The House of Unspeakable Secrets: A Vintage BBC Comedy Thriller

Blurb

Leslie Phillips stars in this eight-part radio comedy thriller

Famous Mayfair hairdresser Hilaire knows all the secrets of feminine beauty. His VIP clients trust him implicitly and take him into their confidence, telling him things they wouldn’t dare tell their husbands or lovers. But unbeknownst to them, he leads a double life as a secret agent, working for London’s top man, Major Selby.

Sent to Hamburg on a mysterious mission to steal an important tape recording from an opera singer’s dressing room, Hilaire soon finds himself in a dangerous predicament. In the course of one eventful evening, he is arrested, confronted by a knife-wielding maniac and beguiled by an attractive blonde. And when the lovely Caresse ends up half-strangled in his sleeping compartment on the Nord Express, he realises his straightforward assignment has just turned deadly.

Who is the would-be killer on the train, and how is he connected to the mysterious ‘Josef’? What is the significance of the red carnation? And what part does Selby’s arch-rival, Lord Dulane, have to play in the affair? Hilaire must comb through the clues and tease out the truth – or it will be a case of hair today, gone tomorrow…

Written by Ernest Dudley, the creator of the popular radio crime series A Case for Dr Morelle, this fast-paced tale of murder, blackmail and wigs stars Leslie Phillips as Hilaire, with Irene Sutcliffe as Caresse and Simon Lack as Selby.

Cast and credits

Written by Ernest Dudley

Produced by Guy Vaesen

Hilaire – Leslie Phillips

Erich/Francois-Jules/Airport officer/Policeman/Newsreader/Detective Sergeant – Ian Thompson

Second detektiv/First night porter/Hotel receptionist – David Brierley

Selby – Simon Lack

Weber/Waiter/Stranger – Leroy Lingwood

Stage doorman/Taxi driver/Sleeping-car atttendant/Airport announcer/Judo instructor/Dining-car attendant/Second night porter – Michael Harbour

Brigit – Hilda Schroder

First detektiv/Barman – John Wyse

Caresse – Irene Sutcliffe

Nicolette – Ann Murray

Agent – James Beattie

Lady Dulane – Carol Marsh

Lord Dulane – Henderson Tate

First detective – Nigel Graham

Second detective – Malcolm Young

Hall porter – Graham Armitage

Driver – Ronald Herdman

Zoe Bellamy – Barbara Mitchell

Hotel detective – Denis McCarthy

Drunk – Ralph Truman

Detective Inspector – Geoffrey Wincott

First broadcast BBC Radio 2, 27 Nov – 21 Dec 1967

© 2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. (P) 2025 BBC Studios Distribution

© 2025 BBC Digital Audio (Lydbog): 9781529959390

Udgivelsesdato

Lydbog: 10. juli 2025