AFTERNOON PLAY
Radio 4, 2.15pm
In Love’s Executioner, adapted expertly by Rachel Joyce from Dr Irvin Yalom’s book, a 70-year- old woman goes to see a psychotherapist. For the past eight years she has been plagued by memories of a brief love affair she had with a man more than 25 years younger. He loved her, then dumped her. She wants to know why. And there is some heavyweight thesp action to enjoy, too, from Harry Hamlin (once of the television series, LA Law) and Katherine Helmond — yes, the great Jessica Tate from Soap, the one with the eyes, remember?
THE REAL FRASIERS
Radio 4, 3.45pm
Verily, this is a day wrapped in shrinks, for the radio-friendly psychiatrist Dr Raj Persaud (top) begins a week of talking to real-life Frasier Cranes. He begins with Joy Browne, whose phone-in is required listening for millions of Americans. A no-nonsense type — her equivalent to Frasier’s catchphrase “I’m listening” is the rather more direct, “What’s your question?” — she has had her fair share of problems to deal with, not least the Mafia hitman wrestling with whether he should tell his girlfriend what he did for a living.