Radio

Published on Friday 3 July 2009 16:24

WHAT really goes on behind the door of No 10 Downing Street? This week we hear from The Garden Room Girls (BBC Radio 4, Wednesday, 11am), an elite band of secretaries who worked at No 10.

They occupied the room looking out on to the Prime Minister's garden and have been privy to some of the inner workings of the British Government from the past 50 years. In this one-off programme we hear from Ann, who took dictation from Winston Churchill while he lay in bed; Linda, who broke the news of John F Kennedy's assassination to Sir Alec Douglas-Home; and Anne-Marie, who accompanied Tony Blair to NewYork in the aftermath of 9/11.

Iranian-born comedian Shappi Khorsandi is hot property at the moment, and anyone who has seen her stand-up dissecting multicultural Britain will know why. Shappi Talk (BBC Radio 4, Thursday, 6.30pm) is her new four-part comedy series, where each week she'll be discussing what it's like being brought up in the UK in an Iranian family. In the first episode she tackles racism with Meera Syal.

All Of Me – The Betrayal Of Billie Holiday (BBC Radio 2, Tuesday, 10.30pm) marks the 50th anniversary of the death of the American jazz singer. Presented by Neneh Cherry, the programme pieces together the story of Holiday's drugs conviction that eventually destroyed her career.

For a glimpse inside the mind of film director Quentin Tarantino, tune in to Tarantino's Jukebox (BBC Radio 4, Saturday, 10.30am) to hear him talk about his musical obsessions.