Charles Paris: A Deadly Habit: A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Actor and sleuth Charles Paris is back in this full-cast BBC radio dramatisation of Simon Brett's novel, starring Bill Nighy

Locked down with his semi-detached wife Frances, Charles has thrown himself into a new career as a handyman, becoming quite the DIY expert. He's developed muscles, stopped smoking and even cut back on the booze.

Then his agent, Maurice, offers him the chance to get back on stage - and in a West End play, no less. The star, Justin Grover, asked for him specifically: but Charles has reservations. Grover was cocky enough when they were both young hopefuls; now he's the star of a massive TV fantasy series, and the play - a verbatim piece set in a monastery - is dire.

So why has Justin signed up for it? He certainly doesn't need the money, unlike Charles. The cast is drearily male, and before long Charles is hitting the Scotch again. When he drunkenly stumbles over the corpse of a fellow actor, Charles panics, leaving the body to be discovered by someone else. But he soon regrets lying to the police, and driven by guilt and self-preservation, he resolves to find the murderer...

This sparkling adaptation by Jeremy Front stars Bill Nighy (Emma, Love Actually) as Charles Paris, with Suzanne Burden as Frances and Jon Glover as Maurice.

Credits Written by Simon Brett Adapted by Jeremy Front Directed by Sally Avens

Cast Charles Paris........................Bill Nighy Frances........................Suzanne Burden Maurice........................Jon Glover Justin ........................Tony Turner Lydia ........................Ria Marshall Kit ........................Joseph Ayre Brendan ........................Jonathan Kydd Nina ........................Marilyn Nnadebe D.S. Dalby ........................Stewart Campbell Alice/Peaches ........................Elinor Coleman Kelly/Dervla ........................Jane Slavin Bethan ........................Christine Kavanagh Neil ........................Simon Ludders

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 3-24 September 2021

© 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

© 2021 BBC Digital Audio (Lydbog): 9781529134421

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Lydbog: 30. september 2021