The Classic BBC Radio History

This Sceptred Isle: Empire

Christopher Lee's highly-acclaimed and award-winning BBC Radio 4 history of the British Empire. 
 
Britain had the biggest empire the world has ever known. At one time a quarter of the global land mass was British. Over a third of the world was insured at Lloyds. At his coronation, more than 400 million people saluted George V. Truly, the sun never set on this historical phenomenon. Whatever the day, whatever the hour, somewhere on the globe, the empire worked and played the British game, often absurdly so. 
 
BBC Radio 4's monumental history of Britain tells the story of the British Empire from its earliest beginnings through the years when British influence grew steadily around the globe, years when Britain took full advantage of the technical advances of its industrial revolution. 
 
Here are the origins of the modern nations of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and of the ways in which British influence has affected, for better or for worse, nations such as India, Sri Lanka, and China. Here are the stories, not always happy and glorious, of Captain James Cook, Mungo Park, Warren Hastings, Sir Stamford Raffles, and David Livingstone. 
 
The story of the British Empire is one of enormous personalities, adventure, scientific and maritime development, and the building of one of the most complex international administrations the world has ever seen. 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

This Sceptred Isle: Collection 3: The 20th Century

The award-winning BBC Radio 4 series of the story of Britain, from the start of the 20th century to the millenium.

Christopher Lee (Author) Christopher Lee (1941-2021) was a British writer, historian and broadcaster, best known for writing the BBC radio documentary series This Sceptred Isle. 
 
Lee's career began when, in his twenties, he re-started his education, reading history at London University, after previously being expelled from school and running away to sea in an old tramp steamer. He later joined the BBC as a defence and foreign affairs correspondent and was posted to Moscow and the Middle East. Leaving his career in journalism for academia, Lee was the first Quatercentenary Fellow in Contemporary History and Gomes Lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He went on to research the history of ideas at Birkbeck College, University of London. 
 
Lee is the originator and writer of the BBC Radio 4 trilogy This Sceptred Isle, which recounts the history of Britain and the British Empire from the Romans to the 20th century. His recent books include the three accompanying volumes of This Sceptred Isle, the autobiographic Eight Bells and Top Masts, which tells the story of his time as a deck boy and his circumnavigation of the globe, his The Bath Detective thriller trilogy, Monarchy, Past, present... and future? and Viceroys: The Creation of the British, illustrated by his wife. 
 
He is also the writer of more than 100 Radio 4 plays and series including The House, starring Timothy West, Julian Glover and Isla Blair, Colvil &amp; Soames, starring Christopher Benjamin and Amanda Redman, Our Brave Boys, starring Martin Jarvis and Fiona Shaw, and the Los Angeles production of his The Trial of Walter Raleigh, which Rosalind Ayres produced with Michael York in the title role. His play A Pattern in Shrouds was broadcast on Radio 4 in the summer of 2009 and deals with the consequences of the assassination of the Queen's uncle, Lord Mountbatten in 1979. In 2013 the BBC also ran his play Air Force One, which questioned the events during the 90 minutes between the assassination of President Kennedy and swearing in of Lyndon B Johnson aboard the presidential plane. Anna Massey (Reader) Anna Massey has been a successful actress for fifty years. Her career has spanned a wide range. In the cinema she has worked with many of the great directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, Otto Preminger and Fred Zinneman. But perhaps her favourite performances have been in the theatre - among those being The Miracle Worker, Heartbreak House, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Mary Stuart. For television she won a BAFTA Award for her performance in Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac, and she starred very memorably in the title role of Gwen John, and also in Trollope's He Knew He Was Right. On radio her voice is familiar to many from plays and documentaries, most recently narrating the history of Britain in This Sceptred Isle, which has brought her a whole new audience. Robert Powell (Reader) Robert Powell is known worldwide for his multi-award- winning portrayal of Jesus in Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth. His extensive stage, film and TV career includes Tom Stoppard's Jumpers, the title role in Ken Russell's Mahler, and Richard Hannay in the TV series of the same name as well as the feature film of The Thirty-nine Steps.

All five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century 
 
Christopher Lee's vivid, compelling history tells the story of Britain from the death of Queen Victoria to the dawning of a new millennium. This collection includes the original volumes 1-5: 
 
1901-1919: The Victorian era comes to an end, Suffragettes demand 'Votes for Women', the Titanic sinks and the Great War casts a long shadow. 
 
1919-1939: Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour PM, millions of workers take industrial action during the General Strike, Wall Street crashes and Hitler rises to power. 
 
1939-1959: The horrors of the Second World War and the onset of the Cold War, Indian independence, the founding of the NHS, the beginning of a new Elizabethan age and the Space Race. 
 
1959-1979: War in Vietnam, Profumo causes a scandal, the Beatles generate worldwide hysteria, Britain joins Europe and Thatcherism is born. 
 
1979-1999: The nation celebrates a fairytale royal wedding, Argentine troops invade the Falklands, disaster strikes at Chernobyl, the Berlin Wall falls - and as the year 2000 approaches, construction begins on London's Millennium Dome. 
 
Narrated by Anna Massey, with additional readings by Robert Powell, this is the definitive radio account of one of the most exciting and fast-moving periods in the history of the United Kingdom. 
 
 
NB: Due to the age of these recordings, sound quality may vary 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Christopher Lee 
Narrated by Anna Massey, with additional readings by Robert Powell 
Produced by Pete Atkin 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 August-31 December 1999

The BBC Radio 4 Crime Drama

Colvil & Soames: The Complete Series 1-2

Christopher Benjamin and Amanda Redman star in two six-part BBC radio crime dramas, created by Christopher Lee

Christopher Lee (1941-2021) was a British writer, historian and broadcaster, best known for writing the BBC radio documentary series This Sceptred Isle. 
 
Lee's career began when, in his twenties, he re-started his education, reading history at London University, after previously being expelled from school and running away to sea in an old tramp steamer. He later joined the BBC as a defence and foreign affairs correspondent and was posted to Moscow and the Middle East. Leaving his career in journalism for academia, Lee was the first Quatercentenary Fellow in Contemporary History and Gomes Lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He went on to research the history of ideas at Birkbeck College, University of London. 
 
Lee is the originator and writer of the BBC Radio 4 trilogy This Sceptred Isle, which recounts the history of Britain and the British Empire from the Romans to the 20th century. His recent books include the three accompanying volumes of This Sceptred Isle, the autobiographic Eight Bells and Top Masts, which tells the story of his time as a deck boy and his circumnavigation of the globe, his The Bath Detective thriller trilogy, Monarchy, Past, present... and future? and Viceroys: The Creation of the British, illustrated by his wife. 
 
He is also the writer of more than 100 Radio 4 plays and series including The House, starring Timothy West, Julian Glover and Isla Blair, Colvil &amp; Soames, starring Christopher Benjamin and Amanda Redman, Our Brave Boys, starring Martin Jarvis and Fiona Shaw, and the Los Angeles production of his The Trial of Walter Raleigh, which Rosalind Ayres produced with Michael York in the title role. His play A Pattern in Shrouds was broadcast on Radio 4 in the summer of 2009 and deals with the consequences of the assassination of the Queen's uncle, Lord Mountbatten in 1979. In 2013 the BBC also ran his play Air Force One, which questioned the events during the 90 minutes between the assassination of President Kennedy and swearing in of Lyndon B Johnson aboard the presidential plane.

Christopher Benjamin and Amanda Redman star in two six-part BBC radio crime dramas, created by Christopher Lee 
 
In these two compelling murder mysteries, MI6 officers Henry Colvil and Alex Soames become involved in a pair of complex cases which take them to the very top of the political and religious spheres. 
 
In Series 1, the duo attend the funeral of an elderly Irish priest, and receive a tip-off that his death has controversial links. Probing further, they discover a shocking secret in Father Dominic’s past – and Henry’s faith is dealt a mortal blow. Can it withstand the whole truth? 
 
Series 2 opens with a disturbing murder on a Brighton beach. What seemed like a simple drug-related killing turns out to have unexpected complications – and as Colvil and Soames investigate, they uncover nefarious connections between the victim and a prominent politician, and a case that threatens to send shockwaves through government... 
 
Written by acclaimed historian, broadcaster and author Christopher Lee, these gripping spy thrillers star Christopher Benjamin (Pride and Prejudice, Doctor Who) as Henry Colvil and Amanda Redman (The Good Karma Hospital, New Tricks) as Alex Soames. 
 
 
Written by Christopher Lee 
Produced by Pete Atkin 
Starring Christopher Benjamin as Henry Colvil and Amanda Redman as Alex Soames 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16 October-20 November 1996 (Series 1), 29 October-3 December 1998 (Series 2) 
 
Series 1 cast 
 
Arthur Guscott……………………Dudley Sutton 
Joseph Kutner……………………Stephen Thorne 
Mrs Wedlock……………………Colette O’Neil 
Monsignor……………………Peter Yapp 
Father Dominic Byrne……………………Joseph O’Conor 
Roger Brown……………………Neil McCaul 
Father Williamson……………………Christian Rodska 
Donna Hanley……………………Beth Porter 
Theresa……………………Elaine Claxton 
Porter……………………Denys Hawthorne 
 
Series 2 cast 
 
DCI Guscott……………………Dudley Sutton 
DS Gwen Jenkins……………………Sue Jones Davies 
Miranda Peel……………………Sheila Reid 
DCS Evans……………………John Hartley 
Sidney Carpenter……………………Neil Conrich 
Doctor……………………Stuart Organ 
Tom Margeson……………………Tom Cotcher 
Charlie Lofthouse……………………Alistair McGowan 
Maggie Lindley……………………Alphonsia Emmanuel 
Police Constable/Norman Tate……………………Brian Bowles

An Honourable Man

Carrington

"One of the country's greatest post-war statesmen" Sir John Major 
 
Lord Carrington was Margaret Thatcher's Foreign Secretary when the Argentinians invaded the Falklands in 1982. Absent in Israel on the eve of the invasion, he promptly resigned since it was, he said, a point of honour. He is seen by many today as the last of his breed in politics, an honourable man committed to public service. 
 
The descendant of a famous banking family, Carrington served as a minister in every Conservative government from Churchill to Thatcher. In this full biography, authorised but not read by the subject, author of This Sceptred Isle Christopher Lee offers a fascinating portrait of a Tory icon whose career is a window into post-war British politics and life as a politician and diplomat. 
 
He could be viewed as a typical Tory grandee, yet he disliked the Party, claiming late in his life that he was no longer a member, and could be fiercely independent. And there were recurring oddities in his career. He was forced to offer his resignation to Churchill for bad judgement over the Crichel Down Affair. As Navy Minister he was caught in the glare of a spy ring, and, though Defence Secretary, kept out of the loop of the military operation which culminated in Bloody Sunday. 
 
Margaret Thatcher said there was something innately reassuring walking into a room where Carrington stood. Was this a barbed compliment? Did he in fact lack the steel required of a modern politician? He certainly represents a bygone era, as this vivid and expert biography shows.

Lee's biography . . . is hugely enlivened by the fact that its subject, who died this year at the age of 99, was a superb gossip and passed his board of vignettes to Lee

Portrays a rounded picture of one of the most admirable of 20th-century statesman and of the political background against which he trod his honourable path

Lord Carrington was Margaret Thatcher's Foreign Secretary when the Argentinians invaded the Falklands in 1982. Absent on an official visit to Israel, he resigned his position. It was, he said, a point of honour. Was this though merely the sentiment of a Tory grandee who could easily afford points of honour? 
 
The descendant of a famous banking family and recipient of the Military Cross in World War II, Carrington was a minister in every Conservative government from Churchill till Thatcher, holding important positions as Defence Secretary, Agriculture Minister, Energy Secretary and Foreign Secretary. He was also Chairman of the Conservative Party, and in many respects appeared an archetypal Tory. Yet he disliked the party, claiming later in life not even to be a member, and had a fiercely independent streak - he once told Lady Thatcher that if she designed British Middle East policy to protect her majority in her largely Jewish constituency, she could look for another Foreign Secretary. 
 
Carrington's cv was almost too full for one man: soldier, farmer, banker, politician, Chairman of the V &amp; A and of Christie's, Secretary-General of NATO, fixer of the Rhodesian conflict for which he received Tory hate mail for the rest of his life, and member of Henry Kissinger's international political advisory group. All this was perhaps fitting for the sixth hereditary baron of one of Britain's great aristocratic dynasties. The first Carrington had been Pitt the Younger's banker; the third had put an actress in the bed of the virgin Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. 
 
Yet there were occasions - quite a few of them - when the perfectly designed destiny faltered. Carrington was forced to offer his resignation to Churchill for bad judgement over the Crichel Down Affair. As Navy Minister, he was caught in the glare of a spy ring, and as Defence Secretary was kept out of the loop of the military operation which culminated in the tragedy of Bloody Sunday. And there were accusations that his easy-going manner had failed to appreciate the Argentinian threat to the Falklands. Margaret Thatcher had said that there was something innately reassuring about walking into a room where Carrington stood. 
 
Christopher Lee's full biography, written with the consent of its subject but without his having read it, paints a vivid portrait of a dynasty, an age and above all a major public figure who was perhaps the last Whig in British institutional and political life.

Christopher Lee began this book while Quatercentenary Research Fellow at Emmanuel College Cambridge where he also edited Winston Churchill's A History of the English-speaking Peoples and where he wrote his award-winning BBC Radio 4 history of Britain, This Sceptred Isle. He lives in Kent and aboard a restored sloop which he sails from the Beaulieu River.

Lord Carrington was Margaret Thatcher's Foreign Secretary when the Argentinians invaded the Falklands in 1982. Absent in Israel on the eve of the invasion, he promptly resigned since it was, he said, a point of honour. He is seen by many today as the last of his breed in politics, an honourable man committed to public service. 
 
The descendant of a famous banking family, Carrington served as a minister in every Conservative government from Churchill to Thatcher. In this full biography, authorised but not read by the subject, author of This Sceptred Isle Christopher Lee offers a fascinating portrait of a Tory icon whose career is a window into post-war British politics and life as a politician and diplomat. 
 
He could be viewed as a typical Tory grandee, yet he disliked the Party, claiming late in his life that he was no longer a member, and could be fiercely independent. And there were recurring oddities in his career. He was forced to offer his resignation to Churchill for bad judgement over the Crichel Down Affair. As Navy Minister he was caught in the glare of a spy ring, and, though Defence Secretary, kept out of the loop of the military operation which culminated in Bloody Sunday. 
 
Margaret Thatcher said there was something innately reassuring walking into a room where Carrington stood. Was this a barbed compliment? Did he in fact lack the steel required of a modern politician? He certainly represents a bygone era, as this vivid and expert biography shows.

The complete BBC collection

This Sceptred Isle: The Dynasties

The story of those ambitious families which helped shape the history of the British Isles - the complete series.

Christopher Lee (Author) Christopher Lee (1941-2021) was a British writer, historian and broadcaster, best known for writing the BBC radio documentary series This Sceptred Isle. 
 
Lee's career began when, in his twenties, he re-started his education, reading history at London University, after previously being expelled from school and running away to sea in an old tramp steamer. He later joined the BBC as a defence and foreign affairs correspondent and was posted to Moscow and the Middle East. Leaving his career in journalism for academia, Lee was the first Quatercentenary Fellow in Contemporary History and Gomes Lecturer at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He went on to research the history of ideas at Birkbeck College, University of London. 
 
Lee is the originator and writer of the BBC Radio 4 trilogy This Sceptred Isle, which recounts the history of Britain and the British Empire from the Romans to the 20th century. His recent books include the three accompanying volumes of This Sceptred Isle, the autobiographic Eight Bells and Top Masts, which tells the story of his time as a deck boy and his circumnavigation of the globe, his The Bath Detective thriller trilogy, Monarchy, Past, present... and future? and Viceroys: The Creation of the British, illustrated by his wife. 
 
He is also the writer of more than 100 Radio 4 plays and series including The House, starring Timothy West, Julian Glover and Isla Blair, Colvil &amp; Soames, starring Christopher Benjamin and Amanda Redman, Our Brave Boys, starring Martin Jarvis and Fiona Shaw, and the Los Angeles production of his The Trial of Walter Raleigh, which Rosalind Ayres produced with Michael York in the title role. His play A Pattern in Shrouds was broadcast on Radio 4 in the summer of 2009 and deals with the consequences of the assassination of the Queen's uncle, Lord Mountbatten in 1979. In 2013 the BBC also ran his play Air Force One, which questioned the events during the 90 minutes between the assassination of President Kennedy and swearing in of Lyndon B Johnson aboard the presidential plane. Anna Massey (Reader) Anna Massey has been a successful actress for fifty years. Her career has spanned a wide range. In the cinema she has worked with many of the great directors, including Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell, Otto Preminger and Fred Zinneman. But perhaps her favourite performances have been in the theatre - among those being The Miracle Worker, Heartbreak House, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Mary Stuart. For television she won a BAFTA Award for her performance in Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac, and she starred very memorably in the title role of Gwen John, and also in Trollope's He Knew He Was Right. On radio her voice is familiar to many from plays and documentaries, most recently narrating the history of Britain in This Sceptred Isle, which has brought her a whole new audience.

The Sceptred Isle provided the definitive radio account of the British nation, from 55BC to the end of the 20th century. Now its attention turns towards the incredibly powerful families which have wielded power behind the scenes for the past 1,000 years. The Dynasties relates how the loyalties of this privileged elite, many of whom are older than the monarchy itself, were tested and rewarded; it also uncovers a multitude of murderous plots, bloody battles, adulteries, intrigues and shocking executions. 
 
The first volume examines three powerful houses: The Godwines, the north-dwelling Percys and the royalist Despensers. 
 
Volume two looks at the Mortimers, the Berkeleys and a triumvirate of warring Irish dysnasties: the Macmurroughs, the Fitzgeralds and the O'Neills. 
 
The third volume investigates the Churchills, the Cecils and the Scottish Dalrymples. 
 
In the fourth volume the Cavendishes appear, along with the Comptons and the Russells. 
 
In the fifth and final volume, the families examined include the Carringtons, the Waldegraves and the Norfolks. There is also a look at the families who today continue the tradition of dynastical power at the highest levels.

This Sceptred Isle: Collection 1: 55BC - 1702

The first five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle.

The first five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original first five volumes: 
 
55BC-1087: Julius Caesar to William the Conqueror From Britannia under the Romans to the Dark Ages and the invasions of Angles, Saxons, Danes, and Norwegians. 
 
1087-1327: The Making of the Nation The Crusades, Welsh and Scottish rebellions and the foundations of the modern state - including Magna Carta and the fledgling English Parliament. 
 
1327-1547 The Black Prince to Henry VIII The Hundred Years' War, the Peasants' Revolt, the Wars of the Roses and the reign of Henry VIII. 
 
1547-1660 Elizabeth I to Cromwell Elizabeth I's long reign; the Civil War, the execution of Charles I and the establishment of Cromwell as Lord Protector. 
 
1660-1702 Restoration and Glorious Revolution The return of Charles II, the Great Plague and Great Fire of London, and a ruler from a different country on the throne: William of Orange. 
 
Narrated by Anna Massey, with extracts from Sir Winston Churchill's A History of the English-speaking Peoples read by Paul Eddington and Peter Jeffrey, this is the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. 
 
The audio files for this title have been updated and they are now in the correct order. 
 
Duration: 15 hours approx.

The first five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original first five volumes: 
 
55BC-1087: Julius Caesar to William the Conqueror From Britannia under the Romans to the Dark Ages and the invasions of Angles, Saxons, Danes, and Norwegians. 
 
1087-1327: The Making of the Nation The Crusades, Welsh and Scottish rebellions and the foundations of the modern state - including Magna Carta and the fledgling English Parliament. 
 
1327-1547 The Black Prince to Henry VIII The Hundred Years' War, the Peasants' Revolt, the Wars of the Roses and the reign of Henry VIII. 
 
1547-1660 Elizabeth I to Cromwell Elizabeth I's long reign; the Civil War, the execution of Charles I and the establishment of Cromwell as Lord Protector. 
 
1660-1702 Restoration and Glorious Revolution The return of Charles II, the Great Plague and Great Fire of London, and a ruler from a different country on the throne: William of Orange. 
 
Narrated by Anna Massey, with extracts from Sir Winston Churchill's A History of the English-speaking Peoples read by Paul Eddington and Peter Jeffrey, this is the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. 
 
The audio files for this title have been updated and they are now in the correct order. 
 
Duration: 15 hours approx.

This Sceptred Isle Collection 2: 1702 - 1901

The final five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle.

The final five volumes from the landmark BBC radio series This Sceptred Isle. 
 
Christopher Lee's epic history tells the story of Britain from the Romans to the death of Victoria. This collection includes the original volumes 6-10: 
 
1702-1760: The First British EmpireThe reign of George I; Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, and the first rendition of Rule Britannia. 
 
1760-1792: The Age of Revolution The Industrial Revolution begins; America declares independence and France is rocked by social and politicalupheaval. 
 
1792-1815: Nelson, Wellington and Napoleon War in Europe; the introduction of Income Tax; and England is victorious in the Battle of Trafalgar. 
 
1815-1837: Regency and Reform The Prince of Wales becomes George IV; Sir Robert Peel creates the Metropolitan Police and slavery is abolished in the British Empire. 
 
1837-1901: The Age of Victoria Victoria's 64-year reign encompasses huge social changes; Britain expands her empire and the Labour Party is founded. 
 
Narrated by Anna Massey, with extracts from Sir Winston Churchill's A History of the English-speaking Peoples read by Peter Jeffrey, this is the definitive radio account of the events and personalities that have shaped our nation. Duration: 14 hours approx.

Christopher Lee

Julian Glover

Timothy West

Peter Kelly

Sarah Badel

Isla Blair

Christopher Benjamin

David Ryall

Trevor Peacock

Sheila Reid

Full Cast

A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Political Drama

All six series of Christopher Lee's enthralling parliamentary drama - plus Christmas Special 
 
Suave, unflappable and ambitious, veteran politician Charles Bannister knows his way around the corridors of power. As Chief Whip, he's adept at keeping MPs in line and squashing potential scandals - aided by his brother-in-law, MI6 agent Henry Colvil, who whispers useful titbits of information in his ear. His position seems invincible - but nothing is forever, and when the tides of politics turn, Charles finds himself under threat... 
 
In these six series, we follow his fortunes and those of his close friend, Home Secretary Dougal Baxter. Together, the duo rise, fall and rise again, as they fight off plots, counter-plots and conspiracies while struggling to secure their political futures. Promoted to Party Chairman, Charles finds himself beset by domestic dramas, dogged by rumours of an affair with glamorous Opposition MP Juliet Cameron, and under increasing pressure at Westminster. Will he stick it out and run for the top job - or decide to spend more time with his family? Meanwhile, Dougal makes no secret of his desire to become PM - but will his potentially explosive relationship with his mistress, Kay, put an end to his dreams of advancement? 
 
Written by award-winning author and historian Christopher Lee, this captivating tale of ministerial manoeuvring and machinations was adapted as a bestselling novel and spawned the spin-off mystery series Colvil &amp; Soames. Julian Glover stars as Charles Bannister, with Timothy West as Dougal Baxter and Christopher Benjamin as Henry Colvil. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Christopher Lee 
Produced by Pete Atkin and Neil Cargill 
 
Cast 
Charles Bannister - Julian Glover 
Dougal Baxter - Timothy West/Peter Kelly 
Mary Bannister - Sarah Badel/Isla Blair 
Henry Colvil - Christopher Benjamin 
Denis Wigton - David Ryall/Trevor Peacock 
Juliet Cameron - Siobhan Redmond 
Rose - Sheila Reid 
Arthur - James Garbutt 
Polly Bannister - Ruth Gemmell 
Gerald Mossman - David Neville 
Merffyn Edwards - Ray Smith/Douglas Blackwell 
Kay Bennett - Jane Booker 
Nick - Julian Dutton 
Eamon - Shaun Prendergast 
Alex - Caroline Bliss 
Sharp - Norman Bird 
 
With Brian Redhead, Laurie Macmillan, Stuart Organ, Graham Blockey, Rupert Baker, Joan Matheson, Ken Cumberlidge, Danny Schiller, John Fortune, Iain Cuthbertson, Dennis Ramsden, Charles Simpson, Christopher Scott, Michael Kilgarriff, Ian Targett, David Goudge, John Bull, David King, Brian Miller, David McAlister, Terence Edmonds, Brett Usher, John Grieve, Richard Caldicot, Bill Wallis, Stephen Greif 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 August-7 October 1989 (Series 1), 25 December 1989 (Christmas Special), 17 September-5 November 1991 (Series 2), 16 March-20 April 1992 (Series 3), 28 October-2 December 1992 (Series 4), 17 June-22 July 1993 (Series 5), 9 June-14 July 1994 (Series 6) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Christopher Lee

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