''Radio Lives'' was a long running

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

biographical series consisting of portraits of great radio figures. Running over seven series from 1990–96, each episode featured a personality who was influential either on the air or behind the scenes, and was presented by someone with a keen interest in their subject. The programmes demonstrated a striking range of subjects as varied as

Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American Broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broa ...

(the voice of Britain for an American radio audience at the height of the London blitz) to

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 ''Carry ...

, and William Hardcastle (inaugural presenter of

The World at One ''The World at One'' (or ''WATO'', pronounced "what-oh") is BBC Radio 4's long-running lunchtime news and current affairs radio programme, broadcast weekdays from 13:00 to 13:45 and produced by BBC News. The programme describes itself as "Bri ...

) to

Nancy Spain Nancy Brooker Spain (13 September 1917 – 21 March 1964) was a prominent English broadcaster and journalist. She was a columnist for the ''Daily Express'', ''She'' magazine, and the ''News of the World'' in the 1950s and 1960s. She also appear ...

(socialite). Presenters have included

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge ( ; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress and singer, best known for her comedy role as Hyacinth Bucket in the popular BBC sitcom ''Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), for which she was nominated for ...

Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 19591 June 2015) was a British politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 to 2015. Kennedy wa ...

Mark Lawson Mark Gerard Lawson is an English journalist, broadcaster and author. Specialising in culture and the arts, he is best known for presenting the flagship BBC Radio 4 arts programme '' Front Row'' between 1998 and 2014. He is also a '' Guardian'' ...

and

Humphrey Carpenter Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inkli ...

Programmes

Series 1, 19 July – 23 August 1990

Series 2, 23 May – 20 June 1991

Series 3, 6 August – 10 September 1992

Series 4, 27 May – 1 July 1993

Series 5, 9 June – 14 July 1994

Series 6, 29 June – 3 August 1995

Series 7, 31 October – 5 December 1996

References

{{reflist BBC Radio 4 programmes 1990 radio programme debuts 1996 radio programme endings