15 BBC Radio 4 original full-cast dramas

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

A gripping collection of fifteen BBC Radio full-cast dramas written by Bert Coules, inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories.

A joy from beginning to end ... ingenious extensions of the Conan Doyle originals

A gripping collection of fifteen BBC Radio full-cast dramas written by Bert Coules, inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories. 
 
In the fifty-six short stories and four novels Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about his great detective, how many times did Dr John Watson tantalise us with references to cases which were never written about in full? These original adventures flesh out those unrecorded cases to wonderful effect. 
 
Clive Merrison plays the great sleuth hiimself, with Andrew Sachs in the role of Doctor Watson. The star casts include Tom Baker, Jane Asher, Tim West, Toyah Willcox, Lindsay Duncan and Mark Gatiss. 
 
The stories in this collection are: 
 
The Madness of Colonel Warburton 
The Star of the Adelphi 
The Saviour of Cripplegate Square 
The Singular Inheritance of Miss Gloria Watson 
The Abergavenny Murder 
The Shameful Betrayal of Miss Emily Smith 
The Tragedy of Hanbury Street 
The Determined Client 
The Striking Success of Miss Franny Blossom 
Thirteen Watches 
Peculiar Persecution of Mr John Vincent Harden 
The Ferrers Documents 
The Remarkable Performance of Mr Frederick Merridew 
The Eyes of Horus 
The Marlbourne Point Mystery 
 
'A joy from beginning to end ... ingenious extensions of the Conan Doyle originals' - Daily Telegraph

BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Sherlock Holmes: His Last Bow

Clive Merrison stars as the enduringly popular sleuth with Michael Williams as Watson in this collection of stories from the unique, fully dramatised BBC Radio 4 canon.

Clive Merrison stars as the enduringly popular sleuth with Michael Williams as Watson in this collection of stories from the unique, fully dramatised BBC Radio 4 canon. In these eight intriguing tales, Holmes and Watson solve cases that range from the suspicious to the downright strange. They encounter mysteries as diverse as vanishing staff, secret plans and eccentric lodgers as Holmes is struck down by a rare tropical disease and, later, lured away from retirement to help his country on the eve of war. The dramatised stories are "Wisteria Lodge", "The Cardboard Box", "The Red Circle", "The Bruce Partington Plans", "The Dying Detective", "The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax", "The Devil's Foot" and "His Last Bow". Gripping, suspenseful and hugely entertaining, these acclaimed dramatisations bring the world of Holmes and Watson to life, and are guaranteed to appeal to any fan of the great detective. Duration: 6 hours approx.

Sherlock Holmes: The Four Novels Collection

Clive Merrison and Michael Williams star in four BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisations

Arthur Conan Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 in Edinburgh into a prosperous Irish family. He trained as a doctor, gaining his degree from Edinburgh University in 1881. He worked as a surgeon on a whaling boat and also as a medical officer on a steamer travelling between Liverpool and West Africa. He then settled in Portsmouth on the English south coast and divided his time between medicine and writing. Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in 'A Study of Scarlet', published in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual' in 1887. Its success encouraged Conan Doyle to write more stories involving Holmes but, in 1893, Conan Doyle killed off Holmes, hoping to concentrate on more serious writing. A public outcry later made him resurrect Holmes. In addition, Conan Doyle wrote a number of other novels, including 'The Lost World' and various non-fictional works. These included a pamphlet justifying Britain's involvement in the Boer War, for which he was knighted and histories of the Boer War and World War One, in which his son, brother and two of his nephews were killed. Conan Doyle also twice ran unsuccessfully for parliament. In later life he became very interested in spiritualism. Conan Doyle died of a heart attack on 7 July 1930.

Clive Merrison stars as Holmes with Michael Williams as Watson in these four adventures from the unique, fully dramatised BBC canon of Conan Doyle stories 
 
A Study In Scarlet 
The Sign of the Four 
The Hound of the Baskervilles 
The Valley of Fear 
 
A Study in Scarlet introduces the most famous partnership in fiction, as Watson is drawn into Holmes's investigations following the discovery of a body in a blood-stained room in Brixton. 
 
In The Sign of the Four, a beautiful young woman comes to Holmes with a mystery which is to stretch even his remarkable deductive skills. 
 
The Hound of the Baskervilles finds Holmes and Watson travelling to Dartmoor to investigate the death of Sir Charles Baskerville and protect his heir. Are the Baskervilles being stalked by a satanic hell-hound, or is the creature part of a sinister conspiracy? 
 
In The Valley of Fear, a coded warning sends Holmes and Watson to the country house of the reclusive Jack Douglas. Arriving too late to prevent a tragic death, they must follow a series of bewildering clues to find a murderer who has vanished into thin air... 
 
Brian Blessed, Judi Dench, Donald Sinden, Iain Glen and Ronald Pickup are among the guest cast of these thrilling dramas, adapted by Bert Coules. Duration: 7 hours 50 mins approx.

Seven BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramas

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: Collection 2

Clive Merrison and Andrew Sachs star in seven original BBC Radio 4 full-cast adventures for Holmes and Watson.

Ingenious extension of the Conan Doyle originals...

Bert Coules is an accomplished radio dramatist. He was the head writer on the BBC's unique project to dramatise every one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, and he went on to create The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes based on references to untold stories in Conan Doyle's originals.

Clive Merrison and Andrew Sachs star in seven original BBC Radio 4 full-cast adventures for Holmes and Watson. 
 
How many times did Dr John Watson tantalise us with passing references to a mystery which his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, never wrote about in full? In these original adventures Bert Coules, the chief dramatist of BBC Radio 4’s celebrated Sherlock Holmes canon, has imaginatively fleshed out seven such unrecorded cases. 
 
The Determined Client: Miss Addleton engages Holmes to save her father's good name. 
The Striking Success of Miss Franny Blossom: Holmes investigates a respectable gambling club. 
The Thirteen Watches: Bizarre events on an express train brings a railway baron to Baker Street. 
The Ferrers Documents: A slum landlord and a missing witness figure in a dark tale of hatred and revenge. 
The Remarkable Performance of Mr Frederick Merridew: A night at the music hall ends in tragedy. 
The Eyes of Horus: A priceless Egyptian artefact vanishes from a locked casket in a locked vault. 
The Marlbourne Point Mystery: Holmes and Watson discover death, treachery and betrayal on an isolated coastal headland.

A BBC Radio 4 dramatisation

Early Belt And The Present

A BBC Radio 4 murder mystery set in India in 1709. 'Early Belt and the Present' was originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 6 April 2011.  A young servant, Early Belt, accompanies a group of superstitious English merchants as they transport a vast wagon train of goods to Delhi. The wagon train - known as The Present - is an incentive for the Indian Emperor to grant free trade throughout the land.  As the convoy crawls across India, a merchant is found murdered. Stories quickly spread of a sorceress locked inside an enchanted cabinet somewhere within the convoy. When a second merchant is killed, the rumours turn to hysteria. It falls to Early Belt to solve the mystery...  Starring James Anthony Pearson as Early Belt, David Hayman as John Surman and John Shedden as Dr Hamilton. Also featured amongst the cast are Ralph Riach, Kenny Blyth, Brian Pettifer, Mark McDonnell, Umar Ahmed and Lucy Paterson.

Arthur Conan Doyle

Bert Coules

Clive Merrison

Michael Williams

Brian Blessed

Judi Dench

Andrew Sachs

Robert Glenister

Harriet Walter

Full Cast

A remarkable undertaking... applauding them, and particularly Clive Merrison's Holmes, made my hands sore

60 Full-Cast Dramatisations

Fully-dramatised adaptations of all 60 Sherlock Holmes stories, brought to life with a full cast of actors, sound effects and music 
 
'A remarkable undertaking... applauding them, and particularly Clive Merrison's Holmes, made my hands sore' The Times 
 
Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and his dear friend Dr Watson are among the most enduringly popular fictional characters ever created. Their adventures have been dramatised countless times on radio, TV and film, but until BBC Radio 4 took on the challenge in 1989, no-one had ever attempted to adapt all sixty stories. 
 
Beginning with A Study in Scarlet and concluding with The Hound of the Baskervilles, their epic project took over 8 years to complete - and this landmark collection contains the extraordinary result of their labours. Here is the world's first ever fully-dramatised Sherlock Holmes canon: 56 short stories and 4 novels, all made by the same team of directors, producers, dramatists and leading actors, and packed with the high production qualities of a film or TV drama that set it apart. 
 
Starring one of radio's great double acts, Clive Merrison and Michael Williams, as Holmes and Watson, and with guest stars including Brian Blessed, Judi Dench, Maurice Denham, Andrew Sachs, Peter Davison, Robert Glenister and Harriet Walter, this definitive collection contains over 48 hours of enthralling listening. 
 
Also included is a bonus interview with Adrian Conan Doyle about his father, Sir Arthur, and some fascinating behind-the-scenes revelations from the series' head writer, Bert Coules, about the making of the radio adaptations. 
 
Cast 
Sherlock Holmes - Clive Merrison 
Dr John Watson - Michael Williams 
Mrs Hudson - Anna Cropper/Mary Allen/Joan Matheson/Judi Dench/ 
Inspector Gregson - John Moffatt 
Inspector Lestrade - Donald Gee/Stephen Thorne 
Mary Morstan/Mary Watson - Moir Leslie/Elizabeth Mansfield/Hannah Gordon 
Irene Adler - Sarah Badel 
Inspector Jones - Nigel Carrington 
Colonel Moran - Fraser Kerr/Frederick Treves 
Mycroft Holmes - John Hartley 
Professor Moriarty - Michael Pennington 
 
Production credits 
Written by Arthur Conan Doyle 
Dramatised by Bert Coules with David Ashton, Michael Bakewell, Roger Danes, Robert Forrest, Denys Hawthorne, Gerry Jones, Peter Ling, Vincent McInerney and Peter Mackie 
Produced and directed by Ian Cotterell, David Johnston, Patrick Rayner and Enyd Williams 
Musicians: Alexander Balanescu, Leonard Friedman, Richard Friedman, Michael Haslam, Ian Humphries and Abigail Young 
 
Contents 
A Study in Scarlet 
The Sign of the Four 
The Hound of the Baskervilles 
The Valley of Fear 
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 
A Scandal in Bohemia 
The Red-Headed League 
A Case of Identity 
The Boscombe Valley Mystery 
The Five Orange Pips 
The Man with the Twisted Lip 
The Blue Carbuncle 
The Speckled Band 
The Engineer's Thumb 
The Noble Bachelor 
The Beryl Coronet 
The Copper Beeches 
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes 
Silver Blaze 
The Yellow Face 
The Stockbroker's Clerk 
The Gloria Scott 
The Musgrave Ritual 
The Reigate Squires 
The Crooked Man 
The Resident Patient 
The Greek Interpreter 
The Naval Treaty 
The Final Problem 
The Return of Sherlock Holmes 
The Empty House 
The Norwood Builder 
The Dancing Men 
The Solitary Cyclist 
The Priory School 
Black Peter 
Charles Augustus Milverton 
The Six Napoleons 
The Three Students 
The Golden Pince-Nez 
The Missing Three-Quarter 
The Abbey Grange 
The Second Stain 
His Last Bow 
Wisteria Lodge 
The Cardboard Box 
The Red Circle 
The Bruce-Partington Plans 
The Dying Detective 
The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax 
The Devil's Foot 
His Last Bow 
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes 
The Illustrious Client 
The Blanched Soldier 
The Mazarin Stone 
The Three Gables 
The Sussex Vampire 
The Three Garridebs 
The Problem of Thor Bridge 
The Creeping Man 
The Lion's Mane 
The Veiled Lodger 
Shoscombe Old Place 
The Retired Colourman 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 between November 1989 and March 1995 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Bert Coules

Praise for Sherlock Holmes: The Complete BBC Collection

A remarkable undertaking... applauding them, and particularly Clive Merrison's Holmes, made my hands sore

Books by Bert Coules

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