TODAY’S RADIO

THE MICHAEL BALL SHOW 11AM, RADIO 2

★★★★

The novelist and game show host and producer and Richard Osman hasn’t done too well on radio.

One of his few failures, a quiz called The Birthday Cake Game, had listeners racing for the off knob. He gets a chance to redeem himself with radio when he joins Michael Ball this brunchtime, while Graeme Hall, the dog trainer and author of Perfectly Imperfect Puppy, is also on the show.

THE ARCHBISHOP INTERVIEWS 1.30PM, RADIO 4

★★★

In this new series, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has deep conversations with public figures about their beliefs. The first episode features the Turkish-british novelist, novelist and political scientist

Rob Beckett (5pm, Radio 2) Elif Shafak, whose books draw on diverse cultures and reflect her interest in history, philosophy and mysticism.

ROB BECKETT 5PM, RADIO 2 ★★★★

The presenter and stand-up comic studied tourism management when he left school – how great it would have been to have the boundlessly cheerful Rob as a tour guide. Tourism’s loss, though, has been entertainment’s gain as Rob will demonstrate over the next few weeks as he promises to bring your weekend to a close ‘with a full Cheshire Cat grin’.

21ST CENTURY COUNTRY 9PM, RADIO 2

★★★★

The C2C: Country To Country bandwagon rolls into London next month, loaded to the axles with stars, guitars and all kinds of country music. Covid kept this movable festival off the road, but it will soon be back. Bob Harris presents this four-part series of highlights from 20 years of The Country Show, focusing here on the women of Nashville, ahead of the start of 2022’s C2C.