Loose Ends is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 programme originally broadcast on Saturday mornings, and then transmitted early Saturday evenings from 1998 by BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...

. It was hosted by Ned Sherrin

Ned Sherrin

Edward George "Ned" Sherrin CBE was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC...

 until he became ill in late 2006 with a reported throat infection, and later throat cancer. It brings together guests, generally from the world of entertainment, in a mix of interviews, sets by comedians and musical sessions.

First broadcast in 1986, it developed out of The Colour Supplement, a Sunday morning programme which had featured early Loose Ends contributors such as Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry

Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...

, Robert Elms

Robert Elms

Robert Elms is an English writer and broadcaster. Elms was a writer for The Face magazine in the 1980s, and has a self-confessed love of clothes and fashion...

 and Victor Lewis-Smith

Victor Lewis-Smith

Victor Lewis-Smith is a British satirist, producer, critic and prankster. He is known for his sarcasm and biting criticism.-Radio and recordings:...

. The latter's contributions to Loose Ends were highly regarded tape packages, marking a genuinely mischievous and disruptive element to the programme which was lost over time.

Original commissioned comedy had, by 2006, been phased out almost entirely, with comic performers tending to deliver existing material from their repertoires although, in June/July 2006, the Scots comedian and writer Janey Godley

Janey Godley

Janey Godley is a British stand-up comedian and writer. Her autobiography, Handstands in the Dark, was a UK Top Ten bestseller and she was a 2006 Scotswoman of The Year finalist...

 scripted a weekly series of satiric fictional extracts from Nancy Dell'Olio

Nancy Dell'Olio

Annunziata Dell'Olio, better known as Nancy Dell'Olio, is an Italian-American property lawyer who first came to public notice as the girlfriend of Sven-Göran Eriksson, then manager of the England national football team.-Early life:...

's Diary to coincide with the FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

. Dell' Olio was the girlfriend of England national football team

England national football team

The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

 coach Sven-Göran Eriksson

Sven-Göran Eriksson

Sven-Göran Eriksson , in Sweden commonly referred to just by his nickname Svennis, is a Swedish ex-football manager. From October 2010 to October 2011 he managed Football League Championship side Leicester City....

. Only four extracts were transmitted due to the England team's failure in the championships.

Typically the programme was topped and tailed by Sherrin reading a comic monologue which, over the years, was written by Alistair Beaton

Alistair Beaton

Alistair Beaton is a Scottish left wing political satirist, journalist, radio presenter, novelist and television writer. At one point in his career he was also a speechwriter for Gordon Brown....

, D. A. Barham, Ian Brown & James Hendrie, Nev Fountain

Nev Fountain

Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain, is an English writer, best known for his comedy work with writing partner Tom Jamieson on the radio and television programme Dead Ringers.A native of Stamford, Fountain attended the University of Warwick...

, Tom Jamieson, Tom Mitchelson, Ian Hawkins, Terence Dackombe, Andrew Nickolds, Steve Punt

Steve Punt

Stephen Punt is a British writer, comedian and actor, best known for his long-time comedy partnership with Hugh Dennis. Punt lives in Wimbledon with his girlfriend and two children.-Life and career:...

 and Pete Sinclair.

From the end of 2006, Peter Curran stood in as presenter of Loose Ends (with Patrick Kielty

Patrick Kielty

Patrick Kielty is an Irish comedian and television personality from Dundrum, Northern Ireland.-Background:He was affected by The Troubles in Northern Ireland. On 25 January 1988 his father, businessman Jack Kielty, was shot dead by the Ulster Defence Association /"Ulster Freedom Fighters" , a...

 and Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson

Clive Anderson is a British former barrister, best known for being a comedy writer as well as a radio and television presenter in the United Kingdom...

 as guest presenters) owing to Ned Sherrin

Ned Sherrin

Edward George "Ned" Sherrin CBE was an English broadcaster, author and stage director. He qualified as a barrister and then worked in independent television before joining the BBC...

's prolonged illness. Sherrin died of throat cancer

Head and neck cancer

Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...

on 1 October 2007.

Clive Anderson, together with Peter Curran, are the current presenters.