''Loose Ends'' is a British radio programme originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, and then transmitted early Saturday evenings from 1998 by

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' ...

. It was hosted by

Ned Sherrin Edward George Sherrin (18 February 1931 – 1 October 2007) was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC. He appeared in a variety of r ...

until 2006 and has been hosted by

Clive Anderson Clive Stuart Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedy writer, and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts durin ...

, Nikki Bedi and Peter Curran since 2007. The programme brings together guests, generally from the world of entertainment, in a mix of interviews, sets by comedians and musical sessions.

History

First broadcast in 1986, it developed out of ''The Colour Supplement'', a Sunday morning programme which had featured early ''Loose Ends'' contributors such as

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

Robert Elms Robert Frederick Elms (born 12 June 1959) is an English writer and broadcaster. Elms was a writer for ''The Face'' magazine in the 1980s and is currently known for his long-running radio show on BBC Radio London. His book, ''The Way We Wore'', ...

and Victor Lewis-Smith. The latter's contributions to ''Loose Ends'' were recorded packages, being a mischievous and disruptive element of the programme. Originally commissioned comedy had, by 2006, been phased out almost entirely, with comic performers tending to deliver existing material from their repertoires although, in June/July 2006, the Scots comedian and writer

Janey Godley Janey Godley (born Jane Godley Currie, January 1961) is a Scottish stand-up comedian, actress and writer from Glasgow. Early life Jane Godley is the youngest of four children born to Annie and Jim Currie. She was raised on Kenmore Street in S ...

scripted a weekly series of satiric fictional extracts from ''

Nancy Dell'Olio Nancy Dell'Olio (born 23 August 1961) is an Italian-American lawyer and media personality. She first came to public notice as the girlfriend of football manager Sven-Göran Eriksson. Early life Annunziata Dell'Olio was born in New York City ...

's Diary'' to coincide with the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. Dell' Olio was the girlfriend of

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

coach Sven-Göran Eriksson. Only four extracts were transmitted due to the England team's failure in the championships. Typically the programme was topped and tailed by Sherrin reading a comic monologue which, over the years, was written by

Alistair Beaton Alistair Beaton (born 1947) is a playwright and satirist, journalist, radio presenter, novelist and television writer. At one point in his career he was also a speechwriter for Gordon Brown. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Beaton was educated at the ...

, D. A. Barham, Ian Brown & James Hendrie, Nev Fountain, Tom Jamieson, Tom Mitchelson, Ian Hawkins, Terence Dackombe,

Andrew Nickolds Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...

Steve Punt Stephen Mark Punt (born 15 September 1962)Mr Stephen Mark Punt
company-director-c ...

and Pete Sinclair. When Sherrin became ill with a throat infection in late 2006, later diagnosed as throat cancer, Peter Curran stood in as presenter of ''Loose Ends'' with

Patrick Kielty Patrick Kielty (born 31 January 1971) is a Northern Irish comedian and television personality. Background Kielty was born in County Down, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the village of Dundrum. He is one of three sons born to the businessm ...

and

as guest presenters. Sherrin died of

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

on 1 October 2007. Clive Anderson became permanent replacement host in 2007.

References

External links

* BBC Radio 4 programmes 1986 radio programme debuts {{BBC-radio-stub