Radio Lives

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Radio Lives" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Radio show

Radio LivesGenre| biographic

|

Running time| 40 mins
Language(s)| English
Home station| BBC Radio 4
Original release| 23 August 1990 –
5 December 1996
No. of series| 7
No. of episodes| 41

Radio Lives was a long running BBC Radio 4 biographical series consisting of portraits of great radio figures. Running over seven series from 1990–96, each episode featured a personality who was influential either on the air or behind the scenes, and was presented by someone with a keen interest in their subject.[1] The programmes demonstrated a striking range of subjects as varied as Edward R. Murrow (the voice of Britain for an American radio audience at the height of the London blitz) to Kenneth Williams, and William Hardcastle (inaugural presenter of The World at One) to Nancy Spain (socialite). Presenters have included Patricia Routledge, Charles Kennedy, Mark Lawson and Humphrey Carpenter.

## Programmes

[edit]

### Series 1, 19 July – 23 August 1990

[edit]

Subject  | Presenter  | Producer

|
|

C. E. M. Joad | June Knox-Mawer | Julian Hale
Gracie Fields | Patricia Routledge  | Elizabeth Burke
J. B. S. Haldane | Professor John Durant  | Mark Savage
Stephen Potter | Mark Lawson  | Hamish Mykura
Gilbert Harding | Brian Masters | Nigel Acheson
A. P. Herbert | Charles Kennedy  | Fiona Couper

### Series 2, 23 May – 20 June 1991

[edit]

Subject  | Presenter  | Producer

|
|

Derek McCulloch | Trevor Hill  | Simon Elmes
Isobel Barnett | June Knox-Mawer  | Mark Savage
Tommy Handley | Phil Smith  | Julian Hale
J. B. Priestley | Ronald Eyre | Penny Lawrence
William Hardcastle  | Christopher Cook  | Fiona McLean

### Series 3, 6 August – 10 September 1992

[edit]

Subject  | Presenter  | Producer

|
|

Mary Stocks | Anne Karpf  | Julian Hale
Jimmy Clitheroe | Phil Smith  | Simon Elmes
Edgar Lustgarten | Jonathan Goodman  | Matt Thompson
Audrey Russell | Roisin McAuley | Fran Acheson
Edward R Murrow  | Christopher Cook  | Fiona McLean
A. G. Street | Sean Street |

### Series 4, 27 May – 1 July 1993

[edit]

Subject  | Presenter  | Producer

|
|

Sir Hugh Greene | Alasdair Milne | Julian Hale
Jimmy Edwards | Nigel Farrell | Ronni Davis
René Cutforth | Peter White | Nigel Acheson
Nancy Spain  | Natalie Wheen | Matt Thompson
Marghanita Laski | David Wheeler  | Louise Purslow
Louis MacNeice | Humphrey Carpenter | Fiona McLean

### Series 5, 9 June – 14 July 1994

[edit]

Subject  | Presenter  | Producer

|
|

Kenneth Williams  | Russell Davies | Simon Elmes
Hermione Gingold |  | Matt Thompson
Chester Wilmot | Philip Knightly  | Julian Hale
Leslie Welch | Jon Stock | Ann-Marie Evans
Peter Eckersley | Derek Robinson  | Bella Bannerman
R. D. Smith | Humphrey Carpenter  | Fiona McLean

### Series 6, 29 June – 3 August 1995

[edit]

Subject  | Presenter  | Producer(s)

|
|

Gerald Priestland | Robert Fox  | Simon Elmes
Frankie Howerd | Dylan Winter  | Matt Thompson
Kenny Everett | Robert Sandall | Chris Paling
Eamonn Andrews | Peter White  | Nigel Acheson and Kim Normanton
Charles Parker | Laurie Taylor | Sally Flatman
Jack de Manio | Nick Baker  | Cathy Drysdale

### Series 7, 31 October – 5 December 1996

[edit]

Subject  | Presenter  | Producer

|
|

Jon Pertwee | Nick Baker  | Peter Hoare
Brian Redhead | Michael Bywater | Bob Carter
Liberace |  | Matt Thompson
Freya Stark | Peggy Reynolds  | Sarah Bowen
Russell Harty | Richard Coles | Fiona Couper
A. J. Ayer | Laurie Taylor  | Julian Hale

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Donovan, Paul (1992). The Radio Companion. Grafton. p. 220\. ISBN 0-586-090126.

*[No.]: Number