A new Dirk Maggs adaptation of a Neil Gaiman story and a trip behind the scenes on Doctor Who are among the genre treats coming to BBC Radio over the Christmas period.

As well as Gaiman’s Anansi Boys, there’s a new version of the classic John Wyndham tale The Midwich Cuckoos (memorably filmed as Village of the Damned), and incoming Doctor Jodie Whittaker takes the helm at 6 Music.

Anansi Boys comes to Radio 4, as the station continues its dramatisations of Neil Gaiman’s work.

Dirk Maggs’ adaptation stars Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones) as Charlie and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (Misfits) as Spider, whilst Lenny Henry plays Mr Nancy and Anansi the spider-god. The stellar cast also includes Tanya Moodie, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Joseph Marcell, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Cecilia Noble, Angela Wynter, Adjoa Andoh, Sheila Atim, Pippa Bennett-Warner and 100 year-old Earl Cameron. It’s directed by Allegra McIlroy.

Neil Gaiman said: “I’m delighted to have this amazing cast of actors bring Anansi Boys to life for Radio 4. Anansi Boys started for me over 20 years ago when Lenny Henry and I were working on Neverwhere together. He told me that it was wrong that back then there really weren’t any horror films with black leads, and I said, ‘Well I’ll write you one’. And then it wasn’t a film, but a novel, and it wasn’t horror but a strange mixture of mythic family comedy, romance and crime drama (with some scary bits). When I was writing the novel I had Lenny’s voice in my head and I’m delighted that in this dramatisation Lenny is Mr Nancy and Anansi the Spider – to me he is inseparable from this project. But the talent behind the microphone is astonishing. We even got Earl Cameron, a month after he turned 100, to come in and play Dragon.

“This is the fifth adaptation of one of my books or stories that Dirk Maggs and Radio 4 have done. I think it’s the best of them all.”

Returning to the territory Gaiman explored in American Gods, Anansi Boys is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into mythology.

When Fat Charlie’s dad named something, it stuck. Like calling Fat Charlie “Fat Charlie.” Even now, twenty years later, Charlie Nancy can’t shake that name, one of the many embarrassing “gifts” his father bestowed — before he dropped dead on a karaoke stage and ruined Fat Charlie’s life.

Mr. Nancy left Fat Charlie things. Things like the tall, good-looking stranger who appears on Charlie’s doorstep, who appears to be the brother he never knew. A brother as different from Charlie as night is from day, a brother who’s going to show Charlie how to lighten up and have a little fun … just like Dear Old Dad. And all of a sudden, life starts getting very interesting for Fat Charlie.

Because, you see, Charlie’s dad wasn’t just any dad. He was Anansi, a trickster god, the spider-god. Anansi is the spirit of rebellion, able to overturn the social order, create wealth out of thin air, and baffle the devil. Some said he could cheat even Death himself…

Anansi Boys airs 25-29 December, 23:30-00:00 and 30 December, 14:30-15:30.

On New Year’s Eve comes the first part of The Midwich Cuckoos. This is a bold new interpretation of a John Wyndham’s science fiction novel with disabled-led theatre company Graeae and director Jenny Sealey.  Working with co-director Polly Thomas, this is the first time a Deaf director has directed a drama on Radio 4.

Professor Zellerby and his 8 year old daughter Michaela, survive the strange blackout of Midwich one afternoon in September 2009. Nine months later some extraordinary children are born. Zellerby starts tracking their amazing development, secretly reporting on them to concerned government authorities. Michaela finds herself caught between her difficult relationship with her father, and the Cuckoo children, who immediately learn to sign and therefore communicate with her better than her own father…

The Midwich Cuckoos airs 31 December 2017 & 7 January 2018, 15:00-16:00

Earlier that week, Jo Whiley goes behind the scenes on the Doctor Who Christmas Special, Twice Upon a Time. The Access All Areas special catches up with the stars of the series on set including Pearl Mackie, David Bradley, Exec Producer extraordinaire Steven Moffat, and the Doctor himself, Peter Capaldi. Plus, Jo hears from outgoing companion, Matt Lucas, and digs into the BBC Doctor Who archive.

This is broadcast Thursday 21 December, 8-10 p.m.

The incoming Doctor herself, Jodie Whittaker, will be at the helm of 6 Music on Christmas Eve from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. with an evening of programming and music choices, one of Three Wise Women over the Christmas period. To kick things off, she selects some extraordinary music based around the theme of travel and guides listeners through some of her favourite tracks, from Elbow, First Aid Kit and Foy Vance.

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