Cracking Up

Series

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Let's Talk About Sex

20170503

20210113 (BBC7)
20200219 (R4)

Psychotherapist Spencer finds an uncomfortable conversation with daughter Tilly leads him to an inappropriate outburst outside the school gates. Meanwhile, ex-wife Tina is struggling to get teenager Dylan out of the door in the absence of his lucky pants.

Spencer has an awkward moment with a man on a tube train and decides to make himself feel better by taking Tilly (and bagfuls of his clothes) to a charity shop. Unfortunately, there's a misunderstanding with the owner that results in Spencer shouting a lot about cancer and smashing a door down - but Police eventually let him off with a caution.

Tina's boyfriend Owen's motorbike has been vandalised with a magic marker and Tilly's curious as to why Spencer's hands have got ink all over them.

A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017.

Spencer struggles with daughter Tilly's frank recounting of sex education.

A Recipe For Disaster

20170510

20210120 (BBC7)
20200226 (R4)

Psychotherapist divorcee Spencer Pandy attempts to reassert his parental credentials through the medium of a Banquet退 Mexicano - though ex-wife Tina is bemused at his request for the children to arrive at 6:30 for 7.

Spencer's search for authentic corn chips and guacamole leads to him being forcibly ejected from a supermarket, arrested at Chalk Farm station and close to being reported for humiliating a distraught female client.

Children Dylan and Tilly arrive for the meal dressed as Zapatistas with huge, magic marker moustaches. Discovering the disguises have been applied by Tina's boyfriend Owen, Spencer is incensed and proceeds to have a fight with the supermarket delivery driver for being early.

A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017.

Divorcee Spencer Pandy tries to rebuild a bridge to his children with a Mexican banquet.

Psychotherapist divorcee Spencer Pandy attempts to reassert his parental credentials through the medium of a Banqueté Mexicano - though ex-wife Tina is bemused at his request for the children to arrive at 6:30 for 7.

Revision Express

20170517

20210127 (BBC7)
20200304 (R4)

Dylan has exams looming and, like many teenage boys, is finding the whole work/life balance tricky to negotiate. Spencer has problems of his own as his flat has been pumped full of raw sewage and he decides to kill two birds with one van. He parks a mobile home on the family drive emblazoned with a sign that reads Revision Express.

He proposes to aid Dylan's revision with a technique known as appetitive stimulus. Despite Tilly's observation that 'I think he's already started...I'm sure that's why he spends so long in the bathroom', it turns out to be a system of rewards that Spencer covertly places in Dylan's wardrobe.

So basically - bribery.

Things start badly as Dylan's friend Jamal takes a picture of Spencer emerging proudly from the Revision Express in a peaked cap and uniform and uploads it to Instagram where it immediately goes viral and sprouts memes of Spencer as (among other things) a zookeeper and Hitler.

A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017.

Spencer's flat is full of sewage and son Dylan struggles with revision.

Utopia

20170524

20210203 (BBC7)
20200311 (R4)

Divorcee Spencer arrives to take Tilly to school and is shocked to see the family home is no longer called Utopia. Meanwhile, teenage son Dylan has illegally downloaded Straw Dogs and daughter Tilly intends to attend school mufti-day in drag as one half of Siegfried and Roy (with cat Lord Lucan as the lion).

Spencer has an argument with the managing agent of his flat over a tiny detail of its refurbishment and threatens to give notice - which the agent willingly accepts.

Spencer sees his list of clients in a daze, mentally obsessing over property and, as he fumbles through the day still carrying a wooden name plaque bearing the fading legend Utopia, ends up wandering into an estate agent's office in an attempt to talk to a pretty girl.

A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017.

Divorcee father Spencer is shocked to see the family home is no longer called Utopia.

Pre-occupation

20190102

20240101/02 (BBC7)

Divorcee and psychotherapist Spencer Pandy takes his newly radicalised, feminist daughter Tilly to work where he's addressing a conference on Family Negotiation.

Tilly's attempts to explain her unusual school uniform result in a sharp dressing-down from her father who is unaware that his radio-mic is broadcasting to a shocked auditorium.

Meanwhile, while Spencer's ex-wife Tina is looking after the next-door-neighbour's six-year-old Ruby, she attempts to negotiate her own position with writing agent Camilla, who has arrived in the character of racist and sexist Northern pensioner Mrs Roberts.

Camilla is awestruck by the directness and attitude she witnesses and offers Ruby a book deal.

Spencer's attempts to alleviate his day's frustrations via the Internet are thwarted when he accidentally types 'racy' search terms into his Facebook status rather than Google.

Tina Pandy - Katherine Jakeways

Narrator - Johnny Daukes

Mrs Roberts - Pepper Daukes

Tilly Pandy - Betty Daukes

Dylan Pandy - Jack Burke

Owen - Jay Simpson

Spencer Pandy - Michael Hobbs

With Paul Shearer and Rebecca Clay

Produced by Johnny Daukes.

A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019.

Psychotherapist Spencer Pandy struggles with his 11 year-old daughter's radical feminism.

A psychotherapist struggles taking his feminist daughter to a conference on Family Negotiation. Stars Michael Hobbs. From 2019.

Meanwhile, Spencer's ex-wife Tina is attempting to negotiate her own position with writing agent Camilla, while looking after the next-door-neighbour's six-year-old Ruby, who has arrived in the character of racist and sexist Northern pensioner Mrs Roberts. Camilla is awestruck by the directness and attitude she witnesses and offers Ruby a book deal.

Psychotherapist Spencer Pandy struggles with his 11-year-old daughter's radical feminism.

Written, composed and narrated by Johnny Daukes.

Comedy about a psychotherapist who thinks he has the answers, if only his ex-wife and kids would listen.

Other parts played by:

Producer: Johnny Daukes

The Broken Legacy

20190109

20240108/09 (BBC7)

Psychotherapist divorcee Spencer Pandy attempts to reassert his presence in the family home by gifting son Dylan with his legacy, an ancient piece of stinking musical furniture made from the foul-smelling timber of the Gingki Biloba tree.

Against her better judgement (and the advice of boyfriend Owen), ex-wife Tina agrees to a weekend break in Iceland with Spencer, Dylan and daughter Tilly. A volcanic eruption and fractured tibia ensue.

Spencer Pandy - Michael Hobbs

Tina Pandy - Katherine Jakeways

Narrator - Johnny Daukes

Mrs Roberts - Pepper Daukes

Tilly Pandy - Betty Daukes

Dylan Pandy - Jack Burke

Owen - Jay Simpson

With Paul Shearer and Rebecca Clay

Produced by Johnny Daukes.

A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019.

Divorcee Spencer Pandy attempts to pass on his broken legacy - but instead breaks his leg.

Spencer bequeathes some stinking furniture to his son and convinces his ex-wife to go on a trip. Stars Michael Hobbs. From 2019.

Written, composed and narrated by Johnny Daukes.

Comedy about a psychotherapist who thinks he has the answers, if only his ex-wife and kids would listen.

Other parts played by:

Producer: Johnny Daukes

Risky Business

20190116

A radio report about frozen toilet-waste detaching from aeroplanes and falling with fatal consequences prompts divorcee and psychotherapist Spencer Pandy to issue ex-wife Tina with a series of directives aimed at ensuring the safety of their children. An altercation between Spencer and a Special Needs Transport driver prompts him into the character of his alter-ego the Health and Safety Guardian he christens The Pandyman'. Meanwhile 11-year-old daughter Tilly has heard (but not understood) the word brothel' and proceeds to proclaim it at every opportunity. Tina visits an IVF clinic to explore the possibility of her and boyfriend Owen becoming parents but around late 2011 there was an anomaly with the facility, a malfunction that meant something frozen didn't stay frozen and something tiny disappeared. Hope.

Spencer becomes embroiled in a lengthy misunderstanding with a pilot regarding how frequently the man goes to the toilet on a long flight and then demonstrates the difficulty involved in bringing any period of therapy to a close.

An altercation between Spencer and a Special Needs Transport driver prompts him into the character of his alter-ego the Health and Safety Guardian he christens ‘The Pandyman'.

Meanwhile 11-year-old daughter Tilly has heard (but not understood) the word ‘brothel' and proceeds to proclaim it at every opportunity.

Tina visits an IVF clinic to explore the possibility of her and boyfriend Owen becoming parents but ‘around late 2011 there was an anomaly with the facility, a malfunction that meant something frozen didn't stay frozen and something tiny disappeared. Hope.

Dylan Dares To Dream

20190123

20240122/23 (BBC7)

Divorcee father Spencer Pandy has maintained his authority over his teenage son Dylan with a mixture of demanding respect and hoping for the best.

But after a series of elaborate dreams in which a small and rodent-like man called Master Gojo awakens Young Dylan to his impending confrontation with his father, The Dark Lord, a reckoning is fast approaching.

It takes place at the local shopping mall where Dylan and Spencer have become stuck in a coin-operated Noddy Car. 11-year-old Tilly has gone to school that day with a colander gaffa-taped to her face but Mrs Ademola has removed it (along with most of her hair) - and so Tilly has arrived at the shopping mall for the showdown, in the character of The Bald Ninja-baby.

Spencer has been warned of the confrontation by a mysterious client called Ken, who sounds suspiciously like Alec Guinness, and it's only when Dylan finally commands his father to fight - in the bread and cakes aisle, armed with a buzzing baguette - that Spencer understands Ken's directive that 'the spirit must pass'.

A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4

Divorcee Spencer is confronted by teenage son Dylan in an episode a bit like Star Wars.

Narrator - Johnny Daukes

Spencer Pandy - Michael Hobbs

Tina Pandy - Katherine Jakeways

Dylan Pandy - Jack Burke

Tilly Pandy - Betty Daukes

Owen - Jay Simpson

Jamal - Connor Whitmore

With Rebecca Clay and Paul Shearer

Produced by Johnny Daukes.

A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019.

Divorcee Spencer is confronted by teenage son Dylan in an episode 'a bit like Star Wars'.

Spencer faces the moment when son Dylan asserts himself as a man and a baguette fight ensues. Stars Michael Hobbs. From 2019.

Episodes

Series	Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	01	Let's Talk About Sex	20170503	20210113 (BBC7) 20200219 (R4)	Psychotherapist Spencer finds an uncomfortable conversation with daughter Tilly leads him to an inappropriate outburst outside the school gates. Meanwhile, ex-wife Tina is struggling to get teenager Dylan out of the door in the absence of his lucky pants. Spencer has an awkward moment with a man on a tube train and decides to make himself feel better by taking Tilly (and bagfuls of his clothes) to a charity shop. Unfortunately, there's a misunderstanding with the owner that results in Spencer shouting a lot about cancer and smashing a door down - but Police eventually let him off with a caution. Tina's boyfriend Owen's motorbike has been vandalised with a magic marker and Tilly's curious as to why Spencer's hands have got ink all over them. A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017. Spencer struggles with daughter Tilly's frank recounting of sex education.
01	02	A Recipe For Disaster	20170510	20210120 (BBC7) 20200226 (R4)	Psychotherapist divorcee Spencer Pandy attempts to reassert his parental credentials through the medium of a Banquet退 Mexicano - though ex-wife Tina is bemused at his request for the children to arrive at 6:30 for 7. Spencer's search for authentic corn chips and guacamole leads to him being forcibly ejected from a supermarket, arrested at Chalk Farm station and close to being reported for humiliating a distraught female client. Children Dylan and Tilly arrive for the meal dressed as Zapatistas with huge, magic marker moustaches. Discovering the disguises have been applied by Tina's boyfriend Owen, Spencer is incensed and proceeds to have a fight with the supermarket delivery driver for being early. A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017. Divorcee Spencer Pandy tries to rebuild a bridge to his children with a Mexican banquet. Psychotherapist divorcee Spencer Pandy attempts to reassert his parental credentials through the medium of a Banqueté Mexicano - though ex-wife Tina is bemused at his request for the children to arrive at 6:30 for 7.
01	03	Revision Express	20170517	20210127 (BBC7) 20200304 (R4)	Dylan has exams looming and, like many teenage boys, is finding the whole work/life balance tricky to negotiate. Spencer has problems of his own as his flat has been pumped full of raw sewage and he decides to kill two birds with one van. He parks a mobile home on the family drive emblazoned with a sign that reads Revision Express. He proposes to aid Dylan's revision with a technique known as appetitive stimulus. Despite Tilly's observation that 'I think he's already started...I'm sure that's why he spends so long in the bathroom', it turns out to be a system of rewards that Spencer covertly places in Dylan's wardrobe. So basically - bribery. Things start badly as Dylan's friend Jamal takes a picture of Spencer emerging proudly from the Revision Express in a peaked cap and uniform and uploads it to Instagram where it immediately goes viral and sprouts memes of Spencer as (among other things) a zookeeper and Hitler. A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017. Spencer's flat is full of sewage and son Dylan struggles with revision.
01	04	Utopia	20170524	20210203 (BBC7) 20200311 (R4)	Divorcee Spencer arrives to take Tilly to school and is shocked to see the family home is no longer called Utopia. Meanwhile, teenage son Dylan has illegally downloaded Straw Dogs and daughter Tilly intends to attend school mufti-day in drag as one half of Siegfried and Roy (with cat Lord Lucan as the lion). Spencer has an argument with the managing agent of his flat over a tiny detail of its refurbishment and threatens to give notice - which the agent willingly accepts. Spencer sees his list of clients in a daze, mentally obsessing over property and, as he fumbles through the day still carrying a wooden name plaque bearing the fading legend Utopia, ends up wandering into an estate agent's office in an attempt to talk to a pretty girl. A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in May 2017. Divorcee father Spencer is shocked to see the family home is no longer called Utopia.
02	01	Pre-occupation	20190102	20240101/02 (BBC7)	Divorcee and psychotherapist Spencer Pandy takes his newly radicalised, feminist daughter Tilly to work where he's addressing a conference on Family Negotiation. Tilly's attempts to explain her unusual school uniform result in a sharp dressing-down from her father who is unaware that his radio-mic is broadcasting to a shocked auditorium. Meanwhile, while Spencer's ex-wife Tina is looking after the next-door-neighbour's six-year-old Ruby, she attempts to negotiate her own position with writing agent Camilla, who has arrived in the character of racist and sexist Northern pensioner Mrs Roberts. Camilla is awestruck by the directness and attitude she witnesses and offers Ruby a book deal. Spencer's attempts to alleviate his day's frustrations via the Internet are thwarted when he accidentally types 'racy' search terms into his Facebook status rather than Google. Tina Pandy - Katherine Jakeways Narrator - Johnny Daukes Mrs Roberts - Pepper Daukes Tilly Pandy - Betty Daukes Dylan Pandy - Jack Burke Owen - Jay Simpson Spencer Pandy - Michael Hobbs With Paul Shearer and Rebecca Clay Produced by Johnny Daukes. A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019. Psychotherapist Spencer Pandy struggles with his 11 year-old daughter's radical feminism. A psychotherapist struggles taking his feminist daughter to a conference on Family Negotiation. Stars Michael Hobbs. From 2019. Meanwhile, Spencer's ex-wife Tina is attempting to negotiate her own position with writing agent Camilla, while looking after the next-door-neighbour's six-year-old Ruby, who has arrived in the character of racist and sexist Northern pensioner Mrs Roberts. Camilla is awestruck by the directness and attitude she witnesses and offers Ruby a book deal. Psychotherapist Spencer Pandy struggles with his 11-year-old daughter's radical feminism. Written, composed and narrated by Johnny Daukes. Comedy about a psychotherapist who thinks he has the answers, if only his ex-wife and kids would listen. Other parts played by: Producer: Johnny Daukes
02	02	The Broken Legacy	20190109	20240108/09 (BBC7)	Psychotherapist divorcee Spencer Pandy attempts to reassert his presence in the family home by gifting son Dylan with his legacy, an ancient piece of stinking musical furniture made from the foul-smelling timber of the Gingki Biloba tree. Against her better judgement (and the advice of boyfriend Owen), ex-wife Tina agrees to a weekend break in Iceland with Spencer, Dylan and daughter Tilly. A volcanic eruption and fractured tibia ensue. Spencer Pandy - Michael Hobbs Tina Pandy - Katherine Jakeways Narrator - Johnny Daukes Mrs Roberts - Pepper Daukes Tilly Pandy - Betty Daukes Dylan Pandy - Jack Burke Owen - Jay Simpson With Paul Shearer and Rebecca Clay Produced by Johnny Daukes. A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019. Divorcee Spencer Pandy attempts to pass on his broken legacy - but instead breaks his leg. Spencer bequeathes some stinking furniture to his son and convinces his ex-wife to go on a trip. Stars Michael Hobbs. From 2019. Written, composed and narrated by Johnny Daukes. Comedy about a psychotherapist who thinks he has the answers, if only his ex-wife and kids would listen. Other parts played by: Producer: Johnny Daukes
02	03	Risky Business	20190116		A radio report about frozen toilet-waste detaching from aeroplanes and falling with fatal consequences prompts divorcee and psychotherapist Spencer Pandy to issue ex-wife Tina with a series of directives aimed at ensuring the safety of their children. An altercation between Spencer and a Special Needs Transport driver prompts him into the character of his alter-ego the Health and Safety Guardian he christens The Pandyman'. Meanwhile 11-year-old daughter Tilly has heard (but not understood) the word brothel' and proceeds to proclaim it at every opportunity. Tina visits an IVF clinic to explore the possibility of her and boyfriend Owen becoming parents but around late 2011 there was an anomaly with the facility, a malfunction that meant something frozen didn't stay frozen and something tiny disappeared. Hope. Spencer becomes embroiled in a lengthy misunderstanding with a pilot regarding how frequently the man goes to the toilet on a long flight and then demonstrates the difficulty involved in bringing any period of therapy to a close. An altercation between Spencer and a Special Needs Transport driver prompts him into the character of his alter-ego the Health and Safety Guardian he christens ‘The Pandyman'. Meanwhile 11-year-old daughter Tilly has heard (but not understood) the word ‘brothel' and proceeds to proclaim it at every opportunity. Tina visits an IVF clinic to explore the possibility of her and boyfriend Owen becoming parents but ‘around late 2011 there was an anomaly with the facility, a malfunction that meant something frozen didn't stay frozen and something tiny disappeared. Hope.
02	04	Dylan Dares To Dream	20190123	20240122/23 (BBC7)	Divorcee father Spencer Pandy has maintained his authority over his teenage son Dylan with a mixture of demanding respect and hoping for the best. But after a series of elaborate dreams in which a small and rodent-like man called Master Gojo awakens Young Dylan to his impending confrontation with his father, The Dark Lord, a reckoning is fast approaching. It takes place at the local shopping mall where Dylan and Spencer have become stuck in a coin-operated Noddy Car. 11-year-old Tilly has gone to school that day with a colander gaffa-taped to her face but Mrs Ademola has removed it (along with most of her hair) - and so Tilly has arrived at the shopping mall for the showdown, in the character of The Bald Ninja-baby. Spencer has been warned of the confrontation by a mysterious client called Ken, who sounds suspiciously like Alec Guinness, and it's only when Dylan finally commands his father to fight - in the bread and cakes aisle, armed with a buzzing baguette - that Spencer understands Ken's directive that 'the spirit must pass'. A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4 Divorcee Spencer is confronted by teenage son Dylan in an episode a bit like Star Wars. Narrator - Johnny Daukes Spencer Pandy - Michael Hobbs Tina Pandy - Katherine Jakeways Dylan Pandy - Jack Burke Tilly Pandy - Betty Daukes Owen - Jay Simpson Jamal - Connor Whitmore With Rebecca Clay and Paul Shearer Produced by Johnny Daukes. A Big Talk production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2019. Divorcee Spencer is confronted by teenage son Dylan in an episode 'a bit like Star Wars'. Spencer faces the moment when son Dylan asserts himself as a man and a baguette fight ensues. Stars Michael Hobbs. From 2019.