Miriam Margolyes Radio Plays

Miriam Margolyes, one of our best-known actresses, is a familiar figure on television, film and stage. What is less widely known is her prodigious radio output; at the time of writing, Miriam has starred in hundreds of radio broadcasts: 600 on radio 4, 137 on radio 2 and 104 on radio 3; that makes 840 programmes. Miriam studied English at Newnham, then appeared in Footlights; very soon afterwards she was working on the Home Service of the BBC.

A high proportion of Miriam's radio work is in readings and drama; there are also appearances in comedy series and on Woman's Hour. Below I've listed some of the broadcasts in which she has starred; most recent at the top. These were on Radio 4 exceptwhere indicated. Note that this page is under construction; there are still some conspicuous gaps in the listing, though I probably won't be listing all 840 entries!

Some of my favourite broadcasts which involve MM:
Sue Limb's 'Wordsmiths at Gorsemere', Bruce Stewart's "The Tor Sands Experience", Noel Coward's "Present Laughter" from 1974, de Maupassant's "The Dumpling", and the Alfred Bradley production of Ken Whitmore's extraordinary play "The Sport of Angels".

NOTES ON SOME OF THE PLAYS AND READINGS:

CHARLOTTE AND LILIAN....2017
By Holly Walsh and Kat Sommers. Series 1:The Introduction. 20 Sep. In the process of splitting up from her boyfriend, 29-year-old Charlotte is determined to prove she's not as self-centred as he says she is. She signs up as a volunteer to visit the elderly. She expects to be paired with a frail and needy old lady. Instead she meets 82-year-old Lillian, a feisty old bat. They don't get on, but their conflicting outlooks on life belie a similarity in their personalities. Both are profoundly selfish, self-involved and stubborn; quietly curious about each other and rather lonely. Indie. (Giddy Goat). Charlotte ..... Helen Monks, Lillian .... Miriam Margolyes, Producer .... Lucy Armitage.

2016-12-24 -Archive on 4: The Many Faces of Ebenezer Scrooge
Christopher Frayling explores how Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol has endured in popular culture for over 170 years. Victorian families sat around the fire to read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, over the festive season. It became an annual ritual. Dickens performers Simon Callow and Miriam Margolyes give their input. Producer: Jane Long. Indie; Hidden Flack production.

2016-12-22 Northanger Abbey
By Jane Austen; dramatised by Hattie Naylor; broadcast in 15-minute chunks. Ep. 4: Catherine fears she has offended Henry and Eleanor Tilney and that she may never see either of them again; Jane Austen's satire pokes fun at the popular sensationalist fiction of the day. Catherine ..... Georgia Groome, John ..... Stephen Wight, Isabella ..... Ainsley Howard, Mrs Allen ..... Tracy Wiles, Mr Allen ..... Kim Wall, Henry ..... Luke Thompson, James ..... Finlay Robertson, Eleanor ..... Natasha Cowley, The Book ..... Miriam Margolyes, Director ..... Sally Avens.

2015-12-01 Gloomsbury - Series 2:Ever Decreasing Literary Circles
By Sue Limb. Flushed with her recent success, Ginny is to hold a literary salon, but she wants Vera to co-host it.Henry can't decide whether to carry on working for the Foreign Office or write a biography of Byron or Tennyson, and follows Vera round the castle unsuccessfully trying to solicit her advice. Indie: Little Brother Productions. Vera Sackcloth-Vest ..... Miriam Margolyes, Henry Mickleton ..... Jonathan Coy, Mrs Ginny Fox ..... Alison Steadman, Lionel Fox ..... Roger Lloyd Pack, Mrs Gosling, Vera's Housekeeper ..... Alison Steadman, Gosling, Vera's Gardener ..... Roger Lloyd Pack, Venus Traduces ..... Morwenna Banks, Producer ..... Jamie Rix.

Gillian Reynolds in the DT, Nov 2012:
This has turned into one of the funniest, slyest, most naughtily inventive and brilliantly performed shows on the air. Sue Limb, creator of Up the Garden Path and The Wordsmiths of Gorsemere, has come up with a parodic reflection of Bloomsbury, which bursts out of its frame to become an entire parallel comic world. Miriam Margolyes is magnificent as Vera, writer, chatelaine of Sizzlinghurst, married to Henry (Jonathan Coy) to whom she is devoted while being in love with Ginny (Alison Steadman) who’s in love with anyone else.

2014-06-10 Deadheading,Episode 2
By Val McDermid; a comedy detective story of murder on the allotments, with Julie Hesmondhalgh and Miriam Margolyes. 15m episodes. Savvy Productions (Indie). DSI Alma Blair ...... Julie Hesmondhalgh, DS Jason Trotter ...... John Hollingworth, CSM Jo Blake ...... Miriam Margolyes, Narrator ...... Jonathan Keeble, Brian Masters ...... Jonathan Keeble, Eric Ollerinshaw ...... Alan Rothwell, PC Sparks ...... Victoria Brazier, Claire ...... Victoria Brazier, Producer ...... Justine Potter. Sound Designer: Eloise Whitmore.

Val McDermid’s Deadheading also suffers from adornment. This body-in-the-allotment comic mystery is graced by Julie Hesmondhalgh as a perkily efficient detective and Miriam Margolyes as a bluff crime-scene manager. The chemistry between them is the stuff of breakfast TV presenters’ dreams. We don’t need a narrator (Jonathan Keeble, but not his fault) wheeled on like a whispery David Attenborough in the African bush. ....Moira Petty, in "The Stage"

4 June 2014: The House of Fiction
By Susan Swingler. A memoir of how she was turned into fiction by her stepmother, Birmingham-born Australian novelist Elizabeth Jolley. Dram atized by Sara Davies. Miriam Margolyes as Elizabeth, Juliet Aubrey as Joyce Jolley, young Susan: Isabella D'Alessandro, Laura: Jacqueline Tong. Producer Mary Ward-Lowery.

4 Oct 2013: Dinner in the Village
By Caryl Phillips. Tensions between two famous bi-racial couples: the story is about developing friendships and how the dynamics between a foursome (Trinidadian writer CLR James, American novelist Richard Wright, and their women) can change. The play is recorded in New York where Caryl Phillips lives. He met and corresponded with these four people. He has wanted to write this play for a long time. Cast: Richard Wright ...... Neil Dawson, CLR James ....... Andre Blake, Constance ........ Jennifer Van Dyck, Ellen ....... Lauren McCord, Gloria ..... Anne Bobby, Interviewer ...... Tom Datnow, FBI man ...... Moti Margolin, Waitress ...... Sydney Beveridge, Technical Production: Peregrine Andrews. Producer: Judith Kampfner. Indie production (Waters Company).

28 Jun 2013: Shall I Say a Kiss?
Drama starring two deaf actors, based on a true story. Dramatised by Vanessa Rosenthal. Shall I Say a Kiss? is the title of a book of letters edited by Lennard Davis, Eva and Morris' youngest son. When his parents died he found a bundle of faded letters. They afforded a fascinating glimpse into his parents' courtship. Morris Davis was born deaf in 1898 in Whitechapel. He moved to New York in 1924. On a visit to the UK in 1935, he saw a photo of Eva Weintrobe, also deaf. He went to Liverpool to meet her. After four meetings, Morris proposed. Eva accepted, but before they could arrange a date, Morris had to go back to New York. So the letters and challenges began. Could he bring Eva to America and marry her there? Would he be able to support her? And most pressingly, would American Immigration accept her? The cast includes deaf actors David Bower and Emily Howlett. Morris - David Bower, Eva - Emily Howlett, Mrs Weintrobe - Miriam Margolyes, Joseph Weintrobe - Adam Levy, Beattie Sokolov - Ceri Mill. Chad Gaya sung by the Dyson Langleben families. Production co-ordinator Eleri McAuliffe. Sound engineers Cathy Bassett, Nigel Lewis. Producer Polly Thomas. Executive producer Kate McAll.

2013-03-25 Thinking of Leaving Your Husband?
By Charlotte Cory. 4 episodes x 30m. A middle-aged woman's attempts to find herself a new romantic interest by joining an internet dating site. Sarah ..... Lia Williams, Tony, and all Sarah's internet dates ..... Henry Goodman, Mother ..... Miriam Margolyes, Tania ..... Frances Barber, Francis Parker ..... Roger Hammond, Phoebe-Jane ..... Hayley Roberts. Sound Design by Lucinda Mason Brown. Original Music by David Chilton. Series initiated by Nick Russell Pavier. Producer: Gordon House. Indie -Goldhawk Essential.

A GROTTO FOR MISS MAYNIER....2011
National treasure, actress Miriam Margolyes had one of her early radio roles repeated in today’s Afternoon Theatre : From the Sixties today in 1970 (BBC Radio 4, 3.0pm). A Grotto for Miss Maynier by FC Ball was originally broadcast by the BBC in 1967 and was a drama about a strange relationship between a solitary old lady and her garden boy.(from onlinescribblings.blogspot.co.uk, 6 Nov 2011 ... this site is well worth a visit! - ND.)

13-08-2011 The Porlock Poisoner
By Marcy Kahan, World Service. Miriam Margolyes, Fenella Woolgar and Kevin Eldon star the comedy whodunit in which five global do-gooders - a genetic engineer, a feminist activist, an environmental analyst, an economics guru and a world poverty campaigner - descend upon the tranquil harbour village of Porlock Weir in Somerset to compete for a £25m grant. But during a visit to the smallest parish church in England, one of the group suffers a gruesome fate - and a weekend dedicated to world affairs turns into a murder mystery. Fortunately there is a gifted amateur detective present - Tina Paganini, a statuesque blonde with a photographic memory, a misleadingly air-headed manner and the wrong shoes for an English country walk. Directed by Dirk Maggs. Tina Paganini - Fenella Woolgar, Ben Huxley - Kevin Eldon, Evelyn Carleton Shellminsky - Miriam Margolyes, Kasha McLennan - Mel Giedroyc, Vikram Alexander - Paul Bhattacharjee, Samuel Gondo - Nyasha Hatendi, Otto Hans Magnus Hauptman - Stephen Hogan, Detective Inspector Holroyd - Brian Bowles. (60m)

2010-12-28: The Darkness of Wallis Simpson
Not sure who wrote this.... A play imagining the last days of Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, the woman for whom King Edward VIII gave up the throne of England in 1936. Wallis is now 79 years old. Edward has been dead for fourteen years. She lies bedridden in her house in Paris. Cast:Wallis Simpson ..... Elizabeth McGovern, Maitre Blum/ Grandmother..... Miriam Margolyes, Ernest Simpson ..... Joseph Kloska, Wallis' Mother ..... Barbara Barnes, Cecil Beaton ..... Nigel Anthony, Win Spencer ..... John Chancer. Original Music by David Chilton. Producer: Gordon House. Indie: Goldhawk Essential.

2009-08-11 Bluestockings, Episode 1
By Jane Robinson. Book of the Week. Miriam Margolyes reads from JR's account of the pioneering British women who overcame all odds to get a university education. Women had to wait until 1869 before they could enrol at Cambridge University, and even then the odds were stacked against them.

8-11-2008 Von Ribbentrop's Watch
By Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran. Wine shop owner Gerald desperately needs money: his business is failing and the landlord has raised the cost of the lease. When he inherits a watch that used to belong to wartime Nazi Joachim Von Ribbentrop he believes that his financial troubles are over. But it sparks conflict with his wife and brother; who question the ethics of the potential sale. Gerald ...... Allan Corduner, Ruth ...... Harriet Walter, Lila ...... Miriam Margolyes, David ...... Nicholas Woodeson, Sasha ...... Sophie Winkleman.

2007-03-05 The Women's Room
1/15. Mira starts her look back at her life, starting with the traumatic teenage experience that shaped her view of sex and men. An adaptation by Sarah Daniels of Marilyn French's novel. Mira ... Elizabeth McGovern, Val ... Miriam Margolyes, Norm ... Ian Porter, Mrs Ward ... Barbara Barnes, Nurse ... Christine Kavanagh, Lilly ... Charlotte Emmerson, Carl ... Allen Lldkey, Lanny ... Allen Lldkey, Biff/Carlos ... James Herrick, Malel ... Mark Straker, Male 2/Doctor ... John Dougall, Woman 1 ... Rachel Bavidge, Woman2 ... Jasmine Callan, Acoustic guitar played by Sven Knight. Producers Polly Thomas and Carrie Rooney.

2006-09-24 A Necklace of Raindrops
By Joan Aitken. 5/5. The Mysterious Barricades. A civil servant goes in search of his destiny. Read by Miriam Margolyes. 5 x 15m. Producer Jill Waters.

2004-10-05 Isabella and the Pot of Basil
By John Keats. Isabella loves Lorenzo but her brothers want him dead. Narrator ... Miriam Margolyes, Isabella ... Janie Dee, Lorenzo ... Rashan Stone, Brothers ... Stephen Hogan, Brothers ... Nicholas Boult, Music ... David Chilton. Producer ... Claudine Toutoungi

Comments from the BBC messageboard:
........A welcome change from the average Afternoon Play; I enjoyed it. It was atmospheric and gripping. Please give the director, Claudine Toutoungi, much more to do. We need her.

......Poetic ballads aren't usually my thing, but this was beautifully done and kept me listening until the end. Miriam Margolyes' narration was well-paced, the music was atmospheric and the songs were not only rather lovely but also added a touch of humour.

2002-07-08 Tuscan Soup
Miriam Margolyes reads Lou Wakefield 's comic tale of the modern British abroad, adapted in ten parts. 1: Marion takes a trip to Tuscanywith two ill-assorted companions from Leicester. Producer: Claire Grove.

2002-05-23 Radio 4 Appeal
Miriam Margolyes appeals on behalf of a charity which provides free legal advice and support to refugees seeking safety in the UK from persecution. Producer: Laurence Grissell.

2001-12-22 Poetry Please
Frank Delaney presents listeners' poetry requests, including poems by Keats, Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Jennings. Readers: Miriam Margolyes, Jack Davenport and David Collins. Producer Kate McAII.

2000-05-12 M for Mother
By Marjorie Riddell , dramatised by Gabrielle Lloyd. 1954, Wether Bilbury, Cheshire. Mrs Wordsley is coping as best she can with her daughter's move to London. Not that she would seek to intrude. Sarah: Jennifer Dundas Lowe, Mother: Rosalind Ayres, Aunt Etta/Mrs Alcock/Aunt Mabel: Miriam Margolyes, Aunt Ethel/Aunt Dora: Jane Carr, Aunt Gertrude/Shop assistant: Carolyn Seymour, Harry: Simon Templeman, Mr Scott: Kenneth Danziger, Father: Martin Jarvis. Producer: Pete Atkin.

(1999-12-20 to 24) Chosen For Christmas

1: Richard Briers reads `Dulce Domum' from `The Wind in the Willows' by Kenneth Grahame.
2: Felicity Kendal reads `A Second Christmas In Kenya' from `The Flame Trees Of Thika' by Elspeth Huxley.
3: Miriam Margolyes reads `Christmas Eve in New York' from `A Tree Grows in Brooklyn' by Betty Smith.
4: Emma Fielding reads `Natasha's First Ball' from `War & Peace' by Leo Tolstoy.
5: Tim Pigott-Smith reads `Christmas Truce 1914' from `A Fox Under My Cloak' by Henry Williamson.

1999-10-15 A Crumb Of Comfort
By Roger Hammond. Miriam Margolyes stars as a nightmarish hospital visitor in this outstanding monologue written especially for her.

(1999-09-18) The End Of Love
By Rose Tremain. Olga and Bertie's 30-year-old daughter Lottie wishes to marry her Irish poet boyfriend Michael. But Michael is a dreamer, fearful of commitment. He reminds Olga of the love of her life - a Polish pianist. Their love was not enough; why should Lottie's fare any better? With Miriam Margolyes and Nigel Anthony. Director Gordon House. Director Gordon House.

(1999-06-07 to 11) Virago Short Stories - A week of stories celebrating 21 years of Virago Modern Classics.

1: Goodbye & Good Luck (Grace Paley, read by Miriam Margolyes) Brooklyn, New York. The Yiddish theatre. A tale of passion and prudence over half a century.
2: A Love Match (Sylvia Townsend Warner, read by Juliet Stevenson) All is not as it seems in the small town of Hallowby between a sister and her war-bruised brother.
3: Why Herbert Killed His Mother (Winifred Holtby, read by Maggie Steed) A searing and hilarious condemnation of `mother love'.
4: No Place for You, My Love (Eudora Welty, read by Lorelei King) A brief encounter in the lost lands of the Mississippi Delta.
5: The Devastating Boys (Elizabeth Taylor, read by Sarah Badel) The arrival of two little boys from London for a fortnight changes Laura's life for ever.

AFTER ALBERT....1996
12 Nov 96; Perry Pontac’s witty, adventurous comedy After Albert with Margoyles playing a widowed Queen Victoria in besotted pursuit of Disraeli (suave Peter Jeffrey). (...summarised from Gillian Reynolds' review, DT)

1996-04-30 Some Tame Gazelle
Elizabeth Proud's six-part dramatisation of Barbara Pym 's novel. 2: Agatha goes to Karlsbad, leaving the coast clear for Belinda. Harriet Bede: Miriam Margolyes, Belinda Bede: Hannah Gordon, Mr Donne: David Holt, Henry Hoccleve: Peter Jeffrey, Agatha Hoccleve: Elizabeth Proud, with Hilda Schroder, Jilly Meers and Karla Goodman. Singers Harvey Brough, Phyllida Hancock and Mary Lincoln. Director of music: Malcolm McKee. Producer: Sioned William. Rpt.

13th February 1995: The Importance of Being Earnest
By Oscar Wilde. New production to celebrate the centenary of the play's first night which took place at the Haymarket Theatre, London, on 14 Feb 1895. Algernon Moncrieff: Martin Clunes, Lane: Michael Hordern, Jack Worthing: Michael Sheen, Lady Bracknell: Judi Dench, Gwendolen: Samantha Bond, Miss Prism: Miriam Margolyes, Cecily: Amanda Root, Canon Chasuble: John Moffatt, Merriman: Terence Alexander. Piano played by Terence Allbright. Director Glyn Dearman.

THE QUEEN AND I....1992
Sue Townsend’s The Queen and I ....... made in 1992, a glorious “what-if” imagining of the Royal family being replaced by a dour republican regime, M M doing every single voice. .....Gillian Reynolds, DT, 31 Aug 2016.

1989-03-11 Garden Notes
By Frederick Mohr, aka David McKail. Play (SNT) about the great opera singer Mary Garden. (1874-1967) "I didn't have an agent. All decisions were mine. If you can read a calendar and you know your worth, what do you need an agent for?" Directed by Patrick Rayner. BBC Scotland. Singer: Mary Garden, with Eileen McCallum and Miriam Margolyes.

1988-09-16 Cold Comfort Farm
By Stella Gibbons, ad. by Elizabeth Proud, in 4 episodes. 2: Amos's Call, in which Flora discovers yet more untidiness at Cold Comfort Farm: some of it religious. Flora Poste: Patricia Gallimore, Stella Gibbons: Elizabeth Proud, Meriam: Amanda Murray, Mrs Beetle: Miriam Margolyes, Mrs Murther: Diana Bishop, Reuben Starkadder: Trevor Martin, Adam Lambsbreath: Cyril Shaps, Seth Starkadder: Sion Probert, Amos Starkadder: John Hollis, Waitress: Kathryn Hurlbutt, Mr Mybug: Michael Spice, Aunt Ada Doom: Fabia Drake, Reader: John Westbrook, Piano and harmonium: Terence Allbright, Violin: Alison Hurry. Directed By: Ian Cotterell.

THE FINDING....1987
Alison Steadman, Roger Rees, Moira Lister and Miriam Margolyes lead the grown-ups in this superior children's drama, adapted from Nina Bawden's novel by Stephen Wakelam. Young James Older plays 11 -year-old Alex, whose happy life with his adoptive family is turned upside down by a mystery gift. (Guardian, 23 Dec 87)

1987-06-20 The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere
An everyday story of towering genius written by Sue Limb. The last of six episodes. 16 June 1800: William meditates upon his Miltonic sonnet. William Bloke arrives with a warning. De Quinine returns in disarray. There is a visitation and all is at peace. William Wordsmith: Geoffrey Whitehead, Dorothy Wordsmith: Denise Coffey, Samuel Tailor Cholericke: Simon Callow, Thomas de Quinine: Nickolas Grace, William Bloke: John Shrapnel, Stinking Iris: Miriam Margolyes, Leechpedler: Chris Emmett, Music By: Stephen Oliver, Producer: Jonathan James-Moore.

1986-09-30 Legal, Decent, Honest and Truthful
By Guy Jenkin and Jon Canter; comedy series of six episodes, with the voices of Joss Ackland, Miriam Margolyes, James Griffiths, John Shrapnel, Imedla Staunton and David Tate. Ken: Martin Jarvis, Sandy: Christopher Godwin, Freddie: With Lockwood West, Deborah: Rosalind Ayres, Ambrose: Paul Jesson, Andy: Chris Emmett, Christina: Jo Manning Wilson, film director: Scott Cherry, Angus: Michael Jenner, Tone: Jeremy Clyde, Doregan: Leslie Manville, Elvira: Moir Leslie, Kip: Joseph Marcell. Producer: Pete Atkin.

Precious Bane....1981
By Mary Webb, dram. Michelene Wandor. Three-part classic serial starting on R4, 26 Apr 81. 55 mins each. Starring Miriam Margolyes.

THE WOOLWORTH'S MADONNA....1981
Elizabeth Troop had an individual voice, adapting her own and other writers' work for the radio. I relished "The Woolworth's Madonna" (23 Feb 81, from her novel of the same title). It featured Miriam Margolyes - such versatility - and Elizabeth stoically suffered our visiting Tory MPs asking if we could make each scene the same length and wasn't it a waste of time going into the studio to talk with the actors? I smelled a threat of privatisation. (Richard Wortley, "Some Reflections on a Lifetime in Radio", Diversity website, 2004)

THE SPORT OF ANGELS....1981
By Ken Whitmore, 12 Feb 1981. This is a fantastic comedy, with Miriam Margolyes as an invented character who becomes involved with her creator (a boy called Godfrey, also known as God).

THE MENDIP DEMONIAC 1980
By John Fletcher. "The convulsive fits - or, as the common name has it - possessions of my patient George Lukins, take different forms. Sometimes he pretends himself a dog, sometimes a wild, fanatic dancer. Sometimes he will run violently into a shallow pond or river. Several times he has danced in a large chimney corner barefoot upon burning coals". (Surgeon Rees, 1745). Monday Play. With Steve Hodson, Jack Watson, Bill Wallis, Haydn Jones, Geoffrey Matthews, Miriam Margolyes, Donald McBride, Christian Rodska, producer Shaun MacLoughlin; BBC Bristol.

1980-02-14 Saigon Rose
R3; by David Edgar. BBC blurb: Where had it started, she'd often asked herself. Where do things start? Which is the first spoke in the wheel? The first daisy in the chain? ' Vicky and Clive Brent , and their cohorts, are brought face to face with the darker side of the ' Swinging 60s ' sexual revolution, and all that its apparently liberating aspects implied. (Meanwhile, for the uninitiated, Saigon Rose means gonorrhea- Ed.) Vicky Brent: Alison Steadman, Claymore: Blain Fairman, Heather Mclntyre: Miriam Margolyes, Clive Brent: Peter Pacey, Andrew McLusky: Bill Patterson, MO: Patti Love, Doctor: Geoffrey Matthews, Man on the beach: Stephen Yardley. Producer: Michael Rolfe.

THE TOR SANDS EXPERIENCE..... 1979
By Bruce Stewart. Broadcast on R3 and R4 (the latter as Hi-Fi Theatre); sequel to OMEGAPOINT. Excellent science fiction tale, with hexadodecaphonic sound effects (making little impression on my mono machine)...90m. With David Buck as Ellis, Miriam Margolyes as Flavia, Kate Binchy as Verity, Stephen Murray as Philemon; also stars Maurice Denham, Judy Bennett, Eva Stewart, Joe Dunlop, John Bull, Jennifer Pearcey and Adrian Egan. Music by David Kane. Technical realisation by Lloyd Silverthorne. Directed by Glyn Dearman.

26.1.78 - The Dumpling
By Guy de Maupassant, translated by H.N.P.Sloman from 'Boule de Suif (Ball of Suet), ad. Elizabeth Morgan. A handful of privileged citizens share a coach in their flight from occupied Rouen during the Franco-Prussian war. Among them is a pretty, plump young woman whose profession scandalises her aristocratic and self-centred fellow travellers. Nevertheless, they need her bargaining powers. This is the first radio dramatisation of this famous story. The Dumpling .... Miriam Margolyes, M Carre Lamadon .... John Westbrook, Mme Carri Lamadon .... Elizabeth Morgan, M Loiseau .... Harold Kasket, Mme Loiseau .... Elizabeth Bell, Comte de Breville .... Anthony Newlands, Comtesse de Breville .... Brenda Kayi, Cornudet .... Michael Harbour, Patron .... Brian Jackson, Patron's wife .... Anne Rosenfeld, Prussian officer .... Neville Jason. Producer... Margaret Etall.

1977-03-25 The Nonconforming Nonconformist
By Geoffrey Parkinson. Autobiographical comedy telling the story of his early religious life and the love affair that ended it.
MR BOOTH: It was easier to go about doing good in Biblical days. Where would you find a leper in Epsom?
MRS ARMITAGE : There are still lepers about.
MR BOOTH: Not enough to keep Christians going full-time.
Geoffrey Parkinson: Geoffrey Beevers, Young Geoffrey: Judy Bennett, Mother: Miriam Margolyes, Mr Armitage: Stephen Thorne, Minister: William Eedle, Sybil: Carole Boyd, Mr Booth: Timothy Bateson, Young John: Ian Sharrock, Joanne: Hilda Schroder, Mrs Armitage: Diana Olsson, Mr Tilley: David Timson, Father: Sean Arnold, Dick: Crispian Thorne. Anna Berenska on the harmonium. Produced and directed by Shaun MacLoughlin.

1976-11-24 Harry Worth: Things Could be Worse
With John Baddeley, John Graham and Miriam Margolyes. Episode title: "Going for a Song" by David McKellar and David Renwick. Producer: Simon Brett.

1976-01-28 Oh, Get On With It!
With Kenneth Williams,Lance Percival, Miriam Margolyes and the Nic Rowley Trio. Script by Peter Spence and others. Producer: Simon Brett.

1975-06-08 The Doctor's Wife
By Fay Weldon. With Peter Jeffrey as Dr Philip Bailey and Miriam Margolyes as Margot, his wife. ' My wife is certainly a stable person, good-tempered, even-natured. and never ill. Not given to any remarkable ups and downs. And yes, she is typical, I suppose.' Nevertheless research workers enter her life to test her emotional temperature with the aid of a band around her wrist. The results might be described as ironic. Producer: Richard Wortley.

1975-01-05 Housebreaker
R3. By Fay Weldon. Rose is a coper. Anything - generation gap. drugs, summer visitors, wild cats, male menopause - Rose copes. The trouble is, the stronger the camel's back, the more gets piled upon it. Housebreaker is the story of the final, silent, terrifying straw. Rose: Miriam Margolyes, daughter, Clare: Colin Haydn Jones, daughter, Clare: Jane Knowles, Bus conductor: Fraser Kerr, Bus driver: Anthony Hall, Doll: Betty Huntley-Wright, Marge: Diana Bishop, Audrey: Kathleen Helme, Arthur: John Hollis, Gavin: Eric Allan, Producer: Richard Wortley.

PRESENT LAUGHTER....1974
By Noel Coward; too well-known to describe here! 23 Dec 74;Cast:Paul Scofield-Garry Essendine, Joy Parker - Liz Essendine, Miriam Margolyes - Daphne Stillington, David Timson - Roland Maule, Fenella Fielding - Joanna Lyppiatt, Patricia Routledge - Monica Reed, Diana Olsen - Miss Erikson, Alan Rowe - Henry Lyppiatt, Timothy Bateson - Fred, Vernon Joyner - Morris Dixon, Betty Huntley Wright - Lady Saltburn. Producer: Ian Cotterell.

It's Warm and There's Company ....1974
6 Mar 74. By Elizabeth Morgan. RT blurb: A study of a group of women in hospital, and how they react to the place, and in particular to the fact that they are women. Afternoon Theatre. Helen HunteT: Ellzabeth Morgan, Jimmy Hunter: Terry Scully, Rosie Malcolm: Katherine Parr, Emma Smith: Ann Jameson, Dotty Blake: Miriam Margolyes, Glad Fuller: Eva Stuart, Maisie Biggs/Sister Ainley: Gudrun Ure, Dr Passmore: Sam Dastor, Stan: Sion Propert, Joe: Anthony Daniels. Producer: Betty Davies.

Liz Morgan writes (in 2018):
Miriam Margoyles played in this; she had just arrived on the BBC Rep as a student, and was excellent! But the play was intended to highlight the monstrous law that existed at the time . A woman could not have an operation which could render her infertile, even a life threatening cancer, without the permission of her partner whether married or common law. If he refused to sign the necessary form she could be left to die. After the broadcast I had shoals of letters from women who refused to allow their partners to sign . They signed for themselves. I was also interviewed on Womans Hour twice; later on, the law was changed. I’d like to think the play helped a little .

ND adds:
Notice that the blurb in RT for this play utterly misses the point. Things were different in 1974.

1974-01-21 The Ken Dodd Show
R2.Doddy's Comic Cuts, featuring Talfryn Thomas, Jo Manning Wilson, Miriam Margolyes, John Baddeley, and Michael McClain. Devised and written by Ken Dodd, Maurice Bird, Dave Dutton, Dennis Berson and Terry Ravenscroft. Producer: Bobby Jaye.

What Ho, Jeeves ! - 'The Code Of The Woosters' ....1973
By P.G. Wodehouse; 6-episode series. 16.10.1973 - 20.11.1973
With Michael Hordern, Richard Briers, Rex Garner, James Villiers and Miriam Margolyes.

1972-09-30 Hopjoy was Here
SNT. By Colin Watson, ad. Matthew Walters. Hopjoy is missing, and there's acid in the bath. Inspector Purbright of the Flaxborough CID begins a routine investigation. But then national security is mentioned - and half a pig disappears. ' Its a marvellous case,' says Mr Warlock. Insp Purbright .......... Peter Jeffrey, Major Ross .......... Dinsdale Landen, Major Pumphrey .......... Walter Hall, Chief Constable Chubb .......... Clifford Norgate, Sgt Love .......... Roy Spencer, Sgt Malley .......... Edward Kelsey, Warlock .......... John Bull, Periam .......... Robin Browne, Mrs Cork .......... Betty Baskcomb, Mrs Sayersf .......... Betty Baskcomb, Barraclough .......... William Sleign, Bernadette .......... Miriam Margolyes, Miriam .......... Olwen Griffiths, Producer .......... Colin Tucker.

1972-09-01 Mr Willow's Wife
By Ray Cooney and John Chapman. Together Again. Felicity Willow .... Moira Lister, Paul Willow .... Terence Alexander, Nanny .... Doris Hare, Madame Rondeberge.....Miriam Margolyes, Henri Rondeberge .... John Chapman, Wolfgang Schmidt .... Ray Cooney, Producer .... David Hatch.

1970-06-05 - A Festival of Women
By Aristophanes. A transvestite comedy. In the year 411 bc Euripides persuades his father-in-law to disguise himself as a woman in order to overhear a plot by the Women of Athens. Euripides, the famous Tragic poet ... Michael Aldridge, Mnesilochus, his father-in-law ... Francis de Wolff, Servant to Agathon ... Peter Bartlett, Agathon, a younger Tragic poet ... Gordon Gardner, Cleisthenes ... Alan Haines, A Police Sergeant ... John Boxer, A Police Cadet ... Andrew Sachs, Dancing girl Jo ... Manning Wilson, Chorus of women: Mary Wimbush, Margaret Wolfit, Elizabeth Morgan, Isabel Rennie, Jane Wenham, Miriam Margolyes, Angela Piper. Music by Guy Halahan, conducted by Lawrence Leonard. Producer: Raymond Raikes.

1970-01-07 Battles of Britain - 3: Waves
By Gerry Jones. The action of the play takes place on a desolate beach on the Welsh coast 50 years ago. Produced by: John Powell, Dad: Richard Bebb, Gareth, his son: Miriam Margolyes, Megan, his wife: Denise Buckley, Dave: Leonard Fenton. Special sound by David Cain, BBC Radiophonic Workshop.

1969-12-06 - Black is the Colour of My True Love's Hair
By G.W.Target. Stanley inhabits a world of exotic fantasy, not only in his dreams but in his more humdrum workaday life - searching for the ideal object of his affections. Mary - Miriam Margolyes, Sheila - Frances Jeater, with Hilda Kriseman, Anthony Jackson, Kate Binchy, Peter Pratt, Pauline Letts, Geoffrey Collins, Michael Deacon. Producer ... John Powell

1969-07-24 - DOCTOR AT LARGE
By Richard Gordon, ad. Ray Cooney. Series of 13 shows. Episode 7: Mozambique. With Ray Cooney, as Jock Hornbeam, Marjorie Westbury as Maria, Miriam Margolyes as Matilde, Ann Murray as Mrs. Hawkins and Madi Hedd as Rosa. Guest for this episode: Peter Jones. Produced by David Hatch. Recorded at The Playhouse, Northumberland Ave, London. W.C.2

1968-02-19 THE SHIFTING HEART
By Richard Bfynon, ad. Roger Pine. Produced by: Ronald Mason, Leila: Gwenda Wilson, Poppa Bianchi: Joss Ackland, Gino Bianchi: Paul Grist, Momma Bianchi-: Miriam Margolyes, Clarry: Alan White, Maria: Jane Wenham, Donny: Anthony Jackson, Det -Sgt Lukie: Brian Anderson.

Home Service - 1967-05-17 STAY OF EXECUTION
A serial in six parts by Michael Gilbert. Part 3. Rpt from 17 Oct 65 (Light). Produced by: Nesta Pain. Harry Gordon: Barry Foster, Harbord: Maurice Denham, Supt Lacey: Frederick Treves, Sergeant Knight: Gordon Faith, Bridget: Cecile Chevreau, Tarragon: Allan McClelland, Beeding: Gabriel Woolf, Nellie: Miriam Margolyes, Mr Henry: Oliver Johnston, Secretary: Patricia Leventon, Barker: Anthony Hall.

Home Service - 1966-04-09 Appointment with Venus
By Jerrard Tickell. Dramatised by John Richmond. Produced by ... Brian Miller, Captain Weiss ... Hector Ross, The Provost ... Wilfred Babbage, Carruthers ... Michael McClain, Petherton ... Michael Kilgarriff, Miss Oldham ... Miriam Margolyes, Major Valentine Morland ... John Justin, Uncle George ... Harold Kasket, Mildred ... Thelma Barlow, Nicola Failaize ... Penelope Lee, Magistrate ... John Crocker, Trawler Langley ... Norman Tyrrell, C M P ... Brian Gear, Alexander Forbes ... Ian Dewar, Baptiste ... Eric Anderson, Marie ... Ruby Luscombe, Georges ... Micheal Newport, Lionel Fallaize ... Michael Deacon, German N C O ... Michael McClain, Francoise ... Miriam Margolyes, Sergeant Vogel ... John Crocker, Adjutant ... Michael Kilgarriff, Corporal ... Brian Gear, Sentry ... Esmond Rideout.

THE RAINBOW MAN....1965.
By Nicholas Palmer, 17 Nov 65. Home Service; Afternoon Theatre. A teenage girl hero-worships a worldly-wise magician who visits her family once a year. Cast: Dick Bentley and Miriam Margolyes, with Preston Lockwood and Douglas Hankin. Produced by Grahan Gauld and Norman Wright.

Home Service - 1965-07-11 QUO VADIS ?
By Henryk Sienkiewicz translated by C.J.Hogarth. Adapted for radio in ten parts by Felix Felton and Susan Ashman. Ep. 2: Do Not Anger Caesar. Produced by ... R. D. Smith, Aulus Plautius, an old patrician ... Peter Claughton, Caius Hasta, a centurion ... Garard Green, Pomponia, wife of Aulus Plautius... ... Nicolette Bernard, Marcus, a patrician tribune ... Peter Howell, Petronius ... Fflix Felton, Acte, formerly Nero's mistress ... Lynn Carson, Lygia, a hostage princess ... Hilda Scrroder, Chi)o, a hunchback informer ... Anthony Jacobs, Nero ... David March, Lucan ... Anthony Hall, Crispinilla, a divorcee ... Miriam Margolyes, Tigellinus, head of the Praetorian Guard ...... ... William Fox, Ursus, a giant bodyguard ... Michael Kilgarriff, Poppaea, the Empress ... June Monkhouse, Chrysothemis, mistress to Petronius ...... ... Cecile Chevreau.

Home Service - 1965-02-24 - A Boy for Zelda
By Malcolm Hulke. Produced by: Betty Davies. Zelda: Shirley Cooklin, Myra Daniels: Miriam Margolyes, Harry Daniels: Gordon Faith, Rita: Mary Wimbush, David Goldman: Cyril Shaps, Johnny Ramsden: Nigel Graham, Arthur: Malcolm Terris.

Home Service - 1965-02-06 The Take-Over
By Maisie Mosco. Produced by: David H. Godfrey, Lily: Barbara Mitchell, Harry Marks: Cyril Shaps, Albert: Wilfrid Carter, Mrs Abrahams: Miriam Margolyes, Alec Marks: Andrew Sachs, Shirley Levy: Rosalind Shanks, Bella Marks: Nancy Nevinson, Sam Levy: John Gabriel, Mrs Lewis: Margaret Wolfit.

HOWARDS END ...1964
9 Aug; by Morgan Forster, ad Lance Sieveking, ep. 9. Produced by: William Glen-Doepel, Narrator: Norman Claridge, Henry Wilcox: Peter Bathurst, Margaret: Hilda Schroder, Dolly: Miriam Margolyes, Charles Wilcox: Stephen Thorne, Evic Wilcox: Eva Smart, Mrs Warrington: Elizabeth Morgan, Crane: Philip Morant, Helen Meg: Wynn Owen, Jacky: Pat Gilbert, Leonard Bast: John Hollis.

Home Service - 1964-09-06 HOWARDS END
By Morgan Forster. Episode 13: Produced by ... William Glen-Doepel, Narrator ... Norman Claridge, Helen ... Meg Wynn Owen, Charles WilCOX ... Stephen Thorne, Miss Avery ... Molly Rankin, Margaret ... Hilda Schroder, Henry Wilcox ... Peter Bathurst, Dolly ... Miriam Margolyes, Mrs Wilcox ... Wrnifred Evans, Tom ... Margaret Wolfit, Paul Wilcox ... Glyn Dearman.

Home Service - 1963-11-13 Defeating Mrs. Dresden
By Roger Booth. Produced by: Norman Wright, Delia Luke: Moira Mannion, Mrs Dresden: Janet Burnell, Mr Cobb: Charles Lamb, Mrs Lacey: Eva Stuart, Derek Cobb: John Pullen, Mrs Bassett: Molly Rankin, Arnold Luffman: Kevin Flood, Jane Dresden: Jo Manning Wilson, Andrew Lonsdale: Peter Bartlett, Hotel Proprietress: Miriam Margolyes, Foreign Tenant: Michael Goldie.

Compiled by Nigel Deacon / Diversity website

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