Showing results by narrator "Sophie Thompson" in All Categories

This fantastic magical adventure is perfect for listening to at home, in the car, at bedtime – or any time at all! Imagine Ellen's surprise when Princess Mirror-Belle climbs out of the bathroom mirror! She comes from a world where bubble fish swim in the bath, elves sleep in slippers, and...

Timothy West takes on the role of Rumpole in this collection of cracking court cases. The stories included are: Rumpole and the Primrose Path, Rumpole and the Scales of Justice, Rumpole and the Vanishing Juror, Rumpole Redeemed.

Acclaimed as 'the most thoroughly European of British crime writers' (Guardian), Nicolas Freeling was well known for his novels featuring Dutch sleuth Van der Valk and French policeman Henri Castang. Included in this collection are six stories showcasing both detectives, as well as a bonus programme exploring Van der Valk and his creator.

From Julia Donaldson, the bestselling author of The Gruffalo, comes Christmas with Princess Mirror-Belle, the exciting adventures of a princess with a difference. Ellen gets a big shock when her reflection climbs out of a mirror. But Mirror-Belle is a double with a difference! She is a princess...

Imogen, the daughter of King Cymbeline, is persecuted by her wicked stepmother, the Queen, and by Cloten, the Queen's doltish son. Disguised as a boy, she sets out to find her husband, the banished Posthumus. On her journey, she unwittingly meets her two brothers, stolen from the court as infants. Posthumus, meanwhile, has been convinced by the villainous Iachimo that Imogen is unchaste and agrees to a test of her faithfulness.

Verity adores her cat, Mabel, and is desperately sad when she dies. Remembering her recent school lessons about the Ancient Egyptians, Verity decides to mummify Mabel and keep her hidden. Verity's dad and grandparents can't bear to talk about death, having lost Verity's mum in childbirth, but when they eventually discover what Verity has done with Mabel, the whole family learns that it's time to talk.

A BBC comedy drama set in the world of a 'pile 'em high university'. Karen Poynter is the new head of the Geography Department - renamed Geographical Tourism - at Hayborough University, which is definitely not part of the elite Russell Group of top universities. Ranked 132nd in the UK academic league table; if you have a pulse, you can have a degree.

Left penniless by the death of his father, nineteen-year-old Nicholas Nickleby seeks help, along with his mother and sister, from Uncle Ralph Nickleby. The hard-hearted money lender takes an instant dislike to his nephew and gets rid of the boy by securing him a teaching position at Dotheboys...

Selected plays by the great playwright Joe Orton, plus bonus material Joe Orton was among the towering geniuses of 1960s theatre. His life was tragically cut short in 1967, but he left behind him a handful of shocking and scabrous black comedies that will live on in the public imagination for...

One frosty winter's night, a pure white calf is born on an ordinary muddy farm in the light of a silver moon. This is the legendary Mooncalf, whose arrival has been foretold since the dawn of time. Hare knows immediately that if the calf is not saved, it will be the end of all things. According to a dream passed down from animal to animal, if the calf dies, a great terribleness will come - rising seas, a plague, skies raining down fire... and Hare vows to protect Mooncalf with his life.

In this version of London, there is a small, private clinic. Behind its layers of security, procedures are taking place on poor, robust teenagers from northern estates in exchange for thousands of pounds - procedures that will bring the wealthy dead back to life in these young, supple bodies for 14 days. It's an opportunity for wrongs to be righted, for fathers to meet grandsons, for scientists to see their work completed. Old wine in new bottles. But at what cost?

Most famous for his Hornblower series, iconic writer C. S. Forester tells tales of adventure like no other. This BBC radio collection features modern adaptations of five of his acclaimed novels, including The African Queen (famously adapted as an Oscar-winning film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn) and The Gun, which was turned into the hit Hollywood movie The Pride and the Passion.

Emma is considered by many to be Jane Austen's finest work. Its heroine is fascinating, selfish and manipulative, running riot with other people's emotions and relationships. The author employs her greatest skills to bring about Emma's consequent crisis, awakening and happy resolution...

Mary's little brother, Billy, seems perfectly normal, until one moonlit evening Mary finds him floating above his bed. From then on, whenever the full moon rises, Billy the Bird flies up, up and away and home again! In the second story, Jackson is a rabbit with a dream. He spends his days watching the tall sailing ships coming and longs to go to sea, too. So one day Jackson stows away on the Atalanta.

Trixy, Tammy and Trig are three little girl pirates who live aboard The Lucky Lobster with their pets Mullet the dog, Kipper the cat and a seagull called Gulliver. Their friends include some boy pirates and a friendly sea-monster; and whenever they need to buy teabags or telescopes, all they...

Hello, dear listener. Are you sitting, lying down, standing on your head, eating a jam sandwich comfortably? Then I'll begin.... I want to introduce you to a boy called Vince, whose birthday it is today.... Vince is a normal boy with an unusual dislike for animals. Well, you'd feel the same if your father was always working at a zoo and your mother had run off with a lion tamer. Then, on his ninth birthday, Vince discovers he has 'the gift'. He can talk to animals!

Digby the Diggedy Dog goes out into the garden to play. He digs a big, big hole. Dig, dig, diggedy, dig. And plays tag with two little frogs. Written by a speech and language therapist, each story in the Early Soundplay series is packed with multiple repetitions of selected sounds and rhymes. The stories are expertly crafted to support children's developing speech sound awareness and vocabulary knowledge. These are key foundation skills for success with phonics, early reading, and spelling.

There are nearly as many stories about Fluke and the Bannajee as there are stars in the sky. These are just the first four. No one knows where the Bannajee comes from or why he lives with Fluke. Toddy does!

Two enchanting adventures for Jessica, everyone’s favourite Witch-in-Training, and her teacher Miss Strega. Witch Switch “Prrrrrrooom,” Jessica purred, in a very pleased voice. “I’m a cat.” Jessica is learning the Witch Switch – how to magically change shape. But although being a...

Look up into the starry sky on the night of the full moon and you'll see...a bird? A plane? No...a little boy! Eight-year-old Mary Bird has discovered a secret: Her four-year-old brother Billy can fly! Floating around his room is bad enough, but when he takes off out an open window, Mary's sure disaster isn't far behind. She may be right!