Programme Information

Sheffield's finest, Toddla T, brings his own distinctive brand of beats, bass, bleeps and wiggle to get listeners into the party mode as In New DJs We Trust, BBC Radio 1's showcase for the hottest new DJ talent and new dance music, continues its 9-10pm takeover slot. Featuring the new line-up for 2011, the takeover promises a nightly party mixing together the full spectrum of new dance music, from techno to bassline and everything in between.

The In New DJs We Trust takeover comes to a head on Friday 28 January when the whole Radio 1 dance family comes together for the second free January event, taking place at Sheffield University's Student Union.

Presenter/Toddla T, Producer/Tom Koenig for Somethin' Else Productions

BBC Radio 1 Publicity

Celtic Connections 2011 Ep 1/2

Wednesday 26 January

10.00-11.00pm BBC RADIO 2

Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue fame presents highlights of Celtic Connections 2011

Deacon Blue front man Ricky Ross brings highlights of Celtic Connections 2011 from Glasgow, which runs from 13 to 30 January. It is Scotland's major music winter festival with more than 1,500 artists playing from the worlds of folk, roots, world, Americana and traditional music.

Talking about the Festival, Ricky says: "In the depth of winter, the warmest and best place to be is Scotland's Celtic Connections Festival. The world comes to Glasgow and from here we'll bring a flavour of that wide world in two exclusive programmes for BBC Radio 2."

Ricky talks to the some of the artists from this year's event and features live music and exclusive performances.

Presenter/Ricky Ross, Producer/Richard Murdoch for the BBC

BBC Radio 2 Publicity

Belgian-born composer Cesar Franck's reputation largely rests on a small number of compositions, most of them written towards the end of his life, of which the Symphony in D minor is perhaps the most famous orchestral work.

Fauré's Requiem is not only his most famous work but also among the most popular of all classical pieces. Its setting of the Latin Requiem mass contains beautiful music including the famous soprano Pie Jesu and the final tranquil In Paradisum.

Yannick Nézet-Seguin conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, with soprano Sally Matthews and baritone Gerald Finlay.

Presenter/Martin Handley, Producer/Brian Jackson

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

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Rana Mitter hosts a debate recorded at last year's BBC Radio 3 Free Thinking festival at The Sage Gateshead, entitled Academics And The Media – Friends Or Foes?

As Radio 3 and the Arts And Humanities Research Council (AHRC) join forces to find the next generation of public intellectuals, Rana Mitter, Night Waves presenter and Professor of the History of Modern China, joins Professor Rick Rylance, head of the AHRC, and a panel that includes former Channel 4 commissioning editor Tim Kirby and TV historian Jon Conlin, to debate the tricky relationship between academics and the media.

They discuss whether the media is really the fabled opportunity for academics to reach millions beyond the lecture hall that it is meant to be; or if, in reality, it involves compromises that reduce scholarship to little more than glorified story-telling.

Presenter/Rana Mitter, Producer/Kirsty Pope

BBC Radio 3 Publicity

Ballylenon Ep 1/6

Wednesday 26 January

11.30am-12.00noon BBC RADIO 4

Christopher Fitz-Simon takes a playful but jaundiced look at Sixties Ireland as the comedy drama series returns.

Muriel Maconchy, 62, is a spinster and has inherited a corner shop. Thanks to her councillor father's influence, she has the Post Office franchise. Known as the eyes of Ballylenon, Muriel, the Honouree Secretary of the Development Association, has a long-term "understanding" with its Chair, Phonsie Doherty. She is a gentle personality, but misses nothing.

This series also features Vera Maconchy, 61, Muriel's younger and more forthright spinster sister who runs the 10-line manual telephone exchange and is known as the ears of Ballylenon. Every call goes through her switchboard, its content noted, discussed and any necessary action taken. She also writes the horoscope anonymously for the Donegal Vindicator.

Ballylenon is written by Christopher Fitz-Simon. The cast stars Margaret D'Arcy as Muriel Maconchy, Gerard Murphy as Phonsie Doherty, Stella McCusker as Vera Maconchy, Aine McCartney as Mrs Vivienne Hawthorne, Dermot Crowley as Rev Samuel Hawthorne, Gerard McSorley as Kevin "Stumpy" Bonnar, Frankie McCafferty as Guard Gallagher, James Greene as Daniel O'Searcaigh, Niall Cusack as Monsignor McFadden, Chris McHallem as Aubrey Frawley, Joanna Munro as Polly Acton, Patrick Fitzsymons as Eamonn Doyle and Derek Bailey as Mr Boylan.

Producer/Eoin O'Callaghan for the BBC

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

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Mordrin McDonald – 21st Century Wizard Ep 1/6

Wednesday 26 January

11.00-11.15pm BBC RADIO 4

Mordrin McDonald is a 2,000-year-old wizard living in the modern world, where settling garden disputes and watching Countdown are just as important as slaying the odd Jakonty Dragon. He makes a welcome return in this new series of the comedy written by David Kay and Gavin Smith.

Mordrin is deadpan, dry and makes delicious jams. He initially set up as a public limited company for income tax relief, but has found it a useful vehicle to help him bolster his wizard skillset and his range of services. He has been running Fruity Potions from his cave for the past few years, in between completing the odd quest as instructed by the Wizard Council. In the past his services were on hand to help kings in battles of good and evil, or as he prefers to put it, "assisting with neighbour disputes".

In this first episode, Mordrin is recruited to help re-capture evil sorcerer Billirock the Black, who has escaped from his prison under Stirling Castle and is hell-bent on exacting his revenge.

The cast stars David Kay as Mordrin, Jack Docherty as Bernard The Blue, Gordon Kennedy as Geoff, Hannah Donaldson as Heather, Katrina Bryan as Jill and Greg Hemphill as Billirock the Black.

Producer/Gus Beattie for The Comedy Unit Limited

BBC Radio 4 Publicity

5 Live Sport

Wednesday 26 January

7.00-10.30pm BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

Mark Pougatch presents the day's sports news and build-up to tonight's League Cup action.

At 7.45pm there's live commentary of the League Cup semi-final second leg from St Andrew's Stadium as Birmingham City face West Ham United.

From 10pm, The Final Whistle has post-match reaction following tonight's football, which also included Premier League action as Liverpool hosted Fulham.

Presenter/Mark Pougatch, Producer/Mike Carr

BBC Radio 5 Live Publicity

Acclaimed photographer Joseph Rodriguez turns his lens on a group of young Muslims growing up in the city of Malmö, Sweden, in the concluding programme in Open Eye – a series not so much about photography as about the people and the landscapes with which a photographer forms a deep and visceral bond.

Malmö is a city increasingly divided on racial, religious and cultural grounds, and one in which Joseph discovers many young Muslims feel they are treated as second-class citizens.

Presenter/Joseph Rodriguez

BBC World Service Publicity