Blandings (radio series)

The Blandings radio series is a series of radio dramas based on the Blandings Castle stories by British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse.^[1] The stories were dramatised by Wodehouse biographer Richard Usborne.^[2] The series ran between 1985 and 1992 on BBC Radio 4.

Blandings

Cover of the audio cassette release of Galahad at Blandings, part of the Blandings radio series
Genre	Comedy
Running time	30 minutes
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
Home station	BBC Radio 4
Starring	Richard Vernon Ian Carmichael
Written by	Richard Usborne, adapted from the works of P. G. Wodehouse
Produced by	Bobby Jaye Martin Fisher Gareth Edwards
Narrated by	Nigel Anthony Ronald Fletcher Moray Watson
Original release	2 February 1985 – 13 February 1992
No. of episodes	25

The 1985 episodes are based on six short stories. The first five of these short stories were featured in the collection Blandings Castle and Elsewhere (1935), while the sixth, "The Crime Wave at Blandings", was collected in Lord Emsworth and Others (1937). The later episodes are based on four novels published between 1929 and 1965.

Production

The short story episodes broadcast in 1985 were produced by Bobby Jaye. Martin Fisher produced the episodes based on Summer Lightning, Pigs Have Wings and Heavy Weather, and Gareth Edwards produced the episodes based on Galahad at Blandings.^[3]

Main cast

• Narrator – Nigel Anthony (short stories), Ronald Fletcher (Summer Lightning), Moray Watson (the other novels)
• Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth – Richard Vernon
• The Hon. Galahad Threepwood – Ian Carmichael
• Beach – Lockwood West (short stories), Timothy Bateson (Summer Lightning and Pigs Have Wings), John Rapley (Heavy Weather), Harold Innocent (Galahad at Blandings)
• Lady Constance Keeble – Margot Boyd (short stories), Elizabeth Spriggs (Summer Lightning, Heavy Weather), Joan Sanderson (Pigs Have Wings)
• The Hon. Frederick Threepwood – Steve Hodson
• Sir Gregory Parsloe-Parsloe – Reginald Marsh

Episode list

The seven episodes released in 1985 are based on Blandings Castle short stories, while later episodes are based on novels.

Short stories

The additional cast for the short stories included Michael Goldie as Mr Donaldson ("The Custody of the Pumpkin"),^[4] Phillada Sewell as Mrs Twemlow, Fiona Mathieson as Aggie Threepwood, Valerie Colgan as Jane Yorke ("Lord Emsworth Grows a Beard"),^[5] Peter Tuddenham as the magistrate, Diana Martin as Angela, and Edward Duke as James Belford ("Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey!"),^[6] Sheila Keith as Lady Marshall, Nicholas Courtney as the Rev. Rupert "Beefy" Bingham, Wendy Murray as Gertrude ("Company for Gertrude"),^[7] Susanna Dawson as Gladys ("Lord Emsworth and the Girlfriend"),^[8] Helen Atkinson-Wood as Jane, Michael McClain as Baxter ("The Crime Wave at Blandings")^[9] and Henry Stamper as McAllister.

Episode	Title	First broadcast	Original story
1	The Custody of the Pumpkin	2 February 1985	"The Custody of the Pumpkin"[4]
2	Lord Emsworth Grows a Beard	9 February 1985	"Lord Emsworth Acts for the Best"[5]
3	Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey	16 February 1985	"Pig-hoo-o-o-o-ey"[6]
4	Company for Gertrude	23 February 1985	"Company for Gertrude"[7]
5	Lord Emsworth and the Girlfriend	2 March 1985	"Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend"[8]
6	The Crime Wave at Blandings: Part 1	9 March 1985	"The Crime Wave at Blandings"
7	The Crime Wave at Blandings: Part 2	16 March 1985	"The Crime Wave at Blandings"[9]

Summer Lightning

Adapted from Summer Lightning (1929). In addition to the regular cast, the cast included Graham Seed as Ronnie Fish, Royce Mills as Hugo Carmody, Wendy Murray as Millicent, Susannah Fellows as Sue Brown,^[10] Christopher Godwin as Baxter, and Roger Sloman as Pilbeam.^[11][12]

Episode	Title	First broadcast
1	Trouble Brewing at Blandings	12 March 1987
2	Sensational Theft of a Pig	18 March 1987
3	A Job for Percy Pilbeam	25 March 1987
4	Activities of Beach the Butler	1 April 1987
5	Painful Scene in a Bedroom	8 April 1987
6	Gally Takes Matters in Hand	16 April 1987

Heavy Weather

Adapted from Heavy Weather (1933). Additional actors included John Savident as Lord Tilbury, Josephine Tewson as Lady Julia, Royce Mills as Monty Bodkin, Jeremy Nicholas as Hugo, Charles Collingwood as Ronnie Fish, Moir Leslie as Sue Brown, Norman Bird as Pirbright,^[13] and Roger Sloman as Pilbeam.^[14]

Episode	Title	First broadcast
1	The Wrath of Lord Tilbury	12 July 1988
2	Lady Julia Enters the Fray	19 July 1988
3	Gally's Manuscript Up For Grabs	26 July 1988
4	Cheque Books at the Ready	2 August 1988

Pigs Have Wings

Adapted from Pigs Have Wings (1952). Additional cast included Joan Sims as Maudie Digby, Susannah Fellows as Penny Donaldson, Royce Mills as Jerry Vail, Charles Collingwood as Orlo Vosper, David Graham as Binstead,^[15] and Moir Leslie as Gloria Salt.^[16]

Episode	Title	First broadcast
1	Tangled Webs	22 August 1989
2	Love Comes to the Ninth Earl	29 August 1989
3	Maudie and Tubby Make It Up	5 September 1989
4	Survival of the Fattest	12 September 1989

Galahad at Blandings

Adapted from Galahad at Blandings (1964). Along with the main cast, the episodes featured Elizabeth Spriggs as Lady Hermione, Harold Innocent as Egbert as well as Beach, Jonathan Cecil as Wilfred, Alan Marriott as Tipton, Susannah Fellowes as Sandy, Simon Treves as Sam, Vivian Pickles as Daphne, Colin McFarlane as the US policeman,^[17] Moir Leslie as Monica, Richard Pearce as Huxley, and Chris Emmett as Constable Evans.^[18]

Episode	Title	First broadcast
1	New York and After	23 January 1992
2	Sundered Hearts	30 January 1992
3	Yoo Hoo, I'm Whipple	6 February 1992
4	Houdini Galahad	13 February 1992

References

References

1. "Blandings On Radio 4". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
2. Taves (2006), p. 133.
3. Lucas, John (25 March 2019). "Wodehouse, Pelham Grenville". The Global British Comedy Collaborative. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
4. "Blandings: The Custody of the Pumpkin". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
5. "Blandings: Lord Emsworth Grows a Beard". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
6. "Blandings: PigHoo-oo-o-o-o-ey!". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
7. "Blandings: Company for Gertrude". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
8. "Blandings: Lord Emsworth and the Girlfriend". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
9. "Blandings: The Crime Wave At Blandings". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
10. "Blandings (Summer Lightning Part 1)". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
11. "Blandings (Summer Lightning Part 3)". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
12. "Blandings: Summer Lightning". BBC Genome Project. BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
13. "Blandings: Heavy Weather: 1: The Wrath of Lord Tilbury". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
14. "Blandings: Heavy Weather Part 4". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
15. "Blandings: Pigs Have Wings Part 3". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
16. "Blandings: Pigs Have Wings Part 2". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
17. "Galahad at Blandings (Part 1)". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
18. "Galahad at Blandings (Part 3)". BBC Genome. BBC. 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.

Sources

• Taves, Brian (2006). P. G. Wodehouse and Hollywood. London: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2288-3.