Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Historical Dramas

Houdini & The Witch of Beacon Hill

Harry Houdini’s story is the classic American tale of an immigrant who from impoverished beginnings made it big in the United States. Born in Hungary as Erik Weisz, he was brought up in Wisconsin, USA and first developed his acts at the age of 17 after a childhood in poverty. Captivated by magic shows, he began performing tricks on stage with one of his brothers, and then with his wife. From being bound in chains to massive locks and straight jackets, Houdini found fame with his dramatic escapes. 
 
This collection brings together two fascinating full-cast radio dramas about the life of Harry Houdini, and in particular his public campaign to expose fraudulent spiritual mediums. Though he longed to believe that he might be able to communicate beyond the grave with his beloved mother, he knew far too much about the trickery of the stage to think it possible. 
 
Houdini by Bob Sinfield is a dramatised biography of the master magician and escapologist. The story is told by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a committed Spiritualist and friend of Houdini, and whose wife was a self-proclaimed medium. Conan Doyle and Houdini were an improbable pair, brought together by a shared interest in spiritualism, but it was also their differing views on this very matter that destroyed their unlikely friendship. Michael Maloney stars as Houdini, with Graham Crowden as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lorelei King as Bess. 
 
In the 1920s, Houdini turned his energies toward debunking psychics and mediums in order to show how they were taking advantage of the bereaved. The Witch of Beacon Hill by Paul M. Levitt tells the story of the celebrated Boston medium known as ‘Margery’, and how Houdini set out to disprove her claims. Starring Shelly Thompson as Margery and Nigel Anthony as Houdini. 
 
Also included in this collection is a documentary programme, Harry Houdini: Escape artist and showman, in which Rajan Datar charts the life and career of the legendary Houdini. What motivated this complex man who spent a lifetime ‘deluding’ the public with his illusions, and how did he reconcile that with his campaign against the Spiritualist movement which he regarded as a racket? 
 
©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Bob Sinfield

Celia Imrie

Polly James

Alex Jennings

Lynda Bellingham

Geoffrey Palmer

Joan Sims

Maurice Denham

Simon McBurney

Full Cast

Six Full-Cast BBC Radio Comedy Dramas

A sensory smash as an all-star cast delight in this unique six-part comedy dramaA stellar line up of stars, including Celia Imrie (The Crown), Joan Sims (Carry On), Alex Jennings (The Lady in the Van), Geoffrey Palmer (As Time Goes By) and Lynda Bellingham (Loose Women), play a cast of moving and memorable characters in this brilliant six-part comedy drama. Let these sensory delights take you into the classic five senses we know… plus the other one.In Hearing, Celia Imrie is embroiled in an affair conducted via tape cassette-recorded messages. The scenario conjures up a few problems with the sense of hearing…Touch is the story of a busy doctor's surgery failing its patients. That is until the loyal receptionist discovers she has a remarkable gift. Starring Polly James and Simon McBurney.A retired MP becomes a self-appointed one-man Moral Watch Committee trying to improve his sleepy Cornish village in Sight. Unfortunately his plans have the opposite effect. Things get stranger when a mysterious film crew arrives...Alex Jennings stars in Taste, the story of a 14th-century Italian food taster who must protect his master when they visit the Borgias. Things get complicated when the Pope is unexpectedly announced as a dinner guest.It’s the Boxing Day fox hunt in Smell, and throwing off the scent poses problems for the hunters and the hunted alike. Featuring Lynda Bellingham and Maurice Denham as a couple ahead of the pack.Finally, Geoffrey Palmer and Joan Sims star in The Sixth Sense, where conversation becomes far from neighbourly when the occupants of an old cemetery greet a new arrival and discover their lack of common ground.These pitch-perfect stories were penned by writer, director and actor Bob Sinfield. Sinfield was on the writing teams for some of the biggest sketch comedy programmes on TV and radio including The Right Time and The News Huddlines as well as The Lenny Henry Show and Three of a Kind.©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Bob Sinfield

Books by Bob Sinfield

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