''Elephants to Catch Eels'' is a historical

situation comedy A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

originally broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. It was broadcast in two series of six half-hour episodes each, from February to March 2003 and April to May 2004. It was written by Tom Jamieson and

Nev Fountain Nev Fountain, born Steven John Fountain (born 12 August 1969), is an English writer, best known for his comedy work with writing partner Tom Jamieson on the radio and television programme '' Dead Ringers''. Early life A native of Stamford, F ...

and produced by

Jan Ravens Janet "Jan" Ravens (born 14 May 1958) is an English actress and impressionist, known for her voice work on ''Spitting Image'' and '' Dead Ringers''. Early life Ravens grew up in Hoylake, then in Cheshire, on the west side of the Wirral with he ...

. Set in the fictional Drumlin Bay,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, during the 1790s, ''Elephants To Catch Eels'' follows the

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

exploits of the resourceful Tamsyn Trelawney (

Lucy Speed Lucy Renee Speed (born 31 August 1976) is an English actress best known for her television roles as Natalie Evans in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1994 to 1995 and again from 1999 until 2004, and as DS Stevie Moss in the ITV police ...

eries 1 The Erie people (also Eriechronon, Riquéronon, Erielhonan, Eriez, Nation du Chat) were Indigenous people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvani ...

Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith OBE (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress, singer and television personality. Smith came to prominence after playing a variety of characters on sitcoms such as ''The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), ''Two Pints o ...

eries 2 The Erie people (also Eriechronon, Riquéronon, Erielhonan, Eriez, Nation du Chat) were Indigenous people historically living on the south shore of Lake Erie. An Iroquoian group, they lived in what is now western New York, northwestern Pennsylvani ...

and her drunken innkeeper father Jago ( John Bowe). The new Customs Collector,

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Thomas Falconer (

Cameron Stewart Cameron Stewart (born 1975) is a Canadian comic book creator. He first came to prominence when he collaborated as an illustrator with writer Grant Morrison, and he went on to illustrate ''Catwoman'' and co-write '' Batgirl''. He won Eisner and ...

), finds it difficult to believe a woman could be involved in smuggling, unlike his deputy, Captain Marriot (

Andrew McGibbon Andrew McGibbon (a.k.a. Andrew Paresi; born 1961 in Chiswick), is an English comedian, actor, writer, musician and composer. He has also produced and directed extensively, chiefly for radio. Education The son of James, a prominent educationali ...

). Other characters include

Squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

Bascombe (

Martin Hyder Martin Hyder (born 1961) is an English people, English actor and writer. Profile Hyder was educated at Abingdon School leaving in 1980. He has worked closely with the BBC since 2000 contributing and appearing in BBC Radio and BBC Television. His ...

), the gibberish-spouting Mad Gilbert (also played by Hyder) and the gullible Dewey (

Mark Felgate Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

), with other parts played by Mark Perry,

Michael Fenton Stevens Michael Fenton Stevens (born 12 February 1958) is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for being a founder member of The Hee Bee Gee Bees and the voice behind the ''Spitting Image'' 1986 number 1 hit "The Chicken Song". He also starred ...

Phil Nice Phil Nice (born 6 April 1954 in Vange, Essex) is a British actor who has been active in television and films since 1984. He has appeared in TV serials including ''Who Dares Wins'', ''South of the Border'', ''Inspector Morse'', ''Mr. Bean'', '' ...

and

India Fisher India Fisher (born 1974) is a British actress, narrator and presenter. Her father is the ex- MP Mark Fisher. She is also the stepsister of musician Crispin Hunt and of actress Francesca Hunt, who appears with her in the play ''Other Lives''. S ...

. In the last two episodes of Series 1,

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...

guest-starred as rival smuggler Courageous Kate. Anachronistic allusions, such as a "Smuggling Personality of the Year" contest, are part of the comedy.

External links

BBC Press Release
* *{{British Comedy Guide, radio, elephants_to_catch_eels BBC Radio comedy programmes 2003 radio programme debuts BBC Radio 4 programmes