the times | Tuesday December 21 2021 7television & radio
Times Radio
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5.00am Early Breakfast. A full briefing on
the morning’s stories, including politics,
sport and business 6.00 Times Radio
Breakfast. All the morning’s headlines 10.00
Matt Chorley. A lighter take on Westminster
goings-on 1.00pm Mariella Frostrup.
Conversation about the issues that matter
4.00 Times Radio Drive. Conversation with
political and economic guests 7.00 Evenings
on Times Radio. Entertaining evening
conversation 10.00 Carole Walker. Late night
news and tomorrow’s front page 1.00am
Stories of Our Times. The Times’s daily
podcast 1.30 Red Box. Matt Chorley’s politics
podcast 2.00 Highlights from Times RadioRadio 2
FM: 88-90.2 MHz
6.30am The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show 9.30
Ken Bruce. Robert Plant chooses the Tracks
of My Years 12.00 Chris Mason 2.00pm
Steve Wright 5.00 Sara Cox 6.30 Sara
Cox’s Half Wower 7.00 Jo Whiley’s Shiny
Happy Playlist. Jo plays her favourite album
tracks and musical gems rarely heard on
Radio 2 7.30 Jo Whiley. Jo chats to actor
Mackenzie Crook about the new episodes of
BBC1’s Worzel Gummidge. Plus, Emma
Bullimore’s must-see television shows 9.00
The Jazz Show with Jamie Cullum. The
pianist and songwriter is joined by the
multi-platinum selling singer Michael Bublé
10.00 Trevor Nelson’s Pick N Mix 10.30
Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm Nation 12.00
Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco 3.00am
My Life in a Mixtape (r) 4.00 Katie PiperRadio 3
FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz
6.30am Breakfast
Petroc Trelawny presents, featuring
listener requests and two shortlisted
entries from the Carol Competition
9.00 Essential Classics
Georgia Mann presents a selection of music
and features, including the second of five
pieces written by their composers as
Christmas gifts to friends or family
12.00 Composer of the Week:
Mozart (1756-1791)
Mozart (Symphony No. 39 in E-Flat Major,
K. 543: I. Adagio — Allegro; Adagio in B
Minor, K. 540; Divertimento in E-Flat Major,
K. 563: II. Adagio; Clarinet Quintet in A
major, K. 581: II. Larghetto; Piano Sonata
No. 17 in B-Flat major, K 570: I. Allegro)1.00pm Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
Radio 3 New Generation Artists Eivind
Ringstad, Aleksey Semenenko and Mengjie
Han play Schubert, Britten and Mozart
at the recent Radio 3 Big Chamber Weekend
at Snape Maltings. Britten (Elegy);
Mozart (Duo in B flat for violin and
viola in E flat, K424); Schubert (Arpeggione
Sonata in A minor, D821) (r)
2.00 Afternoon Concert
A sequence of Vivaldi’s sacred works, plus
Haydn from Simon Rattle, Britten from tenor
Ben Johnson and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker
Suite. Presented by Ian Skelly. Britten
(Winter Words); Haydn (Symphony no.90 in
C); Vivaldi (Kyrie in G minor, RV 587; Credo
in E minor, RV 591 and other sacred works);
Tchaikovsky (The Nutcracker, Suite No. 1,
op. 71a); Peter Cornelius (The Shepherds);
Stravinsky (Firebird Suite)
5.00 In Tune
Sean Rafferty and Katie Derham present the
In Tune Christmas Special, live from BBC
Broadcasting House, joined by some of the
show’s greatest performer friends
7.00 In Tune Mixtape
An eclectic non-stop mix of music
7.30 BBC Proms
Sir John Eliot Gardiner conducts the
Monteverdi Choir & English Baroque Soloists
in music by Bach and Handel, from the Royal
Albert Hall, on 1st September. Handel
(Cantata “Donna, che in ciel”); Bach
(Christ lag in Todes Banden, BWV 4);
and Handel (Dixit Dominus) (r)
9.15 BBC Proms
Penny Gore presents from the Royal Albert
Hall as George Benjamin conducts the Mahler
Chamber Orchestra in Knussen and Purcell
and the premiere of his Concerto for
Orchestra, with Pierre-Laurent Aimard
joining for Ravel’s Piano Concerto. From 30th
August. Knussen (The Way to Castle Yonder);
Purcell (Three Consorts transcr. Benjamin —
world premiere); Ravel (Piano Concerto in G);
George Benjamin (Concerto for Orchestra —
world premiere — BBC co-commission with
Mahler Chamber Orchestra) (r)
10.45 The Essay: The Meaning of Ritual
With the decline of religious practice, writer
Madeleine Bunting argues that structure is
gone. So where does that leave people like
herself, who grew up a Catholic but turned
away from the faith? Madeleine explores new
rituals that have taken the place of Sunday
worship: in her own case, pond swimming
11.00 Night Tracks
An adventurous, immersive soundtrack
for late-night listening
12.30am Through the NightRadio 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
With Martha Kearney and Nick Robinson
9.00 Things Fell Apart
A 2017 prank that led to the Capitol
insurrection of January 2021 (7/8)
9.30 Four Thought
Beth Stevens talks about the brain cells
most people have never heard of (3/4)
9.45 (LW) Daily Service
9.45 Book of the Week:
Taste — My Life Through Food
Written and read by Stanley Tucci. Even as a
struggling young actor, Stanley knew the
importance of tradition when pairing pasta
with sauce. Abridged by Eileen Horne (2/5)
10.00 Woman’s Hour
Topical conversation
11.00 Wild Inside
The internal complexity of the oceanic
sunfish. Last in the series (3/3)
11.30 Moving Pictures
A detailed examination of Botticelli’s Mystic
Nativity. Last in the series (3/3)
12.01pm (LW) Shipping Forecast
12.05 Joseph and the Three Gifts:
An Angel’s Story
By Brian Sibley. After Mary gives birth,
Joseph tries to feel how he imagines he
ought to, how to love Jesus as if he were his
son. Then some bizarre visitors start arriving
12.18 Call You and Yours
1.00 The World at One
1.45 The Hackers
Hacker culture’s belief that information
should be freely accessible and shared (7/10)
2.00 The Archers (r)
2.15 Drama: Song of the Reed — Eel
By Steve Waters. Occasional drama set on
wetlands nature reserve in Norfolk. Ian has
gone to work for neighbouring landowner
Theo. Starring Sophie Okonedo and Mark
Rylance. See Radio Choice (3/4)
3.00 Short Cuts
A joyful Christmas scene is discovered on an
old tape. Last in the series
3.30 Three Vicars Talking
Reverends Richard Coles, Kate Bottley and
Giles Fraser discuss Christmas, one of the
busiest times of the clerical year (r)
4.00 Consumed by Desire
4.30 Great Lives
French sailor Jeanne Baret, the first woman
to circumnavigate the globe (3/8)5.00 PM
5.54 (LW) Shipping Forecast
6.00 Six O’Clock News
6.30 The Missing Hancocks
By Ray Galton and Alan Simpson (7/8)
7.00 The Archers
Oliver offers words of wisdom
7.15 Front Row
Arts programme
8.00 A Family of Strangers
8.40 In Touch
9.00 All in the Mind
The limits of the human minds (7/8)
9.30 Things Fell Apart
A 2017 prank that led to the Capitol
insurrection of January 2021 (7/8) (r)
10.00 The World Tonight
Presented by Ritula Shah
10.45 Book at Bedtime: Joseph and the
Three Gifts: An Angel’s Story (r)
11.00 Mr Fletcher, the Poet
A Leicestershire builder and amateur poet
looks back at his childhood (r)
11.30 100 Years of Exile
The human experience of being a refugee
and working with them (2/3) (r)
12.00 News and Weather
12.30am Book of the Week:
Taste — My Life Through Food (r)
12.48 Shipping Forecast
1.00 As BBC World ServiceRadio 4 Extra
Digital only
8.00am The Goon Show 8.30 Molesworth
9.00 Quote — Unquote 9.30 The Mitch Benn
Music Show 10.00 The Midnight Folk 11.00
The Forum 11.40 A Christmas Tree 12.00
The Goon Show 12.30pm Molesworth 1.00
Down Payment on Death 1.30 Agatha
Christie’s Dead Man’s Folly 2.00 Maeve
Binchy Short Stories 2.15 Children in Need:
D for Dexter 2.30 Beatrix Potter’s Favourite
Tale 3.00 The Midnight Folk 4.00 Quote
— Unquote 4.30 The Mitch Benn Music Show
5.00 Small Scenes 5.30 The Casebook of
Max and Ivan 6.00 The Hitchhiker’s Guide
to the Galaxy: The Primary Phase 6.30
Soul Music 7.00 The Goon Show 7.30
Molesworth 8.00 Down Payment on Death.
Retired hitman Art Gordo heads to his
friend’s flat to plan his next move 8.30
Agatha Christie’s Dead Man’s Folly. Crime
drama, with John Moffatt 9.00 The Forum.
The life and work of Tove Jansson 9.40 A
Christmas Tree. By Charles Dickens 10.00
Comedy Club: The Casebook of Max and
Ivan. The detectives investigate a sinister
retirement home. Last in the series10.25 Comedy Club Extra. Jessica Fostekew
shares what she wants for Christmas 10.30
Keep Calman Carry On. Susan Calman tries
her hand at baking 11.00 The Maltby
Collection. The staff pitch their ideas for the
special exhibition 11.30 Concrete CowRadio 5 Live
MW: 693, 909
5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00 5 Live
Breakfast 9.00 Chris Warburton 11.00 Naga
Munchetty 1.00pm Mobeen Azhar 4.00 5
Live Drive 7.00 5 Live Sport 7.45 5 Live
Sport: Arsenal v Sunderland (Kick-off 7.45)
10.30 Colin Murray 1.00am Dotun AdebayotalkSPORT
MW: 1053, 1089 kHz
5.00am Early Breakfast 6.00 talkSPORT
Breakfast with Laura Woods 10.00 Jim
White and Simon Jordan 1.00pm Hawksbee
& Baker 4.00 talkSPORT Drive with Andy
Goldstein & Darren Gough 7.00 Kick Off
10.00 Sports Bar 12.00 Extra TimetalkRADIO
Digital only
6.00am James Max. Breakfast show 10.00
Kevin O’Sullivan 1.00pm Ian Collins 4.00
Cristo Foufas 7.00 Richard Tice 10.00 James
Whale Feat Ash 1.00am Paul Ross6 Music
Digital only
5.00am Chris Hawkins 7.30 Gemma Cairney
10.30 Arlo Parks 1.00pm Craig Charles 4.00
Huw Stephens 7.00 Marc Riley 9.00 Gideon
Coe 12.00 6 Music Artist in Residence
1.00am Don Letts’ Culture Clash Radio 3.00
6 Music Live Hour 4.00 6 Music’s JukeboxVirgin Radio
Digital only
6.30am The Chris Evans Breakfast Show
with Sky 10.00 Eddy Temple-Morris 1.00pm
Tim Cocker 4.00 Kate Lawler 7.00 Steve
Denyer 10.00 Rich Williams 1.00am Virgin
Radio Through The Night 4.00 Sam PinkhamClassic FM
FM: 100-102 MHz
6.00am More Music Breakfast 9.00
Alexander Armstrong 12.00 Anne-Marie
Minhall 4.00pm John Brunning 7.00
Smooth Classics at Seven 8.00 The Lord’s
Taverners Carol Concert with the Stars 10.00
Smooth Classics 1.00am Bill OvertonRadio Choice
Gabriel TateSong of the Reed
Radio 4, 2.15pmThe third of Steve Waters’s
evocative dramas following
a wetlands nature reserve
over a year finds Liv
(Sophie Okonedo, above)
and Ian (Mark Rylance)
facing up to imminent
flooding with dismay and
resignation respectively:
the saltwater is likely to
threaten Liv’s plans to sell
her Wildscapes reserve
cum tourist trail and many
of the freshwater species
inherent to the area’s
continuing survival. The
environmental message
is powerful and the leads
absolutely engaged with
the material. Once again,
though, the sound design
is the star, drawn from
recordings at the RSPB’s
Strumpshaw Fen.our tv newsletter
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thetimes.co.uk/bulletinsD
iane Morgan’s Mandy
Carter is wrong about
almost everything, but on
this she was correct: bread
sauce is “like dog vomit”.
Why does anyone eat it? How people
say, “It’s just not Christmas without it,”
is a mystery. Mind you, in We Wish
You a Mandy Christmas her bread
sauce was pretty close to vomit: we
saw the family Irish wolfhound with
its nose in the gravy boat prior to her
pouring lumpy matter onto her plate.Mandy, with her lopsided mouth
always chewing the inside of one
cheek, is funny because Morgan is
funny. Not always in a laugh-out-loud
way, but in the lugubrious, reductive,
deadpan way that she sucks the joy
out of everything, just as her character
Liz does in Motherland. The woman
behind Philomena Cunk must be
halfway to national treasure status.
As a sitcom, it is absurdist but
relatable. I mean who does “give a
shit about the f***ing Woolpack” at
Christmas? As a mickey-take of TV
“Christmas specials” that are half an
hour longer than usual, this festive
“special”, produced by Michael Spicer
(The Room Next Door), was 60 seconds
longer. It spoofed, like everything
does, A Christmas Carol, by having
three ghosts ring on Mandy’s video
doorbell as she lay drunk on Tia
Maria. The spirits were in the form of
Johnny Vegas, Pearce Quigley and
John Cooper Clarke (the latter, a
smoking ghost, was actually a bit of
a festive surprise).
Mandy’s best friend, Lola (Michelle
Greenidge), hadn’t told her that she
was spending Christmas alone with
her dog, Small Tim, and so Mandy
stood in her living room asking her
why she couldn’t hear her — not
because Mandy was in another spatial
dimension, but because Lola was
wearing noise-cancelling earbuds.
Anyway, they ended up gettingpie-eyed on rosé wine and it made for
a nicely cynical Christmas tale.
I don’t know about you, but I’m
beginning to suspect that paying a low
rent in London in return for the
creepy landlord controlling your life,
choosing your clothes, breaking your
teapot on purpose and pawing at you
between grey sheets in your grey, grey
bedroom may not be the lucky deal
it’s cracked up to be. Edward’s
creepiness in The Girl Before is now
at Mr Pervert maximum. He seems to
use that house like a puppy to lure
women so that he can seduce them.
And now we know that his wife and
child are buried under the killer house.
Well, it’s certainly a talking point after
you’ve done the tour. This is a weird
and silly tale, but it does have my
attention, largely because of the
performances of Jessica Plummer as
Emma and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jane
(both beautifully controlled).
However, it is another drama in
which most of the male characters are
annoying arses, while the women are
put-upon saints. And we got yet more
woman-in-a-tampon-advert dancing
from Emma. She also had to sing
Amazing Grace in a church for no
apparent reason. Toe-curling. This
drama is very mannered, with more
emphasis on style and clothes than
authenticity, but, dammit, it is oddly
mesmerising. Maybe I’m being
controlled too.A ‘Christmas special’ with a splash of cynicism
RICHARD HARRISONCarol
Midgley
TV review
The Girl Before
BBC1
{{{((We Wish You a Mandy
Christmas
BBC2
{{{{(Diane Morgan’s Mandy returns in a spoof of A Christmas Carol