Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf
Rumpole heads to the Home Counties to defend Ben, a teenager accused of sending emails deemed to be sexually harassing, and of an actual physical attack on a girl.

Rumpole and the Right to Privacy
Rumpole leaves the Old Bailey to defend a civil case: an editor of a local newspaper who is accused of breaching a successful businessman’s right to privacy.

Truth Makes All Things Plain
If one man can be counted on to fight injustice and insist on a fair trial for everyone, whatever their circumstances, it is Horace Rumpole. So when the beautiful Tiffany Khan learns that her husband has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism, she calls for his help right away.

The Past Catches up with us All
As he struggles to win justice for his client, Rumpole finds that his marriage to She Who Must Be
Obeyed is, rather like his waistcoat, straining at the seams.

Timothy West stars as Rumpole and Prunella Scales as Hilda, with Matt Smith as Ben, Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Michael Cochrane as ‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard.

As The Jewel in the Crown opens, World War II is at its height and Gandhi is calling for the British to leave. When Daphne Manners arrives in Mayapore, she meets two men who will change her life: Hari Kumar and Ronald Merrick. She begins to fall for Hari, but Ronald Merrick – the local police superintendent – becomes infatuated with her and seethes with hatred for Hari.

The Day of the Scorpion finds Merrick worming his way into the Layton family, and his treatment of Hari Kumar is revealed. In The Towers of Silence, it is summer 1945, and as the war ends Mabel Layton’s companion Barbie Batchelor is forced to leave her home in Pankot. In A Division of the Spoils, Sergeant Guy Perron arrives to witness India’s independence, while the Laytons plan for their future – but the division of the country will spark tragic consequences for many.

The extensive, star-studded cast includes Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House, Motherland), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Doctor Foster), Geraldine James (who also starred in the film of The Jewel in the Crown), Mark Bazeley (Broadchurch), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Kulvinder Ghir (Goodness Gracious Me) and Nina Wadia (Eastenders).

Duration: 9 hours approx.

Robinson Crusoe and his Farther Adventures
An imaginative blend of the famous castaway tale and its lesser-known sequel, this thrilling drama sees Crusoe setting sail for the far north. Facing danger in the Siberian wastes, he keeps terror at bay by telling his companions campfire tales of his many adventures on his beloved island. Starring Tim McInnerney as Crusoe.

Moll Flanders
When Daniel Defoe meets Elizabeth Atkins in Newgate jail, she recounts her stranger-than-fiction story of a rags-to-riches life that took her from prostitution to prosperity – but culminated in destitution. Inspired, Defoe mixes fact and fiction to re-invent her as one of his most engaging characters: Moll Flanders. Starring Ben Miles as Defoe and Jessica Hynes as Elizabeth Atkins.

A Journal of the Plague Year
Writing a fictional journal of the Great Plague of 1665, Defoe soon comes to be haunted by the characters he is conjuring. Starring Ben Miles as Defoe.

This exciting new collection of reinvented tales will also include two bonus programmes about Daniel Defoe himself:

Defoe: Merchant, Writer, Convict, Spy by Philip Palmer – A biographical drama about Defoe’s life, starring Ben Miles as Defoe and Niamh Cusack as his wife Mary.

Defoe: The Facts and Fictions – A documentary by Mark Lawson, exploring the far-reaching influence of the pioneering author.

Rumpole on Trial
Suffering from toothache, Rumpole is in no mood for his client’s boring testimony or Justice Gwent-Evans’ impatience. But when he argues with the judge, he is warned in no uncertain terms about his future conduct. Soon, Rumpole finds himself on trial and facing the end of his career?

Rumpole and Hilda
Rumpole’s long-suffering wife Hilda (‘She Who Must Be Obeyed’) narrates a fascinating tale of murder and romance that Horace would prefer to remain untold, and gives Rumpole – and us – a glimpse of her true, passionate nature.

Rumpole and Memories of Christmas Past
Rumpole spends an unexpectedly rewarding Christmas in Norfolk; discusses the spirit of Christmas with the Mad Monk; and learns that the season of goodwill is shared by barristers and criminals alike.

Rumpole and the New Year’s Resolutions
Rumpole has an interesting encounter with Santa Claus at a Chambers Christmas party, finds himself on babysitting duty after a blackmail trial, and attends a traditional British panto – where he recognises a familiar face.

Starring Julian Rhind-Tutt as Rumpole, Jasmine Hyde as Hilda and Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown.

A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Orphan Jane falls in love with the enigmatic Rochester, but he is concealing a dark secret.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
On the bleak Yorkshire moors, Heathcliff and Cathy’s elemental passion runs wild – but their obsession has devastating consequences.

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë
Determined to make her way in the world, penniless young Agnes Grey becomes a governess.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Gentleman farmer Gilbert Markham is powerfully drawn to Helen Graham, the mysterious resident of Wildfell Hall.

Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
A poignant tale of friendship, romantic entanglements and turbulent times, set in Yorkshire in 1811.

Villette by Charlotte Brontë
Leaving England to teach in Villette, Lucy Snowe experiences the pangs of unrequited love.

The Professor by Charlotte Brontë
As a teacher at a boarding-school in Belgium, William Crimsworth encounters trouble and true love.

Adapted by Rachel Joyce, these radio dramas boast star casts including Ellie Kendrick, Amanda Hale, Tom Burke, Lesley Sharp, Paul Venables, Robert Lonsdale, Anna Maxwell Martin, Ben Batt and Chloe Pirrie.

Also included is a one-hour bonus programme featuring Rachel Joyce in conversation with producer Tracey Neale.

Duration: 14 hours 40 mins approx.

Named for Spike’s explanation of his sense of humour – ‘I’m Irish – we think sideways’ – this BBC radio anthology, published to celebrate the centenary of his birth, provides unique insight into his genius.

Spike Milligan: Inside Out sees Milligan admirer Michael Palin and Spike’s daughter, Jane, chat through some of Spike’s many audio recordings. Also included in this compilation is a wealth of archive material, much of it from 2012’s The Spike Show: Milligan Remembered, presented by Spike’s agent and friend Norma Farnes.

In Milligan Chota Sahib, Spike recalls the excitement of his early life in India. Denis Norden pays tribute to his friend in Vivat Milligna: A Twenty-One Goon Salute, while In the Psychiatrist’s Chair: Spike Milligan finds Spike telling Professor Anthony Clare about the profound impact of shellshock on his mental health.

Plus, we hear Spike’s favourite Goon Show episode, Fear of Wages, some magical poems and Spike Milligan: The Serious Poet, an award-winning documentary in which Spike’s three daughters discuss how their father’s serious poetry reflected his life and personality.

Winner of the 2019 Audie Award for Science Fiction.

Forty years on from the first ever radio series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent and friends return in six brand new episodes, in which they are thrown back into the Whole General Mish Mash in a rattling adventure involving Viking Gods and Irish Confidence Tricksters, with our first glimpse of Eccentrica Gallumbits and a brief but memorable moment with The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast Of Traal.

Starring John Lloyd as The Book, with Simon Jones as Arthur, Geoff McGivern as Ford Prefect, Mark Wing-Davey as Zaphod Beeblebrox, Sandra Dickinson and Susan Sheridan as Trillian, Jim Broadbent as Marvin the Paranoid Android and Jane Horrocks as Fenchurch, the cast also includes Samantha Béart, Toby Longworth, Andy Secombe, Ed Byrne, Lenny Henry, Philip Pope, Mitch Benn, Jon Culshaw and Professor Stephen Hawking.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2018, the series is written and directed by Dirk Maggs and based on And Another Thing? by Eoin Colfer with additional unpublished material by Douglas Adams. This edition also includes over 50 minutes of unbroadcast bonus material.

Listeners are reminded that the relaxed attitude to danger provided by Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses is no substitute for running around, screaming.

Duration: 3 hours 35 minutes

This second treasury of rare archive material is spearheaded by four newly-restored radio episodes of Hancock’s Half Hour, all from 1956: ‘The New Secretary’, ‘Anna and the King of Siam’, ‘The Stolen Petrol’ and ‘The Expresso Bar’. Starring alongside Tony Hancock are Sid James, Bill Kerr, Hattie Jacques and Kenneth Williams.

A number of fascinating extracts from the long-running 1950s variety show Calling All Forces feature Hancock performing alongside Charlie Chester and others, whilst the famous Budgerigar Sketch – with Hancock as the eponymous bird – is featured here from 1958’s Christmas Night With the Stars on BBC TV.

In What Happened to Hancock? from 1971, Philip Oakes reflects upon the complex personality of his friend, and elicits personal recollections from those who knew him, including Ralph Reader, Beryl Vertue, Sylvia Sims, Sid James, Duncan Wood, Michael Wale, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Heroes for a Time, from 1978, considers Hancock’s legacy ten years after his death, with contributions from Lyn Took, Barry Took, Arthur Askey and Billy Marsh. Freddie Ross Hancock recollects life as Tony’s second wife in a Woman’s Hour interview from 1979.

Barry Cryer introduces Six Characters in Search of an Answer: Tony Hancock from 2003 and examines the man behind the character, with the help of Galton & Simpson, Dennis Main Wilson and Richard Briers. Finally, in two editions of The Essay from 2015, Simon Heffer examines and compares the careers of both Tony Hancock and his stalwart co-star Sid James.

A bonus PDF booklet looks at each item in the context of Hancock’s broadcasting career, with insights into how many of these lost or rare items were discovered.

Marking the legacy of one of our greatest comedy entertainers, this collection is a must for fans of Tony Hancock and Hancock’s Half Hour.

Approx. 5 hours.

Rumpole and the Man of God
It is 1959, and Rumpole must defend a clergyman accused of shoplifting who, although he clearly did not commit the crime, is curiously reluctant to be cross-examined under oath. Meanwhile, Hilda (she who must be obeyed) has big news?

Rumpole and the Explosive Evidence
Rumpole defends a well-known safe blower and exposes the underhand behaviour of one Dirty Dickerson, a senior police officer who is quite prepared to tamper with evidence.

Rumpole and the Gentle Art of Blackmail
In 1964 Rumpole returns to Oxford, where he studied law, to defend a young gardener who is accused of blackmailing the Master of St Joseph’s College. Their friendship had provoked rumours of homosexuality – still illegal in those days – and the Master says he has been threatened with a public accusation.

Rumpole and the Expert Witness
Rumpole is asked to defend a GP, Dr Ned Dacre, who is accused of murdering his wife, Sally. The plot thickens when the local pathologist turns out to have history with Dr Ned?

Durations: 3 hours approx.