Showing results by narrator "James Bolam" in All Categories

Described by Len Deighton as ‘a classic writer of espionage fiction’, Ted Allbeury based his many acclaimed spy novels on his own real-life experiences. In World War II, he served as an intelligence officer with Special Operations Executive, and subsequently ran agents across the border between East and West Germany during the Cold War. He began writing in his fifties, and went on to pen over 40 bestselling books, five of which are dramatised here alongside three plays specially written for BBC Radio and two bonus documentaries.

Bill and Faith are both divorcees, late in love but new to each other. As they battle to forge a relationship together, they discover that the course of true love doesn’t always run smoothly. In these 31 episodes, they move in together, plan a wedding and deal with the challenges of married life – all the while trying to balance the demands of Bill’s ex-wife, Liza, and her teenage children, Hannah and Joe.

Join us for an exhilarating and immersive adventure through 500 years of history, told entirely in the words of those who were there. With their artless prose and their polished & witty gossip, these are the men and women who have shaped our past. Brought to life by an award-winning all-star cast of 30 celebrated actors, including Charles Dance, Harriet Walter, David Suchet, Maureen Lipman, Timothy West, Jenny Agutter and many more.

Voices from the Past with David Suchet as Lord Nelson writing to his beloved Emma on the eve of Trafalgar, hoping in God that he will live to finish his letter after the Battle, while Harriet Walter as Virginia Woolf hangs about the House of Commons mourning the passing of Edward VIII and the coming of King Albert I. Winston Churchill is captured and imprisoned by the Boers and Jane Austen sells 'Pride & Prejudice' for £110.

One moment Liselotte, the Duchess of Orleans is observing the Prince of Orange consummating his marriage in thick woollen drawers and the next, Harold Nicolson is at the Savoy Grill dining with the Prince of Wales and Mrs Simpson who is, 'bejewelled, eyebrow-plucked, virtuous and wise'. There's a young medical student watching his friend bowing to the crowd as he is hanged on the roof of Horsemonger Lane Gaol.

Then climb aboard and join Oscar Wilde in America amused at the sight of local gun slingers looting the house where outlaw Jesse James had been killed a few days earlier. Meet John Betjeman as he implores the BBC to engage the impoverished Dylan Thomas while Jane Austen demands the return of her unpublished novel. Austen Chamberlain rages at Hitler for sending a wreath emblazoned with the Swastika to be placed at the foot of the Cenotaph.

At Waterloo, women are stripping the corpses of their valuable shoes and stockings yet the Highlanders are left in mass graves with their coarse tartan socks still on. Roy Strong attending a private dinner with the Prime Minister notes that Margaret Thatcher in floaty chiffon is 'the apotheosis of the boss's wife, with the appeal of cosmeticised putty.' Even at the coronation of George IV, Queen Caroline, who is denied entry to the Abbey, is observed looking like 'a blowsy landlady'.

In this exciting adaptation of the novel by H.G. Wells set in 1900, we join the eccentric professor Cavor and the rakish free loading Charles Bedford on their extraordinary journey to the moon in a huge metal sphere resplendent with drape curtains, gentleman’s arm chairs and brass fittings. Once upon the moon’s surface they discover more than they bargained for—within the centre of the moon there is life! Taken prisoner by the calculating Selenites, our heroes and their crew are soon subjected to mind experiments and terror.

Thirteen classic BBC radio episodes starring James Bolam and Rodney Bewes. One of the most popular TV comedies of the 70s, Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? won a best sitcom BAFTA and attracted an audience of millions before being adapted for radio. In these 13 episodes, we catch up with Newcastle lads Bob and Terry as they meet by chance after years apart. Now engaged to Thelma, Bob is having prewedding nerves, while Terry is having trouble adjusting to life after the army.

British detective writer H. R. F. Keating was best known as the creator of Inspector Ghote of the Mumbai CID. He won two Crime Writers’ Association Gold Daggers, and in 1996 was awarded the Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement. Included here are dramatisations of two of his most popular murder mysteries, set in 1930s India and Victorian London, plus a short clip from Radio 4’s Bookshelf featuring the award-winning author.