BBC Radio 4 FM Schedule Thursday 6 August 2026

Schedule

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Early
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Late

Early
1. 00:00
  
  Midnight News—06/08/2026
  
  National and international news from BBC Radio 4
2. 00:30
  
  Tony Hawks Is Giving Nothing Away—3. Inheritance Disputes
  
  Lawyers tell Tony Hawks about the huge rise in inheritance disputes.
3. 00:48
  
  Shipping Forecast—06/08/2026
  
  The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
4. 01:00
  
  Selection of BBC World Service Programmes—06/08/2026
  
  BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
5. 05:00
  
  News Summary—06/08/2026
  
  National and international news from BBC Radio 4
6. 05:04
  
  Sideways—Good Vibes Only
  
  When tragedy strikes, why do we so often respond with positivity?
7. 05:34
  
  Shipping Forecast—06/08/2026
  
  The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
8. 05:43
  
  Prayer for the Day—Count your blessings, name them one by one
  
  A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Carolyn Skinner.
9. 05:45
  
  Farming Today—06/08/26 Bluetongue cases on the rise, vaccination and testing for the disease. Harvest in Perthshire.
  
  As bluetongue cases continue to rise, farmers are urged to vaccinate their livestock.
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Morning
1. 06:00
  
  Today—06/08/2026
  
  News and current affairs, including Sports Desk, Weather and Thought for the Day.
2. 09:00
  
  Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics—Series 12, Nero
  
  Did the Boy Emperor in fact fiddle while Rome burned?
3. 09:30
  
  Artworks—The Guitar Story, 1. Flamenco to the Blues
  
  1/4 John Wilson explores the story of the guitar as a driver of social and cultural change.
4. 10:00
  
  Woman's Hour—Listener Week: Functional Skills in Schools, How to Make a Podcast, Blushing, Being single
  
  As we continue Listener Week - the pressure to be coupled up when you're young.
5. 11:00
  
  Three Ages of Child—Episode 2: The Middle Years
  
  2/3 A journey through the landscape that shapes the health of our children.
6. 11:45
  
  Tony Hawks Is Giving Nothing Away—4. Money Mindsets
  
  Tony Hawks explores money mindsets, family finances and personal attitudes to inheritance.
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Afternoon
1. 12:00
  
  News Summary—06/08/2026
  
  The latest national and international news from BBC Radio 4.
2. 12:04
  
  Scam Secrets—The Customer Complaints Scam
  
  You just want to speak to someone - and criminals know that
3. 12:32
  
  Sliced Bread—Sliced Bread - Series 17, Pillows
  
  What makes the perfect pillow?
4. 12:57
  
  Weather—06/08/2026
  
  The latest weather forecast
5. 13:00
  
  World at One—Record numbers referred to Prevent
  
  Many of those referred to the government's anti-radicalisation scheme were children.
6. 13:45
  
  The Bare Necessities—4. The Hunt
  
  4/5 Dan Richards looks to the past to gather knowledge and skills for an uncertain future.
7. 14:00
  
  The Archers—05/08/2026
  
  There’s heartbreak in store for Chelsea.
8. 14:15
  
  Drama on 4—A Portmeirion Love Affair with Life
  
  Brian Epstein, The Beatles’ manager, finds unexpected love in Portmeirion, Wales, in 1966.
9. 15:00
  
  This Natural Life—Tracey Emin
  
  Dame Tracey Emin introduces Martha Kearney to the landscape and the wild waves of Margate.
10. 15:27
  
  Radio 4 Appeal—Over the Wall Camp
  
  Model David Gandy makes the Radio 4 Appeal on behalf of Over the Wall Camp
11. 15:30
  
  Feedback—BBC Proms, Quiz Pilots and Interview of the Year
  
  Andrea Catherwood discusses this year's BBC Proms with Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson.
12. 16:00
  
  The Briefing Room—Part 1: How do we reform social care?
  
  David Aaronovitch explores what social care is for, who gets it and how it works.
13. 16:30
  
  BBC Inside Science—The state of our substrate: What is drought doing to our soil?
  
  The surprising science of how drought affects the health of our soils.
14. 17:00
  
  PM—Review of grooming gang early releases
  
  The former justice secretary shares his concerns about the scheme.
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Evening
1. 18:00
  
  Six O'Clock News—A record number of referrals to the Prevent anti-extremism programme
  
  The biggest group of referrals is children under the age of 15.
2. 18:30
  
  Icklewick FM—Series 1, 2. The Queue
  
  2/6 Chris and Amy await the arrival of The Great Zambino but a queue is holding up traffic.
3. 19:00
  
  The Archers—06/08/2026
  
  One resident faces an emergency dash.
4. 19:15
  
  Front Row—Review Show: Irvine Welsh's new novel and Glenn Close's new film
  
  Richard Dadd at the Royal Academy and AI companies shredding rare books.
5. 20:00
  
  At Your Own Peril—The Great Tide
  
  Lucy Easthope explores the history of risk.
6. 20:15
  
  The Media Show—Alternative Hollywood films, oral archive of local newspapers, prison radio
  
  The movie studios that are making waves outside the mainstream.
7. 21:00
  
  Loose Ends—Mari Wilson, Fiona Allen, Olly Smith, Natalie Wildgoose, Tristan Gooley
  
  Stuart Maconie and guests with an eclectic mix of conversation, music and comedy.
8. 21:45
  
  The Cows Are Mad—5. D-Day
  
  The truth finally comes out, as the government confirms a new brain disease in humans.
9. 22:00
  
  The World Tonight—Referrals to anti-terror scheme reach record high
  
  Prevent referrals in England and Wales were up 39% in the year to September 2025
10. 22:45
  
  The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith—Episode Four
  
  4/10 Dr Primrose is duped at the fair, and falls out with Burchell.
11. 23:00
  
  Radical—Votes for Six-Year-Olds: Could Child Suffrage Revive Democracy? (David Runciman)
  
  A former Cambridge politics professor has a bold proposal: lowering the voting age to six.
12. 23:30
  
  Artworks—Hollywood and The Adland Five, 4. The Need for Speed
  
  4/4 Christopher Nolan and Christopher Frayling conclude their look at a bold era in UK cinema.
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Late
1. 00:00
  
  Midnight News—07/08/2026
  
  National and international news from BBC Radio 4
2. 00:30
  
  Tony Hawks Is Giving Nothing Away—4. Money Mindsets
  
  Tony Hawks explores money mindsets, family finances and personal attitudes to inheritance.
3. 00:48
  
  Shipping Forecast—07/08/2026
  
  The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
4. 01:00
  
  Selection of BBC World Service Programmes—07/08/2026
  
  BBC Radio 4 joins the BBC World Service.
5. 05:00
  
  News Summary—07/08/2026
  
  National and international news from BBC Radio 4
6. 05:04
  
  The Briefing Room—Part 1: How do we reform social care?
  
  David Aaronovitch explores what social care is for, who gets it and how it works.
7. 05:34
  
  Shipping Forecast—07/08/2026
  
  The latest weather reports and forecasts for UK shipping.
8. 05:43
  
  Prayer for the Day—Go the extra mile
  
  A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Rev Carolyn Skinner.
9. 05:45
  
  Farming Today—07/08/2026 Resilient crops for a changing climate, planting in a drought, Sheeted Somerset cattle
  
  We hear of work to make the UK’s arable crops more resilient in a changing climate.

Friday 7 August 2026