''Kaleidoscope'' was a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

arts programme which ran for 25 years from 1973. It ended with the major schedule changes that occurred in April 1998, when it was replaced by '' Front Row''.

History

When originally launched on 2 April 1973, as part of a re-organisation of the Radio 4 schedules under network controller

Tony Whitby Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

, it was intended to be a nightly review of what was new in theatre, books, cinema, painting, architecture, and scientific advance, but the programme had dropped its science coverage by the beginning of May 1974.

In the schedules

''Kaleidoscope'' started out being broadcast between 22.30 and 23.00 each weekday night (allowing it to include live reviews of first nights). Early presenters were alternately Kenneth Robinson and

Brian J. Ford Brian J. Ford HonFLS HonFRMS (born 1939 in Corsham, Wiltshire) is an independent research biologist, author, and lecturer, who publishes on scientific issues for the general public. He has also been a television personality for more than 40 ...

. The programme subsequently ran in a variety of slots over the years, including mid-evening, in the lead up to the 22.00 news, and in mid-afternoon (the latter starting out as a repeat of the previous night's edition). By the end of its run, on 3 April 1998, it was being broadcast between 16.05 and 16.45 each weekday afternoon, with a revised 30-minute repeat at 21.30. Until 3 May 1980 an additional Saturday edition at 17.00 (22.15 from 29 September 1979) reprised the week's highlights, and then – following a gap of more than 10 years – the programme returned to Saturdays from the start of 1991 (initially at 20.45, then at 19.20 from 14 September), but with the difference that each edition was now a "special" devoted to a single theme.

Presenters

Presenters included: * Paul Allen * Michael Billington *

Quentin Cooper Quentin Cooper (born 1961, Grimsby) is a science journalist and facilitator, who presented BBC Radio 4's '' Material World'' from 2000 to 2013. He speaks at science festivals and lectures, and works regularly with science and educational organ ...

Ronald Harwood Sir Ronald Harwood ( né Horwitz; 9 November 1934 – 8 September 2020) was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for ''The Dresser'' (for w ...

Waldemar Januszczak Waldemar Januszczak (born 12 January 1954) is an English art critic and television documentary producer and presenter. Formerly the art critic of ''The Guardian'', he took the same role at ''The Sunday Times'' in 1992, and has twice won the Cr ...

Tim Marlow Timothy John Marlow (born 1962) is a British writer, broadcaster and art historian who is the Director and Chief Executive of the Design Museum,Hannah McGivern (October 7, 2019)Tim Marlow leaves Royal Academy of Arts to head London’s Design Mu ...

Sheridan Morley Sheridan Morley (5 December 1941 − 16 February 2007) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir John Gielgud and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, including ...

* Michael Oliver *

Nigel Rees Nigel Rees (born 5 June 1944 near Liverpool) is an English writer and broadcaster, known for devising and hosting the Radio 4 panel game '' Quote... Unquote'' (1976–2021) and as the author of more than fifty books, mostly works of reference on ...

* Robert Dawson Scott * Brian Sibley *

Paul Vaughan Paul William Vaughan (24 October 1925 – 14 November 2014) was a British journalist, radio presenter (of art and science programmes) throughout the 1970s and 1990s, semi-professional jazz and classical musician and a narrator of many BBC Telev ...

* Lynne Walker * Natalie Wheen

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Kaleidoscope'' recordings
on the BBC's website
''Kaleidoscope'' - Francis Bacon
last interview with the artist, broadcast 17 August 1991 1973 radio programme debuts 1998 radio programme endings BBC Radio 4 programmes