Five BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisations

Sergeant Cribb

Full-cast adaptations of five of Peter Lovesey's acclaimed novels featuring Victorian detective Sergeant Cribb and his assistant Constable Thackeray 
 
Tough, shrewd and determined, Sergeant Cribb is a stalwart of Scotland Yard's newly formed Criminal Investigation Department. Aided and abetted by the loyal, stolid Constable Thackeray, he pounds the fog-shrouded streets of Victorian London, tracking down murderers and bringing them to justice. 
 
Waxwork - 1888. Sentenced to death for murder, Miriam Cromer awaits her fate in Newgate Prison. She has confessed that blackmail drove her to kill, but a photograph sent anonymously to the Home Office reveals new evidence and Sgt Cribb must investigate. Starring Brian Cox as Sergeant Cribb and John Cater as Thackeray. 
 
Swing, Swing Together - 1889, and Jerome K Jerome's bestselling novel Three Men in a Boat has sparked a craze for rowing on the River Thames. Out for a midnight swim, Harriet Shaw notices an unlikely boating threesome - and when a body is discovered, the trio become murder suspects, and Harriet the key witness... Barry Foster stars as Sergeant Cribb, with John Cater as Thackeray. 
 
A Case of Spirits - Spiritualism is all the rage among well-to-do Victorian Londoners, but when thefts follow two séances, Cribb is called in. He suspects the young medium, Peter Brand, but Brand's mysterious death means he must look further afield. Starring Barry Foster as Sergeant Cribb and John Cater as Thackeray. 
 
Wobble to Death - During a six-day speed-walking race, one of the pedestrian competitors is found dead, poisoned by strychnine. Enter Cribb and Thackeray, who discover murder is afoot. Timothy Bateson stars as Sergeant Cribb, with William Eedle as Thackeray. 
 
Abracadaver - Investigating a series of 'accidents' in the Victorian music-halls, the indomitable detective duo uncover the dark side of these popular entertainment palaces when a murder takes place. Starring Frank Windsor as Cribb and John Hollis as Thackeray. 
 
Due to the different ages of the recordings in this collection, the sound quality may vary. 
 
Text copyright © Peter Lovesey 1970 (Wobble to Death), 1972 (Abracadaver), 1975 (A Case of Spirits), 1976 (Swing, Swing Together), 1978 (Waxwork) 
All rights reserved 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Peter Lovesey

Mark Straker

Briony Glassco

Robert Lang

Jane Lapotaire

Auriol Smith

John Baddeley

James Bryce

Jennifer Ehle

Rob Edwards

Full Cast

Three Full-Cast Dramatisations

Three full-cast dramas by popular crime writer Peter Lovesey, plus a selection of short stories recorded for radio 
 
Peter Lovesey is well known for his murder mysteries featuring Victorian policeman Sergeant Cribb, Bath detective Peter Diamond and Bertie, Prince of Wales. He has won numerous awards, including the Crime Writers’ Association Silver Dagger, Gold Dagger and Diamond Dagger for Lifetime Achievement. Collected here are adaptations of three of his historical whodunnits, alongside four short stories with a twist in the tale. 
 
Keystone – 1916. Arriving in Hollywood looking for a job, British actor Warwick Easton is hired to play a Keystone Cop. But no sooner has filming begun than comedy turns to tragedy… Set among the real stars of the silver screen in the heyday of silent movies, this diverting thriller stars Mark Straker and Jennifer Ehle. 
 
Rough Cider – Evacuated to a Somerset farm, nine-year-old Theo is unwittingly involved in a terrible murder. Twenty years later, he is forced to return and relive his childhood memories. Did he contribute to a miscarriage of justice? Rob Edwards stars in this gripping drama set in the 1960s. 
 
Bertie and the Crime of Passion – Paris, 1891, and the Prince of Wales turns royal sleuth to investigate a fatal shooting at the fashionable night club Moulin Rouge – aided and abetted by France’s most famous and glamorous actress, Sarah Bernhardt. Starring Robert Lang as Bertie and Jane Lapotaire as Sarah. 
 
Vandals – Miss Parmenter takes an instant dislike to the young man on her doorstep. In his leather jacket and jeans, he looks no better than a vandal. But she has been waiting a long time for this opportunity, and she is not going to let it slip away. Read by Auriol Smith. 
 
Curl Up and Dye – A captive client finds himself at the mercy of a talkative barber with a hair-raising story to tell. Read by John Baddeley. 
 
The Stalker – Months after his resignation from the police, the senior detective in the Sharon Eakins murder investigation sets down the extraordinary truth about the case. Read by James Bryce. 
 
Murdering Max – Peter Lovesey is proud to have written the world’s first, and only, ‘youdunnit’. So when he discovers that a rival writer has come up with the same idea, he sets about getting rid of him… Read by James Bryce. 
 
Text copyright © Peter Lovesey 1983 (Keystone), 1986 (Rough Cider), 1993 (Bertie and the Crime of Passion, ‘Vandals’), 1996 (‘Curl Up and Dye’), 2002 (‘The Stalker’, ‘Murdering Max’) 
All rights reserved 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Peter Lovesey 
 
Keystone 
Cast: Mark Straker, Jennifer Ehle, Roger Gartland, Kerry Shale, Lorelei King, Don Fellows, Ann Windsor, John Church, Gordon Reid 
 
Rough Cider 
Cast: Rob Edwards, Briony Glassco, Neville Jason, Tina Gray, Oona Beeson, Peter Whitman, 
David Jarvis, Malcolm Ward, Frances Jeater, Don McCorkindale, Lyndam Gregory, Gavin Muir, William Wortley 
 
Bertie and the Crime of Passion 
Cast: Robert Lang, Jane Lapotaire, Olivier Pierre, David Timson, Andrew Branch, Roger May, 
Paul Jenkins, Tracy Wiles, Geoffrey Whitehead, John Hartley, Zulema Dene, Linda Regan, Tessa Worsley, Diana Payan, Stephen Critchlow, Daniel Philpott 
 
‘Vandals’ 
Read by Auriol Smith 
 
‘Curl Up and Dye’ 
Read by John Baddeley. 
 
‘The Stalker’ 
Read by James Bryce 
 
‘Murdering Max’ 
Read by James Bryce 
 
© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Peter Lovesey

Books by Peter Lovesey

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