Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Literature & Fiction

Welcome to the world of Ed Reardon, writer and liver of life at the cutting edge—well, above The Cutting Edge, in a one-bedroom flat over a hairdresser's in Berkhamsted that he shares with his his trusty feline companion, Elgar. Divorced, impoverished and embittered, he spends his time penny-pinching, freeloading and ranting at the modern world and the 'moronic 12-year-olds' who run the media.

Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!'. Milton Jones is a man who can help anyone, anywhere—whether they need it or not. Because, in his own words, there's ''no problem too problemy''. When you're close to the edge, then Milton can give you a push.

Well-meaning do-gooder Clare Barker is back, and dealing with more office politics, troublesome clients and domestic dramas. Secretly regarding herself as a cross between Mother Theresa and Wonder Woman, she's got all the right jargon for every problem, but never any practical solutions. However, in today's 'Big Society' there are plenty of challenges out there for an involved, caring social worker (or even Clare). These six series find her struggling once again to control both her professional and private life.

Anthony Trollope's series of witty, gently satirical stories of provincial life are set in the fictional town of Barchester and the surrounding county of Barsetshire. With a focus on the lives, loves and tribulations of the local clergy and rural gentry, the canvas is broad and colourful, with a set of iconic characters in whose lives we become intimately involved as they grow up, grow old, and fall in or out of love and friendship across the years.

'Sublimely funny, touching series... a work of supreme craftsmanship' Radio Times 'Peppered with nostalgic 60s hits and especially written for the pair, it's an endearing portrait of exasperation, laced with hard won tolerance - and something like love.' The Guardian 'Treasure this one ... this...

Dubbed 'the father of the English novel' by Sir Walter Scott, Henry Fielding is well known for his ribald humour and ironic, satirical fiction. Collected here are four of his most famous works, including his comic masterpiece Tom Jones, as well as a fascinating documentary exploring the foundling motif in fiction.

Mention Milton Jones to most people and the first thing they think is 'Help!' So he's set out on a mission to help anyone, anywhere—whether they need it or not. Armed with a new motto, 'No problem too problemy', and accompanied by his faithful assistant Anton and landlady Pauline, he sets out to assist people in any way he can.

After being mugged by a pair of pensioners outside the Darby & Joan Club, the Reverend Timothy Carswell has had enough of his rough, tough inner-city parish. Convinced that someone so meek would be better suited somewhere quieter, the Bishop packs him off to a nice, sedate residential neighbourhood where nothing ever seems to happen. However, unbeknownst to the vicar, his apparently respectable new parish is a hotbed of passion, paranormal experimentation and geriatric prostitution.

Immensely popular and hugely influential, the groundbreaking series The Goon Show changed the face of British comedy. Now, for the first time, this box set collection presents the episodes in chronological order as they were scheduled to be broadcast. This volume includes: 'Spon', 'The Junk Affair', 'The Burning Embassy', 'The Great Regent's Park Swim', 'Treasure in Tower' (aka 'The Treasure in the Tower'), 'The Space Age', 'The Missing Battleship', 'The Policy', 'King Solomon's Mines', 'The Stolen Postman', 'The Great British Revolution', 'The Plasticine Man' and more.

Immensely popular and hugely influential, the groundbreaking series The Goon Show changed the face of British comedy. Now, for the first time, this bundle collection presents the episodes in chronological order as they were scheduled to be broadcast. This fifth volume includes: 'The Nasty Affair at the Burami Oasis', 'Drums Along the Mersey', 'The Nadger Plague', 'The Spectre of Tintagel', 'The Sleeping Prince', 'The Great Bank Robbery', 'Personal Narrative', 'The Mystery of the Fake Neddie Seagoons' (a.k.a. 'The Case of the Fake Neddie Seagoons') and more.

Immensely popular and hugely influential, the groundbreaking series The Goon Show changed the face of British comedy. Now, for the first time, this box set collection presents the episodes in chronological order as they were scheduled to be broadcast. This fourth volume includes: 'The Hastings Flyer - Robbed', 'The Mighty Wurlitzer', 'The Raid of the International Christmas Pudding', 'The Tales of Montmartre', 'The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI', 'The House of Teeth', 'The Choking Horror' and more.

The BBC Radio sketch show set in a vast call centre. Smile5 is the mail-order catalogue company that sells anything and everything, from foot spas to fishing insurance, Rolex watches to lawnmowers. And way out of town, miles from anywhere, is its immense call centre, populated by the Headset Set.

Michael Feydeau, alias TV's much-loved Inspector Niblett, and crime expert David Pershore (the best-selling author of A Nice Sit Down with Some Horrific Murders) go on a thrilling journey through the gruesome history of crime, digging deep into the vaults of villainy to exhume dastardly cases of theft, intrigue, deception, fraud, murder, murder and a touch more murder.

Bank clerk Sam Baker spends all day surrounded by other people's money. For four years, he's been hopefully filling out a pools coupon every week and dreaming of a big win - but with no joy. Then one day, Lady Luck finally smiles on him. To his total amazement, he wins half a million pounds - enough to change his life and that of his wife, Annabel. The duo are delighted with their good fortune and head off to London to collect the cheque and celebrate.

Three charming comedy series starring the dear ladies of a musical bent, Dr Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket Meet Hinge and Bracket, the delightful double act brought to sublime life by George Logan and Patrick Fyffe. Lifelong companions and musical collaborators, they enjoy nothing more than...

Best friends George and Charles have been commuting to work together for 15 years. Then, one fateful day, they both find out that they're being laid off. For a while, they keep the news secret and carry on as normal, but eventually they have no choice but to admit the truth. It's time to take action and find alternative employment—but how?

When Bullet Head, Fingers and the other B Block cons meet Prisoners' Aid society members Charles Forbes and George Evans, trouble ensues. Soon, they are embroiled in daring escapades involving an upmarket department store, the Tower of London and the Bank of England.

In this delightfully inventive series of short solo sketches, an eclectic range of unusual individuals find themselves cheerfully engaging in a deeply un-British activity: chatting to a stranger. And in each scenario, the silent recipient of their confidences is the listener themselves. They may be a stranger you thought you knew, a stranger you've just met, or the only stranger in a room full of friends. But whatever the situation, they all want to open their hearts to us - and they're not shy about sharing.

Spoiling someone else's fun can be the most satisfying of all the controlling arts, and Professor Joy Klamp—the queen of migraines—has got passive aggression down to a fine art. And now, she's decided to share her knowledge with the world in this revelatory 10-part course in non-joyment techniques. So join Joy and her Sourpussy Posse and get in touch with your inner spoilsport, experience the fulfilling empowerment of sulkiness, and learn how you, too, can master the universe!

First broadcast in 1953, A Life of Bliss ran for six series and 118 episodes on radio, concluding in 1969 when a TV series was made. Sadly, most are missing from the BBC archive (including the first seven, starring David Tomlinson) - but 19 were rescued and rebroadcast by BBC Radio 4 Extra, and are included here. They chronicle the misadventures of shy, absent-minded bachelor David Bliss, who goes through life with his head in the clouds and his mind in a fog.