Showing results by narrator "Imelda Staunton" in All Categories

A sparkling tale of a Princess from the author of The Gruffalo. "The princess may try seven times to escape By changing her colour and changing her shape." But each time Princess Camellia changes - into a blue fish, a yellow chick, a red fox or a black cat - the wicked wizard finds her and sets her another horrible task. Will this plucky princess be able to outwit him and escape back to the palace in time to cut her birthday cake?

Terminus finds her investigating the 'Lucky Charm' murders, as she searches for an elusive serial killer who haunts the railway station. In The Smithfield Murders, a grisly killing at London's famous meat market sparks another troubling investigation, while in The Net and the Canal, Enfield and her team look into a series of mysterious murders along Regent's Park Canal. Leaves of the Dead presents her with a trio of inexplicable deaths in the British Library - could they be ritual murders?

A brilliantly funny story all about celebrating difference - perfect for listening to at home, in the car, at bedtime or any time at all! Everyone knows that tyrannosauruses are big and scary, so when a placid duckbill dinosaur's egg ends up in the wrong nest, confusion is sure to ensue! When the baby dinosaur hatches out, he's so out of place that his grisly big sisters call him Tyrannosaurus Drip. Poor little Drip: all he wants is a quiet life munching on water weed....

Tumbling from one love entanglement to another, 30-something teacher Izzy Comyn has a predilection for inappropriate men. Over the three hilarious series of Up the Garden Path, Izzy, played by Imelda Staunton, deals with the complicated ups and downs of her attempts to find true love.

BBC Audio presents Lady Susan, Jane Austen's early novel not published until after her death. Widowed Lady Susan is an outrageous flirt and a dreadful mother, constantly controlling and embarrassing the people around her. When Lady Susan remarries, she attempts to push her daughter into a bleak marriage with a man she despises. Deceit slowly spreads through a series of letters exchanged between Lady Susan, her daughter, friends, family and arch enemies. Will the truth be unravelled in time?

Maia, an orphan, can't wait to reach her distant relatives a thousand miles up the Amazon. She imagines a loving family with whom she will share great adventures. Instead she finds two spiteful cousins who see the jungle as the enemy and refuse to go outdoors.

Night Monkey and Day Monkey's worlds are as different as … night and day! What one fears, the other loves, what one understands only confuses the other. But in learning about each other's opposite worlds, they also learn to be the best of friends. Boisterous and rhythmic fun from Julia Donaldson, the creator of The Gruffalo. Read by Imelda Staunton.

Go 'Grrrr' with the Gruffalo, sing along with the Smartest Giant, help Monkey search for his mum and see if the little old lady can make some room in her house! The Gruffalo and Other Stories is brilliantly performed by well-known actors Imelda Staunton, Jim Carter and Steven Pacey, as well as by the author herself, Julia Donaldson. Each story also has a song and sound effects.

A very clever, funny story from the author of the prize-winning The Gruffalo. Can butterfly help little monkey find his mum? Yes, finally, but only after a lot of trial and error as butterfly misunderstands monkey's descriptions and leads him to all sorts of unsuitable animals.

Frustrated copy man Ken Handley cannot help but conceive of the world in advert form. Over three series witness Ken coping with a drunken boss, straight-laced colleagues and an overactive mind, as we follow his exploits and moral dilemmas in this advertising satire. Martin Jarvis stars as Ken, alongside a cast that includes Miriam Margolyes, Imelda Staunton, Christopher Godwin and Joss Ackland.

Marriage is not for Margaret Dashwood. Where others see duty, Margaret sees entrapment. And rage. But when an invitation from family friend Mrs Jennings hurls her into the chaotic heart of Covent Garden, Margaret discovers an intoxicating world beyond afternoon tea and polite society. Here she meets three women who live unapologetically: Nelly, an impulsive actress; Hester, a witch who works in the textile factory; and Inge, a sex worker who loves money and knows exactly how to get it.

Head off on a fantastical adventure with the paper dolls, set sail in search of missing treasure and practice counting to ten with Ted! This collection includes stories from five of Julia's illustrator partnerships including: Rebecca Cobb, Anna Currey, Emily Gravett, Sara Ogilvie and David Roberts.

The story of one little pig and LOTS of hats! Hamilton the Pig is very fond of hats - big hats, small hats, tall hats and suitable-for-every-and-any-occasion sort of hats. Hamilton loves hats so much his mum starts to worry that he's a very vain little pig. Little does she know that Hamilton's favourite hats will teach him some very important lessons!

Slices of 19th-century London life from the pen of Charles Dickens. Here are 10 gloriously comic stories from Sketches by Boz, Charles Dickens's earliest collection of short pieces in which he honed his literary genius. Each tale is dramatised with a full cast. Cast and credits: written by Charles Dickens. Directed by Sally Avens. Starring Nicholas Farrell as Boz.

The History Plays is a series of five two-hander plays by Vent author Nigel Smith, which are imagined conversations at key moments in recent history, moments that have permanently changed the British psyche. Starting with Mick Jagger's conviction for drug possession and the surprising pro-Jagger line taken in a Times editorial through the fragmented morality of John Stonehouse, the Indian summer of patriotism over the Falklands, the death of Diana, and the end of the Blair years, The History Plays are a satirical and thoughtful exploration of huge social forces.

One fine day Little Croc finds a lonely lost purse...and it's full of money! Does he keep it and use the money for himself? Will he succumb to the temptation of some new shoes, a cool lemonade or the teasing of his friends? No! Honourable Little Croc is off to find the owner. And when the owner of the purse lets him keep it and the money inside, he soon realises that being honest is its own best reward! A brand new heart-warming tale from Dandylion creator, Lizzie Finlay!

In the tick-tock quiet, a shaft of moonlight tickles the nose of something sleeping. It's a stuffed, stripy horse. He twitches. Then an enormous dusty sneeze echoes round the room. He's awake. So begins this charming story, all about a forgotten toy who can't remember his name.

"Evil killer art teacher poisons defenceless old woman!" That is how the tabloids portrayed Janet Macredie at her original trial, where she was accused of murdering her godmother. Now, 16 months later, her appeal is being heard at The Old Bailey. She is accompanied by Prison Officer, Margaret Hoist. Two women, two lives about to change.

Simon Cadell stars as Henry Higgins with Imelda Staunton as Eliza Doolittle in this BBC Radio 4 production of Shaw’s famous play. When phonetics tutor and linguist Henry Higgins meets Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle, he makes a bet with his friend Colonel Pickering that he can teach her to speak so well that she will be able to pass herself off as a Duchess at a society ball.

When the 'delightfully different, bright yellow and rather scruffy' Dandylion joins Miss Gardener's neat and tidy class, chaos and fun follow. But after one messy incident too many he's told to go home - he just doesn't fit in. It doesn't take long, however, for everyone to realise that too much neatness and order isn't always a good thing and everyone's desperate for Dandylion to return! At last, Dandylion feels like a wildflower in the right place! An empowering story about friendship, diversity and finding your place.