Winifred Robinson has presented You and Yours since 2000
ByPaul Glynn
Culture reporter
The BBC has announced it will be cutting a raft of Radio 4 programmes including the long-running consumer and social affairs show You and Yours.
The social sciences show Thinking Allowed will also be cut along with arts and ideas programme Free Thinking, as the corporation seeks £500m savings.
Other shows such The Artificial Human and Open Country will also go, it was announced on Thursday, while Radio 5 Live will also see a reduction in commissioning on its schedule and podcasts.
The BBC has committed to investing in a new consumer programme, though, and two new weekly shows exploring ideas shaping the world, and the impact of technology and AI.
Radio 4's flagship history, science and culture show, In Our Time, will expand in length, as will Start the Week and Farming Today.
Director of BBC Sounds Jonathan Wall said they were "reshaping BBC speech audio" in order 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," he said in a statement.
"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."
He added that the "difficult decisions" about cuts to shows and staff were "not based on cost alone", saying: "We need to make significant savings while investing for the future."
Image source, Reuters
Last month, director general Matt Brittin said the BBC's financial situation and changing audience habits "may well mean" some channels and radio stations have to close so resources can be invested in on-demand services.
Brittin told BBC One's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that "we wouldn't guarantee any programme or any channel will exist forever".
In June, the BBC announced 550 job cuts in news, nations and TV and radio content as part of its first stage in its plan to save £500m across the corporation over the next two years.
Staff were told of proposals including ending Radio 4's The World Tonight, and reducing the number of permanent presenters on Today from five to four, with a single anchor on Saturdays.
It was revealed that BBC One's Breakfast would no longer be shown on Sunday mornings, and that the production teams making Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg and Newsnight would merge.
It followed April's announcement that the BBC would cut between 1,800 and 2,000 jobs - or almost one in 10 - in an attempt to tackle "significant financial pressures".
Last week, an influential group of MPs said the BBC licence fee should be extended to cover services other than TV, and that the corporation's charter review should be scrapped and made permanent.
In its recommendations, the DCMS committee also said that political appointments to the BBC board should end, to improve public trust.
Extracted and lightly reformatted for readability. · Source: pt