Read this: 28/04/2023 Radio 4 Feedback

BBC sounds music Radio podcasts, what are the history programmes how common are left with this? Week's Joe stilgoe this appreciation night time for any answers is and he's a good day or night produced in Cardiff the move has already led to one high-profile departure first thing we hear is that Richard Coles can't travel to Cardiff Cardiff going to Cardiff so he has to step down.

So why the change the head of audio in Wales is here to explain also ambulance service is the patient unconscious is on Radio 4 really is everything you'd want to hear when calling for an ambulance.

The Radio 4 drama lifelines set in an ambulance control room has been getting rave reviews from listeners.

It's right or joins me to give us a glimpse into how the storylines are created and in our vauxbox this week a face-off between a monarchist and a Republican as they give us their thoughts on the day debate do we need a monarchy? I think what's clear to me and the majority of the British Public viva of retaining the market because he believes in the institutions.

I absolutely agree with that.

I don't think it's fair for you to say as if you know it's a fact that most people have for the monarchy in this country, but first must be to deliver for the whole of the UK and ensure every household gets Valley from the BBC these plans will get us closer to audiences create jobs and investment and develop and nurture new Talent that was a quote from the director-general Tim Davie and I'm singing.

Back in March 2021 to move production of some programs out of London in an attempt to get closer to the audience since then a number of Radio 4 and world service programmes have been allocated to Cardiff one immediate consequence of the movie was the departure of the Reverend Richard Coles from Saturday Live as he explained to me a couple of weeks ago on feedback kind of k my way without me inviting it because the program is moving to Cardiff and when I just sat down and worked out well.

That would work for me.

I realise it simply wouldn't work for me and I just couldn't hello this is Jools wearing here from Balham in London first thing is that we hear is that Richard Coles can't travel to Cardiff Cardiff is going to Cardiff so he has set down.

He is allegedly upset about this and the listing is all going to morning about his absence and the second thing is the shows cut by half an hour.

It's lost its edge.

And appeal Harry Ellis calling from Dawlish in Devon the question of it moving to Wales shouldn't really affect me one little bit and the program remains the same what does disappoint me is the fact that Richard Cole has left.

I'll have to wonder whether moving to affected in Great leave Mrs evil McIntyre calling from Kidderminster calling a bit puzzled about the changes in Saturday Live by the full there's no Welsh co-presenter with just really a form of colonialism program moving to a Welsh setting but I'm going to be well.

It's such a shame because it's a brilliant, but it's been cut in time lost one of its great present.

So why have Saturday Live and other programs moved to Cardiff and crucially.

I will it affect what listener.

Colin Patterson is head of audio at BBC Wales and West of England and is not responsible for these programs.

I Began by asking him how he responded to listeners the moana the Reverend departure from Saturday Live to obviously when you making any chains like that.

There are challenges of all sorts including you know in terms of managing the presenters in case we had with Richard for a number of months to try and facility away and continue and then the program but I understand there with his other demands it just wasn't going to work out but this program a couple of weeks ago.

We continue to have a conversation with him and we very much want to be part of Radio 4 in the future.

I'm sure lots of listeners will be delighted to hear that.

He may well be back in some guys on Radio 4 but are you looking for a full-time replacement for rev Richard Coles on Saturday Live to we want to get things right and I think that.

You never you have a radio service the size of radio for in terms of its audience its complexity and the number presenters that you want to be making sure that we have voices like Richard that are much loved and appreciated, but you've also got to find room for way to the new voice you come from so at the moment on Saturday Live with delighted that she's continue the program and for the foreseeable we're going to have a number of guests presenters and are you looking for a Welsh presenter for the right? I were open about it.

I think it's easy to view the sort of binary decisions about SSE UK program or is it a Welsh programme? I think we are producing programs ball Radio 4 from Wales and I think we think that has to the richness of Radio 4 so I hope overtime yes, we will be able to find new voices to contribute to BBC Radio that come from where let's just dig into that.

It's because I'm interested to know if it means that your programs are going to sign slightly more Welsh will listeners know for example that a program like Saturday Live is it from Cardiff or are you hoping that they really don't know where in the UK at comes from that something is getting that balance right.

I think it's a principal about if people pay for the licence fee across the UK is it right that the majority of our program should be sent to the London is it fair to say that if you live in Cardiff or Edinburgh Dundee or Belfast that you might actually bring a different perspective to the programs we produced so as a for me is not buying anything about this is suddenly a Welsh programme.

It's just about opening up two different points of View different perspectives and also the economic benefits as well and Times of distributing our content across the UK there's a creative and fun.

Benefit in a working with Cardiff University we've just taken on the production of any answers.

It means that we are able to give real-world experience to students at Cardiff journalism school while the most prestigious journalism schools in the UK to think the advantages go beyond the content that we make all about guests particularly for Saturday I mean I've presented the program as well and occasion and I know we did it remotely during the pandemic but certainly I felt the program worked much better than all the guests wear in the same room.

How easy is it to travel to Cardiff at the moment Oliver Cardiff as you say we think as benefits for a program that Saturday Live in terms of having face-to-face interviews and that's why we wanted the presenters to be Cardiff based but with any products.

If we want a guest to be on the program then sometimes that's not always possible to be in person but so far so good that decision to cut the programme from 90 minutes to just one but remember the program was originally one hour so we're coming at back effectively to its original time saw I understand people's frustration if a program changes in terms of presenter Orient I'm a radio station like Radio 4 what you're trying to do is constantly evolve and a Saturday morning with trying to provide a showcase for a couple of Are You Know Podcast titles your place of mine which we actually produced from our Bristol team is a travel podcast also you're dead to me which is been successful for the BBC but I think overtime on a Saturday Live and the other programs that will bring in.

I hope people will grow to love them as much as they grow until after previous Saturday schedule.

I am a lifelong Welsh

Radio 4 who's now feeling completely marginalised by the stations content I feel like I'm missing to Radio 3 in the most of the time.

I recently listened to every Radio 4 programme of the period of a week and 70% of the accent to English 20% American and only 1% Welsh It Feels Like We Almost weeks away from Wales featuring on from our own correspondent relocating Radio 4 programme into only change this situation if it is accompanied by deliberate will to change it expecting change through osmosis is not enough, but whenever I ask.

Why we can't have more programs about why is iron told but of course we can just have write programs.

We need to think of everyone in Britain think he makes a baby compelling case of why we are taking this approach around the UK this is a dollop intervention by the BBC it's not a process of osmosis.

We've made a clear decision and a clear commitment that we want to move programs outside of London

Order to better reflect the whole of the UK so I'm not sure I completely agree with these categorisation of radio for as it stands as somebody who listens still lot of the output you know the program for example making huge efforts and making sure they go to different locations there regularly eaten Wales and interviewing a Euro politicians including the first minister the last 6-months we are definitely delivering Welsh content for Welsh audience but also for a UK order quite a number of programs have been moved to Cardiff already from BBC Radio 4.

Is that a definitive list or are you hoping to grow the card of Empire even I think the advantage we have now is that we have a scale call Sue and expertise that I do think will mean that we are the go-to people for a lot program so for example the science team in Cardiff is located next to the environment and science News

Who provides us with an epicentre of specialism around science and in particular around the climate change was really going to be clearly a big priority for us to come you couple that with people that producing cost in the Earth and farming today and the food programme and Bristol and actually you get a really interesting mix of people that you're bringing together and I don't think I would ever be apologise for one thing to bring more great content and give our program makers in Cardiff in Bristol and opportunity for a bigger part for the listeners to ask you turn it benefit me as a listener that these programs have moved to Cardiff what would you say I would see wherever you listening in the country.

There are going to be programs moving closer to you.

I think the people in Scotland are better place to understand Scotland I think people living and working in Wales a better place to understand.

What's happening in Wales so whether it's editorial.

Times of diversity and even in terms of the economics I think that principle of the BBC being for and by the whole of the UK that's what we deliver and through this process Colin Wilson thank you so much for joining us on feedback, if you have anything to say about Radio 4 programmes produced in Wales or indeed anything to do with BBC audio.

Please do get in touch you can send us an email.

It's feedback at bbc.co.uk voice message on 03344 you can tweet at BBC R4 feedback lifelines.

I L Smith is unconscious.

A gritty Radio 4 drama set in an ambulance control room were call handler carry played by actor Sarah Ridgeway deals with harrowing emergencies the series follows her as she goes 999 calls her and her challenging family life series and has a devoted following lifelines writer Alan Smith join me explaining what inspired him to write the award-winning drama ask Lynn a Sunday supplement which was a transcription of a 999 call in the United States about a woman who ringing seemingly asking for a pizza.

It's a peculiar can you get into the collie realise she can't ask for help because she's in a room with someone who sends her I felt so moving away the call handler figure out.

What was going on without the corner being able to articulate her situation.

I thought I really loved.

Spend some time in the world of a call handler to my producer at Radio 4 and and she seemed to like it, so we took it from there, but that was the original Genesis of life.

I will tell her to shut the lively and she stopped again.

Please keep moving the car along to the refuge area.

I'd like to Commons on the production of lifelines the show is so life like at the Atkins fantastic.

You can feel the emotion in each episode create a show is so memorable.

How did you go B research? I went down to visit the South West Ambulance Service trust in Exeter I sat in on a few calls and get some of the call handlers to get a sense of who they are and what sort of cause they deal with and what the tone of those causes and and how they manage the stress.

That experience has been pretty significant to Lifeline on I refer to it all the time when I'm trying to think of new stories for it doesn't feel Halloween sometimes to write it to get into the heads of those characters and I always want things to end the thing I find difficult about the cause of writing because if you like it you never hear the end the story really hear the end of any other situations the call ends when the call handler has managed.

Hopefully to get help to that person in crisis and it's Halloween or troubling that you know that never gets to hear the engines coming from village in Devon I would just like to say how thoroughly gripping the drama is everything you'd want to hear when calling relationship between carry manager and her family is equally well, we're

The reason part 1 and part 2 both may be late for work.

I've had to listen to the very end one appearing very true to life the script writers have somehow managed to allow most of the positive and heartwarming and I also know how to do CPR off by heart.

Thanks to carry.

I'm going to say they got a visual on the balloon 264th definitely coming down one of your hands over his phone and the other hand on top Ian Jackson retired medic South Shropshire I usually enjoyed the series lifeline for its drama and humour and accuracy of the recent episode of the usually common knowledge for carry the call handler made a basic mistake in dealing with the semi-conscious balloon pilot who type 1 diabetes.

In such a Circumstance hypoglycemic episode is by far the most likely cause which could most easily have been limited by finding his glucose tablets and giving him that he's a buy now not by laying them on the floor of the balloon and jumping up and down his chest while balloon crash into power lines.

I realise that this is just fiction and drama, but I would hate to think of someone a person with type 1 diabetes in a hot air balloon taking their knowledge from this particular program and therefore failing to save the day.

I'm aware of that comment that the call is made and I think that's a fair cop.

I just got that wrong to him.

It's largely me and my laptop trying to get it right, but I hope if anyone's in a situation when they need medical help.

They done 999 rather not lifelines does reflect mergers understaffing Stepping Up management saving money it reflects in fact the crisis in the NHS

Do you think that it's important for you to make sure that that's written in as realistically as you can try not to make political points with my intention to reflect the situation Currys in as realistically as I can and I suppose you know through that drama.

I hope listeners can get some understanding of what it's like being a staff member both professionally and personally in that part of know this is the 6th series of lifelines.

Would you like to write more? I would we don't have one on the go at the moment.

We haven't picked another series of the honest.

I'm delighted by the response this one's got the last couple of weeks.

I've always tried to make sure it's Sally has who's the producer on the show that if we write if we're lucky enough to write more that we're not covering all ground so if we come up with her another story for carry that fits and feels like it needs to be told that I hope we.

Trinity to do that again.

You can listen to All six series of Life lines on BBC signs in last week's program.

We Revisited the issue of BBC impartiality in its coverage of the run-up to the coronation feedback listeners, had this to say my name is David Lewis from Selby in North Yorkshire National broadcaster should reflect what I believe that the significant proportion of UK residents to backup but you want to provide by one of your stations without one of your frequencies and alternative nation free or at least litetouch service hello BBC lintel here.

I'm retired social worker and I live in Greater Manchester growing number of Us in this country who actually see the ridiculous.

Royal family is less than interested and don't think they're particularly average at the time the BBC declined.

Anyone up for interview but did point us in the direction of Tuesday night's the today debate do we need a monarchy as evidence that coverage is Julie impartial and balanced so we both listeners.

I really Houston and you unblock me in the box box to hear what they do.

We need a monarchy.

That's what we're here to welcome to the today mate.

I might be new Houston I'm a filmmaker and I also on the director of the Havana Glasgow Film Festival my name is Euan Blockley I'm a former conservative Councillor Glasgow and a political research.

I thought the panel was really good.

Bye in larger.

I thought Billy Bragg with prickly entertaining and quite funny although I can be with with some of these views on the matter.

What his position was really quite interesting but I think they are the panel by and large.

I thought was quite fairly balanced.

I think the BBC always have a very difficult job when it comes.

With bouncing panel shows you choose to to balance them on the basis of of public opinion or to balance on the basis of of trying to have a good day baby and I thought there was a very good and respectful to wait on the panel where they could disagree agree and I think that's always very very important whatever your opinion is on on their particular point of view.

I think it's always nice to be able to hear people not be interrupted constantly and be able to go structure that I completely agree with that and it's just nice and refreshing to hear them actually interested and what people are saying and I'm thinking about it and actually weighing up opinions just something that we are as I agree with you sadly like something I would say it's because there's something archetypal about monarchy and it's something that children and it is very much for my grandchildren really get but the idea that you bring up children to worship the idea of a sovereign.

I think he's very damaging and makes democracy harder in a way to invite.

And we have a democracy so they're not against I was quite surprised that the balance except for one glaring Omission and as far as I know unless they had English accents there were no presentation from Wales Scotland or Ireland so that I would say was a bigger than an actually that can I go to the point that the Charles mermaids actually and crossbench peer were he spoke about how the gears is very much are I can a keystone to the four parts of the United Kingdom would have been nice to hear that on the panel.

It would have been nice to hear someone from Wales and someone from Scotland and someone from Northern Ireland and what they've you would be so on that every night.

I would agree with you this lovely big golden from goes right up to the ceiling not many of us.

Get to see it would be lovely and a museum museum.

You could go to Buckingham Palace and 20 quid to go out on the balcony your family and wave and have your photograph taken by cam on the back of the Victoria monument people will pick you up for that.

To do that Billy Bragg spoke about being a patriotic socialist which was a very interesting tournament and want to have hair before that interesting for sure and we'll try to combine his left wing views of without of patriotism actually really surprised because I have the Billy Bragg was going to be on this program actually automatically assumed that was completely wrong of me that he would be somehow against the monarchy it has you was very much to slim down the to have Charles and I think the Queen and The Prince of Wales I think that was his view but the rest should not be there this agree with that on the basis of of what I think the the other royal.

I think that's another argument for the monarchy is the amount of other people who are there providing a service to the people but as with all of the super-rich.

You talk about philanthropy as an excuse for that.

Well is always a fraction before give much higher proportion of their incomes than the rich do in well.

It would be great to let them go but

Down and that we have been I was reading I think it's one of the countries in Scandinavia or is it a couple of they've got a king and queen and they just sort of living normal housing go about on Buxton you know I mean I think it's kind of like quite a nice example of how she keeps out the line lie and just gets on with things and and I'm more kind of normal kind of way.

I think that would be less offence if that happened more generally in the morning in 50 years time.

We will have a monarchy.

Just yes, so do I do the size of the monarchy has been long predicted and it never happens and I don't think that can be easily abolished or dismantled flat reason it does become difficult I guess to imagine in 50 years time that particular so I thought that definitely gave me a wide variety of perspectives.

It's very very important because I think often it is four in against the supposed to the nuances of the inbetween and you know what I got out of it was hearing those other points of View and a detailed discussion about ranging from you know privilege in pump the cost of living the powers of the monarchy and codified and uncodified constitution reform identity you know what I mean that really did have it all and you was following with the lesson and hope you enjoyed that and the BBC does an exceptional job in terms of hoodie picked for the panel as well and yeah, and we can agree on that we both enjoy the program very much.

Enjoy the program and the discussion I felt it was very very representative interesting to hear and actually it's a kind of thing you want it makes you think about something that you maybe hadn't thought of before and that's really important.

I think we absolutely need more discussions like this.

I don't think it's enough.

I think we need lots more discussions and I really do agree with the fact that there's not really been you know we should have.

What discussions before the king was coronated you know today? What do we really want and how do we want to move forward? So yes more please BBC of this thanks to I really Houston and you unblock Lee you can listen to the today debate do we need a monarchy on BBC sounds.

We did ask Joanna Griffiths the editor of the Today programme under debate on the monarchy if she wasn't able to respond to some of the points raised in the box box.

She wasn't but gave us this statement.

It's a debate is a space for us to stand back and Explorer topic in Greater depth than we would only have time for on today in the morning.

We discussed subjects in a way that goes beyond the headlines and which we hope leads to a robust and interesting conversation for a little the panel is carefully inspected to ensure different perspectives are represented with the guests providing additional context and insights to help get to the heart of a topic as any BBC programme we ensure it complies editorial guidelines.

That's almost it's for this week's be back next week staff at BBC local radio stations are set to strike for a second time over cuts to schedules the walk ID is due to take place on Friday 5th of May to coincide with local election results journalist say they're concerned by proposed job losses prompted by station sharing content would like to know how you are affected by the changes to BBC local radio well.

That's all for this week.

Thank you for listening and for giving us your feedback.

I'm Andrea catherwood the producer is chilled and feedback is a whistle tone Scotland production for BBC Radio 4.

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