TODAY’S RADIO

Saturday Breakfast With

Dermot

8AM, RADIO 2

Over the past few months, Gary Barlow has been working on a spot of self-improvement. He tells Dermot O’Leary about building a better Barlow this morning.

Graham Norton

10AM, RADIO 2

Eileen Atkins is back on stage in London’s West End. Eileen was born in a Salvation Army hospital, grew up in Tottenham, and went on to become one of our greatest actresses. She joins Graham this morning with her co-star, Jonathan Pryce, to talk about their new play, The Height Of The Storm. The band Spandau Ballet also rocks up, then J.K. Rowling talks about her latest book, Lethal White, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

The Republicans

2.30PM, RADIO 4

This first of a three-part series

Ronald Reagan (2.30pm, Radio 4)

following the political dramas of America’s Republican Party begins in the 1960s. Barry Goldwater’s campaign against Lyndon B. Johnson used the slogan: ‘In your heart, you know he’s right.’ Johnson’s team counterattacked with: ‘In your guts, you know he’s nuts.’ Goldwater’s campaign ended in chaos, and many Republicans felt the time had come for the folksy charm of Ronald Reagan. This drama, with Kerry Shale as Ronald and Madeleine Potter as Nancy Reagan, finds the fading film star preparing for his new role.

Loose Ends

6.15PM, RADIO 4

Graham Norton, having hosted a chat show this morning on

Radio 2, nips along to Broadcasting House so that he can be a guest on Clive Anderson’s chat show this evening. Watch out in the coming weeks for Clive’s appearance on Graham’s show.

The Skating Rink

6.30PM, RADIO 3 The body of a woman is found in a secret ice rink that’s been built illicitly in a dilapidated mansion. Death, ice, passion and mystery pervade this opera by David Sawer, which got its first performance – and some impressive reviews – at Garsington Opera this summer. It’s based on a novel by Roberto Bolano, and is set in a fictional Spanish seaside town.