Six Full-Cast BBC Radio Comedy Dramas

The Senses

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

Paul M. Levitt

Bob Sinfield

Michael Maloney

Graham Crowden

Lorelei King

Shelley Thompson

Nigel Anthony

Rajan Datar

Full Cast

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Historical Dramas

What drove Harry Houdini - magician, escapologist, and one of the most famous men in the world? 
 
Whether it was escaping from handcuffs, a straitjacket or from a box filled with water, Houdini wowed audiences with his seemingly death-defying performance... This BBC Radio collection shares the story behind the trickery: in two fascinating full-cast dramas about the life of Harry Houdini, and in particular his public campaign to expose fraudulent spiritual mediums. 
 
In the stunning full-cast dramatisation Houdini, a man is naked against the world, bound in chains, deprived of all help. Performing a death defying escape from a galvanised iron can, filled with water and secured with massive locks. Failure means a drowning death! This is the gripping story of the master magician, escapologist, and at the time of his death in 1926, one of the most famous men in the world. Michael Maloney stars as Houdini, with Graham Crowden as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lorelei King as Bess. 
 
Houdini, the showman, longed to believe that he might be able to communicate beyond the grave with his beloved mother, but knew far too much about the trickery and faking of the stage to be easily convinced. The Witch of Beacon Hill is the true story of how Harry Houdini tried to debunk psychics and mediums. Attending séances in disguise, accompanied by a reporter and a police officer he debunked the most famous and celebrated Boston medium Mina Crandon, also known as ‘Margery’. This radio drama tells Margery’s story, and the story of how Houdini set out to disprove her claims. Starring Shelly Thompson as Margery and Nigel Anthony as Houdini. 
 
This double edition collection comes with a bonus episode of Harry Houdini: Escape artist and showman with Rajan Datar. Through interviews, Datar charts the life and career of the legendary Houdini, with writer and biographer Adam Begley, Dr Matthew Solomon, and Dr Katharina Rein.Cast and credits 
 HoudiniWritten by Bob SinfieldProduced by Graham PassHarry Houdini - Michael MaloneySir Arthur Conan Doyle - Graham CrowdenBess - Lorelei KingLady Conan Doyle - Gwen TaylorDash - Jack KlaffWhitehead - Dan StraussDr Steves - Dick VosburghFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 2, Oct 1996The Witch of Beacon Hill Written by Paul M LevittDirected by Martin JenkinsLeroi Crandon - John Woodvine'Margery the Medium’ - Shelly ThompsonHarry Houdini - Nigel AnthonyJames Bird - Kerry ShaleCaldwell/Rand - Vincent BrimbleGray/Munn - Brian MillerMrs Corbridge/Mrs Weiss - Helen HortonCollins/Rubin - Joe DunlopGeorge - Ian TargettCaroline Churchill/Mrs Stinson - Hilda SchroderWinifred Churchill - Barbara AtkinsonHenry/Interviewer - Paul DowningLaura - Jane SlavinFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 Sep 1989The Forum: Harry Houdini: Escape artist and showmanPresented by Rajan DatarProduced by Fiona ClampinFirst Broadcast BBC World Service, 30 Dec 2021©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Houdini & The Witch of Beacon Hill

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