Radio
By Stephanie Billen
BBC One, 8pm
Graham Norton returns with his trademark wry live coverage (it’s worth tuning in for the commentary alone) of the 64th edition of the Grand Final live from Expo Tel Aviv. UK entrant and All Together Now winner Michael Rice, below, could go all the way with his rousingly anthemic (and not half bad) song Bigger Than Us. Providing he’s not ambushed by Icelandic bondage synthpunks, latex-clad Belarusians or Slovenia’s answer to the XX, the likable lad from Hartlepool has got to be in with a chance. In a powerful report, When Parents Split (Sunday, Radio 4, 1.30pm), psychotherapist Philippa Perry explains how children caught up in bitter divorces can end up unjustly rejecting one of their parents on the basis of lies peddled during the break-up. The phenomenon has been dubbed parental alienation but has proved controversial because it calls into question the reliability of children’s court statements. The human cost is fully explored in a programme revealing how easy it is to manipulate a young mind.
Podcast series are ideal for leisurely investigations. The 12-part 13 Minutes to the Moon launches on Monday with episode one also broadcast on the World Service (Wednesday, 11.30am). Presented by Dr Kevin Fong, this in-depth examination of the Apollo 11 mission that landed two men on the moon focuses particularly on the fraught final 13 minutes. Testimonies from surviving astronauts contribute to the sense of drama, but the series also puts the excitement in context, this first programme recalling Nazi rocket pioneer Wernher von Braun’s role in the project.
Playwright Daniel Thurman uses his imagination to delve into the fascinating true story of an old woman who refused a lucrative offer from developers to move out of her Seattle home, resulting in a five-storey mall being built around her. The Macefield Plot (Tuesday, Radio 4, 2.15pm) stars the excellent Sian Phillips as feisty but vulnerable Edith Macefield, who argues that her home “may not be much” but it is “the place I want to end my days”. Surprisingly, she builds a tender friendship with kind-hearted construction manager Barry Martin (Stanley Townsend) although she clams up when he questions her on rumours that she was a spy…
A reporter tries to make sense of her own history in Me, the Refugee (Saturday,
Iranian-born Sahar Zand became a refugee at the age of 12, fleeing across Europe with her sister and mother after her father angered the political regime. The three women remember how they tried to protect each other throughout this confusing time, not always successfully. Like Zand herself, listeners may have unanswered questions but the trade-off is a sense of privileged intimacy as Zand invites us on her emotional journey.