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Stephen Fry, Daniel Rigby and Tamsin Greig star in all three series of the poignant BBC Radio 4 comedy drama.

Warhorses of Letters is the world’s finest and best-loved equine, military, epistolary romance, comprising the newly discovered love letters between two horses united by passion but cruelly divided by conflict.

Set against the sweeping backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, these 12 episodes introduce us to Copenhagen, the Duke of Wellington’s frisky young racehorse, and his hero, Marengo, the seasoned, famous and just-a-little-bit-short mount of Emperor Napoleon.

From the early days of the Peninsular Campaign to the Battle of Waterloo and its aftermath, we follow our horse heroes as their romance blossoms, their fortunes fluctuate and uncertainty and jealousy put strains on their burgeoning relationship. Can they ever be truly together, or are they doomed to remain sundered by fate?

Written by Robert Hudson and Marie Phillips, this moving, surreal comedy stars Stephen Fry as Marengo and Daniel Rigby as Copenhagen, with Tamsin Greig as the narrator. Totally unique and utterly entertaining, it will appeal to all lovers of horses, history and humour.

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Looking back on his youth in 1912, writer Gregory Dawson remembers how he arrived in the town of Bruddersford.

He was orphaned, lonely and burning with unfulfilled ambition…

JB Priestley’s nostalgic novel, first published in 1946.

Starring David Hargreaves.

Dramatised in six parts by Eric Pringle

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Eight gripping BBC Radio dramas from acclaimed writer and director Simon Bovey

Cold Blood
This chilling serial follows a group of scientists conducting research in Antarctica. Once the most pristine environment in the world, this icy wilderness has become gold rush country. Biotechnology companies have raced to unravel the secrets of life in a cold climate, drawn by the lure of lightning in a bottle. Now someone’s captured it – and a killer is on the loose…
Broadcast in five episodes: Freezerville, Cold Cold Heart, The Changing Man, Sanctuary No More and The Antarctican.

The Voice of God
Investigating a series of mysterious Australian earthquakes, seismologist Sam Rideout and her outback guide, Joshua, make a sinister discovery when they track the tremors to their epicentre inside an old British nuclear test site. Joshua is Aboriginal, and Maralinga is a sacred place to his people. But it also happens to be a top-secret facility, researching a sonic super-weapon that could lead to global catastrophe…
Broadcast in five episodes: Fields of Thunder, Silent Roar, Dreamtime Is Over, Blowback and Can You Hear This.

Slipstream
It’s 1945, and the Allies are on course to win the war. But then an unidentified Nazi aircraft appears: silver, disc-shaped and capable of astonishing speed. When it shoots down 150 RAF bombers, Major Barton and his British Commando unit are sent on a dangerous mission to investigate…
Broadcast in five episodes: Into the Wolf’s Lair, The Eagle’s Nest, The Tomorrow World, This Island Earth and Fight for the Future.

Hive Mind
A dystopian eco-drama set in a world where honeybees are officially extinct. Their role now falls to an army of seasonal migrant workers, hired by farmers like Sam Clark to pollinate crops by hand. It’s a costly, labour-intensive process, so when a new technological solution is developed in the form of tiny artificial ‘bees’, Sam jumps at the chance to try it. But the arrival of the Honeybots proves anything but ideal…

The Iceman
London 1860. When three women are found murdered the only clue DI Burdett has is a trace of ice found in the victims’ throats – a clue that leads him into very deep water indeed.

Sargasso
Elver season on the river Severn – a time of mystery and danger. The wrong time and place for a young man to be searching for his place in the world.

Mountain of Light
London, 1851. The world’s largest diamond is on show at the Great Exhibition. And John Rayverne must find a way to steal it to save the people he loves.

Franklin
In 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Harriet Glickman, a high school teacher in California, writes to Charles M Schulz, creator of the USA’s most widely published comic strip ‘Peanuts’, about the possible inclusion of a ‘black character’ in the strip. Although what she suggests appeals to Schultz, he also finds it morally troubling. Based on a true story.

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Dramatized by Nick Stafford from Sebastian Faulks’s powerful bestselling novel, set before and during the First World War.

On a single morning 85 years ago during World War I, the British army lost 20,000 men dead and 40,000 wounded or missing.

In 1910, England’s Stephen Wraysford, a junior executive in a textile firm, is sent by his company to northern France. There he falls for Isabelle Azaire, a young and beautiful wife of the factory owner. Six years later, Stephen is back in France, as a British officer fighting in the trenches. Facing death, embittered by isolation, he steels himself against thoughts of love. He experiences the horrors of trench warfare both above ground but also beneath it as he accompanies miners deep underground as they attempt both to plant enormous mines beneath the fortifications of their enemy and deter the latter’s reciprocal efforts.

Episode 1 – France, 1910 – Englishman Stephen Wraysford arrives in Amiens to study textiles. He is fascinated by his host’s beautiful wife.

Episode 2 – France, 1916 – Isabelle has left and Stephen finds himself immersed in one of the bloodiest wars of the twentieth century.

Episode 3 – With very few of his original platoon left, Stephen Wraysford revisits his old haunts in France, now torn apart by the First World War.

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BBC adaptations of three works by Herman Melville, plus bonus biographical programmes about his life and work.

Born in 1819, Herman Melville spent his early twenties at sea. He wrote four successful novels based on his experiences, but his subsequent fiction failed to sell, and he spent the rest of his life in literary obscurity. It was not until 100 years after his birth that his works were rediscovered, and Moby-Dick is now recognised as one of the great American novels. Adapted for BBC radio, it is included here, alongside dramatisations of Bartleby the Scrivener, Billy Budd, Sailor and two bonus documentaries.

Moby Dick – Now in middle age, Ishmael looks back on his younger self and recalls the voyage that has haunted him for half his life. Setting sail aboard the Pequod, he is caught up in Captain Ahab’s obsessive pursuit of the great white whale – a chase that will end in tragedy. Trevor White and Garrick Hagon star in this compelling dramatisation of Melville’s masterpiece, adapted by award-winning author Stef Penney.

Bartleby the Scrivener – Hired as a copyist in a firm of lawyers, Bartleby is a model employee – until the day he announces that he would ‘prefer not to’ undertake a certain job. Then the list of tasks he’d rather avoid doing becomes longer and more sinister… This famous tale of resistance and alienation stars Ian Holm and Adrian Scarborough.

Billy Budd, Sailor – Press-ganged into service on a Royal Navy warship, handsome young Billy Budd is falsely accused of mutiny by the cruel master-at-arms John Claggart. Outraged by this unfair allegation, Billy lashes out and kills Claggart – only to find himself charged with treason… Paul Scofield, Charles Simpson and Matthew Morgan star in this adaptation of Melville’s final prose work, left unfinished on his death in 1891, published posthumously in 1924 and later adapted into an opera by Benjamin Britten.

The Strange Journey of Herman Melville – With contributions from Melville scholars and critics, this fascinating profile explores the forgotten author of Moby-Dick, who fell out of favour during his lifetime and whose reputation was only re-established after his death.

There She Blows!: The Legacy of Moby Dick – Fraser Harrison traces the origins of Melville’s magnum opus and looks at the contemporary image of the whale as described by poets, musicians and artists.

First published 1851 (Moby-Dick; or, The Whale), 1853 (Bartleby, the Scrivener), 1924 (Billy Budd, Sailor)

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David Sedaris’s remarkable ability to uncover the hilarious absurdity teeming just below the surface of everyday life is surpassed only by his ability to make his stories even more hilarious when he reads them aloud.

David Sedaris achieves something that is very rare these days, incredibly funny stories, no vulgar language, mostly self deprecating, surreal at times, always entertaining.

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James Hamilton, newly retired from the Navy decides on a whim to visit the country of Dorada
in South America. On the flight he meets Hayes Davidson, an American with an unknown agenda.
While out for an evening walk on the beach with Suzy, a new aquantance, he stumbles across a murder victim. Only the police are keen to tell him that it wasn’t murder. James sets about finding out the truth. A very dangerous thing to do.

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Four modern masterpieces that dared to push boundaries and disrupt the status quo

Deviant. Depraved. Dangerous. Denounced for their transgressive themes and inflammatory ideas, these 20th-century classics have all been considered so seditious that they had to be suppressed. Find out what made these iconic works so threatening to governments worldwide in these superlative dramatisations, featuring stellar casts and specially composed music.

Ulysses – Prosecuted for obscenity in the UK and US, James Joyce’s seminal novel tells the combined stories of Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, as they wander through Dublin on one ordinary day: 16th June 1904.

The Well of Loneliness – Radclyffe Hall’s groundbreaking tale of lesbian love was judged as obscene soon after its publication in 1928, and banned in the UK for over 20 years. It centres around Stephen, a baby girl born to well-to-do parents who grows up feeling ‘different’ and knows she will never be attracted to a man. But will she always be an outcast?

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley’s visionary dystopian fable, banned in Ireland and Australia when it first appeared in 1932, portrays a corrupt future society where promiscuity is the norm, eugenics a respectable science and the drug soma is the opiate of the people. Token dissidents Bernard Marx and Helmholtz Watson long to be free – but it is an outsider, John ‘the Savage’, who shows them the true meaning of rebellion.

Nineteen Eighty-Four – London, chief city of Airstrip One. Big Brother stares out from every poster, the Thought Police uncover every act of betrayal. When Ministry of Truth employee Winston Smith finds love with Julia, the duo begin to question the Party – but for enemies of the state, Room 101 awaits… George Orwell’s classic tale, banned in the Soviet Union until 1988 and still one of the most-challenged books in the USA today.

The star-studded casts of these dramatisations include Andrew Scott, Henry Goodman, Niamh Cusack, Stephen Rea, Valerie Edmond, Amanda Root, Justin Salinger, John Coy, Milton Lopes, Christopher Eccleston, Pippa Nixon and Tim Pigott-Smith.

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Political journalist Jonathan Pie gets a radio phone-in show and as his personal and professional worlds collide we see why he’s so incredibly angry about absolutely everything.

The BBC – Jonathan Pie (Tom Walker) is roped in last minute to host BBC radio’s most popular phone-in show. Basically there’s no one else available. Out of his depth and up to his neck in it, Pie manages to just about hold it together. He muses on the state of the BBC and in one breath is singing its praises and in the next he tears into it with his usual gusto.

Money – It’s Pie’s last night as guest host of the BBC’s flagship radio phone-in show. Pie is worried about money as he faces a moral and financial dilemma. He hijacks the show and uses the platform to air his frank views on the privately educated elite. He causes quite a stir, much to Roger’s (Pie’s boss’s) delight. Jules’s day however is about to get a lot worse.

Brexit – Much to Pie’s horror it has been decided that the opening show should be about Brexit. Pie has, quite frankly had it up to the back teeth with Brexit. He has a go at callers from both sides of the debate but Jules suspects something fishy and confronts Pie about his voting history. This does not go down well! Gauntlet thrown down, Pie takes to the airwaves to deliver an epic rant about Brexit that will end them all. He sincerely hopes.

Race – After a night of riots in Sam’s home town, Pie makes a stupid remark and Sam takes umbrage. Pie takes to the airwaves to prove his non-racist credentials, but ends up looking like a slice of Gammon on the side of the road. Sam and Pie make up and soon Jules is thinking that she herself might be a bit racist because she didn’t like a film that Sam likes. It’s all gets a bit silly really.

Online – Pie’s agent advises him to get on social media to help him garner a younger fanbase. Out of his comfort zone, Pie soon gains a troll…the mysterious Mr “O”. Who could that be? Meanwhile Roger asks Sam to help him clean up his work laptop because it’s full of evidence of Roger’s “extra-curricular activities”. The revelations about Roger are matched by what the team finds out about Jules. Probably too much information all round.

Women – When Roger warns Pie that he must widen his demographic, Pie decides to dedicate an entire show to “women’s issues”. Pie’s combative and contrary style does not suit the topic and Pie is taught a lesson or two by the female callers. Jules also gets involved by threatening Pie with quite serious bodily harm if he doesn’t shut his “rancid instant-coffee stinking mouth”. Pie is dismayed as he never touches instant coffee.

Comedy – When Pie says a very bad word in a meeting he is asked to apologise. Instead of doing just that however, he decides that it was “just a joke” and that he is a victim of cancel culture. He then hijacks the entire show to discuss the state of free speech in comedy. When Jules and Roger both implore him to apologise he is enraged even further. Can Jules persuade him to stop being a tit in time for him to save his job?

Drugs – Pie is doing a phone-in show about drugs policy in the UK, a subject he knows absolutely nothing about. He enlists the help of Sam to guide him through the country’s drug culture. When Pie’s narcissistic coke-fuelled agent pops in, things take a turn for the bizarre and he ends the evening knowing a lot more about drugs than he did at the start.

NHS – It’s Pie’s birthday and he’s really rather depressed about it. Until that is Roger shows up with egg on his face. Literally. The show’s topic is the state of the NHS but Pie seems obsessed with old age and death. When he is forced to reflect on his experiences of lockdown we discover that he had a more miserable time than most. Later he finally gets the chance to interview a junior health minister. Can he step up?

The Environment – Pie is running late with a child in tow. For various reasons, Pie has to juggle fatherly duties whilst hosting a late night phone-in show. The subject for the evening is The Environment. What starts as a rather light-hearted discussion soon descends into an angry an emotional plea for us to stop setting light to things that help us all to breathe. Pie’s sign off at the end of the show contravenes all sorts of broadcasting standards, but he doesn’t seem to care. Will Roger?

General Election Special – Having endured weeks of impossibly restrictive BBC election guidelines, Jonathan Pie is looking forward to election day and an end to all the madness. But first he has to persuade an apathetic Sam that not ‘all parties are the same’ and to actually go out and vote.

The American Dream – US election specials Pie (Tom Walker) is tackling the thorny issue of democracy and is quickly derailed. As he takes his usual balanced (not) approach to the US presidential candidates Jules (Lucy Pearman) dangles a juicy carrot. There’s a big gig in the offing; if only he can stop ranting about one of the candidates. Can you guess which one? 

An Abusive Auntie – Frustrated call-show host Jonathan Pie is back along with his trusted team – Pie’s finding the daily grind difficult and the team have all become as disillusioned with the world as he has. The new series kicks off with a discussion about the BBC licence fee, or at least it was supposed to. It soon becomes clear however that Pie must answer for past mistakes.

A Strange Musk – Pie discusses billionaires whilst the team must deal with the fallout from his dodgy tummy. And Sam is showing worrying signs: namely, thinking for himself. With Dermot O’Leary

Arise Sir Roger – Roger has his own reasons for desperately trying to rein Pie in as he gives Britain’s most famous family a right royal kicking.

Great British News – Pie’s on-air nemesis proves to be a seductive presence in the flesh. And Sam shows signs of going over to the dark side. With Nitin Ganatra.

Strictly Moscow – The whole team are shocked when Pie has to defend a past mistake that comes back to haunt him.

Identity Crisis – As the team face the pain and pitfalls of diversity training, Pie’s prejudices are painfully exposed.

Japanese Whisky – Jules and Pie find themselves trapped together with just a bottle of whisky for company. What can go wrong?

So Long, and Thanks for all the Cash – In the final episode, as an illustrious career comes to an end, there are new beginnings for all of the team.

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The ancient northern town of Waft appears in the Doomsday Book: “1 cow, diseased. Don’t bother” and more recently in the Lonely Planet Guide: “Don’t bother”. It’s twinned with a town near Chernobyl and is the perfect place to stop off on the way to Alton Towers to ask the way to Alton Towers – or to just use the toilet.

Tourist Information Centre Manager Warren, a passionate local history nut, is so sick of people just stopping off to spend a penny that he’s taking a Zero Tolerance approach to visitors with his new leaflet “Enjoy the fascinating local area, or get lost”. So tourists are somewhat rare. But local aristocrat on his uppers, Douglas Waft is desperate to swell numbers by any means – opening the Sylvia Plath Guesthouse and Beatrix Potter Tearooms even though neither ever set foot in Waft.

Warren is horrified at Douglas’s distortions of Waft history and hopes that his new highly qualified Tourism Assistant Lucy will draw the crowds honestly. But city-girl Lucy has only taken the job for a quiet life after a breakdown, and is now caught in the crossfire of Warren’s stultifying facts and Douglas’s outrageous fictions!

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