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

You're not to disturb, annoy or offend. They're walking on a knife edge out there, anything could tilt the balance.' Missing: one junior diplomat and 43 of the British Embassy's most confidential files. The timing is alarmingly significant: with neo-Nazi riots and radical student demonstrations, the threat to Germany's security is all too apparent. Britain's own Alan Turner is sent in, with instructions to tread carefully at all costs. But will he find the missing man and the files before the political situation erupts?

This six-part comedy series was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. Hosted by Stephen Fry, accompanied each week by Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Emma Thompson, and a selection of guests including Phyllida Law, Robert Bathurst, Julia Hills, and Alison Steadman, the show takes the form of a roundtable discussion, interspersed with sketches that veer tangentially from the sublime to the ridiculous.

The RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton en route for New York on her maiden voyage with 2,228 passengers and crew on board. On 14 April, 1912, at twenty minutes before midnight, sailing at almost full speed, she struck an iceberg and sank in just two and a half hours. Over 1500 lives were lost. This is the story of a great tragedy described by the surviving passengers, officers, and crew who were on board that night. Firsthand accounts help to explain why so few of the passengers took to the lifeboats.

Join Kenneth Williams, Hugh Paddick, and Joan Sims as they go beyond Round the Horne. Taking over the mantle of Round the Horne, Stop Messing About carried on the comedy tradition that reunited Kenneth Williams with both Hugh Paddick and Kenneth's Carry On co-star, Joan Sims. These four episodes include such favorites as crusty old judge Sir Inigo Parchmutter, "Crackerjackanory With Mother", more visits to Tolpurgis Hall, as well as a couple who bear a bona fide similarity to Julian and Sandy.

Described by Barry Took as "a kaleidoscope of funny voices, catch phrases, and innuendo, revolving at breakneck speed and with a complete disregard for logic", I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again pre-dated I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue. It showcased the comic talents of Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall, and Bill Oddie.

Simon Mayo hosts a comedic battle between three teams to find out which is the funniest generation. Will the Up and Comers, the Current Crop or the Old Guard be crowned as the Golden Age of Comedy?

A brand-new BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of the evergreen classic novel by Louisa May Alcott.

With their father away in the American Civil War, the March sisters are facing a lean Christmas with their mother. As the years go by, we follow the fortunes of Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy on their journey into womanhood.

In the world of work, there is one place where seniority means nothing, where shoptalk is banned, and where the persecuted minority gather regularly to discuss every subject under the sun: the smoking room.

Gyles Brandreth presents the quiz show with scandal on its mind. Hosted by the least discreet man in Britain, broadcaster and national treasure Gyles Brandreth, Whispers is the panel game that celebrates all things scurrilous and salacious. Running the gauntlet of gossip are two teams of two guests, who test their wits and wit as they try to tell the difference between fact, fiction and outlandish speculation.

The complete first series of the hilarious gardening comedy starring Pam Ayres and Geoffrey Whitehead.

Four more shows from the groundbreaking BBC Radio series. Described by Barry Took as 'A kaleidoscope of funny voices, catch phrase and innuendo revolving at breakneck speed and with a complete disregard for logic', I'm Sorry I'll Read That Again pre-dated I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and showcased the comic talents of Tim Brooke-Taylor, John Cleese, Graeme Garden, David Hatch, Jo Kendall, and Bill Oddie.

Hamish and Dougal, two elderly Scotsmen played by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden, have for many years been a popular feature of the hit BBC Radio 4 comedy show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Now they've got their own series. Regular characters appearing with Hamish and Dougal include Mrs Naughtie, a cleaning lady-cum-housekeeper played by Alison Steadman, and a local laird played by Jeremy Hardy.

Michael Hordern stars as Jeeves with Richard Briers as Bertie in a BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation. Mayhem has broken out at Brinkley Court and there would seem to be a desperate need for Jeeves. But Bertie is fed up with the assumption that he is merely an addendum to his personal attendant. There are more brains in the Wooster household than just Jeeves, you know! Stand back, Bertram Wooster is on the case.

Radio legends Kenneth Williams (Beyond Our Ken, Hancock’s Half Hour) and Ted Ray (Ray’s a Laugh) join forces for this quickfire mix of characters, songs and sketches, first broadcast on Radio 2 in 1974. Accompanied by Quote… Unquote’s Nigel Rees and veteran actress/comedian Miriam Margolyes, they cross their comedy swords and trade playful repartee.

Since 1977, The News Quiz has entertained the nation with its satirical take on contemporary events. In these three series from 2020, hosts Nish Kumar, Angela Barnes and Andy Zaltzman invite a panel of comedians and journalists to find the funny behind the headlines (a tricky task in this difficult year). Regular players including Mark Steel, Lucy Porter, Hugo Rifkind and Kerry Godliman rub shoulders with newer contestants such as Geoff Norcott, Sophie Duker, Sindhu Vee, Jess Fostekew, Daliso Chaponda and Athena Kugblenu.

Wonderful highlights of Kenneth Williams’ career in this classic compilation. For more than 30 years, Kenneth Williams kept the nation in stitches with his outrageous gallery of comic creations and an effortlessly brilliant barrage of repartee and innuendo on radio and television. In Beyond Our Ken and Round the Horne, Kenneth Williams brought us the popular characters of Rambling Syd Rumpo, J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, and Sandy (of Julian & Sandy).

Not long after their mother's death, sisters Maureen and Lesley are packing up their family home. It's a painful duty, with Maureen trying to control the worst of Lesley's projectile lamenting. Then a strange man knocks at the door and introduces himself as David Johnson, a friend of Maureen's neighbour. He'd like to view the house if they are thinking of selling - which Maureen definitely is.

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.)

Originally broadcast on Radio 4 in 2003-4, We’ve Been Here Before is the topical, satirical, historical panel game that aims to show beyond all doubt that there’s nothing new in the news. Hosted by award-winning comedian, broadcaster and Whose Line Is It Anyway? star Clive Anderson, it takes a wry, witty look at long-gone days through a present-day lens, as the panellists battle it out to discover who’s got the best memory for detail when it comes to raking up the past.

Hosted by Mark Nelson, this lively show sees a panel of celebrities competing to share the best, worst and most hilarious anecdotes from their daily lives. Each guest is vying for the audience's vote as they try to convince Mark that their 'good' story is the most joyful, serendipitous or worthy, and their 'bad' story is the most unfortunate, outrageous or unforgivable. To keep them on their toes, they're also faced with some spontaneous surprise questions. Collected here are 39 of the finest episodes from Series 2-14, featuring a fantastic mix of talent from across Scotland and beyond.