''Truly, Madly, Bletchley'' was a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic 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. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

series from 1997 written by and starring comedian and impressionist

Julian Dutton Julian Dutton is an English writer and performer. He is principally known 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 seven books. He is the ...

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 b ...

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 Labou ...

Toby Longworth Toby Longworth is a British actor. He has appeared on film, radio, and television and is best known for his role in Not Going Out as Paul. He is originally from Somerset, where he attended King Edward's School, Bath. However, he has worked most ...

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 1950s 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 ...

, of ''Kenny Everett 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 ''

Independent on Sunday ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' described it as "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 statione ...

''".

External links

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