Mr. Pottermack’s Oversight is a forensic detective drama based on Freeman’s 1930 inverted mystery featuring his celebrated sleuth Dr. Thorndyke.

The narrative centers on Mr. Pottermack, whose outwardly comfortable life is upended by a blackmailer’s threats. As events spiral from crime to cover‑up and scientific detection, the meticulous Dr. Thorndyke’s forensic acumen ultimately drives the investigation forward.

Cast (BBC Saturday Night Theatre, 14 September 1963) Anthony Nicholls as Dr. Thorndyke; Will Leighton as Polton; Peter Coke as Mr. Pottermack; Roger Snowdon as Lewson; Joan Matheson as Alice Bellard; Harold Reese as Gallett; Margaret Wolfit as Mrs. Gadby; William Fox as Superintendent Miller; Philip Guard as Auctioneer; Lewis Stringer as Crick; James Thomason as Coroner; John Boxer as Inspector Barnaby; Denys Hawthorne as Dr. McAlarney; other parts played by members of the BBC Drama Repertory Company; Viola Tunnard as Pianist.

A “careless” mistake… or the perfect crime?

In Hercule Poirot's "First American Adventure," Agatha Christie's famous Detective is drawn into a case where appearances deceive and small details matter most. As suspicion shifts and motives emerge, Poirot’s famous “little grey cells” must uncover the truth hiding in plain sight.

Featuring immersive sound design and classic, cozy mystery atmosphere, this episode is ideal for fans of vintage crime, cozy mysteries, and psychological suspense.

The Careless Victim originally aired February 22nd, 1945. 

Starring Harold Huber
Directed by Carl Eastman
Scripts by Martin Stern 

Set against the deceptively glamorous world of high-stakes competitions and public acclaim, First Prize—Death explores how ambition and envy can turn deadly.

When a coveted prize becomes the focal point of intense rivalry, what should be a moment of triumph instead triggers suspicion, betrayal, and ultimately murder. The drama follows the investigation that peels back polished surfaces to reveal grudges, hidden motives, and the personal costs of winning at any price. 

STARRING Mason Adams; Marion Ross; Russell Horton; Bob Dryden.

In this psychological mystery, Frank Ellington inherits the house where his cruel stepmother once tormented him. At his wife’s urging he and his wife move into the old home, but Frank is haunted by memories and begins to suspect that his wife may be acting under his stepmother’s lingering influence. The drama blends suspense, family tension, and unsettling emotional undercurrents typical of the series’ approach to eerie and character-driven storytelling.

Starring Frances Sternhagen; Ralph Bell; Leon Janney.

Written by Fielden Farrington

The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan (broadcast 18 April 1981) is a classic British drama about love, despair and emotional conflict in post-war London, adapted from Rattigan’s celebrated 1952 stage play. 

Cast list:
Isabel Dean as Hester Collyer; Richard Kay as Philip Welch; Judith Harts as Mrs Elton; Jane Knowles as Ann Welch; Manning Wilson as Mr Miller; John Rowe as Sir William Collyer; Michael Byrne as Freddie Page; Basil Moss as Jackie Jackson.

Rare Blood is a BBC Radio 4 drama written by Leigh Jackson, first broadcast as part of the network’s drama strand on Monday 17 August 1981.

The story centers on Kate Fitzwilliam, a woman who has deliberately distanced herself from her privileged English family. Called home for her younger sister Lucy’s wedding, Kate arrives to find Lucy has mysteriously vanished just before the ceremony. As she searches for answers, Kate begins to uncover family secrets and conflicting motives that complicate the disappearance and raise questions about what really happened to her sister.

Cast list for Rare Blood:
Geraldine James as Katherine ‘Kate’ Fitzwilliam; Maureen O’Brien as Judith, Kate’s long-time friend; George Baker as James Bartholomew, Kate’s sister’s fiancé; Sam Dastor as Dr. Kahn; William Nighy as Peter Freeman, a friend of Kate’s sister; Pauline Letts as Kate’s mother; Stephen Murray as Kate’s father; Theresa Streatfeild as Ann, Bartholomew’s secretary and woman at Dr. Kahn’s office; Christopher Scott as taxi driver; John Webb as bookstore assistant and Tanner, a worker at Judith’s house; George Parsons as Jim (voice on radio) and police officer; Margaret Robertson as Ella, Kate’s boss.

The Fatal Flaw is an original radio drama in which a struggling history teacher and second-novelist finds himself drawn into a glamorous but unsettling world after meeting a determined American publisher. The play blends ambition, satire and psychological tension as Bradford’s creative and personal life collide in unexpected ways.

CASTING: Martyn Read as Matthew Bradford; Rosalind Adams as Jennifer Kent; Jill Lidstone as Ellen; Margaret Robertson as Marlene Shapiro; John Samson as Dennis Foster; Ronald Herdman as Ziggy Martin; Steve Hodson as Del Ransome; Alan Dudley as Frank Hegarty / Leo Lehmann; Miranda Forbes as Karen / Jolly Lady; Russell Keith Grant as Barry Kent / Interviewer; Stella Forge as Julie / Lady Shopper; Vanessa Knox-Mawer as Ruth / Traveller; Lewis Rowe as Matt Brand / Doctor; Caroline Wilkins as Nurse / Janet; Stephen Garlick as John Desmond / Matthew.

Call for the Dead is John le Carré’s first published novel and the debut story featuring his iconic British intelligence officer George Smiley.

The plot follows Smiley as he investigates what appears to be the suicide of a civil servant, uncovering deeper conspiracies and personal stakes beneath the surface. The novel has been adapted multiple times for radio by the BBC, most notably in 1977/78 for the World Service and in 2009 as part of BBC Radio 4’s Complete Smiley series, a cycle of dramatizations of le Carré’s Smiley novels.

Cast:
George Cole as George Smiley; Alfred Burke as Inspector Mendel; Douglas Blackwell as Peter Guillam; Richard Hurndall as Maston; Anthony Newlands as Samuel Fennan; Hilda Kriseman as Elsa Fennan; Kenneth Shanley as Assistant Supervisor; Jane Williams as Josie; additional parts played by Frances Jeater, George Innes, James Thomason, Jane Knowles, Malcolm Gerard, Paul Meier, Rod Beacham, Shirley Dixon, and Stephen Greif.

The Investigation of a Murder is a feature-length BBC Radio 4 drama by Eric Saward, first broadcast on Saturday 6 January 1979 as part of the esteemed Saturday Night Theatre strand.

The play explores the methods and human impact of police investigation in a murder case, not just on the officers involved, but also on those casually or coincidentally drawn into the unfolding drama.  Saward’s drama foregrounds modern police procedure and its emotional reverberations, offering listeners both procedural insight and character-driven tension. B
FEATURING Roger Hume as Detective Sergeant Burgess; Terry Molloy as Detective Constable Bailey; Geoffrey Matthews as Detective Superintendent Armstrong; Elizabeth Cassidy as Jenny; Sean Barrett as Malcolm; Ysanne Churchman as Mum; Hilda Schroder as Mrs Marsden; Peggy Ashby as Mrs Meadows; Michael Irwin as Raymond; Leonard Dixon as Doctor; Earl Cameron as Charlie; Arnold Peters as Len Woods; Ralph Lawton as Desk Sergeant; Hedli Niklaus as Radio Operator.

Black Plumes is a mystery/detective drama based on a 1940 novel by famed Golden Age crime writer Margery Allingham.

The story unfolds mainly around the Ivory family, proprietors of an art gallery in London, and centres on a series of sinister events that embroil Frances Ivory and the people around her... including unexpected deaths, secrets from a disastrous trip to Tibet, and suspicion that draws in nearly everyone close to the family.

The BBC Radio adaptation was broadcast as part of the long-running drama strand Saturday Night Theatre on 19 September 1964 on the BBC Home Service. The play was adapted for radio by Felix Felton and Susan Ashman.

CAST: 

• Harjorie Westbury 
• Patrick Barr 
• Duncan McIntyre