Joseph Delaney used to be an English teacher, before becoming the best-selling author of the Spook's series, which has been published in 30 countries and sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide. The first book, The Spook's Apprentice, was adapted into a major motion picture starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.

Joseph Delaney

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Hermann Hesse

A full-cast adaptation of the classic novel by Nobel Prize-winner Hermann Hesse, starring Derek Jacobi – plus a bonus short storyOriginally published in 1943, The Glass Bead Game was Herman Hesse’s last novel. It was hailed as his magnum opus, and was instrumental in securing him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946. Set in a utopian future society, it explores themes of knowledge, individualism, creativity and spirituality, and has inspired contemporary thinkers from authors to game designers.Narrated by Derek Jacobi, this two-part radio drama tells the story of Joseph Knecht (Tom Ferguson), plucked from obscurity as a young orphan, admitted to the finest elite school and groomed for greatness in the Castalian Order. This select group of intellectuals live a closeted life of study and devotion to the Glass Bead Game, an elaborate game that is the most complete possible expression of every discipline – from science and mathematics to the arts, music and philosophy.As the years go by, Joseph strives to grasp the innermost meaning of the Game and understand its complexities and possibilities. He becomes a leading light in the Order, and is sent on a diplomatic mission to bridge the gulf between the Catholic Church and Castalia. But he never stops questioning the system that has swept him so quickly and smoothly to high office. And when he achieves the exalted position of Magister Ludi – Master of the Game – he suffers a crisis of conscience, as his deepening doubts about this idealistic and sanitised society threaten to topple its very foundations…Also included is The City, a 15-minute fable about the birth and death of a city taken from Herman Hesse's collection of fairy tales and read by Andrew Hilton.CastBiographer – Derek JacobiJoseph Knecht – Tom FergusonFritz – Toby HadokeMusic Master – Malcolm RaeburnVan der Trave – Terence MannPlinio – David SeddonBertram – Jonathan KeebleFather Jacobus – David FleeshmanYoung Joseph – Aidan ParsonsHelena – Olwen MayPresident – Terence MannTito – Oliver GommDramatised by Lavinia GreenlawProduced by Charlotte RichesDirected by Susan RobertsFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18-25 July 2010The CityRead by Andrew HiltonProduced by Sara DaviesFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 December 2002© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Glass Bead Game

A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation

Joe Orton

Selected plays by the great playwright Joe Orton, plus bonus material 
 
Joe Orton was among the towering geniuses of 1960s theatre. His life was tragically cut short in 1967, but he left behind him a handful of shocking and scabrous black comedies that will live on in the public imagination for years to come. Orton’s career was kickstarted by the BBC. John Tydeman who is widely considered to have found him when working at the BBC as an trainee. He came across an early version of The Ruffian on the Stair called The Boy Hairdresser and persuaded his seniors to let him meet him and discuss the play, there began a friendship that shaped Orton’s life. Tydeman recommended a top literary agent and the rest is history. 
 
Featured here are two of his lesser-known works, The Erpingham Camp and The Ruffian on the Stair, collected together as a double bill. The former, loosely based on Euripides’ tragedy The Bacchae, is an anarchic, subversive farce set in a holiday camp, where a group of campers decide to revolt against the dictatorial owner. It stars an ensemble cast, including Robert Daws and Jonjo O’Neill. In the latter, Orton’s breakthrough hit, an ex-boxer (Gerard Horan) and an ex-prostitute (Sophie Thompson) have their lives disrupted by a stranger (Jack Rowan). Recorded live at the BBC’s radio theatre in 2017 to mark the 50th anniversary of Orton's death, the plays are accompanied by an interview with Orton's friend, Kenneth Cranham, who discusses the Joe Orton he knew. 
 
Also featured are the darkly comic Funeral Games, starring Phil Daniels, Martin Jarvis, Tony Rohr and Liza Sadovy, which takes a sideswipe at religious hypocrisy and is considered the linking work between his two key plays, Loot and What the Butler Saw. Plus, John Sessions reads extracts from Joe Orton’s posthumously published journals in The Orton Diaries; Ned Sherrin hears from Kenneth Williams about his experiences directing Loot in Kenneth Williams on Joe Orton, and Samira Akhmed talks to guests including Orton’s sister Leonie and Sheila Hancock about the playwright’s life and legacy in Front Row: Joe Orton. 
 
Production credits 
Text copyright © Joe Orton 1964 (The Ruffian on the Stair), 1966 (The Erpingham Camp), 1968 (Funeral Games), 1986 (The Orton Diaries) 
All rights reserved 
 
The Erpingham Camp 
Erpingham – Robert Daws 
Riley – Jonjo O'Neill 
Lou – Kerry Gooderson 
Ted – Samuel James 
Kenny – Charlie Clements 
Eileen – Sarah Ridgeway 
W.E. Harrison – Tom Forrister 
Jessie Mason – Sanchia McCormack 
Padre – Simon Ludders 
Accordion Player – Colin Guthrie 
 
The Ruffian on the Stair 
Mike – Gerard Horan 
Joyce – Sophie Thompson 
Wilson – Jack Rowan 
Produced by Mary Peate 
Kenneth Cranham interview by Matthew Sweet 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 2 July 2017 
 
Funeral Games 
Caulfield – Phil Daniels 
Pringle – Martin Jarvis 
McCorquodale – Tony Rohr 
Tessa – Liza Sadovy 
Policeman – Ben Crowe 
Produced and directed by Peter Kavanagh 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11 July 2008 
 
Joe Orton: The Orton Diaries 
Diary selections read by John Sessions 
Produced by Ned Chaillet 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 March 1994 
 
Kenneth Williams on Joe Orton 
With Kenneth Williams and Ned Sherrin 
Produced by Ian Gardhouse 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, September 1980 
 
Front Row: Joe Orton 
Presented by Samira Ahmed 
Produced by Ekene Akalawu 
With Leonie Orton, Emma Parker, Sally Norman, Jenna Forbes, John Lahr, Sheila Hancock, Nikolai Foster 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 11 August 2017 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Joe Orton: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Three Full-Cast Productions & Joe Orton’s Diaries

Amanda Whittington

Sarah Daniels

The award-winning story of Skye and Dexter and their ordinary/extraordinary life 
 
Skye lives in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, with her little brother Dexter and Spider the cat. Their mum, Jak, isn't around much - she's on and off the booze, so it's up to Skye to look out for Dexter, play with him, and make sure he's clothed and fed. He likes it best when she plays her guitar, an electric guitar she found under a heap of clothes in her mum's bedroom. The bailiffs didn't take it even when they came back for the telly. 
 
When we first meet them, Skye is eleven years old, and Dexter two-and-a-half. Through seven series, we follow their highs, lows and struggles to survive through Skye's eyes, as she battles to keep her dysfunctional family together. 
 
From coping with Jak's alcoholism and Dexter's special needs, to being taken into care by social services, getting excluded from school, trying to home educate Dexter during the Covid crisis, falling in love and coming to terms with her sexuality, she has far more on her plate than any young person should have to deal with. 
 
And as Skye turns 18 and prepares to face the challenges of adulthood, we bid farewell to her in a special one-off finale. 
 
Dark, delightful, funny, heartbreaking and heart-warming, this authentic, truthful drama won Best Drama Series/Serial at the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2016. It was developed through close collaboration with BBC Children in Need and projects they fund (including Home-Start UK, Hull Children's University, Voice of Young People in Care, Can Cook, Footsteps 2000, Young Carers' Transition Project and SAYiT) and was inspired by long-term research and ongoing voluntary work with children and families in Gainsborough. 
 
 
Written by Amanda Whittington (series 1-7) and Sarah Daniels (Finale) 
Guitar: Pip Moore and Tom Constantine 
Music by Black Sabbath, the Smashing Pumpkins, Beyoncé, The Breeders and David Bowie performed by Tom Constantine 
Poem by Octavia Bettis 
Directed by Mary Ward-Lowery 
 
Cast 
Skye - Sydney Wade 
Dexter - Elsa Rodgers/Alfie Johnson-McCann 
Jak - Una McNulty 
Evan - Samuel Holland 
Alice - Jane Thornton 
Mags - Sarah Parks 
Lin - Martha Godber 
Joe - Bill Rodgers 
Uncle Dean - Peter Caulfield 
Amber - Liz Godber 
Ant - John Elkington 
Boy - Harry Steel 
Dog Man - John Elkington 
Shelagh - Sarah Parks 
Kim/Clare - Jane Godber 
Shanice - Zoe Johnson 
Leanne - Etta Fusi 
Mia - Julie Riley 
Mr Doshi - Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong 
Nasty Girl - Octavia Bettis 
Pearce - Beau Anten 
Alex - Don Gilet 
Alisha - Megan Huntley 
Alice - Lauren Bowler 
Scarlett - Scarlett Courtney 
Ryan - Adam Courting 
Aiden Hardy - Will Kirk 
Ed - Mark Addy 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

D for Dexter

The complete BBC Radio full-cast drama

Henry Fielding

A collection of contemporary adaptations of the best-known works of Henry Fielding - plus bonus documentary programme 
 
Dubbed 'the father of the English novel' by Sir Walter Scott, Henry Fielding is well known for his ribald humour and ironic, satirical fiction. Collected here are four of his most famous works, including his comic masterpiece Tom Jones, as well as a fascinating documentary exploring the foundling motif in fiction. 
 
Tom Jones - Fielding's bawdy picaresque tale follows the amorous adventures of foundling Tom, one of the most sparkling heroes in English literature. Starring Simon Russell Beale as Henry Fielding and Michael Legge as Tom. 
 
Joseph Andrews - Sitting down to write about the misadventures of a handsome young footman on the road, Henry Fielding finds himself unexpectedly collaborating with his smart, witty wife, Charlotte. As they laugh and bicker about the plot, the story of their writing partnership interweaves with that of Joseph Andrews... Max Bennett and Lyndsey Marshal star in this 18th Century romp with an up-to-date twist. 
 
The Life and Death of Jonathan Wild, The Great - Based on the real-life 'Thief-Taker General' and notorious underworld boss, Fielding's tongue-in-cheek tale draws sly parallels between the corrupt Jonathan Wild and Britain's first Prime Minister, Robert Walpole. Starring Timothy West, Christopher Fairbank and Crawford Logan. 
 
The Female Husband - Sandi Toksvig stars in this high-spirited dramatisation of the true story of Mary Hamilton, who was tried and flogged in 1746 for marrying as a man, and achieved notoriety in a sensational pamphlet published by Fielding. 
 
One of the Three Great Plots of All Literature - Why do foundlings appear so often in literature? Kate Adie discusses the theme underlying Henry Fielding's classic novel Tom Jones with Hugh Cunningham, Marina Warner, Jenny Uglow and contemporary foundling Andy McNab. 
 
First published 1742 (The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and of his Friend Mr Abraham Adams), 1743 (The Life and Death of the Late Mr Jonathan Wild, the Great), 1746 (The Female Husband), 1749 (The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Henry Fielding: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Full-cast dramatisations of Tom Jones, Joseph Andrews, Jonathan Wild & The Female Husband

Harriet O'Carroll

Jenny Howarth

Sophia Hillan

Vanessa Rosenthal

Maura Dooley

You've finished all her novels, so where do you go after Pride and Prejudice? 
 
Perfect for Janeites everywhere, this enticing collection brings together for the first time six special recordings that offer a glimpse behind the scenes at the life of the celebrated author. Taking us on a journey from her earliest teenage writings, to her love affair aged 20, to the scandalous arrest of her aunt which shook her family, these fascinating programmes offer a closer look at Jane Austen and those around her, as seen through her letters, writings and final home. 
 
Juvenile Jane - Jane Austen's delightfully precocious and revealing early works are celebrated by Austen expert Janet Todd and writer and illustrator Posy Simmonds. Anna Maxwell Martin reads extracts from three stories: 'Frederick and Elfrida', 'Henry and Eliza' and 'Love and Freindship'[sic]. 
 
Minuet - The story of Jane Austen's real-life romance with an impassioned but impoverished young Irishman, which fueled her desire to become a writer. Helen McCrory stars as Jane Austen and John Light as Tom Lefroy in this original drama by Harriet O'Carroll. 
 
A City Full of Swindlers - 1799, Bath. Accused of shoplifting a piece of lace, Jane Austen's aunt is arrested and imprisoned... Narrated by Cassandra Austen (Lucy Black), this shocking tale reveals Georgian Bath to be a much less decorous place than it appears in her sister Jane's novels. Based on a true story, Jenny Howarth's entertaining drama also stars Tim Pigott-Smith and Pamela Miles. 
 
Portrait of Elizabeth - Inspired by the Portrait of Elizabeth Bridges Austen at the Jane Austen's House Museum, Chawton, Sophia Hillan's short story is told from the point of view of Jane's elder brother Edward's wife. It is 1808, and Elizabeth has just given birth to her 11th child. Suffering from fever and unaware that she is dying, she rails at the thought of having Jane attend her. But why is she so angry with her sister-in-law? Read by Laura Carmichael. 
 
No Ice in Weymouth - This 5-part series is a portrait of the family, social and professional world of Jane Austen, as seen through her letters and novels. Beginning in 1813, when Pride and Prejudice is about to be published, it concludes in 1815 in the months leading up to the publication of Emma. Starring Susannah Harker as Jane and Oona Beeson as Cassandra. 
 
A Quire of Paper: A Poem for Jane Austen and Her House - In 2016, Maura Dooley was poet-in-residence at the Jane Austen's House Museum, where Austen lived for the last eight years of her life. This atmospheric programme interweaves the sounds of the house, garden and village with specially composed poetry set against the rich history of this iconic place. 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Jane Austen: A Portrait

A BBC Radio Collection

Elizabeth Jane Howard

Lin Coghlan

Penelope Wilton narrates BBC Radio 4’s epic dramatisation of the treasured family saga 
 
Elizabeth Jane Howard’s five book chronicle of the upper-middle class Cazalet family begins in 1938, as siblings Hugh, Edward, Rupert and Rachel join together for another family holiday at Home Place, their house in the Sussex countryside. 
 
During the course of The Light Years, Marking Time, Confusion, Casting Off and All Change, the progress of their lives, and those of their children, will be charted. As their stories unfolds we gain a vivid insight into the lives, hopes and loves of three generations during the Second Word War and beyond. 
 
Dramatised by Sarah Daniels and Lin Coghlan, and with a large cast of actors across all five books, this remarkable radio event adds a new dimension to Elizabeth Jane Howard’s extraordinary chronicles. The first four Cazalet novels sold over a million copies, with the fifth being published in 2013, shortly before the author’s death.

The Cazalets

The epic full-cast BBC Radio dramatisation

Maeve Binchy

A collection of full-cast dramatisations and readings from the bestselling author 
 
‘There’s nobody like Binchy for warming the cockles’ Times 
 
Maeve Binchy was one of Britain’s best-loved storytellers and this compilation of her finest fiction, as heard on BBC Radio, demonstrates all the warmth, wit and compassion that made her so popular. 
 
Firefly Summer is a moving, humorous novel about a sleepy Irish town facing monumental change, dramatised in six parts with a full cast including David Soul and Lorcan Cranitch. 
 
No Nightingales, No Snakes features full-cast dramatisations of five Maeve Binchy short stories, with a distinguished cast including Niamh Cusack, Sam Dale and Harry Towb. 
 
The Garden Party contains four short stories specially commissioned for BBC Radio 4, read by Niamh Cusack, Dervla Kirwan, Doreen Hepburn and Stella McCusker. 
 
The Homecoming comprises four more stories exclusively written for BBC Radio 4, read by Sean Campion, Joanna Myers, Patricia Hodge and Kate Binchy. 
 
Dealing with families, friendship, love, loss, sorrow and joy, these stories will delight all Maeve Binchy fans. Duration: 6 hours approx

Maeve Binchy: Collected Stories

Collected BBC Radio adaptations

Mary Cooper

Jonathan Tafler

Anna Linstrum

Alistair McGowan

Elizabeth Lewis

Robin Brooks

Lucy Caldwell

Sarah Wooley

Stephen Wakelam

Frances Bingham

David Pownall

Katie Hims

Ian Billings

Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre

Judith Adam

18 biographical dramas based on the lives and loves of celebrated writers 
 
These surprising, revealing dramas take a behind-the-scenes look at some of our best-loved authors, mingling fact and fantasy to explore their extraordinary hidden lives. From love affairs, friendships and family relationships to traumas, tragedies and journeys of self-discovery, we glimpse the unwritten worlds that shaped their unforgettable fiction. Among the star casts are Andrew Scott, Toby Jones, Richard Dormer, Glenda Jackson, Bella Ramsey, Julia Davis, Ian McDiarmid, Haydn Gwynne, David Threlfall, Alistair McGowan, Tom Goodman-Hill, Hattie Morahan, Rosie Cavaliero, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Paul Ritter and Lia Williams 
 
Jane and Tom - Writing to her sister, Jane Austen describes her love for Tom Lefroy - a love that would lead to Pride and Prejudice. 
 
When Fanny Met Germaine - A delightful romp through the passionate, scandalous friendship between two 18th Century writers: Fanny Burney and Mme de Stael. 
 
Comrade Ackland - Dorset, 1936. Newly returned from an illicit trip to Civil War Spain, Sylvia Townsend Warner and her lover Valentine Ackland have an unexpected visitor.... 
 
Tongues of Fire - 1913. When a Nobel laureate visits Dublin's Abbey Theatre, fireworks erupt between WB Yeats and Sean O'Casey. 
 
A Year at the Races - Approaching the end of his career, Groucho Marx meets a wisecracking fan determined to teach him new comedy tricks. 
 
Spike and the Elfin Oak- A comic fantasy inspired by Spike Milligan's madcap attempts in the mid-1960s to preserve a curious sculpture in Kensington Gardens. 
 
Everybody's Got Conditions - Casting Bette Davis in his play The Night of the Iguana proves the biggest mistake in Tennessee Williams' career... 
 
I Believe I Have Genius- Humble and obscure, young Charlotte Brontë travels to Brussels to study at a girls' school. 
 
Marian and George - Marian Evans (aka George Eliot) must choose between her adored brother and the love of her life... 
 
Lying Low - An intriguing drama imagining what happened to Samuel Beckett during his mysterious three weeks in Folkestone in 1961. 
 
A Terrible Beauty - WB Yeats travels to France to propose to beautiful Maud Gonne, soon after her husband's execution in the 1916 Easter Rising. 
 
The Watcher on the Wall - Dramatised from his letters, this is the story of Louis MacNeice's transatlantic love affair and the poetry it inspired. 
 
Edith Sitwell in Scarborough - Returning to her birthplace, Edith Sitwell sets out to wreak revenge. 
 
Mrs Tolstoy - A five-part drama charting the tempestuous marriage between Leo and Sofya Tolstoy. 
 
The 'B' Word - The opening night of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion causes a scandal and sparks a passionate love/hate triangle... 
 
The Rules of Palship - The young Noël Coward demanded fierce loyalty from his friends - but did he live up to his own high standards? 
 
The Lost Road - A playful tribute to the long friendship between CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and how it influenced their respective masterpieces. 
 
Luxembourg Gardens - Re-imagined from Katherine Mansfield's stories, letters and journals, this Mansfieldesque play explores her last day in Paris, where she is dying of consumption aged 34. 
 
Copyright © 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Behind the Author's Desk: Dramas of Famous Writers' Real Lives

A BBC Radio 4 drama collection

Graham Greene

A definitive collection of eight full-cast BBC Radio productions, featuring stellar talent including Alex Jennings, Michael Kitchen, Ben Miles and Bernard Cribbins 
 
‘Great value for money and a fine celebration of one of the most important English authors of the second half of the Twentieth Century. Greene's stories are brought to life by some of the greatest British actors, and the final documentary giving voice to the writer is truly the icing on the cake.' – Greg Jameson, Entertainment Focus 
 
One of the foremost novelists of the last century, Graham Greene left an indelible mark on the world of fiction. In his many masterpieces, he introduced his fans to ‘Greeneland’ – a shadowy world of sin, redemption, treachery and sexual betrayal, occupied by complex, ambivalent characters. 
 
That world is brought vividly to life in these eight stunning BBC Radio productions. They represent the very best examples of his later work, written between 1951 and 1982, and together comprise nearly 17 hours of riveting drama. Included in this substantial box set are adaptations of his masterly novels The End of the Affair, Our Man in Havana, A Burnt-Out Case, The Comedians, The Honorary Consul and Monsignor Quixote, all starring a wealth of distinguished actors, among them Ben Miles, Adjoa Andoh, Michael Kitchen, Paterson Joseph, Bernard Cribbins and Philip Jackson. 
 
Here, too, are the radio versions of two of his superb stage plays. The Potting Shed, a gripping psychological drama centred around faith and family secrets, stars Dame Sybil Thorndike, who took the lead role in the original Broadway production. And in the ingenious two-hander Yes and No, Clive Francis plays the Director, with Alex Jennings as the Actor, whose only lines are ‘Yes’ and ‘No’. 
 
Plus, a bonus programme, Graham Greene at 80, sees the great author in conversation with writer and broadcaster Nigel Lewis, discussing his life and writing. It includes contributions from his biographer. Norman Sherry, and his brother, Sir Hugh Greene, as well as extracts from Greene’s work read by Ian Holm. 
 
Contents: 
The End of the Affair 
The Potting Shed 
Our Man in Havana 
A Burnt-Out Case 
The Comedians 
The Honorary Consul 
Yes and No 
Monsignor Quixote 
Greene at 80 
 
Text copyright © 1951 (The End of the Affair), 1957 (The Potting Shed), 1958 (Our Man in Havana), 1960 (A Burnt-Out Case), 1966 (The Comedians), 1973 (The Honorary Consul), 1980 (Yes and No), 1982 (Monsignor Quixote) 
 
With thanks to Keith Wickham of the Radio Circle for supplying several of the audio recordings. 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Graham Greene BBC Radio Drama Collection: The Later Years

Eight full-cast productions including The End of the Affair, Our Man in Havana & Monsignor Quixote

Louisa May Alcott

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the evergreen classic novel by Louisa May Alcott. 
 
With their father away fighting in the American Civil War, the four March girls are facing a lean Christmas with their mother. But the sisters’ close bond and determination to make the best of things enables them to find happiness despite their poverty. 
 
As the years go by we follow their fortunes as they journey into womanhood. Meg the beauty, Jo the tomboy, shy Beth and precocious Amy will encounter adventure, hardship, joys and disappointments, and learn to meet the challenges of life as they become independent and make their way in the world. While marriage and motherhood may beckon for the sisters, their most enduring love is always for each other. 
 
First published in 1868 and never out of print since, this iconic coming-of-age tale is a perennial favourite that has touched the hearts of generations of readers. This moving BBC Radio 4 dramatisation stars Natasha J Barnes, Julianna Jennings, Bryony Hannah and Samantha Dakin as Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, with Tara Ward as Mrs March and Alex Lanipekun as Laurie.

Little Women

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Jon Canter

Miles Jupp stars as James Boswell, Dr Johnson's time-travelling biographer, with a host of top actors and comedians as his celebrity interviewees 
 
'Blisteringly funny... essential listening' Radio Times 
 
Before James Boswell penned a biography of his friend, Dr Johnson, they were both nobodies. But his Life of Samuel Johnson made them famous - so now Boswell's out to work his magic on other celebrities. Travelling through the centuries, he gives 12 legendary figures the Boswell treatment, hoping to do for them what he did for Johnson... 
 
Series 1 sees him attempting to write a biography of Sigmund Freud (Henry Goodman) - but it's Freud asking all the searching questions. Talking to Maria Callas (Arabella Weir), he gets up close and personal with her poodle; encountering Harold Pinter (Harry Enfield) he receives his very own 'Pinter pause' and, trying to beat Boris Johnson (Alistair McGowan) at whiff-whaff, he finds he's facing a fiendish opponent. 
 
In Series 2, Boswell tries to help Muhammad Ali (Lenny Henry), who's been banned from boxing and is in the wilderness. Interviewing Karl Marx (Julian Rhind-Tutt), he finds himself collaborating on Das Kapital, but on meeting Madonna (Debra Stephenson), he struggles to get into the groove. And will he succeed in immortalising Alan Bennett (Alistair McGowan), or will they simply be talking heads? 
 
Series 3 finds Boswell buttonholing Lord Byron (Freddie Fox) to find out if he's really mad, bad and dangerous to know; receiving some lessons in equality from Simone de Beauvoir (Amelia Bullmore); becoming involved in a murder mystery with Agatha Christie (Vicki Pepperdine) and attempting to become a better man under the guidance of Gandhi (Phaldut Sharma). But abstinence drives him to distraction - and worse... 
 
Created by scriptwriter and novelist Jon Canter, this engaging, entertaining series won the 2015 Best European Radio Fiction Series or Serial of the Year at the prestigious Prix Europa. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Jon Canter 
Directed by Sally Avens 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 February-17 May 2015 (Series 1), 21 March-11 April 2016 (Series 2), 7-28 March 2018 (Series 3) 
 
Cast 
James Boswell - Miles Jupp 
Sigmund Freud - Henry Goodman 
Maria Callas - Arabella Weir 
Harold Pinter - Harry Enfield 
Boris Johnson/Alan Bennett - Alistair McGowan 
Muhammad Ali - Lenny Henry 
Boxing commentator - Ewan Bailey 
Karl Marx - Julian Rhind-Tutt 
Madonna - Debra Stephenson 
Lord Byron - Freddie Fox 
Simone de Beauvoir - Amelia Bullmore 
Agatha Christie - Vicki Pepperdine 
Rose - Abbie Andrews 
Gandhi - Phaldut Sharma 
Mr Fortescue/The Prince of Wales - Clive Hayward 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Boswell’s Lives: The Complete Series 1-3

A BBC Radio 4 comedy

John Peacock

Toulouse-Lautrec's iconic Parisian poster stars come to life in these full-cast dramas, set in 19th-century Montmartre 
 
1889, Paris. When Charles Zidler's extravagant pleasure palace, the Moulin Rouge, opens in bohemian Montmartre, he commissions local artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec to create a series of posters to promote it. The striking lithographs Henri produces will make his name - and launch the careers of the performers he portrayed. 
 
This sparkling collection of plays introduces us to eight of those legendary artistes, whose lives were as vivid as Lautrec's paint. It opens with Yvette Guilbert, the story of a singer whose dreams of wealth and fame lead her to a brand new cabaret on Boulevard de Clichy.... In The Boneless Wonder, we meet can-can dancer Valentin Renaudin. Merely a silhouette in Toulouse-Lautrec's poster, what is he in real life? La Goulue tells the tale of his famous partner, Louise Weber, whose soubriquet reflects her love of food and life. And in Jane Avril, we hear about Henri's muse, whose nickname 'Crazy Jane' didn't simply refer to her exuberant dancing. 
 
May Belfort explores the Irish singer turned lady of the night, who relied more on her beauty than her voice. In Footitt and Chocolat, a circus double act is in danger of drifting apart; while in Casque d'Or, a group of passionate revolutionaries make a fatal last stand. Finally, Aristide Bruant sees the socialist club owner becoming a fashionable success - against all his intentions. He needs to find a new direction: as does Yvette Guilbert... 
 
Created by award-winning writer John Peacock, these dazzling dramas will transport you to Belle Époque Paris, in all its glamour and decadence. The star casts include Julie Covington as Yvette Guilbert, Frances Barber as La Goulue, Bonnie Langford as May Belfort, Bernard Hill as Aristide Bruant and Miranda Richardson as Marie Briand. 
 
Written by John Peacock 
Directed by Jane Morgan 
Music by Stephen Warbeck 
Technical presentation: David Greenwood, assisted by Anne Bunting and Colin Guthrie 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Posters of the Moulin Rouge

Eight BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas based on the characters of Toulouse-Lautrec

C.P. Snow

The full-cast BBC Radio adaptation of C. P. Snow's epic series about the English establishment across the twentieth century 
 
'A vivid portrait of British academic, political and public life' Guardian 
 
'A very considerable achievement... It brings into the novel themes and locales never seen before (except perhaps in Trollope)' Anthony Burgess 
 
In 1920s Leicester, Lewis Eliot must escape the drudgery of a council clerk's office and his provincial lower class background to begin his decades-long rise to power. As the years pass, and Lewis progresses to successful London lawyer, to Cambridge don, to wartime service in Whitehall, to senior civil servant and finally retirement, he faces in his own life and the lives of those around him collapsing marriages, terrible illness, the politics of academia, Nazism, nuclear weapons, the price of power, and the ever-present realities of war. 
 
The New York Times praised the book series, saying, 'through [them] as in no other work in our time we have explored the inner life of the new classless class that is the 20th century Establishment'. John Betjeman claimed the books were 'as full of life as life itself'. The Strangers and Brothers series captures perfectly the ever-present battle between political and personal integrity Lewis must face, as well as all the upheaval and social change of the two world wars and the decades that followed. 
 
This adaptation stars David Haig and Adam Godley as Lewis Eliot, Bill Wallis as George Passant, Juliet Aubrey as Margaret Davidson, Stephen Moore as Herbert Getliffe, and Danny Webb as Percy Hall, with a full cast including Jeremy Swift, David Tennant, Anne-Marie Duff, Iain Glen, Claire Skinner and Tim McInnerny. 
 
Directed by Jeremy Howe and Sally Avens 
Dramatised by Jonathan Holloway 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, January-June 2003 
 
Full cast: 
Narrator/Lewis Eliot - David Haig 
Young Lewis Eliot - Adam Godley 
George Passant - Bill Wallis 
Marion - Laura Doddington 
Sheila Knight - Anastasia Hille 
Herbert Getliffe - Stephen Moore 
Percy Hall - Danny Webb 
Charles March - Jamie Glover 
Leonard March - John Standing 
Katherine March - Carla Simpson 
Ann Simon - Emma Woolliams 
Mrs Getliffe - Suzanna Hamilton 
Revd Knight - Brett Usher 
Young Francis Getliffe - Andy Taylor 
Winslow - Clive Merrison 
Young Brown - Philip Franks 
Roy Calvert - Adam Levy 
Young Jago - David Calder 
Nightingale - Jeremy Child 
Chrystal - Matthew Marsh 
Crawford - Hugh Quarshie 
Mrs Jago - Joanna Monroe 
Sir Horace Timberlake - Ian Hogg 
Young Hector Rose - Rupert Vansittart 
Houston Eggar - Peter Marinker 
Willy Romantovski - Kenneth Collard 
Gilbert Cooke - Anthony Calf 
Margaret Davidson/Margaret Eliot - Juliet Aubrey 
Rosalind - Anne-Marie Duff 
Betty Vane - Carla Simpson 
Martin Eliot - Tim McInnerny 
Walter Luke - Jeremy Swift 
Irene - Claire Skinner 
David Rubin - Rolf Saxon 
Sawbridge - Adrian Scarborough 
Edgar - Andrew Wincott 
Captain Smith - Sean Baker 
Sir Hector Rose - John Carlisle 
Sir Thomas Beville - Robert Laing 
Austin Davidson - David Collings 
Jago - Sean Barrett 
Dawson Hill - Peter Blythe 
Skeffington - David Acton 
Francis Getliffe - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Brown - Jonathan Coy 
Donald Howard - David Tennant 
Roger Quaife - Iain Glen 
Lord Collingwood - Ronald Pickup 
Caro Quaife - Julia Watson 
Lord Gilbey - John Woodvine 
Diana Skidmore - Avril Clark 
Phillips - Richard Firth 
Osbaldiston - David Leonard 
Brodzinski - Christopher Rozycki 
Ellen Smith - Emma Bown 
Monteith - Paul Venables 
Trafford - Stephen Critchlow 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Strangers and Brothers

An epic BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Alex Y. Ferguson

A lively comedy drama about a young boy growing up in 1930s Tyneside with the help of his favourite uncle 
 
Lecky Ferguson is growing up in a penniless but close-knit family in Jarrow. He relies on his imaginative Uncle Freddie for explanations of the world’s many mysteries. Packed with humour and adventure, this award-winning full-cast drama tells the life of a young man that is far from ordinary. 
 
There are adventures with new-fangled electricity and a fistfight with the rag and bone man, not to mention the time that Uncle Freddie became the Pineapple King. They meet a Romanov princess at the chippy and share a seaside trip with an exiled Leon Trotsky in a stolen tram. Plucky Lecky shoots down a biplane with his catapult and meets a mysterious French airman, and there’s also the small matter of the Prince of Wales, who they manage to rescue from the Tyne. 
 
Based on events from the author’s own childhood, Alex Y. Ferguson's hilarious and heart-warming series is both a passionate evocation of the poverty of 1930s Jarrow and a laugh-out-loud tale of a childhood full of family warmth, surreal delights and magical moments. 
 
Starring Alex Y. Ferguson as the Narrator, with Art Davies (Series 1-2) and Shaun Prendergast (Series 3-6) as Uncle Freddie, and Karl Boyd (Series 1), Simon Henderson (Series 2), Gareth Brown (Series 3-5) and Jamie Bell (Series 6) as young Lecky Ferguson. 
 
Alex Y. Ferguson is a national award-winning writer with Silver and Gold Awards from the Writers’ Guild. My Uncle Freddie, ran for six series on Radio 4 and won the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain’s Award for Comedy & Light entertainment in 1997. 
 
©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

My Uncle Freddie: The Complete Series 1-6

A Full-Cast BBC Radio Comedy Drama

Elizabeth Gaskell

A major BBC Radio dramatisation of Elizabeth Gaskell's famous Victorian novel of pride, prejudice, politics and passion 
 
When 19-year-old Margaret Hale is uprooted from her home in the rural South of England and transplanted to the industrial North, she struggles to adapt. Smoky, grimy and ugly, Milton seems like a different country - one run by men with very different beliefs to her own, like charismatic mill owner John Thornton. 
 
A self-made entrepreneur and pragmatic capitalist, Thornton represents everything the idealistic Margaret hates. Witnessing the conditions at his mill, her social conscience is awakened, and she clashes fiercely with him over his ruthless treatment of the workers. But when a strike turns into a violent riot, and Thornton is put in danger, Margaret is forced to face up to her conflicted feelings. Can the duo overcome their ideological differences and find love? 
 
Also included is the fascinating programme In Our Time: North and South, in which Melvyn Bragg and guests examine how Margaret Hale's experiences echo the author's own life, and discuss Gaskell's insights into social conflicts and the changing world in which she lived. 
 
Written by Elizabeth Gaskell 
Dramatised by Lin Coghlan 
 
Cast 
Margaret ­- Patsy Ferran 
 Mr Hale - Paul Chahidi 
 Mrs Hale - Ruth Everett 
 Dixon - Felicity Montagu 
 John Thornton - James Cartwright 
 Mrs Thornton - Pooky Quesnel 
 Higgins - Sean Gilder 
 Bessy - Olivia Barrowclough 
 Aunt Shaw - Joanna Monro 
 Henry Lennox - Jonathan Forbes 
 Henderson - David Hounslow 
 Boucher - Lloyd Thomas 
 Frederick - Colin Ryan 
 Mr Bell - Roger Ringrose 
Mrs Boucher - Evie Killip 
 Leonards - Luke Nunn 
 
Directed by Sally Avens 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4-18 September 2022 
 
In Our Time: North and South 
Presented by Melvyn Bragg 
With Sally Shuttleworth, Dinah Birch and Jenny Uglow 
Produced by Simon Tillotson 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 March 2017 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

North and South

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Edna O'Brien

All three BBC radio dramatisations of Edna O’Brien’s coming-of-age trilogy set in 1950s Ireland 
 
 Now a much-loved modern classic, The Country Girls Trilogy was fiercely controversial when first published in the 1960s. Banned by the Irish censors and burned by the Church, the books nonetheless achieved widespread acclaim and international success, and launched Edna O’Brien’s literary career. 
 
 These three BBC radio adaptations follow the lives and loves of best friends Kate and Baba, two teenage girls growing up in repressive rural Ireland in the years before the sexual revolution. The Country Girls sees the duo leaving their small country village for convent school – but the bright lights of Dublin beckon, promising glamour, adventure and romance. In The Lonely Girl, dreamy Kate longs for love, while worldly-wise Baba makes the most of the opportunities the big city offers. Girls in Their Married Bliss finds the two friends living across the sea in London, where both have found husbands – but will marriage and motherhood bring happiness or heartbreak? 
 
 Funny, moving and painfully honest, these evocative dramas are a passionate affirmation of female friendship and desire, and a vivid portrait of a country struggling to throw off the shackles of prudishness, misogyny and religious conservatism. Charlie Murphy (Peaky Blinders, Happy Valley) stars as Kate, with Aoibhinn McGinnity (Resistance, Nightflyers) as Baba. 
 
Edna O'Brien is the much acclaimed author of The Country Girls Trilogy. She recently won the David Cohen Prize for Literature for having “broken down social and sexual barriers for women in Ireland and beyond and moved mountains both politically and lyrically through her writing”. 
 
 Written by Edna O’Brien 
 Dramatised by Lin Coghlan 
 Produced and directed by Sally Avens and Jessica Dromgoole 
 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 August-6 September 2019 (The Country Girls), 14-25 October 2019 (The Lonely Girl), 9-13 December 2019 (Girls in Their Married Bliss)

The Country Girls

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the landmark trilogy

Brendan Behan

A collection of some of the rockstar playwright’s finest workBrendan Behan is widely remembered as a hard-drinking, wise-cracking writer who turned up roaring drunk for interviews and cared little for authority. But he was more than just a hell-raising celebrity. His wit, expressive use of language and understanding of human nature made his writing famous around the world, and his masterpieces The Quare Fellow, Borstal Boy and The Hostage rank among the greatest works of 20th century Irish literature. Dramatisations of all three appear here, alongside a short interview with Behan himself and a fascinating biographical programme celebrating his genius.Charting Behan’s journey from shy, passionate young man to larger-than-life literary superstar, Borstal Boy tells the story of a stammering IRA rebel who finds true friends and first love in an English borstal. Brendan Coyle (Downton Abbey) stars as Behan in this fresh take on his honest, tender 1958 memoir. Behan’s debut play, The Quare Fellow, first produced in 1954, was based on his own prison experiences. A darkly funny drama about a group of inmates awaiting the imminent execution of a fellow prisoner, it is performed here by players from the Arts Theatre, Lyric Theatre, and Ulster Theatre Company, Belfast. And finally, translated from the Gaelic by acclaimed writer Lorcán Ó Treasaigh, An Giall (The Hostage) revolves around a British soldier held hostage by the IRA in a Dublin brothel. This 1988 Radio 3 version is the first English production of Behan’s Irish tragicomedy, which formed the basis of Joan Littlewood 's 1958 Theatre Workshop hit.Also included is a 1959 clip from BBC Television’s Tonight, featuring Brendan Behan in conversation with Derek Hart, and an episode of Great Lives in which Joan Littlewood talks to Humphrey Carpenter about her long-time friend and collaborator.Note: Due to the age of the recordings, the sound quality on The Quare Fellow and Tonight may vary.Cast and creditsWritten by Brendan BehanText copyright © Brendan Behan 1954 (The Quare Fellow), 1958 (Borstal Boy, The Hostage)Borstal BoyCast: Brendan Coyle, Jonny Holden, Joseph Ayre, Leah Marks, Ewan Bailey, Connor Curren, Samuel James, Gerard McDermottDramatised by Martin McNamaraDirected by Anne IsgerProduction Co-ordinator: Jonathan PowellSound: Anne Bunting, Jenni Burnett, Ali Craig and Cal KnightleyA BBC Audio Production for BBC Radio 4First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16 Apr 2023The Quare FellowCast: John McBride, Louis Rolston, Michael Duffy, Sam McCready, Maurice O’Callaghan, Michael Lynch, Charles Witherspoon, Bill Hunter, Peter Adair, Barry Cowan, Brian Cullen, Harold Goldblatt, Joe McPartland, J.J. Murphy, Patrick Brannigan, Jack McQuoid, Jeremy Jones, George MooneyAdapted and produced by David A. TurnerFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 Sep 1969The HostageCast: Michael Baguley, Brian Kidd, Kieron Smith, Ann Callanan, John Hewitt, Anne Kent, Anthony Finigan, Stephen Ryan, Sean Kearns, Tom JordanTranslated by Lorcán Ó TreasaighDirected by Jeremy HoweBagpipes played by Brian KiddFirst broadcast BBC Radio 3, 12 Aug 1988Brendan Behan interview from TonightPresented by Derek HartWith Brendan BehanFirst broadcast BBC Television Service, 21 Apr 1959Great Lives: Brendan BehanPresented by Humphrey CarpenterWith Joan LittlewoodProduced by Peter EverettFirst broadcast BBC Radio 4, 2 Nov 2001© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Brendan Behan: Borstal Boy, The Quare Fellow and The Hostage

Three BBC Radio Full-Cast Productions

Harry Venning

David Ramsden

The first six series of the Sony Award-winning sitcom about a social worker with all the right jargon, but none of the practical solutions 
 
'Completely engaging... beautifully observed characters and lots of very funny material' The Sony Judges 
 
Meet Clare Barker, the social worker who likes nothing more than sorting out other people's problems (while failing to deal with her own). Wracked with guilt over being white, middle-class and heterosexual, she has a dedicated social conscience (unless it's inconvenient for her) and lives to interfere in other people's lives - both on a personal and professional basis. Bearing the brunt of her control freakery and lack of self-awareness are her family, colleagues and long-suffering teacher partner, Brian - all of whom have their own frustrations, disappointments and dramas. 
 
In these six series, Clare and Brian try to shore up their rocky relationship, as Brian contemplates proposing, persuades Clare to attend couples counselling, and considers splitting up. Will their baby son, Thomas Paine, bring them back together - or will new nanny Nali prove a further obstacle to domestic bliss? Meanwhile, the Sparrowhawk Family Centre is threatened with closure, and the team are joined by new member Libby - 'an Aussie and a lesbo', proud to be both, and after Clare's job... 
 
Based on the long-running cartoon strip in the Guardian's 'Society' section, this wonderfully entertaining series stars Sally Phillips as Clare and Alex Lowe as Brian, alongside an ensemble cast including Nina Conti, Richard Lumsden, Ellen Thomas, Gemma Craven, Liza Tarbuck, Andrew Wincott and Sarah Kendall. 
 
 Production credits 
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden 
Produced by Katie Tyrrell 
Executive Producer: Paul Schlesinger 
 
Cast 
Clare - Sally Phillips 
Brian - Alex Lowe 
Megan/Nali - Nina Conti 
Ray - Richard Lumsden 
Irene - Ellen Thomas 
Helen - Gemma Craven/Liza Tarbuck 
Simon - Andrew Wincott 
Libby - Sarah Kendall 
 
Other parts played by members of the cast 
 
With Paul Chequer, Emily Wachter, Nicholas Boulton, Helen Longworth, Stephan Hogan, Richenda Carey, Alex Tregear, Sartaj Garewal, Bharti Patel, Delroy Brown, Vicki Pepperdine, John Cummins, Gerard McDermott, George Harris, Roy Hudd, Brigit Forsyth, Phil Davis, Christine Kavanagh, Lewis MacLeod, Mel Hudson, Geraldine McNulty, Mark Straker, Joseph Kloska, Martin Hyder, Shaban Arifi, Anna Bengo, Rad Lazar, Ben Onwukwe, Sam Pamphilon, Lloyd Thomas, Donnla Hughes, Chris Pavlo, Philip Pope, Rosemary Leach, Doreen Mantle, Jess Robinson and Paterson Joseph. 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 November-31 December 2004 (Series 1), 4 November-9 December 2005 (Series 2), 18 December 2006-22 January 2007 (Series 3), 16 January-20 February 2008 (Series 4), 18 February-25 March 2009 (Series 5), 31 May-5 July 2010 (Series 6) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Clare in the Community: The Complete Series 1-6

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy

Leo Tolstoy

Charlotte Brönte

Gustave Flaubert

William Shakespeare

Colette

Jane Austen

Alessandro Manzoni

Radclyffe Hall

Emily Brontë

Edith Wharton

Thomas Hardy

Twelve dramatisations of the best love stories ever written, performed by star casts 
 
Treat yourself to this stunning collection of classic stories of love, loss, obstacles overcome and desperate attraction. This is a beautiful, moving and at times thrilling listen which takes you on a journey through the greatest tales of romance ever told. These unmissable, dramatised novels feature stellar performances from fantastic casts including Vanessa Kirby, Hiftu Quasem, Kate Philips, Rory Kinnear, Toby Jones, John Hurt and David Tennant. 
 
Anna Karenina is Leo Tolstoy's powerful drama of desire, transgression and heartache. Starring Kate Philips (Wolf Hall), Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter) and Rory Kinnear (James Bond films). 
 
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is a fantastic mix of injustice, romance, passion and danger wrapped up in a glorious love story. Starring Amanda Hale (Catastrophe) and Tom Burke (Strike). 
 
Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary is a masterpiece of betrayal and wantonness - the first great novel of adultery. Starring Sarah Smart (Wallander), Jude Akuwudike (Gangs of London) and James D’Arcy (Broadchurch) with John Hurt (Harry Potter) as the Narrator. 
 
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. In a town full of hatred, where the streets ring with the Capulet-Montague feud and swords are too easily drawn, Romeo and Juliet find each other, fall in love, and never let go. Starring Trystan Gravelle (Mr Selfridge), Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible), David Tennant (Broadchurch) and Paul Ready (Motherland). 
 
Chéri by Colette is the story of a love affair between a courtesan and a man half her age, set in Paris before the First World War. Starring Frances Barber (Silk) and Joseph Millson (The Last Kingdom) with Lindsay Duncan (Birdman) as the Narrator. 
 
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen remains one of the world’s favourite novels, dealing with the timeless issues of love, social class and money with a witty, clever - though flawed - heroine at its heart. Starring Pippa Nixon (Unforgotten), Jamie Parker (The Crown) and Toby Jones (The Detectorists). 
 
The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni is an icon of Italian literature: the story of two lovers who want nothing more than to marry but are beset by the hazards of war, bread riots and the machinations of a nameless crime lord. Starring Hiftu Quasem (Killing Eve) and Ian Dunnett Jnr (Masters of the Air). 
 
The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall, written in 1928, is a pioneering novel about love and attraction between women. Starring Valerie Edmond as the enigmatic Stephen. 
 
Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë's iconic love story. Heathcliff and Cathy's love is the beating heart of the story, set against the backdrop of the bleak Yorkshire moors. Starring Chloe Pirrie (Temple) and Ben Batt (Shameless). 
 
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell explores social conscience, ideological difference and love in a mill town in the 1800s. Starring Emily Mortimer (The Pursuit of Love) and David Threlfall (Shameless). 
 
The Age of Innocence is Edith Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a passionate life-long love affair which breaks all the rules of the restrictive high society of 1870's New York. Starring Susan Lynch (Happy Valley) and Kellie Bright (Eastenders). 
 
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy is a story of the belief in true romance and the power of money and love. Starring Alex Tregear (Silk: The Clerk’s Room), Toby Jones (The Detectorists) and Patrick Kennedy (Boardwalk Empire). 
 
This stunning collection is packed with the best romance stories written in the last 500 years – a fully dramatised, unmissable listen featuring some of the biggest names of stage and screen. 
 
©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Classic Love Stories: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

12 Full-Cast Dramatisations including Wuthering Heights, now a major film

Paul M. Levitt

Bob Sinfield

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

Houdini & The Witch of Beacon Hill

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Historical Dramas

Jonathan Franzen

In 2006, Bret Easton Ellis declared the novel "one of the three great books of my generation." 
 
This dramatisation of Jonathan Franzen's acclaimed, epic, award-winning novel revolves around the troubles of an elderly Midwestern couple and their three adult children, tracing their lives from the mid-20th century to "one last Christmas" together near the turn of the millennium. 
 
A family saga, that sits against the backdrop of this century's changing face of America. The novel was published 10 days before 9/11 but is widely considered an observation of what happened to the American psyche after 9/11. 
 
It traces American societies, changing attitudes and standing on the world stage through the eyes of the Lambert's three children: Gary, a banker in Philadelphia who's greed is determined to make his parents sell their Midwest property; Chip, a struggling professor who leaves his life to pursue being a writer in New York City; and Denise, who has escaped a disastrous marriage and had an equally disastrous affair. 
 
In the finale; the final Christmas together, can they settle their differences, bridge gaps and make the changes they need to survive? 
 
The novel won the 2001 National Book Award for Fiction and the 2002 James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and was a finalist for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize. 
 
In 2005, The Corrections was included in TIME magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels since 1923. 
 
Adapted by Marcy Kahan for BBC Radio 4, directed by Emma Harding and starring Richard Schiff (The West Wing), Maggie Steed (The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus), Colin Stinton (Rush, The Bourne Ultimatum) and Julian Rhind-Tutt (Lucy, Rush, Notting Hill). 
 
Full Cast List: 
Narrator - Richard Schiff 
Enid Lambert - Maggie Steed 
Alfred Lambert - Colin Stinton 
Gary Lambert - Richard Laing 
Chip Lambert - Julian Rhind-Tutt 
Denise Lambert - Rosyln Hill 
Julia Vrais - Kelly Burke 
Eden Procuro - Elaine Claxton 
Gitanas Misevicius - Sam Dale 
Melissa Paquette - Bettrys Jones 
Caroline Lambert - Jane Slavin 
Caleb Lambert - Adam Thomas Wright 
Jonah Lambert - Sean McCrystal 
 
 
First Aired on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 10th and 11th January 2015 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Corrections

Annie McCartney

A BBC Radio 4 kitchen comedy by Annie McCartney, starring James Nesbitt as the Fridge. ‘Staring into the Fridge’ was originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 13 September 2010.  With two twenty-something children and a dubious boyfriend eating her out of house and home, Maggie (Annie McCartney) is beginning to lose the will to live. She feels she has no one to talk to or to listen. But all of that is about to change when she hears a voice speaking to her from the corner of the kitchen. It seems that the only one who understands her predicament is her Fridge (James Nesbitt). But unlike poor beleaguered Maggie, this Fridge has got 'attitude' and is determined to help her get her life back on track!  Also stars Marcella Riordan, Mark Lambert, Katy Gleadhill, Jonathan Harden and Richard Orr. Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan.

Staring Into The Fridge

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Tony Bagley

All twelve episodes of the rom-com serial with a twist, starring Martin Clunes, Zoë Wanamaker and Geraldine James 
 
Roy Hitchcock is a provincial hack journalist and inveterate daydreamer. When he meets his former English teacher at his old school&rsquo;s prize-giving ceremony, his private fantasies run wild and he sets out to capture her heart. Unfortunately, his attempts to get in Miss Callaghan&rsquo;s good books constantly backfire &ndash; and the more he apologises, the less impressed she is. There&rsquo;s also another major obstacle in his path, in the macho form of Jane&rsquo;s current lover, media hero Chad Mann. 
 
As Roy battles on against the odds, things go from bad to worse, and he finds himself jobless, rejected and about to have his house repossessed. But when his video diary is transmitted by a TV company, his emotional turmoil is revealed to the world. Will it finally win Jane over? 
 
Created by Tony Bagley (Married, Rubbish) and based on his own real-life experiences, this romantic comedy drama with a touch of the surreal stars Martin Clunes as Roy and Zoë Wanamaker and Geraldine James as Jane. Among the supporting cast are Toyah Willcox, David Troughton, Nicky Henson, Rebecca Front and Alistair McGowan, and Paul Vaughan and Dr Anthony Clare make special guest appearances as themselves. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Tony Bagley 
Produced by Paul Schlesinger 
Music composed by Julian Wastall 
Theme sung by Toyah Willcox 
 
Cast 
Jane Callaghan &ndash; Zoë Wanamaker/Geraldine James 
Roy Hitchcock &ndash; Martin Clunes 
Various roles played by Toyah Wilcox, David Troughton, Nicky Henson, Keith Drinkel, Sue Roderick, Melanie Hudson, Susannah Corbett, David Holt, Geoff McGivern, Steve Hodson/Simon Treves, John Baddeley, Peter Serafinowicz, Rebecca Front, Alistair McGowan, Paul Panting, Matthew Morgan, Jonathan Adams, Bryan Dick, Linda Polan, Philip Anthony, Tilly Vosburgh 
Also featuring Paul Vaughan and Dr Anthony Clare as themselves 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 12 Jan-16 Feb 1993 (Series 1), 16 Aug-20 Sep 1994 (Series 2) 
 
&copy; 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Older Woman: The Complete Series 1 and 2

A BBC Radio Sitcom

Alan Bennett

A unique collection of eight Alan Bennett stories, read by the author. Alan Bennett is one of Britain's best-loved authors and an acclaimed storyteller. This exclusive compilation includes eight of his best tales, collected together for the first time. 
 
Here is his celebrated, iconic memoir The Lady in the Van; as well as two fascinating autobiographical accounts of his family and childhood. Uncle Clarence sees Bennett visiting the grave of a relative who died in Flanders in 1917; while in Hymn he joins forces with composer George Fenton and the Medici String Quartet to explore his musical memories. 
 
Bennett's incisive, acute observations shine through in his fiction too, with wry, moving and darkly humorous meditations on death (Father! Father! Burning Bright and The Laying On of Hands), sex (The Shielding of Mrs Forbes) and middle-age ennui (The Clothes They Stood Up In). His gift for affectionate satire reaches its pinnacle in The Uncommon Reader, a delightful tale in which the Queen discovers the pleasures of literature. 
 
Poignant, compassionate, wise and witty, the stories included are The Lady in the Van, Uncle Clarence, The Clothes They Stood Up In, Father! Father! Burning Bright, Hymn, The Laying On of Hands, The Uncommon Reader and The Shielding of Mrs Forbes. Duration: 13 hours approx.

Alan Bennett: Stories

Read by Alan Bennett

Dramatisations of Louisa May Alcott’s evergreen classic and its sequel, plus her Gothic tour de force about an orphan girl and her controlling guardian 
 
Born in 1832 in Pennsylvania, Louisa May Alcott was best known for Little Women, her phenomenal bestseller loosely based on her childhood experiences with her own sisters. Adapted numerous times for stage and screen, it is dramatised here alongside her follow-up novel Good Wives and the thrilling sensation story A Marble Woman. 
 
Little Women – With their father away fighting in the American Civil War, the four March sisters and their mother are facing a frugal Christmas in their New England home. But their close bond and determination to make the best of things enables them to find happiness despite their poverty. As they forge their path in the adult world, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy will encounter adventure, challenges, joys and disappointments – and while marriage and motherhood may beckon, their most enduring love is always for each other. Natasha J Barnes, Julianna Jennings, Bryony Hannah and Samantha Dakin star in this iconic coming-of-age tale. 
 
Good Wives– Now young women, the March girls meet with triumph and tragedy in this classic sequel to Little Women. Following Meg’s wedding, Jo finds success with her writing and Amy heads to Europe – but Beth’s health is failing, and her spirits are low. As the family face their greatest sorrow together and look to the future, Jo writes the story of their life – and finds true love at last… Starring Jemma Redgrave, Buffy Davis, Anne Marie Zola, Kara Zediker and Gayle Hunnicutt. 
 
A Marble Woman – Recently orphaned, Cecilia Stein turns up at the door of genius sculptor Bazil Yorke. Her dying mother had told her that Yorke was an old friend, and to trust his kindness. But the reclusive bachelor has neither forgiven nor forgotten his rejection by Cecilia’s mother, and decides to revenge himself by punishing his new ward. Insisting that she must submit her life to art and restrain all her emotions, he strives to turn her into his own creation – but can he control his own heart? Sexual repression, opium addiction and love collide in this dark Gothic tale, starring Bill Paterson and Amanda Root. 
 
First published 1865 (A Marble Woman), 1868 (Little Women), 1869 (Good Wives) 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Little Women 
Cast: Natasha J Barnes, Julianna Jennings, Bryony Hannah, Samantha Dakin, Tara Ward, John Bowler, Alex Lanipekun, Finlay Robertson, Joanna Monro, Alison Belbin, Karen Bartke, 
Natasha Cowley, Keziah Joseph, Luke MacGregor, Catriona McFarlane, Gunnar Cauthery 
Dramatised by Rhiannon Tise 
Directed by Tracey Neale 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 16-27 January 2017 
 
Good Wives 
Cast: Gayle Hunnicutt, Jemma Redgrave, Buffy Davis, Anne Marie Zola, Kara Zediker, Marcus D'Amico, Don Fellows, John Guerrasio, Margaret Robertson, Alibe Parsons, Adam Henderson, 
Helen Horton, Lorelei King, David Holt, Tamsin Hollo, Faith Brook, Jill Graham, Toni G Barry, 
Melanie Hudson, Jonathan Tafler, Martin Jarvis, John Church, Andrew Wincott 
Dramatised by Marcy Kahan 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
First broadcast Radio 4, 11 February-18 March 1993 
 
A Marble Woman 
Cast: Bill Paterson, Amanda Root, John McArdle, Charles De'Ath, Sarah Parkes, Geoffrey Banks, 
Becky Simpson, Robert Pollard 
Dramatised by Lavinia Murray 
Produced by Pauline Harris 
First broadcast Radio 4, 8 April 2000 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Little Women, Good Wives & A Marble Woman

Three BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations

Iris Murdoch

Full-cast dramatisations and a reading of works by Iris Murdoch, plus a bonus interview with the author herself 
 
Booker Prize-winning author Iris Murdoch is renowned for her sublime fiction, exploring themes such as art, passion, morality and human freedom. Included in this collection are adaptations of two of her finest novels and a reading of her only published short story, as well as an edition of Writers Revealed in which Murdoch discusses her ideas and beliefs. 
 
The Sea, The Sea 
Charles Arrowby, celebrated actor, writer and director, has retired from his London world and come to the sea to become a hermit and draft his memoirs. But the past will not let him rest… This dramatisation of Murdoch’s most famous novel, which won the Booker Prize in 1978, stars John Wood as Charles and Joyce Redman as Hartley. 
 
A Severed Head 
When Martin Lynch-Gibbon's wife runs off with her analyst and his best friend, Palmer Anderson, the three characters attempt to behave in a civilised manner. But there is the matter of Martin's mistress and Palmer's sister to contend with – and undoubtedly the thin veneer of civilisation will crack… Iris Murdoch’s blackly comic satire on analysis and amorality stars Julian Rhind-Tutt, Victoria Hamilton and Matthew Marsh. 
 
Something Special 
Young Irishwoman Yvonne passionately believes that there is more to life than marriage to Sam, a respectable tailor's apprentice. But a night out in Dublin forces her to confront reality… Read by Catherine Cusack. 
 
Writers Revisited: Iris Murdoch 
Iris Murdoch talks about faith, religion and the creative process in conversation with Rosemary Hartill.

Iris Murdoch: The Sea, The Sea, A Severed Head & Something Special

Oliver Goldsmith

Full-cast BBC adaptations of Oliver Goldsmith’s two most famous works 
 
Anglo-Irish author Oliver Goldsmith was one of the most accomplished writers of the 18th century. A novelist, playwright, poet and essayist, he came to fame with his novel The Vicar of Wakefield and comic play She Stoops to Conquer. Both those classics are included here, with star casts including Julia McKenzie, Amanda Root, Peter Jeffrey and Sunny Ormonde. 
 
She Stoops to Conquer – Misunderstandings and mistaken identity are at the heart of this funny, farcical comedy of manners, in which a London gentleman looking for love finds himself the butt of a mischievous prank. Shy young Marlow comes to court Kate Hardcastle at her father’s house in the Yorkshire Dales, but is fooled into believing that Liberty Hall is an inn and his prospective bride a barmaid. Luckily for both, while Marlow is tongue-tied in the presence of a lady, he can be his charming, confident self with a commoner – and the sassy, independent Kate is happy to pretend, if it means she can win his heart... 
 
The Vicar of Wakefield – Part morality tale, part satire of the sentimental novel, Goldsmith’s 1766 masterpiece recounts the humorous adventures of the naive, ever-optimistic Rev Charles Primrose, who lives contentedly in the countryside with his wife and six children. When he loses his fortune to a swindler, he sets off with his despairing family through storms and floods to embrace a life of poverty in a rural Pennine parish. But as disaster piles upon calamity, the vicar finds his faith severely tested – can he face up to adversity and come through unscathed? 
 
 
She Stoops to Conquer 
Mrs Hardcastle – Julia McKenzie 
Mr Hardcastle – Clive Francis 
Kate Hardcastle – Amanda Root 
Tony Lumpkin – Adrian Scarborough 
Sir Charles Marlow – Norman Rodway 
Young Marlow – Martin Ball 
Hastings – Jonathan Cake 
Constance Neville – Cathy Sara 
Landlord/Jeremy – Terry Molloy 
Diggory/Master Muggins – Ian Brooker 
Pimple/Barmaid – Naomi Harris 
Roger/Master Slang – Richard Neale 
Adapted and directed by Sue Wilson 
Music composed and performed by Anthea Gomez (piano) with Martha Ann Brooks (trombone) and Katherine Gittings (violin) 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 18 June 2000 
 
The Vicar of Wakefield 
Rev Charies Primrose – Peter Jeffrey 
Deborah Primrose – Sunny Ormonde 
Squire Thornhill – Michael Cochrane 
Burchell – Anthony Pedley 
Lady Blarney – Tina Gray 
Miss Skeggs – Sara Coward 
Ephraim Jenkinson – Christopher Scott 
Olivia Primrose – Susan Jeffrey 
George Primrose – Iwan Thomas 
Arabella Wilmot – Lisa Kay 
Sophia Primrose – Laura Strachan 
Moses Primrose – James Richard 
Farmer Flamborough – Terry Molloy 
Actor/Innkeeper – John Webb 
Actress/Landlady – Gillian Goodman 
Gaoler – Kim Durham 
Adapted by Christopher Denys 
Directed by Sue Wilson 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 3-17 October 1999 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

She Stoops to Conquer & The Vicar of Wakefield

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Productions

Dylan Thomas

Matthew Rhys introduces this collection of plays, poems and prose by the great Welsh writer, featuring Dylan Thomas reading his own work plus bonus biographical plays based on his life 
 
'A spellbinding homage' The Guardian 
 
'Sure to satisfy every admirer of Dylan Thomas&rsquo; works from the most ardent aficionados to casual poetry lovers... Thomas demonstrates his gift for seeing the beauty in the ordinary and affectionately ribbing the frailties of the human condition.' Entertainment Focus 
 
Dylan Thomas was the 20th Century's first rock star author, famed for his dazzling imaginative poetry and chaotic personal life. Best known for Under Milk Wood, he also wrote numerous poems, short stories and screenplays, and made regular BBC broadcasts. A legend in his own lifetime, he remained hugely popular after his death at the age of 39, influencing cultural icons from Bob Dylan to The Beatles. 
 
This definitive collection is presented by Welsh actor Matthew Rhys (The Americans, Perry Mason), who played Dylan Thomas in the 2008 film The Edge of Love. 
 
It begins with sunny, summery recollections in &lsquo;Holiday Memory&rsquo;, which sees Dylan Thomas recalling an evocative August Bank Holiday, followed by A Child's Christmas in Wales, dramatised with a full cast including Philip Madoc and Freddie Jones. Two Thomas masterpieces follow: &lsquo;Quite Early One Morning&rsquo;, in which Dylan Thomas reads the story that later became Under Milk Wood, and then Under Milk Wood itself, a masterpiece and a lyrical 'play for voices' focusing on one day in the life of a Welsh fishing village and starring Richard Burton as the Narrator. 
 
Next, Dylan Thomas&rsquo;s unfilmed screenplay The Beach of Falesá, adapted from a Robert Louis Stevenson short story. Narrated by Matthew Rhys and starring Matthew Gravelle and Nicky Henson, it tells the thrilling tale of the clash between good and evil on an unnamed Pacific Island. A less sinister seaside trip is recalled in &lsquo;The Outing&rsquo;, Thomas's story of a childhood excursion read by Matthew Rhys and interspersed with memories from Swansea residents and music from the 1920s and '30s. 
 
We hear from Thomas in his own words in &lsquo;A Return Journey to Swansea&rsquo;, followed by four readings of his short stories narrated by Siân Philips, Geraint Morgan, Iestyn Jones and William Thomas. Rebecca's Daughters, a romantic adventure set in 19th Century Wales, stars Patrick Mower. 
 
Dylan Thomas tells of a rollercoaster experience of a lecture tour across the US in &lsquo;A Visit to America&rsquo;, and in The Voice of Dylan Thomas, introduced by Douglas Cleverdon, we hear him reading a choice selection of his works. 
 
Our final programmes are three original plays based on moments in Dylan Thomas&rsquo;s life: Badgers in My Vest by John Fletcher, Investigating Mr Thomas by Rob Gittins and Chelsea Dreaming by D J Britton. We join Thomas in a Newquay pub during World War II, follow private detective Jimmy as he tries to dig the dirt on Thomas, and see the poet through the eyes of the Chelsea Hotel. 
 
Contents 
Holiday Memory 
A Child's Christmas in Wales 
Quite Early One Morning 
Under Milk Wood 
The Beach of Falesá 
The Outing 
A Return Journey to Swansea 
Patricia, Edith and Arnold 
A Visit to Grandpa&rsquo;s 
Extraordinary Little Cough 
The Followers 
Rebecca's Daughters 
A Visit to America 
The Voice of Dylan Thomas 
Badgers in My Vest 
Investigating Mr Thomas 
Chelsea Dreaming 
 
Text copyright &copy; the estate of Dylan Thomas, 1940 (Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog), 1944 ('Quite Early One Morning'), 1945 ('A Child's Christmas in Wales'), 1946 ('Holiday Memory'), 1948 ('Rebecca's Daughters'), 1953 ('The Outing'), 1954 (Under Milk Wood), 1963 (The Beach of Falesá) 
 
Badgers in My Vest copyright &copy; John Fletcher 2003 
Investigating Mr Thomas copyright &copy; Rob Gittens 2008 
Chelsea Dreaming copyright &copy; D J Britton 2003 
 
&copy;2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Dylan Thomas BBC Radio Collection

Under Milk Wood, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, Rebecca’s Daughters & more

Series 7-12 of the Sony Award-winning sitcom featuring the splendidly self-obsessed social worker - plus Christmas and Edinburgh Festival Specials 
 
'An impressive cast and some genuinely funny writing make this a must' The Stage 
 
Well-meaning do-gooder Clare Barker is back, and dealing with more office politics, troublesome clients and domestic dramas. Secretly regarding herself as a cross between Mother Theresa and Wonder Woman, she's got all the right jargon for every problem, but never any practical solutions. However, in today's 'Big Society' there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker (or even Clare)... 
 
These six series find her struggling once again to control both her professional and private life. At the Sparrowhawk Centre, Clare finds herself in hot water on more than one occasion; and the team find themselves moving offices, facing up to possible redundancies, bidding a fond farewell to old colleagues and welcoming new ones. And at home, Clare's relationship with Brian is as thorny as ever. As we follow the duo through break-ups, wedding bells, separations and reconciliations, can they finally find happiness - or does fate have other ideas? 
 
Sally Phillips stars as Clare, with a stellar cast including Alex Lowe, Sarah Thom, Nina Conti and Gbemisola Ikumelo. Also included are a special instalment recorded live at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 'In Treatment', and a one-off Christmas outing, 'Christmas With... Clare Barker', featuring guest star Hugh Bonneville. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Harry Venning and David Ramsden 
Produced by Katie Tyrrell (Series 7-8 and Edinburgh Special) and Alexandra Smith (Series 9-12 and Christmas Special) 
A BBC Studios production 
 
Cast 
Clare - Sally Phillips 
Brian - Alex Lowe 
Megan/Nali - Nina Conti 
Ray - Richard Lumsden 
Helen - Liza Tarbuck/Pippa Haywood 
Simon - Andrew Wincott 
Libby - Sarah Kendall 
Joan - Sarah Thom 
Mrs Singh - Nina Wadia 
Cilla - Gbemisola Ikumelo 
 
Other parts played by members of the cast 
 
With Sophie Thompson, Gerard McDermott, Simon Bubb, Victoria Inez Hardy, Georgia Lowe, Nathan Caton, Stefan Ramsden, Adam Billington, Eleanor Crooks, Will Howard, Robert Blythe, Ben Crowe, Bharti Patel, Patrick Brennan, Robert Blythe, Adam Nagaitis, Paul Stonehouse, Stephanie Racine, Peter Mitchell, Hannah Gordon, John Norton, Arthur Hughes, Alex Tregear, Carolyn Pickles, Hugh Bonneville, Shaun Mason, Lizzie Roper, Karl Theobald, Anil Goutam, Eleanor Curry, Amelia Lowdell, Neet Mohan, Elliot Steel, Dustin Demri-Burns, Clare Perkins, Alison Belbin, Sean Baker, Colin Hoult, Amita Dhiri, Alex Macqueen, Elizabeth Bennett, Nicola Ferguson, Emma Sidi, Rebecca Root, George Fouracres, Jenny Bede, Jenny Murray and Tony Way. 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 September-28 October 2011 (Series 7), 2 January-6 February 2013 (Series 8), 27 August 2013 ('In Treatment'), 8 January-12 February 2014 (Series 9), 29 December 2014 ('Christmas With... Clare Barker'), 10 July-14 August 2015 (Series 10), 15 November-20 December 2016 (Series 11), 24 September-29 October 2019 (Series 12) 
 
© 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Clare in the Community: The Complete Series 7-12

Rumer Godden

Full-cast radio adaptations of three of Rumer Godden's bestselling novels, plus a bonus interview with the author 
 
Rumer Godden is well known for her acclaimed novels for adults and children. She wrote over 60 works in her lifetime, nine of which were made into films. Included here are dramatisations of three of her classic tales, as well as a fascinating interview with the renowned author. 
 
Black Narcissus - A group of nuns establishing a remote mission in an old palace in the Himalayas is warned that it is no place for a nunnery. And as the Sisters' tragic destiny unfolds, those prophetic words are soon proved right. Sinead Cusack and Lesley Sharp star in this atmospheric dramatisation of Godden's 1939 novel, famously adapted as an Oscar-winning film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. 
 
The Greengage Summer - When their mother falls ill during a holiday to France, the Grey children are left to entertain themselves. Over the course of the long, hot summer, they are caught up in an adult world of deception and lies... Starring Ellie Beaven, Abigail Docherty and Michael Maloney. 
 
The Dark Horse - Set in Calcutta in 1933, this is the story of a thoroughbred racehorse, a jockey seeking a second chance, a shrewd Mother Superior and a miracle - all based on true events. Geoffrey Whitehead, Indira Varma, Dearbhla Molloy and Ioan Meredith star in this heartwarming drama. 
 
Third Ear - Recorded in 1992, this illuminating Radio 3 interview sees the octogenarian Rumer Godden talking to Geoffrey Baskerville about how her life and beliefs are reflected in her writing. 
 
Text copyright © The Rumer Godden Literary Trust 1939 (Black Narcissus), 1958 (The Greengage Summer), 1981 (The Dark Horse) 
 
Black Narcissus 
Sister Clodagh - Sinead Cusack 
Sister Ruth - Lesley Sharp 
Mr Dean - David Rintoul 
Dilip Rai - Ronny Jhutti 
Sister Briony - Susan Engel 
Sister Philippa - Jenny Lee 
Sister Honey - Rachel Atkins 
The General/Father Roberts - Sam Dastor 
Ayah - Indira Joshi 
Mother Dorothea/Sister Adela - Carolyn Jones 
Con - Alastair Danson 
Kanchi - Sumitra Bhagat 
Joseph Anthony - Dhiraj Prasai 
Dramatised by April de Angelis 
Music by Elizabeth Parker 
Directed by Sally Avens 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 13 December 1997 
 
The Greengage Summer 
Cecile - Ellie Beaven 
Joss - Abigail Docherty 
Hester - Ciara Janson 
Eliot - Michael Maloney 
With Luke Newbury, Claire Marchionne, Rachel Atkins, Theo Fraser Steele, Sean Baker, Jenny Lee, Brian Parr and Chris Wright 
Dramatised by Dawn Lowe Watson 
Directed by Sally Avens 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 May 1988 
 
The Dark Horse 
Sister Morag - Dearbhla Molloy 
Levantine - Nickolas Grace 
Ted - Ioan Meredith 
John Quillan - Gareth Armstrong 
With Geoffrey Whitehead, Indira Varma, Siobhan Stamp, Frances Jeater, Nitin Chandra Ganatra, Richard Rees and David Antrobus 
Dramatised by Liane Aukin 
Directed by David Hunter 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 5 September 1988 
 
Third Ear 
Presented by Geoffrey Baskerville 
With Rumer Godden 
Produced by Vivien Devlin 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 12 May 1992 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Rumer Godden: Black Narcissus, The Greengage Summer & The Dark Horse

Three Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

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