Showing results by narrator "Luke Francis" in All Categories

It's 1963. The year of the Profumo scandal, the Great Train Robbery, the rise of teenage consumerism and sexual emancipation, and Kennedy's assassination...and the birth of Beatlemania. In the beginning, The Beatles were a band of brothers who really did make Britain twist and shout. This is the unprecedented story of the Beatles' remarkable journey from Liverpool dance hall favourites to becoming the biggest band in the world in the space of just twelve rollercoaster months.

Through her own – often bloody-minded – determination and the medical skill of others, April Ashley became the woman she had always believed herself to be. And for half a dozen decades she soared around, over and above momentous and turbulent times, difficult, and changing times when, finally, who you wanted to be and who you could be became the cultural topic of the day. She overcame opprobrium and penury and became renowned and celebrated for one specific achievement: being April Ashley.

Ever since Jack's dad died, he's had a heavy feeling inside. The pressure keeps building. Looking for release, he starts skiving school and hanging around with a group who like to cause trouble. It's easy to hide his new habits from his mom, an environmental anthropologist, because she's too busy with work and conservation trips to notice. As Jack spins further out of control, his mom eventually becomes concerned—and shocks him by suggesting a trip together. But this will be no relaxing vacation.

People like Ig are born from life-threatening trials that bind periodic elements to the human body, forged in the boiling volcanoes and subterranean passages under Mira's frozen lands. One of the most powerful known elementals, he is forced to work as an enforcer for Magnate Sorrelo Adriann—cursed with a flesh binding—magic that will kill him at the first sign of disobedience. When Sorrelo is overthrown, Ig quickly learns he can do worse—far worse—than what has been asked from him so far. 

She is noticed by Elliot as he trains in in the gym. He sees her dedication to building her body and taking up space, and he is drawn to her strength. She is observed by her mother, as she grows from a taciturn, tremulous child into a determined and distant woman, who severs all familial ties. She is watched by her former colleague Susie, who offers her sanctuary and support as she leaves her partner and rebuilds her life, transforming her body and reinventing herself online. Each of these three witnesses desires closeness.

When a giant sperm whale washes up on the local beach and tells Joe Gunner that death will follow him wherever he goes. Joe knows that the place he needs to go is home. Having stormed out two years ago, it won't be easy. Nor will returning to the river alongside the house where words ripple beneath the muddy black water washing up all sorts of memories and disturbing prophecies. Joe turns to his sister, Birdee, the only person who has ever listened and to Tim Fysh, a local fisherman and longtime lover - but reviving their bond leads to trouble.

Gina's body has floated down the River Esk. She was a farmer's wife. And it looks like an accident. But Michael Brady has his doubts. Brady's back in the police–and he needs to prove himself. Is it murder? Or does Brady need it to be murder? It's a year since his wife died. He's feeling lonely. And he's still trying to balance being a single dad and being a Detective Chief Inspector.

When Mathilde is forced to leave her teaching job in Oslo after her relationship with 18-year-old Jacob is exposed, she flees to the countryside for a more authentic life. Her new home is a quiet cottage on the outskirts of a dairy farm run by Andres and Johs, whose hobbies include playing the fiddle and telling folktales - many of them about female rebellion and disobedience, and seeking justice, whatever it takes. But beneath the surface of the apparently friendly and peaceful pastoral surface of the farm, something darker and less harmonic starts to vibrate.

In 1960s Liverpool, life is hard for Reggie Kellison. His marriage is stalling, baby number six is on its way, a fall out at work has put his nose out of joint and the football team he supports offers little relief. But Reggie has a plan. If it works it could give him the life, lover and the money he dreams of. If it doesn’t, a jail sentence could be on the cards. Either way, he can only find out by risking everything and playing the pools....  

Screenwriter Caroline Byrne is desperate to know why her daughter, Jessica, died, murdered in Stratford when she was supposed to be at a friend’s in Somerset. When Caroline discovers the messages Jessica had been sending a boy named Michael, she realises it’s because of him. Because he failed to meet her that day. He’s the reason why her daughter is dead. And so she makes a choice. He’s the one who’s going to pay. That is her promise. Her price.

Benny thought that it would be him and his dad doing the walk. Just him and his father, hiking through the Welsh countryside, like they used to. Only, when his dad got ill, it became obvious that this would never happen. So Benny was forced to consider other options. If Benny is honest, him and Stephen haven't been close since school, but once Benny had drunkenly blurted out the invitation, he couldn't take it back. Now Benny and Stephen are on the walk. A walk Benny has vowed to finish, no matter how hard it is. 

From a skinny, ginger-haired kid from Walsall who was bullied at school, to the ‘Queen of Soho’, who would rule London’s drag scene in its most dazzling era. This gripping true story follows an unassuming boy, separated from other children and made to sit by the window, on to a remarkable career, with celeb buddies including Kylie Minogue, The Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, Cyndi Lauper and, of course, Boy George. But behind the glitter, there was a far darker reality.

A young man is found brutally murdered in the middle of the snowed-in village of Wivenhoe. Over his body stands another man, axe in hand. The gathered villagers must deal with the consequences of an act that no one tried to stop. Wivenhoe is set in an alternate present, in a world that is slowly waking up to the fact that it is living through an environmental disaster. Taking place over twenty-four hours and told through the voices of a mother and her adult son, we see how one small community reacts to social breakdown and isolation.

"What I did to them was terrible, but you have to understand the context. This was London, 2016." Bohemia is history. Paul has awoken to the fact that he will always be better known for reviewing haircuts than for his literary journalism. He is about to be kicked out of his cheap flat in east London and his sister has gone missing after an argument about what to do with the house where they grew up. Now that their mother is dead this is the last link they have to the declining town on the north-west coast where they grew up.

Through the changing seasons, amidst a sprawling ducal country estate, ex-steelworker George Purse's role as a gamekeeper goes beyond mere employment. With determination, he safeguards the birds, nurturing them with care, even as they become targets for the wealthy elite. As the Glorious Twelfth approaches, George must orchestrate flawless hunts for the Duke and his esteemed guests, ensuring their satisfaction while fending off the persistent poachers who threaten the delicate balance of the land.

When a brilliant doctor's experiment goes wrong, a dangerous pursuit of separating good and evil follows... Tucked away in the dark and murky streets of London, a lawyer finds himself investigating strange incidents between his old friend Dr Henry Jekyll and the reclusive Edward Hyde. Although seemingly nothing alike, the two are more similar than what meets the eye... This classic tale is perfect for fans of Heather Parry and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.