The Write Stuff
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| Genre | literary panel game |
|---|---|
| Running time | 28 mins |
| Country | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Host(s) | James Walton |
| Starring | Sebastian Faulks John Walsh Beth Chalmers |
| Producer(s) | Sam Michell |
| No. of series | 11 (12th in progress) |
| Website | Website |
The Write Stuff, "Radio 4's game of literary correctness", is a lighthearted quiz about literature on BBC Radio 4, taking a humorous look at famous literary figures, which has been running since 1998.[1] It is chaired and written by James Walton.[2] The two teams are captained by novelist Sebastian Faulks and journalist John Walsh, with Beth Chalmers reading literary extracts.
Contents
- 1 Format
- 2 Episodes
- 2.1 Series 1998
- 2.2 Series 1999
- 2.3 Series 2000
- 2.4 Series 2001
- 2.5 Series 1
- 2.6 Christmas Special 2002
- 2.7 Series 2
- 2.8 Series 3
- 2.9 Christmas Special 2004
- 2.10 Series 4
- 2.11 Series 5
- 2.12 Series 6
- 2.13 Series 7
- 2.14 Series 8
- 2.15 Series 9
- 2.16 Series 10
- 2.17 Cheltenham Literature Festival Special
- 2.18 Series 11
- 2.19 Series 12
- 2.20 Series 13
- 3 References
- 4 External links
Format[edit]
John Walsh and Sebastian Faulks have been team captains since the programme started. They are each joined by another journalist or novelist; frequent guests in recent years include John O'Farrell, Mark Billingham and Lynn Truss. Truss stepped in as captain to replace Faulks for series 9 (2010).[3]
Each week, the programme has an "Author of the Week"; W. B. Yeats, E. M. Forster, D. H. Lawrence, Robert Burns, Philip Roth and J. K. Rowling have all so featured on the programme. The programme has, on occasion, featured a group of writers, rather than a single author, as its key study - for example, poets of the Beat Generation were the featured authors on 26 October 2010.[4] Each programme begins with the panellists reading favourite extracts from the author's writing, and the first round is a series of questions about the author's life and works.
The programme normally ends with panellists having to write a pastiche (or parody; the programme uses the terms interchangeably) based on that week's author of the week. Walton describes these as 'the most popular bit of the programme'.[5] Walton sets a topic that would be so out of style of the author in question that a pastiche would be humorous. For example, when Robert Burns was the author of the week, contestants were asked to write a poem, in the style of Burns, celebrating something typically English; when the very intellectual author Philip Roth was the author of the week, contestants were asked how he might have written a children's story. Faulks has published a collection of his parodies as a book, Pistache.[6]
The intervening rounds do not focus on the author of the week. Rounds commonly included are: connections; odd one out; literary mistakes; the archive round; and a music round.
The programme has normally been broadcast at 18:30 on a weekday, the normal Radio 4 comedy slot.
Episodes[edit]
Series 1998[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998-1 | 1998-07-31 | Jane Austen | Sue Limb, Joanne Harris |
| 1998-2 | 1998-08-07 | Raymond Chandler | Louise Doughty, Victoria Coren |
| 1998-3 | 1998-08-14 | T. S. Eliot | Kate Saunders, Nigel Williams |
| 1998-4 | 1998-08-21 | Martin Amis | Victoria Glendinning, Tracey MacLeod |
| 1998-5 | 1998-08-28 | D. H. Lawrence | Louise Doughty, Victoria Coren |
| 1998-6 | 1998-09-04 | Charles Dickens | Kate Saunders, Nigel Williams |
Series 1999[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-1 | 1999-07-07 | William Shakespeare | Nigel Williams, Lynne Truss |
| 1999-2 | 1999-07-14 | Arthur Conan Doyle | Tracey MacLeod, Philippa Gregory |
| 1999-3 | 1999-07-21 | The Brontë Sisters | Frank Delaney, Harry Ritchie |
| 1999-4 | 1999-07-28 | James Joyce | Lynne Truss, Nigel Williams |
| 1999-5 | 1999-08-04 | Ernest Hemingway | Tracey MacLeod, Philippa Gregory |
| 1999-6 | 1999-08-11 | Oscar Wilde | Frank Delaney, Harry Ritchie |
Series 2000[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-1 | 2000-05-10 | Thomas Hardy | Lynne Truss, Sue Limb |
| 2000-2 | 2000-05-17 | Agatha Christie | Jane Thynne, Harry Ritchie |
| 2000-3 | 2000-05-24 | Geoffrey Chaucer | Imogen Stubbs, Louise Doughty |
| 2000-4 | 2000-05-31 | Kingsley Amis | Lynne Truss, Sue Limb |
| 2000-5 | 2000-06-07 | Samuel Beckett | Jane Thynne, Harry Ritchie |
| 2000-6 | 2000-06-14 | Evelyn Waugh | Imogen Stubbs, Louise Doughty |
Series 2001[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-1 | 2001-04-11 | William Wordsworth | Tracey MacLeod, Gary Younge |
| 2001-2 | 2001-04-18 | Graham Greene | Jonathan Myerson, Jane Thynne |
| 2001-3 | 2001-04-25 | Enid Blyton | Sue Limb, Victoria Coren |
| 2001-4 | 2001-05-02 | John Updike | Tracey MacLeod, Gary Younge |
| 2001-5 | 2001-05-09 | Harold Pinter | Jonathan Myerson, Jane Thynne |
| 2001-6 | 2001-05-16 | John Betjeman | Sue Limb, Victoria Coren |
Series 1[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | 2002-04-03 | Ian Fleming | Nigel Williams, Harry Ritchie |
| 1-2 | 2002-04-10 | Samuel Taylor Coleridge | Stephen Fry, Lynne Truss |
| 1-3 | 2002-04-17 | Virginia Woolf | Stephen Fry, Lynne Truss |
| 1-4 | 2002-04-24 | J. R. R. Tolkien | Nigel Williams, Harry Ritchie |
| 1-5 | 2002-05-01 | Philip Larkin | Stephen Fry, Lynne Truss |
| 1-6 | 2002-05-08 | P. G. Wodehouse | Wendy Holden, Joseph Connolly |
Christmas Special 2002[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2002-12-25 | Parodies Regained | Stephen Fry, Sue Limb, Lynne Truss et al. |
Series 2[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-1 | 2003-04-02 | George Orwell | John O'Farrell, Louise Doughty |
| 2-2 | 2003-04-09 | (no programme due to coverage of The Budget) | |
| 2-3 | 2003-04-16 | Samuel Johnson | Sue Limb, Joanne Harris |
| 2-4 | 2003-04-23 | Lewis Carroll | John O'Farrell, Louise Doughty |
| 2-5 | 2003-04-30 | Franz Kafka | Tracey MacLeod, Jonathan Myerson |
| 2-6 | 2003-05-07 | Jane Austen | Sue Limb, Joanne Harris |
Series 3[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-1 | 2004-04-21 | George Orwell | John O'Farrell, Louise Doughty |
| 3-2 | 2004-04-28 | Beatrix Potter | Tracey MacLeod, Jonathan Myerson |
| 3-3 | 2004-05-05 | Samuel Johnson | Sue Limb, Joanne Harris |
| 3-4 | 2004-05-12 | Dylan Thomas | John Sutherland, Sabrina Broadbent |
| 3-5 | 2004-05-19 | Richmal Crompton | Miles Kington, Harry Ritchie |
| 3-6 | 2004-05-26 | Rudyard Kipling | Nicholas Lezard, Nigel Williams |
| 3-7 | 2004-06-02 | Catherine Cookson | John Sutherland, Sabrina Broadbent |
| 3-8 | 2004-06-09 | Alexander Pope | Miles Kington, Harry Ritchie |
| 3-9 | 2004-06-16 | Samuel Pepys | Nicholas Lezard, Nigel Williams |
Christmas Special 2004[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2004-12-29 | Christmas | Miles Kington, Sabrina Broadbent |
Series 4[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests [8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4-1 | 2005-05-25 | Lord Byron | Simon Brett, Peter Kemp |
| 4-2 | 2005-06-01 | Noël Coward | Wendy Holden, Louise Doughty |
| 4-3 | 2005-06-08 | Iris Murdoch | Nigel Williams, Jonathan Myerson |
| 4-4 | 2005-06-15 | Roald Dahl | Simon Brett, Peter Kemp |
| 4-5 | 2005-06-22 | John Milton | Wendy Holden, Louise Doughty |
| 4-6 | 2005-06-29 | Charles Dickens | Nigel Williams, Kate Saunders |
Series 5[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests [9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-1 | 2006-06-12 | Alan Bennett | Michèle Roberts, Harry Ritchie |
| 5-2 | 2006-06-19 | Henry James | Peter Kemp, Miles Kington |
| 5-3 | 2006-06-26 | A. A. Milne | Sue Limb, John O'Farrell |
| 5-4 | 2006-07-03 | Sylvia Plath | Michèle Roberts, Harry Ritchie |
| 5-5 | 2006-07-10 | W. B. Yeats | Peter Kemp, Miles Kington |
| 5-6 | 2006-07-17 | Thomas Hardy | Sue Limb, John O'Farrell |
Series 6[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests [10] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6-1 | 2007-03-12 | William Shakespeare | Sabrina Broadbent, Mark Billingham |
| 6-2 | 2007-03-19 | John le Carré | Jane Thynne, Wendy Holden |
| 6-3 | 2007-03-26 | Tom Stoppard | Peter Kemp, Sue Limb |
| 6-4 | 2007-04-02 | Stephen King | Sabrina Broadbent, Mark Billingham |
| 6-5 | 2007-04-09 | F. Scott Fitzgerald | Jane Thynne, Wendy Holden |
| 6-6 | 2007-04-16 | John Keats | Peter Kemp, Sue Limb |
Series 7[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests [11] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7-1 | 2008-03-24 | E. M. Forster | Wendy Holden, John O'Farrell |
| 7-2 | 2008-03-31 | John Grisham | Mark Billingham, Jane Thynne |
| 7-3 | 2008-04-07 | Jonathan Swift | Peter Kemp, Andrew Davies |
| 7-4 | 2008-04-14 | Hans Christian Andersen | Wendy Holden, John O'Farrell |
| 7-5 | 2008-04-21 | Ted Hughes | Jane Thynne, Mark Billingham |
| 7-6 | 2008-04-28 | George Eliot | Peter Kemp, Andrew Davies |
Series 8[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests [12] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8-1 | 2008-10-06 | Raymond Chandler | Lynne Truss, Mark Billingham |
| 8-2 | 2008-10-13 | Seamus Heaney | Sue Limb, Andrew Motion |
| 8-3 | 2008-10-20 | Philip Roth | Harry Ritchie, Simon Brett |
| 8-4 | 2008-10-27 | J. K. Rowling | Mark Billingham, Lynne Truss |
| 8-5 | 2008-11-03 | D. H. Lawrence | Sue Limb, Andrew Motion |
| 8-6 | 2008-11-10 | Robert Burns | Harry Ritchie, Simon Brett |
Series 9[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests [13] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9-1 | 2010-01-27 | Arthur Conan Doyle | Mark Billingham, John O'Farrell |
| 9-2 | 2010-02-03 | Irvine Welsh | Jane Thynne, Christopher Brookmyre |
| 9-3 | 2010-02-10 | Anton Chekhov | Peter Kemp, Tibor Fischer |
| 9-4 | 2010-02-17 | Nancy Mitford | Mark Billingham, John O'Farrell |
| 9-5 | 2010-02-24 | John Donne | Jane Thynne, Christopher Brookmyre |
| 9-6 | 2010-03-03 | J. D. Salinger | Peter Kemp, Tibor Fischer |
Series 10[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests [14] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-1 | 2010-10-05 | P. G. Wodehouse | Francis Wheen, Ian McMillan |
| 10-2 | 2010-10-12 | Tennessee Williams | Francesca Simon, Mark Billingham |
| 10-3 | 2010-10-19 | Marcel Proust | Philip Kerr, Sue Limb |
| 10-4 | 2010-10-26 | The Beats | Francis Wheen, Ian McMillan |
| 10-5 | 2010-11-02 | Stephenie Meyer | Francesca Simon, Mark Billingham |
| 10-6 | 2010-11-09 | Edgar Allan Poe | Philip Kerr, Sue Limb |
Cheltenham Literature Festival Special[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2011-10-12 | Enid Blyton | Sue Limb, Rachel Johnson |
Series 11[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests [15] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11-1 | 2012-01-20 | John Betjeman | Sue Limb, Andrew Motion |
| 11-2 | 2012-01-27 | Daniel Defoe | Jane Thynne, Mark Billingham |
| 11-3 | 2012-02-03 | Gustave Flaubert | John O'Farrell, Alex Clark |
| 11-4 | 2012-02-10 | Terence Rattigan | Andrew Motion, Sue Limb |
| 11-5 | 2012-02-17 | Jackie Collins | Jane Thynne, Mark Billingham |
| 11-6 | 2012-02-24 | H. G. Wells | Alex Clark, John O'Farrell |
Series 12[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-1 | 2013-05-12 | The Brontës | Sue Limb, Mark Watson |
| 12-2 | 2013-05-19 | Mark Twain | John O'Farrell, Jane Thynne |
| 12-3 | 2013-05-26 | Greek tragedy | Mark Billingham, Natalie Haynes |
| 12-4 | 2013-06-02 | Dorothy Parker | Sue Limb, Mark Watson |
| 12-5 | 2013-06-09 | William Blake | John O'Farrell, Jane Thynne |
| 12-6 | 2013-06-16 | Ian Fleming | Mark Billingham, Natalie Haynes |
Series 13[edit]
| Episode | Original airdate | Author of the week | Guests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13-1 | 2014-10-05 | John Osborne | Mark Billingham, Lynne Truss |
| 13-2 | 2014-10-12 | Jilly Cooper | John O'Farrell, Jane Thynne |
| 13-3 | 2014-10-19 | Gerard Manley Hopkins | Russell Davies, Sue Limb |
| 13-4 | 2014-10-26 | Jerome K Jerome | Mark Billingham, Lynne Truss |
| 13-5 | 2014-11-02 | Henry Fielding | Jane Thynne, John O'Farrell |
| 13-6 | 2014-11-09 | Virginia Woolf | Russell Davies, Sue Limb |
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-taboo-word-it-depends-on-whether-you-mean-the-human-bits-or-rubbish-1878747.html
- ^ http://www.faber.co.uk/author/james-walton/
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006zbzb/episodes/2010
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vhgjw
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3561637/Books-buzzers-and-an-ageing-Harry-Potter.html
- ^ http://www.sebastianfaulks.com/index.php?page_id=17
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006zbzb BBC website
- ^ http://www.radiolistings.co.uk/programmes/w/wr/write_stuff__the.html
- ^ http://www.radiolistings.co.uk/programmes/w/wr/write_stuff__the.html
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007759c BBC website Series 6
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009j9cd BBC website Series 7
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00dr86m BBC website Series 8
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00q3lcy BBC website Series 9
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00v1qkl BBC website Series 10
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b019h2bb#synopsis BBC website Series 11
External links[edit]
- The Write Stuff at BBC Programmes
- The Write Stuff at radiolistings.co.uk