Cabin Pressure, The Complete Series 1 cover art

Cabin Pressure, The Complete Series 1

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Cabin Pressure, The Complete Series 1

By: John Finnemore
Narrated by: Stephanie Cole, Roger Allam, Benedict Cumberbatch
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £8.99

Buy Now for £8.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

Anyone looking to let off some steam is bound to find something to love in Cabin Pressure. The combination of snappy repartee and brilliant voice-acting makes this a side-achingly funny experience from start to finish.

Stephanie Cole ("Doc Martin"), Benedict Cumberbatch and Roger Allam ("The Thick Of It") star in the complete first series of the hit sitcom about the pilots of a tiny charter airline for whom no job is too small, but many, many jobs are too difficult. Written by John Finnemore, writer for The News Quiz, and That Mitchell & Webb Sound.

Run by the forbidding divorcée Carolyn Knapp-Shappey (an unfortunate marriage, namewise, but in Carolyn's opinion, marginally better than Carolyn Shappey-Knapp), her two pilots are the smooth, experienced and almost-certainly-fired-by-a-big-airline-for-all-round naughtiness Douglas, and struggling almost-competent pilot and sweaty man Martin. All-round help is provided by Carolyn's near-idiot son, Arthur....

©2008 John Finnemore (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks Ltd Entertainment & Performing Arts Funny Feel-Good Witty British Fiction

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Cabin Pressure: Molokai (Christmas Special 2010) cover art
Cabin Pressure cover art
My First Planet cover art
John Finnemore's Double Acts cover art
Hut 33: The Complete Series 1-3 cover art
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme cover art
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme: The Complete Series 1 cover art
John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme: Series 5 cover art
John Finnemore's Double Acts: Series 2 cover art
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme: The Complete Series 2 cover art
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme: Series 7 cover art
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme: Series 8 cover art
John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme: Series 9 cover art
Welcome to Our Village Please Invade Carefully cover art
A Load of Old Balls cover art
Old Harry’s Game cover art

Critic reviews

"Unexpectedly brilliant." - (Time Out)

"An inspired new sitcom." - (The Observer)

"The more I listen to John Finnemore's Cabin Pressure, the more I think what a stonking masterpiece it is. Perfect in every department." (Philip Pullman)
All stars
Most relevant
John Finnemore is a master at creating personalities and the characters of Cabin Pressure are truly three dimensional.

The casting is genius. Benedict Cumberbatch elicits sympathy with his idealistic but slightly pathetic captain, Roger Allam casts a superior tone as the capable first officer and Stephanie Cole's adds a touch of vulnerability to her school-mistress style "CEO" persona. John Finnemore's own portrayal of of the dim-witted Arthur is always brilliant.

The first season gets off to a great start with Abu Dhabi and the revelation in the series finale Fitton adds real depth to one of the characters.

Cabin Pressure is to be savoured, again and again.

Superb Acting, Sublime Writing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
great actors, nice script, highly recommended for taking on holiday (just remember to warn the person sat next to you on the plane that you are likely to start sniggering!)

wonderful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Cabin pressure is seriously funny, completely unique and the cast are just perfect. John Finnemore is brilliant.

Brilliant!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So funny, so sweet, wonderful characters and very skillful script, absolutely (in the words of Arthur Shappy)...brilliant!

Peerless radio sitcom

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
as Arthur would say, the writing is just brilliant. and I could listen to Roger Allam read out a phone book.

the writing is just brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyed from start to finish. Characters are likeable and the script witty and engaging. A complete and well put together sit-com

Good fun

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Unlike the airline of the story, this is a flying success. Stephanie Cole in comedy roles cannot go wrong for me (e.g. Diana in the TV series Waiting for God) and with strong support from the rest of the 'crew', this results in a very funny listening experience. Would recommend without reservation.

A flying success

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've been signed up to audible for a while and searched for Benedict Cumberbatch and this audio came up.... After downloading it and listening to it i then started the audio again.... it was that good.



All of the characters are brilliant, as Arthur would like to say, funny and really well written.

I honestly didn't know it was a BBC production but fantastic it is.



Thank you for creating it ..... and now we're on the 4th series i was soo excited to download it last week that all I've played is the 4th series of this fantastic show. It honestly helps when you feeling down, bored or any other emotion.... Although some people do stare at you when you're laughing and smiling while listening to it out in public lol.



Highly recommended, you won't regret it.

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
John Finnemore has not only created a wealth of adorable,unlovable characters, but makes you sympathise with all of them. The interaction is plausible and eternally doomed. The nuances are real. Ever caught airline pilots dropping quotes into their talks, or playing games to pass the time. All the characterisation is OTT, but Finnemore himself as Arthur is truly 'Brilliant!'

Study in human failings.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I stumbled on this again after listening to it when it first came out. Great fun!

most enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews