the times | Monday May 23 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. Monday’s big
stories and interviews 10.00 Matt Chorley.
A full primer on the political week 1.00pm
Mariella Frostrup. News, views and reviews
4.00 John Pienaar at Drive. Analysis of the
day’s news 7.00 Phil Williams. Entertaining
evening conversation 10.00 Carole Walker.
Today’s headlines and tomorrow’s front pages
1.00am Stories of Our Times 1.30 Red Box
2.00 Highlights from Times RadioRadio 2
FM: 88-90.2 MHz
6.30am The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show 9.30
Scott Mills 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. Jo plays her favourite album tracks
and musical gems rarely heard on Radio 2
7.30 Jo Whiley. A mix of new music and
classic album tracks, with guests dropping
in to the studio to chat 9.00 The Blues
Show with Cerys Matthews. A selection of
music from the blues scene 10.00 Trevor
Nelson’s Magnificent 7. Seven of Rhythm
Nation’s biggest hits, uplifting tunes and
essential throwbacks 10.30 Trevor Nelson’s
Rhythm Nation. The DJ introduces a mix of
R’n’B and soulful tunes 12.00 OJ Borg
2.30am One Hit Wonders with OJ Borg 3.00
Pick of the Pops (r) 4.00 Vanessa FeltzRadio 3
FM: 90.2-92.4 MHz
6.30am Breakfast
Petroc Trelawny presents Radio 3’s classical
breakfast show. Including 7.00, 8.00
News. 7.30, 8.30 News headlines
9.00 Essential Classics
Georgia Mann presents a selection of music
and features, with Kate Romano presents
the first of five sketches taking a sideways
glance at Vaughan Williams’ life and music
12.00 Composer of the Week:
Vaughan Williams Today
Donald Macleod explores the composer’s
life in the late 1940s and early ’50s,
as his wife Adeline’s arthritis became
increasingly worse and he began to feel his
age. Vaughan Williams (Symphony No 6
in E minor — I. Allegro; Prayer to the Father
of Heaven; An Oxford Elegy — excerpt;
Concerto Grosso for strings; and
Pilgrim’s Progress — House Beautiful)1.00pm Live Radio 3 Lunchtime Concert
Hannah French presents a live recital from
London’s Wigmore Hall, with the mezzo
Catriona Morison singing Brahms, Schumann
and Elgar, accompanied by the pianist Julius
Drake. Brahms (Dein blaues Auge hält so
still, Op 59 No 8; Die Mainacht, Op 43 No 2;
Mädchenlied, Op 107 No 5; Meine Liebe
ist grün, Op 63 No 5); Schumann (6 Gedichte
von N Lenau und Requiem, Op 90);
and Elgar (Sea Pictures, Op 37)
2.00 Afternoon Concert
Ian Skelly introduces performances with a
Spanish flavour, including the RTVE
Symphony Orchestra performing Brahms in
Madrid and 17th-century choral music from
the Cererols Choir in Barcelona. Anselm
Ferrer (Ave Maria); R Strauss (Don Juan);
Cererols (Dies Irae); Mendelssohn (Capriccio
in E minor, Op81/3); Brahms (Symphony No
1 in C minor); Jésus Torres (Transfiguration
for cello, accordion and string orchestra);
and Joan Marc (Requiem — Sanctus/
Benedictus, Angus Dei, Communio, Absolta)
4.30 New Generation Artists
Johan Dalene, Charles Owen, Helen
Charlston, Rob Luft and Anastasia Kobekina
perform. Purcell (O Lead Me to Some
Peaceful Gloom); Fauré (Les Berceaux, Op 23
No 1); Rob Luft/Elina Duni (Lost Ships);
Thelonius Monk arr. Luft and Duni (Round
Midnight); and Arvo Part (Fratres)
5.00 In Tune
South Korean tenor SeokJong Baek sings live
in the studio. Including 5.00, 6.00 News
7.00 In Tune Mixtape
Featuring music by Mahler,
Bach and Schumann (r)
7.30 Radio 3 in Concert
Ryan Bancroft conducts the Stockholm
Philharmonic Orchestra at the Stockholm
Concert Hall. Stenhammar (Excelsior!);
Saint-Saëns (Concerto for Cello & Orchestra
No 1 in A minor, Op 33); Debussy (Sonata for
cello & piano); Hannah Kendall (On the
Chequer’d Field Array’d); Hannah Kendall
(The Spark Catchers); and Rimsky-
Korsakov (Capriccio Espagnol, Op 34)
10.00 Music Matters
With Robin Ticciati and Melly Still (r)
10.45 The Essay: Adrian Edmondson
— Signs of Life
Adrian Edmondson considers personal and
career highs and lows. He begins with a look
at what went wrong with his successful
television sitcom and live show Bottom
and his relationship with Rik Mayall
11.00 Night Tracks
Sara Mohr-Pietsch presents
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 Justin Webb and Amol Rajan
9.00 Start the Week
Adam Rutherford explores how other species
can help us understand our own
9.45 (LW) Daily Service
9.45 Book of the Week:
Empire of Pain — The Secret
History of the Sackler Dynasty
By Patrick Radden Keefe (6/10)
10.00 Woman’s Hour
Presented by Emma Barnett
11.00 The Untold
The story of an aid worker whose efforts to
help refugees could land him in prison (6/11)
11.30 Don’t Log Off
The real-life dramas behind people’s
social networking profiles (5/6)
12.01pm (LW) Shipping Forecast
12.04 You and Yours
1.00 The World at One
1.45 Metamorphosis — How Insects
Transformed Our World
The butterfly collection of Margaret
Fountaine. See Radio Choice (1/5)
2.00 The Archers (r)
2.15 Drama: Jason’s Mates
By Peter Strickland
3.00 Round Britain Quiz
With Stuart Maconie, Adele Geras, Marcus
Berkmann and Paul Sinha (9/12)
3.30 The Food Programme
How food has been influenced by metals (r)
4.00 Youth Unites
Cerys Matthews celebrates the centenary
of the Welsh League of Hope (r)
4.30 The Digital Human
New run. Aleks Krotoski celebrates 10 years
of exploring the world of technology (1/6)
5.00 PM
5.54 (LW) Shipping Forecast
6.00 Six O’Clock News
6.30 Just a Minute
With Gyles Brandreth, Ria Lina, Zoe Lyons
and Paul Merton (2/8)
7.00 The Archers
Jazzer has an elaborate plan
7.15 Front Row
8.00 Sports Star
The influence of sports stars on public views
8.30 Crossing Continents
A look at whether music and culture can
help unite Estonia. Last in the series (r)9.00 The Long View of the Future
Jonathan Freedland explores the past behind
the present. Last in the series (r)
9.30 Start the Week
Adam Rutherford explores how other species
can help us understand our own (r)
10.00 The World Tonight
Presented by Ritula Shah
10.45 Book at Bedtime: Love Marriage
By Monica Ali (6/10)
11.00 DMs Are Open
Athena Kugblenu and Ali Official offer
the latest satirical bites (1/6) (r)
11.30 Today in Parliament
12.00 News and Weather
12.30am Book of the Week:
Empire of Pain — The Secret
History of the Sackler Dynasty (r)
12.48 Shipping Forecast
1.00 As BBC World ServiceRadio 4 Extra
Digital only
8.00am Whatever Happened to the Likely
Lads? 8.30 Tales from the Mausoleum Club
9.00 Counterpoint 9.30 Bangers and Mash
10.00 The Raj Quartet 11.00 TED Radio
Hour 11.50 Inheritance Tracks 12.00
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
12.30pm Tales from the Mausoleum Club
1.00 Lady in a Fog 1.30 A Change in the
Weather 2.00 Clock Dance 2.15 Vanity Fair
2.30 The Print Master 3.00 The Raj Quartet
4.00 Counterpoint 4.30 Bangers and Mash
5.00 It’s a Fair Cop 5.30 Just a Minute 6.00
Just Before Midnight 6.15 Never Trust a
Rabbit 6.30 A Good Read 7.00 Whatever
Happened to the Likely Lads? Bob organises
a birthday surprise for Terry 7.30 Tales from
the Mausoleum Club. Comedy with Terence
Stamp 8.00 Lady in a Fog. A friend asks
hardnosed Irish-American agent Philip Odell
to investigate her brother’s death 8.30 A
Change in the Weather. Crime caper starring
Dilys Laye and Polly James 9.00 TED Radio
Hour. Manoush Zomorodi explores how a big
idea can grow 9.50 Inheritance Tracks. With
Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood 10.00
Comedy Club: Just a Minute. Sue Perkins
hosts the comedy panel game 10.30
Everyone Quite Likes Justin. The DJ thinks
his job is on the line 11.00 The News Quiz
11.30 Sarah Millican’s Support Group.
Bullying in the workplace. Last in the seriesRadio 5 Live
MW: 693, 909
5.00am Wake Up to Money 6.00
5 Live Breakfast 9.00 Nicky Campbell11.00 Naga Munchetty 1.00pm Nihal
Arthanayake 4.00 5 Live Drive 7.00
5 Live Sport: The Monday Night Club 9.00
5 Live Sport. Live tennis coverage from the
French Open at Roland-Garros 10.30
Colin Murray 1.00am Dotun AdebayotalkSPORT
MW: 1053, 1089 kHz
5.00am Early Breakfast 6.00 Breakfast with
Laura Woods 10.00 Jim White and Simon
Jordan 1.00pm Hawksbee & Baker 4.00
Adrian Durham 7.00 The PressBox 10.00
Sports Bar 1.00am Extra TimeTalkRadio
Digital only
5.00am James Max 6.30 Julia Hartley-
Brewer 10.00 The Independent Republic of
Mike Graham 1.00pm Ian Collins 4.00
Jeremy Kyle 7.00 The News Desk
8.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored 9.00
The Talk 10.00 Daisy McAndrew
11.00 Piers Morgan Uncensored 12.00
Petrie Hosken 4.00am The Talk6 Music
Digital only
5.00am Chris Hawkins 7.30 Lauren Laverne
10.30 Mary Anne Hobbs 1.00pm Craig
Charles 4.00 Steve Lamacq 7.00 Marc Riley
9.00 Gideon Coe 12.00 The First Time
with Thom Yorke 1.00am Radiohead at
the BBC 2.00 Glastonbury. Radiohead
highlights 4.00 The Radiohead PlaylistVirgin Radio
Digital only
6.30am The Chris Evans Breakfast Show
with Sky 10.00 Eddy Temple-Morris
1.00pm Tim Cocker 4.00 Gaby Roslin
7.00 Bam 10.00 Olivia Jones 1.00am
Sean Goldsmith 4.00 Steve DenyerClassic FM
FM: 100-102 MHz
6.00am More Music Breakfast 9.00
Alexander Armstrong 12.00 Catherine Bott
4.00pm John Brunning 7.00 Smooth
Classics at Seven 8.00 The Classic FM
Concert with John Suchet Khachaturian
(Adagio of Spartacus & Phrygia); Beethoven
(Symphony No 5 in C minor Op 67); Piazzolla
(Libertango); Elmas (Piano Concerto No 1 in
G minor); and Delius (The Walk to the
Paradise Garden) 10.00 Smooth Classics
1.00am Bill Overton 4.00 Early BreakfastRadio choice
Ben DowellMetamorphosis
Radio 4, 1.45pmThe Victorian lepidopterist
Margaret Fountaine, above,
is among the great
entomologists of history
profiled by Dr Erica
McAlister of London’s
Natural History Museum.
Fountaine was seduced by
the iridescent nature and
structure of the morpho
butterfly wing, whose
stunning electric blues are
caused by interference
effects rather than by
pigments. Yet scientists
have long pondered whether
this characteristic is a
means of disguise as well as
attraction. McAlister also
examines efforts to recreate
iridescence from the insect
world to generate dazzling
colours for a host of
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thetimes.co.uk/bulletinsI
n another life, the head teacher
Katharine Birbalsingh could surely
have been prime minister. She has
the leadership skills required and
the thick skin, having endured
terrible abuse for her traditional
teaching style but never losing her
elegant “but, my methods work”
composure. Some have called her
uber-strict Michaela Community
School in Wembley, northwest London
a North Korean-like “cult”.
And indeed in Britain’s StrictestHeadmistress, as pupils said they had
been given detentions for “not making
proper eye contact” or “for not having
my second pencil” (sorry, what?), it did
feel a little gulag-ish. Jeremy Paxman,
who, randomly, was visiting the school,
seemed freaked out by the silent
corridors and admitted that if he was a
pupil there he’d ask: “Why must I be
putting my hand up all the bloody
time?” Fair point.
However, the “no talking in the
corridors” rule is an effective way to
silence bullies (they don’t have a
bullying problem) and although the
pupil interviews did sometimes have
the air of hostage videos, as the
children said how marvellous the
discipline was and how grateful they
were to get detention because it made
them better people, the results speak
for themselves. The school was rated
outstanding by Ofsted.
What this film lacked was any
interviews with pupils who have left
and are older and might have a
different view of it now. But
Birbalsingh is a remarkable,
inspirational character, believing in
the Aristotelian principle that good
habits become who you are. Her
teachers seemed to adore her, talking
lovingly of “following her into battle”.
You let children down, she believes, if
you indulge “victimhood” and give
them excuses to fail. Actually she
could still be prime minister.For a series about fatness, Big Brits
Go Large! was slight on serious detail.
It presented a procession of jolly
overweight people set to jaunty music,
the subliminal message being: “Fat is
fun!” Obese people will outnumber
those of a healthy weight within five
years, but there was barely a mention
of the toll on health or what obesity-
related illnesses cost the NHS (about
£6 billion a year, FYI). Or any
curiosity about why they ended up
this weight. This was more of a “big is
beautiful” look at fatness, the bubbly
personalities behind the rolls. And, my,
did George show us his rolls. “There
you go, Channel 5,” he said, pulling up
his shirt to expose his mounded belly,
“a fat body for you right there.”
Jo and Natalie, who run a clothes
store for XXL people, wore T-shirts
bearing slogans such as “My weight is
none of your concern (unless I’m sat
on your face)”. Jo’s chair collapsed on
camera and they fell about laughing.
George, an actor, was engaged to
Sienna, a young Australian woman
and a size 6. “I’ve always liked bigger
guys,” she said. Why didn’t someone
ask her: “But don’t you worry about
his health? His heart? You’ve got a
gorgeous toddler together.” George
sweated as he ate cakes in a patisserie.
It seemed odd not to say: “But aren’t
you terrified it’ll kill you?” A tonally
strange first episode, which felt a bit
like whistling in a burning house.The uber-strict head teacher from the old school
RIVERDOG PRODUCTIONSCarol
Midgley
TV review
Big Brits Go Large!
Channel 5
{{(((Britain’s Strictest
Headmistress
ITV
{{{{(Katharine Birbalsingh, founder of Michaela Community School