A BBC Radio Sitcom

Hair in the Gate: The Complete Series 1-3

All three series of the comedy drama set in the chaotic world of arts broadcasting 
 
Featuring comedy A-listers Alistair McGowan, Rebecca Front, Harriet Thorpe and Geoffrey Whitehead, with Kevin Eldon and Felicity Montagu, this hilarious sitcom follows the ramshackle production of highbrow TV review show Arting About. 
 
Over 14 episodes, we eavesdrop behind the scenes and in front of the camera, as the hapless team endeavour to capture the zeitgeist and stay ahead of the cultural curve. From exposing heavy metal band Tanks n&rsquo; Daisies as closet anoraks, to interviewing sizzling Animalistic Impulse star Karen Stone and schmoozing Hollywood royalty at the Cannes Film Festival, they&rsquo;ll do anything to boost the show&rsquo;s ratings &ndash; and their own profiles. But whether they&rsquo;re tangling with a country-and-western legend, delving into lottery corruption or facing an alien incursion, things rarely go according to plan... 
 
Originally broadcast in 1993, the first series of Hair in the Gate aired on Radio 5. After that station&rsquo;s demise, it was rescued and remade for Radio 4, where it ran for two series between 1995 and 1996. Created by award-winning journalist and writer Clive Coleman (Chambers), it&rsquo;s full of brilliant banter and droll dialogue, and will appeal to anyone who loved Drop the Dead Donkey and His Master&rsquo;s Voice. 
 
 
Production credits 
Written by Clive Coleman, with Henry Naylor and Andy Parsons 
Produced by Paul Schlesinger and Jo Clegg 
 
Starring Alistair McGowan, Forbes Masson, Harriet Thorpe, Lorelei King, Geoffrey Whitehead, David Holt, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Kevin Eldon, Felicity Montagu, Rebecca Front, Joanna Monro, Chris Walker, Martin Hyder, Wayne Forester, Neil Conrich and Jonathan Rogers 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 5, 17 September-22 October 1993 (series 1), BBC Radio 4, 3-24 August 1995 (series 2) and 14 November-5 December 1996 (series 3) 
 
&copy; 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A BBC Radio 4 legal comedy drama

Chambers: The Complete Series 1-3

All fourteen episodes of the legal sitcom about a group of barristers who never let justice get in the way of making money 
 
John Fuller-Carp, the Machiavellian head of chambers at Forecourt Buildings, is determined to become a QC and will perform almost any moral contortion to achieve his goal. 
 
When left-wing Ruth Quirke, rumoured to be a High Court judge's daughter, applies to join his chambers, Fuller-Carp's imagination goes into overdrive and promotion seems inevitable. However, his attempts to project a 'New Labour' image cut no ice with Ruth, and the two are soon at each other's throats. Fortunately, his partner Hilary Tripping is much easier to manage (if somewhat ineffectual) and his clerk Vince, though deeply dodgy, is happy to put his criminal contacts and underworld cunning at Fuller-Carp's disposal. 
 
In these three series, he ends up on the wrong side of the law, is embarrassed over animal rights, tries to join the Masons and gets embroiled in a bet with a rival barrister. Meanwhile, Ruth gets a job as a 'Legal Eagle' on breakfast telly, decides to adopt a baby and fakes a family for a client while Fuller-Carp fiddles the books. And when a legal firm invites John, Ruth and Hilary on a team-building outward-bound weekend, disaster ensues... 
 
Clive Coleman's sitcom set in perhaps the country's least spectacular law chambers stars John Bird as John Fuller-Carp, with James Fleet as Hilary Tripping and Lesley Sharp and Sarah Lancashire as Ruth Quirke. Among the guest stars are Peter Serafinowcz, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Rebecca Front. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Clive Coleman 
Produced by Paul Schlesinger 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 April -15 May1996 (Series 1), 11 May-8 June 1998 (Series 2), 9-30 March 1999 (Series 3) 
 
Starring John Bird and Sarah Lancashire 
 
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

All fourteen episodes of the legal sitcom about a group of barristers who never let justice get in the way of making money 
 
John Fuller-Carp, the Machiavellian head of chambers at Forecourt Buildings, is determined to become a QC and will perform almost any moral contortion to achieve his goal. 
 
When left-wing Ruth Quirke, rumoured to be a High Court judge's daughter, applies to join his chambers, Fuller-Carp's imagination goes into overdrive and promotion seems inevitable. However, his attempts to project a 'New Labour' image cut no ice with Ruth, and the two are soon at each other's throats. Fortunately, his partner Hilary Tripping is much easier to manage (if somewhat ineffectual) and his clerk Vince, though deeply dodgy, is happy to put his criminal contacts and underworld cunning at Fuller-Carp's disposal. 
 
In these three series, he ends up on the wrong side of the law, is embarrassed over animal rights, tries to join the Masons and gets embroiled in a bet with a rival barrister. Meanwhile, Ruth gets a job as a 'Legal Eagle' on breakfast telly, decides to adopt a baby and fakes a family for a client while Fuller-Carp fiddles the books. And when a legal firm invites John, Ruth and Hilary on a team-building outward-bound weekend, disaster ensues... 
 
Clive Coleman's sitcom set in perhaps the country's least spectacular law chambers stars John Bird as John Fuller-Carp, with James Fleet as Hilary Tripping and Lesley Sharp and Sarah Lancashire as Ruth Quirke. Among the guest stars are Peter Serafinowcz, Sanjeev Bhaskar and Rebecca Front. 
 
Production credits 
Written by Clive Coleman 
Produced by Paul Schlesinger 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 April -15 May1996 (Series 1), 11 May-8 June 1998 (Series 2), 9-30 March 1999 (Series 3) 
 
Starring John Bird and Sarah Lancashire 
 
©2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2020 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Comedy Greats

A celebration of one hundred years of outstanding comic performers from music hall, radio and television. Researched, compiled and presented by Russell Davies, the collection includes a wide range of personalities, from the Crazy Gang to John Cleese and from Tallulah Bankhead to Victoria Wood.

Clive Coleman

Kris Marshall

Raquel Cassidy

Kenneth Cranham

Judy Parfitt

Full Cast

A BBC Radio Comedy Drama

Kris Marshall stars as a broke forty-something, watching his newly retired parents spend their hard-earned cash…What are cash-strapped 40-somethings like Harry (played by Kris Marshall) supposed to do when they see their cash-rich, equity-released parents spending all their inheritance? It doesn’t help that Harry’s rich brother seems to upstage him at every turn as he tries to make ends meet and support his family. As their father's 65th birthday approaches, and the money starts disappearing, Harry decides to see if he can ‘help’ them to change course…Chortle out loud at this utterly relatable family comedy as Harry’s parents discover a love of online shopping - with all their spending on exercise machines and looking after themselves, his parents seem in better shape than he is! When Harry tries to steer his parents towards charity work instead of spending money, the consequences are farcical. Harry tries to find out if his mum and dad have made a will, tries to avoid a holiday he knows he has to go on and when a water pipe bursts it means Harry and his wife need a place to stay for the night…This laugh out loud series features Kris Marshall (My Family, Love Actually, Death in Paradise) as Harry and also stars Antonia Thomas (Misfits, The Good Doctor, Lovesick).Writer Clive Coleman is an English barrister turned journalist, who worked as the BBC News Legal Correspondent. He’s won the BBC Radio Light Entertainment Contract Writers Award for his screenwriting and wrote the BBC Radio sitcom Chambers, that became a hit TV series. He’s also worked with Alastair McGowan, Dawn French and Richard Bean on show such as Weekending, The News Huddlines, Spitting Image and Dead Ringers. Cast and creditsDirected by Sam HoyleWritten by Clive Coleman Harry - Kris Marshall 
Jo - Raquel Cassidy 
Brian - Kenneth Cranham 
Liz - Judy Parfitt 
Jess - Antonia Thomas 
Amanda/Assistant - Manjeet Mann 
Boguslaw/PAul - Stephen Critchlow 
Pizza Boy/Doctor - Inam MirzaRichard - Chris PavloDavid - Dan StarkeyStuart - Malcolm TierneyMike - Robert LonsdaleJan/Fran - Jill CardoNick - Jonathan TaflerEd/Simon - Gunnar CautheryRadio Correspondent - Clive Coleman First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 17 Nov - 22 Dec 2008©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Clive Coleman

Books by Clive Coleman

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