Selected Episodes from the Classic BBC Radio Comedy

We’re in Business

Eight episodes from the vintage radio comedy starring Peter Jones and Harry Worth 
 
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service, We’re in Business ran for two series between 1959 and 1960. It starred Peter Jones as dodgy small-time businessman Dudley Grosvenor, who’s always looking to make a fast buck with his crooked schemes – usually at the expense of his hapless sidekick, Harry (Harry Worth). Dudley spends his life lurching from one crisis to another, secure in the belief that “it might never happen" – but when it inevitably does, both men end up in a fix… 
 
Collected here are eight of the surviving episodes from Series 1 and 2, in which Dudley and Harry get involved in various comic misadventures – from being stitched up by Dudley’s devious elderly relative to monkeying around with a stuffed gorilla and attempting to flog off their landlady’s feathered friend… The episodes included are: Dudley’s Granny, Dudley and Harry's Reunion, Changing Rooms, The Gorilla, The Regimental Dinner, The Parrot, The Newspaper Business and Conscience Money. 
 
Written by Peter Jones and a team of comedy writers including the legendary Barry Took and Marty Feldman, these hilarious recordings also star Irene Handl and Dick Emery, with special guests including Beryl Reid, Hugh Paddick, Doris Hare and Wallas Eaton. 
 
NB: Due to the age of these recordings, some episodes contain dated attitudes and language 
 
Production credits 
Written by Peter Jones, George Wadmore, George Evans, Marty Feldman and Barry Took 
Produced by Charles Maxwell 
 
First broadcast on the BBC Home Service on the following dates: 
 
Dudley's Granny June 1959 
Dudley and Harry's Reunion February 1960 
Changing Rooms February 1960 
The Gorilla March 1960 
The Regimental Dinner March 1960 
The Parrot March 1960 
The Newspaper Business May 1960 
Conscience Money May 1960 
 
Cast 
Dudley Grosvenor – Peter Jones 
Harry – Harry Worth 
Granny/Miss Jubilee Boot – Irene Handl 
Lady Crabbe – Beryl Reid 
Sid/Mr Trumpet – Dick Emery 
Parrot – Peter Hawkins 
With Hugh Paddick, Doris Hare, Vivienne Martin, Paddy Edwards, Wallas Eaton, John Graham and Frederick Treves 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.

Ted Walker

Colin Rose

Bernard Cribbins

Norman Rossington

Roland Curram

Harold Goodwin

Christopher Godwin

Full cast

A BBC Radio 4 Sitcom

Bernard Cribbins stars in this classic BBC comedy set in a post-war seaside town Featuring Norman Rossington as Big Jim, listen to these six funny and anarchic tales from those demob days &ldquo;when we was going to build the new Jerusalem &ndash; you know, before the world turned lax and sour&rdquo;. Set on the building site of a seaside town in the1950s, and narrated by comedy legend Bernard Cribbins, this is classic BBC comedy at its best.When Old Ned is finally demobbed, he heads south to the seaside to find work as a builder and joins a special construction team hoping to revive an old town that suffered during the war. This comedy series features a cast of hilarious characters including arch-rivals the Town Hall clerk, Potts, and sanitary inspector, Harold Perkins as well as builders Turps (played by Dr Who actor Sylvester McCoy) and Chick, and the aptly named local vicar, Trev the Rev. As they try (but fail) to make construction progress, they find themselves hurling insults and then onions when things get a little heated&hellip; This story revels in the highs and lows of post-war Britain. It&rsquo;s a charming and funny listen where nostalgia meets cynicism, and the future, whilst seemingly bright and bleak in equal measure, is consistently hilarious.Bernard Cribbins&rsquo;s career spanned over seven decades. He became known in the 1960s for his appearances in such comedy films as Two-Way Stretch and the Carry On series. His other screen roles include Albert Perks in The Railway Children, the barman Felix Forsythe in Alfred Hitchcock&rsquo;s Frenzy and the pretentious hotel guest Mr Hutchinson in the Fawlty Towers episode &lsquo;The Hotel Inspectors&rsquo; and several appearances in Dr Who.Episode List Transport of DelightThe French ConnectionOn the LineUp the PoleBoning Up on HistoryThe Old Dunkirk SpiritCast and creditsWritten by Ted Walker and Colin RoseProduced by Martin FisherNarrator - Bernard Cribbins 
Big Jim - Norman Rossington 
Harold Perkins - Roland Curram 
Old Ned - Harold Goodwin 
Nimrod - David John 
Turps - Sylvester McCoy 
Chick - David BeckettPotts - Christopher Godwin 
The Farmer - Douglas Blackwell 
The Farmer&rsquo;s Daughter/Typist - Karen AscoeMiss Farquhar - Hilary MasonFrench Onion Johnnie - Andre MarannePC Speedworth - Norman MitchellHarry - Steven HarroldMiss James - Carol Hawkins 
Plonker - Stephen Garlick 
Trev the Rev - Ben ArisFortescue - Norman BirdFirst Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 14 Feb-21 Mar 1987&copy;2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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