A BBC Radio 4 full-cast thriller

Curlew in Autumn

David Ashton stars in this six-part vintage crime drama 
 
A small town in Galloway, on the south-west coast of Scotland. A house strangely unchanged since 1941. A dead nurse. And a lawyer with one million pounds in his bank account - and no idea how it got there... 
 
Peter Calman is in trouble. His legal firm is on the brink of bankruptcy, his secretary's handed in her notice and his bank manager has cut off his credit. Just when he thinks things can't get any worse, his ex-girlfriend Jenny calls, worried about her friend Tim Leighton. She's received a note, supposedly sent by him from an exclusive private hospital - but Tim is a penniless hermit, and illiterate. 
 
Though the hospital denies all knowledge of Tim, Jenny's sure they're lying - and the mysterious caller on Peter's answerphone agrees. But before he can meet her, she's killed in a hit and run. Suspicion falls on Peter - and when a new German client arrives in town, offering him vast sums to buy a local cottage, the mutterings grow louder. And then Peter's office is ransacked... 
 
As the mystery deepens, Peter's investigations take him to moonlit Dungrennan Bay... 
 
Written by Edward Boyd (Castles in Spain, The Same River Twice, The Candle of Darkness), this tightly plotted thriller stars David Ashton, creator of the popular Victorian detective series McLevy, with a cast of veteran Scottish actors including Gregor Fisher (Rab C. Nesbitt). 
 
 
 
Written by Edward Boyd 
Directed by Patrick Rayner 
 
Cast 
Peter Calman - David Ashton 
Jenny - Stella Forge 
Magda - Vivienne Dixon 
Old Hansford - Ian Stewart 
Constable Archie Douglas/Elphinstone - Robert Paterson 
Jock Matheson - John Shedden 
Bank clerk/Hospital receptionist - Tamara Kennedy 
Piggy Anderson/Donald McLeod/Chief Constable - John Buick 
Nurse Nicolson - Anne Cullen 
Isaiah Dunsmore - Gregor Fisher 
Scholl - Brown Derby 
Mary - Doreen Cameron 
Dr Webber - Sandy Neilson 
Sandy Brill/Clerk - Finlay Welsh 
Walter Hansford - Ronald Aitken 
Supt. Bullivant - Arthur Boland 
Tim Leighton - Tom Criddle 
 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8 April-13 May 1984 
 
 
? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A classic BBC Radio full-cast thriller

The Candle of Darkness

Teddy Johnson stars in this atmospheric six-part radio thriller 
 
Korean War veteran and hip Londoner Steve Gardiner arrives in a small Scottish seaside resort, looking for his old friend Jimmy Morton. But he's picked the wrong time for a reunion. The sleepy town is being terrorised by a homicidal maniac dubbed 'the Kind Man', and panic stalks the streets. 
 
Stepping off the train after dark, Steve is almost lynched by a terrified crowd, and at the gloomy Morton house he finds Jimmy and his father Wilfred behaving strangely. Then, waking in the night, he hears a voice whispering verses in his ear... 
 
Jimmy's heard the voice too. He claims it belongs to a dead man: Francis Lennox. A local poet and his close friend, they were in the same prison camp in Korea - but only Jimmy made it home. But what really happened there, and could it be linked to the killings? 
 
Can the Kind Man be caught before he strikes again? 
 
First broadcast in 1954, this Chandleresque mystery was written by Edward Boyd, whose radio credits include Castles in Spain and The Same River Twice. Singer Teddy Johnsonstars as Steve Gardiner, with Jimmy Logan as Jimmy Morton. 
 
Produced by Eddie Fraser 
 
Cast 
Steve Gardiner - Teddy Johnson 
Mrs McGann - Helen Norman 
Stella - Isobel Gardner 
Albert - Paul Young 
Railway porter - Eric Wightman 
Miss Wylie - Marjorie Dalziel 
PC Mackenzie - John Young 
Police Sergeant/PC Robertson - Kalman Glass 
Detective Inspector Gordon - Moultrie R Kelsall 
Tramp/Romilly Foster - Douglas Murchie 
Delia Dewar - Effie Morrison 
Wilfred Morton - Leonard Maguire 
Jimmy Morton - Jimmy Logan 
Librarian - Leslie Blackater 
Lindy Marshall - Hannah Gordon 
Old lady - Jean Taylor-Smith 
Drunk - Phil McCall 
Bill Williams - Glenn Michael 
Diana Wheeler-Sproat - Eileen McCallum 
Mr Dunnsmuir - Michael Elder 
Louisa Matthews - Nancy Mitchell 
First broadcast BBC Home Service, 29 March-3 May 1954

Teddy Johnson stars in this atmospheric six-part radio thriller 
 
Korean War veteran and hip Londoner Steve Gardiner arrives in a small Scottish seaside resort, looking for his old friend Jimmy Morton. But he's picked the wrong time for a reunion. The sleepy town is being terrorised by a homicidal maniac dubbed 'the Kind Man', and panic stalks the streets. 
 
Stepping off the train after dark, Steve is almost lynched by a terrified crowd, and at the gloomy Morton house he finds Jimmy and his father Wilfred behaving strangely. Then, waking in the night, he hears a voice whispering verses in his ear... 
 
Jimmy's heard the voice too. He claims it belongs to a dead man: Francis Lennox. A local poet and his close friend, they were in the same prison camp in Korea - but only Jimmy made it home. But what really happened there, and could it be linked to the killings? 
 
Can the Kind Man be caught before he strikes again? 
 
First broadcast in 1954, this Chandleresque mystery was written by Edward Boyd, whose radio credits include Castles in Spain and The Same River Twice. Singer Teddy Johnson stars as Steve Gardiner, with Jimmy Logan as Jimmy Morton. 
 
Produced by Eddie Fraser 
 
Cast 
Steve Gardiner - Teddy Johnson 
Mrs McGann - Helen Norman 
Stella - Isobel Gardner 
Albert - Paul Young 
Railway porter - Eric Wightman 
Miss Wylie - Marjorie Dalziel 
PC Mackenzie - John Young 
Police Sergeant/PC Robertson - Kalman Glass 
Detective Inspector Gordon - Moultrie R Kelsall 
Tramp/Romilly Foster - Douglas Murchie 
Delia Dewar - Effie Morrison 
Wilfred Morton - Leonard Maguire 
Jimmy Morton - Jimmy Logan 
Librarian - Leslie Blackater 
Lindy Marshall - Hannah Gordon 
Old lady - Jean Taylor-Smith 
Drunk - Phil McCall 
Bill Williams - Glenn Michael 
Diana Wheeler-Sproat - Eileen McCallum 
Mr Dunnsmuir - Michael Elder 
Louisa Matthews - Nancy Mitchell 
First broadcast BBC Home Service, 29 March-3 May 1954

The Same River Twice

Gordon Jackson stars in this classic noir thriller, with the music of Miles Davis 
 
A man named Johnny Maxen reluctantly walks through the Gare du Nord on his way back to a life he thought he'd left behind. Summoned by a letter from his sometime mother-in-law, Helen Duncan, he returns to Glasgow and the news that his estranged wife has been missing for three months. 
 
As far as Johnny's concerned, his dealings with Julia ended five years ago. He's paid his dues and knows he should cut and run. But for Helen's sake, he agrees to find her - alive or dead. 
 
Asking around, he gets some strange reactions to his enquiries. And when his search turns up the body of a girl, who has committed suicide in Julia's flat, he faces his own deadly threat. Then the police start to take an interest in the case. It seems that wherever Johnny goes, violence follows - and as the corpses pile up, suspicion swirls around him. 
 
His attempts to clear his name lead him to a lochside cottage and a meeting with an old flame. Can Johnny find out the truth about Julia - and uncover the secret behind his daughter Sarah's death? 
 
Created by Edward Boyd, whose credits include Castles in Spain and Z-Cars, this suspenseful crime drama was first broadcast on the Light Programme in 1966 before being adapted as a novel and BBC TV series under the title The Dark Number. It stars Gordon Jackson as Johnny Maxen, with Roddy McMillan as Inspector Wardlaw. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Edward Boyd 
Produced by Eddie Fraser 
Musical score by Miles Davis

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast P.I. Detective series

Castles in Spain

A bookseller turns P. I. in this intriguing five-part BBC radio thriller

A bookseller turns P. I. in this intriguing five-part BBC radio thriller 
 
Grahame Mayer specialises in selling books, not solving mysteries. So when he’s asked to play private investigator and track down a soldier from the Spanish Civil War, he wonders if it’s some sort of test – and if so, what will happen if he fails... 
 
Armed with fresh information, he is sent to Glasgow on the trail of Jock Cameron, and a meeting with a former nurse who knew him back in Spain furnishes Grahame with further clues. But despite these new leads, the elusive Jock remains tantalisingly out of reach. 
 
Will a series of postcards, some holy pictures and an encounter with a pop star enable the reluctant sleuth to hunt Cameron down – or will it take a man’s death to release Mayer from his quest? 
 
Created by Edward Boyd, who wrote for a number of BBC TV shows including Z-Cars, this enthralling crime drama stars Ray Brooks, with a supporting cast including Garard Green, John Hannah and Alexandra Mathie. 
 
 
Written by Edward Boyd 
Produced at BBC Scotland by Patrick Rayner 
 
Cast 
 
Grahame Mayer……………………Ray Brooks 
Coleman……………………John Westbrook 
Teresa……………………Alexandra Mathie 
Forrest……………………Garard Green 
Hemingway……………………William Hope 
Cameron……………………John Hannah/Joseph Greig 
Rainsford……………………Jonathan Tafler 
Inspector McNeill……………………Carey Wilson 
Norah McGill……………………Sybil Wintrope 
Henderson……………………Joseph Brady 
Arnold……………………Ian Thompson 
Receptionist……………………Jennifer Piercey 
Man on plane/Millhouse……………………William Hope 
Miss McLauchlan……………………Yvonne Gilan 
Pat……………………Richard Jamieson 
Paula……………………Caroline Guthrie 
Waiter/Taxi driver……………………Gordon Reid 
Nuke……………………John McGlynn 
Apollyon……………………Billy McColl 
Dr Lovat……………………Roy Hanlon 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 October-20 November 1987

Edward Boyd

Teddy Johnson

Moultrie R Kelsall

Gordon Jackson

Roddy McMillan

David Ashton

Ray Brooks

Garard Green

Alexandra Mathie

Edward Judd

Tony Robinson

Full Cast

Six Classic BBC Full-Cast Thrillers

A collection of suspenseful standalone radio thrillers by Edward Boyd 
 
Scottish writer Edward Boyd was well known for his TV and radio plays, including The Corridor People and The View from Daniel Pike, and he also penned several episodes of Z-Cars. He specialised in the thriller genre, and this collection showcases six of his best radio crime dramas. 
 
The Wolf Far Hence – Steve Gardiner heads to the Highlands to try and locate his ex and her new fortune-hunting lover – only to find himself investigating a series of murders in a hotel beside a lonely Scottish loch. Teddy Johnson stars in this gripping serial, which won Edward Boyd a Writers’ Guild Award. 
 
The Candle of Darkness – Hardnosed investigator Steve Gardiner returns for another adventure, in which he goes looking for an old friend in a small Scottish seaside resort, but finds the town under threat from a serial killer dubbed ‘The Kind Man’. Starring Teddy Johnson as Steve, with Moultrie Kelsall as DI Gordon. 
 
The Same River Twice – Johnny Maxen reluctantly walks through the Gare du Nord on his way back to a life he thought he’d left behind. He’s looking for his missing wife – but is soon under suspicion for her murder… Gordon Jackson stars as Johnny Maxen, with Roddy McMillan as Inspector Wardlaw. 
 
Badger by Owl-Light – When a bomb explodes in the middle of London, Peter Talion is hired to uncover the secret cult responsible – and eliminate its leader. Starring Edward Judd as Peter Talion, with Tony Robinson as Simon. 
 
Curlew in Autumn – A small town in Galloway, Scotland. A cottage unchanged since 1941. A dead nurse. And a lawyer with one million pounds in his bank account, and no idea how it got there… These puzzling facts and events are explored in this atmospheric mystery, starring McLevy creator David Ashton. 
 
Castles in Spain – Grahame Mayer is a bookseller, not a private eye. Nonetheless, he's being asked to investigate a military mystery connected to the Spanish Civil War – a mystery that almost every major intelligence agency in Great Britain and America wants solved. Starring Ray Brooks and Garard Green. 
 
NB: These vintage recordings contain language and attitudes from the time in which they were first broadcast. Due to the age of the recordings, the sound quality may vary. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Edward Boyd 
Produced by Eddie Fraser (The Wolf Far Hence, The Candle of Darkness, The Same River Twice), Stewart Conn (Badger by Owl-Light) and Patrick Rayner (Curlew in Autumn, Castles in Spain) 
 
The Wolf Far Hence 
First broadcast BBC Home Service, 20 November-25 December 1953 
 
The Candle of Darkness 
First broadcast BBC Home Service, 29 March-3 May 1954 
 
The Same River Twice 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 2 October-20 November 1966 
 
Badger by Owl-Light 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 24 October 1975 
 
Curlew in Autumn 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8 April-13 May 1984 
 
Castles in Spain 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 October-20 November 1987 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) © 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Edward Boyd

Books by Edward Boyd

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