SUSAN JEFFREYS’ Radio Week

ROB BECKETT

SUNDAY, 5PM, RADIO 2 ★★★★

Rob Beckett, of the quick wit and broad grin, will be cheering up Sundays over the next few weeks as he hosts his new series of music and banter.

21ST CENTURY COUNTRY

SUNDAY, 9PM, RADIO 2 ★★★★

The C2C: Country To Country festival bandwagon rolls into London’s O2 Arena next month. To get us into the mood,

Bob Harris presents this four-part series of highlights from 20 years of The Country Show – and in this first part, he celebrates the women of Nashville and beyond.

KEN BRUCE MONDAY-FRIDAY, 9.30AM, RADIO 2

★★★★

Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears For Fears are live in the Maida Vale studio for a session that includes a classic, a cover and a new song on Ken’s show on Monday morning, while Ed Sheeran brings this week’s series of live music from the Radio 2 Piano Room to a close on Friday.

WOMEN IN STITCHES TUESDAY, 11.30AM, RADIO 4

★★★★ The Bayeux Tapestry is a wonder to behold. Probably embroidered by Anglo-saxon women, it tells the story of the Norman conquest of 1066. In the margins, though, very different stories – some of them quite racy – are told. Abigail Youngman tries to unpick the tapestry’s secrets here.

BUNK BED

WEDNESDAY, 11PM, RADIO 4 ★★★★★ Two men (Patrick Marber and Peter Curran) lie in bunk beds, talking about fear and death; then, the voice of the king of silent comedy, Buster Keaton, makes a ghostly visit in this very funny series.

RAMBLINGS

THURSDAY, 3PM, RADIO 4 ★★★★ Birds of prey hover in the big open skies, while Highland cattle and feral ponies browse the grassland around Wicken Fen. In this programme, Ajay Tegala, who works as a warden for the National Trust, joins Clare Balding for a walk through the mysterious Fenlands, and talks about the Trust’s rewilding project.

ARCHERS UPDATE

Rex, the brightest of the Fairbrother brothers – though let’s face it, the bar is set low – is keeping very quiet about his future plans, leading to a lot of speculation in the village. While Rex comes over all mysterious, Pip makes her feelings about the bungalow’s replacement tenant a little too clear.

Her worries on this matter, however, will pale into insignificance when she finds herself in a horrific situation later in the week. There’s more trouble over at Berrow, where, with business in a trough, Neil and Hannah are under pressure. Matters get even worse when Justin goes on the warpath, and Brian makes a controversial move that could lead to a heap of trouble. Watch out, by the way, for Tracy – she’s on the hunt.