Tales from the Ring Road

Anne-Marie Duff narrates stories of survival and resilience from the roads that encircle Bedford. The edge of town can be a perilous place, a periphery landscape of industrial estates and redundant brickworks. Life can seem fragile here, but it also bears witness to tales of determination and hope. In this episode, Bedford is in the spotlight. Among the stories, an Eden nestled in a garden square, a violent end to a relationship that started so happily on line and a helicopter pilot tempted into crime, stunned by life in Bedford Prison. Producer: Sarah Bowen.

Anne-Marie Duff narrates a new documentary series for BBC Radio 4, telling stories of survival and resilience on the UK's ring roads - in towns & cities often overlooked. The ring road is the circulatory system of the city - a perilous place where life can seem fragile, but one which also bears witness to tales of great resilience. In this episode, Wolverhampton is in the spotlight. Among the tales, the huge fire at leading family firm Carvers which threatened to wipe out the business and the story of Wolverhampton's famous tramp, Fred, who lived on the central reservation of the ring road for decades and was rumoured to have been in the SS. Producer: Laurence Grissell.

Anne-Marie Duff narrates a new documentary series for BBC Radio 4, telling stories of survival and resilience on the UK's ring roads - in towns & cities often overlooked. The ring road is the circulatory system of the city - a perilous place where life can seem fragile, but one which also bears witness to tales of great resilience and kindness. In this first episode, Coventry is in the spotlight. Among the stories, the murder of Eritrea-born Genet Kidane who was pushed to her death from a bridge over the ring road. Also, one man's miraculous survival after a head-on collision with a car going the wrong way round the ring road. As drivers jostle for space in the busy lanes of traffic, the ring road is contested in other ways too. In Coventry a massive development planned just adjacent to the ring road has provoked a fierce debate about the future of the city. Also in the series, stories from the roads of Wolverhampton and Bedford. Producer: Laurence Grissell.