the times | Tuesday March 15 2022 11television & radio
Times Radio
Digital Only
5.00am Calum Macdonald with Early
Breakfast 6.00 Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell
with Times Radio Breakfast 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. The day’s news, sport and
entertainment news 10.00 Carole Walker
1.00am Stories of Our Times. The Times’s
daily podcast 1.30 Red Box. 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 12.00 Jeremy Vine 2.00pm Steve
Wright 5.00 Sara Cox 6.30 Sara Cox’s Half
Wower 7.00 Jo Whiley’s Shiny Happy
Playlist 7.30 Jo Whiley 9.00 The Jazz Show
with Jamie Cullum. The drummer, composer
and producer Myele Manzanza joins Jamie
for a Take 5 interview 10.00 Trevor Nelson’s
Magnificent 7. Uplifting tunes and essential
throwbacks 10.30 Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm
Nation. The DJ introduces a mix of soulful
tunes 12.00 OJ Borg 3.00am In Concert:
Glen Campbell (r) 4.00 Vanessa FeltzRadio 3
FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz
6.30am Breakfast
Hannah French presents the classical
breakfast show. Including 7.00, 8.00 News.
7.30, 8.30 News headlines
9.00 Essential Classics
A selection of music and features, with this
week’s Essential Performers focusing
on the flautist Emmanuel Pahud
12.00 Composer of the Week:
Debussy (1862-1918)
Donald Macleod considers Debussy’s life as
he approaches his thirties. Today, Debussy
finds a partner to ease the burden of poverty
and enjoys the cafes and brasseries of Paris.
Debussy (Images — 1894; II: Souvenir de
Louvre; Dans le movement d’un Sarabande;
Trois Mélodies de Verlaine; I: La mer est
plus belle que les cathedrals; II: Le son
du cor s’afflige vers les bois; III:
L’échelonnement des haies moutonne à
l’infin; Pour le piano; Prelude; Sarabande;
Toccata; String quartet in G minor, op 10; II:
Assez vif et bien rythme; Proses Lyriques;
and IV: De soir; 6 Epigraphes Antiques)1.00pm Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
In the first concert of a new series of
chamber music by Rachmaninov and friends,
from LSO St Luke’s in London, Hannah French
presents piano-duo Simon Crawford-Phillips
and Philip Moore performing two
masterpieces by Rachmaninov and
Stravinsky. Rachmaninov (Symphonic
Dances); and Stravinsky (Three Movements
from Pétrouchka, arranged for 2 pianos
by Victor Babin). Recorded at LSO
St Luke’s in London on 14 January 2022
2.00 Afternoon Concert
Presented by Fiona Talkington. Strauss (II:
Overture to The Gypsy Baron); Monteverdi
(Si dolce e il tormento from Quarto scherzo
delle ariose vaghezze); Poulenc (Sinfonietta);
Eugene Bozza (Ballade for trombone and
piano, Op 62); Sibelius (Violin Concerto in
D minor, Op 47; and Finlandia); Haydn
(Piano Trio in E flat XV:10); Strauss II (Unter
Donner und Blitz, polka schnell, Op 324);
Verdi (Four Sacred Pieces); and Purcell
(Three parts upon a Ground, Z. 731; and
Music for a While, from Oedipus Z.583)
5.00 In Tune
The Binker Golding Quintet perform live, and
an interview with Sheku Kanneh-Mason
7.00 In Tune Mixtape
An eclectic non-stop mix of music
7.30 Radio 3 in Concert
The Nash Ensemble, Wigmore Hall’s Chamber
Ensemble in Residence, recreates two of
Dame Myra Hess’s legendary National Gallery
concerts, with music ranging from Mozart
and Beethoven to Coleridge-Taylor. Featuring
Alasdair Beatson (piano), Benjamin Nabarro
(violin), Adrian Brendel (cello), and Marcus
Farnsworth (baritone). Beethoven (Piano
Trio in E flat Op. 70 No. 2); George Dyson
(A poet’s hymn); Arnold Bax (The white
peace); Henry Balfour Gardiner (Winter);
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (A song cycle, Sons
of the sea); Frederick Keel (Trade Winds from
Three Salt Water Ballads); Peter Warlock
(Captain Stratton’s Fancy); John Ireland
(Phantasie-Trio in A minor); and Mozart
(Serenade in B flat K361 Gran Partita)
10.00 Free Thinking
Alison Bechdel and Matthew Sweet go
on an imaginary walk, discussing topics
including mushrooms, therapy, the writing
of Adrienne Rich and Coleridge (r)
10.45 The Essay: Multitudes
Olivia Melkonian invites listeners into the
42nd house of her grandmother to explore
the sounds of an Armenian childhood
11.00 Night Tracks
Presented by Sara Mohr-Pietsch
12.30am 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
6.00 Today
With Martha Kearney and Nick Robinson
8.31 (LW) Yesterday in Parliament
9.00 The Life Scientific
Jim Al-Khalili talks to the evolutionary
biologist Steve Brusatte (4/6)
9.30 Witness
A survivor of the 1977 Dutch school hostage
crisis speaks about the ordeal (8/12) (r)
9.45 (LW) Daily Service
9.45 Book of the Week:
Making History — The Storytellers
Who Shaped the Past
By Richard Cohen (2/10)
10.00 Woman’s Hour
Presented by Emma Barnett
11.00 Putin
Jonny Dymond tells the revealing story of
Vladimir Putin’s early life, a tale of street
thugs, gangsters and secret agents
11.30 China’s Stolen Treasures
A look at the looting of Chinese antiquities
and demand for them in China (1/3)
12.01pm (LW) Shipping Forecast
12.04 Sea Change
By Alix Nathan (7/10)
12.18 Call You and Yours
1.00 The World at One
1.45 The Museums That Make Us
The Museum of Food, Suffolk (7/20)
2.00 The Archers (r)
2.15 Drama: Broken Colours
By Matthew Broughton (4/5)
3.00 Short Cuts
Josie Long presents audio adventures
inspired by the natural world (5/7)
3.30 Costing the Earth
Leana Hosea investigates whether poisonous
PFAS are having an impact in the UK (3)
4.00 Law in Action (3/4)
4.30 A Good Read
The comedian Jessica Fostekew and the
writer Molly Naylor talk books (7/9)
5.00 PM
5.54 (LW) Shipping Forecast
6.00 Six O’Clock News
6.30 The World of Simon Rich
The US writer performs some of his
funny and absurd stories (2/4)
7.00 The Archers
Brian struggles to keep control
7.15 Front Row
Arts programme8.00 File on 4
Personal stories from Ukraine telling the
story of the Russian invasion (10/10)
8.40 In Touch
News for people who are blind or partially
sighted. Presented by Peter White
9.00 Inside Health
Quest to demystify health issues (10/11)
9.30 The Life Scientific
Jim Al-Khalili talks to the evolutionary
biologist Steve Brusatte (4/6) (r)
10.00 The World Tonight
Presented by Ritula Shah
10.45 Book at Bedtime: Sea Change (r)
11.00 Fortunately
Jane Garvey and Fi Glover chat to
BBC reporter Marianna Spring
11.30 Today in Parliament
Political round-up
12.00 News and Weather
12.30am Book of the Week:
Making History — The Storytellers
Who Shaped the Past (r)
12.48 Shipping Forecast
1.00 As BBC World ServiceRadio 4 Extra
Digital only
8.00am The Goon Show 8.30 King Street
Junior 9.00 The Now Show 9.30 Elephants
to Catch Eels 10.00 Secret Lives 11.00 A
Tribute to Robert Robinson 11.50 David
Attenborough’s Life Stories 12.00 The Goon
Show 12.30pm King Street Junior 1.00 The
Joke About Hilary Spite 1.30 Killing Orders
2.00 Sound 2.15 A Monkey with a Box of
Paints 2.30 Kitch! 3.00 Secret Lives 4.00
The 3rd Degree 4.30 Elephants to Catch Eels
5.00 Ayres on the Air 5.30 The World of
Simon Rich 6.00 The Case of Charles Dexter
Ward 6.15 And Another Thing 6.30 Soul
Music 7.00 The Goon Show 7.30 King Street
Junior 8.00 The Joke About Hilary Spite
8.30 Killing Orders. Crime thriller, by Sara
Paretsky 9.00 A Tribute to Robert Robinson.
Laurie Taylor celebrates the life of the
broadcaster 9.50 David Attenborough’s Life
Stories 10.00 Comedy Club: The World of
Simon Rich. The US writer performs some of
his funny and absurd stories 10.30 Mark
Steel’s in Town. The comedian visits the
market town of Bungay in Suffolk 11.00 The
Harpoon 11.30 I’ve Never Seen Star WarsRadio 5 Live
MW: 693, 909
5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00 5 Live
Breakfast 9.00 Nicky Campbell 11.00 Naga
Munchetty 1.00pm Nihal Arthanayake4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00 5 Live Sport 8.00
5 Live Sport: Manchester United v Atletico
Madrid (Kick-off 8.00). Commentary on the
Champions League last-16 second-leg fixture,
with the tie finely poised at 1-1 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
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5.00am Cristo Foufas 6.30 Julia
Hartley-Brewer. Discussion 10.00 Mike
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Kyle 7.00 Kevin O’Sullivan 10.00 James
Whale Feat Ash 1.00am Paul Ross6 Music
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5.00am Deb Grant 7.30 Lauren Laverne
10.30 The Blessed Madonna 1.00pm Chris
Hawkins 4.00 Steve Lamacq 7.00 Marc
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in Residence 1.00am Anna Meredith
3.00 This Is Us — 6 Music at 20Virgin Radio
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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
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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 Classic
FM Concert with Trevor McDonald.
Mendelssohn (Hebrides Overture Op 26
Fingal’s Cave); Beethoven (Piano Concerto No
5 in E-flat Op 73 Emperor); Coleridge-Taylor
(Romance of the Prairie Lilies Op 39); Haydn
(Symphony No 96 in D); Respighi (Ancient
Airs and Dances — Suite No 3); Liszt
(Consolation No 3); and Delius (A Song
Before Sunrise) 10.00 Smooth Classics
1.00am Bill Overton 4.00 Early BreakfastRadio Choice
Ben DowellThe Documentary
World Service, 8.06pmBougainville, perched on
the very eastern edge of
Papua New Guinea, is about
to become the world’s
newest country. It’s a lush
tropical region, rich in
natural resources and
minerals, but with a long
history of occupation and
strife, including a ten-year
civil war between local
rebels and government
forces that killed
thousands. In 2019 hope
arrived when more than
98 per cent of
Bougainville’s population
voted to separate from
Papua New Guinea. The
local reporter Louiseanne
Laris examines whether
the country can successfully
govern itself after many
tough years.our tv newsletter
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the only shows you need to watch
thetimes.co.uk/bulletinsI
love Graham Norton, but I’ve
never felt moved to buy his books.
I have always thought, admittedly
with a touch of the green-eyed
monster (do some people have to
be good at everything?), that just
because someone is an accomplished
comedian and presenter or, for that
matter, actor, MP or former glamour
model, it doesn’t necessarily follow
that they’ll also be a good novelist.
So there. But if Holding, ITV’s
adaptation of Norton’s novel of the
same name set in a west Cork village,
is any guide, I am wrong.
I don’t know how faithful it is to the
original, but his characters are so welldrawn and the set-up so escapist and
“other” to present, hideous world
events that I already wish it was more
than four episodes. It is like a hybrid of
Father Ted (in which Norton appeared
as the shrieking priest Father Noel
Furlong) and Vera, although sadly
Norton himself isn’t in it, not even
in a cameo. More’s the pity.
It’s slow, but I think I’m here for the
characters more than the plot, which
is your standard “sleepy village with a
dark secret” fare: a body is found,
along with a wedding ring, and it is
thought to be the remains of a local
lothario, Tommy Burke, who
disappeared many years ago.
One of the best-drawn characters,
in a radical departure from your
average rural TV copper, is Sergeant
PJ Collins (Conleth Hill, of Game of
Thrones), who is undermotivated and
overweight, largely because he
comfort eats with Tayto crisps,
white bread, processed cheese slices
and an entire greasy fry-up shoved
in bread, which was basically a
cardiac arrest in a bap and made me
feel nauseous.
For some reason he looks exactly
like Benny Hill in his later years,
which is quite a distraction. His
overfeeding housekeeper is Mrs
Meany, played in a low-key but
standout performance by Brenda
Fricker in a quite hideous anorak.
Pauline McLynn, who played MrsDoyle with genius in Father Ted, is the
resident gobby villager. It is impossible
not to hear Mrs Doyle in every line
she speaks, even though here she
is not in a nylon overall but in
high-waisted Yootha Joyce trousers
as the shopkeeper Eileen O’Driscoll,
calling the police because someone
painted their house brown.
It is a great showcase for Irish acting
talent, not least Charlene McKenna as
Evelyn Ross, who has sex with a local
teenager in the back of a clapped-out
ambulance (called the “fumbulance”),
and Siobhán McSweeney (Sister
Michael in Derry Girls) as Brid
Riordan, an unhappy wife apparently
jilted at the altar by her former
fiancé. Brid drowns her sorrows in
rosé wine, beaten glass for glass
only by her dipso mother, who is
constantly in bed.
There is a gently sinister air, offset
by dialogue that is funny without
trying too hard to be so. It would be
very easy to make this a dramedy in
which many of these people were
simple figures of fun, but Dominic
Treadwell-Collins and Karen Cogan,
who share writing duties, manage to
convey real humanity.
In episode two a scene of what I
shall call “later-life sex” is done with
zero eroticism but great poignancy.
You don’t often see unglamorous,
unaesthetic coitus on TV. I think
I prefer it to the other kind.Norton’s whodunnit: part Father Ted, part Vera
ITVCarol
Midgley
TV review
Holding
ITV
{{{{(Conleth Hill plays a rural copper in the new Irish drama Holding