DR TOM MAY on PLAY FOR TODAY

First broadcast on FAB RADIO INTERNATIONAL at 19:00 on February 23rd 2025.

This week I’m joined by another new voice for the show, DOCTOR TOM MAY from NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY who I was put in touch with because he’s written his PhD thesis all about the BBC’s long running drama series PLAY FOR TODAY which ran throughout the 1970s and well into the early eighties and presented an eclectic mix of so many iconic dramas many of which are still talked about in hushed and awed tones even today.

I was very kindly allowed access to read his thesis, and it really is a fascinating and highly detailed piece of work. DOCTOR TOM MAY has done the kind of astonishingly thorough in-depth research that TV archivists adore, and, luckily for us, he is planning on publishing a book based upon this fascinating topic, which should already have you eagerly anticipating being able to get hold of a copy.

PLAY FOR TODAY was such an iconic and eclectic series, written by perhaps the most well-known writers of that generation, directed by some of the giants of the art, and starring many of the most iconic actors of its time, that we can probably only touch upon it in the most general terms today, but I hope you’ll enjoy our efforts if you stick around for the next hour.

PLEASE NOTE - For Copyright reasons, musical content sometimes has to be removed for the podcast edition. All the spoken word content remains (mostly) as it was in the broadcast version. Hopefully this won't spoil your enjoyment of the show.