Book at Bedtime

Last updated

Book at Bedtime (A Book at Bedtime until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22.45 and 23.00. [1]

Contents

The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, new works by leading writers, and literature from around the world. Books are abridged and typically serialised over one or two weeks and occasionally three, usually read by well-known actors. Occasionally, from a collection of short stories, five stories from the book will be selected and one broadcast each evening.

History

The series began on the BBC Light Programme on 31 January 1949, billed for the first week only as "Late-Night Serial", [2] with the first instalment of a 15-part reading of the John Buchan novel The Three Hostages , read by Arthur Bush.

There was a break after 29 March 1957, but the programme returned under its old title, now on the BBC Home Service, on 2 April 1962; the Home Service had in fact been broadcasting weekday evening 15-minute readings since 19 September 1960, but not under the Book at Bedtime heading.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC News (TV channel)</span> British 24-hour television news channel

The BBC News channel is a British free-to-air public broadcast television news channel owned and operated by the BBC. The channel is based at and broadcasts from Broadcasting House in the West End of London from which it is anchored during British daytime, with overnight broadcasts anchored from Washington, D.C. and Singapore. It was launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 5:30 pm as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989.

A soap opera, daily soap or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio 4</span> British national radio station

BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House, London. The station controller is Mohit Bakaya.

<i>Jackanory</i> British TV series or programme

Jackanory is a BBC children's television series which was originally broadcast between 1965 and 1996. It was designed to stimulate an interest in reading. The show was first transmitted on 13 December 1965, and the first story was the fairy-tale "Cap-o'-Rushes" read by Lee Montague. Jackanory continued to be broadcast until 1996, with around 3,500 episodes in its 30-year run. The final story, The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, was read by Alan Bennett and broadcast on 24 March 1996. The show was briefly revived on 27 November 2006 for two one-off stories, and the format was revived as Jackanory Junior on CBeebies between 2007 and 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio 3</span> British national radio station

BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also featuring. The station describes itself as "the world's most significant commissioner of new music", Through its New Generation Artists scheme promotes young musicians of all nationalities. The station broadcasts the BBC Proms concerts, live and in full, each summer in addition to performances by the BBC Orchestras and Singers. There are regular productions of both classic plays and newly commissioned drama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBeebies</span> British childrens television network broadcast internationally

CBeebies is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 years and under. Its sister channel, CBBC, is aimed at older children ages 6–12. It broadcasts every day from 6:00am to 7:00pm, timesharing with BBC Four.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Leeds</span> Radio station in Leeds

BBC Radio Leeds is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of West Yorkshire.

Mrs Dale's Diary was the first significant BBC radio serial drama. It was first broadcast on 5 January 1948 on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2; it ran until 25 April 1969. A new episode was broadcast each weekday afternoon, with a repeat the following morning. A few days after the final episode, a new serial drama, Waggoners' Walk, took over the time slot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Cymru</span> Welsh national radio station

BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online.

Newsbeat is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. Newsbeat is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for young people.

<i>Newshour</i> BBC World Services news and radio programme

Newshour is BBC World Service's flagship international news and current affairs radio programme, which is broadcast twice daily: weekdays at 1400, weekends at 1300 and nightly at 2100. There is also an additional online programme at 20:00 on weekdays. Occasionally the programme can run for three hours during major breaking stories such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Each edition lasts one hour. It consists of news bulletins on the hour and half hour, international interviews and in-depth reports of world news. The BBC World Service considers it one of their most important programmes. In 2011 it was kept as one of four key outlets, despite severe cutbacks. It is also broadcast in the United States on various American Public Media stations. Most prominently, WNYC simulcasts the programme's afternoon edition on weekdays, and the nightly edition on weekends. The programme is broadcast live from Broadcasting House in London. It covers the major news of the day, often interviewing heads of state and government ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Orkney</span> Radio station in Kirkwall, Scotland

BBC Radio Orkney is a local opt-out service of BBC Radio Scotland, covering the Orkney Islands. The station is based in Castle Street, Kirkwall, Orkney, in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC South</span>

BBC South is the BBC English Region serving Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, West Sussex, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and parts of Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Surrey, and Wiltshire, with geographic coverage varying between digital, television and radio services.

Farming Today is a radio programme about food, farming, and the countryside broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom.

This is a list of events in British radio during 1989.

This is a list of events in British radio during 1987.

This is a list of events in British radio during 1977.

Rawlinson End was a series of thirteen 15-20 minute radio broadcasts, created and performed by Vivian Stanshall for BBC Radio 1 between 1975 and 1991. The early sessions formed the template for Stanshall's 1978 album Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, as well as the 1980 film of the same name. Material from the three final episodes, recorded between 1988 and 1991, together with previously-unreleased linking narration and music recorded by Stanshall in the 1990s, were compiled posthumously as the 2023 album Rawlinson's End.

A timeline of notable events relating to BBC Television News.

A timeline of notable events relating to BBC Radio News.

References

  1. Book at Bedtime at BBC Online
  2. "LATE-NIGHT SERIAL". BBC Genome. Retrieved 31 January 2019.