Shush! is a BBC Radio 4 sitcom written by and starring Rebecca Front and

Morwenna Banks Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...

. It follows child prodigy Alice and hapless Snoo as two librarians, trying desperately to keep their local library afloat. The first series was 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' ...

in September 2015, with the second series broadcast in May 2017. The idea was originally developed with

Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...

as a television programme, but was instead commissioned for radio in 2014, with the pilot episode being co-written by

Father Ted ''Father Ted'' is a sitcom created by Irish writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews (writer), Arthur Mathews and produced by British production company Hat Trick Productions for Channel 4. It aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until ...

creator Arthur Mathews. The series also stars Ben Willbond as local library inspector Simon Neilson, and

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 ...

as morally bankrupt celebrity surgeon Dr Cadogan. Guest stars so far have included Geoffrey Whitehead, Frances Barber and Laurence Fox and the show is produced by

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 ...

Episode List

Series one

Critical reception

Both series of Shush! have so far been very well received. David Hepworth, writing in The Guardian, praised its "lovely" moments, while Jane Anderson, reviewing for the

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

, wrote that "any comedy based upon an idea by Armando Iannucci has quality written all over it and this is no exception. Written by Morwenna Banks and Rebecca Front, who both star as socially challenged librarians, this is a rare Radio 4 sitcom grower.".

References

{{Reflist 2015 radio programme debuts