Sentimental Journey

Gyles Brandreth (who's related to George R. Sims, the author of 'Christmas Day in the Workhouse') surveys the history of sentimentality from Charles Dickens to Princess Diana and from Agincourt to the internet - and wonders whether to sneer or cheer.

Tear-jerking contributors from the archives include Beverley Nichols, Godfrey Winn, Patience Strong and Hughie Greene. New readings are by Simon Russell Beale and Jenny Seagrove, who contribute their own opinions about the sentimentality of Shakespeare and Noel Coward.

Producer: Peter Everett.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2014.