Into the Uncanny

DANNY ROBINS is an award-winning British writer, broadcaster and journalist. He created the hit BBC podcasts The Battersea Poltergeist, Uncanny and The Witch Farm, and the Olivier Award-nominated West End play 2:22 - A Ghost Story, which is now playing in countries around the world. He has created and written various shows for TV and radio, including the BAFTA-nominated series Young Dracula for BBC1. The TV series of Uncanny will be broadcast on BBC 2 later this year. 
 
Most impressively though, he came second in the UK Air Guitar Championship (he was robbed) and he bizarrely once had a Number 11 hit single by accident. Ask him about it when you see him.

'A contemporary Van Helsing...' Sunday Times 
 
'King of true-life scary tales' Observer 
 
'A wonderfully entertaining ride through the haunted landscape which Danny has made his own.' Mark Gatiss, co-creator of Sherlock 
 
'Terrifying, fascinating, often hilarious... the best ghost investigation I've ever read' Dan Schreiber, author of The Theory of Everything Else 
 
'Scarily good' Danny Wallace, author of Yes Man 
 
'A brilliant book, engaging and filmic - it made me frightened in the daytime' Reece Shearsmith, co-creator of Inside No. 9 
 
I know what I saw... 
 
'The ghosts of today don't live in castles or stately homes, they're in normal houses and workplaces, witnessed by ordinary people like you and me. Now we just need to figure out what the hell they are - the dead returning from the &quot;undiscovered country&quot; of death? Or the product of that equally mysterious location, the human mind?' 
 
Danny Robins is a sceptic who wants to believe. His award-winning podcasts, Uncanny, The Battersea Poltergeist and The Witch Farm, and his smash-hit West End play 2:22 - A Ghost Story have made him &quot;the UK's go-to-ghost guy&quot;, and he's on a mission to try to solve this greatest of all mysteries - is the impossible possible? 
 
Into the Uncanny is the story of ordinary people who have experienced extraordinary things and want to make sense of them. Each one is a brand-new case never shared before; modern day, real-life ghost stories that will make your blood run cold. It is also a journey of self-discovery, as Danny explores what the paranormal means to us and the exciting and terrifying prospect that we are not alone. 
 
From poltergeists and apparitions, to UFOs and messages from beyond the grave, Into The Uncanny is a thrilling, adrenaline-filled supernatural adventure. Whether you're Team Believer or Team Sceptic, all you need is an open mind and a bit of courage. So, are you ready to investigate?

A BBC Radio Spoof comedy

Paperback Hell: Series 1-3

All three series of the literary spoof series 
 
Paperback Hell takes a wry look at well-known genres riding high in the publishing charts, and mercilessly lampoons them to hilarious effect. Featuring choice chapters culled from titles that bear a striking resemblance to something you've read before, it's the book show that seems determined to destroy the good name of literature. 
 
These 16 episodes showcase a selection of inexplicably popular bestsellers by imaginary authors, including Romany Cleff's debut chick-lit novel Shopping for Mr Wrong; Edith Plunger's medieval monastic murder mystery A Posset Full of Death; radical filmaker Chuck Morris's account of his trip to the Hay and Wye literary festival, You Suck Bush; and Jack "Sunglasses" Ramsey's not-entirely-true memoir of life in the 1960s criminal underworld, Stop the Dodgems, I Want to Throw Up. 
 
Plus, the Napoleonic Wars invade the airwaves as suspiciously fictional author Alexander Cromwell narrates his military adventure, Thrust's Eagle; celebrity lifestyle gurus Gilly Haberdasher and Dr Graham Golden share excerpts from their tie-in book to the hit TV programme, How Not To Live; and there's a chance to experience a young woman's erotic awakening as 'Anonymous' reads from a specially adapted version of Forbidden Fire (which contains sex scenes that some listeners may find strangely disappointing). 
 
Written by Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell (The Museum of Everything, Young Dracula), this witty, entertaining send-up stars Michael Fenton Stevens, Rebecca Front, Mel Hudson, Alex Lowe and Dan Tetsell. 
 
Production credits 
 
 
Ghostwritten by Danny Robins and Dan Tetsell 
Produced by Lucy Armitage 
Original music by Ben Walker 
 
Starring Michael Fenton Stevens, Rebecca Front, Mel Hudson, Alex Lowe and Dan Tetsell 
With Michael Brandon (Series 3, Episodes 1 and 2) 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 16 January-6 February 2003 (Series 1), 7 July-11 August 2004 (Series 2), 5 October-9 November 2005 (Series 3) 
 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Danny Robins

Lenny Henry

Larrington Walker

Joe Jacobs

Full Cast

A BBC Radio Comedy

Lenny Henry stars in this family comedy set in the finest, feistiest old reggae record shop in Birmingham 
 
&lsquo;A joy&rsquo; Chris Campling, The Times 
 
Rudy Sharpe is the irrepressible owner of a tiny, ramshackle record store, stacked from floor to ceiling with piles of vinyl. It&rsquo;s a place with real soul, where the slogan is &lsquo;If we don't have it &ndash; them don't mek it&rsquo;. Helping out behind the counter is Tasha, Handsworth&rsquo;s only Black goth girl, while Rudy&rsquo;s best friend Clifton regularly drops in to talk music, women and rum. 
 
When Rudy has a 'heart attack', his long-suffering, middle-aged son Adam reluctantly returns from London to look after him, leaving behind his own classical music shop, Bach to Basics. Accompanying Adam is his teenage son, Richie, who is less than thrilled with the prospect of going to Birmingham, but bonds with his granddad over their shared love of reggae and ska. 
 
Crammed together, sharing the minuscule flat above the shop, the trio collide on a daily basis. Forced to survive each other&rsquo;s company, can they put their differences aside, keep the store afloat and keep the vinyl dream alive? 
 
Starring Lenny Henry as Adam, Larrington Walker as Rudy and Joe Jacobs as Richie, this feelgood comedy celebrates three generations of Sharpe men bantering, bickering, breaking up and making up &ndash; all to a terrific, toe-tapping soundtrack. 
 
 
Credits 
Starring Lenny Henry 
Written by Danny Robins, Dan Tetsell and Paula Hines from an original idea by Lenny Henry 
Script edited by Danny Robins 
Additional material by Doc Brown and Leah Chillery 
Produced by Lucy Armitage and Katie Tyrell 
 
Cast 
Adam Sharpe &ndash; Lenny Henry 
Richie Sharp &ndash; Joe Jacobs 
Rudy Sharpe &ndash; Larrington Walker 
Doreen/Ms Rogers/Carolina &ndash; Claire Benedict 
Jamelia/Tasha &ndash; Natasha Godfrey 
Clifton &ndash; Jeffery Kissoon 
Alison/Doctor &ndash; Tracy-Ann Oberman 
Customers &ndash; Colin Hoult/Doc Brown 
Francis &ndash; Michael Fenton Stevens 
DJ Karel/Police officer/Sgt Popper &ndash; Andrew Brooke 
Landlord &ndash; Gresby Nash 
Diabolicus &ndash; Adam de Ville 
Trev the Hoodie/Rapper &ndash; Doc Brown 
Tunde &ndash; Femi Elufowoju 
Karen &ndash; Susie Riddell 
Craig/RSPCA man/Hoodie 2 &ndash; Joe Sims 
Darnell &ndash; Javone Prince 
Secret Shopper/Lucinda &ndash; Sarah Thom 
Ainsley Harriott &ndash; Himself 
Twitch/Trader/Customer/Dealer/Hoodie/Attila/Receptionist &ndash; Adam Nagaitis 
Bernard Sheedy &ndash; Justin Moorhouse 
Brinsley Forde &ndash; Himself 
Katerina &ndash; Liza Sadovy 
Miss Reenie &ndash; Angela Wynter 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 February-18 March 2008 (Series 1), 14 October-4 November 2009 (Series 2), 18 January-22 February 2011 (Series 3), 9 October-13 November 2012 (Series 4) 
 
&copy; 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Paranormal expert Danny Robins breaks down famous ghost scenes in film & TV