Today’s radio

THE PASSION IN PLANTS

9.45AM (FM), 12.30AM,

RADIO 4 HHHH

Most of the year, the pussy willow is a woody, undistinguished plant, but as Easter draws near, its moment of glory comes. The male catkins on the bare branches are one of spring’s delights and, in parts of England, pussy willow branches are laid down in churches for Palm Sunday. This lovely weeklong series on plants and Easter opens with a visit to a friary in Dorset, where the willows are grown for Palm Sunday services.

THE MILL ON THE FLOSS

10.45AM, 7.45PM,

RADIO 4 HHHH

Passion, family feuds and financial ruin are played out against the incessant noise of the mill wheel in this ten-part adaptation of George

Pussy willow (9.45am, Radio 4) Eliot’s epic novel, which continues daily. Anna Maxwell Martin is the narrator for a saga that will take your mind from your current woes.

INGENIOUS

1.45PM, RADIO 4 HHHH Redheads flourish in the Russian republic of Udmurtia, where they have the highest concentration of auburn-haired, fair-skinned people in the world. The ‘ginger gene’ first appeared in the grasslands of central Asia thousands of years ago; over the centuries, redheads shifted across to northern Europe, where their colouring gave them an advantage. Kat Arney explains all in this first of a fascinating series on the human gene.

THE FULL WORKS CONCERT

8PM, CLASSIC FM HHH

Crystal Sky by the Norwegian composer and pianist Ola Gjeilo summons up images of clear water dripping from icicles in a pristine landscape. The piece features in this selection of new recordings that were released in the opening months of 2020. Sheku Kanneh-mason’s emotional account of Elgar’s Cello Concerto In E Minor is also on the bill. SJ