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

 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.

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. 

The world of wildlife is full of surprising and magical quirks - and Sue Perkins - comedian, broadcaster and Just a Minute host - is on a mission to discover them all. In this fantastic series, recorded at ZSL London Zoo and the Eden Project, she's joined by a diverse group of comedians and natural history experts for some entertaining sessions of 'Show and Tell'.

Expensive, expansive, fun-filled and frantic, cult classic The Million Pound Radio Show ran for 11 years between 1985 and 1992, and won the 1991 British Comedy Award for Best Radio Comedy. Included here are all five series and six Specials, featuring a feast of quick-fire gags, stinging satire, comic chat and snappy sketches.

Gush is the stunning saga of the bitter rivals Foxwell Cravate and Max Pomeroy whose destinies are tragically intertwined. Set in Durban at the Transworld Oil Conference and packed with the flair, fun and parody of the best TV mini-series of the 90s, this is comedy that will have you laughing out loud.

Featuring Norman Rossington as Big Jim, listen to these six funny and anarchic tales from those demob days “when we was going to build the new Jerusalem – you know, before the world turned lax and sour”. Set on the building site of a seaside town in the1950s, and narrated by comedy legend Bernard Cribbins, this is classic BBC comedy at its best.

This is the complete series of Niall Ashdown and Luke Sorba's (strictly non-autobiographical) hilarious sitcom about two men in their forties who really don't know what to do with themselves. The duo attempt (and mostly fail) to make their mark on the world and prove that they really aren’t as pointless as they feel. Embarking on a series of haphazard adventures covering everything from the human condition to sex, food and some surprising things in-between, they are keen to prove to old school friends they have actually achieved in life.

Double Emmy-nominated actor, comedian and writer Nick Mohammed is well known for his portrayal of Nate in Ted Lasso and his stage and screen performances as his critically-acclaimed alter ego Mr Swallow. For radio, he has written and starred in four fantastic comedy series, collected together in this audio anthology and co-starring Anna Crilly (Lead Balloon) and Colin Hoult (After Life).

Rediscovered and restored by radio enthusiasts, The Radio Circle, it was first broadcast on the BBC Light Programme on the 10th May 1955, just two days before Tony Hancock’s 31st birthday. Tony Hancock had taken an unscheduled trip to Italy, leaving Hancock Half Hour’s producer to ask Harry Secombe to step in to star for the first three episodes of the second series. The fourth episode saw Tony return, and begrudgingly make ‘A Visit To Swansea’, to thank Harry Secombe for stepping in.

Newly graduated from university, Alex Fisher returns home depressed and suffering from existential angst. But when his father encourages him to make himself useful by killing the snails in the garden Alex has an epiphany. Instead of murdering them, he will save them – and soon, he has a whole escargatoire of snails, all named after celebrities, crawling over the carpet, climbing the walls and hanging off the lampshades.

Quando, Quando, Quando is Clapham’s premier hairdressing establishment, where brothers Rene, Carlo and Charlie Quando cleverly clip, chop and crimp their lucky clients into shape. With three floors, 200 pairs of scissors and more mirrors than the Palace of Versailles, it’s truly a cut above – but all is not well at this emporium of excellence...

The Now Show returns with more stand-up, sketches and songs, as Steve Punt, Hugh Dennis and special guests take aim at the latest headlines. Bringing their quips, quick wit and a quiver full of satirical arrows are comedians including Laura Lexx, Ian Smith, Sarah Keyworth, Olga Koch, Janine Harouni, Ahir Shah, Alex Kealy and Helen Bauer.

Senior gardener Alec, his assistant Danny and new boy Jack are employed by the council to cut lawns, prune roses, trim hedges and maintain the municipal parks and gardens. What they actually do is spend their days hanging out in the potting shed, drinking tea and dodging the incessant rain and their short-sighted supervisor, Mr MacIntyre.

Opera Sunderland has a tradition of performing a new work every season - "its umbilical cord to civilisation". However, when managing director Dwight Gaggenheim opts for an unconventional piece, the tempers and egos of a plethora of opera types come bubbling to the surface. This series follows the cast of a staging opera as they put on the new season’s production Carmen.

Janitor Ramsay works at Worthing Court, a once-prestigious block of Edwardian flats in Bloomsbury that has seen better days. He takes pride in keeping the place spick and span, but flirty, feisty Elsie is always distracting him from his duties – and getting him into trouble. While he’s a stickler for the rules, she delights in breaking them, and while he respects authority, she refuses to know her place. In these eight episodes, the odd couple join forces to deal with an MP stuck in a lift, and Elsie takes advantage when she’s given a storeroom and borrows a flat.

When Tony Hardstaff breaks the bank playing ‘Snap!’ at the St Petersburg Casino, he is swept up in a maelstrom of romance and adventure. Seduced by the sultry Natassia Fillipovna Karamazov – a woman with curves so perfect they could make a geometry professor spontaneously combust – Tony is caught in flagrante by the Russian mafia, and flees for his life.

Arty free spirit Trisha returns to her native city of Edinburgh after years of living in London. Although she is coping with the loss of her job and a bruised heart, she arrives at Waverley Station enthusiastic and eager for the next chapter of her life to begin. Meanwhile, Trisha's big sister Clare could not be more different. A non-practising qualified accountant, she has been married for years, has two spoiled teenage children and has probably spent too much time on the school PTA. Together, they decide to open a new café in leafy Bruntsfield

Step into the charming and bewildered world of Siadwel: poet, philosopher, as endearing as he is perplexed. With his signature anorak and National Health Service specs, Siadwel has become a cultural icon, offering his unique and often befuddled perspective on the conundrums of everyday life. The beloved Welsh geek has been tickling audiences’ funny bones for decades, having first appeared on television screens as part of the sketch series Naked Video, which ran from 1986 to 1991. 

When long-serving council leader Roland Whittaker loses his seat to a Monster Raving Loony Party candidate with the same surname and initials, he is both flabbergasted and furious. Young Robin Whittaker (who conducted his entire campaign dressed in a chicken outfit and a Viking helmet) isn’t happy either – he only stood for election as a student prank. Everyone expects him to resign, but he’s persuaded to stick it out, and it’s not long before he’s being proclaimed Mayor (and appointing a very unconventional Mayoress...)

Starring comedian John Fortune, best known for the satirical TV show Bremner, Bird and Fortune, and screen legend Eleanor Bron, Protesting Too Much is written by Sally Phillips and Kate Brooke. A classic comic caper that will have you in stitches.