Entertainment Radio

Bob Sinfield spent 25 years scripting every star on the box, from Bob Monkhouse and Jasper Carrott to Tracey Ullman and Rory Bremner. Now he tells all about the life of a jobbing jokesmith and the celebs he tried to ‘gag’.

Nicholas Parsons was the host of the Just a Minute for nearly 52 years - from its first broadcast on 22nd December 1967 until his last show on 23rd September 2019, aged 96. He was a comedy 'straight man', West End actor, radio personality, game-show presenter, chat-show host, quiz master supreme and larger-than-life stage superstar. Here we celebrate his life and work with a series of programmes compered by Paul Merton, plus Series 85 of Just a Minute - his final series.

If you've been thinking about getting into amateur radio, here's the information you've probably been looking for.

The Whistler was one of radio’s top mystery programs airing from May 16, 1942 until September 22, 1955. Sponsored by the Signal Oil Company, The Whistler (Joseph Kearns, Gale Gordon, and Bill Forman) was an ominous narrator who knew the killer’s every move even before they did. The stories followed an effective formula in which a person's criminal acts were typically undone by their own missteps. The Whistler often commenting directly upon the action in the manner of a Greek chorus, taunting the criminal from an omniscient perspective.

"The Falcon" radio series premiered in 1943, and continued until 1954. The Falcon was an alternate identity for detective Michael Waring. Like the Falcon movies, the radio plots mixed danger, romance and comedy in equal parts. Each show began with a telephone ringing and Michael Waring, The Falcon, answering the phone. Speaking with a woman whose voice was never heard, Waring would explain that he had an urgent situation in which he had to deal with. This led into the standard opening, followed by the week's tale of adventure.

How does a kid who survives the rain of V-2 rockets on London in the waning years of World War II end up in Hollywood announcing the diamond jubilee of Oscar? Veteran Hollywood voice actor Neil Ross tells the amazing story of his life, and 50-plus-year career, in two exciting, highly competitive professions in his autobiography Vocal Recall; A Life in Radio and Voice Overs.

For the Record: Celebrating Piccadilly Radio's 50th Anniversary, 1974 to 2024 looks back at the early years of what became the most popular and successful mixed news and entertainment radio station in the country. It was listened to and loved by millions of people across the Northwest.

In The Pied Pipers of Rock 'n' Roll, Wes Smith examines the phenomenon of the AM deejays who captivated a generation and helped define the counterculture that has forever changed the landscape of American youth. Smith takes a close look at nine of the men who made this happen and explores the reasons for their influence and its lasting effects on the generation whose lives still unfold to the soundtrack laid down by these platter-spinners of their youth.

Michael Shayne, "the reckless, redheaded Irishman", was a popular hard-boiled detective created by crime novelist Brett Halliday. In the novels, Michael Shayne settled in Miami just after WWII, making crime pay by fighting it with a license and an attitude. Like Mike Hammer and Philip Marlowe, Shayne was a loner. The backstory on Mike is that he was happily married, but it hit him hard when his wife was tragically murdered. Grief stricken, Shayne loses himself in his work as a private eye, prowling the dark streets of the city.

At least 12 million people listen to Osgood every day on CBS radio, and millions more watch him on CBS News Sunday Morning. All of them would agree that no one delivers quite the way he does the offbeat stories that make listeners stop and pay attention; the commentaries in which he shares his sense of wonder, dismay, or amusement; the well-spun tales of irony that often burst forth into wordplay or even poetry.

A candid personal story of one radio broadcaster’s life, both on and off the air. It’s a look behind-the-scenes of the radio business and how it is has evolved for the author over many decades.

Seguramente guardás recuerdos imborrables de tu infancia, viendo tus series animadas favoritas o de las películas y series que marcaron tu adolescencia. Tal vez, te preguntaste miles de veces, cómo se crearon, qué hacían los actores detrás de escena, cómo los eligieron... Bueno, ¡llegó el momento de descubrirlo! Lucas Baini te cuenta todos los secretos y las curiosidades más insólitas del backstage.

The original 1941 radio dramatization of Inspector Bonaparte Mystery—featuring Bony, the first Aboriginal detective. The discovery of a stolen red monoplane on the dry flat bottom of Emu Lake meant many things for different folks. For Elizabeth Nettlefold, the chance to nurse its strangely ill passenger meant renewed purpose in life. For Dr. Knowles, brilliant physician and town drunk, it meant the revival of a romantic dream. For some it meant a murder plan gone awry, and for Bonaparte, it meant one of the toughest cases of his career.

The Armageddon Storm Parts One, Two and Three is an enhanced audiobook performed by the stars of the classic BBC television series. When mercenary Del Grant alerts the Liberator crew to the existence of a new Federation super-weapon, Avon leads an epic battle to avert catastrophe....

The Pinehill Crest Hotel in Kent is host to three very different events: a cross-stitch convention, an experiment in time travel and...the summoning of the scourge. The Doctor, Bernice and Ace find themselves dealing with a dead body that's come back to life, a mystical symbol that possesses its host and a threat from another universe that's ready for every trick the Doctor's got up his sleeve. This time, has the Doctor gone too far? Written by Paul Cornell. Directed by Gary Russell.

Ever wonder what minor league baseball is really like behind the scenes? Are you a baseball fan that wants to get closer than ever to the action? This book pulls back the curtain to share the true and (until now) untold tales of America's national pastime. Fans of all ages can read some of the most jaw-dropping, eye-opening stories from life in minor league baseball!

Get ready for eight fantastic adventures in space and time with the Doctor and his companions, featuring stories from many of Doctor Who's most popular authors from the worlds of television, print, comics and audio as well as new talent and fresh voices...and read by your favourite Big Finish actors!

This is the story of how four people, grouped together inside a set of offices five floors above a greengrocer's shop on Shepherd's Bush Green in West London, scaled the heights of British comedy.

The Doctor and Charley travel to the remote Cimmerian System to unravel the mystery of its sun. But darkness has already embraced the scientific base on Cimmeria IV in more ways than one. In a fight for survival, the Doctor must use all his wits against a deadly artificial lifeform and an ancient race whose return to the Cimmerian System threatens suffering and death on an apocalyptic scale. Written and directed by Nicholas Briggs.

H. G. Wells' science fiction novel of an alien invasion was the first of its kind and remains his most popular book. It has influenced both literature and other media, including several films, and a famous radio drama.