The British Broadcasting Century with Paul Kerensa

The BBC's first: in-house drama for adults non-Shakespeare drama  comedy drama studio production of a modern stage play drama to be reviewed on air writer to be on two channels at once ...however you phrase it, Gertrude Jennings' Five Birds in a Cage deserves far more attention than it's had for the past century and a bit. In our moment-by-moment British broadcasting timeline it's 29 November 1923 when the BBC set the template for the modern radioplay with this adaptation of Jennings' satirical stageplay about five Tube passengers trapped in a lift. Will they get out? Will they throttle each other first? What does it have in common with Blackadder Goes Forth? The BBC had broadcast a drama aimed at children (The Truth about Father Christmas by Phyllis Twigg - see episode 72 of this podcast), some Shakespeare plays (see episode 55 of this podcast), an excerpt of GK Chesterton and the occasional on-location panto. But the in-house modern radio drama was a new idea. Although Richard Hughes' A Comedy of Danger from 1924 is credited as the first original radio play for adults, Five Birds in a Cage was an impressive adaptation of Gertrude Jennings' 1915 stage play of the same name - and it was reviewed on air too. In this episode, three experts bring you everything you never knew you needed to know about Jennings and her work. Professor Tim Crook is Emeritus Professor at Goldsmiths University of London, and author of Writing Audio Drama among many other books, as well as the superb blog at kulturapress.com. Nicola Morgan and Dr Caroline Rance host the excellent and vital She Wrote Too podcast, elevating and amplifying under-appreciated female writers from the early twentieth century. Plus hear that first review of a radio play by Archibald Haddon the first BBC drama critic. We tell of other forgotten radio drama moments, including Howard Rose's recollections of a dramatic broadcast on 2 September 1922, pre-BBC. And you'll hear Peter Eckersley and Rolls Wynn on their Cyrano de Bergerac broadcast from 17 October 1922. Plus the bizarre quirk that makes her the first writer to have two different productions on two different channels at the same time... for five minutes anyway. Gertrude Jennings wrote quite a play - a social satire, a farce, a character comedy, with sound effects and a point to make. We're delighted to shout about it here - and see our shownotes below for She Wrote Too's podcast about her too, as well as Tim Crook's writing about her and other forgotten female writers.   SHOWNOTES: She Wrote Too podcast on Gertrude Jennings: https://shewrotetoo.substack.com/p/five-birds-in-a-cage Tim Crook's blog about Gertrude Jennings: https://kulturapress.com/2022/08/10/gertrude-e-jennings-bbcs-pioneering-one-act-playwright/ Tim Crook's academic article 'Rewriting the Beginning of BBC Audio Drama History- Three Women Playwrights and Their Contribution to British Radio Drama Culture': https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19376529.2023.2257184  Sutton Elms website on Howard Rose: https://www.suttonelms.org.uk/dspenser9.html Alan Beck's 'The Invisible Play' on Gertrude Jennings: https://www.savoyhill.co.uk/invisibleplay/body/3a1.html (some of his website is missing/broken - help in finding the missing pages would be appreciated!) Listen to The Truth about Phyllis Twigg on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002ntmx Catch out first interview with Tim Crook, on Phyllis Twigg, on episode 72 of this podcast: https://bbcentury.podbean.com/e/the-first-radio-dramatist-the-truth-about-phyllis-twigg/ Email the podcast at: https://paulkerensa.com/contact.php Review the podcast on Apple Podcasts etc? Thanks! Our latest Substack is on: What have BBC promos ever done for us?... paulkerensa.substack.com Find us on BlueSky: bsky.bbcentury.social Join Paul's mailing list Paul's show is on old radio is on tour and available for booking - book it!: paulkerensa.com/tour This podcast is not made by today's BBC. It's just about the old BBC. Original podcast music is by Will Farmer.  Support us on Patreon? £5/mth, and get extra videos, writings, readings etc: patreon.com/paulkerensa - thanks! Or support this project with a one-off tip: ko-fi.com/paulkerensa - thanks too! Please share/rate/review this podcast if you like - it all helps. Next time, Episode 128: Early Muslim and Gaelic voices on the BBC  More on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

26 November-2 December 1923, and the BBC and the USA had a little conversation. Well, a big conversation, across an ocean, across a week, heard by listeners east and west of the Atlantic. Our moment-by-moment timeline of British broadcasting has reached this momentous moment (aren't all moments momentous?) when British ears heard America, and American ears heard Britain, via radio. It was all Radio Broadcast magazine's fault/idea. Its co-owner, Frank Doubleday of Doubleday, Page and Co, thought it would be nice for the two countries to hear each via some organised tests - and while US radio had reached the UK, the time difference made it trickier for the signals to be heard the other way around. It meant BBC staff setting their alarms for a few days of 3am broadcasts, and Biggin Hill Aerodrome proved the ideal place for the engineers to pick up what America was sending. So this episode comes live (well, recorded) from Biggin Hill Aerodrome. You can even hear the odd plane. It was here that BBC Deputy Chief Engineer Captain West and team listened for US radio - and ate Mrs West's fried sausages. Oh yes, we bring you all the details, including Reith and Eckersley singing God Save the King... ...and we bring you a guest: BBC producer and presenter Josephine McDermott has made an Archive on 4 documentary on international shortwave radio - The Sound of Soft Power. Link below, have a listen, and hear her tell us of the joy of finding such archive.  A second part of the 1923 experiments came after Christmas that year, so a second part of this story will be on the podcast in a few episodes time - around ep 132, when Prof Simon J Potter will enlighten us on the BBC's global reach, linked to the Pittsburgh and Paris broadcasts heard on the BBC in late 1923.    SHOWNOTES: Hear Josephine McDermott's Radio 4 documentaries for Archive on 4: The Sound of Soft Power - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002wskb - and https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0026tw0 Research this episode is thanks to a variety of places, inc. Andrew Barker our Newspaper Detective (see his daily posts on our Facebook group), Thomas H white's website https://earlyradiohistory.us/, Myles Eckersley's book Prospero's Wireless, and Edward Pawley's book BBC Engineering 1922-1972. Email the show at: https://paulkerensa.com/contact.php Review the show on Apple Podcasts etc? Thanks! Our latest Substack is on: What have BBC promos ever done for us?... paulkerensa.substack.com Find us on BlueSky: bsky.bbcentury.social Join Paul's mailing list Paul's show is An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: The BBC Then and Now - and in late 2026 it plays Gloucester, Hartley Wintney and more: paulkerensa.com/tour This podcast is not made by today's BBC. It's just about the old BBC. Original podcast music is by Will Farmer.  Support us on Patreon? £5/mth, and get extra videos, writings, readings etc: patreon.com/paulkerensa - thanks! Or support this project with a one-off tip: ko-fi.com/paulkerensa - thanks too! Please share/rate/review this podcast if you like - it all helps. Next time, Episode 127: Early radio drama from Gertrude Jennings. More on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

We're back in our moment-by-moment timeline of British broadcasting's early days, and it's just after the BBC's first birthday... 16 November 1923: Sheffield 6FL becomes the BBC's first relay station, rebroadcasting programmes from Manchester. But will there be original local content too? What of Sheffield's pre-BBC radio station? And is it coincidence that '6FL' could link to 'Fred Lloyd' - the man who made Sheffield broadcasting possible? Was it not he who marched into BBC Chief Engineer Peter Eckersley's office and said: "Have you heard the wireless in Sheffield? It's like an insurrection in hell!" ...Discover the truths, the maybes, the pioneering moments and the hidden history of this long-ignored station, from our Newspaper Detective Andrew Barker, who I'm convinced knows more than anyone on the planet about the Sheffield relay station 6FL, and what came before it. Plus exclusive rare audio from Harry Lloyd in 1968, talking about how he and his dad began it all. We're so grateful to today's BBC Radio Sheffield and Sheffield City Archives for permission to share this clip, with an insight into not only how Sheffield broadcasting began in 1923, but the first days of local radio when that interview was broadcast on BBC Radio Sheffield, just months into its existence as the second local radio station of the modern era. Thanks to Fred Lloyd, the Sheffield station achieved far more than the history books might let on - bringing the first educational broadcast to schools before the BBC, and the first broadcasting bishop. A few key dates of Fred Lloyd and the Sheffield station's story, thanks to Andrew Barker... 20 Oct 1922: Fred Lloyd becomes President of the Sheffield and District Wireless Society, unusually giving his inaugural speech by radio from his home, to a packed hall of 800 members - facing an empty stage with just a loudspeaker. 31 Dec 1922: The Bishop of Sheffield, the local MP and a local newspaper editor broadcast from Fred Lloyd's home. That's the first bishop on air! 21 March 1923: Britain's first broadcast to schools, three of them in Sheffield, thanks to Fred Lloyd. 12 April 1923: BBC Chief Engineer Peter Eckersley visits Sheffield, and tests are carried out. Will the BBC take it over? (Yes.) The relay idea is born days later. 9 July 1923: Test transmissions begin at the university, again thanks to Fred Lloyd. 14 August 1923: The first attempt at relaying another station. 17 August 1923: Fred Lloyd says he hopes local programming continues, despite the relaying of other stations. Will it? 1 Sept 1923: Local newspapers run the Sheffield station for an evening. 13 Sept 1923: Fred Lloyd gives the experimental station's farewe... oh that would be spoiling it. You'll have to listen. 16 Nov 1923: Sheffield 6FL opens, under the BBC banner. ...So that's where we are in our timeline. Coming up on the podcast: November 1923 continues with transatlantic broadcasting, relays from France, early drama, an upcoming election, and BBC's first Muslim broadcaster. Stay subscribed and see the shownotes below for our social mediums and the like...   SHOWNOTES: Thanks to BBC Radio Sheffield and Sheffield City Archives for permission to use the old clips. They were stars to deal with, and bring me hope that old audio needn't stay on shelves behind closed doors. Thanks, folks! Thanks Andrew Barker for finding the info and sharing it. See his 'On this day 100 years ago in broadcasting history' posts on our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/bbcentury Email the show at: https://paulkerensa.com/contact.php Review the show on Apple Podcasts etc, and we may read it out on the podcast - and you can 'win' (you can't win) a piece of British broadcasting pretend history (there is no prize, do not believe these words) Our latest Substacks - upcoming, What have BBC promos ever done for us?... paulkerensa.substack.com Find us on BlueSky: bsky.bbcentury.social Join Paul's mailing list Paul's show is An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: The BBC Then and Now - and in late 2026 it plays Weston-super-Mare, Gloucester, the Isle of Wight, Hartley Wintney and more: paulkerensa.com/tour This podcast is not made by today's BBC. It's just about the old BBC. Original podcast music is by Will Farmer.  Support us on Patreon? £5/mth, and get extra videos, writings, readings etc: patreon.com/paulkerensa - thanks! Or support this project with a one-off tip: ko-fi.com/paulkerensa - thanks too! Please share/rate/review this podcast if you like - it all helps. Next time, Episode 126: International broadcasting in November-December 1923. More on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

Broadcasting House, 1932: The BBC's first purpose-built home.  When it first opened, some likened it to a ship, others to a New York skyscraper. And it was once called a Palace of the Ether... That's the title of a new book by architectural historian Dr Elizabeth Darling, who joins us this episode for an audio tour of the building's earliest incarnation - from the outside design and sculptures to the Concert Hall/Radio Theatre, via the unique studios and the art deco reception, complete with Latin motto and statute of The Sower, still there today. It's an incredible building, and whether you know a lot or a little, I'm sure you'll learn something new about BH - whether it's the bomb that didn't bother the newsreader, the WW2 dormitory, or the only studio you could smoke in, surrounded by fake books. For the last couple of years, I've given walking tours of central London via spots linked with broadcasting history. Not this year alas, so this audio tour of the building we usually start with will be just what you need instead. Plus one of your reviews gets chosen to 'win' a pretend piece of broadcasting history, and we look at how the BBC might change going forward, if you were in charge... Look out for Elizabeth Darling's book - see link below - and stay subscribed to the podcast for more tales of early British broadcasting. Next time, we're back in November 1923 for the BBC's ninth station, and its first relay station: 6FL Sheffield. And we've got some rare clips for you...   SHOWNOTES: Palace of the Ether by Elizabeth Darling is published by Lund Humphries - it's a beaut: https://www.lundhumphries.com/products/palace-of-the-ether Paul's show is An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: The BBC Then and Now - and this summer it plays Westbury in Wiltshire and Weston-super-Mare in Somerset: paulkerensa.com/tour Email the show at: https://paulkerensa.com/contact.php Paul's latest Substack, on the BBC cuts: paulkerensa.substack.com Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/groups/bbcentury Find us on BlueSky: bsky.bbcentury.social Find Paul on Instagram: instagram.com/paulkerensa Join Paul's mailing list This podcast is not made by today's BBC. It's just about the old BBC. Original podcast music is by Will Farmer.  Support us on Patreon? £5/mth, and get extra videos, writings, readings etc: patreon.com/paulkerensa - thanks! Or support this project with a one-off tip: ko-fi.com/paulkerensa - thanks too! Please share/rate/review this podcast if you like - it all helps. Next time, Episode 125: We're back in our timeline in Nov 1923 for the first BBC relay station, Sheffield 6FL. More on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio

On 1 January 1951, the BBC broadcast "a farming Dick Barton", aka "an everyday story of country folk", aka The Archers - the world's longest running broadcast drama. Approximately 21,000 episodes later, it celebrates its diamond anniversary with a national tour of theatres, hosted by comedian and Archers fan Angela Barnes - who joins us this episode to tell us all about the show, and the show. The live tribute features Archers cast members, a Q&A, an Ambridge-style pub quiz, and of course its iconic theme. It plays from Liverpool to London, Glasgow to Swansea. Enjoy! Also this episode, less gladly, we consider the upcoming BBC cuts - and while we may not welcome news that Radio 4's The World Tonight or Midnight News are to go (and that's just the start), what would you cut, if you were DG? I asked online, I wrote a Substack about it, and this episode we look at a few of the more frequent suggestions, from some of you. If you have further thoughts, do email the show and we might feature you next time. We're also featuring your kind reviews of this podcast, if you've posted to Apple Podcasts. Thanks if so! If you haven't and would consider such a thing, please do and next time you-yes-you could be the proud winner of a fictitious piece of British broadcasting history...     SHOWNOTES: The Archers Live at 75, on tour around the UK. More next time... https://www.fane.co.uk/the-archers Listen to the earliest Archers there is: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p03nshmg Paul's show is An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: The BBC Then and Now - and this summer it plays Westbury in Wiltshire and Weston-super-Mare in Somerset: paulkerensa.com/tour We mention Watchet's fabulous Radio Museum - do go: https://www.radiomuseum.uk/ Email the show at: https://paulkerensa.com/contact.php Paul's latest Substack, on the BBC cuts: paulkerensa.substack.com Our Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/bbcentury Find us on BlueSky: bsky.bbcentury.social Find Paul on Instagram: instagram.com/paulkerensa Join Paul's mailing list This podcast is not made by today's BBC. It's just about the old BBC. Original podcast music is by Will Farmer.  Support us on Patreon? £5/mth, and get extra videos, writings, readings etc: patreon.com/paulkerensa - thanks! Or support this project with a one-off tip: ko-fi.com/paulkerensa - thanks too! Please share/rate/review this podcast if you like - it all helps. Next time, Episode 124: We're back in our timeline in Nov 1923 for the first BBC relay station, Sheffield 6FL. More on this broadcasting history project at paulkerensa.com/oldradio