BBC RADIO 4 has confirmed it’s axing six popular radio shows in a move that fans have slammed as “disappointing”.

The cuts will be carried out in order to make “significant savings” for the broadcasting service, as the continues with plans for a major £500million cost-cutting drive.

Media equipment including a microphone and audio mixing console in the live room of a radio station.
BBC Radio 4 will be axing six popular shows as part of a brutal cost-cutting drive Credit: Wang YuKun
Illustration of the BBC You and Yours logo, featuring a street scene with buildings and electricity pylons.
You and Yours is one of the programmes set to be axed in a move fans have slammed “disappointing” Credit: Unknown

Consumer rights show You and Yours is one of the six shows set to be axed after more than 50 years on air – having started in 1970.

The show is currently hosted by Winifred Robinson and Peter White.

It will leave the service to make way for a “refreshed” programme that is in the development stage.

The new segment “is designed to work both on air and on demand, that buildsonn Radio 4’s tradition of original reporting, practical advice, and holding organisations to account”.

Fans of the show took to X to lament the news, labelling the decision “extremely disappointing” and a “big mistake”.

show Thinking Allowed, programme The Artificial Human and Free Thinking – described on BBC Sounds as a show discussing “ideas shaping our lives” – will also be cut.

The three programmes will instead be released as two year-round weekly programmes.

One will look at ideas that shape society, while the other will delve into the impact of AI and technology.

Current affairs programme The World Tonight and and countryside show Open Country are also set to leave the service.

While six shows will leave Radio 4, fans of Start the Week and In Our Time are in luck as these programmes will now run for an hour to increase the BBC’s coverage of “ideas and technology”.

Full list of BBC Radio 4 shows being axed:

  • You and Yours
  • Thinking Allowed
  • Free Thinking
  • The Artificial Human
  • Open Country
  • The World Tonight

As well as the axed shows, the Beeb will also be slimming down its output on BBC Sounds “to make space for newer formats”.

Next year will also see commissioning spend cut for BBC 5 Live on schedule and programmes.

Jonathan Wall, director of BBC Sounds, said: “We are reshaping BBC speech audio to build a strong future for trusted journalism, distinctive storytelling and programmes that bring people together.

“By commissioning fewer programmes overall, we can focus our investment and make our best shows work across broadcast, on demand and different formats.

“That means accelerating growth on our own digital platforms and reaching more people beyond the BBC, while maintaining the strength of Radio 4 and 5 Live, the country’s two biggest speech radio stations.

“These are difficult decisions, and they are not based on cost alone. We need to make significant savings while investing for the future. I am extremely grateful to the teams behind the programmes affected, and we will support colleagues and work closely with unions throughout consultation.”

The decision follows a brutal cost-cutting drive by the BBC, as it looks to make £500 million in savings.

In June, it announced that savings will be made across news, nations and content divisions with around in the process.