32 BBC Radio full-cast dramas

Rumpole: A BBC Radio Collection

An irresistible collection of sparkling stories featuring John Mortimer's beloved comic creation 
 
Horace Rumpole is the most erudite, astute, and seldom defeated of barristers in the annals of the Old Bailey. In these 32 dramas, arranged in order of broadcast, four distinguished actors don the wig and white band to portray our hero as he recalls his long, eventful career. 
 
Timothy West stars as the older Rumpole in eight cases in which he proves, despite scurrilous rumours to the contrary, that he is alive, well and as adept as ever at getting to the heart of crimes ranging from sexual assault to terrorism. He also has hopes of becoming a QC at last - but his marriage to She Who Must Be Obeyed is under pressure... 
 
Joining Timothy West for another seven legal adventures, Benedict Cumberbatch plays the young, feisty, devastatingly acute Rumpole. We flash back to the 1950s, as he meets and marries Hilda, embarks on his first big murder case 'alone and without a leader', and defends clients including an aristocrat, a shoplifting clergyman and a gardener accused of blackmail. 
 
Returning as young Rumpole, Cumberbatch takes us through six more curious cases. It is 1964, and Horace takes on a new pupil - Phyllida Trant, the 'Portia of our Chambers' - only to find himself becoming smitten with her. Forced to consider the path his life has taken, he comes close to giving up the law... 
 
With the Sixties swinging, Julian Rhind-Tutt gives us a Rumpole in his prime, recounting ten tales which find the tireless defender swapping sides to appear for the prosecution; coming to the aid of a doctor accused of unprofessional conduct; and suffering the indignity of wrongful arrest. We leave him facing a life-changing decision: after many years of falling in and out of love with both women, will he finally leave Hilda to be with Phyllida? 
 
Also included is a special 90-minute Christmas episode starring Desmond Barrit, in which Rumpole indulges in a little seasonal, charitable blackmail and solves an audacious crime at the panto. 
 
Production credits 
Written by John Mortimer 
Adapted by Richard Stoneman 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie. 
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4 
Sax quartet version of Gershwin's 'They Can't Take That Away From Me' arranged by Julie Hodge and performed by 'Sax' (Luiza Beddoes, Kate Mylnar, Janine Ng and Julie Hodge) 
Pantomime music written by Neil Brand 
 
Cast 
Older Horace Rumpole - Timothy West/Desmond Barrit 
Young Horace Rumpole - Benedict Cumberbatch/Julian Rhind-Tutt 
Hilda - Prunella Scales/Joanna David 
Young Hilda - Jasmine Hyde/Cathy Sara 
Phyllida - Cathy Sara/Patience Tomlinson 
'Soapy Sam' Ballard - Michael Cochrane 
Claude Erskine-Brown - Nigel Anthony 
Fig Newton - David Shaw-Parker/Geoffrey Whitehead 
Bonny Bernard - Bruce Alexander/Nicholas Le Provost/Matthew Morgan 
Judge Bullingham - Christopher Benjamin/David Shaw-Parker/Stephen Critchlow 
Liz Probert - Elaine Claxton 
 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4 between 25 December 2001 and 9 May 2018 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Rumpole's Return

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'A fruity, foxy masterpiece, defender of our wilting faith in mankind' Sunday Times 
 
Horace Rumpole is in a strange state that could only be described as a kind of air-conditioned purgatory: he has retired to Florida with his wife, Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed). It is safely assumed the Old Bailey hack's wig has been hung up for good. But when a rather unkempt civil servant is mixed up in the mysterious death of a minor aristocrat, Rumpole seizes the opportunity to escape a life of leisure. He is soon back in court (via a budget airline) to do battle once more with Judge 'Mad Bull' Bullingham.

Sir John Mortimer was a novelist, playwright and barrister. The first book featuring his most famous character, Horace Rumpole, was published by Penguin in 1980, and Mortimer went on to publish a dozen collections of Rumpole stories as well as a handful of novels, culminating in 2007 in RUMPOLE MISBEHAVES. He was knighted in 1998 for his services to the arts and died in January 2009.

Horace Rumpole - the rascally, Wordsworth-quoting Old Bailey hack - should be enjoying his retirement. Soaking unhappily in the Florida sun with his wife, Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed), it is safely assumed by all that Rumpole's wig has been hung up for good. But when a rather unkempt civil servant is mixed up in the mysterious death of a minor aristocrat, Rumpole seizes the opportunity to escape the life of leisure. He is soon back in court (via a budget airline) to do battle once more with Judge 'Mad Bull' Bullingham...

The Trials of Rumpole

'I thank heaven for small mercies. The first of these is Rumpole' Clive James 
 
Horace Rumpole, the irrepressible barrister fuelled by cigars, Tennyson, steak-and-kidney pud and the cooking claret from Pommeroy's wine bar, is back for further misadventures. Amid an unfortunate and temporary downturn in London crime, the Old Bailey Hack sits in Chambers (he never writes at home for fear of She Who Must Be Obeyed) and picks up his pen to recount six classic tales of his recent trials. Here he deals with, among others, a clergyman on a shoplifting rampage, a backstage theatrical murder, a villain with unfortunate sartorial taste and, worst of all, the possibility that he may have to hang up his wig and retire. 
 
'Rumpole, like Jeeves and Sherlock Holmes, is immortal' P. D. James

Horace Rumpole, the irrepressible barrister fuelled by cigars, Tennyson, steak-and-kidney pud and the cooking claret from Pommeroy's wine bar, is back for further misadventures. Amid an unfortunate and temporary downturn in London crime, the Old Bailey hack sits in Chambers (he never writes at home for fear of She Who Must Be Obeyed) and picks up his pen to recount six classic tales of his recent trials. Here he deals with, among others, a clergyman on a shoplifting rampage, a backstage theatrical murder, a villain with unfortunate sartorial taste and, worst of all, the possibility that he may have to hang up his wig and retire.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces

Desmond Barrit stars as Horace Rumpole in this full-cast, feature-length radio drama

John Mortimer was born on 21 April 1923. His father was a successful divorce lawyer, and was to be a considerable influence on his son's life. Schooled at Harrow, Mortimer went on to study law at Brasenose College, Oxford. On finishing his degree, he was called to the Bar in 1948 and entered his father's chambers. At first he followed his father and specialised in divorce cases, but he soon switched to criminal law, as he maintained that murderers and the like were nicer to work with than divorcing spouses. In 1966 he became a Queen's Counsel, and he continued to work as a barrister until 1979. A lifelong champion of free speech, he has argued for the defence in some of the most famous obscenity trials in Britain, including the one brought against the underground magazine Oz for its notorious 'School Kids' issue. John Mortimer started writing before he became a barrister. His legal career inspired his fiction, however, with his first radio play, The Dock Brief (1957) dealing with the subject of an ageing barrister who is asked to defend a man accused of murdering his wife. It won the Italia Prize and was adapted for the stage, television and a film starring Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough. He also had great success with his autobiographical play A Voyage Round My Father, which ran in the West End starring Jeremy Brett and Alec Guinness. It was subsequently adapted for TV starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Alan Bates. He first wrote about Rumpole in a BBC TV Play for Today called Rumpole of the Bailey. Centring on a lovable Old Bailey hack with a penchant for cigars and claret and a domineering wife, She Who Must Be Obeyed, the play was an instant hit, and in 1978 the first Thames Television series was aired under the same name, starring Leo McKern as Rumpole. It became hugely popular, and five more series followed. The first collection of Rumpole stories was published in 1978, and was followed by a further twelve volumes. His other novels include the trilogy of Titmuss novels, Paradise Postponed, Titmuss Regained and The Sound of Trumpets, and he has also written three volumes of autobiography (Clinging to the Wreckage, Murderers and Other Friends and Summer of a Dormouse) and numerous TV and film adaptations, including Brideshead Revisited, Cider with Rosie and Tea with Mussolini. John Mortimer received a knighthood for his services to the arts in 1998 in the Queen's birthday honours list. He died in 2009.

Desmond Barrit stars as Horace Rumpole in this full-cast, feature-length radio drama 
 
Rumpole has no special objection to Christmas - except that with the Old Bailey closed, he has no opportunity to exercise his skills in court. But over the course of one unusual holiday, he nonetheless manages to triumph in two very different cases... 
 
Dragooned into spending Christmas in Norfolk, at the home of one of Hilda's old schoolfriends, Rumpole is feeling less than festive. Chilly Coldsands Rectory does not offer much in the way of enjoyment - but a trip to the local church and a surprise encounter with an old acquaintance leads to a God-given opportunity to indulge in a little seasonal, charitable blackmail. 
 
A New Year outing to see Aladdin also provides more excitement than expected. The traditional British pantomime is one of Rumpole's favourite institutions, but he has a vague feeling that there's something odd about this particular production. A post-panto drink, some overheard remarks and a glance at the programme confirm his suspicions - and put him on the path to solving an audacious crime... 
 
Starring Desmond Barrit as Rumpole and Joanna David as Hilda, with Tim McInnerny as Donald Compton and Nigel Anthony as Fred Timson. 
 
Cast 
Horace Rumpole - Desmond Barrit 
Hilda Rumpole - Joanna David 
Rev Eric Longstaff - Oliver Ford Davies 
Donald Compton - Tim McInnerny 
Fred Timson - Nigel Anthony 
Phillida Erskine-Brown - Patience Tomlinson 
Judge Bullingham - Philip Voss 
Skimpy Simpson - Ioan Meredith 
Bonny Bernard - Bruce Alexander 
Detective Inspector Grimble - John Hartley 
Aladdin - Rebecca Lacey 
Denis Timson - Tom George 
Widow Twanky - Tilly Vosburgh 
Tristan - Lewis Reece 
Isolde - Lauren Bird 
 
Production credits 
Written by John Mortimer 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
Produced by Catherine Bailey 
Pantomime music written by Neil Brand 
 
A Catherine Bailey production for BBC Radio 4

Two BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Rumpole: On Trial & Going for Silk

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these two thrilling dramas featuring the wily magician of the Old Bailey at his implacable best

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in these two thrilling dramas featuring the wily magician of the Old Bailey at his implacable best 
 
Rumpole on Trial 
Rumpole takes up the cause of young Bertie Timson, whose sole ‘crime’ seems to be playing football in the street. As he endeavours to defend our ancient freedoms, he becomes uneasy about exactly what his wife Hilda is up to in her continuing friendship with a high court judge. 
 
Going for Silk 
Having narrowly avoided an ASBO himself, Rumpole hopes to become a QC at last. But first he must turn his attention back to the Timson case, while also preparing to defend a young man charged with the murder of a prostitute. 
 
Timothy West stars as Rumpole and Prunella Scales as Hilda, with Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Michael Cochrane as ‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard. 
 
Cast and production credits: 
Written by John Mortimer 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
 
Rumpole on Trial 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 28 May 2008 
Horace Rumpole – Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole – Prunella Scales 
‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard – Michael Cochrane 
Bonny Bernard – Nicholas Le Provost 
Prosecutor Parkes – Roger May 
Madam Chair of Magistrates – Jillie Mears 
Graham Wetherby – David Holt 
Lars Bergman – Matthew Morgan 
Judge Bullingham – David Shaw-Parker 
Fig Newton – Geoffrey Whitehead 
 
Going for Silk 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 May 2008 
Horace Rumpole – Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole – Prunella Scales 
Bonny Bernard – Nicholas Le Provost 
Anna McKinnon – Jillie Mears 
Prosecutor Noakes – Matthew Morgan 
Police Doctor – Roger May 
Judge Barnes – Geoffrey Whitehead 
Graham Wetherby – David Holt 
Det Insp Belfrage – David Shaw-Parker

Four BBC Radio 4 dramatisations

Rumpole: The Teenage Werewolf & other stories

Timothy West stars as Rumpole in these four fantastic radio dramas

Timothy West stars as Rumpole in these four fantastic radio dramas 
 
Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf 
Rumpole heads to the Home Counties to defend Ben, a teenager accused of sending emails deemed to be sexually harassing, and of an actual physical attack on a girl. 
 
Rumpole and the Right to Privacy 
Rumpole leaves the Old Bailey to defend a civil case: an editor of a local newspaper who is accused of breaching a successful businessman's right to privacy. 
 
Truth Makes All Things Plain 
If one man can be counted on to fight injustice and insist on a fair trial for everyone, whatever their circumstances, it is Horace Rumpole. So when the beautiful Tiffany Khan learns that her husband has been arrested on suspicion of terrorism, she calls for his help right away. 
 
The Past Catches up with us All 
As he struggles to win justice for his client, Rumpole finds that his marriage to She Who Must Be 
Obeyed is, rather like his waistcoat, straining at the seams. 
 
Timothy West stars as Rumpole and Prunella Scales as Hilda, with Matt Smith as Ben, Nigel Anthony as Claude Erskine-Brown and Michael Cochrane as ‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard. 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by John Mortimer 
Directed by Marilyn Imrie 
 
Rumpole and the Teenage Werewolf 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 19 July 2006 
Horace Rumpole - Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole - Prunella Scales 
Hermione Swithin - Felicity Montagu 
Mr Beazley - Nicholas Le Provost 
Chris Swithin - Philip Jackson 
Ben Swithin - Matt Smith 
Judge Denis Wintergreen - Karl Johnson 
Adrian Hodinott - Sean Baker 
Felicity Halliday - Ellie Beaven 
 
Rumpole and the Right to Privacy 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 26 July 2006 
Horace Rumpole - Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole. - Prunella Scales 
Mr Rankin - David Shaw-Parker 
Claude Erskine-Brown - Nigel Anthony 
Liz Probert - Elaine Claxton 
Hugo Winterton - Anton Rogers 
Gervase Johnson - Stephen Critchlow 
Sir Mike Smedley - Kim Durham 
Mrs Justice Erskine-Brown - Joanna David 
 
Truth Makes All Things Plain 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 15 August 2007 
Horace Rumpole - Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole - Prunella Scales 
Judge Bullingham - Christopher Benjamin 
Tiffany Khan - Lily Bevan 
‘Soapy Sam’ Ballard - Michael Cochrane 
Bonny Bernard - Bruce Alexander 
Dr Mahmood Khan - Shiv Grewal 
Barrington Whiteside - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Will Timson - Ben Crowe 
Peter Plaistow - Christopher Scott 
Mrs Justice Templett - Joanna David 
Fred Sugden - Kim Durham 
Ian Antrim - Nigel Anthony 
 
The Past Catches up with us All 
First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 22 August 2007 
Horace Rumpole – Timothy West 
Hilda Rumpole – Prunella Scales 
Claude Erskine-Brown – Nigel Anthony 
Fred Sugden – Kim Durham 
Dr Mahmood Khan – Shiv Grewal 
Will Timson – Ben Crowe 
Judge Bullingham – Christopher Benjamin 
Bonny Bernard – Bruce Alexander 
Barrington Whiteside – Geoffrey Whitehead 
Peter Plaistow – Christopher Scott

Alison Plowden

Abigail Docherty

John Mortimer

Madame de Lafayette

Peter Wolf

Michael Butt

Amanda Whittington

Paul B. Davies

Friedrich Schiller

Michael Bryant

Kathleen Helme

Melody Grove

Roger Lloyd Pack

Meg Fraser

Alexandra Mathie

Louise Brealey

Michael Horden

Full Cast

A BBC Radio 4 Drama Collection

Nine gripping dramas that delve into the turbulent, thrilling history of the Tudor eraAffairs and assassinations. Conflict and chaos. Power and plots. The tumultuous Tudor period is one of the most iconic and fascinating chapters in British history. In these ten atmospheric dramas, we get a glimpse into the inner workings of Tudor England – and rediscover the key characters we have grown to love and hate. Featuring world-renowned actors, these gripping, historically accurate tales are packed with excitement.A Pattern of Tudors - the story of Cardinal Wolsey who built Hampton Court, and Henry VIII who took it from him.True and Lawful Queen - Katherine of Aragon’s refusal to divorce Henry VIII sparks a chain of events that leads to the Reformation.Black Queen to King’s Castle - the ghost of Anne Boleyn tells her own story of the events that led to her execution.The Babington Plot - Told from the perspective of the conspirators, this is an enthralling account of the 1586 plot to assassinate Elizabeth I and return England to Catholic rule under Mary, Queen of Scots.La Princesse de Clèves - a playful adaptation of Madame de Lafayette's classic novel of intrigue and love set in the 16th Century and following the dangerous liaisons of a beautiful young lady newly presented to Court.Gold’s Fool - the true story of how Queen Elizabeth I was misled by alchemists into believing that the Arctic black rocks of Baffin Island were rich in precious ore.Mary Stuart - we learn of the extraordinary relationship between Elizabeth I and her rival cousin, the imprisoned Scottish queen.Edward, Edward - seen entirely through the eyes of children, this shows how Edward VI, crowned king at the age of nine, finds himself powerless in a world ruled by adults.The Nine Days Queen - the tragic story of the trial of Lady Jane Grey. Crowned Queen of England in 1553 aged 16, she was imprisoned in the Tower nine days later, and was dead within a year.Among the stellar cast of these remarkable dramas are Phyllida Nash, Michael Hordern, David Troughton, Izzy Meikle-Small, Stephen Greif, Burn Gorman, Roger Lloyd Pack, Kathleen Helme and Melody Grove.© 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

John Mortimer

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