... AND THE BEST RADIO

SUNDAY DESERT ISLAND DISCS REVISITED RADIO 4 EXTRA, 10AM & 9PM

A series returning to castaway novelists begins with horrormeister Stephen King who, since his debut with Carrie, has penned more than 40 novels, many also made into successful films. His favourite track is Desolation Row by Bob Dylan, his book, poetry by W. H. Auden, and his luxury, a very unsinister water hammock.

MUSICALS: THE GREATEST SHOW RADIO 2, 7PM

Radio 2’s weekend celebrating musicals comes to an all-singing climax recorded at the London Palladium and hosted by Sheridan Smith, who sings the Chess hit I Know Him So Well with Amanda Holden. Others belting out the show tunes include Nicole Scherzinger, Elaine Paige, Josh Groban and Michael Ball.

DRAMA ON 3: THE BRUMMIE ILIAD RADIO 3, 7.30PM

You’ll not have heard a version of Homer’s epic poem quite like this: Roderick Smith’s new adaptation recaptures the oral tradition of the piece with a cast of Birmingham voices. The distinct accent lends new cadences and emotions to the tale of the final years of The Trojan War.

MONDAY

AN INVITATION TO INDIAN COOKING BY MADHUR JAFFREY, RADIO 4, 10.45AM A drama series gleaned by Anjum Malik from the titular best-selling 1973 cookbook that introduced Brits to the joy of spice. The Good Wife’s Archie Panjabi plays Jaffrey in an account of how the book came about, her acting career and her friendship with filmmakers Merchant and Ivory, who attended her famous New York dinner parties.

TUESDAY MARY PORTAS ON STYLE RADIO 4, 11.30AM

A new series in which the fashion guru (bottom) talks about what style means today, and here she goes in search of muchneeded joy and colour. Her guests include fragrance specialist Lizzie Ostrom and Jay Blades, talking about the much-loved TV hit The Repair Shop.

WEDNESDAY THE MISSING HANCOCKS RADIO 4 EXTRA, 8AM & 7PM

Twenty episodes of the 102 recorded of the classic Hancock’s Half Hour went missing in the BBC archives for 60 years. The Three Sons – a morality tale about Ebidiah Hancock and his three sons (all played by Tony Hancock, inset) – is one of the missing shows rerecorded before a live audience.

THURSDAY BEHIND THE SCENES RADIO 4, 11.30AM

Opera superstar Joyce DiDonato, the Kansas-born mezzo-soprano and multi-Grammy winner, reveals her glamorous world and how she is surviving lockdown and keeping her voice in shape. She also talks about her activism, including work with inmates in a high-security prison.