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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Malorie Blackman

A thrilling adaptation of Malorie Blackman's bestselling novel about young love in a dystopian world 
 
Callum and Sephy have known each other since they were babies. His Mum used to work for hers as housekeeper, and they played together and became best friends. Then Callum's mother lost her job, and they had to start meeting in secret. Because Callum is a Nought - a second class citizen - and Sephy a Cross, one of the elite. And Noughts and Crosses can't mix... 
 
In this segregated society, Noughts are nonentities - discriminated against, denigrated, denied decent education. But now Callum's passed the entrance exams and been allowed into Sephy's posh school. Surely this is his first step to a better life, one where he and Sephy can be together? 
 
Only it doesn't work out that way. Instead of acceptance, the couple face opposition, intimidation and violence. They know they're made for each other - but the world keeps tearing them apart. And soon bigger things will prevail. Like the bombing... 
 
Malorie Blackman's groundbreaking book has won a host of awards and become a modern classic, with themes of racism and prejudice that still resonate today. This powerful, hard-hitting dramatisation was written by award-winning playwright Janice Okoh, and stars Zawe Ashton as Sephy, with Rikki Lawton as Callum. 
 
Also included is a bonus episode of Word of Mouth, in which Malorie Blackman talks to Michael Rosen about her lifelong love of reading, the writing that has shaped her, and how she's used language in her own influential work. 
 
 
Cast 
Sephy - Zawe Ashton 
Callum - Rikki Lawton 
Meggie/Jasmine - Adjoa Andoh 
Ryan/Andrew Dorn - Carl Prekopp 
Jude - Alex Lanipekun 
Lynette/Sarah - Tracy Wiles 
Kamal - Jude Akuwudike 
Kelani Adams - Nikki Amuka Bird 
Mr Pingule - Israel Oyelumade 
Mr Stoll/Judge - Richard Pepple 
Soanes/Sgt Collins - Gerard McDermott 
Shania - Victoria Inez Hardy 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 February 2012 
 
 
(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
 
© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Noughts & Crosses

A BBC Radio full-cast dramatisation

Wally K. Daly

A pair of thriller series from prolific radio writer Wally K. Daly 
 
Award-winning dramatist Wally K. Daly penned numerous plays for BBC Radio across a range of genres, including the beloved sci-fi ‘Scream Trilogy’ and the sitcoms Anything Legal and Give Or Take. Featured here are two of his gripping thriller series: the tense spy serial Orphans in Waiting and the eerie supernatural story The Children of Witchwood. 
 
Orphans in Waiting – Schoolboy Mike Jago wakes from one nightmare only to find he’s living in another. His parents have disappeared overnight, leaving him, his brother Pete and his sister Janey all alone. Reluctant to call the police, the children investigate – and soon notice strange things. Why are there helicopter marks in the garden? Who is the stranger keeping watch on the house through his binoculars? What is in their father’s briefcase? And who – or what – is The Hyena? As they attempt to unravel these mysteries, they find themselves in grave danger, and pursued by a deadly enemy... Starring Judy Bennett, Abigail Docherty and Simon Radford. 
 
The Children of Witchwood – When college student Jackie Lamont disappears from the haunted ‘Burning Field’, only to reappear, just as mysteriously, in possession of strange telepathic powers, it attracts the attention of the Ministry of Defence. Investigator B Q Brown believes there is a possible link between her newfound abilities and sinister events back in the 17th century, when six children were burned as witches. Meanwhile, the Cranford clan, who have carefully guarded a dark secret for hundreds of years, now regard Jackie as a threat. What lengths will they go to protect their birthright? Wendy Baxter and Michael Cochrane star in Wally K. Daly’s last ever radio drama series. 
 
NB: Due to the off-air nature of the recordings, the sound quality may vary. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Wally K. Daly 
Audio for Orphans in Waiting from Wally K. Daly's own collection 
 
Orphans in Waiting 
Mike – Judy Bennett 
Janey – Abigail Docherty 
Peter – Simon Radford 
Headmaster – Peter Jeffrey 
Store Manager – Danny Schiller 
Woman – Auriol Smith 
Uncle Brian – Frank Windsor 
Auntie Vi – Jo Manning Wilson 
Grandfather – Edward Kelsey 
Other parts played by Joanna Myers, Timothy Carlton, Andrew Wincott, Tariq Alibai, John Talbot, Elizabeth Mansfield, Tony Wredden, Bhasker, Fraser Kerr, Amerjit Deu and David Bannerman 
 
Produced by Dan Garrett 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 5, 27 Aug-1 Oct 1990 
 
The Children of Witchwood 
Jackie Lamont – Wendy Baxter 
Mandy Lamont – Emily Chennery 
Sion Lamont – Scott Gray 
Jason Cranford – Laurence Saunders 
Cheever Cranford – Jez Thomas 
Becky Cranford – Becky Wright 
DC Danny Sparks – Daniel Settatree 
WPC Polly Bell – Lorraine Coady 
Mother/Minister – Jilly Bond 
Sergeant/B Q Brown – Michael Cochrane 
Iron Peter/Dentist – Robert Lister 
 
Directed by Jenny Stephens 
 
First broadcast on BBC 7, 3-7 Jan 2005 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Orphans in Waiting & The Children of Witchwood

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Thrillers

Noel Streatfeild

Full-cast dramatisations of three of Noel Streatfeild's classic children's books 
 
Rising to fame with her 1936 novel Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild soon became one of the most popular authors of her day. She was one of the first winners of the Carnegie Medal and was awarded an OBE in 1983. She died in 1986, but her stories continue to captivate children today. Included here are three of her very best - Ballet Shoes, The Growing Summer and When the Siren Wailed. 
 
Ballet Shoes - Adopted by Great Uncle Matthew on his archaeological expeditions, Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil grow up as sisters, and vow to make their name famous. When they enrol at the Children's Academy of Dancing, the Fossil girls share a future of a dazzling life onstage, where their dreams and fears will soon come true.... Rosemary Leach, Alexandra Mathie, Victoria Shalet and Lucy Curtis star in this delightful dramatisation. 
 
The Growing Summer - It is 1965, and the young Gareth children's lives are about to change for ever. When their father falls dangerously ill, they are sent to Ireland to stay with their eccentric Great-Aunt Dymphna for the summer. There, in her crumbling mansion on the west coast, they face dangers and adventures they could never have imagined... Starring Ann Rye, Holly Grainger, Will Haigh, Emily Fleeshman and Paul Herriott. 
 
When the Siren Wailed - When World War Two breaks out, Laura, Andy and Tim Clark are evacuated to the countryside. Brought up in poverty, they find a happy, comfortable home with the Colonel - but then tragedy occurs, and the children decide to run away back to London. Caught up in an air raid, can they make their way through the blackouts and bombed-out streets to find their mother? Narrated by Wendy Richard, this gripping, moving adventure story stars Norman Bird, John Church, Nicholas Courtney and Keeley Hawes. 
 
Text copyright © Noel Streatfield 1936 (Ballet Shoes), 1966 (The Growing Summer), 1974 (When the Siren Wailed) 
Copyright © Beneficiaries of Noel Streatfeild 1986 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Noel Streatfeild 
 
Ballet Shoes 
With Rosemary Leach, John Ringham, Alexandra Mathie, Victoria Shalet, Lucy Curtis, Lia Williams, Charles Edwards, Abigail Thaw, Alison Skilbeck, Olivia Breeze, Max Digby, Jonathan Dryden Taylor and Miriam Berry 
Adapted by Ellen Dryden 
Directed by Don Taylor 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27-31 Dec 1999 
 
The Growing Summer 
With Ann Rye, Holly Grainger, Will Haigh, Emily Fleeshman, Paul Herriott, James Caplin, Catherine Keane, Vincent Patrick 
Dramatised by Julie Wilkinson 
Directed by Sue Sutton Mayo 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 9 Aug 2000 
 
When the Siren Wailed 
Narrated by Wendy Richard 
With Norman Bird, John Church, Nicholas Gatt, David Goudge, Keeley Hawes, Joan Matheson, Marc Murphy, Judy Parkin, Christopher Scott, Joan Walker, Melinda Walker, Howard Ward, Nicholas Courtney, Malcolm Hebden and Eva Stuart 
Dramatised by Richard Pinner 
Produced by Mary Kalemkarian 
Researcher: Lis Roberts 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 Jan-19 Mar 1989 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Noel Streatfeild: Ballet Shoes & more

A BBC Radio 4 Children’s Drama Collection

Richmal Crompton

A stunning collection of Just William stories, selected and read by Martin Jarvis 
 
'There's nothing to touch them' - Independent on Sunday 
 
Richmal Crompton's stories featuring irrepressible schoolboy William Brown have been firm favourites with both young and old for decades. Perpetually scruffy, mud-stained and mischievous, he is a lovable scamp whose pranks usually end in disaster - for his harassed elders at least. 
 
With friends Ginger, Douglas and Henry (the Outlaws) and the angelic thorn-in-his-side, the lisping Violet Elizabeth Bott, William has rightly joined the literary, and radio, immortals. 
 
Martin Jarvis, who has been hailed as 'the wizard of the talking book' (The Daily Telegraph), has made the voice of William his own, and this collection of 54 laugh-out-loud stories will delight long-standing fans and first-time listeners alike. 
 
Also included are two bonus interviews with Richmal Crompton, recorded in 1965 and 1968. 
 
Musical Theme: Won't You Be My Ginger? composed and performed by Richard Dworsky (piano) (c) 1995 Inner Vista Music (BMI) 
 
The stories included in this collection are: 
 
The Christmas Truce 
Only Just in Time 
The Midnight Adventure of Miss Montague 
William and the Musician 
William Leads a Better Life 
William and the Twins 
William's Birthday 
William and the Little Girl 
The Outlaws and Cousin Percy 
William and the Princess Goldilocks 
The Sweet Little Girl in White 
A Birthday Treat 
The Outlaws and the Triplets 
A Bit of Blackmail 
William Makes a Night of It 
William and the Lost Tourist 
The Leopard Hunter 
The New Neighbour 
William the Philanthropist 
William and the Prize Cat 
William Holds the Stage 
William and the School Report 
All the News 
Aunt Arabelle in Charge 
William's Goodbye Present 
William the Salvage Collector 
William's Day Off 
Entertainment Provided 
William and the Brains Trust 
William and the Bomb 
William Goes Shopping 
Violet Elizabeth Runs Away 
William and the Real Laurence 
The Outlaws and the Hidden Treasure 
William and the Fairy Daffodil 
The Best Laid Plans 
Mrs Bott's Hat 
William Starts the Holidays 
William Plays Santa Claus 
William and the Snowman 
Revenge is Sweet 
William and the Black Cat 
William and the Russian Prince 
William's Busy Day 
William - The Great Actor 
William and the White Elephants 
Finding a School for William 
William Clears the Slums 
Parrots for Ethel 
William's Truthful Christmas 
Boys will be Boys 
William and the Ebony Hair-Brush 
William and the Old Man in the Fog

Just William: A BBC Radio Collection

Classic readings from the BBC archive

Edith Nesbit

Rosamund E. Nesbit Bland

Martin Jameson

A BBC Radio collection of dramatisations of E. Nesbit's finest children's books with extra magical readings plus an original drama by Martin Jameson 
 
 E Nesbit is widely regarded as the first modern children's writer. Her ground-breaking novels have influenced authors from Oscar Wilde to Jacqueline Wilson, and over 100 years after their first publication, they remain perennially popular. 
 
 This wide-ranging collection comprises some of her very best children's fiction, commencing with her timeless tale The Railway Children. Starring Victoria Carling, Daniel Eyssen and Kate McEnery, Frances Jeater this enchanting dramatisation tells the story of three suburban children forced to move to the countryside after their father is mysteriously taken away. 
 
 Martin Jameson's sequel Roberta, Peter and Phyllis revisits them 13 years later, in 1919, to reveal how their lives have changed. Fiona Clarke, James Alper and Emma Hughes-Jones star as the titular siblings. 
 
 Also included is Nesbit's classic 'Psammead' trilogy. In Five Children and It, Five children are granted a series of wishes by a sand fairy - but inevitably, things do not go to plan... 
 Cast includes Julia McKenzie, Simon Carter, James Richard, Justyn Towler. 
 
 Patricia Hodge reads the second book in the series, The Phoenix and the Carpet, in which the discovery of a mysterious egg in an old carpet heralds the start of a magical adventure. And in The Story of the Amulet, a full-cast dramatisation the children voyage through history on a quest for an ancient lucky charm. Featuring the same cast as Five Children and It 
 
 Penelope Keith stars as E Nesbit in The House of Arden, a time-travelling fantasy tale about the hunt for a lost family treasure; Other cast includes Timothy Spall and Kelly Bright. 
 
 Prunella Scales reads five stories from Nesbit's delightful compendium The Book of Dragons: 'Last of the Dragons', 'Kind Little Edmond', 'The Deliverers of their Country', 'The Book of Beasts' and 'The Dragon Tamers'. Concluding this anthology are two fantastic feline fables from Cat Tales, co-written by Nesbit and her adopted daughter Rosamund E Bland: 'The White Cat', read by Jenny Agutter, and 'Too Clever by Half', read by Helen Clapp. 
 
 Cast and credits 
 Written by E Nesbit 
 Cat Tales written by E Nesbit and Rosamund E Bland 
 Roberta, Peter and Phyllis written by Martin Jameson 
 First published 1901 (The Book of Dragons), 1902 (Five Children and It), 1904 (The Phoenix and the Carpet, Cat Tales), 1906 (The Story of the Amulet, The Railway Children), 1908 (The House of Arden) 
 
 The Railway Children 
 Dramatised by Marcy Kahan. Produced by John Taylor 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 5, 3-24 January 1991 
 
 Roberta, Peter and Phyllis 
 Produced and directed by Gary Brown 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4 January 2005 
 
 Five Children and It 
 Dramatised by Malcolm McKee. Directed by Rosemary Watts 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 31 August 1998 
 
 The Phoenix and the Carpet 
 Abridged by Penny Leicester. Produced by Marion Nancarrow 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 March-1 April 1994 
 
 The Story of the Amulet 
 Dramatised by Malcolm McKee. Directed by Rosemary Watts 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 30 August 1999 
 
 The House of Arden 
 Dramatised by Chris Curry. Produced by Mary Kalemkarian 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 23 April-25 June 1989 
 
 The Book of Dragons 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 5, 7-11 December 1992 
 
 Cat Tales 
 The White Cat 
 First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 3 January 2000 
 
 Too Clever by Half 
 First broadcast BBC Sounds, 23 July 2019 
 
 © 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

E. Nesbit: A BBC Radio Collection

The Railway Children, Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet & more

A second wonderful collection of Just William stories, selected and read by Martin Jarvis 
 
Richmal Crompton's stories featuring irrepressible schoolboy William Brown have been firm favourites with both young and old for decades. Perpetually scruffy, mud-stained and mischievous, he is a lovable scamp whose pranks usually end in disaster - for his harassed elders at least. 
 
With friends Ginger, Douglas and Henry (the Outlaws) and the angelic thorn-in-his-side, the lisping Violet Elizabeth Bott, William has rightly joined the literary, and radio, immortals. 
 
Musical Theme: Won't You Be My Ginger? composed and performed by Richard Dworsky (piano) (c) 1995 Inner Vista Music (BMI) 
 
The stories in this collection include: 
 
That Boy 
The Bishop's Handkerchief 
William and Uncle George 
The Haunted House 
William and St Valentine 
April Fool's Day 
Not Much 
The Cure 
William's Wonderful Plan 
The Outlaws and the Penknife 
William the Reformer 
William's New Year's Day 
Aunt Florence and the Green Woodpecker 
The Plan that Failed 
William and the Begging Letter 
A Question of Exchange 
William and the Temporary History Teacher 
The Outlaws and the Tramp 
A Few Dogs and William 
The Outlaws and the Missionary 
William the Good 
William and the Young Man 
William and the Spy 
William and the Badminton Racket 
William Turns Over a New Leaf 
William and Dear Little Peter 
William and the Waxwork Prince 
William and the White Cat 
William and Photography 
The Great Detective 
The Fete - and Fortune 
The Weak Spot 
The Outlaws Go a-Mumming 
William's Double Life 
William to the Rescue 
William the Film Star 
William the Rat Lover 
William the Showman 
William And the Monster 
William The Persian 
The New Game 
William and the Love Nest 
The Cat And The Mouse 
Waste Paper Wanted 
William The Globe Trotter 
William And The Prize Pig 
A Present From William 
A Night Of Mysteries 
William and the Chinese God 
William and the League of Perfect Love 
Fireworks Strictly Prohibited 
William the Psychiatrist 
William Joins the Waits 
Violet Elizabeth Takes Control 
William - The Dear Little Boysie 
William's Brilliant Plan 
The Outlaws and Aunt Jo 
Violet Elizabeth's Special Party

Just William: A Second BBC Radio Collection

Philip Pullman

All three BBC radio dramatisations of the bestselling fantasy trilogy - plus bonus material 
 
 A breathtaking epic spanning multiple worlds, His Dark Materials follows the adventures of Lyra Belacqua and Will Parry, two children catapulted into a life-or-death struggle to save the future of the Cosmos. 
 
 In Northern Lights, 11-year-old Lyra discovers dark forces at work involving kidnapped children and a mysterious substance called 'Dust'. With her shape-shifting daemon, Pantalaimon, she leaves her Oxford college home and embarks on a dangerous journey to the frozen North, aided by armoured bears, Gyptians and a witch-queen... 
 
 The Subtle Knife sees 12-year-old Will finding an opening into the haunted world of Cittàgazze, where daemon-destroying Spectres roam. There he meets Lyra, and together they acquire the most powerful weapon in all the universes - an object many would kill to possess. 
 
 In The Amber Spyglass, a colossal war is brewing in Heaven, and Lyra and Will have been separated. They must find each other and journey onward - even into the World of the Dead... 
 
 These thrilling dramatisations feature an all-star cast, including Lulu Popplewell, Terence Stamp, Bill Paterson, Kenneth Cranham and Adrian Scarborough. 
 
 Also included is a bonus documentary, World Book Club, in which Philip Pullman answers readers' questions about Northern Lights.

His Dark Materials: The Complete BBC Radio Collection

Full-cast dramatisations of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass

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