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God, Pirates and Ovaltineys

4 Extra Debut. Sean Street tunes back to the intense years of inter-war rivalry between commercial radio and the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½. From 2008.

Competition between commercial radio and the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ goes way back before the ship-based pirates of the 1960s.

Between 1920 and the Second World War, Radio Normandy and other Europe-based commercial stations had vast audiences for the likes of Roy Plomley and Christopher Stone - as well as sponsored shows like 'The League of Ovaltineys'.

Sean Street tunes back over time to investigate commercial radio, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ and the intense cultural and technical battles between them.

With deep archive featuring pre-war commercials and programme excerpts.

Producer: Julian May

First broadcast on ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4 in January 2008.

Available now

1 hour

Last on

Thu 24 Jul 2025 00:00

Broadcasts

  • Sat 5 Jan 2008 20:00
  • Wed 23 Jul 2025 10:00
  • Wed 23 Jul 2025 16:00
  • Thu 24 Jul 2025 00:00