Actor Trevor Eve came into Broadcasting House yesterday to chat to Mark Lawson about his life and career and how age (Eve's 60 later this week) changes the roles you can plausibly play:

Eve: "How old is Clint Eastwood?"
Lawson: "Oh, he's far older than you! He's 82."
Eve: "I'm still 59 until this Friday!"

You can hear the interview on the Front Row website.

Like many people my first encounter with Trevor Eve was TV drama Shoestring from 1979. For me and my school friends Eddie Shoestring, computer expert turned local radio private eye, was the epitome of cool and we would attempt and fail in emulating Eve's casual intensity - the only bit we'd get right is the tightly knotted tie worn at half-mast and the unbuttoned collar. Here's a picture from the first series of Shoestring:

Paul Murphy is the editor of the Radio 4 blog

• You can listen to Mark Lawson's interview with Trevor Eve on the Front Row website.
• There's an extensive archive of great interviews including Russell T Davies, David Grossman and Simon Amstell from Front Row on the website.
• Read about Trevor Eve on Wikipedia and IMDb
• There's a slideshow of pictures of Trevor Eve and a clip of the interview on the BBC YouTube channel.
• Jerome Weatherald took the picture of Trevor Eve and Mark Lawson
• Caption information: "Shoestring S1 1979 © BBC picture shows - Doran Godwin as Erica and Trevor Eve as Eddie Shoestring. Drama series about Eddie Shoestring, a private detective who is hired by a radio station to investigate threats to a phone-in disc-jockey and discovers it may be a longer-running job than he thought..."

Elizabeth Taylor, perhaps the last of the movie icons of the golden era, has died, aged 79. She was a troubled person but an undisputed star. Philip French, The Guardian's film critic, said in a profile:

...she was exploited by every gossip columnist and patronised by virtually every film reviewer, dismissed as a substandard actress, condemned as a predatory home-breaker - but elevated to superstar status.

Front Row, this evening at 1915, has interviews with director Nicolas Roeg, who first worked with Elizabeth Taylor in 1952; Paul Gambaccini, who was the DJ at her 50th birthday party; Barry Norman, who gives an overview of her career; and director Michael Winner. Listen live at 1915..

Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Neil Coghill filming an interview at Merton College, Oxford in 1967.

Elizabeth Taylor in front of the River Thames in 1963.

Elizabeth Taylor in front of the River Thames and Houses Of Parliament

Steve Bowbrick is editor of the Radio 4 blog

• The pictures come from the BBC's picture archive.
• Time has a selection of Taylor's appearances in the magazine, BBC News has a compilation of important moments from her films, Variety has an obituary.

Editor's note: this post by the lead in Radio 4's new Classic Serial, 'I, Claudius', starts with a clip from the drama - SB.

I was eight when 'I, Claudius' first aired on the BBC in 1976. It remains burned on my brain as the first televisual event that I recall. Of course I was far too young to be allowed to watch all or indeed any of its vices and excesses, and I remember it principally for two reasons; because I watched what I did from halfway up the stairs through a gap in the living room door; and for Derek Jacobi.

Derek's performance catapulted him into public consciousness, and to an eight year old boy who already dreamed of being an actor it made one thing abundantly clear; a character actor can have just as much fun as a leading man. Claudius is one of those roles that makes an actor jump for joy, because you can be the fool, the schemer, the wise man, the idiot, the villain, the hero and the narrator all at the same time.

Thirty-four years later, producer Jonquil Panting asked me if I'd like to play Claudius on the radio and I jumped at the chance. I'd had a wonderful time working with her as Jesus in Witness and as Yuri in Doctor Zhivago in recent years and I knew it would be an epic romp. Of course I couldn't get the image or sound of Derek as Claudius out of my head, and was simultaneously thrilled and quietly terrified to be told that he would be playing Claudius' step-grandfather Augustus.

Fortunately, with Derek playing my grandfather it more or less gave me licence not to have to worry if I sounded a lot like him. It's impossible to take on the stammer and not hear Derek's voice in your head, or sense him constantly on your shoulder. In the end it was easier to accept that I was bound to sound like I was impersonating him, throw caution to the wind and just enjoy myself.

For most of the recording period I didn't see Derek because Augustus mostly appears with the boy Claudius, so we only had one full day in the studio together and it proved to be enormous fun. Naturally I told Derek of all my nervousness at playing the character that made him famous, and said how hard it was not to hear his voice. Derek was kind enough to put me at my ease by saying 'Well how do you think I feel? I've got Brian Blessed sitting on my shoulder.'

Tom Goodman-Hill plays Claudius in Radio 4's new production of 'I, Claudius'

• Listen to episode one of 'I, Claudius' on Sunday at 1500.
• Tom is on Twitter. Follow tgoodmanh
• The picture shows Tom Goodman-Hill as Claudius and Derek Jacobi as Augustus.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pkv20

I have only done a few radio plays and still feel very much like a novice but I have to say all my experiences so far in the recording studio have been thoroughly enjoyable.

I think the reason I enjoy it so much is because you aren't being watched. The director, producers and sound engineer are in a separate room, listening to you so they aren't scrutinising your every movement. You don't have to worry about your appearance, or learn your lines (always a bonus).

There is still a lot of interaction between you and the other actors and you record in a large room, divided into different areas e.g. kitchen, bedroom, staircase. It almost feels like you are in a giant dollshouse and this only adds to the feeling of 'playing' which gives such a sense of freedom when you are performing. I always thought that the sound effects would be added on in the editing process but you are often provided with personal props that are used during the scene e.g. the office characters in, 'Weird Tales' where all provided with mugs of coffee to drink while gossiping during our first scene.

It was great to be involved in, 'Weird Tales' because there was real scope to play around with the characters and have fun due to the comic elements and the slightly fantastical nature of the script. I had talked to Luke beforehand and we discussed the idea of the three office workers being similar to the three witches in, 'Macbeth'. They huddle around the water cooler gossiping, talking about future predictions and cackling amongst themselves. During my time as an office temp, I have met some great characters and I wanted to draw on these memories when creating the character of Louise. She is the mother hen of the office, dominant and protective over her clique, but with a naughty sense of humour. I was also aware that they had to be believable characters so I had to reign it in so as not to make her too much of a,'grotesque'.

We began the day with a read-through, which is an opportunity to hear the play 'lift' off the page as you hear each actor's interpretation of his or her character. It was lovely to hear the comedy in the piece combined with the spookiness as the story reaches its climax.

I had a bit of a break before I recorded my scenes so I decided to sit in the recording booth and have a listen. It's a great way to pick up tips as you hear the director give notes to the actors and watch the sound engineers play around with the different sounds. At one point a note was given to one of the actors to smile during a particular line and you could really hear the difference it made to the tone of the delivery.

Then it was my turn! It all went very well. There are always minor problems to work through, e.g. you all have to be close enough to the microphone and if there are a few actors in the scene, the logistics of who stands where and when have to be worked through. You generally get a chance to have a quick rehearsal before recording and after each take; Luke would come into the studio and give us any notes. We then wait for the green light and go for it (whilst trying not to rustle the pages of your script as you turn the page).

I always feel like I come away from doing a radio play having learnt so much about the different techniques involved. Can't wait to hear the finished result!

Emma Stansfield is an actor

• We'll publish a third blog post to coincide with episode three of this short series next week. Bookmark this page for all three Weird Tales blog posts.
• Listen to episode two of Weird Tales tonight at 2300 (and on the Radio 4 web site for seven days after that).
• Follow programme makers audiotheque on Twitter and look out for Lovecraft references during transmission. Use the hashtag #weirdtales if you're listening.
• There are production pictures by Michelle Turner from Weird Tales 2: Split the Atom, on Flickr.
• H.P. Lovecraft has a Wikipedia entry.
• The picture shows a 1954 edition of Weird Tales, featuring stories by Lovecraft and other horror pioneers. It's by Jim Barker and it's used under licence.

I was in the studio yesterday recording two episodes for December. The first episode was at 0915 and the second at 1445, leaving me with a chunk of time in the middle to catch up with cast members I haven't seen in ages. It was great to see Ros Adams (Clarrie) as we haven't been in an epidode together for months. I spent most of lunchtime chatting to Ryan Kelly (Jazzer) whilst eating soup from the canteen and making a fuss of his guide dog Hadley (even though I know I'm not supposed to!) I also worked with Alex Lilley (Coriander) for the first time and found out that she lives within walking distance of my parents (small world!).

Alex and I had to record a scene that involved eating and drinking. I always have to remind myself to leave a hand free to turn the pages of my script and to make sure that when it's my line I'm not mid-munch! It's trickier than it sounds. There was also another first today, Mia (Nic's daughter) speaks, so it seems quite serendipitous that I have been asked by Steve Bowbrick to describe what it was like to be a newcomer to The Archers.

As long as I live I will always remember my first day in Ambridge. A few weeks after auditoning to play a new character called Nic (at the time I didn't even know what Nic was short for!) I found myself sat in the green room waiting to do my first readthrough. I can only describe the feeling as a mixture of intense excitement and extreme terror. I hadn't told many of my friends what I was doing that day - I'd just mumbled something about doing a radio job, but I knew that this wasn't any radio job. I was acutely aware of how iconic 'The Archers' is, how much it means to people and that it is ingrained in British culture... so no pressure then!

The scene to be recorded that day was the one that I had read at the audition: Nic is struggling to get onto the bus and Will Grundy comes to her rescue. I'd met Phil Molloy (Will Grundy) at the casting and was relieved to see a familiar face. He was very kind to me and made me endless cups of coffee. When it came to start the readthrough, my nerves really kicked in: the people that you've been chatting to a few seconds earlier suddenly morph into those familiar characters heard on radios around the world... it was a surreal moment and for a few seconds I sort of stared into space, not quite comprehending that this situation actually involved me... then reality hit, my first line was coming up and Nic was about to have a voice of her own.

That was just over two years ago, and since then I've learnt a tremendous amount as an actor, become friends with many of the Archers team and developed an unhealthy obsession with the doorbell board (yes, I was that annoying child in B&Q in the late 80s who had to press every single one). Nic has matured, made mistakes, laughed, cried, grilled sausages and been the victim of a cow stampede! The wonderful thing about being a character in the Archers is that things in Ambridge happen in 'real time'. Every script I open gives me clues to who Nic is. It's great to learn what clothes she likes to wear, when her birthday might be, what happened to her before she met Will and how other characters describe her. All of this helps to breathe life into Nic with all her innate qualities and foibles. For an actor, having the chance to develop a character over a long period of time is a rare and wonderful opportunity.

The Archers has become an integral part of both my professional and personal life, It really is more than just a job.

Becky Wright plays Nic Hanson in The Archers
• Nic Hanson's page in the Archers dramatis personae and Becky's profile.
• Archers Week ran on the Radio 4 blog from 23-30 November 2009. 19 blog posts were published in all, from 17 authors. They're listed here.
• Radio 4's Archers web site is full of good stuff, like a map of Ambridge, family trees for all the big clans and a detailed who's who. There's also a 'two-minute guide' for Archers newbies.
• The Archers messageboards are among the busiest at the BBC - nicknamed Mustardland because of the distinctive yellow page backgrounds. They're a bit sceptical about Archers Week, though.
• There are two Archers podcasts: one for the daily episodes and one for the Sunday omnibus.
• Hedli Niklaus, who plays Kathy Perks in the serial, also runs the Archers fan club, Archers Addicts.
• Norman Painting, who played Archers patriarch Phil for nearly sixty years, died on 29 October 2009. The last episode he recorded aired on 22 November. Archers Editor Vanessa Whitburn paid tribute to him here on the blog and the Archers Addicts have collected listener tributes.
• The picture shows the old oak cupboard that serves, for sound purposes, as the bar in The Bull and lots of other hard, wooden surfaces. During our visit to the Archers' home in Birmingham dozens of photographs were taken, many of which feature pictures of cast members (and an ironing board).
• Twitter was put to use during Archers Week. #archersweek was the hashtag and we learnt that Tim Bentinck, who plays David Archer (@timbentinck) and Keri Davies, who writes scripts (@keridavies) are both Twitterers. Follow the Radio 4 blog on Twitter.

I asked members of the Our Mutual Friend cast four questions: what appealed to them about their character, why Dickens is so enduringly popular, what they best remembered about the recording, and why they enjoyed radio acting (if they did). Here's a recording of Carl Prekopp and Daisy Haggard talking about the production, recorded especially for the blog:

Over the next few days we'll be publishing our cast members' responses to my questions. First, Carl Prekopp:

Often with Dickens the straight man in the middle is quite frustrating for an actor as he can see all the weird and wonderful characters having a ball around him. But in 'Our Mutual Friend' the mysterious nature of John Harmon and his circumstances gives the actor an appealing otherworldliness. Having in a sense confirmed his own 'death' he is looking in on the lives of people from behind a mask of deception throughout. He is quite an empowered central character. Almost like a private detective. And the wonderful thing is no matter how front footed he is, it is still a girl who is the source of so much of his frustration.

I loved having a face off with Jamie Foreman. It was also one of the few scenes where the darker side of my character had a chance to rear it's head.

Daisy was a wonderful leading lady. And from the readthrough it became quite obvious she was going to be fun in the studio so all scenes with her made for a good day at work.

Dickens pays unbelievable attention to detail, so much so that once you have finished one of his books, that story is a part of you as though it is a memory. You can see the people, the streets and the feeling that comes with each event as though you were actually there.

I enjoy doing radio because it is left to the power of the imagination. It's good old fashioned story telling giving everything over to the audience. We as actors can create the world in our own minds, forgetting we're in our normal clothes and holding scripts in a windowless studio and the more we use our imagination the more the audience will create their own images of the geography of the play and how the characters and their world may look. No two audience members will have the same image of any one play.

I also love radio because there are no physical restrictions on the parts we can play. And in this age of beauty before talent it is quite liberating. I have in my time played a endorphin-addicted body builder. People that know me will understand that this is a part I could never play in any other medium.

Jessica Dromgoole is a producer at BBC Radio Drama

• Radio 4's 20-part adaptation of Our Mutual Friend is on-air now.
• Radio 4's 20-part adaption of Our Mutual Friend is on-air now and because it's part of the 'series catch-up trial' you can listen online to all the programmes in the series until seven days after the last episode airs.
• Look out for further blog reports on the recording process, with contributions from composer Roger Goula, studio manager Colin Guthrie and other members of the cast.
• We'd love to hear your thoughts about Dickens dramatisations you have heard and enjoyed on the radio. And which of the novels do you think Radio 4 should tackle next?
• There are production photos of the whole cast, taken for Radio 4 by Phil Fisk, here.