RADIO CHOICE

MICHELLE is a paediatrician with a guilty secret. She is addicted to casino gambling, and her debts are mounting. Her Chinese family is made up of keen gamblers, so Michelle (Crystal Yu, pictured) finds it very hard to walk away from family, culture and the hope of a big win. TIGER GIRLS (RADIO 4 (FM), 2.15PM) offers an eye-opening insight into a hidden world.

MEN and women who never had a drug problem become addicted in prison, where drugs are smuggled in and widely circulated. Many drug users run up huge debts to their suppliers. Pressure is put on their families in the outside world to pay these debts. Extreme violence is often meted out to those who don’t pay up, and users find themselves in a state of bondage to their dealers.

Danny Shaw investigates this grim state of affairs for this week’s FILE ON 4 (RADIO 4, 8PM). n BARRY MANILOW ends his series on forgotten

musicals, THEY WRITE THE SONGS (RADIO 2,

9PM), with a look at Lady, Be Good. It’s about a brother-and-sister dance duo, written by the Gershwins for Fred and Adele Astaire. Barry also looks at Jerry Herman’s Mack & Mabel, which found a bit of fame when Torvill and Dean used the musical’s overture in the 1982 World Figure Skating Championships.