 Alt 90s 2.3 0 The Seven Ages
of Rock 3. 00 6 Music Live Hour - 00 6 Music’s Jukebox
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Digital only
6 .30am The Chris Evans Breakfast Show
with Sky 10. 00 Eddy Temple-Morris 1. 00 pm
Tim Cocker 4. 00 Kate Lawler 7. 00 Steve
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FM: 1 00 -1 0 2 MHz
6 .00am More Music Breakfast 9. 00
Alexander Armstrong 1 2. 00 Aled Jones- 00 pm John Brunning 7. 00 Smooth
Classics at Seven 8. 00 The Classic FM
Concert with John Suchet. The 8 0 th
anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Walford
Davies (RAF March Pasttt); Walton (Spitfire
Prelude and Fuguee) Goodwin (Battle of
Britain Suitee); Addinsell (Warsaw Concerto
— From Dangerous Moonlighttt); Elgar
(Nimrodd — from the Enigma Variationss); Guy
Farley (Legacy: The Bader Suitee); Goodwin
(633 Squadronn — Main Theme); Kamen
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Radio Choice
Debra Craine
People Fixing
the World
BBC World Service, 4.06pmHow many mobile phones
have you had? Now multiply
that figure by the billions of
phone users worldwide and
you have some idea of the
scale of the problem when it
comes to disposing of them.
It’s estimated that in the US
alone more than 150 million
mobile phones are thrown
away each year. This
programme tries to find
out whether old mobiles can
be put to better use. We
meet the physicist in San
Francisco who has found
a way to use them to stop
illegal logging in rainforests
thousands of miles away.
From Tokyo we hear how
the Olympic Committee has
been turning old phones
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thetimes.co.uk/bulletinsDes
ITV
{{{{{N
ot until I saw the videos
(available on YouTube) of
the serial killer Dennis
Nilsen being interviewed
in prison did I realise how
brilliant David Tennant’s performance
is in Des. Tennant mimicked and
mirrored this droning, monotoned
psychopath not just with his voice,
but his entire being, right down to the
dead-eyed, bespectacled gaze.
Tennant’s Scottish accent is stronger
than Nilsen’s, which probably faded
after years living in London, and if he
really did smoke that voraciously it is
amazing that he lived to 72 (the same
goes for the police; did everyonesmoke non-stop in 1983?). Tennant
absolutely nailed his whiny pedantry
and his tendency to talk with sighing
irritation about the finer details of
his atrocious crimes as if he were an
accountant explaining a biscuit factory
spreadsheet to a dullard, rather than
one of Britain’s most prolific serial
killers with a penchant for watching
TV with corpses.
ITV’s three-part production, which
opened with news footage showing
London’s homelessness crisis in 1983,
is restrained and it is quality. It
avoided that queasy moral dilemma:
do we glamorise monsters by making
dramas about them? First, the murders
are not featured so there is no grisly
focus on the dismembered bodies of
young men blocking Nilsen’s drains.
The story started when Nilsen was
arrested and the spotlight is on his
psychopathy and police apathy
regarding “homosexual crime” rather
than prurient detail. We never saw
that head in the cooking pot.
Second, Nilsen died in 2018 so
there is no risk that he will enjoy
the notoriety (we saw him demanding
a newspaper to read about himself).
However, you might find the title
Des a little chummy for a man who
killed, chopped up, burnt and boiled
up to 15 people. But Des was how
he was known to his fellow civil
servants. He was a bore with a
boring name (no offence).You cannot fault this cast for heft.
Jason Watkins was delicious as the
waspish, slightly eccentric writer
Brian Masters, who became Nilsen’s
confidant and biographer. With a
pronounced rhotacism, he assured
Nilsen he wanted to “comprehend”,
not rehash (while flogging a book, of
course). The scene where killer and
writer first spoke across a prison table
was outstanding, each man circling
and sniffing the other like dogs sussing
out mutual advantage. “I just don’t
want these poor men exploited,”
Nilsen said, gobsmackingly. He
thought the press to be of lower moral
fibre than he, the man who dissected
victims on his kitchen floor.
Daniel Mays’s performance as
DCI Peter Jay was strong and heavy,
his stares ever more aghast at Nilsen’s
insouciance. When asked why he did
it, Nilsen said, “I was hoping you
would be able to tell me that,” in the
manner of someone asking a doctor
to diagnose a niggling itch.
At times Tennant’s portrayal of
Nilsen’s matter-of-factness inched
towards dark comedy, but then this
drama does use many of Nilsen’s
actual words. “End of day, end of
drinking, end of person,” he said about
strangling another victim as if this
were inevitable. The main draw here is
Tennant’s hypnotic presence. To make
a character simultaneously dull and
David Tennant as the serial killer Dennis Nilsen in Des mesmerising takes quite some talent.Mesmerising Tennant has killer down to a tee
NEW PICTURES/ITVCarol
Midgley
TV review