A BBC Radio comedy drama

Rent: The complete series 1-4

Lucy Flannery's award-winning house share sitcom.

Lucy Flannery is an award-winning dramatist and comedy writer whose radio credits include Like A Daughter and Rent (winner of the Writers’ Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy). She has also worked in TV and film, including contributing an episode of CBBC’s The Story of Tracy Beaker and writing the dialogue for the romantic comedy A Business Affair, which starred Christopher Walken.

All four series of the award-winning house-share comedy starring Barbara Flynn and Patrick Barlow 
 
Maria and Richard Reynolds are happily married, but broke. With debts piling up and their house falling down, there’s only one thing for it: they have to start taking in lodgers. Their new housemates are two equally cash-strapped students – Ruby, who’s conscientious and dedicated, and Paul, who finds academic pursuits more of a challenge. 
 
Over the course of 24 episodes, the foursome go from being complete strangers to close friends. Richard and Maria discover they’re not as young and groovy as they’d thought, Paul gets his heart set on Ruby, and Maria hears her biological clock ticking very loudly. The arrival of baby Piglet leads to havoc chez Reynolds, as the preparations for her naming ceremony reach a climax, and Paul and Ruby consider their future. And as both couples find themselves saddled with unwanted guests, can they send them packing and get their lives back? 
 
Written by Lucy Flannery, Rent won the Writers' Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy. It stars Barbara Flynn as Maria and Patrick Barlow as Richard, with Diane Louise-Jordan and Vivienne Rochester as Ruby and Toby Longworth and Dave Lamb as Paul. 
 
Cast 
Maria – Barbara Flynn 
Richard – Patrick Barlow 
Amy – Linda Polan 
Ruby – Diane Louise-Jordan (Series 1)/Vivienne Rochester (Series 2-4) 
Paul – Toby Longworth (Series 1 &amp; 2)/Dave Lamb (Series 3 &amp; 4) 
Ellen – Helen Atkinson Wood 
With Chris Emmett, Sally Grace, Sarah Parkinson, Joanna Brookes, Matthew Bell, Brian Bowles and Amanda Davies 
 
Produced by Liz Anstee 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 May-10 June 1993 (Series 1), 25 January-1 March 1995 (Series 2), 29 January-5 March 1997 (Series 3), 28 May-2 July 1998 (Series 4)

Lucy Flannery

Nelson David

Vivienne Rochester

June Whitfield

Howard Lew Lewis

Nick Hardy

Rosy Fordham

John Duttine

Jan Ravens

James Grout

Toby Longworth

Full Cast

A BBC Radio Sitcom

All six episodes of the small-town comedy about electoral shocks and local government capers 
 
When long-serving council leader Roland Whittaker loses his seat to a Monster Raving Loony Party candidate with the same surname and initials, he is both flabbergasted and furious. Young Robin Whittaker (who conducted his entire campaign dressed in a chicken outfit and a Viking helmet) isn&rsquo;t happy either &ndash; he only stood for election as a student prank. Everyone expects him to resign, but he&rsquo;s persuaded to stick it out, and it&rsquo;s not long before he&rsquo;s being proclaimed Mayor (and appointing a very unconventional Mayoress...) 
 
With Labour now controlling the council on a wafer-thin majority, the town of Chesbury is facing a hurricane of change &ndash; but the old Tory guard aren&rsquo;t giving up without a fight. And Robin may be full of bright ideas, but his naivety makes him ripe for manipulation. As he attempts to get his head around local government, save Chesbury FC, launch a new currency and deal with Trekkies and a German delegation, will he manage to push through his policies? Or will his schemes be scuppered by argy-bargy, blackmail and political shenanigans? 
 
Created by award-winning writer Lucy Flannery (Rent), this wry, well observed sitcom features an exciting ensemble cast including John Duttine, James Grout, Sally Grace, Jan Ravens and June Whitfield. 
 Please note some of the humour on this recording reflects the era in which it was first broadcast 
Production credits 
Written by Lucy Flannery 
Produced by Liz Anstee 
Starring Matthew Bell, Nelson David, John Duttine, Rosy Fordham, Sally Grace, James Grout, Nick Hardy, Jeffrey Holland, Howard Lew Lewis, Toby Longworth, Jan Ravens, Vivienne Rochester and June Whitfield 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 31 May-5 Jul 1995 
 &copy; 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Lucy Flannery

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