Episodes
| First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 20240504 | 20240505 (BBC7) |
On the occasion of his 90th birthday (9th May 2024), for BBC Radio 4 Extra, Alan Bennett introduces something he has chosen from the BBC Radio archive.
Two classic Alan Bennett spy dramas performed together.
An Englishman Abroad
1958. A squalid flat in Moscow. Over a paltry lunch, exiled spy Guy Burgess interrogates actress Coral Browne about English society gossip and then asks her to get him some new clothes from London.
Guy Burgess - Simon Callow
Coral - Brigit Forsyth
Tailor - Robert Pickavance
Tolya/Shop assistant - Peter Swander
Pianola and Balalaika played by Matthew Compton and David Carol.
A Question of Attribution
Set in the 1960s, before Professor Anthony Blunt, the director of the Courtauld Institute, was exposed and disgraced as a spy. Blunt is replacing a Titian at the Palace when the Her Majesty the Queen comes in. The painting is a fake.
Anthony Blunt - Edward Petherbridge
Chubb - Nicky Henson
The Queen - Prunella Scales
Colin - Harry Myers
Restorer - Robert Pickavance
Philips - Dan Stevens
Producer Susan Roberts
First broadcast on Radio 4 in September 2006.
Guy Burgess meets Coral Browne in Moscow. Anthony Blunt talks art with the Queen.
Alan Bennett introduces his drama-double choice as BBC Radio 4 Extra celebrates his 90th birthday. Simon Callow as Guy Burgess. Edward Petheridge as Anthony Blunt.
| First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 20240504 | 20240505 (BBC7) |