TODAY’S RADIO

SOUL MUSIC 10.30AM, RADIO 4

★★★★

Ezio Pinza sang Some Enchanted Evening in the original Broadway production of South Pacific. Ezio, who had a smooth and effortless voice, was to star in the big-screen version of this hit-filled musical, but died before filming started. In this programme in the series about music that touches the soul, Ezio’s granddaughter tells us how Ezio was a soldier, a political prisoner, an opera singer and a star.

LOOSE ENDS 6.15PM, RADIO 4

★★★★ Robert Plant teamed up with Alison Krauss in 2007 to record Raising Sand. They kept meaning to work together again – and now, they have. The pair’s new album, Raising The Roof, is out this month, and Robert will share

details of it with Clive Anderson and Anneka Rice this evening.

MERCURY 8PM, RADIO 4

★★★★

Freddie Mercury’s roots were as exotic as his show business persona. He was born in Zanzibar, called Farrokh Bulsara, and spent much of his childhood in Mumbai; he eventually settled in London, where he spent a lot of time with the Parsi Zoroastrian community. Freddie rarely spoke about his background, but, as Sathnam Sanghera points out in this documentary on the singer’s past, it had a big influence on his career.

THE REUNION 10.15PM, RADIO 4

★★★★

The remains of Richard III, the last English king to die in battle, were found under a council car park in Leicester, then identified by DNA tests. His skeleton had a curved spine and evidence of serious head injuries. He was reburied in 2015 at Leicester Cathedral, in a coffin made by one of his sister’s descendants. Kirsty Wark reunites some of those involved in this strange moment in English history.

Freddie Mercury (8pm, Radio 4)