Showing results by narrator "Philip Jackson" in All Categories

Somewhere on the frontier between thought and reality exists the Discworld, a parallel time and place which might sound and smell very much like our own, but which looks completely different. Collected together for the first time are seven full-cast BBC Radio dramatisations of Terry Pratchett’s novels, with star-studded casts including Martin Jarvis, Sheila Hancock, Anton Lesser, Philip Jackson, Alex Jennings and Mark Heap.

Welcome to Flamford, the town sanity forgot. Edgy, sharp-tongued City burn-out Andy Chambers has been advised, for the sake of his health, to take a break from his stressful London lifestyle and get some rest. So he goes to stay with his estranged uncle, Jeff Whitaker, at his seaside home in Flamford - but, as he soon discovers, living with his relative is far from relaxing.

Inspired by Holinshed's Chronicles, this series of radio dramas about the Plantagenet dynasty tells the story of the birth of a new Europe after the dark ages. The issues of control, freedom, belief and the temptations of power were new to an age which had no template for domination on this scale.

When word reaches 'The Department' - an ailing section of British intelligence - that Soviet missiles are being installed close to the West German border, it seems the perfect opportunity to show Control and Smiley, their rivals over at the Circus, that The Department still has value. Former spy Fred Leiser is lured back from retirement to investigate, and manages to cross the border into East Germany in a dangerous night-time operation.

Author, pipe-smoker, fare-dodger and master of the complaining letter and abusive email, Ed Reardon returns for another four series. Despite many thwarted attempts at literary succes, he's still living a precarious existence with his trusty companion Elgar, reliant on any small morsels of work Ping can offer him to keep body, mind and cat together. He also continues to have regular run-ins with his nemesis, Jaz Milvane—who somehow manages to make money out of mad schemes, while Ed makes nothing—and his love life remains more than a little erratic.

Freeloading freelancer Ed Reardon is back, and still trying to survive in a world where the media seems to be run by idiots and lying charlatans. Success continues to eludes him, but at least he can eke out a living teaching creative writing, condensing modern classics and doing a spot of celebrity ghostwriting.

Author, curmudgeon and master of the complaining letter and the abusive email Ed Reardon is back for a 15th series. Further thoughts on the world from the much loved (if flawed) writer perpetually on the brink of the breadline. Will he take a chance on success, or stay in his cosy, rather fetid rut? Hope springs eternal.

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.

In these globally unprecedented times, Ed is also experiencing new and unusual circumstances. For the first time in 20 years, he's financially independent thanks to the timely arrival of his state pension, and living in a stylish, newly affordable 'capsule urban living unit' (a former office space converted into a flat). He has the luxury of three (organic) meals a day, all the premier catfood Edgar can eat, and even a new car - as well as free time to devote himself to his own long-cherished projects.

Poirot has always hated visiting the dentist, but this time his check-up is painless and soon over. As he leaves Mr Morley's surgery, he observes a woman wearing patent leather shoes with large buckles. She catches one of the buckles on the taxi door and wrenches it off, and as Poirot hands it...

When Squire Fenton Babblewick inherits his uncle's Yorkshire estate, it's the perfect opportunity to realise his utopian dreams. He attempts to become a member of parliament, reform beetroots, win the love of lovely Lucinda, be a musical composer genius and buy a workhouse to turn it into a school. His ever present manservant - August Snipe, the true brains - watches in dismay as his master makes mistake after mistake. A sit-com set in the 18th century.

The prestigious annual story anthology, featuring prize-winning stories by a diverse and exciting array of writers, including Wendell Berry, Alice Hoffman, Dave Eggers, Ling Ma, Lori Ostlund, and Anthony Marra. Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's...

This is the very first Poirot/Hastings story. Set in 1916, we meet Captain Hastings as he is invalided out of the Great War and goes to convalesce at Styles Court, the family home of his great friend, John Cavendish. By an extraordinary coincidence, billeted in the village is a brilliant little retired detective with an egg-shaped head, who made a considerable impression on the Captain when he was in Belgium. Styles is not a happy household and in the blistering summer heat, tensions mount.

Jazz-loving Policeman Charlie Resnick is one of the most popular characters in contemporary crime fiction. This thrilling collection brings together three dramatisations and two original radio stories starring the Nottingham-based detective, all scripted by his creator, award-winning author John Harvey.

Now that their children have left home, George and Carol finally have time for themselves again. Carol's looking forward to it being just the two of them. George, however, thinks the time is right to finally be honest with his wife - and introduces her to his alter ego Georgina....

Ten full-cast dramas featuring some of the best known names in British comedy. In these ten witty, dark and disturbing episodes some of Britain’s best comedians come together to perform simultaneously hilarious and unsettling stories that will have you gripped. Sticky situations on ski slopes...

Crowned ‘the greatest imaginative novelist of our generation’ by EM Forster, DH Lawrence has an undisputed place in England's canon of great authors. In this wide-ranging collection, dramatisations and readings of some of his major works are brought together, exploring themes such as romantic love and sexual desire, individual freedom, class division, war, the beauty of nature and the ugliness of industrialisation.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation starring John Moffatt as the great Belgian detective with Simon Williams and Philip Jackson. Alice Ascher, a poor, elderly shopkeeper, is murdered in Andover. Betty Barnard, a young waitress, is strangled with her own belt at Bexhill-on-Sea. Next comes Carmichael Clarke, collector of Chinese art, clubbed to death in Churston. Only in Doncaster does the pattern vary: the man found stabbed in the Regal Cinema is called George Earsfield.

A superb collection of dramas guaranteed to thrill and entertain from best-selling author Peter Ackroyd. Set in the heart of London, these star-studded adaptations feature parallel investigations into killings across two centuries, black magic, haunted houses, holy ghosts and a stunning performance by Simon Callow as the magnificent Charles Dickens. Novelist, biographer and critic Peter Ackroyd has cemented his place at the heart of the culture and history of London. This fantastic collection is full of vitality from a world-class author and stellar cast.

In these two series, set on selected dates in January 1895 and December 1896, we follow the day-to-day shenanigans of Bridgford station master Joe Braddock and his staff, along with a motley crew of passengers and passers-by. Each episode is a self-contained drama, as well as telling the ongoing story of the crises and challenges tackled by the team, and their rivalries, enmities, friendships and burgeoning romances.