Continuity

Written by Hugh Rycroft. A continuity announcer's booth can be a lonely place - especially on the late shift, when you've barely seen your wife and children for a week.
Still, this Radio 4 continuity announcer is a consummate professional, and he's not going to let his own insignificant little problems get in the way of your listening pleasure.
Especially when there are so many exciting programmes coming up for him to tell you about. At least, some of them are exciting. Some of them aren't quite his cup of tea, if he's honest, but that's not really the point, is it? They may be right up your street. It's not really his place to express an opinion. Even if it is tempting. This may be a come-down from heady days spent announcing on the Today programme, but he's got a job to do. Though sometimes it is rather difficult to concentrate...

Series 1
01. Trails for 'The Ethical Enigma', 'Britain's Favourite Sound' and 'The History of Britain One Year at a Time' are just some of the strange delights on offer in the world of this 'radio professional', who harbours a slightly inappropriate relationship with his audience.
02. This week we welcome the return of 'Musical Notebook', cast our minds back to the controversial career of that terror of the music halls, the irrepressible comic Lennie Bloom, and we discuss the revamp of Desert Island Discs. It's all good.
03. There's a treat in store with the new series of 'Living By Numbers' (about the numbers we live by), a major retrospective of the Volgograd painters' love affair with the colour blue, and a gritty and disturbing report on the Swedish milk crisis. And our series on Philosophical Logic continues to be appointment to listen listening. Obviously.
04. A seasoned and meticulous continuity announcer presents the very best of next week's radio with aplomb. There's something for everyone here: Radio 4 goes to Preston for the national pie competition, Sarah Topolski gives us a sneak preview of next week's obituaries - exciting for most of us - and there's unbridled hilarity from the United Nations as our Foreign Office sitcom goes Stateside. No Philosophical Logic this week though. You can't have everything.
05. With apologies for last week's outburst, a veteran continuity announcer fills in a bit of time by telling you about some of the programmes you might want to listen to on the radio next week. Possibly. Particular gems include an update on the much debated renaming of Book at Bedtime, an 'in depth' report from inside the Met - Sorry the Met Office - that's in 'Inside Job' and finally listen in to hear about an exciting vacancy in Radio 4's continuity department. Onwards and upwards...
06. With assurances that last week's brouhaha will not be repeated, an ultimately professional continuity announcer - when all is said and done - looks forward with genuine respect to some of the educational, informative and entertaining highlights of next week's radio. Living By Numbers returns with a vengeance to discuss a new number, there's an exclusive profile by Lionel Wilson of prolific indie prodigies The Straps who release their 27th album next week and the broadcaster Suzanne Parsons discusses where she should put her wedding dress. And there are some other programmes as well. Probably.