Episodes
| Episode | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 20131225 | 20160101 (R4) | Fourteen year old Velvet is mad about horses. She knows 'there are pleasures earlier than love. Earlier than love, nearer heaven' in the form of horses. When she wins a piebald horse in a raffle, she recognises he's something special. He can easily clear five-foot fences, and he'll do anything for her. Soon, she and butcher's assistant Mi have their sights set on the biggest race in England. But how can a girl in 1930s England get near Aintree? Peter Flannery rescues National Velvet from Hollywood, returning 14 year old Velvet to her Sussex butcher's family in the 1930s. A welcome return for Enid Bagnold's strange, inventive fairytale about a young amateur girl rider who takes an untrained horse over the stiffest course in the world and wins. Sound design: Eloise Whitmore Author: Enid Bagnold Dramatised by Peter Flannery Director/Producer: Melanie Harris Executive Producer: Polly Thomas A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4. Young Velvet wins a horse for a shilling and decides to ride him in the Grand National. |
| 02 | 20131226 | 20160108 (R4) | Fourteen year old Velvet is mad about horses. She knows 'there are pleasures earlier than love. Earlier than love, nearer heaven' in the form of horses. When she wins a piebald horse in a raffle, she recognises he's something special. He can easily clear five-foot fences, and he'll do anything for her. Soon, she and butcher's assistant Mi have their sights set on the biggest race in England. But how can a girl in 1930s England get near Aintree? Peter Flannery rescues National Velvet from Hollywood, returning 14 year old Velvet to her Sussex butcher's family in the 1930s. A welcome return for Enid Bagnold's strange, inventive fairytale about a young amateur girl rider who takes an untrained horse over the stiffest course in the world and wins. Author: Enid Bagnold Dramatised by Peter Flannery Director/Producer: Melanie Harris Executive Producer: Polly Thomas A Sparklab production for BBC Radio 4. The entry fee is 20 gold sovereigns, so how will Velvet ever ride her horse at Aintree? |