Showing results by publisher "BBC Audio" in Comedy & Humor

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.

A stunning collection of Just William stories, narrated by Martin Jarvis. These BBC radio readings of the adventures of William have come to be some of the most loved adaptations.

After a lifetime spent in public relations, one-woman dynamo Agatha Raisin struggles to adapt to life in a quiet country village - but she soon finds that there is murder and mayhem aplenty to keep her busy. Among the cases she has to deal with are a poisoned quiche; a vet who has been ‘put to sleep’; a hanged horticulturist; a murdered rambler and a curate who meets his Maker somewhat sooner than expected.

Welcome to Fawlty Towers, where attentive hotelier Basil Fawlty and his charming wife Sybil will attend to your every need - in your worst nightmare. With hapless waiter Manuel and long-suffering waitress Polly on hand to help, anything could happen during your stay - and probably will. John Cleese’s special introductions to each episode are included in this collection of all 12 TV soundtrack episodes.

It’s the 1980s: business is big, the shoulder pads are bigger and Jimmy Bright is a tycoon on a mission… He’s got big dreams and the only thing standing between him and a millionaire lifestyle is accountant, Russell Farrow, whose attention to financial detail is unsurpassed. The two must rub along if Jimmy’s business, BrightCo, is to succeed but they seem to have very different views on what success looks like.

The complete BBC radio adaptations of Alexander McCall's bestselling series. Inspired by Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City, 44 Scotland Street started life as a serial in The Scotsman. It was a huge hit, and was soon novelised, adapted on stage and dramatised for BBC Radio 4. Collected here are all five radio series, in which we follow the interconnected lives of the residents of adjoining flats in a tenement in Edinburgh's Georgian New Town.

This dramatisation of Jonathan Franzen's acclaimed, epic, award-winning novel revolves around the troubles of an elderly Midwestern couple and their three adult children, tracing their lives from the mid-20th century to 'one last Christmas' together near the turn of the millennium. A family saga, that sits against the backdrop of this century's changing face of America, the novel was published 10 days before 9/11 but is widely considered an observation of what happened to the American psyche after 9/11. 

The complete BBC Radio collection bringing together two full-cast dramatisations of Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently novels. In Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Dirk Gently has an unshakable belief in the interconnectedness of all things, but his Holistic Detective Agency mainly succeeds in tracking down missing cats for old ladies. Then Dirk stumbles upon an old friend behaving bizarrely - and he's drawn into a four-billion-year-old mystery that must be solved if the human race is to avoid immediate extinction....

Nothing escaped the eye of the satirical eye of Britain's phenomenally successful all-Asian sketch show that was Goodness Gracious Me. The complete BBC Radio series 1-3 fore-ran the award-winning BBC TV series that ran in the late 1990s, and features the same cast. Prepare for your heart to pound in the Indian recreation of Brief Encounter, sing along to the profound words of wisdom with Fifty Ways to Leave your Mother, and enjoy pop classics such as Hindi People and Punjabi Girl.

Stephanie Cole, Benedict Cumberbatch, Roger Allam and John Finnemore star in the hit sitcom about the tiny charter airline for whom no job is too small, but many, many jobs are too difficult. In this festive special, it's Christmas morning on board MJN Air, so get dressed, you merry gentlemen!...

Events manager Rosie Burns is used to coping with the unexpected, at work and at home. When her daughter, Kate, accidentally became a teenage mum, Rosie stepped in, raising her granddaughter, Jo, so that Kate could pursue her career in international banking. Now Jo works in the family firm alongside accountant Bob (who's nursing an unrequited love for Rosie) and Tess (whose love life never ceases to amaze). Things are ticking along nicely, until Rosie gets a phone call out of the blue - after 15 years working abroad, Kate's lost her job and is coming home....

A master of Russian realism, Anton Chekhov is renowned for his meticulously observed plays and short stories exploring the human condition, in all its joys and sorrows. Included here are six of his best-known dramas, as well as Michael Frayn's adaptation of Wild Honey, drawn from an early, untitled Chekhov play; and one documentary exploring Chekhov's life and work. 

John Fuller-Carp, the Machiavellian head of chambers at Forecourt Buildings, is determined to become a QC and will perform almost any moral contortion to achieve his goal. When left-wing Ruth Quirke, rumoured to be a High Court judge's daughter, applies to join his chambers, Fuller-Carp's imagination goes into overdrive and promotion seems inevitable. However, his attempts to project a 'New Labour' image cut no ice with Ruth, and the two are soon at each other's throats. 

All 13 episodes of the classic role-reversal comedy starring Leslie Phillips and Jill Bennett. It's not easy being chauffeur to your ex-wife. Especially when she's wealthy and you're broke.... Leslie Duggan was once a high-flying property tycoon - but then came the 1980s property crash, which wiped out his business and left him broke. Down on his luck and desperate to earn a living, he takes a job chauffeuring his wealthy ex-wife, Caroline, who owns a successful mail order company and is very much on the up.

Meet Surbiton’s most famous residents: Tom, Barbara, Margo and Jerry. It is Tom Good's 40th birthday, and he feels thoroughly unfulfilled. If only he can discover what 'It' is, and if he can, will his wife Barbara agree to do 'It' with him? The subsequent and sudden transformation of the Goods’ home into a smallholding causes consternation for Margo and Jerry next door, and they decide it’s their duty to interfere. So begins The Good Life, the much loved classic sitcom starring Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith.

When her 13-year-old twins head off to boarding school, Felicity Willow decides it's time to reconnect with her husband, Paul. The years of childcare have taken their toll on the marriage and Felicity dives headfirst into trying to re-ignite that spark of love. Paul, somewhat bewildered by his wife's endeavours, gamely plays along with her efforts. Hilarity ensues as Felicity devotes all her energies into the new project but as it turns out, recapturing romantic bliss isn't as easy as it sounds, and poor Felicity feels thwarted at every turn.

Alexei Sayle’s two favourite things are pretending and places that sell sandwiches, and in his hit BBC radio series he mixes both to hilarious effect. As he welcomes made-up customers to buy notional snacks, he dispenses outlandish monologues, fantastical flights of fancy and a bumper helping of hilarity.

A unique collection of 12 full-cast BBC Radio productions of plays by Alan Bennett. The titles are: 40 Years On, A Visit from Miss Prothero, Say Something Happened, Kafka's Dick, Two in Torquay, The Madness of George III, The History Boys, An Englishman Abroad, A Question of Attribution, The Lady in the Van, Cocktail Sticks and The Last of the Sun.

Maddox is an old-school journalist struggling to keep up with new technology. He fears the art of finding stories is being forgotten and is not about to let that happen. His online editor Freddy, however, will happily regurgitate a press release and call it a story. But they have a grudging respect for each other, as Freddy helps Maddox stay afloat in the world of Twitter, Facebook and podcasting and Maddox shows Freddy how to land a real scoop.

All four series of the Eastern bloc embassy sitcom starring Dinsdale Landen. Set in a British embassy somewhere in Russia as the Cold War draws to a close, this entertaining sitcom follows Her Majesty's Ambassador Mr Mackenzie as he navigates the idiosyncrasies of life behind the Iron Curtain. Together with his first secretary, William Frost, and personal assistant Helen Waterson, he manages matters ranging from dissidents to diplomatic dinners, all while maintaining his urbane, unflappable demeanour.