A. J. Liebling, born in Manhattan in 1904, joined the staff of the New Yorker in 1935 and contributed innumerable articles to the magazine throughout his lifetime, on subjects ranging from food to boxing and France to horse racing. As a war correspondent during the Second World War, he reported from France, England and Algeria, and participated in the Normandy landings. In later life he married the writer Jean Stafford, his third wife. He died in 1963.

A. J. Liebling

A. J. Rosen is an author of YA fantasy and is known as @agatharoza on Wattpad.

A. J. Rosen

A. K. Davidson

A. O. Scott has been a film critic at the New York Times since 2000. His writing has appeared in many other publications, including the New York Review of Books, Slate, the New Yorker and the Nation. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism in 2010, Scott is currently Distinguished Professor of Film Criticism at Wesleyan University. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York. 
 
@aoscott

A. O. Scott

A.S. Byatt (1936-2023) was a novelist, short-story writer and critic of international renown. Her novels include Possession (winner of the Booker Prize 1990), the Frederica Quartet and The Children’s Book, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction. She was appointed CBE in 1990 and DBE in 1999, and was awarded the Erasmus Prize 2016 for her ‘inspiring contribution to life writing’ and the Pak Kyongni Prize 2017. In 2018 she received the Hans Christian Andersen Literature Award.

A. S. Byatt

A. T. Williams won the George Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2013 for his book A Very British Killing: The Death of Baha Mousa. He lives in Warwickshire.

A. T. Williams

A. W. Chase

Dubbed ‘The new queen of spy fiction’ by the Guardian newspaper, and ‘the real thing’ by the Washington Post, A.C. 'Ava' Glass is the CWA Dagger-shortlisted author of Alias Emma (The Chase), The Traitor and The Trap. The Traitor was a 2023 Richard and Judy Bookclub pick. Alias Emma was a Barnes and Noble book of the month. A former crime reporter and communications consultant, for five years Ava worked closely with spies. Her time in that world fascinated her, and the people she met back then inspire every book she writes.

A.C. Glass

A.E. Housman

Arthur Edward Waite was the designer and co-creator of the now famous Rider Waite Tarot deck. 
 
An American-born British poet and scholarly mystic, his strong interest in all esoteric matters - divination, magic, Kabbalism, alchemy and Freemasony - led to him penning a number of books. These include the Key to the Tarot, The Book of Ceremonial Magic and A New Encyclopedia of Freemasony.

A.E. Waite

A.E. Warren is the author of the Tomorrow's Ancestors series, which consists of Subject Twenty-One, The Hidden Base, The Fourth Species and The Final Rising. 
 
After spending eight years working as a lawyer, she began to write in the evenings and early mornings as a form of escapism from life in a very small cubicle with lots of files. She self-published her first novels in her spare time, which were picked up by Del Rey UK which is the science fiction/fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House. 
 
 She is an avid reader, occasional gamer and fair-weather runner. She lives in the UK with her husband, daughter and hopefully, one day, a wise border terrier named Austen.

A.E. Warren

A.G.D. Maran

A.J. Ayer

A K Benedict writes crime and speculative fiction in a room filled with clowns, mannequins and Doctor Who figures. Her first novel, The Beauty of Murder, was nominated for an eDunnit award and is in development for a major 8-part TV series by Company Pictures. Her second, Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts, came out in February 2016. She's written Torchwood audio dramas for Big Finish and her short stories have featured in anthologies including Great British Horror and Best British Short Stories. She lives in St Leonards-on-Sea with her dog, Dame Margaret Rutherford.

A.K.Benedict

A. L. Kennedy has twice been selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and has won a host of other awards – including the Costa Book of the Year for her novel Day. She lives in Essex.

A.L. Kennedy

A.M. Ellis is a speculative fiction author and lover of everything steeped in myth and mystery. Her stories often lean into diverse voices, not only in her identity as a Black woman, but in exploring neurodivergence and mental health. A proud introvert and nostalgic gamer, she lives in Maryland, USA, with her husband and three children. Angelica is also the author of Hunt A Killer, a PERFECT SCORE novel, under the pen name A.M. Ellis, which she wrote as an IP for Scholastic in the US.

A.M. Ellis

A.N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he holds a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. He is an award-winning biographer and a celebrated novelist, winning prizes for much of his work. He lives in North London.

A.N. Wilson

A.T. Emerald

A.W. Priest

A.B.C. Merriman-Labor was a barrister, writer and munitions worker born in Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1877. His published works include A Series of Lectures on the Negro Race and The Story of the African Slave in a Nutshell. He also edited two editions of the Handbook of Sierra Leone. He arrived in the UK in 1904 to study law. In 1907, he organised a centenary commemoration of the abolition of the slave trade in Westminster Abbey. He later embarked on an 'entertainment-lecture' tour called Life and Scenes in Britain, travelling across thousands of miles of West, South West and Central Africa, which he expanded on to create Britons Through Negro Spectacles.

ABC Merriman-Labor

AJ Cronin

AJ Molloy

Aabria Iyengar is an American actress and author.

Aabria Iyengar

Aaliya Jaleel is a freelance illustrator, designer, and visual development artist, currently majoring in Animation at the University of Texas at Dallas. She is also the illustrator of Under My Hijab and Muslim Girls Rise. You can visit her online at www.aaliyamj.com.

Aaliya Jaleel

Aaron Allston

After more than fifteen years of experience as a clinical psychotherapist, Dr Aaron Balick has taken the amazing insights from psychology and psychotherapy out of the consultation room and made them accessible to the wider world. 
 
He has been an ‘agony uncle’ for many years for both CBBC and BBC Radio 1, as well as on television, including BBC Worldwide, BBC 3 and BBC Learning.

Aaron Balick

Aaron Carroll

Aaron Dignan is the founder of The Ready--a global organizational transformation and coaching practice--that helps companies large and small adopt new forms of self-organization and dynamic teaming. Clients include Johnson &amp; Johnson, Microsoft, Lloyds Bank, Citibank, Boeing, Mailchimp, Airbnb, Dropbox, and charity: water. 
 
He is also the founder of Murmur--a SaaS startup that helps teams scale culture through the magic of working agreements. The Murmur platform will allow every team on the planet to define and share their ways of working. 
 
Dignan is the author of Brave New Work (2019) and Game Frame (2011), co-host of the Brave New Work podcast, and a friend to misfit toys.

Aaron Dignan

Aaron Edwards is a senior lecturer in defence and international affairs at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, specialising in terrorism and counter-insurgency. He is the author and editor of several books, including Defending the Realm: The Politics of Britain’s Small Wars Since 1945, and has lectured all over the world on aspects of national and international security. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Aaron Edwards

Aaron Robertson is a writer, an editor, and a translator of Italian literature. His translation of Igiaba Scego’s Beyond Babylon was short-listed for the 2020 PEN Translation Prize and the National Translation Award, and in 2021 he received a National Endowment for the Arts grant. His work has appeared in the New York Times, The Nation, Foreign Policy, n+1, The Point, and Literary Hub, among other publications. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Aaron Robertson

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David Renwick

Crabby, crusty, and curmudgeonly he may be, but Victor Meldrew, played brilliantly by Richard Wilson, voices the exasperation of the once silent majority. Accompanied by his long-suffering wife Margaret (Annette Crosbie), Victor's howlingly funny battles against what he perceives as modern-day ills have turned him into one of the great comic creations of our time. 
This collection gathers three of the best TV episodes from the well-known BBC 1 Series and an additional four scripts that were specially adapted for radio by One Foot in the Grave creator David Renwick and fully re-recorded by the cast. 
 
The episodes are: 
Alive and Buried": Made redundant at 60, Victor Meldrew has plenty of time on his hands, except now he has to contend with Age Concern workers and unreliable mechanics. 
 
 "Timeless Time": It's night-time. Victor can't sleep, which means that Margaret won't be able to either. 
 
 "In Luton Airport No-one Can Hear You Scream": Victor and Margaret return from holiday to find their home has been demolished. 
 
 "The Beast in the Cage": Victor encounters road rage when he's stuck in a bank-holiday traffic jam. 
 
"The Man in the Long Black Coat": Following the garden gnome incident, Victor Meldrew's feud with neighbour Patrick continues apace. Added to that, Victor has also bought some radioactive manure for his allotment. 
 
The Broken Reflection": Victor is acting as a neighbourhood vigilante and is not looking forward to his accident-prone brother coming to visit from New Zealand. 
 
The Trial": Although selected for jury service, Victor hasn't yet been required in court. However, he is still on call and therefore stuck at home all day. Can he survive the boredom?

One Foot in the Grave

The Collected BBC Radio Comedies

Victoria Wood

Dinnerladies is a classic BBC sitcom based around the lives of the staff of the canteen at Manchester factory HWD Components. Written by and starring Victoria Wood a Brenda, these eight classic TV episodes are brilliantly funny, where the jokes fly as thick and as fast as granary torpedoes. 
Along with the day to day feeding the faces of folk, the canteen staff Bren, Twink, Jean (and all the others!) have to contend with the arrival of a Royal on site, a Japanese-themed party complete with costumes, and the controversial delivery of new uniforms. And will Tony finally succumb to Brenda's advances? 
 
With a wonderful cast including Victoria Wood, Celia Imrie and Thelma Barlow also star in this trayful of comedy from the BBC hotplate. 
 
Episode list: 
Monday 
Royals 
Moods 
Party 
Catering 
Minnellium 
Gravy 
Toast 
 
Please note that sound quality may vary due to the archive nature of these recordings 
 
Produced by Adam Fowler 
A BBC Studios production

Dinnerladies: A BBC Collection

8 Classic TV Soundtracks

Rebecca Front presents this two-part look back at Victoria Wood’s stand-up and songs using her own archives and tapes – including never-before-heard material 
 
Victoria Wood was a comedian, actress and all-round national treasure. She wrote and starred in countless sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over four decades, winning numerous awards, and her work remains timeless to this day. With her perceptive observational humour, she made the everyday and mundane hilarious – but how did she do it? 
 
In this BBC Radio 4 documentary, Rebecca Front uses Victoria Wood’s personal rehearsal recordings, rare live performances and behind-the-scenes footage to reveal some of her comedy tricks and techniques. We hear about her instinctive sense of rhythm, amazing rhyming ability and unerring knack for finding the perfect word to make a sentence sing, and learn how she honed her unique talent to become one of Britain’s favourite funny women. 
 
With unprecedented access to Victoria’s own boxes of battered cassette tapes, this programme is a shameless chance to hear some wonderful stand-up comedy, characters and songs, mixed with a look back at what made her so funny and so universally loved. 
 
Executive Producer: Geoff Posner 
Produced by David Tyler 
A Pozzitive production for BBC Radio 4.

Victoria Wood: From Soup to Nuts

A BBC Radio 4 Retrospective

Robin of Locksley returns from the Crusades to find his people starving and oppressed by the new Sheriff of Nottingham. Under this tyrannical regime, the slightest crime attracts the heaviest punishment, and dissent is impossible. Robin soon discovers that the only way to reason with the Sheriff is with bow and arrow, even if it means sacrificing his lands and becoming an outlaw. 
 
This exciting adventure is read by Richard Armitage, who plays Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood. It also features Robin and his loyal band of brothers, as seen in the hit BBC TV series. 
 
Crammed with action, humour, wit, and romance, this fantastic adaptation of the classic tale brings the legendary outlaw hero to life for a whole new generation.

Robin Hood: The Complete Series 1

Based on the BBC TV series

John Milton

Sir Ian McKellen stars as Milton in this dramatised retelling of John Milton’s epic poem about the fall of Man 
 
"devilishly good... I urge you to give it a listen" The Telegraph 
 
Milton’s biblical masterpiece, first published in 1667, is one of English literature’s most seminal works. Straddling three worlds – Heaven, Hell and Earth – it tells the gripping story of fallen angel Satan’s rebellion against God, his temptation of Adam and Eve and their subsequent expulsion from the Garden of Eden. 
 
Written to ‘justify the ways of God to men’, it aimed to show what caused Mankind's fall and the consequences for the world, both bad and good. By reaching back to the beginning of time, Milton hoped to discover the events that had led to the political and societal upheaval of his own era – as well as using allegory to ask powerful questions about authority, government, tyranny and disobedience. In this brand new dramatisation, Milton himself (Sir Ian McKellen) is the blind narrator grieving the loss of his wife, played by Frances Barber. 
 
Also starring Simon Russell Beale as Satan, and adapted by award-winning poet and broadcaster Michael Symmons Roberts, this enthralling drama is a vital piece of storytelling with striking parallels to contemporary events. 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Milton……………………Sir Ian McKellen 
Elizabeth……………………Frances Barber 
Satan……………………Simon Russell Beale 
Beelzebub……………………Jonathan Keeble 
Adam……………………Ashley Margolis 
Eve……………………Emily Pithon 
Christ……………………David Seddon 
Raphael……………………Conrad Nelson 
God……………………Russell Dixon 
All other parts were played by members of the company 
 
Written by John Milton 
Dramatised by Michael Symmons Roberts 
Produced and directed by Susan Roberts

Paradise Lost

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Moira Buffini

A deliciously black satirical comedy about the dinner party from hell. 
 
The fastidious host, Paige, decides to throw a dinner party in honour of her husband Lars, who is celebrating the success of his pop psychology book, Beyond Belief. She carefully plans a surprise menu that will mark the occasion, and anxiously checks with the waiter she has employed to make sure that everything is perfectly prepared. Her lucky guests include a post-feminist vegetarian artist, a distinguished microbiologist, a TV journalist and an uninvited guest who ends up staying for dinner. But it soon becomes apparent that the meal may contain some rather nasty surprises… 
 
Moira Buffini's outrageous comedy Dinner started life in the National Theatre's Loft in 2002, and became her first West End smash. In this production, adapted by the writer for BBC Drama on 3, Harriet Walter returns to the role she created: Paige, the hostess and architect of an evening which her guests will never forget. Two other original leads, Nicholas Farrell and Penny Downie, and four new cast members join her in this viciously black chamber piece about appetite, which will make you think twice about ever accepting another invitation to dinner. 
 
Moira Buffini was nominated for an Olivier Award for Dinner in 2003, and won the Olivier in 2014 for her play Handbagged. 
 
Cast 
Paige……………………Harriet Walter 
Lars……………………Nicholas Farrell 
Wynne……………………Penny Downie 
Hal……………………Paul Bazely 
Sian……………………Pippa Bennett-Warner 
Mike……………………Peter McDonald 
Waiter……………………David Hounslow 
 
Produced and directed by Jonquil Panting

Dinner

A full-cast production of the acclaimed black comedy

BBC Radio Comedy

Brian Cox and Robin Ince present a witty, irreverent look at the world according to science. 
 
The Infinite Monkey Cage has become one of BBC Radio 4’s most popular science-based programmes. In each episode physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince delve into a particular field of science, with the help of guests from the worlds of science, academia and entertainment. 
 
These 25 episodes feature subjects ranging from music to Frankenstein, from particle physics to the science of sleep, and from astronauts to insects. Also included are the 2016 and 2017 Christmas Special episodes. 
 
Well-known guests featured in this collection include Dave Gorman, Phil Jupitus, Sara Pascoe, Ross Noble, Eric Idle, Noel Fielding, Katy Brand, Mark Gatiss and Dara O'Briain.

The Infinite Monkey Cage: The Complete Series 14-17

W E Johns

Michael Palin reads this classic adventure by W. E. Johns, featuring pilot-adventurer James ‘Biggles’ Bigglesworth 
 
When Biggles receives a letter from an old wartime chum asking for help, he responds at once. With his comrades, Algy, Ginger and Flight Sergeant Smyth, our hero flies to Fort Beaver in Canada, where winter is closing in around the remote airfield. There he discovers that his buddy Wilks is being menaced by a sinister character called ‘Brindle’ McBain and his cronies. 
 
Wilks has started a small airline business, but McBain wants to take over and he’ll stop at nothing to get Wilks out of the way. With the threats of sabotage, theft, and even murder in play, all their lives are now in danger. 
 
Can Biggles save the day and defeat McBain? Or will they perish in the frozen north?

Biggles Flies North

Colin Dexter

Three BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations starring John Shrapnel as Morse and Robert Glenister as Lewis, plus a bonus reading by Colin Dexter of one of his short stories. 
 
In Last Seen Wearing, Inspector Morse is reluctant to take over an old missing person case from a dead colleague. But two years, three months and two days after teenager Valerie Taylor’s disappearance, somebody decides to supply some surprising new evidence. . . 
 
In The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn Inspector Morse tackles the murder of an exam invigilator. The newly appointed member of the Oxford foreign exam syndicate was deaf, and he wasn’t from the insular world of the Oxford colleges. Now he is dead. 
 
After he’s rushed into hospital, Inspector Morse becomes intrigued by an old crime in The Wench is Dead. Could the wrong men have been hanged for the murder of Joanna Franks? 
 
Plus Colin Dexter reads his own short story, The Double Crossing, in which it is a good first day for a certain detective named Lewis. 
 
Gripping, suspenseful and entertaining, these BBC dramatisations were adapted by Guy Meredith from the original Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter.

Inspector Morse: BBC Radio Drama Collection

Three classic full-cast dramatisations

Charles Dickens

Captivating radio dramatisations of seven of Charles Dickens' most famous novels. 
 
Charles Dickens is one of the most renowned authors of all time, and this first digital volume of the dramatised canon of his work includes seven of his most popular novels. 
 
This collection includes the episodic adventure Nicholas Nickleby, comic tale The Pickwick Papers, poignant melodrama The Old Curiosity Shop and the much-loved Oliver Twist. Plus, there’s the gripping historical novel Barnaby Rudge, picaresque comedy Martin Chuzzlewit and bittersweet tale of family relationships Dombey and Son. 
 
With their compelling plots, larger-than-life characters and vivid descriptions of Victorian life, Dickens’ stories have captivated generations of readers. These radio adaptations bring out all the hope and happiness, pathos and tragedy, satire and social realism of his seven classic masterpieces. 
 
Among the star cast are Anna Massey, Alex Jennings, Phil Daniels, Julia McKenzie, Tim McInnerny and Robert Glenister. 
 
Track listing: 
1-6: The Pickwick Papers 
7-12: Oliver Twist 
13-42: Nicholas Nickleby 
43-67: The Old Curiosity Shop 
68-70: Barnaby Rudge 
71-80: Martin Chuzzlewit 
81-100: Dombey and Son

The Charles Dickens BBC Radio Drama Collection: The Early Years

Seven BBC Radio full-cast dramatisations

Jeremy Hardy

Jeremy Hardy returns with a brand new series that not only seconds that emotion but explains it too. Yes, BBC Radio 4's most passionate polemicist returns to the airwaves with a new format which promises to be both personal and profound, and to present sides of Jeremy you won't have heard before. He may even sing. (He won't sing.) 
 
The News Quiz and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue regular, proud progenitor of ten series of Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation, and winner of numerous awards and almost certainly the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Jeremy is famous for lines like: 
 
"Kids should never be fashion slaves, especially in the Far East. My 12-year old daughter asked me for a new pair of trainers. I told her she was old enough to go out and make her own." 
 
and - 
 
"Islam is no weirder than Christianity. Both are just Judaism with the jokes taken out." 
 
His unique world view once lead him to be likened to "an incendiary vicar". Gillian Reynolds called him, "an idealist, a dissenter, a polemicist and moralist - he's a salutary reminder that jokes can, and should, be about big things." 
 
The show is produced by Jeremy's long-standing accomplice, David Tyler, whose radio credits include Cabin Pressure, John Finnemore’s Double Acts, Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!, Marcus Brigstocke's The Brig Society, Kevin Eldon Will See You Now, Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive, Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, The Castle, The 99p Challenge, Deep Trouble, My First Planet, Radio Active and Bigipedia. His TV credits include Paul Merton - The Series, Spitting Image, Absolutely, The Paul Calf Video Diary, Coogan's Run and exec producing Victoria Wood's Dinnerladies. 
 
In the four shows, Jeremy is feeling - in turn - happy, sad, fearful and finally, hopeful!

Jeremy Hardy Feels It

The BBC Radio 4 comedy

Franz Kafka

Benedict Cumberbatch reads Franz Kafka's famous story of man-turned-insect, Metamorphosis 
 
Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2018 
 
After a night of troubled dreams, Gregor Samsa wakes to discover that he has turned into a huge, monstrous, cockroach-like creature, with an armour-plated back and multiple limbs. 
 
Gradually, he comes to terms with his new state - but his parents and sister are horrified and increasingly revolted. To them, Gregor is unclean, verminous and entirely repellent, and as he becomes more and more of a burden, their horror turns to a terrible indifference... 
 
First published in 1915, Kafka's surreal existential novella explores concepts such as the absurdity of life, alienation and the disconnect between mind and body. Read by Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek, The Imitation Game), this tale - often described as one of the greatest in the history of fiction - is chilling, captivating and darkly comic. 
 
 
 ©2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2018 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Metamorphosis

A BBC Radio 4 reading

The highly-acclaimed BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Milton's epic poem telling the story of the fall of man, and also its sequel, "Paradise Regained". 
 
Out of chaos shall come order and out of darkness shall come light. Paradise is lost - and then regained. 
 
John Milton's epic, biblically inspired poems are wonderfully dramatised for BBC Radio starring Denis Quilley as Milton, Ian McDiarmid as Satan and Robert Glenister as Christ, enhanced by specially composed music. 
 
First published in 1667, Paradise Lost describes Satan's plot to ruin God's new and most favoured creation, Mankind, and recounts the temptation of Adam and Eve and their banishment from the Garden of Eden. 
 
Paradise Regained, published in 1671, tells of the temptation of Christ by Satan as he wanders in the wilderness for forty days and nights. 
 
Full cast: 
Milton: Denis Quilley 
Satan: Ian McDiarmid 
Christ: Robert Glenister 
Raphael: John Rowe 
God: Godfrey Kenton 
Adam: Linus Roache 
Michael: Mark Straker 
Abdiel/Andrew: Julian Rhind-Tutt 
Nisroc: John Church 
Simon/Angel: Matthew Morgan 
Belial: Steve Hodson 
Angel: David Thorpe

Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained

Two BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Brian Cox and Robin Ince present a witty, irreverent look at the world according to science. 
 
The Infinite Monkey Cage has become one of BBC Radio 4’s most popular science-based programmes. In each episode physicist Brian Cox and comedian Robin Ince delve into a particular field of science, with the help of guests from the worlds of science, academia and entertainment. 
 
These 29 episodes feature subjects ranging from the solar system to war, from UFOs to climate change, and from the mathematics of love to artificial intelligence. This collection also includes two special episodes from December 2015 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's theory of General Relativity, and the 2014 and 2015 Christmas specials. 
 
Well-known guests featured in this collection include Dave Gorman, Sara Pascoe, Dara O Briain, Alexei Sayle, Ross Noble, Eric Idle, Jo Brand, Lee Mack, Josie Long, Katy Brand and Stephen Fry.

The Infinite Monkey Cage: The Complete Series 10-13

Mark Gatiss

Reece Shearsmith

Steven Pemberton

Jeremy Dyson

Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith star in a compilation from the smash hit BBC TV series 
 
‘This is a local shop for local people. There’s nothing for you here!’ 
 
Welcome to Royston Vasey! Your visit coincides with: 
· Herr Lipp’s German exchange visit! 
· Papa Lazarou’s freak show! 
· A nosebleed epidemic! 
 
In a selection of episodes from Series Two of the award-winning black comedy, Reenie and Vinnie are in charge of the charity shop, Tubbs and Edward are looking to fins a ‘no-tail’ mate for son David, and friendly butcher Hilary Briss is holding a soiree for patrons of his ‘special stuff’. 
 
In Series Three, Pauline is released from HMP Clitclink and harbours dreams of running her own pen shop, joke peddlar Lance regrets dabbling in the murky world of illegal body parts, and Geoff travels to London to become a stand-up comedian. 
 
So welcome to town. You’ll never leave… 
 
Note: You may be wondering why we have not included episodes from Series One of the TV series in this collection. This is because many of the sketches that formed the basis of the first TV series are published in The League of Gentlemen’s original BBC Radio series, On the Town with the League of Gentlemen. Although they were reworked a little for television, the Series One audio of these sketches is similar enough to their radio counterparts that we have not included them in this TV series compilation.

The League of Gentlemen TV Series Collection

Edward J. Mason

All surviving episodes of Dick Barton: Special Agent, plus bonus documentary material 
 
BBC Audio is proud to present this collection containing all surviving Dick Barton pieces: ten exciting full adventures, the 100th episode ever recorded of Dick Barton as well as a 2013 live performance of Dick Barton’s final story. This is accompanied by bonus documentaries and interviews with the stars. 
 
Set in an exciting world of criminal masterminds and espionage, the adventures of special agent Dick Barton and his friends Jock and Snowey were essential listening for an entire generation. Originally running on the BBC Light Programme between 1946 and 1951, few of the BBC's original recordings still survive. In this stellar line-up you’ll hear Noel Johnson and Douglas Kelly as Dick Barton, with John Mann as Snowey White, and Alex McCrindle as Jock Anderson. And in a 2013 live performance Tim Bentick and Terry Molloy revisit these iconic roles. 
 
This collection includes:<ul><li>Dick Barton and the Secret Weapon (tracks 2-11)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Paris Adventure (tracks 12-31)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Cabatolin Diamonds (tracks 32-51)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Smash and Grab Raiders (tracks 52-71)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Tibetan Adventure (tracks 72-91)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Affair of the Black Panther (tracks 92-110)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Vulture (tracks 111-130)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Li-Chang Adventure (tracks 131-149)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Case of Conrad Ruda (tracks 150-169)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Firefly Adventure (tracks 170-185)</li><li>Dick Barton and the Smugglers: Episode Twenty – featuring 100th episode of Dick Barton ever recorded, and sadly the only surviving section of this adventure (track 186)</li><li>Dick Barton, Live! The Trail of the Rocket – a live performance of the final Dick Barton storyline, re-recorded in 2013 and accompanied by cast interviews and recording outtakes (tracks 187-190)</li><li>The Making of Dick Barton – a profile of radio's greatest hero (track 191)</li></ul>Please Note: Updated May 2024 to include Dick Barton Live and detailed track listings. Errors in repeated tracks fixed. 
 
©2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2017 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Dick Barton: Special Agent

The Complete BBC Radio Collection

Lou Wakefield

Carole Hayman

First broadcast on Woman's Hour, Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge star in this popular BBC Radio 4 comedy Ladies of Letters. This collection features all 11 series. 
 
When Irene Spencer meets Vera Small at her daughter Lesley's wedding reception they embark upon a correspondence that is quite unlike any other in the history of letter-writing. Both Irene and Vera are happily widowed and endowed with errant offspring. They live in a world of church fetes and amateur dramatics, but love nothing more than dipping their pens in the vitriol pot - while remaining the firmest of pen-pals. Feisty, naughty and endlessly funny, Ladies of Letters provides a hilarious insight into suburban friendships and modern family life as they really are! 
 
The series are: 
 
Ladies of Letters 
Ladies of More Letters 
Ladies of Letters.com 
Ladies of Letters Log On 
Ladies of Letters Make Mincemeat 
Ladies of Letters Spring Clean 
Ladies of Letters Go Global 
Ladies of Letters Say No 
Ladies of Letters Go Green 
Ladies of Letters Crunch Credit 
Ladies of Letters Go Crackers 
 
'A hilarious double act by Prunella Scales and Patricia Routledge' - Northern Echo 
'Beautifully scripted and perfectly acted' - Daily Express

Ladies Of Letters

The complete BBC Radio collection

Ray Galton

Alan Simpson

The complete fifth series of the legendary BBC Radio comedy series starring Tony Hancock. 
 
Created by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson in 1954, Hancock’s Half Hour was the radio vehicle that made Tony Hancock a household name. Each week listeners would be admitted to the sometimes fantastical, sometimes mundane life of 'the lad ‘imself'. Aided and abetted by Sid James, Bill Kerr Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques, Hancock would enter into the spirit of each episode with characteristic dolefulness. 
 
This volume contains all 20 episodes from the fifth radio series, collected together for the first time. In these hilarious Half Hours, Hancock has a makeover; turns his home into a private school; stands in the East Cheam by-election; presents three short plays from the East Cheam Repertory Company; takes in a wrestling match with Miss Pugh and gets more than he bargains for when he wins a TV quiz show. The episodes are: The New Radio Series; The Scandal Magazine; The Male Suffragettes; The Insurance Policy; The Publicity Photograph;The Unexploded Bomb; Hancock's School; Around the World in Eighty Days; The Americans Hit Town; The Election Candidate; Hancock's Car; The East Cheam Drama Festival; The Foreign Legion; Sunday Afternoon at Home; The Grappling Game; The Junk Man; Hancock's War; The Prize Money; The Threatening Letters and The Sleepless Night. 
 
This new set includes improved audio quality and extended edits for five episodes, plus a previously unreleased 'mini-episode' recorded to coincide with the 1958 Commonwealth Games. Duration: 10 hours approx.

Hancock's Half Hour: Series 5

20 episodes of the classic BBC Radio comedy series

Dodie Smith

Toby Jones and Holliday Grainger star in a new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Dodie Smith's enduringly popular coming-of-age novel In the 1930s, seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain lives in a crumbling ruin of a castle in the Suffolk countryside. Her father, an author wrestling with writer's block, spends his time reading detective stories; her bohemian stepmother Topaz is an artist's model, and her beautiful older sister Rose is determined to escape the poverty of their existence – ideally by marriage to a rich man. Intelligent and observant, Cassandra chronicles the eccentricities of her relations in her journal, in a bid to capture her family and their lives at the castle. 
 
 
When two rich American brothers, Simon and Neil Cotton, arrive unexpectedly, the family's isolation is disrupted. Rose accepts a marriage proposal from Simon, and as she is whisked off to a world of wealth in London, Cassandra is left to deal with the increasingly bizarre behaviour of her father – as well as her own feelings for Simon... 
 
 
Dodie Smith's charming, funny and poignant love story is a classic of 20th-Century English literature and this sparkling adaptation, starring Toby Jones and Holliday Grainger, will enchant and delight. Duration: 2 hours

I Capture the Castle

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Barry Took

Kenneth Horne, Kenneth Williams, Betty Marsden and Hugh Paddick star in 17 episodes of the anarchic 1960s radio comedy, including the 1967 Christmas special. 
 
Round the Horne arrived on BBC radio in 1965, bringing laughter to Sunday lunchtimes throughout the land. Over the course of sixteen weekly episodes it carved a niche in the history of broadcast comedy, a sketch show which prodded the boundaries of propriety and innuendo. At its heart was the suave and upstanding Kenneth Horne, around which revolved the multiple naughty personas of Kenneth Williams, Betty Marsden, Hugh Paddick and Bill Pertwee. 
 
Among the parade of regular characters were Julian and Sandy, the camp couple of resting thespians happy to turn their hands to anything, Rambling Syd Rumbo the musical cordwangler, Fiona and Charles the passionate duo, and J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock - the world's dirtiest man. Meanwhile regular film parodies, spoof sagas and musical interludes peppered the mix. 
 
In addition to the 16 episodes of Series Four, this edition also includes the 1967 Christmas special episode Cinderfella and The Bona History of Julian and Sandy, in which Maureen Lipman takes a vada at Round the Horne's most flamboyant omipalonies. 
 
Content warning: the humour in this programme reflects the era in which it was broadcast and may not reflect current attitudes. 
 
©2016 BBC Worldwide Limited (P)2016 BBC Worldwide Limited

Round the Horne: The Complete Series Four

17 episodes of the groundbreaking BBC radio comedy

BBC Audio

Highlights from Richard Burton’s finest BBC radio performances from the 1940s to the 1980s. 
 
Richard Burton was one of the most famous British actors of the twentieth century, renowned for his magical, mellifluous voice. Before Hollywood tempted him away, he worked frequently for the BBC and many of his most electrifying performances were recorded there. 
 
This classic compilation features some of the very best of Burton, including his very first radio role in The Corn is Green; the heroic Roland in The Dark Tower; the apocalyptic poem 'Fire and Ice'; Henry V on the eve of Agincourt; the spine-tingling Under Milk Wood and the poignant In Parenthesis. Also included is the complete recording of Emlyn Williams’ suspenseful thriller Night Must Fall. 
 
In addition, there are extracts from interviews in which Burton talks about Dylan Thomas, his love of rugby, his deepest ambition and his own feelings about his incomparable voice. 
 
Whether performing Shakespeare, reading Robert Frost or simply talking about his life and career, Burton is never less than compelling, and this unique anthology is a superb tribute to one of the great icons of stage and screen. 
Duration: 2 hrs 50 mins approx.

Burton at the BBC

Classic Excerpts from the BBC Archive

Jimmy Perry

David Croft

Twenty episodes from the first BBC Radio series plus an hour-long Christmas special, starring Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn. 
 
In 1973 the BBC adapted its hit TV series for radio, featuring the original TV cast and characters. Three series were broadcast between 1974 and 1976, with episodes adapted from their TV counterparts by Harold Snoad and Michael Knowles. 
 
Now you can enjoy once again these unique recordings, with a supporting cast including John Laurie, James Beck, Arnold Ridley and Ian Lavender. Among the twenty-one episodes are The Man and the Hour, The Battle of Godfrey’s Cottage, Sgt Wilson’s Little Secret, Something Nasty in the Vault, The Menace from the Deep and No Spring for Frazer.

Dad’s Army

The Complete Radio Series One

Antony Jay

Jonathan Lynn

For the first time in one audio collection, all sixteen Yes Minister radio episodes plus six further TV episodes, fourteen Yes Prime Minister episodes and two bonus sketches. 
 
Between 1980 and 1988 on BBC television and radio, the exploits of the Rt Hon Jim Hacker MP (Paul Eddington) - later Prime Minister - kept the British nation enthralled. 
 
Helped - and hampered - by his diligent Permanent Secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby (Nigel Hawthorne) and his Principle Private Secretary Bernard Woolley (Derek Fowlds), Hacker and his department became synonymous with government bureaucracy and administrative double dealing. 
 
Presented here, for the first time in one collection, are the complete radio series of Yes Minister and the complete BBC television soundtracks of Yes Prime Minister. Also included are six TV soundtracks of Yes Minister and two special bonus mini-episodes: The PM’s Plan, recorded in 1984 with Margaret Thatcher as herself, and a special segment created for The Funny Side of Christmas in 1982. 
 
Also featuring; Moira Stewart, Diana Hoddinot, Bill Nighy, Peter Cellier, Tenniel Evans, Richard Vernon, Richard Davies, Arthur Cox, Gerry Cowper, John Nettleton, Graham Crowden, William Fox, Peter Jeffrey, Norman Bird, Ellen McIntosh, Brenda Blethyn, Freddie Earle, Jerome Williams, Ian Lavender, Judy Parfitt, Selina Scott, Anton Rodgers and Graeme Garden.

Yes Minister & Yes Prime Minister: The Complete Audio Collection

The Classic BBC Comedy Series

The Abominable Snowmen: Tibet, 1935: English explorer Travers is determined to track down the mythical Abominable Snowmen which are said to roam the Himalayas. When the Doctor and his companions visit the nearby Detsen monastery they discover that the Yeti are all too prominent - in fact, they are out to kill anyone who comes near! With Travers' help the travellers discover that the monastery is in the grip of the evil Great Intelligence, a disembodied force which has taken control of the High Lama - and the robotic Yeti are merely its deadly servants... The Web of Fear: After narrowly avoiding being caught up in a web-like substance on its journey through space, the TARDIS arrives in the tunnels of the London Underground, only to find that the web is there too - as is the Great Intelligence's Yeti... Facing the marauding monsters is Patrick Troughton as the second Doctor, in adventures set in Tibet and London. Linking narration is provided by Frazer Hines, who also plays Jamie in the stories. The Web of Fear marks the first appearance of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, a colonel in the British Army but soon to be promoted to Brigadier of UNIT, who became one of the programme's best-loved and most recognisable characters.

Doctor Who: Yeti Attack!

Naguib Mahfouz

Omar Sharif leads an all-Egyptian cast in this three-part drama, recorded entirely in Egypt's capital. 
 
Adapted from the novels of Nobel Prize-winning author Naguib Mahfouz, this gripping family saga chronicles the life of a downwardly-mobile middle class family as Egypt emerges from colonialism and adjusts to the modern world. 
 
The Cairo Trilogy traces three generations of the family of tyrannical patriarch Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad, who rules his household with a strict hand while living a secret life of self-indulgence. We are introduced to his gentle, oppressed wife, Amina, his cloistered daughters, Aisha and Khadija, and his three sons-the tragic and idealistic Fahmy, the dissolute hedonist Yasin, and the soul-searching intellectual Kamal. As his rebellious children struggle to move beyond his domination, the world around them opens to the currents of modernity and political and domestic turmoil brought by the 1920s. 
 
Throughout the trilogy, the family's trials mirror those of their turbulent country during the years spanning the two World Wars, as change comes to a society that has resisted it for centuries. 
 
Cast: 
Old Kamal...........Omar Sharif 
Young Kamal.......Karim Fouda 
Kamal............Amr Waked 
Al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawab.....Ihab Sakkout 
Amina..............Caroline Khalil 
Fahmy..............Mena Reda 
Yasin................Tamer Nasrat 
Miriam..............Ola Roshdy 
Aida...............Shirine El Ansari 
Zanuba...........Maryam El Khoshed 
Zubayda..........Zeinab Moubarak 
Ahmad................Sedky Sakhar 
Munim.................Ahmed Nour 
Sawsan...............Dina Nadim 
Badur..................Radwa Elgabry 
Other cast members: Rena Malak, Yara Goubran, Nairy Avedissian, Ekram Zalat, Sherif Nour, Salah Fahmy, Yeve Youssef, Saymaa Shalan, Mika Thabet, Hany Seef, Hugh Sowden. 
 
Dramatised by Ayeesha Menon 
Directed by John Dryden 
Music by Sacha Puttnam 
A Goldhawk Production for BBC Radio 4

The Cairo Trilogy

Complete Series

Emma Thompson

Dame Emma Thompson, DBE, is one of Britain's most acclaimed actresses and scriptwriters. In this collection we hear - in her own words - about her early career as a comic and scriptwriter. She discusses some of her most famous works, including Fortunes of War, Sense and Sensibility, Remains of the Day and Nanny McPhee, and explains how she has managed to remain grounded during her rise to fame as an actress. 
 
She also touches on more personal topics, including the importance of her family and friends in her life, the difficulty of being a woman in the world of Hollywood, her struggle with infertility and her charity work during the HIV and AIDs epidemic in Africa during the 1990s. 
 
The interviews included are taken from: Wogan, BBC One (first broadcast 7 October 1987); Pebble Mill, BBC One (first broadcast 14 February 1996); Hard Talk, BBC News 24 (first broadcast 19 December 2003); Phil Jupitus, BBC Radio 6 Music (first broadcast 12 October 2005), Jonathan Ross, BBC Radio 2 (first broadcast 25 February 2006), Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4 (first broadcast 28 March 2010). 
 
Due to the age and nature of this archive material, the sound quality may vary. 
 
©2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2022 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Emma Thompson In Her Own Words

Various

The five shortlisted titles for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013 administered in partnership with Booktrust, containing: 'Mrs Fox' by Sarah Hall (read by Andrea Riseborough), 'Barmouth' by Lisa Blower (read by Rebekah Staton), 'Prepositions' by Lionel Shriver (read by Nancy Crane), 'Notes from the House of Spirits' by Lucy Wood (read by Hattie Morahan) and 'We Are Watching Something Terrible Happening' by Lavinia Greenlaw (read by Claire Skinner).

BBC National Short Story Award 2013

(5 Shortlisted Titles)

Ben Lewis

A psychological thriller about love and identity by Ben Lewis. 
Karen's counting down the days to her wedding. But when a scrawny-looking stranger turns up, her happy life begins to fall apart. 
Starring Nicola Stapleton as Karen, with Samuel Roukin as Vinnie, Freddy White as Stuart, Catherine Shepherd as Siobhan, Sandra Voe as Jean, and Ben Lewis as Dave. Director: Kirsty Williams. 
©2013 AudioGO Ltd (P)2013 AudioGO Ltd

Blue Sky Thinking

Daniel Jamieson

When an illegal minicab driver knocks a man off his mobility scooter they begin an unusual and touching relationship that will change both their lives.

Charity

Philip de Gouveia

Evie, a phenomenally bright but socially marginalised fifteen year-old, has had it with Western Civilization. Self-educated in the ideas of the Luddites, Mao and T.E. Lawrence, she wants to launch a mission against technology and the damage she believes it has wrought on the human race. She's taken a look at human history and decided it's time things changed. For good. But can she get her mobile-addicted classmates to join with her?

Children's Crusade Memoirs Of A Teenage Radical

A Private Thriller

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

A Puffin Book

A Ripley Novel

A Slice of the Moon

A Victorian Mystery

A Walk in...

A Women’s Murder Club Thriller

A chef Paul Delamare Mystery

Aberrations

Across the Universe

Actiphons

Adelia Aguilar

Adrian Mole

Adventures in Time

Aftermath

Against War

Age of X

Agent 21

Agent Z

Detective Aidan Waits is a troubled junior detective haunted by his past. Facing an uncertain future, and disconnected from his history, DC Waits and his partner, Detective Inspector Peter 'Sutty' Sutcliffe work on Manchester's streets to uncover the city's worst criminals among the grime of the underworld.

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