A BBC Radio 4 Sketch Comedy

The Million Pound Radio Show: The Complete Series 1-5

Vintage sharp-edged comedy from Andy Hamilton and Nick Revell – including the famous pirate sketch 
 
Expensive, expansive, fun-filled and frantic, cult classic The Million Pound Radio Show ran for 11 years between 1985 and 1992, and won the 1991 British Comedy Award for Best Radio Comedy. Included here are all five series and six Specials, featuring a feast of quick-fire gags, stinging satire, comic chat and snappy sketches. 
 
Get ready to chuckle as Captain Blackskull faces up to his mutinous crew; Snow White runs into a few problems with the Seven Dwarves; 007 makes a few lifestyle changes and a chatty stegosaurus wonders where all the other dinosaurs have disappeared off to. Plus, a determined GP attempts to break the world speed record for examining patients, a mafia Don tries to teach his son-in-law about family business, and a double agent gets confused about whose side he’s really on. 
 
You’ll hear the hilarious history of Ancient Rome, science and the animal kingdom; find out how to become a successful politician and discover some diabolical ways to make money – as well as taking a twisted look at Gardeners’ Question Time, Desert Island Discs and Doctor Who… And there’s much more than just sketches to enjoy – Nick and Andy also poke fun at a host of well-known ‘80s and ‘90s personalities, conduct a host of side-splitting spoof interviews and bowl us over with their lively banter. 
 
Written by and starring Nick Revell and Andy Hamilton, with co-stars including Harry Enfield, Felicity Montagu and Morwenna Banks, this sparkling comedy show won’t make you a millionaire – but it will make you laugh out loud. 
 
NB: Some of the language and humour on this recording reflects the era in which it was first broadcast. 
 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by and starring Andy Hamilton and Nick Revell 
With Amanda Swift, Jasper Jacob, Penelope Nice, Felicity Montagu, Harry Enfield, Morwenna Banks, Lesley Sharp and Nigel Pegram 
Produced by Paul Mayhew-Archer 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 20 July-17 August 1985 (Series 1), 29 August-11 October 1986 (Series 2), 3 October-7 November 1987 (Series 3), 18 March-22 April 1989 (Series 4), 28 December 1989 (Christmas Special), 23 June 1990 (World Cup Special), 27 July-31 August 1991 (Series 5), 9 April 1992 (Election Special), 13 October 1992 (Columbus Special), 1 January 1994 (State of the Nation Special), 11 April 1996 (Millennium Special) 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. ? 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

The Complete BBC Radio comedy

Living with the Enemy

Sitcom written by and starring Nick Revell and Gyles Brandreth who play an alternative comedian-turned-holistic therapist and a Tory MP turned media figure.

All six episodes of the BBC radio comedy about two chalk-and-cheese flatmates 
 
Nick Reynolds is a lefty alternative comedian-turned-holistic therapist. Living on the floor below him is Gyles Brandon, an ex-Tory MP turned media darling. Poles apart, they’d never choose each other as friends, but when Nick accidentally floods Gyles’ apartment, they become reluctant flat-sharers. 
 
Joined by Gyles’ goddaughter Sophie Okuyu, the spoilt daughter of a corrupt African politician, the housemates get into various scrapes, including plotting to seek revenge on Gyles’ ex-wife, trying to curry favour (and make some money) at a swanky Mayfair art gallery, and going on a celebratory night out which swiftly turns to disaster... 
 
Written by and starring Gyles Brandreth as Gyles and Nick Revell as Nick, this Odd Couple story was inspired by a chance meeting between the pair at the Edinburgh Festival, where they hit it off despite being political opposites. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Black Mirror) plays Sophie, and guest stars include Prunella Scales, Timothy West, Martin Jarvis and Neil Pearson. 
 
Cast 
Gyles Brandon – Gyles Brandreth 
Nick Reynolds – Nick Revell 
Sophie Okuyu – Gugu Mbatha-Raw 
George Carstairs – Martin Jarvis 
Taxi driver/Goon – Nathan Caton 
Mr Longstaff/ Richard Dowdeswell/Piers/Brian/Barry – Martin Hyder 
Shop assistant – Alys Torrance 
Mrs Woodman – Prunella Scales 
Mr Woodman – Timothy West 
Charles Danbury – Nickolas Grace 
Jana – Maria McErlane 
Immigration officer/Asif – Dan Mersh 
Olga – Barunka O'Shaughnessy 
Rick – Neil Pearson 
 
Written by Nick Revell and Gyles Brandreth 
Produced by Ed Morrish 
BA: Pamela Norris 
Studio Managers: Alick Hale-Monro &amp; Gary Newman 
Archive BA: Kevin Gordon 
Theme music composed and performed by Ben Walker

A BBC Radio Comedy

The Nick Revell Show

The award-winning 1990s sitcom, written by and starring Nick Revell 
 
Nick Revell plays a slightly stranger version of himself in this surreal comedy – a struggling writer in his mid-thirties who shares his untidy flat with Vince and Alan, a pair of talking geraniums. They, meanwhile, watch on and take stock of his many mishaps and misadventures. 
 
For the beleaguered Nick, even simple tasks like alphabetising his vinyl collection, buying brie and getting rid of Jehovah’s Witnesses are fraught with difficulties – and when it comes to dealing with his imperious agent, Cressida, and his disapproving girlfriend, Caroline, he’s way out of his depth. Fortunately, he can always retreat to the local café run by his friends Shona and Craig – or drown his sorrows at the pub... 
 
In these two series, Nick tries his hand at DIY, quits smoking, heads off on holiday – and acquires a talking Venus flytrap that doesn’t get on with his geraniums. He also finds himself playing surrogate parent when his teenage niece and his oldest rock’n’roll friend come to stay; preparing for the wedding of an old flame (and seething over the way she dumped him); and getting a lucky break with a Hollywood studio. But with his fortunes finally changing for the better, he can’t help asking himself if it’s all going just a little too well... 
 
First broadcast in 1992-3, this offbeat comedy mixes sitcom with a sprinkling of nineties satire – and more than a dollop of the downright odd. Co-starring alongside Nick Revell are a wealth of well-known names, including Doon Mackichan, Alistair McGowan, Stephen Tompkinson and Lesley Sharp. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by and starring Nick Revell 
With Alistair McGowan, Caroline Gruber, Kate McKenzie, Brian Bowles, Brian Johnston, Doon Mackichan, Alison Sterling, Charles McKeown, Gabrielle Cowburn, Mickey Hutton, Susannah Doyle, Lesley Sharp, Joanna Brookes, Elizabeth Bennet, Stephen Tomkinson, Alison Sterling, John Guerrasio 
Produced by Ioan Magnusson 
 
Series 1 
1. Holy Water 
2. Decoration 
3. Headache 
4. Holiday 
5. Cash 
6. Moving 
 
Series 2 
1. Homeless 
2. Visitors 
3. The Wedding 
4. Health and Fitness 
5. The Promised Land 
6. All’s Well That Ends Well…Well, Well, Well 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 25 January 1991 – 1 March 1992 (Series 1) and 3 June – 8 July 1993 (Series 2)

The award-winning 1990s sitcom, written by and starring Nick Revell 
 
Nick Revell plays a slightly stranger version of himself in this surreal comedy – a struggling writer in his mid-thirties who shares his untidy flat with Vince and Alan, a pair of talking geraniums. They, meanwhile, watch on and take stock of his many mishaps and misadventures. 
 
For the beleaguered Nick, even simple tasks like alphabetising his vinyl collection, buying brie and getting rid of Jehovah’s Witnesses are fraught with difficulties – and when it comes to dealing with his imperious agent, Cressida, and his disapproving girlfriend, Caroline, he’s way out of his depth. Fortunately, he can always retreat to the local café run by his friends Shona and Craig – or drown his sorrows at the pub... 
 
In these two series, Nick tries his hand at DIY, quits smoking, heads off on holiday – and acquires a talking Venus flytrap that doesn’t get on with his geraniums. He also finds himself playing surrogate parent when his teenage niece and his oldest rock’n’roll friend come to stay; preparing for the wedding of an old flame (and seething over the way she dumped him); and getting a lucky break with a Hollywood studio. But with his fortunes finally changing for the better, he can’t help asking himself if it’s all going just a little too well... 
 
First broadcast in 1992-3, this offbeat comedy mixes sitcom with a sprinkling of nineties satire – and more than a dollop of the downright odd. Co-starring alongside Nick Revell are a wealth of well-known names, including Doon Mackichan, Alistair McGowan, Stephen Tompkinson and Lesley Sharp. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by and starring Nick Revell 
With Alistair McGowan, Caroline Gruber, Kate McKenzie, Brian Bowles, Brian Johnston, Doon Mackichan, Alison Sterling, Charles McKeown, Gabrielle Cowburn, Mickey Hutton, Susannah Doyle, Lesley Sharp, Joanna Brookes, Elizabeth Bennet, Stephen Tomkinson, Alison Sterling, John Guerrasio 
Produced by Ioan Magnusson 
 
Series 1 
1. Holy Water 
2. Decoration 
3. Headache 
4. Holiday 
5. Cash 
6. Moving 
 
Series 2 
1. Homeless 
2. Visitors 
3. The Wedding 
4. Health and Fitness 
5. The Promised Land 
6. All’s Well That Ends Well…Well, Well, Well 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 25 January 1991 – 1 March 1992 (Series 1) and 3 June – 8 July 1993 (Series 2) 
 
© 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Nick Revell

Alistair McGowan

Maggie Steed

Peter Serafinowicz

Alison Steadman

Claire Skinner

Tracy-Ann Oberman

Morwenna Banks

Joanna Brooks

Full Cast

A Full-Cast BBC Radio Comedy

An epic six-part comedy saga with a star cast, from master storyteller and satirist Nick Revell 
 
When Tony Hardstaff breaks the bank playing ‘Snap!’ at the St Petersburg Casino, he is swept up in a maelstrom of romance and adventure. Seduced by the sultry Natassia Fillipovna Karamazov – a woman with curves so perfect they could make a geometry professor spontaneously combust – Tony is caught in flagrante by the Russian mafia, and flees for his life. 
 
Taking the first plane out, Tony returns to his ancestral home in Grimesdale, and to the bosom of the family he left a decade earlier. But the prodigal son is not welcomed with open arms. His ruthless 183-year-old father Obadiah is less than thrilled to see him, his sister Jane is so shocked, she suffers a nosebleed, and his mother Alice is so upset, she drops dead on the spot. 
 
To cap it all, Tony’s Brontë-obsessed ex-sweetheart has gone round the bend, his best mate Dave is now leader of the Morris Dancing Survivalist Militia, and the town he grew up in is under threat… Forced to grapple with wandering corpses, canine spirit guides, old flames and eastern European heavies, Tony goes on the run once again. But can he escape the clutches of the past? 
 
Magical realism meets Northern family saga in this surrealistic comedy, told in flashback and travelling between Venezuela, Russia and west Yorkshire. Written by and starring Nick Revell as Tony, it features a stellar cast including Morwenna Banks, Alistair McGowan, Peter Serafinowicz, Alison Steadman and Claire Skinner. 
 
NB: Contains some dated attitudes and language 
 
Production credits 
Written by Nick Revell 
Produced by Paul Schlesinger 
Music composed by Paul Mottram 
 
Cast 
Tony – Nick Revell 
Natassia Fillipovna – Morwenna Banks/Tracy-Ann Oberman 
The Narrator – Alistair McGowan 
Mrs Yepanchin/Mrs Womersley – Joanna Brooks 
Ivan – Jonathan Kydd 
Sergei/Jeff – Peter Gunn 
Kropotkin/Dave/Carl – Peter Serafinowicz 
Vladimir/Elder/Shrink – Chris Pavlo 
Obadiah – David Swift 
Alice – Maggie Steed 
Jane – Alison Steadman 
Joanna – Natalie Walter 
Emily – Claire Skinner 
 
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 1 May-5 June 1997 
 
© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

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