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Thespian sleuth Charles Paris is his own worst enemy, a louche lush who can resist anything except temptation - especially in the form of women and alcohol. Estranged from his long-suffering wife, Frances, his personal life is shambolic, and as an actor, he's C-list at best. But he does have a talent for solving murders - which is just as well, because wherever he goes, someone seems to drop dead.

Charles Paris - unsuccessful actor, bad husband, and dipsomaniac - is back, and getting into trouble once more. As he tries to woo back his semi-detached wife, Frances, and land a few half-decent roles, he finds himself embroiled in murder and mayhem and forced to turn detective. Luckily, his sleuthing is much better than his acting.

Actor, alcoholic and amateur sleuth Charles Paris returns in another quintet of humorous theatrical thrillers. All Charles asks for is a nice juicy part in a successful play - but wherever he appears on the bill, murder and mystery always play a starring role.

Charles has got a part in a new sitcom. It's been a while since he's done comedy and the world has changed enormously; it's now all single camera and darker subject matters. Maurice is thrilled to see Charles getting in with the cool gang rather than clock-watchers counting their pension pots. Charles counts his lines, hears the offer and says yes please! He's also relieved to have an excuse not to model for Frances, who has taken up painting.

In the final year of the 19th century, Peter Winceworth is toiling away at the letter S for Swansby’s multivolume Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Increasingly uneasy that his colleagues are attempting to corral language and regiment facts, Winceworth feels compelled to assert some sense of individual purpose and artistic freedom, and begins inserting unauthorized, fictitious entries into the dictionary.

Life is good for Charles Paris. He's moved back in with his estranged wife, and has landed a plum stage role as Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. But it can't last. First his attempts to woo Frances fall flat, then the play's director is taken ill with gastric trouble. His replacement, Romanian wunderkind Alex Radelescu, is determined to take the play in a radical new direction—with or without Charles.

August in Edinburgh, and thousands of performers of all stripes have flocked to the Fringe Festival. Among them is Charles Paris filling in at the last minute after a student actress breaks a leg and has to drop out. Showcasing an earnest one-man show in a sea of stand-up comics is a bit of a gamble, but at least he's acting, and with a Charles Paris production, what could possibly go wrong?

Locked down with his semi-detached wife, Frances, Charles has thrown himself into a new career as a handyman, becoming quite the DIY expert. He's developed muscles, stopped smoking and even cut back on the booze. Then his agent, Maurice, offers him the chance to get back on stage - and in a West End play, no less. The star, Justin Grover, asked for him specifically, but Charles has reservations. Grover was cocky enough when they were both young hopefuls; now, he's the star of a massive TV fantasy series, and the play - a verbatim piece set in a monastery - is dire.

Mark Twain (real name Samuel Langhorne Clemens), was one of the foremost writers and humourists to come out of the United States. Hailed by William Faulkner as 'the father of American literature', he is renowned worldwide for his classic novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This wide-ranging collection comprises dramatisations and readings of a host of his much-loved stories, from well-known works to less familiar gems.

In the final year of the nineteenth century, Peter Winceworth is toiling away at the letter S for Swansby’s multivolume Encyclopaedic Dictionary. But his disaffection with his colleagues compels him to assert some individual purpose and artistic freedom, and he begins inserting unauthorized, fictitious entries.

The TARDIS crewmembers have taken a break from their adventures and are enjoying a rest in a luxury villa. But, in the gory grandeur that is Imperial Rome, things don't stay quiet. If the time travellers can save themselves from being sold as slaves, assassinated by classical hit-men, poisoned by the evil Locusta, thrown to the lions, maimed in the arena and drowned in a shipwreck, they still have to face the diabolical might of the mad Emperor Nero. As if that wasn't enough, they also discover that, although Rome wasn't built in a day, it burnt down in considerably less time.

Set during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, where every story promises a 'Thousand Thrills!', Ben, the chivalrous and perky non-descript little man, whose thumbs itch just before ‘something ‘orrible ‘appens’ played by Tony Robinson is joined by Leslie Phillips as the devilish Lovelace in J Jefferson Farjeon’s 1930’s thriller. A hat lost in the English Channel, a dagger buried in a toff’s back and an incriminating letter from an MP entice Ben into the world of arms dealers and smugglers as he battles to save Europe from another World War!

A hilarious comedy show from the 1990s, featuring a famous historical moment retold with a modern twist by outstanding classic comedy performers, including the tales of King Arthur, Queen Victoria, Helen of Troy and King Charles II. Silly and knowing, Crowned Hudds is perfect for fans of Like They've Never Been Gone, Revolting People and The Newly Discovered Casebook of Sherlock Holmes.

Stories by: Desmond Barry, Ken Bruen, Stewart Home, Barry Adamson, Michael Ward, Sylvie Simmons, Daniel Bennett, Cathi Unsworth, Max Décharné, Martyn Waites, Joolz Denby, John Williams, Jerry Sykes, Mark Pilkington, Joe McNally, Patrick McCabe, and Ken Hollings. Cathi Unsworth moved to Ladbroke Grove in 1987 and has stayed there ever since. She began a career in rock writing with Sounds and Melody Maker, before co-editing the arts journal Purr and then Bizarre magazine. Her first novel, The Not Knowing, was published by Serpent’s Tail in 2005.

Using scripts by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens, The Goon Show was recreated with a 'genetic' theme for one night at the Playhouse Theatre in London. Taking part were Andrew Secombe (son of Harry), Jon Glover (as the voices of Spike Milligan), and Jeffrey Holland (taking on the Peter Sellers roles), with announcements by Christopher Timothy (son of original Goon Show announcer, Andrew) and Lance Ellington singing in for his father Ray.

A loyal tribute to 10 glorious years from BBC Radio 4's Week Ending team. From the archives of the legendary satirical radio comedy series Week Ending comes this compilation of satirical and sardonic sketches based on Margaret Thatcher's first 10 years as prime minister.

First released on cassette as Ten Years With Maggie, this has now been reissued as a digital download for the first time, on the 30th anniversary of Mrs Thatcher's coming to power.

Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms provides the first comprehensive account of what was once hailed by a leading American newspaper as the greatest spy story of World War II. This dramatic yet little-known saga, replete with telephone taps, kidnappings, and police surveillance, centres on the furtive escapades of Tyler Kent, a handsome, womanising 28-year-old Ivy League graduate who doubles as a US Embassy code clerk and Soviet agent.

In 1946, the Duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII) and his wife (formerly Wallis Simpson) paid a visit to Britain, hoping to secure a government job for the Duke and a title for the Duchess. During the visit, the Duchess' jewels, worth millions, were stolen. Conspiracy theories abounded. Was it an inside job by the Royal Family, or even an insurance fraud by the Duke and Duchess?

Here is Gary Brown's BBC Radio 4 full-cast comedy dramatisation about artist Eric Gill's clash with the BBC over his famous sculpture of Prospero and Ariel. It stars Anton Lesser as Eric Gill and Tim McInnerny as Sir John Reith, the first Director General of the Corporation, and was originally broadcast in the Afternoon Play slot on Wednesday 9 June 2010.

Inspired by real events, the play charts a clash between the BBC's governors and the artist over the propriety of the sculpture's appearance.

How to Be Strategic is your accessible but comprehensive guide to strategic thinking in any situation. Fred Pelard distils 20 years' experience training executives at all levels from leading companies around the world into a range of smartly illustrated, workable methodologies that will enable you to understand each approach and find your own path to the right solution every time.