Alasdair Fotheringham is a freelance journalist and writer based in Spain. He writes regularly on cycling for the ‘I’, The Independent.co.uk, The Express, ProCycling and Cyclingnews. He has been reporting on the Tour de France and other top road cycling events since 1992. His first book was The Eagle of Toledo, a biography of cycling’s greatest ever climber, Federico Martín Bahamontes. He has also written Reckless, a biography of the ill-fated Luis Ocaña, the 1973 Tour winner and considered Eddy Merck’s top Grand Tour rival, and The End of the Road, an account of the 1998 Tour de France.

Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Rae is an award-winning scholar, cartographer, data analyst and former Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at the University of Sheffield. He left academia in 2020 to launch his own data and spatial analysis consultancy, Automatic Knowledge.

Alasdair Rae

Alasdair Wickham

Alastair Campbell was born in Keighley, Yorkshire in 1957, the son of a vet. Having graduated from Cambridge University in modern languages, he went into journalism, principally with the Mirror Group. When Tony Blair became leader of the Labour Party, Campbell worked for him first as press secretary, then as official spokesman and director of communications and strategy from 1994 to 2003. He continued to act as an advisor to Mr Blair and the Labour Party, including during subsequent election campaigns. He now splits his time between writing, speaking, politics in Britain and overseas, consultancy and charity, as chairman of fundraising for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, and a leading ambassador for the mental health campaign Time to Change. 
 
He lives in North London with his partner of thirty-five years, Fiona Millar. They have three children. His interests include running, cycling, bagpipes and Burnley Football Club. He has published six volumes of diaries, including the number one Sunday Times bestseller, The Blair Years, a memoir on depression, The Happy Depressive, and three novels.

Alastair Campbell

Alastair Nathan Cook was born in Gloucester, December 1984. He is an English cricketer. He plays for Essex County Cricket Club and previously for England. Cook is the fifth highest Test scorer of all time. 
 
He is regarded as England's most successful batsman ever and now he is an icon and role model in sport. 
 
Outside of cricket, Alastair has written columns in the Telegraph and Metro, he is a talented saxophone player and donates his time to raising money for cancer charities and the David Randall Foundation. He is now married with three children.

Alastair Cook

Alastair Fothergill studied zoology and joined the BBC Natural History Unit in 1983, working on The Really Wild Show, Wildlife on One and David Attenborough's The Trials of Life. He was appointed head of the Unit in 1992, and during his tenure he produced Attenborough's award-winning series Life in the Freezer. He was awarded the Royal Geographical Society's Cherry Kearton Medal and Award in 1996. 
In June 1998, he stood down as head of the Natural History Unit to concentrate on his work as series producer, initially on the multi-award-winning The Blue Planet,. In 2006 he completed his next major series Planet Earth, which won the Cinema for Peace Clean Energy Award at the Cinema for Peace Gala Berlin in 2008. He was executive producer of Frozen Planet (2011) and The Hunt (2015). He has also presented several television programmes, including The Abyss. 
In 2008, he signed a multi-picture deal with newly formed Disneynature. In 2012 he left the BBC to co-found Silverback Films, which makes landmark natural history series for various clients including Netflix and the BBC. 
In 2016, Alastair was made a Fellow of the Royal Television Society for his work in natural history programming. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to film.

Alastair Fothergill

Alastair Gunn is an experienced magazine journalist. The Advent Killer was his first novel in the series featuring DCI Antonia Hawkins, followed by My Bloody Valentine and The Keeper, which was published in April 2017. 
 
Alastair lives in Hertfordshire with his fiancée, Anna.

Alastair Gunn

Alastair Jessiman

Alastair Panton

Alastair Reynolds

Alastair Sooke is the author of the biographies Henri Matisse: A Second Life and Roy Lichtenstein: How Modern Art was Saved by Donald Duck, both published by Penguin. He is art critic for the Daily Telegraph and is a popular BBC broadcaster. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, and at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London.

Alastair Sooke

Alayo Akinkugbe graduated from the University of Cambridge with a BA in History of Art in 2021 and graduated with an MA in Curating the Art Museum from the Courtauld Institute of Art in 2023. She runs the Instagram platform @ABlackHistoryofArt, which highlights Black artists, sitters, curators and thinkers from art history and the present day; and hosts the podcast A Shared Gaze. Alayo is a contributing editor and writes the column ‘Black Gazes’ for AnOther Magazine. She was awarded a curatorial research grant by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art for the exhibition Entangled Pasts: Art Colonialism and Change at the Royal Academy of Arts. 
Alayo was on the advisory panel and contributed to the book African Artists: From 1882 to Now, published by Phaidon in 2021, and has written for publications including Dazed, Tate Etc. and The World of Interiors. Reframing Blackness is her first book.

Alayo Akinkugbe

Alba De Zanet

Albert Camus (1913-60) grew up in a working-class neighbourhood in Algiers. He studied philosophy at the University of Algiers, and became a journalist. His most important works include The Outsider, The Myth of Sisyphus, The Plague and The Fall. After the occupation of France by the Germans in 1941, Camus became one of the intellectual leaders of the Resistance movement. He was killed in a road accident, and his last unfinished novel, The First Man, appeared posthumously.

Albert Camus

Albert Cohen

Albert Costa was Research Professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona and director of the Speech Production and Bilingualism Group at the Centre for Brain and Cognition. His research focused on the cognitive and neural underpinnings of language processing.

Albert Costa

Regarded as the founder of modern physics, Albert Einstein was born in 1879, in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Zürich in 1905 and published four papers in the scientific journal named Annalen der Physik. These papers on photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity and mass-energy equivalence (E = mc2) were significant contributors to the foundation of modern physics. In the next few years, Einstein came to be recognized as a major scientist. 
He developed the general theory of relativity between 1907 and 1915. It was published in 1915. In 1916, Einstein published Relativity: The Special and the General Theory in German. Its first English translation was published in 1920. In 1921, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to Theoretical Physics and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect." He published numerous scientific and non-scientific works. 
Einstein died on 18 April 1955, aged seventy-six, in Princeton, New Jersey.

Albert Einstein

Albert Espinosa

Albert French

Albert Jack

Albert Reynolds

Albert Roux

Alberto Granado

Alberto Polverosi was born in Montelupo Fiorentino, Tuscany and has been writing for Corriere dello Sport since 1977. He has covered eight World Cups and seven European Championships. He lives in Florence.

Alberto Polverosi

Alberto Villoldo

Aldo Leopold

Aldo Zilli

Aldous Huxley was born on 26 July 1894 near Godalming, Surrey. He began writing poetry and short stories in his early 20s, but it was his first novel, Crome Yellow (1921), which established his literary reputation. This was swiftly followed by Antic Hay (1923), Those Barren Leaves (1925) and Point Counter Point (1928) – bright, brilliant satires in which Huxley wittily but ruthlessly passed judgement on the shortcomings of contemporary society. For most of the 1920s Huxley lived in Italy and an account of his experiences there can be found in Along the Road (1925). The great novels of ideas, including his most famous work Brave New World (published in 1932, this warned against the dehumanising aspects of scientific and material 'progress') and the pacifist novel Eyeless in Gaza (1936) were accompanied by a series of wise and brilliant essays, collected in volume form under titles such as Music at Night (1931) and Ends and Means (1937). In 1937, at the height of his fame, Huxley left Europe to live in California, working for a time as a screenwriter in Hollywood. As the West braced itself for war, Huxley came increasingly to believe that the key to solving the world's problems lay in changing the individual through mystical enlightenment. The exploration of the inner life through mysticism and hallucinogenic drugs was to dominate his work for the rest of his life. His beliefs found expression in both fiction (Time Must Have a Stop,1944, and Island, 1962) and non-fiction (The Perennial Philosophy, 1945; Grey Eminence, 1941; and the account of his first mescaline experience, The Doors of Perception, 1954). Huxley died in California on 22 November 1963.

Aldous Huxley

Alec Baldwin is a multiple Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actor, producer, comedian and philanthropist. He has also been nominated for an Oscar and a Tony Award and the author of the New York Times bestseller A Promise to Ourselves.

Alec Baldwin

Alec Ross is the New York Times bestselling author of The Industries of the Future and one of the world's leading experts on innovation. Now Distinguished Visiting Professor at Bologna Business School of l'Universitá di Bologna, he served in the Presidential Administration of Barack Obama for four years as Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He is also Board Partner at Amplo, a global venture capital firm and has been named a Top 100 Global Thinker by Foreign Policy magazine.

Alec Ross

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Una McCormack

‘They called it Enamour. It turned minds, sold merchandise, and swayed elections. And it did its job far too well...’   In the city-state of Geath, the King lives in a golden hall, and the people want for nothing. Everyone is happy and everyone is rich. Or so it seems.   When the Doctor, Amy and Rory look beneath the surface, they discover a city of secrets. In dark corners, strange creatures are stirring. At the heart of the hall, a great metal dragon oozes gold.  Then the Herald appears, demanding the return of her treasure...   And next come the gunships. The battle for possession of the treasure has begun, and only the Doctor and his friends can save the people of the city from being destroyed in the crossfire of an ancient civil war. But will the King surrender his new-found wealth? Or will he fight to keep it...?   Nicholas Briggs, the 'voice of the Daleks', reads this thrilling story featuring the Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the hit BBC TV series.

Doctor Who: The King's Dragon

William Shakespeare

Written over four hundred years ago, ‘Hamlet’ still remains one of the most powerful, influential and thrilling tragedies in the English language.   The story of Prince Hamlet and his quest for vengeance has been interpreted countless times on stage, film and television. With its riveting plot featuring murder and supernatural horror; and presenting possibly the most fascinating character in the history of drama, it never fails to enthral.   This BBC archive production from 1971 was produced by the renowned John Tydeman and features a cast of highly-regarded actors, with music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

Hamlet (Classic Radio Theatre)

Noël Coward

Judith Bliss is a famous actress who, after a string of successful roles, has retired to her country retreat. Missing the adulation of her public, she has has invited a fan over for a weekend of uninterrupted adoration - unaware that the rest of her family has company arriving too.   Hoping for a delightful weekend, the four unwitting visitors are subjected to the full force of the Bliss’s theatrical lifestyle...   Noël Coward’s sparkling comedy features a stellar cast including Millicent Martin, Maurice Denham and Julia Foster.   This recording was first issued on cassette in 1988.

Hay Fever (Classic Radio Theatre)

Mark Twain

In ‘Niagara’, the McWilliamses plan a day trip to those intrepid Falls to tramp exciting trails and meet some friendly Red Indians. But the best laid plans...   Read by Stuart Milligan and produced by Duncan Minshull. Originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Reading’ slot on BBC Radio 4 on 9 November 2010, to accompany the 'Autobiography of Mark Twain' (aired on ‘Book of the Week').

Mark Twain's Niagara (BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Reading)

In ‘The Experience of the McWilliamses with Membranous Croup’, a strange fever is afflicting the neighbourhood just as little Penelope begins to cough. Though the reason is hardly clear cut...   Read by Stuart Milligan and produced by Duncan Minshull. Originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Reading’ slot on BBC Radio 4 on 10 November 2010, to accompany the 'Autobiography of Mark Twain' (aired on ‘Book of the Week').

Mark Twain's The Experience Of The McWilliamses With Membranous Croup

In ‘The McWilliamses and The Burglar Alarm’ it becomes apparent that their home would be better off with a state of the art security device - if it works, that is...  Read by Stuart Milligan and produced by Duncan Minshull. Originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Reading’ slot on BBC Radio 4 on 9 November 2010, to accompany the 'Autobiography of Mark Twain' (aired on ‘Book of the Week').

Mark Twain's The McWilliamses And The Burglar Alarm (BBC Radio)

Alan Pollock

In 'This be the Verse', the poet Philip Larkin famously bemoans the impact parents have on their children. In ‘Philip and Sydney’, playwright, translator and screenwriter Alan Pollock uncovers some of the reasons why Larkin may have had such a profound sense of anguish.  In 1937, Philip Larkin's father, Sydney, took him on holiday to Germany. Sydney was Coventry's City Treasurer and had a keen interest in the Nazi regime. It was a holiday that Philip never spoke of. But, taking inspiration from Sydney's diaries, ‘Philip and Sydney’ imagines what might have happened during their trip.  With Pip Carter and Tim McInnerny in the title roles, the cast also stars Melody Grove, John Rowe, Sam Dale and Gunnar Cauthery. Directed by Kirsty Williams. First broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 11 June 2010.

Philip and Sydney

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Matthew Solon

A BBC World Play written by Matthew Solon and directed by John Dryden.  On 15 September 2008, Lehman Brothers, one of the oldest and largest investment banks in the world, with its headquarters in New York, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It was the largest bankruptcy filed in US history and sent the already unstable global financial markets into an uncontrollable tailspin. Based on insider interviews, this 60-minute BBC Radio drama is a fictionalised reconstruction of what happened in one weekend.  Starring John Shea, John Rothman, Rob Campbell and Mark La Mara.  Winner of the Peabody Award, the Wincott Award for Programme of the Year and silver-winner in The Sony Awards' Drama Award.  A Goldhawk Essential Production recorded on location in New York.

The Day That Lehman Died

Rosemary Sutcliff

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Rosemary Sutcliff’s much-loved tale of honour, comradeship and courage.  Somewhere around the year 117AD, a Roman garrison called the Ninth Legion was ordered to put down an uprising among the Caledonian tribes. Four thousand men vanished without trace into the swirling mist of the north of Roman Britain.  Many years after their disappearance a young centurion, Marcus Aquila, decides to discover the truth about what happened to the legion and to its First Cohort Commander - his father.  This gripping dramatisation tells the story of Marcus’ often perilous journey as he searches to solve the mystery, and to bring back the symbol of the lost legion’s honour - their standard, the Eagle of the Ninth.  Now adapted as a major motion picture - ‘The Eagle’, starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland - ‘The Eagle of the Ninth’ is a timeless tale that will thrill all listeners.  This recording was previously available on cassette.

The Eagle Of The Ninth

M.M. Kaye

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of M.M. Kaye’s epic novel of love and war.  M.M. Kaye’s masterwork is a vast, rich and vibrant tapestry of love and war that spans over twenty years, moving from the foothills of the Himalayas, to the burning plains, to the besieged British Mission in Kabul.  It begins in 1857 when, following the Indian Mutiny, young English orphan Ashton is disguised by his ayah Sita as her Indian son, Ashok. As he forgets his true identity, his destiny is set...  A story of divided loyalties and fierce friendship; of true love made impossible by class and race; a critique of the imperialist adventure; and an examination of the cultural and spiritual clash between East and West, ‘The Far Pavilions’ is a searing insight into the human heart.  Vineeta Rishi (‘The Last Detective’) stars as Sita and the Narrator, with Blake Ritson as Ashok/Ashton and Ayesha Dharker as Anjuli.

The Far Pavilions

Anneliese Mackintosh

Ronald Frame

Diana Hendry

A collection of three comic tales from BBC Radio 4, ‘The Greengrocer’s Apostrophe’, inspired by those hand-written signs offering ‘Apple's and Banana's’ which can be found in every town in Britain. Originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Reading’ slots from 28-30 September 2010.  ‘Penny's from Heaven’ by Anneliese Mackintosh: James Anthony Pearson reads a quirky story about the apostrophe that ends a relationship. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.  ‘Alice, Hanging in There’ by Ronald Frame: When Alice's high-flying career stalls, she finds a novel way to occupy her time. Armed only with a balaclava and a pot of paint, she starts to vent her anger on sloppy punctuation. Read by Tracy Wiles. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.  ‘The Sweet Possessive´ by Diana Hendry: Distracted by an apostrophe obsession, a woman fails to notice that her lover is not all that he seems. Read by Monica Gibb. Produced by Eilidh McCreadie.

The Greengrocer's Apostrophe

Melissa Murray

A BBC Radio 4 fictional dramatisation of Léon Theremin’s espionage work in the lead up to the Cold War, written by Melissa Murray. ‘Theremin’ was originally broadcast as the ‘Saturday Play’ on 3 January 2009 and repeated on 9 October 2010.  Léon Theremin, gifted inventor and reluctant spy, is forced to find a way to bug the US Embassy in London. Now he has to save himself and his former lover from both the CIA and the KGB.  Starring Tom Hollander as Theremin and Kate Ashfield as Alex. Also featured in the cast are Ania Sowinski, Trystan Gravelle, Stephen Critchlow, Malcolm Tierney, Janice Acquah, Jonathan Tafler, Chris Pavlo and Dan Starkey. Directed by Marc Beeby.

Theremin

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast production

Three of Mark Twain’s classic short stories, originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Reading’ slot on BBC Radio 4 from 9 - 11 November 2010, to accompany the 'Autobiography of Mark Twain' (aired on ‘Book of the Week'). Read by Stuart Milligan.  Twain’s classic short stories, with their familiar trademarks of high farce and droll insight, bring us eccentric burglars, cossetted children, and a visitor to a theme park obsessed with the making of mocassins. And also torrents of water...  ‘The McWilliamses and The Burglar Alarm’: Surely their home would be better off with a state of the art security device - if it works, that is...  ‘The Experience of the McWilliamses with Membranous Croup’: A strange fever is afflicting the neighbourhood, just as little Penelope begins to cough. Though the reason is hardly clear cut...  ‘Niagara’: Hooray, it's a day trip to those intrepid Falls, to tramp exciting trails and meet some friendly Red Indians. But the best laid plans...  Read by Stuart Milligan and produced by Duncan Minshull.

Three Stories By Mark Twain The McWilliamses And The Burglar

David Cook

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring Sir Ian McKellen, written by David Cook as follow-up to his 1982 Channel 4 social commentary drama, ‘Walter’, about a man with learning difficulties. ‘Walter Now’ was originally broadcast as the ‘Saturday Play’ on 10 January 2009 and repeated on 25 September 2010.  In November 1982, Channel 4 launched with David Cook’s ‘Walter’. Now, more than 25 years later, this award-winning writer brings us up to date with Walter's life and Sir Ian McKellen recreates his extraordinary performance.  Walter is now a pensioner. Following the death of his mother, Walter spent many years living in a psychiatric hospital. When that was closed down he moved to hostel accommodation where he is isolated and lonely. When his support worker hears of a house share with three others, he suggests Walter. But Walter is twice the age of the rest. Will they accept him? Will he cope with independent living? Will they integrate with the community around them?  Also stars Becky Hindley, Malcolm Tierney, Anna-Marie Heslop, Robert Londsdale, Gunnar Cauthery, Edmund Davies, Jill Cardo and Ceallach Spellman. Directed by Claire Grove.

Walter Now (BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play)

David Nobbs

A wonderfully perceptive BBC Radio 4 comedy of manners and international relations written by David Nobbs (writer of 'The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin' and 'A Bit of a Do'). Originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 24 September 2010.  It is a quiet Saturday morning in the Hinchcliffe home. Tony and Sal, tired after a week of work, have time on their hands. But not for each other. Middle-aged and middle class, they haven't had kids and they still feel that emotional vacuum.  The doorbell rings. It is an American couple - Monty and Janey - a rather loud duo they stayed with in Delaware years ago. They said, ‘If ever you happened to be passing...’ Well, the Americans are passing and they have no hotel booked. To Tony's horror Sal invites them to stay. Well, it's only polite isn't it?  Once Monty and Janey are settled the doorbell goes again. It is Jan and Hilda, the Flemish Belgian couple from Bruges. They kindly helped when Janey had a migraine in Bruges. Even fed them some waterzooi (Flemish stew). In gratitude Sal and Tony said, ‘If ever you happened to be passing...’  Then the doorbell goes again - it is Pierre and Colette, French Belgians who helped them in Namur when Sal was sick over a Saab because she had eaten some cloying Flemish stew. In gratitude they said, ‘If ever you happened to be passing...’  So polite Tony and Sal have a house full. The Americans are loud and pompous and the Belgians loathe each other. But when Colette and Jan find themselves drawn to one another, the ensuing, messy crisis precipitates a reassessment of all the couples' patterns of behaviour.  With James Nickerson as Tony and Olwen May as Sal. Also starring in the cast are Kerry Shale, Malcolm Raeburn, Maggie Fox, Melissa Jane Sinden, Szilvi Naray-Davey and Hugo Chandor. Directed by Gary Brown.

We Happened to Be Passing

Malcolm Hulke

Mud, barbed wire, the smell of death... The year is 1917 and the TARDIS has materialised on the Western Front during the First World War. Or has it? For very soon the Doctor finds himself pursued by the soldiers of Ancient Rome; and then he and his companions are reliving the American Civil War of 1863. And is this really Earth, or just a mock-up created by the War Lords?   As Doctor Who solves the mystery, he has to admit he is faced with an evil of such magnitude that he cannot combat it on his own - he has to call for the help of his own people, the Time Lords. So, for the first time, it is revealed who is Doctor Who - a maverick Time Lord who 'borrowed' the TARDIS without permission. By appealing to the Time Lords he gives away his position in Time and Space. Thus comes about the Trial of Doctor Who...   David Troughton reads Malcolm Hulke's complete and unabridged novelisation, first published by Target Books in 1979.

Doctor Who And The War Games

Oli Smith

‘My watch is running backwards.’ Colorado, 1981. The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in Appletown - an idyllic village in the remote American desert where the townsfolk go peacefully about their suburban routines. But when two more strangers arrive, things begin to change. The first is a mad scientist - whose warnings are cut short by an untimely and brutal death. The second is the Doctor... As death falls from the sky, the Doctor is trapped. The TARDIS is damaged, and the Doctor finds he is living backwards through time. With Amy and Rory being hunted through the suburban streets of the Doctor’s own future and getting farther away with every passing second, he must unravel the secrets of Appletown before time runs out... Nicholas Briggs, the 'voice of the Daleks' in Doctor Who, reads this thrilling adventure featuring the Doctor, Amy and Rory, as played by Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television.

Doctor Who: Nuclear Time

Michael Butt

Towards the end of his unique career, movie star Peter Lorre found himself at the centre of an unusual legal case. Incorporating verbatim extracts from the court transcripts, Michael Butt's play wonders what was going through Lorre's troubled mind as he fought to protect his name and identity.  Features a cast including Stephen Greif as Peter Lorre, Peter Marinker as Lester Salkow, Kerry Shale as Robert Shutan and John Chancer as Curtis Gemmil. Also starring Helen Longworth, Kenneth Collard, Nathan Osgood and John Rowe. Directed by Toby Swift. Originally broadcast as the ‘Afternoon Play’ on 10 May 2010.

Peter Lorre vs. Peter Lorre

David Eldridge

Neil decides he has been pushed too far by the uncaring and often callous behaviour he sees around him. But when he begins to intervene in incidents by taking pictures on his mobile phone, it has disastrous consequences.  Starring Martin Freeman as Neil, Heather Craney as Janine, Emil Marwa as Hussein and Peter Marinker as George. Also included in the cast are Jake Harders, Ania Sowinkski,  Bailey Pepper, Joseph Tremain, Anna Bengo, Laura Molyneux, Alex Lanipekun and Ben Crowe. Directed by Sally Avens. Originally broadcast in the ‘Drama on 3’ slot on 6 January 2008.

Picture Man, The (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

John Fletcher

John Fletcher’s BBC Radio 3 full-cast play explores the dramatic clash between three key historical figures: a warlord, a historian and a poet. Originally broadcast in Radio 3’s ‘Drama on 3’ slot on 16 November 2008.  As war swirls around them, three of the most important figures in the history of the Middle and Near East are brought together in fierce debate: how can a successful society be built, and what does it need to do to endure?  The play draws together Tamburlaine, conqueror of the world, and two of his contemporaries: Ibn Khaldun, the world's first sociologist, and Hafez, the great Sufi mystic and poet.     ‘Tamburlaine: Shadow of God’ is a blood-soaked history and a serious debate, exploring three very different views of the philosophy on which a successful society should be built, and the values it needs to espouse in order to endure.     Jeffery Kissoon plays Tamburlaine, John Rowe plays Ibn Khaldun with Conleth Hill as Hafez. The cast also includes Jonathan Taffler, Inam Mirza, Stephen Critchlow, Dan Starkey, Donna Hughes, Chris Pavlo, Gunnar Cauthery and Robert Lonsdale. Directed by Marc Beeby.

Tamburlaine Shadow Of God (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

Various

From schooldays to summer holidays, and from childhood fantasies to nostalgic reminiscences, writers have provided us with a rich seam of children’s poetry over the years.This delightful selection brings over seventy poems together, from such celebrated poets as A.A. Milne, Kenneth Grahame, Hilaire Belloc, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edward Lear, Michael Rosen, Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll, Allan Ahlberg, Spike Milligan and Rudyard Kipling.It mixes classic titles such as ‘The King’s Breakfast’, ‘On the Ning Nang Nong’, ‘Teeth’, ‘The Jumblies’ and ‘Jabberwocky’ with more recent entries including ‘First Day at School’, ‘Aliens Stole my Underpants’, ‘Talking Turkeys!!’ and ‘The Computer’s First Christmas Card’.Acknowledgments to: The Society of Authors as Literary Representative of the Estate of A.E. Housman, The Literary Trustees of Walter de la Mare, and the Society of Authors as their representative.Poems by Charles Causley taken from 'Collected Poems 1951 – 2000', published by Macmillan. ‘A Child’s Calendar’ taken from 'Selected Poems' by George Mackay Brown, published by John Murray (Publishers) Ltd.‘The Grass House’ is from 'Out and About' Copyright 1988 Shirley Hughes.Recorded by permission of Walker Books Ltd., London.‘Don’t Call Alligator Long-Mouth Till You Cross River’ is from 'Say It Again, Granny!' by John Agard, published by Bodley Head. Reprinted by permission of the Random House Group Ltd. Two Ogden Nash poems used by permission of Curtis Brown Ltd. Copyright 1936 by Ogden Nash, renewed. All rights reserved.

The Nation's Favourite Children's Poems

Elisabeth Beresford

Join Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory, Madame Cholet and all the other Wombles in these six wonderful stories by Elisabeth Beresford. Snow falls on the common, there’s a visit from a Scottish cousin, Wellington finds a balloon, and Madame Cholet goes on extended leave – all with chaotic results!   ‘The MacWomble’s Pipe Band’, ‘The Snow Womble’, ‘Tomsk and the Tired Tree’, ‘Orinoco Runs Away’, ‘Wellington and the Blue Balloon’ and ‘Madame Cholet’s Picnic Party’ are all sure to delight listeners young and old, read by Bernard Cribbins, the voice of the much-loved TV series.   The original LP has been digitally remastered for this release.   Vintage Beeb: classic albums first available as BBC LPs, now reissued on CD and as downloads.   Guidance: as this contains archive/offair material the sound quality may vary.

Womble Stories (Vintage Beeb)

Jack Rosenthal

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Jack Rosenthal’s award-winning television play, starring Hugo Raine.   At the tender age of thirteen Eliot Green is about to become a man - in the Jewish religion at least. In synagogue, in front of the whole congregation, he will read and sing in Hebrew from the Torah (the Hebrew scrolls) - this after a year of intensive tuition. Later he will enjoy receiving gifts from relatives and friends as he celebrates with them at his Bar Mitzvah party. All eyes are on Eliot as he is called up in synagogue for his big moment  This play along with many others established the late Jack Rosenthal as one of Britain’s best loved television writers. A master at creating characters that you could recognise and empathise with, his plays were always sharp and finely tuned with a rich helping of humour.  With a star cast including Tracy-Ann Oberman, David Horovitch, Andrew Sachs and Susannah Wise, this new version of Bar Mitzvah Boy is specially adapted for radio by Jack Rosenthal’s daughter, the playwright Amy Rosenthal, and is produced by David Ian Neville.

Bar Mitzvah Boy

A BBC Radio full-cast drama which tells a story of love and deception set during the Cold War. Written by Ronald Frame for BBC Radio Scotland and broadcast on BBC Radio 3 as part of the 'Drama on 3' collection in September 2008.  Throughout the period of the Cold War in the late 1960s and early 1970s, 'romeo spies' were operating, targeting bright and susceptible young women. Alice Reeves, a young secretary from London, unwittingly becomes romantically involved with Otto Hanhart - an East German spy. The encounter leads to unexpected consequences for both parties, changing their lives forever.  Starring Clare Corbett as Alice Reeves and Jamie Glover as Otto Hanhart. Also included in the cast are Nick Sayce, Gunnar Cauthery, Stephen Critchlow, Cressida Trew, Dan Starkey and Liza Sadovy. Produced and directed by David Ian Neville.

Blue Wonder

Paul Magrs

It’s been many months since the Doctor was in Hexford, and Mrs Wibbsey keenly feels his absence. As her grave suspicions about her new neighbour grow, she is in danger of becoming ostracised from village life. When Mike Yates turns up at Nest Cottage with a visitor in tow, Mrs Wibbsey’s life is turned even further upside down. Why has this strange new fellow appeared - and can he really be who Mike thinks he is? With UNIT watching the skies, and a strange forest growing daily around the village perimeter, it comes as little surprise when an enormous spaceship slides into view and dominates the skyline. Who is watching Hexford, and what do they want? Never has Mrs Wibbsey needed the Doctor more. But can she cope with two...? With Tom Baker as the Doctor, Susan Jameson as Mrs Wibbsey, Richard Franklin as Mike Yates, Cornelius Garrett as Reverend Tonge, David Troughton as the Visitor, Nerys Hughes as Deirdre and Joanna Tope as Tish, The Hexford Invasion is the fourth of five linked stories written by Paul Magrs.

Doctor Who Serpent Crest 4: The Hexford Invasion

Chris Emmett

God Rest You Merry, a daily programme of readings and music for Christmas week, was first broadcast on the BBC Home Service in 1961 and has been repeated in various forms over the years since then. Now, with this recording, listeners can hear again the series of programmes as a whole, including some of their favourite poems and carols. The Saint Martin Singers date back to 1942, and owe their origin to a small band of fire-watchers at the church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Among the things which the Singers enjoy most, and have pioneered, are their programmes of music interwoven with poetry and prose to illustrate a theme, of which those you can hear on this record are examples in miniature. Christmas is always the most popular theme of all because the story of the Nativity has inspired the best in writers and musicians ever since St. Luke wrote the first narrative poem. Vintage Beeb: classic albums first available as BBC LPs, now available to download. This recording was previously released on LP in 1976.

God Rest You Merry The Story Of Christmas In Words (Vintage Beeb)

John Keats

A BBC Radio 4 dramatic adaptation of Keats' sensual narrative poem ‘Lamia’, about the ill-starred love affair of the serpent Lamia, and the innocent mortal Lycius.   Featuring original music by John Harle, and singer Sarah Leonard. With Paterson Joseph as the Narrator, Charlotte Emmerson as Larnia, Tom Ferguson as Lycius and Jonathan Keeble as Hermes. Last broadcast 1 January 2010.

Lamia

Alexis Zegerman

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast comedy by Alexis Zegerman about the hectic life of a single mother, originally broadcast 25 August - 29 September 2010. 
 
'Mum's on the Run' is a modern-day twist on the single-family situation. It follows the hectic life ('What life?') of single mum, Jen. Mother of two, Master of none - Jen seems to spend most of her time as an unpaid chauffeur to a 15-year-old teenage existentialist son, Toby, and a tonally challenged recorder-practising 11-year-old daughter, Felicity, whilst also coping with the jazz musician ex-husband, the fiercely competitive and annoying downstairs neighbour and a huge crush on her son's history teacher. 
 
Episode 1 follows how Jen manages to drop the kids off at school at the beginning of the day but ends up collecting them from a nightclub at the end of it. Volunteering to do the Crocodile Walk into school to get brownie points with the other mothers is not Jen's idea of fun in torrential rain. 
 
In episode 2 a quiet parent's evening becomes a farcical attempt by Jen and ex-husband Keith to recreate the execution of Charles I. 
 
When Jen starts trying to date again in episode 3, things are bound to go awry. She manages to get involved in a complicated online mix up which involves the neighbours and the kids' teacher. 
 
In episode 4 Jen has trouble with mice, cats and the local constabulary. 
 
In episode 5 the desire to impress Mr Rigby and silence nagging children persuades Jen to attempt some charitable work. But a botched attempt to give blood and a disastrous baking error lead only to further humiliation. 
 
Jen has at last secured a semi-date with Mr Rigby in episode 6 but then realises that it's bonfire night and she's promised the kids fireworks in the garden. Their date turns to farce as both Mr Rigby and the ex-husband turn up and neighbour Vivienne is almost hospitalised by a dodgy rocket. 
 
Stars Ronni Ancona as Jen, John Gordon Sinclair as Mr Rigby, Alexis Zegerman as Shelley, Christine Kavanagh as Vivienne and Kevin Eldon as Keith. Also included in the cast are Amy Dabrowa, Alexander Heath, Amaya Rowlands, Pip Woolley, Iain Batchelor, Jude Akuwudike and Sam Dale. 
 
Produced by Alison Vernon-Smith.

Mum's On The Run The complete series

Starring Ronni Ancona

A BBC Radio 3 full-cast dramatisation of Shakespeare’s classic ‘Pericles’, starring Tom Mannion. Originally broadcast in November 2005 and repeated as part of the ‘Drama on 3’ collection in November 2008.  Shakespeare's romantic adventure full of tyrants, incest, murder, knights, teenagers, pirates, brothels, sublime poetry, young love, a great hero and the goddess Diana. A multicultural cast, world music and the poet Benjamin Zephaniah give this timeless tale a contemporary twist.  With Tom Mannion as Pericles, Benjamin Zephaniah as Gower, Raad Rawi as Antiochus and Cerimon, and Helen Longworth as Marina and Antiochus' daughter. Also starring Sean Scanlan, Dermot Crowley, Paul Dinnen, Lorcan Cranitch, Katherine Igoe, Adjoa Andoh, Peter Gevisser, Siân Phillips, Ayesha Antoine, Nick Sayce, Ifan Meredith and Delroy Brown. Directed by Gaynor MacFarlane.

Pericles (BBC Radio 3 Drama On 3)

Gary Brown

Gary Brown's BBC Radio 4 full-cast comedy dramatisation about artist Eric Gill's clash with the BBC over his famous sculpture of Prospero and Ariel, starring Anton Lesser as Eric Gill and Tim McInnerny as Sir John Reith, the first Director General of the Corporation. Originally broadcast in the ‘Afternoon Play’ slot on Wednesday 9 June 2010.  Inspired by real events, the play charts a clash between the BBC's Governors and the artist over the propriety of the sculpture's appearance.  Gill became quite a celebrity as he carved the statue in situ on scaffolding in front of Broadcasting House. In his trademark smock and beret, he drew the attention of the tabloid papers and became known as the ‘Married Monk’. The play imagines conversations between Sir John and the artist as he passes him on his way into Broadcasting House each morning.  Framed with a period newsreel-style commentary, the comedy playfully deals with the perennial tension between the Establishment and the Artist. The strange and mysterious Gill contrasts with the authoritarian but often troubled figure of Reith, but in the end the sculpture focuses their thoughts about the role of Art in the life of mankind. While this is a comedy, the play touches a little on the well-documented darker side of both men's nature, and offers an insight into one of the more celebrated events of early BBC history.  Brown's play speculates on how Reith struggled with the Governors and with his own psyche in dealing with one of the trickier events in the early days of the BBC. It also looks at how Gill, the artist, struggled with reconciling his unusual beliefs and lifestyle with a major commission from the heart of the Establishment.  The cast is completed by Jon Glover as the Newsreel Reporter, David Seddon as Charlie, Stephen Darcy as Father Sean, Tina Gray as Lady Snowden and Alison Pettitt as the Nanny. Written by Gary Brown and directed by Peter Leslie Wild.

Prospero, Ariel, Reith and Gill

Fuzzy World of Vivi Tinta

G.F. Newman’s The Corrupted

Gabriel's Inferno

The Roman grip on Britain is growing weaker and Druids are on the rise. Emperor Nero has turned away. Boudicca is preparing to lead tribes to war. 
 
Standing in her way is Gaius Valerius Verrens, commander of the veterans legion. In this battle he earns the accolade of Hero of Rome - but where will that title lead him next?

Gaius Valerius Verrens

Ganglands

Gargoylz

Garnethill

George and Flora

George's Secret Key to the Universe

Georgian Romance

From one of the most distinguished English authors of historical fiction comes a series that explores the lives of eleven Georgian figures. Beginning with the beautiful Sophia Dorothea, darling of Celle, and ending with Victoria's rise to become Queen of England.

Georgian Series

Ghost Detectives

Girl Heart Boy

The #1 bestselling series by Zoe Sugg, aka Zoella, following the life, loves and laughs of Penny, an ordinary blogger, who meets an extraordinary boy...

Girl Online

Maxine is a little girl full of big ideas. She loves solving problems, and can usually be found with her twin brothers in tow causing all kinds of mischief. Whether it is solving the mystery of the tooth fairy, building the biggest snowball ever or just causing trouble, they always have the best time together. This selection of fantastically funny short stories is perfect for spring boarding younger readers into the world of reading via an endearing heroine who has a lot of fun.

Girl Wonder

Being a teenager is tough, but having your two best friends around you can make it easier. Sometimes. Thirteen year old Ellie narrates this quartet of books as three girls navigate their way through their early teenage years, finding their first loves, testing the boundaries with their parents, falling out, making new friends, working out what they really want and realising how lucky they are to have each other. Jaqueline Wilson deals with the pressures surrounding teenage girls with her usual style, creating a series that is in equal measure heartwrenching and uplifting.

Girls

Gladiator

Glenn Moore’s Almanac

Global Icons Series

Glory Gardens

Glow-in-the-dark Dinosaurs

Gods Beyond the Skies

Gods and Warriors

Goodnight

Grandville Series

Set in rural Georgia, and starring Dr. Sara Linton, the town’s pediatrician and coroner, Jeffrey Tolliver, her wayward ex-husband and chief of police, and Lena Adams, the county’s only female detective.

Grant County

Starring Detective Inspector Will Grayson and Detective Sergeant Helen Walker – a police partnership like no other.

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