Young as castaway and Cribbins tribute in festive line-up

The life of Bernard Cribbins will be celebrated by the BBC over the Christmas period, while former presenter Kirsty Young will return to Desert Island Discs as a castaway.

The festive line-up will celebrate Cribbins, who featured in the Carry On films, Doctor Who and The Railway Children, and died in July aged 93.

Radio 4 Extra will have a series of programmes and broadcast interviews about Cribbins – who also acted in radio adaptions of The Jungle Book, The Wind In The Willows and The Silver Chair – on December 29.

Elsewhere, on Radio 4’s Today programme will have as guest editors Nazanin Zaghari-ratcliffe, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Jamie Oliver, Sir Jeremy Fleming, Dame Sharon White, Lord Ian Botham and Anne-marie Imafidon.

Steven Spielberg, Cate Blanchett and Kirsty Young are among Lauren Laverne’s castaways over the festive period on Desert Island Discs. The Christmas Day castaway will be Young, who hosted the long-running show from 2006 until 2018 when ill health forced her to step down.

The former Crimewatch host recently presented the state funeral of the Queen and parts of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations on the BBC.

Young shares her feelings about her closing words on the BBC during the monarch’s funeral service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, her career in Scotland and elsewhere before talking about casting away nearly 500 people herself.

The 54-year-old said: “It was a slightly discombobulating and thoroughly enjoyable experience. Although making anyone narrow down their favourite discs to just eight is frankly unreasonable. It’ll never catch on.”

Meanwhile, Agatha Christie is reimagined with Marple: Three New Stories while Charles Dickens’ ghost story The Signalman gets a retelling from theatre director and playwright Jonathan Holloway.

Radio 3 will see a special rendition of A Christmas Carol with Mel Giedroyc and BBC Singers, plus Inside Music presented by choirmaster Gareth Malone and Horatio Clare’s annual Sound Walks.