The complete BBC Radio 4 comedy crime drama

Inspector Steine

All four series of Lynne Truss's comedy thrillers set in 1950s Brighton - plus Christmas special 
 
'Delicious fun' Sunday Times 
 
Brighton, 1957: a sunny seaside resort with a sinister underbelly. This den of villainy is policed by the touchingly innocent Inspector Steine, who naively believes he wiped out all the hoodlums in the Middle Street Massacre six years earlier. Can long-suffering Sergeant Brunswick and keen Constable Twitten persuade him that a criminal mastermind is at large - and that the station's charlady, Mrs Groynes, might bear investigation? 
 
Inspector Steine - A headless corpse on the ghost train, a murdered theatre critic, a bank robbery and a beautiful fish-and-chip-shop owner spell trouble for the hapless Inspector. Meanwhile, a deranged criminal escapes from Broadmoor seeking revenge... 
 
The Casebook of Inspector Steine - A matinee at the Hippodrome gives Mrs Groynes an idea, a day out in a vintage car proves eventful, Brunswick organises a police open day and goes undercover in a girls' school, and Steine meets a shady aristocrat - and finds his life in danger. 
 
The Adventures of Inspector Steine - When his chance to shine is scuppered by Steine, Brunswick wants to kill him. But is he behind the attempts on Steine's life - or could it be the Unknown Villain, or old adversary Mrs Vine? Events are further complicated by a criminal convention and the reappearance of Brunswick's old flame, Doris... 
 
The Return of Inspector Steine - Second World War bomb disposal hero Captain Hoagland limps into the station, with an award for Sergeant Brunswick and a head in a box. The latter is a warning that Adelaide Vine is back - and sadistic criminal Terence Chambers is heading for Brighton too, hell bent on havoc. 
 
Christmas for Inspector Steine - It is December 1957, the year of the Queen's inaugural Christmas broadcast and Mrs Groynes' first seasonal celebrations with new husband Captain Hoagland. But only Twitten has the festive spirit... 
 
Michael Fenton Stevens stars as Inspector Steine, with John Ramm as Sergeant Brunswick, Matt Green as Constable Twitten and Jan Ravens and Samantha Spiro as Mrs Groynes. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Lynne Truss 
Produced and directed by Karen Rose and Marilyn Imrie 
Original music by Anthony May 
Sound design: David Thomas 
A Sweet Talk Production for BBC Radio 4 
 
Starring Michael Fenton Stevens as Inspector Steine, John Ramm as Sergeant Brunswick, Matt Green as Constable Twitten and Jan Ravens and Samantha Spiro as Mrs Groynes 
 
Cast 
Maisie - Carla Mendonça/Rachel Atkins 
Georgie/BBC announcer/Chaplain/Albert/Bobby/Cecil/Pierre/Diamond Tony - David Holt 
Boy - Cameron Cleaver 
Stanley/Bouncer - Michael Roberts 
Cook - Allan Corduner 
Johnnie - Jason Hughes 
Ruby - Carolyn Backhouse 
Ventriloquist Vince/Warder - Kim Wall 
Adelaide Vine/Gloria's mother - Janet Ellis 
Brian the Brain/Mystery guest/Terence Chambers - Ewan Bailey 
Rudi - Ethan Brook 
Doris - Rachel Atkins 
Roy - Will Keen 
Hinge - Nicholas Le Prevost 
Phyllis - Michelle Tate 
Female panellist - Sophie Dearlove 
Lord Melamine - Mark Heap 
Jupiter - Philip Jackson 
Unknown Villain - Adrian Bower 
Roy - Douglas Hodge 
Captain Hoagland - Robert Bathhurst 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 January-2 March 2007 (Inspector Steine), 4 April-9 May 2008 (The Casebook of Inspector Steine), 2 September-30 October 2009 (The Adventures of Inspector Steine), 17 October-21 November 2011 (The Return of Inspector Steine), 23 December 2013 (The Christmas of Inspector Steine) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The complete BBC Radio series 1-4

Life at Absolute Zero

26 short stories about the eccentric inhabitants of Meridian Cliffs, a small, wind-battered town on England's South Coast 
 
'Very few writers read their own work well on the radio, but Truss is an exception. Her voice and timing suit the material perfectly' The Lady 
 
Welcome to Meridian Cliffs. Located at exactly 0 degrees 0 minutes west, and 0 degrees 0 minutes east, it's where the Greenwich Meridian meets the Channel, and time stands poised at absolute zero. But due to ever-increasing coastal erosion, it's getting smaller every day... 
 
The residents of this curious town are easy to identify from their habit of shouting to be heard against the wind even when they're indoors. There's Sarah Birkett, granddaughter of the town's founder, who longs for a small improvement to her life; retired driving instructor Terry and his rescue dog Thelonius (the team mascot of Meridian Cliffs FC); carpet supremo Hugh Velvey, whose business and life are destroyed by arson and murder; and Ravi, whose curry house is the scene of a dramatic confession - and some unsettling news. 
 
All are harbouring secrets, desires and dreams, and over the course of four series, we hear about their thwarted ambitions, hidden passions and forlorn hopes - and eavesdrop on a few typically sticky British moments. Beautifully observed, gently comic and often moving, these sublime short stories are written and read by Lynne Truss. 
 
Production credits 
Written and read by Lynne Truss 
Directed by Kate McAll 
A Pier production for BBC Radio 4 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, May 2016-April 2019 
 
Series 1 
There's No Need to Shout 
Free Parking 
Gimme Shelter 
 
Series 2 
In Your Dreams 
Pavlovian 
The Shortest Way Home 
Houseroom 
The Limit 
Accept No Substitute 
Mrs Manville Disposes 
In Cold(ish) Blood 
Darren Springs Forward 
In the Dark 
 
Series 3 
Consequences 
You Never Said 
The West Wing 
Tristan da Cunha 
Waiting for JB 
Weemails 
Protective Colouring 
Speed Kills 
A Weight off His Mind 
The Day the Earth Moved Slightly 
 
Series 4 
Taking It In 
Celebration 
Braking Distance 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Lynne Truss

Alison Steadman

Samantha Bond

Tony Robinson

Julian Rhind-Tutt

Sandi Toksvig

James Fleet

Lee Mack

Pam Ferris

Hugh Dennis

Full Cast

A BBC Radio Comedy Collection

Three series of funny natural history tales from Lynne Truss, featuring a star cast of narrators 
 
Recorded in front of a live audience, these wry, funny tales introduce us to the varied creatures who make their homes on the shoreline, in garden ponds and in our attics. In 18 comic monologues, they reveal the truth about what life is really like in their respective habitats - and it's much more eventful than you might think... 
 
Tidal Tales from the Rock Pool features salty stories from a roving, joke-loving Periwinkle (Bill Wallis); a house-proud Hermit Crab (Geoffrey Palmer); a figure-conscious Sea Anemone (Alison Steadman); a tough talkin' Goby Fish (Sean Power); a poetic, love-struck Limpet (Samantha Bond) and a diligent Lugworm (Tony Robinson). 
 
In Gossip from the Garden Pond, we peek between the lily pads to meet a Tadpole who loves wiggling and doesn't want to grow up (Julian Rhind-Tutt); a beautiful, highly-sexed Dragonfly (Alison Steadman); a hotly pursued Water Boatman (Sandi Toksvig); a ferocious Great Diving Beetle (David Ryall); a timid, arachnophobic Garden Spider (Amanda Root) and a self-righteous Great Pond Snail (James Fleet). 
 
And in Rumblings from the Rafters, we venture into the draughty attic of a rambling old house in Amersham to hear from a subversive, head-banging Death Watch Beetle (Bill Paterson); a bossy, stressed Queen Wasp (Alison Steadman); a fast-thinking, acrobatic House Fly (Lee Mack); a big-hearted Soprano Pipistrelle Bat (Pam Ferris); an Edible Dormouse who's convinced he's a Russian spy (Hugh Dennis) and a Peacock Butterfly with a feisty past (Amanda Abbington). 
 
Written and introduced by Lynne Truss, with wildlife soundscapes by Chris Watson, these hugely entertaining, surprisingly informative anthropomorphic tales teem with drama and adventure - you'll never look at a rock pool, pond or roof space in the same way again... 
 
Written and introduced by Lynne Truss 
Produced by Sarah Blunt 
Sound design by Chris Watson 
 
Tidal Talk from the Rock Pool 
The Periwinkle and the Hermit Crab 
The Anemone and the Goby Fish 
The Limpet and the Lugworm 
 
Gossip from the Garden Pond 
The Tadpole and the Dragonfly 
The Water Boatman and Great Diving Beetle 
The Garden Spider and Great Pond Snail 
 
Rumblings from the Rafters 
Death Watch Beetle and Queen Wasp 
House Fly and Soprano Pipistrelle Bat 
Edible Dormouse and Peacock Butterfly 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 1-15 May 2012 (Tidal Talk from the Rock Pool), 7-21 Sept 2014 (Gossip from the Garden Pond), 26 June-10 July 2016 (Rumblings from the Rafters) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Lynne Truss

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