New show for Radio 4

Andy Zaltzman and Indian comedian Anuvab Pal, an occasional correspondent on his podcast The Bugle, are to team up for a new Radio 4 series.

In Empire! they will examine the legacy of British colonialism from competing English and Indian perspectives, in both London and Calcutta.

Zaltzman’s previous shows for the broadcaster include Andy Zaltzman’s History of the Third Millennium, Series 1 of 100,  which aired in 2009, and The Department, which he made with former Bugle co-host John Oliver in 2005.

Pal started his stand-up career with The Comedy Store when it opened a branch in Mumbai in 2010, and in 2014 was listed by The Times Of India as one of the country’s top five comedians.

Empire! – which comes as the 70th anniversary of the Partition Of India is marked this month – was one of a number of comedies announced today by Radio 4’s commissioning editor for comedy, Sioned Wiliam, which are expected to air in 2018 or 2019.

There are also a number of literary-themed programmes among the new commissions, including Mrs Hudson’s Radio Show, created by Barry Cryer and his son Bob revolving around  Sherlock Holmes’s landlady. The pair have wrote a book, Mrs Hudson’s Diaries, based on the same premise in 2012

Alexei Sayle's Mystery Theatre will dramatise selections of the stand-up legend’s bestselling short stories; Nick Revell: Storyteller combines satire with magical realism; and Lemn Sissay's Social Enterprise explores our understanding of charity and philanthropy through poetry, interviews and anecdotes.

Published: 17 Aug 2017