skip to main |
skip to sidebar
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 3 (320kbs-m4a/318mb/2hrs18mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 20th July to 17th August 2024
Comedy icon Alexei Sayle begins a new series of rail journeys.
Alexei's mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers, in a quest for conversations with strangers that will reveal their lives, thoughts, dreams and destinations.
Along the way, Alexei holds a finger into the wind of the interests of the great British travelling public. There's hilarity, humour, sadness and surprise as people talk about what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also delves into his own personal stories of a childhood in Liverpool and a long career as a comedian, actor and author.
Alexei has a life-long ticket to ride in his DNA, as his father was a railway guard. As a child, Alexei travelled on trains with his mum and dad, not only in the UK but also abroad. While other children in Liverpool at the time thought a trip to Blackpool was a big adventure, Alexei travelled to Paris, experienced the Orient Express, had summer holidays in Czechoslovakia and visited mysterious cities with unpronounceable names in the farthest corners of Europe.
A Ride production for BBC Radio 4.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 3 - 1. NOTTINGHAM TO SKEGNESS (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 20th July 2024
Comedy icon Alexei Sayle begins a new series of rail journeys with a trip from Nottingham to the seaside town of Skegness.
In this programme, Alexei meets Leyla and Cecelia who are off to Skegness to spend an 80s weekend packed with bands from the golden era of their youth; Ashton, who has bought a caravan to live in and is working at a seaside bar; Karen and Donna, who are seaside bound too, with Karen having her hen party after deciding to finally get married following 20 years of being engaged; Rick and Dawn who are part of the army of volunteers who adopt railway stations and care for them; Fabian, who is now at Nottingham university, and reflecting on how his life is different after leaving his small Lincolnshire home town and his childhood friends - and as a keen film buff is astonished when Alexei reveals that he has acted in a Steven Spielberg film; and James, who tells Alexei that working on the railway changed his life.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 3 - 2. LONDON TO HEREFORD (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 27th July 2024
Comedy icon Alexei Sayle continues his rail journeys across the country with a trip from London to the ancient cathedral city of Hereford.
In this programme, Alexei by chance bumps into his old friend, comedian and author David Baddiel who is off to the Hay Festival. He also meets: Deborah and David who are psychologists from San Antonio in Texas on a walking holiday; Stewart, who teaches computer science in a London school and is on his way to a tech festival; Kashmini and Lara, who met on the internet and decided to meet up in real life; ‘Collie' from Australia who travels the world under the alias Collie – short for ‘Cauliflower' – the name he is known by on Twitter; author James who has become something of an expert on fermented food and is travelling with a very large and slightly smelly container of Kimchi; and Angela and her mother Kathleen who surprises Alexei with her stories of life on the road with her Harley Davidson motorcycle.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 3 - 3. EDINBURGH TO ABERDEEN (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 3rd August 2024
Comedy icon Alexei Sayle continues his rail journeys across the country with a trip from Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, northwards on the coastal route to Aberdeen.
In this programme, Alexei meets Irene and Marie, two old friends who share a love of owning horses. Irene has severe eyesight problems and they are on their way for her treatment appointment. Despite this, Irene still rides as she says her horse always knows the way. Marie tells Alexei of the unexpected pregnancy of the horse she recently bought and how all her colleagues at the hospital where she works were avidly following the new foal's birth.
Alexei also meets: David, who is on his way to chair an adoption panel and, remarkably, remembers dancing with Alexei at a party in the 1980s; Lottie and Miriren, two girls on a shopping trip to Aberdeen with their parents, who surprise Alexei by telling him they never watch television; Fathia, who is originally from Tunisia and loves Scotland but still has problems with the weather and is scared of snow; David, an academic, who has just written a book interpreting religious art; Will and Rob, who moved away from Aberdeen to a quiet village nearby because their dog didn't like the busy city; and Sheila, who introduces Alexei to Doric, the local dialect of north-east Scotland.
And, on his coastal journey by train, Alexei also passes through the town which lays claim to being the birthplace of the deep fried Mars bar.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 3 - 4. BELFAST TO LONDONDERRY (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 10th August 2024
Comedy icon Alexei Sayle travels by train across the stunning countryside of Northern Ireland from Belfast to Londonderry.
In this programme, Alexei meets Robert who is on a trip to Londonderry to explore its history with his family. Robert tells Alexei how, at age 15 after he left school with no qualifications, his father took him to be interviewed by a local butcher for his first job. Now on the verge of retiring age he looks back on spending his whole working life as a butcher, work he disliked at first but grew to love as the local butcher in a close knit community Alexei also meets Sheri and Howard from Florida who spend many months each year travelling the world; William and Heather, who tell Alexei how Belfast has become a hugely successful tourist destination: Gabriel and Kate who are visiting a relative in hospital after a major operation - with Kate describing how she is one of the many cross border workers who live in the Republic but work and pay taxes in Northern Ireland- and Judith and Lisa who are married with a young son and feel they are part of a new future for their country.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 3 - 5. LONDON TO BERWICK ON TWEED (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 17th August 2024
Comedy icon Alexei Sayle takes his final trip in this series of train journeys across Gt. Britain as he travels from London to Berwick on Tweed.
In this programme, Alexei meets ex-teacher Christina, who is returning to Yorkshire after being scared of taking on such a long journey to London - especially the perils of travelling on the underground - but happily found a knight in shining armour to help her at King's Cross station. Alexei also meets train manager Steven who, apart from working on the railway, has carved out a budding career as a playwright; Sally, who spent 24 years in the Army and now works as a philanthropy manager helping a leading cancer charity to raise money for its work; Rahul and Priya, who are heading for Scotland on a short break sightseeing - and tasting whiskey and chocolate; Philomena and Mark who describe the delights of their home town of Dunbar to Alexei; Meg, who was at the start of the computer revolution, demonstrating and programming some of the first office computers; and Gemma who works on the railway, but also has a passion for beauty pageants.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 2 (320kbs-m4a/382mb/2hrs46mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 9th July to 13th August 2023
Alexei Sayle takes a train journey and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train in the UK - by actually talking to his fellow passengers.
Producers: Peter Lowe and Nick Symons
A Ride production for BBC Radio 4.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 2 - 1. LONDON TO BLACKPOOL (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 9th July 2023
In this episode, he travels from London to Blackpool.
Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:
* Michael, who is on his way to a major international dance competition at the Winter Gardens Ballroom in Blackpool, with his first ever invitation to be a judge.
* Julie and Sarah who are out on a trip and determined to have fun, including turning the tables on Alexei and deciding they will interview him - with very surprising results.
* The woman who runs the most famous fleet of trams in the country, which has been carrying holidaymakers along Blackpool's seafront since 1885.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 2 - 2. SHREWSBURY TO PWLLHELI (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 16th July 2023
In this episode, he travels from Shrewsbury to Pwllheli on the Cambrian coast line.
Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:
* Barry, an old school friend from Liverpool
* Denise, who has been given an extraordinary set of directions in order to deal with the complex arrangements for her holiday
* Geoff, who on a whim, decided to buy one of the UK's oldest cinemas, in a tiny Welsh seaside town
* Isabel, who is off to monitor dolphins
* Margaret, who has been going to the same spot on the Cambrian coast for her holiday every year for more than 50 years - and now her extended family is following the same tradition.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 2 - 3. BIRMINGHAM TO STANSTED AIRPORT (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 23rd July 2023
In this episode, he travels from Birmingham to Stansted Airport.
Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:
* Adam, a student at Cambridge on his way back to college with his mum Helen. Adam introduces Alexei to the mysterious world of competitive Pokemon.
* Holly who lives in Bali and is dedicated to studying and saving sharks
* Megan, who was born in Arizona and is on her way to her first ever key note speech at the prestigious Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge
* Katrin and Klara who have been on holiday in the UK, are flying home to Germany from Stansted, and are great fans of English humour.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 2 - 4. CHELTENHAM TO MAESTEG (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 30th July 2023
In this episode, he travels from Cheltenham to Maesteg.
Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:
* Kevin, who on his days off, takes pot luck at his local train station ticket office and simply asks for a trip to somewhere interesting
* Jenny, whose years in the middle east changed her life
* Donna and Paul, who take Alexei into the addictive world of murder mystery weekends
* Ruth who tells of her childhood memories in a mining community
* Julie and David, who for nearly 50 years have run a general store in the Welsh valleys - now the only shop left in the village.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 2 - 5. EXETER TO NEWQUAY (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 6th August 2023
In this episode, he travels through Devon and Cornwall from Exeter to Newquay.
Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:
* Finn who has swapped his job at Nandos for a life in the Royal Navy looking after helicopters
* Andrew who is about to run up the Cornish coastal path to meet his girlfriend who is running down it the other way
* Paula and James who share a love of music, especially in Paula's case, the harpsichord
* Julian who has just returned from being a volunteer crew member on an historic Brixham trawler
* Eta and Rowan who are both determined travellers and tell Alexei of a visit to Chernobyl - while Alexei surprises them with his own very unusual insight into the historic city of Petra in Jordan.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 2 - 6. LLANDUDNO TO CARDIFF (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 13th August 2023
In this episode, he travels north to south across Wales from Llandudno to Cardiff.
Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:
* Mags, Karen, Anne and Nicky who call themselves the 'cycling widows' and are determined to enjoy themselves while their partners are off on two wheels somewhere
* 16 year-olds Isaac and Finlay are aspiring footballers and share their dreams with Alexei of one day playing in the Premier League and for their country
* Dewi is travelling to a retreat for help with his mental health problems
* Sarah and David surprise Alexei with their tales of long distance rail travel – including a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express fuelled only by pot noodles and vodka and thousands of miles in India in second class carriages meeting some of the 23 million people who take a train there every day.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 (320kns-m4a/378mb/2hrs45mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 10th July to 14th August 2022
Author, actor and comedy icon, Alexei Sayle begins his travels across the country by rail in the first of a new six part series for Radio 4.
Alexei's mission is to break the golden rule of travelling by train and actually talk to his fellow passengers in a quest for conversations that reveal their lives, hopes, dreams and destinations. There's humour, sadness and surprise as people talk about what is going on in their lives and, as Alexei passes through familiar towns and cities, he also tells stories and memories from his career and childhood.
Alexei has a lifelong "ticket to ride" in his DNA. His father was a railway guard and the Sayle family benefitted from free travel in the UK and across Europe. As a boy, Alexei and his family roamed far and wide from the family home in Anfield, Liverpool. At a time when most people thought an exciting trip by train was to Brighton or Blackpool, Alexei travelled thousands of miles to mysterious towns with unpronounceable names in far flung corners of the continent.
In each programme in the series, Alexei embarks on a rail journey, taking a chance on who he might meet and inviting them to have a conversation with him.
Producers Peter Lowe and Nick Symons
A Ride production for Radio 4
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 1. CARDIFF TO PORTSMOUTH (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 10th July 2022
In this first episode, Alexei travels from Cardiff to Portsmouth. Among his many fellow travellers, he meets David who looks after tunnels for a living, Tess who speaks Russian and Ukrainian and has been trained to drive a tank, and technician Megan from the National Oceanography Centre who, while many of us might be daunted by trying to deal with a leaking washing machine, loves fixing things and takes on the maintenance of mass spectrometers as part of the centre's work on climate change.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 2. LONDON TO GLASGOW (320kns-m4a/63mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 17th July 2022
In this episode, Alexei travels from London to Glasgow and meets Roshny and Sharon, on holiday from Indonesia, who have just fulfilled a lifetime's dream of watching Liverpool play at Anfield. He also talks to Laurence who has been to his public speaking club which he joined to overcome his extreme shyness and Kirsty who has lived most of her life on a sheep farm overlooking the stunningly beautiful Holy Loch in Argyll and Bute.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 3. BRISTOL TO PENZANCE (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 24th July 2022
In this episode, Alexei travels from Bristol to Penzance and meets Bert, a Cornish Bard, Marissa and Leanne who have travelled the world working on cruise liners, Angela who for many years ran one of Cornwall's most famous and historic pubs, and Astra who is learning the ropes at circus school.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 4. MANCHESTER TO BOURNEMOUTH (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 31st July 2022
In this episode, Alexei travels from Manchester to Bournemouth and meets Moira who, as a dedicated Manchester City fan, has sky blue hair, sky blue clothes and even a sky blue house. He also talks to Jean who has been to visit a lifelong friend who worked alongside her as a psychiatric nurse, Steven and Simon who are both accountants but spend their leisure time travelling the world together to go to top music gigs, and rail enthusiast and veteran record producer Pete Waterman on one of his thousands of trips on the west coast line.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 5. LONDON TO HOLYHEAD (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 7th August 2022
In this episode, Alexei travels from London to Holyhead and meets Alex who is an actor and musician on his way to perform in a musical in Llandudno, Elaine who has been to London to visit her two very eccentric aunts, Jessica, an organisational psychologist whose work involves helping people discover what they really want to do in life, and Stephany who has just celebrated her 20 year service award as a customer service assistant on the railway and tells Alexei of her meeting with two of her most famous customers - Prince William and Kate Middleton.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN: SERIES 1 - 6. HULL TO LIVERPOOL (320kns-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 14th August 2022
Alexei Sayle takes another train journey and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train in the UK - by actually talking to his fellow passengers.
In this episode, he travels from Hull to Liverpool.
Among his many fellow travellers, he meets:
* Oscar who hopes to become a barrister specialising in human rights cases.
* Nick and Rachel who've taken up a more simple life after Nick's stressful career as a consulting engineer working on huge projects like the Shard in London
* Mother and daughter Jill and Isobel reveal how their lives have changed after they both lived through the Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester.
ALEXEI SAYLE'S STRANGERS ON A TRAIN - BIRMINGHAM TO EDINBURGH (320kbs-m4a/63mb/27mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 3rd February 2022
Alexei Sayle takes a train journey and breaks the golden rule of travelling by train in the UK - he actually talks to his fellow passengers.
On a journey from Birmingham to Edinburgh, he shares their funny and moving moments, their favourite jokes, their tales of weddings, work, funerals and holidays, and explores the lives of strangers by simply asking the questions that we might want answered - if only we were there too.
Along with the unplanned conversations, Alexei gives us his reaction to everything he can see as it passes his carriage window. Perhaps it's the stunning coastline north of Newcastle or the remains of Britain's industrial heritage as he chugs through the Midlands. After all, there must be a little bit of Alexei's DNA devoted to the railways - his father was a railway guard and Alexei travelled thousands of miles by train as a child.
A Ride production for BBC Radio 4
DESERT ISLAND DISCS: ALEXEI SAYLE (320kbs-m4a/80mb/35mins)
BBC Radio 4 broadcast: 23rd May 2021
Alexei Sayle is a comedian and writer, who began his career just over 40 years ago at the small Comedy Store venue in London, which proved a launch-pad for a new generation of comic stars.
Alexei was born in Liverpool, where his parents were loyal members of the Communist Party: their politics informed almost every aspect of the family’s life, including holidays by train to eastern European countries that were then part of the Soviet bloc.
He won a place at Chelsea School of Art but didn’t thrive as a painter. He began performing with a theatre troupe and - after answering an advertisement - became the compere on the opening night of the Comedy Store. He soon found himself at the centre of a new wave of British comedy. With his tight suits and often abrasive stage presence, he enjoyed successful stand-up tours, appearances on numerous TV shows including The Young Ones, and even a novelty pop hit.
He attempted to launch a career in America, but was fired from a TV series on his 40th birthday. He stepped back from stand-up and devoted himself to writing novels and short stories. More recently, he has returned to live performance, and has also created a number of comedy series for Radio 4.
He lives in London with his wife Linda: they have been married for almost 50 years.
BOOK CHOICE: The Sword of Honour Trilogy by Evelyn Waugh
LUXURY ITEM: A Chinese Broadsword
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin
Presenter Lauren Laverne
Producer Sarah Taylor
Carlos Gardel - Volver
Joan Baez - Joe Hill
Yevgeny Kibkalo (Baritone), Conducted by Alexei Kovalev - Aviator's March
Lotte Lenya - Seeräuber Jenny (Pirate Jenny)
Janis Joplin - Me And Bobby McGee
Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding
Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day
Dizzee Rascal - Bonkers