The Complete Series 1-4

Like They've Never Been Gone

A comedy series from BBC Audio about a pair of singing sweethearts who attempt a comeback, starring June Whitfield and Roy Hudd

June Whitfield (Reader) June Whitfield is one of Britain's most respected actresses. She now lives in London. And June Whitfield is her long awaited autobiography.

June Whitfield and Roy Hudd star as singing sweethearts who attempt a comeback in this hilarious BBC Radio 4 sitcom 
 Tommy Franklin and Sheila Parr, winners of the 1962 Eurovision Song Contest, find themselves unexpectedly thrust back into the limelight. The trouble is, they can no longer stand the sight of one another. 
 As fame beckons for a second time, they must put aside their differences to deal with publicity problems, a threat from Tommy’s dodgy past and their sneaky agent’s scheme to sell off their back catalogue. Plus, they hit stormy waters performing on a cruise ship, test their memories by writing their memoirs, set out to launch a train company and try to sort out their son Murray’s career and love life. Will the showbiz couple make it big once more, and finally achieve the recognition they deserve? 
Mike Coleman’s popular radio comedy ran for four series between 1998 and 2002, and starred comic legends June Whitfield and Roy Hudd as Tommy and Sheila, with beloved comedy actress Pat Coombs as their much put-upon housekeeper Hetty. Among the guest stars were Ned Sherrin, Les Dennis and Emma Kennedy.

Mark Burton

John O’Farrell

Mike Coleman

Full Cast

Alistair McGowan

Michael Troughton

Jo Kendall

Andrew Sachs

Nick Hancock

A BBC Radio 4 political comedy satire

All five series of the political satirical soap opera set in the strangely familiar village of Little Blighty- plus Christmas Specials 
 
'A comic microcosm of a country not a million miles away' Radio Times 
 
Little Blighty is an idyllic part of the world, with a church, a market, a small school and a pub, The Cock and Bull. Village life is pretty uneventful, though the humdrum happenings include social turmoil, economic upheaval and vicious political squabbles - all presided over by the redoubtable head of the Parish Council and Secretary of the Rotarians, Mrs Roberts. 
 
This formidable lady has been running things for nine years: despite the best efforts of the leader of the opposition, Working Men's Club chairman Mr Blandish. He's desperate for his members to present a united front against Mrs Roberts, but unfortunately they're too busy fighting amongst themselves. 
 
The doctor's surgery is overcrowded, the river's polluted, the school is fiddling the exam results and the local market's under threat from cheap imports, but nothing seems to dent Mrs Roberts' popularity - until she introduces a conveyance charge across the village bridge. Could the 'Toll Tax' finally be her downfall? 
 
Also included are three festive Specials, The Blighty Chronicles, It's A Wonderful Blight and Dead of Blight, in which the village's rich history is staged; a guardian angel visits Little Blighty; and we attend Lord and Lady Spenney's Christmas party, where we hear some bloodcurdling supernatural tales... 
 
Scripted by Spitting Image writers John O'Farrell, Mark Burton and Mike Coleman, and first broadcast in 1988, this 'everyday story of a country folk' is a pitch-perfect parody of the British political landscape in the late '80s and early '90s - and remains surprisingly topical today. It is performed by a star cast including Jo Kendall, Andrew Sachs, Nick Hancock, Michael Troughton and Alistair McGowan. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Mark Burton, John O'Farrell and Mike Coleman 
Produced by David Tyler and Lissa Evans 
Performed by Jo Kendall, John Bluthal, Andrew Sachs, Nick Hancock, Bernadine Corrigan, Daniel Strauss, Michael Troughton, John Baddeley, Jonathan Kydd and Alistair McGowan 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 2-16 September 1988 (Series 1), 21 July-18 August 1989 (Series 2), 29 December 1989 (The Blighty Chronicles), 6 July-3 August 1990 (Series 3), 5 July-2 August 1991 (Series 4), 26 December 1991 (It's A Wonderful Blight), 10 July-7 August 1992 (Series 5), 31 December 1992 (Dead of Blight) 
 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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