When Elisabeth Sladen first appeared as plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith in the 1973 Doctor Who story The Time Warrior, little did she know the character would become one of the most enduring and fondly remembered of the series’ long history. The years that followed saw Elisabeth traverse time and space alongside classic Doctors Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, while a generation of children crouched behind the sofa, terrified but transfixed as their tea-time heroine found herself menaced by Daleks, dinosaurs, Cybermen, Egyptian mummies, extras in Bubble Wrap and even the Loch Ness Monster. By the time she quit the TARDIS in 1976, making front-page news, Elisabeth had become one of the most familiar faces of a TV golden age.
This warm and witty autobiography, completed only months before Elisabeth died in April 2011, tells her remarkable story, from humble beginnings in post-war Liverpool, through an acclaimed theatrical career working alongside stage luminaries such as Alan Ayckbourn, to Coronation Street, Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, and the furthest reaches of the Universe. A unique insider’s view of the world’s longest running science fiction series, and of British television yesterday and today, Elisabeth’s memoir is funny, ridiculous, insightful and entertaining and a fitting tribute to a woman who will be sadly missed by millions.
When Elisabeth Sladen first appeared as plucky journalist Sarah Jane Smith in the 1973 Doctor Who story The Time Warrior, little did she know the character would become one of the…
Stephen Fry presents this intriguing programme charting the history of knowledge, how technology changes our relationship with it, and how we know what we know.Knowledge. The Google generation thinks it doesn’t need to carry much of it around in its head any more. Much has already been written about the internet changing the way we think and learn. But is knowledge less valuable than it used to be?This absorbing programme explores the concept of ‘knowledge’, drawing on a variety of diverse sources: quiz games, psychology, education, news, trivia shows, satellite navigation and comedy. Featuring cab drivers, philosophers, memory champions and members of the Brains Trust, it looks at topics including cultural relativism, language learning and prodigious feats of memory. Plus, it attempts to answer such questions as: what constitutes useful knowledge in an era when we can find anything very quickly?; why has 'useless knowledge' gained in currency?; and, if Typhoo put the tea in Britain, should we take the piss out of epistemology?’Packed with interviews, debates and a feast of archive clips from the past three decades, this is an enlightening and entertaining overview of the world of knowledge, both general and specific.
Stephen Fry presents this intriguing programme charting the history of knowledge, how technology changes our relationship with it, and how we know what we know.Knowledge. The…
When the TARDIS is buffeted by ‘time slippage’, the Doctor experiences a terrible vision of the end of everything. Tracking the source of the disruption, he takes Rory and Amy to what appears to be an English public school in the 1950s.
But as the friends are about to discover, there are some very unusual things about Darkstar Academy. For a start the prefects carry guns, and then there is the strange forcefield that surrounds the perimeter. Not to mention the foot-long, crab-like creatures with spiny, armoured bodies...
When the Doctor learns the truth about the Academy, he also discovers that the whole place is in terrible danger. But with a swarm of carnivorous creatures on the loose, what can he, Amy and Rory do to help prevent a terrible disaster?
When the TARDIS is buffeted by ‘time slippage’, the Doctor experiences a terrible vision of the end of everything. Tracking the source of the disruption, he takes Rory and Amy to…
Thrown off course by a howling storm, the TARDIS lands in a bleak, desolate stretch of countryside. The Doctor deduces that it has arrived in Hampshire in the 192s and, sniffing the air, he smells a distinct odour of sulphur - indicating that a spaceship has crashed in the area. While Rory goes to fetch an umbrella, Amy and the Doctor brave the rain to find the stricken craft. It is huge, shiny, silvery-blue - and completely empty. A set of footprints leads to a cosy-looking, old-fashioned cottage: but the house, too, is deserted. However, the Doctor and Amy can distinctly hear people talking - and one of the voices sounds like Rory's. How could he be in the cottage when he was last seen heading back to the TARDIS? Where are the residents of the empty house? And what has happened to the inhabitants of the spaceship?
Thrown off course by a howling storm, the TARDIS lands in a bleak, desolate stretch of countryside. The Doctor deduces that it has arrived in Hampshire in the 192s and, sniffing…
On some days, New York is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. This was one of the other days... Melody Malone, owner and sole employee of the Angel Detective Agency, has an unexpected caller. It's movie star Rock Railton, and he thinks someone is out to kill him. When he mentions the 'kiss of the Angel', she takes the case. Angels are Melody's business... At the press party for Railton's latest movie, studio owner Max Kliener invites Melody to the film set of their next blockbuster. He's obviously spotted her potential, and Melody is flattered when Kliener asks her to become a star. But the cost of fame, she'll soon discover, is greater than anyone could possibly imagine. Will Melody be able to escape Kliener's dastardly plan - before the Angels take Manhattan?
On some days, New York is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. This was one of the other days... Melody Malone, owner and sole employee of the Angel Detective Agency, has an…
Madame Vastra, the fabled Lizard Woman of Paternoster Row, knew death in many shapes and forms. But perhaps one of the most bizarre of these was death by snow... On a cold day in December, two young boys, tired of sweeping snow from the workhouse yard, decide to build a snowman - and are confronted with a strange and grisly mystery. In horrified fascination, they watch as their snowman begins to bleed... The search for answers to this impossible event will plunge Harry into the most hazardous - and exhilarating - adventure of his life. He will encounter a hideous troll. He will dine with a mysterious parlour maid. And he will help the Great Detective, Madame Vastra, save the world from the terrifying Devil in the Smoke.
Madame Vastra, the fabled Lizard Woman of Paternoster Row, knew death in many shapes and forms. But perhaps one of the most bizarre of these was death by snow... On a cold day in…
When Yasmin finds a jewelled egg in her grandfather's shed, her first thought is to sell it. Unfortunately, the object is no valuable Faberge antique, but a dangerous weapon from another planet. Worse still, the buyer she finds online is a Russian secret agent working for the Committee for Extraterrestrial Research, who promptly swipes it, kills her brother Sayed and lands her in hospital.
When Sgt Andy Davidson realises that he's not dealing with an ordinary double shooting, he calls Gwen Cooper, who breaks the bad news about the egg and its deadly contents. With no Torchwood to help, and Gwen in America, it's up to Andy and Yasmin to follow the trail of the 'Shiva virus' - all the way from Cardiff to the British Museum...
When Yasmin finds a jewelled egg in her grandfather's shed, her first thought is to sell it. Unfortunately, the object is no valuable Faberge antique, but a dangerous weapon from…
Washington D.C., post-Miracle. The city has been hit by a spate of very unusual serial killings. The victims are different ages and genders and the locations vary, but each body has one thing in common -- it has been reduced to a dried-up, dessicated husk. Special Agent Lucas Avery has dealt with some tricky puzzles in his time, but this is stranger than anything he has ever encountered. His one lead is a pair of names: "Gwen" and "Rhys"... For Gwen Cooper and Rhys Williams, still recovering from the recent, traumatic events that shook the world, life is about to get difficult and dangerous again. For it's not just Homeland Security on their trail, but something else -- something alien, terrifying, and deadly...
Washington D.C., post-Miracle. The city has been hit by a spate of very unusual serial killings. The victims are different ages and genders and the locations vary, but each body…
The second series of Richard Herring's Objective pokes and prods a variety of controversial objects and see if the controversy falls out. Through vox pops, interviews and stand-up comedy, Richard examines the objects' history, meaning and significance and challenges our assumed logic and stereotypes. Can we reclaim these objects away from their unfortunate associations? In these four episodes, he trains his beady eye on 'The Golliwog', 'The Wheelchair', 'Page 3' and 'The Old School Tie'. Produced by Tilusha Ghelani.
The second series of Richard Herring's Objective pokes and prods a variety of controversial objects and see if the controversy falls out. Through vox pops, interviews and…
An archaeological dig in 1936 unearths relics of another time... And - as the Doctor, Amy and Rory realise - another place. Another planet. But if Enola Porter, noted adventuress, has really found evidence of an alien civilization, how come she isn't famous? Added to that, since Amy's been travelling with him for a while, why does she think the Doctor is from Mars? As the ancient spaceship reactivates, the Doctor discovers that nothing and no-one can be trusted. The things that seem most real could actually be literal fabrications - and very deadly indeed. Who can the Doctor believe when no one is what they seem? And how can he defeat an enemy who can bend matter itself?
An archaeological dig in 1936 unearths relics of another time... And - as the Doctor, Amy and Rory realise - another place. Another planet. But if Enola Porter, noted adventuress,…
In the far future, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack find a world on which fiction has been outlawed. A world where it's a crime to tell stories, a crime to lie, a crime to hope, and a crime to dream.
But now somebody is challenging the status quo. A pirate TV station urges people to fight back. And the Doctor wants to help until he sees how easily dreams can turn into nightmares.
With one of his companions stalked by shadows and the other committed to an asylum, the Doctor is forced to admit that fiction can be dangerous after all. Though perhaps it is not as deadly as the truth.
Read by Camille Coduri, this is a gripping adventure featuring the Ninth Doctor as played by Christopher Eccleston, together with Rose and Captain Jack as played by Billie Piper and John Barrowman in the hit series from BBC Television.
In the far future, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack find a world on which fiction has been outlawed. A world where it's a crime to tell stories, a crime to lie, a crime to hope,…
England 1924: the Doctor and Rose find themselves caught up in the hunt for a murderer. With faceless killers closing in, can they solve the mystery of the Clockwise Man before London itself is destroyed? This is the first of a new series of hardcovers featuring the new Doctor Who from the new TV series.
England 1924: the Doctor and Rose find themselves caught up in the hunt for a murderer. With faceless killers closing in, can they solve the mystery of the Clockwise Man before…
When Oscar Lupe appears 20,000 feet up in the air, his body is frozen solid and free-falling to earth. It shatters on impact. Soon after, a CIA Special Activities Division squad goes rogue with a cargo marked "Torchwood" that they’ve been escorting from somewhere called Cardiff. The Agency puts Rex Matheson on the case. As the strange deaths pile up, Rex realizes there must be experimental tech out there, but someone is obstructing him at every turn. Rex is the CIA’s golden boy—but has he met his match in the evasive Mr. Wynter?
When Oscar Lupe appears 20,000 feet up in the air, his body is frozen solid and free-falling to earth. It shatters on impact. Soon after, a CIA Special Activities Division squad…
Cardiff Bay. The government has ordered the excavation of the wreckage of a secret underground base. DCI Tom Cutler is watching from a distance, fascinated by the process. There are people in his dreams. People he feels he should know.
The disbanded Torchwood Institute spent a century accumulating non-terrestrial artefacts and catching aliens. Who knows what – or who – might still be intact down there. But by the time they find the first body, Suzie Costello is long gone.
Cardiff Bay. The government has ordered the excavation of the wreckage of a secret underground base. DCI Tom Cutler is watching from a distance, fascinated by the process. There…
A multi-voice reading of this gripping Torchwood adventure - a prequel to Torchwood: Miracle Day.
Gwen and Rhys are on the run. Rhys was hoping this meant a windswept cottage on a cliff top, but he's had to settle for a miserable caravan in the isolated village of Rawbone. With the locals taking an unhealthy interest in their daughter, Gwen and Rhys start to realise that something is very wrong.
As they uncover the village's terrible past, Gwen discovers that Torchwood will never leave her behind, and now she and Rhys stand alone in defence of the Earth. And the children of Rawbone can only bring her closer to the secret forces that want her out of the way.
Clare Corbett, Kai Owen, Katherine Fenton, Joe Jameson, Carole Boyd, Michael Stevens and Susie Riddell are the readers of this thrilling multi-voice narration. Based on the hit series created by Russell T. Davies, First Born is a prequel to Torchwood: Miracle Day, starring John Barrowman and Eve Myles as Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper, with Kai Owen as Rhys Williams.
A multi-voice reading of this gripping Torchwood adventure - a prequel to Torchwood: Miracle Day.
Gwen and Rhys are on the run. Rhys was hoping this meant a windswept cottage…
When Lord Woolcroft and his team break open the fabled Tomb of Artemis, sealed for thousands of years, they are astonished by what they find inside... The Doctor and Amy have come to Smyrna in 1929 to investigate a mystery. The Doctor knows something very bad happened there: something caused a lot of people to die and an entire, magnificent Temple to be found and then immediately lost again. But he doesn't know what is picking off the archaeologists one by one, or how it is connected to the terrifying howling in the night. And as he and Amy get closer to the terrible truth behind an ancient evil, he begins to wish he'd never found out.
When Lord Woolcroft and his team break open the fabled Tomb of Artemis, sealed for thousands of years, they are astonished by what they find inside... The Doctor and Amy have come…
Matt Smith reads this exclusive audio story featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond.
Intercepting a distress call, the TARDIS is drawn to a Shinto shrine in medieval Japan, where the Doctor and Amy are met by village elder Shijô Sada. He explains that the ogre-like mannequins surrounding the holy site are harmless guardians, called Otoroshi.
At the heart of the temple is an ancient jade pyramid, so sacred that only the monks may look at it. But the Shogun, the ruler of Japan, wants to possess the pyramid and has ordered seven samurai and a band of soldiers to come to Kokan and seize it.
Whilst the Doctor is tracked by a ninja assassin, Amy discovers what happens to trespassers at the shrine. Soon the secrets of the jade pyramid - and the towering Otoroshi - will be known...
Written specially for audio by Martin Day, The Jade Pyramid is read by Matt Smith, who plays the Doctor in the acclaimed hit series from BBC Television.
Matt Smith reads this exclusive audio story featuring the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond.
Intercepting a distress call, the TARDIS is drawn to a Shinto shrine in medieval Japan,…
Current Puns:
Wliy does our language groan with the weight of puns? What exactly is a pun?
And who, or what, is the Thief of Bad Gags?
Metaphor:
The English language is chock-full of maritime metaphors: cock up, token obock, chip on your shoulder and show a leg. And, with the help of a Greek removals firm, we also find the origin of the word metaphor.
Quotation:
The uses and misuses of quotations are revealed, and there is also a frank confession from a quotation compiler, which we cannot divulge here.
Cliche:
Featuring sick parrots and the cliche crisis that affected the writing of Flaubert, Joyce and Eliot, and helped shape modern language and culture.
Current Puns:
Wliy does our language groan with the weight of puns? What exactly is a pun?
And who, or what, is the Thief of Bad Gags?
Metaphor:
The English language…
Will Thorp reads this suspenseful story about a sentient house, a ravenous beast, and a family in danger.
Tiermann's World: a planet covered in wintry woods and roamed by sabre-toothed tigers and other savage beasts. The Doctor is here to warn Professor Tiermann, his wife, and their son that a terrible danger is on its way.
The Tiermanns live in luxury, in a fantastic, futuristic, fully automated dreamhome, under an impenetrable force shield. But that won't protect them from the Voracious Craw. A huge and hungry alien creature is heading remorselessly towards their home. When it arrives everything will be devoured. Can they get away in time? With the force shield cracking up, and the Dreamhome itself deciding who should or should not leave, things are looking desperate.
Will Thorp reads this suspenseful story about a sentient house, a ravenous beast, and a family in danger.
Tiermann's World: a planet covered in wintry woods and roamed by…
In this BBC Radio adaptation of Peter Ackroyd's spectacular one-man show, Simon Callow portrays both Charles Dickens and many of his best-loved characters, from Mr. Micawber and Bill Sikes to Oliver Twist and Nancy. Readings from his novels interweave with the author's own words and an incisive, compassionate narrative. Dickens' idyllic childhood in Chatham was swapped for his family's penurious existence in London. With his father imprisoned for debt, young Charles was deprived of an education and forced to work in a blacking factory. Such experiences molded him into the fiercely industrious, ambitious writer who would later claim that his characters talked to and touched him. Full of fascinating insight, the play illustrates how Dickens never quite managed to escape the dark shadows cast by his earlier life. Featuring material not included in the radio broadcast, this production is prefaced with an introduction by Callow himself.
In this BBC Radio adaptation of Peter Ackroyd's spectacular one-man show, Simon Callow portrays both Charles Dickens and many of his best-loved characters, from Mr. Micawber and…
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