Audiobooks Narrated by David Fleeshman

Israbel, The Silver Sky & more: A BBC Radio Sci-Fi & Fantasy Collection

"Five tales of time-travel, vampires, Snow White and Odysseus from the legendary Tanith Lee Tanith Lee was one of the 20th century’s most influential writers of fantasy, horror and science fiction. She wrote over 90 novels and 300 short stories, as well as children’s books, poems and several episodes of Blake’s 7. Her many accolades include several World Fantasy Awards (including the Lifetime Achievement Award) and she was the first woman to win the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel. This collection contains five of her fantastic stories, including three specially written for radio. The Silver Sky – Paul Baxter, a research scientist into time-travel, makes the unilateral decision that the first test flight will be a manned one. The risk is enormous. The result is a meeting of two different worlds… Paul Darrow and Elizabeth Bell star in this 1980 audio drama, a sci-fi puzzle story set on a mysterious planet where the sea is pink and the sky silver. Israbel – Rich, lovely Israbel is the cynosure of all eyes – but as a vampire, she cannot see her own reflection. So she hires an artist to paint her portrait so that she can discover what she looks like – only for him to fall in love with her… Mark Bonnar and Claire Harry read this haunting story of dangerous obsession, abridged by Gemma Jenkins and introduced by Natalie Haynes. Red Wine – Writer Constantine hires the young, beautiful Eve Smith to type the manuscript of his autobiography. As his menacing story unfolds, she should be terrified – but her reaction is not at all what Constantine expects… Stephen Thorne and Penelope Reynolds star in this original play for radio, first broadcast in 1977. Red as Blood – A witch queen enlists the help of a hunter and a rebel angel in an attempt to rescue her stepdaughter, Bianca, from her sinister heritage. Stella Gonet reads this dark retelling of the Snow White fairy tale. Bitter Gate – In her first play for radio, Tanith Lee gives a new feminist slant to the classic myth of Odysseus’s return to Ithaka to reclaim his wife Penelope from her suitors. Stephen Thorne stars as Odysseus, with Elizabeth Bell as Penelope. Production credits Written by Tanith Lee The Silver Sky Paul Baxter – Paul Darrow Elzereth – Elizabeth Bell Dene – Simon Molloy Francesca Baxter – Anne Reid Clyde/Computer – Andy Rashleigh Sir Arthur Maddock – John Jardine John Lass/Technician – David Fleeshman Reporter – John Talbot Photographer/Computer – Nina Holloway Nurse – Mary Cunningham Technician – Martin Oldfield Directed by Kay Patrick Music and effects: David Fleming-Williams Israbel Introduced by Natalie Haynes Read by Mark Bonnar and Claire Harry Abridged and produced by Gemma Jenkins Red Wine Constantine/Constantine’s father/Constantine as a young man – Stephen Thorne Eve/all other parts – Penelope Reynolds Directed by Richard Wortley Red as Blood Read by Stella Gonet Produced by Gemma Jenkins Bitter Gate Odysseus – Stephen Thorne Penelope – Elizabeth Bell Eurymakos – Michael Cochrane Telemakos – Brian Hewlett God – Gerald Cross Goddess – Jill Balcon Antinous – Sean Barrett Mentor – Tim Fearon Irikleia – Betty Baskcomb Swineherd – Anthony Jacobs Beggar King – Neville Jason First Suitor – Nick Brimble Second Suitor – Tim Brown Kryse – Penelope Reynolds Directed by Richard Wortley Incidental music composed and conducted by Christos Pittas (P) 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd. © 2026 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Tanith Lee (Author), Anne Reid, Brian Hewlett, David Fleeshman, Elizabeth Bell, Full Cast, John Talbot, Mark Bonnar, Michael Cochrane, Paul Darrow, Stella Gonet (Narrator)

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Market: Six Full-Cast Original BBC Radio Dramas

"Six quirky dramas from in and around a northern market stall “If you want owt - go down the market... They sell everything from pins to pearl earrings, from peaches to pig's trotters, from tripe to tiramisu. See the hanging, marbled haunches of beef down Butchers' Row. Smell the flowers, a fragrant dream. Taste the fresh silvery fish motorwayed down from the North Sea.” Some would say the Market is the last authentic part of the city centre. This northern city has reinvented itself as a business and financial centre, bristling with designer shops and bars. A cosmopolitan, twenty-four hour city. Yet slap bang in the centre the Victorian City Market remains what it has always been; a place where you can get anything and see anything - a place teeming with life. The market is the real face of the city - mucky, multicultural and magnificent. Listen to this immersive collection of full-cast BBC radio dramas exploring the high and lows of this unique place which bursts with stories and life. In Loco Parentis by Garry Brown, a bittersweet empty nester comedy starring Reece Dinsdale, Jim can't sleep because his daughter's left for uni, his business is going belly up, and his father is going gaga. Oh, and to top it all he suspects his wife is having an affair with her boss… Phonebreaker by Steve Sunderland is the story of Matt. He’s going off the rails. School was a washout and working on his dad's market stall is a dead-end job. But when he hears a call for help on a stolen mobile phone, it's a call to action. An arresting morality tale starring Stephen Hoyle, Joseph Kloska and Jessica Blake. Sean's family own a fish stall down the market. Except Sean doesn't want to join them. He's become a 'Joey' for his best friend Darren who's a highly paid footballer. A Joey is a 'Go to Guy'. No way is he a dogsbody… The Joey by Jim Poysner is a quirky comedy starring John Catterall and Greg Wood. In Castaway by Michael Stewart, Kevin Eldon stars as Andrew, a man proud of his beard and his liberal attitudes. When Akram Khan, a successful businessman, buys some computers off his stall, things start looking up for Andrew. That is, until he fits a wi-fi router in Mr Khan’s impressive house… Eclipse by Sharon Oakes is a tender romantic comedy that tells the story of Carrie, who runs a flower stall. She also has a birthmark on her face. Maybe that's the reason she has never married? But Mrs Kaminsky knows she has a secret admirer. Starring Michelle Holmes, Andrew Westfield and Melissa Jane Sinden. Finally, An Imam and a Rabbi by Shakeel Ahmed is a wickedly funny supernatural comedy starring Muzz Khan and David Fleeshman. Imam Jawad and Rabbi Greenberg can't stand the sight of each other. But then something strange and spooky occurs that needs cross-cultural co-operation. Can they do it? Available as a complete collection for the first time, Market is a series of six plays with a whiff of the fantastical about them. Each story is self-contained, quirky and best described as a ‘modern morality’ play. Compelling, compulsive and utterly delightful, this wonderful collection is not to be missed by fans of comedy and drama alike. Produced by Peter Leslie Wild and Gary Brown Original Music by Steven D Reid ©2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2025 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd"

Gary Brown, Jim Poyser, Michael Stewart, Shakeel Ahmed, Sharon Oakes, Steve Sunderland (Author), Andrew Westfield, David Fleeshman, Full Cast, Greg Wood, Jessica Blake, John Catterall, Joseph Kloska, Kevin Eldon, Melissa Jane Sinden, Michelle Holmes, Muzz Khan, Reese Dinsdale, Stephen Hoyle (Narrator)

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The Gentry: Stories of the English

"Prize-winning author Adam Nicolson tells the story he was born to write – the real story of England. It is the gentry that has made England what it was and, to a degree, still is. In this vivid, lively book, history has never been more readable. We may well be ‘a nation of shopkeepers’, but for generations England was a country dominated by its middling families, rooted on their land, in their locality, with a healthy interest in turning a profit from their property and a deep distrust of the centralised state. The virtues we may all believe to be part of the English culture – honesty, affability, courtesy, liberality – each of these has their source in gentry life cultivated over five hundred years. These folk were the backbone of England. Adam Nicolson’s riveting new book concentrates on fourteen families with a time-span from 1400 to the present day. From the medieval gung-ho of the Plumpton family to the high-seas adventures of the Lascelles in the 18th-century, to more modern examples, the book provides a chronological picture of the English, seen through these intimate, passionate, powerful stories of family saga. The families have been selected from all over the country and range from the famous to the unknown. Some families are divided by politics , such as the family that took different sides in the Reformation; others destroy their inheritance through reckless gambling or investments . All of them are vivid depictions of the life and code of the gentry, and have left deep archives of family papers which the author has been able to use, often for the very first time. THE GENTRY is first and foremost a wonderful sweep of English history. It presents a convincing argument on what has created the distinctive English character but with the sheer readability of an epic novel."

Adam Nicolson (Author), David Fleeshman (Narrator)

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