''Truly, Madly, Bletchley'' was a

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' ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

series from 1997 written by and starring comedian and impressionist

Julian Dutton Julian Dutton is an English comedy writer and performer, principally for television and radio, whose work has won a British Comedy Award, a BAFTA, and a Radio Academy Gold Award for Best Comedy. He is the author of five books. He is the co-cr ...

and produced by

Dirk Maggs David George Dirk Maggs (born St. Helier, Jersey, February 1955) is a British freelance writer and director. During his career as a Senior Producer in BBC Radio he made radio drama adopting a cinematic-sounding approach, combining filmic story c ...

. Series 2 was produced by Andy Aliffe. Starring

Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of bi ...

David Battley David John Battley (5 November 1935 – 20 January 2003) was a British actor of stage and screen, mainly appearing in comedy roles. Early life Battley was born at Battersea, London, the elder son of John Battley, a post-Second World War Labour ...

Toby Longworth Toby Longworth is a British actor who has appeared on film, radio and television. He is originally from Somerset, where he attended King Edward's School, Bath. He has worked most often as a voice actor, however, notably in several science-fictio ...

and

Simon Godley Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

, ''Truly, Madly, Bletchley'' follows a group of Councillors who decide to start their own public access cable radio show. A surreal take on small-town life, the series mixed stream-of-consciousness sketches with a nod to the vivacious world of 1950's variety, including a musical interlude from spoof tea-dance band, Enrico Valdez and his Orchestra, with accordionist Micky Binelli and singer

Cleo Rocos Cleo Rocos (born 24 July 1962, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a UK-based comedy actress, producer, presenter and businesswoman who starred alongside Kenny Everett on ''The Kenny Everett Television Show''. Early life Rocos was born in Brazil. Her f ...

, of

Kenny Everett Kenny Everett (born Maurice James Christopher Cole; 25 December 1944 – 4 April 1995) was an English comedian, radio disc jockey and television presenter. After spells on pirate radio and Radio Luxembourg in the mid-1960s, he was one of the fi ...

Show fame. In series two the cast included

Stephen Critchlow Stephen Anthony Critchlow (22 November 1966 – 19 September 2021) was a British actor, known for his work in the theatre and appearances on radio series such as ''Truly, Madly, Bletchley'', ''The Way We Live Right Now'', and '' Spats'', along ...

, Matthew Bell and Peter Hugo-Daly. The show attracted praise from reviewers: "The most confident radio sitcom since

The Navy Lark ''The Navy Lark'' is a radio sitcom about life aboard a British Royal Navy frigate named HMS ''Troutbridge'' (a play on HMS ''Troubridge'', a Royal Navy destroyer) based in HMNB Portsmouth. In series 1 and 2, the ship and crew were stationed ...

," - Independent on Sunday.

External links

Truly, Madly, Bletchley at RadioHAHA
BBC Radio comedy programmes 1997 radio programme debuts {{BBC-radio-stub