Alex Shearer

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, PhD, has spent two decades studying people, technology, and the worlds they make. A Silicon Valley-based futurist and consultant, he has worked with governments and Fortune 500 companies; spoken at venues ranging from CIA headquarters to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to the Googleplex; and held academic positions at Stanford and Oxford universities. His is the author of the bestselling Rest and Shorter, a guide for companies on how to work less and get more done. Follow @askpang on Twitter and Instagram, or visit strategy.rest.

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang

Alex Stone

Alex Tapscott

Alex Thompson

THE AUTHOR HAS CHOSEN TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS OUT OF CONCERN FOR THE SAFETY OF HIS OR HER SOURCES.

Alex Urban

Alex Wheatle

Alex is an author and best-selling children’s book illustrator. Since he could first hold a pencil, Alex has been drawing characters, bringing each to life with a sense of mischief and fun. After studying Illustration for Children’s Publishing at the North Wales School of Art and Design, he went on to illustrate The Runaway Pea, which was selected for the BookTrust’s 2020 Time to Read Campaign. Alex has won the Inspiread 2023 Book Award for his picture book I Did See a Mammoth, the 2020 Shrewsbury Book Fest award and The FCBG 2020 award for his illustrations in The Runaway Pea, as well as being nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal and was a finalist in the 2020 Oscar’s Book Prize. His books have been translated into multiple languages. A love of fun storytelling and growing up on 80’s cartoons lead Alex to write his own books, which combine captivating characters and quirky exploits, along with a positive moral message. Alex currently lives in his hometown of Northampton with his wife, two sons, and their chihuahua.

Alex Willmore

Alex Y. Ferguson

Alex de Campi's mostly-indie career stretches from her Eisner-nominated debut Smoke (Dark Horse) through recent Eisner nominees Bad Girls (Gallery 13) and Twisted Romance (Image). Plus company work: she's killed off most of Riverdale, twice, in Archie vs Predator I &amp; II. Her next projects are YA adventure The Backups (Imprint / MacMillan, 2020) and a thriller with director Duncan Jones. Catch her YA adventure Reversal on her Patreon, and action-thriller Bad Karma on Panel Syndicate. She also writes for TV and film (the Blade Runner anime &amp; more). She is on social media as @alexdecampi and lives in Manhattan.

Alex de Campi

Alexa Chung

Alexander Aciman

Alexander Armstrong is one half of the comedy duo Armstrong &amp; Miller who had a regular series on Channel 4 from 1997 to 2001 and then returned with three series of the BAFTA winning Armstrong &amp; Miller Show on BBC1 in 2007. Alexander’s many straight acting roles have included Love Life, Life Begins, Mutual Friends and the sitcomHunderby. He frequently hosts Have I Got News For You?, is the voice of Danger Mouse and the narrator of CBeebies cult hit Hey Duggee. Alexander is also a presenter on Classic FM and has a number one bestselling classical album to his name, but is probably best known for presenting the highly successful daytime quiz show Pointless, now in its twelfth series.

Alexander Armstrong

Alexander Barabanov

Alexander Betts

Alexander Breeze

Alexander C. Karp is co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies Inc. The company, established in Palo Alto, California, in 2003, builds software and artificial intelligence capabilities that are used by defense and intelligence agencies in the United States and allied nations around the world, as well as companies across the commercial sector. Karp is a graduate of Haverford College and Stanford Law School. He earned his doctorate in social theory from Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.

Alexander C.Karp

Alexander Chee won a Whiting Award for his first novel, Edinburgh, and is a recipient of the NEA Fellowship in Fiction and residencies from the MacDowell Colony, Ledig House and Civitella Ranieri. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Tin House, Slate, and NPR, among others, and he is a contributing editor at the New Republic. He has recently been selected as a prestigious LA Times critic-at-large. He lives in New York City.

Alexander Chee

Alexander Douglas was born in Canberra, Australia where he studied music and philosophy. He now teaches the history of philosophy and the philosophy of economics at the University of St Andrews. He has published two books on the philosophy of Benedict de Spinoza and one on the philosophy of debt. He has grown increasingly interested in combining ideas from Western and East Asian philosophy. He loves music, literature, history, and engineering. He lives with his wife in Edinburgh.

Alexander Douglas

Alexander Freed is the author of the Star Wars Alphabet Squadron trilogy, Star Wars: Battle­front: Twilight Company and Star Wars: Rogue One and has written many short stories, comic books, and videogames. Born near Philadelphia, he currently re­sides in San Francisco, California. He enjoys the city’s culture, history, and secrets, but he misses snow.

Alexander Freed

Alexander Garros

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Humboldt

Alexander Kent's great interest in the ships and men of the eighteenth century navy was aroused when he was still at school. Although he attended fleet reviews and explored modern warships and dockyards with his father, he found that the great days of square riggers and battles at close quarters captured his imagination. H.M.S. Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar, was always high on his list of regular visits. 
 
He served in the Royal Navy as a young man, and saw action in the Battle of the Atlantic and other major theatres of war, but his first love of the great days of sail remained unshaken. 
 
Now firmly established as a leading writer of authentic sea stories, he was the author of twenty-eight acclaimed books featuring Richard Bolitho. Under his own name, Douglas Reeman, and in the course of a career spanning forty-five years, he wrote over thirty novels and two non-fiction books. He died in January 2017.

Alexander Kent

Alexander Lee

Alexander Lernet-Holenia was born in Vienna in 1897. He served in the Austro-Hungarian army in the First World War and became a protégé of Rainer Maria Rilke. During his life he wrote poetry, novels, plays and was a successful screenwriter. His books were included on the first Nazi blacklist and subsequently burned, but after the end of the Second World War, he again became a vital figure in Austrian cultural life.

Alexander Lernet-Holenia

Alexander MacLeod was born in Inverness, Cape Breton in Canada. His first collection, Light Lifting, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, and the Commonwealth Book Prize, and won an Atlantic Book Award. In 2019, he won an O Henry Prize for his short story, 'Lagomorph', originally published in Granta, and the first story in Animal Person. MacLeod lives in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and teaches at Saint Mary's University in Halifax.

Alexander MacLeod

Alexander Mackendrick

Alex Maskill was born in Watford, and grew up both there and in Eastbourne, East Sussex. He's has just completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Leicester and now has a degree in Politics. He hopes to follow this with an MSc in Computer Science. 
The Hive Construct is his first novel and won the 2013 Terry Pratchett Prize.

Alexander Maskill

Alexander McCall Smith is one of the world's most prolific and most popular authors. His career has been a varied one: for many years he was a professor of Medical Law and worked in universities in the United Kingdom and abroad. Then, after the publication of his highly successful No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty million copies, he devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers through the world. These include the Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in The Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series, and the Corduroy Mansions series, novels which started life as a delightful (but challenging to write) cross-media serial, written on the website of the Telegraph Media Group. This series won two major cross-media awards - Association of Online Publishers Digital Publishing Award 2009 for a Cross Media Project and the New Media Age award. In addition to these series, Alexander writes stand-alone books, including The Forever Girl; Fatty O'Leary's Dinner Party and Emma - a reworking of the classic Jane Austen novel. He is also the author of a book on Edinburgh, A Work of Beauty: Alexander McCall Smith's Edinburgh, as well as several collections of short stories, academic works, and over thirty books for children. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the British Book Awards Author of the Year Award in 2004 and a CBE for service to literature in 2007. He holds honorary doctorates from nine universities in Europe and North America. In March of 2011 he received an award from the President of Botswana for his services through literature to that country. Alexander McCall Smith lives in Edinburgh. He is married to a doctor and has two daughters.

Alexander McCall-Smith

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Sue Limb

Alison Steadman, Morwenna Banks and Nigel Planer star in this tale of two sisters - and a mysterious stranger. 
 
Not long after their mother's death, sisters Maureen and Lesley are packing up their family home. It's a painful duty, with Maureen trying to control the worst of Lesley's projectile lamenting. Then a strange man knocks at the door and introduces himself as David Johnson, a friend of Maureen's neighbour. He'd like to view the house if they are thinking of selling - which Maureen definitely is. 
 
But Lesley has other ideas and, behind Maureen's back, offers David their mother's old bedroom as a pied-a-terre. Gradually, he forces his way into the sisters' lives, turning up at inopportune moments and constantly getting in their hair. As they both become increasingly fed up with him, Maureen and Lesley put aside their differences and unite to try and find out exactly who this David Johnson is, and what he is hiding. 
 
But when his secret is finally revealed, the sisters are in for a shock. The situation is about to get really out of hand... 
 
Created by acclaimed writer and broadcaster Sue Limb, of Gloomsbury fame, this blackly comic sitcom stars Alison Steadman as Maureen, Morwenna Banks as Lesley and Nigel Planer as David. 
 
Cast 
Maureen........................Alison Steadman 
Lesley........................Morwenna Banks 
David........................Nigel Planer 
 
Written by Sue Limb 
Produced and Directed by Jamie Rix 
Production Coordinator: Frances Tott 
Studio Manager: Simon Couzens 
Executive Producer: Clive Brill 
A Little Brother production for BBC Radio 4 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 October-8 November 2019 (Series 1) and 15 January-5 February 2021 (Series 2) 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Skeletons in the Cupboard: The Complete Series 1 and 2

A BBC Radio 4 black comedy

Danny Brocklehurst

Hugo Speer stars as Manchester detective John Stone in the final two series of the hard-hitting detective drama 
 
DCI Stone and his team are faced with two more tricky, morally complex cases in these gritty five-part dramas, created by award-winning screenwriter Danny Brocklehurst. 
 
Series 8, Retribution: The Unravelling of a Murder, sees Stone grappling with grief after his wife's death, and struggling to look after his teenage daughter alone. DS Kelly, meanwhile, is preparing to get married, and feeling overwhelmed with wedding admin - but their personal lives are put on hold when the team is called to investigate a death at an inner-city hotel. How did respectable businessman Maxwell Foley come to fall from Room 608 - and why was he at the Beresford in the first place? To find out, Stone must navigate the murky, transient world of the hospitality industry... But as he comes closer to uncovering the truth, forces conspire to prevent past crimes from coming to light... Written by Martin Jameson and Richard Monks, this gripping drama features a full cast including Lizzie Stavrou (Hollyoaks) and Emma Cunniffe (Roadkill). 
 
As Series 9, Protection, opens, DI Tanner has just had some life-changing news - while Stone gets a call from his daughter Alice, telling him she's been arrested. Meanwhile, their new investigation feels dangerously close to home. A teenager has been fatally stabbed, in what seems to be a totally unprovoked attack. The boy wasn't a known gang member, and his girlfriend Ruby claims she didn't recognise his killer. As the team search for leads, can they find out who was responsible before someone else gets hurt? This compelling drama was written by Vivienne Harvey, Carol Russell and Martin Jameson, and the cast includes Sydney Wade (I Kill Giants) and Angela Lonsdale (Our Girl). 
 
 
Created by Danny Brocklehurst 
Produced and directed by Gary Brown and Nadia Molinari 
 
Starring Hugo Speer as DCI John Stone, Craig Cheetham as DI Mike Tanner and Deborah McAndrew as DS Sue Kelly 
 
Series 8 
Elena/Karen/Lowri/DC Novak - Lizzie Stavrou 
Terry Quinn/DC Hale/Dave Webster - Jason Done 
Alice Stone - Millie Gibson 
Jolene/Diana/Vicky - Angela Lonsdale 
Asadi Qadir/Gareth - George Bukhari 
Ibrahim/Gordon - Peter Singh 
Marek/Joe Myers - William Ash 
Lisa Taylor/Heather Webster - Emma Cunniffe 
Tomo/ Dean Carradous - William Fox 
Sophie Webster/ DS Richards - Sacha Parkinson 
Mia - Nadia Emam 
Charlie Haynes - Simon Trinder 
Written by Martin Jameson (Episodes 1 &amp; 2) and Richard Monks (Episodes 3-5) 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7-11 January 2019 
 
Series 9 
Alice/Kid 2 - Sydney Wade 
Jolene/Karen/Valerie/Greta - Angela Lonsdale 
Yusef/Security guard - Eddie Capli 
Ruby/Fi - Lucy Dixon 
Tolga/Jo Jo - James Cooney 
Jax Braithwaite/Renita/Dr Bassey - Doña Croll 
WC/Paramedic/Denny Rashford/Adam Collins - Hamish Rush 
Nessy/Dr Abiola - Danielle Henry 
Madison/DC Novak - Sacha Parkinson 
Layla/DS Novak - Sade Malone 
Phil Simpson/Dougie - Rupert Hill 
Solicitor - Darren Kuppan 
Written by Vivienne Harvey (Episode 1), Carol Russell (Episodes 2 &amp; 3) and Martin Jameson (Episodes 4 &amp; 5) 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 1-5 February 2021 
 
 
? 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Stone: The Complete Series 8 and 9

BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Crime Dramas

Roy Williams

Kenneth Cranham and Alex Lanipekun star in these eleven gritty contemporary crime dramas 
 
Idiosyncratic detective duo Max Matthews and Sean Armitage are back for three more series, in which they expertly extract confessions from their suspects during the course of one interview. Their relationship has evolved since they were first paired up, back when Armitage was a rookie constable, but their interrogation technique is as incisive as ever. 
 
These eleven compelling dramas all shine the spotlight on a different suspect, each with their own tale to tell - and their own selective version of events. We hear from a wealth of diverse characters including Ross, a young prisoner accused of attacking a fellow inmate; Jack, a respectable writer who has been charged with shoplifting; Dan, whose wife is in hospital after a suicide attempt; and Nadine, a fellow police officer who Sean has known since childhood. As Matthews and Armitage subject them to a grilling, the truth is revealed, in all its messiness and moral complexity. 
 
Created by multi-award-winning playwright Roy Williams, The Interrogation's naturalistic dialogue and virtuoso real-time scenes make it a police procedural like no other, and one that grips from start to finish. 
 
Cast and credits 
DCI Max Matthews - Kenneth Cranham 
DS Sean Armitage - Alex Lanipekun 
Harry - Rupert Holliday Evans 
Ross - Billy Seymour 
Julie - Georgie Glen 
Jack - Michael Shaeffer 
PC Kerry - Kerry Gooderson 
Heather - Jo Martin 
Clare - Claire Rushbrook 
Dan - Navin Chowdhry 
Nadine - Bianca Stephens 
Evie - Marcia Warren 
Ronald - Sean Baker 
PC Jones - Helen Clapp 
Billy - Daniel Kendrick 
Officer/Nathan- Joseph Ayre 
Trevor - David Hounslow 
Carly - Lizzy Watts 
 
Written by Roy Williams 
Directed by Mary Peate 
Produced by Jessica Dromgoole 
Music composed by David Pickvance 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2018 (Series 6), July/August 2019 (Series 7) and September/October (Series 8) 
 
Episode guide 
 
Series 6 
1. Ross 
2. Jack 
3. Heather 
 
Series 7 
1. Dan 
2. Nadine 
3. Evie 
4. Billy 
5. Carly 
 
Series 8 
1. Sandra 
2. Stephen 
3. Tanya and Natalie

The Interrogation: The Complete Series 6-8

A BBC Radio crime series

Matthew Broughton

The final series of the conspiracy thriller 
 
Dr Helen Ash is coming to terms with the fact she has just 9 months to live, when she's emailed a video of a boat mysteriously sinking in stormy seas. And the email is from her dead father. 
 
As she and Freddy try to find out whether the sunken ship really exists, they realise that they are being followed. And disaster awaits... 
 
A gripping thriller, Tracks has won multiple awards including Best Sound (BBC Audio Drama Awards) and Best Fiction (British Podcast Awards). Now Tracks is back with a fifth and final nine-part series. 
 
Cast 
Helen... Olivia Poulet 
Freddy.... Jonathan Forbes 
Eddy.... Mark Bonnar 
Lucy.... Kiran Sonia Sawar 
Yvonne.... Bettrys Jones 
Cancer Specialist.... Finlay Robertson 
Amina.... Emma Fryer 
Rebecca.... Carys Eleri 
Frances.... Juno Robinson 
Joanna.... Beatrice Engel 
Naani... Sindhu Vee 
Oskar ... David Menkin 
Farouk... Amir El-Masry 
Henning/Tec... Dino Kelly 
Valerie Peluso.... Juliet Cowan 
Barbara.... Barbara Flynn 
Linda... Maria Pride 
Irene... Heather Craney 
The Assistant...Tom Mumford 
Older Frances.... Scarlett Courtney 
Professor Manuel.... Peter Marinker 
The Architect.... Siân Phillips 
The Reporter.... Kathy Clugston 
The Medic.... Stefan Adegbola 
 
Directed by James Robinson 
A BBC Cymru Wales Production

Tracks: Series 5

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast thriller

Jim Eldridge

Karl Howman stars in Jim Eldridge's sitcom about a likeable ex-convict trying to turn over a new leaf 
 
Released from prison early, chirpy Cockney conman Terry King is given a chance to find his feet again. His challenge is to breathe new life into a run-down community centre - with the support of Sandra Gaines, a social worker with a warm heart but an unhappy past. If he succeeds, he'll prove that rehabilitation is possible. But if he fails, he'll be sent back to jail... 
 
Situated in the middle of a rough council estate, Grove Hill Farm needs a lot of work. The windows are broken, the plumbing's out of action and part of the centre was burned down during a riot. But it's not just the buildings that could use some TLC - the community's pride needs restoring too. Can Terry get the locals to come together and make the centre a neighbourhood hub again? He's got big plans - concerts, dances, bingo - but first he must raise the funds, and win over the residents... 
 
As he uses his charm and his con artist skills to start turning the place around, he finds himself growing closer to Sandra, and love slowly blossoms between the two of them. But will Terry be able to stay out of trouble - and out of prison? And as the end of his sentence approaches, will he and Sandra finally get together? 
 
Created by Jim Eldridge, whose numerous radio credits include King Street Junior and Albert &amp; Me, this feel-good comedy drama stars Karl Howman (Brush Strokes, EastEnders) as Terry and Phyllis Logan (Lovejoy, Downton Abbey) as Sandra. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Jim Eldridge 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie and David Hitchinson 
Music: Jacqueline Dankworth and Harvey Brough 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 January-2 March 1999 (Series 1), 26 July-30 August 2000 (Series 2), 12 October-16 November 2001 (Series 3) 
 
Cast 
Terry King - Karl Howman 
Sandra Gaines - Phyllis Logan 
Steve Addison - Ben Crowe 
Mr Wade/Harry Howard/Bert Higgs/Mr Addison - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Mr Preston - David Holt 
George - Chris Pavlo 
Whizzer/Sam Stone/Police officer/Don Gaines - Giles Fagan 
Hobb/Ed Bayliss - Harry Myers 
Ellie Higgs - Priyanga Elan 
Woman on the estate - Frances Jeater 
Supt. Anne Robinson - Rachel Atkins 
Gail Gaines - Victoria O'Donnell/Jennifer Wheelan 
Mrs Watson - Ann Beach 
Mrs Barnes - Jillie Meers 
Mick/Mr Evans - Gavin Muir 
Keith/Jerry - David Thorpe 
Annie - Alison Pettitt 
Mavis - Tilly Vosburgh 
Warren/Scaggs - Clinton Mullings-Dodson 
Mrs Wilson - Maggie McCarthy 
Ernie/Mr Marsden - Roger Walker 
Miss Graham/Mrs Baxter - Richenda Carey 
Marlene - Hetty Baynes 
Andrew - Tom George 
Pianist at concert - Peter Ringrose 
Mrs McKendrick - Sandra Voe 
Drunk man/Barman - Ewan Bailey 
Netball player - Helen Longworth 
Girl at club - Sarah Paul 
Matt - Ray Lonnen 
David - Sean Baker 
Wendy Wilson - Clare Corbett 
Matthew - George Allonby 
Mary - Elaine Claxton 
Mrs Barnes/Pauline - Carolyn Pickles 
Wally - Carl Prekopp 
 
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Coming Alive: The Complete Series 1-3

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy drama

Christopher Bigsby

Malcolm Bradbury

An eight-part comedy serial set in a provincial university with a most unusual English department 
 
Against his better judgement, Andrew Patterson accepts a job as a lecturer in English literature at a remote Northern redbrick university. His departmental colleagues are an eccentric bunch: doddery Head of English Professor Misty, who looks like he went to school with Little Dorrit; Amy Spade, who's suffering from an identity crisis and given to sending anonymous letters, and man-eating Melissa Murgatroyd, the honeypot of the Senior Common Room. Fortunately, Patterson has old friend and fellow lecturer Victor to show him the ropes - but even so, his first day does not go well. 
 
University life continues to throw up bewildering challenges, from tracking down Misty's lawnmower to surviving his inaugural lecture, writing a soft porn novel and dealing with the demands (both erotic and otherwise) of his students. Meanwhile, his wife Jane is becoming worryingly keen on their nerdy neighbour Cuthbertson, and the English department is in crisis... Can Patterson salvage his marriage and make it through term without getting fired? 
 
Written by acclaimed authors Malcolm Bradbury and Christopher Bigsby, both former university lecturers, this lively campus comedy was the first sitcom to be broadcast on BBC Radio 3. Australian Lewis Fiander stars as the hapless Patterson, with John Barron as the Vice-Chancellor, Richard Vernon as Professor Misty and Maureen Lipman as Melissa. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Malcolm Bradbury and Christopher Bigsby 
Produced by Geoffrey Perkins 
Theme music: 'Jester's Jig' by Gordon Giltrap 
 
 
Cast 
Patterson - Lewis Fiander 
Vice-Chancellor - John Barron 
Professor Misty - Richard Vernon 
Jane - Judy Parfitt 
Melissa - Maureen Lipman 
Cuthbertson - Richard O'Callaghan 
Victor - Hugh Thomas 
Amy Spade/Cleaner - Maggie Steed 
Probity - Jack May 
Mary/Lady Professor/Mrs Jackson/Mrs Misty/Verity - Frances Jeater 
Mrs Vice-Chancellor - Irene Prador 
Sandra - Liza Hayden 
Bannerji - Tariq Yunus 
Jake - Philip Davis 
Valerie Candle - Leueen Willoughby 
Inspector Firestone - David Tate 
Ancient boy - Patrick Barr 
Hotel manager - Rowland Davies 
Landlady - Patricia Hayes 
 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 19 February-9 April 1981 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Patterson

Jan Etherington

The complete second series of the BBC radio comedy drama about a couple who have been married 'for ever', but are keeping the passion alive 
 
'Sublimely funny, touching series... a work of supreme craftsmanship' Radio Times 
 
Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam return as the married couple who met in the Summer of Love and are still passionate about music, life - and each other. 
 
Once again, we listen in on their warm, witty 'conversations', which dance around topics big and small: from health scares and jealousy to disagreements about TV viewing and sourdough bread. There's laughter, bickering, banter - and some loving one-upmanship from both parties, as Roger gives Joanna a masterclass in dishwasher stacking, while Joanna instructs him on how to wave goodbye to departing guests. 
 
Approaching the end of a particularly turbulent year, Joanna makes a list of New Year's Resolutions - for Roger - and suggests their marriage needs a re-boot. 'Out the door?' is his response: but there's plenty of life left in this long, loving relationship, and many more discussions, questions and confessions yet to come... 
 
Created by award-winning writer and journalist Jan Etherington, and based on her own long marriage to Gavin Petrie (with whom she wrote the hit radio and TV series Second Thoughts and Faith in the Future), this sparkling comedy two-hander will resonate with anyone who's ever been in a couple. 
 
 
Starring Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam 
Produced and directed by Claire Jones 
A BBC Studios production 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Conversations from a Long Marriage: Series 2

A BBC Radio 4 comedy drama

Jane Austen

In this BBC radio full-cast dramatisation, Jane Austen introduces us to the handsome, clever and very flawed Emma Wodehouse. 
 
While she is perfectly content with her life and has no interest in love or marriage for herself, she enjoys nothing more than matchmaking those around her. Mr Knightly tries to talk Emma Woodhouse out of this but when she pushes on anyway, her life, and the lives of the friends around her, are irreversibly changed... 
 
Published over 200 years ago, Emma remains one of the British nation's favourite novels. Among the star cast in this radio production are Eve Best, Norman Rodway, Robert Bathurst, and Marcia Warren. 
 
This title is part of the BBC's Jane Austen collection. 
 
© 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (p) 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Emma

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Katherine Jakeways

All three series of the BBC radio bittersweet comedy, narrated by Sheila Hancock, following the adventures of the residents of a small town in Northamptonshire - plus special episode 'Full Stop'. 
 
Relationships have come and gone but life continues in Wadenbrook, where Sheila Hancock takes us behind closed doors to reveal the inhabitants' heartbreak and happiness. 
 
We meet Rod the local supermarket manager (Mackenzie Crook), who shares rather more than is usual about his private life over the store's tannoy system, and recently divorced Jan (Felicity Montagu) who's been trying unsuccessfully to 'find herself'. Forthright self-defence teacher Esther (Katherine Jakeways, also the writer of this series) and her gentle and put-upon husband Jonathan (Kevin Eldon) are trying to start a family, and Ken and Keith, possibly the happiest couple in town, are determined to teach their pet whippets to dance for the town talent night. 
 
Throughout this funny and touching comedy show, love blossoms in the most unexpected places, birthdays are celebrated, and visitors are both expected and unexpected. In the final ever episode, 'Full Stop', the residents of Wadenbrook travel to see a starry production at the Birmingham Hippodrome but heavy snow threatens to thwart everyone's plans... 
 
Narrated by Sheila Hancock, North by Northamptonshire also stars Kevin Eldon, Geoffrey Palmer, Penelope Wilton, Mackenzie Crook and Felicity Montagu, and was written by Katherine Jakeways. 
 
Audio assets updated as of January 2022 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

North by Northamptonshire

The Complete BBC Radio comedy

In this BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of one of Jane Austen's most beloved works, Catherine Morland's overactive imagination makes her life more complicated than she would have wished... 
 
Catherine is obsessed with Gothic novels, often getting swept up by her taste for the dramatic and tragic. Did Mrs Tilney really die nine years previously, or has she been murdered or imprisoned in her chambers this whole time? 
 
Meanwhile she is torn between two suitors, the handsome and clever Henry Tilney and the arrogant John Thorpe.... 
 
Published over 200 years ago, Northanger Abbey remains one of the British nation's favourite novels. Among the star cast in this radio production are Amanda Root, David Harewood, Julia McKenzie, and Jenny Agutter. 
 
This title is part of the BBC's Jane Austen collection. 
© 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (p) 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Northanger Abbey

In this BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of Jane Austen's last fully completed novel, Anne Elliot gets a second chance at love... 
 
Anne was persuaded out of an engagement with the not-yet wealthy Captain Wentworth. The Elliot family are now close to financial ruin and are forced to rent out their family home, while Captain Wentworth has returned after making his fortune at sea. How the tables have turned... 
 
Published over 200 years ago, Persuasion remains one of the British nation's favourite novels. Among the star cast in this radio production are Juliet Stevenson, Tim Brierley, Sorcha Cusack, and Roger Hume. 
 
This title is part of the BBC's Jane Austen collection. 
 
© 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (p) 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Persuasion

In this BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of one of Jane Austen's most beloved works, the devoted Dashwood sisters are forced by tragic circumstances to set about the delicate task of finding suitable husbands... 
 
John Willoughby quickly and seemingly irreversibly captures Marianne's heart. Her sister Elinor finds few suitors, and even fewer reasons to open up in a society fuelled by social status... 
 
Published over 200 years ago, Sense and Sensibility remains one of the British nation's favourite novels. Among the star cast in this radio production are Amanda Hale, Olivia Hallinan, Deborah McAndrew, and Blake Ritson. 
 
This title is part of the BBC's Jane Austen collection. 
 
© 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (p) 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Sense and Sensibility

Tom Stoppard

The collected BBC radio productions of the internationally renowned playwright Tom Stoppard 
 
 One of the giants of British theatre, Sir Tom Stoppard has been writing for the stage and screen for over 50 years. Full of wit, verbal brilliance and big ideas, his plays appeal to critics and audiences alike and are among the most studied works of the last century. 
 
 Our collection contains the masterpiece, Arcadia, which won him an Olivier Award for Best Play and transferred to radio with the cast of the award-winning National Theatre production. It is followed by two of his most famous and best-loved dramas: the hilarious spoof whodunnit The Real Inspector Hound and the play that made Stoppard's name, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Also included is the bittersweet drama Dalliance, based on Arthur Schnitzler's play Liebelei. 
 
 The troubled history of Stoppard's home country, Czechoslovakia, is explored in two thought-provoking plays. Rock 'n' Roll, about love, loyalty, compromise and music, was specially adapted for radio by Stoppard himself, with a new final scene and a soundtrack featuring artists such as, U2, Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys and The Velvet Underground. Its themes of resistance to totalitarianism are echoed in Professional Foul, dramatised by Stoppard from his award-winning BBC TV play and set in communist Prague. 
 
 Stoppard also wrote numerous original radio plays, eight of which are featured here including; The Prix Italia-winning Albert's Bridge; In the Native State (later adapted as the stage play Indian Ink) and Darkside, based on the themes of Pink Floyd's classic album The Dark Side of the Moon. 
 
 Among the multitude of stars in these dazzling dramas are Hugh Grant, Rufus Sewell, Bill Nighy, Felicity Kendal, Harriet Walter, Amaka Okafor, Emma Fielding, Bill Paterson, John Hurt, Bertie Carvel, Toby Jones, Penelope Keith, John Le Mesurier, Penny Downie, Anna Massey, Ron Cook, Ronny Jhutti, Mathew Baynton, Peggy Ashcroft and Timothy West. 
 
 Production credits 
 Written by Tom Stoppard 
 Text copyright 1964 (The Dissolution of Dominic Boot; M is for Moon Among Other Things), 1966 (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead; If You're Glad, I'll Be Frank), 1967 (Albert's Bridge), 1968 (The Real Inspector Hound), 1970 (Where Are They Now?), 1977 (Professional Foul), 1982 (The Dog It Was That Died), 1986 (Dalliance), 1991 (In the Native State), 1993 (Arcadia), 2006 (Rock 'n' Roll), 2013 (Darkside) 
 All rights reserved 
 
 Arcadia 
 Directed by David Benedictus 
 Original music composed by Jeremy Sands 
 
 The Real Inspector Hound 
 Directed by Gordon House 
 
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead 
 Directed by Emma Harding 
 Music arranged and performed by Clare Salaman, Philip Hopkins and Amelia Shakespeare from The Society of Strange and Ancient Instruments 
 
 Albert's Bridge 
 Produced and directed by Charles Lefeaux 
 
 Where Are They Now? 
 Produced by John Tydeman 
 
 If You're Glad, I'll Be Frank 
 Produced by John Tydeman 
 
 The Dissolution of Dominic Boot 
 Directed by Glyn Dearman 
 
 The Dog It Was That Died 
 Produced by John Tydeman 
 
 Rock 'n' Roll 
 Directed by Alison Hindell 
 
 Darkside 
 Produced by James Robinson 
 
 
Professional Foul 
 Directed by Gordon House 
 
 Dalliance 
 Directed by Jeremy Howe 
 Based on a play by Arthur Schnitzler 
 Piano played by Steve Edis 
 
 M is for Moon Among Other Things 
 Directed by Paul Schlesinger 
 
 In the Native State 
 Produced by John Tydeman 
 Excerpt from Up the Country by Emily Eden read by Auriol Smith

Tom Stoppard: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

14 full-cast productions including Arcadia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead & others

Charles Dickens

A thrilling radio re-imagining telling the story of Charles Dickens' last days, and providing a brand new conclusion to his famous unfinished novel 
 
April, 1870. Bone-weary, sick, and struggling with a hidden guilt, Charles Dickens is grappling with what will be his final book - The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Two months later, he is dead, and the novel remains unfinished: only 6 of the 12 planned instalments had been completed. 
 
Centring around the title character, whose sudden disappearance throws the town of Cloisterham into a panic, the story introduces us to a host of potential suspects who could have caused him harm. Edwin's fiancée, Rosa Bud, was having second thoughts about their engagement; his uncle, John Jasper, was known to be jealous of him; and orphan twins Neville and Helena Landless had both tangled with Edwin too. Rumours of murder abound, but his fate is left unanswered... 
 
Set in a phantasmagorical, drug-fuelled landscape where nobody is who or what they claim to be, and motives are more tangled than the alleyways of the nightmare city where the action unfolds, this compelling mystery is one of the greatest puzzles of literature. In this new, fast-moving and impressionistic retelling, we track Dickens as he works on the novel in the weeks before his death, and follow his daughter Kate as she strives to solve the mystery of who killed Drood - and understand the demon that drove her father to fatal exhaustion. 
 
Also included is a bonus documentary, The Mystery of the Mystery of Edwin Drood, in which Frances Fyfield uses her crime-writer's insights to try and find out what really happened to Dickens' eponymous hero. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Charles Dickens 
Adapted by Mike Walker 
Produced and directed by Jeremy Mortimer 
Executive producer: James Robinson 
 
Kate Dickens... Pippa Nixon 
John Jasper... Joel McCormack 
Edwin Drood ... Iwan Davies 
Rosa Bud ... Isabella Inchbald 
Princess Puffer... Rachel Atkins 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 21 December 2020-1 January 2021 
 
The Mystery of the Mystery of Edwin Drood 
Presented by Frances Fyfield 
With Simon Brett and Professor Jenny Hartley 
Produced by Tom Alban 
 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 January 2021

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

A full-cast BBC dramatisation with a brand new ending

Nick Warburton

A cricketing legend faces his final innings in this moving BBC radio drama starring Kenneth Cranham and Benedict Cumberbatch 
 
Easter Monday, 1908, and there's snow on the ground as ageing icon W.G. Grace arrives at the Oval to contemplate another day in his lifelong cricketing obsession. He can't face the thought of sitting in the clubhouse and meeting the same old people - so instead, he trudges out in the cold to the groundsman's hut, where he encounters a young stranger. 
 
Their talk turns, naturally, to cricket, and the two men recall the highlights of Grace's long career: his debut for the All-England team in 1866, when he made 100 runs on the first day, and his first Test Match at the Oval in 1880 where he scored 152 against Australia, becoming England's first centurion. 
 
But those triumphs occurred decades ago, and Grace no longer dominates the world of cricket as he once did. At nearly 60, he knows in his heart that it's time to retire, but he cannot bear the idea of giving up the game he loves. Can the stranger persuade him to bow out with dignity? 
 
Written by Nick Warburton, who won the 2007 Peter Tinniswood Award for Best New Play on Radio, this poignant, bittersweet drama stars Kenneth Cranham as Grace, with Benedict Cumberbatch as the young man and Christopher Martin-Jenkins as the Voice of Cricket. 
 
Produced by Steven Canny 
 
Cast 
W.G. Grace - Kenneth Cranham 
GF - Benedict Cumberbatch 
Voice of Cricket - Christopher Martin-Jenkins 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 24 September 2008

Last Days of Grace

A BBC Radio 4 drama

Morwenna Banks

Rebecca Front

The complete first and second series of the award-winning sitcom written by and starring Morwenna Banks (Absolutely) and Rebecca Front (The Thick of It) set in, yes, a library, but no ordinary library. This is the library overseen and run by the most unlikely pairing since Mills met Boon. 
 
Meet Alice (Rebecca Front) - a former child prodigy who won a place at Oxford aged nine, but because Daddy went too she never needed to have any friends. She's scared of everything - everything that is, except libraries and Snoo (Morwenna Banks), a slightly confused individual, with a have-a-go attitude to life, marriage, haircuts and reality. Snoo loves books, and fully intends to read one someday. 
 
And forever popping into the library is Dr. Cadogan (Michael Fenton Stevens), celebrity doctor to the stars and a man with his finger in every pie. Charming, indiscreet and quite possibly wanted by Interpol, if you want a discrete nip and tuck and then photos of it accidentally left on the photocopier, Dr Cadogan is your man. 
 
Their happy life is interrupted by the arrival of Simon Nielson (Ben Willbond), a man with a mission, a mission to close down inefficient libraries. Fortunately, he hates his mission. What he really wants to do is once, just once get even with his inexhaustible supply of high-achieving brothers....

Shush!: The Complete Series 1 and 2

A BBC Radio 4 comedy

Katie Hims

Two boys out sledging in their local park find the body of an old woman in the snow. Who is she? How did she come to be there? 
 
Over ten episodes, this compelling series moves backwards and forwards in time to reveal the chain of events that led her to that point.We meet members of her family, her friends and the people she has encountered, all of whom provide clues to help us put the puzzle together. From the police and paramedics to the nurses and residents in an old people's home, each character has their own relationships and circumstances - and on our journey to understanding the old woman's story, we hear theirs too, combining to form a brilliant kaleidoscope of modern life and love. 
 
Christine Bottomley, Marcia Warren, Neil Dudgeon, Amelia Bullmore and John Rowe are among the stars in Katie Hims' funny, poignant drama. 
 
Directed by Mary Peate 
 
Cast 
Ryan - Harry Grasby 
Jackson - Aaron Gelkoff 
Mick - David Reed 
Hayley - Christine Bottomley 
Kadija - Nahel Tzegai 
Pat/Shirley - Heather Craney 
Rose - Jessica Turner 
Frank/Taxi driver - Neil McCaul 
Marion - Marcia Warren 
Zoe - Amanda Wilkin 
Eve - Sinead MacInnes 
Bloke/Phil - Ian Conningham 
Eli/Ben - Greg Jones 
Ozzy - Ikky Elyas 
Ned/Baxter - Will Kirk 
Call Handler/Girl - Scarlett Courtney 
Joe - John Rowe 
Lee - Neil Dudgeon 
Saskia - Amelia Bullmore 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3-14 February 2020

24 Kildare Road

A BBC Radio mystery

Sebastian Baczkiewicz

Hamlet. Claudius. The Beginning. The Truth. 
 
How did Claudius become the man he is in Shakespeare's Hamlet? What were the real reasons behind the murder of his brother? How does he really feel about his nephew? These questions will be answered in this drama spiced with ghosts, pirates, magic and political skulduggery. 
 
Set in an alternative Europe in the 1930-50s, Elsinore is a prequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet. This compelling drama imagines the turbulence of the Danish court in a world where Denmark is a powerful, militarised country with a small empire around the Baltic that it is fighting hard to maintain. There is more than a hint of totalitarianism in the air. 
 
In this uneasy setting, Elsinore delves into the troubled, not to say murderous relationship between King Hamlet and his brother, Claudius: one of the most interesting characters in the Shakespearean canon. Realism meets with moments of otherworldliness as the story unravels, taking in pirates and magic, rebellion and betrayal. 
 
A dark, exciting drama that touches on the events and people in Shakespeare's play and brings us to the moment where Hamlet begins. 
 
From the extraordinary imagination of Sebastian Baczkiewicz, writer of the successful Pilgrim series. 
Directed by Marc Beeby and Sasha Yevtushenko. 
 
 
Cast: 
Claudius - John Light 
 Hamlet - John Heffernan 
 Dauphin - Ed Gaughan 
 Captain True - Chetna Pandya 
 Polonius - Clive Hayward 
 Gertrude - Lyndsey Marshal 
 Anders/Dr Swiss/Schroeder - Neil McCaul 
 Olsson - Rupert Holliday-Evans 
 Yorick/Guard/Defence/Captain - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong 
 Katya - Isabella Inchbald 
 Beatrix - Abbie Andrews 
 Archimedes/Prosecutor - David Reakes 
 Horatio/ Schroeder/Judge - Philip Bretherton 
 Laszlo/Voice/Ulrik Krabbe - Adam Fitzgerald 
 Uncle - Ben Crowe 
 Helena - Clare Corbett 
 Helgeland - Sudha Bhuchar 
Catalina - Laura Christy 
Kabanova - Jessica Turner 
Lindstrom - Pip Torrens 
Fortinbras/Marcellus - Will Kirk 
Martin - Ikky Elyas 
Lieutenant/Horatio - Greg Jones 
 
 
 
© 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Elsinore: The Complete Series 1 and 2

Hamlet. Claudius. The Beginning. The Truth.

Oscar Wilde

A BBC radio celebration of the works of Oscar Wilde, including energetic adaptations of his best-known plays, short stories, and original dramas about the man himself 
 
Long before he'd produced any of his great works, Oscar Wilde was already famous for being famous. Armed only with some witty epigrams, a carefully crafted persona and his genius for self-promotion, he had conquered America and transformed himself from nobody to star. 
 
This radio collection opens with four plays from Radio 4's Born to be Wilde season, offering a 21st Century perspective on the making of one of the first true celebrities. First up are two sparkling and surprising productions of his two most popular comedies, marking the peak of his theatrical career. The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband feature stellar casts including Mathew Baynton, Jeany Spark, John Heffernan and Miranda Raison, with the latter also featuring music by Steppenwolf, Taylor Swift and Amy Winehouse. 
 
Next, two plays by Marcy Kahan and Lavinia Murray explore aspects of Wilde's life. The Warhol Years charts his astonishing rise, as he embarks on his US tour determined to be famous for 15 minutes - and then some. Oscar and Constancy portrays a celebrity marriage in crisis, as Wilde's domestic and creative lives vie for supremacy. Both dramas star Max Bennett as the young Wilde, with Dervla Kirwan as his mother, Speranza. 
 
Also included in this collection are nine of Wilde's classic short stories. The deliciously satirical 'Lord Arthur Savile's Crime' is dramatised with a full cast including Rupert Penry-Jones and Gillian Kearney. His humorous supernatural story 'The Canterville Ghost' is read by Alistair McGowan, and Joseph Ayre narrates two delightful stories with a twist: 'The Sphinx Without a Secret' and 'The Model Millionaire'. Wilde's dazzling fairytales - 'The Happy Prince', 'The Nightingale and the Rose', 'The Selfish Giant', 'The Remarkable Rocket' and 'The Birthday of the Infanta' - are read by Joseph Fiennes, Joseph Ayre, Sam Dale, John Moffatt and Paul McGann. 
 
 
Track listing: 
An Ideal Husband 
The Importance of Being Earnest 
The Warhol Years 
Oscar and Constancy 
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime 
'The Canterville Ghost' 
'The Sphinx Without a Secret' 
'The Model Millionaire' 
'The Happy Prince' 
'The Nightingale and the Rose' 
'The Selfish Giant' 
'The Remarkable Rocket' 
'The Birthday of the Infanta'

Born to be Wilde

Plays, stories and the making of a modern celebrity

Nick Perry

A child in an East End garden plays with an imaginary friend. One day she goes to the bottom of the garden and never returns. A homeless man desperately tries to stay awake, believing that whenever he falls asleep he wakes up in a different century. A London Underground maintenance engineer walks the two miles between adjacent stations in less than four minutes. 
 
While travelling on the London Underground one afternoon, Alice meets the gaze of a man standing on the platform of a mysterious "ghost station". As her train hurtles into a tunnel, he's gone. She's convinced that the man was her brother Alan who has been missing presumed dead for the past five years. 
 
 This fleeting encounter is the beginning of Alice's increasingly bizarre, desperate and labyrinthine search for her missing brother, a journey that leads her back through time into London's past. 
 
 As Alice soon discovers, London is not one but many cities, a city of curious anomalies and dark secrets, of hidden portals to other dimensions, a city so vast and varied that the weird and the uncanny blend seamlessly with the ordinary, where the person sitting next to you on the bus, or walking beside you on the pavement, may in fact be a visitor from another time. 
 
Alice . . . . . Scarlett Brookes 
Alan . . . . . Ian Dunnett Jnr 
Mum/Jackie . . . . . Jane Whittenshaw 
Lizzie . . . . . Emma Handy 
Dorian/Doctor/Churchill . . . . . Roger Ringrose 
Simon/Morris . . . . . Joseph Ayre 
Kelechi/Jack . . . . . Stefan Adegbola 
Stefania/Jill . . . . . Charlotte East 
Child/Isaac . . . . . Aaron Gelkoff 
Pianist: Peter Ringrose 
 
Directed by Sasha Yevtushenko

London Particular

A BBC Radio sci-fi drama

Colin Swash

Tony Robinson and David Haig star in this black-hole comedy about two space-age humans stranded on a friendly alien planet 
 
Norman is an idealistic, Beethoven-loving revolutionary. Max is a boring but cheerful timeshare salesman who won't stop talking. Fellow passengers on a flight to the Moon, they're thrown together to become reluctant companions after the lunar shuttle's toilet cubicle explodes, crash-landing them both on the desert sands of a distant alien planet. 
 
They are rescued by the friendly Oblivions, who could not be more delighted to see them. Having spent six years learning English from a discarded volume of Noël Coward plays, they're keen to practise the lingo - and learn more about the many mysteries that have baffled them. How do you mix a Martini? How does one play tennis? And what on Earth is misery? 
 
Norman and Max are about to answer all their questions - as well as introducing them to fire, contemplation and baked potatoes. But their well-intentioned attempts to share the secrets of racquet-based games and sophisticated cocktails soon backfire. Perhaps providing the Oblivions with the priceless gifts of human civilization wasn't such a good idea after all... 
 
Written by Colin Swash, whose numerous TV credits include Have I Got News For You and Mock the Week, this sci-fi sitcom stars Tony Robinson as Max and David Haig as Norman. Among the co-stars are Geoffrey McGivern and Lorelei King (The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy), and guest stars include Alistair McGowan, Peter Serafinowicz and Ronni Ancona. 
Production credits 
Written by Colin Swash 
Produced by Richard Wilson 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 March-13 April 1995 
 
Cast 
Norman - Tony Robinson 
Max - David Haig 
Stella - Louise Lombard 
Macari - Michael Troughton 
Captain Rossiter - Dan Strauss 
Jane/Terayz/Suzy - Carla Mendonça 
Tony - Geoffrey McGivern 
Ken - Tom Hollander 
Inspector Albermarle - Andy Rashleigh 
Clive - Guy Witcher 
Jonathan Ross - Alistair McGowan 
Buzz - Peter Serafinowicz 
Louise - Ronni Ancona 
Voice of Ume - Lorelei King 
Vince - Daniel Main

Paradise Lost in Space

A BBC Radio sci-fi comedy

Pilgrim walks again between the worlds of magick and of men in this eerie supernatural adventure 
 
Fated to eternally walk the line between the worlds of faerie and men, reluctant hero Pilgrim finds himself facing an old adversary in this superbly uncanny two-parter. 
 
When he donates a priceless portrait to the struggling Timbermoor Museum to ensure it stays open, there's one particular shabby exhibit Pilgrim hopes to keep safe. So he's disconcerted to hear that the item in question, Cochrane's Boot, has got lost in transit. 
 
But someone has found it - and unleashed the spirit within it. Troubled teen Rabbit Owen has been shunned by the townsfolk since he unwittingly caused the death of his friend, but now, with the help of his 'auntie', it's payback time... 
 
Meanwhile, guilt-ridden museum curator John Wayne pays a visit to the exclusive, elusive Grey Lodge Chalets, situated in an ancient grove deep in the heart of the woods. He needs to speak to one of the residents, but first he must deliver a tithe to the sinister supervisor, Mr Buttoner. John is willing to pay - but he has no idea how high the price will be. 
 
With the Timbermoor Imp, Sally Mop, liberated from her prison, Rabbit is riding high - and as Hallowe'en arrives and the locals prepare to gather around the Sun Stone for their annual celebrations, the stage is set for a much darker ritual. Can Pilgrim save John from a dance with death, turn Rabbit away from revenge, and prevent a terrible sacrifice? 
 
Cast: 
William Palmer ..... Paul Hilton 
 John ..... Stefan Adegbola 
 Rabbit ..... Louis Jay Jordan 
 Amy ..... Charlotte East 
 Piper ..... Katie Redford 
 Vaughan ..... Luke Nunn 
 Eddie/Mr Buttoner ..... Roger Ringrose 
 Sally ..... Jane Whittenshaw 
 Janice ..... Ellie Piercy 
 Ginger ..... Emma Handy 
Produced by Marc Beeby and directed by Jessica Dromgoole 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23-30 October 2020

Pilgrim: The Timbermoor Imp

The BBC Radio 4 fantasy drama series

Ian Simons

The BBC Radio 7 sci-fi comedy, starring Dan Mersh, Tim Key, Prunella Scales and Dan Tetsell 
 
Reporters Charlie Palmer and Moog Johnson are supposed to be exploring the galaxy in search of unimaginable news. But the beauty of an infinite universe is that if everything possible happens somewhere, there's no need to actually go there to check. So they may as well stay where they are - parked on Clapham Common disguised as a hedge - and simply make up their stories instead. 
 
Unfortunately, their terrifying boss at Inter-Galactic News, Korg, is on to them, and won't tolerate their fake news any longer. From now on, they have to provide real reports - or he'll have their spleens in a box... 
 
Aided by onboard computer Mother, who provides them with Bakewell tarts and Jammy Dodgers (her baking programme has overwritten pretty much all her other software), the duo prepare to take the IGN Indolent on a variety of perilous missions, including locating a missing ambassador, babysitting Korg's nephew, tracking down Mad Captain Pendulum and finding the perfect present for Mother's birthday. 
 
Can they avoid having their ship captured by pirates? Will they survive a messy meeting with the Emperor of the Toilet People? And when an evil planet tries to take over the universe while Mother's away, who will come to their rescue? 
 
Written by Stuart Sumner and Ian Simons, this light-hearted space comedy stars Dan Mersh as Charlie, Tim Key as Moog, Prunella Scales as Mother and Dan Tetsell as Korg. Guest stars include The IT Crowd's Chris O'Dowd and Geoffrey McGivern, who played Ford Prefect in the original radio production of The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. 
 
 
Produced by Victoria Lloyd 
Original music by Ben Walker, with additional music by George Corporal 
First broadcast BBC Radio 7, 10 February-3 March 2007 (Series 1), 1-22 March 2008 (Series 2) 
 
Cast 
Charlie - Dan Mersh 
Moog - Tim Key 
Mother - Prunella Scales 
Korg - Dan Tetsell 
Fluffy/Claude/Postmaster General - Jot Davies 
Yecch - Margaret Cabourn-Smith 
Captain Grey/Sprout-Bunge- Colin Holt 
Captain Pendulum - Chris O'Dowd 
Aunty Genocide/Sam - Anna Bengo 
Eddie Chessington - Geoffrey McGivern 
Ben - Gus Brown

Space Hacks: The Complete Series 1 and 2

Neil Gaiman

A brand new BBC Radio adaptation of Neil Gaiman's award-winning fairytale, merging Snow White and Sleeping Beauty to enchanting effect 
 
In a mountain kingdom far away, a young queen prepares for her wedding, believing her future is sealed. But when three dwarves bring news of a sleeping sickness sweeping across her realm, she knows she cannot stand by and do nothing. As a girl, she survived her own long, magical sleep, so she must try to turn back this new plague and save her people. 
 
Abandoning her bridal finery, she dons her armour instead, and rides out to a castle at the very heart of the sleeping lands. There, she finds a beautiful princess, sound asleep, and a very old woman, forever awake. With no handsome prince in sight, the queen wakes the princess in the traditional way - but things are not as they seem, and it will take more than a kiss to ensure everyone lives happily ever after... 
 
Penelope Wilton, Gwendoline Christie, Ralph Ineson and Neil Gaiman himself are among the star cast in this captivating fable of love, loss, hope and destiny. 
 
This release is an extended cut of the story broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and features an exclusive introduction from Neil Gaiman. 
 
 
Credits 
Written by Neil Gaiman 
Adapted by Katie Hims 
Directed and produced by Allegra McIlroy 
 
Recorded remotely by Sharon Hughes and John Benton 
Sound design by Sharon Hughes 
 
A BBC Audio North Production 
 
Cast 
The Narrator/The Old Woman - Dame Penelope Wilton 
The Queen - Gwendoline Christie 
The Home Secretary - Neil Gaiman 
The First Dwarf - Ralph Ineson 
The Second Dwarf - Stefan Adegbola 
The Third Dwarf/The Prince/The Tinker/The Woodcutter - Ian Dunnett Jnr 
The Pot Girl/The Young Girl/The Mother - Cecilia Appiah 
The Maid/The Other Woman/The Stepmother - Emma Handy 
The Father/The Inn Keeper/The Bandit - Roger Ringrose 
The Child - Milton Dighton 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 December 2020

The Sleeper and the Spindle

Christopher William Hill

1961. Radio producer Hugo is proud of his new science fiction show. Admittedly, the dialogue is somewhat creaky, the two lead actors despise each other, and the sound effects were knocked up in the engineer's kitchen - but it has rocket-ships, hover-cars, robots and Martians. It's the world of the future, where anything can happen: and often does... 
 
There's just one problem: nobody's listening. The future's about to be a thing of the past - until government intervention saves the series from cancellation. With the Russians forging ahead with space travel, BBC bigwigs are persuaded that Tomorrow, Today! could serve as a useful anti-Soviet propaganda tool. 
 
Rescued from the scrapheap, the show is free to head fearlessly for the stars - including a renowned Shakespearean thespian cast in the role of an android. But reviews are poor, the Home Office won't stop interfering, and as 1962 dawns, things are looking dark. Two suspicious deaths lead to rumours of a curse, Hugo is tempted away to TV, and with Harold Macmillan set to guest star, the programme is infiltrated by a spy. As the Cuban missile crisis escalates and the Cold War hots up, the whole show relocates to Wales - but will that prove any safer? 
 
Written by award-winning dramatist Christopher William Hill (On the Rocks), this amusing, affectionate sci-fi spoof stars Joseph Kloska, Peter Bowles, Cheryl Campbell and John Fortune. 
 
 
Produced by Liz Webb 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 6-27 October 2006 (Series 1), 28 January-3 March 2008 (Series 2) 
 
Cast 
Nigel Lavery - Peter Bowles 
Sylvia Hann - Cheryl Campbell 
Godfrey Winnard- John Fortune 
Sir Angus McNairn - Gary Waldhorn 
Huqo Kellerman - Joseph Kloska 
Douglas Bennings/Harold Macmillan - Jon Glover 
Colin Franks - Paul Richard Biggin 
Miss Pickford/Waitress/Advert voice/Producer - Miranda Keeling 
Sir Monty - Leslie Phillips 
Rex the pianist - Marc Willcox 
Keith Wood - Sam Pamphilon 
Mrs Tinkler/Cynthia Valentine - Rachel Atkins 
Graham Tinkler - Lloyd Thomas 
Delivery boy/Director - Alex Lanipekun 
Georgina Barrett - Carolyn Pickles 
Burton/Porter - Peter Marinker 
Fenella Sayers - Ania Gordon 
Angela/Miss Thurwell - Anna Bengo 
Continuity/Roger Aspinall - Simon Treves 
Veronica Walters - Johannah Tincey 
Henderson/Mr Thomas - Ben Crowe 
Secretary/Tannoy - Laura Molyneux

Tomorrow, Today!: The Complete Series 1 and 2

Alastair Jessiman

All six episodes of the gloriously gritty comedy crime drama 
 
Taggart meets A Touch of Cloth in this parody police procedural featuring DI Bob Boxer and his sidekick DC Shona Doberman. They're an unlikely couple of cops - he's grizzled, old-school and wears a cardigan; she's young, instinctive and wields a Blackberry. But together they tackle cases so tough, they'd make Frost flinch and Rebus run away... 
 
In Headless in Glasgow, a serial killer is targeting academics - can the duo track down the multiple murderer? The Killings in Kirkibrae sees them probing a link between some gruesome murders in Glasgow and some nasty deaths in an idyllic Highlands village. In The Big Cheese, Boxer falls into the clutches of a sadistic old enemy who exploits one of his deepest childhood terrors. Could a good cop really go bad? And in The Seat of Evil, Boxer and Doberman delve into a celebrity killing spree, as the plot thickens like fog on the Clyde. 
 
Murder is Child's Play finds two rival crime bosses competing for a coveted children's book award. With Glasgow campaigning to win 'European City of Kindness', can our detective duo prevent gang warfare? Finally, in The Black Widow, when Boxer and Doberman are called to investigate the brutal slaying of a popular Scottish actor, they become entangled (as you do) in a web of intrigue - one that gets even stickier when Boxer falls for the victim's seductive widow... 
 
Written by Alastair Jessiman, this sparkling send-up of the dour detective genre stars Finlay Welsh as Bob Boxer and Anita Vettesse as Shona Doberman, with James Bryce as DCI Paton. 
 
 
WARNING: this recording contains strong language 
 
 Production credits 
Written by Alastair Jessiman 
Produced and directed by David Jackson Young 
BA: Carrie Gibbons 
Content Assistant: Patricia Hitchcock 
Studio Managers: Gregor Graham, Mic Calder, Ross Blackmore, Malcolm Torrie and Heather Andrews 
 
Starring Finlay Welsh as DI Bob Boxer, Anita Vettesse as DC Shona Doberman and James Bryce as DCI Paton 
 
Headless in Glasgow 
With Ralph Riach and Ann Scott-Jones 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7, 23 March 2009 
 
The Killings in Kirkibrae 
With Sheila Donald, Carol Ann Crawford and Crawford Logan 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7, 24 March 2009 
 
The Big Cheese 
With Steven McNicoll, Eileen McCallum and Crawford Logan 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7, 25 March 2009 
 
The Seat of Evil 
With Steven McNicoll, Crawford Logan and Monica Gibb 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7, 26 March 2009 
 
Murder is Child's Play 
Butcher Brawley - James Bryce 
Rosa Caputo - Ann Scott Jones 
"The Shadow" - Cameron McNee 
Joe Macnamarra - Alastair Jessiman 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7, 6 December 2010 
 
The Black Widow 
Marion Swann - Juliet Cadzow 
Mackenzie Baxter - Sean Scanlan 
Joe Macnamarra - Alastair Jessiman 
With James MacPherson 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 7, 7 December 2010

Boxer and Doberman: The Complete Series 1 and 2

A BBC Radio crime comedy

Lucy Clarke

Faye Walters knows that today's women are sorted and stylish. They have the job, the house, the colour co-ordinated capsule wardrobe. They cope with the pressures of singledom, marriage and having kids with peanut-allergies. And they all do it effortlessly, with nothing more than a women's mag and a poem by Pam Ayres to guide them. 
 
So why can't she pull it off? 
 
Everything would be fabulous if only she could wangle an invitation to her boss's wedding, buy a flat with her boyfriend and get her mum to loan her £10,000. But even with a new kitchen, an awards ceremony and her own engagement party to look forward to, she's still anxious. And life only gets more nerve-wracking as she prepares for a royal visit at work and her hen do - especially since she's having serious doubts about whether she wants to get married at all... 
 
Starring Daisy Haggard (Breeders, Back to Life) as ditsy, neurotic Faye, this quirky comedy features a stellar cast including Katy Brand as Denise, Olivia Colman and Melanie Hudson as Edith, Laura Solon as Kim and Justin Edwards as Mark. Among the guest stars are Adam Buxton, Margaret Cabourn-Smith and Mark Lamarr. 
 
 
Produced by Simon Nicholls 
Music by Osymyso 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16 May-20 June 2007 (Series 1), 14 October-11 November 2008 (Series 2), 9 February-2 March 2010 (Series 3) 
 
Cast 
Faye - Daisy Haggard 
Denise - Katy Brand 
Edith - Olivia Colman/Melanie Hudson 
Kim - Laura Solon 
Mark - Justin Edwards 
With Adam Buxton, Matthew Holness, Joanna Neary, Eve Dallas, John Dougall, Joanna Scanlan, Anne Reid, Jot Davies, Geoffrey McGivern, Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Stephen Critchlow, Mel Hudson, John Rowe, Dan Starkey, Bradley Ford, Renee Clark, Chelsea Jabbau, Alison Pettit, Martin Hyder, Joanna Monro, Sally Grace, David Armand, Nigel Hastings, Rufys Wright, John Biggins, Mark Lamarr

Fabulous: The Complete Series 1-3

A BBC Radio full-cast comedy

Timothy X Atack

Forest 404: 9-part thriller, 9-part talk, 9-part soundscape and exclusive bonus documentary 
 
Can you feel loss for something you've never known? 
 
Meet Pan. She lives a few centuries from now, in a future beyond a data crash that wiped out most records of life from before the 23rd century: The Cataclysm. Her job is to sort through the old sound recordings that survived from before the crash - from The Slow Times. When winters were still cold. When the USA still had people in it. 
 
All day she listens to sounds from The Slow Times, and she decides which noises live, and which can just...finally die. Deleted to make space. Because data costs. 
 
But when she finds an old recording of a rainforest, she has no idea what it is. Because forests no longer exist. And the sound of it haunts her - she is compelled to hunt down the truth about how the forests of the old world died. But the agents of new world have other ideas... 
 
A sci-fi thriller starring Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who), Tanya Moodie (Sherlock, Motherland) and Pippa Haywood (Green Wing, Bodyguard). 
 
Each episode is accompanied by a talk which looks at the issues raised by the drama, featuring a diverse range of speakers: musicians, bio-futurists, anthropologists and tree-climbers. They explore questions ranging from 'Why should I listen to trees?' to 'Would you vote for an AI government?' and 'What is death in the digital age?' 
 
Each episode also comes with an immersive soundscape of natural world environments, mixed in binaural sound for a 3D headphone experience. You can hear the sound of the Sumatran rainforest, the songs of whales, a chorus of frogs, and a full playout of Bonobo's specially-composed theme music. 
 
Lastly, this release includes an exclusive bonus documentary episode, which looks at the making of the series, featuring interviews with writer Timothy X Atack and director Becky Ripley. It also shares the findings of The Forest 404 Experiment: a related project in collaboration with Exeter University and the Open University, about the effects that different natural sounds have on our moods and mental health. 
 
Credits: 
Pan - Pearl Mackie 
Daria - Tanya Moodie 
Theia - Pippa Haywood 
With theme music by Bonobo 
Directed by Becky Ripley 
 
Track listing: 
1. Episode 1: Life in the Fast Times 
2. Talk 1: Why should I listen to trees? 
3. Soundscape 1: Rainforest Symphony 
4. Episode 2: The Fumetown Priest 
5. Talk 2: How is the sound of the world changing? 
6. Soundscape 2: Frog Chorus 
7. Episode 3: Into the Inner 
8. Talk 3: Could I live in darkness? 
9. Soundscape 3: Whale Songs 
10. Episode 4: Of Earthly Delights 
11. Talk 4: Why do trees live so long 
12. Soundscape 4: Woodland Walk 
13. Episode 5: Last Days of the Slow World 
14. Talk 5: Will we all become cyborgs? 
15. Soundscape 5: Theia's Hometown 
16. Episode 6: A New Leaf 
17. Talk 6: What is death in the digital age? 
18. Soundscape 6: Pan's Dwindling 
19. Episode 7: Dreams of the Autopilot 
20. Talk 7: Would you vote for an AI government? 
21. Soundscape 7: Daria's Nightmare 
22. Episode 8: Future Conditional 
23. Talk 8: How will humans die out? 
24. Soundscape 8: The Memory Transfer 
25. Episode 9: Enigmata 
26. Talk 9: Love Letter to the Forest... 
27. Soundscape 9: Bonobo's Theme 
28. Exclusive bonus 'making of' documentary

Forest 404

A BBC sci-fi thriller

Tony Hare

All six episodes of the radio series spoofing the adventures of the famous sleuth 
 
Deep in the bowels of the British Museum, a locked leather portmanteau is unearthed. Contained within it is a rare treasure: the hitherto unpublished journals of Dr John H Watson... Prepare to be amazed and amused as he recounts his escapades with Sherlock Holmes, England's greatest detective, master of disguise and toffee-nosed drip. 
 
In The Case of the Clockwork Fiend, the duo delves into a series of bizarre deaths linked to new-fangled inventions. Their inquiries lead to Fark Hall, and the eminent explorer Orinoco Quills... The Mystery of the Obese Escapologist sees them probing the murky world of Victorian music hall when Yorkshire wag Willie Eckerslike mysteriously disappears, and in The Case of the Deranged Botanist, they head to Kew Gardens to unravel a monstrous mystery involving cross-bred plants and humans. 
 
Sherlock Holmes and the Glorious Doppelganger features a dastardly plot against Queen Victoria - can Holmes discover who is behind it? In Holmes Strikes a Happy Medium, the Baker Street detective has a brush with the occult when he investigates murderous goings-on at a séance, and in The Demon Cobbler of Greek Street, the game's afoot when Holmes and Watson go on the trail of a sinister shoemaker... 
 
A feast of risqué gags, groan-inducing puns and ribald revelry, this delightfully daft extravaganza stars Roy Hudd, Chris Emmett and June Whitfield (the dream team from The News Huddlines) as Holmes, Watson and Mrs Hudson. Jeffrey Holland plays Lestrade, with Geoffrey Whitehead as Moriarty. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Tony Hare 
Produced by Chris Neill 
Musical accompaniment: Ian Smith 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 2, 16 January-20 February 1999 
 
Cast 
Sherlock Holmes - Roy Hudd 
Dr Watson - Chris Emmett 
Mrs Hudson - June Whitfield 
Inspector Lestrade - Jeffrey Holland 
Moriarty - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Other parts played by June Whitfield, Jeffrey Holland and Geoffrey Whitehead

The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes: A BBC Radio Comedy Series

Simon Brett

All four series of the murder mystery game played by people whose business is murder 
 
Chaired by Simon Brett (author of the hugely popular 'Charles Paris' series), this intriguing, interactive panel show challenges professional crime novelists to put their experience and expertise to the test as they try to unravel various mind-bending mysteries. 
 
Each episode features a death and a denouement - with various red herrings and misdirections along the way. As the murder scenario is described and the clues laid out, our writer-detectives take turns cross-examining the suspects. After receiving the latest police updates, it's time to decide whodunit - but will the panellists pick the right perpetrator, or have they been cunningly led astray? We find out in the Foul Play 'Foul Playlet', in which the truth is revealed... 
 
All the victims, suspects, witnesses and police officers are played by actors Lee Simpson and Maria McErlane (who part-improvise their roles based on the information they've been given), while the guest investigators include Val McDermid, Lindsey Davis, HRF Keating, PD James, Reginald Hill, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Frances Fyfield, John Harvey, Stella Duffy, Robert Barnard and Ian Rankin. Among the baffling cases they tackle are a dead Dowager Duchess, a 1930s murder at sea, a pantomime crime, a monastery mystery and an Elizabethan court killing. 
 
 
Cast and credits 
Devised, written and chaired by Simon Brett 
Produced by Ann Jobson and Liz Anstee 
Actors: Lee Simpson and Maria McErlane 
 
Series 1 panellists: Liza Cody, Susan Moody, John Harvey, Margaret Yorke, Lindsey Davis, Val McDermid, PD James, HRF Keating, Lady Antonia Fraser, Reginald Hill, Ruth Dudley Edwards and Simon Shaw 
 
Series 2 panellists: Tim Heald, Jessica Mann, Frances Fyfield, Minette Walters, Sarah Dunant, Keith Miles, Paula Gosling, Peter N Walker, Robert Barnard, Caroline Graham, Gavin Lyall and Anthony Price 
 
Series 3 panellists: Lady Antonia Fraser, Anthony Price, PD James, HRF Keating, Susan Moody, Simon Shaw, Liza Cody, Reginald Hill, John Harvey, Val McDermid, Frances Fyfield and Peter N Walker 
 
Series 4 panellists: Ruth Dudley Edwards, Robert Richardson, Jean McConnell, Keith Miles, Jessica Mann, James Melville, Tim Heald, Margaret Yorke, Robert Barnard, Lindsey Davis, Ian Rankin and Stella Duffy 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 7 November-12 December 1996 (Series 1), 27 February-3 April 1997 (Series 2), 18 December 1997-22 January 1998 (Series 3), 11 September -16 October 1998 (Series 4)

Foul Play: The Complete Series 1-4

The BBC Radio 4 murder mystery panel game

Jack Reacher Short Stories

Jack Ryan

Jack Ryan Jr

Jack Slater

Jack Stalwart

Jack Tanner

Jack and Millie

Jackson Brodie is a private investigator, originally from Yorkshire. A former soldier and policeman he now makes his money working from investigating infidelity and finding missing cats. Jackson's tough-guy exterior belies a deeply empathetic heart. He's unable to resist coming to the rescue and increasingly he becomes a magnet for the bereaved, the lost and the dysfunctional. His ability to connect comes from his own tragic childhood that still haunts him. 
 
Jackson Brodie has appeared in four of Kate Atkinson's novels. Each can be read in isolation but are best enjoyed in order of publication: Case Histories, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News?, Started Early, Took My Dog.

Jackson Brodie

Jacksonville Rays

Jacky Ha-Ha Series

Jake Cake

Jamaal Target

James Beck

James Bond 007

Jane Smith

Japanese Classics

Meet the hilarious British dilettante Bertram 'Bertie' Wooster who can't seem to help finding himself in the middle of awkward social situations, calling upon his valet Jeeves to escape embarrassment.

Jeeves & Wooster

Jenny Q

Jess Tennant

Joe Rat Adventures

Joey Pigza

Johnny Maxwell

Jon Katz

Jonathon Payne & David Jones

Joseph Stark

Journey into Space

Jumpman

Post-graduation, Allyson Healey decided to embark on a three week tour of Europe. It all goes according to plan until she meets Willem. He is everything she is not; free spirited, a risk taker. She allows herself to be swept away by him for just 24 hours, and then returns home the next day. Willem, determined to find her, puts his trust in fate and travels the world hoping that somewhere he will come across her. This sweepingly romantic trio of novels is filled with emotion, romance and a life affirming belief in fate.

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