Showing results by narrator "Margaret Cabourn-Smith" in All Categories

Former Bake Off host, passionate animal lover and comedian Sue Perkins, is our indispensable guide to the animal kingdom. Join her on a comical, insightful and, at times, shocking nature trail around the world. In this mad-cap adventure, she introduces us to the amazing, surprising and hysterical truth about all creatures great and small. From the African lungfish to the kangaroo, get ready for an irreverent, funny and often furry journey of discovery.

Following on from her examination of the weird and wonderful animal kingdom, this second season of Earpedia sees comedian Sue Perkins presenting a series of audio guides to the planet's most useful, bizarre and interesting plants. Join Sue as she explores the truly horrible welwitschia mirabilis, which looks like a gateway into the pit of hell, the stony lithops plant, which resembles a dog's testicles, the technically poisonous cocoa plant, the caveman's discovery of rubber, and how much of the Venus flytrap's diet is actually flies.

Vita set her jaw and nodded at New York City in greeting, as a boxer greets an opponent before a fight. Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather Jack has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious con man with Mafia connections. Seeing Jack's spirit is broken, Vita is desperate to make him happy again, so she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home.

Between 1954 and 1959, BBC Radio recorded 102 episodes of the hugely popular comedy classic, Hancock's Half Hour. The first modern sitcom, Hancock's Half Hour made stars of Tony Hancock, Sid James and Kenneth Williams, and launched Ray Galton and Alan Simpson as one of the most successful comedy-writing partnerships in history. Sadly, 22 episodes of the show went missing from the BBC archives, and have not been heard since their original transmission nearly 60 years ago - until Radio 4 lovingly recreated them over four highly-acclaimed series between 2014 and 2020.

John Finnemore, writer and star of Cabin Pressure and John Finnemore's Double Acts, returns for a sixth series of his hugely acclaimed Souvenir Programme, which won him Radio Broadcaster of the Year at the 2016 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. Expect sketches! Expect songs! They're what made up the previous five series, so it seems a pretty safe bet that that's what will be in this series as well. And, well, since you ask him for some tall tales...

John Finnemore presents the eighth series of his multi-award-winning Souvenir Programme. John Finnemore, creator and star of Cabin Pressure and John Finnemore’s Double Acts, is back with series 8 of his highly acclaimed radio sketch show, winner of the Academy Silver Award, a Broadcasting Press Guild award and two BBC Audio Drama awards. 

The Secret World is an impressions show with a difference – it shines a light on the imaginary alternative lives of famous folk. Each episode takes place over one day, with stories unfolding and overlapping from morning to night. In these 22 episodes, we hear about the bizarre habits of celebrities from Lady Gaga to Keith Harris and Orville. Al Pacino reveals his alternative life as a balloon twister, Barack Obama becomes a Pearly King; Professor Brian Cox finds himself stalked by various women, including the Queen.

Set at Tilford Road Police Station, Nick and co. must attempt to fathom who killed the man with the missing head, tackle a full-on student protest, and solve something akin to that bank heist at the start of The Dark Knight. The second series of this critically-acclaimed comedy sees Detective Sergeant Nick Mohammed discovering a forgery ring, testifying in court and on the trail of a fugitive.

Carol, Sarah, Samira and Mac were best friends at university. They were the bright young things who had the world on a string and shining futures ahead. Now, as they find themselves tipping into their 30-something lives of work, relationships and responsibilities, they meet up for a big reunion night out, ready to recapture their shared past.

In these riotous revisionist plays, The Penny Dreadfuls present alternative takes on three icons, ably assisted by guests including Miles Jupp, Mark Heap, Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Amanda Abbington and Sylvester McCoy. In The Penny Dreadful’s Present: Le Carré on Spying, we follow David Cornwell’s (Le Carré’s real name) desperate efforts to uncover the latest mole in the secret service. John F Kennedy's official visit to Berlin looms, and the pressure is on to get to the truth. 

In the complete third series of the multiaward-winning show, from the makers of Cabin Pressure and Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive, Marcus Brigstocke examines different facets of life by being put in charge of them. Each week he starts out by thinking, Well, it can’t be that difficult, surely and ends up with, Oh, turns out it’s utterly difficult and complicated. Who knew...?

In the complete second hit series from the people who brought you Cabin Pressure and Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, stand-up comedian Marcus Brigstocke has been put in charge of a thing! Each week, Marcus finds he’s volunteered to be in charge of a big old thing - the European Union, Social Media, the banking system, the farming industry - and each week he starts out by thinking “Well, it can’t be that difficult, surely?” and ends up with "Oh - turns out it’s utterly difficult and complicated. Who knew...?".

It's 1972 and Vince Cosmos is all the rage. He's the enigmatic Glam Rock star who sings about being an alien and whose followers worship him. Poppy Munday is the secretary of his fan club - Sunderland chapter - and all her dreams are about to come truewhen she finds herself drwan into the strange orbit of the Seventies' most fabulous star. But what if Vince Cosmos really is an alien? One engaged in a secret battle with aliens already on Earth?

The Penny Dreadfuls examine the life of Guy Fawkes, undertake a satirical version of the French Revolution and turn their comic eye towards Hereward the Wake. The Penny Dreadfuls - Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck - are a comedy trio who specialise in retelling historical events in their own, inimitable way. In these riotous revisionist plays, they present alternative takes on three famous tales, ably assisted by guests including Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Marek Larwood, Justin Edwards, Miles Jupp, Richard E Grant, and Sally Hawkins.

Comedian Marcus Brigstocke presents a two-part special focussing on the great British press. In the first episode, he plunges headfirst into the contents of the great British newspaper and comes up smelling of Daily Mail. Plus he reveals the headline of the year that you'll never get to read.... In the second episode, there's sex, scandal and saucy secrets on offer as Marcus examines how the great British press combine the difficult jobs of both selling newspapers and ruining peoples' lives.

Comedy trio The Penny Dreadfuls recount the story of the much-maligned Macbeth, revisit Odysseus’ epic journey and reveal the truth behind Darwin’s famous voyage. The Penny Dreadfuls - Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck - are a comedy trio who specialise in retelling historical events in their own, inimitable way. In these riotous revisionist plays, they present alternative takes on three famous tales, ably assisted by guests including Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Lolly Adefope, Robert Webb and Susan Calman.

Even the longest marriages have their secrets...Jack Chalmers is a man of few words, married to a woman of many. He and Bet have been together for 70 years - almost a lifetime - and happily so, for the most part. All Jack and Bet want is to enjoy the time they have left together, in the flat they have tried to make their home. Their son Tommy has other ideas: he wants them to live somewhere with round-the-clock care, hot meals, activities. Bet thinks they can manage just fine.

WARNING: some listeners may find this content offensive. Welcome to Bigipedia - the omniscient friend you know from your computer and laser watch takes over for 30 minutes in a unique experiment in broadwebcasting. Bigipedia - a world of knowledge at your fingertips brought direct to your ears unless you're listening online, in which case it's been brought from your ears back to your fingertips and thence, into your ears again.

Welcome to Bigipedia - the omniscient friend you know from your computer and laser watch takes over your PC for 30 minutes in a unique experiment in broadwebcasting.... This is the complete first and second series. Launched on an unsuspecting public, Bigipedia is a massive mash-up of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Wikipedia, MySpace, Yahoo and Amazon, all vying for your attention, love, money and occasionally vital organs. Sponsored by Chianti, the world’s worst-ever beverage with its series of ever more off-putting straplines (“Chianti - legally, wine”).

The Headset Set is an audience sketch show set in the world of a call centre called Smile5, a company that sells anything and everything.