A BBC Radio 4 Regal Drama

Crown House

A very royal saga about The Crown and a very historic house 
 
 
In this story of Crown House, the grand home of the Ministers, the bond is built between the Minister family and the House of Windsor in this tale of changing times and unvarying traditions. This is a tale of two families and a fresh era for the Minsters of Crown House, and the Royal Family of Windsor. 
 
 
The series follow the birth of a royal baby and the growing closeness of William Minster and his wife Alice to the King and Queen. The life of Crown House's staff, as Jenny Webster, the housekeeper's daughter, watches the developments of the beloved Minsters and the saga unfolds between rich and poor, upper-class and lower-, old and young. Both above and below stairs find their lives changed by the passing years, as they are hit by scandal and heartbreak, accidents and loss, love and secrets. 
 
 
Crown House is a moving story of change and upheaval, with an all-star cast including Jane Asher (Brideshead Revisited, Holby City), Martin Jarvis (Just William, Ring for Jeeves), Dinah Sheridan (The Railway Children, Genevieve), Gayle Hunnicutt (A Woman of Substance, Dallas), Richard Pasco (Mrs Brown, A Dance to the Music of Time), Geoffrey Matthews (Coronation Street, The Day of the Triffids) and many more. Written by Juliet Ace (The Archers, Young Victoria) and Peter Ling (The Avengers, Doctor Who) 
 
From Peter Ling's Crown House novels, this drama series shines a light on a very different side of the Windsors, and is just the thing for listeners of Cromwell Vs The Crown, Flying the Flag, and Encounters with Victoria. 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Jenny - Jane Asher 
Old Bea - Margaret Rawlings 
Gina - Gayle Hunnicutt 
Alice - Dinah Sheridan 
Richard - Martin Jarvis 
William - Richard Pasco 
Nicholas - Dominic Rickhards 
Lady Flora Kelso - Margaret Ward 
Sir Charles - Geoffrey Matthews 
Caroline - Cara Kelly 
Edith - Barbara Atkinson 
Polly Harvey - Polly James 
Paul Weyman - John Pullen 
Mrs Webster - Eva Stuart 
Nursemaid - Diana Olsson 
Hawkins - John Samson 
Grace Duncan - Barbara Hunt 
Scott Hanson - Ian Michie 
Grace Duncan - Barbara Leigh-Hunt 
Miranda - Andrea Kealy 
Martin - Henry Power 
Rollo Paton - Norman Bird 
Thelma, Lady Furness - Shelley Thompson 
Louie - Simon Cuff 
Instructor - Philip Sully 
Cockney Girl - Alice Arnold 
Tram conductor - Richard Tate 
Charles Lindbergh - Ed Bishop 
Telephone operator - Caroline Gruber 
Landlady - Zelah Clarke 
Barman - Peter Craze 
W T Carpenter - David Goudge 
Seaman - William Simons 
Radio announcer / Stoker - Michael Tudor Barnes 
 
Written by Peter Ling and Juliet Ace 
Produced by Graham Gauld 
 
Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4: 
30 October - 18 December 1988 
 
©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A BBC Radio 4 Detective Drama

Twin Reaction

Twin sisters are the investigating police in this unusual three-part detective series 
 
Alice and Belinda are identical twins, and have grown up sharing everything: toys, rooms, and friends. But as they begin their careers as detectives - a job they have each wanted for as long as they can remember - a computer error sees them accidentally starting at the same North London police station. 
 
Work gives them enough mysteries to be investigating as they attempt to make themselves known and respected in their new roles, but when Belinda is sexually harassed by a colleague, her twin Alice realizes she can use her identical appearance to fight back when her sister no longer can... 
 
Created by Juliet Ace, award-winning writer and playwright (The Archers, Young Victoria, A Slight Hitch), Twin Reaction is a fascinating and fresh look at the bond of sisters, the demands of work, and the pleasures and pains of being a woman in the modern world. 
 
Starring Jenny Funnel (As Time Goes By, Doctors) and Carolyn Backhouse (Rosemary and Thyme, Jupiter Moon), this compelling series is perfect for listeners of Colvil and Soames, The Lady Detectives, and The Unforgiven. 
 
Content Warning: This drama deals with adult themes such as sexual violence 
 
Cast and credits 
 
Alice - Jenny Funnel 
Belinda - Carolyn Backhouse 
Newsome - Eric Allen 
Glover - Cornelius Garrett 
Cox - Lindsay Mack 
Dobson - Ian Sanders 
Bella - Sue Broomfield 
Other cast: 
Rachel Oldfield 
Paul Nicholson 
Janet Dale 
Marilla Robson 
Brian Gear 
Jilly Bond 
William Eedle 
Sunny Ormonde 
Linda Regan 
Joanne Mitchell 
 
 
Written by Juliet Ace 
Directed by Shaun MacLoughlin 
 
Originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4: 
7 August - 21 August 1995 
 
©2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A BBC Radio 4 drama

Young Victoria

Imogen Stubbs stars in this BBC radio drama about the early life of Queen Victoria

Juliet Ace is a dramatist and screenwriter who contributed to EastEnders and The District Nurse. She has written many original scripts and dramatisations for BBC Radio drama, including The Archers. Her other radio plays include Her Infinite Variety, Small Parts, Dead-Heading the Roses, Skin and Chocolate Frigates. Her dramatisations for radio include Love Story, The Marseilles Trilogy, and Lynne Reid Banks's The L-Shaped Room. She wrote the screenplay for Cameleon, which won the Golden Spire Award for Best Dramatic Television Feature at the 1998 San Francisco International Film Festival.

A girl becomes a Queen… 
 
This illuminating serial charts the transformation of the young Victoria from spirited teenager to shy young bride to celebrated ruler of Britain and ‘Mother of Europe’. But while her roles changed, her essential nature remained the same: vibrant, passionate, principled and fiercely independent. 
 
Through extracts from Victoria’s own diaries and letters, and dramatised episodes featuring the characters closest to her, we are given a thrilling insight into the thoughts and feelings of the woman behind the crown – and the secrets of her mind and heart. The key events of her life are revealed in a new perspective – from her coronation, which captured the heart of a nation; to her blissful wedding and honeymoon; the birth of her nine children and the death of her beloved Albert. 
 
Adapted by acclaimed scriptwriter Juliet Ace and featuring a star cast including Adrian Lukis, Anna Massey and Christopher Cazenove, this magical drama paints a detailed portrait of Victoria’s younger life, revealing some of the remarkable and long-lasting achievements of this extraordinary queen. 
 
Cast 
Victoria…Imogen Stubbs 
Duchess of Kent…Anna Massey 
Prince Albert…Adrian Lukis 
Baroness Lehzen…Selina Cadell 
Sir John Conroy/MP/Lord Aberdeen…John Rowe 
Lord Melbourne…Christopher Cazenove 
WAG/Prince Ernest/Page/Anson/Cubitt…Andrew Wincott 
William IV/Stockmar/Peel…Terence Edmond 
Prince of Wales Bertie/Paxton…Thomas Arnold 
Princess Vicky/Helena…Clare Corbett 
Prince of Wales Bertie (as a child)…George Allonby 
 
Produced and directed by Cherry Cookson

Patricia Hodge Is Mattie, A Liberated Woman

Patricia Hodge stars as Mattie in Juliet Ace’s four linked dramas, written especially for Patricia’s voice, in which Mattie reflects on her life as a naval wife, an actress and as a mother and daughter. In these funny and beautifully observed performances we come to meet Mattie as she shares her hard-earned understanding of her life, in all its intimacy.Episodes are: 'The Captain’s Wife', broadcast 8 May 1998; 'Small Parts', first broadcast 21 August 2000; 'Skin', 15 March 2004 and the not previously broadcast episode: 'Upside Down in the Roasting Tin', in which memories of Christmas dinners past and present give the listener a poignant and entertaining sweep through Mattie’s mixed experiences of the festive season.

Peter Ling

Juliet Ace

Dinah Sheridan

Geoffrey Whitehead

Deborah Makepeace

Helena Breck

Margaret Rawlings

Brett Usher

Colin McFarlane

Susan Sheridan

Shelley Thompson

Melinda Walker

Mark Straker

Phillip Sully

Full Cast

The sequel to BBC Radio 4 Regal Drama Crown House

The dramatic sequel to Crown House 
 
It's 1933 and we are back at Crown House where the Minster family are gathering to enjoy the Easter holiday. However, Crown House isn't the idyll it first appears, and a brutal murder disrupts the genial gathering. There's a secret that's been buried for years and the Honourable Mrs Jenny Gaunt is determined to uncover the truth but is she prepared to lose everything she holds dear in the process? Meanwhile, Lady Caroline, who has recently begun a new relationship, is ready to face the consequences of her past actions. Still close with the House of Windsor, Lord and Lady Minster and their family must embark on a new decade, one of change and upheaval. 
 
Set across the backdrop of the 1930s and encompassing everything from the silver jubilee of George V to the rise in popularity of Oswald Mosley, this compelling and dramatic sequel builds on the Crown House story. Tradition and continuities are brought into conflict with a changing world as the Minsters must find their place between a bygone era and a fast-paced future. Follow the highs and lows of the Minster family through changing times, scandal, and tragedy, where past and present collide in this thoughtful and compelling drama of a family like no other. 
 
Based on the popular Crown House novels by Peter Ling, this six-part drama is written by Juliet Ace (The Archers, Young Victoria) and Peter Ling (The Avengers, Doctor Who). Dinah Sheridan, best know for her roles in Genevieve and The Railway Children, reprises her role as Lady Minster and Geoffrey Whitehead stars as Lord Minster. 
 
©2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2024 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd 
 
Cast and credits 
Written by Juliet Ace and Peter Ling 
Directed by Tracey Neale 
 
Lady Minster - Dinah Sheridan 
William, Lord Minster - Geoffrey Whitehead 
Beatrice, Dowager Countess - Margaret Rawungs 
Richard, Viscount Ebony - Michael Cochrane 
Polly, Viscountess Ebony - Melinda Walker 
The Hon Nicholas Gaunt - Mark Straker 
The Hon Mrs Jenny Gaunt - Helena Breck 
Lady Caroline Gaunt - Deborah Makepeace 
The Hon Martin Gaunt - Richard Pearce 
Sir Charles Bowyer - Brett Usher 
Lady Gina Bowyer - Shelley Thompson 
Scott Hanson - Colin McFarlane 
Speaker in meeting - Alan Barker 
Paul Weyman - Philip Sully 
Muriel Beasley - Joanna Myers 
American Matron - Jan Whittenshaw 
American Nurse - Adjoa Andoh 
Mr Darrell - Nigel Carrington 
Lady Cloudesley/A stranger - Susan Sheridan 
 
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, September 1991

Crown Papers

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