Classic Radio Crime

Frost: A Touch of Frost

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama by RD Wingfield

RD (Rodney David) Wingfield was born in Hackney in 1928. He was educated at the Coopers Company School and – along with the rest of the school – was evacuated to Frome, Somerset during the Second World War. Exempted from National Service due to his poor eyesight, he had various office jobs before becoming a clerk for the Petrofina Oil Company in Epsom. In his free time, he wrote radio plays, and in 1968 the BBC bought his 45-minute play Compensating Error. They soon commissioned a further two, and Wingfield decided to give up the day job and become a full-time writer. Over the next two decades, he produced numerous successful BBC Radio dramas, as well as a comedy series starring Kenneth Williams as a secret agent, The Secret Life of Kenneth Williams (1971-73). In 1972, the publishing company Macmillan commissioned Wingfield to write a crime novel. With the incentive of a £50 non-returnable advance, he completed the book, Frost at Christmas – only for it to be rejected. Wingfield decided to turn it into a radio play, Three Days of Frost, instead. He had visualised Ronnie Barker in the lead role, but Barker was unavailable so Leslie Sands played Frost. A second Frost radio drama, A Touch of Frost, was broadcast in 1982, starring Derek Martin. Frost at Christmas was finally published in Canada in 1984 and in the UK in 1990. It was followed by A Touch of Frost (1987), which was apparently one of three detective novels chosen by David Jason for his holiday reading a few years later. A successful comedy actor, Jason had been searching for a character to enable him to move into serious television drama, and felt that Frost fit the bill. The TV series A Touch of Frost premiered in 1992, and was a runaway success over 15 series and 42 episodes, only ending in 2010 because Jason decided to retire the character. Wingfield, however, was unenthusiastic about the TV adaptation, saying 'I have nothing against David Jason as Frost at all, he just isn't my Frost'. After seeing the pilot, he never watched another episode, claiming that he did not want his subsequent novels to be influenced by Jason's portrayal. He was to write four more Frost books before his death in 2007, one of which, Hard Frost (1995), was nominated for an Edgar Award. The final one, A Killing Frost, was published posthumously in 2008. However, the continuing popularity of the character led to a prequel series by James Henry, First Frost (2011), Fatal Frost (2012) and Morning Frost (2013) set in the early Eighties and featuring Frost as a Detective Sergeant.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama starring Derek Martin, the precursor to the popular TV series and novels. 
 
Jack Frost is disheveled, disorganised and disrespectful. His superiors don't like him. He has a habit of doing things his way – and getting results. But when Denton CID is faced with a spate of major crimes, Frost finds himself under pressure. 
 
A young woman becomes the sixth victim of a multiple rapist, a teenage girl goes missing, there's a robbery at the Purple Parrot nightclub, and an old man is injured in a hit-and-run. With all this on his plate, Frost has little time and less patience for paperwork – but if he doesn't submit the overtime reports, there will be hell to pay. Has Frost bitten off more than he can chew? 
 
A Touch of Frost gave rise to a hugely successful TV series that ran between 1992 and 2010. This gritty drama, first broadcast on Radio 4 in 1982, features Derek Martin as Jack Frost, with a supporting cast including Haydn Wood, Stephen Thorne and Alan Dudley. 
 
Classic Radio Crime: presenting vintage detectives for your investigation! Duration: 1 hour 25 mins approx.

(DI Jack Frost Book 6)

A Killing Frost

Crumpled, slapdash and foul-mouthed as ever, Detective Inspector Jack Frost struggles to cope with inadequate back-up and never enough time; the unsolved crimes pile up and the vicious killings go on. Frost must cut corners and take risks as he staggers from crisis to crisis, rapists to murderers, missing bodies to discovered body parts; will he be able to keep Denton safe?

From the creator of A TOUCH OF FROST, the eagerly anticipated D. I. Jack Frost novel

Another jam-packed, thrilling outing for Wingfield's DI Jack Frost. With more twists than a bucket of eels, this is a fitting climax to an incredible series. I can't believe there won't be any more

Swaggeringly fluent and fast-paced... Frost remains by far the most unattractive cop in mainstream crime fiction

The action is non-stop... The shambolic Frost has become a much-loved figure in crime fiction and Wingfield will be remembered especially for having created such a distinctive personality

After a successful career writing for radio, R. D. Wingfield turned his attention to fiction and created the character of DI Jack Frost, who has featured in the titles Frost at Christmas, A Touch of Frost, Night Frost, Hard Frost and Winter Frost. The series has been adapted for television as the perennially popular A Touch of Frost starring David Jason. R. D. Wingfield died in 2007.

On a rainy night in Denton, Detective Inspector Jack Frost is called to the site of a macabre discovery in the woods - that of a human foot. Meanwhile a multiple rapist is on the loose, the local supermarket reports poisoned stock and a man claims to have cut his wife up into little pieces, yet can't recall where he hid them. But it is when two young girls are reported missing in quick succession that the Denton crime wave reaches terrifying heights. 
 
As the exhausted Frost staggers from case to case, pressured from all sides and haunted by memories of his wife, something nasty arrives at the station in the form of Detective Chief Inspector Skinner. The scheming, slippery Skinner clearly has his eye on the Superintendent's office, but his first job is to manipulate the transfer of the unorthodox D.I. Jack Frost to another division. Will Frost find the missing girls before his new nemesis forces him away from Denton once and for all?

(DI Jack Frost Book 1)

Frost At Christmas

A brilliant crime novel from the creator of A Touch of Frost

Affecting, frightening and, especially in Frost's dialogue, extremely amusing

A crisp, confident, ripely-characterized novel; exciting, ingenious, roundly satisfying

After a successful career writing for radio, R.D. Wingfield turned his attention to fiction and created the character of D.I. Jack Frost, who has featured in the titles A Touch of Frost, Frost at Christmas, Night Frost, Hard Frost, Winter Frost and A Killing Frost. The series has been adapted for television as the perennially popular A Touch of Frost starring David Jason. R.D. Wingfield died in 2007.

Ten days to Christmas and Tracey Uphill, aged eight, hasn't come home from Sunday school. Her mother, a pretty young prostitute, is desperate. Enter Detective Inspector Jack Frost, sloppy, scruffy and insubordinate. To help him investigate the case of the missing child, Frost has been assigned a new sidekick, the Chief Constable's nephew. Fresh to provincial Denton in an oversmart suit, Detective Constable Clive Barnard is an easy target for Frost's withering satire. 
 
Assisted and annoyed by Barnard, Frost, complete with a store of tasteless anecdotes to fit every occasion, proceeds with the investigation in typically unorthodox style. After he's consulted a local witch, Dead Man's Hollow yields up a skeleton. Frost finds himself drawn into an unsolved crime from the past and risks not only his career, but also his life...

(DI Jack Frost Book 4)

Hard Frost

For fans of A TOUCH OF FROST, more tales of Inspector Frost as he muddles his way through a gruelling assortment of crimes.

Crime pick of the year. Darker, funnier and more violent than the television adaptation, but just as high quality

Inspector Jack Frost (is) deplorable yet funny, a comic monster on the side of the angels

What impresses me most is the extraordinarily vivid interplay between the police characters. Frost himself is splendidly drawn

Fast paced and wryly amusing, Frost's latest outing is a delight from start to finish, a unique and unlikely blend of humour and tragedy. More please

After a successful career writing for radio, R.D. Wingfield turned his attention to fiction and created the character of D.I. Jack Frost, who has featured in the titles A Touch of Frost, Frost at Christmas, Night Frost, Hard Frost, Winter Frost and A Killing Frost. The series has been adapted for television as the perennially popular A Touch of Frost starring David Jason. R.D. Wingfield died in 2007.

‘Fast-paced and wryly amusing… A delight from start to finish’ – Val McDermid 
 
Detective Inspector Jack Frost is having a hard time. 
 
A young boy is found dead in a rubbish heap, suffocated and with one finger cut off. Another boy is missing. A psychopath is stabbing babies as they lie sleeping in their cots. A fifteen-year-old has been abducted, then found naked by the roadside. Frost is up to his neck in crime. 
 
And the problems keep coming. 
 
The corpse of a petty criminal is discovered, with the tops of three fingers chopped off. The small children of a carpet fitter are murdered; his wife's body is found on the railway line. A supermarket MD is sent a ransom demand for the missing boy, accompanied by one of the child's fingers... 
 
 Jack Frost, scruffy and insubordinate, foul-mouthed and fearless, staggers from crisis to crisis. But beneath his bumbling exterior lie extraordinary powers of detection…

(DI Jack Frost Book 2)

A Touch Of Frost

Another fabulous crime novel from the creator of A Touch of Frost

A funny, frantic, utterly refreshing brew

What impresses most is the extraordinarily vivid interplay between the police characters. Frost himself is spendidly drawn

‘A funny, frantic, utterly refreshing brew’ – Sunday Telegraph 
 
Detective Inspector Jack Frost, officially on duty, is nevertheless determined to sneak off to a colleague's leaving party. But first the corpse of a well-known local junkie is found blocking the drain of a Denton public lavatory - and then the daughter of a wealthy businessman is reported missing. 
 
And now a wave of crime threatens to submerge sleepy Denton. 
 
A robbery occurs at the town's notorious strip joint, the pampered son of a local MP is suspected of a hit-and-run offence and, to top it all, a multiple rapist is on the loose. But the manic Frost manages to assure his superior that all is under control. 
 
Now he has only to convince himself...

(DI Jack Frost Book 3)

Night Frost

A terrific crime novel from the creator of A Touch of Frost. Perfect for fans of Peter James, Stuart MacBride and Lynda La Plante.

Meaty police procedural; bawdy, funny... enough material here for cult hero status

Multiple cases, multiple bodies and lashings of police in-fighting. Fast, furious and funny

A serial killer is terrorizing the senior citizens of Denton, and the local police are succumbing to a flu epidemic. Tired and demoralized, the force has to contend with a seemingly perfect young couple suffering arson attacks and death threats, a suspicious suicide, burglaries, pornographic videos, poison-pen letters... 
 
In uncertain charge of the investigations is Detective Inspector Jack Frost, crumpled, slapdash and foul-mouthed as ever. He tries to cope despite inadequate back-up, but there is never enough time; the unsolved crimes pile up and the vicious killings go on. So Frost has to cut corners and take risks, knowing that his Divisional Commander will throw him to the wolves if anything goes wrong. And for Frost, things always go wrong...

(DI Jack Frost Book 5)

Winter Frost

Another hugely successful crime novel by the creator of A Touch of Frost. For fans of Peter James and Stuart MacBride.

Frost is a splendid creation, a cross between Rumpole and Colombo

R.D.Wingfield has created possibly the most accurate picture of police work in crime fiction today... Winter Frost is an absolute cracker

If you enjoy crime fiction at all, read this. If you've never read a crime novel in your life, start with this one

After a successful career writing for radio, R.D. Wingfield turned his attention to fiction and created the character of D.I. Jack Frost, who has featured in the titles Frost at Christmas, A Touch of Frost, Night Frost, Hard Frost, and Winter Frost. The series has been adapted for television as the perennially popular A Touch of Frost starring David Jason. R.D. Wingfield died in 2007.

‘Possibly the most accurate picture of police work in crime fiction today… An absolute cracker’ – Mike Ripley 
 
Denton is having more than its fair share of crime. 
 
A serial killer is murdering local prostitutes; a man demolishing his garden shed uncovers a long-buried skeleton; there is an armed robbery at a local minimart and a ram raid at a jewellers. 
 
But Detective Inspector Jack Frost's main concern is for the safety of a missing eight-year-old. And soon after another girl is reported missing, her body is found . . . raped and strangled. 
 
Then Frost's prime suspect hangs himself in his cell, leaving a note blaming Frost for driving him to suicide. 
 
Frost may be coarse, insubordinate and fearless. But he’s also in serious trouble.

R D Wingfield

Derek Martin

June Brown

Leslie Sands

Bob Peck

Monica Grey

John Pullen

Rosalind Ayres

Full Cast

A BBC Radio 4 Drama Collection

Five full-cast BBC Radio thrillers from renowned crime writer R.D. Wingfield 
 
Author and dramatist R.D. Wingfield was best known for creating one of Britain's most beloved fictional policemen, Inspector Jack Frost, who featured in 10 bestselling books and a hit ITV series starring David Jason. This collection includes the radio precursor to the novels and TV show, A Touch of Frost, plus four more gripping dramas. 
 
A Touch of Frost - DI Frost is tough, rough and rude. He does things his way - and gets results. But when Denton CID is faced with a spate of major crimes, including rape, robbery, a missing girl and a hit-and-run incident, he finds himself under pressure... Derek Martin stars as Jack Frost. 
 
Det Con Webster - Haydn Wood 
Det Chief Insp Cull - Stephen Thorne 
Supt Mullett - Alan Dudley 
Sergeant Wells - Ellis Dale 
PC Fletcher - Stanley Page 
WPC Susan Dean - Jill Lidstone 
Det Sgt Ingram - Gordon Reid 
PC Smith - Andrew Byatt 
Paula Grey - Alex Marshall 
Kitty Reynolds - June Brown 
Freddie Bicknall - Richard Gold-Parry 
Directed by Peter King 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 February 1982 
 
Outbreak of Fear - When Sergeant Fowler investigates a brutal death in the sleepy West Country fishing village of Polford, he soon discovers he has a serial killer on his hands. Leslie Sands, Nick Orchard and Nicholas Courtney star in this suspenseful drama. 
 
 Sergeant Fowler .... Leslie Sands 
 PC Beaumont .... Nick Orchard 
 Dave Clark .... Cornelius Garrett 
 The Doctor .... Paul Nicholson 
 Pete Carter .... Derek Graham 
 Mitchell .... Conrad Phillips 
 Rose .... Gillie Graham 
 Fred Dickey .... Fred Bryant 
 Albert .... Douglas Leach 
 Kim .... Deborah Paige 
 Mrs Trevor .... Patricia Gibson 
 Joe Hardy.... John Gabriel 
 Radio DJ..... Jim Reid 
 Vicar .....Ronald Russell 
Miss Reed... Ann Morrish 
 Chadwick .... Nicholas Courtney 
 Eric Farrow... Malcolm Young 
 Mrs Farrow.... Rosemary Sigel 
 Operator .... Brian Gear 
 Jackson... Roger Leach 
 Director: Brian Miller 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 August-26 September 1982 
 
 Deadfall - Retired special agent and demolitions expert Harry Davis was once part of a disastrous attempt to assassinate an African leader. Now, years later, his past catches up with him when he is called back to try again. 
 
 Harry Davis - Bob Peck 
Jenny Brown - Julie Berry 
 Tom Crossland - Aubrey Woods 
 Colonel Travers - Peter Howell 
 Reynolds - Tim Reynolds 
 Joe - Alan Dudley 
 Det Sgt Redway - Stephen Thorne 
Police and Secret Agents- Michael Tudor Barnes 
Agent - Paul Gregory 
 Directed by Ian Cotterell 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 December 1987 
 
 Daylight Robbery - 'Elderly lady living alone in remote house, willing to take in paying guests.' Miss Pickering's newspaper advert seems innocuous, but she has an ulterior motive - as do the four gentlemen who reply. 
 
Miss Pickering -Monica Grey 
 Colonel Fryatt - Norman Shelley 
 Dr Brown - Jonathan Scott 
 Harris - Peter Woodthorpe 
 Wakeson - Howard Goorney 
 Bank Manager - Lewis Stringer 
 Woman in Telephone Kiosk - Daisy Bell 
 Jones - Brian Gear 
 Woman in Crowd - Elizabeth Havelock 
 Constable - Douglas Leach 
 Car Driver - David Ponting 
 Other parts played by the cast. 
 Directed at BBC Bristol by John Cardy 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 June 1977 
 
 The Cellar 
 In mourning for their little boy, the Bakers move into a secluded cottage - only to find that horror lurks below stairs... John Pullen and Rosalind Ayres star in this spine-tingling supernatural tale. 
 
Paul Baker - John Pullen 
Susan Baker - Rosalind Ayres 
Mr Crawford - Leonard Fenton 
Bill - Fred Bryant 
Alf - Gordon Dulieu 
Little Boy - Elizabeth Lindsay 
Directed by Gerry Jones 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 April 1979 
 
 ©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

R D Wingfield

Books by R D Wingfield

Series by R D Wingfield

DI Jack Frost

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter