Drama on 3 may have lost its place but there’s no need for theatrics, it’s just the reality of change in an era of new formats

The luminaries are incandescent. The unions are on the warpath. Dame Judi Dench has been activated. The BBC broke with broadcasting tradition last month, axing the last remaining drama slot on Radio 3.

The Beeb has broadcast original audio drama since Christmas 1922; since then, its radio departments have nurtured the careers of writers from Tom Stoppard to Benjamin Zephaniah. Successive cuts in recent years had already left long-form drama siloed in Radio 3’s 90-minute slot at 8pm on Sundays, Drama on 3. Now that slot has been canned for good.