Colin Bytheway Radio Plays
Colin Bytheway is an experienced radio writer. He is also a regular scriptwriter on the TV detective series ‘Death In Paradise’.
2020-08-09, 19-45 Fabuloso - Fidget
Not a drama - this is the second of two short stories written to celebrate the 30th anniversary of 'Brighton and Hove Pride'. The story - Janet hasn't seen Luke for 9 years and is hoping to catch a glimpse of her son in Brighton at the annual Pride Parade - a pilgrimage she makes every year. Friendly octogenarian Roy is in the crowd and offers to keep an eye out too. They become friends and, as Roy's health declines, he encourages Janet to enter Fidget in the Pride Dog Show.
Reader: Lesley Manville,
Producer: Celia de Wolff,
Sound Engineer: David Thomas.
Indie (Pier).
2018-07-02, 10-45; 15m Drama - Ground Control,Episode 1
Ep. 1 of 5. Tess is married to a real live hero, Scott Carter, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. But is she always going to be just the wife of a famous man?
Tess ....... Tamsin Greig,
Scott ...... Adam James,
Anna ........ Georgie Glen,
Shariq ......... Nick Mohammed,
Sylvie ........ Felicite Du Jeu,
Dmitry ........ Neil McCaul,
Reporter ......... Ryan Early,
Producer...... Sally Avens.
2017-06-20 The Twenty Year Stretch
Dutch law states that an art thief has legal ownership of stolen private art after 20 years. In Amsterdam, Erik and Sophie plan to steal a Van Gogh, then wait twenty years to sell the painting. The first part of the plan succeeds. Fast-forward nineteen years and 364 days later. Erik, Sophie and Hector meet on the eve of the day that Erik and Sophie will legally own the painting. Much has changed in twenty years.
Erik De Jong ....... James D'Arcy,
Sophie Visser ........... Tara Fitzgerald,
Hector Van Doran ......... Nicholas Farrell,
Auctioneer ........ David Reakes,
Producer ...... Alison Crawford.
2017-05-10 Tightrope
Play about Charles Blondin, the first man to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. He astounded audiences with his death-defying feats. Near the end of his life, Blondin sees a chance to relive his glory days through a new-found prodigy, Billy Stoker. But Blondin does not count on violent opposition from both the boy's mother and his own wife.
Harry .......... Carl Prekopp,
Charles ........... Philip Jackson,
Billy ......... Jed O'Hagan,
Dorcas ......... Caroline Gruber,
Minnie ........... Jane Whittenshaw,
Katherine ........ Paula Lane,
Vida ........ Charlie Brooks,
Producer...... Celia de Wolff.
Indie (Pier).
31 May 2016: Departure
By Colin Bytheway. Two strangers meet as they board a plane; a journey they know they will not survive ... along with extra leg room, the flight offers a euthanasia service. BBC Blurb (edited): 'Exploiting a loophole in aviation law, airline tycoon Hunter Mackenzie has pioneered these flights on his transatlantic routes. You board the plane, and then at a given time enter a specially designed compression chamber, receive a quick injection, and then you are dropped into the Atlantic ocean below - a burial at sea'. (I think H.M. is fictional - Ed) Jan: Alison Steadman, Martin: Kevin Whateley, with Helen George, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Roy Hudd. Producer: Alison Crawford.
8 Sep 2015: The Man Who Bit Mary Magdalene
By Colin Bytheway. When an earthquake strikes Lincoln Cathedral, the bishop starts hunting for relics in order to attract visitors and money, for thr building of the tallest spire in the world. Based on a true story. Bishop Hugh: David Jason, Mary: Patsy Kensit, with Miles Jupp, Robert Bathurst, Kenneth Cranham and David Tombling. Historical adviser: Sue Scott, producer: Celia de Wolff. Indie (Pier Productions)
BURNING DESIRES....2014
20 Feb 14. By Colin Bytheway; set in Paris. Between 1914 and 1918 Henri Landru proposed to ten women. He murdered all of them. After proposing to each one and gaining access to their money he took them to his villa, killed and dismembered them, then burned their remains on his kitchen stove. Landru: - David Jason, Marie- Martine McCutcheon, Jean - Tom Ellis, Frenande - Sophie Thompson, Catherine - Lesley Nicol, Celestine - Rachel Atkins. Producer Celia de Wolff.
Mary Toft’s Rabbit Tale....2011
22 Apr 2011. Mary Toft is a simple country girl who has the bizarre idea of throwing a sickie by faking giving birth to a rabbit. The hoax escalates until she has been taken in by a rogue male midwife, who exploits her until eventually the hoax is revealed when she is presented to no less than the King of England.
- BBC info, edited:
In 1726, 26 year old mother of three, Mary Toft gave birth to a rabbit. And then another. And then another. All were stillborn - some were just rabbit body parts - but all were the fruit of her loins. Local surgeon John Howard confirmed the phenomenon, delivering several live rabbits himself. He wrote of his findings to the Secretary of George I. The King, intrigued, sent his personal anatomist Nathaniel St Andre to investigate who soon concluded that Toft was telling the truth and was preternaturally giving birth to rabbits. Cast: Mary ..... Anna Madeley, Joshua ..... Will Young, John Howard ..... Rupert Graves, St Andre ..... Nickolas Grace, Sir Richard ..... Patrick Ryecart , George I ..... Ian Masters. Producer/Director: Celia de Wolff. Indie: made by Pier Productions.
Katie Ann’s Blog:....2012
Katie is an eleven-year-old girl with leukaemia, who writes upbeat, almost polyanna-ish posts on the progress of the disease. A journalist, whose girlfriend is following the blog, senses a story, and tracks down Katie, who isn’t really Katie, but a lonely old man (played by Roy Hudd), inventing the identity of a young girl, because he knows that everyone will take notice of the plight of a young girl but would be indifferent to that of a man in his seventies. The budding journalist uncovers Katie’s true identity and a friendship develops between him and the old man with heartwarming consequences.
- BBC info, edited:
21 June 2012; Katie-Ann is 11 and dying of leukaemia. But she is the bravest of souls. She journals her pain, her hopes and dreams online in her blog. She talks of the treatments she endures, the daily indignities, but always remains positive. Vic is 79 and also has leukaemia, but unlike Katie-Ann, no-one cares about him. He is old, and he rails at life and his impending death alone. A writer finds the Katie-Ann blog, and decides to find out more... Cast: Vic ....... Roy Hudd, Rob ....... Carl Prekopp, Katie-Ann ....... Ella Dale, Lisa ....... Jaimi Barbakoff, Sandra ....... Jenny Funnell. Producer: Celia De Wolff. Indie; Pier Productions.
Waiting for Di ....2007
Chris is a young man with H I V, contracted abroad after a road accident when he is given contaminated blood. Abi earns her living as a Princess Diana lookalike. They meet as they camp out in the crowd to watch the funeral cortege of the real princess Diana. She is waiting for her boyfriend/agent to call her but he doesn’t get in touch. After all, there’s no market for a Princess Diana lookalike after Princess Diana has died. The two get of to an uneasy start, because Abi can’t stop chattering, and Chris just wants to be left alone, but as they camp overnight and wait for the funeral procession – and the phone call, a friendship is born.
- BBC info, edited:
27,Aug,2007,Monday,Radio 4,14:15:00 .... On the eve of Princess Diana's funeral; two unlikely strangers find themselves thrown together as they mourn the loss of someone they never knew. Directed by Celia De Wolff. Rpt. 20 Apr 2009.
The Angel of Covent Garden .... 2007
The story of a young man working as a rent boy, and a performance artist who dresses as an angel and hands out pieces of paper with messages on them – words like “Believe. This sounds almost identical to the act that Yoko Ono had created. (in 1966, it is said that John Lennon first met Yoko Ono when she handed him a card that simply said “breathe” at a very similarly-styled performance art event).
- BBC info, edited:
18,May,2007,Friday,Radio 4,21:00:00,The Friday Play.... Having been hurt too many times; Lee doesn't believe in love. But then he meets an Angel. Lee ...... Bryan Dick, Alex ...... Andrew Scott, Coral ...... Shirley Anne Field, Marco ...... Christian Solimeno. Directed by Sally Avens.
Nigel Deacon / Clive Lever / Diversity website
