BBC to help bring back pen pals in Christmas season starring Prince Harry

In a world of social media, the simple joy of putting pen to paper may seem something of a forgotten art.

But the old-fashioned pen pal may be due a comeback, as Radio 4 launches a new series to celebrate its lost charm.

The BBC’s Christmas schedule includes a five-part programme “celebrating the phenomenon of the international pen-pal: the art of writing a letter the old-fashioned way, the tentative early forays into a new friendship, and the frisson of glamour when the air mail envelope drops through the letterbox”.

It will see five famous Radio 4 faces including Fi Glover, Louiza Patikas who plays Helen on the Archers, and Jim Al-Khalili strike up a new friendship with a stranger on the other side of the world.

The show joins a host of new commissions for the channel over the Christmas period, which will also see Sir David Attenborough read his own account of his 1955 trip to Guyana as a young naturalist, a medley of Just a Minute clips from the last 50 years and a series of guest presenters for the Today programme.

The early-morning current affairs show will be edited by Prince Harry, who will tackle subjects including youth violence, conservation and mental health.

A spokesman for Kensington Palace said the Prince is “grateful to have Today͛s considerable reach to shine a spotlight on a number of issues that are close to his heart”.

Baroness Trumpington, the Conservative peer who has just retired from the House of Lords at the age of 95, will oversee a programme including segments on “the importance of plain speaking in politics” and the debate around the legalisation of brothels.

Tamara Rojo, the Artistic Director of English National Ballet, will take listeners behind the scenes of the Nutcracker, while writer Benjamin Okri and an Artificial Intelligence robot take the reins for the final two guest shows.

In Radio 4 drama, Anansi Boys will star Sir Lenny Henry in a role written especially by Neil Gaiman after the actor pointed out there were no leading roles for black men in horror stories.

On Radio 3, listeners will tune into “slow radio”, following the famous trek Bach took across Germany.

Ed Balls will explore musical theatre on Radio 2, while Strictly judge Shirley Ballas reveals her favourite music to dance to.