''Loose Ends'' is a British radio programme originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, and then transmitted early Saturday evenings from 1998 by

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 ...

. It was hosted by

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of r ...

until 2006 and has been hosted by

Clive Anderson Clive Stuart Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedian, writer and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts dur ...

Nikki Bedi Nikhila Bedi (; ''née'' Moolgaoker; 9 September 1966) is a British television and radio presenter, born to an Indian father of Maharashtrian origin and an English mother. She was married to food stylist Sunil Vijayakar before her second marri ...

and Peter Curran since 2007. The programme brings together guests, generally from the world of entertainment, in a mix of interviews, sets by comedians and musical sessions.

History

First broadcast in 1986, it developed out of ''The Colour Supplement'', a Sunday morning programme which had featured early ''Loose Ends'' contributors such as

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

Robert Elms Robert Frederick Elms is an English writer and broadcaster. Elms was a writer for '' The Face'' magazine in the 1980s, and is known for his long-running radio show on BBC Radio London and his 2006 book, ''The Way We Wore''. Early life and educ ...

and

Victor Lewis-Smith Victor Lewis-Smith (12 May 1957 – 10 December 2022) was a British film, television and radio producer, a television and restaurant critic, a satirist and newspaper columnist. He was executive producer of the ITV1 Annual National Food & Drink ...

. The latter's contributions to ''Loose Ends'' were recorded packages, being a mischievous and disruptive element of the programme. Originally commissioned comedy had, by 2006, been phased out almost entirely, with comic performers tending to deliver existing material from their repertoires although, in June/July 2006, the Scots comedian and writer

Janey Godley Jane Godley Currie (20 January 1961 – 2 November 2024), known professionally as Janey Godley, was a Scottish stand-up comedian, actress, writer and political activist. She began her stand-up career in 1994, and won various awards for her come ...

scripted a weekly series of satiric fictional extracts from ''

Nancy Dell'Olio Annunziata "Nancy" Dell'Olio (born 23 August 1961) is an Italian-American lawyer and media personality. She first came to public notice as the girlfriend of football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Early life Annunziata Dell'Olio was born in New ...

's Diary'' to coincide with the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

. Dell' Olio was the girlfriend of

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

coach

Sven-Göran Eriksson Sven-Göran Eriksson (; 5 February 1948 – 26 August 2024) was a Swedish association football, football player and Coach (sport), manager. After a playing career as a right-back, Eriksson went on to experience major success in club management ...

. Only four extracts were transmitted due to the England team's failure in the championships. Typically the programme was topped and tailed by Sherrin reading a comic monologue which, over the years, was written by

Alistair Beaton Alistair Beaton (born 1947) is a playwright and satirist, journalist, radio presenter, novelist and television writer. At one point in his career he was also a speechwriter for Gordon Brown. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Beaton was educated at the ...

, D. A. Barham, Ian Brown & James Hendrie,

Nev Fountain Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain (born 12 August 1969), is an English writer best known for his comedy work with writing partner Tom Jamieson on the radio and television programme '' Dead Ringers''. Early life A native of Stamford, Fou ...

, Tom Jamieson, Tom Mitchelson, Ian Hawkins, Terence Dackombe,

Andrew Nickolds Andrew Nickolds (1949 – 2022) was a British comedy writer. He wrote for Maureen Lipman's Agony, The Lenny Henry Show, Ed Reardon's Week, and Dave Podmore Dave Podmore is a fictional English cricketer. Co-written by the English actor and writer ...

Steve Punt Steve Punt (born ) is a British comedy writer, comedian and actor. Along with Hugh Dennis, he is part of the double act Punt and Dennis and was presenter of BBC Radio 4 satirical news programme '' The Now Show''. He is also a writer and programm ...

and Pete Sinclair. When Sherrin became ill with a throat infection in late 2006, later diagnosed as throat cancer, Peter Curran stood in as presenter of ''Loose Ends'' with

Patrick Kielty Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a comedian, presenter and actor from Northern Ireland. He is the host of '' The Late Late Show'' on RTÉ One and presents a Saturday morning programme on BBC Radio 5 Live. His television credits include ...

and

as guest presenters. Sherrin died of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

on 1 October 2007. Clive Anderson became permanent replacement host in 2007. In 2024, alternate presenters have included Nihal Arthanayake and

Stuart Maconie Stuart John Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark Radc ...

References

External links

* BBC Radio 4 programmes 1986 radio programme debuts {{BBC-radio-stub