The Peterford Golf Club
(Monday 16th November, 10-10.30pm)
The Peterford Golf Club does for golf clubs what Green Wing did for hospitals. Written by Simon Farnaby (Horrible Histories, Yonderland, Paddington) and starring an ensemble cast including Simon, with Claire Keelan (The Trip), Barunka O’Shaughnessy (Katy Brand’s Big Ass Show), and Tom Meeten (Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy).
Golf club regular Stuart thinks he has a chance of being appointed to the all-powerful Committee, if only he can get his rival Bob out of the way. Meanwhile players Chris and Jane are trying to rekindle their relationship, which has gone into the rough. They just need to find some peace and quiet on the green. Jill has always avoided the women’s group, as her husband David chairs the committee and doesn’t approve, but today she has agreed to play a round with them. Might she be persuaded to join them? And what, exactly, are they up to?
Simon Farnaby says: "The Peterford Golf Club hopes to expose the dark underbelly of middle England. All looks well on the surface but scratch a little and you'll find prejudice, sexism and aspiration so fervent, people are willing to kill to get a better parking space. No one will want to see themselves in The Peterford Golf Club, but we're all there! "
(Producer Victoria Lloyd, by BBC Radio Comedy)
The King’s Men
(Tuesday 17th November, 10-10.30pm)
After discovering what they believed to be a German plot to invade The Isle of Sheppey (their main piece of evidence ultimately turned out to be a child's treasure map), policemen Ernest Ridley and Arthur Smyth - played by Robert Webb (Peep Show, That Mitchell and Webb Look) and Terry Mynott (Toast of London, The Mimic) - are asked to join the new Secret Service in London: an organisation dedicated to uncovering foreign spies and plots in the uncertain and paranoid years before the Great War.
Set in 1909, the two men have been friends since childhood and served together in the British Army in India. Although they bicker a lot of the time like an old married couple, they are inseparable. They live together in the same boarding house, and share the same love of King and Country. The pair encounter new technologies, Victorian repression and an array of memorable characters. If only they were a little better at their jobs....
Co-written by Arthur Mathews (Toast of London, Father Ted, Harry Enfield and Chums) and Terry Mynott.
Co-writer Arthur Mathews says: “I’ve been a fan of Terry since I first saw ‘The Mimic’. I met him doing ‘Toast of London’ last year and he asked me to get involved in the project. We both have an interest in history, and the Edwardian era seemed a fruitful period. It was great to work with such a wonderfully talented cast too.”
The cast also includes Alex MacQueen (The Inbetweeners, The Thick of It), Katy Wix (Not Going Out, Fried) and Ophelia Lovibond (W1A, Elementary), plus rising star comic actors Nick Mohammed (Reggie Perrin, The King Is Dead) and Ellie White (House of Fools, Glitchy).
(Producer Tom Jordan, by Hat Trick Productions)
Ankle Tag
(Wednesday 18th November, 10-10.30pm)
Played by Elis James (Crims, Josh), Gruff is a new father whose own father, Bob, suddenly comes back into his life after a long absence.
Bob is a convicted fraudster, released from prison on licence, who wants to inveigle his way back into his estranged son’s life (again through fraud). He’s charming, optimistic and warm. People like him. That’s why they gave him so much of their life savings. Gruff's wife Alice, played by Katy Wix (Not Going Out, Fried) is quite taken with the charming Bob. She would be – he’s a fraudster – that’s how he works.
Elis James is one of the most exciting new faces on the comedy scene, a rising star who has appeared inCrims and Josh for BBC Three, and Elis James' Pantheon of Heroes on BBC Radio Wales, which he co-wrote with Gareth Gwynn and Benjamin Partridge (the writing team behind Ankle Tag).
Elis James says: “I'm super excited to be playing Gruff in Ankle Tag. Having played a convicted criminal in Crims, to play the law abiding son of a criminal helps redress the balance a bit. I've also loved writing with Ben and Gareth in the past, so to be reunited with them is brilliant. They write great scripts and Gareth has seemingly forgotten that I owe him money.”
Cardiff born Katy Wix is a brilliant comic actress who will be familiar to audiences as Daisy in Not Going Out, and can currently be seen on BBC Three as Mary in Fried. She has also popped up in Absolutely Fabulous, Torchwood, and Agatha Raisin.
Also features Asim Chaudhry (People do Nothing, Hoff the Record), Alice Lowe (Alice’s Wonderland, Sightseers) and Bryony Hannah (Call the Midwife, Dead Boss).
(Producer Victoria Lloyd, by BBC Radio Comedy)
Barbara Nice
(Wednesday 18th November, 10.30-11pm)
A sitcom built around the comedy character Barbara Nice by the very seasoned performer Janice Connolly (That Peter Kay Thing, Dead Man Weds).
Set in Manchester, Barbara is worried she and her husband, Ken, played by John Henshaw, (Cilla, Cradle to Grave), are at risk of adding to the numbers of silver splitters. With Ken recently retired, Barbara is starting to realise they have nothing in common. His idea of retirement involves a marathon session of the daytime television quiz show ‘Pointless’, which doesn't fit with Barbara's idea of a well spent golden age. When a homeless Spanish busker needs some help, Barbara sees it as the perfect opportunity to do some good and stir things up at home. A little more than she expected.
(Producer Carl Cooper, by BBC Radio Comedy)
The Tim Vine Chat Show
(Thursday 19th November, 10-10.30pm)
The Tim Vine Chat Show is half an hour of silly exuberance, stand-up comedy and a celebration of ordinary people, from the comedy genius that is Tim Vine – winner of the Best Joke at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2010 and 2014.
It’s a chat show with a twist, where the Great British public are the stars. Tim not only interviews members of the audience and hears their entertaining and diverse life stories, but he also sings his much loved (and often ridiculous) songs, as well as showcasing the world famous one-liners that have made him a global comedy star.
Tim Vine says: "I'm jolly excited to be bringing the fascinating stories of the Great British Public to Radio 2 - as well as some jokes about eagles, lumberjacks and acting like a mop. It's the Tim Vine Chat Show and it's this November."
(Producer Richard Morris, By BBC Radio Comedy)
