Steve Chambers

Phil Nodding

Lorraine Ashbourne

Rosie Cavaliero

Rhys Jennings

Sheila Reid

Full Cast

Adjoa Andoh

Angela Lonsdale

Adam Nagaitis

Priyanga Burford

A BBC Radio 4 comedy

All six series of the BBC radio comedy centred around a village hairdressing salon - plus pilot episode 
 
Based in the little town of Bridgeford, High-Lites salon boasts the most misanthropic hairdresser in Britain: sharp-tongued, mean-minded Bev. With the help of her soft-hearted (though slightly dim) assistant Shirley, she tends to the tresses of a motley crew of local characters. As she cuts their hair, she finds out everything that's going on in their lives - and wastes no time in spreading some gossip of her own... 
 
In the pilot episode, one of her little lies takes on a life of its own - and a dodgy dryer nearly spells disaster. Series 1 finds the salon on the brink of bankruptcy, forcing Bev to take desperate measures to keep it afloat. In HighLites: Retouched, the two stylists go mobile when their premises are shut down by Environmental Health, and in HighLites: Split Ends, Bev tries to undercut her rival, Anton, to secure a lucrative wedding hair gig. 
 
HighLites: Wash and Blow finds the hairdressing duo heading out on a cruise, hoping to drum up a little business below deck. But it's not all plain sailing... In HighLites: Dye Another Day, Bev and Shirl are faced with a huge tax bill, and connive to inherit from a wealthy old man's will. And in HighLites: Natural Bounce, the world's worst hairdressers discover that there's money to be made in fitness, and decide to open a gym above the salon - but is this an expansion too far? 
 
Co-written by Steve Chambers and Phil Nodding, this fast-paced, farcical comedy stars Lorraine Ashbourne as Bev and Rosie Cavaliero as Shirley, with a supporting cast including Marlene Sidaway, Sheila Reid, Angela Lonsdale, Adjoa Andoh, Adam Nagaitis and Joel MacCormack. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Steve Chambers and Phil Nodding 
Produced by Jessica Dromgoole 
Directed by Colin Guthrie and Liz Webb 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 December 2009 (Pilot), 13-17 February 2012 (HighLites), 8-12 October 2012 (HighLites: Retouched), 2-6 December 2013 (HighLites: Split Ends), 5-9 May 2014 (HighLites: Wash and Blow), 8-12 June 2015 (HighLites: Dye Another Day), 25-29 July 2016 (HighLites: Natural Bounce) 
 
Cast 
Beverley - Lorraine Ashbourne 
Shirley - Rosie Cavaliero 
Matthew - Rhys Jennings/Owen Pullar 
Alice - Emerald O'Hanrahan/Marlene Sidaway 
Enid - Kate Layden/Nicola Sloane/Sheila Reid/Susan Jameson 
Nigel - John Biggins/Simon Bubb/John Norton/Chris Pavlo 
Lois - Joannah Tincey/Stephanie Racine 
Butt - Ewan Hooper/James Lailey/Robert Blythe/Sean Murray 
Paramedic - Joseph Cohen-Cole 
John - Carl Prekopp 
Henry - Gerard McDermott 
Melvin - Adam Billington 
Diane - Alex Rivers/Angela Lonsdale 
Wendy - Victoria Inez Hardy/Eleanor Crooks/Rhiannon Neads/Nicola Ferguson 
Harriet - Adjoa Andoh/Carolyn Pickles 
Hilary - Nicola Sloane 
Belinda - Stephanie Racine 
Satnav/Nurse/Tannoy - Sarah Thom 
Antony - Adam Nagaitis 
Gordon - Ben Crowe 
Lucinda - Liza Sadovy 
Ronnie - Michael Bertenshaw 
Liz - Christine Absalom 
Tess - Priyanga Burford 
Captain Andersen - Joel MacCormack 
Julie - Carys Eleri 
Doug - Stephen Critchlow 
Annabeth - Jane Slavin 
Daz/Tony - Sam Rix 
Beryl - Melanie Kilburn 
With Adie Allen and Scarlett Brookes 
 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Phil Nodding

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