Episodes
| First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 20120624 | 20130303 | A comedy focusing on a famous duel between Elizabethan rivals the Earl of Oxford and Philip Sidney on a Real tennis court. With Celia Imrie as Elizabeth I. A new comedy by Martyn Wade about Elizabethan Real Tennis culminates in an epic match, poetry and death by strawberries and cream. Recorded on location. Celia Imrie stars as Elizabeth I and David Troughton won Best Supporting Actor in the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2013. Inspired by past events at Wimbledon, this comedy by Martyn Wade takes as its theme a famous duel between Elizabethan rivals the Earl of Oxford and Philip Sidney on a Real tennis court. Having failed to satisfy an argument with a more traditional duel, the pair resort to a five-set game in front of Queen Elizabeth herself - the outcome of which will decide not only personal pride but also the marital fate of the Queen, as she decrees that proposed nuptials with a French duke will only take place if Oxford wins... Queen Elizabeth - Celia Imrie Simier - Alex Jennings Earl of Leicester - David Troughton Earl of Oxford - Nicholas Boulton Philip Sidney - Thom Tuck Duke of Anjou - Michael Maloney Crick - Geoffrey Whitehead Benjamin - Philip Fox William - Carl Prekopp Spectator - Nick Saunter Tennis scenes recorded at the Millennium Real Tennis Court, Middlesex University Director Cherry Cookson First broadcast in June 2012. |