Professor Stephen Hawking to deliver BBC Reith Lecture

Hawking will expand upon his theory of black holes

Professor Stephen Hawking will expand upon his theory of black holes when the acclaimed physicist delivers the 2015 BBC Reith Lecture (AFP/Getty)

Professor Stephen Hawking will expand upon his theory of black holes when the acclaimed physicist delivers the 2015 BBC Reith Lecture this Autumn.

Professor Hawking’s Reith lecture coincides with Radio 4’s plans to mark the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity with a series of special programming.

Traditionally the Reith lecturer delivers a series of themed talks. But the BBC said it did not yet know if Prof Hawking, 73, who pulled out of a planned appearance at Glastonbury due to “personal reasons”, will deliver more than one address.

The acclaimed physicist, diagnosed with motor neuron disease at the age of 21, communicates with a single cheek muscle attached to a speech-generating device. He sometimes finds it hard to breath and has to use a ventilator.

His lecture on black holes will be broadcast on Radio 4 later this year and introduced by Sue Lawley. Listeners will have an opportunity to suggest questions ahead of the recording and the Professor will answer a selection of them.

Prof Hawking said: “I'm delighted to be the BBC's Reith lecturer and to be able to convey the thrill of science to millions of listeners around the world through my lecture. I want to encourage people to imagine and explore the possibilities of science. Both the known, and the as yet unknown.

“Radio 4 is where serious science finds a wider audience, where intellectual thought, nuance, and complexity are celebrated; where the way scientists work is explored, and where new ideas are harnessed.

He added: “My talk is on black holes. Although gravity is by far the weakest of the known forces of nature, it has two crucial advantages over other forces. First, it is long range. The earth is held in orbit by the Sun, 93 million miles away, and the Sun is held in orbit around the centre of the galaxy, about ten thousand light years away.

“The second advantage is gravity is always attractive, unlike electric forces, which can be attractive or repulsive. These two features mean that for a sufficiently large star, the gravitational attraction between particles can dominate over all other forces and lead to gravitational collapse.

“The result is a black hole, a region where gravity is so strong, that nothing, not even light, can escape. I will describe the remarkable properties of black holes, including the fact that very small black holes aren't black at all, but glow like hot bodies.

“We should never stop trying to tell these extraordinary stories from science, and I hope my Reith lecture will enthuse a new generation to develop ideas that will have an impact on our understanding of the world and never to be overwhelmed by the task of discovery.”

Inaugurated in 1948 by the BBC, previous Reith lecturers include Daniel Barenboim, Aung San Suu Kyi and Grayson Perry.

Radio 4 also announced that the comedy actor Miles Jupp will take over as host of The News Quiz, following the departure of Sandi Toksvig, who quit the satirical show after nine years.

Jupp, who first appeared as a panellist on the show in 2009, said: “Sandi has been remarkable in her time in charge of The News Quiz and her legacy will live on forever amongst listeners.

“Following her departure my first job will be to lead the regulars and listeners through as many of the stages of grief as are ultimately deemed necessary (by a completely independent arbiter). Then it will simply be a matter of dumbing it down and sexing it up. Or vice versa, depending entirely on the circumstances.” Toksvig said she “couldn't be more delighted” that Jupp was taking over.

Radio 4 will also broadcast Glenda Jackson’s first acting role for 25 years. The Oscar-winner gave up the stage when she embarked upon a new career as a Labour MP. After retiring from her Hampstead & Kilburn seat she makes her return in an adaptation of Emile Zola’s 20-volume novel series Les Rougon-Macquart, themed around Blood, Sex And Money.

Ms Jackson plays Adelaide Fouque, a 104 year-old woman who gave birth to two dynasties that dominated French society. Robert Lindsay and Fenella Woolgar also star.

Mary Beard will present Glad To Be Grey, a documentary in which the classical scholar investigates “when and why women started obsessing about turning grey”. Her interviewees include hairdressers, historians and ‘high-profile members of the “grey” brigade’".

Gwyneth Williams, Controller of Radio 4, said: “I want to welcome the gifted young comedian and actor – already a Radio 4 favourite – Miles Jupp, as our new presenter of The News Quiz. We will miss the fabulous Sandi Toksvig but I know that her legacy will be safe with Miles.

“Above all I am thrilled to announce Stephen Hawking as our Reith Lecturer for 2015, especially as I have sought to make science more prominent on Radio 4. I know that our discriminating audience will be inspired by Professor Hawking’s magnificent challenge ‘never to stop trying to tell… extraordinary stories from science… and never to be overwhelmed by the task of discovery’.”