A BBC Radio 4 comedy

Dial M for Pizza

All 12 episodes of the fun-packed 1980s sketch show 
 
Ever since that first primordial fireball exploded in the void countless aeons ago, people have been doing comic sketches on the radio. And this is no exception. 
 
These two mouth-watering series feature a whole host of tasty takeaway skits and shenanigans, from 'The Man At Parties No-One Wants To Talk To' and 'Britain's Stupidest Postman' to sauna novices, the perfect Proms punter and Batman in his dotage. Other highlights include regular characters Mr Makesalotofmistakes, who can't seem to get anything right, and smug yuppies Richard and Dulcie ('Rich and Dull') Perrier. 
 
Plus, a new, no-nonsense controller turns Radio 3 on its head; Hamlet competes in the ITV gameshow The Prince is Right; and we peek inside the uncensored biography of England's greatest naval officer, Horatio Nelson. There're also some cinematic delights that you won't see at your local multiplex, including British nostalgia-fest A Handful of Audience; the first Eskimo science fiction film Sledge Runner, starring Harrison Fjord; and horror spoof Appointment With Mild Anxiety - not to mention the tour de force that is Dr Terror's House of Pizza... 
 
Performed by a stellar cast including Brenda Blethyn, Robert Bathurst, Mike Grady, Jonathan Kydd, Enn Reitel, Felicity Montagu, Jim Broadbent and Morwenna Banks, this piping hot comedy show is served with extra relish, added capers and a guest side salad of Jonathan Ross and Janine Duvitski. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Ian Brown and James Hendrie 
With additional material by Malcolm Williamson 
Starring Brenda Blethyn, Robert Bathurst, Mike Grady, Jonathan Kydd, Enn Reitel, Felicity Montagu, Jim Broadbent and Morwenna Banks 
With special guests Jonathan Ross and Janine Duvitski 
Produced by David Tyler and Paul Mayhew-Archer 
Title music by Guy Jackson 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 17 November-22 December 1987 (Series 1), 12 November-17 December 1988 (Series 2) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

13 full-cast curious tales

Tales from the Mausoleum Club

An all-star cast attend a mysterious private club in this hilarious parody of classic horror tales 
 
Membership of the exclusive Mausoleum Club isn't for the faint of heart. The Honorable Clarence Green wants in, but to join he must first hear the spine-chilling stories of the existing members, before enthralling them with one of his own. But are their stories fact or fiction? And will Green still want to join after hearing the horrors they have to tell? 
 
A brilliantly unexpected and macabre comedy series parodying classic Victorian stories in episodes such as 'A Study in Starlets', 'The Turn of the Knob' and 'The Pet and the Pendulum', Tales from the Mausoleum Club brings to life strange tales of mystery objects, spooky country mansions, West Country paganism and unholy animal projects. 
 
This creepy collection of thirteen episodes opens with the standalone pilot episode, 'The Demon Cakestand of Beastley Chase', starring Stephen Fry. The following two series - Tales from the Mausoleum Club and The Fall of the Mausoleum Club - feature more stunning casts including Terence Stamp, Timothy Spall, Andrew Sachs, Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Roy Hudd, Miranda Richardson, Martin Jarvis and Spike Milligan. It is a compilation of curses, hauntings, monsters and (hysterical) laughter. So... will you dare to join the Mausoleum Club? 
 
Written by Ian Brown and James Hendrie 
Music by Max Harris 
Produced by Paul Spencer 
 
Contents 
 
Pilot episode: The Demon Cakestand of Beastley Chase 
 
Tales from the Mausoleum Club: 
The Inaudible Man 
Heart of Skegness 
A Study in Starlets 
The Turn of the Knob 
Soldiers Three: India Nil 
Jess of the B'ournevilles 
 
The Fall of the Mausoleum Club: 
The Pet and the Pendulum 
The Charge of the Boys' Brigade 
Trevor Island 
The Prunestone 
The T Machine 
Bleak Horse 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
22 December 1984 (The Demon Cakestand of Beastley Chase) 
3 January - 7 February 1987 (Tales from the Mausoleum Club) 
7 September - 12 October 1988 (The Fall of the Mausoleum Club) 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

An all-star cast attend a mysterious private club in this hilarious parody of classic horror tales 
 
Membership of the exclusive Mausoleum Club isn't for the faint of heart. The Honorable Clarence Green wants in, but to join he must first hear the spine-chilling stories of the existing members, before enthralling them with one of his own. But are their stories fact or fiction? And will Green still want to join after hearing the horrors they have to tell? 
 
A brilliantly unexpected and macabre comedy series parodying classic Victorian stories in episodes such as 'A Study in Starlets', 'The Turn of the Knob' and 'The Pet and the Pendulum', Tales from the Mausoleum Club brings to life strange tales of mystery objects, spooky country mansions, West Country paganism and unholy animal projects. 
 
This creepy collection of thirteen episodes opens with the standalone pilot episode, 'The Demon Cakestand of Beastley Chase', starring Stephen Fry. The following two series - Tales from the Mausoleum Club and The Fall of the Mausoleum Club - feature more stunning casts including Terence Stamp, Timothy Spall, Andrew Sachs, Alison Steadman, Jim Broadbent, Roy Hudd, Miranda Richardson, Martin Jarvis and Spike Milligan. It is a compilation of curses, hauntings, monsters and (hysterical) laughter. So... will you dare to join the Mausoleum Club? 
 
Written by Ian Brown and James Hendrie 
Music by Max Harris 
Produced by Paul Spencer 
 
Contents 
 
Pilot episode: The Demon Cakestand of Beastley Chase 
 
Tales from the Mausoleum Club: 
The Inaudible Man 
Heart of Skegness 
A Study in Starlets 
The Turn of the Knob 
Soldiers Three: India Nil 
Jess of the B'ournevilles 
 
The Fall of the Mausoleum Club: 
The Pet and the Pendulum 
The Charge of the Boys' Brigade 
Trevor Island 
The Prunestone 
The T Machine 
Bleak Horse 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 
22 December 1984 (The Demon Cakestand of Beastley Chase) 
3 January - 7 February 1987 (Tales from the Mausoleum Club) 
7 September - 12 October 1988 (The Fall of the Mausoleum Club) 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

James Hendrie

Ian Brown

Alison Steadman

Philip Jackson

Tom Palmer

Shobna Gulati

Rasmus Hardiker

Mark Benton

James Northcote

A BBC Radio 4 comedy drama

Philip Jackson, Tom Palmer and Alison Steadman star in this BBC Radio sitcom set in the fictional Yorkshire seaside town of Flamford 
 
'Enjoyably bonkers' Irish Mail on Sunday 
 
Welcome to Flamford, the town sanity forgot... 
 
Edgy, sharp-tongued City burn-out Andy Chambers has been advised, for the sake of his health, to take a break from his stressful London lifestyle and get some rest. So he goes to stay with his estranged uncle, Jeff Whitaker, at his seaside home in Flamford - but, as he soon discovers, living with his relative is far from relaxing. 
 
Good-natured and relentlessly cheerful, Jeff is determined to bring the recalcitrant Andy out of himself, so he leads him on an odyssey round town to meet the (somewhat eccentric) locals - including Jeff's on-off paramour, Pest Control Officer Corinne; Fish Shop Frank, who serves up saithe with a smile; loud, lovelorn Town Crier Peter Humfriss; chiselling pensioner Mr Truepenny and vicar-with-a-past, The Reverend Beverley. 
 
As uncle and nephew embark on a series of comic, poignant adventures - from a quest for a proper roast dinner to a hunt for a poison-pen reviewer - can Jeff break down Andy's barriers, and persuade him to enjoy life, Flamford-style? 
 
Created by Ian Brown and James Hendrie (My Family, Dial M for Pizza), this warm-hearted, quirky sitcom stars Tom Palmer and James Northcote as Andy and Philip Jackson as Jeff, with a stellar supporting cast including Alison Steadman, Mark Benton, Shobna Gulati and Rasmus Hardiker. 
 
This comprehensive collection also includes nine in-depth interviews with the cast and crew, in which they chat to producer Gordon Kennedy about the making of The Break. These never-before-heard behind-the-scenes discussions are a must for fans of the series. 
 
Cast 
Andy Chambers - Tom Palmer/James Northcote 
Jeff - Philip Jackson 
Fish Shop Frank/Sid/PC Clark/Peter Humfriss/Michael/Brian/Brendan Liversedge/Johnny Hussey-Gore-Marshbanks - Mark Benton 
Pest Control Officer Corinne/Joyce/Morag/Mrs Metcalfe/Mrs Truepenny/Mrs Steggles/Dr Coulson/Meg - Alison Steadman 
Max/Leonard the Pirate/Derek Horrox the Mayor/Mr Truepenny/Alan/Frank 2/Glenn/Alfred/Phil Loynes/Sean/Psycho Pete/Dieter Schmidt - Rasmus Hardiker 
Julie/Mira/Rev Bev/Liz/Carenza/Station Tannoy/Kerry/Steph/Sally/Bryony/Pam/Francesca/Kate/Marcia - Shobna Gulati 
Chris - Gordon Kennedy 
 
Written by Ian Brown and James Hendrie 
Produced and directed by Gordon Kennedy 
Studio Engineered and Edited by Leon Chambers 
Production Manager: Sarah Tombling 
Executive Producer: Chris Pye 
An Absolutely Production for BBC Radio 4 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 May-4 July 2016 (Series 1), 14 May-18 June 2018 (Series 2), 10 June-15 July 2020 (Series 3), 10 June-15 July 2022 (Series 4) 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

James Hendrie

Books by James Hendrie

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