RADIO CHOICE

TREVOR NELSON (RADIO 2, 9.30AM) steps in while Ken Bruce takes a holiday. This week’s Tracks Of My Years guest is singer Sharleen Spiteri (pictured), the Glasgowborn daughter of a guitarplaying sailor and a singing window-dresser.

THE Victorians took to foreign food, particularly curry, with gusto. As the Empire expanded, the range of ingredients grew, and new dishes that we now consider traditional British fare appeared on the menu. This weeklong series THE HUNGRY EMPIRE (RADIO 4, 9.45AM (FM), 12.30AM) of readings from Lizzie Collingham’s new book looks at 20 meals that shaped the modern world.

THIS tale of debt, fortune, honour and love — LITTLE DORRITT (RADIO 4 EXTRA, 10AM, 3PM) is

one of Charles Dickens’s more awkward novels. Intriguing storylines are started, then abandoned, while fascinating characters make appearances that are all too brief — and the main character is a bit of a blank. Despite all this, it is, of course, a terrific book.

IRELAND, it seems, really was once a land of giants. A mutant gene going back 2,500 years has meant that gigantism has been evident in Ireland, particularly in Ulster. This is the first of a week-long series on BONE STORIES (RADIO 4, 1.45PM).