Bebe Daniels

About Bec Manser: Bec Manser (she/her) is a Fantasy/Horror author who describes herself as half sparkle, half spooky. Her sparkly side is a pink-obsessed animal lover, whose hobbies include gaming, woodland walks, and eating at every vegan restaurant possible. Her spooky side watches too many horror films, loves visiting haunted places, and thinks she would make a great paranormal investigator (if only she could stay up late enough). 
 
A proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, Bec is passionate about representing queer and diverse characters in children’s and YA literature. 
 
You can find her on Instagram, Threads, Twitter and TikTok @thatsparklybec.

Bec Manser

Bec Vrana Dickinson

About Becca Freeman: Becca Freeman is a freelance marketing consultant and former Head of Marketing at LOLA. She is the host of the popular books and lifestyle podcast Bad on Paper and the co-creator of RomComPods. She lives in Brooklyn, where she enthusiastically celebrates Christmas every year.

Becca Freeman

About Becca Levy: DR BECCA LEVY is the Professor of Epidemiology and the Chair of the Yale School of Public Health, Social &amp; Behavioral Sciences Department. She is also a Professor of Psychology in the Yale University Department of Psychology. She is the leader and pioneer of a field of study that focuses on how both positive and negative age stereotypes affect the health of older individuals and has led WHO efforts to investigate the impact of ageism on the health of older people. She has published many articles, won numerous awards for her work and been cited widely across the media. She speaks extensively about her work around the world, including in the UK, Singapore, Korea, Germany, Switzerland and of course the US.

Becca Levy

About Beccy Hands: Beccy Hands is a doula and massage therapist specialising in pre- and post-natal wellbeing. In 2017, she co-founded The Motherbox with Alexis Stickland — a company that supports women through their journey into motherhood with essential advice and nurturing wellbeing boxes. She lives with her two children and husband in sunny Brighton.

Beccy Hands

About Beck Dorey-Stein: A graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut, BECK DOREY-STEIN worked as a 
White House stenographer from 2012 to 2017. Previously she worked as a high 
school English teacher in Hightstown, New Jersey, Washington, DC, and Seoul, 
South Korea. This is her first book.

Beck Dorey-Stein

About Becka Moor: Becka is a children's book illustrator, author, and designer based in rainy Manchester. 
She's illustrated more than 70 children's books, including Libby and the Parisian Puzzle, The Famous Five series, and the Wigglesbottom Primary series.

Becka Moor

About Becki Rabin: Becki Rabin is a business mentor, empowerment coach and founder of GETLIT inc - a personal development platform and wellness hub. Becki is a trailblazer in the self-development arena and is on a mission to help women own their power and access their full potential. With 10 years' experience in the wellness industry, she has worked 1000s of individuals, and brands, through mentoring, coaching and consultancy. Becki is dedicated to helping women make their dreams reality. 
 
Find her online: @beckirabin &amp; getlitinc.co.uk

Becki Rabin

About Becky Albertalli: Becky Albertalli is the author of William C. Morris Award winner and National Book Award longlist title Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (now a major motion picture, Love, Simon), the acclaimed The Upside of Unrequited; and the New York Times bestsellers Leah on the Offbeat; Love, Creekwood; What If It's Us (co-written with Adam Silvera); and Yes No Maybe So (co-written with Aisha Saeed). Becky lives with her family in Atlanta.

Becky Albertalli

About Becky Barnicoat: Becky Barnicoat is a cartoonist and writer. She has drawn for the New Yorker, the Guardian, Buzzfeed and more, and has a weekly cartoon strip in the New Statesman. Her debut graphic memoir, Cry When the Baby Cries, is a darkly funny account of the early years of parenting. She lives with her family by the sea. Find out more at BeckyBarnicoat.com, and see her work on Instagram: @beckybarnicomics.

Becky Barnicoat

Becky Brown

Becky Cole

About Becky Cooper: Becky Cooper is a former New Yorker writer, assistant to David Remnick, Adam Gopnik and D.T. Max, producer for the New Yorker Radio Hour. Currently, she is artist-in-residence at Harvard University, as well as Senior Fellow at Brandeis’s Schuster Institute for Investigative Reporting. Her undergraduate thesis, a literary biography of David Foster Wallace, won Harvard’s Hoopes Prize, the highest undergraduate award for research and writing. In 2013, she published Mapping Manhattan: A Love and Sometimes Hate Story in Maps by 75 New Yorkers (Abrams), which is currently in its fifth printing.

Becky Cooper

Becky Glass

Becky Goddard-Hill

Becky Milligan

Becky Prestwich

Becky Ripley

Becky Tallentire

BeddyByes

Bede

Bee Rawlinson

About Bee Ridgway: Bee Ridgway grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts. She attended Oberlin College (B.A.), then worked for a year as an editorial assistant at Elle magazine. She studied literature at Cornell University (M.A. and Ph.D.). She spent several years living in the U.K. during her studies. She has worked at Bryn Mawr College since 2001. She lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Bee Ridgway

Bee Wilson

About Beeban Kidron: Baroness Beeban Kidron is a global authority on digital regulation and accountability, and is a leading voice on children’s rights in the digital environment. She has played a determinative role in establishing standards for online safety and privacy across the world. 
 
Baroness Kidron sits as a crossbench peer in the UK’s House of Lords, and is founder and former Chair of the 5Rights Foundation. She is a Visiting Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics, where she chairs the Digital Futures for Children research centre, and holds several roles at the University of Oxford, including as an advisor to the Institute for Ethics in AI.

Beeban Kidron

Beechy Colclough

About Beefy Boys: The Beefy Boys are Anthony Murphy, Daniel Mayo-Evans, Christian Williams and Lee Symonds. Initially starting with a food truck and pop-ups they now have five restaurants in Hereford, Shrewsbury, Cheltenham, Bath and Oxford, UK. They have won multiple awards including Signature Burger and Burger Chef of the Year in 2023 at the National Burger Awards. They have featured in TV shows including The One Show and The Hidden World of Hospitality with Tom Kerridge.

Beefy Boys

Bela Zsolt

Belinda

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William Shakespeare

In this BBC full-cast production of The Taming of the Shrew, the freedom and virility of women is frowned upon. Will Petruchio's quest to 'tame' his new wife succeed? 
 
Layers of assumed identity, elaborate role-playing, and acerbic exchanges of wit reveal the real relationship between men and women in this exuberant production of one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies. 
 
Gerard McSorley stars as Petruchio and Ruth Mitchell as Katherina in Shakespeare's sharply witty comedy. 
 
BBC radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly-formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard. 
 
 In this acclaimed BBC Radio Shakespeare series, each play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre. Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the modern day.

The Taming Of The Shrew

A BBC Radio Shakespeare production

In this BBC full-cast production of The Tempest, a magical storm washes some sailors up on a peculiar island, changing the course of their lives forever... 
 
Raging storms and rich beautiful music combine to magical effect in this production of Shakespeare's allegorical last play, where mystical forces work to restore harmony and order to an estranged community. 
 
Staring Philip Madoc as Prospero and Nina Wadia as Ariel. 
 
BBC radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly-formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard. 
 
 In this acclaimed BBC Radio Shakespeare series, each play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre. Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the modern day.

The Tempest

In this BBC full-cast production of Twelfth Night, Malvolio is looking for trouble - and revenge... 
 
Michael Maloney, Josette Simon and Anne-Marie Duff star in this fast and funny production of Shakespeare's most sparkling and optimistic comedy, when all the world is turned on its head and authority is usurped, when by civil misrule girls become boys and women lust after women. 
 
BBC radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly-formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard. 
 
 In this acclaimed BBC Radio Shakespeare series, each play is introduced by Richard Eyre, former Director of the Royal National Theatre. Revitalised, original and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the modern day.

Twelfth Night

Jean Paul Sartre

A selection of the renowned French philosophers Sartre’s plays. 
 
This collection features several dramatisations of Jean-Paul Sartre's works, including The Roads to Freedom, No Way Out (or "Huis Clos"), Assassins and Nekrassov. These productions showcase Sartre's exploration of existentialism, freedom, and political themes. Notable cast members include David Haig, James Fleet, Zoe Wanamaker, Imogen Stubbs, Ciaran Hinds, and Maurice Denham. 
 
Additionally, the collection includes two pieces exploring Sartre's life and work, providing a comprehensive look at his contributions to literature and philosophy.

Jean-Paul Sartre: The Roads to Freedom & more

Four Full-Cast BBC Radio Productions

Ian Marter

Terrance Dicks

James Moran

Mark Gatiss

Joy Wilkinson

Doctor Who: The Third History Collection

1st, 10th, 11th & 13th Doctor Novelisations

Jeremy Front

All three series of the comedy about an older couple getting to grips with the absurdities of the modern world, starring Jeremy Front and Rebecca Front. 
 
Jack & Millie is the brainchild of Jeremy Front who, with his sister Rebecca Front had been improvising these two characters for years - and now they’ve been brought to life in a new show... 
 
This beloved comedy written by Jeremy Front (writer of the Charles Paris mysteries for BBC Radio 4), stars Jeremy and Rebecca Front as Jack & Millie Lemman – an older couple who are fully engageed with contemporary life whilst being at war with the absurdities of the modern world... 
 
The show also features Millie’s frenemy Shirley – played by Tracy-Ann Oberman, Jack’s all-too-easygoing friend Harry (Nigel Lindsay), their high-pressure son Melvin (Harry Peacock) and their high-maintenance (and Catholic) (and French) daughter-in-law Delphine (Jenny Bede). 
 
In series 1, Jack & Millie are faced with a sudden death in the Film Club, a "Special Lunch", a son's scary ex-girlfriend and grandkids in an online age, plus the bonus Pilot episode. 
In series 2, Jack & Millie are back and ready to deal with Harry's bongos, Delphine's chicken, Shirley's bombshell, unwanted old friends, hot yoga, and mindfulness pillows. 
And in the final series, Jack & Millie try to care for Mel's mental health with a weekend in Chigwell, have an encounter with an unexpected bean-to-cup coffee grinder, and a wellness disaster. 
 
The show comes from Pozzitive, proud producers of Cabin Pressure, Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!, Agendum, Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, The Brig Society, The Castle, Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive, Shush! & Kevin Eldon Will See You Now... 
 
©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Jack & Millie: The Complete Series 1-3

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy

Tim Key

Tim Key returns with more comic chaos, musically supported by Tom Basden 
 
Award-winning comedian Tim Key is back with three more series of his peculiar poetry programme. Having presented the show from a houseboat, a space simulator and the top of the Shard, he now ventures even further afield in his increasingly ineffective attempts to understand life through the medium of verse. 
 
In these 12 episodes, he finds himself stuck in a cable car high above the Norwegian fjords, making a movie in Rome, stranded in an Austrian cave network with the water rising, and broadcasting live from the labour ward where Megan is having a baby. He also prepares to make his TV debut, gets in trouble with Customs at Stansted Airport, heads out on safari (in Woburn) and hits the road in an Americana special... 
 
Accompanying him on his adventures are regulars Tom Basden and Katy Wix, and guest stars including Miles Jupp, Bridget Christie, Stephen Merchant, Lolly Adefope, Mike Wozniak, Sam Campbell and Morgana Robinson. 
 
‘His sentences never end where you expect them to and the oddly appealing atmosphere he creates is so spellbinding, it's like emerging from a nice fog when he spits you out at the other end.’ Julia Raeside, The Guardian 
 
Cast 
Key – Tim Key 
Lord – Tom Basden 
Megan – Katy Wix 
Jiffy – Mike Wozniak 
Sir Hayden – Miles Jupp 
Pamela – Carlotta Morelli 
Bunny – Karl Johnson 
Bogle – Bridget Christie 
With Stephen Merchant, Lolly Adefope, Sam Campbell, Simon Armstrong, Morgana Robinson 
 
Photo by Jonathan Birch 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Tim Key’s Poetry Programme: The Complete Series 5-7

The BBC Radio 4 Comedy

Patrick White

Dramatisations of two novels by the Nobel Prize-winning author Patrick White 
 
Australian author Patrick White is is widely regarded as one of the most important English-language novelists of the 20th century. His debut novel, 1939’s Happy Valley, was awarded the Gold Medal of the Australian Literature Society, and he won the 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature – the only Australian to have received the honour. Two of his critically acclaimed works are featured here: Voss, winner of both the Miles Franklin and the WH Smith Literary Awards, and the Booker-shortlisted The Twyborn Affair. 
 
Voss – Nineteenth-century German explorer Voss is determined to lead an expedition into the uncharted Australian interior. Before setting out, he meets Laura Trevelyan, a young, orphaned Englishwoman with whom he forms a strange, obsessive relationship. As the physical distance between them grows and the hardship on the trek increases,Voss and Laura's connection only becomes stronger. For both are outsiders, visionaries embarking on voyages of discovery, and both will experience suffering in their search for spiritual redemption… Robert Menzies stars as Voss, with Pamela Rabe as Laura in this powerful, compelling drama. 
 
The Twyborn Affair – September 7th, 1940. Outside a church, on a bench by the Thames, Eadie Twyborn is reunited with her child after twenty years. She hopes to rekindle family affections, but first she must learn about the many lives of the wild ‘brumby’ she bore. As the Blitz begins, we hear of the beautiful, bisexual ‘E’, who bolted from his own wedding; of the bewitching Eudoxia, mistress of a mad, elderly Greek; of Eddie Twyborn, sheep farmer in the Australian outback; and of Eadith Tryst, madame of a London brothel. And in the process, Eadie’s own secrets, lies and unconventional choices are revealed… Dramatised for the first time on radio, Patrick White’s provocative tale of sexual identity stars Julian Rhind-Tutt and Penny Downie. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Patrick White 
 
Voss 
Voss – Robert Menzies 
Laura Trevelyan – Pamela Rabe 
With Bob Homery, Julia Blake, Tammy McCarthy, Paul English, Celia De Burgh, Glen Shea, Michael Carman, Brian Lipson, John Dicks, Jerome Pride, Stanley McGeagh, Kylie Belling, Warren Owens and Jessica Muschamp 
 
Dramatised by Julia Stoneham 
Directed by Janet Whitaker 
Pianist John O'Donnell 
Music: Shaun Rigney 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 25 April-2 May 1999 
 
The Twyborn Affair 
Eddie – Julian Rhind-Tutt 
Eadie – Penny Downie 
Joan – Hattie Morahan 
Don – Philip Quast 
Marcia – Leigh Funnelle 
Angelos/Rod – John Rowe 
Curly/Greg – David Henry 
Peggy/Ada – Manon Edwards 
Driver – Piers Wehner 
Bridie – Emerald O’Hanrahan 
Philip – Joseph Cohen-Cole 
 
Dramatised by DJ Britton 
Produced and directed by Alison Hindell 
First broadcast BBC Radio 3, 27 September 2009 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Voss & The Twyborn Affair

Two Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

Jan Etherington

Joanna Lumley and Roger Allam return in the seventh series of Conversations from a Long Marriage. 
 
Playing a long-married couple who met in the Summer of Love and have stayed together ever since, their conversations are practical, passionate, hilarious - and familiar to every couple. 
 
Written by award-winning comedy writer and journalist Jan Etherington, this gentle comedy will ring a bell with couples of all ages.

Conversations from a Long Marriage: Series 7

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Drama

Gwyn Thomas

Six full-cast dramatisations of the genius Welsh writer's novels, with 8 more story readings 
 
Gwyn Thomas, celebrated as one of Wales’s greatest writers in the English language, was a prolific author whose works spanned novels, short stories, plays for stage, radio, and television. 
 
This collection features his notable novel All Things Betray Thee, set in the early industrial era of South Wales, which explores the personal and societal impacts of industrialization through the eyes of a travelling harpist. Additionally, this collection includes a selection of his other works, showcasing his ability to capture the essence of Welsh life and his engaging storytelling. 
 
Content List: 
Dramatisations: 
All Things Betray Thee 
The Alderman 
He Knows, He Knows 
Gazooka 
The Entrance 
The Giving Time 
 
& Readings: 'Life in Meadow Prospect' (4 stories), 'The Cavers', 'Arrayed like one of these', 'Hugo My Friend', 'Little Fury'

Gwyn Thomas: A BBC Radio Collection

Six Full-Cast Dramatisations including All Things Betray Thee

Karl Kaus

The story of man's inhumanity to man across the whole canvas of the First World War. 
 
German playwright Karl Kraus's early twentieth-century satirical play about the First World War.Karl Kraus 's masterpiece tells the story of man's inhumanity to man across the whole canvas of the First World War. The original 15-hour play has been distilled into a four-hour kaleidoscopic montage of scenes with over 100 characters and depicts the decline of a corrupt, hypocritical society into the brutality and desperation of war-the only thing surviving being hypocrisy.

The Last Days of Mankind

A Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisation

Mike Bartlett

A selection of the award-winning author’s plays for theatre and radio 
 
Well known for his hit TV series Doctor Foster, Mike Bartlett is one of Britain’s most prolific and high-profile contemporary playwrights. He has been Writer-In-Residence at the both the National Theatre and The Royal Court Theatre, and has written numerous works for the stage, radio and television. 
 
This outstanding collection opens with the play that catapulted him into the limelight, winning both the 2007 Imison and Tinniswood Awards – Not Talking. Centring on two couples who cannot communicate, and the effects that has on their relationships, this provocative, touching drama stars Richard Briers and June Whitfield alongside Carl Prekopp and Lyndsey Marshal. Next up are two stage plays produced for radio, with the original casts that performed in the West End and the Royal Court Theatre. The winner of the 2010 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, Cock deals with love, sexuality and identity, and stars Ben Whishaw, Andrew Scott, Katherine Parkinsons and Paul Jesson. King Charles III, starring Tim Pigott-Smith, finds the newly crowned King detonating a constitutional crisis that threatens the whole future of the monarchy. Part political thriller, part family drama, it won both the Olivier Award for Best New Play and the Critics' Circle Award for Best Play in 2014. 
 
Following these are a slew of original plays written specially for BBC Radio. A Steal explores the cost-of-living crisis; The Family Man sees a teenage girl stumbling upon her MP father’s secret; and in Miss St Andrews, old grudges resurface when the rivals for the ‘Charities Queen 1961’ title are reunited 50 years later. The Core follows a bright 13-year-old and her energetic head teacher as they head into a future neither of them expects; while Liam charts the search for a 10-year-old boy who goes missing in Sussex. Love Contract is a dark comedy about office romance and corporate control; and The Steps features an elderly lady who escapes from her old people’s home and meets a woman and a young girl on the run. Intriguing, surprising and thought-provoking, these compelling productions star a wealth of acclaimed actors including Nicholas Farrell, Joe McFadden, Ellie Haddington, Juliet Stevenson, Amanda Lawrence, Claire Rushbrook and Geraldine McEwan. 
 
NB: Contains very strong language 
 
Production credits 
Written by Mike Bartlett 
Text copyright © Mike Bartlett 2006 (Not Talking), 2007 (The Family Man, Love Contract), 2009 (Cock, Liam, The Steps), 2011 (The Core), 2014 (King Charles III), 2017 (Miss St Andrew), 2019 (A Steal) 
All rights reserved 
 
Not Talking 
Cock 
King Charles III 
A Steal 
The Family Man 
Miss St Andrews 
The Core 
Liam 
Love Contract 
The Steps 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Mike Bartlett: Cock, King Charles III & more

10 BBC Radio Full-Cast Productions

John Fletcher

Adam Thorpe

Philippa Gregory

Wally K. Daly

Sara Maitland

An epic full-cast play about Robin Hood, plus an episode of In Our Time setting him in his historical context and four dramatic interpretations of his story 
 
Robin Hood has captured the English imagination for centuries. His tale has been told in ballads, novels, plays, TV shows and films – and with each retelling, it has evolved and transformed. We know Robin today as a forest-dwelling outlaw who led a gang of merry men, loved the beautiful Maid Marian and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But there are many facets to this folkloric hero, as this collection reveals. Featuring drama, documentary and monologue, it blends fiction with fact to take a thrilling, immersive look at the man and the myth. 
 
The Legend of Robin Hood – Deep in England’s great Greenwood, a hooded master bowman and his band of faithful companions live outside the law, fighting to right wrongs and defend poor Saxon peasants against their cruel Norman lords... John Fletcher’s action-packed play draws on the original medieval ballads to chart Robin Hood’s adventures, from May Day revels in Sherwood Forest to crusading battles in the Holy Land and life-or-death struggles with sinister enemies. Starring John Nettles as Robin, with Gerry Hinks as Little John, Michael Tudor Barnes as Friar Tuck, Carolyn Backhouse as Maid Marian, Norman Rodway as the Sherriff, Peter Meakin as Will Scarlett and Tamsin Grieg as Alice. 
 
In Our Time: Robin Hood – Melvyn Bragg and guests Stephen Knight, Thomas Hahn and Juliette Wood discuss the malleable myth of this most iconic of outlaws, asking why his story has gone through so many changes and where the truth really lies. Was Robin a yeoman, an aristocrat, an anarchist – or the figment of a collective imagination? 
 
The Adventures of Robin Hood – In this quartet of tales, told from the points of view of four key characters and performed by distinguished actors, we learn how young Robin became an outlaw; how Friar Tuck’s outrage over the King and the Crusades led him to turn renegade, how a prioress’s greed led to her attempt to seize Robin’s land, and how love changed the course of Maid Marian’s life. Included are ‘Robin Hood’s Story’ by Adam Thorpe (read by James Frain), ‘Friar Tuck’s Story’ by Philippa Gregory (read by John Sessions), ‘The Prioress’s Story’ by Wally K Daly (read by Imelda Staunton) and ‘Maid Marian’s Story’ by Sara Maitland (read by Anna Massey). 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Legend of Robin Hood: A BBC Radio Collection

Drama, discussion and storytelling about the legendary heroic outlaw

Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor: A BBC Radio Collection

20 dramas and short stories from the acclaimed 20th Century novelist

Muriel Spark

BBC Radio dramatisations of some of Muriel Spark’s best works, plus bonus episode of The Essay: All Miss Brodie’s Girls 
 
Muriel Spark was one of Scotland’s brightest and most original literary talents. In a career spanning over 60 years, she published over 20 novels, as well as essays, poems and plays. Her work won her numerous awards and honours, and she was made a Dame in 1993 for her services to literature. These nine radio dramas showcase the breadth and variety of her oeuvre, with tales ranging from the humorous to the macabre, and featuring casts including Celia Imrie, Patricia Hodge, Siân Phillips, Mark Straker, Sorcha Cusack and Maggie Service. 
 
In The Girls of Slender Means, it is 1945, and a group of young women are bracing for the future as the world transitions to peace. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie focusses on an inspirational teacher whose illusions are shattered by a tragic betrayal. Based on Spark’s own Edinburgh schooldays in the 1930s, this classic tale was adapted as an Oscar-winning film and chosen as one of the BBC’s 100 ‘Novels That Shaped Our World’. Memento Mori, meanwhile, is a gloriously dark, metaphysical comedy, set among a group of elderly people tormented by an anonymous caller who repeatedly rings with the message ‘Remember, you must die’. 
 
The Vital Spark: The Driver’s Seat tells the tense, disturbing story of Lise, an enigmatic young woman travelling alone to a European city in search of ‘the one’, while The Abbess of Crewe is a sparkling satire on the Watergate affair, centred around a rigged election in a Benedictine convent. A Far Cry From Kensington evokes a witty slice of ’50s London life, as we meet the inhabitants of a rooming-house near South Kensington Underground, and the charming gentlemen and ladies of the shabby but genteel world of publishing. The winner of the 1962 Prix Italia, The Ballad of Peckham Rye is a musical version of Muriel Sparks’ magical realist fable, with lyrics by Spark herself and music by pioneering composer Tristram Cary. Also featured are an adaptation of Bang, Bang, You’re Dead, a short crime story set in Africa; and Spark’s first radio play, the ghost story The Party Through the Wall. Capping off the collection is a bonus programme, The Essay: All Miss Brodie’s Girls, presented by Ali Smith and exploring the many glittering facets of Muriel Spark. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Muriel Spark 
First published 1957 (The Party Through the Wall), 1959 (Memento Mori), 1960 (The Ballad of Peckham Rye), 1961 (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), 1963 (The Girls of Slender Means), 1970 (The Driver’s Seat), 1974 (The Abbess of Crewe), 1982 (Bang-Bang You’re Dead), 1988 (A Far Cry from Kensington) 
 
Contents 
The Girls of Slender Means 
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie 
Memento Mori 
The Vital Spark: The Driver’s Seat 
The Abbess of Crewe 
A Far Cry from Kensington 
The Ballad of Peckham Rye 
Bang, Bang, You’re Dead 
The Party Through the Wall 
The Essay: All Miss Brodie’s Girls 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Muriel Spark: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Nine Full Cast Dramatisations including The Girls of Slender Means, The Prime of Miss Brodie and more

Ben Travers

Six classic farces from the renowned comedy writer, with casts including Judi Dench, Michael Williams, Joan Hickson, Alex Jennings and Penelope Wilton 
 
In the 1920s and ’30s, Ben Travers proved himself a master of comic confusion with his hugely successful Aldwych farces. Featuring battle-axe mothers-in-law, beleaguered wives, henpecked husbands and a host of humorous misunderstandings, they wowed West End audiences and were frequently adapted for film and TV. Four of the funniest are included here – A Cuckoo in the Nest, Rookery Nook, Plunder and Turkey Time – along with the award-winning radio productions of The Dippers and Mischief. 
 
The Dippers – How does a meek, middle-aged solicitor end up demonstrating a new dance at a prestigious ball? And what will his wife do when she catches him in the bedroom of a lovely young dancer? Michael Williams and Judi Dench star in this sparkling drama, winner of the 1989 Sony Award for Best Dramatisation. 
 
A Cuckoo in the Nest – Mrs Stokes, landlady of the Stag and Hunt, will brook no hanky-panky with unmarrieds – but with only one room available, she unknowingly forces an innocent couple into a bed of shameful sin. Starring Joan Hickson, Ian Lavender and Phoebe Nicholls. 
 
Rookery Nook – Newlywed Gerald Popkiss motors to Chumpton for his honeymoon – but with his wife called away to nurse her mother, he finds himself alone in Rookery Nook. That is, until a pretty, pyjama-clad girl suddenly turns up in the middle of the night… Ian Lavender, Brett Usher and Anne Jameson star in Travers’ most famous farce. 
 
Mischief – When stodgy middle-aged banker Reggy marries Elly, a bright young thing half his age, the scene is set for mischief, misadventures, mistaken identities and marital mayhem. Starring Freddie Jones, Melinda Walker and Penelope Wilton, this effervescent comedy won the 1987 Sony Award for Best Drama. 
 
Plunder – Gentleman burglar Freddy Malone boasts that he lives by plunder. But blunder is more to the point, as his old schoolfriend D’Arcy Tuck discovers after he collaborates in a jewel theft that goes horribly wrong. Starring Gillian Lewis, Henry McGee, Alan Curtis and Richard Scott. 
 
Turkey Time – It’s Christmas Eve, and the Stoatts have invited family and friends to stay at Cobblers for the holidays. But the festivities turn farcical with the arrival of a stranded showgirl and her furious landlady… Alex Jennings, Elizabeth Spriggs and Teresa Gallagher star in this cheery, Christmassy romp. 
 
NB: Please note that Plunder is a vintage production from 1965, which is reflected in the sound quality. 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Ben Travers: A BBC Radio Drama Collection

Six Full-Cast Comedy Productions including A Cuckoo in the Nest, Rookery Nook & other farces

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Dramatisations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most popular works, plus bonus documentary Often described as ‘the laureate of the Jazz Age’, F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the reckless, hedonistic spirit of 1920s America in his classic novels The Great Gatsby, The Beautiful and Damned and Tender is the Night. All three are dramatised here, as well as his sparkling short story ‘Head and Shoulders’, and a fascinating programme presenting a fresh perspective on Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece.The Great Gatsby – Arriving in Long Island, Nick Carraway is reacquainted with his distant cousin Daisy Buchanan, and falls in with her wealthy crowd. His neighbour, the self-made and self-invented millionaire, Gatsby, seems to have it all – but the one thing he truly wants, he can never have. Bryan Dick, Andrew Scott, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Amaka Okafor and Karl Johnson, star in this 2012 dramatisation of Fitzgerald’s seminal book on the fallibility of the American dream.The Beautiful and Damned – Anthony Patch and his wife, Gloria Gilbert, are the essence of glamour. True socialites, they spend their time drinking, partying and planning how to spend the vast fortune Anthony is set to inherit. But their decadence and excess will be their downfall, and when their perfect relationship hits the rocks, they descend into despair and alcoholism… Starring Joel MacCormack, Rhashan Stone and Jessica Hardwick, this mesmerising drama charts the Roaring Twenties via a vivid portrait of a golden couple and their doomed marriage.Tender is the Night – Psychoanalyst Dick Diver and his wife Nicole live the high life at their rented villa on the French Riviera. When young film star Rosemary Hoyt enters their circle, she fails to grasp the dark secrets that hold them together, and her dangerous attraction to Dick will have tragic consequences… Simon Harrison, Melody Grove and Kelly Burke star in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s poignant tale of love, disintegration and shattered dreams.Head and Shoulders – Seventeen-year-old Horace Tarbox, nicknamed ‘Horace Brainbox’ by his cousin Charlie, is a serious university scholar who doesn’t have time for romance. That is, until he meets sassy blonde flapper and chorus girl Marcia Meadow, and gives up the academic life for love… Starring Alan David Marriott and Briony Glassco.Against the Current: The Great Gatsby at 100 – Professor Sarah Churchwell explores new poetic, aesthetic and philosophical interpretations of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, asking whether we have misunderstood the author’s intentions all along.Production creditsWritten by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
ContentsThe Great GatsbyThe Beautiful and DamnedTender is the NightHead and ShouldersAgainst the Current: The Great Gatsby at 100© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Great Gatsby, Tender is the Night & more

Four Full Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

Michael Payne

Debbie Cook

Dennis Ashton

Stephen Mulrine

Sarah Maxwell

Five fantastical tales, each with a magical twist 
 
Discover a lady with a taste for immortality, a man who becomes a dragon, a man-eating witch and a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Perfect for fans of fantasy, these epic tales are packed with magical elements, fantastical creatures, and heroic conflicts between good and evil.In Lady Faustus by Michael Payne, the town gossips have only one subject of conversation - the mysterious Lady Faustus. The conjectures about her and her origins are boundless. But a certain handsome young lieutenant finds that the truth about her is far stranger than any fiction. Starring Rula Lenska as Lady Faustus and James Aubrey as Franz.Debbie Cook’s The Beast of Long Mindham stars Jon Glover as John Tillner. John doesn’t believe in dragons – who does, these days? But then he meets a witch who offered to turn him into one. Will John be tempted…?There is a legend that King Arthur will return to save England from great danger. The Peril by Dennis Ashton tells the story of what happens when George, son of George, is made King. The year is 1940, and the Battle of Britain is at its height...Ivan the Fool and Vasilisa the Wise by Stephen Mulrine features a man-eating witch, a talking doll, a dead princess and a live skeleton. Ivan is determined to marry the beautiful Vasilisa, no matter what the obstacles. But, as the saying goes, the course of true love never did run smooth…The Good, the Bad and the Slightly Unprepossessing by Sarah Maxwell is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in America, with multi-millionaire 'Heartless' Harrison Hope. With his six-inch nails and hair and beard to the ground, he is very much the Beast and - well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?©2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

High Fantastical

Five Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramas

Luigi Pirandello

A selection of plays by the award-winning Italian playwright – Luigi Pirandello 
 
Luigi Pirandello was an Italian playwright, novelist, and short-story writer, winner of the 1934 Nobel Prize for Literature. This collection features a selection of his most renowned plays. 
 
Six Characters in Search of an Author - The 1921 play about the nature of theatre and the problems of theatricality, in which six characters, whose author has abandoned them mid-process, turn up at a rehearsal and demand to be played by the actors present in order to resolve their tragedy and become 'real'. 
 
The Rules of the Game - A town in Italy, 1919: Leone and Silia, man and wife, live apart, and Guido is Silia's lover. There is an uncanny lack of jealousy on Leone's part, for he seems a man without any emotional cares whatever: to him it is all a game. It can still be a dangerous game.... 
 
Henry IV - A madman is shut up in a villa in Italy following an accident at a carnival. Twenty years later his friends come to visit him. Is he still mad, or is he sane? What is madness? What is sanity? 
 
'First Night' - A short storyThe phenomenal casts in these productions include: Juliette Binoche, Maurice Denham, Cherie Lunghi, Charles Grey, Oliver Ford Davies, Ben Daniels, Martin Jarvis and Mary Wimbush.

Six Characters in Search of an Author & other plays

Three Full-Cast BBC Radio Productions

Anthony Price

Two award-winning spy novels featuring Dr David Audley by Anthony Price, dramatised with full casts 
 
Crime novelist and journalist Anthony Price was highly regarded for his 19 espionage thrillers featuring intelligence agents Dr David Audley and Colonel Jack Butler. Here are two of the best books in the series, adapted for radio: the CWA Silver Dagger Award-winning The Labyrinth Makers, and Other Paths to Glory, which won the Gold Dagger and was shortlisted for the 2005 Dagger of Daggers Award for the best crime novel of the past 50 years. 
 
The Labyrinth Makers – The accidental draining of a lake reveals a crashed RAF Dakota, the body of a World War II airman and a cargo of builder’s rubble. A few days later, MOD backroom man David Audley receives an early morning summons to London, where he is instructed to abandon his Middle East research and investigate a Russian agent named Panin. Aided by the dead pilot’s daughter, Audley attempts to find out why the KGB are so interested in the downed plane – and soon uncovers a deadly plot involving smuggling, a ruined Berlin flak tower and the legendary Schliemann Treasure… John Stride stars as Dr David Audley and Paula Wilcox as Faith in this thrilling tale of intrigue, treachery and unexpected romance. 
 
Other Paths to Glory – Writing a book on World War I, Paul Mitchell is surprised to be called away from his studies by Audley and his colleague Jack Butler, asking questions about a German trench map. Returning home from the library, he is attacked and almost drowned – and when his supervisor is killed in a house fire and a Somme veteran dies in a hit-and-run ‘accident’, it becomes clear that anyone with a connection to the fatal 1916 assault on Bouillet Wood and the Prussian Redoubt is being murdered. Can the two MOD men keep Mitchell alive, and discover why the past has returned to take revenge on the present? Starring Martin Jarvis as Paul Mitchell, with Tony Britton as Dr Audley and Ronald Baddiley as Col. Butler. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Anthony Price 
 
The Labyrinth Makers 
Dr David Audley – John Stride 
Faith – Paula Wilcox 
Tierney – Alan Manson 
Sir Frederick – Peter D’Souza 
Morrison – Neil Packham 
Mr Jones – Ian Sexon 
Mrs Harlin – Pat Williams 
Jenkins – Mark Coleman 
Roskill – Michael MacKenzie 
Butler – Raymond Ross 
Jake/Panin – Laurance Rudic 
Maclean – Sandy Neilson 
 
Dramatised by Nick McCarty 
Directed by Hamish Wilson 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 18 January 1992 
 
Other Paths to Glory 
Dr Audley – Tony Britton 
Paul Mitchell – Martin Jarvis 
Col Butler – Ronald Baddiley 
Mrs Mitchell – Lorna Rosslyn 
Constable Bell/Marcel Jarras – David Graham 
Mr Hutchinson/Capt Faversham – Douglas Blackwell 
General Leigh-Woodhouse – Jeffrey Segal 
Nicole MacMahon – Silvie Dattas 
Gatekeeper/Sorel – Steve Hodson 
Edouard Olivier – Andre Maranne 
 
Adapted by Alison Plowden 
Produced and directed by Harry Catlin 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 May 1976 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Dr David Audley: The Labyrinth Makers & Other Paths to Glory

Two BBC Radio Full-Cast Spy Thrillers

R C Sherriff

A diverse selection of dramas by award-winning writer RC SherriffPlaywright and screenwriter RC Sherriff was best known for his anti-war classic Journey’s End, based on his own experiences of serving on the Western Front. He was a co-writer on several successful screenplays, including The Invisible Man and The Dam Busters, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Goodbye, Mr Chips. Beginning with Journey’s End, this varied collection features six of his acclaimed plays, ranging from a ghost story to a tale of the last days of Roman Britain.Journey’s End – March, 1918. Fresh from school, 18-year-old officer Raleigh is posted to the besieged company of his old schoolfriend and hero Captain Stanhope. Hunkered down in a dugout on the British front line, he must face the reality of war and the tension and strain of life in the trenches. Journey’s End was first staged in 1928, starring Laurence Olivier, and the 2007 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. Martin Jarvis stars in this vintage radio production from 1970.The White Carnation – It’s Christmas Eve, 1951, and stockbroker John Greenwood and his wife are hosting their annual party. But as midnight strikes and he bids farewell to his guests, the door slams, locking him out of the house. Breaking back in, he finds that all the furniture has disappeared, and his wife has gone – and things are about to get even stranger… Starring Philip Voss, this supernatural comedy-drama tells the moving tale of a man given a second chance to do things differently.St Helena – In December 1815, the British imprisoned Napoleon on St Helena. Tracing the long slow decline of the caged tiger until his death in May 1821, Sheriff’s 1936 play, co-written with actress Jeanne de Casalis, is based on the diaries and accounts of those on the island at the time of the exiled Emperor’s captivity. Lee Montague stars as Napoleon in this 1972 historical drama.A Shred of Evidence – Richard Medway drinks a little too much at a rugby club reunion dinner, but still drives home afterwards. The next morning, he hears that a cyclist has been killed by a hit-and-run driver. Could he be responsible for the man’s death? Set in 1950s Surrey, this tense tale of guilt, blackmail and suspense stars Denys Hawthorne.Home at Seven – Bank clerk David Preston returns home at his usual time, only to discover he is actually 24 hours late. With no recollection of his missing day, he is stunned to find himself implicated in robbery and murder... A thrilling mystery starring the legendary Sir Ralph Richardson.The Long Sunset – The Roman Empire is crumbling, the occupation of Britain is at an end, the Legions are leaving – and the surviving Romans are alone and unprotected. This moving drama, starring Stephen Murray and Pauline Letts, follows the fate of one such Roman family, from their attempts to fight off the invading Saxons, to their final conversion to Christianity.Production creditsWritten by RC SheriffContents Journey’s EndThe White CarnationSt HelenaA Shred of EvidenceHome at SevenThe Long Sunset© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Journey’s End, The White Carnation & more

Six Full-Cast BBC Radio Dramatisations

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