Radio choice Charlotte Runcie

Drama: The Red

The comedian Marcus Brigstocke is a stalwart of Radio 4, with his many comedy show appearances and delightful performance as the hapless adventurer Giles Wemmbley-hogg.

The Red is the first drama that he has written for radio. Brigstocke himself appears, alongside Rufus Jones (W1A, Hunderby) and seasoned stage actor David Calder. This subtle and compelling play about a wine-loving father’s request for his son, recorded on location in a 400-year-old wine cellar, is based on Brigstocke’s own experience of addiction and recovery.

Macquarie: The Tale of the River Bank

 Reporter Michael Robinson delves into the story of how Thames Water was, in March, ordered to pay a record £20million fine for leaking 1.4billion litres of raw sewage into the River Thames. This caused long-term pollution, killing thousands of fish and causing illness in people and animals. The fine was 10 times larger than the previous record penalty, but Robinson aims to find out what impact the ruling had on an organisation with multiple investors and accounts concealed offshore.