Peter Tinniswood

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Six masterly BBC radio monologues from renowned playwright Peter Tinniswood - plus his classic comic play The Governor's Consort. 
 
Peter Tinniswood was best known for his popular TV series The Home Front and I Didn't Know You Cared, and award-winning novel A Touch of Daniel. But he was also a prolific writer for radio, where he created a host of wonderful characters - often funny, sometimes poignant and always totally believable. 
 
This compilation brings together six of his finest monologues, as well as his comic play The Governor's Consort. With one exception (I Always Take Long Walks), all these dramas were specially written for the actors who star in them, giving them a special resonance and adding an extra dimension to our enjoyment. 
 
The Packer - Michael Williams stars as Gladwyn Jebb, a man who sees his job as a vocation, his craft as an art - and his lies as truths... 
 
 
The Governor's Consort- Lady Edith is sailing with her husband to a South Atlantic island of which he's about to become Governor - but the voyage has an invigorating and somewhat earthy effect on her... Starring Mary Wimbush, with John Moffatt, Bernard Hepton and Stephen Thorne. 
 
On the Whole It's Been Jolly Good - Written to mark the actor's diamond jubilee in broadcasting, this witty, moving monologue stars Maurice Denham as ex-MP Sir Plympton Makepeace, reflecting on 60 glorious years in The House. 
 
Verona: A Conspiracy of Parrots - Stephanie Cole stars as the 'slightly elderly' lady whose exotic birds bring her triumphant fulfilment. But can she keep her feathered friends out of the hands of the auctioneer? 
 
I Always Take Long Walks - Cricket widow Enid shares her private thoughts on kitchen units, life with her husband and the men she's loved and lost. Starring Dame Judi Dench as Enid. 
 
The Last Obit - Billie Whitelaw stars as Millicent Doris Clayton, an obituarist living in her own very particular world, in this brilliant black comedy which won the 1998 Edinburgh Festival Fringe First Award. 
 
The Duvet Lady - Wrapped from head to foot in a flowery duvet, Edna recalls her younger days. Will she ever emerge for her evening engagement? Billie Whitelaw stars in this superb one-woman drama. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Peter Tinniswood 
 
The Packer 
Starring Michael Williams as Gladwyn Jebb 
Directed by Enyd Williams 
 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 April 2000 
 
The Governor's Consort 
Lady Edith - Mary Wimbush 
Sir Wilfred - John Moffatt 
Doctor Spofforth - Bernard Hepton 
Captain MacWhirter - Stephen Thorne 
Delgado - Keith Drinkel 
Chief Engineer - Matthew Morgan 
First Officer - James Telfer 
Tarleton - Jonathan Adams 
Band - Michael Haslam, Judith Herbert and Kevin Street 
 
Directed by Enyd Williams 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 May 1993 
 
On the Whole It's Been Jolly Good 
Starring Maurice Denham as Sir Plympton Makepeace 
Directed by Enyd Williams 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 27 April 1998 
 
Verona: A Conspiracy of Parrots 
Starring Stephanie Cole as Verona 
Directed by Enyd Williams 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 April 1998 
 
I Always Take Long Walks 
Starring Dame Judi Dench as Enid 
Directed by John Tydeman 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 4 July 1991 
 
The Duvet Lady 
Starring Billie Whitelaw as Edna 
Directed by Enyd Williams 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 March 2001 
 
The Last Obit 
Starring Billie Whitelaw as Millicent 
Directed by Enyd Williams 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 April 1998 
 
 
© 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
(p) 2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A Radio Great: The Peter Tinniswood Monologues

A BBC Radio drama collection

All five series of Peter Tinniswood's bawdy comedy about roguish poacher/philosopher Winston Hayballs - plus special seasonal episode Winston at Christmas 
 
'Earthy, resilient, witty and bloody-minded ... nobody can write like Peter Tinniswood' The Times 
 
When the middle-class Empsons move from London to picturesque Winterleaf Gunner, they find themselves totally unprepared for country life - and utterly reliant on Winston. Handyman, village poacher, scholar, gentleman romantic and out-and-out rogue, Winston transforms their lives, fixing up their dilapidated house, introducing them to the works of Kingsley Amis - and giving Nancy a lesson in love. So when his wife throws him out because of his infidelities, he invites himself to stay with the family. Spoiling them with his cordon bleu cuisine, he lulls them into a false sense of security - but he's got an ulterior motive: Nancy... 
 
Series 1 sees him plotting to get rid of the other Empsons so he can have her all to himself... but his plans hit an unexpected snag. In Winston Comes to Town, Father's illness forces the family to return to London - only for Winston to stow away in a removal van and follow them. Winston in Love finds Nancy with a new boyfriend (Roland from the Ministry of Whatsisname), Winston hooking up with the woman from the fish shop, and Father announcing his engagement. 
 
In Winston at Christmas, Nancy wants the family to enjoy a festive celebration together, but Winston has other ideas. Winston in Europe follows the Empsons to France, where Winston's talk of Baudelaire leaves Nancy feeling baffled, and Father sings the praises of Crewe toilets. And in Winston Back Home, the clan return to Winterleaf Gunner, where Winston is set to wed Nancy at last. But exactly how will they tie the knot? 
Scripted by award-winning author Peter Tinniswood (Uncle Mort's North and South Country), this fantastic family sitcom brims with brilliantly funny dialogue and wonderful larger-than-life comic characters. Bill Wallis stars as Winston, alongside Maurice Denham, Shirley Dixon, Liz Goulding and Christian Rodska. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Peter Tinniswood 
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 April-31 May 1989 (Winston), 1 January-5 February 1990 (Winston Comes to Town), 31 December 1990-4 February 1991 (Winston in Love), 25 December 1991 (Winston at Christmas), 12 March-16 April 1992 (Winston in Europe), 31 March-5 May 1994 (Winston Back Home) 
Cast 
 
Winston - Bill Wallis 
Father - Maurice Denham 
Nancy - Shirley Dixon 
Rosie - Liz Goulding 
William - Christian Rodska 
 
©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Winston: Series 1-5

A BBC Comedy Drama

Can Roger keep his home and life together while his wife is in hospital? 
 
Roger is a writer of children's books, and all he wants is a quiet life. But when his wife, Julia, has to stay in hospital, Roger has to deal with his own complications: his difficult mother-in-law, her companion, Otto, and pressures from the publisher about the work he may or may not be about to hand in. It should be easy enough for a grown man to cope at home alone, but no one wants to make it simple for him, whether it's battles to get into Julia's visiting hours or temptations Roger never expected to face at his age... 
 
Written by Peter Tinniswood, who created plays for the National Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic, and whose radio work includes Tales from the Backbench, Tales from the Brigadier, Uncle Mort Adventures and Winston, this beautiful series touches on love, ambition, marriage and families, and stars Keith Barron (Where the Heart Is, Coronation Street) and Liz Goulding (I Didn't Know You Cared, Winston), and is perfect for fans of Conversations from a Long Marriage. 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Roger - Keith Barron 
Julia - Liz Goulding 
Ma-in-'ell - Shirley Dixon 
Taxi Driver - Stephen Thome 
Matron - Kate Binchy 
Otto - Nigel Anthony 
Helena / Receptionist / Doctor - Frances Jeater 
 
Written by Peter Tinniswood 
Produced by John Tydeman 
 
Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4: 
4 February - 11 March 1998 
 
©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Visiting Julia

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Drama

For the first time ever all three much-loved series featuring the legendary creations Uncle Mort and Carter Brandon are brought together in one collection. As the pair tour Britain, Uncle Mort's recollections make for some hilarious moments. Uncle Mort and his Yorkshire based family first appeared in Tinniswood's novel 'A Touch of Daniel' which earned them a run of four series of 'I Didn't Know You Cared' on BBC TV from 1975-1979. 
 
In Uncle Mort's North Country, having been granted a week's holiday, Carter Brandon, with his uncle Mort for company, takes a series of day trips around the north. From day one the week is quite eventful, from a burning barn and a death in a pub where they stop for a drink, to a trip to the seaside where events are equally interesting and amusing. 
 
In Uncle Mort's South Country, these famous sons of the north find a fruitful new patch of Tinniswood country in which to air their views. Soho and Hampton Court, southern hotels and southern pubs, southern beer and southern food, that caustic one-nation philosopher, Uncle Mort, has to stomach them all. 
 
In the Celtic Fringe the adventures continue west of the English border. Carter Brandon and his Uncle continue their epic journey through Wales, in his Beetle. They sample an eclectic mix of Welsh hospitality, from spending a night in a very eccentric hotel, spending time with famed sportsman Icky Williams and lodging with a sex mad Reverend. Uncle Mort has strange visions and the eccentric trip takes an unusual turn when they look up Mort's old flame. 
 
Uncle Mort... Stephen Thorne 
 Carter Brandon ... Sam Kelly 
Narrator... Christian Rodska

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