Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in All Categories

Harriet Walter and Beryl Reid star in this full-cast adaptation of the much-loved children's classic. When spoilt young orphan Mary Lennox is brought back from India to live in her uncle's house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds the blunt ways of the staff at Misselthwaite Manor an unpleasant shock. Bored and miserable, it seems as though life in England will be awful. But Misselthwaite has hidden delights, and when Mary begins to discover them, nothing is the same again.

Writer, broadcaster and recovering comedian Natalie Haynes mixes comedy and conversation to bring the ancient world entertainingly up to date in these four radio series. Each episode sees her profiling a key figure from ancient Greece and Rome, and, aided by her special guests, creating a stand-up show around them. 

This superlative collection of children's stories brings together a feast of fantastic fiction, read in full by a host of top narrators and with a comprehensive track listing for ease of listening. Comprising everything from fairytales for little ones to thrilling adventures for pre-teens, these unabridged readings are ideal for families to keep, treasure and dip into as their children grow. 

The complete fifth series of BBC Radio 4's award-winning sketch show, written by and starring the writer of Cabin Pressure. John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme has won a host of awards, including the 2015 BBC Audio Drama Award for Best Scripted Comedy with Live Audience. Written by and starring John Finnemore, this fifth series of the hit show returns with more witty wordplay and laugh-out-loud sketches.

Winner of the Writers Guild Award for Best Radio Comedy and the Comedy.co.uk awards for Best Radio Sketch Show! Celia Imrie, Alison Steadman, John Bird and Rebecca Front are among the cast of these BBC Radio 4 comedy dramas from the writer and producers of Cabin Pressure. These six self-contained duologues, each one brimming with humour and charm, come from the pen of John Finnemore, author and star of the award-winning John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme.

After nine years, 28 series and over 220 episodes in the hot seat, Sandi Toksvig stepped down from The News Quiz at the end of Series 87. These two superlative series are her last hurrah - and our last chance to enjoy her unique blend of wit, warmth and intelligence, as she leads the panel in a whimsical review of the headlines. Jeremy Hardy and Susan Calman both take a turn in the chair, but for 12 of these 14 episodes, Sandi is at the helm as they take a wry look at the news in all its larger-than-life glory.

With its brilliant blend of the silly, the serious and the satirical, The News Quiz has been a must-listen for comedy fans since it started 46 years ago. Recorded in front of an audience, these three series see Andy Zaltzman presiding over a motley crew of comedians and journalists as they trawl through the biggest (and smallest) news stories of 2023 to provide comedy, commentary, irony and irreverence.

Author, curmudgeon and master of the complaining letter and the abusive email Ed Reardon is back for a 15th series. Further thoughts on the world from the much loved (if flawed) writer perpetually on the brink of the breadline. Will he take a chance on success, or stay in his cosy, rather fetid rut? Hope springs eternal.

They never came tougher than Marlowe, a cynical, world-weary, wise-cracking shamus whose honesty in a dishonest world sent him down the mean streets again and again in search of some kind of justice. Ed Bishop stars as Philip Marlowe in these powerfully atmospheric BBC Radio 4 dramatisations of Raymond Chandler's novels. 

Tom shares the cramped and claustrophobic tenement home with his overbearing mother, Amanda, and painfully shy sister, Laura. He works in a warehouse but dreams of becoming a poet, escaping his mundane life. Laura hides at home, lacking the confidence to engage meaningfully with the outside world, preferring instead to lose herself in her collection of fragile glass animals. Amanda sells magazine subscriptions over the phone and commits herself to finding a match for her daughter. One day, Tom succumbs to his mother's pressure and brings home a gentleman caller....

A new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization of Neil Gaiman's best-selling 2006 novel about Fat Charlie Nancy and his spider God father and brother taking over his life, and generally doing a better job of it than him. But will Charlie be able to get his life back without entering a whole new world of pain? Charlie Nancy first appeared in Neil Gaiman's American Gods, now a hit TV series.

All six volumes of The Essential Letters from America, brought together for the first time in this definitive chronological collection of Alistair Cooke's finest broadcasts. Alistair Cooke was the doyen of foreign correspondents and a radio legend, entertaining millions of listeners for over 50 years in his weekly Letter from America. It was the longest-running show in radio history, and every show was a virtuoso performance.

A triple bill of archive BBC radio dramas, believed lost for over half a century and only recently rediscovered. "Butter in a Lordly Dish", written specially for radio in 1948, features Richard Williams as Sir Luke Enderby KC, whose infidelities lead him into trouble when he goes to meet his latest flame. Williams also stars as Hercule Poirot in "Murder in the Mews", a 1955 adaptation of a short story. A young woman is found dead in her flat the day after Guy Fawkes night.

A mysterious plague strikes Space Beacon Nerva, killing its victims within minutes. When the Doctor lands, only four humans remain alive. One of these seems to be in league with the nearby planet of gold, Voga....

The show that grabs listeners by the waist, swirls them round in time to a Strauss waltz, and then trips over the banana skins of convention.

Hamish and Dougal, two elderly Scotsmen played by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, have for many years been a popular feature of the hit BBC Radio 4 comedy show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Now they've got their own series, with Mrs Naughtie (Alison Steadman) and a local Laird (Jeremy Hardy), regularly keeping the duo busy. 

Set against the backdrop of America's Great Depression and Dust Bowl, a family of farmers from Oklahoma head west in search of work, only to discover thousands like them are also on the move. Following a violent altercation with some locals, they head back on the road with their dream of a promised land in tatters. And life is set to get much worse for the Joads....

Toby Stephens reads three thrilling unabridged novels by Francis Durbridge. In Paul Temple Intervenes, the murder of a well-known American heralds a spate of celebrity deaths that become known as the Marquis murders. The police are baffled, and the Home Secretary is calling for Paul Temple to intervene...

Arch-Brutalist Sir Lucien founded his architectural practice on a commitment to brutalist concrete in all its forms. But fashion has been a cruel mistress, and four decades later things are not going well for Sir Lucien and his loyal(ish) employees. With no money and no commissions, times are tough – but it’s onwards and upwards (and upwards again) for the staff, as they go all out to win new contracts, deal with nightmare clients and fight to get their ambitious projects past the planners.

Award-winning author Dame Susan Hill is best known for her hit ghost story The Woman in Black and her popular ‘Simon Serailler’ detective series, but she has also written extensively for radio. This audio anthology includes full-cast adaptations of two of her early novels, plus an additional 12 BBC Radio plays, many of them available for the very first time since their original broadcasts.