Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Arts & Entertainment

Dramatization by Robin Brooks of James Boswell's biography of Samuel Johnson, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Johnson's birth. Episode 1: Young Boswell comes to London to seek out his hero. He wants to write a biography of the great man 'in scenes', with Johnson's conversation cast as dialogue. Nothing quite like this has ever been attempted before

No script, no props and living by their wit—in this side-splitting series, two of the funniest stars of The Comedy Store Players and Whose Line Is It Anyway? join together to create sketches from ideas shouted out by a live studio audience. Making it up as they go along, Josie Lawrence and Jim Sweeney riff on topics ranging from a room full of kittens to something you might find beneath the sofa; from an unexpected moon expedition to a mishap involving a Portaloo; and from an unusual gathering with the neighbours to a meet-cute involving electrolysis.

Just a Minute is the classic game hosted by Sue Perkins where hesitation, deviation and repetition are the enemy. This bundle collection presents both series from 2025 alongside special episodes recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.

A loyal tribute to 10 glorious years from BBC Radio 4's Week Ending team. From the archives of the legendary satirical radio comedy series Week Ending comes this compilation of satirical and sardonic sketches based on Margaret Thatcher's first 10 years as prime minister.

First released on cassette as Ten Years With Maggie, this has now been reissued as a digital download for the first time, on the 30th anniversary of Mrs Thatcher's coming to power.

Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis present a mix of stand-up, sketches, and songs, along with Jon Holmes, Laura Shavin, Mitch Benn, and Marcus Brigstock, in an hour-long download-only special. This compilation features the highlights from the last five years.

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 postfeminist vegetarian artist, a distinguished microbiologist, a TV journalist and an uninvited guest who ends up staying for dinner.

David Dickinson is a household name, the king of the catchphrase, undisputed darling of daytime TV and a rising star. He's a respected antiques expert and exudes a taste for the finer things in life. But the road to his success has not been as smooth as his patter and he's learnt a lot at the school of hard knocks. David was first introduced to showbiz when he travelled the world as the manager of his international cabaret star wife, Lorne.

Tim, Meredith and Harry are three sassy, 30 something traders who, tired of making money for someone else, combine to launch a new hedge fund. But it doesn't take long before they get seriously above themselves, losing a small fortune and making some pretty heavy enemies in the City markets.

A current affairs parody and stupidly feasible visit to the 24-hour Hall Of Opinion Mirrors. Because there are two stories to every story. In the first episode - 'Stalemate' - a new trend in children’s parties and an international humanitarian disaster come under the Agendascope™. Plus - should Britain seek the expert advice of wheelwrights and hubmen? In episode two, 'Timebomb', some exciting new old repeats on your TV, a new use for cardboard and shepherds pie quite literally sweeps the nation. Plus an extraordinary revelation about Kate Bush...

In May 1593, the playwright Christopher Marlowe was killed. Apparently, it was because of an argument over a bill. Michael Butt's innovative drama dons the cloak of documentary to re-examine the unsolved case.

By Peter Souter. Hugh and Bella, are running to the same timetable, the timetable you're on if someone you love has just died, and they keep running into each other. They visit the same undertakers at the same time; Hugh's Mum is cremated immediately after Bella's husband; and they even end up in the same bereavement-counselling group. But Hugh and Bella are dealing with very different types of grief.

This fascinating collection of archive interviews with the renowned actress and MP begins with an archive radio interview in 1970 and runs through to a guest appearance on Desert Island Discs in 1997. Along the way, Glenda Jackson appears on numerous programmes including Omnibus, Profile, Parkinson, In the Psychiatrist's Chair and Start the Week, during the course of which she discusses her background and early years, women in theatre, and her journey from being a highly successful actress to becoming a member of parliament.

Ouida – the pseudonym of English novelist Maria Louise Ramé – wrote over 40 novels as well as children’s books, short stories and essays. One of the most popular authors of her day, she achieved fame and fortune with her ‘sensation novels’ which scandalised and intrigued Victorian readers, but her extravagant lifestyle resulted in her dying in poverty in 1908. This collection brings together her pioneering novel Moths with two engrossing biographical portraits of Ouida herself.

Time travel, wormholes, a lost security pass and a nice cup of tea. These are the elements that constitute Steve Punt's Theory of Grand Unified Comedy as he presents "Big Bang Day, The Genuine Particle" whirling into existence on BBC Radio 4. Starring Reece Shearsmith and Geoffrey Whitehead, it's a comedy thriller set underground in the Large Hadron Collider and bears the unique property that every bit of physics in it is true. Theoretically at least.

Six men have reached a certain age, their 40-something years, and each has a very different – and sometimes surprising – story to tell, from the brother who receives an unexpected letter to a compulsive philanderer, and a news photographer sent on an unusual assignment. All are funny, touching, and as beautifully observed as would be expected from the author of the phenomenal best sellers Eats, Shoots & Leaves and Talk to the Hand.

Alun Cochrane has a 25 year mortgage which he can only pay off by being funny. In this series he takes us on a room by room, stand up tour of his house. He has a fridge that beeps at him when he doesn't move quickly enough and a fire alarm he can't reach. His relationship with his house is a complicated one. A hoarder of funny and original observations on everyday life, Alun invites us to help him de-clutter his mind and tidy his ideas into one of those bags that you hoover all the air out of and keep under your bed.

The TARDIS travellers discover that the crew of an Earth spaceship have been hijacked by the Sensorites, and they in turn are transported to the aliens' planet. Humans and Sensorites alike are stricken by a deadly illness, for which the Doctor struggles to find a cure.

The TARDIS lands in 22nd-century Africa in the shadow of a dormant volcano. Agricultural teams are growing new foodstuffs in the baking soil to help feed the world's starving millions ¿ but the Doctor and Rose detect an alien signal somewhere close by. When a nightmare force starts surging along the dark volcanic tunnels, the Doctor realises an ancient trap has been sprung. But who was it meant for? And what is the secret of the eerie statues that stand at the heart of the volcano?

World War I saw an unprecedented loss of life in Western Europe, and destruction on a scale no one alive had ever seen. All those who experienced it were irrevocably changed, including many writers and artists upon whose oeuvre it left an indelible mark. This captivating series examines the impact of the war on artists and thinkers through the prism of their great works. In each episode, a leading figure from the worlds of science, culture and the arts reflects on a single iconic piece, and discusses how the events of 1914-18 shaped its creation.

Stephen King is one of the world's most successful authors, with a long list of hit novels to his name including Carrie, Misery, The Shining and Doctor Sleep. Here he discusses his life, his writing career and his many achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archives.