Drama of the Week

Following an Arctic storm, the crew of the research vessel Coralith Epsilon find themselves stranded in thick pack ice. Cut off from the outside world and running low on supplies, hope arrives in the form of a mysterious Morse code message.

But the ship that comes to the rescue is not what they expected. Trapped together in a frozen limbo, two crews separated by a century must survive starvation, the elements, and paranoia to get home.

A chilling five-part supernatural thriller that blends claustrophobic survivalism, cosmic sci-fi and environmental geopolitics, set in one of the most hostile places on Earth - the Arctic tundra. Written by the writers of the award-winning drama podcast 'Up In Smoke', Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen.

MARIA.....Raffey Cassidy

Writers: Cambria Bailey-Jones and Guy Larsen

Series Scientific Consultant: Prof. James Lea from the University of Liverpool

A BBC Studios production for BBC Radio 4.

By Jan Carson.

In 1930, Agatha Christie was commissioned to write a new mystery story. However, this story was to contain clues to a real-life treasure-hunt to take place on the Isle of Man. The story would then be serialised in a newspaper to encourage tourists to visit and find the hidden treasure.

This drama imagines what could have taken place during her visit to the island.

Starring Jeany Spark as Agatha Christie.

Author

Cast:

All other parts were played by the company.

Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden.

Written by Jan Carson

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.

Set inside Britain's housing crisis, six stand-alone but interconnected dramas follow ambition, resilience and the search for belonging.

After mum Suze and teenage daughter Livvy’s home is repossessed, their relationship is tested by secrets, schoolyard gossip and the strings attached to a 'mates' rates' accommodation offer.

New drama by Chrissy Jamieson Jones as part of A Place Called Home, a series of standalone but interlinked dramas taking inspiration from the housing crisis.

Suze ..... Katherine Kelly

Writer .... Chrissy Jamieson Jones

A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4

Set inside Britain's housing crisis, six stand-alone but interconnected dramas follow ambition, resilience and the search for belonging.

Tanika Gupta's drama tells the story of the tenants in the crumbling Riverbourne tower block in west London, where damp walls, broken lifts, mould, unsafe wiring and heating failures have been ignored for years while rents continue to climb. The Housing Association claims its mission is to provide homes for “vulnerable tenants” - those unable to sustain a tenancy without support due to age, disability, health conditions, or exceptional circumstances - But in reality the Association neglects repairs and intimidates the very people it's meant to protect.

There is fear and anger for the tenants but as they get to know one another their solidarity and defiance grows: housing is a human right, not a commodity. All of them have personal histories but these difficulties they have all faced individually give them strength to stand together and the number of voices calling for change is a powerful force. Is victory within their grasp.

Shazia ….. Avita Jay

Directed by Tracey Neale

Sound ..... Sharon Hughes, Keith Graham and Andy Garratt

A BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4

Tanika Gupta is an award winning writer. Her original theatre work includes Sugar Mummies,The Empress, Lions and Tigers and A Tupperware of Ashes. Her stage adaptations include Anita and Me, Hobson's Choice A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Doll's House and Hedda. Tanika has written numerous audio dramas and adapted classics like A Passage to India and Brick Lane. In 2008, Tanika was awarded an MBE for her services to drama and she has been awarded honorary doctorates from Chichester and University of West London. She was a writer in residence at the National Theatre and at Soho Theatre.

By Philip Catherwood.

After twenty years living in the same end terrace house in North Belfast, Maggie is now being pressured into having a divisive mural painted on her gable wall. Rather than give in to intimidation, she enlists the help of teenage street artist Kyle – a Dubliner trying to find his feet in the city – to create a different kind of mural. However, not everyone in the community is ready to embrace change.

Author

Cast:

All other parts were played by the company.

Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden.

Written by Philip Catherwood

A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.

Tutor Charly arrives in luxury bunker Thornfield. But something's not right with this place. And what happened to her predecessor?

In a near-future world on the brink of societal collapse, the wealthiest 0.01% have retreated into luxury bunkers. These high-tech fortresses boast swimming pools, cinemas, and hydroponic farms, but their inhabitants live in a bubble of paranoia and control. Charly takes a job tutoring the children of reclusive billionaire Edward in his doomsday bunker. But when strange things start happening, it seems dark secrets are buried in this vast bunker too.

In the real world, the super-rich are already building bunkers ready to provide sanctuary from the apocalypse. In Chloë Myerson claustrophobic thriller, we ask: what happens next?

This is episode 1. You can find the whole series on BBC Sounds now.

CAST

Written by Chloë Myerson

Production Co-ordinator: Ben Hollands

A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4.

Drive, Clive, drive!

Clive Coombs attempts to prove his credentials as a father by driving his daughter through the night to a plane that will take her to the other side of the world.

As he drives, the weight of all his worries start to hijack the airwaves of his radio - his faltering marriage, his disintegrating sense of self and whether the small battery in his electric car will ever get his daughter to the plane on time. A heart-achingly funny new comedy drama brought to life with a host of familiar Radio 4 voices.

CLIVE.....Toby Jones

Also featuring: Kate Adie, Ron Brown, Charles Carroll, James Coomarasamy, Amy Gladwell, Caroline Nicholls, Neil Nunes, Matthew Parris, Jay Rayner, Al Ryan and Jane Steel.

The song was composed by Joey Crouch and Owen Crouch and the singer was Ella Whitehead.

Written by Tim Crouch with Toby Jones

A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4.

2008. Students Oliver, Hannah and Lizzy set off on holiday to a mountain cabin. Their lives will never be the same again.

2026. When Oliver unexpectedly reappears at Hannah’s door after eighteen years, they are forced to relive the night that bound them together forever. A tragic trip to a remote mountain under a lunar eclipse that ended in Lizzy's death. As memories collide, guilt and betrayal resurface. When the truth finally emerges, it may not be the version either of them remembers.

Part of 'Fork in the Road', a collection of dramas about significant choices and their consequences.

LIZZY.....Norah Lopez-Holden

Written by Matthew Broughton

A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4

2026. A chance encounter on a London tube train reunites Leigh with Rick: the man she has never stopped wondering about. And he’s never stopped wondering about her either.

Over the course of the journey, Leigh and Rick unpack the decisions, and the three days in August, that led them here. Is now the time they choose each other?

In 1996, Rick meets Leigh outside a house party one hot August night. Leigh feels a spark with him – the boy always on the brink of laughter – but later that night, she connects with his best friend Charlie, and ends up going home with him instead. Soon after, Leigh is pregnant.

Leigh and Charlie build a life together. More children follow. Routine, responsibility, sleep-deprivation. Rick’s life, by contrast, seems carefree. And it’s not that Leigh regrets her life. And it’s not that she doesn’t love Charlie. But sometimes she can’t help but wonder what the story could have been, had she chosen Rick that night in 1996 instead.

We meet Leigh, Rick and Charlie across four Augusts, each 10 years apart. It never seems the right time for Rick and Leigh to choose each other. Until they meet in a tube carriage in 2026.

Original romantic drama by award-winning Katie Hims, starring Rebekah Station (Raised by Wolves, The Following Events Are Based On A Pack Of Lies), Samuel Anderson (Amandaland, The Walsh Sisters) and Sam Swann (One Day, Mr Selfridge).

CAST

Production Co-ordinators .... Sara Benaim and Emma Donald

Sound Design by Sam Dickinson, Andy Garratt and Kira Golightly

A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4.

Katie Hims is one of the country’s most celebrated radio dramatists. Notable plays and series include Shirley's Party, Lost Property, Black Eyed Girls, Home Front, 24, Kildare Road, Middlemarch, Behind the Scenes at the Museum and Transcription. Her most recent original play for radio, Waterloo Station, written for Ralph Ineson and Christine Bottomley, won the Writer’s Guild Best Audio Drama Award 2023. Behind the Scenes at the Museum won silver and Shirley's Party won bronze for Best Drama at the 2026 ARIAS.

By Ben Lewis.

Witty, warm and soulful drama infused with storytelling and song.

Part of the Yeartides series inspired by the myths and rituals surrounding Pagan Celtic festivals.

Claire and her husband David are visiting David’s family farm to celebrate his mum’s 75th birthday.

Cast:

Music performed by Anna Massie

Production Co-ordinator: Rosalind Gibson

Directed by Kirsty Williams

With thanks for farming consultation to Roger Howison and Willie Young.