The Small Intricate Life of Gerald C. Potter cover art

The Small Intricate Life of Gerald C. Potter

A BBC Radio 4 Comedy Drama

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Small Intricate Life of Gerald C. Potter

By: Basil Boothroyd
Narrated by: Ian Carmichael, Charlotte Mitchell, full cast
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The convoluted chronicle of an optimistic crime writer

Gerald C Potter is the proud author of Death in the Arboretum, described by the Bournemouth Echo as 'well-written'. He works hard on his books, and worries about every comma, adjective and unfortunate typo, but somehow, he never seems to get very much done. However, his wife and fellow novelist, Diana (aka Magnolia Badminton), is positively prolific - much to his chagrin.

These four series recount his daily activities and struggles for inspiration, as he tries to solve the mystery of his missing briefcase; goes up against his wife as they compete to publicise their new books; takes a holiday abroad that's far from relaxing and receives a double-edged surprise on United Potter Day. And in special festive episode 'The Cousin', an unexpected message in a Christmas card leaves Gerald and Diana scrambling to prepare for a last-minute visitor....

Written by celebrated humorist Basil Boothroyd, this witty, quick, clever sitcom ran for five years on Radio 4 between 1976 and 1981. It stars Ian Carmichael (The World of Wooster, Lord Peter Wimsey) as Gerald C Potter, with Charlotte Mitchell (Waggoners' Walk, The Adventures of Black Beauty) as Diana.

Production credits

Written by Basil Boothroyd

Produced by Bobby Jaye

Cast

Gerald C Potter - Ian Carmichael

Diana, his wife - Charlotte Mitchell

With Michael McClain, James Thomason, Trader Faulkner, Robin Browne, Michael Deacon, Jo Manning Wilson, Margaret Robertson, Peter Craze, Anthony Smee, Michael Goldie, Penelope Reynolds, Geoffrey Matthews, Edward Kelsey, Betty Huntley-Wright, Fiona Mathieson, Garard Green, Brian Carroll, Danny Schiller, Douglas Blackwell, Patricia Hughes, Margot Boyd, Pauline Letts, Brian Haines, Lolly Cockerell, Jane Knowles, Michael Spice, Preston Lockwood, Charles Colville, Paddy O'Byrne, John Church, Judy Franklin and John McAndrew

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 22 March-26 April 1976 (Series 1), 9 November-14 December 1977 (Series 2), 26 December 1977 (Christmas Special, 'The Cousin'), 24 September-29 October 1979 (Series 3), 27 April-1 June 1981 (Series 4)

©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Family Life Literature & Fiction Witty Funny
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Flying the Flag: The Complete Series 1-4 cover art
Brothers in Law: The Complete Series 1-3 cover art
The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket cover art
Charles Paris: A Third BBC Radio Collection cover art
Doctor at Large cover art
Inspector Steine cover art
After Henry cover art
A Life of Bliss cover art
All Gas and Gaiters: Series 1 and 2 cover art
Doctor in the House cover art
Lord Peter Wimsey: BBC Radio Drama Collection Volume 1 cover art
Sherlock Holmes: The Complete BBC Collection cover art
A Case for Dr Morelle cover art
The Party Line: Complete Series 1-3 cover art
Home to Roost cover art
Gloomsbury cover art

Critic reviews

"Basil Boothroyd's quietly comic classic." (Gillian Reynolds, The Telegraph)

What listeners say about The Small Intricate Life of Gerald C. Potter

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    3

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Class Act

Very very enjoyable. Ian Carmichael and Charlotte Mitchell in perfect harmony. Can’t recommend highly enough.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite radio comedy!

What a treat to hear once more the brilliant Ian Carmichael as Gerald C Potter. All six of this very entertaining series here which will bear listening to over again

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A really enjoyable series

I hadn’t come across this series before. It was a change from listening to Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter Wimsey and other upper-crust clots.

The only drawback is scenes fade out before they’ve finished properly, sometimes mid sentence, but that may have been the way they were originally broadcast.

It’s such a shame that there were no more episodes made.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A delight

Always enjoy anything with Ian Carmichael and it’s a delight to be able to listen to these again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Dreadfully upper middle class domestic sitcom

while it’s always a pleasure to hear Ian Carmichael, this is a typical 1970s upper middle class domestic sitcom. Every other word is darling. Weak comedy. I only bought this because I have heard it before on BBC Radio four, and I can listen to it with my brain switched off. Dated gender attitudes and stereotypes.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Rubbish

Struggled to finish... So boring... Not funny at all.....
Only got to half way to second chapter....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful