Big Broadcast: A BBC Radio full-cast caper

The fast-talking glamorous musical drama set in a 1930s Chicago radio studio

A radio caper set in Hollywood's Golden Age, Big Broadcast sees radio station WKAZ's most successful programme, 'The Hour of Charm', face trouble from gangsters, sponsors, moral guardians and politics, not to mention Chicago's own winters.

When an acrimonious songwriting couple are facing threats from notorious gangster Brannigan, will a song save the day? Sometimes the hour can seem long when you're radio staff - so what happens when Chicago snow traps you in the building completely? A new manager plans to change the whole format of the show, but a deep-voiced celebrity could use his charm to stop the manager in his tracks. And when the station is threatened with closure by the League of Decency, Katharine Hepburn herself comes to the rescue with her inimitable style.

Starring Samantha Spiro (Sex Education, Game of Thrones), Josie Lawrence (Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Eastenders), and Susannah Fielding (This Time with Alan Partridge, Black Mirror), this joyful, nostalgic musical drama will transport you to a different time and place.

Written by Neil Brand Music by Neil Brand Directed by David Hunter and Jessica Dromgoole

Cast Samantha Spiro - Myrna (Series 2-3) Josie Lawrence - Jean Forsythe Nigel Harman - Grant Thornhill Sam Dale - Arthur Clarke (Series 1-2) Sean Baker - Brannigan Joanna Monro - Myrna (Series 1) Jane Whittenshaw - Sadie Stuart McLoughlin - Billy Jim Norton - Harry Paul Heath - Jamie Roslyn Hill - Georgia Bettrys Jones - Caitlin Ian Conningham - Doug/Jimmy Cagney/Cary Grant/Robert F. Winkler Chris Jarman - Paul Robeson Ryan Early - Arthur Clarke (Series 3) Ryan Whittle - Jerry Kerry Gooderson - Dixie Stephen Hogan - Princeton Emma Handy - Jess Elizabeth Counsell - Grace Stibbens John Lightbody - Stupendo Lauren Cornelius - Norma Chaffey Susannah Fielding - Katharine Hepburn Neil McCaul - Arthur Clarke (Series 4) Bettrys Jones - Barbara Meek Heather Craney - Ramona Fairfax Hasan Dixon - Jerry Soundguy Clive Hayward - Preston Lanister Franchi Webb - Danny Folly BBC Singers - Margaret Cameron, Charles Gibbs, Olivia Robinson, Stephen Jeffes, Helen Neeves, Katherine Nicholson, Chris Bowen, Jamie W Hall, Nancy Cole, Jimmy Holliday

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates: 1 June 2011 (Series 1) 24 December - 25 December 2014 (Series 2) 21 October - 28 October 2018 (Series 3) 20 December - 27 December 2020 (Series 4)

©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

© 2023 BBC Digital Audio (Lydbog): 9781529906332

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Lydbog: 16. februar 2023