''Deep Trouble'' is a BBC radio comedy series, written by and starring Jim Field Smith and Ben Willbond, which first aired on BBC Radio 4 in October 2005. It takes place in the year 2012, aboard HMS ''Goliath'', a Royal Navy stealth nuclear

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

, and follows the trials and tribulations of the submarine's chaotic crew, underneath their inept commanding officer, Captain Paul Wade (played by Jim Field Smith) and his officers Lieutenant Trainor, Weapons Officer (played by Ben Willbond), Commander Alison Fairbanks, second-in-command (played by

Katherine Jakeways Katherine Jakeways is a British comedian, actor and writer. She has appeared in numerous television, radio and theatrical productions. Career Jakeways' television appearances include '' Extras'', ''Horrible Histories'', '' Sherlock'', ''Trace ...

). The series has also included a fourth regular character - in season one only this was the innocently seductive Petty Officer Lucy Radcliffe (played by Miranda Raison) and in season two this was Alice Barry, Computer and Weapons Expert (played by

Alice Lowe Alice Eva Lowe (born 3 April 1977)England & Wales births 1837 – 2006 is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She is best known for her roles as Dr. Haynes in '' Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'' and Madeleine Wool/Liz Asher in ''Garth Mareng ...

) who was - in contrast to her predecessor - grumpy and uncooperative unless given incentive, but also an expert it most fields. The series parodies several features of the submarine genre established by ''

The Hunt for Red October ''The Hunt for Red October'' is the debut novel by American author Tom Clancy, first published on October 1, 1984, by the Naval Institute Press. It depicts Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius as he seemingly goes rogue with his country's cutt ...

'' and '' Crimson Tide'' and as such its announcer is a version of Tom Clancy. Series One started on Thursday 20 October 2005, and the series contains four episodes in total: "Startled Deer", "Special Relationship", "Prize Hamper", and "Crispy Duck". Series Two started on Thursday 24 May 2007. Writing for '' The Times'', Chris Campling compared the programme favourably to the famous Naval radio sitcom '' The Navy Lark'' and called ''Deep Trouble'' "hilarious". It was also selected as a 'Pick of the Day' by Phil Daoust of the Guardian on 24 May 2007. A TV version for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

was briefly considered but did not come to fruition, with the decision that the show's style of comedy worked better on the radio. The series was produced and directed by David Tyler at

Pozzitive Television Pozzitive Television is a production company formed by producers Geoff Posner and David Tyler in 1992. Pozzitive have won awards including six BAFTAs, two Golden Roses at Montreux, multiple British Comedy & RTS awards, seven Sony Awards and ...

for BBC Radio 4.

Cast

* Katy Brand * Jim Field Smith - Wade * Steve Furst * Boris Isarov *

- Fairbanks * Rufus Jones * Miranda Raison - Radcliffe (series 1 only) * Jonathan Ryland - narrator * Kerry Shale *

Renton Skinner Daniel Renton Skinner (born 25 January 1973) is an English actor and comedy writer, working in stage, film and television. Skinner often performs as the character Angelos Epithemiou and is also one half of the Brian and Roger podcast. Early li ...

- Fleet Admiral * Gareth Tunley * Ben Willbond - Trainor *

- Barry (series 2 only)

References

External links

* * - (Archived Radio 4 page) * *{{British Comedy Guide, radio, deep_trouble, Deep Trouble BBC Radio comedy programmes 2005 radio programme debuts BBC Radio 4 programmes Fiction set in 2012