Six BBC Radio 4 full-cast crime dramas

The Chief Inspector Dover Mysteries

Six entertaining thrillers featuring slovenly sleuth Chief Inspector Dover, Scotland Yard's most unwanted man 
 
Cantankerous and dishevelled, Chief Inspector Dover is no-one's idea of a model detective - but he does have an uncanny knack for solving crimes. In these radio dramas, set in the 1960s and '70s, he and his long-suffering Sergeant, Charlie McGregor, investigate sinister cases of kidnap and murder. The first four are adapted from Joyce Porter's novels, while the latter two are original stories based on her characters. 
 
Dover Goes to Pott - The irascible Chief Inspector travels to the Yorkshire town of Pott Winckle to look into the murder of leading businessman Daniel Wibbley's daughter. 
 
Dover and the Claret Tappers - When Dover is kidnapped, only to be released 36 hours later, he finds himself leading the hunt for a criminal gang. Can he catch them before they strike again? 
 
Dover Beats the Band - A body is found at Didcaster dump, naked, burned and strangled. Dover follows the trail to Rankin's Holiday Ranch and an eccentric group of stamp collectors - but was the dead man really an innocent philatelist? 
 
Dover and the Unkindest Cut of All - Dover's annual seaside break becomes a busman's holiday after his wife witnesses a policeman throwing himself off a cliff. Was it suicide, and is it linked to the recent murder of a local gangster? 
 
Dover and the Sleeping Beauty - Isabel Slatcher has been in an irreversible coma for eight months after being shot outside her local church. Now she has been smothered to death. Are the shooter and the killer the same person, and if so, why did they wait till now to complete their evil deed? 
 
Dover and the Smoking Gun - McGregor takes compassionate leave to return to Glasgow for an old flame's funeral. But was Fiona Gordon's death accidental, or foul play? Dover heads north to find out... 
 
Kenneth Cranham stars as Chief Inspector Dover and Stuart McQuarrie as Sergeant McGregor, with casts including Carolyn Pickles, Crawford Logan, Shaun Prendergast and Frances Grey. 
 
 
Produced and directed by David Ian Neville 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Paul Mendelson

Rebecca Lacey

Paul Venables

Soumaya Keynes

Jessie Sullivan

Rebecca Front

Marlene Sidaway

Richard Firth

Jonathan Tafler

Full Cast

A BBC Radio 4 comedy drama

All three series of the BBC sitcom about a couple who've split up, but can't quite call it quits 
 
 
When two people have history, how can they ever be history? That's the question facing Molly and Doug, who are separating after 16 years of marriage. He's moving out (albeit a mere three streets away), and she's moving on (just as soon as she can get her wedding ring off) - only somehow, they can't seem to stay away from one another. 
 
Breaking up would be so much easier if it wasn't for the woes of their two teenage children, Doug's elderly mum's interference, and the sneaking suspicion that perhaps they shouldn't be divorcing at all.... Will the couple get closure and accept that their relationship is over, or can they find a way to rebuild their lives together? 
 
Written by acclaimed scriptwriter Paul Mendelson (May to December, My Hero), this sparkling romantic comedy stars Rebecca Lacey as Molly and Paul Venables as Doug, with a full cast including Rebecca Front, Samantha Spiro and Robin Weaver. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Paul Mendelson 
Produced by David Ian Neville 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 July-13 August 2003 (Series 1), 14 July-18 August 2004 (Series 2), 27 July-31 August 2005 (Series 3) 
 
Cast 
Molly - Rebecca Lacey 
Doug/Shopkeeper - Paul Venables 
Kaz/Michelle/Emma - Soumaya Keynes 
Ryan - Jessie Sullivan 
Dawn - Rebecca Front/Samantha Spiro/Robin Weaver 
Scarlet/Mrs Johnston - Rebecca Front 
Mrs Lonsdale/Annie/Mrs Dawlish/Lydia/Mrs Niarchos/Waitress/Mrs Luigi/Old lady - Marlene Sidaway 
Ansel/Steve/Stallholder/Surgeon - Richard Firth 
Raymond/Mr Silverton/TV announcer/Ernie/Alistair - Jonathan Tafler 
Gwynneth - Jennifer Hill 
Susan - Samantha Spiro 
Eirwen/Waitress - Robin Weaver 
 
'Bittersweet and very funny' The Times 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Paul Mendelson

Books by Paul Mendelson

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