A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation plus two short stories

Inspector Morse: Last Bus to Woodstock

The very first Inspector Morse novel adapted for radio, plus two bonus short stories 
 
A must-listen for fans of Colin Dexter’s famous detective, this never-before-published 1985 dramatisation marks Inspector Morse’s first ever appearance on radio – preceding the hit TV series by a full two years. It is accompanied by two captivating short stories, one featuring Morse and the other a standalone thriller. 
 
Last Bus to Woodstock – Tired of waiting at the bus stop, two girls decide to hitch a lift. But one of them, Sylvia Kaye, will never make it back home, for later that night she is found brutally murdered in a pub car park. With no obvious leads, it will take all of Inspector Morse's deductive skills to track down the killer… Starring Andrew Burt as Inspector Morse and Christopher Douglas as Sergeant Lewis. 
 
‘The Burglar’ – When the old lady across the street observes a suspicious stranger peering into her neighbour’s living room, Morse and Lewis find themselves faced with a new puzzle. John Turner reads this short tale, specially written for the 1995 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. 
 
‘Monty’s Revolver’ – Hearing that Field Marshal Montgomery’s service revolver has come up for auction, one gun collector knows its reserve price is more than he can afford. But little does he imagine that he will soon end up looking down its barrel... Read by Joe Dunlop. 
 
NB: Last Bus to Woodstock was written in 1975 and reflects the attitudes of the time. 
 
Text copyright © Colin Dexter 1975 (Last Bus to Woodstock), 1993 (‘Monty’s Revolver’), 1995 (‘The Burglar’) 
 
Last Bus to Woodstock 
Insp Morse – Andrew Burt 
Sgt Lewis – Christopher Douglas 
John Sanders – John Hartoch 
Sylvia – Deborah Appleby 
Mrs Jarman/Matron – Patricia Gibson 
Jennifer – Deborah Cranston 
Sue/Sarah – Jane Bickerton 
Bernard – Alan Thompson 
Palmer/Peter – Graham Blockey 
Margaret – Maggie Tarver 
Dramatised by Melville Jones 
Directed by Brian Miller 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 June 1985 
 
‘The Burglar’ 
Read by John Turner 
Produced by Ned Chaillet 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 September 1995 
 
‘Monty’s Revolver’ 
Read by Joe Dunlop 
Produced by Sarah Kilgariff 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 September 1993 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The very first Inspector Morse novel adapted for radio, plus two bonus short stories 
 
A must-listen for fans of Colin Dexter’s famous detective, this never-before-published 1985 dramatisation marks Inspector Morse’s first ever appearance on radio – preceding the hit TV series by a full two years. It is accompanied by two captivating short stories, one featuring Morse and the other a standalone thriller. 
 
Last Bus to Woodstock – Tired of waiting at the bus stop, two girls decide to hitch a lift. But one of them, Sylvia Kaye, will never make it back home, for later that night she is found brutally murdered in a pub car park. With no obvious leads, it will take all of Inspector Morse's deductive skills to track down the killer… Starring Andrew Burt as Inspector Morse and Christopher Douglas as Sergeant Lewis. 
 
‘The Burglar’ – When the old lady across the street observes a suspicious stranger peering into her neighbour’s living room, Morse and Lewis find themselves faced with a new puzzle. John Turner reads this short tale, specially written for the 1995 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. 
 
‘Monty’s Revolver’ – Hearing that Field Marshal Montgomery’s service revolver has come up for auction, one gun collector knows its reserve price is more than he can afford. But little does he imagine that he will soon end up looking down its barrel... Read by Joe Dunlop. 
 
NB: Last Bus to Woodstock was written in 1975 and reflects the attitudes of the time. 
 
Text copyright © Colin Dexter 1975 (Last Bus to Woodstock), 1993 (‘Monty’s Revolver’), 1995 (‘The Burglar’) 
 
Last Bus to Woodstock 
Insp Morse – Andrew Burt 
Sgt Lewis – Christopher Douglas 
John Sanders – John Hartoch 
Sylvia – Deborah Appleby 
Mrs Jarman/Matron – Patricia Gibson 
Jennifer – Deborah Cranston 
Sue/Sarah – Jane Bickerton 
Bernard – Alan Thompson 
Palmer/Peter – Graham Blockey 
Margaret – Maggie Tarver 
Dramatised by Melville Jones 
Directed by Brian Miller 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 June 1985 
 
‘The Burglar’ 
Read by John Turner 
Produced by Ned Chaillet 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 September 1995 
 
‘Monty’s Revolver’ 
Read by Joe Dunlop 
Produced by Sarah Kilgariff 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6 September 1993 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Colin Dexter

Robert Glenister

John Shrapnel

Full Cast

Three classic full-cast dramatisations

Three BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations starring John Shrapnel as Morse and Robert Glenister as Lewis, plus a bonus reading by Colin Dexter of one of his short stories. 
 
In Last Seen Wearing, Inspector Morse is reluctant to take over an old missing person case from a dead colleague. But two years, three months and two days after teenager Valerie Taylor’s disappearance, somebody decides to supply some surprising new evidence. . . 
 
In The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn Inspector Morse tackles the murder of an exam invigilator. The newly appointed member of the Oxford foreign exam syndicate was deaf, and he wasn’t from the insular world of the Oxford colleges. Now he is dead. 
 
After he’s rushed into hospital, Inspector Morse becomes intrigued by an old crime in The Wench is Dead. Could the wrong men have been hanged for the murder of Joanna Franks? 
 
Plus Colin Dexter reads his own short story, The Double Crossing, in which it is a good first day for a certain detective named Lewis. 
 
Gripping, suspenseful and entertaining, these BBC dramatisations were adapted by Guy Meredith from the original Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter.

Colin Dexter

Books by Colin Dexter

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