Broadcaster and author Clare Balding is set to host a new BBC Radio 4 books quiz show.
The programme, titled Bookmarks, will see two teams go head-to-head in a test of general knowledge about fiction and non-fiction titles.
Made by the team behind the game show QI, Bookmarks will air on May 31 and June 7 at 4.30pm.
Balding, 55, said: “I’m thrilled to be hosting Bookmarks on Radio 4 – reading is one of life’s great pleasures and I can’t wait to play along and celebrate the joy of books with listeners all across the country.”
The show is one of a series of quiz pilots that will air on Sunday afternoons on BBC Radio 4 this summer.
Historical quiz Deja News, hosted by actress and comedian Lucy Porter, will see two teams answer questions drawn from the last 100 years of BBC archive news footage.
Porter said the show, which will air on June 14 and June 21, combines two of her favourite things – “quizzing and treasures of the BBC archive”.
“I’m really excited to meet the brilliant contestants, who are going to answer questions about the history of the last 100 years,” she said.
“I’ve lived through over half of those years, so I should be able to give them some hints.”
Your Number’s Up, which is set to be hosted by comedian Max Fosh and will air on June 28 and July 5, will see contestants answer a series of general knowledge questions, brain-teasers and calculation conundrums.
Fosh said: “I have no maths skills whatsoever and I suspect that I’ve only been asked to host Your Number’s Up because I wear glasses and people think I’m much smarter than I am.
“Regardless, I am delighted to take part and give listeners a brilliant half-hour of quizzing.”
Airing on July 12 and July 19, Around The World In 80 Ways is a globetrotting quiz which will see two teams pitted against each other in a virtual race across the globe.
Contestants on the show, hosted by Simon Reeve, will need to move from one country to the next by answering questions on everything from national anthems and local cakes to nature and global sport and politics.
Julia McKenzie, commissioner for comedy and entertainment, BBC Radio 4, said: “Quizzes are one of the things Radio 4 does best and I know how much our listeners value them.
“I hope this new season of pilots will bring listeners even more of what they love by bringing fresh ideas, distinctive new formats and a brilliant line-up of presenters.
“By piloting a range of formats, we’ll be adding to Radio 4’s stellar slate of quizzes and seeing where this much-loved genre could go next.”
Balding has written the award-winning memoir My Animals And Other Family as well as a popular series of children’s books.
