''Citizens'' was a radio drama series, which aired twice a week from 27 October 1987 to 25 July 1991. There were 338 twenty-five-minute episodes and it 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' ...
. It was created by
Marilyn Imrie and A.J. Quinn.
The series initially focused on the residents of 5 Limerick Road in the fictional South London borough of Ditcham:
* Landlady Alex Parker (
Kate Duchêne), a single parent, originally from Norwich;
* Liverpudlian twins Julia Brennan (
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
) and Michael Brennan (
Russell Boulter
Russell Boulter (born 7 April 1963 in Liverpool) is an English actor and documentary narrator. He is a communications coach.
Career
As a teenager he was one of the original members of the Concrete Theatre Company which toured several theatre p ...
);
* merchant banker Hugh Hamilton (
James MacPherson
James Macpherson (Gaelic: ''Seumas MacMhuirich'' or ''Seumas Mac a' Phearsain''; 27 October 1736 – 17 February 1796) was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of epic poem ...
) from Kilmarnock;
* doctor Anita Sharma (
Seeta Indrani
Seeta Indrani (born 20 April 1963) is an English dancer and actress.
Biography
Performance
After graduation as a dancer from the London Contemporary Dance School, Indrani took the role of Cassandra in the original 1981 West End production o ...
) from Birmingham; and
* Ernest Bond (
Brian Murphy Brian Murphy may refer to:
Sportspeople
* Brian Murphy (Jamaican cricketer) (born 1973), Jamaican cricketer
* Brian Murphy (Zimbabwean cricketer) (born 1976), Zimbabwean cricketer
* Brian Murphy (baseball) (born 1980), American head baseball coach ...
), who lived in the ground floor flat with his Siamese cat Salome.
Alex, Julia, Michael, Hugh and Anita had all met as students in Leicester.
In later years, the series increasingly focused on local bar, The Chariots of Fire, and a crime boss played by John Hollis. Alexei Sayle made a guest appearance as himself in late 89.
References
* Lavalie, John. "Citizens." EpGuides. 21 Jul 2005. 29 Jul 200
* Kingsley, Hilary. "Soap box." Papermac. .
BBC Radio 4 programmes
1987 radio programme debuts
1991 radio programme endings
British radio soap operas
{{BBC-radio-stub