Synopsis
Every Friday we bring you a new drama from BBC Radio 4 or Radio 3. Exercise your imagination with some of the best writers and actors on radio. Storytelling at its very best.
Episodes
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Mothercover Episode 1: Camera Obscura
29/08/2025 Duration: 27minGwen is recruited to spy on another mum in her local baby group. But how long can she keep up the act?An Aberystwyth-set thriller, by BAFTA Cymru nominee Fflur Dafydd, with original music by Mercury Prize nominees Gwenno and Rhys Edwards.CASTGwen .... Alexandra RoachLiz .... Remy BeasleyOwen .... Sacha DhawanGeraint .... Matthew GravelleYoga Teacher .... Lisa ZahraGroup Leader .... Nadia Wyn AbouayenMums .... Aoife Moss and Bethan McleanIoan .... Liam DonnellyTheo .... Cai RobertsOriginal Music, Gwenno and Rhys EdwardsSound design, Rhys MorrisProduction Co-ordinators, Lindsay Rees and Eleri McAuliffeDirected by Fay LomasProduced by Fay Lomas and John Norton, BBC Audio Drama Wales
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Curry Canyon
22/08/2025 Duration: 44minIn the heart of Glasgow’s “Curry Canyon” during the 2009 recession, aspiring journalist Halima returns home to help at her family’s struggling tandoori restaurant, just as a campaign erupts to crown chicken tikka masala a Scottish national treasure.While her dad sees opportunity in the publicity, Halima’s exposé on the roots of the dish sparks unintended consequences that could upend everything. A warm-hearted drama exploring family, food, and the price of telling your truth.This drama is fictional, but is inspired by the real 2009 campaign to recognise Chicken Tikka Masala as a Glaswegian invention.CAST (in order of appearance) Halima .... Talia Marwaha Waseem ..... Shahan Hamza Zainab ..... Zara Janjua Usama ..... Archie Lal Jennifer ..... Aoife Moss News Reporter/Officer ..... Jason BarnettWriter ..... maatin Director ..... Anne Isger Sound ..... Andy Garrett and Keith Graham Production Co-ordinator ..... Ben HollandsA BBC Studios Audio Production
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Episode 6 - Peking Noir
10/01/2021 Duration: 26minPresented by Paul French Drama written by Sarah WooleyWhatever anyone declared categorically about Shura Giraldi, someone else insisted on the exact opposite. Shura was handsome and beautiful; Shura was kind and good, Shura was exploitative and evil. Shura was just another struggling White Russian refugee trying to get by in 1930s China; Shura was the heart and brains of a gang that ran clubs, sex workers, illicit booze and drugs, when not robbing banks and stealing gems to fence in Shanghai. Shura loved ballet and cabaret, creating the Shura Giraldi Dance Troupe that topped the bill at all the best Peking nightclubs.Shura sometimes presented as male and sometimes as female. When passing as a man Shura bound his breasts tightly and wore a sharp tailored suit; when she was a woman she wore startlingly coloured robes, both Chinese-style cheongsam and Western dresses, letting her raven hair flow loose, said witnesses. Shura had added an incredibly massive layer of confusion and obfuscation to anyone looking by c
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Episode 5 - Peking Noir
10/01/2021 Duration: 20minPresented by Paul French Drama written by Sarah WooleyWhatever anyone declared categorically about Shura Giraldi, someone else insisted on the exact opposite. Shura was handsome and beautiful; Shura was kind and good, Shura was exploitative and evil. Shura was just another struggling White Russian refugee trying to get by in 1930s China; Shura was the heart and brains of a gang that ran clubs, sex workers, illicit booze and drugs, when not robbing banks and stealing gems to fence in Shanghai. Shura loved ballet and cabaret, creating the Shura Giraldi Dance Troupe that topped the bill at all the best Peking nightclubs.Shura sometimes presented as male and sometimes as female. When passing as a man Shura bound his breasts tightly and wore a sharp tailored suit; when she was a woman she wore startlingly coloured robes, both Chinese-style cheongsam and Western dresses, letting her raven hair flow loose, said witnesses. Shura had added an incredibly massive layer of confusion and obfuscation to anyone looking by c
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Episode 4 - Peking Noir
10/01/2021 Duration: 25minPresented by Paul French Drama written by Sarah WooleyWhatever anyone declared categorically about Shura Giraldi, someone else insisted on the exact opposite. Shura was handsome and beautiful; Shura was kind and good, Shura was exploitative and evil. Shura was just another struggling White Russian refugee trying to get by in 1930s China; Shura was the heart and brains of a gang that ran clubs, sex workers, illicit booze and drugs, when not robbing banks and stealing gems to fence in Shanghai. Shura loved ballet and cabaret, creating the Shura Giraldi Dance Troupe that topped the bill at all the best Peking nightclubs.Shura sometimes presented as male and sometimes as female. When passing as a man Shura bound his breasts tightly and wore a sharp tailored suit; when she was a woman she wore startlingly coloured robes, both Chinese-style cheongsam and Western dresses, letting her raven hair flow loose, said witnesses. Shura had added an incredibly massive layer of confusion and obfuscation to anyone looking by c
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Episode 3 - Peking Noir
10/01/2021 Duration: 22minPresented by Paul French Drama written by Sarah WooleyWhatever anyone declared categorically about Shura Giraldi, someone else insisted on the exact opposite. Shura was handsome and beautiful; Shura was kind and good, Shura was exploitative and evil. Shura was just another struggling White Russian refugee trying to get by in 1930s China; Shura was the heart and brains of a gang that ran clubs, sex workers, illicit booze and drugs, when not robbing banks and stealing gems to fence in Shanghai. Shura loved ballet and cabaret, creating the Shura Giraldi Dance Troupe that topped the bill at all the best Peking nightclubs.Shura sometimes presented as male and sometimes as female. When passing as a man Shura bound his breasts tightly and wore a sharp tailored suit; when she was a woman she wore startlingly coloured robes, both Chinese-style cheongsam and Western dresses, letting her raven hair flow loose, said witnesses. Shura had added an incredibly massive layer of confusion and obfuscation to anyone looking by c
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Episode 2 - Peking Noir
10/01/2021 Duration: 19minPresented by Paul French Drama written by Sarah WooleyWhatever anyone declared categorically about Shura Giraldi, someone else insisted on the exact opposite. Shura was handsome and beautiful; Shura was kind and good, Shura was exploitative and evil. Shura was just another struggling White Russian refugee trying to get by in 1930s China; Shura was the heart and brains of a gang that ran clubs, sex workers, illicit booze and drugs, when not robbing banks and stealing gems to fence in Shanghai. Shura loved ballet and cabaret, creating the Shura Giraldi Dance Troupe that topped the bill at all the best Peking nightclubs.Shura sometimes presented as male and sometimes as female. When passing as a man Shura bound his breasts tightly and wore a sharp tailored suit; when she was a woman she wore startlingly coloured robes, both Chinese-style cheongsam and Western dresses, letting her raven hair flow loose, said witnesses. Shura had added an incredibly massive layer of confusion and obfuscation to anyone looking by c
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Episode 1 - Peking Noir
10/01/2021 Duration: 22minPresented by Paul French Drama written by Sarah WooleyWhatever anyone declared categorically about Shura Giraldi, someone else insisted on the exact opposite. Shura was handsome and beautiful; Shura was kind and good, Shura was exploitative and evil. Shura was just another struggling White Russian refugee trying to get by in 1930s China; Shura was the heart and brains of a gang that ran clubs, sex workers, illicit booze and drugs, when not robbing banks and stealing gems to fence in Shanghai. Shura loved ballet and cabaret, creating the Shura Giraldi Dance Troupe that topped the bill at all the best Peking nightclubs.Shura sometimes presented as male and sometimes as female. When passing as a man Shura bound his breasts tightly and wore a sharp tailored suit; when she was a woman she wore startlingly coloured robes, both Chinese-style cheongsam and Western dresses, letting her raven hair flow loose, said witnesses. Shura had added an incredibly massive layer of confusion and obfuscation to anyone looking by c