Big Broadcast

Summary

The fast-talking glamorous musical drama set in a 1930s Chicago radio studio

A radio caper set in Hollywood's Golden Age, Big Broadcast sees radio station WKAZ's most successful programme, 'The Hour of Charm', face trouble from gangsters, sponsors, moral guardians and politics, not to mention Chicago's own winters.

When an acrimonious songwriting couple are facing threats from notorious gangster Brannigan, will a song save the day? Sometimes the hour can seem long when you're radio staff - so what happens when Chicago snow traps you in the building completely? A new manager plans to change the whole format of the show, but a deep-voiced celebrity could use his charm to stop the manager in his tracks. And when the station is threatened with closure by the League of Decency, Katharine Hepburn herself comes to the rescue with her inimitable style.

Starring Samantha Spiro (Sex Education, Game of Thrones), Josie Lawrence (Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Eastenders), and Susannah Fielding (This Time with Alan Partridge, Black Mirror), this joyful, nostalgic musical drama will transport you to a different time and place.


Written by Neil Brand
Music by Neil Brand
Directed by David Hunter and Jessica Dromgoole

Cast
Samantha Spiro - Myrna (Series 2-3)
Josie Lawrence - Jean Forsythe
Nigel Harman - Grant Thornhill
Sam Dale - Arthur Clarke (Series 1-2)
Sean Baker - Brannigan
Joanna Monro - Myrna (Series 1)
Jane Whittenshaw - Sadie
Stuart McLoughlin - Billy
Jim Norton - Harry
Paul Heath - Jamie
Roslyn Hill - Georgia
Bettrys Jones - Caitlin
Ian Conningham - Doug/Jimmy Cagney/Cary Grant/Robert F. Winkler
Chris Jarman - Paul Robeson
Ryan Early - Arthur Clarke (Series 3)
Ryan Whittle - Jerry
Kerry Gooderson - Dixie
Stephen Hogan - Princeton
Emma Handy - Jess
Elizabeth Counsell - Grace Stibbens
John Lightbody - Stupendo
Lauren Cornelius - Norma Chaffey
Susannah Fielding - Katharine Hepburn
Neil McCaul - Arthur Clarke (Series 4)
Bettrys Jones - Barbara Meek
Heather Craney - Ramona Fairfax
Hasan Dixon - Jerry Soundguy
Clive Hayward - Preston Lanister
Franchi Webb - Danny Folly
BBC Singers - Margaret Cameron, Charles Gibbs, Olivia Robinson, Stephen Jeffes, Helen Neeves, Katherine Nicholson, Chris Bowen, Jamie W Hall, Nancy Cole, Jimmy Holliday

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on the following dates:
1 June 2011 (Series 1)
24 December - 25 December 2014 (Series 2)
21 October - 28 October 2018 (Series 3)
20 December - 27 December 2020 (Series 4)

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