A Vintage BBC Comedy Thriller

The House of Unspeakable Secrets

BlurbLeslie Phillips stars in this eight-part radio comedy thrillerFamous Mayfair hairdresser Hilaire knows all the secrets of feminine beauty. His VIP clients trust him implicitly and take him into their confidence, telling him things they wouldn’t dare tell their husbands or lovers. But unbeknownst to them, he leads a double life as a secret agent, working for London’s top man, Major Selby.Sent to Hamburg on a mysterious mission to steal an important tape recording from an opera singer’s dressing room, Hilaire soon finds himself in a dangerous predicament. In the course of one eventful evening, he is arrested, confronted by a knife-wielding maniac and beguiled by an attractive blonde. And when the lovely Caresse ends up half-strangled in his sleeping compartment on the Nord Express, he realises his straightforward assignment has just turned deadly.Who is the would-be killer on the train, and how is he connected to the mysterious ‘Josef’? What is the significance of the red carnation? And what part does Selby’s arch-rival, Lord Dulane, have to play in the affair? Hilaire must comb through the clues and tease out the truth – or it will be a case of hair today, gone tomorrow…Written by Ernest Dudley, the creator of the popular radio crime series A Case for Dr Morelle, this fast-paced tale of murder, blackmail and wigs stars Leslie Phillips as Hilaire, with Irene Sutcliffe as Caresse and Simon Lack as Selby.Cast and creditsWritten by Ernest DudleyProduced by Guy VaesenHilaire – Leslie PhillipsErich/Francois-Jules/Airport officer/Policeman/Newsreader/Detective Sergeant – Ian ThompsonSecond detektiv/First night porter/Hotel receptionist – David BrierleySelby – Simon LackWeber/Waiter/Stranger – Leroy LingwoodStage doorman/Taxi driver/Sleeping-car atttendant/Airport announcer/Judo instructor/Dining-car attendant/Second night porter – Michael HarbourBrigit – Hilda SchroderFirst detektiv/Barman – John WyseCaresse – Irene SutcliffeNicolette – Ann MurrayAgent – James BeattieLady Dulane – Carol MarshLord Dulane – Henderson TateFirst detective – Nigel GrahamSecond detective – Malcolm YoungHall porter – Graham ArmitageDriver – Ronald HerdmanZoe Bellamy – Barbara MitchellHotel detective – Denis McCarthyDrunk – Ralph TrumanDetective Inspector – Geoffrey WincottFirst broadcast BBC Radio 2, 27 Nov – 21 Dec 1967© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution

Leslie Phillips stars in this eight-part radio comedy thrillerFamous Mayfair hairdresser Hilaire knows all the secrets of feminine beauty. His VIP clients trust him implicitly and take him into their confidence, telling him things they wouldn’t dare tell their husbands or lovers. But unbeknownst to them, he leads a double life as a secret agent, working for London’s top man, Major Selby.Sent to Hamburg on a mysterious mission to steal an important tape recording from an opera singer’s dressing room, Hilaire soon finds himself in a dangerous predicament. In the course of one eventful evening, he is arrested, confronted by a knife-wielding maniac and beguiled by an attractive blonde. And when the lovely Caresse ends up half-strangled in his sleeping compartment on the Nord Express, he realises his straightforward assignment has just turned deadly.Who is the would-be killer on the train, and how is he connected to the mysterious ‘Josef’? What is the significance of the red carnation? And what part does Selby’s arch-rival, Lord Dulane, have to play in the affair? Hilaire must comb through the clues and tease out the truth – or it will be a case of hair today, gone tomorrow…Written by Ernest Dudley, the creator of the popular radio crime series A Case for Dr Morelle, this fast-paced tale of murder, blackmail and wigs stars Leslie Phillips as Hilaire, with Irene Sutcliffe as Caresse and Simon Lack as Selby.Cast and creditsWritten by Ernest DudleyProduced by Guy VaesenHilaire – Leslie PhillipsErich/Francois-Jules/Airport officer/Policeman/Newsreader/Detective Sergeant – Ian ThompsonSecond detektiv/First night porter/Hotel receptionist – David BrierleySelby – Simon LackWeber/Waiter/Stranger – Leroy LingwoodStage doorman/Taxi driver/Sleeping-car atttendant/Airport announcer/Judo instructor/Dining-car attendant/Second night porter – Michael HarbourBrigit – Hilda SchroderFirst detektiv/Barman – John WyseCaresse – Irene SutcliffeNicolette – Ann MurrayAgent – James BeattieLady Dulane – Carol MarshLord Dulane – Henderson TateFirst detective – Nigel GrahamSecond detective – Malcolm YoungHall porter – Graham ArmitageDriver – Ronald HerdmanZoe Bellamy – Barbara MitchellHotel detective – Denis McCarthyDrunk – Ralph TrumanDetective Inspector – Geoffrey WincottFirst broadcast BBC Radio 2, 27 Nov – 21 Dec 1967© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution

Ernest Dudley

Full Cast

Cecil Parker

Sheila Simms

Thirteen full-cast vintage crime dramas

Thirteen classic crime dramas featuring Dr Morelle - 'the man you love to hate!' 
 
Psychiatrist-detective Dr Morelle is arrogant, sarcastic and rude - but when it comes to catching criminals, he is unparalleled. Using deduction, psychological profiling and his keen, analytical mind, he solves cases ranging from blackmail to murder, aided by his devoted and long-suffering secretary Miss Frayle. 
 
Over the course of this series, he investigates the unexplained death of a wealthy French baroness, receives a visit from a man tormented by nightmares, probes the authenticity of a fabled gem and helps a young man in distress - and an old man in danger. Whether it's a terror campaign against a bride-to-be, death threats made to a temperamental film star, or a case of deadly experiments and thwarted love, no mystery is too baffling and no villain too cunning for the Harley Street sleuth. 
 
First broadcast on the BBC Light Programme in 1957, these 13 detective dramas are collected together here for the first time. British film veteran Cecil Parker stars as Dr Morelle, with Sheila Sim as Miss Frayle. 
 
Also included is a bonus documentary programme, The Radio Detectives: A Case for Dr Morelle, in which Professor Jeffrey Richards delves into the casebook of the cantankerous criminal psychologist. 
 
These episodes have been restored from the original 1957 recordings. Due to the vintage nature of these recordings, the sound quality varies. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Ernest Dudley 
Produced and directed by Leslie Bridgmont 
 
Starring Cecil Parker as Dr Morelle and Sheila Sim as Miss Frayle 
 
Alarm Call 
Hotel waiter - Sydney Tafler 
Mam'selle Rolin - Tonia Bern 
Anthony Winter - Hugh Manning 
Hotel receptionist - Molly Rankin 
Miss Shawcroft - Kathleen Helm 
Audio recovered by BBC Radio 4 Extra listener, Steve Arnold 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 23 April 1957 
 
Confession of Guilt 
Inspector Hood - Philip Ray 
Paula Webb - Mary Law 
Other parts played by Maurice Sweden, Norman Wynne, Hugh Manning, Betty Linton and Alan McClelland 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 30 April 1957 
 
Threat to Kill 
Rosalind Knight - Helen Desmond 
Miss Curtis - Cecile Chevreau 
Ronnie Cavanagh - John Horsley 
Maid - Annette Kelly 
Mr Ashton - Norman Wynne 
Hal Digby - John Sharplin 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 7 May 1957 
 
The Sleepwalker 
Helen Keen - Moira Lister 
Richard Wilson - Hugh Burden 
Inspector Hood - Philip Ray 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 14 May 1957 
 
The Blackmailer 
Inspector Hood - Philip Ray 
Sir Clifford Forbes - Douglas Young 
Lady Forbes - Madeleine Christie 
Cynthia Forbes - Ruth Trouncer 
Hotel waiter - Haydn Jones 
Hotel manager - Humphrey Morton 
Lily the maid - Beryl Calder 
Matron - Molly Rankin 
Harry Fox - Ian Sadler 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 21 May 1957 
 
Voice in the Night 
Miss Nicholson - Hester Paton Brown 
Billy Boy the dog - Percy Edwards 
Mr Nicholson - Alan McClelland 
Superintendent Denham - Fred Yule 
Station officer - Alan Keith 
Julian Smith/Taxi driver - John Baker 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 28 May 1957 
 
The Will 
David Beaumont - David Spenser 
Henrietta Vickers - Nan Kenway 
Herbert Vickers - Douglas Young 
Darryl - Will Leighton 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 4 June 1957 
 
Act of Violence 
Major Penfold - Ralph Truman 
Robert Benson - Trevor Martin 
Professor Stenberg - Martin Miller 
Girl - Louise Gainsborough 
Clerk of the Court - Will Leighton 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 11 June 1957 
 
The Black Ruby 
Guy Hampton - Norman Woodland 
Sonia Hampton - Virginia Winter 
Helen Reynolds - Louise Gainsborough 
Bill Reynolds - Richard Bebb 
Aubrey Green - Desmond Carrington 
Airline captain/various - John Baker 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 18 June 1957 
 
The Wedding Dress 
Audrey Templeton - Sulwen Morgan 
Evelyn Lambert - Mary Law 
Edna Lambert - Olwen Brookes 
Mrs Vezey - Peggy Thorpe-Bates 
Commercial Traveller/Ames - Trevor Martin 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 25 June 1957 
 
The Gambler 
Mrs Ludlow - Harriet Johns 
Mr Ellis - Desmond Carrington 
Felix Grey - Jimmy Lavall 
Simmons - Arthur Young 
Man - Simon Lack 
Girl - Beryl Calder 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 2 July 1957 
 
The Poisoned Air 
Kurt Emmanuel - David Hurst 
Bella Goodwyn - Maureen Riscoe 
Mrs Atkins - Elsa Palmer 
Hugo Russell - John Horsley 
Sgt Hammond - Haydn Jones 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 9 July 1957 
 
Mr X 
Paula Maitland - Lana Morris 
Nurse - Maureen Riscoe 
Mr X - David Spenser 
Mr Maitland - Simon Lack 
Matron - Joan Sanderson 
Inspector Hood - Fred Yule 
First broadcast BBC Light Programme, 16 July 1957 
 
A Case for Dr Morelle 
Written and presented by Jeffrey Richards 
Produced by Helen Williams 
Contributors: Ernest Dudley, Brian Doyle 
Reader: Owen Oakshott 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 8 June 1999 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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